Chapter 16: Girltalk

"You're back!" Kitty shoved the laptop aside and rushed to greet her friend. Catching sight of Rogue's healed face, she stopped and gaped. "What happened? You're totally better! I mean, it's great, but wow!"

"Logan," Rogue said tersely, crossing to her bed.

"What do you mean?"

"He healed me. Ah think. Ah fell asleep last night looking like Ah had been in a bar fight."

"Well, you kind of were…"

She glared. "And Ah woke up like this," she indicated her face. "Wantin' a beer. So Ah'm thinking he came in last night and made me absorb him."

"Awww. He was really worried about you, y'know."

"Coulda fooled me. He barely spoke to me on the way back from New York, and he completely shut me down this morning when Ah tried to say thanks." Her throat tightened as she remembered the disdain in his eyes.

"Just because he was worried doesn't mean he's not mad," Kitty pointed out. "In fact, it probably makes him more mad."

"Ah noticed." She tugged her boots off, leaned back on the bed, and shut her eyes.

"He threatened Remy, you know." That'll get her attention.

Rogue looked up sharply. "He went after the swamp rat? When?"

"Yesterday afternoon. In the foyer."

She groaned and sank onto her bed. "What happened?"

"He told Remy – Gambit," she amended quickly at the flash in Rogue's eyes, "that if he did anything to hurt you, he'd slice and dice him."

"Logan used the phrase 'slice-and-dice'?"

"No, he was a little more graphic."

"What'd Remy do?"

"Oh, that's the best part! He totally blew Mr. Logan off. He just said that maybe he should be out looking for the guys who were after you."

Rogue just stared.

Kitty shrugged. "He's mad. He'll get over it. He always does, with you."

Rogue stayed silent. This was a different kind of mad, she wanted to tell Kitty. And she didn't have a clue how to fix it.

So," Kitty said after a pause. "Kurt said he visited you."

"Yeah." She studied the ceiling.

"Are things…better?"

"Ah guess."

"He was worried, too." Another pause. "We all were." We still are.

"Kit, Ah'm really tired. It's been a crappy coupla days, and tomorrow's not lookin' a whole lot better. All I want is a nap and a shower, in that order. Can we do this some other time?"

Hurt flashed over the younger girl's features. "Sure," she said stiffly, turning back to her computer. "Sorry I bothered you."

"Wait, Kit. Ah'm sorry." Rogue pushed up to sitting. "Ah didn't mean to snap at you."

"No, it's fine," Kitty said, busying herself with something on the laptop. "I just thought you might want to talk about what happened with Remy."

She sagged back on the bed. "Nothing. Nothing happened."

"It didn't look like nothing. And that's not the way he's acting."

"What does that mean?"
"He's staying, isn't he?" Kitty smiled knowingly.

"Only cause the professor asked him to. Cause he feels sorry for me." He pitied her. The thought of it swamped her with nausea.

"I don't think so." She watched her friend's face carefully. "He's a sweetheart, you know," she said with studied casualness.

"He's anything but. And when did you become an expert on Remy LeBeau anyway?"

"I'm not an expert. But I'm not blind, either. And it's so obvious that he likes you."

"What?"

Gotcha. "He's totally interested in you. You should have heard him when we were having lunch."

"You had lunch?" She shot up again.

"Well, he did. I had something to drink. But we had a nice talk."

"What did he say? Never mind. Ah don't want to know." She flopped back down. "Okay. Just tell me."

"He is totally, totally into you, Rogue. It was written all over his face – and you should have heard him when we were having lunch. He had a zillion questions about you, but he avoided answering anytime I asked him anything personal." She paused for a moment, considering. "And he doesn't seem to mind about the no-touching thing."

"What do you mean?" Hope flared wildly in her chest, and it took all of her control to tamp it down. No guy – particularly one with Remy's obvious experience – was going to want a girl they couldn't touch. Maybe for the chase. But not for real.

"When I said that your powers took a lot of the fun out of a relationship, he said, 'Nawt ahwl dee fuhn.'" Rogue snickered at Kitty's imitation of the Cajun accent. "And gave me a really naughty look. He so likes you."

"Wait. You said that? About mah powers?" She was mortified. More mortified than she had upon thinking about the previous two days' events, which was saying something. "Ah can't believe you did that, Kit!"

"I'm sorry! We were just talking, and he was so nice, and so charming, and I guess it just spilled out."

"Charming, huh? Jerk." At Kitty's wounded look, she clarified. "Him. Not you. You were a blabbermouth."

"Sorry," she said, but she didn't look sorry. "You know, you still haven't told me what happened at the apartment."

"Didn't you and your new best friend already talk about it?"

"Nope," she said, unfazed. "So spill. I'm not going anywhere until you do."

"Ah told you. Nothin' happened." She picked at a cuticle.

"Why were you naked?"

"Ah wasn't naked!" Her face flamed. "Ah had a shirt on."

"Gambit's shirt. Where was yours?"

"Mah clothes were pretty trashed from the fight at the club. He had just brought in some new ones when you all came bustin' in."

"You were passed out when he brought you back?"

"Yeah."

"So he had to undress you." She was trying not to smirk, and failing miserably.

"Kitty, Ah'm tryin' very hard not to think about that particular aspect of things." He must have, she knew, and she was furious that she had been at such a disadvantage. A thought struck her. "What if he tried somethin'?"

Kitty waved a hand dismissively. He didn't."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. He's honorable."

"Right. That man wouldn't know honorable if it came up and bit him on the ass."

"It's a nice ass, though." Kitty dissolved into giggles. "Or hadn't you noticed?"

"Ah hadn't noticed," she said dryly.

"Okay, okay." Kitty held her hands up in mock surrender. "So why did Jean say you were afraid? He wasn't hurting you, was he?"

Rogue thought back to the feel of his hands on her back, the warmth and strength of his body through the flannel, how very soft his lips had seemed right before Logan crashed through the window. "He was about to kiss me," she said absently. Kitty shrieked in glee, and brought Rogue back to the present. "Ah mean, it seemed like it, and Ah was afraid Ah'd absorb him again." Unconsciously, she brushed a hand over her lips.

"Oh, sure. You weren't at all worried that you might like kissing him."

"Ah was worried Ah might put him in a coma and start blowing things up!"

"If you say so." Kitty's brown eyes regarded Rogue skeptically.

"God, Kit. Ah made a complete fool out of myself."

Kitty looked at her in disbelief. "How? He doesn't seem to think so."

Rogue ticked off the reasons on her fingers. "First, Ah end up passing out at a club, losing a fight, and needin' him to rescue me. Then, he sees me naked. Or close enough. Then, you all come and fetch me home like a little kid who wandered off at the grocery store. Then, the professor convinces him to stay around, because Ah'm so pathetic I need someone else to find me friends. And then, you blab to him about my powers getting in the way of…things. So, yeah, Ah'd say Ah look like the world's biggest fool." She shook her head. "Ah'll just have to avoid him until he leaves. Better yet, Ah'll make him miserable until he leaves. Faster that way." Ruthlessly, she pushed away the memory of the cookie waiting for her in the Med Room. How had he known?

"You're nuts." Kitty said flatly. "What's really bothering you about this?"

"Isn't what Ah've already said enough?"

"It would be, but I don't believe you. Something happened with you guys. I can tell by the way you talk about each other. What was it."

Rogue put the pillow back over her face. Maybe it would be easier to just suffocate herself. "He made me cry."

"What? What did he say? Did he hurt you?" Kitty couldn't decide if she was more stunned by the act or the admission.

"No. He just said things…he made it seem like he really understood me." And if he did, she thought, then something must have happened to him. Something that caused the raw grief in his eye when he stared out the window and told her they were alike. What was it?

"Who's to say he doesn't?"

"He doesn't. He's not interested in me, Kitty. The whole time, he was just trying to show me that he could make me swoon. Just like every other girl on the planet." Dat what happens when I turn on de charm. The memory made her ache. She bit down hard on her lip and the tears threatening to fill her eyes dissipated.

"Hey – he's definitely swoon-worthy. But he didn't act like that when I was talking to him."

"Trust me. He's all about gettin' the girls." She tried to forget the way she had cried herself to sleep in his arms. Burying her head in her hands, she moaned, "Ah'm never gonna live this down."

"Well, no, probably not. But not because something's going on with you two."

"Nothing's going on!"

Kitty regarded her friend dubiously. "That's a nice necklace you're wearing, Rogue."

Her hand flew to the pendant. "He was just being a smart-ass."

"Oh, yeah. Cause nice jewelry is the gift of choice for smart-asses this season."

"It's just a necklace, Kit. It didn't mean anything."

"He said it was for healing."

"He made it up."

"No, he didn't. I looked online. Here." Kitty stood and retrieved the laptop. "See? I bookmarked the site." She crossed her arms and looked smug.

"'Malachite,'" she read slowly. "'Good for healing and drawing out of pain, both physical and emotional. Brings peaceful sleep. A stone for new beginnings and transformations.' Peaceful sleep," she murmured. He had watched her sleeping. He had seen her having Logan's nightmares. She softened for a moment, but then the old Rogue was back. "He doesn't mean it."

"Sure he does. He likes you. I can tell. And you like him."

"Ah do not like him." The lie was bitter on her tongue.

"You totally like him. You're just scared."

"Ah'm not scared!"

"Sure you are! You opened up to him, and now you're scared, because he's gotten close, and you can't stand to get close to people."

"Have you forgotten what happens when Ah get close to people?"

"That's a really convenient excuse, isn't it?" Kitty retorted. "Go ahead and be angry, Rogue. Go ahead and be scared. But if you push Gambit away because of those feelings, then you're just being stupid." She gathered up the laptop again. "It's not wrong to want happiness, Rogue," she said more gently, touching her friend's shoulder. "It's wrong to think you don't deserve it. I'll see you at dinner." And with that, she left her friend alone with her thoughts.

A/N

Apologies for the delay in updating. This chapter took for-freaking-ever to come together, and even now, I'm displeased with it. But in the interest of moving on, here it is. It's also late, and I've just finished proofing a bunch of (paying) jobs, so I'm sure I've missed typos. And so it goes.

The next few chapters seem much better-behaved than this one, so I'm hoping to post again this weekend.

A general shout out to those who complained that Ch. 14 was too short. I know, I know. Eventually, the bad guys and the good guys will share a chapter, and much chaos will ensue. I just don't want you to forget about Dane & co. in the interim.

Jukebox – Many thanks for the speedy response. You are like the Pietro of reviewers.

AngieX – Fear not – Romy is a-comin'.

RogueChere – I agree. There's just no way that Wolverine wouldn't heal her – hence the basis for many, many movieverse Rogue/Logan fics. And he is indeed a sweetheart, though he doesn't want anyone to know it. As for the professor, he was hard on Rogue, but for a reason, as you will see.

Ishandahalf –You would expect Rogue to get her back up about the whole consequences thing, wouldn't you? Don't you find it worrisome that she didn't? I do. And so does Professor X. Sinister – did you know that in Latin, sinister means left? Dexter means right, which is where we get the word dexterous. As a lefty, I find that interesting. Just a little bit of etymology for you… And oh…were you wanting Remy? Welcome to the club. He's been a little busy, but he'll make an appearance soon. Please don't send the crack bunnies after me.

AnimeAddicted – You are both kind and prolific. Thanks. I'm off to read your stuff as soon as I get Ch. 15's first draft finished.

Caliente, Rogue Cajun, and Jaded Beauty – Thanks – again, sorry with the lateness. I am bad.

Taineyah – You're sweet. Like I said, this isn't on a par with Almost A Second Chance, but you're sweet.

GothicCajun – Yeah, Logan and Rogue in EvoVerse is not quite kosher. In movieverse, I can buy it, though. He was sweet to heal her, though, particularly since he's about to come down on her like a ton of bricks.

Letanica – You think you're bad? I just realized I haven't updated since 25 Nov. That, my friend, is bad. As opposed to An' Everythin' Nice, which was really touching. I can't get it out of my head. Tell you what – I'll post more if you do.

Okay, I'm off to finish up the next chappie, in which much angst and revealing of motives takes place. And who is that on the horizon? Why, it's Remy!