Disclaimer: I don't own X-men. Wish I did, but I don't.


Chapter 6

Bobby still couldn't sleep, but it didn't really matter anymore since it was seven in the morning. He'd been lying in his bed wide awake since he'd called Logan. The fact that Logan had sounded out of breath and insisted that it wasn't a good time was a little frightening to Bobby. Could Logan and Rogue really have been…? No, there was no way. Her powers had come back, right? Didn't they? That was why they sent him, right?

It had been a few hours since his first call. Was it possible that this time he could talk to her?

He picked up the phone from the floor, took a deep breath, and dialed the number again.


Rogue opened the motel room door and dropped her backpack next to the bed. Since none of them had gotten much sleep, they'd agreed to find a motel to get some rest before hitting the road again. Rogue had gone ahead to the room while Logan and Gambit went to park the car and bike in the garage.

She kicked her shoes off and just as she laid down, the phone in her pocket started to vibrate. She'd almost forgotten that she'd picked it up.

She pulled it out, and yawning, answered it. "Hello?"

"Rogue?" a familiar voice said on the other side.

She sat up in surprise. "Bobby?" she squeaked. "What… Why are you calling me?"

"I'm freaking out, Rogue," he replied, sounding like he was.

Stifling a yawn, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Bobby… I am going off of very little sleep and just escaped a fire set by a mad man. I am not in the mood for guessing games. Just tell me what's going on."

"I've fallen for someone besides Kitty," he explained.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. He had to be kidding, right? "What? Who?"

Bobby explained all about who Tabby was and how close they had gotten, not to mention all the hints that she'd been dropping. "This is just so confusing," he whined. "I want someone who can give me a straight answer."

"And that's me?" Rogue responded, feeling annoyed. The whole story had made her blood boil. Why couldn't he just be satisfied with the girl he was with? Why was he always looking for something better? He'd pushed Rogue away and now he was doing the same thing to Kitty. It wasn't fair.

"Well, yeah," he replied. "I can't talk to Kitty or Tabby and my friend, Forge, can't seem to give me a straight answer. I need you to tell me what you think."

She drew a sharp breath. Really? He wanted to know what she really thought? "Um, I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Bobby…"

"Why not, Rouge?" he asked. "You can always tell me what you think. I know you want to."

Oh boy, did she want to. She really wanted to tell him exactly what she thought. But telling him that he was a fucking idiot and then hanging up didn't seem too productive. "Well, what exactly do you like about Tabby that's different from Kitty?" she asked. Maybe there was a good reason.

"Well… I don't know," he admitted with a sigh. "Tabby's just so beautiful… and sexy…"

So far, he wasn't winning any points with her.

"…And she's so fun," he continued. "She's really funny, too. I think you'd like her."

"I'm sure I would," she replied in a sarcastic monotone. "What else?"

Again, he sighed. "I guess… Tabby just gets me, you know? Like, Kitty is always pushing me to be something I'm not. She says I have all of this 'potential.' But what if I don't want be better? What if I'm content being me, ya know? Tabby doesn't care. She likes me for who I am. It doesn't matter if I can be a better person. You know?"

"Well, Bobby-" she started, switching the phone from one ear to the other.

"Tabby gets me," he repeated. "Better than Kitty does." He talked like he was comparing soda brands, not people.

She tucked her legs underneath her. "So what does that mean?" she asked with a hint of venom in her voice. Maybe she was still mad at him for doing this to her so long ago. "Are you just gonna dump Kitty for Tabby?"

"I don't know," he grumbled miserably. "I mean, I don't want to hurt Kitty, but Tabby is just… so… right for me. I just don't know what to do."

Rogue sighed and fell backwards to splay out across the bed. "I really don't think I'm the one you should be talking to…" She knew that she was a little too personally invested in this to be fair.

Bobby groaned in frustration. "You're the only one I can talk to!" he whined. "You're not personally involved, you know?" There was a pause before he said in a more serious tone, "I need you to tell me what to do."

A red-hot fury coursed through her veins. She wasn't personally involved? How could he say that? Slowly, she got to her feet and began pacing. She knew what she wanted to say, but her more polite mind didn't want to let her say it.

"Rogue?" Bobby said into the phone when she didn't respond.

She took a deep, calming breath and replied slowly, "I know exactly what you should do."

"What, Rogue?" he pressed. "What should I do?" He was excited now, his voice was almost cracking over the whole thing. Finally someone was going to give him a solid answer.

And she snapped. She finally lost it on him, and let loose the last two years of pent up anger she had burning deep inside. "You need to grow up and try being happy with what you have!" she screamed at the top of her lungs into the phone. "You sabotaged our relationship to be with Kitty, and now you're fucking up that relationship to be with Tabby?"

"Rogue-" he tried to say.

Rogue had never felt so angry in her entire life. "And you think I'm not emotionally involved?" A short, humorless 'ha' fell from her mouth. "I feel bad for Kitty! I know what she's going through!" She growled in frustration. "You just keep fucking up your life because you always need to go for the next best thing! You can't just be content with what's in front of you!" Running a hand through her hair, she seriously felt like ripping it out.

"Hey-" he started defensively.

"You don't seem to even care about the other people you're hurting! Have you told Kitty about what's bothering you? Have you even thought about how she feels about all of this? Or how I felt way back then?" She took a deep breath and continued in a calmer voice. "Grow up. Stop being so goddamn selfish and grow the fuck up."

She felt satisfied with her statement, but then another thought hit her. "Stay with Kitty," she said, "and get over yourself."

Rogue could hear Logan's voice outside the room along with Gambit and panicked. Before Bobby could say anything else she pulled the phone away from her ear, snapping it shut and throwing it across the bed.

Taking a deep breath, she sat down. She had to be calm before Logan came in, otherwise he'd notice.


Kitty heard everything. At least Bobby's half of everything. Tabby and Bobby… her worst nightmare was a reality.

She moved away from Bobby's bedroom door. She had decided that morning that she would wake him up and bring him coffee, before he went to get Tabby. Now, it seemed like a bad idea.

Moving quickly, she went back down the hall to her own room. She set the two cups of coffee down before throwing herself down onto the bed.

How could she have not realized what was going to happen? Bobby had a history with this kind of stuff. Because of her. She should've known. If history wasn't repeating itself, then it was stuttering a lot on the subject.

Now she understood why Rogue did what she did. Why she got the cure. There was this need to do whatever possible to keep Bobby.

But for Kitty… now there seemed to be no point.


Bobby looked down at the phone in astonishment. He had asked her what she thought and, whoa, he sure got it. He hadn't been expecting her to yell at him like that.

At least she told him the truth.

But he wanted her to explain to him more. And hopefully in a calmer manner.

Taking a deep breath, Bobby dialed yet again.


Logan let himself into the hotel room that had been assigned to him and Rogue. Gambit got his own room, boasting that he had that kind of cash.

She was inside, sitting on the edge of the bed, still wide awake. She looked a little flushed. When she saw him, she smiled. "Hey," she said, sounding out of breath.

Logan approached her, crouching down in front of her. "I expected you to be asleep by now. You okay?"

She nodded a little too enthusiastically. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she said tiredly.

"You don't seem okay," he said, taking her gloved hands in his. "Tell me what's wrong."

With a shake of the head, she insisted, "There's nothing wrong."

The phone on the bed buzzed loudly, and Logan groaned. "Must be Storm," he said as he stood and reached for it.

"Wait… don't-" she started, but it was too late.

Flicking it open he barked to the receiver "Hello?" he said into the phone. There was a pause as the other person on the line spoke. "Bobby? No, you can't talk to Rogue." He paused for a second. "Because you're an ass." There was another long pause and Logan looked to her. "What do you mean you just talked to her?"

Rogue looked away from his prying eyes, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Gotta go," he growled before snapping the phone shut.

AN: I know, I'm mean to them. But things will get better, I promise. Please review.