Hi guys! As I reached number 10, this one is extra big (well… actually just a bit bigger that the others :) ), extra Romyful, and probably extra late. :) (Just like in comics eh?) Anyway, Hope you enjoy!          Tayrion

Hearts Wide Open

Remy headed to the garden where he knew Rogue was playing baseball with the other kids of the mansion. She's finally starting to loosen up and open up to other people, he thought with a smile. He liked to think that he had something to do with the change in her mood and attitude.

She seemed happy as he saw her from afar interacting with the others. She was still cautious whenever someone got close to her and her face momentarily got a worried look, but soon was replaced with a very genuine smile, as something exciting or funny happened in the game.

Remy stood there in the distance for a while and watched her, as she enjoyed herself. It made his heart soar. He couldn't wipe the smile of his face watching her focus in the game and trying her best to keep up with some of the better players in there. It was very endearing.

At one point though Jubilee saw him and smiling knowingly, she 'subtly' nudged Rogue and pointed her at Remy's direction. Rogue's face lit up seeing him. She turned to the others and excused herself. Before she left their company, Jubilee winked at her and got back to her game laughing. Rogue blushed momentarily, but eventually made her way to where Remy was.

"You definitely are a sight for sore eyes cherie." Said Remy smiling suggestively.

Rogue looked at herself with a suspicious frown on her pretty face. Her sweatshirt was muddy and even torn at one place, her pants were also covered in mud, there was even a little on her face and she was certain that her hair was a mess. "If your eyes are sore Remy it's probably because of how I look. Oh my God! I'm a mess!"

Remy laughed out loud as her flushed face, from the effort she put in the game, blushed even more from slight embarrassment. "Remy! That's not funny!" She tried to come off as hurt and annoyed by his reaction, but she couldn't stop smiling herself.

"I'm sorry cherie. Dat was rude on my part. You still have some mud …" he reached his gloved hand and lightly wiped some mud that was still on her cheek. She did not flinch at all. Instead she smiled sweetly to him.

"Ok. I have to go clean up. Will you wait for me here?"

"I'd wait for you forever cherie, you know dat." He said with a sly smile on his face and his eyes staring deep within hers.

Rogue stood there transfixed by his words and his intense stare. Her heart started pounding faster and faster as he took a curl of her hair and gently adjusted it behind her ear. "I'll go get us some coffee while you prepare, ok?"

She nodded her head and started walking towards the mansion smiling, turning her head every now and then to look at him.

After a while…

Remy headed to the garden again, holding two cups of coffee in his hands. He had delayed on purpose as he knew that Rogue would take some time getting ready. When he saw her out there waiting for him, he almost dropped the cups.

She had prepared all right, maybe a tad too much for a casual chat in the mansion's garden, but he was certainly not going to complain. To him she looked breathtaking.

She was wearing a simple but quite tight blue jean and a loose white top that showed just a bit of a cleavage. Nothing too revealing but for Remy it was enough to get his heart pounding.

Her blouse covered most of her arms and she also wore white gloves that went all the way to her elbows. Never too careful about it, thought Remy. Finally, her hair were caught in a ponytail with a couple of loose strands of hairs falling to the side of her face. For some reason Remy always found that very appealing on women.

When Rogue realized that he was staring at her, she became very self-conscious and adjusted a strand of hair that was falling by the side of her face, just to satisfy her nervousness.

Remy quickly regained his composure and approached her with a smile. "Well… I have to say dat you clean up real good chere. Ah… … Just… Wow!"

Rogue blushed at his comments, but if she was going to be honest, that was the reaction she was hoping for.

"Now you're just teasing me Remy. I mean it's just a regular ol' jean and blouse." Said Rogue with a smile playing on her lips.

"Well… dey may be regular chere, but you sure make 'em look special." Remy smiled to her and once more looked at her from head to toe and whistled approvingly to prove his point.

Rogue chuckled in mock shock and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Now you're just being rude!"

Her punch caused Remy to drop most of the contents of the cup he was holding. "Oops. … Sorry." Said Rogue feigning innocence.

"Well… you should be." Said Remy in a mock-annoyed tone. "I put all my technique in that coffee, and now you'll never know."

They made their way to a small lake that was quite far from the others, so that they had some privacy.

"Did you enjoy de film last night cherie?"

"Even though I hate horror films I loved this!"

"But Dracula is no horror film. Granted dere are some scary moments, I'd have to say it's more of a drama. Probably one of de ultimate love stories. A definite classic on my book."

"I know what you mean. Imagine having to live eternity alone and doomed, waiting for your loved one. It must be awful!"

"Well… I know how it is. Sort of…"

"You?" asked Rogue suspiciously. "How would you know how it is?"

"Well… ok… I haven't lived an eternity, not quite close, but I do know how it is like waiting for… well… for as long as I lived, alone waiting to find the one person for me."

"You lived alone?" asked Rogue, again with a suspicious tone in her voice.

"Well not literally alone. I may have had many people and women in my life, but none understood me and none ultimately meant anything to me. So in that respect I felt alone." Said Remy obviously hurt by the memories.

"I… I'm sorry Remy. I did not know." Said Rogue very sincerely.

"It's ok. After a while I kind of got used to it."

Rogue remained silent for a while, not sure whether she should ask what she wanted to ask. She decided for it in the end.

"So… Have you found her?" She tried to avoid looking him in the eyes, so she picked up a flower from the ground and started fiddling it, to seem preoccupied.

"Have I found her?" asked Remy, who obviously realized what Rogue was asking him, but he wanted her to say it.

"You said you knew how it was, waiting forever to find your loved one. So have you found her? Just asking…" Rogue continued fiddling with the flower she held in her hands.

Remy remained silent. He was looking at her, waiting patiently for her to look back at him. Not sure what the silence was all about and not getting an answer Rogue looked up at him.

He looked deep into her eyes and smiled. He then reached his hand and softly stroked with his fingers her cheek. "I think I have."

Rogue froze still, her eyes locked into his, while he was gently stroking her cheek. Her heart was pounding fast and her mind was a twister of thoughts. She was overjoyed by his answer, but at the same time she felt very scared. What if it was a lie? What if all this was too good to be true? She couldn't shake the fear from her heart.

She wanted him to kiss her so badly, but at the same time she knew what that would do to him and perhaps her in the long run.

Remy felt all these conflicting feelings from within her. Passion, excitement, desire, joy, they were all present but they were stained with fear. He was considering taking the chance and kissing her, but when he felt the hint of fear in the palette of her emotions, he reconsidered realizing that a move like that would probably make things worse. All this time in his mind he was also analyzing the theory he had developed that Rogue can't control her powers because on a subconscious level she is scared of letting people get close to her. Something like that could easily have been created by a severe childhood trauma. But that was a very delicate territory and he thought it best to run it by the professor.

Rogue seeing that Remy was not taking things forward, relaxed a bit smiled and averted her eyes from his. She quickly tried to change the subject, not because she was disappointed, but because she felt very happy and embarrassed at the same time.

"I wonder if the others are still playing?" she said a bit clumsily.

Remy raised his eyebrow and smiled. "Ouch. If you're thinking about de game cherie, den it means I'm definitely doing something wrong here."

Rogue smiled back at him a bit uncomfortable, as she didn't want him to have the wrong idea about her comment. "Oh no! I… I was just trying… " She paused for a while, then a bit more confidently added: "…You're doing nothing wrong. Just the opposite."

"Dat's good wouldn't want to tink dat ol' Remy here is loosing his touch. And as I'm on a roll here, might as well confide in you something."

Rogue's interest was now peaked. She looked back at him with eyes wide from anticipation. Remy smiled seeing her reaction.

"Ok. But you have to promise dat you won't tell no one about dis! Although I think de professor might know about it."

"I promise I won't tell it to anyone. … As long as it's nothing too bad…" she added a bit thoughtful.

"Ahh… I can't say it to you unless you promise. It's very important dat you do!"

Rogue considered things for a while. She badly wanted to hear this secret Remy was about to tell her and then she thought that how bad could it be? Granted she knew very little about Remy, by now she already considered him incapable of any wrongdoing. After all he was always so nice and polite. "Ok. I promise."

Remy paused for a while looked around to make sure that no one was around and then looked at Rogue very seriously. "…I… I am not who everybody thinks I am. I… I am not an antique dealer… I mean I am, but I'm also a… I'm a professional thief."

Rogue searched Remy's eyes for a while to see if he was teasing her, and when she realized that he must be telling her the truth she widened her eyes in shock.

"You're not teasing me are you?"

Remy looked back at her dead serious. "No. I'm actually one of the best."

Rogue took a moment to absorb what she heard and then turned to Remy again. "Do you… have you hurt anyone while you were on the job?"

"Hurt? Yes. Killed? Never! And believe me when I tell you dat I steal from people who won't miss de loot. …Well of course dey will miss it, but dey can afford a hundred more of what I steal from dem."

Rogue was still unsure how to react. Remy was starting to have second thoughts, but it was already too late to go back.

"Look cherie… I'm not trying to justify myself. I know what I'm doing is wrong, but… what can I say… I'm de best dere is at it!"

Rogue remained thoughtful for a little more and then slowly a wide smile appeared on her face. "This is so wild! You're like some kind of modern Robin Hood or something!"

Remy smiled a bit relieved from her reaction. "Heh… Not wanting to rain on your parade cherie, but dere is de slight matter dat I don't give it to de poor. …Not dat I don't occasionally give money or food to poor people but… generally I work with contracts and hefty rewards." He added a bit clumsily.

Rogue was still smiling, which to Remy was a good sign. "If Logan found out… you'd be in so much trouble!"

Remy chuckled. "Don't get me wrong cherie, but I don't think dat Logan is one to talk about morality. Granted I don't know de man, but it's a hunch I have about him. Besides de only person's reaction I cared about was yours. But now dat I told you about my secret I want you to tell me something about you."

"Hey… That was not in the deal! I didn't agree to any such thing!"

"I know, but don't you think it's only fair?"

"You're right! After all it was a big secret! Alright… What do you want to know?"

Remy considered for a while whether he should push the subject of her childhood. "Ok… For starters… how did you join up wit de X-men?"

"Well… I was running away from home… " Remy made a mental note of this as it was something that supported his theory. "… and I happened on Logan. As I had no money and no place to stay he offered me a ride. It was then that Sabretooth – an agent of Magneto-  attacked us and Scot and Ororo came to our rescue and brought us to the mansion. After I talked to the Professor I decided to stay."

"Is dat why Logan seems so over protective of you?"

"Probably…"

"So why'd you run from home?"

Rogue bit her bottom lip. The memory obviously still hurt her and she was unsure whether she wanted to say anything. Remy sensing that, reached his gloved hand and lightly touched her cheek. Then he spoke to her very softly. "Sorry chere. I did not mean to bring up bad memories. It was stupid of me."

"No. It's… it's been quite long since I left there, it shouldn't bother me that much."

Remy still gently stroking her cheek spoke with understanding. "It's never long enough for an ugly memory to hurt cherie. You just have to be strong about it. I don't want to push you further, but maybe if you share the ugliness with somebody else it will be much easier for you."

"…Well… I… I was with a boy I really liked and… and when he tried to kiss me, I absorbed him and he fell into a coma. I didn't mean it. You know that right you know that I can't control it."

"I know cherie… It was not your fault. But why did you leave? What about your parents?"

"I was a freak for everyone in my town and that included them. Well maybe not my mom, but my dad was a real…" Rogue paused as the memory became too painful for her and tears started forming in her eyes. Remy immediately took her in his arms and tried to sooth her.

"Shh… cherie. No one can hurt you know! It's alright." Everything is pointing dat she indeed was abused as a child. Can't be absolutely sure though even though it's obvious dat she hates her dad. If I could just get my hands on him…Remy controlled his swelling anger towards this man he didn't even know and focused all his energy on comforting the woman he loved. As Rogue stopped crying and her breathing became normal again, he noticed to his surprise that as he had his arms wrapped around her, a slight part of his arm was exposed and was resting on her naked neck. His instinct told him to remove it, but then he thought that nothing had happened. She didn't absorb him and she hadn't noticed it yet. He remained like that a while longer to make sure that nothing happened, and after a while he was sure. The control aspect of her powers was subconscious. Now that she was not aware that he was touching her bare skin nothing happened.

"Rogue… cherie… I'm going to tell you something but I want you to promise me that you will try to remain calm. My arm is touching your skin and nothing has happened."

When Rogue heard him, she jumped up and away from him panicked. "Are you crazy Remy! I JUST TOLD YOU WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FIRST BOYFRIEND! How could you do this!"

Remy tried once more to calm her down. "Rogue I did not do it on purpose. De moment I told you was de moment I realized it. But dat's not de point cherie. De point is dat nothing happened. You didn't absorb me. It's all in your mind. You can control dis thing. You always could. You just have to realize it."

Rogue was frustrated and angry. "No! The point is that you don't understand that no one can touch me without getting hurt! At first I thought that this could work, but it seems that you won't let this drop I know that you don't mean me any harm, but if you falling to a coma is the only way to convince you, I'm sorry but I can't do it!" Rogue started crying and run away to the mansion.

Remy at first thought of going after her, but then reconsidered it. It's best to leave her alone for now, to calm down. But dis can't wait I have to get answers. I must talk with de professor.

The Professor had just returned from his trip to Boston when Remy entered his office. "Professor sorry to bother you, but I really have to talk to you. It's very important!"

Xavier was caught a little off guard. "Alright… Have a seat Remy. What is all this about?"

"I want to talk to you about Rogue and her power. I have a theory, dat I put it to practice and it turns out dat I'm probably right."

Xavier looked at him thoughtful. "You have a theory about Rogue's power? And you say you proved it? Tell me more…"

"De more I talked to her de more I got de impression dat her isolation is as much about not getting hurt by someone as it is for not hurting anyone. And I thought dat maybe de fact dat she can't control her power is linked to a childhood trauma in her past and derefore subconsciously making her to not want to control her power. …So does dat make any sense?"

"Well Remy I have to say that I'm impressed. That is the same conclusion that I got to when I talked to Rogue. You see the subconscious is so strong, especially in severe and traumatizing situations, it responds in extreme ways. In Rogue's case as the trauma reaches back to the time she was with her parents, I fear that it must have something to do with abuse. And while in other cases the victims of such abuses sometimes created another self in their psyches, to deny that something like that happened to them, in Rogue's case as her mutant power would allow her to potentially hurt someone if they touched her, it was much easier for her to think that she couldn't control her power and therefore had no choice but to never let anyone get close to her, so no one could ever hurt her like that again. It makes it easier for her as it takes away the risk of trusting the wrong person."

"Well… I accidentally put dis theory to test today professor. We were talking and as de conversation went back to her parents, and especially her dad if I got it right, she started to cry. I tried to comfort her and as I hugged her my arm, my naked arm, came into contact with her neck dat was exposed. I didn't realize it till after a while, and nothing happened. She didn't absorb me or anything. So when I told her about it, she freaked out and got mad and probably went back to her room."

The Professor looked at Remy thoughtful. "So… that goes along way to prove this theory right. As she was unaware that you were touching her nothing happened. But Remy… You shouldn't have pushed matters. Rogue needs to find things out for herself. That's why when I talked to her I told her that she had more chances of figuring out how to control her power than I had. Her situation is very delicate and we need to avoid pressuring her at all costs. She must want it herself to control her power."

"But Professor how is she going to achieve dat if she's convinced dat dat's never going to happen and dat de nature of her power is uncontrollable? She should know dat she can do it if she wants to!"

"Remy… I never told her that she will never harness her power, I just told her that I could not help her with it and that she would have to figure out the answer for herself."

Now Remy was starting to get frustrated. "But don't you see Professor… De way you're treating her is not helping things. You and Logan and de others, keep shielding her from everyone and everything else, and while she's here you leave her alone to deal wit things on her own! How de hell dis be good  for her?"

"I have to admit Remy that we might have seemed to you over-protective of Rogue, but the fact is that we don't know that much about you. How can I possibly trust you enough with a student of mine that is walking such a delicate balance?"

"If you don't trust me enough den why did you offer me a place in your team?"

"Because I want to give a chance for something better to everyone who needs it. And if my research of you was accurate you needed it. …As you don't seem too surprised about it I assume that you knew I would have researched some of your past, although I have to say that I wasn't at all convinced and I know there are a lot of things I do not know about you. I just want to believe that in time, when I have earned your trust, you will share it with me."

The Professor smiled at Remy who was sitting across from him and was looking at Xavier deep in thought. As Remy remained silent Xavier kept on talking. "As for Rogue,  I have to say that I have never seen her this happy. But I want to know Remy, why are you so interested in Rogue?"

Remy looked back at Xavier dead serious. "Because I want to help her. I… I think I'm in love with her Professor, and dat is not something dat happens to me very often. In fact… it has never happened to me before. Dat's why I'm probably so overzealous in trying to help her."

Xavier smiled once more to Remy. "I'm very glad you said that Remy, although I have to say that I didn't need my powers to see that. It's just good to hear you confirm it. Now Remy you must excuse me, but I need to get back to some unfinished business I have piled up here."

Remy got out of his chair and extended his hand to Xavier. "Certainly Professor. I want to thank you for dis talk."

"Remy you can talk to me as much and as often as you want. That's why I'm here. As for Rogue, please be careful on how you deal with what we said here. Don't pressure her too much… You know what I'm going to stop. It seems that you had more luck with her in the short time you're with us than we had all this time. So I'm going to trust you in this matter."

Remy smiled warmly. "Thank you Professor. I'm starting to see why all the others speak of you as they do."

Remy  got out of the professor's office with a mixture of conflicting feelings. As he was walking away trying to sort out his feelings and thoughts, the door to Xavier's office opened behind him and Xavier came out looking worried. "Remy! We have a problem. Please come back to my office. I have summoned the others as well."

Remy was now confused. "What's wrong professor?"

"I have lost Logan! I cannot sense him anymore!" 

To be continued…

Ishandahalf- Well a psychotic mercenary on the league of Wade Wilson is always a pleasant one. At least I think so. :) As you saw Wolvie never got the chance to dig anything other than what Wade told him, and as you saw Remy took away his surprise (to Rogue at least). And why do you think he should run? Anyway… More Romy in this chapter hope you liked it, although it seems that Rogue is a bit pissed off at the moment. But it can't be anything serious now can it? :) Glad you liked it though.

4Rogue- I never thought of Remy as stupid! And I'd like to think that no one else considers him as such. At least I never got that from the comics. What secret mission are you talking about? What sister? What cover? The man is really an antique shop owner… I really have no idea what you're talking about. (whistles innocently and walks away…) :) Glad you liked Deadpool's appearance. He is definitely one of my favorite characters, I just hope I did him justice. Oh… and who is Essex? Nathan! The guy's name is Nathan. I don't know nothing about any Essex guy! You're all talking crazy now. I… I'll be going now… :)

Cazie Elfie ie- BTW that's an interesting name… and spelling… :) What's all this talk about sinister things and Essex that you all keep talking about? I'm telling you he is just plain ol' Nate! Nothing important there! Really! :) Thanks for the compliments… But I hate to tell you that I'm going to end it at some point! The story is all planned out and we're probably half way there I'd say… Perhaps there will be room for a second one but I can't be sure if I'm going to do it… Thanks for reviewing btw.

NightGoddess- He's everyone's favorite psycho- merc and you're probably right. He is the only psycho merc. Thanks for your comments. Although I don't think I'm writing Gambit that much differently than what we already know from comics. At least that's how he always was in my mind.

Peace215- Really glad you liked it! Bobby and Rogue never seemed right to me either. In the movie it was just plain weird. The empathy thing I just put it as I've never read anyone explore it just a bit more and I thought it would be fun (well probably not for Remy as you saw what happened. :) )

Streetwise girl- Thanks for the vote of confidence! As for updating soon, I'm really having trouble with it as I can't produce more than a chapter every two weeks, due to too much work! Sorry. But I still hope you enjoy it!

leann- I must say that it was good motivation! :) There you also go rambling on about sinister things and Essex. What's wrong with all of you! It's really all very innocent, and you go making up conspiracy theories! :) Remy has nothing to hide and he proved it in this chapter! Or did he?… And what's wrong with Wade (the psych merc.)? He is a wonderful person! (Really deep down) :) If Logan annoyed you it might have been the last time he did… :)

Ima Super Mute Ant- then how can you talk? … anyways glad you found it cool (in all its forms! :) )This chapter I'm going for a more warm fuzzy feeling than cool :) …

Next: A mission for the X-Men and Remy! Could N.Orleans hold the key to Remy's downfall? And will Rogue trust and open up to Remy again?