MAGNETIC ATTRACTION

PART TEN

Rogue sighed as she sat at window table in the Bayville Bean Box at nine am that Saturday morning. She'd ordered a double espresso but it still hadn't arrived as the place was busy as it usually was on a Saturday morning.

She raised her eyes just as Logan stepped through the door, his brown leather jacket slightly wet from rain which had just started. He came to her table and took his jacket off to dry; he hung it on the back of his chair and said nothing to her as he sat down. He simply stared across the table at her, as if waiting for her to be the first to speak.

She had the distinct feeling he was still mad with her; she'd heard it in his voice when she'd called him and asked if he would meet with her for coffee at the Bean Box.

"Ah almost thought you wouldn't come," Rogue was the first to speak, feeling slightly nervous. She toyed with one of the menus that had been on the table.

"I told you I'd be here if you needed me," Logan finally replied.

"Ah know," Rogue nodded.

"So...what's going on?"

"Ah just..." she sighed.

"Miss home?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

"Ah missed it even before Ah left," she admitted, she put the menu down.

Logan called out for a plain coffee, the waitress seemed flustered enough as it was but he seemed to take very little notice of this.

"How...is everyone?"

"Everyone is the same. Place is chaos, the kids are noisy as ever. Professor has set some new training programs up that are really putting them all through their paces."

Rogue felt a surge of loneliness; despite she'd never quite fit in with them all, she couldn't help but feel the longing to be there amongst them once again. Only, she had to remind herself of all the complications that always brought, and all the mixed feelings of being there once again.

"You know you're always welcome to visit," Logan reminded.

"Ah know that," Rogue sighed. "And Ah will...just...not today."

They made idle small talk as their coffee arrived, Rogue stared into espresso, thinking of how it was the same colour as the mud she'd been knee deep in earlier today. She wondered what Logan would have thought of Remy's obstacle course. Would he have been impressed or would he have thought it was the worst idea ever? She thought perhaps it'd be a little of both.

"How are things going with Magneto's crew?"

"It...it isn't actually that bad. Not as bad as Ah thought it was gonna be, anyway," she admitted awkwardly, somewhat ashamed to admit it. "He's...he's not as bad as Ah thought he was. He's...been nice...or as nice as someone like Magneto can be, Ah guess."

"I still don't like the guy," grunted Logan.

Rogue supposed she couldn't blame him for that. "Ah think he really has changed. He...seems so different. So much...calmer...like he's not the same person."

"A lot of people seem that way lately," Logan responded. He looked at her pointedly. "Everything is changing."

"Ah haven't changed."

"Haven't you?"

Rogue blinked, she couldn't quite find any response to this. She certainly couldn't detect any changes herself.

"You seem different, Rogue. I don't know...something isn't the same with you. It hasn't been since the minute you said you wanted to leave us."

"Ah'm the same. Ah always have been."

"I hope so," he said. "So...how's it being under Gambit's leadership?" he asked, changing the subject.

Rogue tilted her head, staring at him curiously, "how...did you know he was our leader?" she asked, beginning to wonder if perhaps Logan may have been spying on her and the other Acolytes. The thought of it didn't sit easy with her, and made her feel strangely ill inside.

"Magneto speaks to Charles, Charles speaks to me. Word gets around," Logan shrugged.

"Oh," Rogue responded, she took a moment to consider her answer. "Remy is-"

"Ohhh, so you're on a first name basis now, huh?" Logan teased, smirking.

Rogue sighed, "if you're just going to make fun-"

"I'm kidding," Logan chuckled, "so how is he as a leader?"

"He's...actually not bad. He's tough but...fair. At least Ah think so. There's been a few problems but...he always finds a way to fix them quick. He's actually a much better leader than Ah'd have given him credit for. It's...been quite surprisin'."

"I've seen the kid in battle, he seems to have his wits about him, and that's somethin'. He's much more calculatin' than the rest of them. He's the one to watch out for."

"You think Ah shouldn't trust him?" Rogue asked. She was sure it wasn't what Logan was suggesting, but she wanted to see what his response would be nonetheless.

"Well..." said Logan, he seemed conflicted for a moment as he considered how to respond to this, "I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him, but-"

"Listen..." Rogue spoke up, "Ah've touched Remy before...more than once, and Ah know him. Maybe not as well as Ah know you, or the others but...Ah know enough to tell when he's up to his tricks or bein' sincere."

"And you think he's being sincere with you now?" Logan asked seriously, he lowered his head slightly and looked at her beneath his thick wolf-like brows.

"Ah think so..." she confessed, she stared into space as she thought about it. Certainly it seemed to her that Remy had been somewhat sincere, and besides, what could he possibly gain otherwise? As their new leader, he had something of an authority to ask her to help him anyway, so what other reason would he need to be nice to her?

"You have a good head on your shoulders, Rogue. When the time comes and you have to decide whether or not you can trust him, I know you'll be able to make the right choice."

Rogue sighed, "what about Magneto?"

"What about him?"

"Do you think Ah can trust him?" she asked seriously as she sipped her espresso after blowing on it to cool it down.

"Rogue, I don't want to start an argument-" Logan shook his head slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"You know how I feel on the subject. You ask that question, I answer honestly and then we end up arguing and it ends with you storming out and us not talking. I don't want that. I want us to still be friends. So..."

Rogue raised an eyebrow, sipping her espresso still. She said nothing else, and waited, to see if he would eventually cave anyway.

"If you want to know what I really think...fine," he sighed, "Just...don't walk out."

"Okay," she agreed flatly.

"I think...you only want to trust him because he can give you what we can't. I almost don't even blame you but...I don't think he is trustworthy enough to have your powers put in his hands."

She frowned, but held her tongue.

"I came here promising myself that I wasn't gonna do this," Logan drew his breath.

"Huh?"

"I'm gonna ask you one last time, Rogue. Come home, give up the idea of evolving your powers. Whatever the problem with your power is, we will figure it out. I will help you..."

Rogue stared across at him, thinking about this proposition.

"If you need someone to sit there and take touch after touch until you figure out what it is that you need to do to control it, then I'll do it, I can take that much pain, that much punishment. Whatever it takes until you figure how to gain control..." he reached over and gripped her gloved hand tightly; his grip was so strong, it almost hurt.

Sadly she stared down at his hand over hers, and contemplated. Finally, she shook her head, "Ah don't want to see you suffering the agony of my drainin' the life out of you and Ah don't want to be waking up every night for months because of nightmares from fractured memories that you didn't even know you had..."

Logan's expression was dark, close to defeated.

"Ah...Ah appreciate that you would do that for me...even though Ah know how much you really don't like people bein' in your head..." she admitted. "But...Ah can't. Ah'm sorry."

"Just...promise, that if everything goes pear-shaped, if you suspect for even one second that something is going on and Magneto or Gambit are trying to double-cross you or...trying to use you as a weapon..." he trailed off.

"If that happens, Ah'll be back. Ah promise. Ah won't stick around to be used by anyone."

Remy LeBeau lay staring up at the ceiling, his mind in a haze. It'd been a long morning, and the team had not been let go from the obstacle course until well after 1pm. Every bone in his body ached from climbing, and running, and jumping, and sliding around on that damn course. Regardless of how many times he'd run it and knew it in and out, he'd still managed to get bruised and battered from running across it, and now due to the exhaustion of having done so, his mind felt as if it were barely switched on any more. He'd been trying to nap for the past few hours but he somehow seemed incapable of shutting down completely enough to let the sleep come regardless of the exhaustion weighing him down.

The creak of the door to his basement bedroom alerted him to the fact that someone was stepping in without knocking, and he turned slowly to glance in the door's direction. Wanda was standing there, her colour seemed slightly better than it had this morning, at least.

"What is it?" Remy asked.

She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, "I'm bored."

"So go do some work. Sure your daddy could use a hand putting together that new heating system."

"Not that kind of bored..." she remarked, she put her hand right on his groin and squeezed.

Stubbornly, Remy smacked her hand away, "seriously?" he asked, "You think it's gonna be that easy? I'm still pissed at you."

"So?" she asked insolently. "I'm still pissed at you too," Wanda shifted to kneel between his ankles whilst she began unbuttoning his jeans. "You threw me into an ice cold shower and practically humiliated me at training this morning."

Remy wasn't sure how he'd humiliated her, but he wasn't all that interested in asking either. He wasn't in the mood for an argument right now. He was far too tired for that. He watched as she worked on getting his button fly open. It was such a shame that angry sex was such a turn on for this crazy young woman, and that his resistance was only more likely to put her in the mood.

He closed his eyes as her cool hands worked his tender flesh, the blood began rushing to his member regardless of how much he tried to deny it to do so. It wasn't the first time this week he'd wished his body would stop defying the decisions he'd already made in his head.

"Magneto is barely two doors away," he reminded, he gasped just a little at how rough she was being.

"I'll be quiet," she assured.

Remy was slightly concerned that her being quiet wasn't the issue, that it was more likely that he'd be the one struggling with the concept if she didn't loosen her grip.

It was odd, he thought, how this made him feel strangely dirty and somehow...used. It had never bothered him before. Casual sex had always been a welcome activity from any young woman he met if she was attractive enough. Casual sex with no risk of relationship was a blessing, and it had never ever been a chore, even when he was thoroughly exhausted, he'd have never even considered turning it down.

But lately, these encounters with Wanda had started to become more and more of a chore...and he hated chores. Didn't matter how good she was, how much variation she tried, and how unpredictable each and every encounter was. It was a chore, a monotonous (although undeniably enjoyable) chore. His body certainly enjoyed the pleasure, and the release, but somewhere inside, he'd already grown emotionally bored of the whole thing long ago.

It was going to have to end.

This is gonna become a problem, he thought as he lay there idle while she used her mouth on him. While she performed, his mind drifted. What was he still to do today? Should he do some more work on the gymnasium, or change up the hidden net traps around the obstacle course, since no one had stepped into them it seemed he'd poorly placed them. It certainly couldn't be they were that observant that they'd all managed to deliberately side step them.

I could use some time away from his place, Remy decided as Wanda ripped open a condom wrapper and sheathed him. Definitely been spending far too much time here, lately, he thought dully as she straddled him, she pulled her skirt up her hips a little and mounted, her hands pushing roughly against his chest as she rode him harder than a bull at a rodeo.

If she noted any difference in his behaviour during sex, she said nothing to suggest it. Instead, she satisfied herself as she did all the work, never questioning his idleness. She seemed to enjoy deliberately pressing on the various bruises he'd gained over the past few days while running – and building – the obstacle course. He was good at hiding his pain (even when she deliberately pressed on the bruise forming on his chest, an injury caused by being elbowed accidentally by Colossus that morning) but the longer the experience continued, the rougher she would get.

Remy decided that he wasn't going to cry out or complain about what she was doing, it was too obvious she was doing it deliberately just to cause a reaction. To let her know he was in pain would only give her more reason to continue to do as she was doing with more fervour than before. There was definitely something of a sadist about this girl, it was one of the things he sometimes liked about her, and at other times, loathed completely.

When Wanda had done with him, she climbed off as casually as someone may just climb off a horse after having ridden across a field. She began smoothing her skirt down. He noted that she had not worn any underwear, which to him seemed to indicate that she had come to his room fully intending to use him in which ever way she wanted regardless of what he would want.

"Don't you ever get sick of just doing this just for the sake of doing it?" Remy asked of her as he lay there with his arms behind his head, still staring up at the ceiling.

"Not like there's much else to do around here," she checked her appearance in the cracked mirror he had put on the wall, fixing her hair a little. "I need this, and I like doing it. Besides, I know you like it too."

Not with you, he wished he had the guts to say. He was tempted to say it, to be mean about it, but he simply couldn't force it out. Besides, at least it was sex, and with all this stress he'd been having to endure lately, he definitely needed the outlet even if he wished it weren't Wanda Maximoff.

He wondered if perhaps it may be time to go out on the prowl and find some new sexual partners; girls with a little less risk or crazy attached to them. That pretty waitress from the Bayville Bean Box probably would have given him a one night stand, she looked like the sort of self-conscious easy target he could have easy sweet-talked into bed. Thinking about it, he realised he wasn't even that interested in being with her either, although it had crossed his mind.

Remy was almost certain that wasn't going to make him much happier in the long run. Didn't matter what girl he decided to get between the sheets with, none of them were going to make his life any better.

It was like comfort eating, he decided. Any girl he met was practically like whatever standard food might in a cupboard; he could pick whatever he wanted, have his fill, but the satisfaction wasn't really there afterwards. He didn't feel full, and in the end all there was to show for it was an empty cupboard and no recollection of having even actually enjoyed the food all that much. Each and every one of those girls he'd ever been with might as well have been a metaphorical cheeseburger to try and sate his sexual appetite, some were McDonalds fair, some not.

Not one, however, seemed capable of being fillet mignon.

Wanda left the room without a word to him, and he was thankful for that. A short while after she'd gone, Remy cleaned himself off, changed his clothes, and decided he was going out. He'd had enough of the warehouse and the Acolytes for one day. He needed a break. It was a Saturday, and he was damned if he was going to spend it stewing here, especially knowing that Wanda would most likely be back later.

He rode his bike to town, first checking out a small music store regardless of the fact he didn't own a CD player or a record player. He simply liked the atmosphere (and besides, he sometimes liked to buy the t-shirts they sold). He wandered for a while on the streets, the cold air biting his cheeks and whipping his hair around his face. He finally settled on a bench in Bayville park with a cup of rather poorly made coffee from a kiosk. It was nearly seven pm by then, and the sun was already setting as the Autumn had brought the nights to darken much earlier.

Remy sighed to himself, although he wasn't sure exactly why. He wasn't inordinately unhappy, and yet, he couldn't help but feel glum nonetheless. He tried to tell himself it was just exhaustion and stress. It occurred to him that part of the reason he felt so incredibly off as of late, was that he no longer felt quite like himself. Responsibility and rules were playing havoc with his personality and mood. He didn't like it one bit. He contemplated telling Magneto he'd had enough, he didn't want to be leader any more, but he doubted the man was going to accept that, especially so soon.

"That coffee tastes like motor oil."

Remy had been sitting in a daze watching the sunlight disappearing and the sky turn a strange hue of dull dark blue when he heard Rogue's voice behind him. He turned to look over his shoulder at her, surprised to even see her standing there, her hands in the pockets of her hooded top, her skirt slightly flapping in the wind.

"I only bought it to warm me up," he confessed as he shifted along the bench to make room for her to sit, and she did so, still keeping her hands in her pockets. "One thing never been able to deal with about this town is the cold. Never liked cold weather."

"Ah don't mind it, now," Rogue admitted, as she crossed one leg over the other and leaned back, looking up at the sky.

"I've always preferred the heat," he admitted, he stared at the sky too, he saw the moon just behind some almost completely bare trees.

Rogue didn't seem to really know what else to say. Small talk was not this girls' best skill. He turned to look at her, the way her hair was shifting in the breeze was somewhat beautiful, the streaks in her hair almost seemed like liquid silver as they reflected the light from the lamp posts nearby.

"How was your day?" he asked casually. If she wasn't going to make small talk, he supposed he should try. He was usually much better at this but his exhaustion had killed most chances of his being charming and conversational for this evening.

"It was fine," she replied.

Fine? Just fine? That's all you're going to say? He thought at her, feeling somewhat disappointed that she wasn't at least going to try harder than that to be social.

"Spend it all in the library again?" he teased.

"No. Ah had coffee with Wolverine, Ah had lunch at Subway...then Ah spent some time in the library," she retorted, smirking back at him. "What'd you do?"

"I had sex."

Remy wasn't sure what possessed him to blurt this out, he hadn't been thinking too clearly, perhaps it was the exhaustion, or perhaps it was the spray-painted breasts someone had graffiti'd on the wall of the nearby public lavatory building; his eyes had just fallen upon the picture as he'd spoken.

"Ah...see..." Rogue said, she seemed quite unsure on how to respond to this revelation. She shifted uncomfortably on the cold bench a little.

He immediately felt the need to disregard the mention of it; he didn't want to go into when, or with whom, or how long it'd been going for. He wished he hadn't mentioned it at all. Blurting something like that out to an eighteen year old woman who might never know what sex felt like was probably one of the most insensitive things he'd ever done. He felt genuinely guilty and embarrassed, something he'd have never expected of himself.

"Do you maybe wanna go for dinner?" he asked suddenly, hopeful the change of subject would work.

Rogue considered this, still clearly feeling awkward about what he'd said. "Ah-" she began, she seemed to be searching for an excuse.

He stood up and tossed his half-drunk coffee into the garbage can next to the bench, he reached his hand out to her, "come on, I'm buying," he urged.

Her eyes dropped to his hand, and she breathed something of a silent sigh, then raised her eyes to his, he had the distinct impression she was trying to read him. He wondered if she could see anything in his eyes at all, or if they were probably the same dead empty black and red orbs Wanda had stared into as she'd rode him only a few hours ago.

Just as he was almost about to give up on the idea and drop his hand, Rogue put her hand in his and let him help her to her feet. "Okay."

They opted for the nearby Pizza place that was just across the street from the park. It was one of those small, intimate places, all red brick walls, little two-seat tables and old fashioned oak chairs. They sat at opposite sides of a round table, a tealight candle flickering weakly between them on a gingham tablecloth. They opted to share a pizza, because neither really had the appetite to eat a whole one each. Remy wondered if she'd opted to share simply because she didn't want him seeing her trying to eat a whole pizza by herself. Since she'd come to live with the Acolytes, he'd never seen her consume more than a slice or two of Pizza. Was this all the girl lived on? For that matter, he'd begun to wonder lately if it was all he lived on.

After ordering their food, they sat in silence for some moments, not sure what to say to each other. He did his best to try and change the subject and do his best to make conversation just to put her at ease, but clearly his revelation of his earlier sexual encounter was at the forefront of Rogue's mind, because she kept blushing every now and then as if she were imagining whatever he might have been up to. He was sure if she knew the things Wanda had done to him over the course of the last three weeks, he was sure her cheeks would probably remain in blush for quite some time.

"I'm sorry about what I said in the park," he said finally, deciding to be straight with her as best he could to hopefully put the conversation to rest properly, "It was stupid. I wasn't thinking straight."

"It's fine," she picked up her orange soda and sipped delicately. "Ah always knew you slept around...Ah've had your memories...so..."

"So there's some things you were bound to know," he agreed. "But still, I shouldn't have said anything. It was rude."

"Don't sweat it. You're just being...you," she stated, he got the distinct impression she was trying to sound brave and worldly, "at least you're not sparin' my feelin's like everyone else does around me, tryin' to walk on eggshells and get around sayin' things. Ah can't stand when people pity me because Ah can't touch people."

Remy didn't want to admit he pitied her too. He would have pitied anyone who would never know what real intimacy was like. He tried to hide his pitied stare, and leaned back casually in his chair, "You know me, I tell it how it is. I don't side step things like most do."

Rogue picked up a bread stick and snapped it, he watched her closely, wondering the things he usually didn't ask himself about her. Did she ever think about sex? Had she ever experimented alone? Had she ever even seen a naked man before?

"You ever think about it?" he asked, reaching for a bread stick also and taking a large and rather obscene bite.

"About what?"

"Fucking," he said crudely.

Her cheeks went pinker; he couldn't deny he felt some personal delight in this. As she looked down to the table cloth, thoroughly embarrassed now, he tried not to smile.

"To tell the truth," said Remy thoughtfully as he chewed, "you get about as much satisfaction doin' it yourself, and none of the complications or irritation or risk of hurtin' someone's feelings. Or gettin' hurt yourself."

The pizza arrived just then, suddenly Rogue didn't really seem all that hungry at all, he wondered if perhaps that was his fault or if she'd even been hungry to begin with. He noted she hadn't even taken a bite of the bread stick she'd picked up, she'd simply snapped it, and then put it down on her napkin.

At least she hasn't asked me who I've been messing around with...not that I've any intentions of telling her, he thought as he lifted a slice of the pizza to his lips.

"It's..." she tried to speak, quite embarrassed and uncomfortable with the discussion, "It's not the whole sex thing that bothers me about my powers...it's...the not bein' able to...connect to someone, you know?"

"I know," he replied truthfully, "I've seen your books. All romance novels, stuff about eternal love, and belongin' to someone," he stated. He hadn't meant to sound like he was teasing her, but somehow his tone had come out that way, because she suddenly seemed quite annoyed with him.

"Ah guess you wouldn't understand."

"You're right, I probably wouldn't," he agreed, still chewing, "Don't get me wrong...the romance thing, I nail it. I can totally convince a girl I'm in love in five seconds. But do I feel it? Hell no," he shrugged as he chewed.

Rogue took her gloves off and lay them down neatly beside her before picking up a slice of pizza. Her hands were so delicate, so pale and soft looking, her slim tapered fingers held the pizza so lightly, he found himself strangely wondering what her touch would feel like in an intimate situation. She came off as angry and rough sometimes; the way she fought with him when they'd sparred had been very tomboyish, and never at any point delicate. But...there was something quiet and retiring about her that suggested a shy, tentative and graceful feminine touch. The thought of her bare fingers against his face brought a strange hot flush over his entire body, and he imagined how incredibly light they may dance across his jaw and skim behind his neck to bury themselves in his hair.

His eyes fell down to his lap when he realised the thought of this had gotten him so much harder than what Wanda had done to him only a few hours ago. It was something he hadn't quite expected to occur with so simple a thought...especially not as innocent a thought.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

He looked up at her, realising that he must have momentarily let his guard down enough that she had sensed something wasn't quite right. He shook his head slightly and reached to take a sip from his glass of cola before saying, "nothin' at all." He thought it quite bad that he lied so effortlessly. He leaned forward a little more onto the table, hoping to hide the bulge; not that he thought she would lean forward enough to try and see if she thought there might be something to look at. What would she have thought of this? Would she have even believed that the mere thought of her touch upon his face had left him aching like this? She'd have probably laughed in his face. He thought of being bold; he could take her hand and lead it to his groin just as he had done on many other dates with other girls.

That kind of behaviour wouldn't have been acceptable with Rogue though. He had to remind himself that this was not a date, and besides which, she had no gloves on; reaching for her hand would be like asking for a coma.

Instead of taking action as he'd have normally done with any other girl in the same situation, he forced the idea out of his mind altogether and tried to find the most unappealing thing he could to think about. Usually how Todd Tolansky smelled helped in these types of situations. Remy LeBeau was almost certain that if he could bottle the smell of the Toad's sweat, it could have been used as a deterrent for sex offenders.

"Ah...spoke with Logan, today," said Rogue, after several minutes of awkward silence.

"Oh?" he asked, appreciating her attempt at small talk. She'd already told him, of course, that she'd had coffee with him this morning. He supposed he should have asked how that had gone then, and perhaps he might have, had he not been so exhausted and still feeling slightly miffed about his situation with Wanda.

"He wants me to go home," Rogue sighed as she leaned her elbow on the table, she took a small bite of her pizza. "He thinks you or Magneto – or both – are gonna betray me."

Remy thought about this, "well..." he said after a moment of contemplation, "the important thing, really is...what do you think?"

She chewed her lip and thought about it, "Ah just don't know any more."

"You can trust me, Rogue," Remy promised, all the while hating himself that he was lying. If she could trust him, he wouldn't have taken money from Wolverine on a deal that he could make her change her mind about evolving her powers. She wouldn't care that he'd used that money to benefit her by buying that car and lied about the deal he'd gotten on it. She wouldn't care that he'd wanted her to have a car simply because he thought she should have one, and not just because he didn't want to be awakened every morning just to take her to school.

"When you say that, Ah almost believe you," she admitted, "but...past experience...well...ah know how good a liar you are..."

He reached out his hand towards her, "if you want to be sure," he offered, knowing that she would never willingly absorb his thoughts. She'd fallen for that trick before, although, the suspicious part of him wondered almost if she wouldn't a second time around.

Rogue gave a deep sigh, and for a moment, she reached her bare hand towards his, their fingers were barely centimetres away and for one brief moment, Remy was the one tempted to complete the connection despite he knew she would find out what kind of a jerk he really was. As he moved his hand closer, she flinched away and shook her head.

"No..." she said, "Ah...Ah believe you," she admitted embarrassedly.

You really shouldn't, he thought dully.

They made general small talk as they finished their pizza; they did not opt to stay for dessert. They discovered the night had grown much, much colder when they left the restaurant. The air had taken on that definite October bite, and Remy's fingers stung as he walked by Rogue's side in the direction of the street she'd parked her car on.

"Ah can't believe it's October already," Rogue admitted, she walked in a lazy stroll, the heels of her boots clicking heavily on the paving.

"It's been a fast year," confessed Remy, "been a crazy one too, for that matter."

"Yeah," Rogue agreed.

Remy felt his knuckles hit against her gloved ones accidentally, and ironically found himself thinking of how, in the nightclub last night, he'd led her around holding onto her hand tightly and thinking nothing of it. Right now, he thought of taking her hand and walking with her that way to see how it might feel, to see if it might feel for a moment like they had some kind of a relationship.

He chided himself silently. Stop it, why are you thinking like this?

Rogue put her hands in her pockets, and he wondered if briefly she might have thought the same thing he had. He had the ability to certainly make her attracted to him. But was she attracted of her own free will when he wasn't trying to be charming? Did it even matter?

As they walked he thought perhaps he should take his coat off and put it around her, she was shivering slightly after all. But that was too bold a move and he wasn't sure how it would be interpreted by her, especially since the coat stank of cigarettes.

They finally got to her car, and she unlocked the door, trembling in the cold. "You want a ride? You can always get your bike tomorrow," she offered.

"Nah, I think I'm just gonna ride around a while."

"Are you sure? It's freezing out here."

"The fresh air will do me good," Remy admitted, thinking that the cold air might clear his head and get rid of these conflicting thoughts.

"Thanks for dinner," Rogue said, she leaned on the car door for a moment, looking at him, "and the uh...talk."

"No problem," he smiled a little at her. "I'll catch you later..." he stepped away from the car, watching her getting in.

He lit a cigarette – having waited to be out of her presence to do so – as he watched her drive off. Watching the car disappear around the corner, he felt his stomach churn and he wasn't quite sure why. Bad pizza, or...bad feelings? He supposed it didn't matter which in the end. Both were problems that would eventually sort themselves out.

End of Part Ten

Thanks to everyone as always for their kind reviews, and adding the story to their favourites. I know it's not quite as exciting (or as popular) as Derranged Marriage or Blind Leading the Blind, but it's nice to see it has a little group of people following it :)

As for the sequel to Derranged Marriage (few people been asking) it will come eventually. For the moment, I've been focusing on this story mainly because the inspiration/ideas are coming so freely. I won't post a new story while another is in an uncomplete state just to try and keep everything nice and neat (and easy to keep up with, lol).

Anyway, off I go to finish writing part 19! 3