Chapter Three
"May I take your coat, Madam?" The maitre d' asks Rogue politely as she and Remy walk in off the street. Remy steps behind her and slides her coat off her shoulders, slowly grazing her arms with his hands. He hands it to him and gently places Rogue's arm through his and guides her to the entrance of the lavish dining room to wait for the maitre d' to check their reservation.
"Lebeau, party of two."
"Trés bien, monsieur Lebeau. Right this way, the table you requested is ready."
Rogue and Remy follow the man through the dining room to a dimly lit table sequestered in the farthest corner. At least six-dozen roses wait in elegant pedestal vases surrounding their table. A solitary candle in a silver holder adorns the table. Rogue squeezes her love's arm as they approach the table, show showing visibly on her face.
"Oh mah God, Remy…," her voice trails off, her eyes wide. She looks to him, expecting him to say something to her. He only grins, his smile reaching all the way to his bedroom eyes. Flustered, Rogue allows him to seat her as the maitre d' pours glasses of campaign. She continues to remain silent until Remy has seated himself and the waiter has left with their orders.
"Um, did I miss something? Is it our anniversary?"
Remy says nothing, so she continues. "Well, Ah know it's not mah birthday….riiiight?" She says hesitantly.
Remy laughs, "Nah, it's not your birthday, chere."
He reaches across the table and takes her hands in his own. Slowly, he makes circles on her upturned palms. An involuntary sigh escapes her lips and he finds that he cannot take his eyes off of her. Mesmerized, he momentarily forgets what he meant to say.
"Remy?"
"An' I'm supposed t' be th' thief." Remy shakes his head. "I just wanted to give you somethin'; to remember me by." He gives her a sidelong glance. "Is it workin'?"
"Ah would say so sugah, but you didn't haveta go to so much trouble. You're kinda hard to forget. Trust me." She turns her hands over in his so that she can hold onto him. "Ah guess you go overboard on ever'thin' you do."
"I try, but you make it kinda hard sometimes."
"Ah know, Ah guess you sorta freak me out at times. No one's ever tried to get close t' me b'fore. An' you just won't stop tryin'." She gazes deep into his eyes, blazing her way into his soul. "Thanks."
"Don't thank me yet, chere. The night's not over yet. So, not t' change the subject, but just how long are ya gonna be gone?" Before she can interrupt him, he continues. "Jus' so I know how long I'm gonna have to lay awake at night thinkin' 'bout you."
"Ah donno. It'll probably take awhile to find all o' Destiny's diaries and even Ah don't know where they are. That's why we're takin' Tessa, or should I say Sage, with us. She's kinda like our divining rod. Hopefully, she can lead us in the right direction. Only real bad part in all this is that we're pretty much goin' on radio silence, so you won't be hearing much from us."
"Yeah, I know. Any idea why everyone wants to keep the Professor out of the loop?"
"Ya mean 'sides the fact that the knowledge in these books is the equivalent to holdin' the fate of the world in your hands? An' that's way to much power for one person to handle, even the Prof."
"Well, he did wad all his negative crap into a nasty little ball in his subconscious an' it somehow escaped into the real world and tried t' kill us all." Remy stopped and thought about that for a second. "Well, in his defense, he seems much better now."
A waiter returned with their meals and quickly left them to contemplate their conversation. As they ate their meal, they engaged in small talk and vows of affection. When they had finished, and Rogue was on her fifth glass of campaign, they resumed their previous discussion.
"Ah can't speak for the Professor, but we've all done some nasty things in our lives. It can't be what defines us." Rogue took another sip of campaign, finishing the glass. "The Prof's a good man, otherwise we all wouldn't follow him an' believe in his dream for a better world."
"Another glass, chere?" Remy offers the last of the campaign.
"You're not tryin' t' get me drunk, are ya hon?"
"Nope, wouldn't dream of it." That smile flashes again.
"Good, 'cause Ah'm afraid it would take a lot more'n that. Y'know, what with the alien DNA and Wolvie's 'borrowed' healing factor, it kinda makes it near impossible to get drunk."
"We could try….," he winks suggestively.
"Yeah, Ah can picture it now. The girl with little to no control o' her powers drunk as a skunk. That'd be fun."
"I can imagine all the fun we'd have. You an' me all alone, all your inhibitions gone…."
"Ya don't haveta get me drunk to do that, sugah."
The silence hangs between them in an almost palpable form. Simultaneously, they rise from their seats and make their way out of the restaurant; Remy stopping only long enough to pay their bill and retrieve Rogue's coat.
"So, how are we gonna do this without actually touchin'?"
"Trust me, sugah. If Ah knew, we'd have done it already."
"Well, what if we didn't actually touch?"
"What? Then what would be the point?"
"What if I touch you, but you don't touch me?"
"Again, same thing. 'Sides, that wouldn't work."
"How about silk sheets?"
"Like in those stupid stories?"
"Okay, what if we…"
"An' Ah thought you were such a ladies man."
"How 'bout we take off enough clothes t' actually do it, but not enough to risk accidental contact to trigger your powers?"
"Plllggghhhh. That idea sucks."
"Oooooh, I got it. C'mere, let's try somethin' different." Remy grabs Rogue's hand and drags her to the Queen-sized bed in the middle of the lavish hotel room. He reaches into his pants pocket, withdraws a quarter, and throws it onto the floor. "Lets see if you can pick that up."
"Remy, that's not horribly challenging." She starts to get up off the bed to retrieve it, but he puts a hand on her arm to stop her.
"Not like that, with your mind."
"What?" Rogue turns to look at him.
"You have access to all the powers you've absorbed, including the telekinetic powers of Jean and Betsy. Maybe you can consciously use 'em, instead of them appearing at random." He grabs both her hands and implores her with his eyes.
Sigh Rogue looks to Remy, her love, then to the quarter laying on the floor. Theoretically, it was possible. Once the powers manifested themselves, with the exception of Cyclops' power (but only because he could not control the power himself), she could use them as effectively as their original owners. The problem was in controlling when they emerged; she never knew when they would or for how long. Sometimes, she would manifest several powers at once, not always with beneficial results.
"Okay, Ah'll try."
Remy slides back onto the bed and positions himself behind Rogue, pulling her against him. His arms snake around her torso and he rests his hands just below her breasts. Leaning into his warmth, she asks "Jus' how am Ah supposed to concentrate when you're distracting' me like this?"
"I'm not distracting you, I'm jus' givin' you incentive."
"Incentive to drive me insane, mebbe..." she sighs. Breathing deeply, the smell of him floods her senses. She relaxes into him before she realizes what they are doing. Abruptly, she tenses and moves away from him.
"Chere..." he whispers.
"Ah'm sorry, Remy." Arms close to the front of her body, rigid, she tightly clasps her hands together.
Seeing her attempt to protect herself emotionally, he smiles warmly at her to let her know he understands. "S'okay." He moves off the bed to stand in front of her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he simply informs her "Ya know how I get around money..."
"Ain't you in a constant state o' horny?" She refutes.
He laughs and pulls her back down onto the bed with him. She lets out a startled cry as she falls on top of him. Giving up, she rests her head on his shoulder and places her hand over his heart. "Wanna try the quarter thing again?" she asks.
"Later..." He pulls the covers over them and positions her so he can lay behind her, cradling her in his arms.
Rogue awakes the next morning with Remy spooning her, with one arm wrapped around her stomach and the other one covering her breasts. She lay there in utter contentment for at least half an hour, recalling the events of the previous night. She felt better about their relationship and had renewed hope about her powers. They had spent the better part of an hour trying to summon borrowed telekinetic powers. She had almost succeeded in moving the quarter; well she had thought she had and Remy encouraged her to believe in it. Whether it was true or not did not matter; merely believing that it could be possible meant the world to her.
Glancing at the digital clock on the nightstand beside the bed, she realizes it's time to return to the mansion. The team would be looking for her soon; it was nearly time to leave for Spain. Turning into his body, she buries her face into his chest and inhales his scent. Running her hands along the length of his back, she memorizes every contour, each inch of him. Remy slowly awakes and presses his hips against her as he stretches languidly.
"Mornin', Rogue." He kisses the top of her head. "Time t' go?"
Rogue doesn't move. "Uh-huh." She nuzzles closer to him.
"Sure you don' want t' take me wit you?"
"Ah don't think you'd fit in mah duffle bag."
"Then we should be getting' back." They slowly untangle from each other and get out of bed. Standing side by side, Rogue turns and puts her hand over Remy's heart.
"I'll miss you..."
