Happy Friday all. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review, add this as a favorite story or put it on alert. You all are awesome! Here is the next chapter, and probably the only one I will get around to posting this weekend. As always let me know what you think and enjoy!
Oh, and I forgot to mention this before, but I don't know X-Men, Marvel, or really anything besides my Giant Schnauzer and engineering textbooks. If you're that desperate I'll share the books. But not my dog. ;-)
He found her on the veranda, sitting in the shadows created by the spacing of the overhead lights. She had her arms wrapped around her legs, which she'd pulled up on the seat of the bench. Etienne was guarding her, leaning against the railing and smoking a cigarette. Both doing were doing an admirable job of ignoring the other.
With a nod of his head, Remy sent Etienne back inside, but not without his cousin giving him a warning glare first. Remy rolled his eyes in annoyance and moved to face Rogue. He kept his distance, resting his elbows on the railing behind him and crossing one straight leg over the other. Directly in front of her, he now blocked her view of the yard.
For a moment neither of them spoke, but Rogue's eyes watched him warily from beneath her lashes, her head still resting on her knees. "Have they decided if they believe me yet?" she asked not trying to hide her annoyance.
Remy gave her a tight smile. "Not yet, Chérie. They'll double and triple check your work before they believe this ain't an elaborate escape attempt I set up."
She lifted her head, tilting it to the side as she considered him. "What do they think you're tryin' to escape from?"
He shook his head. "Better that you don't know, Rogue. The less you get involved with all this, the safer you'll be." As glad as he was to see her, and to know that she was doing alright, she couldn't have picked a worse time to come back into his life.
She glared at him. "I'm not tryin' to get involved in anything. I just came to warn you. I'd planned on bein' back on a plane by now."
Remy gave her a confused look. He'd have thought she'd taken all the information she'd when they'd touched. "You absorbed me that night. Why didn't you just use my memories to send me a message?"
He watched her face as she debated what to say and couldn't resist teasing her. "You miss me that much?" He chuckled at her instant glare, his first real laugh in he couldn't remember how long. When she didn't answer, he prodded again. "Why take the risk?"
She gave him one last good glare before answering. "Ah …Ah absorb you differently. Ah get your most immediate thoughts, but it's mostly just energy. Other than what Ah got about your plan to rescue your father Ah didn't actually get anything that night. Ah'd have to really hold on to take more."
"You can hold on to me anytime." The flirty phrase was more habit than intentional as he thought about her answer. "It work that way the first time?"
Rogue glanced away, a blush on her cheeks. "Ah don't even remember the first time. Ah wasn't sure Ah'd actually absorbed you, since the others had all left imprints and you hadn't."
He smirked, unable to resist provoking her. "And yet you seem pretty certain of it now."
The glare was back. "Ah found out when Apocalypse pulled all my psyches. When he took them, Ah got the last couple of thoughts from each of the mutants Ah'd absorbed."
He grinned. "You got the good ones then. Ain't everyday Rogue plays the bad girl to steal a kiss from moi." He wondered if she knew she'd been caught on camera or that he'd kept a copy.
"It wasn't like Ah knew what Ah was doing anyway!" she defended angrily, the blush not just covering her cheeks, but starting to edge down her neck.
He couldn't resist teasing her more. She was beautiful when she blushed. "You're forgetting that Mesmero put the kibosh on me too, Chérie. He gives you a goal and then let's you do what you need to get the job done. He ain't the reason you kissed me. That was all you." His empathy had picked up enough during their assorted encounters for him to know his attraction wasn't entirely one sided.
She came flying off the bench, jabbing one gloved index finger into his chest, green eyes blazing with anger and embarrassment. "Don't flatter yourself, Cajun! Everyone knows your reputation. Ah probably just did that to hold your attention so Ah could absorb you. It obviously worked."
Remy made sure his smirk stayed perfectly in place as he shifted his weight to press his back against the railing and cross his arms over his chest. "Whatever you need to believe, Chérie." He gently took hold of the hand she was now trying to pull away from him and raised it to his lips. "Anytime you want a kiss, all you have to do is ask."
Their eyes met and held for just a moment. He looked away, and she pulled her hand sharply out of his. "Keep dreamin'."
Rogue took several steps backwards, putting space between them before she sat down on the bench again, carefully not looking at him.
He shouldn't have offered her that. He wasn't a free agent any more, or rather wouldn't be in a few days. He enjoyed getting a rise out of her, but he didn't want to purposely play with her emotions in that way. He'd hurt her enough without adding to the list.
Caught in the beam from one of the porch lights, he could see the shadows under her eyes and her normally dark, precise make-up appeared smeared and faded. She muffled a yawn behind her hand in spite of her anger.
For the first time since she'd surprised him inside, he really looked at her, taking in her exhausted face and rumpled clothes. Her hair hung limply and her shoulders drooped. "Hell , Chérie, when was the last time you slept?" he asked.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes before looking away. "It's nothing. Ah'm fine."
Remy rolled his eyes. "Not the question I asked." When she still didn't give him an answer he tried again, taking a calculated guess. "When did you hit the lab?"
"Yesterday morning. We wanted to make sure he'd be there."
"And you haven't slept since," he stated.
Her eyes narrowed, and she challenged "Can you blame me?"
Remy was the one to look away, gazing out at the swamp surrounding the house. "Non. Not in the least." He doubted he would sleep tonight either. Bringing up Sinister always meant nightmares for days. "I'm sorry you had to get mixed up with him, Rogue," he said quietly.
She looked up at him cautiously, measuring his sincerity. Whatever she saw made her continue. "Ah could say the same to you. And Ah'm sorry for going through your file, and that your family saw it too. Ah know Ah wouldn't want anyone to see the one Trask has on me."
Remy winced. "Not that it matters, but we didn't know Trask would take you. Pete, John, and I. Magneto didn't tell us about that. We actually put together a plan to get you out. We'd just gotten it all in place when we heard you were back. Took us a while to figure out where he'd taken you."
Her eyes narrowed, her gaze calculating, she was silent for a long moment before she nodded. "Ah believe you." She sounded almost surprised we she said it.
He tipped his head in thanks, accepting her cautious trust. Not wanting either of them to dwell on Sinister and Trask any longer, he reached out and gently pulled her in the direction of the house. "C'mon. Can't help you sleep, but we can at least offer you a shower and some food."
She resisted just long enough to grab her backpack, which she'd wisely not let out of her sight since her arrival, before letting him lead her inside. "You trying to tell me something there, Gambit?" she asked with a smirk.
He returned it, giving her a slight bow as he directed her upstairs. "Just showing you a little Southern hospitality, Chérie. You can use Mercy's room. I think she's got some clothes dark enough to fit your usual tastes."
She smirked at him.
"And the name's Remy, Chérie. I think after all this, you can use it." He stopped outside of a room with a closed door. "I'll send Mercy up to help with clothes."
As she stepped into the room, he couldn't resist one quick glance over his shoulder. Wondering once more why they always seemed to be on opposite teams when they had so much in common, he went in search of his brother's fiancé.
No French in this chapter really. But there will be some next time. Extra special thanks to Hope Hannigan for offering to help me!
And just why isn't Remy free to flirt with Rogue? What will Rogue think about that when she finds out? Stay tuned to find out.