A/N: This story takes place three years after Rogue left the X-Men. You'll learn about what happened in those three years via flashbacks. So any questions you might have, save them. I'll probably answer them later. Oh, Rogue left when she was 18, making her 21. And Remy is 24. Have fun!
Three years later
Rogue's hands tightly clenched the steering wheel of her black jeep, which was parked in the driveway of Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters. It was late and although she knew that her mind blocks were more than enough to keep a sleeping Professor and Jean unaware of her arrival, there was nothing she could have done to keep Wolverine from hearing the crunching of the gravel beneath her car. So staying in the comfort of the jeep was not an option.
Rogue took a deep breath, climbed out of her car, walked up the steps, and into the Institute. She took in her surroundings and noticed that, for the most part, it hadn't changed one bit. She silently made her way through the halls to reacquaint herself with the building, though Rogue knew it was unnecessary. She knew every crack and crevice of the mansion perfectly; it had, after all, been her home for three years.
Before she could head upstairs, Rogue heard the soft padding of footsteps a few feet behind her. She smiled to herself. No matter how quietly he moved, her trained ear would catch even the slightest bit of noise, giving away his position. It was an ability she had picked up on her sabbatical. Rogue pivoted and faced the man who stood only a foot behind her.
"Hey."
After a brief pause, in which he debated whether or not he would berate her, he spoke. "Its been three years."
"Ah know," she replied with an apologetic tone.
"Find what you were looking for?"
Rogue shrugged. "Ah guess. Well, not really, but it works, it works for mah anyway."
Silence engulfed the two until he could no longer endure it and was forced to pull the young woman into a bone-crushing embrace. She smiled lightly and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"Its good to have you home Stripes." The muffled words could barely be heard, yet alone understood. But she would have known what he meant with or without him voicing his thoughts.
"Its good ta be back Logan. Ah missed ya."
Releasing his hold on her, Logan moved a step back and slowly took in all of the changes she had undergone. The curves of her body had matured, growing softer, yet more obvious. Her two-toned hair was the same length, but far more tamed than it had been, falling perfectly in place beside her still pale face. She had stopped wearing as much makeup, though she did still have the dark lipstick. What was perhaps most apparent was her obvious change in style. She seemed to be far more relaxed, donning a pair of stylish black pants and a tight, forest green tank top while a brown trench coat covered the exposed skin. He noticed that, in three years, she had not gotten a new pair of gloves and had to smile upon realizing that some things would never change.
"Where'd you end up going?"
"Everywhere, but Ah guess mostly in tha south. There were some questions Ah needed answered."
"And?"
Rogue sighed. "Ah didn't learn what Ah went lookin' for, but Ah'm ok with that. Ah guess some things are just meant ta be a mystery, raght?"
"I suppose."
"But anyway, Ah'm assumin' everyone's asleep?"
"Its two in the morning Stripes, of course they're asleep."
"Oh. Hey Logan?"
"Yeah?"
"Ah'm sorry. Ah know Ah should've called more often, Ah just…" she trailed off, unable to come up with a plausible reason as to why she had only called three times.
"Its ok darlin'. Trust me, I understand."
Rogue smiled. "Thanks, Ah just hope the others are as forgivin'."
Smirking, Logan replied "I doubt it kid, they were pretty upset after you left."
"Ah know Ah should've told them, but Ah was afraid they'd try and persuade mah ta stay. Even worse, Ah was afraid they'd succeed. Ah just had ta do it and, even if Ah went about it tha wrong way, Ah feel as if Ah made the right decision."
"I suppose that's all that really matters, that you feel you made the right choice." Logan rubbed the back of his neck subconsciously, a true sign that he was trying to think of how to phrase his next sentence carefully. "So is this it? Are you back to stay?"
Rogue nodded. "Ah think so. Ah mean there's something Ah really want ta do, but Ah guess Ah figure its time to just leave it up ta chance, ya know?"
"Yeah. Rogue, did you…"
He caught the look of disappointment in her emerald eyes and immediately knew the answer to his unspoken question. "No, Ah didn't. But that's ok because Ah've learned ta deal with it and quite mopin' around all day. Ah guess Ah've grown ta except tha way things are."
He nodded, completely understanding the true meaning of her words. "You know the professor's gonna wanna talk to you later today."
"Ah know and Ah'm ready ta talk whenever he is. But for now, do ya have a spare bedroom Ah could sleep in? Ah could use a couple of hours of rest."
"You remember where your bedroom was right?" Rogue nodded. "Good because we never touched it, its exactly the same way you left it three years ago."
"Really? Well, then Ah guess Ah'll just go get mah bags and…"
"No need," Logan said interrupting her. "I'll bring it up to you. You go on ahead."
"Are you sure?"
"You look tired Rogue, I'll handle it."
Rogue blew at a strand of hair that had fallen out of place. "Ah hate it when people say ya look tired. It always means that they think ya look lahke shit."
Logan snorted and headed outside to get her bags. He smiled slightly when he realized that, in three years, she had not upgraded the vehicle for a newer and better one. As he collected her bags out of the back seat, he couldn't help but notice a picture taped to the dashboard. Logan's smile widened considerably as he looked upon the picture; it was one of the few times both he and Rogue had been caught smiling on camera. Shaking his head at the memory of Amara chasing around a terrified Bobby, who had stolen all of her underwear and frozen them (the reason for their smiles), Logan headed inside the mansion and up to Rogue's room.
He hadn't been lying when he told her that they hadn't changed a thing in her absence. The room still had its gothic feel to it, with bands such as Korn and Garbage decorating the walls, and nothing, not even the T-shirt lying in the corner, had been moved. Logan set down Rogue's bags and glanced towards her bed. He shook his head when he saw that she was already fast asleep. Walking over to her, he covered her with a spare blanket lying on the chair by her vanity.
"Sleep well Stripes, you're gonna be in for a rough ride when you wake."
With that, Logan slipped out of the room, silently closing the door behind him. He headed to his own bedroom, but couldn't help but smirk when he began to envision all that would occur later that afternoon. It would be interesting, that was for sure.
Rogue yawned and slowly sat up. She opened her eyes and tensed.
Oh shit, she thought. Where am Ah?
She visibly relaxed when she remembered that she was back at the Institute. Throwing the blanket off of her, Rogue rubbed her eyes sleepily and glanced at the clock. It read 10 am. She groaned and fought the urge to fall back onto her bed. It was time she got up and faced everyone.
Forcing herself to get out of bed, Rogue stumbled over to her suitcases and began to sift through her clothes. Eventually, she decided on wearing a short black leather skirt with fishnet stockings, a deep crimson short-sleeved shirt, and her trench coat. After she brushed out her hair, Rogue glanced in the mirror and cringed.
Ah really need ta wash mah face.
Grabbing the small bag of toiletries out of her suitcase, Rogue made her way down the hall and into the bathroom. She shut the door behind her and proceeded to wash her face. She had stopped wearing the heavy makeup nearly two years ago, though she kept the dark lipstick. That was just a part of her style, the rest had been used to hide her emotions. But, seeing as how she didn't need help with that anymore, Rogue found it useless and time-consuming. When she was satisfied with her appearance, Rogue returned her things to her room and then headed down to the kitchen.
She stopped just short of the door. Rolling her eyes at all the noise coming from inside, she realized that some things would never change. Taking a deep breath, Rogue pushed the door open and strolled into the kitchen. It seemed that no one noticed her at first. But when Jubilee, apparently the only one facing her, stopped mid-rant and began gawking at her, everyone just had to turn around and see what had finally shut up the furious girl.
"Rogue!" Kitty squealed, the first to react.
Phasing through several people, Kitty threw herself onto the Southern goth, catching her off guard and nearly knocking her over. Rogue laughed hugged her friend back, a bit thrown-off by Kitty's surprising show of affection. But that was all it took for all the younger X-Men to also hurl themselves at the woman standing in front of them. Only the older ones, the ones more affected by her sudden departure, stood back. Some were debating if they wanted to hug her or kill her, others just plain confused and still in shock.
"Where were you?"
"You look great!"
"Did ya visit tha south?"
"What have you been doing?"
"Did you bring me anything?"
Rogue tried to fend off the teens and all their questions and was having no success until who should walk, or rather roll, in but Professor Charles Xavier. He smiled knowingly at Rogue. Though he had not sensed her presence on the property due to her considerable mind blocks, Logan had told him that morning that she was back.
"I think that Rogue would like to have her personal space back now," he stated kindly to the New X-Men, and Kitty.
Smiling sheepishly, they backed off and Rogue felt much more at ease immediately. Professor Xavier glanced around the room and noted the looks, and sometimes loud thoughts, that each of the older students held. Though she had just gotten back, Charles felt it would be best if the students' questions were answered as soon as possible, as well as his questions.
"Rogue, would you and the older X-Men follow me please?"
Xavier wheeled out the room and down the hall, his eldest students following close behind. Rogue walked in front of them, feeling awkward knowing that they were all staring at her, analyzing her, wondering about her. Kitty was the only one who stood next to her, offering her a reassuring smile when Rogue glanced her way.
As the students entered his office and sat on the comfortable chairs and couches, Xavier sent telepathic messages to the senior members who were not already there.
"Its good to have you back Rogue. There have been a few changes that have occurred since your departure, including new members."
No sooner had he spoken than three figures entered the room, Logan, Ororo, and one very surprising figure
"What in tha blazes are ya doing here?"
Heat rushed up Piotr Rasputin's face as he tried to avoid the suspicious glare the infamous Rogue was sending him. "I am part of team now," he said, his thick Russian accent making his words slightly difficult to understand.
Rogue raised her eyebrow at his statement and glanced toward the Professor. "He is a part of our team now Rogue. As I told you earlier, there have been many changes since you left, but we can talk more on that later. For now, I believe the students have many questions they would like answered, if you would."
Rogue sighed and nodded her head in agreement. "Ah guess Ah do owe y'all an explanation."
"You think?" Scott asked sarcastically.
Rogue bit back a retort, knowing full well that she deserved any biting remarks they might throw at her. She had, after all, seemingly abandoned them. "Look, Ah'm sorry Ah just up and left without telling ya guys, Ah know that was wrong and selfish of mah. But Ah can't change what Ah've done. Ah left ta clear mah head. After all that'd happened, Ah was so confused. Ah didn't have any clue who Ah really was, what Ah believed. When Ah'd finally settled in at tha Institute, felt lahke Ah truly belonged, Ah find out that Mystique is mah mother and had been deceiving mah for months. Then, before Ah've even recovered from that, she has mah awaken Apocalypse. And after we'd finally taken him down… It was just too much for mah. Ah had ta, needed ta get away, before Ah broke down. Ah know it doesn't excuse what Ah did, but at least ya know why Ah did it."
Silence filled the room as its inhabitants processed what Rogue had said. Most were surprised she had been so honest. And, in the past, she would never had told them all that she had. But enough time heals most wounds and can significantly change a person. Being on her own, well, mostly on her own, for three years had done something to Rogue. It made her more aware, more mature, and it gave her a wisdom that she had not possessed before, even though she knew she still had much to learn.
"So, like, where did you go?" Kitty asked, breaking the awkward silence.
Rogue hesitated, not wanting to reveal all of what had happened over the past three years. Not yet anyway. "Mostly Mississippi, though Ah visited Louisiana and Alabama a bit too."
Well, its not too far from tha truth. Rogue thought to herself.
"How did you get by?"
Rogue turned her gaze to the pretty redhead and took notice of how much she had changed. Her hair was shorter, falling only a bit beyond her shoulders and her curves had smoothed out. Jean's eyes had a strange red tint to them, which Rogue found strange, but cool nonetheless. And she seemed more relaxed, as was obvious from the way she carried herself, still confident, but a little less righteous, as if the lines had grayed a bit.
"Ah had various jobs, mostly waiting on tables, but some other things too."
Some other illegal things. Rogue glanced over to the Professor, hoping he hadn't heard her. From the lack of any emotion, aside curiosity, she saw there, she assumed he hadn't.
The conversation continued smoothly. They asked her the typical stuff, where did she stay, did she meet anyone interesting, and the like. Though her answers were factual for the most part, there were certain details that she had left out and some things she had fabricated to cover up for said details. There were just some things she wanted to keep to herself, at least for now.
When the meeting finally let out, Rogue felt more at ease with her teammates, who seemed to be all right with the way things were. Scott seemed a bit wary, but she knew that, in time, he would get over it. Rogue knew that he still considered her a part of the team; she was especially sure of this when he offered her an apologetic look for his biting remark earlier as he left.
Kurt stayed behind the rest, the same look of disappointment in his eyes that had been there three years ago. "Did you find a life vith more meaning?"
His words stung worse than he knew and she decided not to answer his question, especially since she didn't even know whether or not she could answer it honestly. "Kurt, Ah know you're hurt…"
"Hurt!" he shouted, interrupted her. "Hurt? You have no idea Rogue. Do you zink zat you vere ze only one confused, in pain? I vas hurting! I had lost my muzer, as horrible as she vas at ze job, and zen I lost my sister. Did you zink zat you're departure vould have no effect on me? Come on, Rogue. I know zat you're not zat stupid."
"Look, Ah know Ah messed up. Ah know Ah hurt ya and Ah wish ta God that Ah could change that, but Ah can't." For what seemed like the millionth time that week, Rogue sighed. "Kurt, Ah know Ah haven't been a very good sister ta ya, but Ah'd lahke ta try, Ah'd lahke ta start over."
Kurt folded his arms across his chest. "I'm still mad at you."
"Ah know."
"But I guess zat three years is long enough of a grudge," he said with a small smile, which caused Rogue to smile slightly as well.
"Thanks Kurt, ya don't know what this means ta mah."
"Ich denke, dass ich mache. But I have to go. I promised Scott zat I vould help him vith a training session vith the younger X-Men. I'll see you around Rogue." (I think I do.)
"Ah'll see ya Blue Boy."
Kurt rolled his eyes at one of his many nicknames and bamfed down to the Danger Room. With her mind at ease, for the moment at least, Rogue walked out of the Professor's office and down to the gardens. It had been a day full of surprises. First she discovered that Piotr was an X-Men, then she was told that Magneto had stopped his mutant terrorist ways, at least for the time being, and that she could expect that he would drop by periodically to either chat with Xavier or run his own Danger Room sessions with the X-Men. They also informed her that the Brotherhood and Pyro were apart of an organization called SHIELD and the Acolytes had disbanded, though the latter she already knew.
Rogue took a deep breath and laid down on the grass. The sun was in her eyes, but she didn't care. She just loved the feeling of freedom and the peace of silence. And the sun only seemed to make it all more beautiful. It was the perfect time of day, in the hot-loving Southerner's opinion, to lie in the grass.
But then suddenly the sun was gone, blocked out by a very tall source, and her peace was disturbed. Rogue's eyes snapped open and looked up in shock. She hadn't heard the person walk up, which was very unusual. Only one person could sneak up on her, but it couldn't be… Her eyes widened; she couldn't see the man's face, but his familiar stance, the clothes he was wearing… it had to be! But how could it be? Rogue was on her feet in a second and her suspicions were confirmed as she finally came face to face with the man in front of her. It was him.
"Bonjour, ma belle femme. Fancy seein' yo' hear, non?"
His trademark smirk was plastered onto his face, only enhancing his sexy features. He was wearing a pair of relatively loose jeans and a tight black shirt with his trench coat to top it all off. Rogue stopped breathing for a moment, not truly believing that he was standing here in front of her. By some miracle, she managed to utter a single word.
"Remy…"
His smirk turned into a smile and his demon eyes lit up excitedly. "Oui chere. It looks like we meet again."
A/N: I hope you guys liked the first chapter. Please read and review because it makes a world of difference and I love hearing things that you liked or didn't like. But no flames if you will, I find them rather unproductive.
