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After reaching our agreement, the remainder of the train ride passed rather smoothly. Remy and I had reached an understanding of each other, an almost sort of friendship for the duration of my "vacation". Neither of us wanted to approach the subject of what's to come of our fragile symbolism of friendship after we rescue his dad, so we did what seemed the mostly un-awkward alternative.

We played cards.

He spent a whole hour teaching me the basics of poker, before we began playing for score. It took me twelve and a half games to realize that damn swamp rat cheated each and every game.

That didn't end to well for his cards.

Lets just say, after the cocky Cajun just smirked in response to my realization, I leaned forward, real close to Gambit, a smirk on my own lips.

And before he knew what hit him, I snatched his cards right out of his hands and threw them out the boxcar door.

I turned around, back to Remy, and was able to catch a glimpse of that utter shock on his face before he bolted towards the door.

I didn't bather to contain my glee as I watched him stare after the last remains of his precious cards flutter out of sight.

"Aw, Ah'm sorry. Were those of some importance to ya, Cajun?"

Remy turned to me and his face looked a cross between pain, anger and shock. I think shock was the winning emotion, but it was hard to tell. He looked pretty heart broken.

"Chere! Y' just last m' mon lady luck- an' dose were m' lucky cards t'!"

"Well, I guess ya should of thought of that before you cheated with me."

There was a heartbeat of silence before Remy just gave me this look, one that holds the promise of sin and pleasure, after I finished my sentence.

This time, he was up close and personal, invading what exceeded personal space.

"Chere," he said in a low husky tone, "I'd cheat wit' y' anytime."

And just like that, things got extremely awkward. How was I supposed to react to that? I mean, what would you do if you had an extremely attractive- alright- sexy as hell man get so intimately close to you? When people usually kept their distance?

Mutation be damned at the moment. I don't even think I remembered why I couldn't get this close to people in the first place. I as sure as hell didn't remember how to breathe. I was acutely aware of how close his lips were to my neck- the soft exhale of his breath blew across my collar bone- was helpless in suppressing the shiver that worked its icy fingers up and down my spine.

Remy pulled his head back, away from me, a knowing smirk shamelessly mocking me.

The bastard was toying with me.

Needless to say, I didn't take that too well either, and I, for lack of better description, snapped. I shoved him so hard that he almost fell out of the car. I reached behind him and pulled out his bow staff that was hidden within one of the compartments of his trench coat. With a soft 'clink' the staff extended to its full length as I pushed his own weapon against his fingers in what I hoped was a painful crunch.

"Ah do not appreciate you toying with me, Gambit."

I'm not gonna lie. My words came out in little more than a hiss. I was just that angry that he could toy with my emotions so easily. I had worked up years of denying myself even the fraction of the hope of physical, skin to skin contact, and Remy takes just one step too close; just one word so… so… so promising from his lips, and those years of building restraint come shattering around me. As if my mental walls were nothing more than bits of dirt and sand.

That… and I just wanted to take out my frustration on him. Better him than me, right?

"What, petit? Y' can' handle 't?" he just laughs as I glare at him. I pressed the metal rod against his fingers harder, hoping, just hoping that somehow I can remove that damn smirk off his face.

Well, I did get a reaction out of him. It just wasn't fear. He responded to the added pressure on his fingers with charging the boxcar- a challenging dare in those black and red eyes.

"Rogue, eit'er y' play nice, o' we bot' are gonna b' in quite a mess."

Frankly, I'm not fond of the prospect of dying.

I gave one final shove on the staff before I grab him by his trench coat lapels and haul his arse back inside.

Smirking, he dusts off his coat. "Merci, cheri, pour votre generosite."

~)(~

It wasn't long after that that we arrived in the good ole town of New Orleans. The atmosphere of the city overwhelmed me. It wasn't long before I was eagerly taking in the sights and sounds and smells of the place. Watching the people prance through the streets, having the times of their lives was enjoyable to watch. I was so caught up in the moment of the party, that I didn't notice that Remy had dragged me by the hand to a small dinner until he pulled me through the door.

And what a quaint little place it was.

It reeked of stale cigarette smoke mingled with the aroma of strong liquor. But damn if it wasn't appealing. Beyond the smell of all the smoke and alcohol, was the smell of mouth watering southern cooking.

I believe I had to swipe my mouth with the back of my glove to remove the drool that was forming.

"Hungry, Chere?"

At that moment, a waitress passed in front of me, platter full of steaming heaven on her tray. If it wasn't for Remy's hand on my arm, I might have possibly ran and football tackled that waitress for whatever that food was.

I think it is safe to say that Remy got an answer to his question.

He quickly pulled me behind him as he led the way to an open table for two. We sat there for a few seconds before a waitress came by. Remy, being the arrogant bastard that he was, ordered for both of us, before I had the chance to ask what they had to drink.

I was about to give him a piece of my mind, when I felt watched. I paused in smacking Remy upside his head and instead turned to look behind me.

Nobody directly behind me was paying me too much attention, I began to look from left and right, when Remy took him hand in his and tugged me back down in the seat.

"Cher, y' need to calm down."

"Somebody's watchin' me."

"I know."

Silence.

Somebody was eyeing me, and he didn't explain what he supposedly 'knew".

I remembered what I was doing earlier before I got distracted. I slapped him upside his damn head.

Before I got bite his head off, I was quickly reminded of where we were at when the waitress came by with our food. She set them down and asked if we- or rather Remy- needed anything else. I angrily grabbed my spoon and dug into the gumbo as he gave her that promise of a smile and replied no.

I hissed at Remy as soon as the girl had left.

"Who the hell is watchin' me?"

"Julien."

"Who?"

Remy's eyes left mine to briefly glance somewhere behind my shoulder. I knew that if I were to go on instinct and look behind me, I'd expose the both of us.

"Relax cher."

"Ya try relaxin' with some dirty swamp rat watching you constantly."

Remy just laughed outright. Goodness, if I could just bottle that sound and sell it…

Oh right, back to the point at hand. I am an angry fierce Rogue. Maybe I should growl, just to make sure we're clear on that point. Logan'll be proud.

"Y' didn' seem t' mind b'fore." He said after his burst of laughter had quieted.

Confused, I forfeit my plan to make Logan proud.

"What are ya talking about, Cajun."

And then the impossible happened.

The Cajun's eyes grew a smidgen wider and his smirk vanished.

Yep that's right, Mr. LeBeau, Lady-Killer Extraordinaire, lost his composure.

"I- I thought dat- dat y' knew…"

"Spit it out already, Cajun."

"Chere, y' know that I've been keeping m' yeux on y' fo' a while now, non?"

When I looked at him, I saw him visibly gulp. I put down my spoon, and tried to stop myself from loosing my composure. Deep breathes. Count to three and breathe again…

Oh fuck it.

"Ya've been WHAT?!?"

"Chere…"

Is he?… no….

"…please sit back down, chere."

My God. The Cajun is pleading…

Crap. I'm causing a scene. I'm making the Swamp Rat look like a bastard.

What. A. Shame.

"Ya- Ya- Damn Swamp Rat!!"

Before he could stop me, I hurriedly shoved my way out into the streets and found a secluded place to hide.

I leaned against the alley wall, listening to the sound of the crowd many streets away, calming down.

2 minutes and 12 seconds is what it took before it hit me and I started to laugh my arse off.

I, the x-man Rogue, made Remy LeBeau sweat!

What a great night it's been.

"What's a belle femme like y' doin' hangin' aroun' LeBeau?"

Merde. Merde- Double Merde! I've heard that Cajun voice before.

"M' name is Julien."

I looked up into the face of Blondie Boy- Julien- the same kid that tried his hand at blowing my head off with a gun five years ago.

Now, I was feeling stupid. I should have stayed with Remy. Oh god, I wanted Remy. He would protect me.

And then I realized what I was thinking.

What the heck is wrong with me? I wanted Remy? Damn, I felt stupid.

"Look, Blon- Julien. Ah'm not interested."

Julien decided that what I thought was a perfectly polite dismissal to his come on was in fact a "oh baby, woo with ya sexy accent like Ah'm some bimbo that can't tell tha difference between real French and Cajun". He leaned close to me, forcing my back to press against the building behind me.

"C'mon amoureux, 'm better dan dat rat will ev'r be."

I could smell the faint trace of alcohol on his breath as he pressed closer to me. I'm pretty sure that if somebody were to glance in our direction and see us, they'd think we'd be lovers.

"Ah'm sure ya are, but Ah'm not interested. So get off of me. Now."

He didn't like the fact that a girl was saying no to him. I could tell that by the way he clenched his jaw every time I refused him. I put my hands up to push him away when he grabbed hold of my left wrist.

I was terrified. I knew this guy had a gun on him. I knew he had friends that had guns on them. But right now, he was touching me and I felt helpless.

"Let m' show y' what y' missin' ou' on, amoureux."

He slowly switched my wrist to his right hand as his left hand moved to grip my hip. I wanted to scream at him, but I couldn't find the words. I couldn't bring my self to say them. His hand traveled up my ribcage, taunting me… teasing me… I closed my eyes, hoping that maybe if I shut them, I could will him away…

"Get y'r hands off o' her."

Remy's voice was pure hate and anger. And it was the most blessed thing I had ever heard. And I found myself breathing suddenly. I hadn't realized I was holding it to begin with.

Julien hand didn't remove itself as quickly as I would have like. Probably not as fast as Remy would have liked, either. His hand caressed my ribcage again, now moving back towards my hip.

"I said off o' her."

I turned my eyes to Remy; he looked as angry as he sounded. No. Scratch that. He looked even angrier. I looked at those eyes and saw that they were burning- actually glowing with such hate that I was surprised that Julien hadn't just blown up yet. Remy glanced to me and when his eyes met my wide ones, I could swear I saw his eyes soften on me.

At least they did before I felt Julien's hand on my hip squeeze a bit as his other hand, surprisingly gloved, stroked the side of my.

"Y' don' see her protestin' do y'?"

I turned my head back to Julien and opened my mouth to give the protest, when his hand came back towards my face. I tried to move away from the approaching limb, but ended up knocking my head against the brick wall behind me rather suddenly.

Julien just chuckled at my behavior as he played with one of my white strands.

I closed my eyes again, hoping that just somehow he'd get the point and realize I wanted him away from me.

"What an unusual hair, non? It's not ev'ry day y' see a style like dis." His grip on my hip became a painful one. "I haven' seen hair like dis in cinq ans."

I heard the hiss of Remy's power before I even saw his hands clench and emit their glow.

I drew in a shaky breath before I willed my eyes to open. I placed my hand over Julien's forcing his taunting gaze from Remy to mine.

I removed his hand from me and kneed him in the groin. He bent over, heaving heavily.

Probably chocking from the fact that I just shoved his testicles up into his throat. What a pity.

"When a gal tells ya she ain't interested, back the fuck off." I turned away from the poor excuse of flesh to head toward Remy.

Before I could get a step away, Julien tackled me and we both fell hard on the pavement. I felt the brunt of the impact since I was underneath him. He was in the process of trying to choke me when Remy came out of nowhere and grabbed Julien by his lapels and socked him one in the face.

It was a pretty good hit, I'd say. It was the type of punch that would knock a guy out. But this was an assassin we were dealing with.

Julien's head flew back from the contact, but he remained conscious enough to get up off of me to fight Remy.

I hurriedly tried to pull of my gloves while trying to reacquaint myself with the ability to breath. After the fifth tug, the gloves gave and I was able to pull them off. I found my footing and reached where Julien had Remy in a choke hold. I braced myself for the onslaught of memories and the reached out and grabbed Julien's face.

His hold on Remy, immediately slackened, dropping Remy to the ground. Soon after Julien was on his knees, paralyzed to do anything. His body slackened into unconsciousness as he fell face forward to the pavement.

And then I threw up.

Hmmm… I hadn't realized I'd eaten that much.

Remy picked himself up and walked over to my heaving form next to the dumpster.

After my stomach had decided that it had removed everything, I pressed my face against the cool brick.

"We need t' get out o' here, Anna."

I nodded, not able to speak just yet. I let Remy lead me away from the retched alleyway.

He led the way to an empty warehouse, not far off the streets, but still quiet. I dropped onto a box, while Remy stood, still staring at me.

The man looked like he was about to explode.

"What?"

His eyes flashed crimson before the muscles in his jaw tightened. "Did y' get any information?"

"That's not what ya want to ask is it?"

It took the silence of three heartbeats before he began shouting.

"How could y' let 'im touch y'?! "

Well, I that's the only thing I heard. His other shouts were too fast and in French for me to comprehend.

Now, when some people get yelled at, they shrink back and let the person get it out and calm down some.

I'm not one of those people. I shout back

"It's not lahke ah wanted him to!"

"Y' didn' look t' upset abou' 't!"

"Ah didn't look upset?! My God, look at me! Ah covered head to freakin' toe in clothes for people! Every single freakin' day Ah put on those extra layers so that I can be safe for people to be near! And ya know what they do? They don't come near me. Do ya understand what it's like? To want to be hugged or patted on the back, or anything, but people refuse to even come near ya?"

"But y' always tell people to be careful…"

"Ah tell people to be careful if there is a chance that they could get hurt. Ah don't tell them, 'stay the fuck away from me or Ah will zap you'. Ah want to be touched, Remy. Ah want to be hugged by mah best friend; be able to console mah brother when he's hurt. But if Ah go to them, they instantly back away from me, as if Ah'm attackin them. "

Remy remained still, listening to what I was admitting. I looked at the ground, ashamed myself.

"Ah told Julien to back off. Blondie doesn't know when to take a hint. But he touched me. Touched me, without fear, without hesitation. Sure it was probably to piss ya off, but I've been denied contact for too long- I couldn't just give it up so quickly."

I didn't even hear him move.

His hand took my chin and forced my eyes to meet his.

He didn't look angry anymore. In fact, he looked down right apologetic.

"What now?" I asked, defeated. Hell, I just admitted that I wanted physical contact. Kinda hard to jump right back into the hard as nails façade so soon.

I jumped in surprise when I felt his arms wrap around me. I stiffened.

"Je suis desole. Je n'ai jamais pense…" he said softly.

"Remy, I don't have my glove-"

He tightened his arms around me. Hesitantly I raised my arms up around him.

I hugged him back, finally letting go of the voice in my ear warning my about my hand and just hugged. A few more seconds passed when I finally just rested my head against him.

"Thank ya, Remy."

What a great guy.

I felt him smirk before I heard him speak. "Does dis mean y' forgive me for spyin on y'?"

Bastard.

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A/N: Did I explain Rogue's reason well enough?
Usually I read story's that just make her scared of contact completely, but I don't find her the type of person to just be scared of contact. Skin to skin, yeah, but not contact where she knows she's covered and safe for others to interact with. I hope I got my point across, but if I didn't please let me know so I can try to work it out better or phrase it better so it's clearer. Thanks!