Chapter 5, "C'est L'Amour"
By: RogueBHS
A/N: After another short un-asked for vacation, my muse has returned. Thankfully. LOL. I want to give a BIG thank you to those who have been reviewing on this story, the praise is much appreciated. If you have a view of Rogue and Storm's relationship that you'd like me to play with, PLEASE email me or IM me. Also, I must thank Randi for kicking my muse back into high gear. Hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it. :) By the way, the chapter title, "C'est L'Amour" is French for "That's Love."
The day was gorgeous, simply gorgeous. Ok, so it was over ninty degrees out. So what? If you're having a pool party that is. The sun was out, warming the skin of those who were taking time to enjoy the day...including the residents of the Xaiver mansion.
Logan, clad simply in a pair of denim cut-offs, manned the grill, churning out burgers, hot dogs or chicken to the others. Over by the pool, the four women were stretched out on lounge chairs, tanning and talking. Jean, Ororo and Betsy were all three in bikini's of their trademark colors, but Rogue...Rogue had shocked everyone. For years she had worn either a thin wetsuit or a one-piece with a pair of leggings. Not today.
And it wasn't green or gold...her trademark colors. The long-sleeved one-piece she wore had a wet-look silver bodice, and the sleeves were pure white. To say she looked gorgeous was more than a bit of an understatement. The silver and black mirrored sunglasses she wore hid her green eyes, but most knew the emotions of them well enough not to care.
Scott however missed seeing the sparkle of her eyes when she laughed. Like she was now. She had tricked Bobby as he once had her. She had iced over the pool before he dived into it. Everyone was having a laugh at Bobby's expense for a change. Remy loved it.
The Cajun was sitting up in a chair across the pool from the ladies, watching Rogue closely. Like her, he had surprised the others with his swim attire. But that was simply because it had been a gag gift from Bobby last Christmas. His swim attire was a pair of black trunks with "Hot Stuf" written across his rear in bold red print. Of course, a few of the others, including Rogue had teased him about it. But he had managed to get Rogue back for her wise crack. He had made her just a tad bit frightened.
Flashback to around an hour earlier
"Yeah, th' Cajun mus' think he's really 'hot stuf' or somethin'." Rogue laughed. "Guess he forgot he's been 'cooled down' before."
(A/N: Remember Chapter 14 of Part 1! hehe)
Remy grinned. "Oui...I was at dat Rogue. But...den again, as dey say chere, 'Rendement une chienne.'"
Rogue's face lost a bit of color at that. She paused, her lips parted just a bit. Her mind must have kicked back on or something, as she grinned in return. "Que c'est, Remy, mais se souvenir de qui vous parlez à mon cher"
End Flashback
Scott, who was sitting at a table with the professor, glanced over at Rogue, wishing she'd take of the sunglasses...even just for a second. He didn't dare voice such a thing though. Too many questions would be asked...Ones he was searching for the answer to himself.
Two pairs of eyes watched as Rogue slid off the lounge chair, and watched how she smiled when she spoke briefly to Bishop. A third pair of eyes joined as she dove into the pool, causing almost no disturbance to the surface of the water. When she came up for air, a more casual glance flickered in her direction. Something about the fact that she had the confidence and trust in them to once again start showing off the deadly, yet beautiful skin called attention to her. They had seen her confidence and overall mood improve since over a year ago when she and Remy had last called a halt to their romance, and it was an improvement they applauded. Storm and Logan being the two who were "clapping" the loudest for her.
Rogue let out a laugh as Bobby attempted to shoot little ice blocks at her. Granted, his attempt wasn't working though. The second Bobby had started shooting the ice in her direction, Ororo, Scott, and Betsy had come to her defense. To say the least, the look on Bobby's face was worth remembering. Thank goodness Hank had a camera.
Rogue flashed a smile at her "heros" before she pushed Bobby into the now un-frozen pool. She winked at him when he came up sputtering, then made her way over to Logan slowly. Behind the shades, her eyes were watching everyone and everything. Logan glanced up when she took a seat in the chair near the grill.
"Ya want somethin' darlin?"
Rogue shrugged as she took off the sunglasses to rub the bridge of her nose. "Ah jus' wanted t' get outta th' sun really. Gettin' a headache."
Wolvie watched her for a second, then nodded. "Ya want somethin' t' eat then while you're over here?"
"Na. Thanks though Wolvie."
He nodded again, then looked to Ororo, whom had just walked up. "How 'bout you Roro? You want somethin?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Ororo smiled. "A piece of chicken from you, Logan, and a conversation from both you and Rogue. If you don't mind, preferably a conversation free of mention of gossip or clothing."
Logan grinned as he served up a piece of chicken for Ororo. "I think yer safe from those things here darlin'."
Rogue nodded in agreement. "Ah got sick o' that talk too. Think that's part o' why Ah've got a killah headache."
Storm looked at Rogue with a mixture of concern and sympathy as she pulled up a chair. "Perhaps we should have set up the umbrellas or something after all."
Rogue shook her head. "Ah'll be fahne."
Logan raised an eyebrow. "Ya sure? It wouldn't be any trouble darlin."
Rogue felt her temper flare and pushed it back. Despite that, there was still some ice to her tone when she spoke. "Ah ain't a kid anymore. Haven't been one fo' years. Ah know what Ah can an' can't handle. A few more hours out heah ain't gonna kill meh."
Ororo backed down at the first sign of temper, not wanting to rile Rogue further. Logan, however, didn't give a damn. "Darlin, we ain't tryin' t' insult ya, and we ain't callin' ya a kid. We know ya aren't one. We just wanted t' make sure that ya were really alright. Now we know, so don't go snappin at us when we're just tryin' t' help."
Rogue sighed. Sorry Logan...Roro. Its just that...Mystique an' Irene used t' do that to meh all o' th' time. Constantly ask if Ah was alright Ah mean. Did it too much raght aftah Ah absorbed Carol, an' Ah guess Ah developed a sort o' defense against it."
Storm smiled. "We could tell."
Rogue laughed softly. "Ah wondah how ya could. Wasn't lahke Ah was insinuatin' that or nothin."
Now Logan chuckled. "Course not. Ya'd never do such a thing, would ya?"
Rogue acted insulted. "Course Ah wouldn't. Ya'll is two o' mah best friends."
Storm and Logan shared a quick glance before Ororo spoke. "And you, Rogue, are one of ours."
Rogue stretched out on the couch, idly watching the TV. There was absolutely nothing on, but then again, she had nothing better to do. Rogue put a hand to her head. The headache which had started yesterday had yet to go away; if anything, the pain was worse. Nothing was putting an end to the pain.
Thankfully, not many of the other X-men were around. Professor Xavier and Hank were holed up in their offices, and Logan was out somewhere on the mansion's grounds. The fewer people she had to see today, the better. She knew for a fact that her mood was anything but personable when she got these headaches.
When the front door slammed, it was all Rogue could do to not scream out in pain. The fact that the door slamming was followed by a rush of teenage voices was enough to have her teleporting down to the medlab.
"Hank! Ah need more o' that stuff now"
Beast poked his head around the corner. "You're back already?" His blue, furry face showed concern when he spoke again. "Have you tried working out in the danger room yet? It would probably work better than this medicine considering how quickly your body burns anything put into it."
Rogue sighed. "Some o' Emma's students are heah, an Ah cain't face them without somethin' t' cure this damn headache. Jus' give meh enough t' cope until Jean gets back from th' store alright?"
Hank nodded and pulled down a bottle from a shelf and dumped six pills into his hand. When Rogue took them, he spoke. "Go take these, then put in some time in the danger room. Understood?"
Rogue nodded. "What about th' kids?"
Beast smiled. "I think I can keep them entertained between now and the time Jean returns."
Rogue managed a smile. "Yeah. Ah imagine ya can."
Hank laughed. "I must thank you for the vote of confidence, my dear. It means so much."
Now Rogue laughed as well, not taking notice of the fact that the headache had decreased in intensity...without the aid of the pills. "Well, it aughta. Ah don' just give mah vote o' confidence t' just anybody ya know."
Hank waved her out as he went over to his desk, closing up some folders he had been working on. "Get out of here. I don't want to see you again unless its absolutely necessary. Comprendez-vous?"
Rogue ndoded. "Ah read ya loud an' clear Hank. Ah promise not t' come down heah again unless it feels lahke mah head is gonna split open."
Hank shook his head. "I'd rather you didn't wait That long, but the point was understood."
"Good."
Rogue wasn't present at dinner that night, despite the fact that she didn't have any "official" duties until the next afternoon. The computer couldn't locater her on the grounds, and Professor Xavier couldn't locate her with Cerebro. Then again, her powers made her hard to trace period. The fact that there was no note or anything caused enough suspicion to have Xavier send out Ororo, Logan and Scott to look for her.
Ororo took to the skys, while Scott and Logan remained on the ground. Two hours later, after a thorough search of Westchester and the surrounding area, Rogue still wasn't found. Around 1 AM, a call was recieved from an unknown location. The caller was Mystique. She assured them that Rogue was safe, and would be staying the night with her.
Of course, Xavier and the others suspected that there was something that Mystique wasn't telling them. If they had known what Mystique was hiding, none of the X-men would have been able to sleep that night.
A/N: Uh oh...Cliffhanger here folks. I'm so mean. LOL. Hope you enjoyed! :)
Here's the translation for the French used in the Flashback-
Remy grinned. "Oui...I was at dat Rogue. But...den again, as dey say chere, 'Payback's a
bitch.'"
Rogue's face lost a bit of color at that. She paused, her lips parted just a bit. Her mind
must have kicked back on or something, as she grinned in return. "That it is, but remember who
you're talking to my dear."