Three sharp knocks broke the silence, resonating down the full length of the dormitory hallway. One thirty four on a Wednesday morning at the Xavier Institute was usually quiet, however now with all but two of the student body having gone home for winter break the silence is deafening.

 

In theory that is.

 

For the third night in a row Scott Summers had been rudely awakened by what sounded too much like crying from the far end of the hall. Once is an incident. Twice is a coincidence. Three times? Now that’s a pattern.

 

Three more knocks rang out.

 

“Rogue.” Scott tilted his forehead down resting it on the door. “If you don’t open the door I will be forced to take drastic action.”

 

He turned his head to the side, pressing his ear against the door, listening for movement beyond a muffled sob.

 

“Kate. I will blast this door down if I have to.”

 

Finally there was a response from the other side, an audible grumble, some shuffling, and a few four letter words that Scott chose to ignore.

 

---

 

She pulled herself off of her bed, eyes narrowed, a bit irritated. She imagined them horribly red. Stumbling after tripping over her book-bag she caught herself on her dresser, pausing for just a moment to check her reflection in the mirror… Nope. This isn’t going to go well. 

 

“Hold yer horses.” She muttered. Turning around she kicked the traitorous bag halfway across the room. “F%$#, Christ God-Damn” Shaking the pain out of her foot she made her way to the doorway. She always thought that her Chem 2 book was too thick and now her ankle and talus would be reminding her of that fact for the next few hours.

 

She reached for the door knob and turned it just far enough to disengage the privacy lock. Talking a long deep breath she did her best to calm herself before finally swinging the door open.

 

---

 

“What d’y--“ Rogue was cut off as Scott all but charged in.

 

“What’s wrong?” He stopped after a few steps. Possessions were strewn about and a handful of candles were lighting the room. Situation normal.

 

“Ah don’t believe Ah invited you into mah room.” Her eyes narrowed, hand still clutching the doorknob.

 

“Oh. Sorry.” Scott made a show of walking backwards through the door, stopping one step into the hall. “May I come in?”

 

“No.” She replied while slamming the door on his foot.

 

It hurt. Like hell.

 

“Too bad.” Scott grabbed the knob and pushed against the door, forcing his way into the room again.

 

“What d’ya want?” She asked watching him stumble towards her bed. He sat, crossing one leg over the other reaching down to rub his foot.

 

“Right now? An ice pack. Maybe some Gauze, I think I’m bleeding.”  He grimaced while pulling the sock off and started to massage a rapidly growing bruise.

 

“What’s so important that ya had to wake me up in the middle of the night?” Still in the doorway she reached for the light switch.

 

“You tell me.” He slung the sock over his shoulder and tried to catch her eye, tried being the key word as she was looking everywhere but at him.

 

“You know it’s against the rules for a guy to be in a girls room after hours Scott.” After flicking the lights on, she walked over to the bedside table taking the time to blow out the candles.

 

“I’ll endure the lecture from X.” He replied quickly. “I’m sure he’d understand.”  Satisfied that his foot wasn’t bleeding he pulled his sock back on. Dissatisfied with the position of the heel he fiddled with it until the grey wedge was precisely where he wanted it.

 

“Whatever.” Rogue walked over to, and plopped down on Kitty’s bed. She took a moment to look him over. Apparently he hadn’t shaved since their run in with Angel and Magneto. He also had severe bed head and was wearing a green pajama top with blue pajama pants. She would have thought it was adorable if she wasn’t so angry.

 

“I’m sure it’s hard.” He said, now quite pleased with his sock alignment he turned his attention back to her. “Not having Kitty here.” He made an awkward hand gesture towards the bed that she’s sitting on. “I’m starting to see why the two of you share a room while everyone else has their own. But. Look. I’m here if you need someone to talk to.”

 

“Ah’m Fine.” She spat bitterly. “Ah don’t have anything Ah want to talk about. Get out of mah room.” With an icy glare she pointed to the door.

 

“Three nights in a row.” Scott said while looking down at the floor. “I’ve heard crying coming from this room. I can’t.” He turned back to her. “I won’t ignore it again.”

 

“It’s late Scott.” Her tone softened considerably. “Go back to bed.”

 

“You are missing the point.” Scott stood up for a moment. He grabbed and fluffed the two pillows on Rogue’s bed. After stacking them neatly at the head of the bed he jumped back on, propping his head on the pillows, crossing his legs at the ankles and his arms behind his head. “I’m HERE.” He paused for emphasis. “If you need someone to talk to.”

 

”What?” She was understandably confused.

 

“Until you tell me what’s wrong, I’m staying.” He stretched his legs out a bit, making full use of her bed.

 

“You have got to be kidding.” To say that Rogue rolled her eyes was an understatement. She let out a sharp laugh, half amusement. Half horror. “You’re just going to lie there?”

 

“That’s the plan.”

 

“All night?”

 

“All day tomorrow too if that’s what it takes.”

 

“You’re insane.”  She shook her head while standing up.

 

“Kitty’s not here. I’ll do my best to pinch hit. I’ll try not to get too embarrassed by, you know. Girl stuff.”

 

She bit her cheek as hard as she could without drawing blood to avoid giggling at that.

 

“Or you kno--“

 

“What if it’s a guy Scott?” She cut him off while turning back the sheets on Kitty’s bed. “Hell. Maybe it’s you.”

 

“That would be surprising.” He said with an eyebrow cocked. “Neither are really my area of expertise, but I’d be willing to listen at least.”

 

“Whatever. Get the hell off of mah bed.” She grabbed a small pink stuffed rabbit from Kitty’s menagerie of cute little stuffed things kept handy on her bedside table.

 

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong… Maybe not even then, this bed is Soooo Comfortable.” He tilted his head slightly to avoid the ballistic stuffie.

 

“F$#@ off” A purple turtle was thrown next, this one grazing his forehead.

 

“Don’t be mean to mister turtle.” Scott picked up the turtle looking into his little button turtle eyes. “Fine. If you don’t want to talk, I’m calling Lance.”

 

“What?” She had picked the chocolate brown bear to test its aerodynamics.

 

“Doesn’t Kitty spend three hours a night on the phone with him some nights? I mean, I have to for the sake of accuracy.” Scott Shrugged. “I wonder if Lance likes unicorns as much as Kitty does. They have to have something in common.”

 

“Alright Summers. You’ve officially gone off the deep end.” She begrudgingly smiled at that. Dropping the teddy-bear and resigned to sleeping in Kitty’s bed, she made her way back to the light switch. “Okay. Ah’m going to bed. Have fun watching me sleep.”

 

Scott burst into laughter.

 

“Ah didn’t mean it like that…” Rogue’s blush was so heavy she feared he could still see it after she cut the lights. “Ah mean- -”

 

“Sure. Sure. Let me know when you are ready to talk.” Scott again shrugged lightly, adjusting his position a bit.

 

She made her way back across the room to Kitty’s bed and slid under the covers.

 

“G-night.”

 

“Good night.”

 

---

 

2:01 am.

 

“Scott?” Rogue had turned away from the alarm clock and now stared out the window observing the grounds bathed in the glow of a nearly full moon.

 

“Something on your mind Rogue?” Scott replied, staring at the ceiling, trying desperately to fight off fatigue.

 

“Nothing…” She trailed off. Closing her eyes she tried to will herself to sleep again.

 

---

 

2:23 am.

 

“Scott?” An Owl had landed on the oak tree about thirty yards from the window periodically pecking at its feathers. Cleaning them she assumed.

 

“Uh-huh?”

 

“You probably could have spent the break in Hawaii with Alex.” The owl turned back towards the window, locking eyes with Rogue for just a moment.

 

“Yeah. Probably. But it would be awkward. I’ve never met his foster parents and just showing up out of the blue during the holidays would be weird. ‘Hey, I’m Alex’s secret older brother who can’t take his sunglasses off.’”

 

“Ah see your point…” The owl flew off, leaving the branch swaying.

 

“I could ask you the same question. Weren’t you invited to Chanukah at the Pryde’s”

 

“Same deal. Not a very comfortable situation. Though Ah’m sure Kitty’s parents would have been more understanding what with Kitty being a freak too.” 

 

“Freak.” Scott exhaled deeply. The kind of signal she was used to hearing when the team failed a danger room trial.

 

“Ah mean that will all due respect of course.” She sighed. “Just us homeless freaks stuck here at the old mansion eh?”

 

“Rogue.” His tone was thick with disappointment.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Don’t say that. This is your home.”

 

“… Yeah… Ah know…”

 

“Just?”

 

“Just.” She left it there, turning onto her stomach and closing her eyes.

 

---

 

2:55 am.

 

“Scott?” She was holding onto the little brown bear while looking at the ceiling. 

 

“Ok Computer has some great songs on it, but as a whole, top to bottom, The Bends is a better album.”

 

“Okay…” She closed her eyes and tightened her grasp on the bear.

 

---

 

3:12 am.

 

“Scott?”

 

No response.

 

“Scott?”

 

Again there was no response, save for even soft breaths from the other side of the room. She sat up in Kitty’s bed looking him over in the pale moonlight. His glasses made it impossible to be sure that he was asleep.

 

Though she didn’t know if he had fallen asleep, she was now sure that outside of her own bed, she couldn’t. A foot dangled off of the edge of the bed, softly testing the floor. It was a bit cold, but it didn’t creak. She had padded halfway across the room before realizing that she still had a death-grip on the chocolate brown bear.

 

Relaxing her grip she smiled at the bear before tossing it gently back onto kitty’s bed. Looking back to Scott she tried to figure out how to force him off of her own bed. He was just lying there on top of the covers. She could push him off of the bed and scramble to claim it for her own while he was confused, but his glasses could be knocked off. She could touch him, knock him out completely, and simply drag or push him off of the bed with no arguments.

 

Then again, the thought that Scott’s power was too volatile crossed her mind. Besides, trying to sleep with someone else’s memories bouncing around in your head didn’t seem like such a great idea. Though she would have to admit it would be nice to know exactly what he was thinking…

 

Or… well… feeling.

 

She stood over him, watching his chest slowly rising and falling with each breath while she held hers. Her right hand mere inches from his exposed forearm. Her left hand clutching the glove stripped from her right. She closed her eyes. A tear fell.

 

She exhaled deeply while reaching up to wipe away the tear. Stepping away from him she looked back with a sad smile while pulling her glove back on. Surprised at how long that smile lasted she again crossed the room, which seemed to be a longer walk every time. She then started stripping the blankets off of Kitty’s bed. 

 

He’s only taking up half of the bed after all she rationalized while gently covering him with one of Kitty’s blankets. Ensuring that his entire body save for his head was covered she placed a pillow by his shoulder. Just for a minute she thought as she used just about every skill she had learned in the danger room to get onto the bed with minimal motion transferring to the other side. Ah just want to know what it’s like. She positioned herself next to him, close… curling up closer than she’s been to anyone in months if not years. One minute…Her mind started to blank as she involuntarily lay her arm softly across his chest, drifting away with the rhythm of his breaths. Jus… wanna… Her eyes closed as she snuggled up against him.

 

---

 

10:43 am.

 

“Good morning?” He was surprised to say the least. 

 

“Good- -“ She stopped. Completely flushed and totally shocked. That was a long minute.

 

“Morning.” He finished. “I think the correct way to shorten it is ‘Morning.’ Not ‘Good GASP!’”

 

She was silent. Partly amused, mostly horrified.

 

“You going to tell me what’s wrong?” He asked. The tone of his voice unable to hide that he already knew the answer.

 

“… Didn’t think so…” He sighed slightly. “So… Same time tonight?”

 

“Probably.” She replied quietly. “But you’re sleeping in Kitty’s bed…” She trailed off closing her eyes again.

 

“Fine… But I’m like, totally calling Lance.”

 

 

Close Range.

(Asitiswhenitwas.)
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