Chapter 14: A Late Night Swim

                Later that week, after a long day of lounging, swimming, and playing, the students of Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters were fast asleep. It was a hot summer night, a little past one in the morning, and the stars shone brightly above the grounds. They were the only light besides the moon to illuminate Rogue's path towards the pool. She was carrying a thin robe in her arms, and wore her normal clothes, creeping along silently in sandaled feet.

                Setting her things down by the pool's edge, she glanced around quickly before disrobing. Beneath she wore a simple black two piece. Why someone who couldn't afford to bare so much skin even owned a bathing suit was anyone's guess, but Rogue did savor it for the few times she could be alone.

                Looking around once more, she crept slowly down the pool ladder and eased herself in. Leaning back into the cool water, she closed her eyes and shifted her weight, sinking a few feet below the surface and totally immersing herself. She was perfectly relaxed - there was no one else here, no people she had to worry about accidentally brushing. Just her and the water - complete solitude.

                Remy walked back towards the guys dorms when he caught some movement in the corner of his eye. He dropped behind some cover and looked around toward the pool. He crept slowly forward and sat behind some bushes to watch the girl swim... It was Rogue. He grinned and suppressed a chuckle at the sight of her, out for a swim while there was no one around. Understandable, of course, but actually being witness to it was actually quite amusing.

                She broke the surface, catching her breath as she pushed her wet hair back from her face. Rogue had removed her makeup beforehand, which made it easy to see the flush in her cheeks due to the cold water. She lay on her back, gazing up at the night sky. Mosquitoes hovered above the chlorine water, and dragonflies dove down once in a while to take a drink. But she didn't have to worry much about bug bites, Rogue noted wryly.

                Remy stood slowly and moved around the bushes, that huge grin still on his face. He gave a catcall type whistle, like one might expect passing a construction site.

                "Yo' shouldn' be out pass curfew, yo' know, cheri... Could be trouble." He wagged a finger at her and sat in one of the deck chairs, boots propped up on the side table that he pulled around in front of it. "Dat mistah Logan may show up an' get yo' grounded again..." He chuckled and folded his hands behind his head.

                Rogue started, straightening herself instantly and turning to look at him. Embarrassment at having been caught, as well as being so scantily clad, combined with the panic reaction that had become second nature to her, the fear that she would hurt someone.

                Blinking rapidly to clear the water from her eyes, Rogue swam hastily to the side, hiding herself behind the side of the pool. "What are ya doin' out? You're breakin' curfew too."

                Remy shrugged and looked up at the stars; he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, after all. She didn't have the same opportunities the other kids did, so he wanted to let her experience all the stuff she could when she could.

                "Remy don' really mind bein' grounded... nevah stops him from sneakin' away. I's a simple t'ing ta do, aftah all." Absent mindedly he pulled out his cards and began to shuffle them slowly, just to pass the time really. Old habit.

                "Ah shoulda known."

                Rogue swam along the side until she came to the ladder. With one quick glance at where Remy's gaze was averted, she pulled herself out of the water. She had gotten used to the water, and now the air was bitingly cold. Shivering slightly, she quickly pulled on the thin robe, which rose to mid thigh. She hadn't really anticipated meeting anyone, so covering herself hadn't been a main part of her planning. Walking over, she took a seat across from Remy, arms wrapped around her.

                "What were ya doin' so late?"

                He chuckled and leaned forward to show her the stamp on his hand. "Remy jus' was out dancin, s'all. He didn' t'ink dat he'd see anyone when he came back, dough. Mos' be sleepin' by naw." He dealt out a hand of solitary and started to play. "Guess dat's wha' yo' was t'inkin', too, hm?" He grinned. "Don' worry, Remy won' tell no one dat de goth likes ta go swimmin'."

                "Ah don't see what that has ta do with whether Ah like swimmin'. Ah like plenty of what most others like just the same."

                There was a time when she was a normal girl like any other, years ago in Mississippi. She swam, climbed, and danced like any other kid, minus the dark clothes and goth makeup. She'd even kissed that one time. The thought made Rogue smile bitterly to herself. It had felt normal, before her budding powers started to kick in. Why did they have to surface then, at that moment? Wasn't she allowed at least one whole kiss before she was doomed never to touch again?

                He shrugged and continued his game. "Remy didn' say othahwise." He put together a few things and threw an ace up top then started to go through the deck. He played a card every few seconds, eyes on the cards, acting quite casual.

                "So yo' don' like havin' othahs even seein yo' wit'out all yo' covah, hm? Remy don' wanna imply nuttin', jus seem dat way ta him."

                The question took her a second to comprehend. She thought the answer was rather obvious. Raising one eyebrow, she hugged herself even tighter, crossing one leg over the other self consciously.

                "It's not that Ah care that they see me, it's just the fact Ah don't have coverin'. Ah can't risk an accident."

                Still, his odd question made her think again. She didn't remember having been overly shy when she was a kid, but she was a kid after all.. She never really had to think of whether she was self conscious about her body because she never had the chance to expose it.

                He chuckled as he put another ace up top, the game going at a nice pace now that he was into it. The right cards just seemed to show up every now and then, not really in an obvious manner, but in an extremely lucky one, you could say. He kept his eyes down on the cards except for a spared glance up at her.

                "Well, jus' lookin' at yo' don' do no harm, p'tite... Jus' don' touch no skin, ain' so hahd.

Besides, Remy got a trench coat, shirt, pants, an' boots on, ain' like he got much ta touch anyway." He shrugged again and finished off the cards, then started to slowly put the suits up over the aces. He hadn't needed to put any others than the aces themselves up there to make room the entire game.

Rogue watched his hands idly as he spoke, slightly entranced as she tried to follow the pattern he was making. Shaking her head a bit, she glanced back out across the pool and yard.

                "Ah know. But sometimes it just makes me feel better to know everyone else is protected. Accidents have happened..." She glanced down at the concrete ground, hair still dripping water down her back. A chill went up her spine. There were questions she still had about Remy, and now seemed like the perfect time to ask - anything to stop talking about herself and her powers.

                "So.. Do ya have any other family, besides your dad.. and that woman?"

                He hesitated momentarily, almost imperceptible, but anyone who watched close enough would be able to see that little tic before he put another card up with it's respective suit. Then he continued, taking a few seconds to think, before he nodded.

                "All de t'ieves was like family... Remy ain' goin' back, dough, so he have no family, really... I's easiah tah t'ink like dat, keep all de othah t'oughts away..." He shrugged again as he finished up the game and dropped the cards into a deck, spades on top, then started to shuffle them again.

                Rogue found her hands suddenly interesting as she thought about his words. With what little else she knew about his reasons for leaving New Orleans, it must be painful to think about what he was leaving behind - his family, his love.. She steered her thoughts quickly to her own situation. She remembered leaving home for the first time, and why, how they'd reacted.. Her mother cried for several days, and her father wouldn't speak to her. She hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye to David, who was still in a coma... Rogue glanced up from her train of thought, looking up at the institute building.

                "Ah don't think that's true. Ya have a family now."

                He chuckled and shook his head as he dealt out a different game, though still a version of solitaire as he started to play once he had everything set up. This looked much more complicated, involving a pyramid of cards and math to match up pairs. A strange pattern appeared as he slowly wore away at the bottom of the pyramid without much difficulty.

                "Da's nice of yo' ta say, cheri, Remy know dat he ain' really trusted, dough. He no fool. Sho', dey may act nice, but he know people, he can tell." He shrugged once more. "Don' bothah him none."

                Rogue glanced at him again, suddenly feeling bad. That couldn't be true.. Sure, the students might not have trusted him with their money, but Remy was a good person. He must know that, mustn't he?

                "Ah wouldn't say that. The students like ya, and the Professor trusts and likes ya enough to invite ya ta live here - twice." She stood, holding her robe tight against the chill air. "Ah trust ya."

                He looked up at her with a smile. "Yo' a sweetie, p'tit, Remy knew dat all along... Isn't hahd ta tell da good ones, aftah all... Don' worry none, dough, Remy fine wit' who he is, an' he don' feel like changin' jus' so he be mo' accepted... An' de Prafessah have reason ta trus' me, he seen all de nooks an' crannies in Remy's li'l noggin." He wraps his head with his knuckles as this game finish up as well. "De res', dough, dey may like Remy, dey jus' ain' mature enough ta be able ta trus' someone like him. I's not deir fault, an' Remy don' blame dem... Dey jus' know dat law-breakahs supposed ta be bad people."

                "Their loss Ah guess."

                Rogue turned and walked back to the edge of the pool where she had left her belongings. She turned her head to glance at Remy out of the corner of her eye before shrugging off the robe. It wasn't so bad, she decided. No, this proved it, she wasn't self conscious at all... A few seconds too long pondering this, and Rogue quickly pulled back on her pants and sweatshirt. Okay, so maybe a bikini was too much too fast.

                He grinned as he put his cards away and pulled something else from his pockets, his hands hidden and rustling under his coat slightly.

                "Aww, yo' sho' look cute like dat, i's a shame yo' have ta go an dress yo'self... Remy don' mind if yo' wanna swim mo', o' nuttin, yo' don' have ta worry bout him lookin' at yo. He be a nice guy an' jus' play his cahds."

                Rogue looked over her shoulder to give him a pointed look. Still, comments about her appearance aside, it wasn't really the same when there was someone else there. She didn't blame him for the interruption though - at least it was him and not another student, or even Logan..

                "It's alright, Ah was done anyway.. Ah have ta take a shower before Kitty wakes up. Can't afford to have her smell chlorine in my hair."

                He chuckled and nodded as he got to his own feet, hands in his pockets. "Well, den, Remy see yo' latah, cheri... He prob'ly need ta go back ta his room... He got some t'ings ta do..." He blew her a kiss and winked as he turned and headed for the dorms again, head bowed, eyes on the ground. He'd had a blush on his cheeks the whole time and made very sure that his hands stayed in his pockets. Odd, though Remy was generally an odd guy at times.

                Rogue watched him go, standing in place for a minute. She really needed to stop running into him like this.. Sooner or later Logan would catch them, and she was sure neither of them would be allowed to live it down. Not to mention Logan would claw Remy into shreds.

                A light, chilly breeze reminded Rogue were she was. Stooping first to gather her belongings, she darted silently away to her dorm.