Disclaimer:I don't own X-Men:Evolution, just myself (Called Molly Callum in 'fics.)
and any original characters/background characters that might pop up from time to time.
AN: There's a big conversation about sex in this chapter, so fair warning in case that kind of thing makes you uncomfortable.
Since it was June, Molly had to find something that covered, but wouldn't get too hot-which was almost impossible to find as she went through Remy's bedroom.
He seemed to own a lot of black and had a few turtle necks. So far She'd found pants and gloves for him, but no appropriate shirts. Then Molly hand an idea. She ran to Scott's room. "Hey Scott? Do you have some kind of t-shirt Remy could borrow?" Molly said after catching him coming out the door.
"Hang on, I might have something," Scott went into his room and came back a few minutes later with an appropriate shirt. Long sleeved, but light green, not black and a light cotton. Molly thanked him, running back downstairs after grabbing the rest of the clothes.
Remy was still waiting. He still looked upset, but it was perfectly understandable considering what he was going through.
"Here. Uh, is there anything else I can do?" Molly handed him the clothes. "No, but thank you. This means a lot," Remy said.
Molly let Remy get dressed, trying to figure out what to do next. How to make Remy more relaxed and comfortable.
Molly didn't have any ideas, but perhaps just her company would be enough. Remy came out of the infirmary and just stood there staring at her. "I'm sure we can hug and stuff when you're covered up," Molly said weakly.
"I wouldn't want to hurt you on accident," Remy said.
"Well...I think you're okay...so deal," Molly said, trying to be assertive as she hugged him. After a few moments, Remy slowly returned the hug.
"See? It's not so bad," Molly smiled.
"Not so bad?" Remy scoffed, "Molly, I can't even touch you without draining your energy. We can't even kiss. Not even a little bit."
"I get it. I mean, I know that. It's possible though that we were letting our relationship get too physical. Maybe this would be good for us. Give us a chance to re-connect and stuff," Molly explained.
"I guess I didn't think about it like that," Remy started walking to the elevator. Molly was a couple steps behind.
"Come on, Remy," Molly smiled, catching up to him with a little jog as they entered the elevator, "This isn't anything. Think about everything we've been through so far. My first night here I could have died, we could have lost each other forever when you went dimension hopping. We've been through mind control and de-aging and life threatening accidents and even time travel together. Not to mention we had to survive two body switches. If we can get through _all_ that, you're really telling me that we can't get through this too?"
Remy finally smiled. It made Molly feel both relieved and very happy. (Not to mention making her heart thud in her chest.)
"Alright. So you may have a point there," Remy said, "Besides, when all this is over it will teach me not to take touching for granted. Not to take you for granted."
"When did you ever take _me_ for granted?" Molly questioned.
"Lots of times," Remy cupped her face with a gloved hand, leaning down as if to kiss her.
Molly backed away from Remy, but touched his chest all the same.
"You're a strong person. If anyone can get through this, it's you," Molly smiled.
Silence.
"You know you're going to make a very good wife someday. You know when I need a good mental slap," Remy smirked as he stood back up.
"It wasn't a mental slap," Molly giggled, "It was a gentle wake up call at best. You just have to think about the good things. You're still very handsome and sweet."
"Well you're very sweet taking care of me like this," Remy held her hand, squeezing it.
They reached the top floor, entwining fingers and walking to Remy's room.
The two of them sat on the bed, as they usually did, but things were so different this time.
No snuggling or kissing involved. So now they had to do something else as a couple.
"We can play a game," Molly clapped her hands together excitedly, "Like...what color are my eyes?"
She quickly turned around so that Remy couldn't see.
"Really? You want to play games at a time like this?" Remy said.
"Come on. I'm trying to make the best of things," Molly said, "Now guess."
"I don't have to _guess_. I know. They're brown. Warm, velvety brown," Remy said.
"Hmm. Never heard them described like that before," Molly said, "Okay, now I ask you something."
"Like what? You already know everything about me," Remy stared at her.
"Not everything," Molly said, "I don't know things like the name of your first girlfriend or when your first kiss was or...or what your life was like when you were, you know, a thief."
"Why would you want to know any of that stuff?" Remy looked almost bashful as he looked down at the carpet with a grin.
"Because you're my boyfriend. I want to know everything about you. The good and the bad," Molly took his hands and held them.
"Bella, thirteen and...it was complicated," Remy was practically wincing.
"You have to give me more then that. I know you had fun and stuff, even if your life was crappy a lot of the time," Molly said.
"Well there was the time that we got hired to steal something from a sorority house," Remy grinned.
"I know you're not serious about that," Molly brushed some hair behind her ear, rolling her eyes a little.
"I almost wish I weren't, but when a client wanted his fifty-thousand dollar neckless that his niece lifted from him back, _someone_ had to do it," Remy said.
"How old were you?" Molly asked, a little annoyed by this new piece of information, yet very curious.
"Sixteen, so as you can imagine..." Remy let it hang.
"They probably had to drag you out of there," Molly couldn't help but laugh.
"We tried to do the job when they'd all be out, but there were a few pretty scragglers left sleeping.
Beautiful women of course, but they pale in comparison to you, ma ange," Remy gave Molly a 'come hither' look.
"Right. I'm familiar with the type. A sorority girl could never pale in comparison to me," Molly rolled her eyes.
"Don't sell yourself short. This morning was awfully exhilarating. Like I said, you're a knock out," Remy said.
"So how much did you see th-this m-morning?" Molly had to choke out the words.
"Enough. I mean, you were almost dressed," Remy said, looking a little disappointed.
"Well...just think. You got to see sleeping sorority girls-probably wearing very little-long before you got to see me," Molly joked.
"Like I said, they pale in comparison," Remy ran a gloved hand down her arm, "Your personality, your body, everything about you excites me. So it makes me so frustrated being stuck like this."
"There has to be something I can do to make it better," Molly said.
"There's nothing you can do," Remy started to look depressed. Molly couldn't ever remember seeing him depressed. Sad, but never _depressed_.
"This isn't like you," Molly said, "You can't let something like this get you down. You want to go somewhere? We can do something fun."
"No, I think I'd rather stay here," Remy lay back onto the bed, getting comfortable.
"Hey, you didn't give up on me when I was miserable, so I'm not giving up on you. So I'll rephrase that-we're leaving," Molly pointed to the door determinedly.
Remy smirked and made his way out the door. "Where do you want to go then?"
"Where do you want to go? It's up to you," Molly asked.
Remy thought about it for a moment.
"The auto parts store and the video store. Maybe Castles and Crowns if there's time before dinner."
Castles and Crowns was Bayvilles indoor arcade and fun center. It had video games and time wasters that would appeal to anyone.
"Okay, sounds good," Molly held Remys hand as they walked out to the car. She hoped whatever they did would make him feel better again.
"You're kicking me into the gutter! You snuck over here and practiced, didn't you?" Molly accused Remy with a heated but playful glare as he beat her at one of their favorite games.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Cherie," Remy smirked.
Molly's character on the screen fell to its doom. Molly threw her hands up in complete disgust, annoyed that she had been beaten when it was usually her that won. The two of them went to the small food court and ordered pizza and a couple sodas. "This really was just what I needed. Thank you," Remy smiled slowly.
"You're welcome," Molly said.
It became quiet quickly. Molly bit back a groan. She was going to be horribly upset if it turned out that their romantic relationship were only based on physical attraction and that their friendship had completely fallen by the wayside.
No, she realized, she couldn't think like that. It was ridiculous. They were still as together as they'd always been.
"What's wrong?" Remy was frowning, leaning to her side. It was impossible to not be upset at any time or have a single negative emotion without Remy being able to feel it. It was a secondary power that couldn't be turned off. "I was just, uh, thinking...hoping...that we're not just in a relationship for the sake of making-out. That it isn't all based on physical attraction. I mean, I'm not so sure that we're still friends like we used to be.
What happened to all the teasing and stuff?"
"I don't know," Remy looked surprised, "I hadn't really thought about it. I guess I had so much fun kissing you and stuff that I forgot I used to have fun getting a rise out of you too. I never thought our relationship was based entirely on physical attraction."
Molly was straight faced, raising an eyebrow to silently say "You're kidding."
"I didn't!" Remy protested, "Think about it. We practically save each others lives, like, every other week."
"Yeah, but that's so different. We're in a team so we all do that. I'm just saying that I wonder if this no touching thing will really give us a chance to step back and figure out how we _really_ feel about each other."
"We've been through that once already," Remy grumbled, referring to Molly's fairly recent body switching mishap.
"Totally different situation," Molly smirked, "Now you have me normally, but you can't touch me. There's a lot to balance out now."
"Like what?" Remy crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair. It was starting to feel more like a debate then a conversation.
"Like...like figuring out how to express yourself without too much physical contact," Molly said, "Or working a way around it.
I mean, we're _both_ going to have to figure it out because I do like kissing you too. Then there's, er, personal stuff."
"Personal stuff?" Remy tilted his head, watching Molly blush and look at the floor.
"Wearing a shirt to bed and, uh, being careful in the Men's showers after danger room sessions. I mean, what if you slipped on a bar of soap and bumped into someone?" Molly was blushing intensely now.
"That doesn't happen. Unless it happened to you, of course," Remy smirked.
Molly was quiet.
"Cherie, you..." Remy couldn't contain his laughter, which just made Molly more embarrassed as she turned even more red and stared into the floor, wishing to disappear.
"Well, if you _must_ know, it was worse then a bump. I-I fell on top of Jean," Molly said.
"And?" Remy said.
Molly was quiet again.
"You were, like, naked weren't you?" Remy's eyes glittered, then they glowed a little.
"REMY!" Molly grit her teeth, now horribly embarrassed, "Shut up! There are people around!"
"Well it's not like I'm going to yell it out loud," Remy said, "That's very you. Sometimes you can't even fall without taking ten people down with you. You are _so_ clumsy."
"Now you're just being mean," Molly scowled, "Hey! We're acting like friends again!"
Remy ignored this revelation, instead leaning into Molly again, getting face to face.
"So humor me on this. What's the girls locker room like?"
"Like I'd tell you!" Molly said, "Besides, you're the one that's supposed to be all madly in love with me. Not imagining other girls in the locker room."
"I am madly in love with you," Remy held her hand, squeezing it, "And I wasn't thinking of other girls. I was just trying to picture you in there, fresh out of the shower, then drying off your hair, then..." Remy leaned in closer and whispered "Making all the other girls jealous of you when you...you know."
"Do normal things like dry off and get dressed?" Molly said dryly, "Wait-are you trying to picture me n-naked?"
Judging by the blank look and stupid smile on Remy's face as he continued to stare off into empty space wordlessly,
he probably was.
"Remy," Molly sighed, rolling her eyes. He was such a...a guy!
Molly reached into her cup of half-empty soda and pulled out a couple ice cubes.
She went behind a still catatonic Remy and quickly slipped them down the back of his shirt without him even flinching.
"AAAHH! Cold! Coldcoldcold!" Remy jumped a mile, trying to retrieve the ice from his clothing.
"Well that's what you get for trying to imagine me without any clothes on!" Molly berated him.
"Sorry, but I am a man. I think sometimes you forget I'm more then just your snuggle buddy," Remy said as he finally retrieved the ice from his shirt.
"I don't forget. I just hate to see you act like a pervert. I thought you were a gentleman," Molly went to go throw away her trash.
Remy quickly caught up to her and they started exiting the arcade.
"I _am_ a gentleman. Come on, it's not like you haven't ever thought the same of me," Remy said.
"I try really hard not to. It's not...not lady like," Molly said.
Remy seemed flabbergasted. It seemed to disappoint him a little, but that was probably natural seeing as how he thought of himself as a ladies man.
What woman _wouldn't_ want to picture him in the buff? Why wouldn't his own girlfriend?
"Never?" Remy said.
"I didn't say never, I just said I try not to," Molly said as they got into the car, "I just don't think it's appropriate."
"Well," Remy smirked, "If we ever get married, I'm sure then you won't be able to _stop_ thinking about me after you've seen me completely," Remy smirked.
"Uh, sounds great. Can we _please_ talk about something else now? Anything else?" Molly winced.
"Dieu! Cherie, what am I going to do with you? You have to be the only woman in the world who isn't interested in s-"
"Remy!" Molly exploded, looking completely mortified by the whole conversation as her eyes grew wide and she turned red again.
"You don't even want me to say it?" Remy laughed heartily, "Priceless. You're like a nun."
"Well...well I _am_ interested in s-s-sex. With you. Someday. I'm not like a nun at all. I do think about it, really. If you want me to say it, I think about it a lot. Heck, who wouldn't? It just makes me anxious when I realize you're trying to picture me without clothes on because I am scared that I won't live up to what's in your head. You're one of the most handsome, sweetest, strongest guys I've ever met. I'm just a shluppy, fat v-virgin who doesn't know anything about _that_ kind of stuff and I'm scared that...I'm scared that I won't be enough for you. That with how I am, I mean, how I look and all, that it won't be enough to make you happy and that you'd cheat on me or leave me or whatever," Molly said. The words were shaky, but the pain in her eyes was real.
"Sorry," Remy hugged her carefully, "I shouldn't have said all that stuff. I didn't mean it. You are going to live up to what's in my head. Better then that, you're going to completely outshine it. You're going to be more then enough for me because I love your body now before I've even touched it like that. Even if you weren't, there's the possibility that I'd leave you, but I'd never want to cheat on you. Especially if we were married."
"E-even if I was the worst lover in the whole world and Jessica Karaba or someone threw herself at you?" Molly said.
"You can't just throw Jessica into the scenario because then all bets are off. Especially if she's _throwing_ herself at me," Remy smiled,
rolling his head back dramatically as he said "throwing".
"Fine, then I'd cheat on you first," Molly smiled. They laughed for a minute.
"Seriously though, you don't have anything to worry about because you forgot one important thing," Remy said.
"What's that?"
"I'm a virgin too, remember? So we're going to be in it together. We'll get to learn from each other and teach each other all kinds of things," Remy smiled,
his eyes glazing over again as Molly could see the wheels in his head working.
"Remy? Remy?" Molly waved a hand in front of his face. After a moment, she threw caution to the wind and gave him a full-on kiss.
"Cherie, you can't do that!" Remy looked at her worriedly as Molly collapsed back into the seat, sucking in air. It was an impulsive and stupid move, but sometimes Molly just didn't stop to think things through.
"I really shouldn't have, but it was _worth_ it!" Molly breathed heavily with a smile.
AN: Yes, that's _the_ Bella from the comics. Just trying to respect continuity. (Even though I don't "get" Bella. She was crazy in the old series, IMO.)