Disclaimer: The characters of X-Men Evolution do not belong to me.
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Rogue hesitated before stepping into her first class of the day, the class that she coincidentally shared with both Remy and Pietro. She did not want to face Pietro. Hell, she did not want to face either of them. She fidgeted, turning away and leaning with her back against a row of lockers. How could she go in? Should she sit next to Pietro? Would he sit next to her? Should she act like nothing happened, like he did not say anything? Would he act the same? Was he offended? She hoped not. She ran a hand anxiously through her hair, closing her eyes as she tried to work up the nerve to enter the classroom. God, she was a mess.
Taking a breath, she put up her facade and stepped finally into the classroom, rolling her eyes when Remy blew her a kiss. And she only hesitated slightly when she saw Pietro; he was sitting where he normally did, next to her seat. Still, she had to avert her gaze when she came near, sitting down quickly at her desk.
Pietro glanced over at her but lowered his gaze just as quickly. All of a sudden, he felt so small. Why did he have to open his big mouth? When things were going so well, and they had almost become good friends. It was not quite what he wanted, but it was something. He had gone too fast and messed things up. He always went too fast. Why did he have to go and ruin it? But then he glanced up and saw the cajun sitting in his chair, across the room yet still too close to Rogue for comfort, and he felt reassured and justified in his confession. But what now?
"Roguey...?" Pietro ventured, cautiously. She still did not look at him, pretending to be preoccupied with an imaginary speck of dust on her desktop.
"Yeah, Pietro?"
"Are we... still friends..?" Rogue looked up at him then, her green eyes clearly troubled. It tore him apart to see her like this, to know he had caused it. He, and not Gambit. He had to drop his eyes. "I'm sorry I said anything. It's okay. I mean, that you don't feel the same. We can still be friends..." He raised his head as he trailed off slightly. "Can't we?" There was an unspoken 'please'; his stormy blue eyes were begging her that they could still be friends, and Rogue wanted to turn away, wanted to run again. Then the urge turned into a desire to beat some sense into the boy beside her. She DID want to be with him, couldn't he see that? She just couldn't, it was impossible! They couldn't be together, it would never work! Not while they were on separate teams, and most of all not when she would never be able to touch him. She wanted to yell at him, curse at him, refuse him. No, they could not be friends. Not when she felt like this towards him, not when she wanted to be with him, it would be more than she could take.
But she replied, "Of course, silly," her mouth turning upwards into a smirk. "Since when did Ah revoke yah rights ta bein' mah best friend?" Inside, she wanted to die. "An' besahdes, ya ain' goin' nowhere far, so long as ya still have mah pillow. Which Ah'm gonna get back from ya someday, by force if necessary, speedy."
Pietro returned her smirk, twitching an eyebrow. "You'd never catch me, Roguey. I'm too fast for you."
Rogue leaned forward towards him, smiling impishly. "Oh, ya'd let meh catch ya." She winked at him, running her tongue over her lips cattily. The act stunned Pietro and he worked his jaw up and down, trying to reply but finding none. His expression was so dumbfounded that Rogue cracked up, laughing obnoxiously at the speed demon's expense. "Oh, speedy, what happened to yah wisecracks?"
The taunt reanimated Pietro, and he clamped his mouth into a frown. "Oh, shut up, skunkhead." He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest and sitting back in his chair, sulking.
"Oh, ease up, whay don' ya? Ya'd laugh too if ya had seen yah face." She wrinkled her nose at him. "Don' be such a baby." He stuck his tongue out at her impudently, but before she could retort, the teacher arrived. She whispered, "I'll get you later for that."
Pietro grinned. "I'll be ready for you, skunkhead." As he turned towards the front of the class, he took a mental sigh of relief. He did not know for sure if she really was okay. If he knew anything, he knew that the girl could put up a very strong mask if she wanted to. Still, they would still be friends, and that was the best he could hope for. At least he could try to mend gradually the damage he wrought with his confession.
Meanwhile, Remy sat in his seat, paying no attention to the teacher at the front of the class, instead eyeing Pietro with a wary but pensive gaze. Not bad. Looked like Quicksilver was still in the running. Something was off, and still was off; Pietro must have stumbled, but he picked himself back up and was on the recovery. Tsk. The stumble would cost him dearly though. It was Remy's turn now.
*****
Rogue sat quietly as she ate her lunch, her back against the tree. Since that day when Remy snuck up behind her, she wanted to take precautions to avoid any further such surprises. Still, though she was ironically not too surprised, he came up unnoticed to her ear and tickled her with his breath.
"Bonjour, cherie."
Without turning around, she replied, "Didn' Ah tell ya ta not sneak up on meh lahke that anymore?" He eased into a sitting position beside her, lifting his hand to brush his fingers along the strands of her hair.
"Remy got somet'ing f' y', chere." Rogue turned her head towards him quizzically, and sure enough a small white box lay in his lap. Her mind instantly flashed an image of Pietro, and she pursed her lips, turning back to her lunch.
"Remy, Ah don' want nothin' from ya, okay? Ah cain't accept that."
"Mais, belle, y' haven' even looked at it yet."
"Ah cain't accept it," she insisted firmly, hardening her jaw and refusing to look up at him for fear of being charmed like before. She would not give in this time. She willed herself to think of Pietro and his warning; she at least owed that to him. Remy stared at her profile, silent for a moment, hiding a smirk. Good for you, Pietro. Unfortunately, it would not work for long.
Remy placed the small box in her lap, holding it there as his free hand tilted her chin towards him. Her eyes remained averted but she barely fought him, a pink hue beginning to tint her cheeks. "Please, chere. It would mean so much t' me." He waited a bit, but she did not reply. Sighing, he pulled away, leaving the box in her lap. "I t'ought y' said y' trusted me, Rogue." His voice had adopted a hurt tone, and Rogue swallowed, trying to ease the pang of guilt that jabbed at her chest. "Y' lied t' me, chere. Y' lied, an' y' hurt me." Shaking his head, he appeared to make up his mind. "I'm sorry. I t'ought dat I fin'lly had a friend." He reached over, as if to take the box back and Rogue snatched it out of his reach, turning away as she opened it. Behind her back, Remy grinned. Too easy.
"It's a scarf. Oh, Remy, ya shouldn' have, it's too beautiful." The scarf was of a sheer but shimmery and soft fabric, very light to the touch, and the dark emerald green reflected the colors of her eyes exactly. She felt a tinge of guilt as she looked at it, but after only a moment's hesitation, she wrapped it decidedly around her neck. "How does it look?"
Remy smiled, lifting a hand to finger the fabric, the heat of his hand travelling to warm the skin of her neck and shoulders. "Y' beautiful, chere." Rogue blushed and turned her head to look away in embarrassment, but he caught her cheek, his hand draped with the material of the scarf, and lifted her face to look at him. His eyes caught hers; they glowed an intense red and seemed to burn into her, as he moved in close, his other hand moving to lift the scarf to cover her mouth. He rested there, holding her face in his hands, her hands raised to rest against his chest reflexively, waiting for her to push him away if she so wanted. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest and she was sure that he could hear it. Every ounce of reason screamed at her to push him away, she knew what he was going to do in a moment. It was wrong, didn't she hear what Pietro said? But... she wanted him to. She could feel the warmth of his body, like she did the last time he held her at this very spot, and she wanted him just as badly. She was fixated by his eyes, demonically sensual, and she could see that he wanted her too. So, she didn't push him away. He dipped his head and met her lips with his, a chaste kiss, soft and gentle. It surprised her with its brevity as he pulled back almost immediately. But then he returned, more forceful this time, with a deeper kiss, holding her face firmly in his hands. He held it and soon she started returning the kiss, her gloved hands running up his chest to wrap around his shoulders. He pushed her gently back against the tree, holding her there, kneeling between her legs, and she could feel his body pressed full against hers firmly, eliciting a soft moan from her lips. He broke the kiss to press his face into her neck, veiled by the scarf, as she caught her breath, his hands moving down to encircle her waist. Rogue remained still as he kissed her neck through the scarf, savouring the feeling much like she savoured each dish the previous day. Until she opened her eyes.
Pietro stood there, albeit at a distance, but she could still see the pained expression on his face, unable to tear his eyes away from what he was watching. He noticed her looking at him and she could hear an audible cry of anguish as he sped away. Her breath caught in her throat and she shoved Remy away, who cried out indignantly in surprise. Tearing the scarf from her throat, she threw it at the cajun with as much ferocity as she could muster. "Remy, go away an' leave meh alone! Ah don' want yah gifts, an' Ah sure as hell don' want you! Things were fahne before Ah met ya, an' now ya have ta go an' make a mess o' things! Ah hate ya!" She scrambled to her feet, hastily grabbing her things and rushed off, leaving a rather bewildered Remy in her wake.
He had her. What happened? Something must have spooked her, or made her feel guilty about kissing him. A wry smile appeared on the Acolyte's face. He had an idea what, or rather who, it was. "Ah, Pietro, y' don' disappoint." Scratching the stubble on his chin, he got up, stretching as he did so, to lean against the tree. Taking the scarf, he pressed it to his nose, enjoying the smell of her, rather lecherously. It felt nice to kiss her, even though there had to be a veil between them, and he rested there for a moment, remembering. Yeah, he had to do that again.
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I was on the verge of Remy starting to think he might have feelings, but I searched through my memory and couldn't quite pull up any reason for it. Rogue needs to really fall for him first. At least he enjoyed kissing her. It's a start. Man, Remy's wreaking havoc on Pietro/Rogue's relationship. Heh, Pietro ain't gonna be too happy when he next sees her. I think next chapter is gonna be a Pietro thought one, like my last one with Rogue. Remy hasn't really had one, mainly because his thoughts are fairly simple, in terms of this. Nothing complex, or particularly special. When he starts fallin, then there'll be a slew.
Muha, that's funny. I almost converted Queondapio to the Rietroness and this is a Romy. Heheheheh.
Oh, and I've also had a comment that Rogue should be more dominant, more tough girl. And yes, while that is true in the comic... I still see her as an unsure, lonely, angsty type girl in evo. Which is what I've tried to characterize here. She's not completely weak, but she hasn't really developed into the attitude she had in the comic.
Lol, cool beans. Dude, I bet it'll be a cold day in hell when ishandahalf leaves a review without that trademark phrase.
:)
Rielyn