Whao. Okay. Yeah.

I know. I dropped off the face of the earth. That isn't like me but personal things and whatnot got in the way. Not to mention, this chapter was a difficult one. Don't ask me how. But I probably retyped it a million times before I felt good about it.

I doubt my updates will be this far apart again. But, at the same time, I make no promises. So…you know. Ugh. Sorry.

Here's the next chappie. Hope you like.

XXXXX

Well, the extra closet space was nice while it lasted.

Rouge sighed sadly as she finished rearranging her room so that two people could once again occupy it. She had met her new roommate, Lorna, briefly while her boyfriend was off reminiscing with his old buddy Mick Kauffman. Instead of getting caught up in that fiasco, Rogue introduced herself to Lorna. She was going to offer to take the green haired girl on a tour, but Logan grumbled something about Bobby already having it covered. So Rogue shrugged and headed upstairs to make room.

She really hoped her new roommate wouldn't suck.

She had enjoyed rooming with Kitty, even if she had been quite trying at times. Not to say Rogue didn't love having a room to herself, especially with the whole Remy thing being factored in. She wondered how their time alone would be affected now that neither of them had a room to themselves. Rogue had noticed that Bobby was giving Lorna goo-goo eyes, which might be a good sign.

Maybe she would sneak into Bobby's room while Remy snuck into hers. It'd be a win-win for everyone.

Oh wait. She was supposed to be putting distance up between herself and Remy. Right. Okay. That was going to be harder than she originally assumed. And she hadn't assumed it'd be easy in the least.

This sucks.

Behind Rogue, someone coughed awkwardly. The Goth spun around and found her new roommate hovering in the door, soaking wet and draped only in a towel. Rogue's eyes were immediately drawn to the ugly bruise on her shoulder.

"Rogue, right?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. And you're…naked."

"Yes, but most people just called me Lorna."

Her lips twisted in a wry smile. "Cute."

"Is this my new room?" Lorna asked, looking around. Rogue nodded. "That makes you my new roommate, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then can I ask a favor?"

"…sure."

"Can I please have some clothes? They told me where the shower was but didn't give me any clothes."

Rogue's eyes widened slightly as she examined Lorna closely. "You don't have…anythin'?"

"Nothing," the girl answered, blushing slightly.

"Oh. Okay. Just, uh, hold on a second. Your bed is right there." She pointed to the other side of the room where a perfectly made bed was, all but waiting for Lorna to get comfortable in it.

Lorna went to the bed and, after looking it over carefully for a few seconds, sat down and made herself comfy. She tightened the towel around her so that her hands could go to work on braiding her green hair. Rogue looked at her for a pregnant moment, mildly astounded at how pretty her locks were despite the odd color. She then shook the thought and went back to closet so she could find clothes she didn't mind loaning out to Lorna.

She briefly considered, for amusement's sake, giving her one of her more "gothy" outfits but decided against it. She wasn't that mean. She then wondered if Lorna wore outfits that didn't clash with her hair. Would she settle for a red shirt? After a mental debate that lasted longer that completely necessary, Rogue finally just grabbed some dark jeans and a black shirt before padding over to her drawers to find some…other things for Lorna.

God, this was so insanely weird.

Rogue turned to look back at Lorna. She noticed that while she was working on braiding her hair, her towel had begun sagging in the back. It fell until Rogue almost saw more of Lorna than what was completely necessary. Her entire back was exposed. It was then Rogue noticed something else.

"Oh my god," she gasped, dropping everything in her hand.

Lorna spun around to see what was wrong, her green eyes big and filled with panic. "What? What's wrong? What happened?"

"Your…back…"

It seemed as if she didn't know what Rogue was talking about at first. Her brows came together in confusion as she looked over her shoulder to see what it was Rogue was talking about. Then she gasped, sounding very much like her roommate, scrambling to pull the towel up. It was, however, too late. Rogue ran over to where Lorna was seated on her bed and yanked the towel down while Lorna pinned it to her chest.

Slashed across her back were a series of ragged, painful looking scars. Some were long. Some small. But there was only a small portion of her back that didn't have at least a small scar running along it. What alarmed Rogue the most, besides the obvious abuse that the girl had endured was that the scars looked fresh. They were not that old. They still stood out in sharp contrast to her skin, having yet to fade.

Timidly, Rogue lifted her gloved hand. She spared Lorna a look. Already, her breathing had become more ragged and uneven, her green eyes clearly wary of Rogue's intrusion. But since she made no move to stop her, Rouge pressed forward.

She ran her fingers along Lorna's back, barely touching her skin. She was alarmed and frightened by Lorna's scars. Before, she was curious as to where her new roommate came from. Now, questions flooded her mind. Personal questions. But Rogue was a lady. She was tactful. She wouldn't ask someone who clearly had endured some serious trauma several questions.

She would limit herself to only a few.

"Why were those feds here?"

Despite her blatant discomfort, Lorna lifted her chin haughtily. "They want to know about my last known whereabouts. Who kidnapped me."

"I don't suppose you're answerin' those questions?"

"You suppose correct. But that one—Kauffman?—he thinks that if he gives me time I'll warm up and pour my heart out to him."

"That ain't happenin' either, is it?"

"Nope." She made a popping noise when pronouncing the "P."

"How'd you know what Kauffman was up to?"

"I'm not a total idiot."

Rogue paused thoughtfully, pressing her hand fully to Lorna's scarred back. "Is all this from…."

"…yeah."

Whatever the moment the two women were having, whatever it could have morphed into, did not have a chance to fully develop.

"This is so incredibly hot," a third voice said from the balcony.

Lorna and Rogue both turned and found Remy LeBeau leaning against the balcony doors, observing them with very intrigued eyes. Rogue realized how it must have looked, her touching Lorna who wore only a towel. Of course, this would be the exact moment her irritating boyfriend decided to make an appearance.

Also, maybe he hadn't noticed, but she did have a door. It wouldn't kill him to be normal and use the door every once in the while.

Hell, she'd be happy if he knocked on occasion. But no. Knocking was too common for the likes of Remy LeBeau. Knocking was too considerate.

The bastard.

Rogue and Lorna both withdrew hastily, Lorna scurrying to pull the towel back up. Rogue let her hands drop to her side, a blush staining her cheeks.

"Is that your underwear on the floor, Roguey?" Remy said mildly with a raised eyebrow.

She sprang to her feet, grabbed her clothes, underwear included, and threw them at Lorna. Remy watched this all with a slight smile and lofty brow.

"What are you doin' here, Gambit?" she demanded, trying to sound annoyed rather than flustered.

"I finished up wit' Mick so I decided to come in and say 'ello." He gave Rogue a heated look. "Maybe finish that conversation we had in the rec room. I forgot that you might be havin' a guest. Not that I'm complainin'. In fact, jus' continue as if I'm not even here. That is unless you want me to join in. If you want me to join in, jus' let me know."

Embarrassment died in favor of agitation. "Remy…."

He grinned. "Hi."

Silence stretched, one that clearly made Lorna uncomfortable. Rather than throwing a punch at the smug X-Man, Rogue decided to spare her new roommate and make introductions.

"Remy, this is Lorna. Lorna, this is Remy."

Lorna smiled shyly. "Oh, I know. We already met."

Rogue stopped, her brows coming down into a line across her forehead. Her eyes darted between her boyfriend and her roommate. Suspiciously.

"You did?" she asked, her voice strangely void of any emotion. She was aware of the panicky look in Remy's eyes but Lorna seemed oblivious.

"Oh, yeah," Lorna said casually, with a slight shrug and a smile. But carefully, so that her towel didn't fall down.

"When?"

"This morning."

"Where?"

"In his room."

Rogue stared at Lorna. "In his bedroom," she repeated. Remy swore colorfully.

"Yeah. This morning. I slept over."

"In. His. Bedroom."

Lorna finally seemed to take notice of Rogue's tone. Her smile instantly faded. "Oh. But, uh, Remy wasn't there when I snuck into his room…."

Rogue growled.

"…the room he shares with Bobby, that is. I didn't even see him until he came in this morning. I didn't see him long. He didn't stick around for long either. He wasn't even dressed…."

Rogue bared her teeth, her growl acquiring more bass.

"…wasn't dressed properly. Um…I'm gonna go and put some clothes on."

"Yeah. Maybe you should do that."

Lorna grabbed the clothes that had been so carelessly thrown her way and pulled them to her chest. It looked like she was considering saying something to Remy, stopped, thought the better of it and instead padded out the room toward the bathroom. The whole way, Rogue couldn't help but notice, Remy watched Lorna's departure very intently. When the bathroom door closed solidly behind her, Rogue pulled back as far as she could and punched Remy LeBeau in his arm.

"OW!" He pouted, rubbing his sure to be bruised arm. "Why you hittin', Rogue?"

She glared. "You were starin' kinda hard, Rems."

"To be fair, did you see her figure, Roguey? It was—OW! Rogue, that hurt!"

"You're a man whore, Remy."

His indignant pout faded in favor for one of his more notorious smiles. "But I'm your man whore." Without waiting for her to respond, Remy slipped his fingers through her belt loop and dragged her toward him. "Now, care to explain why I caught you and the new girl gettin' intimate? And will it be a common theme between you two? And if so, will nudity be a major factor? And if so, will I be invited to this? And if so, will I be able to participate?"

"Remy…."

He continued, as if she hadn't even spoken. "And if not, can I at least give you notes? Or maybe set up a camera for—OW!"

"You done yet?"

He opened his mouth, preparing to protest, she could tell. Then he seemed to realize it would probably result in more damage being done to his already abused arm. So instead, Remy clamped his mouth shut and nodded silently, if not sulkily.

"We were not gettin' intimate, by the way." She punched him again, one last time, only not as hard. "Did you see those scars on her back? And that bruise on her shoulder?"

"I saw the bruise. Won' really payin' attention to her back."

"It was covered in them. At least a dozen of them."

Remy frowned down at her, then shook his head. "Non. Non. Can't be anythin'. Everyone got scars. You and me both." She watched as he reached up to absent mindedly rub the scar on his chest. At some point, she really needed to get around to asking him about that. "So maybe Lorna has a few more than the rest."

"No, Rems. You don't get it." She pressed her hands to his chest, curling her fingers into his shirt. "They're new scars. Fresh. All of them."

He stared down at her. "You don' think we stumbled 'cross another mystery, do you Scoob?"

"Don't make jokes. This is serious."

"I'm being perfectly serious. I jus' don' understand why someone else can't solve the mystery this time. In fact, why don' we let 'em."

"What?"

"Whatever happened to Lorna—whatever made those scars—it ain't none of our business. It's hers. And we don' need to go pryin' through her personal life. We got no need to intrude."

"…you're kiddin' me."

"I'm not. She's safe and here now. Mick is gonna watch out and take care of this. So why don' you keep your perfect nose outta this, kay?"

Rogue shook her head, as if that would help her understand what was happening before her. But even after shaking her head, she still couldn't quite come to terms with what just happened. She stared up at Remy, half stunned. Half suspicious.

"Are you tellin' me that you, Remy LeBeau, the man who has made a career of knowin' people's secrets, the man who invades his teammates privacy jus' to keep yourself from gettin' bored, the man who finds breakin' and enterin' as 'fun', wants to mind his own business?"

He flashed a toothy smile, bestowing a kiss to her forehead.

"Jinkies," she breathed.

He lowered his head so that his lips could brush the side of her mouth. "Wanna play wit' my zoinks?"

"Remy!" she screeched, shoving him away. Not like he cared or anything. He was too busy laughing at her. After all this time, how did he still manage to scandalize her with his disgusting comments?

She should be used to this by now.

"Sorry," he said, reaching out to grab her once more.

"No you aren't."

He thought about it. Then he nodded. "You're right. Now come here."

When he urged her toward him, she did not resist. She allowed for him to pull her to his chest and kiss her on the mouth, softly. Not all heatedly like before. Like she was his emerald. Like she was delicate. As if she couldn't kick his ass from here to next month.

Seriously. How does he do that? Be all gross one minute and then sugary sweet the next? No wonder Rogue couldn't get a grip on their relationship. He was always changing things up on her.

"Are you okay, Rogue?" he asked when he lifted his head.

She looked at him dreamily. "Hmm?"

This seemed to amuse him because he smiled, lifting her gloved hand to examine it casually. "Is everythin' okay?"

"Why are you askin'?"

"No reason really," he answered, shrugging. "You've jus' seemed a little…"

This snapped her out of her daze. "A little what?"

"Off. That's all. I jus' wanted to make sure everythin' in that pretty little head of yours was okay. Is it?"

"Is it what?"

"Okay?" he asked, quite serious.

Okay.

She should have known he would have at least kind of caught on to her. But what was she supposed to say?

Well, Rems, I positively terrified of you breakin' my heart. But what I'm even more afraid of is me breakin' your heart. So I decided that I was gonna put some distance between so just in case the shit does hit the fan, we'll both walk away only mildly stinky. I know, I know. It sounds crazy and selfish. But this is better for the both of us, me not bein' invested in this relationship completely. Trust me. Now: do you wanna make out?

She doubted Remy would take that bit of news lightly. But then again, he never took any news of minor importance lightly.

For such a manly man, Remy LeBeau was kind of a big baby.

But now he was looking at her with those frighteningly intense eyes, worried about her. It was quite hard to not give him to truth. Even harder not to give him her heart. Especially when he had already happily forsaken his to her. It made her question her motives.

But this was something she had to do.

"I'm fine, you idiot," she told him, pressing a kiss to his cheek to assure him she was fine. Not that he looked convinced or anything. Like in the rec room, she could see he wanted to say something to her. Something, some kind of emotion and thought, was brewing in his dark eyes and he wanted to say it.

But he didn't.

Instead, he gave her a shaky smile and nodded, kissing the back of her hand.

"Okay."

He started to pull off the glove on the hand he was cradling. That was simply something Rogue could not let him do. She was going to stop him, even if he gave her that wounded puppy look again.

Luckily, she wouldn't have to stop him.

"Ta-da!"

The two southerners turned to the door, where Lorna stood posing, garbed in Rogue's dark clothing. She did a little twirl.

"How do I look?"

"Clothed," Rogue answered.

"Less naked," Remy said at the same time.

Lorna nodded approvingly. "I'll take it." She took notice of Rogue and Remy's close proximity. "Um…am I interrupting?"

"Yes," Remy answered.

"No," Rogue said at the same time. She looked at her boyfriend. "I've gotta show Lorna around the mansion." She turned to Lorna and cast her the most withering glare in her arsenal. "Right, Lorry?"

The glare hit home. "…err, yes?"

"So, as you can see Remy, I got stuff to do."

"…if you say so, Cherie." He ran his thumb over the material of her glove with deliberate care, frowning slightly. But it was only a passing moment. Because then he headed to the exit.

When he started to leave the room, Rogue let out an inward sigh of relief. She had gotten out that debacle with minimal damage. Maybe, just maybe, she and Remy could walk out of this okay. Maybe he wouldn't make this too hard for her. Maybe they'd be okay.

"Rogue."

She looked to where he stood, hovering in the doorway. He had a look on his face. A look she had so rarely seen on him before. He shifted on his feet awkwardly, the expression on his face rather…uncomfortable. Like he was unsure of himself.

And Remy LeBeau was never unsure of himself, the cocky bastard.

"Yeah?"

"I'm…I'm….I'm gonna get you a gift."

She went blank, having not expected that. "Huh?"

He nodded his head vigorously, as if he was trying to convince himself this was a good idea. As he nodded, his dark hair fell into his eyes. He needed a haircut, she noted.

"Oui. The best present ever. It's gonna be amazin'. It'll make you so happy. It'll be… It's gonna make you fall in love wit' me all over again. Trust me."

Rogue stifled a groan.

Or maybe Remy LeBeau would be the death of her.

XXXXX

Next chapter should arrive kind of soon. I'm excited for it.