Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made from this work.
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Then
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"Man, seeing is believing."
Eyeing Kitty from her place out on the front steps of the mansion, Rogue waited for her to expand on what she had just said. It was too hot to needle her, but even for all the AC the air inside the house was suffocating and drove them out. They left Missus Keegan to their friend, whoever the realtor was she was too invested to just be a stranger. Pressing her bottle of water to her brow, the glass was cold and refreshing against the heat.
"You know me and rumours, the moment Jubilee came to the school with the Professor and Doctor Grey I started digging."
That was the truth, Kitty was straight out of a spy movie for the kind of dirt she dug up on people, finding out secrets and selling them off like some information broker. But she never sold off the stuff that could hurt anyone, she knew that herself from the one day Kitty came to talk to her about Cody. They made a pinky swear together and that was their bond.
"Her parents died in a car crash, from what I heard they were already talking about having her go to Xavier's."
Urging Kitty on with a hand on her knee, Rogue waited for her to find her voice over whatever words had her tongue tied and her lips twisted and tied tight in a frown.
"I may have not so accidentally found a few things of hers when I was helping her settle in. Like a bankbook with a whole lot of zeros. I thought she was a trust fund brat or something at first, treated her like one for a good while until I found out about her parents." Kitty added quietly, looking across the steps and holding up a pinky to waggle it around.
"You just didn't know..." Rogue whispered, waving a hand at the house and the neighbourhood.
"Yeah."
Hearing the door open, their bit of chatter and gossip was forgotten to see Miss Keegan coming out and dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. At seeing them languishing in the heat upon the steps she came to sit between them. From the attache case a flask appeared, Miss Keegan enjoying a nip before offer it. Passed around for a couple of rounds in the kind of quiet meant for a wake, it was soon empty.
"I guess you're not just some realtor?" Kitty asked, already digging.
"No, not just some realtor. I might not have been so subtle about it at first, but I came to know the Lee's when they were looking to find the kind of lender I specialized in, one I trusted to be there when I really needed them for a sale. Somewhere along the way we became friends, and our daughters followed in our footsteps." Miss Keegan said, once again dabbing at her eyes.
"If you were friends...?" Rogue asked, closing her eyes trying to bring herself to finish her question.
"It was her parents wish, and as I understand it is pretty rare for parents to knowingly reach out to your alma mater. They didn't want her to be scared of herself. There was an incident with a security guard, oh the little hellions my Cynthia and Jubilee could be. That got settled out of court, right along with the legalese to keep it all nice and quiet."
Hearing it all was too much, hearing how fondly this woman talked about it as if it were just children going through growing pains and such. Hiding her tears behind her hands, Rogue felt a touch that would have once driven her to flinch and jerk away but was now soothing.
"This is LA, strange is the everyday, welcome to the neighbourhood. You have my card, call if you need me."
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Now
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"Ya sure you know what yer doing?"
Logan looked to Rogue from where he was fixing the central air unit that had died on the very day they were to move in. Dripping wet from the pool and wearing a bikini, she had a beer in hand that was half drained, just leaning against the fence and watching him work. He was dressed in jeans, too stubborn for shorts even with how hot it was, but he was shirtless which was nice.
"Fixed the ones back at the school enough times." Logan growled, wiping the sweat from his brow before getting back to his task.
"Hey Logan, I brought ya a few beers!"
Rushing around the corner, the lady of the house came with a bucket of ice and the largest corona's Rogue had ever seen. They had to be at least twice the size of her own and they numbered six. It was enough to earn Jubilee a thanks from Logan as he cracked the first open with a pair of plyers in lieu of a proper bottle opener.
"I don't gotta buy a new one do I?" Jubilee asked as she hunched down next to him.
After every call about getting it fixed had been met with a backlog of other clients that put relief a week away at the earliest, Logan had stepped up to bat for them. Watching him consider the question as he drank, Rogue smiled as he looked from Jubilee to the air conditioner.
"I should have it back up and runnin' for you girls by tonight, just be a cryin' shame about the scenery though." Logan promised, admiring Jubilee's own choice of swim wear.
Tackling Logan into a hug, Jubilee screeched in disgust out of how sweaty he was. Yet from her place at the fence Rogue saw how for her alone his eyes burned, nothing like the wandering eyes he had for Jubilee or Kitty. Smiling saucily at him, she turned on her heel and in a sway of hips headed back to the pool. If he wanted scenery she'd give him some.
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Then
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"Knock knock."
Peeking in with Kitty at her side, Rogue found their wayward friend sitting off in a room all alone in the corner. Jubilee looked up from her place where she sat hugging her knees to her chest, her eyes full of tears and a twisted smile on her lips. Walking on up and taking a seat on either side of her, they pulled her into a hug. They could feel the shakes of silent sobs, whispering meaningless words and trusting their hearts to speak for them.
"It's my room. Used to be a bit more pink, but...I asked them to paint everything white for a fresh start. Everything but one room." Jubilee whispered, rubbing her eyes in a fruitless effort to dry her tears.
"Guessing that's the room that's all locked up, sorry...you know me and snooping." Kitty chuckled, resting her head against Jubilee's.
"Master bedroom. I, I just..." Jubilee whispered, her voice dying as she struggled.
"You don't have to say anything. So I guess we know which room's yours. Wanna help me and Rogue pick out ours?" Kitty asked, gently patting her friend.
That question was enough to get her looking up again, Kitty producing the lease that had both their names signed down there at the bottom. First and Last would be paid with helping her make the house a home again, keeping her company with all the ghosts and memories filling the place. Taking it and folding it in half and again until it comfortably fit into her pocket, Jubilee had fresh tears that didn't look so sad or pained against her smile.
"Any room but the master..." Jubilee whispered, letting herself be helped to her feet.
"Good, because I got my eye on the one with a view of the pool." Kitty cheerily announced, her own eyes misted over.
"I got an eye on a room, but I mean what the hell are we gonna do about furniture?" Rogue asked, the three of them walking together to the stairs.
"Duh, go shopping." Jubilee laughed, hiccuping and rubbing her eyes.
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Now
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"Makin' up for lost time?"
She heard him coming, Logan was a man with a way of walking that announced him. Opening her eyes and looking at him over the rims of her sunglasses, Rogue watched him unlace his worn and beaten work boots. His tools sat at the bar, and in the distances she heard the kick of the AC firing up.
"It's nice, the sun's different here, warmer." Rogue answered a touch sleepily, enjoying the feel of his eyes on her as much as she did the sun's warm rays.
"Want a cold one?" Logan called from the world beyond her lidded eyes.
"If you're offering to play cabana boy, then I'll have a margarita."
Cracking an eye and smiling at him, he had a smirk for her as he wandered back behind the bar. To see him appear naked for everything she saw, just a chiselled torso framed by the bar glistening in the heat, his tight jeans fuelled her imagination...picturing him in a speedo that only he could do justice.
"First day on the job ma'am, how about a Jack and Coke?"
"There goes your tip."
"That still ain't a no."
Ice tinkling in a glass, a drizzle of Tennessee Whiskey, and the crack and hiss of a can had her drink ready and served. His nostrils flared, lingering close as he played his role in their little fantasy, and she wondered if her own eyes darkened and grew large as his own did as she was held by them. Licking her lips more for him than to wet them, Rogue had a sip of her drink if just to distract herself from how close he was.
Only then did he take his leave, heading again to the bar with his back to her, and to see one rivulet of sweat fall below the hem of his jeans right at the crook of his spine...she remembered that he was one to go au natural when it was hot and humid. Her next swallow was to cool the warmth in her belly at realizing all that stood between her and him in all his glory were his tight, sweat stained jeans.
"Fucking Jubilee." Rogue muttered with her last swallow.
It was all too easy to take the memory of the photos she still kept in secret and paint them over the blue to reveal him to her. There was just one intimacy left between them, one that had all too many implications for her to even contemplate with a clear head, her own tithe to decency leaving little if anything to his imagination. She was walking along the edge of a dangerous decision, tiptoing to him and her choice and trying to keep her balance.
The patio doors thrown open saved her, making the moment safe again as her friends rushed out in bikinis and goose bumps. A sudden gust of cool air had her join them, or that was the story she'd stick to even if she couldn't lie to him, a sniff never looking so indecent as when he breathed in how her body betrayed every fib she told.
Jubilee was showing off as was her usual, a lazy cartwheel leading into a dive beneath the warm waters of the pool. Kitty wasn't anything so elegant, just jumping in and trying to make the biggest splash she could. Finding herself in a shadow, Rogue looked to see Logan at her side with a fresh drink, just a bottle of water this time.
"Not joining them?" He asked with a nod to the pool.
Shrugging, she was content to watch, enjoying the show all the more as he wandered off and dove on in with more grace than she figured him to have. A scream full of giggles had her joining in the laughter as Logan easily hefted Jubilee out of the water on his shoulders.
"C'mon Roguey, the waters great!" Jubilee called from her perch, a playful siren trying to lead her astray.
Rolling her eyes and tossing aside her shades, already she had fond enough memories of the pool so where was the harm in making a few more? Slipping beneath the waves made by all her friends, Rogue surfaced to joined in their games.
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