LOG: Dominic Petros & Rogue.
SUMMARY: Backdated to around the 10th of October. Dom curiously pokes Rogue for more insight into John's recent behavior, and she gets irritable and cracks a little. A sofa in front of a TV isn't a place for an argument, though, and fortunately, they get out of it unscathed.


DOMINIC: Thanks to the hours Dom's unofficial job had him working, he tended to sleep past noon and get up at around one in the afternoon most days. So he was still in his sleep pants and t-shirt when he wandered into the TV room at lunchtime and plopped down on the couch next to Rogue, snatching up the remote. "Morning," he said with a stifled yawn, snuggling down into the sofa cushions. At first he had every intention of passing the next couple of hours in companionable silence but after a minute a thought struck him, and he sat up a little. "Hey, so do you know what's up with John acting like a total psycho on the journals? He had this whole creepy Vic thing going on." Making a face Dom added, "Not a good look on him."

ROGUE: Yeah, didn't she know it. Rogue's gaze remained locked on the TV, though she reached behind her head to gather her hair, still curly (she hadn't bothered to straighten it), into a ponytail she didn't have an elastic band for. "I guess he's actin' out. Lookin' for an excuse to hurt somebody." She shrugged, as though it was nothing, even though John's outburst totally had been something, and she'd given him anger for it right off. "I e-yelled at him. Went private to hide the show." It was strange, talking about things that happened on a network in--well, real life. "I don't care what's bitin' at your backside, rape ain't somethin' to provoke people with." With that, she felt another surge of hot emotion, not unlike the one she'd felt upon reading John's words to Angelica and Sofia last night, and her jaw tightened. She didn't care if John had some stupid rep to uphold. She'd just--she'd let him talk to her a few nights ago, and he'd been uncharacteristically decent. Nice. Sweet, even, though she hesitated to even mentally attribute such a descriptor to him. And the next thing she knew, he was typing up a storm, trying to start a fight with rape. He'd gone as far as he could imagine over the line. Over what? Over feeling awkward, Rogue assumed. Over feeling thrown off balance and feeling stupid, now that her powers were back and she'd avoided him like the plague. She'd avoided everyone like the plague since her powers had come back, for better or for worse, because she'd needed time. She'd stopped brooding just the other day, figuring she needed to quit her whining and toughen up. And now, how was she supposed to reconcile the John she'd seen with the John everyone else had seen? It reflected badly on her choice to open up, even a little. As much as she liked Dom, she wasn't ready for anyone to know about that. "It's worse'n 'not a good look' on him--it's downright ugly. I can't even look at 'im right now." That was enough, right? She thought so. She sighed and released her makeshift ponytail, the waves falling back onto her shoulders.

DOMINIC: "E-yelled? Is that what the cool kids are calling it?" Dom asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "I would've said bitched him out but I guess your way is politer." It didn't surprise him though that Rogue had tackled John over the fight, she was hardly one to keep her opinions to herself. Which was probably why Dom liked her so much, she was feisty without being a bitch and that made her fun to be around. He blew out a sigh after a moment, turning his head to look Rogue in the face. "You know he didn't mean it though, right? I think he was just trying to hit a nerve and it worked, I doubt he has any intention of molesting us in our sleep." Although Dom might not be completely adverse to the idea, truth be told. What he didn't like was Rogue and John being on the outs because it made things a little awkward, being both of their friends, and Dom wasn't a big fan of conflict. So he threw her a significant look, and added. "And I definitely don't think he meant to upset you." Not if the little signals he was picking up on had anything to say about it.

ROGUE: "I know he didn't," Rogue muttered, in a voice that could have best been described as a cross between a grumble and grudging agreement. "But since when do I make excuses for my friends? The intent don't excuse the means, sugah, an' he was actin' positively awful. His choice." She wasn't going to turn what she perceived as the mountain back into a molehill. And from the looks of things, John had definitely gotten something of what he was spoiling for--or at least, he had if Angelica's remarks held any water to them. It wasn't that she happy at the prospect that John had gotten whacked by the seemingly unstable microwave-producing girl; it was that he'd essentially dug his own grave on that one, and considering the context, Rogue wasn't particularly inclined to feel sympathy. John was probably licking his wounds and nursing his pride somewhere in his room, away from where people could gawk at the supposed black eye. Her lips parted in some surprise at Dom's look, though, and for a second, her expression had something of a deer-in-headlights look to it. Funny way o'showin' a girl he cares, was the first thing she wanted to come out of her mouth, and because she couldn't think of a second thing while she was staring her friend full-on in the face, she turned back to the TV. "I know you think you got some obligation t'make us kiss an' make up, Dom--an' that's purely a matter of expression, I ain't in the mood to KO anyone--but I'm stubborn. I want a talk, an' I'm not backin' down 'til I've gotten through." And right now, she simply wasn't ready to talk yet. Her mood needed to peter out somewhat first. She didn't like feeling constantly on edge waiting for the next friend-related disaster. And from her end--at least, if Dom would let her--she planned to have the ensuing moments stretch into silence until it was appropriate for her to change the subject.

DOMINIC: "Well maybe if Angelica wasn't such a bitch," Dom muttered under his breath. The comment wasn't entirely fair because Angelica did seem like a nice girl, she just had a habit of getting on the bad sides of people in the hotel. If it wasn't Dan she was annoying then it was John and Dom's loyalty was to both of them first and foremost, the sniffling teenage girl last. But he could see where Rogue was coming from, if he let himself, because if he were a girl he might have been far more insulted or offended by John's stupid remark. "Yeah, alright. I just don't like seeing you guys fight. It's like watching your parents divorce or something." Not that he'd know since his mom had never been married and he wasn't even sure what his dad's name was but the principle was there. It was awkward and uncomfortable and made him feel like he had to choose between them. "So you been back to work yet?" he asked, aware that Rogue's temporary loss of powers had probably knocked for her six when they'd come back. It was cruel really, giving her a taste of normality only to shove her back into full on, high alert mode.

ROGUE: Despite herself, Rogue's eyelashes lowered and her mouth curved in a way that betrayed she was slightly (and very reluctantly) amused at his divorced parents comment. "Ain't that a comparison? Whatever am I s'posed t'do with you, Petros?" She nudged his leg gently, with the toe of her shoe. "Better be glad I'm too tired t'take cheap shots 'bout you bein' my son." Her temporary sass vanished at the mention of "work," however, her face settling back into something serious. Her gaze was no longer on the TV (and it wasn't like either of them were really watching anyway), settling onto the gloved hands that were now resting in her lap. "I went back for a few hours last night. I did fine, 'less ya count Ricki sendin' me home early." She smiled wryly, fluttering her gloved fingers in sequence. There they were. Back to normal, quote unquote. "Keepin' a straight face an' bein' serious ain't exactly tip-winnin' techniques. But I'm tryin'. I just gotta face facts, that's all." She reached over absently and picked up the remote, pressing the channel button a few times. Catholic priests, a weird Japanese reality gameshow, and Judge Judy flew on past, before Rogue finally settled on some televised aerobics class, letting the remote fall back onto the couch absently. "Truth t'tell, I was kinda hopin' I could steal the inhibitor an' run away. I know it came outta somethin' awful," meaning the place where Sublime had held his prisoners, "an' I know it implies somethin' even worse, but I'm selfish--an' I guess, messed up, too." Despite her best efforts to sound matter-of-fact, a familiar sensation had begun to weigh in her stomach. It wasn't that she thought there was something morally right about shutting off mutants' powers, especially considering the purpose the inhibitor had served. It was that she'd had three short days to taste normalcy again. For seventy-two hours, she'd had everything--and now, she was back to nothing. "I was havin' fun." She was scared out of her wits, too--not that she needed to say it. And with that, she fell temporarily silent. The feeling in her stomach had officially spread to her chest, and she needed to say something else fast, before she got stupid. "Speakin' o'which, I'm real regretful I never got t'you," she teased then, in an attempt to lighten her own mood. "Even if girls ain't your thing, I bet I could've made an impression." Even if the "impression" inspired him to go scrub his mouth off later; it wasn't like she'd specified what kind of impression.

DOMINIC: "At least you went back though. It's good that you tried," Dom replied encouragingly. "I don't think it's selfish. You'd have to be crazy not to have wanted to keep it. I think people here forget that not everyone has cool powers, you know?" Sure, the telepaths might complain about headaches from time to time but even that is a hundred times better when compared to Rogue or Jono's powers. So Dom can completely understand why people like them would want to get rid of their powers if they had the option. Unfortunately life wasn't that kind and Forge hadn't thought to try and make mini little power inhibitors for them. "Yeah, maybe you would've been the girl to turn me. Guess we'll never know," he replied with a laugh.

ROGUE: Yeah, "cool" powers. She didn't even have boring powers; she had straight-up horrible powers. But she didn't want to dwell, and he was moving on anyway. Thankfully, her quip about not getting to him had halted the tightening in her chest, and her body language was slowly becoming more relaxed. "Wanna bet?" she asked coyly and rhetorically, settling back against the sofa. For the first time since the conversation started, she felt the softness of the plush against her back. On-screen, happy people were dressed in ugly, brightly-colored workout clothes and doing repetitive moves. Rogue stared, holding the remote for a little while as though mesmerized by the hypnotizing workout. "Dom, honey, if I ever become a yuppie," she murmured absent-mindedly, "I'm startin' somethin' way better an' snootier than an aerobics class." And with that, the screen was flipped to something more appetizing (Christian-Bale-as-Bruce-Wayne's face, specifically) and the two fell back into a comfortable silence. Sooner rather than later, Rogue would have to deal with the fallout of what she'd done in the past week--but for now, she was content to have at least one friend that would leave her in companionable peace.