Disclaimer: Anyone or anything you recognize the name from a Marvel comic book, does not belong to me. I have no money, sue if you want you can't get blood from a stone. Any likeness of people you recognize, I may know them as well and they know I have no money and they can't get anything from me.
Dark Holidays; Part 2
By
NoHaven
Snow was falling at Xavier's institute for higher learning, the biting wind made the temperature outside seem unbearable. No one inside the mansion seemed to care about the weather, none had asked Ororo Munroe, the resident weather-manipulating mutant, to do anything about it. Christmas was rapidly approaching, now only a week away; however there was no festive spirit contained within the walls of the mansion, the last of it being stamped out of Neal Sharra the night before. The looming sense of despair had firmly replaced the feeling of holiday cheer. Only the large Christmas tree situated in the rec room gave any indication at all that Christmas was approaching.
In a cabin on Spuyer Devil Cove the Beatles played softly as a young woman quietly sat on an overstuffed couch reading Herman Wouk's Don't Stop the Carnival. Her crimson hair pulled into a tight ponytail, she wore a weathered gray sweatshirt with an "X" embroidered on it, her legs pulled to her chest, with a heavy wool blanket covering them. On the table next to her rested a cup of coffee still steaming. While the room was decorated very nicely there was no sign at all that any holidays at all were approaching, there was no sign at all that anyone else had ever lived in the cabin, no pictures were hung, no clothing that belonged to anyone else lay anywhere. Though her emerald eyes scanned the pages of the book, the woman did not register the words, her thoughts were elsewhere, her thoughts were on her missing husband. Looking back at the mansion from the small cabin one could just make out the silhouette of an individual sitting on the roof.
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The mutant known as Wolverine sat quietly balanced on the crest of the roof. Dressed only in a pair of old faded jeans, he was bare chest and bare foot though the biting wind seemed to have little effect on him aside from the reddening of his skin. The snow had started to clump in his inky black hair, yet his eyes remained closed, his breathing slow and specific. He had come to the top of the roof to be alone, so that he might think without being disturbed. His desire to be left alone was to end shortly however. A lone figure rose from the ground silently, seemingly floating upwards to the rooftop. As the figure stopped the ascent the man sitting on the roof spoke.
"Rogue? What brings you up here?" Wolverine asked curtly.
"Could ask you the same question Sugah." Rogue said with a smile to Wolverine's back.
"Ya could, not sayin you would get an answer though." Wolverine replied.
"Fair enough, Ah figured ah could come up here to be alone, so I could think. I suppose you beat me to it though." Rogue said folding her arms across her chest.
"Yup, roof is booked for the day darlin. Might want to let Remy know that as well before he comes up here." Wolverine said quickly.
"Ah would rather not see Remy right now. Would you mind if I just sat up here?" Rogue asked.
"I ain't gonna stop ya, doubt I could if I wanted to." Wolverine said still not looking at Rogue.
The young woman slowly eased herself down onto the crest of the roof. After establishing her balance she pulled her legs to her chest and rest her chin on her knees. Dressed in a pair of faded olive green army fatigues and a sweatshirt, a jacket was tied around her waist, as the cold seemed only to bother her in the slightest bit. Looking out onto the campus she let out a loud sigh.
Wolverine hearing the sigh rolled his eyes bringing his right hand to his face and rubbing it. There was no way around it he was going to have to speak to the young girl at some point, he thought to himself. Turning on the rooftop to face the same direction as Rogue he drew a breath and then spoke.
"Darlin…something you want to get off your chest?" Wolverine forced out.
"Ah guess ah'm just feeling a bit blue is all." Rogue said smiling at Logan.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose Logan prepared himself for the time he was about to spend listening, he had opened the Pandora's box and weather or not he really wanted to he was going to listen to what rogue had to say, because if nothing else he knew she would do the same for him.
"Darlin, I'm willing to listen ya know that right? Let her fly, who am I gonna talk to?" Logan said looking at Rogue.
"Well ah suppose ah could use to let some things off mah chest." Rogue said staring down at the roof.
"Well shoot, I'll listen" Logan said gently.
"Ok, well first off the whole thing with Mystique." Rogue said, as Logan emitted a seemingly sub-conscious growl at the mention of Mystique. "Well, she's the only thing ah've eva had close to a mother, she took me in, she cared for me, she did what mah real parents wouldn't. Ah don't like what she has done, but she has also helped us before, but her killing Moira, ah don't think ah can eva forgive that. Ah suppose the fact that she tried to kill me she be eating at me more, but it's the fact that ah stabbed her and nearly killed her that ah am really regretting." Rogue said, tears forming in her eyes.
"You did whatcha had to do darlin, nobody faulting you for that." Logan said while looking at her. "What she did to Moira, I won't ever forgive her for, but its how she has you twisted around her finger that really angers me. You are strong Rogue, strong as anyone here, yet she has always had the ability to twist your thinking up." Logan said.
"She's mah mother Logan, ah can't turn my back on that." Rogue said almost shouting.
"Not all parents are good parents. Some don't deserve that right. I would have to say, she don't deserve the right to call you 'daughter', darlin." Logan said quietly. "She hasn't earned that right."
Rogue looked at Logan, tears rolling down her cheeks. She wanted to hug him for what he had just said but the way he was dressed she was reminded of another one of her pains, the fact she could not touch anyone. It was the time of year when people exchanged hugs with old friends, shared kisses with loved ones. She could never truly enjoy that aspect of the holidays. Tears flowed down her cheeks more rapidly now, small tendrils of steam rising off them.
"That ain't the only thing bothering you is it darlin?" Logan said quietly.
"No…the holidays, they just remind me of all the things ah can't do." Rouge said weakly.
"Like touching people? Yeah I figured as much, you always seem pretty down around this time of year." Logan said.
"Ah just wish ah could…ah mean I watch those cheesy movies that are on every night now a days, all those Christmas movies, where people hug, or kiss under the mistletoe and it just it kills me. Ah can't do that, I ah do I steal a person's mind, their memories, their very being."
Logan had no response to this; he couldn't in any way understand what she was going through. A thought popped into his mind. He stood up reached over to Rogue and pulled the jacket around her waist away from her. Grunting he pulled it on, it was far to small for his muscular build and it seemed that it would pop at the seams. He gently sat next to Rogue and put him arm around her pulling her close to him. Rogue wrapped her arms around his body and buried her face in his now covered chest, sobbing out loud.
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Inside the mansion in the rec room Piotr Rasputin sat quietly in an old leather chair in the corner near a large bay window, his bare feet resting on the windowsill. He was dressed in a gray t-shirt, and a pair of gray sweatpants. His right had furiously moving across a sketchpad that rested on his lap. Creeping into the large room unnoticed by Piotr was Ororo Munroe. Walking quietly across the room she got to a distance from which she could see the picture being formed on the sketchpad. Coming to life on the pad of paper was a picture of Piotr's sister Illyana with his brother Mikhail standing next to her, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Realizing what was on the paper storm leaned down a bit so she could see out the window that he sat in front of, there in the distance through the falling snow a few gravestones could be seen. Storm raised back up, and though about speaking. Realizing that the large man was entranced in his work she simply turned around and walked back out of the room the way she had come in.
To Be Continued
Well I hope you enjoyed this part, they will not all be so bleak. Hope you enjoyed. Give me some feedback please.
-NoHaven