Web hosting Custom Email SiteBuilder

Friday passed without incident, and Saturday morning found Veronica and Wolverine on duty to cook breakfast for the masses. Veronica had brought down a portable tape player and the music to "Legend" was softly playing in the kitchen. Logan had tried to get her to turn it off, but she'd begged him to just listen to a little of it and after a few songs, he decided it wasn't that bad.

"Now who's idea was it to make waffles?" he growled, trying to pry one out of the iron.

"They're nutri-grain waffles," Veronica interjected. "And I suggested these, because you guys won't let me and Rogue cook breakfast together any more." The one time the women were allowed to cook together, the only person that seemed happy about grits, skillet cornbread, scrambled eggs, ham and fried green tomatoes in red eye gravy was Cannonball. Artemis refused to enter the kitchen and everyone else made a serious effort to eat it, until the girls were informed that the meal had probably just cancelled out any healthy intentions everyone had for the day.

"Look, you know I don't mind the artery-cloggin' stuff, but ya made the Ruskie turn green with the tomatoes," Wolverine interjected. Veronica giggled. "An' Artemis damn near keeled over."

"I didn't know she was that strict of a Vegan!" Veronica protested. "Besides, had she come into the kitchen, Rogue and I made her some breaded okra and fruit."

"You two are a disaster," he grumbled as the first few people started trickling in to the room. "Okay, people, grub's on."

"Ooh...rabbit food,' Rogue offered, trying to smile as she examined the waffle Logan handed to her.

"Thank you!" Veronica cried triumphantly. "Score one for those of us that understand what real food is!"

"Dead animals are not food," Artemis argued, taking a plate from Wolverine. "Thanks."

Veronica grinned. They went rounds on this every time and Artemis always made the baited remark. "Well, if we're not supposed to eat them, why are they made of meat?" she asked sweetly.

"Cannibal."

"Mistress Mary, always conrtary." The girls grinned as they exchanged jabs at each other. "Go back to your garden and plant yourself."

"That didn't rhyme," Mirage pointed out.

"What did you expect?" Artemis quipped. "All that red meat is clogging the arteries to her teeny tiny brain."

"Peanuts are a good size," Kitty mock-defended.

"Yeah, thousands of Brontosaurus can't be wrong," Veronica grinned. "Neither were the carnivores."

"Aren't they all dead?" Artemis pointed out.

"Nobody's perfect, Sugah." The girls grinned. "After all, Ah think there's more meat-eaters out there than you vegetarians."

"And you're all dying at a faster rate," Artemis quipped.

"How 'bout a compromise?" Logan offered. "You veggies let us meaties eat our way into extinction an' when the other animals on the face o' the earth start fightin' ya for the plants 'cause there's too many of 'em, don't come cryin' to us to eat 'em."

Artemis mock considered the offer. "Deal," she agreed.

"Is it too much to ask to go through one meal without the moral argument of what we're supposed to be eating?" Illyana asked. "Let's just be thankful there's enough to eat at all."

"Amen."

"C'mon, you guys, better eat," Wolverine added. "This stuff tastes worse cold."

Kitty suddenly piped up, looking around the kitchen. "Hey, you guys, where's Fuzzy-Elf?"

"I dunno..."

"He was right behind us after practice..."

"A havenae seen 'im..."

"He had some stuff to do," Logan replied evenly, smiling a little as he noticed Veronica trying not to be interested in the conversation by studiously applying blueberries, one by one, to her waffle. "Who wants OJ?"

Veronica was finishing e-mailing a few friends and was about ready to boot up her research paper for British Literature when she heard a knock at the door. "It's open," she called, disconnecting her link. She glanced up to look at her visitor and blushed a little when she saw Kurt standing in the doorway. "Hey, Fuzzy. What's up?"

"Well," he replied, walking up behind her. "I was hoping to find you unoccupied. And if you would permit me a few hours' time..." He gently picked her up and teleported her out of the room.

"What in God's name are you doing?" she questioned as he opened a car door for her. She didn't think about what she was doing and got in. He shut the door and climbed in the driver's side. "I have a ton of homework to do and so do you, for that fact..."

"I can't tell you," he replied. "It would ruin the surprise." He smiled and pulled out of the driveway, calmly turning down Greymalkin Lane.

"What are you talking about?" she pleaded. "This isn't funny, Elf, come on!"

"And I told you, fraulien, I can't tell, because it would ruin the surprise," he repeated. "Now I was wondering if you could do me a favor and go into the backseat and change?"

"Change?" She glanced back. "Why do I...fine." She sighed and climbed into the back of the car and opened the box laying neatly on the seat. She opened said box and stared at the contents blankly for a few minutes. Inside, there was a dark purple dress. "Fuzzy...?"

"I hope it fits," he told her, not bothering to look back. He was too much of a gentleman to do so and patiently told her, "I figured the purple would look nice. I had a little help choosing it, since I was told the original dress I found was a bit long for the current weather conditions."

"Huh?" She stared at him, completely confused. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"I would like for you to change into the dress, if you would," he explained. "I promise not to peek; you have my word as a gentleman."

"On the condition that I get a good explanation later," she agreed, tugging off her shirt. "I hope we don't pass anyone; I don't feel like flashing innocent people." The dress was velvet; the cut was off the shoulder, fitted through the bodice to the hips, where it fell to a full skirt to the knees. The sleeves were long and it zipped up the back, which she had no problems dealing with, especially after all the years of costume changes and whatnot.

She also discovered a pair of black nylons and heels and she raised an eyesbrow with a grin as she pulled the stockings on. "Only for you, will I wear nylons," she teased.

"And I am duly honored," he said, smiling to himself. Maybe she hadn't been as angry with him as he thought.

"Hm," she said, examining her legs, then grinned, draping one leg over the seat. "What do you think?"

"I think I might drive right off the road if you leave that there, liebchen," he replied honestly, trying to keep his eyes on the road.

She grinned again and pulled her leg into the backseat and tried to sound annoyed as she playfully asked. "How'd you like these things wrapped around your neck?"

"That would depend," he replied. "On whether you would still be in them."

"I think that depends on how well you behave yourself," she purred in his ear, getting back into the swing of their verbal war. "You may end up with these things tied to your wrists if you're not good."

"Fitting punishment for a bad boy, nein?" he teased.

"Yeah," she answered, crawling up front again, putting the shoes on once she was seated again. "But I'm sure you'd much prefer what you'd get for being good." They never got that suggestive with their remarks at the school, figuring some of the other students, as well as a certain Headmaster would get rather offended. But now that they were off campus...

"And just what would that be?" he questioned.

"Oh, I can't tell," she purred, idly running a fingertip down the side of his neck. "It would ruin the surprise."

He tried very hard to keep his attention foccused on the road and suddenly remembered to switch on his image inducer. A few moments later, he noticed Veronica studying him critically. "Is there something wrong, schatzchen?"

She gave him a semi-ammused look for being called "pet" and replied, "So that's the infamous image inducer, huh?"

"Ja, this is it," he answered. He realized this was the first time she'd ever seen him with it on.

"Hm," she said, still studying him. She smiled and shook her head a little.

"Was?"

"Nothing," she told him. "Just a bit of a change. I'm used to seeing your fuzzy blue self is all." In all honesty, she found him more attractive without it, but she knew how touchy he was about being in public without it. In public? Wait a minute...

"Kurt, where are we going?" she asked again.

"Here," he answered, pulling into a resturant.

"The Flying Tomato Brothers," she read. "What are we doing here?"

"Well, I was figuring on dinner, since spontaneous displays of affection should wait until later..." he teased. Then, before she could make a comeback, he parked, got out of the car and hurried over to the passenger door.

Fortunately, she was still confused enough that she hadn't tried to get out on her own. He opened the door and extended his hand to her. "Milady?" She was still trying to figure out what in the world was going on and took his hand, stepping out of the car. As she glanced at him again, she realized he was dressed up as well and got all the more confused as they started walking toward the doors. What is he doing? she thought.

In the meantime, he glanced over at her, smiling a little at the confused look she had on her face. She looked absolutely beautiful in the dress and he was glad he'd asked Storm and Jean for their opinions. The forecast had called for cooler weather, but Storm had mysteriously insisted the weather would be warmer. He sent a mental thank you to her, realizing what she had been hinting at. The sky was cloudless and the temperature was in the sixties; rather warm for October. But back to Veronica...

She wasn't wearing any make-up, but as far as he was concerned, she didn't need any. Her hair was in loose curls, since she never really bothered to force it straight on the weekends and it was partially pulled up, her forelocks wrapped carefully in braids that clasped at the back of her head. He had talked Kitty, Artemis and Rogue into convincing her to do a little playing with her hair earlier that day and it had turned out perfectly. And he couldn't help but notice how perfectly the dress fit on top of it all.

As they were seated, she looked at him again and smiled, cocking her head to one side. "What are we really doing here?" she questioned.

"Having dinner," he answered, smiling. Her curiosity always got the best of her and he knew she was going crazy. "I've heard the fetuccini is very good..."

"Have I ever told you that you're a real brat?" she asked softly.

"Several times, I believe," he replied mildly. The tone of her voice was one he'd never heard before. He noticed she was blinking a little, studying the table cloth a little more intently that she should be. "And you have every right to do so, since you know what a horrible brat I am. Of course, you do realize that I was never this much of one before I met you." That did it.

Veronica started to giggle and managed to push back the sudden urge she'd had to cry. She'd never had anyone be so sweet to her and she couldn't understand why he was doing it. After the way she'd been pretty much avoiding him out of her own embarassment, but she knew he couldn't very well know that, she didn't know why he was being so kind to her. "Well, then I guess I should congratulate myself on a job well done," she quipped. "I take pride in my work."

During dinner, she smiled mischeviously, not knowing why the thought was running through her head, but she slipped off her right shoe as they talked and carefully started to snake her foot up his leg. He showed no signs of noticing at first, talking as if nothing were happening. Once she got to his knee, he cleared his throat and jumped a little, which made her smile and give him a quick wink. He gave her a look, which disappeared and his eyes grew wide as her foot slowly wiggled its way farther up his leg...

"Liebchen, was are you doing?" he asked, trying desperately to stay calm.

"Oh, I don't know," she said lazilly, moving her toes up another inch. "Maybe I'm just letting you know that you're being good so far. I didn't think you'd object to a treat, but if you want me to quit..."

"For now, that may be a good idea," he suggested gently. "It is very...thoughtful of you, but I may have a ahem problem walking out of here, so to speak..."

"Of course," she agreed sweetly. "How thoughtless of me. I'll wait until later to give you your treat." She moved her foot back down to the floor, making sure her stocking-covered toes still slid along the inseam of his pants the entire way.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" he playfully growled as they left the restaurant roughly fifteen minutes later.

"Hm?" she asked innocently. "Yes, dinner was wonderful. Thank you."

"That's not what I was talking about," he scolded, opening the door for her.

"Then what in the world are you talking about, schatzchen?" she asked innocently, sitting down. She gave him a mischevious smile and patiently waited for him to shut the door. He opened his mouth to make a retort, then smiled, shaking his head and he closed the door.

Just as he placed the key into the ignition, Veronica impulsively leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. She smiled at the look on his face and whispered gently to him, "Thanks, Fuzzy." He sat there for a moment, staring at his hand, not quite remembering just what he was supposed to do with it, until she reached over, placed her hand over his and turned the key. "That's how you do it, dear. Then you put it into gear and press down on the accelerator, and it starts going."

As they were driving to the next mystery destination, Veronica grinned and impulsively turned on the radio, which didn't help his concentration any. She let out an excited squeal and he identified Peter Frampton's "Baby I Love Your Way". She closed her eyes and sang along softly, "I can see the sunset in your eyes..." He suddenly realized why she had dreamed of being on Broadway; she had a lovely voice.

After a while, she tried caging him into singing along with the radio with her. "I couldn?t possibly ruin your duets," he objected.

"Aw, c'mon, Fuzzy, where's your sense of adventure?" she pleaded playfully. "Humor me."

She gave him a smile and his resolve melted. How did she do that? "I...guess," he agreed, giving her a smile. "I'll warn you, I can't carry a tune at all..."

"I'll help you carry it," she promised, giving his arm a squeeze. "Oh, Kajagoogoo," she giggled. "You can't screw this one up!" The look on his face made her laugh even harder as the chorus to "Too Shy" started.

"Mein Gott, this is awful!" he protested.

"Oh, I know," she laughed. "I grew up on this stuff when Mom wasn't home."

"Let's skip the singing, ja?" he pleaded.

"Oh, okay," she agreed. "But just this once. I will get you to sing with me if it kills you, though."

"Kills me, fraulien?" He glanced over and saw her grinning. "Kills me."

"Yep," she told him, then leaned against him. "So, where are we going now?"

"Not telling," he sniffed.

"Please?"

"Nein."

"Cootie."

"Would you like to go home?" he growled playfully. "We can stop right here, young lady and forget about your other surprise..."

"I'll be good," she promised. "Cooties later."

He raised his eyebrows and looked down at her for a moment. "Is that a promise, liebchen?"

She smiled to herself before she answered. "Yes."

She popped up and glanced around, looking at their surroundings. "Kurt, where are...?" She stopped as she heard the sounds of an orchestra tuning their instruments. "Oh my God, you didn't..." Her voice trailed off as she stared at him in mild shock.

He just smiled at her, got out, pulled a blanket out of the trunk and opened her door for her. He had just extended his hand when she suddenly jumped out of the car, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He was totally unprepared for it, but gently kissed her back once he got his bearings.

"You're welcome?" he half-questioned, a little dazed by the sudden action.

"You little...angel!" she squealed, hugging him. "Thank you!"

"Hm, from brat to angel in only a matter of an hour," he remarked to himself. "I don't know how I do it, but I really should keep it up."

"Oh, come on!" she insisted, bouncing up and down impatiently, grabbing his hand. "Let's go sit down!"

"Keep bouncing around like that, liebchen," he warned. "And I don't know if we'll get that far..."

"Oh, I'm sure if I keep it up we'll get plenty far," she intoned playfully. "Now come on!"

As they walked toward the area of the park that had been cleared for the quartet's performance, she quietly slipped behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek on the back of his shoulder, walking in stride with him. She was glad he'd "kidnapped" her for this; it was the one thing she'd been hoping to do, but had decided that there was too much homework to be done. She had no idea what in the world possesed him to do it, but she was grateful that he had.

They found a good spot and he laid out the blanket, then bowed to her, sweeping his arm over the blanket. "Your seat, fraulien."

"Danke shon, Mein Herr," she giggled, sitting down, waiting for him patiently.

"You know, I was wondering," he commented, sitting next to her. "Where you learned German."

"I took it back in high school with my friend Troy," she replied. "It was between German with him, Spanish with Drew or French with Elise. And since I didn't have any classes with Troy, I decided to take it. Kind of a silly reason, but we managed to drive Herr Klein nuts all four years. To study, we'd normally go over to his Grandparents' place and his Grandfather was constantly cursing and hollering in German, so we caught on pretty quick."

"And you learned more than you would have," he finished with a smile. "Including several phrases not approved by your Lehrer."

"True, true," she she agreed, starting to giggle. Suddenly, she leaned up against him again, resting her head on his shoulder. "We were really horrible. But Klein got over it and ended up letting us do a separate study project for a sort of honors thing and we translated some old folktales."

"So you were always a little hellion?" he teased, tugging at her hair lightly.

"Most of the time," she admitted. "What about you?"

"Oh, I didn't get away with much around my foster mother, Margali," he told her. "But I used to love driving our ringmaster, Franklin, crazy by practicing routines he would never have approved of after hours, then I'd perform them for the audience," he chuckled.

"See, you can't blame your brattiness on me," she insisted triumphantly.

"Is that a word?" he teased.

"In my world, yes, it is," she insisted.

"Ronnie, is that you?" They both looked up to see a small group of people standing a few feet away.

"Hey, you guys," she greeted with a huge grin, jumping up to hug a pretty blonde. "Where have you guys been?"

"Here and there," A red head answered.

"Trying to ignore Erik's bitching," a young man piped in from behind them. "I still don't see what you saw in him, Ronnie."

"Oh, shut up, Matt," she scolded. "Green is an unbecoming color on you."

"So, who's your friend?" the last woman asked.

"Oh, shit," she giggled. 'Sorry, Kurt, these are some friends of mine from Juliard. You guys, this is Kurt Wagner. Okay, here we go. This is Tansy Wayne..."

"No relation to either Wayne," the blonde offered with a friendly smile.

"Cherida McMasters..."

"Ronnie's partner in crime," she offered.

"Kimber Williamson..."

"Hi."

"Matt Dobson..."

"Okay, I like him better," the young man offered. "Just kidding. Hi."

"And the infamous 'Ice Cream Brothers', Ben and Jerry Anderson."

"Ironically, I hate ice cream," the elder, Ben voiced. "I'm Ben."

"And I'm Jerry, the cute one."

"You wish," Tansy teased.

A short conversation followed, until the girls suddenly decided to drag Veronica off. "I'll be right back, Kurt," she promised.

"By all means, liebchen," he called. "Have fun."

"So..." Cherida started.

"So what?" Veronica asked innocently.

"Is this your new man?" Tansy teased.

"I...I don't know; maybe," she shrugged.

"Well, is he the one that hung up on Old Whiner?" Kimber demanded. She'd never liked Erik and was thrilled that Veronica was no longer seeing him.

"That was a crossing of channels," Veronica insisted weakly.

"He was the one," Cherida confirmed.

"He's really cute, Ronnie," Tansy offered. "You two look really good together."

"You guys..."

"More importantly," Cherida commented, glancing over where the guys were talking. "Does he have a brother?"

"No shit," Kimber added.

"You guys," Veronica pleaded. "Come on, he's just a guy I'm in school with and we normally spend a lot of time goofing around together and stuff."

"I'd be fooling around if I were you," Cherida pointed out. "Come on, Merrill; I know you better than that."

"Look, really, there's nothing really going on," she weakly defended. "I mean, we have a practical joke war going on and we flirt a lot, but I don't think he's all that serious about it."

"And that's why you're out on a date with him?" Kimber pressed.

"This isn't really a date..."

"Are you two alone?" Tansy asked.

"Well, yeah..."

"Did you go out to dinner?" Cherida listed next.

"Yeah...I guess so..."

"Where?" Tansy questioned.

"Um...The Flying Tomato Brothers," she answered shrugging.

The girls exchanged a look. "And now you're at a concert in the park," Kimber pointed out. "If that isn't a date, woman, I don't know what the hell is."

"But I was just kind of kidnapped," Veronica pointed out. "I wasn't asked out at all..."

"Kidnapped?" Tansy asked, her eyes getting wide. "Oh, wow, that's so romantic..."

"Tans," Veronica warned. She didn't notice Kimber and Cherida exchange a look.

"Well, is he available then?" Cherida baited.

"No!" Veronica cried before she could catch herself. "I mean, I guess he is..." The three women burst into laughter.

"I was kidding," Cherida insisted. "Besides, he's evidently quite interested in you. We've been watching you two for the last ten minutes."

"Oh, thanks," Veronica muttered.

"Well, we didn't want to interupt," Tansy told her. Veronica raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, Tansy didn't let us," Kimber confessed. "She told us she'd kill us if we ruined your 'moment'."

"There was no 'moment'!" Veronica protested, blushing. "We were talking."

"Madame Jurypersons, your verdict?" Cherida asked.

"Nuts about him," Kimber stated.

"You two are perfect for each other," Tansy added. "Trust me; I could tell from five yards away."

"I agree," Cherida said. "Sorry, Merrill, you're guilty."

"Okay," Veronica admitted, flushing even more. "I like him. A lot."

Kimber and Cherida slapped palms. "Good," Tansy said genuinely. "I'm really happy for you."

"Just please don?t embarrass me, you guys," Veronica pleaded.

"Never!"

"Of course not!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!"

Veronica groaned and hid her face in her hands.

"Okay, you can have your girlfriend back," Kimber annouced as they got back to the blanket, ignoring the glare she got from Veronica.

"Come on, you three," Tansy insisted. "Let's leave these two alone."

"They might have more 'talking' to do," Cherida said with a grin. "And if you want, Ronnie, the loft is open. We don't have any plans, do we, girls?"

"Nope." Tansy and Kimber shook their heads a little too enthusiastically.

"Sorry," Matt said, standing up. "We hoped we were wrong, but..."

"That's fine," Kurt said mildly, trying not to grin at Veronica's bright red complexion. "It was nice meeting all of you."

"Cool," Jerry agreed. "We all need to go do something one of these days."

"Sounds good," Veronica agreed, motioning for the guys to keep the women quiet as she saw Cherida about ready to make a suggestion she was sure wouldn't be the type of thing to fall on the young ears of a family nearby. "See y'all later."

"Call us later!" Tansy called as they left.

"I am so sorry," Veronica appologized, still bright red. "They normally aren't that obnoxious."

"Were they?" he asked calmly. "I hadn't noticed." He had found the whole thing rather amusing, but he knew she was mortified by the group's behavior.

"Very funny," she murmured, sitting down next to him. "But I had it coming from them; I do it enough back."

"They're very nice," he insisted. "Interesting, as well; I had no idea Juliard was such a demanding school."

"Trust me, Xavier's is a bit more demanding in some ways," she pointed out. "We didn't start our days with combat training and the work load is a bit more diverse."

He agreed and they sat back to watch the concert when it started a little while later. They both sat somewhat cross-legged, Veronica in front of him, leaning back against him, resting her head on his shoulder, quietly listening to the music. After a while, she took his hand and wrapped his arm around her waist, still holding onto his hand. He hadn't been expecting it, but he wasn't going to complain at all...

Suddenly, a grin crept across his face and a devious idea formed in his mind. Slowly, he let his invisible tail (thanks to the image inducer), sneak around her ankles and she started to giggle.

"That tickles!" she whispered.

"Do you want me to stop?" he questioned in her ear.

"Well, I don't want you to tickle me..." she said. She was trying not to scream, because it did tickle like a mad, and... Her breath caught in her throat as the tail started snaking under the skirt of her dress. Paybacks are a bitch, she thought to herself. Just as long as he doesn?' get too... She bit her lip hard as she realized he planned on it. "Kurt!"

"Hm?" He grinned again and let the tail snake up higher, acting completely oblivious to anything but the quartet and the semi-conversation between them. He nearly yelped when her grip tightened on his hand for a brief moment and was a little surprised when her back arched slightly.

"I...oh, God, what are you doing?" she murmured, letting her head drop forward suddenly. Her back arched again and she pressed against him, trying to keep quiet. It wasn't very easy and she bit her lip again, only to discover it wasn't distracting her from what was happening in the slightest. She was shocked he'd even attempt it in public and she probably really should tell him to quit, but... She let out a quiet whimper and bent forward a little more trying to ignore the hand that was very slowly inching upward.

"Shh," he whispered softly, planting a kiss behind her ear. "There's children nearby, schatzchen."

"Then, knock it off..." she whispered back.

"Do you want me to?" he questioned seriously.

"I...no," she moaned softly, trying to keep her voice low enough that she wouldn't attract any attention. "God, don't stop..."

"As you wish," he murmured, trailing his lips down her neck. As gently as he could, he swept his fangs over her throat. He noticed a slight flush start to creep over her face, neck and down her chest and got quite distrated for a moment as his eyes wandered down to the neckline, which was starting to heave a little, as her breathing became erratic, catching in her throat. It was taking all of Veronica's self-control (and then some) to stay still for one and to not turn around and throw him down on the blanket as well, but she let the one hand she had on the blanket to dig her fingers into it, feeling the earth gouge under them. She clenched her teeth together as she started losing track of the music, but she didn't quite care and suddenly, her head invoulentarily snapped back, her eyes closed. Then, she slumped down as she caught her breath, thankful she hadn't cried out and slowly laid down, resting her head on Kurt's lap, glancing up at him. "Sehr komisch, Kraus."

"I wouldn't call it funny, fraulien," he teased. "But I found it rather enjoyable."

"And I have something else to thank you for, huh?" she asked, snagging the front of his shirt, pulling him down for a kiss. "And trust me, I definitely thank you."

He returned the kiss and lay down next to her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes, listening to the music. Then, he disentangled one hand to hold the one of hers that was resting next to her head and was rewarded with a playful squeeze. He slowly glanced up at the sky, which was slowly getting dark, watching the stars start to appear.

After a while, the concert ended and everyone started to leave. They didn't really notice and just lay there talking, watching the sun sink lower on the horizon. They still had a little time left before they were due back at the academy, and there was no real rush from either of them to get up.

"...and so I called Elise, Troy and Drew and made 'Lise open it," she said, telling him about the day she'd gotten accepted to Juliard. "I didn't want to read it if it was a rejection, because it was my birthday, and she read it, and I saw her face go stark white, which is a real feat for someone of Irish desent. "She didn't say anything, and handed it over to Drew. I just about broke Troy's hand, because I had no idea what was going on and forced him to read it out loud, regardless, because it was driving me nuts. And there it was in black and white, Juliard letterhead, the whole shebang...Welcome to the realm of the talented." She laughed a little, shaking with the memory. "It was the greatest day of my life, because I knew then that it wasn't just luck that had gotten me all the roles I'd had.?

?" would have told you it wasn't just luck," he assured her. "I'm willing to bet you're a wonderful actress."

"Are you always a smooth talker?" she teased. "Because as memory serves, you've never seen me act."

"Sure I have," he insisted. "Just about an hour ago, as memory serves. You covered beautifully."

"Well, thank you for your expert review," she giggled. "And speaking of, I think I still owe you one, don't I?" She leaned forward and kissed him before he could say anything.

Some time later, Kurt suddenly sat up and looked at his watch, realizing the sky was dark. ?Zum Teufel!?

"What?" she cried, sitting up next to him, smoothing down her skirt, crossing her arm over her chest, trying to hold up the top of the unzipped dress.

"We?re late," he cursed, trying to tuck his shirt back in and zip up his pants.

"By how much?" she asked, reaching around her back, zipping up the dress.

"We should have been back ten minutes ago."

"Ten minutes?" she asked, arching her eyebrow, stopping her frantic dressing.

"Ja, come on," he insisted.

"Ten minutes?"

"That's what I said," he told her. "Mach schnell, liebchen!"

She folded her arms across her chest and had no intention of moving. "Uh-uh."

"What do you mean, 'uh-uh'?" he half-screamed.

"Just what I said, Elf," she repeated patiently. "How long is it going to take us to get back to the school?"

"About a half-an-hour," he replied. "If we hurry, maybe less."

"Then why hurry?" she asked, standing in front of him. "Late is late, Kurt. And if we are, let's at least make it worth being punished for, okay?" She smiled and started unbuttoning his shirt again, planting kisses along his chest. "And while we're at it, why...don't you...turn off...that...inducer..."

"What are you doing?" he asked, trying to button his shirt again.

"Trying to make us late," she said coyly, pushing him back down onto the blanket. "Would that be worth it?"

About ten minutes later, when they came up for air, she giggled a little and asked him, purposely speaking as closely to his ear as possible, "Well?"

"Well what?" he questioned, trying to get his thoughts back in order.

"Is it worth it?"

"I..." he stammered. "Ja, definitely. But maybe we should go somewhere to at least call and maybe get something to eat; I don't know about you, but I'm a bit hungry..."

"Good idea," she purred, tugging at the waistband of his already open pants.

"What are you doing!?" he gasped, not daring to look down.

"Well, if you don't know..." she giggled, her voice trailing off. "I guess I'll have to show you, won't I?"

"Uh..." A slow smile spread across his face. Never mind.

At about three o'clock in the morning, the couple pulled up to the garage of the school. They had eventually stopped at an all-night diner and had a few cups of coffee, still talking about several subjects. Actually, it was Kurt who did most of the talking because of Veronica's pleas to hear about growing up in a circus.

They wandered in quietly and as they were about to say good night, a light clicked on in the next room. "Finally home, Miss Merrill, Mr. Wagner?" Magneto said sharply, walking into the entryway. "As I do recall, you were both due back on campus at midnight, making you both...three hours and seven minutes late."

Veronica started to open her mouth to say something; what, she wasn't sure, but at least... Kurt suddenly stepped in front of her, gently reaching back to take her hand, giving it a light squeeze of reassurance. "That would be our mistake of losing track of time," he said quickly. "I am truly sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," Veronica said softly, not daring to look up.

"I am sure you both had a good time," Magneto observed. "But it is very late and I suggest you both go to bed for now, in your own rooms, and I will be expecting you both in my office at six o'clock, where we will discuss what disciplinary actions will be taken against you."

"Yes, Sir."

"Ja, Herr Direktor."

"Good night." Magneto turned around and abruptly walked away without another word.

"Fuck," she whispered inaudibly. "God, Fuzzy, I'm sorry; I should have listened to you when you said we needed to get back."

"Nein," he told her. "We would have been late anyway, you were right. And I can't say it wasn't worth it, because it was. Every moment of it." She smiled a little and blushed as he took her hand again and started leading her up the stairs. "Come on, I'll walk you to your room."

As they got to the top of the stairs, she abruptly stopped and pulled him over to a corner, concealing them both in shadows. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around his waist and burried her face in his chest, closing her eyes. He returned the embrace, planting a kiss on the top of her head, then gently coaxed her out into the hallway again and walked her to her door.

He stopped and gave her a quick kiss then said softly, "So, um, well, I was just wondering, liebchen, if I'm allowed to call myself your boyfriend, now."

She smiled quietly, kissed him again and sweetly replied, "No."

"No?" he choked, staring after her as she opened her door and stepped inside.

"You haven't asked me out on a date yet," she pointed out and blew him another kiss before shutting the door.

"Damn, damn, damn," he muttered to himself as he walked to his room. On the way, Wolverine was walking back to his own room.

"Finally back?" Logan grinned.

"Ja," Kurt half-snapped.

"Date go that bad?" the older man questioned, wondering what in the world had gotten his friend's fur up.

"Nein, nein, it went wonderful," Kurt told him. "A truly magical evening."

"So what's up? Aren't ya happy ya got your girl?" Wolverine asked.

"That's the thing, mein freund," Kurt sighed. "I don't."

"What? Why not?" He knew damn well Veronica had the same feelings for his friend, so what was the problem?

"Technicality," Nightcrawler muttered and stalked off to his room.