Lighten up

Snow gently blanketed the modest city of Bayville. The pale moonlight was rendered powerless to the thick clouds that floated high above the city. Chilling winds blew back and forth throughout the air. Ah yes, it was almost that time of year again, Christmas, when the mansion went still, lights went out and most of the students went home to their families.

Scott let out an exhausted sigh. He glanced over at his clock from his position at his desk; it was 2:44am. He'd resigned himself to a sleepless night and instead decided to take a seat at his desk near the window to stare out at the night sky.

"I hate snow," he said to the empty room.

A few minutes later, bored, he decided that leaving his room may prove more entertaining than just sitting there. Scott pushed himself away from his desk and stepped out into the hallway. A chill went down his spine and he instantly rubbed his arms to counter the cold air. Walking down the stairs, towards the rec room, he thought a movie might help to knock him out.

When he arrived, he was surprised to see the room already occupied with the X-men's resident Goth. Rogue was already watching TV and he could see from his position in the doorway that an old black and white movie was her entertainment of choice. She wasn't aware of his presence as he made his way into the room and moved around the couch. From his vantage point at the opposite end of the couch, he could see her face clearly, the glow of the television illuminating her paleness. The edges of Scott's lips turned upwards in a smile when he noticed Rogue's lips moving, quietly reciting the movie line by line.

He knew she wouldn't appreciate seeing him watching her, so he decided to make his presence known. He cleared his throat and asked, "Favorite movie?"

Rogue, startled, abruptly looked in his direction; her green eyes were wide and a small flush appeared on her cheeks. The moment didn't last, she quickly furrowed her brows and a frown appeared on her lips. Scott thought that maybe continuing to stare at her lips wasn't the best idea.

"Yeah, what's it ta ya?" she huffed, indignantly.

Whoa, Scott thought; he hadn't been expecting the aggressive reaction. He lifted his hands to either side of his head, as if he'd been caught red handed by the police, hoping the plaintive gesture would show his innocent meaning. "Nothing," Scott quickly assured. "I was just wondering."

Rogue's eyes attempted to scan his features as much as the glow from the TV would allow. Of all the times for someone to be up it would have to be now, wouldn't it? And, on top of that, of all the people it had to be Scott who'd caught her; she felt completely embarrassed.

"You don't mind if I sit here with you, do you?" he questioned; her large eyes remained on him as she nodded her answer.

He took a seat in the chair adjacent to her couch. She understood why; wearing only a T-shirt and shorts, the combo outfit didn't really provide the most protection from her deadly skin.

"So," she started, taking the remote to pause the movie. "What are ya doing down here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied bluntly; she frowned at him and he decided to answer her question, "I couldn't sleep."

Rogue simply shrugged her shoulders. "Ah don't know why ah'm still up, really. Ah felt lahke watching ah good movie and enjoying some time away from everyone else."

"I'm sorry I'm interrupting," he offered, understanding the feeling of just wanting to be by yourself. In a mansion full of mutants, it wasn't easy to find time to yourself. He rubbed at the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Nah, it's alright," she replied. Rogue tilted her head giving him a slight smile. "Ya're one of tha few that ah don't mind being around."

He didn't know what to say to her answer. He felt relieved that she accepted his presence and maybe thought of him as a friend. But he felt disheartened that she didn't feel comfortable with the others yet.

Rogue pulled lightly at her white bangs in a nervous gesture; Scott glanced around the room, feeling similarly anxious. They sat in a somewhat uncomfortable silence, not really knowing what to say next.

Ever since their first real conversation, Rogue had discovered she held a certain fondness for the teenager. They shared a lot of similar experiences and she couldn't deny the fact that he was cute.

Rogue snapped out of her self-induced reverie and looked at Scott.

"Hey, Scott?" Rogue began slowly.

"Yeah," he answered, turning his head towards her.

His gaze on her was intent as he waited for her to ask her question. She was already feeling slightly self-conscious with him sitting near her and she so scantily dressed. To make matters worse, this was Scott sitting with her, not just anyone; the object of her affections. Her pale cheeks tinged pink, and she was glad for the dim lighting in the room as she asked, "Want ta watch another movie?"

"Sure, but I get to pick what we watch."

Rogue raised an eyebrow at his presumption. "Well, ah guess… which one do ya have in mind? Ah think ah've seen all we've got."

"I think I have something you haven't seen yet."

Scott stood up, a smirk clearly on his face, and disappeared into the hallways. Rogue took the time to remove the last movie from the DVD player. After a few minutes, Scott returned, DVD in hand and now clad in a thick sweater instead of the T-shirt from earlier

"Rogue, how long have you been having late night movie marathons for?" he asked curiously. Was she really out and about this late without anyone knowing?

"Now, Ah think that's none of your business…" She smirked playfully. "What movie did ya bring?"

"How the Grinch stole Christmas."

Rogue just stared at him blankly. "Ah didn't think our fearless leader was such ah kid," she teased. She was surprised, to say the least; Scott usually oozed an air of maturity.

"I'll have you know, the morals behind the story are suited for both children and adults alike."

"Ah'm not watchin' that movie," she countered easily.

"It's pretty funny too," he went on, ignoring her stubbornness. "I love it."

She eyed him warily, wondering if he was putting her on. "Scott, are ya serious?"

"It shows the corruption of Christmas through commercialism and materialism; and tries to restore the true meaning of the season," he explained seriously.

"Fahne, fahne, we'll watch tha damned movie, but ya're getting meh ice cream after it's done, ya hear?"

"Loud and clear," Scott replied happily, sitting taller for getting his way.

Rogue gestured for him to get on with it. He grinned at her triumphantly before getting up to work the DVD player. Rogue took a second to eye Scott carefully. The fact that he'd changed into a sweater was nagging at her. Did he not trust her?

"Scott," she said hesitantly. "Why do ya have ah sweater on? You cold?"

"Sort of." His reply sounded just as tentative as her own question. He began to walk towards her; her eyes followed his every move. "I thought we could, you know...sit together?"

Rogue paused; his answer was not what she'd expected. He wanted to sit with her? It took her a moment to process the idea. She loved the suggestion, but could she dare to be so close to another? It was risky; she was in no way properly dressed to be near anyone right now. The slightest touch could potentially hurt him. She was scared.

"Ah don't know Scott… that sure doesn't sound like ah good idea right now," she said sullenly, giving in to her instincts.

Her heart broke; damn her stupid mutation!

"I'll be sure to be careful, Rogue. I'm pretty covered up," he assured, and then added, "Do you trust me?"

He didn't exactly know why he was pushing for this. All he knew was that he wanted to sit with her.

Rogue's eyes quickly found the floor, she couldn't vocalize her answer. Of course she trusted him; out of all the X-men she was closest to him, if that counted for anything. A quick look into his memories, as well, showed her that all his interactions and intentions with her were pure. He wasn't lying and she was sure he never would lie to her.

She looked back him, uncertain, yet trusting and gave him a small nod. She swore that night that Scott's smile stretched beyond human comprehension. He picked up the controller, pressed play and walked over to the Goth. She sat up, waiting for him to make himself comfortable.

When he moved to sit beside her, she couldn't help but flinch. This was completely foreign to her, being close to someone, she had no idea how to act.

Scott sat as close as possible, stretching his arm behind her. He looked over at her and he could read the confusion in her eyes.

"What?" he asked, gently.

"Whadd'ya doin'?"

"I'm waiting for you to lean back," he said, as if the idea of her leaning into him was the most natural thing in the world.

"Scott, ah don't know," she paused, biting her bottom lip from worry, "It—"

He cut her off with a sigh and a sincere smile. "Rogue, it's almost Christmas in the middle of this cold night. We're going to watch a movie and I don't want you to be cold. It's pretty much Christmas tradition to cuddle up."

"Weird," she started, smirking slightly. His explanation was completely absurd, but she genuinely appreciated his attempt to lighten the moment. "Ah'm sure ah don't remember ya asking tha guys ta 'cuddle up'. Since this is tradition and all..."

Scott stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed; she leaned her head against his shoulder, nonetheless. Instinctively, Scott wrapped his arm around her shoulders and let out a sigh.

Perfect, he thought.

A blush crept upon her face as she tried to focus on the movie that began to play.

An hour passed filled with Scott laughing, reciting lines ironically, and Rogue's stifled giggles at the random funny moments. They reached the climax of the movie with Rogue's head still leaning comfortably on his shoulder and her hands gently resting on his thighs. What seemed awkward at first now felt totally easy. She was content, for the moment.

The watched the ending of the movie in silence; the Whos of Whoville had forgiven the Grinch and they all lived happily ever after.

"Enjoy it?" Scott asked, though in all honesty he knew the answer already.

"Yeah, ah guess," she agreed playfully. She turned her head to look at probably the most perfect man she knew.

He gazed back at her intently, her beautiful green eyes marred by the hue of his glasses. There was hardly a time when he hated his mutation these days, but moments like this, when he knew they were skewing what was real, he wished he at least had control enough not to have to wear the rose-quartz glasses.

"Rogue?" he asked quietly

"Yeah?" she replied her voice almost non-existent.

Something passed between them. Neither could name what it was, but it hadn't gone unnoticed by either of the pair. The moment was suddenly tense as each of them grasped at the nameless thing. Finally, a moment later they mutually broke the gaze.

"So," Scott started while looking the other way, "still want ice cream?"

Rogue felt hot, even though she knew the room was quite cold. "Yeah," she simply responded.

Since when did things get so awkward? She knew she was crushing on him; in fact, Risty had pointed it out continually. Was it just a crush or was she really developing genuine feelings for him?

Tha girls are right, he really is ah charmer, she told herself mentally.

"All right," he said as he separated himself from her. "Follow me to the kitchen."

Rogue placed her feet on the cold floor for the first time in an hour. She hated how chilly the mansion became in the winter, it was nothing like Mississippi. She quietly followed Scott down the halls, to the kitchen. He flicked the light on and for the first time that night she could see him clearly. Man, was he handsome.

She shook her head softly; she had to stop thinking things like that. Stupid hormones…

"Here." Scott broke through her revere and placed a bowl of ice cream before her. She hadn't even seen him pour it.

"Finally, took ya long enough," she stated teasingly; Scott already knew that that was how she said thanks.

"Again, I'll ask, did you like the movie?" he questioned curiously.

"Yeah, as ah matter of fact," she began as she tapped her chin lightly with the end her spoon. "Ah did."

"Good." He smiled at her. "I knew you'd like it."

Rogue was slightly surprised at the turn of events. At first she hated the idea of watching a 'childish movie'. Now she didn't regret it at all.

Ah guess Scott can be ah real eye opener, she thought.

Rogue slightly giggled at her own terrible pun which got a raised eyebrow in response from Scott.

"Something funny?"

She thought it was best to keep it to herself. "Just thinking about tha movie, among other things…"

He took a bite of ice cream, watching her. "What was your favorite part?"

"Tha part when tha people spoke about tha Grinch's childhood," she said without a second's thought. "Ah was bullied in ah similar way."

Scott remained silent, frowning.

"H—he looked different from tha others and was made fun of for it," she choked out; her eyes stung as she spoke and Scott could see the tears glistening in her eyes.

She placed her spoon down on the table. "Ah uh… was bullied too because of mah, 'skin condition'."

She watched him closely as she asked her next question. "Have you evah been bullied, Scott?"

The boy expelled a long sigh as if he'd been holding his breath. "You forget," he started solemnly, though Rogue could tell there was a hint of playfulness behind his words. "People like Duncan still exist."

Rogue's smile for him came slowly, her full lips curved slightly upwards. She could always trust in Scott Summers. He knew exactly what she felt like almost all the time. It was freaky, really, but heart-warming at the same time.

Scott walked over to her, taking her empty cup and dumping it into the sink. They'd leave the dirty dishes to whoever was washing tomorrow.

Scott gave returned her smile and turned to leave the kitchen. But before he could take a step, Rogue summoned all of her courage and quickly closed the distance between them. To Scott's surprise, she wrapped her arms around his muscular frame from behind, placing her forehead against his back. Startled, Scott didn't move but, after a moment, relaxed into her embrace. He loved moments with her, like this, relaxed and light, for once. He hoped to see her like this again, soon.

"Merry Christmas, Rogue." he breathed out lightly.

"Merry Christmas, you Grinch." she said and brushed a soft kiss against his shoulder.

Thanks to a very special beta reader... Flames101

Without her this story would not be here. Thank you very much and I can't wait to continue working together :).

I hope you all enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. It feels great to finish something you started.

Oh by the way, this will be a series of 5 one shots. Maybe even more if you're lucky. Anyways, God bless and have an awesome year!