Nick and Kurt, Backdated to 10/1
Oct. 1st, 2017 01:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Nick and Kurt have breakfast and talk about mutations, school, theater, and being different.
Kurt picked up his tray and turned to face the mostly empty cafeteria. It was early into the breakfast service and he didn’t see any of the people he usually sat with. They were probably still sleeping. He knew when he’d left his room Bobby had still been sprawled in bed, his face buried in a pillow. The time change combined with the early hours he’d kept with the troupe was turning out to be hard to adjust from. Ah, well. He’d get there eventually.
With his tray laden down with eggs, bacon, and waffles topped with strawberries, Kurt went to one of the nearby empty tables. He sat down and dug into his breakfast, his tail leisurely flicking now and again behind him.
Nick was, well, he was hungry, often. He was a growing boy, to be fair, and one of the things that he'd liked about the kitchen. He was used to waking up early, because his mom liked to give him a nice, big, full breakfast before homeschool for the day. He missed his mom cheerfully announcing breakfast after getting dressed in the morning, but at least the homecooked breakfast aspect seemed to be preserved from the school. Spotting another mutant with an obvious physical mutation was kind of a relief, even if his appearance was a bit startling at first. Considering that they were the only two who seemed to be up this early, he headed over.
Their trays had similar burdens, though Nick's was stacked just slightly higher with waffles, and had the addition of sausage links. "Morning," Nick said, cheerfully, as he approached. "Mind if I have a seat?" he asked, figuring he should try to make new friends. That was one of the reasons he'd been sent here, after all.
Kurt swallowed a mouthful of eggs. “Please. There is plenty of room,” he replied, gesturing for the boy to sit. “Good morning. Ah, I see you could not resist the lure of waffles either.”
"Waffles are the best," Nick said, sitting down and grinning just a bit. "I mean, pancakes are great too. But... I just think waffles are better, I guess.”
“I could not agree more.” Kurt punctuated his statement with a big forkful of waffles.
"I'm Nick," he said, because he couldn't really think of what else to say. "I don't think we've really met." He'd seen Kurt around. It was impossible not to see people around, in this place.
"I am Kurt,” Kurt replied, offering a hand over to shake. “I do not think we have either. I am glad we can rectify that.”
"Yeah," Nick agreed, shaking his hand (and being mindful of his claws; Nick would hate to accidentally scratch someone, after all). "I-I don't know if it's like, weird for me to say, but... I'm glad I'm not the only one who looks, y'know. Different.”
Kurt smiled. “Everyone looks different.” He chuckled, though, and added, “But I know what you mean. Have you always looked this way?”
"Not always," Nick said. "But I have a hard time remembering really what I used to look like. I changed when I was eight. It... was kinda gradual," he said. And painful. He didn't want to talk about that.
“Ah,” Kurt said, not disappointed, but something close to the word. “I have always been this way.” He seemed to be the only mutant thus far where that was the case.
“Oh." Nick... honestly wasn't sure what to make of that. Or how to respond. "But... that's... cool, 'cause you've always had your powers," Nick said. "So you must be... really good with them, right? Like, super familiar.”
“Ach, no,” Kurt said with a wave of the hand that wasn’t holding a forkful of eggs. “The teleporting did not come until later. About two years ago now.”
"Then... that's exciting, right?" he asked. "Teleportation must be so cool.”
It took Kurt a moment to pinpoint the source of Nick’s discomfort—Nick felt sorry for him. He hadn't expected to find that you amongst other mutants. “It is alright, you know,” he said. “I do not feel any shame about how I look.”
"I-I didn't think you did," Nick said, honestly. "I-if you did, you'd use one of those... image... things, right?" he asked. "To hide it. I kinda... thought about doing that, myself. But I talked to my mom and she said that I shouldn't. She... my parents sent me here so I could be around people like me. People who'd understand me. I-I guess it's good to know you don't feel bad about how you look. I was kind of worried you did. I wasn't sure... how to talk about it, y'know?"
This, Kurt decided, was one of the many things that made Xavier's great. They could talk openly and honestly about their mutations. "Talk about it like it is normal, because it is," he said with a shrug. “There is nothing wrong with how we look.”
"Okay," Nick said, nodding. He'd respect how Kurt felt about it. "But is it cool?" he asked. "Teleportation?" he asked.
“Yes!” Kurt enthused. “You think of a place and then there you are! I love it! It made me queasy at first, but not anymore.”
"Do you ever like, do it on accident?" he asked, curious. "I-I know that when my fur was still growing in, I was starting to get my claws, too. And my skin hadn't thickened up much, so when I'd scratch, I'd.... well, y'know." He'd learned quickly. But it had still happened.
Growing fur for the first time had to be itchy! Kurt was glad he’d been spared that. “The first time I teleported it was on accident. My sister was about to get hurt—She’d fallen from the trapeze. She was too far away, but I reached for her anyway and then, suddenly, I was there, holding onto her. Of course, it meant, I broke her fall. I cracked three ribs, but it was worth it. I do not know if she would have survived it.”
Trapeze? "You were..." He thought for a second. "An acrobat?" he asked. Which sounded amazing, to him. "I mean, on top of being a hero," he said. Heroes saved people. It was what they did. Kurt had saved someone, and that made him a hero.
Kurt humbly waved a hand. "Ach, I did not do anything anyone else would not have done. I was an acrobat, though, yes. In a traveling circus.”
"I don't know. Some people might've been too scared," Nick said, not wanting Kurt to downplay his own heroism. "But a traveling circus? That sounds really neat," he said. "I went to the circus once when I was little, but I barely remember it.”
“It is the greatest place on earth.” Kurt’s expression and voice said more than words ever could. They were bright and warm with an open love and reverence. “The music, the performances, the stunt and sideshow acts… It is magic.”
Nick nodded, smiling. "I do remember it being magical," he said. "But other than that..." He shrugged. "I wish I could go again. Maybe with one of those image inducing things."
Kurt speared a piece of waffle and a juice strawberry with his fork. "Sure! Why not? They work really well. I have used one to go out.”
"It doesn't like, feel weird or anything?" Nick asked, idly pushing around a cut section of waffle through some maple syrup before picking it up. "I guess it's just weird that we have like, holographic projectors that we can carry around. It's totally sci-fi." Or maybe it was cyberpunk? Something like out of Deus Ex or something.
Swallowing his food, Kurt shook his head. “Not at all! I cannot even tell I am wearing it. I agree it is a little sci-fi, but then we also have superpowers and are going to a secret school… Sci-fi is relative.”
Nick had to laugh a little at that. "Wow, I guess, I never thought of it like that before." He grinned. Kurt was ... a really nice guy. And he made Nick feel relaxed, which was also nice. "I guess it really is relative. As long as it doesn't go dystopian, I think we'll be okay, too.”
Kurt laughed. “Yes, you are right there. No Hunger Games for us.”
"Yeah," Nick chuckled. "Those were good movies, though.”
“Good to watch, not to live,” Kurt replied, chuckling as well.
"Yeah," Nick said again, nodding. "So did you do anything other than acrobat stuff in the circus?" he asked, curiously and still interested in that topic.
Kurt shook his head. “I was only a trapeze artist. I did some behind-the-scenes stuff, like everyone else did, but nothing else on stage.” He smiled. “Honestly, I never wanted to do anything else.”
"I've never been anywhere that high," Nick said, chuckling a bit. "I dunno if I'd be scared or not. I probably would be. You must be really brave.”
“I will let you in on a secret,” Kurt said and he leaned in a little. “I was scared at first. That first time I was on the trapeze I was so scared my knees were knocking.”
"But you did it anyway," Nick said, nodding. "That's because you're brave.”
Kurt laughed. “Alright, alright, I am brave.” He posed dramatically like a movie hero on a poster, his hands on his hips and his head held high.
Nick chuckled a little. "The pose even looks right, and everything," he said. "You're a natural." He wished he was brave. Nick was certain that in the face of danger, he'd probably run.
“Acting,” Kurt said, again like he was confiding in Nick, “was part of the job.”
"So you're an actor, too?" Nick asked, sounding impressed. "I-is there like, a theater class or something that you're in?" he asked. "I-I've never thought about acting, myself, but I think it'd be cool if the school had like, shows and stuff. Theater seems really neat, since it's like movies but ... y'know. In front of you, live." He'd never been to the theater to see a stage play. He wanted to, though, now. It seemed like something he'd been missing out on, maybe.
Kurt shook his head. “No, there is not, but, you are right, it would be cool. We might need more students first, though.” He chuckled as he thought more on it. “I do not know if we have enough for a cast, stage crew, and a audience.”
"Yeah, that's true," Nick realized, nodding. "But I'd probably be cool with doing like, stage crew. Lights and stuff." It sounded neat. Probably involved computers. Or tech stuff. It would be neat to be a part of something, but he knew he didn't have the guts to go on stage. "I don't think I could act, though.”
“You never know! If it is something you would be interested in doing, it can never hurt to give it a try,” Kurt said as he swirled his waffle in some syrup. “But if it is not something you would want to do, that is okay too.” It was a moot point, anyway. There was no theater class or club. …Maybe he could start one, though. Something just for fun.
"I dunno. I mean, I guess, maybe," he said, indecisively, not sure how he felt about it. "If something ever happens, I guess I could find out if I was really interested in acting or not," Nick said, shrugging.
Kurt chuckled and gave Nick a friendly shoulder bump. “It is not a test, you know? You do not have to like acting.”
Nick grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. I guess that's true.”
Kurt putted an arm around Nick’s shoulder in a companionable hug. “Wunderbar! Now, what do you say to seconds? I think today calls for it.”
Nick had barely even noticed he'd finished off his plate, and nodded when Kurt suggested more food. "Sounds great to me," he said, glad that he could get more. He was so hungry, these days.
“A man after my own heart,” Kurt said warmly, then stood and headed toward the food line.
Kurt picked up his tray and turned to face the mostly empty cafeteria. It was early into the breakfast service and he didn’t see any of the people he usually sat with. They were probably still sleeping. He knew when he’d left his room Bobby had still been sprawled in bed, his face buried in a pillow. The time change combined with the early hours he’d kept with the troupe was turning out to be hard to adjust from. Ah, well. He’d get there eventually.
With his tray laden down with eggs, bacon, and waffles topped with strawberries, Kurt went to one of the nearby empty tables. He sat down and dug into his breakfast, his tail leisurely flicking now and again behind him.
Nick was, well, he was hungry, often. He was a growing boy, to be fair, and one of the things that he'd liked about the kitchen. He was used to waking up early, because his mom liked to give him a nice, big, full breakfast before homeschool for the day. He missed his mom cheerfully announcing breakfast after getting dressed in the morning, but at least the homecooked breakfast aspect seemed to be preserved from the school. Spotting another mutant with an obvious physical mutation was kind of a relief, even if his appearance was a bit startling at first. Considering that they were the only two who seemed to be up this early, he headed over.
Their trays had similar burdens, though Nick's was stacked just slightly higher with waffles, and had the addition of sausage links. "Morning," Nick said, cheerfully, as he approached. "Mind if I have a seat?" he asked, figuring he should try to make new friends. That was one of the reasons he'd been sent here, after all.
Kurt swallowed a mouthful of eggs. “Please. There is plenty of room,” he replied, gesturing for the boy to sit. “Good morning. Ah, I see you could not resist the lure of waffles either.”
"Waffles are the best," Nick said, sitting down and grinning just a bit. "I mean, pancakes are great too. But... I just think waffles are better, I guess.”
“I could not agree more.” Kurt punctuated his statement with a big forkful of waffles.
"I'm Nick," he said, because he couldn't really think of what else to say. "I don't think we've really met." He'd seen Kurt around. It was impossible not to see people around, in this place.
"I am Kurt,” Kurt replied, offering a hand over to shake. “I do not think we have either. I am glad we can rectify that.”
"Yeah," Nick agreed, shaking his hand (and being mindful of his claws; Nick would hate to accidentally scratch someone, after all). "I-I don't know if it's like, weird for me to say, but... I'm glad I'm not the only one who looks, y'know. Different.”
Kurt smiled. “Everyone looks different.” He chuckled, though, and added, “But I know what you mean. Have you always looked this way?”
"Not always," Nick said. "But I have a hard time remembering really what I used to look like. I changed when I was eight. It... was kinda gradual," he said. And painful. He didn't want to talk about that.
“Ah,” Kurt said, not disappointed, but something close to the word. “I have always been this way.” He seemed to be the only mutant thus far where that was the case.
“Oh." Nick... honestly wasn't sure what to make of that. Or how to respond. "But... that's... cool, 'cause you've always had your powers," Nick said. "So you must be... really good with them, right? Like, super familiar.”
“Ach, no,” Kurt said with a wave of the hand that wasn’t holding a forkful of eggs. “The teleporting did not come until later. About two years ago now.”
"Then... that's exciting, right?" he asked. "Teleportation must be so cool.”
It took Kurt a moment to pinpoint the source of Nick’s discomfort—Nick felt sorry for him. He hadn't expected to find that you amongst other mutants. “It is alright, you know,” he said. “I do not feel any shame about how I look.”
"I-I didn't think you did," Nick said, honestly. "I-if you did, you'd use one of those... image... things, right?" he asked. "To hide it. I kinda... thought about doing that, myself. But I talked to my mom and she said that I shouldn't. She... my parents sent me here so I could be around people like me. People who'd understand me. I-I guess it's good to know you don't feel bad about how you look. I was kind of worried you did. I wasn't sure... how to talk about it, y'know?"
This, Kurt decided, was one of the many things that made Xavier's great. They could talk openly and honestly about their mutations. "Talk about it like it is normal, because it is," he said with a shrug. “There is nothing wrong with how we look.”
"Okay," Nick said, nodding. He'd respect how Kurt felt about it. "But is it cool?" he asked. "Teleportation?" he asked.
“Yes!” Kurt enthused. “You think of a place and then there you are! I love it! It made me queasy at first, but not anymore.”
"Do you ever like, do it on accident?" he asked, curious. "I-I know that when my fur was still growing in, I was starting to get my claws, too. And my skin hadn't thickened up much, so when I'd scratch, I'd.... well, y'know." He'd learned quickly. But it had still happened.
Growing fur for the first time had to be itchy! Kurt was glad he’d been spared that. “The first time I teleported it was on accident. My sister was about to get hurt—She’d fallen from the trapeze. She was too far away, but I reached for her anyway and then, suddenly, I was there, holding onto her. Of course, it meant, I broke her fall. I cracked three ribs, but it was worth it. I do not know if she would have survived it.”
Trapeze? "You were..." He thought for a second. "An acrobat?" he asked. Which sounded amazing, to him. "I mean, on top of being a hero," he said. Heroes saved people. It was what they did. Kurt had saved someone, and that made him a hero.
Kurt humbly waved a hand. "Ach, I did not do anything anyone else would not have done. I was an acrobat, though, yes. In a traveling circus.”
"I don't know. Some people might've been too scared," Nick said, not wanting Kurt to downplay his own heroism. "But a traveling circus? That sounds really neat," he said. "I went to the circus once when I was little, but I barely remember it.”
“It is the greatest place on earth.” Kurt’s expression and voice said more than words ever could. They were bright and warm with an open love and reverence. “The music, the performances, the stunt and sideshow acts… It is magic.”
Nick nodded, smiling. "I do remember it being magical," he said. "But other than that..." He shrugged. "I wish I could go again. Maybe with one of those image inducing things."
Kurt speared a piece of waffle and a juice strawberry with his fork. "Sure! Why not? They work really well. I have used one to go out.”
"It doesn't like, feel weird or anything?" Nick asked, idly pushing around a cut section of waffle through some maple syrup before picking it up. "I guess it's just weird that we have like, holographic projectors that we can carry around. It's totally sci-fi." Or maybe it was cyberpunk? Something like out of Deus Ex or something.
Swallowing his food, Kurt shook his head. “Not at all! I cannot even tell I am wearing it. I agree it is a little sci-fi, but then we also have superpowers and are going to a secret school… Sci-fi is relative.”
Nick had to laugh a little at that. "Wow, I guess, I never thought of it like that before." He grinned. Kurt was ... a really nice guy. And he made Nick feel relaxed, which was also nice. "I guess it really is relative. As long as it doesn't go dystopian, I think we'll be okay, too.”
Kurt laughed. “Yes, you are right there. No Hunger Games for us.”
"Yeah," Nick chuckled. "Those were good movies, though.”
“Good to watch, not to live,” Kurt replied, chuckling as well.
"Yeah," Nick said again, nodding. "So did you do anything other than acrobat stuff in the circus?" he asked, curiously and still interested in that topic.
Kurt shook his head. “I was only a trapeze artist. I did some behind-the-scenes stuff, like everyone else did, but nothing else on stage.” He smiled. “Honestly, I never wanted to do anything else.”
"I've never been anywhere that high," Nick said, chuckling a bit. "I dunno if I'd be scared or not. I probably would be. You must be really brave.”
“I will let you in on a secret,” Kurt said and he leaned in a little. “I was scared at first. That first time I was on the trapeze I was so scared my knees were knocking.”
"But you did it anyway," Nick said, nodding. "That's because you're brave.”
Kurt laughed. “Alright, alright, I am brave.” He posed dramatically like a movie hero on a poster, his hands on his hips and his head held high.
Nick chuckled a little. "The pose even looks right, and everything," he said. "You're a natural." He wished he was brave. Nick was certain that in the face of danger, he'd probably run.
“Acting,” Kurt said, again like he was confiding in Nick, “was part of the job.”
"So you're an actor, too?" Nick asked, sounding impressed. "I-is there like, a theater class or something that you're in?" he asked. "I-I've never thought about acting, myself, but I think it'd be cool if the school had like, shows and stuff. Theater seems really neat, since it's like movies but ... y'know. In front of you, live." He'd never been to the theater to see a stage play. He wanted to, though, now. It seemed like something he'd been missing out on, maybe.
Kurt shook his head. “No, there is not, but, you are right, it would be cool. We might need more students first, though.” He chuckled as he thought more on it. “I do not know if we have enough for a cast, stage crew, and a audience.”
"Yeah, that's true," Nick realized, nodding. "But I'd probably be cool with doing like, stage crew. Lights and stuff." It sounded neat. Probably involved computers. Or tech stuff. It would be neat to be a part of something, but he knew he didn't have the guts to go on stage. "I don't think I could act, though.”
“You never know! If it is something you would be interested in doing, it can never hurt to give it a try,” Kurt said as he swirled his waffle in some syrup. “But if it is not something you would want to do, that is okay too.” It was a moot point, anyway. There was no theater class or club. …Maybe he could start one, though. Something just for fun.
"I dunno. I mean, I guess, maybe," he said, indecisively, not sure how he felt about it. "If something ever happens, I guess I could find out if I was really interested in acting or not," Nick said, shrugging.
Kurt chuckled and gave Nick a friendly shoulder bump. “It is not a test, you know? You do not have to like acting.”
Nick grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. I guess that's true.”
Kurt putted an arm around Nick’s shoulder in a companionable hug. “Wunderbar! Now, what do you say to seconds? I think today calls for it.”
Nick had barely even noticed he'd finished off his plate, and nodded when Kurt suggested more food. "Sounds great to me," he said, glad that he could get more. He was so hungry, these days.
“A man after my own heart,” Kurt said warmly, then stood and headed toward the food line.