Chapter Title: The evening sun

Series: Rogue's Journey

Author: Lil-fleur

Chapter Summary: Kurt goes in search of an elusive Rogue

Chapter Pairings: mentions of Rogue/Bobby, Rogue/Scott, Kurt/Jubilee, Alex/Ororo,

Archiving: Ask and ye shall receive.

Disclaimer: The X-Men and the characters do not belong to me. They are just being used for harmless fun which does not contribute monetarily.

Notes:

This is my very first venture into writing fan fiction. So I would be grateful for any reviews & comments.

I have used British spelling. My knowledge of German and Southern US (or in fact, any other) accents are limited, therefore, I haven't played with the pronunciations apart from anything remotely British.

The universe is semi-alternative and semi-X Men movie world. However, I have made some changes irrespective of the X-Men movie plots.

I am not sure where exactly the plot is heading to, apart from a rough idea. It is very much a spontaneous series.

For more info, notes and disclaimers, please click on my profile.

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Sorry for the delay in updating… I happened to be quite busy over the past few days, so this will be an awfully short and boring chapter

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A figure could be seen walking down the hallway of the mansion with a very determined look on his face. It was Kurt searching for one particular person, and no, it wasn't Jubilee. He had already checked the places where she might be- the games room, the library, the entertainment room, the kitchen, the gardens, and even the danger room but there was absolutely no sight of her. Where could she be? It cannot be as if the earth swallowed her! Unless she was playing an elaborate hide and seek with him but that was improbable given that she wasn't a prankster. He sighed in frustration recalling how he had been literally running around in circles.

'Is something wrong, Kurt?', a gentle voice asked him.

Startled, he turned back only to find that it was none other than stunning platinum-haired weather goddess, Ororo.

'Hi Ororo, do you have any idea as to where Rogue might be? I have been searching for her for the past half hour', he asked exasperated

Ororo was a powerful mutant but she lacked the ability to scan the grounds and locate Rogue. After all, that was habitually Logan's job. But she pitied Kurt who was evidently exhausted. Breathing a prayer to the Goddess, she relied upon her instincts and replied, 'Have you tried the lake front? Rogue might be there. It is her favourite spot'.

A relieved Kurt said, 'Thanks Ro, why didn't I think of that? I'll give it a try. What do I owe you for your suggestion?'.

With her dark eyes twinkling in mirth, Ororo joked, 'Does this mean that I can ask for anything?'.

'There might be limits, but I'll certainly consider it', said Kurt seriously.

Ororo grinned. There were times when Kurt took things gravely even if it was a joke. Deciding on not to fool around anymore, she said, 'Perhaps you could lend a hand to Alex? He has a cooking shift tomorrow and has been scouring around for help'.

'Certainly. Tell him that I'll talk to him later tonight about it. See you later, Ro', said Kurt and with a cloud of sudden dust, he disappeared more than convinced that Ororo's guess was right.

Kurt found himself at the right spot by the lake. A benefit of his mutation was the ability to transport himself. Looking around, he spotted Rogue sitting a few yards away by the side of the lake. She was dipping her legs into the lake and seemed to be different somehow in an uncharacteristically Rogue manner. He soon found what wasn't fitting into this picture- Rogue's apparel. She was wearing a white sleeveless cotton shirt and her jeans were rolled up to her knees. There was a light jacket and gloves discarded nearby, but Kurt realised that he was now seeing the Rogue sans mutation, looking unperturbed yet deep in thought.

Perhaps she is thinking about Logan, thought Kurt. Call him old fashioned, but Kurt wasn't supportive of a young girl (Rogue) being attracted to a much older man (Logan) whose age was unknown.

All of a sudden Rogue turned and her facade betrayed how much she was surprised.

'Kurt!', she cried, springing up. 'What brings you here?'

Approaching her, Kurt said a little austerely, 'Rogue, it is 40 minutes past the time we were supposed to meet up'.

Professor Xavier had requested Kurt to provide emotional support to Rogue and he had been carrying out his duties conscientiously. He was clueless about why Xavier's insistence and divined that it might be due to Rogue spending many hours in the lab with Hank. He tried to gently pry about her lab visits, but Rogue was very non-committal. His personal opinion was that Rogue didn't require any emotional support being a strong willed person, but what if the strong will was a mask? In any case, Kurt didn't feel the want to be her confidante, being aware that she was much more closer to Scott.

'I am sorry, Kurt', apologized Rogue rising up from the bank. 'I totally forgot about it. It is such a beautiful evening and I wanted to spend time alone'. There was a stress on alone which Kurt was not foolish enough to overlook.

He walked towards the bank and touched the clothed part of her shoulder, 'Is there something to talk about?'

'I don't know Kurt', said Rogue, her tired eyes showing clearly that her mind was in turmoil. Her hair looked quite disheveled as well.

'Why don't we sit down?', asked Kurt calmly, sitting down on the grassy bank.

Without a word, Rogue joined him but only after wearing her coat and gloves, an action which drew a look of compassion from Kurt. If he was ever fuming about his mutation, Rogue had more of a motive to be insane! They sat in silence for a while and abruptly Rogue broke her silence.

'Have you ever been in my situation, Kurt?', she asked

'What situation is that?', he asked.

'First, I wanted to touch my boyfriend and so I was stupid enough to take the cure. I was so happy that I was a normal human and then my powers returned, almost killing Bobby'

'You can't amend the past Rogue. It is sad but you have to move on and look to the future which is very bright'.

'How do you know if the future is bright?', snapped Rogue

Is she having that time of the month, thought Kurt who said, 'I don't know. I have hope, without which we are nothing.'

Rogue mulled over it and continued, 'Hope is the nastiest of all qualities. Do you know why it was left in Pandora's Box?'

Guess who is being the Classicist- I though she was a Geographer, thought Kurt who queried, 'No, why it was left in Pandora's Box?'

'The gods knew that hope was the worst quality. During troubles, we have hope and even when our dreams shattered, we still hope on, being optimistic of the future. But the future is never bright, and so you are more disillusioned'.

'It is only a myth', comforted Kurt.

'Nevertheless, it is a myth with a moral attached to it. I now realise that I love someone but what is the point of love if you can't even touch him?', she asked unhappily, a big tear escaping from her beautiful eyes.

Kurt sighed. Was she talking of Logan- should he dissuade her? He felt like laughing- was this all due to Logan? Was she love-sick? But stopping himself from laughing, he said, 'Rogue, you might be unable to touch the guy you love, but you are in a far better boat than many people. Look around you- go to the nearest hospital. Don't you feel blessed?'

Throwing a pebble into the still water, Rogue consented unhappily, 'I should be happy, I suppose'.

'Yes, you must be. God made you perfect. You are not just beautiful, He also gave you a gift. How many people are mutants with wonderful abilities?'

'Be frank, Kurt. Is mine a good gift? Frankly, I am not content though I am reconciled to it'

'It could have been worse! And are you using your mutation for the harm of humankind? Anyway, what changed your mood so quickly? You were so peppy the last time we talked'.

'I don't know… maybe it is due to summer. Everyone is having fun while I am confined to rooms or to these stuffy clothes'.

'Do you want to become a ghost?', quipped Kurt.

Rogue smiled and playfully punched Kurt

'Ouch that hurt!', cried Kurt.

'Kurt, I was so hopeful of something and I don't know. On one hand, a part of me wants to hope that this will happen and I will be happy. On another hand, I am afraid to hope fearing that my hopes will shatter.'

Kurt was thoughtful. He didn't have a clue as to what Rogue was talking about, 'I guess you can't tell me more about this?'

'You see, there is something happening. And I am so scared because I really want it to happen positively. And last time, you told me to hope for the best and that's what I did. It didn't work out then. And now it is happening again. And I want to hope but I am also scared to hope because I would think then that things are going to be fine and I will be happy. I am even scared to think of me as being happy. I am scared to hope or even dream', said Rogue sadly.

Kurt placed his arm on her shoulder. He still couldn't understand what Rogue was rambling about, but whatever it was, she needed a hug and that's exactly what he did.

She continued, 'I am so afraid Kurt'.

'To hope?'

'Yes. Or to have faith in anyone or anything'

'Rogue, don't ever lose hope. Without hope, we are nothing'

'But I think, I am already nothing'.

'Then allow me to hope for you, alright?'

Rogue looked up at Kurt and gave him a hug… 'You'll have to hope for a long time', she added sadly.

'I don't mind doing that for all eternity', promised Kurt and taking one look at her, he breathed a prayer to God. Rogue seemed quite depressed and that's the last thing which he wanted to see.

'How are you and Jubilee?', asked Rogue.

'Wouldn't you be the first person to know? You are her best friend', laughed Kurt.

'I meant, romantically', said Rogue raising an eyebrow.

'I have been going out with her. She is a nice girl'

Ever the gentleman, thought Rogue inwardly giggling over how Kurt was determined not to kiss and tell.

Suddenly both of them were aware of footsteps in the grass. They turned to see a casually clad Scott heading towards them, a soft breeze playing with his wavy hair.

'Hi Kurt, Hi Rogue. You were missing from the mansion, so I thought of checking out on you', he greeted them.

'Thanks Scott, how did you find us?', asked Kurt

Stopping by them, Scott explained, 'I ran into Ororo who told me where you both might be'.

'Why don't you join us here and enjoy the sunset?', said Rogue with a smile patting at the grass besides her.

Without a word, Scott acquiesced leading to Kurt's eyebrows rising up. Hmm, something was definitely different. It actually seemed as if all of his fears about Logan and Rogue were baseless. In fact, he was suddenly aware of feeling uncomfortable- wasn't it written somewhere that two is a company and three is a crowd? He, unquestionably, felt like the odd one out.

'So what are you up to Rogue?', asked Scott looking gently at Rogue and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

'Watching the evening sun and the reflections on the lake', she replied not meeting his gaze. Despite the tan she sported, Kurt was aware of her blushing.

At the word lake, Scott winced, a gesture that went unnoticed by Rogue but not by Kurt.

'It does look beautiful. I should have brought my camera', said Scott a tad subdued.

'Or a mutant with photographic abilities', quipped Kurt.

'Yes, haven't you noticed that cameras can never capture a scenery well?', asked Rogue

'True. We should ask the Professor to find such a mutant', laughed Scott. 'Is all well with you Rogue?', he asked concerned.

'Am fine', replied Rogue, the two words summing up exactly how she was.

'I wanted to get the list of ingredients from you for our Cajun dinner'

'Cajun dinner?', asked Kurt curiously.

'Rogue and I are having a dinner together this Friday night. She offered to cook me something Cajun if I bought the ingredients', explained Scott

'That sounds tasty', pondered Kurt.

'Would you like to join us?', asked Rogue to Kurt.

'I might ask Jubilee out for dinner', said Kurt excusing himself and suddenly being aware of many undercurrents.

'On Friday?', asked Rogue.

'Yes.'

'Talking of food, we might have to leave soon. Dinner starts in 30 minutes', said Scott looking at his watch. He was relaxed as well, making him lose at least 5 years!

'Sometimes, I think, my friend, that you think much about food. Didn't I see you and Rogue having a sumptuous lunch together this afternoon?', questioned Kurt.

Scott laughed. 'True, but don't I remember an incident around 2 evenings ago when a man wearing a black tie suit was waiting at the foot of a staircase and complaining that he would faint due to hunger if his lady love was late?'

'Very funny', mumbled Kurt.

'Yes, and it was only 15 minutes past six', continued Scott, grinning.

'Stop it Scott! Kurt is blushing', said Rogue cheekily slapping Scott on his shirt's sleeve.

'I am not!', countered Kurt

And this harmless teasing continued on for a while among the 3 friends, until the dinner bell started pealing.

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Thanks to astronomylover for the reviews/comments. You have absolutely no idea how encouraging it is to hear that you have enjoyed reading it!

Irisheyesrsmiling: True, I often feel that other mutants (and us who watch/read X-Men) tend to overlook the difficulties which Rogue is having due to her mutation.

Lunafan: Thanks once again for your most encouraging comments. I wanted to give a plausible explanation for the cure and Hank's research and had to think hard about it. Let's wait and see how the movie sequel would be. Btw, I absolutely love long reviews especially the ones in which the reader tells his/her frank opinion. So thanks awfully for taking the time!

p.s: I like reading fanfic more than writing it as well!