Thanks for all the reviews, you guys! Not to mention your patience :) With exams looming ahead I've been swamped lately, but I promise to keep finding time to work on this story ;) Just a couple things I thought I'd share...Rogue will eventually find some of the X-men. It will be a while before it happens, but she will see them again. Until then, she has Remy to keep her company ;) Hope you all enjoy the chapter!
~BQ

Chapter Thirty-Three:


Emerald eyes sparkled in front of her, sharp and intense.

The girl standing before her was tall and slender, and held herself with an air of strength and solid confidence. Her brown hair had been pulled up into a bun atop the crown of her head, letting the white tendrils fall softly around her face, framing the creamy complexion perfectly, and her ears were adorned with silver hoop earrings.

Rogue stared at her reflection for a moment longer, then looked away from the mirror, satisfied with her appearance.

"Y' look fine," Mercy assured her, smiling at her from across the room where she was searching through her closet for the perfect outfit. "Don' worry so much, hahn? It's jus' lunch."

"Easy fo' ya t' say," Rogue scoffed as she moved towards her. "Ya ain't the one who has t' go sit through lunch wit' ya boyfriend an' the woman he's betrothed t' in order t' try an' see if ya can't get her t' confess she's in love wit' someone else jus' so that ya can be wit' the man ya love."

"Touche," Mercy conceded. She flashed her a reassuring smile as she pulled out a pair of black jeans and a green short-sleeved top. "I'm sure dat t'ings will work out. Jus' try not t' worry y'self t' death, oui?"

"Ah'll try," Rogue answered dryly as she took the clothes Mercy held out to her and started for the changing screen in the corner.

"Bon. Y' do dat den," Mercy replied, dropping down onto the bed and grabbing a magazine that was laying on the nightstand.

Rogue shook her head in amusement as she slipped behind the screen and began to change. She liked Mercy LeBeau. The older girl was as stubborn as she was, and had a sense of humor almost as dry as her own. Like Remy said, Rogue thought with a grin. We make a good pair.

In the past few weeks that she had been in New Orleans, Mercy and she had become quite close. Rogue was grateful for her friendship, after losing the others she was grateful to have someone she could trust and be herself with. Rogue had even learned to like shopping, thanks to Mercy, and she found that she enjoyed the days when the two of them were able to head to the mall and scour the stores for hours on end.

She just wished that Kitty could have been there, too.

As she tugged the shirt on over her head, Rogue forced herself not to dwell on the sadness that thoughts of her best friend and roommate stirred within her. She couldn't wallow in grief forever, and she knew, with absolute certainty, that Kitty and the others wouldn't want her to.

That didn't make it any easier, though.

"You get y'self tangled up in dere o' somet'ing?" Mercy called sarcastically. "C'mon out o' dere. I wan' t' see how it looks on you."

"Ah'm comin', hold ya horses," Rogue called. She tugged the ends of her hair out of the shirt, and fingered the ends of the tresses thoughtfully. Her hair had grown out a lot since the last time she'd cut it, which had been back home, at the Institute, so many, many months ago. It hung down to her shoulder blades now, and she had toyed with the idea of cutting it a few times, but Remy had convinced her not to, saying he liked it long.

A smile crossed her lips, and Rogue decided she rather liked it long, too.

Stepping out from behind the screen, she glanced over at Mercy expectantly. "Well?" she asked. "What do ya think?"

Mercy let out a playful whistle. "Très gentil, mademoiselle. Très gentil."

Rogue blushed. "Thanks."

"Pas de probleme, Rogue," Mercy said with a grin. "I wish I could see Bella's expression when she meets you. Compared t' you, she's gon' look like a hag."

"Right," Rogue rolled her eyes. "Sure she will." She'd seen pictures of Belladonna Beaudrox, thanks to Henri, and she had to admit that the girl was beautiful. Thin and small with gorgeous blond locks and sapphire blue eyes. The kind of girl most guys would drool over.

The kind of girl Remy used to drool over.

Oddly enough, it was his memories of Bella that quelled her jealousy. Because while the piece of Remy that flitted at the farthest corner of her mind thought Bella was attractive, the love and devotion that swelled for her and her alone was undeniable.

"Don' you dare t'ink fo' even a moment dat Bella's got any'ting over you, Rogue," Mercy said firmly. "Yo' twice de woman dat Bella is, an' don' you fo'get dat. Lord knows dat Remy won'."

Rogue smiled at her friend, a surge of warmth rising in her chest. "Thanks, Mercy," she said softly. She captured the other girl's gaze with her own. "Fo' everyt'ing."

Mercy returned the smile warmly. "No need t' thank me, it's de truth." She winked at her as she rose from the bed and started towards the door. "'Sides, what are amis fo'?" She opened the bedroom door and bowed dramatically. "After you, mademoiselle."

Rogue chuckled. "Merci, Mercy."

Mercy made a face at the all-too familiar pun. "C'mon, let's get you down dere b'fore Remy starts t' sweat, hahn? Bet he's anxious t' get dis over wit'."

"He ain't the only one," Rogue muttered as she followed Mercy down the hall. The two girls made their way down the stairs that led to the kitchen, and Tante Mattie looked up from the dough she was kneeding on the counter to offer them a small smile as they entered the room.

"Dey out back in de courtyard," she told them.

"Jus' de two o' dem?" Mercy asked.

Mattie nodded. "Oui. Jean-Luc felt dat was best." Her gaze shifted to Rogue. "Remy be waitin' fo' you, chil'. Best you get out dere."

Rogue swallowed, and started for the back door. Mercy gave her an encouraging smile. "I'll be waitin' t' hear how it went."

"Wish me luck then," Rogue murmured.

"Luck!" Mercy called as she opened the door and stepped outside into the warm sunlight. Rogue rolled her eyes, then took a deep breath, and began to walk out of the shadows cast by the mansion, heading in the direction of the murmured voices coming from just around the hedge.

As the table swam into view, Rogue felt her breath fail her for a moment as she caught sight of Remy. He was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt that clung to his chiseled chest in a way that made him even more irresistible than he already was. His hair was ruffled, the slight breeze causing it to flutter around his face.

Her footsteps alerted them to her presence, and they both looked up as she drew near the table. Bella was wearing a pair of jeans and a purple top, her long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, eyes surrounded with a gentle dab of violet shadow. She was as pretty as Rogue had expected, maybe even more so.

"Rogue," Remy said with a smile, but he didn't rise to greet her or kiss her hand as he normally would have. Rogue wasn't offended, though, she understood why he couldn't. They had to play their cards right in order to pull this off, and there was no need to tilt their hand before it was necessary.

"Remy," Rogue replied, nodding curtly. She glanced at Bella, who offered her a polite smile. "Ya must be Belladonna," she said evenly. "Ah've heard a lot about ya."

"Don' listen t' dis scoundrel," Bella protested, jerking her elbow in Remy's direction. "Whatever he said, none o' it is true."

Rogue couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from curling up, but somehow she managed to keep herself from grinning.

"Bella, you wound me, chere," Remy said with a pout. Rogue wondered if he realized how sexy he looked when he did that. Knowing Remy, she figured he did. Remy gestured for Rogue to join them, and she lowered herself down into the extra chair beside him, making sure that there was enough space between the two of them.

Remy offered her a glass of lemonade and she flashed him a slight smile as she took it, sipping the cold liquid silently as she studied the posture of the two people seated beside her. Remy was relaxed, his composure that of a man in his own environment. Bella seemed a little uneasy, tapping her foot lightly under the table, as if she had somewhere else she would rather be at the moment.

Rogue hoped that she did.

Remy nudged her under the table, signaling that it was her show now. Rogue set down her glass and pressed down on the stone in her bracelet, then looked over at Bella. "Ah'm Rogue, by the way," she said, extending her hand across the table.

"Nice t' meet you, Rogue," Bella said, clasping her hand in her own.

Rogue winced slightly as her powers kicked in, and she hurriedly pulled her hand back as she felt the familiar tug of Bella's life force being absorbed into her skin. Bella's eyes fluttered closed for a moment, and Rogue watched anxiously, worried she might pass out, as Bella's memories flooded over her senses.

Rogue's head began to swim as faces and voices blurred together in her head. Flashes of Bella's childhood, of her brother Julien, of her father Marius. Fleeting images of her playing with children that seemed familiar. Her first kiss. The day she learned she was betrothed to Remy. Her seventeenth birthday party. Dancing with a dark haired boy. Kissing the dark haired boy.

"What happened?" Bella muttered, holding her head.

Remy glanced over at Rogue, and she focused on his concerned eyes, using them as her anchor to reality as she pushed Bella's memories to the back of her mind and let her own resurface. She gave him a slight nod to let him know she was okay, then reached under the table and pressed the stone on her bracelet again, turning her powers back off.

"You got dizzy, chere," Remy told Bella.

"No, ya didn't," Rogue said, and she ignored the surprised look Remy shot her way. She turned to meet Bella's inquisitive gaze. "Ah'm a mutant, jus' like Remy is." From Bella's memories, she knew that Bella already knew about Gambit's abilities. "Mah power is that Ah can absorb people's memories an' thoughts wit' a touch o' mah skin t' theirs."

Bella's eyes widened. "You mean..."

Rogue nodded. "Ah took a piece o' ya thoughts. Ah'm sorry. Ah really am. Ah hate usin' that power. But Ah needed t' do it, because it was the only way fo' us t' find out what we needed t' know."

Bella glared at her, and at Remy, her blue eyes narrowed. "Am' jus' what was it dat you wanted t' find out?"

"We wanted t' know if it was true about you an' Theo," Rogue replied honestly. Bella's face paled a shade or two. "Now Ah know that it was."

Beside her, Remy let out a soft sigh of relief at the words.

Bella, however, mistook his sigh to be of something else. "Remy, I... I'm sorry. I didn' mean fo' it t' happen. It jus' did. I'm still, I mean, I'm gon' be yo' wife, an' I promise t' be faithful t' you. You know I will. I-"

"Shhh, p'tite," Remy silenced her gently. "It don' matter. Remy's not upset."

Bella frowned, confused. "You aren't?"

"Non," Remy said. "I'm not. De t'ing is, you ain't de only one dat's found love outside o' dis arrangement, Bella. I have, too."

"Who...?" Bella trailed off, her eyes focusing on Rogue. "You? You're de one dat's stolen his heart?"

Rogue nodded, unsure what to expect. "Yeah, Ah reckon Ah am."

"Merde," Bella muttered. She raised her gaze to meet Remy's. "Mon pere is not gon' like dis. Any o' dis."

"I know dat," Remy said. "But I'm in love wit' Rogue, an' yo' in love wit' Theo. We can' help dat. Which is why I need yo' help."

"Oh?" Bella raised an eyebrow. "You got somet'ing in mind den, LeBeau? Some kind o' plan t' fix dis mess o' somet'ing?"

"O' somet'ing," Remy agreed with a nonchalant shrug. Both women gave him a curious look, but he didn't care to elaborate. "Jus' trust me, hahn?"

Rogue and Bella both groaned.

Remy scowled. "Don' you both rush t' vouch yo' faith in me all at once."

"Swamp rat," Rogue sighed, shaking her head. "Ah already told ya, Ah have plenty o' faith in ya. Don' make me repeat mahself, sugah."

Remy glanced at Bella expectantly. "What?" she demanded. "De last time you said "trust me" an' I listened, I wound up covered in mud an' grounded fo' a month."

"Do you wanna be wit' Theo?' Remy demanded.

"Oui," Bella answered softly. "I do."

"Den you gon' have t' trust me," Remy said. "Believe me, I want fo' de two o' you t' be t'gether. I wan' you both t' be happy. But more dan dat, I wan' de chance t' be wit' Rogue. An' de only way dat's gon' happen, de only way any o' dat is gon' happen, is if we all agree t' work t'gether on dis."

"What about Theo?" Rogue asked.

Remy grinned. "Theo won't object. He's got it bad fo' you, Bella," he nodded at the girl when she spoke. "An' he always does go along wit' my ideas."

"Even de bad ones," Bella muttered, and Rogue snickered softly.

"Emil will help out, too," Remy continued, ignoring them both. "Don' worry. De two o' you jus' sit back an' rest yo' pretty li'l heads, an' leave dis t' me an' de boys."

"Ya better pull this off, swamp rat," Rogue warned.

"Yeah," Bella agreed. "If not, vous êtes mort!"

"Damn right," Rogue nodded. "Ah'll help."

Bella glanced at her in surprise for a moment, then flashed her a conspiratory grin. "We'd take him down easily, non?"

"Between de two o' you an' Mercy," Remy drawled. "It's a wonder dat I'm still alive as it is."


Translations:

Bon- Good
Très gentil- Very nice
vous êtes mort- you're dead