Disclaimer: Okay, still don't own X-Men and I'm defiantly not making any money off of this so no one sue. You won't get nothing but a headache. Oh, but I do own Ebony. Yay me.
Authors Note: Training's here. Enjoy. This chapter was harder to write than I thought because I wasn't sure how they could train exactly. But I figured it out. Enjoy. Now on to the story. Oh and everyone, y'all need to go and read Mercury Dream's stuff. It's really, really, really, really, really good. (Did I mention really?) A Rogue's Touch and All Grown Up are my favorites. So go read her stuff to. Now, quickly!
'text' internal speech
dreams
Wandering Souls
Chapter 21: Training
Remy watched Rogue silently as they entered the mansion behind the others. She had been quiet since lunch and he was worried. They all entered the kitchen to find Ororo and Meranda sitting at the table sipping their tea.
"Hey Auntie O," Evan said as he headed towards the fridge and the milk.
"Hello child," Ororo replied as she watched the other students forging through the cupboards and fridge searching for food.
"Hey sweetie," Meranda smiled as Rogue walked into the room behind the others and sat down next to her mother, playing with her gloves. Meranda leaned over and Kissed Rogue's forehead. "How was you day?"
"Fahne," Rogue replied looking up and watching Remy move expertly around the counters and the hungry X-Men. She had a lot on her mind and she really wanted to talk to her mother about it, but she really wasn't sure how.
Meranda caught Rogue's chin with her fingers and looked into her daughters eyes. "It's not n ice to lie to your mother. What's wrong?" she asked quietly so only Rogue would hear.
Rogue sighed and looked back at Meranda. "Ah don't wanna talk about it here," she whispered as Remy suddenly appeared, sitting down next to Rogue and placing half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of her.
"Thought y' might be hungry ma chere," he smiled at her as he bit into his half.
"Merci sugah," she replied smiling slightly as she too bit into her sandwich.
Meranda watched them, the wheels turning in her mind as she sipped her tea. 'Looks like its' time Marie and I had that talk.'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue walked quickly towards the clearing in the woods behind the mansion, kicking herself for being late to her first training session with her mother. Her uniform hugged her body snugly as she passed between tree limbs and low branches. She entered the clearing to find Meranda sitting cross legged on the ground, her own uniform hugging every curve of her body. Rogue wondered briefly if she'd ever have a body like that when she finished growing. She still felt awkward in her own body at times and Mr. McCoy had assured her she had at least one more growth spurt left in her. Of course, Logan had just snorted at this and told her if she ate more she'd fill out. 'Dad's just don't understand,' she thought as she continued to watch. Meranda had designed her outfit specifically. It was entirely black leather with a large, deep red x crossing over her ample breasts. Her boots & gloves were deep red as well, coming up to her knees and elbows respectively. The standard yellow x belt wrapped around her waist tightly, barring the symbol of the X-Men. She had her eyes closed, but Rogue had a feeling that her mother was aware of every presence in the clearing, including Rogue's.
Rogue just stood, unwilling to break the silence and reverie of the moment when suddenly, little multicolored orbs of light appeared around Meranda's form, taking shape revealing several fairy looking lights. Rogue gasped in awe as they kept circling Meranda, growing brighter. Meranda's eyes shot open and the lights headed directly at Rogue, swirling around the girls body.
Meranda watched as Rogue's eyes widened in surprise and then into glee as the light fairy's she created danced for her little girl. "I haven't seen that look on your face since you were a little girl," she mused as Rogue made her way across the clearing, the fairy's tagging along.
"What look?" Rouge asked, flopping across from her mother and pulling her knees to her chest, watching the lights.'
"That one," Meranda smiled. "The one you used to get every time I made the lights go out."
Rogue smirked at the memory, one of the few from her childhood that hadn't shifted amongst with those of the many people she'd absorbed. "Hey mamma?"
"Yes baby," Meranda looked at her own creations, still fluttering and glowing strong, one last time before snuffing them out with a wave of her hand.
"Make it dark."
Meranda's smile broadened as she looked closely at her daughter. "Whatever you want sugar." Her eyes turned pitch black, pupils to iris as the bright daylight of the clearing was snuffed out into complete darkness.
Rogue looked around in wonder for a moment before letting out a small giggle, feeling like she was 4 again. The lights suddenly came back up and Meranda sat there, a smirk on her face.
They sat in silence for a moment until Meranda finally spoke up.
"So, what'd you want to talk about?"
Rogue let out a long sigh before looking out towards where the mansion stood hidden behind the trees. "It's jus' so hard," Rogue began, trying desperately to collect her thoughts before continuing. "Ah just' got mah power about nine months ago and Mystique's been trainin' meh since she took meh from ya. So Ah learned ta deal wit it y'know. Ah had even figured out how to control the voices a bit, and Ah'd accepted the fact that Ah'd be alone the rest of mah life." Rogue let out a long breath before continuing. "Then, she sends fer meh and Ah absorb Carol, who still don't lahke ta stay quiet fer very long, and Ah find ya and daddy and Ah meet him and now Ah don't know what ta do anymore. Nothin' makes sense."
Meranda scooted next to Rogue and drew the girls head into her lap, brushing the hair behind her ear slowly. "There there baby," she soothed. "Welcome to life. Ain't it a bitch huh? Almost a bigger one than me. I know it isn't easy, and I'm not going to lie to you and say it gets any better, but I will tell you this," she turned Rogue's face to look at her. "It's worth it in the end."
"Are ya sure?" Rogue asked, tears brewing in her eyes a bit.
"Of course I am," Meranda smiled pulling Rogue up and into her arms. "I mean, look at all the shit I've put up with and look where I'm at now. I have my baby girl back and I'm here driving your dad nuts. What more do I want?"
Rogue let out a loud laugh before laying her head back on her mothers knee. "Yeah, ya and Ro bein' friends is drivin' him nuts."
Meranda chuckled slightly and placed her arms behind her, leaning back on her palms. "So, you really like that boy huh?"
"Yeah, but don't tell him that."
"I won't. And I may just not mention it to Logan either."
"Thank ya."
Meranda bit her lip before continuing, she'd never done this part of parenting before and had been dreading it since Rogue was born. "You know, even if you like him, it doesn't mean you have to do anything your not ready for."
Rogue groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Oh no, not this. Anything but this."
"I'm just saying, that if he loves you he'll wait till your ready for things like sex," Meranda continued, never one to beat around the bush.
"Why are we even havin' this conversation? Ah can't evah have sex anyway," Rogue sat up, blushing profusely.
"Of course you will," Meranda said, glad Logan was in a danger room session and not there to rip her a new one for stating the obvious about their daughter. "That's one of the reason's were out here is so you can learn to control your powers. And besides, even if you can't touch skin to skin there are other ways, believe me."
"MOTHER!" Rogue shrieked her head shooting up and staring at her mother.
"What?" Meranda asked innocently. "Oh, come on! I have been around you know and I have met your boyfriend dear and if anyone can come up with a way it's him," Meranda stated as she stood stretching.
"Ah ain't hearin' this," Rogue stated climbing to her feet. "Ah just ain't."
"Oh come on, you think I wanna have this talk either?" Meranda exclaimed placing her hands on her hips. "It's one thing talking to your friends, but to your daughter, and in your case your mother, I get it. It's not easy for either of us, but we have to do it so," Meranda trailed off for a bit, looking around at anything but Rogue. "So…you got any questions?"
"Ah don't know. A few Ah guess," Rogue said, unconsciously mimicking her mothers movements.
"Well, good," Meranda stated, the nervousness clear in her voice. "Ask me while we train."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue stood in the center of the clearing, her eyes closed with a red bandanna tied around them. She listened intently trying to pinpoint her mothers position as Meranda circled her. "So ya think he lahkes meh?" Rogue felt the air around her change and quickly blocked Meranda's foot inches before it came into contact with her face.
"Oh I'd count on it. How many guys put forth the effort to come up with the whole silk hanker chief?" Meranda bounced back, re-thinking her attack. "Most of the time, if they can't get it, they move on. Sad as it is, men are fickle. Especially boys. And, I've seen the look in his eyes whenever you come into the room. He's got it bad."
"Yeah," Rogue smiled as she did a quick roundhouse, her foot connecting with her mothers. "Ah'm just afraid Ah'm gonna hurt him. Or he's gonna hurt meh."
"So, that's why you're so nervous about Kitty's party idea huh?"
"Yeah. Ah know he ain't afraid, and he'd never hurt meh on purpose, but…it's all still new." Rogue paused and looked in the area she thought her mother was standing in. "Ya ain't gonna say anything about the party to the others are ya? Daddy'd nevah let us have it and neither would Ro or the Prof."
"Nah, your secrets safe with me kido. Besides, I was that age, and Mr. McCoy will still be here and I know he can't be THAT dense." Meranda did a back flip and swung her legs under Rogue's trying to trip the girl. "Besides you're all basically good kids. And Cyclops is way to anal to let anything really bad happen, so long as that red head keeps her shirt on."
Rogue jumped easily doing a handstand and turning it into a back flip as she dodged her mothers attack. "Let's just hope she does. What's the point of this anyway?" Rogue asked, growing tired of dodging her mothers attacks, and having her eyes covered. "Can't Ah take this thing off?"
"Not yet," Meranda stated as Ororo flew silently down into the clearing. Meranda signaled for Ro to move next to her as she looked towards Rogue. "Come here sugar, but keep the blindfold on," Meranda said, stepping behind Storm, who had removed her gloves.
"Ah still don't see the point of this," Rogue stated moving to who she thought was her mother and taking her hands. To Meranda and Storms joy, nothing happened.
"Well, there's two points, the first of which was to see if Mystique did a good enough job training you or not," Meranda said, trying to subdue her joy as she moved silently behind Rogue.
"And the second?" Rogue asked, tired after the long training session.
"To see if you'd absorb someone when you thought they were me," she said whipping off the blindfold to reveal Storm smiling at Rogue.
Rogue's breath caught in her throat and the imprinting began before she could think. Ororo and Rogue both let out a scream, and Meranda quickly separated the two. Ororo fell to her knees, tired and out of breath, as Rogue began to fight with Ororo's psyche inside her mind.
Meranda brought her fingers up to her temple and entered Rogue's mind, helping her to cage Ororo's psyche with the many others as the weather witch recovered enough to stand.
"Are you alright child?" Storm asked, replacing her gloves and looking with concern at Rogue.
"Yeah, Ah'll be fahne," she stated glad her mother was there to help. It was times like this that Carol tried to take control and Rogue was terrified that she'd one day succeed.
"Rogue honey this is so great!" Meranda exclaimed, wrapping her daughter into a hug.
"What do ya mean?" Rogue asked, hugging her mom back, unsure why the woman was so excited. "Ah coulda killed her."
"Yes, but for a full minute you were touching her skin with no effect. Which means that subconsciously, you can control your power. Now all we have to do is figure out how that is and pull it to the conscious level until we can get it to kick on all the time," Meranda explained pulling away from her daughter.
"But how are we gonna do that? Now Ah'm gonna be afraid that the person Ah'm touchin' when Ah have the blindfold on might not be ya," Rogue asked confused.
"Oh that was just a test to see if you had it in you. Now the real training begins," Meranda smiled brushing a stray hair behind her daughters ear. "I'm afraid it's going to take some time though, but I'm confident that you'll be able to touch before we're done."
Rogue stood there, soaking in what her mother had just told her, a smile slowly coming to her lips. "Ah can't wait," she whispered softly.
"Good," Meranda wrapped an arm around Rogue's shoulder's and looked over at her new friend smiling. "Now, let's go eat. I heard a certain Cajun Romeo was cooking tonight and it's been ages since I've had a good Gumbo."
"Believe me, young Mr. LeBeau's is one of the best," Ororo smiled as they headed back towards the mansion.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Remy hummed softly as he stood over the large pot, stirring his shrimp gumbo slowly trying to figure out exactly what it was missing. The kitchen was silent save for his humming. He'd kicked Kitty out ages ago after she set a hot mitt on fire, and Remy was enjoying the silence. He tasted the gumbo once more, still not sure what was missing, when two arms wrapped around his waist and he felt a head rest against his shoulder.
"Miss meh sugah?" Rogue cooed snuggling close against his back. She'd went up and showered and changed since her training session and was now in a pair of blue jeans, a black peasant top with a low cut neck and flared sleeves, and her favorite pair of sneakers. She placed a kiss on his shoulder before letting go of him.
Remy grabbed her wrist and pulled her between him and the stove, placing his arms on either side of her as he continued to stir his concoction, kissing her head. "Always mon amore," he whispered into her hair as he picked up a spoonful and held it in front of her mouth, watching as she slowly ate it, a look of concentration on her face. "How was trainin?"
"Good," she said, turning to face him. "It needs more Creole," she stated mater-o-factly as she leaned forward and placed her gloved palm over his lips, kissing the back of her hand before moving away to get a glass of tea.
"Ah, merci Cherie," Remy replied adding the seasoning. "Anything exciting happen?"
"Mamma proved today that Ah have it in meh to control it," Rogue stated taking a drink from her glass before continuing. "But we don't know how long it'll take."
"That okay chere," Remy said, placing the spoon down on the counter and heading over to Rogue, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Remy have all de time in de world non?"
"Hands off Gumbo," Logan growled entering the kitchen and sending the Cajun back to his pot. "How was trainin today darlin?"
"Great," Rogue said, a spark of mischief igniting in her eye. "Mamma and Ah had a nice long talk."
"Oh, about what stripes?" Logan asked, rummaging around in the fridge, looking for something stronger than the soda's that were staring back at him.
"Sex," Rogue stated and watched in amusement as Logan hit his head in the fridge as he tried to rise too quickly.
Remy turned and looked at Rogue, one eyebrow raised and an amused expression on his face.
"Huh, is that so?" Logan said, now really wishing for something stronger as he turned to look at his daughter.
"Yeah, but Ah still have some questions," Rogue continued, looking at him, her face devoid of emotion.
"O-okay," Logan stuttered, wondering where Ororo or Meranda were when he needed them. "We'll go find your mom and you can ask her."
"Oh no, Ah don't think she can answer these questions," Rogue stated, enjoying the look of fear passing over her fathers face.
"What kinds of questions?" Logan asked, really wanting that beer now.
"Well, Mamma gave me the basic's y'know, but Ah'm still confused," Rogue said, opening up a psychic link with her mother so she could hear the whole conversation. "She said it has to do with doin' stuff ya both lahke. But how do ya know what the guy lahkes?" Rogue's face was a mask of innocence as she looked over at her father, who was actually sweating.
'Have I ever told you how proud I am that you're my daughter?' Meranda asked, laughing inside her daughters mind.
'This is too great,' Rogue replied as she waited for Logan's answer.
Remy, tried to suppress a laugh as he turned back to his gumbo.
"Well, he um…will tell you, usually," Logan said, making a mental note to yell at Meranda later.
"What if he doesn't?" Rogue asked, not letting up. "Or what if ya think he lahkes it, and he's really just bein nice so not to hurt ya feelings?"
"Trust me kid, when it comes to sex, guys ain't that nice. Ain't that right gumbo?" Logan growled, turning to the boy. "And what has you asking all these questions anyway?" he set his glare on the back of Remy's back, as the young Cajun shook with laughter.
"Oh, just askin," Rogue said walking up to Logan and rising on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Mamma's the one that brought it up."
'Oh thanks kid. Send him yelling at me,' Meranda stated inside Rogue's head. 'I love you too.'
'Ah know,' Rogue replied as she continued to smile at her father.
Logan looked at Rogue and shook his head before turning and heading out to the garage, mumbling that he needed a drink.
Rogue turned to look at Remy and their eyes met before they both burst into a fit of laughter.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue was running. She could feel whatever was chasing her gaining on her. She ran faster, feeling shooting pain in her lungs as she ran faster.
"Go ahead and run," a menacing voice called out through the darkness. "But you'll never be free bitch! I'll have back what you stole."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue awoke with a start, her heart pounding in her chest as she struggled to catch her breath and tears poured down her face. Two strong arms wrapped protectively around her.
"There there darlin," Logan soothed running a hand over her back comfortingly. "It was just a dream. You're safe here," he whispered as he listened to her heart slow down to a normal rhythm again. "So, chocolate or strawberry?" he asked after a few minutes.
Rogue let out a small chuckles, careful not to wake her sleeping roommates. "Neither. Ah think Ah just wanna git back ta sleep. Ah got a test in French in the morning." She said pulling away and kissing her fathers cheek. "Thanks for the offer though."
"Anytime Stripes," he replied kissing her head as he rose. She snuggled down into the bed and he pulled the covers up around her and handed her Mr. Marbles. "Night kid."
"Night daddy," Rogue mumbled as she began to drift back to sleep.
Logan walked to the door and spared one more glance at her before shutting it silently behind him and continuing his late night patrol.
Authors Note: And there you have it folks. Another chapter. Again sorry it took so long but I had a bit of writers block and a test to study for, a project to do and a paper to write so yeah. Next week doesn't look so bad for me though, and I'm looking forward to writing the make-out party chapter. I found the plot outline I did for this story last night and man have I went off track. But oh well right? Well hope you all enjoyed and I know not much fluff, but wait till next chapter. Hehehe. Hopefully I'll get it up a lot sooner. Well, again no shout out's. I'll try to do it in the next chapter. I'm just so tired. It's 2:06 a.m. here and I worked tonight and have to get up at 8:30 for class tomorrow…er…later this morning so you'll just have to settle for this huge THANK YOU! that goes out to all my reviewers. You guys keep me going and I really appreciate it. And I hope you guys like this chapter. I think it's my longest one yet. Well, to bed I go now. Night, enjoy and review!
Authors Note: Training's here. Enjoy. This chapter was harder to write than I thought because I wasn't sure how they could train exactly. But I figured it out. Enjoy. Now on to the story. Oh and everyone, y'all need to go and read Mercury Dream's stuff. It's really, really, really, really, really good. (Did I mention really?) A Rogue's Touch and All Grown Up are my favorites. So go read her stuff to. Now, quickly!
'text' internal speech
dreams
Wandering Souls
Chapter 21: Training
Remy watched Rogue silently as they entered the mansion behind the others. She had been quiet since lunch and he was worried. They all entered the kitchen to find Ororo and Meranda sitting at the table sipping their tea.
"Hey Auntie O," Evan said as he headed towards the fridge and the milk.
"Hello child," Ororo replied as she watched the other students forging through the cupboards and fridge searching for food.
"Hey sweetie," Meranda smiled as Rogue walked into the room behind the others and sat down next to her mother, playing with her gloves. Meranda leaned over and Kissed Rogue's forehead. "How was you day?"
"Fahne," Rogue replied looking up and watching Remy move expertly around the counters and the hungry X-Men. She had a lot on her mind and she really wanted to talk to her mother about it, but she really wasn't sure how.
Meranda caught Rogue's chin with her fingers and looked into her daughters eyes. "It's not n ice to lie to your mother. What's wrong?" she asked quietly so only Rogue would hear.
Rogue sighed and looked back at Meranda. "Ah don't wanna talk about it here," she whispered as Remy suddenly appeared, sitting down next to Rogue and placing half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of her.
"Thought y' might be hungry ma chere," he smiled at her as he bit into his half.
"Merci sugah," she replied smiling slightly as she too bit into her sandwich.
Meranda watched them, the wheels turning in her mind as she sipped her tea. 'Looks like its' time Marie and I had that talk.'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue walked quickly towards the clearing in the woods behind the mansion, kicking herself for being late to her first training session with her mother. Her uniform hugged her body snugly as she passed between tree limbs and low branches. She entered the clearing to find Meranda sitting cross legged on the ground, her own uniform hugging every curve of her body. Rogue wondered briefly if she'd ever have a body like that when she finished growing. She still felt awkward in her own body at times and Mr. McCoy had assured her she had at least one more growth spurt left in her. Of course, Logan had just snorted at this and told her if she ate more she'd fill out. 'Dad's just don't understand,' she thought as she continued to watch. Meranda had designed her outfit specifically. It was entirely black leather with a large, deep red x crossing over her ample breasts. Her boots & gloves were deep red as well, coming up to her knees and elbows respectively. The standard yellow x belt wrapped around her waist tightly, barring the symbol of the X-Men. She had her eyes closed, but Rogue had a feeling that her mother was aware of every presence in the clearing, including Rogue's.
Rogue just stood, unwilling to break the silence and reverie of the moment when suddenly, little multicolored orbs of light appeared around Meranda's form, taking shape revealing several fairy looking lights. Rogue gasped in awe as they kept circling Meranda, growing brighter. Meranda's eyes shot open and the lights headed directly at Rogue, swirling around the girls body.
Meranda watched as Rogue's eyes widened in surprise and then into glee as the light fairy's she created danced for her little girl. "I haven't seen that look on your face since you were a little girl," she mused as Rogue made her way across the clearing, the fairy's tagging along.
"What look?" Rouge asked, flopping across from her mother and pulling her knees to her chest, watching the lights.'
"That one," Meranda smiled. "The one you used to get every time I made the lights go out."
Rogue smirked at the memory, one of the few from her childhood that hadn't shifted amongst with those of the many people she'd absorbed. "Hey mamma?"
"Yes baby," Meranda looked at her own creations, still fluttering and glowing strong, one last time before snuffing them out with a wave of her hand.
"Make it dark."
Meranda's smile broadened as she looked closely at her daughter. "Whatever you want sugar." Her eyes turned pitch black, pupils to iris as the bright daylight of the clearing was snuffed out into complete darkness.
Rogue looked around in wonder for a moment before letting out a small giggle, feeling like she was 4 again. The lights suddenly came back up and Meranda sat there, a smirk on her face.
They sat in silence for a moment until Meranda finally spoke up.
"So, what'd you want to talk about?"
Rogue let out a long sigh before looking out towards where the mansion stood hidden behind the trees. "It's jus' so hard," Rogue began, trying desperately to collect her thoughts before continuing. "Ah just' got mah power about nine months ago and Mystique's been trainin' meh since she took meh from ya. So Ah learned ta deal wit it y'know. Ah had even figured out how to control the voices a bit, and Ah'd accepted the fact that Ah'd be alone the rest of mah life." Rogue let out a long breath before continuing. "Then, she sends fer meh and Ah absorb Carol, who still don't lahke ta stay quiet fer very long, and Ah find ya and daddy and Ah meet him and now Ah don't know what ta do anymore. Nothin' makes sense."
Meranda scooted next to Rogue and drew the girls head into her lap, brushing the hair behind her ear slowly. "There there baby," she soothed. "Welcome to life. Ain't it a bitch huh? Almost a bigger one than me. I know it isn't easy, and I'm not going to lie to you and say it gets any better, but I will tell you this," she turned Rogue's face to look at her. "It's worth it in the end."
"Are ya sure?" Rogue asked, tears brewing in her eyes a bit.
"Of course I am," Meranda smiled pulling Rogue up and into her arms. "I mean, look at all the shit I've put up with and look where I'm at now. I have my baby girl back and I'm here driving your dad nuts. What more do I want?"
Rogue let out a loud laugh before laying her head back on her mothers knee. "Yeah, ya and Ro bein' friends is drivin' him nuts."
Meranda chuckled slightly and placed her arms behind her, leaning back on her palms. "So, you really like that boy huh?"
"Yeah, but don't tell him that."
"I won't. And I may just not mention it to Logan either."
"Thank ya."
Meranda bit her lip before continuing, she'd never done this part of parenting before and had been dreading it since Rogue was born. "You know, even if you like him, it doesn't mean you have to do anything your not ready for."
Rogue groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Oh no, not this. Anything but this."
"I'm just saying, that if he loves you he'll wait till your ready for things like sex," Meranda continued, never one to beat around the bush.
"Why are we even havin' this conversation? Ah can't evah have sex anyway," Rogue sat up, blushing profusely.
"Of course you will," Meranda said, glad Logan was in a danger room session and not there to rip her a new one for stating the obvious about their daughter. "That's one of the reason's were out here is so you can learn to control your powers. And besides, even if you can't touch skin to skin there are other ways, believe me."
"MOTHER!" Rogue shrieked her head shooting up and staring at her mother.
"What?" Meranda asked innocently. "Oh, come on! I have been around you know and I have met your boyfriend dear and if anyone can come up with a way it's him," Meranda stated as she stood stretching.
"Ah ain't hearin' this," Rogue stated climbing to her feet. "Ah just ain't."
"Oh come on, you think I wanna have this talk either?" Meranda exclaimed placing her hands on her hips. "It's one thing talking to your friends, but to your daughter, and in your case your mother, I get it. It's not easy for either of us, but we have to do it so," Meranda trailed off for a bit, looking around at anything but Rogue. "So…you got any questions?"
"Ah don't know. A few Ah guess," Rogue said, unconsciously mimicking her mothers movements.
"Well, good," Meranda stated, the nervousness clear in her voice. "Ask me while we train."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue stood in the center of the clearing, her eyes closed with a red bandanna tied around them. She listened intently trying to pinpoint her mothers position as Meranda circled her. "So ya think he lahkes meh?" Rogue felt the air around her change and quickly blocked Meranda's foot inches before it came into contact with her face.
"Oh I'd count on it. How many guys put forth the effort to come up with the whole silk hanker chief?" Meranda bounced back, re-thinking her attack. "Most of the time, if they can't get it, they move on. Sad as it is, men are fickle. Especially boys. And, I've seen the look in his eyes whenever you come into the room. He's got it bad."
"Yeah," Rogue smiled as she did a quick roundhouse, her foot connecting with her mothers. "Ah'm just afraid Ah'm gonna hurt him. Or he's gonna hurt meh."
"So, that's why you're so nervous about Kitty's party idea huh?"
"Yeah. Ah know he ain't afraid, and he'd never hurt meh on purpose, but…it's all still new." Rogue paused and looked in the area she thought her mother was standing in. "Ya ain't gonna say anything about the party to the others are ya? Daddy'd nevah let us have it and neither would Ro or the Prof."
"Nah, your secrets safe with me kido. Besides, I was that age, and Mr. McCoy will still be here and I know he can't be THAT dense." Meranda did a back flip and swung her legs under Rogue's trying to trip the girl. "Besides you're all basically good kids. And Cyclops is way to anal to let anything really bad happen, so long as that red head keeps her shirt on."
Rogue jumped easily doing a handstand and turning it into a back flip as she dodged her mothers attack. "Let's just hope she does. What's the point of this anyway?" Rogue asked, growing tired of dodging her mothers attacks, and having her eyes covered. "Can't Ah take this thing off?"
"Not yet," Meranda stated as Ororo flew silently down into the clearing. Meranda signaled for Ro to move next to her as she looked towards Rogue. "Come here sugar, but keep the blindfold on," Meranda said, stepping behind Storm, who had removed her gloves.
"Ah still don't see the point of this," Rogue stated moving to who she thought was her mother and taking her hands. To Meranda and Storms joy, nothing happened.
"Well, there's two points, the first of which was to see if Mystique did a good enough job training you or not," Meranda said, trying to subdue her joy as she moved silently behind Rogue.
"And the second?" Rogue asked, tired after the long training session.
"To see if you'd absorb someone when you thought they were me," she said whipping off the blindfold to reveal Storm smiling at Rogue.
Rogue's breath caught in her throat and the imprinting began before she could think. Ororo and Rogue both let out a scream, and Meranda quickly separated the two. Ororo fell to her knees, tired and out of breath, as Rogue began to fight with Ororo's psyche inside her mind.
Meranda brought her fingers up to her temple and entered Rogue's mind, helping her to cage Ororo's psyche with the many others as the weather witch recovered enough to stand.
"Are you alright child?" Storm asked, replacing her gloves and looking with concern at Rogue.
"Yeah, Ah'll be fahne," she stated glad her mother was there to help. It was times like this that Carol tried to take control and Rogue was terrified that she'd one day succeed.
"Rogue honey this is so great!" Meranda exclaimed, wrapping her daughter into a hug.
"What do ya mean?" Rogue asked, hugging her mom back, unsure why the woman was so excited. "Ah coulda killed her."
"Yes, but for a full minute you were touching her skin with no effect. Which means that subconsciously, you can control your power. Now all we have to do is figure out how that is and pull it to the conscious level until we can get it to kick on all the time," Meranda explained pulling away from her daughter.
"But how are we gonna do that? Now Ah'm gonna be afraid that the person Ah'm touchin' when Ah have the blindfold on might not be ya," Rogue asked confused.
"Oh that was just a test to see if you had it in you. Now the real training begins," Meranda smiled brushing a stray hair behind her daughters ear. "I'm afraid it's going to take some time though, but I'm confident that you'll be able to touch before we're done."
Rogue stood there, soaking in what her mother had just told her, a smile slowly coming to her lips. "Ah can't wait," she whispered softly.
"Good," Meranda wrapped an arm around Rogue's shoulder's and looked over at her new friend smiling. "Now, let's go eat. I heard a certain Cajun Romeo was cooking tonight and it's been ages since I've had a good Gumbo."
"Believe me, young Mr. LeBeau's is one of the best," Ororo smiled as they headed back towards the mansion.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Remy hummed softly as he stood over the large pot, stirring his shrimp gumbo slowly trying to figure out exactly what it was missing. The kitchen was silent save for his humming. He'd kicked Kitty out ages ago after she set a hot mitt on fire, and Remy was enjoying the silence. He tasted the gumbo once more, still not sure what was missing, when two arms wrapped around his waist and he felt a head rest against his shoulder.
"Miss meh sugah?" Rogue cooed snuggling close against his back. She'd went up and showered and changed since her training session and was now in a pair of blue jeans, a black peasant top with a low cut neck and flared sleeves, and her favorite pair of sneakers. She placed a kiss on his shoulder before letting go of him.
Remy grabbed her wrist and pulled her between him and the stove, placing his arms on either side of her as he continued to stir his concoction, kissing her head. "Always mon amore," he whispered into her hair as he picked up a spoonful and held it in front of her mouth, watching as she slowly ate it, a look of concentration on her face. "How was trainin?"
"Good," she said, turning to face him. "It needs more Creole," she stated mater-o-factly as she leaned forward and placed her gloved palm over his lips, kissing the back of her hand before moving away to get a glass of tea.
"Ah, merci Cherie," Remy replied adding the seasoning. "Anything exciting happen?"
"Mamma proved today that Ah have it in meh to control it," Rogue stated taking a drink from her glass before continuing. "But we don't know how long it'll take."
"That okay chere," Remy said, placing the spoon down on the counter and heading over to Rogue, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Remy have all de time in de world non?"
"Hands off Gumbo," Logan growled entering the kitchen and sending the Cajun back to his pot. "How was trainin today darlin?"
"Great," Rogue said, a spark of mischief igniting in her eye. "Mamma and Ah had a nice long talk."
"Oh, about what stripes?" Logan asked, rummaging around in the fridge, looking for something stronger than the soda's that were staring back at him.
"Sex," Rogue stated and watched in amusement as Logan hit his head in the fridge as he tried to rise too quickly.
Remy turned and looked at Rogue, one eyebrow raised and an amused expression on his face.
"Huh, is that so?" Logan said, now really wishing for something stronger as he turned to look at his daughter.
"Yeah, but Ah still have some questions," Rogue continued, looking at him, her face devoid of emotion.
"O-okay," Logan stuttered, wondering where Ororo or Meranda were when he needed them. "We'll go find your mom and you can ask her."
"Oh no, Ah don't think she can answer these questions," Rogue stated, enjoying the look of fear passing over her fathers face.
"What kinds of questions?" Logan asked, really wanting that beer now.
"Well, Mamma gave me the basic's y'know, but Ah'm still confused," Rogue said, opening up a psychic link with her mother so she could hear the whole conversation. "She said it has to do with doin' stuff ya both lahke. But how do ya know what the guy lahkes?" Rogue's face was a mask of innocence as she looked over at her father, who was actually sweating.
'Have I ever told you how proud I am that you're my daughter?' Meranda asked, laughing inside her daughters mind.
'This is too great,' Rogue replied as she waited for Logan's answer.
Remy, tried to suppress a laugh as he turned back to his gumbo.
"Well, he um…will tell you, usually," Logan said, making a mental note to yell at Meranda later.
"What if he doesn't?" Rogue asked, not letting up. "Or what if ya think he lahkes it, and he's really just bein nice so not to hurt ya feelings?"
"Trust me kid, when it comes to sex, guys ain't that nice. Ain't that right gumbo?" Logan growled, turning to the boy. "And what has you asking all these questions anyway?" he set his glare on the back of Remy's back, as the young Cajun shook with laughter.
"Oh, just askin," Rogue said walking up to Logan and rising on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Mamma's the one that brought it up."
'Oh thanks kid. Send him yelling at me,' Meranda stated inside Rogue's head. 'I love you too.'
'Ah know,' Rogue replied as she continued to smile at her father.
Logan looked at Rogue and shook his head before turning and heading out to the garage, mumbling that he needed a drink.
Rogue turned to look at Remy and their eyes met before they both burst into a fit of laughter.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue was running. She could feel whatever was chasing her gaining on her. She ran faster, feeling shooting pain in her lungs as she ran faster.
"Go ahead and run," a menacing voice called out through the darkness. "But you'll never be free bitch! I'll have back what you stole."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue awoke with a start, her heart pounding in her chest as she struggled to catch her breath and tears poured down her face. Two strong arms wrapped protectively around her.
"There there darlin," Logan soothed running a hand over her back comfortingly. "It was just a dream. You're safe here," he whispered as he listened to her heart slow down to a normal rhythm again. "So, chocolate or strawberry?" he asked after a few minutes.
Rogue let out a small chuckles, careful not to wake her sleeping roommates. "Neither. Ah think Ah just wanna git back ta sleep. Ah got a test in French in the morning." She said pulling away and kissing her fathers cheek. "Thanks for the offer though."
"Anytime Stripes," he replied kissing her head as he rose. She snuggled down into the bed and he pulled the covers up around her and handed her Mr. Marbles. "Night kid."
"Night daddy," Rogue mumbled as she began to drift back to sleep.
Logan walked to the door and spared one more glance at her before shutting it silently behind him and continuing his late night patrol.
Authors Note: And there you have it folks. Another chapter. Again sorry it took so long but I had a bit of writers block and a test to study for, a project to do and a paper to write so yeah. Next week doesn't look so bad for me though, and I'm looking forward to writing the make-out party chapter. I found the plot outline I did for this story last night and man have I went off track. But oh well right? Well hope you all enjoyed and I know not much fluff, but wait till next chapter. Hehehe. Hopefully I'll get it up a lot sooner. Well, again no shout out's. I'll try to do it in the next chapter. I'm just so tired. It's 2:06 a.m. here and I worked tonight and have to get up at 8:30 for class tomorrow…er…later this morning so you'll just have to settle for this huge THANK YOU! that goes out to all my reviewers. You guys keep me going and I really appreciate it. And I hope you guys like this chapter. I think it's my longest one yet. Well, to bed I go now. Night, enjoy and review!