Disclaimer: If you think I own them then you owe me money.
A/N: Come on people, you know I couldn't resist.
Rogue readjusted her backpack as she shuffled along. Valentine's Day. 'Humph' She hated it. In Rogue's opinion it was the stupidest holiday in history. 'Just anotha dumb excuse ta spend money. Damn corporate America' She sighed. Deep down inside she actually loved Valentine's Day. Or at least she used to, until her powers manifested. Now that she couldn't touch, she realized what an awful waste of time it all was. It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't a sixteen-year-old mutant with the ability to kill someone with a touch. No, all that aside, she probably wouldn't have had a problem if she'd had a Valentine at all. But the fact of the matter was she didn't, and wouldn't; not anytime soon anyway. 'Stupid holiday' Life was hard enough as it was, without constantly being reminded of what she didn't have, could never have.
And that's why she was walking. Walking all alone all the way back to the Institute. Today had been the hardest day of her life. She was normally forced to observe some kind of mushy, sentimental crap. But today, today she wished she'd just stayed home. But that wasn't possible, because she wasn't sick. Wasn't sick? She sure did feel sick, didn't that count?! All day long she was surrounded by sick reminders of the hell that was her life. She watched as girls received presents, kisses, declarations, and everything else from their boyfriends. Even girls who didn't have boyfriends got stuff. They got stuff from boys who wanted to be their boyfriends, or at least who worshiped them like they were goddesses. She'd watched as all the X-girls had gotten loads of devotion. Each and every last one of 'em, that is, with the exception of Rogue. Even Risty had a Valentine. And no one had yet to even say "Happy Valentine's Day" to Rogue. Not that she cared. 'There ah go lyin' ta mahself again' She sighed. It hurt, it really did. It was as if no one really acknowledged her existence today. Even the X-men, including Bobby and Kurt. That hurt worst of all. Bobby was her closest friend among the guys, and Kurt was like a brother to her. Hell, she'd even started referring to him as her brother, well, at least in her mind.
Of course it didn't help seeing the Brotherhood either. They all had Valentine's. Pietro had at least a dozen, and even Freddy and Todd had one. One? Freddy had two! She groaned. 'How did ah become so pathetic?' She looked down at her gloved hands. 'Oh raht. Ah fergot, ah've been blessed with this wonderful mutant ability. Sure does reel in those guys. Have ta beat 'em away with a stick' She snorted. 'Let's face it. Ah ain't neva gonna be someone's Valentine' The tears came, but she wiped them away. 'Ah ain't gonna cry ovah somethin' so stupid' She was lying to herself again. Choking back a sob that seemed to surface from deep inside her, she trudged through the gates of the Institute.
'Well, obviously no one's around. They all got better stuff ta do,' she chided herself, when she realized she was looking around for her teammates. She wanted to run to her room. Run and hide under her sheets. Just fall asleep until it was all over. But her feet felt heavy, and so did her soul. Her heart ached in her chest, and she tried to ignore it. She tried hard too, but it was persistent. Rogue didn't understand. She was used to rejection; in fact she encouraged it. If she didn't have someone, she didn't have to push them away, right? But it all felt wrong. Like some huge lie, and she was sick of it.
She had never felt as relieved as when she reached her bedroom door. As soon as she was inside she could close the door and lock it. While she was at it, she could lock out the world too. With a groan she opened the door and stepped inside. Shrugging off her boots and dropping her book bag, she moved to fall onto her bed and froze. She stared and had to blink several times until realization sunk in. Her hands came up to cover her gaping mouth.
There was no room for her on her bed. No room for her on her side of the room at all. Flowers, chocolates, cards, and even stuffies lined her personal space. They were everywhere. It looked like a truck carrying Valentine's presents had broken down and unloaded in her room. Balloons were scattered all over, and there were countless brightly covered boxes of all shape and size. She was in shock. There were presents everywhere. A huge banner was pinned above her bed that read "Happy Valentine's Day Rogue"
Tears rimmed her eyes as she stood frozen in shock. The door creaked open, and she slowly turned to see Bobby, Kurt, and Evan, video camera in hand, peeking in. Her hands dropped down from her mouth, but she couldn't find her voice. They walked in cautiously. Bobby smiled. "Do ya like it?" he asked. She didn't answer, just stared. He looked down, a blush spreading across his face. "There's a cake downstairs too. We couldn't leave it here 'cause it's made of ice cream and it woulda melted. Though I coulda froze it-" His rambling was cut short as Rogue threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. His arms went around her and he hugged her tightly. "Oh good, so you like it then," he said. Rogue laughed. Pulling away from him, she wiped at her eyes.
"Ya'll did this?" she asked, finally finding her voice. They nodded. "Thank You!" She surprised Kurt by hugging him tightly. He hugged her back. Then she turned to Evan, who hugged her tightly with one arm, the camera in his other hand. "Well it wasn't just us," Bobby said, "It's actually from all of us. All us guys anyway." He smiled. Walking over to the bed, he gestured at the presents. "We all got you something. Even Logan." She raised her eyebrows in surprise. He laughed. "Yeah, I know, surprised us too." "Zere's stuff zere from ze Brotherhood too. Zey all got you somezing and ve sorta smuggled it all in here," Kurt said. Her eyes widened. "Yeah and there's also stuff from other guys you know. Umm…Alex, Forge, Warren…actually a lot of it's from Warren. Oh! And some guy…um…I think his name was Cody," Evan said, looking at Bobby and Kurt. They nodded. "Ja!" "Yeah, it was Cody." Rogue's mouth dropped open again. She gasped. Cody! All this was from all of them. Even Cody. Her heart still hurt, but the hurt was different now. Her heart hurt from the love currently swelling inside her.
She squealed like a little girl, completely out of character, and jumped onto her bed, spilling gifts everywhere. When the initial shock wore off, her male companions laughed. Bobby leaned over her. "Happy?" he asked, a large smile on his face. "Ya have no idea!" Rogue replied. She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him onto the bed with her. He gasped, a look of surprise on his face, before laughing as his body collided with a large teddy bear. Rogue's happiness was infectious, and the room was suddenly radiating it.
Bobby sat up. Leaning on his side, he reached over and brushed some hair from her face. She was still smiling. Kurt cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him, and he tapped his holowatch. Bobby's eyebrows shot up. "Oh!" he cried, getting up. Rogue's brow furrowed in confusion. Bobby offered her his hand, which she took, and helped her up. "What?" she asked, looking at them. They smiled. "If we don't start now, we're gonna be late," Bobby replied. "Late?" she asked, "Late fer what?" "The Profs takin' us all to the city. Dinner, dancing, theater," Evan said, "the whole nine yards. We're gonna do it all." "What? How come no one told me?" "None of the girls were supposed to know 'till they got home from school," said Evan. "Ze Prof didn't sink any of you vould be able to go thru ze day if you knew," Kurt said. "But ah don't have anythin' ta wear!" Rogue cried. *tsk*tsk*tsk* Bobby shook his head. "Look in the closet," he said. Her eyes widened, and she jumped off the bed. Opening the closet, she saw the most beautiful dress she'd ever seen in her life. It was a shinning emerald green, with a nude mesh from the cut off at the shoulders to the end of the long gloves, which were connected to the dress. It was long, with slits up the sides and a small cut neck. "It's beautiful," she sighed. "I know. I picked it out," Bobby said. She turned to face him. He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "It's perfect for you. But it comes with one condition." "What?" "No goth makeup tonight." She looked at him, then at Kurt and Evan, who both smiled. She smiled. "Okay." They all made happy gestures. "On one condition." They all stared at her. "What?" Bobby asked, after a prolonged dramatic pause. She pointed at Evan. "That tape is mhine." They all laughed. Evan stopped the camera and ejected the tape. He tossed it to Rogue, and she caught it. "Done," he said, with a smile. "Zen it's a deal?" Kurt asked. "It's a deal," Rogue replied. For good measure they shook on it.
A/N: *sigh* Sorry, but I had to write one. I now return you to your regularly scheduled program. ^.^