Within an hour, Emma had designed the perfect plan. She wouldn't tell Rogue straight out what Joe was up too, rather she would wait until he returned before letting him kill himself. The plan made her so giddy, she almost wished Joseph would hurry and return, but of course she wanted to make sure Rogue and Remy would be a sure deal once he was out of the picture for good before he reappeared to cause any problems.
Clapping her hands together, she grinned at the phone. One day, she may have to look Monique up and thank her. Innocent though she might be, the woman had just given her an even better incentive than her own dislike to fix Rogue up with another man.
Chuckling, she all but skipped down the stairs. Of course, she didn't skip as that would be undignified, but her quick steps came close enough that the few students loitering around stopped to watch the blonde pass. They wondered what could have put her in such a good mood, then decided they probably really didn't want to know. When Emma was in a good mood, it usually meant someone she didn't like, and that was a decently sized list, was in some kind of pain or trouble.
"Now," Emma chuckled to herself, "to wait for the couple of the hour to return."
Joseph's reaction when he saw just how close the two southerners had become during his absence would be priceless, and it would be partly thanks to Emma's ingenious matchmaking skills. The blonde let out an evil cackle that had many of the older students running and the younger ones looking for a change of pants.
Yes, they really didn't want to know the cause of her suddenly good mood.
232323
"Ah cain't believe ya punched our waiter!" Rogue exclaimed, walking through the mansion's doors. It was late, past curfew for those that had one, but some of the older students, such as Emma and Logan, were still awake.
The blonde perked when she heard Rogue's voice and peeked around the corner, ignoring Logan's snort of disbelief and amusement at her actions. She was happy when they didn't return home within two hours, but she hadn't expected them to stay out so late. Emma was curious as to what had happened, and what better way to get an idea than to eavesdrop?
"An' here I thought you were above listenin' in on other's conversations," Logan mused quietly behind her. He leaned casually against the counter, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. Emma shot him a glare.
"Shh!" she reprimanded. "I'm not when it comes to matchmaking, now be quiet or get lost."
Wolverine growled at the tone she dared use on him, but he shook his head when he saw Emma was too busy watching the southern couple again to pay attention. Grumbling about nosy blondes who needed to mind their own business, he grabbed one of his hidden beers, something Chuck didn't condone but knew protesting against would be futile, and headed out of the kitchen.
"Well, he was flirtin' wit' y', chere! Remy can' help it if he got a li'l jealous."
"What you got t' be jealous about, Cajun?" Rogue snorted in disbelief. "It ain't like ya don't got a different girl on ya arm every time ya leave!"
"Y' be noticin' Remy wit' ot'er women, chere?" Remy asked slyly. "Maybe you got a li'l jealousy problem too, eh?"
"Don't flattah yourself, Cajun," Rogue said quickly, though a light blush tinted her cheeks. "Ah got Joe, remember? What do Ah care if'n ya hangin' out with othah women?"
"Remy t'ink dat's denial, Roguey." Remy grinned at the southern belle. "But if y' don' like Remy bein' wit' ot'er femmes, jus' say da word. Y' know y' da only one f'r moi."
"Hah! Like Ah'm fallin' fo' that one!" Rogue laughed. "Anyway, Swampy, Ah told ya Ah got Joe. Ain't no reason fo' meh t' want you."
"Dat's cold, chere."
"Oi, lovebirds!" Logan interrupted, growling at the two. They turned to face him, Rogue blushing and Remy smirking at the word he'd used to describe them. Did they really look like they were in love? "Just thought ya'd like ta know, Blondie's spyin' on ya in the kitchen."
"Eh?" Rogue watched as Logan left up the stairs, turning her attention to the kitchen where a glaring Emma was spouting curses at Logan's back.
The blonde smiled sheepishly when she saw Rogue and Remy looking at her, surprise and amusement in their gazes.
"So, how was your night?"
232323
Joseph yawned as he climbed into the Blackbird. Storm was already in the driver's seat, turning on the various buttons that would start the jet. The mission had been a tough one, but now that it was over, they would finally be heading home.
It had taken all of three minutes in the air for Joseph to realize he'd left his cell phone at the manor. He couldn't ask Storm to turn around for something so meager, especially not when she had her own the students could call in case of an emergency if the professor wasn't able to contact them.
He hoped Monique or Isabelle or Janice hadn't called. Due to the professor's sudden decision to include him on a mission, he hadn't been able to tell any of the girls he would be out of town and not to call. It would kill him if they did and Rogue answered the phone, or more realistically Rogue would kill him.
She might feel like an outcast in the mansion, and Joseph might be one of the only ones that could understand her feelings of loneliness, being ostracized in a place where they should be accepted, but he knew Rogue didn't play games like that. If she found out he had another woman, much less three, on the side, she would beat him to within an inch of his life.
It was lucky the professor couldn't read his mind for unknown reasons, as he knew the old man wouldn't condone his actions any more than anyone else would. He also knew Xavier wouldn't allow him to commit such acts without Rogue finding out some way or another. He might not outright tell her what was happening, but the old man had ways about letting people know without ever saying a word, verbally or mentally.
Shrugging off his worry, Joseph decided that Rogue would have called Storm's cell phone and demanded to speak with him if something like that happened. The woman only tolerated Rogue, she knew that all too well, but an angry Rogue wouldn't care who liked her or didn't. If she was wronged, she would damn well make sure she had her revenge.
That was why she left the brotherhood, and Joseph knew if she ever found out, she would leave him too. He couldn't let that happen. Rogue really did mean a lot to him, and if he lost her, Joseph wasn't sure what he would do.