Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or basic storylines from the X-Men. I do, however, own Matthew. And yet, still I am poor beyond belief.
Authors Note: You guys are wonderful and there are a few people I must single out here. Ishandahalf (of course), Rogue4787, Chica De Los Ojos Café, abril4 and QueenReine. You guys are great and because of that, I will answer each of your reviews individually, something I hadn't planned on doing with this fic.
QueenReine – Don't forget to add Jean to that list. Thank you so much for your review. It made me laugh so hard cause your hate list and my hate list are so damned similar. And Romy loving will be here, and soon because I'm afraid of the lynch mob that would ensue if it weren't.
Ishandahalf – Where do I begin? As always your review put me in the floor laughing (thank you). Sorry this review took over a day, but I had to choose between this or WS: Phase 2 so you got one for that. I'm hoping to update at least one a day. Also, I need your help. What was Remy's mom's name cause I can't for the life of me remember? I may use it in To Remember Yesterday if I ever get a chance to update that one. Also, right there with you to the damning them to the depths of hell. May use that later actually. They were total bastards and just more people to add to my ever growing hate list. And don't worry, you'll find out just how much Belle had to do with Matthew. Also, the reason she didn't kill Rogue (at least by my reasoning) is cause she hated her so much she wanted to see her suffer. And killing her wouldn't do that, so instead she took away both the things that mattered most to her. Cause Belle knew if Matthew was gone than Jean Luc would push Remy back into the marriage. It all boils down to Belle being INSANE. There's just one problem with the reunion. I haven't written it yet so I'm not even sure how it's going to pan out. I have so many different ideas in my head that it'll just have to wait until I see which one looks best. But don't worry cause I've gotta decide by chapter 5 since that's when it'll be. But don't worry, cause they will end up together. (Remember my Romy love and how it knows no bounds). And I'm glad you liked the way I had him a wreck. So many Romy authors (including those that do some of the comics) always make Gambit out to be such an asshole and that pisses me off to no end cause he does care about her. And I didn't know if people were going to be like, "why doesn't he just get over it already." I knew I could count on you to understand though. So to sum up, thanks for the review and keep those coming. And enjoy the chapter.
Chica De Los Ojos Café – Don't worry, no matter what happens, Bobby will suffer cause I don't like him. And I doubt Remy's gonna be pissed cause come on? Who can honestly compete with the Cajun himself?
Rogue4787 – Don't feel guilty, you got to catch up. Yeah I'd probably wanna smack him to considering I saw him with those girls and it's taken him 4 years to find me. But then, the urge to jump him would probably be even greater. I'm sorry I made you cry cause I really didn't mean to. I know it's kinda angsty right now but it will get better. Unless I suddenly become depressed and take it out on my story, but schools out right now so I don't see that happening. And I turn 21 in less than a month, so REALLY don't see that happening. I'll try to keep up with posting. I'm really into this story right now and it's easier to update since I'm not writing it jointly and need the other author (i.e. WS: Phase 2) who happens to work a lot where as I am unemployed, so I hope to get a lot of it done before school goes back. I'm just glad you're enjoying it.
abril4 – Chapter 5 and you're right. They do need each other. Thank you for seeing that.
And to everyone else who has reviewed thank you so much. It does actually inspire me to write more and faster. Now, enough of my rambling. Onto the goodness (at least I hope).
Matthew
Chapter Four: Hurt Feelings
Rogue was more than a little tired as she pulled her blood red mustang into the parking garage at the Xavier Institute. She'd been in class since 7:30 that morning and it was now after 6. Needless to say she was beat and in desperate need of a shower, dinner and at least a nap, although she had a pretty good feeling that none of that would happen when she saw the excited faces of Jubilee and Kitty waiting for her in the kitchen.
"It's about time you got home!" Jubilee exclaimed, getting a soda out of the fridge for Rogue and handing it to her.
"Yeah what took so long? We were supposed to plan the party today?" Kitty asked slightly annoyed as she pulled Rogue's bag from her and forced her into a chair, taking the one next to her.
"Sorry Ah got held up. One of mah professors assigned a group project and today was the only day we all had free ta meet," Rogue replied accepting the drink gratefully and leaning over to untie her shoes, slipping them off under the table and stretching her feet.
"Just prioritize better next time," Jubilee said sitting down across from her and looking at her seriously. "This is an important event y'know?"
"Yeah, you only turn 21 once after all," Kitty agreed. "And it's even bigger than 16 and 18 cause you can do so much more."
Rogue looked at her skeptically. "The only thing Ah can do is drink LEGALLY. And Ah've been drinkin' the other way since Ah was fifteen." Rogue smirked and took a drink of her coke, remembering the first time she'd ever had a drink.
Her and Remy had been hanging out with his brother Henri, Henri's girlfriend and their cousins at the park when Henri brought out the bourbon and began passing it around. Rogue had never drank before, but Remy quickly talked her into taking "jus' a sip" which turned into a bottle and a half by the end of the afternoon. Rogue could never remember being that sick in her life, even when she was pregnant, and Remy had had to hold her hair back for her the rest of the evening. All in all it hadn't been a bad day though.
Rogue smirked at the memory and took another drink before looking back at her two best friends. "Besides, ain't it yer job ta plan this fer meh? Then when Ah show up y'all yell surprise?"
"You said no surprise parties," Kitty reminded her as she pulled a notebook from Rogue's bag and opened it to a clean piece of paper. "You didn't, however, say no parties."
"Would it make a difference if Ah said it now?" Rogue tried, wanting to get away from this as soon as possible.
"No," Jubilee said as Kitty began writing on the paper. "Now what do you and Bobby have planned for tomorrow?"
"Nothin' as far as Ah know. Probably jus' the usual. He'll take meh out to that restaurant Ah hate and give meh a cd or somethin' that Ah either already have or don't lahke then we'll come home and he'll go have sex with Candace," Rogue blurted out causing Kitty and Jubilee to look up at her wide eyed and paled. "What?"
"So it's true then? Ah thought it was just a rumor," Kitty said in a small voice. "Ah didn't know you had heard it."
"Well Ah didn't jus' crawl out from under mah rock yesterday," Rogue muttered, finishing off the drink and rising to throw the can in the trash.
"Are you mad at us for not mentioning it to you?" Jubilee asked. "Cause we didn't know how to and we didn't want to hurt you and we weren't even sure it was true or not," she began but Rogue raised a hand, cutting her off.
"Ah probably knew before y'all did anyway and long before the rumor started. And no Ah ain't mad. Saw it comin' for a long tahme actually. And y'all may think Ah'm horrible, but Ah really don't care that much what he does," she finished walking back over to the fridge and opening the door, surveying what was there.
"Fuck him then," Jubilee said and looked over the list Kitty had started. "We'll just go out and have a girls night. We can go to that new club and you can get drunk, legally, and then we'll drive you back."
"Yeah it'll be fun," Kitty agreed excitedly. "Especially since you don't want a party anyway."
Rogue thought about it for a minute before turning back to them. "How 'bout this. We have a party here, cause Ah really want the cake, and then we go to the club afterwards. Some of the younger kids Ah work with in the afternoons have been hintin' at wantin' a party and askin' when mines gonna be. So that can be more fer them and then the three of us can go and have a gals night out."
"You think the Professor and Mr. Summers will mind?" Kitty asked looking between the two girls.
"Why the hell should they? It's mah birthday," Rogue said closing the door in defeat and heading back to the table. "Do y'all mind takin' care of the party plannin'? Ah really wanna hit the showers and then Ah got some homework ta take care of before tomorrow."
"Sure no problem," Jubilee said as Kitty began to furiously scribble down ideas again. "This is after all our element."
"Ah thought the mall was yer element?" Rogue teased as she grabbed her books and headed towards the door.
"Hey, we're allowed more than one!" Kitty exclaimed, never looking up from the book. Rogue merely chuckled and headed out the door towards the stairs, a hot shower calling to her all the way.
It was after ten by the time Rogue got her homework and shower out of the way. She stretched and looked outside, admiring the stars for a moment before grabbing a pack of cigarettes from her dresser drawer. Taking them and a lighter she snuck downstairs and out into the garden. Once she was sure she was away from any prying eyes, she lit the smoke and took a drag, enjoying the smell more than the taste.
"You now you shouldn't do that. It'll kill ya," Logan said walking out from the shadow of a tree and stopping in front of her, a lit cigar in his hand.
"Yeah well, Ah'd say the same ta ya, but healin' factor and all," she took another drag and looked at the smoldering end. "So ya spyin' on meh now?"
"No, just enjoying the stars," he lied, looking at her closely. "But you really shouldn't be doin' that kid. It's bad for you."
"Yeah well there's a lot a stuff Ah shouldn't do," Rogue muttered and looked down at the cigarette. For a long moment they both just stood there, an awkward silence having settled between them. Finally Rogue spoke again. "He used ta smoke."
"Who?" Logan asked, not sure he really wanted to know the answer.
"Remy. Mah son's father. He started it when he was fifteen and jus' nevah quit. At least, not until Matthew came along. He quit as soon as we found out Ah was pregnant," Rogue smiled at the memory of Remy going thru packets upon packets of nicotine gum and patches for weeks on end. "He started up again as soon as Matthew went missin and then he never stopped after we found him. Bet he still does it," she crossed one arm over her abdomen and brought the cigarette to her lips with the other. "Would surprise the hell outta meh if he didn't."
"So, his name was Matthew?" Logan asked, slightly awkward.
"Who mah son?" Rogue asked, her voice somewhat harsh as she glared at the older man. "Yeah. Matthew Remy LeBeau. Had his daddy's hair and personality and his mamma's eyes."
"Do you have any pictures?" Logan asked, looking at his feet and finding new fascination with the dirt.
"Yeah, but ya can't see em," she said snuffing out the last of the smoke with her shoe. "Ah ain't ready ta share that much of him with ya yet." She looked up at him.
Logan nodded slowly in understanding before throwing the butt of the cigar down and snuffing it out with his boot. "Ya know if ya ever need ta talk or anything," his voice began to trail off, having never been really that good with the heart to heart conversations.
"Ah know where the Professors office is?" Rogue offered with a grin. "Don't worry about it Logan. Ya weren't even supposed ta find out about it."
"You know you could have told me," he looked up, meeting her stubborn gaze with his own.
"Ah know that. It's all jus' more complicated than ya think," Rogue began, sighing in frustration. "And lately it's all jus' been gettin' worse it seems. Ah'm havin' more trouble with the voices, Ah'm tryin' ta keep this secret and Ah got a put up with the looks from everyone where Bobby's concerned."
"Haven't dumped him yet huh?" Logan asked. "Cause y'know, I could do it for ya if ya want."
"Oh yeah cause that wouldn't be awkward or anything," Rogue muttered, a small smile touching her lips. "Ah'll manage thank ya. Ah was kinda hopin' it'd just fade on it's own. Ah know he cares 'bout meh and all, but Ah jus' don't care about him, not the same way at least. And even if Ah did, the fact that he's gettin' it from somewhere else wouldn't help his case none. Ah jus' don't know what Ah'm gonna do about him yet."
"I got a few ideas," Logan muttered, jealousy raging in his eyes. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Come on kid," he said taking her arm and pulling her towards the garage.
"Why? Where are we going?" Rogue asked, letting him pull her, knowing that at any moment she could easily free herself and, if necessary, whoop his ass.
He pulled her into the underground building and hit the light switch on the side, illuminating the many cars and bikes belonging to the Institute residents as well as to Xavier himself. Rogue noted her mustang needed washed as Logan drug her all the way to the back wall, in a darker corner filled with dirty rags and boxes of spare oil and filters. Logan released her arm and began moving some of the boxes. After a couple of minutes he uncovered a mini refrigerator and opened the door, pulling out two bottles of beer. He rose and turned, handing her one. "Here, we'll celebrate early."
"Ya mean ta tell meh ya drug meh all the way in here fer a beer, and not even a good beer?" she teased him, accepting the drink and staring at the label. "'Sides, we do this all the tahme anyway."
"Hey, take what you can get," he replied, popping a claw and cutting the tops off both bottles with an easy movement, taking a swig himself. Usually he would sneak her into a bar nearby where he knew the owner, and they'd try to drink each other under the table. He usually won, but she was the only one who could even come close to keeping up with him at the mansion, which just added to her appeal. "Besides, I'm trusting you with my little secret here. If Scooter and the Professor found out about this I'd be waxing that jet for the next month. And if the other kids found out about it, they'd clean me out daily."
"Don't worry," Rogue replied, hopping up on the hood of Scott's car and downing the drink, accepting another. "Secrets safe with meh so long as ya don't tell anyone bout that little program Ah got downstairs. But next tahme, git somethin' good."
"Ever heard of the phrase 'thank you'?" Logan asked, watching her take another drink, her head tilted back giving him a great view of her chest in the small red tank-top she wore. She merely smirked at him and discarded the empty bottle, holding out her hand for another. "And you might want to slow down there. Don't want to go to class with a hang over," he added handing her another.
"Well thanks fer yer concern there dad but ya ain't gotta worry about that," she replied, popping the top off with a finger and downing the drink. "Ah'm done now thank ya, and 'sides, it takes a lot more then that ta get this gal tipsy."
"Really?" he asked huskily, taking a step forward and pinning her against the car. "How much more?"
Rogue leaned forward and smiled seductively up at him. "Believe meh sugah, there ain't enough in the entire state o' New York for that," with that she gave him a hard push, sending him flying into the far wall, leaving a large dent as he fell to the ground. She flew off the hood of the car and towards the door.
"ROGUE WAIT!" he called after her, but she was already out the door and into the mansion. He rose and let out a feral growl, releasing his claws and slicing thru a large metal shelving unit next to him. It didn't even wobble before it fell to the ground, sending its contents spilling before him. "FUCK!" he bellowed before stalking off, leaving it for Scott or one of the others to clean up.
Rogue, meanwhile had already made it back up to her bedroom and was pacing furiously back and forth. 'How dare he!' she fumed, clenching her fists at her side. 'Now of all times, he's gotta pull this!' she stopped and stared at her reflection in the mirror. "Ah really don't need this," she muttered.
A knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts. "What?" she barked out, glaring over at the door.
It opened and Bobby peeked in. "Is this a bad time?"
"When isn't it?" Rogue muttered before looking at him. "Doesn't mattah. What can Ah do fer ya?"
"Can I come in?" Bobby asked, still standing in the doorway.
"By all means," Rogue answered turning back towards the bed and sinking down on it, falling backwards and covering her face with her bare arms.
"So, what time do you want to go to dinner tomorrow night?" Bobby asked, walking in and shutting the door behind him. "I figured we'd go to the usual place, you know, the one you love so much."
"Well as nice as that sounds," Rogue replied, her voice thick with sarcasm she couldn't stop, "Ah already got plans."
"What?" Bobby asked, looking down at her confused and hurt. "But we always go out on your birthday."
"Well ya didn't mention anything before," Rogue said rising into the sitting position. "So Ah'm goin' out with the gals. I'm sure you can find somethin' ta do ta keep ya busy," she replied. "Why don't ya call Candace? Ah'm sure she's free."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bobby asked, instantly becoming defensive since he, after all, had heard all the same rumors too. Only difference is he and Rogue knew they weren't just rumors.
"Why don't ya tell meh?" she asked glaring over at him.
Bobby became red-faced and quickly looked away from her, his eyes falling on a photograph resting on the dresser. He quickly walked over and picked it up, causing Rogue to rush from the bed and snatch it away from him, placing it in the safety of her bedside table. But it was too late, Bobby had already seen Rogue and another man, older than her, with his arms wrapped around her and the two of them looking more than just a little friendly. "Who the hell is that?"
"An old friend o' mine, as if it's any of yer business," Rogue replied, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him.
"Why haven't you mentioned him before?" Bobby asked, now shooting her a glare of his own, although it wasn't as affective.
"Cause he ain't any of yer business, weren't ya payin' attention?"
"Is he the one you told me about? When your powers manifested?"
"How many tahmes do Ah have ta say NONE OF YER BUSINESS!"
"JUST ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!"
"NO. HE AIN'T ALRIGHT!"
Bobby looked at her in shock. "But you told me he was the first guy you kissed."
"So ya jus' assumed that he was mah first boyfriend right? Well news flash Bobby he wasn't. And since yer so damned curious, he wasn't the first boy Ah kissed either."
A hurt look passed over his eyes before he looked down at his hands. "Why didn't you tell me the truth?" he asked in a small voice.
"Cause ya couldn't handle the truth," Rogue answered honestly.
"How far did you go with him?" Bobby practically whispered.
"I don't see how its any of your business," Rogue said sinking onto the bed and pulling her knees to her chest, thinking about just how far they did go and the beautiful green-eyed, auburned haired little boy that came out of it.
"How far?" his voice rose a bit and he looked directly into her eyes.
"Why does it mattah?"
"It just does."
She rose now and walked up to him, her face inches from his as she looked into his eyes. "How far did you and Candace go last night?"
"Rogue I'm sorry…" he began but she quickly cut him off.
"How far?"
"We had sex. Is that what you want to hear?" he asked her, growing angry.
"Why not? That's what yer waitin' for meh ta say," she turned and walked back towards the bathroom, stopping at the door. "And in case yer curious," she turned and looked directly into his eyes. "He was the first, and only lover Ah've evah had. The only lover Ah will evah have," she added, emphasizing the word ever. "Ah think ya know where the door is," with that she turned and entered the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her.
She sank down against it, her head in her hands. 'Tonight is just gettin' bettah and bettah,' she thought as she listened for the door to slam and felt the vibration against her back as the walls rattled under the force and anger behind it. She looked over at the clock on the wall and let out a sad laugh. "Happy Birthday to meh." The clock read 12:01 am.