/Who: Kurt Wagner and Princess Cadence When: After these texts, April 2 Where: Kurt’s place What: Talking, etc. Rating/Warnings: Mentions of character death Status: Complete
Cadence showed up at Kurt’s front door about twenty minutes after her last text. She had to stop at the supermarket and pick up some potatoes. She was craving potatoes for some reason, and she could cook them at his place. There was likely enough food there for her to make a good meal out of it.
She knocked on the front door, feeling pretty good. Life felt... good. The Egg Hunt had been a success, she had the best boyfriend in the world, and the weather was getting warmer. Things were looking up. Even if he was now blue and furry. It might make things a little difficult, but she wasn’t going to let that bring her down in the moment.
Kurt opened the door, and swept her up for a kiss, potatoes or no potatoes! He wrapped her in his arms and tail and kissed her dizzy!
The potatoes fell to the floor with a thump and a clatter. Kissing Kurt was far more interesting than potatoes. And by the end of it she was breathless.
“Hello.” He grinned at her, pointy teeth and all. “I missed you.”
“Hi.” She returned his grin. He looked so different with those teeth, those eyes. Not bad, just different. He was still Kurt in there. “I missed you, too. Can I make you dinner?” There were potatoes all over the floor now.
“Like I vould turn that down?” He wanted to ask her to move in, but refrained. He wanted a better apartment, anyway. Before he asked her.
Cadence simply grinned a bright and happy grin at him, then bent down to pick up the mess. If she’d known what he was thinking, she would have dropped the potatoes all over again.
He knelt to help her, casually petting her face with his tail, before bringing his share of the potatoes to the sink to rinse them off. “Have you had any of the strange vardrobe malfunctions?”
“No, thankfully.” Cadence said, following him to the sink and dumping in her handful. They weren’t tiny, but they weren’t huge potatoes, either. Good size. Mandarin Orange sized. They’d be delicious however she was gonna cook them. Maybe roasted with butter, salt and pepper? “Have you?”
“Nein. Vhich is good, I have to say. I’d rather keep my pants on, if you catch my drift.”
“I do.” Cadence gave him a smile. She’d assumed that he’d been spending most of his time inside, anyway, and having his pants fall off in his own home probably wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But she understood the irritation of things happening, even at home, that were out of your control.
“...is there still chicken in the freezer?” Chicken and potatoes. The start of a great meal.
“No. I took it out to thaw, it’s in the fridge. I vas planning on experimenting, but I vould rahter you experiment.” He turned to watch her move around.
Cadence grinned. “All right. I think I can do that.” She moved further into the kitchen and started pulling out things. Pots, pans, cutting boards, spices. Cooking was fun for her, and his kitchen was always cleaner than the one at her Sorority House.
That probably wasn’t saying much. Kurt did live in a place that wasn’t much better than a roach motel. He just took extra pains to make sure it was clean. “Experimental chicken is the best.”
The best part of this apartment was that Kurt lived there. Cadence liked cuddling up with him on the sofa, or making love in the bedroom. There was a part of her that wished she could stay with him all the time. As she was growing closer to him, her bonds with her Sisters at the House were growing thinner. Not that she’d ever stop loving or being friends with them, but her priorities were shifting.
She started to cook, humming a hymn to herself. They’d sung it in church on Easter, and it stuck.
Kurt smiled, watching her cook. He adored the way she moved, and her cooking always smelled and tasted so good. As long as she enjoyed it, he wasn’t going to complain. She made him feel as though he were alive again.
“There’s something I vant to show you.”
“Oh?” Cadence asked, turning around to look at him while the chicken sizzled in the pan. She didn’t know what was going on in his head, but if she did she’d feel flattered. Loved. And she’d want him to know that those feelings were reciprocated. “What is it?”
He held up his wrist, which had a kind of watch on it. He tapped the watch, and then a second later, he looked like his old self. “Kitty found this!”
Cadence gasped and the spoon she was holding fell to the floor. “Kurt!” She said, then stepped forward to get a good look at him, completely forgetting about the food cooking on the stove. “...you’re...” She had to use the right word, she didn’t want to offend him, or say something she didn’t mean. “...you look like... like when we first met...” She lifted her hand to touch his cheek.
“It’s an illusion, Cadence...” Kurt took her hand. “But it means I can be outside and not have to...hide.”
“It means...” she wrapped her hand around his. “I can still take you out and show you off without having to worry about how people will react.” She stepped in closer and lifted up onto her toes to steal a kiss from his lips.
There was a hissing and spitting of the chicken cooking on the stove.
“Ja!” He wasn’t insulted by the idea. He felt the same. It was a small relief. Maybe some day he could show his real face, but right now, not everyone was like Eli.
Cadence let go of him so she could go rescue the chicken. She didn’t want it burning to the pan. “Are we going to go out and celebrate? Ooh, we should go dancing.” She suggested, smiling shyly. He was so steady on his feet, he was probably an amazing dancer.
“I vould dearly love to take you dancing.” Kurt followed her with his eyes, wanting to touch her.
Cadence finished the chicken and started on the potatoes. She decided to brown them in the oil left over from the chicken, and toss in some spices, then steam them until they were cooked through. It sounded weird, but she thought it would taste good. So she was working on that while they talked.
“I would dearly love for you to take me dancing.” She said, grinning over her shoulder at him. The look in his eyes made her insides twist.
The look in his eyes spoke volumes of what he wanted to do to her, then and now, and in the future. He didn’t say anything else, but took a seat.
She cleared her throat. "This weekend?" Almost having forgotten what they were talking about, she turned back to the food.
“Yes, this weekend. I’ll let you choose the place, as I’m rather bad at locales.” He didn’t know anything, still. Just where to eat, mostly.
"Okay." Cadence was pretty excited about going out on a date. An actual date she had almost given up hope that it would be possible ever again. She just wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, no matter what they were doing.
Kurt decided he needed to do something special for her. A date was a good place to start. He'd have to save up for a ring.
Cadence finished dinner and brought a couple of plates over to the table. She was the kind of cook who cleaned while she went along. so she didn’t leave much of a mess for later. And she started the dishwasher so it’d be ready to empty and refill before bed.
She slipped into the chair at the table next to his and reached over to take hold of his hand. “...do you mind if I pray?”
“Nien, I don’t mind.” Kurt smiled at her. “After the dreams I’ve had lately, I think perhaps I might have renewed faith....” There was a story there, he just didn’t know if he should tell it.
Cadence turned to look over at him quizzically. She wasn’t about to push anything, just... if he wanted to talk to her about it, she would be a loving, non-judgemental ear. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, and said a quick prayer. “Heavenly Father, thank you for the food, and for the loving company. We pray that you’ll keep us happy and healthy, letting your love and light show us our true paths in this world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.” She gave his hand a quick squeeze, almost like punctuation at the end of the prayer, then released it so they could eat.
Kurt dug in, eating in silence for a moment, before he finally spoke. “Ve became endangered. Mutants like me. Endangered and hunted, and on the verge of extinction. Until a baby vas born, the first mutant born since 98% of us vere depowered or killed. She vas named Hope, and Scott’s son took her to protect her, vhile the rest of us fought to give them that chance. And then they vere gone, and while they vere gone, ve had many trials. Vhen she came back...months for us, and she vas barely sixteen...vhen she came back, our enemies came out of the voodvork to kill her. Armies massed, to stop this girl who gave hope to an entire race. Ve had to put our faith in this girl, and our faith in Scott that he vas right, and she vas a messiah.”
Cadence listened intently to his story. She continued eating, but slowly, as his words were a distraction.
“Ve had to beat them to her. They vere led by zealots, and by men who twisted the vords of god into hatred.” He smiled ruefully. “Ve had a lot of people who looked at mutants the same vay they look at muslims today, or gay people. Or blacks in the 60s. And they vere violent. Myself and a friend tried to get her avay from them, but... They followed us relentlessly.”
There were few things that Cadence hated more than people who twisted the words of god into hatred. She was riveted by his story, though now she was imagining the end, holding her breath.
“Ve vere cornered in Las Vegas, about 600 miles from our destination....There vas this man.machine..person. Rogue tried to fight him off, I tried to get Hope out of there, but he vas going to kill her. I used my powers, to put myself between him and Hope. His arm vent through my chest....and I used the last of my strength to teleport all the vay there. I’d never teleported more than ten miles before, let alone 600.”
She was holding her breath now. For reals, not just figuratively. When she realized she hadn’t inhaled in several moments, she gave a little gasp and nodded. “...through your chest?” Cadence had a feeling she knew where this was going. It filled her with concern and sadness, and an almost overwhelming urge to hug him. To love him forever. “Did you... make it?”
He looked grim. “Ve made it to Utopia, off the coast of San Francisco. But I didn’t make it. I lived long enough to see Hope vas safe. To tell her I believed in her, that I had faith. Then the light claimed me. It vas....beautiful.”
Cadence reached forward and took hold of his hand. She wasn’t sure what to say. What could she say at a moment like that? Kurt had died in his dream.
“It’s all right.” He smiled at her and patted her hand. “Really, it’s all right. I think it vas vorth it. The light came from behind her, and it made her look like an angel.”
Cadence wasn’t sure how any of that was all right. He’d died. He’d seen his own death. The bigger question still burned within her, though, so she spoke it aloud. “What happened next?”
“I haven’t dreamed that part,” Kurt replied, smiling a little sadly. “I suspect it’s a mystery I’m not supposed to know yet, ja? But it vas..varm. Not heat varm, but...love varm.”
Cadence nodded. He may have had a glimpse there of what it was like to die. To go to heaven, be accepted into the loving embrace of the Father. It was a bit... strange. She was slightly jealous, actually. And concerned. If these dreams were coming true... she didn’t want him to die. Not like he’d gone blue. “That sounds... well, it doesn’t sound terrible.”
“Nien, it didn’t sound horrible. If I had to die, I’m glad it was for such a good reason.” He didn’t want to die, particularly. He liked being alive. “I just vish I know how it turned out.”
“Maybe there’s someone else around who’s had similar dreams who can tell you? Doesn’t Kitty dream from your same world? She might know.” Cadence suggested, hopefully.
“I’ve been afraid to ask her, or to ask Scott. He’s here too. A lot of us are here.” More than he was sure there should be.
Cadence nodded. “If you really want to know, you should ask. Then again, you may not like the answer.”
“Nien, I may not. I vould hate to think I died for nothing. But that’s the point of faith is it not? I do not believe that I did.”
She nodded. “You...” A little chuckle escaped her and she reached forward to take hold of his hand. “You are the most amazing man I’ve ever known. In the dreams and out of them.”
“Nien! I am just a man.” Kurt had finished his meal by now, even if most of it had been cold because of talking. “A man in love, and very full.” He patted his belly.
Cadence chuckled softly. Shyly. “I hope that makes you a happy man.”