A/N: Here is chapter 3! I do not own X-men Evolution!

Chapter 3: Open Road

The drive down California was a pretty long one, spending nights in hotels and days driving, then they finally make it into Arizona, spending a few nights there. Rogue would have nightmares as she slept, each one similar or entirely different from the last. At this point it had become routine that Remy would climb into her bed to help her fall back asleep. Rogue felt bad but Remy wasn't bothered by it at all. After getting to know him, she found the prince of thieves to be very caring, but then she had to remind herself of her powers and would keep her hands curled up on her chest as she slept.

Remy was very charming, but he also was very aware of Rogue's powers, but it still didn't stop him from trying to get close to her, especially when he was trying to get her to trust him. He has made progress over the past few weeks, but there were still some issues that Rogue could not easily get over. He would leave her in the hotel room to get them whatever they needed, sometimes coming back and finding her fine while other times he would find her having a panic attack.

They also stopped at an ER to check up on her injuries, the doctor telling her that her cast would be off in a month but to take it easy and do physical therapy with her arm and leg.

Rogue spent another evening in their current hotel room, watching tv to ward off boredom. She flips through channels only to pause when the news was playing and she saw a Sentinel on camera. Rogue gasps as the reporter talks about the robot searching for mutants near the area they were in. She starts to panic as she had no way to contact Remy. A small gasp escapes her, sitting up in bed as she hears the doorknob turn. Remy walks in, putting down some stuff for them then felt Rogue throw herself at him. "Rogue? Hey, what's wrong?" Remy asks, looking at her surprised.

Rogue looks up with tears in her eyes. "Ah was worried, there was a Sentinel on the news in our area."

Remy wraps his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. "'S alright, 'm fine. Made sure not t' bring unwanted attention."

"What if it finds us?" Rogue asks, worriedly.

"Don' worry, it won't. 'Sides, we're leavin' in de morning, 'll be alright."

That night was hard on Rogue as she woke up twice, first time Remy immediately going into her bed while the second time he soothed her, but she couldn't go back to sleep. Remy noticed how Rogue tried to distance herself from him, but he didn't push into her boundaries and force himself. Instead he talked to her, to which she calmed down enough to respond back. Remy goes to reach for her gloved hand, but Rogue keeps it close to her chest. "Y' trust me?" He asks.

Rogue bites her lip, hesitant. "Ah just don't wanna hurt ya…. Mah powers aren't exactly safe."

Remy gives her a smile. "Neither are mine, but i don' let it control me. Y' got y' gloves on, cher. Let me help y'. I promise we could take all de time y' need."

Rogue looks up into his eyes, a light blush on her cheeks. She slowly reaches her hand out and puts it in Remy's. "No guy has really evah made an effort ta do this… Why are ya so different?"

Remy looks into her eyes, seeing their questioning gaze staring into his. "I don' know… T' be honest, dere was jus' somet'in' 'bout y' that I liked when we ran int' each ot'er on de battlefield. I don' care if y' powers don' allow y' t' feel how y' should, but.. I wanna prove y' wrong that 's okay t' let y'self feel." Remy tries to explain, shifting his position a bit in the bed to get more comfortable.

Rogue looks down at her small hand in his larger one. She found him mesmerizing that day too, but had to tell her mind to fight. And now here he is, in the same bed as her, comforting her, knowing him pretty well after a month on the road. Rogue had walls up, but she could feel them start to crumble down. Perhaps it had something to do with him, or everything to do with him. She looks back up to him, letting her guard down. "Ta be honest… ah'm just scared. Mah whole lahfe ah have been told ah will never have what othah's will so ah just don't let people get close… because it scares meh when someone actually manages ta get close and what they'll do. Ah've been used by so many people… it's why ah don't trust so easily…"

Remy lightly squeezes her hand. "Y' an' me, we got a lot in common. 'M not afraid of y' powers. 'Sides, not everythin' has t' be all about touch, Rogue. Do y' trust me enough t' show y'?"

"But… eventually ya'll want moah… Ah know every guy would. Ah can't even control mah powers ta give ya somethin' moah." Rogue looks away, frowning.

"Den lemme help y' control dem." Remy goes closer to her, making her gasp.

He pauses, looking at her, her looking back with a look of shock on her face. "Will y' let me?" He asks softly.

Rogue felt her heart racing, nodding slowly. Remy gives her a small smile, then places a kiss on her gloved hand. "Get some rest, chère. Gon' be on de road again in a few hours."

Rogue lets her body curl up next to Remy's, still holding his hand. For the first time in forever, she felt like she was home. Her eyes close and soon she drifts off into sleep. Remy eventually falls back to sleep and the two southerners felt at peace.

Morning came and they hit the road again, Remy giving Rogue some coffee to her liking which made her smile, noting it an accomplishment for himself as he hasn't seen one on her face. He knows she was an unhappy girl but seeing the smile on her face made him think she wasn't always unhappy.

They drove through Phoenix, then drove in New Mexico, Remy planning to stop in Roswell for the night. They stopped at a gas station, Rogue asking to get some snacks for the road, to which Remy told her he would grab them real quick. He comes out moments later with some Arizona tea and a bag of sour gummy worms per Rogue's request. "Didn' take y' fo' a sour candy kinda girl." Remy grins.

"And what did ya think ah enjoyed?" Rogue asks, a bit of a teasing tone in her voice she hasn't heard herself use in a long time.

Remy thinks. "Hmm, a dark chocolate kinda girl."

"Well, ah do lahke dark chocolate, but ah'm in a sour candy mood." Rogue smiles a bit.

"Well, den I guess 'll keep surprisin' y' wit' t'ing's y' like if dat means I get t' see a smile." Remy smiles back at her.

Rogue felt her cheeks burn lightly, popping a gummy worm in her mouth. He chuckles lightly as he starts the car again and heads back on the road. They get dinner once the evening hits, then find a hotel for the night as it got pretty late. Rogue had fallen asleep in her seat, Remy smiling and moving a strand of white hair behind her ear, then he goes and gets them a room. He comes back out and carries her up to the room, placing in her bed, then goes to get in his own but he felt a light tug on his coat. Rogue had woken up a bit after he placed her in bed. "Please… stay.." She says softly, her tired eyes looking up into his.

Remy wordlessly takes off his coat, getting into bed next to her. Rogue holds his hand, her head resting on his shoulder. She falls back asleep, Remy lightly running his fingers through her hair. "Always.." He whispers softly into her hair as he placed a light kiss on top of her head.

For the first time in several years, Rogue slept soundly that night, no nightmares plaguing her mind. The two southerners slept throughout the night, Remy waking up the next morning finding Rogue still sleeping peacefully. Rogue stirs in her sleep, her eyes slowly fluttering open. "G'mornin', chère." Remy smirks.

Rogue looks up, then sits up a bit. "Did ah have anothah.. nightmare? Ah didn't think ah did."

Remy shakes his head. "No, but y' asked me t' stay last night. Guess y' slept throughout de night without any nightmares."

He squeezes her hand lightly as he gave her a smile. Rogue lets out a sigh of relief. "Maybe we could.. look around the area instead of doin' drivin'?" Rogue looks up into his eyes.

"Sure. Maybe we could check out de the UFO museum?" Remy smirks.

Rogue rolls her eyes but smile. "Soah, ah was thinkin' of tha zoo."

"We got plenty o' time, cher."

The two get up after Rogue just wanted to lay in bed for a short while, Remy not arguing with her. He can't remember when he had a relaxing morning without his guild life in the way or Magneto having them do whatever he wanted done that day. They walk around in the museum, joking to each other as they go, then they head to the zoo. Everything was going well so far, but when the zoo started to get packed and the crowds got bigger, Rogue wraps her arms around herself, accidentally dropping the crutches Remy had gotten for her before they left. Remy turns and notices she wasn't following anymore, then he rushes to her and helps her with her crutches. "Y' okay?" He asks.

"Ah don't do well in large crowds." Rogue admits, wanting to get out.

Remy helps her out of the crowded area, taking her to a small secluded one to give her a breather. She sighs in relief as she leans against the wall, then looks up to notice Remy look at her. "Y' okay?" He asks.

"Yeah. Thanks. Ah guess the zoo isn't such a great idea fer meh." Rogue admits with a sheepish smile.

Remy chuckles lightly. "Guess not."

They find a less crowded way to exit the zoo, then get some dinner. After eating, they go back to the hotel for the evening, Rogue laying down on her bed while Remy hangs up his trench coat. He walks over and lays next to Rogue, his hands on his stomach laced together. Rogue smiles as she looks up at the ceiling. "Ya know, today felt lahke a normal day, except ah'm still in these casts, but it was fun.. Ah haven't had that in a long while."

"Den perhaps I should take y' t' more fun places, hnh?" Remy grins at her.

She looks over, her features soften. "Yeah… ah'd lahke that."

They stared at each other for a while, Remy gently moving a strand of hair out of her face without touching her skin. Her emerald eyes looked into his red on black ones and for a moment Rogue forgot about her powers. It's seems Remy did too, as he switched onto his side to look down at her. He hovered over her very slightly, his face going close to hers. Rogue's breath hitched, her hands gently going on his strong shoulders. "Remy… a-ah.. ah can't, mah powers…" Rogue says very softly.

"'M not afraid of dem." He says just as soft.

"Ah don't want ta hurt ya.." She says, her eyes half-lidded, cheeks lightly blushed and her voice still soft.

Remy had gotten close then he leans back very slightly and smiles at her, seeing her blushing at how close he had come. "Den 'll take it slow."

He grabs her hand and kisses it, knowing it would help her calm down a bit. Part of Rogue wanted to kiss him, but the other part told her she would put him under with just a touch of her lips. She gives him a nervous smile, then she returns the favor-placing a kiss on his gloved hand since he wasn't in his Acolyte suit but in a regular tee and jeans.

After getting ready for bed for the night, Rogue sits in her bed scrolling through the tv channels, Remy coming out of the bathroom with his pjs on. He noticed the look of frustration on her face-her lips pursed and her brows slightly furrowed as she was trying to find something to watch. He let's out a bit of a chuckle then walks over. "Havin' fun?" He asks, sitting next to her while shuffling some cards he picked up.

"Nothin' good is on." Rogue huffs.

She stops on a channel that was playing movies, a horror movie just starting up. Settling on that, Rogue relaxes by laying back against her pillow, tossing the remote aside. "Like horror movies?" Remy looks up from his cards.

"They're not lahke those cheesy and sappy rom-coms, which makes them hundreds tahmes better. Though the decisions people make in these movies are so stupid and predictable." Rogue nods, only to look to him from the tv to see an amused look on his face.

"So y' don' like any romance?" He teases.

"Ah never said that, just those cheesy rom-coms. Ah'll sometahmes read books that have romance in them." She then gets flustered, as she doesn't like to let anyone know or see what she reads.

Remy grins. "Oh, so y' like t' read 'bout romance. From de look on y' face, though, seems like y' didn' want me t' know 'bout that."

Rogue looks away from his eyes, going back to the movie. "Well, it's mostly books with lahke vampires or somethin', but if ah can't experience any romance then ah'll just read it."

Remy puts his cards aside, going next to her. "Maybe I can help y' experience dat, hnh?" He gives her a suggestive grin, to which Rogue shoves a pillow in his face while her face turned beet red.

"Y-ya gonna watch the movie with meh or not?" She stutters.

Remy laughs, then gets comfy. The two watch the movie, Remy glancing at Rogue every now and then. He slowly puts his arm around her, Rogue's eyes focused on the movie but her body instinctively leans into his. Once the first movie ends, they start watching a second one but both fell asleep at some point. Rogue had put the tv on a timer earlier when she was scrolling through the channels so the tv automatically shuts off while they slept.

Rogue was starting to have a nightmare later on in the night but settled down as Remy squeezed her closely to his body, his face nestling into her hair as his arms were wrapped around her body.

Morning comes, the light shining through the window in their room while they slept. Rogue wakes up and yawns softly, then pauses when she felt something solid against her. She looks up to see Remy sleeping with his arms around her, her face turning a light shade of red. He looked peaceful in his sleep as she looked at him. Rogue was about to get up when she felt his grip tighten on her a bit, causing her to fall back into the bed with him. Remy lets out a low, husky chuckle, which made her heart race. "Five more minutes?" Even his voice was low and husky, filled with a bit of sleep.

"Fahne." Rogue settles into his arms, receiving another chuckle from the Cajun.

The two get up, getting their things ready for another day of driving. They drive another ten hours and fifty minutes from Roswell to Houston, stopping at some places to stretch, eat and bathroom breaks. Rogue sighs happily as she could feel the southern breeze as she sat in the car. Remy noticed her happy demeanor and smiles as he walks up to her rolled down window. "Enjoyin' y'self?" He asks.

"Just enjoying the nice southern air, even if we aren't in Louisiana or Mississippi yet. Ah sometahmes miss the south."

"I sometimes t', though 'm not so sure I miss bein' home." Remy walks to his side of the car and gets in.

"Why not?" Rogue asks once he's in.

"Let's jus' say dat 'd rat'er be anywhere else den in de guild at de moment. Hometown 's nice, but de guild jus' uses me fo' m' powers." Remy shrugs.

Rogue frowns. "Even if ya were adopted, don't ya evah miss bein' back home?"

Remy stares at the steering wheel, an unreadable expression on his face. "Sure I miss bein' home, but I don' miss bein' around my "fatha". He only wants t' use my powers t' his advantage."

Rogue just nods. Remy then looks at her and gives her a small smile. "But, 'd prefer t' be spendin' time wit' y', chère instead o' doin' guild work o' whatever Magneto wants me t' do fo' him."

Rogue gives him a small smile, then they drive off to a hotel for the night as it was already seven o'clock. The two settle into their room once they find a place for the night, Rogue hobbling to the bed and sitting on it. Remy hangs up his coat, then offers Rogue if she would want to play some cards, to which she smiles and agrees. She soon found out that Remy beat her four times at a couple different card games, the last one he let her win. "Ya were just going easy on meh that tahme!" She lets out a bit of a laugh and gestures to the cards.

"Jus' tryin' make it a fair game." Remy smirks.

"How are ya so good at card games?" She asks.

"Jus' some practice but I would also play games wit' my brot'er, Henri. If I really wanted t', I could've had us play poker, den y'd be in trouble." He gives a wink with his trademark grin.

"Hm, Ah think ah'll pass on that one, knowing ah'll lose that." Rogue smiles at him with a teasing glint in her eyes.

Remy feigns innocences. "What? Y' don' trust this Cajun?"

"Nope." Rogue smiles and crosses her arms while looking away.

Remy chuckles. Rogue yawns, then lays back against her pillow. He watches her, then crawls over to her to lay next to her. "Y' gon' have me sleep on de floor t'night o' join y'?" He asks lowly.

Their hotel room only gave them one bed, but given the amount of times they slept in the same bed, Rogue gives him a smirk. "Well, ah guess ah could spare one of mah pillows to ya on the floor."

Remy feigns a pout. "How cruel, chère. De floor gon' be hard on m' back."

Rogue lets out a small giggle. "Ah'm teasin' ya, Swamp rat."

"Oh, a new nickname, hnh? I could do dose t', River rat." Remy smirks.

"Ha ha, very nice." Rogue smiles and rolls her eyes. "Ah'm go get readeh fer bed."

"Y' need help?" Remy gives a suggestive grin.

"Nope." Rogue sticks her tongue out, then gets up and grabs her pjs and heads for the bathroom.

Remy changes into his real quick then settled into bed, noticing Rogue coming out and putting her clothes down. She hobbles over to the bed and gets in, then looks at Remy. He tilts his head and smiles at her, patting the spot next to him. Rogue curls up into his arms, settling in as she can feel sleep overtake her. Remy wraps his arms around her and nuzzles her carefully as the two fall into a blissful sleep.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Stay tuned!