A/N: Thanks a bunch to Bunny Angel, MiraiXenia and Crazy4horses for the help. I apologize in advance for the cheese and if your teeth hurt from the sap after reading this. Be patient about Remy. At least until the next chapter. Wink wink. Thanks for the reviews.
III. Tourniquet
She did not need him. She had John.
One hand under her chin, John shifted onto his side and brought her mouth to his. Smiling into the kiss, Rogue was enjoying her answer. She opened her mouth, moved closer until her body was pressed against his and draped an arm over his side. Both legs on the bed now and all of his attention on Rogue, John let Logan slip from his mind. His thoughts of being skewered faded away, replaced by thoughts of Rogue. Thoughts Logan would skewer him for having.
John broke the kiss, wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer, and she ducked her head beneath his, placing it against the top of his chest and encased in his embrace, closed her eyes and breathed him in. It seemed like everything had happened so fast with John and Remy. Yesterday she had been avoiding John, and now twenty minutes after talking to him, she was his girlfriend. She knew that was kind of fast, but they had been friends for so long before and that had to make some kind of difference. She did not question her feelings for John. They had always been there, but when nothing had happened between her and John but friendship and when Remy had… appeared, she had pushed them aside.
Remy had only 'disappeared' yesterday, or rather she had found out he had never really existed and that she had fabricated him in her mind somehow. He had been close to a best friend and almost more for close to a month. She remembered how they had spent so much time together; now there would be no time together, no late nights. Clenching her eyes tight, Rogue tried to will the tears away. There would be no more crying for him. He was not real. He was to be forgotten. Replaced with John who had always been there before. Rogue pulled herself closer to John, holding tightly to him, and pushed one leg between his.
John hoped she was comfortable because he definitely was. Her breath brushed softly against his neck, and he could tell by the slow pace that she was drifting or trying to sleep. He wondered if she had done that on purpose, shoved her leg between his and then decided to go to sleep, and if she knew what it was doing to him. Lightly running his fingers up and down her back, he thought about how he had just hooked-up with one of his best friends. Everything that had happened was a blur. Rogue with tears in her eyes, pouring her heart out to him, hugging him and then kissing him, Logan catching them in his bed and now this. He only hoped that she did not change her mind about him after thinking about it because he really did not know what he would do, but he did not want to think about that, so he closed his eyes and tried not to.
When the door opened fifteen minutes later, John looked up lazily and half asleep to see that Bobby walk through. He had not even had time to panic at the thought of it being Logan, and even if it had been, he would have had to pry him from the spot he was in now. He mumbled a greeting, which was more of less of a grunt, and dropped his head back on the pillow above Rogue's. Rogue had been either sleeping or too tired to notice Bobby because she had not moved. Bobby cast them a glance and walked in, thinking nothing more of their tangled position than that they were restive sleepers. He approached the two of them quietly, trying not to disturb them, a smirk on his face, thinking of how he would rib them about their intimate position later when they woke up. Rogue was encased in John's embrace, they're arms wrapped tightly around each other, her leg pushed between his, his head atop hers.
Rogue shifted in John's arms, bringing her head from beneath his. Laughing, Bobby turned to go to his own bed when John moved again, catching his attention. Raising his hand to her chin, John lifted her head and brought his lips to brush softly across hers. Rogue stirred and tightened her grip on him and Bobby's brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what John was doing and stared, wondering what kind of dream he was having. Shaking his head, he turned to walk towards his bed again, thinking of how he would love to tell them about that one, because he was not about to pry them apart when Rogue kissed John back, pushing her mouth to his. Bobby froze in his step and when he saw Rogue's mouthpart and John's tongue tease the corners of her mouth, his eyes popped open. John raised his head, kissed Rogue on the forehead and laid his head back above her hers. Rogue buried her face in his neck. Bobby stood there for what seemed like ten minutes to him, eyes wide, staring.
"What's going on?!" Bobby demanded, his voice filled with shock rather than anger. He knew they were all close, but he had never kissed Rogue that way. Hell, he had never even held her that way. That had been more than an unconscious action on John's part and Rogue's because she definitely was not just happening to be having the same exact dream.
Rogue opened her eyes as she quickly pushed herself up onto her arms to find that Bobby stood next to the bed, watching them in shock. She opened her mouth to explain when she realized it really was not necessary. "Bobby, er…"
"We're dating," John proclaimed and it was that simple. He pulled at Rogue. Rogue elbowed away John's arm, still watching Bobby. She had forgotten about him completely, including what he would think and how they should tell him. Guess John had it covered.
"That's okay with you, right?" John asked. Not that it should not be because if it were, he and Bobby would have to deal with that later.
"… Uh… Yeah, it's fine. Just… when did this happen?" Bobby was so lost. And shocked. He guessed he was okay with it. Just yesterday, he had suggested to John that maybe Rogue liked him, but he had not expected this. It had been less than a full 24 hours. They could not have been together all along, otherwise that would mean they had lied to him, and that did not seem likely.
"Today," Rogue answered as she relaxed next John again. John draped his arm over Rogue's stomach and settled his face in her hair, satisfied at how easy that had been. Bobby backed up until he felt his bed at his knees and sat, falling backwards onto his back. Yeah, he guessed he was okay with it. They had not been lying. It still came from nowhere to him. It was kind of weird though seeing them like that together, and he was probably going to have to brush his teeth before they deteriorated from the sappiness it looked like John and Rogue's would be emitting. At least he did not have to worry about who they were daring or for whom they were dating rather since they had been friends before and knew what they were getting into with each other.
Even though it was kind of incestuous, like him dating Rogue or John or... uh, something like that.
Thirty minutes later, Bobby had already left on account of aching teeth from the sap John and Rogue were emitting and they had decided that it was highly unlikely that Logan was planning some kind of delayed punishment. Rogue twirled Logan's dog tags around her finger, contemplating how much things would change between her and John and if they really would aside from the obvious. The kisses, hugs and everything like that she could take, she wanted. But there was that openness, bluntness and closeness that came with friendship that she did not want to lose. She snuck a side-glance at him. She had a feeling though that would not happen, not with John.
"Want to go out? There's this restaurant called Ragin' Cajun-" Rogue's head snapped towards John, as his words brought unyielding thoughts of Remy flooding into her mind. She shook her head rapidly, almost childishly, trying to shake the thoughts clear from her mind, and John, watching her, took the movement as a diffident response. "-good food… Okay. We can still avoid Logan from here."
John could not really figure out what she was thinking. She was staring at the ceiling, not talking to him, and he knew he was being stupid but he could not get rid of the nagging thought that Rogue would suddenly realize that a relationship with him was not what she wanted after all and dump him. He could not remember feeling this way since his first girlfriend here at the mansion, but even then, he had known the chances of her dumping him were slim. He turned towards her just in time to catch her tags as they slipped from her finger and flew through midair. Rogue held her hand out, waiting for him to hand them to her, but he held them up, inspecting them. Logan's dog tags.
"Give 'em please." He looked at the shiny plates. Last time he remembered, she had given them back to Logan during the attack in the car. He furrowed his brows, trying to remember why he had never noticed her wearing them when he had just talked to her yesterday outside, and they were usually kind of hard to miss, hanging there, staring him in the face and reminding him of the looming threat of Logan. Maybe she had tucked them in her shirt. Rogue grabbed for them.
"When did he give 'em back?" John asked inquisitively, dodging Rogue's hand just in case she refused to talk about it after he gave it back, which was likely. He turned and looked at her, expecting an answer.
"Give it back." Rogue narrowed her eyes warningly, her hand stretched out for the tags. She did not want to play any games. She wanted her tags back.
"When?" John repeated, trying to ignore how much her glare reminded him of Logan's, knowing the similarity was probably more than coincidence since part of Logan was still in her head. He raised an eyebrow curiously.
"After the attack. John." Logan had given them to her to keep. They were hers now. She snatched for them again, only to have John dodge her hand again. He was not being very perceptive to the fact that she was being serious. She liked John, but he was pushing it right now.
"But when exac-?" John started, and suddenly he was yelling out in pain and surprise because Rogue had just socked him in the shoulder forcefully and angrily, all her patience gone. She hated it when people took her tags—even though no one else had ever dared to—, and he was not an exception. Rogue had hit him before, but never so hard. At least not on purpose. She snatched for them again, and he jumped towards the edge of the bed away from her, thinking she was about to hit him again and knowing he would rather she did not. And Rogue was thinking she was going to kill him now when she grabbed the front of his shirt with both her hands and jumped on him, her weight pushing him off balance and off the side of the bed onto his back. She landed hard on her side next to him.
"Ow, here, damn it!" John held the tags out at her. She snatched them back, ignoring the pain in her arm and hip. John lay there, waiting for the pain to subside and wondering what was wrong with Rogue and why she had gotten so angry when she knew he was going to give them back. If he had known she was going to wrestle him to ground, he would have given them back to her immediately… well depending on the situation.
"... Thanks," she responded softly. She was not even sure why she wanted the tags so badly for anyway. Maybe because they reminded her of Logan. Maybe because to her they represented stability. She had just hated the fact that she had had no control over something so important to her. She wondered if he was thinking about how much she had changed in the past three months or if he was angry or if she was pushing him away when she needed him the most.
"Welcome," John replied. Tears sprung to her eyes when she heard his voice free of anger or annoyance. Rogue moved her head to rest atop John's chest, and John sighed and rested his hand on her back, wondering how she had managed to get him so whipped so fast. She closed her eyes and brought her hand to cover her face, suddenly wanting to cry from all the emotions in her head rushing at her. She felt stupid, angry and afraid. Remy's disappearance was still fresh on her mind, eating away at her sanity. She just did not want to lose anything or anyone else.
Her trembling legs carried her down the hall. John and Bobby had been right next to her, but she had lost them in the blinding light, exploding glass and flying debris. She did not understand how this could be happening so suddenly and without any warning. And now the picture she had once held of Xavier's infallible sanctuary lay shattered among the shards of glass sprinkled on the floor. She turned down corridors where the screaming and yelling sounded louder, trying to follow the sound of the kids in the distance.
"Rogue!" Bobby's voice came from the other direction. She stopped quickly and turned to run towards his voice. Turning a corner, she was suddenly blinded by a light. Raising her hands to shield her eyes, she squinted into the glare ahead of her. And then, there was a sharp sting near her ribs. She could feel her body struggling to use the remnants of the healing factor she had imprinted from Logan as she stared into the light barely able to make out the silhouette of the soldier standing before her lowering the gun in his hand. Looking down beneath her arm quickly, she ran a hand over the spot. And as the faint sound of metal striking the floor rang through the air, she saw three metal darts illuminated in the light bounce off the floor. Then there was nothing.
Rogue woke with her breath caught in her throat and her heart pounding in her chest. Instinctively her hand flew to her stomach. Her breath came in gasps as she ran her hand over the spot the wound had been in the dream. There was nothing there. She was fine. She had been having pieces of what she assumed to be the same nightmare for the past week. The night of the attack, except for escaping with Logan, John and Bobby, she had been captured. It was disturbing, but at least Remy had not made an appearance yet, voice or otherwise.
Rogue peered into the dark hoping she was not in his empty room this time, not that she could really see anything. She could hear breathing though, right next to her, and when she moved her arm, she hit something warm. A person. Immediately, her breath started to quicken as she started to panic. She could tell she was fully clothed and lying on her back atop a bed, but she could not remember when or how she had gotten there. She could have fallen asleep next to Jubilee or for all she knew, there could be some stranger in her bed.
Her thoughts flew to Remy and the possibilities that he was next to her. The possibility that he had come back to her. She thought about getting out of bed and stumbling for the light again, but she feared what she might see. She could also scream, but that was too craven, and she decided for something subtler. Pushing out her elbow, she nudged the person lying next to her. She got no response, not even a quickening of breathing. She was thinking she should be more wary about how she woke up the person next to her since she could not remember where she had fallen asleep. Especially considering the last time she woke up not knowing where she was. She could end up having woken up a pissed off Logan or… or the Professor. And she would explain it how? Bad case of sleepwalking?
She stretched her hand out and touched the person next to her and there was hair in her hand. That took the Professor out of the mix and Logan judging by the size of the person and from what she could tell, it probably was a boy. She took her hand away, imagining how awkward it would be if the person should wake up to find her groping him. She was praying this had better be John or Bobby.
"John? Bobby?" She nudged, and he stirred slightly. She sat up and began to shake the person next to her. If the worst happened, she could always use her mutation. She got a groan, some mumbling, a curse and then:
"What? Not now, Bobby…" John. She was lying next to John, and even though she did not remember how and when, it made sense. She chided herself for having even thought about Remy. She did not need him. She had John. His voice was muffled and angry as he stirred and tried not to wake. Relieved, she lay back down onto her stomach, and nestled closer, taking his arm and draping it over her back. John let out a long sigh before he tightened his arm around her and tucked his head beneath her chin, tiredly whispering her name into her collarbone as he slipped back into a sleep he had not fully left. Pushing her dream and Remy to the back of her mind, Rogue closed her eyes and attempted to fall back to sleep. She still did not remember how she had gotten there. She did not care.
III. Tourniquet