"I just don't see why we had to be the ones to do this," Bobby complains while perusing the list that Ororo had drafted for them.
Kitty looks back at her boyfriend, giving him an open-mouthed smile dripping with joy over their task. "Because they're giving us more like, responsibilities, Bobby! This is a totally good thing, seriously. They're taking us a serious members of the team."
"A good thing? For them, maybe. Free labor!" he scoffs, throwing in packs of toilet paper. "To be honest, I think Logan knew that the Costco was closed over that pipe bursting and just sent us to do this because he didn't want to make the drive. You just bought the bait of 'important mission'."
"Oh, whatever!" she says, amused because, well,
he's totally right.
She fell for this hook, line, and sinker. But hey, we like, might as well make the most of it.
"You know, I'm sure they totally wouldn't notice if we threw in the new Final Fantasy game," she tells him, giving him a sly grin as she pushes her already-full cart down the aisle.
His eyebrows raise because, damn, he's lucky to have a girlfriend as nerdy (fun! he meant fun!) as Kitty. "I think that you have just validated this whole trip for me."
"I know. What can I say I'm totally-"
Raising his head from the list to see what's silenced her, he's just as surprised as her to see a confused looking Remy Lebeau down the aisle. "Holy shit, I didn't know they were back in town."
"Remy! Like, oh my gosh!" Kitty squeals, abandoning ship (shopping cart) and taking off down the aisle. He's only just turned around when she flings herself into his arms.
"What in tarnation is yah problem?" Rogue snaps as Pyro roughly drags her away from Gambit. "Pyro, what do yah think yahr-"
"Shut. Up," he hisses over his shoulder in a tone that he's never directed at her. Something has seriously gotten under his skin, and she's starting to become concerned when he leads her down the very next aisle. "Shh," he shushes her, looking through the small space between the back of the shelf and bottom of the next shelf.
Curious, she takes a closer step to see what he's looking at.
"Remy! Like, oh my gosh!" A petite brunette launches herself into Gambit's arms, ecstatic to see him.
Rogue swallows quietly, an odd feeling coming over her. The girl seems to be very familiar with him, and she can't help but wonder if this is the Rogue he always seems to be thinking of. If it is, she really sees no resemblance.
"You jerk!" the brunette says next, pulling away and smacking his arm. "I can't believe you guys, like, didn't even tell us you were coming back! Have you already stopped at the mansion?"
Knitting her eyebrows in confusion, Rogue watches Gambit smile down at her.
"Calm down, Chaton," he laughs, running a hand through his long locks. With a head nod, he greets a blonde male. "'allo Bobby."
"Motherfucker..." Pyro whispers next to her, drawing her attention. His jaw is clenched tightly while his thumb rubs the lid of his lighter.
"Hey, man," the blonde guy, Bobby, says. "We had no clue you guys were coming back. Where's Rogue at?" he asks, looking around as if he'd find Rogue somewhere along the aisle.
Rogue feels something in her stomach sink. Where's Rogue at? Is this Rogue girl supposed to be with him? Are they a thing? Does she remind him of his girlfriend?
Remy places a hand on his shopping cart, tilting his head to the left as he answers, "Sorry t' disappoint y' mes amis, but she ain't here. An' we ain't 'back', least, not yet. Jus' pickin' up some necessities befo' we jump back on de road." He nods his head towards the contents of his cart.
Blood rushes through Remy's veins, causing a distinct thump thump thump in his ears. He's only just caught Kitty in a hug when he realizes this is the reason for Pyro's odd behavior.
He saw the X-Men.
And now Remy only has a very small window of time to make a decision. He could tell them, right here and right now, that Rogue's here and that she's had her memories erased. The three of them could take Pyro no problem and have Rogue in a car back to the mansion in no time.
Or he could play this thing off. If he does this, without a shadow of a doubt, he'd earn the trust of the other Brotherhood members.
And he'd still have Rogue.
Kind of.
"Calm down, Chaton." He gives her his best nonchalant laugh and runs a hand back through his hair to seem at ease. "'allo Bobby," he says with a nod at his former team mate.
"Hey, man. We had no clue you guys were coming back. Where's Rogue at?" Bobby asks, glancing over his shoulder.
Tell dem.
Tell dem right now!
"Sorry t' disappoint y' mes amis, but she ain't here. An' we ain't 'back', least, not yet. Jus' pickin' up some necessities befo' we jump back on de road."
The lie comes out easily. He tips his head towards the mostly-bare cart to show them his words hold weight.
Kitty's face pulls down in disappointment. "Well, I mean, how long are you guys in town for? We could grab lunch or something, right? How far away is your hotel? We should surprise her!"
She's lost him. Her words blur together too quickly for him to make them out. By the time she's done speaking, he's only half sure she just asked him if they could go to lunch. Obviously, this is a slippery slope for him to deal with because no they can't go surprise Rogue. The only surprise she'd have is finding out she's not who she thinks she is.
It'd be one hell of a surprise, he thinks.
Bobby's looking at him now, expectantly waiting for Remy's answer. The cajun's been through high stakes games plenty of times before, and none of that pressure compares to the amount he's under right now.
"Lunch? Well-"
BOOM
"Don't fucking move. Do you hear me, Legacy? Stay right here-"
"Don't talk tah me lahke ah'm five, Pyro," Rogue seethes. Quite frankly, she's tired of his attitude. More importantly, she wishes he'd stop talking so she could pay attention to Gambit's conversation.
Her cold stare is still fixated on him as he bites his lower lip to suppress an agitated noise, shaking his fists at her. "Just... fuck!" He doesn't finish the thought, instead taking off down the aisle and out of her line of sight.
Why is he actin' lahke this? And who are these people? she wonders, unable to wrap her mind around it. She watches the brunette finish saying something, but she was talking too fast for Rogue to understand.
"Lunch? Well-"
BOOM
Rogue lets out a shit!, stumbling from the force of the explosion. The aisle display catches her fall as her nose makes contact with the edge of the metal shelf. She stifles a cry while straightening herself out, putting a hand to her nose. It doesn't feel broken, but the blood that coats her glove confirms that she must have a nasty gash.
Sprit sprit sprit
The sprinklers come on overhead, dousing her and the contents of the store in water. It's at this time she realizes all of the screaming coming from the back end of the store.
"Don't talk tah me lahke ah'm five, Pyro," Rogue says in that irritating way that reminds Pyro just a little too much of her former self. He weighs the option of dragging her with him because he can't trust her not to just fucking stay where he wants her, but that'd take up too much time. It's more time than he can spare.
He bites his lip, because at least the temporary pain stops him from telling her what an annoying fucking cunt she can be, and he's sure those words would only make her defiant, despite the fact he'd be doing her a favor by letting her know. Growling with frustration because he just doesn't have the time for this right now, he gives up with a just... fuck! before he takes off towards the garden center.
This is just great.
Fucking great.
Of course it would be Bobby to seriously test his patience today. And here he'd thought it would be Gambit. In all honesty, Gambit was
doing a fucking amazing job.
There'd been a moment where he thought Gambit was going to tell them, and that he'd have to torch the three of them before high-tailing it out of there with Rogue. Fortunately for them, Gambit seemed to be even more selfish than Pyro once thought.
Apparently, Gambit doesn't want to give up his piece of ass, Pyro thinks.
His sneakers screeeech to a halt when he catches what he was looking for in his peripheral. A teenage boy seems startled by his abrupt arrival, giving him a quizzical look and a can I help you?
"No," Pyro says, flicking his lighter open.
"Oh, hey man, you can't smoke in here. Wish we could," the teenager says with a snort that he assumes is supposed to signify the kid is a stoner.
"That's okay, I'm not smoking," he tells him, giving him a wry grin before adding in that he's just here for the propane tanks.
BOOM
The last thing he sees before the room incinerates with a loud explosion is the horrified look on the kid's face as he sends a spiral of flame in that direction. He winces, covering his ears, because even from this far away, the explosion is deafening. There's still a ringing in his ear when he takes a look at his handiwork.
The garden center burns.
The boy burns.
Everything burns.
It's so beautiful.
So fucking beautiful.
The sprinklers remind him that he needs to get Legacy the hell out of here.
"Merde!" Remy shouts, catching Kitty against his chest as she's thrown into him by the force of the explosion. He notices Bobby lose his footing and smack his head against the linoleum. He lets go of Kitty, dropping to his knee next to the icy mutant. "Dieu, Bobby-"
"I'm fine." Bobby winces, touching the back of his head. With great relief, Remy notices he's not bleeding. Worst case, he's got a concussion.
Sprit sprit sprit
Kitty looks up at the ceiling, her palms open and catching the water droplets. "What happened?"
"Some kind of explosion, chaton," Remy tells her, helping Bobby back onto his feet. He doesn't mention that it's undoubtedly the cause of Pyro wanting to get them far away from him. "Sounds like it came from de back of de store."
A horrified look crosses Kitty's face as she takes note of the screams coming from that direction. "Oh god, what if somebody's been hurt? Or trapped? Come on, we have to do something." Without waiting for a response, she takes off in the direction of the ruckus. Bobby's eyes widen with the thought of her getting herself in trouble, and he chases after her with a wait!
Instinctively, Remy starts to follow. An explosion of that size was bound to come with casualties. His mind wanders off to a scene he doesn't want to think of. A memory of a little girl not breathing beneath a broken window.
'm sorry Sarah...
"Gambit!"
He's ripped from his thoughts and his route by Rogue, who grabs his arm and begins dragging him behind her towards the exit. "Freakin' Pyro sure lahkes tah make a scene, don't he?" she says, sniffing roughly and wiping her blood covered nose on her sleeve.
"Wait. You hurt, chere?" He stops walking, jerking her back towards him with his arm. "Lemme see," he says, reaching a hand towards the deep cut across the bridge of her nose.
"What... what are yah doin?" she snaps, although her tone doesn't quite convey the anger she might have intended. She jerks her face away from his touch, confused by his tender worry.
Nobody ever worries about her.
She's Legacy.
She's better than that.
Hardening his features, he looks away. "F'get it. Come on." Grabbing her by the arm this time, he makes it outside just as Pyro slams on the breaks outside the store. He opens the back door for Rogue, who's still looking at him warily as she climbs in, before he closes the door and gets in the front seat.
"Turn the heat up," Rogue says from the backseat, pulling off her soaked sweater and gloves. She shivers and hugs herself to maintain some of the warmth that the car generates. She waits in silence for the next several minutes, expecting one of the guys to comment on what just happened. When they don't, she finally asks.
"So, who was that?"
Gambit turns his gaze in Pyro's direction, clenching his jaw when the other man tightly shakes his head in a 'no' gesture. Being left out of the loop sparks annoyance in her.
"Why the hell won't y'all tell me? Yah are actin' lahke a buncha five year olds keepin' secrets on the playground," she huffs, sitting forward in between their seats. Looking at Pyro first, she asks again. "Who were they?"
"De X-Men," Gambit tells her, earning her attention. He won't meet her eyes, instead choosing to look out the window. This surprises her, not because Pyro knew them (she knew he had a past there), but because it seemed they knew Gambit fairly well. Her jaws drops when it dawns on her.
"You're an X-Man?" she spits the words out with distaste, her injured nose wrinkling.
"He was, Legacy. Drop it," Pyro demands, watching the road and biting the knuckle of his free hand.
"No ah ain't dropping it, John! He could be a spy for all we know!"
"What did you just call me?" he snaps, turning his head to glare at her over his shoulder. "What the fuck did you just call me, Legacy?"
Rogue's eyebrows knit together, confused by his question. She called him by the only name she knew for him. "What the heck are yah talkin' about? Ah called yah Pyro. Are yah goin' crazy, or somethin'?"
Pyro doesn't answer her, instead sharing a look with Gambit before turning his attention back to the road. They spend the rest of the car ride home in silence.
They never did get the ice cream.
"What in the bloody hell happened to you three?" Psylocke asked, watching the soaking wet mutants enter the home. Her eyes fall on Rogue, who without her sweater and gloves is baring more skin than Psylocke's normally comfortable with being around. "Why are you all wet?"
Pyro gives her a heavy look, shaking his head. "You and you," he points at Gambit and Psylocke, "follow me."
Letting out an annoyed growl, Rogue snaps, "What's yahr problem, Pyro? Why're you tryin' tah leave me in the dark?"
"Does somebody mind telling me why there's so much shouting?" Raven asks, making her arrival to the foyer known. Their appearance startles her, drawing her eyebrows into a guarded look. "Why're you all wet?"
"We need to talk. Now," Pyro tells her, working the muscles of his jaw.
"Legacy, go change into some dry clothes," she tells her daughter, keeping her eyes focused on the other three.
"Why is everyone actin'-"
"I said GO," Raven shouts, fixating an angry look on Rogue until the girl throws her hands in the air angrily and stomps off. "You three, my office."
Raven pinches the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, taking a deep breath. "And you're absolutely positive that they did not see her?"
"I'd fucking say so, considering she's here, wouldn't you think?" Pyro tells her in a snarky tone that she just doesn't have the patience to deal with. Pushing onto her feet from where she sits at her desk, Raven grabs the nearest picture frame and chucks it in his direction. The frame misses him just barely as he ducks out of the way.
"You crazy bitch!"
"If I wanted a smart ass reply, I wouldn't have asked a serious question. Your vacuous responses do little to amuse me, young Pyro, and I would take it upon yourself to learn that it is not wise to grate on my last nerve right now."
Turning her gaze from him as he bites the knuckle of his thumb to refrain from answering (a wise decision, in her opinion), her eyes fall upon Gambit. How easily it would have been for him to give them up to the X-Men.
She's not sure if he's smart, or stupid.
"How'd you break away from them?"
Taking his attention away from the cards he still idly shuffles, Gambit replies, "It's amazin' what an explosion will do for distraction."
She'll settle for stupid, considering he tests her after that little outburst.
"You said she called you John?" Psylocke cuts in, focusing her stare on Pyro. "How could that be? She doesn't know you by that name."
Removing his hand from his mouth, he bends the arm forward as its weight is held by his crossed arm. "You know what's a better question? How come this whole fucking fiasco wasn't in that shitty little BOOK OF YOURS?" He shouts the last part at Raven.
Gathering every ounce of self control she has, Raven decides not to snap his neck.
She's better than that.
She has her eye on the prize.
Which is why it's with no small amount of lament that she informs them
Destiny
has gone missing.
A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone for their reviews of the last chapter, and for being so kind about my disappearance.
HTP is my first fic, and it started as a one shot. With your guys support it has turned into a multi chapter fic, and we still have quite the ride planned out ahead of us yet. My goal is to have HTP finished by Christmas, hopefully even sooner.
I already have several more Romy projects planned out, one of which I've already started writing.
In short, thank you thank you thank you for the kind words over the past year. Your support is truly my driving factor. The next chapter is already in its rough draft, I hope to have it out in a timely manner. Please review, and feel free to message me any time.