Chapter 6
Let's Dance
(~*~Translated from French ~*~)
(Present day, Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Cat Club)
The club was old and full of history. The old wood it was made from was worn and creaky from years of dancing and vibration of music. The balcony/loft above the doorway looked unsafe and rickety under the weight of the band showering the lively crowd with a wild harmonious union of traditional Zydeco dancing music, and thundering rock. The crowd responded by dancing song after song and begging for more as they used the music as an excuse to grind and move with their lovers, be they prospective, temporary, or eternally dedicated. They all laughed and drank, picked fights, flirted and made loud offensive jokes. The club was a long and somewhat narrow space, the bar was long and started just beyond the dance floor and lined the wall, stopping just before the private VIP areas. The other side of the bar was all seating, which was nearly half-empty whenever the band played as the majority of guests flocked to the dance floor.
Logan walked closely behind Bobby and Scott, he surveyed the club and weighted the pros and cons of bar, dance floor, and seating areas. The crowded bar would make cover easy, they could possibly get what they came for and leave without anyone knowing. However, the crowd was also a concern: the more people there were, the better chance for someone to get hurt.
"Rowdy place." Scott thought as he surveyed the active bar area, as well as the dark corners that he was sure illegal and dangerous activity was taking place and that's where they needed to keep watch. This type of atmosphere didn't appeal to Scott at all, he couldn't understand how anyone could find this fun. It was too chaotic, loud and frankly, obnoxious. Gambit and Rogue however couldn't be more disappointed that they were working, they remained relatively successful at staying focused on the task at hand but the music and dance floor beckoned.
"Keep your head in the game kid." Logan warned. He noticed Rogue's glistening eyes and intrigued smile as she watched the exuberant dancing and lively music. Logan could tell that she very much wanted to be a part of it and though she was dressed for the part she was on assignment and could not deviate.
"Ah know." Rogue said knowingly, it mildly offended her that Logan would talk to her like she was a little kid still, though it didn't happen often anymore, she did notice it tended to happen more when she was around Remy and the closer he was the more Logan would exercise his parental right; all good fathers keep a close watch. The best way to show Logan that she wasn't a kid anymore would be to just keep focused and stay on task.
" I'm also talking ta you." Logan said addressing Bobby who was eyeing anything in a low cut top. Logan felt that bringing Bobby on this trip was a bad move, this type of atmosphere was far too tempting for a curious, hormonal guy like Bobby. And just as Logan came to this conclusion, Bobby proved his point.
" I am, I am I- huh..." Bobby's attention was hijacked by a brunette in a ridiculously short skirt in mid response; he was in danger of coming down with a case of whiplash when the bartender immediately stole his attention with the help of a translucent shirt. He was temporarily brought back to reality by Logan pushing him forward. The older local crowd that had come out to watch the dancing and celebration smirked at the young man. They remembered a time when they sneaked into this club when they were his age, but they would have never brought their fathers with them.
"Gambit, you see your guy anywhere?" Scott asked in the same rigid tone he always used when commanding the field, something about it got under Remy's skin; thankfully he was too distracted to be bothered by it. Gambit didn't respond, as he was discreetly scanning the crowd. The first place he would look would be the VIP sections of the seating areas. Surely Noly would take advantage of the money he was making to show off to the spring break population, women especially. Noly's downfall was certainly an overactive libido, he loved women and, in turn, was reckless around them; Remy planned to work that to his advantage.
"What's this guy look like?" Rogue asked, as she scanned the crowd as well. She was fully aware that Remy held her hand on the way in, she had attempted to let go but it felt as though Remy wouldn't let her. She thought for a moment that he was being remorseful for avoiding her, but she was wrong. Remy held on to her hand for two reasons: one, the reason he would admit to, was for a cover. He planned to use Rogue as a distraction, a man walking into a bar solo was a tell-tale sign of a man on a mission; that sort of attention he didn't want. However, a man with a date, the mission is clear: to party with his lady, no mystery in that. Two, the reason he wouldn't admit to, was comfort. In the last eight hours he was hit with nearly 15 years worth of fear, anxiety and personal trauma. He damned his brother for reminding him how much he actually cared for the guy, now the stakes were higher and Rogue felt like home, safe, comforting and she gave him a feeling of support he hadn't felt since he had Belle in his life. Usually he could handle his own wounds, but this was just too much in such a short amount of time, and she was so willing to be at his side; he couldn't turn that away, not when he needed it so badly.
"Brace yo'self Cher, and don' react ta me." Remy cautioned her.
"Okay, why?" To her horror, confusion, and secret delight, Remy smiled at her menacingly and stepped behind her, he then slid his hands around her waist and pressed his hands to her waist and abdomen. He continued to smile as he pressed his chest firmly to her back. He lowered his head to speak closely in her ear. Remy's warm whisper caused Rogue to immediately blush, but she was trying not to react as he instructed her.
" Don' react, jus' smile." Remy repeated. Remy had done this before with many different women, some of them knew, some of them didn't, but it worked every time. He was impressed, Rogue only wavered slightly but she took direction very well.
"Remy what do you think yer doin'?" Rogue asked as calmly as she could. She was a women divided, half of her wanted to shove him away and punch him in the neck, the other half wanted to pull him close and procure a private room. The conflicting emotion made her angry; she achieved a marvelous poker face as she asked her pressing question.
"Keep smiling..." Remy said as he motioned over to the corner of the VIP portion of the bar. "Go along wit' dis, wit' you Ah got a reason ta hide mah face, n' you can be close enough ta tell me what's goin' on. If Ah'm close ta you den Ah got a reason ta not look up." Despite the obvious self-gratification, he was right. She could clearly see for him without Remy being recognized and she could easily tell him everything she saw. His nearness served a purpose too, he could easily use his body to steer her where ever he wanted to go and a beautiful girl like Rogue would be noticed before he would. Remy never used a partner when he ran any sort of game, he was a solo act when it came to cons and thieving. He had used women as cover before, having a date was a great excuse for all sorts of things when you ran a score. Dates served as a good distraction or as a person to blame while he made his get away. He wasn't all too proud of that, but he couldn't deny how well it worked.
" Ah hope ya realize Ah'm aching ta throw you against that wall..." Rogue threatened him and she worked very hard not to stammer as a rush of delicious excitement ran over her due to his hand slithering over the curves of her hips and across her abdomen.
"Ah stopped listening after 'aching'." Remy practically purred in her ear, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to raise in a plague of goosebumps. Remy was getting a little too into this role than he intended, but it was a knee-jerk reaction whenever he pulled a job; whenever you attempted a score you had to commit to the role. Almost like a method actor, the more you believed yourself and the more committed you were to the ruse, the more successful you would be at hooking your target. Remy never thought to think about the consequences of employing Rogue as part of his plan, which was his first mistake of the night.
"Death, Cajun. Death as soon as we get home." Rogue smiled sweetly as she threaten his life. Behind the threatening joke was hurt, hurt that this was out of necessity and anger that it felt so good.
"Ah'll make it up ta you, just keep on smilin' n' look ta yo'left. Do you see him? Tall, dark guy in white, n' wit' de girls all over him?" Remy asked. He convinced himself he was playing a role as he continued to menacingly smile and look as though he were flirting with his "date". It was plain to see that the smile on his face was genuine, but Rogue wouldn't allow herself to think it was anything but a facade. Remy found himself in the strangest situation: his body was reacting without him even needing to think about it, he felt as though he was running mechanically as if it was any other job, but there was no way he could deny reveling in the scent of her hair and warmth of her skin through the thin layers of fabric. He knew there was tension and danger of what laid ahead, but after he felt Rogue's body shudder when he traced his hand over her hip, he was quick to forget it. It was the slightest of feelings, but that slight shuddering movement was enough to excite him, he quickly shook his head from side to side to get his head back to the task at hand. If the lives of his family hadn't been on the line, he would have been having the time of his life. Running a theft with Rogue, even if it was a simple pick pocket job, was so much fun; high stakes with this incredible girl was as exciting as breaking into a high-security museum to steal a priceless artifact. He hadn't felt this excited since he had been "commissioned" to break into The Acropolis Museum, in Athens, Greece to retrieve an ancient red-figure lekanis lid. He was barely 17, and had performed flawlessly; it had been his first international job after he left New Orleans and he had been paid more money than he knew what to do with. This moment with Rogue was better.
"Y-Yeah... Ah, Ah see him." Rogue was struggling as well, but was able to look through the crowd well enough to locate their target.
Noly Elmsworth was quite the obnoxious sight. A ladies man in his own right, women loved him and it wasn't difficult to see why. He was a good looking man shaved bald, a firm body and very muscular, his skin was the color of flawless mahogany. He was originally from the Caribbean and dressed as such, with his light white cotton shirt left open because of the warm climate and cleanly shaven for the exception of the well trimmed goatee, certainly the result of an expensive professional shave. He was a very tall man, nearly six foot five and normally draped with young women. And though, he himself was probably about 40, women half his age flocked to him. It was something Remy remembered about Noly, even when he was living on the streets, and had hated him even then. Remy never had problems with women or finding company, but Noly was shameless, which was saying a lot because Remy wasn't exactly a prince charming, but Noly treated women like garbage. It would have been impressive if it didn't come off as sleazy, and just as Remy had left him, he was surrounded by beautiful naive twenty-year-olds; all of them pining for his attention and free drinks.
"Good, we got ta get his people away from him, an' if we can't get him alone, we gotta get him alone enough ta reach inta his pocket." Remy knew full-well that Logan was burning a hole in the back of his head, that was a delightful bonus, but he couldn't bring himself to pay any attention to him. Logan could plainly see he was having the time of his life, and that made him grind his teeth in anger. This was not a vacation for him, least of all Gambit! He found it despicable that the guy knew his father's life was in danger but he could still put it all aside to grope his teammate. Gambit had the most to lose here, but you would never know it with how he smiled and spoke. That would be his second mistake of the night.
"Scott, that's our guy." Rogue said. It wasn't just thieves and con artists that looked forward to spring break to squeeze money out of the young rich crowds flocking into the city, it was also Noly. He was nearly lust drunk as he indulged in the attention from the disposable girls that surrounded him. He wouldn't bother himself to know any of them by tomorrow. Noly had armed himself with four large bodyguards, three of them were taller then he was; they stood like pillars surrounding Noly and his temporary harem.
"Not exactly what I expected." Scott had clearly expected some sort of large greasy untrustworthy looking type and not that he would necessarily trust him. He was going to have to approach this differently, he was surrounded by four large men, their only task was to keep eyes on Noly. Scott was concerned with so much attention on their target, and if it wasn't the body guards they had to worry about, it was the group of women whom were all talking at him and urging him to dance. The women fell all over him as they smiled and threw back drinks. Also concerning was the four large men he had surrounding him were armed, and the club was packed. This was a new one for Scott he had never been in a situation where he had to track down a single target in order to steal from them without an entire club full of people noticing. He was out of his element, but it didn't stop him from making a plan. "Getting behind body guards shouldn't be hard. We should start there, Logan. Logan?" Scott asked again not realizing the anger build in his face.
"I heard ya." Logan could feel the bile in his throat as he watched Gambit drape himself over Rogue. He may have begun to understand exactly why he was doing what he was doing but Logan knew that this was more for his own entertainment. He knew Gambit was repressing himself ever since he moved into the school, and being the selfish type he was, he was always looking out for his own needs. He wasn't too far from dragging him outside by the neck and servicing a need of his own.
"Ideas?" Rogue asked, she was so involved with the task in front of them and she was finding it to be nearly impossible to be not overwhelmed by her own wants, that she couldn't bring herself to be concerned with Logan either.
" Bobby and me will be runnin' background on the big guys. Easy 'nuff, place with this much going on no one would be the wiser." Logan said through gritted teeth, he was still resisting the urge to pop his claws. He wouldn't allow himself to think about how satisfying it would be to take his razor sharp adamantium claws and sink them into Gambit's back, just enough to reopen his gunshot wounds; he liked the guy a whole lot better when he was in a coma.
" Sounds good. Where is Bobby?" Scott asked looking around. Bobby had become distracted yet again and was clearly accepting drinks off of the bar as he was encouraged by a group of guys that thought it was hysterically funny that an under age kid got into the bar. They were laughing as they allowed him to take their drinks, and they continued to laugh as Logan took the drink out of his hand and slammed it on the bar. He quickly grabbed Bobby and pulled him away from the group before he could show anyone his "froze daiquiri" trick.
"Bobby what are you doing! Yer on a job!" Logan angrily demanded. He knew that bringing Bobby was a mistake, but it was too late Bobby had taken more shots than a bull's eye and was hopelessly drunk. Logan assessed his team, and as he eyed Rogue once again he couldn't help but think that bringing Rogue was a mistake too.
"Were you sipping a martini?" Scott asked in mixture of disappointment and disbelief, to which Bobby clumsily turned his head toward Scott and smiled.
"You don't sip a martini! You chug it like it's gonna leave you!" Bobby slurred, the group of students that had been giving him drinks cheered on the little alcoholic. They all wondered why the kid brought his dad to spring break.
"Here!" Logan passed over Bobby to Scott. "I can deal with the watch dogs on my own, you babysit!" Logan then practically stomped away in a low growl. He couldn't watch Gambit and Rogue anymore, he knew there was nothing he could really do; as far as Logan could see Gambit had just found a new way to use her. Gambit would have to deal with the consequences of that after they got out of this. Scott wouldn't dare protest being handed Bobby, no matter how annoyed he was with one of their youngest members.
" Oops." Bobby burped.
"Great." Scott thought, frustrated. He looked to Rogue and Gambit, whom barely seemed to notice the comedy going on behind them. Only now was Scott noticing what Logan had: Gambit didn't look like a man all too concerned about his life-threatening situation, instead he had hung himself, quite intimately, all over his friend. "Logan is handling the body guards." Scott informed them both, as he allowed Bobby to lean against him. Scott was eyeing them disapprovingly, he had come to the same conclusion that Logan had. He had caught that Gambit was trying to hide his face with Rogue, but he found it infuriating that he had found a new way to use Rogue, even if it was for a good reason. He was finding himself agreeing with Kurt more and more. He always seemed to find a way to use her and either she realized it and allowed it to happen or she did not realize it because Gambit wanted it that way. Scott was firmly establishing a vendetta against their newest member. When Gambit had first come to the school, Kurt had made it no secret what he had thought of him being there. The night he had rolled into the garage with Rogue, Kurt had attacked him, he was convinced that Gambit would never change, he was manipulative and a selfish opportunist. Which wasn't an unfair assessment, being manipulative was apart of his abilities as a mutant, not even he would deny that, but when he involved Rogue, that's when Scott drew the line. And after everything Scott had seen of Gambit today left him thinking about talking with Logan and the Professor to reassess Gambit's enrollment at the school.
"Dat solves one problem, now we gotta figure a way ta get close 'nough ta make de grab." Gambit said, as he just began to notice his tipsy young teammate smiling thoughtfully up at him. In a way Remy was proud of him.
"Where else?" Rogue pointed out as she motioned to Noly and one of his scantily clad female companions finally convinced him to get on the dance floor. It seemed that the only time the guards did not follow him was when he was on the dance floor. Noly would pay his body guards to monitor him while he was using the bathroom, that was a given, but it goes to show no matter how secure someone would like to be they don't want to be interrupted when they're trying to get laid.
"Hmm, care ta dance, Cher?" Remy said eyeing Noly, he immediately saw the opportunity.
"N' accomplish what?" Rogue said, relatively skeptical. And though she wasn't opposed to the idea, she did kind of want to know what they would be accomplishing other than just having a good time.
"You could grab it offa' him. Jus' let me lead." Remy suggested as he made sure that his hair fell around his face, he also kept his head down and was dangerously cheek to cheek with Rogue. He felt as though it was worth it, not only because he enjoyed getting as close as he could to Rogue but he couldn't risk being recognized before they could pull the plans off of Noly and his eyes were a dead giveaway.
"How ya figure?" Rogue said, trying to keep up a flirty smile, as she tried not to let Remy's closeness concern her. The last thing they needed was Remy passing out in the middle of not being noticed.
"Little touch help you move like me, we switch partners, get in ta his pocket get what we need, then we switch back. Get outta here in time fo'dinner." Gambit made it sound as though it could be wrapped up so easily and hypothetically it could. It was also an added bonus that he got the chance to reveled in the idea of touching Rogue's skin again. Remy wasn't sure what she would acquire this time in addition to his ability, but this was their only shot to grab the plans.
" Why don't you just dance with the guy, Rogue? Just get the information we need straight from the source." Scott was quick to suggest. Gambit immediately shot him a look. Scott asked even more skeptical than Rogue was, it made enough sense to possibly work, however he knew that something was going on between the two. Scott struggled to maintain what Jean had originally told him about looking after his teammates and not just treat them like soldiers. It had been the main focal point in their recent arguments. Rogue touching Gambit meant some sort of consequences that he didn't quite understand and Scott felt that Gambit had different motivations than just getting the plans off of Noly.
"You don' know de man like Ah do. Noly been de cause o'a whole lotta ugly n' you don' want dat in yo'head, Cher." The idea of Rogue taking the plans off of Noly was a business matter; Remy gave that no mind, but the idea of an intentional skin to skin touch between Rogue and a guy like Noly Elmsworth upset him for reasons he didn't quite understand. It wasn't only selfish reasons that he didn't want Rogue touching a man like Noly, ever since the incident in Genosha the changes in Rogue were obvious to Gambit. Since their first encounter in New Orleans, he decided he would never be done looking after her, and he did not want a man like Noly in Rogue's head.
"Might not be a good idea, Scott. If this guy goes down on the dance floor, Ah might not get out without a fight. He's got people everywhere." Rogue reasoned. For tactical reasons, that made the most sense to her, and she believed Gambit knew what he was talking about; Noly was definitely was not the type of person she wanted in her head. And to a lesser extent, she couldn't say that she wasn't excited to dance with Remy. The band began set up for the next song, the crowd eagerly waited on the dance floor for the music to begin.
"You think you're up for that, Rogue? We can find a better way to get what we need without you doing that." Scott asked firmly, he noticed Gambit giving him a look but he didn't care to acknowledge it. Scott was openly challenging Gambit; by showing over-concern for Rogue and by asking her if she was sure she wanted to touch him was his way of telling her not to. This was all quite obvious to Gambit, and this silent power struggle between the two of them had just started, but he was already tired of it. Gambit wasn't someone Scott would ever associate himself with and after what he had seen of Gambit in the last 12 hours, he wasn't surprised and could do without him. Scott cared for Rogue as well, she was his friend and they had saved each other's lives dozens of times before she had ever met Gambit. Scott thought about it and came to the judgemental conclusion that he may not have been in-lust with Rogue the way Gambit was, but he was trying to look out for her actual well being.
" Its okay, let's get this over with." Rogue said, she had thought for a moment and ultimately agreed. This was awkward, seeing as Remy had intentionally avoided her for weeks and she was not prepared to be so close to him so soon, even though her body was telling her otherwise. She knew that Remy fully understood the risks, he always did, and though the intimacy of an intentional touch to Rogue was as personal as a deep kiss and given her and Remy's relationship, it would have been the equivalent to something quite serious. Despite the risks, she couldn't help but feel this gave them a very good chance of walking away from this without incident and was willing to give it a chance. "Make this real quick, can't risk knockin' ya out." Rogue turned around to look at Remy and attempted to steady her shaking hands.
"You take de lead on dat, Cher." Remy said sweetly, she knew her power better than he did, so he allowed her to approach him. Gambit rose an eye brow at Scott over Rogue's shoulder, a cocky defiant grin on his face, Scott completely understood this we a slam at him. He was openly throwing it in Scott's face that he was getting what he wanted. Scott pressed his lips together in uptight anger as he watched his friend stand on her tiptoes and gently caressed his cheek with hers. She knew that the stubble on his face would lessen the skin contact between them, allowing just enough contact for what was required. As before Remy couldn't help but indulge in the incredibility soft touch of her skin, it was as though he were being brushed up against by silk, the touch immediately washed away his anxiety and fear. He could feel his addictive personality taking control, if he wasn't careful he would surely become obsessive. Remy slightly groaned, he felt like he had just stuck his finger in a light socket and everything when black. It was very similar to someone flicking off the lights in a pitch black room and quickly turning them back on again. Remy opened his eyes to Rogue holding him up, he had blacked out on his feet but it was so brief no one seemed to notice. Mercifully, the touch wasn't long enough to attain his eye color; Remy hated that.
" Vomment ca vas?" Rogue asked. Remy's vision was blurred, the room spun a bit; he placed his full weight on Rogue's shoulders. They looked as though they were hugging, and anyone that noticed them would think that perhaps he may have been a little drunk, but luckily several couples were doing the same thing, including Scott and Bobby.
" Yeah...Ah'm fine... All-Always...always worth it, Cher." Remy replied smiling, and he forced himself back into a sharp state of mind. Rogue had now attained Remy's ability to move, just like the first time they kissed, really kissed, Rogue now felt more in control of her movements. Precision and accuracy were simple for her, and just as before, she was understanding more French, as the locals around her spoke she was picking up on more of what was being said. The contact was short, but not enough to escape a nagging craving suddenly tugged at her stomach.
" Are you cravin' frog-legs n' pralines?" Rogue asked, a little grin pulled at the corners of her mouth.
" Picked dat up, eh?" Remy grinned, as he steadied himself against her.
" How can you think about food at a time like dis-this." Rogue attempted to maintain her own accent and ignore the vague soft images of passion that she had pulled from Remy's mind; she wouldn't say anything about that, even though the images did involved her. she felt it was unfair for her to judge him on what he was thinking in his own mind, even if it was something they were mutually thinking about. And now was the worst possible time to become distracted.
" That all you got? Ain't jus' food Ah'm thinkin' 'bout." Remy smiled, he was coming to find that he did have some control over what Rogue absorbed and he made sure to leave her with some sort parting gift; even if it was an ill-timed arousing one.
" You did that on purpose didn't you?! Were working, an' Ah ain't got a problem droppin' you, Neg." Rogue kept her fake smile firmly on her face, despite her raising anger and embarrassment. She was serious, part of her would have willing dropped him and his stupid grin to the floor if she had the option to. She was surprised when she saw Remy's smile drop, and just as quickly it picked back up. It was doubtful Rogue even realized what she called him.
"Kill me later. Ready?" Remy was always disturbed when Rogue called him 'Neg'. Belle did that, she was the only one that called him that. Rogue picking up on that always unnerved and astonished him.
" You tell me, you's de one dat's-that's distracted." Rogue said as bitterly as her hypocritical-self would allow her to. The smiling, the jokes and the flirtation were a defense mechanism that was rooted in feelings he wasn't ready to deal with. He would deny that it would have anything to do with anything deeper; he would gladly chalk it up to having to do with being sexual repression.
" Can you blame me? Je suis votre date ce soir." Remy smiled. He was thankful that he was recovering relatively quick, as soon as the band was ready to play, he needed to be ready to work.
" Cute, but dis ain't a real date, Cher-Remy." Rogue was already tired of Remy's vocabulary in her mouth. "So what do ya got in mind here?"
" We switch partners once we hit de bridge, come back ta me once it ends." Remy said as he worked to fight off the last bit of light-headedness, it was as though someone immediately zapped the energy from him, his knees buckled a bit and thankfully Rogue was there to steady him. He shook his head trying to stave off the last bit of stubborn dizziness. After a moment he was himself again, he then stood in front of her and smiled at her reassuring her he was fine. Her grin was playing-flirtatious, but her eyes were concerned.
"What if Ah can't get away?" Rogue allowed Remy's hand to slide across her waist once again, and with the other he placed his gloved hand on her face and gently tipped her chin up to look at him.
"No worries, Cher. Ya t'ink a man like Noly can keep you from me? Ah get you back. Always." Remy's sultry voice reassured her. The blush in her cheeks made Scott roll his eyes, he couldn't believe she was buying into this. He was sure Gambit would exercise his ability to work the ambiguity of the situation, and say he was just "working his cover", but Scott could clearly see that this meant far more to Rogue. It made Scott dislike Gambit all the more. It wasn't terribly unusual to see a friend making a bad decision that they couldn't see for themselves, but Scott would not stand by and let it happen.
" Huh, anythin' else Ah should do?" Rogue asked attempting to sound sarcastic and non-nonchalant, she was alone partially successful. She couldn't deny her rapid heart beat when he smiled at her that way, she convinced herself that it was just a role he was playing, and she hated herself for being so weak.
"Yeah, ya gotta feel me up." Remy said seriously. Scott's eye's immediately narrowed, if his vision wasn't usually tinted red, in would most definitely be now.
"Beg pardon?" Rogue asked she could feel her feel her face drop.
"What?" Scott demanded, in a low shocked tone. He almost didn't believe what he just heard. If he wasn't so sure that Bobby would drop to the ground if he let him go, there was a good chance he wouldn't be able to resist jacking Gambit in the face for suggesting such a thing.
"Ooo hoo.." Bobby commented like a drunken monkey.
"N' make it obvious." Remy added. He was becoming increasingly agitated by these 'big brothers' hovering over Rogue, but that was something to address later. There was a important reason why he would make such an indecent proposal.
"Why the hell would Ah?!" Rogue asked, her flirtatious smile began to weaver, she would have never expected him to make such a request.
"Yeah, why would she?!" Scott angrily demanded, as he spoke over Gambit's shoulder. Scott knew he had to keep up the appearance of a good time, but Gambit's cocky grin and smug brow pushed a rage educing button. It was the same button that Gambit had pushed within Logan and Kurt as well.
"Yeah! Why?" Bobby said, parroting Scott, not at all understanding what was going on, or what he was saying. Again he went completely ignored. Gambit resisted the urge to throw his elbow back and right into Scott's mouth, he was tense enough without Scott's protests. Instead, he looked over his shoulder at Scott and in a sarcastic overly-friendly tone he explained.
" Why you t'ink? Noly won't t'ink it's so strange when she's gotta do it ta him ta fin' what we lookin' fo'." This was not the time to be questioning him, and Scott's implication of him just trying to take advantage of Rogue would earn him that elbow to the mouth once they got home.
"I don't like what you're doing, Gambit-" Scott firmly warned him, and Gambit just as firmly responded.
"Will you get off mah'ass-" Gambit very nearly broke character, thankfully Rogue intervened before it could go much further.
"Are you two really starting a fight? Here? Right now? ~*~ Relax Remy please, for me?~*~ Its fine Scott, Ah'm okay wit' it." Rogue sweetly smiled as she put both her teammate in their place. Scott's jaw dropped that she would agree to such a thing, he immediately blamed Gambit.
"What? Rogue!" Scott protested. To Scott, Rogue seemed to be starting a steady decline. In his eyes, Gambit was a horrible influence and he had begun dragging her down. Judgmentally, Scott could see this was becoming a serious issue.
"Fight about it later if, y'all have ta, but not now!" Rogue demanded as she pretended to laugh. Rogue then gave Remy a slightly tighter embrace to keep him in check. She was able to control the situation well, Scott grimly stepped away.
"Whatever you say, Cher." Remy said, the feeling of Rogue pressing up against him made him putty in her hands. She could have asked him for anything at that point and he would have willingly given her anything. Scott felt him saying that was to give Rogue a false sense of power. It was condescending; Scott made up his mind that everything Gambit would say from this point on would be in serious doubt.
"Okay." Rogue said with fake confidence, "How do Ah do dis? This. How do Ah do this?" Rogue was sure Remy could feel her hands tremble like a dry leaf in the wind. This was a sadly foreign concept for her, just like before when he had ambushed her while she went swimming in the creek back at the school. She didn't exactly know where to begin, however Remy was a very willing teacher.
" You alright, Cher. You tell me ta relax, non? You relax, n' jus' do what Ah do." Remy's warm smile eased her a bit, but she still felt like her heart would beat out of her chest. Cautious, almost frightened, Rogue placed her hands on his sides and she froze, completely clueless as to what to do next. "You gonna have ta do better den dat. Get in m'shirt, grab m'ass whatever ya gotta do ta sell it." Remy laughed, his reaction was genuine and he was completely charmed by her ignorance. Again, having Rogue in the middle of New Orleans, among the music, drinks, laughter, and celebration combated the fear he thought would have been impossible to function through, but like some sort of magic Rogue made him happy.
"Fine! This is kinda a first time fer me, ya know?" Rogue said, suddenly very embarrassed. She very badly wanted to walk away, but she knew that was impossible. She looked up at Remy for some sort of help.
"Don' get angry! We havin' fun, 'member?" Remy reminded her, and again he placed a reassuring gloved hand on her face and smiled at her until her embarrassed rose blush was gone and she was relaxed. She didn't care that this was possibly a part of his ability to manipulate, it worked, and before another moment could passed she began to laugh.
"Okay, Okay!" She smiled, and watched his eyes warm as he look into hers. It was a nearly hypnotic experience, his glowing garnet eyes set in almond-shaped pools of pitch made Rogue's heart pound; she would never guess that Remy was just as fixated. Her lips alone made his mouth water, his self-restraint was waning as Rogue pressed herself against him, one of her hands massaged his right hip slowly, with the other she propped her wrist against his left shoulder giving him a generous and welcome view of her supple cleavage. She spoke closely to his lips, close enough to kiss but never quite, similar to how a singer would just nearly place her lips to a microphone as she sang some soft sweet ballad.
"Hmm…" Remy swooned, as he enthusiastically stroked the curve of her waist.
"What?" She smiled coyly, she was slowly became less afraid and began enjoying herself more. She also was getting the feeling that this was feeling less like a fictitious date and more like a real one.
"Yo' a quick learner." He said, her instincts were good, excellent in fact. She spoke so closely to his lips that he very nearly leaned in several times; once he came so close that she had to playfully back away.
"Havin' fun, right?" Rogue said as she slid her hands over his chest, causing him to take a deep breath in satisfaction. It was almost concerning how sensitive his skin became to her touch.
"There you go!" He said in joyful approval, he almost forgot what he was doing and quite nearly lost sight of Noly. All at once the band filled the room with the sweet jazzy introduction of an accordion and slide guitar, before a thumping rock beat seized command of swaying hips everywhere. Remy smiled in delight as he took to the dance floor with his partner and he began a movement, a rhythm, that came to him as natural as though he were walking. The Zydeco he had learned from the time he had learned to stand took over his body. Locals and old timers that sat at the bar to drink and watch the young people dance began to notice. Together they nearly cheered as they remembered the days when they would move as the young man did. They watched this, most certainly, a native son of New Orleans dancing in a way that perfectly reflected their culture's joy and rhythm. They proudly call to him on the dance floor in satisfaction.
"Coo-wee! Dat's hot! " A man called out, his elderly wife smiled in agreement. All the more enticing was his young companion whom was fluidly following his lead and at times was not displaying the same traditional movement as they young native man, but a slightly more up-to-date sway and sensual grind that was drawing attention for much different reasons. The music itself was a marriage of traditional Zydeco dancing and thundering, rhythmic rock, and just as the couple dancing was a union of the old and new ways, they joined together in a fantastic and undeniably sexual dancing foreplay. A foreplay that would not go unnoticed by a certain father-like chaperone.
"What are they doing!" Logan demanded. He was angry all over again, initially he was offended by the entitled way Gambit would run his hands over a girl he considered family. Thankfully there were men to take it out on, but now he hadn't turned his back for more than a few moments before the same entitled punk was now taking far more liberties than Logan ever though he had the balls-or brains to ever do. The worst part was that there was no one to take his anger out on this time.
"Gettin' dirty!" Bobby sloppily blurted, still off his ass. He was being ignored indefinitely, as Scott explained.
"They're um, working?" Scott for a moment thought that he should take responsibility, but seeing as Logan looked too angry too blink, he would keep his mouth shut and only speak when spoken to. Scott had looked up to the area where are the four bodyguards had been standing, they were no longer there and no one seemed to notice.
"On what?!" Logan asked in a low deep growl, his clenched fists shook as he, some how, kept his claws retracted, however the redder his neck got the more apparent the very tips of his pointed metal claws began to peak from under the skin, between his knuckles.
"Getting the information we need. Don't read too far into it they know what they're doing." Scott assured Logan, as he strategically placed Bobby between himself and Logan for his own safety.
"Him more n'her..." Logan furiously growled within his throat. The gritty, blues vocals pushed the crowd to release all animalistic desire, to sell their souls for passion, to move and fight. The crowd unanimously agreed to do as the music demanded, and sensually press against reach other as they danced. The Zydeco blood that ran through the bones and blood of every person joyfully fueled every movement of both southern born or visiting tourist. Remy and Rogue nearly lost themselves in the passion they had for the movement and the sexual tension between them, thank goodness for the sobering bridge of the song, the thumping beat stopped and only the sweet sound of the singer remained, this is what Remy had been waiting for.
"Ready?" Rogue asked breathlessly in his ear. Remy's eyes nearly rolled back in his head in pure arousal. Breaking away from this feeling was excruciating, it was similar to being interrupted mid-climax, it almost made him angry.
"Gotta be. His front pocket, be quick Cher. Now!" Remy whispered back, and in one very swift movement Remy twisted Rogue into Noly and he took the hand of Noly's girl. It was painful to release Rogue to Noly but they had a job to do. Rogue gracefully spun directly in front of Noly and placed both hands on his chest, she demanded his attention, and she was far too beautiful for him to reject her. The fact that she was younger helped too. In the same movement Remy had stolen away Noly's dance partner, he had pulled her far enough away from Noly so that she could not simply reach back for him. She was a artificial looking girl with too much makeup and expensive jewelry. Not terribly unattractive but far too common and superficial for Remy's liking. The girl may have protested at some point, but Gambit would have never noticed, he was far too busy making sure he transition had gone well. He was also keeping a close eye on Rogue's body language making sure that there was no issue. To say Remy was uncomfortable with Rogue around Noly was an understatement, and the smile Noly had on his face once he noticed Rogue lit a small hot fire in his throat.
"Well hello! You a little lost, girl?" Noly asked, a nearly serpent-like smile on his face, his long arms and large hands immediately began to become acquainted with Rogue's body. If she hadn't been doing his for Remy and his father's life she would have put her fist through his chest. Instead, she forced a flirtatious smile and continued to dance.
"What the hell is he thinking out there!?" Logan was seething with rage, he had watched this little play from afar and he hated everything about this, this was not the way they operated. They were far more tactical, this felt all wrong, this was not at all the way an X-man would handle a job. Gambit had willingly put Rogue in the hands of a predator, he would pay dearly for that. Gambit had his own style for acquiring things that he wanted, and it was clashing with the X-men's methods and it was sleazy and disrespectful. Logan watched and disgust as Noly had his hands all over Rogue, and just as upsetting, she had to act like she liked it. This was the third mistake Gambit would make tonight.
" Not at all! Saw ya move n' Ah need ta dance wit' you fer a minute." She smiled as she kept in time with the music, thankfully he saw nothing wrong with Rogue placing her hands all over his chest and sides. His ego reasoned that no woman could resist him. Girls were a disposable form of entertainment to Noly, a form of amusement that he was hopelessly addicted to, and he loved it when they fought over him. And the more aggressively females would fight over him, all the more excited it made him.
"Ah know Ah don' mind, but you sure yo'man okay wit' dat?" Noly asked, his ice blue eyes looked her over as a predator looked over a smaller vulnerable prey. As strong as his obsession was with girls and sex, he wasn't a fan of the drama that he would occasionally experience from a jealous boyfriend or husband. Rogue was a worthwhile risk, Noly was hopelessly intrigued by strong, up front women, his previous dancing partner had practically stepped on four other girls to be his sole dance partner, and he loved it; he hoped that a fight would break out in his honor. Who ever was this girl's date had to be an idiot; Noly arrogantly felt that any woman that experienced a night with him wouldn't want any other man. Rogue found his ego repulsive.
"We ain't exactly serious, n' from the sounds o' it you ain't either." Rogue said in a sassy tone as she traced her hands over Noly's long defined abdomen and over the front of his shirt. She could, quite clearly, feel the corners of a folded piece of paper in his front pocket, right where Remy said it would be. A big problem with this was that the more Rogue felt him, the more he touched her; his touch made her skin crawl.
"We serious 'bout havin' a good ol' time…hol' on yo' man lookin' a lil' familiar." Noly's smile dropped slightly in distraction. Rogue thought quickly and grabbed Noly's hips firmly, forcing his attention on her. She had a hunch he would like that, and she was right. The lust in his eyes was disturbing and the bridge of the song was almost over, and she wanted to get away from this guy as soon as possible.
"Ain't you s'pose ta be paying attention ta me?" Rogue asked a devilishly sexual smile playing at her lips. Noly loved this, and would gladly give this mystery girl everything she was asking for.
"Mmm...Ah'd be a fool ta argue wit' dat!" Noly smiled an awful smile, that continued to make her skin crawl. Rogue began to sweat out of nervousness, she fought to crush the beginnings of a panic attack. The look in Noly's eyes, was the same look Johnny had given her back on Genosha; but he wasn't psychotic like Johnny. Noly was all egotistically driven, but they both had shared the same look of aggressively possessing her. The two men even shared the same eye color. Remy was her sole motivation to keep strong, and keep a straight face, so she sucessfuly continued to act like she enjoyed this encounter, it was incredibly difficult to say the least. Before she could start feeling physically sick she needed to convincing grope him just long enough for her to steal what she needed from him. Behind them, Remy and his new partner were getting acquainted.
"Ain't you s'pose ta ask if ya can cut it?" The young woman asked, irritated. She would have made a much bigger fuss, but this man was far better looking than Noly; a better dancer too. If he had money, there would be no reason to fight for Noly.
"Me an' mah girl thought it'd be fun ta switch partners fo' a dance." Remy said with his trademark grin, he had her pegged before she opened her mouth. Arrogant and spoiled, simple to sweet talk and even easier to manipulate. She would naturally gravitate to a prettier face, no loyalty to anything but her own needs.
"How 'bout for the night?" The girl was a bit surprised by her own willingness to quickly to suggest a one night stand, Her spoiled nature made her the type to get what she wanted from men, she would demand things and simply move on if she didn't get what she wanted, but her newest dance partner was different, for some reason she had the overwhelming urge to please him.
"Hmmm, you sure he'd be okay wit dat?" Remy asked, clearly distracted. He eyed Rogue's uncomfortable body language and this disturbed him greatly. He could not keep focus on his dancing partner, thankfully she was the type of girl that the more you ignored, the more she tried to gain his attention.
"Ain't no one married…right?" For some reason she was hanging on to his every word, she was hopelessly intrigued by this man that had dance-kidnapped her and his non-interest in her was almost irresistible. She took no time at all to consider giving up on chasing Noly, after all Remy was far more interesting and she wanted to make the most of her spring break.
"Wrong." Remy replied flatly. The bridge of the song was almost over and he hope it was enough time for Rogue to get the plans. His dance partner was becoming fed up with not getting the attention she desired from him, much longer and she would slap him across the face.
" Oh? Well Ah hate ta call a perfect stranger a liar, but she don't dance like no married woman." The girl said in a sassy tone.
"Yeah well, Ah do appreciate de-de…" Gambit's attention was suddenly torn from his new dance partner in mid sentence, over to Rogue. Her swift hands moving over Noly's chest and sides began fanning that small hot flame in his throat into a full body anger, she was just a little better at fondling and flirting than Remy had originally thought. The way she smiled laughed and moved was a bit too much for him to bear, Noly's hungry eyes looking over her set Remy's blood to a boil. "Ah t'ink dis dance lasted long 'nough. " Remy said rudely, be barely waited for the closing of the song's bridge before Remy reached to retrieve his dance partner. The song gave way to the thumping dance beat once again, and Noly's shocked protest was overwhelmed by the loud music and his original partner slamming against him.
"What? Hey!" The girl's appalled outcry was muffled as well, as explosive thundering rock/Zydeco kicked back up and the gritty, nearly screaming blues vocals commanded the crowd once again. In a quick, rough movement Remy had sent her back to Noly and not-so-smoothly took Rogue's outstretched hand, twisting her into him. Rogue was, very nearly, unable to brace herself as she landed with both palms flat against Remy's chest; if she hadn't felt his hand grip hers, she would not have not had any warning and would not have been able to stop short enough; she could have possibly slammed him with such force that it would have sent him to the other side of the room.
" Now that wasn't the most graceful transitions, Remy." Rogue commented. That was not just her opinion, it appeared that the girl that Remy had been dancing with almost clumsily landed back into Noly. Noly looked considerably disappointed, he was far more interested at getting to know the mysterious young girl with the white steaks in her hair.
" Now wha' goin' on here?" Noly asked in rude arrogance, he was insulted that he would be forced to take, what he perceived was, the lesser girl. Noly gave the girl's date the evil eye, but the long-haired man kept his back to Noly. He didn't know exactly what her date looked like, but it didn't matter because no man had ever stood in the way of a girl he wanted. At first Noly thought that her date was a coward because he wouldn't look him in the eye, but it was becoming obvious that he was challenging Noly by reclaiming his date. He felt as though he was showing off his beautiful date to assert his dominance, and taking her back to show him he couldn't have her. Even though this was a very self-absorbed and narcissistic way for looking at it, Noly wasn't necessarily wrong. Remy never considered himself the jealous-type but that was exactly what this was.
Noly was a male chauvinistic misogynist, he used women like objects, they were play things and he perceived Rogue being taken away from him as a strong assault on his ego. He refused to take his eyes off of Rogue or her rude partner, even though all he could see was the back of her partner's head. He could have sworn he recognized him and attempted to look at his face, but every time he tried her partner would turn or move quickly so that all he could see was, at the very most, the side of his face and nothing more. His long hair and his ability to conceal his face against Rogue hid any possible chance of identifying him. In one unbelievably fast movement he had stolen away Rogue and returned Noly's original dance partner, it was not as graceful as the initial switch but Noly couldn't shake the fact that it felt familiar.
" Is there any reason you ain't blinkin'?" Rogue said against Remy's ear. She couldn't help but notice he seemed upset.
"You get it o'not, girl?" Remy said shortly.
"Yeah, it's in mah glove. What's buggin' you?" Rogue asked, she thought he should be happy, everything had worked so far without any problems. She couldn't understand his mood swing. Logan had seen every thing, he could tell right away that Gambit was moving out of anger, out of jealousy. It was clear to him that the look on Gambit's face was that his territory was being trespassed on. Logan was immediately enraged, Rogue was not a piece of property and she was not a trophy; how dare he treat her as such. Logan continued to keep count, this was the forth mistake Gambit would make with Rogue tonight.
" Nuthin'. Jus' 'bout time we wrap dis up." Remy enjoyed the feeling of not allowing a man like Noly to get what he wanted. Again the music picked up, the finale of the song would be a non-stop accordion solo flawlessly belting out a sound that caused everyone on the dance floor to dance in a frenzy, this was the final moment, the climax of the song and Remy's body responded to the fervent beat, his hands taking far more liberties than he once was. He was moving faster and was more aggressively putting Rogue in a position where she couldn't necessarily protest.
"Remy-" The look in Remy's eyes had shut her up, the look was intense, his fixation looked hungry. She didn't understand that he was a man that was being fueled by jealousy. She responded by matching his intensity, it almost scared her how unbridled her instincts were to grind against him; a bit jarring, but irresistibly enticing. Together they moved and pulled against each other to the sexually intense vocals ringing in the club. Logan noticed this as well, and it infuriated him that Rogue had little to no choice to continue on with this if they were to maintain cover. She had to participate in the wild grind, and lament to all of Gambit's touching. He also recognized that Gambit was openly shoving this display into Noly's face.
"Now, who de hell he think he is?!" Noly thought, as he refused to stop staring at Rogue, he was so enticed by Rogue and he stopped trying to dance with his date. Remy could tell that Noly wanted her and in a stupid decision he decided to asserted his dominance, though he was smart enough to keep his eyes down and mostly had his back to Noly, he sent the message that this girl was his. Remy obviously ran his hands over Rogue and in the way he moved he showed Noly he had no right to her. This was clearly a textbook macho thing, but this was not the moment to have it and it was not the thing to do and while Logan was watching. Noly walked off the dance floor, entirely abandoning his dance partner. He angrily walked back to the VIP section to find his body guards. He was fully prepared to sic his guys on Gambit in the alley for such a scathing insult, but his men were nowhere to be found. Logan's blood boiled as he watched this display. He saw somebody he dearly cared for being used as a trophy, the two men were clearly fighting over her; Rogue meant no more to these men than the next girl. That was Gambit's fifth mistake, and that was five mistakes too many.
"Logan?" Scott asked, but he didn't respond as the couple, out of breath and smiling walked off the dance floor. To add insult to injury, Remy proudly displayed a smug smile, the look of a man who had won. He arrogantly flaunted his accomplishment, and just how he had always done and was continuing to do now, he saw nothing wrong with his actions.
"We got it, now what?" Rogue didn't necessarily understand the war going on between the two men. She did notice Remy becoming a bit more bold with his touching, she just felt it was the most exciting part of the song and her body responded to it the grinding and mutually wild sway; it was all part of the act she reasoned. Getting caught up in the music like that could have happened to anyone.
"Uh, church probably." Scott muttered. If it had been his daughter he would have given Gambit a serious talking-to and by 'talking-to' he would say it more with his eyes than his voice.
"What?" Rogue asked confused.
"Never mind, let's get out of here." Scott said, taking Rogue by the wrist and has hastily dragging out Bobby, whom was trying to applaud his teammates.
"Mission accomplished, where-" Gambit's question was promptly silenced by Logan landing a healthy punch to his abdomen. He dropped immediately, and completely understood his punishment.
"We clear?" Logan practically growled his furious question. Ever since her attack on Genosha Rogue had been different, and Gambit was more than willing to accommodate her growing erratic behavior. He knew that Gambit was a large portion of why Rogue had survived Genosha, that's why Logan had only punched him.
"Crystal." Gambit said between breaths, the wind had been knocked out of him. After his response Logan turned his back on him and headed for the door. Two older ladies that had been seated in front of their exchange were not beyond heckling the handsome young man.
"Now dat's 'bout de most foo' t'ing Ah ever seen. What kinda o'boy takes a girl dancin' wit' her Daddy?" One of them asked.
"None too smart honey." The other commented. Remy simply took in one long breath before standing up without saying a word and followed Logan outside.
Vomment ca vas?: How are you feeling?
Je suis votre date ce soir.: I am your date after all.
red-figure lekanis lid: Both lekanis (pl. lekanides) and lekane (pl. lekanai) refer to low bowls with two horizontal handles and a broad low foot. The handles are regularly ribbon-shaped, a form that suggests a prototype in another material. The application of the Greek terms lekane and lekanis is not entirely clear, and modern usage varies.