'You don't have to do this' Kurt glances nervously at Amanda. 'After the... Sauerei with your family I'd understand if you wanted to stay away.'
'Don't be silly' Amanda tightens squeezes his arm encouragingly. 'They'll come around, eventually -'
'- when you'll have a new boyfriend-'
'- and I really want to meet your family, Kurt. I am serious about this, and I want to know the people important to you.'
'Thank you' he smiles sheepishly, and although still having clear reservations drives them towards the Westchester mansion.
Since Kurt doesn't have a car - him having a mutation that allows him to teleport freely, and thus not being in actual need of one - he has asked Scott to borrow his to have something to pick Amanda up with. She is thankful, because this way she doesn't have to walk the length of the very lengthy driveway that leads up to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
The first glimpse of the mansion takes her breath away, and even Kurt, who sees it daily, admits that it is a sight to behold with the lazy afternoon sun caressing the old walls and birds bathing in the fountain. The clouds are pristine white above, and it all has a sepia-toned feeling, like the premises of the school are of a past, peaceful time - not that there ever was one to begin with, and not that the mansion doesn't have its very severe defense system, unseen to the outsider eye.
He grins at her.
'Okay, that's bigger than I thought. You know, bigger than on TV' she say, and he has to agree. TV doesn't do justice for it, not by far.
Even though having reassured him countless of times that this is what she wants, Amanda still clings to Kurt's arm as soon as they're out of the car and on the front stairs. The front doors aren't locked, just closed: it's a peaceful Friday afternoon, and the defense system of the school would lock them if they sensed an intruder, and so Kurt simply holds the door open for Amanda, and they're inside.
Kurt has told everyone that morning that he'd be bringing his girlfriend home for dinner, out of courtesy of course, and also to give the others a chance to disappear if they want to. They live in relative peace with humans, and it's not a rarity anymore to have human friends and family over, but the Professor is rightfully protective of his students and wants to grant them a place wherein they can be safe. The catcalls and wolf whistles following Kurt's announcement have meant that everyone was okay with Amanda coming over, but Kurt is still a bit surprised to see the entrance hall packed with people.
On the stairs leading to the upper floors Kitty and Rogue are having a shouting match, something about a borrowed but not returned top, but it's quite hard to make out with their voices raised like that. Rogue is taking off her gloves the next moment threateningly, and Kitty immediately disappears through the stairs to avoid touching the other girl. Scott, meanwhile, is on the downstairs telephone with Alex. The Professor allows them to make long distance calls on his landline, since it's being paid for anyway due to his need to attend to urgent calls from all over the world.
Storm is watering the plants on the high windows by levitating herself at their level and having a fluffy blue raincloud pouring down over them. Bobby and some of the kids are apparently having an ice sliding competition somewhere on the lower levels of the staircase, if the blocks of ice randomly hanging around and the loud, whooshing sounds and cheering voices are anything to go by. On the second floor, nearing the Professor's study they encounter Dr. McCoy carrying an alarmingly poisonous and radioactive-looking liquid, judging by the neon green light and random bursts of sparkles coming from the flask, Beast himself wearing nothing but a white lab coat and protective glasses over his usual blue fur.
Not how Kurt imagined Amanda first seeing his natural habitat.
To her credit, Amanda herself just holds on to his arm tightly, waves back enthusiastically at Scott, sidesteps Dr. McCoy to avoid colliding with his scary substance, and doesn't actually start running and screaming about never seeing Kurt again.
He releases a breath he didn't even knew he was holding. Yes, discrimination against mutants is illegal, and Amanda has been especially accepting of his blueness and tail and ears and the whole teleporting business, but seeing the whole lot together can be a bit too much - even for mutants. A literal manifestation of the devil in blue fur is easy to take compared to the craziness of a Hogwarts-like school of mutant teenagers and adults, unashamedly living their admittedly not everyday-like everyday lives. But Amanda takes the entire package well, and soon they're inside the Professor's study, accepting cookies and tea and making pleasant small talk that somehow never seems pointless around him.
Amanda and the Prof got on well, but it's nearly impossible to be on his bad side if you are as kind and lively as Amanda. She seemed a bit surprised at first, because Charles Xavier at first glance is nothing but a harmless middle-aged professor in a wheelchair, without the charade of the reporters and official hearings to give him away - when in reality he's one of the most powerful people on Earth.
So they talk, and the Prof is genuinely interested in Amanda, and not just in an adult way. He doesn’t care about her family or studies… well, see, he does. He totally does, but he’s not demanding to know what she wants to be when she grows up and he’s not judging her for her choices. He’s listening, immersed as she talks about her recent decision to start knitting, and he admits that her favorite dish - any kind of sea creature, really - is low on his list of food he likes. It’s not an interrogation, or an “if you hurt him I will hurt you” speech, which, Kurt knows, is not the Prof’s style. The Professor is genuinely interested in Amanda both as an individual living being and both as Kurt’s girlfriend.
Amanda, in turn, is charmed by his britishness and the endearments he calls her, just like most people are, and the worry she has earlier admitted to Kurt about not being able to keep up with a mind like his seems to be vanishing already. The Prof can be a showoff, true, but if there is one thing he hates it’s making others around him feel inferior.
Kurt has been certain, and glad to be right, that they would find common ground easily.
He has doubts about saying the same thing about Amanda and his other family.
Lunchtime comes soon, but before they're ready to go Kurt needs to get something off of his chest.
'Professor?' he asks. The Prof immediately senses that this is important, and piercing blue eyes turn to look at him, rapt with attention.
'Yes, Kurt?'
'Uhm, I was. Wondering. About introducing Amanda to my parents?' he makes it sound like a question, because he... he doesn't know what to do, or how to do it.
Amanda nods at him thankfully, because she only knows half of his story and doesn't understand what this exactly means, but she takes it for the proof of trust that it really is.
The Professor looks thoughtful.
'I see why that bothers you, Kurt. If you're interested in my opinion...'
'I am.'
'Well. I think Azazel will be all right with Amanda. He is naturally accepting, although sometimes... brusque. Don't take him too personally' he advises Amanda, and she nods gracefully. 'Your mother, Kurt, is a different matter entirely. She is very protective of the ones she loves, especially now that she's just gotten you back. And of course, there's Erik.'
Amanda raises her eyebrows in question, while Kurt leans back - trying for nonchalant and failing miserably.
'Must he know about Amanda?' he grumbles.
'He will, whether you want it or not. Raven will no doubt inform him, if not Azazel. However-' and he has to raise his voice to stop Kurt from interrupting, '-however, I can talk with him about this. I can't promise that he will support you two, but I can present the matter to him in a way that might make him actually think about it. But I'd not bring Amanda over, be that as may.'
'No' Kurt shakes his head in agreement. 'I didn't even want him to know.'
'That, I'm afraid, is out of the question. But I suggest taking your parents and the lovely Amanda for dinner to that mutant-run restaurant downtown, the Grapes of Xinomavro. While it may take them out of their usual working environment, it would also take the issue away from Erik. You should also leave the holo-watch, and show up in your natural skin - if your parents see that Amanda accepts you as you are, they will also accept her more easily, especially in a mutant-dominated establishment. And if I were you, I'd make the introductions sooner than later, because they will find out either way, and it would be easier to turn things to your way if they heard it from you.'
Thin lines appear on Amanda's forehead in lieu of worry, or just because she sees the way Kurt's tail is lashing back and forth behind him.
'Yeah, okay, Professor. Thank you.'
The Prof flashes a beaming smile to them.
'It was my pleasure, meeting you, Amanda. I hope we see each other soon again.'
'Yes, thank you, Professor, likewise' she blushes as she shakes his hand.
'Don't be afraid of Kurt's parents. Show them that you like Kurt, and they will like you' is his parting advice as they leave for dinner with the rest of the school.
They meet again the next day in front of the library, in which Kurt has no intention of actually going, but Amanda intends to study even on a Saturday. He hasn't asked his parents yet, because he needs some things for Amanda to know first.
She must know something's up because she doesn't hesitate to ask right after they sit down on a bench.
'So, do you think your parents will not like me?'
He's so taken aback that he's speechless for a moment. Or three.
'No, it's not... I mean... I don't know?' he stammers after a while. She takes pity on him.
'Is it because I am human?'
'Probably.'
He's blue again, or still, because he hasn't put the holo-watch back on after yesterday evening. He's in his normal skin nearly always when he's with Amanda, anyway. He's in his normal skin mostly when he's not in school, come to think about it. His tail is whipping back and forth slowly.
Amanda takes his hand in hers.
'Well, at least I'll know what it's like to be treated differently just because of what you are born' she jokes lightly, but it falls flat as they both look at her dark skin.
'Look, I haven't been honest... okay, no. I was honest, I was just... leaving out parts of the story, I guess.'
'I'm all ears if you want to talk, Kurt.'
'Well yeah I just... I didn't tell you, because I was afraid it might, uhm, scare you, but now I have to, because it'll make things awkward otherwise.'
'Okay' and she looks so earnest he has to wonder at his luck again, for finding someone like her.
'So you know, I was really small when my parents had to leave me in Germany because it would have been too dangerous otherwise?'
'Yeah, you told me - it was the time when that stupid Act first surfaced and mutants had to fight for their rights.'
'Yeah. And my parents, they both have visible mutations, my mother is blue and my father has red fur and a tail, and I was born blue as well, so they were afraid that if things turn out bad I'd be in danger. So they gave me to this farmer couple and came back to fight here. I remember them from back then, but it's all blurry but I know they loved me, and I had a nice life in Germany, my step-parents loved me too... ugh. I'm derailing. Sorry. My parents, ugh... they didn't think that the Professor's way of peaceful coexistence was the way so they joined Magneto's side.'
Amanda's eyes go wide. Magneto's not the same radical mutant now that he used to be, but there are crimes to his name and blood to his hands and his followers', and everybody is very aware of that.
'I might understand now why it will be hard for them to like me' she says quietly.
'No, yes, I mean the Prof was right, you know, my dad's relatively accepting of everything. He'll like you. My mother, though... when the Act was cancelled and the Prof opened his school I got an invitation to join, and my step-parents agreed that I should start school and be with my peers, especially if they're mutants. But when my mom found me she was furious that I hid behind my watch and pretended to be human. She said this is what the Prof is trying to do to every mutant, making them hide who they are... she and the Prof had an aggressive blow-up and I only was allowed to stay in the mansion because by that time I have made friends there and didn't want to leave.'
He doesn't say that his mother took her time to understand that his physical appearance had cut deep trenches to his self-esteem and he needed both the holo-watch and time to accept himself first without worrying about the acceptance of others.
'So now she'd want to make sure that I'm not forcing you back behind your watch?' Amanda murmurs.
'Yes. Probably. Also, she, uhm... the Professor calls her Raven, but I think only he does that anymore - her name now is Mystique.'
'Oh my God' Amanda pales as realisation dawns on her. 'Then Erik...'
'Is Magneto, yes. Well. For now. I used to call him Uncle Erik, you know.'
She chokes on her next breath. 'What!'
Kurt blushes, and he knows he looks purple under his fur. He has that in common with Dr. McCoy.
'Well, you know... you probably don't know. It's not exactly public, but she is actually the Professor's sister. Adopted, I mean, obviously, because when they were like ten or something they met and the Prof had her adopted... they actually introduced each other as siblings before she decided to go with Magneto. They were like a family of three for a while, so now they're... uncles. Of mine. Apparently.'
Amanda shook her head.
'Wow. That is actually. Wow. I mean. The fact that your family consists of the most famous mutants, yes, and you call Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto Uncle Charles and Uncle Erik - but also the fact that your mother decided to leave the Prof for Magneto. I mean, why?'
Kurt shrugged wistfully.
'It's not my story to tell. I wouldn't go for the Brotherhood, you know. I prefer the Prof's way, but... in real life they're not as... political as on TV.' Kurt seemed thoughtful for a while. Some passersby gave him an odd look, although whether it was because he seemed frozen mid-sentence or because of his blue fur was hard to say. 'Okay, that's not true. They totally are. But Magneto, he can be nice. He really liked me when I was a kid, too, I remember. And my mother and father, they don't like to talk about politics at the dinner table, and they're not as radical as they seem. I really think they'll like you, Amanda. You are wonderful.'
'Oh shut up' Amanda kissed the dopey grin right off of Kurt's face. 'So what should and shouldn't I do at this lunch of yours if I don’t want to piss them off?'