Rogue came downstairs with Kitty and Jean and Remy felt his mouth go dry. He had seen her when she had first returned from her 10-month excursion in England and he could tell how she had changed, physically. It was in her current dressed-up state that Remy could see how she had changed as an overall person. The old Rogue would never have been comfortable in a short sleeve dress, even with the progress she had made before she had left. Dressed in an emerald green velvet dress and black boots, which upon closer inspection proved to be velvet as well, Rogue was laughing as she finished her conversation with her friends. She was smiling, animated, clearly happy to be back in the company of her friends and teammates.

"Betsy had these special made for me for my birthday," Remy heard Rogue say. "She told me her family was wealthy. Like Professor Xavier-level wealthy. Apparently their families go way back."

"I remember Beast mentioning that once," Jean said. "Old British families often do, it seems."

"Well I'm so jealous of those boots, Rogue!" Kitty said. "You have to let me borrow them."

"Sorry, Kit," Rogue said, not looking sorry in the least. "These cost more than some people's first cars. I'm the only one who's privileged to wear these boots."

Remy walked up to the trio of women, finally making his presence known. "Y'look real good in those boots, Chere. I think I'll have to write your friend Betsy a thank you card myself."

Rogue raised an eyebrow at Remy but didn't respond, which surprised Remy. When she had left, their usual routine was to tease each other until one declared themselves the unofficial winner. Instead, Rogue walked up next to him, breathed in real slowly and asked, "Where are Scott and Kurt?"

"Down at the club, reserving a table for six. I was give the honor of driving you three tonight. Won't you come this way?" Remy bowed as Jean, Kitty and Rogue walked past him toward the garage.

"That'll be all, Jeeves," Rogue said as she walked.

Remy smiled. That was more like it.

In the car, Kitty couldn't stop asking her friend about her time away from the X-Men. "I just can't believe you spent your 21st birthday there and got control of your powers and still didn't come home!"

"When the Professor first brought up my joining Emma's little school in England, the goal was to make that final jump to total control, you're right," Rogue explained. "But I became a member of the team there, too, and I couldn't just leave after I got what I wanted. I had to finish what I started. And I'm glad I did."

"Still, it was a long ten months with you gone, Rogue," Jean said from the front seat. "And the fact that you were able to gain control is wonderful."

"Seriously, you look amazing!" Kitty exclaimed. "Like, England was really good to you."

Remy smiled a little in agreement. Rogue had only been back a few days, but gone were the days of temperamental, adolescent Rogue. She stopped wearing heavy makeup and no longer snapped at people who looked at her the wrong way. She was vibrant now, willingly talking to the people around her and not begging away from social obligations to stay in her room. Kitty was still the most outgoing of their little crew but Rogue was finally getting her chance to shine.

That's not to say all the spitfire was gone. In the club, the group ordered drinks at the bar and met Kurt and Scott sitting in a booth along the wall of the building. Soon, Rogue was sharing a story of her time with the British team. "So I have this guy flat on his stomach on the ground, my knee in his back, with Betsy standing over him, telling him to quit squirming or we'd chop off a certain part of his anatomy. To make her point, she whips out that telekinetic katana of hers. His face drained of blood so fast I thought he was gonna pass out! Pretty soon we had him singin' like a bird, telling us where his boss wanted him to bring his shipment, which was nowhere near what he was supposed to do on paper. More of this chemical bullshit."

"Hey now, cool as your stories are these days, we don't want to bring down the party mood!" Kurt raised his beer and took a big sip. "Come on, we came here to celebrate! Let's go show them how it's done, Kitty." Kurt and Kitty left the booth, Kitty phasing through her friends and Kurt hopping over the table. In the time that Rogue had been gone, a mutant-owned club had opened in town. The X-Men were such a loyal crowd that anyone who lived at the school always got a free round of drinks.

Scott and Jean followed Kitty and Kurt. "You guys coming?" Scott asked.

"In a bit. I wanna finish my drink first," Rogue said, taking a sip to make her point.

"And who am I to leave a beautiful woman alone at a table?" Remy asked.

"Mhmm, well, enjoy each other's company," Jean said. She and Scott joined the other patrons on the dance floor while Remy moved to sit right next to Rogue.

"Y'look real, real good, Chere. Remy tell you that yet tonight?"

"Once or twice, maybe, but a lady sure doesn't mind being reminded."

"I gotta admit, Chere, it's a little surprising seeing you out here, willingly."

Rogue couldn't help but blush a little. "When I went to England, I wanted to leave all the angst behind. I didn't want the folks over there to know about the heavy makeup, the hours I spent sitting in my room, angry at the world. It really felt like a fresh start. Sort of like college, I guess. One night, pretty soon after I got there, Betsy came into my room and just announced that we were going out that night. She texted her friends and they came over with some liquor. We pregamed a little, but nobody was trying to get trashed before we even left. I was covered up pretty good and was able to turn off my power for a few minutes at a time, so if a guy came up to me I could turn it off long enough for a dance or two. That night I realized being nice really does help you make friends." Rogue laughed, shaking her head. "Most people learn that when they're five. I had to learn it at twenty."

Rogue stood up, holding her glass. "I'm gonna get another drink. You want somethin'?"

Remy stood, joining her. "I got this, Chere. We're here to celebrate, and nothing says 'celebration' quite like a shot o' bourbon."

"Jeez, Remy, bourbon?"

"If we were down south it's what I'd serve you in honor of your being back in the states. Then we gonna go on the floor and show them how it's done."

"Just like that? Not even gonna ask me?"

Remy pulled Rogue in close to him, holding her waist with his arm, then leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Rogue, I been waiting a long time to ask you this… Come dance with me, Chere?"

Rogue grinned and wriggled out of his hold. "That's more like it, Cajun. Now, didn't you mention somethin' 'bout a shot, first?"

Four shots and two chasers later, Remy and Rogue were on the dance floor. As Rogue danced with Remy, he couldn't believe this was the same girl he met years ago, the moody teenager with enough attitude for three. This was better than some of the dreams he had had: Rogue moving along to the music, Remy's hands roaming all over her body, from her arms to her shoulders to her hips. The velvet dress she had on felt even better than it looked.

Near the bar, Kitty, Kurt, Scott and Jean were watching the southerners in action. "Wow. The way those two are going at it, I wouldn't be surprised if they just, like, go out back and finally consummate the relationship," Kitty said.

"Kitty!" Kurt exclaimed. "That's meine Schwester!"

"I also don't feel very comfortable discussing Rogue's, um, sex life. Hypothetical or otherwise," Scott added.

"Ok, fiiine," Kitty conceded. "But I'm telling you. Things are heating up for Rogue and Remy."

After many songs and a few more drinks, Remy leaned into Rogue and asked "Chere, you feel like getting out of here?"

"Sounds good. But there ain't no way in hell you're driving us anywhere."

Remy shook his head. "Never planned on it, Chere. Cyke's playin' DD tonight, and I already gave him the keys."

Outside the club, Remy hailed a cab and gave the driver the mansion's address. As much fun as they had had and despite all they had to drink, Rogue refused to be one of those girls who made out with a guy in the backseat of a taxi. It was well after lights out in the mansion, so Remy and Rogue were in drunken stealth mode.

"I gotta say, I'm grateful to not have a curfew anymore. Sneaking in way always friggin' impossible with Logan around."

Rogue led them both into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water. "Feel like joining me on the roof, Cajun?"

"The roof, eh? Kinky."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "C'mon."

The pair went upstairs and climbed onto the roof through Remy's room, which he insisted had the easiest roof access point. Rogue opened her water bottle and took a swig. "Look, I'm not stupid. I know what you're hoping for tonight."

"Remy not hoping for anything tonight."

"See, I'm calling your bullshit right there. These days you only use third person if you're tellin' a tall tale, not to mention the bulge in your pants says otherwise."

Remy didn't look remotely ashamed. "You should know what's in my pants, considering the way I was celebratin' your return with you all night long."

"I'm not saying I don't want it, either. But we both drank a lot tonight, and…."

"Go 'head, Chere."

"Well, I'm hoping this ain't just about sex for you."

"Of course not. Never has been."

"Right. But if we start being all 'official' about things, I don't want it to start with sex. Sex is a big deal, especially for me. And I don't want to rush into things just because we can. I wanna treat this like a normal relationship. Even if we ain't exactly normal."

Remy leaned back on the roof, pulling Rogue next to him. They were both looking at the few stars they could see hidden behind the clouds.

"It ain't just about sex, Rogue. I promise you that. There's no red-blooded straight male who would turn down a night with you, believe me. But I swear on my honor, I'll wait as long as you want until you give me the go ahead. I'm not in any rush."

Rogue nodded. "Ok. Good."

Remy and Rogue stayed silent for a while, enjoying the cool night air and the understanding of where they were headed together. "You know, I'm pretty sure Kitty was taking bets as to when we'd finally get together," Rogue said.

Remy smirked. "When word got out that you were coming back, some of the so-called 'Junior X-Men' here tried to start a betting pool. Wolvie knocked that shit out real quick. Even while you were gone, you were still his favorite."

Rogue blushed. "I wish people would stop sayin' that. He'd do the same for any other girl here."

"Maybe, but he threatened each kid with a month of extra early Training Room sessions plus bathroom cleaning duty if he ever heard them mention it again."

Rogue couldn't help but smile. "I guess it is nice, having someone watch out for you like that. I missed him while I was gone. I missed all of you while I was gone."

"Sure am glad you're back, Chere."

"Yeah. Me too."