Desperado (X-Men - ROMY)

Chapter Three

Rogue sighed. "Remy, I don't understand what's going on?"

"Probably best, cher."

"But... Why do you always have to speak in riddles?"

Remy was silent for a long time but when he did answer, it wasn't what she'd been expecting.

"I'm ashamed, cher," he admitted. "I see it in your eyes sometimes, that you know the truth about me but you don't want to believe it."

"I don't believe it. The man I know isn't capable if those things."

Remy stopped and looked down at her, catching a lose strand of her hair and running it between his fingers as he spoke. "But I am, and I did all those things. And if you want to know the truth, I'd do it again. I'm a monster, cher, and monsters don't get happy endings."

"But..."

He dropped her strand of hair and turned to walked away. She watched him, stunned for a moment before running after after him.

"If you really were a monster, you wouldn't feel shame, Remy. If you did do those things, you want to change, I know you do."

Her tempter was rising as he crushed her hopes, and he hated himself even more for hurting her.

"It's not a choice, cher, not for me."

"Remy, I don't understand what you're trying to say!"

Once again he turned to face her, his eyes full of longing. He raised a hand to her hair and pushed the loose strand strand behind her ear, taking care not to touch her skin.

"I'm not who you think I am, Rogue, and I never will be. Now it's time that you went back to New York and faced reality, because I'm never going to be the man you want me to be."

This time as he walked away, Rogue didn't follow.

Remy made his way to the top of the closest building and turned to watch Rogue below. She still hadn't moved, as though frozen in shock. Finally she seemed to break out of her catatonia and wrapped her arms around herself, as if she was cold, despite the warm evening.

Finally she turned and headed home, and Remy vaulted from rooftop to rooftop, watching to make sure that she got home safely. Once in her suite, he watched her from the roof top of the building across the road as she finally broke down in tears.

Soon his own eyes began to sting, but he couldn't tell if he was crying for himself, or for her. She had to go, he wouldn't be allowed to keep her, or join her, but he simply couldn't face losing her, not completely.

Rogue had three more days on her rental but she couldn't stay in New Orleans any longer, it just hurt too much to stay in his town.

She had failed. For all her promises and bravado to Logan, she couldn't do it, couldn't convince one man to join their team.

But that wasn't what really pained her and given a choice of New York, where a disappointed Logan awaited her, or New Orleans, where Remy had rejected her, she chose New York.

She was supposed to call for the jet when she was ready to leave, but she needed some time before she faced everyone, so she caught the train instead.

She didn't feel better by the time she got to Westchester, but she did have her emotions more in control. Rogue was good at repression and she thought that the only thing her friends would notice was that she had a shorter temper than usual, which wasn't exactly unusual of for Rogue.

"Hi honey, I'm home!" she called as she opened the main door.

"Rogue!" Kitty ran out of the library and grinned at her. "You're back early!"