xp_logs | Ororo and Kurt | Sunday morning (Reply)

Ororo goes to check on Kurt in the morning bearing coffee and friendship. After some initial reluctance he opens up a bit to her and is pleasantly surprised by her reaction.

Just to warn you, he'll be a little hungover. Ororo had kept this in mind when putting together a tray of breakfast for Kurt - tea, coffee, toast, a little fresh fruit - nothing too aromatic or adventurous for now. She only hoped that he would be able to eat something... while she wouldn't shirk from holding back her friend's pink-dyed locks if he needed it, it wasn't exactly the way she wanted to start her morning.

He was slower in opening the door than usual, and distinctly bleary-looking, but relatively steady on his feet. "...good morning, Ororo."

"Good morning, Kurt," the silver-haired woman said with a warm smile. "I thought perhaps you and I could share some breakfast, since I seem to have far too much for just myself." She wasn't even trying to hide her concern as she searched his face, relenting only once she satisfied herself that he was all in one piece. So to speak.

The only physical injury he had from his adventure with Forge and Marius was the bruise on his cheekbone, but the night's drinking hadn't helped much with the obvious fatigue. "Come in, please. I will take some breakfast, yes."

"Wonderful."

It didn't take long to set up the tray and dishes on the small dining table in the suite; Ororo only hesitated a moment before pouring them both mugs of the strong, steaming coffee she had brewed in her office not long before.

Kurt watched her quietly, back deliberately to the window and the light coming through it. "Thank you for bringing it", he said eventually. "Especially the coffee."

"You're quite welcome. It is not often I get to share my own stash with people - most complain of it being too strong," she said with a small smile. "But I thought it might not be unwelcome today."

"I favour strong coffee in any case", he said determinedly lightly. "It comes of growing up on the clan's cookpot brews, I think."

"That would certainly do it."

"So how are you today, Ororo?" He made for a chair to sit down, rather than betray the sudden slight sway as his headache stabbed.

"I am well, thank you. It is a beautiful day outside." She considered opening the window to let in the slight breeze she knew was playing about the mansion but refrained; she was already being disruptive enough just being here and making him eat. "I think later I may go for a flight above the lake."

"That sounds very pleasant", was the polite response as he settled down and reached for the coffee mug. "Perhaps later I will go outside myself."

'Ro nodded, sipping at her coffee. "It has been an eventful past few days for you," she said, finally broaching the subject at hand. "Some relaxation would be a nice change."

"Longer than a few days, unfortunately", he admitted. "And I will be returning to the clan soon. There will be relaxation there, perhaps."

"Perhaps." Her head down, Ororo selected a piece of fruit from the platter, taking a bite of it and chewing thoughtfully. When she finished the slice she looked up again, still thoughtful. "Kurt, you know if you wish to talk about anything, I would be happy to listen. Anything at all."

"There is much I could talk about", he allowed. "But I do not know what to begin with, or how much I even can tell others in some things."

"That is, of course, up to you. But you must know that whatever it is you have been through, whatever you need to get off your chest, your friends here would do their best to understand. Perhaps we have not been through the same experiences, but we have certainly been through our own and would only be sympathetic to what you say."

I do not know", Kurt said slowly. "If it were just matters with the clan... but it touches on Mystique, too. I cannot ask you to understand that part."

"I am your friend, Kurt," 'Ro reminded him gently. "You can ask a great many things of me."

"I spoke with Logan yesterday, about her among other things. He wanted to make it clear he would not hold back in a fight with her just because of who she is."

"I think there are very few people Logan would hold back against because of who they are. If he thought it was for the best... well. I understand that must be a difficult thing to hear."

"I know who she is to the rest of you", he said quietly. "And I know she has done awful things, I will never deny that. But to me, she is the first blood family I knew for it, and the only who has known they were and not rejected me."

Ororo nodded her understanding, setting her mug on the table and reaching across it to put a hand over Kurt's. "We do not want to hurt her. Despite anything she has done, if we were to encounter her our goal would not be to hurt her, or destroy her... we only want to ensure that she answers for the things she has done. Perhaps she might even learn from it, and change."

"I told Logan that if I must, I would kill her myself. And I would, but only in the most extreme necessity. If I can save her from what she does... then I must do that, too." He couldn't quite put it into the most simple words for what he meant.

"Of course, Kurt." He had proven before that in a choice between Mystique and the team, he could and would choose in favor of his mother's safety and freedom. She had no doubt he would again if the situation demanded it. "She is lucky, to have a son like you. Many would not be able to see past the broad picture."

"She has proved herself as far as I am concerned, too. She cares for me, I know that, and she has protected me more than once. She has earned what I would do for her, just as she has earned the justice you would take to her."

"Then I hope one day she finds it. Redemption, or justice, or both."

"I can only hope so too. But she has her cause, as we have ours."

"True," Ororo murmured. And no matter how much she disagreed with Mystique's cause, she wouldn't berate Kurt for it.

"And I love her", he said simply, finally finding the nerve to say it out loud. "She is my mother."

Surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly at all, Ororo merely smiled and squeezed Kurt's hand at this pronouncement.

He blinked, having not expected that at all. "I know she may betray it, as she knows", he continued quietly. "But she would not be the first family to do so. And I do not believe she will."

"I hope that you will never be put into the position to find out," she replied, know that it was a futile wish but meaning it nonetheless. "But if you are, I hope that she proves worthy of your love and trust. For your sake, if not her own."

Kurt nodded, looking at her directly. "Thank you, my friend."

Giving his hand a final squeeze, Ororo smiled and sat back once more, nudging the plate of toast closer to him. "You are welcome. Now, if you will just eat something, my mission here will be truly accomplished..."

Kurt chuckled and reached for the plate. "If it will make you happy..."