BENEATH THE SURFACE

Part Nine

It was almost ten days before the mission in Germany was finally done with. Rogue felt her anxiety levels rising up in her chest as Hank was expertly piloting the red-eye into the hangar; for a man with such large hands, she always found Hank to be strangely precise and gentle when it came to everything he done. He had a rather delicate way about things, she had always thought it strange, first looking at him one always expected a brute with a rough and heavy handed approach while it was anything from the truth. Despite his beastly form, he was gentle inside and out, the heart of a poet, the mind of a genius, the precise and gentle grace of a rather bulky ballet dancer.

It's funny, isn't it? She asked herself, watching Hank taxi the small plane right next to the wall; she saw how close he was to it and all the same the wing didn't even so much as graze it. Can never judge a book by it's cover...or by the words in the prologue, she realised. It made her think of Remy, and how she'd judged him once by the same standards, thinking him just a collection of good bone structure, nice skin and a great smile, he'd struck her as a jerk with a smart mouth and a quick wit. Remy was just like a book; perhaps the cover was tacky, the first few chapters were gripping she supposed, caught the attention, a little filth for flare and filler just to captivate the reader...

But taking the time to get further in to those chapters, the more erratic his story became.

If Ah asked Remy what genre his story would be, he'd probably tell me action adventure, she mused. She was thinking the genre would be more in the lines of tragedy.

She was glad when the plane finally stopped moving, glad to be out of the plane so she could stretch her legs, she had gotten quite numb some time ago during the flight. The Professor met them outside of the plane, he gave his reserved smile as he always did, and spoke; everything about Professor Xavier was usually reserved, he could sound kind but always kept it sounding reserved, respectable and business-like. She wondered how long it had taken to drill that manner into him when he'd been younger.

"It is good to see you all back," the Professor greeted them.

"It's good to be back," Hank admitted, he looked somewhat tired; he'd insisted on piloting the whole journey despite both Rogue and Kurt were more than capable of handling the red eye.

"Were there any difficulties?" the Professor asked Hank directly.

"We located all the missing mutants, two were very near dead when we found them," Hank begun to explain. Rogue stood there with the others, listening as Hank recounted the entire tale to the Professor (although it seemed unnecessary, she was certain they must have discussed these things on the phone surely?). She and Kurt chimed in where it seemed appropriate, but for the most part, Rogue wished she hadn't felt so obligated to stand there.

She wanted to see Remy.

Kurt had been on his computer far too much for her to be able to use it for private calls to Remy. The night after her first skype call to Remy, she'd gone down again to try and make another call after Kurt and Hank had gone to bed, but she'd found the laptop password had been completely changed and she hadn't been able to crack it this time. Kurt had acted strangely that morning when he had seen her on his computer (almost shifty, as if he suspected she had definitely seen what he'd been looking at), but she hadn't assumed he might password it to keep her out in future.

He clearly wanted to keep me from trackin' his browser history to see all the smut he's lookin' at, Rogue thought as she tossed the boy a quick glance.

"I'm sure you all would like to go rest after the long journey," the Professor admitted after as much of the mission briefing had been passed along. "We can discuss these things later."

Rogue wasn't sure what else there might be to discuss, but she was glad for the dismissal all the rest. She was eager to see Remy, eager to know that he was all right. "Professor," she said quietly, "can Ah have a word?"

"Of course," the Professor nodded.

Hank and Kurt left to go unpack their items and settle back home. Rogue stood watching until they got into the elevator leading right from the hangar; when the doors had closed and she could hear the distant whirring of the mechanism within moving the elevator up the chamber, she glanced down to the Professor, "How has Remy been?"

"Remy has been fine," the Professor nodded, "he's still training; and is quite impressive in the Danger Room. In fact, he's in there now, and I should be there too," the Professor nodded his head in the direction of the hallway which led from the hangar to the corridor the Danger Room could be located, "come."

Rogue followed at his back, "Is he still training with the New Mutants?"

"For now," the Professor admitted, "Logan and myself feel he does need a little more time to adjust to the pace of the Danger Room."

"Has anythin'...you know...changed?" Rogue asked awkwardly.

"How do you mean?"

"Has he...Ah don't know...acted weird or anythin'?"

"He's been a little distant," the Professor supposed, "but he's grieving, Rogue, and grief can take it's toll. He needs time," he stopped in the hallway and pushed a button to a small elevator and rolled in; he waited for Rogue to enter. "He hasn't said anything to me, but I'm sure he's missed you."

Rogue saw the slight smile on the Professor's lips, almost as if he were amused at the prospect, she felt her cheeks grow hot a little. "Hank thinks Ah should try to convince him to enroll at Bayville high...for our final year."

"Yes, I've discussed it with Remy but he seems rather...unwilling. Perhaps you would have more success in changing his mind."

"He's a smart guy, Professor...and he's really capable of everythin' he puts his mind to. Ah don't doubt he could catch up with a few missed years school in one year, but... Ah'm not too sure he needs a year of high school education..."

"It's not so much about the education, Rogue," the Professor admitted, "I think it would do him good to be out of the mansion; he's been out very little these past few weeks, I think I've only heard mention of him going out once since getting here. I think it would do him good...it would be nice to give him the chance to be a teenager for a little while."

Rogue sighed, she didn't disagree with the thought. Rogue had always gotten the impression that Remy had had to grow up rather fast, that his childhood hadn't been spent being a child. Still...she wasn't sure sending him to Bayville High would help him recover any of that lost childhood, she wasn't sure it would help.

"Ah'll speak to him," she finally said, "but Ah can't promise anythin'."

"It would be appreciated," the Professor smiled.

Entering the Danger Room Annex, Rogue stared through the large glass windows down into the Danger Room. The hologram had been programmed to look like a bustling New York street; the New Mutants were fighting with a Golem-looking robot with tentacles and they were rather focused today.

"Welcome back," said Logan, who was sitting at the control panel, running the program; he didn't even glance up to know she was there.

"How is the session going?" the Professor asked, moving to the control panel, he looked down at one of the angled cameras.

"Fine. Tabitha is...slowing down though."

Rogue searched the mess of rubble, upturned cars and fighting mutants until she located Tabitha, dodging tentacles and throwing small bombs at the golum robot. "Wow...what the-"

"Don't say it," Logan warned her coldly.

"But she's-" Rogue gritted her teeth.

"I know," Logan muttered.

Rogue watched the girl, it seemed she'd gained what seemed to be almost six or seven pounds in the space of just a few weeks. Her face seemed rounder, her body softer, her belt seemed to be digging into her. "She's always been so...skinny."

"Charles, is there somethin' goin' on with her?" Logan asked, "somethin' ain't right here. I can't put my finger on it."

"She's a teenage girl," the Professor replied, although Rogue saw the expression of concern on his face, "weight can be rather...easily put on."

"Should we be talking to her about this?" Logan asked, he turned and looked at Rogue almost cautiously almost seeming to wonder if she should be there for this discussion.

"Is she exhibiting any other strange behaviour?" Professor Xavier asked curiously.

"Hard to say, I don't watch her twenty-four hours a day, got enough to deal with here," Logan replied. "Rogue, did you notice anything before you left?"

"Other than she was six or seven pounds lighter?" Rogue asked, "No. She seemed fine. She borrowed makeup, that's about all. Ah barely spoke to her, but she was herself," she admitted. Her eyes followed Remy, he was on form today, fast and responsive, nothing could touch him. He looked like he belonged there in the Danger Room. Rogue couldn't understand why the Professor hadn't promoted him to the X-Men's sessions yet.

"I'll speak to her," the Professor decided, he sighed, "please be discrete about this discussion, Rogue, and do not go repeating anything you may have heard."

"Of course," Rogue said, "Ah can keep a secret..." she reminded.

Logan ended the session as the timer on the dash sounded, "Okay, times up!" he yelled into the microphone. "Hang down there a minute, I'll give you the evaluations!"

Rogue watched as Logan left the room, she stole his seat at the control panel, "Remy seems so good out there, Professor," she admitted, she used one of the monitors to zoom in on him through one of the cameras, "how come you haven't moved him to our team yet?"

"I'm not contesting that he's capable," Professor Xavier admitted, "but I don't want to push him into anything he may not be ready for."

"What makes you think he's not ready?" Rogue tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Logan thinks he's slightly distracted..."

"Maybe Logan doesn't know what he's talkin' about," Rogue muttered.

"No, in this case I trust Logan's judgement...and you should trust it too."

"If you say so," Rogue tilted her head, watching Remy; he was standing next to Tabitha and something was whispered between them. Tabitha laughed about something and Remy gave something of a sly almost amused smirk; he mumbled something back but it was hard to read his lips from the angle Rogue could see him from. At least he seemed to be getting along with the others from what she could tell.

To look at Remy today, it seemed like he was doing fine, no reason to worry. She wondered if he was getting better, if perhaps he finally had settled or if it was an act. It struck her that it was no way to live her life, constantly on edge wondering how together he was.

Can't be any easier for him, she realised unhappily. He has to keep up appearances, pretend to be fine when he's not. That's definitely no way to live.

Remy LeBeau's bones were aching from the Danger Room session, but it felt almost good in a way, to be tired from a tiring training session than anything else. It felt almost...productive in a way he couldn't explain. Felt as if he hadn't wasted the day doing other pointless things like trying to fix the mess he'd made of the walls in his room.

He went into his room and shut the door, sighing tiredly. He stood there for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck; he'd twisted it a bit when dodging out of the way of one of those tentacles on the robot; he didn't feel it was seriously hurt but right now it felt tight and stiff. As he stood there, he realised there was a presence lingering around him again; it didn't surprise him. This presence had been lingering for weeks, it didn't seem to have any intentions of leaving now.

Remy turned slowly, unsure if he wanted to confront Jean-Luc or not, he tried to still himself just in case the appearance of him had gotten worse (as it seemed to be gradually becoming more and more decayed as time went on). He did not expect to see that Rogue was standing there.

For a moment, he almost wondered if he were hallucinating. How had she gotten in? She wasn't even supposed to be back yet, was she? "Rogue..." he breathed.

"Surprise," she smiled a little, her dull green eyes glimmered like polished jade.

"Where were y' hidin'?"

"Behind the door..." she smirked, "Saw y'all in the Danger Room, rushed up here to hide and surprise you."

"Y' definitely did..." he pulled her into his arms quickly, holding her against him tight, heart pounding just at the thought of how close she was, how unreal it felt that she was actually there again.

"Oww," she laughed a little, "You're suffocating me..."

"Sorry," he loosened his grip, "it's jus'...I can't believe y' finally back. I missed y'..." he examined her once again, drinking in her features. It seemed strange how in ten days she'd changed and yet had not. If anything, she seemed more attractive. Perhaps it was that absence really did make the heart grow even fonder.

She chewed her lip a little, her expression coy, her body language slightly awkward, "you did?"

"Y' know I did," he carefully swept her hair from her face.

"In...what way?" she asked demurely.

Remy stroked her hair tenderly, "in the way that I've missed havin' y' close, hearin' y' voice..." he gave a slight laugh, "even the way y' yell at me."

"Ah mean-" Rogue began.

A knock at the door interrupted her, and Rogue immediately broke away from him, her expression thoroughly embarrassed as the door opened and Tabitha Smith waltzed in without so much as an invite.

"Hey, we're all goin' out for pizza and then gonna catch that new 3D movie downtown-" Tabitha began, "Oh...hey, Rogue," she realised Rogue was there at once, and for a moment, seemed quite surprised to see her there in Remy's room at all.

"Hi," Rogue said, she seemed to be quickly racking her brains for an excuse to be there. She turned to Remy suddenly, expression dark, "Look, all Ah'm sayin' is, you broke my phone, and you should be the one to replace it!" she suddenly snapped at him.

Okay, so we're pretendin' we were arguin' then, Remy realised. He was tired of this game; it was easy to pretend he and Rogue weren't married when she wasn't there, nothing was obvious, there was no real secret to keep. But now it was back to this ridiculously annoying game again. "I..." Remy faltered, trying to think of a good response, "I needed somethin' t' blow up at that moment...y' phone was lyin' there. Ain' my fault if y' careless with y' shit. That thing wasn't even worth ten bucks anyway. I mean...that phone was released when I was in diapers."

Rogue folded her arms stubbornly, "that phone was only two years old – and you better replace it."

Tabitha gave a gentle tinkling laugh, "think you better do it, Gambit, before she rips you a new one."

"Yeah...I...will..." Remy sighed, "look, I'll buy you an iPhone, okay?" he touched Rogue's shoulder, it was an absent response which she quickly shrugged away from. He was almost hurt by that rejection even if it was just for show.

"The new one?" Rogue asked.

"The new one...? Y' sure y' want that one? I hear all sorts of horror stories about it bendin'..."

"Ah want the best your money can buy."

Remy thought this was a rather poor pretend fight; any other time Rogue would have rejected the idea of him buying her anything remotely expensive.

"Yeah, Gambit, don't be cheap," Tabitha poked him in the side. "Anyway, like I said, we're all going to see that 3D movie so...you coming?"

He didn't even need time to think about his answer; Rogue was here and he did not want to go seeing a movie – regardless if it was in stunning 3D or not – when he could be spending time with his wife. It had been a week and a half, he needed alone time with her. "Y' know...I think I'm gonna pass. I hurt my neck pretty bad out in the Danger Room, and I don' wanna sit with my head tilted lookin' at some pretty boy get his muscles out in 3D, all the same."

"If it were tits in 3D, it'd be a different story," Rogue said meanly.

"Tits are always worth seein' regardless of what dimension they in," Remy retorted. "But anyway, I'm gon' pass. 'Sides which, I got t' finish paintin' this shit up..." he gestured around his room which he still had not finished. The red was not hiding very well beneath the grey paint.

"Leave it and I'll help tomorrow, just like you asked me too anyway," Tabitha shrugged.

"Rogue's gon' help me," Remy said.

"Ah am?" Rogue blinked.

"Y' wan' me t' buy y' an iPhone and y' don' even wan' pick up a pain' brush and help me? What kind of friend are you?" he frowned at her.

"A bad one, evidently," Rogue folded her arms, "Ah ain't paintin' shit."

"Bitch," Remy muttered under his breath, hoping that she'd know he'd never call her this in any other circumstances than to fake a fight.

"Why don't you come along, Rogue?" Tabitha encouraged.

"Ah'm goin' to have a long bath and have an early night after dinner. Ah've had a long trip and Ah'm tired. Besides, goin' to the movies with y' all is a nightmare, Ah never hear anythin' 'cause Bobby and Jamie always start talkin' over the movie makin' up their own dialogue."

"That's what's fun about it," Tabitha laughed, "Oh come on, you two are such kill joys."

"Nah..." Remy shook his head, "I got too much to do..."

"Fine," Tabitha rolled her eyes, "But I'm going. You two be boring and old."

"Yeah, we will, thanks," Rogue waved her off, "Have fun."

Tabitha left the room, the door shutting behind herself. Rogue stood watching the closed door for a moment, wondering if it was about to open again with Tabitha coming back one last time with an attempt to change their minds.

"You asked her to help you paint..." Rogue said.

"She owes me some favours," Remy shrugged, "chore stuff."

"Swapped chores?"

Remy decided to lie, it was easier than explaining why he'd had to buy Tabitha new clothes, and easier than having to admit how much he'd spent on the blonde. Rogue would surely not be happy. "Somethin' like that."

"You two seem to be good friends," Rogue raised an eyebrow at him, "she just waltzed in here...no invite."

"So did you," Remy pointed out.

"Ah'm your...wife..." she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Why didn't you want to go?"

"Y' think I'm gon' pass up a chance t' be alone wit' you?" he asked, "everyone is goin' out...and me and you gon' be here...time t' ourselves...no interruptions."

"Oh..." Rogue said, her expression thoughtful for a moment, "what did you...uhm...have in mind?" she gazed up at him.

"Thought maybe we coul' order take out, watch a movie t' gether in the Rec Room...y' know?"

Rogue seemed to have expected a different answer, "Oh..." she mouthed. "Look, Ah don't know...what if someone stays back..."

He sighed, it was always a possibility. "When we gon' stop playin' this game?"

"Just a while longer," she said gently.

"It'd be nice t' jus' admit that we're t' gether. Look, if y' wan' keep it quiet that we got hitched, it's fine, I promise, I won't be mad about havin' t' hide it. I know Xavier says we gotta anyway. But...we shouldn' have t' hide bein' in love. I don' see it complicatin' things. It's only gonna complicate things more if people don't know."

"It doesn't seem to be complicatin' anythin' now," Rogue pointed out.

He supposed at the moment it didn't, but how long would that last for?

"Remy..." Rogue said after a minute, "can...we talk about somethin'?"

Here it was. It was only a matter of time, he supposed. She was bound to start asking questions again about his past, about the things he didn't want to talk about with anyone. He didn't want to be pressed right now about it, it was still too close to the bone. And besides...Jean-Luc might be listening. "Right now?" he asked, "'cause...I'm kind of sick of talkin', Rogue...can't we jus'...y' know...settle down, get comfy and hang t' gether and watch somethin'? No serious stuff f' once?"

Rogue seemed slightly disappointed, "if...that's what you want."

"It's exactly what I want," he assured. "And by the way..." he moved to his dresser and opened the top drawer, "I already got y' the new iPhone...here."

Rogue blinked, "Ah was kiddin'."

"I know, but I got pissed off not bein' able t' get through t' y'...so here. It's all set up, I put some numbers int' it for y' but y' need t' charge it up 'cause it died while y' was away..."

"This is-" she seemed to be on the verge of saying it was too much, but he stopped her.

"Jus' say thank you, and accept that it's a gift," he warned her. "Go charge it, I'll keep an eye out for the others leavin' and I'll text y' on it when we're in the clear t' hang t' gether, okay?"

Rogue nodded, gazing down at the box in her hands, "thank you."

"Now, y' better go, before—"

The bedroom door opened, Logan stood there looking slightly annoyed, "out," he gestured to Rogue.

Rogue sighed, "but-"

"Yeah, I know the spiel, yadda yadda yadda," Logan nodded his head in the direction of the hall, "and you know the rules about closed doors. Out."

Rogue smiled a little, rolling her eyes, "Ah'll see you later," she promised Remy, and with that she left the room. Logan standing making sure she left completely.

Logan eyed the half-painted walls up and down, his expression slightly displeased, "this is a mess..."

"Yeah...it...didn' turn out too good. Not so sure I like the colour any more," Remy rubbed the back of his sore neck. "Not sure I'm even gon' have enough t' finish the last wall neither."

"That grey paint is too thin, the red is just going to keep showin' through. You should have primed it first. You're just wasting paint."

"Didn' think about it at the time," Remy grumbled, he didn't like the intrusion of Logan there; nor did he like that Jean-Luc was lurking at Logan's back. Couldn't Logan even sense the son of a bitch? No...it wasn't likely.

Can't sense what ain' there, I guess, Remy realised unhappily.

"We'll go out tomorrow, get primer and a colour that you like," Logan promised.

"I can do it myself," Remy complained.

"Fair enough," Logan retorted, and he left the room, closing the door quietly behind himself.

Remy stood looking around his half-painted room; it felt more and more like the unfamiliar room of a stranger every day. It looked like some indecisive madman had lived in this room. He had to fix it. Maybe I'll get Rogue t' pick the colour, Remy decided. He was amused momentarily thinking the colour she'd pick would probably be black. He supposed anything would be an improvement on what he had right now though.

Just a shame I can't paint over Jean-Luc, cover him up too.

It was almost seven before everyone went to the movies; it was a group effort including some of the instructors. Logan had decided to go on this outing, Rogue wasn't certain if it was merely because he wanted to chaperone and make sure they all behaved, or if it was simply because he had actually wanted to see the movie too. Either way, it had worked in her favour, as if Logan had decided to stay around she was almost certain he would try to prevent them from being too alone.

With Hank going to the movie too, the Professor doing some work in the Sub-basement and Ororo visiting a friend, the place was deadly silent. Everyone was out, it was so peaceful.

Rogue went down to the rec room to meet Remy after he'd text her to say the others had left. They sat going through an online movie rental app on the mansions smart television (Remy seeming slightly disappointed that anything rated R was passworded) until they found a movie they wanted to see.

It felt oddly strange being alone enough for the first time in so long; Rogue curled into his side and lay against him, listening to the beat of his heart more than the dialogue and sound effects on the science fiction movie he'd chosen (she'd simply gone along with the first choice he'd madde merely to appease him).

As he sat there content, eyes fixed on the screen, she wondered what was going through his head; he seemed so relaxed and happy but she still couldn't trust it. She reminded herself of the first day of their vacation, she'd wondered the same thing when he'd seemed to be so happy and normal...and then things had begun to quickly go downhill.

Could he really be happy with this as a relationship? He certainly wasn't happy keeping it a secret. It was an impossibly difficult relationship to be in. She was married, and right now, being back with him again left her feeling pressured in ways she hadn't been miles away from him.

The thoughts of the yacht came flooding back, and the thought of that amateur porn she'd caught on Kurt's laptop. She couldn't get either out of her head, and it struck her that the reason why she couldn't avoid thinking about either was that they both seemed rather poor for what they were supposed to be.

Remy had acted strange towards her ever since that day; he could look at her now without the same embarrassed and worried look on his face, but she couldn't help thinking he was still somewhat humiliated that the whole thing had gone so badly. In her mind she saw that woman (that horrible 'actress' with fake breasts and orange tan) laying there still on the edge of a bed being slammed into with no response, not trying to engage the guy at all.

Rogue felt almost guilty for not looking at some of the other videos to get a sense of what it should have been like. She wasn't sure though that pornography could have really given her a sense of the real thing when there was supposedly (as far as she'd heard) so much horrible acting.

She straightened up a little, glancing towards the open doorway leading into the quiet hall; no sound, no footsteps, no sound of the Professor's electric wheelchair anywhere nearby. Chewing her lip, she gazed towards her husband; when she'd waited in his bedroom for him to arrive, she'd almost thought he'd have a rather desperate welcome for her. It left her feeling rather dejected that he didn't seem interested at all. It wasn't that she'd hoped for arousal, but it might have been encouraging.

Ah guess now that he's had it, it's nothin' important any more, she supposed dully She dropped her eyes to his thigh, wondering briefly if it would be all right to try and get close to him that way. The first time she'd tried she'd gone straight for him without any warning, frustrated with the things his father had said to her about how he'd known what she was capable of doing with her powers and how it was very unlikely she could give Remy the kind of sex he needed.

The bastard was dead now, but she still almost felt as if he was right; the issues on the yacht certainly proved that.

Tentatively, she dropped her hand lightly onto his knee, made it seem so casual (at least she hoped it seemed that way) and left it there a while. It was almost another ten minutes before she gently began running her gloved finger along the cottony fabric of his jogging pants in slow deliberate circles, her eyes on the television screen; she could only see dark vague reflections of him from time to time, she didn't dare to look and see if there was any reaction.

She wasn't even certain if he felt the advance, because he said and did nothing. Nervously, she brought her hand up a little closer, tried to remind herself that she was capable of being bold, she'd done it before, it should have been easier now. Her eyes swayed towards the hallway again just to make sure they were still alone, her fingers squeezing his thigh just a little now. Even relaxed his leg was so firm...or was that tension? She bit into her lip to try and help herself hold her nervous breath and she pulled her hand up a little more; there was no way he could have ignored that advance.

She moved her hand up and down his thigh now, so slow, gentle massage, wondering if it was doing anything at all but distract him from the movie; it didn't even seem to be doing that. She frowned a little at the television screen wondering if it could be that science fiction was sexier than her.

Lets face it. Potatoes are sexier than you, she thought dully at herself.

"Subtle," Remy said after a moment.

"Huh?" she asked, her breath caught in her throat a little.

"Y' been rubbin' my leg f' the last twenty five minutes...when y' gon' go in for the kill?"

"Ah..." she almost wanted to laugh, nerves making her stomach jump and jitter like butterflies and moths trying to escape a jam jar.

He slowly moved his glance towards her, he raised an eyebrow, he placed his hand on hers, bringing it up a little. It surprised her that he was already fairly aroused; she hadn't thought that the thigh rubbing would have done much for him. He breathed in a little through his nose. "We're married, y' allowed t' do this y' know..."

She swallowed her nerves, it hurt her throat to do so, "Ah...wasn't sure if you were-"

"If I was what...?" he squeezed her hand against him.

"Okay with it..." she tried, she didn't want to be too direct about it, she didn't need to hurt him any more than he already was.

"I'm fine," he assured, "Jus'...fine..." he tipped his head back, "Keep goin'."

She watched him, a little fascinated by his reactions to the gentle touching just over his pants; he was getting more out of than she'd have thought he might. Just as it seemed he was getting fairly excited by it all, the all too familiar of the front door to the mansion (the way it always slightly banged when it shut) disturbed the act and Rogue gasped, yanking her hand away from him swiftly and pushing herself along on the couch to make as much space between them as possible.

"What the-?" Remy asked, seeming rather confused.

"Hey, I'm back!" a voice called out from the foyer.

Rogue and Remy turned to look at each other, she saw Remy mutter "Tabitha?" under his breath, he grabbed a nearby throw pillow from the corner of the couch and quickly pushed it against his crotch, he sat sideways, trying to make this look as natural as possible. Rogue wasn't sure she would have even been convinced nothing was going on if she'd walked in upon this scene.

Tabitha sauntered in, removing her jacket – a brown leather aviator one Rogue had never seen before. Who had she stolen that from? "What are we watching?"

"Uhm..." Remy seemed to fight to get control of the situation, "Beyond Earth...I think...?"

"After Earth," Rogue corrected.

"I thought you went to the movies with the others..." Remy ignored Rogue's correction.

Rogue folded her legs under her on the couch, resting her elbow on the armrest. She sighed inwardly, slightly frustrated with the intrusion. Two intrusions in the space of just a few hours...it wasn't making this any easier. "Movie suck?"

"We got there and like, the movie we wanted to see was sold out, they all wanted to see this stupid comedy instead, and like, I was like no, so here I am," Tabitha gazed towards the television momentarily, "what did you say we were watching?"

"After Earth," Rogue answered dully, she cast a glance in Remy's direction, he looked almost apologetic although she wasn't sure why he should.

"Cool, okay, so...I'll go make some popcorn," Tabitha said brightly, "Pause it, will you?"

Remy hit the pause button, watching as Tabitha waltzed off to the kitchen.

"Typical," Rogue muttered under her breath when the girl was out of earshot.

"We should have gone out," he muttered.

"And be seen together?" Rogue gasped, gaping. "Anyway, this was your idea...it was your idea to hang here and-"

"Why don't we jus' be straight with her?" Remy suggested softly, "Jus' tell her we're havin' a private date..."

"Look, please don't tell her...Ah don't want her sittin' there makin' judgements...thinking about things and wonderin' why someone like you would take up with someone like me..."

Remy looked at her, he said nothing but she could tell he was quite critical of this comment and he was holding his tongue.

There was a smash in the kitchen, Rogue winced, "great, she's gone and broke a dish or somethin'."

"I'll go clean it up," Remy muttered, he pushed himself up, a sigh escaping his lips.

"What's up your ass?" Rogue cast a frustrated glance towards him, his tone was rather cold right now, it wasn't like him.

"What's up my ass..." Remy frowned, "nothin', Marie, nothin' at all..." he shook his head and walked away. Rogue had the sense that if there had been doors to the rec room, he most likely would have slammed them.

Remy LeBeau stood at the kitchen door for a moment examining Tabitha, she was kneeling on the floor picking up pieces of broken ceramic, sniffling. He always felt that sense of loss when he saw a woman cry, it was one of those powerful things that always had the strength to turn him into a statue, left him not sure how to really react or what to say.

"Y'...okay?" he managed, realising that if he hovered any more, Tabitha was most likely going to notice his presence anyway.

She glanced up nervously, she took a big deep sniff, blinking, she wiped her left cheek quickly on the back of her hand, fingers clutching a rather large piece of blue ceramic; the item had clearly once been some kind of mixing bowl.

"Jus' a bowl," Remy said, "No reason t' shed a tear..." he moved over and knelt down to help pick up the mess. He already sensed these tears were nothing to do with the bowl smashing.

"Maybe it was my favourite bowl," she tried to crack, a wide smile seemed to nearly break her face, her pretty turquoise eyes seemed button like, shimmering as tears welled.

"We'll get y' a new bowl then," he supposed, he held a few of the broken pieces of the bowl in his hands, he stared at them for a moment. "He was there, wasn't he."

The blonde was silent, picking up pieces, putting them into the garbage can nearby.

"Y' should have told Wolverine."

"I didn't want him knowing," Tabitha swallowed, "he couldn't see...we were in the lobby at the movie theatre...I could see through those huge windows looking down into the street...he was there, sitting in this stupid grey Volvo...watching. I had to sneak out the back, get a cab here. I borrowed money from Jean...I can't even pay it back," Tabitha wiped her cheeks again. "God I feel so stupid."

"You should have called the police...had him put away..." Remy tried.

"Did you call the police on your dad?" Tabitha snapped, her eyes squinting.

He fell silent.

"Even if I did, what's to say they're gonna believe it? Did they ever believe you?"

He looked away, "We ain' talkin' about me."

"I can't tell the police," Tabitha stated firmly, "if they know, they'll want me to press charges...and go to court..."

"Okay, okay..." he took her by the shoulders and shook her gently.

"I can't tell the Professor...he'd want the same too...and Wolverine...I don't know what he'd do. And if the others knew..." she pulled away from him, "all the eyes lookin' at me like this...dirty little daddy's girl..." she hugged herself, "like I'm stained with this thing...no one looked the same way at me the last time, when my dad got arrested. They felt sorry for me...I can't...I can't deal with it."

Remy tilted his head, "so what y' gon' do? Just hide out here forever? Never go out? Run from y' friends the first sign of danger?"

"I'll deal with it in my own way..."

Remy wasn't sure she would deal with it, he was certain she wasn't even capable of it. She was like some wounded bird that kept flying back into the cage whenever it set foot out of it. Remy wanted to tell her she couldn't just keep hiding and avoiding this but he was afraid that it might be slightly hypocritical. If Rogue were here, she'd laugh at him and point out the huge flaw in his argument.

Rogue, he realised. She was still in the rec room waiting.

"Dry y' eyes and go get the popcorn," Remy said, trying to sound commanding. "I'm going back through. Just...try t' relax, we'll think of way t' deal with this later. F' now, try t' get it out of y' mind."

Yes, that was about as helpful as his advice got, that was about all he knew how to do. Try not to focus on things, try to force them out of his mind.

He tried to ignore the fact that he had to pass Jean-Luc in the hallway (avoiding even looking at the bastard's face) and he walked quickly to the rec room. Rogue was sitting curled up at one end of the couch, her expression slightly dark.

"You took your time," Rogue commented to him.

"Yeah, there was bits of ceramic everywhere," Remy shrugged, he dropped onto the opposite end of the couch.

"Why didn't you just let her pick it up?"

"She never picks up after herself, y' shoul' know that by now," Remy commented.

"So why should you pick it up?" Rogue tossed him a strange look.

"Someone has t'," Remy replied, he stared back at his wife. This was aggravating. All he wanted to do right now was spend time alone with her; get right back to what they had been doing, hold each other, talk intimately perhaps. How was that supposed to be possible now?

He supposed it wasn't Tabitha's fault, and she wasn't even to know she had interrupted anything at all. He wished Rogue would just let him admit it; he supposed he would always defy Rogue and just come out with it.

Right now, Tabitha didn't need to be rejected though; as far as he could tell, Tabitha needed to be around people, people who could help her forget her problems...and he knew exactly how that felt.

Rogue stared at the paused screen of the television, her expression dull.

"How about after midnight I come t' see y' in y' room?" he whispered quietly.

"You think Logan won't hear?" she snorted.

"What if we sneak out...coul' go t' the boathouse," he suggested.

"Moment is gone," Rogue commented, she sighed.

Remy grunted, perhaps it was just as well his erection had gone down pretty quickly after Tabitha had intruded. A few moments later, Tabitha re-entered the rec room, her makeup not even smudged from her tears, a huge bowl of popcorn in her arms. She gave a dazzling smile, so convincing that Remy would have been hard put to believe that she had been crying only five minutes earlier.

Rogue threw a dark look at Remy as Tabitha parked herself between them (almost sitting on Rogue's feet as she did so). Remy sighed and hit the play button to re-start the movie, feeling the sense of hopelessness that Tabitha's appearance had brought. Tabitha's own issues brought up a lot of unhappy things for him, and even trying to pay attention to the movie, his memories kept shifting back to unhappier days.

In the reflection in the television, he could see Jean-Luc standing behind the couch, just a silhouette and nothing more. Remy tried to ignore the hard thudding of his heart, tried to eat as much popcorn as he could and pretend nothing was wrong. It was all he could do now.

End of Part Nine

Hmm anyone sensing tension? LOL.

Thanks so much to those who have taken the time to review the last few parts, it's so nice hearing from all you (especially those to take the time to put so many words down about what you think about the situations and the characters mindsets). So many intelligent and clever things get said sometimes by you guys that I get jealous that I can never seem to word it quite the same in the stories or even to myself in thought (seriously). Anyway, it's a Friday night and I wanted to drop this chapter in before I go watch a DVD and have an early-ish night. I hope you all have a super weekend :)