14826/Et tu, Sinister

Et tu, Sinister
Date of Scene:	20 March 2023
Location:	Fred's Diner - Mutant Town
Synopsis:	Rogue revitalizes her relationship with Sinister and has a mini date with Logan
Cast of Characters:	Rogue, Sinister, Wolverine

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Rogue has posed:
Would it come as a surprise that Rogue somehow contacted Sinister asking him to meet her at Fred'd Diner? Maybe, maybe not. But it's happened, for reasons that aren't known to the Doctor. By the time Sinister's likely arriving at the Diner, she's already seated in a side booth, and has a chicken tender meal with mashed potats n' gravy plus seasonal fruit and a soda to drink. She's picking at it though, perhaps holding off on digging in until her company arrives.

Sinister has posed:
Leaving messages at the 'known clinic' is usually a good way. Also thinking loudly using his real name, when he's made a connection will do it. Nathaniel enters wearing a leather fleece lined jacket, black of course, over a T-shirt with stylized flames at the hem. Jeans. Bovvah boots. Hair a little messy and shoulder length, looking like it got the 'fox cut' treatment. Rose tinted spectacles on his nose, he looks about the diner, spots the southern Belle and with a glance to the waitress orders himself a coffee without saying a word and a side of mozza sticks.

He's even quiet when he arrives at the booth -- normally, the man is prone to making his heels clipped, to making an impression, if he's wearing his own face that is. Not now. "You rang, mademoiselle?"

Rogue has posed:
"I did..." Rogue offers, looking the Doctor over as he approaches and then motions to the empty seat across from her. "I've been, admittedly, a bit concerned about you since I saw you at the school." There's a smirk on her face as she pulls a chicken strip in half and then takes a bite. "You didn't seem like yourself. And I know you went to the school with a purpose cause otherwise you'd never darken their doorsteps." A pause for another bite of food. "How did things go?"

Sinister has posed:
Sinister smiles vaguely as he settles into the seat opposite, glancing out at the other patrons of the diner with a press of lips. Paranoia doesn't always shake itself free, even if you have a change of heart /and/ a change of mind. He eases his shoulders back into the faux leather of the bench as the coffee and mozza's are brought, letting the latter cool a bit, but taking the coffee immediately. Black, a drizzle of sugar.

"Your concern is touching, miss Anna-Marie. I suppose you are one of the few that I've earned it with. It... went. I'm still alive. They have what they wanted out of me, to do with as they wish and I..." he inhales slow, exhales slower. "I am."

Well, that's not helpful really.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue nods as she listens to the Doctor's explanation, taking a bite of potato along with another bite of chicken. "Have what they wanted? What did they want from you?" Asking this with a bit more concern in her voice. "Alive is good. I suppose." She pauses, taking a sip of her drink. "Logan said you had a friend with you." Then she chuckles, "And he swore up and down you brought the devil himself. Which...of course I didn't believe him because, you know, the devil don't just pop up and hang out with people like us right?" Oh how little she knows.

Sinister has posed:
"It was the devil himself. He is my partner in business and in private -- he, like myself, is a very misunderstood monster," Sinister replies with a chuckle, a little dry, a little black. "He came to give me support. And just in case the X-men's immediate response was kill him, kill him now, with extreme overload. Luckily, that didn't happen. It was close though..." He glances at the mozza sticks, deems them not cool enough yet and looks back over the top of the spectacles. Grey eyes, the colour of a storm.

"Alive is better than dead. That, in my case, would be a terrible thing. I am, I suppose, unique amongst myself. As far as I know and I have no reason to doubt myself, given my extent of memory, I am the original. The first me..." he is quiet a while. "None of that is here nor there. I've been doing this a lot since I used Cerebro. Talking that is. Talking far more than I rightly ought to."

Pausing, he twitches his nose, takes a sip of the joe, with a judiciously slow swallow at the bitterness. "They took the monstrous aspects of me and I presume, killed it. If they didn't, they really ought to. I could wreak havoc given time enough to poison minds."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue blinks. Chews. Blinks again. Then she just shakes her head and pops a piece of strawberry in her mouth. "The devil amongst the living. Ain't there a passage in Revelations that warns about such a thing? Ah well. Not that I'm religious at all so if it's the Devil, it's the Devil." Does this mean Rogue believes that it really is the Devil. Hard to say. She shrugs after a moment and then picks up a napkin to wipe her fingers and mouth for a moment.

"I don't think talking is a bad thing, but I do recall you being much more of an observant sort than a talker. You do seem a bit more like yerself than when you visited the kitchen while I was cooking." Mixie mix potatoes and gravy, have another forkful. "Do you now remember more of what you and I were working on together? How you were helping me overcome some stuff and control my primary power?"

When he goes on about them taking the monterous part of him away, an eyebrow raises. "I would argue that no part of you was a monster, but we all know that's a lie. So with the monster gone, what remains? A man or a shell?"

Sinister has posed:
"Ahh, yes, that I do remember. We were able to salvage certain things, before I imprisoned that aspect of myself in ruby quartz. That is in the care of the Phoenix. You're not wrong though, about the book of revelations. I've been reading bits of that, from time to time -- but the wonderful thing about the human mind is its ability to confabulate; thus we all find meaning in what may simply be coincidental events. It's a dangerous phenomenon at times," he pauses, tries a mozza stick and deems them now to be chewy and gooey.

"By the by, you have his compliments -- Lucifer that is. He's partial to the good things in life and your fried chicken was finger lickworthy." Another small smile follows and a glance to the door, a frown and a look back.

"And what remains? The remains of the day? That's the question. I might have been thinking deeply about that. There are hollows that need to be filled with things less..." he waves a hand. "That."

Wolverine has posed:
Logan's entrance is practically screamed. Whether it's the loud motorcycle engine of his Indian Bike or the music it blared is debatable. It's like loud engine growls wound up in a screaming match against The Outlaw's cover of "Ghost Riders in the Sky." Thankfully the cascade of noise suddeny ends when he parks and kills the engine. Logan doesn't care for noise ordances outside of the school grounds.

A light brown hat atop of his head conceals most of his face. The well-worn bomber jacket is zipped up firmly. A pair of rich chocolate brown cargo pants cling to his leg. The black t-shirt is completely hidden by the coat.

There's a hidden story to Logan and diners. They deliciously dull the senses. It's not quite a sensory overload. When someone enters an amusement park, or even a state fair, for the first time they become overwhelmed with the sights. Like they're not sure where to look first because a lot of things jump out. It causes almost the world to dull because there's too much to focus on. The same goes for the smell of diners. It's a sea of scents.

Obviously, the food that's cooking, the freshly served dishes, some of the warm drinks, cleaners if the place had a good scrub recently, fryer grease (sometimes), the people and everything else. It deliciously dulls his nose. A lot of dive bars and diners do this and it's why Logan prefers them over upscale places. Well, most of the time. Sometimes a situation requires, or is better suited, for fancy. They just can't numb the nose like a greasy spoon of a place.

Logan walks into the place with heavy footfalls and doesn't notice the pair. Their scents mostly hidden by compressed world of smells around them. And the waitress even sits Logan in an opposite direction. If someone wants to flag him down, he won't deny familiar faces.

Rogue has posed:
"So... the part of you that was helping me, was actually the monster that got put away?" Rogue asks this and then takes a sip of her drink as if trying to decide how to formulate questions. "I was...sort of hoping we might touch base again. I've been doing well lately, but... with some newer things going on in my life...I'd like to ensure I keep it that way."

As the mentioning of compliments to her cooking are offered, she actually blushes a bit. "Oh. Well. Thank him for those kind words. It wasn't nothin' special or anything...but I'm glad he enjoyed it." A tilt of her head as Sinister looks towards the door. "Something the matter?"

Course not even a moment after the door glancing, Logan comes in. If Rogue hadn't heard the bike or the music she'd of noticed him by the hat and jacket. So she rises up a bit and waves a hand. "Logan! Sweetheart! Come over here! I didn't think you'd be out and about tonight or I would have invited you to join me." Rogue, herself, only coming into Mutant Town every so often for supplimental therapy sessions or random check ins.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister simply points toward the door, a moment before there's the track of Logan across the diner floor. "I'm very hard to surprise. I can see people coming without ever laying eyes on them." Secrets! He be sharing them! Oh dear. "But no, I ... it wasn't..." he struggles a moment, grunts at the exasperation "...I remember helping you, Anna-marie. I, myself. Not the... that was a bit of me. Not all of me. A part. Damnation, but integrating this side of me is complicated."

That is a mutter, that last. Then, he settles back into his seat, watching Logan as Rogue calls him out, or over, depending on your perspective. Hand lifts, fingers wiggle in a 'hallah' of greeting.

Wolverine has posed:
Logan hears a very familiar voice call out to him. Instead of getting read aware, he speaks to the waitress. "I'd like to join her n' her friend," Logan's not paying attention. He ses Rogue is with someone, but the man's clueless on who.

Making his way to the table, "Darlin'," Logan says to Rogue then he looks to the friend, finally. Logan's face hardens a little, that neutral look Sinister knows from their last two meetings alone. "Keep runnin' into ya," Logan woners if Sinister is goiing to become a "Frenemy" at this rate. He might not like the man but there is some respect there. Very little, but some at the moment.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue slips out of the booth as Logan makes his way over. She's obviously not ashamed of her and his relationship, proving that by offering a chaste kiss against Logan's lips before sitting back in her booth seat and shimmies over some so Logan can sit next to her.

"Oh. No, okay I get it now. I misunderstood what ya meant. Sorry." Rogue offers this towards Sinister and then smiles a little. "Well, my question stands. Though this one here might have somethin' to say about it. I need to make sure I keep my powers in check..." Her closer hand lifts to run against Logan's back. "Otherwise things might go tits up and not in a good way."

Her attention goes directly to Logan then. "What brings you out and about? Just restless?"

Sinister has posed:
"Logan," and a bow of the head to match the wriggle of the fingers, Doctor Essex plasters one of those smiles on his face that is all about the awkward. Then though, seeming to wise up to this fact, he gives himself a little dusting off, gets rid of the fatuous expression and finishes off the mozza sticks. It's good for the privacy factor; even if there IS a PDA going on, he doesn't have to be oggling it, or intruding.

"I would be happy to assist in the furthering of therapy, miss Rogue. And this is fortuitous, as I believe you should -probably- be explaining this to your beau." Looking over at Logan now, he lifts his coffee as others might lift alcohol in toast.

Wolverine has posed:
Kissing Rogue back, if it wasn't for the company the kiss might have lasted longer. Sitting next to the woman, he shrugs. "I was hungry n' I wanted something with bacon. This place has things wit' bacon n' the coffee ain't bad," to him it's as simple as that. Less restless and more, he was already awake and wanted to have a cooked meal without twenty faces watching. one of the troubleswith cookin int he mansion. Food attracts many.

"Sinister," Logan says once he's comfy cozy. "Explain to me what?" he asks curiously about this one. He's not sure if a new deal is in play or if this is an expansion on the existing one.

Rogue has posed:
All eyes are on Rogue now, and she takes a steadying breath. "Well, to be honest with you Doctor Essex, I had already explained a bit to Logan. I told him how you had been the one to help me begin to gain control of my powers." She offers this and then takes another bite of fruit. Cantalope this time. Yummy.

"But it has to continue, or come to some sort of full on solution. I can keep going to this other therapist, but...they don't get me like Nathaniel has." She uses the Doctor's real name because - to be honest - she never liked using the word 'Sinister'. "It's why I met him here tonight, actually. To see how he was doing and to open the door to seeing him again on a therapy level. His answer was going to then open the door to talking to you about it. So, my luck you're both here..."

Sinister has posed:
Sinister listens to Rogue's explanation then looks directly at Logan. Ball's in your court, bub.

He probably didn't have to flutter eyelashes but that happened.

Wolverine has posed:
"Long as ya don't tell him too much n' when I tell ya to keep things private ya keep em' private," Logan says back to Rogue. The ball is vollied from his court back to Rogue. Although, Logan knows this is a potential weakness exposed to Sinister. Logan knows of a similar one for Sinister. In the grand scale, Logan believes this is Karma evening the playing field between them.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue nods her head. "We only focus on my past, Logan. I promise. What's led me to lose control of my powers is buried there. However, I get it, and if you say something is private than it stays between us. As in you an' me. I promise." She knows Logan doesn't like the set up, and that really Logan doesn't seem keen on Sinister at all. It's fair, in some ways. Her attention turns to Sinister then. "That also means no prying on your end. We keep it to what'll help me keep my powers in check and nothing more. I'm sure a Doctor of your caliber can appreciate such and keep it that way." She finishes up a bit of food that's left on her plate then, which is mostly the fruit at this point.

Sinister has posed:
There's a nod from Sinister, followed by a soft cluck of the tongue. "Listen carefully," he says, which is probably not for Rogue's benefit so much as it is for Logan's -- that sense of smell is keen. His hearing ain't shabby neither, though. "There is absolutely nothing to be gained that I don't already know, from interactions in a professional manner. In order to assist Rogue, I already know her genomic markers. What you do in and out of interpersonal relationships is your business, not mine." He lifts a finger waggles it and points it between the two of them. "Speaking from the monstrous side of myself, this is not a bad thing to witness. You both are genetically compatible, would promote excellence in the next generation, so I hardly have anything to complain about." Deadpan.

But then he's easing back, waving his right hand about in the air, "...And that might just be me screwing with you. Honestly, you two have nothing that I'd want or need, in a purely transactional manner. I couldn't care less what comes as pillow talk -- if you are going to be coming for me, well... I'd know anyway. And if you're working on something else? Frankly, the world cares very little about what I do. I have a file with S.H.I.E.L.D. and probably some other things out there, but they've also got bigger fish to fry. In the end, cosmologically, I'm one of you. Ideologically, I'm your enemy. Realistically, I'm helping one lady I happen to quite like, sort herself out, because I can see what she cannot."

Wolverine has posed:
Logan's a little put off by Sinister. Granted, it's weird to have an enemy say, "You two would make good kids," in a very round about way. Just something very off by it. However, Logan believes Sinister in a lot of ways. Him saying there is nothing to gain. Neither is there a weakness he didn't know about. Logan believes that.

S.H.I.E.L.D. having a file on Sinister, also believed. And he wishes Sinister priority is hgiher. However, he doesn't believe it's incredibly high up there. It's something Logan wishes Sinister is wrong about.

Logan still thinks the information could be used against him. He just believes that the therapy sessions isn't going to unveil anything new.

Rogue has posed:
"Well. I suppose that covers everything..." Rogue offers and then lifts a hand to flag one of the wait staff. "Can I get a piece of apple pie..." Then she nudges Logan. "And whatever this guy wants." Her attention turns back to Sinister for a moment. "Thanks for meeting with me and talking things out. I'll surely keep in touch for when I want to set up meetings and the like." Offering this with a smile and then she leans her head onto Logan's shoulder. Perhaps trying to get him to relax even a little bit with Sinister present.

Sinister has posed:
That's the beauty of having legs. They can operate, without prior disability, quite fantastically to make a body rise and carry it elsewhere. "I have no doubt, miss Rogue." Inclining his head toward her and to Logan, Sinister rises, dropping forty bucks on the table and fastening it beneath a salt shaker. He glances over to the waitress but says nothing -- she in turn looks over at the table and seems to decide she ought to check on them to see if 'all is okay' as they do. Therefore the departure of Nathaniel Essex and the arrival of the civillian are not remotely coincdental. His dishes and coffee cup are bussed as he looks to the pair.

"I look forward to future endeavors. By the by, not that I ever expect to hear from you but... I can probably help you too, Logan. Just keep it in mind.... along the lines of that whole 'who you want to be' thing. Everything starts somewhere, right?" He doesn't even looks back as he salutes the air and heads toward the exit. If anyone were to rush after him, he'd be gone by the time he hit the welcome mat.

Wolverine has posed:
Logan feels the way Rogue nudges at him. The way she's trying to ease his mood. An arm will wrap around her, "Bacon cheeseburger with extra bacon," and he'll order it with the toppings he wants. However, it's the way he wants it. "Thanks," Logan says to both Rogue and the waitress.

A nod will go toward Sinister. There's a little respect in it. Keyword: little. Logan and Sinister are starting to get a complicated relationship withe ach passing meeting. At least this isnt' the first enemy Logan would have a complicated relationshp with.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue takes a breath and lets it out slowly. Watching Sinister leave brings about a huge bit of relief as she glances to Logan and offers him a smile. "That's what we should do one day. Assuming you can fit one more on that bike of yours... but I'd love to take a moonlit ride out to the edge of the city on your bike. And then go stargazin'..."

Wolverine has posed:
"What? Have a kid?" Logan doesn't know where Rogue is going with that one until. . .she continues speaking. A smirk comes to Logan's lips. "It can fit two people just fine," he looks at her and nods. "We could always do that whenever ya want. Just gotta ask," he gives a nod. That is a good idea. Logan just ignores the what he previously suggested.

Rogue has posed:
"Do you want children?" Rogue asks and then, "...with me?" This is an outside the bedroom question. As there have been moments where it seems like it would happen one way or the other, but the discussion...never really came up otherwise. Though she smiles. "What about tonight? We're already out. Seems like a nice enough night... you can eat and then we can go..."

Wolverine has posed:
Logan's quiet for a bit. "I ain't neutral with kids, I just question if I'd be a good enough father. Y'know. Not sure if I'd be good enough for em'," and that's the thing. He's not against them by far. Logan would just question himself, a bit.

"And yeah. Wit' you. 'Less ya know somethin' or have some plan ya didn't share wit' me," Logan smirks at her on that one. It's his way of being honest while easing tension. "Ya'd make a good Mom. Never questiont hat one," and then he looks outside to his bike. "We could to that. . ."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue listens to Logan and all that he says before she reaches to place an un-gloved hand on top of his own closest to her. "I think you'd make a great father." She says this first. "I dunno if I want kids now, but I also know that if I'm gonna have kids it should be soon. Ish. I do take precautions now, but if we ever got to a point where we'd wanna settle down a bit and raise a family. I'd be for that, yeah." His food arrives then, along with her pie, and she takes a drink of her soda.