AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've added two new chapters between what was chapters 1 and 2. I felt there was a narrative gap to be filled.
This chapter refers to them, but you don't need to read them to understand it.
Her 'trainings' with Pyro were put on hold while her focus shifted from controlling her powers to becoming a better fighter. So he'd made a habit of coming to find her after dark so they could spend some time together alone. She appreciated it, because now that she wasn't supposed to be trying to hurt him with a kiss or caress, they could actually relax together. That and Pyro was different at night, less serious, less Brotherhood. He was more like she remembered him, more like before, more like that first night when he'd burst into her bedroom.
They were smoking out in the yard. It was a habit he'd picked up after the scene in the mall. She remembered him joking at the campsite that he'd like to hold fire in his mouth. Leave it to him to turn a bad habit into a weapon.
He'd been a pain that night, especially moody. She'd been glad to steal a few from Logan's tent for them. Bobby had been nervous about it, but he didn't mind enjoying the spoils. He always liked the fun part of getting into trouble, but hated the risk. She didn't like how they tasted in her mouth, like ash but sweeter. Pyro had loved it. He made the end spark from between his lips, making O's from fire instead of smoke. He put hers out, winking, telling her to come over so he could relight it. They touched the ends of their cigarettes, and it relit as she inhaled. The moment was surprisingly intimate. Bobby told him not to be an ass.
She didn't touch another cigarette after. She had thought about it sometimes, when she missed him, but the memory had stung. Sucking on the cigarette now, she thought it tasted a little like him.
He still liked to make shapes from the ends, but now he used hers. It made the cigarette burn quicker, but she loved the heat against her skin from the fire being so close to her face, and she liked when he showed off for her.
She laughed, giggled even, and he smiled at her big and earnest.
"Why can't it always be like this?" she said, wispy like a dream.
His smile flattered a little, for a split-second, wondering if there was more behind her words. "I love being alone with you." He eyed her. Even in full dress, his eyes could make her feel totally uncovered. "Maybe you should move into my room." He raised his eyebrows suggestively, and she found herself giggling again as he leaned forward to plant butterfly kisses up her neck.
"No." She was giggling again, indulging in everything he made her feel.
They hadn't had sex yet. The made-out a lot, dry humped a little. But, she thought about it a lot, especially when he was touching her and especially when she was alone in her room. No, she needed the private space her bedroom provided her.
She pushed against his shoulder gently. "Enough, Casanova. Just because I can touch, doesn't mean you get out of treating me like a lady."
"My mistake." He put his hands up in mock surrender. "Those were very unlady-like sounds you were making. Honest mistake. Won't happen again"
"I should punish you for your brazenness." She smiled, shy. It had been easier when they couldn't do anything, in some ways.
He smirked. "Something fun, I hope. Do I get to pick?"
Her eyes went wide, and her mouth dried with the thought of the possibilities. "No." she barely got out, quiet, a blush blooming in her cheeks, her shoulders, her everywhere.
He wondered about it sometimes, her innocence. She seemed so good, and he knew he wasn't. They weren't kids. He wasn't really worried about sex. He could already see her warming up to the idea. But, the other things. He thought about how she'd killed to get in. It must have been hard for her.
He had chosen this. He had something inside him that loved it, putting down humans, stopping them from getting the upper hand, saving the world. But even with the X-Men, she had never quite taken to the superhero thing. She wanted to be a normal girl, he knew that. She was Rogue, but she wanted to be Marie. And, she was becoming more the first in her efforts to regain the second.
And he wanted to hate her for it, but he couldn't. If he was being honest with himself, which he found himself doing more often lately, he liked that about her. There was something so peaceful in being small and simple, in being innocent. He didn't think he'd ever been innocent like that.
"We should head in." he said. "It's about time."
He leaned in again, and they shared a deep kiss. "Goodnight." He thought he heard promise in her voice.