Title: The Seven Year Itch

Chapters: (1/?)

Author: ChynaHardyzfan28

Characters: Bobby, Rogue, (others may make an appearance)

Disclaimer: I do not own X2, or any of their characters. They belong to 20th

Century Fox, Marvel Comics and/or themselves. Please don't sue. I'm simply

someone that is a fan of the X-men and decided to write a fic about some of

their characters.

Distribution: Ask first.

Rating: PG

Spoilers: Contains (various) spoilers from X2: X-men United.

Summary: Bobby looks back on his relationship with Rogue with the help of past journal entries.

Chapter 1

*******Thursday April 24, 2003*******

We were scared----terrified---out of our minds. Our home, our safe haven....the one place where we thought we would be free of terror and prejudice---was attacked by an army---literally. Luckily, we had gotten out safely----well, most of us did. No one died thank goodness, but some of the other kids in the house had been taken away by that freak Stryker.

We (Rogue, Logan, John and I) hopped into one of Scott's sports cars ----after watching Logan gut most of the army like fish for the better part of half an hour----and escaped from the mansion.

"Where are we going?" my girlfriend had asked.

"Boston..." Logan replied, as if that was enough of an explanation for us.

"My family lives in Boston...." I said.

"Good..." Logan replied again.

What is it with this guy and monosyllabic answers anyway?

Guess it's because of what just happened. I tend to bounce back and forth. Either staying quiet for a little while or talking a lot in order to hide my nervousness. I decided to keep quiet...mainly because everyone...especially Logan....is on edge...and the last thing I want is to get a claw through the chest.

After a while...Logan told us why we heading to Boston. Jean and Ororo were there looking for the guy that tried to assassinate the president. We would meet up with them later...after we stopped off at my house.

Once we arrived, I called out to my family, but no one was there. I let everyone in and found some clothes for the others.

Rogue and I had somehow, ;) , ended up changing in the same room, my old bedroom. I did take a quick peek at her while she was changing, but I didn't see much....just her bra. The back of it anyway. Yeah, I'm a peeping Tom, but hey....I'm 17. What do you expect? :)

The shirt (something of my mom's back before she had me and my brother) I'd given to her was short sleeved and left most of her arms bare. Something that made her very uncomfortable.

"Here..." I told her as I held out my grandmother's old opera gloves. They were long (they'd probably go on past her elbow) and white. They matched the white shirt and blue pants I gave to her. "There not like the ones you usually wear, but...."

"They're beautiful....thank you...." she said as she reached for them.

I know I should have known better, but I couldn't help myself. As she reached for the gloves, I reached for her hands.

She jumped back though and looked at me with wide eyes.

I followed her though.

"You know I'd never hurt you right?"

She nodded.

I leaned towards her.

She leaned towards me.

Slowly....experimentally, our lips touched.

I was jumping up and down inside. We finally kissed! We finally touched!

We pulled back slowly.

My blue eyes were searching her face...trying to gouge her reaction.

She opened her her eyes and formed her mouth into an 'O'.

A stream of cool air left her mouth....like one of those gum commercials on television.

"Wow..." she whispered and then smiled.

We kissed again---longer this time---. God it felt good to be able to do that. But then, I started feeling weak. Couldn't exactly tell, at first, if it was her kiss or her power that made me feel this way....but after a few more seconds, I got my answer.

Rogue had begun to absorb---she calls it imprinting---my energy and my powers. My eyes flew open--as did hers---and she used all of her strength to push me away. The use of her powers can drain the person as well as herself.

She looked at me, her eyes brimming with tears as she watched me collect myself.

"I'm sorry...." she whispered...on the verge of crying.

"Don't be......Rogue....please don't cry...." I said as I walked towards her.

She flinched and held her bare hands out in front of her to stop me. Catching sight of her hands, she quickly looked around the room for the gloves. Spotting them on the floor (after dropping them when we kissed), she scooped them up and quickly put them on.

A tear had escaped her eye and she wiped it away quickly.

"Rogue...." I moved towards her again.

"Please don't....I'll hurt you again..."

"No, you won't....."

I sighed and she put her head down.

I suddenly heard sniffles.

Moving quickly, I grabbed her covered arms and drew her into a hug. She struggled at first, but gradually gave in to my embrace (I was fully clothed). She cried quietly as I ran my hand up and down her back.

"I'm sorry Rogue....I shouldn't have done that....I didn't mean to upset you...."

She looked up at me......her face tear streaked.

"You regret kissing me?"

My eyes widened.

"No..nothing---not even your power----could ever make me regret kissing you......I---I regret upsetting you and making you cry though ....I never wanted to do that to you..."

She gave me a small smile and layed her cheek against my chest.

"I know.....I just----I freaked out....I didn't want you to end up like the first guy I kissed..."

"What happened to him?" I asked, still rubbing her back.

"He ended up in a coma for a few days...."

'Wow' I thought to myself.

"Well....if kissing you leaves me in a coma....then it's really not a bad way to go....."

She pulled back and swatted at me.

"Hey....not so rough...."

She smiled and giggled.

"Are....we okay now?"

She threw her arms around my neck and hugged me.

"Yes...we are..." she whispered in my ear.

I supressed a shudder. This girl had no idea what she was doing to me.

*******September 6, 2010*******

Robert Drake closed his old journal and smiled, fondly remembering his younger days in the mansion. Professor Xavier had persuaded him to keep a journal of his life. He told Bobby that writing would help him get his feelings out in the open, in a sense....it seemed like an okay idea, even though he wasn't thrilled about it, but what clinched it for him was that if he got any problems off of his chest and into his journal, then he wouldn't have to share his private matters (like girls, school life, etc.) with the entire world (i.e. fellow students who may tease him mercilessly or the faculty that may tease him mercilessly as well) and risk dying of embarassment. It was a little dramatic, but hey privacy is very important....especially to teenagers.

After also making sure to let Bobby know that if any problems were too big for him to solve alone, that he seek help, Xavier added this one last reason:

"You just may appreciate having written about your life sometime in the future when you look back on it."

Xavier was right. Bobby did appreciate it. There were some things in his journal that he never would over remembered today...and others that he would never forget.

His smile faded slightly. After his and Rogue's first kiss, she refused to touch him or

anyone else skin-to-skin if she could help it. She did use it to hone her skill and learn to maybe control it one day, but other than that, she constantly made sure that she was covered head to toe.

He was slightly disappointed, but understood why she was going to such great lengths. They continued seeing one another and still kissed....albeit through a thin nylon scarf...but hey a scarf kiss is better than no kiss at all.

As time went on, they managed to work their way around her powers, like the scarf trick among other things.

Bobby was happy, but unfortunately Rogue was not.....well, at least not completely.

He opened his journal again and began flipping through the pages until he found the entry he was looking for.