Todd woke up and looked around. He still had his clothes from the previous day on and his body lay askew on the rumpled bed. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 9.30 in the morning on a Sunday. He liked knowing that he had the day to himself. Todd slid out of bed and undressed, wrapping a towel around him to go to the shower. Thoughts of the previous evening and the good feelings that came from it so enveloped his mind and body that by the time he realized what he was doing, he was half way down the hall. The idea that he'd actually go and shower was so foreign to him that it didn't register in his mind until he saw his reflection in a hallway mirror. As he looked into the mirror he remembered why he didn't take showers in the first place. He stood looking at himself critically as the door to Wanda's room opened and the Scarlet Witch stepped into the hallway.
"Move it, Toad," Wanda said sharply, her eyes looking distracted and angry.
"Ok." With that, Todd pressed himself against the wall and let Wanda pass him by. Once again, another member of the house was so caught in their thoughts that an obviously out of character moment passed them by before their eyes without so much as a word. Wanda realized about halfway down the stairs that Todd hadn't called her cuddlebumps or shnookums or any of his silly pet names for her. In fact, he hadn't spoken to her at all. This fact made her stop in her tracks and go back up the stairs to see what, in fact, was going on. She proceeded back to where Todd was still looking at himself in the hall mirror and grabbed his shoulder with her hand.
"Ok, you. What's going on?" Wanda demanded.
"What's going on with what?" Todd replied calmly. Wanda shook her head again and tightened her grip on Todd's shoulder a little bit.
"You didn't call me any of your stupid little names, you wart. You didn't even speak to me! What's wrong with you?"
"Um...I just wasn't thinking about you right now, Wanda. I've kind of got some things on my mind. I'm sorry. Would you like me to call you some silly names, yo?" Todd asked a strangely calm look and a small smile on his face. Wanda let his shoulder go and stormed off, her own head beginning to spin even faster then it had been spinning before. Todd looked at her retreating form for just a moment before walking back to his room and slipping back into his clothes from yesterday. He opened his window and hopped down to the ground, his feet taking him to the Bayville Mall. He had work to do.
---Rogue awoke to see sun shining into her room window. She rolled over to her side and saw Kitty Pryde sleeping soundly in her bed. Quietly, she slipped out of bed and walked quickly into the bathroom. For the next few minutes, she washed and cleaned herself, applied her makeup and set her hair into the position she wanted it in. She slipped back out, trying to keep the house as quiet as possible. As she walked back into her room, Rogue could hear any of the denizens of her wing arising from their evenings. She smiled as she slid into her room and out of her towel. A few moments later she was clothed in a short black skirt and a somewhat clingy top, revealing the very pretty figured girl she really was. She took one final look in the mirror before she left the room, careful to not let anyone hear her leave.
Down the hallway and stairwell she crept, keeping a sharp eye out for blue furry mutant somnambulists or red headed early birds. She saw no one and proceeded down to the main garage where she noticed that Logan's second bike was sitting uncovered on one side of the mansion. Rogue smiled to herself for a moment and proceeded to feel around for the second set of keys she knew Logan had hidden on top of one of the shelves.
"Looking for this, Rogue?" Jean's voice said, breaking her out of her reverie. Rogue turned around and saw the redhead standing there with the keys in her hand.
"Yeah. I'd appreciate it if you gave me those," Rogue said, mustering all the southern belle bitchiness she could in her voice. The added emphasis merely rolled off the unflappable Jean Grey as she walked over to Scott's convertible.
"Not a chance. Logan would kill us both if he knew you were riding his bike. Besides, I can take you anywhere you need to go. In fact, where is it that you're going in the first place?" Jean asked, a tiny smile on her face. Rogue rolled her eyes and sighed.
"You're the damn telepath, Jean. You should know already."
"I might have an idea, but I'd like to hear you say it."
"Fine. I want to go to the mall to get some things for Todd. It's not like that's a crime, now is it?" Rogue asked, her hands on her hips daring Jean to say it was wrong that she wanted to do something for the boy she had kissed the night previous. Jean didn't say anything but merely opened the door to Scott's car and motioned for Rogue to get in.
"Come on. I'll drive."
"You're actually doing something for me?"
"I think of this as doing something for me. I won't have to hear Logan's mouth about his bike being wrecked and I'll get to make sure you do your shopping and not go see Todd before tonight." Jean smiled at this, completely missing the slightly pissed look at Rogue was giving her. "Besides, wouldn't you like another girl's opinion about what that boy might like?"
"...fine. But you're not going with me everywhere."
"I don't have to. I just have to make sure we go home together." At that Rogue got into the passenger side and they drove off. Rogue immediately turned the radio on and sat with her arms crossed, a frustrated look on her face. Jean switched the station and Rogue switched it right back. This continued without speaking from either girl for a few minutes before Rogue grew pissed and just shut the radio down entirely.
"Well...I see you're not a classical music fan," Jean said with yet another smile. Rogue fought the urge to claw Jean's eyes out and instead chose a certain spot of dirt to focus her eyes on in the window's outer surface.
"Jean, why are you doing this? Why do you feel like you have to be my mother in all this? I didn't do anything to you to deserve this," Rogue said as calmly as she could.
"I'm doing this because I'm worried about you. I'm worried about you because I know what the ear rings that Dr. McCoy gave you are doing to you. Before Remy left you for girls unknown," Jean said, "I know you were able to control your emotions. But now that you're able to touch and kiss and hug and express things like the rest of us can, I'm just feeling like you're going too far too fast."
"Ah'm a big girl, Jean. I can take care of myself," Rogue said with more then a little bit of frustration creeping into the back of her voice.
"I know you can. But sometimes we need someone to actually make sure we're not making a mistake," Jean countered.
"And you think that me kissing Todd and wanting to be friends with him is a mistake? Jean, you've barely spoken to him and you're telling me that it's a bad idea that I be friends with him. You don't know him like I know him."
"You know him better, Rogue?"
"Of course I do! Who do you think was making sure Kitty and Lance didn't go off the deep end with one another on their dates? I was there at the brotherhood house making friends and talking with everyone, including Todd. Todd was the only person at first who didn't treat me like a traitor, Jean. He didn't speak to me at first...but he didn't run either. He just waited till everyone was gone before saying anything. I liked what I heard." Rogue looked at Jean for a moment. "He made me feel like I was someone more then a cute piece of ass."
"Fine. He does all that. But what makes you think he can deal with you, being so young?" Jean took a sharp turn into the parking lot, sending them both sliding a little to the side.
"I don't know. But I know I want to be friends with him. Maybe more," Rogue said as they pulled to a stop in the parking lot. Jean proceeded to open the door but was stopped by Rogue placing a hand on her forearm. She looked down and noticed that the hand was indeed gloved and covered. "Jean, I know I rushed things with him. I know that I rushed things because deep down I want to touch everything and everyone...but I'd like to see what might happen with him. I'm going to slow things down with Todd but Ah'm not going to stop seeing him. He's different then any guy I've ever even looked at for more then a minute. He makes me feel like Ah'm the reason he does what he does. That's something I've wanted for so long. Now that I can touch and feel"
"...Well, I still want to talk to Todd before you two get together again. He needs to know what's going on if he's going to pursue anything with you. If he hurts you, I'll kick his little froggy ass from here back to New York City," Jean said with an oath. Rogue herself couldn't help but smile at hearing Jean's very uncharacteristically mean words.
"Well, we finally see the mean redhead come out," Rogue said with her own sly smile. Jean looked at Rogue and sighed, shaking her head and smiling ruefully.
"I don't mean to be this clucking mother hen, Rogue, but between your issues with Gambit and Amara's troubles with Pyro...I've become more then a little over protective of you guys. I know deep down you have to be free to make your own decisions," Jean said softly, "But seeing Amara cry after seeing you cry over Gambit made me want to tell all the Acolytes and Brotherhood jerks to go and fuck off. I'm just a little bitter, that's all."
"You? Bitter? Ah'm not sure I'm in the right dimension," Rogue said with a laugh.
"Believe it. I'm a lot more then you might think." At that both girls got out and walked through the parking lot towards the mall. "I'm not some little ivory princess, Rogue. I have feelings too, you know. I just don't have the luxury of throwing temper tantrums when I get angry. Everyone else can get angry in our house but I can't because I'm the mature young lady. You have no idea how much sometimes I'd like to rip someone's face off." Jean's calm voice made Rogue look at her for a moment, more then a little shocked at the idea that someone she figured was completely devoid of anger could actually get pissed.
"Why then are you telling me this, Jean?"
"I want you to know that I do understand why you feel the way you do," Jean said softly. "I'm not made of stone...I just know for us, our emotions have to be handled better. We mutants are built to kill but there's no reason why we should be slaves to what we feel. To be honest...sometimes I get scared that I'll get angry and just smash someone into a wall with my powers. I'd like to make sure others don't go through what I go through, especially you and especially over Todd or Remy."
"That makes sense," Rogue said thoughtfully as both girls hit the front door of the mall. "So what happened with John and Amara?"
"Let's just say John is a Remy in training and leave it at that." Jean looked at Rogue as they walked into the mall and Rogue looked back with a surprised but resigned look on her face. In fact, the moment was so awkward that Jean took a full two seconds extra to turn her head around, nearly running Todd who stood just in front of both girls' walking paths. Todd had his back turned and his head down, his fingers full of money so he never had a chance to get out of the tall redhead's way. Fortunately, his insane sense of balance and body control kept him from sprawling out onto the floor. He looked back at both girls, noting Jean's rather shocked expression and Rouge's sweet smile.
"Oh...hey, yo," Todd said to Rogue with a sweet shy smile. Rogue smiled back and silently waved, her hands ungloved and her skin smooth and soft. Jean noticed that Todd was taking quite a bit of time to look Rogue over and she decided to throw her weight around.
"I hope you're not causing trouble, Toad," Jean said, using Todd's diminutive name to gauge where the slight boy was emotionally. Todd cocked his left eyebrow a little and smirked.
"And hello to you too, Jean. To answer your question, I was here doing a little lifting and a little shopping. I've got a rather important thing to do in a few minutes." Todd hopped from foot to foot idly, looking over at Rogue with a smile. Rogue continued to smile back and noticed that he was more nervous then normal. She stepped closer to him and attempted to touch his arm but he pulled back and hopped to the side a little. "Um...Rogue, I don't think you wanna touch me right now."
"Why not?" Rogue asked with a bit of surprise in her voice.
"I haven't had a shower."
"That never stopped you from being on anyone before, Toad," Jean retorted with more then a little bit of extra spite in her voice. Rogue rolled her eyes and sighed but Todd merely let the statement pass over his slight shoulders and smiled a little at the tall redhead.
"Actually, that's why I came to the mall today. I came here to go get some soap. Soap I can use."
"What do you mean?" Jean asked, herself now confused.
"I'm amphibian and I have sensitive skin to boot, yo. I have to wash with a soap that's hypo-allergenic at least and preferably one that can be used in animal areas. I've finally gotten over the idea that I'll be buying my hygiene products from a pet store," Todd replied softly. He looked at Rogue and felt his eyes change from deep amber gold to a rich sweet green as he spoke. Rogue saw this and nearly fell over with how cute he was. She idly remembered that this, in fact, was why she liked Todd; underneath all the bitterness was a cute shy kid that was attractive in a way that would put both Bobby Drake and Sam Guthrie to shame. Jean could hear Rogue's thoughts on the matter and began to look at Todd just a little differently...and in a moment, she could see what Rogue saw. She saw why, in fact, Todd was cute...and it unnerved her a little.
"Well...I'm glad you're not causing trouble. Rogue, I'll be over in Forever 21 when you're ready to go," Jean said, her face coloring a little as she walked off. Both Rogue and Todd just looked at one another for a moment, neither speaking, both looking more then a little bit nervous about being alone together again. Todd looked over her shoulder and took a step forward.
"So."
"Yeah..."
"Why you here, yo?"
"...I actually was here to buy you some soap that you could use," Rogue replied, her cheeks burning a little. Todd gaped for a moment but collected himself nicely.
"You were buying me soap because you thought I smelled?"
"No, Todd. I wanted to buy you soap you could use because I remembered reading that you liked bathing but didn't like being sick afterwards. I figured if you were clean, maybe people would have less reason to hate you."
"What do I care about what people feel about me?" Todd asked, his voice swelling with false bravura.
"More then you'd like to admit."
"...you're right, yo." Both smiled at one another then looked down at their feet. More silence happened as both tried to think of what to say. People came and went, passing by them without a word or a sound their way. The ebb and flow of the mall passed by them on all sides and they barely recognized that anything was happening.
"So."
"So."
"...Wanna come with me to get the stuff I need?" Todd asked. Rogue nodded and both walked silently to the pet store. Dogs and cats sat in cages in the windows, barking and meowing at passers by. They walked in the store and Todd proceeded straight to the section for cages and supplies. He picked a large bottle from a shelf, looked at it and nodded to himself. Rogue watched as he hopped back to the counter to pay for it. The bored clerk took the money and gave the pair an odd look but said nothing, not even a thank you as they left the store. Todd looked around and then looked at Rogue for a moment. A small smile graced his face making Rogue warm all over.
"So. I guess this is goodbye for now."
"You're leaving?" Rogue asked softly.
"Yeah. Gotta go take a shower and get ready for meeting you tonight, yo." Todd smiled more at this, the eagerness of being with Rogue again plain on his face. He didn't even try to hide it at all, another fact that made Rogue smile inside despite the heavy blush that spread across her face. She liked knowing that someone was going to all this trouble for her. She also liked that he was just as energetic as she remembered him from before. "That is, if you want me to smell good."
"It's your call. I'm not forcing you to do anything, Todd."
"Well...I wanna look good. For once, I wanna look good." Todd leaned over and squeezed her arm for a moment before turning and hopping off. He stopped a short distance away and waved then proceeded to leave the mall. Some people watched him but most ignored him. Rogue did not. She couldn't stop looking at the doorway he escaped out of, even when Jean re-emerged from the little store she had gone into. Jean saw the slightly dreamy look on Rogue's face and frowned.
'This is more serious then I thought,' Jean thought with a grimace.
*****A/N: This one is getting fun. I rather like Jean's reaction here. Next time, we get plenty off Wanda angst, a clean and sweet smelling Todd, and mabye another Rogue/Todd kiss. Want more? Review. Reive and all will be given.