It was late October; nights were getting chilly already. My favorite leather jacket usually gets a lot of wear around that time of the year. So, naturally I picked it up from my armchair and made it work as the last finishing touch for my look that night.

I was feeling hopeful, wondering what that night would bring. Hopefully some fun and distraction would come my way. God knows I desperately need those. And indeed, it did, but not in a million years in the way I had anticipated.

Wanda had booked us three a table at a fancy restaurant. Her latest attempt to get us to get along. Natasha, Wanda and I were the Avengers women now, for crying out loud. We should be closer than we actually were, I supposed.

I know now that the Avengers will never be the X-Men in the sense of proximity and intenseness. Drawing comparison between the two teams is ridiculous even. The Avengers is a group of superheroes that fight together, but other than that, there isn't really a togetherness at all. Lots of team members come and go, and are even part of other affiliations. The X-Men, on the other hand, have always held that family feeling. Most of us joined in our teenage years, suffered for being outcasts, alienated from our families and friends. Simply because we had just found out to be mutants. That in itself is our greatest bonding mechanism. We belong to the mutant race and we all know what it's like to bear that cross.

Even so, Wanda thought dinner in town would somehow correct that lack of connection between us. That would obviously take a much bigger effort, but still. Bottom line was I had nothing better to do, so I went along with that.

At around 8 we were headed to a beautiful rooftop hotel restaurant where we could indulge in Manhattan's stunning views while enjoying modern American cuisine. It sounded good enough for me.

All of us were looking very sex-in-the-city-like. All high heels, make up and nice hairdos. As much as I'd love to, I don't get to do nights out in town that often. I might as well make the most of it, I thought. My leather jacket might have been the only thing that looked a bit off, or maybe not. I know I can be a bit insecure about the way I present myself.

The place was cool chic, packed with good-looking people in a relaxed atmosphere. But still, we obviously stood out from the crowd, in a good way, I suppose. We were directed to our table and were promptly handed glamourous drinks as soon as we had them ordered. We tried to make small talk, but it was awkward.

I am the kind of person who does not make conversation easily without familiarity. Or maybe, it was just them. Most probably a combination of both factors. Natasha was pushing it further, tried to talk about roots, where we came from, how life was like growing up and stuff. As much as I appreciated her trying, that was so not the place, or the people, for that matter, that I would talk about that. I have rarely talked about those things to anyone. And that was the first time that night that the memory of Remy LeBeau popped in my mind.

Both Wanda and Natasha had their troubled pasts as well, so both of them took turns by superficially narrating their earliest memories. For some reason, or perhaps it was the third vodka-based cocktail in a row, Natasha was quite talkative. She was sharing much more than she normally would. However, I couldn't help my eyes glazing over as she told us about her KGB days.

At last, I couldn't escape it anymore and it was my turn to give them something about me, about my past.

I opted for a broad-brush description of my hometown, said nothing at all about my family situation, briefly mentioned being raised by my aunt and told them something about the habits of the people who lived down South. Nothing much, nothing compromising.

"Oh, wow, Rogue! Your southern drawl gets much more noticeable when you talk about good old days in Mississippi." Natasha commented. I was debating myself whether to give her one of my best eye rolls or just going ahead and telling her to fuck off. 'What are you talking about, you bitch! You're fucking Russian! Leave my accent alone!' Yeah, that would've been nice, but I decided to be an adult about it and laugh it off. Ha ha that is SO funny! That was when Wanda looked like she'd seen a ghost and swallowed hard. Both Natasha and I immediately turned our heads arounds to see what, in fact, who she was looking at.

"Isn't that your ex-boy, Rogue? That devilish sexy X-Man? It is him, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that is Gambit alright." Wanda confirmed. "Looking as cool as ever, making all them ladies' panties drop."

Oh, boy! I could feel my cheeks burning up at the mention of him already. My ex-boy? More like my forever thorn-on-the-side slash love-of-my-life.

He saw us. Of course, he saw us. Probably had seen us the minute he walked in. I hoped to God he hadn't done it on purpose. I suspect he didn't because he had a, how can I put it, a business partner with him. Probably some client of the Guild. An art collector, maybe? He looked very elegant but not quite as hot as Remy. Not in the least, to be honest.

The minute his eyes caught mine, there it was. That twisted crooked smile of his, he held my gaze for longer than a person normally would. It made my insides turn with desire for him and at the same time hate him for his petulant ways. How is that even possible? And the nerve he has! Sitting there as cool as a cucumber, obviously having his fun at the cost of my less polished ways of dealing with the fact I was sitting across the room from someone I had sex with a million times over. If anyone knows me at all in this damned life of mine, it is him. He's the only man alive who has at some point truly owned my heart, body and soul.

But I was over him. We were so over each other. I saw other people after him, he had probably been with half the population of New Orleans ever since we broke up. Where was that coming from?

Right. Who am I kidding? I was never really over that devil!

Most of the times, meeting Remy is something I'm at least half-expecting, some mission, a visit to the mansion, going to an art gallery… Now that was totally unexpected and I hadn't mentally prepared myself for the occasion. And that could only be the reason why I felt that way, and that was amusing him so so much. His lips stretched into a wide Cheshire cat grin while he nodded at me with appreciation. That sparkle in his eyes fully in view now, that sparkle I used to know so well.

Flicking my hair, I feigned indifference, or tried to. I turned my attention back to the women without a word being uttered. The girls were visibly disappointed. They clearly expected me to say something. Natasha was lightly giggling but I didn't feed her curiosity and remained silent. Our food arrived, so there was that for distraction.

Some five minutes into dinner, he made his move. That swaggerly presence of his that could be felt by anyone in a five mile radius stopped right next to our table.

"Good evening ladies." He nodded at them, then paused, swiftly took one of my hands in his and before I could protest, he placed the customary kiss on its back. "Chére."

"Hi, Remy." I spoke a little bit breathless. God damn it! I didn't manage to sound unaffected by that rascal this time.

"Ladies, could I steal your dinner companion for a second?" They both nodded at him and shared a knowingly smile at each other.

"Who am I to protest when stealing is your specialty? Take your time." Wanda offered.

"I might as well." He replied with a knockout smile and then his eyes met mine and he smirked at me.

"What the heck, Remy? What are YOU doing here?" I whispered when we were a safe distance from their ears.

"I was going to ask you the same. New BFFs? Are they trying to take my best friend forever and a day position? I'm jealous!" I rolled my eyes at him with all my might, but then a stubborn smile crept over my face, despite my best efforts to avoid giving myself away.

"You know you are still my number one BFF." I teased back, punching him light on his shoulder. His teeth were in full view, so wide was his smile when I said that.

"Hey, by the way, I like the jacket." Yeah, he knew that jacket alright and helped me take it off a number of times. "Listen, chére, let's just get out of here. What do you think?" He bent down over me and whispered in my ear. It gave me goosebumps immediately. I shook my head, incredulous.

"But I..." I tried and before I could stutter my way out of it, he turned to Wanda and Natasha and asked if they would mind him stealing their colleague for the night. My cheeks could have just burst into flames, I was mortified.

"That's a shame you're leaving us so soon, Rogue." Natasha commented with an insinuating innuendo in her voice. I simply shrugged apologetically, staring down at the table.

"You guys go and have some fun." Wanda offered with a smile. "God knows she needs it!"

Remy nodded curtly at the guy at his table and took my left hand in his, leading me out of the restaurant. I followed him with a certain spring in my step and anticipation in my heart. The effect that man has over me knows no boundaries. My heart was racing and I just couldn't wipe off that silly smile off my face even if I tried. Seeing him so unexpectedly, being so sleazy, leaving everything behind to spend time with him was so exciting and reinvigorating.

Many, many times, I would play that I'm-so-over-you, we're-just-friends kind of charade, but not that night. Maybe the drinks I'd had could be the ones to blame, or maybe, just maybe, I missed him like crazy and probably loved him all the while and was just not in the mood to hold back on those feelings once again.

When we reached the elevator, he promptly pushed the button and turned his attention back at me. He stared at me with some kind of thirst, as if I were the last drop of water in the Sahara desert. I reciprocated his stare and in a second he lunged at me and kissed me fiercely. I entangled my hands in his hair while his hands were caressing the back of my neck gently. I was gasping for air, his hands had traveled all the way down to my ass when the gentle beep sounded. We got into the elevator, he flashed that lopsided smirk of his at me and asked me where he should take me. I distinctly remember thinking "To the moon and back!" but never said those words. My breathing was still going back to a more acceptable rhythm, the silence lingered for another second.

"My place or yours?" He asked brazenly, taking all his chances. At least he didn't mention the possibility of getting a room right there at the hotel, that would've been cheap and impersonal. It could even lead him to getting himself into trouble and having no Rogue at all for him to play with. He knew me very, very well and always knew exactly how far he could push me.

"Yours." I heard myself say before good judgement could kick in. Let's just say I was very curious to see if that picture of us together was still framed and sitting on his desk.

He smiled mischievously and closed the gap between us. In half a second his hands were cupping my face, his lips pressed against mine, our hearts were beating frantically very close to one another. The elevator came to a stop three floors down from where we had been initially. Our hands were roaming each other's bodies and we didn't even break the kiss when the doors slid open and the middle-aged couple standing outside immediately gave up joining us altogether.

As soon as the door slid shut, we burst into laughter. The very much longed for kind of laughter only your closest friends can share with you. It made me feel like we were back to our early twenties, being mischievous on the mansion rooftop, running around the corridors hand in hand, desperately longing to be with each other, sharing secrets and inside jokes. The laughter subsided slowly and in the end we were both silently staring at each other. Each immersed in thoughts of one another. He sighed. If only I could read his mind at that very minute. I decided to break the silence.

"So, tell me, swamp rat. Was this merely a coincidence or…?"

"You give me too much credit, chére. How would I know you'd be venturing this side of town tonight? It's not your usual vibe, that place."

"I don't know. You're very good at obtaining information." Then, all of a sudden, I felt foolish for insinuating that. Why would he go through all that trouble? He could've called me if he really wanted to see me.

"So now it's my turn to ask you something. Why haven't you played hard to get tonight?"

I must've blushed. I know I did. He tried to soften his words.

"I mean, I'm not complaining. It's just that… you always give me such a hard time, when we both know we got that chemistry, that buzz going on. That electricity that I know can come out of no one else but you."

"I missed you." I whispered, staring down at my feet and tucking a lock of white hair behind my ear. "It's been so long since I last saw y…" He captured my lips ferociously. I could hear myself moan against his lips.

We were making out passionately when the doors slid open again. This time a group of four girls ready for a night out came in, not minding our scene at all. I gently pushed him away, patting down my clothes, avoiding to look at him. I knew that shameless smirk of his was in place. The girls started giggling away. That old effect he has on women. Untroubled by the girls, he kept staring hungrily at me. That must've been the longest I've spent inside an elevator, or it least it felt like it. He had his car or "a" car, with him, I never know, parked on the garage floor. As I sat on the comfortable passenger seat, I had a "should I stay or should I go" moment. Right up to that point we were in a lust fueled rampage, now that my brain was back on the driver's seat, I was having second thoughts.

"Are you okay, chere?" He sensed it! He fucking sensed my reluctance in the air. I don't know how he does it, but he just does it. "Listen, I was just so happy to see you that I had to spend some time with you. We don't have to do anything, you know? It's never like that with us, right? I mean, you'll never be the girl I take home just for sex. I thought you knew that." He spoke softly.

"Well, our most recent track record hasn't shown that, to be honest." I replied.

He laughed out loud.

"Ain't that the truth, chere? But we never do anything you don't want to do. Quite the opposite, in fact."

"Yeah, I know that." I smiled at him. No point in lying about that.

"I tell you what, what if I proved you things don't always have to go that way?"

"Seriously? After all that tease in the elevator?"

"Alors, whenever I invite you to dinner, you tell me it's never just dinner. Well, we didn't actually have dinner together, so…"

"Don't take my words that literally. It's just that me and you, alone, in any given situation, it always leads to, you know, me screaming out your name in a couple of hours."

"That ain't fair! And I'll prove you wrong." He spoke, a little offended.

Next morning.

"It was way after a couple of hours that you started screaming my name for all the neighbors to hear."

"You failed. We failed. You see, I'm absolutely right when I say it's never just dinner."

"That ain't fair! I cooked for you, we talked for hours, we even played GTA for God's sake. You were the one checking me out with those vivid green eyes of yours NON-STOP! Not my fault!"

"You keep telling yourself that, Remy. We'll see about that next time."

"Mmmm… You said next time, chére?" He asked with his lips stretched wide in a grin while playing with a lock of my hair, rubbing it between his fingers.

"Yeah. Because if there's one thing in my life that is a constant , it is this. We keep finding ways back to one another. No matter where we go, who we meet along the way, we keep coming back."

After that he didn't speak any more. Our lips met and history repeated itself.

"It's never just breakfast, Remy LeBeau." I said between kisses, that got him giggling.

By the way, our picture is still there at his desk, majestically standing and reminding him of me and good times like this.

# # #

It's been a long time since I lasted posted here. I guess we all have some extra tedious time with the pandemic, so this is a little something I devised one of these social distancing days.

I hope everyone is hanging tough and that all your families are in good health.

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