A smile spread across her pale face as she watched Rogue and Remy joke. They were already doing half the job for her, and they didn't even realize it! Emma couldn't have hoped for a better couple to matchmake really, she could already tell it would be relatively easy getting those two together. The main problem was Joseph.
He always managed to drag Rogue away right when she and Remy were starting to move closer to each other. Emma was quite frankly tired of it all, and it didn't help that women seemed to flock to Remy like moths to a flame. He flirted around with them as well, though not quite like he did with Rogue, but Emma could see a few one-night stands in the future if she didn't do something fast.
Not that a one-night stand was a problem, there would be no relationship planned afterwards, so it would still be safe for Rogue to start something serious with Remy – Gambit, as he called himself in the Danger Room. However, Emma knew the girls in the mansion, and very few of them understood the difference between a one-night stand and true love. She wouldn't be surprised if the girls Remy ended up bedding thought there was something more between them and became clingy.
That would cause a bump in her plans.
Now wasn't the time to think about things like that though. If she wanted to set up Remy and Rogue, she needed to take Joseph out of the picture. He should be her main priority. As it just so happened, Emma smirked, the professor had a very important mission he needed people for. Joseph would be perfect for the position.
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"I'll see you when I return," Joseph told Rogue, pulling her in for a sweet kiss.
Emma stood in the background, making gagging motions no one could see. Honestly, she hated seeing them all lovey dovey, knowing it wasn't what their hearts truly felt. Call her a hopeless romantic, but Emma believed in kissing the one you were in love with, not the one you'd convinced yourself to love.
Rogue smiled at her boyfriend, kissing his cheek once more before he turned to the Blackbird. She moved to stand next to Emma, letting out a soft sigh as Storm started the jet.
"Think you'll miss him much?" Emma asked, more to fill the silence than out of want for an actual answer. Rogue answered anyway.
"'Course Ah will!" she said a little too quickly. Emma raised a brow as she looked at the southerner, and Rogue sighed, eyes dropping to the floor. "Would ya think badly of meh if Ah said Ah'm actually sort of relieved he's leavin'?"
"Really?" Emma's eyes widened, a gleeful glint appearing in the blue orbs. She wrapped an arm over Rogue's shoulders and led her friend back inside. "Do tell."
"It's not that Ah don't love him, Ah do!" Rogue exclaimed, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself than Emma. "It's just...Joseph has been really clingy lately, an' Ah know it's because o' Remy. Ah just don't see why he thinks Ah'm gonna cheat on him when we've been togethah fo' this long an' ain't nothin' happened between meh an' anothah man!"
"That's a sign he doesn't trust you, Rogue," Emma explained wisely. "I'm not sure you should be with someone like that."
"Of course you don't think Ah should be with him, ya've been against our relationship from th' start!" Rogue smirked at the shocked expression on Emma's face. "Don't look so surprised, sugah. Ya make it kinda obvious where ya stand with Joe an' meh."
"Really?" Emma asked, more to herself than Rogue. Maybe that was why Joseph always acted like he didn't like her too much; even when he was virtually ignoring her, she had the feeling he wanted her away from Rogue. It would certainly explain a lot.
"Anyway, I still don't think it's good for you to be with him if he doesn't trust you!" Emma said, shaking away her shock. "It will only lead to heartbreak in the end."
"Ah love Joe, Em, Ah trust him. Ah guess Ah can see why he's jealous, Ah do spend a lot of time with Swampy. He's just worried."
"You're making excuses, Rogue," Emma pointed out. She knew her friend wasn't listening though, and she sighed disappointedly. "How do you feel about Gambit then, if you love Joseph so much?"
Rogue made a coughing noise low in her throat and looked at Emma in surprise. "W-what!?" she gasped, a smile slowly forming on her face. "Em, sugah, you shouldn't joke like that out of nowhere."
"I'm not joking!" Emma insisted. "It's a serious question."
Rogue's smile faded when she saw the expression on the blonde's face. Emma really was serious. It shocked and confused Rogue to no end, and for some reason she felt oddly uncomfortable thinking of an answer for what should have been an easy question.
"Th' Swamp Rat an' Ah are just friends. Ah thought that was obvious." Rogue smiled at Emma and walked ahead of her. "Ah got stuff t' do, sugah, if ya need meh, Ah'll be in th' garage."
Emma watched Rogue walk away, shaking her head at the southerner's retreating back.
"And you don't love Joseph," she muttered. "I thought that was obvious."
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Remy whistled as he walked to the garage. The mansion, fun as it was with Rogue, was becoming a bit stifling. He needed to ride around on his motorcycle, feel the wind in his hair, perhaps flirt with a few pretty girls.
Really, he would rather have Rogue riding with him, but he doubted that would happen. Not that Rogue seemed the type against motorcycles and the like, but she was in a serious relationship with that white-haired bastard and would probably feel like she was cheating on him now that he was away on a mission.
He pushed open the door that led to the garage and paused at what he saw. There, standing over the beautiful hunter green bike he'd noticed when he first arrived, was the southern belle he'd recently begun dedicating a majority of his time to. She hadn't noticed his arrival yet, he supposed, since she hadn't looked up.
Remy smiled slyly and moved behind her, intending to surprise her. However, as he found his way directly behind her, Remy realized something he hadn't before. She wasn't just standing over the bike, she was actually working on it, humming to herself in a slightly off-key voice.
"Remy didn' know y' knew y' way around a bike, chere!"
Rogue jumped, startled by the voice. She spun around to glare at the smirking Cajun behind her. He leaned back, against a random X-car behind him, crossing his arms to look at her.
"What're you doin' here, Cajun?" she asked, trying hard to keep her tone sharp and unhappy, but a smile broke out nonetheless, and she moved to lean against her baby in a way similar to the smirking Cajun.
"Remy t'ought he might do a li'l ridin' 'round da town, cherie," Remy explained. "Wasn' expectin' t' see you here. Why didn' y' tell Remy y' knew y' way 'round a bike?"
"Ya nevah asked," Rogue answered simply. She smirked. "Ridin' 'round th' town, huh? How 'bout a li'l race, Cajun? Loser buys th' winner dinner?"
"Tryin' t' get Remy on a date?" Remy asked, smirking. Rogue's smile dropped, and she started to protest, but Remy cut her off before she could make a sound. "Dat work f'r Remy. I hope y' got enough money, chere."
"Ah ain't tryin' t' get no one on no da—Excuse meh? Oh no, sugah, Ah think yo' th' one who's gonna need a full wallet!" Rogue shouted, forgetting her earlier protests. "Ah don't plan t' lose."
"Well, dat makes two o' us den." Remy smirked and moved to his own bike. "See y' at da finish line, chere."
"We'll see about that, Swampy!" Rogue shouted, pushing the button that would open the garage door before hurrying to her own bike. The door had barely opened before two motorcycles zoomed out of the manor.
Emma stood in the doorway, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. A pleased smile on her face as she watched the two race each other out the gates and down the road.
"Just friends huh? We'll see about that."
A/N's:
First of all, thank you everyone who answered my question! It was very helpful, and I really appreciate the input.
Secondly, I'm afraid that with my dwindling interest in X-men, I'm going to cut the series short. I don't plan to stop this story, I'm an avid believer in finishing stories that are started. I think I'll end the series after this one. I may attempt Amyro, the fifth part, as I've wanted to do that one almost as much as the Romy, but I'm not sure. Sadly, the Iceman/Jubilee, X23/Pietro, and Cannonball/Wolfsbane I said I might attempt will not be written. I know I don't have enough inspiration or interest to write those pairings anymore.
I'm sorry if this story is moving a bit fast, every chapter I think of just pushes it further along rather than slowing it down.