X-Men Evolution

Chapter One

Rogue sighed loudly as she closed her diary and slipped it into its usual hiding place behind her textbooks on the bookcase. She smiled inwardly to herself. Rogue had yet to be bested by Kitty, who seemed to have an unnatural obsession in learning about every bit of Rogue's life. It was rather disconcerting. Fortunately, Kitty had quite the aversion to textbooks, and would never look for her prized diary anywhere near them.

Of course, if Kitty did happen to find the diary, Rogue would have no choice but to thoroughly drain her best friend. There was simply too much in there that would compromise her image, especially the bits about red-and-black-eyed-Cajun-filled dreams and the occasional drawing or two of a queen of hearts card.

Or three. Or four. Or five. Fine, it was something approaching twenty seven!

But that wasn't important.

She thought back to the infamous kidnapping incident and more specifically, the aftermath of it. She had asked (definitely not begged - that would be insane) him to come with her back to the Institute. And, being the no good, lying, stealing, slimeball Swamp Rat that he was, he had the nerve to turn her down. But not before handing her that card.

God, the card. It had driven her nuts the first few days after she got back home. What did it mean? Was it a sign to say that he cared about her? Or was he just lying per usual and tricking her for the fun of it? She spent many nights awake pondering over these questions, a part of her just clinging onto the hope that the answer to the first one was yes and no to the second one.

Unfortunately, she had to put all Remy LeBeau-related thoughts aside when Apocalypse effected his master plan, having chosen the worst possible time to do so. She had to admit that she felt a little glad when she locked him away. No more meddling and interruptions.

Rogue did, however, notice that the Cajun failed to show for the battle against Apocalypse. Wherever he was, he'd better have a explanation for why that was so the next time he decided to appear into her life.

A truck rolled down a dusty road and the driver (whose name was Sandy, in case you were wondering) whistled to the tune of some country song. He had spent the whole day doing the usual - delivering goods and whatnot around the country - and he was heading up north from New Orleans. All in all, it was a normal day.

Right up to the point he nearly ran over a person.

He slammed down the brakes and jumped out of the truck, rushing to the man's side to make sure he was okay. From the sounds of it, he was absolutely spectacular, judging by the never-ending stream of words flowing from the guy's mouth. "Tu es plus gras que un cochon, plus stupide que un ass, batarde!"

"Uh, sir, Ah' m sorry ahnd ahl, but Ah don't understand what ya're trying ta say."

The man stared at him as though he had just been backhanded and muttered another incomprehensible word unde his breath. "Never min'. If y' wan' t' say sorry, y' can give Remy a ride back t' New York and maybe he'll kin'ly forget t' inform de police." The driver nodded hurriedly. "Good. Get a move on, den."

Remy settled himself in the back of the truck, and withdrew a deck of playing cards from his deck. It wasn't all shiny and wax-coated and luxurious as his usual cards, and he liked it that way. His first deck had always been special to him, and that was exactly why he had never exploded any of them, not even when he got captured by those museum guards back in…

He cut off from his digression and began to shuffle them, and then dealt out the start for his solitare game. He continued happily until he reached a dead end where he required a card which he did not have and, instead of frowning, he grinned widely, remembering exactly whom the missing card was with at the current moment.

Rogue. That was what his chère called herself. It was a rather depressing name, and the fact that it did actually largely reflect her personality made it even more so. Remy had once put his efforts into finding the southern girl's true name, but ran into several brickwalls, the largest of which was called Mystique - the shapeshifter had put so much care into concealing any sort of freely available information on the girl that Remy concluded that the only way to find out would be to break into the Department of Social Services. Not that it would be hard, seeing as though the security there was atrociously bad, but he just decided on a different course of action. Wooing and romancing every last bit out of his very own darling.

An hour passed by with relative speed (although Remy did spend most of it imagining many different fantasies involving himself, Rogue, and an unnecessarily large amount of golden syrup, so it was only natural) and the driver banged on the truck. "Hey, ya back there! Ah'm droppin' ya off here! A "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters". That close enough ta New York for ya?"

Remy smiled. "Oui. C'est satis." He didn't wait for the truck to stop and jumped off, landing on the ground and executing a forward roll. He dusted himself off and smirked as he retrieved his bow staff from his pocket and extended it.

Remy was on the other side of the main gate in no time and he made his way carefully to the mansion, making sure not to trigger any alarms. He climbed onto a balcony and peered through the window. "Ah, vraiment bon. C'est ma chère." With a small twist of the wrist, he picked the locked door and let it swing open. Quietly stepping in, he made his way to her dresser and leaned against it, settling his gaze on the prone form sleeping on the bed before him. He almost dove for cover when she shifted, but sighed in relief as she continued to sleep, oblivious to his prescence.

The way her lush brunette hair fell across her face, the roundness and plumpness of her lips, her rosy cheeks (which was quite surprising to Remy, who had never seen Rogue with no make up on. He just assumed she was naturally that pale) just made him want to throw caution and safety to the wind and kiss her right there and then.

And before he could register what he was doing, Remy found himself moving closer towards her, drawn in like a moth to a flame.

Luckily, his incredibly stupid and potentially lethal course of action was interrupted by Rogue shifting again, and mumbling something about Cajun spices under her breath, and this made Remy smirk. So, de chère dreams about ol' Remy, does she? How flatterin'.

He was thinking about how he could incorporate said spices into his fantasies with the southern girl when his attention was caught by the mention of a diary in her mumbling. His lips tugged into his signature smirk and he began his search for the elusive document.

The next day found Rogue in a foul mood. Her diary was missing, and she was on a warpath to reacquire it, having tortured Kitty for an hour by threatening her favourite jeans only to realise that she didn't have it. She overturned her entire room again just to make sure she hadn't misplaced it and growled as she searched through the mess on the floor. "Where in hell is it!"

"Oh, bonjour chère. Y' lookin' for dis?" She whipped around to find the Cajun crouched down on the railing of her balcony, flipping through what appeared to be her diary! She screeched and made a mad dash at him, but he simply did a flip off the balustrade and landed gracefully on the ground below. "Remy t'inks dat y're a little t' late, chère. He's jus' reach'd de part wit' a Cajun Prince Charming an' a beaut'ful damsel-in-distress."

Rogue turned a mortified shade of crimson. "Ah don't know anythin' ahbout that," she growled at him. "Ah sure as hell didn't wraht that. Now give it back, Swamp Rat, or Ah'll come down there and kick ya ass from here 'til next week, ya hear?"

Remy pretended not to hear her, and continued to read through the diary. "Chère, chère, chère, Remy had no idea y' were so smitten wit' him! Dis is simply wond'ful-" He stopped abruptly as he reached a double page spread of a rather flowery sketch and his red-black eyes widened in shock. "Mon dieu." Rogue also seemed to realise which page he was on and, ignoring all rational concerns about safety, leapt from the balcony and landed on the Cajun, who had the decency to catch her.

"Give that back, ya good-for-nahthing Swamp Rat!" she shouted, attempting to wrench her diary from his grasp, but he held it just out of her reach. She struggled for a little longer until she stopped and stared angrily at Remy, who stared back with an incredibly dazed expression. "Ah'm waitin', Cajun. Hand it ovah."

"Non. Remy mus' refuse, chère, since he wants t' know what else y've been thinkin' 'bout doin' wit' him." This was evidently the wrong answer, as in the next second he was on the floor clutching at his stomach whilst Rogue stomped off with her diary firmly clutched in her arms.

She passed Logan and Scott, who were hurrying outside after hearing the commotion. "Stripes, what's goin' on?"

"Nahthin'," she replied with gritted teeth.

Scott looked unconvinced. "You sure, Rogue? We heard some pretty loud shouting."

"Ah said, it was nahthi-"

Logan cut her off with a growl. "I can smell the Gumbo's scent on ya, Stripes." He stalked out into the grounds with unsheathed claws, with Royue running after him. "Gumbo! Get yah scrawny ass out right now!"

"Wolvie, bonjour! It's a great mornin', ain't it?" the ex-Acolyte replied as he approached, seemingly recovered from the sucker punch Rogue had delivered earlier. He ignited a card and played around with it, grinning evilly at Logan. "I'd hate t' ruin it by blowin' y' up like a firecracker."

"Bring it, Cajun-"

"Will both of ya cut it out!" Rogue thundered with such a ferocity that Logan actually stopped and raised an eyebrow at her. "Logan, there will naht be any dahcin' of any kahnd, 'kay! And ya, Swamp Rat, ya better get outta here before Ah change mah mahnd."

"O' course, chère. À dèmain." Remy bowed deeply before retreating swiftly, disappearing within seconds. Rogue harrumphed and went back to her room, leaving Logan a little bewildered and Scott downright confused.

The southern girl plonked herself down on her bed and flicked to the double page spread which Remy had seen. A bloom of heat rose to her face, and she slammed her diary shut. Why did she ever draw down that dream? Did she not consider what would happen if it was ever seen? Stupid, stupid Rogue, she berated herself. Ya just had ta go and draw it, didn't ya? Now he's nevah gonna leave ya ahlone.

"Like, whatcha got there, girl?"

Rogue almost jumped in fright and automatically shoved her diary under her pillow, and put on her usual expressionless face. "What? Ah don't see anythin'."

Kitty gave her a look. "Oh puh-leese. You're about as convincing as a puppy sitting next to a pile of droppings. Come on, like, what's that under your pillow?"

"Nahthin', so drop it, 'kay!" Rogue hated how utterly pathetic her attempt to detract attention away from her diary was.

"Hmmm…" Kitty looked thoughtfully at her best friend, her mind hard at work. "You're totally jumpy and nervous today, and the last time you were like this was when…" Her mouth formed an 'o' as realisation struck her. "It's him, isn't it? It's the tall, athletic, and incredibly hot Cajun!" She squealed in joy. "This is totally awesome!"

"It is naht!" Rogue indignantly replied. "Did ya naht hear when Ah told ya Ah hated that schemin', lyin' Swamp Rat?"

"Oooh, nickname! You totally like him!"

"Do naht!"

"Do too!"

"Do naht!"

"Do too infinity times and no returns!"

Rogue threw up her hands in frustration. "Ah cahn naht be bothered ta argue with ya. Think what ya will." She quickly slipped her diary from underneath the pillow into her rucksack and quickly exited, determined to put some distance between her and her friend with the hyperactive imagination.

She sat down under a tree in the park, pulling out her diary and a pencil. She smiled to herself as she recalled the puffy red face of her friend as she took off on Logan's bike, and began to doodle aimlessly on the page. Or, at least until she was interrupted.

"'Allo, chère," purred out a tall figure who was leaning on a nearby oak. "Y' drawin' more o' Remy?"

Glare. "Ya wish, Gambit."

"Dis Cajun woul' jus' like t' say dat he woul' be extraordinarily happy if y' were t' accept in real life," Remy answered. "Y' know, Remy has y' t' thank for tellin' him 'bout it. He never knew his chère was so conventional for a Rogue."

"Bite me."

"Sure, if dat's wha' y' wan'."

Rogue glared at him again and said nothing, continuing to draw. After a while, she raised her head from her diary. "Swamp Rat, why are ya in a tux?"

"Why do y' ask, chère? Wan' t' get de measur'ments for y'r next sketch?" Remy replied with a smirk as he sat down next to her. Naturally, Rogue shifted away and shot him a warning glance. "Aww, don' be so col' t' Remy, chère…"

"Just answer tha question."

"C'est une histoire très longe, et vraiment ennuyeuse aussi. Y' don' wan' t' hear it."

"Nous avons beaucoup de temps, Monsieur LaBeau. Parlez."

Remy smiled. "Y'r Français is vraiment bon, chère. Y' still have a little bit o' Remy floatin' in dat beautiful head o' y'rs?" Seeing her annoyed look, he merely laughed and shrugged. "Sorry, chère, can' tell y'. Maybe when we get married."

"Don't try yah luck, Cajun, or Ah'll- oomph!" She felt a brief but softest, most delicate and enjoyable sensation dancing on her lips and Remy pulled back, a bright warm smile plastered on his face. "Ah-um-uh-" she managed to get out, her face now an intense red and her cheeks burning up.

"How was dat, chère?"

Rogue opened her mouth, but was completely unable to form any coherent words, which only made his grin wider. So, she decided to do the only other thing that could preserve her dignity - she drew her right hand back and slapped him hard on the face, stunning and knocking him back a little. As he was regaining composure, the southern girl did a runner, escaping him once again.

Remy didn't bother chasing after her and simply remained where he was, brushing his fingertips over his lips. The kiss, though it hadn't lasted that long, felt just as he imagined - wonderfully soft and utterly blissful. Definitely got t' do dat again. Not t' mention de fact dat de chère enjoyed it too.

Kitty was wondering why her room-mate was spending the afternoon curled up under her covers and not talking to anybody. "Ro-o-ogue…" she said. "Like, did you bump into that Cajun?" There was a muffled response from under the duvet. "I'll take that as a yes. So, what did he do?"

"He didn't do anythin'," Rogue curtly replied. Damn that Cajun, damn him and his stupid kiss, damn his snide smirks, damn his everything!

"O-o-o-oh, so he kissed you! How was it? Good? Brilliant? Exhilirating?"

"He didn't kiss me!"

"Sure he did. Rogue, you have to admit, he likes you. A lot."

"Well, he can go screw himself, 'cause Ah ain't gonna- eek!" Rogue exclaimed as a hand phased under her covers and took hold of her diary, pulling it back out. "Noooooo!" Oh crap, oh crap, if she sees it, Ah'll-

"OH. MY. GOD!" Kitty shrieked. "WEDDING! ROGUE! YOU DAWG!"

"Ssshhhhh!" the southern girl hissed. "Ahnd give me that!" She dived at her room-mate, who yelped and ran, phasing through the floor. "Come back here, Katherine Pryde!" She practically flew out of her room and thundered down the steps, scattering a group of girls heading in the opposite direction. Tabitha shot an curious look at the southern girl, who was now threatening Kitty severe bodily harm.

"Hmmm… looks interesting," she noted as something hit the wall with a resounding clang, followed by a shriek. "Let's have a look." The girls hurried down the stairs and peeked into the kitchen, which was in quite a serious state of disarray, and gasped as Rogue tackled the valley girl to the floor. Triumphantly, she took back her diary and hurried away. "So, girl," Tabitha asked, "care to tell us why Goth Girl went all linebacker on you?"

Kitty, despite being winded, still managed to keep up her extremely excited appearance. "I, like, snuck a peek at her diary, and guess what I saw! A drawing she did of her getting married to Remy!"

"Who's Remy?" the girls asked in unison.

"You know, like, the totally super hot Acolyte!"

"What, the Russian?"

Kitty coloured a little. "No, not him- well, it's not that he's not super hot- wait, I'm not saying he's totally handsome- not that he's really ugly- 'cos he's not, right?" Her voice trailed away and she decided not to say anything for a while, looking incredibly flustered. "I- uh, meant the Ru- ah, Cajun guy. Anyways, isn't this, like, super awesome?"

"It's a little hard to wrap my head around," Tabby said. "Rogue and Gambit? Seems quite unlikely."

Kitty huffed. She was fully engaged in matchmaking mode, and would not let anybody speak ill of the magical pairing that was Rogue amd Remy. "Hmph. Say what you will, girls, but I assure you that before the week is out they will be dating."

I personally love ROMY, it is my favorite pairing in the Evo universe, along with Jonda and Kiotr. Rogue and Gambit have such... chemistry.

My other story, A New Face, will have an update, but not very soon. Still have to work out some of the kinks.