Title: Exclusive
Rating: PG
Summary: The importance of trust.
Type of fic: Vignette
Disclaimer: All recognisable characters and places are not mine. They belong to Marvel and/or Marvel Studios, WB, Film Roman (I think), and whoever else claims rights to them.

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Exclusive

'How about a movie, Rogue?'

'Me? You askin' me to tha movies?'

He grinned. 'Sure. I've been wanting to see-'

'Come on, Rogue! I don't vant to be late!'

'Sorry, Scott, but Ah'm already goin' out. Maybe next time?'

He was surprised, but he tried not to let it show. 'Sure, next time.' He watched as she ran towards Kurt, who then teleported the both of them to…wherever it was they were headed.

'I'm so sorry, Scott.'

He started at the voice, whirling around to face his younger friend. 'Kitty!'

She giggled. 'Scare ya, huh?'

'No, of course not, and what on earth are you talking about?'

'You just looked like your favourite dog got run over, or something. Or maybe worse, like you found a scratch on precious car. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I was like, you know, sorry for whatever it was.'

He shook his head, turning and walking away. 'Sure, thanks, Kitty.'

Had he really been that disappointed that Rogue had turned him down? It didn't really matter that much did it? After all, Rogue was just a friend. No matter how much she tried to deny it. Still, he had been taken aback that she had said 'no'.

He pretended that he was oblivious to it, but he knew of her slight crush on him. Her first few weeks with the X-Men, he had also realised that he became her closest friend. She got along well with the rest of the kids in the mansion, but she seemed to trust him implicitly. He was happy for it, as he felt he had worked hard to earn it. He had wanted her to know that she could depend on him, and on the X-Men. After she had discovered Mystique's and the Brotherhood's deceit, Rogue had had major trust issues. She still did.

Loath as he was to admit it, even to himself, he liked the feeling of having been the only person in whom she could trust. It felt…nice. Unique. Rogue made him feel irreplaceable.

To him, she wasn't just any mutant. Her powers made her the most potent of them all. And also the most vulnerable. Her inability to touch offered her the perfect excuse to be a loner, a role she cherished and nurtured. Because she felt she had no other choice. And so, she kept everyone at a distance.

Not him. Not usually, anyway. At times she had allowed him access into her world - flashes of a shy smile, the soft sound of a genuine laugh, glimpses of a permeating loneliness that enveloped her in private solitude. It was in those infrequent moments he most wanted to reach out and just touch her.

He never did. He never felt the need to. He was the only person whom she had imparted her trust on, and he had foolishly taken it for granted. His sense of self-importance had made him blind to her growing closeness with Kurt, and now that trust was greatly diminished. It was Kurt whom she believed in. It was Kurt whom she obliged with her confidence, and most importantly, her unwavering trust.

Exclusive trust.

He hated it.