Jean and Kurt meet again

[x-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

Jean was curled up on the floor, back resting against the wall and knees tucked under her chin with her arms wrapped around her. Ororo had had to go and work but had let Jean stay up in her attic hide away - it was calm, and quite, and most people didn't come up here very often. And those that did tended to also appreciate calm and quite, which was nice. The last of the medical files Jean needed to read to be caught up were spread around but currently she wasn't reading them. In retrospect, she realized that putting off all the really hard ones had been a bad idea, but she hadn't been up to facing them. In a pile on the left were the ones she had finished - Elisabeth, Bobby, John, Kitty, Jubilee, Theresa, Charles - it had taken her hours to get through them, and the tear tracks were still visible. Medical files told stories to someone who knew how to read them - stories of pain and tears and fear, and stories of jubilant successes, none of which she had been around for. To her right were the only files left. Marie, who was gone. Illyana, who had lost her childhood somehow. Scott. She didn't know if she could face Scott's pain right now. So instead she sat, and stared at the greenery around her, and thought.

She was still there when Kurt arrived in the room, choosing to teleport directly in rather than taking the stairs. He was there, as she was, for the peace and quiet of the place. Seeing her, he stopped where he 'ported in, then approached her slowly. "Jean?" he asked gently, not wanting to startle her.

The bamf and the smell of sulphur had alerted her to a presence before he said anything, and when he called his name it was clear that he knew her. Turning to look, it took her a second to remember. His face was absolutely familiar - would be impossible to forget, head wounds aside - but she hadn't known him long enough for his name to be on the tip of her tongue. It didn't take long, though, and a small smile ghosted onto her face. "Kurt, hello."

He smiled back, tentatively. "Hello."

"It's good to see you," she said. "I'm glad you've settled in here. You're teaching... gymnastics, right?" She had all this knowledge of what had happened but no personal experience. At least part of that was because she was still a little frightened of seeking out people. But maybe that was because almost every time she did she ended up either crying or screaming.

"Gymnastics, circus skills, and some German", he confirmed. "It is... more than good to see you back."

That solidified her smile. "Thank you," she said. "It is wonderful to be back." Not really unreservedly wonderful, but she definitely was glad to be back, both in the mansion and in her own mind. "How have you been?"

"I have been very well", he answered with a sudden bright smile. "This place has become home, since I arrived."

"I'm so glad to hear that. That has always been Charles' goal - giving us all a home, a place where we are accepted and safe." She uncurled, shifting so she was sitting tailor style, not looking quite so defensive. "His dream, I guess, or part of it, anyways."

He smiled to see her relaxing. "That, I believe, is the most easily achieved part. And we have succeeded in it here, for the most part."

"The most easily achieved for some," Jean mused. "There are always some who will resist the idea that they can be accepted and safe anywhere, or resist Charles' ways. John, for instance."

"I think even John has come to accept what this place can be", Kurt answered. "He stayed voluntarily, after all." He'd censored that slightly, unsure how much she knew about John's time with the Brotherhood.

"You mean he came back voluntarily," she corrected him, her smile wry. "And there have been others who weren't entirely comfortable here." Her hand indicated the files. She had been quite surprised to learn that not only had there been a massive influx of new students, but that some of them had already left. Students who's entire time at the school she had missed. "Sarah Morlocke, for one."

Kurt returned the wry smile. "No, I mean stayed. He did not come back conscious, if truth be known. And yes, Sarah was one of our more troubled students. But I understand she is happy now. Living in Tokyo, the last time we heard from her and Shinobi."

"Shinobi... yes. Now there was a surprise. Charles will adopt anyone, in theory I always knew that, but the youngest Shaw, and now Ms. Maximoff..."

"They are not to blame for the actions of their parents", he said quietly. "They have both done good work, in their time here. And they are or were here for sanctuary from their fathers, as much as anything."

"Oh yes, I quite agree and understand. That does not make it any less of a shock." The wry smile returned. "Although it was more a matter of one more shock among many. I... I have missed much."

"A lot has happened indeed", he answered with a nod. "Have you begun to catch up on the events while you were gone, then?"

"Some," she replied. "I've been able to put together much from the medical files, and have heard a few of the stories behind them. Although, there is one thing I'm curious about. Maybe a dozen files have notations in them about long absences over the last summer that doesn't actually reflect the dates of their last exams and something about... Asgard?"

Kurt chuckled. "Ah yes. Asgard. That is... difficult to believe." He took a breath and continued, deadpan, "The students and staff those files refer to were, as far as we can make out, abducted by a Norse god into another dimension."

Jean rested her elbows on her knees and settled her chin on her clasped hands. "Ah..." she said. "Now that sounds like a story."

"A long one, and I am not sure I know all the details. It started on a mission referred to as Firefountain - a volcano in Iceland that had started affecting the local inhabitants. Giving them powers, but taking something from each in exchange. Imagination, that kind of thing. And the team sent to investigate put a stop to this. Which, it would appear, annoyed the one responsible. Loki."

She nodded slightly, softly biting at her lower lip as she processed this. "I see..."

"And so he took all the participants and spectators of a school softball game."

Jean smiled slightly. "Ah, the traditional 'no powers' power brawl that is any sporting event at Xavier's."

Kurt grinned slightly. "Indeed. Complete with those who try to surreptitiously get around the no powers rule, of course."

She snorted. "When they're being good they're surreptitious about it," she told him. "I think my favorite was the year that, because her team was down ten to four, Ororo rained out the softball game."

He laughed. "I wish I could have been around when you were all students. It sounds like fun."

"It was," she said, her smile brightening, then slowly fading. It had been a long time since she had been as carefree as she had been back then, and she wondered now if she would ever have that sort of peace and comfort again.

He looked at her sympathetically, reaching out but not quite touching her. "You are home again, now", he tried to reassure her, quietly.

Jean took a deep breath. "Yes," she said softly. "Yes, I am."

"And all will be well."

"Eventually," she agreed, although there was far less certainty in her voice than there had been in Kurt's.

He gave her a worried look, but nodded. "Will you be staying for a while?" he asked gently.

"Forever," she whispered, so quietly he almost couldn't hear it. "This is my home." The smile was gone and she looked like she might cry as, inside, she cursed her lack of control.

He hesitated, since they'd barely met even before her "death"... but she seemed to need it badly. So he held out his arms, offering a hug. "Of course."

As much as Jean ached for the physical contact, she knew that if she accepted the hug she would start crying. Instead she simply shook her head slightly, managing a weak smile. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm not... Things have been... It's difficult."

He nodded sympathetically, withdrawing. "I can only imagine. But as you said... you are back now where you belong."

Deep, calming breaths. "Yes," she agreed, mostly. "It's the transition bits that get you, you know. Change."

"It is hard", he agreed softly. "I remember when I first arrived here..."

Jean looked up at him, focusing more solidly on the hear and now, thankful for the distraction he offered

"I do not think I spoke to anyone who did not come to me for nearly a month", he admitted ruefully.

Jean smiled, although it was not a cheerful smile. "Well, given you found me hiding up in the attic..."

"It has been barely a week since you returned", he reminded her. "Give yourself time."

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she nodded. "Yes. Patience being a virtue, and all that." She glanced around the room, suddenly remembering where they were. "Oh, heavens, were you looking for Ororo? She's not here..."

He smiled reassuringly. "No - I like to come here myself. But I never object to company - or the kind of company who would come here, at least."

Jean smiled back, then glanced down at the files. No. Not now. She flipped them over onto the other pile and stood up. "Well, I'm glad to be company," she said, "and to have it as well. Particularly company which can tell me stories." The smile widened into a grin. "So, what stories do you have from two years of Mansion life? It is impossible to live here without gaining a few."