(author's note: Yes, this looks like a repost of the prologue. Read carefully! It's not quite the same, and you'll find out later why. All I can say for now is people sometimes block the thing that are painful to them…)
He'd said to meet him here, by the trees, at eleven. Though odd, she hadn't argued it, instead remaining faithfully at that spot for two hours now. One in the morning, and here she was, huddled down as the rain pattered down on the tree overhead, soaking through her jacket. She'd long since given up the idea of being dry. And all for this moment, the moment she'd waited all day for.
And she had no idea what it was.
Remy had left abruptly a few months ago, leaving no warning and saying no goodbye. Rogue had a breakthrough on her powers. She couldn't stop absorbing, but she could do it slower, take less. She flexed a gloved hand. It wasn't enough yet.
"Rogue." She'd heard his footsteps long before he spoke, turning her gaze up to his. Gray-green clashed with black and crimson.
"What took ya so long, sugah?" She teased softly, sniffling. Rain drops got up her nose as she stood. "Ya're usually early. Ah'm surprised." He raked a hand through his wet hair.
"Business, chere', always business."
"So ah gathered." She said softly. He was here. Her heart sped. Her breathing got shallow. And she was soaked through and cold. But he was here, and that's what really mattered, right? "So what's with the secret meetin'? Ya didn't even drop by when ya got back."
"I wanted t' make dis easy." He replied, and she scanned his face. "A clean break." He was smirking, like always, his eyes humorous, his body at ease, but there was something terribly wrong with it. His smile didn't meet his eyes, and he was tense, as if ready to spring, even as he attempted to be casual.
"What's wrong?" She asked, her heart quicker now, but not from excitement.
He sighed. "Dis ain't workin', chere'. We ain't workin'."
She felt the first signs of dread, colder than the rain.
"I t'ought we could get t'rough dis, but we ain't goin' nowhere. I t'ink it's time. I'm sorry."
"Ya ain't sorry, Remy." She said, her heart cold. She was numb. "Ya ain't never been sorry in yar life. You ain't startin' now." He looked at her, face serious now. Finally.
"Sometimes, I wonder, chere'."
"Don't leave me Remy…" She pleaded, her chest constricted. She couldn't breath. "Ah can't do it without ya."
"Don't say dat, Rogue. You'll be just fine."
"Ah don't want to do it without you." She wrapped her fingers into his coat. She didn't want to beg. She didn't want to lose her dignity in front of him. "Please don't leave…" He seemed to hesitate, she could swear he did, but he tugged her hands from his coat.
"Don't you understand, Rogue? I don't love you."
She thought she shattered. Never had it been said so bluntly.
"Ya bastard…" She whispered, trying to hold herself together. Her body shook. She wouldn't last much longer. "Ah s'pose this makes things easier for ya. Now ya can do whatever ya want." She mused, looking at the sky. Drops of water filled her eyes. Hard to tell whether she was crying or not now. For a moment, he put his arms around her waist, crushing her against him, his face buried in her hair.
As soon as it came, it was gone. Two hours in the rain just to say silent goodbye. He was gone before she laid down on the grass, rain pattering against her skin. She was there all night, clutching the ground like it was the only thing that kept her breathing in this world, as gentle lover's words ripped a hole in her chest and left her, lonely, bleeding, and broken.
