7
The arrival of Remy and Piotr was met with mix reactions by the Institute population. Many didn't know of their defection until walking into the dining room that morning and finding the two men calmly eating breakfast with Piotr's family, Illyana wide eyed at all the types of food laid out before her. Some were immediately on guard until they saw Scott on the other side of the table paying their supposed enemies very little attention. For others, like Tabitha, it was a welcome sight and she ran over and gave Piotr a big hug. They had gotten to know each other a bit after Apocalypse, during the few hours the teams mingled before Magneto took his followers away. It made her happy to see the big man finally out from under the thumb of Magneto.
The others, once realizing that the two men were here as friends, began warming up to them. Rahne, Dani, Kitty and Amara immediately fell in love with Illyana, who was fascinated by everything she saw and heard. The New Mutant guys were immediately drawn in by a story Gambit launched into about the time he wooed a famous pop star to get a necklace she had been wearing for an event that night. Others were getting to know more about life in Russia from Piotr and his parents.
Sitting at the far side of the table drinking a cup of tea and eating a light breakfast, Professor Xavier smiled at all of this. He was happy to see his students open and friendly to those who just the day before were considered enemies. It brought hope to his heart to see such an integral part of his dream realized as they saw past their differences to embrace commonality. He hoped, with the future he feared looming over them, that they would remain a shining example of what should be.
It was soon time for school and the students filed out of the dining room down to the garage. Storm offered to show the new arrivals around the mansion, which they happily accepted.
-------------
Logan found X-23 sitting on the edge of the gazebo overlooking the ocean. "There you are kid, I've been looking all over for you. Hank's busy working on the blood work of that Rasputin girl, something funny he said, so my lesson with you is bumped up."
"I picked a name," she said, not looking at him.
"Oh yeah?"
"Laura."
"It's a good name. Why'd you pick that?"
"Dr. Risman would call me that sometimes, when she would read me stories. She would read me military reports, war theories, things like that. But every once in a while she'd read me a story about a puppet who wanted to be a real boy. She would call me Laura sometimes then. It made me feel like I was normal for a little while."
"Guess the good doc had more of a conscience then I thought. She tried to help more than I realized."
"She should have helped more!" Laura said, slamming her fist down onto the stone of the gazebo.
"Yeah, she should have."
There was more silence between them for a minute. "I don't want to be X-23 at all. I don't want to be that person. I hate that person."
"I'm sure we can find you a new code name if you decide to go into the field. And I'll make sure the Prof. makes an announcement about your new name. The others will be happy for you."
She turned and looked at him with a confused look on her face. "Why are the others trying to be friends with me? And with those two men who came last night and blew up the gate? We were all their enemies, now they act like they trust us."
"The kids here have good hearts. Lots of them come from bad backgrounds, and they've all had to deal with being on the outside 'cause they're mutants. Makes them a little more accepting. Maybe they don't trust you all completely, but they're willing to give you a chance."
"I don't like the one with the black eyes. He smells... wrong."
"Yeah, it's all the crawfish, messes with people's scent. I hate going down there, drives me crazy. Keep an eye on him though, especially around the valuables. I still don't trust Gumbo."
"Okay."
"What do you think of the other one, Colossus?"
She tried to avoid looking him in the eye. "He's okay."
"Okay huh?" he let out a small laugh. "All right. How about we just skip to the lesson?"
"Okay. What do you want to teach me?"
"Control. You've got your anger pinned down a lot more then I expected you to have, but it's still there. We're going to work on making sure it doesn't get out of hand."
"Control like you have?" she said with a raised eyebrow.
"I didn't say it would be easy or that I'm a master. But it's better than nothing. You can use it to your advantage, channel it in a fight. But you can go to far and they who knows what you'll end up doin', 'cause it'll take over. Pulling yourself out of the rage is the hard part, so we can start by keeping your head on straight and stopping you from going there in the first place. I figured we'd start with some basic meditation."
They sat there on the cliff the rest of the morning, talking about clearing ones mind and relaxing under pressure.
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At lunch, a small group of mutants gathered in one of the back doorways to the school cafeteria, looking into the mass of students.
"You ready for zhis?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Sweet dude, my first day at school and I get to see you totally embarrass yourself in the cafeteria."
"Shut up Alex."
"Vhen do you vant me to start zhe music?"
"I don't know, maybe, wait, what music?"
"You're singing zhe song right?"
"No I'm not singing the song, are you crazy?"
"Nein, you're crazy for singing zhe song."
"For the last time, I'm not signing the song!"
"After all zhe work I did to get zhe CD player hooked up to zhe caf's speakers, you're not going to sing?"
"I told you this morning I had a nightmare about it, I'm just going to ask her."
"Dude, totally boring."
"Shut up Alex! There's enough pressure as it is."
"She's going to totally hate you for waiting this long."
"She'll hate me more if I wait longer."
"Dude, you're still standing here."
"Yeah."
"Maybe you should go out there?"
"Right, okay, I'm going in."
"God speed mein freund!"
"Hey guys, what's happening?"
"Hey Ray, Bobby's going to ask Kitty out."
"Oh this should be good."
Bobby could hear Ray and Roberto joining in to the whispered conversation as he made his way across the cafeteria. He felt sort of the way he felt when he went up against Juggernaut, his first real mission with the X-Men where he knew he was heading for trouble. He had a queasy feeling in his stomach, his head slightly dizzy, and his hands were shaking a bit.
Ahead of him, Kitty say at a table with Dani and some of the friends she had managed to keep despite the mutant panic most of the school felt when they were ousted by Magneto a year ago. She was wearing a tight fitting powder blue t-shirt and jeans with a pair of boots. She was laughing at something someone just said, a perfect smile on her face as her short hair bounced. He froze for a moment, stunned by her. "She looks perfect," he thought to himself. "God I hope this works." Letting his nervousness and fear slip away, he let the Iceman part of him take control, the part that could keep his cool under pressure. He finished walking over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hi Kitty."
She turned around and gave him a heart melting grin. "Hi Icee! Have a seat," she said, scooting over to free some of the bench for him.
"No, thanks, I only have a second." He reached behind him, pretending to scratch his back. "Listen, I realize it's probably way to late, but we've been fighting and then you sorta beat me up last night," her friends sniggered at this, "anyways, I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go to the dance with me tomorrow," he said, pulling his hand from behind his back and revealing a long stem rose made of ice. He knew the effect it would have on her, as all of her friends and even some of the mutant hating cheerleaders watching from the next tabled all "awwed" at the romance of the scene.
Kitty reached out and gently took the ice rose, looking at for a moment with joy all over her face. But then her eyes partially closed, and a hard look came over her face as she looked up at him. Bobby braced for impact. "You're giving me one day to find a dress? After all the drama of this week, you top it off by giving me a day to find a dress. Are you out of your mind?"
"I, um, well, I would have sooner, but you know, you weren't talking to me and then, um, my bad?"
She grinned at him, an evil grin at that. "Lucky for you I bought a dress a few weeks ago. We'll have to work on your punctuality Mr. Drake, I don't want to be late tomorrow night."
"Wait, so?"
"That's a yes Bobby, I'd love to go with you."
"Awesome! Meet you in the main hall at seven?"
"Sounds perfect, don't be late." She smiled at him for a moment longer, then gave a little pout as she looked at the rose. "It's going to melt."
"I'll make you a new one."
"You'd better."
"I will."
She smiled, and glanced over his shoulder. "I think the guys are going to hurt something trying to listen over here, go tell them I said yes and I'll see you later in English."
He glanced over his shoulder and saw Kurt, Alex, Ray and Roberto trying to inconspicuously watch the scene from the caf's doorway. He turned back and smiled at her. "Yeah, good idea, bye Kitty."
"Bye Icee."
He left, and she turned back to her friends. She hardly heard them as she stared at the rose in her hands with a smile.
-------------
The next 24 hours were hectic for the mutants. Bobby and Kitty managed to hear almost nothing in English class that afternoon as they kept stealing glances at each other. But that night they didn't see each other at all, as homework kept them busy most of the time. Kitty did enjoy a long gossip session with Tabitha, Amara, Dani and Jean, who discussed Bobby at length. Meanwhile, Bobby merely said a few words with each of the guys who asked him about Kitty, and then they returned to whatever they were doing.
Friday was a long day at school for everyone, as most of them still in high school would be going to the dance that night. After struggling through their classes, they rushed home to get ready for the night. The girls spent the four hours until Storm would be driving them all back to school getting ready, while the boys spent most of the time online playing Halo 2, and the last half hour getting ready.
Seven finally came and Bobby was sitting on a chair at the base of the atrium stairs waiting for Kitty. He was glad the dance was only semi-formal and he didn't have to go rent a tux on such short notice. He wore a dark navy shirt with a royal blue tie and black slacks. He sat with his elbows resting on his thighs, his legs shaking up and down in a nervous release of energy. He was still a little shocked about the whole thing. He had asked Kitty Pryde out and was going to a dance with her. Not something he ever expected to happen during his stay at the Xavier Institute. When he first came here, Kitty was certainly not a girl he considered datable. She was annoying, not really grown up (he ignored the fact that he wasn't either), and cute but not great next to Rogue and Jean. But now, two years later, she was a completely different girl. He wasn't sure if it was his own way of perceiving things or changes in her that contributed most to how he saw her, but now he found her to be smart, funny, incredibly kind, and just as beautiful as the other ladies on the team. Her experiences had certainly changed her for the better, if only to take like out of her vocabulary, he though with a smile.
"What are you smiling at?" he heard from the top of the stairs and turned to watch Kitty come down. She was wearing a shimmering light blue gown with a matching shawl, her hair pulled back and folded close against her head. Her blue eyes sparkled with amusement at him.
He stood up and gave her a smile. "You. Just how much we've all changed, how I never thought you and I would be doing something like this."
"Never?"
"Well, not until recently. You look amazing."
She gave him a curtsy and a little twirl. "You're looking pretty good yourself. Shall we go?"
He held out his arm and she slipped hers into it. "Lets. Everyone else is already out in the car waiting." The two teens headed outside, ready for a night of fun with one another, the smile never leaving their faces.
-------------
Remy had been watching her from the doorway to her room for about a minute now, and he was pretty sure she didn't realize she had left her door open. She sat propped up on her bed, eyes closed and her hands pressing down on a pair of studio quality headphones on her ears. She was nodding along to the music, completely oblivious to everything around her. He had no idea what it was about Rogue that constantly brought his thoughts back to her. There were plenty of women in the world, plenty Gambit had been with in the course of his work with the Guild. He really hoped he wasn't just coming back to her because she was the unattainable that he wanted to attain. He already regretted using her once, and that felt like it would be even worse.
He was ripped from his thoughts as she suddenly screamed out in song, obviously the chorus of whatever she was listening to. "Guarding yourself from the love of another! Left you with nothing tonight! So now you know why the devil is laughing! He left you with nothing tonight! You did decide..."
He could tell she had a normally beautiful singing voice, despite it being covered in a gravelly impression of the rock star singing. Her head thrashed more, the white bangs flashing as they flipped from side to side. He grinned and chuckled a bit as her face contorted to hold the last note.
The song must have died in her headphones because she looked up at him suddenly, her face going bright red in embarrassment. "What the hell are ya doin' here Swamp Rat!" she screamed, ripping the headphones from her ears and throwing them aside.
"I was jus' walk'n by when I saw you still here. T'ought everyone at da dance t'night, so what are you doin' here, Chere?"
"Dances ain't my thing. Now get outta here before Logan smells ya in the girls wing an' spills ya guts all over the floor outside mah room."
"I seen scary t'ings den da Big Bad Wolverine, Chere." He came into her room and sat in her desk chair. His face was dark for moment, as if remembering those things, then he gave her a smile. "So Chere, why ain't dances your t'ing? Penny for yo' t'oughts."
She scoffed. "Ya'd just steal that penny back."
"Gambit don't steal everyt'ing Rogue."
"Of course not, some things are nailed down."
He gave her a grin at that. "So true."
She laughed despite herself, then just rolled her eyes at him. "Why are ya still here Remy? Piotr's family is safe, why stay?"
"Man tells you he can keep you safe from Magneto, offer you a nice room ta' stay in at his mansion, you don't say non. M'bye I help you when he come knockin'. Wanted to help wit Apocalypse, but guess you couldn't find me down South."
"Didn't look."
"Fair enoug'," he said with a shrug. "Answer me dis Chere, how a girl so full of life be so dead?"
Her head spun at the sudden change in direction. "What are ya talkin' about?"
"You Rogue, you got all dis energy, dis fire and passion an' you waste it sittin' here singin' songs ta yourself. Why not go ta da dance an' be wit your friends?"
"Remy, for someone who's touched mah ya don't catch on too fast. Ah can't touch anyone. Ah can't date anyone, Ah can't be in a crowd 'cause Ah'm scared of what might happen. What's the point of going if Ah'm just gunna stand in the corner the whole time?"
Gambit stood and walked over to her. He reached out with his hand, which was gloved despite being in civvies. Rogue pulled her arm away. "Ya really are crazy. You know what'll happen."
"Rogue, chere, do you trust me?"
"Not at all."
"Oh well, m'bye dis get through ta you anyways." He reached out and grabbed her wrist, sliding his gloved hand down to hold hers. "I'm touching you now Chere."
"It's not the same," she said, a tear forming in her eye.
He squeezed down on her hand. "It more den you allow yourself ta have Rogue. Cuttin' yourself off from da world ain't goin' solve not'in'. You have ta make do wit what you got."
She was about to respond when she suddenly pulled her hand out of his and grabbed her head. "What is it Rogue?" he said, concern in his voice, "you okay?"
"Ah, yeah, Professor screamin' in mah head. He just found the Brotherhood on Cerebro and they're heading out to cause some trouble." She jumped off the bed, grabbing her gloves and running out of the room, Gambit hot on her heels.
"What's goin' on? Can I help?"
He reached the elevators to the lower level just as Scott and Jean reached it. Rogue hit the button and the panel slid open.
"Forget it LeBeau," Scott said. "You're not cleared to—"
"No Scott, I'm asking Gambit and Colossus to assist you despite our reservations," the Professor's voice echoed in all of their heads. "And those on their way to the dance are returning. We will need all the help we can get if the Brotherhood succeeds in freeing Juggernaut."