Chapter 5: Secrets Unveiled

            It was less than forty-five minutes later, after a ride across town on the Harley, they found themselves in a large expensive looking restaurant, Rogue half wondered where Remy would be getting the money to pay for anything at such a place.

            "How can you afford this?" Rogue asked.

            "Got some money from my family," Remy answered as he and Rogue followed a waiter to a table, and were seated.  The table itself was lit by candlelight, it was on a balcony over looking a dancefloor that was stationed in the basement.

            Once they'd ordered, they sat in an awkward silence.

            "This place is great," Rogue admitted, "You sure you can afford this?"

            "Definitely," Remy replied, he poured Rogue a glass of water from the jug that had been sitting in the centre of the table.

            "Remy…I'm gonna ask you one more time…what's your secret?" Rogue looked at him, she prayed he would tell her.  His eyes met hers for a moment, but then looked away.

            Remy was silent for a very long time, he poured himself a glass of water also, and then took a quick sip, then, in a very soft voice he said, "I'm betrothed."

            Rogue looked at him, "You're…what?" confusion in her voice as she spoke, she tucked her hair behind her ear, keeping her eyes on him.

            "Betrothed – I'm engaged…I'm meant to marry this girl I don't even love – or like," he sighed softly, he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. 

            Rogue looked at him, "why…" she toyed absently with a napkin that was set out pristine on the table.

            "It's a very long story," Remy took another sip of the water, he then located an astray on the table, reached into his pants pocket, and pulled out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter, he lit one up and sighed.

            "We have all night," Rogue reminded him, hoping he wasn't going to try and get out of telling his story to her now.

            "To explain why we're betrothed, first of all, I have to explain my background," he admitted, "I'm from New Orleans," he admitted, "and there, I was an orphan.  I can't even remember exactly how I ended up on the streets – or who my real parents were…" he admitted, he took a long drag of his cigarette.   "I sometimes wonder if maybe it was my eyes – if they knew I was a freak before hand and just ditched me or something," he added.  "Either way…I was alone on the streets…in the French Quarter."

            "And?" Rogue asked, she took a sip of her water.

            "Well, I was starving, a skinny little child on the streets, dirty, uncared for, and I needed money for food – one day, I pickpocketed this guy…" he flicked the ash from his cigarette, "he caught me…turned out he was the notorious leader of the Thieves guild," he stated.  "A professional thief, the grand master of them all…"

            "And?" Rogue looked at him.

            "Well, he caught me, and yelled at me, but I don't know, somehow, when he saw me – and how neglected I was – I guess he felt sorry for me.  Took me in as one of his own…I became a Thief.  I trained like nothing else for the following years, how to be a proper Thief, how to evade being captured by police, how to defuse any alarm system, and how to fight…"

            "Why is this stuff relevant to the secrets?" Rogue asked curiously.

            "Sssh, just listen," Remy stated.  He took another drag of the cigarette, "So anyway, I was about fifteen, and I start seeing this girl – Bella Donna.  Blonde, blue eyed, thin, you know the type.  Didn't know until after I had sullied her—"

            "By sullied you mean…?" Rogue looked at him.

            "You figure it out," Remy stated, "Anyway, I didn't know until after that she happened to be the daughter of the leader of the Assassins…Marius Bordreaux…I was in deep shit."

            Rogue kept her eyes on him the whole time, listening intently.

            "So…despite I didn't love Bella Donna…I told her father I loved her – to avoid him slaying me and my Guild…" he explained.  "This wasn't good enough, I got dragged into it.  Both our families fought, and then two years ago when I was seventeen, suddenly out of the blue, my father and Marius were approached by the person who established both Guilds.  The three of them planned that if me and Bella Donna were married then it might reconcile both Guilds.  I didn't have much choice, if I dishonoured Bella Donna by not agreeing to marry her, I'd be slain – and so would my family…"

            "So you agreed?" Rogue asked.

            "Yes, I had no choice…" Remy explained.

            "So why are you guys not married then?  And why has this anything to do with you being an X-Man?"

            "I was coming to that," Remy motioned his hands for her to hush, "Not long after the engagement, I met Magneto…he told me he had plans, and needed someone like me to help him – by then I did not know what I was getting into.  I told Bella Donna that I had some obligations  - and that I'd be back for her, and left with Magneto…and everything was alright up until a few months ago," he poured himself more water.

            Rogue leaned back into her seat as the food arrived, Remy waited until the waiter left the table until he continued.

            "Despite I made a lot of effort to make my whereabouts unknown, the Assassin's guild had tracked me down – and demanded I come back to New Orleans to wed Bella Donna.  I pleaded with Magneto for help, he would not offer anything, he said that as one of his minions there was no compromise, that I would do as I was told and never ask for anything in return…" Remy finished his cigarette and stubbed it out in the ashtray.

            Rogue kept her eyes on him, "so then what?"

            "I got angry with Magneto, but stayed for a while, mulling over what I could do, the pressure became so intense, and Bella Donna's older brother Julien located me, and began to harass me.  Said if I did not come back to marry the girl I had spoiled, then he would kill me, we fought, but he's so much better at fighting than I am that I found it hard to defend myself, I managed to escape.  I headed here, knowing that if I could get to the X-Men in time, I could request some form of help…but Julien caught me moments before I reached the Mansion, and plunged a knife into my chest, and let me fall."

            "That's how you got stabbed…" Rogue realised.

            "I pretended to be dead – and the lousy excuse for an Assassin did not even check for a pulse, nor stab me again just to make sure.  He left me lying in the streets, and disappeared.  When he was gone, I dragged myself up and made it onto the Mansion grounds—"

            "And then you passed out…" Rogue nodded, she took a bite of her food.

            "And then the X-Men found me, stitched me up, and took me in as one of their own…" Remy finished the story.

            "I just don't believe this is the secret that you've been keeping from me…" Rogue stated.

            "It's stuff I don't like to think about," Remy took a bite of his own food.

            "So, where were you up until yesterday?"

            "New Orleans," Remy answered, "my family found out I was still alive and requested me to go back.  I went back, they'd already arranged the wedding…and I had to almost go through with it.  I was at the alter in a little church already, and as Bella Donna came in her cream dress and veil I grabbed a hold of the alter, and charged it up, it blew up and I escaped…"

            "You blew up the church?"

            "I had little choice, I needed a quick escape," Remy explained.  "I know they'll come looking at me, I don't know how much longer I can keep evading their plans for me."

            Rogue looked away absently, "I just can't…believe this is the secrets…"

            "Disappointing, huh?" Remy smirked.

            "You told me I was better off not knowing, that I didn't want to know what your secrets might be…"

            "Did I?" Remy asked, "well, you were better off not knowing," he stated, "you might feel jealous of my future wife," he winked.

            Rogue kicked him under the table, "never."

            Remy and Rogue ate silently.  Rogue was so confused, she couldn't believe the things he'd told her could be true, it just seemed like his secrets had not been worth keeping. 

Finally after she'd finished her meal, Rogue looked up to him and said "how do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Remember the envelope I gave you?" Remy asked, "inside it is the marriage license."

Rogue seemed a little annoyed, "You kept me in suspense all this time just to tell me that you're engaged."

"I don't think it was relevant for you to know," he shrugged, he looked over the dance floor, "do you want to dance?" he asked.

"No…" Rogue stated, she looked on to the dance floor, "so…how much longer do you think you have left before your guild or the Assassins guild, try to take you back to New Orleans?"

"Don't know," Remy stated, he toyed with a little packet of salt that he'd obtained from a little jar on the table, "I don't think they're gonna murder my family just to teach me a lesson, they know I don't really want anything to do with my family these days."

Rogue kept her dark green eyes on him, looking at him.

"Anyway, now that I've explained everything to you – and you know who I am…do you trust me now?"

"No," Rogue looked at him, "haven't you ever heard the saying 'Never trust a thief'?"

"Yeah…" Remy nodded, "but I'm not a thief now, I'm an X-Man," he reminded.

"Yeah, I know," Rogue nodded.

"C'mon and dance with me…" Remy stood up.

"I'd rather not…" Rogue admitted, she'd noted that every dance down there in that basement had been a slow dance, and the thought of having to be near Remy made her uncomfortable.  Especially since she remembered the time of having drunkenly danced one previous time.

Remy took her gloved hand and kissed it – much to Rogue's surprise, "you owe me," he said.  "I danced with you that time you were drunk, c'mon, Chere."

Rogue wondered if he could read her mind, or perhaps had just picked that instance out of her expression.  But despite this, she gave in and got up, "just once," she sighed.

They headed down a little Iron wrought staircase, and into the basement area, dappled by coloured lights and music with its soft alluring base flowed through the room.  The song, Rogue recognised as Usher's 'U Got it Bad', it had just started. 

On the dance floor, Remy wrapped his arms around her waist very lightly, carefully, and she put her hands on his shoulders, and swayed with him, keeping her eyes on everywhere else in the room, on every other person dancing – except from him.  So close to him she could smell the cologne he wore, and the strength in his well built arms, and the muscles in his shoulders under her gloved hands.

She'd had moments like this in dreams, dancing slow with someone as handsome as Remy, and being so close, music so delicious, and lights flashing and dappling over the entire room.  Remy looked down at her, her face turned away from his, keeping her eyes away from him, with one hand, in a careful manner, he brushed a stray lock of her hair away from her face, without even touching her skin, she turned towards him and looked at him.  Of all the times their eyes had ever met, it had never felt so electric, as if he'd charmed her – only she knew he hadn't.  She couldn't tear her eyes away from him.

"Having a good time?" he leaned forward a little and murmured into her ear the words.

Rogue realised she was, and she hated it, she hated that it was with Remy LeBeau, someone she'd sworn as an enemy, and she was slow dancing with him.  "Kinda…"

"Then you were wrong," Remy pointed out, as earlier that night she'd claimed she wouldn't have been having fun.

Rogue looked away again, her eyes becoming misty, "I was mad."

"You're beautiful when you're mad, Chere" he kept his eyes on hers all the while.

"Remy, we need to stop…" Rogue pulled away, "We…we need to go."

Remy looked at her, "are you sure?  It's not even eleven yet…"

"I'm tired…it's been a long day…"

"Alright…" he gave in, "lets…go home…"