The next day Rogue felt like she had a firm enough grip over herself to manage going down a flight of stairs. Or two. And with the help of a small green skinned boy she managed to find Xavier’s office for their first ‘session’. When he didn’t show immediately she considering going and finding him. But then she quickly decided it wouldn’t be in her best interest to go running around the place on her own. So she just sat. And waited. And hated every minute that crawled past. Finally after fifteen minutes he came in, greeted her with a smile and said they needed to get right down to work.
After that the session became a painful blur for her. He pulled Carol’s persona forward then pushed her back then did it again and again. Supposedly he was trying to separate them but his mental raids were completely random. He’d tug on a bit he felt sure was Carol, unaware of the large chunk of Rogue intertwined with it. Then he’d try to force it back into the dark, forgotten recesses only to be fought by the resistance of both strong willed women trying their damnest to still exist.
An half an hour later and after Rogue’s incessant begging for him to stop he did. The tremors racking through her body were worse than before and her white bangs were plastered to her glistening forehead. He told her to try and remain clam and patient, that this was a unique and very delicate situation. She snapped at him that he should have tried to be a little delicate then. He apologized and said that was enough for today. They’d try again tomorrow and wouldn’t give up until they’ve succeeded. She told him she guessed that what didn’t kill her would make her stronger. She just hoped he wouldn’t end up killing her. He said he hoped so too.
That was a little over twenty minutes ago. Xavier let her sit in his office until she had calmed down enough and leave on her own accord. She was now moving along the long center corridor, keeping as close to the wall as she could to both reduce the chance of contact with the many people running through and incase her legs randomly decided to give out on her. She took one step into the kitchen then came to a dead halt in the doorway.
Peter looked over the open refrigerator door, surprise dancing across his face at her sudden presence too.
“You can come in, you know. You do live here,” he told her, pulling out a soda can and shutting the door.
She slowly stepped in, keeping a skeptic eye on him. It didn’t take her long to discover how utterly defenseless she was against Colossus. His steel plating protected him from her skin and he was probably just as strong if not stronger than her. So she didn’t move to the fridge until he sat down on one of the bar stools on the other side of the island.
“There’s some leftover pizza in there I think,” He said, although his tone was evident he was forcing the words out.
“Thanks.” She responded awkwardly and looked at the choices spread in front of her. The thing was packed. It was pretty easy to find the box, she took it out and set it on the island. She opened the lid and her stomach did a sudden flip, forcing her to close it quickly.
“What? Not up to the caliber the Brotherhood provides?”
“What?” She looked up to his face to be meet with hooded eyes staring at her over his can. “No. No. It’s jus’ its Pepperoni and ham. An’ ahm a vegetarian...or...or Carol’s a vegetarian. Ah....ah don’t really know.”
Suddenly the girl in front of him got very pale and her last few words were shaky and quiet at best. He put his can down and stood up, moving over to her. She jumped back. He pretended to not notice her reaction and just opened the fridge door.
“I think....there’s some ...yep. Right here.” He reached deep in the back and pulled out a white container. “Fried rice. It’s got carrots and celery and stuff chopped up in it.”
Her head moved up from the container to his face. Her green eyes were sparkling slightly and a quick, fleeting smile pop up. “Thank ya, Colossus.”
“Peter,” he corrected her with a shrug. “Colossus is my---”
“Kick bad guys’ ass name?” She guessed reaching for the white container.
The big Russian smiled and nodded. “Yeah. I was going to say codename. But that’s a good way to put it too.” He turned behind him and pulled a fork out of a drawer and handed it to her. “And you’re...”
“Rogue.”
“Well, yeah. I mean what’s your real name? Not your--” He stopped himself from repeating her words like he was going to and cut it down to just, “ your kick ass name.”
She stared down into the cold rice as she stirred it. “Rogue’s the only name ah got.”
“Oh. Okay.” He mumbled because he didn’t really know what to say. He sat down on his stool again and picked up his soda. He watched her as she moved almost painfully slow, moving a near empty fork to her mouth, and then still longer to swallow. Looking at her now it was hard to see the same girl who use to fly suicide right into him and send them both through a brick wall.
“So...” He started, trying to fight off the awkward silence that stretched between them when Kitty suddenly came running into the room. She managed to screech to a halt before she hit the island, drawing two pairs of startled eyes to her.
“Peter!” She slap the top of the island, narrow her eyes at him.
“..What?”
She sighed loudly, casting a long, cold, telling look over to Rogue before turning back to him. “What are you doing?”
He looked back and forth from one girl to the other. Kitty was deep brown eyes were boring into him and Rogue was staring down into her rice again, although she kept clicking her tongue on her teeth. Just as he opened his mouth to apologize to his girlfriend her full attention turned to Rogue.
“Did you ask if you could have that before you just took it?” Kitty’s hand went to her hip.
Rogue cocked an eyebrow at her before lifting her head completely. “Why? Is’t yours?”
“No. But did you bother to think if it was before you just took what you wanted?!” she snapped back.
“Kitty, I gave---” Peter tried to explained but was quickly silenced by her.
“This isn’t the Brotherhood,” the small girl went on. “We have *rules* here. But those are sort of like laws, so...I guess I can see how you’d have a problem understanding that.”
Rogue’s jaw dropped as she stared down at the little pixie of a girl. “Oh, honey, ya are writtin’ a check that tiny lil’ ass of yours can’t cash.”
Kitty’s eyes went wide. “Are you *threatening* me?! Peter, did you hear that?!”
“Yeah,” he groaned and jumped off his stool, separating the two girls. He wrapped his arms around her waist and started moving her towards the door. “Come on, let’s just get out of here.”
“That’s right!” She yelled to Rogue from behind his arm. “You aren’t worth it. You aren’t a X-Man! It’s only a matter of time before Professor turns your over to the authorities!”
Rogue watched the big guy maneuver her out of the room. When they left she shook her head and dug out another fork full of rice. “An’ ah thought ah was crazy.”
***************************
He strolled into the Danger Room and walked right into a Sentinel simulation. What was left of it anyway. There was one hunk of metal already down and steaming on the ground and currently Scott was blasting several knew holes in the remaining one. It soon exploded, making the whole room feel like it was shaking and then it collided to the ground, shaking it again.
“Computer, end simulation,” Cyclops declared and quickly everything faded away around them. Without turning around he said over his shoulder, “It’s against safety protocol to walk into the Danger Room mid-simulation, Logan. I’ve told you that before.”
“Aw, you know me, Scooter. Protocol is an awfully big word.” Logan shrugged walking further into the room.
Scott turned around, evidently not entertained. “Then get a dictionary and look it up.”
Logan snorted, “Yeah. I’ll get right on that. I wanted to see if Cyclops was the Greek god of dick-heads too.”
“Don’t you have a terrorist to watch?”
“Fuck Xavier. I ain’t keeping an eye on his damn security threat all day long. If he was that damn worried he shouldn’t have let her in.”
Scott crossed his arms over his chest, his eyebrows clenching together. “*You’re* why she in. Because you turned out ‘so well’. What? You don’t think she’s has the ability to change and become a beacon for good?”
“Hell no. If I’m the damn prototype.”
“Can’t argue with that. Is there something you want, Wolverine?”
With a smirk, the claws jumped out from their hiding place. “Yeah. I thought we could play.”
Scott sighed loudly and walked the long way around him. “Sorry. But I have a class to teach at two. Guess you’ll just have to use the drone me you programmed.”
“Oh? Saw that didya? Couldn’t help but look under dick-head, huh?”
“I was just a little surprised. I could have sworn I programmed you under asshole,” and with that Scott was gone.
Wolverine’s lips curled into a lopsided smirk. He loved when Scott came down to his level. “Computer, begin asshole simulation.”
***************************
He stalked out of the locker room and rubbed the towel over his head a couple of times before just dropping it on the floor outside of the door. It was a relatively short session for him, but the Wolverine simulation drove him fucking nuts. He never wanted to hear someone say ‘bub’ again for as long as he lived.
“Ah, Logan. Did you enjoy your workout?” Charles said as he came around the corner.
“Sure, Chuckie. Time of my life.”
“Good,” Xavier nodded, smiling wide. “I’m glad to hear that. I’m actually glad I ran into you. It seems are new resident is outside on the back patio.”
Logan shook his head, buttoning up the remaining buttons on his flannel shirt. “That so? Good. She’s pale as hell, sun’ll do her some good.”
Xavier lifted his chin, although the smile went nowhere. “Sunlight does have wonderful health benefits. Except, if I’m not mistaken, she is by herself.”
“See there. Everyone’s not pushing her just like you asked. Great bunch of kids you got here, Chuck.”
The telepath’s lips pursed together. “They are. Although, I’m quite sure she’d enjoy some company.” He smiled again, adding, “While she is taking advantage of the health benefits of the sun.”
“Listen, Professor. I did what you asked last night. I sat there a total of five minutes before she told me to either put out or get out. And she didn’t look particularly interested in my putting out. So I suggest you get someone else to keep the little psychopath company.”
“It’s take time to develop trust, Logan. And, please, do not call her that to her face.” Xavier shook is head. Because really medically speaking that was what she was, which meant there was no way to know how she’d react to the term. “And you have a marvelous opportunity to build that trust a little more. Right now.”
“God damnit,” Wolverine swore, stomping past the wheel chair bound man.
*****************************
The back patio of the mansion faced out onto the various grass fields the kids used to play soccer, or football, or whatever sport was in at the time. And because it didn’t have a cover to it the sunlight beat down on it without any mercy, except for the few trees strategically planted for shade.
He didn’t see her. He contemplated for a second if that meant he was off the hook or not. Xavier couldn’t say he didn’t try, it wasn’t his fault if she took off somewhere else. But then a slightly sweet rose smell wafted to his nose. He swore under his breath and followed it. It led him directly to who he was afraid it would. The girl was sitting on the ground behind a bench, behind a tree. Not enjoy the health benefits of the sun in the least.
“You hidin’?” He asked walking up to her.
She was scribbling on a piece of pad of paper. It was close to her chest so he couldn’t see what. “If ah was hidin’ do ya think ya’d have actually found me?” She sassed back, still working away at whatever was in her lap.
“Oh, I dunno,” He groaned as he sat down on the bench beside her. It was at least three feet too low for him. “I’m pretty good at finding things.”
From his position he could get a glimpse at the paper. She wasn’t writing, but sketching. It wasn’t an image, though, nothing he could recognize. Just jagged, random lines moving all over the paper. ‘Psychopath’ he mental repeated to himself.
“Ya know,” she started, cocking her head at an angle as she studied her work. “Ah feel like ah know ya pretty good, Wolverine.”
He snorted, pulling a cigar out of his inside-shirt pocket.
She smiled and turned her head to look up to him. She gave her temple a tap. “Hell, ah’ve thought ah was you before. Long time ago,” she shrugged when he lifted an eyebrow at her. “So ah gotta say, sugah. Ah’ve neva figured you much of the welcome wagon type.”
“Then I guess you don’t know me as good as you thought,” he lit his cigar and took a long drag from it, enjoying the comforting thick smoking filling his lungs.
The girl below him sighed, her voice lost all its playfulness, “What are ya doin’ here, Logan?”
His eyes narrowed at his name and she tapped her head again in response. Without anymore explanation she went back to her sketch. He waited, watching her. For what he didn’t know. But she just kept drawing, stopping only to occasionally move her blowing, wild hair when it got in her face.
The silence stretched on and he settled for just trying to enjoy it and his cigar. Technically he was still doing what Xavier wanted him to. Every now and then the kids playing in the distance would flare up and he could hear them screaming at each other or whatever. But then the silence would come back and it would be just the wind blowing gently in his face.
“Why don’t ya tell ‘em?” Rogue suddenly asked.
He blew a long breath of smoke before looking down at her. “What?”
“Ya know,” she shrugged, drawing another violent long line. “That ya can speak ova thirty different languages, can write Haiku, have a geographical map of Europe in ya head, all that kinda stuff.”
“Because,” he grunted, very uncomfortable about her in-depth knowledge into him. Stuff he didn’t willingly share with anyone. Stuff she sucked out of him.
“Because ya don’t want ‘em ta think ya smart,” she surely stated. Then she added large sweeping circles onto the paper.
He nearly choked on her words and the smoke in his lungs. “Excuse me?!”
“Ya don’t want ‘em ta think ya smart, then they’d have higher expectations for ya.” She went on, turning her head slightly towards him so he could see a third of her face. “Because, really, ya not that smart. Ya’ve jus’ lived for so damn many years ya’ve had time ta pick up a few things.”
“You gotta point or you just trying to see how much you can insult me before I claw you?” he growled out, clenching his cigar tightly in his teeth.
She leaned back against the bench, resting her head against the seat a few inches away from his leg. “Mah point is that’s what Mystique was tryin’ ta do— Make me smart. But, really, she was jus’ addin’ a few more years each time.”
“So it was all mommy’s fault?” he huffed.
“No. One mama was a dumb ass hick an’ tha otha a criminal mastermind. Ah jus’ got caught in the middle.”
“Well, for what its worth,” he finally looked down at her. “I think you take after your birth mother.”
She actually laughed, which was something he didn’t expect. It was light and smooth, almost nothing like her normally deep, gravelly voice. She sat up, still giggling. “Yeah. Yeah, me too.” He couldn’t help the grin that crept up on him at the sound of her laughter.
“Seriously, though,” She said, continuing her drawing. “What tha hell are ya doin’?”
Logan took the cigar out of his mouth and flick away some ashes then rolled it between his fingers. “Maybe I just like your company, darlin’.”
She snorted, looking up at him quickly then back at her work. “Try again.”
“Alright, you got me,” He replied, tucking his cigar back in the corner of his mouth. “I hate your damn life sucking guts. Whatca drawing?” His tone was even and light and she didn’t seem phased by his admission or sudden change of topic at all.
“Itsa airplane.”
“Why an airplane?”
“Because. Carol likes airplanes. An’ ah like ta draw, makes all the tension go away for a while.” That’s when he notice she wasn’t twitching. Her small gloved hand was still and smooth as it dragged the pencil along the page. Then she turned her head up and flash him a mesmerizing bright smile that made him dizzy.
“Ah have a *lot* of pictures of airplanes,” she admitted, dimples showing on her cheeks from her grin.
He was suddenly very uncomfortable. Uncomfortable with where he was sitting, how he was sitting, and who he was sitting with. Before he knew it he had thrown his cigar on the ground and smashed it under his boot, just to give his body something to do.
“If you ask me it doesn’t look much like an airplane,” he growled in a rough voice.
Again, she didn’t react to his insult, just kept doing what she was doing. “Itsa damn good thing ah ain’t askin’ ya then, isn’t it?”
Silence again crept up between them. For him it was almost painful. She, on the other hand, was too engrossed in her drawing that, even he had to admit, was slowly turning into an airplane. Instead of watching her he looked on to the kids playing far away from them. They were playing basketball on one of the two courts by the garage. He could hear them yelling for passes and cheering at points but not much else from the distance.
“Okay ah give,” Rogue suddenly dropped her pencil loudly onto the pad and snapped her head around to face him. “What in tha *hell* are ya doing?!”
“What?” He asked, thoroughly confused since he wasn’t doing anything.
“Sittin’ there!”
“I can’t sit? You ain’t been here long enough to be territorial, darlin’.”
“Ah don’t give a rat’s ass where ya sit, ah’m jus’ wonderin’ why its gotta be by me?”
He shrugged, leaning his back against the tree, mentally sending Xavier as much hate mail as he could come up with. But he kept his tone nonchalant with her, “Gotta be somewhere.”
She quickly rose to her feet, tucking her pad under her arm. “Whateva, ahm goin’ ta my room. And ah swear ta God if ya follow me ah will suck ya dry.”
Logan watched her stomp back in through the back door. Once she was out of his sight he released the claws, taking a deep breath in the relief that flooded through him. He swore to himself that Xavier was going to pay for this. He wasn’t sure what yet, but it was going to be very expensive.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I'm calling it day one because its the first day Rogue has actually gone out of her room. Just to prevent any confusion. Hope ya'll enjoy! :)