Remy carried on like he would with any other job. He cased the joint. By the end of the week he not only knew where Marie's room was, but where she went on breaks, what she did during the day, what time she went for coffee and what routes she took around the mansion. He also knew where Bobby was at all times. The amount of time the two actually spent together would make it easier for him to get closer to Marie and break into her comfort zone. After watching the two, Remy was positive he could pull this off.
He felt like a jerk keeping tabs on his peers, and even more like a stalker when it came to Marie. Which was silly, he wasn't stalking, he was casing. In order to not get caught stealing one had to consider all the variables and account for them. Perhaps he just felt this way because it was people and not objects he was after. That would never do. The minute he stopped taking this seriously and started considering people's feelings all would be lost. He hated to think he'd miss the opportunity to have Marie back in his arms again.
The alarm on his watch went off and Remy readied himself, counting slowly in his mind, And three…two…one…
Remy stepped out quickly from around the corner of the mansion's east end, purposely running into Marie hard enough to knock her coffee all over himself and his white T-shirt.
"Mon Dieu!" he cried. "I am so sorry! My apologies, Chere, I didn't even see you!"
"Oh my God, your shirt!" Marie rattled back, clearly horrified. "I'm sorry. I should be the one apologizing. I was in such a hurry that I didn't see you! Now I've ruined your shirt,"
"I'll just wash it after training. No worries." He smiled brightly, purposely shrugging off the whole incident. Inside, his mind was racing, And now for the moment of truth…
"Well, um…I- I could wash it for you," Marie began with her cheeks flushing bright red. "I'm actually in the middle of doing my own laundry right now, so it'd be no trouble at all."
Remy put on his best gentleman face. "No, Chere that would be too much, especially when the fault is entirely mine."
Marie swallowed feeling stupid. He didn't believe she was actually doing her laundry. She was! She had only stepped out for her coffee and was heading straight back to the laundry room when she'd ran into him. She really could wash his shirt, and quickly enough to get the stain out.
"Really," Marie pressed. "I'm on my way back to the laundry room. I'm already doing mine, what's one more shirt? Please, I insist."
"Well…" He hesitated. "If you're already doing your laundry, I guess it does make sense..."
Marie quickly averted her eyes in embarrassment as Remy slipped off his T-shirt in front of her, revealing his smooth muscled chest. He handed her the shirt and she gingerly took it, blushing furiously now.
"Thanks, Chere, you are truly a peach," Remy said gratefully, giving her a quick wave and walking off in the opposite direction. He didn't want to make her too embarrassed.
"Wait!" she called after him. He looked over his shoulder and she continued, "How do I find you when your shirt is clean?"
"Oh yeah!" he answered, startled as if he'd clearly forgotten. This was going perfectly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a playing card. He then fumbled around for a pen before asking sheepishly, "Do you have a pen?"
She fished into her purse and pulled out a pen. When she handed it over, Remy made sure to purposely brush his hand against hers. Marie's eyes widened a bit at the innocent contact. He scrawled out his name and room number onto the King of Hearts, a card he did not choose purposely. Fate had given him the green light. He handed her the card with a smile.
"Thanks again, Chere."
"No problem." She smiled back still blushing. "See ya."
Remy silently congratulated himself on a job well done as he watched Marie walk away. Everything had gone exactly according to plan. When she was out of sight he walked over to a potted plant and reached behind it, pulling out a plastic bag. Inside was another T-shirt. He slipped it on over his head and went off on his merry way.
Why was she so nervous? It didn't mean anything. The fact that she now noticed Remy everywhere didn't mean anything at all. Marie was all confused. It was because of that stupid dance.
She had convinced herself that she had just become more aware of him and that was all. But if that was all, why was she so giddy about holding his shirt? Why was she excited to have a playing card in her purse? And why did she keep thinking that maybe she had wanted to run into him and her subconscious took over and did?
Could it be that she noticed Remy everywhere because she was inadvertently seeking him out? That was ridiculous! She was with Bobby. She was in love with Bobby. She had no time to be infatuated with other men, especially when all she wanted was Bobby. So what if Remy was the first person to touch her since Bobby? Remy lived on the edge anyway and he wasn't even her type. Bobby was. She resolved to wash Remy shirt, return it and nothing more. In fact, she was going to seek Bobby out right now, while it was washing.
Marie quickly checked herself out in a pocket mirror from her purse, deliberately not looking at Remy's card in a feeble attempt to prove that it didn't matter. Bobby would be in the Danger Room training with his team right now, so Marie headed off in that direction.
Bobby was surprised to see Marie in the training wing when his team's session had ended and they'd taken a break. He grabbed a towel, wiping the sweat from his brow and walked over to her.
"Marie, what are you doing here? You know this wing isn't safe for you right now."
She leaned in and gave him a kiss, lacing her arms around his neck. "I missed you and wanted to see you," she said, gazing up at him.
"Honey, now isn't a really good time." He carefully disentangled her arms from around his neck, making sure not to prolong any skin contact. "We just got our asses handed to us by Wolverine's team. I need to stay focused."
"Oh," Marie answered a little hurt. "Well maybe we could go out tonight. I was thinking that—"
"Sorry, Honey, but it looks like I'll be training late tonight." Bobby sighed regretfully. "I'd hate to make plans and cancel, perhaps later this week?"
"Oh. Yeah, that's okay."
"Okay, I'll catch you later, Babe." Bobby smiled and gave her quick kiss on the top of her head and disappeared back into the Danger Room. Marie stood alone in the hallway.
Always alone.
Dejected, she went back to finish her laundry. Remy's infamous white shirt had come out clean. Marie couldn't even see where the coffee she'd spilt on it originally was. At least he'd be happy to see her, if only because she'd gotten the stain out. She would bring it back to him tonight. It wasn't like she was doing anything else.
There was a soft knocking at his door. Remy already knew it was Marie. He glanced at his clock. Nine thirty, she was later than he'd expected. He opened the door to see her nervously fidgeting with his neatly folded shirt.
"Hi," she said awkwardly.
He could tell she was just going to give him the shirt and bolt.
Make her feel comfortable, his mind hissed
"Chere." He smiled opening the door wider for her to enter. "What a pleasant surprise! Come on in."
Just as he expected. She was too polite to decline his invitation. Marie cautiously entered his room. He didn't close the door. She'd feel safer knowing she wasn't alone with him even though the hallway was empty and they were alone.
"I-I um, got your shirt clean, you'd never know I spilt coffee on it," Marie said handing him the shirt. He took it, once again making sure to briefly touch her. She froze.
"Thank you, Chere. You really didn't need to go through all that trouble." Remy answered.
She was staring at his hand, the one he grazed hers with.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"You touched me," she said absently.
"Sorry," he apologized.
She looked up at him, alarmed. "Oh no, I didn't mean it like that!" she cried, moving closer to him in an attempt to smooth things over. "It's just that people don't touch me. People actually go out of their way not to touch me, and well, all three times I've met you, you've touched me. It's… it's nice."
As soon as she'd said those words she looked down at the floor. No doubt cursing herself for revealing her feelings to someone she'd only just met. He moved a little closer to her and she didn't move away. He could feel the tension crackling between them. He reached out and gently tipped her face up to meet his. She stared back at him, lost in the spell of his touch. She was vulnerable right now. It was the perfect time to hint at his intentions.
"Seems silly to me to avoid you, Chere," he whispered.
She let out a small gasp and slightly leaned in closer to him. Their lips mere inches apart from one another. He'd upped the stakes, making his desires known and she seemed to be taking the bait. She subconsciously licked her lips. It was a positively erotic act to him and for a brief moment he wondered if he was playing her or if it was the other way around. She came to her senses and pulled away.
"I-I should really be going," she stammered.
Remy cocked his head. "Yes, I suppose it is late. Your boyfriend will be wondering where you are," he said casually, as if the last few minutes had never happened.
She became at ease again with the normal conversation and quickly replied, "Oh no, Bobby's working late tonight. Sometimes he's so busy that I don't think he knows where I am when I'm right in front of him." She cringed when she realized what she'd just said out loud.
He smiled absently and walked her to the door, softly pressing his hand against her back. "I would find that very difficult. I couldn't imagine being so busy as to not notice you." It was a bold thing to say and the impact was not lost on her. She now knew that he knew that she was being neglected by her boyfriend. She also knew that Remy was interested in paying attention to her.
Remy gently ushered her out his door smiling politely as she said good night in that flustered embarrassed sort of way that she often expressed her words. He waited until she disappeared down the hall before closing his door.
She'd be back knocking on his door soon enough.