Chapter 5: Say It With Krylon!
A/N: Backtracking a little. It's Todd and Rogue's first Valentine's Day together. About a month
before they become sexualy active.
Kurt sat on the edge of the balcony, watching snow fall over the estate. Rogue approached
him. "Aren't you cold out here?" she asked.
"One of the advantages of having a natural fur coat." he said with a smile.
Rogue shifted nervously. "Um, Kurt, you know Valentines is comin' up, right?"
"Sorry, Rogue, but I already promised Kitty we'd do something."
"I'm not askin' you out! Geez, I'm southern, but I'm not Deliverance southern!"
"I was only teasing." Kurt stood up. "What do you need?"
"Well, I wanna get Todd something for Valentine's, but I don't know what guys like."
"Well, I suppose that varies from one guy to the next. Personally, I like having my tail
rubbed. Lots of guys like it when you stroke their..."
"I meant as a gift, you chowderhead!"
"Alright, alright!" he laughed. He turned on his inducer. "We'll go to the mall then."
Meanwhile, Lance was in bed with five or six blankets piled on top of him. Todd poked at him
with a finger. "Lance..."
"Here." Lance shoved one of the blankets in Todd's hands. "Now go away!"
"I don't want a blanket. I need your help."
"Does it require me getting out of bed?"
"You've had girlfriends before, right?"
"Shut up, Todd." Lance was still moping about Kitty dumping him for Kurt.
"Look, I just wanna know, what do girls like?"
"Cunnilingus."
"What is that? Some kinda Italian food?"
"Only if she's Isabella Roselini."
"Lance, I'm serious! I wanna get Rogue something for Valentines."
"Well, let's see. There's flowers, chocolates, stuffed toys, jewelry. Take your pick."
"But...I don't have any money."
"So steal some!"
"Um...I kinda promised her I wouldn't do that anymore."
"You /what/?" Lance sat up. "You gave up your only source of income just to get laid?"
"Uh, actually, uh.." Todd blushed. "We haven't gone that far."
"Oh yeah, the whole 'no touch' thing. I hope you realize you're the world's oldest virgin."
"Come on, yo! Help me here!"
"OK, maybe you can pick flowers or something. Girls like that for some reason."
"Lance? It's February. What am I gonna do? Give her a handful of snow?"
"Maybe you can make her something. I don't know. I'm tired." He turned over and pulled the
covers over his head.
Make something, huh? Todd decided to think it over.
At the Bayville Mall, Kurt and Rogue checked out store after store. They were in Stables &
Kings. "Here's the perfect thing for him!" said Kurt. "/Sex for Dummies/, by Dr. Ruth Westheimer!"
"Kurt, books are more of a birthday or Christmas gift. I want something romantic."
"I'll just get this for myself then."
Rogue nixed Kurt's suggestion of flowers. "He hates girly things."
"OK, how about cologne? Or deoderant, soap, mouthwash... he definatly needs that."
"Kurt, Todd's been taking care of himself latly, believe it or not. He smells OK now. And
I got him cologne for Christmas. Hey, how about chocolates? Do guys like that?"
"Ja, guys like chocolate. Personally, I never really liked the chocolate here in America."
"What's wrong with it?"
"American chocolates are made with 2% milk. Might as well use water. European chocolates
use whole milk. Godiva is about as close as you can get to German chocolates here in the states."
"There's a Godiva shop here in the mall! Let's try there."
Todd went through the basement of the boarding house that night. He knew what he needed was down here,
he just hoped there would be enough. He found several cans of spray paint. Oh, yeah! he thought.
Say it with Krylon! He selected his pallette. Black and white, of course. And brown, red, green,
purple and metalic silver. Now he just needed some one to help.
"Yo, Freddy," he said to his friend at the table. "Wanna go out to I-95 with me?"
"I'm eating."
"You're always eating! Look, be a pal. All I need you to do is hold this lantern up for me
and watch for cops."
"Well, OK."
On Valentine's Day, Rogue came over to the Boarding House with her gift. "Wow, thanks!" Todd
said when she gave him the chocolates. "I don't get to eat normal chocolate that often, and this
is the good stuff. Thanks." He kissed her gloved hand. After they sampled a few of the candies,
Todd told her he had a surprise for her. "We gotta drive out for it. Do you mind putting on a
blindfold? I want it to be a surprise."
"No problem." she said, tying her scarf over her eyes. "As long as you don't take me out
back and shoot me."
Todd led her to Lance's jeep and drove to the overpass at I-95. He pulled over by the side
of the road and took off her blindfold. "Just look up."
Rogue couldn't believe it. Spray painted at the apex of the overpass was a rather characaturized
yet accurate portrait of her face followed by "Marie" in ornate silver letters. The i was dotted
with a heart. "Um, you shouldn't have." she said. You really shouldn't have.
"I've always been pretty good with spray paint." he said. "There's this subway down in
Brooklyn where I once did this huge painting of a toad with wings. Some jackass Cryps tagged it.
That's why I put this one up so high, so no one else will paint over it."
"How'd you get up that high?"
"Being able to jump 20 feet up in the air helps. So does being able to cling to surfaces."
"You-uh-committed vandalism for me. I-don't know what to say."
"Say you like it."
Rogue smiled. "It looks great, Todd. I just don't want you doing things that could get you
in trouble."
"You're only in trouble if you're caught." Todd shrugged. "I had Fred watching my back. He's
a pretty decent guy, ya know?"
"Todd, sometimes I think /you/ should be the one called Rogue."
"I'll take it as a complement." They embraced.
A/N: Backtracking a little. It's Todd and Rogue's first Valentine's Day together. About a month
before they become sexualy active.
Kurt sat on the edge of the balcony, watching snow fall over the estate. Rogue approached
him. "Aren't you cold out here?" she asked.
"One of the advantages of having a natural fur coat." he said with a smile.
Rogue shifted nervously. "Um, Kurt, you know Valentines is comin' up, right?"
"Sorry, Rogue, but I already promised Kitty we'd do something."
"I'm not askin' you out! Geez, I'm southern, but I'm not Deliverance southern!"
"I was only teasing." Kurt stood up. "What do you need?"
"Well, I wanna get Todd something for Valentine's, but I don't know what guys like."
"Well, I suppose that varies from one guy to the next. Personally, I like having my tail
rubbed. Lots of guys like it when you stroke their..."
"I meant as a gift, you chowderhead!"
"Alright, alright!" he laughed. He turned on his inducer. "We'll go to the mall then."
Meanwhile, Lance was in bed with five or six blankets piled on top of him. Todd poked at him
with a finger. "Lance..."
"Here." Lance shoved one of the blankets in Todd's hands. "Now go away!"
"I don't want a blanket. I need your help."
"Does it require me getting out of bed?"
"You've had girlfriends before, right?"
"Shut up, Todd." Lance was still moping about Kitty dumping him for Kurt.
"Look, I just wanna know, what do girls like?"
"Cunnilingus."
"What is that? Some kinda Italian food?"
"Only if she's Isabella Roselini."
"Lance, I'm serious! I wanna get Rogue something for Valentines."
"Well, let's see. There's flowers, chocolates, stuffed toys, jewelry. Take your pick."
"But...I don't have any money."
"So steal some!"
"Um...I kinda promised her I wouldn't do that anymore."
"You /what/?" Lance sat up. "You gave up your only source of income just to get laid?"
"Uh, actually, uh.." Todd blushed. "We haven't gone that far."
"Oh yeah, the whole 'no touch' thing. I hope you realize you're the world's oldest virgin."
"Come on, yo! Help me here!"
"OK, maybe you can pick flowers or something. Girls like that for some reason."
"Lance? It's February. What am I gonna do? Give her a handful of snow?"
"Maybe you can make her something. I don't know. I'm tired." He turned over and pulled the
covers over his head.
Make something, huh? Todd decided to think it over.
At the Bayville Mall, Kurt and Rogue checked out store after store. They were in Stables &
Kings. "Here's the perfect thing for him!" said Kurt. "/Sex for Dummies/, by Dr. Ruth Westheimer!"
"Kurt, books are more of a birthday or Christmas gift. I want something romantic."
"I'll just get this for myself then."
Rogue nixed Kurt's suggestion of flowers. "He hates girly things."
"OK, how about cologne? Or deoderant, soap, mouthwash... he definatly needs that."
"Kurt, Todd's been taking care of himself latly, believe it or not. He smells OK now. And
I got him cologne for Christmas. Hey, how about chocolates? Do guys like that?"
"Ja, guys like chocolate. Personally, I never really liked the chocolate here in America."
"What's wrong with it?"
"American chocolates are made with 2% milk. Might as well use water. European chocolates
use whole milk. Godiva is about as close as you can get to German chocolates here in the states."
"There's a Godiva shop here in the mall! Let's try there."
Todd went through the basement of the boarding house that night. He knew what he needed was down here,
he just hoped there would be enough. He found several cans of spray paint. Oh, yeah! he thought.
Say it with Krylon! He selected his pallette. Black and white, of course. And brown, red, green,
purple and metalic silver. Now he just needed some one to help.
"Yo, Freddy," he said to his friend at the table. "Wanna go out to I-95 with me?"
"I'm eating."
"You're always eating! Look, be a pal. All I need you to do is hold this lantern up for me
and watch for cops."
"Well, OK."
On Valentine's Day, Rogue came over to the Boarding House with her gift. "Wow, thanks!" Todd
said when she gave him the chocolates. "I don't get to eat normal chocolate that often, and this
is the good stuff. Thanks." He kissed her gloved hand. After they sampled a few of the candies,
Todd told her he had a surprise for her. "We gotta drive out for it. Do you mind putting on a
blindfold? I want it to be a surprise."
"No problem." she said, tying her scarf over her eyes. "As long as you don't take me out
back and shoot me."
Todd led her to Lance's jeep and drove to the overpass at I-95. He pulled over by the side
of the road and took off her blindfold. "Just look up."
Rogue couldn't believe it. Spray painted at the apex of the overpass was a rather characaturized
yet accurate portrait of her face followed by "Marie" in ornate silver letters. The i was dotted
with a heart. "Um, you shouldn't have." she said. You really shouldn't have.
"I've always been pretty good with spray paint." he said. "There's this subway down in
Brooklyn where I once did this huge painting of a toad with wings. Some jackass Cryps tagged it.
That's why I put this one up so high, so no one else will paint over it."
"How'd you get up that high?"
"Being able to jump 20 feet up in the air helps. So does being able to cling to surfaces."
"You-uh-committed vandalism for me. I-don't know what to say."
"Say you like it."
Rogue smiled. "It looks great, Todd. I just don't want you doing things that could get you
in trouble."
"You're only in trouble if you're caught." Todd shrugged. "I had Fred watching my back. He's
a pretty decent guy, ya know?"
"Todd, sometimes I think /you/ should be the one called Rogue."
"I'll take it as a complement." They embraced.