The rain poured from the dreary sky, gliding down the window in trails like liquid crystal as Anna Marie sat staring from the soft window seat in the library. She rarely ever allowed herself to wallow in her own sorrow, but some days were much more difficult than others, and today was a particularly troublesome one. Remy had just returned to the mansion after nearly a year's absence, and just when she was beginning to think she could live without him, his presence sent her tumbling back into the dark hole that was their unfortunate and empty relationship. Her stoic outward behavior often brushed him off as an infatuated nuisance, like a virile adolescent who lusted after his college professor, but internally she struggled with her own complicated emotions. She may have easily given into his southern charm years ago if it hadn't been for the constant reminder of the terribly unfair truth; she would never be able to touch him. As much as she would have liked to believe that Remy LeBeau possessed the discipline to remain faithful to a woman who could never satisfy him physically, she couldn't get past the notion that all men were primitive equals when it came to sex. If he ever did commit an act of adultery during their relationship, which was probably inevitable, she was sure it would be for the pure benefit of sexual relief and nothing more, but she just couldn't live with that. She'd rather be alone forever than imagine him with another woman, which in either case, was bound to happen. The gloomy atmosphere reflected her current state perfectly, and she sighed quietly, head resting upon the cool glass as the landscaping was warped behind the cascading water.

"D'ere she is", a deep Cajun accent spoke from behind her, making her chest ache; she secretly adored that stupid accent.

She had come here to avoid him. Hiding from the moment she had heard the rumor leaking through the building that he had returned. It was a Friday evening and the library was left in a desolate silence as the students hurried about their busy teenage lives in the more exciting social areas of the mansion.

"What? No hug fo' de returnin' hero?" he asked in a cheeky tone that made her roll her eyes.

She finally lifted her head and turned to address him, her eyes becoming instantly lost in the red glow that filled the middle of his black scleras, "Hero? I ain't heard no one say you saved the world since you been gone."

He smirked at her and sauntered over, squaring off with her where she sat, legs still angled in the window seat. His brown trench coat was dotted with drops of heavy rain throughout, and she swallowed the hard lump in her throat as she briefly observed his muscular chest and abdomen beneath its red and blue top.

"You tryin' ta tell me you ain't been tinkin' of me at all since I been gone?" he asked playfully.

"Oh, I thought about you, all right, with a stick in your eye. You got some nerve takin' off without a word like you did", she tried to sound angry, but the truth was, she was overjoyed to see him again.

He ignored the retort and reached out a gloved hand to grab one of hers, pulling her to her feet in front of him as he smiled down at her, "I been tinkin' o'you, too, Chere. Every day since I been gone."

She pulled her hand from his, "You got a funny way of showin' it, Suga'."

She attempted to walk around him and exit the room, but he grabbed her wrist gently and turned her to face him again, his smile fading, "Rogue, I…I come back fo' you."

The seriousness of his tone caught her off guard and she didn't know how to respond.

"I told you I love you dat day in dat cage, an' I meant it. You gonna tell me you don't feel de same way, Chere? 'Cause I don't know if I could take it."

She tilted her head, studying his face, "What happened ta you out there?"

He grabbed her other hand in his and held them, stroking her knuckles with his thumbs, "I realized wut I want in dis life, an' I'm sick an' tired of all d'ese damned games we been playin' all d'ese years. I come back fo' you fo' good dis time, Chere. Please don't push me away no mo'."

"Gambit", she sighed, looking down at their hands, "don't you know wut you're askin'?"

"Yes'm."

"You're askin' ta be with a woman who could never...Remy I'm never gonna be able ta-"

He shrugged, "So, wut? I slept wit lot's o'women, got my t'rills, whateva'", she scowled at him and he continued, " I wanna be wit'chu for de long haul, and dat mean mo' ta me dan sex eva' could", he kissed the back of her hand with southern elegance, looking up into her eyes with his fierce orbs.

"That's real easy for you ta say now, Sug, but the long haul is an awful long time ta go without eva' even touchin' someone."

"I'm touchin' you right now."

"You know wut I mean."

"Who say 'never' anyhow? De Professa' say you may be able ta control yo' powers someday, an' if dat day come, I make you scream my name" he winked, "If not, I still be faithful as I am right now."

She rolled her eyes and snickered at his teasing comment as he pulled her closer to him.

"Gambit", Logan's gruff and typically unhappy voice echoed into the room, "The Professor wants a word with you."

Remy groaned, "Alright, I be right d'ere", he looked down at Anna Marie, "You tink on it, Chere, we talk mo' 'bout dis lata'."

He released her to bow low and plant another soft kiss onto the back of her gloved hand before walking quickly from the room, tail of his trench coat fluttering behind his legs. Rouge stood there in the silence of the room for another moment, staring back out at the rain, rubbing the place he had kissed gently with her thumb.

Hours passed and darkness feel, but she hadn't seen Remy again since he had left to speak with the Professor. She climbed the stairs to her quarters and resigned to sleep the rest of the night away, hoping it would help to clear her mind and miraculously provide a solution to her dilemma. After she changed into her tank top and pajama pants, she climbed restlessly beneath the covers of her bed and tried to will sleep to take over her busy mind. It had been intoxicating to feel him again, to hear him, to smell him. Sleep finally took her while she lay drifting back into the memory of their brief encounter that day, and soon she was resting in peaceful slumber within the vivid yet disconnected and nonsensical images of dreams.

A faint light penetrated her eyelids and broke the surface of her consciousness, forcing her to resurface into reality. She lifted her head and squinted, finding the image of Remy's tall body standing over her with a grin.

"Remy, wut in the hell?"

"I told ya, we not done talkin', Chere", he was removing his gloves slowly, finger by finger, and his trench coat had already been pulled off and placed onto a chair next to her desk.

She sat up angrily, "Look here, Cajun, I don't know how you boys is raised down in the swamp, but where I'm from, you don't just go bargin' into a ladies room uninvited!"

He smirked down at her, throwing the gloves onto the desk, "Alright, den, can I come in?"

She scoffed at him and rubbed her sleepy eyes, "Wat'chu want that can't wait 'till tomorrow?"

"Imma prove my point, once an' fo' all", he said quietly, lowering himself onto the bed next to her.

"What's that? That you ain't got no kinda manners? I coulda told ya that!"

He chuckled and reached up a hand to touch her bare face and she flinched.

"Trust me, Chere", he reassured her, reaching out again but she moved away.

"You wanna get put in a comma? You know what'll happen if our skin touches!"

"I ain't gonna let it touch, just trust me."

She furrowed her eyebrows and her chest heaved under her deep angry breaths as he reached slowly up again to stroke a piece of her white streak with a feathery touch of his fingers. Her eyes remained nervously locked onto his as he moved her hair delicately, and he reached up the other hand to move along the side of her head, sending goosebumps across her flesh. He smiled and met with her gaze before placing each hand on either side of her face, just centimeters from the skin. They were so close she could feel his body heat radiating from them, and it was almost as if he were actually touching her. With a small grin, he leaned slowly into her until their lips were as close as their skin. They didn't meet, only hovered next to each other as they exchanged air through their heavy breathing. Her lids closed and she sat in her frozen posture, relishing in the sensation of his closeness. She could feel the heat leave the sides of her head, and the brush of breath leave her face so she opened her eyes to find him reaching down for her shirt. She pulled back.

"Everyt'ing gonna be alright", he whispered, "I promise."

Remy gently gripped the bottom of her tank top between his fingers and began sliding it slowly up her torso. As he reached her arms, he was careful not to come in contact with any bare flesh as she compliantly raised her arms to allow him to lift the fabric from her body. He sat for a moment, taking in the picture of her exposed chest before using the shirt to shield his hand so he could push it gently into her.

"Lay back", he said calmly, and she did so reluctantly.

Setting the shirt aside on the bed, he kicked his shoes off into the floor and crawled to hover over her on all fours, knees on either side of her thighs which were still hidden beneath the covers. He lowered his head slowly and grazed his lips ever so closely to her unclothed skin, beginning at her neck and sliding down between her breasts to mingle around her abdomen and ribs. She held her breath, afraid she might move too quickly and his lips might meet briefly with her skin.

"Relax, Chere, relax", he insisted quietly.

She released the breath and closed her eyes, tilting her head back and griping the sheets with her fingers while his warm breath roamed along her torso pleasantly. His face eventually rose up to meet hers again, and their lips parted, dancing around each other between their heavy breathing. He laid his weight between her thighs over the sheets, and she could feel his arousal even through the multitude of fabric that separated them, suddenly reminding her of their predicament.

"Remy", she pushed a hand into his still covered chest and he sat back on his heels as she sat up again in the bed, "this is just torture, I ain't gonna be able to do what you need."

"Dis is wut I need, bein' dis close ta you. Dat's all."

"Until the new wears off, then what?"

"We find a way ta make it work", he stated impatiently.

She looked unconvinced, but his smirk returned as he reached over his head to pull off his top, revealing his chiseled musculature underneath, and her breath hitched. He really was perfect in every way, she thought. His partial mask that he typically wore was removed as well, and his long red hair was freed to fall to his shoulders as he leaned toward her again, forcing her back onto the mattress. Laying his weight onto her again, he was careful not to allow their bare torsos touch as he placed his elbows into the mattress and breathed onto her neck, long hair tickling her skin as it slid across. His pelvis pushed against hers over the sheets, and she moaned involuntarily. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and he lifted his head to grin down at her.

"Sorry 'bout dat, sometime wut's below de belt got a mind of its own."

"What's the point in all this, besides drivin' both of us out our damn minds?" she asked shortly, wanting him almost unbearably.

"You'll see", he said as he pushed his strong arms into the bed and sat back up to pull the covers from her waist.

"Hang on, now!" she insisted, "You keep exposin' skin and you're playin' with fire. There's no way we can keep from touchin' if there's absolutely nothin' between us."

"I'm just tryin' ta lighten de barrier, Chere, relax", he grinned, tugging at her pajama pants.

"I don't know about this."

"Just trust me."

She groaned in protest, but lifted her bottom slightly so he could pull the fabric down slowly to her ankles and over her feet.

"Now, dis one gonna be a little trickier, but if I can pick pockets, I can take off dem pannies wit no trouble", he said slyly, pinching the thin cloth between his fingers.

Anna Marie wondered how her mother would react if she knew how quickly she was moving with Remy LeBeau. He hadn't been back twenty-four hours, and already she was one small piece of fabric away from being completely exposed to him, but to her great surprise, she didn't care. In fact, she desired it. The undergarment slid easily off her legs and she lay in front of him, bare skinned from head to toe and completely comfortable. He smiled down at her, tracing her body with his dark eyes, and shook his head, "Chere", he whispered. He wriggled a beckoning finger at her and she rose slowly onto her knees so they were face to face, chests heaving. She reached up a hand and stroked his hair lightly as he had done with her, and he closed his eyes. Her hand traced down the side of his strong jaw, onto his chest, and down his rippled abdomen to his pants where she grabbed hold of the button and carefully unfastened it before lowering the zipper slowly. Opening his eyes, he gave her a side-ways grin and sat up from his heels so she could pull the pants down his thighs. Once they were at his knees, he reached down, shifting his weight to finish removing them and tossing them to the floor. Her body ached at the sight of his completely unconcealed form, and the knowledge that she would never know the sensation of his absolute perfection inside of her. Still sitting up on their knees, they both began to trace the flesh of one another's bodies, chests nearly touching, lips parting between panting breaths.

"Remy", she whispered, sure she would lose her mind soon.

"Lay back", he answered, breathing into her ear as a tingle shot down her spine.

She rested back onto the bed and he quickly pulled the single thin sheet over her lower half, ending just above her navel, and rested down between her thighs once more. She could feel him through the sheet, so very close to her, teasing her desire. His bare muscular chest hovered just above hers and they exchanged heavy breaths on skin while their hands traced the contours of curves and ripples again. Slowly at first, he began to rock his hips forward, pressing himself against her and her back arched, bringing her chest dangerously close to his. Sweat was forming on their flesh as the heat from their bodies was exchanged and a tingling sensation left an enjoyable mark along the pathway of their groping hands. Remy's hips found a rhythm and she rocked hers to meet with his, surprised at the amount of pleasure she was actually able to derive from their adolescent grinding between the fabric of the thin cotton sheet. His breath brushed her face between his parted lips and she placed a hand just above the back of his red crown, wishing she could pull him in for the passionate kiss she had dreamt of for so many years. Pushing harder against her, he began to moan quietly, and the sound of his pleasure increased her ecstasy even further. She was soon beginning to feel the intensity grow from within and tilted her head back while he breathed heavily onto her neck.

"Remy", she shuddered, "Remy…"

The pressure was building inside her, tightening her every muscle, causing her spine to extend and twitch. Afraid she would grip onto his bare back as the end approached, she spread her arms apart and grabbed onto the mattress, holding the sheets firmly in her fists.

"Remy!" she released one final moan as her climax broke through the surface, and he groaned deeply along with her.

He placed his finger tips around her face and opened his mouth wider, increasing his breath to a sprinting speed, "Oh, Chere!"

His rocking picked up in speed and intensity for a few moments as her pleasure ebbed slowly away, and she opened her eyes to look up into his, lids shut tightly and jaw slack while he moaned and shuddered over her. A few drops of his sweat dripped onto her skin and trickled down, ticking her sides as he slowed his thrusting motion and gradually came to a halt. They breathed heavily onto one another's faces for a moment before he opened his eyes and smiled down at her.

"What?" she asked sheepishly.

"Sorry 'bout de sheets", he smirked, and they snickered.

"I'll do a load of laundry tomorrow", her smile faded slightly, "Wut if it's always like this? Wut if this is as good as it gets?"

"Well, I don't know 'bout all de time, might start ta chafe, but it was pretty good ta me", he answered with a lazy grin, resting his head into his palm, elbow in the mattress.

"But could you do it, ya know, for the long haul?"

"Chere, fo' you, I'd become a damn monk."

She chuckled and he teased her hair lightly with the fingertips of his other hand.

"I wanna stay here t'night", he said.

"I don't know, Remy, what if we touch in our sleep or somethin'?"

He shrugged, "I'll dress fo' winta'."

After stripping the soiled sheets from the bed, the couple redressed fully and Rogue pulled on a long sleeve shirt and pair of gloves as an extra precaution. They lay together in the dark, arms, legs, and fingers tangled, relaxing as sleep began to take over. He leaned his head to the side and planted a soft kiss on her crown over her hair, pausing to breathe in her scent.

"Remy?", she said in the dark.

"Mhmm?"

"I love you."