Disclaimer: This is a generic disclaimer. It means that I do not claim to possess or make money off of any of the following. And that I'm too tired to come up with something creative to say.

Author pre-note: For the next few chapters, I'm using a slightly different technique in matters of persepective. Hope that it doesn't confuse anyone.

Chapter eight: "Frankly, my dear"

Rogue was so determined to go get drunk that she barely gave the bar she entered a cursory glance. She just checked enough to see that there was no immediate danger, and marched up to the bar. Otherwise instead of just ignoring the poker table in the smokey, dimly lit far left corner, she would have noticed a very familiar man in a trench coat look up and slide further into the shadows at her arrival. But as it was, she was set on getting drunk.

Remy watched her with narrowed eyes from across the room. He folded his hand--a much more interesting game had just opened. There was something different about her…she seemed distracted, detached from her surroundings, and utterly focused on the liquor in front of her. He extended his empathy towards her and grief and rage slapped him in the face.

What's dis? He knew that he shouldn't go over there. She was dangerous; out to get his family. He shouldn't care. She was only trying to play with him, but he was the better player…

Why is she so sad? It was useless. She was the box to his Pandora and he just couldn't stay away.

"One Shirley Temple and a bottle of whiskey. Keep it coming until Ah'm passed out on the floor," Rogue instructed the barkeeper.

The bartender opened his mouth to comment on her strange order, and maybe say something about how it was too early in the morning to be drinking. Then Rogue glared at him and he felt five years of his life slip away. He shut his mouth and moved as quickly as he could to fill her order.

"To ya, Kit," she raised her Shirley Temple in honor of the long-standing joke that that was all the liquor Kitty could handle.

Rogue sniffed back a sudden memory. Of course, after Kitty had met Pete, Wisdom had done all that was in his power to change that. But they had still--

Stop thinking.

She tossed the sugary concoction down like it was some bitter liquid.

Rogue's hand trembled slightly as she poured herself a shot of whiskey. She knew that her emotions were dangerously close to being out of control.

Maybe Ah should take this back ta mah room, a flitting rational thought suggested.

But she didn't want to go back to her room. She would have time to think between here and there, and she didn't want to think.

Rogue raised her glass and was about to down it in one gulp when a partially gloved hand reached out from behind her and grabbed the glass.

"Feel like sharin', petite?" a husky voice asked in her ear.

Rogue spun around on the stool to find herself staring face to face with the absolute last person that she wanted to see. "No. Get your own and leave me alone."

She tightened her grip on her glass and glared at him. Go away, swamp boy. Ah can't deal with ya and all the problems ya bring up now. An' Ah'm in no mood ta play games.

"Remy'd rather share," he said smoothly and managed to wrestle the glass from her grip.

Part of her was impressed that he had managed it without causing the glass to shatter. Another, larger part of her wanted to take her whiskey bottle and smash it over his head.

And she would have, if he wasn't the frickin' target.

So she narrowed her eyes and watched as he took a dainty sip from the shot glass. "Don't ya mean steal?"

He was wearing sunglasses, but she swore she saw a flare of red as he jutted his chin towards her bottle. "Looks like y've got plenty t' spare."

"Ah am in no mood for this, Cajun," Rogue warned. "Ah came here ta get drunk. Don't get in mah way."

"Wouldn't dream of it, petite," he said, taking another small sip of her whiskey. "But it's a little early in de day for dis, neh? What brings ya t' de bar?"

Rogue felt her last strand of patience snap. "Last time Ah checked, drinkin' is what ya do at a bar. Coincidentally, the last time Ah checked, ya weren't mah father. So give meh back mah whiskey and go away!"

"Remy was here first. Ya wanna get drunk by yaself, do it somewhere else."

"Fine, Ah will!" Rogue threw down enough money to pay for her drink and got off the stool, brushing against him in her haste to get away.

She felt frustrated tears stinging her eyes. Remy LeBeau was the last thing she needed today. And damnit, he was following her outside.

Rogue picked up her pace.

He continued following her.

She grew angrier. Rogue slipped inside an abandoned alley. Surprise, surprise, the swamp rat was right behind her.

She whirled to confront him, "What do you want, Swamp Rat?"

"Remy would t'ink dat be obvious," and he slid off his sunglasses so she could see his gaze travel up her body.

"Bite me, Cajun!" she snapped.

"Anywhere ya want, chere," he said stepping even closer to her.

Rogue gave a low angry laugh, "Ah swear, ya could make even bullshit sound perverted. Oh wait, is that because most of what ya say is bullshit?"

He staggered back, put a hand over his heart, and purred, "You wound Remy, chere."

"Obviously not enough."

Remy was confused. He hadn't expected her to actually leave. After all, wasn't he her assignment? She should have tried to turn the situation around and interrogated him. Not run away. That wasn't part of the game.

And all of her body language confirmed his empathy telling him that everything she was doing was completely sincere. She wanted him to leave her alone. Why?

His hand dropped and he straightened up, suddenly serious, "Is dat what y' want, chere? Y' want to hurt me?"

Rogue wanted to shout back Yes! Now go away! But she knew that wasn't true--current homicidal urges aside, she didn't want to hurt him, not really. And the op called for the exact opposite. She didn't know what she wanted from him.

So all she did was swallow. Please, Ah can't do this now…just go.

Remy took satisfaction from her sudden silence and stepped close to her again, "What do ya want, chere?"

Stirred to life again by his closeness, Rogue looked him straight in the eyes and said "Ah want ya ta go away and leave me alone."

Remy felt her words like a blow. He knew that she meant it. Dis doesn't make any sense. If she's out t' take down de Guild…why would she want me to go away?

Worse. He didn't want her to want him to go away. Something in him told him that he was loosing her and he was almost desperate to stop that from happening.

Time t' put de cards on de table.

Letting out a deep chuckle, he stepped even closer--they were only a breath apart.

Rogue couldn't look away from his eyes, she couldn't step back, it was all she could do to keep breathing.

"Y' don't want me ta go, chere."

"How do ya know?"

He smirked again, but it wasn't a kind smirk. "Because if Remy left y' alone, den what would ya have t' report t' your superiors?"

Rogue was sure the world skidded to an abrupt stop. What? How can he know? What is he doing?

Remy searched her eyes, waiting for her to deny it, to admit it, but Rogue was in shock. So he spoke again, "After all, FORCE agents, dey got a reputation t' uphold, non?"

The silence between them was so loud, it almost drowned out the fast beating of Rogue's heart. She knew that she should step away, that she should begin to defend herself, that she should attack him, that she should deny the accusation. But he was standing there, confronting her with the truth--angry, yet somehow understanding. And some hard part of her shattered as she looked at him, and something new in her heart started to breathe. She didn't want to lie to him anymore.

So all she did was swallow and drop her gaze.

"Ah never asked ya ta tell me anythin'," she whispered.

"Yet," he said. His voice was hard and sharp, like a gun shot.

"Yet," Rogue admitted, her voice cracking. She still didn't look at him.

"And y' never asked for Remy's company either," he said. "I knew what I was getting into," he added more softly.

This sparked enough indignation to make her look up, "If ya knew, then why do ya keep chasing me?"

"Remy done told ya, chere," he said with a faint smile, his eyes warming slightly. "He does crazy t'ings ta be wit' une belle femme. And ya be de most belle femme he's ever seen."

Rogue blinked. And blinked again. Why that scoundrel. He told meh he knew ta make a play for me! She almost felt like laughing.

"If ya think this is gonna get ya me, ya are sadly mistaken!" It ain't over yet, Swamp rat.

Remy chuckled again, "He wouldn't have it any ot'er way, belle." He traced one gloved finger over the curve of her cheek and under her jaw, lifting her face to his. "Remy see ya tomorrow, chere."

And with that, he removed his hand and stepped away.

He said he would see meh tomorrow. He really wasn't going to give up on her. That was enough to stir her.

"Remy, wait!" Rogue suddenly realized that she didn't want to lose--whatever it was between them. She didn't want him to think that she had just been using him.

She felt, more than heard him pause behind her.

Rogue turned to face him, desperate for him to understand, "Yes, Ah work for FORCE. But if all Ah wanted out of ya was information, then Ah would have absorbed it out of ya as soon as Ah knew ya were the target."

Remy raised an eyebrow, "As soon as y' knew?"

Rogue swallowed and offered a half shrug. "Those first two times we met, we just…met. It was before Ah had gotten to the briefing."

"An' was it your assignment to get close t' me?"

Despite herself, Rogue laughed, "Nah, it was Emma's. Remember, the blonde? She's a telepath. But she couldn't get past your shields an' ya didn't seem interested in her. So she told our boss that ya had it bad for me, and despite mah protests, gettin' information from ya about the Thieves Guild became mah job."

"So why didn't y' just absorb it out of Remy like ya said?" To say that he was skeptical was an understatement, but everything she was saying made so much sense. Remy found himself afraid to almost hope… Maybe the woman who had so fascinated him was real. But she's still workin' for FORCE, don' forget. She's still out t' take everyone ya love down.

"Couple of reasons, but mostly because there's something that felt wrong about this operation. At first, Ah told them that we didn't just want information we wanted an 'in' to the Guild an' if Ah just absorbed ya an' disappeared we'd lose that valuable chance. Ya'd suspect me an' anyone else who crossed your path for the next six months. Then when they suddenly didn't want the in anymore, they just wanted the info, it felt even more wrong. That's just not the way mah boss runs an op. So Ah made up some crap story about how your kinetic charging powers make some sort of force-field around your body so that Ah couldn't actually touch ya. Ah needed more time ta figure out what ta do…" Rogue trailed off. An idea was forming, so crazy that it just might work. After all, he knew anyway, maybe he could help her...he had a vested interest in this too and she knew he was more than capable…

Remy stood there, even more stunned than if an anvil had just fallen on his head. He remembered what had happened when he had accidentally brushed his fingers against her forehead while she was out. "Ya t'ink dat's true, chere?"

Rogue shrugged, not noticing his stillness. "Hell if Ah know. But it fooled our resident medical an' science expert, so it did it's job. But ya're--"

To stop himself from blurting Would you like to find out, he spoke an accusation instead, "How'd ya get dis past all 'paths ya work with?"

Rogue exhaled and explained slowly, "Ah have real strong mental shields. An if Ah keep them up and let some of the psyches out, Ah'm just static ta them. They can't get anything out of me that way. But that's not what Ah'm tryin' ta tell ya."

Remy stepped very close to her and spoke huskily, "An' what are y' tryin' t' tell Remy, cherie?"

Rogue rolled her eyes and fought back the urge to punch him in frustration. After all, he had even less of a reason to trust her now that she had admitted she had lied to her closest friends and co-workers. But something was wrong, it had to do with her friends and his guild and as much as she hated it she needed him to help figure out what that was. "Ah'm tryin' ta tell ya that something's wrong with this assignment. Ah don't know why y'all are suddenly so important. They're not telling' me everything an' Ah refuse to work without all the information. We need ta find out what they're hiding. That is, if ya'll help me."

Remy blinked and stepped back from her in surprise. "What do y' mean 'why are y'all are suddenly so important.' Didn't ya come t' town t' take down de Guild? What better way den t' go through me?"

Rogue shook her head, amusement clear in her eyes. "Ya really are full of yourself, ain't ya? Listen up, swamp rat. Ah'm sure that if a person was goin' ta try an' take down the Thieves Guild that going through ya would be very effective--if they could manage it. But takin' down a bunch o' thieves ain't exactly on mah 'to-do' list."

Remy didn't think he could get any more shocked. "What d'ya mean?"

Rogue sighed and glanced down for a moment before she looked up at him and said, "Last month Ah took down four serial rapists, two minor terrorist cells, and a man who was beating the crap out of his family. Ah was on vacation. When Ah'm workin', we deal with the mutant versions of that kinda scum. So ya take fancy artwork and rearrange the ownership a bit. So ya take precious gems from someone and sell it to the highest bidder. It's just paint chips and shiny rocks goin' from one rich person to another. Y'all are just rearranging the placement of rich people's toys. Frankly, Ah don't give a damn."

Remy blinked. He never, ever thought he would have heard her say that. He was obviously wrong when he had thought he couldn't get any more stunned. His brain, his body, his blood felt like it was incased in ice. He couldn't move, he couldn't think.

Do something.

Anger. Anger could get him out of this state. So he shook himself and was suddenly squeezing Rogue's shoulders hard, "Y' tellin' me de truth?"

With an ease that he really should have expected, Rogue broke his hold and stepped away. "Yes, Ah am. An' if ya were serious about seein' me tomorrow, Ah'll tell ya why then."

She was actually offering him information? This day could not get any more turned around, or in another minute she'd be throwing herself in his arms and he'd be kissing her and kissing her…

The thought caused a smirk, "Remy's always serious, chere. Especially about seeing a belle femme."

Rogue rolled her eyes. Apparently the universe hadn't completely reversed its equilibrium. She still ignored his charm. Despite his disappointment, Remy felt strangely relieved about that.

He stepped close to her again, "Remy's just wondering…why de wait?" He trailed a gloved finger down her cheek.

She slapped it away before he could caress her jaw line. "Ah need time ta decide how much ta tell ya."

Fair enough, Remy thought. "Bon. Den Remy will see y' tomorrow."

"We'd better make it early," she said, biting her lip in thought.

Though he had seen her do this before, he had always gotten the idea that she was doing it deliberately. This time she did it in distraction and as he watched the soft skin stretch under the torture, it was all he could do not to shove her against the wall and test out that little 'kinetic energy force field' theory of hers. He almost could feel the energy over his body and he was sure that his eyes were glowing again…

She said she didn't give a damn. He was still in shock over it. Was he glad, insulted, relieved? Wait a minute. Relieved? Damnit, LeBeau, get a hold of yourself! She's just une fille.

But she said…

"Can ya meet me tomorrow at 7:30?"

Remy blinked. "In de mornin'?"

"Yeah."

"Is de sun even up den?"

Rogue snorted. "Yeah, it comes up around 6:45 now."

"Merde," Remy swore. "Dat's early."

"Aww, poor lil' swamp rat," Rogue cooed. "Don't feel bad swampy, Ah'll have been up since 4:30 most likely."

"Maybe we'll be able t' comfort each ot'er about de injustice den, non?" he ran his hands down her arms.

"Dream on, swamp rat," she said.

"Don' worry, chere. Remy will," he smirked.

She flushed. "Idiot."

"Y' de one dat gets up at 4:30 in de mornin'," he pointed out.

"The glamorous life of an FORCE agent," she said dryly. "Meet me on the roof of the Starbucks next ta mah hotel."

He raised his eyebrows. "On de roof of a Starbucks?"

Rogue shrugged, "There's a hidden alcove up there, no one will see us and no one'd suspect it. It's easy to sweep for bugs. Plus, they'll be coffee."

He smirked, "Remy likes the way ma cherie's mind works."

Rogue sighed, "Ah ain't your anythin', Cajun."

He picked up her hand and pressed the gloved fingers to his lips.

"Maybe not yet. But dis t'ief always gets what he wants."

And with that, he was gone.

AN: Well, folks, I'm a sick as a dog (which is weird phrase.) I--literally--sound like I have a frog in my throat. I didn't even know that that was possible. But, hey, it worked out for y'all, 'cause I wasn't planning on working on this chapter out til at least Monday. Instead, I worked hard on it today and put it out, and I'm hoping for lots of reviews that will make me happy while I lie in bed and drink tea and use tissues.
I'm sure that's more than you wanted to know.
ANYWAY, I finally posted this chapter. Do you want to know why that's a big deal? I'll tell you--this chapter is the reason that this story exists. Seriously. I had just finished reading some fic--I don't remember which one--and was thinking about Rogue and Gambit when suddenly the conversation from "Bite meh" to "…report to your superiors" popped in my head. (Just the dialogue, I added in the other bits today.) I decided that I liked it, wrote it down and played with it a little bit more…and then I started thinking, under what circumstances could this conversation take place? And ta-da! This story!
So, some answers to some questions is forecasted in the next few chapters… I realize that these past two have been shorter than normal, but don't worry--the upcoming ones make up for it.
You want me to pick a favorite line? Out of all that? I dunno if I can…I like the whiskey bottle bit and the Pandora's box analogy because in the myth it let out a whole lot of trouble and a little bit of hope…but there's also so much of their exchange that I like…Again, I love the title, because they were being frank with each other and I got to use, nearly, that famous line…
Also, in case anyone wants to know Realtfarraige found the comic with the actual kinetic energy force field--it's Wolverine and Gambit no.86 from 4th of June 2003. If you want to know more about the details check out his/her review of the previous chapter.
So review and bring me cheer in my sickness. (yes, I threw in the pity-me. If you've got it…)

Review Responses:
Cat--where were you? Taking over the world with Ralph is no excuse… (dodges flamethrower)

addtothenoise
So, here's another update. Does it inspire you to write more? That would be fun… Anyway, what do you think?
Roguechere
Well, when I was a kid I used to have fun wandering around spinning in circles instead of walking, does that answer your question? ;0)
And true, I didn't fill you in on a lot, but see--look--answers are coming! The question is: are you ready? And are they good? (Gosh, I hope they'll be good…) So--what did you think of this last twist?
heartsyhawk
Thanks for your review! Yes, you'll find out about Kitty in the next couple of chapters. Glad you liked the chap, hope you enjoyed this one too.
WolvGambit Le Diable Blanc
And a continuation it is! Hope you liked it.
Ishandahalf
LOL, I thought you'd like that chapter. I'm glad you did--and that you thought his advice wasn't too out of character…because, well, someone needed to give it to her and I thought that his grief over Kitty would actually give it some weight, otherwise she'd likely run away from Remy forever and we just can't have that, can we?
I don't know if I'll put him in again, it may just be a cameo, but I haven't worked out the end completely so, who knows?
Heh heh, your guessing about the bar made me laugh. For the longest time after the chapter I had a note posted to myself: But she won't be able to get drunk because Remy will be there! So, no alcohol induced wall bashing, but this worked too, yes?
Ooo, gold stars! Shiney. Thanks! (Grin!)
gamro
Glad you're enjoying it! Pete and Kitty were just bf/gf, but it was very serious. Good question. Pete's probably kicking himself now that he never upped the ante, but I don't know if anything other than a near-death experience would have made him do it…
Lyrit Liltrick
lol, now you got the double mint gum song in my head. You should be ashamed. ;)
Yeah, I love Kitty too. But this wouldn't be effective if a character we didn't like had died. So, yeah, wouldn't have done it if I didn't have to.
Think you're right about Kitty's trend…
Hope real life gives you a break enough to read and (hopefully) enjoy.
Eileen B
I love your reviews, they make me laugh. F4, eh? Good?
I apologize for subjecting you to a character that you can't stand. He was, however, the only one that for could, for my purposes, make this work--I needed someone who's advice on giving love a chance Rogue would take seriously. And, in my little world, she's taking his seriously because she knows how much pain he's lived through. But I'm glad that my version of Wisdom didn't make you wish for his spontaneous combustion.
Talk about pouting… Dude, I do not have Remy dating Kitty or Rogue dating the devil…or Joseph…or trapped in a necklace…or DATING THE DEVIL. In all honesty, though, I hated to kill Kitty. But she had to die. So she's dead. And if you're upset that she's dead--good, that means my evil author scheme worked. (Ducks the 'shoot the callous author' calls). LOL, but you know what I mean… :mutters: dating the devil…
Was a little confused about the emphasis on 'shockingly' in your review…not sure what you meant by that… :-/
I promise you a major down pouring of Romy in…well, the next few chapters. ;) So keep on reading! Please:0)
Fingers905
Hey, thanks for the Review! Pete Wisdom pulled a Jean Grey and is only known by his name.
toxic-touch-727
Yes, there will be no actual liking of Emma taking place in this fic. I'm glad that you're enjoying it, it is primarily Romance with some mystery/suspense, isn't it? Maybe I should switch the second genre…Wow, I kept you up til 4am? It's flattered, I am. Thank you, kindly. I hope that my Hellfire doesn't disappoint you, it's more of a subplot than anything…
STRIP--yeah, the government has acronyms for everything…
So, I'm SO glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing and please do stop by again!
Spicy Sweet
I hope this chapter cleared up that 'touch' thing…if not check my response to Cat on the previous chapter, that should help! J No, feel free to ramble any time. Good question--in my story, Rogue hasn't been in any other relationship. The circumstances in her life haven't really allowed it, and she won't let herself get close to anyone. So, yeah, this is all very new to her. Thanks for reviewing, hope you enjoyed.
Thanagarian Angel
Thanks a lot! I'm really glad that you enjoy it. I hope it holds up after I start giving explanations.
Kitrazzle Fayn
Of course I missed you, I love your reviews!
I, also, have never seen Mister Wisdom in anything but fan fiction, but he seemed appropriate. Yes, Rogue needs a big brother in her life, and since I have no Logan…Glad you approved. Again, I can not confirm or deny your guesses, but rest assured that nothing would stop Rogue from killing Kitty's murderer.
I'll probably contact you about those Ocs for Stolen Hearts, 'cause I need a few more people for that story and yeah…
enchantedlight
Thank you! Glad you liked it. Ta-da! An update!
bored247
Very much so.
Yeah, so explanations are coming. I know, I keep saying that, but they really are, I swear.
Chained2aMask
Really? Cool! (Grins) Thanks, I'm really glad you like it! Hope that you find the rest of it good as well!
warpped in banana foil
I don't know if we're gonna get to meet Pete or not, we'll see…honestly, I never thought about it before, but it might just work…I dunno, we'll see.
Lizbeth, I'm so sorry for your friend, that's so hard. I'm sorry if this hurt, and happy if it helped you at all…to the extent anything can help… :(
So here's an update--the pivotal point, everything changes…hope it worked for you. Take care.
Realtfarraige
How cool are you that you found the actual comic with the kiss! You rock! That's great, thanks so much!
Yeah, stinks that Kitty died, but it was necessary. Glad you liked the big brother routine, those are fun. And someone needs to threaten Remy. Hopefully that little conversation will help Rogue admit things, at least to herself…
Umm, what's "slagging" mean?
So glad that you enjoyed it, hope you liked this one too!
Kouchou no Kouken
I'm sorry that you weren't in a more reviewing mood. You're a very thorough reviewer and you bring out insightful points, and I would be very interested in hearing what you have to say. I'm glad that you found your way over to this story, since Stolen Hearts is currently sitting on a shelf somewhere while I try to decide if I should call Rogue Anna or Marie or Anna Marie (Currently leaning towards Marie, but we'll see) and address some more casting problems.
While it's true that I could have technically attached the previous chapter onto this one and just done a scene change, then I couldn't have called the last chapter Speaking with Wisdom, which was just so much fun for me. :0)
To address your points:
Yes, I understand your skepticism with Lapin being able to uncode Sage's work. But genius isn't restricted to mutant genes and training and thought patterns has a whole lot to do with his ability to do it. In fact, it's the very beauty and symmetry of Sage's work that ends up helping him--he finds the pattern and pulls, and like a loose thread in a tapestry out comes the encryption. So I've got no problem with him unraveling what was--for Sage--a very standard encryption. I do continue to question whether or not he'd be able to do it in such a short amount of time. But for the sake of necessity I'm ignoring that question very loudly. ;0)
Yeah, I know Remy's not an empath, and I almost left that ability out…but, everyone's doing it… lol. Thanks for telling me, though, 'cause if I hadn't looked him up I would have been very confused from all the fanfics I've read.
I'm using Microsoft works, and frankly, I hate it. I have no idea how to incorporate accent marks unless they're copied and pasted. I was italicizing the French words initially, but then I realized that I was using italics for thoughts, flashbacks, emphasis…and decided that something had to go.
What does "E.V.A.N. B." stand for? (And long reviews are fun!)
Thanks again for your review, I'm glad you're--I take it that you are--enjoying the story. I hope that you continue to do so.