Chapter 3:
Rogue pulled herself off the floor of the bathroom, she rinsed her mouth out in the sink. She refused to look at herself in the mirror, she didn't want to view herself after everything she just saw. After everything she showed the Professor. She could hear the voices louder now, she hummed to herself as she slammed her hands against her ears in a vain attempt at silence, she fought the urge to cry. The pain in her head became immense as she leaned against the bathroom wall for support.
"Rogue," a familiar voice brought her back to reality. When she opened her eyes Remy was standing in front of her. At the sight of the Cajun standing before her, Rogue felt her cheeks burn red as she remembered the dream she had just moments ago that the Professor observed.
"I have to get to school," Rogue moved quickly around Remy making a break for the front door.
"You should stay home today," Remy said, gripping her arm.
"I can't miss school," Rogue muttered, her back towards Remy.
"Everyone already left, cherie. You can make up the work, Chaton can bring it home for you. She knows your schedule, non?" Rogue shook her head in response.
"I'll walk."
"Rogue, it's raining." Remy's grip tightened slightly, "let me drive you." Rogue hesitated for a moment but she had already missed the first class of the day and she didn't want to stay in the mansion for another moment. She really didn't want to see the Professor right now but she didn't necessarily trust herself to look at Remy without giving something away.
"I can handle some rain." Remy let out a sigh as Wolverine rounded the corner.
"Stripes, Chuck said he's callin' you into school today." Logan's gruff voice caused Rogue to turn away from the front door. Remy dropped her arm without ever taking his eyes off of the girl.
"Logan, no! I can't miss any more days of school."
"Kitty will get your assignments for you. I already sent her a message to do so," Logan crossed his arms over chest. He wasn't in the mood to argue after watching Rogue collapse like that. At this moment, the only thing Logan wanted to do was some damage in the Danger Room. "Come on, up to your room. You need rest."
"God, Logan, do you not get it? I've already been held back. I can't give the school any reason to keep me from graduating!"
"Rogue, it's nearing the end of May. You haven't missed any days this year, graduation is on Saturday. They won't hold you back." Rogue let out a low growl.
"I cannot miss any fucking days. Logan, I have to go to school." Rogue moved around Remy towards the front door but stopped when Logan gripped her arm.
"Watch your language." The pair stared each other down. Remy looked between the two, while he agreed with Logan that Rogue needed rest there was no denying how important school was to his younger friend. Personally, he never cared for school. He never went nor did Remy entirely grasp the premise of public school - in his opinion it was a waste of an eight hour day. Despite his own feelings on the subject, however, it was clear that an education was important to Rogue. She studied constantly, reading whenever possible, and a big part of him wondered if she had planned on submitting college applications. Which might mean her leaving the institute.
"Rogue, this is not up for debate. Go upstairs and at least try to sleep, Storm will bring you some food in a bit." Rogue opened her mouth to argue further with her mentor but the look he sent her indicated that was not a smart decision at this time. With a low growl, Rogue turned on her heels and bounded upstairs nearly knocking into Hank McCoy as she went. Logan let out a deep sigh as Hank continued down the stairs and Charles wheeled his way into the foyer.
"How did it go with her training?" Hank asked excitedly.
"I believe our theories are correct," Charles spoke calmly. "She seems to be harboring some deep psychological issues and the multiple personalities she has absorbed over time do not seem to be helping things."
"What do you suggest we do?"
"I'd like to continue these sessions though after what I saw today I can't guarantee Rogue will be nearly as willing to participate in the practice."
"May I ask, what was that you saw? Anything of concern?" Hank was taking in all the information being provided at this moment. Remy could practically see the gears turning in his mind trying to come to some conclusion.
"I can't divulge specific details but I fear our young friend has severe abandonment issues. She fears us turning her back on her, hurting her friends, and she exhibited some violent ideals that I haven't quite figured out how to diagnose." Xavier paused for a moment. "Perhaps the best first step is to keep Rogue involved in activities she enjoys. Watching movies, working on the vehicles in the garage, anything you might think she would do as herself. With that being said, she needs to be alone as little as possible."
"So what," Remy chimed in. "You want the fille to have a babysitter?"
"Right now I am concerned that should she be left alone for far too long one of the many psyches fighting to take over her mind and body will officially succeed. She needs friends. She needs patience and loyalty."
"Well then, How about I take the first watch?" Remy made way to the stairs just as Logan gripped the back of his shirt pulling him back down.
"Oh no, Gumbo. You stay far away from her. She's confused enough without some playboy coming into her life trying to fuck things up even more."
"Excusez moi, monsieur claws," Remy retched his shirt out of the older man's hands. "If you haven't noticed, Roguey and I get along now. I have been here for almost a year."
"And in that year, how many nights have you come back smelling like booze and cheap perfume?"
"I don't see how that is any of your concern. What Remy does in his own time is his business. I have been through some pretty similar experiences as that fille and I will be damned if I let her continue going through this alone."
"You lay one hand on her and-"
"And she will take care of herself," Remy said seriously. At last Logan relented upon the pleading of the Professor to move on.
Remy found himself wandering towards Rogue's room an hour later with a bag of chips and a bottle of water. He knocked quietly on her bedroom door calling out to her and wasn't surprised to find no response. Bet the girl snuck out while the badger was down in the danger room, he thought to himself. After knocking once more and finding no response, Remy promptly let himself into the room to find the most unusual sight.
The balcony doors hung wide open allowing the freezing rain to downpour directly into the bedroom. There were clothes scattered throughout the room, nothing seemed to have a place. Rogue was usually so controlled, she always yearned to have everything exactly how she wanted it. Remy had been inside Rogue's bedroom several times in the past. Oftentimes when she would get home from school he would go into her bedroom to read or play solitaire while she focused on her studies. The pair found comfort knowing they could talk to one another or at least sit in a companionable silence.
"Rogue," Remy said. He shut the door firmly behind him so as not to raise suspicion should any of the team leaders come wandering down the hallway. He placed the chips and bottle of water on the nearby dresser and moved quickly across the room to close the balcony doors. When he turned back around to face the room he found Rogue sitting with her back against the bed and a bottle of liquor clutched in her hand. "Hey cherie," Remy said, taking a seat beside her.
Rogue didn't speak at first. She offered Remy the bottle once he was seated beside her and the pair drank in companionable silence for sometime. Remy could feel the cold radiating off of Rogue, a big part of him wanted to reach out and hold her just to make sure she wouldn't get sick. Instead, he opted for pulling a blanket from her bed to wrap around her shoulders. When she didn't acknowledge the gesture by doing more than requesting the bottle back, Remy handed the item over and went to retrieve the chips and bottled water.
"You wanna tell Remy why you decided to make a rainforest in your bedroom?" He opened the bag of chips and held the bag out as an offering.
"It was too warm in here."
"Since when does mon river rat not like the heat?" Rogue attempted to send him her best death glare but the look fell flat. "You wanna tell me what happened with the Prof today?"
"Not really, no." Rogue moved to take another drink but Remy stopped her first.
"Tell you what," he said, standing once more to lock her bedroom door and shut the lights off. Remy lit the candles that Rogue had scattered around her bedroom and took a seat in front of her. "Let's play a game."
"What kind of game?" Rogue asked, her voice laced with skepticism.
"You tell me one of your secrets and I tell you one of mine."
"Oh come on-"
"I'm serious. Friends tell each other things. Every time you answer a question honestly you can have a drink. It's just after ten o'clock now so the kiddies won't be home any time soon and I already told Stormy I'd bring you some food so she won't be botherin' us any time soon." Rogue pondered his proposal for a moment before nodding her head in agreement.
"Fine, but you have to answer honestly too!" Remy chuckled lightly at her childlike outburst.
"Alright then, why don't you go first? Ask me anything you like."
"How many people have you kissed?" Remy thought for a moment before letting out a massive sigh.
"In all honesty, I have no idea. I've been around girls since I was about twelve years old." Remy took a swig of the liquid before passing it off to Rogue. "What's your favorite food?"
Rogue laughed slightly, "that's your big question?"
"Oui." Remy said matter-of-factly.
"Um, I don't know, that jambalaya we had down in New Orleans last year was pretty damn good." Remy let out a low laugh.
"Maybe I'll make you some sometime, eh?" Rogue took a drink and agreed as she handed the bottle back.
"Why did you come to the institute?"
"You've asked me that before. You sure you want to waste your turn on that?"
"I've asked but you've never given me a real answer. You can't lie now or give me vague responses." Remy sighed, relenting.
"Things back home got bad fast after you went back with the X-Men. I couldn't stay there. I watched everything that happened with you and Apocalypse and the next thing I know I am on my bike riding at 90 miles per hour to get to New York. I just," he paused for a moment allowing his eyes to meet Rogue's. "I just wanted something worth fighting for. I wanted to right my wrongs."
"I know that feeling," Rogue muttered as Remy took a drink. The two passed the bottle back and forth for sometime. Some questions ranged from favorite animals to favorite bands while others were far more intimate. At last, the bottle was near completion and Rogue's words had begun to slur.
"What's one thing you've always wanted to do?" Remy asked quietly. Rogue stared at him for a moment gauging his words.
"I want to have a real kiss," Rogue said and then laughed. "How pathetic of me right? You can't even tell me how many women you've had and I've never had so much as a real kiss." Remy didn't find the situation amusing at all. He watched as Rogue silently berated herself in an intoxicated state before concocting a plan.
"Rogue," Remy spoke softly. When she turned to look at him, he cupped her face gently in one hand and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss lasted for a short lived moment but the fireworks existed nonetheless. Rogue was the one to deepen the kiss by knotting her hands in his hair and pulling him closer. She moaned deeply as his tongue begged for entry into her mouth. The two broke apart when Jean knocked on the bedroom door.
"Rogue?" Jean called from the otherside. "I was wondering if you'd want to watch a movie with me or something?"
"Uh, n-no. No thank you. I'm going to take a shower and sleep a little longer." Once the pair heard her footsteps from down the hall Remy spoke first.
"How did you do that?"
"I don't know."
"You didn't absorb me."
"I know. I mean, I haven't used my powers since Apocalypse but I don't think they just went away."
"Maybe it was something the Professor said. That theory on fear seems to make sense." Rogue nodded. "You wanna try that again?" Before Rogue could respond, Logan pounded at the bedroom door. Remy slipped out onto the rainy balcony with the empty whiskey bottle before the bedroom door could open.
"What's going on in here?" Logan's gruff voice asked.
"Nothing Logan, I was getting ready to take a shower and sleep a while longer."
"Hmpf. Likely story. Why do I smell liquor?" Rogue tried her best to keep her cool disposition but Logan could see right through her. "We kept you home from school to rest not get trashed! Where did you get the stuff? Where is it now?"
"Logan, I don't know what you're talking about."
"The hell you don't. Danger Room session with me, every night indefinitely. Two sessions a day, every day. You know the rules of alcohol on campus. Especially as a minor."
"I'm not a minor! I might be a senior but damn it Logan I'm eighteen!" Rogue could hear her own words slur as she spoke and knew that this argument was pointless. She was caught and now she would suffer the consequences.
"Well I'd suggest getting some coffee, a bite to eat, and a cold shower because your session starts at seven o'clock tonight." With that, Logan turned and left the room slamming the door behind him.