Author's note: The title is that of the song by Luther Vandross. I was inspired to write this after a semi-similar event happened to me. I don't think I managed to convey my feelings into words that well, but I hope you'll understand what I'm getting at. Please review :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the ideas in my mind :)

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Dance With My Father

"Every night I fall asleep, and this is all I dream about." The faint strains of music came from the recreational room as Rouge walked toward its direction. She thought she was the only one left in the mansion after feigning a bout of cramps to avoid going for the Christmas dinner for the mutants who did not have families to go home to for the holidays, but was proved wrong as the last note hung in the air and faded to silence when she stepped into the room.

The air was cool in the large room in the old wing of the Victorian styled mansion; genuine parquet flooring and oak paneled walls lined the room which was refurbished with a wide screen television and a foosball table in stark contrast to the red velvet drapes and plush leather couches. She looked immediately toward where the television and couches were placed and hesitantly walked toward the couch facing the television.

She slid in quietly next to a brown haired figure clad in a white graphic tee and jeans that were worn at the knees and frayed at the hems. "John?" she offered, putting out a hand to touch him on the shoulder.

He turned, lifting his head off the armrest, a black cell phone in his right hand. He didn't seem shocked at her presence as he nodded in acknowledgement. The thing which surprised her was the desolate loneliness etched on his features and the tears staining his cheeks. His eyes held none of that fiery cockiness; they were just brown pools of sadness.

He wiped his face with the back of his hand and stood to leave when she tugged on the hem of his shirt, inclining him to look back at her. "Stay" she whispered; a simple word which held so much power. He wanted to leave after being seen by her, but sat down instead. They sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

"You know; it's okay to cry sometimes. Its better to let it out than to keep it bottled inside of you." Rouge broke the tension as she turned toward the fire mutant. "I'll just be here, no questions asked; but if you want me to leave, I could too."

John remained silent for awhile before looking back at Rouge, a fresh tear trickling down the side of his cheek. "My dad passed away three years ago, on this very day." He said solemnly and looked down at his feet. "Could you," he paused, swallowing before he continued; "could you give me a hug?" John looked up yet again at Rouge, his big eyes begging her to say yes.

"Aren't you afraid of my mutation?" Rouge asked softly as she wrapped her arms around herself. When he shook his head, she leaned over and placed her arms around him, gingerly at first; then embracing him completely. She was unaccustomed to touching him, having shunned human contact for so long; but she realized that all along she was just craving for what she was missing.

He felt so warm and as she rested her cheek on his soft hair, she felt dampness on her shoulder. They remained like this for awhile as she rocked them back and forth, stroking his hair comfortingly while he cried.

"It was my fault" a barely audible whisper that Rouge would have missed if she had not been leaning so close to him. "I fought with my dad that day, and my anger just overwhelmed me. Suddenly it felt so hot, I was almost burning. I opened my eyes to see that I had subconsciously started a fire which spread rapidly around the house, fuelled unwittingly by my rage. By the time I was calm enough to try to do anything, the firemen had dragged my mom and I out of the house. My dad was crushed by a falling beam and they couldn't pull him out in time."

John's body convulsed with racking sobs, "I could have done something about it." He whispered. "Why did my mutation have to strike at such a time?" he asked as he looked up into her green eyes. She only held him tighter whispering soothingly to him "It's not your fault, we never asked for our mutations. I put the boy I first kissed into a coma, he still hasn't woken." She took a sharp intake of air, frowning at the memory.

"My mom, she still thinks he's alive sometimes. She dances by herself in the kitchen, smiling so happily, unconscious of the fact that he's gone. I hated telling her that she'd set the table for three instead of two. When first I came here, I was so afraid she would fall apart on her own. She used to cry at night, and I'd go in to her room and we'd hold each other just like this. I'm so scared for her Rouge, what should I do?" he stared at her, grief-stricken and helpless.

She didn't know what to do but offer her comfort. She held him tighter as he cried himself to sleep in her arms. She took the phone out of his hands and set the song on repeat. She cried as she remembered the family who abandoned her and the family she wrecked. She never knew how alike John and her were, how much they suffered at a early age. The last thoughts she had as she drifted off to sleep were "After five years, at least I won't be spending Christmas alone this year."