driftfleet | Windrose Mingle

If he remembers. [That's what keeps it from being a comfort, the possibility that even the Big Bad Wolf would be subject to whatever's done that makes them forget. Otherwise it would be a balm to his grief, like the stubborn hope that kept him going through both wars.

Winn, Winn is another story. That project would begin here, before the amnesia that affects the ones who go home (and something about that strikes him as odd, but he pushes the thought aside for later.) True, their captors could inflict it anyway, but the project being an on-going one suggests perhaps they can't. In the time it takes him to consider, Kurt's breathing steadies, though his voice is still thick when he asks:] Think he'd like a little help?

If he does... [There's not promise and she knows that. His world also might just not connect to Sascha's or if it does it could take him a century to find him. But watching people die is such a helpless feeling with so little to be done about it other than hope for the impossible. Even Winn... She has a lot of faith in him and it's not like he's working alone, but it's a tall order.]

Of course he would. [And from a teleporter? Who knows.]

I'll speak with him soon, then. [Only the knowledge that a breakthrough won't happen in a night, and the knowledge that he's needed here, keeps him from seeking Winn out right now. Even their McCoy took decades to scrounge together a way home, and Sascha has survived longer than any of them.

The memory of seeing Sascha's eyes hollow of their joy has Kurt drawing a slow breath against the urge to cry.] You know, I never thought I'd see the day that I wished our McCoy was here. Although I suppose the other one, from the world I spent time in, would know what he was doing as well.

Soon is good. [They never know what will happen next here. Who will leave next. But it can't be Kurt and it can't be Winn. It can't.]

Why would you want him here? [What possible reason could they have for letting him live under any circumstance? She assumes it must have to do with Winn's plan, but he can't possibly mean letting that sociopath alter Kurt's genetics.]

[Unfortunately that's close to what Kurt has in mind. His initial thought was having witnessed McCoy semi - successfully use technology advanced enough to literally drive a man insane in order to get them both home. But that would require explaining why he had to throw his lot in with that sociopath, however temporarily.]

You saw as well as I what he was able to accomplish with Clarice. My abilities have always been decidedly more stable.

I saw what he accomplished with a lot of people. [And a lot of it wasn't pretty.] If you think I'd let him come near you no matter what he was promising, you've lost your mind.

You're just now noticing? [Despite the joke, Kurt's voice is tight, his jaw momentarily shifting to a stubborn set. Then he sighs, and the tension drains from his face.] It's a moot point, Kitty; he's not here, and I doubt this McCoy would even if he had the knowledge and my pwrmission.

[She's just frowning at him for that "joke."] That's part of what makes him not a sociopath.

[Her expression softens.] Hey, I don't want out of this by sacrificing the people who mean the most to me. Sascha wouldn't either.

[Kurt leans down to press lips against her forehead.] I know. But I couldn't live with myself if I left him to suffer just to save my own skin.

Just leave the last resorts until last. [Maybe it is selfish. She wants Sascha back too. And even if he's not with her she wants him somewhere he can be happy. But she needs Kurt even more. She's not a girl who believes in happy endings anymore. She knows the odds of her, Winn, Kurt, and Sascha ending up in National City with good lives is something she can't even calculate. None of that seems real, but as long as she's reaching for the impossible she wants the full, unabridged dream.]

Hell, Kitty, do you think I have McCoy in my back pocket? [The words are soft, punctuated with a twitch as the rhetorical question brings to mind the young Raven's deplorable taste in men.] I won't throw my life away kätzchen. Still have you to look after, don't I?

I doubt you even have a back pocket. [Is this an apology? Close enough. She looks at him thoughtfully.]

For the rest of our lives. I'm a lot of work. We die together of old age while sparring.

Of course I do. Wrath needs somewhere to rest her hands.

[The smile he offers is worn and more than a little wistful, but genuine.] Not exactly how I'd pictured going out, but not a bad way to die. I would be happy with that. [A pause, and then he shakes his head.] Gott, you old. You know, I can still see that fey girl with hair like a dandelion and eyes like a moonless night, clear as day.

There's a mental picture. [As if she hasn't become the queen of PDA with Winn.]

And I can't imagine who you're talking about but she sounds lovely. I was a broken mess of a thing. [She was stronger than she remembers, but also deeply marked by her parents' murders and time in hiding.]

Don't pretend you don't love it.

[Kurt snorts inelegantly.] Of course you can't. You're a brat of a woman, Katherine Pryde. Clearly none of us kicked your ass enough.

I love the idea of you happy. [Too real?]

Jerk. [Better?]

And maybe you didn't kick it enough because you couldn't. [You left out stubborn and sassy.]

She does make me that. [And if occasionally he has to remind himself not to love her too deeply, or if he stares at his wedding band and wonders if Linda would have ever forgiven him for finding someone to soothe his broken heart, it's enough.]

Atrocity.

Please. I could still turn you into a pretzel, but then your boyfriend would get jealous.

[See that first part? It warms every corner of her heart. She responds in the most emotionally mature and productive way she can.]

Teleporting disaster.

And jealous? Really? I am concerned about all of your fighting techniques now.

[Have the most obviously fake look of outrage ever.]

First you insult my powers, and then you insult the ~~Armstrong~~ Darkholme fighting techniques. Keep it up, I'll have to duel you for my honor. Or Wrath will.

[He should probably not grin at that thought.]

[She returns a positively unaffected look.]

After that jealous comment I'm just afraid you'd enjoy that too much. No wonder sparring with me takes you out.

You're going to fault me for enjoying the prospect of watching my--Wrath fight? You know what kind of man I am, Kitty. You know the types of women I'm attracted to.

Yes. Non-redheads. [Said as if she thinks that is the only criteria, but she's mostly kidding. Honestly, she'd never really given it much thought. She didn't see him in that light often. Always a flirt certainly, but it's not exactly like relationships happened much for the X-Men during her time unless they happened between teammates like her and Piotr. She missed him being with Emma and his wife although she's heard about both since.]

Have you guys gotten over pretending your not in a relationship yet?

(OOC: Let me know if any of that flies in the face of your headcanon. Easily changed!)

I'm a bit pickier than that. [Kurt pulls a face at her, briefly.

The expression fades when she asks about Wrath, his lips thinning as they press together.] Kitty... We keep each other company when we're lonely.

I think you feel more than that. Things have a way of turning into more even if they weren't meant to. [Thinking back on how things grew with Tyki. On the plus side, Wrath isn't evil. Of course, Kurt isn't Kitty either, and she doesn't really know what he's like in relationships outside of teammates but she feels like she's right about this.]

[Kurt simply stares at her, eyes unblinking and wearing a shuttered expression. He considers telling her exactly what he did for love and vengeance; manipulating Logan to get the full resources of X-Force on his personal vendetta, then literally stabbing him in the back for the promise of vengeance for his wife. Manipulating a version of his own mother to the same ends, ruthlessly using her desperation for a child that loved her and then leaving once he'd healed.

He's still considering it when he opens his mouth.] You'd better hope you're wrong.

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No it's exactly what i assumed.

<3

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