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[x-dazzler.livejournal.com]

Set on last Sunday, sometime after Kurt went to Church. In Storm's greenhouse in the attic ~ Alison and Kurt have a quiet, peaceful sort of chat.

If all of the strength and all of the courage // Come and lift me from this place // I know I could love you much better than this // Full of grace

Kurt was to be found, on this particular day, sitting in Storm's greenhouse in the mansion attic.  He spent a great deal of time there, when he needed some time in quiet to think, since hardly anybody else ever visited the room, and he wasn't sure some of the newer arrivals even knew it was there. 

Although he hadn't been taking part in the latest debate on the journals, he had been keeping up with everything that had been publicly said, in case anyone wanted to talk to him about it.  In this as in most things, he tried to make himself quietly available to listen or give advice when it was asked of him.

But for now, he had chosen to surround himself with silence and the smell of growing things.  He found the greenhouse lent itself very well to contemplation, providing a place to get "back to nature" without leaving the mansion.

The door leading to the attic was already open, giving Alison the chance to find her way inside without being given away by any noise, although she could tell Cain's most recent raid into fixing things up had extended here – the floor door had a new pulley system and had apparently enlarged somewhat, to let him fit through to fix things she expected. Taking a deep breath she smiled a bit at the smell of the plants and earth so typical of the room. She didn't come here often, but each time she did it was the same. Nice and soothing, and when Ororo was present there was sometimes coffee or tea waiting for whoever wandered in.

Walking deeper into the greenery and entirely used to the incongruity of a miniature forest inside the mansion, Alison peeked down some of the 'paths', blinking when she spotted Kurt silhouetted against the large window at one of the far ends of the room. "Hey there!" she called out, before even thinking about it, wincing as she realized she may have been interrupting a quiet moment for him.

Kurt looked around and smiled when he saw who it was, having no particular objection to company, though he hadn't been seeking it out either.  "Alison, hello!"

It was clear from his expression that all was good, so Alison picked her way towards him, careful to nudge a hanging bundle of leaves out of her way now and then, as necessary. "How're you doing, twinkletoes?" she asked him, grinning a bit at the old nickname. It had been literally ages since they'd been dancing, although dance classes resuming had been fun. "Oooh, this is nice," she murmured, the sun already pleasantly warm and welcoming she discovered after a few moments of sitting on the large windowsill with him.

Kurt grinned back, reminded of their evenings out.  "I have always thought so.  It catches the sun very well.  And I'm very well, thank you.  How are you?"

She pondered that for a few moments, considering the events of the past week. "Not bad. Good right now, even," and she didn't add that she was tired because that wasn't quite it. She felt just fine, although she supposed admitting to some emotional weariness wouldn’t have been an exaggeration. "A lot's been happening, lately." There, that said it somewhat better.

Kurt nodded, understanding.  "I have been reading the journals... and perhaps there is more, that has not been so public?" he finished speculatively, watching her face.

Betsy. Scott. Lorna. A more, too. Still. Some of that was good. It balanced out, she supposed, even though she knew she'd have to do something soon, for Betsy. Somehow. "Yeah," she admitted, smiling a bit sheepishly at him. She didn't really care about what the way some had tried to tell her to shut up for doing what she thought was right – she and Scott were okay and that only proved her own faith in their friendship and the balances of it, after all. "Heh. Wasn't this complicated when I was on tour, and that was a soap opera and a half, let me tell you."

He smiled back, a little ruefully.  "There are more people here, and many of them younger, than those you knew on tour, I imagine.  And even leaving the students aside, we have so many people here.  There are bound to be conflicts." 

"Well, more of them younger, anyway, Maybe." Her lips quirked, but she didn't go into the fact that the adults were being just as silly at times, really. "And yeah, I understand that there's bound to be conflict." She pried her shoes off with her toes, letting them fall to the ground, and stretched out her legs on the windowsill instead, nudging him just a bit so she could stretch out properly. Nice quiet talks were to be treasured, no doubt about it. "Peace and quiet is very, very nice."

Kurt shifted aside to give her space, leaving her leaning comfortably against him.  "This place is good for that", he offered.  "Very few people come in here, or while I have been making use of it, at least."

"Mmm. I think Ororo does something to the place." And there was always just something relaxing about just lazing in the sun. The wind bustled in lightly from one of the open windows nearby, causing some of the leaves to rustle pleasantly. "Not to mention that it's generally just plain calming to be around you." Safe. That's what it was.

He smiled quietly, tail curling around her waist in a wordless offer of that safety.  "I'm glad.  That I can help you even a small bit."

She gave him a somewhat worn look, although there was a smile on her face and no attempts at warding her feelings from his sight. "Safe haven, twinkletoes. That's what you are." She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she closed her eyes for a moment, before re-opening them. "You know that if you ever need anything..."

He nodded, the smile on his face warm and affectionate.  "I know.  If I should, I will ask... and the same goes for you.  Perhaps we could go dancing again, if you need some time away from the mansion?"

The wording of his sentence caught her attention and she shook her head, grinning at him. "Kurt, I'd go dancing again with you just for the dancing and spending of time with you! Getting away from the mansion hasn't a thing to do with it." She nodded firmly, a gleam of anticipation in her eyes, already pondering which form to select from the image inducer.

Kurt laughed, glad to see her looking happier.  "I'm very pleased to hear it.  Would Miles like to go too?  I am sure we could find a partner for him so he can start to learn... perhaps one of the new little girls?" 

Alison's eyes widened and she started laughing at that, shaking her head. When she finally regained her breath, she wrinkled her nose, a laugh still escaping her now and then. "Didn't you know? Girls have cooties." She paused, smiling wickedly. "Although I bet we could get him to go along with it if Lorna needed company."

Kurt chuckled, highly amused, and returned the smile.  "I had only thought someone closer to his own height might be better.  But if you think he could successfully dance with Lorna, that would work too."

"It's more of a question to get him to agree to dance with a girl at all," she chuckled softly. "Although I apparently I don't count in that particular category." She leaned back a bit and grinned up at him impishly. "He likes older women. And Lorna could stand to go out too, just to have some plain old fun."

Kurt looked at her mischievously.  "Well, of course you don't.  You are his mother, you get a category to yourself."  He nodded at the last, eyes sparkling.  "I think that is a very good idea.  Would she be easily convinced?"

"I'll just send Miles to ask her, I think. He'd be all for it and he's been trying his best to cheer her up himself." It hadn't been easy and Miles had nearly fretted himself sleepless more than once, truth be told. Only Alison's many promises that Lorna wouldn't be alone and they'd take care of her had helped soothe the worse of his worries.

Kurt nodded again.  "He has a good heart.  Always worrying to care for the people he loves."

Alison hugged herself tightly all of a sudden, sadness creeping into her eyes. "How did he do it, Kurt? All those years of abuse and – how did he stay so-" she shook her head, looking for the right words. "Full of grace. So full of grace."

Kurt wrapped his arms around her without hesitation, as well as his tail.  "It is a gift.  And he was brought into a good place early enough to save it.  But more than that, he has great strength."

She leaned into the embrace, nodding slowly, throat too tight for her to speak and refusing to think back on what she knew of Miles' life – and what she knew only too well he hadn't told her yet. So many things he still wasn't able to talk about, just now. "He wants his birthday to be on the day we found him in that cave."

Kurt nodded, holding her close.  "It makes sense.  The first day of his life here, in a way, even if he was not physically here yet."

"New beginnings," she remembered Miles explaining to her why, shoulders relaxing a bit at the memory. A good memory. Happy, even if a bit bittersweet. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed, enjoying the quiet company and the sunlight wrapping around them.

(Many thanks to Kate, for socking Kurt!)