Rogue made a mental note to remind herself to thank Xavier for giving each of the adult rooms their own bathroom. She had woken up a little while ago and just stepped out of the shower to hear the sound of her phone ringing. She ran out of her bathroom, grabbing the cell phone from where it was nestled on the pile of her clothes and left a trail of water in her wake on the floor. This situation might have been very awkward if she had been running out of one of the shared bathrooms, minus the towel.
"Hello?" she said rather breathlessly.
"Hey Chere. What y' up to?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." Rogue said, smiling as she took the phone back into the bathroom with her.
"Ooh. Now y' have gone and gotten Remy's interest."
"Didn't your momma ever tell ya curiosity killed the cat, sugah?" Rogue replied.
"But satisfaction brought it back, mon amie. So what are ya wearin'?
"Water." Rogue said, grinning.
"Anyting else, chere?"
"Nope."
"Merde."
Rogue grinned like the cheshire cat at the silence on the other end of the phone, "Ya still there, sugah?"
"Non. Remy has stepped out. Dis here be his answering machine. Remy'll get back to ya as soon he returns from fantasy land." Came the monotone reply
Rogue chuckled. She hadn't gotten a call from the Swamp Rat in a couple days, which was a long time for them. She had actually begun to get a little worried. It was partially the relief in hearing from him that was causing her to flirt as much as she was right now.
"Well then, I guess that Mr. Lebeu can't come out and play tonight."
"Oh, Remy'll will come out to play. Remy just think that chere is in de wrong city to play wit him."
"Oh. I don't know. Where are ya?"
"Still in de Big Apple. Now the question is where are you?" Remy asked.
"And here I thought you knew everything, Swap Rat. But I hate to get ya hopes up. I ain't in that city." Technically she was in Bayville, "But I got a surprise for ya."
"Oh yea?"
"Yea." Rogue said and then was silent. She wasn't going to say another word until he did.
There was a loud, exaggerated sigh on the other end, "You gonna tell Remy what his surprise is, chere?"
"No. But if you head out to that bluff over looking the city where ya got me drunk the last time we saw each other t'night around 7, ya'll find out."
"Chere wouldn't be planning of sending some one to kidnap dis Cajun and ship him to ya, now would you?" Remy teased her.
"Don't worry, no one is going to be jumping out of the shadows to grab you tonight."
"Bummer." Remy replied.
They continued talking until someone came and banged on her door.
"Another emergency at de House of Rogue?" Remy asked, and Rogue could almost picture his smirk.
"I should probably go deal with this. Call me tonight when you get your surprise." Rogue said.
She hung up the phone and walked over to open her door. On the other side were two very impatient people, with equally pissed off expressions on their faces.
"Are you going to, like, spend the entire day in here or are you going to come out some time." Kitty asked.
"Ya. Ve have been patient enough." Kurt said.
Kitty walked through her as Kurt ported into the room and they looked expectantly at her.
"Sorry?" Rogue said, still not sure how to respond to this sudden invasion.
"You should be." Kitty said, "So..."
Rogue was utterly confused.
"What did you get us?" Kurt finally asked.
Rogue laughed and shook her head. She should have known.
"Greedy little mutants, aren't ya?" Rogue commented, pulling out her suit case.
The first package she pulled out, she tossed to Kurt who eagerly unwrapped it. Inside he found an apron wrapped around a beautifully crafted, leather bound book. The apron was bright red and declared in cheerful writing, 'Devil in the Kitchen'. Kurt laughed. Setting aside the apron he curiously opened up the book and gasped as he recognized it.
"Rogue, where did you get this?" Kurt asked in awe.
"Hey, I was in England. If there is anything that you can't find there, I'll be amazed." Rogue said, still digging in her suitcase for Kitty's gift.
Kitty leaned over Kurt's shoulder, "Is that Hebrew?"
"Ya. Dis is de Bible in it's original language."
"I figured this way ya could confirm all that stuff they tell ya at seminary." Rogue said, finally pulling out another package, "Hey Kits, this ones yours."
Kitty took the package and ripped into it eagerly, pulling out a compact disk, "What's this?"
"I have no clue. If you want I can call Danny and let you talk to him. I just deliver. I believe he said something about just putting it onto your computer..." Rogue looked at the disk helplessly for a second before shrugging.
Kitty looked at the disk in her hand curiously and almost missed the silver necklace that fell out on the same bag. There were two symbols carved on to a thin line of black stone that hung off of the necklace.
"Those are runes. One stands for Pride and the other for Cat." Rogue said.
"Kitty Pryde." Kitty said with a laugh, hugging Rogue, "Mind if I go put this on my computer? I'm really curious."
"Sure. Just don't blame me if it causes weird things to happen." Rogue said.
After Kitty left, Rogue turned to find Kurt reverently turning the pages of the Bible.
"So, I take it ya like it?" Rogue asked, feeling suddenly unsure about the gifts she had chosen for her friends.
"Are you kidding? Dis is the best! Danke!" Kurt said, setting down the book with a grin.
"NO WAY!" came the sudden scream that sounded suspiciously like Kitty.
Kurt teleported instantly and Rogue followed, a grin on her face. She may not have understood what Danny said he put on that disk, but she had a feeling it was any hackers dream come true. Kitty was probably one of the few people that she knew who would understand everything on that disk and appreciate it fully.
Sure enough, she walked in to find Kitty practically bouncing in her seat, talking a mile a minute to Kurt, who, if his expression was anything to go on, had no clue what she was so excited about.
Seeing Rogue, Kitty spun in her chair, "How did you get this? This isn't even supposed to be for sale. And even if it was, it would be so out of my price range. Like tens of thousands out of my price range!"
Before Rogue could even reply, Kitty turned back to her computer and started typing like mad. Rogue could barely make heads or tails of what came up on the screen but she was used to it and didn't try to hard. Kurt was looking over Kitty's shoulder as if he stared hard enough, eventually everything would make sense.
"Hey, I thought you wanted to hang out with me?" Rogue finally said, breaking the silence.
Kitty looked up guiltily at Rogue, then glanced at her computer with a mournful expression before turning back to Rogue. She reminded Rogue of one of the kids back home begging her to let them finish their cartoons before she dragged them out to practice using their powers.
"Fine. I'm going to go deliver the rest of my gifts. When I'm done we'll hang out, okay?" Rogue suggested.
Kitty grinned and nodded. Definitely like the kids back home.
Rogue walked back to her room and pulled out a few more packages. For Xavier there was a small statue of two men, arms clasped, called 'Brotherhood'. It seemed to embody all that Xavier had ever wanted and she had bought it several months ago, knowing someday she'd be able to give it to him. For Ororo there was a small package of seeds that she had picked up. All the seeds were native to the area of Africa Ororo was from and she hoped that they would grow in the greenhouse. For Jean she had found a red glass figuring of a Phoenix, wings spread to fly, rising from the ashes. Something about it had made her get it specifically for the telepath. For Beast she had picked up a large book with the works of several philosophers on the nature of man and a set of chocolate, each piece with the picture of a major philosopher on it. There was something very satisfying about biting the heads of of chocolate versions of Plato and Hobbes. Scott was getting a pair of fuzzy dice for his newest baby out in the garage and a book on the possibility of life on other planets. It was always something he had scoffed at and she thought that maybe she could prove him wrong. She delivered those gifts first, knowing where to find all the people easily enough, handing them out as fast as possible, since it always made her feel uncomfortable listening to people's thanks.
It was weird, being back after so long. So many things were different and so many things were exactly how she remembered them. A lot of the people she had lived here with had moved on, going to college or other things. But some people still remained. But Xavier was still to be found in his office, a calm beacon of confidence. Logan was still prowling around, checking the ground. Ororo was still the voice of reason even though Scott led the team officially now.
But she wasn't the same.
She didn't quite know where she fit anymore. She was no longer a student or an X-Man. She had lived on her own for so long that she no longer felt the need to follow blindly and assume that all was for the best. She had been through too much, seen too much to ever believe that anyone else could ever tell her what was for the best. She had screwed up over the years, made enough wrong decisions to know that all leaders are fallible. It had taken her awhile to realize that. That she wasn't the only one who was unsure about what she was doing and scared at the idea of screwing it all up.
When it had been just her, she hadn't been scared but the first time one of the battered mutants collapsed on her doorstep and she took charge, became responsible for not just her future but theirs as well, she felt that fear. Fear that she would screw it all up and drag all the people who had put their faith in her down as well.
Rogue knew just how unsuitable of a leader she was. She was about the most emotionally unstable person she could think of. She was anti-social and bitchy. Even her mutant power didn't help her. Sure, she could occasionally give people insight into controlling their powers, but she still couldn't even control her own. As for wise advice, the best she could normally manage was to just listen as others poured out their problems to her. She couldn't even understand why people did that. It was one thing to go to someone like Professor Xavier who always seemed to know what was going on, it was another thing to go to Rogue.
Rogue shook her self out of the bout of self-pity she was falling into. It was an old route and she had no doubt that she would walk that path again but that didn't mean that she had to stay there. She was getting better at cutting off the feelings of depression and self-pity before they could take too firm of a hold on her.
Rogue returned to her room. There were a few more gifts for people still stashed in her suitcase but she had taken care of a lot of the major ones. The others would have to wait. Now she just had to tear Kitty away from her computer and track down Kurt so that they could hang out for the rest of the day.
Rouge was exhausted. She had forgotten how much energy it took to keep up with Kurt and Kitty, especially if either had gotten a hold of sugar. She was getting way too old to be running around town all day. Her old bones just couldn't take this kind of abuse.
She glanced at the clock and groaned. And she was supposed to meet Remy tonight.
Woo hoo, party all day and all night. Riight.
Now if only she could manage to stand up without anything creaking.
Rogue eventually managed to stand up, but her spine cracked loudly, protesting such movement. She stumbled into the shower and let the hot water pound down on her, soothing muscles that were tense from sitting in a car while Kitty drove. And Logan thought she was bad. At least she didn't drive through the other cars an the road.
Eventually she forced herself to turn off the delicious spray of warm water and get ready. Stepping out of the bathroom, she wrapped a towel around herself and dumped all of her clothes out on the floor, looking for something suitable. She wasn't going to dress up, after all, it was not as if tonight was a date. She was just surprising an old friend. But she felt the need to at least look good. Make the stupid Swamp Rat swallow his tongue.
Finally she settled on a pair of faded black jeans. Through the belt loops she threaded a large chain. A tight green, long sleeved shirt was tossed on after this. A silver mesh collar with black bead work was strapped around her throat. After looking at herself critically in the mirror, she ended up painting her nails a chrome silver to match the belt and choker and added some darker color to her lips. The last touch was a pair of black leather gloves that Remy had sent her awhile ago. They were like his, with two fingers on each hand missing.
At first she had been a little worried about wearing them but she a soon fallen in love with them. The uncovered fingers were easily kept away from other people but still allowed her to feel other things, giving her the tactile sensations that she had denied herself before like the feel of a piece of paper or the brush of bark from a tree.
She smiled at herself. She had gained a lot of color to her skin while she was wandering around Europe. People had always mistaken her pallor for make-up in the past but she had just been that pale. She had grown up always covering her skin to protect the people around her and that skin had never seen the light of day. It hadn't been until she started being outside at least twelve hours a day that her arms and legs got uncovered in the presence of the sun. Especially when she had been hiking in the mountains. There she hadn't bothered covering up as much since there simply hadn't been any other people around. Now her skin had a darker flush to it from the kiss of the sun.
Throwing her old brown leather jacket over everything she headed out the door.
She actually managed to make it out of the mansion without being stopped. Several of the younger students had seen her but she didn't know them and they weren't about to stop her. She really didn't want to explain to anyone where she was going or who she was planning on meeting. Logan would probably be able to guess but she doubted the other X-Men had any clue that she was still keeping in contact with their enemy.
She hopped into the jeep that Logan had pointed out to her and tore out of the mansion drive, enjoying the feel of speed. She didn't get to drive that often, she didn't even own a car, and so when she did it was always a thrill.
It was probably because she was enjoying herself so much that it took her so long to notice she was being followed. It took a few random turns to convince her that the white van really was following her but by the time she pulled into the bluffs, she was certain. She parked the car and got out as fast as she could and began walking down the path.
She was actually used to people following her. Some were mutants, trying to work up the courage to talk to her while sometimes it was some oneout for blood, angry at her for something. She was kind of curious to figure out who these guys were. As far as she knew, her "fame" hadn't broken any sort of national barriers, so there was no reason anyone here should be after her.
The van pulled up behind her and stopped. The side door opened and half a dozen men in black masks poured out of the side of the car.
"Shit. Well, I'm going to say these are definitely not the friendly type." Rogue muttered, noticing the guns that were in their hands.
"Halt!" One yelled and they quickly formed a circle around her.
"What can I do for ya, hun?" Rogue asked, glancing at them and letting her curiosity show.
"You are to come with us." The same man said before gesturing to another man, "Go search her car for the books."
"Books? What books are ya lookin' for?" Rogue asked, smiling at the fact that she had one less person to worry about.
"Not your concern. Come on. Into the van." The man barked at her, waving his gun.
Two men walked up behind her and tried to grab her arms.
"Sorrah. I've already made plans for tonight." Rogue said, grabbing the arm of one and swinging him into the other man. Something went whizzing past her ear and she reacted instantly, calling up Colossus's metal skin to protect her. Using Scott's power, she blasted the man who had fired at her while several other bullets bounced off her metal hide. She spun around and hit one of the others who was trying to grab her from behind. She heard a snap as her metal fist connected with the guy's jaw and saw the blood.
Just then another two vans pulled up and even more men came pouring out. Rogue made a decision and ran. She dropped the metal skin and called on Pietro's speed. Already though she could begin to feel the strain of calling up the older powers. None of these people were ones she had touched in years and therefore using their powers was the hardest.
She ran as far as she could before she felt the speed become too much of a drain on her. She knew she couldn't fight off that many people on her own. She needed to conserve her strength and find help. The closest help was hopefully waiting for her on the bluff.
A stray though whispered that the man she was running towards may be responsible for the men with guns. But Rogue ignored it.
Behind her she could hear angry shouting and the sound of booted feet running in her direction.
Up ahead she could finally make out the outline of the bluffs. Her heart sank as she didn't see any one up there waiting. What a day for the Swamp Rat to be late.
She skidded to a halt and looked around frantically for some place to hide. Suddenly somebody grabbed her arms. Rogue screamed and kicked out, sending her attacker back as she added just a touch of super strength. She spun around to face the man that had caught her and gasped.
"Why is it chere, that you always got to beat up on this poor Cajun?" Remy asked with a slight pout, leaning on his bo staff.
"Damnit Remy! You scared meh t' death." Rogue yelled.
"Y' got ta give me a surprise. Remy only figured it be nice t' return de favor." he said with a smirk.
"Ya need to work on your surprises, Swamp Rat!" Rogue shot back.
Remy opened his mouth to respond as a hail of bullets suddenly flew through the clearing where they were talking.
"Merde! I t'aught ya said no one was going t' jump out t' get Remy tonight, chere." Remy said, ducking behind a large tree before charging three playing cards and sending them flying in the direction that the bullets were coming from.
"They're not after you. They're after me." Rogue yelled back over the sound of dirt exploding.
"But dey were definitely shooting at Remy!"
"Shut up at run, Swamp Rat!" Rogue yelled, taking off into the woods.
Remy was at her heels as Rogue ran. Up ahead she saw a large lake and finally got an idea. Grabbing Remy she jumped into the lake.
The men following them ran up to the lake just as the couple disappeared under the water and began fanning out, searching the area. For any trace of them. Several eyed the lake suspiciously but when after ten minutes there was no sign of either of the two people they had been chasing, they left the area.
Rogue waited five more minutes after everyone was gone before raising herself cautiously out of the water. She had called up Aspen's power, which let the girl become and control water. She had switched herself into Aspen's water form and created an air bubble around Remy. After she was sure that her pursuers were gone she raised Remy's air bubble from the lake and deposited him on the land.
Releasing Aspen's power, Rogue collapsed to her knees, panting. She felt like she had just run a marathon and was trying to slow the beating of her heart.
Remy fell on his knees next to her and smiled, "Well, chere, Remy be surprised."
"Good." Rogue panted, "Then it is your turn to save us."
"Damsel's in distress be Remy's specialty." Remy said, standing her up and letting her lean against him.
Rogue let him lead them away and mentally shook her head. This was why she didn't go on vacations. Her vacations were never restful.
By the time Remy got both of them back to where his bike was parked, Rogue was able to stand on her own. She was still extremely tired but she was also starving. That had always been the result whenever she used other's powers. It was like her metabolism kicked into high gear and if she didn't get some food in her soon she would be doubled over in pain. And then it was too late to eat.
Throwing her the helmet, Remy and Rogue got on his bike. He drove to the closest fast food joint, ordered from the drive through, handed Rogue the bag and sped off again.
Rogue wanted to ask him where they were going but it was impossible to talk and she was too exhausted to even think about telepathy. For the moment she was just going to have to be content with hanging on to him as he smoothly wove the bike through traffic.
Finally they pulled up in front of a rather run down building. While it was by no means a five star hotel, Rogue could tell that it was a clean and comfortable sort of place. It actually reminded her more of her house in England. Remy pulled out a set of keys and had her follow him in to the building and up a flight of stairs. Rogue could smell the burgers in the bag and her stomach was begging her to just rip it open and devour everything inside. Instead she managed to wait until Remy opened an apartment door and ushered her in.
Almost before he closed the door, Rogue had the first burger out and half way gone. Remy knew all about her powers and how they affected her metabolism. He had just never seen the results before. It was truly amazing how quickly the food disappeared. He snatched a french fry and chewed on it as Rogue finished off her third burger and unwrapped the fourth. But she was slowing down and it looked like he might actually be able to get her attention away from the food in front of her.
"So chere, want t' share who be shootin' at Remy?" he asked.
Rogue glared at him as she swallowed before answering, "They weren't shooting at ya. They were shooting at meh."
"Ah. And who were dey?" Remy asked patiently.
The only response he got was a shrug.
"Rogue." Remy said with a sigh.
"I don't know Remy. They just wanted t' take me somewhere. The only other thang anyone mentioned was something about books."
"Books?" Remy asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Don't ask meh. I have no clue." Rogue said, finishing off the last burger with a contented sigh.
"You sure?" Remy asked.
"Hey, I've been in the States for less than 48 hours, sugah. I have no clue who those people were. This is my vacation." Rogue said.
"Vacation? T' see Remy?"
"Don't get too full of you'self Swamp Rat. There's a long list o' people I came back to see." Rogue said.
"But Remy be on dat list, non?" Remy asked with that smirk of his.
Rogue opened her mouth to retort but a huge yawn cut her off.
"Ya weren't kiddin' when ya said usin' other people's powers take it out of ya, Roguey." Remy said.
Rogue glared at the nickname and stood.
Remy stood up as well and led her into another room with a large bed in it, "Ya can crash here tonight."
"I don't wanna kick ya out of your own bed Remy. I can just crash on the couch." Rogue replied sleepily.
"Non. Besides, Remy always wanted t' get ya into his bed." he replied cheerfully.
Rogue frowned, trying to think of a response but her sleep fogged brain refused to cooperate. Instead she settled for a low growl of frustration before collapsing on the sheets. As she drifted off, she felt Remy pull the covers up over her and switched off the lights.
AN: So I've been reading some awsome Remy fics lately and decided to bring some of the comics characterization of him into this. But that'll come more in the next chapter or so. I actually have about two pages of the next chapter written just because I knew what I wanted to write. Unfortunatly, I promised to update my other fic before I write anymore of this so it'll be a couple weeks before I finish writing that next chapter. As always, I suck at writing fight scenes so I tend to gloss over them. This chapter was a little ackward but I got out what I wanted to say. Probably not all to elequantly but I got it out.
spankychaff - thanks. That is probably the hardest part of writing fanfic is keeping characters "in-character".
khay - you and me both hun. I write more during exams than any other time. Keeps me from going insane. Glad the story keep you sane and happy as well.
Sirsta - I'm glad you like the fact that I'm going kinda slow with the relationship angle. I wanna play some with those two characters and explore some of what makes them tick before I have any great confessions of love.
Panther Nesmith - No Bishop. Promise. I really don't want to deal with all the headache that he can bring into a fic. And hey, this is an Evo fan fic and he doesn't exist in this universe. At least no yet. But Destiny does and therefore Destiny's diaries...
Sunset Rose - Remy is in this chapter. There will be much more of him in the following chapter.
Yumiko - yea, for some reason I was actually picturing some of my reviews when I wrote Kurt's comment...hee hee.
snow queen2 - hopefully the new stuff is as good as the old.
Katrina5 - Wolverine will be a major part of this story (crosses fingers) and I wanted to give his the strong bond with Rogue that I always thought was there in the show and the comics.
Caliente - um...no fireworks yet. Mostly running for their lives...But the fireworks are coming! Promise!
sweet-chick3 - hee hee. Sorry, I understand how bad an addiction to fanfic can be. But I'm really happy that this was one of the stories that brought back the addiction.
Mercurial1 - will do. Hope I can keep you entertained!
Rogue4787 - aw, with awsome reviews like yours I think you'll get more shoutouts. Seroiously, it is really cool when people tell me what they think about the story and the way things are going. It lets me know if I'm getting things across the way I want them to be.
ishandahalf - umm...does this count as ROMY-ness? Can I have a gold star? I did stick in Remy. hee hee. Well, thanks for the review. It actually means a lot from you. I see your name all over the place and I've actually checked out your favorite stories page to look for good stuff to read. Anyways, thanks!