1. Chapter 1

This is my first story so please be gentle when reviewing. I would also just like to say a HUGE thank you to my Beta, Wanda W. This story would not have been published if not for her wonderful work.

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Choices by Azalea Rose**

Gambit, the Acolytes resident thief, had been summoned by Magneto less than five minutes ago but as he moved closer to his boss's office he became aware of argumentative whispers coming from within. He paused outside the door attempting to decipher what the whispers were saying. He could hear Magneto and a female voice, which Gambit figured must belong to Mystique. He moved closer so that his ear was almost touching the cold iron door but before he could understand anything being said the door flew open revealing Magneto's impressive yet minimalist office. Magneto was standing behind his large desk with Mystique leaning over one end, her strong blue hand gripping either side of the metal structure. They were both staring at the man standing in the doorway.

"Come in please Gambit" Magneto requested. Gambit warily walked into the room, acting casual, but keeping a close eye on Mystique's position as she came to stand beside him.

"Gambit, I have an important job for you. We are looking to recruit someone of great importance, but I am afraid they may need some persuading and probably will not come quietly," he explained, watching the mutant thief for his reaction. Gambit briefly glanced at the woman next to him. She stood tall and silent, her lips pressed together and her eyes narrowed suggesting she was not happy with whatever Magneto had in mind.

"What is it you need moi t' do?" Gambit asked, not giving away his intense curiosity. Magneto waved his arm to the side causing the heavy metal chair behind the desk to suddenly move backwards, scraping across the rough floor. He sat down and opened a drawer behind the desk, pulling out a paper file which he then put onto the desk in front of him.

"I want you to..."

"No!" Mystique snapped, cutting Magneto off mid-sentence. "I don't trust him with her! Let me go! You know I am more than capable of this." Mystique was leaning over the desk again, her hands balled into fists on the polished metal surface, her eyes blazed with anger and her lips were curled into a snarl.

"So dis a femme we are _recruiting_ then, non?" Gambit asked as he began shuffling cards idly. Magneto gave Mystique a severe look that showed he would not tolerate being interrupted again. He then turned back to Gambit who continued shuffling the deck of cards.

"Yes, it is a female. You are to go and pick her up _**quietly**_. No fuss! There will be others that will protect her _**aggressively**_ if you are spotted. I will leave you to plan the details yourself." Magneto said sternly.

Gambit's intrigue rocketed. - _Who is dis femme? - _He was shocked by Magnetos warning; clearly the man thought the security issue posed a serious threat but there were very few people Gambit knew of that would justify Magneto's concern. And what of Mystique? Who could be so important to her?

"Who is she?" he inquired, growing wary as to whom they wanted him to kidnap. That is what they were asking him to do, _kidnap_, Gambit was very sure of that but he didn't know who they could possible want who would need kidnapping. He had a bad feeling in his gut; he knew he wasn't going to like it. He figured that was why they were delaying in telling him who it was. Magneto took a piece of paper from the folder and threw it across the table to Gambit, who, upon picking it up, saw that it was a photo of a girl. A girl Gambit knew and recognized instantly. Rogue.

"Non." He looked up from the photo to Magneto who narrowed his eyes.

"No?!" disbelief and malice enveloped the single word uttered by Mystique. Gambit turned to the tall blue female. He did not want his loyalty to Magneto to be called into question but he also didn't want to hurt the girl after she'd already been through so much, most of which had been at the hands of Mystique.

"Don't you t'ink dat you've hurt her enough?" he accused Mystique keeping his voice steady and neutral even though he was staring her right in the eye.

"How DARE you!" Mystique seethed, outraged by the nerve of the boy. "I've always done what I thought was best for her!"

"That is ENOUGH!" Magneto bellowed, silencing the two mutants in front of him. "Gambit, I chose you for this job as I know you have already successfully kidnapped Rogue once. I believe you are much less likely to cause major _immediate_ concern to the X-Men than Mystique or myself. However, if you do not wish to do your job then I will find someone else to do it for you! Though I doubt they will be as ... _delicate_ about it as you." Magneto ground his teeth together as he waited for a response. It was clear that Gambit cared for the girl and eventually he would agree to get her rather than risk someone else going after her. Right now the southerner was glaring at the floor, a slight crinkle forming between his eyebrows.

"Are y' gonna hurt her?" he asked, bringing his head up to look straight at Magneto. Magneto raised his eyebrows and considered Gambit for a moment.

"No, that is not our intention." Magneto answered simply, Gambit decided that he seemed sincere.

"She's my daughter! She belongs here, I have left her with those _'do-gooders'_ for too long." Mystique stated, making sure the men had not forgotten her presence. Gambit looked at her then back to Magneto. He had no choice, he knew that much. If he didn't go they would end up sending that blundering idiot Sabertooth, who would more likely end up killing Rogue than making a quiet get away with her. He sighed deeply.

"Amende, Remy will go and get de fille."

"Good. When you get her safely away from Bayville and you are sure you are not being followed, contact us and I shall come to pick you up." Magneto stood and walked over to the window located at the back of the room. Gambit, taking that as his cue to leave, retreated quickly from the room.

Once he was clear of the office he noticed that he still had the photo of Rogue in his hand. He looked at it for a minute, studying her features. It had obviously been taken at a distance and without her knowledge; she was smiling at the fuzzy blue boy, her face carefree and happy. Gambit had developed a soft spot for her when he had taken her to New Orleans to save his père and he hated that he was playing a part of whatever Mystique and Magneto had in store for the sassy teen but he was glad that at least he might be able to limit the damage done. - _Merde. She is gonna hate moi for dis. - _Gambit sighed, a slight frown showing on his face as he slid the photo into his coat pocket.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next chapter will be posted next week.

Aza x


	2. Chapter 2

Again thank you to my Beta Wanda W, for her wonderful work.

Also, thank you to everyone who has posted a review so far, its really encouraging to get positive feed back ^.^

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the Xavier Institute, the X-Men were enduring a gruelling danger room session battling simulated Acolytes. Originally, they had split themselves into two groups; one consisting of Cyclops, Jean, Iceman and Jamie and the second consisting of Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Rogue and Magma. After the two groups had gone their separate ways, Rogue's team had quickly run into problems. They had come face-to-face with Colossus and Pyro in a grubby run-down warehouse. Their plan had been for Magma and Nightcrawler to go after Pyro whilst Shadowcat and Rogue dealt with Colossus.

Things had gone well at first. Pyro had been so busy trying to barbeque Magma that he hadn't noticed when Nightcrawler snuck up behind him to disconnect his gas pack, resulting in the immediate loss of his fire. Rogue and Shadowcat made Colossus chase them through so many walls that he had grown tired quickly. When he stopped to catch his breath Shadowcat had swiftly pulled him half way through a particularly thick wall, leaving him immobilised and so giving Rogue time to absorb his powers, consequently knocking him out.

However, this is where things hadn't gone to plan. When Magma transformed into her lava self she had accidentally set fire to a stack of crates as she passed them, thus giving Pyro a new origin for his fire. He surprised Nightcrawler with a fresh blast of flames that sent him flying straight into Shadowcat, causing her to scream just loud enough to distract Rogue from her task. While Rogues attention was diverted Colossus broke himself free from the wall and seized her upper arm, lifting her off her feet. Despite her struggling against him he then swung her round and threw her clear across the warehouse, aiming for the larger windows on the far side of the room. Her body painfully crashed through one of the dirty window panes, the broken glass cutting and grazing her body as she fell. She landed with a heavy thud onto a pile of garbage in the alley besides the warehouse.

Slightly dazed she pulled her sore body to a sitting position and attempted to catch the breath that had been knocked out of her chest. She could feel the sting from the tiny cuts that were dotted all over her body. Groaning, she shuffled off the garbage, heaving herself up onto her feet. She quickly scanned the little alley for a way back into the warehouse but there were no doors and no low windows for her to climb through. She decided to look for a side entrance around the next corner but as soon as she started walking she felt a sharp pain shoot through her leg. She looked down to see a rather impressive gash stretching across her thigh, a steady stream of blood seeping out and running down her leg.

Pre-occupied with inspecting her injury, Rogue didn't see the silent figure approaching her from behind. Only when he swooped in to attack did she notice a slight movement out of the corner of her eye, but by then it was too late. The figure swiftly pushed her flat against the wall, his metal staff stretching diagonally across her body. One of her hands was pinned against her shoulder while the other was trapped against her thigh, which was being held up at an awkward angle by the bottom of the staff pressing into the back of her knee.

Rogue looked up to her assailant ready to fight her way free but as her eyes met his unique red on blacks her heart skipped a beat and her lips parted slightly as a gasp caught in her throat.

"Bonjour petit did y' miss me?" With Gambit's face only inches away from her own, she suddenly became very aware of where his hands were holding the staff against her body. One was pressing into her ribs, just below her breast armour. The other was resting against her inner thigh, helping to hold her leg up. Rogues cheeks flushed red and her heart suddenly went into over drive. Gambit, holding her gaze with his burning eyes, slowly leaned in closing the gap between them so that his body was now pressed firmly against hers. Rogue automatically tried to move backwards but she was already flat against the wall with no way to escape. His face was so close now she breathed in each of his clove-tinged exhalations as they breezed across her lips. His gaze captured her, eliminating her ability to move or even think, the heat in his eyes holding her captive.

He moved his hand between them, sliding it along her inner thigh, smoothing the fabric of her uniform as it moved up her leg and over her hip leaving a burning sensation in its wake. Her breath was coming in shallow gasps and she thought her heart would burst from her chest any second. Continuing its scorching quest over her stomach, his hand caressed its way up her side stopping just below her breast plate. His hand curving around her ribs as his fingertips brushed the lower-edge of the armour, the warmth of his hand seeped through her uniform leaving her feeling almost branded by his touch. He dropped his gaze for a second to appraise her, his crooked grin made her cheeks flush anew. He then gradually peeled himself away from her, leaving his hand at her side until he had taken a few steps back.

"Au revoir, _chéri_" the words rolled of his tongue suggestively; his sly grin returned to his face as he waved his goodbye before turning and disappearing into the shadows. Rogue sighed silently and let her shoulders relax as she watched him disappear. Still slightly dazed, she smiled to herself looking down at her leg where she could still feel the tingle left by his touch but as she did she noticed that her breast armour had strange pink glow to it, her eyebrows knitted together in a frown. Suddenly she came back to her senses and her hands flew to the clips that held her armour in place. Clumsily she snapped them open and yanked the breast plate over her head throwing it to the floor seconds before it exploded sending Rogue flying backwards into the same garbage pile she had landed in previously.

"End Simulation!" Logan all but growled into the control room microphone. Almost immediately the alley and the warehouses surrounding Rogue disappeared leaving her sitting on the hard metal floor of the danger room. The others were dotted about, most of them looked like they'd also had a nightmare of a session; Rogue couldn't see a single uniform that was still intact. The automatic door slid open and Logan stormed into the room.

"Okay... Team One. Not too bad you did manage to take down Sabertooth thanks mainly to Iceman and Jean but Magneto practically wiped out the entire team. Cyclops, your plan was good in theory but you need to deliver faster. You won't get five minutes in real life." Logan surmised to the sulking team members before turning on Rogue and her team mates.

"Right, Team Two. You failed to take out Pyro and Colossus but your plan was good and you acted quickly. However, you need to keep an eye on your surroundings at ALL times. Pyro can take hold of ANY flame in the area Magma so you need to be careful not to start a fire when fighting him. Shadowcat, you need to be aware of your team-mates positioning so you can react if they are in trouble. Rogue, do not let yourself get distracted in the middle of a battle. You had a mission to complete and team mates who needed you." Logan paused glaring at her meaningfully. Rogue dropped her gaze feeling the warmth returning to her cheeks for the third time in less than an hour. _- Oh mah gawd! Logan was_watching_! Ah can't believe Ah forgot, Ah can't believe ah just_ stood _there. Gawd wats the mattah with meh? Oh man ... -_"I know Kitty's screaming is distracting but you could have taken out Colossus easily." Logan continued, distracting Rogue from her self-reprimanding thoughts. Confused, she looked up at him. A telling raise of his stern brow was his only visible response while giving her a 'you-know-what-you-did' look. She was both surprised and relieved that he didn't seem angry and he didn't move to speak to her privately either. He turned and walked back out the way he came. He'd deliberately not mentioned Gambit so the others wouldn't ask questions. _ - Logan ya big sweet heart –_Rogue smiled to herself, she had never been gladder of Logan's protectiveness

"Rogue, are you hurt?" Kurt moved to kneel down by his sister's side, studying her for serious injury.

"Yeah, Colossus, like, threw you clear through that window. I thought you were dead when you didn't come back!" Kitty ranted, her head appearing above Kurt's shoulder. She was nervously chewing on her bottom lip as she too gave Rogue the once over, checking for any life threatening injuries.

"Kitty ya' know they would have stopped the simulation if Ah had been seriously hurt. It's the Danger Room not the _Death_Room." Rogue replied, rolling her eyes at her friend's foolish worries. She swatted her brother's concerned hands away from her and hoisted herself to her feet. Wincing slightly as she put weight on her injured leg, she began to make her way out of the Danger Room following the others headed for the changing rooms.

"Oh my God, Rogue your leg is, like, bleeding!" Rogue half turned to see her friend's horrified face as she spotted the gash on Rogues leg. "You _have_ to go to the med bay. Like, right now!"

"Kitty, stop over-reacting. It's just a lil' cut ok? It can wait till Ah've had a shower at least."

"Rogue that really isn't a little cut. Kitty's right, you should go to med bay and get Dr McCoy to look at it."

"I will, as soon as Ah've had a shower." Rogue was growing increasingly tired of Kurt and Kitty's concerns. The cut wasn't that bad in her opinion, she had seen worse and it was barely even bleeding now. A quick shower would be fine; Dr McCoy would need to wash the damn thing before he could _do _anything anyway.

"Bitte schwester, for your brother?" ("Please sister,...) Rogue stared at Kurt for a minute, studying his face. Finally she let out her breath in a sigh, he wasn't going to leave her be till she agreed to go.

"Fine, you win. Ah'll go." Though she would never fully show it, she really did care a lot for Kurt. Even if he was only her foster brother, he was still the closest thing to family she had apart from Logan, but that was different.

"Okay, hold tight," a beaming Kurt placed his hands on her shoulders ready to teleport her to med bay.

"No Kurt, wait! Ah..." She felt the familiar tugging sensation of Kurt's power as he ported them both into the med bay, the stench of the smoke he created on re-entry wafted around them. Swatting the air in front of her Rogue turned on Kurt.

"Ya know that was completely unnecessary. Ah am perfectly capable of walking!" Kurt only offered her a sheepish smile as an apology before disappearing in another puff of smoke which left Rogue coughing and swatting the new smoke with renewed vigour. In an attempt to escape the smell of rotten eggs, Rogue shuffled backwards a few feet bumping into a large blue figure, also known as Dr Henry McCoy. He was carrying a tray filled with bandages, plasters and disinfectants, among other medical things.

"Ah, Rogue. Logan told me to expect you down here. Just take a seat on the bed and we'll get you sorted out now." He pointed to the nearest bed and put the tray down on the little table next to it. Rogue lifted herself onto the soft mattress while Dr McCoy wheeled a chair over for him to sit on as he worked.

"Now, which leg is it?" he asked wielding cotton wool and the disinfectant bottle. Rogue groaned before turn on the bed slightly to give the doctor better access to her injury.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok next chapter should be up next week but I am getting ready to go back to college now so it might be late.

Aza x


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to everyone who reviews, hope you all like this chapter. Once again I would like to say thank you to my Beta Wanda W.

Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did I do not own X-Men.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rogue was in the med bay for about 20 minutes, when she left her body was sore and her uniform was in worse condition than when she had entered; Dr McCoy had needed to cut the material away from several cuts so he could attend to them more efficiently. He said her uniform had taken most of the damage and so most of the smaller cuts were merely scratches, though much to Rogue's dismay, Dr McCoy had insisted on cleaning each of them with the disinfectant.

When he had finished torturing Rogue, he had moved onto the cut on her leg, which was more serious than she had first thought. It had taken four stitches to take care of it and then two more stitches to care of a cut on her back that she didn't even know existed until Dr McCoy had pointed it out with the painful disinfectant. After that he put bandages on the two worst cuts, giving her some spare so she could replace them after showering and then told her to come back for a check up in a week's time. Also until he gave her the all clear, she was not to participate in future danger room sessions or any other physically demanding activities.

What made it worse for Rogue was the fact that no-one else had needed to go to the med bay at all, that hurt her 'Logan inspired' pride. It wasn't that she was competitive; she just didn't want people to think she was weak, that she needed protecting because she couldn't handle herself. She sighed and wrapped her arms around her body as she made her way upstairs to her room for a much needed shower.

"Rogue!" Rogue looked up to find Jean walking down the stairs towards her _- Oh please no, Ah just want a shower -. _She had already changed into casual clothes and, looking at the girl now, you wouldn't have believed that less than half an hour ago she had taken part in a gruelling training session.

"Kitty said you had been hurt pretty badly during the session, are you ok?" she asked while running her concerned eyes over Rogue, taking in her tatty uniform and the small cuts and bandages visible through the tears.

"Ah'm fine, it's nothing Ah can't handle." Rogue continued on up the stairs, ignoring the look Jean was giving her, which was a cross between worried and hurt. It wasn't that she didn't like Jean she just didn't want her sympathy or an optimistic speech on 'How they'll do better next time'.

"Do you want me to put some of dinner to the side for you?" Jean called after her.

"No thanks." Rogue didn't even pause as she shouted her response over her shoulder, knowing Jean she would probably put some food in the refrigerator for her anyway. Rogue shook her head as she made her way down the hall towards her bedroom but just as she made it to her door, Tabitha came out of the bathroom across the hall. She turned to look at the blonde girl who raised her eyebrows as she eyed Rogue's ruined uniform.

"WOW Rogue, nice job with the uniform. I know Amara said you went through a window but I didn't think you tried to go through a _closed_ one." She laughed as she gave Rogue's uniform another once over. If the girl wasn't already heading down the hall Rogue would have laid into her about getting her facts straight but as is it was Tabitha was almost out of sight and Rogue didn't have the energy to go after her. She pushed her door open and stepped into her room. _- Mebbe now Ah can get enough peace and quiet for a damn shower – _She slipped her gloves off her hands and dropped them onto her bed as she crossed the floor to the bathroom.

Kitty's bedroom was adjacent to Rogue's which meant the pair had to share the small bathroom that separated the two rooms. This had proven to be problematic for Rogue at times, not only because of her friend's ability to walk through walls but also because Kitty had a ridiculously large collection of moisturizers, lotions, cleansers, toners and other fruit smelling concoctions that were cluttered around the sink. Rogue was sure she rarely used any of them but Kitty still insisted that she needed them and so had them scattered all over the small bathroom.

Rogue reached into the cubical and started the shower; she then proceeded to peel herself out her uniform before moving to the mirror above the sink to inspect the damage done to her skin. She grimaced at the sight of the angry red cuts that stood out glaringly obvious against her pale white skin. She turned her attention to the large bandage plastered on her leg. Pulling the tape off at the corners, she slowly lifted the bandage, revealing a long bloody red line held together by little black stitches. The mirror began to cloud over from the steam bellowing out from the shower, reminding Rogue of her need to thoroughly soak her aching body. Quickly removing the second bandage that was stuck to her back, Rogue pulled the shower door to the side.

She stepped under the water ready to embrace its relaxing warmth but as it hit her the tiny cuts suddenly blazed to life, each one screaming in protest as the warm water scorched them causing her to jump backwards, a loud gasp escaping from her lips. The cuts felt like raw nerve endings sizzling on her skin. Rogue reached up and turned the water temperature down before cautiously stepping back under, slowly testing each cut before fully immersing herself once again.

The cool water made her shiver but it soothed the burning cuts, dulling the pain to a quiet whisper. She didn't spend long in the shower; she was annoyed at the fact that she still hadn't been able to have the warm shower she had so desired. Wrapping a soft cotton towel around her body she padded back into her room. After drying herself she carefully got dressed; pulling on a pair of dark jeans, a black vest top and a loose fitting deep purple jumper. She just finished putting on some large socks when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." she called as she pulled a draw open next to her bed, to find her favourite pair of black gloves.

"Hey kid," Logan stood in the doorway, his hand firmly gripping the door handle. "How's the leg?"

"Not too bad, only four stitches." Rogue said shrugging her shoulders.

"Hank told me there were six." He folded his arms across his chest, his usual frown set deep into his eyebrows. He continued to stand awkwardly in the doorway; as if he wasn't sure he wanted to be there and was seriously considering walking back out again. Looking at him she had a sneaking suspicion that the reason behind this visit wasn't to check up on her health, but she hoped to God that she was wrong because there was only one other reason for him to be there.

"There's two more in mah back." The tension in the man was making Rogue edgy. Still sitting on her bed, she looked down at her gloved hands and began twisting them nervously. He watched her for a moment, a muscle in his jaw twitching.

"Yeah well, be more careful next time. I can't promise I'll always be able to keep an eye out for you." Rogue's head snapped up, meeting his gaze full on. This is exactly what she didn't want; people thinking they needed to take care of her.

"Ah can take o' mahself!" she snapped, a small smile tugged the corners of the man's mouth.

_- That's my girl. -_

"I know you can, that doesn't stop me worrying though darlin'." His shoulders relaxed slightly, the previous tension that held him was seemingly forgotten for the moment. Rogue shook her head at him, a smile now playing on her own lips.

"Ya a big softy at heart Logan, ya know that?"

"Don't go telling everyone, you'll ruin my reputation." His chin jutted out and he squared his shoulders; trying to look manlier Rogue decided while smirking at him. He was quiet after that. She sighed looking at the floor again; she couldn't put it off any longer. Earlier, she had honestly thought she had gotten away with the incident in the danger room without anyone questioning her, but that was obviously too much to ask for. Sucking in a breath to calm her nerves she turned back to the man standing by her door.

"Logan did ya want t' say something t' meh?"

The tension returned to his shoulders instantly. He let out his out his breath in a huff and turned to close the door behind him, giving them some privacy from prying eyes and ears. He paused for a second with his hand still on the door handle. If she wasn't already embarrassed by the situation she would have found his behaviour funny; he was dreading this as much as she was. After a long moment he turned around and slowly walked over to her bed to sit next to her.

His gaze was trained straight ahead, his eyes focused on the wall opposite them. "What happened?" Rogue's fingers started twitching again; she busied them by playing with the seam of her glove.

"Ah...Ah...Ah dunno." She tried to reply but words failed her. She continued to play with her glove; appearing as if she had suddenly become fascinated with the stitching quality of the garment. Keeping his face forward, Logan peered at her from the corner of his eye. His lips were pressed together in a thin line.

"What do you mean you don't know? You just _stood_ there Rogue." He was staring at the wall so hard she thought he was trying to bore a hole in it with his eyes alone.

"Ah know ... Ah'm sorry, Ah... he...he caught meh off guard is all." This was ridiculous; the Rogue she knew didn't stumble over her words but then again the Rogue she knew didn't allow herself to be touched like that either. She gripped her hands together tightly, preventing them from giving away her nerves more than they already had.

"He pinned you to the wall; you say it was because he caught you off guard, fine. But then you just _stood _there, you didn't even _try_ to fight back. _That_ is what I want explained."

"Ah just wasn't expecting _him, _alright?!" Rogue sighed and placed her hands flat on her thighs, "Do we even know if he's back with the Acolytes?"

"We have to prepare for every eventuality, you know that." He turned, for the first time, to look at her face to face. "What would have happened if that had been real life? It's a good thing I did the session program isn't it?" Something about what he said didn't seem right and now that Rogue could see his face properly she took a moment to study his features. The slight down turn of his lips and a telling look in his eye suggested she was missing something, there was something he was he wasn't telling her.

"Wait, did you set me up?" She said carefully, glaring at him. He just turned back to face the wall again, his jaw clenched tightly. "Ya did didn't ya?! Ya programmed him ta find meh. Did ya program the others to separate me from the rest of the team too?" He lowered his eyes to the floor but still he said nothing. "Ah can't believe it Logan, why?" She leaned forward trying to see his face better.

"We needed to know how you would react to him." He stood suddenly, turning away from her, "I guess now we know."

"What do ya mean 'we'?" Rogue stood behind him, she was sure he could feel her burning holes into the back of his head.

"Xavier seemed concerned that you might not see Gambit as an enemy after what happened in New Orleans, he seemed to think you two might have formed some sort of friendship. He wanted to see how you would react to him in a hostile situation." He turned back to her once again but this time his features did not depict anger or frustration. He looked ... disappointed. Rogue couldn't hold his gaze; she dropped her eyes to the floor.

"Rogue did something happen ... between you two?"

"What? No, nothing happened."

"Are you sure kid? Cause you sure as hell didn't react to him like a friend neither." Rogue turned away from him, her cheeks burning once again at the memory of what happened and at the thought of Logan watching her reaction to it.

"Ah dunno why Ah reacted like that. Ah just, Ah couldn't move... Ah wasn't thinking." Rogue was flustered; her face was red and her eyes were threatening to flood at any second. She felt she had let him down. He had hoped that the professor was wrong and she would kick Gambit's ass, but what she had in fact done was worse than what he had originally feared. Logan could see she was upset; it was clear that she was just as confused about the situation as he was. Normally Logan did everything in his power to avoid these emotional situations he hated so much. This was Rogue, though, and she was like a daughter to him. Sighing, he put an arm around her and rested his chin on her head.

"Hey kid, don't get worked up 'bout it ok. Just remember, last time we checked he was still the enemy. Be careful around him. I don't think you can trust him."

"Ah know Ah can't. Logan," she pulled away and looked him in the eye, "Ah won't let it happen again. Ah promise." He smiled at this.

"Okay kid," he gave her a quick final squeeze before releasing her and heading over to the door. "You coming Stripes? There won't be any food left before long."

"Ah'll be down in a minute." Logan nodded his head and left the room.

Rogue hugged her arms around herself; she sat on the edge of her bed trying, for the first time, to make sense of her reaction in the danger room. She remembered the way his unique eyes stole her control, the way she tasted him on her lips and felt his warmth flowing from his body to hers. Just thinking about the way his hand had caressed her body made her cheeks blush and caused an ache deep within her. _– What the hell is the mattah with meh? Ah don't even like the guy! –_

Rogue buried her face in her hands. _– Sure he is good lookin' but he is so full o' himself. And that charm act, gawd, Ah bet he could charm the pants off a nun! – _She pulled her head back up and looked at her hands, the hands that can never be touched by another being. Maybe that was it, she was the girl that can't be touch but that didn't mean she didn't _want_ to be touch. Her body was screaming for it; a kiss, a hug, she would settle for a damn hand shake! She was tired of the way people edged around her, most seemed to be too scared to touch her even when she was completely covered up. She was lonely and Gambit was the only one who didn't act afraid around her, hell he even tried to get her to touch him. That's what it came down to, she decided, touch. Her body had betrayed her for the simple and basic need to be touched.

Her gaze travelled up from her hands, stopping at the window. It was already dark outside; she could see the moon hiding behind a few gray clouds. She stood up, moving closer to the window for a better view of the grounds. Most of the lawns were lit only by the moonlight and the garden statues were haunted by shadows, giving an eerie feel to the grounds. From the corner of her eye, Rogue saw a shadow close to her window shift suddenly; her eyes darted to the left meeting two glowing red orbs that were hovering by the trellis.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have had people ask me what a trellis is so I put the definition below in case anyone else isn't sure. If you want you could always pretend I said drain pipe instead, it really doesn't matter =P

TRELLIS: A trellis is a structure, usually made from interwoven pieces of wood, bamboo or metal that is often made to support a climbing plant or plants. (most of the time it is fitted to a wall or a fence)

Also someone said that there were a few spelling and grammatical mistakes in this chapter, I have re-read it and I honestly can't see them but if you do find them I do apoligise. I know I deliberatly put these mistakes into the speech and thoughts because I personally find it helps to develop the characters personalities as very few people speak properly all the time.

I'm at college 9am-5pm so I'm super busy but I will hopefully be posting chapter four next week.

Aza x


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Thank you to everyone who is following this story, your support keeps me writing. The biggest thank you is for Wanda W for her AMAZING Beta work.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standing amongst the trees on the outer wall of the Xavier Institute Gambit considered his chances of success. He had the skills to evade the mansion security system undetected and as long as he stayed well clear of any open windows and doors Logan shouldn't pick up his scent unless he came outside downwind from Gambit's position. It was already dark though, so the occupants of the mansion should be inside beginning their nightly routines. Xavier could have been a problem but Gambit had confirmed that the professor had left a few hours ago to visit his friend on Muir Island in Scotland so he would definitely not be back tonight.

With no excuses left he walked round to the part of wall he knew to be closest to Rogue's bedroom. He peered over it before lifting himself up and over, landing nimbly on the other side. Crouching behind a bush, he scoped the area again. The sky was mostly clear and the wind was still, which was good news for Gambit and bad news for Logan's nose. From his position behind the bush he could see into Rogue's bedroom window. He had taken a gamble guessing that she would be in there but when he spotted her exiting her en suite he knew it had paid off. Gambit re-positioned himself behind the bush, ready to spring forward but as he took one last glance at Rogue he noticed that her hair was wet and she had only a towel draped loosely around her body. She had obviously just showered.

Gambit cocked one eyebrow enjoying the sight of her wet hair cascading down the pale skin of her back. She had let it grow since last time he had seen her; her auburn locks now fell to just below her shoulders. Letting a smirk grace his lips he turned and sat behind the bush again. He would give her a few minutes to get dressed before he got any closer. Gambit could be called many things but a peeping tom was not one of those things. He ran his fingers over his lips absentmindedly, checking for any cracks in his plan while he waited.

His inspiration had come in the form of a movie he watched with Pyro yesterday. It was some old Batman & Robin film where Robin had tricked Poison Ivy by coating his lips with some sort of rubber to protect himself from her poisonous kiss. Enlightened, Gambit hadn't even stayed to watch the end of the film. He went straight to a local theatrical make-up shop to inquire about the mysterious rubber. Thirty minutes and two gooey eyed sales girls later, Gambit found himself walking out of the shop with a little bottle of liquid latex in his hand. Now with an almost invisible layer of latex protecting his lips, he was safe to plant a small kiss on Rogue cheek and so have her playing into his hands.

After a few minutes he gazed up at her window again, trying to see if it was safe to move. He could see Logan walking passed the window so he assumed that Rogue was now decent and, like a shadow, he slid out from behind the bush and crept up to the wall of the building. He climbed the ivy covered trellis next to him with ease, keeping himself out of sight he stopped when he was level with her window. Even through the shut window he could hear every word that was being said inside.

xxxxxXXxxxxx

Sometime later Gambit was still clinging to the trellis that was fastened to the side of the mansion. The muscles in his arms were growing stiffer with every passing second but he wasn't complaining; he was busy reeling from what had just transpired in Rogue's bedroom. From what he'd heard, he knew something had happened involving Rogue and himself. He guessed it must have taken place in one of the X-Men's training sessions as _he_hadn't seen Rogue in quite some time. Whatever _it_ was, Logan wasn't happy and Rogue was clearly embarrassed. He was desperately curious as to what could have possible happened between Rogue and an unknown version of himself that wasn't normal etiquette for enemies nor appropriate behaviour between friends. He couldn't help but let his mind wander.

He smirked to himself, what was it Logan had said? 'You sure as hell didn't react to him like a friend neither.' Gambit liked the sound of that more than he probably should and it would seem that Rogue didn't hate this Cajun as much as she made out she did. That was definitely good news for him; perhaps she would resist murder after he betrayed what little trust she may have in him when he kidnapped her and delivered her to the person that has caused her so much pain in the past. He gave himself a mental slap before that sobering thought could develop further; it would do no good now to dwell on the thought of being responsible for hurting Rogue

Logan had left her alone in her room a few moments ago, thus giving Gambit the perfect opportunity to initiate his plan. He peered through the window to see where she was but his gaze was met by two green eyes staring back at him in shock. He quickly rearranged his features into his best smirk and gave her a small sloppy salute. Her eyebrows knitted together instantly and she yanked the window open, sticking her head out into the cool night air.

"What the hell are ya doing here?!" she snapped.

"It's nice to see you too petite." Gambit replied politely as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to dangling outside someone's bedroom window.

"Gambit if Logan finds you sneaking around outside he is gonna gut ya," she warned.

"Well den you better let Remy inside, non?" He wagged his eyebrows suggestively at her. She snorted and scrunched her nose up in disgust.

"Ah don't think so; in fact, give meh one good reason why Ah shouldn't go and get Logan mahself." It was an empty threat. Gambit knew she wouldn't really go and find the dreaded Wolverine. If he pissed her off she was more likely to try to hit him herself rather than get someone to do it for her.

"Dere is no need t' be like dat chéri, Remy don't want no trouble." He let the smirk fall from his lips as he tried to appear sincere.

"Then what _do_ you want?" She narrowed her eyes at him. Either she wasn't fooled by his attempt at sincerity or she just didn't trust him; the latter seemed much more likely to Gambit. He couldn't help but let a small smile return to his lips.

"Dis Romeo just wants a kiss from de belle Juliet." He watched the blush rise in her cheeks while she grasped for something to say in response. He always had enjoyed leaving women blushing and speechless but with Rogue it seemed more rewarding. Maybe it was because her sassy attitude usually kept her well supplied with responses or perhaps because the blush, that crept down her neck and dipped beneath her sweater, was so alluring against her pale skin.

"Well ... ya got the wrong window swamp boy. _Juliet's_ room is third on the left." She stated sarcastically. Gambit had to snap his attention back to her face as she spoke. The blush was now slowly ebbing away and he found that he couldn't wait to see it again. It had left a glow in her skin that only added to her beauty, oh yes Gambit thought she was beautiful, he just didn't think much of it; he thought of a lot of women as beautiful. Though looking at her right now he couldn't think of anyone else he would call anything more than pretty.

It was hard to see sometimes, what with all the make-up she insisted on hiding under but it was there, right now, in her freshly cleaned face. It was her striking greens eyes, framed perfectly by her long black lashes and the soft glow in her high cheeks that balanced her face flawlessly; each feature complimented the next.

"Gambit what are ya staring at?" her voice was quite with an edge of nervousness that he didn't pick up on. His focus was fixed on her full lips. Without thinking, he placed a hand on her arm to prevent her from moving away and slowly leaned towards her. He stopped just short of making contact with those delicious lips that were calling out to him.

He looked up at her to see her reaction. She was frozen in place and appeared to have even stopped breathing but Gambit was pleased to see that her blush was returning and her eyes had widened in response to his close proximity. The corners of his mouth twitched up slightly and he returned his attention to her lips. -_Remy what de hell are ya doing, dis is not part o' your plan -_Despite knowing he shouldn't, he closed the distance between them and placed a soft lingering kiss squarely on Rogue lips. For a fraction of a second he was consumed by the need to pull her into his arms, to drown in the intoxicating feeling of her warm luscious lips pressed against his own. Being in no position to do either though, he gradually pulled away and saw her eyes even wider with shock, her lips parted slightly as she sucked in a breath.

"Remy'll come back for Juliet another time den." Gambit whispered trying to regain some control of himself.

"How did you...?" She didn't finish her sentence; she seemed a little dazed.

"A magician ne'er reveals his secrets."Gambit studied her face as he recited without much thought. It was meant to be a cocky retort but he didn't smile like he'd planned to; it just seemed like a revised line now. He needed to get control of himself and quickly, he could see Rogue's face change as she recovered; a soft frown was settling back into place on her eyebrows.

"What? No, ya have to tell meh how ya just did that." The anticipation was clear on her face and for the first time Gambit realised that he shouldn't have used touch to lure her out of the mansion. Giving her that kind of hope and then snatching it away again was just plain evil but it was too late now. If he had to play the monster to protect her then a monster is what he would be. He just hoped that she would give him a chance to make it up to her somehow.

"Did what?" he forced a smirk back into place on his lips, it felt false but he knew it would look normal to her.

"You know what!" she snapped.

"Haven't got a clue. Exactly what is it you t'ink Remy did?" He was playing with her, forcing her to say it out loud knowing that when she did she would blush again. He found it strangely additive and he was going to entice as many out of her as possible while he still could.

"You ... you ..." Rogue turned her head away from him trying to hide the fact that her face was already slowly turning red. "You ... touched meh and nothing happened."

"A lil' kiss is not'ing t' be embarrassed about Rogue." He cocked his head to the side to get a better view of her face. He teased her knowing full well that she was never going to forgive him for this. What he wasn't sure of was why that bothered him so much but he pushed that thought to the side and tried to focus on the present.

"Why would Ah be embarrassed?_You_ kiss _me_!" she shot back at him even though they both knew it was pointless for her to deny it; the rosy blush on her cheeks was clear evidence that she was.

"Vrai so dat must mean you're embarrassed 'cause you _liked_ it, non?" He put extra emphasis on the word 'liked', letting it roll of his tongue seductively. The blush suddenly took on a vivid shade of scarlet giving him the true answer before the lie could tumble from her lips.

"You wish!" She scrunched her nose up in false disgust, "Just tell me how you did it gawd dammit."

"Non." Her temper was growing short and he was sure she was about ready to hit him, in fact Gambit thought that if he wasn't hanging to the side of a building she probably would have launched herself at him already.

"You can't just kiss meh then run off." she said in disbelief.

"Really? Y' better stop me den." He quickly dropped back to the ground and began walking away. It was all down to her now. If she followed him his plan would be successful, if she didn't he would have to snatch her off the street like he did last year but that would limit his get-away time. He was silently relieved when he heard the telling creek of wood as she began to climb down the trellis after him. He inconspicuously peered over his shoulder to make sure she made it down alright before breaking into a jog as he headed for the outer wall.

"Hey wait!" she quietly called after him.

He lifted himself onto the wall, sitting with one leg on either side while he waited for Rogue to catch up. It was taking her longer to get to him than he thought it would have but he put it down to the fact that it was dark, perhaps she didn't know this part of the garden like he did. She appeared out of the darkness a few seconds later, looking thoroughly pissed off.

"You know you shouldn't chase after a guy chéri, we like it when girls play hard t' get." He smirked down at her.

"You're so full o' yourself. Quit playin' games with meh and get your ass off that wall!"

"As you wish." He swung he leg over the wall and let his body drop down to the floor on the outer side of the perimeter.

Rogue let out a growl that even Logan would be proud of. From where he was standing on the other side Gambit could hear her attempts to scale the high wall but he couldn't see how much she was struggling because of her injured leg. After a moment or two he became concerned that she had given up chasing him and really had gone back for Wolverine. He pulled himself up so that his head was sticking over the top just as Rogue managed to haul herself up to the same level leaving them face to face once more.

"Would you like me t' slow down for ya petite?" he smiled, cocking his head to the side teasingly. She just growled at him and kicked her leg up onto the wall, heaving the rest of her body up so that she was now sitting on top of the brick structure.

"Shut your yap swamp boy." He rolled his eyes at her insult and with one firm yank on her leg, brought her falling into his arms bridal style. He looked down at her, moving his face closer to hers causing her to freeze in place once more.

"I am getting sick o' you calling me dat, ya know Remy isn't no _boy_." He whispered softly to her.

"Mebbe ya prefer swamp _rat_ then."

"It's a start." Running his hands over her legs, he slid her from his arms. Gently, her feet fell to the floor so she was left stand in front of him with her back softly brushing against the hard wall. He found himself wrapping his arms around her, pressing their bodies together intimately. His gaze once again dropped to her succulent lips. Lowering his head to her, he wanted nothing more than to capture them with his own once more. As he moved, though, he felt her body tense as she suddenly brought her knee up; aiming for his 'personal area'.

Quickly twisting his body so that his leg took the blow instead he snapped his attention back to the present. He looked up, meeting her angry green eyes and smirked.

"You missed chéri. Mebbe you would like Remy t' show you where t' aim for next time?" His smirk broadened as he snatched up her hand and pulled it towards himself. Appalled by his suggestion, she yanked her hand out of his and pushed him away, turning so that he was left staring at her back.

"Just tell meh how ya touched meh." She ground her teeth together in annoyance.

"You don't wanna know." Unable to look at her, he dropped his gaze to his feet, knowing she was going to be devastated when she found out he'd tricked her.

"You can _touch_ meh. Of course Ah want t' know how, moron!"

"Well your gonna have t' make me tell you"

"Fahne!" She quickly pivoted on one foot and swung her leg round aiming for his torso but he was faster than she was and he easily dodged it. Something was off about the way she held herself but he didn't give it much more thought than that as he prepared himself for her next assault. He avoided her attacks easily and decided that it was time to end this little dance; he reached to his hip for his compactable staff but it wasn't there, his belt was empty. He looked down in disbelief but only confirmed that his staff was not where he it belonged.

"Ya loose something, sugah?" Rogue teased, Gambit looked up to see her twirling the small metal staff in her hand. His mouth dropped open in shock. _- When de hell did she get dat? -_He speedily rearranged his features so they did not betray his confusion.

"I must say I am impressed chéri," he straightened himself up as he watched her extend the staff, "and here I thought you were being slow tonight."

"Well Ah'm just full o' surprises, Gambit." She smiled at him invitingly and he grinned back as he pulled packet of cigarettes from his pocket. He took his time putting one to his lips, hoping that it would distract her from the movements of his other hand.

"So am I." As he spoke he pushed a button on the small device he was now holding, instantly a small bust of gas erupted from the end of the staff that was closest to Rogue's face. She threw the offensive object away but it was too late, already effects of the gas were taking hold of her. She swayed on the spot, her eyes shifting in and out of focus as the gas pulled on her consciousness. She stumbled forward, unable to keep herself upright as the gas plunged her into darkness but just before she hit the ground Gambit swooped in and caught her. He sat there for a moment, with his arm stretched around her mid-drift and her head resting on his shoulder, just enjoying the feeling of her warmth combining with his own. -_Dieu__, what's de matter wit' me -_ He shook his head to himself as he scooped her up into his arms and began to make his way through the darkness away from the Xavier Institute.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry guys but next chapter may be later than a week as I'm at college for 30 hours a week and working 35 hours =( not much time left for FF sadly.

If you have time please R&R, it really does help keep me going.

Aza x


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for taking so long on this one guys, hopefully next chapter wont take as long

Disclaimer: We all know who owns X-Men...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Rogue came to the first thing she noticed was the pain in her back and the stiffness that could only have been caused by the uncomfortable position she was lying in. Groaning, she opened her eyes and found herself enveloped in darkness with her hands tightly bound together. The floor was hard and rough; she tried to pick herself up but pain seared through her body, emanating from her back and thigh. Gasping, she let herself drop back down to the ground, waiting for the pain to release her body. Logan's survival training automatically kicked in and she gazed around trying to figure out where she was.

The night sky was clear and starry above her head, and as more of her surroundings came into focus she realised that she was lying on the ground in a small space left between large metal shipping containers. She pushed herself up into a sitting position; causing the warm trench coat, she noticed only now, to slide from her shoulders and pool at her waist. She tried to move her feet but found that they too were tied together. She growled to herself. This situation was all too familiar, it was the same position she was in the last time she had come into contact with Gambit almost a year ago now.

"Sleep well chèri?" his voice startled her as he silently walked out of the darkness. Without his trench coat on you could see the way the fitted uniform he wore showed off his sleek athletic body. He crossed his arms over his lean chest and Rogue had to force her eyes up to his face, determined not to let her hormones get the better of her this time.

"Kidnapping again, Gambit? Didn't ya learn lesson last year?" She narrowed her eyes at him as he unfolded his arms and came to squat down in front of her.

"I'm a thief, Rogue, jus' doin' what comes natural," he picked up his trench coat, throwing it around his shoulders before pushing his arms through either sleeve.

"And why tha hell have you _'stolen'_meh this time?" Ignoring her, he began to untie the ropes that bound her feet, pulling them away with ease.

"Come on petite, our train leaves in 'bout 10 minutes." He gracefully stood and offered a hand to help her up. She glared at his strong outstretched hand then up to his face, which was cast in shadows. His unique eyes glinted red as they reflected what little light there was in the small space they occupied.

"Who said Ah'm going anywhere with you?" Despite the pain that had a hold over her body she pulled her feet beneath herself, pushing her body upwards; bringing her to a standing position.

"Dis is a kidnapping Rogue, y' don't have a choice," a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. Ignoring the throbbing in her thigh, she took a step forward; a frown set into place as she squared her shoulder off in defiance and tilted her head up so her face was close to his. He was quite a bit taller than Rogue but she didn't let that bother her, what did bother her was the fact that he made no attempt to back away as she moved towards him; bringing her skin dangerously close to his. Refusing to show him that she now felt uncomfortable and nervous of the position she had placed herself in, she looked him straight in the eye; her face a mask of pure defiance.

"Well then ya're gonna have t' drag meh kicking and screaming." she spat out as she narrowed her eyes; daring him to try it. His smirk broadened turning into the desirable crooked smile that normally made her feel slightly weak at the knees but she held her ground. There was no way she was willingly going to go anywhere with him.

He captured her gaze with his smouldering devil eyes and closed the small gap between them so that their bodies brushed together softly. Rogue pressed her bound hands against his chest in an attempt to push him away but she found the feeling of his lean muscles beneath her fingers too appealing to resist. The smile slid from his lips but he continued to hold her captive with his eyes; two hungry bottomless pits encased in rings of sparkling rubies that were filled with something Rogue had always had to denied herself; desire.

Her lips slipped open and her heart skipped a beat; all thoughts of rebellion were long forgotten. He brought his hands up to rest on her hips; his fingers softly caressing her through to material of her jeans. He leaned down so that his lips were almost touching hers; his breath once again consuming her. Before she knew what was happening Gambit suddenly lifted her up onto his shoulder and began to make his way through the narrow gaps between the containers.

"What are ya doing? Put meh down!" She squirmed against him but he just tightened his hold on her causing her to gasp in pain as his hand unknowingly gripped the cut on her back.

"Remy will put y' down if y' promise t' walk nicely." She didn't want to agree to this but his shoulder was pressing into her stomach making her feel sick and his hand was still painfully tight on her injured back.

"Fine Ah'll walk just put meh down already," Immediately he stopped and gently dropped her onto her own feet. Not wanting to see the smugness in his face, she turned away from him and began walking in the direct he had been heading. Even though it made her thigh scream out in protest, she did not let herself limp; she didn't want his sympathy or his help.

Unknown to Rogue, behind her Gambit was studying her stiff movements with concerned curiosity when he noticed something wet on his hand. He looked down to see what it was; it appeared black in the darkness so he brought it closer to his eyes, rubbing his fingers together. It seemed to be blood but that was impossible; he wasn't hurt. He snapped his head up and studied Rogue as she slowly made her way between the containers. She had been slow all night, her movements stiff and unusually sloppy. Even now she was walking like someone trying to hide that they were in pain. _- Merde Remy, why didn't y' notice that before? -_ Hoping that he was wrong he jogged to catch up with her so he could get a closer look, but when he was just a few steps behind her he noticed a dark patch on the back of her sweater that could only be one thing. Blood.

"Rogue, y' bleeding." She stopped and turned to look at him thinking she had misheard what he had said.

"What?"

"Y' back is bleeding," he stepped closer to her and pulled her arm up, trying to get a better look at her back but she snatched herself out of his grip. Her mind was racing, she had not wanted this. _– Why'd he have t' be so observant -_

"It's nothin'," She tried to brush it off; pretend that it wasn't bothering her but he didn't seem to buy it. He brought his face down so he was eye to eye with her, putting his hands on her shoulders preventing her from pulling away again.

"Not'ing? Rogue y' sweater is soaked, Remy wouldn't call dat not'ing." She studied his face for a moment, shocked by this sudden show of compassion.

"Why do ya even care?" she turned her head to the side, unable to hold his concerned gaze. He stepped back, letting his hands drop from her shoulders.

"Remy didn't want t' hurt you." He said it so quietly it was almost a whisper. Rogue turned to look at him; his face was blank as usual but, just like with Logan, if she looked close enough she could see an emotion breaking through at the edges. Guilt seeped through her body; she dropped her gaze to the floor and cleared her throat before she did anything she knew she would regret.

"Well don't beat yourself up, it wasn't your fault. Ah did it in Danger Room earlier."

"Let m' see." She smacked his hand away from the hem of her sweater and started walking down the passageway again but he caught her by the elbow, pulling her back to face him, " Believe m' Rogue, it'll be worse if y' don't let Remy look."

"Don't we have a train t' catch?" she stated glaring up at him, attempting to take his mind away from her injuries but he didn't budge an inch.

" All de more reason for y' t' let Remy decide if y' need medical attention or not." He continued to stare at her, his face lacking all emotions except the practical concern of a stranger. She held his gaze for a minute before deciding that he wasn't going to give up till she allowed him to inspect her injured back. Sighing, she turned and folded her arms over her chest allowing him access to her back. He tilted his head to the side and studied her for a moment before reaching, once more, for the hem of her sweater.

He lifted it up slowly, causing it to glide across her body softly; inch by inch the pale skin of her back was revealed to his probing eyes. Knowing that he would find the tiny cuts that currently littered her back she glanced at him from the corner of her eye; wanting to gauge his reaction to her ruin skin. She watched his eyes as they darted from cut to cut; a slight frown growing as he discovered more and more scratches. Eventually he came across the blood stained bandage that was loosely taped over her main injury, with his free hand he pulled it free at the bottom and lifted it up exposing the cut. Rogue gasped as the cool night air breezed across the wound causing a fresh wave of pain to hit her.

"Merde." Her eyes snapped back to his; the frown was now fully developed and his mouth was a thin grim line set across his face. His expression caused a great knot in her stomach to twist uncomfortably; panic crept into the edges of her mind.

"What?" surely it couldn't be that bad; he must be over-reacting but Rogue didn't think he was the queasy type. He put the bandage back over the cut and let her sweater fall back into place.

"Stay here, don't even t'ink 'bout moving." He pointed at the floor as if to emphasize where he meant before jogging away, back in the direction they had just come from.

"Where are y' goin'?" she called after him but he was already out of sight. She stood alone in the darkness. A cold breeze swirled around her, causing her to shiver. She hugged her arms around her body in an attempt to keep warm but the motion caused the skin on her back to pull tight making the cut scream out in agony. She thought back to the look on Gambits face before he left, the knot in her stomach twisted again making her feel nauseous. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously while she waited for him to return.

_- Kid what are ya waiting for, an invitation? Get yourself outta there! –_It was Logan, his voice was a quiet echo at the back of her mind but she knew it was him; well not the _real_ Logan but the psyche Logan she keep locked up in her mind along with the psyches of every other person she had ever touched. She looked back to where Gambit had disappeared and as of yet not returned. _– Why am Ah waiting for him? –_ She shook her head to herself. Looking around she could see a large light in the distance; she figured it must be above the station platform so she began weaving her way through the maze of shipping containers heading in the direction of the light.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thoughts, questions? please R&R ^.^

Aza x


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry it took so long guys but here it finally is; Chapter 6!

Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own the X-Men. I just like to borrow them ^.^

* * *

Her body was slow and her movements were stiff but she dragged herself onwards, the large light growing closer and closer with each painful step. She glanced over her shoulder for what felt like the fifth time in less than a minute. If Gambit caught up with her now there was no chance of getting away; with how tired she had become she was in she was lucky to have gotten this far.

_- You're never gonna make it. Why even bother trying? –_

_- Shut the hell up Creed. Keep going kid you're doing great. –_

Ignoring the twinges of pain spiking through her she pushed her body to move faster; Dr. McCoy could give her something to relieve the pain when she got home. Just a few more steps and she would turn the corner to see ... her heart plummeted; before her where she had expected a train station was a lone pole with a flood light mounted on top. It stood tall and silent in a small clearing. She glared at the offensive light; furious at the false hope it had given her. She quietly wished that her mutation allowed her to blow the thing to bits but sadly she would just have to settle on giving the post a good kick before slumping down to the floor too exhausted to continue.

She shivered in the cold air; her hair was still wet and having left the mansion in such a hurry she only had a thin sweater on. It wasn't like she had planned to be outside this long; hell, she didn't even have any shoes on! And to top it off she was slowly losing control of the voices in her head. The hum had already started in the back of her mind and she could hear the stronger voices slip through the barriers she worked so hard to maintain.

_- You're so pathetic it makes me sick –_

_- GRrrrr I thought I told you to shut your yap! -_

_- Yeah? What you gonna do about it? Wolverine –_

_- Will you two, like, give it a rest already?__–_

_-__Chaton__is right, y're giving de poor petit a headache –_

_- You got no right to talk Gumbo._You're_the one that got her into this mess in the first place –_

"Why don't y'all _shut up_?" Rogue put her hands over her ears and shook her head in attempt to quieten the psyches.

"Giving up already Rogue?" Her head snapped up; the psyches instantly silenced now that she had something real to focus on. He was sitting on top of the storage container in front of her, his fingers casually thrumming on a box he held in his hands.

"Y're not even hundred yards from where Remy left you." He cocked his head to the side as he stared at her teasingly.

"If ya knew Ah was gonna run why'd ya leave meh alone?" Not trusting herself to stand she simply held his gaze. He smirked at her then nimbly dropped down to the ground and walked towards her.

"Well I figured y' were smart enough not t' go wandering around aimlessly and from where y' were this here light was de only t'ing y' could have followed." He crouched down in front of her, " So dat meant y' were where Remy left y' or here." he cocked one eyebrow, a hint of smugness outlined his features making him look devilishly handsome. "Now how 'bout we go catch dat train?" Forcing herself to her feet she walked past Gambit before turning back on him, placing her hands on her hips, determined to wipe that smirk off his face.

"Sorry sugah it must be gone ten minutes by now; Ah guess we missed it." Feeling it was now her turn to smirk, she let her best smile grace her face. Bringing himself to his full height, which was at least a full head taller than Rogue, he turned to face her. He let his eyes trace over her body slowly; his own smirk didn't falter even for a second.

"Don't worry petit; Remy knew you'd give him trouble so he lied when he told y' we only had ten minutes. We still got plenty o' time." Unable to stop it her face dropped, she stared at him in disbelief; not only had she failed to get away but she'd also failed to even slow him down. Logan was not going to be happy...

Having filled himself on the delicious food that was served at dinner, Logan wandered outside for a well earned cigar. It had been a long day. Up at 5am, he'd had to test the new modifications Hank had put in the Danger Room. The test had gone well, the room now offered a much more satisfying workout for him and he'd finished in plenty of time to get outside for his Tai Chi session with the kids.

The sessions were not compulsory, he had never actually intended for them to even be group sessions, the kids just sort of joined in and he had been more than happy to teach them. He fondly remembered the first student to join him; it had been Rogue. She used to watch him from her bedroom window then one day she had asked him why he did it. 'It helps calm the Wolverine inside me,' he had answered. The next day, there she was standing next to him in her gym suit and gloves; timidly copying each movement he made. He smiled fondly at the memory.

He was quickly brought out of his thoughts by Kurt suddenly porting next to him, a little too close for comfort as usual, causing Logan to drop his cigar in surprise. Both man and boy looked down at the fallen cigar that now resided in a puddle at their feet. Logan growled in annoyance and glared at Kurt.

"I ... I'm sorry Mr. Logan, I did not mean to sca... I mean I didn't mean to ... mein Gott Kurt, bis fahren!" (... my god Kurt, shut up!)

"Kurt what do you want?" Logan continued to glare as the boy shuffled his feet nervously.

"Have you seen Rogue? I have looked for her everyvhere but I can't find her." Annoying as Kurt could be, Logan was glad there was someone else to show Rogue that she had people that truly cared about her.

"She was in her room last time I saw her."

"She didn't come down for dinner so I vent to check on her but she vasn't there. I've checked the rec room, the kitchen, the danger room ... no-one has seen her and it seems strange that she vould go out and leave her bedroom vindow vide open. The room vas freezing so I shut it for her. Anyway, if you see her can you tell her I vas looking for her? Danke." Kurt ported back out as quickly as he had arrived leaving Logan with an uneasy feeling he couldn't quite shake. He frowned to himself; it was not unlike Rogue to hide herself away from people but it was odd that _no-one_ knew where she had gone. -_ Why _would_she leave her window open? - _Unable to fully convince himself that he was just being paranoid, Logan figured he would go check her room just to prove to himself that he worried too much.

A few minutes later Logan found himself standing in front of her bedroom window. Rogue had definitely been standing here not too long ago. Her scent filled the air surrounding the window but there was something else there too. It was subtle, almost not there at all. Logan vaguely recognised it but he couldn't put his finger on what it was so he reached out and opened the window hoping to increase the scent that was just beyond reach.

* * *

As usual any thoughts or questions are welcome. I love hearing from you guys! R&R

Aza x


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, it's nice to see people sticking with me =)

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

* * *

With her gloved hand securely held in his, he pulled her gently through the maze of storage containers; moving swiftly and confidently as if it was a path he walked along every day. She stayed silent, anger bubbling just beneath the surface of her skin. She wanted to hit him, to beat him senseless for thinking he could snatch her away so easily. At the very least she wanted to unleash the string of profanities currently racing through her mind but she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing he was getting under her skin.

- _You_want _him under your skin –_

It was said so softly and seductively she couldn't tell which one of the psyches had uttered it. A small laugh escaped her lips as she dismissed the thought as ridiculous. Sure Gambit was good looking and so what if he had a body that was toned to perfection. She could even admit that she admired the way he moved with such grace but that didn't mean she _wanted_him, did it? Her gaze dropped to the hand that was wrapped around her own. It was not the tight, restraining grasp of a captor. It was the warm and comforting touch of a friend. She marvelled at the way her hand seemed to fit into his perfectly even though there was a considerable size difference between them.

She was so busy contemplating this fact that she didn't notice him stopping until she walked right into him. He held her gaze but said nothing. Rogue felt like he was staring straight into her soul. A memory flashed before her eyes; _a pair of soft lips brushing against her own and the subtle smell of clove cigarettes filling her senses_. Her eyes dropped to Gambit's lips that were once again within her reach; she didn't know why but she wanted to feel them against her own once more.

"How did ya do it? How did ya touch meh?" His eyes seemed to re-focus as if he hadn't been looking at her at all. A small crease formed between his eyes and his lips pressed together in a thin line.

"Dat's a story for a later time chéri." He released her and turned awa. Rogue was surprised at how much she regretted the loss of his warm touch. She looked down at the now empty hand he had held; it tingled slightly.

"Ahh, dere she is, de New Awlins Express." He smiled to her and disappeared around the next corner. Rogue sighed to herself before following him. As she rounded the corner she was met with the impressive sight of a cargo train. Rogue looked left to right but couldn't see the head or tail of the train just storage cart after storage cart. Gambit was already at the side of the nearest one prying the door open with his staff. Once the door was open enough for the pair to slip through he turned back to face Rogue and gave her a gallant 'ladies first' bow. She rolled her eyes and shoved past him; she found her footing on the side of the train and began to lift herself up, but was surprised as a fresh wave of pain shook her body causing her to gasp out loud.

Gambit moved forward and caught her hips, holding her securely while she recovered. He then gently lifted her up enough for her to scramble on board and shuffle away from the door as he leapt up, as graceful as a cat. He gave her a concerned look as she stiffly moved to rest against a wooden crate as far away from him as she could get. It was bothering her how much a small touch from him affected her both physically and mentally.

"Ah'm fahne." she snapped before he could comment.

"Of course y' are, it's not like y' got any serious wounds dat are soaking y're clothes or anyt'ing." He gave her a sly look as he came to sit by her, pulling the small box she'd forgotten he had from inside his coat. Now that she was close enough to see it properly she could tell that it was a first aid kit; the type that are normally fixed to walls.

"Now let's take care of dat shall we." She looked at him, trying to figure out his motives but his face gave nothing away. Giving in she began to pull her sweater up, attempting not to hurt her back as she took it off. Gambit, seeing her struggle, gently helped her to manoeuvre the sweater over her head, letting his fingers, protected by the sweater, glide down her arms causing a shiver to run down her spine. Their eyes locked for a moment before Rogue turned away, her cheeks flushing.

For a long time neither of them said a word as he worked on her back. The only sounds were Rogue's occasional gasps of pain caused by the disinfectant Gambit was using. She tried to shut him out but it was hard not to focus on where his hands touched her back. He'd put on a pair of surgical gloves in order to attend to her injury and to Rogue it felt like he was touching her with his bare hands; the sensations caused by his gently touches dancing over her back consumed her. She let her head drop forward to rest on her knees, completely content for the time being.

"So what's the damage Doc?" she asked, forgetting their previous awkward silence.

"Do y' want it sugar coated?"

"No." He placed a bandage on her back before he responded, smoothing down the edges with the palm of his hand. He then pulled her vest top down, stealing the chance to run his hands down her sides as he did so.

"Well, y've re-opened de cut on y're back and torn deux o' de stitches. Probably did it when y' pulled dat roundhouse kick on Remy earlier but I patched y' up nicely. Should hold 'til we get y' t' de med lab."

"Med lab?" He froze; he'd obviously slipped up. It was the first time Rogue had ever seen this man make a mistake like that and gauging his re-action he couldn't believe it either.

"Gambit, where are yah taking meh?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'YOU DON'T KNOW'!?" Logan's roar echoed through the mansions heavy stone walls. Kitty knew it would be useless for Storm to try and keep this quiet now. She sighed and rested her chin in her hand as she watched Logan grow more and more aggravated. It was going to be a long night.

Having heard Logan's initial growls in Rogue's room earlier she had followed him in his search for Storm (who was standing in for Professor Xavier while he was away). She had been concerned that Rogue had gotten herself into trouble and no-one had thought to kick her out yet.

"Logan please calm down." Storm begged.

"Don't tell me to _calm down_! That piece of _swamp trash_ walked in here and snatched Rogue from her _bedroom_ without tripping any of our security _and_ without anyone noticing!" He continued his rant, pacing back and forth inside Professor Xavier's office. It was clear that the Weather Witch desperately wished for her mentor's presence now. Calming the Wolverine was no easy feat.

"I don't think 'snatched' is exactly the right word." Kitty said quietly, more to herself than anyone else.

"Then what would you suggest Half-pint?" Logan ground his teeth.

"Well I've, like, checked the security videos and..."

"We already checked them Kitty, you can't see him on any of the tapes. He must have known where each camera was located and how to get past them so as not to trip the alarms." It was not like Storm to interrupt but she seemed to be as wound up about this as Logan.

"Yes, I know that but I looked at the camera in Rogue's room..."

"He's not on that one either," Logan snapped. He was growing frustrated with the young girl and just wanted to go kick some Cajun butt.

"Can you all, like, stop interrupting me?! No, Gambit wasn't seen on that camera either but Rogue _was. _From what I saw he didn't force her out of that window; she went willingly." She looked from one face to the other, hoping they would understand that maybe they were over-reacting. Sure, she was worried for her friend's safety but she had known for a while that Rogue had kept the playing card Gambit had given her last year and even before the events in New Orleans Kitty noticed a change in Rogue that only took place after she'd been in contact with the southerner; it was like he inspired a small glimmer of hope in the gothic girl. Besides she truly believed that Gambit would never actually hurt Rogue; wherever she was with him, Kitty was sure she was safe.

"What is that supposed to mean exactly?" He glared at her through squinted eyes. Logan didn't like the sound of what she was implying.

"Well, err... maybe it's not a kidnapping at all. Maybe she just wanted to get out for a while?" She shrank back in her chair, a little intimidated by the raging man standing in front of her.

"With Gumbo? Rogue's not stupid, he must have tricked her."

"The hows and the whys do not matter at this point, my only concern is finding out where she is now." Storm said seriously, wrapping up the conversation instantly.

"Right, I'll go track his sorry ass down. He's gonna wish he was never born." Logan's mood lifted for the first time since he came into Xavier's office.

"Take the senior members of the team with you."

"Grrrrr, Ororo." He glared at her, everyone knew Logan liked to work alone but Storm didn't back down. She held his gaze evenly.

"That's an order Logan."

* * *

Please R&R =)

I've broken my laptop so chapter 8 might be a little while, sorry guys.

Aza x


	8. Chapter 8

I haven't heard back from my beta yet but I'm gonna be really impatient and post this chapter anyway so if there are any mistakes please forgive me and let me know what they are. If I do hear back from her then I will re-post this chapter with the improvements she suggests.

I still love you Wanda!

This chapter is for ElectroGirl23.

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men!

* * *

"Find anything yet?"

"I'm not picking up any psychic traces, if there were here they're gone now."

"Scent's gettin' stronger, they _were here_ and not too long ago."Logan growled, he was still annoyed that Storm hadn't let him track down Rogue alone. "This way." He suddenly stopped and turned towards a yard full of storage containers. He considered it for a moment sniffing the air once more before jogging towards them.

"Ah man, ve're never going to find them in there." Kurt complained. His concern for his sister was making him impatient.

"Kurt Jean already said they're not here anymore, we just need Logan to find where they went next. Don't worry, we'll find her." Cyclops gave Nightcrawler his most reassuring smile before pursuing Wolverine into the maze of containers. "Besides, Rogue is a big girl she can take care of herself." Kitty, copying Cyclops, gave Kurt a sympathetic smile before she too headed into the maze.

"Yeah, I suppose." Nightcrawler followed the others looking thoroughly miserable.

They found Logan crouching besides a large poll supporting a flood light that was illuminating the area.

"He caught up with her here; Gumbo back tracked a few hundred yards ago but she didn't get far on her own. She's hurt, I can smell the blood."

"Blood?" Kurt turned slightly green under his normal blue complexion, his face grimacing at the thought of his sister's unknown fate. Logan got up and stalked past the group of teenagers; his blood boiling beneath his skin. He had previously thought that this was just another one of the Cajuns mischievous antics but now he was genuinely concerned for Rogues safety. He picked up his pace, almost running round the last corner to where he knew the railway line was. He jumped over the tracks and began searching for a scent on the other side. Looking for anything to suggest that they simply crossed here rather than getting on a train but Logan had known before he had even jump across that he would not find anything. There was only one reason for Gambit to bring her here and now Logan had to figure out where he took her without his mutant abilities to help him. He let out a ferocious roar before heading back to the others.

"They got on a train. No more than half hour ago." He relayed the information to the small group as he paced back and forth trying to think of a plan. The station desk wouldn't be open for hours so there was no way of knowing where the train was heading till morning by which point Gambit and Rogue would have disappeared into the world. He furiously growled again making the teamed jump in surprise.

"New Orleans Express leaving Bayville Industries cargo port at 19.15pm stopping at Philadelphia, Washington and Atlanta arriving in New Orleans at 17. 48pm" Kitty re-read the information from her mobile aloud for everyone to hear.

"How'd know that?" Logan looked at her perplexed.

"Instant web access." She stating as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right. Ok let's get back to the mansion we'll head them off in Philadelphia."

"Ok you heard the man, team lets head out." Cyclops shouted as Logan turned back to look at the empty port. _– I'm on my way kid, just hang in there. –_

_x_

"Ah said where are you taking meh?" she was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips in full confrontation mode.

"Chéri calm down before y' hurt yo'self again." He didn't even look up from his card game. She had the feeling he was avoiding looking at her. _– What is he trying to hide? -_

"Don't 'cheri' meh! Ah want t' know where the hell you think your takin' meh."

"Rogue as much fun as it'd be to tie y' up I really don't want t' so, s'il vous plaît, just calm down." He finally looked up at her, what would normally have sounded teasingly flirtatious lacked his usual seductive tone. He held her gaze evenly as he waited for her. She didn't have the energy to argue so she just sat opposite him, glaring as he continued his game of solitaire.

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours but in reality it was probably no more than about 30 minutes. On several occasions he attempted to talk to her about trivial things but his attempts were met by cold angry glares; eventually he gave up trying to talk to her all together. They sat in silence. Rogue sighed silently to herself; the trip to New Orleans was going to be a long one. She contemplated ways of escape for when they arrived there; even if she could only get away long enough to find a phone. She figured if she could alert the X-Men to where she was then she was sure that they would find her. Her thoughts drifted back to what Gambit had said about getting her to the med lab. Did the thieves Guild have a med lab? Rogue wouldn't be surprised if they did but why would Gambit take her there? As far as Rogue knew he hated his father. She was jolted out of her thoughts when the train suddenly shook violently.

"What the hell was that?" she exclaimed, not really aiming the question at Gambit but unable to contain the thought in her shock.

"Dat would be our ride." He seemed different. In fact he had been unusually quiet since his slip up about the med lab. His flirtatious behaviour had evaporated, the teasing had stopped and the sparkle in his eyes had gone. Rogue studied him for a moment longer realising then that as hard as he tried to hide it he was torn; like he wasn't happy about what he was doing but had to do it anyway. It made her nervous. She watched him slide open the container door revealing the world rushing past outside as the train zoomed along its tracks. He clearly wasn't happy about where he was taking her she concluded so maybe he _was_ taking her to the Thieves Guild but then why was he opening the door? Surely he didn't expect them to jump. That's when she saw it; a huge metal sphere glimmering ominously in the moonlight as it got closer and closer to the train until it completely filled the doorway.

"No." She stepped back trying to get as far away it as possible. She was stopped by two strong arms wrapping around her and preventing her from fighting. She felt his breath on her neck before said heard him speak.

"___Je suis désolé_, Rogue." He said with a sad voice before lifting her up with ease as part of the metal ball melted away becoming an opening large enough for someone to climb into. Rogue tried to struggle against Gambits strong grip but couldn't, within seconds they were both inside the ball; the opening behind them snapping shut as he released her.

At first they were plunged into darkness until a snapping sound revealed a strange orange glow emanating from a stick which Gambit let drop to the floor. The orange light gave his red eyes a sinister look; the way he stared unnerved her. The space inside the ball was small which was made worse by the fact that it was perfectly spherical. They stood apart both leaning on opposite sides with their feet touching in the middle preventing them both from sliding down. Rogue felt uncomfortable. She hadn't suspected Gambit of being a real threat this entire time but now she knew where he was taking her. He was delivering her right into the hands of her enemy. Back on the train she could have walked away from him, turned her back or blocked him out by listening to the sounds of the train as it noisily ran along the tracks. In here it was too close and too quiet. There was only Gambit, nothing to distract her from him and he just stood there staring at her. She wished she could read his mind; find out what his was thinking as he gazed at her.

In the silence that stretched between them she could hear her own heart beating deep within her chest; - _One. Two. Three - _ she counted each beat as she waited for him to say something, unable to think of anything to say herself but also not wanting to give herself time to process the feelings that Gambit always seemed invoke in her. - _Four. Five. Six._ – She was mad at him but this close proximity was playing havoc on her mind and senses. She was acutely aware of every part of his body that touched hers; his warmth soaking into her. Each breath he took floated back teasing her skin as it danced around her.

"What does he want with meh?" she asked, finally unable to stand it any longer. He didn't say anything, just looked away.

"Please, Ah think you owe meh that much." She said exasperated.

"Remy don't know." He said quietly.

"What?" she couldn't believe what he was saying. "Your just gonna hand meh over to him not knowing what it is he plans to do to meh?" she looked at him ludicrously "Ah thought you.... Ah thought..." Rogue dropped her chin to her chest, her eyes stung and she tried to blink back the tears that threaten to spill out. She had truly believed they had created some sort of alliance back in New Orleans last year; one that meant they would look out for each other. Obviously she had severely misunderstood the Cajuns intentions. _– Why in Gawds name did Ah keep that damn card! What was ah thinking? He doesn't care 'bout meh. He don't care 'bout anyone but himself.-_

"Rogue..." he leaned forward his hand reaching out, protected by his gloves, lifting her chin to look at him. His eyes were sad but she didn't care she slapped his hand and shoved him away from her. The movement, however, made her slip and lose her footing. She instinctively grabbed Gambit to prevent herself falling but resulted in them both ending up piled on top of one another in the bottom of the ball. A small gleam returned to Gambits eye as she struggled to free herself from the provocative position in which they landed. She had somehow ended up underneath him with one leg around his waist and the other tangled between his. He had one hand around her back and another beside her head holding himself a few inches above her.

"Y' could have just asked chéri, jumping m' really wasn't necessary" his classic smirk returned to his face and he made no attempt at moving from their current position. She gawped at what he was implying.

"In your dreams Swamp rat!"

"Every nigh' petit, every nigh'." She turned bright red and tried to wriggle herself from under him but was quickly stopped as Gambits hand gripped her hip preventing her from moving any further.

"Unless you plan on finishing de job, I seriously suggest y' stop rubbing against Remy like dat." His breathing had deepened and the way he stared at her made feel like he wanted to eat her alive._ – Lust -_. Someone at the back of her mind informed her. She suddenly looked down realising what she was wriggling against. The redness her cheeks suddenly turned would have made even the reddest beetroot jealous. Gambit laughed at her as she realised what she had done. Using the hand that was now on her hip he lifted them both up into a sitting position before letting her sink to one side of the ball. She was sat between his legs facing him with her own legs either side of his hips; it reminded her of the way lovers sometimes sit on a bed in films. It was too close and intimate to be comfortable but it was better than their position moments ago. Instantly they sunk back into their previous silence though Gambit never lost the hungry look from his stare.

* * *

As always please R&R I love hearing from you guys!

Aza x


	9. Chapter 9

This chapter is for tfobmv18, Lucida Lownes, alliekat35, Fostersb, Le26199 and Chellerbelle for their amazing fast reviews!

This chapter shamefully hasn't even been sent to my beta yet so please don't burn me for any mistakes, let me know and I will fix them ^.^

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men

* * *

'_How can someone so innocent be so damn sexy' _Gambit silently wondered to himself as he watched her_. _He let his head drop back and his eyes close as he tried to picture something mundane to take his mind off the girl sitting between his legs. If he didn't think of something soon he would be in serious danger of jumping her; his mind, without his permission, had already thought of ways to work around her powers. Skin to skin contact really wasn't necessary for what he wanted to do to her.

– _Non! Stop it Remy, t'ink of something else y' imbecile! -_ He pictured what Logan was going to do to him when he eventually caught up. The thought sobered him up somewhat but it was still a long way back to Magneto's base and it was going to be a long time before Logan realised he'd been led on a wild goose chase half way down the country. He laughed at how easy it had been to snatch Rogue away from her 'protected' life at the Xavier Institute.

Against all odds he had managed to get her within Magneto's grasp but what now? Her words echoed in his mind. _'What does her want with meh?' _ What _did_ Magneto want with her? Gambit had not let himself think of this before knowing he probably wasn't going to like the answer. As far as he knew Magneto was not harbouring any new plans for the 'advancement of mutantkind' but it was possible that Gambit had just not be informed of had sworn that he had no intentions of hurting Rogue so Gambit would let it go for now. Whatever happened he would be around to keep an eye on her, everything would be fine.

X

Meanwhile in Philadelphia the X-Men had changed out of their uniforms and split up to search the train without attracting too much attention to themselves. Jean did a psychic scan of the train but found no signs of Gambit or Rogue. She decided to broaden her search to see if any of the passengers had seen either of the pair at any point on the journey. She quickly found that nobody had any memories of seeing them but she had picked up a feeling of anxiety from many of the passengers. Taking a closer look to see what had caused this atmosphere of unease she discovered that along the journey there had been a violent shaking from the cargo carriages near the back of the train.

'_Wolverine have you checked the carriages at the rear end of the train? Many passengers believe something happened down there during the journey here.' _Jean quickly informed Logan telepathically.

'_Yeah Gumbo's stink is all over this one. Rogue was here too but their gone now. They must have jumped before they got here otherwise we'd have seen them by now. What spooked the passengers?' _

'_A violent shaking it seems; do you think it was Gambit's powers?'_

'_No there's no sign of an explosion. Not a single mark on the train for that matter'_

'_But then what happened?'_

'_I dunno but I don't like it one bit'_

"X-Men fall back and regroup at the blackbird." Jean heard Logan's gruff voice on her communicator seconds later.

"Have you found her?" Kurt echoed back overjoyed at the thought of his sister being found safely.

"Just get back to the jet Nightcrawler." Wolverine barked. He was fast losing his temper. If 'Gumbo' had jumped off the trained with Rogue before it stopped in Philadelphia then it would be impossible to track them by foot; Logan would have to sit back and rely on the psychics to find them. He hated the thought of doing nothing while Gambit was doing god knows what to Rogue. He had to find them and fast.

X

While his eyes were closed she stole glances at him, safely knowing he wasn't aware of it. It made her more comfortable now those sole eating eyes weren't watching her every move anymore. She studied him; telling herself that she needed to know what he was thinking but in reality just stealing a chance to stare at the man who always managed to get under her skin even when he wasn't trying to.

The truth was that Gambit was the most attractive man she had ever met. He had the body of a god and a face that even a Hollywood heart throb would be jealous of. His cocky flirtatious personality and self-confidence only added to this appeal. Basically Gambit was sex on legs and Rogue bet a lot of women would do anything for this man's attention, even if it was only for one night.

So why did he bother wasting his time with her, the untouchable Rogue? He could have any woman he wanted and yet he was always flirting and teasing her. Sure, she didn't know what he got up to when they weren't facing each other in battle but she wasn't the only female on the team. He didn't treat Jean or Kitty the way he treated her. Maybe it was because of her powers, he could wind her up because he didn't have to follow through with what he said.

That must be it; it wasn't possible that he actually _liked_ Rogue, was it? She wasn't tall and glamorous or small and beautiful. She was just plain old Rogue, the untouchable girl. She didn't 'dress to impress' as Kitty called it. In fact she did the opposite, wearing dark clothes and heavy make-up to keep people away but she remembered the look in his eyes when she was lying beneath him moments ago. He couldn't pretend that surely?

She decided that if she could inspire that look in him again than maybe it was real and against all odds he did actually like her. She didn't know why it was so important for her to know but for some reason it felt like it made a difference to her; even if she couldn't have him if he did like her. She felt the need to know where she stood with him.

She deliberately wiggled her hips in discomfort. She wasn't touching him but the movement was enough for him to notice and open his eyes to look at her. Keeping her eyes down, she arched her back forward stretching out her spine as though she had been sitting in an uncomfortable position for too long, which wasn't actually too far from the truth considering where she was. She looked up at the last moment to catch his expression; he was caught off guard by her action and was staring at her breasts in complete unedited awe. His sparkling eyes were wide with surprise and his mouth fell open in shock. It gave her a confidence boost and as she finished stretching she casually leaned back into the curve of the ball letting her legs fall apart and rest against his; her hands slowly falling down her body until they finally came to rest suggestively on her inner thighs.

His face darkened with that familiar look of hunger and he slowly wet his lips, letting his tongue slide across his lower lip before he looked up, letting his eyes travel the full length of her body taking in every detail and curve as they went until finally meeting her gaze. For a while he said nothing; just stared at her through hooded eyes, obviously trying to decide if she was deliberately teasing him or if she was in fact just innocently stretching out her back in discomfort. She tried to act innocent but she was struggling to keep the smile from her face.

"T'ink dats funny do y'? Teasing poor Remy like dat?" She didn't reply, instead she had to bite her lip to stop herself from giggling. A cocky grin spread across his face as he moved his hands to rest on her knees causing her to gasp in surprise. He didn't leave them there for long; soon they were travelling down her legs towards her ankles. She watched them glide along her shins as they sent shivers down her spine. When they got to the bottom he slipped his gloved hands under her jeans and began to run his finger back up her leg causing a wonderful tingling sensation in Rogue's belly.

"Still t'ink it's funny chéri?" he asked in his most seductive voice as he watched her reactions play across her face. She returned his gaze but couldn't respond; she was too wound up with where his hands were touching her. They had made it almost to her knees before snaking round her calves where his fingers were currently tracing circular patterns so softy that it made her whole body tense up in delight. He opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted as the metal ball started vibrating softly. She gave him a confused look, silently asking what was happening. His cocky grin and hungry gaze were gone, all traces of them vanished and replaced with a serious look that made Rogues stomach tie up in knots of anxiety.

"We're here." It was the only answer he gave her and it was all she needed to know. They had arrived at Acolytes base and Magneto was waiting for them.

* * *

Please R&R

Aza x


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry to everyone who has already read this chapter but I decided to change Blindspots character back to being female as I changed my plans for this character. Iv not changed anything else so if you've already read it there's no need to re-read it again.. unless you want to :)

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men

* * *

He lifted her legs from around his waist and quickly stood up with seconds to spare as the metal sphere began to melt away around them. Thanks to his fast reflexes Magneto had not found the pair sitting in such intimate position; that would have been hard to explain and would have definitely compromised his ability to keep an eye on her.

As the sphere melted away it revealed Magneto waiting with Sabretooth at his side. Immediately Gambit was on alert, he always was whenever Sabretooth was involved.

"Bring her." Magneto's commanding voice broke through the silence. As if she had been in a daze till now Rogue suddenly jumped up to her feet next to Gambit, in a defensive stance ready to attack the first thing that came near her. An evil grin spread across Sabretooth's face, he wanted her to struggle. Gambit knew the sick bastard would enjoy it that way. He stepped between them, turning his back on Sabretooth and holding his hand out to Rogue.

"Dere's no point in fighting now Rogue. Y'll only get yo'rself hurt." He kept his emotions masked, he could not let it slip that he cared for the girl. She looked up at him with pleading eyes that begged for some sort of reassurance, he gave her nothing; sealing off his desire to pull her close to him and tell her that he would take care of her no matter what. She looked between Sabretooth and Gambit weighing up her options before eventually placing her hand in his; letting him pull her past Sabretooth and towards the base. He kept his body between her and the oversized cat that looked as if he'd just had his favourite ball of yarn snatched away from him.

Once inside, Gambit realised offering Rogue his hand was a mistake; even through two pairs of gloves her hand felt warm and soft in his. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye; she stood tall, her chin held high and her face determined. Captured by the enemy with no hope of escape and still she looked undefeated; Wolverine would be proud.

They entered Magneto's office together with Sabretooth following behind them silently. He should have let go of her hand by now but his body didn't seem to want to respond to what his mind was telling him. Magneto looked from him to Rogue then down to their hands; he really needed to let go now but his hands only response was to hold hers tighter. Magneto narrowed his eyes just as Gambit heard the door behind them open again. Mystique walked in followed by a mutant he hadn't seen before; Gambit watched them as they crossed the room to stand by Magneto. He felt Rogue stiffen beside him when she spotted Mystique but he could do nothing to calm her with Magneto already watching him.

"That will be all Gambit." Magneto said judging his response closely. Gambit hesitated a second then finally dropped her hand and dipped his head to Magneto before slowly making his way out of the room. Just before he closed the door behind him he stole one last glance at Rogue; she gave him a look of such betrayal that it stabbed him to his very core. He dropped his gaze to the floor unable to hold her stare, realising he had just handed her over to the people that have hurt her most in the world and he was powerless against them. The door clicked shut, his heart was pounding and his mind was racing for an answer as to what he should do now. There was nothing he could do but stand and wait. He leaned against the wall outside Maggy's office, furiously shuffling cards.

- _Remy y've really done it dis time. How de hell did y' think y' were gonna protect her from _him_ once y' brought her here, imbecile! –_

The door opened again revealing Sabretooth. He closed the door behind him then leaned against it with his arms folded across his chest. He had a sly grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye that meant only one thing; he was hoping for a fight. Magneto obviously thought Gambit was going to cause trouble and so had sent Sabretooth to watch him.

xXx

"Come on Chuck, give me some good news." It was early in the morning and the sun was only just beginning to rise but Charles Xavier had yet to see his bed. After a call from Storm the professor had rushed back from Scotland in order to aid his friends in their search for the missing teenager.

"I am sorry Logan but I can't find any trace of them anywhere. Gambit must have found a way to keep both their thoughts and location hidden from me."

"But where would he get that kind of know-how from?" Xavier looked at Logan gravely, concern furrowing his eyebrows.

"My first guess would be Eric."

"Magneto? That would explain the incident the passengers on the train were worried about. You think Gumbo's working for him again?"

"Possibly, but what would he want with Rogue?" Charles rested his chin on his hands contemplating his old friend's motivation.

"I dunno but whatever it is it ain't good."

"Agreed, see if you can find out Magnetos last known location and activities. We need to find out what he's up to. Meanwhile I'll keep scanning for the three of them; Cerebro will pick one of them up sooner or later."

xXx

"Hey up lads, what's going on here?" A large manic grin spread across Pyro's face as he took in the figures before him.

"Remy and Sabertooth here were just 'bout to have a game o' cards, you want in Pyro?"

"Nah, I'll sit this one out. Looks like it'll be more fun to watch"

Pyro was disappointed as Magneto's office door opened, consequently breaking up the brewing fight before it had begun. Sabertooth stepped to the side, unblocking the doorway and Remy's view of the four mutants exiting the office. Magneto was at the forefront of the group with Rogue stand just behind him looking slightly dazed. Mystique and the mutant Remy didn't know the name of brought up the rear.

"Pyro would you be so kind as to show Rogue to one of our spare rooms, she has decided to join our cause and will be staying with us indefinitely." Pyro was completely taken back; his confusion clear as day on his face. He hadn't even known Rogue was he here never mind the fact that she was being recruited.

"_Joining us?"_ he asked in disbelief; Magneto merely raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah right away boss. This way, my dear." Pyro beckoned Rogue in an exaggerated bow, dipping his head right down to the floor. Rogue rolled her eyes at him before following, sparing a side-ways glance at Remy as she past him.

Confusion caused Gambits eyebrows to knit together as he watched the pair disappear_. – What de hell happened in dere. Dey brainwash her or somet'ing- _

"Gambit I'd like to speak to you in my office." Magneto and the unknown mutant turned and went back into the office leaving Gambit with no other choice but to follow.

"As you can see Rogue has had a change of heart since arriving here. I want you to make sure everyone makes her feel welcome and that nobody questions her reasons for join us understood?" Magneto said from behind his desk once they were all inside.

"Pourquoi? Y' got her brainwashed somet'ing good."

"Brainwashed? Not quite. Rogue made the decision herself; personally I don't blame her after how badly _they_ treated her." The nameless mutant put in before Magneto could respond; an evil grin twisting her features as she spoke.

"De X-Men were her family. Dey cared 'bout her, dey ne'er hurt her."Magneto actually looked smug and Gambit thought for someone who didn't play he sure liked it when he knew he held all the cards.

"This is Blindspot." Magneto introduced the mutant standing at his side. Remy regarded her for a moment before turning his attention back to Magneto. "Her gift is the ability to remove and alter memories." The mutant 'Blindspot' had a cocky grin spread across her face, the type people have when their waiting for you to catch up on a joke. That's when it hit him.

"Y' changed her memories of de X-Men. Dat's worse den brainwashing her! What gives you de right?"

"You want to be very careful Gambit. I **do not** pay you to question my orders; I pay you to follow them! I got you out of that swamp you called a home; I can just as easily take you back. She believes that she didn't belong in the X-Men, that she came here of her own freewill and that Blindspot has removed the psyches from her mind in order for us to help her gain control of her powers. You'll do well to make sure it stays that way. Now get out!"

"Dommage monsieur." Remy dropped his head knowing he had pushed Magneto's patience too far. He turned and left the office swiftly causing his trench coat to bellow around him.

Magneto watched in silence as he left; waiting until the door was shut thus leaving Blindspot and himself alone.

"He is becoming difficult. You're sure his feelings for her will keep him in line?" He asked the strange woman beside him.

"If the girl's memories of him are correct then he won't risk being kicked out. He'll do anything you say to stay close to her."

"Excellent."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men

* * *

"Want me to show around the rest of this place?" Pyro stood in the doorway of the small bedroom watching his new team mate and previous enemy with curious eyes.

"No thank you. Ah think Ah'm just gonna call it a night." Rogue sat down on the bed; testing the mattress.

"Sorry, can I just ask? What made you leave them, the X-Men that is?"

"Ah just got tired of them Ah guess. Ah never really fit in there anyhow." Her gaze dropped to her feet. She had felt it for months yet saying it out loud left a numb feeling in her chest that was either relief or emptiness; she couldn't decide which.

"Oh. Right, g'night then." Pyro looked puzzled.

"Night." He turned and left, shutting the door behind him as he went; leaving her alone with her thoughts. She let herself fall back onto the mattress with a sigh. Her head was pounding, a side effect, Blindspot had told her, of him removing the psyches from her mind. The head ache was a pain in the ass but it would soon fade and it was nice not to hear the infinite hum of chatter at the back of her head all the time. It was worth it she decided.

She pulled herself off the bed and went into the small bathroom that she could now call her own. It was small with a toilet, sink and shower all squeezed in, leaving little room to move about but, unlike back at the mansion, she didn't have to share it with anyone. It seemed petty but it had always bothered her how Kitty always had priority over it; apparently it was _her_ bathroom _she_ was just kind enough to let Rogue use from time to time. Or how she had never let her store any of her things in there and would yell at Rogue whenever she took too long in the shower.

Rogue pushed the bitter thoughts out of her head for now as they seemed to only make her head ache worse. Walking over to the sink she splashed some cold water on her face before returning to the bedroom; towelling her face dry as she went.

"Damn, Remy was hoping to catch y' coming out o' de shower." Rogue's heart jumped into her throat as she leapt back in surprise. She snatched the towel from in front of her eyes to find Remy looking thoroughly amused sitting on the edge of her new bed.

"Gawd dammit Swamp Rat! Ya nearly gave meh a heart attack. 'Sides don't yah know it's rude to enter a ladies room without knocking first!" He stood up and stepped closer to her so that she had to crane her neck to look him in the face.

"No-one who can throw a punch like y' can, has the right t' call 'emself a lady and for y' information Remy did knock." He stared down at her with a hint of smugness.

"Well, next time wait outside. Ah could have been naked for all you knew." She glared at him with her hands on her hips.

"Like Remy said, he was hoping." He smirked at her as his words sunk in and she scrunched her nose up in disbelief.

"Pervert!" She shouted as she threw the towel in his face. Laughing he removed the towel from his face and watched her as she moved to sit next to him on the bed. She could feel his eyes on her as she studied her gloves trying to decipher her feelings for the handsome mutant sitting next to her. She admitted to herself that she liked him; the way he always tried to get close to her despite her powers had been a relief when living in a mansion full of people who always kept her at arm's length, even when she was covered from head to foot. Pair that with his self-sure attitude, constant flirting and that gorgeous cocky grin she'd have to be completely insane not to like him. But how did he really feel about her? She figured now that they were on the same side she'd have time to find out.

"Rogue, are y' okay?" He was looking down at her, concern furrowing his brow slightly.

"Hm? Oh fine, killer head ache but that's to be expected Ah guess."

"How's yo're back?"

"Mah back? Oh right, Ah forgot 'bout that what with everything else going on."

"Come on cheri, I'll take y' down t' de med lab." He said as he stood up and turned to offer her his hand. She smiled and placed her hand in his allowing him to pull her to her feet and guild her out of her room towards the med lab.

* * *

Again sorry that this is such a short chapter, still struggling with writers block =/

Anything you'd like to see happen between Remy and Rogue in the med lab let me know ;)

Aza xx


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for the wait guys; busy, busy, busy

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men

* * *

The room Gambit led her to was the strangest med lab Rogue had ever seen; it was nothing like Dr. McCoy's clinically clean medical bay back at the mansion. The room itself, apart from having no windows, was rather ordinary; almost like a basement but it was crammed with a wide array of bizarre machines with what looked like an operating table in the middle. It was quite eerie standing in a dark room full of powered-down machines that stood silently, almost completely hidden in shadow.

"So deux stitches in y' back den, oui?" Gambit walked to the table in the middle, oblivious to Rogue's apprehensions about the room. He clicked on an overhead light that chased away most of the shadows and looked at Rogue hovering in the doorway.

"Err, yeah. Ah guess." He continued to stare at her as she fidgeted nervously, carefully avoiding his gaze.

"If y'd just like t' jump up on de... _bed_ pour moi, sil vous plaîts." He cocked an eyebrow suggestively, a hint of a smile tugging his lips. Surely it was illegal the way he made everything sound so dirty, each sentence dripping with innuendos.

_(/french:_ 'pour moi, sil vous plaits.' = '_for me, please.')_

He turned around and walked to a cabinet at the back of the room before she could respond. Rogue rolled her eyes and walked into the room hoping up onto the medical bed as instructed. Remy returned with a smallish box, it was plain grey with a strange symbol on the front which Rogue didn't recognise; it almost looked tribal... sort of sci-fi tribal.

"Have t' get dat sweater off y' 'gain." This time he didn't give her the chance to take it off herself, probably because she had struggled with it last time. He put the box on the bed next to her and moved to stand in front of her. He gently lifted the hem of the sweater up slowly, carefully manoeuvring it over her body. He was standing so close that her knees were knocking against his hips making her blush profusely, she opened her legs to brake the contact but that just left them in an even more compromising position.

He looked up at her sudden movement and their eyes locked. He stood frozen with the sweater only half way up her body; she could feel the warmth of his hands soaking into her sides. He was clearly shocked by her boldness, his lips parted and his eyes burnt her sole with the intensity of his gaze; neither of them said a word, they just stared at each other for a long time. Her face must have given away the fact that the move had not been intentional, at least not the result anyway, because his stare softened slightly and he step back a fraction.

"Actually, gonna have t' take off dat vest to." He said as he resumed his task of removing her sweater. Obviously it didn't take him long to recover and become his cocky self again. Rogue however was still working her way back through the daze his eyes had left her in.

"Why? Ya managed just fine before." She said dreamily. Remy smirked; which didn't help her state of mind speed up any faster.

"Oui, but dat was a quick patch up. Dis requires more delicacy besides Remy wants t' heal all dose cuts y' got properly. Dis" he tapped the top of the box he had gotten from the cabinet, "is SHIELD medical equipment, heals minor injuries wit'out leaving no marks. Be a shame t' leave scars all over dat belle back o' yo'rs; even little ones."

"How do Ah know you don't just wanna see me in mah bra?"

He laughed at that; it was a glorious and rich sound and Rogue instantly feel in love with it. She couldn't believe she had never actually heard him laugh before. She decided that he should definitely do it more often.

"Rogue, Remy _does_ want t' see y' in yo'r bra but he's not lying 'bout de equipment. If it makes y' feel better Remy'll look away while y' take off y' vest and lie down so he don't see not'ing." His eyes glittered but somehow it didn't quite look mischievous, she eyed him warily.

"Here look." He took her hand in his and held the device over her arm. It cast a blue light onto her skin like a torch. Strangely it reminded her of Doctor Who's sonic screwdriver. She'd only seen one episode but the resemblance was uncanny. When the bizarre blue light fell on the cuts and scratches they slow began to disappear until nothing was left except a soft pink line.

"Dat will disappear aussi, after a few hours." Rogue stared wide-eyed at the device. It was beyond anything she had ever come across. She had only seen healing like that done by Logan or herself using Logan's powers.

"Where in the hell did ya get that?"

"Told y'. It's SHIELD tech." He stated as if it was obvious.

"Ah'm pretty sure SHIELD don't sell they're 'tech'."

"Remy didn't say we bought it." He grinned smugly, looking very proud of himself.

"Ya stole it? From SHIELD, are ya crazy? How'd ya even know what it did?" She couldn't believe it. Sure he had said he was a thief but nobody steals from SHIELD. Well nobody steals from them and gets away with it.

"Had a nice little instruction book inside de box. Now enough questions, merci?"

"Fahne." She looked down at the box still next to her on the bed. Remy had left the lid off when he'd taken the device out; on the inside there was a sticker that read: 'Shi'ar Department'. Rogue frown, 'Shi'ar' she'd never heard of that, maybe it was code or something. She looked up to Remy watching her again.

"What?" It was unnerving the way he looked at her but part of her secretly enjoyed it.

"Y' need help taking dat off aussi?" Now that look was definitely mischievous and full of Cajun charm.

"Ah think Ah can manage thanks." She said a little too quickly, her mind was running wild with images of him taking it off for her and much more. She silently scolded herself and snapped her attention back to the present. "Well, are ya gonna turn round then?"

Remy dipped his head in a mock bow and turned to face the wall behind him. Rogue then quickly and carefully removed her vest causing only a slight twinge of pain in her back before holding it over her chest to cover her bra and lay down on the bed.

"Ready." Remy turned back and his eyes drifted over her body slowly. He stepped closer and began his work healing her small wounds.

"So how did y' get yo'rself in such a state in de first place?" Rogues mind drifted back to her training session with Logan earlier that night.

_She had extra private sessions with Logan every other day. He said she needed it to keep up with the others; Rogue believed he just secretly liked working her harder than the others though. Today they had been working on ambushes. Logan had picked a warehouse setting and Rogue had successfully located him without being detected. She went in to attack but he heard her coming and blocked her first move. She quickly recovered and attacked again and again until final Logan had caught her by the leg in a mid roundhouse kick and launched her clear through a the warehouse window. The simulation ended and Logan began his evaluation of her performance which involved a lot of words like 'disappointing' 'unacceptable' and 'inadequate'._

Rogue frowned at the memory. "Training with Logan."

"Yeah Remy don't envy y' dat." He genuinely looked disturbed at the thought of training with Logan which man Rogue smile. They were quiet for a while; Rogue closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of his hands, protected by surgical gloves, running all over her back. Some might say it was trivial but to Rogue this simple touch felt like heaven.

"So, how long ya been back with Magneto?" she asked to distract herself from the sensation building in her stomach.

"Few months. Stuck wit' de famille fo' a bit but t'ings ... got complicated."

"Oh."

"Y' wearing yo'r uniform when dis happened?"

"Yeah, why?"

"'Cause Remy's guessing dat dese cuts don't just stop at the hem o' yo'r jeans. Y' wear a body suit, non? If it tore t'rough de top half then it tore t'rough de bottom half aussi." She eyed him suspiciously sure that she wouldn't like where this was going.

_(/french: aussi = too/ as well)_

"Just tryin' t' be a good doctor cheri. Y' can put yo'r vest back on before y' take dem jeans off if it makes y' feel more comfortable. Remy finished dere anyway." Rogue rolled her eyes as his smirk grew. She was going to be here all night at this rate. She acted annoyed but really she loved it.

* * *

Didn't put as much work into this as I wanted to but you guys have waited too long already.

As always Read & Review plz

Aza x


	13. Chapter 13

Okay so figured it was about time I wrote a decent length chapter so I spent most of the day working on this (it's now nearly 2am so plz excuse any mistakes as I'm about to pass out on my keyboard) Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters. I love you guys, your the reason I keep writing =D

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men!

* * *

As it turned out she wasn't in the med lab for very long at all. As soon as she had taken her jeans off Remy suddenly became quietly efficient. He finished healing her legs in half the time it took to heal her back which was impressive considering that the cut on her leg was by far the worst. Still here they were walking back along the corridors that led to the bedrooms.

"So what time's breakfast?" She asked, noting how easy it was to be casual with someone she had, for a long time, considered an enemy. Although, truthfully her heart had never accepted Remy as an enemy, even when he'd tried to blow her up at the docks.

"Whatever time y' decide t' get up, chère." He laughed to himself. "Don't touch anyt'ing made by John dough, trust m' it won't b' edible."

"John?" She asked, curious as to which Acolyte Gambit was referring to. It suddenly seemed strange that she only knew her new team mates by their code names; except for Remy of course.

"Pyro, his real name's John Alderdyce and Colossus is Piotr Rasputin, dough we just call him Pete. I'm surprised de X-Men don't know dere names." He said keeping a steady pace as they walk through the corridors.

"The instructors probably do, guess they figured we didn't need to know." She gazed at her feet as she walked. Thoughts of the X-Men were slowing bringing her headache back; she pushed the memories from her mind and focused on the man walking beside her. That's when she noticed he was looking at her with a cheeky smirk. Not a full smile just a slight upturning of his lips and a glint in his eye that said 'I know something you don't'.

"Y' should always know everyt'ing y' can 'bout y' enemy. Never know what might come in useful, don't y' agree Anna?" She froze; nobody had called her that for years. She hadn't even _thought_ of herself as Anna for years. She didn't think even Charles Xavier knew her real name.

"How tha hell do ya know that name!" he stopped a few steps ahead and turned to face her, his usual cocky smirk spread across his lips.

"I've got m' sources." She walked closer to him so she could poke his chest with an accusing finger. Somewhere the back of mind registered how his muscular chest felt under her touch but she forced herself to concentrate.

"Nobody know's mah name. No-one." She narrowed her eyes at him in the way that made most people crumble and tell her what she wanted to know. Of course that didn't work on him; he just kept that idiotic grin plastered across his face. "Ah swear t' gawd if you tell anyone..."

"Why would I do a t'ing like dat? I kinda like being de only person who knows it." He cocked his head to the side as he looked down at her, clearly amused at her reaction. "It's almost like a secret between lovers, non?"

"You are outta ya mind. It's nothing like that, not even close." She gaped at his cheek knowing full well that he deliberately did it to get a reaction out of her but she was unable to stop herself.

"Y' won't mind me tellin' everyone den."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Wouldn't I? Oui, y'd be angry but y' tres belle when y' get mad. Besides, it's a beautiful name: Anna Marie," his french accent thickened as her name rolled of his tongue seductively causing a shiver to run the length of her spine. "Why wouldn't y' want everyone t' know it."

"because... because that's not who Ah am anymore. Anna Marie was weak; people walked all over her." Her gaze drifted away from Remy to memories of a drunken father she had long since forgotten.

"And the Rogue doesn't?" he asked bring her attention back to the present.

"No, the Rogue can take care of herself." He looked at her seriously for a moment.

"Rogue, it's not a sign of weakness t' ask for help sometimes. Or to let people in dose barriers y' got built up between the world and yo'rself." He looked genuinely concerned for her and she panicked. There was a reason she put up barriers; if people got too close to her they got hurt. Yes, she secretly loved the attention Remy gave her but it had always just been flirtatious banter nothing more. He was not meant to genuinely care for her and so she did the only thing she knew how to do.

"That's rich coming from you. Ah've been inside ya head, Ah know you got just as many barriers and secrets as Ah have. You just chose to hide it by acting like a player and throwing ya'self at beautiful woman." She folded her arms across her chest and cocked her hip to the side as she glared at him. He was visible taken back by her sudden aggression.

"Vrai, but de difference is I enjoy every minute of it." She scoffed at him.

"You can lie to ya'self Remy but you can't lie to me. Ah know deep down ya feel just as empty and lonely as Ah do. Difference is, Ah've got a good reason for it." A muscle in his jaw twitched, he was clearly not amused anymore. - _Good - _she thought while feelings of regret and lose threatened to overwhelm her.

"Is dat so, little Anna." If he was pissed at her, he kept it from his voice well; only a slight tightening of his eyes betrayed him. "As always it's been a pleasure, bonne nuit ma chérie." With that he turned and walked away leaving her alone in the silent corridor. She watched him go, holding her breath as he turned the corner and listened to his door slam shut as he disappeared into his room.

She quietly walked back to her new bedroom. It was for the best really; it was better to push him away now before he got too close to her, than to seriously hurt him later because she had been selfish and thought they could have some form of a relationship that would, without a doubt, end up with him in a coma or worse. She knew she had been right to push him away but she couldn't seem to shake the feelings of sadness and regret that were wrecking havoc on her body.

She threw herself onto her bed and grabbed the pillow pulling it to her face so she could scream her frustrations into it. After a few minutes she felt exhausted, she didn't know what time it was or how long it had been since she had left the mansion. It was either very late or very early. She got up off the bed and went to her bathroom to rinse her mouth out before she went to bed. She would have to go shopping and purchase a tooth brush and paste. Also new cloths, she had left everything behind when she had left the X-Men.

_- Oh gawd ah don't have anything ta sleep in. – _She went back into the bedroom and checked the drawers for any forgot items of clothing that may have been left behind. Nothing, all empty. _- Great, well Ah am not sleep naked with all those guys wandering around. - _She doubled checked for a lock on the door, which turned out to be too much to ask for. Not that it would have helped much considering there was a resident thief. _– Yep, definitely not sleeping nude. – _She couldn't sleep in her cloths as she was going to need them to wear tomorrow. She sighed to herself. That left only one option; asking someone for something to borrow. She didn't feel comfortable asking Pyro or Colossus for anything and she definitely wasn't asking Magneto, in fact she shuddered at the thought. So that left only one person: Remy.

A few minutes later she found herself still standing outside his room (Pyro had pointed it out earlier on the way to showing her own room.) She chewed on her lip nervously. He had been pretty upset earlier, though to be fair she had used the things she knew would get to him the most. Now she didn't know what to say to him, it would be perfectly fair if he just left her to deal with her clothing issue alone. But by admitting she had nothing to sleep in might prompt him to deliberately leave her stranded so he could sneak a peek later. That sounded like something he would do, didn't it? She wouldn't be surprised if he did but her gut kept telling her he wouldn't.

While she was busy deliberating this, the door suddenly swung open and a rather devilish Cajun stood before her.

"Is dere somet'ing I can help y' wit'?" His hair was messy, in a way that made him even sexier and he was wearing a loose fitting t-shirt that looked at least one size to big for him and gray sweat pants. Unfortunately, he also still looked pissed.

"Ah... erm ... Ah don't have anything to sleep in." She said sheepishly, wishing she had just slept in her underwear.

"Hmm, strange I was sure dere was a bed in yo'r room. Never mind, yo'r welcome t' sleep in mine. Or would dat just b' m' hiding behind my _player _attitude?" He cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at her. _-Yep still pissed.-_

"Ah'm sorry okay? Ah didn't mean what Ah said Ah just... people can't get close to meh. Not without getting hurt." She paused as she took a breath, she couldn't believe she had just said that. That was not going to help push him away; it would probably just make him feel sorry for her. And as if on cue the tension left his shoulders and a worried frown creased his eyebrows.

"Besides, that's not what Ah meant by 'Ah don't have anything to sleep in' anyway and you know it. Can Ah borrow a t-shirt or something to sleep in or not?" She quickly tried to recover before he could say anything.

"Sure." He disappeared inside his room and Rogue stepped into the doorway so she could see him. He was routing round inside several drawers apparently looking for something suitable for her to sleep in, though she wasn't surprised that it was taking him so long as most of his cloths seemed to be on the floor. Typical guy she guessed as she leaned against his doorframe while she waited.

Apart from being a complete mess there was very little that said anything about the man that lived there. There were playing cards everywhere of course, a few packets of cigarettes and an ash tray by the bed but nothing to say who he was or what he was like. Eventually Remy just stood in the middle of the room frowning at the cloths on the ground as if something suitable would just throw itself at him. Then he suddenly grabbed the back of his t-shirt and pulled it off before offering it to her. Rogue just stood there and stared at him as if he's gone mad. Partly because she was shocked by the action but mainly because he was now half naked in front of her, not that that seemed to bother him at all.

"It's wash day and dis is my last clean shirt, take it or leave it." He was still holding the shirt out to her; she figured he must have taken her stare as being outrage at the thought of taking a shirt he had just been wearing.

"Thanks." She said gratefully as she took his shirt and headed back out off his room.

"Rogue?" She turned back to him, he looked unsure for a few seconds then suddenly his trademark smirk spread across his face as if she had never pissed him off at all. "I was serious when I said y' can sleep in m' bed if y' want t'." He stepped forward and leaned against the door frame, showing off his magnificent body without realising it. Rogue couldn't help but smile.

"Maybe next time Swamp Rat." She turned and headed back to her own room; swinging her hips happily as she went. Once she got back to her own room she flopped down onto the edge of her bed and stared at the garment in her hands. It was soft and a rich burgundy colour. She quickly looked up to check she had closed her door then slowly brush the t-shirt against her cheek, the soft cotton was luscious and it still felt warm. She pressed it fully against her face and breathed in Remy's scent that still lingered in the fabric. Subtle Cajun spices, clove cigarettes and something that was just purely Remy.

She was so lost in the smell of the t-shirt that she didn't register the door opening until it was too late. Her head shot up and she quickly hid the t-shirt behind her. Remy stood in the doorway with his hand still on the handle. He raised his eyebrows at her and that damn cocky grin threatened to break out at any moment.

"Found dese at de back o' de drawer, t'ought y' might want de set." He held out a pair of shorts in a matching colour to the shirt she already had.

"Thanks." She said through clenched teeth as she glared at the wall, willing her red face to quieten. He came in and dropped the shorts on the bed next to her before he headed back out of the room. As he got to the door he turned back to her and opened his mouth then quickly closed it again laughing to himself quietly as he closed the door behind him. Rogue let herself fall back onto the bed in utter horror. She didn't know if it was good or bad that he hadn't said anything about catching her red handed smelling his clothing but she knew she wasn't going to be able to look him in the eye ever again.

Groaning at her own stupidity, she changed her clothes and slid under the quilt of her new bed. As she closed her eyes to go to sleep she pulled the neck of Remy's shirt up over her nose so she could drown in his scent again; she'd already been caught so she figured she might as well enjoy it while she could.

* * *

Okay so lots of ROMY interaction there. Hopefully get a few more characters involved soon!

As always plz R&R it may result in chapter 14 getting written quickly!

Aza x

*falls asleep on keyboard*


	14. Chapter 14

Okay so when I started writing this I meant the guys to have a quick game of poker but I ended up going into a lot more detail than I'd planned for as my bf taught me how to play lol (im not very good at it) but anyway here you go my longest chapter yet I think. Enjoy x

Disclaimer: I don't not own the x-men and don't come to me to ask how to play poker I suck at it =P

* * *

Remy lay in his bed, unable to sleep. His body was sticky with sweat and he'd tossed and turned so much his legs had become tangled in the sheets. Every time he closed his eyes images of pearly white skin clouded his mind. He looked at the clock on the bedside next to him: 3:00AM. He groaned to himself and sat up, throwing the sheet to the side as he got out of bed. He walked to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face, it helped a little but he still couldn't shake the lustful images from his mind.

Remy never had this problem. Normally if he wanted something, a woman to be more specific, he just had them. Women very rarely said no to him and if they did he just found another to satisfy his needs but Rogue was something else. He doubted that any other woman could satisfy the lust she inspired in him, especially after seeing so much of her exposed. His thoughts drifted back to the med lab; the creamy white of her back was beautiful and he could feel how soft her skin was even though he had been wearing those stupid latex gloves.

The action itself had been innocent enough but he'd taken his time healing her back so he could relish the feeling of her skin and memorize the curves of her body; he particularly loved the sexy little dimples at the base of her back. However, when she'd taken her jeans off he'd nearly lost it. Her legs were incredible and just begged for him to reach out and touch them. The urge to grab her and wrap those luscious legs around his waist was overwhelming; he'd had to distract himself by thinking of Toad and the Blob to prevent himself from jumping her. He was sure she had noticed the change in his attitude but she hadn't commented.

He sat on the edge of his bed and ran his hands through his already messy hair, wondering what his _frère_ would say if he saw him this messed up over a_ femme_. He'd probably tell him it deserves him right for being such a womanizer all these years; karma was bound to catch up with him eventually. Sighing he reached for his bedside table and opened the lower drawer, revealing a small bottle of bourbon and a whiskey glass. He didn't usually drink unless he was at a bar but he kept a bottle for bad days when he needed something to stop thinking. It wasn't easy being a servant for Magneto, sometimes he had to do things he didn't agree with and so he turned to bourbon for comfort. He would only have one glass tonight though, just to take the edge off so he could sleep.

xXx

Logan sat on the front steps of the mansion silently, tension knitting his shoulders together tightly. A frown was set deep into the burly man's eyebrows and he scowled at the quiet morning scene in front of him as he slowly puffed on his cigar. He heard Ororo approach long before normal human's ears would have; he growled to himself in frustration and stubbed out his cigar, knowing that it bothered her, putting it into his shirt pocket for later. Reassuring words were not what he wanted to hear right now. He needed the anger and tension; it kept him strong and focused. He hated sitting around, doing nothing, while Rogue was out there somewhere, in God only knows how much trouble.

"Logan, are you alright?" Storm asked as she came to sit next to him.

"I'm fine." He answered a little blunter than he meant to and she turned to look at him with a sympathetic stare.

"We will find her." She sounded so certain and positive as if nothing bad could ever possible happen.

"I just wish we could get out there already, sitting around like this is killing me."

"We cannot just run out into the world looking for her, we need to know where to start. The Professor is doing everything he can to find her. He has even asked Nick Fury at SHIELD if they can find anything to suggest where Gambit took her. It is just a matter of time Logan."

"It's what's gonna happen to her between now and then that worries me. It's already been almost 12 hours, they could be just about anywhere in the country by now. I let that swamp trash go before, not this time." He tensed his fist and his three adamantium blades shot out with a satisfying 'snick'. "This time he's gonna regret the day he even looked at that girl."

He felt a warm pressure on his shoulder; he turned to see Storm's delicate fingers attempting to comfort him. "Logan, Rogue is a tough kid and you have trained her well. She can take care of herself."

"She shouldn't have to, like you said she's just a kid." He drew the blades back in slowly, watching the three small cuts they left behind heal without even a hint of a scar.

"I do not think Gambit has any intention of hurting her. From what Kitty said ..." Logan let a growl ripple through his chest. He had not liked it when Kitty suggested that Rogue may have gone with Gambit willingly but he remembered her in the danger room session and even he had to admit it could be possible but he wasn't willing to believe that Rogue would have taken off without saying anything.

"Really not helping my mood here 'Ro. Beside's I could smell her blood at the station, I know she's hurt."

"She was hurt in training earlier; Beast said if she had tried to fight Gambit she may well have ripped her stitching, even if it was a small scuffle. Gambit may not have known."

"Why are you defending him? He kidnapped her again! It doesn't matter what his intentions are, he's putting her in danger. If he's taken her to Magneto..." he paused unable to say he fears out loud. "You think she won't get hurt there?"

"I did not mean to upset you but I do not think we should be jumping to conclusions. For now all we know is that Gambit took her somewhere, he has done it before and he did not harm her. We have no reason to believe he will now. We can assess the situation further once the Professor is able to locate her but I know one thing for sure Logan, we will get her back." She watched him steadily with her soft blue eyes.

"You bet we will darlin'." He gazed back at her with a half smile. There was just something about Storm, her calm control seemed to rub off on him making him unable to argue or stay mad at her.

"Now come inside and get some breakfast. You're of no use to anyone without your strength." This earned her a real smile as he stood up and offered her a hand. They walked into the mansion together and headed for the kitchen, hoping to share a quiet breakfast before the rest of the residents woke up.

xXx

Rogue awoke confused and disoriented. She was groggy but she felt liked she'd already slept too long yet when she opened her eyes it was still dark in the room. The only light source came from a small red nightlight that was glowing dimly in the corner. She wondered what time it was, she couldn't have slept through the entire day; surely it could be only morning by now. Checking the room, however, she found that there was no window (well that explained the darkness) and no clock that she could see. It was strange, a building with no windows but then she remembered that Magnetos base was an impenetrable sphere made entirely of metal. She didn't think she'd ever get used to that, it was one thing about the mansion she had always loved; looking out over the grounds, especially on a clear night.

Getting out of bed, she made a quick stop in the bathroom before heading out in search of the kitchen. She paused at Remy's door unsure if she should knock and get directions or just see if she could find them on her own. She gently put her ear against the door. Silence. If he was in there he was still asleep and she didn't want to wake him so she decided to navigate the corridors alone.

It turned out not much navigating was needed as a few doors down Rogue could hair the manic laughter that was typical of Pyro. She wandered to the door to investigate further and found Pyro and Colossus playing cards at a round table in a modern kitchen. On the wall above them was a large clock that read 10.17am. _- Good Ah haven't slept the entire day away then.-_

"Read 'em and wipe my friend, Flush." Pyro laid his cards down on the table with an idiotic smirk. He reached forward and began to rake in the poker chips from the middle of the table.

"Not so fast Pyro, I believe my Full House beats your Flush." Colossus raised his eyebrows at the pyromaniac who was frozen mid-way through gathering his winnings. Colossus laid his cards on the table in front of him. Pyro's face fell and he dropped back into his seat defeated.

"Ah dammit, you been playin' with Gambit too much mate." Pyro looked past the Russian's shoulder and noticed Rogue hovering in the doorway. "Well g'morning Shelia, fancy a game?" He nodded his head to the cards.

"Ah dunno, Ah've never played before." She shuffled on the spot nervously, now wishing that she had gotten dressed instead of wandering around in Remy's pj's.

"Good, be nice to actually have a chance at winning for once, come on I'll teach you." His hyper mood seemed infectious, she smiled at him and took a seat between the two men.

"I am thinking that you are not the best teacher if she wishes to ever win anything." She had never really heard Colossus speak before and she noticed that he had a calm way of saying things and an usual accent that she could only assume came from his Russian origins.

"Nonsense, I can give her the basics. She'll be beating me in no time." Rogue genuinely laughed at this and watched as Pyro gathered the cards together and began shuffling. He handled them with skill, quickly mixing and splitting them so they were ready to be played. It was similar to the way Remy did it, only when Remy shuffled it was more like art. His hands were faster and more graceful than Pyro's and he didn't need to watch the cards as they moved; it was fluid and effortless. As if the cards were dancing in his hands. Rogue doubted anyone could handle cards with the same finesse as Remy.

"Texas hold'em is easy enough. We'll show ya without the bets so you get the hang of it first." Rogue nodded to show she was listening. "Dealer gives each player two cards to start." Pyro dealt a card to Colossus, then herself, then himself and back round the circle again so they each ended up with two cards."Now, don't let anyone else see those cards, okay? And don't show it in ya face what you got. Three cards in the middle," He lay three cards face up in the middle of the table: three of spades, ten of diamonds and the king of spades. "You try and make the best hand with your cards and the cards in the middle, got it?"

She looked down at her own cards hidden behind her hands: the nine of diamonds and the king of hearts. For some reason the last card brought her thoughts back to the absent Cajun. She supposed it was because he was such a ladies' man, commanding the hearts of any girl he looked at but her heart kept reminding her of the queen of hearts he'd given her, the kings matching partner. She was his lucky lady but had he meant the card or Rogue?

"Okay, Ah think Ah got it but what are the hands?"

"Err...right. Well lowest winning hand is highest card, then one pair, two pairs, three of a kind. Then it a straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush." He explained rather briefly which only confused Rogue further.

"Ah understand the pairs. Three and four of a kind are three or four of the same numbers right?" He nodded enthusiastically. "What's a straight, flush and full house?"

"Straight is where the numbers follow each other, counted up like 2,3,4,5 and 6. A Flush is where all cards are of one suit and a full house is three and a pair. Straight flush is pretty much a straight but all of one suit."

"Right, Ah think Ah've got it." She smiled satisfied that she knew enough not to make a fool out of herself. She had one pair with the two kings in play, not a great hand but she didn't care.

"Crackin'. Right, after the dealer puts three cards in the middle, the first round of betting is done but don't worry 'bout that for now. Dealer then puts another card in" he placed a fourth card in the line in front of her: ten of clubs, "then another round of bets and another card from dealer." Nine of clubs was added, giving her two pairs in total. "Then another round of bets. Then it's time for the big showdown!" He waved his hands dramatically another crazed grin spreading across his face; it was really rather cute in a childish sort of way.

"Pete please tell m' Pyro isn't teachin' her how t' play poker? Dis I've got t' see." Rogue turned to see Remy leaning casually against the doorframe watching the group with humour in his eyes. He still wasn't wearing a shirt and Rogue found that it was a sight that couldn't be ignore. She hoped it wasn't a regular thing for him to walk around half naked all the time because she was sure her sanity couldn't take it, not without doing something she would later regret at least.

"Watch it mate, I ain't just a pretty face ya know." Pyro sat up straight and pulled a serious face as if he were a teacher at a stuck up English school. Rogue couldn't stop herself from laughing at him. Remy smiled too but he was looking straight at _her_ and it wasn't a humorous smile it was one of... affection. But that wasn't right, she reasoned, just her mind playing tricks on her surely. She turned away quickly and concentrated on her cards only to find that Remy was walking around the table to take the last seat available; the one right opposite her.

"Yes in Pyro's defence, he is doing a good job."

"Really, well let's see just how good a teacher y' are den shall we. Deal de cards, mon ami." Remy said as he relaxed into his chair making even casual look sexy. Rogue silently chastised herself for letting her hormones get carried away; she wasn't allowed to think these things. She was Rogue, the untouchable and nothing was ever going to change that but her mind kept saying it was harmless flirting. That it was okay to look without touching and if Remy wanted to play with fire that she might as well relax and have fun too.

"We ain't taught her the betting yet." Pyro actually looked upset by this and Rogue was starting to wonder how many of Pyro's actions were genuine and how many was just him playing the fool.

"I'm sure she'll pick it up as we go, right chérie?" She was really starting to hate it when he said things like that. It wasn't the words themselves but the _way_ he said them; causing her spine to tingle and butterfly's dance deep within her belly. It made it hard to concentrate on something, anything to comeback with.

"Ah don't have anything to bet with though."

"Hmm, how 'bout dis? If y' win y' can keep de money, if y' lose y' have t' do one thing de winner asks." He watched her steadily as she contemplated his words.

"How much money do Ah get if Ah win?"She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What y' say mes amis? Twenty dollar's each?" He looked at Pyro and Pete in turn waiting for their answers.

"Sound's fair to me." Pyro chirped in happily.

"Yes, I will also play. If Rogue is willing." She smiled up at the tall man, he seemed like a sweet guy but she still wasn't happy about this bet.

"Ah'm not agreeing to do something for one of y' guys blindly. Gawd alone knows what you'll ask of me." She said as she raised her eyebrows at Remy. He was the only one she was concerned about; well no actually she was kind of worried about Pyro too but for a different reason. He'd probably have her dancing on the table to YMCA dressed in a pink tutu.

"Pyro, what do y' want Rogue t' do if y' win?"

"Let me see... make my breakfast tomorrow mornin'." Well that wasn't so bad. It wasn't the YMCA and had nothing to do with tutus.

"Pete?" Remy turned to face the big man raising one eyebrow as he waited for him to decide Rogue's next possible fate.

"Take my turn of wash-up tomorrow." Again something she could easily live with but it was what Remy wanted that bothered her and she had a feeling that he would likely win. She hoped that by saying in front of the others might make him behave.

"And what about you, swamp rat. What do you want?" she asked terrified and yet secretly hopeful of what his answer would bring.

He smiled at her innocently, "another game o' poker, tomorrow nigh', just you and me."

"Is that it? A poker game?" She hadn't been expecting that, maybe she had judge him wrongly. Maybe he wasn't as interested in her as he had seemed.

"Oui, one game o' poker." He said again with a perfectly innocent face. One way to find out she guessed.

"Fahne, let's play."

* * *

Okay I rushed the ending again I'm sorry, I just wanted to post it tonight! lol

R&R, no review is too small or too large. Any thoughts, just say it! =D

Aza xx


	15. Chapter 15

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Unfortunately you'll have to wait a little long for Remy's private game of poker =P

Had to split this chapter into to parts as it was so long lol, hopefully get the next half up soon. Also I have to apologies for suddenly changing from Remy speaking in third person to first person; I hate myself for changing him but I didn't feel I was doing it right and it was annoying me.

Please excuse my poor attempt at writing about poker.

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or Doctor Who

* * *

Without the real betting part poker seemed pretty easy. You got your cards, kept your face straight and left the rest to lady luck. Actually, keeping your face straight was really hard; especially when you know you have a good hand and might actually be able to win consequently wiping that smirk off a certain cocky Cajun's mouth. Rogue managed to keep herself from smiling but she knew there was an obvious twinkle in her eye at the thought of beating Remy at his own game.

Pyro sat next to her with his chin on the table as he looked at his opponents over the top of his cards. All that was left to do was the 'show down' and Pyro had to go first. He finally let out a sigh and placed his cards on the table face up.

"Well fella's, I've only got a pair sadly. How'd you do love?" he nodded his chin towards Rogue, who was more than happy to reveal her cards.

"Flush." She said with an uncharacteristic cheerfulness and smiled at Pyro.

Colossus, sitting on Rogue's left, also lay his cards down on the table which turned out to be a worse hand than Pyro's. He had a small smile playing on his lips as his looked at Remy. "She has a good hand, would you not say Gambit?"

"Indeed. Flush has won m' a game or deux in de past." Remy didn't look up as he spoke; he kept his eyes trained down at his own cards but did not move to present them to the others. Pyro was the first to grow impatient.

"Come on mate, don't keep us waitin'! Did the little Sheila beat ya or not?"

Remy looked up at Rogue from under his lashes, dazzling her with his stunning red on black eyes. He held her gaze for a few moments before laying his cards down, to which Rogue paid no attention as she was so entranced by his stare. She'd always loved his eyes, not only because they were completely unique but also because they held such depth and sometimes seemed to light up, even blaze, when he was angry. The trance was broken as a stray lock of hair fell in front of his eyes and he had to move to flick it out of the way. She had to admit that he suited this longer hairstyle; it was more devilish and, dare she say it, sexy.

"Don't worry chéri, I'll show y' how t' play properly tomorrow nigh'." He smirked at her mischievously. She looked down at his cards and realised what she had predicted at the start of the game had been bang on; Remy won, with a straight flush no less. Seriously how the hell had the rest of them end up with pretty crap cards when he managed to get the best hand possible? Rogue suspected foul play was at work but she didn't argue, it only meant that she would have to play Remy again tomorrow and that wasn't so bad was it?

"Knew I shouldn't have gotten me hopes up." Pyro threw himself back in his chair with a sigh and began swinging on the two back legs.

"Did you really think she would beat him in her first game?" Colossus asked slightly amused at his energetic friend.

"Yeah well a man can dream can't he? Come on big guy, we got work to do." They both said their goodbyes to Rogue and Remy before leaving the kitchen and heading out to do an unknown job in an unidentified location. It made Rogue curious; what did the Acolytes do when they weren't terrorising humans or making trouble for the X-Men?

"Can I just say, y' look real cute in my pj's chérie." Remy said with a smirk, bringing Rogue out of her day dream.

"Cute? Ah am not cute!" She snapped outraged at the idea of looking _cute._

"Sure yo're not. What do y' want t' do today?" He asked, clearly amused by her reaction.

"Ah dunno, what do you guys normally do around here?" She looked up at him, genuinely curious. He was still sitting opposite her, casually leaning on the table.

"Plenty of t'ings. Dere's a games room; a gym wit' a pool and basket ball court; a mini cinema and we even have a active training room if yo're feeling adventurous but may I suggest a trip t' de mall unless y'd like to run 'round in my clothes all day?" She had completely forgotten that she desperately needed to go shopping.

"Oh, yeah Ah guess that might be a good idea but Ah don't have any money." She fidgeted nervously as she considered the dilemma. Not only did she have no clothes but she had nothing at all! She was going to need a whole new wardrobe of clothes, toiletries, books, CD's, _a CD player... _the list was endless. She'd slowly collected many personal belongings at Xavier's and they would be expensive to replace all at once but it could take years to buy them all slowly. Even longer considering she had no form of income currently.

"Ne dis pas de bêtises! _(Nonsense!) _We take care o' our own here." Rogue, having a very limited french vocabulary, didn't understand a word of the first part but she understood the rest perfectly. Unfortunately she didn't like people doing her favours, it made her feel like she couldn't take care of herself even though the rational part of her mind told her Remy was only being nice. She still didn't feel comfortable with it.

"Ah wouldn't feel right you buying me stuff."

"Rogue, y' need clothes or were y' planning on walking 'round naked? Not dat I would complain but I t'ink clothing would be more appropriate." Her eyes widened in shock and she could feel her cheeks begin to warm. No matter how much she expected him to say rude things he always managed to catch her by surprise. However, he was right, she needed clothes and he was her only way of getting them.

"Ah guess Ah'm not really in the position to say no."

"Exactement _(exactly)._ How long do y' need t' get ready? 20 minutes?" She nodded. "Bien, I'll come get y' from y' room in vingt minutes den." He got up and bowed gracefully to her before turning and leaving her alone in the kitchen.

_- Shopping with Remy, this should be interesting –_ she thought quietly to herself.

X

Rogue hurried back to her room and jumped in the shower, letting the warm water soak her body blissfully. She couldn't believe how long it had taken her to finally have the warm shower she had craved back at the Xavier Institute. It seemed so long ago now; she couldn't believe it had only been yesterday when she'd left with Remy.

She didn't spend long in the shower knowing she only had 20 minutes to get ready. She roughly dried her hair with a towel and tied it up in a wet messy pony-tail which she fastened with the hair band she kept in her jeans pocket then got dressed quickly. She very rarely tied her hair up as it left her neck too exposed but she had no way of drying it properly and she didn't want it soaking her top. She was just pulling her jumper on when she remembered the smallish blood stain on the back; she couldn't wear this it was disgusting. She was contemplating how best to remove the stain when there was a knock at the door.

"Rogue, y' ready?" She heard Remy muffled voice call through the door.

"No, Ah... Ah got a slight problem here." She answered.

"Why? What's wrong?" She opened the door for him and held out the purple jumper showing him the bloody mess on the back.

"Ah can't go out in clothes with blood stains on 'em." She cocked her hip to the side and frowned at the garment in her hand.

"Ah, oui. Here," he took his trench coat off and handed it to her, "y' can wear this fo' now. We'll get y' a new sweater as soon as we get t' de mall." She put the coat on grateful for the warmth. It was quite big on her, falling almost to the floor and the sleeves hung well past her hands leaving only her fingertips peeping out the end.

"Tu est superbe. Can we go now?" She smiled and nodded as she turned the collar of the coat up, protecting her exposed neck and making her feel a little more comfortable. "Bien, put y' shoe's on and we'll get going den."

"Oh for the love of gawd, seriously next time I decide to run away with ya remind me to pack a gawd damn bag." She sighed and rubbed her forehead, she was getting a headache and they hadn't even gotten to the mall yet. Remy looked confused for a second then began to laugh and shake his head at her.

"What size do y' need?" He asked still chuckling slightly.

"Five and shut ya yap, it ain't funny." She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. He stopped chuckling but kept grinning at her like a cheshire cat.

"Well all my shoes are gonna be way too big den, I'll go see if Johns got anyt'ing." He headed back out of her room and disappeared down the corridor.

Rogue sat on her bed and threw her jumper to the corner of her room that would from now on be dubbed 'the laundry corner' until she could buy a basket. She wondered how long it would take Remy to locate some shoes for her; she didn't know why she couldn't just borrow some from him. His feet weren't that much bigger than hers, were they? She'd never thought about it before but she supposed, given his height, that they probably were. What did the x-girls say about guys with big feet? She knew they laughed and giggled about it but having never joined in with the girly chatter Rogue had no idea. It wasn't long before Remy returning with a pair of bright red converse. Rogue frowned at them sceptically.

"It was dese or red biker boots wit' flames on dem." He held them out for her and after another moment of hesitation she took them. She put them on and once again she found that she was weirdly reminded Doctor Who; she had the red con's and the trench coat now all she needed were a British accent, a nice suit and a feisty blonde.

"What y' t'inking 'bout petite?" He watched her with an amused smile.

"Feisty blondes." That wiped the smirk clean off his face and Rogue couldn't but laugh at the shock that replaced it. "Come on Swamp Rat, we've got some shopping to do." She swayed her hips happily as she left him standing in her room.

* * *

Ok so I hope that wasn't too boring, its a bit of a filler chapter.

Read & Review... please?

Aza x


	16. Chapter 16

Ok so here it is! Its taken me soooo long but finally this chapter is done. I'm not happy with it but its done, so plz dont be too harsh with the reviews I already know its not that great =(

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men

* * *

It didn't take long to get to the mall and as soon as they arrived Rogue headed straight for her favourite shops. She wandered between the rails quietly, searching for any clothes that took her interest. Remy stood a few isles over, casual searching the racks like any other shopper. It was strange seeing him with 'normal' brown eyes (he had to wear contact lenses so no-one knew that they were mutants). Occasionally they would catch each other's eyes across the shop and for some reason Rogue couldn't help but smile. The image of Remy clothes shopping, in an alternative clothing shop no less, was just too funny.

Rogue shook her head silently and kept searching the racks. She'd found a few items but wanted some more before she headed into the changing room to try them on. After a while she noticed that Remy had gotten bored and was now chatting up the casher girl. Rogue rolled her eyes at him and tried to ignore the pangs of jealousy that stabbed in her chest. She knew it was silly, whatever was going on between Remy and herself could never amount to anything more than it already was. It would be selfish of her to expect Remy, of all people, to be satisfied with a 'no touching' relationship.

Now that she had depressed herself, Rogue couldn't stand to stay and watch the bimbo drool all over him any longer. She gathered the clothes she wanted to tr

y on and made her way to the small changing room at the back of the shop. One of the things she tried on was a black long sleeved top with beautiful embroidered roses climbing up the side, regrettably she had to dismiss it as she had failed to notice it had a large circle cut out of the back that exposed more skin than was safe for her. She looked at herself in the mirror sadly, the top was really very nice and it was the sort of thing she wished she could wear if it weren't for her 'gift'.

"Ooo, I like dat one." Rogue jumped about six feet and turned to find Remy looking at her over the top of the small door.

"What the hell are ya doing? Ya can't just peep over the top of changing room doors. What if Ah'd been in the middle of changing?" She fixed him with a death glare that would have made any other person shudder. Unfortunately this wasn't any other person, it was Remy and he just continued to smirk at her.

"But yo'r not."

"Ah could have been!" She protested vehemently.

"Yeah but yo'r not so it doesn't matter." She growled at him in frustration, how could one guy flip from being a gentleman to a pervert in such a short space of time?

"Just go and pay for these will ya." She threw a small pile of cloth at him over the top of the door.

"What? I don't get t' see y' try more on?" He pouted at her which just caused Rogue to roll her eyes at him.

"No, ya don't." She turned away from him organising her own clothes to change back into.

"Aren't ya getting dat one?"

"No, Ah'm pretty sure this counts as a health hazard." She said pointing to the lack of a back in the top. He looked at it thoughtfully for a moment then shrugged and walked away.

Rogue dressed quickly and threw Remy's coat on before leaving the small changing room. She shoved her hands in the pockets of the coat as she made her way over to Remy standing at the cashiers counter, once again talking to the giggling blonde bimbo. Rogue narrowed her eyes at the girl and she didn't know why but she decided that she wanted to make the girl feel the same jealously that Rogue herself had felt moments ago. She headed off to the 'underwear' section and picked out a beautiful set of stockings with black lace round the top and a matching suspender belt. She grinned cheekily to herself and started back towards the checkout.

"These too sugah." She said, thickening her accent in what she hoped was a sexy way, as she put the new garments on top of the pile Remy was about to pay for. Remy looked at her obviously confused and raised an eyebrow at her bold behaviour until he saw the way she was smirking at the cashier's expression. He grinned at her and took full advantage of the opportunity, easily sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to himself.

"Anyt'ing for y' mon amoureux." At this the cashier was practically fuming, she rang up the total with lightening speed and Remy gave her a wad of bills with a wink. Once he had collected his change and shopping bags they headed out of the shop with Remy's arm still wrapped around Rogues petit waist.

"Didn't know y' were de jealous type chéri."

"Ah dunno what ya talkin' about Cajun, Ah was just tryin' to save that girl from making even more of a fool of herself."

"Sure y' were." He stopped and pulled her close to him. "Admit it Rogue y' were jealous. Y' just couldn't stand t' see the man of y' dreams flirtin' wit' another woman." He said with a hint of mockery in his voice as he stared down at her.

"The only dreams Ah have of you would get an R-rating due to excessive violence and swearing"

"So y' _do_ dream of me." He replied with a smile.

"Why are ya smiling? Are ya actually happy that Ah dream of doing bodily harm to ya? Isn't that a bit sadistic? Oh gawd, please tell meh ya not into any of that freaky sex crap."

"Would y' like t' find out?" His smile turned cheeky and he wagged his eyebrows at her.

"Urgh, definitely not." She pulled herself away from him and continued shopping.

"Mebbe later den." He said as he followed her through the mall.

xXx

Meanwhile on the other side of the mall two gloomy looking teenagers wandered between shops aimlessly.

"Das ist lächerlich! Rogue is out there somevhere all alone and ve're shopping!" Kurt threw his hands into the air in a show of exasperation, the small girl walking next to him jumped slightly.

"I know Kurt but we can't do anything for her until the Professor and Mr. Logan figure out where Gambit took her. It totally sucks but Jeans right we can't all sit around the mansion; we have no idea how long that might take." With her shoulders slumped, Kitty let out a sigh. Her theory that Rogue had run off with Gambit willingly was starting to wear thin; if it had been true then Rogue would have sneaked back into the mansion in the early hours, probably hoping no-one had noticed her outing, but it was now almost midday and there was still no sign of her. Kitty was really starting to worry.

xXx

After depositing their various shopping bags in the boot of the car, Rogue and Remy found themselves sitting on a bench next to the malls impressive water feature sipping milkshakes; well Rogue was sipping a milkshake, Remy had a strong aromatic coffee. She had returned his coat in favour of her new gothic cat hoodie, it even has little cat ears on the hood and paw mittens attached to the end of the sleeves; not her usual choice but for some reason she liked it. Each had a box of gumbo from the malls food court and neither was very impressed.

"C'est honteux! How can y' eat dat? Tastes like old socks and swamp water." Remy moaned before spitting a mouthful of gumbo back into his box.

"Stop exaggerating it ain't that bad," she said as she bit into a mouthful herself. She chewed on it thoughtfully for a moment. Yeah it was bland as hell and over cooked to the point of being a mushy slop but it was still edible. "Besides you're the one who insisted on gumbo."

"Yeah but I didn't realise any ol' _ordures_ could be called gumbo." With a disgusted look he threw his carton in the bin sitting by the bench. " Remind me t' cook y' real gumbo sometime."

"Ya can cook?" Rogue looked at him with a startled expression; she just couldn't imagine the tall Cajun slaving away behind a stove.

"Oui, Tante ne'er would have let me move away if I didn't know how t' cook." He stated in a 'matter of fact' kind of way.

"Oh."

"Anyt'ing else y' want while we're here?" He said casually as he sat back on the bench watching as people buzzed about the mall.

"Nah Ah'm good."

"Y' sure? Y' don't want any books or anyt'ing?"

"Ah think you've already spoilt meh enough Remy." She thought back to the pile of shopping bags cramped into the boot of the car they drove to the mall in. "Seriously Ah could've managed with less than half of what we've bought."

"Mebbe I like spoiling y'," he turned and genuinely smiled at her, "a fille like y' should have everyt'ing she could ever want. Now I'm pretty sure dat we've missed at least one shop dat is essential fo' every belle young woman such as yo'rself." His smile turned mischievous.

"And what shop would that be?" Rogue asked concerned about the new glint in his eye. He extended his lean arm and pointed to an expensive looking lingerie store with a smirk on his face.

"Hell no! There is no way your buy me underwear from there." Rogue cried outraged.

"Why not? It's de best lingerie store in de area." He simply shrugged and continued to grin at her.

"Ah already got underwear, thanks." She replied a little snidely and turned away from him to hide the blush that warmed her cheeks.

"Rogue, lingerie is much more den just underwear. Now y' can come in t' de store wit' me or I can go in by myself and pick somet'ing for' y'. Yo'r choice."

"That don't give meh a whole lotta choice now does it?"

"Sure it does, y' can choose to have somet'ing y' like or somet'ing I like. Simple really."

She rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the bench before stalking away from him, heading in the direction of the lingerie store.

x

"Ah am not wearing that, swamp rat." She said for what felt like the hundredth time. So far everything he had held out to show her she had down right refused but she had to admit he had good taste. He never picked up anything too raunchy or anything too girly, all his choices were a balance between sexy and classy.

"Well you need t' sleep in somet'ing besides my shirt, and I t'ink dis lil' black nightgown would be de best choice." He pushed the garment in front of her again, trying to get her to consider it. She snatched it out of his hands and looked over the black silk thoughtfully. It was very luscious and very short with a floral lace pattern down the front that would lead nothing to the imagination if she wore nothing under it.

"Again, Ah am not wearing that ya pervert!"

"Aww, come on. It would show off your tres belle legs mon chère."

She rolled her eyes at him, this was going to take a while she just knew it.

X

Rogue exited the small shop in need of some fresh air. Lingerie shopping with Remy LeBeau, not something she ever thought she'd do. She rubbed her temple and let out a sigh waiting for Remy to finish paying and join her.

"Oh my God! Rogue?" The young mutant ran to her friend and wrapped her arms around her, nearly knocking them both to the floor.

"Kitty! What are ya doing here?" Rogue pushed Kitty back roughly.

"Vhat is she doing here? Vhat are you doing here? Everyone is worried sick about you Rogue. Ve vent all the vay to Philadelphia looking for you. Vhat happened? Are you alright?"

"I like told everyone they were totally over-reacting, that you just sneaked off for a night with Gambit but no-one believed me. Of course I knew I was right since you kept that playing card he gave you, Mr Romantic right? Anyway I knew you guys were totally hot for each other. But whatever, the main thing is your safe and we can probably get back to the mansion before Mr Logan gives himself a heart attack or something. Come on let's go!" She grabbed Rogues hand and began heading for the exit.

"Ah'm not going anywhere with you guys." She snatched her hand out of Kitty's grasp and glared at them, her eyes darting from one to the other.

"Vhat? Vhy not?" Kurt looked a cross between hurt and confused.

It was at this point that Gambit walked out of the lingerie shop and came to stand behind Rogue. He didn't appear surprised to find Kurt and Kitty there so Rogue could only assume that he had spotted the situation whilst still in the shop.

"Oh right, erm. What time shall I tell the professor you'll be back? 'Cause you know you're in big trouble right and it would probably be better for you to come with us now?" Kitty's wide eyes jumped from Rogue to Gambit and back again, unsure of what she should do.

"Kitty, Ah'm not coming back, ever." Rogue replied flatly causing Kitty's brows to know together on confusion.

"Of course you are Rogue, it's your home. You have to come back sooner or later."

"It's not my home anymore Kitty, and stop acting like we're friends. We both know you don't give a damn about meh." Rogue was beginning to grow irritated. This was a conversation she had hoped never to have and a headache was forming fast.

"Yes I do..." Kitty looked devastated but Rogue wasn't fooled she had seen Kitty play this trick many times before and the frustration it created just caused more pressure build up behind Rogue eyes.

"No ya don't and ya can tell the others to stop looking for meh 'cause Ah don't wanna be found. Ah'm not an X-Man anymore, so just leave meh alone." She snapped.

"Rogue, vhat is the matter vith you? You love being an X-Man and I know you care about people at the mansion. Vhat is making you say these things? Is it _him_?" Kurt turned an angry glare on Gambit who was still quietly stood behind Rogue.

"No-one is making meh say anything Kurt, just leave meh alone!" She shouted and stormed away from the pair, not turning back to see if Remy had followed and not really caring either. She just wanted to get out. The pressure behind her eyes was unbearable and she desperately needed some fresh air.

X

Kitty sat bawling her eyes out in one of the plush arm chairs in the Professors office, occasionally Storm would hand her a new tissue and pat the young girls back, vainly trying to calm her. Logan furiously paced behind them and Kurt nervously shuffled on the spot whilst sitting on the back of the other chair.

"Is it possible that there is any truth in what she said?" The Professor calmly asked the small girl from his position behind his desk.

"I don't think so," she sniffed loudly, "she seemed happy. Well, at least, she never said if she was unhappy." She tried to sniff again but ended up hic-cupping, "I know we were never best friends but I thought I was closer to her than anyone else at the mansion, why would she say I don't care about her." She broke down in sobs once more, burying her face in her hands.

"It's alright Kitty, calm down." Storm once again tried to calm Kitty, rubbing her back soothingly.

"I don't like it chuck. I was the last one to see her before she took off, she didn't give any indication that she was thinking about leaving or that something was wrong. If she had planned to go why didn't she have a bag with her? Why just jump out the window, without taking a pair of shoes even? It don't make sense." Logan paused his pacing in favour of cracking his knuckles menacingly. The Professor sat thoughtfully for a moment.

"Agreed. I think we're going to have to have a little chat with Rogue before we can let her go. Did you say she was still with Gambit when you saw her?"

"Da professor, she left with him too." Kurt nodded.

"Then, Logan, I think it's time you paid a visit to the Acolytes base."

* * *

Translations (roughly)

Das ist lächerlich_ (G/ this is ridiculous!_)

C'est honteux! (F/ That's disgusting!)

_ordures_ (F/ rubbish)

Whew, glad that's over. I will do my best to get another chapter up this week but I'm not promising anything, writing does not come easily to me, even though I love it, I'm a slow worker =( but anyway...

hope it wasn't too bad a chapter,

Aza x


	17. Chapter 17

In the last chapter I forgot to mention that Sharky gave me the ideas for the gumbo and lingerie shopping. I don't think I did them justice but I just wanted the chapter up! =( Sorry Sharky

I'm glad everyone liked the last chapter; I really wasn't feeling too good about it so big thanks to everyone who reviewed.

Raven34link: I've always wanted a cat hoodie too but sadly never had any money for one =( The one I used as a reference for chapter 16 was from the Darksiders clothing range. You should try the alternative clothing stores they have quite a few different styled ones.

Okay let me just clear a few things up before I get myself confused. All Rogues memories of the X-Men have been changed or removed. Her memory of Remy is only changed on the night she left, she doesn't remember the kiss but she remembers the rest.

* * *

The drive back from the mall was quiet. Rogue was content to glower out of the window as Remy sped along the roads that lead back to the Acolytes base. She could feel his eyes on her a few times but he didn't say anything and she was glad for it. Her headache had gotten worse and the only relief she felt was when she closed her eyes and tried to keep her thoughts away from the X-Men. She quietly rested her forehead on the cool glass window, thankful for the numbing sensation it created.

Eventually they made it back to the base and parked in the massive garage that housed all manner of vehicles that Remy had told her all belonged to Magneto, even the car. He had also told her that he had a motorbike but that it was in storage because he didn't trust the other members of their team not to mess with it. Rogue, of course, loved bikes and she had told him as such so he had promised to take her for a ride on it one day. That conversation felt so long ago now.

"Rogue are y' ok?" He asked pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Hm? Yeah, just a headache is all."

"Y' don't look too good, why don't y' go lie down fo' a bit? We can get de bags later."

Rogue sat thoughtfully for a minute then nodded. A few painkillers and some rest would probably make her feel a lot better and hopefully take care of her headache.

X

"A product of my own design; this chip is made up of two parts." Forge held up the small computer-chip for all the X-Men to see. "One part is a nano-electroencephalograph that reads the electrical charges the neurons in your brain use to communicate and the second part is a micro transmitter that encrypts that information before transmitting it directly to Cerebro, which I've programed with Neuroimaging technology. This technology means that Cerebro can translate Wolverines neuro patterns into images that we can view on the monitor. However, Cerebro first needs to take a controlled reading of Wolverines neuro patterns as a base for it to be able to accurately translate the messages. This base reading is much like a key word that Cryptanalysis' need for code breaking."

His explanation was met with a lot of blank stares. Some were nodding at him but their confused face betrayed the fact they were still trying to process the information. The only two that seemed to complete understand were the Professor and of course Dr McCoy.

"Fascinating, simply fascinating, I assume this base reading will require Logan to visualize set images in order for the program to map his brain activity and accurately gauge what each electrical charge indicates." Beast asked, his eyes sparkling with the excitement of learning a new technology. Forge nodded at him enthusiastically, he always showed an energetic excitement whenever someone understood what he was talking about but that could be forgiven as it wasn't very often that people did genuinely understand and share his enthusiasm.

"Yes, I've programmed it to display images for him to then visual to ensure the margin of error is kept to an absolute minimum."

"Does someone want to explain that to me in English?" Logan grunted from his place at the far end of the table, he was eager to get going and didn't understand why the Professor insisted that they use Forges technology and some long ass plan to get a better understanding of what was going on with Rogue. His own plan was simple; break in, grab Rogue and bring her back to the mansion, whether she wanted to or not.

"Basically this will allow us to read your thoughts without them being blocked by whatever device Magneto is using to keep the Professor from locating and reading Rogues mind." Forge surmised, looking to Hank for confirmation.

"Yes, a sort of technological telepathy and as it is computer based not mutant whatever Magneto has that is blocking Charles should not affect this."

"Ok, so what's this base reading thing and when do we get started?"

"I'll explain it to you in Cerebro, we can get started in a few minutes but first I feel I should tell you there is a down side to this technology." Forge lost his previous enthusiasm and shuffled nervously as he looked at Logan.

"What?"

"The chip needs to be implanted into the base of your skull to ensure it isn't detected" Logan sighed loudly.

"There's always a catch, ain't there. Right well better get on with it then. The soon I get my hands on that damn Cajun the better."

X

Rogue awoke to a strong hand gently shaking her shoulders; she slowly opened her eyes and saw two glowing red orbs staring back at her through the dimness of the room.

"How y' feeling?" he asked as he brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, being careful not to touch her skin. She sat up and rubbed her temples thoughtfully, noticing that he had stacked all her bags next to the dresser.

"Ah'm feeling much better, thanks." She looked up at him again; the dim red nightlight that filled the room made his skin glow and caused shadows to dance across his strong chiselled features.

"Bien, y' hungry? 'Cause it was my turn t' cook and I thought I'd show y' what real gumbo tastes like." He grinned at her and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Ah do know what gumbo tastes like Cajun."

"Y've not had real gumbo till y'v had Remy's." He took her hand and led her towards the kitchen.

X

"Ok Ah admit it, that was pretty darn good." She sighed happily as licked the last of the gumbo from her spoon.

"Told y' Remy could cook." He smiled at her as he picked up their dirty dishes and put them in the sink, then turned on the water and added soap. Rogue was again struck by the oddness of seeing Remy LeBeau doing something as ordinary as washing up. She knew that it was silly to be shocked by it but she had just never pictured him doing anything but fighting, stealing and charming. She picked up the dish towel next to him and began drying the clean dishes quietly.

"Y' don't have t' do dat, it's m'turn fo' de dishes tonight." He said as he placed a plate on the dish rack.

"Ah don't mind, kinda owe ya for today anyway." She replied quietly, picking up the plate and drying it.

"Pourquoi? Magneto paid for everyt'ing and it was nice t' have some sane company fo' a while." He smiled and flicked a few bubbles at her.

"Magneto paid?" She asked as she wiped the bubbles off her nose.

"Oui, he pays fo' everyt'ing round here; consider it one of de perks of being an Acolyte." He rolled his eyes unhappily.

"Oh," she turned around and rested her lower back against the worktop while she dried the next plate. She was curious why Remy looked unhappy when he mentioned the perks of being an Acolyte. Wasn't he happy here? Eventually she grew uncomfortable with the silence and asked him the first suitable thing that popped into her head. "What did ya mean sane company?"

"Pyro's not all dere if y' haven't noticed chere." He laughed out loud and shook his head. Rogue thought back to Pyro teaching her how to play poker this morning with Piotr.

"Yeah, it's kinda funny though … and sweet."

"Sweet?" Remy raised his eyebrows at her. "Is dat what Remy's got t' do t' catch yo're eye den; act like a crazy man?"

"No! Ah just think it's oddly cute." She snapped defensively.

"So he's cute now is he?" He smirked at her, "careful chérie, Remy might get jealous."

"That is not what Ah meant. Ah do not think he's cute!" Remy put the last dish on the rack and moved to stand in front of her. He placed one hand on either side of her, resting on the worktop. He was so close he consumed her vision completely and she unconsciously held her breath. His eyes were hard to look away from; they commanded attention and yet, at the same time, seemed to have a calming almost dream like effect on her.

"Do y' t'ink Remy's cute?" He asked softly, a huskiness tainting his tone.

"Yes…" Rogue realised too late that she probably shouldn't admit her feelings towards him and snapped her gaze from his eyes. "No! Ah dunno, what kind of a question is that?" His mood suddenly changed to being light and mischievous which, she decided, was much better for her thought process which seemed to stop completely whenever he looked at her like he did a few moments ago; with the sudden mood change she felt like she could breathe again. She let out her breath and glared at him.

"It's a simple question but yo're right mebbe cute is de wrong word non? How 'bout handsome or gorgeous?" His eyes glittered playfully as he closed the already small distance between them. Not knowing what else to do she pressed her hands flat against his hard stomach and gasped as she felt the powerful muscles ripple beneath her fingers as he tensed at the contact. "How 'bout … sexy?"

"Ya got one hell of an ego there Swamp Rat." She replied deadpan still staring at her hand pressed against his chest.

"Comes wit' being dis good looking," Rogue snorted, "dough yo're not helping looking at m' like dat."

"Dunno what ya getting excited about. Ah'm not looking at ya like anything." She reverting back to glaring at him as menacingly as she could, it seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever.

"Non? Well how am I meant t' not get excited when y' got y' hands on m'?" He pressed his hips into hers and leant down to whisper in her in her ear. "Putting all sorts of naughty ideas in m' head chere." He held her gaze for a moment with that hungry look in his eye then he just blinked and stepped back, a grin suddenly plastered across his face. "How 'bout we move dat poker game t' tonight?"

She looked back confused. One second he was scorching hot the next he was cool as ice. If he kept changing his moods like this she was sure she was going to get whiplash. "Erm…yeah okay."

"Fantastique," he clapped his hand in front of him before spinning round and walking to the kitchen exit. He stopped half way through the door and looked back at her beckoning her with a hooked finger and a roguish smirk. She rolled her eyes and followed him out of the room.

X

A few minutes later and Rogue found herself sitting crossed legged on the silk sheets of Remy's bed. He sat across from her on a chair casually shuffling cards with one hand and taking a sip of bourbon with the other. All the while his stare was fixed on her.

"So y' 'member how t' play?" he asked as he set his glass on the floor by his feet.

"Sure," she replied with a slight shrug.

"Bien," he began dealing the cards, five each and three in the middle.

"No bets?" She asked a little surprised.

He smirked at her, "s'not poker unless y' bet somet'ing, chéri." She raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Well what we betting then? 'Cause Ah still don't have any money." She tugged at his sheets gently; momentarily distracted she began wishing she could feel the silk with her bare hand. She imagined that it would be soft, and would slide across her naked skin in the most delightful ways… she snapped her attention back to Remy, her cheeks warming in embarrassment as her thoughts betrayed her.

"Wouldn't be interested in y' money if y' did." He replied as he watched her quietly.

"Well then what are ya interested in?" He paused with a smirk, leaning back in the chair as he looked over her playfully. He let his eyes travel over her slowly causing her heart to hammer in her chest.

"If ya say strip poker Ah'm outta here."

"What's wrong wit' strip poker? It's fun, non?" She laughed haughtily at him.

"There is no way in hell Ah'm…"

"Y' already agreed to it dis morning, chere." He cut in swiftly.

"Ah did not! You said poker, not strip poker!"

"Y' agreed t' a game o' poker, not Remy's fault y' didn't ask what sort o' poker." He sat back, clearly amused by her outrage. She seethed and glared at him.

"And what do Ah get out of this! The bets are meant to go both ways."

"Y' saying y' don't want t' see dis Cajun naked? Chéri, I don't believe y'," an image suddenly appeared in her mind; Remy naked, his lower half tangled in silk sheet, his chest and stomach begging to be touched and his eyes glistening with anticipation. She felt her cheeks warm as she tried desperately to push the image from her mind. "Y' blush says it all, ma belle."

Rogue sat at glared at him for a long time. She knew she probably wasn't going to get out of playing and part of her was excited. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins already but she knew Remy was _very_ good at poker; she needed something to even the odds so she wouldn't end up completely naked and him fully dressed within the first few rounds. Ok maybe there wasn't a way to even the odds but she could at least slow him down a little and get some information while she was at it.

"What if we change it, ya have the choice between taking an item of clothing off or answering a question. If ya can't or don't want to answer the question ya have to take something off." He seemed to consider it for a moment, his gaze steady. He didn't have to agree to it, she had lost fair and square this morning so she owed him the game but she wasn't giving up without a fight.

"What type o' question?"

She shrugged, "anything ya want."

"D'ac, but if I agree to dis den can we change de game t' 21 instead." He picked up his glass of bourbon and brought it to his lips.

"Why?"

"Why not?" He said over the rim of the glass.

"Fine, Ah guess." He collected the cards back together and shuffled them deftly. He then placed two cards in front of them; one facing up and one facing down. Rogue's face up card was an ace, Remy's was a three.

"Ladies first," he dipped his head to her in a mock polite gesture.

"Stick." He nodded with a smile and studied his own cards for a second.

"T'ink I'll go wit' hit." He reached for and pick up a card from the stack. The ten of diamonds was revealed. "Stick." They both turned their hidden cards up; Rogue's totalled 18, Remy's 20.

"Guessin' yo're not just gonna take somet'ing off, non?" Rogue lifted her chin defiantly. "Okay den, ever had a crush on any o' yo're fellow X-Men?"

"That's a stupid question." She folded her arms in front of her and felt her cheeks burn; she really didn't want to admit that she used to have a thing for Scott. She had tried her best to forget about it completely.

– _Why'd Ah ever have like him, gawd and now Remy's gonna know and he's not gonna let me forget. Jesus Ah must have been out of mah mind. -_

"M'choice. Answer it or take somet'ing off and don't say nobody 'cause I can see it on yo're face dat dere was someone. Dough Remy really don't mind if y' don't answer it." He smiled cheekily at her and eyed her shirt.

_- Tell him? Don't tell him? Tell him? Don't! – _She ground her teeth together and angrily pulled her gloves off. She hoped that she could answer the rest of his questions but she wasn't optimistic_. _

– _How the hell did Ah get myself into this mess -_

Remy gathered the cards and shuffled them again, then laid them out as he did before. He looked at her expectantly. She looked down at the cards; she had once again gotten an ace but this time Remy had a king.

"Stick"

He smiled at her, "y' sure bout dat chéri?" She simply nodded in response.

"Hit," he picked up a card. The Queen of hearts. He made a tsk noise and bit his lower lip with a smile playing across his features. Rogue smiled knowing he was as good as bust.

"Not so lucky now, is she?"

"Mebbe it's a blessin' in disguise non?" He replied still holding the card. She turned her cards up; 21 exactly.

"Do Ah get a question?" She asked expectantly.

"M' guessing I can't count dat as yo're question, huh?"

"Nope." She made a popping sound as she pronounced the 'p'.

"Den ask anyway." She sat thoughtfully for a moment as he took another sip of his bourbon.

"Why'd ya leave New Orleans?" He turned his head to look at her as he put his glass down then slowly stood up. His fingers found the hem of his shirt; he pulled it up over his head in one swift motion, leaving Rogue with the glorious view of his bare chest in all its toned perfection. She took a deep breath quietly as she tried to calm her nerves. He sat back in his chair with a smug twinkle in his eye.

" Ya didn't think about answer that." She tried to sound normal and unaffected by his sudden nakedness.

"I know how much y' like m' abs so t'ough I'd do y' a favour," Rogue stared at him, her eyes widening. "Y' weren't exactly being discrete in staring dis morning, chere... or last night." He added thoughtfully.

"Just deal the damn cards Cajun."

* * *

I actually played this card game out with myself because I'm useless at making them up and seriously when the queen came out there I felt so sorry for Remy; his beloved queen kinda stabbed him in the back bless him. Anyway, let me know what you think and if anyone has any suggestions for question they want to see the pair ask each other later on in the game let me know and I'll see if I can put them in the next chapter ;)

Also can I just say, I really don't mean to give Logan such a hard time; I love him really!

And no I didn't make up the _electroencephalograph _it actually is used to measure brain activity, I just twisted the science slightly =P

Aza x


	18. Chapter 18

Yup you all guessed it strip poker =P well strip 21 cuz I'm too lazy to write poker again. I hate being predictable but strip games between Remy and Rogue are just too good to miss XD

On a random note, I was watching X-men Evo cartoons the other day and came across one I hadn't seen before. I was so excited (sad I know) then I realised that the entire episode was a JeanXScott love fest ¬_¬ I don't hate them (maybe a little) but seriously why do they get so much screen time and attention. Wish ROMY got more =(

* * *

The cards lay out in front of her, their faces mocking her. After losing three games in a row she suspected fowl play but couldn't call him out on it as she had no idea how he was doing it. The worst part was he always managed to ask those difficult questions that she just couldn't answer. They ranged from dangerously personal to annoyingly trivia. How was she meant to remember what the name of the jazz club was that Remy had taken her too when they were in New Orleans? She had underestimated him and now she was paying for it. She looked down at the ominous cards once more; Rogue: 24, Remy 17. She sighed knowing she couldn't put it off any longer; she didn't remember the club's name and the next thing she had to take off, having already lost her gloves, socks and hoodie, was her vest-shirt. She gritted her teeth and refused to meet his stare as she pulled it over her head and added it to the growing pile of clothes. He shamelessly watched her for a few moments as he finished his bourbon and set the glass down. She held her chin high and tried not to show how much his stares were affecting her.

There was a swarm of butterflies currently taking up residence in her stomach and her heart hammered in her chest; she could feel the flush of her skin as his eyes mapped out her curves, and the soft lace pattern of her bra. She kept her eyes trained away from his; choosing instead to stare at his toned bare chest. Without a word he moved from his chair to sit across from her on the bed, roughly pushing the cards out of the way; they danced and twirled across his bed and onto the floor. He sat before her, leaning in slightly, trying to catch her eye.

"We can stop if y' scared" he said, his voice a little husky.

She looked up and met his stare which was closer than she realised. His red eyes were burning with a deep hunger but he held her gaze steadily.

"Ah'm not scared." She replied and was surprised by how throaty her own voice sounded.

"Non?" A smile graced his lips and his gaze dropped down for a second as he tilted his head to the side to get a better look at her. His eyes then travelled slowly back up her body before stopping at her lips. "Remy got a better game t' play den." He moved closer to her, their lips were only inches apart but he didn't stop; she could taste the bourbon on his breath as it danced across her lips and her gaze dropped to study his.

She had to lean back as he moved closer and closer; her eyes grew wide as he crawled even closer so that she was forced to lie fully back. Her hair cascaded around her as she let her head drop back onto his silk sheets; part of her brain dimly noted that the silk felt amazing as the soft skin of her back slid across it. He hovered over her, with a slight frown, studying her lips as if they were the most painfully fascinating thing in the world. Her breathing came in shallow gasps; she knew she should stop him before he got hurt but she was too overwhelmed by his close proximity.

He moved his knee between her legs and slid it up so that it pressed against her; a jolt of pleasure shot through her and she felt her body yearn for more. She arched her back up, getting dangerously close to the bare skin of his stomach. He reached to the side and pulled something over her mouth and nose; she distantly recognised the material as her vest-shirt that she had careless thrown aside earlier.

Seconds later his mouth crashed down on hers, he sucked her bottom lip through the material in a hot and fast, lust fuelled kiss. Her hands, of their own accord, shot up to his hair but luckily he was faster and pinned her bare hands safely down onto the bed. She didn't know when he had put gloves on but she would be thankful for it later when her brain took control again.

Their kiss quickly deepened and became desperate. She had never been so close to someone and yet distance between them felt enormous, she had never wanted to touch someone as much as she wanted to touch Remy right now. His kiss was torturously bittersweet and Rogue didn't know how much more she could take.

But it was short lived as Remy's bedroom door crashed open, neither he nor Rogue noticed until he was forcibly dragged off her and thrown into the closest wall. Confused, Rogue sat up and was met with the view of Logan's back, his arms outstretched with his claws extended. He pointed at Remy and let out a furious snarl.

"You're dead!" With that he launched himself at the defenceless Cajun.

Remy ducked to the side just as Logan's claw impacted the wall, slicing right through it. He slammed both his fists into Logan's chest, slightly knocking the grisly man off balance then Remy rolled to the side to put some distance between them.

"Mon ami, can't we talk about dis?" Remy asked as he removed his gloves and balled them in his fist.

"Sure we can talk, when I've ripped your dick off and fed you balls to Sabertooth." Logan sprang at him once more. Remy launched the now charged gloves at the Logan and dropped to the side as they exploded, sending Logan stumbling back.

He hadn't charged them fully, Rogue realised, there wasn't enough space in the small room without hurting either her or himself too. Without enough room to move and dodge Logan's claws Remy wasn't going to last long. She jumped up and pulled her hoodie on to cover her exposed skin just as Remy kicked Logan's legs out from under him, he fell to the floor with a thud; Remy then jumped over Logan and grabbed his bow staff from the dresser but Logan recovered faster than Remy anticipated and as he turned back round Logan slammed him into the wall.

Remy blocked his punches quickly but he was trapped and each blow from Logan's powerful adamantium laced arms left Remy bruised and weakening quickly. With a distinctive 'snikt' Logan's claws popped out again and sliced into Remy's arm; he let out a growl of pain and Logan pinned him against the wall again with his forearm pressed into his throat. Logan smirked as he slowly pressed further into Remy's arm causing him to hiss in pain again.

Having seen enough, Rogue slipped up behind her former instructor and swiftly kicked the back of his knee causing it to buckle and Logan to drop slightly; she took full advantage of this and slipped her arm around his neck pulling him backwards away from Remy. His hands instantly went to try and pull her arm off him but she waved her naked palm in front of his face warningly.

"Move and Ah'll drop ya."

"Rogue, what the hell are you doing? What the hell they done to you?" They stumbled further back but Rogue's grasp on Logan's neck didn't loosen, not even for a second.

"Shut yer yap! Remy ya ok?" She looked over Logan's shoulder, Remy was breathing hard and his injured arm was hanging heavily.

"M'fine." He pushed himself off the wall and pressed the side of the light switch. The cover popped open to reveal a big red button which he then pressed firmly. An alarm sounded throughout the building alerting the others of their intruder. "_You_ alright wit' him?" he asked her.

"Yeah no problem," she pulled tighter on Logan's neck to prove he wasn't going anyway.

"What is going on Gambit?" Magneto's voice echoed from the intercom speaker below the alarm button. Remy reached up and pressed a smaller button below the speaker.

"Monsieur Wolverine has come t' pay us a visit boss."

"I was beginning to wonder when an X-Man would show up. Do you require assistant?"

"Rogue's got him under control but better send Sabertooth down just in case."

"Bring him to my office; Sabertooth will meet you on the way."

"D'accord on our way."

Remy flip the light switch back over the intercom and grabbed a T-shirt off the floor.

"Dis way." He exited the bedroom and turned left as he pulled the t-shirt over his head.

"Ya heard the man, get moving!" Rogue gave Logan a shove and directed him out of the room, following closely behind Remy.

Remy navigated the tight corridors expertly but progress was slow due to the awkward angle Rogue held Logan at; yet he didn't struggle. Rogue kept her guard up, not loosening her hold on him for even a second. She knew all too well that Logan would take advantage of any weakness on her part.

"They got something on you kid? Blackmail? Look just whisper what it is then loosen your grip for a second, I'll fix it, whatever it is I'll fix it. I can get you out of here!" Logan whispered to her, keeping a sharp eye of Gambits back.

Rogue tightened her grip to chocking point and snarled in his ear, "Ah don't want your help and Ah don't want ta leave here. Now shut up before Ah get really mad." Logan groaned a chocked response, spluttering and gasping for air. Rogue rolled her eyes and loosened her death grip.

"Gawd sake old man, stop being such a…" She realised too late that it was a trick, the second she loosened her grip he dropped out of her grip and planted a foot squarely in Remy's back knocking him violently to the floor. He then turned back on Rogue. She sprang into action, sending a series of punches at him but he parried her easily and back-handed her hard across the face. Her vision blurred and spun from the impact but Logan, throwing her over his shoulder, prevented her from falling to the ground. Without a second to spare he took off back down the narrow hallways closely followed by a swearing Cajun.

* * *

Sorry updates are so slow, I'll try to get the next one done soon.

R&R Aza x


	19. Chapter 19

Big thanks to La Belle Rose Noire, Chellerbelle, holyshoopuff11 and tfobmv18 for reviewing! I LOVE reviews =D and don't worry La Belle Rose Noire she'll get back to the X-Men ... eventually lol

* * *

Rogues head continued to spin and the effect of Logan's shoulder bouncing into her stomach as he ran made her feel extremely ill. But that did not prevent her from screaming obscenities at him the entire time while she desperately tried to wiggle herself free from his grasp. He held her legs pinned to his chest so she couldn't kick herself free and his uniform prevented her from reaching any bare skin so using her powers was also out of the question.

"Shit!" Logan skidded to an abrupt stop, and then Rogue heard the distinct sound of his claws extending from the hand that was not holding her legs. "Get out of my way woman." Behind Logan Rogue saw Remy round the corner as he finally caught up with them. Logan turned his head and snarled ferociously.

"I think not, Wolverine. Release the girl now!" Rogue heard Mystiques cold voice reply. A low growl ripple through Logan's chest but he slowly dropped Rogue so that she was standing in front of him, but before she could back away from her former instructor he put an arm around her neck; if it weren't for the current situation one might say that it was a hug instead of restraint. He dropped his head close to her ear but kept a sharp eye on Mystique.

"Kid I don't know what they've done to you but we can still get out of here, whatever it is they told you it's a lie. Just trust me for five seconds and keep Gumbo off my back while I take care of Mystique. You're family kid, no matter what, and I ain't leaving here without you." He waited, his body tense, hoping beyond hope that she would respond. That she wasn't totally lost to him.

"You're the liar, not them." She replied with a steely calm. "All my time with the X-Men Ah was never treated like family, Ah was never truly welcome there. They all hate meh, they're all scared of meh." Logan pulled away from her slightly with his hands on either shoulder; he searched her face in confusion.

"That's not true, kid you know that's not true."

"Yes it is!" she screamed at him as waves of images flashed before her eyes. _First it was glimpses of the first time she saw the X-Men when they attacked her in her home town and Mystique taking her to Bayville to keep her safe from them…_

_Next, Mystique was standing over her in the school gymnasium, "They use you for target practise in their training sessions. I'm just trying to protect you dear, but ask them for yourself if you don't believe me."… "Yeah of course we do, you're the enemy even if you are an easy target to take out. Hahaha…"…_

"You're lying, you always have!" She pressed her hands to her temples as the images refused to go away.

_Scott towering over her after she accidently teleported Nightcrawler into another dimension, "I swear to God if you've hurt him you're in for a world of pain, you little bitch."…_

A painful pressure was building up in her mind, as it grew the images came faster and became more disorienting. She pushed away from Logan and tried to shut them out.

X

"What have you done to her?" Logan shouted at Mystique.

"Nothing, it's what you did to her that is causing her so much pain." Mystique smirked at Logan as she moved closer behind Rogue to hold her shoulders in a motherly way. Rogue was shaking her head back and forth, she didn't appear to know what was going on around her anymore and a slow trickle of blood appeared from her nose. Logan moved forward to take the girl from Mystique's clutches when pain shot through his head.

'_Sorry Logan I really didn't want to have to do this 'cause of the dangers to … oh err right Prof … Professor says he believes they have messed with Rogue's mind somehow, she appears to be fighting it but you have to help her.'_

'_How?' _

'_Talk to her, if she knows someone is messing with her head it should help. Forge out.'_

Logan looked at the small girl Mystique had wrapped her arms around and felt white hot anger seer through him. He wanted to rip that bitch to pieces for what she was doing to Rogue but the kid was his first priority.

"Rogue! Rogue listen to me." Logan desperately called out to her but she didn't seem to hear him.

X

_Stares of suspicion and hatred danced across Rogue's vision as she saw the students faces after she joined the X-Men ... she heard them whisper in the corridors when they thought she wasn't there to hear, "I heard she's a spy for Mystique" ... "She crazy, completely off her nut psycho" … "Don't go near her even with her gloves on she could still kill you" ... "Why would she think Scott would ever be interested in her, ha ha ha" … "She's a loose cannon, a danger to the entire team"… "She is such a disappointment" ..."I heard even the professor is afraid of her powers, that's why she's here so he can hold her back... he's afraid if she ever learns control she'd be unstoppable."_

Suddenly Logan's voice broke through the memories,_ "Rogue they've had a psychic mess with your head. It's not real Rogue, fight it!" _Confusion seeped through her again, she knew something weird was happening but why would Logan care? He had never liked her, he went out of his way to make life hard for her so why try and help now?

"He's lying to you Rogue." Mystique whispered from behind her. Her hands griping Rogue's shoulders protectively. "They want to turn you away from me; don't let them win."

"She's the one lying to you, don't listen! Remember everything she did to you, try to remember."

The pressure began to grow in her mind again as she desperately searched her memories trying to decide who to believe. Her memories fit with what Mystique was saying but if Logan was telling the truth then were those memories meaningless? Rogue grimaced in pain as the pressure made her head feel like it was ready to split open. Something in her desperately wanted to believe Logan but all her memories of him were of a severe instructor that enjoyed making her run extra danger room sessions and shouting at her at every opportunity he got. Mystique's and Logan's voices were slowly fading but they were fighting to be heard and the pressure in her head was growing unbearable.

She screamed out in pain, she no longer cared who was telling the truth just as long as this pain stopped. It consumed every part of her, numbing her senses and making her sick to her stomach. Black dots danced across her vision, growing in both size and number.

She saw one last memory before the darkness took her. _Gambit leaning in her bedroom window, his soft lips brushing against her own in a tender lingering kiss that left them both hungry for more._

X

Logan watched as Rogue, her face scrunched up in pain with a bloody nose and tears rolling down her cheeks, let out a final scream before falling into Mystiques arms unconscious. He stalked forward, this time fully intending to do serious bodily harm to Mystique but was stopped short as a brutal blow to the back of the head knocked him clean out.

"Been wanting to do that a long time." Sabertooth, who had appeared besides Gambit a few minutes ago, chuckled to himself.

"Then what took you so long, god alone knows what kind of damage this has done to Rogue!" Mystique stopped her rant and sighed, "Just take him to cells and make sure he doesn't get out."

Sabertooth growled in response but picked up the unconscious Wolverine and carried him off in the direction of the Acolytes cells. Mystique lifted Rogue into her arms as Remy walked towards her.

"Want me to take her down t' de med lab?"

"No, I think you've done quite enough damage for one day." Mystique spat at him as she stalked away with Rogue still in her arms. "Get yourself cleaned up, you're dripping blood all over the floor!" She shouted back at him over her shoulder before she disappeared around the corner.

xXx

"My X-Men, I have some bad news to report to you. While Wolverine successfully entered the Acolytes base and found Rogue he was unable to get her out and has been captured as a result. Rogue appears to have been brainwashed and believes that we are not her friends and family but in fact believes that Mystique and the Acolytes are." Xavier paused, resting his chin on his clasped hands.

"I'll prep the team and organise a rescue mission Professor, we'll get them back." Scott stood, looking every bit the leader Xavier was preparing him to be. Many of the other students were nodding in agreement.

"I'm afraid it is not that easy Scott. We don't know how Magneto was able to brainwash Rogue and the confrontation with Logan alone seemed to cause Rogue severe pain. Until we know how to reverse it I do not wish for her to come into contact with any of us as we don't yet know what damage it may cause her." Kitty jumped to her feet next to Scott.

"But Professor we, like, totally cannot leave her there!" She looked around for someone to stand up and agree with her but the professor cut in before there could be anymore arguing.

"I understand your concern Kitty but I fear a rushed decision will do more harm than good at this point. Logan is currently locked up in the Acolyte cells but we are still in contact with him via Forges extraordinary device which none of the Acolytes know of. We may yet be able to gather more information which could prove vital in rescuing Rogue. Now I know it is difficult but I must ask you to return to your ordinary routines." With a few murmurs and grumbles Xavier's young students filed out, leaving only three worried adults in the room.

"Hank, could you go and see if you can find out if Mesmero is back in the Acolyte ranks? We need to figure out how to reverse what has been done." Xavier rubbed his head; being a powerful telepath he not only had to deal with his own concern but also the fear and the worry that everyone in the mansion was currently feeling. Hank left with a simple but troubled nod.

"I am worried Professor." Storm said quietly from beside her mentor.

"We all are Storm my dear, but Rogue is a strong girl. We can get her back from this." Xavier patted her hand reassuringly.

"It is not only Rogue I am worried for. Logan cares for her a great deal, I fear he may do something stupid trying to protect her and get himself killed." Storm looked at her feet as if embarrassed by this statement. Professor Xavier studied her face before he replied.

"Of all the students here Logan does seem to care for Rogue the most but that is all the more reason why he will keep his wits about him; he won't risk her getting hurt. But tell me Ororo, how long have you felt so deeply for our Logan?" Xavier smiled at the African beauty standing beside him. Her cheeks flushed but she kept her cool demeanour as she replied.

"I don't know what you are referring to Professor." She returned his knowing smile before leaving the room. Xavier watched her go then decided to check in on the students telepathically before heading back to Forge to see if Logan had regained consciousness yet.

Jean and Scott were in the kitchen, he had just placed a warm cup of coco onto her hands as she smiled sadly at him.

The younger students had gathered in the rec room, there was a movie playing on the big screen TV but none of them were paying much attention to it.

Upstairs Kitty was crying on Kurt's shoulder while he was staring at nothing with a worried expression on his face.

Professor Xavier sighed sadly to himself, "Rogue, if only you could see how much we really do care about you."

* * *

Yuck, way too mushy an ending for my tastes but hey it seemed kinda right

R&R

Aza x


	20. Chapter 20

Hi guys, sorry you've had such a long wait! I've just not had the time for fanfiction with everything that's been going on in my life right now. This chapter is quite short and I've not re-read it to check for mistakes but I just wanted to let everyone know that this story is by no means finished and I will continue writing when I find time (which I will do my best to make more time in my schedule for FF) I am looking for a beta to help speed up the process so if anyone is up for it please let me know! Thanks to everyone who R&R the last chapter I'm hoping to get the next up within a week... hopefully...

* * *

"What the hell happened?" You said there would be no lasting side effects. She was barely with him for five minutes and she was acting as if her brain were about to fucking explode!" Mystique had laid Rogue on her bed before calling Magneto and Blindspot to her daughter's room. As soon as they had arrived she started ranting at Blindspot as the mutant tried to check Rogues memories.

"Her subconscious is stronger than I've ever seen before, she's fighting the memories that I've implanted into her mind." Blindspot said through clenched teeth.

"Well how do you suggest we fix this? We can't have her brain exploding every time she sees a bloody X-Man!" Mystique continued to rant.

"Mystique, my dear, as heart-warming as your concern for your daughter is will you please, BE QUIET!" Magneto glared at the blue mutant before him as she continued to seethe, albeit now silently. "Blindspot, is there a way of fixing this problem?"

Blindspot rose from her spot next to Rogue and spoke to Magneto directly, "we'll have to keep her away from the X-Men for now, after a few days her mind should accept the new memories."

"Right, then that is what we shall do." Magneto turned abruptly and left the two females glaring at each other over the top of the unconscious Rogue.

X

Rogue awoke several hours later to the same dingy, depressing room she had woken in earlier that day. She groaned and pulled herself up into a sitting position. Her gaze drifted around the small room; she didn't think she could ever get used to it. She would never feel at home here; it was too … impersonal, too military. Sighing she rubbed her face and swung her legs over the edge of the mattress; to say her head hurt would be an understatement. She tried to remember what happened but her memory was fuzzy… she remembered Remy; they were in the kitchen… no they were playing cards in his room. Her cheeks grew warm as the memories of his searing kisses flooded back to her but then she remembered Logan bursting in and the fight breaking out. Then they were arguing… Mystique was there too… after that everything was black.

She stood a little too quickly causing her head spin. Slowly she made her way to her bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. Feeling slightly better, she decided to find Remy and find out what happened after she blacked-out.

She knocked on his door lightly at first, when he did not answer she tried again. Eventually she surmised that he wasn't in his room and made her way down to the kitchen to try her luck there. At the very least she could get a glass of water to make herself feel better. As she grew closer to the kitchen she could hear voices coming from within; one belonged to Piotr and the other belonged to Remy. For reasons she couldn't explain she hung back to hear what they were saying.

"What is wrong, my friend? You are unusually quiet this evening." Piotr asked Remy. It was quiet for a moment before Remy answered the Russian.

"You ever get de feeling t'ing are spinning out of yo'r control?" He sounded so hopeless that it made Rogues chest ache.

"Far too often for my liking I think. Does this have anything to do with the new girl; Rogue?"

"Is Remy dat obvious?" She could hear the smile in his voice but at the same time she could still feel the hopelessness that lingered there.

"I must say it was hard not to notice the way you were looking at her this morning."

"Heh, what can I say? Always was a sucker for a pretty face."

"There is more to it than that, is there not?"

"You can read Remy far too well for my liking mon ami." There was a pause; Rogue inched closer to the door so she could hear them better even though she was still unsure as to why she was eavesdropping in the first place. "It's my fault she's here. De reason she's in danger." He sighed loudly. Rogue heart hammered inn her chest as she wondered what danger she could possibly be in here. "Don't know what dey done t' her head but it ain't good, I'm worried it might be doing some serious damage. Remy's de one dat snatched her from her home and handed her over t' dose monsters."

"It is not your fault Remy, you know as well as anyone that if Magneto wants something he will get."

"Still, don't know what Remy was t'inking, bringing her here." Rogue heard a chair scrape across the floor and her heart leaped into her throat. "I'm gonna put in a few hours training, see ya later homme." Rogue quickly looked around the hallway for somewhere to hide a spotted a door a few feet away. She ran for it and quickly, but as quietly as she could, closed the door behind her; praying that he didn't see her. The room was dark and she held her breath as she heard footsteps pass the door. Once it was quiet and she was sure she had not been spotted she let herself sink to the floor.

Her head was spinning. They had done something to her, but what? She didn't feel any different since coming here and she hadn't suddenly changed her views on the world as far as she could tell. She felt sick. She thought she could trust these people; that they would give her a better life than the X-Men. A sharp pain shot through her head causing her to press her hands over her ears and grind her teeth till it passed.

It was then that the realisation hit her. The headaches; of course… but they told her that was a side-effect of removing the psyches. _-Well duh! If they had wanted ta mess with mah head that would be an easy excuse to feed meh. Gawd Ah'm so stupid!- _she seethed to herself in the darkness. Her mind was so busy processing the information she didn't her the footsteps approach till the door was opened and a blinding light suddenly flickered to life.

"Rogue… are you alright?" Rogue looked up to see Piotr looking down at her; his face a map of confusion and concern. She studied his expression looking for the deceit that was surely hidden just behind his concern. When she did not answer him he knelt down in front of her. "You are not looking so well, I can take you down to the med lab if you wish"… she still gave him no answer and his concern only seemed to grow. As weary as she was, she could not she through his lies. She genuinely wanted to believe that he cared about her. "Stay here, I shall get Gambit." He rose to his feet slightly flustered.

"NO! No, Ah'm alright. Sorry… Ah've just got a headache is all."

"Oh... well there are medicines in the kitchen for such things. Please, take a comfier seat. I shall be right back." He pointed to a set of sofas positioned in front a very large TV. Rogue nodded and made her way over to them as Piotr left the room. She let herself drop into the nearest sofa as a numb feeling took over her body; she didn't want to believe that she was in danger. She didn't want to believe that Piotr and the others had any intentions to hurt her. Piotr was too kind and while John was crazy, she didn't think he would ever hurt her seriously. And then there was Remy… could he be lying to her? She thought he cared… possible even had _feelings_ for her… but he said he had taken her from her home. That's not how she remembered it so why would he say that?

Piotr returned to the room with a box of pain killers and a glass of water. He set them on the small table next to Rogue then switched on the table lamp before turning off the main lights.

"When I get headaches it makes me feel much better to sit in a dull room. But perhaps sitting on the floor in the pitch black was not such a good idea, I could have squashed you." He smiled at her as he turned the TV on with the volume right down. She offered him a small smile back; there was no way this man wanted to do her harm, she decided. That meant she would have to keep quiet about what she had overheard till she could figure out who were her friends and who were her enemies.

* * *

Yeah so like I said very short chapter... I'll go write more for the next one now!

Aza xx


	21. Chapter 21

Hey hey guess who's back! Big thanks to all you guys who are sticking with this story even though its taking me way too long to upload between chapters! There really aren't enough apologies in the world to excuse for it so I'm not gonna bother, instead I'll just let you get on with the next chapter and hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men... blah blah blah you all know the drill lol

* * *

When Logan came to he found himself lying on a hard metal bench and locked up in a dark metallic cell. He swung his legs over the side and sat upright; cracking his neck loudly he then rose to his feet and extended his claws.

"I wouldn't do dat if I were you, homme." Logan recognised the voice and scent instantly.

"Gambit; it's gonna take more than these bars to keep me from killing you, bub." Logan swiftly strode forward and took a swipe at the bars which lit up like the 4th of July as soon as he made contact. The electric jolt caused Logan to stagger backwards as his nerve endings burned with pain.

"I told you y' didn't want to do dat. You t'ink we're stupid enough to try and keep the Wolverine in a cage without upgrading it first." Gambit sat on the other side of the room behind a desk with security monitors on it. Logan growled in annoyance.

"So what now? You gonna brainwash me too." Logan began pacing back and forth in his cell out of frustration. Gambit chose to ignore the imprisoned Canadian and instead settled into a game of solitaire.

xXx

After spending two hours with the gentle giant that was Piotr Rogue decided that there was no way he would ever hurt a fly let alone herself. Gathering up the blanket he had fetched for her earlier, she got up and headed back to her room. She said goodnight to the quiet Russian and made her way solemnly through the steel corridors that made up Magnetos base. She was exhausted but not from watching TV with Piotr; honestly she wouldn't have been able to tell you what they had been watching for the last two hours to save her life. Instead she had been plotting and scheming ways to figure out the situation she had found herself in. Sadly every time she tried to think about how she'd got into this mess her head would begin hurting worse than before and the painkillers Piotr had given her had already worn off.

As she walked on auto-pilot she tried to go over things in her head once again. She was starting to notice a pattern; that thinking about certain things, certain memories, caused her headache to increase. If she focused too hard on those memories it would become unbearable and she would start to get dizzy. What Logan had said was true… they had messed with her head; or more specifically her memories. She needed to figure out how to get that reversed but she doubted Blindspot would be very forthcoming with information so for now she decided she would curl up in bed and wait for her headache to get better. Then she would get the answers she was looking for; one way or another.

xXx

"Takes a sick son-of-a-bitch to toy with a girl the way you do." Logan continued pacing his cell never taking his eyes off the Cajun sitting across the room from him. He was trying to get him riled up, to get him mad in hopes that he would be able to take advantage somehow and escape. Not that this rant and accusations were difficult; from the moment Logan had found out that Gambit had been involved in Rogue's disappearance he had wanted to tear him into little pieces. And that was the first time he'd kidnapped the girl never mind this second time around. Then add in the fact that Logan had stormed in on Gambit forcing himself on Rogue when he'd come to rescue her… It was an easy assumption to make that Gambit was not Logan's favourite person right now. The things he wanted to do to the Cajun would make even the hardest mercenary cringe in fear but that would have to wait till he was free. He would just have to settle on hurling abuse at the red-eyed devil for now. "She trusted you, God knows I don't know why but she did and how'd you repay her? By kidnapping her and handing her over to an egotistical maniac! You proud of yourself, Gumbo?"

Remy, sitting at the control desk with his feet casually balanced on a second chair, paused his game of solitaire. "Just doin' my job mon ami." He replied to the gruff man without looking up.

"I see, so long as the price is right, huh? Don't matter who gets hurt as long as Gambit gets paid!" Logan growled furiously, "what about that little scene I interrupted earlier; is that part of your job too? Or is getting to force yourself onto an innocent girl an added extra for you; maybe a bonus for a job well done? I swear Cajun when I get out of here you're gonna the regret the day your momma even…"

"Oo ye yi! Motier foux vieux!" Gambit exclaimed in anger, "I've ne'er forced myself on anyone in my entire life! Believe or not she was an equally willing participant of dat or do you t'ink that she couldn't have easily knocked me out with all dat exposed skin?" Gambit smirked at the trapped Wolverine mockingly, "Maybe you can't t'ink of her as anything but your precious little girl but she's old enough to know what she's doing." Logan growled at him again and tried to butt in except Gambit didn't allow him to. "Fait pas une esquandal? She's a big girl, she…"

"She's 17!" Logan stopped pacing and practically jumped at the bars of his electrified cell, keeping just enough distance so that he didn't get shocked for a second time but he also couldn't help notice that Gambit had paled when he realised Rogue was underage. "Yeah she's a tough kid but at the end of the day that's all she is. A kid! What the fuck makes you think you can play these games with child? She should be in school; worrying about normal things like homework, pop quizzes and what she's gonna wear to the next dance. Not getting kidnapped and mind-fucked by mutant terrorist and psychopaths! You may think its ok to take advantage 'cause she's naïve and inexperienced but it's not and whatever they did to her; whatever harm comes to her; it's on your head! You brought her here. You put her in danger. You claimed to be her friend just so you could use it against her!" Logan was all but screaming as he finished, his chest heaving with exertion as he glared at Gambit who finally lost his cool and kicked the chair his feet were balancing on across the room in anger. He stormed over to Wolverines cell, no longer caring to keep his neutral poker-face in place. He glared down at the shorter man not caring if Logan knew he'd gotten to him; part of Remy wanted Logan to see how angry he was.

"Don't you t'ink I know all dat!" he shouted. "Don't you t'ink I know what kind of danger see's in 'cause of me! M' doing everyt'ing I can to keep her safe but it ain't easy. Maybe if you X-Men didn't recruit teenagers as your foot-soldiers, 'cause that's what she is; a teenager not a child, she wouldn't be in dis mess. I ain't de one who dangled her under Magnetos nose and tempted him to take her and use her for her powers! What would y' have preferred me do? Refuse to kidnap her and let Sabertooth do it? T'ink we both know what a good idea dat would have been." Remy took a breath and met Logan's glare with his own. "M' not gonna stand here and talk to _you _about my relationship with her 'cause dat ain't none of your damn business. You're not her father and as far as I'm concerned she's old enough to make her own decisions. Besides I ain't done nothing in dat department dat I should be ashamed of so just drop it; we got more important t'ings to be worried about." Remy sighed and looked away suddenly feeling tired and unsure, "M' trying to protect her; to keep her safe… I t'ought I could… but I don't know anymore."

Logan studied the young man for a full minute, eventually he decided that Gambit was speaking the truth and was genuinely concerned for Rogue; while this didn't make Logan any more forgiving towards the young man he did lose some of his initial hatred.

"Let me out." he demanded quietly. "Right here, right now. We can make it look like I over-powered you. You let me out, I take Rogue and that's it. She's free. She's safe." Logan held his gaze steadily but inside he was a tornado of emotions. Above all else he prayed that he'd won the young Cajun over.

Remy thought about it for what felt like a long time. Maybe Logan was right, enough was enough; he couldn't protect Rogue here. He needed to get her out, get her to escape. But he couldn't do that. Not yet. Remy peered over his shoulder to make sure they were still alone; he was confident there were no hidden bugs in the room as he'd put in the security system himself. He finally turned back and looked Logan square in the eye; he confidence returned and he gave Logan a cocky smirk.

"All in good time mon ami, I t'ink its best if dis Cajun finds a bit more about what our telepat'ic friend did to her first, hein?"

"I don't like it, just get me out now. The Professor can figure out the damage later." Logan was eager now; he could practically taste his freedom.

"Patience Monsieur Claws, I might be able to lift more useful info dan just what dey did to Rogue. Besides you saw how she reacted to you earlier, we don't know what kind of damage's been done to her. Do you really want to test that by exposing her to all you X-Men?" Remy replied slyly.

"Point taken but, not that I care, but won't you get into trouble for that? I'm betting that even Bucket Head would notice if someone stole info from him." Logan asked with suspicious eyes. Remy merely shrugged and responded casually.

"He won't, I've been collecting info on him for years. Call it insurance. 'Sides don't matter if he does figure it out 'cause Remy's coming wit' ya when you go." Logan growled quietly at the man standing before him.

"What makes you think I'd take you with us?"

"We both know it's up to Xavier who gets in the X-Men not you; I know dere's no guarantee dat de others will accept me but you're gonna take me wit' you 'cause if y' don't give me your word dat you will, I'll leave you here t' rot and me and Rogue will take off wit'out you."

"Hmmph, guess they don't call you Gambit for nothing. Fine; do what you have to but make it quick, we don't know what kind of danger Rogues in if you wait too long."

"Your word, Wolverine."

"You got my word, I'll take you with us back to the X-Men when I bust out of here with Rogue."

"Bien, merci Monsieur Claws."

"Don't call me that, Gumbo!" Remy smiled as he walked out of the room; confident with his new found goal and shaky alliance.

xXx

Professor Xavier rolled into the war room to get an update on whether or not Logan had regained conscious yet. He was greeted by Beast, Cyclops and Forge when he entered the room.

"Is there a problem?" Xavier asked as he gazed at the monitors that were meant to be displaying Logan's thought process but were in fact showing what looked to be a very poor quality horror film.

"The images we're receiving are sketchy at best. I can only assume that it is either that we didn't do enough base programing for the computer to interpret Logan's thoughts properly, which seems most likely as the human brain would be nearly impossible to completely map out, or Magnetos metal dome is interfering with the signal more than I'd originally calculated." Forge stated as he studied the monitors in front of him. They displayed a static ridden picture of the mutant known as Gambit standing in front of Logan with only steel bars separating them. From what Forge could make out he should think Gambit very lucky to have Logan safely locked up right now; the images flashing intermittently showed that Logan's thoughts were anything but friendly towards the young mutant. In fact Forge believed Logan should get some sort of twisted maniacs medal for the creativity behind some of the things he was imagining inflicting on Gambit.

"Indeed but having looked over the footage twice now I think we can ascertain that these two have formed an unlikely alliance and have a plan to get Rogue out." Beast informed the professor.

"Well that is good news; finally things may be turning in our favour. Do we know anything of their plan at all?"

"Sadly not, it appears Logan may have wanted to be released straight away but, this is pure speculation now, we think Gambit may have talked him into waiting in order to get more information about Rogues current mental state. At least that is what we are guessing from the series and sequence of the images that showed towards the end of the conversation." Beast watched the monitors again through squinted eyes. He didn't like making speculations without more facts to go off but they had little choice at this point. Xavier leaned forward and rested his chin on his intertwined hands as he too watched the monitors.

"So for now, all we can do is watch and wait."

"That looks to be the case Professor X," Forge replied while shifting unhappily.

"The team will be ready to go on a moments noticed Professor. When Logan makes a move we'll be ready to provide back-up." Scott folded his arms in front of himself, confident in his team's abilities yet at the same time angry there was still nothing more they could.

"Thank you Scott but I have a feeling it may be a while before that happens." Xavier continued to watch the monitors solemnly. Concern for his captured team members etched all over his face.

xXx

When Rogue awoke this time she didn't feel groggy or disorientated, she felt wide awake and pretty darn good considering everything that had been spinning through her mind as she had drifted off to sleep. But then again this was the third time in roughly 36 hours that she had woken up in this room so it would be expected that there was no trace of tiredness left in her. She glanced at her new bedside clock, 8.09am, _almost_ a respectable time for a girl her age to be up and about in the morning. She decided to take her time with her normal morning routine however as she planned what to do next while also being careful not to think about any headache causing thoughts.

She'd already decided Piotr wasn't a threat but that didn't mean she trusted him by any means. Remy was her main concern being as he was the one who apparently got her into this mess in the first place. Yet when she thought back to the conversation she over-heard between Piotr and Remy she couldn't help but remember the hopelessness in Remy's tone. Maybe he didn't want to hurt her, if that were the case maybe his feelings were real and he wasn't just playing her but she couldn't be sure. After a long shower, drying her hair and getting dressed she decided there was really only one way to find out if she could trust Remy; ask him outright. If it turned out he did care then he'd help her if not… well she could just absorb the information she needed from him then escape.

With her new resolve she set off from her room in search of the elusive thief. First she tried his room and the kitchen as this seemed to be his most frequent haunts but as it turned out he was in neither. Seeing no reason for him to be in the med bay she then tried the sitting room she was in with Piotr yesterday, only no-one was in there either. After wandering between a few more rooms she finally found Piotr who was sorting through boxes in the garage.

"Good morning Piotr." She greeted him happily but kept her distance from the tall, well-built mutant. He turned and smiled not noticing anything strange about her distance or posture.

"Ah good morning Rogue, I hope you are feeling better." He returned his attention to the boxes as he spoke to her.

"Err, yeah actually much better, thanks. Listen ya don't know where 'bouts Remy is hiding do ya?" She asked carefully trying to hide her caution as best she could, hoping he wouldn't realise anything was amiss.

"I believe he is downstairs in the gym."

"Awesome, thanks Piotr." Rogue turned to leave but then realised something, "err, where 'bouts is the gym?"

Piotr let out a little laugh and turned back to face her, "do you know where the med-bay is?" He asked politely.

"Yeah, downstairs and to the left."

"Da, the gym is across the hall from the med-bay." He replied before nodding a goodbye and returning to his work.

Rogue made quick time moving back through the base towards where Piotr had directed her. She paused only briefly outside the gym as she took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

* * *

Translations:

Cajun French! (Not strictly correct French) Big thanks to pathtales for helping get a more authentic Cajun dialect.

Oo ye yi! - (Annoyed/painful exclamation)

Motier foux vieux! - Crazy old man!

Fait pas une esquandal(sp?)- Don't make such a racket!

Sooooo hope you enjoyed! I'm not gonna tell you the next chapter will be up soon (even though I'm almost finished with it *wink wink*) 'cuz every time I do it seems to take me 3 months to put it up!

Anyway, reviews always inspire me to write faster so... R&R!

Aza xx


	22. Chapter 22

Hahaha two chapters in one day? Does this make up for making you all wait so long? I hope so =D

On with the show!

Disclaimer: see previous chapter

* * *

Pushing the door open quietly she peered into the room that did indeed turn out to be the gym. Glancing around the room she saw Remy at the far end, past the many workout machines, on a group of soft training mats. He appeared to be practicing his bow staff techniques; Rogue watched as he twirled the staff in his hands as he jumped and sprang about in that extraordinarily graceful way of his. As she got closer and studied the man himself she could see he was wearing dark grey sweat pants and a vest top that left little to the imagination as far as his chest was concerned but she also now realised that he was wearing a blindfold. She watched him curiously for a few minutes marvelling at his speed and agility. He paused brief but kept the staff spinning in one hand as he turned directly to her, if she couldn't see the blindfold as clearly as she could she would have believed he was looking right at her. It was highly unnerving to say the least.

"You gonna stand there watching me all day like some creepy stalker or ya gonna say hi, chere?" Rogue felt her cheeks turn red. He knew she was there and she had just stood practically gawping at him like some dribbling school girl.

"What's the point in wearing a blindfold if ya can see, Swamp Rat?" She asked outraged.

"Can't see but I heard you come in." He smirked at her still twirling the bow staff from hand to hand across his chest.

"And how'd you know it was me then, O wise ninja master?" Remy laughed and removed the blindfold. Rogue nearly died on the spot; his hair was mussed up and slightly damp with sweat causing it to hang around his face in an incredibly sexy way and though his stare was only a teasing one she could still feel the smouldering heat, he had just for her, which lay just beneath the surface of his intense gaze.

"Well little grasshopper, your footsteps are lighter dan anyone else's in de base. Dats how I knew it was you."

"What happened to Logan?" She asked suddenly. She wasn't entirely convinced by his grasshopper statement but she decided it best to jump right in with her mission here in case she lost her nerve later. If Remy was startled by the sudden change in topic he didn't let it show on his face.

"Don't worry; he's been taken care of." Remy then turned back to the mats and began doing more intricate manoeuvres with his staff. Rogue was glad of this because she knew she wasn't as good at hiding her shock as well as Remy could and though she wasn't sure how she felt about Logan at the minute she knew she would need him at some point to figure out what had happened to her and possibly to help her escape later.

"What do you mean 'taken care of'? Is he dead?" Rogue asked carefully, trying not to sound bothered by it. Remy turned to look at her again, while he studied her face he snapped his staff back into its compacted form and pocketed it.

"Pass me dat towel and water bottle, sil vous plait." Rogue held his gaze for a moment longer before turning and fetching his stuff. She tried to keep the impatient feelings from her face as she walked across the mats to hand them to him. He quickly dried his face and slung the towel around his neck as he took a quick drink from his bottle.

"Non," he finally said, "He's not dead. But he is locked up nice a tight so don't worry; he'll not be bothering you again anytime soon." Remy took another drink from his bottle and watched her carefully. Rogue decided she'd had enough with this game; she wouldn't be able to fool Remy for very long; her face and body language gave away too much of her feelings for her to even try.

"Why'd you kidnap me?" She asked very bluntly. This time she had caught him off guard and in his shock he spluttered on his water slightly.

"Excuse me?"

"You brought me here against my will didn't you; Ah wanna know why?" She folded her arm across her chest as she waited for him to answer.

"Remy don't know what ya talking about chere; you ran away. You wanted to come here; Remy just helped you out dats all." He watched her steadily his face completely serious now. Rogue narrowed her eyes at him. She knew he was lying to her but she didn't realise till now how much she'd wanted him to come clean. Her damn emotions were making things difficult for her. She took a deep breath and steeled her resolve to do what she needed to now.

"Fine, you wanna do this the hard way that's ok with me." She slipped off her right glove and moved to close the gap between them. Remy reacted instantly, backing up at the same pace she walked towards him at.

"Cheri, dere are other ways of doing this non? If you were offering dis Cajun a kiss dat'd be a different matter but I ain't letting you put your pretty little hands on me wit'out a fight. Dat really what you want?"

"Sounds good to me and besides Ah think you've had too many kisses already!" She dove forward hoping to catch him off guard but he was fast and dodged to the left. He threw his water bottle and towel to the side of the mat and smirked at her.

"Could never say no to a lady dat wanted to dance." Rogue growled in response and spun to kick him in his side. Knowing that he would dodge it easily she was ready with several punches as before her foot even hit the floor. Unfortunately he easily parried those too but he stuck to defensive manoeuvres, never attacking only blocking what she threw at him. They kept at it for several minutes but no matter what she threw at him she could get close enough to lay a hand on him.

She was starting to tire and knew that she had to finish this soon if she wanted to win. She feinted a punch to his stomach but as he moved to block it she flicked her elbow up to meet his face and finally landed a blow. Without hesitating to celebrate her finally success she spun and kicked him in the chest but again didn't wait for him to recover instead launch herself at him as he stumbled backwards; causing them both to fall on the mats. Rogue on top pining him down, Remy underneath desperately blocking her attempts to touch his face.

Eventually Remy got hold of both her hands and held them securely to his chest. They were both breathing heavily and stared at each other with fiercely intense eyes.

"Give up yet, chere?"

"Ah haven't even started yet Cajun!" She wiggled furiously but it was in vain; his hold on her was too strong for her to break. "Let me go." She demanded.

"No chance, Remy's not stupid. Besides I'm quite enjoying lying here wit' you on top; it's one of my favourite positions you know." His smirk grew and Rogue noticed that his eye were not only intense but were actually glowing too. She felt her cheeks burn and scrunched her face up in disgust.

"Gawd Swamp Rat! Do you talked to all girls like this or do you just save all your perverted thoughts special just for me." She desperately tried wiggling her hands free again.

"Cheri, keep wiggling like dat and you're gonna see just how special to me you really are." Rogue looked at him in confusion for a second… and then the penny dropped.

"Jesus Christ, Remy!" She jumped to her feet; she was still stuck hovering over him with her hands pinned to his chest but at least now she wasn't in anymore contact with him than she had to be. "Let go of me dammit!" She kicked him in the side but couldn't get much force behind it from this position. It did, however, make her hands to slip in his slightly; she desperately yanked again but he still wouldn't let go.

Then she noticed something that caused her whole world to stop. Their hands were touching… and nothing was happening. He'd been holding her wrists up till now but when she'd kicked him and her hands had slipped it meant that he was now clinging onto her hands instead; her bare right hand, in his own gloveless hands. She looked up and saw that he was staring at their hands as intensely as she was. He looked up and they locked gazes, neither saying a word but confusion clearly write across both their faces. His right hand let go of her gloved left hand and slowly lifted it to very gently touch her cheek. Again nothing happened… well her powers did nothing but the sensation of his hand touching her felt incredible. Her whole body tingled as if his touch were bringing it back to life; shivers ran down her spine and something like butterfly wings erupted in her chest. She gasped quietly and closed her eyes as he continued to gently trail his thumb over her cheekbone.

Then suddenly she was on her back with Remy pinning her to the floor with his own body. His left hand still held her naked right hand but now their fingers were intertwined above her head. His other hand now cupped her face fully and he slowly leaned down into her, he hesitated for only a second as their gazes locked before he brought his lips down to her own.

The differences in this kiss from the one they had shared last night were too vast for Rogue to explain. This was slow and gentle but at the same time held all the same desperation and need the previous one had. Remy alternated between kissing her and gently brushing his lips across her so that they barely touched at all. It was as though he was enjoying the feel of her skin as much as the kiss itself. Either way all Rogue knew was that it was making her chest ache with pleasure; she let a moan escape her lips and brought her free hand up to run through Remy's hair and pull him even closer to her.

Remy broke apart from her and lifted himself up slightly frowning at her gloved hand. He released her right hand and pulled the raining glove off before bringing her newly exposed hand to his face. He held it there for a moment with his eyes closed, once again just enjoying the feel of her skin on his. But when he opened his eyes again and looked down at Rogue his eyes shone like blazing rubies causing something to burn deep within her stomach. He brought his lips back down to hers but this time was notably different. He wasn't being slow or gently, he was intense and deep. His hands were greedy; one wrapped in her hair at the back of her neck pulling her closer to him and the other roamed her body freely.

Rather than pushing him away, like her brain was telling would be a good idea, she found herself bringing her hands to his face; partially twisting her fingers in his hair and partially pulling him impossibly closer. His wandering hand travelled down the entire length of her body coming to grip her thigh above her knee and suddenly pulling it up so that her leg was wrapped around his waist as he pressed his hips into her. His hand then travelled back up her body and found its way under her shirt.

Rogue broke the kiss to gasp in some much needed oxygen but that didn't stop Remy, he continued his burning kisses down her neck causing Rogue to moan in pleasure and wrap the other leg around his waist.

"Damn and they say I'm the fire hazard!" Both Rogue and Remy jumped in shock and broke apart like scolded child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. This caused Pyro to laugh manically at the pair from where he was sitting on top of a running machine.

"Merde John, you gave me a heart attack!" Remy snapped unhappily.

"Good job too, the rate you were going on I thought the building would spontaneously combust! Though I doubt either of you would have noticed." He laughed like a maniac again even going as far as to throw his head back in amusement. Rogue, who was sure she was beet red at this point, jumped up angrily and stormed out of the room; smashing the door off the wall as she went.

_- Gawd, what is wrong with me? I was meant to get information from him not start practically have sex in the middle of the gawd damn gym!_ - Rogue slammed her bedroom door shut and threw her back against it as she tried to calm her still burning nerves. - _Sweet Jesus Ah've never felt anything so good but how in the hell was he able to touch me. What the fuck is going on here?_ - Her knees gave out and she crumpled to the floor. Aside from the fact that she knew she could now touch Remy she'd learnt nothing useful from their encounter and that just pissed her off even more. He'd lied to her face but then that kiss… she was so confused. Did he really care for her or was it just raw unadulterated lust?

* * *

Damn think I got a bit carried away with that...

R&R

Aza xx


	23. Chapter 23

Thanks to all my readers for being so patient! I seem to have little bursts of inspiration to write then nothing for weeks, it's really frustrating! But here's the next chapter and sorry to everyone eagerly awaiting Rogue and Remy to get it together... I love the push and pull of their romance so it may be drawn out over a 'will they wont they?' scenario for a while yet.

Anyway enough chatter on with the show!

* * *

"Sorry mate, didn't mean to upset the little lady." Pyro scratched the back of his head nervously. Remy looked back to the door which Rogue, only moments ago, had nearly knocked off its hinges.

"Mebbe next time you see people having a private moment you should just walk back out de room, mon ami." He sighed and got to his feet. He picked up his discarded water bottle and threw the towel around his neck. His mind wandered back to Rogue and if he should go chase after her or grab a shower and let her temper cool off before talking to her about this.

"Private moment?" Pyro laughed loudly once again. "The middle of the gym is hardly private mate! You two should get a room next time. Although," Pyros expressions turned quizzical, "maybe a bedroom isn't right for you guys if hand-to-hand combat is your idea of foreplay." Remy turned and glared at the fire-conjurer.

"Exactly how long were you watching, homme? Pyro only grinned at his thieving friend.

"Came in just before she knocked your ass to the ground which, by the way, was highly impressive. Don't think I've seen anybody take you down before. I can see why you like her; she's spunk even for a sassy gal."

"Spunk? Interesting choice of words Pyro."

"Well we Aussies have a different meaning for the word don't ya know."

"Err… Remy don't t'ink dat it's just Australians that use it to mean that… and Remy don't see how that's … I mean we hadn't really gone that far…" Pyro looked at Remy, confusion twisting his features than suddenly laughed his typical manic laugh.

"Crikey mate, no need to be crude! Aussie's use it as slang for someone we think is sexually attractive and judging by… eh… your current trouser situation… I think my description was bang on." Remy looked down and realised what Pyro was gabbing on about. It wasn't very often Remy got embarrassed about things, but even he felt his cheeks turn slightly red as he pulled his towel down in front of himself to hide his shame.

"'Though your brain probably just heard that as '_bang her_!' right?" Pyro let out another fit of laughter. Remy let out a growl and launched his water bottle at the unsuspecting man; it caught him square in the face with such force that he fell backwards off the running machine, and landed in a pile on the floor, still in fits of laughter. Remy turned away from his insane colleague, and headed for the gym showers.

"No need to be so aggressive mate, that's a sign of sexual repression ya know!" Remy mumbled several profanities as he left the Pyro cackling to himself.

xXx

'_She's 17!'_

Wolverine's words echoed through the Cajuns exhausted brain as he held his head under the warm water cascading down from the shower head. Of course he was troubled that she knew the truth about him having kidnapped her but his worries about her memories slipping could not shift his thoughts from their current concern.

_Seventeen…_

He knew she was young but somehow he always thought she was a few years older than that.

-_Merde- _

That would mean she'd only been 15 when he'd first met her down at those docks a few years ago. He'd never made a real move on her then because he knew she was too young, being as she was still in school, but _fifteen!_ Never in his life had he felt like more of a dirty old man than he did right then. Sure he was only 24 but still… _seventeen_… that meant there were seven years between them. Maybe that wouldn't seem so much a few years down the line but right now she was underage; barely more than a child and here he was, at 24, having already spent several years living the life of an adult.

He'd tried to convince himself that it was wrong; hell that was why he'd been in the gym in the first place. For one thing to try and avoid her, and as a second, to try and work out some of the frustrations she left in him. But then why'd he kiss her? He couldn't answer that; one minute they were fighting and the next thing he knew he had her lying underneath him. That touch, that one little touch sparked something powerful in him and all logical thought had flown out of the window. He could _touch_ her.

-Merde-

He slammed his hand against the wall. How the hell could he touch her?! He could see no reason for them to suddenly be able to touch; it made no sense. Maybe karma really was catching up to him, he thought tiredly to himself; her powers were all that were slowing him down, up until he realised her age and decided he should back off a bit, yet as soon as he'd made that decision he found that they _could_ in fact touch. Remy Lebeau was not a religious man but right now he definitely believed someone upstairs was laughing down at him.

xXx

Rogue crept through the quiet hallway as quickly as she could, in hopes that she didn't bumped into anyone on her way to finding the security room where Logan was being held. She wanted to push all thoughts of Remy out of her head and needed something physical to do that would sufficiently distract her.

She was back down on the sub-level of the base; where the med-bay and gym were. So far she had discovered that there were also male and female changing rooms and two more doors on this level, both of which were unfortunately locked. She didn't have time to try and unlock both doors so she picked the one she believed would be the larger of the two rooms based on what she knew of the schematics of the level above.

Deciding on the one right at the end of the corridor she quickly knelt next to the lock. She checked the cost was clear then turned her attention back to analysing her chances with the security device. It was electronic; a number pad system but not a particularly high-tech one. While she was no Remy Lebeau, Mystique had at least taught her the basic on how to get past this type of system. She worked as quickly as she could but not having had much practice at this she felt like she was fumbling around for too long. Eventually the door clicked open; she cast another glance around then stepped into the room.

Upon entering she was met by a series of blinking lights on a large computer system directly in front of her. The room didn't initially feel as large as she'd expected but then she realised that most of the space was taken up by a series of cells along the right hand wall. In the middle cell a man was sat on a cot bench with his head bent over in thought - Logan - She walked into the middle of the room to announce her presence but also to get a better look at him. He didn't look up.

"What you doing in here, kid?" he asked quietly, as if knowing she didn't want to be discovered.

"Will ya tell me something, if Ah asked?" The gruff man sat up so his back was rested against the wall.

"Anything, darlin'" For some reason him calling her that made her head hurt. She took a deep breath, and cleared her thoughts knowing she could easily end up blacking out again if she wasn't careful.

"Tell me a time when something bad happened at the mansion, something bad to me personally," she hesitated trying to make herself clearer, "something that made me feel… Ah don't know… unwelcome." Now he did look up, surprised by the question. She could see him thinking for a long time. He looked unsure. But after several moments he spoke.

"I guess the only time I can really think of is when you brought that kid back without permission. What was her name? Christy?"

"Risty."She corrected him; he held her gaze curiously but didn't say anymore. Rogue waited for about a minute, to see if any signs of a headache would appear as she thought back to the night Risty and herself had left a party early, and Rogue had taken her back to the mansion to show her around; nothing. She tried a different question.

"What was the last thing you said to me before I left the mansion?" Logan sucked in his breath as he tried to think back to a few nights ago.

"Don't remember exactly, but we were talking about Gumbo… Gambit." He corrected himself, "You… reacted inappropriately… to a holographic version of him in a danger room session and I wanted to make sure you knew you couldn't trust him. Then I told you dinner was ready… wish I'd made you go down with me then and there; we wouldn't be in this mess now if I had." Logan studied the girl as she thought about his answer. Her head began to hurt the minute she'd tried to think back to the last time she remembered seeing Logan. Her memory did fit with what he was telling her though, which made her blood pound in her ears and tension to knot behind her eyes.

"That's not right," she said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, it is." He stood up and came closer to the bars; concern clouding his features. For some reason this made her angry. _'Why should he care?!' _something in her brain shouted at her.

"NO, you threw me through a window in that session! Then basically told me I was a waste of time!" A sharp pain shot through her brain and she clasped her hands to either side of her head, pressing in as hard as she could.

"Rogue, calm down and breath. I don't know what's happening but I think it'd be a good idea to stop thinking whatever you thinking. Go lie down, whatever this is, it's hurting you bad."

"No I need to know the truth! Are you saying you didn't throw me through that window?"

"No it wasn't me." Logan gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Who…who was it?" She asked as she felt her legs give out from under her causing her to collapse to her knees.

"Colossus… a holographic version of Colossus." Logan, now on his knees too, gripped the bars of his cell; it seemed they only electrocuted him if he tried to get out. He watched her, desperately wanting to help but unable to reach her.

Rogue fought against the memories that forced their way to the front of her mind and search for anything that might show her that Logan was telling the truth. Black dot threatened her vision but just before she finally blackout again a memory flashed in her mind; it was vague. Barely a glimpse of what must have been a much larger picture at the time; it was more like a photograph than an actual memory.

_She was part way through the air, Colossus right in front of her, as she sailed upwards, him having just let go of her arm. Kitty was on the floor with Kurt sprawled on top of her, both looking at Rogue with a mixture of shock, concern and fear._

Just before the darkness took her Rogue opened her eyes and smiled at Logan

"Ah remember." With that said, she fell forward into oblivion.

xXx

"Rogue!" Logan pushed his arm between the bars and tried to reach for her unconscious body. It was no use, she was too far away. "Rogue! God dammit Stripes, wake up!" He jumped to his feet and started banging on the bars of his cell.

"Help! Somebody help!" He shouted making as much noise as he could, trying to get someone's attention. "We need medical attention in here!" He didn't care that he was calling for help from his enemies; he would take anyone that could reach Rogue at this point. That is until he saw who came through the door.

Sabretooth.

"What's all the fuss about Wolverine? Being locked up as boring for you as it is me? I could let you out so we can have a little fun." He smirked at the man locked in the cell and flashed his claws so that Logan could see.

"This isn't about you and me, bub." Logan looked down at Rogues vulnerable form on the floor, "she needs help; a doctor. She is supposed to be on your team isn't she?" The Canadian glared at the oversized cat that studied the unconscious girl on the floor. Sabretooth walked forward and knelt down next to Rogue; studying her with a sneer.

"Don't just sit there; help her!" Logan growled at Sabretooth.

"You always did have a thing for women, Logan. You want to be careful… someone might take advantage of that." Sabretooth grinned as he rolled Rogue onto her back so he could look at her better. "hmm… this one is quite pretty though." Logan let out a furious snarl and threw himself against the bars of his cell once more.

"You hurt her, Creed; I swear to God you will die… slow and painful." Sabretooth laughed at Logan's threat. He rose to his feet and stood before Logan in his cell.

"That just makes it all the more fun, Wolverine."

"What de hell is going on in here?" Gambit asked as he watched the two men warily from the door.

"She needs a doctor." Logan ground out without taking his eyes off Sabretooth. Gambit looked confused for a second then spotted Rogue passed out on the floor.

"Merde!" Gambit ran forward and tried to gently wake the young woman. "What happened?" He asked to no-one in particular.

"The same thing that happened last time," Logan said as he continued to glare at Sabretooth. When Rogue wouldn't wake up Gambit gathered her limp form up in his arms and turned to walk out the room. "Hey Gumbo," Logan called after him, Gambit turned back to look at the grim man. "You want to watch this one," he motioned to Sabretooth, "don't think he's much of a team player."

Gambit cast a quick glance at Sabretooth, understanding Logan's more subtle warning, before leaving the two adversaries alone to battle out their threats while he attended to the unconscious Rogue.

xXx

Rogue opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light, and found herself in an all too familiar room.

"Gawd Ah'm really starting to hate waking up in this room." She grumbled to herself as she rubbed her head.

"Pourquoi? You've barely been here two days, chere." Remy appeared from her small bathroom with a damp wash cloth. He sat next to her on the bed and pressed the cloth against her forehead; the coolness soothed her headache. Rogue gazed at him steadily while a faint blush crept over her cheeks at the feel of his bare hand on her head. She looked away as a rush of images and emotions from the gym rushed to the forefront of her mind.

"What happened?" She asked him quietly.

"Was hoping you'd tell moi." He watched her steadily for a moment but when she didn't answer he was forced to continue, "found y' in the security room, with Sabretooth. Chere, what were you doing in dere wit' _him_?"

"Sabretooth? Ah wasn't in there with him. At least he wasn't there before Ah passed out."

"Den how'd you get in? Dat room is locked and as far as Remy knows you don't have password clearance yet." He asked quizzically.

"That lock isn't exactly Fort Knox, ya know." Rogue answered a sly grin.

"Hmm… well, you are just full of surprises, cheri."

"At least one of you is. Gambit I'm not surprised at all to find you sulking around my daughter, again! But Rogue I am astounded that you'd let him." Mystique glared at the two of them before telling Gambit to leave immediately.

"Remy?" Rogue called after him as he stood to go.

"It's all right chere," Remy said, not taking his eyes of the girl's mother, "Remy's got to go upgrade a few locks anyway."

As Remy left the room, a moment of silence hung between the two women while Mystique waited for the Cajun to get out of ear shot. A sickly sweet smile spread across the blue mutants face as she turned back to her daughter.

"Rogue, sweetie," she walked forward and held the girls shoulders, "that boy is no good for you. You realise he's only after one thing; you're untouchable… that makes you a challenge to someone like him. He'll use you then toss you aside." Rogue unsure if she could hide the suspicion from her eyes cast her gaze to the ground.

"What if he's not just using meh? Maybe he does actually care, isn't that possible." Mystique put her arms around Rogue and pulled her into a hug. Mystique was a good liar but the hug didn't quite feel right… it was awkward and even though she held Rogue to her tightly the blue mutant still felt distant. She gently ran her fingers through Rogue's hair soothingly but Rogue still didn't feel safe, it was almost like hugging a tiger. It may feel warm and soft at first but there was always the danger of getting your head ripped off at any moment.

"I've watched that boy for a long time Rogue, I know he only wants one thing. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. Trust Momma and stay away from him."

"Okay Momma," Rogue sighed in defeat.

"Good girl." Mystique abruptly realised Rogue from her arms as soon as she'd gotten the answer she wanted. "You should put some hours in the gym, I need you at your best. I have big plans for your future, my dear." Rogue nodded in response and the cold woman exited the room leaving Rogue alone with her thoughts.

She knew she could no longer trust her memories, and her gut told her not to trust Mystique but Remy was an enigma she couldn't figure out. She desperately wanted to trust him but all reasonable logic told her she shouldn't. He was the one who brought her here yet he knew her memories were slipping and he had told no-one as of yet. She need to figure him out but couldn't risk confronting him again, he was a master at lies and manipulation so any confrontation would likely end up one of two ways; Remy tricking her or Remy kissing her again… either way she would get no answers. She figured the computer system would be too hard for her to hack into so that meant she had to get answers from someone other than Remy. She quietly exited her room in hopes of bumping into either Piotr or Pyro but as she turned down the hall after shutting her door she noticed that Sabretooth was leaning against the wall further down the hallway. He was just standing there watching her with an evil smirk on his face. Not wanting to show how unnerved she was, Rogue returned his glare with a bored expression before turning and heading towards the room with the sofa's.

Upon entering the room she let out her breath and felt her shoulders relax; she hadn't realised how tense she had become. She leaned against the door heavily and listened for any sound that would indicate that Sabretooth had followed her. After a moment she was pretty sure he hadn't, she looked about the room and realised that Piotr was staring at her curiously from the sofa.

"Are you alright?" He asked as she straightened up self-consciously.

"Err… yeah Ah'm fine, just Sabretooth being a creep." She said as she walked over to one of the comfy armchairs and sat down, curling her legs underneath her.

"Yes, that man still unnerves me sometimes." Piotr replied as he returned his attention to a sketch pad balanced on his knee. This piqued Rogue's interest, she loved to sketch; her diary back at Xavier's was full of drawings.

"Ah didn't pin you for the artistic type. Would you mind if I took a peek at some of your work?" Rogue asked curiously. She herself would never let anyone see her drawings… they were too personal.

"Alright, but you let me draw you while you look."

"Erm sure, okay." Piotr smiled and handed one of his pads to her. She took it and settled back into the chair, suddenly very aware and concerned of what she looked like now that Piotr started to scribble on a new page. She tried to not look bothered as she flicked slowly through his work. The first thing Rogue noticed was that he was very talented. There didn't seem to be anything he couldn't sketch. As she turned each page she was met with a different subject but all seemed to be live drawings; various plants around the base, furniture bathed in shadows and light, but the most impressive sketches were the people. Piotr had captured many moments of his fellow acolytes as they did various things around the base. There seemed to be a lot of Remy; him playing solitaire, working on his bike, brooding pictures of him smoking in what looked to be the very chair Rogue was sitting in now.

"You seem to like drawing Remy." She said to Piotr, not really asking question but more stating a fact.

"It is not that I like to draw him more than the other things but Remy is the only one here that sits still for long enough." That made sense to Rogue, she liked to take a long time over her sketches but most of her work was done from memory rather than a live subject. She imagined that it would be hard to pin someone down for that length of time. It was partly why she had never bothered with it back at the mansion.

"Can Ah ask you something?" Rogue asked the quiet Russian.

"Da," he replied without stopping his sketch of her.

"Does Remy… does he care about meh? Mystique thinks he's just after meh so he can say he had the untouchable girl." Rogue thought about her words as she said them, 'the untouchable girl', it turned out she wasn't so untouchable to Remy after all, yet he wasn't trying to flirt or seduce her into bed now. Sure he had practically pounced on her in the gym but the shock of being able to touch had sent her hormones into overdrive at that point too. And where was he now if all he wanted was to get in her pants? She was actually starting to think he was avoiding her. He hadn't come after her when she ran from the gym and he hadn't stuck around in her room long.

"Remy is a complicated man. I wouldn't pretend to know what goes on in his head, but I do know that he shows more concern for you than I have ever seen in him for anything before. Here," Piotr got up and took his sketch book from Rogues hands. He flipped to a page nearer the back and handed it back to Rogue. "I did this not long before you got here."

The picture showed Remy sitting bent over the kitchen table with a hand wrapped in his hair as he looked down at a piece of paper in his other hand. He had obviously not been paying attention to the fact that Piotr was sketching him. The details were so good Rogue could almost feel the tension rolling off him as he chewed his lips with a frown, a rare moment when his poker face was not hiding his true emotions. He was so torn up over the paper in his hand it made Rogue's chest ache.

"What is he looking at?" She asked Piotr quietly.

"A photograph of you. Magneto had just instructed him to bring you back to the base."

"He didn't want me here?" She asked feeling a little hurt. Piotr looked uncomfortable for a second but didn't seem to be able to ignore Rogue's hurt expression.

"I believe he was worried for your safety should he bring you back here."

"Why? I am in danger here? What does Magneto want with me?" She asked in a rush hoping to get some questions finally answered but Piotr stood and took his sketch pad from her hands.

"I don't know Rogue, I've already said too much but know this; Remy, nor I for that matter, will let anyone put you in danger." With that he turned and left her alone in the room.

* * *

Don't forget to let me know what you think guys!

R&R

Aza x


	24. Chapter 24

Hi guys, thanks so much for the reviews and the favourites. Just want to take a moment to mention a few of my favourites!

Chellerbelle: Wanted to say a big thank you to as you always leave a review on every chapter! Reminds me that even if no-one else is reading/reviewing this I must finish it cuz you're out there waiting!

LaniDG11: I'm glad you like it when I get carried away... I try for the slow build up but I just can't keep those two off each other! lol

Dark Moons: Keep the crazy! Loved it and it made me laugh.

Helenxxx: Don't worry I can't leave Piotr there, he's way too cute for the Acolytes!

Sorry if you left a review but didn't get a mention, I didn't have time for everyone sadly but each and every review is greatly appreciated!

So took time out of the regular story line to have a little fun with some of my favourite characters, hope you enjoy!

Ya'll know I don't own the X-Men or the characters so... yeah disclaimer blah blah blah

* * *

It wasn't long after Piotr left that Pyro strolled into the room, singing loudly along to his iPod and dancing to the beat. As soon as he spotted Rogue watching him he winked and danced his way over to the sofa before flopping down on it and removing the headphones from his ears.

"Why so glum, shelia? Hope you're not still mad about earlier. 'Cause you know it's not that big a deal and it actually gave me an idea for my new book. Nothing grabs a reader's interest like an explosion of sexual tension and man, you two have been building it up for a while now. You know back when you were still with the X-Men, and you and Remy used to go at each other in battle the first thing he'd do when we got back to base is lock himself in his bathroom and…"

"Pyro! Gawd too much info thanks," Rogue felt her cheeks warm but Pyro simply grinned at her, "what do you mean your new book?"

"Yeah, I'm a writer, only romance novels though. It's kind of a compliment you know, Remy only goes for really hot girls." He said with a wink.

"We both know Remy throws himself at anything with breasts." She replied while rolling her eyes at the pyromaniac.

"Well… yeah… but he's only really interested in hot girls, hot girls with a bit of personality mind you but still, he's a romantic at heart, I can tell."

"Because you write romance novels?"

"Exactly." Pyro replied while playing with a fireball the same way one would play with a coin. "You know what we need?" He stroked his chin thoughtfully as if he had a beard. "A night on the town! Everyone has been way too tense around here, we need to loosen things up a bit. You up for that? Of course you are! Come on let's go tell the others and get ready." Pyro jumped to his feet and pulled Rogue along behind him as he took off through the base.

"You guys are allowed to have a night out?" Rogue asked slightly shocked.

"Of course we are, this isn't a bloody prison camp ya know!"

"But Ah'm underage."

"Not a problem, shelia. The place we go Remy can get you in."

They made their way through hallways Rogue hadn't yet explored until Pyro came to an abrupt halt outside a door. He knocked it loudly then took off back down the hall, hiding around the corner. Rogue simply stared after him perplexed. After a minute of silence he stuck his head back around the corner to look at Rogue.

"No-one answer the door?" He asked with a grin. Rogue shook her head answering in the negative. Pyro's grin grew in size and he ran back to her side and swung the door open, revealing an expensive living room with other rooms connecting to its back wall. Pyro grabbed Rogues gloved hand again and pulled her over to what appeared to be a liquor cabinet. He quickly opened it up and passed Rogue a bottle of tequila, then took a bottle of vodka and bourbon for himself before taking off out of the room again.

"Why do we need alcohol if we're going out?" Rogue asked as she ran after him down the hall.

"You never go out without pre-party drinks first, everyone knows that."

"Okay, so… did we just steal 'pre-party drinks' from somebodies liquor cabinet?"

"Yep!" He announced happily. Rogue groaned inwardly.

"Please tell meh it wasn't Magneto's."

"Oy! I may be crazy but I'm not suicidal! It was Mystique's but don't worry she can't get too mad at her only daughter for stealing booze."

"Okay, but won't she be mad at you?"

"Me? Why would she be mad at me?"

"Because you just stole most of her booze?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Shelia, I wasn't anywhere near her room. Can't blame a guy if he wasn't there."

"You're pinning this on meh?!" Pyro simply smiled at Rogue. He came to a stop outside the kitchen and turned to face her.

"Why don't you go get ready, I know you girls love to take ages and I want to get going before too long."

"Can't Ah just stay like this?" Pyro looked her up and down taking in her plain jeans, cat hoodie and wild hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"No way! No I want you looking sexy; a skirt and slinky top at the very least. You should leave your hair down too, you know, work those curls… Remy would love that."

"Why does it matter what Remy would like?"

"Err… no reason. Now go on, I'm not letting you out unless you look like you're ready for a serious night out." Rogue eyed the pyro sceptically but left to get ready without further argument.

xXx

Thirty minutes later and Rogue was just finishing applying her make-up when she heard a knock on her door. She took once last look at herself in the small bathroom mirror then went to answer it. She opened to the door to find Remy waiting on the other side. He looked even more gorgeous than usual, wearing fitted dark blue jeans and an expensive black shirt. He'd even combed his hair back making his cheekbones look even more sculpted. Rogue was silently pleased that he looked like he was as taken aback by her appearance as she was by his.

"Hey sugah," she said as she tried not to let his heated gaze unnerve her as it always did.

"So John told me we're all going out, and dat you were de one who stole all de booze. I wasn't entirely convinced dat you'd agreed to dis but err… dat skirt would suggest otherwise." He looked down at her tight black skirt again before dragging his gaze back up to her face.

"Ah didn't steal the booze… Ah suppose Ah helped, but it's kind of hard to say no to that boy."

"Remy hope's you can say no to some of his suggestions… don't like de idea of sharing you, chérie."

"Ah didn't realise Ah was yours to share in the first place, sugah."

Remy smirked at her but didn't say anything in response, instead he held up a bag for her.

"What's this?" She asked as she took it and reached inside. She pulled out black material that was folded neatly in a way that showed off the rose embroidered pattern on the side. She recognised it immediately as the top from the alternative shop they had visited at the mall. She gasped and dropped the bag behind her so she could unfold the top that she had loved but hadn't bought because of the open back.

"I figured dis would be a great excuse for you to wear it." Remy said as he watched her marvel at her new top.

"Ah can't, remember the open back, the reason why Ah didn't buy it in the first place." She said sadly as she tried to give the top back to him, "its sweet of ya, but you should just get your money back."

"M'not taking it back…"

"But Ah can't wear it, it's not safe." She tried to protest.

"You seem ta be able to touch Remy just fine," as if to remind her of this he reached out and tucked a curl behind her ear, his finger gliding softly along her cheek bone as he did so, "have you tried your powers on someone else recently?"

"Ah curious as Ah am about that, Ah kind of doubt anyone would volunteer to test it." She said sceptically as she, once again, pushed the top towards him.

"Turn it around, chérie," he instructed her when he, once again, would not take the top back.

With a sigh she did as she was told and discovered that, where there was once an open back, there was now a soft black mesh. It was fine enough to see through but still protected anyone from touching her skin. Rogue studied the top carefully and decided that it actually made the top look even sexier, it showed a hint of skin without looking like that it was your intention to flaunt yourself.

"When did you get this done? It's amazing." She looked back at Remy with a smile.

"M'glad you like chere, Remy did it himself. You t'ink my trench coat comes wit' all de hidden pockets as standard? Anyway I'm going t' make sure Pyro doesn't burn de place down. He gets a little impatient… and excited. I mean, de way he's acting you'd t'ink it was de outing of de century." Rogue laughed at this and promised Remy that she'd be along soon as she changed her top. With that the two parted ways and Rogue headed back into her room and changed into her new top.

It fit her body like a dream, the material sliding over her curvy frame perfectly. She looked over herself in the mirror and smiled. This top looked much better than the last, it complimented the skirt wonderfully. She quickly applied some lip gloss to finish her look and headed back to the kitchen, secretly excited about being able to have some real fun without any instructors getting in the way of things.

As she made her way through the hallway she could hear music thumping through the walls of the kitchen and rolled her eyes; it should prove to be an entertaining evening at the very least. Rogue pushed the door open and recognised Marilyn Manson music blasting from the stereo system in the corner. Piotr nodded to her as she entered and Pyro waved her over to the table as he poured several shots. Remy stood beside the fire-started and made no attempt to hide the fact that he was checking her out, he even had the nerve to smirk at her when she glared with her arms folded across her chest.

"Right, shot of each then we're off little lady! Vodka, Tequila then Bourbon." Pyro announced happily and pushed three shot glass towards Rogue. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked down at the drinks.

"You don't have to drink any if you don't want to chere." Remy said with a smile as he picked up his vodka shot.

"Aww come on Gambit, don't spoil the fun." Rogue said nothing; instead she picked up her own vodka shot which caused Pyro to smirk in triumph. "Alright then, bottoms up!" Once they drank their shots they headed to the garage. Piotr, having opted out of doing shots, volunteered to be the driver for the night and so jumped into the driver seat. As the guys had pointed out, they couldn't get a cab to and from the base as its location was supposed to be a secret.

Rogue called shot gun first and jumped in next to Piotr while Remy and Pyro climbed into the back. It didn't take long to drive into town but Rogue could already feel the shots warming her insides and igniting an excited buzz deep within her. They pulled up outside a small club, music was blasting from inside and there was already a long queue to get in. Rogue groaned not liking the idea of waiting outside for an age when she was in the mood dance now but to her surprise Pyro walked up to the bouncer and greeted him with a fist bump before entering the club, completely skipping the queue much to the annoyance of the people waiting in line. Rogue tried to follow him in but the bouncer put his arm out to stop her. He was at least 6 feet tall and built like a wrestler but Rogue's alcohol influenced mind told her she could take him easily if she wanted to.

"ID?" He asked in deep yet bored voice. Rogue glared at the guy but before she could respond she felt a warm arm loop around her waist and pull her against a muscle body. She looked up to see Remy grin at the bouncer.

"S'alright George, she's wit' me."

"Have a good night ." The bouncer said with a nod. Remy returned the nod and pulled Rogue along with him into the club.

"Friends in high places, ?" Rogue asked once they were inside. Remy looked down at her with a smirk.

"Nah, I'm his boss. I owe de place." He released her waist and headed for the bar, leaving her to stare after him in disbelief. Rogue shook her head and wondered why she was still shocked by anything that man said when a girl surprised her by throwing her arms around the goth's slim waist. Rogue was about to shove the girl away when she recognised that it was Wanda who had attacked her with a hug.

"So John tells me you finally broke free from those goody two-shoes!" Wanda shouted over the music. "Nice outfit by the way, always knew you'd be fun away from those x-geeks!" Rogue could only smile back at the other girl and looked around the room to find that several of the brotherhood members were also at the club tonight. Fred and Todd were sitting on a leather sofa in the corner bopping to the music and Lance was dancing with a girl on the dance floor.

"Yo' girlfriend! You are looking _fine_!" Pyro announced as he danced over to the two gothic girls standing by the door. "Ladies let me get you a drink." He slipped in between the two girls with an arm around eithers waist and steered them in the direction of the bar. Once there Pyro leaned over to place the order while the girls waited behind him.

"So what made you change your mind about the X-Men? I mean you were always kind of the odd one out, but you seemed pretty defensive of them at the same time." Wanda asked casually as she watched people on the dance floor.

"Just needed a change Ah guess," Rogue replied quickly, desperately keeping her thoughts free of any headache causing topics.

"There you go get that down ya!" Pyro said as he handed Rogue a drink and turned back for the others. Rogue took a sip of the liquid and savoured the taste as the smooth liquid warmed her throat.

"So it's got nothing to do with tall, dark and handsome over there?" Wanda motioned towards Remy who was casually sitting at the other end of the bar, he had a glass of a dark liquid in his hand and was watching her with a hungry glow in his eyes that caused a deep blush to creep across Rogue's cheeks.

"Ah don't know what you mean." Rogue turned away and took another sip of her drink to hide the fact that she was blushing again.

"Oh please, the look on your face tells me you know exactly what I mean." Wanda smirked at Rogue, "and the look he's giving you, damn girl… he wants you."

"Yeah well, maybe that's the problem." Rogue mutter darkly into her drink.

"Woah, okay, why is that a problem?"

"It's just… Ah'm not sure if he's serious or if he just wants… well ya know."

"Well if he is serious, trust me, he'll let you know and if not… well why not have a little fun, I mean you _do not_ find a man that good looking every day, and just because you flirt a little doesn't mean things have to go all the way."

"Ah don't know."

"Come on Rogue! Everyone deserves a little fun every now and then, including you." Pyro put a drink in Wanda's hand and took a long sip of his own before sliding his arm casually around her neck with a dopey grin Rogue hadn't seen on his face before. Realisation dawned on her and she smirked at Wanda with raised eyebrows, Wanda rolled her eyes at her in response but a small smile tugged at her lips.

"You wanna dance beautiful?" Pyro asked the fiery mutant he currently had his arm around.

"I don't think so firebug." Wanda replied quickly. The disappointed look on Pyro's face made Rogue feel a pang of sympathy in her chest and she opened her mouth before her brain caught up with what she was saying.

"I'll dance with ya if ya like." She said then quickly finished the rest of her drink. Pyro beamed at her, finished his own drink and pulled her onto the dance floor among the throng of bodies already dancing there. Pyro threw his hands in the air and began jumping to the music, Rogue couldn't help but smile and started swinging her hips to the music. His manic energy, combined with the alcohol, and all her inhibitions flew out the window.

Rogue got lost in the music and closed her eyes as she danced to the beat with her hands in the air. Pyro pulled her next to him and they moved in rhythm together for a few minutes before her brain caught up with her and she realised how close they were. She tried to step back from him but ended up bumping into someone behind her who wrapped their arms around her waist and rested their head on her shoulder.

"T'ought you said Remy didn't have to be jealous of him stealing you away from moi."Remy whispered in her ear causing shivers to run down her spin as he started moved them both to the music.

"Ain't nothing to be jealous of." Rogue stated while glaring suspiciously Pyro, who was now smirking, his grin spreading from ear to ear making him look like a cheshire cat. She started to wonder what Pyro's reasons for them all going out truly were.

"Don't mind me cutting do ya John?" Remy politely asked his friend.

"Go right ahead mate." He replied with a wink, but Rogue was not playing along with what she was starting to suspect was a plot to get her and Remy together.

"Don't be rude Swamp Rat," Rogue stepped out from Remy's arms and put her hands on her hips. "Pyro wanted ta dance first, Ah can't leave him without a partner now can Ah?"

"I'll dance with the firebug, you go on and have fun." Wanda said as she slid her arms around Pyro's neck with a smile on her lips. Rogue glared at the girl and wondered how many people were in on the plot against her; it couldn't all be coincidence surely? Meanwhile Pyro gazed down a Wanda in awe, looking at the expression on his face anyone would think he'd just won the lottery.

"Dat settles it den," Remy said as he pulled Rogue back against him and started moving them to the music once more. "Didn't see you putting up a fight when John asked you to dance, chere, Remy kind of feels like you don't want to dance wit' him."

"Ah just got the feeling that Pyro's whole plan for tonight was to get you and meh together. Ah'm not just some girl you guys can trick into getting with ya know. Ah won't let myself get used like that," Remy looked down at her shocked.

"Rogue, I don't know not'ing about any plan and if I did, I wouldn't be going along wit' it. Remy's not that type of guy." He replied as they continued to dance together. "Pyro probably just t'inks dat he needs ta make it up to me for interrupting earlier. He don't really t'ink t'ings through when he gets an idea in his head. I'll have a word wit' him later but rest assured chere, I will not take advantage of you tonight. You don't need to worry 'bout dat till you're eighteen." He jokingly added with a smirk.

"But Ah am eighteen." Rogue looked up at him in confusion.

"What?" He returned her gaze equally confused.

"Ah am eighteen," She shouted over the music.

"You're file at school says…"

"Ah lied about mah age when Ah moved here. Ah didn't want to be stuck sharing all mah classes with little-miss-perfect… Jean. Ah'm eighteen… gonna be nineteen in just over a month." Remy stopped moving and looked at her blankly for a few seconds. "Sugah, you alright?" Rogue asked slightly concerned but he soon recovered and grinned back at her.

"Never better, chérie." He said huskily as he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest. They were so close now that their bodies ground against each other as they danced to the music. Rogue felt a gasp escape her lips as her body flushed with heat in response to Remy's dancing. Her body reacted to Remy in ways she hadn't dream it could and as if of its own accord she felt herself step into his dancing so that his leg was between hers. His eyes seemed to glow with heat as their gazes locked and he wound his other hand into her hair bringing their faces together so that they were almost touching.

"Tu es me rends folle, chérie. Je n'ai jamais rencontré une femme aussi incroyable que vous." He whispered as he brought his lips down to meet hers.

* * *

Translations thanks to google translator!

Tu me rends folle, ma chérie. Je n'ai jamais rencontré une femme aussi incroyable que vous:

You're driving me crazy, darling. I've never met a woman as incredible as you.

* * *

This chapter was going to be longer but it was already 7 pages in word and I didn't want to keep people waiting for too long this time so I split it in half. More fun to come, the party is just getting started =P

Let me know what you think of it,

Aza x


	25. Chapter 25

Again so sorry for my long absence! Got a list of excuses but hey who hasn't so I wont bore you, lets just get on with the show.

This one's for Rat - who gave me the nudge I needed to get back on with this thing!

* * *

"Never better, chérie." He said huskily as he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest. They were so close now that their bodies ground against each other as they danced to the music. Rogue felt a gasp escape her lips as her body flushed with heat in response to Remy's dancing. Her body reacted to Remy in ways she hadn't dreamt it could and as if of its own accord she felt herself step into his dancing so that his leg was between hers. His eyes seemed to glow with heat as their gazes locked and he wound his other hand into her hair bringing their faces together so that they were almost touching.

"Tu es me rends folle, chérie. Je n'ai jamais rencontré une femme aussi incroyable que vous." He whispered as he brought his lips down to meet hers.

Rogue tensed for a moment as she wondered if she should be letting him kiss her again when Wanda's advice floated through her mind, 'everyone deserves a little fun every now and then'. The words eased Rogues tension and she relaxed into Remy's embrace. She sneaked her arms up his chest and knotted her hands into his hair, pulling him closer. The taste of bourbon danced across her lips and warmed her tongue.

Rogue awoke suddenly in the night. Her head felt thick and heavy and her stomach twisted with nausea. She reached for her clock on her bedside drawers to see what time it was. 4.27AM. Ugh she thought to herself and noticed that a large glass of water and some painkillers were also sitting on the drawers next to her clock. She pulled herself up into a sitting position which caused dizziness to wash through her head suddenly; the room span and her stomach jerked violently but she managed to stop herself from throwing up. She lifted the water glass but before she could take a sip she noticed the large shadow of a man standing next to her bed. For a second they both froze, waiting for a reaction from the other but then Sabretooth lunged forward and grabbed the front of her pyjama shirt without hesitation Rogue smashed the glass into the side of his head. It shattered on impact spraying water and glass everywhere. Sabretooth stumbled sideways, having not expected such a blow from her petit frame. She used his slip in focus and shoved him away from her, her hands making full contact with his face, and despite the distracting feeling of his powers and memories flowing into her she managed to pull herself free. She leapt out of the bed and ran out of the room; she stumbled down the hallway and burst into Remy's room, not bothering to stop and knock. She stood and tried to catch her breath with the door, slammed shut, at her back. The room was dark but she could still make out the shift in the shadows as Remy bolted upright in bed.

"Rogue? What's wrong?" He asked with no trace of sleep in his voice even though she knew he had been deep in sleep only seconds ago.

"Sabretooth," she whispered, "he just attacked me in my room."

Without the need for a light Remy got out of bed and strode across the room to her. "Yo're sure? You weren't having a bad dream or not'ing?"

Rogue glared at him in disbelief. "Of course Ah'm sure! If ya want proof, how 'bout the fact that Ah don't have a hangover anymore." The light suddenly flickered on but Rogue continued to glare at Remy without having to duck her head away from the light as anyone with a hangover would have had to do.

"Merde," He muttered more to himself then her. "Why would he attack you? Yo're one of us now."

"How the hell should Ah know?" Rogue wrapped her arms around herself, now feeling the temperature difference from lying in her warm bed to standing with bare arms in Remy's much cooler room.

"Go jump in m' bed. I'm gonna go check see if he's gone." Remy pulled the door open as Rogue crossed the room and slipped between his sheets. "Stay here."

Rogue pulled the duvet up around herself and waited in silence for Remy to return. It seemed silly to her for him to go check her room. Even Sabretooth wasn't stupid enough to hang around after she'd taken off. She lifted the duvet up to her chin and smelled the musky scent of Remy's aftershave still lingering on his sheets. She sighed and tried to think about what had happened the night before. She couldn't believe she'd blacked out; she'd never drunk so much she'd blacked out before. The last thing she remembered was kissing Remy on the dance floor and after that… nothing until she'd woken up in her bed. She wondered what they had gotten up to after that, desperately hoping it wasn't something she'd rather have not forgotten. Remy returned a few moments later.

"I can't find him anywhere but there's glass all over yo're bed. It's not some devious plan to sneak yo're way into my bed is it? 'Cause I told y' earlier, it' not happening tonight." He smirked at her as he stood next to the bed, his muscular arms crossed over his bare chest.

"Ah don't know what ya on about Cajun. I don't remember nothing since we … were dancing."

At this Remy looked surprised, he unfolded his arms and came to sit next to her on the bed. "Really? I knew you'd had too much but I didn't realised you'd had _dat_ much." He placed his hand under her chin and studied her face. "How y' feelin' now?"

"Sober as a priest in church." She replied, "Ah think Ah absorbed enough of Sabretooth's powers to cure my hangover. So Ah guess that means my powers are fine. This must be something to do with you." She said as she ran her hand along his bare arm. He let go of her chin and held her hand in his; watching intently as he ran his thumb gently over her knuckles.

"Well figure it out together." He said softly. "Now, it's late, or early… depending on yo're point of view. We should get some sleep- slide over." He instructed and slipped under the sheets next to her. He lay on his back and closed his eyes. Rogue lay next to him feeling awkward; at first she lay on her back like he did but she soon found that that wasn't comfortable so she shifted her weight and rolled onto her side facing away from him. She adjusted the pillow and closed her eyes, willing herself to go back to sleep. Next to her, she felt Remy roll onto his side too. She could feel the heat from his body against her back. His hand slid under the duvet and ran across her hip and came to rest on her waist.

"Dis ok?" He asked, his breath whispering into the back of her hair.

"Yeah," she replied with a smile on her lips but as soon as the words left her he suddenly pulled her back flush against him. He scooped her hair above her head and rested his chin on her shoulder, his face leaning gently against her neck.

"Good," he said sleepily and his hand sneaked lightly back around her waist.

Rogue waited in the darkness, wide eyed, to see if he'd do more but it appeared he had fallen asleep snuggled in next to her. Her heart hammered in her chest and she wondered if she'd ever be able to sleep with him pressed against her like he was. She closed her eyes and listened to his steady breathing and soon found herself, too, slipping into a deep sleep.

Mystique sat back from the computer screen - a scowl twisting her otherwise beautiful face. She watched the young couple snuggle together beneath the sheets of Remy's bed and felt anger bubble within her. She was going to have to do something about that _boy, _she decided, and soon, before he could ruin her plans to turn Rogue into an all-powerful mutant terrorist.

"My dear, what are you doing? Come to bed." Magnus called from the large silk sheeted bed on the other side of the room.

"One moment," Mystique answered her boss and lover. She paused the feed from the security camera and glared at the small smile that graced her daughter's lips as she slept. She didn't care if it was jealously that drove her, she would end their relationship if it was the last thing she ever did.

* * *

Hope you guys like it. I don't like drinking personally and would serious not suggest doing what the characters in this fiction did and mix their drinks. Its always more fun if you remember your night out the next day!

R&R

Aza x


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: I don't have a beta any more so if there are any mistakes please don't hate me but feel free to let me know (baring in mind I don't write dialogue correctly, I write it how I think they would say it... grammar mistakes and all)

Enjoy :)

* * *

Rogue awoke bright and early. She found herself still wrapped in Remy arms; he was still breathing deeply into her neck. _'Fast asleep'_ she thought with a smile. For a moment she closed her eyes and revealed in the feeling of being held in someone's arms. She loved the feel of his skin on hers but she pulled herself away- knowing she couldn't lay there in his arms all day. Well ok, she could have if she really wanted to but she decided, when her stomach growled loudly, that she'd make them a big breakfast; eggs, bacon, sausage - the works. Then she could surprise him with breakfast in bed. Maybe he might then consider stopping in bed for the rest of the day, wrapped in each other's arms. As she silently slipped out of his room and padded along the hallway quietly she wondered what had put her in such a good mood. She was never in this good a mood; ever. She happily put it down to sleeping wrapped in a gorgeous man's arms most of the night. She opened the fridge and starting collecting the ingredients for the breakfast she had planned. Behind her she heard the kitchen door swing open and she turned expecting to see a sleep Remy wandering in, hopefully still half naked, but instead she was greeted by Blindspot followed in by Mystique who was wearing a smug grin.

"Morning," Rogue said cautiously.

"Good morning, dear." Her _mother_ smiled with a false sweetness. "Mind if we have a quick word?"

Remy woke slowly. He blinked in the dull light of his room. His head pounded and his throat felt as dry as sandpaper. He reached across the bed for Rogue; hoping to bury his face in her soft hair for at least a few more hours but he soon realised she was no longer lying next to him. He sat himself up and looked around the room. She was not there. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and rubbed his face. It was peculiar to him to wake up feeling so groggy. He was usually a morning person, always waking with a great mood, and rarely found himself feeling this slow when he woke up; even when he had a hangover he didn't really suffer. He knew it was something to do with the energy creating nature of his powers and realised it was something he had taken for granted until now. 'Must have had more to drink than I thought' he thought to himself and threw on some clothes.

He closed the door to his bedroom behind him as he left and went straight to Rogues rooms that lay further down the hall. He knocked twice but there was no answer. He opened the door and stuck his head into the room; it looked exactly as he had left it last night – bedding thrown back and glass covering everything. So she hadn't come back here. That meant the next logical place for her to go would be the kitchen for breakfast. Remy stomach growled hungrily and he decided that breakfast was a fantastic idea. He quickly made his way to the kitchen- the smell of bacon growing stronger with each step. He smiled to himself hoping that she had made some for him too. He opened the kitchen door and found Rogue with her back to him. She was leaning over a frying pan cooking what could only be the delicious stuff that was bacon. Remy stepped up behind her, with his chin resting on her shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Smells good," he murmured into her neck. She stiffened almost instantly then turned and shoved him away harshly.

"What the hell do ya think you're doing swamp rat!" She snapped with a glare. Remy was so surprised all he could do was stare as she turned back to the sizzling bacon. She angrily lifted each piece with a fork and all but slammed it onto a slice of bread that lay waiting at the side of the cooker. She slapped on another slice of bread, covered in ketchup, and then pushed past him as she stormed out of the kitchen with her breakfast. All Remy could do was watch in confusion as he tried to figure out what he'd done wrong.

"Something the matter, Gambit?" Mystique smirked at him from where she stood leaning against the door frame. Then it clicked in his head; though it took longer than it should have, he noticed.

"You had her memory wiped again." He stated, his own angry tension now building up.

"You should have stayed away from her," was all the response she gave him before walking away – the twisted smirk still plastered across her face. Remy waited until she was out of ear shot then slammed his hands on top of the kitchen table angrily.

"Merde!" He hissed. He breathed deeply and quickly trying to vent his anger. Finally making a decision he stormed out of the kitchen smashing the door against the wall as he went. He thundered down the hall and threw Rogue's door open without bothering to knock.

"What the hell has gotten into you? Ya gawd damn psychopath!" Rogue shouted at him in outrage from where she sat on her bed, half way through eating her bacon sandwich. Ignoring her he took a backpack out of her wardrobe and starting throwing her clothes in it. Careful to avoiding the glass she had brushed onto the floor; Rogue jumped up and grabbed the bag, trying to stop him.

"What are you doing? Get out of mah room!" She shouted at him. He dropped the bag and took hold of her shoulders.

"We are getting out of here. I'm talking y' home, chere."

"Are you crazy? Ah'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Rogue, dey been messing with yo're head. Yo're just gonna have to trust me. Professor X can fix yo're memories when I get you back to the mansion."

"Ah am not going back to the X-Men and Ah am not going anywhere with you." She hissed stubbornly.

"Y' can go willingly or I'm gonna throw y' over m' shoulder and carry ya" He seethed back, showing he was in no mood to argue. She didn't respond; choosing instead to glare at him in stony silence, but when Remy turned to grab more of her clothes she leapt for the door. He managed to grab hold of her bare arm which caused her to narrow her eyes at him in anger and suspicious. She then launched herself at him as she tried to kick and punch her way free of his grasp. However, they were evenly matched and Remy quickly dropped her bag and blocked her attacks while trying to pin her down. They each got in a few blows at each other – Rogue's doing the most harm as she intended to hurt him while he was doing everything possible not to hurt her. The room, however, quickly saw most of the damage of their scuffle. Rogue threw a punch at Remy but he quickly sidestepped and used her momentum to spin her around. He then lifted her up from behind whilst trying to keep her arms pinned but she kicked out violently, sending the lamp flying into the wall where it smashed into pieces. She pressed her feet against her bed-side drawers to push him backwards. The force caused the drawers to knock over - throwing her alarm and other bits across the floor. The momentum of the push caused Remy to stumble back with her still pinned in his arms; they crashed into the wardrobe doors which caved in on impact. Remy, finally got the upper hand, and used the broken wardrobe to throw them both back towards her bed where he pinned her underneath him, but from this position he had no way of getting her up and out of the base. If he let go she'd attack him again, but he didn't have to worry about the dilemma for very long because, unknown to him, Mystique had entered the room –after hearing their scuffle - and hit the back of his neck with enough force to knock him out cold.

Remy woke up a few hours later. A florescent light flickered annoyingly above him. The back of his neck and head ached from where he'd been knocked out. He sat up and cracked his neck hoping to relieve some of the pain while his eyes took in his surroundings; too bright lights, bare metal cot-bed and floor, and - of course – electrified metal bars that stopped mutants from escaping Magneto's prison cells. Remy sighed loudly and strode towards the bars of his prison. He pressed his forehead against the cool metal; knowing it would only electrocute him if he tried to escape. The room beyond the bars appeared to be empty. There was no-one sitting at the control desk and no-one pacing in front of the cells out of boredom. This was not unusual. The acolytes didn't feel the need to keep watch of the prisoners 24hours a day as the alarms would go off all through the base if they managed to escape their cells. Even if they did they wouldn't make it out of the base; Magneto had designed it like a rat maze so that anyone who wasn't familiar with its layout would get lost very quickly.

"Logan, you still dere?" Remy called out to the man he knew should still be in the cell to his right.

"Well it's about damn time, was beginning to think you weren't going to wake up." Wolverine replied gruffly. Remy heard him as he got up from his metal cot and came to stand next to his own metal bars. "Who'd you piss off?"

"Dunno, dey knocked me out from behind, but M' guessing it was Mystique." Remy grumbled as he searched his pockets for something he could use to escape. Empty. He swore loudly and looked up to see his coat and pocket contents sitting on the desk by the control station.

"Heh, guessing you just noticed they took your stuff. Took 'em ten minutes to search you. You're not such a master criminal without your toys, eh bub." He heard wolverine laugh.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, _mon ami. _Rogue's on her own now."

"The kid can handle herself. Besides, apart from whatever fucked up damage they did to her head, she's one of you guys now so I doubt they'll hurt her; which buys me sometime to figure out a way outta here."

"In case you didn't notice, M' locked up in here wit' you so I don't t'ink M' on dere team no more. And we ain't got as much time as you t'ink."

"What do you mean?" Wolverine growled.

"Sabretooth attacked her last night. I don't know why, but he ain't playing by Magnetos rules right now, so de sooner we get out of here de better."

"I'm all fucking ears Cajun, in case you haven't noticed there isn't a way out of these damn cells." Wolverine complained loudly and – as if to demonstrate - he swiped his claws against the bars as Remy had watched him do many times before when he'd been guarding him a few days ago. Even from his cell Remy could see the explosive effect as the electric bars lit up and threw Logan into the back wall of his cells. Remy rolled his eyes and walked back away from the bars of his cell. The electric light hummed above him.

"You can't force you way out of dese cells. I helped Magneto put them in myself. Dere designed to contain any mutant; deir powers get reflected back of the bars so no, before you ask, I can't blow my way out."

"You better tell me you do know how to get us out of here; because if you don't, and she gets hurt, I'm going to rip you into little Cajun pieces and feed you to your gawd damn swamp crocs!"

"Mon ami, you really t'ink Remy would build a prison and not give himself a way out in case he ever got locked up himself? It's hurtful how little you t'ink of me." Remy tsked at Wolverine loud enough for him to hear then reached up to the light and swiftly removed the only metal disk that was not welded in place. He walked back to the bars and with one hand reached through, holding the metal disk gently between his fingers. "When I open my cell we need to move fast. Someone could come down here at any time, see we escaped, and sound de alarm. We need to find Rogue and get out quick."

"You don't need to tell me twice, let's go already."

"Dere's one more t'ing; dey changed her memory again. She don't trust me no more. Dat's how I ended up here- I was trying to get her out but she fought against me."

"We're going to have to knock her out. You saw what happen last time I tried to talk to her, if she freaks out when she sees you too… well, it's just safer and easier if we knock her out."

After a few moments of reluctant silence Remy agreed. He lifted the disk up between his thumb and forefinger and took his aim carefully.

"You're going to try and break us out with that? I thought you said your powers won't work through the bars?"

"Dey won't! Now if you don't mind, I only got one shot at dis!" Remy snapped back and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He took aim once more and threw the small disk with a trained flick of his wrist. It soured threw the air with a precise spin and collided with a button on the console. A buzz sounded above Remy's cell door and it swung open with a click. Remy strode out confidently with a smug grin plastering his face. He quickly retrieved his coat and loaded his belongings back into his pockets. "Now before I let you out swear you not going to attack me."

Logan threw himself at the bars in anger. "Stop fucking around gumbo and let me out! We need to get Rogue out of here."

"I can get Rogue out myself. M' not stupid, I know yo're mad at me for bringing her here, and for de whole thing y' saw in my room de other night. I need to know you're not going back-stab me."

"We got unfinished business Gambit, but it can wait till I know she's safe at the mansion; that good enough for you?!"

"It'll have to do." Remy pressed the buzzer to release Logan's door and watched the shorter man warily as he stormed out of his cell. But before either man could say anything the door behind them swung open. Colossus stood in the door way, frozen in shock, his eyes darting between the two prisoners who had escaped their cells.

Eventually his eyes came to rest on Remy. "You know I do not wish to fight you my friend, but you must return to your cell; willingly or by force." Piotr continued to hold Remy's gaze but made no move to attack. Logan watched, while in a heartbeat, the two silently conveyed messages to each other with their eyes alone. Then suddenly Colossus armoured up and threw a punch at Remy, but his footing was way off and even his aim was poor – Logan knew him to be a very good fighter when he wanted to be, and apparently a very bad one also when he wanted to be – Remy easily side stepped the attack and kicked out at the back of the Russians knees. Colossus stumbled forward and Remy continued his attack sending his friend flying towards Logan who quickly flipped him over and threw him into an empty cell; slamming the door closed behind him.

"Sorry, mon ami, but we're on a rescue mission." Remy bowed his head as Piotr jumped up and started shouting angrily at him in russian. Remy was not well versed in Russian but Piotr had taught him enough to know that he wasn't actually mad, unless you counted telling Remy to hurry up with his recue. So with a smile he and Logan tore out of the room and went in search of Rogue.

* * *

R&R

Aza x


End file.
