To: Chica, Ishandahalf, Rogue181, RedSmileyFace, nuriiko, shweeps, Cemikey111, Burning Touch, Star, La Diable Blanc, Rogue Freak, LovableRogue, rubic-cube, willa.I, X-Storm, Conquistador Imp, thesupernugget, mei-shui-devi, Rogue14, LOnely eMo GIrl-JK 123, AnimeObsessedFreak, and gambit-rogue. Thanks to everyone who took the time out to review; I know I haven't been up on my review replys like I usually am but I've been a little busy lately and I am just focusing on the writing but just know that the reviews are very much appreciated.

I don't own the X-Men.

Chapter 4

She liked it when the house was empty; nearly all the other students had gone off to school and there were only a few who were being taught there by Ororo and Hank so she had the house to herself for the most part. She had convinced the professor the night before to give her a year off from school and then she would consider going to collage. The Rogue in collage? She didn't want to think about any of it right then, she just wanted to enjoy the silence she had everyday. Sure she had more chores to do and more workouts in the Danger Room but she was usually able to get those out of the way early and had the whole day to herself. She could lounge by the pool in a skimpy bathing suit and not have to worry about bumping into anyone, figuratively and literally. It was mid-September and they were having a bit of a heat wave so she was grateful that she could have the pool to herself for awhile before having to cover herself up again. This heat wave had been nearly unbearable for her, even though she had been wearing lightweight fabrics, being covered that much was still quite awful for her. She lay on an oversized raft in the shape of a giant seashell and floated across the pool, soaking up the sun. After about twenty minutes, when she felt the sun getting too hot on her fair skin, she rolled off the shell and into the water, a little shocked at the cold but refreshed. Making her way over to the side of the pool, she climbed out and grabbed her towel as she went to sit on a lounge chair beneath an umbrella. Her mind began to drift and she closed her eyes as she felt her body relax. She had woken up to Kitty's clock radio again and just as it had the other day, the damn thing interrupted a very nice dream. No, Rogue thought to herself, it wasn't a nice dream; it was an awful dream. A hot, erotic, deliciously awful dream; taking up were they had left off in her last dream and going even farther.

It started with his mouth on hers; he was tugging at her clothing and her at his until they had succeeded in removing all the barriers between them. He was all hands, lips and burning eyes; he was overwhelming all of her senses as he made love to her and she was pleasantly drowning in these sensations. That wonderfully pleasant ache was there again, tightening, coiling low in her belly becoming more intense as his hands roamed lower and lower. His hands were stroking the insides of her thighs, while he was whispering softly in her ear: "Je vous ai voulu pour si long, chéri. Vous êtes si beau. . . Mon chéri doux et doux. Bébé, je vous aime. Je vous aime si beaucoup. . . Je veux faire vous vous sentez si bon. . . Juste me laisser. . ." (I've wanted you for so long, darling. You're so beautiful . . . my sweet, sweet darling. Baby, I love you. I love you so much. . . I want to make you feel so good . . . just let me . . .") and his hands were slowly moving up to her—

"Don'tcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don'tcha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?"

"NO!" Rogue let out a frustrated cry as she was startled from her dream and when the disorientation had worn off she screamed to her roommate: "Damn it, Kitty! Ah swear-"

"Oh get over it already!" Kitty snapped as she hit the button on the offending devise to shut it off. "I swear you have, like, month long PMS or something."

Rogue flopped back against her pillow, trying to regulate her breathing and muttering something about the punishment for homicide in the state of New York as Kitty dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom. Kitty was the only one who was allowed to speak to Rogue in that fashion, everyone else feared too much for their own lives to raise their voices to her. But for now, there was no one to bother her or make her angry; she hadn't seen Gambit all morning and although she was relieved, part of her was disappointed. He had said he loved her, not just wanted her, but loved her. What did it mean? Was she just dreaming up what she wanted to hear? Pretending that he wanted her for more than just a meaningless role in the hay? She tried to push it all out of her mind as she felt herself begin to drift off.

He had stayed in his room the whole morning, from the time he regrettably been awoken from his amazingly, sexy Rogue-dream by the sound of Cyclops yelling at the new recruits in the hallway to the time when most of the students tromped out to go to school. He couldn't stop thinking about that dream. He was taking her against the wall of the Danger Room. She was crying out, in ecstasy, moaning her pleasure, encouraging him . . . and declaring her love for him. Her fingernails were digging into his shoulders; he was nearing his climax as she yelled: "Faster, Remy! Oh! Harder darlin', harder! Y' so amazin', shugah—oh! Ah love you, baby. Ah love you so much!"

"Damn it! Bobby! Roberto! Get back here and clean up this mess or I'll tell the professor!"

"No," Remy sat up with a whimper. The feeling of Rogue's warm body against his was fading at the sound of Cyclops' shouting. He would have charged out and decked their fearless leader had a bigger problem not arisen, keeping him in his room until after having a cold shower. He hadn't gone down for breakfast; he couldn't see her, he didn't trust himself not to take her on the dining room table, even with the others looking on. He paced about his room for about twenty minutes after most of the other residents had gone until he realized that he had to get out of that room. His gaze kept drifting to the bed and imagining that she was on it, naked, ready. He had to get out. He walked across the entire layout of the grounds before he had even realized it. As he passed the pool, he stared at the raft floating, abandoned in the pool, he thought he saw Rogue lying atop it, he shook his head and the mirage was gone. The heat was getting to him. He started back toward the mansion when he glanced over at the lounge chairs and saw her again. Lying beneath a spreading umbrella, sleeping in the cool shade, wearing a skimpy bathing suit; he shook his head again but this vision didn't fade from his sight.

He watched her sleep and something odd happened. Yes, his desire for her was still there but there was also something more, this odd squeezing in his heart. He was overcome by the urge to lie down beside her and gather her in his arms; to wrap her up in his arms and hold her close; close enough to feel her breath on his skin and hear the steady beat of her heart. He wanted to breathe in the scent of her skin and that wonderful, heady scent that clung to her hair. He wanted to hold her and lay like that forever, even if it was through their clothing.

"Nice view?"

He looked up at her face, startled to see that she was awake and the sparkling of her eyes took his breath away. The feelings she was evoking in him were too odd and wonderful that they unnerved him. He put on the swaggering bravado before he could stop himself.

"Nicest I've seen in awhile," a seductive smirk came over his features. "Just about made my day."

"Y' such a pig."

"An' y' a tease."

"What?!" Rogue sat up in outrage. "Ah have never—"

"Non?" Remy's subconscious winced; this was so far away from where he wanted to go with her. "Den what y' call dat cozy lil' one on one in the Danger Room?"

"A mistake!" Rogue stood and started to gather her belongings. "That's what Ah call it, asshole. Trust you ta throw that back in mah face."

Remy mentally kicked himself; why did their conversations always end up like this? This wasn't where he wanted to go with her. "Rogue, wait, I didn't mean—"

"Ah think it was pretty obvious what y' meant, Gambit." Rogue stormed away from him. "Why can't y' just leave me alone?"

"Because I can't," Remy murmured, too softly for her to hear as he watched her head back into the mansion.

He had to find someway to straighten things out with her; after about twenty minutes of pacing by the pool, he worked up the nerve to find her and work things out. He went up to her room and after about five minutes of knocking and calling to her, he slowly turned the doorknob and peered in. She wasn't in there. He searched the entire mansion; the grounds, the classrooms, the Danger Room, the hanger bay; he didn't hear anyone leave so she had to be on the grounds. He was about to begin is search again when he passed the professor's office and heard the sweet voice that struck something deep inside him. He stopped to listen at the door which was, fortunately, slightly ajar. What he heard made his heart squeeze, painfully this time and a heavy dread filled him.

"I understand that you have been having a difficult time of late," the professor was saying in a gentle tone. "I know how hard it can be to find your own path in life and you are certainly old enough to make your own decisions, but do you really thing that leaving the mansion is the solution?"

"Ah have to, professor," Rogue said with a tremor in her voice. "Ah'll go crazy if Ah spend one more minute in this house. Ah have ta move out, as soon as possible."

(A/N: dun, dun, dunn!)