Chapter Text
Rogue's gaze stayed on Remy for a few seconds, watching the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed calmly in his sleep, resting after taking something for the pain after his fall and the attack from the droids — Dark Troopers, according to Charles’ words.
“Vile things,” he had mumbled, lips pressing into a tight line as he moved around the small ship in his hoverchair to get sheets for Remy. “The Empire made those to switch the living Stormtroopers for them- they’re faster and more efficient. And, as your friend found out, harder to kill.”
Remy’s chest was bare now, the thin cut over it clean, but there was a bruise on his skin where one of those imperial droids had hit him. Charles had taken a look at him, checking his mind and body at the same time — his own words — to make sure Remy was okay. Thankfully, there were no broken bones, just a painful bruise and the thin cut crossing his chest, so Charles only gave the Cajun a bad-tasting liquid that made Remy retch for a moment before his body relaxed and he fell asleep.
She raised her gaze then, looking at the two men who were now taking them towards the Empire Cruiser that Xandra was in, watching as they interacted with each other in quiet words and small gestures.
Charles was piloting the ship, sat at the pilot's seat while his hoverchair rested behind him, charging. Erik sat by his side, looking at a map constantly and whispering things to Charles that Rogue couldn't listen. But, more than once, she saw the way Erik's hand would rest over Charles', fingers brushing against the telepath's pale skin in a gesture that Rogue couldn't describe as anything other than loving. Everytime she'd see it, she turned her face away, as if she was seeing something she shouldn't.
Even so, her hand was firmly holding Remy's, his hand gripping hers unconsciously as he slept.
«We'll take a while to reach them,» Xavier's voice sounded in her head, smooth and calm, with a control that Xandra hadn't had. In fact, Xandra hadn’t talked to Rogue like this — either for Rogue’s rules or because they couldn’t, she didn’t know. «They're far away, but we'll get there.»
Rogue got up, letting go of Remy's hand and hearing him complain in his sleep as she walked away, reaching Charles and Erik and placing her hands on both of their seats, looking at the space outside. Somewhere far away, Xandra was alone in the hands of the Empire.
"You didn't have to come, Mandalorian." Erik's voice rang in the silence, cold, his eyes downwards to look at a datapad and not bothering to look at Rogue. "You won't get paid for this."
Rogue's hands held the back of the seats a little tighter, her eyes glaring at Erik from behind her helmet at the audacity of his words.
"Please, forgive him," Charles said all of the sudden, his hand moving to slap Erik's arm. Erik winced at the hit, glaring at Charles immediately. "He was never one to trust other people's intentions."
"An' you?" Rogue asked. In the low light of the ship, she saw Charles smile.
"I'm a telepath," he said, eyes moving up to look at Rogue with his eyebrows up. Looking up close, Rogue was able to see a few lines over his face of the years he lived. "I know who to trust or not almost immediately."
"It's not really trust, is it? You don't trust, you look first."
"With the life I live, child, it's only wise to not trust blindly." He sighed at his own words, setting a route on the ship, turning the autopilot on before resting back on his seat and looking up at Rogue again, the smile back to his lips. "But I could feel how much you cared for Xandra. I can trust your affections towards them to know you'll help. And Xandra talked about you when they talked to me- You're more their family than I am, in a way."
Rogue stopped at those words, staring at Charles for a moment. Charles, Xandra's father, who never tried to save them or look for them for all Rogue knew. All this time that Xandra had been in the hands of the Empire, where were those men?
Charles pursed his lips, a heavy exhale leaving his nose before he shook his head.
"I can feel your bitterness, Rogue, but I have to confess that I never knew about Xandra until they reached me from that old temple." Charles looked tired as he said that, eyes going darker as Rogue heard truth in his words. "I was friends with the Shi'ar Majestrix when I was young, lovers even, for a little while." By Charles' side, Erik looked away, as if the information didn't sit well with him. "But we didn't have children. Xandra was created after the Empire took over, somehow, but that still makes them my child."
"So that's why they're so young."
"Indeed. The Shi'ar probably wanted a new ruler and tried creating Xandra, but unfortunately the Empire is too strong in Chandilar… The fact they descend from me was probably a factor in why they wanted Xandra so badly. The idea of a new Jedi must have been terrifying to them, the prospect of creating someone Force-sensitive probably tempting as well."
"So you are one of those Jedi Ah've been hearing about lately…"
"I used to be," Charles nodded. Rogue frowned at that.
"An' you aren't anymore?"
Charles stayed quiet for a moment, eyes going downwards before he looked at Erik. It was a meaningful look, although the meaning was lost to Rogue as she watched the two men staring at each other with lost gazes.
"All the Jedi were killed once the Empire rose to power," Charles said, his voice distant. Erik's eyes seemed to sadden for a moment, his jaw clenching. "The old Jedi who remained lost something as they kept trying to survive. I'm not a Jedi anymore, haven't been for a long, long time. I'm just an old man with a lightsaber."
Rogue looked at Erik then, wondering where he fit in all of that, and Erik's pale blue eyes looked up at Rogue as well.
"I was never one to begin with, if that's what you're wondering," he said, taking something from his waist — a metal cylinder thing that Rogue didn't know what was the use of. Suddenly, with a movement of his fingers, a blade made of red light appeared in one of the ends of the cylinder, the quiet noise of energy filling the cabin and making Rogue frown at the weapon. "But I guess you could say I'm also an old man with a lightsaber."
"Are you sure t'was a good idea to leave those two to get Xandra alone?"
Rogue sighed under her helmet, pulling Remy to hide once a group of Stormtroopers crossed their path. It didn't sit well with her as well that Charles and Erik had been the ones that were in charge of finding Xandra and taking the kid out in safety while Rogue and Remy dealt with the Dark Troopers so they wouldn't be a problem anymore. Still, Rogue trusted they'd save Xandra, and that was what mattered at the moment.
"Let's focus on our part of the plan, Cajun," she mumbled, moving again once the Stormtroopers had left.
"Gladly. My chest is still hurting from th' hit I got from one of those things."
«You're getting close,» Charles' voice spoke inside Rogue's head from somewhere inside the Cruiser. For the way Remy's pace faltered, he was inside the Cajun's head as well. «Be careful with those things.»
"If you can speak to me," Rogue said, voice quiet as she looked around the corner before continuing, "why isn't Xandra reaching out?"
«I can feel their mind nearby, but their telepathy is dim,» Charles explained as Rogue sighted the door that led to the Dark Troopers according to Erik's map. «I think they have a suppression collar on.»
Rogue shuddered at the idea, remembering it had been at least forty-eight hours since Xandra had been taken, wondering how long they had the collar on. Rogue had worn one once, when she couldn't handle her power anymore, and she remembered the headache that thing caused her with just five hours of use. Wearing it for two days sounded like hell.
"We're here." Remy muttered, checking the lock in the door by crouching in front of it as Rogue looked around. "You sure we can take these things out before they get activated?"
«Rogue has my lightsaber with her and you have a Beskar staff, that's more than enough to destroy those things.»
Rogue stopped for a moment, turning towards Remy as he started to pick the lock of the door. "Your staff is made of Beskar?"
Remy stopped, red eyes rising to look at her with a guilty expression before he shrugged and kept going with his work.
"In my defense, ma colombe, I stole this."
"Tell me it wasn't from a Mandalorian."
"It wasn't," Remy nodded, grinning victoriously when the door suddenly opened in front of them. "T’was from a very bad woman who probably stole it from a Mandalorian. T’was also very resistant and perfect to use my power on, so I kept it. Hope you don' mind, chère."
"Right now, not so much, but we'll talk about this."
They stared inside the room once Remy got up to his feet, the Dark Troopers inactive and standing inside, probably waiting for activation. Rogue took the weapon Charles had given her in hands, pressing the button he had shown her and seeing the blue blade extend itself, the quiet energy noise a light buzzing against her ears.
"Will you do me th' honor of destroying those things wit' me, Mando?" Remy asked, bowing while looking up at Rogue with a smirk. She couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips.
"It'll be a pleasure, Cajun."
Before they could step inside, however, the droids' eyes lit up as they got activated, Rogue and Remy stopping on their tracks as they realized what it meant. The fight wouldn't be as easy as they anticipated. But then again, when was something easy for Rogue in the first place?
"Wonderful," a voice said behind them, making them turn around quickly to find a man standing there with a smile on his lips. "You must be the damned Mandalorian who stole the egg from me- It's good to finally meet you. It's a shame I'll have to kill you now."
The man had pale-white skin, his eyes a bright red and short hair a deep black, taller than both Rogue and Remy. With a start, Rogue realized that there was a lightsaber in his hands as well, but the blade didn't shine bright like the one Rogue had gotten from Charles or Erik's red one — it was pitch black, strangely.
The man moved suddenly, almost like he was getting out of the way of something as his grin widened at Rogue. It was only when Rogue was thrown to the other side of the corridor by the impact of Remy's charged staff against her armor that Rogue noticed there was something truly wrong happening.
Charles' lightsaber fell from her hand as she grunted, turning off as the metal cylinder bounced a few times on the ground before rolling into a stop. She touched the point where Remy had hit her and felt the dent on the Beskar armor — Remy's staff was made of the same material, it was only fair that it was the only thing capable of damaging the armor, which, considering Remy’s power, was worrying if he decided he wanted to attack her like he had just done. When she looked up, ready to question Remy on what the fuck he was doing, she only had time to roll away as the Cajun tried to spear her chest with the staff.
It was time enough for her to notice the way Remy's eyes had turned red — completely red, not just the irises anymore, shining like the man who stood back and watched.
"Cajun!" Rogue tried, avoiding another of Remy's attacks. "Remy, stop that!"
"He won't, dearest," the man said back from where he stood. Dread filled up Rogue's mind as she noticed the first Dark Troopers leaving the room, some staying and some going somewhere else — she didn't need to think much to know they were probably headed to where Charles and Erik were. "His mind is now set to kill you, and then kill himself once he's done with that. Look at the bright side: he won't suffer when he sees he killed you- You're lucky I'm feeling kind of generous today."
Rogue moved away from Remy again, trying to reach the lightsaber as the first Dark Trooper shot at her. She pulled out her blaster, shooting at the damn droid, but unfortunately it did nothing. Remy's staff and Charles' lightsaber were the only weapons that would do any kind of damage on those things, and she needed Remy by her side to have any kind of chance of winning that fight.
"Remy," she screamed, reluctantly shooting at the Cajun. She didn't know if she should be relieved or thankful that he was able to avoid being shot so easily with just a quick movement of his body. "Ah know you're still in there. Snap out of it!"
There was no response from Remy, but Rogue could swear he hesitated for a moment on his next attack, right before painfully blowing Rogue away once more. She hit the ground with a grunt, barely avoiding the Dark Trooper's punch that would've probably injured her. The only good thing about all that was that, luckily, she was closer to the lightsaber now.
She tried her best, crawling her way to the weapon when she felt hands holding her ankles and pulling her back, turning around to find Remy on top of her, twisting the staff in hands as it glowed with Remy's power, ready to give a finishing blow. With a quick movement, Rogue pulled her glove off of her hand, reaching for a bit of bare skin and touching Remy's ankle now, the man's movements stopping immediately as he gasped at being drained.
Taking advantage of his pause, Rogue got up, reaching for the deck of cards she knew Remy kept on his coat and charging them before fanning the deck in her hands and throwing them at the Dark Troopers. It wouldn't damage them, but it would give Rogue just enough time to try something.
"Cajun, listen to me," she tried, standing right in front of Remy and holding his face with her gloved hand. He seemed weak after Rogue's touch, eyes still completely red from that man's control and body wavering. "Ah need your help, alright? Listen to this, Ah'm admitting it. Ah need you. We're a group- You, me and Xandra. A team, remember? Mah clan of three... Don' you dare leave me alone now!"
Remy wavered, his eyes closing for a moment as Rogue felt the surge of power she felt when she touched him leaving slowly. When Remy's eyes opened again, she saw the black and red back to them, looking at her with what looked like surprise.
"When you said you could kill someone by touching them, I thought you were being dramatic, chère."
Under her helmet, Rogue smiled, unconsciously brushing her gloved thumb against Remy's cheek as he looked down at her with quiet wonder.
As she was about to go back into the fight, knowing they didn't have much time, she felt Remy's hand pull her away, standing in front of her and moving faster than Rogue's eyes were able to see. Remy's staff was now shoved through the neck of one of the Dark Troopers, the droid starting to malfunction at the attack. She only barely saw the Beskar starting to glow with a pink light before there was a small explosion that took the droid's head away.
There was a hard hit against Rogue's back, making her waver where she stood for a moment. The man was there again, dark saber in hand as he bared his teeth to Rogue. He was angry.
"You seem to keep ruining my plans, Mandalorian."
"Mah pleasure."
Rogue raised her arms in defense against the man's attacks, the lightsaber blade repelled by the Beskar of her armor. She felt lucky for that, seeing the alloy only getting a few scratches as the man attacked viciously, but she knew she couldn't stay like that for long.
She felt a pull again, taking her away from the man's next attack, but the noise of the lightsaber against Beskar rang again as Remy used the staff to stop it. Remy was fast, countering each of the man's attacks as Rogue avoided the few remaining Dark Troopers, making her way to Charles' lightsaber again. As she was finally able to get it, she heard the noise of an explosion, followed by a growl from the red-eyed man.
"How dare you!" He screamed, face twisted in rage. "I'm Nathaniel Essex! I'm Sinister, the most feared man in the entire Galaxy! I will kill both of you for this!"
Rogue turned on the lightsaber, the blue blade reflecting against her armor. "Good luck trying, Sugah."
Remy advanced against Essex again, the staff already glowing with the pink hue of his powers once more, as Rogue cut through one of the Dark Troopers with the lightsaber. She had to stop for a moment, impressed as she saw the droid fall to the ground, cut in half by the weapon like it wasn't made of a strong material at all.
She dealt with the rest of the Troopers easily, making a run towards Essex once she had the opening for it and going for the kill, her attack blocked by Essex's dark saber. He seemed more annoyed by the second as both Rogue and Remy attacked at once, not leaving any openings for him to stop for even a second.
Rogue felt like they'd win now, that everything would work out, when Remy suddenly stopped with his hands over his head, his staff falling to the ground as he curled himself on the ground. Rogue got distracted by it, screaming out in pain as the blade of Essex's saber managed to hit her ungloved hand, cutting and burning the skin and making her drop Charles' lightsaber to the ground. Thankfully, it could’ve been worse.
"Interesting, I can't reach your mind anymore," Essex mumbled as Remy screamed once again, fingers pressing against his scalp painfully at the telepath's psychic attack.
«I can't reach Remy's mind anymore,» Charles' voice rang in her head, urgent, words so similar to Essex’s that she thought she had imagined them for a moment. «I can only cloak you now, but Remy'll die if you don't act quick. Don't hesitate, Anna-Marie.»
Essex moved to attack her, quick and swift, but even without Charles' words, she wouldn't have hesitated. With a quick movement, she rolled to the ground, reaching for Remy's staff and using all the force she had as she speared it up, right as Essex raised the saber with both hands to end her. She watched with wide eyes behind her helmet as the blunt edge of the staff impaled the man given the force Rogue had used, his eyes widening as he felt it too, attack stopped as surprise hit him.
Next to her, Remy stopped screaming, slumping down with a heavy breathing as his body relaxed, his mind probably freed from whatever torture Essex was making him go through now.
Rogue pulled the staff back with a grunt, hearing Essex hiss as he fell to his knees, red eyes glaring at her as his hand touched the bleeding wound. With a kick, Rogue made him let go of the dark saber, the thing turning off as soon as it hit the ground.
"Aren't you lucky?" Essex rasped out, his eyes following Rogue as she reached for saber and Charles' as well. "The darksaber is in the hands of a Mandalorian again."
She looked at him as she placed the weapons against her hip, trying to decipher his words. He seemed to notice Rogue’s curiosity, surprise and amusement showing up on his face as he gave a painful laugh that caused him to double over in pain.
"Oh, that's precious," he wheezed out, grinning up at Rogue. "You have no idea what you just got, do you, Mandalorian?"
«We found Xandra.» Charles' voice announced as Rogue helped Remy up, his eyes looking incredibly tired. «But we need to leave quickly, there are more imperial vessels arriving.»
"We're on our way."
«And, Rogue?» Charles spoke again, a hit of something dark in his mind's voice now. «I need… I need you to bring us Nathaniel Essex.»
Rogue gave the kneeling man a look, seeing him looking back as he still held his wound. With a sigh, she moved towards him, grabbing him by the back of his clothes and dragging him with her as he screamed in pain. Remy didn't seem to question it, although she couldn't say that it was because Charles had talked to him as well or just because he couldn’t care to ask why she was dragging the man who almost killed him through the corridors with her.
Getting to where Charles and Erik were was easy without the Dark Troopers in the way and with the fact that Remy seemed tired, blowing up anyone who got in their way without giving them a second chance. Rogue looked around her, at the broken droids that laid at the entrance of the Cruiser's cockpit, before looking up to find Charles and Erik inside the empty cockpit with Xandra sitting on the ground, Erik's hand over their back gently. It was all she needed to see to throw Essex to the side and run towards the kid, Remy right behind her.
Xandra looked up immediately, pink eyes meeting Rogue's as she noticed the kid's tired expression, a redness around her throat where the suppression collar probably had been. Tired as they looked, they still found strength to get up and run towards Rogue, hugging her while Rogue tried her best not to touch Xandra with her ungloved hand.
"You're okay," Rogue whispered, fingers carding gently through the feathers on Xandra's head. She heard Xandra chuckle.
"You came for me."
Rogue nodded. "Ah took you from them once. Ah wouldn't let you go that easily, kid."
"Petit…" Remy muttered behind Rogue, Xandra breaking the hug to jump on top of him and making the man chuckle, trying to get his balance back as he held her. "Good seein' you safe."
Back at the entrance, there was a loud wheezing laugh, making all of them turn around to look. Essex was there, still on the ground, red eyes looking at all of them as he laughed and clutched at his wound. There was blood all over his clothes and the pale skin of his hand, more soaking him by the second.
"Ain't that a surprise," he said, voice rasping out each word. "Erik Lehnsherr… I thought you died during the Jedi Purge, caught in the crossfire maybe." Essex’s eyes moved to Charles then, his smile widening before saying, "I see you merely chose to be weak."
Rogue watched as Erik tried to take a step forward, Charles' hand holding his arm before he could. They stared at each other, bitterness all over Erik's face as Charles' eyes seemed pleading.
"Even now, you're weak," Essex kept going. "This is why you were always an apprentice, never a true Sith. Even your lovely Charles stopped being a Padawan and became a Master before you could ever-"
"Enough." Xandra said, Essex's mouth suddenly closing as his eyes turned distant, Xandra's telepathy acting on him. Xandra sighed where they stood, blinking a few times like the action had taken a toll on them. "I've been wanting to do that for a while..."
"You said there are more ships coming," Rogue said out loud, turning to Charles. He looked at her, although his grip on Erik's arm remained. "We need to go, we don' have much time. Here…"
Rogue walked towards him, taking both sabers from her belt and offering them to him. She watched as a crease formed over Charles' brow as he looked at the second saber, the one that belonged to Essex.
"Thank you," he muttered, taking only his own from Rogue's hand as she offered the other one more forcefully. "This one doesn't belong to me."
"Ah don' want it. Take it."
"You aren't being serious." This time it was Erik who talked, looking as confused as Charles. "This is yours."
"Ah have no need for this thing-"
"Rogue, that's a darksaber," Charles said calmly, looking up at her as she kept her hand out, still offering the weapon. "You don't know what it means that you have it?"
"Means Ah have something Ah don' want. Ah have no use for this, Ah don' use blades."
"It means," Erik's voice was suddenly filled with annoyance as he stared at Rogue. "You are the Queen of Mandalor. Whoever wins the darksaber in battle is Mandalor's ruler- Don't you know your own history?"
Rogue stopped for a moment, looking at both men with quiet disbelief, hearing the honesty in their words. After a moment, she offered the weapon a little more forcefully.
"Take it, Ah'm giving it to you."
"That's not how it works," Charles shook his head, raising his hands. "You have to win against the one who owns the darksaber in a fight."
"Ah surrender. Take the saber." When Charles made no move to take it, Rogue huffed out. "Alright, fight me an' win so we can get this over with."
"I won't fight you for it, Rogue."
By his side, the noise of Erik's lightsaber turning on made both of them look at the other man. Charles' hand shook Erik's arm with that.
"Erik, no!"
"She's asking and I thought you-"
"No!" Charles said loudly, Erik turned off his lightsaber with a sigh. Charles shook his head, turning his eyes to Rogue again before saying, "Keep it, Rogue. It's yours, and now it's in the hands of a Mandalorian again, which is better than in the hands of a Sith. Queen or not, you've earned it."
"What fun," Remy stepped up beside Rogue, Xandra right next to him. "Shall we go now?"
"There's something I need to finish first."
Everyone stared at Erik as he said that, Charles' eyes getting that pleading look to them again. Rogue only watched as he took Charles' hand from his arm, raising it to place a kiss to the man's knuckles, soft and apologetic.
"I need to do this," Erik muttered. Charles didn't seem happy about it.
"I know." The telepath nodded, thumb brushing against Erik's hand gently. "Just don't lose yourself, that's all I ask of you..."
The smile on Erik's lips after those words was calm and gentle, loving even. "You always find me in the end."
Even with those words, Charles didn’t look very confident. The pleading look seemed to have gone away, and Rogue felt like what was reflected in the blue of his eyes now was loss, as if somehow he had lost Erik when he was standing right there.
They watched as Erik walked towards Essex, the man still off due to Xandra's command, his lightsaber turning on again, red and menacing in Erik's hand.
"Xandra, let his mind go," he asked. In a second Essex seemed back to himself, eyes up at Erik with surprise before a smile appeared on his lips.
"Go ahead, complete your training and kill your master," Essex muttered, a glint in his red eyes that made Rogue shiver.
Erik's hand tightened around his lightsaber as she watched everything curiously, feeling like this was bigger than she could ever comprehend. By the way Charles' hands clutched the metal of his hoverchair and his eyes seemed frantic, she guessed it was.
"Be the Sith you were trained to be, Erik Lehnsherr!" Essex screamed. Next to them, Xandra seemed to grab Remy's arm, the Cajun holding them close immediately. Charles seemed to mutter Erik's name under his breath. "Show your Jedi how you're still part of the Dark Side! Show me you're not weak!"
Erik raised his lightsaber, ready to strike, but it never hit Essex, Erik's hand stopping midair right as a shot from Rogue's blaster hit Essex's face.
Essex's body dropped to the ground with a muffled noise, red eyes open and dead as Erik's hand lowered slowly, his whole body shaking for what Rogue could see. He turned to her, eyes wide and a lost look in them as Rogue only put the blaster away again.
"Didn't seem like killing him would do you much good," she explained. By her side, Charles seemed to let out a shaky exhale, sounding relieved. "Finished the job for you."
"Let's get out," Charles' voice was quiet, as if he was putting his thoughts into place. “Let’s leave this goddamn place.”
No one seemed to object to him.
The ship landed in Arakko’s spaceport, the noises of the planet reaching Rogue's ears as soon as she stepped out of Charles and Erik's ship. By her side, Remy seemed to look around with curious eyes, the glint in them making Rogue roll her eyes even if there was a smile on her lips. He looked ready to cause some trouble.
She heard the faint noise of Charles' hoverchair behind her, leaving the ship calmly with Xandra and Erik by his sides — Erik, whose eyes still looked lost hours after they had escaped the Imperial Cruiser. She remembered watching Erik and Charles in the ship, seeing the way Charles had held Erik's shaky hands. All she had managed to hear from their conversation was a quiet, "I'm just glad I didn't lose you," from Charles. His eyes seemed to look at Rogue with a quiet confusion now and then, and, sometimes, she could swear she could see gratitude.
"Are you sure I can't convince you to stay with us?" Charles asked, a quiet smile on his lips as he looked at Rogue and Remy, blue eyes kind over them.
"I don' think this one here would stand bein' around people for longer," Remy joked, pointing at Rogue as he said the words. "She must be socially drained by now."
"Sorry, Charles," Rogue shrugged. "Whatever it is this life you live, it's not for me. Jedis an' Siths, or whatever that lunatic was talking about… That’s not mah world."
For a moment, Rogue could swear there was a shift in Charles' eyes, in the look he was giving her, as if he knew something she didn't. If that was the case, he didn't say anything, only giving her another smile.
"I understand," he nodded, eyes turning towards Xandra now. "I think it's time to say goodbye, darling."
Xandra moved forward quickly, jumping on Rogue and hugging her tightly as Rogue did the same to them, holding the kid in her arms. She would be lying if she said she didn't feel torn by letting Xandra go after the time they spent together and everything Rogue went through to find somewhere to keep Xandra safe. They'd be safe with those two, Rogue knew that, and Xandra deserved to be with the father she never thought she'd meet.
"I'm going to miss you," Xandra said quietly, moving back to look at Rogue's face, covered by the helmet. Their pink eyes were filled with unshed tears.
Rogue felt her throat closing, feeling like maybe she should just ask for Xandra to stay — a clan of three, that's what Rogue could have, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't want it — but she couldn't ask for it. Xandra needed something other than Rogue, needed to have a life outside of running, and for what Charles told her, that's what the kid would have.
"Me and Erik, we live on a small planet named Krakoa. There's a home, and fields to tend to," he had explained, smiling dreamingly as he talked about his home. "They'll have a home, and will be safe there. I know that's what you want for them."
With a sigh, Rogue moved her hands to her helmet, pulling it off to look directly into Xandra's eyes. They smiled at Rogue's face, bottom lip trembling with the crying they were trying to keep inside.
"Be careful, alright?" She said, hand moving to bump her knuckles gently against Xandra's chin. "An' Ah hope now that when me and the Cajun go there to visit you in the future, you'll have many stories to tell us about your life."
Xandra nodded, smiling a bit as the first tears fell. "Be careful too. Thank you."
"Take care, Sugah."
Xandra moved away, giving Remy a tight hug as well as they said their goodbyes. Rogue took the moment to put her helmet on again, feeling the tears falling from her eyes now, hidden away from everyone else. Even so, Charles' eyes on her felt gentle, as if he knew very well what was hiding behind the helmet. She stepped closer to the two men then, the movement making her feel the darksaber that was stuck to her belt for a moment, that thing that Rogue still didn’t know why she kept.
"Take care of 'em, will you?" Rogue asked, hoping her voice didn't waver as much as she thought it did.
"We will," Erik was the one who answered, nodding at Rogue. "You can be sure of that."
"And if you ever feel like seeing Xandra again, I've already taken the liberty to leave our location in yours and Remy's mind," Charles shrugged.
"Could've asked, couldn't you?"
"Would you say no?"
"Could've given me the illusion of a choice."
"I'll take that in mind when we meet again. You want the telepath’s courtesy."
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“I don’t know what’s like not having him around my mind for decades,” Erik mumbled, but there was a smile on his lips. It clearly didn’t seem like a bother for him. “I think he’s got too used to me not complaining.”
Xandra approached them again then, giving Rogue a last squeeze on the arm before they stood by their father's side. Remy was by Rogue's side again in a moment.
"I guess this is goodbye, " they muttered.
"For now," Rogue said quickly. Xandra's lips tugged up in a smile, nodding shortly.
"For now."
Rogue stood there as she watched the ship fly off again, Xandra waving at her and Remy from the cockpit before the ship was too far away for them to be seen.
When the ship was too far away to even see, Rogue stayed with her head to the sky, quietly letting the last tears fall for a moment before pulling herself back together. Xandra was safe and had a home now, that's what she wanted for the kid from day one.
By her side, Rogue felt Remy's hand brushing against her arm gently, red eyes looking at her with quiet empathy.
A clan of two, Rogue thought, feeling a smile tug on her lips. Sounded good enough.
"Should I steal us a ship?" He asked casually, as if he wasn't offering to steal a ship in broad daylight. Rogue couldn't hold back a snort.
She moved closer to him, raising her helmet just enough to show her mouth before pressing her palm against Remy's lips, kissing the back of her hand like she had done days ago at the ruins. Remy smiled after that, his face looking a little flushed.
"Ah'll indulge you this once, Cajun."
"Would you like an old and battered one like your last? There’s a small one over there- Very old by th’ looks of it. Jus’ your type, Mando."
"Don' test mah patience."
Remy grinned at her. Rogue smiled back.
