05

Disclaimers in Chapter One…

*** *** ***

Remy came in with Lila almost everyday the next week, and Rogue found herself actually taking Elaine up on her offers to switch stations whenever Remy sat in hers. Remy hadn't been able to look Rogue in the eye ever since the conversation they'd had in the kitchen, and that, coupled with the smug looks Lila was always giving her, was more than Rogue could take.

Friday nights were always the busiest at Jacques's, and Rogue tended to work the latest—and rowdiest—shift. That Friday was no exception, will all the regulars talking and drinking until all hours of the night. Usually, Rogue enjoyed herself, the atmosphere making it feel less like work, and more like a party. This week was different, however, since apparently Lila and Remy had completely forgotten about the earlier incident at the night club. Every time Rogue walked past, she saw them falling all over each other, being so affectionate it made her stomach churn.

"I'm not jealous," she kept telling herself. "I'm not jealous."

Rogue sighed, knowing that was a lie. Even when most of the people had gone and she was starting to clean up, Lila and Remy were still there. "I wish they'd just go home," she muttered.

"You don' like watchin' Remy an' Lila so happy, chère?"

Rogue jumped, startled. She turned around. "Dammit, Julien, don't sneak up on me like that."

"I'm sorry, chère. Didn't realize you were watchin' dem t'de point you lost touch wit' de rest of de world."

"I didn't," Rogue said angrily. "An' I'm not watchin' anybody. I'm cleanin'."

Julien reached out and stroked her cheek. "We bot' know dat ain't true, petite. You were watchin' Remy, wishin' dat was you in his arms, not Mademoiselle Cheney."

"That isn't what I want."

Julien moved in closer to her. "Dat's not true, I can tell. I know de look of a woman in love. Come home wit' me t'night, chère. I'll make you forget all about LeBeau."

Rogue looked over at Remy, wanting him to notice how close to her Julien was, wanting him to react the way he had the first time he had seen Julien hit on her. But Remy didn't look over there, too wrapped up in Lila to see Rogue. Rogue looked up in to Julien's crystal-blue eyes. She needed comfort, and that was what he was offering. Would it be so wrong to accept? It wasn't like she'd be going in with the delusion that Julien Crevecoeur was going to love her forever…

"Just let me finish my shift, and then we can go," she said, her voice almost a whisper.

Julien leaned down and kissed Rogue's forehead. "Don' keep me waitin' long, chère."

Remy watched Rogue as she finished her cleaning, told Elaine she was going to leave, then walked out of the restaurant with Julien, his arm draped casually around her waist. He moved away from Lila. "I'm tired. Lets' go home."

He didn't even wait for her to respond as he got up and left.

*** *** ***

Rogue lay beside Julien, hating herself for what she'd just done. She'd thought that maybe a night with Julien could make her forget, at least for a little while. That it could make her forget Remy, forget Logan.

It hadn't. She remembered all too well. And now she had sex with Julien as something to add to her list of things to forget. He'd been anything but a considerate lover, concentrating solely on himself and the act of conquest. The very thought of it made Rogue nauseous.

"At least it was over quickly," she thought.

Rogue climbed out of the bed as quietly as she could, now glad for his loud snoring, since it let her know that he was still asleep. She found her clothes and put them back on, grateful for the fact that they were at his house, not hers, and she had insisted on following him in her car, not driving over together in his. At least she could make a quick getaway.

She sneaked out of his house and drove back to her apartment, hoping that with a shower and some sleep she could forget that night had ever happened.

*** *** ***

When the phone rang a few hours later, Rogue had the urge to kill whoever was on the other end of the line. She'd finally fallen asleep, and for a little while had actually been able to forget. Now, she was miserably conscious again.

She picked up the phone. "Yeah?"

"Marie?"

Rogue felt her heart stop. "How…how did you get this number?"

"Jeannie had it."

"Jean gave you my phone number?"

"No. It was layin' on her desk down in the lab."

"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to go through other people's stuff?"

"Marie, please, I just want to talk to you."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you, Logan."

"I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry…"

Rogue fought the sudden urge just to forgive him and go back to Westchester to try with him one more time. As tempting as it was, she knew if she did that, she'd only be setting herself up to be hurt all over again. "I'm sorry, too, Logan, but this is the way it has to be. We can't be together. It doesn't work."

"But it can work! I know I didn't do you right in the past, darlin', but I can work on that. I can settle down. I'm here at the mansion now, even told Chuck I'd teach gym. I lost everything that meant somethin' to me when you walked out. I need you, Marie. Please, just come home, come home to me."

The sound of Logan actually begging almost made Marie give in, but she couldn't let herself trust him. It reminded her so much of what he'd said to her in the past, when he'd wanted her to come back to him. "I'm sorry, Logan, but home for me just isn't where you are anymore."

"Marie, no, please…"

"I'm sorry, Logan."

"Marie…"

Rogue hung up the phone and unhooked it from the jack, not trusting herself to keep from changing her mind if she heard Logan call back.

*** *** ***

Rogue walked into work that night, drenched from the storm that was raging outside. Her face was tear-stained, and her hair and clothes were a mess. Elaine came running over to her as soon as she saw Rogue come into the building.

"Rogue! What's wrong?" she asked. "Is it Julien? I…I saw you go home wit' him last night."

Rogue shook her head. "It was, but I don't care one way or another about him now." She took a deep breath. "Logan called me this mornin'."

'Logan? What did he want?"

Rogue started crying again. "He still loves me. He…he asked me to come home."

"You gonna go, Rogue?"

"Part of me wants to, but I can't. Logan would only hurt me again in the end, I know he would."

"Rogue, why don't you jus' go back to your apartment. I can call one of de ot'er girls t'come in an' work your shift."

"I...I don't know…I…"

"Rogue, you're in no shape t'be waitin' tables. Jus' go home, get some sleep. It'll be okay. You're strong. You can get t'rough dis. You can survive wit'out Logan."

Rogue nodded numbly. "Thank you, Elaine."

Elaine leaned forward and gave Rogue a hug. "You're gonna make it Rogue, I promise."

*** *** ***

Rogue was about ten miles down the road when the check engine light came on. Another two, and her car was dead. She managed to pull it off to the side of the road, but she was still stranded. She grabbed her purse and started searching for her cell phone. Then she remembered leaving it to charge earlier and never taking it off.

"Dammit!" she yelled. Rogue slumped back in her seat. It was still pouring down rain and now she was stranded on the side of the road. Just then, a car pulled over in front of her. A tall figure got out and walked over towards her door. She looked at him, and could not believe her eyes. "Remy?" she said, getting out of the car.

"In de flesh. You got problems?"

"Yeah, my car just died," she said, although somehow Remy being there made the fact that she was now soaking wet and standing next to her broken car not quite so bad.

"C'mon, I live right up de street. You can dry off dere, an' I know someone who can take care of your car."

"Thank you, Remy."

He just nodded and headed towards his car. She followed him. They made the ride to his house in silence, and Remy didn't say anything at all until they got inside. "Wait here," he said, shutting the door. "I'll get you some dry clot'es." Remy disappeared into another part of the house and came back a few minutes later with a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. "Here. Dis should fit you. De bat'rooms down de hall. You can change in dere and use de towels t'dry off some." Then he went back into the bedroom to change his own clothes.

Rogue walked into the bathroom, wondering at Remy's cold attitude towards her. She knew they hadn't exactly been on the best of terms ever since that night at the club, but she hadn't expected him to act quite like this. She dried off, then changed into the clothes he had given her, trying to ignore the way it made her feel to think about the fact that she was wearing his clothes.

When she went back into the living room, Remy was on the phone, talking in Cajun French. He talked for a few more minutes before hanging up the phone and turning around to look at Rogue. "Dat was T-Luc. He'll take care of your car. Don' worry about a t'ing, okay?"

Rogue nodded. "Thank you."

Remy looked her over, and she could see pain in his expression. "Why'd ya do it, chère?" he asked softly after a moment.

His tone cut Rogue deep. She hadn't heard that much aching in his voice before, not even when Lila had gone off with that other man. "Do what, Remy?" she asked.

"Go off wit' Julien. You tol' Remy dat you jus' wanna be alone, den you went off wit' Julien. Dat hurt, Rogue."

Rogue felt even more ashamed than before for her night with Julien. "I'm…I'm sorry, Remy. I didn't even think you noticed."

"I noticed."

"Julien was a mistake."

"Dat's statin' de obvious," Remy muttered. He looked up and into Rogue's eyes. "You're better dan dat, chère, better dan de type of woman dat would jus' spend a night in Julien Crevecoeur's bed. Or at least I t'ought ya were."

Rogue sat down on the couch, burying her face in her hands. "I am Remy. God, I don't know why I did that. And I'm sorry that I hurt you when I went off with Julien, it's just well, I do like you Remy, I'm just so afraid…"

Remy sat down beside her and took her hands in his so he could see her face. "Afraid of what, Rogue?"

"Afraid of lettin' someone in just to have them leave me alone again."

"Who hurt ya dat much, chère? Tell Remy 'bout it."

Rogue wiped the tears away from her eyes. " Do you really want to hear my sob story?"

"Go ahead, get it out. I'll listen, chère."

"My mother left me first. Or forced me to leave, rather. See, we were really close. I was born in Mississippi, near the river. My daddy was a drunk, and when I was six, Mama left him and took me to Meridian, where I grew up. She didn't get married again until I was thirteen, and for that whole time in between there it was just the two of us.

"My mother was my best friend, and I never thought she'd turn her back on me, but after she found out I was a mutant, well…" Rogue paused for a second, taking a deep breath before continuing. "She tried to blame it on Joe, my step-father. She said he wanted me to leave, didn't want a mutant around. But I know she really felt the same way. I could see the fear in her eyes. She kicked me out when I was seventeen, with nothin' but a duffle bag and a wad of bills that didn't last me any time at all."

"Rogue…I…wow. What did ya do?"

"Well, it's sort of a long story, but I ended up at this place called Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester, New York. It was there that I got to know Logan. I was young and in love, and he seemed so wonderful. But he hurt me over and over again, and I'm so afraid that if I let myself fall for anyone ever again, he'll do to me what Logan did."

Remy gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "Chère, I won't hurt you like dey did, I promise. You mean somet'ing to me. From de first moment I saw you I could tell you were somet'ing special, and de more I've gotten t'know you, de more I've realized how true dat is. And when I kissed you on de dance floor it was more den me tryin' t'make Lila jealous. I wanted t'kiss you, wanted t'know what it was like t'hold ya in my arms. I t'ink mebbe I'm fallin' in love wit' you, Rogue."

"Marie."

"What?"

"My name's Marie."

"Marie. Dat's pretty." He grinned at her. "French, non?"

Marie blushed a little. "Yeah, it is."

Remy reached up and ran his hand through the front of her hair. "Très belle," he murmured.

Rogue blushed harder. "Remy…" She tried to come up with something, anything, that would give her a reason to end whatever it was that was starting right then. "You're with Lila."

He moved closer, and she could tell he was going to kiss her. "Forget Lila. I'd take you over her any day, chère."

"Remy, we…"

He silenced her with a kiss, pulling her against him and making her melt in his arms. She moaned against his mouth, and he pulled her up so she was sitting in his lap. After a moment, he moved his lips so he was kissing her against her neck and collar bone. "Do you want this, chère?"

All she could do was moan "yes."

He picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist. "Bedroom?" he asked, wanting to make sure one more time that she was okay with what was happening.

"Remy LeBeau, if you take me anywhere else right now, I'd have to kill ya."

He smiled and carried her off.

*** *** ***

Remy held her in his arms, trembling as he placed tender kisses on her hair. "I love you," he whispered, pulling her closer.

Rogue froze. Love? No, he couldn't love her. She couldn't love him. She had thought for a moment that she'd be able to move on with Remy, to have a relationship, but she knew it wouldn't be possible. It would turn out badly. All her attempts at love did. She lay there in his arms, relishing the feel of his warm, strong body and wishing it could be real to her.

Eventually she slid out of his arms, hoping she could get away before he woke up and convinced her to stay. She went into the bathroom and slipped on her wet clothes, not wanting the comfort of Remy's warm clothes.

Rogue stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. "Sneaking out of a guy's house two nights in a row, Marie," she scolded herself. "And not even the same guy both times…" 

She started to leave then, but knew she had to leave something, something that maybe could make it okay. She found a piece of paper and scribbled on it, "I'm sorry, I just can't," and left it on his bedside table.

She walked about a mile up the road to a gas station and called Jacques's. Elaine answered.

"Hey, 'Laine, it's Rogue."

"Rogue? What's goin' on? You sound upset…"

"I'm at a gas station—the Shell station down the road."

"Rogue, why are you at de Shell station?"

"It's a long story—but basically, my car broke down and then I slept with Remy."

"You what!?"

"I told you, it's a long story."

"You need me t'come get you, Rogue?"

"Please."

"I'll be dere in a few moments. You gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine."

"Be right dere, Rogue."

The phone clicked and Rogue hung up her end. She sat down on the curb and waited for Elaine.

*** *** ***

"Okay, so explain t'me how your car breakin' down leads t'you sleepin' wit' Remy," Elaine asked once she had Rogue in her car.

"I'm not quite sure. He found me on the side of the road and then took me back to his place. One thing led to another, and well, we ended up sleepin' together."

"So why aren't you still dere? Did he make ya leave?"

"No. Actually, he said he loves me."

"He what! Rogue, why did you leave? Remy wouldn't have said dat unless he meant it. He never even tol' Lila he loved her."

"What? How do you know that?"

"He tol' me. Said she got mad because he wouldn't say it, but he couldn't tell her unless he knew it was absolutely true."

"But he's known her for years, and he's only known me a couple of months…"

"Rogue, you're eit'er in love, or you're not. Wit' you he is, wit' Lila, he's not."

Rogue stared at the window and away from Elaine. "Can we just talk about something else?"

"Yeah, sure." After a couple of minutes of silence, Elaine switched on the radio.

"You listen to talk radio?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Always pictured you as more of a country fan."

Elaine wrinkled up her nose. "Ew. No, I like t'keep up wit' de world. Not much happens here."

Rogue laughed. "True, but that's one of the things I like about this place."

"And in other news, convicted mutant terrorist Erik Lehnsherr, also known as Magneto, escaped from prison today. His accomplices are believed to be two dangerous mutants, known as Mystique and Sabretooth…"

"What!" Rogue screamed. "No! Tell me I did not just hear that!"

"Rogue, are you okay?"

"No! Magneto cannot be out! He was in a maximum security prison! Why didn't they watch him better! Didn't they know how badly he wanted out? And Mystique!? Did they just let her walk in, I mean, she can shape-shift, so weren't they keeping an eye out for that?"

"What are ya talkin' about?"

"Do you remember hearin' a few years back about Magneto attacking the UN conference and trying to mutate the world leaders?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember how the news reports said than an unidentified mutant girl was in the center of the machine he was usin'?"

"Yes."

"That was me."

Elaine's eyes grew wide, and she had to remind herself she was driving. "Dat was you?"

"Yep."

"Mon Dieu, no wonder you're freakin' out."

"Why can't anything go right for me?" Rogue asked. "The past two days have been terrible, and now this. Dammit, I'm probably gonna have to go back to Westchester now."

"Why?"

"Because I don't have any assurance that Magneto won't come after me again. There are these people back in Westchester—the X-Men—they can keep me safe."

"De X-Men? I've heard of dem. Some mutants call dem saviors, say dey protect dose dat no one else will."

"I'm one of them," Rogue said. "Or at least I was."

"Wow. Dere's a lot we don' know about you."

"I'm a rogue. My life's full of secrets."

*** *** ***

Elaine dropped Rogue back off at her apartment, and she immediately called the mansion.

"Xavier Institute, Scott Summers speaking."

"Scott, it's Rogue."

"Rogue! Did you hear about Magneto?"

"Yes. That's why I'm callin'. Do I need to come back to Westchester?"

Scott thought for a second. "I don't think you need to right away. We're still not sure what Magneto's up to, and he's probably going to need some time to regroup. Just keep in touch with us, and we'll let you know if you need to come back up here."

"Good. I'd really rather stay here for as long as I can."

"I know."

"Keep me informed, Cyclops."

"I will, Rogue."

*** *** ***

Remy wasn't even sure why he went back to Jacques's the next day, except maybe that it was where he always went. He knew Rogue would probably be working, and he wasn't sure if he had the strength to face her after what had happened the night before.

But the person he really didn't want to face was Lila.

"Where the hell have you been, LeBeau? I've been trying to call you all day."

"What are you doin' here, Lila?" Remy asked, obviously annoyed. "You never jus' come here wit'out me."

"I was looking for you. What, are you avoiding me now?"

"Honestly, yes."

"What?!" Lila yelled. "How can you be avoiding me?"

Remy didn't even bother getting up from his seat. How could he have not realized just how much her voice tended to grate on his nerves before. "Because I wanted to figure out de best way to dump ya before I saw you again."

"You wanted to what? You can't dump me, Gambit."

"I can, and I am."

She crossed her arms in front of her and glared at him. "Why?"

"I don' love you."

"When did you care about love, Remy?"

"When I found it. I'm in love wit' Rogue, Lila."

Lila said nothing, but just reached across the table and slapped Remy as hard as she could before storming out of the restaurant.

"Dat looked like it hurt."

Remy looked up. "Oh. Hey, Elaine. Rogue workin' tonight?"

"Yeah, but she's hidin' in de kitchen hopin' you'll go away."

Remy sighed. "Merde, what did I do?"

"She's jus'…relationship shy," Elaine said, sitting down beside Remy.

"I know dat. She tol' me last night. But I guess I figured dat I could help her wit' dat. I love her, Elaine."

"Dat's what Rogue tol' me—dat you love her. She's, well, emotionally unstable. Go talk t'her. Mebbe ya can convince her dat you're gonna stick around."

"Ya t'ink she'd listen?"

"You won't know unless ya try, Remy. Go talk to her."

"Okay."

"Good luck."

Remy patted Elaine's hand. "T'anks, chère."

*** *** ***

"Rogue?"

Rogue froze. What was Remy doing in the kitchen? "Remy."

Remy reached out and took hold of her shoulder, turning her around to face him. "Why did you leave me last night, chère?"

Rogue tried to steady her emotions, not wanting the pain in Remy's eyes and voice make her fall. "I'm sorry. I just…can't."

"Dat's what de note said, and I still don't understand why you can't. An' please don' tell me it's because of Logan."

"Part of it is…"

"Marie…"

Rogue felt the last of her resolve slipping when he said her real name. "Remy…"

Remy grabbed her and kissed her, not letting her go until she responded to his touch. "Tell me you want dis, Marie," Remy said as he pulled away. "Tell me you want me."

"Remy, I…"

Before Rogue had a chance to respond, someone screamed from the main part of the restaurant. The scream was followed by a roar, and Rogue froze. "I know that sound."

"Rogue?"

"It's Sabretooth."

"Who?"

Suddenly, the door flung open, and a huge, hairy man came bounding in. "There you are," Sabretooth growled at Rogue. Rogue screamed, and Remy immediately moved to put her behind him, three cards appearing in his hands seemingly from thin air.

"I don' t'ink so, Kitty-Cat."

Sabretooth growled, fangs glistening, but Remy stood his ground. "Remy, get outta here," Rogue said from behind him. "He's gonna kill you."

"I'm not lettin' him get you, chère."

"So this is your man now, Rogue?" Sabretooth teased. "And all this time I thought you were Logan's piece of ass."

Gambit charged the cards he'd been holding, and threw them at Sabretooth, hitting him in the eyes. Sabretooth roared and lunged blindly towards Gambit and Rogue.

"Run, chère," Gambit said.

"Remy, I can't leave you!"

"Go! I'll be fine."

Rogue knew Remy was right, that she had to get out of there. She nodded and ran out of the kitchen, praying that Remy would indeed be fine. However, she ran straight to Magneto, who was waiting for her with a rag dipped in chloroform. He grabbed her and covered her nose and mouth until she slumped in his arms.

"Creed, come on, we've got her!" Mystique yelled as soon as she saw that Magneto had gotten Rogue unconscious.

Back in the kitchen, Gambit heard Mystique as well. "Non," he mumbled, his concentration breaking. Sabretooth used the distraction to knock Gambit hard across the face, sending him into a wall. Gambit could feel his consciousness slipping away, but he forced himself to stay awake and stand up instead. He had to save Rogue.

Gambit pulled his bo staff out of his duster pocket and ran at Sabretooth with the and pushed the staff into the monster's chest, inches away from his heart. Sabretooth gave a roar and smacked Gambit again, this time knocking him out.

Sabretooth pulled Gambit's bo from his chest and threw it down to the ground. His wound already healing, he went back out into the restaurant, where frightened customers were hiding under tables hoping these strange people wouldn't kill them.

"Took you long enough," Mystique snapped.

Sabretooth just growled at her as he took Rogue from Magneto, threw her over one shoulder, and walked out.

*** *** ***

When Remy came to, Elaine, Jacques, and Trixie were all crouched around him. He blinked a few times, bringing the world into focus. "Where's Rogue?" he asked.

"Dey got 'er," Jacques said with remorse.

"Did dey kill 'er?"

"I don't t'ink so," Trixie said. "I t'ink dey jus' knocked her out. Dey took her wit' dem."

Gambit hung his head. "I should've been able t'protect her."

"Remy, dose people meant business. Dere was no way ya coulda saved Rogue from dem," Jacques said.

Remy forced himself to stand up, ignoring the pain. "I gotta find her. Who knows what dose bastards'll do t'her."

"Ya can't jus' go look for her," Jacques said. "You have no idea where she is."

"I do," Elaine said.

Remy turned to face her. "Where?"

"Dose people dat took her—dey were Magneto an' his people. Rogue tol' me she's part of de X-Men, an' dat Magneto kidnapped her once. Almost killed her."

Remy's face turned ashen. "I have to get to her den. Dey might try t'kill her again."

"I agree we got t'do somet'ing, Remy, but what? Dese people, dey're maniacs. What can you do?"

"I gotta find de X-Men," Remy said. "I've heard of dem before—secretive mutant group dat works t'help fight terrorists and push pro-mutant legislation, or somet'ing like dat. If Rogue was one of dem, dey'll know what to do t'help her."

"But no one knows where de X-Men are," Elaine said.

"Rogue tol' me she spent some time at some place in Westchester, New York. If she was an X-Man, den dat's probably where dey're headquartered," Remy said.

"What are ya gonna do about it, t'ough?" Trixie asked.

"I'm gonna go dere an' try t'find de X-Men, let dem know dat Magneto's got Rogue, an' hopefully help dem save her."

"Dat's an awfully broad plan, Remy. An' a little rash. How you know dey're in Westchester?" Elaine asked.

"I'm just gonna have t'take de chance," Remy said as he started to run off. "Dat is what I'm best at, after all."

*** *** ***

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