Author's Note: *whimpers* I'm just gonna FORGET Remy's accent for the most part. I can't do it, no no no!
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Wish I did, but I don't.
"Rogue! I heard something break, are you alright?" One look at the distraught young woman told Hank that his suspicions were correct, that Rogue still blamed herself for Remy's leaving the X-Men. With one long, graceful stride he stood beside her, his large blue hand engulfing her smaller ones.
"I still remember his face, Hank! He looked as if I was Logan and had stabbed a hole in him! Why didn't I believe him? Why!?" Burying her face in her friend's blue fur, Rogue's sobs eventually died down to great gulping hiccups. At least she could do this without killing him. That was one thing to appreciate.
"You have to let him go Rogue. If you keep this up you're going to kill yourself. You haven't eaten since you came back to the mansion, which was three days ago. Come. Eat." At his kind urging she smiled, took a shaky breath, stood, and walked from the room and spunkily and she could manage with so many unspilled tears. Sighing, Hank rose and followed her.
"Hey guys, w-whats up?" Storm looked at her friend with some concern at the hoarse quality of her voice, but gave her a small smile in return.
"It's been pretty quiet ever since the riot for everyone else, but I've been working to restore the grounds ever since we herded them out. Care to help me trim the broken roses?" Ororo queried.
"I'd love to."
***
Two weeks later
"Merde. This ain't good" he muttered as he watched Ororo, Jubilee and Rogue gardening, talking like old times. But he didn't want them to be talking like old times, he needed to talk to Storm alone. Ask her if Rogue was ok, where she had been… and why in hell she was walking around in a revealingly tight T-shirt and shorts.
Deciding on eavesdropping on their conversation to see if he could find out what had happened in the last two years, the lanky Cajun licked his lips and slipped closer.
"You mean you still haven't slept with a guy now that you can?" Jubilee's eyes were wide with something she could just not comprehend and Rogue was almost doubled over in laughter. Well, that was a good thing. No, it would only be a good thing if they were together. And they weren't. So there was no way in hell in mattered.
"Come on Jube, you know me, that I wouldn't just sleep with some random guy for my first time." She poked her friend's arm kiddingly. That was even better to know. If they were a couple. And they weren't. So it didn't matter.
Suddenly his dazed mind caught hold of Jubilee's words. Now that you can. She can touch now. Her skin's not deadly. He didn't know how or why, but all that mattered was that either he powers were gone or severely under control. Easy boy, he told himself sternly, and slipped away, which was lucky or unlucky depending on how you looked at it.
"So. I knew it, you're waiting for Gambit!" Jubilee grinned wickedly. A couple of weeks ago Wolverine would have cut her throat for mentioning him, knowing that he too contributed to Remy leaving, and wanting to protect one of his closest friends. But they had managed to get Gambit out of her mind, and Rogue was doing much better. "Hank owes me some money" At this she grinned maliciously.
"No, I'm not!" Rogue shrieked in surprise. "And you BET on if I was waiting for Remy?!?!" She added as an afterthought.
"I hate to leave you two, but I really must head in for the day." Storm said, yawning, leaving Jubilee and Rogue.
"Then prove it." She grinned. "Come on Rogue, let's go live up to your name. Let's go party." Rogue stared at her in intense surprise.
"I told you, I'm not going to start sleeping around just because I can! In any case, I'm tired too." With this she rose and walked briskly after Storm, leaving her friend chuckling.
"Yup, I was right, she is waiting for him"
***
Two days later
"Jubes! Where you been?" Rogue demanded as her friend straggled in. "The Professor was so close to freaking out it scared everyone half to death! He never freaks! Where the hell have you been!"
Without speaking Jubilee gave a strange lopsided grin and patted Rogue's head with a gloved hand. "Making up for everything you can do now but won't because of that stupid Cajun"
Glaring at the other girl she spun and walked off, teeth grating against each other. Why in the world was Jubilee so damn anxious to get her into a bed with some guy? Another bet? Or just to see if she could? Angry at one of her friends for the first time since she returned, she fled outside and sat among the plants, enjoying the serenity. Suddenly, she stiffened. Somebody was here. She was no Wolverine, but she had enough common sense to suddenly feel a new presence.
"Who's there?" She called out, praying it was just Logan or Scott or…
And whoever it was was then gone without a trace.
***
Why hadn't he had enough willpower just to say that he was there, that he was sorry, and that he'd be leaving? Why was he risking his ass hanging around here day and night if he wasn't gonna make his presence known?