X-men Evolution Fan Fiction ❯ Starting Today ❯ Chapter 8

AN: I don't own the X-Men.

O-o-o-o-O

It started at her fingers. Soft, nipping kisses with a moist tongue tracing over the skin. Rogue shivered and tried to move away, her skin sensitive after so long in gloves, but his oh so warm hands trapped her and his mouth trailed over her wrist, teasing the pulse there. A tiny whimper escaped her throat and she could feel his smile against her skin as he kissed his way up her bare arm, pausing to nuzzle the flesh of her inner elbow. That mouth then moved up to her ear and a voice as rich as melting butter whispered insanely erotic thoughts into her ear before taking her earlobe between his teeth and sucking on it gently. She felt him move over her and his tongue traced the outline of her mouth. He pressed his hips against her and she could feel him hard against her as he whispered again.

"Chere, look at me."

Opening her eyes, she found herself trapped in his fiery gaze as he bent his head down to kiss her...

BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Rogue slammed her alarm clock off with one hand and turned her face into the pillow to muffle a scream of frustration. Her treacherous imagination had been wreaking havoc with her dreams for the past two weeks, ever since she saw that damned cocky Cajun at the park. Gambit. Her mind had taken the memories of how he had felt pressed against while dancing and mixed it with imaginings of how his skin would feel and taste to create a seductive torture. It didn't help that he would show up at the most unlikely times, always when she was alone. She hadn't felt that sensation of being watched since that first day back at school after Mardi Gras, but whether it was in the park again or walking home after school, he always seemed to find her.

Their second meeting had earned him a slap in the face when he had offered to give her lessons in horizontal dancing as well as vertical. After that he played at pushing the envelope for awhile, seeing just how far he could go without getting a black eye. Now he mixed what she supposed he thought pleasant banter with laid-back flirtation. It would be so easy to avoid him, not be alone so much; but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she had changed her habits on account of him. As for the little voice in the back of her head that said she liked the attention, she tried to pay as little attention to that as possible.

It wasn't so much that he worked for Magneto; she had been with the Brotherhood once upon a time so that didn't bother her quite as much as she supposed it should. She figured it was probably contract work as Gambit was a thief and didn't seem the type to get too hyped up about the whole world domination thing. Magneto may be crazy, but he was right about the fact that there was a war coming. The treatment she and other mutants had received since their "outing" a few weeks ago, along with the experimentation on mutants such as Wolverine left no doubt in her mind about that. She just wasn't sure yet what the right answer to the whole problem was.

Yes, he was good looking; scratch that, he was one of the sexiest men she had ever met. And he knew it. That was part of the problem. She was an expert at put-downs and avoidance. She could stop a flirt at fifty paces. But not this guy. She had expected him to leave her alone after she smacked him that time, but he just kept coming back. He wasn't fazed by her insults, he just took what she threw and gave it right back to her with a twinkle in those beautiful eyes. He was gorgeous, confident, cocky as hell, and dear god, how she wanted him. And that was his greatest sin. He made her feel. She had worked so hard to keep people away, at a distance so they wouldn't affect her, wouldn't make her feel anything dangerous, anything that would make her want to do anything foolish. But he made her want to be foolish. Human skin was her forbidden fruit, and he made her want to taste, to touch, to wish for things she couldn't have. Wishing did no good though, and it was like a vicious little circle in her mind. This of course made her resent the person responsible. And the dreams really haven't helped.

I've never fantasized like this about anybody, not even when I liked Scott. Then again I could never imagine him behaving like that with a girl, not even Jean. Poor lil Miss Perfect. If only I could touch, I'd show that Swamp Rat a thing or two.

Despite the inexperience forced upon her by her mutation, Rogue read quite a bit and had an excellent imagination. Gambit seemed the type who would be adventurous in the bedroom and the thought of what she'd like to try on him kept her dreams firmly planted in the "R" rating category.

Damn him. There I go again. I'd like to knock that smirk off his face for what he's doing to me.

Dirty thoughts about the Cajun weren't going to get her to school though. Rogue did her best to boot the Swamp Rat out of her mind and started going about her day.

O-o-o-o-O

High school. Remy was glad he didn't have to go through that anymore. He didn't know how Rogue was able to stand it. The time he'd spent around her the past few weeks had confirmed his first impressions of her. She was intelligent and strong-willed, with no patience for idiots. And Bayville High seemed to be just full of them. During his observations of her during his free time (even evil minions get a day off) he had seen her defend herself and her friends against the anti-mutant bigots of the school with a style and class that made him want to applaud. She showed concern for those around her with her actions while at the same time keeping everyone at a distance. She gave little sign of anything or anyone affecting her; in fact she seemed to put up as good a mask as he himself did. Over the years he'd become very good in making sure that people saw only what he wanted them to see, and that this girl was able to do the same with a similar talent intrigued him. It made him want to know what could crack that mask, and made the chase he was making a little richer.

He had to admit, she was good. So far the most he had gotten for his trouble was a slap in the face and some rather good insults; some of which he wasn't sure were physically possible. Normally he'd have had a girl and been over her by now; Rogue was proving to be every bit the challenge he thought she would be and then some. No girl was impossible though, not even her. He knew that he affected her; their first two meetings had proven that. The question was what would it take to get her to admit it, to show that the Ice Queen had a heart. He'd heard the name that some of the others called her, and thought it rather fitting, if not a little sad. Self- imposed exile from human emotion couldn't be easy, and just wasn't right; especially for such a beautiful girl like her.

Someone needs to show that girl that life and love don't stop at one's skin, and as no one else seems to want to try, might as well be Remy LeBeau that does it.

Remy was sitting up on a tree branch outside the school, waiting for classes to be let out. He supposed that one could call what he was doing stalking, but since he didn't have the advantage of living in the same house as her, and they didn't run in the same crowd, he had to make his own luck and meet up with her where he could.

He heard the bell ring that announced the end of school for the day and waited for her to come out. He had noticed that she tended to wait and leave after the main rush of students had departed. She didn't seem to like crowds and with her mutation, frankly he couldn't blame her. Finally she came out and leaving the company of her friends from the Institute, started off down the street. He waited until the other kids from Xavier's had driven off before attempting to join her. Despite his chase, he didn't want to cause any trouble for her. Magneto may not care too much if he seduced an X-girl, but he was sure Xavier wouldn't look too kindly on it and the other X-Men would be sure to have something to say about it if an Acolyte was bothering one of their own. Summers and Wolverine in particular seemed to be the types that would be rather unforgiving when it came to Mags' boys.

Confident that they wouldn't be disturbed now, he caught up with her easily as she walked down the street and slipped an arm around her shoulders.

" 'ello petite, have a nice day at school? "

Startled, Rogue jumped a tiny bit and jerked away from him. Looking over, she saw who it was.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Doesn't Mags have anything better for you to do than bother me? "

"Not everything I do is for him, Chere. Is it so hard to believe that Remy wants to see you of his own free will?"

"Umm..let me think about that for a minute. Why yes, I do find it hard to believe. Guys won't usually chase a girl unless they're looking to get something, and since you can't and won't get anything from me I really have to question your motives. As well as your sanity." This last remark was made with a smirk, and Rogue started walking a little faster, away from him.

"If Chere thinks she doesn't have anything to offer a man, she'd be very surprised to learn otherwise. Remy can think of many ways to."

"I'm sure Remy can, but as I keep telling him, I'm not interested. Any ideas on why Remy can't understand this?"

"Because I don't believe you. You're very good at the whole Ice Queen persona, but Remy's seen enough masks to know when someone is wearing one. "

"Why the hell am I even listening to you? Gimme one good reason why I shouldn't slap you again." Rogue was starting to look annoyed at this point.

"Because you like Remy, don't you? Why don't you come out for coffee with me this weekend? Take your mask off for a little while, Remy's sure it gets tiresome wearing it. Come on, no one needs to know" He used his softest, most wheedling voice now.

"I most certainly do not like you, Cajun. You annoy the hell out of me."

"You're lying again Chere. You could've tried to flatten me several times already, but you haven't. You could avoid me but you don't. Maybe you like Remy's company a little more than you want to admit?"

"Maybe I don't want to change my habits just to get rid of one of Buckethead's boys who seems to have more ego than common sense."

"Maybe but I don't think that's true. Come out with me, Rogue. It's just coffee; there's this little coffee shop in town where the misfits and mutants hang out, and if Remy misbehaves he'll let you wipe the floor with him. Please?" He was giving her the puppy dog look by this time, and he could see the tiniest crack of a smile on her face. It was amazing the change a smile did to her. Remy wished she would do it more often.

"Fine Swamp Rat, but you'd better behave yourself. And no more trying to guess what kind of underwear I'm wearing, got it?"

"Got it, Chere. Remy will be a saint. Meet me at the Pour House on Friday at 8? "

"Fine, whatever. Now go away, we're almost at the Institute and I don't want to get the third degree for talking to you."

"As you wish, petite. Try not to miss Remy too much until then." Grabbing Rogue's gloved hand and kissing it, he was gone before she could make a sarcastic remark.

Coffee with Rogue. Okay, so it wasn't a candlelit dinner, but it was a start.