Chapter 3

Reunions and Regret

There she stood in the mansion, like she had never left, never abandoned him. Remy looked right into her emerald orbs. They were even more spectacular than he remembered. Her hair was different now. She wore it long and straight, with her trademark white hair as bangs that stopped right above those alluring eyes. She dressed differently than he remembered as well. Her clothing was much more revealing now. Her top was a black razorback shirt that accentuated all her curves. She wore white capris that ended just below the knees, and a pair of black open-toed heels that played a game of peek-a-boo with her toes. Her gloves were gone now.

"Roguie," Remy managed to say, trying to hide the hurt and pain that he felt when she never returned to him. "It's been a while, chere. Couldn't stay away from d' ol' place could y'." Remy walked nonchalantly down the steps to his former girlfriend. He wrapped his arms around her and proceeded to give her hand a gentle kiss. "We've missed y' petit'."

Anna could feel the blood rush to her face, undoubtedly turning two shades of red darker. She instinctually pulled her hand away from Remy, a habit that sharply cut into Remy's heart.

"Remy. Ah haven't been called Rogue in a long time," she replied casually. "Please, just call me Anna."

"And, I'm Damon. It's a pleasure to meet you, Remy was it?" Damon walked past Anna, and extended a hand to Remy. The tension in the room had just gotten impossibly thicker.

"Oui. Remy LeBeau." Remy replied, removing his sunglasses.

Anna stared up at the two men, as their eyes locked. Fire and Ice. Although they mutually shook hands, there were no niceties being exchanged.

"Damon Price." Damon responded, "Anna's boyfriend."

And there it was, the first blow. With the sound of those words, Remy released his handshake, reacting with one of his signature grins.

With the hopes of easing the tension, Ororo interjected. "Anna, perhaps you and Damon would like to settle into your room."

"Room? Don't ya mean rooms, 'Ro?" Anna questioned.

"Ah, well actually, with the influx of students as of late, I'm afraid that we only have the one room to offer. I hope that was not too presumptuous of me," Ororo apologized.

"Of course not," Damon replied with a smile growing on his face. The door slammed loudly, startling Anna. She looked around the room, not seeing Remy anywhere.

Anna unpacked her things quietly, not knowing how to deal with the multitude of emotions coursing through her body at the moment. At least Damon was in the shower right now. She did not feel like answering all his questions regarding the obvious history she had with Remy. She couldn't help but feel guilty, as if she had cheated on him. But, no, she reminded herself. She had come back for him. It was Remy that had sought out another. Anna wondered just how serious Remy's relationship had gotten. Is that what Ororo had texted her about last week?

Anna shook her head. This was not the reason she returned to the mansion. She and Damon had work to do. There was a murder on the loose. That was her purpose for returning to Westchester. Not Remy LeBeau.

As she reached the bottom of her bag, she pulled out her gun and badge and placed them in the lower drawer of the nightstand. She heard the shower being turned off. Not even a minute later, Damon emerged with nothing but a towel around his waste. Anna blushed at the sight.

"Come on, Anna," he smiled, "this isn't anything that you haven't seen before."

"Not outside of the Bureau's training rooms," she replied, turning her head away.

Damon walked over, sitting next to Anna on the bed. "When are we going to stop denying that there's really something between us."

"Even if that were true, Damon," Anna stopped him from continuing. "Yoah mah partner. It wouldn't be raht."

"You know how cute that is?" Damon smiled.

"What?" Anna narrowed her eyebrows.

"They way your accent gets thicker when you get nervous." Damon's smile grew as he kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes, wondering if he would continue. Instead she heard the bathroom door close.

Anna threw herself back onto the bed and let out a deep sigh. She couldn't understand why she couldn't let Damon in. He was gorgeous, sweet, and totally available. She didn't deny the fact that she had feelings for him. Yet, it didn't feel right. Even though there was this wonderful man in the other room, currently posing as her boyfriend, all she could think about were those fiery eyes. Those eyes that still warmed her most inner core.


"Merde." Remy spat as he walked around the grounds of the mansion. Why did she have to come back? Things in his life were going well. Weren't they? He was still with Lanie. In fact, he was even thinking of proposing to her. He had gone as far as telling Ororo about his intentions. He had hoped that they would go together to look at rings this afternoon. But, how could he propose now. Now that Rogue, or rather Anna, was back in his life. She wasn't really back into his life though. She arrived with that other guy – Damon. Remy wondered just how serious they were with each other. It had to have been fairly serious if Anna decided to bring him to the mansion to meet everyone.

Remy looked up to see Anna standing by a window. He nimbly climbed a tree to get a better view of her. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was still drawn to her like a moth to a flame. As he watched from the limb, his heart jumped at the sight of her beauty. His angel was back. Unfortunately, his vision was interrupted with the sight of a man wearing nothing but a towel. Remy tightened his grip on the tree. Jealousy was not an emotion that Remy LeBeau was accustomed to. The anger burned within him as he watched the other man put his lips on his angel. He couldn't watch anymore. This was more than he could bear. Why did she have to come back?


Ororo had thought it would so much nicer if Anna made her entrance after everyone was seated for dinner. The students had not yet returned from their trip to Manhattan, so it was a nice quiet dinner, comprised mostly of the old team: Ororo, Logan, Bobby, Scott, Emma, Hank, and Xavier himself. There were only two others that Anna had never met: Remy's girlfriend, Lanie, and a mutant named Jonesy. Anna had already decided to have the Bureau run a background check on them once she learned a little bit more. Since joining the FBI, it had become instinct for her to suspect the unknown.

"You ready?" Anna looked over to Damon.

"It's okay," he replied, placing his reassuring hands on each of her shoulders.

Anna and Damon waited in the kitchen as Ororo started her toast. She couldn't help the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach as she waited for their introduction.

"My dear, friends. I thank you all for joining me at this dinner. Throughout the years, we have had countless mutants call this place their home. But through it all, I have always considered this group it's core. We have lost many friends along the way. But it is always a joyous occasion when friends find their way back home."

That was her cue. Anna grabbed Damon by the hand and walked into the dining room. A smile grew on her face as she saw the look of happiness and surprise on her friends' faces. They all smiled, even if one of the smiles was forced. She quickly looked away from Remy's mesmerizing eyes. Anna walked to each seat, giving each of her friends a hug. She could feel the weight of all the eyes as she approached Remy. But, they both played it off without a hitch. An outsider would never have been able to tell that there was a history between them.

As Anna returned to her seat, she took the opportunity to introduce her guest. "Everyone, Ah'd like ya'll ta meet Damon Price. He's mah," she hesitated, ever so slightly, "boyfriend."

The hesitation went unnoticed by everyone except Remy. This sparked a curiosity in him that he would surely try to fulfill during the meal. Remy watched carefully as Damon pulled out Anna's seat. He took notice of every little interaction between the two.

Anna felt at ease, catching up on old times with good friends. Her nerves had all but disappeared until the questions on her relationship with Damon started up. She was not surprised by who started the subject.

"So Damon," Remy began, "how did you and our lil' chere meet?"

Anna thanked the heavens that Remy directed his questions to Damon. She did not know if she could handle this type of questioning from Remy.

"Well," Damon began, taking a sip of wine before continuing. "We met at an orchard in Connecticut. We were there separately, each of us with a group of friends from work. As it turns out, some of our friends recognized each other and our groups joined to form one." Anna gave Damon an inquisitive look; they had not rehearsed such a detailed account. She found herself wanting to hear more. Damon just flashed a smile as he continued the fictitious account of their first meeting. She marveled at the details and blushed at the parts where Damon described how he took one look at her eyes and knew that she was special.

Remy sat in his seat, a fire burning in his pit, as he watched his Rogue sitting by the competition. He despised how Damon would so easily place his hands on hers. Remy envied the lack of fear in their eyes as their skin touched. This was supposed to be an experience that she shared with him. He was brought back to reality as Lanie placed a gentle hand on his lap.

"Remy, honey," Lanie whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, chere," Remy lied. He placed an arm around her, hoping to ease her of her worries. However, she looked at Remy with concern, as he continued to watch Anna. So this was the Rogue, the woman that she had been compared to everyday for the last two years.

The entire room joined in "oohs" and "awws" as Damon wrapped up the story he had concocted about their first date. Anna was in awe of Damon's story telling abilities. It was a talent that she never knew he possessed. Anna wondered what else there was that she never allowed herself to know about him. She grabbed his hand and gave it a slight squeeze. Damon looked over to his pretend girlfriend and gave her a very real kiss on the lips. It was at this point that Remy regret ever bringing up the subject of "Damon and Anna".