Disclaimer: Oh guys. I don't even want ownership of this one. It's a tear-jerker, or at the least, a heart-wrencher. There were times that made it hard for me to breathe, and I was the one writing it! So this is your warning. Sadly, it was necessary. Stupid plot. But I still do not own X-Men, The Wedding Date, or Michael Buble or his songs. But a big congrats goes out to Michael since he got married recently! Yay for him! Thanks again to all those who reviewed the last chapter.

Okay, here it goes: the Angst. P.S. who can find out how many times I wrote 'betrayal' in this one chapter? Feels like a thousand.


Cry Me a River

Friday, Day Five: Confessions

Remy squirmed uncomfortably in the full tux he was wearing. The rehearsal had just wrapped up without a hitch, but both he and Kitty had kept a wary eye on Bobby. He seemed reluctant to make any significant move in front of Piotr though, so he hadn't made another approach towards Rogue. Le Lâche.

And now he felt like he was the one under interrogation. He looked back to where Logan was closing the double doors that typically remained open to the hallway. He then moved to one of the normal looking side tables as Remy watched on skeptically. Logan grabbed up one of the many TV remotes and after punching in a pretty long combination, a side panel popped out on the side table revealing a hidden compartment. Logan withdrew two long necked bottles, and smirked at Remy's bewildered look as he handed him the beer. "Gotta hide them someplace the kids can't get to."

Remy just nodded as he took the bottle in hand, noticing that Logan had already gotten out of the tie that Ororo had strangled him into. They sat heavily in the easy chairs and Remy thought about the irony of it all. A day ago he would have relished the opportunity to quiz Logan, to finally get some answers to his questions. But right now he wasn't really sure if he wanted to know anymore. After so much had happened, he wondered if their pasts mattered. It didn't help that his thoughts were still swirling around how to tell Rogue. What was he supposed to say?

Logan's voice cut him out of his musings instantly, but instead of picking up some tangent about dimly lit bars and back alleys of New Orleans, the feral man's words rang closer to his own thoughts.

"I can still remember the day I met Rogue. I was roaming from place to place, trying to make cash cage fighting in a few bars when one day this scrap of a kid walks in off the street. We were in Alberta and after a little run in with an idiot who didn't know how to keep his mouth shut, I took back down the road. Wasn't very far along when I realized I had a stowaway. I almost left her out there in the snow that day," Logan's gaze was far off as he spoke, remembering another time. Another Rogue.

He turned back to face Remy, and the Cajun man could see the resolution radiating in his eyes. Remy felt a sense of judgment pass between them as Logan nodded once, taking another swig of his beer before continuing. "And after I let that half starved runaway into the truck cab that was it. That was the day I became a dad. Looking back on it, if I had never picked her up, if I had just left her there in the snow, I would never have come to Xavier's. I would never have met 'Ro, would never have become tied to this place. I would never have met Jean," he quieted here and Remy wondered at the past between this man and the red head he had seen in Rogue's pictures. Logan moved on after a moment, "I never would have met Charles Xavier and I would have still been running around chasing shadows."

Here Remy visibly straightened, his eyes fully alert for this subject but Logan just breezed on by it, "And I sure as hell would never have become a teacher to a bunch of mutant teenagers."

Remy's familiar smirk fell in place at those words and Logan shook his head ruefully. "And every scraped up runaway always seems to get grouped up with me. But it never would have happened without Rogue. Did you know she was running because her parents kicked her out?"

At Remy's concerned expression Logan nodded his head, his brow furrowed as he sighed. "The pompous idiots were scared of her, of what she could do." He shook his head again as he went on, "You know, you think it's going to get easier as they get older, that you're gonna worry less or your just gonna trust the world more. But that's just not how it happens."

Remy really looked at the man at that moment, and saw for the first time not the man he left behind on Three Mile Island, not the animal Wolverine. He saw Logan Howlet, the man who had urged him to get the kids out of the base. The man who had looked back down on the dead woman they had found, sadness ripping through his chest but his confusion for not knowing why. Maybe this was the man Xavier's had managed to bring back. The man Rogue obviously looked up to.

"This may not make much sense, homme, but I'd like to ask your permission to date your daughter."

Logan looked back up at him with a ghost of a smirk passing over his features, "I thought you already were. I guess even if I don't have to trust the world more, I can assume that a kid who came back to a government torture facility for a man he hardly knew will take care of my girl."

Remy gave him another smirk, with understanding passing through them, and maybe even a bit of acceptance as they finished up their beers before having to head into the formal dining room for dinner.


Laughter filled the room as another story was coming to its end. Remy actually had to swipe at the moisture that started to form at the corners of his eyes before he stuttered, trying to form the question.

"An' –and then what?"

Jubilee gave him as straight as face as she could muster the corners of her lips already flipping up, "And then the guy asks me if I know how much that game costs? And I reply, 'Yeah, a quarter!'."

The table roared with laughter even with the familiarity of the tale to most of the residents. Remy's eyes scanned the little patchwork family, noting Hank and Ororo's civility with their quiet chuckles to Logan's simple upturning of his lips. But some of the others were overcome with laughter like Rogue at his side as she squeezed his hand as her laughter rolled out. He smiled at the light in her eyes, but his smile slowly slipped away as he watched Kitty lean in towards Piotr, going so far as to rest her head on his shoulder. His eyes slipped back around the room, quickly finding the object of his search hardly hiding his glare from across the table. He wondered how he hadn't noticed that all the scorn wasn't always directed his way.

He fought against sending his own glare to Bobby, redirecting his gaze quickly and reaching for his glass. The laughter finally started dying out and a new conversation began slipping into the air.

"This is why Jubilee isn't allowed to go to the arcade alone anymore," Wanda said refilling her glass with the bottle available. The younger students were still eating in the dining hall with a few senior students acting as supervisors as the adults ate on the outdoor terrace, the fading sun lighting upon them.

Jubilee raised her hands in a helpless sign as her brows shot up, "The guy asked me a simple question, I gave him an honest answer." Her expression grew mischievous as she pressed on, "Besides it is nothing worse than what Kitty-cat and Roguey got into back in their high school days."

"Oh really?" Remy asked instantly interested, and he gave Rogue a smirk of his own, wiggling his eyebrows for added affect. It got the desired reaction as a fresh blush bloomed over her cheeks and she slapped his chest as she muttered, "Shut up."

She went on a bit louder so the rest of the table could hear, "It wasn't that bad."

"Oh please!" Wanda leaned back and rolled her eyes, her (red) dress catching a few rays of remaining sunlight as she scoffed. "Need I remind you of the concert incident?"

"That I had to drag you two back to the mansion?" Logan finished for her, raising a skeptic eyebrow of his own.

Remy got the joy of watching Rogue squirm a bit beside him, his arm still looped around her shoulders, as this conversation managed to weave around the table.

"The one that they snuck out of the mansion to go to?" Ororo threw her own comment in to the mix, the amusement and embarrassment growing around the circle.

Jubilee, her head cupped on her open palm as she rested the elbow on the table top, waved a pointed finger in Rogue's direction as she went on, "Wasn't that the concert that your shirt ripped and you absorbed that drunk in the crowd?"

"Yes," Wanda shook her head sagely, her eyes twinkling with mirth, "That was how we found out that she get's drunk when she absorbs drunks."

Rogue buried her face in her hands at this, not daring to look up towards Remy, as Kitty buried her face into Pete's shoulder in her own mortification, "I thought Logan was going to kill us when he found us with me trying to stop her from swinging around all those light polls."

Remy couldn't stop the laugh that escaped his lips but he squeezed Rogue tighter in reassurance, leaning in to brush a kiss across her brow. "Do I need t' tell a drunken Emil story to make y' seem tame?"

This made Rogue erupt in her own little laugh, as she finally raised her head up, shooting him a small smile, "Nope. But on that note, I'm going to go get more wine." She gestured over to the empty bottles on the table, ignoring the laughter and the 'Get a room!' comments as she leaned in to give him a lingering peck on the lips. With that she rose with a little sway in her hips (that he thoroughly appreciated) as she swept back indoors.

Remy was distracted from his... inspection, when Jubilee asked him another question, wondering if Rogue had told him about the time she had lost Kitty while they were racing in the desert one day. He got caught up in this conversation for a while, but when he looked back up to the other residents around the table he felt his stomach drop, and a new fear seized his chest.

Bobby was missing.

He quickly scooped up the empty wine bottles and excused himself from the table, sweeping back into the mansion and reaching out with all his senses trying to locate just where the two missing party members were. When he walked across the threshold into the kitchen, he set the empty bottles on the countertop, and faintly heard the buzzing a familiar voices coming from the butler's pantry. He cautiously moved forward, years of training and practice kicking in as he moved toward the dimly lit closet. Once there he found the floor panels moved away, revealing yet another secret compartment of the mysterious Xavier Institute. He felt the damp breeze that rose up to buffet his face as he stealthily glided down the old wooden floorboards, testing his weight on each to insure that they wouldn't make his intrusion known. As he crept closer he hesitantly reached out with his empathy.

He desperately held in the relieved sigh as Rogue's emotions pulsed against him, still happy and relaxed even. The conversation below him swept up to meet him as he hung close to the shadows, watching the figures between the racks of wine bottles in the cellar.

He heard Bobby stutter a moment, raking his hand through his blonde curls and he felt the apprehension flooding his senses, "-Sorry, I didn't know this would be so difficult, I just feel like I owe you an explanation..."

He watched, with a slight spike of jealously and even hate as Rogue laid a tender hand on Bobby's arm, a compassionate expression filling her face and her eyes looking overwhelmingly innocent to Remy's own.

"Hey relax, relax," her smooth drawl filled the air as she patted his arm before moving away, a reassuring smile gracing her features, "It's fine. I promise. And I should probably admit that I brought Remy here to torture you," the corners of her lips flickered towards a smirk, her eyes slightly mischievous as she went on. "Slowly. Over the entire week."

But she shook head, her teasing expression smoothing out as the compassion reappeared, "But, I don't know, something happened and, I don't want this to hurt your feelings but, I'm just sick of you and me." She drifted a hand in the space between them as if to clarify her point and Remy felt a sense of relief spread throughout his entire body as he watched her. "Of our whole story. So c'mon, let's just go back upstairs..."

Remy made sure to move at that point, not wanting to let them catch him eavesdropping. He felt reassured that there was no way that Bobby was going to be able to bring up the past with Rogue's mindset, her determination to put it behind them. He glided back up the stairs without a sound, and was already out of the pantry by the time Rogue finished making her selection of wine and began turning towards the stairs herself.

So that's why he missed Bobby's next words.

"I slept with Kitty."


Rogue missed her step as the words flew over her, Bobby's voice still ringing in her ears, but her mind just couldn't make the connection between his words and reality. Or maybe some part of her did as she watched her hands tremble slightly in the bone-white knuckled grip she had on the necks of the bottles in her hands. She slowly turned around, her heart pumping a mile a minute and she felt the tremor in her voice even as the words slipped off her tongue.

"Excuse me?"

Bobby looked her dead in the eye and at that moment she felt as if she was talking to a complete stranger. There seemed to be a lack of emotion in his eyes, not the remorse that should have matched the tone in his words. Not exactly sorrow either. But maybe there was pain in those blue orbs as he repeated his words.

"I had sex with Kitty," she felt the air in her lungs fly away as the first stab hit her chest, "After you got the cure."

The second stab.

"It, it just happened," it was the first tremor in his voice she had heard since he first started this conversation, "When your powers started coming back, I just couldn't keep dragging you along like that but after you left we kept at it like two rabbits. Or at least we were until we realized, you know, it seemed morally wrong," he shrugged his shoulder here, and Rogue felt the third stab his her lungs as once again the breath was knocked out of her at his nonchalant attitude about it all.

"And then that was it, but," he licked his lips and looked away as if holding her gaze for this part would be the most difficult, "then Pete and Kitty got together. And last Christmas, when Pete proposed I realized I'm in love with her."

And there it was. The final stab that made her eyes slide shut as she felt the sense of betrayal overwhelm her senses. And behind her lids an image appeared, from her nightmare only a few nights ago and suddenly she fit the pieces together and the foreign emotions washed over her once again.

Defensive. She saw Bobby's behavior over the months after his second break-up, this time with Kitty. It rang through her mind with the remains of his other memories. No one could know. The hurt cut through her chest, no his chest, at the Christmas scenery unfolded before him, an empty reminder of all that was lost.

He was watching them, watching as Piotr, his best friend, slipped the ring onto a happily crying Kitty. His reaction almost made her want to crumple at the knees.

Hate. Why was he so perfect? What made him better?

These thoughts could have been directed at Remy at some point but now she realized that his frustration and pain was directed towards his once friend. He felt betrayed but he didn't have the guts to confront Piotr. Instead he clung to Kitty, fueling her anxiety as the wedding drew closer. He seemed to fear Piotr's scorn but not enough to stop trying to sway Kitty. The intensity of his frustration had only grown when Rogue had come back into their lives, happily together with another man. He was left alone.

"God, Marie, say something, please!"

Bobby's voice cut her out of her psyche induced reverie, her eyes flashing open. She stared at him, numb, emotionless, like she had been scored by the hot sun from the inside and left empty. She felt like her nerve endings were fried as she took a step away from him, robotically turning back towards the stairs with her emotions catching back up with her at the first step.

He used her. The betrayal swept over her.

Step.

Kitty, her best friend, slept with her boyfriend. She felt her breath hitch in her throat.

Step.

Was it really that bad being her boyfriend? She felt her grip tighten on the bottles, if that was at all possible.

Step.

Was it her fault? Why had she been so blind? She felt the all too familiar self-pity well up in her chest.

Step.

She finally reached the top of the stairs but she couldn't will herself to look back down at Bobby where he was still standing. She finally felt like all the pain she could hold was centered in her chest. But she kept moving forward, her body on autopilot as she pressed on back towards the outdoors.

When reached the threshold she had full sight of the table, of all the still cheery occupants but she felt her sight zero in on only one person. One woman. She watched as her best friend leaned back against her fiance, smiling contentedly as the conversation swept around them. That's where the final realization hit her and the betrayal brought the first pinpricks of tears to her eyes and she felt her throat constrict. There was no way she could feel worse than this.

She dimly saw Jubilee and Wanda glance at her out of the corner of her eye, but her attention snapped to them as she heard Jubilee mutter low under her breath with horror filling her voice, "Oh my God..."

They both sprung up at once, catching the attention of other members of the table, Kitty included as they made a bee line to her. She watched as dawning realization started creeping over the petite brunette's face until Wanda grabbed her attention again, holding her covered shoulders as she looked Rogue in the eyes, pain flickering in her voice as she spoke, "He told you, didn't he?"

Rogue reeled back in shock, the tightness in her chest increasing as she switched her look between her friends' faces, astonishment and an edge of hysteria creeping into her tone, "You knew?"

She was wrong. The pain only grew as the guilt spread across each of their faces. The world felt like it was swirling around her in a haze as others began to realize that something was amiss. Ororo reached them first with Kitty right on her heels.

"Rogue, are you alright?" Her bright eyes were twinkling with concern as she moved to push Rogue's hair behind her ear but the moment her skin made contact, she let out a sharp cry and Rogue realized belatedly that her powers were rushing through her and sucked at the woman greedily. Ororo tore herself away with her own momentum quickly, her knees nearly collapsing as she became disoriented but Rogue could barely register the other woman's emotions or thoughts anyway. She was too consumed with her own.

Kitty had been reaching out towards her at the same moment as Ororo, but all the girls pulled away from her instantly as Wanda and Jubilee went to help the fallen woman up, all wary of Rogue's exposed skin. But that didn't keep Kitty from leaning forward desperately, whispering as her blue eyes pled with her, "Please Rogue don't say anything!"

Rogue could almost hear the tears of desperation reeling in her voice but it still stung through to her very core as she moved away, betrayal livid in her bright green eyes. She took shaking steps away from the group, desperate to get away from all the pain flooding her senses. But she wasn't two steps away before a warm hand caught her arm. Her instincts told her to tear away, that she was dangerous, and she struggled desperately for a minute before she was spun around suddenly into a familiar chest and comforting arms wrapped around her like a life line.

She breathed in a shuddering breath that soon descended into sobs, but it was enough to know the scent of the man who held her, to make her desperately wrap her arms around him in turn as she let herself give in to the anguish surrounding her senses. She recognized the soft baritone that was whispering to her with comforting words as he rocked them back and forth on his heels and he peppered her hair with kisses as she burried her head deeper into his chest as her sobs became louder.

Remy


He felt it the instant she stepped onto the threshold.

His head snapped away from the conversation he was carrying with Logan the moment he felt a deep undeniable grief well up over his own senses, and when he looked at her he wondered how no one else was feeling it as clearly as he was. Even without empathy the pain seemed to be rolling off of her in tangible waves, and he felt his heart clench in his chest as he watched the woman he loved crumbling underneath all that pain.

He couldn't seem to get his legs to work though. A mix of her pain and his regret had him rooted to the ground where he stood, completely frozen. All he could do was stare as Jubilee and Wanda both jumped at once, finally noticing their friend's grief as he had. But even as they rushed to her side he couldn't seem to make himself join them. All he could do was watch with his heart in his throat as her once vibrant eyes gazed dully with shock and pain, the tears batering at the dam walls as she tried to hold them back. She was gazing steadfastly at Kitty, the betrayal rolling off of her with her haggard breaths. It only increased when Jubilee and Wanda finally reached her and caught her attention. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was enough to send another spiral of grief shooting through them both.

As he watched Ororo reel back, he finally managed to push himself into action as Kitty leaned towards Rogue. He knew whatever the girl had to say wasn't helping as he watched both the fear and the pain flash through his poor Cherie's eyes. The panic seemed to burst within her and he recognized the anxiety that leaped up from being too cornered in. He reacted just as quickly, and as she began to flee he was right there with her. At first she struggled against him and the panic sharpened like pinpricks of light behind his eyes, but he quickly spun her around until he had her in his arms, clutching her too him. He wished he could have avoided this. He should have told her himself, but he though that maybe after dinner, maybe they would have had a chance alone-

Her sobs cut through to his chest like nothing he had ever felt before. For the first time in his life, Remy LeBeau felt helpless in a situation. All he could do was hold her closer, quickly muttering, "Ne pleure pas, ma chérie. Je vous avez. Il ira bien."

His poor Cherie. She didn't deserve this. He just held her tighter, wishing that he could take it all away.

Rogue

His thoughts were cut off by one voice behind him, filled with it's own tears and accusation, "I can't believe you told her!".

He felt his stomach drop as he realized Kitty was speaking to him.

He felt his breath catch as Rogue froze in his arms.

But he felt his heart break when she pulled away from him to look him in the eyes, with new shock and accusation painting her features.

No...no...no, no, no, NO!

He felt the word screaming in his head as he watched Rogue's face crumple under new pain, but he couldn't get his voice to work as his gaze stay locked with hers. She roughly pulled her arms away from him, as if the contact burned, and he felt himself shaking he his head, desperate to explain. Finally a word managed to break through, strained and pain-filled, "Rogue..."

But she shook her head in return, her entire frame trembling as he reached for her but she once again placed her hands on his chest to roughly push him away. It sent him spiraling into regret as she took trembling steps backward, until finally the bottle that she had been clutching dropped from her hand and she turned, already running for the woods behind the house.

He felt his own desperation and pain increase with every step she took, but he took one scathing look at her family behind him as he spat out his eyes first glancing at Kitty before finding the true object of his fury. Bobby appeared at the top of the stairs, slack-jawed as he watched Rogue quickly disappearing into the trees as dark angry thunderheads began dotting the sky, "I didn't tell her."

He let the accusation hang in the air around them as he too turned towards the woods and ran as fast as he could after her retreating form.

Piotr strode up to the listless group staring after the couple with his own confusion spiked as he turned to Bobby, "What's going on?"

Bobby jumped beside him, obviously startled as he hurriedly replied, "Nothing!"

As the concern and confusion still marred the Russian's face he glanced between his distressed finance and the now disappeared occupants as he replied, "It doesn't look like nothing."

Bobby tweaked up the corners of his mouth in an obviously strained grin as he patted Piotr on the shoulder, "Now is not the time to catch on Pete."

Pete studied his friend's face carefully before finally nodding, accepting the reply before he moved to check on Kitty.


They were all the way down to the lake somewhere deep within the woods as the first downpour began. Remy was dimly aware that the weather had to be a reaction from the powers Rogue had absorbed but he was too preoccupied with trying to catch up with her to worry about that. And he knew Rogue was very aware of his presence. The fact that she was still yelling at him proved it.

"Leave me alone! You knew and you didn't tell me!"

Even through the anger in her voice he could hear her tone thick with tears. He was vainly trying to get her to face him, trying if anything to at least explain. "Wait up Rogue!"

Hard-headed woman that she was she kept going forward, even pressing a little faster as she shot back a remark over her shoulder, "I can't believe I trusted you."

Pain ripped through his chest here, betrayal gripping him as he desperately called out to her, "Anna!"

She froze, her eyes fluttering shut and her breathing still heavy as she finally turned around. When she opened them, he nearly felt like the overwhelming force of her gaze should make his step back, the pain was so thick in those crying green eyes. Her voice was less angry but still gripped with bitterness and pain as she shot back to him, "How could you not have told me?"

He stood for a full minute reeling in their emotions, as he lifted his hands helplessly. There were so many answers to that question. I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't even know until today. I was going to...

"What was I supposed t'say?" He knew instantly that, that was the wrong answer as anger flashe back onto her face, and lightning flashed once in the sky as she snapped back at him.

"You let me make a fool of myself! You lied to me!" Her tone became decidedly icy as her gaze narrowed, "But I guess I really shouldn't be surprised because that's what you do. That's who you are. You're a liar and a thief."

He felt his own pain at her words as they stabbed at him, and his own anger was spurred on as he shot back, "You're judging me? Oh, that's a good one. You're gonna stand there and point a finger at me, the homme that you hired to pretend to be y'r boyfriend?"

He regretted the words as soon as they left his lips as he watched the pain flash through her features as sharply as if he had slapped her. Her face fell after that, and uninhibited pain was all that was left in her eyes. And maybe with that pain, a new emotion that sent his already breaking heart crumbling into dust.

"You're right," she shook her head before looking back up at him, a defeated expression as she shrugged her shoulders, "You're right. I was so desperate to make everyone believe that I was happy that I paid six thousand dollars for a lie. And at the end of the day, the only one who ended up falling for it was me."

He felt himself reaching out to her, remorse filling his chest, but before he could move a step closer she froze him with her glare as she went on in a heated voice, full of regret, "I wish I could say it was worth it."

Her emotions were running deep through his senses and he felt this new one, one he had never felt from her before burning through him like tongues of fire, he shook his head before he finally met her gaze, pain filling his own scarlet eyes. He knew it was visible. He just wondered if she knew she was watching his heart break.

"Yeah, hate me Rogue. Maybe you can use it as another excuse."

"What are you talking about?" Confusion at the accusation in his tone marred her voice, but did nothing to intensity in her glare.

"You're powers aren't going to shield you forever. What happened with Bobby was bad, but maybe the real problem is you let him. You're already blaming yourself, your powers, saying he deserved something better, that it's your fault for getting hurt. I can tell by looking in your eyes."

And sure enough there was something akin to admittance in her eyes, but a good level of shock as he went on, "But that excuse isn't going to last forever, you're getting control. Then what? Because you know what, it's not the powers, it's you. You find any way that you can to push people away because you're afraid. You're afraid of getting too close and getting hurn again. But you're always gonna get hurt if you keep pushing people away. But who knows, maybe you can use this as a new excuse."

With that he finally turned away, trying to shut off all his senses all the emotions, both hers and his. No one should know the feeling of two hearts breaking.


He made it back to the mansion without a problem and slipped upstairs without anyone noticing. He was at the garage door with his packed bag in hand before anyone found him to try to stop him.

"Remy wait," Piotr came striding towards him, expression marred with worry and concern. Remy waited, door braced open and standing waiting. "You don't need to go. I'm sure that whatever's going on between you and Rogue, you can work it out."

Remy adverted his eyes as he sighed, rubbing at his eyes as he took in the other man's consideration. Pete was really too nice of a guy for all the hell he was about to catch, "I'm not so sure of that mon ami. Take care of yourself and Chaton, d'accord?"

He moved back towards the door only for Pete to lay a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Seriously my friend, you couldn't have been more perfect than if she had picked you out of a catalogue."

Remy quickly adverted his eyes so Piotr couldn't see the pain that flashed in them as the truth of his words struck him. She did pick him out after all. Piotr caught his downturned eyes and sighed in resignation, removing his hand to run it through his hair, "Do you have any plans for where you're staying tonight?"

Remy shook his head, shifting on his hold on both his bag and the key's to the Harley. "Figured I'd get a hotel room in the city."

Piotr shook his head quickly, "It's very late and quite a ride. Do you know where the boathouse is? You could stay there for the night. No one's using it."

Slowly, Remy shook his head, finally meeting Pete's eyes, "D'accord mon ami. Merci, for everything."

The other man simply nodded as he watched the Cajun slip the keys back into one of the pockets of voluminous trench coat, and he turned out the door disappearing into the night.


Rogue had hung close to the gazebo for about an hour now as rain continued to pour from the sky. She was very dimly aware of her surroundings, so she didn't see the figure that had paused and glanced at her silhouetted figure, only to move into the woods once more. But when the sky finally began to lighten up on it's unleashening wrath is when she began to move into the indoors.

She crossed the threshold into the foyer to only find Ororo standing there waiting for her. It finally seemed shocked into her system that she had in fact absorbed the older woman earlier that evening and she felt new tears of remorse prick at her eyes. Ororo caught the look with tender understanding as she moved over to her, a dry towel soon wrapped around her shoulders as Ororo embraced her now shaking form.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop the rain sooner Rogue," her faintly tinted accent wafted down to Rogue's ears like a cool spring breeze but only made her cry a little harder as the woman began rubbing her back soothingly, gently pressing the soaked locks aside so she could look into Rogue's eyes.

"N-no, 'Ro, I'm sorry, if I hadn't absorbed you-"

Ororo cut her off with another soothing movement, quickly tightening her arms around her. "It's alright, Rogue. It's alright. You were upset, powers act up when we're upset."

Rogue just leaned deeper into her arms for a moment, ignoring the appearance of Jubilee, Wanda, and Kitty all appearing from doorways and looking out with remorseful looks on their faces. Rogue just let the world shut out except for the soothing words around her, wondering if this would have been how her mama would have soothed those first tender broken hearts from teen crushes. And not for the first time that night, Rogue wondered what she had been missing out on.


Rogue finally moved around her room, changing out of the surely ruined dress into her more comfortable pajamas. Though her time with Ororo had helped some she still felt the pain deep under her skin. She moved about her room on auto-pilot, distractedly going from one surface to the other. It was like part of her just wasn't there.

Remy wasn't there.

It was strange how a cluttered room with it's massive mountain of pillows on the bed had seemed so empty with just the removal of his presence. There was nothing left on any surface that would have hinted to his residence there at all. He had stolen out of her life just like, just like-

A thief in the night.

She held back a new round of tears as the memory of her own accusations came bubbling back to her mind. She wished she could have taken back those words. She wished she could just remove their existence entirely. Because she was wrong earlier, when she thought the pain could never have been greater than when Jubilee and Wanda admitted that they knew of the affair. She had been so wrong.

The hardest, most painful moment of Anna Marie 'Rogue' D'accanto's life had been watching Remy LeBeau walk away from her.

She was interrupted from her musings (and tears) as the voices outside her hall caught her attention.

"-have a right to see her!"

"You have NO right at all you selfish, cheating bastard! YOU did this to her!"

There was the sound of a brief scuffle before a pounding on her door started, and she heard a voice she desperately wanted to ignore, "Rogue, open up, we need to talk!"

She closed her eyes, trying to shut out everyone and everything as the arguing picked up.

"She doesn't want to talk to you."

"Shut. UP. Wanda! I've had it with you and your attitude! This is between me and Rogue, and I need to make sure she understands the situation."

"You mean you need to make sure that she understands that you're perfectly innocent in this whole mess? That since Kit won't take you back, you're the victim? I think she's gotten the message Casanova!"

"I don't have time for this! And you're making a scene."

"Good! It's about time that people saw you for the ass you really are."

"Go away." Rogue hissed, her head pressed up against the door. She felt her pulse throbbing against her temples, but she knew her voice carried far enough to interrupt the shouting match outside her door. There was deathly silent pause before pounding footsteps faded away. She held herself there for a moment, before she turned with her back towards the door and slid down the frame, letting her head sink into her hands resting on her knees.

She wasn't aware of how much time went by, but after a while a softer knocking came from behind her and Jubilee softly called out to her, "Rogue? Please, I- we want to talk. Me and Wanda. I know you probably don't want to see us right now, but if you'll just give us the chance to explain... we'll leave you alone if you want. It's your decision."

Rogue waited for a pregnant pause before finally lifting her head, and pushing the tears and mussed hair away from her face she rose and quietly opened the door to an almost departed Jubilee and Wanda, who was already a few feet down the hall. Jubilee shot her a small gracious smile, but it didn't touch the girl's normally vibrant eyes that were filled with remorse.

She lifter a plate in her hand, shrugging her shoulders a bit, "Brought you something to eat."

Rogue shuffled on her feet a bit, hunched over slightly with one arm wrapped around her waist as the other tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Not hungary."

Jubilee nodded understandably, before motioning in with the plate still in hand, "Can we come in?"

Rogue slowly walked backwards giving them wide enough berth to come into the room. She walked over to the love seat in the corner of the room facing the bed, leaving the door open. Jubilee set the plate down on the vanity, and slowly moved over to sit on the bed across from Rogue. Wanda finally eased in through the doorway, and closed it behind her, but stayed there, leaning against the door. For a while silence reigned as if all of them were terrified of the words that needed to be said.

Finally Rogue nodded in Wanda's direction, and with a rough voice and without making eye contact she said, "Thanks for getting rid of Bobby."

Wanda nodded stiffly in response to this, but Rogue caught the tight little grin that came across her face briefly. Jubilee once again caught her attention as she hesitantly began, "Rogue?"

The striped-haired woman turned to her only to be startled at the sight of Jubilee pouring her eyes out as she went on in a broken voice, "I am so, so sorry. I am. I'm just-" Her voice cracked, and with that she launched herself into the other woman's arms sobbing into her shoulder as a bewildered Rogue realized that she too had begun to cry again.

"Wh-when, how long did you guys know?" Jubilee was left unable to answer, but Wanda spoke, and Rogue turned to gaze at her through bleary eyes.

"Just after you left." She began gliding closer now, and soon took up the spot Jubilee had vacated. Mentioning Jubes, she finally pulled away swiping at her eyes, desperately seeking composure as she tried to speak, "Wanda actually walked in on the two of them. She went ballistic."

A memory quickly took hold of Rogue, once again a pain filled, angry remainder of the dream she had, had only a few nights before.

She saw yelling figures (that she finally recognized as Kitty and Bobby), arguing, blaming, blazes of red that shot through like a searing pain (Wanda was extemely defensive for her friend, even in her absense) highlighted by blue sparks, filled with betrayal till it crackled like electricity in her grip (she realized that the seithing power had to be Wanda's, at her own outrage.)

Rogue quickly shook her head out of the grasp of the memory as Jubilee's voice brought her back to the present. "..After that she made sure that Bobby's life was a living hell. She even made him trip into Logan to make him spill his beer."

Rogue looked at Wanda with widening eyes, but the other woman diverted her gaze, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly, "No one can prove that was me."

Rogue swallowed with all this realization swimming in her head before she licked her lips, trying to find volume for her words, "Why didn't you guys tell me?"

Now both of them shifted their gazes downward, before Wanda sighed and looked up, "We really didn't want you to get hurt like that. If it was up to me, you never would have known."

Before she could even begin to protest, Jubilee quickly shot up with her own voice, "Rogue, you were already so broken when you left here. You tried to put up a front, but we could see how getting your powers back affected you. Something like this would have killed you. And you definitely didn't deserve for us to call you and tell you over the telephone like a bunch of nosey gossips. We're your friends. We never wanted to be that insensitive to you. If we had told you, we didn't want it to be confrontational. We would have waited until we could have all been together with the tissues, the ice cream, and the bad-mouthing for the whole male race right there with you. Because you sure didn't deserve how he told you today."

"He used you," Wanda cut in here, grabbing one of Rogue's hands to make sure she was looking her in the eye, "Don't you for a minute believe otherwise. He tugged you along without regard of how you were feeling, accepting all of your attention while he was cheating on you, and then at the best opportunity he cut you off. So do NOT start blaming yourself. I know you girl, and I can tell you right now, he will never be worth it. All that crap about your powers getting in the way? It's all just that: crap. If he cared about you and who you are, he never would have started anything with Kitty, he would have stayed with you even without touch, especially while you were getting control, and he would never have told you blatantly outright like that in the middle of a party. It was a set-up."

Rogue's brow furrowed at her last words, "What do you mean?"

Jubilee replied first, "He's been trying to sabotage the wedding since it was planned."

Wanda shook her head disgustedly, "He even hired strippers for Piotr's party when Kitty asked him not to. He's been doing all he can to cause a confrontation without getting caught in the middle of it."

Rogue's eyes widened and she felt a spike of anger shoot through her, "What?"

Wanda nodded her head, noting the woman's mix of anger and horror. "What's really bad is that he didn't want anything to do with Kitty while they were seperated. It was only when she was off the market and happy with Pete that Jealousy decided to raise it's big ol' ugly head. He'd be using her like he used you in a way."

Rogue shook her head and took in a quick breath that she held before releasing, "Why haven't ya'll told Pete?"

"Kitty won't let us." Jubilee went on demurely, "She says she wants to be the one to tell him, and that maybe after the wedding, Bobby will just back off." She looked back down as she let Rogue stir over these thoughts for a while before hesitantly asking, "Rogue?"

Rogue snapped her attention back to the woman to see the normally exuberant girl biting her lip nervously, "Do- can you forgive us?" Both Wanda and Jubilee looked up at her, and for the first time Rogue caught the tale-tell signs of tear trails on not only Jubes face, but Wanda's as well. They were both obviously trying to hold themselves together, but the fact that her friends were this distraught over her pain did make her realize that they were sincere.

Her reply was hesitant, but it finally came out, "Yes."

She looked up directly into both their hopeful eyes as she pressed on strongly, "Yes, guys, I can forgive you two at least."

Jubilee immediately launched into her arms with a squeal, quickly hugging her until it became hard to breathe. Rogue let out a strangled little chuckle, but was quickly blown away as Jubilee shifted gears as soon as she pulled away, "What about Remy?"

And with that all the pain descended back onto her shoulders, and Jubilee must have seen it flash in her eyes as she felt her lips tremble slightly. "Remy's gone."

"Oh Rogue," Wanda went on, now joining them on Rogue's other side and rubbing a hand into her shoulder.

Rogue shook her head as she bit her lip, "He lied to me too. But now, talking to you guys, I guess I can see why now that I'm thinking a bit more clearly. But I said some really awful things and-" She couldn't continue as her voice cracked on the words in her throat, and they began to spill anew and these didn't seem to stop as easily. Wanda pulled her to lean her head on her shoulder, as Jubilee took her turn patting her shoulder.

"Oh Roguey, he'll forgive you..." Jubilee tried to reassure her but Rogue shook her head fiercely from her position, "No Jubes, after what I said... he must hate me."

That thought alone was enough to send her spiraling into a new wave of tears, and the three friends sat there together, trying to muddle through the tears for a while.


After Rogue had finally calmed down and Jubilee and Wanda had left so that they could get some rest before the long day tomorrow, knocking once again came at her door. She approached the door warily, not really knowing what else to expect tonight. When she finally did open the door she stood frozen for an instant, taking in the sight of the other woman nervously biting her lip as if she was balanced on the edge of a blade. Finally Kitty spoke, her eyes meeting Rogue's hesitantly and her tone ringing of false happiness, "Hey."

Rogue kept her face impassive, and her tone came out dry as she pushed the door open and allowed the girl to enter the room, "Hey."

The door closing behind her seemed a bit ominous, and she mused at whether Kitty felt that way or not. A pause lingered over them both, a static in the air that was clear as the frustration in Rogue and the fear in Kitty. Finally Kitty gave a little tentative smile, as her hands wrung together as she went on nervously.

"I just... I wanted to say thank you for not outing me in front of Pete. I want to tell him, just not the night before our wedding. You know, with these things timing is everything."

Rogue narrowed her gaze as the last words left Kitty's lips, and at first her tone didn't expose her hurt or the chill growing inside her. It was nonchalant, completely understanding, with deep placating overtones, "You're right. You should time it right."

She saw a glimmer of hope sparkle in the other girl's eyes before the bitterness dropped into her voice, "So that, when he learns that you repeatedly screwed his best friend, he won't feel like the whole world is collapsing around him and there's no escape because you tricked him into marrying you."

Kitty's face was remorseful and pain filled, the tears already beginning to flow at her words as she tried to speak, "Rogue, I-"

But Rogue cut her off swinging to face her directly in her eyes, "Oh and don't worry. You're wedding will be perfect. Tomorrow, I'll smile and say all the right things and you'll deal with Pete when you're ready. But right now, tonight, I'm not going to pretend its okay."

The pain in Rogue's features, the intensity of the anger flowing off her, hit Kitty and she ashamedly lowered her head, unable to meet the other woman's gaze as she turned to the doorway and quietly left, the tears running off her cheeks as she rushed back to her room. The guilt sped up her racing heart, and she thought regretfully of that night so long ago where she had ice skated with Bobby. She never should have kissed him.


Rogue sat alone in her room once more with the dim lamp light being the only thing to illuminate the space around her. The bed felt empty even with the tumbling pillows beside her, even with the one clutched in her arms. She had cried again after Kitty left, but she was so tired now. She didn't know if it was emotional exhaustion or whether it was just loss of fluids from crying so much, but she found her racing mind unable to let her sleep.

Even now, she wasn't thinking about Bobby. As Wanda said, it really wasn't worth her time. She had moved past Bobby a long time ago, and she realized that she didn't need or expect anything from him now.

She wasn't even thinking about Kitty, though that probably would have been more understandable. The girl hadn't even tried to apologize and somehow that stung even more than Bobby's confession. She had been broken with Bobby, but she was still close with Kitty. She had still considered her one of her best friends. But how could she see her as that, when the girl wasn't even sorry?

But no despite all these possibilities, her mind was on a one-track circuit of every second she had spent with the Cajun man who had swept in and taken her breath away from the moment she saw him.

She remembered seeing his eyes for the first time on the plane. She remembered teasing him over lunch about his new nickname. She remembered talking to him about Belladonna on the roof, and feeling a pit in her stomach when she realized how much he was sacrificing. She remembered feeling the jolt of fear shoot through every nerve in her body when she saw him flying through the air, the ice shards dancing around his body like glittering knives. She remembered being so close to kissing him in the library, still feeling both the heat of his gaze and the warm breath batting against her face. She could almost feel his arms wrapped around her as she woke up from her nightmares, seeing his concerned gaze melting her heart. She still remembered laughing with him and Rahne as they played board games in the library. She remembered very dimly her night being in his arms.

But most of all she remembered the look on his face when she told him that it just wasn't worth it. And she felt like a hole had been left gaping in her chest as soon as she said it, because that had to be the worst lie she had ever told. He was worth it. Every second of it. She wouldn't have traded a minute of their week together for all the control in the world. But now, he had to think that she hated him. And she couldn't repress the doubtful, nagging little voices in her head that was telling her maybe it was better that way. He was going to have to leave her anyway. And the thought tore through her chest, making it hard to even pull in air as she fought the tears trying to come all over again. Her inability to control her emotions made her grow frustrated and with a mangled groan she threw the pillow that she had clutched around her across the room where it slammed into the vanity, knocking over her purse and it's contents scattered across the floor.

She closed her eyes and briefly thought about just leaving everything where it lie until she sighed and hoisted herself up and crept over to the destruction. She tossed the offending pillow over her shoulder, back to the bed as she bent down to scoop up the miscellaneous objects. Her hand tightened on the money that she had gotten from the ATM with disgust as she near violently tossed it back into her purse. Just another regret to add on to her list of memories. But as she let go of the packet, something slipped through her fingers and fluttered through the air before landing on the floor. She distractedly moved to reach for it, but recognition triggered the second her fingertips touched the smooth, rectangular surface, and she tentatively turned it face-up in her hand.

She stared at it for a full minute in her crouched position until her other hand joined in, delicately tracing the outline of the regal figure emblazoned on the card. And that's where she completely lost control as her mind wove back to earlier that day, where Remy had told her of his first heist. Of his first card. He had trusted her with that, with something so precious and obviously played close to the chest. And she realized that she had begun to trust him back, by stating the one thing no one in her new life knew about her. But with that comprehension, a new realization hit her as a chocked sob escaped her lips. He was right. She did push people away, just like she pushed him away. He had hurt her and she had used the words that she knew would put distance between them. Because she didn't want to get hurt again.

She finally rose on shaky legs, still clutching the card in one hand to her chest as she stumbled until she collapsed on her bed again. She lay there, curling up into herself for a while as she let the regret wash over her. It hadn't worked. She was still hurt and hurting herself all the more by being away from him. And as a ragged breath was pulled into her lungs, it finally clicked.

She didn't just want Remy LeBeau.

She loved him.

She loved him for all the things he said, for all the ways he got her to smile. For that infuriating smirk that made both chills and blushes shoot through her. She loved the way he was teasing sometimes, or playful and intense others. She loved that he drove so fast that the blood was singing in her veins. She loved the way he held her and said she was beautiful. She loved the times when they could laugh and just entertain each other and the other times when they were serious and reached out to the other. She loved all that.

It didn't still her sobbing any, for if anything, it only grew more intense. She loved him, and he was gone. All because of her.

She clutched the card in her hand, her last life-line to him, as finally her body began to calm. Her mind drifted more or less into a haze, until finally exhaustion overcame her and she slept, fitfully at best. Little did she know the thief that had crept in and stolen her heart was less than a mile away, being kept up as similar thoughts raced through his head.


He had lost her.

He muttered another curse from where he sat on the bed, head in his hands as the thoughts ran through his mind.

He had lost her before he ever really had her. And it hurt like hell.

He stood up and paced back up and down the room that he now had memorized. He had the entire little house committed to memory by now.

He was finally, thankfully, distracted when his once dead phone buzzed from the charger it was connected to, and he quickly strode across the room to answer the call. He didn't bother hoping that it was her, even if he didn't want to talk to anyone else right now.

"Gambit," he answered in a clipped tone as he sank heavily on the bed once more.

"Remy! Where de hell have you been? I've called y' over a dozen times dis mornin' alone!"

He sighed ruefully at his brother's anxious yet exasperated tone. "Desole, mon frere. M' phone died."

That didn't seem to help the situation as he heard an explosion of French insults flood his ear, but he couldn't say he really cared. Finally Henri got calmed down enough to ask somewhat snidely, "Y' phone died? Dat's all y' got?"

He thought about making some quips of his own about Henri going to have heart problems befor he hit thirty-five if he couldn't control his temper better than that, but thought better of it at the last minute. "What's de matter Henri?"

"Oh so now y' want to know what's goin' on?"

"Damn it Henri, just tell me what y'r problem is!" There was a shocked pause over the line as his brother recognized that the almost always care-free Remy LeBeau was not alright.

"Remy, what is it?" His tone was softer, almost wary. Remy reflected briefly on the times that Henri would use this tone on his years growing up. It was always those moments when his older brother had tried to reach out to him, whether it was right after he had come off the streets, or when he had shown back up from the labs. It was the moments that reminded Remy he had a family. But he shook his head, even though his brother couldn't see it and sighed dejectedly as he pressed on, "What's goin' on in La Ville, mon frere?"

Henri seemed to realize that pressing the argument was not gong to help anything at the moment and quickly replied, "Belladonna got married."

This shocked Remy out of his funk a little, "She WHAT?"

"She eloped, late last night, with her bodyguard Stephen Meaurix. Apparently that's why she's been, as Emil said, 'so feaky-happy' over de las' couple of days. They dropped off both guilds' radar and de next thing we know, we're getting cancelation papers on de merger-wedding and copies of de authentic wedding certificate and licence. I think Pere and Marius were shocked outta their minds."

Remy shook his head at all the implications of these actions, and let out an exhausted sigh as he scrubbed his face, "Well she did try to call me."

"When?" His brother's tone was urgent.

"Last night. Got de message when I came in late. Good thing I didn't call like I thought about. I might have interrupted the honeymoon." He almost smirked at the implications of an extremely ticked off Belladonna, but another thought marred his thinking process with a frown, "Wait, wait. I went through de plannin' from hell over a weddin' that nobody's gonna even use? Least she could have done is waited a week, then just make Stephen stand in my place."

"Y'r takin' this extremely well," his brother interrupted, sounding a bit suspicious.

Remy collapsed back onto the bed, closing his eyes as his thoughts flickered to a pair of green eyes. "Jus' decided it's not so important anymore, mon frere."

This made his brother pause and he could almost see the gears turning in his head but he stayed focused, "Well it's left us wit' a mess of merde to clean up after. Y' got releases to sign when y' get back here, peace talks to conference in-"

"I'm not comin' back Henri." The words shocked himself but he realized as his eyes flew open that they were true.

"What?"

"I'm not going back to New Orleans." And it was right. That's where Rogue would be when all this was said and done, and he didn't think he could risk the temptation to hunt her down in his home town.

There was another pause over the line until finally Henri uttered out with significant frustration and exasperation as he finally asked the question on his mind, "Is it that Rogue-fille?"

Remy ran a hand down his face as he neither affirmed nor denied the statement, "Rogue would probably be Julien's biggest fan right now if he just staked my head on a pole."

There was obvious confusion and concern in his brother's tone as he questioned, "So why are y' not comin' back? What about the Guild?"

Remy sat up again as he hefted a resigned sigh, "You can handle de runners. And without the need for a wedding, I'm not really needed. De peace talks are more y'r style anyway."

"But why-"

Remy cut him off, not wanting to discuss all the issues tonight, "I just need to work some stuff out. I'll keep in touch."

With that, and without any goodbyes, he shut the phone off and tossed it back onto the side table. He draped an arm across his face as he flopped back down, his mind running in circles. But none of them were for New Orleans. His mind had already been made up on that point for a while now.

No, his mind was distracted (or fixedly pointed) to one particular woman who he had seen fall apart right before his eyes that day. He couldn't help, despite all his anger towards Bobby, blaming part of that on himself. He was too harsh with her, had reacted on his hurt feelings on instinct alone and had lashed back at her words. If there was any way to take it all back, he would in a heartbeat. If he thought he could creep back into her good graces he would have tried. But the look on her face, with the hate for him flashing through his senses was enough to stop those hopeful thoughts. The best thing he could do now was save her anymore pain and stay out of her life. No matter how desperately he wanted to be a part of it.

With these thoughts still lurking in the forefront of his mind and he rested without any real peace as the day's events closed around his mind. He just hoped that Rogue was going to be alright.


AN: Aha! Okay, how many of you saw Bella beating Remy to the punch? Hm? Only one or two of you caught that she was with her body guard, bravo to those few observant people. But as far as the chapter events go, I'm super sad! A whole lot of this came out of the movie and was tweaked for the Romyness. But the Jubilee/Wanda confrontation wasn't in the movie nor were any real details divulged after Kat confronts her sister Amy. In the Wedding Date, Amy, Kat's half-sister, slept with Kat's fiance, Geoffery. Amy moved on, Geoffery didn't even though he did break up with Kat. Geoffery gets on my nerves, but Bobby even more so. I really can't explain my reasoning, I think it's just cheaters in general maybe. But that could be a few personal bad experiences so I could be biased. And look! I'm carrying out my rage in a story format. That must mean I'm vindictive too!

What's funny is I had messaged a couple of friends that this chapter was going to make me cry and both immediately ask if there is going to be a character death. My response was "I wish. Stinkin' Bobby." So Blue, Greeneyed Alice, was I right, or was I right?

Was it very sad guys? I felt that way writing it, but I've grown attached to these characters. I want to bring Rogue ice cream and a big fuzzy blanket and promise her it's gonna be alright. I feel like I just put my baby through the ringer. And it hurts.

Okay, I promise, it's only gonna get better from here guys. No more tears, unless you're laughing. I don't believe in unhappy endings. But that's the thing, this story is wrapping up. We have one major chapter to go before the epilogue and maybe just a fun little something for all you reviewers to get in on. Blue helped me come up with the idea, but she'll be reading this and thinking, "I have no idea what that crazy chick is talking about" but you all will see!

Next Chapter: It's time to put on a wedding! And what a three-ring circus that will be. We've got a hectic schedule, thoughtful motorcycle riding, maybe a wedding crasher, and a few special guests that I hope you guys can pick out! Oh, and don't worry about Bobby guys.

He'll be getting his. *sinister smirk* And that happy ending I've been promising you guys!

Oh, and Blue? Guess what? It's coming...