Disclaimer: I own not the characters in this fic, I merely kidnap them occasionally and force them to play by my rules instead of Marvel's *insert evil laughter*
Chapter 4
Faith
Faith is to believe what we do not see
(St. Augustine)
"Ah want your help"
Bang.
"Pardonné moi?" The Cajun slid out from under the X-Van, rubbing his bruised forehead, for once utterly lost.
"Ah, Rogue, want yer, Remy LeBeau a.k.a. Gambit, a.k.a. Swamp Rat, a.k.a. Prince of T'ieves, a.k.a. Le Diable Blanc-"
"Shush now woman! Y' tryin' ta git this homme murdered in an extremely graphic and profligate way? Y' fou femme!" His panicked voice did nothing to dissuade her current objective.
"Now that ah got yer attention Diable-"
"Now, now Chérie, we save those kinda names for the bedroom non?" He raised himself off the floor in all his shirtless glory, rippling abs glistening with a thin sheen of sweat, a few smudges of grease, on random spots that make you wanna- oh boy. Was it hot in here like this before?
Dragging her protesting eyes away from the errant sight, the boy screamed forbidden fruit and snakes... Big snakes, long winding snake that you could take in your- damn it, he's staring at you. He asked something didn't he... inconsequential no doubt, but if Remy LeBeau had any idea where her mind keep straying too... she'd probably be sore after, in all senses of the expression.
"Ah'm sorry, yah said something?" Bringing her eyes back to his face, all feelings of being hot and bothered flew out the window at the sight of his trade mark smirk.
"Well Chere, y' were just about to beg this Cajun pour son aide," He walked up to her, well aware of the dangerous proximity between his bear chest and her partially exposed shoulders.
Rogue growled, but before her choice selections of expletives could be voiced, the wise Cajun interjected, "What y' need Rougey? Remy wouldn't mind hooking you up." He waggled his eyebrows to emphasize the double meaning.
Realising the futility of this approach she tried another tactic...
Sniff.
Blink...
Sniff Sniff.
Blink...
Sniff, "All ah wanted was-sniff- to return the favour-sniff- to mah oh-so-devoted- friends –sniff- who've put their own lives on hold –sniff- and stuck by my side through it all – sniff- "
Blink. "Uh, chere?" Blink.
" – but now –sniff- ah've realised that –sniff- I'm not as creative as Kitty or as classy as Amara –sniff- but I still wanna do this –sniff- but ah've realised, ah need help and – sniff- being the proud southern woman, mah mamma raised me –sniff..." She broke off expectantly and like fresh meat to a Gator, the Cajun took the bait.
"Say no more Chere, this Cajun'd be happy ta help! Just tell him where his hands' be more beneficial and he be more than willin' ta oblige!" His smirk found its way back onto his face at the innuendo.
Brushing aside his flirting, she beamed at him, a genuine Roguish grin that made the man appreciate the rare sight.
"Now Chere, how exactly can Remy be of service?" he asked in that charming manner of his.
"Well, ah don't know nothing about weddings," He visibly paled as realisation dawned on him, "or how to go around planning one, much less a surprise one. You, however, have had personal experience-" he cringed at the memory and she dutifully ignored him and continued on, "so ah figured that you would be the ideal person to help me plan this shindig." She beamed at him expectantly and nodded her head as if his cooperation was already understood.
Not even her adorable expression could quell the uneasy feeling memories of his all too brief wedded 'bliss' with Belladonna Bordeaux... Of all things she wanted to put him through, a wedding... shudders. So he did what any single, contented man would do; he back-tracked with much haste.
"Chere, Remy don't know if he really is the right person for the job, he may have been though it once already mais, the ceremony did kinda go boom, literally." He prayed for strength to resist the southern spitfire as he continued to rattle excuses, proving his utter incompetence in such matters.
Having exhausted her reserves of 'feminine wiles' for the day, she easily slipped into her familiar, determined ways, "Boy, yer gonna help me pull off this shindig whether ya want too or not and it's gonna be as perfect as a mah mamma's hush puppies at the end of a rotten day!" She grabbed his ear lobe and tugged on it to enforce her point.
"Ow Chere! Be careful there! You're hurting the money maker there!" He tried to pry her hand off but then realised the futility of dealing with a woman with invincibility and super strength.
"Merde, y'er worst than Tante Mattie when y' get like this woman!" Rubbing his now sore ear, he pouted in a childish, albeit adorable way.
"Speaking of ya Tante, she called the other day." She noted casually and seemed uninterested as the Cajun's mouth dropped open... and remained opened in a most undignified manner. He began sputtering. Rogue however, continued to ignore him and casually carried on.
"She figured ya be a mess when ya found out she tracked ya down," Turning to him, a small frown marring her features, "Who ya think called Storm and told the professor to 'not-expect' your impromptu arrival?" She tsked at the bewildered man in front of her, "She says ta tell ya 'tah put some meat on yer bones! Just 'cause these Yankees don't know hell from hide 'bout cooking, don't mean ya get ta starve yaself!' Ah do believe ah agree with the woman, look at ya! Ya getting all pasty and stringy looking!" She wrinkled her nose at him.
"When did y' talk to ma tante et pourquoi y' didn't get Remy on the phone?" The Cajun demanded utterly floored that in light of his... banishment, his family still sought him out... well his tante at least.
"Cuz she wanted ta talk ta meh, not ya Cajun!" Rogues replied, her anger beginning to edge into her voice. "When she heard that it was Rogue she was speakin' to she decided to shelf whatever it was she wanted to tell ya and talk to me instead." She grinned smugly at him, as if to say, 'Ha! She likes me better!' Remy on the other hand, dropped the confused, bewildered and hopeless look and traded it in for his self righteous look of indignation. Remy was always her favourite!
With the maturity of a 3 year old her boldly proclaimed, "She must've just felt sorry for y'! Really wanted to talk to her poor starving Remy but decided to indulge y'! Musta heard y' desperation over the phone."
Grinning smugly she replied effortlessly, "Speaking of desperation, she mentioned she knew of me from y' days as a stalker."
Remy sputtered, "Remy does not stalk!"
"Oh yes he does, and apparently he likes to follow 'round a certain Tante around the kitchen, wearing her fuchsia pink apron with frills." Rogue sniggered at him.
Remy paled at the revelation, "Rogue, Chere, how long did the two of y' talk for?"
Grinning at the Cajun, she answered, "Oh we had a long talk Cajun."
"Dieu..." He visibly shudder, it seemed that his Tante had taken a liking to the fellow Southerner, an unhealthy penchant at that.
Deciding that they had strayed too far from the matter at hand, she decided to get back on topic.
"Since ya've agreed to this, Operation: Get The Preppies Hitched, meet meh by the fountain tonight after dinner for us to discuss this, properly." She stressed on the last word as if to drive home the point.
"Oui Mademoiselle." Remy finally concede, as reluctantly and pitifully as he could manage.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Ya're late Cajun!" Rogue hissed at her newly recruited partner-in-crime, annoyed as he calmly strode up to her well past the post- dinner period they had 'agreed' to meet each other.
Remy ginned at her quite smugly, "Now Chere, don't be getting all hot and bothered jus' because you decided on a meeting time as vague as 'after dinner'."
Rogue growled, not necessarily a psyche slip, but something she definitely picked up from Logan. Remy, for his part, recognised the warning signs of her temper flair and decided to avoid that tonight, since it would be taking most of his energy to ease his protesting insides about having anything to do wedding planning, even if it wasn't his own. The nostalgia was a bit overwhelming nonetheless.
"Well Chere, let's get this party on the road then, how 'bout we mosey on over to the gazebo so none of them p'tites can hear us plotting this here World Domination." He added candidly, best get this over as quickly as possible, 'Jus' like rippin' off a band aid Remy'.
Rogue, not able to conceal her excitement, grabbed his hand and dragged him over, keeping a tight grip just in case he decided to flee. Not letting go, she perched herself on a railing and turned to face him. He was looking amusedly at their intertwined hands and she found herself explaining her actions, albeit with a lot less conviction than she possessed at the start.
"No worries Chere, Remy's not gonna run out on his belle Cherie when she's in need of his aid. Now do y' have any particular place to begin or do we just wing it?" His smooth voice quelled all her fears, a little too quickly, and she was sure he was trying to distract her by leaning in closer... God could smell him!
Alas she was a Rogue, true to her name, she would not let him try to seducer her to forget her mission, upping the ante she decided to play dirty once more, "Well Rems," she bit her lower lip slightly and tugged ever so gently, "ah was thinking to myself, if ah was Jean," she lowered her eyes in an utterly innocent fashion, "where on earth would ah start?" she added in a sigh, just before the dramatic pause.
Cutting off any witty remark the Cajun was about to make she continued, "But then ah remembered that Amara got jean a Wedding Planner Diary," at his expression she clarified, "it's like a Journal of all her thoughts and stuff about her wedding, what she wants and what she hates."
He nodded thoughtfully and quickly began to piece together where this was going, "Y' want Remy steal the book then?"
"Well," she shifted uncomfortably, "not quite. Now not to take offence but ah don't think she'd be very forgivin' if ah let you rummage through her and Scott's personal belongings. Ya still kinda new to them Rems and they might not be too forgiving."
Remy's eyebrows furrowed, "Now if y' don't want Remy steal it-"
He trailed off suspiciously as he regarded her big, toothy grin, "No! Absolutement pas! Je ne vouldrais pas-"
"Uh, Remy?"
"-think about even trying to teach you-"
"Remy..."
"-to STEAL from your friends-"
"Remy!"
"and there ain't nothing you can say to change my mind!"
"SEX!" (1)
Immediately he shut his rambling mouth and stared at her curiously, "Quoi?"
She sighed and let out another mini Logan like growl, "It seemed like the only sure fire way to grab your attention, now that you are LISTENING to me," she brought his face closer and he unconsciously licked his lips, "We aren't gonna steal it."
Knowing Rogue all too well he decided to hold his breath for the kicker, "We're gonna borrow it," she stated so proudly at her ingeniousness that he almost applauded her... almost. He frowned at her and began his argument once more, when she once again interjected.
"Now, now, don't be quick to judge, yes we would have to, erm, acquire the object in question without the owner's knowledge or consent but really Remy, this is the best way to pull off Jean's perfect wedding, her heart's desire! So what if we're not going about it in a technically legal way? Hey! It's the thought that counts anyways, right?"
Remy let out a long, velvety smooth laugh that reminded her of chocolate fountains, rich and thick and creamy, the mere thought made her subconsciously lick her lips. She was so side tracked that she almost missed Remy's question.
"So when do y' want Remy to pilfer this vital piece of the Preppy Wedding Puzzle?"
"Well technically, you won't be borrowing it. Ah will, ah'll retrieve it, go to the library, photocopy it and then return it to its rightful place and they'll be none-the-wiser." She stated, as if willing her plans to be carried off flawlessly.
With a playful smirk on his face he probed her, though not in the way he'd prefer, "And what may Remy ask, is supposed to be his role in this production?"
"Well Swamp Thing, you get to be my teacher, since ah not the most subtle gal this side of the Dixie border and also mah look out, 'cuz ah don't think Scooter's gonna appreciate ya presence in his room, sortin' through his wife's personal belongings," she answered with a sly grin and a wink.
"Bien Cherie, but that means Remy get to teach you the art of thievery then," and with a wicked grin, he suddenly closed in on her.
"- the distraction," his demon eyes glowed and their breaths intermingled.
"-the seduction," he let his body lightly press against her own, his teeth grazing her ear lobes as he continued.
"- the thrill of victory" He pulled away confidently and smiled at her dazed expression and her look of briefly shock but more so indignation as he held one side of her earrings between his thumb and forefinger, dangling it in front of her now perfectly focused eyes.
"Why ya no good-" her tirade was cut short however as his chuckled in her ears once more, and she willed her knees not to turn to jelly.
"Dieu, Chere, have a little mo' faith in Remy non? Might do us both some good." This time he wrapped his arms around her shoulder and breathed in her scent through her hair.
After a few minutes, when it appeared that he had no intentions of moving his hands, she silently sighed and loosely hooked her forefingers in his belt loops, tugging him slightly to her.
"Remy..." she sighed, unable to complete her train of thought.
"Oui Cherie?" He pulled away slightly so that he could look into her eyes, hopefully reassuring her into speaking whatever was on her mind. Now was not the time to mess with her emotions, not if anything was truly meant to come from this.
"What are we doin?" She let out a long drawn breath and she felt his palms slide down to her upper arms, gripping them.
"I don't know Chere, what are we doin'?" He stared at her green orbs and hoped.
"Remy... we can't do this..." She said mournfully, as if torn by the prospect.
"Sure we can Chere, we're doing it now aren't we?" He took a deep breath and prayed that he was doing the right thing by pushing back a little, he did not want to scare her off.
"No Remy, we're not..." Sighing for what seemed to be the millionth time that evening, "not really. We can't."
"Can't or won't Chere? There's an awfully big difference between the two." His voice was level and smooth and calmed her rather than anger her.
"Remy... I'm just so confused... I don't think-"
"Precisely mon Cherie, don't think." He grinned as he effectively cut her off and laughed at her pout.
"But-"
"Hush now y' fou femme! Remy not saying to jump into bed right this minute," he broke off and after a significant pause, during which he grinned lecherously at her, he added, "although, y' won't find Remy complainin' if y' do."
It was almost a reflex action that she tapped him at the back of his head (2), but he cut her off once more to reassure her, "Remy was only joking, but if it bothers you too much Remy will cut down on those kinds of jokes."
He stared into her eyes and willed himself to not even blink as he feared the slightest movement might send her the wrong message.
"Remy likes y' Rogue, I really do and Remy's willing to do anything it takes to give us," and he stressed on the last word, "a fair chance. Remy not saying that we be soul mates or anything, who knows, but for now, Remy'd be honoured if y' consented to going out with him."
Partially frustrated with herself, she conceded, "Ah don't know Remy, ah like ya, ah really do but it's all so confusing to me. Ah mean one minute ah'm enjoying the bantering and this," she tugged him closer, "And yet sometimes it scares me, quite shitless actually. Ah hate feeling like this, all mixed up and confused, it's like ah'm Hot and then Cold (3), like ah can't find a balance and it's so frustrating! Ah feel like every time ah take two steps forward ah take one step back." She growled and grabbed the lapels of his trench, burying her head in his chest and breathing in his scent.
'God he smelled good!' If she wasn't careful she was going to develop a new fetish, and a no doubt embarrassing one at that. Since when did she become a dog, to be going around sniffing people?
"How about this Cherie, we take this one day at a time? One date at a time? And no calling for reinforcements like last time Cherie," she blushed as he called her out on her twist of their first date, "Remy wants to get to know you, Monsieur Logan and Herr Kurt can wait until Poker Night if they want to bond with Remy."
Her cheeks burnt a solid shade of red that even Scott would be proud off, as the implications of the statement ringed in her mind. 'He likes me! He likes me!' She had to suppress the urge to giggle.
Then, low tunes of a familiar melody reached their ears and brought tentative smiles to their faces.
Remy took the initiative and shifted them so that they were in the centre of the gazebo, his arms locked around her waist, hugging her tightly to him. Her own arms were around his neck, with her fingers lost in his hair as she sighed contentedly into his chest and massaged his skull subconsciously with the tips of her fingers.
All is fair
I'm trying to make you notice me but you don't care
You play me like a broken game of Snakes and Ladders
Or cards or piano or a record that's been thrown in the trash
I like you
I've liked you since I saw you walking down my street
I like your little vibe and your clothes and feet
And your hair and your eyes and your
nose and your face and your life
I know your name
And I've got your number
I don't wanna save the world
I just wanna waste some time with you
We're both so young
We might as well face it
I don't wanna change nothing
I just wanna waste some time with you
Three blind mice
I may as well be asking them for stable advice
Instead I'm on a seesaw all day and night
And all week and all month and all year all my life
I'm only human
If only you could see
You do some pretty crazy little things to me
And I don't wanna change the course of history
I just want you to be, next to someone like me
And be free
'Cos I know your name
And I've got your number
I don't wanna save the world
I just wanna waste some time with you
We're both so young
We might as well face it
I don't wanna change nothing
I just wanna waste some time with you
Wasting time
Wasting time with you
Wasting time
Wasting time with you
Now you know
My thoughts about where I would like the story to go
I feel that if you really like to play it cool
We should do it, do it, do it, yeah
I know your name
And I've got your number
I don't wanna save the world
I just wanna waste some time with you
We're both so young
We might as well face it
I don't wanna change nothing
I just wanna waste some time with you
I know your name
I got your number
I don't wanna save the world
I just wanna waste some time with you
We're both so young
We might as well face it
I don't wanna change nothing at all
I just wanna waste some time with you
The song faded and apparently whoever was responsible for the mood music finally got an ear-full since blasting music at that volume, at this hour of the night, even though it was a weekend, was frowned upon.
They didn't pull apart immediately though, continuing to sway gently to some unknown tune, and for the final time, in a barely audible whisper, Rogue asked, "Can we really do this?"
And with his eyes glowing and lips smirking, he rested his chin on her head and said simply, "Jus' have a lil' faith Chere..."
A/N: hey all yes i'm still alive, thought I'm not sure for how long lol, I got tired of waiting for someone to update so I gave it a shot... writing this was like pulling teeth lol... my personal life recently have been too complicated for fanfiction to even be contemplated lol... on a brighter side, it's given me this awesome plot bunny for a Romy fic is any1's interested? It's for sale though, (well it free lol) I have no more time for pets, even sweet fluffy plot bunnies and their odd behaviour. This chapter is shorter that the others, sighs, I tried... Thank you all who have reviewed... Oh and I've corrected various spelling mistakes in the previous chapters *shudders* I don't know how you ppl put up with me lol
Oh yeah:
(1) - I had an additional mathematics teacher (extra lessons) who enjoyed doing that to get the class' attension, especially when the row of Boys sat infront of us girls (both sets from separate non co-ed schools) since they got easily distracted lol
(2) From my fav show NCIS
(3) Hot n Cold By Katey Perry, another obsession
Kudos!
Delphine