Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men or Anything Related to The X-Men.
Thank you to everyone who looked at the previous chapter. I appreciate you guys and gals taking time out of your lives to take a look at this chapter. Thanks also to Jehilew, tx peppa, and RogueGambit3 for their reviews. And thanks to Jehilew for the many suggestions on the fight scene. Hopefully, it looks a little smoother now.
By the time Anna laid eyes on her so called home, the sun had long since slipped below the horizon, leaving behind a starry night equal to any Van-Gogh painting. It was a pretty sight, even to her clouded mind, and the fact the entire crazy night was being played out beneath a glaringly full moon was not lost on her either.
Thankfully, her travel buddy had remained silent for most of the journey. She knew he was staring at her every single time his eyes could safely drift away from the road. Although she didn't care for the strange chill that raced through her chest when she caught sight of those red orbs, Anna could understand exactly why he would stare. Old Anna disguise or not, she must have been quite an oddity in that exam room.
"Just take it easy, Chere."
Of course, the med bay show seemed like a pretty small problem compared to the handsome one sweetly offering to help her out of the car.
"McCoy said them pain pills may make you dizzy."
"Did he?" She mumbled to herself.
Timidly, she took the offered hand and tried to recall everything that went on in that office. Between the pain, confusion, and the distraction of Remy's toasty hand interlocked in her own, some of the medical jargon and care suggestions had been lost on the southerner.
Remy, still determined to ensure her safety, overlooked her quiet mutterings and wrapped a warm arm around her waist.
Hank wanted to run far more tests, including a possible lookie-loo in her head by the professor. Anna may have been about ready to vomit right there in the office thanks to that damn headache, but she kept enough sanity together to put the kibosh on that suggestion. Any idiot could guess it wouldn't take much, if any, examination of her mind to prove she didn't belong there. If they called her bluff this early there would be no way to play along, no time to find the mysterious it, and no freedom from crazy town.
The section of Hank's parting advice that she could recall clearly, was take it easy for a few days and let him know if she felt any odd symptoms. It'd taken a superhuman amount of strength to stop herself from barking out a hoarse laugh and letting him know exactly how long her list of abnormalities was. Still, she'd managed, somehow, to sit semi-attentively through the care instructions, and even added a few head nods at specific moments.
"Hey." Jubilee coolly greeted them as the duo walked into the living room. She was sprawled on the spacious couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table. The area was covered in strewn toys and a half full glass of soda was leaving a water ring on the rustic table. "You feeling any better, girl?"
"Yeah," Anna answered, as Remy finally let go of her to dig out some money from his wallet for the firecracker. "I think so."
"That's okay. You keep it." The young woman pushed the bills back at Remy and motioned towards Anna, "I figure whatever was going on in that head of yours, was pretty serious if you felt you had to jack my car."
"Sorry about that…I'll pay for the gas I used up," Anna mumbled, not liking the small dash of embarrassment washing over her. As far as she was concerned it had been (and still was) an emergency situation. Everyone knew vehicles were free game in an emergency. Didn't they have zombie apocalypse films in this universe?
"Eh, forget it." She waved off the suggestion and started typing something into her phone, "Just remember our deal and we're even."
"Deal?" Remy asked with a hint of suspicion, not in the mood for any more surprises.
"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Rems. It's just a little joke between us gals." The woman's phone beeped and a wide smile spread across her lips. "Damn. Got to love instant ride apps."
As Jubilee waltzed towards the front door, with a curious Remy hot on her heels, Anna took the free time to examine the house. Seeing some of her personal tastes reflected in the decorations made it a tiny bit easier to accept she was allegedly the co-owner of the place. It still didn't feel like a real home as she climbed the grand staircase, but it wasn't a completely unpleasant response either. With no one staring at her or talking a mile a minute, she was almost able to enjoy exploring the large home.
On the second floor, she spotted two doorways cracked open to allow small amounts of the hall light to creep inside. The first door was covered with artwork of various amphibians and reptiles, as well as some wooden frog-shaped cutouts that'd been painted in bright neon colors. A little ways down the hall was another door coated with sparkling letters, which spelled the name 'Amelia'. Around the pink and purple symbols were a splatter painting or two and a crayon drawing of the little family.
Anna tiptoed closer to the door, unsure whether the pair hidden in the rooms would come after her if they woke up. The artwork, she noted, was far more detailed then either child could produce. On the top of the page, in bright red crayon, was a small dedication, 'Mama and Amelia's family picture'. A joint effort, she figured as she pulled her hand from the picture, would definitely explain the random smears of paint all over the drawing.
"She sure loves that picture." Remy's voice suddenly whispered into Anna's ear, forcing her to jump in surprise.
"What th-"
He held a finger to his lips and motioned to the two doors. Anna took the hint and, after thinking the idea out as best she could through a fading mind, begrudgingly followed him to the room at the end of the hall.
Once inside, what was obviously the master bedroom, Anna's eyes left the man's face and began to slowly drink in the beauty of the space. She'd been impressed with the living room and surprised by the extent of the kitchen, but this area outshone all of the others by leaps and bounds.
The king sized bed on the far wall was coated in a rich turquoise comforter, that accentuated the ocean scape paintings hung selectively around the room. A silver colored vanity mirror stood against the opposite wall, its attached desk covered in random piles of cosmetic products and framed family pictures. To the left of, what she assumed was her vanity set, stood another door that most likely led to an attached master bath. Almost diagonally across from the duo, stood a small balcony, just large enough to house two chairs and a tiny side table.
"Why don't we get ready for bed, hm?" Remy's strong arms enveloped Anna's middle but he loosened the hold when his wife froze instead of relaxing into the embrace. "You okay?"
"You know," She stepped away and tried to think of something reasonable to say.
I'm not your real wife or I'm worried I can't keep my powers down like the Anna here does, just didn't seem to fit the bill. Sure, she was supposed to play along, but she really wasn't certain she could make it through an entire night snuggled tightly against the womanizing Remy LeBeau.
What if she absorbed him in her sleep? Or what if he tried to pull something and then she absorbed him? Walking around for weeks with whatever could possibly be swimming through the rugged southerner's head was not on her to-do list. She already knew far more than any outside observer ever should thanks to his earlier texts.
"What is it, Chere?" He asked sympathetically, appearing genuinely worried about her refusal to show any outward emotion.
"I think I'm just gonna sleep downstairs." She finally threw out, for lack of a better-planned response, "The couch might help me feel better."
Instead of the fear for her sanity she expected to flitter across his face, Remy sighed and rubbed the back of his head in mild annoyance, "You're still mad about this morning?"
"Yes?" She answered a little too uncertainly, so she hurriedly added, "I mean, yeah. Yeah, I'm still really upset."
"Thought we finished this one, Anna. We talked about it this morning, non?"
"Well," She countered feeling a new confidence as she grabbed one of the pillows, "I'm… I'm just not over it and I need a little space to think about… it."
Remy let out a slow breath and grumbled, in what she incorrectly assumed was defeat, before taking the pillow right out of her hands, "Look, Chere, be mad at Remy all you want, but I'm not leaving you alone when you're injured."
"Well, we're not both sleeping in that bed." She bluntly informed him, then yanked the pillow back and tossed it onto the floor.
"What you doing now?"
"Making a pallet." She snapped and barely resisted the urge to cap her sentence with a quick, duh.
Remy took the pillow back once more and held it so tightly she couldn't yank it out of his grasp, "Seriously? You are so upset you want to sleep on the floor?"
Surprisingly, the silliest part of the argument wasn't the fact the two hardheaded southerners were quarreling about, for all Anna knew, a non-existent topic. No, the strangest part was how quickly the young spitfire found herself caught up in the entire production. All she wanted was to sleep without Remy dangerously close to her. Was that really so much to ask?
"Yes, seriously! I just want a little time to think." She growled harsher and crossed her arms over her chest, before tossing out a sarcastic barb, "If that's okay with you, swamp rat."
Remy blinked and appeared at a loss for words for a second.
It was a strange sight, even to the inexperienced Anna, so she took the moment to really study his face. The Cajun had always been so suave and sophisticated the few times they'd met. He was the only man she knew that could look collected and smooth while swimming in a gator-filled swamp. Yet, here he was, staring at her like the world lost all sense just because she refused to sleep near him. Surely she couldn't be more unnerving then a giant swamp creature!
"How hard did you hit your head, woman?" He shook his own and rubbed his forehead as a headache started to grow. Anna didn't blink an eye and appeared even more annoyed by his statement.
"Fine." He grumbled the answer with greater irritation than she expected and pulled a blanket off the small padded bench at the foot of their bed. "You sleep in the bed and I'll take the chair."
"You're gonna sleep in a chair?" She questioned a little softer as the man dragged the armchair over to her side of the bed.
"What?" His frustration shone through the growing exhaustion, "You got a problem with me in a chair now, too?"
"No." She shook her head; unsure why she felt uneasy watching him lay a blanket over the wing style seat. She'd gotten exactly what she wanted, and she was safe for the night. There should have been a sudden burst of happiness inside her, but instead, she perched on the edge of the bed and offered an awkward, "Thanks."
"Yeah, sure…" He gave a long sigh and stared at her so forlornly, it left the woman more confused than ever.
Anna busied herself with taking off her shoes and trying to decide whether or not she should try to find some kind of nightgown. There was a chest of drawers not too far away and a wide door to her right that probably led to a closet. But, each time she worked up the nerve to investigate the options, the voice in the back of her head reminded her changing clothes meant getting undressed in front of Remy. She looked back towards the bathroom, wondering if she could find a way to lock herself in for the night, but snapped her head back immediately.
Despite the quick movement, she'd gotten far more than just a fleeting glance of Remy's muscular frame. At least it proved her earlier assessments were correct. That man didn't have an ounce of flab on his body! The glance confused the poor guy worse, prompting Remy to walk right over in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts to study her face far more closely than she liked.
"Anna,"
Was she supposed to look at his chest or his face? Between the two it seemed like either would lead her down the road to saying something completely stupid.
"Anna, what is going on?"
"I'm just…" Forehead. That was the only safe spot to look. "My head really hurts and the lights are too bright over there."
Anna snuggled under the covers and let her gaze fall to the side in hopes that would quiet all discussion on the matter. She heard his feet shuffle across the floor and listened as Remy pulled another blanket off the bench and tossed it onto the chair. The room was silent for a brief moment, lulling her into a false sense of security.
Then suddenly, Remy huffed and grumbled something about a 'stubborn woman' and 'making me go first every time'. Before she could react, he leaned down and lovingly kissed her lips, "Good night. Love you, Anna."
The woman in question blinked her eyes and tried to convince her mouth to shut again. The last thing she'd expected after such a squabble was talk of love. What kind of couple were they anyway? Spitting at each other and then suddenly mushy? As far as Anna knew, they'd been closer to the run away stage than romantic gesture time. It didn't make a lick of sense. Why did he still care after being yelled at and shoved in a chair?
She outwardly flinched as her head started to pound and scrunched her eyes closed. Whatever madness was going on in the LeBeau household, it would have to wait until breathing and blinking no longer threatened to tear her skull apart.
