Heat of the Moment

Chapter 2: Fall from Grace


Bobby, ever the gentleman, walked Kitty back to her room. After a quick glance around, he relaxed. “I think our return has gone unnoticed.”

“Mostly unnoticed,” Kitty corrected him.

“Mostly unnoticed?” Bobby replied dubiously. His moment of relaxation vanished.

Kitty’s dark eyes twinkled with mischief. “There’s a big difference between ‘mostly unnoticed’ and ‘totally unnoticed’,” she explained in an affected Jewish accent – the sort she’d heard at family gatherings for years.

Bobby chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief that she’d just referenced Princess Bride and he’d missed it. “You totally nailed Billy Crystal’s Miracle Max.”

She shrugged incrementally. “Most of my older male relatives are dead ringers.”

Kitty opened her door, choosing not to simply phase through, but she found herself lingering in the doorway and looking up at Bobby as if she expected something. A goodnight kiss, maybe? the cynical part of her brain wondered.

For his part, Bobby couldn’t bear to break the moment. He had truly enjoyed their outing – it wasn’t a date, he told himself firmly – and didn’t want it to be over yet. He scratched the back of his head absently.

Kitty tucked a strand of hair behind her ear; when she touched her hair, her face crinkled a bit as she felt how it needed washing. She was acutely aware of Bobby’s gaze and hoped he picked up on the nonverbal cue. To his credit, he took a step back, initiating what he’d heard called “the goodnight process.”

“Thank you again, Bobby. I feel… a little better.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Only a little?”

She nodded, her mouth forming a small smile. “It might take a while before I feel all better.”

Bobby’s girl-melting smile started to form. “I’m glad I could help. I hate seeing you – or any girl, really – crying.”

He’s so sweet, Kitty thought, and Rogue’s so lucky to have him. She flushed slightly at the thought – such a cute blush that Bobby couldn’t help but notice – and resolved to end this encounter before it lingered beyond the point of discomfort. “Good night, Bobby,” she bade him, her voice soft, demure.

Bobby nodded, understanding. “Good night, Kitty. See you tomorrow.”

She closed the door slowly, hesitantly, but closed it nonetheless. Bobby looked at the shut door for a few moments before heading for his room. He ambled down the old-yet-recently-refurbished halls of the second floor, fighting the urge to whistle out of consideration for the others asleep.

That urge swiftly evaporated, however, when he encountered a Rogue-shaped roadblock halfway to his room. He stopped short in surprise, nervous once he noticed Rogue’s acidic glare. The word “hydrochloric” darted through his mind.

Before Bobby could say anything, Rogue stated in a flat tone, “Y’ain’t never taken me skatin’.”

Bobby paled slightly, his worst fear confirmed; now he could only hope to perform damage control. What he led with, he later reflected, was likely the lamest thing he could have said: “Rogue, it’s not what you think.”

Rogue’s left eyebrow rose; her voice grew icy. “Ah didn’t know the Professor’d been givin’ you lessons in telepathy.”

“Secondary mutation,” Bobby shot back, immediately regretting doing so. He took a calming breath that partially consisted of an exasperated sigh. “Are you gonna hear me out or not?”

Rogue shrugged. “Ah guess Ah maht as well, unless you’ve got another romantic ahce-related date up yer sleeve.” Bobby noticed, being an expert on cold, the emotional temperature drop even further, though he hadn’t thought it possible.

Setting his jaw, Bobby determined to tell his side of the story and hope that Rogue would believe him – and, more importantly, forgive him. He estimated his chances of success to be practically nil. “Rogue,” he used her name gently, soothingly, “it wasn’t like that at all. I heard Kitty crying after dinner, for hours, so I decided to talk to her, try to cheer her up.”

“Y’all weren’t doin’ much talkin’ that Ah saw, just tongue-wrestlin’.” She spat out the last word in much the same way that the spitting cobra launches its venom.

Bobby’s eyes narrowed. “We didn’t –“

“How could you?” Rogue interjected quickly, cutting him off. She tended to grow quieter as she grew angrier. “How could you cheat on me… with that… that little… floozy!”

Now Bobby was becoming angry as well. He barely restrained himself from yelling when he said, “Kitty’s one of your best friends! How could you call her that?”

“One of your best friends, you mean.” She shook her head, looking at the wall to deprive Bobby of eye contact. “Ah’ve seen the way she looks at you – the same way Ah used to.”

Bobby blinked, taken aback. “Rogue… what are you saying?”

Rogue leveled her near-Cyclopean gaze at him. “Ah’m sayin’ we’re through, Bobby. You betrayed me.”

“But we didn’t kiss – did not.” By this point his teeth were grinding together, and only the fact that his powers granted him permanent homeostasis kept his face from reddening with anger (or anything else, for that matter). His arm moved sideways to emphasize his next words: “I would never cheat on you, Rogue, never.”

Rogue looked down; her shoulders slumped. “Even if Ah believe that y’all didn’t kiss,” she quasi-conceded, “Ah don’t think Ah can deal with y’all havin’ one near-kiss, and Ah can’t help but think y’all will have more of them. And it’s only a matter of tahm before your willpower fails.” She looked back up at him, her eyes filled with dread certainty.

Bobby felt as if a chunk of adamantium had plummeted into the pit of his stomach, because she didn’t trust him and likely never would. At that moment, a memory from a few days ago bubbled to the forefront of his mind: Rogue telling him that, because he was a guy, there was only one thing ever on his mind. Frantically his mind worked, seeking a solution to salvage the situation. Vainly, too, it seemed.

“Rogue… I didn’t mean to… to hurt you,” he whispered hoarsely, his throat squeezing itself closed. “I just… wanted to help Kitty… stop crying for a little while.”

Rogue’s lip trembled. “Bah remahndin’ me of what Ah have but can’t hold?” Her eyes shone in the dim light of the hallway. “Bah makin’ me crah instead?”

Bobby’s head dropped in defeat. “I never wanted to make you cry, honest. I care for you… a lot,” he told her earnestly. He couldn’t say the L-word, not now – Rogue would think it a final, desperate attempt to prevent this breakup. Scary thing is, thought Bobby, I’m not sure it wouldn’t be.

“Ah care for you too, Bobby. That’s whah Ah’m so hurt bah what happened,” she explained. Her voice took on a wistful, far-away quality. “Ah gotta let you go… so you can give your heart and soul to a gal who deserves it.” Here she smirked fractionally, adding, “Not to mention your gorgeous body to a gal who can appreciate it.”

Bobby’s mouth threatened to quirk into a smile, despite the fact that he was fighting tears. He wasn’t sure how he was still standing – he felt like he’d been filleted boneless. Rogue’s sigh reclaimed his attention. “Ahronic, Ah guess, that Ah gotta let you go, from this relationship.”

“How so?”

“Usually when Ah let go of someone, it’s to keep me from hurtin’ them with mah powers. In this case…” Her voice wavered, and Bobby had to stop himself from wrapping her in his arms. “In this case, Ah gotta let you go so Ah don’t get hurt, and you can be happy without me.”

The lump that had formed in Bobby’s throat while Rogue was explaining herself refused to let itself be swallowed. “Entirely without you?” he rasped. “I would hope – one day, once we’re able – to be friends again.”

Rogue nodded, and her mouth curled ever-so-slightly. “Maybe it won’t be too long… Ah’d lahk that.”

With that, it was over – the storm blew over as quickly as it had arisen. Silence reigned an oppressive – but thankfully brief – reign.

Bobby licked his lips, unsure if the particular gamble he was about to take would be worthwhile, or merely foolish. “Lemme walk you back to your room… for old times’ sake?”

His now-ex-girlfriend shook her head, the white streak in her hair shimmering as it caught the light just so. “N-no thanks. Ah need to… be alone raht now.” When Bobby’s lips pursed at the irony of her statement, hers did likewise. Rogue turned around and headed for her room, not quite running; she disappeared into the dark of the midnight hallway and left an emotionally-drained Bobby Drake behind – for good.