The Following Morning.
John woke up first. They were under the covers, and his arm was around her. He didn't dare move or make a sound. He wanted her to stay asleep so he could watch. She moved slightly, and a smile crept up to her lips, yet her eyes were still closed. He took a moment to realize what had happened the night before. Huh. That was very good. He felt himself start to smile as well. He pulled her closer, and could feel his arm rub against her naked waist. It sent chills up his neck. The good kind. He took in the smell of her hair. Strawberries. Her hair was soft, against his chest. Her back was so smooth. He could picture everything they did last night. He remembered pulled her closer and closer. Her pulling his shirt of him and throwing it to the other side of the room. Him kissing her from the lips, down the neck, up until he reached between her breasts. He remembered feeling them for the first time too. Huh. That was very, very good, he thought. She clutched at his back, loving everything they were doing. Loving him. Then, her panties already off with his pants; her legs were wrapped around his waist once more. Her skin was damn soft, and she looked so fragile, he couldn't help but be extra careful. She was like crystal…or porcelain…or something like that.
He moved slightly in the bed, so that he was looking straight up at the ceiling. She, sensing he had moved, moved as well so that her hand was on his stomach, and her head on his chest. Rogue was awake now. She felt his chest rise with every deep breath, and loved it. She could feel his heart beat; hear it too. Her head raised, and she looked up at him. He smiled at her, and her hand moved up to his chest. He locked her besides him with his arm around her, and she kissed him on the neck. He kissed her on the head, and his hand moved up to caress her hair. She sat up, pulling the covers up along with her to cover herself. He could see her back clearly, and stared at her, her hair falling carelessly down her naked back. Grabbing his nearby shirt, she put it on. It was rather long and big for her, coming down, covering her just before her thighs. She looked at him, while putting on her fallen underwear.
"Breakfast?" she asked him.
They both glanced at the clock. Almost six. Nobody was up yet. Usually it took them till seven, seeing as it was summer and practically no one was in.
"How?" he said smoothly. "You're wearing my shirt."
"Fine. I'll bring you up some food," she said. He smiled, and sat up, reaching for his pants. She stared at him put them on. He didn't even know she was looking. Atleast she thought. But then he turned midway, and chuckled, shaking his head at her. "Baby, we can do it again if you want," he said cockily.
"Ah," Rogue sighed. "There's the arrogant jackass I've learned to love." She blew him a kiss and left the room.
She walked down the stairs, a certain jump with each step. It was quiet. No one was around, and she walked into the kitchen.
"Wow. Wow. Wow," someone said, sounding a little bemused and amused at the same time. Rogue whipped around. Just Storm. She eased up. The weather goddess took a sip of her coffee. "Wild night, huh?" she asked. Rogue smiled slightly, turned and fixed up two cups of coffee.
"Why are you so nice?" she asked. "You should be…angry. Very angry. Me and John, this is something that's…suppose to be unacceptable. I just don't get it, Ms. Munroe. Why are you so all right with me and John when nobody else is?"
"Because I've seen this type of love before. No matter what you do, you can't stop it. It might break temporarily once in a while, now and then, but it'll always be there. I'm just letting nature take course. Plus anything that pisses off Logan is okay with me."
"Oh. So you two over now?" Rogue asked, taking a plate and placing two bagels on it.
"He's been distracted. Constantly. Then he goes on talking about Jean or Kitty."
"I understand," Rogue agreed, taking a bite of her bagel.
"He hasn't talked about you that much, but I know he missed you. Rogue, when you two had that fight, it was real bad. I don't even understand what you were fighting about."
"The same thing we were fighting about last night. Him acting like I'm suppose to do whatever he says is best for me. Him thinking I've betrayed mutanity."
"Isn't that sort of true? The mutanity thing?"
"Maybe. But he said he doesn't make my decisions. He said I made them. Then afterwards…I don't want to talk about it."
"I nearly fried him for slapping you…he claimed you made your marks too. I didn't see them…"
"I pummeled him in the chest with my fists. Didn't work that much."
It was returning to her. She and John had talked about it before.
"Marie!" Logan called. She was by the pool. She sat on one of the benches, staring into the water. She had just ended it with Bobby. It had been a tough night.
"What the heck is going on?" Logan asked, standing before her, blocking her view of the pool. She kept her eyes to the ground. She had loved Iceman. His betrayal had hurt her bad. She didn't feel like talking at all. "I just talked to Kitty. She's crying. She stammered that you and Bobby had a fight, and that you and he were yelling at each other, you were yelling at her, he was yelling at you about her. What happened?"
Rogue looked at Storm.
She had known the ending of her past encounter with Logan even before it had ended. She knew that the minute she walked into the mansion, she would have already been stated as an outcast. Kitty Pryde, the school's little princess of innocence, everyone would take in what she said and defend her. Plus the fact that she was human. She was a traitor. No matter how many times they'd know that Bobby had cheated on her with Kitty, everyone would still see her as the traitor, not Miss Precious Pryde. She'd be the blame.
'Ofcourse Bobby would do that, how could he handle staying with a girl like that?'
'Not being able to touch as a mutant, she was desperate enough to go human.'
'Doesn't she know there are more things to a relationship than touch here and touch there?'
'What. A. Slut.'
'For him, she says.'
'Yeah, right!'
She had remembered the backstabbing she had listened to for a couple of days. Even her most trusted friends had turned on her and gone to back up Kitty. But back to her conversation with Logan.
"I don't want to talk about it, Logan," she had said quietly.
"No, Rogue. I need to understand this. Now."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Rogue!" he said, annoyed already. She stood up.
"I…don't…want…to…talk…about…it…" she choked, crying now. Her cheeks had gone red, and tears were leaking down her eyes. She tried to wipe them away and stop crying. But she couldn't. They just kept coming. "Kitty and Bobby…they were…all over…each other…." She wept a little. "I caught them. We started fighting. What do you expect? He's…he's been…he's been distant from me! I thought it was my fault! I drove myself crazy trying to find out why! And now I know!"
"Stop being a drama queen," Logan said absentmindedly. Rogue made an angry noise and stomped away. He grabbed her back by the arm and turned her around. "Wait. Listen to me. Rogue, maybe it is your fault. I'm not saying it's not his at all. Trust me. It's his fault as well. But I want to talk to you about the whole taking the cure thing. Maybe it was the wrong way to go."
Huh. What do you know…it was the conversation she had been waiting for him to spill out for practically eons now. She knew. He didn't like the fact that she took the cure. Not one bit. But he wouldn't admit it. But she knew somehow he'd work it into a conversation. But did it have to be tonight?
"No! You told me to make my own decisions! You're not my father! You're not even my friend! You're just…you. Trying to be the knight in shining armor! But in the end, you never save the girl. So you keep trying, and your acts die slowly if it's the same girl over and over and over and over and over – "
He slapped her. Hard. Her cheek went red. He hadn't known what to really do, so he had just slapped her. First thing that came to mind. She was angry. She hit him on the chest repeatedly, her fists clenched. He grabbed her wrists and held her in position.
"I don't know who you really are, Logan," she sobbed.
She pulled herself free and walked back to the mansion. He heard her sobs as she got farther and farther. Then he turned, and took a seat on one of the benches. It was a mess he'd figure out how to fix later. Not now. Maybe he just didn't want to fix it. Rogue didn't know. All she knew was that everyone was staring at her weirdly the next day.
They giggled, but when she got closer, suddenly stopped and watched her walk away. Bobby, who must've been hurt, despite not having the right to be in Rogue's point of view, didn't bother trying to cover up his faults. He comforted Kitty. Took her hand to class. Sat next to her. Passed her notes. She had tried to get a seat in the back, but someone, typical jackass, sped and sat down before she had the chance. She took a seat somewhere in the last row. Jubilee was bending towards her friend. Jubilee had been her other friend, now she wasn't. She had told her friend something, and that friend and her giggled, looked at Rogue, and gave her a look. They turned back, and continued gossiping. Then there was Piotr. He still liked Kitty, despite them having broken up, and usually being Rogue's friend who was always there to talk to, he took a seat behind Jubilee and her friend and ignored her completely. But luckily, he was one of those very few who didn't pull pranks or make her feel as though the world was against her. Warren Worthington, the new guy who didn't know much about things in the school, took everyone else's word for it, and just totally kept out of her way. Rogue had just left the class as Ms. Munroe entered, and she had gone to her room, and stayed there till night. She didn't leave it at all. Even to eat. The next day they threw paper balls at her head, and laughed as she stopped but didn't turn. She could feel Bobby watching her, unsure of what to do. Then, when she turned, he was still looking. He turned away dismissively and began talking with his friends. So she made a choice. The only thing she really knew now was that it wasn't her fault. They had abandoned her. Left her out. Why should she stay? She talked with Storm that very night, and after midnight, after making a few calls, she was gone. It was a good decision. It wasn't as though she was going to beg for their forgiveness. She left. They let her. It was settled. Her birthday had been a month ago. It was three months after Alcatraz. She had just driven away. She was driven away. By them.
Rogue turned and took hold of the tray she had placed the plate and cups on. She turned once more at Storm.
"Maybe it was for the best?" she shrugged, taking the tray and leaving. The silence of the walk upstairs was killing her inside with reflected thoughts. It still stung everytime she thought of it. They were her best, closest friends. Practically family. All of them. And they had just let her walk out like she wasn't ever there. And now, all of the sudden, all she could want was for her and John to just leave the dreadful place.
She turned the knob, and looked at him. He had come out of the bathroom with a shirt on, and he smiled at her. Taking the tray out of her hands and placing it on the nearby table, he started to drink his coffee. "What took you so long?" he asked.
"Got held up," she replied, smiling. He studied her face. It was rather crestfallen, and her eyes were darted at the floor. Classic Rogue style of avoiding confrontation, he noted. As he continued to watch her, she looked up at him while he started to eat the bagel.
"John? After…after it's all over, promise me we'll leave…" she looked around uncomfortably, "this place…"
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding. "What's on your mind?"
"I just…everything's coming back to me. Everything that happened here. I haven't really looked at anyone or talked to anyone here…but…I just don't want to face them…"
"Hey," he called to her softly as she began to look at the ground again. With his hand, he softly lifted her face by the chin. "You're all right. You're fine. Forget them. I did that years ago." He stopped. "You've got me now, baby. I'm here for you." She smiled slightly.
"Johnny? What's your story?" she asked as he continued to eat. He stopped, took a gulp of coffee, and looked at her questioningly. "We…we always talk about me. What about you?"
He put down the cup, and rested his elbow on the table, looking at her. He began.
"Pyro?" It was Mystique. This was before. Somewhat when he had newly joined the Brotherhood. She came in, looking like Rogue. He turned from the dummy he was punching the heck out of, and took a step backwards, stunned. "How's the training?"
"I…do I…Mystique," he finally stated, bemused. He turned back and continued to practice. She turned back into herself, and looked at him.
"Oh my…you liked her!" she shrieked in true gossip fashion. One of the things that reminded Pyro that she was still…well, not just a cold hearted, cold blooded killer that had no sense of emotion. She kinda reminded him of Jubilee at that moment. He turned to her.
"What, a guy's not aloud to like someone?" he asked.
"Emotion…especially an emotion like love or like…is something that we try to avoid in the Brotherhood." It was Magneto. "We usually have a…" he glanced at Mystique who understood, "way to stop it. It takes…training."
"I'm training," Pyro said gruffly, returning to his dummy.
"Not this kinda training, boy," Mystique said. She was looking straight at Magneto now.
Pyro stopped once more. He looked at the two. "Fine. Make it stop then," he said, leaning back onto the dummy. Magneto smiled slightly.
"That's the spirit, m'boy," he said. Pyro folded his arms.
"What kind of training was it?" Rogue asked. He looked uneasy to reply. "Oh," she said, remembering something. "You…you used to like me before?" she asked, blushing crimson. He smiled at her.
"Sorta…just a little. It stopped, right? Magneto's 'training'."
"What kind was it?" she asked. He looked uneasy once more.
"I…they'd…Magneto would manipulate the metal, and I'd have to find them. Throw them off. He'd go on and on and on, until I'd be tired and the metal would hit me." He looked at Rogue, and smiled slightly. "They kept on hitting. Let's just say they cut, beat and scarred the emotion out of me. It was rather custom." He shrugged. "It's made me stronger."
"So…you're…unattached?" she wondered. How could he love her then?
"No, baby. I love you, remember? It just hardened me so that emotions wouldn't affect my judgement and fighting. As we have seen before, the only thing clouded is my judgement." She smiled slightly and blushed. "You gotta stop doing that," he joked. It made her go redder than ever. "So…hardened already. We know what happens next. Blah…Blah…Alcatraz…" She nodded and he went on.
Somehow, maybe it was because of his lucky stars…but he had woken up and managed to escape before the Phoenix had blown her wig. He had managed to get off the island, and was now, by near day break, in one alley, on the ground, his arms folded on his knees, his head buried in them. He was tired. He could barely get up and walk. He could barely raise his head. But he did, hearing a gun being loaded. He looked up, and saw her. It was the woman who Logan had killed. The one who had tried to kill him and Rogue.
"Are you John Allerdyce? Pyro?" she asked, her voice strong and harsh. It also didn't have a tone.
"Depends on who's asking," he replied sarcastically. She pulled him up by the collar and pushed him to the wall.
"Shut up!" she said. "Answer only when you are spoken to," she threw him across the ground, "you scum." He turned to he faced her.
"Who shoved that stick up your ass?" he retorted.
"Guess Magneto didn't train you well enough." She shook her head. "I want it. All of it."
"Huh?" he asked.
"Don't play with me, scum. You know what I'm talking about. The money."
"You're not getting the money," he replied simply.
"Then you're willing to place your life on it?" she asked, pointing her gun at him. "I know you, Allerdyce. Your parents. They put aside some money for you. They, unlike other smart people, were capable of loving you. They're dead. Magneto's less than nothing. I need that money to build my army. It will be bigger and better. You can join. Think of it as an…investment."
"My loyalty belongs to Magneto only," he stated.
"Then you are willing to fall, huh?" she asked. "Let's play a little game, eh?" she asked. "A…cat and mouse game. And then we'll see what you're willing to do and who your loyalty really belongs to."
"So, here we are, huh?" John said, getting up and looking out the window. He could see Bobby walked outside, his arm around Kitty. They got into his car, and he drove them away. He turned back to Rogue. "I guess Magneto paid her to work for him. I dunno. She chased me for three months. I'm that good," he added, half because of pride, half because he just wanted to for the heck of it. Rogue gave him a doubtful look. "Well, then I called you. I remembered you. You were my friend. I cared about you for a while. I had tried to torch those cops for threatening to hurt you. But back then…you pushed me away without even knowing it. So…after that rollercoaster ride, here we are."
But only one word had caught her. "I pushed you towards Magneto?" she asked him quietly. Was it her fault? She had pushed him to betray the school?
"No, no, no, baby! I have that whole…'power…that good' effect in me. I know you didn't know. I'm just saying…I left. I knew there wouldn't be a chance. Magneto was real convincing. So I left. It's nothing."
"Oh…and…you're worth what?" she asked him, hugging her knees to her chest on the chair.
"Uhm…a few hundred dollars," he said quietly. "My parents…they liked me."
"And you're not worried that I might just stick around for the money?" she asked. He seemed so doubtless. So blindly filled with faith in her. She couldn't believe it.
"Baby, you knew me as John. You knew me as the jackass I was, and admittedly might slightly still be today. I know you're intentions are out of love. Let's say I knew it," he sighed and smiled at her cockily. "And you proved it to me last night." He stared at her up and down, and she put down her legs.
"You're a jackass, John Allerdyce. An arrogant one as well." She got up, and hugged him.
"Baby, you still love me." He smiled slightly. "That's all I need."
He hugged her back, and kissed her slightly.
Later.
Rogue was sitting cross-legged on the bed. John came out of the shower. She was talking, he was getting dressed.
"All the more reason to leave once this is all over. We're supplied. I can get a job. We just…don't have a way of transport." He wiped his hair with a towel, and glanced at her.
"We'll figure it out."
"I just want to leave, Johnny."
"We will, baby. We will."
"Well, it'll have to wait," Logan said, coming in. He looked at the two of them. He had heard the last part of their conversation, but his voice and face held no reaction. He was cold-shouldering Rogue and hating Pyro. That was all they could tell. He looked directly at Pyro as he put his lighter in his back pocket. "There's some news. You might want to hear it. It might get you out of here quicker." He left, and they followed him into the living room.
Rogue looked away as she spotted Bobby and Kitty, standing besides Hank. Piotr was absent, but Warren was there. Storm looked at John.
"Hey. We found out something. It's from Piotr. He's undercover somewhere far in the forests of Alaska. It's covered in snow, you could say. Anyway. He's seen Magneto and a new crew. About five of them. One woman, four men. They're new people. It seems they're recruiting. Piotr also said that he overheard Magneto. We just know that he's taking his new crew in care. They had something with them. It's a woman, her name's Destiny. She can see the future. She might even be able to change it in her own ways. So…if we get her, he will most probably leave you and Rogue alone. Plus we do need your help, John."
It was silent for a while. John looked at Storm. "Okay."
"What?" Rogue asked him.
"Okay," he said, looking at her. She understood. He'd explain himself later.
"Good," Storm said. She smiled then turned to Rogue. "There are still a few students here. Can you stay here? I know…just make sure they'll be all right."
"Oh," Rogue remarked. She nodded. "Okay." She kept her eyes to the ground. She understood that the others didn't think she could do it. She was human. But who the heck were they? They weren't anything to her. Not anymore. She looked up once more.
"Good," Storm said once more. "I'd like to leave tomorrow morning. Early. I don't want anyone to possibly interrupt the encounter with Magneto. No more innocents dying." She dismissed the meeting.
"What if you die?" she demanded upstairs.
"What's the chances of that happening?" he shrugged, lying down on the bed. He looked at her worried face. "I'll be fine. And once it's over, we'll go. We'll leave and start over. Our own lives Rogue. Isn't that what we want?"
"Yeah…it is," she said, still doubtful.
"I can handle it," he assured her. She nodded.
"I'm trusting you," she whisper, placing her forehead against his chest.
"I won't let you down," he promised.
He watched her as she started to brush her hair, looking into the mirror. He looked at her intently. What if he did die? He'd be leaving her behind. Not good. But he was Pyro. He had been carved into an emotionless warrior when it came to battle. He wasn't going to let them beat him down. This was the only chance he'd get to free himself and Rogue. He wasn't going to let anything to hinder their lives together. He just simply loved her too much.
Rogue found him staring. She rolled her eyes and turned to him.
"John, we are not…" she started.
"Nah, nah," he said. He turned. "I'm going to get some sleep. We're leaving tomorrow at four in the morning. Gotta be sharp."
She nodded. Inside she was making a mental wish that he'd be all right. She didn't know what she'd do if he wouldn't be.
And for the last time that night, though hopefully not the last time ever, she took his hand, pulled him closed, kissed him and shared with him one of their moments.