There is nothing truly remarkable about the way she looks. Save for stark white streaks in her hair, there's really nothing about her appearance that would grab your attention. So, when all those hopelessly romantic people ask me if it was love at first sight, if I knew from the first moment I saw her that she was the one, I tell them "No. It all started with Toronto."

---

"I'm going to go and live in Toronto." She said casually one night, staring at our hands entwined on the bedspread, a tangle of skin and the black fabric of her gloves.

"Yeah?" This wasn't new to me. Rogue usually talked about traveling and our conversations were always the same. "What are you going to do there?"

She smiled at me like this was all brand new to her, as if this was the first time she had ever been asked the question.

"Well, I'm going to go and buy a hot-dog off of a nice, Italian vendor who will tell me in really bad English that I'm a beautiful girl and I'll say thank-you." I smiled at that, which she took as encouragement. "And then I'm going to go watch a hockey game because you can't go to Toronto and not watch a hockey game. I'll buy another hot-dog from the vendors in the arena but it won't be as good as the one from Tony's."

"You've given the Italian hot-dog vendor a name now?" I asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." She said, as if she were really offended that I would even ask a question like that. I grinned and she continued. "I'm going to buy one of those Maple Leafs flags and shout and scream and wave it around like all the other fans. When the game is over I'm going to realize that I'm still hungry so I'll decide to have dinner in the rotating restaurant on the top of the CN Tower."

"What are you going to have?"

"Steak." I laugh as her eyes glazed over with the desire for deceased farm animal, remnants from a touch that never truly faded.

She laughed with me for a few moments and I wondered what someone would think if they walked in on two mutants laughing about eating dead cow in Toronto while holding hands. We settled down after that and I realize that Rogue hadn't finished. She looked at me seriously for a moment before asking me the question that started this whole thing in the first place.

"Do you want to come with me?"

Now that I think about it, the question really shouldn't have shocked me as much as it did. She'd just never asked me something like that before. It was always her telling me about the places she wanted to go and me asking questions that meant nothing to anyone but everything to her. So when Rogue asked if I wanted to live with her in Toronto I wasn't quite sure how I was supposed to answer.

"What would we do?" I asked. I wasn't certain if that was the right thing to say but the smile on her face settled the unease.

"Well, we'd rent an apartment and I would let you decorate. During the day we would ride the subway together and watch all the people going to work and at night we'd lay together like we are right now. I wouldn't have to tell you about where I wanted to travel because I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." She looked at me and I let myself believe her, believe that she really wanted me with her and, God, it was good.

It was so many different, amazing things and I was having trouble breathing because I didn't know how to tell her yes. Yes to Toronto, yes to the apartment, to the subway, to lying with her at night. Because somewhere between first meetings, when all I knew about her was that she had dangerous skin and a Southern drawl, and lying in bed talking about Toronto and Tony the imaginary hot dog vendor, something had changed. I wasn't sure what it was but I really wanted to find out.

My expression must have spoken volumes because she smiled at me and leaned over to kiss the top of my head and her lips in my hair was like no other sensation I've ever had. She brushed another kiss against my forehead and for a fleeting moment we were touching with no barriers. The moment ended quickly though and when I opened my eyes she was waiting.

"Yes."