Disclaimer: I've put in a bid of $6.00 on ebay for the rights to x-men – we'll see if I got them in three hours. Naw, just teasing, I own nothing as usual.
Summery: Thank you so much to all who reviewed - as you can see, somebody read my mind about Rogue! I actually had the first part of this chapter written on a school computer very satisfactorily - I generally suck at romantic type scenes, being too straight forward in relationships so far to have to dodge the subject. So, this chappie is a little more drama, a little less humor. However, I wanted to get the relationship going between Remy and Rogue, which required some drama and no humor. Thanks again to everyone reviewers, I'll be giving you personal attention at the end.
For what felt like the tenth time that night, Remy rolled against the frozen log that was supposedly his mutant bed mate Bobby Drake. Shivering, the warm-blooded Cajun attempted to curl into an even tighter ball as he tried to keep warm.
Dis has got t' be da coldes' Remy has eva' been. Da Nort' Pole ain' got not'ing on dis homme.
Turning over in his sleeping bag to face Iceman, Gambit noticed the fine crystals of frost forming on the edge of their shared tarp. Poking his head out of the relative warmth of the bag, Remy noted with disgust that the one and only place frost was forming happened to be, uncannily enough, on the inside of their bedding. Tucking himself as far away from the freezing mutant as was humanly and mutantly possible, the Cajun tried yet again to sleep. Trembling convulsively, he considered charging his sleeping bag, but discarded the idea when the memory of a detonating egg intruded. Gambit had learned the hard way that you cannot heat an egg using kinetic energy instead of the microwave, and felt no particular desire to be killed by his own sleeping bag.
It has t' be warm'r out dere.
Wriggling his way cautiously out of the tarp, the ex-thief was soon standing upright outside his so-called 'shelter'. The now thawing but soggy sleeping bag thrown over a shoulder, Remy looked around, his eyes adjusting to the moonlit night.
The five double beds were strikingly obvious mounds spread throughout the clearing. Logan breathed softly under the cover of a tree at the edge of the stream, lightly sleeping through the quiet disturbances Remy had made extracting himself from his icicle bed. His erstwhile bed behind him crackled as another ice layer formed. Gambit sighed and contemplated his options. He needed a place to stay tonight. Doubtless tomorrow he could convince Wolverine to allow him a single sleeping arrangement, but who could he try to bunk with for now?
Lance an' Pietro 'r non good. I heard Lance say dat Pietro kick hi' speed all night long. De femmes 'r off limits. Kurt an' Mult'ple? Kurt tell me dat Jamie non good t' sleep wit', but he can' be worse 'n Bobby.
Glancing around, Remy's eyes lit on a neatly folded but seemingly empty tarp set ever so slightly apart from the rest.
"Rogue? Rogue, chere?"
Gambit began to become nervous as his repeated quiet attempts to find Rogue's whereabouts received no answer.
"Rogue?"
"Gawd Swamp Rat, ah'm here."
Gambit turned to see Rogue in her simple yet revealing tank top and shorts, combat boots unlaced, coming from the 'girls side' of camp. He relaxed, running an interested gaze over her mostly uncovered body. But most noticeable to his darkness adapted eyes was the lack of heavy make-up the Goth usually wore. Without her black mask, she looked younger, gentler, and far more approachable.
"Remy get worry'd when he see y' not in y' bed."
Rogue walked around him, giving him a wide berth from her bare arms and legs. "Ah don' need anyone t' worry. Ah'm a big girl now." She smiled, an expression that behind black lipstick looked fierce and aggressive, yet managed to be almost humorous and kindly displayed between her naturally pink lips. Remy wondered why she ever wore any make-up, she was so beautiful without it.
"Good-night."
"Cou' Remy have a word wit' Rogue?"
Rogue turned to face the Cajun, who dropped his sleeping bag behind him before approaching. He already wore a long-sleeve shirt and his gloves from earlier attempts to stay warm next to Bobby, and the addition of his trench coat added only more protection. Rogue's eyes flicked over his defined body before deciding that he was covered enough to come near her. Standing askance and crossing her arms protectively over the small amount of cleavage visible from the neckline of her top, the Rogue automatically clenched her jaw and flung her head up, ready for a fight. Remy kept coming closer, auspiciously watching the green-eyed southerner. He stopped within half an arms length and reached out to touch her face. Rogue flinched and jumped backward, looking over at Logan's lump as it stirred at her noisy inhalation. She turned back to glare at the Cajun, whispering hoarsely.
"Are y' insane! Don' touch meh."
"Why no' Rogue? Why can' I touch y' when Remy's cover' head t' toe?"
Rogue shook her head, refusing eye contact and shivering suddenly. She hadn't missed the brief use of first person in Remy's sentence. "Ah don' wan' anymore people in mah head Remy. Least of all y'." The last was spoken with more of her typical biting hatred than Remy had heard since the beginning of their conversation. Turning around, Rogue started to walk back to her bed, her boots making a slight whisper as they rubbed against her bare ankles. Remy, lost for what to do, grasped her wrist before he considered the implication.
Rogue froze for a second before turning furiously around. "Y're askin' for trouble, Cajun!" she hissed furiously, shaking his gloved fingers off her arm. "What if y' had a hole in y' glove? What if ah touched y'?"
Remy turned his hands palm outward, showing the two ungloved fingers tucked carefully back. "Remy is alway's careful. Tink abou' it, when has Remy eva' no' been careful?"
Rogue's eyes lost their green blaze as she remembered her numerous encounters with the other student. The southerner realized that he always had his gloves on, and usually a long sleeve shirt or his trenchcoat. She had assumed that was what he wore on a daily basis, but then recalled times when she had chanced to see him in the company of others, the gloves tucked in a back pocket, and the coat hung carelessly over a chair or his arm. Only when she appeared did the partially fingered leather get put back on, the coat wrapped equally carelessly around his frame. Speechless for moment, her mouth opened in an o of surprise, eyes wide. Remy, taking this as an encouraging sign, encircled her wrist again. She instantly stiffened in preparation of battle.
"All tha more reason for y' to leave meh alone. No one should have to do tha' for meh."
Remy, still hanging dangerously onto her elbow, leaned in. Rogue, her mind unconsciously rising to the obvious challenge in the Cajun's stance, straightened and glared back into his red on black eyes.
"Mebbe dat is for me t' decide."
Bringing his face closer, Remy breathed on the smooth surface of Rogue's mouth and watched her from only mere inches away. Her eyes were so beautiful.
"Ewwwww, that is, like, so, like, totally GROSS!"
The closest tarp behind them erupted as Kitty sat upright in her bag yelling. Beside her, Rahne sat up as well, a white bandage still wrapped around her arm. Kitty pointed at her bed mate accusingly, unable to see the darkly dressed mutants frozen mere feet away.
"You just, like, licked me! That is, like, so not okay!"
Rahne wailed. "I'm sorry, it was an acci..." Logan's growl cut across her apology as the leader turned over under his tree. Everyone else, tired from the day's hike, remained asleep.
"Ge' back t' sleep 'fore I take tha' powder stuff 'way from you half-pint."
Kitty clutched the compact to her chest protectively, and slid back down beneath the tarp. Her furious muttering died away, although it could clearly be see that one of the lumps was now pressed against the far side of the tarp from the other. Rogue pushed Remy away before stalking back to her single bed and climbing in. After the light crinkle of tarp plastic as she settled, the clearing was once again silent.
Remy glared ferociously at the tarp containing Shadowcat and Wolfsbane and resisted the urge to 'heat' their sleeping bags a little. He walked sulkily over to Kurt's bed and nudged it. It looked impossibly full for only two people.
"Vat do you vant!"
The blue elf's head poked out of his sleeping bag and blinked bleary yellow eyes. Gleaming in the dark, the eyes worked their way up Remy's body until they found his face. Remy leaned down and spoke quietly.
"Remy needs a place t' sleep. Bobby is keepin' him awake." More like freezin' Remy awake though Gambit darkly, his mood shattered by the abrupt removal of Rogue. Kurt shook his head.
"I vould love to help you, but.." A foot shoved itself out next to Kurt's head. The blue mutant pushed it down irritably. "But ve are already full. Jamie multiplies ven he sleeps, and I haf seven people in here already!"
Remy's eyes widened. A living, warm blanket. He had to get in there! "Remy will switch wit' y'. Y' can sleep wit' Bobby, an' Remy will stay 'ere." Kurt sat up with trouble, swearing as he shoved another foot back down. "Mien Gott! Too many veet! You mean it? You vill svitch?" Remy nodded vigorously. Kurt disappeared from the bed, appearing next to Remy a moment later. Waving away the puff of blue smoke, Gambit watched the German student hopefully. Kurt smiled.
"The bed is all yours!" Kurt walked over to Bobby's ice sheeted tarp and crawled in, taking Gambit's mostly dried sleeping bag with him. Remy grinned and wriggled his way between the warm, sleeping Jamie bodies until he could once again pull the tarp closed over his head. Wrapped in pleasant warmth, Remy tried to fall asleep but found himself besieged with images of deep green eyes close to his. Turning over and taking a Jamie with him, Gambit shoved an arm out of his face and attempted to relax.
A' leas' Remy is warm. Dat counts f' someting
xXx
The next morning dawned warm and early, the slight morning chill driven away by not only the rising sun, but also the antics of the intruders.
"Amara, I didn't mean to!"
Bobby ran from the irate Magma, dodging fireballs as he sprinted towards the relative safety of the adults. "Loooogaaaan!" Diving under Logan's bedding, Bobby peeked out and created an ice patch directly in front of the still charging Amara. Slipping and swearing, she landed with an undignified "ooof!" on her tender tush. Jean rushed over, then drew back hurriedly as she came within an inch of losing her hand to extreme heat. Luckily for all concerned, Logan chose that moment to hold up Jean's stash of the pervious day, looking confused.
"Who put th' lipstick in my pack?"
All the females rushed together in a pack, aiming for the small red tube. Jean, telekinesis working faster than even Jubilee's feet at the idea of lipstick theft being committed on her Maybelline, snagged the make-up from Logan's hand before he could react and stowed it in her pocket.
"Forgot about that, sorry Logan." She walked over to Scott's and her bedding, smiling serenely at the glaring girls. Logan ran a hand over his face and looked at Bobby. "Wha' was tha' 'bout Cube?"
Bobby stood and dusted himself off before cracking his neck loudly. Jubilee threw him a dirty look before turning with the rest of the girls and heading back to the main camp. "I was starting a fire, and I found this magazine, right? But I guess it was Amara's or something, because she saw me burning it and just threw a fireball at me before I could do anything!"
Logan closed his eyes and turned partially away, then spun back. "Wha' was the name of the magazine?"
"Seventeen. I found it over by your pack, so I figured it couldn't be one of the girl's. She just saw it and went ballistic though." Bobby shivered, remembering his close shave. The group of girls, having just reached the fire pit, stopped dead at the desecration they saw there and huddled together in mutual anguish.
Jean alone retained the power of speech. "Logan, what have you done to my magazine!"
xXx
Only Rogue stayed apart from the crush, her heavy black make-up already on, and a glower on her face when she looked at the Cajun making Remy swallow nervously as she approached. In his apprehension, a pot Kitty was trying to cook in began to glow and exploded oatmeal everywhere. Gambit took the opportunity to make his escape into the boys side of camp.
"I'm so, like, disgusted right now! First a girl licks me, then I get covered in oatmeal."
Avalanche, luckily for him, was folding his tarp in front of him at the time of the oatmeal explosion. Shaking the pieces of half-cooked grain from the dusty blue square, Lance grinned.
"Well, could have been worse Kit-Kat." Kurt glared at him at he tried to comb pieces of oatmeal from his fur. Katzchen was not for the likes of Avalanche, the pitiful earthshaker! She deserved someone far better. Not him, of course, he reminded himself hastily, wiping sticky juice from an eyelash. He wasn't good enough for her either.
"Like how?"
Lance smiled and leaned against a nearby tree. Kurt had the sudden urge to teleport it out from under him. "Well, it could have happened the other way around."
Kitty looked puzzled until comprehension dawned on her partially through a sentence. "Like, what do you mean... oh, ew, like totally ew. Ew, ew, ew. Icksome shiver running up and down my spine, like right now." Rahne chose that unfortunate moment to appear panting and happy with three Jamies. Wolfsbane looked questioningly at the oatmeal covered girl in front of her, then managed a canine shrug before dashing off after the now single Jamie and knocking him to ground. Five boys sat up and rubbed their head while Rahne pranced around happily.
Rogue sat next to Kitty, carefully pulling her gloves up to meet the hem of her sheer long sleeve shirt. Her glower gone with the exit of Remy, she smiled at Jamie and giggled. Kurt and Avalanche looked at each other in a nearly companionable puzzlement. A loud thunk as Pietro ran headlong into a tree, distracted from his high-speed gathering of firewood by the giggle, broke the silence. Their identical thoughts were loud enough to make Jean look up from her sad mourning of the much abused magazine.
Did Rogue just GIGGLE?
"Jamie, if y' gonna eat breakfast with us, y' better be only one. Ah don' think the pot can cook for all of y'."
Jean came up behind the still smiling Rogue and put a hand on the top of her head, slapping away a mosquito on her own arm at the same time. The bugs were still in constant surveillance for an inch of skin not anointed with insect repellant. Rogue's path could actually be followed by the trail of severely stupid mosquitoes that still tried to feed off of her.
"Are you feeling alright dear?"
Rogue scowled. Everyone looked relieved, except Remy, who had missed the brief period of happiness and emerged just in time to see the anger reflare. "Ah'm fine Jean, Gawd! Jus' leave me alone. Swamp Rat, ah wanna talk ta you." Remy stopped dead. He had been trying to find a roundabout way towards his bed, where he had left his cards. With Rogue, you just never know. Likely to almost kiss you one moment, and then try to strangle you the next.
Still, wouldn't be a bad way t' go, mebbe thought Remy as Rogue approached him. Standing in front of him, she narrowed her eyes, and poked the center of his chest. "So, Swamp Rat, wha..." Just then she started. Staring at the small black speck on her arm, Rogue squinted, and slapped it. A splash of blood followed her hand, smearing on the white skin. Holding her arm up to eye level, Rogue stared unbelievingly at the blood. Her wide eyes moved to Remy, who was also looking at the blood on her arm with his mouth open.
"Mon Dieu." The quiet breath of French made the hair stand up on the back of Rogue's neck. She blinked uncomprehendingly at the blood, then jumped as another mosquito landed on her. The two mutants watched in amazement as the black insect walked around oblivious to his prey's deadly skin. Rogue slapped at it, leaving another small smear of red.
"Remy, mah skin, mah powers!"
Remy didn't hesitate. Ripping his glove off before Rogue had a chance to raise her eyes from the blood, he laid his bare palm on her cheek, tensing himself for the chill feeling of her mutation's pull. Instead, cool smooth skin lay under his fingertips. A wet streak touched his thumb. Logan looked around at the small sniff Rogue let out, then lunged across the clearing and tackled Remy away from Rogue.
"Y' stupid Cajun, wha' were y' thinkin' Gumbo! Y' wan' t' be killed? Pu' tha' back on, y' dumbass kid." Standing up and getting off the more than slightly squished Remy, Logan walked over to Rogue. "Y' okay darlin'? Y' got to be more careful 'round these randy boys. Tha' goes fer all a y'. Stay 'way from Rog..." Logan froze at the feel of Rogue's bare fingertips on his cheek. The emerald eyes were wide, looking into his blue iris'. Logan, stunned, did the first thing that came to his instinctual and predatory mind. He screamed for help.
"JEEAAAN!"
Jean looked up from the few saved pages of Seventeen. "Logan, I'm busy here...Oh my God!" By now the entire camp was watching the two mutants. Rogue moved her hand and lightly pressed Logan's nose. Wolverine was still motionless, as if he was afraid moving would make Rogue's mutation rear up and attack him. Jean's nerveless fingers dropped the sooty magazine as she dashed over to the pair. One of Jamie's multiples, seeing a chance for profit at a later time, snatched up the magazine pages and stuffed them into the original's shirt with a conspirator smile. Jamie gave his identical form a thumb's up of understanding.
Remy, wheezing from the adamantium tackle by Wolverine, managed to stagger back over to Rogue and pull her hand off of Logan. "Chere... we...don' know... how long... dis gonna las'." He waved his hands trying to communicate his fears, unable to breathe. Rogue got the general idea, pulling back from Logan. Seeing Jean advancing, pulling out a medical kit from her fanny pack, Rogue impulsively threw herself on Remy and kissed him. Remy, still having trouble breathing, had just about decided he was in heaven having just died of asphyxia when Jean ripped the two apart. An "ohhhh" of disappointment from the younger and more innocent mutants made her glare around before pulling on a pair of gloves and taking blood from Rogue's arm and muttering under her breath, eyes distant.
"Rogue.. wha' happened?" Logan still looked like he might keel over from shock any second. Jean, locked into what seemed to be a trance, shook her head suddenly. "Logan, Scott, Beast is coming with the x-jet and some equipment to test Rogue with. If this is a hormone or some sort of ingested substance, we need to find what it is before the effects wear off. We're going to meet him in fifteen minutes over in the meadow." The red-head let go of Rogue's arm and peeled the glove off, looking automatically around for a trash can. Grimacing, she stuffed the latex into her pocket, snapping her fingers under Logan's mystified expression.
"Logan, come on! Scott and you need to come with me to get the equipment. We can't remove Rogue from here in case this place has something to do with her mutation's disappearance." Scott obediently picked up his day pack and followed Jean from the clearing. Logan, bemused, trailed after them in a state of shock. He recovered enough before leaving the clearing to turn back to the quiescent group of mutants. Glaring around, he pointed at Kurt and Remy, the two oldest students besides Rogue.
"Y' two 'r in charge. Jus' stay here, and don' do anythin' stupid. We'll be back in 'n hour." Narrowing his eyes at Bobby and Jamie, who smiled innocently back, he turned and followed the other two adults.
Silence fell for a few moments as the young mutants looked at each other, then the ground shook as Avalanched whooped.
"WHEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAA!"
Grabbing Kitty, Lance danced around the clearing, dodging Kurt as he teleported after them. Determined to fulfill his chaperone duties (Yes, thought Kurt, that's the only reason I am chasing them around... chaperone duties of course), Kurt tried to pull the two apart, finally teleporting Lance away and dropping him. Straight into a blackberry bush.
"Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't know there vas something there." Lance swore violently as he pushed his way out of the thorny plant. Jamie and Rahne were alternately chasing each other or Wolfsbane's tail, Remy and Rogue were staring at each other, still in shock, Remy not realizing he had black lipstick all over his mouth and cheek. Kitty was dodging fireworks as Jubilee and Magma did an improvised version of the hoky-poky.
"You put your fireball in, you put your sparkler out, you put your fireball in, and you shake it all about..." A Catherine wheel spun crazily by Pietro, who was celebrating freedom by running in circles around the fire pit. Apparently Jubilee had been improvising on her mutation.
Kurt teleported Kitty out of the way of another firework, only to land on top of a patch of ice Bobby had set, intending it for Quicksilver. Slipping, Kurt wrapped his tail around Shadowcat's waist, only to find the waist gone.
"YAAAHHH!"
Kurt spun out, finally biffing into the ice chin first. Pupils dilated unevenly, Kurt sat up and spat out a small drop of blood. He had started to stand, determined to keep the rambunctious group under control no matter what the personal cost to mental and physical health, when a roar broke the silence. Jubilee's last firework fizzled out with a faint pop as her attention wandered.
"Wha..a..a..at was that?" Amara stuttered and her hands resumed a natural pink translucence instead of her mutations fiery inferno. Rogue and Remy were still locked in each other's eyes, ignoring the small group of students gathering around them as the oldest. Kurt herded the last Jamie into the center of the clearing and poked Remy.
"Remy, ve haf got trouble."
Another roar, and then the sound of snuffling split the silence. A black nose appeared from the outskirts of the blackberry bush Lance had recently left. The earthshaker glared at Kurt. "Thanks man, you dump me in a bush with spikes and bears. Really brilliant."
The mutants huddled together, forgetting in their fear that they could have easily taken out a small army with their powers, much less a bear. Rogue started to pull her gloves off, and then realized the good it would do her. She paled and pulled back. "Ah'm defenseless." She whispered. Bobby, ever the practical joker, could not resist a comeback through his chattering teeth.
"I don't know about that Rogue. You have killer legs, even without the poisonous skin thing..." The small mutant stopped, looking down at his shirt, then looking around at everyone else, frozen and staring at the snuffling blackberry thicket. He cleared his throat loudly, and the other students looked at him irritably.
"You guys know, how Logan was talking about food last night?"
Another loud rustle and growl drew fearful eyes back to the bush before shaking head and glares answered his question. "So, hands up, who wasn't covered in oatmeal this morning when Kitty's pot exploded."
Avalanche actually raised his hand before realizing what the implications of Bobby's words were. He backed away from the sticky group, holding gloved hands out and shaking his head.
"I'm sorry man, but you are on your own. I'm not staying around for some bear... ooof!"
Tripping over a hard, furry object, Lance sprawled on the ground. The little brown lump let out an indignant squall and sat up, blinking blearily in the morning light. Remy finally noticed what was going on as a Jamie standing on his foot drew his attention from the deep green of Rogue's eyes.
"What is goin' on... is dat a dog?"
The little bear cub growled, and the big black nose in the bush withdrew for a moment before erupting in a hail of blackberries and thorns. Before the huddled group of mutants stood a monstrous bear, mouth open in a snarl, paws outstretched in ferocious challenge.
The reactions were varied among the students. Bobby froze his feet to the ground in fear, his equivalent of wetting himself. Rahne rolled over in canine form and played dead. The six Jamie's sucked back into the original in fright, leaving a dusty boot print on Remy's black shoe. Kurt actually squeaked, and teleported bravely in front of Kitty, the mutant baby blue with fright. Pietro shivered so fast he looked like a permanent smear of silver. Remy, who alone of the mutants had experience with fighting, had yet to see the adult bear and was trying to entice the baby over to the group. Rogue and Kitty clung to each other, with Rogue occasionally slipping into Shadowcat as the younger girl's mutation manifested out of fright. Lance scrambled away from the group, only to come nose to nose with another cub sitting at the base of a tree calmly eating Jean's energy bar. Amara's hands and nose burst into flame. Jubilee fizzled and popped weakly, a green spark dribbling from her ear.
They were reacting as only a team of green, frightened mutants could react. The bear cub by Lance leaned forward and licked his face with a slimy pink tongue. Avalanche yelped and jumped backwards, scaring the cub. It squealed in shock and was answered by another roar from the mother.
Kitty whispered into the clearing. "Oops." A flare behind her attracted everyone's attention. Amara had fainted, her flames extinguishing themselves after a final glow. Rogue poked Remy, trying to get his attention.
"Chere, isn' dis da cutes' dog you eva' seen?"
"Swamp Rat, tha' isn' a dog." Rogue forcibly turned Remy's head from the bear cub to view the enormous shaggy shadow standing on the other side of the clearing. A woofing call brought both cubs to the thicket behind the sow as they frolicked clumsily into the remaining thorns that had survived the bear's abrupt emergence and Lance's fall.
Advancing slowly, the sow swiped at the packed earth in front of her with one paw. Roaring again, she bobbed her head aggressively, then charged.
Aha! Another cliffhanger! That seems to be all I can write lately – my other story An Angels Path had a cliffie too. So, on to all my wonderful reviewers posts.
shadowcat47: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. Hope you like this chapter as much!
Lovestoread: Your name is awesome, by the way…thanks for the review!
theauthorwearsprada: I'm glad you like Jubilee – She's one of my favorite humorous characters to write besides Bobby and Jean – there's so much to work with!
Morgaine of the Faeries: My mum figured I was insane years ago… my recent actions just keep proving her right ;) Thanks for the awesomely (there went my grammar) long review. I actually know a person like Logan – the mosquitoes will go after me even if I just poured an entire bottle of bug repellant on before they'll bit him. Irritating beyond belief, let me tell ya. I have warm fuzzy feelings all over that you liked the story so much, sorry it took me so long to update. As for Kurt and Rogue, HE obviously thought it was very wrong as well, but give the guy some slack, he didn't grow up with her, he actually only met her a short while before… so I guess it's hard to see her completely as a sister still. Eh, Kurt in my stories is always beyond me. He just does what he wants. I was planning to have Bobby attacked by Kitty, but nooooo…Kurt had to stick his big tail in…
j.l.: Hehehe! I was wondering if someone would ask this. Let me give you a hint, it has A LOT to do with her recent ability to touch… more next time…