My Heart in Your Hands
by Princess of Monkeys
Chapter 21
Yay, new reviewers! Thanks to Krac and T. And of course Ish- I'm sorry you're having the weekend from hell. A whole chapter full of fluffy, mushy goodness should help to ease the pain... And this is an apology in advance if the formatting is all weird- ff.net is scrunching everything allup when I'm uploading. Meh!
Rogue didn't know what to make of Remy's last comment, so she just sat there in silence. She felt worn and tired- listening to Remy's story had emotionally exhausted her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized that she'd finally made some kind of choice about him. Even though he was a thief and an accidental killer, in some twisted way, his honesty actually made her more willing to trust him. _And am I ever glad he did just come out and tell me, because that's a whole slew of memories I wouldn't have wanted to pick up out of his mind the next time he kisses me. Wait a minute- next time? What am I thinking!_
Unaware of Rogue's thoughts, Remy was pondering some weighty matters of his own. Telling her had eased some of the burden of guilt he carried inside him. He would always feel responsible, but at least one person in the world didn't blame him for it, and that made it a little easier to bear. They both looked up at each other at the exact same moment, mouths open to break the silence with lame small talk, but they were saved by the sudden appearance of Eddie, the coffee guy. "Guys, we're closing, can I take your cups?" It was his not-so-subtle hint for them to get out.
Looking around, they both saw that they were the last people in the place. As they walked to the door, Remy offered her his arm again, and this time, she accepted it.
He pushed open the door, and they stepped outside into the cool night air. "So now what?" Remy asked her. Even though it was late, even though he'd just shared an extremely emotional part of himself with her, he was unready for the night to end. Instead of answering, Rogue suddenly looked up the street, hearing noise coming from one of the bars. Catching sight of a very familiar Harley parked out in front of one of them, and an even more familiar man smoking a cigar by it, she dragged Remy back into an alley. _Not again! Damn the man- he's going to smell me, and then bad things will happen!_
Remy stared at her, a question in his eyes, and she mouthed "Wolverine" to him. He nodded, and stayed right where he was, having no desire to get into a confrontation with the man. Truth be told, Wolverine freaked him out a little. Anyone who could actually fight Sabretooth and win wasn't anyone Remy wanted to be tangling with if he could avoid it. Rogue peeked around the corner again a few minutes later and was relieved to see that he'd gone back into the bar. They ran to Remy's bike, both laughing like kids who've just cut class, happy to have escaped.
When Logan came back out to finish his cigar after making his shot at the pool table, he smelled a familiar scent on the air. _Stripes?_ He wondered, before looking up the street at the closed coffee shop. _Oh yeah, that's where she said she was going.... What do you know, she was telling the truth after all._ Shrugging his shoulders, he took another puff.
As they rode through the streets of Bayville, silent and dark, Rogue called "Where are we goin'?"
Remy called back into the wind "Wherevah we end up, chere." They ended up on the bluff overlooking the town, and as Rogue dismounted the bike, she said "Ooh, real original swamp rat- ya brought me ta the most well known make-out spot in town." For once it was deserted, all the teenagers who usually frequented the bluff being far more mindful of their curfews than Rogue was of hers.
"Remy din' bring y' here f' dat, chere," he told her, "though Ah wouldn't mind kissin' y' again." When she rolled her eyes and moved away from him, uncomfortable again, he hastened to add "Jus' teasin y'. Ah brought y' up here 'cause it be beautiful without all de teenagers cars blockin' up de view, non?"
She had to admit he was right. The whole town was spread out below them in a twinkling sea of lights; with the moonlight coming down and the stars shining up in the heavens, it was a breathtaking sight. Walking over to a nearby tree, they sat down and stared out at the panorama spread out before them.
Rogue was the first to speak. "Ya know, up here, none of it seems ta matter. It's not humans an' mutants, not good guys an' bad guys- it's all jus' a bunch of little lights. We're all jus' people tryin' ta get along the best we can."
He nodded, knowing what she meant. It was a thought he'd had himself, on more than one occasion. "Remy come up here t' think, t' get away from de base sometimes, when things get too crazy."
Rogue turned towards him and asked "Remy, what's it lahke livin' there?" Seeing his look of shock, and realizing that he'd misinterpret the question, she quickly said "Ah don' mean Ah wanna know any of yoah secrets or nothin'- Ah jus' mean what are they all lahke? Are they ya friends, stuff lahke that. Nothin' dangerous."
Seeing that he still seemed hesitant to answer, she said "Tell ya what. Ah'll make ya a deal. Tonight, right now, we ain' workin' on opposite teams. Ah'm not an X-Man an' yer not an Acolyte- we're jus' Rogue an' Remy. Jus' two people sittin out havin' a chat. We don' talk 'bout trainin' or missions or none of that stuff- right here, right now, it don' exist. We're jus' two people with a lot of crazy friends. Deal?"
Remy smiled and said "Y' got y'self a deal, chere." Inside, he was crying out his joy to the heavens. _She finally sees me for myself. She even just said it- not an Acolyte, just Remy. Maybe it's only for tonight, only for a little while, but at least its possible._
"Well, Ah guess we be friends. Dey all be kinda crazy, though, chere- Remy be de sanest person livin' dere." He went on to tell her about the time St. John made an unsupervised trip to the store and came back with $200 worth of lighters.
"They'll let ya buy that many lighters?' Rogue asked in disbelief, and Remy said "Well, Remy nevah said he actually paid for most of 'em... Ah think he started playin' with one of 'am in de store, and de owner was so scared he jus' told him t' take em all an' get out. Not everybody like flamin' horsies y' know," he said with a completely straight face, and Rogue couldn't help but laugh. "An' don' get me started 'bout de time he got put on laundry detail- took four bottles 'a detergent t' get de soot out of m' clothes!"
"That reminds me of the time Kurt was doin' laundry an' got a red sock mixed up in all Scott's white clothes. See, Scott only sees in red, so he din't know! Nobody wanted ta tell him either- it was too funny watchin' him walk around lahke everythin' was all normal. Whenevah somebody would laugh, he's ask why, and they'd jus' say 'ya clothes look funny.' An' he'd always look down an say 'looks fahn ta me.' Ah think Jean finally told him, an ya shoulda seen him chasin' Kurt around, tryin' ta catch him. Kurt swears it was an accident, but Ah don' believe him- that boy's always pullin' a prank."
He ended up telling her the story about Pietro trying to do his hair in the reflection from the mixing bowl, and she was rolling around on the ground laughing. "That boy is so vain an' so arrogant! But Ah think he can even give ya a run for ya money, far as bein' irresistible to the ladies. He came ta a dance with four girls one time!"
Of course, Remy got all huffy at that one, saying "Dat little snot nose punk kid bein' better wit' de femmes den me? Not a chance."
"Nah, ya don' have an ego or nothin'," Rogue teased him. They kept talking and teasing each other and telling stories for a long, long time. Finally, Remy noticed Rogue trying to hide a yawn behind her hand, and he said "Chere, Remy think mebbe it be time t' take y' home. Much as Ah'd love t' keep y' here wit' me all night, don' think de people from y' Institute would like it much." She nodded, having to agree with him. Picking themselves up from the ground, they mounted the bike and were off again.
Despite the traumatic pieces of Remy's past, and the near run in with Logan, Rogue had thoroughly enjoyed herself. With him, she hadn't had to hold back at all. He took her sarcasm and her teasing and didn't get all offended like everyone else did- he just gave right back. And when she was telling her stories, she hadn't had to hide anything. As much as Risty always seemed to understand her, Rogue always had to censor herself so much around the girl. Since Risty hadn't known about her being a mutant, there had been so many things she'd had to cover up. Hell, she couldn't even have her best friend come over after school without getting it cleared by everyone else first! Not that Remy would be allowed over any time soon either, but that was for entirely different reasons. He understood because he was like her, and he lived with people who had crazy powers too. It had just felt so good to let it all out and to be able to talk about nice normal things like friends and pranks and school with someone who wouldn't freak out about the whole mutant thing.
Before she knew it, Remy had pulled up in front of the Institute gates. Sparing a thought to hope that Logan had already returned and wasn't going to catch her out here, she looked up at Remy, who had gotten off the bike, and felt suddenly shy. "Ah had a good time, Ah mean, aside from the... ya know what Ah mean," she said awkwardly.
He leaned forward to brush that one errant white strand out of her eyes, and this time she didn't flinch away from him. "Remy know what y' mean, chere," he said to her softly, looking into her emerald eyes. He could get lost in those eyes, drown in their soulful depths forever and enjoy every moment of it... Knowing that if he didn't leave now he'd do something stupid, like kiss her again, he gave her a soft, gentle smile and said "Have sweet dreams, chere," and turned away to leave. He didn't have to tell her he'd see her again soon- they both knew.
She watched him rode off, staring after him until he was too far away to be seen, and punched in her gate code. She knew it would record that she had come home very, very late, but she didn't care. As she walked up to the house, she felt the uncharacteristic urge to do a little dance or turn cartwheels or something. She felt.. happy. _Oh yeah, we are way beyond just friends,_ she thought ruefully to herself. Yet she couldn't bring herself to regret it. When he'd been staring into her eyes, it was like she could see the thought in his head. She knew he wanted to kiss her again, and a part of her wanted it too. Being with him tonight, even though it was so, so wrong, had felt so right. _Girl, you are in way too deep._ But she felt giddy and beautiful and wanted- and she didn't want to give up that feeling for the world.
by Princess of Monkeys
Chapter 21
Yay, new reviewers! Thanks to Krac and T. And of course Ish- I'm sorry you're having the weekend from hell. A whole chapter full of fluffy, mushy goodness should help to ease the pain... And this is an apology in advance if the formatting is all weird- ff.net is scrunching everything allup when I'm uploading. Meh!
Rogue didn't know what to make of Remy's last comment, so she just sat there in silence. She felt worn and tired- listening to Remy's story had emotionally exhausted her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized that she'd finally made some kind of choice about him. Even though he was a thief and an accidental killer, in some twisted way, his honesty actually made her more willing to trust him. _And am I ever glad he did just come out and tell me, because that's a whole slew of memories I wouldn't have wanted to pick up out of his mind the next time he kisses me. Wait a minute- next time? What am I thinking!_
Unaware of Rogue's thoughts, Remy was pondering some weighty matters of his own. Telling her had eased some of the burden of guilt he carried inside him. He would always feel responsible, but at least one person in the world didn't blame him for it, and that made it a little easier to bear. They both looked up at each other at the exact same moment, mouths open to break the silence with lame small talk, but they were saved by the sudden appearance of Eddie, the coffee guy. "Guys, we're closing, can I take your cups?" It was his not-so-subtle hint for them to get out.
Looking around, they both saw that they were the last people in the place. As they walked to the door, Remy offered her his arm again, and this time, she accepted it.
He pushed open the door, and they stepped outside into the cool night air. "So now what?" Remy asked her. Even though it was late, even though he'd just shared an extremely emotional part of himself with her, he was unready for the night to end. Instead of answering, Rogue suddenly looked up the street, hearing noise coming from one of the bars. Catching sight of a very familiar Harley parked out in front of one of them, and an even more familiar man smoking a cigar by it, she dragged Remy back into an alley. _Not again! Damn the man- he's going to smell me, and then bad things will happen!_
Remy stared at her, a question in his eyes, and she mouthed "Wolverine" to him. He nodded, and stayed right where he was, having no desire to get into a confrontation with the man. Truth be told, Wolverine freaked him out a little. Anyone who could actually fight Sabretooth and win wasn't anyone Remy wanted to be tangling with if he could avoid it. Rogue peeked around the corner again a few minutes later and was relieved to see that he'd gone back into the bar. They ran to Remy's bike, both laughing like kids who've just cut class, happy to have escaped.
When Logan came back out to finish his cigar after making his shot at the pool table, he smelled a familiar scent on the air. _Stripes?_ He wondered, before looking up the street at the closed coffee shop. _Oh yeah, that's where she said she was going.... What do you know, she was telling the truth after all._ Shrugging his shoulders, he took another puff.
As they rode through the streets of Bayville, silent and dark, Rogue called "Where are we goin'?"
Remy called back into the wind "Wherevah we end up, chere." They ended up on the bluff overlooking the town, and as Rogue dismounted the bike, she said "Ooh, real original swamp rat- ya brought me ta the most well known make-out spot in town." For once it was deserted, all the teenagers who usually frequented the bluff being far more mindful of their curfews than Rogue was of hers.
"Remy din' bring y' here f' dat, chere," he told her, "though Ah wouldn't mind kissin' y' again." When she rolled her eyes and moved away from him, uncomfortable again, he hastened to add "Jus' teasin y'. Ah brought y' up here 'cause it be beautiful without all de teenagers cars blockin' up de view, non?"
She had to admit he was right. The whole town was spread out below them in a twinkling sea of lights; with the moonlight coming down and the stars shining up in the heavens, it was a breathtaking sight. Walking over to a nearby tree, they sat down and stared out at the panorama spread out before them.
Rogue was the first to speak. "Ya know, up here, none of it seems ta matter. It's not humans an' mutants, not good guys an' bad guys- it's all jus' a bunch of little lights. We're all jus' people tryin' ta get along the best we can."
He nodded, knowing what she meant. It was a thought he'd had himself, on more than one occasion. "Remy come up here t' think, t' get away from de base sometimes, when things get too crazy."
Rogue turned towards him and asked "Remy, what's it lahke livin' there?" Seeing his look of shock, and realizing that he'd misinterpret the question, she quickly said "Ah don' mean Ah wanna know any of yoah secrets or nothin'- Ah jus' mean what are they all lahke? Are they ya friends, stuff lahke that. Nothin' dangerous."
Seeing that he still seemed hesitant to answer, she said "Tell ya what. Ah'll make ya a deal. Tonight, right now, we ain' workin' on opposite teams. Ah'm not an X-Man an' yer not an Acolyte- we're jus' Rogue an' Remy. Jus' two people sittin out havin' a chat. We don' talk 'bout trainin' or missions or none of that stuff- right here, right now, it don' exist. We're jus' two people with a lot of crazy friends. Deal?"
Remy smiled and said "Y' got y'self a deal, chere." Inside, he was crying out his joy to the heavens. _She finally sees me for myself. She even just said it- not an Acolyte, just Remy. Maybe it's only for tonight, only for a little while, but at least its possible._
"Well, Ah guess we be friends. Dey all be kinda crazy, though, chere- Remy be de sanest person livin' dere." He went on to tell her about the time St. John made an unsupervised trip to the store and came back with $200 worth of lighters.
"They'll let ya buy that many lighters?' Rogue asked in disbelief, and Remy said "Well, Remy nevah said he actually paid for most of 'em... Ah think he started playin' with one of 'am in de store, and de owner was so scared he jus' told him t' take em all an' get out. Not everybody like flamin' horsies y' know," he said with a completely straight face, and Rogue couldn't help but laugh. "An' don' get me started 'bout de time he got put on laundry detail- took four bottles 'a detergent t' get de soot out of m' clothes!"
"That reminds me of the time Kurt was doin' laundry an' got a red sock mixed up in all Scott's white clothes. See, Scott only sees in red, so he din't know! Nobody wanted ta tell him either- it was too funny watchin' him walk around lahke everythin' was all normal. Whenevah somebody would laugh, he's ask why, and they'd jus' say 'ya clothes look funny.' An' he'd always look down an say 'looks fahn ta me.' Ah think Jean finally told him, an ya shoulda seen him chasin' Kurt around, tryin' ta catch him. Kurt swears it was an accident, but Ah don' believe him- that boy's always pullin' a prank."
He ended up telling her the story about Pietro trying to do his hair in the reflection from the mixing bowl, and she was rolling around on the ground laughing. "That boy is so vain an' so arrogant! But Ah think he can even give ya a run for ya money, far as bein' irresistible to the ladies. He came ta a dance with four girls one time!"
Of course, Remy got all huffy at that one, saying "Dat little snot nose punk kid bein' better wit' de femmes den me? Not a chance."
"Nah, ya don' have an ego or nothin'," Rogue teased him. They kept talking and teasing each other and telling stories for a long, long time. Finally, Remy noticed Rogue trying to hide a yawn behind her hand, and he said "Chere, Remy think mebbe it be time t' take y' home. Much as Ah'd love t' keep y' here wit' me all night, don' think de people from y' Institute would like it much." She nodded, having to agree with him. Picking themselves up from the ground, they mounted the bike and were off again.
Despite the traumatic pieces of Remy's past, and the near run in with Logan, Rogue had thoroughly enjoyed herself. With him, she hadn't had to hold back at all. He took her sarcasm and her teasing and didn't get all offended like everyone else did- he just gave right back. And when she was telling her stories, she hadn't had to hide anything. As much as Risty always seemed to understand her, Rogue always had to censor herself so much around the girl. Since Risty hadn't known about her being a mutant, there had been so many things she'd had to cover up. Hell, she couldn't even have her best friend come over after school without getting it cleared by everyone else first! Not that Remy would be allowed over any time soon either, but that was for entirely different reasons. He understood because he was like her, and he lived with people who had crazy powers too. It had just felt so good to let it all out and to be able to talk about nice normal things like friends and pranks and school with someone who wouldn't freak out about the whole mutant thing.
Before she knew it, Remy had pulled up in front of the Institute gates. Sparing a thought to hope that Logan had already returned and wasn't going to catch her out here, she looked up at Remy, who had gotten off the bike, and felt suddenly shy. "Ah had a good time, Ah mean, aside from the... ya know what Ah mean," she said awkwardly.
He leaned forward to brush that one errant white strand out of her eyes, and this time she didn't flinch away from him. "Remy know what y' mean, chere," he said to her softly, looking into her emerald eyes. He could get lost in those eyes, drown in their soulful depths forever and enjoy every moment of it... Knowing that if he didn't leave now he'd do something stupid, like kiss her again, he gave her a soft, gentle smile and said "Have sweet dreams, chere," and turned away to leave. He didn't have to tell her he'd see her again soon- they both knew.
She watched him rode off, staring after him until he was too far away to be seen, and punched in her gate code. She knew it would record that she had come home very, very late, but she didn't care. As she walked up to the house, she felt the uncharacteristic urge to do a little dance or turn cartwheels or something. She felt.. happy. _Oh yeah, we are way beyond just friends,_ she thought ruefully to herself. Yet she couldn't bring herself to regret it. When he'd been staring into her eyes, it was like she could see the thought in his head. She knew he wanted to kiss her again, and a part of her wanted it too. Being with him tonight, even though it was so, so wrong, had felt so right. _Girl, you are in way too deep._ But she felt giddy and beautiful and wanted- and she didn't want to give up that feeling for the world.