Author's note : Okay, there's a bit too much of Jubilee/Wolverine in this chappie for my liking( Even though I really like them as a couple as well, I just don't focus my writing on the because Rogue and Remy are better, of course.) but still I'll do better next time. Also I realize Jubes , does get a bit preachy, and that her character is a bit different in this chapter( okay a lot) but I'm on meds for Strep throat, I can't even talk for cry'in out loud, just gurgle loudly, so go easy on me this time okay? Next chapter will be above par, it may even have sex it if I'm in the mood.
VII
"Wi-wife?" Rogue said in disbelief before tossing her head back and laughing. "That's the most ridiculous thing Ah've ever heard."
"My thoughts exactly." Bella said with a sigh as she set her brief case down. "But it's still true none the less."
"And you're what?" Rogue said from the shelter of Remy's arms, obviously not believing her one whit. "Here to claim your man, Sugah?"
"No, thank you." Bella said empathetically. "You can have him; I've had about as much of him as I can take. In fact that's why I'm here."
"And here Ah thought you were hear ta go bowling." Rogue said
"Charming." Bella said with a sigh. "And yet you'll notice your little lover boy hasn't said anything." She coughed politely. "So he hasn't said anything about being married?" She laughed at Rogue silence and shook her head. "Why am I not surprised?"
"You're serious." Rogue said in shock.
"As the heart attack that Remy seems about ta have." Bella said, a hint of her southern background creeping in. "But don't worry, like I said, I'm not here to claim him. He's all yours, and by the way you have my deepest sympathies about that, as soon as I finish my business with him."
Remy still hadn't spoken a word, just held on tightly to Rogue as if she were made of spun glass that would be soon out of his reach. He kept trying to speak but it seemed like he was unable to form words, so instead like a coward he stayed silent and prayed this was a nightmare he was going to wake up from soon.
Meanwhile Rogue was sizing up the women in front of her like she would any other enemy, and (since Bella was clearly crazy as a cotton ball, that's what she was viewing her as.) She was blonde, 5'9 and of a petite stature, dressed in an immaculate white Gucci suit and heels with her platinum hair wound in a tight French roll. As Rogue watched she took her sunglasses off and dropped them in her hand bag casually, revealing a pair of startling blue eyes. Everything about her spoke of money, and power and privilege, she bet if she looked outside there'd be a limo or Mercedes, waiting to take her away at her spoiled whim.
Rogue didn't like her one bit.
She decided it was time to put an end to this charade, by going straight to the source. "Remy." She said, looking up at him in concern. "She's lying isn't she?"
Remy could feel this whole world cracking and shaking around him like a leaf caught in one of Storm's winds and for a moment he didn't know what to say. It seemed like either way, they were all going to get hurt but Rogue was going to hurt the worst and there was no way he could prevent it.
"It's true." He finally in a shaking voice.
"See, there you-what?" She said looking up at him in shock as she pushed away from him. "What did you just say?"
"Ouch!" Bella said with a dramatic grimace. "That had to hurt."
"Shut your pipe, Blondie before I rip you a new one!" Rogue said viciously, satisfied that when she took a step towards Bella, she wisely stepped back and got out of Rogue's way. "Now, what did you say Sugah?"
"I said it's true.' He said as he struggled to meet her eye to eye. "Remy's so sorry, Coeur but its true. Bella and I are married."
"Ah don't believe this." She said, feeling like the floor had fallen out from under her feet.
" Believe it, it's been true for almost seven years now." Bella said casually as she inspected her manicure.
" You never told me." Rogue said and he could see the pain slashing through her, ripping apart what they had like a knife through butter. "You knew what Ah was going through, and you knew the pain that this would cause me and you said, nothing!"
She was practically screaming at him as she spoke, feeling the pain like it was physical, knowing vaguely that the other members of the team had entered the foyer and were watching them but she didn't care. She felt sick, physically and mentally, and something much deep then that, she should couldn't even find the words to name, let alone express.
" Remy's sorry chere." He said, taking a step towards her, only to have her back away like a scared rabbit, like she had been when they'd first met. " I didn't want you to find out about this."
" And just when did you plan to tell me?' She asked as the tears began to fall down her cheeks. " If ever, when Ah got pregnant? Or when you decided you'd had enough of me and were ready to move on?"
" No," he said harshly, watching out of the corner of his eye as Bella rolled her eyes in a bored fashion. He felt anger surge through him, for the first time in his life he wanted to hit a women, but he held back, knowing he'd regret it as soon as he did it.
This wasn't totally Bella's fault, it was his as well, and it was something he'd have to live with for the rest of his life.
Rogue knew she couldn't take anymore, it was just too much, so she turned and without another word, ran from the foyer heading in the direction of her room, sobbing. Remy knew he'd done the one thing he'd promised not to do and broke her heart, hurt her like Drake had done.
She'd never forgive him for this and he knew he deserved it.
He started to go after her and wasn't shocked when Logan stepped in front of him, arms crossed across his chest. He glared at Remy and he was reminded of the warning Logan had given him when he and Rogue were first getting together. " I don't think so Cajun." He said through narrowed eyes. " You're not getting near her right now."
" But-." Remy said as he tried to move past him and found himself blocked by a beefy arm.
" Not right now." Logan ground out. " You've got business here ta finish."
" Maybe I should come back." Bella offered, now that the damage was done and Rogue was out of the picture. "This seems like a bad time."
"You're not going anywhere girl." Remy said harshly, and realized he was getting quite sick of having an audience. He stalked over to the nearest door, the door to Xavier's conference room ironically and tossed it open.
"In!" he said with jerk of his head, not wanting to be anywhere near her, wanting to go to Rogue but knowing that he wasn't going to get near her anytime soon.
And with the look on Logan's face he wasn't even going to try right now.
"Yes master," Bella said sardonically as she cruised past him into the room's doorway. "Anything you say, Master." She waved a hand casually at the now silent team. "Nice ta meet ya'll.'" she said as she disappeared into the room, with Remy following her.
"Nice to meet you too." Jean said cheerfully as the door slammed shut. "Bitch."
"Totally." Jubilee said as she munched on a saltine and tried not to throw up on Logan.
Again.
Without another word, Storm, Jubilee and Jean all headed for Rogue's room. It was going to take some major girl time if she was going to come out of her room again anytime soon.
"Okay." Remy said as he leaned against the edge of the table and resisted the urge to blow it up. "Aside from making Remy's life a living breath hell, what do you want Belle?" An after thought struck him. "And how da hell did ya find out where I was, I never told you where I was going."
" Please!" Bella said with a roll of her eyes. " The son of the head of the Thieves Guild skips town without a word, and you didn't think I'd use my own Guild connections to find out where you where? You're not that stupid Lebeau."
" Fair enough," Remy said as he crossed his arms over his chest. " So, why are you here?" A horrible thought occurred to him. " Ya ain't pregnant are you?"
" That would just blow your mind, wouldn't it?" She said with a hollow laugh as she playfully skimmed her flat stomach and rested her hands on it, watching as a look of disgust crossed his face. She knew the last thing he ever wanted was a life time connection to her. " No." She said after a moment, knowing he was sweating it out, god knows she loved to see him sweat in any way he could. " I'm not pregnant Remy."
" Good." He said in relief.
" Oh come on," She said. " Don't be like that, we used to be so good together."
" Yeah." He said with a short laugh. "Dat's until Remy found out dat half of New Orleans was in your bed when Remy wasn't."
" Not half." She protested as a siren's smile crossed her face. " More like three quarters."
" Hmmm." He said with a snort.
" Oh what did you expect?" She laughed. "With you, gone half the time, traveling all over the world, doing jobs for the Guild and your father?"
" Faithfulness, would have been nice, or at least a damn good place to start." He said in disbelief.
"You mean like you were when you were away?" She asked.
" Remy never cheated on you." He said. " I had it pushed in my face, plenty of times by plenty of cheres but I never gave in, because I thought you were worth it." He snorted again. "Boy, I was wrong."
" I was young, too young" She yelled. " Practically a teenager when we got married, I'd only been twenty for two days for godsakes. You didn't expect me to play the little wife while you were away, and sleep in an empty bed. You couldn't have."
" Sorry, Remy thought dat was da entire point of marriage." He said then shook his head as if to ponder his point.
" To be alone?" She asked, having the nerve to look wounded, like the injured party. " To sleep alone, to always be on my own because you were consistently away?"
"To go out with your friends, get drunk, charge up my credit cards, after you'd maxed out yours and your papa's, on cloths you'd never where because you bought them on a whim and hated them later when you were sober?" He intoned. " To go out to the bars, pick up the prettiest boys you could find, and do them in our bed. The bed I bought us, as a wedding gift?"
" It was all I had!." She cried, getting flustered now.
" And that sweet little white powder, you loved so much Bella?" he asked quietly as he looked her up and down. "You had to have that as well, right, no matter what it cost you or who it cost you?"
She looked away, and then back to him, speechless because she knew it was true. He'd listed a lot of the reason's their marriage broke up but that was the main one. She'd promised again and again to stop using but she could never manage to go more then a few day, or at her worst a few hours, before she caved in and used again. He'd spent many a time nursing her through the worst of her withdrawals, when she'd been so weak she could barely move but she always went back. The drugs were everything to her, and he knew it.
The final straw had come the night Remy's adopted father Jacques, had been in the hospital dieing, and Remy had caught her using in the hospital room, bathroom. She'd just needed a little, just a little to get her through the night but he'd been furious and flushed everything down the toilet. She'd never seen him so mad or hurt, he'd dragged her from the room and told her he never wanted to see her again. She'd crawled off to get her fix from her dealer and when she'd returned to their loft the next morning, buzzed out and worn out, he'd been gone, moved his stuff into storage and disappeared. He'd let a note stating that he thought it was for the best, and informing her his father had passed during the night. She hadn't laid eyes on him again, until the moment she'd walked into the mansion that day, since he'd requested she not attend the wake or funeral out of what little respect she had for his father.
" That's why I left, you know." He said quietly as if reading her mind. " Because I couldn't stand watching what you were doin to yourself."
" It doesn't matter now.' She said with a shrug, straitening her shoulders. " I don't use anymore."
" Right." He said " Remy's heard dat before."
" I don't." She argued. " Not since that night."
" Good." He said with a nod, clearly not believing her. "So get to the point of why you're here or is it just to make sure my life is in tatter again this New Year like it was the last."
She smiled, almost sadly but no quite and held up a leather briefcase. " I'm here about an end."
" An end?" he asked " To what?"
She shook her head. " To us, if Ms. Southern Psycho had stayed around I could have told her too. I'm here to give you the best present I can think of Remy."
" What?" he asked.
" A divorce." She said as she began to pull out the papers her lawyers had drawn up for them.
" Merry Christmas."
Meanwhile, upstairs in her room, the first thing Rogue did was throw up.
She hunched over the toilet in her bathroom and retched as the room spun around her, until she couldn't anymore and then flushed the toilet and crawled to the sink to rinse her mouth out. As if that would take the bitter taste of betrayal away.
Afterwards, she sat on the floor of her bathroom, against the tub and cried, hugging her knees against her chest as she fought the waves of pain that threatened to swallow her whole. She'd never wanted to go through this again in her life, one was hard to take but she knew she could survive.
Twice was unthinkable.
She was so distraught she didn't hear the knock at the door, until the sound of someone picking its lock caught her attention.
Trust Jubes to take the situation in hand.
" Rogue!" Jean called from the doorway, leaving no room for discussion. " Honey we're coming in."
Rogue pulled herself up off the floor, and after taking a deep breath left the bathroom, tissues in hand as she made it to the end of the bed before collapsing again in tears.
" Oh, honey." Jean said as she wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly.
" It's too much." Rogue wept. " It's...just… too much."
" I know." Jean as Jubes and Storm all sat down beside her, shocked at the state she was in. Rogue was very strong person in nature, she didn't let things get to her if she could, she didn't let people she her as weak.
It took a lot to bring Rogue to her knees and let people see her in pain.
Right now she was flat on her back on the ground, and it didn't look like she'd be getting back up for a long time.
" Ah can't do this again." She gasped. "Ah can't go through another betrayal. It hurts too much, Jean, Ah can't breathe." Jean's response was to hold her tighter as Storm began to stroke her hair softly and silently while Rogue continued to cry softly. " Ah can't breathe... Ah can't breathe... Ah can't breathe"
" I know, sweetie." Jean said with a sigh as tears began to fill her eyes. " I know."
She didn't sat anything for along time after that, just held her and rocked her gently like she would a child as she cried everything out, waiting until Rogue spoke. Because she knew she would, and she knew she needed too.
" You know the worst of it?' She finally asked quietly as she looked up at her.
" What?" Jean asked as she wiped the tears off her cheeks.
" Ah love him." Rogue said with a laugh. " Isn't that ironic?"
" Why is it ironic?' Jubes asked, finally speaking, having stayed silent the entire time they'd been in the room.
"Because Ah don't think Ah ever really loved Bobby." Rogue explained "And yet when he left it nearly killed me. Now Ah love Remy, more then Ah've ever loved anyone and it hurts even worse, Ah didn't think that was possible." She shook her head lightly and leaned against Jean again. " Ah don't think Ah can survive this."
" Yes, you can." Jean said firmly. " You will, we'll help you."
" But how?" Rogue asked. " How can Ah do this?"
" I don't know." Jean admitted. " But we'll find a way."
" I could have Logan flay him for you." Jubilee asked innocently as Rogue laughed through her tears. "No really, he offered." She grinned crookedly. "He even tried to send vivid flashcards of what he'd do to the Swamp Rat if you wanted, but they were really badly drawn, so I said no, Chica."
" Thanks Jubes." Rogue said as she laughed again.
" Hey I made you laugh, that has to count for something right?' Jubilee said as she settled back against Rogue's pillows.
" It does." Rogue assured her.
" Some Christmas, this had turned out to be." Storm said with a sigh.
" Yeah." Jean said as she stroked Rogue's hair with a gloved hand. " The only person who's gotten a good gift is Jubilee."
" Really." Rogue said.
" Not really." Jubilee said with a sigh. " The smell of food makes me nauseous, my feet are swollen already and this morning I had to practically race Logan to the bathroom to pee before I wet myself and then make excuses because he didn't know yet."
" And just think…only seven more months of this to go." Storm said as Jubilee grimaced and threw a pillow at her head.
" You guys." Rogue said softly as Jean caught the pillow with her mind and sent it back to Jubilee, nearly knocking her off the bed in the process. " You guys are the best friends Ah could ever have."
" We know, baby." Storm said gently " But we're not who you want right now."
" Sure you are." Rogue said with a sniffle. " Ah couldn't ask for anyone else."
" Not even…" Jean said with a raised eyebrow.
" No!" Rogue said. " All Ah want right now, is you guys around me."
" Good." Jean said as all four of them settle in for the long haul, lying down on Rogue's bed as she began crying softly again, almost silently into her pillow as the pain seeped in again like a cold mist. " Because we're not going anywhere."
"Why did we ever get married in the first place?" Bella asked softly as Remy studied the papers she'd given him.
He sighed, and tossed the papers down on the table before speaking to her in a cool tone. "Because your papa wanted it, and my papa wanted it." He laughed sadly. "We really didn't have anything to do with it, all we had to do was show up at the church and remember our lines."
"That's the sad part. Bella agreed. " Another time, another place…"
"No." he said with a shake of his head. "Ah don't think we were ever meant to be together Bella."
"That's rather pessimistic." She said in surprise. "We loved each other once."
"Like you said, we were kids." He said "We didn't know anything, let alone what love was."
"And you know more now?" She challenged.
"Maybe so," he said. "Maybe not, all Remy knows is that, right now, everything is very screwed up."
"It always is, that's life." She said. " If everything isn't screwed up, your dead."
" And you think I'm a pessimist?" He asked as his eyebrows shot up.
" Just sign the damn papers." She shot back. " So I can get out of here without your girlfriend, kicking my ass."
" It might be too late." He said as he began to red-read the papers one last time.
" What to not get my ass kicked?" Bella asked with a raised eyebrow. " She does know I'm an assassin right?"
" Remy meant ta call her his girlfriend." He said with a sigh. " Thanks to you showing up, she ain't gonna have anything ta do with me."
" Oh yes." Bella said in a deadpan tone. " Because it's my fault you didn't fill her in on us."
" There isn't an us left." He reminded her. " There never really was."
" If you say so." She said as she handed him a pen from her briefcase. " But can I give ya'll a little bit of advice."
" No." he said, knowing she'd go on anyways.
" This isn't a big deal." She told him. " In the grand scheme of things."
" To her it is." He said with a sigh. " She'd been hurt a lot in the past."
" So what?" Bella said. " The past is past, and there's nothing you can do to change it. Besides it's not like you were sleeping with us both, or like we were together in some sort of way other then legally. If that had been going on, it'd be different."
" Get ta da point Bella." He said through gritted teeth as he signed the papers.
" My point," Bella said as she took the papers. " Is that if she's willing to run away that quick, to give up or cave in, on what you had that swiftly at the first sign of trouble instead of standing up and fighting for you, then you'd both go back and look at what you had, because from my point of view, it don't look like much."
As he walked her to the doors of the conference room, Remy fought back the curses that were bubbling up in his throat.
He hated when Bella made a valid point about something.
" Here we are." He said when they'd made it to the front doors.
" Thanks." Bella said as she slipped on her coat. " Those papers are preliminary by the way, my lawyer will be contacting you shortly about the final ones."
" Good." He said. " Remy thinks it's best for da both of us if you stay far way from here."
"If you say so." She agreed then spoke in a softer tone. " She'll come around Remy, just wait and give her time."
" Uh-huh." He said unwilling to discuss Rogue any further with her as he opened the massive front doors. " You should go."
" Right." She said as she started for her car.
" Bella," he said as she went.
" Yes." She said as she slid her sunglasses on.
" If you ever show up here again, it won't be Rogue, you have to worry 'bout kicking your ass. Are we clear?"
" As ice." She said with a perfect bitchy smile.
" Good." He said then slammed the door hard, disappearing from her sight.
Bella smiled as she slid into the backseat of her Mercedes. " I look forward to it Remy, I really do." She sighed and leaned back against the plush seat as she spoke to the driver. " Take me to the airport James, I have a jet to catch."
" Yes ma'am." James said. " If I might ask, did things go well?"
" Oh yes." Bella said as she took the divorce papers out of her briefcase and looked them over. " Much better then I could have expected." As she spoke she pulled a small silver cell phone out of her purse and dialed a familiar number.
She had a very important call to make.
" Boy, you really fucked up this time." Logan said as Remy walked from the foyer into the media room where the he and Scott where playing pool.
" Remy knows." He said with a sigh.
" She is never going to trust you again." Scott said as he sunk the nearest ball.
" Or let you near her." Logan said as he rolled his eyes. "Hey Scooter, I'm solids your stripes, quit hittin my balls."
" Sorry." Scott said, pushing a scary but strangely pleasing mental picture out of his head. " I wasn't paying attention."
" Are you ever?" Logan said as he made a perfect shot.
" I'd better go see how Rogue is." Remy said, as he turned towards the steps.
" I wouldn't do that if I were you Gumbo." Logan said as he sunk the last ball.
" Why da hell not?" Remy asked, tossing up his hands in frustration.
" Because Storm, Jean and Jubes, haven't come down yet." Scott informed him in a know it all attitude. " That means that Rogue is still really upset, to go up there is to travel into certain death, and a painful one at that."
" Well what am I supposed ta do until they come down?" he asked.
" Break Gumbo." Logan said as he tossed him a pool cue and began to re-rack the balls. " You can break."
After three hours of playing pool with the hairy Canadian and Scooter, the amazing eyeless wonder boy, Jean finally appeared, followed closely by Jubilee and Storm.
" How is she?" Remy asked quickly, as he dropped the cue.
" Oh she's just peachy." Jean said with a scowl. " How the hell do you think she is?" Without warning she slapped him hard across the face as Logan and Scott winced. " That's from her."
"I deserved that." He said, he had a feeling the hit hadn't come from Rogue at all, she'd have gone for other parts of his body if she wanted to really hurt him. His girl was smart like that. As he rubbed his jaw and studied the angry redhead in front of him he sighed, removing his hand only seconds before Jean hit him again.
"That's from Storm, Jubilee, myself and every other female in the mansion old enough to understand what you did." Jean said. " And don't even think about going up to see her."
" Why not?" Remy asked in anger.
" She doesn't want to see you and if you try to force your way into her room, you'll have me and the girls to go through." Jean said harshly as she turned to Scott and give him a kiss on the cheek. " Honey if you want Christmas dinner, you'll have to go on your own. I've lost my appetite."
With that, she turned and began to stalk out of the media room, heading the direction of her office as Storm and Jubilee began to follow her. Abruptly she turned on her heel, and returned to Remy's side.
"You know what? She said and cracked him across the face again. "That's from the rest of the younger girls who don't understand what you did, just for making Rogue cry!"
Her tirade over Jean turned and stalked from the room again, with the other women on her heels.
Only Jubilee slowed and stopped for a moment as she gave him a sad smile. "She's sleeping." She offered as Logan wrapped his arms around her for a brief moment. "Wait a bit longer until she's had some rest."
" Thanks Jubes." Remy said, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully as she and Logan left the room, followed by Scott. " Thanks a lot."
It was well after midnight when Remy tossed the cards he'd been shuffling, down on the table, wincing as some of them puffed away from his biokinetic energy.
There went another deck and he'd liked that one too.
He pushed back from the table, rubbing his neck as he looked at the clock again. After hours of playing Solitaire, he was bored, hungry and frustrated that he still hadn't been able to see Rogue. She hadn't been at dinner, and Jean and Jubilee had been with her most of the night after. God knows he didn't want to piss Jean off again. He was already sporting a nasty bruise on his cheek from earlier, with no desire for a repeat performance, he didn't think his face could take it.
He'd tried to sleep but after weeks of spending his nights in Rogue's bed, his room was cold and foreign to him. A place where he could remember how badly he'd screwed things up, so he'd given up the ghost and slunk downstairs to play cards until he cold fall asleep again.
With a sigh, he rose from the table, and decided to raid the kitchen for something to eat. He knew it would be stocked with food, leftovers from the Christmas dinner that hardly anybody had eaten. Hardly anybody had touched the food at dinner, in fact the general consensus was most of the Christmas sprit had somehow during the day been sucked out mansion to be replaced by embalming fluid.
At least the adults felt like that, the kids hadn't noticed anything different because everyone had tried as hard as they dare to make things good for them, despite everything that was going on.
Remy's stomach growled, reminding him he'd only picked at his dinner and he quicken his steps towards the staff kitchen and stopped when he saw the light was on, signaling that someone was there.
A sense of Déjà vu hit him as he saw the figure standing at the counter, filling a plate hastily with food so the trip back to her room wouldn't take that long. He watched as Rogue moved about clad only in her robe, and from his vantage point he could see her face was swollen and red from crying over him.
He'd never felt so low in his life.
Remy opened his mouth to speak but to his surprise she spoke first, without looking at him.
" How'd you get that bruise Cajun?" She asked icily. " One of your other wives give it to you?"
" Very funny." He said stepping into the room. " Totally unfair but funny."
She turned and leaned back against the counter, clearly waiting for him to answer her question. " Jean." He said finally. " She smacked Remy a good one."
" Ah'll have ta thank her tomorrow." Rogue said as she turned back to her food.
Remy chose not to remark at that, but went on speaking anyways. "She acted like a ruffled overprotective mother bird all day, hovering around ya constantly."
"You mean like a Mother Phoenix?" Rogue said over her shoulder.
" Oh." Remy said after a moment of thought. " Remy never thought of that before."
" Apparently you never thought of a lot of things." She said stiffly " Like the fact you have a wife."
" Remy was going to tell you." He stated as he ran a hand through his hair.
" Right." Rogue said.
" I was." Remy pleaded. " Remy jus didn't know how to tell you."
" Honestly would have been a start." She said with a painful laugh "Or was that to much to ask?"
" That's not fair chere." He snapped. " With the exception of that, Remy was never anything but honest to you."
" Why should I believe you?" She sighed.
" Because Remy loves you." He said simply. " And you love me."
" Wrong Cajun." She said. " Ah loved you when Ah thought Ah knew who you were but now? After keeping something like that from me, Ah'm sure who you are, let alone if Ah really love you."
" Fair enough." He said with a sigh, even though it hurt like hell to hear her say it. " Remy really never meant to hurt you Rogue."
" Yeah, well you did." She said and he could hear the anger and emotion in her voice. " How the hell could you not tell me something like that?"
" I don't know." He said " It just seemed like we were so happy, I didn't think it mattered that much."
"Of course it matters." Rogue said. "Your married Remy, you're not free to do as you please."
" Remy will be soon." He informed her curtly. " Dat's why Bella came here, ta give our preliminary divorce papers."
" Good for you." She said with a shake of her head. "On the day you present me with your final papers on a silver platter, then we'll talk. Until then just stay away okay?"
She turned to leave, her food long forgotten but he stopped her, he didn't want her to leave yet. He wanted to make the situation right, in some way, it just didn't seem right to let it lay the way it was. " Wait." He said. " Please?"
" Why?" She said her voice breaking. " So you can hurt me some more."
" No." He said. " You've got ta listen to me, Remy never meant to hurt you."
" And you've got to listen to me!" She cried as she stepped back into the kitchen and shut the door behind her. " Ah'm tired of getting screwed and then screwed around by men!"
She advanced on him and he backed up, seeing how upset she was and wanting to take her in his arms but deathly afraid if he tried, she'd rip them off and beat him to death with them.
" Do you know what it took for me to trust you after Bobby?" She asked. " Do you know what Ah went through, the agony of wanting to trust but being scared as hell. Deciding if it was even worth trying, if Ah could trust again, to be with you and let mah heart take that fall? Ah seconded guessed myself at every turn, saying I trusted you, way to soon, that Ah didn't know you enough and then Ah would push my feelings aside and chalk it up to nerves. Ah would tell mah self you were different and it was okay" She shook her head. "You know nothing about what Ah went through to be with you at all Remy."
She wiped the tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand as if upset he was seeing them. " This was mah worst nightmare, to feel this way again. Ta want ta die because it hurts so much, like Ah can't breathe or think or feel because it's not safe, and Ah wanted it to feel safe with you so badly."
" It is safe." He pleaded. " Remy promises."
" No!" She said holding up a hand. " No more promises , Ah've had enough promises and lies to last me a life time."
" Remy didn't lie to you." He said softly.
" No because you didn't tell me anything." She cried. " Ah lie by omission is still a lie!"
" Remy's sorry." He said
" You don't get it." She said as she leaned against the counter. " When Ah met you, I was in pieces from what Bobby did to me. I didn't think I'd ever be whole again. I felt like I'd lost something, a piece of me, that'd Ah'd never get back." She sighed and spoke softly. " And you showed up, and I felt for the first time like everythin would be okay, I felt healed and I was happy, so happy." She looked at him and he could see the wealth of pain in her eyes, it ran much deeper then he'd ever thought it could be. " You were like a balm for mah heart and it was all a lie!"
Before he could say anymore, she'd and run from the room, removing his necklace from around her neck as she did so and tossing it back at him as she slammed the door shut behind her.
With a loud curse in French Remy swiped a glass off the counter, charged it mildly and tossed it at the kitchen wall, leaving a coffee pot sized smoking hole behind in his wake as he grabbed the necklace off the floor and stalked from the room.
The next seven days were the most miserable of Rogue's life and that was saying a hell of a lot, given what she'd lived through in the past.
While New Years sped past in a tear filled blur, that she wouldn't later remember, she spent most of the time in her room, coming out only to eat and wander aimlessly around the gardens; while Scott covered her classes again and coughed absently at the mention of the fact that she wasn't attending any team training sessions in the Danger Room. " Rogue" Sightings began again with anybody who had managed to see her, speaking up and filling in those who hadn't. Mostly relaying facts about how she'd been crying or red faced as she prowled through the halls back to her room. It was a general team consensus that time had slipped back four months to September and Rogue was miserable again.
In fact, everyone in the mansion agreed there was only one person more miserable then she was.
Remy.
While Rogue stayed away from others and took an introverted approached to her suffering, Remy seemed to do the opposite, yelling at any adult who approached him, snapping and cursing as he tore his way through the mansion by day and slunk through it at night, unable to sleep alone. The students began to avoid him after classes, and he began to avoid the dining hall where it seemed like everyone was staring at him as he wolfed down his food as fast as he could. It wasn't long until, in addition, to "Rogue" sightings at the nightly staff meetings held, there was " Rajun Cajun" sightings as well; and well one was preferred vastly to the other( Guess which?) they were both considered bad signs and very depressing to the point where after a week the team finally convened to take matters into their own hands.
" We've got to do something." Storm said, tossing her hands up in frustration as she paced Xavier's office. " This upheaval can't go on much longer."
" Tell me about it." Cyclops said . " I'm now covering Rouge's classes and Remy's classes, in addition to my own." He rubbed his temples. " I spent an extra three hours today teaching Remy's science class, Human Sexuality and then Rogue's Music class. I'm, exhausted"
The room silenced completely until Jean spoke gently, fearing her husband was on the verge of a massive mental episode. " Honey." She took his hand gently in hers. " Remy doesn't have a science class, he teaches Fundamental of Shop."
" Then who the hell was supposed to be learning Sex Ed today and whose friggin class did I teach?" He asked as a blush crept into his cheeks. "And where'd the goddamn drawings and slides come from?"
" I think the students were pulling your leg." Jean informed him as she struggled not to laugh.
Scott opened his mouth and then closed it and then opened it again. "I need to get some sleep." He finally muttered as he shook his head.
" Anyways." Storm said, changing the subject back to where she'd begun it. " We need to find a way to get those back together."
" What?" Logan asked. " Are you joking darlin?"
" Not a bit." Storm informed him seriously.
"Look" She said when he snorted a response, and rude one at that. " Whether we or they want to admit it or not, the simple fact is, no matter what Gambit did or didn't tell her, their miserable without each other."
" So?" Logan said " She'll get over it."
" And him?" Storm asked.
" Simple." Logan said with a grin. " I have a plan. You let me get Gambit alone in a dark room for five minutes and…"
" No." Storm said empathically. " That's not a plan Wolverine, that's first degree murder."
" What's the difference?" He said blankly.
" Logan's plans for Remy's violent castration aside." Jean said. " Ororo's right, we need to find a way to get them back together, because their too stubborn to do it on their own."
" And Rogue's too wary of him now." Scott put in.
" Hey, Jeannie." Logan said with a wave of his hand. " I thought you hated Remy for what he did to Rogue, you were the one that socked him one, no three times. Correct?"
" True." Jean said as she sipped her wine and thought about it for a moment before speaking. " But she's my friend and I want to see her happy, and unfortunately I have to agree with Storm. That seems to be with Remy, Logan." She sighed. " And we need to get things back to normal again around here, both for the student's sakes and ours."
"I agree." Storm said. "Have you seen the wall in the kitchen lately?"
"The one with the hole in it?" Scott asked.
"It's not a hole, it's a crater." Jean said "And it just screams 'Rogue and Remy were here' "
"Okay, your right we need to get them back together." Scott said quickly as visions of a totaled mansion floated through his head, as he cast a glance at Logan.
"Everyone's gone nuts." Logan said as Jean elbowed him and he grunted unfazed. "But for Rogue's sake I'm listening." He leaned back against his chair. " So what do we do Storm?"
" Well, I don't have a big plan or anything." She said. "I figured we'd send someone into to talk to Rogue. She's the key in all this, if we can get her to talk, then we' be set. We need to get her to see things from a clear unbiased perspective and try to make her feel better in the process.
"And after she kills them and plasters them to the wall for others to see and be wary of?" Beast asked " What do we do then Ororo?"
" Look." Storm said. " She loves him, he loves her, it's just going to take some talking to get things moving again. I'm convinced of it, I wouldn't be suggesting this if I wasn't."
" Okay?" Scott said. " We need to get them talking but to do that someone has to talk to her, I get it."
" So did the rest of us, five minutes ago." Logan said with yet another snort in Scott's direction. " Dork."
" So." Jean said thoughtfully. "When you've got one person who's as stubborn and persistent as iron and another who's as stubborn and persistent as granite, who the hell do you send in to talk to them?"
" Easy." Storm said, nodding her head to Logan's right. "You send someone who's as stubborn and persistent as diamond."
Slowly every head in the room turned and looked where Storm was looking, at one very small, very pregnant, Chinese-American girl who was silently seated next to Logan painting her bare toes a brilliant shade of purple as she listened to her latest burned rock CD.
" Are you up for it Jubilee?" Storm asked.
" Sure." Jubilee said as she slid her headphones out of her ears. " If you think so Ororo."
" Great." Storm said with relief. " You're a real help."
" No problem Chica." Jubilee said easily as she blew gently on her feet and looked up at her friend and mentor. "Now what was it you wanted me to do exactly?"
"Now remember." Logan said as he walked Jubilee down the hall. " If she makes any sudden moves towards you, for the sake of our future child, run like hell for the door and don't look back."
" I'll be fine." Jubilee assured him absently. " Rogue is not gonna hurt me in any way." She cocked her head thoughtfully. " And if she does I'll spark the hell out of her."
" That's my girl." Logan said as they reached Rogue's door. He kissed her forehead and after making sure no one could see him, dropped down on one knee and pressed a kiss to her bare still flat abdomen. " Good luck."
Jubilee watched as he hurried down the hall away from Rogue's room as fast as his short hairy legs could carry him. " Men!" She snorted as she steeled herself and then knocked on Rogue's door. " Rogue, Chica, its Jubes can I come in?"
" Sure." Rogue called back. " The door's open Jubes."
Jubilee smiled and pushed open the door. "Oh my" She said as she looked around at the rubble that had once been Rogue's room. Normally kept in neat precision, it was a mess, with cloths lying every where and books and CD's scattered about, not mention plates and other eating implements.
" What's this?" Jubes asked ironically looking around. "Wait, let me guess! You're revamping your room in Angry Rajun Cajun/ Rogue Punk Grunge Style or something now?" She cocked her head. "Is there a magazine to tell you how to do this? 'Cause I'd love to read it and see how it's done; Logan would love this look for our rooms."
" Very funny." Rogue said from where she was lying on the bed, reading a magazine. " Ah was just doing a bit of redecorating that's all?"
" Chica." Jubilee said, taking in her friend dressed in old grey sweats and a faded T-shirt. " Monsoons do this type of redecorating, not humans."
" What do you want Jubes?" Rogue asked, tossing the magazine aside into a large scattered pile, making Jubilee wince even more at the mess.
" To talk." Jubilee said.
" About what?" Rogue asked.
"Cloths, the weather, my baby, your sex life, The Brotherhood, anything." Jubilee said. "Just talk."
" The team sent you to talk to me about Remy." Rogue deduced as she rolled over on her side, and faced the wall away from Jubilee.
Jubilee cursed violently in Chinese and any other language's she knew (Mostly from Logan and half of them sexual) under her breathe as she looked at her friends unmoving stiff back.
"No!" She said as she tossed a pile of magazine aside and sat down on the bed, gingerly placing a hand on her friends back. "They just thought you needed to talk to someone, that's all and I am studying to be a counselor."
"Good, come see me in two or three when you've got your degree."
"That's not funny." Jubilee said defensively.
"It wasn't meant to be Sugah." Rogue said. "So, they thought they'd send the pregnant chick in and because you're vulnerable, I wouldn't tear your head off."
"That's the idea." Jubilee said with a sigh as she caught something out of the corner of her eye and felt her heart skip a beat. There was a large pile of scarves, cloths and magazines by Rogue's dresser and for a moment Jubilee could sworn she saw something move through the pile quickly. She shook her head, dismissing it as fatigue playing tricks on her mind when it happened again.
Something moved.
A furry little grey ball moved through the magazines, across the floor, over a pile of laundry and right over Jubilee's bare freshly painted toes. As she jumped up on Rogue's bed with a loud shriek as the creature made a dash for under the bed.
"Oh God Rogue, you've got a rat in here!" She cried as she scanned the floor for the furry intruder, all thoughts of helping Rogue forgotten for the moment.
"It's a hamster" Rogue said dully, never moving.
"What?" Jubilee asked as she grabbed a magazine to bean the thing with, before she remembered, she was mutant. She'd shock the furry little critter until squab would look better, if he got near her again."
"It's a hamster, not a rat." Rogue said lifelessly, still staring at the wall. "Herbie from the science lab downstairs, if I'm correct."
"What's it doing in here?" Jubilee asked horrified.
"The kids let him in here, two days ago when Ah was sleeping." Rogue said with a sigh. "They thought he'd scare me out."
"And it didn't work?" Jubilee asked, sitting down beside Rogue on the bed, as the furry little guest crept out from under the bed and scurried to a plate of toast crusts for a late dinner out.
"No." Rogue said vaguely. "We've learned quite nicely, to co-exist peacefully."
Jubilee watched as Rogue held out her hand and the hamster scurried over and onto it as Rogue began to stroke his fur. "See." She said mistily. "He's nice and he's real soft, feel." With that she thrust the hamster at Jubilee.
"Get that thing away from me!" Jubilee said as she scurried to get away and nearly fell off the bed.
"What?" Rogue said, looking offended as she hugged the hamster to her chest defensively. "Oh look, you hurt his feelings!" Jubilee watched as Rogue cuddled the hamster close. "Don't worry Herbie, I'm still your friend, you'll always have me."
It was at this point, Jubilee realized her friend really needed her help and decided it was time to get to work.
" Okay, Rogue." She said as she slid off the bed and faced her friend"You need to get up right now!"
" Why?" Rogue asked as she released Herbie again and caused Jubilee to jump back up on to the bed with another shriek.
" Why?" Jubilee said. " Because you talking to a hamster, that's why. Because this place is a mess, because you need a bath badly. Should I go on?"
" No." Rogue said. " And Ah'm fine thank you."
" No, your not." Jubilee said empathically. " You need to get up, get some clean cloths, and clean up." She took a deep intake of breath and forced herself to speak again. "And then you need to make up with Remy."
This got Rogue's attention.
"What?" Rogue said rolling over so she faced Jubilee.
"I said you need to get up." Jubilee said. "And get moving again."
"But what did ya say after that?" Rogue said.
"I said you need to get back with Remy." Jubilee said warily.
"That's what Ah thought you said." Rogue said in disbelief. "Proof that being with child has addled your mind."
"Not likely." Jubilee said then after a moment of silence. "Look, you really need to talk to him. For all our sakes, not just yours and his."
"After what he did?" Rogue said "Not a chance."
"And that was?" Jubilee said, sitting down on the end of the bed gingerly and beginning to flip through a magazine.
"You know very well what he did!" Rogue cried. "He lied to me, didn't tell me he was married."
"Oh." Jubilee said and then in a deadpan voice as she tossed the magazine aside. "So?"
"So?" Rogue said her jaw dropping.
"Yeah, so?" Jubilee said.
"How can you be so nonchalant 'bout this?" Rogue said. "You know what Ah've been through this year."
"Last year actually." Jubilee pointed out. "And maybe it's time to start over, ya? new year and all." She coughed. '"And to answer your question, I love the Wolverine, if I wasn't nonchalant about everything, I'd be bloody off the ball insane by now."
"You've lost your marbles anyways." Rogue said.
"I'm not the one talking to a rodent like it's my last hope in the world." Jubilee pointed out. "Why is this such a big deal?"
" Why are you doing this?" Rogue asked miserably.
"Because you're my friend and you're inconsolable." Jubilee said. "Now answer my question."
Rogue thought about it for a moment before speaking. "Because Ah've been through hell in the last year." She said finally, trying not to cry. "Because Ah needed to trust someone so badly, and Ah got burned again and Ah should have known better, because he didn't tell me about his past."
"Okay." Jubilee said with a nod. "I can understand most of that; you don't want to get burned again but his past?" She snorted, "No offense Rogue but come on everyone in this mansion has a past. Hell my boyfriend can't remember his history and he has a past that regularly comes back and tries to kill us all in some form or another. If your gonna give up every time the past comes back to bite you in the ass, your never gonna get anywhere."
Rogue didn't answer just flopped back on her pillows and avoided Jubilee's gaze. "Can I tell you something?" Jubilee said.
"No." Rogue said. "Ah'm tired Jubes, Ah'd like to rest now if your done preaching at me."
"Not a chance!" Jubes said being brutal. "Your gonna listen to me, I don't care if I sound preachy or not!" She sighed and tried to calm down, taking deep breaths before she strangled her best friend. "You know, when Logan and I first got together, everyone was against it. Do you remember?"
Rogue nodded silently.
"That's right because you were one of them." Jubilee reminded her. "Their was our age difference, what the others thought, his past, his temper, my temper and his feelings for Jean." She laughed. "God, that was nearly enough to do us in right there, I wanted to kill her for weeks."
"But?" Rogue said.
"But we lived through it." Jubilee said. "Do you know how many times we spilt up and got back together over little things? It could rival you and the Cajun, trust me." She ignored Rogue rolling her eyes. "Trust me, if we could live through it and come out intact you will you."
"This is different Jubes, its more serious. I just can't get over it and take him back. That would be like accepting what he did as okay." Rogue said as she sat up. "And besides it hurts to much to try again, Ah just can't do it. Ah don't have it in me."
"Your just gonna give up because it hurts?" Jubilee said "I've got news for you, loves hurts Rogue. No relationship is perfect, not unless your in like, third grade on the play ground and there's nothing you can do except learn to live with what is." She shook her head "Love is a bumpy road honey. Okay so sometimes it's a canyon, other times its ditch with muddy water in it, normally just enough to drown your ass but you always come out stronger then you started. It wouldn't be worth it if you didn't"
Rogue studied her friend thoughtfully. "How do you know so much, being so young Jubes?"
Jubilee shrugged as she stroked her stomach where the proof of her words lay. "Like I said, I love Wolverine, I had to grow up fast but it was worth it, to take that chance. Can you say the same thing for you and Remy?"
"Yeah I can." Rogue said as tears slid down her cheeks.
"Then why are you sitting here with me?" Jubilee said. "And not with him talking?" She shook her head. "You're a strong person Rogue, why are just letting go like this? This isn't you, I've seen you fight worse personal battles then this and come out unscarred, and whole, why now?"
"Because it's too hard!" Rogue cried. "I just don't have the strength in me to fight again, what if he lies to me again Jubes. I'd always be afraid he was lying to me, no matter what, you know that's the type of person I am."
"What you are is independent, a fighter and the fact that this scares you, makes you a normal person. Just like the rest of us who've been kicked around, and somehow managed to roll out of the dirt and land on our feet. You have the strength to fight Rogue, whether you believe it or not, it just matters now if you use that strength or let it go to waste like you are now" Jubes said as she stroked her hair, and Rogue began to see past the fashion crazed ditz to the women Logan was crazy about.
She could see why.
"Hell." Jubilee spoke again with a giggle. "Half the time I'm scared shitless with Logan, but those are some of the best times."
"I don't want to know." Rogue said as she made a gagging noise in her throat and Jubes laughed and swatted at her.
"I'm serious; you need to take a stronger stance here." Jubes said dead serious now. "Fight and you might be surprised at what you still have."
"We have nothing." Rogue said firmly. "Ah have nothing to saw to him at all, we're done."
Jubes sighed as she stroked her hair lightly then spoke quietly. "All I can say is that if your willing to run away that quick, to give up or cave in, on what you had, that swiftly at the first sign of trouble instead of standing up and fighting for you and him; then you'd both go back and look at what you had in the first place, because chances are it wasn't love, not real love anyways. Hell, if it was Logan, I don't care who the bitch is or what he did, I'd kick her ass and fight for us."
"That's the hormones talking." Rogue said tearfully.
"No, that's Jubilee talking." Jubes said and then spoke cautiously. "You need to stand up and fight for what you had, have. From what I saw of you two, you have a strong love, whether you want to believe it or not, and that's not something you should let go to waste."
With that she rose to leave. "Besides." Jubilee said in parting, deciding she needed to go from a different angle. "You had your part in this too, you know."
"How?" Rogue asked defensively.
"Now I'm not condoning what he did." Jubilee said as she subconsciously took a step towards the doorway. "God knows, I think he should be castrated like every other normal female, and smart male in the mansion…"
"That would be Logan right?" Rogue interrupted with a yawn.
"But" Jubilee. "Did you ever think maybe you were waiting for him to screw up?"
"Go to hell Jubes." Rogue said affectionately
"Bite me" Jubilee without skipping a beat. "Anyways, did it ever cross your mind that you were so hurt by Bobby; it was a foreign concept for a guy to be honest and good. You were just waiting for Remy to do something bad, because that was what you expected of him. That way, when he did hurt you, it wouldn't catch you off guard, it wouldn't be unexpected, it wouldn't hurt you as much. That's why you're so mad now, because you were thinking that it was all too good to be true, all long and you knew it but you ignored it because you were happy and now your back here again."
She sighed. "Happiness is this case was your own personal form of sabotage sweetie, because in your mind, you didn't think it was possible for a guy to treat you right. You were waiting for something to blow up, so you could say that you'd been right all along, that he'd lived up to your low expectations. And like my foster mom used to say, when you look for trouble, it normally coming knocking with a steel baseball bat, and whoops your ass into the pavement for asking."
"Wise women your foster mother." Rogue said with a laugh.
Jubilee smiled and honestly. "I've always thought so."
She opened Rogue's door. "I've got to go, Logan is waiting for me in the dining room and if I don't show up, he'll send the team looking for me. Think about what I said okay?"
Rogue nodded silently as she hugged a pillow to her chest and tried to cry herself to sleep.
She hated when Jubilee made a valid point like that.
"So how'd it go?" Scott asked as Jubes entered the dining hall a few moments later where the team was waiting for her.
"It went." Jubilee said as she slid down in her chair depressed. "And from the way she talked, it may be several hells frozen over, and Magneto joining the all girl cast of Carousel, before it 'Wents' again."
" That bad, huh?" Storm asked.
" That bad." Jubilee said with a nod. "She was more receptive to Herbie The Rat then me."
" I told the students it wouldn't work sending him in, he's too cute and cuddly." Scott said with a sigh. " Now on the other hand, if they'd sent Snake in from my older bilogy class, it would have worked nicely."
" And Snake is?" Jubilee asked as she munched on an apple.
"A… snake. What else would he be, a chinchilla with a skin condition?" Scott said as if speaking to a slow dim witted child. "But I suppose it was better to send in Herbie from Jean's class."
" How so?" Beast asked.
" They were planning on dissecting him next week." Scott said. " Trust me, he's better off with Rogue."
"I agree." Storm said with a sigh.
" Wait a minute, wait a minute, rewind this conversation back a bit." Jubilee said as she carefully set her apple down, afraid she'd choke on it and held up a perfectly manicured hand. " You named the class snake, Snake?"
" Yeah?" Scott said with a frown. " Why?"
" Nothing," Jubilee said in disbelief as she tried to hold back peals of laughter with a cough. " No wonder Jean hasn't had an orgasm in two years." She murmured quietly as Storm burst out laughing,( the only one who heard her) and tried not to burn herself on the coffee that sprayed from her mouth.
" What was that?" Scott asked.
" Nothing." Storm and Jubilee said in union.
" Where's Logan?" Jubilee asked. " I thought he'd be here for this?"
" I sent him to talk to Remy." Scott asked.
" Is that a good idea?" Jubilee asked in surprise.
" I told him he had to leave him alive and intact and he agreed." Scott said. " I don't think he'll be back for awhile, he might have to convince Remy a bit to lay his guilt aside and go see her."
" Okay then." Jubilee said as an idea came to mind. " Then is anyone else besides me up for a game of cards?"
Meanwhile in the kitchen, Remy was trying to do just that when Logan stalked into the room. " Hey," Remy said as he laid a black ace on a red diamond. " Looking for something to eat?"
Without a word Logan grabbed Remy by the front of his shirt, pulled him from his stool and tossed him up against the fridge door, barring his escape with a beefy Adamantium strength arm. He glared at Remy as the Cajun tried to squirm away, or get purchase to charge something but lost the fight and then spoke three words.
" Talk…to…Rogue…"
" WH-what?" Remy coughed as Logan's arm bore down on his neck, cutting off his air.
" Talk to her." Logan growled. " Make her feel better. Make… things… better, Cajun and fast, or so help me God, I'll rip your lying nuts off and feed them too you on Xavier's good china. Am I getting through here bub?"
" Cl-clear." Remy coughed, managing a nod.
" Good." Logan said as he let him go and stalked loudly from the room without another word.
That had, in his opinion, gone very well.
He wondered if Jubilee was in the mood.
Threatening, ( oops, talking guy style) always made him horny as hell.
" How'd it go?" Jubilee asked as he strode into the dining hall a few moments later.
" It went." Logan said, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he sat down beside her. " And he's still breathing, so it went well."
" Good." Jubilee said as everyone rose, abandoning the cards they'd been playing on the table. " It's settled then, they'll talk."
" They'd better." Logan said with a sigh.
" Well then I'm off to bed." Scott said.
" Me too." Beast said and Storm agreed as they left the room, leaving Jubilee and Logan alone.
" So it really did go well?" Logan asked her.
" Oh yeah, my talk with Rogue went real well," Jubilee said as she reached out much to his shock and grabbed him by the balls, pulling him close as he gasped in pain. "I just want to let you know if you ever pull that shit with me or hurt me or our child like that." She said with a saucy grin. " I won't mope around like she is, I'll kill you dead."
"Ok-kay." Logan ground out as she released him and headed for the doors.
Now, that was the hormones talking.
Back upstairs in her room, Rogue was still moping around, (or to be precise, laying around.) thinking about what Jubilee had said. She'd tried crying, sleeping, and even cursing at Remy's picture but it wasn't helping her at all. She rolled over, and faced a stack of dinner dishes that should have gone to the kitchen the day before and quickly rolled over…to a pile of dirty laundry. With a gag she sat up and took in the chaos that was her living quarters, noting the dirty cloths and other possessions strewn around the room like a home town twister had gone through them.
Rogue sighed and rubbed her temples, wondering when she'd moved into a college frat room. The ones she's dreaded entering in college, because she was the type of girlfriend who always wound up cleaning them.
It even smelled like one.
Rogue shook her head as she rose, wondering if cleaning up meant that she was giving in to what Jubilee had said or what Remy had done or if it just meant she was doing what was good for her own health.
Not to mention for the sanitation of the school.
She looked around for a moment, Jubilee's words running around in her mind, as she wondered if they were true. She sighed, dropping her head into her hands, as she did so. Rogue hated the feelings of doubt that were plaguing her, it would be so easy if she could have just hated the Swamp Rat and forgotten about him but it was way to late for that.
He was in her heart, and he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
She wanted to be angry and she was, she hated what he'd done and she didn't want to act like she was condoning what he'd done. Lying was number one in her book of dumpable offenses, it always had been and it always would be.
But…
Dear Lord she missed him.
Rogue looked around as she thought this, as if the mere admittance made her some sort of traitor but it didn't make it any less true. She missed him, like she'd never missed anyone in her life. It was like missing an arm or her favorite shirt and she didn't like the feeling because it led to an even more depressing thought.
She still loved him.
Even after all he'd done to her.
" Ah'm so screwed." She said to the air with a sigh as she realized that after one conversation with Jubes, she was considering giving in and forgiving him.
No, not forgiving, not yet but she was ready to talk. Talk was good, and then they could see how things went from there.
" Can Ah do this?" She said to Herbie as she watched him nibble on a toast crust. " He's gonna kick my heart around again, Ah know it, so why did Ah want to fight for what's gonna hurt me?"
And it was true, she finally admitted, as tired and draining as it was, she wanted to fight for what they had. She didn't know how things had changed in one night but she knew she didn't want to spend the rest of her life alone and that if she kept up the way that she was, she would while the man she loved drifted out from under her gloved fingers. She knew it would take him to forgive Remy, but she wanted that time because she'd regret it if she didn't take it. She didn't know if she had the strength as she'd repeatedly told Jubilee but she was willing to find out now, unlike before, even knowing how hard it would be.
" Ah'm gonna hate myself for this if it back fires on me." She said to the hamster as she pulled on some decent cloths. " And Ah'm gonna look like a smuck for giving in." She said. " And that's what it is, it's giving in, Ah really should hold my ground and stay here, and not even think about talking to him and taking him back."
In other words stay miserable for the rest of her life.
" Not bloody likely." She said through gritted teeth. " Ah have as much right to happiness as anyone else and if that happiness lies in being with a lying, thieving, card playing, snake charmer of a Cajun, then so be it!" Jubes word had had Storm's desired effect, they'd gotten Rogue up and willing to talk. She'd be come willing to take that first step, as much as she hated to admit it.
Okay so it was because she was pissed but that still worked.
Now she just needed an excuse to leave her room and "run in" to the Cajun.
Because as willing as she was to talk because and make up, she wasn't willing to go find him, that was just too much.
She looked around her room, trying to figure out if she had something borrowed to return to someone but finding nothing. "Ah could eat." She said thinking out loud but then she shook her head, she'd eaten earlier and she wasn't hungry in the least. Suddenly she head an idea as she stared at Herbie. Quickly she picked him up ion her gloved hand. " Well little fellow." She said. " As much as Ah've enjoyed having you, it looks like your going home." Jean's downstairs science lab was right around the corner from the elevator to Remy's floor.
Yes, this plan would work nicely.
She smiled and looked down at the hamster. " Don't worry, you're the class pet. Ah'm sure they've missed you."
Herbie looked up at her trustingly with big brown eyes……and nailed her on her gloved fingers with his cute little teeth. Hard.
With a shriek of pain, she dropped him before her powers could kick in and watched as he scuttled under her bed. " What the hell did those kids do to you?" She yelled as she peeled off her glove and looked at her bleeding fingers. " Find ya friggin steroids?" The object of her rant didn't answer or reappear from under her covers as visions of roasted rodent ran through Rogue's livid mind.
Then a plan began to form in her mind.
This was a good excuse as any to leave her room, she needed Band-Aids and antiseptic fast to stop any infection.
After all, everyone knew hamster bites could be deadly.
It was just a coincidence that the medical station for non-emergencies in the dorm, was right next to Remy's room.
Right?
So Rogue emerged from her room a moment later, her hand wrapped in Kleenex as she headed for the Med Station, whistling a happy little tune as she patted herself on the back for thinking of such a good idea. As far as she was concerned Herbie had done her a huge favor by attacking her. Maybe she'd even steal a treat for him from the kitchen on her way back as well as his cage from the science lab so he wouldn't be trapezeing all over her room anymore.
And maybe, just maybe, she'd even met up with her traitorous Cajun and they'd talk.
Or have sex, depending on what happened next and what her mood was.
She wasn't quite sure which one she'd enjoy more.
"What Ah'm Ah getting mah self into?' She muttered as she walked. "This is definitely not what Ah ever had planned for mah life." She grinned crookedly. "Now mah plans for tonight however…"
As it turned out, it didn't matter what so ever though, what she planned for her and the Swamp Rat, because it happened that night, (somewhere between her room and the Med Station) Rogue did something very peculiar and creepy. Something she'd never done before and never would again.
She disappeared completely from Xavier's mansion.
Like a shadow into the background, there was no trace of her left and no sign of where she'd gone. She was just gone, like a puff of smoke over a campfire on a summer night.
Or…
A breath of ice on a winter's day.
And nobody even noticed her absence until Jean and Jubilee went to check on her the next day, and found her room empty and abandoned.
To be continued…
P.S: Head's up, new Romy starting soon. I won't tell you much because I'm just story boarding it now (yes I story board my fics) and it'll be a while before it comes out (A few months at least) but ask yourself a question for a moment in parting. What would happen if Rogue decided to have a child…on her own without, our favorite Cajun? How would he react and what would it mean for them?
You'll have to read and see…