Emma chuckled as Joseph glared jealously at Remy. A week passed since his arrival, and so far he and Rogue appeared to have become good friends over the course of her tour the first day. Ever since he returned to find the two laughing together while playfully flirting, Joseph acted rude and downright snarky to Remy. Everyone could see he was jealous, and Remy looked as if he took great enjoyment in Joseph's obvious dislike.

The blonde woman almost regretted not showing him around herself, except that he made his fortune through thievery and she considered herself above that level. If a man was to be hers, he had to be rich naturally. It was just the way she worked, and of course no poverty-stricken man could have her heart. A street rat, former or otherwise, was still a street rat in Emma's eyes.

Plus, she could see some chemistry between Rogue and Remy. Honestly, she'd never liked the relationship between Joseph and Rogue. It seemed almost forced, like they were with each other only because of their shared bond as outcasts in the mansion. They just didn't go together all that well.

Joseph, for all his joking, was a stiff man who cared about rules and regulations. He believed in order and rarely did anything that wasn't planned beforehand. He might flirt and act childish sometimes, but Emma could tell that he only did so to impress Rogue, not because he actually felt the desire to let loose and be crazy.

Rogue...Well, she was the exact opposite. Crazy, spontaneous, flirtatious, with just enough sense to know when she needed to be serious. Rules, in her opinion, were meant to be broken.

They say opposites attract, but ask Emma and she would tell you that Rogue and Joseph were just too opposite. Lust might exist between them, but it would never be anything more, no matter how hard they tried to make it seem like they were in love. Rogue and Remy only had lust for each other now too, but Emma could see a future between them, and a future was exactly what both southerners needed.

"How d'y' eat dat much, cherie?" Remy asked, eyeing the empty plate currently being refilled. Rogue stuck her tongue out at the brunet.

"You callin' meh fat, sugah?" she questioned teasingly, just a hint of warning in her tone. Remy flashed her a smile that caused many women to swoon and Rogue to snort in amusement.

"'Course not, chere, y' be very healthy in Remy's opinion. He jus' wanna know where y' pack all dat food away wit'out gainin' any extra."

"Good answah, swamp rat," Rogue told him with a smirk. "Ah happen t' work out a lot s'all."

Remy let out a whistle. "Remy would love t' see y' work out sometime, chere."

Rogue started to retort, but Joseph wrapped his arm around her waist and snarled at Remy. Eyes blazing, he kissed the southerner almost angrily, showing the whole mansion his ownership of Rogue. Emma grimaced in distaste and wondered if Rogue would actually slap him this time or would let it slip, as she usually did, because she didn't want to lose what she'd convinced herself was a good thing.

"Unfortunately, you won't be seeing Rogue working out any place but in the Danger Room," Joseph said when he pulled away.

Rogue looked dazed, more from shock of an unexpected action than intense pleasure, and Emma was unhappy to see her smile softly at Joseph and ignore the urge to show him just how she felt about his sudden possessive nature. She could tell Rogue had the urge too, from the way her fingers flexed and her hand clenched into a fist for a few seconds.

"Remy t'ink da fille be able t' answer f'r herself, don't you?" Remy looked at Joseph challengingly, but Rogue sighed and pushed her plate away.

"Ya know boys, Ah think Ah'm gonna turn in early t'night. Ah'm not really feelin' up t' much more action. See ya'll tomorrow?"

She left the dining room without waiting for another answer. The students barely paid her any attention, the girls too busy swooning over the arguing males and everyone else forcefully ignoring the southern belle sauntering to her bedroom.

Emma waited a few minutes, tsked when she noticed Joseph and Remy glaring at each other, and quickly followed Rogue out of the room. She could tell that things would definitely heat up sometime soon if nothing was done about Rogue and Remy, Rogue and Joseph.

Despite all appearances to the contrary, Emma really did care for the few friends she had. Rogue was one of Emma's best friends, not only in the mansion either, and she wanted to see her happy. She knew Rogue would never have the kind of happiness she deserved with someone like Joseph, but she also knew that Rogue had almost convinced herself completely that what she felt for him was love.

It would take some time and hard work, but she was sure she could do something to fix this little mistake. Rogue was worth the trouble.

A/N's:

Short, yes, sorry about that.

Does anyone know how to put accents on words in OpenOffice? I can't figure it out for the life of me. Fiancé is the only word it does any sort of accent for, at least on my computer, and I'm getting tired of typing that just for the e.