Disclaimer; I don't own Marvel or these characters, though I'd really love to have dinner with Taylor Kitsch.

Before I begin, I believe I forgot to add things to the last chapter, namely, the name of that lovely song that was going on during the club scene. It's called Poker Face by Lady Gaga, and kind of fits Gambit…if he were a woman…and after everything in pants instead of skirts. *laughs* But I digress, here's also the French translations that I forgot to add as well.

Fille- Girl

Petite- Little One

Cher- Dear

Cherie- Darling

Femme- Woman

Magnifique- Magnificent

Belle-Beautiful

Deiu-God

Homme- Man

La mère Baise de la Merde- Mother Fucking Shit

Just remember, I don't know French, so internet translators are my only guide. Glad to take any advice real French speaker's out there have to give. Also, this is rated M for a reason, and I'm not planning to hold back, life is cold and cruel sometimes, and we do what we can to get by. That's not to say this story won't have a happy ending, or that everything that happens here is gonna be all dark and depressing and questionably immoral, just that some ugly things are gonna happen. You've been warned.

Also, since its rated M, there's gonna be some cursing going on (like there hasn't been already, in French and English). Again, you've been warned.

Now to the story. :D

SMACK!

A satisfying hit to the target in front of him, and Bobby let loose the first smile he had allowed himself all day. He had been training in the school's gym for a few hours now, working on his hand to hand, with a little touch of ice to the punches and kicks when he thought he could risk the bags.

It had been what…five years since the incident? Five years since she left, since he had made what was possibly one of the stupidest mistakes of his life. Five years…

Another well placed kick to the bag sent it skidding back a couple of inches; he paused, and took a deep breath.

"Rogue…"

He was scared, terrified, since she had absorbed him for the first time. It was a kiss, and he thought he could handle it, it had worked the first time Damn it! Why hadn't it worked again? It seemed that a brief taste, only the slightest tantalizing touch was allowed to them, before her powers kicked in and took his soul away from him.

God he was scared.

He tried to hide it, tried so hard not to flinch whenever she was around him, but she knew. She always knew, so sensitive to how others reacted around her by now, to her skin. He had to admit she had a right to it. Honestly, he couldn't imagine what she went through, and he felt so terrible for being the coward he was.

But he was scared.

It was painful, the absorption. Feeling like his life was being pulled out of him, like his lifeblood was being drained into her through the very pores of his skin. She had sucked the life out of him, and even if it was only for that brief moment, it was enough.

He hadn't tried to kiss her again since that day.

Kitty had been an all too willing comfort for him then. He told himself they were just friends, but he knew, inside where he didn't want to admit the truth, he knew. He told himself, 'just trying to be a good friend,' he told himself he was only trying to help. The truth came out the moment his lips touched the shadowcat's.

He didn't blame Rogue for getting the cure after that.

He promised himself he wouldn't put her through that pain again, he'd be a good boyfriend; after all, she could no longer hurt him anymore.

He promised himself…

SKINK!

Bobby was startled back into reality, noticing that he had accidentally created an ice spike out of the palm of his hand, and pierced the punching bag with it. He sighed, now Storm was going to be angry with him for ruining yet, another of the work out equipment.

He was so distracted these days.

He shook his head and walked over to where he had laid out his stuff; he wiped himself down with a towel and took a drink from his water bottle. Things had been so stressed since all those years ago. Since Jean and Scott and the Professor had died. Storm was doing all she could to keep the school afloat, even with so little help. Currently they had Hank on call for any medical emergencies, and Kurt and Warren had both stayed at the school in order to help with teaching their young charges.

Bobby sighed and sat heavily on one of the benches lining the walls of the gym. Logan had left soon after Storm took over the institute, he said something about needing to clear his head, or something like that.

Bobby couldn't blame him, he had killed the woman he loved, but Bobby couldn't help but feel like if he had stayed, things would have ended up differently.

If Logan had stayed, Rogue wouldn't have left.

Five years, it had been five years since she had walked out of their lives. Bobby couldn't help but blame himself for it.

She had done it, she had gotten the cure. She could finally touch, and he was happy for her. Sadly, not everyone was so supportive of her new life.

"Hey look, it's our resident Homo Sapian." The word was spit out at her like a curse, like it was a bad thing to be human. Honestly, they were working on bringing peace between humans and mutants; didn't these kids have any manners at all?

"C'mon Rogue, just ignore them." He tried to grab for her, to lead her away from their mocking glances, but she resisted. He paused and turned to her, and with a sharp pain in his chest noticed the hurt look in her eyes, the hurt and the anger.

"Shut up." She said it in a whisper at first, then the anger grew and overcame her hurt. She lashed out, breaking free of Bobby's grip and stubbornly approached the two girls who had been only another couple of those who felt the need to punish her for her choice.

They smirked at her, pleased at her reaction.

"Make us."

Bobby had held her back just in time before it turned into, yet, another of Rogue's frequent fights.

A buzzing in his pocket woke him up from his thoughts. Frowning, he took out his cell and gazed at the number that showed up on the tiny screen. He let out a deep breath, and answered.

"Hey Kit, what's up?"

The voice on the other end was high pitched and excited.

"Like, Bobby, you will not believe what we just found out. You have to, like, come out of the gym for once and see who's come and made a visit to the mansion."

"Really Kit, who's so important that I just have to go out and see?" Honestly, he didn't care about any new students that came in, if they weren't Rogue, he didn't give a damn. She was the one he was most worried about, the one he had wronged so badly.

"Like, just come down and see!" Kitty was starting to sound angry from her end, angry and frustrated. Who was this new person?

"Alright, alright, just give me a bit." Bobby reluctantly gave in. He didn't blame Kitty for being mad at him.

"Bobby, like, why don't you join me, Jubes, and Pete on a trip to the mall?" She gazed at her boyfriend hopefully; maybe getting him out with his friends would cheer him up for once.

"Nah, I don't think so Kit…I think I'm gonna hit the danger room for the afternoon." He didn't want to hang out, didn't want to be around the others these days. It just didn't do anything to fill the nagging that he felt in his heart.

"Oh my god Bobby! You're so infuriating sometimes!" Normally it took quite a bit to make the Shadowcat angry. Usually it included several threats to her shopping addiction and insults to her cooking, but even then she never went much farther than a mild annoyance. With Bobby it only took a few words and she felt like she wanted to punch something, without phasing through it.

It pained him when he made her angry, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it.

"I'm sorry Kitty; I just don't feel like it is all."

"You never feel like it! You never feel like anything!" She was right in his face, shouting at him. He could tell this had been bottled up in her for a while, she didn't even add in a single 'like'.

"I've just had a lot on my mind…" A lot of guilt more like…

"Ever since Rogue left all you've done is spent all your time in the Danger Room, or the Gym, or in your own room sulking over her leaving. She's gone Bobby! She left of her own choice. You can't keep blaming yourself for it!" She pointed into his chest, praying for the words to have some effect on him.

"Oh yeah, why not? I didn't see you do anything about the way everyone was treating her!" Now he was getting angry, it was looking to be another of their many quarrels over the Southerner's departure.

"I did what I could! Every time one of those…those…people decided to taunt her for taking the cure I stood up for her! We were there for her! She was the one who refused to see us standing beside her. She was the one who left Bobby!"

His eyes narrowed and he let out a tightly held breath.

"Well, obviously it wasn't enough for us to defend her. She needed more, and we could have done more Kitty!" His hands clenched at his sides, and his breathing became heavy. He closed his eyes tightly, that heavy weight of guilt crushing against his heart, his longs, suffocating. He could have done more…

"Bobby…I can't do this anymore." He opened his eyes to see her regretful look. He blinked, not understanding.

"What do you mean Kit?"

"I mean, we can't do this anymore. We never should have done it to begin with." Kitty shook her head and backed away from him, leaning against her bed behind her. She looked away.

"I'm sorry Bobby."

They had remained friends after that, even though Bobby was still spending most of his time in the Danger Room, training like all that mattered to him was honing himself to perfect fighting capacity. Still, it was better this way, like breaking up with Kitty had been lifting a weight that his guilt had been putting on him the entire time.

She was dating Peter now, and they couldn't be happier. Bobby hadn't found anyone else, not that he could have since he spent all of his time either training or hanging out with his friends when they managed to pry him out into the world again. It wasn't that he was saving himself for Rogue, on the off chance that she could come back. No, that wasn't what he wanted.

Five years was a long time to wait to rekindle a relationship that should have stayed as friendship.

That was all he wanted from her now, friendship. He wanted her to forgive him for what he did, or didn't do. Wanted her to know how sorry he was for fearing, when he knew how she had felt about people fearing her. Wanted her to understand how bad he felt for cheating on her with Kitty, even if a kiss was all that he had done that night at the pond.

Even when he and Kitty started dating, soon after Rogue had left them, they hadn't done more the kiss.

Most of all, he wanted to know that she was okay. It hadn't been more than a few months after Rogue had left that the news of the Cure's effects being temporary had reached them. He had been excited; maybe she would come back to them? Then he could start over and be the friend to her that he was supposed to have been. He could do things better, be more supportive in her attempts to control her powers.

She never came back.

She wasn't going to come back.

It was a realization that he had come to long ago, and with it, his guilt ate away at him more and more every day. He swore if it weren't for his friends he'd have been worse off than Scott after Jean had died the first time.

So consumed by these thoughts, that he barely noticed the commotion that greeted him as he made his way to the entrance of the mansion. So distracted, it took him a full minute before he realized who it was that was at the door, and it took him another five to pull together a coherent thought so he could speak.

"Logan…"

"Icepop." Logan greeted with his customary growl, he looked pretty much exactly the same as the last time Bobby had met him, save a little more worn around the edges. It didn't escape his notice, however, when the Wolverine's trademark adamantium claws popped out of his fists with their customary 'SNIKT'.

"You have a lot of explaining to do."

***

Remy moved silently as he tracked down where Monsieur I-have-to-hit-my-woman-in-order-to-feel-sexually-adequate had taken the frightened Belle. The thought of what that man might do to her disgusted him, only making him hasten his advance to find them. He couldn't help but wonder though, after all of the times she had asked him that question he still didn't have an answer.

Why did he care so much about her? She was just another whore.

Or was she?

Really…what woman was 'just a whore' anyway? Remy could say that it was the gentleman in him that rushed so fiercely to this particular femme's defense. He always had had a soft spot for the beautiful ladies. He could even blame the fact that this particular femme greatly interested him. She was so scared, and he simply wanted to know what had happened to get her into her situation.

But that was the thing, why did he want to know? It wasn't his business or anything.

Maybe he just wanted to because she was so guarded. He was a thief, and as such, secrets and challenges were very interesting to him.

Did he see her as a challenge?

No.

Then what was it?

Even with all his doubts swimming in his head, the Cajun Thief didn't slow his pace, easily climbing a fire escape and landing quickly onto the roof, where he gracefully slid into a run and jump across the rooftops, ears straining to listen for where the duo had gone to.

No matter his reasons for wanting to get to know Rogue, the gentleman in him refused to leave her to that pig. Everything about the man had screamed danger for her, and Remy wasn't going to be caught dead if he were to leave the poor femme to her own devices. He was raised better than that, and she was obviously not going to do anything to stop the man herself.

He wondered what the man had done to make Rogue so defenseless around him.

Remy decided he had better never find out, or else said man was going to very likely end up splattered all over an abandoned alleyway. Favorably after he had gotten Rogue out of said alleyway first.

Remy promptly came to the conclusion that the only reason he was so drawn to Rogue was simply that, he just was. Something about her, he didn't know what, drew his attention, his focus. He couldn't explain it, and he figured, until he did, he wasn't going to. He was tired of trying to puzzle it out in his mind until his head hurt, of trying to find a suitable answer for her so that she'd just open up and let him in, let him know her.

It was better not to dwell on things that just were, really. This was a lesson he had learned well in his life, and the Rogue was simply another puzzle to solve.

He'd play fate's game for now, and see where it led him. He'd be damned, however, if he let fate play him.

But for now, and he smiled as he picked up on the emotions of barely concealed panic and rage/lust coming from a pair in an alleyway to his right, now he had a femme to save.

He vanished overtop the edge of the roof, the tail of his duster the last thing to be seen.

Well now, that was a lot harder then I had expected it to be. I blame Bobby; he's not as interesting to write as Gambit and Rogue. I know this chapter is shorter, but for the life of me this one was pretty hard to get out. Again, blaming Iceman.

More French!

Monsieur- Mr.

Now if I could only figure out how to do the layouts and add in lines to separate the parts of the story and everything….hmmm…ah, please tell me if things get confusing. I have a bad habit of rambling and writing stuff that makes no sense to anyone but me…habit of being too subtle. Comes when my head's not in the job.

Changed my writing style around too, I feel like breaking the rules that were placed in my head in English class that said never to separate sentences from each other and how to write a proper paragraph. It's easier this way. *nods*

Now, be good little munchkins and click the review button for your aunty 'Cune.