The Life of an Untouchable
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men or any of the related characters - they belong to Stan Lee and Marvel Comics. I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement.
September 12th, 2006 – 11:15 AM, My Bedroom
Can fate ever throw me a bone? I mean, REALLY! Logan, my best friend in the whole wide world (that BASTARD!) took off on his bike early this morning and left…again. Except this time, he wasn't alone. That's right, you guessed it. Jean went with him. Poor Scott has been up in his room all morning, crying. He refuses to talk to anyone. Even the Professor tried, but to no avail.
Y'know, it's almost as if we're in the same boat. I've never really looked at it this way before, but it's true. We've both lost someone we love. Yes, I admit it; I'm in love with Logan. I'm not denying it any longer. (I've been trying to for three years, but it didn't seem to be working – I GIVE UP!) However, seeing as the man I love sped off on one of Scott's bikes with the good doctor (and I'm not talking 'bout Hank), I suppose now is as good a time as any to move on.
Psht. If only it was that easy.
I think I'll go down to the kitchen, fix some breakfast, and bring it up to Scott. He could probably use it.
Rogue put her journal down on the bed, tucked the fuzzy pen inside the book, and headed downstairs to the kitchen. For 11:30 in the morning, it was oddly calm in the halls. The kitchen itself was filled with several people: Kitty and Piotr were seated at the table, each sneaking glances at the other when they weren't looking; Jubilee was sitting on the counter, eating an apple; and Bobby was standing next to the fridge, making a sandwich. Everyone looked up as Rogue walked in.
"Hey, Rogue."
"Rogue-y!"
"Hi."
A chorus of hellos came up as Marie smiled back at her friends, at the same time walking over to the drawer to get a cutting board. Bobby's eyes followed her all over the kitchen as she proceeded to make a turkey sandwich and pour a tall glass of orange juice. As Marie made to leave the kitchen, Jubilee spoke up.
"Didn't you eat already, chica?"
Marie turned around in the doorway, smiling at her yellow-clad friend.
"Yeah, I did. This is for Scott."
Turning around and continuing her walk out of the kitchen, Marie didn't see the scowl that appeared on Bobby's face. Humming softly to herself, she walked up the steps and down the hallway to Scott's room, knocking softly on the door when she arrived.
"Scott? You in there?"
Scott, who had been sitting on his bed, head in his hands, suddenly looked up. Brow furrowing in confusion, he got up and crossed the room to his door and opened it. His eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened in surprise behind the shades as he found Rogue standing in the doorway, a tray of food in hand.
"Rogue? What are you doing here?"
"I brought you some breakfast," she replied with a smile. "I figured you could use it."
Scott blinked, showing his surprise, and moved aside to let Rogue inside. He watched as she put the tray down on the bed and looked over at him expectantly, smirking slightly.
"Well, are you just going to stand there all day? Or are you actually going to sit down and eat?"
Scott nodded and walked over to the bed, sitting down in a haze of grief. Picking up the sandwich, he took a bite, reveling in the feeling of getting some of his strength back. The two sat in silence as he ate, neither saying a word until the sandwich and orange juice in the glass was gone. Wiping his mouth on the napkin that had been sitting next to the plate, Scott trained his gaze on Rogue, the tiniest hint of a smile visible.
"Thank you," he said softly. "I needed that."
"I figured you did," Rogue replied, smiling back. "We're in the same boat, you know."
Scott nodded and looked down at the floor, feeling totally at a loss for words. Sighing, he got up and walked to the window, looking out at the grounds beyond the edge of the mansion. All of a sudden, Scott felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to find Rogue standing there next to him. For the first time since she had entered his room, Scott noticed the signs of grief that had been present on his face start to show on hers. The beginning bars of Chicago's Will You Still Love Me? began piping out of the radio that had been left on, and as recognition of the song hit the two of them, Rogue started to cry, her shoulders shaking with the force of her sobs. Without two seconds' thought, Scott pulled Marie to him, allowing her to cry on his shoulder. They stood there for a while, neither person knowing exactly how much time had passed before Rogue wiped her eyes and looked up at the leader of the X-Men.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall apart on you like that," Rogue said, still sniffling slightly.
"It's okay," Scott replied, still holding her to him. "We all need to cry sometimes. It helps make us feel better."
Sighing, Marie walked back over to the bed and sat down on the edge, putting her head in her hands. She wasn't crying any longer, but it was obvious that she was still very upset. Trying desperately to gain control of her emotions, she took a series of deep breaths, hoping that they would help calm her down and prevent her from starting to cry again. She felt the bed shift as Scott sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. With an audible sigh, Marie wiped her eyes once more and looked up at Scott.
"I must look like such a fool to you," Rogue choked out, a hint of laughter behind the tears. "Here I am, trying to cheer you up, and I start to cry."
"Once again, it's okay," Scott said, a small smile gracing his handsome features. "It's the thought that counts anyway."
Sniffling slightly, Rogue accepted the tissue that Scott handed her and blew her nose. Leaning over, Rogue threw the tissue in the trash, hitting her head on the edge of one of the bedside tables with a WHACK as she straightened up. Clutching her head, Marie tried to stand up from the bed, wavered, and fell over, landing awkwardly on the floor. This time, the tears streaming from her eyes were from physical pain, rather than her out-of-control emotions. In a flash, Scott was sitting next to her on the floor, concern written clearly all over his face.
"Rogue, are you okay?"
When Marie didn't reply, just continued clutching her head, Scott raced out of the room, trying to find the nearest student. It turned out that the nearest student happened to be Jubilee, who was sitting on the bed in her room, talking with Kitty and popping her gum. Both girls looked up as Scott appeared in the doorway, looking completely and utterly frazzled – a huge difference from his normal calm, cool, and collected self.
"Woah, Mr. Summers, what's up? You look – " Jubilee began, but Scott cut her off.
"I need one of you to go and get Hank – Rogue's hurt."
Despite the fact that the two girls couldn't see it, panic was flashing across his eyes as he spoke.
"NOW!" he yelled, feeling desperate rather than angry as he left the girls' room and headed back to his own.
When Scott arrived back in his own room, Rogue was still sitting on the floor, clutching her head. However, she was looking extremely pale and her gloves were covered in a dark liquid that looked a lot like blood.
"Shit…" Scott said softly, moving quickly into the bathroom to fetch a towel.
Sitting down quietly on the floor next to Rogue, he grabbed one of her gloved hands and pulled it away from her hand, pressing a towel to the injured spot instead. She flinched as the towel made contact with her head, but calmed down after a minute. However, a look of pain was still clearly etched across her face.
"Hank's on his way – well, at least he is if Jubilee and Kitty gave him the message," Scott said with a small smile.
Rogue chuckled softly and turned her head slowly to look at Scott. Despite the fact that she couldn't see his eyes clearly, she could see the two bright spots through his shades where his eyes were. After a few moments, she dropped her gaze to the floor, although still speaking to him.
"Thank you. That's twice you've done something for me today – will I ever get the chance to do something in return?" Rogue asked, smiling at Scott.
"Eventually," he replied, returning the smile. "Right now, the top priority is making sure that your head is okay. Once we figure that out, we'll go from there. Okay?"
"Okay," Rogue replied, a true smile gracing her face for the first time that day.
At that moment, Hank entered the room, glasses perched low on his nose, doctor's kit in hand. He stood in the doorway for a few seconds, taking in the state of things: Scott on the floor, holding a towel to Marie's head, and Marie sitting so close to him that if she were any closer, she'd been in Scott's lap. Both were smiling, despite the current standings. Hank flashed a knowing smile as he walked over and kneeled next to Rogue.
'There's a special bond between them – whether they know it now or not. They'll come to their senses soon enough,' Hank thought to himself as he unloaded cleanser from his kit.
"So, would either of you care to explain what happened here?" he asked, eyes twinkling.
"Well, I –" Marie began.
"She was –" Scott said.
The two turned and looked at one another, laughing at the hilarity of the situation that seemed funny only to them, almost like that of an inside joke. Scott gestured with the free hand that wasn't holding the towel to Marie's hand for her to speak. Smiling back at him, she nodded.
"I leaned over to throw a tissue into the trash can, and when I went to stand up, I hit my head on the dresser. Stupid piece of furniture," Marie said contemptuously, throwing a glare at the dresser in question.
Hank nodded, not saying a word as he moved over to examine Rogue's head. As he moved pieces of her hair out of the way, he noticed that a huge chunk of her scalp was missing, presumably from the wrath of the dresser. Placing the towel back on her head for the moment, he rummaged around in his bag, looking for – what, Scott and Rogue didn't know. A minute or so later, Hank straightened up, an ointment of sorts in one hand and bandages in the other.
"This might hurt a bit," Hank said as he put some of the ointment on a clean cloth and rubbed it on Rogue's wound.
"OUCH!" Marie yelled, moving to get up at the first sign of pain.
Scott, however, had no intention of letting Rogue go without being treated. Grabbing her shoulders lightly, he squeezed – not hard enough to hurt or leave a bruise, but enough to let her know without words that she needed to sit still. Breathing somewhat heavily, Marie sank back down on her knees, trying desperately to think the pain away. As Hank applied the cloth to her head once more she hissed in pain, but remained where she was, Scott's hands still on her shoulders, this time more for support than restraint.
"That really hurts," Marie hissed through gritted teeth. "Are you done yet?"
"Almost," Hank replied, and two seconds later, removed the now-bloodstained cloth from her head.
Shutting her eyes, Marie tried to collect herself. Her head really hurt at this point, and she wanted nothing more than for Hank to finish so she could go down to the med lab and fetch herself some advil. His hands still resting on her shoulders, Scott could feel the tenseness throughout Marie's body. Trying to convey the fact that Hank was almost through, he squeezed her shoulders again, his thumbs rubbing small circles just above her joints. He couldn't take the pain away like Logan could, but he was going to try his best to do everything else.
Smiling to himself, Hank had that knowing look in his eyes as he put a bandage on Rogue's head and proceeded to cover the spot with a wrap. He knew the two had much to work out on their own, and he wasn't going to interfere as Mother Nature ran its course. They'd figure it out in their own good time, that he was sure of.
"Okay, all finished," Hank said as he stood up, smiling at the two. "Try to avoid getting the bandages wet for the next two days or so. If the spot starts to itch, whatever you do, do not scratch. Come to me and I'll administer something to help ease the itch. If you scratch, it will only make the wound take longer to heal. The longer it takes to heal, the longer you must wear the bandage, understand?"
"Yes, Hank," Rogue replied with an exasperated tone and a smile on her face.
"Good girl," Hank said, and with a wink at Scott, he left the room.
Sighing audibly, Marie shifted so that she wasn't leaning on her knees anymore. The pressure had turned the skin around her knees red, and they were starting to sting. Exhaling loudly, she brought a hand up to touch the bandage, but her hand was intercepted before it reached her head. Scott had grabbed it, all too aware that the pair of gloves she was wearing was most likely ruined from being drenched in blood. Putting his hands back on her shoulders, Scott spoke.
"Don't touch the bandage; it'll only make it a habit. You heard Hank, the more you play with it, the longer it'll take to heal."
Turning around on the floor so that she was facing Scott, she sent a glare his way, one that turned quickly into a smile. Laughing slightly to herself, the smile melted off her face as Marie looked down at her now-ruined gloves. Scott, having watched this closely, put a hand on top of one of hers.
"Do you have another pair of gloves you can change into?" he asked. "I don't think you really want to walk around for the rest of the day in a pair of bloody gloves, do you?"
"No, that wouldn't be too nice, would it?" Rogue asked, her smile matching his own. "And yeah, I have another pair. They're in my room, though."
The silence that followed was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Despite the fact that Marie had just injured her head pretty badly, Scott had managed to distract her from the ever-present problem of Logan leaving. She had a feeling that if she left his room and his presence, the problem would come back to her like a shadow follows someone around on a sunny day. However, she really wanted to get out of the bloody gloves…
"I'm gonna go change my gloves," Marie said softly, looking back and forth between Scott and the door. "Thanks for the distraction."
"You're quite welcome," Scott said, smiling at her. "However, next time you want a distraction, I'd prefer if you didn't injure yourself to do it."
"I'd kinda prefer that too," she replied, nodding. "Well, I'll see ya."
"See you, Rogue."
Rogue was halfway out the bedroom door as Scott replied, but when he finished speaking, she turned back around to look at him.
"Marie," she said.
"What?" Scott asked, puzzled.
"My name's Marie," Rogue said, smiling at him for a few seconds before leaving Scott to his own thoughts.
September 12th, 2006 – 2:15 PM, My Bedroom
Well, I'm sitting here on my bed with a throbbing headache from the stupid dresser, listening to Kitty and Jubilee chatter away, but for some reason, I feel insanely happy. I shouldn't feel happy, y'know? I injured my head not too long ago (and it hurts like a BITCH!), I have to wear the bandage on my head for at least three weeks according to Hank, and Logan left this morning with Jean. However, I am happy. It sounds really weird, like I'm off-balance or something, but it's true. I don't know what specifically has me so happy, but I can narrow it down to the fact that it has something to do with Scott.
Hmm. I've known the man for a good three or four years now, but I've never felt this way before. I mean, I'm in his class, I eat meals at the same table as him, and I've even trained in the Danger Room with him. But I've never had this reaction before. Maybe it's the bump on the head. Nah, that can't be it. Something about bringing him food made me happy. Maybe I've just finally lost it. I don't know. Whatever the case, for some insane reason, I feel like maybe this day won't be so bad after all. I'll just have to wait and see.
Nobody knows what the future will bring,
Marie
A/N: This is only my second X-Men fic, and I hope you like it. I'm nowhere near finished with it - this is only the beginning. Please push the pretty little purple button and leave me a review! Thanks so much!