Disclaimer: "She's a controlling, sarcastic, super-bitch. GOD I love her!"
(An: This first chapter is Romy, and it's rather convoluted... And in case you haven't figured it out, this is set a few years after normal XME stuff- everyone's around in their twenties. Not much of a stretch. Also, there WILL NOT, I repeat, WILL NOT be fast updates. Every chapter is about the length of a oneshot for me, and so... yeah. That takes a while. Flashbacks are in italics, just so you know.)
Marie Darkholme had a problem. It was sleeping right next to her. Its name was Remy LeBeau. Marie was falling in love with him.
She wasn't sure how it'd happened.
When she'd met him, she hadn't thought of him like that at all- she'd
found him to be the most annoying, narcissitic man she'd ever
met.
She pulled her legs up to her chest, glancing at him. She
thought back to the day she'd met him. Had it really only been just
over a month ago?
&&&
Marie was walking
to her lunch break. She always went the same place every day- the
Acoustic Cafe, a little diner with a guitar for its sign. This was
when she ran into Remy. Literally. As in, they both were looking away
and bumped into each other. She tripped, and her purse and his bag
spilled out onto the ground. Aw, man, she thought, gathering
up her things. "Sorry 'bout that, "It's all right,"
said Marie, keeping her voice level. She glanced at him. She had to
admit, he was easy on the eyes. But two seconds had been all she
needed to discover he wasn't her type. "It was kinda my fault
too." The man shrugged, smiling at her. "Whatever
you say, What Marie didn't notice was the man palming her wallet
and smirking slightly. &&& Marie sighed
with pleasure as she stepped in the Acoustic Cafe. She loved it here.
She went over to her usual booth in the corner, and waited for a
waitress to show up. To her pleasure, it was her friend Wanda. "Hey,
girl," said Wanda. "Let me guess." She rubbed her
temples as though in deep thought, and then said, "Black coffee
and the soup." "Oh, pity, am I gettin' predictable?"
Marie replied. "You mean you weren't?" Marie
laughed. "Thanks a lot, Wanda," she replied. "You've
had your daily potshot. Now get me my coffee, dammit!" "I
live to serve," said Wanda, with a mock bow. She walked back
into the kitchen. It was then that Marie saw the man she'd
bumped into walk into the cafe. Of course, since
Marie did not control fate, he saw her. He walked over and slid into
her booth. "It ain't that I can't take a hint, Marie looked down at them, then back up at the man. She
picked up her wallet, eyeing him in a way that made it evident that
she didn't want to trust him. "I'm Remy, by the
way." "Marie Darkholme." It was then, of
course, that Wanda came back, carrying a coffee mug. She gasped in
mock-surprise. "Oh, dear God, the apocalypse is coming! Marie
Darkholme has sat by a guy for FIVE MINUTES without castrating
him!" "I knew I was right to plug you as a
maneater," said Remy, an infuriating but undeniably sexy smile
on his face. "Wanda, I'm going to kill you later,"
said Marie. "What days work for you?" "I'm free
on Friday!" Remy snorted. "It's not that I
want to die," she said, apparently for his benefit, "it's
more that I'd like to see her try and kill me. You know, as one of
those annoying stories to repeatedly tell my grandkids or
whatever." Marie flicked her fingers at her imperiously.
"Fetch me my soup, lackey. It's what you get payed for- "So you're a black coffee
person?" Remy interjected. Marie gave him a look that
clearly said "Why haven't you left yet?" Since Remy seemed
to be ignoring this, she sighed, and replied, "Yes, I am. What's
the point of coffee if you just drench it in milk and sugar?" "A
black coffee person from Mississippi," Remy mused. "I
should randomly ram into people more." She ignored that
last statement, more intersested in his assesment of her. "How
did you know I'm from Mississippi?" "Girl, any
self-respecting Southern boy could tell you were a river rat,"
he replied, lowering his sunglasses and smirking at her with brown
eyes. "Just like any self-respecting river rat could tell
you were a Remy
grinned. "So we understand each other." "No, we
do not," said Marie, "because you have not left or
shriveled up and died, like I have been wanting you to." "Mmm,
spicy." She reached over and slapped him. "Ok,
that smarts." "Don't you have somewhere else to be
annoying?" Marie demanded. "Hold up there, for a
moment we were getting along," Remy replied. "Then
you must be even stupider then I thought." "No
fighting, you two," said Wanda, setting down Marie's soup. "If
you do, I'll have to be the one to clean it up." "Oh,
we weren't fighting," said Marie, overly innocent. " "Funny, I hadn't noticed that,"
said Remy. "You have to leave," said Marie, "because
I want to eat, and just the sight of you makes me nauseous." Remy
let out an overdramatic sob. "Oh, all right, I know where I'm
not wanted," he sighed. He got up and left, flicking his fingers
in farewell, a slight smirk on his face. It wasn't until after
he left and she'd finished her soup that Marie remembered that she'd
had her wallet in her pocket, not her purse. &&& Marie's
job wasn't bad- she was an intern at a small law firm. Basically,
this meant she got to do a lot of paperwork and research for cases.
Boring, but the pay was enough to make up for the four years at law
school. However, she wasn't in such a hurry to get to her desk
because she wanted to push papers. No, she wanted to inspect her
wallet, because that Remy guy was probably a pickpocket, and she
wanted to make sure everything was intact. She sat down and
pulled it out. She counted her cash and everything seemed to be in
order... credit cards... driver's license... and then she found it. A
playing card, tucked into one of the photo pockets. She pulled it out
and flipped it over. Scrawled on it was a phone number. Marie
glared down at it. For a moment she considered tossing it out, but
decided against it. She tucked it back into the photo pocket. Maybe
when she got home she'd burn it...
&&&
Marie glanced over at Remy. He hadn't stirred, even though it was already eleven in the morning. She smiled in spite of herself and then quietly got up and got dressed, leaving with barely a sound.
&&&
Marie pushed open the door to the Acoustic Cafe, getting a sense of deja vu. This wasn't odd, considering her earlier thoughts.
She sat down at her normal booth.
Wanda, over at the waitress's station, made a beeline for her. "So, what is it today?" she asked, taking out her order pad. "Coffee, or girl talk?"
Marie smiled. "A little of both would be nice."
"Good. I'm almost off shift, anyway." She walked back into the kitchen, and, as the clock struck eleven thirty, came back with two cups of coffee and normal clothing. She sat down across from Marie and handed her one. "Ok, what's up?"
"If I tell you this," said Marie, frowning at her, "then you have to promise not to tell anyone else, or tease me about it."
Wanda nodded. "You're dating Remy, aren't you," she said, grinning.
A series of expressions came and went across Marie's face, from indignation to surprise. "How... how did you know? Is this one of those Wiccan things?"
Wanda laughed. "No, actually, I haven't done a proper ritual in a while. It's one of those 'it's-written-on-your-face-that-I-knew-it-would-happen-and-you-didn't-want-to-admit-that-you-were-wrong-and-I-was-right' things."
Marie stared. "...That was the longest nihilism I ever heard. And that's saying a lot." Then she shook herself. "We're not dating!"
"Spotted that, did you?" said Wanda. "So... what is it then? A dominatrix 'you-want-sex-and-I-want-sex-so-you-give-me-sex-when-I-tell-you-to' thing?"
"How the hell did you know?" Marie replied.
"Well, if it wasn't love, I always figured you'd like it kinky." Wanda mulled this over a moment, then added as an afterthough, "Even if it was love, maybe."
"But that's just it," said Marie. She looked around, and then lowered her voice and leaned in closer. "I am in love with him. At least, I think so..."
Wanda stared for a moment, then she grinned rather nastily.
"If you say 'I told you so', I'm going to murder you."
"Oh, I wasn't."
"Rea-?"
"I'm just going to grin like the proverbial Cheshire Cat until you tell me what the deal is."
Marie groaned. "Ok, so it's been just cheap, meaningless sex for a while now. And then all of a sudden he starts doing these things- or maybe I just start noticing them more or something..."
"Like what?"
"Like earlier this morning. We had some wine last night, and we left the glasses on the bedside table. This morning, I found out they were smashed on the floor in front of the bathroom. So guess what he does? He grabs me, bridal-style, and carries me over the glass so I can take a shower." She paused, and rolled her eyes. "He kinda ruined the moment by asking if he could join me, but that's just him."
Wanda laughed. "You're right, that does sound like him."
"So what do you think I should do?"
"You're talking to a girl who got dumped for her brother," Wanda replied. "I am not one to give advice."
"Yeah, but if I don't get an answer from you, I'll have to call Kitty."
"Would that really be so bad?"
"Well... no... but... she's just so happy! All the time!"
"True, there's that. But you're gonna havta, 'cause I got nothing but 'tell the guy how you feel, you goddamn idiot.'"
"Don't quit your day job," Marie replied.
"What, and miss all the tips I get for wearing a bandana as a shirt? Hell no, woman!"
The sound of Marie's laughter accompanied Wanda back to the waitress's station.
&&&
Marie came into her boss's
office, a stack of papers and some books blocking her view of
anything that wasn't straight ahead. "Here you go, sir, those
files you-" "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise,"
said a familiar voice. Marie jumped and gasped, the papers
flying everywhere and the books hitting the floor with very audible
thumps. Her boss, Mr. Fury, cleared his throat. "I'm-
I'm sorry, sir," she stammered, rushing to gather the stuff
up. "My fault," said Remy, bending down to help her.
"Sorry if I startled you," he said to Marie. "I just
didn't think I would get any pleasure out of getting a
divorce." "And you won't!" Marie snapped,
turning her fiercest glare on him as she thought &&& Marie sighed in utter
contentment as she sank down into a chair at her apartment. She pulled out her wallet and
subsequently the card. She glanced at the number. "Oh, what the
hell," she said, wishing to sate her curiosity about his
divorce. "I bet he won't even pick up. And if he doesn't, I'll
burn this." She grabbed her phone and dialed the
number. &&& Halfway across town, Remy
LeBeau felt the vibration of his cell phone as he sat at a bar.
" "Hello? Mr.
LeBeau?" He recognized the voice instantly. It was the
girl whose wallet he'd nicked. He grinned. GOD she was gorgeous.
Maybe she'd come around. " "I just
wanted to know, if you didn't think it was too personal or something-
if you want a divorce in New Orleans, why did you come all the way up
here?" Or maybe not. Remy winced. This gal had a way of
getting straight to the point. The very "Mr. LeBeau?" "Call
me Remy," he said, out of habit. He could almost see her
rolling her pretty green eyes. "Fine, "This is not really an over-the-phone
topic, "It's "It's not," he repeated. She
groaned, and Remy's grin reappeared as he imagined her banging her
head against something. He loved annoying beautiful women. "Oh,
fine," she muttered. "Meet me at the Acoustic Cafe
tomorrow, at noon. Can you do that?" " "And if you're getting the idea that this
is starting something between us, then you'd better think again,
swamp rat, because this is strictly off-the-job curiousity. Got
it?" " "Ok, bye." She hung up
without giving him a chance to reply. Remy stared at the
phone, wondering if what had just happened was good or
bad. &&& Marie flopped onto her bed,
staring up at the ceiling. "Am I nuts?" she asked of it.
The ceiling, naturally, gave no reply. "Lot of help you are,"
she muttered, rolling over. "I must be. I'm holding
conversations with the paneling. In an apartment." She
groaned, and stuck her head under her pillow. &&& The
bells on the door of the Acoustic Cafe jingled as she walked in. She
looked around. "Hey, Jubes," she said to the
waitress who came over. "Hi, Marie," chirped the
sixteen-year-old. "What'll it be?" "Guess." "Black
coffee strong enough to take the paint off the walls?" "Read
my mind, kid." "Don't call me kid," she
replied, walking back to the kitchen. Marie smiled at the
comfort of routine. Jubilation was more Wanda's friend than hers, but
they still knew each other pretty well- Marie came here often enough
that she knew just about everyone. Then Remy came in, ruining
her sense of calm. Why couldn't any of the boys down South be
normal-looking? She shook herself. Hard. The He
spotted her, and came over and sat down. "You want to probe my
private life. Why? Lawyer's-lackey-to-client morale, curiousity, pure
sadism?" "Mmm, a little of each," she replied.
"Thought
so," said Remy, his brown eyes unreadable. "Ok,"
said Marie. "Mainly, what I wanna know is why you came all the
way up here to get a divorce, leaving darling dearest down in New
Orleans. Why bother?" "How did you know I was from
New Orleans?" he replied, too obviously taken aback to be
dodging the question "The Cajun's in your accent, the
Big Easy's in your walk." Remy stared at her a moment
more, then shook himself. "All right," he murmured. "Long
story short, my father wanted to marry her. We were friends, so I
didn't think that it would be so bad. "What's
the long story?" she countered. "If I answer, will
you tell me who hurt you bad enough to turn such a Marie frowned up at him. "On
second thought, my curiosity's sated. Good day, "You're
braver than most," Jubilation commented. "Really?" "Yeah,"
Wanda agreed, pausing, her tray balanced on the hand that wasn't on
her hip. "She must like you, though. She would have killed most
men on the spot for asking about Scott." "Scott?" "Oh,
no, that's Marie's business," said Wanda. "And if you even
hint at it, Jubes, I'll have to kill you. Best friend thing."
She sauntered off. Jubilation stuck her tongue out at her
back, and then turned back to Remy. "Are you going to order
something or do I have to kick you out?" she asked, snapping her
gum. "Do you sell strong liquor before noon?" &&& Marie
scowled at the penguins in the zoo. They were always so cheerful, and
usually that cheered her up, but today they just made her more
pissed. She sat down on the bench in the underwater area,
pulled her knees up to her chest, and tried to concentrate on nothing
but the fishy smell of the room. "I'd apologize for
whatever I did up close," said Remy, "but I have this
crippling fear of penguins." "You're not
serious." "I am. It's very weird, I know, but the
only thing that's keeping me from getting the "You're
weird." "Yeah, I know. So are you going to come out,
or can I bolt?" Marie groaned inwardly. Remy
started to walk off. "All right," Marie said. "I'm
going to go against all my better instincts and ask you to
wait." She got up and fell into step beside him. "So
why are you scared of penguins?" "Nobody knows."
Whe she choked, he added, "No, really! On the first grade trip
to the zoo, I'm told I attempted to run away screaming when we got to
the penguins, but I slipped on a fish and knocked myself out. I don't
remember it, of course." Marie gave up and burst out
laughing. Her laughter dried up, though, when she realized she was
leaning on Remy. She straightened, trying to ignore the annoying
smirk on Remy's face. "Who told you where I was?" she
asked, trying to regain some of her shattered dignity. "Jubilee.
She said, very loudly, and I quote, 'Hey, Wanda, doesn't "I
should've figured it would be her," Marie muttered. "She's
been looking for a way to kill me since I 'let slip' that she just
maybe might have a supergigantic crush on her best friend
Bobby." " "And Bobby
was about two feet away." Remy snorted. " Marie drummed
her fingers on the railing. "I dunno... I never really thought
about it, I guess..." She shot him a sly glance. "Maybe
being stalked by a divorcee swamp rat?" "I ain't
stalking you," Remy replied. "If anything, you're stalking
"You're not a stalker,"
Marie admitted, "and I'm not your lawyer." "Well,
all right then." &&& Marie wasn't sure
how long they stood there, just talking, or exactly how he coaxed her
into it, only that she was meeting him for lunch again tomorrow.
&&&
Marie slipped back into her apartment. Remy was stretched out on the couch, playing solitaire.
"Do you ever go anywhere without cards?" she asked, sitting down next to him and putting the deuce of spades on top of the three of hearts.
"No, not really," Remy admitted, shrugging.
Then he did something strange- he put his arms around and pulled her close. Marie stiffened. "We've been trading off sex for almost a month now," he murmured in her ear, clearly amused. "Aren't I allowed to be a little affectionate?"
Marie pulled out of his grip and stalked off, replying, "No. We agreed- this isn't gonna last."
"If you keep acting like that," Remy agreed, even though he knew she couldn't hear, "then no, it won't."
&&&
In her room, Marie stared at her reflection in the mirror. When we started this, we both knew it wouldn't last... so why do I keep wanting it to?
She fell backwards onto her bed, thinking of how it all had started. She had initiated it, after all.
&&&
It had been about two weeks
since that day at the zoo. Remy really annoyed her, but he still
managed to wheedle another not-a-date-just-a-friendly-meeting out of
her every time. This was driving her insane. Already,
the swamp rat had grown on her, despite all her affectation to the
contrary, and she was beginning to get the idea that she might really
start to like him if this kept up. She needed to end
this. Then she got something. She &&& At her next little
meeting with Remy, she asked for his address. "Why?"
he asked. "So I can blow it up, naturally," she'd
blurted out, not having a real excuse. Remy chuckled as he
wrote it down on a napkin. "Good a reason as any..." &&& Later
that night, Remy LeBeau was rather surprised to hear a knock at his
door. He opened it and raised an eyebrow. "Do you know what time
it is? Not that I'm not pleased to see you, or anything..." "Are
you gonna let me in or what?" was Marie's response. Remy
stepped aside in response. He sat down on the couch and
gestured for her to do the same, but she shook her head. "Whatever,
She leaned on the back of the couch,
propping her chin on her fists. Remy twisted to meet her eyes. She
leaned in closer. This was getting weird. Not a bad weird, but still
weird. "Ok," said Marie. "I'm not one for
belaying the point, so here's the deal. You want me. I want you.
Neither of us wants any real commitment." Remy
blinked. Marie slid next to him on the couch now. "Are
you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" "If
you're thinking commitment-free sex, then, yes, I am." Remy
stared at her for a moment, but her green eyes were totally serious
and revealed nothing of what she might really be thinking.
&&&
Admittedly, Marie thought, it hadn't been the smartest thing she'd ever done... no, definitely not.
At first, she'd found the sex as a means to an end- keeping Remy emotionally at arm's length. And then somehow, it had turned out to work exactly the opposite. She'd hoped it would keep Remy quiet, but it had only seemed to make him more curious. Yeah, the move was out of character, but she'd hoped that it would make him lose interest, make him think that she was just another bimbo- interesting at first glance, but boring after longer study.
To sum up, it wasn't working.
Marie groaned, and picked up the phone.
"Who're you calling?" Remy asked, leaning in the doorway.
She jumped, and then glared at him. It was the little things that had roped her in, and the event on the couch was one of them. "An old friend," she replied. "Now scat."
He rolled his eyes, but bowed and complied.
Marie spun around in her chair to face the bed, listening to the phone ring. Come on, pick up...
After three rings, someone did. "Hello?" asked a voice with a Russian accent.
"Hey, Pete," said Marie, twirling the phone cord around her finger and smiling. "Kitty there?"
"Da, just a moment." There was a click as he set down the phone and a call of "Katya! Marie's on the phone!"
"Hello?" Kitty chirped.
"Hi Kit," said Marie, the smile widening.
"You haven't called in ages. What's the emotional crisis?"
"Send your boyfriend out of the room and maybe I'll tell you."
"It's fiance now. I haven't sent out the invites yet."
Marie grinned so hard she thought her face would break. "So Piotr finally popped the question?"
"Yes... after lots of 'hinting' from me."
Marie chuckled.
"So... why did you call?"
Marie sighed. "It's about a guy."
Kitty let out a little high-pitched squeal of pure delight.
"I thought Piotr matured all of the Valley Girl out of you."
"I'm living in Deerfield again, Marie. I can't help it. So, what's his name?"
"Remy LeBeau."
"And what's your status with him? Annoyance, dating, what?"
"Does supposed-to-be cheap and meaningless sex count as a status?"
"Depends on what supposed to be means."
Marie frowned and spun the chair slightly, trying to think of how to phrase it. "I dunno... I was getting too attached to him... so after a while I got him in bed... it was supposed to be a temporary thing, I thought he'd get bored... but..." She shrugged.
"He didn't and now you're starting to see that you really, really like him?"
"...Damn you and your ability to see straight through my relationships!"
"Speaking of, have you told him about Scott yet?"
She winced a bit. "Have I told you you're as blunt as an axe without a blade?"
"How'd he get it out of you?"
Marie resisted the urge to spin the chair a few times and strangle herself.
&&&
It
had been three weeks after that first night together. Those meetings
were just like the ones before them (except more involved)- Remy
always talked her into another one. Now, as they lay on the bed
together, she was finding herself wondering if she didn't want
him to. Remy rolled over and picked up the picture on her end
table. "Who're they?" he asked, pointing at the young man
in the picture. He had his arm around a girl in pink. Marie
took it from him, smiling faintly. "That's my friend Kitty, and
my brother Kurt. I took that picture after they graduated high
school. Been a while since then, but I haven't seen them much-
Kitty's in Illinois and Kurt's back in Germany." "You're
related to him?" Marie could understand his confusion. She was
pale and Southern-designed, with brown hair. Kurt was tanned and
lanky, with dark blue-black hair. "Adopted, naturally.
His birth mother adopted me. Her partner wanted a daughter, but mom
couldn't have another baby, so they found me." She paused,
seeing the sharp look Remy had shot her after "adopted."
"What?" "It's strange, is all," he
replied, staring off into space. "I was adopted, too." She
was surprised to hear this. So surprised, in fact, that she almost
dropped the photo. She raised an eyebrow. "Really! "Is he the one who
taught you to pick pockets?" "Among other things,
"And he's the one who told you to marry
that girl?" (The paperwork had long been finished- Remy was only
staying up there because his wife had yet to send back the stuff with
her signature on it, and he didn't want to risk running into her and
wrecking everything.) Remy avoided her eyes. " "Same
with me and my mom," Marie murmured. Remy raised an eyebrow, and
she added, "Well, I mean, she didn't try to make me marry
anyone, but we had a falling out, too, after my relationship fell
apart." Remy leaned over and brushed the hair out of her
eyes, peering at her intensely. "Who hurt you so bad, Marie hugged herself,
looking at the floor. "Scott Summers," she murmured, and
realized she hadn't said the name aloud for over a year. "I'd
known him since I was a little kid- when we moved up here, Kitty
Pryde had the house on the left and Scott had the house on the right.
It was love, for me anyway, right from the start." Remy
cocked his head, an amused smirk on his face. "How old were
you?" Marie tilted her head back at the ceiling, tapping
her lips with a finger. "Mmm... lemme see... Kurt was five when
we moved so I was about... seven." Remy shrugged. "I
can understand that." She glanced at him
quizzically. "It was like that with me and Belle. But I
grew out of it." He shuddered a little. "She,
unfortunately, didn't. Now, go on, please." "I never
did anything about it- anyone with eyes could tell he was head over
heels for another girl. Jean Grey." She practically spat the
name. "We never got along, and that endlessly confused Scott. It
was funny. Anyway, they started going out in high school. And then
there was the car accident. Jean's friend died instantly- she fell
into a coma. Jean wasn't braindead- the doctors just doubted she
would ever wake up. And that's when I moved in. I didn't mean to.
Scott and I were friends... he was crushed... I tried to comfort him,
and he ended up kissing me." She propped her chin on her fist.
"I guess I knew from the start we weren't gonna last, but I
didn't wanna admit it. High school ended. We were going to different
colleges, and the day before I left, he proposed. Three weeks later,
Jean woke up. He didn't even tell me in person- he just called me out
of the blue, apologized, and said he was retracting his offer. Then
he hung up." Remy stared at her for a moment. Then he was
kissing her, like he was trying to make all the hurt go away. Marie was pretty sure that was when
she finally tipped over the edge and fell for him.
&&&
Marie told Kitty only the bare-bones details of this, of course. But she got the idea.
"So what's your problem?" Kitty said, after she'd finished.
"I thought that would be obvious."
"It's not."
"All right, then- what the hell do I do now!"
"Tell him," Kitty replied simply.
"Wanda said that. Sorta."
"Well, Wanda was right for once." (Wanda and Kitty didn't get along very well- Kitty was perky, Wanda was not. Kitty was Jewish, and Wanda was a Wiccan. They were like oil and water, they could tolerate mixing, but only for short periods of time.)
"But I can't do that!"
"If you're scared of baring your soul to him, you shouldn't be. He likes you back."
"Kitty, you don't even know him."
"I can tell. Have I ever been wrong?"
"You were about Scott."
"Scott was an idiot and you know it. Anyone would've been fooled by him."
Marie sighed, massaging her temples. "Any other pearls of wisdom?"
"No. I'm not going to tell you there's an easy way out of this. Because there's not. You're just going to have to deal, girl."
"Oh, fine." Marie decided to change the subject. "So when's your wedding?"
Kitty made another of those squeals and began to detail her plans.
&&&
Remy was asleep next to her. This was a usual occurence. Marie buried her face in his chest. His breathing was steady and even. "I love you," she whispered. "I think I really do. Damn you, Remy LeBeau."
She felt a lot better for having said that. She drifted off.
Remy's eyes popped open. There were two things (well, two main things) that she didn't know about him- he had only been feigning sleep, and he'd been in love with her for over a month.
He was pretty sure it'd started that day at the zoo. After the penguins, naturally. It had been the first time she'd really relaxed around him, and just the way she acted made him sure he liked her a lot. She was a woman of contrast- all fire, but so vulnerable.
He'd been extremely weirded out when she'd shown up in his apartment and suggested sex, but he wasn't gonna complain. She'd intended it as a way to end whatever "they" were; Remy had used it to extend it. And the longer he did, the deeper he dug himself in.
But he honestly hadn't known she'd felt the same. He had a talent for reading people, but one of the reasons he'd initially been attracted to her was that he could rarely tell what Marie was thinking.
He stroked her hair. She'd never allow such a thing when she was awake- she would redouble her efforts to break it off with him now. He just had to assure her that he loved her back before she got the chance.
&&&
Remy woke up before Marie did. This was a rare occurence. Usually, Marie was up and gone long before he awoke.
After watching her sleep for a moment, he decided to spoil it. He touched her shoulder. "Chere. Wake up."
"How many times," she asked, opening one green eye and glaring at him with it, "do I have to tell you not to call me that?"
"What do you want me to call you, then?"
"Oh, I dunno, my name, maybe?"
Remy propped his head on his arm and looked down at her. "Would you prefer I called you amour?"
Marie's head jerked up. "W-What?"
"I heard what you said last night, Marie." Marie's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to speak. Remy covered it. "Don't talk. Don't think. Just love me." He took his hand off her mouth and replaced it with his lips.
TWO WEEKS LATER...
Marie drummed her fingers on the table, looking around. He's late, she thought sourly.
"Coffee," said Wanda, pouring her some. She glanced at her friend. "I'd hate to be whoever you're meeting."
Marie got a rather nasty smirk on her face. "You have no idea, Wanda."
Wanda glanced at her, an overly dramatic look of terror on her face, then booked it for the kitchen.
Marie shook her head, chuckling, as she sipped her coffee. There was a jingle at the door as someone walked in.
Remy LeBeau sat down across from her, smirking.
"What're you smilin' about, LeBeau?" Marie demanded. "You're late."
"So?"
"So it's annoying to have to wait for you."
Remy rolled his eyes. "Oh, you don't mind, and you know it."
Marie smiled into her mug, the engagement ring on her finger sparkling in the morning sun. "Ok, maybe I don't."
(That didn't take me as long as I thought it would... it still took a while, though. Next chapter is slash, so shy away if you dislike that stuff... review, please!)