--
"What are they talkin'
about?" Rogue stood outside the kitchen, peeking in to see Jean-Luc and
Mystique sitting at the kitchen table, across from each other, talking quietly.
'If only I could read lips.' She squinted at their moving lips but
unless they were saying, 'I love to eat chicken,' she was no lip reader. She
then glanced down at Remy, who was sitting against the wall, happily going
through her photo album.
"Don't you ever smile in pictures?" He asked, carelessly flipping the page.
What intrigued him the most was how in every picture she had the white streaks.
Even in the embarrassing 'naked in the bathtub as a baby' picture she had white
steaks in her hair.
"Don't you do anything other than smirk in your pictures?" She shot back
at him, recalling the pictures Mattie had shown her. Rogue then took a seat
down next to him and glanced over at the picture he was looking at. "Wow. I do
look like someone killed my dog in my old pictures." She reached over and
gently ran her fingertips over the picture. "And that's before I got my
powers."
Remy grunted; eyeing the
spiked collar she was wearing in the picture. "You look like you killed
other people's dogs."
"Okay, enough pictures." She decided, reaching over to take it from him. He
immediately pulled away from her and got to his feet.
"I'm not finished!" He
held it up in the air, out of her reach. "Aren't we a little grabby today?" He
smirked and wiggled his brows suggestively at her.
"I hate you." Rogue growled; evil and sexual thoughts ran through her impure
mind. Shut up, like evil and sexual thoughts about Remy aren't in your mind.
"No, you don't. You love
me."
"I'd love to choke you."
"You'd love to choke my chicken." Rogue just rolled her eyes at the
comment, but didn't deny it.
"Wow Rem.." She walked in closer towards him and out of nowhere, she cupped his chin in her hand. "You have nice lips.."
"Forget it, you ain't gettin' the album back until I go through all of it."
Famous last words.
The second Rogue's lips touched his; he dropped the album and immediately wrapped his arms around her. Right before his arms could get a secure lock around her, she dropped down, grabbed the album and ran.
"Damn." He reached up and touched his lips. What the hell had just happened?
Rogue had happened, apparently.
--
"Cherry." Rogue jumped when she felt arms encircle around her waist from behind. The hairs stuck up on her neck when she felt Remy's breath on her neck. She sucked in air, tensing up as he rested his chin in the nook beside her neck.
"What?" She placed her hands on his wrists. She could almost sense the smirk on his face as he kissed the spot on her neck where his chin had been.
"Cherry
lip gloss." He mumbled, inhaling the
scent of her hair. "Cherry conditioner, no? Does Rogue have a liking for the
artificial scent of cherries?"
"I want to know why Mystique is here." She said monotone, not even listening to
him. She was good at fading out voices.
"What does that have to do with cherries?" Remy decided
to just let it go, although, now he had a hankering for cherries. "I'm sure
it's nothin'." But he knew with Mystique, it was never just 'nothing.' He
realized he hadn't exactly told Rogue that he had fought against Mystique's
'team' several times.
Rogue just shrugged against him and sighed. "I need to take a cold shower."
Remy immediately smirked. "'Cause you're standin' so close to me?" No, actually Remy, she was just about in your arms..
"No, because it's so dang hot in here."
"Dang?" He mused, allowing her to pull away from him. "Dang?"
"Damn?" She tried again, without much care or thought. Rogue then pulled her album out from behind a large teddy bear that was sitting on a chair. She then sat on her bed and patted the empty space next to her."You're goin' to willingly.."
"Just sit down before I change my mind."
He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at her, giving her a look.
"What?" She asked, sounding impatient. A slight frown masked her amusement and his pose; he looked like a clothed underwear model with a perplexed look as he decided: boxers or briefs?
"Nothin'."
"Don't lie to me. What?"
"It's nothin'."
"Tell me before I get tweezers and pull out every peach fuzz stand on your chin."
For being the adopted child of an assassin, she surely did have her unique ways (or threats) of getting information, or what she wanted. "I was thinkin'." He stated, looking self conscious as his eyes darted across the room.
Rogue raised her brows. He was avoiding eye contact with her. How cute yet annoying at the same time. "Don't let me stop you, go on. Thinkin' 'bout what?"
"It's nothin', really."
"It's always somethin. Tell me, now." Just the stern sound of her voice made him want to recoil. Not that many people had that effect on him.
"I was thinkin' about how.." He placed his index finger on his chin as he looked up to carefully pick out his words.
Rogue rolled her eyes and fell back, hugging the album against her chest. "Any day now."
"Hold on. I'm thinkin'." Seven minutes went by until he sighed. "I can't remember." He paused, waiting for her to jump up and throw him out the window. "Rogue?"
She had fallen asleep.
"Figures." He mumbled, crawling onto the bed. He laid next to her after taking her picture album and tossing it on the floor. "Besides, it didn't take me that long.." With a yawn, he drifted off into a dreamless slumber.
--
"What do you want with the girl now?" Jean-Luc asked, burping as he got to his feet. He dragged his feet over to the fridge and took out a can of beer. "I still need her, y'know. This wasn't in the contact."
"There was no contact, you fool." Mystique hissed, slamming her fist down on the table. "It was I leave her here with you, and she'll work for you. That's all. I want her back now."
"She's valuable to me. You think I'm goin' to give her up that easily?"
"You
have your son back—"
"Remy ain't really in the business anymore." He corrected with a snarl as he
opened the can that was clutched in his hand.
"She's my daughter, Jean-Luc. She does what I tell her to say and tomorrow, she's leaving with me." Mystique stood up so quickly, the chair she had been sitting on fell back. "Don't double-cross me, LeBeau. You won't even get to live long to regret it."
"She's your adopted daughter, Mystique. What do you want with her? You want 'er to steal some candy? A toaster? You need 'er for her fightin' skills?"
"She's coming back to Bayville with me to join my team of mutants."
"So, you goin' to make her wear spandex and run around doin' goody-goody stuff?"
"Quite the opposite. I only need her for a while."
Anger flashed in Mattie's eyes. She was standing outside the kitchen. How could she treat Rogue like that? They're actin' as if she's the town bicycle, like she's property. Remy, too.
"It's not safe for me to have her up there too long. I can't risk Xavier recruiting her. Then she's useless to both of us. Now, take me to go see her."
"There's somethin' you should know, Mystique. I lost the bet." Jean-Luc muttered, chugging down half the beer.
Mystique just cracked a wicked smile. "Your son is Remy LeBeau; Gambit, isn't he? I think I could make this work.."
--