Shout-out to Silently Watches, whom I gave the chance to pick which story I updated next as a thank you. They requested an update to White Owl. So to thank Silently Watches for getting me off of my sidetracked mind and back onto this story, if only for one chapter (but hopefully more), I suggest you go check out their stories, of which I myself am a fan off, if you have not already.
Chapter 18
It was the weekend after Rogue's mother had moved into the Institute, and Rose could, literally, feel the tension in both Rogue and Wanda's auras.
She knew why the tension was there of course. Rogue had been hurt and betrayed by the woman and Wanda was nervous enough about carrying Kurt's child without his mother around, and that nervousness had gone up once she'd heard the news.
Apparently, the woman known to Rose only as Mystique, was not someone to take lightly.
Unfortunately, Rose had no idea how to help her girlfriend and friend with their troubles, besides giving them, without charge, some of her relaxation candles and incense. She'd also begun burning the candles and incense in the store, as Wanda basically lived there with her, and Rogue spent as much time as she could there now that she had to live with the woman that had betrayed her trust to such an extent.
Unfortunately, as it was the weekend, specifically Saturday, Rogue had training with the X-Men, and her mother.
Depending on how that went, Rose was sure she'd see Rose later in the day. The question was what mood she'd be in.
Rose had also given Wanda the day off. Currently, she had left to browse the local baby store, just to get an idea of how much stuff would cost. She'd decided to wait to buy anything until after her and Rose's home was built. And although Rose had purchased the land for it, and hired construction, it would take time for the house to be finished.
The witch smiled at the thought. She hadn't told Wanda, but she was actually building two houses on the massive property. One was of course a 'guest house,' though for a guest house it was quite large. When she'd suggested building a guest house and letting Wanda live there, the proud young woman who'd been used to standing on her own two feet since she'd been locked up in an asylum had been happy. She'd be paying rent of course, that came out of her paycheck Rose gave her.
What Rose hadn't told the other woman, was that the guest house was another full-sized two story house, complete with its own pool and garage. Nor had she mentioned that Wanda's rent, would actually be payment's for her to buy the house and that, since Rose was giving her the house anyway, said payments were going directly into a bank account that would be Rose's gift to Wanda's kid once she was far enough along for a baby shower.
She had the money to burn after-all.
And considering Wanda had already asked her to be the child's godmother, Rose had every intention of making sure she was a good one.
Even if she inadvertently spoiled her godchild and her mother in the process.
With neither of the young women that had quickly become the most important in her life in her store, Rose had taken the free time to do inventory, make what she needed to re-stock, and order what she couldn't make. Although her customer base was small, with a good fourth of it consisting of the students and staff of Xavier's, they were loyal.
Just the other day, Ms. Munroe had returned and purchased a few more things, including the…candles and oil, she had purchased last time.
Now knowing that the older woman could control the weather, the sudden freak storm that night made a lot of sense.
Jean had come back, bringing the new student Laura Kinney with her, and purchased some more books on meditation, as well as a few other things. Laura had also purchased a few things, namely different soaps and shampoos to try out.
All in all, her business was doing fairly well.
Though, as she worked, Rose did miss Hedwig, who had yet to return from delivering a letter to Hermione.
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Dear Hermione,
I suppose I'll start by saying that, while I don't understand why you stopped writing me, I forgive you. I'd also like to apologize, in turn, for not writing back when you did start. I hope you can understand though, after a summer of being ignored, I was angry, bitter, and felt more than a little betrayed.
I still do a bit to tell the truth.
As for contacting Sirius and Remus, I don't think I will, not yet anyway. While you tried contacting me for months, and made me feel as guilty for ignoring you as much as I was angry, I only got one letter from both of them before they stopped trying. I feel no guilt for not responding after only one attempt, when I was ignored the entire summer after I sent out dozens of letters.
Still, they at least did better than Ron, he never even tried.
As for Voldemort, I know what he was looking for. I won't say anymore, as the information is dangerous and the less people that know the truth, the better, but I do know what he wanted. And I suppose it's good that he's in the open, though I'm still bitter about not being believed regarding his return. It means the Ministry can finally act against him, if they're not to corrupt to do so.
On to lighter topics now.
Congratulations on your engagement. You can pay me my twenty galleons when you visit this winter, assuming you convince your parents to come of course. I hope you'll at least bring a picture to show me. Tonks sounds like she's good for you, and I sincerely wish you both the best. And I'd be honored to be your Maid of Honor.
As for your parents, I don't know what to tell you about that. To tell the truth, I'm getting kind of sick of parental issues. But I suppose that takes a little explanation. I do ask that you don't mention any of this to your Uncle Hank (nice man by the way, though I've only met him once) as it involves students living at the Institute, specifically my girlfriend and her brother.
That's right, I have a girlfriend. She's a mutant, like your uncle. Her powers though are dangerous, she can absorb the life force and powers, if there are any, from people simply by touching someone's skin. But she can't control it.
For some reason her powers don't affect me.
Anyway, her name is Anna. Her brother, Kurt, is a teleporter, and previously dated my best friend, here that is, Wanda. You'd like Anna, though I imagine you'd get into a fair few fights. Your both stubborn women, hell Wanda's stubborn. What is it about me that I surround myself with stubborn people? Anyway, Rogue and Kurt don't exactly have the best relationship with their mother, and their mother just moved into the institute herself. I haven't met her, but she's supposed to be a scary woman, and is a shape shifter. Add in the fact that Wanda is carrying Kurt's child, and has yet to work up the courage to tell him, and everything is compounded.
Which reminds me, Wanda asked me to be her child's godmother when it's born. I have to say I'm looking forward to it. I've already done quite a few things to help Wanda, and my future godchild. I'm building two houses outside of Bayville for example, one for me and one for Wanda.
If we are to stay in touch however, I believe we need to find something better than owls. Hedwig may be magical, but I don't want her flying over the Atlantic on a regular basis. I admit, I worry about her.
Hope you are well,
Rose.
Hermione smiled as she finished the letter.
It seemed that Rose was happy, and that made Hermione Happy. She was also intrigued about the fact that her fiancé, and Rose's girlfriend's mother where shape shifters, and decided, if nothing else, she had to share that with Tonks.
But as she placed the letter back into its envelope, Hermione checked the time, as Hedwig had delivered the letter in her dorm near curfew.
With a sigh, Hermione resigned herself to visiting the library tomorrow so that she could start researching a way to communicate with Rose that didn't involve Hedwig, or other owls, flying across the ocean.
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Wanda walked into the store to a new smell.
While White Owl still smelled of the incense and candles Rose had been burning, there was the undercurrent of something cooking.
Something that smelled delicious.
"Rose!" she called out, wondering what her friend and boss was up to.
"I'm in the trunk!" the other woman's voice called out.
Walking into the back, Wanda looked down into the open trunk. Down the stairs that led down to the living compartment, the dark haired mutant could clearly see Rose moving around in the kitchen. Stepping up, and into the trunk, Wanda began to walk down to her. "What are you making?" she asked.
Rose looked over from where she stood at the stove, before turning her attention back to what she was doing. "Pan-fried catfish, hushpuppies, coleslaw, fries, and mud pie," she said, as she pulled to pieces of fish off of the pan and set them on a plate. "I'm taking some to the institute for Rogue, but I made enough for you as well if you'd like some."
Wanda smirked and idly wondered if Rogue had any idea how whipped she had Rose. The witch, the real one not the scarlet one, was always doing things for Rogue. Making what was considered traditional southern food for the Mississippi native was just one example. Her smirk faded as she realized that Rogue wasn't the only one Rose did things for.
Deciding not to dwell on it, Wanda jokingly asked, "Trying to seduce her with food?"
"Maybe," Rose said with a grin, looking over her shoulder as she began putting food into Tupperware containers. Having gotten used to living with the other woman, Wanda knew that each of those containers had spells on them to keep food in the same condition it was when it was put in, hot or cold.
Having put all but two slices of fish into a container, she put the lid on it and set it aside, before putting the two remaining pieces in a large container that already contained hushpuppies and fries, which was sitting next to three other containers, all smaller, one of which was obviously for beverages. As she then proceeded to move her dirty dishes to the sink, Rose said, "I'll take of the dishes when I get back. In the meantime, help yourself."
With that, Rose picked up the four dishes, and flamed away.
Wanda just smiled and decided that lunch would be a good idea. Pulling out a plate, she got herself some of the great smelling food.
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Rose appeared on the steps of the Institute.
While she could have flamed directly to Rogue, she preferred not to flame directly into the Institute unless asked, common courtesy and all. Not to mention she wasn't sure if Rogue and the others were done with their training yet.
Opening her mental shields, just enough to let the Professor, and probably Jean, know she was there and communicate with them, she ascended the steps to the door, waiting for acknowledgement.
'Rose,' Xavier greeted cheerfully in her head. 'Come on in. It's nice to have you visit. May I presume that you wish to see Rogue?'
'Yeah,' Rose admitted as she stepped through the doors of the large building. 'I made her some lunch, assuming she hasn't eaten already.'
'The morning training hasn't finished yet, though it should be over in another twenty minutes or so if you'd like to wait.'
'I would please.'
'Then why don't you flame down to the control room. I'll be sure to inform Storm, Beast, Wolverine, and Mystique of you impending arrival so that you don't startle anyone.'
'Thanks Professor,' Rogue said, just before disappearing in a ball of flame once more.
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Down in the control room of the Danger Room, Mystique watched, alongside Storm, as the X-Men fought against Wolverine and Beast in a simulated scenario. The blue-skinned shape shifter was in the control room with Storm, who was overseeing the simulation, namely because the X-Men were still wary of her.
The Professor was using the time to pay bills and deal with other paperwork needed to keep the institute running.
"We're about to have company," Storm said, turning to Mystique. "She's a friend."
Before Mystique could comment, a flash of flames appeared, and when they vanished, a young woman with black hair and green, slit-pupil eyes was standing in the middle of the room. "Hi Ororo," she greeted with a smile, giving Mystique a brief glance.
Storm smiled, but didn't take her attention away from the simulation. "Hello Rose. You here to see Rogue?"
"Of course," she answered, and Mystique noticed the containers she was carrying. "I brought her lunch, I just hope she likes it."
"I'm sure she will," Storm assured. Glancing briefly at Mystique, she then added, "Rose, this is Mystique…"
"Kurt and Rogue's mother, I know," the girl said, looking over at her. With a slight grin, she added, "I don't see what's so scary about her."
Raising an eyebrow, Mystique changed her appearance to that of Rose and, speaking in the girls voice, asked, "Scary enough for you."
To Mystiques surprise, Rose snorted. "Trust me, not only have I seen scarier things, I can defiantly be scarier."
Changing back to herself, the redhead said, "I doubt that."
Before either of them could make another comment, Storm interrupted them, asking, "Rose, would you be willing to help out for a minute."
"Sure," the dark haired girl replied. "What do you need?"
"We're trying to get them used to dealing with unexpected surprises," Storm explained. "I already have both Wolverine and Beast approval, but do you think you could join in and help them against our students? It'll give you an excellent chance to show Mystique just how scary you can be."
"I'd love to," Rose said with a grin, setting her food containers to the side.
"Then go ahead, just please, no petrifying," Storm said with a slight grin.
In a flash of flame, Rose disappeared, reappearing not a breath later in the Danger Room. Immediately she began to sing, and Mystique felt terror creep into her.
Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?
Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween
Mystique watched as Rose began to stealthily walk around the military complex the room was simulating, periodically sticking her tongue out as she moved.
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night
This is Halloween, everybody make a scene
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright
It's our town, everybody scream
In this town of Halloween
Rose walked towards Cyclops, who was staring at her, unmoving. Mystique could see he was shaking and sweating, right up until the time Rose quickly brought her fist towards his neck, stopping millimeters from his skin. Almost immediately afterward, it seemed he regained his bearings.
I am the one hiding under your bed
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red
With a sigh, Cyclops made his way out of the room, understanding that, had this been real, Rose would have just killed him with her attack.
I am the one hiding under yours stairs
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair
A slight flick of her tongue later, and Rose flamed away, to the top of a building, where Spyke was looking around frantically, his bony protrusions out and at the ready. Seeing Rose appear, he launched them at her madly, only for her to flame away from them. She reappeared behind him and knocked her out.
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
While Rose dealt with Cyclops and Spyke, Wolverine and Beast dealt with Jean and Shadowcat, respectively, leaving Rogue and X-23 as the only two still in the sim.
In this town, don't we love it now?
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise
Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can
Something's waiting now to pounce, and how you'll...
X-23 was the next one Rose encountered. Unlike the others, she kept moving, seemingly unaffected, and attacked Rose with deadly precision. Rose dodged the attacks, but kept singing.
Scream! This is Halloween
Red 'n' black, slimy green
Aren't you scared?
Rose ducked an attack, and landed a kick on the clone herself, but still the fight continued.
Well, that's just fine
Say it once, say it twice
Take a chance and roll the dice
Ride with the moon in the dead of night
Everybody scream, everybody scream
In our town of Halloween!
In the meantime, Wolverine had taken Rogue out, and was making his way towards Rose and X-23
I am the clown with the tear-away face
Here in a flash and gone without a trace
I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"
I am the wind blowing through your hair
I am the shadow on the moon at night
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright
Rose had begun using her flaming ability against X-23, dodging the other girl's attacks by moving away from them. But the trained assassin moved and defended too well for her own attacks to get through, even with the advantage of flaming.
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Halloween! Halloween!
Tender lumplings everywhere
Life's no fun without a good scare
That's our job, but we're not mean
In our town of Halloween
Still, Rose was keeping the other girl distracted from noticing Wolverine as he stood back, watching and waiting for his opening.
In this town
Don't we love it now?
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise
X-23, apparently getting frustrated with Rose, extended her claws, making Rose go purely on the defensive.
Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back
And scream like a banshee
Make you jump out of your skin
This is Halloween, everyone scream
Wont' ya please make way for a very special guy
Rose snarled, revealing fang like teeth, with her hair standing on end, as she barely avoided the other woman's claws
Our man jack is King of the Pumpkin patch
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now!
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Another close call, and Mystique could swear she saw Rose's eyes turn yellow, though she couldn't see clearly.
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
La la la la-la la
La la la la-la la
On the last word, Rose caught X-23's eyes, and the other girl froze in place.
Storm sighed beside Mystique, and before the redhead could comment, leaned into the microphone and said, "I said no petrifying."
"I wasn't taking a chance with those claws," Rose argued, looking up at the control room. "She managed to cut my shirt."
"If you could petrify her, in the meantime, can everyone else please report to the control room for de-briefing."
As Storm shut the Danger Room down, Mystique had to admit, Rose was certainly frightening in her own right.
But just what was her relationship with Rogue?
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Later, during De-Briefing
"Lastly, everyone need to work on their emotional responses to fear," Storm added. "As soon as Rose started to sing, everyone but X-23 was taken out within moments. And Laura," she looked at the clone, "you need to work on your anger. In your frustration, you resorted to lethal attacks in what was clearly explained as a non-lethal exercise." Looking around the room, she made sure her words had sunk n before turning to Mystique, Beast, and Wolverine, "Is there anything you two wish to add?"
At their negative replies, Storm said, "Everyone is dismissed."
As the adults left the room, and other students left to shower and/or change out of their uniforms, Rogue, Kurt, and Kitty approached Rose.
Rogue gave Rose a firm look and said, "Ah didn' know ya'd be here?"
Rose smiled sheepishly. "I brought you lunch," she said, holding up the containers of food. "When Ororo asked if I could help out, I agreed."
Rogue sighed, but finally smiled, knowing that her girlfriend hadn't kept something like this from her. Not that she'd be anything other than annoyed otherwise, but it was still good to know.
"That was like terrifying," Kitty said with a shiver. "But why weren't Misters Logan and McCoy affected?"
"I can decided who to target," Rose explained. "While you guys felt fear, they felt courage and confidence."
"That is so unfair," Kitty groaned.
Rose and Rogue chuckled.
"Well, I better go get showered and changed if I don't want to miss lunch," Kitty said. "It was good to see ya Rose." Without hesitation, Kitty turned and walked through a wall, leaving Rogue, Kurt, and Rose alone.
It was as Rogue was about to ask what Rose had brought her that she noticed the look on Kurt's face.
"Rose?" Kurt asked, a little nervously.
"Yes Kurt?" she asked, a slight frown on her face as she noticed his mood.
Kurt gulped before asking, "Jean mentioned that Wanda was working for you?"
Rose nodded. "Yes?"
"I...how is she?"
The dark-haired girl sighed. "You can come and ask her," she said. "Your welcome to visit the store at any time, but I can't tell you anything besides the fact she's doing fine. It's not my place," Rose explained.
"Thanks…Medusa," he said with a slight grin.
Both women arched an eyebrow in question at the blue teleporter.
"It fits," he explained with a smile. "Not only can you petrify people, but when your hair sticks up and you bare your fangs…"
"I get it," Rose assured him. "Medusa…It's not bad."
"Well, I will leave you two alone now," Kurt said, before disappearing with a bamff and wisp of smoke.
Looking at her girlfriend, Rogue asked, "So what did ya make me?"
"Fried catfish, hushpuppies, fries, coleslaw, and iced tea, with chocolate mud pie for desert," Rose said smugly.
Rogue smirked. "Ya made some good southern food fer me? Ah'm flattered, though as yer not ah southerner yerself, Ah doubt it'll be perfect," she added jokingly.
With a chuckle, Rose said, "Well why don't you go take a shower and change, then you can be the judge of how well I did."
Leaning in, Rogue gave Rose a brief kiss, before saying, "Ah think Ah will. Be right back."
As she walked out of the room towards the showers, Rogue wondered just how she'd gotten lucky enough to meet Rose.
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Please Review and Checkout the Challenges in My Forums and the stories I have up for adoption, posted under the title Please Adopt Me!
Song is This Is Halloween, from The Nightmare Before Christmas. I know it's mostly filler, but there are a few important items in the chapter. Anyway, I'm sorry for the long wait, and hopefully I'll post the next chapter again soon.