Chapter Text
Longshot was going to go on a date. Not just any date, not just any common, ordinary date like he was sure that Piotr and Betsy had when they were a couple, or Kurt and Wanda had. He was going on a date with Rogue. Which meant that it had to be completely perfect and flawless, or as close to it as he could manage, because she was just about as close to perfect and flawless as he could imagine and he wanted her to have a good time. He adjusted his coat slightly, something that Betsy had suggested for him. Actually, she’d basically given him his entire wardrobe.
I guess she just read my mind or whatever to figure out my size. But then again, I don’t even know my own size. But Betsy used to wear fancy clothes and pose in front of cameras for a job, so Longshot figured she knew fashion pretty well. She also had posed without any clothes at all a couple of times. He’d discovered that by mistake when he was using Google to search up all of his teammates. Longshot hadn’t known she’d meant to have those pictures taken, so when he went to inform her that someone had done that, she’d teased him a lot.
Longshot had decided that it wasn’t nice to tell her that he didn’t really want to see those pictures. Not because she didn’t look nice, because she certainly did, but because he didn’t really have those kinds of feelings for her. It was nice of her to help me get nice clothes for this date, though. He’d come to the Institute with mostly the black leather outfit that he’d had to wear in Mojoworld, that he still wore as an X-Man, save with a few golden X’s emblazoned on them. After that, he’d worn quite a few of Scott’s clothes, which almost but not quite fit him. Apparently, Scott’s clothes were also stuffy. That was what Betsy had said.
Longshot had also got some flowers because a quick poll among the gentlemen he knew suggested that getting flowers was a thing that one did for dates. He would have preferred to have simply gathered some- but it wasn’t the season for wildflowers so he had gone into the city to buy some. It had been Piotr, actually, that had gone to help him pick out flowers. The florist had been very friendly to both of them and he was fairly sure he’d got a couple of free roses. People sure are nice. Especially ladies, but the gentleman at the chocolate shop was very nice too. People sure looked at him a lot, though.
Longshot hoped that Rogue would look at him tonight. He liked it when she did. She could look at him as much as she liked.
Longshot tried to go through the list of things that he needed in his head- he had flowers and chocolates, he had nice clothes and new shoes, he’d made sure that his breath was as fresh as possible, even though he knew there wouldn’t be any kisses happening. He’d decided not to bother with trying to remember any of the so-called ‘right things to say’ that he’d found on the Internet. Longshot figured that he was probably better off just being himself, because Rogue knew him anyway. She was smart and he got the idea that she didn’t like insincerity much. Which was good, because Longshot didn’t like it either.
Money. I have to make sure I have money for pizza. Betsy had been pretty insistent that since he was the guy, it was expected that he’d pay for it. Kitty disliked the notion of that being an obligation because of something called ‘feminism’ which he understood as meaning that women were equal to men and should be treated equally. The fact that such an obvious thing needed a whole big social movement seemed odd to Longshot, but he remembered hearing that a hundred years ago, women weren’t allowed to vote in America, which was awfully unkind. Kurt had put it slightly differently, that it was more about the fact that he’d asked her out. Logan had simply grunted, but Longshot thought that it was a grunt of assent. In any case, he had the money. Longshot had even got a wallet, which helped to hold the money and other things. He figured it was better than just jamming stuff into his pockets.
Longshot checked his watch- another thing he’d got only a short while ago, because apparently he wasn’t that good with time, which normally didn’t matter too much, but was very important for dates. He’d heard about being fashionably late, but Betsy had been very, very insistent that he not try that. The watch told him that he needed to be downstairs in about a minute or so. Oh, I have to check and make sure that my phone is in there too. Longshot thought that phones were funny things, not the least of which was that people seemed to use them for everything but phones. There was an app on the phone, though, that called taxis, in case the weather turned badly. Longshot hoped it wouldn’t, though. It was nice walking weather right now and he wanted to be able to walk with Rogue.
Longshot quickly checked himself over to make sure everything was in order and that his fly wasn’t undone or anything and then headed down the stairs, resisting the urge to slide down the bannister. The Professor didn’t like it when he did that, but sometimes he couldn’t resist the temptation. It was fairly broad and didn’t end with a knob at the end that could have made it uncomfortable. He decided that it was probably better for him to simply walk down the stairs and wait for Rogue. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked around. Rogue wasn’t there yet.
Longshot didn’t hear any clicking or shuffling of feet, but instead a gentle, almost ethereal sound of moving air, as if there was a very gentle breeze above him. He instinctively looked up to see the most beautiful woman in the world floating down from the top of the stairs towards him. He hoped he wasn’t drooling, because he was certain that his jaw was dropped down about as far as it would go. She wore a form-fitting emerald green dress with black tights and long dark gloves, which, however, left her shoulders and neck bare.
“Hi, sugar.” Rogue smiled over at him and Longshot swore that he could detect a hint of a blush in her cheeks as she caught sight of him. The sudden warmth in his own suggested pretty strongly that he was reacting the same way. Longshot could feel his mouth go dry and his knees feel a bit weak. Eventually, he remembered that he was holding chocolates and flowers for Rogue and held them out for her, hoping that his hands weren’t shaking as well.
“I … I got flowers. And some chocolate. I hope you like them.” Longshot smiled a little nervously, but then gratefully when she took them with a deepening blush of her own and a broad smile that he would have gone back into Murderworld to see. Compared to what he was willing to go through to make her happy, a little bit of money on flowers and chocolate seemed like nothing at all. He didn’t even mind the work he did around the Mansion. Longshot enjoyed helping out.
“Thank you. You shouldn’t have-” Longshot momentarily felt his heart sink at the notion that he’d somehow offended her, but the way Rogue laughed suggested that she was was using some sort of figurative language or was saying something that she was expected to say somehow. “I mean, thank you. They’re beautiful. Can I … quickly find somewhere to put them? Before we go?” Longshot could only nod as she hurried off to find a vase quickly to put them. Rogue returned with the roses in a lovely clear vase, which she put down, before going to slip on her jacket. “I don’t want to risk wrecking them or something. You know how it is with us. We’ll be lucky if we don’t get attacked on our date.”
“I hope we don’t get attacked. But I’m not really worried if we do.” There wasn’t a lot, after all, that Rogue couldn’t easily handle. Rogue was stronger and tougher than anyone on the team except Piotr and could fly as well, as fast as the Blackbird’s cruising speed. “I’m sure you can protect me.” That got a laugh from Rogue and Longshot offered her his arm. Rogue seemed to hesitate for a moment, but realizing that they were both nearly completely covered, slipped her arm in his. It was a bit of a funny thing. Next to him, her arm seemed so slender, her hand almost delicate. And yet there was enough strength in them to hurl Piotr at supersonic speeds. “I thought we’d actually walk there? It’s nice out there and Salem Center is pretty in the evening.”
“I’d love to go for a walk.” Rogue smiled at him and, everything in order, they went on their way to the restaurant, down the long tree-lined driveway and out of the Mansion gate on the brightly-lit path into the town centre of Salem Center. It really was a beautiful night, just cool enough to be bracing, but not cold enough that it was uncomfortable. Longshot glanced over towards Rogue, meeting her eyes, awestruck by how incredibly beautiful she looked in the soft light of the streetlamps. Her lips curved again into a smile, this one a little teasing. “See something you like, sugar?”
“Someone I like.” Longshot gently corrected her, unable not to smile. “I … you look incredible. Beautiful. I mean, you always do, but even more so tonight.”
“You don’t look half bad yourself.” Rogue’s smile broadened into a grin. Longshot found himself wishing that he could kiss her right then and there, but even if her powers weren’t the way they were, it wasn’t the right time for that. Kisses were supposed to happen at the end of a date, especially a first date. Longshot wanted to make sure he did everything right, as close to perfectly as he could. “Not that I don’t like the black leather look- I surely do, but it’s a nice change.” Longshot was glad to hear that Rogue liked the black leather- it had been mostly what he’d worn for as long as he could remember and probably a long time that he couldn’t remember, because his mind had been wiped so many times.
As much as Longshot wanted the walk to continue, he caught the smell of something almost indescribably delicious. Next to the slight hint of Rogue’s perfume, it was the best thing he’d smelled in ages. Pizza. Longshot loved pizza. He’d learned quickly that pizza was a very important part of America. Apparently it had been invented in another country called Italy, but it seemed to be a bigger thing in America than just about anything. Even hot dogs. Maybe even bigger than Coca-Cola, though people often had that with pizza. Longshot felt his stomach rumble slightly at the thought of the delicious pizza.
Longshot stepped slightly ahead of Rogue and pushed the door open for her to go through. The pizzeria was not a particularly large place, but it was certainly nice and clean and the smell in the air couldn’t really be summed up in words, but more in the urgent gurgling of his stomach. He smiled over to Rogue and they managed to find a nice corner booth.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m so hungry I think I could devour three whole pizzas myself.” Rogue smiled over at him as she sat across from him. It seemed weird to Longshot that the tradition was for dates to sit across from each other instead of right next to each other, but maybe it had more to do with making sure that another couple didn’t take the other seat. Maybe sometime he and Rogue would get to have a double date, but that would require that things went well tonight.
Longshot was fairly sure that Rogue was exaggerating somewhat when she said she could eat three pizzas by herself. Not even Piotr usually ate that much on pizza night- they ordered two extra-larges for the big Russian and that usually seemed like enough. Even so, he was pretty sure he had enough money to cover three pizzas even if it meant that he would go hungry himself. He doubted, though, that Rogue would let him go hungry. She was too nice to do that.
“So, uh, I think I remember pretty well what you like on your pizza.” Longshot smiled slightly and tried to remember. “Mushrooms. Black Olives. Green Peppers. Pepperoni. Sausage. Basil pesto on top, lots of parmesan and no chili flakes.” He’d made careful observations of people’s favourite pizza combinations. Kitty ordered her pizza vegetarian because she was Jewish and apparently the mysterious rules of ‘kosher’ made meat sort of difficult. Logan’s pizza had, Longshot was pretty sure, every kind of meat on them. Kurt inexplicably liked pineapple and ham on his pizza.
“Got it in one, sugar.” Rogue smiled sweetly. “And I know you order something different every time.” Her smile broadened into a grin. “But no pineapple. You hate pineapple on pizza.” It was true. Longshot really did hate pineapple on pizza. He liked pineapple well enough when it was a fresh piece of fruit, but it lost most of its goodness when it was canned and all of what was left when it became cooked in an oven like the rest of a pizza. She leaned over, far enough that she was nearly whispering in his ear. Also far enough that he could see a hint of cleavage in the neckline of her dress. But Longshot tried not to dwell on that. “I hate pineapple on pizza too. Don’t tell Kurt. It’ll break his heart.”
Longshot wouldn’t want to break Kurt’s heart, even if he was a little doubtful that it actually would. It would be pretty silly after all, it was just pizza. Even if pineapple on pizza was seriously gross. “I won’t tell.” Longshot whispered back quietly, trying to keep his eyes off her, something that was easier said than done. Rogue leaned back against the seat, though, when the waitress came up to take their order. As it turned out, they decided to get two medium pizzas. Longshot decided that he wanted to try the bacon cheeseburger pizza. It seemed like a good idea- bacon cheeseburgers were tasty and so was pizza. They didn’t seem like they’d make a bad combination either, not like delicious tangy pineapple and delicious pizza did. The only fruit that belonged on pizza was tomato and that was only technically a fruit.
The waitress came over with drinks and Longshot looked longingly at the tall glass of delicious, sugary Coca-Cola that was presented before him. Rogue had got lemonade, which seemed to be her preferred drink when there wasn’t sweet tea on the menu. Longshot thought that sweet tea was all right, but he’d always found himself coming back to Coca-Cola. Maybe it was because he heard so much about it when he was back in Murderworld from Rita.
Longshot felt a sudden twinge of guilt when he thought about Rita, trapped as she was inside the twisted and evil body and mind of Spiral.
“You okay, Longshot?” Longshot was brought back to reality by a gentle touch of a gloved hand on his. “You looked a little sad for a moment.”
Longshot didn’t quite know what to say at that moment, about Rita, to Rogue. What he did know was that, even though things had maybe changed and now he thought about kissing Rogue a lot and far less about kissing Rita, that one day, he would have to go back to Murderworld and help her. It’s got nothing to do about what I wanted with her anyway. She’s a person and she’s been turned into a weapon, twisted and evil. I need to go back and help her one day. I will one day.
Longshot knew too, however, that he needed to think about his present and enjoy it. He knew that’s what Rita would have wanted. He’d go back to help her, to save her and make things right. He’d go back and make sure that Murderworld got torn to the ground and that Mojo, Arcade and the Sugar Man would never hurt anyone in the name of their sadistic games again. But tonight, he had the chance to relax and enjoy himself and maybe help build something new and wonderful.
“Sorry. Just thought about some stuff … about back on Murderworld for a moment.” Longshot had realized long ago that he was a terrible liar, so he didn’t really bother trying. He smiled and gave her hand a little squeeze. “I’m just really glad I can be here, with you. Eating the …” He heard soft footsteps and could smell an absolutely amazing scent in the air. “... delicious pizza that is arriving right now.” It really did smell incredible and his stomach rumbled enthusiastically.
“I’m famished.” Rogue grinned and sat up as the piping hot pizzas were brought to their table. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, which he was grateful for, because there was no way that his hand was going to survive anything other than a gentle squeeze. “And I’m happy to be here too. With you.” She lifted up her glove, delicately kissed the glove and pressed it softly to his cheek. “Thanks for asking me out, sugar.”
“Well, I’d be happy to take you out any time, Rogue.” Longshot blushed deeply before getting plates in order and serving her a slice of pizza, which she proceeded to douse liberally in parmesan cheese. Once she’d got her slice of pizza, he got himself a slice of bacon cheeseburger pizza, which he hoped tasted as good as it looked and smelled. A taste of it pretty much immediately confirmed that it was, indeed, just that good.
Which made it the second-best thing about going out for pizza with Rogue.