Rogue didn't come back the next day, or the next.
Instead, Ororo came in her place, the beautiful
black woman with the long white hair. He couldt
tell she didn't like to come, but he sensed he
didn't have anything to do with it. She didn't
like the closeness of the tunnels that gave him
comfort. He wanted to ask her why, but his voice
was so unused it was almost nonexistent. He'd
practiced trying to speak, but the best he could
utter at a time was a word or two. If he could
only ask a single word sentence, he didn't want it
to be about her fears.
Quietly, he walked up to her as she came down the stairs with a tray. She saw him and stopped immediately. He stopped as well, twenty feet away.
"Rogue?" He croaked.
Her regal voice stayed calm, though this was the first word he'd said to any of them.
"It was decided that we would do everything we could to make you feel safe and not to threaten you. No one wants to see Rogue frighten you again."
He shook his head. Rogue hadn't frightened him. Well, she had, but mostly it had been surprise. Running was instinct. He never meant for her to stay away. He just... couldn't bear to be touched.
Ororo nodded in understanding. "Rogue is truly sorry for what happened. And she wants you to know that she does understand about not wishing to get close."
He thought of Sinister, of his experiments, and snorted in derision.
Ororo's smile was gentle. "It is true. Rogue's powers make it impossible for her to make skin to skin contact. She would not have actually touched you."
He sighed, suddenly feeling stupid.
"May I put this tray on the table?" Ororo asked. He nodded and stepped back to give her room. After setting the tray down, she surprised him by saying:
"Would you like to come up to the mansion? Surely you do not wish to spend the rest of your life down here. If nothing else, we will be able to remove that collar."
He backed away, uncertain. To lose the collar he'd worn so long, to have his powers back... to be near people again. To trust. He wasn't sure he could.
Quietly, he turned and walked back into the shadows.
He lifted his head sleepily at the sound of Rogue's distant voice, noting as he did that for once he hadn't immediately dived for cover.
"Can ah talk ta ya?"
With a yawn, he climbed out of bed and yanked on some clothes. With all of the clothes and furniture he'd been given, he'd been able to set himself up a fairly nice bedroom.
A few moments later, he shuffled out of the passage to his room to see Rogue standing shyly at the foot of the stairs, holding a small case. She blushed when she saw him.
"Ah'm sorry ah woke ya."
He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged, then smiled. It was good to see her again.
She looked down. "Ah - ah'm sorry ah scared ya. Ah didn't mean ta."
He forced himself to walk a little closer. "It's okay," he whispered.
Her head snapped up at his words and her smile just glowed. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
"Ah - ah brought somethin' for ya."
He watched curiously as she set the case on the table. "It - it's a straight razor, an' a brush an' cup. Mah momma gave them ta me. Mah real momma." She looked down. "She said - she said, Clover, this was mah momma's razor b'fore it was mine. Now, you keep it safe until ya find a man ya really trust, who ya want ta get close ta." She blushed. "Ah thought ya might like ta borrow it." She started back to the stairs.
He stood watching her for a moment. He didn't want to let her go, he didn't want to be alone. Not anymore.
Quickly, he hurried after her and caught her arm. She looked back at him, her eyes wide.
"You do it," he whispered.
"Ya - ya mean it?"
He nodded.
Rogue went to the table and opened the case while he watched, taking deep breaths to settle his nerves. Rogue looked at what she'd brought, then up at him.
"Ah think ah need scissors an' a basin o' water and towels an' stuff. Ah - ah'll go get them and be right back." She hurried up the stairs.
He watched her go and exhaled loudly. The tunnels felt cold and empty without her and he didn't want to be alone. Could he follow her? The fear started again and he chided himself. He'd been outgoing once, the life of the party. That was before, but that didn't mean that part of him was dead. He didn't want it to be.
Slowly, he closed the case and went up the stairs with it. Rogue had left the door open and he stepped through and looked around.
"Good morning."
Almost, he ran back the way he'd come. Almost. Instead he jumped and turned to see a man standing under the plane, wiping his hands on a rag. His eyes narrowed, trying to remember what name went with this particular face.
"I'm Scott Summers," the man told him. "I'm the leader of the X-Men."
He nodded, looking towards the other door.
"What's your name?"
He blinked, and barked a laugh at his own surprise. These people were probably going nuts wondering who he was. Well, he decided, he wasn't going to tell them. He shook his head and grinned at the look of frustration on Scott's face. He was definately starting to get his sense of humour back. Still, the other man did make him nervous, so he hurried across to the other door. Scott watched, but didn't say anything or try to stop him.
The corridor beyond didn't have any people in it, but he could hear voices and steeled himself to go through. He felt like he was running a gauntlet, but he didn't see anyone and the voices quieted. It felt like the whole house was holding its breath.
Holding his own, he walked down the passageway, peeking in the doors as he did so for any sign of Rogue. He didnt' see her, but he did see a room full of computers and another one holding a lab.
He forced himself to stand and look at it. It held much of the same equipment as Sinister's lab, but there were no cylinders and the tables didn't have shackles. In all, he realized that the concept of a lab didn't terrify him as much as it used to, but he also knew that nothing would force him to go through that door. He continued to the elevator.
It deposited him on the first floor, the same place he'd been before. Again he heard voices, but saw no one. Either they didn't know he was there or, more likely, they were giving him room. He appreciated that.
He walked cautiously into the foyer and heard a clatter on the stairs as Rogue ran down them and stopped a few feet away.
"Ah guess ya got tired o' waitin', huh?" He grinned. "Well, if ya don't mind, ah'd probably do a much better job o' shavin' ya upstairs an' ah'll even be able ta wash ya hair."
He considered that. He bathed in a small underground lake below, but it'd been a long time since a woman washed his hair. "Sounds good," he whispered.
"Great! Follow me!" She started back up the stairs, looking back to see if he followed. He did.
He heard more whispering when he reached the upstairs. Rogue smiled at him. "Everyone's talkin' about ya, sugah. They're kinda hopin' ya gonna stay." She opened a door. "Here we are."
He followed her into a spacious bathroom where she pulled a chair up to the sink. "Sit back an' relax, sugah. Rogue's hairdressin' an' barber shop service is now open f' business."
While she switched her regular gloves for some rubber ones, he sat down, telling himself over and over again that he wasn't going to panic, he wasn't going to run.
It took willpower, but he didn't, and Rogue trimmed, then lathered and washed his long hair, combing out the tangles with her fingers. It felt good, but he kept his eyes open, for when he closed them she became Sinister taping electrodes to his head.
As she finished with his hair and started cutting his beard short enough to shave, she talked to him. Rabled nothings that calmed him right up until she brought the straight razor into his field of vision. It looked like a scalpel.
With a gasp he surged out of the chair and away from her.
"Sugah, it's all right. It's just a razor, okay?" She held it out for him to see it more clearly. It was longer than a scalpel, the handle bent to one side. "Please trust me, ah'm not goin' ta hurt ya."
He looked deep in her eyes and saw no guile in them, none of Sinister's coldness. Slowly, he sat down again.
"Thank ya."
Quickly, she mixed up some shaving cream and brushed the lather onto his face and neck. Then she took up the razor and scraped it along his cheek, removing the stubble.
He didn't move. To run now was to go back to the tunnels, to possibly never see Rogue again, and he loved her too much for that. He blinked. Love? Could he feel that emotion anymore, after everything Sinister had done to him? He looked up at her emerald green eyes and smiled. He supposed he could.
"Whatcha smilin' at, sugah?" she teased as she shaved his chin.
"You." He whispered, and she blushed.
Finally, she finished shaving and wiped the last of the lather off. She studied him critically. "Ya know, ya look awful cute without all that hair on ya face."
He stood and looked in the mirror for himself, then sighed at the sight of a face he'd never thought to see again.
"Penny for ya thoughts, sugah."
"Been a long time."
She strained to hear his whisper. "Yah. How'd ya end up with Sinister anyway? Ya don't have ta tell me if ya don't want ta," she amended quickly.
He sighed again, louder this time. He remembered far too easily when Sinister came for him. He'd asked for his services and when he'd said no, Sinister had taken him for an experiment instead. He'd often wondered if he'd have been better off accepting Sinister's offer. Even so, it wasn't something that he wanted to talk about; even if he could force the words through his strained vocal cords.
Rogue seemed to understand. "That's okay, sugah. Come on, ah'll make ya breakfast."