Chapter 38:

After leaving the kitchen, Gojo wandered aimlessly around the mansion, his mind racing with thoughts of returning to his canyon for more training. 'I definitely need more diversity in my arsenal,' he thought. 'Most Marvel characters always seem to have one counter or another for psychic manipulators. But extending my abilities to the elementals...,' he smirked at the possibilities. 'Oh, I am so going to rip off a lot of characters from all those anime.'

His musings were interrupted when he saw Rogue drying herself with a towel after a session in the Danger Room. Gojo's eyes lingered, and Rogue noticed.

"Do you need something, sugah?" Rogue asked casually, her eyes flickering over to him.

'I definitely need a lot of things,' Gojo thought, looking at Rogue. She looked exactly like her Earth-616 counterpart, with long auburn hair streaked with white at the front, slightly pale skin, and green eyes. She wore her green and yellow uniform, which clung to her body in all the right places. 'Damn, she looks hot, and daddy definitely likes what he's seeing,' Gojo thought. He could see her trained body structure without needing X-ray vision, noticing how her outfit highlighted her curves. 'Wow, Chris Claremont and Michael Golden, you were cruel, creating such a character,' he thought with a little pity.

"Hello, Gojo, do you want something?" Rogue repeated.

"Oh, nothing in particular, just aimlessly wandering around this lovely hall," Gojo replied in a singsong tone, prompting Rogue to shake her head.

"Well, I am heading back to change from this sweaty mess."

'At least I'd get to admire the view,' Gojo thought.

"Well then, I shall accompany you, my damsel in distress," Gojo teased.

"Yeah, sure," she replied. "But get something straight, sugah, I am never in distress."

As they walked, Rogue seemed nervous, fidgeting as if trying to muster her courage. Gojo noticed this and wondered why she seemed so uneasy.

"So, about your powers—the one that makes you immune to other mutations—how does that work?" she finally asked.

Gojo stopped walking, looking at her with his azure eyes. 'Given her power set and the fact that she can't touch anything or anyone without draining their life, I get the desperation after finding out I am unaffected,' he thought. "I don't know how it works, but apparently, I am immune to most mutations that try to influence me physically and mentally," Gojo explained.

"But Scott and Bobby's powers work on you," Rogue pointed out.

"Yes, that's different. My immunity works in such a way that if you attack with an outside force, like using telekinesis to throw something at me, it will hit me. Or trying to use telekinesis to move me might also work. But I don't know much about that. Also, Bobby's powers work in such a way..." Gojo then explained the theory of how Iceman's powers influence the surrounding environment, making it effective against him despite his immunity to most mutations.

'Rogue should be able to make physical contact with me without endangering my health due to my immunity to her power stealing,' Gojo thought. 'Something she had to be thinking about intently ever since that Danger Room training session weeks ago.'

"So it's something that's always on?" Rogue asked, as if to confirm her theory.

"Hmmm, as far as I know, yes," Gojo replied.

"You already know what my power can do, yes?" Rogue asked after a long moment.

"From what I saw, yes. You can take powers by draining the life force of your targets," Gojo answered truthfully.

"You see, I drain the people I touch. Everyone I touch... I almost killed my first boyfriend with a kiss, and I haven't really touched anyone ever since," Rogue confessed. 'Huh, it's the same as in the comics. What a pity for her ex,' Gojo thought.

Rogue stood in front of him, saying, "Ca... Can I try to touch you? Just a little bit."

'Wow, she didn't even hold back,' Gojo thought. He then joked, "Wow, Rogue, what will people think if they heard what you just said?" while holding his arm around his chest. But seeing the desperate look in her eyes, he stopped joking. 'Her powers really are cruel, robbing her of any chance at physical interaction or even intimacy while being a teenager,' he thought. "Argh, what the hell, fine," Gojo sighed. 'Well, not as if I don't like her. Of course, it would be rather cruel of me not to let her have that intimacy.'

"Sugah, if you feel anything, I'll stop right away," Rogue assured him. "I just need to feel the warmth one more time."

Gojo didn't say a thing and just kept looking at her.

"Sure, don't worry about knocking me out. Besides, as I said before, I am the strongest," Gojo said.

She seemed willing to take the risk.

Gojo bent a bit due to the height difference, looked straight into her eyes, and said, "Ready when you are... sugah."

'Wow, I've never seen a woman's expression change so quickly,' Gojo thought, seeing how she brightened up like the sun.

"Just stay still for a moment, let me know if you feel anything weird," she instructed.

Taking one of her gloves off, she let the very tips of her fingers brush his cheek, which was smooth as he had no facial hair there for a change. When nothing happened, she placed her hand on his cheek, leaving it there for a minute. Once she removed her hand, she inspected the spot she'd touched as if expecting it to have changed somehow. Then, after pulling her other glove off, she placed both hands on his cheeks, caressing them gently before moving them into his hair. "You're so warm, and your hair is so soft," she said, smiling lightly, reluctant to let go. She moved her hands gently as if she were scared Gojo might break.

As she did all that, Gojo just stood there, looking at her face as she moved closer before she moved one hand to hold his own, squeezing it gently.

"You sure are taking your time to inspect," Gojo commented.

"I'd forgotten how it feels," she admitted in a whisper.

Rogue reluctantly moved back from him, saying, "Thank you," and putting her gloves back on while clearing her throat.

Just then, Kurt and Bobby passed through the hall. "Hey, Gojo," Kurt greeted with a friendly wave, while Bobby nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hey, guys," Gojo replied with a smile, exchanging brief pleasantries before they continued on their way.

The rest of the journey to Rogue's dorm room was quiet. 'Was having that physical contact with me that much of a sensation to make her completely mute?' Gojo wondered. Along the way, several girls tried to flirt with Gojo, prompting Rogue to frown as she watched their interactions.

When they finally reached her room, Rogue said, "Well, here we are. Thank you for accompanying me and for the other thing as well."

Gojo flicked her forehead and said, "Stop saying thank you for something so simple," before turning around to leave.

"I'll see you around, knight in shining armor," Rogue called out with a smile.

Gojo stopped, looked at her, and burst out laughing. "Good one," he said before blinking away.

Rogue touched the spot on her forehead where he flicked her and said to herself, "Something so simple? Maybe to you, but to me, it's a special gift."