She quietly closed the door behind her, leaving Havok in a deep sleep. It was beginning to get late, and she didn’t want to think about what might happen or who might get killed if the swamp rat decided to call it a night.
Tiptoeing down the hall, she wished she had thought to put on a few more clothes. As it was, she was sneaking out in her underwear and one of Havok’s oversized t-shirts. Nothing was concealed. No one was safe.
Then again, she was just heading down the hall. If she could just get there before…
“Enjoy yourself, Frail?” Rogue turned to see Victor sneaking up the stairs. She had no idea how he did it, but couldn’t help but wonder if he just lurked in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to catch her off guard. She should have been more worried about her surroundings than just trying to make it to her room. She should have caught his scent. Catching it now, she realized that there was something different about it. “It’s called contentment, Frail. Why don’t you go put some clothes on and meet me up on the roof.”
She shrugged briefly, standing tall as she walked past him. He stepped back a little, giving her room, and whispered just loud enough for her to hear, “You smell like contentment, too. And something else. Hurry up.”
He was sitting at the edge of the roof by the ladder, his legs hanging over the edge.
“Don’t you think we could find someplace a little closer to the ground to meet up at?” she asked indignantly as she pulled herself up and onto the inclined surface.
Victor laughed softly as she settled herself next to him. “What’s the matter? You afraid of heights all of a sudden?”
“Nah, just not too sure how I feel about being three stories above the fucking ground and drinking with a psychopath,” she replied playfully, grabbing one of the beers he had brought up with him.
“Sociopath, Frail. There's a difference, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah; and we both know how proud of that you really are. Anyway, why did you want to meet here?” she asked pointedly, looking out into the night. She was already used to the differences heightened senses caused from all the previous times she had absorbed Logan, but it was still somewhat disturbing when she allowed herself to think about it. Although everything was very dark and still, she could hear the noise of the desert animals all around her.
“There ain’t nothing like a drink after good sex,” Victor replied as he popped the top off his own can. “Hell, there ain’t nothing like a drink after bad sex, either. Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Okay, I am not having this conversation with you,” Rogue said quickly before chugging on her own drink. “Besides, from what I can gather, you had your own fun tonight, didn’t you?”
Victor paused, his eyes growing hard with concentration. “I wouldn’t really call what we did fun. I mean, I’ve had worse… Not by much, but there have been worse.”
“So, Mystique losing her touch?” Rogue asked, raising her eyebrow mockingly.
“I haven’t been with Raven since she had Junior,” Victor chuckled, tossing his now empty beer can off the side of the roof. “Try again.”
She closed her eyes, letting her sense of smell open. As soon as she caught the second scent coming from him, she choked. “You didn’t…”
He laughed, patting her on the back. “Yup, and like I said, not the worst, but pretty fucking close.”
“Jesus, Victor. She’s a fucking bitch. Did you really think she’d be that good? I don’t even think she has an imagination to speak of.”
Victor shrugged again, opening the bottle of whiskey he had brought up with him. He took a quick swig before passing it to her. “I ain’t never been with a flyer before. Thought it would be a bit more interesting. Maybe next time, I’ll fuck one that doesn’t have super strength. It’s not that much fun when she’s flipping you around, too. Kept telling her to fucking stop that shit, but she thought that was me flirting or playing hard to get. That nut was more work than fun.”
Rogue looked at him questioningly, trying to figure out if he was really serious. There was one question she had to ask, though. “Why didn’t you just get up and walk out?”
“Because it would be disgraceful to walk away from free pussy, Frail,” Victor admonished, baring his teeth as he let out another chuckle.
He looked at himself in the mirror again, watching the droplets of water travel down his skin. He could feel the sharpness of guilt stabbing away at him, threatening what was left of his sanity. What the hell was he thinking, sleeping with her? What would the others say if they found out? They were already suspicious of his true feelings for their friend. Would they condemn him for lying in another woman’s arms?
He could hear the soft knock on the door as he dried his face, letting the softness of the towel caress his skin. “Yeah?”
“We’re ready whenever you are, Logan,” Jubilee said through the mahogany door. “We’re in the war room.”
“Great. I’ll be down in a minute.” Logan studied his reflection one more time, the guilt still gnawing away at him. With a surge of anger, he punched his reflection, turning away as the glass shattered.
“Fuck me.”
“Fuck me.”
“That’s what she kept saying?” Rogue giggled, taking a sip of her third beer. “Over and over again? That was the extent of her dirty talk vocabulary?”
“Yup,” Victor replied with his own chuckle. “And to make it even better, she moans like a fucking seal.”
Not expecting his last remark, Rogue couldn’t hold back her laugh, spewing her mouthful of beer all over Victor and down her shirt.
“I swear, you’re just like having a little brother or something, Frail,” Victor said as he wiped at the beer with his hand. “It wasn’t that funny.”
“Yes it was,” Rogue replied, still giggling.
He gave her another moment to calm down before he asked his own question. “You never answered my question: did you have fun?”
Rogue thought about the question, remembering the things that had transpired within the house beneath them.
“Yeah… I had fun,” she replied with a slight smile. “It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, but I enjoyed it. He was a gentleman, something that I wasn’t expecting from someone so laid back. And he showed me that I wasn’t a monster or a toy. I think he helped me heal.”
Victor smiled at that, catching the emotion in her voice. “And what about him? Did he have fun?”
“Well, no one barked like a seal, but I think he did.” She paused, remembering her last glance at the man she had once thought of as a boy. “He was sleeping when I left, and he had a smile on his face.”
“That’s what’s important, Frail.”
“Where did you go last night?” she asked as he took a seat at the long table.
He let his eyes meet hers before moving to the other two pairs of eyes that were watching him. “I needed to get away. Went to go play some pool and have a few drinks. Did you guys get any practice in?”
“Yeah,” Warren said, eyes holding his leader's gaze. Logan was keeping something from them, and they all knew it, but there was no point in trying to drag it out of him. “I think Storm knows something’s up. She made sure the alpha team was out of there in time for us to get a couple of hours in.”
“Ororo is not a stupid woman,” Logan replied slowly. “She trusts us, and she won’t ask any questions that she knows will go unanswered anyway. I hate keeping this from her, but I also don’t need her trying to throw her team into the mix. If she does suspect something, she’s got tomorrow to find out what it is. We'll be leaving at around 0800 hours on Saturday. I want to get there with enough time to scope out the city. It’s been a while since I’ve been there, and I hear it’s changed a lot. All three of you need to be prepared; print up some maps and memorize them. We’re not tourists, people.”
“Do you think they’re going to be able to handle this?” Rogue asked slowly as she finished the last beer. They had been talking and drinking for a few hours now, ignoring the noise coming from the floor below them. “We’ve only got tomorrow and then I’m taking them out. Do you think it’s going to work?”
Victor thought for a moment. “They’re all powerful in their own right. Plus, they’ve got a good leader with experience, and most of them are willing to follow your orders. They’re young, and too stupid to know what they're really getting into. And by the time they wise up, they’ll be way too involved to pull out.”
“Great. What does this say about me?”
“You didn’t really have a choice, did you, Frail? I don’t know about the rest of the X-Geeks but you and the runt… This is the life you were meant for.” Victor didn’t wait for a response before he simply jumped from the roof, landing gracefully on the ground.
Rogue stayed where she was for another half hour, contemplating what he had just said. Maybe he was right. Maybe this was what she was supposed to do with her life.
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Chapter End Notes:
I am working on the next chapter now. I am going to make it a bit longer, though, because I need a lot to happen in it. Feedback please!!!! I live for it.