Without Masks

X-men: Evolution fanfic, sequel to "Triangle," and Lover100 fanfic challenge

Disclaimer – Rosaline, Madison, Adryen, and all other original characters are mine. The world of X-men, and its characters, belong to Marvel Comics though. I'm just borrowing the place to give them somewhere to live :)

Notes – This is a couple of things. 1) my contribution to the Lover100 fanfic challenge over on Livejournal. Of course, I picked Rosaline/Madison as my pairing. 2) A sort-of sequel to "Triangle." All the prompts for the challenge are different, and as such, this will be a very…abstract story, time-wise. It's really going to be a bunch of short stories strung together. There's no real chronological order, but all stories will take place during Rosaline and Madison's time away from Bayville, or during the future events I listed in the Extras. I think that pretty much covers it. Enjoy!

Day

A year had passed since Day Jackson's murder. His sister, Rosaline, sat on the floor of the studio apartment she and her girlfriend Madison were renting while they were in New York City. Madison sat across from her, staring down at the sun-engraved white candle on the floor between them.

It was sunset, the same time they had held both of his funeral services. Rosie shifted her weight on the green cushion beneath her. She had gained back most of her natural shape as she became happier and returned to eating normal meals. She was finally recovering – not just from her brother's death, but from everything her peers' fear had done to her since she came out as both a lesbian and a mutant. Still, she missed him. She would always miss him, no matter how happy she felt.

"You know, if Day were here, he'd definitely tell us we're bringing him down by sitting alone in the dark with a candle to honor his memory."

"Then let's do something more," Madison suggested, reaching a scarred hand to touch her love's knee. She too had changed; the blue had grown out of her hair, and she wore it shorter now in its natural brown, matching her eyes. That and the difference in the clothes she chose to wear displayed a confidence she had never felt before. Her skin may have been a map of scars, but it was a map of what she had survived, not anything she should be ashamed of. "Tell me a story about him, something I don't know yet."

"Okay," Rosie said, thinking. Finally she smiled. "Well, I don't think I ever told you about how his powers manifested, did I?"

Madison shook her head.

"Well, when he was fourteen, he had this girlfriend. She was his first, and he was sooooo happy. They went everywhere together, and did everything together, and talked about everything. I was actually really jealous…anyway, about two weeks into this relationship, her grandmother passed away."

"What was her name?"

"The grandmother?"

"No honey, the girl."

"Oh, um, I think it was Diantha. I always liked it cause it sounds like the name of a flower."

"It does, kinda."

"Well, when her grandmother passed, Diantha was crushed. They were very close. And Day cared about her so much that he started feeling her pain and her loss. He didn't understand it, but he wanted to show her how much he cared, so he told her about it."

She quirked and eyebrow. "He fell in love deeply enough to awaken his mutation in only two weeks?"

Rosaline laughed, wiping unshed tears from her eyes. "Yes, well, Day was always quick to love. I'm pretty sure he loved Wanda, though he never said the words." She sighed. "As for Diantha, when he told her about his power, she freaked out and told him never to speak to her again. And she never even looked at him from that day on. He was really hurt by it, but on the plus side, he started focusing on learning to control his powers after that, so he would never freak anyone out like that again. That's why he was so good at it."

Madison nodded, scooting over until she was right next to the bigger girl. She wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, and Rosaline allowed herself to cry.

"It isn't fair," she whispered. "He had so much life in him. Why didn't he get to live?"

The scarred mutant thought for a moment, then answered quietly, "I don't think any of us will be able to answer that in this life, my Rosie. I'm sure that Goddess you're teaching me about had her reasons for taking him. He's probably watching over you right now, protecting you in a way he couldn't while he was alive."

Rosaline smiled sadly at Madison, then reached forward and took the candle in her hands, silently asking the fire spirits for forgiveness as she blew it out.