Nightcrawler x Child!Reader Circus Freaks Forever

    “Kurt, I’m sending you and Logan to pick up a new student. From what I can tell she’s young, extremely young.” Professor Xavier motioned to Logan in the back of the office.

    “Vhat? Vhy me? I’ll only scare her; you should send someone else.”

    “It’ll be fine. She’s resting on the same church you did.”

    “She’s alone?” He asked.

    “She’s alone.” Xavier nodded, “We want to get to her as soon as possible.”

    Kurt’s ears twitched, “Yes, professor. We’ll be back as soon as we can.” He concluded and left with Logan.

    Logan flew the jet to the church in an odd silence. Kurt sat in the passenger seat, fidgeting and wringing his hand nervously. Sure, he was used to scaring people but this, this was a little girl who was probably already frightened. He stared out into the sky, contemplating how to handle the situation. Logan grunted something about descending and began to land the plane. When they landed, Kurt reluctantly followed Logan out and into the church.

    “Hallo?” Kurt called out apprehensively.

    “Gehen Sie raus! Lassen Sie mich alleine bitte.” Answered the voice of a young girl.

    “Nein.” He shook his head, “Wo bist du?”

    “Lassen Sie mich alleine!”

    “Wait…I know that voice. (Name)?”

    “N-Nightcrawler? Kurt?”

    “Ja, Liebling.” He smiled, “Come out.”

    Out from a distant row of pews appeared a little girl about eight years old. From where Logan stood he could make out her matted hair and pointed ears. She scampered over to Kurt in a ragged, white dress and bare feet. Now, he could see her tail, as well as the blue skin, most likely tinted from her blood, and blue hair. She looked like Kurt; was she a teleporter too? Kurt knelt to hug her and lifted her up.

    “It’s been four years, I’m glad you got avay.” Kurt whispered in her ear, “You look more like me. Your skin and hair have changed.” He could feel her shaking in his arms, whether it be from fright or cold he didn’t know.

    “You know her?” Logan asked, approaching them slowly.

    “Vhen I vas still vith the German circus ve ran a ten show circuit vith zhe Austrian circus. It vas a big spectacle; people vere excited to see Zhe Amazing Nightcrawler und shake hands vith a shadow, the Austrian’s newest attraction. (Name) und I vere a duo; she vas only four at zhe time but fabulous nonetheless. It vas horrible, zhe vay zhey treated her. To vatch zhis shy little girl be shoved in front of a crowd, terrified and on zhe verge of tears, be forced to perform und entertain. At night she vas shoved into a dirty train car zhat had a small pile of hay in it; zhey chained her up, treated her like an animal.

    For as long as I could, I performed vith her, taught her flying trapeze and had her stay in my trailer. I took care of her but, obviously, it couldn’t last long. Every night I read her zhe Bible; I wanted to give her something to believe in so I gave her faith in hopes someone would look after this little angel.”

    “Wow, Kurt. I didn’t know you cared so much about stuff like this.” Logan sighed, “Let’s get her back.” He left the church, going to the jet.

    As Kurt carried (Name) back to the jet he felt her shift, when he looked down he saw she had his old prayer beads in her hand.

    “I still have zhem. Danke.” She murmured quietly, leaning into his chest.

    “Gut. Keep zhem.”

    “Vhen you left zhey changed my stage name. Ich heisse Shadow nicht, aber heisse ich Babycrawler.”

    “Was moechtest du besser?”

    “Shadow.”

    “Denn du heisst Shadow.”  Kurt concluded as he sat down in the passenger seat.

    “You might want to strap the kid down in the back, Kurt.” Logan suggested, looking at the pair.

    Kurt stood up and let go of (Name) to show that she was clinging to him, “She is like a koala bear, ja? She will not be letting go.” He sat back down.

    Logan started the engine and took off, “So kid, what gave you all those bruises?”

    “Mr. Ringmaster got mad and beat me.” She sniffled, tears welling up in her eyes, “He alvays took his anger out on me because I’m a mutant. The ozhers bullied me too; zhey called me a vorthless freak and vould kick me until I vas unconscious.” She cried.

    When (Name) was done she buried her face in Kurt’s shoulder. He took the opportunity to examine her closer. There were bruises and cuts all over her body as well as a dark, black eye. He could feel her ribs through the white dress; she was obviously underweight. Kurt pulled her back gently and wiped her tears away. He wasn’t expecting to feel bumps, after closer inspection he saw (Name) had patterned her skin to match his own. He sighed softly and stroked her hair, causing her to fall asleep against his chest.

    Kurt walked off of the jet, still carrying (Name), with a very silent Logan.  Together, they walked into the building, attracting the attention of passing students. When they entered Professor Xavier’s office they found a group of teachers waiting for them. Storm, Jean, Rogue, Bobby and Kitty sat waiting for them as well as Xavier behind his desk. Storm immediately came up and, gently, took (Name) from Kurt.

    “She’s so little, a precious, little doll.” She cooed and sat back down.

    “Ja.” Kurt nodded.

    (Name) woke up and was passed to Jean, she smiled at the older woman shyly. For some time the women fawned over the little girl before trying to pass her to Rogue. Rogue refused to take her so Bobby did instead, smiling down at her.

    “Hey little one, I’m Bobby.” He chuckled.

    (Name) noticeably froze up and tears began to well up in her big, (e/c) eyes once again. She began to cry and, like clockwork, Kurt swooped in and picked her up. In an instant, she began to calm down. Kurt took a seat between Storm and Jean, directly in front of Professor Xavier’s desk. When (Name) was completely calm, hiccups gone, he turned her around on his lap to face the professor.

    “I’ll ask the obvious question first. Kurt, is she your-?”

    “Nein! Nein…aber meine Schwester…vielleicht.”

    “So she may be your sister?”

    “Zhere’s a chance, ja.”

    “What’s your name, young one?” Xavier asked, a kind smile playing on his lips.

    “Ich heisse (Name).” She replied, obviously not used to speaking English much.

    “And how old are you?”

    “Acht…eight.”

    “So, second grade?” He asked.

    “Was ist ein grade?” (Name) asked in response.

    “She has been vith zhe Austrian circus since she vas zhree. I do not believe she has ever been educated.” Kurt interjected.

    “Oh. And her English skills?”

    “50/50…” Kurt sighed.

    “You seem…fond of this child, Kurt.”

    “Ve have history vith each ozher. She vas, as I said, part of zhe Austrian circus; we went on a circuit togezher. She vas four.”

    “What will we do with a child so young? All of our student are, at least, in seventh grade.” Storm pointed out.

    “She’s also malnourished. It’ll require extra attention until she’s better.” Jean added.

    “She probably won’t have many friends. The other kids are five or more years older than her. I mean, I’ll be her friend but she cried when I held her.” Bobby said.

    “Charles, is there a chance this kid is more trouble than she’s worth?” Logan chimed in from the back of the room.

    “You have a point, Logan.” Xavier nodded.

    “I…I’m villing to vork vith her. I’ll even take care of her myself.” Kurt blurted out, “I’ll need a little guidance since I’m not used to childcare but, I-I’ll make it vork. Ve can’t send her back.”

    “Kurt, are you sure? Taking on a child is a big responsibility.” Storm asked.

    “I’m sure. Besides, ve can’t send her to an orphanage, zhey von’t accept her anyvays. She’s blue and has a tail.” He wrapped his tail around her protectively.

    “I see. She will stay in the empty room beside your own. Now everyone, shoo. I have a class to teach.”

    As they left, Professor Xavier pulled Kurt aside. He only told him that it was okay to ask for help and that he wasn’t expected to do this all alone. Kurt nodded and left the office, carrying the still barefoot child he had brought with him. The first thing he did when he got to his room was change (Name) out of the tattered and bloody dress, opting for one of his shirts, which was already big on him. She giggled at the size of the shirt and he smiled, slipping a pair of socks onto her.

    “Ve must go shopping tomorrow and get you adequate clothing.”

    “Ja.” She nodded, “Wir mussen.”

    “I must also teach you proper English. It’s quite confusing.”

    “I can learn.”

    “Yes you can. Are you hungry?” Kurt asked, lifting her up off the bed.

    “Nein.” She mumbled.

    “Vhen vas the last time you ate?”

    “Drei Tage.”

    “Zhree days!? Oh meine Engel! Du must essen, ja?”

    “I guess.”

    “Ve’ll start light.” He assured her, walking down the hall. Kurt walked through the twists and turns of the school to get to the kitchen. Once there, he found that he had accumulated a crowd of small people. He looked at the kids who were staring back at him curiously. Kurt had forgotten that he almost never leaves his room and all of a sudden he also had a little girl with him. “Guten Tag, Kinder.”

    “Hi Kurt.” Said one of the girls, who stepped out of the crowd, “We don’t see you very often. Who’s that?”

    “Vell, you’ll see me more often now.” Kurt smiled and set (Name) down. She instinctively gripped onto his pant leg. “Go ahead, introduce yourself meine Engel.”

    “H-Hallo…ich heisse (Name).”

    “(Name)?” The girl repeated to which she nodded, “It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to the school.”

    (Name) just nodded and hid behind Kurt’s legs. She had a tight grip on his pant leg and peaked out from behind. “She’s only eight so she’s a bit shy.” Kurt explained.

    “Why do you call her an angel when she looks like a devil?” One of the boys asked.

    “Because she may look like a little devil, “Kurt lifted her back up, “But she’s definitely an angel.” He concluded.

    “I think she’s a devil. You brought another devil into our school because you weren’t happy being the only one.” The boy proclaimed.

    (Name) his her face in Kurt’s shoulder, sniffling and hiding her tears. Kurt told the kids not to call her a devil but the kids wouldn’t listen. He became more and more flustered the more the kids shouted ‘devil’ at him. In a final stand he growled at the kids, baring his sharp teeth; the kids scrambled away in fear. It was obvious (Name) had taken the harsh words to heart when she looked up. Tear streamed from her eyes and her bottom lip trembled.

    “Ich bin ein Teuffel.” She cried.

    “Nein, du bist nicht. Du bist eine Engel.”

    Logan entered the kitchen and uttered a short, “Kurt.” He walked towards the blue mutant, “Why are there kids running around saying you’re going to kill them?”

    “I vas just so overvhelmed. Zhey vere calling (Name) a devil und she began to cry und zhey vouldn’t stop. I asked zhem not to taunt her but zhey just got closer und louder. I growled at them to get them to stop.” Kurt explained.

    “Why would you growl at them?” Logan asked.

    “It vorks for you so I zhought maybe it vould vork for me.”

    “Kurt, the kids don’t know you. For all they know you are going to kill them!”

    “True.” Kurt sighed.

    “What are you making the runt anyway?”

    “Hmm.” He sat (Name) on the counter, “I hadn’t zhought about it. A potato probably.”

    “They’re in the pantry.” He responded, grabbing a soda from the cabinet, “Have fun with that.” He left the kitchen.

    Kurt found the bag of potatoes in the pantry and picked out a small one.  He looked back at (Name) who sat quietly on the counter. He decided the best thing to do was to mash the potato so it was easier to eat. He quickly cooked the potato, mashing it by hand in a small bowl. He brought it to (Name) with a spoon and set it beside her.

    “I want you to eat the whole bowl. It is only one potato.”

    (Name) nodded, “Yes Kurt.” She lifted the bowl and slowly began to eat the contents.

    Kurt smiled and went to wash the dished. He cleaned up the entire area that he used, making sure he left nothing dirty. As he was putting away the final utensils he heard a quiet ‘I’m done.’ He went over to take her bowl away but saw there was more than half of it left and frowned.

    “Meine Engel, you must eat.” He took the spoon and held it up to her mouth, “Bitte.”

    Reluctantly, (Name) opened her mouth and allowed Kurt to feed her. Each bite she took had to be coaxed from her, thankfully Kurt was patient. When the rest of the bowl was gone he smiled again. He washed it and put it away like he had the other stuff. The grandfather clock struck eight and Kurt turned around surprised.

                “Let’s get you a bath, then bedtime, okay?” Kurt said, swiping the girl off the counter and sliding down the hallways. He took her to his bedroom and into the attached bathroom. He wasted no time in running a warm bubble bath and helping her in. “So how did you get away from the circus?”

    “You didn’t hear?” She asked, “The Austrian circus came to America and I snuck away during one of the performances. I’m a fugitive. They’re looking for me right now.”

    “Oi yoi yoi. Always in trouble, aren’t you?” Kurt shook his head.

    “I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

    “I understand, Liebling.” He scrubbed her clean with Irish Spring before rinsing it away and draining the tub. He lifted (Name) in a towel and helped her dry off before getting dressing her in a night shirt Kitty had left for her. Kurt took her back to her room and knelt beside the bed, producing his prayer beads.

    “Vater unser im Himmel, geheiligt werde dein Name; dein Reich komme; dein Wille geschehe, wie im Himmel so auf Erden. Unser tägliches Brot gib uns heute. Und vergib uns unsere Schuld, wie auch wir vergeben unsern Schuldigern; und führe uns nicht in Versuchung, sondern erlöse uns von dem Bösen. Denn dein ist das Reich und die Kraft und die Herrlichkeit in Ewigkeit. Amen.” They said in unison,

    Kurt tucked (Name) into bed and smiled, “Guten nacht meine Engel.” He shut the light off.

     Kurt watched her fall asleep from the doorway and was startled when he saw her toss and turn, struggling with a nightmare. Without thinking, he went and took the blanket off of his bed and brought it back. When he wrapped it around her he calmed down, seeing her settle into a peaceful sleep. She snuggled into the blanket and mumbling a quiet ‘Kurt.’ He smiled and shut the door, returning to his own room. He grabbed the spare blanket he kept in his closet and settled into bed. Tomorrow would be a long day.