Disclaimer: I do not own X-men or any of the original cast of characters in the series. I do own Iris Hunter.

WARNING: this is YURI, that means girl x girl, don't like don't read.

---The Mansion---

Iris met the other students, there were more of them than she initially expected, but in a way that was a good thing. She could feel at home here, though her powers were not so obvious to non-mutants, she had always felt that she had to keep herself hidden. Here, she could be liberated, everybody here knew what she was, and she could breath easy because of it.

It was starting to get late, the sun had set and the moon shown clearly through the large windows of the institute. Kitty led Iris through the corridors and up to an empty room. "The rooms aren't, like, super fancy or anything but the beds are really comfy and it feels pretty homey." She said as she pulled the door open and motioned for Iris to step inside.

Iris switched the light on and took a look around. The room was pretty small, but it had everything she needed. A small bed in the corner, a small table next to it with a lamp and a single small drawer, and a dresser against the wall opposite the bed with a mirror on the top of it. "It's perfect." She said with a smile. She turned back to Kitty, who was standing in the doorway. "Thanks, spending lunch with you really helped me out today."

Kitty waited for her to elaborate, but it never came. She shrugged it off, remembering that the professor had instructed them not to delve into anything personal. She didn't want to scare her off. "You're welcome." She thought maybe she was just thanking her for showing her around, but she felt like there may have been more to it than that.

---In the Morning---

There was a knock at the door, waking Iris from her shallow sleep. "Just a second." She called tiredly, forcing her eyes open and sliding out of the bed (which was just as 'comfy' as Kitty said it would be). She made her way to the door and pulled it open. She leaned in the doorway and looked at her visitor. "Rogue, is there something I can help you with?" She asked, she was surprised to see that Rogue had been the one to wake her.

"We forgot to tell you last night that we all ride to school together, Scott asked me to wake you up to make sure everyone would be ready." Rogue stood with her arms crossed, looking up into Iris' eyes. The expression on her face was hard to read, especially by someone who just woke up. Iris could identify that there was a tinge of anger in there somewhere.

"Alright, thanks. I'll remember to set an alarm from now on." She said with a tired smile.

"No problem." Rogue said before turning and beginning to walk away.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Iris called after her.

"What?" The other turned around again, her tone slightly harsh.

"What exactly is your power? When I touched you I felt an automatic response, that means your power automatically activates when you touch someone as well, right?"

"It's complicated, basically I copy the powers of other mutants and I get glimpses of memories. It works on normal people too, but it knocks out whoever I touch."

Iris smirked, "Be glad you didn't get into my head." She slid back into her room and closed the door to get ready for school.

"Whatever." Rogue said aloud to herself as she turned away again.

"I can tell you're curious." Kurt said, popping up next to Rogue in the hall. She jumped at the voice and punched him in the arm.

"Don't do that! And no I'm not, I couldn't care less." She huffed and kept walking, leaving Kurt rubbing his sore arm and following behind her.

It didn't take Iris long to get dressed and brush her teeth, she made it to the entranceway before she realized that she had no idea where she was supposed to meet everyone to leave.

"Iris?" Kitty called from the top of the stairs. "There you are, we're gonna be late." She ran down the stairs and took the girl's hand. She headed for the wall, Iris tugged hard to make her stop. "Ouch, what was that for?" Kitty paused, confused.

"Cancel powers, remember? I figured tugging on you would hurt less then running full force into that wall."

"Oh yeah, duh." Kitty said with a smile and laugh. She pretended to knock on her head.

Kitty took the long way around, pulling Iris through the halls. They met in the garage, everyone piling into Scott's car. Iris turned to Kitty, "Thank you, Miss Pryde. I would be lost without you." Kitty blushed, this time she was flattered. In a way, Iris was a real gentlemen to her, well gentlewoman.

Rogue leaned into Kitty's ear, her arms crossed and an 'I told you so' tone. "I knew it was a crush, your cheeks are red as ripe tomatoes."

"No way, and even if it was, you seem pretty interested in her yourself. You sound a little jealous." Kitty wasn't sure if she was joking or not, but Rogue's reaction proved that she couldn't have been too far off.

"I'm just curious is all. I wonder if there are other people out there like her, people that won't get hurt when I touch them." She looked down at her own gloved hands, and then to Iris.

Iris had been staring at the rolling scenery, but when she felt eyes upon her she looked over at the others. She caught Rogue's eyes, now more awake she was able to better judge her expression. She smiled at her, a closed lipped smile. Rogue scoffed and looked away. The rest of the ride was silent for the three of them.

---That Night---

"Rogue, are you sure we should be doing this?" Kurt asked, his heavy accent soaking the words.

"No, but were gonna do it anyway, and nobody's gonna know about it. RIGHT?" She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him close. He held up his hands defensively, a worried smile on his face.

"Of course not, I won't tell anyone. I just feel like we're invading her privacy."

"It's her fault, she was taunting me this morning. She wants me to know what's going on inside of her head."

"If you say so, but I still feel bad about this." He took Rogue's hand and teleported into Iris' room. She was laying down on her back, the covers beneath her. The room was dark, but moonlight poured in through the window enough to see.

Rogue picked up the sketchbook on the small table by the bed, it was open to a page that had two sketches. The one on the top of the page was Kitty, a bright smile on her face. And the other was of Rogue herself, the look in her eyes captured so realistically it surprised her. Kurt poofed away, when Rogue touched the sleeping girl and stole her ability he wouldn't be able to help her out anyway.

Rogue carefully slid off her glove and slowly raised her hand up toward Iris' face. She hesitated, and once she got close Iris grabbed her wrist and sat up. Rogue almost screamed, she jumped. "I figured you'd show up eventually. You wanna talk first?"

"Sure." She answered, her heart still beating quickly from being startled. Iris released her wrist and moved over to make space for her to sit down. It was strange, normally Rogue found herself to be the type to be alone and figure things out, but she had a lot on her mind, and most of it had to do with Iris.

"So what's on your mind? That look in your eyes means you have something you want to figure out." Iris said, a small smile across her lips. She sat with her knees apart, elbows leaning on them.

"What are you a mind reader too?" Rogue asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I'm just pretty good at reading people."

"Really? Then what do you see in me right now?" Rogue asked, testing her.

"I see that you're worried about opening up to somebody that you barely know. That's perfectly understandable. But something inside is killing you, and you think I'm the only one that can do something about it."

"You're right, but I have sort of told somebody else too. But, not everything."

"Well, I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Well, you already know that my power activates as soon as I touch someone. I have no control over it, and sometimes it can drive me crazy. I can't walk around like a normal person. My whole body has to be covered up all the time, I can't wear a gym uniform or a bathing suit." It was surprisingly easy for Rogue to talk once she got started. "I can't go out an do the things that most teenagers do, dances and parties, too many people, it's too risky. I mean I know there are people out there who have it worse, but sometimes I just wish my powers would go away."

"It's a blessing and a curse. I know right now you feel like there can be nothing good about having these powers and being an outcast. But you're here to learn how to use this curse to help people. You're here to take this curse and turn it into the blessing it was meant to be."

"I wish it could happen over night. I hope one day I'll be able to control it, go on living a normal life where I can go out wearing short sleeves and shorts in the summer. Go swimming with my friends without having to make sure I don't touch one so they don't drown. Go out on a date and get a kiss goodnight on the front porch."

"Well, you never would have struck me as the hopeless romantic type."

"I wouldn't call myself that, but I'm seventeen and I still haven't had my first kiss. What I really wanted to talk to you about was your power. Do you think maybe there are some other people out there with the same ability? I mean that way if I can never control my power maybe there would still be some kind of hope for me."

"Rogue, I don't know you too well but I know enough to say that you're a very strong person. I can tell that your intelligent and independent, and one day I'm positive that you'll be able to live the life that you want to live. Now it's my turn to share my secrets." Iris slid the glove off of her own hand and laced her fingers in Rogue's. Both girls could feel the shift. "Just hold on for one second." Iris closed her eyes and concentrated, she had to focus to cancel out her own power, but as soon as she did, she could feel her own power begin to flow into Rogue before she slid out of consciousness.

Rogue unlaced their fingers, pulling her hand back and leaning her forehead into her palms. Iris' memories filled her mind, memories of home and school, she felt that she could feel the emotion coming from them. There was one in particular that stood out, perhaps the most recent event that had a huge impact in her life.

She could see Iris' parents, both of them enraged. Their voices boomed in her head, as if she could feel them exploding at her. They held up a sketchbook, she recognized the face on the open page. It was Kitty. The enraged man tore the book in half before moving on to the rest of the room they were standing in. The mother threw clothes onto the bed, emptying the drawers, and the father tore down posters. "I told you not to bring this shit into our house!" She could hear him calling.

"You can't tell me how to think!" This time the voice was Iris'. After that it was blank until she was staring at the institute.

The memories were short but powerful. That last intense argument lasted only seconds, but she was drained as though it had lasted hours. She looked at the knocked out girl laying on the pillow beside her and pushed the girl's short hair behind her ear. "I guess being a mutant isn't the only thing you have to hide. What I want to know is, why are both of us on these pages now?" She stood up and looked at the sketchbook again, it must have been new, but already a dozen pages must have been filled. Most of them were scratched out, like the two faces on the open page had taken many times to get just right.

She turned away from the book and started toward the door. She heard a stirring on the bed behind her, and a weak voice speak. "I won't tell if you won't." Iris said, as if just gaining her consciousness back.

"I wont tell. Let's talk again sometime." Rogue found herself smiling a bit, her mind felt clearer, talking with somebody helped her think things over herself.

"I'd like that." A weak smile crept across Iris' lips. She was still too weak to move too much, but she didn't care much. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

So that's it for chapter two, now we have a beginning with Kitty and Rogue as well as a glimpse into Iris' mind. More of her own past will be revealed as time goes on. I'd like to hear some input, some opinions on which way the readers would like the story to head into. I've been trying to decide myself but I love both Kitty and Rogue too much to choose by myself. I've got ideas for either so it's up to you to tell me what you want to read.