X-men Evolution Fan Fiction ❯ Starting Today ❯ Chapter 25

O-o-o-o-O

“Merde” Remy whispered. Fuckin' hell. What on earth are those two doing back already?

Rogue froze, panic flickering in her eyes. “Are they close enough to see the door yet, do you think?”

Remy listened carefully. “No, I don't think so.”

“Okay.” She closed her eyes and he saw the office door close in front of them.

“What you doing, Rogue? They know I'm supposed to still be here.”

“What was that door just outside this office? Where does it lead?”

“It goes to our rooms. But how are we going to get there?”

“Like this.” And she grabbed Remy's arm and pulled him towards the wall. Flinching in anticipation of getting hit with the wall, he was surprised when they went through it. Forgot that she had her roommate's powers They ended up in the hallway of the Acolytes' living quarters.

“My room's second on the right. Go hide in there. I'll pretend I've got company.” He handed her his trench coat and pushed her in the right direction. Then he mussed up his hair a bit and opened the door to the main hallway of the base.

“Ain't you boys back a little early?”

Pyro stood at the other end, with a grin on his face, Piotr just behind him, looking stoic as always. “What's the matter, you got a sheila here or something?”

Remy walked down the hall towards them, then looked back towards the door slyly. “As a matter of fact, I do have a date tonight, and I'd prefer it if you two fools didn't mess it up for me.”

Piotr looked confused. “You don't usually bring your dates back here Remy.”

Remy smirked. “I know, but this was closer than my apartment and the fille didn't want to wait.”

John laughed. “Oy, to have the luck with the ladies you do.”

“In your dreams, Aussie-boy. So what happened? I thought you had a book signing.”

“I did, but...”

Piotr broke in. “But he almost got into a fight when Cyclops and some of the other X-men showed up.”

“It was her! She was there! My beautiful, flaming sheila.” John sighed, a lovesick expression on his face.

Remy rolled his eyes. “So what happened, mon ami?”

Piotr continued. “Her and a couple of the other X-girls were in line to get autographs. John got excited when he saw her and tried to give her some flowers made of fire. She recognized him and got scared, then Cyclops came over and accused him of trying to attack the girl. John was about to set him on fire when I dragged him out of there.”

Remy shook his head. “What were you thinking, Johnny? You don't just go lighting things up in the mall. Besides, the femme's a minor. Ever heard of the word `jailbait'?”

“Ah mate, love knows no age. Have you looked at her? She's just so bloody beautiful. A princess of fire, she is.”

Remy grinned. “You've sure got it bad.”

“Fuck off, what do you know? S'not like you've ever fallen in love before.”

Oh Johnny, if you only knew Remy shook his head. “Well if it means turning out like you, I'm glad I haven't. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a tres belle femme in my room, and I'd hate to make her wait.” He turned his back on his teammates and walked back to his room. Closing his door and locking it, he looked around to see Rogue lying on his bed, cuddled up under his trench coat, looking dead to the world. He smiled and lay down next to her, brushing her hair out of her face.

“Chere, you falling asleep on me already? That's not very nice. I think I'm insulted.”

Rogue opened her eyes. “Sorry Remy, I'm just a little tired. Using multiple powers tends to wear me out.”

“It's okay. You just rest for a while then. The boys already think I've got a beautiful fille in my bed, I'd hate to be a liar.” He carefully removed her shoes and tucked her in under his blankets, then crawled in behind her in a spoon position, wrapping his arms around her. “You were great tonight,” he whispered in her ear, “I couldn't have done this without you.”

She smiled and didn't open her eyes, but she did lay her gloved hand over his where it rested on her waist. “I was glad to Remy,” she whispered back, “You're not alone in this.”

“No, and I'm happy it's you with me.” He kissed her hair. “Now go to sleep. I'll wake you in a little while. Je t'aime.”

She snuggled closer to him and sighed. “I love you too Remy.”

He closed his eyes and relaxed; listening to her breathing until it was obvious she was asleep. It was a delicious feeling, having her asleep in his arms. Such a rare pleasure and he intended to enjoy every second of it. Rogue's face was so soft and relaxed when she slept. He wished he could see it look like that more often, but he understood about keeping one's guard up; it was something he did every day. With the way Wolverine kept his eye on everyone, he probably wouldn't have too many moments like this with her even after he moved into the mansion. He'd have to talk to Xavier about that. By the time he joins the X-men officially, Rogue will be 18 and able to make her own decisions. He was serious about her and had no intention of letting someone else run their relationship as if they were both still children. He could just imagine the look on Wolverine's face when he finds out someone's been sleeping with his “little girl”. The feral mutant was like the overprotective father from hell. Grinning to himself at the image of the Wolverine having a cow, he let himself fall asleep.

He woke up an hour or so later and looked down. While he was asleep Rogue had managed to turn herself around and was now sleeping with her head buried in his chest, her arms wrapped around him. “Réveillez mon joli,”(wake up my pretty) he said, stroking her face softly with his gloved hand.

“mmmm...do I have to Remy?”, she purred, burying her face closer into him.

He chuckled. “I love having you here, but it's getting late. You need to get home before you turn into a pumpkin.”

She sighed and sat up. “If I must.”

“Unfortunately, yes. The problem we have now is, how do I get you out of here?”

“I can take care of that.” His eyes widened as she used Mystique's power and changed into a slightly ditzy-looking blonde. She grinned. “Is this more like what you're used to?”, her Southern accent now gone.

“Now Chere, I thought you knew I have better taste than that.”

“Well I don't want you lusting after my disguise, now do I?”

“Never mon amour. You're the only one I lust after now.”

“Good. And don't you forget it, either. Now let's go; I'm still kind of tired and don't know how long I can keep this form.” She got up out of the bed headed for the door, Remy quickly joining her.

They made their way down through the main hall and passed the recreation area, where John and Piotr were sitting around on the couch watching TV. John looked over and grinned at them, a knowing look in his eyes.

“Did you have a good time, mate?”

“Now mon ami, a gentleman never kisses and tells.”

“Yeah, but since when have you been a gentleman?”

“I'm insulted. I'm always a gentleman, isn't that right petite?” He looked at Rogue, who just giggled and put on her best girly cheerleader act. “Come on, you don't want to talk to these two jokers.” He gave John a rude gesture and led Rogue out the door.

He drove her back to the coffee house where she had left the car she had borrowed from the mansion and walked her to the car. Taking her into his arms, he held her for a few minutes, burying his face in her hair. “I'll get these developed and make copies for you to show Xavier,” he whispered. “I know your birthday isn't until Tuesday, but will you come out with me tomorrow night? I want to do something special for you.”

“You don't have to Remy...”

“But I want to. You don't turn 18 every day, you know. Please let me?”

“How on earth do you manage to turn your doing something for me into my doing you a favor?” she grinned and rolled her eyes. “Okay, I'll do you the favor of letting you take me out tomorrow.”

Remy laughed. “Merci. Dress normal, we're not going anywhere fancy. Meet me at the park at sunset.” He gave her a quick kiss on the mouth, barely managing to escape her powers. “You do look tired. Do you want me to follow you back to the Institute, just to make sure you're okay?”

“I'll be fine Remy, I promise.”

“Okay, good night. Sleep well.”

Rogue smiled. “You too.” She then climbed into the car and left.

O-o-o-o-O

Saturday came with a bright sunny sky and nothing but a few fluffy clouds here and there. Just the kind of day for sitting back and taking it easy, unless you had an instructor named Logan, that is. He had decided that since it was such a beautiful day that the day's training session could be held outside. Rogue groaned as she stepped outside with the others. While the rest of the team was being subjected to a game of mutant dodge ball, she was stuck practicing telekinesis with Jean. And she was sooooooo looking forward to it. Not. Even though she was completely over Scott (and wondering what she had ever seen in him in the first place), Jean was still not one of her favorite people. She managed to be reasonably civil to the girl, but they were just too different to be friends.

As she practiced moving and throwing objects with her mind, Jean instructed her on improving her aim. Before too long she'd be as proficient as Jean was. Rogue smirked at the thought. One benefit she'd discovered of her mutation was that it allowed her to learn control of her borrowed powers at a rate faster than that of their original owners. She bet Miss Perfect hadn't learned things this quickly. Now if only she could get control of her own power like she managed everyone else's. Ever since the Professor had helped tone down the noise of the psyches in her head after her little incident, it had become easier to concentrate and so he had suggested she begin meditation sessions with Logan to help strengthen her mental discipline and eventually control her mutation. It would take time, and she didn't results any time soon, but it was more hope than she had had before.

Hope was something she had a lot more of these days. Part of this was due to her growing mastery of her borrowed powers. Another part of this was due to a certain Cajun. Since knowing Remy she had gotten more comfortable with herself than she could ever remember being. She was still careful not to hurt people with her skin, but she didn't have the constant paranoia that she had lived with previously. It was amazing what having a person truly love and believe in you could do for you.

“Rogue!”

“Huh?” Startled, she dropped the basketballs she had been juggling with her mind.

Jean lifted an eyebrow. “I've been trying to get your attention for the last couple of minutes. The session's over; let's go get changed.”

“Oh. Right.” Damn, where did the time go? A little embarrassed at having been caught daydreaming, she moved past Jean and headed back to the mansion. She needed to nap and get ready for her date with the Swamp Rat tonight.

O-o-o-o-O

Jean twitched her lips as Rogue passed her by. She hadn't needed to read her teammate's mind this time; the girl's thoughts of the Acolyte were available loud and clear for her viewing. Rogue's memories of Gambit had gotten more and more vivid over the past few weeks. Jean had been surprised when she first uncovered the memory of the two first becoming lovers, but she guessed she shouldn't have been. Gambit seemed to be genuinely in love with Rogue, and her later memories showed his seriousness about their relationship. Jean's control of her telepathy had grown to the stage where she could listen in on the Professor undetected, which she tended to do on a regular basis, including the occasion when Rogue and Gambit met with him to discuss the latter's plans to join the X-men.

Despite the differences between them, Jean was actually happy for Rogue. She remembered what it was to be in love with fondness and a tiny bit of sadness. Over the past few months she had discovered that as her dreams grew in intensity, so her interest in life and the people around her waned. She kept up her relationships for appearance's sake, but the things she had once loved just weren't important anymore. The space in her heart was being cleared and she was waiting; but for what she still didn't know. The dreams had yet to answer that question. All she knew was that her time was growing closer, and she had to be ready.

Whatever was going to happen, those she loved had no part in it.

O-o-o-o-O

Rogue met up with Remy at the park just as the sun was setting over the lake. He gave her a hug and led her to his bike, parked nearby.

“So where are we going tonight, Remy?” She asked as she climbed on behind him.

“You'll see Chere.” With a grin he took off fast, forcing her to hang on tightly.

“Damn you Swamp Rat!” Not that she minded having to cling to him, she just didn't like getting startled like that, and he knew it. She muttered some unpleasant things under her breath as they raced off into the evening. This had better be good.

He took her several miles outside of town, to the local observatory. After parking, instead of going into the building he took her to a hill just nearby it, where the property bordered on a forest.

Kissing her nose quickly, he said “Stay here.”, and climbed up one of the trees at the edge of the woods, and came back down with a small picnic basket. He set the basket down on the ground and took a small blanket out of it, and after covering the ground with it, took out a bottle of champagne, two glasses, and a small container of strawberries.

Rogue laughed. “What is this?”

Remy came over and led her to sit down on the blanket. “Well Rogue, you'll get birthday cake on Tuesday, but I doubt they'll be letting you have champagne. And there's a meteor shower starting soon; I thought we'd sit here and watch. That sound okay?”

“That sounds great Remy.” He joined her on the blanket.

“Actually if you look up now, it seems to have already started.”

She raised her head and he was right, she just caught a glimpse of a meteor as it fell out of the night sky. Remy poured her a glass of champagne and she sipped at it leisurely, munching on strawberries in between sips. They sat quietly for a while, watching the meteor shower, when Remy took something out of his trench coat pocket.

“Have you been missing anything lately?”

“Why yes, now that I think about it, I lost my silver ring, the one I usually wear under my gloves. How did you kn...” She growled. “Swamp Rat...”

He smirked and looked down at her ring that he now held in his hand. “It's a very pretty ring, but it was just missing something.” He handed it to her. “Look inside.”

She tilted the ring and inside was engraved, “Ma folie” (my madness). Remy drew her close and whispered in her ear. “Si l'amour est folie puis vous êtes sûrement à moi.” (If love is madness then you are surely mine.) “It must be madness Chere; what else could drive a thief to throw away what he is and walk the straight and narrow?” He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder. “If it is though I don't want a cure. Joyeux anniversaire mon amour. (Happy birthday my love)”.

Rogue was overwhelmed. She didn't think she could feel any more loved than she did at this moment. “I share the same illness Remy”, she whispered back, “And I don't ever want a cure.” She took off her glove and placed the ring back on its usual finger, then replaced the glove. She looked down at her hand. “It's hidden like you are, but I still feel it and know it's there, just like you.” She felt a tear crawl down her cheek but didn't bother to wipe it away.

Remy pulled her down gently until she was lying next to him on the blanket. “Shhhh...it won't be forever petite, things will turn out alright. But for right now it's just you and me, and this beautiful sky above us. Look up and enjoy.”

So Rogue rested her head on Remy's chest, and they both looked up, happy to watch the sky fall.