A.N. I would have had this up sooner, but birthdays (mine included) slowed things down a little. I really want to thank those reviewers to whom I cannot respond my usual way due to them not being logged in and also to the anonymous reviewer from the last chapter. I'm sorry you're losing interest, but this is listed as being AU and the premise doesn't feed into several canon aspects which led to the changes. I also tend to write more character-driven stories than action-driven. That's just what I do. I hope you find stories more to your liking.
Thanks for hanging in there everyone!
For Meg and Finn.
Disclaimer: They belong to Marvel and the fact that I can't get enough of them just shows Stan Lee's brilliance.
Rogue leaned against the wall taking in the shimmering lights and sparkling decorations on the beautiful tree in the LeBeau home. Gifts were piled under and around the large ornamented evergreen in a variety of colored papers, ribbons, and bows. Rogue had even seen some with her name on the tags. It was so fun and exciting and lovely, yet still it left a bittersweet bite in her spirit. She felt so much a part of things here; even more so than during past Christmases at Xavier's. Deep down, though, Rogue knew it was all an illusion. She wasn't part of this family or this Guild. She didn't belong here. Next Christmas they would still be following all their own traditions and reliving memories of other holidays together and she wouldn't be there… and no one would really think to notice except for some fleeting mention of that school friend of Remy's who'd stayed with them for a bit.
Sighing, she still couldn't tear her eyes away from the tree as she thought again of the fun stories shared while they decorated the other day. There had been some sad, sweet moments when Jean-Luc told her about his wife and how the ornament Rogue had just declared so beautiful had been one of the deceased woman's favorites. Mattie stood nearby reading the expression flitting across Rogue's face and the emotions reflected in her eyes with enough accuracy to know that the girl was at serious risk of falling into the doldrums. Rallying, the woman hit upon an idea that was actually the perfect solution to Rogue's runaway feelings.
"Honeychile, y' come in here wit' m' an' keep dis ol' woman company awhile." Rogue smiled automatically at Tante and obediently went to join her older friend. Once Tante had her settled at the table with some decorated cookies and a cup of hot tea, she began asking Rogue questions. She asked about Rogue's family, her goals, and all sorts of things. "Wha' 'bout y'r Christmas traditions? Wha' d' y' norm'ly do?"
Rogue's face hardened the tiniest bit. "Ah don't realleh have many. Ahrene wasn' much into Christmas an' Ah haven't realleh been anywhere else long enough to make any traditions ta' speak of." She shrugged as if it were not important, but the astute Mattie knew better.
"C'mon now! I know dere's gotta be somet'in' dat's y' fav'rite t'ing t' do. Tell ol' Tante wha' it is," she encouraged boisterously.
Unable to resist the other woman's cajoling, she let her lips twist into a half smile as she sheepishly admitted, "Well, there is one thing Ah usually do, but Ah can't until Ah'm back at tha' mansion. It's nothin' big, though."
She was about to share more when Eti came dashing through the room and rounded the kitchen island, dodging Tante in the nick of time, with Emil racing just behind. "Y' gonna git y' head knocked in, y' couyon (stupid person)! Stop righ' dere capon (coward)!" Eti wasn't about to slow down long enough to let Emil catch him, however. Tante smacked at both of them telling them how rotten they both were, but neither was paying her much mind.
Remy and Henri ambled into the madness, both chuckling the high spirited chase occurring in the normally peaceful kitchen. Mercy was at her home today, so Henri and Remy had used the time to work on some important business for their father. Now Remy came to Rogue and pulled her seat out slightly. "We goin' fo' a walk, Boo, y' wan' t' get out o' dis chaos an' join us?"
She giggled a little bit before nodding and letting him help her to her feet. They'd wandered down a path leading alongside the marshy water. She'd gone for several walks since her arrival, but never down this particular route before. It opened into a wide, open space that she'd be willing to bet was beautiful in spring and summer, ringed by shrubs and filled with soft green moss.
Henri noticed something unusual just inside the tree line and called to Remy to come have a look at it. The moment they'd passed through the gray tree line Rogue felt a hand clamp down over her mouth and an arm wrap around her shoulders, lifting her feet off the ground. If she hadn't gone instantly into her defense mode, she might have noted with some surprise that the hold on her, while strong and unyielding, was very intentionally not hurtful. As it was, she was too busy struggling to free herself to care.
Settle yourself, young woman, came a rather creepy voice from inside her mind. Rogue knew she'd never absorbed anyone who'd sounded like that. That was a voice she wouldn't be able to forget. "Lahke he-," she was cut off as someone slapped duct tape over her mouth. Now that it no longer had to keep her quiet, the second arm of her immediate captor moved to wind so tightly around her middle that she was struggling to inhale, forget trying to talk. Rogue wasn't going to give up easily and while she sought to loosen the grip on her by writhing maniacally, she let her legs flail about kicking anything she could come into contact with and hoping some of those blows were raining down on the brute holding her against her will.
Remy's voice was now easily heard, ringing through the otherwise quiet woods. "Rogue! Mon Dieu, Rogue-chère! Où êtes-vous (Where are you)?" Frantic to let Remy know where she was before this jerk got her any further away, so help her if this was Julien again she was going to tear strips off his hide herself, she used a handy tree trunk to plant her feet against and shove back against the one holding her with all her strength. The forceful push was unexpected and had the pair of them stumbling backwards gracelessly before the momentum sent them careening into another tree forcing a loud grunt from the brute as the wind was knocked out of him. Between that and Rogue's frantic efforts to broadcast her anger she figured Remy ought to be able to find her pretty danged fast.
She couldn't have been more correct, either. Her anger and her anxiety, though she'd deny it, were slamming into him so strongly that he was almost disoriented by it. Her inner Logan and mini Remy were raging almost as wildly out of control as the bit of Victor Creed she'd once absorbed, who truly loathed physical restraint of any kind, but was ready to slip into berserker mode this time. The entrance of another voice speaking into her mind from outside it, rather than another psyche, caused all the chaos in her head to pause momentarily. Rogue, whatever you do, try not to let your mutation activate, warned the professor.
Remy was thrashing towards them at an incredible rate with Henri not far behind calling for back-up as he came. The two emerged just to the left of where Rogue still strained against the man holding her while focusing on not following her body's natural instinct to switch her mutation on full blast thereby taking out the guy holding her. Once the professor's caution had sunk in, she'd known who it was that had his Weapon-X augmented arms around her… there wasn't enough scouring powder in the free world to erase his touch she was sure… Reaper had come for her. She supposed she ought to be thankful their megalomaniacal leader wanted her alive for some reason. That meant his hands were actually hands for the moment rather than the scythes they could turn into.
If they hadn't taped her mouth shut she'd be blasting him with so many insults… When Mystique came to them from the right and reached out a hand towards Rogue, she frantically jerked her head away in an effort to refuse the woman's contact. That only resulted in bringing her cheek up against the side of Reaper's neck. "Mm… nice, you little hellion. It's been awhile since I've held such a fiery bundle of curves," he taunted.
"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" Mystique's wry comment echoed Rogue's thoughts exactly.
"You get y' hands off 'er," snarled Remy as he fanned a handful of cards in one hand while extending his bow staff with the flick of the other wrist. Rogue had never seen him look more aggressive, more animalistic, more filled with raw rage. She would have expected this in a fight if she were watching Logan or even Victor, but never had she seen this side of Remy. Even Henri took one step away from his younger brother.
"Oh calm down, Romeo," was all Mystique offered the young aggressor. She wasn't intimidated in the least. "Lord High Evolutionary wants you, too. You won't be separated from her if you both just come along quietly. There's no reason for all this fuss."
Rogue was ready to burst with all the words wanting to spill forth. Lord help the man who'd invented duct tape if she ever ran into him!
"I don' t'ink so. Neit'er o' us is goin' anywhere wit' y' freaks!" Rogue nodded vigorous agreement with Remy's declaration.
"Oh, but you will come with us Mr. LeBeau," came a new voice, suave and educated and creepy in the extreme. The voice Rogue had heard in her mind earlier accompanied the figure drifting in from the tree line. "It will come about one way or another. How gently or not this occurs is entirely up to the two of you." He may sound cultured, but he was colder and harder than a block of marble. Rogue almost shuddered. Then it hit her. For the professor to have told her what he did when neither she nor Reaper was using their mutations, he would have to be close. Help was at hand.
When she began to relax and fill with hope, even with a twinge of excitement, Remy's empathy picked up on it instantly. He looked quizzically her way only to see her shake her head, silently asking him to not change his stance at all. Remy continued to exchange banter with Lord High-on-himself to buy them some time until he could figure a way out of this mess or the reason for Rogue's abrupt change in emotions could make an appearance. He was distracted, though, and the bizarre doctor may be long on knowledge but he was short on patience.
"Enough!" he finally declared. "It would seem we will be doing this with more aggression than I would have preferred, but so be it." He gave Mystique and Reaper a nod that set them in motion. As Mystique moved to attack Gambit, Reaper began lashing Rogue's hands together while fighting for dominance over the girl who was proving to be as difficult to corral as a snake or a greased pig.
"Hands off the girl, Bub!" With that demand Logan hurtled into the small clearing, claws extended and snarl in place. He landed on Reaper, attempting to knock him away from Rogue, but the tenacious man refused to loosen his grip on the girl he'd acquired. They both tumbled across the ground with her bearing the brunt of the landing with a pained and annoyed groan.
Rogue saw Jean at the outer edges of the fracas and sent her a pointed mental request. Once Jean had freed her from that blasted duct tape, Rogue asked Reaper, "So does Gene Simmons know ya' stole his look or is it a secret?"
"I liked you better when you couldn't talk," he shot back.
Rogue threw her head back to nail his nose which immediately started bleeding profusely. "Ow! You bi-," he was prevented from finishing by Logan's roar of outrage.
"Don't even think about it," Logan warned while swiping at Reaper's back. Reaper flipped them over at the last second. Logan's pulled back as much as he could, but was so close to spilling Rogue's entrails she could feel the whisper of those deadly adamantium blades as they whooshed just centimeters above her tender belly. Her psyches were more than a little restless by now and her inner Logan was positively freaking out. She knew she had to stay focused, but his snarly, wildly out of control, animalistic ravings were hard to ignore when they were echoing throughout her own thoughts.
Scott grazed Reaper with a blast from his eyes that loosened the man's hold just enough for Rogue to get in a few good hits. Remy's blows with his bow staff finished off the job and she was able to spring away from the strong, scary, and stubborn mutant. She spun so her back was to Remy's while Henri did his best to help, but was wise enough to realize he was likely out of his league here.
What no one had really taken in was the absence so far of one of their former foes. Deathbird came up behind Henri, whose height left her seeming only minimally threatening at best. This misconception cost Henri dearly as she snatched at him and, using her superior strength and newly refurbished artificial wings, lifted him into the air. She quickly soared out over a large patch of saw palmettos before letting him fall from a dizzying height. Henri landed with a sickening thud, his body battered and his face bloodied.
Meanwhile, Remy and Mystique were still going at one another like rabid animals neither willing to back down or give any quarter. They traded blows and insults at a rapid-fire pace that would have left most lost and confused. Eventually Remy threw her towards Scott and Jean who first blasted her to disorient and injure her before lifting the blue-skinned mutant towards the waiting weather goddess who bound Mystique tightly. Mystique shifted to the raven she was so comfortable embodying and, being newly freed of her bindings, flew to the outskirts of the battle where she intercepted the thieves racing to assist their two princes. Mystique kept them quite busy, buying valuable time for her teammates to accomplish the important goal of apprehending Gambit and Rogue.
Xavier engaged Lord High Evolutionary in a fierce battle on the astral plane where Xavier wielded an enormous energy sword with which he battled against Wyndham's energy blasts. There was little the others could do to help so they focused their energies on Reaper and Deathbird, who'd arrived back in the thick of battle. Storm, Jean, Cyclops, and Beast battled Deathbird while Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine dealt with Reaper.
Eventually, with all but Deathbird and Logan beginning to slow with a bit of fatigue, Dr. Wyndham withdrew from his confrontation with Xavier retreating to the astral plane to wait for a better time. He could linger there indefinitely, but knew he would choose to regroup quickly this time in an attempt to rally his forces and hang onto the progress he'd already made with the mutants in his holdings. His research was coming along splendidly and while he wanted the young mutants in Professor Charles Xavier's care to increase his advancements, especially the potentially limitless Rogue, he knew when wise judgment required a strategic retreat. Letting his allies know it was time to go, he watched on from the peace of the astral plane as they fell back from engagement, although he noted Reaper seemed reluctant to leave the girl behind, orders not withstanding. That would be worth watching over, his leader decided.
Xavier limply sat in his chair, one hand wearily resting against his temple. The battle had been exhausting. Ororo and Jean went to him and began assisting him back to the waiting jet. Hank was checking Henri's and the other thieves' injuries to determine what care they required with Scott's help. Logan and Remy were busy smothering Rogue, by her interpretation, as they checked her for serious injury while simultaneously berating her for not fleeing when she'd had the chance. "Y'all must be losin' ya're mahnds if ya' think Ah'm going ta' let that loser jerk meh around an' then leave all tha' fightin' for you! Ah'm a big girl an' Ah can take care o' mahself!" she hotly asserted.
The three argued and fussed over one another for a few more minutes before Scott rejoined them to inform Logan and Rogue, "It's time for us to leave now. Rogue, we'll pick you up in fifteen minutes. That should give you time to get your things from the LeBeau's. Logan, are you going with her to help gather everything?"
Remy clenched his jaw. Of course they wanted her to leave with them. He should have known… but he hadn't had time yet to think of much other than wondering if Rogue was alright, how were his friends and family after this fight, and whether the enemy was really gone or not. Now it was there forcing itself to center stage, the reality that their time together here was over. She was going back to New York. There went their first Christmas together. He knew he sounded like a sulky little boy, but he didn't care. To put it plainly, this sucked.
"What? But…" Rogue was stammering, something she hated. It made her seem weak. Logan hiked that scoundrel brow at her wanting to know what her deal was this time and she managed to piece together, "Ah guess that makes sense. Ah'm just surprahsed ta' see y'all. I wasn't expecting any of this. It would be best for me and for Remy's family if Ah went on back to the Institute." Her intonation let Logan and Scott both know it was that last thing she wanted to do. Logan and Remy both found the way her accent came and went very telling also. It revealed that she was weighing her words carefully and speaking very intentionally.
Logan, a little more attuned to reading people than Scott, was watching Remy as carefully as he was Rogue. The younger man's hard jaw was clenched and his eyes glowed with an unholy flare from deep within. Those facts coupled with the way his hand twitched towards Rogue's when she started to move away only to fall back to his side gripped in a tight fist… If Logan wasn't crazy, the guy had been about to reach out and keep her beside him. Aw crap! He shot off a mental memo to Chuck. Getting an answer quickly, Logan took things into his own hands.
"Let's go, Cyke. We're done here. Stripes, I'll be in touch about getting you home."
"What? But-," Logan interrupted the young leader-in-the-making.
"You questioning me, Bub?"
Scott started to answer, stopped to consider, started again and then finally took a moment to really study the faces around him. "I, well…" Scott was interrupted again, which was starting to get on his nerves.
When he turned to see Jean calling to him, she beckoned him with a very flirty smile. Remy saw the redhead put her fingers up to her temple and knew she was 'talking' to him telepathically. He saw Scott give a smile that was supposed to representative of his benevolence, but actually just kind of creeped out the other three standing in the clearing. Logan gave him a weird look before turning to Rogue and Remy again. "Right." He took a deep breath and shook his head a little as though ridding himself of something unpleasant. "So, you're staying here, at least for now. Like I said, I'll be in touch. You need anything you give me a call and I can be here before you know it. I mean it, you call me if you need me, Stripes."
Rogue's heart was racing, filling with excitement that she didn't have to leave after all. Her head tilted to one side. "Hey, Logan, do you have a minute?"
He studied her before answering, "Sure I do. Whatcha need, Stripes?" He let her lead him away. Fifteen minutes later he was back with several brightly wrapped packages in his arms and a bemused look of wonder on his normally stoic face. Not until he and Scott said goodbye to Remy and boarded the jet did Logan say anything significant. Then Charles chuckled and wondered, "Are you really that surprised, Logan?"
"Well, yeah… yeah, I guess I am. I knew she was making progress, but this is big. What about him and this place did this for her?"
"What are you talking about?" Scott wanted to know. If there was anything he hated more than seeing someone hitting on Jean, it was realizing he didn't know what was in the dark on things. It left a person vulnerable and under others' control and that was something he couldn't be comfortable with.
"Rogue's gaining control over her mutation, Scott. She can touch people now," Jean answered, know how he felt about being left guessing. She stroked down his arm to hold his hand and leaned against his sturdy shoulder.
"It is still in the early stages and she can only maintain contact for about twenty minutes, but this kind of progress in such a short time is very promising."
Logan was still in shock. He wasn't about to 'share' with the group, especially with Red and Cyke who he knew Rogue wouldn't want knowing any intimate details about her, but when his Stripes had hugged him, pressing her face against the bare skin of his neck and then kissed his rough, bristly cheek before admitting, "Ah've been waiting ta' do that for a long tahme, Logan," he'd had to fight down the instinctive urge to snatch her up and grip her for all he was worth. All the kids were his to take care of, to train, to protect. And he cared about all of them. Rogue was one of his special ones, though. Very special. Watching her all this time while she struggled and kept trying with no significant success, seeing the hope dying off in her and wanting to do something to keep it alive even when he was doubting she'd ever get control himself, only to come here and protect her life then be hit with something like that…. It was all a bit much for the feral man.
The others had all continued talking while he'd dealt with his reactions. When he finally looked up from his studious contemplation of the jet's floor, he met Charles' eyes. "Her skin's so soft," he muttered low enough that only Charles and Hank heard.
Hank looked away, almost feeling as though he was intruding. Charles smiled with benign understanding. "It will mean a whole new life is possible for her now."
Logan dwelled on that simple sentence all the way back to the mansion and then as he sat in his room by the open window smoking his thick cigar. Analyzing it, turning it this way and that in his mind, it began sinking in just what kinds of possibilities his girl might be facing now. The first thing his mind accepted was that she wouldn't necessarily have to wear clothes the completely shielded her skin any more. First he was glad. It had always been difficult for him to watch her spending the hot months covered head to toe in layers, sweating it out while others went about their business wearing next to nothing.
That led to him realizing she'd maybe be able to wear her swimsuit out at the pool and beach like all the others. He smiled a tiny bit that things were finally going to be more normal for Rogue. Picturing her with all the others messing around in the pool next summer was what turned the tide. His scowl firmly in place he remembered just what those girls' swimsuits looked like. Those too-small, too-revealing scraps of fabric that made a handkerchief look gargantuan by comparison. Rogue was no Kitty. She wasn't built like Jubilee or little Rahne.
Immediately on the heels of these thoughts, his imagination began filling in the blanks. It suddenly started surrounding his imaginary Stripes with all the stupid guys filling this place. Guys with raging hormones. Guys with roving eyes and roaming hands. Guys that had always steered clear of Rogue out of a strong sense of self-preservation. Guys that would not have to keep their distance any more. Looking down, Logan realized his claws had burst forth without thought.
A sound at the doorway caught his attention and he glances over his shoulder to see Ororo standing there with her typical graceful dignity. "She's no naïve girl, Logan."
"No, but she is a lonely one. Stripes is hungry for all those things she's missed out on. That means she's more likely to make stupid decisions."
"They are her foolish choices to make, though," she countered.
"Maybe. But we're also supposed to be teaching these kids. She don't have anyone else and you'd better believe I'm not gonna sit by and watch her get hurt."
Ororo started to give another rebuttal, but realized that to a point he was right. Rogue was one of the rare students who'd never enjoyed any stabilizing influences or healthy guidance from a reliable source before joining them here. Wolverine wasn't the candidate most would pick for a young woman, but Storm knew the odd pair shared something special. She would do nothing to interfere. Not that it would do any good, regardless. Both Logan and Rogue were forces of nature that would do whatever they felt best with no concern for the attempted influence of others.
"Scott and Jean have left to return to her parent's home. We are having drinks and watching the news if you'd like to join us."
"Yeah, sounds alright. I'll be down in a few minutes." She left knowing he wasn't quite done brooding.
Remy returned to the house forcing himself to move at his usual speed rather than hurrying as he wanted. While it was obvious they'd changed their minds for whatever reason and let Rogue stay with him, he wouldn't feel positive of that fact until he saw her still there for himself. He covered the route easily, dodging low-hanging branches and clearing fallen trunks with the same easy grace that marked all his movements. He saw a group of men heading in the back door. Knowing there would be a debriefing and that he really should be there to fill in all the blanks for them, he knew he wouldn't pay any attention during the meeting if he didn't reassure himself first, so he clambered up the side of the house with a handy tree and some lattice for assistance. Rogue about jumped out of her skin when Remy's face loomed outside her locked window.
She quickly opened it for him, chastening him the whole time. "Ya're crazy! What if ya'd fallen? What are ya' doing out there anyway?" she wanted to know as she peered down at the ground that was far too long a drop for her comfort. Rogue turned to see him standing in the middle of her room. Something in his expression halted her words and had her staring back.
"I jus' needed t' be sure y' still here, chérie."
Rogue took one step closer to him, then jerked to a stop looking uncomfortable and twisting her fingers together in front of her. "Yeah, Ah'm still here. That's okay, rahght? Ah mean, Ah can call Logan an-," but Remy's speech overrode hers.
"No! Boo, dere's nowhere else I'd rather y' be."
Rogue blew out a relieved breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and gave him a tentative smile. "Okay. Good."
Now they both stood awkwardly not knowing what they could say or do that wouldn't be telling too much. Remy ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I gotta go t' de meetin' in mon pere's office."
"Right," she nodded, knowing he should have already been down there.
"Yeah," he asserted. Then he just awkwardly turned and started from the room. Then something occurred to him. "Y' ought t' come, too, y' know. Dis be a debriefing an' y' were dere wit' de rest o' us an' prob'ly know more 'bout it all dan I do."
Startled, she realized he was right. She nodded. "Right! Of course." She joined him and somehow by the time they reached his father's office downstairs their usual companionable ease with one another was back in place as though they'd never had those gauche minutes in her room.
Emerging from the meeting with the rest of the younger Guild members Rogue and Remy both felt more relaxed than they had since this whole thing started back at the Brotherhood house. For now anyway, they could let their guard down just a bit and not concern themselves so obsessively with their safety. The ruling council remained behind to discuss whatever it was ruling councils of Thieves' Guilds discussed while the younger future decision-makers decided what to do with themselves.
Later that evening Rogue laughingly made her way around the dance floor following Emil's lead as he moved them to the beat of the zydeco music. The hazy atmosphere, a result of those smoking, and the golden colored lighting gave the atmosphere in the club warmth and a sense of open, friendly hospitality that Rogue found to be the perfect compliment to her mood tonight. Add in Emil's humorous company and the fact that today she'd done something she'd never thought possible and it was a great day, all things considered. So, yeah… she'd almost been carted off as a prisoner of a man with more issues than most psychology books even covered who'd wanted to do who-knew-what with her and several of her friends. But, she'd gotten to remain with her best friend for the holidays, a big positive. She'd kicked Reaper around some, which was like an early Christmas gift. Yep, a good scuffle always made for a fun and satisfying time. And, most important, she'd touched Logan without hurting either of them at all.
Wow. That was huge. It was one of those big dreams she had. You know, the things you most want to do before you die but are pretty danged sure you'll never get to do. It was one of those. In fact, it was in the top five. And it was all she'd hoped for. Rogue's smile wouldn't be held in as she remembered the heated skin and corded muscles, the inherent strength even in his neck and the bristly face that should have scraped, and did a little bit, but not as much as one would think and offered as much softness as it did rough qualities. It was so perfectly Logan and she freely owned deep down that she loved the man. He was true family to her, which meant so much to someone so very alone in the world.
The music eased into the next number which was slower and almost sultry as it wound its languorous way through the crowd. Rogue's attention was drawn back to the present when she felt Emil releasing her only to have a different set of arms wrap tightly around her, pulling her close to the increasingly familiar muscles of her best friend. Remy let a barely-there smile flit over his lips which she returned before laying her head against his chest. Rogue's smile lingered as she took the opportunity to forget all the stupid turmoil and confusion this friendship was constantly battering her with and just basked in him holding her close.
Remy drew her just a little closer and rested his face against her hair as he led her through the song, giving himself over to the many sensations of having her in his arms. " 'm glad y' here, Boo."
"Me, too, Rems."