X-Men: Black
Fire
By Paradox
Epilogue
Kitty poked her head in and smiled. “Hi,” she said brightly, “I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”
Cole smiled and pulled himself into a sitting position. “I’m all right, I guess. I feel weak as hell, though.”
Kitty smiled and walked into the room, the beautiful white gown Cole had bought her swirling with every step. “Well, you just took on a goddess from Hell, it’s to be expected.”
Cole chuckled and took a cigarette from the pack on the night stand beside the bed and lit it with the lighter next to the pack. “You shouldn’t smoke those,” Kitty warned, “They’ll kill you.”
Cole smiled. “Well, like you said, I just took on the Goddess from Hell and lived, I’m not exactly worried about dying of cancer.”
Kitty’s expression grew serious. “Sometimes, Cole, it’s the little things that kill us, not the big ones.”
The two looked into each others eyes for several quiet moments and then Cole nodded, stamping out the cigarette in an ashtray. “So, you come in here to say good-bye?”
Kitty smiled and shook her head. “No way, I’ve still got a month of vacation time left and I intend to spend every moment of it with you.”
Cole cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t you need to go see Professor X to get your powers back?”
Kitty grinned and pushed her hand to the mattress, then phased it through. “Once Jessica died, her mental blocks vanished. I’m a normal mutant again.”
Cole chuckled. “Good to hear.”
“How about you? Do you have anything left?”
Cole shrugged and lifted his hand. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, red magickal energy crackled through his fingers and coalesced into a beautiful red rose. “I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeve.”
Kitty took the rose and inhaled its scent. It was a real rose, created from nothing but the love in the young man’s heart. “How bad are you?”
Cole shrugged. “I’ve lost most of my power. Everything I had been building up for the last year is gone. I’m basically at about half of what I was when I first met you.”
“Will you ever get your full powers back?”
The mage shrugged again, as though unconcerned. “Who knows, maybe I will, maybe I won’t. It won’t change a thing.”
Kitty nodded and then suddenly leaned in, kissing Cole fully on the mouth. Cole’s arms wrapped around the girl and held her tightly, kissing back with fevered passion. When they broke, they were slightly out of breath. “So,” Cole gasped, “What happened to Ash?”
Kitty giggled. “Well, Priest had to slam him against the wall a few times to get Lillith’s blood out of his system, but he’s okay now. He’s pissed, but he’s okay.”
Cole chuckled. “That’s Ash for you, he nearly gets ripped apart from the inside by a demon goddess and just comes out pissed off.”
Kitty laughed again. “You feel up to going out?”
The mage nodded and smiled. “You bet, I’m tired of laying in this damn bed, but Priest kept throwing me back into it every time I tried to sneak out.” With Kitty’s help, he rose from the bed and pulled on his shirt, boots, and trench coat. They walked down the stairs, arm in arm, to the club part of Elysium. Although it was night, it was still too early of an hour for the club to be open. Priest and Ash sat at the bar drinking from beer mugs filled with blood. They both had loopy grins on their faces. “What’s up guys?” Cole called.
The two vampires turned and smiled lopsidedly. “Hi Cole,” Ash slurred, “Wanna tie one ‘ff?”
Cole looked at Kitty. “What have they been drinking?”
Kitty shrugged. “I heard them mention something about getting drunk, but I don’t know how they could do that.”
Cole chuckled and shook his head. “Okay guys, what did the bleeder drink?”
“Ta-key-la,” Priest said in a laughing, high pitched voice.
“Oh jeez,” Cole said, “We’d better get somewhere quiet, their drinking a drunk’s blood, so their going to get royally trashed.”
“Sounds good to me, where do you want to go?”
Cole thought a moment and then smiled. “I think I have an idea.” He concentrated for a few moments, sweat popping out on his forehead. In the next instant, Kitty found herself on a blanket laid out at a cliff’s edge, a breathtaking view of the city before them.
“I didn’t think you could do that.” Kitty said in surprise.
Cole smiled. “Takes a lot out of me,” he gasped, “But I can do it. Besides, I’d rather be laying in your arms with nothing to keep me up any day.”
Kitty smiled and folded him into her arms, placing a kiss on his forehead. The two sat there for a long time, holding each other as though it were the last time. “So where are Wolverine and Gambit?” Cole finally asked.
“They went back to the mansion,” Kitty said quietly, “They said they thought we needed some time without them.”
“Nice of them,” Cole murmured, snuggling his face into Kitty’s stomach. He paused for a moment and then whispered, “Kitty, don't go.”
“What?” she asked, not quite hearing him.
Cole sat up and looked into her eyes. “Kitty, I don’t want you to go back. Stay with me, here in Chicago. I love you with all my heart and I don’t want to lose you again. Just ask Priest, I was a monster while you were gone.”
“I know,” Kitty said softly, “But the X-Men are my family as well as my friends. I made a promise to help them and I can’t go back on that.”
Cole looked down and nodded. “I thought you would say that.” He looked back up and smiled. “Of course, I’m a firm believer in long distance relationships.”
Kitty smiled and nodded. “Me too. Some day Cole, we’ll be able to be together, forever.”
“And ever,” Cole whispered as he kissed her, his hands working at the clasps of her dress. Kitty only kissed back as her hands traced to the waistband of his jeans and unfastened the snap there. Quickly, they stripped each other of their garments and explored each other’s bodies, tracing the flatness of a stomach, the curve of a thigh, the swell of a breast. Kitty’s gasps came sharp and quick as Cole worked a different kind of magic on her.
When they finally lay still, bathed in sweat and held in each other’s arms, Cole gently kissed Kitty on the lips and smiled at her. “I love you Kitty.”
“I love you Cole,” she whispered back.
From the city, they heard an enraged voice echo throughout the great skyscrapers and apartment buildings. “GUN!”
Both of them laughed into each other’s mouth as they kissed, the moon bathing them in a cool, pale light that promised warm dreams and endless love.