Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

At last, I've finished this one. I've been reading and rereading this chapter many times, and polishing it. I hope you all enjoy! Please do pay attention to the small hints here and there ;) Just saying.

And please, review. It makes me feel inspired and update faster, and critics are always welcome so I can improve.

It's strange how time flies by when you're doing something you enjoy, and most of the times you don't even notice it because you don't bother with checking the clock. It was nearly eleven o'clock and Rogue had only touched her mobile once, to put it on mute after Jubilee had sent her three messages already, and that only served to give them another thing to talk about, after they had talked about pretty much everything.

"Ah swear, Ah don't know what's wrong with those two. One moment they are kissing, in the next they are avoiding eye contact. Ah'd expect that from Kitty, maybe, but not Jubilee. However, what is happening is exactly the opposite: Kitty and Pete seem do be going nice and well, while Jubs has shut herself to the 'Sam' subject. She's always giving date tips and that kind of stuff to all her friends, and now she's acting like a newbie in the matter." Rogue sighed in frustration and shook her head, picking a French fry from the plate the waiter had put in between them a few minutes before. "Go figure. Has Sam said anything?"

"Not dat I've heard, but again, we ain't very close. Maybe he talked about it wit' Pete… meaning we don't have much hope to hear anythin' about it; none of them are what I'd call talkative."

"True. And Jubilee is as stubborn as a door, so Ah know it's useless to keep pressing her for information."

"Just let them be, chérie." Remy threw a little piece of French fry at Rogue, hitting her straight on the forehead and getting stepped on his foot in return. "Ouch! I was just kiddin'! Anyways… they'll end up figurin' out what t' do."

"Ah guess so, but as Ah told ya: Jubs is stubborn and now she is playing indifferent, like nothing happened; and Ah see Sam getting more and more upset. He's a nice boy, and it makes meh feel bad about it all."

"Sometimes, people pretend to be indifferent because they are afraid t' get hurt. She's probably scared t' talk to him and drive him away. On the other hand, he thinks she regrets what happened, so he's too embarrassed t' approach her. Their problem is lack of communication, belle."

"Yeah, definitely." Rogue tangled a white lock of hair around her finger, slightly thoughtful, and then smiled at him playfully. "Talking about communication… who told ya what was mah dress size?"

Remy smirked and caressed her forearm. "The girl with communication problems."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Of course. Ah'm living with a spy by mah side."

Remy fidgeted on his chair after a brief pause. "At least, the spy's your friend." 'Chérie, you're always so close…' Her intuition always amazed him, at the same time it was always a blow to his heart. He watched, hypnotized while she picked up the last French fry, said something he couldn't distinguish because of the loud music that started playing, and stood. She tousled his hair when she passed by his side, and Remy held her wrist before she was gone. "Where y' goin', belle?"

She lowered her head to his so he could hear her. "Bathroom, sugah. Ah'll be right back."

That proximity… no matter how many times he tried to control it, each time they got this close, it was harder for him to avoid doing something impulsive. He let go of her wrist, hoping she would just go. It was getting unbearable. 'Go, before I do something stupid.' With one last smile, she walked away, leaving him alone at their table, tapping the side of his empty glass. He stretched on the chair and stood to get one more dose at the bar.

"Jimmy!" He called, and the man peeked from the kitchen door. Remy raised his glass and Jimmy rushed to fill it. "Merci."

"You're welcome. So, how's it going?" Jimmy asked, straight to the point.

"How's what goin'?" Remy pretended not to understand, trying to win some time, even if it was pointless.

"You and the beauty. You're taking her home with you tonight?" It wasn't the first time Jimmy had seen the young man playing that game with a girl. At times, he would bring them with him to the bar; other times, he would meet them there. Every time, they would be leaving the place in his arms.

"Is your last name Subtle?" Remy smirked, and dodged the question. "I will take her home, if dat's what y' want to know. But dat's not what y' want to know, so here's your answer: she's not dat kind o' girl. And I ain't tryin' anything either."

"Who are you and what did you do to the man I used to know?!" Jimmy cackled, and picked up his towel to clean the bar in front of him.

Remy grinned and ran a hand through his hair. "I can see where you're comin' from, Jimmy. But dis fille is different… it's complicated, mon ami. And, all in all…" He saw Rogue coming out of the bathroom on the opposite side of the room, and observed her searching for him. "… I'm glad it's dis way." He waved at her and she spotted him.

She was walking in his direction, but as she passed by the pool table, one of the three men playing called her and said something. Remy clutched the glass in his hand as he watched her smile, shrug, and then say something as well. Then she pointed to him, and all three men turned their gazes to the bar. The one who had called her scratched his head, uneasy, then shrugged too.

"Don't break the glass, please." Jimmy said from behind him, and Remy eased his grip, eyes still on Rogue as she came towards him.

"Hey, sugah! Can ya play pool?" Rogue asked, arriving at the bar.

"Not as well as poker, but it's still quite decent. You?"

"Better than Ah play poker, for sure." She perched on the stool by his side. "That guy just asked if Ah wanted to join the game, and Ah said that only if mah partner could play with meh." She pulled the sleeve of his shirt and gave him a puppy-look.

"Ma chérie, are y' aware he was flirtin' wit' y'?" He couldn't help but smile at the face she made. "The poor man was trying to get lucky with y', and y' offer to bring me along! I'm startin' to feel bad for him."

"Well, it's not like he was getting lucky with meh anyways. And if everything goes as planned, the poor man is getting a few dollars poorer by the match's end." She gave him a devilish grin. "What do ya say, sugah?"

"When did y' become so evil?" Remy asked, grinning back to her.

"The moment Ah saw their lowest bets were twenty bucks." Rogue realized she had him with that line.

Remy's eyes sparkled and he sipped on his glass before whispering: "Are y' good at it, chérie?"

Rogue stood up in front of him, a hand on her hip, and threw her hair back. "Don'tcha think Ah'm good?" She teased, pouting. It was hard for her to admit, but she had fun doing this to him and waiting for his reaction. And he did the same to her many times. Little by little, with time, this had become their own inner game, teasing and bantering.

He slid an arm around her waist. "I think y' are great, Rogue."

"Really?" She whispered, putting a hand over her chest in a dramatic manner.

"Oui…" He tried to keep a serious face, failing when she untangled herself from him and held his hand to drag him to the pool table.

"Alright, so let's play!"

"What if we lose?"

"He's still not getting lucky!" She flashed him a smile and put her arm around his.

Eleven o'clock at the Institute. The garden was a little darker than usual because of the cloudy night, but it was clear enough for Bobby to see Lorna's shiny eyes. They walked side by side, with no destination, talking about the movie they had just watched. They had arrived just a few minutes before, but Lorna suggested a walk before they went inside, alleging she was not tired at all. Also, she seemed to be having a real good time discussing every single detail of the movie.

"I would have never guessed you liked Sci-fi movies, Lorna." Bobby said after she excitedly criticized a fight scene.

"There are many things you would never guess about me." She answered with her voice more provocative than usual.

"I'm glad to be getting to know you better. We've been friends for a while, and thinking about it, it's embarrassing that I know so little about you. I mean, we've never hung out like this before."

"I know, right? But again, every time we hung out you were with Rogue or the guys." Lorna said, leaning her head on his shoulder for a moment, and then stopping in front of him when they were in front of the entrance door. "What do you say we do this more often?"

"I… Let's see what happens this week, ok? I don't want to rush things too much, or we could end up spoiling everything." Lorna could see the confusion in his face and it stung her. But she was a patient woman. She knew pushing him was not going to get her anywhere.

"I understand."

Bobby wasn't really sure of what to say. It bothered him that, for a moment, he hadn't known what to answer to her invitation. Being very honest with himself, he had to admit this had been a really fun night. Lorna was a girl with a lot to say, and he enjoyed listening to her. At some point, he even caught himself enjoying the sound of her voice. It also surprised him how much they had in common, and how he never realized that. The Halloween party hadn't been a good occasion for him to pay attention to this… his mind had been somewhere else. Still… this bothered him somehow.

"Let's get inside. It's getting colder."

"Bobby Drake feeling cold?!" She tilted her head, raising her eyebrows.

"I'm not. You are. Your hands are shaking." He took her hands in his and rubbed them. "Do you want to grab a cup of hot chocolate with me?"

"Ok, but I'll prepare it." Lorna smirked, quickly pinching his nose. "I'm not in the mood for food poisoning."

"Hey! What are you insinuating?" Bobby crossed his arms and Lorna laughed out loud.

"That you are a terrible cooker, Robert Drake." She blew him a kiss and rushed inside, with Bobby going after her, trying to convince her she was wrong.

"Yeah!" Rogue yelled when Remy put the last ball on the pool pocket. "We won, swamp rat!" She jumped in excitement, while Remy took the money with a wide grin on his face.

"I double the bet! Best of three!" The black haired man in front of her yelled back with his Italian accent. His name was Antonio and he had been the one to ask her to join him and his friends. He took a handful of money from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"Again, Tony? Just accept it: ya've lost." Rogue said and sat on the edge of the pool table. It hadn't been easy for her and Remy at first. They had started playing for the best of five, betting twenty dollars each. She and Remy had lost the first match, making Tony and his partner, David, extremely confident. They had raised the bet, absolutely sure they would win. On the second match, Rogue smashed them, leaving the four men astounded. The third match hadn't been as easy, and their victory came with a wrong movement of David. The fourth match was a battle until the last movement, but they lost. On the last round, Rogue and Remy made brilliant moves and beat the other team. Tony turned out to be a bad loser and raised the bet, asking for three more rounds. Rogue's adrenaline was peaking and she accepted it without a blink. "Sugah, get meh a beer, will ya?" She had said to Remy, tying her hair loosely, a determined look on her face. A few beers and nervous groans from both sides later, it all came to Remy's last move, which guaranteed the Southern couple their victory.

"This time will be just you and me, darling. You've been lucky David here is not on his best day." Tony said, nodding to David, who went to sit on a table with their other friend, Patrick. The three of them were nice, David being the funniest one. Turns out he was a mutant too, with the power to teleport small objects, an ability he used mainly to get bottles of beer and coins for the jukebox without having to walk to the bar. Patrick was the quiet one, sitting at the table and watching them play. Tony was a fun man too, but much more competitive than any of them… with the exception of Rogue.

"Lucky?!" She chuckled. "Are ya kidding meh? Tony, ya should be thankful Ah'm not in mah best day! But if ya want to put a little more money on the table, Ah'll be glad to take it."

"Fifty bucks." He said, as excited as her. "David? Patrick?" He walked to his friends, and not looking very satisfied, put money on his hand. "There you go!" He waved the money in front of her and put it on the edge of the table. Rogue narrowed her eyes and took fifty dollars from the pile she and Remy had won, putting it on the table too.

"I raise it! A hundred bucks." Remy said, taking the money from his wallet, and Rogue's head snapped in his direction.

"Sugah, this ain't a poker table!"

"Non, but I like makin' high bets." He smirked. Tony and his friends frowned and hesitated at first, but ended up agreeing to it. Remy pulled Rogue to him slowly, giving her time to back away if she wanted, which she didn't. "You've got dis, chérie. Go get him." He whispered to her.

"What if Ah loose?" She whispered back, even lower, but clearly not seriously.

"He's still not gettin' lucky, heh?" He shrugged and Rogue shook her head.

"No, he ain't."

"Hey, love birds! C'mon. Rogue, are you playing or not?"

With one last glance to Remy, she picked up her cue and took a deep breath. "Let's do this."

It was another half hour of tension, with each of them winning a round, until Tony had the chance to finish the last round and win. He made his move… too anxiously. The black ball hit the corner of the table with too much strength, and with a different trajectory than it was supposed to. He cursed out loud and smacked his own head. Rogue stepped ahead, and took a slow sip from her beer bottle, eyes fixed on the table. The position of the ball wasn't as simple as she wished. But since when were things simple because she wished them to be?

Remy put his fist over his mouth, holding his breath as she searched for the ideal position to play. He glanced around and saw all the others in a similar position, and even Jimmy had stopped his cleaning to watch her play from the bar. She lowered her body over the table, frowned slightly and hit the white ball with precision. The black ball went straight into the corner pocket.

The moment after was of pure noise, with the three friends groaning loudly in unison, Jimmy whistling from the bar and congratulating Rogue, Rogue herself jumping and screaming with joy, and Remy running to her and yelling: "You won, ma belle! You did it!" The other customers at the place cheered as well, for the fun of making noise, or because they had been following the match from the start and even made their own bets.

Rogue forgot every notion of caution in that moment of euphoria, and jumped on Remy's open arms, still screaming and throwing her arms up, while he lifted her by the hip and jumped too. "Winners!" When had been the last time she had felt so happy to the point of doing something like that? She couldn't really remember, and she didn't even try to remember. "Guys, don't be sad! Jimmy, next round's on meh!" She said out loud to Jimmy, and he quickly placed the bottles of beer on the bar table.

Not very far from there, in a nearby bistro, an old man asked for a waiter to substitute him and receive the customers for a few minutes, while he went to the toilet. That night he had finally heard something that he had been waiting to hear for about a year, and his hands were still trembling of excitement and jitters. When he was first contacted, he couldn't have imagined it would actually pay off. He had waited, paid attention, asked the other people who worked on the place if they heard that name somewhere… He had even told the owner of the bistro he didn't want to go on vacation so he could be there every night.

Part of him thought his wait to be useless. He was just one among hundreds, perhaps thousands. But it happened. He heard it.

The old man got in the dressing room in the back of the bistro, took his mobile and dialed a number that was written in a thin calligraphy on a card he always carried with him. It started ringing. He wiped the sweat from his face, and before the third ring, a smooth voice answered.

He swallowed hard before saying: "I found him."

It was half past one in the morning when Remy and Rogue finally got to the mansion. She took off her ankle boots so she wouldn't make too much noise.

"Do y' want me t' carry you upstairs again, belle?" Remy asked and Rogue glared at him.

"Do ya want meh to push ya down the stairs, sugah?" Rogue shot back but Remy could see the humor in her eyes. He wondered if she knew how much he liked to get in these little banters with her, but it was clear to him that she enjoyed it as well. It made him feel slightly (or very, to be more precise) proud to have gained her trust; being able to tease her and getting a witty answer and maybe a smile in return, instead of making her walk away angry and suspicious.

They walked in silence until they reached Rogue's door, when she turned to him, lowering her head a little but raising her eyes to meet his. "Remy… thank you so much. Ah haven't had this much fun since God knows when."

"I was goin' t' say the same, chérie. Merci for askin' me out in the first place." He took off his gloves again to touch her forearm through the dress' gauze. "I've been needing dis. Been needing it for a long time." He said, letting his fingers trace patterns on her arm, pretty aware that what he said could be interpreted in more than one way. 'I've been needing you. Needing to touch you. To be with you, just you.'

"Ah've been needing this too, Rem." She replied, to his surprise and delight. "We could… you know… do this again, if ya wanted." Her cheeks flushed when she suggested that.

"Non, I don't want t' do dis again." He murmured, taking her shoes from her hand and letting them drop to the floor by his side, then taking her hands in his. "Ever."

Rogue's eyes widened and she paled in a matter of seconds. She fought to articulate a sound, while pulling her hands from his grip and crossing her arms protectively. "Oh… Ah'm sorry. Ah thought…" Her voice broke and she inhaled deeply, eyes scanning the corridor for a way out.

"Rogue…" He chuckled silently. "Ma chérie… what I meant was I don't want t' go on a friend's meetin' again." He gently uncrossed her arms and again held her hands. It seemed his heart was about to explode when he spoke again. "Next time, I want us t' go on a date."

Rogue felt her knees going weak beneath her. She had felt like there was a knife turning in her guts, a blazing knife, and suddenly her head was as light as a feather. "A date?" She nearly choked at the word. Remy nodded, lowering his head a little towards hers, waiting for a response.

"Talk t' me, chérie." He said when he realized she wouldn't say a thing. "Or give me a sign." Remy smiled, a little high with excitement.

"Ah-Ah'd love to. Ya just need to say when." She whispered, out of breath, eyes still wide. Remy again let his hand trail her arm, until he reached her shoulder and caressed it. He could feel her relax under his touch and before she could think of anything else to say, he moved his hand to the back of her head. His eyes were fixed on her mouth while he leaned a little more to her.

'If not now, when?' He thought. She wouldn't be able to drain his memories and thoughts if he was careful. He just couldn't let it last for too long, but that was the challenge. How to do this without wanting to be glued to her for hours? Remy hesitated for a second, thinking about that possibility.

Rogue rest her hands over his chest, and took a step closer to Remy, their bodies just inches apart. She was scared, so scared of hurting him but still... He had touched her before, briefly, and nothing had happened to him. She let out a quiet sigh, anticipating, craving to taste his lips. She saw him freeze, and if for a moment there was any doubt in his gaze, it was immediately outshone by that hunger that so often lit his eyes, while he leaned to her…

Suddenly, the door of the room opened abruptly. Rogue immediately pushed Remy away and stumbled back, her heart almost coming out of her mouth, while Jubilee cursed out loud. Both girls just stared at each other for a moment that seemed like an eternity, and then Jubilee slammed the door shut, after saying "I'm sorry!" out loud. "Please, pretend nothing happened!" She screamed from behind the door.

The silence that followed was the most awkward both Southerners ever had to face. Rogue shut her eyes and rubbed her temple with the tip of her fingers, then risked a glance at Remy.

"That was… weird." he said.

"Very."

"So…" It was useless. He knew there was no way of going back to the same atmosphere as before. With a heavy sigh, he asked: "So, is next Friday fine with you?"

"Yeah, sure." Rogue said, picking up her shoes from the floor, clearly still embarrassed. "Ah'll see ya tomorrow, sugah. Better get inside before Jubilee starts getting some disturbed ideas. Ya know how she is…"

"Alright. We'll talk tomorrow, then." Remy stopped and bit his lip, a little confused about what to do. Then with determination in his eyes he strode in her direction. Rogue froze when he put his hands on her shoulders, holding her still. He then placed a gentle and quick kiss on her cheek. "Sleep well." He whispered, his face still close to hers, then turned and walked away, leaving a shocked Rogue behind him.

She stood there with a hand over where he had kissed her. It was with slow and slumberous movements that she opened the door of the room and went inside. Jubilee was sitting on the bed's edge, holding her knees, but as soon as she saw Rogue she stood up.

"I'm so, so, so sorry! I was going to get something to drink. If I knew you were there… I sent you so many messages asking what was going on, where were you, what time were you coming back, but you didn't reply. I ruined everything, didn't I?" Jubilee walked around the room in circles, twisting her hands.

"Don't worry, Jubilee. We were just saying good night." Rogue threw her shoes next to her bed and sat on the chair by the desk.

"Nooo. He was going to kiss you! And I interrupted… damn!" Jubilee groaned.

"If it makes ya feel better, sugah… he kissed meh." Rogue admitted, unable to keep it a secret. She needed to tell it to someone, or else she was going to explode. And saying it out loud made her finally realize what had just happened, since until that moment her brain had still been processing it. Jubilee squeaked and immediately kneeled in front of her.

"What?! Tell me! Oh my…" They both started giggling and Rogue closed her eyes, then threw her head back and laughed, covering her face with her hands. "How's his kiss?"

"Warm. His skin is so warm ya wouldn't believe it. He took off his gloves, Jubs. He touched meh… Ah mean, over this gauze…" Rogue said, pointing to her arms. "But Ah could feel his touch. Not as a real touch, but so close to that." She said, caressing her arms where he had touched.

"Awww… but the kiss? I want details, girl!" Jubilee tapped Rogue's knees. "Was it a French kiss?"

"It was on mah cheek, silly." Rogue grinned, knowing that would be a bummer to her friend.

"On the cheek?! Are you his sister?" Jubilee said clearly annoyed. "Why not on the lips?"

"Oh, Ah don't know… maybe because someone ruined the moment?" Rogue mockingly smacked Jubilee on the head. "But it was incredible anyways. And guess what? He asked meh out… on a date."

"And what did you say?" Jubilee held the chair's sides, nervous. She knew sometimes Rogue had some crazy attitudes and a 'no' was not an impossible answer for her.

"Ah said yes." Rogue whispered, and shook her head, still not believing it. Jubilee jumped up, clapping her hands, ran to her bed, and threw her pillow up in the air.

"At last! Yeah!" She cheered.

"Do ya wanna hear about what we did tonight? It was so much fun and unexpected. We didn't plan anything and it went so well. Ah can't believe Ah'm saying this but Ah need to talk about it with someone." Rogue said, while taking off her earrings.

"Are you seriously asking me that? Of course I want to hear about it. We can stay awake all night if you want!" Jubilee laughed and laid face down on the bed, holding her chin up with her hands, waiting for Rogue to speak.

Again, please Read and Review, guys :D