Disclaimer: I pushed the disclaimer off a very steep cliff. It's now hanging on by a fingernail. Damn thing doesn't even know how to die gracefully...

~ Rehsh, Rat, T., Sophia, bigtreydawg, LiLRoguE, Carla - Would any of you be interested in the Microsoft coup we have planned in the coming months? ; )

~ Ning Ning - Wow... *blushes* That's so nice... *pushes heaps of chocolate, candy and other sweets in Ning's direction* What can I say, I'm easy! Say those last three words and I'd give you my kidney if you asked for it! ; )

~ Disturbed Courtney - *checks three dictionaries, one thesaurus, and an electronic Word Web spell-checker* Yeah... I think that's how you spell 'intrigued'... but I wanna check a few more sources before I confirm... ; )

~ Fleurdelys - I hope I'm not too late! I came as soon as I could with - Hey! Wait a minute... Where did you get that plate of food? What happened to '[your] fridge is not within arm's reach'?! : ) ... Okay, see it's like this: the plot bunnies always know what's happening in the story. I only know what's going on if they chose to let me in on their devious little plans. If they chose to keep me in the dark, like they're doing now, then we're plum out of luck... Ooh, and excellent point! Just because an older woman flirted with Brian doesn't necessarily mean his friends will believe him! I guess it's back to the depression for him...

~ ishandahalf - 1) Yes, I love to screw up your thought processes! It's what I live for! 'Sides, I shouldn't be all screwed up by myself! That's just sad! 2) Still haven't taken care of that cough, huh? 3) Don't put yourself down! You have a point sometimes! Like that time you... uhh... hmm... Wait, wait, just give me a minute... 4) Wait a second, WHY THE HECK ARE YOU ALL-CAPSING ME? It's freaky me out, I gotta say... ; ) 5) Damn! Thanks for the warning about the parachutes! Those sneaky little bunnies, trying to kill me via an anvil on my back! How incredibly rude!

~ no name kid - Hey, as long as I'm not the only screwball around here... ; )

~ Christy S, *, crazytook - *gazes into crystal ball* I see... I see... I see nothing 'cause this crystal ball is actually a fish tank that hasn't been cleaned in a while! But hey, never say I didn't try!

~ Mag Carter - Use their ears as parachutes? Does that mean I'd have to save them along with myself? Or do you want me to... *gulp*... yank their ears off with my bare hands?

~ Panther Nesmith - See that was my reaction, too! Bunnies flying airplanes just ain't a natural thing. Point number one: how do they even see over the controls? Do they use a booster seat or do they just sit on top of each other until they reach the appropriate height? It boggles the mind...

~ Rogue15 - So either you really like them slashes or your space bar is broken... : ) But don't you just hate it when things aren't working like they should? (Stop me now before I go on an excessively long tirade about what's wrong with the world! : )

~ SLH - Umm... Yes. Don't know. Maybe. Could happen. Thank you! Hope you are. I'll definitely try not to! And yes, you still have to! : ) ... Did any of that make any sense to you? ; )

~ Rupeshwari - *whispers* Even if the bunnies aren't to blame, I still point the finger at them! Surprisingly, nobody ever believes me...

~ Goddess Evie - Haha! I just might take you up on that parachute-sharing offer. The bunnies don't hate you too, do they?

~ Eileen Blazer - *grin* Yup, as hard as it is to believe, I usually plan my chapters... usually. Obviously not now 'cause the damn bunnies still aren't talking... Ooh, I've bred confusion! How sinfully evil! My work here is done... ; )

~ Marie - I've been thinking... We have way too many species from the animal kingdom running around here. What are we, a zoo? Bunnies and monkeys and platypi... what's next?

CHAPTER 2
Lipstick and Cards

Immediately, the table erupted into a collective "aww..." that could clearly be heard above the rest of the room's noise.

One of the men still seated tilted his head to the side and wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye. "It's... it's just so touching..."

"Yeah," sniffed the raven-haired man to his left. "Like one of those chick flicks where the guy and the girl get back together after so long." He put a dainty hand to his mouth and looked away. "I need a handkerchief..." When one was handed to him, he loudly blew his nose into it, exaggerating the action to an obnoxious degree.

"You yahoos finished yet?" the man standing next to Rogue demanded. He'd broken the embrace at the first sound from the table behind him, but his right arm remained loosely on her waist.

"Wait, wait, just one more time..." The sandy blonde motioned to his companions and together they let out another cooing "aww..."

Rogue rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. "You still hang out with these losers, Logan?"

"Unfortunately, yeah."

The raven-haired man spoke up. "Hey, Scott, did you know we were losers?"

"No, Frank, can't say that I did. How 'bout you, Jimmy?"

"Nope. Bobby?"

"Hey, all I wanna know is how come we didn't get a kiss like Logan got a kiss?"

"'Cause you ain't her brother, bub." Logan walked back to his seat, lightly cuffing the blonde man on the back of the head as he passed. "Make yerself useful, Drake, an' get the lady a chair."

Robert Drake gallantly stood, offering Rogue his seat. "Yeah well, if given the chance, I wouldn't have wasted my time on a lousy little peck on the cheek like that." He winked at Rogue before finding another chair to settle into.

"An' if given th' chance, Ah wouldn't waste mah time on th' likes o' y'all." Rogue smiled sweetly at the men around the table.

"Ouch."

"Shot down!"

"Were we just insulted? It sounded like we were just insulted..."

Jimmy picked up his cards once again, and then leaned across the table toward Rogue. "The lady doesn't know what she's missing," he said with a sly grin, barely dodging the elbow Logan sent his way.

"Watch yer mouth, bub, before I shove my fist into it."

"So, are we playing poker or what?" Frank demanded, jumping into the conversation before it could escalate into an all-out fistfight.

"Yeah, we're playin'." Logan glanced to his right. "You want in on the next hand, kid?"

Rogue shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure, why not? If y'all don' mind losin' yoah money, then Ah don' mind takin' it from you."

"Lady sure is cocky," Jimmy added with a snort. "They teach you how to gamble properly at that college of yours?"

A bewitching smile graced her features. "Among other things, sugah."

- oOo -

The cigarette in his hand was half an inch away from burning itself into ashes. He took one last puff before extinguishing it into the ashtray in front of him.

"Another shot, Remy?" inquired Sal, poising the bottle over a fresh glass.

"You tryin' t' get me drunk, mon ami?" He smirked, leaning into the bar. "'Cause I'm gonna tell you right now, you ain't my type."

"As if I'd want your ugly mug." Sal pushed the shot glass toward him. "Don't even know how the ladies can stand looking at you."

"Dey usually have deir eyes closed, homme." Grinning, Remy downed the liquor. "But den dey leave ev'ryt'in' else open f'r me."

Sal shared his grin, but warned, "Better not let Ororo hear you talking like that. That broad would string you up by your innards without a second thought."

Remy shrugged. "Dat's another way t' spend an evenin'." Turning his head to the side, he noticed a leggy blonde coyly giving him a look. She was twisting the straw in her drink in a very suggestive manner. As if by instinct, he sent her a sly grin. "'Scuse me a moment, Sal, got some work t' do." He slid off the barstool and made his way into the crowd.

Sal watched as Remy approached the woman. He wasn't the least bit surprised when she allowed him to take her in his arms and whisper rather intimately into her ear.

That kid's never gonna change, he thought with a smile, as he wiped down the bar. Still quick as lightning, and twice as deadly...

- oOo -

"You know, I'd swear you had cards up your sleeves," Bobby groaned, throwing the hand he'd been dealt onto the table. "If you were actually wearing any."

"Sugah, it's not mah fault you've got one o' th' most obvious tells Ah've ever seen."

"And what exactly would that be?"

"You bite yoah lower lip like a kid with his hand in th' cookie jar."

"Or a teen with his hand up his first skirt," Frank added helpfully. "Oh wait... for Bobby that would've been, what, last week?" Laughter erupted around the table.

"Shut up, you deadbeats."

Rogue couldn't help but smile right along with the rest of them. But she did eventually come to Bobby's defense. "Ah think it's kind o' cute. Endearin' even."

"Gee, thanks," Bobby said dryly.

She turned to her brother and asked, "Where's 'Ro? How come she ain't down here?"

"She's up in the office. Told me ta call her when the fight was about ta start." He looked at his watch. "Which would be right 'bout now. Think I'll go up an' get her."

"Ah'll come with you." Rogue stood, collecting her money and winking at the others. "Gentlemen. It'll be mah pleasure ta take all yoah money again, once th' fight's done."

When she and Logan were out of earshot, Jimmy let out a low whistle, admiring her retreating form. "You know what? I got no problem losing to that."

Scott frowned at him. "Better watch yourself, Jimmy. That's Logan's little sister you're drooling over."

"Chum, there ain't nothing little about her... not anymore."

"I gotta agree with Jimmy on this one, Scott. That girl's real easy on the eyes," Frank declared. "'Course you don't really need to look no more. You gone and done right by yourself with Jeannie."

"That still doesn't change the fact that Logan will pound the shit out of you two if you so much as breathe wrong in her direction."

Bobby winced. "Yeah. Remember the time he caught me making out with her in high school? I was two steps shy from having every single one of my internal organs transplanted."

"He isn't kidding," Scott stated when the other two men looked at them in speculation. "It took three of us just to hold Logan back and get him calm enough to retract his claws."

"But still..." Jimmy said, taking a long swig of his beer, "that view just might be worth all the pain."

"You talkin' 'bout me behind my back, mon ami?" Remy pulled up an empty seat between Scott and Frank. "Comments like dat jus' might make me blush."

Bobby looked at him in question. "Where have you been all night, Cajun? Out swiping car radios?"

"Ha-ha, non." He flashed a table napkin with a hastily scribbled phone number and a thick kiss of blood-red lipstick. "Jus' addin' t' my collection."

Frank leaned over to take a closer look. "She worth it?"

Laughing, Remy answered, "Aren't dey all, homme?"

- oOo -

Without hesitation, Logan twisted the knob of the closed door and entered, Rogue trailing behind him. "'Ro?" he called out. "Darlin', you in here?"

"In the office, Logan," her voice came from the adjacent room.

Rogue looked around the reception area as they passed through it. "Sarah left early, huh?"

"Kid's takin' night classes now," he told her, removing the cigar from his mouth. "Big dreams on that one. She ain't gonna be our secretary fer long."

"That's good... fo' her, Ah mean." A second later, they reached the interior office. Seated behind the solid oak desk was a strikingly beautiful woman with stark white hair and rich mocha skin. "Evenin', 'Ro. Still workin' harder than yoah good-fo'-nothin' partner, Ah see."

"Rogue." Ororo smiled, standing to her full height. In three graceful strides she was across the room, with her arms wrapped around the younger woman. "It's good to have you back. I take it your summer break has started?"

"Yup. Y'all are gonna have ta put up with me fo' a while."

"We will manage somehow." She smiled again before turning back to the desk. "Is the fight starting already?"

Logan followed her, standing behind her chair and resting his hands on her shoulders. "'Bout ten minutes. You almost finished here?" His hands deftly kneaded the tension out of her muscles.

Closing her eyes and relaxing into his touch, Ororo couldn't help but moan softly. "Hmm... that's wonderful..."

Rogue cleared her throat, playfully getting their attention. "Y'all want Ah should leave th' room an' lock th' door on mah way out? Give you a li'l private time? 'Cause Ah really don' wanna have ta stand here an' witness this, an' eventually go blind in th' process."

"Actually, that ain't such a bad idea, kid. Tell the boys ta start the fight without us."

"Logan!" Ororo chided, slightly embarrassed.

"What? Like the thought wasn't goin' through yer mind."

"Not in front of your sister, it wasn't." She stood once again and began organizing the paperwork she had been going through. "And certainly not in the office."

Logan encircled her waist with his arms, pulling her tightly against his body. "How would it be any different from the last time?" he whispered, so quietly that only she could hear him. He felt a shiver run through her.

"The difference," she responded, glancing over her shoulder, "would be in the audience that we have at the moment."

He grunted, reluctantly giving in. "Later then, darlin'?"

She smiled, kissing him lightly on the lips. "Later."


And you all thought... Oh, ye of little faith... ; )