Replay: Slow Motion

Installment 11

Rogue looked at herself in the mirror, dark eyeliner in hand, debating whether or not to wear it. She had been so self-conscious this afternoon, with no makeup on, but Remy had soon made her forget all about it. Then, when he had reminded her, he complimented her on how nice she had looked. She stared down at the eyeliner again. The choice should have been easy for anyone else but she needed the mask of makeup. She didn't want people to see her for what she really was; she didn't think that they could handle it. "Forget it" she said aloud and went to apply the eye makeup when Kitty phased through the door.

"Oh, like hey Rogue!" she said grabbing a purse off her bed. Making her way back out the door when she suddenly leaned back in. "Like, why are you so dressed up?" she asked with an inquisitive look on her face.

"Uhhhh…" Kitty's mouth dropped open.

"You like, have a date don't you?" she screamed phasing herself completely back into the room.

"Uhhh…"

"And it's like, with that totally hot guy you met the other day that you were telling me about, right?" she asked moving in closer and closer on Rogue.

"Alraght! Alraght!" Ah'm goin' out with him tanight!" she replied with a smile on her face and her cheeks turning slightly red.

"Oh my god Rogue! That's like, so totally great!" Kitty said jumping up and down when a car horn could be heard. "Oh that's Lance" she said looking out the window. "Hey where are you meeting this guy?"

"In town." she said not wanting to name the exact location.

"In town hm?" she eyed Rogue suspiciously "Well okay then, like, Lance can drive you." she said grabbing Rogue's covered arm and causing her to drop the eye liner pencil in her hand.

"But Kitty, Ah ain't readay yet!" she protested while being dragged down the hall.

"Oh you look great!" she insisted. "Besides I want to, like, meet this Cajun charmer of yours." and before Rogue knew it they were downstairs and out the door.

"Hey pretty Kitty!" Lance said, jumping out of the jeep. "And whoa! Rogue, you look…" Just then, Pietro's head popped up from the back of the jeep.

"She looks great!" exclaimed Kitty who looked at Rogue then noticed the boy sitting in the back of the jeep. "Like, hey Pietro!" Kitty called and dragged Rogue over to the vehicle. Neither Pietro nor Rogue said a word as she climbed into the back beside him. She looked off to the side while Pietro just stared at the front of the jeep.

"So's Rogue joining us too?" Lance asked.

"No, she's got a date." Kitty said giggling. Pietro turned to look at Rogue whose face was turning a bright red.

"Really? So who's the lucky guy?" Lance asked stopping at a red light and turning to look at Rogue who was refusing to answer.

"He's like, this mystery guy she met the other day." Kitty flicked her wrists dramatizing the situation.

"Would this be the guy you brought to the B-Hood the other day?" he asked her with a knowing smirk on his face. Kitty turned around too.

"You, like, didn't tell me about that!" Rogue just kept her head down, not feeling comfortable talking about it with Pietro there. When she didn't start talking Lance began telling Kitty what had happened.

After awhile, Rogue found the courage to look at Pietro but he didn't notice. Suddenly she felt very bad for having accepted Gambit's invitation. What do Ah have ta feel sorray for?she asked herself. It ain't like he actuallay cares about meh.At the moment, she was having a hard time convincing herself.Why does everythang have ta be so damned complacated?she yelled mentally while letting out a frustrated grunt un-intentionally. This caught Pietro's attention and he turned to find Rogue looking at him. She quickly turned away. Pietro sighed as he took in the sight of her. She looked absolutely stunning.And no make-up.he noted as a slight tug could be felt at the corner of his mouth. Looks goodand before he could stop himself he was saying the words aloud.

"Youlookgreat." Before he could take the words back she turned, her eyes meeting his.

"What did ya say?" Pietro's mouth opened, the words reluctant to come out at first. Then with a genuine smile he repeated them slower.

"You look really great tonight."

"Thank ya." she said with a modest smile then quickly realized that she was less then a block away from where she was supposed to meet Remy. Ah can't have them drop meh off there though. she quickly realized and decided the restaurant "La Café'" would be as good a place as any. "Raght here Lance." she instructed giving a sad look to the boy sitting beside her. She tried to maneuver herself out of the car, when Pietro suddenly showed up on her side of the jeep. Pietro smiled and offered her a hand. Rogue took it and he grabbed her at the waist, pulling her out. They stood there, his hands on her waist, just looking at one another when Kitty spoke up.

"So like, where is this guy?" she asked excitedly.

"Umm...he ain't here yet." she lied. "He should be here any minute though." Pietro's hands slid off her waist and he distanced the space between them.

"But I want to see him!" Kitty pouted.

"No can do, we have to leave now to make it to the movie on time." Lance told her. Rogue let out a sigh of relief then looked at Pietro who was slowly making his way back to the jeep.

"Sorry." she whispered then pretended to enter the restaurant as the jeep pulled out of sight.

"Bye Rogue!" yelled Lance and Kitty. She waved back, no longer able to see Pietro. As soon as the jeep was out of sight she started a light sprint towards the apartment.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

She felt weird being so dressed up and hanging out in a back alley. Rogue looked up at the fire escape. Great. How am Ah supposta get up there?She was looking up and trying to assess the situation when Remy leaned over the top. Rogue didn't notice until she heard him whistling. Placing her hands on her hips she tried to look annoyed.

"An' just how am Ah supposed ta get up there swamp rat?"

"Well one might try de front door." he said swooping his arm to direct her to the front of the building. The front door?she looked at the entrance of the building. It was surrounded by blocks of wood and coming slightly off of its hinges. She slowly opened the creaking door, hope the tenants don't mind she thought.

When she peered inside the door there was no light on but numerous candles lit the staircase. Rogue smiled and made her way up the flight of stairs. She felt like she was in some sort of romance novel - with elements of a horror film. Best she was able to figure, the apartment was abandoned. Didn't look like anyone had lived there for years. She didn't think about it for too long though when she reached the top of the stairs to see Remy waiting for her. He was wearing a pair of black pants and a tight black t-shirt. His hair hung in his face but she could still see his beautiful red eyes. She smiled at the look he was giving her. She had been nervous about what to wear when he had said to be ready for a night out. Rogue had eventually decided upon a spaghetti strapped maroon dress that cut off just above her knees. Underneath the dress she had on a black nylon body suit and completed the outfit with a pair of silky black gloves and black platforms.

She stood, frozen at first, then began walking over to him. He met her halfway and from behind him brought out a single red rose. She noticed he was wearing a pair of black gloves as well. Rogue's eyes shimmered as she took the rose and raised it to her nose. She inhaled the scent and exhaled with a look of pure joy on her face.

"Ya're such a charmer." she told him with a wink.

"You don' know the half of it chere." He walked over to a black box and pressed a few buttons before a soft melody began to play. "Care to dance belle?" He took her gloved hand in his while placing the other on her waist. Rogue smiled and placed hers on top of his shoulder. They turned slowly looking deep into one another's eyes. Rogue teased a few strands of Remy's hair with her fingers. When he went to dip her he let out a small yelp. They both burst out into laughter. He shifted his hands securely under her and lifted her up. carried her across the rooftop and placed her on the ledge of the building before sitting down beside her. Rogue couldn't help it when tears began to form in her eyes. Remy looked down at her lovingly and wiped her face with his thumb.

"Faire pas gri Rogue." She gave a sad smile.

"Ah'm not upset Remy, it's just, ya know, this is so nahce and…" More tears began to fall down her face and Remy wrapped his arms around her and the two gradually slid down off of the ledge and leaned against it. He moved his hand up and down her back in what he hoped was a soothing manner. She continued to clutch onto his shirt and cry into his shoulder. "Why do ya have ta be so wonderful?" she softly murmured into him.

After several minutes had passed, Rogue slowly released her grip on Remy and turned in his arms. Wiping at her eyes she apologized. "Ah'm so sorry. Ah don't know why Ah did that." Remy told her not to worry as he placed a kiss on the top of her head where he was protected by her hair. The two gazed up into the night sky and held each other for a very long time.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Whose apartment is this?" she asked in a dreamy voice, slightly curious but more or less wanting to start a conversation. She loved the sound of the man's voice.

"It's where I…" he was about to say it was where he lived when he realized it wasn't anymore "used to live." she turned in his arms and looked up at him.

"Ya used ta live here sugah?" He nodded slightly. "With ya family?"

"No chere. Theys back in New Orleans."

"O." she mouthed. Stretching her legs out Rogue let out a yawn. Remy smiled adoringly at her.

"Is da belle femme tired?"

"No." she replied softly as her eyes started to close.

"You're a liar." he said while attempting to get up.

"No…Ah am…not." she said snuggling into him. Remy couldn't help but laugh. "Hey!" Rogue teased in a sleepy tone. "Pillows aren't supposta move."

"Come on chere." he said while getting up from underneath her. Rogue's head flopped in the other direction. Remy shook his head in amusement and reached down to help her up. "I don' t'ink your family be none too happy if you don' get home soon." But the girl was still being stubborn. So Remy simply sighed and picked her up in his arms. Carrying her down the stairs he made a couple of comments about her weight. Joking, of course.

"Ya gonna carry meh all the way home?" she questioned.

"Ha. Remy may be in amazing shape chere, but dere's no way I could do dat." Rogue felt herself being placed on something and managed to open her eyes enough to recognize the object as a motorcycle. Remy held onto her waist and positioned himself behind her. The warmth of him comforted her and she leaned back into him. "Try an stay awake, k chere?" he asked starting the motorcycle. Rogue nodded in agreement. "Okay den. Let's go." Remy slowly pulled out from the curb.

Don' wan' go too fast. he told himself. He continued down the road when he suddenly realized that he didn't have the slightest clue where he was going. He nudged Rogue a little and looked down at her to ask for directions.

And that's when it happened…

TBC>

Authors Note: "Faire pas gri Rogue." is supposed to be "Do not cry Rogue." in French. I used an English to French dictionary and like seven different words came up for both "do" and "not". So I probably used the wrong ones for the situation, but I thought they sounded best.

Does anyone appreciate the attempts at Romy AND Rietro? I try to keep everyone happy!