Rogue sat outside the club and took another drag of the cigarette a man hopeful to get into her pants, or skirt, had given her. Though she had taken the drug willingly, there was no way she was giving him what he wanted, if only for the simple fact she didn't trust her powers quite yet.

It's not that she couldn't touch, because the professor's vision of the future from Apocalypse's mind had been spot on with that one and she could, but she was so afraid of an accident, it didn't seem worth it.

Besides, the vision hadn't been completely true, though most was.

The Anti-Mutant sentiment had continued, but with the help of other mutant groups and the government, it wasn't as bad as it was in the vision, though there were still times a few rallies got out of hand and people got hurt.

The Sentinel program had thus far stayed shut down. There was the oddball anti-mutant politician that wanted to put it into effect again, particularly Senator Edward Kelly, but they were always shot down by the level headed American public.

Jean, though she had gained a significant power increase, had maintained control with the help of strict tutelage and had stayed with the X-men the past seven years since he had gained access to the vision. The Phoenix hadn't manifested itself yet except on rare times when she exerted herself beyond normal, but it was expected that she would continue to grow into the Phoenix, rather than have it grow into her.

The X-men now consisted of, well, she didn't really know. She hadn't talked to them in so long she couldn't be sure. Rogue knew Logan only went in on occasion, much preferring his calm solitude, since they would meet up for beers once in a while. As far as she knew, Kitty and Kurt were also there, but she hadn't talked to Kitty in nearly four months. It could have completely changed by then. The X-men he had seen in his vision (Cyclops, Storm, Colossus, Shadowcat, X23, Nightcrawler, Iceman, and herself) didn't look like they were happening as planned. However, much to her pleasure, the part where she didn't have to wear gloves anymore and could fly was true.

The Brotherhood and Pyro never joined S.H.I.E.L.D. In fact, they broke up as a group and have been doing their own various villanous deeds ever since, not even bothering to attempt the hero way. Well, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch did, but Rogue had never truly considered either part of the Brotherhood. They had joined another hero vigilante group called the Avengers and started a life away from their father that way.

Most certainly, all of Xavier's allies hadn't joined his X-men. As always, the future is never set in stone, and it appears that somewhere along the line, the circumstances changed it all. She was glad. There's only so much of them she can handle.

That was how she came to be where she was, a pathetic club on the outskirts of a random, nearly crime overrun Mississippian town. She dropped the burning remnants of her addicting drug of choice on the pavement and stomped it out with the toe of her expensive black stilettos. She turned to go back inside the building that smelled of a unique combination of vomit, sweat, and alcohol when a hand gripped her wrist.

She immediately lashed back, bringing her foot to kick where she knew where her assailant's ribcage would be. She heard the grunt signaling a correct placement, but when her eyes met his face, she gasped, "Scott?"

He looked up at her with his ruby covered eyes, "If I say yes, will you kick me again?"

She leaned down and helped him to his feet, "Can I buy you a drink?"

He smiled, "I'm usually the one buying girls drinks."

"Not when it's between friends. C'mon," she led him through the gyrating crowd to a bar covered in far too many unknown, and probably illegal, substances. "Hit me twice, Jax!"

The big man who looked more like security than a bartender nodded and pushed two glasses of whiskey down to them. Rogue handed Scott one and he motioned for them to head out back again. She followed him and once they were out of the acceptable range for the pounding bass, Scott took a large swig of his drink before asking, "So, how's life like in the slums of Mississippi?"

"Is that really any way to start a friendly conversation?" she asked, glaring.

"Who ever said this was a friendly visit?"

"Why are you here?"

Scott sighed, "I...The team...Kitty misses you. Hell, everyone misses you."

"Everyone?"

He laughed, "Okay, maybe not you as much as some others, but you are missed, especially by Kitty and her fuzzy elf boy toy."

Rogue laughed, but shook her head, "Thanks, but no thanks. Regardless of how bad this place can get, it feels more homey than the mansion."

"Tell me, because I'm truly curious, what makes this place so great?" he asked, leaning against the old brick.

She took another drink before answering, "The complete lack of giving a shit."

"I don't follow. Why is that so great?"

She sighed, "If these people don't even give a shit about themselves, what makes you so sure they'll care about you? That lack of complete caring is what makes this place so great. I can just be me, and no one will care. I can just be me, and no one will cast false judgements."

"Sounds rather philosophical coming from someone who wanted to drop out of high school."

She glared her green eyes into his covered ones, "You don't need to be extremely educated to understand why people are the way they are. You just need to be able to do something those people can't."

"Which is?"

"Listen!" she exclaimed, throwing her drink on the ground and smashing the glass. "That's something that everyone understands, but almost no one can successfully accomplish. Listening! Being cast out most of my life, and sitting in the background of the social norms, I've been more than capable of utilizing that particular gift to my advantage."

Scott thought for a moment, "But didn't you just say a moment ago that you prefer it when no one is around? How will anyone listen if you don't want them?"

"Actually, I just explained to you that I want people around who can listen, but these people are looking for the same thing as the people in Bayville, so they don't care about me. The time for looking for listeners is done. The people I used to care about are hopeless in that category. What's the point of spending my time around people who care about themselves in New York, when I can get the exact same thing here and away from the other small problems that tend to follow the rest of you," she said, stomping her way back inside.

She felt him grab her around her waist and pull her back outside, clearly indicating that at some point his drink had joined hers, "Do you really think I never listened to you? I may have been focused on other things, but I always listened and heard you. I tried to forget you and everything you'd ever told me, but it didn't work. It's like I'm tuned into you Rogue!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Scott turned her around and kissed her, making her forget her pledge to never touch another human being. Then common sense began to sink in and she shoved his chest, "What are you doing?"

He laughed, "I should have done that a long time ago. It would have saved me some sanity."

"So by people that miss me, you didn't mean Kitty and Kurt?"

"Oh they miss you," he walked toward her again. "But not as much as I do."

She shook her head, "I don't want to go back."

"Do you want me?"

"I don't want to go back."

"Do you love me?"

"I don't want to go back."

"I love you."

"I...WHAT?!"

He laughed again, kissing her forehead this time, "You heard me. I love you, and it doesn't matter to me if you don't want to go back. In fact, I'd prefer it since I'm leaving myself."

"Then why invite me back?"

"I wanted to see if you were willing to stay gone."

She punched him on the arm and then kissed his cheek, "You're a cruel man, Summers."

"I still want to know," he cupped her cheek tenderly. "Do you love me?"

"Did you ever doubt?"

How's that for a small Scogue one-shot? It's my first Scogue attempt. It might turn into a two-shot, with the next chapter being in the future, but I'm not sure. I guess we'll see the response. Speaking of response, review please!

This story also marks 50 stories I've created. YAY! Now for 100!