Rescue me (X-Men: Evolution - ROMY)

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Rogue awoke the next morning to find herself alone in bed, but Remy had always been up before her so she wasn't surprised. In fact after the revelations of last night, she was kind of relieved. She needed some time to get herself together before facing him.

Not that she regretted telling him, exactly, but she did feel incredibly uncomfortable.

She darted into the bathroom, grateful that it wasn't occupied, then quickly back to the bedroom when she was finished. She felt like a thief, trying not to get caught. She dressed, again in another of the outfits Remy had chosen for her, and sat down at the dressing table. The first thing she noticed was a pair of straighteners, still in their box.

She had tried not to make a fuss about her kinky hair, but she really had missed her straighteners and it felt kinda nice to realise that Remy cared enough to notice. She badly needed a trim too, since it had grown about two inches since her last cut.

Once her hair was sleek and smooth, she set about doing her makeup. She felt like she needed her mask today, but not like she used to wear it. On impulse, she smudged the black khol eyeliner, giving her a smoky look. She liked the change. The rest of her makeup was basically the same, but she wore a little less lipstick than usual, giving her lips a purple sheen rather than a bloc colour.

She thought she looked older, which was fitting because she certainly felt older these days.

She walked into the living room with a confidence that she didn't feel, uncertain exactly how Remy was going to act today. She didn't think Remy was going to be unkind or anything, she just didn't know what to expect. Rogue didn't open up very often and when she did, it was usually only to Logan or the Professor.

She knew exactly what would happen if she ever confided in say, Kitty or Jubilee; they would tell everyone. And it wasn't because they were malicious, they simply couldn't help themselves. And sometimes they had this strange notion that they knew better than Rogue did about what was best for her. And maybe sometimes they did, they were impartial (or very nearly) observers after all. The trouble was they didn't come out and speak to Rogue about their concerns, they would either plot and scheme behind her back until they got their way, or nag her until she gave in. Considering how stubborn Rogue was, neither option was actually very pretty.

She imagined walking into the living room to see Remy bouncing on the balls of his feet, desperate to start nagging Rogue into the crazy idea he'd had since they had talked. Actually the image of Remy behaving like Kitty was pretty hilarious, and she filed it away for a rainy day when she needed cheering up.

Remy however, immediately put her at ease. He was sitting at the dining room table, the printer set up beside him and running while he sorted papers.

"Morning," he said, smiling slightly at her then looking back to his work. "There's fresh coffee in the pot, help yourself."

She did exactly that, thrilled to have a proper morning coffee for a change, then came and sat opposite him.

"These are the police reports," he explained. "I thought it might be easier to just print them out."

"Anything new?"

"Maybe." He set the computer aside and handed her the stack of papers he had been sorting. "Two witness statements claim to have seen a bird of flame right after the mansion blew. The police didn't make anything of it, just wrote it off as people seeing patterns where there aren't any, but these two people weren't related and weren't even in the same place when they saw the blast. I don't think they could have talked to each other about it before they were questioned."