Virago
Chapter Seven
20 April 2009
'Warren.'
Warren looked up at the voice, and smiled. 'Hello, Kurt.'
The younger man attempted to look as intimidating as he could, deeply furrowing his brows, straightening his shoulders and puffing out his chest, and placing both hands on his waist. 'So, you and my sister.'
The Man To Man Talk.
Warren suppressed the urge to grin. 'What about me and Rogue?'
'You're treating her well, yes?'
'Like a princess.'
'Because if you don't…'
'Like a queen.'
'You'll have me to answer to.'
'Kurt, I promise you, she is as pampered and indulged as is possible.'
'You'll never hurt her?'
'It would be the end of me if I did.'
'Or let anybody else hurt her?
'It would be the end of them if they did.'
'You'll always care for her?'
'Until the day I die.'
'And-' Kurt stopped. He dropped his hands from his waist and looked at him seriously. 'Do you love her?'
Warren allowed himself a soft smile as he thought about Rogue. Of how she's changed him. 'More than anything.'
The younger man finally relaxed, and grinned. 'Good, I just wanted to make sure.'
'Rogue considers herself lucky to have you as her brother, Kurt, and I can see why.'
Kurt blushed. 'Really, it's nothing…'
Behind his companion, Warren noticed someone staring at them from across their makeshift camp, her face flickering in and out of shadows from the swinging lamp in her hand. As their eyes locked, Kitty looked away.
Kurt had turned to see what had caught his attention. He sighed. 'She's not usually like this.'
'Rogue feels terrible for having indirectly hurt her.'
'It's not Rogue's fault. Kitty…' Kurt sighed. 'After Lance left, she became depressed. She was convinced he left because of Rogue, and for that she will never forgive my sister. No one realised how deeply she cared for Lance, and none of us really wanted to know. It doesn't matter anymore anyway. She refuses to talk about it.'
Warren did not know what to say. He didn't know the girl, had never spoken to her. 'I doubt there's anything I can say or do that will make a difference.'
'No, probably not.' Kurt shifted. 'Well, it's almost one o'clock. We should probably get some rest.'
'Goodnight, Kurt.'
'Goodnight, Warren.'
*
She fell.
It was behind her, on top of her. It was hovering above her, but she kept her head down. She could feel It's shadow blanketing her.
She clenched her eyes tight, sobbing against the hard ground beneath her. She refused to look.
She could feel It. So close. It was almost touching her. Almost. Just there.
Ice.
Fire.
*
Scott sat up, heart hammering hard against his chest at the sound that woke him. A scream, unnaturally filled with terror.
Rogue!
Quietly thanking his lucky stars for having forgotten to take his glasses off, and not blasting a hole through the Professor's mansion, Scott jumped out of bed. He ran for the door and turned left at the hallway. Rogue's room was not far from his.
The door was ajar. Not bothering to knock, he pushed it open and stared into the darkened room. 'Rogue?' he called out, surprised at the breathlessness of his voice.
He could hear gasping, short breaths. A whimper. He reached for the lights. Brightness blinded him and he squinted. Red room. There were murmurs from the direction of the bed.
Scott hurried towards the form that struggled against the sheets. 'Rogue? Can you hear me?'
She stilled at his touch, a look of uneasy peace on her face. He watched, entranced, as her eyes fluttered open. Hazel with flecks of green. Wide, momentarily confused. Captivatingly vulnerable.
'Scott?'
He swallowed hard. 'You were having a nightmare.'
Fear clouded her eyes, and she turned away. 'It was so cold. And so hot. It touched me.'
'It's okay, you're okay,' he assured there, though he had no idea of what she was talking about.
But Rogue's eyes had closed again and she lay relaxed against the pillows. She looked innocuously asleep.
Scott shook her gently, his hand slipping slightly on her sweaty shoulders. 'Rogue?' Nothing. He shook harder, spoke louder. 'Rogue, wake up!' Still nothing.
/ Professor! /
*
'I have the coordinates of the base,' Charles Xavier's voice sounded over the X-Jet's radio. 'I'm transmitting now to the X-Jet computer, but you will still have to manually key it in.'
'Ready, Professor,' Nightcrawler replied clearly and confidently.
Angel was once again thankful that he had managed to convince Rogue to return to the X-Men for help.
'Received the coordinates,' Jean Grey said out loud as she bent over a screen in front of her. 'Analysing the terrain.'
'I'm also sending blueprints of the base,' Xavier continued. 'Not only is it underground, but I believe it is also underwater.'
'The base is built inside an underwater cave,' Jean Grey said, confirming the Professor's words.
'According to the blueprints and estimated size and shape of the cave, there is no place to go in and land the Jet,' Shadowcat joined in, as she studied another screen. 'We'll have to proceed by other means.'
'And proceed there fast,' Wolverine growled from behind.
Angel turned to look at the other man in surprise, as did the other members of the team. 'What is it?'
'Helicopters approaching fast from the north-east,' he answered. 'I smell commandos in the air.'
*
'Scott, why don't you get some-'
'No, I'm not going anywhere,' he interrupted softly, not taking his eyes away from Rogue's sleeping face. She was much too pale. Her colour hadn't changed in the six – or was it seven, maybe eight? - hours he'd spent watching her.
'Scott-'
'I said no, Hank.'
The older man sighed. 'Alright. I'll leave you to it.' Hank walked away, making no noise as he did so.
Scott sat in silence for a long time, gazing at a face he hadn't seen in seven years. It felt like a lifetime. From the moment he had first laid eyes on her in Mississippi to when she had disappeared right from under his nose - it all amounted to less than one year. Eight months, one week, and four days. He had missed out on seven long years. Of her friendship. Of her trust. Of her life.
Of her love?
Just then Rogue began to stir. Once again he was spellbound by the mere act of her waking up. The specks of green in her eyes seemed bigger and brighter this time around.
Rogue turned her head slightly to look at him. She didn't seem surprised to see him. 'Hi.'
For the fist time since her arrival, Scott smiled at her. 'Hi.'
*
'Rogue?'
She looked up and smiled. 'Scott.' She sat in the middle of Storm's rose garden, basking in the scents as she watched the sun's slow sinking progression.
'How are you feeling?' he asked.
'Weak, but okay. Glad to be outside.'
'Rogue…' He trailed off. 'There's something-' He broke off. 'I have to tell you-' He stopped once again.
She turned to him as apprehension filled her. Somehow she knew what it was he was trying to say, what he wanted to say. She could hear it in his voice, see it in the lines of his face, the tension of his body. 'You don't-'
'But I do!' he interrupted, clearly anxious.
'Scott, no.'
He looked at her. Fearfully. Hopefully. 'I love you.'
She looked sadly at him. 'You have Jean.'
'Rogue-'
'And I have Warren.'
He looked bewildered at her words. 'Warren's just a friend.'
She reached up and revealed a ring that she had threaded through the silver chain that had been a 21st birthday present. The ring had continually slipped from her fingers after her sudden weight loss some months previously, the first sign that the microbe was more than she had been told. Instead of parting with it, she had kept it close to her heart.
As she spoke the last of the sun's rays disappeared over the horizon, taking with them the glint of the diamond that she held. 'Scott, Warren is my fiancé.'
end chapter seven.
Author's notes: As usual, thank you for the reviews. I'm sorry this took a little while to update, but I hope you can all appreciate the crazy hustle and bustle of the past couple of weeks. And I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! A couple of personal comments: to Pixie Flyer - even if you don't post, as long as you like writing, keep writing. To ChaosCat - thank you for your comment regarding Scott. It got me thinking, and hopefully I've managed to answer that question in upcoming chapters.