He crept through the kitchen doors, heading for Cook's secret stash of popcorn.

He'd discovered it a few weeks after he joined the rebellion. After a more intense workout, he had gone to the kitchen to get a water bottle and spotted Cook nervously looking around. Curious, he'd hid behind a cabinet and watched as Cook pulled out his popcorn and started popping some. Cook had seen Rogue getting his water bottle, though. Something on his face must have given him away, because the guy had sworn Rogue to secrecy.

Of course, I'm not telling anyone about it, I'm just stealing it, so this doesn't count, he thought with a grin. His fingers brushed the popcorn bags. Then his foot banged against a fallen pan.

"What do you think you're doing, Rogue?"

Rogue straightened and looked up to find Cook glaring at him. "Um... hi. I was just seeing if it was still here," Rogue said.

"Really? Why would you need to know that unless you were trying to steal it? Did you really think you could steal and pop my popcorn without being noticed?"

"Well... yeah," Rogue admitted.

Cook laughed. "Well you can't. Now if you'd come with a trade offer then I might have agreed, but since you just tried to steal it..."

"Wait! Don't kick me out. I have to get a bag of popcorn within..." Rogue checked his watch. "Seven minutes."

"And why is that?"

"I... made a bet of sorts..."

"Wrong. Try again. Make it the truth, too, or I will kick you out," Cook warned, crossing his arms.

"If I don't get it in time then Zephyr's going to do her work instead of spending time with me," Rogue blurted. His face reddened and he stared at the floor. He'd basically confessed that he liked Zephyr, and he wasn't used to actually admitting to those things. Then again, he'd never actually liked anyone before either, so he hadn't exactly had anything to admit to.

Cook grinned. "Alright, I'll pop you some," he said.

"Wait, really?" Rogue looked up and frowned. "What's the catch?"

"You treat her right, because the whole rebellion will come after you if you break her heart. We all care about Zephyr here, so you be careful."

"I didn't realize she was so popular."

"She likes to think she keeps up the facade of the cold, detached commander, but we've all seen past that at one point or another. She cares about us and we care about her. We're all a family here."

"That's good to know. I'll be sure to avoid getting on your bad sides," Rogue promised.

Cook grabbed a popcorn bag and shoved it into the microwave. "So when did you know?" he asked.

"Know what?"

"That you loved her, what else?"

"Um..."

"Oh, I see. You just like her. You want to see where it goes from here, is that it?"

The timer beeped, saving Rogue from the questions. He grabbed the bag and checked his watch. One minute. "Sorry, gotta go. Maybe later," he said, and escaped from the kitchen.

***

Zephyr was sitting in her chair and staring at a watch when he came in. "You're back right when you said you would be," she commented. "Congratulations, you've earned my time."

He grinned. "My lady, your popcorn."

She laughed. "Here, I found this," she said, holding up a DVD. "And there's actually a small movie theater in the base, it just never gets used."

"I don't believe that," Rogue said. "Someone would have used it."

"You think we have enough time on our hands for it? The only reason it's there is because it was already in the building when we took over and redesigned things. Wren just convinced us to leave it be, so we did. It should still be in good condition, since it gets cleaned regularly."

"Well then, let's see this theater, shall we?"

***

The theater was huge, with hundreds of seats covered in blue fabric. A flick of the switch brought the lights on, illuminating the room. Stairs stretched down past the seats, each one perfectly clean. The rug was just a simple dark blue color that matched the walls, and the TV itself covered the entire front wall.

"Wow. It's huge. And incredibly clean," Rogue commented.

"We have the new recruits clean it. Teaches them to obey orders, even if they don't understand them."

"How come I didn't have to?"

"You were an exception. Now how do we work this thing?" Zephyr asked, pointing at the black screen in front of them.

"Hang on."

Rogue ran up to the little room behind the theater where the projector was. He grabbed the remote and inserted the DVD into the player. While it loaded, he reached over and turned the lights down. Then, when everything was ready, he exited the room.

Light spilled from the giant TV screen, filling the room. Zephyr had already found a seat and started to eat the popcorn, so he joined her and started the movie. The bright Disney logo appeared on the screen, and Rogue relaxed into his seat to watch.

Halfway through the movie, he noticed that at some point, Zephyr had also relaxed. Her feet were pulled up in the chair, and her body tilted toward him. Her hand rested on his, almost unconsciously, but she didn't pull away. He stared at their hands for a moment, slightly awed. She seemed completely absorbed by the movie, but he'd lost his focus on that. She didn't pull away.

Maybe it was a sign that she was starting to accept him as a friend... or more? He was almost afraid to hope for that. As much as he liked her, years with Mersor had driven any ability to love from him. Or so he'd thought. He wasn't entirely sure what he thought of Zephyr, but he knew he cared, and something deep inside of him wanted to keep her safe more than anything.

When the movie ended, Zephyr gave a little sigh and straightened. Her hand didn't move. "It's been forever since I've watched a movie like this," she commented.

Rogue thought of his childhood years. "My mother used to take me to the theater," he replied. "But I haven't gone since she..." His voice trailed off as he remembered the night his mother had died. They'd said it was suicide, but something inside of him had always known that Mersor had done it.

Zephyr turned to him, her expression so sincere and... compassionate. "You lost your mother?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," he said, pulling his hand away from hers. His fingers wove together and he bit his lip. He hadn't realized how much pent up emotion he'd locked inside since that day. Now that he was finally free of Mersor, he could let it out. He could stop hiding it. "The police said it was suicide."

Zephyr frowned, as if she could sense that there was more to it. "Was it?"

"I was thirteen at the time. Not at all a detective. I didn't have a clue what had happened or why my happy, loving mother would take her own life. It always felt wrong, but when I saw Mersor for the first time in ten years..."

Rogue stopped and took a breath. "His first words to me were: 'You'll do what I say, boy. Otherwise you'll end up like your mother.' That was all the confirmation I needed. I know he did it, but no one would have believed me."

"You were raised by a murderer half your life," Zephyr whispered. "It must have been awful..."

He stood. "Well, it's best not to dwell on the past. I've got things I should do, and you had your... stuff."

She stood as well, but looked like she was still thinking about his problems. He'd never meant to burden her with more. It was over now anyway. They had Mersor, and he couldn't hurt anyone else. So why did it still hurt so much?

He left Zephyr standing in the theater. The feeling of her gaze following him lingered long after he'd wandered through half of the halls, lost in thought. It's amazing how quickly a nice mood can be ruined by memories.

Eventually he ended up outside in the woods. Leaves crunched under his boots as he walked the deer paths. In the silence, his thoughts and memories dominated him.

It hadn't just been his mother who died for caring about him. His friends had always suffered for being close to him. Then Mersor sank his claws into Rogue and he'd truly learned the lesson that his father had been trying to teach him from afar. The people he cared about would be killed, so it was better not to care.

"Is this your friend?" Mersor asked, pointing at Rogue's colleague, Eric.

"You know I don't have friends," Rogue said calmly.

"Really? Well then you won't mind if I..." his last words were drowned out by the sound of a gunshot.

Eric's eyes widened and he gasped. Blood filled his mouth and dribbled down his chin. He looked at Rogue, and in his eyes Rogue saw pain, but also forgiveness. It broke him in ways he didn't even know he could break and his mouth fell open to protest, but he closed it quickly.

He drew in a breath and stared at his friend's dying form, collapsed on the ground. Despite the emotion raging inside of him, he knew that Eric would forgive him for this. "No. I don't mind at all," he lied. Then he turned and left.

Mersor didn't call after Rogue. His father had taught him exactly what he needed to learn. To care about others was to kill them, and he would never make that mistake again.

Branches snapped behind him and Rogue turned. The new guy- Nighthawk, if he remembered correctly- stood there, watching him. His face felt moist, and he realized he'd been crying. He brushed away the tears and allowed his masks to slip back into place.

Nighthawk sat next to him. "Tough day?" he asked.

Rogue laughed bitterly. "More or less. What brings you out here, Nighthawk?" he asked.

"Same thing, but I doubt our reasons for having bad days are similar." Nighthawk picked up a stone and turned it over in his hands, staring at it. "I doubt you had your identity stolen," he muttered.

Rogue frowned. "What?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. It doesn't matter. What's up with you anyway? You always seemed like the happy guy, and after your little date with Zephyr I'd think you're head would be in the clouds right now."

"It wasn't a date, we were just hanging out," Rogue corrected. "And how do you know about that?"

"Everyone knows. Apparently it's big news. Someone told me that Zephyr never does that kind of thing. Wren seems to think it's good for her. But that doesn't answer my question."

Rogue thought about it. "Well I was happy, but then I was reminded of some things in my past that I haven't quite worked through yet. What's your story?"

Nighthawk shrugged. "I'm just a bit conflicted about some stuff is all. I'll probably be fine eventually."

With a frown, Rogue turned to face Nighthawk. "Conflicted about stuff? That sounds more like an excuse than an answer."

"That's the best I've got for you." Nighthawk stood. "Well, good luck with your past. Hopefully things go better for you than they have for me."