That bastard, Rogue screamed in her head as she followed the group of people down the halls of the mansion. The students had been allowed to disperse, most likely to cause trouble, but Emma felt that dinner should be an adults only affair tonight. The students were going to be inhaling pizza in the rec room.

Rogue was silent as the tour was given, preferring to stew in the background. How dare he lay his hands on her! Who did he think he was?

A scorned lover, a voice piped up in the back of her head.

Oh, shut up. Rogue yelled back, projecting enough to get Betsy's attention. Raising an eyebrow, Betsy slowed down enough to drop back the ten feet Rogue was keeping from the group.

"Somethin' wrong luv?"

"No, why?"

Betsy smiled and studied the attractive man her friend was glowering at. "Cause if you glare any harder then that fine specimen of humanity is going to die."

"Ah don't know what you're talking about," Rogue said, but she did pointedly look elsewhere than Gambit.

Betsy was concerned. Rogue was projecting enough that even polite ignorance wasn't going to keep the non-telepaths from noticing the anger radiating from her. Gently holding Rogue's arm, Betsy pulled her back as the group turned a corner, leaving the two alone in the hall with some semblance of privacy.

"Tell me what's wrong, luv?"

Rogue sighed. "You know how Warren was mad at me when we first got here?"

"Yeah, something about you cheating on him."

Rogue growled. "Ah didn't cheat! We were never together! Ah made it clear Ah wasn't marrying him the night after he proposed. But the night he did...Ah was with someone..." Rogue didn't elaborate but lost herself in her thoughts.

Betsy needed no hint to who that "someone" was. "Gambit?"

Rogue, if possible, frowned even more. "Yeah."

"Ahhhh...that explains everything," Betsy said, smiling and nodding.

"Explains what?"

"The projections from the two of you. He's hurt, you're angry, but you're both putting off enough sexual tension to make me want to hunt down Warren. Luv, if that is any indication...why the hell did you ever leave?" Betsy asked.

Rogue sighed and started to walk in the opposite direction of the way the group had gone. She didn't want anyone even catching a whisper of this conversation. "Ah left because Ah loved him."

"Okay, yeah, sure, Luv. Really, tell me why?"

"Ah mean it. Ah loved him. But Ah know him. He's not a settle-down kinda man. He's more the sleep-around kind of man. And that would have killed me. Ah already lived four years wanting him and not having him. Ah wasn't going to do it in again. Ah would've had him physically, in my bed at night. But his heart, his soul, would've eluded me. Ah would never have had peace. So...we had our one night. And Ah left. And Ah don't regret it."

Betsy and Rogue stared each other down. Finally, Betsy broke. "But what if he really loved you?"

"Men don't change, Bets'. Ah wouldn't want to try. So Ah came here, hooked up with Sean and had my own kind of fun."

"Yeah," Betsy snorted, "...with Sean."

"What's the matter with Sean?"

"He's probably as much as a player as Gambit. In fact," Betsy pondered aloud, "he's probably a lot like Gambit."

Rogue laughed and started towards the elevator and safety. "Ah don't know what you're talking about."

Betsy laughed. "Sure you do. From what I've heard, luv, they act a like. All balls and little brains. And from what I've seen they look alike. All tall and lanky, both brunettes, though Sean is a bit more built than Gambit. On the other hand, Gambit has a better face. More angular. Sean is a bit more boy next door to Gambit's devil in a blue suit."

Rogue had just reached the elevator when the X Men and the rest of the faculty turned down another corridor towards it as well. They'd circled around and were now back at where they'd started. "Hey, Rogue!" Sean called out, running ahead of the group to catch the elevator before Rogue got in.

"...course Gambit's got those kick ass eyes, though Sean's aren't to be laughed at either. Nice and deep green, his are..."

"Shut up, Betsy! We've got company," Rogue whispered, elbowing her friend in the stomach just before Sean reached them.

Sean practically slammed into Rogue picked her up and around her hips and throwing her over his shoulder. "GODDAMNIT! Sean! Put me down!"

Sean ignored her and continued carrying her down the hall away from curious watchers, and one jealous one. "I've got to talk to you."

Rogue gave up protesting and sent a rude gesture to the laughing Betsy. "Ah'm gonna kill you."

"Why would you want to do that, lass? You love me!" Sean said, finally reaching the room he wanted. Kicking it open he walked in and deposited her on the floor, eliciting a scream from her and more laughs from the ne'er far away Betsy. Rogue could hear just outside the door, Betsy explaining to the X Men that down here, under the school, the fun never stopped.

"What do you want?" Rogue asked, rubbing her rear where he'd slammed her down.

"It's about the bachelor and bachelorette parties, is everything set up?"

"Yes...Ah've rented the rooms, Ah've rented the strippers, and Ah've got catering down...why did Ah need you again?"

Sean grinned and put down a hand to help her get up. When she grasped it he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. "'Cause I'm the best man...you know, I've been thinking..."

"Never a good idea. Get a head ache, sugah?"

"No...shut up...All these hot females running around in leather has me thinking...what are you doing later?" Sean grinned lasciviously and despite the attitude Rogue felt a tingle.

"Ah guess Ah'm the lucky girl?"

"You could be screaming my name in a few minutes..."

"A few minutes? How disappointing. Guess Ah shouldn't," Rogue smiled back before pushing him away. "The boat arrives at six p.m. tomorrow...make sure Warren is there...blindfolded and I'll take care of Betsy. Everything else is in place. Now all we got to do is wreak havoc...so to speak."

Sean grinned. "No chance of a little nookie, as you put it?"

"None. Go play with some other ducky," Rogue replied grinning. Sean would find other female companionship while she went to deal with old friends. Old friends who with every evasion by the X-Squad, which was what the new British team had decided on calling themselves, knew that something was up.

Rogue pasted a smile on her face before leaving the room and facing the group. "Who's hungry?"

Dinner went as well as to be expected. At Rogue's end of the table, where Gambit was surreptitiously seated next to her, the conversation was tense. Betsy tried to ease it but there was no give from either of the two main producers. The only good thing was the empty chair next to Betsy, for Warren had been detained in Britain with business. At least he wasn't there to add to the problems, which Rogue did not doubt that he would. He still had trouble around her. With Gambit there it was a fight waiting to happen.

On the other end of the table things went better, but not by much. Between Sean's flirting with Jean and Kitty, and Emma's flirting with Scott, the professor fought to send out soothing brain waves, never realizing that bringing rival mutant teams together under one roof might not have been such a good idea.

It was the after dinner coffee and dessert in the study that finally gave Betsy an opportunity to make her announcement. She waited until everyone was settled in. "You know how you guys, except for you professor, think you're here for a wedding?" Betsy started brightly, immediately gathering everyone's attention. While they were distracted Rogue snuggled into her brother's side and mentally prepared herself for the questions.

"We, like, totally are," Kitty said suspicious.

Betsy smiled at her conciliatory and continued. "Well, you are. Just not Rogue's. Mine. I'm marrying Warren. We're in love," Betsy rambled like that for a few minutes but no one was paying attention now.

Kurt looked down at his sister who was laying on him and asked what was on everyone's minds. "Vhy aren't you marrying him?"

Rogue grinned. "'Cause Ah never intended to. Besides, he met Betsy and they're in loooove." Rogue stated with a flourish. "Ah don't mind...he snores."

"Oh, my god! I can't believe you lied to us, Rogue!" Kitty said, outraged.

"Ah didn't! Betsy just omitted her name accidentally from the invitation!" Rogue replied, putting just enough emphasis on accidentally to show that it was no accident at all. Just like that the attention went from Rogue to Betsy.

"Jesus! It was a joke! You'd think you blokes had never heard one!" Betsy yelled after everyone glared at her. "Aren't you happy for me?" Betsy asked with an evil grin.

"Of course, we're happy for you!" Kitty replied, feeling guilty now. She only knew the mutant through Rogue's letters but had liked her nonetheless in person.

Rogue ignored everyone and focused her senses on the man in the shadows near the window. His back was turned and he was behind her but she knew what he was feeling anyways. Rogue had always known what Remy was feeling.

He was angry, so angry that it was a virulent red in her mind when she opened her senses. The little empathy she had crumpled under the weight of it. Rogue felt a tingle of fear. She had never felt such anger outside of herself. Most people had an automatic shut off for rage, but it appeared that she and Gambit were alike in this manner. They both knew what rage was intimately. However, while in the past six months, Rogue's had dissipated, his had grown. And now it was focused solely on her.

Yawning, Rogue settled into the couch and started to drift off. Through half-lowered eyelids she watched as a shadow dipped over her before lifting her. Whispered mumbles and half-explanations combined as she curled into a familiar scent. It was half-brimstone and half-animal-like. It was all Kurt.

With a "bamf" and a flash of fire and smoke, they were in her room. Despite his attentions not to, he had jostled her enough to draw her out of the haze she was in, even if by just a little. "Kurt?"

"Shhh, mein schwiester. Go to sleep," he replied. He brushed a lock of her hair away and gently kissed her forehead. Since Mystique's death and rebirth several years ago the two siblings had only grown closer, until it became as if they'd known of each other forever.

"Why do Ah always mess things up?"

"He still loves you," Kurt said softly, now completely hidden in the shadows of the room and he sat on her desk, a side effect of his mutant abilities. At times, Rogue manifested that ability as well and used it to her advantage.

Rogue laughed softly as she wrapped herself in the cashmere blanket on her bed. "When did he start?"

"He always did. Everyone knew but you. Ve ignored it, and ve discouraged it. Ve all wanted to protect you. I think that in the end, ve did more harm than good."

"Why do you think that?"

"'Cause you left, mein schwiester."

Rogue was almost all the way asleep now. "Ah couldn't stay. He didn't love me."

Kurt shook his head as his sister fell asleep. In the end, it seemed that the X Men's protection had only caused a lot of pain. He left silently, walking out rather than teleporting. The door shut behind him, but a draft remained. It drifted from a slightly open balcony door that opened silently as red eyes glowed in the darkness. They swept over the form on the bed and as she whimpered in her sleep, all his anger drained away.

Gliding over the carpet, he stooped low so that he could look into her face. It was angelic in the low lighting, as if a glow was emitting from within. He kissed her softly on the cleft in her chin, and whispered to the knowing dark, "Je'taime, Rogue. I have always loved you, ma douleur."

"He loves her."

The professor rolled himself over to the liqueur cabinet and nodded his head as he poured himself two fingers of scotch. "Yes. He wears it about himself like a worn coat. It's hard to ignore something that is broadcasted so clearly."

Emma sighed and levied herself up onto her desk. "Then why doesn't she see?"

"She chooses not to. Rogue, despite the pretenses, doesn't think she deserves happiness," Xavier explained as he turned to study the woman before him. He hadn't been sure about whether he could trust her when he'd hired her, but now he realized that he'd made a good choice.

Emma nodded knowingly. "The Danvers incident. How is Ms. Marvel?"

"She is recovering. More and more often she is gaining consciousness. Mr. McCoy thinks that in a year she will be recovered."

"You never fully explained to me what happened," Emma remarked casually.

"Two years ago, the X Men and the government were in talks about forming a dual team, with mutants I'd trained and mutants they'd trained. The team who be used to capture mutant criminals, on the idea that only mutants could rightfully pursue other mutants. It was during a test session with my X Men and the government team that an incident happened. During the fighting Rogue had accidentally touched another member of the government team and Ms. Marvel tried to restrain Rogue who at the time was still having small seizures when she absorbed. Ms. Marvel was told to release Rogue but by the time any of my X Men could get close enough the damage had been done.

"Ms. Marvel, or Carol Danvers, was in a coma for six months. When she started to gain consciousness in intermittent periods I spoke with her. She never blamed Rogue, but Rogue took on that guilt anyways. Nothing anyone could say to her could make her let it go. It was one of the many reasons it took so long for her to gain control of her abilities. She was afraid of any lapses, though I must say that you did a much better job with her than I did. Am I to understand that she has almost total control now?"

Emma grinned. "Flatterer. Yes, I have worked with her extensively. Her powers are controlled within a limit. I have also been working with her to control the other powers under her control. It appears that she actually learns to control those often faster than the original owner of them."

"I have a theory on that. I believe that she's actually tapping into their memories and using their knowledge to supplement her own."

"If that's true, then there's no telling how much she really knows about the mutants she's absorbed," Emma replied, not entirely pleased. After all, Rogue had absorbed Emma a number of times during sessions in the Simulation Room (Emma didn't think that Danger Room was appropriate for such an elegant establishment as her own). There was really no telling what the mutant knew.

Xavier nodded and turned to refresh his drink. While his back was turned, he called out to Emma who was lost in her thoughts. "When were you going to inform me?"

Emma looked sharply at Xavier. "Inform you?"

"Of David's return to the island?"

"Ahhhh...who told you?" Emma asked, curious and avoiding the question at the same time. If it had been Rogue, then maybe it was time for Emma to pay the woman a visit and talk about loyalties...and at the same time scan her mind to see what she knew.

"Moira. You allowed her to help you in putting him in stasis."

"Yes, I felt that as the leading scientist at Muir Island Science Lab she would know the most about it. Oh, well. I intended to tell you. Just, never got around to it."

"And the incident? The one that led him to come to you?"

"Ah, the massacre you mean? Of the anti-mutant rally? It was simple, really. He was teaching them a lesson. And while he did, David resurfaced, pushing the Lucas personality into the subconscious. By the time the X-Squad had arrived Lucas and David were fighting for control. Rogue absorbed him, and teleported him back here. Within a few minutes I'd put him in a temporary stasis, and a day later in a more stable one."

"And you felt no need to inform me?"

"No. I had handled the situation."

Xavier studied Emma. "I feel the need more and more, to exert my control on this facility. Despite appearances, Emma, I am the ultimate power here as well as at the school in Bayville. Perhaps, it's time for you to return with me."

"So you can watch me? Don't trust me, Xavier?"

"Sage has returned to us."

Emma paused in bringing her drink to her lips. "And?"

"She has many interesting things to say."

"Really? You trust a spy, more than you trust me?"

"You were once a 'spy' as well."

"No longer."

"How can I be sure of that?"

Emma pouted. "I promise. Read my mind; tell me if I'm lying."

Xavier concentrated. "You are not lying...but you are hiding something."

"Aren't we all?"

Emma concentrated as well. Xavier stared blindly for a few seconds before wilting a bit. "I find that I'm tired. We will talk more later."

"Yes, sir. Good night, Xavier." Emma waited until Xavier was gone to pick up the telephone and press one of the speed dial buttons. "Sebastian? He's getting suspicious."

"We have less than a day to go. Hold your resolve," a voice replied, not even bothering to ask who was suspicious. He watched the island. He knew who she spoke of.

"And if someone pick the plans from my mind? What then?"

"Someone who?"

"We have two...no...three of the most powerful telepaths on the island right now. Jean Grey, Professor Xavier, and Rogue, who has been suspicious of me from day one. Ms. Grey is suspicious, now as well. I felt her probing my intentions earlier tonight."

"Maybe you shouldn't have been flirting with her boyfriend of five years then."

"He's attractive. I couldn't help myself."

Sebastian laughed. "Do your job and I'll give him to you when this is over with. How is Lucas holding up?"

"He is keeping his temper in check right now, but he is as anxious as me. We leave the island at six in the evening. I predict we'll be back by midnight. Will you be in place by then?"

"I'll be ready. You make sure you are as well."

The phone clicked when Sebastian hung up, and Emma replaced it on it's receiver. She brought her own glass of scotch to her lips and toasted. "To the X Men. May they fall from grace...violently."

HI! Yes...I know...weddings in the X-verse never go off without a hitch...warning...LEMONAGE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! And for those of you who don't know what that means, let me explain.

Lemon-full-on sex...foreplay, play in general, and penetration

Lime-foreplay...general play...no all the way

So...I hope we enjoy ourselves! I know I do.

Thriller-I swear to God I love you. You inspire me and make me laugh all the time. ANYONE READING THIS! LOOK UP THRILLER! HER STORIES ARE AWESOME!

Sam Shields-Smoking kills.

Nettlez-I hope I adequately explained the terminology up there. If you want a fuller list of terms and definitions I recommend going to adultff and looking in their faq section...they have like a million terms.

The-Dragonlugia-I'm glad you enjoy. This is actually my first fic of this type/rating. I'm glad peeps are liking it. PS what an interesting name you have.

ishandahalf-I thought Magneto teaching ethics was hilarious too! It made me giggle. Sometimes I crack myself up.

Remylover- YES, MA'AM! UPDATE! FRONT AND CENTER!

Kiszy-Explanation above! ;)

Musical Chaos- I love your name. My reviewers always have the best names.