Amanda, Kurt - Thanksgiving Day
Nov. 23rd, 2006 01:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsKurt comes by for Thanksgiving Dinner with his sister. It's not quite what was planned, but they manage. And get philosophical, as they tend to do.
A slightly blue haze of smoke still lingered in the air despite the open windows letting in a cold breeze, and Amanda gave Kurt an apologetic look. "Sorry about the fire. Guess it's a little while before I graduate past cooked breakfasts and pasta, huh?"
Naturally enough, given his particular brand of teleportation, the smoke didn't seem to bother him much. "There was not much damage done", he said reassuringly. "And at least you know one thing not to do next time. And this food is very good."
Reaching for the container of fried rice, Amanda nodded, gesturing with her chopsticks. "Can't beat Chan's. Best Chinese in New York, 'specially if you order in Mandarin." She grinned wryly. "And next time I'll remember turning the oven up twice as high doesn't mean it cooks twice as fast. Just burns twice as much." Dumping rice onto her plate and reaching for the beef in black bean, she cocked her head at Kurt. "Thanks for coming over. Sort of felt like the day for family. And I did promise dinner at some stage."
"You did. And today is as good a day as any, or perhaps better. Since our lives seem to be in America now, it is only right we should celebrate American holidays." He smiled, reaching for his own little tray of food.
"You might have a point. Tho' I'm still not celebrating Fourth of July - doesn't go with the English accent." Amanda snickered and leaned back on the couch, plate held in one hand whilst she shoved food into herself with the other. "So, how's your week been?" she asked, slightly muffled since she was talking with her mouth full.
"It has been quite good", he answered honestly. "I spoke with Nathan and Marie... and Jack." He did seem somehow more settled, and had been getting more so since his post about changing his name.
"Good for you." Amanda swallowed, nodding her approval. "I went and had my first session with Sofia the other day. Went pretty well, actually. It helps I can talk about everything job-wise - the other bloke would have kept schtum, but there's the whole part where it could have put him at risk if someone worked out enough to go digging for more info. Part of the whole secret spy group thing? Is keeping it a secret." She grinned wryly - there'd been enough early slips on the journals that the students knew the think tank was more than that, and she'd resolved personally to do a better job at keeping things to themselves.
Kurt nodded. "It is always difficult to know how much I should tell Jack. But since he is Nathan's therapist, and so many of Nathan's troubles must be connected to our work... I think he can be trusted. And he does not know anything that could not be found out another way."
"And if Jack can stay sane after seeing Nate as long as he has been, well, I doubt you'll break him," Amanda told him with another of those irrepressible grins. Despite kitchen disasters and needing to wear a jacket inside because of the open window, she was in a pretty good mood.
Kurt chuckled. "A very good point. And how have you been?"
"Better," she replied. "Busy, catching up with the work I missed being away. But I've been able to make time for people too." She thought of Doug and emergency curry. "Seems like we're all melting down a bit. We've had a tough couple of months over here, between Russia and Tennesee." Despite herself, she glanced up at Marie-Ange's drawing of her vision of Charlie.
Kurt followed her eyes, and smiled sadly... though even that smile vanished when he looked away from the drawing and caught sight of the bruise on her jaw. "You... have not been out on a mission recently, have you?"
"Hmm?" She looked puzzled, and he indicated her jaw. "Oh, that. Training, actually. Logan was giving me a test run and got a couple of hits in. You should see the bruise on my leg." With a laugh, she waved away his concern. "And not to worry - Logan was holding back, not trying to hurt me. Just the usual sparring contact, you know?"
He nodded, relaxing, though there was still some worry there. "I did not know he was working with your team, as well as ours."
"Mostly with Sarah, since, hey, matching healing factors. Those tend to change your fighting style and Logan's got a lot of experience." Amanda shrugged. "But he and Remy agreed any of us that wanted to get extra help could ask. I think Logan's at a bit of a loose end these days, since he... um, since he's not teaching any more." Amanda went with the more tactful version than "got the arse".
"That makes sense, I suppose. And you felt you needed this extra help?" He could play 'big brother' with the best of them.
"Something that came up talking to Dom, 'bout the job and taking risks. Which I don't," she added hastily, seeing Kurt had Big Brother Face on. "I told her I had all the combat ability of a Teletubbie, which is true. But the thing is, with what we do, and the limits on the magic at the moment, it's not a good thing, me having to be protected all the time. If we're short-handed and things go pear-shaped, I don't want someone getting hurt because they're babysitting me. So, I asked Logan for extra training."
Another nod, as he tried hard not to make this into an interrogation. "Just self-defence, or other combat skills? How is it going?"
Amanda squirmed a little. Argh, going into the scary ethical territory here. "The best defence is a good offence?" she suggested, then sighed a little. "I won't lie to you, Kurt, it's not just self-defence, tho' that's a good part of it. Logan - and Wanda and Remy and Pete, for that matter - they're teaching me to hurt people. The people we're up against sometimes... they're nasty bastards. And they don't fight fair. Fuck knows I won't kill anyone," Again "But if it's me versus the bastard with the powers who isn't going to stand there posturing like a good supervillain first? I'm going to do whatever I can to take him down so he doesn't hurt me first."
And with that, the sad smile was back. "Is it so necessary for you to go out in the field, with the others who already can fight? To face these enemies who do not fight fair?" It was an open question, the sense was. 'Yes' would be an acceptable answer, though he might want to know more.
"Sometimes it's necessary. When we're up against demons, like we were in Tennesee, or there's occult connections, like when Rom got taken, then believe it or not, I'm the expert. So I have to be there. The other times..." Amanda paused and thought, trying to frame her words so it didn't sound like she was driven by guilt. "There's a lot of nasty people out there, Kurt. And sometimes the X-Men can't do anything about them, for a bunch of reasons." In the seriousness of the conversation, she wasn't using her usual nickname of 'leather brigade' for the team. "Some of them are people like Selene. If there's anything I can do to help bring 'em down, stop 'em screwing over the little people, well... I'm going to do it." She gave him a small smile. "Even if it means sitting nice and safe in the comms van most of the time."
"I would be happier to know you were sitting in the comms van", he told her honestly. "But... I do understand, Amanda."
She poked her tongue out at him playfully. "And I'd be happier if you were sitting in a class room teaching German, but I know there's not a lot of chance of that. Not when there's world saving to be done." Her look softened. "But I appreciate it, Kurt. And I am careful."
"I could never just be a teacher", he said instantly, quietly. "But... I will not say I have never thought of finding another circus and going back to being an acrobat. More than ever, recently. But... as you say, there is world saving to be done."
"Forge said something to me once, when we were talking about me giving up the magic. He was saying, if you have a gift, it's your responsibility to make sure you don't waste it, use it to make things better for people." She reached over and lay her hand on his arm. "We're doing that, just in different ways."
He smiled down at her, tail-tip flicking up unconsciously to tap her other arm. "Yes, I suppose we are. For all it is very hard, sometimes."
A slightly blue haze of smoke still lingered in the air despite the open windows letting in a cold breeze, and Amanda gave Kurt an apologetic look. "Sorry about the fire. Guess it's a little while before I graduate past cooked breakfasts and pasta, huh?"
Naturally enough, given his particular brand of teleportation, the smoke didn't seem to bother him much. "There was not much damage done", he said reassuringly. "And at least you know one thing not to do next time. And this food is very good."
Reaching for the container of fried rice, Amanda nodded, gesturing with her chopsticks. "Can't beat Chan's. Best Chinese in New York, 'specially if you order in Mandarin." She grinned wryly. "And next time I'll remember turning the oven up twice as high doesn't mean it cooks twice as fast. Just burns twice as much." Dumping rice onto her plate and reaching for the beef in black bean, she cocked her head at Kurt. "Thanks for coming over. Sort of felt like the day for family. And I did promise dinner at some stage."
"You did. And today is as good a day as any, or perhaps better. Since our lives seem to be in America now, it is only right we should celebrate American holidays." He smiled, reaching for his own little tray of food.
"You might have a point. Tho' I'm still not celebrating Fourth of July - doesn't go with the English accent." Amanda snickered and leaned back on the couch, plate held in one hand whilst she shoved food into herself with the other. "So, how's your week been?" she asked, slightly muffled since she was talking with her mouth full.
"It has been quite good", he answered honestly. "I spoke with Nathan and Marie... and Jack." He did seem somehow more settled, and had been getting more so since his post about changing his name.
"Good for you." Amanda swallowed, nodding her approval. "I went and had my first session with Sofia the other day. Went pretty well, actually. It helps I can talk about everything job-wise - the other bloke would have kept schtum, but there's the whole part where it could have put him at risk if someone worked out enough to go digging for more info. Part of the whole secret spy group thing? Is keeping it a secret." She grinned wryly - there'd been enough early slips on the journals that the students knew the think tank was more than that, and she'd resolved personally to do a better job at keeping things to themselves.
Kurt nodded. "It is always difficult to know how much I should tell Jack. But since he is Nathan's therapist, and so many of Nathan's troubles must be connected to our work... I think he can be trusted. And he does not know anything that could not be found out another way."
"And if Jack can stay sane after seeing Nate as long as he has been, well, I doubt you'll break him," Amanda told him with another of those irrepressible grins. Despite kitchen disasters and needing to wear a jacket inside because of the open window, she was in a pretty good mood.
Kurt chuckled. "A very good point. And how have you been?"
"Better," she replied. "Busy, catching up with the work I missed being away. But I've been able to make time for people too." She thought of Doug and emergency curry. "Seems like we're all melting down a bit. We've had a tough couple of months over here, between Russia and Tennesee." Despite herself, she glanced up at Marie-Ange's drawing of her vision of Charlie.
Kurt followed her eyes, and smiled sadly... though even that smile vanished when he looked away from the drawing and caught sight of the bruise on her jaw. "You... have not been out on a mission recently, have you?"
"Hmm?" She looked puzzled, and he indicated her jaw. "Oh, that. Training, actually. Logan was giving me a test run and got a couple of hits in. You should see the bruise on my leg." With a laugh, she waved away his concern. "And not to worry - Logan was holding back, not trying to hurt me. Just the usual sparring contact, you know?"
He nodded, relaxing, though there was still some worry there. "I did not know he was working with your team, as well as ours."
"Mostly with Sarah, since, hey, matching healing factors. Those tend to change your fighting style and Logan's got a lot of experience." Amanda shrugged. "But he and Remy agreed any of us that wanted to get extra help could ask. I think Logan's at a bit of a loose end these days, since he... um, since he's not teaching any more." Amanda went with the more tactful version than "got the arse".
"That makes sense, I suppose. And you felt you needed this extra help?" He could play 'big brother' with the best of them.
"Something that came up talking to Dom, 'bout the job and taking risks. Which I don't," she added hastily, seeing Kurt had Big Brother Face on. "I told her I had all the combat ability of a Teletubbie, which is true. But the thing is, with what we do, and the limits on the magic at the moment, it's not a good thing, me having to be protected all the time. If we're short-handed and things go pear-shaped, I don't want someone getting hurt because they're babysitting me. So, I asked Logan for extra training."
Another nod, as he tried hard not to make this into an interrogation. "Just self-defence, or other combat skills? How is it going?"
Amanda squirmed a little. Argh, going into the scary ethical territory here. "The best defence is a good offence?" she suggested, then sighed a little. "I won't lie to you, Kurt, it's not just self-defence, tho' that's a good part of it. Logan - and Wanda and Remy and Pete, for that matter - they're teaching me to hurt people. The people we're up against sometimes... they're nasty bastards. And they don't fight fair. Fuck knows I won't kill anyone," Again "But if it's me versus the bastard with the powers who isn't going to stand there posturing like a good supervillain first? I'm going to do whatever I can to take him down so he doesn't hurt me first."
And with that, the sad smile was back. "Is it so necessary for you to go out in the field, with the others who already can fight? To face these enemies who do not fight fair?" It was an open question, the sense was. 'Yes' would be an acceptable answer, though he might want to know more.
"Sometimes it's necessary. When we're up against demons, like we were in Tennesee, or there's occult connections, like when Rom got taken, then believe it or not, I'm the expert. So I have to be there. The other times..." Amanda paused and thought, trying to frame her words so it didn't sound like she was driven by guilt. "There's a lot of nasty people out there, Kurt. And sometimes the X-Men can't do anything about them, for a bunch of reasons." In the seriousness of the conversation, she wasn't using her usual nickname of 'leather brigade' for the team. "Some of them are people like Selene. If there's anything I can do to help bring 'em down, stop 'em screwing over the little people, well... I'm going to do it." She gave him a small smile. "Even if it means sitting nice and safe in the comms van most of the time."
"I would be happier to know you were sitting in the comms van", he told her honestly. "But... I do understand, Amanda."
She poked her tongue out at him playfully. "And I'd be happier if you were sitting in a class room teaching German, but I know there's not a lot of chance of that. Not when there's world saving to be done." Her look softened. "But I appreciate it, Kurt. And I am careful."
"I could never just be a teacher", he said instantly, quietly. "But... I will not say I have never thought of finding another circus and going back to being an acrobat. More than ever, recently. But... as you say, there is world saving to be done."
"Forge said something to me once, when we were talking about me giving up the magic. He was saying, if you have a gift, it's your responsibility to make sure you don't waste it, use it to make things better for people." She reached over and lay her hand on his arm. "We're doing that, just in different ways."
He smiled down at her, tail-tip flicking up unconsciously to tap her other arm. "Yes, I suppose we are. For all it is very hard, sometimes."
