Disclaimer: Dear Santa, I have been very good so far this year and would like Christmas in July. I am not greedy. I do not ask for much, but may I please have Remy? Oh, someone else already asked for him? And they go by the name of Marvel? Well, maybe next year.
A/N: All right this didn't turn out as humorous as I was hoping it would, but that just goes to show how much I suck at comedy! Thank you to everyone who reviewed "Cruel Twist of Fate" and, due to popular demand, I am going to write a sequel which will be entirely Romy with just a few mentions of other relationships to tie in to the first story. Until then, I hope you enjoy the latest!
Never could Rogue, or anyone else for that matter, say that her life was easy. First, her mutation manifested when she kissed her first boyfriend David and she was forced from everything she ever knew as a safety and a given. Second, she met Logan while wandering around on her own, fell in love with him as any schoolgirl with a crush, and had her heart broken when he took off to find his past. Third, after recovering from her heartache with Logan she actually got a boyfriend, Bobby, whom she couldn't keep because of her untouchable skin. Fourth, when Jean died she and Scott got really close, but neither wanted to give in to the tension that resided between them when they worked together. Fifth, a really cute guy named Remy came to the Institute and she knew he was the one she was going to marry except he was already married to someone else effectively ending any kind of relationship she was willing to have with him. Finally, she thought she had found in the newest X-inhabitant, Joseph, a chance to at least be partially happy. And she wasn't even counting problems with her mutation, the most devastating of which was when she absorbed Carol. If all that didn't qualify her life to be the suckiest, most pitiful excuse for existence on the face of the earth the fact that she still loved Remy but knew she would never have him definitely put her short twenty-four years on the top of the list.
While all this seemed like a lot to have on her mind Rogue managed to keep most of it in the forefront of her thoughts putting her in a deep depression. Wanting to excise some of the bad mood she had gone down to the Danger Room to let out some emotion. Now that she was finished and had showered she headed back upstairs glancing at the clock in the Locker Room before leaving. She was shocked to discover what seemed like thirty minutes, maybe forty-five at the most, was in all actuality well over four hours. Punching the elevator button she took the short ride to the ground floor wanting nothing more than to lock herself in her room for another four hours. As luck, or more accurately misfortune, would have it she was intercepted as soon as the elevator doors opened again.
"Marie, I've been looking all over for you. Where have you been?"
She looked into the bright blue eyes of her first official ex, Bobby. Of all the people Rogue couldn't stand to tolerate at the moment, he, fortunately was not one of them. Still, she wanted to hurry up and get this over with so she could mope in peace.
"Ah thought Ah'd stretch a little with some good ol' fashioned Danger Room trainin'. What's up?"
"Is it okay if we go outside for a while? The day's really turned out nice after this morning's rain and I thought it might be nice to take a walk."
"Well, um, Ah kinda wanted ta just be alone for a while…"
She could see the pleading look in his eyes. There wasn't much she could deny him. In fact, the more she thought about it the only thing she could think of that she hadn't given him was the one thing that mattered most: herself. Maybe some quiet time with a good friend would lighten her mood. Then again, maybe this was just another way to wallow some more. After all, misery loved company.
"…but Ah guess a stroll won't hurt."
Bobby's face immediately lit up with a huge smile. Taking her gloved hand in his he led her out of the mansion and down the path that would take them through the forest to the small lake Xavier had on the property. Their walk was a silent one until he was sure they were in the privacy of the trees.
"You haven't been in the best of moods lately. Anything going on that you want to talk about?"
"No."
"No, there's nothing goin' on or no, you don't want to talk about it?"
"No, Ah don't really feel up ta pourin' mah heart out. Well, no, that's not it because there's nothin' happenin' that would make meh want ta pour mah heart out."
They continued a little ways further still hand in hand neither one speaking. Bobby had his head down watching a rock he was kicking along the path while Rogue was looking ahead too lost in her own thoughts to actually see anything. Before they knew it they were at the boathouse and the small dock attached to it. Rogue climbed up on the railing while Bobby sat on the edge of the dock next to her. Something moving in the boathouse caught her attention, but when she couldn't determine what it was she turned her attention back to the lake.
"Kitty and I split up this morning."
"Ah'm really sorry, Bobby. Ah know how much ya lo-"
"-It's okay. It's okay. I guess it was meant to happen."
Silence seemed to be a big part of this little jaunt as it once again fell between them. Rogue reflected on her own problems as she thought about Bobby not being with the one he really loved. Bobby was fidgeting as though he was trying to get up the nerve to do something.
"Besides, it's really given me the opportunity to think about what's truly important in my life. What I want the most. How are you and Joseph anyway?"
"Good. As good as can be expected anyway. Thah man is clueless sometimes ta thah way Ah feel. He takes whatever excuse Ah give him as being thah truth behind what's bothering meh an' never pries deeper ta find out what's really goin' on. It kinda makes meh resent him a little."
"So why don't you leave him then?"
Bobby stood up to stand in front of her. He put his hands on her jean covered knees. The movement brought Rogue from her introspection to stare him straight in the eyes. There was something funny about the way he was acting.
"An' just where am Ah gonna find what Ah at least can pretend Ah have with Joseph? Who's gonna give meh thah same time an' patience?"
"Lots of men would."
"Oh yeah, Bobby Drake? Name one."
"I would."
Rogue burst out laughing. The whole reason they had broken up in the first place was because he was tired of waiting for her to let down her guard. He was a teenage male at his sexual peak and wanted some action though he could never come up with a way to get said action from her. Coming back to her senses she saw a hurt look in his face. Bobby looked to the water before continuing.
"What's so funny about us getting back together? I mean, I was a stupid kid way back and that was seven years ago. Doesn't a man deserve a second chance?"
"An' what d'ya think will happen this time?"
He looked back at her taking her hands in his. Icy blue eyes met earthy green ones. This was the most serious thing he had ever asked a woman and he wanted her to know the depth of his commitment.
"I was thinking we could get married. You know, just elope to Vegas. Take a week off after that to have a nice honeymoon in Acapulco…"
"Mah gawd. ya're serious, aren't ya?"
"Yeah. What's so shocking about me asking you to marry me?"
Rogue didn't know what to say. A proposal for marriage was not what she expected out of this little stroll, but she could tell he had put a lot of thought into it. Or had he?
"Bobby, ya just broke up with Kitty. Ya can't possibly know what ya're askin'. An' even if ya do, what about thah fact that Ah am in a committed relationship with Joe?"
"Trust me, I've known since the day we broke up that I was making a mistake. I just didn't care back then. I thought I could fall in love again at the drop of a hat. It wasn't until the passion burned out between Kitty and I that I realized how much in love with you I still was."
"Ya can't possibly be in love with meh-"
"-I can and I am. Listen, you don't have to give me an answer now. Just think about it. Okay? Come and tell me when you're ready. I stand to be apart from you a little while longer. I've waited this long haven't I?"
A lopsided grin brought out the teenage boy in Bobby again. Rogue half heartedly smiled so as not to hurt his feelings. There was no way they would work out. He would get tired of her, or rather her skin, and would want out just as quickly then as he had before. Suddenly she saw him coming toward her and stiffened slightly as he left a light peck on her lips. Squeezing her hands he looked at her one last time before turning to go back to the mansion. Before he reached the edge of the trees he spun back toward her.
"Just think about it, okay? Anyway, I'll promise I'll take you to Tiffany's and you can have any diamond you want. I know how much you girls drool over those little aqua packages."
And with that parting phrase and lopsided grin he was gone. Rogue quickly found her mood blackening. How much more could go screwy in her life before she had some good? Sighing, she jumped off the railing and headed back to the mansion herself. At least now she might be able to make it to her room before anyone else decided to stop her.