Reading Key: Thoughts are signified by 'these'. Emphasis and the voices in Rogue's head are in italics. Telepathic conversation is underlined.
Author's Note: There is some reference in this chapter to events from a comic book made to tell Nightcrawler's pre-X-2 story. All you really need to know is that he was raised by a family who are part of a circus in Germany. The daughter, Amanda, was a bit of an oblivious slut in the comic, but Kurt loved her (without ever telling her… well, really telling her).
Also, this chapter is one week and a day after the last one, so it is well within the ten day timetable… and it would have been up last night, but I was having issues with FFN.
x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x
x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x
x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x
Before Rogue could get too far in her search for Kurt, she ran into Storm and Remy. Almost literally in the case of the flustered-looking older woman. Remy simply stood beside her, grinning devilishly, when Storm stopped walking. Rogue was sure he had said something to Storm for her to look the way she did. For a moment she was surprised that even Remy would be able to affect her that way, but then she realized that there was no one in Storm's normal life who treated her first and foremost as a woman. She was always a protégé, a teammate or a teacher.
"Storm," Rogue asked, "do you know where I can find Kurt?"
The weather witch made a vague gesture with her usually graceful hands. "I believe he is in the private kitchen making a pot of tea."
"Thanks."
Rogue almost said something to the other woman about not letting Remy get to her, but the truth was that despite her agitation Storm looked a lot better than she had since Alkali Lake. More alive and in the moment. Maybe Remy's presence would prove a welcome distraction for at least one of them.
Her older half-brother was exactly where Storm had indicated he might be. He looked up from setting the tea kettle on the stove when she came into the room, giving her a friendly smile and nod.
A quick glance around showed that the refrigerator had been replaced and the bullet holes spackled, only awaiting a coat of paint to return the room to its pre-invasion condition.
"Hello, Rogue," Kurt greeted softly.
Rogue smiled nervously. "Hi. I need to talk to you about something… do you have a few minutes?"
"Of course." Kurt gestured to the two stools tucked under the counter-edge of the kitchen island. "Sit. I will join you as soon as the water boils."
She watched him silently as he went through the ritual of making tea, learning more about her half-sibling through the way he moved and the serene expression that never left his demonic features. Rogue could understand how someone seeing him for the first time would be frightened, think him a monster, but anything more than a minute in his presence under normal circumstances would change that. He was gentle, in some ways too gentle, especially if he was going to continue living here. Rogue ceased her rambling thoughts when he sat beside her, blowing lightly on the surface of his drink.
"What is it I can help you with?" he asked.
"Actually, I have some information for you," Rogue responded. "I'm not sure how to lead into this without just saying it, so I'm going to. I'm sure you remember Mystique from the mission… well, she's your mother. And mine."
Kurt blinked but did not otherwise react for more than a minute. Finally, he quietly observed, "When you called me your brother at Stryker's base, you were truly being literal."
Rogue nodded. "I had only found out the night before that it was biologically. I previously thought Mystique was only my adopted mother, she abandoned me when I was an infant, had her memories altered and then took me in when the man I thought was my father kicked me out when my mutation manifested."
"She abandoned me as well," he said quietly.
"She felt she didn't have a choice at the time. Your birth was difficult and her control slipped. The locals were trying to kill you both. She regrets it but believes there was no other choice."
Kurt's face was slightly troubled, but he nodded acceptance of Rogue's statement. "And our father?"
Rogue dropped her gaze for a moment. "We have different fathers. Mama was in hiding as a human and married to one when she had you, but he wasn't your father. The only thing I know about your father is that he looked a lot like you except that he was red."
Kurt was quiet for several minutes. Rogue stayed silent too, letting him sort through the information for himself. When he did speak again, he seemed to skip right over the topic and onto a new one.
"Do we have any other siblings?"
"Another half-brother about a decade older than you. Graydon Creed. He's human though and hates mutants. His father was Victor Creed, who you may hear about around here referred to as Sabertooth."
"Another mutant," Kurt observed more to himself than her. "And your father? Is he a mutant as well?"
Rogue shifted uncomfortably on the stool. "Yes."
Kurt must have noticed the tension in her voice and the true discomfort behind her fidgeting, because he didn't ask for more details.
"You said she adopted you," he eventually spoke. "I was adopted as well, by one of the trainers of the circus I am… was a part of. The woman who raised me had a daughter, Amanda…"
"But?" Rogue prodded, feeling that there was a story behind her brother's sudden pause.
Kurt smiled shyly, "But I did not have brotherly feelings toward her."
Rogue grinned slightly. "How does she feel about you?"
The mirth died from Kurt's dark face, and he ducked his head slightly. "I do not know. Before all of this… I thought I had shared my feeling with her and she had reciprocated, but I believe since seeing what was done to Professor Xavier that it was all part of what Stryker had done to me."
Rogue placed a gentle hand on his arm, "I'm so sorry."
Kurt patted her gloved hand with his bare, blue one before curling his thick fingers around her slender ones. "In a way I am grateful. I was able to know for a short time what it would be like to have Amanda's love. I will cherish the memory, no matter how it came to be."
"Have you contacted them to let them know you're okay?"
A shake of his head answered her before his words. "No, I cannot yet. The circus has only one phone and it is turned on solely when it is being used. And I am not ready to go back there and face them in person. The other scenarios that were shown to me in my time as a captive were not as pleasant. I wish to go back to my family with a clean heart."
"I understand," Rogue murmured. "But don't forget that you have family here in America, too."
Kurt tilted his head slightly. "You said that in an odd way. Are you not remaining here at the Professor's School?"
"No, I don't live here," she answered. "I've only been staying here to help out, but I'm not really needed anymore. If you want to get in touch with me, all you have to do is ask Piotr. He has all my contact numbers."
"You are leaving soon?"
Though she hadn't made a conscious decision about it before their conversation, Rogue nodded, "Tomorrow morning. And I would appreciate if you could keep our conversation between us. The X-Men know Mystique is my adoptive mother, so calling me your sister will be more then fine. I just prefer that the full details not be widely known just yet."
"Very well," Kurt acquiesced. "Is our mother willing to meet with me?"
"She will," Rogue assured, knowing it was true even if she didn't know when. "But right now she's undercover. You'll probably be told by one of the X-Men sooner or later that she's impersonating a Senator by the name of Kelly."
Kurt took a sip of his now lukewarm tea and asked, "Why?"
"It was the easiest and best way to accomplish her goals. One of which I agreed with and the other which is the reason she and I are somewhat estranged at the moment."
When silence reigned again for several minutes, Rogue thought their conversation might be over. But when he had finished his tea and rinsed his cup and the teapot, Kurt turned to her once more.
"Have you forgiven her for abandoning you?"
Rogue gave him a sad half-smile. "Not yet. But I'm working on it."
Kurt mirrored her expression and patted her shoulder gently. "Good night, mein Schwester."
"Gute nacht," she said softly.
x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x
x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x
Rogue's sleep that night was plagued with nightmare images of running for her life, a small squirming bundle clutched to her chest. She knew the dreams came from her mother's memories. She had delved into them to provide Kurt with a few more details than Mystique had originally shared with her. Kurt deserved it. The price to Rogue was not much of a consideration. Considering the state of things, if she hadn't suffered Mystique's nightmares, they would simply have been replaced with someone else's.
She had told Piotr that night that she would be leaving in the morning. Though she was saddened that they would once more living apart, he had known it was coming. He had told her he was surprised she had even stayed as long as she had. Scott hadn't turned up until she had already been half asleep, so she hadn't had the chance to tell him. And though she knew it was a cowardly thing to do, Rogue had no intention of telling Logan.
At least not right away. She wanted to be able to partially settle in to what would now be her life before telling him the more incredible and controversial parts of her story. But she knew she had to tell him sooner rather than later if she wanted to be the one to give him all the details… the correct ones. Because although Jean was gone, Xavier and Storm were still potential usurpers of the truth.
And Xavier at the very least would turn events to his advantage, making Logan see Rogue's choices as… maybe not wrong, but certainly not what Xavier had thought was best at the time. Storm would be sure to go along with whatever Xavier told her to say or not say. Rogue wasn't sure how much Xavier's desire to have her as part of his team would affect what Logan was told.
With a sigh, Rogue climbed from the bed, careful not to wake the still-sleeping Piotr. Scott had already gotten up an hour ago and had long since left the room. Pulling the suitcases she'd never fully unpacked from beneath the bed, Rogue chose an outfit for the day and went into the in-suite to shower. There was a bathroom with a narrow shower stall in the apartment above Darkholme, but this was the last time she'd have access to a full-sized one and she intended to enjoy it while she could.
Piotr was still sleeping when she emerged, so Rogue quietly packed up what little of her stuff was lying around, placing a gentle kiss on her sleeping best friend's forehead. He knew she was leavin, and this was far from goodbye, so she let him continue snoozing. She'd probably kept him awake part of the night with her nightmares. Rogue made sure the alarm was set so he'd still get up in time for his classes before leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
Doing a quick mental scan to find where them, Rogue made a stop in the dining hall to let Decipher and Conchita know she was leaving. She promised to do something with the two of them that weekend if all three of them were free. Kurt was in the room as well, so she made sure to go over and give him a careful hug. She reminded him once more that he could contact her through Piotr at any time. Her goodbyes finished with a brief mental message to the Professor about her departure, and Rogue made her way to the garage.
"You're leaving?"
Rogue turned to face Scott, who was sitting on the floor of the garage, slumped against the wheel well of one of the luxury cars a few spaces down from her Mustang. She walked over to stand in front of him, setting her suitcases down and extending a gloved hand in case he needed help getting to his feet. Releasing a defeated sigh, Scott accepted her hand and allowed her to pull him up.
"I have to," she answered gently once he was vertical.
Scott reached toward her with one hand, lightly holding her upper arm. "It's too dangerous, Rogue. With Magneto out…"
Rogue flinched at the mention of the metal manipulator but still cut off the concerned man in front of her. "Scott, I'm not going back to the House. There are rooms over Darkholme; I'll be staying there until I figure something else out. Wanda and Pietro have already moved most of my stuff there, and I'll find a way to get the rest without going back to the House. He's not even there since he believes Xavier would have already turned the location over to the authorities, but I won't be going anywhere near where he even might be. I'll be okay."
"You could stay here," he told her. "The Professor wants you to stay." Seeming to realize that thought wouldn't really mean anything to her, Scott amended, "I want you to stay."
A smile curved her lips but didn't quite reach her eyes, fading quickly. "I appreciate that, Scott, I really do, but I can't. I have responsibilities of my own, and I never fit here the first time. I doubt that's changed. And, although I am very sorry for your loss, you know about my issues with Jean. Having to be in a place where everyone is mourning her and expecting me to do the same on top of finding out about…" she trailed off, realizing she'd been about to say aloud what only a few people knew… and it really needed to stay between them… where anyone could overhear. "Well, things are far more complicated for me right now than they've ever been."
"I can't say I'm happy about it, but I understand," he responded. "If you need anything…"
Rogue stepped in closer to him and hugged him gently, whispering, "That goes double for you. Piotr's asked that I keep the link between he and I constantly open for at least the next week. If it's alright with you, I'd like to do the same with you. It'll just be enough for both of us to know the other is okay, I won't be invading your thoughts."
Scott, his arms still wrapped around her, nodded, Rogue feeling the movement against her hair. "I'd like that." He hesitated before adding, "If it's not too much to ask, I'd like to change our monthly check-ins to weekly, just until things settle down."
Realizing it would give him something to concentrate on as well as giving her the opportunity to see in person how he was doing with his grief, Rogue quickly agreed. Scott was still holding her, and Rogue reluctantly extracted herself from his grip.
"I have to go," she told him kindly but firmly.
"I'll see you Sunday, then."
Rogue nodded, adding, "You are more than welcome to come see me at any time. And I mean that, any time you might need a friend, I'll be there."
x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x
x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x
Logan woke feeling uneasy. He'd dreamt, but couldn't remember the images that had haunted his sleep. Not that that was anything new. Unable to shake the bad feeling, Logan headed down to the room everyone in the mansion gathered in for meals. He still hadn't discovered where Marie's room was, but was pretty sure he could catch up to her there. But a cursory examination of the dining hall proved him wrong. Perhaps she had already begun her tasks for the day. Between the help she was giving Xavier and Scott, Logan had no idea how she was getting her school work accomplished. Maybe the Professor had gotten her teachers to excuse her for the time being.
Logan frowned when he discovered she wasn't in the office she'd been temporarily assigned either. Standing stationary in the hall for long moments, Logan breathed deeply. Although it was too faint to be recent, direct scent trail, there was a more intense concentration of Marie's scent a few doors down the hall. The room's door was open, Scott sitting behind the desk inside.
"Where's Rogue?" Logan demanded as he entered the room without asking permission.
"Why are you asking me?" Scott responded.
Logan reined in his temper when he remembered what Scott had so recently lost. "Rogue's scent is fresh on you. I assume she was comforting you. Just thought you might know where she headed, but if not, I can look for myself."
"She's gone… to work."
Logan frowned. "On a school day?"
Confusion colored Scott's scent. "She's not a teacher."
"Of course she's not a teacher," Logan growled, getting frustrated. Was Scott's brain still muddled from Stryker's drug? "She's a student."
Scott's face went blank for long moments before he asked, "Exactly how young do you think Rogue is, Logan?"
"I don't know. Seventeen, eighteen?" Logan replied, thinking, 'Let it be eighteen, or at least close to it.'
x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x
Scott shook his head. "Her birthday was a couple weeks ago, Logan. She just turned twenty-one."
"Twenty…" Logan started to echo. "But… before I left…"
"When we picked the two of you up, we wanted Rogue to feel like she was part of the school as quickly as possible so we could concentrate on what we thought were more important things, and like you, we assumed she was in her mid teens. If we had taken the time to talk to her a bit, we would have discovered our mistake, but Xavier was more interested in finding out why Magneto wanted you," Scott said, wondering privately how much things would have been different if they hadn't made that first mistake that had led to so many others and that was at least partially responsible for Rogue having left the school shortly after Logan had. "She was already nineteen then."
x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x TDL x
Logan was floored. All that time he had spent away from her in order to let her grow up, which he had finally admitted to himself was more about letting her reach the age of consent before approaching her in that way than anything else, hadn't been necessary. She'd already been old enough when she walked into that bar in Laughlin City. He was a fool not to have just asked her before he had left.
Her owning her own motorcycle certainly made a lot more sense now. She could have been… probably had been… working the whole two years he was gone. But if her age wasn't a factor, why wasn't she an X-Man?
"Where does she work?" he asked when he realized a couple minutes had passed while he'd stood in shocked silence.
"Darkholme," Scott answered. "It's a bar and…"
"I know, I was there before this whole mess happened," Logan cut him off.
Scott frowned, "Did you see Rogue there?"
Logan nodded before turning to head for the door. Scott's voice stopped him.
"Logan, where are you going?"
"To Darkholme," he answered slowly, as if afraid that Scott's intellect would not be able to comprehend the words.
"They're closed," Scott told him. "They will be until the most recent swell of anti-mutant sentiment dies back down. They're too well known as being mutant sympathetic to risk it."
Logan sighed and turned back around to stare at the other man. "Then why is she at work?"
"Probably doing inventory or something," Scott answered.
Logan narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out why Scott would lie… and which part he was lying about. He could smell it on the younger man.
"What's going on?" he growled tightly.
Scott shook his head. "A lot has changed in two years, Logan. It's Rogue's place to talk to you about it if she wants you to know. Just give her a little time, she's been through a lot recently."
"We all have," Logan snapped.
"True, but…" Scott sighed. "Just trust me for once, Logan, please."
"Fine," he snarled. "But if I don't get some answers soon…"
Logan let Scott fill in the blanks of the threat on his own.
To be continued…
