Title: The House of the Rising Sun, Chapter 7
Author: Goddess Evie
Date: February 11, 2003
Genre: Romance (Remy/Rogue, Scott/Jean, Lance/Kitty), Action, Drama, Angst, AU, heck, it's got it all…just not all in one chapter ^_^
Rating: It's only a G, and I really don't think this'll get above PG.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own X-men of any incarnation. I am but a poor, fanatical, poor, college student who much enjoys a show so that she writes extensive (and hopefully intriguing, enjoyable, and highly popular) fanfiction to feed her insatiable hunger for anything X-men. The title of this fic, a quote from a popular old song by the same name, does not belong to me (obviously) and I'd love to give credit where credit is due, and now I can because I have been informed by one reader that it was done by the "Animals". Thank you! Still, it's not mine. Also, the song lyric I use as the title for this chapter doesn't belong to me either. I'm quoting the song "Here In My House" by Celine Dion. Sadly, I own nothing but the plot so don't sue me cause I can't even pay for college! WAAAAH!
Summary: Rogue and Remy finally have their meeting, plus we peek in on Scott once again AND an interesting scene with Jean.
Author's Note: Well, like I said, the scene I have with Jean at the end is interesting to say the least. Where it came from, I dunno. But for those of you who haven't guessed, I really can't stand Jean. To be truthful, I'm not a fan of Scott either. All the other mutants I just love. Anyways, I'm finally bringing you guys the scene that you've all been waiting for. And the fanfic readers rejoiced! Yeah! So, let the fic-ing begin!
The House of the Rising Sun Chapter 7: "See me as if you never knew. Hold me so you can't let go."
Rogue rubbed her eyes and sat up as the late afternoon sunlight slanted through her room. It had been nice to sleep in a real bed for once instead of trying to catch some snooze time in Logan's truck, despite the dreams that Carol and her memories had plagued her with. It was even nicer to be home. She took more than a few moments to look around the room Ororo had put her in for the night and enjoy the familiarity of the dark wood paneled walls, stylish furniture, and expensive decorations. The decorations told Rogue that this was one of the guest rooms. The dorm rooms were left purposely undecorated so that each student or pair of students could accessorize their rooms according to their own styles.
But after a while the room wasn't enough, and Rogue wanted to see more of the Mansion that had become a home to her. She slipped from the bed, her bare feet luxuriating in the plush comfort of the carpet made warm by the sun. Slowly she made her way to the door, setting her hand upon the knob and turning it. The burnished brass handle turned as effortlessly as any in the house and the door opened just as quietly. She peeked her head out to look up and down the hall.
*Stop being so cautious,* she scolded herself. *You're home, now. There's no reason, anymore.*
With a sigh she stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind her and started down the hallway. The Mansion was peacefully quiet and mysteriously devoid of its usually raucous inhabitants, which confused Rogue. Where was Kurt, Evan, Kitty, Scott, Amara, Jubilee, little Jaime? Where was anybody?
{Maybe they heard you were back and decided to hightail it,} Carol suggested, hatefully sarcastic in her mind.
Rogue growled and ignored Carol's comment. The woman wouldn't leave her alone for a moment. She hoped the Professor could do something for her. She didn't know how much more she could take of the woman.
She was at the stairs now, leading down to the ground level. She couldn't understand why she was hesitating and feeling so afraid. What did she have to fear?
{The accusing eyes, the suspicious looks, the cold shoulders just like the first time,} Carol cut in.
*But haven't I already proved myself?* she retorted vehemently.
{That was until you disappeared at the same time the Brotherhood did,} Carol reminded.
*But I'll explain to them. They'll understand. If I can convince Logan, I can convince anyone,* she said defiantly and started down the stairs to put emphasis on her point.
Carol didn't take the hint, continuing to scream at her at a constant rate, but Rogue chose to ignore her. She had other things to worry about. Like how was she going to explain Carol to the gang? A daunting task. It was even more daunting to think how they might react.
Sudden laughter grabbed Rogue's attention and she immediately reacted, turning towards it and heading in that direction. The laugher continued at random interludes, and the closer she got, the better she could hear an achingly familiar voice eliciting the laughter from the rest of the group. Continuing to follow the sound, Rogue soon found herself standing by a pair of double, wooden doors, one standing slightly ajar so that she could look in without being noticed.
The whole group was there, being entertained by Kurt's antics. He had his holograph generator turned off so that his blue fur, yellow eyes, and three digited hands and feet were apparent, but everyone at the Institute had long become comfortable with the German teen's appearance, and no one seemed to notice it over his usual hilarious performance. By his side, Evan was just about rolling around on the floor from laughing so hard. Watching them made Rogue smile.
"You gonna go in?" Logan's gruff voice coming softly from behind Rogue made her jump.
Turning, she looked up at the gruff man. "You scared me," she hissed at him.
He didn't reply to her annoyed statement, just looked at her expectantly. Rogue scowled and turned back to look through the crack in the two doors at the gathered mutants.
"Ah dunno," she finally mumbled.
"They really missed ya," he reminded.
Rogue just shrugged and turned back to spy on the group through the cracked door. Kitty was laughing outright at the Fuzzy Blue Elf, Jean too, though she kept hers more subdued. Jaime was almost breathless with amusement, the younger girls giggling to each other in their group. Bobby was slapping his knee as he snorted, and the other boys had their heads thrown back as they chortled. Unconsciously, the corner of Rogue's mouth lifted as she watched them.
Finally Kurt finished, and he sat down, quite pleased with himself. He was constantly joking, showing off, and never happier than when he was cheering others up. Rogue remembered the times Kurt had done just that service for her, refusing to quit until she smiled for him. He hated to see anybody unhappy, accepting nothing but a smile from everyone around him.
At least that was one reason for his constant clowning around. There was another that not many other than Rogue knew.
"Well, that's everybody," McCoy was saying from the front of the crowd.
Rogue was startled from the trance she had put herself into when the door suddenly moved, seemingly of its own accord, opening wider. She felt herself being propelled through the portal by a hand on her back, and Logan's gruff voice interrupting Hank.
"Not quite," he corrected.
Now Rogue found herself staring anxiously at the group of Mutants that had been previously enjoying Kurt's show. The room was absolutely silent and Rogue wished that Logan wasn't barring her escape route. But, since she was trapped, she felt she should say something. The group before her deserved an apology and an explanation about her disappearance over the summer, but she couldn't make herself do anything but stare shyly at her peers.
They were all staring right back at her, all of them looking quite dumbfounded. But how long would that last? How long until the pointing fingers, accusing looks, and suspicious questions?
{Any time now,} Carol assured her smugly inside her head.
But she was wrong, because what happened next had nothing to do with interrogations or cold shoulders. A bamf followed shortly by another, both accompanied with the smell of brimstone, found Rogue enveloped in the soft furry embrace of Kurt Wagner, her adopted brother and one of her closest friends.
"I'm zo glad you're back. I mizzed you," he whispered endearingly into her ear before hovering his puckered lips over her cheek and blowing softly.
"Ah missed ya too, shugah," she whispered back, as she hugged him fiercely.
Another pair of arms joined Kurt's and Rogue shared a secret smile with Kitty. Then Evan was patting her on the back and settling his darker arms around the three and from there it was chaos as everyone got in on the group hug, including Jean who tousled Rogue's hair in an affectionate welcome back gesture that the southern belle let pass without any sort of backlash.
Rogue was left in total awe by this display of affection and all of it for her. She had only dared to dream that this was what would happen. Certainly this wasn't what she had been expecting, far from it. But the actions and words of her friends, and she now knew them by that name and none other, caused Rogue to rethink her previous misconceptions. She realized how silly she had been, imagining only the worst possible scenario for her return. Once again, she had been proved wrong by the people who never failed to surprise her.
But an even bigger surprise was on his way when finally the students of the Mansion gave her room to breath and moved to welcome the gruffer Logan back into the fold. Gracefully dodging through the excited students was none other than Remy LeBeau, with his gorgeous red on black eyes only for her. As she watched him approach she felt as if the breath had been taken from her lungs and the rest of the world stood still and slowly disappeared. There was room in her vision only for him, once she had discovered that somehow he was here, waiting for her.
McCoy's clearing his throat brought Rogue from her daze and she noticed that everybody was staring at herself and Remy.
"Remy, I'd like to introduce a very special member of the Institute-"
"Rogue," Remy finished for the giant, blue Beast, earning a surprised look from the good doctor.
Rogue gasped as he spoke her name, allowing oxygen to enter her lungs again. She didn't know how this was possible, and a small part of her brain was obsessively crazy with trying to figure it out. But that part of her mind was greatly overwhelmed by the unmistakable joy at seeing the Cajun Gentleman again. It agreed that it wasn't possible, but it also admitted that it, and she, didn't care, so long that he was here.
He closed the distance between himself and Rogue with a few steps and moved to take her hand as he smiled softly. But Rogue surprised him by stepping back and pulling both her unprotected hands behind her, pulling the gray sleeves of her flannel shirt down and around them. She was painfully aware of the disappointed, hurt, and confused look that he gave her, but she couldn't let him go any further without telling him the truth.
Mr. McCoy strategically spoke up at that moment. "Perhaps, Rogue, you should tell Monsieur LeBeau about your Mutant Gift."
As she spoke, Rogue felt more strongly than ever that her Mutant power was not a gift but a curse.
"Mah powah' is that Ah absorb a person by simple skin t'skin contact. Ah drain them of mem'ries, lahfe force an' if they're a Mutant, whatevah powah's and abilities they have. As a sahde effect, sometahmes Ah take on physical an' pers'nality traits, too," she spoke honestly and bluntly. Trying to sugar coat the truth would do nothing but give hope where there was none.
A small piece of Rogue's heart broke off each time his face fell more and more with each word she told him. But she knew it was better this way. Nobody would get hurt, and he could get over her more quickly and find some other pretty face to set his heart on sooner.
"Isn't dere any way t'control it?" Remy pleaded.
"No," she choked out the answer. "There ain't."
"Rogue hasn't yet been able to find any control over her ability, thus far, except by completely partitioning herself off from any kind of physical contact," Hank's soft words cut quickly and devastatingly.
"Ah'm sorry," Rogue whispered before turning and quickly leaving the room before anyone had a chance to notice the tears threatening her eyes.
Remy stood staring at the spot Rogue had been standing in before she had flown off. He couldn't believe what she had told him. No, that wasn't true. He didn't want to believe what she'd just told him. Where was the part where she popped back into the room, all smiles, and told him she was just joking and then he took her into his arms, feeling like a fool, and smiling like a man in love, and kissed her deeply and passionately to show to her the depth of his feelings?
But that part never came. Instead he was left with Mr. McCoy's words cutting like a knife into his soul, quick but agonizing, and the whole of the Institute staring at him with wide-eyed shock, wondering what had just happened and knowing there was more to this than they understood.
And then Remy knew that he couldn't just accept that this was the end. He wasn't about to forget about the one woman who could make his heart race with nervousness, and excitement every time she entered the room. He would fight for her. He would find a way.
Gambit always did love a good challenge.
He was stopped briefly by a hand on his sleeve and he turned to find Jean shaking her head at him, trying to discourage him from following the fled femme. But Gambit would have none of it and he steeled his determination and pulled himself from her grasp, exiting the room before anyone else got the idea in their heads that they should try to stop him, too.
Outside in the hall, there was no sight of Rogue, but the tell-tale sound of bare feet against wood floor, reverberating from down the hall, directed Remy to his left. Quickly and quietly the thief stalked after the woman that had been audacious enough to steal his heart, knowing that if he let her know now that he was following her, she would never let him get close.
As Remy turned a corner, the pounding feet suddenly stopped, but the undercover thief didn't. He continued to follow the hall where his tracking had led him, knowing his quarry couldn't be too far ahead of him now. The hall was silent in a creepy way that had Remy holding his breath and moving slowly, until he shook his head and laughed under his breath at himself.
"Dis ain't no horro' movie," he mumbled.
Turning the last corner found Remy almost tripping over Rogue where she sat on the floor against the wall, curled up into a tight ball. With her head buried into herself, Rogue didn't notice him until after he'd crouched down beside her, gently touching her shoulder to let her know that he was there. Gentle as his touch was, she still jumped, staring at him with tear-brimmed eyes.
"Ah chère, don'cry," he told her, heartache in his voice.
"Ah'm fahne," she assured, wiping her eyes and sniffling.
She turned her face away so that he couldn't see that she was lying, but it was too late for that already. Remy sighed, wishing Rogue would look at him so that she could be assured for herself that he didn't care about her Mutant powers. That he still carried deeply for her and would do anything, risk everything just to make her happy.
"Ya shouldn' lie, ma chère," he spoke softly. "Sides, Remy jus' wan't'make t'ings better."
"Didn'ya hear me the first tahme! Ah said Ah'm fahne! An' Ah cert'nly don't need no swamp rat's help," she yelled at him, rising.
"Chère," his voice was so full of pain and pleading that it softened Rogue's heart.
"Remy, Ah'm sorry. But it wouldn' work," her expression pleaded with him to understand her dilemma.
And Remy still found that he couldn't give up, and that somehow he had to make her see that her mutation didn't matter to him. But she wouldn't let herself believe, wouldn't let anyone, not even him, get close.
"Rogue, Remy, is everything alright?" Ororo's voice sounded from just around the corner.
The two southerners looked away from each other to see the Storm Goddess, followed by Hank and even Jean, all of them wearing concerned expressions.
"Ev'rything's fahne," Rogue hardened herself as she answered for the both of them before she slipped past the group that had gathered and headed down the hall, four apprehensive gazes following her. After a few moments Ororo turned to follow the stubborn brunette, and Hank stepped up to take her place, effectively blocking Remy from pursuit of his own.
"We've arranged for Jean to give you a tour of the Mansion," he said, sounding every bit as calm as the day Remy had met him, despite the recent show.
Remy wanted to protest, to set the record straight, to shout at everyone that they had ruined a perfectly good opportunity to make Rogue believe that there was more to him then wanting to touch her. He certainly wanted to do that. But he didn't just see her irresistible skin and body. She had shown a very sassy side that Remy certainly wanted to get to know, not to mention he wanted to talk to her, find out all kinds of interesting and funny and embarrassing and sad and introspective things about her, find out her secret dreams so that he could fulfill them for her. He wanted her to talk just because he loved the sound of her voice, her adorable and slightly sultry Mississippi accent that made him home sick and filled him with peaceful nostalgia all at the same time.
Instead, Remy just nodded absently. He knew that, for now, there was nothing he could do besides brood, so he followed Jean and Hank down the hall, acting his usual amusing self, and forcing himself to listen to what they were saying.
"Hey Scott, tell us about this Institute you came from," Nathan said, picking up the picture that sat on Scott's desk to look at.
Scott looked up at the two boys, Nathan still perusing the picture and Brad watching Scott intently.
"Well, it was the place I was raised. Not really an orphanage, not really a foster home," Scott supplied.
"A school for the gifted," Brad supplied the description from the little Scott had previously told them.
Scott nodded.
"So, what, this is some gathering place for nerds?" Nathan joked.
"Do I look like a nerd to you?" Scott retorted.
"Yes," Brad and Nathan said at the same time, smiling good-naturedly.
Scott picked up his small nerf ball and tossed it at the two, hoping to hit one of them in the head. They both dodged and tried to catch it, and it hit the wall behind them.
"Really, though, there are so many kids, all different ages and stuff," Nathan pursued.
"Well, smart kids aren't look alikes. They have their own interests and stuff," Scott assured.
"Like what?" Nathan asked.
"Well, take Kitty for instance-"
"Which one's Kitty," Nathan interrupted.
Scott leaned over the picture, scanning it quickly and pointing out the perky young teen for his friend.
"She's a complete whiz at Math and Science and. But she also loves shopping, boys and from just talking to her you'd think she was a total airhead," Scott supplied.
"How good is she at Math?" Brad asked, thinking himself a bit of a Math pro.
"This last year at school, she was already taking college level Math courses and she's only a junior this year," Scott told him.
Brad's eyes widened.
"And how about this lovely young lady?" Nathan next asked, setting down the group picture and taking up the framed photo of Jean. "Why does she get a frame all to herself?"
"Oh, that's Jean," Scott answered.
Brad and Nathan picked up on Scott's blush and embarrassment.
"Your girlfriend," Brad identified, Nathan grinning in agreement.
"No," Scott objected, grabbing the photo from Nathan so he could replace it on his bedside table, but instead gazing at it himself.
"Earth to Scott!" Nathan called, giving the sunglasses wearing young man a wake up shove.
Scott looked at his friends who were wearing identical skeptical expressions.
"I promise, she's really not my girlfriend," Scott vowed solemnly, then added with a sigh, "Unfortunately."
He watched as Nathan and Brad exchanged a look, feeling like he was having Evan-Kurt déjà vu. But neither of his friends pursued the subject anymore. Nathan turned the group picture to get a better look at it again.
"What about this girl?" he tapped the picture of Rogue.
"That's Rogue," Scott said, fighting the emotions that his mind connected with the young woman.
Brad leaned closer to see who Nathan was asking about this time. "She looks scary."
"She can be," Scott assured. "Never get on her bad side. Heap big trouble."
"What's she like?" Nathan wanted to know.
Scott shook his head. "She's got potential, or else she wouldn't be at the school, but she's got a lot of troubles, too."
"What kind of troubles?"
"Only the Professor really knows," Scott answered.
Nathan nodded, but Brad was looking at Scott pensively.
"Something's bothering you," he identified.
Scott looked at Brad with a little bit of surprise, then nodded. "This last summer, she disappeared. No one has any idea why or how."
"And you blame yourself, don't you?" Nathan's voice was soft.
"I just keep thinking that there was something I could have done to make her stay, or keep her safe, or something," Scott tried to explain to the two young men.
"Woah, Scott, it's okay. I'm sure you did your best," Brad told him.
Scott just shrugged and shook his head.
"Look, guys, why don't we go get something to eat," Nathan suggested, steering away from the uncomfortable subject.
"Yeah, then we can play some football," Brad piped up, grabbing the said object from where it lay.
Scott smiled. "Sounds like a good idea," he agreed and followed the two boys out of his room.
"Rogue," Ororo called out sharply, stopping the young woman in her tracks finally.
"What?!" Rogue snapped back, turning to glare angrily at the white haired woman who'd been chasing after her.
"I'm taking you school shopping," Ororo informed her calmly.
Rogue stood there for a moment just looking at the African woman. She'd expected to be asked about what was bothering her, perhaps forced to talk about problems that she didn't want to share with anybody because how could they understand with their perfect, touchy feely lives? But the woman had acted like nothing was wrong, repeating her actions from the night before, and had instead, talked about everyday, mundane things.
Rogue slowly nodded and turned to start up the stairs. She looked straight ahead as she walked while her mind, once again left to its own devices, crashed immediately back into thoughts about Remy. The emotions hit her like an ambush and she had to fight to keep herself under control and not turn into a blubbering baby.
She'd thought she'd made herself strong, built up so many walls that she couldn't get hurt. But Remy had come upon her while she'd been in a fit of weakness, both times; had caught her off guard while at the same time making her feel so comfortable and at home. He had a way about him that could not be denied and struck straight into the depths of her soul.
Nothing had hurt more than revealing the truth to him, watching his face fill with pain, the brightness of his eyes fade with disappointment. She didn't know how he'd come to mean so much to her in such a short period of time, after only having met him once, but she could have sworn that she'd felt his pain deep within her soul, still could, and not even the events of the summer could compete with how much it hurt.
Methodically, Rogue entered her room, stripped her body of last night's pajamas and found that none of her stuff had been moved, not even by Kitty. She pulled out clothing, old, unused, but familiar and comforting all its own. A fresh pair of her own underwear, a black satin bra that didn't seem to fit as well as when she'd last worn it, black nylons that weren't comfortable to wear anymore from being too small, and a tank top that was awfully tight and revealing around her chest and just didn't even come close to covering her belly button.
Had Kitty been wearing and washing her clothing, shrinking them by doing so? That didn't make sense. Kitty did not agree with Rogue's taste and clothes and had always complained that Rogue had no sense of fun in her style. None of the girls had ever had much of a taste for her style, to be honest.
A black skirt from her closet proved to be shorter and tighter, and the gauzy, green, sheer material shirt that went over the tank top didn't have the same looseness she remembered. Trying to put on her pair of chunky, black boots proved impossible, and she was forced to settle for a pair of black, leather sandals that had a been a little too big before she'd been swept away by Mystique and the Brotherhood.
She remembered, as she looked herself over in the full size mirror that was one of Kitty's contributions to the room, that Jean had given her the sandals as a present when she'd first moved into the Mansion, and she'd never found the motivation to wear them…until now.
[You look like a whore,] Carol politely informed her.
Shuddup, Rogue informed back.
She debated applying her make-up, Carol contributing, [Great, let's just complete the whole 'I'm a slut" ensemble], and even changing her outfit, but she knew that Ororo was waiting for her. Instead, she left her room, deciding not to care if she looked trashy, despite what Carol said, because maybe that was the effect she was going for anyway, and tromped down the stairs where Ororo waited patiently.
"Are you ready to go?" Ororo asked with no verbal comment or bodily gesture at the way Rogue looked.
The younger Mutant just nodded and followed Ororo out the front entrance to the garage.
Remy had been given the full tour by the Miss Jean, and had memorized everything she had shown him in the maze like Mansion with the accuracy of a thief's photographic memory. Along with that he'd mapped out the best escape routes from anywhere in the building, and then back-ups for those in case his first choice was blocked, and once again back-ups for those in case his second choice was blocked. All of these little things he did in the back of his mind without a second thought. The instincts of a thief.
Now, he and Jean were standing in the garage, the end of their tour. There were some impressive vehicles in here, an assortment of cars, jeeps, motorcycles. Anyone who wanted to go for a ride had quite a variety to choose from.
"An' de students can use dese any time day wan'?" Remy was asking of his tour guide.
"Not quite," Jean told him. "Xavier keeps the keys to all of them and we have to ask permission to use them."
"Bummer," Remy lamented.
"Not really. The Professor is actually quite open to their use. As long as you let him know where you're going and an estimation of how long you'll be gone," Jean explained. "Just think of it as asking your parents to borrow their car."
Remy nodded at her answer, then launched abruptly onto a new subject.
"So, wha's it like readin' o'dah people's minds?" he asked of her.
The question caught Jean off guard. "Well, really, I don't read people's minds, not without urgent need, or their permission, or if it's an emergency."
"But you can," he insisted.
Jean flushed, and nodded. The first time Remy could recall seeing her flustered. Jean was a confident young woman who was always in control. Remy decided to see how unnerved he could get her.
"You evah read any o'de students minds?" Remy asked, giving her a sidelong glance.
"No!" Jean answered, a little too quickly. "The Professor has taught me that a person's mind is his own private possession, and it would be a moral crime if I entered without permission."
"C'mon, chère. Wasn't dere a time when you were jus' diein' t'fin'out what someone was t'inkin'?" Remy continued to pry. "Dat Rogue girl, fo'instance."
Jean didn't answer. She looked away from him, her face going read. Remy leaned in closer to her, lowering her voice.
"You got some'in dat yo'hidin', mademoiselle?"
"Once," Jean admitted, though she wouldn't look at Remy. "I tried to read Rogue's mind once, because… But I couldn't. At first I was completely confused, and then I got bumped out. More like kicked out, actually. It was the scariest experience, and I never wanted to do it again…and I haven't."
Remy was quiet after that admittance, mostly because he was busy processing what she'd told him about Rogue. Then again, he wondered how long Jean had been hiding that piece of information, keeping it to herself. It must have been a burden on her heart for it to affect her so for just admitting that she'd done it.
"Dere," Remy finally asked, his voice gentle. "Don' dat feel bettah?"
Jean shook her head, her eyes closed as she re-composed herself.
"You're supposed to meet up with Ororo again so that you can go into town and get school supplies and stuff," Jean avoided his question.
"A'ight," Remy allowed her to do so. "Where're we 'posed to meet'er?"
"Right here," Ororo's refined voice told him.
Remy turned to look at the African woman with a smile and almost faltered when he saw who was standing sullenly by her side. As his heart tripped over itself, Remy wondered if maybe he should reason himself out of going on this little trip.