The Song of Eternity

Canto 10 : The Gift

Verse 6: Absolution

A night when chaos swirled,

A night when choices were made,

And truths were spoken.

How great are the gifts they were given?

Damon let himself into the office at 8 the next morning. He grunted as he shook the snow off his coat. The icy rainstorm from last night had changed to snow in the early morning. That combining with an ex-demon who had never been a morning person led to Damon's particularly foul mood. He squinted his eyes as he opened the blinds and the glare from the fresh inch of snow assaulted his eyes. He immediately moved to the coffee machine and started it up, waiting for the precious caffeine to start his morning.

He turned on the morning news as he waited and looked for any signs of Cole or anyone else doing anything stupid after the dance last night. After ten minutes without mention of mutants or a teen with wings destroying things he muted the TV and poured himself some coffee. "I'm getting to old for this shit," he muttered as he sipped the hot drink.

He opened up the morning newspaper and relaxed as he started to read. After a minute he heard the door open and listened as someone walked in. "You're late Valentine," he said as he recognized the familiar footsteps. "Wait a minute...," he muttered as he put down his paper and looked over Vincent as he hung his coat. "What did..," he stopped as Elena walked in the door during his sentence.

Vincent poured himself a cup of coffee and took his seat as well, raising an eyebrow at Damon. "You got something to get off your mind Damon?" he asked Damon who had no said a word, just kept looking over Vincent and Elena.

"I might ask you two the same question. What happened last night?" Damon asked as he studied the two of them.

"We went and got drunk after the dance and Vincent crashed on my couch," Elena said immediately.

"Bullshit. You're a bad lair Elena. You two fucked didn't you?" Damon asked as Elena jumped in surprise and dropped the pot of coffee, making a mess of glass and coffee on the floor.

Damon stifled a laugh as the woman looked to Vincent and then to Damon. "I'm going to go get the mop from the back," she said quickly as she rushed to the back of the office to the supply closet.

"So?" Damon said quietly as he leaned closer to Vincent.

"...None of your business," Vincent replied.

"So am I gonna need to have this place sanitized after my days off from now on?" Damon joked as Elena walked back by him with the mop and broom, promptly causing her to drop them again.

Logan sniffed the air as he walked to the kitchen, surprised to see any kids up this early. He was even more surprised when he saw Rogue, the notorious late riser, especially on the weekends. "What are you doing up so early?" he asked as he walked to the refrigerator.

"Um...making breakfast?" she said nervously as she crossed her fingers and kept cooking.

Logan poured himself a glass of orange juice and leaned on the table behind Rogue. "So, you making breakfast for 2 out of the goodness of your heart for me, or are you expecting someone?" he asked her as she stiffened up.

"Um...well," she stammered as she tried to think of something to say.

Logan sniffed again, catching a familiar scent in the mansion. "What the hell?" he muttered.

"Ah, Logan, there you are," he was interrupted as Xavier wheeled into the kitchen. "I think we need to have a word in my study." Xavier said as he looked at Logan.

"I think we have something else to take care of first Chuck," Logan frowned as he looked around for the intruder.

"I am well aware of the situation here Logan, please come with me so I can explain it," Xavier told him as he waited at the kitchen's exit.

"This better be a doozy Chuck," Logan grumbled.

Rogue was relieved when Xavier got there and took Logan out of the kitchen. "They're gone now," she said once Logan was out of the room. The cupboard under the sink opened immediately as Cole unceremoniously crawled out. "You okay?" she asked as she helped him up.

"Yeah, besides the runny nose, headache, and fever, I'm peachy," he replied. He brushed the cobwebs off the shirt and jeans he had 'borrowed' from the laundry room. He poured himself a glass of orange juice and let out a heavy breath as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"You like your eggs scrambled, right?" she asked as she hummed to herself as she cooked.

"Yeah," he replied as he stared at his orange juice. He stayed silent, his gaze shifting from his drink to Rogue as she cooked until she finally came over with the finished breakfast. "Looks good," he said as she set a plate in front of him.

"What's on your mind?" she asked as she sat down beside him and started to eat.

He put his silverware down and looked to her face. "Are you sure about...all of this?"

"That's your problem, you always were too nice," she laughed as she put her own silverware down. "If I wasn't, we wouldn't be here together right now," she told him as she held his hand. "Now eat your food, we're gonna have to get you some vitamin shots from McCoy to counteract your stupidity from last night."

"This better be good Chuck," Logan said as he closed the door behind the two of them. "You know they aren't allowed to have guests unannounced, and god only knows when he got here and what they did before now," Logan said before he even acknowledged Magneto as being in the room too.

"They did nothing last night Logan, in case you were wondering," Magneto replied. "Shortly after he arrived we spoke with the two of them. He spent the night on the couch by the fireplace," Magneto told him.

"What the hell makes him so special that we are letting him break all our rules?" Logan swore.

"Them Logan, what makes them so special is the question you must ask yourself," Xavier posed the question.

Rogue went straight to her room and locked the door after returning from the dance. No one could get her to open up, so they left her alone. She changed into some pajama pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt to get ready to sleep when she noticed it had started to rain. She opened her window and let the cold air wash over her as she looked out in to the night. "I know you're out there somewhere," she whispered to herself as she nodded off to sleep.

She awoke some time later when she felt the presence of someone putting a blanket on her. She opened her eyes to see the saddened look of Cole.

"You looked cold," he said as he stepped back and closed his eyes and began to pull his wings back into himself.

"Why are you here?" she asked him as she got up out of her chair and closed the window.

"You said you know the truth about us, and yet you do not run. You aren't freaked out by this in the least bit?" he asked as she walked closer to him and gave him a hug.

"Not really. I'm still Rogue, and you are still Cole. We just have a little more to us than that now," she said as she felt how cold he was. "You were flying out there in the rain? For how long?"

"Hours...I don't really know," he admitted.

"You are a very stubborn man," she frowned as she wrapped him in the blanket he had originally put on her and made him sit down on her bed. Once he was seated there was a knock on the door.

"Rogue, this is Charles and Erik, may we come in and have a word with you two?" Xavier's voice came through the door.

"Come in," she sighed as she unlocked the door and let Xavier and Magneto in. "This may look a bit strange, but we have a perfectly good explanation," she told them.

"They know most of it already, just tell them all of it," Cole told her as he tried to warm up and stop his teeth from chattering.

"What do you already know?" she asked them inquisitively.

"I assume this has to do with that Cole is, or once was Travis Starmore. Besides that, you will need to tell us," Xavier explained. "I found out about Cole during one of our sessions, and Erik discovered the same thing when going over Cole's files during my 'death'."

"Well...do you believe in reincarnation of some sort?" she asked the two of them.

"It is called the lifestream, it recycles souls more or less. Most people are never aware of any past memories or lives," Cole said.

"Quiet, save your strength," Rogue ordered as she shook her head. "Like he said, most people have no idea of what they were in previous lives. Maybe 1 in a million ever gets a bit of their past life breaking through, and most of the time it comes through in dreams. People forget or ignore them most of the time. I started having dreams after the first show that Cole, Vincent, and the others played at," she admitted.

"So who were you?" Xavier asked.

"Fiona Starmore," she whispered.

After a little silence Cole started to speak. "I first realized who she was when I defeated Galactus and died. I assumed up until tonight that she had no idea about her previous life. I never did anything about it before now because...things have changed. Up until I was taken after the battle with Apocalypse, I WAS Starmore, at least part of me was. The Starmore persona never really became dissociated from the rest of me until the time Fiona died in my original life and I was forced to leave our world to stop the Alpha WEAPON. But after I got back from the battles Order and Chaos forced me to fight, I was different. The Starmore persona...the memories were still there, but all the feelings of guilt and hatred, the death and destruction...the feelings of when I was Starmore are gone."

"I was back to what I was before my arm was originally taken. And let me tell you, I was a good man back then," he continued. "But I still had the feelings for her, so I buried them until tonight," he nodded at Rogue.

"I tried to get close to him once I figured out what was going on too," Rogue told them. "But he'd always push me away or ignore me. So I told him tonight that I knew who he was, and who I was. Then he ran out of the hotel and has been flying around in the freezing rain ever since," she frowned.

"I left you alone because of the situation. I am the only person you can really touch for one. And besides that, I did not want to force whatever feelings I had on you," Cole replied as he looked down at the ground.

"Well then...Seeing how we have extenuating circumstances," Xavier began.

"You are both still technically minors until," Magneto looked at them both.

"February," Cole replied.

"New Year's," Rogue admitted.

"Fine. Despite what your memories may tell you, you are still minors then. Which means you will act as minors in your relationship until you turn 18," Xavier told them. "After that, there is nothing we can do to stop you."

"Besides making him sleep on the couch out by the fireplace since Rogue will still be living here," Magneto told them. "Speaking of which, I am going to start the fire and fetch some blankets. You should be more careful out there, you might catch pneumonia," he scoffed at Cole.

"So, you aren't going to try to stop us from seeing each other?" Rogue asked.

"No, I doubt we even could, given how resourceful you two can be. Besides, if this isn't fate, I don't know what is."

Cole and Rogue walked together through the snow to Vincent's office after a short stop at Cole's for some warmer clothes. They walked through the front door holding hands to the surprise of the others gathered inside. Damon and Murphy were joking while watching TV and Vincent and Elena were sitting next to each other working on something on the computer.

"What the hell?! Am I the only one who slept alone in their own bed last night?" he swore and ducked as Elena chucked another book at him.

"I slept on the couch," Cole explained as Rogue blushed. "Who else slept... Vincent, is that your tux from last night?" Cole asked.

"Shit! Dive for cover!" Murphy cried while he and Damon dropped to the ground behind Damon's desk as Elena started throwing everything she could get her hands on their way.

"For the last time, yes, we spent the night together, now give it a rest!" she yelled at the four of them.

From their hiding spot behind the desk Cole talked to his brother. "What ticked her off?"

"Well, I can't say for sure, but me and Damon have been commenting on the situation for the past 4 hours now," he laughed as the pile of books, staplers, and office supplies around Damon's desk continued to grow. "She didn't get really mad until an hour ago," he smiled.

"Cole, Rogue, come over here and have a word with me," Vincent said as Cole and Rogue walked past a red faced Elena who was eyeing the hushed voices still behind the desk murderously. "So, what has happened?"

"She apparently knew who she was a few days after our first show. We told Xavier and Magneto, and we are going to try to work it out," Cole told him.

"Very well," Vincent replied as he looked past them to where Elena was starting to pull out her gun. "Elena, please don't shoot them, they have a purpose around here and I don't want to have to clean up blood stains in my office."

"Shit, she's got a gun! Run for it!" Murphy shouted as he and Damon ran for the door and out of the office.

"That is a unique was of getting out of work for the day," Rogue mused as Elena chased them out of the building.

"Come back here! I'm not done with you two yet!"