A/N: I'll make this brief because I know you all want to see Jean's decision. Sorry about the cliffhanger, but really wanted to see who all of you wanted to get chosen. I hope you can accept the decision. I apologize that I can't make everyone happy. If your person didn't get chosen, keep reading anyway as the triangle will continue despite the decision.
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"Then now it's time for me to announce my decision," said Jean as Scott and Logan stood in front of her in her bedroom.
She stood up and made eye contact with Scott, then turned her head and did the same with Logan. She had put a lot of thought into this decision and there was no going back now. Finally, she walked over and took Scott's hand.
"I'm sorry, Logan, but I've invested too much of myself into this relationship to throw it away."
Scott let a huge grin show on his face and put his arm over Jean's shoulder as she turned her head to look at her boyfriend.
"I love you," said Jean as she stepped closer to Scott and held him close to her.
"I love you too."
Logan hung his head low. It was over. He had thought he was so close and now it was all over. He didn't know what to do now. He wasn't even sure if he could stay in the mansion! He left the room dejectedly without a word to either of the two lovers.
*****
Scott and Jean sat next to each other during dinner that night for the first time in two weeks. All the X-Men were around the table except for Wolverine, who claimed he wasn't hungry.
When everyone had finished eating, Professor Xavier asked if he could have everyone's attention. The room grew quiet and everyone looked at him at the end of the table.
"Now that all the excitement around here has died down," he began, "I think it's time we all got back to as normal a life as we can. So, from now on things will be just as they always have been in the mansion. However, for obvious reasons, you all cannot return to school. That is why you will take classes here inside the mansion starting tomorrow."
There was a collective groan around the table at this announcement. They had all hoped that maybe the Professor would forget about school.
Xavier smiled.
"Settle down. Classes will be taught by Ororo, Hank, Logan, Scott, Jean, and myself. So make sure you all get a good night's sleep tonight, because you start back to school again in the morning."
The younger X-men grumbled as they all stood up from their chairs and headed for the bedrooms. When they were gone, the Professor approached Scott and Jean, who were still sitting at the table.
"Thank you both for agreeing to help teach. I don't think we could do this without you."
"It's no problem, Professor," said Scott.
"I hope you two both have a lesson plan ready for tomorrow," said Hank as he stepped around the Professor's wheelchair and stood above them.
"Don't worry," Jean assured him, "we've got everything under control."
Hank laughed.
"You should wait until after your first day as a teacher is over before you make any assumptions about how much control you have over anything!"
Scott and Jean smiled nervously. They had been rather excited when the Professor first asked them to help with classes that afternoon, but now they were both starting to feel a little uneasy about it. After all, their students were going to be their best friends!
"I'm sure you'll do fine," said Ororo encouragingly. "I'm not worried about either of you."
"Neither am I," said the Professor. "Now then, we should be heading to bed as well. We'll be needing more energy than the kids come tomorrow."
*****
Gambit woke up and slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't believe it! Someone was banging on his door to wake him up! He stood up lethargically and glanced down at his clock.
"Only 7:45," he mumbled to himself. "Alright! I'm comin'!" he yelled to the person on the other side of the door.
He opened the door and found Scott standing there.
"What's de deal, mon ami?"
"Time to wake up. Your classes start in 15 minutes."
Remy glared at Scott through half-open eyelids.
"Look mon ami, I'm 20 years old, older den you! I don't have class."
"The Professor wants you in class anyway."
Remy groaned.
"I already went ta high school," he pleaded.
"You get a diploma?"
He glared at Scott again as he saw where this was going. Scott read his face for the answer.
"Then get dressed and be in the Professor's office in 15 minutes."
Remy just nodded as he shut the door in Scott's face. He couldn't imagine anything more annoying than his current situation.
*****
Classes started at 8:00 am sharp and lasted until 2:00. Xavier was the X-Men's new grammar teacher, Hank taught science, and Ororo was teaching math. After Ororo's class ended, the X-Men had a 1-hour lunch break before going to their afternoon classes with Scott and Jean. They were all looking forward to having class with their friends as their teachers, especially Kurt who kept talking about how easy the next two classes should be. At lunch, the X-men talked about how different it felt to have class in the mansion. Actually, Remy just sat and ate his food while the others had this discussion. Remy's day had not gotten any better as the morning progressed. He now found himself in the embarrassing position of a 20-year-old who was being forced to retake high school classes and he was pretty sure he might fail them!
After lunch, they all moved on to Jean's class, history. To everyone's demoralizing shock, Jean's syllabus looked impossible! It was clear that despite how good a friend she was to them all, "Ms. Grey" was going to be a hard teacher.
Finally, the now dejected X-Men dragged themselves to Scott's class, where they were delighted to find that Scott was just as fun a teacher as he was a friend! He was teaching literature and the class was actually quite enjoyable for all the students, even Remy who hated reading.
Scott's class ended at 2:00 and the X-Men got an hour off. At 3:00 though, they got to go to Logan's "class." It was actually less of a class and more of a boot camp. It lasted two hours, though Logan said it could last longer if he ever felt like they weren't doing their jobs right. Scott and Jean were students in this class just like the other X-men since this was combat training. The first day was spent on a Danger Room session that lasted an hour and forty-five minutes and left everyone exhausted.
*****
As the days and weeks went by, the fresh feeling of classes in the mansion wore off and everyone was getting tired of seeing the same walls every single day. The only thing keeping everyone from going crazy was that the mansion's basement was even bigger than the mansion itself, so the X-Men had more space to live in than even they were used to. The classes got harder as time marched on and the teachers got more accustomed to teaching. Except for Mr. McCoy's class. He was already used to teaching so his class had been hard since day 1.
It wasn't long before Remy had noticed his grades dropping, which was the last thing he wanted. He couldn't believe he was going to fail high school…again! For a while, he had just given up on the work, deciding that it didn't matter if he passed or failed since it wasn't really school anyway and he was, after all, 20 years old, old enough to have quit school two years prior! Of course, he had actually quit school four years prior, but that wasn't important.
After the Professor informed Remy that it mattered quite a bit whether he passed or failed his classes, he had reluctantly returned to homework and studying. But the work was even harder than he remembered it being in New Orleans. Finally, he had given in and decided to get some help. His worst subject was literature, taught by Scott. Remy felt that the main problem was that Scott's class was too laid-back and thus too easy to just blow off. They were now reading a book called As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. Remy had read the first few chapters, but so far all he could understand was that some little kid thought his mother was a fish.
All this brought him to where he was now, standing outside one of the bedroom doors with the book in one hand. He took a deep breath and knocked twice on the door. It soon opened and Remy smiled at the occupant of the room.
"Hey cherie, how're ya doin' tonight?"
"Ah'm okay," answered Rogue. "Ya need somethin'?"
"Yeah, yer help. Could ya let me in?"
Rogue thought about it for a second and stepped to the side. He walked into the room and sat down in Rogue's chair as she shut the door.
"What's yer problem?" Rogue had already noticed the book in his hands so she figured he wanted help understanding it.
"Ya gotta help me with dis book, cherie. I don' get it an' we got a quiz tomorrow," he pleaded.
Rogue sat down on her bed and pulled out her copy of the book.
"Okay, what don't ya get?"
He thought about the question for a second, then realized where he was. The book was important, but he was alone with Rogue in her room! He'd worry about class later. This was just too good an opportunity to pass up!
"I don' get why ya didn' wanna kiss me las' month 'fore we went ta Chicago," said Remy with a sly smile.
Rogue looked up from her book in shock. She had thought he actually wanted help with class work!
"Ya know why! 'Cause o' mah powers."
Remy shrugged.
"I wasn't asking fer a big kiss, cherie. All I wanted was somethin' like de little peck I gave ya."
"Either way, it still drained yer powers some."
"It wasn' dat bad."
"But it could've been!" said Rogue fairly loud. She didn't want people in the rooms nearby to hear, so she lowered her voice. "Ya know Ah can't control how much power Ah take. Sure, Ah didn't take much that day, but on any other given day Ah might've taken half yer life! Ya couldn't have fought anybody then."
Remy was surprised to hear that from Rogue. She didn't often admit how little control she had over her power. Though the Professor had worked with her enough in the Danger Room that she had complete control over her new strength and flight, she still couldn't control how much of a person she took when she touched them. Remy didn't know what to say now, which was something that didn't happen often. The two mutants sat in silence for a minute as Rogue's words echoed in their minds.
"I know ya like me, cherie. Why don' ya admit it?" said Remy finally.
Rogue looked at him as the truth of his words bounced around her head.
"Because Ah can't. Even if Ah ever fall in love with someone, it won't matter 'cause Ah won't be able ta touch 'em. That means no kissin', no holdin' hands without mah gloves, no gentle massages, no… well, ya know what else. Ah can't do any of the stuff that people do when they're in love."
"But we can wear gloves, we've already kissed, I'll give ya a massage anytime ya want one, and we'll figure out de other part later. It could work, cherie."
Rogue took a deep breath and tried to come up with something else. There just had to be a reason she was holding back from him. She knew she'd find it if she just thought about it long enough.
"Look Remy, Ah can't imagine havin' a relationship where Ah can't even touch the guy. Trust me, Ah'm the one livin' with this mutation and Ah've thought about every situation, but there's just no way Ah could ever be in a real relationship with someone."
"Yer right," said Remy, "if ya define relationship as somethin' physical. But we can start somethin' between you an' me dat ain't so much physical as it is a real relationship."
Rogue wasn't expecting that out of Remy! It took her by surprise, but she quickly rebounded and responded.
"Ya sayin' ya wanna be in a relationship that ain't physical at all?"
Remy smiled.
"Non, I'm sayin' we start a relationship and figure out de physical stuff later."
"That doesn't solve anything," said Rogue dryly. "All it does is delay the inevitable end of everything."
"Ya can't start a relationship t'inkin' 'bout when an' how it's gonna end, cherie. Ya start with optimism and expect ta work through de stuff dat ya keep sayin' would break us apart."
"Look, Ah don't see you an' me as the types of people who like to talk all night and never kiss or nothin'. Ah know ya want it to happen, Remy. Ta be perfectly honest, Ah do too. But it wouldn't work. We're not the type of people that could make it work."
"We'll never know dat 'til we try, will we cherie? If ya really want it, den let's give it a go."
Rogue started to protest again, but he was wearing her down and he seemed to have an answer for everything. She sighed and gave up. She wanted to be with Remy too much to protest against it anymore. She looked up at him. He was looking right at her expectantly, almost as if he knew what was coming.
"Okay. Let's give it a shot."
"Dat's my girl," said Remy proudly.
His whole being was leaping for joy, but he managed to contain it and not let her see how thrilled he was to hear those words.
"Now den, about dat book."
*****
The next day was full of gossip around the mansion. It was obvious to everyone at breakfast that something was going on between Remy and Rogue. They had sat beside each other and had just been noticeably different around each other than ever before. It wasn't long before Kitty pulled Rogue aside and asked what was going on. From there, word about the newest couple spread like wildfire.
Remy and Rogue were both a little put off by all the gossip. Neither were shy by any means, but they both felt some embarrassment from having their personal lives as the center of attention.
So the day went on with no one quite able to concentrate on much else than all the romance going on in the mansion. After all, Remy and Rogue were now a couple. Scott and Jean were a couple again. Logan obviously still had feelings for Jean, which he acted on whenever Scott wasn't around. In fact, Kitty had actually begun to feel sorry for Logan and would always say great things about him when Jean was around.
After Logan's Danger Room session that afternoon, the X-Men were absolutely exhausted. They had been forced to fight a combination of the Brotherhood and Acolytes plus Juggernaught all at once! It had taken them 3 and a half hours to complete the session. Now, they were all retreating to their rooms to change clothes and shower. Unfortunately, there weren't enough showers for everyone so Scott and Rogue found themselves in the living area waiting on everyone else to get out. Scott turned on the TV to see what was on while they waited. He eventually stopped on the local news, which was covering the election.
"Hey! I forgot today was election day!" said Scott when he realized what he was seeing.
Rogue eyed him quickly.
"Like ya could've voted anyway. Ah bet they had troops there just in case any known mutant tried ta show up."
"Good point," conceded Scott as he turned his attention to the early predictions coming from the newsroom.
"And in the state elections, it looks like Democrat Edward Kelly will be winning the senate seat on a landslide," said the female reporter.
"Of course, we all expected that," said the male reporter. "Kelly is currently the mayor of Bayville, New York. But his brother was the immensely popular Senator Robert Kelly who was killed just weeks ago by a group of mutant radicals. Edward Kelly is running in his brother's stead and has shown a very anti-mutant platform in his campaign. He is expected to win easily."
"Well," said Scott, "it'll be official in just a matter of hours. Kelly will be a US Senator."
"Won't that get him out of our hair, though?" asked Rogue.
"In a way," answered Scott, turning to face the girl. "I mean, sure, he won't be doing anything directed at the X-Men anymore, but I bet he's got all sorts of stuff planned to direct at all the mutants. It's not gonna be pretty."
The TV reporters turned their attention to elections around the country. It looked to Scott and Rogue like all the anti-mutant forerunners were winning easily.
"Definitely not gonna be pretty," repeated Scott.
