Rogue pinched the sagging fingertips of her leather gloves. She had found them at the thrift store, too much of a bargain to pass up. Though they reached all the way to her elbows, only the palms were actually padded, and they were also slightly too large. She sighed, her breath fogging the air and chilling her nose. What she really wanted to do right now was sneak back up to her room and feign sleep. She snorted in disgust with herself. Liar, you haven't slept a night in ages. True. Too true. Her nightmares were vivid enough to send her screaming into consciousness, she managed to elude the victims she had absorbed in her past during daylight hours easily enough. But at night, her mind was defensless, she could not block them out. Thinking about it, reminded her of the headache pounding at her temples. Her gloved fingertips massaged her head, little help that it did, it gave her an excuse to fidget. The wind whipped through air, managing to find the gaps in her coat and chill her. Rogue glared upwards, at the courtyard fountain, the moonlight glinted off the water running overstone. The sharp angles of the reflected light did not help her migraine. She pulled the glove from her left hand, rummaging in the pocket of her coat for the little orange vial of pills. She didn't bother checking the label, she knew what they were, seeing as she had been taking them for a few weeks now, in small doses at first, then intensifying gradually. Rogue somehow felt that by taking the pills she was strengthening herself. Somehow putting this shield between herself the rest of the world. Her state of mind was, if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger. Rogue did not hurt herself. She built up her defenses. The same could be said about the crisscrossing red lines on the back of her wrist. She peered at these now, which only appeared as dark ridges of black in the moonlight. It was strange that she thought momentarily, Oh, that's pretty. "Young belles shouldn't be out late, mon chere." Rogue spun around at the voice. Of course, she recognized him, even in the dark she could see his demon eyes glowing. The moonlight set everything as silver, as though frost had come through and coated the courtyard. She would have admired the affect it had on his hair, if she wasn't so startled at his near silent approach. "Don't ya know it aint a good idea to sneak up on people?" He came to stop beside her, holding out a slim cigarette. She shook her head. He shrugged, placing it to his lips but he did not light it. "Shame t' Remy, forgetting that to smoke you need a heat source....Rogue would no' have a heat source, would she?" He smiled rakishly and she was glad she did not feel herself blush. "If yah mean a lighter, no, I don't." She did not mention the innuendo cleverly placed by the Cajun. He could fret to himself about it all he wanted, she chose to ignore it. "Lovely night, is i' noh?" "No." She began to turn on her heels and walk away, back towards the mansion entrance, it appeared she would have to hock her pills somewhere else. The only problem with this movement would be Remy's hand grasping her upper arm tightly, refusing to let her leave. "Why is at' that chere don't like Remy?" Rogue could clearly see there was no laughing in Remy's face now, his eyes were still that red glow and now it did more to chill her spine than ever. She dug her heels into the grass and kept up the pulling momentum, but his words did give her pause. Why did she dislike him? She had to admit that any woman with her own mind would get fed up with his constant assuredness and confidence and cocky manner. Waltzing around like he was God's gift to women, it made her sick. But that was not all, maybe it was how he kept referring to himself in third person. "What 'as she got against him, eh?" Or..maybe it was how close he stood to her. She felt his hand creeping up her elbow to her shoulder and immediately wanted to shove a knee right up- "I just don't like you! " Was her clever and witty reply. Point. Oy vay. "Maybe she is scared of 'im?" Her face whipped up so sharply that many of the bones in her neck made strange cracking noises. Ok, now she was angry. Rogue was no longer trying to pull away from Remy. "Afraid?" He nodded."Of you,"he nodded again, smiling. "What should I be afraid of?" He moved the hand on her shoulder back inside his jacket, procuring a playing card, king of hearts. "Nothin, only Remy wonders if she prefers bein' the ice princess, out here in the cold. "His hot breath touched her cheeks and she finally discovered exactly how close to her he had moved. "You're lips are turning blue..mon chere..."he touched the squared edge of the playing card against her throat, sliding it across her collarbone and by the warmth of it, he had charged the card only slightly. Not enough to cause damage but only to envoke threat. She snapped to her senses, realizing he had been pulling the empathy trick on her like he did so often to other girls. That made her angry...but not as she had been before, for some reason she felt a fluttering in her throat. Don't try it, girl! She warned herself mentally and even began to pull away from Remy but his grip was very hard and also very warm. "Will de ice princess object to some winter fire?"He barely whispered it, he was so close now, he could have kissed her had he exerted the force. Something else happened instead that brough them both to their senses. Rogue felt a sharp burning sensation against her collar bone and realized the card was hot enough to singe her hair now and was scorching her skin. "Ouch!" She jumped back the same time Remy did, cupping her hand across her right shoulder. He did not apologize. They just stared muzzily at each other, breathing deeply in the cold air. "Can he see dat?"It took her a moment to realize he was talking about himself, she shook her head sharply. "N-No! Um, no, I have to go...I have to..yeah.."Rogue, still clutching her injured skin turned abruptly, marching back inside the mansion and leaving Remy to deal with the cold.
Back inside her room, Rogue finally calmed down enough to take a good look at the burn mark. She did not turn any lights on, so as not to disturb Kitty or Jubilee, who were sleeping peacefully. Rogue envied them deeply for their sweet dreams and thoughtless murmurs, but she buried this quickly. She had other problems than insomnia at the moment. The light filtering through the window panes allowed Rogue to see that the card had actually burned the design of the card into her skin. The tiny heart in the corner was set at an angle, as it had been when it touched her. She could just see the top of the little kings head there also, but that was all, the other half of the card had been bent into Remy's hand. Rogue worried her lower lip with her teeth. Damn, damn, damn! Why didn't people just leave her alone? Didn't the idiot know she was dangerous. Suddenly Rogue was aware that there was one emotion absent from her usual after-effects of contact with another human beng. Guilt. For once it had been her who got burned, not the other way around. She marveled at how strange this made her feel. Not invulnerable but...definitely relieved. That was why when she glimpsed the card brand in the mirror, she gave a tiny smile. But the smile went hard as she thought further about this night. "Ah still hate him though. Damn men."