20 February

"No words needed"

Remy leaned against the wall opposite of the Danger Room's exit. He wore civilian clothes, minus his characteristic coat, so he was certainly not there for business. He held is weight on one leg, the other ankle crossed over. He mirrored his legs with crossed arms and a stern stare.

Storm exited first after signaling their training's end. She brushed her fingers across Remy's shoulder as she passed by him, and then continued on wordlessly. Dazzler shouldered roughly past Rogue through the doorway, temporarily off-balancing her just enough to stand her right in front of Remy. Banshee offered Rogue a little salute and a soft "see ya lass", and then suddenly Rogue was left with the one she couldn't yet handle. Rogue wanted to slip by. She didn't know how to handle herself around him anymore.

"Hey," Remy said.

The one, simple word was enough to get Rogue's heart to skip a beat. She swallowed. "S'up, Sugah?"

"What happened?"

"What?" Rogue asked stupidly. Her mouth was dry. It was difficult to breathe.

Remy frowned. He settled his resting foot on the ground and pushed himself away from the wall, standing to his full height. For once, it was intimidating, but Rogue stood her ground without flinching. When Rogue refused to make eye contact, he uncrossed his arms and gently reached out, touching her chin with a gloved fingertip. It was enough for Rogue to catch his ruby on black eyes and hold it.

Remy's jaw worked as his eyes searched hers. His hand dropped to his side and he broke eye contact with a drawn out breath. "A'ight." He turned his face profile, his balance shifting to step away. He hesitated.

"Remy?" Rogue said softly. An edge of fear crept into her voice.

He didn't take that step his posture threatened to take, but he didn't look back in her direction, either. "Ya gotta figure shit out. I leave ya to it."

"That's it, then?" Rogue asked. Tightness squeezed at her heart. Her hands threatened to tremble.

The muscles in Remy's neck tensed. His fingers loosely wrapped into fists. "Guess dat's up to you, hein?"

"Whaddya mean?"

Remy turned sharply back to her, leaning in and towering over her with his dark red eyes. "'S'all 'xactly like I said. You da one gotta figure it out. I ain't gonna be standin' here while you decide whatever it is ya gotta decide 'bout me. I di'n't do nothin'. Not dis time. It all in yer head."

Rogue was right Saturday evening. Remy did hate her for her accidental intimate touch. She'd explicitly avoided him all day Sunday and most of Monday until he'd tracked her down to where she had to be. She didn't know why he had to seek her out to tell her what she already figured out.

"Ah … Ah don't get it. What do Ah gotta figure out?"

Remy's eyes narrowed searchingly. "What are we doin', chere, hein?"

Rogue studied his knee for a moment before deciding avoiding his devilish eyes was a stupid idea. She could handle her emotions. She had to. The problem was, Remy was being so cryptic. His words alluded to caring, but she was so certain that he couldn't like her the way she liked him. He jumped away from her during the movie, after all.

Maybe it was best to come clean. She couldn't throw another "huh" at him. He was agitated and her lack of emotional intelligence was obviously making it worse. "Ah thought you were done with me."

Remy blinked, the tension in his neck and jaw instantly slacking. His weight fell back onto his heels. The breath came out of his lungs with a confounded noise. "Why?" he eventually settled on asking.

It was Rogue's turn to flounder again. Remy waited, brows up in expectation. "Ah thought – durin' that movie or series or whatever it was – Ah thought Ah'd … Ah'd scared ya."

"I told ya ya di'n't," Remy replied flatly.

"That … that wasn't a … a redirect? A hard stop?"

The corners of Remy's eyes crinkled and he snorted. "Ya shittin' me? No. Mon dieu, chere. Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas avec toi?" He ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes.

Rogue stared at him with mounting confusion. His french was completely lost on her outside of his typical pet name addendum.

Remy inhaled and leveled his gaze at her again. "T'ings got a li'l serious a li'l fast for ya, n'est-ce pas?" he asked seriously.

Rogue didn't know how to begin explaining to him that that was the opposite of the problem. He was a comforting place, but she wanted more. More of which she couldn't have. She grabbed her arm and bit her lip. "Ah wish Ah could touch you," she admitted. She wasn't sure she could confess to having dreams about just that. "Ah'm … frustrated. Because Ah can't. The last guy Ah kissed ended up in a coma, an' as far as Ah know, he ain't woken up from it. That can't be you."

Remy studied her for another moment and then stepped in so that they were inches apart. He brought his hand up, lightly touching her on the cheek with two of his gloved fingers. "It won't be. I not afraid. You ain't gonna hurt me."

The look he gave her made all those sexual feelings come back full force. Her knees quivered. It would be so easy to kiss him. Every ounce of her being begged her to. She buried her head into his chest instead, gripping his shirt into her fists to pull him closer that way. His arms closed on her, holding her firmly against him.

"Ya promise ta talk ta me when t'ings get difficult?" Remy whispered. "Ya know I know what yer powers're like an' everyt'in' dat entails. Ya ain't scarin' me off." He planted a kiss into her hair, as soft and gentle as Rogue's dreams. "An' if dis ain't it all – I ain't playin' games," he added firmly. The words sent an electric bolt up Rogue's torso.