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Chapter 4

For the next three days, Remy was pleasant to her; simply pleasant and therein laid the problem. He was formal and quite cordial, he didn't tease or flirt with her as he did the other females in the mansion. It was in his nature to flirt with complete strangers and yet she received none of his genuine attention. She did, however, receive quite a bit from the other males in the household, even Scott, who had been engaged to Jean for the past year and a half, buzzed about her to make sure she was settling in alright, seeing if she needed anything, much to the annoyance to his red-haired fiancé and every other girl in the house. Rogue had left a withdrawn, angry, gothic introverted child and returned a lovely, laidback, young woman who smiled often and laughed frequently. She had become one of those women who were so vivacious that the men just naturally flocked to her; her honeyed accent and sparkling laugh were only part of the reason they followed her about. With her vintage-Betty Page style she was like a retro pin-up come to life and they fairly drooled at the sight of her; all of them save two; her adopted brother and the Cajun who barely gazed in her direction.

It was Christmas Eve and Rogue was watching the others frolic about in the snow that covered the backyard from the window of the warm study, a steaming cup of hot tea in her hands. The sun had set some time ago as it does during the winter months and the only light they had outside was from the colorful Christmas light and a few bonfires that Amara and Roberto had set. She was marveling at the fact that, after all the time she had spent there, how close she had gotten to them and how glad everyone seemed to have her back, she still felt like an outsider. Always keeping her distance and never joining in. Remy had never made her feel that way before. They had always kept their distance together and he was the only one she ever really felt close to. He and the other Acolytes had joined after the defeat of Apocalypse but Rogue would have nothing to do with him but it didn't stop him from trying to worm his way into her life. She treated him badly, afraid of him getting too close but after the incident with Carol Danvers, he was the only one who would get close to her. The others had been afraid of her and rightfully so in her opinion, but he never stopped pursuing her; in fact, he was the only one who seemed to understand what she was going through and was always there for her.

Carol Danvers nearly destroyed her. She rallied most of the psyches that Rogue had collected against her; only Gambit, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat's psyches stood in her defense while the other's attempted to destroy her from the inside out. One night, Gambit held her for hours just to keep her from ripping her own hair out, trying to relieve the pain they were causing. He withstood their attacks on him when they managed to take control of her body. He even let her absorb him so his psyche could mount a stronger defense of her mind which gave her a few precious moments of peace before he faded and she had to deal with them on her own again. In the end, the professor and Jean had to help Rogue defeat Carol on the Astralplain and the young woman had to be destroyed to save Rogue. The other psyches, with the help of her champions, were driven to the deepest recesses of her mind and held there with no ability to surface until they began to fade. Even then, she would never truly be rid of them.

After the ordeal, she slept for nearly two days in the med-lab and Remy had refused to leave her side until she was awake and he knew she would be alright. Their connection had been a spiritual one that had formed quickly and deeply; in some ways it was deeper than the connection held by Scott and Jean. Neither of them had meant to fall in love, Remy had first sought after her because she had presented a challenge that he couldn't refuse but when he saw what Apocalypse had done to her, how he had used her and after watching what she had to endure because of her powers, his desire for her quickly turned to affection, protectiveness and then to love. He hadn't been lying or dramatizing when he told her he loved her and would have given anything to be with her and she knew it. She felt the same way but there was still the simple fact that he was not afraid of her powers and she was. She wasn't willing to risk hurting him the way she had Carol, so she ran. Now, more than anything, she wanted what they had before, she longed for it with all that she was and she knew he despised her.

Draining the last of her tea from her mug, she laughed to herself that the girl who once lived on black coffee drank mostly green tea now, hot tea in the winter and iced tea in the summer. She smiled as she got up and headed to the kitchen with her empty cup, intent on another cup when she heard voices, two distinct voices, from the front of the foyer. One of the voices was the one she loved most in the whole world and the other was rich, melodious and rather frightening. She crept out, trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of who Remy was speaking to without being seen herself. Remy was facing the man just inside the door with his back to her and the other man took her breath away. He was quite tall with broad shoulders, nearly the same build as Remy but he looked to be a few years older with jet-black hair and dark eyes. His skin however was what drew her curiosity. It was as pale as marble and as smooth as ice, yet it seemed to have a luminous, glowing quality to it. His voice, his presence was intoxicating and she was standing several feet away; it made her want to fall into a deep sleep and dream about a lovely nothingness.

His eyes were focused on Remy, as they were deep in a serious conversation, but suddenly she realized that they had focused on her and she wasn't aware of how long he had been looking at her or how long she had been staring at him. The man said something to Remy but kept his eyes on her and Remy turned to see her standing there.

"Rogue?" Remy brought her out of her dream-like state and back to reality.

"Ah, um," Rogue stuttered, trying to remember how to speak. "Ah was just passin' through an' Ah heard voices. Ah didn't mean to disturb y'all."

"Nonsense," the man spoke with a strong French accent, indicating he was not Cajun. "A woman so beautiful could never be an interruption; a distraction, but never an interruption."

"Y' French," Rogue said and then inwardly scolded her herself, 'Duh!'

"Oui," the man smiled. "And you mon chere are tres belle. You speak French, non?"

"Oui," she said before she added. "Un peu." (A little)

"Rogue," Remy actually seemed annoyed, whether it was because of the man staring at her or because she had interrupted, she didn't know. "Dis is an ol' friend o' mine, Antoine Guillaume; Antoine dis is Rogue."

"Enchante," Antoine took Rogue's gloved hand and kissed it, his dark eyes freezing her in place. She was quite disconcerted because she didn't remember crossing the room to be that close to them but her tongue had become glued to the roof of her mouth and she could only grin what she thought had to be an utterly stupid looking grin at him. She thought she would faint when she felt his finger surreptitiously stroke the palm of her gloved hand before he released her.

"Antoine jus' came over t' discuss some business an' now he has t' be goin'," Remy said pointedly and a bit more annoyed.

"C'est vrai," Antoine said, reluctantly. (It's true) "I 'ave a plane to catch. Mais I hope we meet again soon. Bonne nuit, mon chere."

Rogue didn't quite remember if she said goodbye or when exactly the two men left for she found herself rooted to her spot and alone in the foyer. She shook her head to rid herself of the dazed feeling she had and once more headed into the kitchen.

"Was dat necessary?" Remy spat as he walked Antoine to his long, black limousine parked just outside the door.

"Non," Antoine said as his driver opened the door for him. "Mais it was fun."

Remy snorted.

"She is perfect, just as you said, but are you sure you want to go through with this?" Antoine was suddenly serious. "It's apparent you still care for her, do you really want to put her through that?"

Remy looked back at the mansion before he answered: "Oui."

"She is pure, of body and heart, the others will approve." Antoine slid into the car. "She will be the one to set us free. After so many years, we will finally be free."

"I promised you, Antoine," Remy turned back to him. "I'll hold up my end of de bargin."

"Just be sure, this is what you really want, Remy," Antoine said before his chauffer shut the door. "There's no backing out of this once you make your decision."

"I won't be backin' out," Remy said, his eyes narrowing as he turned them back to the mansion. "I made a promise an' I never go back on m' word. I knew what de bargin was when I made it. You an' de others will have what y' want and I'll finally have what I been wantin' for four years."