Chapter Thirty-Four:


"Well, dat was fun."

Rogue grinned at Mercy LeBeau, shaking her head. "Ah can't believe Ah let ya drag me 'round town all day. Lordy, mah feet feel like they're gonna fall off any minute now."

Mercy laughed, shrugging her narrow shoulders. "It's good exercise. 'Sides, y' needed t' learn de layout o' de city, non?"

"Yeah," Rogue agreed. "Ah guess Ah did."

"I t'ink dat I'm gon' go down t' de pool an' take a swim," Mercy told her, tossing her blond hair over her shoulder. "You wan' come wit'?"

"Nah," Rogue replied, shaking her head. "Ah'm kinda tired. Ah reckon Ah'm gonna jus' go lay down an' get some sleep fo' a bit b'fore dinner."

"Bon idée," Mercy said with a sympathetic smile. "We did walk a long ways t'day. I may have t' do dat after I take dat swim."

"That an' take a shower," Rogue said dryly, wrinkling up her nose.

Mercy swatted her playfully, and Rogue couldn't help grinning at the contact of the older girl's bare hand against her bare arm. Magneto's bracelet had given her more than just the gift of touch- it had given her the gift of a real life.

And that was something Rogue would never take for granted.

Me, neither, Carol muttered. No offense, but these aren't exactly accommodations for three, you know? We cram anyone else in here and I'm going to have to complain to the management.

Rogue stifled a laugh. So Ah'm runnin' a hotel now, am Ah?

Looks like it, Carol replied with a mental shrug. Oooh, can I get room service?

This time Rogue did laugh, and Mercy raised her eyebrow curiously. "Sorry," Rogue said with a rueful smile. "Carol an' Ah were jus' debatin' on whether or not t' start chargin' accommodation fees in mah head."

Mercy rolled her eyes. "Sometimes you scare me, you know dat?"

"Jus' sometimes?" Rogue asked, her eyes sparkling.

Mercy pretended to scrutinize her thoughtfully. "Well, now dat you mention it..."

"Ya a riot, Mercy," Rogue said dryly. "A real riot."

"Merci beaucoup, I try," Mercy replied in kind. She tossed her a wink as she started down the hallway towards the stairs. "See you later den, Rogue."

"Later, Mercy," Rogue called, and opened the door to her bedroom, shaking her head in amusement.

I like her, Carol informed her conversationally. She's a bit on the crazy side at times, but I like her.

Yeah, Rogue agreed with a smile as she closed the door behind her. So do Ah. She yawned, and stretched her arms over her head. Ah'm beat.

It's been a long day, Carol said. Hell, even I'm tired, and I'm not real.

Ya a real pain in the ass, though, Rogue retorted with a grin.

You wouldn't say that if you ever saw yourself in the mornings, Carol snickered. Geez. I pity Remy if he ever runs out of coffee.

Rogue snorted and began to take off her jacket. The sleeve caught on the clasp of her watch, so she gave it a sharp tug, which caused her watch to unhook and fall to the floor with a clatter. Sighing, Rogue tossed her jacket onto the back of the chair in the corner before focusing her attention on the fallen watch.

As she reached over to pick it up, something caught her eye on the bed. Momentarily forgetting the watch on the floor, she moved across the room and stopped at her bed, a smile breaking out across her lips when she saw what was laying on her pillow.

A single, long-stemmed rose.

And, attached to it, a handwritten note in French. Rogue's eyes misted slightly, remembering the morning she had woken up at Magneto's base to find a flower with a similar message attached to it waiting in her room.

"Ah, Remy," she murmured, her heart swelling with love for the man as she lifted the rose to read the note. "Sorry it's not a tiger lily like b'fore," she read aloud, translating as she went. "But Ah imagine a rose will do jus' fine. Look in yo' closet an' ya'll find a dress box. Wear it an' meet me down in the courtyard fo' dinner, jus' the two o' us."

Man, Carol commented. He's really a romantic, isn't he?

Yeah, Rogue agreed with a content sigh. He is.

Carol chuckled. Guess sleep is out of the question now, huh? You're going to want to get all cleaned up and stuff before you meet him.

Right, Rogue confirmed, but she didn't mind. Remy had obviously put a lot of thought into this evening, and she always enjoyed the time they spent together. She tugged her hair down out of the ponytail that had held it away from her face and started towards the bathroom that connected to the back of her room.

Wait, Carol cried. Aren't you even going to look at the dress first?

Rogue sighed. Ah should have known ya would say that, she muttered, but she turned around and made her way to the closet. Sure enough, she found a large silver dress box sitting on the top shelf. Pulling it down, she lowered herself onto her knees and lifted the lid off.

When she'd pulled back the tissue paper, she couldn't help gasping softly.

Inside was a beautiful black dress with spaghetti straps and a slit along the right side. Rising to her feet and holding the dress up against her in front of the closet mirror, Rogue was pleased to find that it came down to her ankles, and the slit only ran up to her knee.

Wow, Carol whistled. The man has taste.

Ah'll say, Rogue agreed, folding the dress neatly back in the box, and dropping the box on the bed as she headed once more for the bathroom. An' knowing Remy, it's exactly mah size.

After a long shower, Rogue stepped back into the bedroom, the white bathrobe Remy had stolen for her from one of the hotels they'd stayed at en route to New Orleans wrapped tightly around her. She toweled off her hair as she crossed the room, pausing briefly to finally retrieve the watch she had dropped earlier, before hurriedly getting herself ready for dinner.

Thirty minutes later, Rogue slipped out into the hallway, wearing the dress Remy had gotten for her, which, as she had predicted, fit her perfectly. She'd decided to wear her hair down, and it was now cascading loosely over her shoulders. She looked up at the sound of footsteps approaching, and smiled at Henri and Mercy, who were making their way towards her.

"Mon Dieu," Henri said dramatically. "Who is dis femme magnifique?"

Despite herself, Rogue blushed.

"Wow, you look très gentil," Mercy told her with a grin. "Got a hot date, hahn?"

"Remy wants t' have dinner jus' the two o' us," Rogue explained ruefully.

Henri smirked. "Watch out fo' dat one, chere, he's a suave one."

"So Ah've noticed," Rogue replied, favoring him with a dazzling smile. "It must run in the family."

"I t'ink dat yo' right 'bout dat," Henri replied with a sly grin. "Don' you agree, Mercy?"

His wife smacked him playfully in the chest. "I agree dat we gon' be late fo' dinner if we don' hurry." She flashed Rogue a broad smile. "Have fun. I wan' t' hear all about it in de mornin', oui?"

"Oui," Rogue promised, and with a final smile they parted ways, Henri and Mercy continuing down towards the main staircase, and Rogue making her way towards the back stairs that led into the kitchen.

Tante Mattie glanced up from the oven and smiled at her as she opened the door to the courtyard. "He's waitin' on you," she told her with a wink.

"Thanks," Rogue replied before slipping outside quietly. She began walking across the stone floor, her sandals clacking softly.

"Dat you, chere?" Remy's rich voice called from ahead, and it sent a warm tingle through Rogue's body.

"Yeah, sugah," she called in reply. "It's me."

"I was beginnin' t' worry dat maybe you'd gone an' fallen asleep, you were takin' so..." Remy's voice trailed off as she stepped around the hedge and into his view. Rogue couldn't help smiling at the speechless look on his face as he gazed at her.

"Ah take it ya like it?" she asked softly, gesturing to the dress she wore.

"Oui," Remy said, shaking himself out of his reverie and flashing her a charming grin as he rose to pull out her chair for her. "Dat I do. It looked good on de rack, but it looks très magnifique on you, chere."

Rogue blushed as she sat down. "Merci, M'seui."

Remy settled back down in the seat across from her and smiled. Rogue was reaching for her glass when she saw that smile and paused. She knew that look, that chesire cat smile. It meant that he knew something she didn't.

"What?" she asked, giving him a curious glance. "What is it?"

Remy leaned forward eagerly, his red on black eyes dancing in excitement. "Theo an' I had a talk wit' Julien t'day," he announced.

Rogue blinked at the mention of Bella's older brother. "An'?" she asked, her chest tight with hope. "What did he say?"

"He's game," Remy replied with a lopsided grin.

It felt as if someone had lifted a bit of the burden off of her shoulders in that moment. The weight was still there, but it wasn't as heavy as it had been before. "Really?" she asked, and it came out a whisper.

Remy nodded. "Oui. The first step o' de plan is already in motion. B'fore you know it, Marius will be beggin' mon pere t' let anyone but me marry Bella."

Rogue chuckled. "That should be a sight t' see." She raised an eyebrow worriedly. "Does yo' father know 'bout this plan o' yo's?"

"Oui, he does," Remy assured her. "He t'inks it's crazy, but he knows."

"It is crazy, swamp rat," Rogue drawled. "But I hope it works."

"It will," Remy said confidently. "Trust me, p'tite."

"Always, sugah," she replied with a tender smile.

Remy leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of him, a thoughtful look on his face. Rogue watched him out of the corner of her eye as she took a sip of her drink, but he remained silent. He didn't speak for a while, not even whenTante Mattie appeared with their dinner in hand.

"Rogue?"

Rogue looked up, her fork posed to begin eating. "Yeah?" she asked, noting the hesitant expression on his handsome features. He looked a little nervous, which surprised her. It wasn't that she'd never seen him nervous, it was just that it had been so long since she'd seen him nervous with her.

Remy was fidgeting, another thing that surprised her. It also told her that this was something serious. She placed her fork back on the plate in front of her and reached over to place a hand on his arm. "What is it?" she asked softly.

Remy stared down at her hand, his other hand coming up to trace his fingers across her knuckles as if he was still fascinated that he could touch her. Rogue knew, from his memories and from what he'd told her, that part of him was.

"When dis is all over," he said quietly, his eyes watching as his fingers drew circles on the back of her hand. "When we get everyt'ing sorted out wit' Bella an' Theo an' de betrothal is annulled..."

"Yes?" Rogue prompted softly, her eyes searching his face for some clue of what he was trying to say. For some reason her heart was beating faster than usual, and, if she wasn't mistaken, louder as well.

"Someday, when we don' have t' worry 'bout none o' dis," Remy said slowly, finally lifting his gaze to meet hers, and she found herself drowning in the swirl of emotions in his eyes. "I t'ink dat I might like t' marry you."

Her breath left her and Rogue would have blinked if she could have torn her eyes from his. For a moment her heart seemed to stop, and then it was beating again, so strong that she thought it might break her chest. Her eyes shimmered with tears as she squeezed his hand tightly in hers, his skin warm and soft against hers. "Ah'd like that, too," she said softly.

Remy's shoulders sagged in relief and Rogue couldn't help smiling at the ridiculous notion that he had been worried she might react negatively. "Dat makes me happy, chere," he said huskily, raising her hand to his lips and kissing it. "More den I can say."

"Is that why breakin' off this engagement t' Bella means so much t' ya?" Rogue asked. "Because ya want t' be free t' marry me instead?"

Remy nodded. "Oui. Dat's what it's been 'bout de whole time."

Rogue swallowed hard, love for the man before her swelling within her so strongly she was almost drowning in it. "Marie," she whispered, before she was even aware she was going to say anything.

"What?" Remy asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

Rogue smiled faintly. "Marie," she repeated softly. "Mah real name. It's Marie."

Remy stared at her in disbelief for a moment, and she could see how surprised he was that she had willingly confessed that secret, the secret that she had never told anyone else. After a moment, though, he shook it off and flashed her a loving smile. "Dat's a beautiful name."

"Thanks," Rogue said, blushing. She wondered if he realized the significance of her telling him that name, a name she had not even told Kitty or any of the other the X-men.

Glancing up into his eyes, she knew that he did.



Translations:
Bon idée- good idea
femme magnifique- gorgeous woman
très gentil- very nice
très magnifique- very splendid