Disclaimer: Characters belong to marvel Disclaimer: I often pretend that the characters in this story belong to me, but pretend is pretend, and this is reality. Characters belong to Me. Wait, I mean Marvel. Yes, Marvel.

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Chapter #7: The Mission Begins

The small hand ticked over the number five and the entire apartment vibrated as the old clock chimed the new hour. Remy moved his eyes from the clock and back to the door. It had been six hours since Rogue had left and she still hadn't returned. In his newfound jealousy towards her boss, Remy wondered if she had forgotten all about him. She had promised to be home before he left for work, but as he turned his eyes back to the clock now, he saw that he would have to leave soon to make his six o'clock shift.

He gazed around the room idly, trying to keep his anger at bay. In Rogue's absence, Remy had distracted himself by cleaning the apartment up. He had washed the dishes from that morning, vacuumed the carpet in the living room, made up the couch, and dusted the bookshelf. He had even gone so far as to wipe down the glass of the windows. Periodically he would check the time on the clock, and each time a new burst of anger would radiate up from his stomach.

Rogue's hurried departure that morning had seemed so strange. He never recalled her mentioning before that she had a prior engagement today. Usually she was very clear about her daily schedule, but today, on her day off, her actions seemed so sudden. Remy was sure it had something to do with that phone call.

Although he knew he shouldn't, he couldn't help but feel jealous. This was no doubt a programmed reaction, but even so he launched right into it. What could Rogue's boss have said to pull her away from her art, and on her day off, no less?

As Remy pondered this question, his stomach growled in hungered protest. He hadn't eaten since that morning and wondered what Rogue would be bringing home for dinner… if she ever returned, that was.

As if in response it his immature thoughts, the doorbell rang. Startled, Remy got up, sprinted through the apartment, and yanked open the door.

'Oh my, someone's glad to see me.'

Remy, panting, looked down and saw startling blue eyes gazing up at him. 'You not Rogue.'

Belle raised a perfect brow, her eyes trailing up Remy's shirtless body. 'No, definitely not. Is she out?'

Remy ran a hand through his hair in frustration. His bangs flipped back over his dark eyes. 'Oui, she's out. But you can come in.' He held the door open for her.

'Don't mind if I do.' Belle flashed him a cunning smile as she squeezed passed him. 'Has Rogue been gone long?'

Remy closed the door after her and moved towards the kitchen. 'A bit.' He pulled two cups from the shelf. He was quite surprised to see Rogue's friend at the door. No one ever visited the apartment. When Rogue wanted to be with her friends, she would normally go down to N'dare's and meet them there.

'Where'd she go? I t'ought she had de day off.'

Remy shrugged, and something about his wayward attitude sparked Belle's curiosity.

'Do you want de juice, or de soda?' he asked, politely.

'I'll have de wine, if you have it.'

Remy nodded, and Belle watched as he bent down to retrieve the wine from the bottom shelf of the pantry. He had nothing on except a pair of khakis and Belle marveled at the toned muscles of his back.

'She should be back soon, though,' he said, straightening up and uncorking the bottle. He poured her a glass of red wine and passed it to her. 'Please, have a seat.'

Belle smiled appreciatively at him and moved towards the couch. 'Rogue's always been a little flighty,' she said, patting the spot on the couch beside her. 'But then, you already know dat. You be her cousin!'

Remy sat down beside her with his own wine cup in hand. He was a little confused by her remark, but then quickly remembered that Rogue had introduced him to Belle as her cousin.

'I t'ink she might be gone to see her boss' he said, candidly, whirling his drink in its cup. He recalled that Belle worked with Rogue, and the ebbing jealousy within him caused his cunning nature to seep through. Perhaps Belle knew something?

'Who? Wit' Bobby?' Belle asked, clearly intrigued. 'Now dat's news. I always knew Bobby 'ad de t'ing for Rogue.' She smiled coyly at the look on Remy's face. 'It be rumoured, but you never know.' She was somewhat curious about Remy's expression. He obviously wasn't amused by this information, but his relationship with Rogue could hardly warrant his agitation. After all, he was only Rogue's cousin. Deciding that she didn't want to talk about Rogue, and that she didn't want Remy's mood to spoil now that she had him alone, she added, 'so w'at have you been doing all day?'

Remy's mind seemed to shift gears as he comprehended her new question. 'Not'ing. Watched some TV. Worked out,' he replied, a little mechanically.

'Mmm. You must work out a lot,' Belle cooed, leaning in and very obviously checking him out.

Remy looked down at her, his brow creasing. Belle was Rogue's friend, but he had never gotten the opportunity to know her. She seemed very confident in herself and clearly displayed an interest in him. Remy found himself checking her out in return, but his memory chip reacted with a severe jolt. The wine glass fell from his hand.

'Oh my!' Belle gasped, as Remy stood up and grabbed a tissue box from the bookshelf. He bent down and started mopping up the mess.

'I t'ink you need somet'ing stronger,' she said, bending down to help him. 'Wine will leave de stain.'

Remy frowned as he went to the kitchen. He looked through the storage closet and found a bottle of carpet cleaner. 'Dis should help,' he said, returning to the couch with the cleaner in hand.

It didn't. Both he and Belle pulled away from the stain, leaning their backs against the couch. 'We can always hide de stain from her,' Belle suggested, casually sipping from her own cup.

Remy chuckled. 'I suppose it would be better to get killed later den sooner.' He gave her a playful wink.

Zap!

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Just outside the door, a tired, ruffled haired Rogue struggled to find her keys in her purse. Hooked over one arm was a bag of groceries – the basis for the dinner she was planning on preparing for Remy – and wiggling about in her other arm was a tiny, golden puppy.

Her "prior engagement" had been an appointment with Dr. McCoy. She had called him the day after she had decided to help Remy overcome his programming. She knew it would be hard to find a place to even begin hacking into his core, but she had realized that Remy's feelings for Darwin were his own. He spoke of his pet with affection and longing and Rogue was sure this had nothing to do with his training as the Absolute Boyfriend. If he could safely use his own thoughts and emotions to react to Darwin, then surely there was a glitch in his memory chip?

Hank had been very surprised to hear that Rogue wanted to adopt Darwin. When she arrived at Sinister Projects, he asked her various questions about Remy's performance and about her satisfaction with her product. She seemed to bristle every time he referred to Remy as Zero-9 and Hank took this as a good sign.

Lately he had been feeling nervous. Five days had passed since his talk with Essex, and he only had two days left in which Zero-9's bracelet had to blink white. He couldn't directly tell Rogue of the dilemma – that would be cheating, and Essex would surely be upset if he found out. He was also slightly concerned that if Rogue knew her trial would be pulled, she would readily accept it. Hank definitely did not want to take the risk, and so instead was determined to find out how things were going between the two. The bracelet had blinked blue a number of times over the last few days and Hank wanted to know why.

Rogue had not been very forthcoming with her answers. She seemed to be in a hurry to leave, though he did notice the way her eyes darted around the office as if she were trying to observe something she had missed during her first visit.

She did admit that she was getting used to Zero-9, and that she usually enjoyed his presence. Hank was also delighted that Rogue was making an effort to please Zero-9. Why else would she be anxious to reunite him with his one and only friend?

Rogue's visit to Sinister Projects had lasted quite some time. After Hank's initial interrogation, he had then persisted in giving her instructions on how to care for Darwin. Rogue had never owned a pet before, and although Zero-9 was very capable, Hank wanted to ensure that Darwin was well taken care of. A kennel, two bags of dog food, and a little silver bowl later, Rogue had finally managed to obtain the puppy and leave.

She had then embarked on a grocery spree, which ended up being a rightful pain. Apparently Darwin wasn't used to being in public and became overly excitable at the sight of every flashy colour.

She now stood, thankfully, in front of the door to her apartment. The majority of her and Darwin's belongings remained in the lobby downstairs. There had been too much to carry and she decided it would be better to leave them there and fetch them later. She couldn't wait any longer to see the expression on Remy's face when she opened the door.

Finding her keys at last, she placed a finger on her lips to hush Darwin. He instantly stopped with his excited yelping and looked up at her sheepishly. 'It's a surprise, ya know,' she whispered, with a sparkle in her eyes. She inserted the key and pushed open the door.

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Belle screamed as a tiny little creature bounded across the living room, ears flapping wildly, and jumped excitedly into Remy's lap. Remy stared down in shock as the little puppy jumped on his chest and started to lick his face. 'Darwin?' He lifted the puppy under its wiggling arms and held it up to his face. Instantly a look of recognition appeared in his eyes. 'DARWIN! It is you!'

Belle stared incredulously as Remy snuggled lovingly with his puppy.

'How did you get here, boy?' Remy asked, and it was then that he looked up and saw Rogue standing in the kitchen. She was smiling widely at him, and held up a plastic bag of groceries.

'Dinner, anyone?' she asked, casually, and chuckled at the expression on Remy's face.

'Rogue… you did dis?' He was looking at her disbelievingly.

'O' course Ah did,' she replied, and turned around to put away the groceries. 'Where else did ya think Ah was? Ah thought maybe this would be the best way ta get ya off mah ba—' But before she could finish her sentence, she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and pull her back against a strong chest. She gasped slightly as she felt Remy lean his chin against her shoulder, his lips pressed against her ear.

'Chere,' he breathed, and she felt a tingling sensation flow warmly through her body. 'You have no idea how much dis means to me.'

'Uh, well, it was nothin',' she said, breathless. She pulled forward and turned around. Remy stood before her, Darwin in one hand, his other lying on her hip. His ruby eyes were soft and affectionate as he gazed at her, and Rogue found her demeanor melting.

'Wait, so you two be cousins, right? Because I don't greet my cousin like that.'

Rogue leapt back, noticing Belle's presence for the first time. She inwardly shook her body out of its reverie, avoiding Remy's eyes completely. She could feel him still gazing at her. 'Ya prob'ly never done them a good deed, that's why,' she replied, turning back to the task of putting the groceries away. She was glad her voice was behaving normally, even if her body wasn't.

Belle raised a very suspicious brow. 'Really.'

Rogue nodded, and then gave her friend a reassuring grin. 'Seriously, Belle. Now, are ya stayin' for dinner or what?' She was a little surprised to see Belle in her apartment, and wondered briefly what she was doing here. Then, quite suddenly, she noticed the way Belle kept throwing her eyes towards Remy – a coy, rather lustful look in her eyes. 'Remy…' she said slowly, still not looking at him. 'Ah left a bunch of stuff in the lobby downstairs. Can ya go and get it?'

Remy nodded and, with Darwin tucked safely under his arm, left the apartment as he chided himself for ever assuming Rogue would cheat on him.

When he had gone, Rogue turned and gave Belle a rather curious look. 'You're droolin', ya know.'

Belle blinked, and then started to laugh. 'You cousin be seriously hot.'

Rogue chuckled. Ah know… she thought, and passed Belle the blender, who begrudgingly started to help Rogue with dinner. As they worked, Rogue wondered how long Belle and Remy had been alone together. It was obvious that Belle was attracted to him…

A small smile crossed Rogue's face. This was good. Perhaps Belle would be that first step in helping Remy conquer his own thoughts. If Remy manifested feelings for Belle, then certainly that would belie his programming? Rogue knew that Remy was in love with her because he had to be. But what if Remy truly fell in love… with his own heart?

Rogue gave Belle a sideways glance. The possibility was certainly there, and yet she couldn't help but feel a little… a little what? Wasn't there also the possibility that Remy could fall – truly – in love with her? She felt that similar warm glow radiate through her body at the thought, but then just as quickly dashed it away. She had to focus on her task, and it would be much easier doing so if Belle was in the picture.

And so… the mission begins… she thought to herself, as she sliced open her onion.

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Author's Note: GASP! Say what?! I KNOW! Rogue is such a moron sometimes, but she has her heart in the right place. The question is, where does Remy's heart lie?