26 January

Gift. n. 1. something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present 2. the act of giving 3. something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned 4. a special ability or capacity; natural endowment; talent v. 5. to present with as a gift; bestow gifts upon; endow with 6. to present (someone) with a gift

Rogue was silent the entire way back to the mansion from school. Scott and Jean didn't appear to notice and continued exchanging glances back and forth on the road, which was typical. It took Rogue a while to figure it out, but she would bet money, if she had it, that they were having a telepathic conversation. As she grew to understand each of the X-Men and their different powers, it wasn't far fetched. Xavier had inserted words right into Rogue's brain when he was explaining things around the X-Mansion when she first arrived. She bet that not only could Jean do the same with Scott, but she could probably read his thoughts as well.

Betsy, Jean, and Xavier all proved to be an interesting enigma to Rogue. Since they weren't physical powers, she had a hard time understand all of what the three mutants could do. Before she could comprehend what a mutant was, long before her own powers manifested, Rogue, like many children, made games of speculating what mind control and telepathy really were. Could those three that Rogue considered acquaintances at the very least control Rogue's body with their mind?

Unfortunately for her, that wasn't what was bothering Rogue. Ever since the incident in downtown with Veronica and Remy, Veronica wouldn't let Rogue drop the subject of Remy. Even though she was in a relationship already, she made it quite clear that Remy was a hot piece of man and that she completely shipped the two as a couple. Rogue, on the other hand, was letting Remy get under her skin. She didn't want to give him another chance to mess with her, which meant putting as much distance between her and him as possible. He was making it a little too easy most times.

Sometimes when they passed in the mansion's hallways, or crossed paths during training exercises, she could feel Remy's eyes linger on her, but he didn't make the first move. She didn't know what his game was or what he wanted from her. She didn't even understand why he stopped hanging out with her in the first place. In fact, when she thought about it, she couldn't even remember the last time he had gone out of his way to talk to her. It had been at least a week, she knew. Considering that she hadn't been a resident at the mansion for a month yet, more than a week was a long time. So why was he so important to her? Kurt, Hank, and Ororo were much closer and friendlier to her on a daily basis.

It always came down to the fact that Remy was the first to extend a hand without trying to drag her into the party. He was the one that went out of his way to make sure that she was comfortable in the winter weather. He was the one that defaulted to a back-up plan when none of Rogue's other teammates were there to help her out. But then he was the one that attacked her when she was off team time and out with a friend. And finally, he wouldn't stop singling her out with minute body language whenever they crossed paths. It was like he knew that she didn't want him around, but he couldn't completely back off.

Rogue was just able to shake him from her mind, to switch her mind over to the homework that she still had to do after the study hour, when Scott pulled onto the mansion's campus. As he pulled into his parking spot, Rogue saw him. The man that she was coming to dread seeing around. Remy. He was waiting by the door. He was very casual, dressed in rugged jeans, a loose fitting shirt, and his tell-tale trench coat. As he waited, he shuffled a deck of cards. Why he chose a deck of cards to play with was beyond Rogue.

She almost stayed in the car even after Scott and Jean opened their doors to leave, but that would probably attract more attention than it would prevent. Swallowing a hard lump in her throat, Rogue hiked her backpack onto her shoulder and slipped out onto the pavement. Jean, by some miracle, appeared to sense Rogue's apprehension and swerved around the car to talk to her as they walked.

"You just let me know if he's bothering you," she whispered. "Okay?"

Rogue nodded. "Thanks, Jean."

"Try calling out in your head, directed at me, if he gives you problems. I can be right there."

Rogue's eyebrows shot up. "You could hear that?"

Jean shrugged. "Why not? When I was younger, it was everything in my power to not hear everyone's thoughts. It was a nightmare. It's second nature to close my mind to everyone now in everyday situations. I wouldn't invade someone's privacy like that." She gravitated behind Scott single-file style as they approached the door. "See you later, Rogue?"

"See ya later," Rogue agreed. Her pace dwindled to a stop in front of Remy. "So?" she prompted.

"So?" Remy echoed. Rogue couldn't tell if he was trying to be funny or not. His voice wasn't mocking, but confused. How could he not understand what Rogue was asking of him? If she stopped talking to someone for two weeks, she would know exactly why they would have a problem with her.

"What's been goin' on with you?"

"Family matter," he replied bluntly. "Two weeks ago. Den you didn't seem too happy ta see me, so I give you space. Dat di'n't work out too well when Stormy put me up ta teachin' you a lesson in da city. I repeat: Not my idea." He stressed each word of the last sentence enough to make Rogue unintentionally flinch. "An' now I here ta make amends. Capiche?"

The way he put it, it made Rogue seem more like the ass than him. "Oh."

"Nah, don' you worry none." He slipped the cards he was shuffling earlier into his pocket. "I forgive you. Now da better question is, do you forgive Remy?"

Rogue couldn't make eye contact. "Ah'm sorry Ah didn't know…."

"How were ya to? Not like I said anyt'in'. Not ta no one. Dat's kinda how I operate." He paused, possibly waiting for Rogue to respond in one way or another. She kept her eyes dropped off to the side. "Maybe I make an exception for you next time it happen?"

"Is that supposed t' be some sort o' big deal or somethin'?" Rogue asked. She regretted her words instantly.

"Yah, li'l bit. When life calls, I ain't got a lot o' time f'r sayin' goodbyes."

"What exactly do ya do outside o' da mansion?" Rogue asked. She was genuinely curious. Nearly everyone else in the mansion took Remy as a bad kind of person, with the possible exceptions of Ororo and Xavier himself. Rogue couldn't see it. He wasn't the best socialized person, but he seemed like a good guy overall.

"We'll leave dat explainin' f'r another day, non?" He forced a smile, obviously trying to make light of a situation that went rather dark. "I don' deal drugs, no matter what Alison t'inks. Don' have a need f'r somet'in' like dat. Too much else t' life."

Rogue decided not to press him. Here she was trying to get him out of her head, and he showed up with more mysteries to solve.

"So whaddya say? Friends again, chere?" He held out his hand, but Rogue couldn't take it. The gloves he were belonged to his costume, which didn't have all the fingers. She wasn't wearing anything on her hands.

"Yeah, friends," Rogue agreed. She finally let her eyes meet his, crimson cast and all.

Appearing to understand why she didn't take his hand, he didn't drop it, but pulled her into a hug. Rogue lost her balance, falling into him, but awkwardly hugged him back.