Disclaimer: So there I was walking along, minding my own business, when who do I find just lying on the street? The X-Men! So I picked them up, took them home, cleaned them up a bit, and now they're mine, all mine! Bwa ha ha! …No? Alright, fine, you got me. Still not mine.

A/N: Well, instead of studying, I was typing up this baby. I hope you appreciate how much I sacrifice for all of you! Nah, just kidding. There's no way in hell I want to be studying. I've still got time before exams! By the way, one handy piece of knowledge that I did learn is not to feed crack to bunnies. It's all good in the metaphorical sense, but woah, watch out with the real ones! Anyhoo, responses ahoy. Sorry if I missed anybody, I had to retype a lot of them cuz I had stupid disk saving problems.

Calliann, Smirnoff Ice Lover, Tokyobabe2040, PsychoRomyChica, Araya-Michiru, Ellavira, msqre, lonewolf, Gothic-Rogue LeBeau, plague, M.J, Loki Eyota, Rogue77, De-Femme-O-Da-Night, Gothic Cajun, Personage, danielle britton, roguelebeaux003, mAd RoGuE, SassyGrl024, Arin Ross/Arian Rowan/Annee, gaea, bitrona, Jstreet1216, Zen Bailong, SadYear, Kartina5, The Rogue Cajun, Rogue14, Misa1124, Midnight Selene, Star-of-Chaos – As always, you guys rock my socks. Thanks a lot!

ThatsJustPeachy, Twinky & Cuddness – Yay, new converts have entered the fold! Don't worry, you'll learn to embrace the insanity soon enough. Although I think some of you already have… stares at the abundance of Peachy's exclamation marks in wonder And I thought I used them excessively!!

Lightspeed Suzuka & Duck3 – Aww, thanks for the plushies! I'll put them all on display in a little tableau, it'll be spiffy.

Dragonfire99 – You wouldn't dare kidnap my crack bunny! I'd like to see you try. taunts you by waving the bunny in your face

Remy's Angy – I don't think just one bottle would get rid of his slime. Maybe a whole crate?

Speck – I'm keeping my eye on you! You're making me paranoid. looks around with shifty eyes

Rogue4787 – Mention Remy, no shirt, and whipped cream in the same sentence and you're guaranteed to catch my attention! drool

fallenangel99 & frozen fire – Dan is Mercury Dream's made-up bartender from her own fics, and Rae is Goldylokz (another author). They're not actually X-Men characters (unless there's some other X-Men out there…?), so maybe I should've called them 'guest appearances'. Oops.

Princess of Monkeys – Our bunny's name is 'Maraca-chewer' (cuz he chewed on maracas), pronounced 'Bunny'. Creative, eh? Don't worry, your review was fairly coherent. Ok, so I'm not technically allowed to be in bars yet, but we'll just ignore that. When I was in Europe I was legal, huzzah for lower drinking ages! I think it makes the world a better place. ;-)

Panther Nesmith – Please no more mentions of Julien's anatomy! I'm kinda queasy now, it really hurt me to write that ending. Hopefully I'll make up for it soon.

Green Eyed Lilys Daughter – Remy appreciates the Oscar. Instead of a boring acceptance speech, he'll just stand there and let insane fangirls oogle him. That work for you? And yes, Belle will appear in a few chapters. It's true I despise her, but I'll do my best to not be biased when writing her. We'll see how it goes, won't we? Cuz I honestly don't know.

Mercury Dream – Glad you liked the Dan-ness! And of course I didn't feed him crack, who do you think I am? Some horribly irresponsible and cruel person? I only give it to cute, innocent bunnies. I think Dan stole it when my back was turned, he'll need to be punished! I suggest a nice spanking. ;-)

Aro – That's such a great excuse: 'Oops, I tripped and fell on his lips!' It's believable, that's what I like about it.

Goldylokz – Huzzah, glad you approved. Sadly, I've got no more room for you, it was pretty much a one-time thing. Don't hurt me!

vespie – You SO get a gold star for the Tootsie Roll Pop mention. I love them, I've got a stash of them in a drawer, but I painted it, and I think the pops absorbed the paint fumes, cuz they taste kinda funny. But I eat them anyway, cuz that's sure not gonna stop me!

Ravyn Nyte – Wow, a scarf and brownie points? I win! Thanks.

Krac – Yay, a krac award! All my awards have come back to me in award form! How ironic – but not really. ;-)

Seven Sunningdale – Oh, you're wistfully sighing? YES! That's totally what I was going for – little do you know that by sighing, you'll release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, causing global warming and destroying the world, leaving me to rule over it! Bwa ha ha! Huh. Maybe I shouldn't announce my world-domination plans, eh? Damn.

heartsyhawk – Holy long review, batman! That was my most rambling yet, so feel special. Sorry 'bout the heart attack/extra laundry incident, although it gave me a good laugh. But now I'm afraid to laugh at you if you'll send all those scary creatures after me! Hmm, you'd have Remy chained to you? Fun, you're into that kinky stuff, are you? ;-)

A lot of you seem to want me dead after last chapter's evil cliffhanger of doom, so I hope this makes up for it. Enjoy!


February Fifteenth

Chapter Nine – Alleyways

Before Remy could even react and make a move to pummel Julien, the Assassin suddenly fell to the ground, unconscious. Turning his attention to Rogue, Remy saw her clutch her head and stumble backwards to lean against the alley wall, breathing heavily. She looked like she was in pain, which was all the motivation he needed to get moving. He was by her side in an instant, taking care to step on Julien on his way over.

"Chère! Y' okay? What happened? Did he hurt y'?" he asked frantically.

At the sound of his voice, Rogue looked up at him with wide eyes. A second later, recognition seemed to dawn in them. "Remy!" she gasped, looking to be on the verge of panicking. "What are ya doin' here? Ah told ya not t' follow meh!"

"Remy knows, but he was worried 'bout y'. An' looks like wit' good reason too, neh?" he told her unapologetically while taking off his sunglasses. For some unknown reason she seemed to like his eyes, maybe they would be able to calm her down.

"Ah wish ya hadn't," she sighed, looking away from him.

"Chère, please tell Remy what happened? Did Julien hurt y'?"

"No… Ah did it," she whispered, looking down at the ground.

"Did what?" he asked, confused. Rogue looked so different from the strong woman he had seen; she now looked like a scared little girl. In fact, she seemed almost… ashamed?

"Ah didn't want ya to know…"

"Shh, it be alright. Remy knows y' were just tryin' t' get Julien drunk so he'd talk, Remy don' blame y' fo' anyt'in'. It ain't yo' fault dat he kissed y'."

"Ah kissed him," she regretfully corrected him, deliberately looking anywhere except into his stunning eyes; she didn't want to see them marred with the disappointment and disgust that she was sure would be there with her admission.

"…Quoi? (What?)" he sputtered, uncomprehending. She still wouldn't look at him, so he gently placed his hand under her chin to tilt her face towards his. "Talk t' me, chère, please."

Briefly enjoying his warm touch, she finally met his eyes, seeing confusion and concern but also caring within their depths.

"Ah'm sorry, Remy. Ah wanted to tell ya, but Ah didn't really know how…"

"Quoi?" he repeated, beginning to worry. What could be so trying to tell him? His mind immediately began to make up ridiculous and abysmal scenarios – Julien having his way with her, Rogue really being an undercover Assassin, but the most appalling was her being in love with Julien. However, he attempted to disregarded them and focus all his attention back to Rogue.

"Ah'm a mutant," she blurted out.

Remy blinked. "Dat's it? Dat's nothin' t' worry 'bout, chère. Remy be a mutant too, he can blow stuff up. Y' saw his eyes, didn' y' guess from dem?"

"Ah know, Ah figured ya would be… but it ain't exactly th' fact that Ah'm a mutant, it's what Ah do."

"An' what's dat?" he questioned, his curiosity peaked, but still feeling strangely relieved. Her being a mutant was no problem whatsoever. Definitely nothing like the distressing situations he had been imagining. In fact, it was just one more thing that they had in common.

Slowly releasing a deep, long breath, Rogue looked away from him again. He might not care about her being a mutant, but people had told her that before. Their tolerance and nonchalance had changed into fear as soon as she elaborated on her mutation. She didn't want to explain any further, but figured a rejection now would hurt much less than one in the future.

"Ah'm a thief," she blurted out, deciding to get it over with. "But Ah steal th' life from people. If Ah touch them skin t' skin, Ah can absorb their memories an' their life force. If they're a mutant, Ah steal their powers too."

Nervously lifting her gaze back to meet Remy's, she expected to see loathing and apprehension, like she received from so many others - but it wasn't there. Instead, in its place was compassion.

"Remy sorry, chère," he told her, while unflinchingly grabbing her hands in his. "Dat mus' be a rough power t' deal wit'."

Now it was Rogue's turn to blink. Did he… had he… just taken her bare hands? She was rather shocked, and didn't even think to answer him.

"Chère? Rogue? Y' alright?" he asked, wondering why she was just continually staring at their hands.

"Yah… Y-Yah're touchin' meh," she stuttered.

"Oui," he slowly stated. "Dat a problem? Y' can control it, non?"

Tearing her eyes away from their clasped hands to look at him, Remy was surprised to see them full of hurt and pain. "It's just that… After people find out 'bout mah powers, they never touch meh, even though Ah got control. They always flinch away, they're scared o' meh. Even other mutants, Ah'm lahke a freak among freaks, a 'power stealer'… Sorry, Ah think Ah'm just in shock that yah aren't doin' th' same…" she told him, attempting a feeble smile and laugh at the end, although her eyes shone with unshed tears.

Remy decided right then and there that he would do everything in his power to keep her happy. He couldn't stand seeing her this upset, it made him feel the same - so he did his best to comfort her. "'Course Remy won'. He knows y' not gonna hurt him. B'sides, he knows what it's like t' be called a freak, he gets it almos' chaque jour (every day) 'cause o' de demon eyes," he sympathetically told her, but ended up looking away himself as a multitude of hurtful memories came back to him.

"They ain't demon eyes, Remy. They're beautiful," she softly told him, as this time she placed her hand on the side of his face and gently guided it back towards her.

Those very eyes widened, as he slowly covered her hand with his. Remy was actually struck speechless for a second, but then whispered, "Merci, chère. Remy don' know what t' say, nobody ever tell me dat befo'."

"Well, obviously everybody yah ever met were idiots," she sincerely declared with a gentle smile.

At that he smiled as well and slowly turned his head toward her hand, still at the side of his face, placing a gentle kiss in its palm. "Same goes fo' y' too. Dey'd have t' be stupid t' not wanna touch y'," he informed her, making her blush slightly.

Then unexpectedly, Remy began to laugh. Rogue became slightly annoyed; hadn't this been a serious conversation? "What, Cajun?" she impatiently exclaimed with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, Remy jus' be relieved 'bout all dis, dat's all."

"What?! Yah're relieved that Ah suck th' life outta people?"

"No, 'bout de fact dat y' don' have a t'ing fo' Julien! Y' used yo' power on him, an' dat's why he's out, oui?"

"Yeah. That's how Ah do mah thievin', Ah just use mah powers an' get all th' inside information."

"Ahh," Remy realized. "Dat's how y' never leave a trace? It be almost like y' supposed t' be dere, wit' all de proper access codes an' everyt'in'. Very sneaky, chère."

"Thanks." Then it was Rogue's turn to suddenly burst out into laughter. "Wait, go back a bit. Yah thought Ah was attracted t' that moron?"

"Hey, can y' blame Remy? He did see y' kissin' him."

"Ugh, believe meh, it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience," she informed him while making a face. "Ah only did it so Ah could use mah powers without bein' suspicious. He'll probably think he passed out from drinkin' too much."

"Glad t' know y' didn' enjoy it," he grinned. "After all, what femme be crazy 'nough t' go fo' him? He be arrogant an' cocky, t'inkin' he's God's gift t' women."

"Well, now that ya mention it, he does kinda remind meh of someone…" she teased.

"Chère, why y' gotta keep woundin' Remy so?" he pouted.

"But it's just so easy!"

"Oh, so y' t'ink hurtin' dis poor Cajun's feelin's is fun, den?" he kept complaining, yet all in good humour. His worry had dwindled away, and so had Rogue's insecure lapse. The feisty woman was back in front of him and Julien was knocked out on the ground - things were going quite well at the moment.

"Aww, sorry sugah," she purred. "Yah want me t' kiss it bettah?"

"Would y'?" Remy asked, moving in closer and fixing her with an intense look.

Rogue's eyes grew wider as finally realized what she had said, but didn't care. She had to be honest with herself - she wanted this. They both wanted this, despite the complications that might arise. Throwing caution to the wind, the pair began to move towards each other; their lips were about to make contact and…

Suddenly a low groan came from near their feet. Both Southerners jumped, and remembered that Julien was lying there.

"Damn, Remy. We better get outta here, he won't be out fo' much longah," Rogue said, trying to hide her frustration at yet another missed kiss.

"Y' right. As much as Remy wan' t' see de look on his face when Julien wakes up, it won' be good if we dere when dat happens." With that, he grabbed her hand and they left the alleyway.

While walking through the city and keeping to the shadows, Remy finally remembered the whole purpose of their excursion. "So, chère, what information y' get from Julien anyway?"

She chuckled. "Well, he really hates ya, Remy."

"Ain't no surprise dere," he dryly commented. "Y' got all dat abusive commentary 'bout Remy floatin' 'round in yo' head now?"

"Yeah, but Ah can lock them away," she explained. "Don't worry, Ah've got some good thoughts 'bout ya too."

"Not from Julien!" Remy started.

"Nah, from a cousin o' yours."

He suddenly stopped walking as the pieces clicked together in his head. "Lapin! Y' absorbed him last night, dat why dey found him unconscious?"

"Yeah. Ah'm sorry 'bout that," she replied, hoping he wouldn't be mad at her. "Ah wanted to get some background on th' Guild an' what y'all wanted meh t' do, so I came up behind him on his patrol an' used mah power. Then Ah used his knowledge t' get into th' headquarters."

Remy just laughed, harder than he could remember doing in a long while. "Don' worry, y' can knock out Lapin as much as y' want - it's much mo' peaceful 'round de Guild dat way. Can' wait t' tease him 'bout dis, he's always braggin' 'bout how stealt'y he is, an' dat nobody can sneak up on 'im - always knew dat was bullshit."

"Ah woudn't tease him if Ah were yah," she scolded. "He's got some interestin' stories 'bout yah! Somethin' 'bout th' 'Gumbo Incident'?"

Remy paled. "He wouldn'."

"Oh, he would."

"Can y' look int' his mémoires (memories) an' find Remy some good blackmail?"

"Maybe latah. Ah think Julien's take priority."

"Merde, dat's right. We should go see mon père (my father) an' give him de bad news maintenant (now). He'll be waitin' fo' y'."

"Just give meh a sec," Rogue told him, as she leaned against a brick wall and closed her eyes. "Ah wanna check an' see if there really is somethin' goin' on." She then appeared to be focusing very hard on something, so Remy remained silent and watched her, admiring the adorable wrinkles of concentration that appeared on her forehead. As he gently tucked a white strand of hair securely behind her ear, her eyes shot open.

"Chère? What's wrong? What did y' see?"

She just stared at him with fearful eyes. "They're gonna kill ya, Remy."


Dun dun duhh! A quasi-cliffhanger, although I don't think it was as fun as my last one. I must say, I'm now obsessed, they're so fun to write! How do all of you feel about them? Let me guess, you all want my head impaled on a stick as a warning to other authors, right? Well, glad I could be of some use.

Next chapter – our favourite pair go to inform Jean-Luc of the new information, so he can call off the wedding.

Okay, time for bad news. I've got exams this week and next, so I really should start buckling down and studying. Meaning I'll "cram" (and believe me, I use the term loosely) for a few hours, tell myself I deserve a break and go read some fanfics. But I doubt I'll be able to write much more, as I'll be curling up in the fetal position and pulling out my hair at the sheer amount of knowledge I have to learn. So, I hate to break it to you, but I won't be updating until after my exams are over. a collective gasp is heard Yeah, I know. It's a necessary evil. But I promise that as soon as my last one is done, I will post the next chapter. So I'll see you in about a week and a half! Give or take.

Kisses,

ish