Wooohooo!!! This is one fluffy chapter if I must say, but it makes me happy. If you don't like too much mush, you won't like this chapter, sorry. And it's really long too, wow. Important stuff happens though. I love all of you, my readers… and even more, I love the reviewers! Good Lord, who saw Ascension part 1??? Was that not amazing??? Anyhoo, thanks for reading and reviewing!!!
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Are you watching for him?" Logan said as he sat beside Rogue on the front steps of the mansion.
"No…" She mumbled. It seemed like she wanted to say something else, but she just trailed off.
"It's too cold and dark out here for you not to be waiting for him." He exposed her lie. She looked down at her feet.
"He's not comin' back." She muttered.
"I know you don't believe that."
"Why hasn't he come home then? Betsy's been lookin' for him everyday, and he knows how to be found… he knows how not to."
"He'll come back, Rogue." Rogue looked up at Logan as if she were about to cry, but he knew she wouldn't. She'd been cried out.
"Then why hasn't he already?" She begged him for the answers she wanted to hear.
"He's probably just scared of the rest of us. I threatened to kill him; Kurt threatened to kill him… at least that's how I'd feel." Rogue looked back down at her feet; unsatisfied with the answer she'd been given.
"The last thing Ah said to him was that Ah wanted him t'leave me alone. It was a little over a month ago."
"We all make bad decisions." Logan said. "An' I promise the worst decision he could ever make he's already gotten out of the way. You have to know that he's gonna come back, and when he does, you… we all need to be the ones to help him make the right ones." He paused and sighed. "You need to get out, Rogue. You been home alone, dwelling on the things you can't change for too long… makes you wanna tear your hair out."
"An what should Ah do?" Rogue snapped at him.
"Try and fix things with Betsy… that you can change."
"There's nothing wrong b'tween me an' Betsy." Rogue lied.
"Don't tell me you don't resent her, I know you better than that, Stripes. She feels it too. She's punished herself for this more than you ever could. Why do you think she's been pushing herself so hard with cerebro…? I can tell you now she ain't lookin' for Jean." Rogue immediately looked away from Logan again. She wanted to avoid eye contact with him since he'd caught her in another lie. "Go to a movie or something; you don't wanna lose your best friend too, do you?" Rogue sunk her head between her shoulders as she shook it. Logan patted her on the head as he stood up. "You needed a lesson in all that love crap, anyway." He turned around to walk inside when Rogue stopped him.
"Love?" She asked bitterly.
"Yeah…" Logan said, confused by her question.
"He doesn't love me. If he did, he'd come back to me." She said cynically.
"Rogue--" Logan sighed.
"An Ah can't love him. Ah don't. It's dangerous for me to love." She jumped to her feet and pushed Logan out the way as she stormed into the house. He just rolled his eyes at her.
"Oh, Rogue…" He called after her as he calmly shut the door from inside the house.
"What?" She barked back.
"Miss Frost called to tell us how you all have been doing at school the last couple of weeks."
"Yeah?" Rogue said impatiently.
"She said you've been the slowest to recover." She merely shrugged her shoulders. "Rogue, just --" He sighed, trying to think of what to say. "Just, try to focus, okay?" She snorted at him as she continued down the hallway.
* * *
Rogue stood at the large metal door to the giant room that housed cerebro. She decided that if she were going to mend any fences, she would have to put herself in the right mood. Otherwise, she would get angry and defensive, and just make things worse. She punched in the security codes to open the door and walked down the long, narrow platform to where Betsy was sitting, connected into cerebro, looking for Gambit.
"Hey, Betts." Rogue announced her presence.
"Oh!" Betsy looked back at her surprised. "I didn't hear you come in." She wiped tears away from her face.
"You okay, Betts?"
"Oh… yeah… If I just sit alone with my thoughts for too long…" Betsy shrugged her shoulders.
"You find mah Cajun yet?" Rogue smiled. Betsy did too through her tears.
"I will, I promise."
"Betsy…" Rogue sighed. "It's not your fault."
"Yes it is. He was all set to come back and made him go away."
"Ah made him leave in the first place." Rogue interrupted her. "Ah'm sorry f'r makin ya feel so bad about it. It's just easier t'blame someone else, y'know?" Betsy nodded sheepishly as he shut cerebro down, and took off the metal helmet.
"I'm sorry." Betsy said.
"For what?"
"For being angry and scaring him away." Rogue rolled her eyes.
"You had every right to be angry… he killed… Ah mean, Ah would've been angry too." They both paused as neither of them had anything to say. "Let's get outta here." Rogue finally said. "You wanna go see a movie tomorrow night, or something?"
Betsy shrugged her shoulders again. "I don't really want to go where there's too many people."
"Ah know how ya feel." Rogue sympathized. "Hey, Ah know, Ah got a friend who runs a museum. Maybe he can keep it open late for us, give us a private tour?"
"Oh it sounds brilliant!" Betsy finally said cheerily.
"Great, I'll go set it up!" Rogue and Betsy left the room.
* * *
Emma looked down at Jean from her bedside. "Leland, will you please see to it that Mr. Creed gets the rest of his payment for a job done… even if not too well." She sneered at the tall blond man, acting as an attendant.
"Of course, my queen." He said as he began to leave the spacious bed room.
"Oh, Leland…" She called to him. He stopped and turned to her for his next set of orders. "Please give Jason and I a moment alone with the girl… don't mention this to Sebastian quite yet." He nodded and left. Once the door clicked shut, she looked to the man on the other side of Jean's bed. He was rather young and fairly handsome, but Emma knew not to trust her eyes, not around Jason, not for a second. "She was just recovered from the Hudson Bay, so she's still weak. She gets stronger each time she recuperates, so don't spook her." She ordered him. "I'll wake her, and you make sure she loves us… understand?" He nodded calmly at her instructions. She took Jean's pale hands into her own and went to work on Jean's mind, bringing her back to consciousness. As her eyes blinked open, Jason took over Jean's mind from Emma in one fluid motion. The blurry images before Jean's eyes turned sharper as if she was being born again and looking on the world for the first time. She looked at Jason and Emma standing over her. She saw calming, familiar faces, but couldn't place them anywhere in her mind.
"Oh, Phoenix! You're alright!" Emma shouted with glee, albeit sarcastically.
"Phoenix… me?" Jean mumbled.
"Oh, dear, I was so worried for you." Emma said, helping Jean sit up in the bed while handing her a glass of water.
"Worried? Why?" Jean muttered in a fog.
"You took a nasty spill, Phoenix. Don't you remember?" Jean thought for a minute but couldn't remember a thing. Suddenly a rush of memories burst to the forefront of her mind.
"Yes… I remember… I hit my head… I fell off the yacht." She recalled suspiciously.
"Yes…" Emma said, glancing up at Jean, then back at Jason. "That's right, we rescued you." She said.
"Who… who are you?" Jean finally asked.
"Oh my dear Phoenix…" Emma's British accent sounded foreign and somewhat painful. "You know me… Emma. I'm rather offended. I've been your care giver since… since as long as you can remember." She smirked to herself.
"Oh." Jean said as she looked down at the blankets pulled over her. She felt oddly guilty for not knowing this person who meant so much to her.
"Well surely you remember your dear Jason." Emma said, gesturing to the silent man. Jean looked over at him and racked her brain for a name to go with the face she saw, but couldn't find one. "I'll let you two alone." Emma smiled and squeezed Jean's hand before she got up and left the room. Jean couldn't remember ever feeling so out of place before. She couldn't remember anything. She saw images and felt feelings, but couldn't grasp to them like words dancing on the tip of her tongue.
"My darling Phoenix." The man said, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Surely you remember me?" his eyes glowed an odd yellow and once again, her memories grew clear.
"Yes." She said, relieved as she leaned in to hug him. He smiled over her shoulder, knowing she would be easy prey. "This just feels so… odd. I shouldn't be here…" She said, releasing him. He grew frustrated. How dare she question the Mastermind?
"What are you talking about, my love?" He tried to act sincere.
"I remember another life… I think. My family… a school…" She was finally wrapping her fingers around the flashing thoughts, then once again they began to slip away. She looked up at Jason's face to see his eyes glowing again. For some reason, she was not surprised by the mystic luminescence.
"You must have been having dreams in your coma." He explained.
"But they felt so real… like repressed memories." She looked at him for confused.
"Dreams, Phoenix… nightmares. They can seem real like that, but they're all created by a dormant mind." He kissed her on the cheek and gave her a hug. "It's alright now, I'm here with you." She lost herself in his protective embrace as she fell under his spell.
"Oh, Scott… I've never felt so safe as when I'm with you." She murmured in his ear. He pulled away and looked at her.
"What did you call me?" He asked calmly.
"Jason… Jason, my love." She corrected herself.
"That's what I thought." He resumed his hug and searched her brain for any memories he let slip. Once he was satisfied there were none in the first place, he stood up.
"Jason? Where are you going?" Jean called to him.
"You've been through so much, dear. I'm going to leave you to rest. Nothing will harm you, I promise." She nodded and let him leave. She immediately went back to sleep.
As he stepped outside and shut the door behind himself, he was struck on the side of the head, falling to the floor.
"You old, haggard fool." Emma shouted at him. "You let her slip."
"Calm down, my queen." He fought to regain control of his mind, and thus, his image. "I've got her wrapped around my little finger." He said as he stood up.
"Oh please, I could see everything that was going on in there." She whined.
"Miss Frost, I assure you… she's eating out of the palm of my hand."
"Your hand? What about my hand?" She demanded.
"Yes, yes, your hand too." Mastermind humored her.
"I can't believe you let his name slip." She scoffed as she went back into the room.
"I didn't let it slip, Emma… there was nothing there."
"What are you saying?" She stopped and turned around.
"There's more to those two than you thought, my queen… something we can't just 'handle'." She rolled her eyes at him impatiently.
"This is the Hellfire club… there isn't anything that we can't just 'handle'." She opened the door to the bed room to see Jean sleeping, two feet above her bed. "Phoenix!" She shouted, waking Jean causing her to drop back on the bed with a thud.
"What? How did I...?" Jean asked frantically.
"Phoenix, we must talk." Emma said, racing across the room to sit on Jean's bed beside her. "You have an awesome gift."
"I do?" Jean said, starry eyed.
"Yes. And there are people looking for you. They want to exploit your power."
"My power?" Jean repeated as a burst of flames and temptation rose inside her.
"Yes, and when you use those powers, it gives those people the opportunity to find you… and I won't let anyone take you from me." Emma said as she hugged Jean. Jean was stoic, and didn't hug back. She could do little more than feel the joy of the word "power".
* * *
"Betsy, Rogue, your ride is here!" Scott called up the stairs. Betsy skipped down as Rogue flew in behind her.
"Sure you don't want to come?" Betsy asked Scott as she snaked out the front door.
"No thanks, Betts, I'll be fine here. You guys probably wouldn't want me moping around there anyway." He said.
"No, really. We wouldn't--"
"C'mon!" Rogue said, interrupting their conversation by dragging Betsy outside.
"Wow, a limo?" Betsy quickly forgot all about Scott.
"Nice, huh?" Rogue answered as the chauffeur opened the door for them, and they slid inside. "Makes me feel kinda underdressed."
"Oh, don't worry about that, Miss Rogue." The chauffeur answered as he drove the two off the institute grounds. "Mr. Worthington simply wanted to make sure you were as comfortable as possible."
"Well ain't that just sweet a him?" Rogue smiled.
"Worthington… why is that name familiar?" Betsy asked.
"Only familiar? Ah thought you knew everything about every mutant on the planet." Rogue snuffed.
"Mutant?" Betsy said surprised. "Why don't I know about him?"
"Ah dunno. Maybe Sinister was keepin' him from you."
"Interesting."
"Hey look, there's a TV in here!" Rogue leaned forward to play with the small screen built into the driver's seat in front of her.
"Ooh and sodas too!" Betsy opened the little cabinet under the TV.
* * *
When they arrived a short while later at the museum, their host was waiting outside for Rogue and Betsy.
"Thank you, Henry." The young blond man said as the chauffeur opened the car door. "Ah Rogue!" The blond man said as she emerged from the limo. "It's so nice to see you again… under pleasant terms." She winced when he hugged her.
"You too, Warren." She gritted her teeth and smiled at him.
"Scott told me, the last time we met, that you weren't feeling well. I'm glad to see you're feeling better."
"Thanks." She smiled warmly and sincerely at his thoughtfulness. "Oh Warren, this is my friend and teammate--"
"Betsy Braddock." Betsy finished for Rogue as she emerged gracefully from the car. She was immediately consumed by Warren.
"Uh, right." Rogue said, rolling her eyes.
"Warren Worthington." He introduced himself as he took Betsy's hand and kissed it. "It's much too cold out here. We should go inside." He said staring intently into her eyes, just as enthralled by her as she was with him. Rogue sighed as she took Betsy's hand and dragged her inside, Warren following behind. Rogue hated being ignored. "Braddock… I know that name from somewhere." Warren said. Betsy just shrugged her shoulders as they stood just inside the large glass doors at the entrance of the museum. They were still transfixed on each others' eyes. "Well, do you like impressionism?" He finally asked the two.
"I love it." Betsy murmured.
"Uh, where's the ladies room?" Rogue asked instead. Warren pointed to a hallway behind where the ticket takers would be in the museum lobby. "Thanks." She said. "Don't wait up." She grumbled as she walked away.
"So you own this museum?" Betsy asked Warren as they sauntered out of the main lobby.
"Well, my parents do. I'm learning the business though."
"Oh really?" Rogue shook her head and rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe how quickly Betsy's brain turned to mush the second she laid eyes on Warren. Rogue felt lonely and jealous as she walked to the restroom. She wanted to avoid becoming angry at Betsy for some stupid reason that wasn't her fault.
"Boo!" Rogue's gaze at her feet was interrupted as a face popped down from the ceiling in front of her. The shock forced her to fall back to the ground on her butt. She recognized who it was as she recovered from her heart attack. He lowered himself to the floor from hanging upside down from the air conditioning vent. "Surprised to see me?" She growled at him.
"I will kill you, you stupid, Cajun, backwoods THEIF!!!" She quickly jumped up to pounce on him, pinning him to the floor.
"Thief?" Warren said when he heard Rogue shout from the next room.
"Warren, wait!" Betsy tried to stop him, but she was harmlessly knocked away as he uncased his wings.
"Rogue, what is – You!" Warren shouted as he drifted back into the lobby and saw Rogue holding Gambit down. "What are you doing here? Come back to steal something else? Just wait till I call the cops on you." Warren reached into his pants pocket for his cell phone.
"Warren, stop!" Betsy said as she caught up to him.
"Lissen here, flyboy." Rogue said, standing up. "If anybody is gonna come in here and take away my Cajun again, they're gonna have to step over my cold, dead body to do it!" She yelled. The other three stared at her in silence, amazed by her aggressiveness. She took a second to listen to what she had said, and quickly felt foolish, ashamed of letting her mind turn to mush the second she saw Gambit the way Betsy had when she saw Warren. "Uh… Remy, Ah don't think there's anything Ah can do. You'd better kill him, Warren." Betsy was the first to look away from Rogue and up to Warren at her side.
"I think Rouge is going to keep a pretty good eye on him." She said as she smoothly pulled Warren's cell phone out of his hand. She took Warren's hand and tried to direct him back to the impressionist room. Remy and Rogue both watched as they waited for them to disappear.
"You missed me, chère?" Remy finally said, arrogantly. She looked at him with utter hate, then she calmed herself.
"No Remy, Ah died." His smile dissipated, and he quickly grew serious.
"Me too." He said.
"Then why didn't you come home?" Her eyes glazed over as she was about to cry. She'd imagined how this moment would go for over a month and in all its different incarnations, it never went like this. She was going to be strong and make him get down on his hands and knees and beg for forgiveness. Instead, she was melting into a puddle of overwhelming emotion.
"I was afraid of this… but with Wolverine and Nightcrawler. They wouldna called the cops… jus' dismembered me." She thought of what she was going to say, revising in her head a thousand times in a second what she had practiced.
"Don't ever leave me again." She said as her tears began to slip. He wrapped his arms around her, wanting nothing more than to stop her pain. "I'm sorry for everything, just don't leave me. Please, I'm sorry." She buried her head in his chest as she cried. He used his empathy to wrap himself in her emotions. He felt the same way she did. They both felt overwhelmed by relief. Fear was replaced by the warmth of security. But still, they both felt regret.
"I'm sorry too." He whispered to her as he put his chin on the top of her head. He saw a sign leading a certain area of the museum, and was struck with an idea. He let go of his embrace with Rogue and took her hand. "C'mon." he said, "I wanna show you something."
* * *
"What was up with those two?" Warren asked Betsy as he sat down next to her on a bench in front of a Seurat painting.
"Those two?… What was up with you two?" Betsy asked in kind.
"Well, if a known thief and terrorist came into your place of business while you were on a date, how would you react?" Betsy blushed.
"A date?" She smiled as she brushed her purple hair behind her ear. Warren smiled at her confirming her question. Then she got back on the subject. "He's an X-Man. What made you think he was a terrorist?"
"He's an X-Man? Wow, Xavier must be letting anybody in." Warren scoffed.
"Xavier lets in anyone wants to use their powers for good over evil." She said indignantly.
"Oh, is that what he was fighting for when he broke in here to steal my half of the spider key and prevent the aforementioned X-Men and myself from getting the other half?"
"The spider key?" Betsy shouted. "You had the spider key? My boss had been lookin' for that thing for almost a century!... Wait… he did what?"
"Yeah. He was under the control of that Mesmero guy and then he worked for Magneto."
"Oh…" Betsy said as all the pieces fell into place. "But he's an X-Man now."
"Is he really?" Warren asked. "Is he a good one?" Betsy was thrown for a loop by the question. She wasn't even really sure what it meant, much less how to answer it. "Well?" Warren pressed when she didn't respond.
"He… uh… well, he tries… I think" was what clumsily spilled out of her mouth. She regretted it the moment it was too late to take it back.
"What does that mean?"
"Well, he just hasn't really had the opportunity to prove himself." She thought she covered her tracks well.
"Really? I did it in about half an hour. How long has he been on the team?"
"Umm… about three months now." She said with pride, also counting the time she'd been an X-Man.
"He hasn't had the chance to prove himself in all that time? Even after the… the massacre?" Betsy had to think for a moment, but came up only with the conclusion he'd had several opportunities to prove himself… and he'd failed just about each time.
"No, he's a hero." Betsy lied to herself as much as she did to Warren. He saw right through her, but decided to change the subject.
"So how did you come to be an X-Man?" He asked. She rolled her eyes.
"It's a long story." Neither Betsy nor Warren noticed Rogue and Remy stopped in the doorway, eavesdropping on their conversation on their way across the museum.
"Forget 'em." Remy whispered to Rogue, before continuing on their way without ever making their presence known.
* * *
"Remy--" Rogue started to comfort him about Betsy's words.
"I said 'forget 'em'." He shouted as he poked his head around the control room of the planetarium he'd led Rogue to. She stood in the middle of the floor encircled by rows of chairs.
"But she stood up for you." Rogue called out to him.
"I know what she was thinkin'. I know she knew what he was thinkin' an' she didn't try to dissuade him. I know." With that, he kicked something in the control room. The lights in the planetarium went off, leaving only stars twinkling on the ceiling. Rogue took a moment to admire the grandeur. "But it's like I said." Remy reappeared behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her shoulder. "Forget 'em." She smiled at his ability to shake off the small stuff. She turned around and looked him in the eye. Their perfect compliments kept in trance with each other. "What you said earlier…" Remy started as Rogue picked up his hand while he held her with the other, and began drawing pictures on the palm of his fingerlessly gloved hand.
"Mm-hmm…" She nodded placidly.
"What you said to the Angel… 'bout dyin' b'fore they'd take me away… did you mean it?" She was struck by the randomness of the question. She shrugged her shoulders.
"Ah guess so." She answered. "Otherwise it wouldna come out so easy." She went back to drawing on his hand. He brushed her hair back from her face with his nose to get her full attention.
"Remy LeBeau ain't never met a damsel in distress that wasn' worth savin'--"
"Don't Ah know it." She said, interrupting him.
"Can I finish?" He smiled back at her and she nodded. "Merci, like I was sayin'… Remy LeBeau ain't ever met a damsel in distress that wasn' worth savin'--" Rogue started to giggle. She tried to suppress it, but for some reason, she couldn't fight it off. "Godammitt, Roguey! Here I am tryin' t'be all sweet an' romantic after we been separated for over a month!--"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She said. "You're doing a good job. Keep going." She bit her lip to keep from distracting him. He sighed as he began again.
"I ain't never met a femme that wasn' worth savin', but I wouldna ever died for one…" He paused to give Rogue the opportunity to absorb the seriousness of what he wanted to say. "…till I met you." This did get her full attention.
"You mean that?" She asked.
"I guess so." He nodded. "Otherwise it wouldna been so hard to say." She looked up at him overcome with a sense of peace. He watched her carefully as she picked his hand back up and splayed his exposed fingers, lest her curl them up and touch her face. She kissed the palm of his hand, and he reveled in the tingle. "I got you somethin', chère." He said. "A while ago."
"You didn'--" She started as he pulled an interesting green cloth out of one of his trench coat pockets.
"I got it at the mall, long time back." He explained, then smiled at what it was before he cut it up.
"What is it?" She asked. Rather than telling her, he leaned in to kiss her. She leaned back and looked at him as if he were crazy. He explained by laying the cloth over her face, and finishing his kiss. He pulled his head back and opened his eyes to see her reaction. Her eyes were still closed as she waited for more. "I can barely feel it." She whispered, hoping it wouldn't fall off.
"I know." He said, proud of himself. His inner praise was interrupted as she grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him. He was pleasantly surprised by her aggressiveness. He accepted her advances until she was finished. She wouldn't relent until she could detect the faint hint of cigarette on his breath, and even then she continued until the taste grew too overwhelming through the cloth. She wouldn't let it spoil the physical joy she felt.
"You know, that was like, my first ten kisses." She said, blushing as she pulled the cloth down from between their faces, leaving a small sliver of light to slip between their lips.
"Actually, that would be ten of your first eleven." He smiled, but didn't move away. She smiled too.
"Well, yeah, but Ah was hypnotized for that first one. I don't really remember it, so it doesn't really count."
"Can't get it out of my head." He responded. She sighed as she felt his breath oh her lips.
"You know, this is the closest Ah've ever been t'somebody without stealin' their soul." She savored the warmth radiating off his skin. He reveled in the fact in that his prize was less than an inch away from him, but he cared too much about her to take her like a trophy.
"Do it, chère." He said, finally opening his eyes to look at her. She looked back at him, confused, but she trusted him too much to want to move away.
"Do what?" She asked, playing dumb, hoping he didn't want what she thought.
"Please?" He begged.
"Ah don't wanna hurt you, Remy." She tried to grasp every last second of closeness she could before she would pull away.
"You're killin' me now, Rogue." Her heart beat faster as she put her hand back around his neck. He didn't move as she slightly tilted her head upward and gently placed her bare lips against his. He groaned as he fell to his knees.
"Ah'm so sorry, mon brave. Are you okay?"
"What did you call me?" He smiled at her use of his language. He sat all the way on the floor as he powers left him dizzy.
"Ah told you Ah didn't want t'hurt you." She grumbled as he picked him up and put him in one of the chairs around them.
"Hurt me?" He said as she situated herself in the chair next to him. "Roguey, that was one helluva kiss… I'm on cloud nine." She smiled at him and rolled her eyes as she put her head on his chest. She spent a second admiring the stars on the ceiling.
"Ah never knew there were so many stars in the sky." She said.
"Oh yeah, just can't really see 'em cause al the light pollution--"
"They're beautiful." She interrupted him. He looked down at her and smiled.
"Yeah, they are." He said. Then he looked up too.
"What's the black thing in your pocket?" She asked nonchalantly.
"The what?" he played dumb.
"C'mon, Remy. It must be important to you if it's one of only two memories Ah siphoned off ya."
"Two thoughts?"
"Yeah, the black thing… and about the other… let's just say, my chest ain't that big." She finally looked up at him. He was smiling as he remembered the picture in his head.
"You don't see yourself the way I do, chère."
"No, really, Remy. What's in the vial?" He thought for a moment about how to explain it to her. He didn't want to say, but he wanted to be honest. He wanted to prove Betsy wrong. But more importantly, he wanted Rogue to be happy.
"Well… it's a--"
"Oh there you two are!" Betsy said as she flung open the doors to the planetarium, startling both Remy and Rogue.
"Wow, this is romantic… we should've come here." Warren said, marveling at the indoor night sky.
"There's nothing in the slightest bit unromantic about having a pash on the floor under a van Gogh painting, wrapped up in those majestic wings of yours…" she said seductively.
"Not when you say it with your accent." Angel said, making her blush.
"Having a pash?" Rogue said, unfamiliar with the British colloquialism.
"They were makin' out." Remy informed her snidely. He knew only because Warren was wearing Betsy's lipstick.
"Really?" Rogue said excitedly, happy for her friend.
"Right, well, Warren has to work in the morning and--"
"And my mother would have a fit if she found out I kept the museum open late for girls again." He interrupted.
"Again?" Betsy interjected. "You mean you've done this before?"
"Sorry, Angel. We'll high tail it on outta here." Rogue answered, diffusing their bickering.
"Thanks Rogue." Warren said as she and Remy got up from their seats. "I'll get the limo ready."
"Hey, Rogue, I still got Logan's bike." Rogue smiled at Remy in front of her.
"Thanks, Warren, but Remy and I have our own ride." Rogue said.
"Well I don't want to go home alone." Betsy whined.
"What are you afraid of? Aren't you a hero?" Remy mumbled.
"What?" Betsy was confused.
"It's alright. I'll ride home with you." Angel said. "And if we have another pash on the way home, so be it."
"What do you mean 'if'?" Betsy smiled, as she and Warren walked out of the planetarium.
"What's wrong with you?" Rogue hit Remy in the arm as soon as Betsy and Warren were out of sight.
"Ow, watch it, chère. You must still be learnin' your own strength."
"Ah thought you forgot all about 'em."
"I tol' you to, didn' say nothin' bout me." She sighed.
"Can you just let it go till we got settled in back home? If you two fight, they're all gonna side with her, y'know."
"What side are you on?" His question threw her back.
"Ah'm not on anyone's side." Rogue said indignantly. "Betsy's wrong but you shouldn't be passive aggressive about it, okay? She doesn't know we heard anything. Just don't act too quickly, alright?"
"You're one t'talk." He sneered.
"Ah'm gonna pretend Ah didn't hear that just because Ah haven't seen ya in over a month an I don't wanna fight. Let's just go home." Remy sighed and kissed her on the top of her head.
