Alright, I know it's really been a long time and I apologize. On top of having a lot going on (working 40hrs a week and fulltime grad student) I just have so many ideas for this story. I know where it's going...but I have so many ideas of how to get there...probably too many. I have lots of chapters written, but now i question all of them lol. I've been changing or completely chucking out a lot of stuff...not that it's bad, but I keep thinking of ways to improve it. It sounds silly, but this story (or versions of it, i guess) has been in the works and/or in my mind for a long time so I guess I just want to get it right...? It's been a pet project for a while, so I just want to do it justice. I'll try to write a little faster for you though.
I really appreciate the feedback. I've gotten quite a bit of support, so I really love that- thanks so much.
Hope you enjoy chapter 8. =)
Unexpected
You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh
"As Time Goes By"
"Look at you, being so responsible"
Rogue smiled when she heard Logan and looked up from the sink, where she was washing the cups and bowls she'd snatched out of the common areas. The students were pretty much all to bed now, so she'd gone through and cleaned out the rec rooms on her way through the floor.
"That okay? Or were you looking forward to doing it?" she joked.
"No, that's all you," he snorted and leaned against the kitchen island, arms crossed. "...I've been meanin' to talk to you..."
"Well that doesn't sound great..." Rogue frowned.
She was suddenly feeling reluctant to be part of the conversation. Perhaps this way because Logan, himself, sounded like he didn't like saying what he'd already said.
"Well, it's just that I've seen you and Gumbo around this place..." he sighed, plowing on.
"Logan..."
"C'mon, just let me, huh?" he appealed.
Of course he didn't want to have this conversation, but Rogue was like...well, he didn't want to say "like a daughter" to him, but she was like a little sister at least. After the last couple weeks, he'd be remise not to say something. He'd seen them talking quietly together on several occasions, caught them laying closely together on the couch, and heard the quiet speculation amongst students and other staff about what was or wasn't going on between the pair...
And then there was what he'd witnessed in the Danger Room...
It was hardly a secret that Logan had trouble sleeping. He could often be found prowling the halls of the mansion at night. This let him walk off whatever wary feelings his nightmares frequently left him with, and it indulged his need to make sure all was secure. Then, he typically liked to go down to the lower levels and beat the snot out of something or someone- it pleased him that the Danger Room could supply him either either.
He strolled down the sterile, too-bright halls and was momentarily surprised to see a red glow from the monitor by the bay doors of the Danger Room, signaling the room was already in use. That wasn't altogether unheard of- he'd found the room used at odd hours by Scott, Rogue, or a couple others. Curious and, perhaps, slightly annoyed, he made his way to the observation room instead. He supposed it might not be all bad- if a good simulation was running, he could just join right in.
As it was, he did not want to join. Remy and Rogue were in the midst of a simulation of a white-walled room with dark wood trimming and support beams. The floor was a white padding, which suggested to Logan it was some kind of dojo. The fact that the pair was wearing sweats and old clothes also suggested to Logan that they had been sparring...at some point.
Currently, they were sprawled on the floor, and Remy was propped partially above Rogue with one hand pushed into her hair as he kissed her. Logan did not like the way that Remy's body melded down against Rogues, nor did he like how Rogue's fingers scratched at Remy's t-shirt - although, he did say a silent thanks that the Cajun at least had a shirt on today.
"Christ," he growled.
He saw as Remy shifted his way to one arm and removed his hand from Rogue's hair to slowly start to unzip her hoodie so he could smooth a hand over exposed skin under her sports bra. It satisfied him just slightly that Rogue shifted and stilled his hand, but it also rose his hackles...
With a huff, he stormed from the room and back down to the Danger Room doors. Unceremoniously, he punched a button to open the metal doors since he knew this was not a simulation that could hurt anyone who stumbled in unawares.
"If you're not training, go ahead and get out.
Both younger occupants of the room started, and Rogue jumped when she saw Logan and quickly scooted away and into a seated position. Remy was clearly less concerned, but he pushed himself up to sit on his haunches anyway, offering Logan a casual return gaze.
"Well," Logan urged him and jerked his thumb over his shoulder to direct them on their way.
Smirking, Remy stood swiftly and offered a hand to help Rogue up; she accepted it, but dropped it as soon as she was back on her feet. She seemed shifty under Logan's gaze and scurried out after muttering something about taking a shower. Conversely, Remy sauntered out with a little more grace; his dark eyes practically invited Logan to say something.
But Logan didn't think he had a lot he needed to say to Remy. He figured anything he would say would just further encourage the man to pursue Rogue further. Rogue may be the same way - she was young and did have a defiant streak in her, after all- so he'd have to refrain from straight-out telling her not to do what she was starting to do...
Rogue sighed but nodded for him to go ahead and continue.
"I know you're young and...you've got your hormones and shit...
Rogue sighed uncomfortably here and regretted having turned at the sink to face him.
"And now you can, ya know...touch a guy the way you want to," Logan continued, suddenly finding he didn't want to specifically name what she could now safely do. "But all that...it doesn't mean you need to go touching the first guy that comes along..."
"Logan!"
"I'm just sayin'," Logan continued. "...you're a good kid. I'm sure it's extra exciting with all of this bein' pretty new, but you can wait for the right guy everything. Trust me, sometimes putting up with the wrong one winds up being a lot of pain and work..."
"Look, I'm not stupid"
"I know, I know!" Logan quickly agreed.
"Well, I'm not going around with the first guy I found...if that was the case, I would've tried to get back together with Bobby," Rogue crossed her arms to match Logan.
Logan made an unfavorable face at the thought of that, too.
"It's just that...you're dealing with years of pent up...urges, and I know it's fun - trust me, I know - but don't get caught up in all that fun and forget to think, huh?"
"Yeah, but...he's good to me..."
"Oh, I'm sure he is," Logan snorted.
Rogue threw up her hands- they were obviously not going to agree on anything regarding this topic, at least not today.
"Can I go now?"
Logan nodded.
Swiftly, she made her exit- she'd finish with those dishes later.
"Kid?"
"Uh-huh," she stopped in the door.
"If nothin' else, just...be safe. Ya know, use-"
"I've had that talk with Storm," Rogue told him very quickly.
"Oh...well...good," he nodded sternly to save face.
With a small nod of her own, Rogue exited. She didn't know whether she ought to laugh or curl up with embarrassment.
"Laugh!" Jubilee told her later when the girls were getting ready for bed in their shared bathroom.
"Yeah?"
"Um, yeah...you should've made him sweat it out, too. Like...ya know, asked questions when he started trying to talk about safe sex," the shorter girl giggled.
"Ew, Jubes. That was the worst part of it..."
"Worse than him insinuating you might be whorish?" Jubilee rose an eyebrow.
Rogue sighed. She was sure Logan hadn't meant to imply anything of the sort, but she hadn't like the idea that he thought she was just touching whatever attractive man she could find in arm's reach.
"The whole thing was stupid..."
"What's with older guys thinking they need to advise us? I got the same sort of thing from Scott when Alex and I started our...well, whatever this is. It's like they think we can't make smart sexual decisions because we're girls. If guys can decide what they want to do, then so can we," she rolled her eyes.
Rogue smiled at her friend's indigence, and she was glad she wasn't the only one who thought the conversation hadn't been necessary. It was nice that he cared, but she doubted she'd have gotten the same treatment if she were a boy.
"So, how are you and Alex these days?"
"Alright... I'm planning a DC trip," Jubilee smiled. "A lot's been going on and I think I could use a little time to myself."
"You deserve it - I can cover your classes. You still feeling down?"
Rogue had been trying to check in with her friend a little more deliberately lately, ever since the discussion in the rec room about how things were going out in the world. While Rogue understood the inclination to take off and leave all of the trouble to someone else, she worried about Jubilee now that she'd voiced the idea and wanted to make sure she wasn't still in a rut.
"Yeah," Jubilee smiled a little into the mirror. "I mean...the doubts are always kind of there, but I'm feeling more positive about it. Like...I know we're doing the right thing."
"Hey, you don't have to explain yourself to me...you think part of me didn't want to stay holed up at a nice hotel in New Orleans?"
The memory came back to her of finding that hotel room in shambles after Bella Donna had ransacked it, but up until that moment she'd certainly been tempted to stay.
"Yeah, yeah- don't remind me you've had a recent vacation," Jubilee scoffed.
Rogue only smiled, for she couldn't deny the trip had been both work and pleasure.
"Hey, I saw Callisto's here; she was going with Storm to her office," Jubilee dished the gossip, finding Rogue in the library the following afternoon.
"Yeah, I showed her in when she got here. Did you see that blonde? Marrow, Callisto called her...she didn't have a whole lot to say," Rogue looked up from browsing a college catalogue- she'd soon be able to choose some college courses for the semester starting in January.
"Nah, must've missed her. She wasn't heading to their meeting...do you think she's some kind of body guard?" Jubilee wrinkled her nose.
"...I would hope Callisto doesn't think she needs a bodyguard in a school full of kids," Rogue answered, but she shrugged all the same.
"Dunno...well, I always feel weird when she comes- like she's judging us," Jubilee slouched in the seat she'd claimed.
Rogue considered this- she sometimes felt the same.
"The Morlocks just live differently than us, and they probably feel a lot of pride about it, ya know?" she shrugged.
"Sure, but I don't judge her for making homes in old sewers, so she could return the favor... ... maybe I'll just hide out here with you until she's gone..."
"Glad I could be of service," Rogue chuckled and looked back down at her computer screen.
Meanwhile, a tall Louisiana native was strolling leisurely down a different wing of the first floor.
"Gambit..."
He stopped in the hallway, looking around for the unfamiliar voice that was addressing him.
"Well, well..."
He spun directly around, then, to see a slim woman with short blonde hair standing in the doorway to the kitchen; her brown cargo pants and tan t-shirt were relatively clean but well-worn. None of this was specifically remarkable; what was striking were the bony protrusions jutting from her cheekbones, elbows and, by the looks of it, shoulders. This defining feature was also how Remy recognized her.
"Merde..."
"Long time no see...how long's it been?" the girl cocked an eyebrow that might've suggested she was mildly interested.
Remy, so good at reading people, couldn't get much off her. Maybe he didn't want to.
"Years," he answered, never mind that he was sure it was a rhetorical question.
"...you look good," she appraised him.
"...should we go talk somewhere?" Remy asked quietly, looking up and down the hall with genuine concern that someone was going to come along at a very, very inopportune moment.
"Mmhmm," she answered, popping her eyebrows up in a very interested way.
Remy was sure he didn't quite understand her reaction to him, but he tried to direct her to the small study room down the hall, only to find Bobby there. He cursed under his breath and strode briskly to his room instead, wrenching the door open. It was all he could do not to shove the blonde inside to overcompensate for how wrong-footed he felt.
"What're you doin' here?"
"I've been in New York for two years...I'm friendly with Callisto- she's the leader here..."
"And?"
"And she's friends with Storm or something and they stay in contact now and then...I didn't know you'd be here..."
Remy had never expected to see the blonde again. If he had, he would've imagined there'd be shouting, threats, or possible a physical attack...he felt any combination of those three would be wholly justified.
What he'd never have expected was this casual greeting, or this...something in her acceptance of his presence.
"Haven' been for too long..."
She didn't appear overly interested in the fact and simply watched him watch her for a while.
"So what now?" he finally asked.
Remy LeBeau did not traditionally cave first, but in this instance he could not stand not knowing, nor could he stand her simple silence.
"Whatever you want," She smirked.
Remy frowned, disbelieving her.
"What? You expected something else? You did save my life- a girl can be grateful," she nearly purred.
"...I'm de reason yo' life needed savin'."
He knew that she knew this.
"I'd just gotten to Boston- that wasn't my home. I told you I barely knew those people...I got out safe, so you're good in my books."
Remy still eyed her skeptically as she inched nearer. It sounded like a lie, yet she was not emoting deception. Perhaps she was just that selfish or cold...
"You look a little tense," she grinned as she reached for him.
She slid a hand up his chest and over his shoulder.
Remy didn't move but he genuinely couldn't believe she - of all people- was coming-on to him.
"I haven't been getting out much, Gambit- why don't we relax?"
"Tsss," Remy inhaled sharply when she pulled herself flush to him and she pushed her free hand down over the front of his jeans. "Y' don' beat 'round de bush, do ya?"
"That's not as fun," she grinned and leaned in to kiss him.
She was quite tall, so she did this rather easily. Remy's mind was still racing to catch up to the entire situation- he was generally not this off-kilter about a sexual encounter.
His companion seemed fully unbothered as she maneuvered them to the bed and nudged him to sit down. She was smiling at him, eyes hooded as she stepped between his legs. Without a word, she bent to grab his t-shirt and whisk it off of him.
The tension between them had shifted; the new mood did not altogether put Remy at ease, but it was...dare he say exciting.
"You are a very find specimen," blue eyes raked his lithe form.
It was a clinical and detached appreciation, but a complimentary appraisal nonetheless. She wreaked of "wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am," but Remy had experience in that department. She pushed on his shoulders to shove him onto his back and descended on his neck. It felt good, but...not ...
"Sarah..." he sighed.
He wasn't sure when he'd gotten resistant to a one night (or afternoon, as it were) stand. She quickly sat back where she was straddling his waist.
"Marrow"
"Huh?"
"Don't call me Sarah," she scowled.
"Marrow," he nodded. "Desole."
"You don't need to get all fuzy on me," she scratched his chest lightly when he lapsed into French. "No need to act sentimental- it's just us freaks here," she grinned.
She doubled over to lick along his cheek bone under his eyes and then move on to nip at his ear. Remy scowled at the ceiling- maybe because of the name calling, and took hold of her waist to flip her over.
He had half a mind to get up and walk out...yet he couldn't deny it had been a while. His mind was very hung up on the fact that he was worked-up and this was an easy way to let off steam, and his hands found the top of her pants. ..
"Now you're getting it," she smiled.
**Knock** Knock**
"Don't you dare," Marrow whispered when he looked over at the door.
...she was right.
**Knock**Knock**
Remy groaned and sat back.
"You're kidding!"
"It could be a student," he muttered.
Though many students still didn't know what to really think of him, he was staff and ought not ignore a problem.
"Chere," he greeted when, much to his horror, Rogue stood just outside his door.
She looked him over pleasantly, not at all disappointed in his shirtless state, and smiled.
"Hey"
"Afternoon," he nodded politely.
Perhaps too politely, for she raised an amused eyebrow.
Remy heard movement behind him and had the distinct feeling there was no point trying to edge the door closer a little more. Sure enough, thin but strong arms wrapped around him from behind.
"Is it important?" Marrow crooned from behind him before stepping to the side to see who'd interrupted.
In other circumstances, Rogue's face would've been a comically perfect picture of surprise, right down to her lips falling open in a small "o." As it was, Remy wasn't laughing.
"What is it, chere?" Remy prompted, shrugging away slightly from the blonde.
Maybe that was a mistake, because then Rogue's eyes just dropped to take-in Marrow's undone pants. Remy was sure that nothing about this sight could be spun into a positive thing.
"... 'Ro's calling for a meeting- thought I'd let you know," she finally spoke again, much more blandly than before.
"Can't he miss? He's a little busy..."
"...do what you want," Rogue replied in short order before turning on her heel to go.
"Good...come on," Marrow pulled Remy to twist him around.
"Non, you heard her- I gotta go.
"...seriously?" she rose an eyebrow high.
"Very," he nodded and brushed by her to go retrieve his shirt.
"Fine," she sighed. "Hope it's a good meeting. Callisto is probably looking for me, anyway. I might be by again with her..."
She left that open and did up her pants and combed her fingers through his chopped hair before using the door. Remy had half a mind to cal her back and ask what she was going to do now that she knew where he was, but he found he'd much rather not talk to her.
As it turned out, the meeting Rogue had fetched Remy for a big meeting in the War Room. The meeting had originally been scheduled for the following day, but Charles had to leave for a few days so they bumped it up since Callisto has provided some valuable information.
"Feet off the table, Gambit," Scott glowered as he got up to talk about what they'd heard of Magneto lately.
Remy did so and took-in what Scott said, but he really only half-listened. When Storm took over to discuss what she'd learned about The Friends of Humanity, he paid more active attention out of friendly courtesy and because they irked him more than Magneto did.
All in all, they were there nearly two hours. Between briefings and discussions, they had a lot to go over. The professor also expressed his pride in all of them for working hard and discussed what kinds of trainings he thought they ought to focus on. Logan, Storm, and Scott had a lot to say on this, and everyone chimed in with criticisms and thoughts for improvement.
"Rogue," Remy attempted to intercept he in the hallway as everyone trickled away from the meeting to go abut their business.
He wasn't sure what he was going to say, but it seemed better to resolve this situation now than to let it fester. Not that there was much of a way to explain away what she had seen.
"I have stuff to do," she edged around him and onto the elevator with Jubilee and Logan.
While Jubilee looked confused, Logan audibly snorted and was smiling a little as the doors to the lift slid shut. Remy wasn't going to argue about it further, not now in front of the others. Instead, he listened to her ascend to the upper floors and punched the wall next to him in frustration. He didn't care that Kurt and Bobby gave him looks of confusion and annoyance from down the hall.
Rather than follow Rogue upstairs -he was not descend to pestering and nagging- he stomped to the locker room to change and go take out his frustrations on a heavy punching bag hanging in the weight room.
Remy could still seem to feel Marrow's fingers on his skin, and he punched the bag harder.
He hated himself for having tripped into her web and let that situation escalate...why had he done that when he'd rather have been kissing the very woman who'd caught him with the blonde?
He hated himself even more from the more distant memories Marrow brought up. He fought on a regular basis to forget her, Boston, everything, and here it was...in his face.
His fists thumping against the thick bag made him feel better but only marginally so, and he knew it was only temporary. Rather than stop and reflect on his thoughts, he stayed. He didn't know how long he was there, exactly, but it must have been some time because Logan returned to the basement; Remy saw him in his peripheral vision.
Logan quirked an eyebrow, for it had been a while since the meeting had ended. The Cajun was covered in sweat; maybe he'd been there since they'd been dismissed. Logan was pretty sure he didn't care, but that was a pretty high level of aggression to get out if the young man had been there that long. He could identify with that, so he trudged over to hold the bag for him.
Remy paused, chest heaving to eye Logan, to search him for some kind of agenda behind the helpful act. The two weren't exactly bosom buddies. When Logan said nothing and also made no move to leave, Remy just gave a small node and stripped away his sticking shirt before he resumed his punching- better to have tired and sore limbs than a crazed mind.
Neither spoke.
