Disclaimers: I'm a unenployed college drop out (planning on going back this year though) I drive around in a little red car that cost me more to get repaired then it did to buy, and it contuines breaking on me. Do I really need to say it? Okay, here it goes. I do not own Marvel, pretty obviouse huh?

I just want to say thanks to my awsome Beta reader, Ice, who has done a fantastic job. Thank you so much. Now on with the show..

Chapter 1

"Every girl has a dream. A secret desire she hides in her heart. A wish waiting upon that perfect star. This girl is no different. Here is her story..."

Narrator, on Rogue – X-men: Fairytales #3

It had been six months since Rogue took the cure, six months of being able to touch people, six months of feeling normal. As she now looked at the unconscious Bobby on her bedroom floor, normal was one last thing she was feeling.

She would have been freaked if this was the first time something like this had happened, but it wasn't and that was the problem. The exact same thing had happened before; David was in a comma for two weeks after she touched him. Rogue had known her powers would come back; everyone knew that the cure wasn't permanent. Reports of hundreds of mutants getting their 'gifts' back was the only thing on TV, but deep down, Rogue had been hoping that maybe, just maybe, she was unique; maybe her mutation wouldn't come back like it had for others, that just maybe she could go on living the rest of her life with the ability to touch people; The unconscious Bobby had ruined the little bit of hope.

The touch had only been a quick one, so Bobby was due to get up at any minute. It was lucky, really, that Rogue got so scared of her powers returning; otherwise he might have been out for much longer. Rogue sat on her floral bed, stroking Bobby Drake's forehead through thick black gloves, wondering whether or not she should have gotten someone.

Everybody else had cool mutations. Bobby could generate ice, Ororo could control the weather, Kitty could walk through walls, and there she was, the girl who couldn't touch anyone. Feeling bitter was an understatement, especially when she had taken the cure, when she was the untouchable and Bobby had found comfort in perfect little Katherine Pryde. Who could blame him? Unlike her, she was touchable. Rogue couldn't help but clench her fists as the image of Bobby holding Kitty in one of the danger room sessions flashed through her mind. She wasn't sure if it was one of Bobby's memories or hers, either way, she was now watching Kitty and Bobby in her mind's eye as they both went through the rock together, holding hands.

Rogue was brought out of her unwanted thoughts by Bobby who was just now beginning to stir.

"What... What happened?" He asked in a daze.

Rogue couldn't bring herself to look directly in his eyes. The fact that her mutant ability was back didn't only affect her, but also Bobby. They could no longer touch; she was terrified that he would go elsewhere for the affection that she knew she couldn't give him

"I'm so sorry, Bobby." Rogue whispered, still stroking his forehead through her gloves. As soon as Bobby felt the cold leather on his face, he knew what had happened and wished he hadn't asked. Rogue had always been sensitive about her mutation, at the fact she couldn't touch people. The last few weeks had been a nightmare, the not knowing when it would come back. They had both been counting down, but neither of them knew how long they had; they just knew they didn't have long.

"Hey, it's ok." Bobby shuffled himself out of Rogue's arms to kneel down on the floor. He wanted to reach out and wipe the tears from her cheek, but knew he couldn't. There was no use trying to calm Rogue down, no use at all. Bobby figured she just needed a bit of time to come to terms with what was happening.

Slowly and steadily, Bobby lifted himself off the bed. He gave Rogue a small smile before moving towards the door.

"I'm going to give you some time." He left, leaving Rogue alone with unbelievable amounts of insecurity.

There was nothing anyone could do to help her now. Before the professor had died, or rather before the professor had been murdered by one of their own, he had been working on control with her. A part of Rogue resented Jean for that, for taking him away before she had mastered it, but it wasn't exactly her fault; it had been the Phoenix and because of that uncontrollable power force, a lot of people were grieving.

Logan was back to his old ways, never staying long enough. Sometimes he would stay for weeks at a time, but when she least expected it he would up and go; other times he would get back and leave the next day. It was a shame, really, Logan was the only person Rogue could really connect with, they were the same; running from something, but neither knew what. Maybe it was Logan's obsession with answers that kept him running, even though he had some, he still didn't believe he had been told the full story and he resented himself for killing William Stryker, the only person who really knew what had happened to him.

Storm wasn't her old self; even though she tried to be strong, Rogue could hear her crying sometimes at the loss of Scott, Jean, and Xavier.

Xavier's school for the gifted. It wasn't Xavier's school anymore, but they agreed to keep the name the same, despite the fact that nothing was the same there anymore.

Rogue got up from her bed to stand in front of the golden mirror. Her long, dark brown hair had a single white steak in the front from where Magneto had kidnapped her and nearly killed the young girl. Her eyes were red from crying and her red thin lips were quivering. Rogue often wondered whether he was right in his ways, she wondered if mutants and humans could ever live at peace with each other. Professor Xavier thought so, but Magneto never did. She often wondered: if she hadn't met Logan, where would she be? Would she still be here, or home, or dead? It was an easy life with the brotherhood, they lived off the assumption that they could take from life what they wanted, no questions asked, but that was an easy life, not necessarily a good one. At least in the institute, everyone had a clear conscious.

Nothing was the same anymore, nothing. Nothing had been the same after Alkaline Lake but everything with the cure and Phoenix had just made everything worse. Rogue took a deep breath, deciding that she has best tell Storm that her mutation had come back. The door creaked as Rogue opened it, but she didn't pay any attention; she was too used to all the creaking to let it bother her.

Walking down the grand, two-part stairs, Rogue stopped to look at a picture in the golden frame; it was of everyone in the institute, taken a year after she first arrived. They had lost so many after that photograph it was hard to believe it was only two years old.

Finally, Rogue found herself standing outside Ororo Munroe's office. She knocked twice, waiting for an answer from the other side

"Come in." The voice was husky and low. Storm was originally from Africa, the tale of how she ended up at the institute had never been told, unlike Rogue's. Everybody knew about Rogue's deadly kiss with her ex-boyfriend David. Everybody knew she had put him in a coma.

"What can I do for you Marie?" Storm asked from behind her wooden desk.

"I just... My... well, it's come back." Rogue stuttered; having to say it made it feel more real for it and she hated it.

Storm knew instantly what Rogue was talking about; it was the day they had waited so long for, the dreaded day.

"Okay, calm down and tell me exactly what happened." Storm instructed.

"I was in my room and Bobby and I were just talking...and he put his hand on mine. The next thing I know, he was lying on my bed unconscious and all his memories were running around in my head. I just want it to go, Storm; I just want to be normal." Rogue's tone was defeated. She had given up.

"My dear child, none of us are normal, not even those without gifts." Storm preached, it was just like her really. She though all mutation was a gift. She had a valuable mutation, one of the good ones. She didn't know what it was like, being unable to touch.

"I just want to be able to touch." Rogue whispered. Storm looked at her sympathetically.

"Once you're able to control your mutation, you'll see what I mean by gift."

"How am I ever going to learn to control it now that the professor's gone?" Rogue asked hotly, then instant wished that she hadn't.

"The professor was a great telepath, but he isn't the only with those powers. He only helped, you can do this by yourself, Rogue, but if you absolutely need help then I know another telepath, but I prefer you work this on your own, child. I know you're capable of it alone."

"So I'm on my own?" Rogue asked quietly, downtrodden.

"Of course not, you have a family; you have me, Bobby, Logan, all of us." Storm smiled.

"Yeah," Rogue mumbled, unsure. She got up from her chair and started heading for the door, but before she could exit, Storm had one more thing.

"Ah, Marie!" Storm called her to pause. "Now that you're gifts are back, you could be a real asset to the team and I just wanted to let you know that--whenever you're ready, the danger room is always open for you."

Rogue nodded, she knew the score. Yeah, she was a real asset; she could suck the life out of anyone and posses their power, and Storm saw value in that. Rogue didn't think the same way, she knew she couldn't control her 'gift', she couldn't control how much she took.

The halls were filled with echoes of laughter and people running around. There was a strict rule of no running inside the mansion, but as long as none of the oldies were about it was fine. Rogue didn't even have time to see who was around the corner because they ran straight into her. Falling to the floor, Rogue had the weird feeling that someone had just fallen through her.

"Oh, sorry Rogue didn't see you there." Kitty babbled with her head popping out of the wooden floor, the rest of her body was nowhere to be seen.

Rogue only managed to mumble a few things under her breath while rubbing the bump on her head. Why couldn't Kitty do her thing before they bumped into each other?

"How are you?" Kitty asked cautiously. "I haven't seen you in a while." She was now standing in front of Rogue, her whole body visible.

"Yeah, I'm fine, great even." Rogue bit off bitterly.

"I saw Bobby earlier. He looked a bit down." Kitty paused, then went on to ask what she really wanted to know. "Is there something up with the two of you? 'Cause if there was, you know you could talk to me, right? I mean, Bobby knows, but I don't think he wanted to talk. I was calling him and everything, but he just ignored me." Kitty continued to babble on obliviously.

"Maybe 'cause it's none of your business." With that said, Rogue disappeared, completely out of Kitty's sight. Kitty wondered how Rogue had moved so quickly, but she shrugged it off and sighed. Rogue could have such an attitude problem sometimes, she just didn't understand what was up with that girl. No wonder Bobby was walking around like a lost puppy.

Rouge appeared in the mansion garden surrounded by a puff of smoke, the last thing she knew she was ready to pounce on Kitty then she suddenly appeared here, how she had no idea.

"Okay, that was weird." She said to herself, admiring the scenery.

[A/N: This is my first X-men fic, so please go easy. Just a few things I should explain to you. It is a minor cross over with X-men evolution, you'll see what I mean by minor. Rogue and Gambit already know each other. Thank you all for reading, let me know what you think.]