Life around the mansion had pretty much returned to normal. Sinister and his lackeys, War and Famine, were nowhere to be found. Hank was still processing the discs and test tubes Emma and Kitty had obtained from his lab. All the team could do, was wait and keep an eye on any strange occurrences that happened. It was a matter of waiting to see when and where Sinister would show up next.
Remy was released from the infirmary about two weeks later. He was up and walking and even managed to faintly charge a playing card. Still, he was tired all the time. Hank had told him his powers would eventually come back, but to what degree, he didn't know. Sinister's machine had greatly depleted Remy's internal resources, and it would take a while for him to gain back the energy he had lost.
Hank thought it was highly unlikely that Remy would ever reach the level of power he had before the infamous machine. As a result, Remy was slower, clumsier, and his aim left something to be desired. Hank thought that if there was someway to jump start Remy's charge, he'd at least be working at half his strength. Much like he had before. Problem was no one knew how to do it yet.
"Don't feel so bad, Remy," Emma had said. "At least I can read your mind again."
"Because that's what I always wanted," he grumbled bitterly.
"Try and look on the bright side," Emma said, patting his arm.
Remy was having a really hard time looking on the bright side. He had almost no powers, wanted to nap all the time, and to top it off, had to share a room with Bobby of all people, because Remy's room had been destroyed.
"There is no fucking way I'm rooming with that guy," Remy had said to Wolverine, who had already moved Remy's stuff into Bobby's room.
"Look, Cajun," Wolverine had answered a little annoyed, "you either bunk with Bobby or with me. The difference is with Bobby you can sneak in and out as much as you please. With me, I'll always know where you are. And frankly between the two of us, I don't want to know when you're in Marie's room or what you're doing with her."
"You make a persuasive argument, mon ami," Remy had answered politely. He didn't really want Logan knowing what he was up to either. It was in his best interest not to piss Logan off right now. There was a reason they called him 'Wolverine,' and Remy did not want to find out why at this point in time.
Defeated, he decided that he might as well make the best of this situation. Remy begrudgingly went into his new room. It was like looking at polar opposites. Remy's side of the room had his haphazardly salvaged stuff tossed in piles. He had no desire to unpack and it would stay that way.
Bobby's side was pristine and clean, to the point of obsessive compulsiveness. The shelf above his bed displayed various athletic trophies from his high school days. He had even graduated as valedictorian. Remy snickered. Bobby really was as goody-goody as he claimed to be. He lived by the book and by the rules. He was so straight and narrow that Remy actually felt sorry for him. Not enough that he'd be nice to him though, the guy was still a jerk.
Remy noticed a small, framed picture on the back of Bobby's desk. It was of a much younger Marie, smiling and neatly tucked under Bobby's arm. Bobby wouldn't still have this picture out if he wasn't harbouring feelings for her. Suspicious, Remy looked for any pictures of Kitty. They used to date as well. Nothing. A surge of jealousy hit him. Remy suddenly had wicked, little ideas pass through his mind. Perhaps he could get Rogue to visit him in his room one night, just to prove that she was with him now, and not Bobby.
He knew she wouldn't, unless Bobby wouldn't be there. Still, the idea of Bobby completely losing his temper, made Remy feel leaps and bounds better about the situation. Just to drive the point home, and because Remy was feeling spiteful, he rummaged through one of his bags, found what he was looking for and dumped them onto his nightstand. Bobby would have a fit when he noticed the pile of condoms lying carelessly out in the open. He laughed to himself, that's about all the unpacking I need to do.
When Remy tapped on her window that night, Rogue wasn't expecting him to sleep in her room. It was his first night out from the infirmary, and they hadn't had much quality alone time while he was there. She had been expecting him to put the moves on her. Instead, he was curled up on her floor sleeping like he hadn't slept in days.
Rogue knew he'd been out of sorts since his run in with Sinister, and she knew he was unusually tired these days, she just didn't realize it was that bad. She had only run to the bathroom to quickly brush her teeth and ran back to her room, only to find Remy sound asleep on the floor. He had exhausted himself just getting to her room.
She sighed. He'd been too polite to even crawl into her bed, such a gentleman. She pulled off a blanket and pillow, and neatly tucked him in. She got back into her bed and spent the evening listening to the steady sound of his breathing, contemplating whether or not she should attempt to wake him and put the moves on him. She eventually opted for letting him sleep. He looked so peaceful on the floor snuggled up under her blanket. She really didn't have the heart to wake him and soon fell asleep herself.
She woke up before her alarm went off. She clicked the alarm off so she wouldn't wake Remy, who was still there, fast asleep on her floor. She carefully stepped over him and got ready for class, quickly changing into a pair of capris and a short sleeved blouse. Remy was missing one heck of a show as she quietly dashed around the room in her underwear, searching for her outfit. Once she was set, she quietly let herself out, softly closing the door. It was best to just let Remy sleep. He needed it.
In the kitchen, Rogue met the other staff members drinking coffee and eating breakfast. She poured herself a cup of coffee and made some toast, sitting herself beside Kitty, who was yawning away.
"Bobby's been in rare form all morning," Kitty whispered to her through half a yawn.
"What for?" Rogue asked.
"Remy wasn't in his room at all last night." Kitty grinned. "But you wouldn't know anything about that, now would you? At least that's what I told Bobby."
Rogue couldn't help but laugh. "Why would Bobby even care where Remy was? It's not like it's any of his business."
"Come on, Rogue! You can't tell me you had no idea that Bobby still loves you. Whether you like it or not, you're in a torrid love triangle!"
"Kitty," Rogue answered as seriously as she could, "you're exaggerating again. I'm with Remy now. I don't care how Bobby feels."
"So you DO know where Remy is!" Kitty exclaimed, all traces of sleep brushed away.
"Course I do," Rogue said slyly, not being able to help but feed Kitty's imagination. "He's in my room."
Everyone stopped and stared at Kitty as she let out the highest, most hyper-excited squeal.
"Jesus, Kitty, I can't handle octaves that high this early in the morning," Dazzler grumbled. "What's the deal?"
"I just really like… Cheerios," Kitty replied, stuffing a spoonful of her cereal into her mouth.
Dazzler, clearly annoyed, just rolled her eyes and muttered, 'spaz'.
By break time, Kitty was pounding on Rogue's classroom door. She hastily entered the room and made sure no students were around.
"Oh my God, you have to give me all the details!" Kitty pleaded to Rogue.
"Wow. Kitty, you really need to get your own love life."
"I know! But it's much more exciting to live vicariously through you!"
"Not that exciting, he fell asleep on my floor," Rogue answered dryly.
"He what?"
"I said, he fell asleep on my floor. Nothing happened."
"Oh," Kitty answered, a little dejected. "Well, that's no good." As an after thought she added, "We really need to get you some lingerie."
When Bobby went back to the room he now shared with Gambit, he saw Gambit back and sleeping in his own bed. Bobby really hated him. At first, he didn't think it would be that big of an issue rooming with the man who now had Marie's affections. He thought himself a bigger man than petty rivalry and jealousy, but he was wrong.
His mood had first soured when he saw a handful of condoms on Remy's nightstand. His mood became worse when Gambit's bed remained unslept in. Rogue could control her powers now, and Bobby knew it was only a matter of time before Gambit weaseled his way into her bed with his smooth charm and seductive words. And then what? He'd get bored with her and leave.
Bobby knew it was all about the chase, and Rogue was good at running. It was in Gambit's nature as a thief to want what he couldn't have, and after obtaining it, he'd toss it aside and move on to something else unattainable. Bobby was going to be there to pickup the pieces when Gambit did drop Marie. Marie was never cut out for bad boys anyway, and he had tried really hard to stay out of her business, but that still didn't mean he didn't care. Bobby could only imagine what the Cajun had been doing all night to be sleeping all day. It made his blood boil.
Remy had woken up around five, to see Bobby glaring at him from across the room—which was creepy that the guy had just sat and watched him sleep. Remy decided it was best to leave and avoid confrontation with Bobby, so he went down to the Danger Room to practice his aim. He could charge his deck of cards enough to get some minor pops, hardly anything worth fearing, and missed all his targets completely.
Frustrated, he tore open another deck of cards, firing one off after the other. Still no luck, the best he could do was graze the edge of his targets. Why bother. He angrily tossed the remainder of the deck up in the air, about to walk away when he heard her.
Rogue bent down to pick up one of the fallen cards. Silently, she walked towards him and from behind, started to position him properly. He could have sworn she just brushed her hand along his backside before running her arm up along his side and over his arm, lining him up to the target. It was completely seductive without her even meaning for it to be. He bit his bottom lip to stifle a moan. She was intoxicating and wouldn't be doing much for his concentration, or aim. He tossed his card, not even watching where it went and eagerly turned around to face her, bringing his lips to meet hers. They had barely even touched before a loud BOOM made both of them jump. Rogue grinned when Remy realized he'd not only hit his target, but blew it to smithereens.
Remy's attention was nowhere near hitting targets anymore. All he wanted was Rogue and she was playfully walking away from him out the door. He quickly chased after her, ready to pounce her in the hallway.
He had to put that plan on hold since there where students around, although he was pretty sure they all knew he was following her. Would it be highly inappropriate to shove students out of the way? Every so often, she'd glance back to make sure he was still following and continued on her way. He realized she was leading him up to her room… and that was perfectly fine with him.
He finally caught up to her outside her door. Not wasting a moment to get his hands on her, he wrapped them around her from behind and nuzzled her neck. She tilted her neck sideways, so he had better access, and slowly pushed herself back into him. He instantly held her tighter, not sure whether he should go for a breast or not.
She was killing him. He was almost sure she was teasing him on purpose now, because it took her forever to take out her room key, deliberately flipping through her key ring one at a time. He was pretty sure he just whimpered out loud, because she finally slid her key in the door.
"Rogue! I'm so glad I've finally found you!" Emma called from down the hall, quickly running up to them down the hallway. "I think I've found Carol!"
"What?" Rogue said a little surprised, pulling herself from out of Remy grasp. She gave Remy apologetic eyes. "Sorry, Remy, I gotta go." Rogue ran down the hall with Emma.
"Sorry Remy, I wasn't expecting you to be with her. I thought that was just your normal thought patterns," Emma apologized quickly in his mind.
With an exasperated groan, Remy let his arms fall to his sides and let his head bang on the door.