Note from the author: I hope this isn't too racy for this rating, but I think it's some well-earned quality time between our leads that I know I at least have been waiting for for a long time. Thank you OpheliaXye, Paulina Ann, Xfan2024, and onehart00 for the kind words. Enjoy!

Chapter 18 — Renewal

They had been flying for almost an hour and were out of US air space. Rogue began charting their course for Antananarivo and checked in with the X-Men while Remy reviewed the files of all the information the others had synthesized on Selene, the Hellfire Trading Company, Revive, and Essex.

"How are they all doing?" Rogue asked Logan over the jet's video call system, after they had briefed each other on the last few hours.

"Nervous, though nobody's admitting it. A lot to get through in the next couple days. But we'll deal. And you, Stripes?" Even from the screen, it was obvious the side eye Logan was giving Remy, who reposed in the seat beside her, was engrossed in reading and did not notice.

"Ah'm all right," Rogue said, surprising herself. A weight had lifted now that they were on their way, for once in sync. Together in purpose.

Logan looked at her carefully, "You reach out with your comm link if anything goes fubar, you hear?"

She offered a small smile, "Ah will."

"You good on the plan?"

"Yeah. We'll touch base in two days for the final rendezvous point. Ah hope by then we'll have more useful information."

"All right. Be careful, Rogue. The Cajun better have your six… or he'll get mine. Talk at the next check in. War Room out."

As she hung up, Remy looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "De homme's never go'n' trust me, is he?"

She shrugged, "Have you given him reason to?"

"I played good ol' X-Man for weeks, against my entire nature and normal mode o' operation."

"Then ya ran off in the middle of a critical time without telling anyone, to face off against potentially our greatest enemy ever, and maybe could've mucked it all up for everyone?"

Remy whistled, "Ok, let's not get melodramatic, chere."

Rogue huffed, but the sound was mixed with a timbre of laughter. They hadn't had a light banter like this in such a long time, and it did not go unfelt. The beginnings of a smile played at the corners of her lips.

Remy caught himself staring at her, Dieu, had she always been this beautiful?

Their eyes locked, years of unspoken thoughts and emotions thickening the space between them.

Remy cleared his throat and turned to look at the files he had been reviewing, "Dis Selene is a real piece o' work. How many civilizations you t'ink she ruined?"

"Ah don't know but she's not messing up ours."

Remy smirked, "Not wit' you on our side, c'est sur."

"Ha, Ah'm not all-powerful."

"Based on what I've seen, I t'ink you'd give her a run for her money."

Rogue chuckled, "Gambit always knows the odds, that it?"

"I always bet on you, chere." That devilish smile that always made her stomach flutter. "You're fierce and strong, and nothing could stop you from protecting y'friends." He meant to be light hearted but the words fell with a somber weight.

She thought he was referring to her powers, but instead, he was talking about her. Who and how she was. The moment was too heavy and neither was ready for it. She looked at the jet controls, "Looks like the computer finished mapping the flight path. It'll be about eight hours till we land in Antananarivo, so get comfortable. Ah'm setting the auto-pilot."

"Just eight hours? Dis jet really is somet'ing."

"Thank the genius of Hank and Kitty."

Remy stretched his legs but didn't otherwise move, settling his gaze on the endless night sky that twinkled beyond the windshield. Below them was an endless sea of cloud cover, blocking out the world below and making it feel as if they were the only two people in existence.

Rogue suddenly felt very sensitive to his presence, his every breath and movement. A twinge of self-consciousness snaked around her chest. What the hell were they going to do for the next eight hours? A mix of anxiety and anticipation tickled her nerves. His telling words at the airport, their intensity, were still fresh in her mind: I won't risk you. The silent minutes ticked by and she was running out of system checks to do, growing increasingly irritated by how she felt like an antsy teenager in Remy's presence.

He spoke, "Can I ask you somet'ing?"

She looked at him curiously, "All right."

"What happened in de gear room? When we were… You just ran off like you couldn't get away from me fast enough. Was it her?" His fiery night eyes seem to bore into her.

She looked away, trying to think of what to say, how to explain something so batshit crazy. Part of her wanted to lie or at least minimize it. Another part wanted to brush him off. She chose the path that would be least exhausting, which usually was the unfiltered truth, "Yes, it was Selene."

Remy frowned, "What did she want?"

"Ah don't know. Half the time Ah have no idea what she means. In that moment, Ah was overwhelmed by her. Ah just had to…go and deal with it. Ah wasn't …running from you."

Remy's brow furrowed deeper. This was far more concerning than their moment being ruined because of something he did. An ancient mutant with a penchant for destroying entire civilizations had a psychic connection to Rogue and a link to Genosha and they were practically on the way to delivering her to them?

"Do you know when she's in y' head?" he asked.

"Ah haven't felt her for hours. Ah think Ah'm getting better at blocking her out."

"But if she wants she can barge in any time?" He felt his voice rising but he couldn't help it. His mind spun with the horrible thought that this whole plan was a mistake and would get Rogue killed. Or worse.

"Don't overreact," Rogue said. She unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of the cockpit, moving to the main passenger cabin past the first couple rows of seats.

"'Overreact'?" He followed suit, nearly running into her when she abruptly spun around to face him.

"Yes," she simmered, tone borderline challenging him to object.

Can anyt'ing be easy wit' dis woman? He summoned all his patience, "An External has free reign in your mind, chere. I'm reacting proportionally to the problem."

She growled in frustration, "Not free reign. Ah'm handling it. Ah have telepathy too, remember."

He grasped her shoulders and leaned into her space. She didn't back away. "You know it's not de same. We barely know anyt'ing about dat External or how powerful she is. I t'ink we need to reassess de plan—"

"Don't even start with that. Ah just have to deal with it. Ah won't let her control me. Ah'm not gonna hide from my own mind —

"But you have to consider—"

"No. My mind is shielded. Ah'm much stronger now and more capable than you understand. Ah spent a lot of time working on my psychic powers so Ah I could have more control. So I could fix what you broke."

Shit. The moment the words were out she regretted them. This wasn't the time or place and yet she went and brought it up anyway.

He grew quiet, eyes dropping to the floor. He slowly backed away.

Rogue grimaced, "Ah shouldn't have said that. Ah'm sorry."

He leaned against a seat and seemed to deflate, "Why you apologizing, chere? Y' just speaking truth. And I get it — I don't have de right to keep you from doin' what y' need to do."

She stepped toward him, opening her mouth to say…what? What words would close this cavernous gap between them, would bring them back to that closeness from years ago? Because she was beginning to come to grips with the realization that despite what had happened and what he'd done, she still trusted him. The stakes were the highest she'd ever known, and there was no one else she wanted at her side for it. It wasn't the heat of the moment driving this need anymore. And then she realized she was done fighting it, fighting him and whatever it was she felt for him. She wanted to embrace it – even the confusion, mess and chaos of it all. How and why didn't matter because he was here, with her. Hadn't they been through enough? Be brave. Block out the anxiety, second guessing, and insecurities.

She slowly stepped close to him, pulling off her gloves and letting them drop into one of the seats. His eyes followed her every movement. Then she reached, placing a hand on his forearm with a reassuring squeeze.

He stayed still, thinking irrationally that any rustle might scare her off. He thought he could feel the warmth of her bare hand through his jacket and resisted the urge to pull her flush against him.

"Ah didn't mean to bring up the past two years — my temper. We don't have to rehash it all, Remy," she said, the deep emeralds of her eyes emanating an allure for him that he hadn't seen in a long time. "Ah'm just glad you're with me for what we have to face next. Ah trust you. Evan trusts you. Whatever happened before, Ah know you're just trying to do the right thing now."

He couldn't take it. Her faith. She was letting him off too easily. He didn't deserve it. But damn if he didn't want to take it, take her. To be selfish because the want was desperately stronger than his self-loathing, like he was the parched desert and she the rain.

"I just… I don't know if I'll get another chance t' tell you," he said, hand clasping over hers on his arm.

She tilted her head slightly as she gazed at him, "Tell me what?"

The words that had been lost to him all this time suddenly came flooding out, beckoned by her inviting eyes, "I wanted t' come back. I tried, but t'ings kept getting more and more fucked up. I was a coward. I couldn't deal, couldn't face you. But I never wanted t' hurt you. And I hurt you anyway – it was all for not'ing. It just all got out of control, worse and worse. I need you t' know how sorry I am."

"You don't have to explain now." Her hand slid up his arm and came to rest on his chest as she leaned in closer. Did she even realize what she was doing? "And it wasn't all for nothing." The warmth in her gaze turned into something with more fervor and heat.

A deep need stirred within him. Did she feel it too? He didn't know what he was allowed to do in this moment. He watched her intently for signs, any clue.

"You're here," she said, her other hand sliding up to the base of his neck, nudging him down toward her. "We'll figure out the rest."

"Chere…" He leaned in until their mouths were breaths apart. One arm wove slowly around her waist, gently pulling their bodies together, waiting for her to object. His other hand trailed slowly up her neck to the soft skin behind her ear. It was a near-maddening but thrilling anticipation, not knowing whether she'd push away, waiting and watching so closely to every detail of her reaction to his touch.

He saw no furrow of a brow or narrowing of her eyes, no crinkle of rejection anywhere on her perfect face. Had she really forgiven him?

"Tell me t' stop," he said, almost a command, closing the final millimeters between their faces. He had to be sure.

She slowly shook her head, tilting her face back to give him better access, lips parted slightly, eyes never leaving his.

When their mouths met, it was tentative and slow at first, uncertain. Then he felt her hands travel up through his hair, pulling him inward to her. She moaned against his lips and it sparked the burn of urgency inside him. He had to get closer. He deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his tongue as his hands roamed down her body to the back of her thighs and lifted her up against him. Her legs hooked around him, arms wrapping around his shoulders, as she chased his hungry mouth with her own.

He pressed her up against the wall of the jet, hips rocking against hers with a delicious friction that quickened his heart and heated his blood. Only she could satiate this maddening need. Dieu, he wanted her so badly. Her forgiveness, her body – he wanted everything.

She pushed his jacket off his shoulders then attacked his shirt, breaking the kiss to pull it off over his head. She trailed her fingers down his bare chest as he kissed down her throat and reached for the front zipper of her suit.

"Rogue, are y' sure?" His voice hoarse and heady with want.

"Yes, Remy. Yes." She kissed him deeply then unlocked her ankles, sliding down him till her feet touched floor again. She shrugged off her jacket as he pulled the zipper of her uniform down, freeing her breasts, continuing to pull until it revealed her navel.

He knelt before her and slowly loosened the uniform past her hips, down past her calves, as his mouth trailed up the soft skin of her inner thigh.

She drew in a breath, fingers raking through his hair.

He pulled off her boots and her suit the rest of the way until her body was completely free, never stopping the slow travel of his mouth right to her heated core. She released a sensual moan, arching into him. Her breath began to quicken as he devoured her, clutching her hips to anchor her body to him as he wound that knot of pleasure tighter and tighter until she cried out at release. She fell back against the jet wall as the waves of pleasure washed over her. He watched in rapt fascination, still kneeling before this goddess who for some reason he didn't understand was giving herself to him.

Breath slightly ragged, she met him on the floor on her knees and crushed her mouth to his. She needed more. She was nearly mindless with want and for once she didn't care, didn't over think. Her hands found the clasps of his pants and undid them. Then she reached, fingers clasping around his thick, ready length. He released a throaty groan from her fingers' strokes and in one swift motion, he swooped her gently to the floor onto her back, settling down between her legs.

"Here?" he asked.

"Ah don't care where," she said impatiently and pulled his mouth to hers in another ravenous kiss. She felt him grin against her lips, his hands caressing her breasts, down past her stomach, to her molten core.

She released a husky moan as he touched her again and groaned in pleasure the moment she felt him glide inside. Smoldering red eyes never leaving hers, he set a steady, intoxicating rhythm, their bodies writhing and straining against each other in a chaotic orchestra of questing mouths and hands and enthralled groans. No mind for thought or words, only undeniable, desperate desire.

The feel of him, the pressure, the heat, it was better than she remembered. The sense of wholeness that came from this, she didn't understand it. She could only feel his skin against hers, hear the groans of pleasure that escaped him involuntarily. Seeing how she affected him, it was thrilling. She wanted to be the only person who made him unravel. And unravel he did.

She arched into him as he drove into her again and again. More. How was it possible to feel both a heightening satisfaction and desperate hunger at the same time? How did she live without this? She hadn't, she hadn't been alive the years he was gone. She clutched at him fiercely, trying to get impossibly closer as their bodies ground against each other. She didn't know how long it went on, her mind lost all sense of time, caught in the contradictory storm of frenzied yearning and gratification, of melting into him. It didn't matter; she never wanted it to end. But the growing tension of her pleasure was bordering a breaking point. It needed release, and somehow he knew. She felt him reach between their bodies to stroke her in that sensitive spot, sending her spilling over the edge into ecstasy. She cried out, nails digging into his skin, gasping as the waves of an electric euphoria unleashed from somewhere deep in her body. His hand clutched the side of her face, the red of his eyes seeming to brighten as he gazed into hers and dove to his own peak, crying out in a guttural, primal sound of rapture. He shuddered within her and buried his face in her neck, breathing in her scent as he steadied his own breath. She felt her body go placid with satiation and savored the feel of him against her.

After a few moments he rolled onto his side, bringing her with him by resting her head on his bicep, drawing her close. "Dat was…" he started but his mind went blank for words. It had never been like this with anyone else. The thought mesmerized and worried him at the same time.

"Perfect," she purred.

He smirked, pulling her even closer so their naked bodies were flush, "Dat so, chere? Ten out of ten?"

"Take the win and don't go inflating your ego, Cajun."

"I live for your pleasure, Rogue."

She scoffed but arched into his body and kissed him. She shivered, though from the sensation of his mouth on hers or the sudden chill, she couldn't tell.

He rubbed her arm, whose skin now felt cool to the touch, "Maybe we should get off dis cold floor."

"There are cots in the back," she offered, standing up. She took his hand.

Without bothering with their clothes, they moved to the rear fuselage which housed an efficient medical bay, with travel-size versions of common medical equipment and complete with two cots built into either wall. Remy pulled the mattresses off the cots and secured them beside each other on the narrow floor to make a larger sleeping surface. Rogue found thick cotton blankets in the cabinets. They settled into the makeshift bed, arms and legs entwined as if afraid something would too easily push them apart.

She leaned into the warmth of him and felt a delicious exhaustion weigh on her eyelids. He held her close, one hand gently stroking her thigh that was draped over his.

"What Ah said earlier, about you not having to explain," she said softly. "It's not because Ah don't want to talk about it."

"I know," he said.

She went on, "Ah do want to know what you've been through. And Ah want to tell you everything about me too. Ah just… Ah don't know how much time we have."

He drew her in closer, probably holding on tighter than he needed to.

"Ah don't know what's going to happen," she said against his neck, voice so low he could barely hear. "But after we make it through, if we make it, Ah want to talk about it all."

"We'll make it," he said with a strangely defiant certainty. Or at least she would. He wasn't willing to entertain another outcome. And he couldn't help the faint sense of unease growing in his stomach. He didn't know where it came from, this sudden foreboding. He pushed it to the back of his mind. Not now. Not after the sublimity they had just shared. "Go to sleep, chere. We'll have all the time in the world to get to know each other again."

She sighed in contentment, her breath warm on his skin, and settled into quiet slumber. He listened to her breathing before he too drifted off to sleep.