❧ 002 [video]

[shadowblends]

[When the TAB first flickers to life, all that's visible is an intricately scarred cheek with just the slightest peek of ivory fangs past blue lips. There's the faint sound of something shifting about and finally, Kurt comes into full view.

He's sitting on the edge of an old stone fountain, his tail swishing back and forth behind him, a grin plastered across his face.] I know very little about this holiday, but I've read a few things in an attempt to try and understand better.

[Meaning that he has forgone all the really romantic and couple-esque things about 'Valentine's Day' or whatever they would be calling it on Thisavrou.]

Giving chocolate to someone you like is traditional and I have more than a few friends and other people that I enjoy being around, so ... [He reaches over to pick up a small black box and pops the lid off of it, revealing the candy inside.]

Who wants some chocolate? [A soft laugh follows shortly after his inquiry as he replaces the lid and clutches the box to his chest, smile somehow broadening.]

I'm more than willing to deliver it, too.


(ooc: cw for anyone that decides to read the thread with kurt and j. [mentions of self-harm, internalized transphobia and ... self-loathing?])

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[shadowblends]

[Thankfully, he doesn't fumble too much with shutting the TAB off after she winks at him; it's an easier way to hide his blush and not only that, but he's literally moving down the hallway only a few minutes later.

Kurt clutches the box to his chest, takes a deep breath and picks up the pace of his walking before BAMF'ing into the room where music is flowing out. He has to admit that he's relieved to see J dressed this time, considering their last run-in had been ... well, somewhat awkward, but he's going to do his best to not let that hinder him any.]

You look nice today, miss J.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[Despite the fact that she used to live with a teleporter for months she still manages to be startled by Kurt suddenly appearing into her room. At least Sans had always been very quiet, not even making a whisper when teleporting into a room. There had never been a cloud of smoke or smell of sulfur either.

But the moment of surprise is luckily very short lived and J recovers in a blink of an eye, grin spreading on her lips.]

Glad that you like, blue. Not too shabby yourself either. [Her voice is soft as she speaks and there's a small flirtatious gleam in her eyes. She sits down on the bed, leaning back and crossing her legs.]

Did you bring me something?

[shadowblends]

[The blue boy is extremely observant - so much so that he's able to catch the hint of surprise on J's face, but he's polite enough to not mention it. No reason to embarrass them both, right? Sadly, there isn't much he can do about the lingering scent of brimstone in this room; his own usually smells sweet, since he burns incense in there to cover it up and the smoke will go away ... eventually.

J smiles at him and Kurt returns the gesture, doing his best to maintain eye contact for the moment.]

Oh, thank you, [he murmurs, lifting the arm not holding the chocolates so he can tug at the collar of his shirt. To be honest, he feels like he's dressed rather plainly compared to her. He moves a couple of steps forward, shifting to take the box into both of his hands and offer it out to the poised woman in front of him.]

I did, ja. [So far, so good ...]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[The more bashful and visibly embarrassed he gets the more does it boost her own confidence and smugness. Seems like her curious looking guest still remembers their last meeting when he accidentally stumbled upon an intimate moment she was sharing with Peter. J's not one to care about such things, which only made this awkwardness even more hilarious to her.

She crooks her finger, inviting him to come closer as he takes the shy steps and then extends her arm to take the box of chocolate from him]

Thank you. My first Valentine's chocolate in this world.

[shadowblends]

[As long as he doesn't think about the last time they'd happened to 'meet up' in this room, he should have no problem getting through this and going right back to his other 'deliveries', as Badou had so eloquently put it. Kurt hadn't seen anything ridiculously indecent, but it had still been a bit awkward.

He continues toward J, briefly eying the gesturing of her hand then drawing his attention back to her face as he's allowing the candy to be taken. His hands withdraw, tucking behind his back at the base of his tail.]

You're welcome. I hope that you find them enjoyable.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

I'm sure I will. [She chirps at him as she takes the box from him, quickly stopping to take a look at his hands as her eyes catch glimpse of the marred skin and sharp looking nails. When the hand is hastily yanked away from her sight she looks back up at his eyes with more curious look.]

Care to fetch me my cigarettes? They're on the table behind you.

[shadowblends]

[Although, he hadn't kept his hands up for long, Kurt notices J examining them and does his best to not flush. Their eyes meet again, then he turns to peer over his shoulder at the aforementioned table, nodding stiffly toward her request.]

Ja, sure. [He pivots on the ball of his foot and moves to the pack of smokes on the table, plucking it up to bring back over to J.] Here, [he offers, voice still softer than necessary.

It's none of his business, but he can't hold back the anxious comment:] You shouldn't smoke, miss J.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[Setting the box of chocolate down next to her on bed J reaches for the offered pack. With casual flick of her thumbs she opens packages lid, revealing several multi colored cigarettes inside.]

And why is that? [Her voice is more nonchalant and uncaring this time. Kurt definitely isn't the first one say that.]

[shadowblends]

[Multiple colored cigarettes are something he's never seen, but he decides that isn't important right now; J's asked him a question and he'd much rather answer that than wonder what the appeal of smoking is.]

You'll ruin your pretty skin and destroy your lungs. [Unsurprising that he isn't the first, though Kurt probably sounds more concerned than most people.]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

That so? The last person threatened me with a cancer. [She says, sounding half amused as she's obviously not going to give that warning any attention.

She picks up a cigarette with dark green color, which finds it's way between her painted lips. She also pulls out another one, this time blue colored and offers it to him.]

[shadowblends]

That's also something that could happen. [Kurt won't argue or cause a scene; it's J's choice to smoke and he's already put in his two cents.

When she offers him one of the cigarettes, though, he shakes his head and tucks his arms behind his back.] No, thank you.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[J puts the cigarette away. She's not all that surprised that he declined the offer, not after the warning words.]

It's a funny thing, though. I've smoked for years and my skin is still soft and beautiful as you know. [She winks at him teasingly. Though the time they had actually touched each other had been everything but soft and gentle. More like, J's palm meeting his cheek.]

But you're Catholic, right? My mom is one, too.

[shadowblends]

[Oh, he remembers their first meeting well; him moving to catch her before she could end up sprawled in a pile of dead bodies and his cheek stinging for hours afterward, although he hadn't been upset about it.

No, he'd understood why J had reacted that way.] I didn't mean that your skin isn't-- [He sounds like a fool with all this pausing and stammering, but he isn't sure what to say half the time he's around her. The wink doesn't help lessen the flushing of his cheeks, either.]

I am, ja. What does she think of your smoking habit?

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[Well, to be fair she's playing him on purpose. Nervous teenage boys will never stop amusing her and lot of his reactions actually reminds her from Peter when they had just met. Just as awkward and stumbling.]

She'd probably say I'm going to hell. [She says with a shrug, again not really giving any weight to that opinion.] But I'm going there for plenty other things already.

[She spins the unlit cigarette between her fingers for few times and then suddenly takes a deep breath in, brings the end of the cigarette close to her mouth and blows to it. In her breath there's two sparks that are barely visible but still enough to light the tobacco. After that, flips it and puts the other end back to her mouth.]

Like for eating candy. You know that sugar is evil, right?

[shadowblends]

That's a bit harsh. [Blunt, but true. Kurt wouldn't damn anyone to Hell for smoking; it's a choice and honestly, there are far worse things that people could be doing besides poisoning their lungs. Doesn't mean he has to approve, though.] What makes you say that?

[His eyes watch the stick of tobacco, following the way it moves through J's fingers and is brought up to her lips. Brilliantly colored irises dilate at the cigarette being lit by tiny flares from her mouth. He'd assumed that she had some sort of powers, considering she lived with them in the mansion, but he hadn't seen any abilities in action.]

It's not necessarily evil. The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid any kind of excess with our vices, whether food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Even materialistic things.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[It's harsh, that's true. But such was the nature of her mother. Harsh, strict and disciplinary woman who only trusted the power of the God while fearing his wrath. Not even as a child J could buy that mindset and the figure of almighty father in heaven stayed as distant and untrue to her. It also worked better that way when she had to find herself.

But his question makes her take her eyes off from the cigarette, a curious and unspoken question stepping in her expression where tease had just been a second ago. Now, she can't help but wonder what all did he even see when he appeared to Peter's room last time. But then again, it didn't matter that much. She had done plenty of things, back at home and on Moira, that could easily land her on hell rather than heaven.]

Various things. I'm pretty sure I've committed every sin that you can think of. [And so the confident and playful tone returns to her, it's back in the curl of her lip and lightness fo here voice. She picks the chocolate box again, opens it and takes out one piece of delicious looking treat.]

Is it not? You think that temperance can beat the greed and gluttony. That it won't only lure you towards other carnal pleasures and hedonist sins.

[shadowblends]

[In his defense, he hadn't expected them to be ... well, in the position that they had been, considering he didn't know what exactly J and Peter were to each other at the time. Now, he knows and knocking is going to be his preferred method first, since he wouldn't want to end up in that situation again.

Kurt takes note of the curiosity in J's eyes, although it's gone just as quick as it had come and he shakes his head, reaching one hand up to rake through his bi-colored bangs.]

We all commit sins, nobody's perfect. [Doesn't matter how much they claim to be or act like they are. There's the slightest lift of the edges of his lips at the return of J's self-assured poise, the smile broadening a bit when she takes a chocolate from the box.]

I can't say what exactly will lead others toward that, but what I do know is that I can control my own actions, which means that I can pray for others to be directed toward happiness and things that will help them flourish in life - no matter what they believe in.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

Ah, well that's just perfect then! [She laughs an announcement an pops the sweet chocolate inside her mouth. She bites down on the candy, and enjoys as the rich, strong and delicious taste fills her mouth with big and exaggerate gestures.]

Please, say little prayer for me so I can keep up sinning. Who knows, maybe it'll do the thing. [Is she making fun out of him? Maybe.]

[shadowblends]

[He's a bit taken aback by the comment enunciated with her laughter, but he clears his throat, straightens his posture and flicks the end of his tail closer to the spot between his shoulder blades.

And even if she is making fun of him, Kurt either doesn't catch on or he's legitimately this sincere:] I pray for all my friends, miss J. You deserve to be happy, too.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[She smacks her tongue few times before swallowing the chocolate. It's not necessarily the most ladylike thing to do but she's just having too much fun. Just how oblivious can he be?]

Well, maybe the sin is what makes me happy. [She laughs and brings the cigarette back to her mouth again as an icing on the cake. But to be honest, the whole idea of sin is more complicated than that. From all what she learned from her mother and the other people around her just being her is same as committing a sin and that's the one thing J would never give up on. But there's still a deep and strong self-loath hidden in her mocking yet amused laughter.]

[shadowblends]

[Pretty damn naive, but he's certainly not stupid. He can sense that something is off by J's laughter, but he can't quite put his finger on the exact reason why.]

We all enjoy some form of 'sinful' activity. [In his case, it's scarification; he doesn't exactly take pleasure in the form of penitence, but many would say that what he's doing is immoral because self-harm is wrong in most cases. To Kurt, it's simply another way to repent, much like how some other Catholics are flagellants.]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

Oh? [She blows a smoke ring at his direction to emphasis the curious sound. The smoke barely reach him before breaking apart and fading into the air, leaving behind nothing but strong and stinging smell.

Leaning her back on the wall behind her, she crosses her arms and playfully bounces the leg that's placed over the another one up and down.]

Care to share with class what that sinful activity might be for you?

[shadowblends]

[Brilliantly colored eyes widen with bewilderment at the smoke ring floating toward him, but he doesn't attempt to move away from it. He wrinkles his nose at the lingering stench and raises a hand to waft it away, even though he's relatively sure it won't work.

He clears his throat, raises his arms and begins unbuttoning the sleeves of his shirt, rolling them up to the bend of his elbows. It's really only to prove a point - that nobody is perfect or free of sin, but his hands still shake as he continues bunching the fabric up. Once they are secured, Kurt holds his arms out, twisting them back and forth to show the intricately detailed scars there.]

Ritualistic scarification.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[ This is no laughing matter. That's what J thinks to herself when he reveals the scars with explanation. She remembers her mother talking about such things once or twice, how people would hurt themselves to get free of sin or use pain to get closer to God.

"Bunch of lunatics," is what both her father and mother had said. Guess, that was too intense even for them. Even in the Catholic school which she attended after losing her family had deemed such acts as forbidden. Your body is a temple and whatsoever and you need to care and take care of it, that's what you owe to God.

So to see such thing, self-inflictef harm is jarring and makes her wonder why. It briefly takes her mind back to December, when she had found Kavinsky bleeding and razor in hand. A sight she still couldn't understand. But this was different than that. Kurt didn't want to die.]

Are you sure this is God you're worshipping here? As far I know there's someone else who asks for blood.

[shadowblends]

[What makes this worse is how utterly serious Kurt seems about the habitual self-harm. He hasn't done it lately, but that's only because he'd been so distracted with everything going on, he'd temporarily forgotten about home, the cage fights, Angel's wing ... He still needed to repent for that.

The act is not only for repentance, though. On a personal level, he uses the Enochian markings in a way people wouldn't understand and honestly, the blue-skinned mutant is fine with that; he doesn't expect people to understand the things he does to himself and never once has he demanded them to do so. There's a reason he doesn't talk about it.

He swallows around the forming lump in his throat, finally looks away from J and begins forcing his sleeves back down. No, he's not ready to admit to any other reason for the mutilation aside from--]

God's son died for us. Does it not seem fair to sacrifice something in return for that?