DISCLAIMER: All characters owned by Marvel and all that jazz...

Since we aren't allowed to list on here and I think that everyone should be privy to my very awesome Romy soundtrack I will try to fit in the songs all over my story. They may not be at the beginning of every chapter but placed where I think it might be most appropriate. So for now, the song to listen to until further notice is Addicted by Kelly Clarkson. I think it pretty fitting.

This is a Romy AU and my first time at anything like this. All comments and suggestions are welcome. Please be curteous and I will try to respond back to everyone who writes. Thanks! Enjoy!

Late Nights

Tossing and turning was no way to spend the night. But lately that is all she seemed to be doing beneath the sheets most nights. Fed up with her current state, she threw back the covers and let out an exasperated sigh. What she could have used was a drink, but she would not find one in this place. The Professor was strict when it came to amenities of that nature.

She hopped out of bed and did the next best thing— stalked to the kitchen. You could never tell by looking at her that she had a voracious appetite. She quietly made her way down dark hallways and back stairways; she did not want the others to know that she was out of bed. It is not as if she would get in trouble; she did not want to have to explain herself to anyone.

As she drew nearer to her destination she noticed that she was not the only one who could not sleep that night. She sucked in a breath and entered the kitchen. To her surprise Jean was sitting at the island in the middle of the room with a pint of vanilla ice cream. She was deep in thought because she had not realized that Rogue had stepped in the room. Jean's eyes were downcast and too incredibly sad to be her own. Her thick red hair was piled on top of her head and her pajamas were so worn that Rogue could barely make out the pattern. She watched her twirl the spoon in the pint before she finally spoke.

"Ah guess ah'm not tha only one who can't sleep?"

Startled, Jean nearly dropped the spoon. She had not noticed her— physically or telepathically. There was so much on her mind. "Yeah. It's been a rough couple of days."

Rogue moved to a seat next to her. "Ah hear ya. Ya wanna talk about it?"

Jean shifted and sighed. She could feel the tears welling up inside. She did not want Rogue to see her cry. Rogue was so strong and it would be too humiliating if she started balling like a child. She placed a hand on her head and took a steadying breath. "It's Scott. We had a fight. He's just been so touchy lately and everything I say just seems to make it worse."

Rogue sat and listened to her teammate. Her confession was uncharacteristic and Rogue had no clue as to what she should do. So she just sat there and waited for her to continue.

"It's just that ever since that mission against Mystique and the Brotherhood he has been different. Distant. I know that he lost control, which was not like him, but to be acting this way because of it is ridiculous. And it doesn't help that he's taking it out on the team. That's what the fight was about. His behavior towards certain team members."

Rogue snorted at this, reminded of an earlier event. Jean looked over at her quizzically. "Ah was jus thinkin about Scott and Remy."

Jean sighed. "Yeah. But it's not just him. He's been particularly hard on Logan. I just wish he would learn to relax and let things go." She picked up the spoon and continued eating. They sat in silence for a while before Jean spoke again. "So do you want to talk about why you are up tonight?"

Rogue stood up and wandered around the kitchen. She was not sure if she wanted to voice what was going on with her these days. Especially since she was not quite sure she knew what was going on inside of her. After retrieving her own spoon she returned to the chair next to Jean's. She poked at the ice cream thinking about what she should say.

"Rogue," Jean began. "It's ok if you aren't ready to talk about him yet. I understand. It's hard when you have all these feelings all of a sudden and you don't quite know what to do with them."

"How did ya—" She stopped abruptly and frowned.

"It's not hard to see or hear." When Rogue abruptly turned and faced her, Jean put her hand on her arm to reassure her. "Look, I was not prying, but these last weeks your psyche has been all but screaming about him and it's been hard to ignore." At her words Rogue turned a deep shade of crimson. Jean continued quickly, "But anyone with eyes can see it. The way you two are, I'm surprised you haven't set fire to this place."

Rogue laughed at this. "Jean, ah don't know what ta do. He's drivin meh crazy! He won't leave meh alone. Ah don't know what he wants with meh."

"What we need is a vacation away from all the testosterone here."

"Hmm. On tha beach. With tha sun and sand."

They both sat and contemplated the idea. Both knew that it would never happen, but it was nice to dream. They sat in silence for a long while.

"Well, I better get back upstairs." Jean put away their ice cream and spoons. "It was really nice talking with you. Listen to me, the best thing you can do is to try to talk to him. Even if it doesn't go your way, at least you got everything out. And then I won't have you screaming in my head whenever I'm around you." She smiled and winked before she left to return to the bed she shared with Scott.

Rogue sat in the kitchen for a few more moments before making her way up to her own bedroom. She was in no rush because she knew that no matter how hard she tried, sleep would not come.