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Fandom Lighthouse- Saturday Afternoon

Kurt was a nervous bundle of energy that morning and extremely thankful the weather was cooperating. It was Saturday. And not just any Saturday. This was the day Libby was going to meet him at the lighthouse for their picnic lunch!

Thankfully being able to teleport around made it much easier to get everything out to the lighthouse and set up without it taking most of the morning to do so. And as he put the finishing touches on the picnic spot, Kurt had to smile and couldn't help but feeling a little proud of what he had pulled off- all on his own!

The view was perfect, at least he thought so. The blanket was laid out and everything set in the grassy area where the wildflowers were blooming. It was close enough to the lighthouse that they could see it easily and far enough that they didn't have to worry about getting wet if they stayed out there till high tide came in. The walk to go explore the lighthouse wouldn't be too bad either. Kurt felt like he had picked the perfect spot!

And then there was the food.

There was Iced Watermelon and Mint and Homemade Lemonade to drink. He had made Egg Salad Sandwiches and Tomato Couscous Salad for them to eat. And there were homemade Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies for dessert!

Kurt had to keep reminding himself that not everyone was a bottomless pit like himself when it came to food. But he still wanted to make sure there was enough. Especially since he was worried that if Libby didn't like what he had made he wanted to make sure there was a second option she would hopefully like.

So with a cooler set up, rather than a traditional picnic basket (sorry to disappoint there Libby) Kurt smoothed a wrinkle out the blanket and made sure he had everything he needed- cups, plates, silverware, napkins ..... he was pretty sure he had all his bases covered.

He tried to keep from fiddling with things and convince himself everything was perfect and to stop checking his phone. And as he did he sent off a quick text to Logan, despite his better judgment, with a photo of the picnic spread and the view of the lighthouse and ocean. And then all there was left to do was wait for Libby to show up.

(For the one going on the "totally not a date" date with him)

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So Libby and Kurt were having lunch, and he was finally going to port her up to the top of the lighthouse like they'd talked about ages ago, so it made sense that she would be feeling pretty exciting. But she didn't know what to do with the nervousness she also felt, trying to convince herself that it was just lunch and a trip to the lighthouse, there wasn't anything to be nervous about, but it wasn't working very well, because she knew better.

She took a walk in the preserve to keep her mind off things a little, so she was already a bit flush from the excursion when she finally made her way around to the lighthouse, where she had no trouble at all spotting Kurt, and not only because he was blue.

"Oh!" she said, looking everything over with approval. "You set up a whole picnic!"

Kurt stopped his pacing and looked up from the phone that he was totally not looking at for the 10th time in as many minutes ~~he totally was~~.

"Hey Libby! You made it!" he said with a big grin. That was going to be as close as he got to vocalizing that fear that she wouldn't show up at all. "And I figured a special trip the lighthouse deserved a special lunch, and a special spot."

"This lighthouse view," Libby noted, taking a moment to look up that way, "must be pretty good if it warrants all that."

Her eyes were quick to return for a closer look at the picnic set-up, with a faint grin. "It looks great, though."

And then she just sort of stood there awkwardly for a moment, feeling like she wasn't really sure what to do next.

"I hear its really nice" Kurt said with a glance up himself. "We will have to see if it holds up to it's reputation" he added with a small laugh.

After a moment of trying to figure what he should do as well he walked over to Libby and held out his hand. Kurt gave a shy smile and then went to lead her over to the blanket so they could sit and start enjoying lunch.

The flush of heat to her face and the flutter in her chest and the uncertainty that Libby felt when Kurt held out his hand was so strong that she hesitated for a moment, but, really, she was so out of her element right now that she needed all the guidance she could get right now. And when she took his hand, all of those things surged inside of her, even stronger, and she didn't even realize she was probably squeezing his hand tighter than she realized as she tried to tell herself she was just being silly, and it was just lunch with Kurt, she had lunch with Kurt all the time, but should she say something? Should she wait for Kurt to say something? That definitely seemed to be the safest way to go, to just follow his lead and go from there...

Kurt felt a little flutter of something himself as they walked the short distance to the picnic spread and he helped Libby sit.

His mind went over the last text Logan has sent, that so conveniently have come through just as Libby was arriving. Just be yourself kid. He could do that... he had always been himself around her before. This was no different, still just lunch, at a nicer place was all.

Once Libby sat down Kurt gave her a small shy smile.

"Would you like a drink? There's homemade lemonade and some mint watermelon juice too."

See? Easy. Normal conversation. He could do this. Just.... hopefully he didn't do something to ruin it.

As she sat down, Libby tried to figure out the best way to do it, settling down one way and smoothing out her skirt modestly (should she had worn her jeans instead? Somehow they'd felt wildly inappropriate, even if they were doing something where they would have made sense), only to then shift again in a different way and make the adjustments there, too, and then she just wondered if focusing on how to sit was just to distract her from other things.

But she was grateful that there'd been a question, an easy one, one that didn't require much at all except maybe a nervous hope that her smile didn't show any signs of all the butterflies in her stomach.

"Lemonade sounds good," she said. "Thank you."

She hated how small her voice sounded and, almost as if to make up for it, felt a strong determination to push past her natural inclination to just leave it there, safe and simple and demure.

"You've got some pretty strong competition, though," she said, smile a bit easier now despite the painful surge in her chest. "Zo is actually famous for her lemonade, you know."

And remembering fondly that little inside joke between her and Zo helped, a lot, to reminder her that it was just lunch, with a good friend, and a long overdue lighthouse trip, and that was all...

"Ah well, then you will have to tell me how it compares" Kurt said with a smile. "Would you mind doing the honors?" he asked as he handed the glasses to Libby and set the pitcher down between them.

He knew a little about how Libby's family was based off things she had said here and there. He also knew Libby loved to do things for others and serve others. And he could use some help getting everything ready for them to get things really started.

"I'll get the sandwiches ready for us too" he added with a nod.

It was an additional relief to have some clear direction, especially one so familiar that fell neatly into what felt like the natural order for her, so Libby took to the task of pouring the lemonade, first into a glass for Kurt to hand over to him, and then one for herself.

Not that it was difficult or anything, but pouring lemonade was at least something she knew she couldn't mess up.

"What kind of sandwiches did you bring?"

"Egg salad! And some tomato and couscous salad to go with it."

Kurt glance over and took the glass from Libby when she held it out to him.

"Would you like a whole sandwich or half for now?"

Kurt wanted to make sure Libby felt special. But he also didn't want to make her uncomfortable or anything either.

Edited 2022-09-03 12:05 (UTC)

"Maybe just half, for now," said Libby, thinking about how her stomach already felt like it was having a bit of turmoil, which could be a little worrisome, if they were going to be porting later.

But then, she had another thought, and grinned over at Kurt. "Actually, I'd probably better take a whole one; who knows if there'll be much left by the time you get through them."

Ah there was the laughing and smiling Libby Kurt wanted to see. He felt a little better and more relaxed, especially as he laughed at her little jab.

"Oh hey now!" he said with a mock gasp of insultedness. "I'd never hog all the food" he gave Libby and wink.

"Actually, I wanted to make sure there was plenty so there's three sandwiches packed. How about we split this one and then we can dig into the others if we want later?"

Kurt looked over at Libby and smiled as he cut the sandwich in half and put them on plates and handed one over to her with a shy smile.

"Not all of it, no," Libby agreed, encouraged by Kurt's laugh to dig a little deeper. "Just most of it."

Which, you know, to be expected anyway. Growing boy, mutant metabolism, and what have you.

"But thank you," she said, taking the plate. "That sounds like a good plan."

Kurt nodded and settled back with his own plate and glass.

"Hey at least one upside to being like this" he said with a vague wave at himself, "is I don't have to worry about getting overweight."

And not knowing what else to say just then, Kurt started in on his half of the sandwich. After a few minutes he nodded toward Libby, remembering it wouldn't be polite to try and talk with his mouth full of sandwich, to ask what she thought of it.

There was that flutter of nervousness again. What if she didn't like the food? What if he was messing all of this up? What if.... Kurt tried to silence those concerns by taking a drink from his glass, hoping that would help with that lump he felt forming in his throat just then.

Libby took small, careful sorts of bites from her own sandwich, her general uncertainty about this whole situation leaving her reverting back to what was generally habitual and safe. Which also meant being awkward in the silence, without much to prompt her into conversation. She swallowed, hand to her mouth, after just looking out over the scenery while she chewed.

"It's good," she offered, and then, a little more, "but your food always is, Kurt."

"Thanks, Libby," he said. "So, I have to know," Kurt ventured trying to lock onto a conversation topic that wouldn't turn awkward. "Does my lemonade come anywhere close to Zo's? I'd settle for a second place ranking because I am sure hers is amazing," he added with a shy grin.

"Oh," said Libby, after a brief moment of mild panic about whether to respond to that question the way she was probably supposed to and the way she first thought to, and tried go find some sort of happy medium between the two, "it'd be impossible to tell! I haven't had her in so long, and I couldn't possibly make an important judgement like that without a proper comparison. But I might have to warn her," she took a sip and lifted her glass in appreciation, "she might have some real competition coming up."

"High praise. If I ever get the honor of meeting Zo, we might have to trade secrets!"

Kurt finished off the half of his sandwich and looked over the hill down to the lighthouse and the water. He didn't want to be the one doing all the talking and was trying to think of something to get Libby talking and interested in.

"Hey Libby, I had meant to ask. Since you have had Mrs. Beniko's class before... Anything I should know or make sure I do or do not do? Don't want to get on the teacher's bad side after all!"

Libby had definitely slipped, all too easily, into 'be seen and not hard' and 'don't speak unless spoken to' mode, so the more questions fed to her right now, the better, and that was one that made her laugh a little, even, shaking her head.

"Oh, no," she said, "I don't think you have to worry about that at all! Ms. Beniko is great like that. Even if you disagree with something she says, she encourages you to talk about it. She and Mr. Skywalker never agreed, and she never got mad, as long as you're thoughtful about what you're saying, you know?

"It's kind of nice, actually," she added, a little softer. "Being able to just say whatever's on your mind, without having to really worry about getting it right the first time. And she's definitely never made anyone write lines of Sith code if they do, as far as I know!"

Libby still wrote them down, but only the one time, and because she wanted to.

"Ah that's good to know. The teachers at my old school, the human school not the Academy" Kurt clarified, "they were terrible most of the time. So far all the teachers here in Fandom have been good, but with her being Sith... she just sounds kinda... stern."

"Oh, I don't think she's that stern at all," Libby said, emphatically. "Serious, maybe, but she has a great sense of humor, too, and she's very encouraging. But I guess I've been pretty lucky." She gave a faint, wistful smile, the kind that was tinted just slightly with that homesickness always right there on the periphery. "I've never really had a terrible teacher."

A stern one, though, yes, (and very strict), so with her father's teaching methods in mind, she was more convinced than ever that the word couldn't possibly apply to Lana.

Kurt nodded thoughtfully. Strict was ok and sense of humor was always good. Finishing up the last of the food on his plate at that moment Kurt turned towards the cooler again.

"Would you like any of the salad?' he asked taking out the bowl. "I don't know if you like couscous or not..." he said, still worried he might have chosen wrong with that one. "But it looked good so I had to try and make it. It's tomato and couscous but also has some green and red peppers, lemon juice, garlic, cucumbers, celery and a little onion."

"I don't think I even know what couscous is," Libby admitted, sheepishly, after trying to think if she recalled anything like that from Dr. Lecter's class, but with a name like that, she thought she'd remember it. "But of course I'm willing to give it a try. I recognize all those other things, anyway."

"It's made from wheat... basically a type of grain" Kurt said as he opened the bowl and dished some out for them both. You make it a lot of ways as it doesn't have a lot of flavor itself so it picks up all the other flavors of what you put in it."

He handed the plate to Libby along with the serving spoon so she could dish out however much she was wanting to try.

"Oh! It almost looks a little like....tiny rice!" Libby observed with a small laugh. "I think I have had this before, when we went to Morocco, for Dr. Lecter's class..."

And so she grinned a little as she scooped out a spoonful for her plate. And then, a moment later, a second one.

"Aye, there are several other names for it so we probably did have it with Dr. Lecter," Kurt agreed with a nod.

He couldn't keep a grin off his face as he watched Libby eat and go back for more. So far so good with the food choices. Kurt dished out a good sized helping of his own and sat and ate, watching the tide come in as he did.

With their next 'course' underway, Libby started to feel a little more comfortable, comfortable enough to not second-guess filling in the silence, so, after a bite or two, she ventured, "So....you think you've got a favorite class already picked out for the semester? Or is it still too early to tell?"

"Oh, I am already really excited about the Heroism class!" Kurt said excitedly. "I am also really looking forward to the class with Mrs. Beniko... and you," Kurt said with a small grin. "What about you? What classes are you most excited about?"

And there was that blush rushing back to her cheeks at Kurt's little addendum to include her. "Honestly," she said, with a small laugh and a shrug of her shoulders, "I'm pretty excited about all of them, for different reasons, so it's hard to really pick just one. But I'm probably most excited for Dr. Lecter's class. Just getting to see all those new places, even if it turns out it's all just from the backseat of his car..."

It had been an effective way to prevent her from wandering off, after all, and it was easily the nicest car she'd ever even been in!

"They are all a lot of fun so far. I like that The Professor let me choose a few of my classes this term myself so that is nice."

Kurt had to smile at the mention of the car ride for Dr. Lecter's first class. It had been him and Libby who had been prone to wandering last class. Kurt gave Libby a small smile.

"Maybe if there are a few where we can get out and explore bit he will let us partner up. So... so we don't get lost or anything" he added. Because of course that was the main point.

"I'm pretty sure," Libby pointed out with a wry sort of look, "that only means we'll end up getting lost together. But at least then we've both have a pretty easy way of getting back to where we're supposed to be if we do."

"Even better adventure to do it with a friend in tow!" Kurt said with a grin of his own. "Whether going on a picnic, getting lost in a Moroccan marketplace, or enjoying the view from a lighthouse. Always better to do it with someone special!"

Kurt fell silent a moment then glanced at Libby then gave a slight nod towards the lighthouse. "Speaking of which..."

"Hmm?" Libby's attention quirked toward Kurt as he trailed off, and then she followed his nod toward the lighthouse, before a slow grin surfaced. "You want to go now?" she asked. "Before one of us chickens out?"

There was a playfulness in her tone there, that made it clear that she certainly wasn't going to be that person. Even if it did make her feel a little nervous to be ported so high up like that, she'd been waiting for this for a while now, and she wasn't about to let herself back down. After all, it couldn't be any more dangerous than what they'd gone through with that rhino! Or agreeing to let an angel with narcolepsy take her flying, although they hadn't gotten around to that quite yet and they had an insurance plan there now with Raiden on the island now, too.

"Figured we could go, enjoy the view for a bit then come back and celebrate the successful trip with cookies!" Kurt said with a grin. Aaaaaaannnnnd there might have been a small twinge of fear that Libby might have second thoughts. And he wouldn't ever pressure her into doing something she didn't want, but he did want to do this for her and knew she would most likely have a wonderful time too. He didn't want her to miss out!

And so with a quick drink to finish off his glass, Kurt stood and gave Libby a big grin as he held a hand out to her.

"Cookies do sound like a very good reward for a victorious journey," Libby agreed, with a grin, already starting to feel her heart racing with the thrill of it. "Let's go."

She set aside her plate and reached for Kurt's hand, glad that she could be fairly certain that this time, the flush of heat to her cheeks was definitely due to excitement, and not just...all that other stuff.

Kurt helped Libby up and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Let's walk a little closer. Just to the edge of the field. Closer is easier after all" he said with a wink.

And for a moment, Kurt debated whether to keep hold of Libby's hand as they started their walk. He started to loosen his old, leaving it up Libby whether she let go or not.

"Yeah," said Libby, all of a sudden not so sure about those blushes being just about the thrill of it after all, as they started walking, and especially with that wink. "That makes sense."

And she was expecting, then, for Kurt to lead her toward whatever spot he, especially as the expert here, figured would be best, but then she felt his hand loosening from hers, and her mind suddenly went reeling. If he was letting her hand go, then she let go, too, pulling it back with awkward uncertainty. Had she been wrong to assume that? It was probably for the better that way, anyway, and now Libby's cheeks seemed to have found a new third, embarrassed reason to be so red right now.

Yeah, he messed up there. Nothing to do about it now...

So Kurt continued on a little ways, that nervous excitedness being replaced by sudden apprehension. He wanted Libby to have a good time, to enjoy herself. But he wondered if he as just making things worse.

Trying his best to push those thoughts out of his mind he led the way as they walked, till they came to the edge of the field. Before them was the rocky shoreline with the waves washing up onto the rocks as the tide reached its high point.

"If we time this right, we might have some tide pools to check out when we get back down" he said as he picked up a piece of blue sea glass and handed it to Libby. "All kinds of cool stuff comes in and out with the tides!"

Edited 2022-09-04 19:11 (UTC)

"Oh!" Libby gave a small sound of surprise after taking the sea glass from Kurt, holding it up to see it better in the light. "That's beautiful! Like some of the things we used for some of the art projects in Mr. Sidon's class!"

"It's very common in jewelry," Kurt said with a nod. "There was a sea-side village we used to visit in the summer. They sold sea glass beads and necklaces. Its amazing how pieces of glass could slowly over time, turn into something so special. I always thought it was so beautiful when we would find a piece here or there along the shore."

"Like a little gift," Libby agreed, with a soft, admiring smile at the piece of sea glass in her hand, "from nature. People weren't the only ones God made into artists..."

And, with that thought, she held out the sea glass to hand it back to Kurt.

"It must have been really nice," she added, "to get to go places like that. All we really had was the pond and the stream out in the woods, but you'd never find anything quite like this out there. This would put our Neat Rock collection to shame, really, although we've found a few arrowheads."

"Keep it, if you want" Kurt said with a small smile. "Like you said, it's a gift."

Kurt listened as Libby talked about the stream and the things they had found there.

"Arrowheads are really cool! And I would have loved to have seen your Neat Rock collection too. I'm sure it was a lot of fun to go exploring and all. And with so many people who could go out and look for things, I am sure your collection was full of cool stuff!"

A moment or two later Kurt stopped and looked to the lighthouse that was now closer but still a good walk away. He gave Libby a grin. "I think we might be close enough now."

"Well, with so many people," Libby pointed out, "I spend much more time looking for Littles than anything else. But..."

She look down at the smooth sea glass on her hand for a moment before she folded her fingers around it and held it to her chest like the cherished thing it was about to become.

"Thank you, Kurt."

And then her eyes drifted up toward the lighthouse, drawing in a breath for how much taller it seemed when you were much closer to it, but she nodded.

"If you think so....you'll be a much better judge of it than me, anyway."

"I think now is as good a time as any" Kurt said with a grin.

"Ready?" he asked, holding his hand out again for Libby. "Time see just how far we can see from the top of that thing!"

"Ready as I'll ever be," said Libby, drawing in a breath as she reached out to take Kurt's hand, hopefully not squeezing it too hard, and, even though she felt her stomach already starting to flip-flop all over itself and she bit her lip nervously, her eyes were nothing but bright and excited to see how this turned out.

Kurt gave Libby's hand a comforting squeeze and held on tight as he looked up at the lighthouse.

"Alright. One... Two... Three!" Kurt counted and then in a puff of smoke they were gone. A mere second later they reappeared up at the top lookout landing of the lighthouse.

Kurt took a second to get his bearings and to make sure they had ended up where he had intended and grinned. It had been a perfect port up there. He then quickly turned his attention to Libby, still holding her hand as he check to make sure she was ok.

"Alright there Libby?" he asked, not letting go of her hand and helping her grab the railing with her free hand if she needed.

And on the count of three, Libby braced herself, closing her eyes almost as tightly as she was gripping onto Kurt's hand, and then all those knots and butterflies in her stomach made a sharp pull as she held her breath, not letting it out again until she felt something solid under her feet again. Which, thankfully, wasn't very long at all, and so she let it out with a grin as her guided free hand found the railing and she opened her eyes again to look at Kurt.

"I...I think so," she said, with a nod, and a flush from the excitement of it, and maybe a little bit of that flush for their current proximity, but she remembered what they'd come up here for in the first place, and she looked away, out toward the ocean and the horizon, and she couldn't help drawing in another awed breath.

"Oh, wow," she gushed. "This is amazing!"

Kurt smiled and turned and looked out over the scene, glancing back at Libby every now and then, the smile never leaving his face.

"It's absolutely perfect."

The sun was slowly dropping in the sky as the waves crashed up on the rocky shore, and the cool breeze smelled of salt. It was everything he had hoped it would be and he was internally breathing a sigh of relief as he stood there, still holding Libby's hand as they stared out at the scene.

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Fandom Lighthouse- Saturday Afternoon

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