36

Rogue gasped out as a white crack seemed to split her mind in two. Through that crack, Rogue's memories flood through and she remembered everything.

She remembered how Mystique had lured her out, making her believe she was Kurt. She remembered how she had been jumped from behind by Blindspot and how the pair stored her away on a plane. She remembered waking during the plane ride with Mystique and Blindspot discussing how she should begin to take and alter her memories then and there. She remembered fighting Blindspot off and, somehow, falling out of the plane just as Blindspot accidently took all her memories from her. That was how she had ended up in the swamps. Rogue was actually surprised that she had survived that fall with next to no injuries. From there, that's were she had wondered off and met Henri. Henri, who took her to Remy. Remy, who was trying to convince her to go back to the X-Men, her old family, who loved her and she loved them. A family which had many strong psychics who would have been able to help her remember who she was. A family that would have protected her from any threat and not tricked and deceived her like Jean-Luc and a lot of the other thieves did. As Rogue began to remember everything, the one thing she paid attention to, was how much Remy had done to try and help her out without completely pushing her away. She did wonder why he didn't just drug her and send her packing right from the get go like he did the first time he tried getting her to do something. But then, she couldn't find it in her to be mad at him. He had explained, after all, that he cared about her in his own words and was trying to do the right thing by her. If giving her a place to stay and protecting her as best as he could from his crazed father while trying to get her to return home to people who loved and cared about her was him trying to protect and look out for her, well, she'd say he'd done a pretty good job.

When Rogue fell away from Blindspot's touch, Remy went to catch her, but Logan beat him to it, growling at Remy in warning. Logan lifted Rogue to her feet as she started to come to and turned her to face him. Rogue groaned, rubbing her head which hurt before finally opening her eyes.

"Hey Logan," Rogue said, a small smile growing on her face. "Miss meh?"

Logan grunted in his throat which, to anyone else, would have seemed like he was distasteful of the moment (which he was), but Rogue saw it as him being caring and confirming he did through that one grunt.

Rogue next turned to where she remembered Remy had been, keeping a smile on her face. She looked him up and down before raising her eyebrow and saying: "Yep, still the same cocky, annoyin' swamp rat who's full of it."

Remy snorted at that, but she could see his resting smirk grow. It had been only a couple of seconds, but the change in the woman before him was imminent. The scared, confused girl who had been clinging to him, desperate to stay with him because she feared everything else that was happening was now the confident spit fire he remembered who knew exactly who the people surrounding her were. With her memories back in tactic, she was much better equip to deal with what had happened and what would happen next. And if she wasn't able to deal with it, she now knew she had her mutant family surrounding her who she could lean on to help and guide her through the rough patches. As he glanced the Rogue he remembered up and down, he knew what he had set out to do had been done.

"I guess moi work be done here then, non?" Remy said, turning and beginning to move towards his broken bike.

Rogue frowned, reaching up and going to move Logan's hands away. When Logan kept a firm grip on her, his eyebrow raised, Rogue realised Remy might have been right in describing Logan as an overprotective papa bear.

"Ah'm comin' with ya, don't worry." Rogue said, having quickly decided that she should follow the advice Remy gave her. But, she knew there was more to be said. "Just, give meh a minute," Rogue plead.

Logan nodded once and let her go. He, Scott and Jean began to return to the jet with Blindspot in toe.

Remy had knelt beside the remainder of his bike, frowning deeply as he mourned it.

"Why'd ya do it?" Rogue asked.

Remy rose from where he crouched and turned to face Rogue. He glanced behind her at the X-Men walking away. His frown grew deeper.

"Y' not goin' wit em?" he asked.

"Quit dodgin' mah questions," Rogue said, folding her arms over her chest and raising her eyebrow at him. "Why'd ya help meh?" she asked again.

"I didn't," Remy answered. "It be Henri who helped y', remember?" he teased.

Rogue couldn't help but let her small smirk grow.

"Yes, ah remember. Ah also remember you goin' outta you're way ta keep your father's greedy paws off meh and ta try an' help meh remember things," she said.

"Y' agree it would'a been a lot simpler now if y'd just listened t' moi in de first place?" Remy teased once again.

"Ya deflectin' again," Rogue responded.

When Remy said nothing in response to her question and simply tilted his head to the side, Rogue got the message.

"Ya not gonna answer meh, are ya?" she questioned, not needing a response. "Guess ah should'a learned by now that if ya don't wanna tell meh somethin', ya won't."

"Y' be back where y' belong now, that's all dat matters," Remy responded.

"Maybe," Rogue said, frowning as she thought of something else that mattered. "Is going back really safe? What's goin' to happen when ya go back? An', if ya don't answer meh or tell meh the truth, ah'm droppin' your arse right now an' goin' back ta face Jean-Luc maself!" Rogue warned.

Remy just chuckled at that threat.

"Trust moi, dis ain't de worst me nor Henri have done. He'll find'a way t' work it so dat everyt'in' returns t' how it was. He's a man addicted t' power after all. He won't want t' lose his greatest thief now, nor his own flesh an' blood if he can help it," Remy told her.

Rogue rolled what Remy had told her around her head for a time, guessing it made sense. Both of their parents were obsessed with them after all and would go the extra mile to get them under their control. Finally, she nodded, looking at the grass that moved in a soft wind.

"Neva expected Henri ta do that for meh. Guess ah really messed up with him an' Merci, huh?" Rogue said.

"Nar," Remy said. "They both know how twisted de old man be an' what he can do. If anyt'in', they probably just be upset they can't say goodbye t' y' in person."

Rogue's frown drew closer to the ground.

"Y'all know that, if ya's every need anythin', all ya gotta do is ask, right?" Rogue said.

Remy's features had relaxed once more now that they were alone. His smile was easier with less of that humorous smirk.

"Dat be good t' know," Remy replied.

Rogue felt heat rushing up her neck as she glanced into Remy's eyes. She had to glance away, but she didn't fight her small smile.

"If any'a ya's need a place ta stay too, somewhere ta call a home, the X-Men will always be happy ta take you's on," Rogue said, meeting Remy's eyes again.

She found herself looking for something. Hoping for something, but Remy had too much of a good poker face. All he did was nod his head.

"Come on Rogue!" came Logan's voice over the Blackbird's speaker. Rogue frowned deeply as she turned to glance at the jet."We haven't got all day."

"Looks like y' better go," Remy said, bringing Rogue's attention back to him.

Her smile was lost and she was struggling to bring it back without just forcing it.

"Yeah," she said, stroking her arm for comfort and unable to meet his eyes. "'though, doesn't feel right leavin' like this after all the trouble ah put ya's through."

Rogue didn't expect Remy to reach out and take her gloved hand in his. Startled she glanced at his crimson eyes that sparkled with mischief.

"Y' can come 'cause trouble down south anytime chérie," he said before lifting her gloved hand up to his lips and kissing it without dropping her gaze.

"Somet'in' tells moi dis won't be de last time we be seein' each other. Till then," with that, he kissed her hand. "Try not to cause too much of a stir, non?"

She found it rather incredible how he could instantly make her hot and flustered, then bring a smile back to her face and make her feel like the world was right in mere seconds.

"Yeah, right back at ya," Rogue said, slipping her hand out of his and proceeding to walk away.

As soon as she did it, she kind of regretted it. Something was nagging at her. A question that was being brought on by the butterflies in her stomach. A question that she didn't have an answer for yet and the only person she could get that from was Remy.

As she got a few steps away, she stopped, turning to look at Remy over her shoulder.

"Oh, an' swamp rat," she called out, a strong smirk on her face.

"Oui, chérie?" Remy said, tilting his head to one side and smiling at her.

"Love at first sight. Really?" she asked, her eyebrow raising in question at him, but her huge smile told him she was joking.

Remy simply shrugged his shoulder, his smirk getting larger.

"There be explosions of every kind," was all he said in response to her.

Their eyes locked for a time, until they both knew it was time to go. Rogue turned, shaking her head as she headed to the Blackbird. The question about their relationship still not answered.

xxxxx

French Translations

Moi - My
Non - Non
Oui - Yes
Chérie - Darling