The Tree
The Kiss
Beast was in the next room, working on his latest pet project, when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Rogue was poised over Remy, about to kiss him. He was about to shout some kind of protest to his Mississippi teammate, but stopped himself, opting to see where it would lead.
Rogue went gently when her lips first met his, focusing on letting go of his psyche. She felt none of the vampiric pull on his being that she had experienced in the past and reveled in the lack of that feeling as much as she reveled in the feel of Remy's soft lips and warm breath on her face. After a moment, she felt Remy's lips move below hers. His arms moved to her sides then proceeded to wrap around her body. He deepened the kiss as he drew her closer, so close to him that she was practically laying on top of him. The passion flowed through them like water through a broken dam. It was her first real kiss where nothing bad was going on, and she didn't want it to end. She had the sneaking suspicion he didn't, either, but she needed to catch her breath. It took nearly all she had to pull away from him, and even then, she couldn't seem to pull herself very far.
Hank was not at all surprised when he saw Remy come out of his coma when Rogue kissed him. He couldn't deny that he wasn't a bit relived when he saw him react to her touch, though. He wondered if they noticed that Remys' monitors had sparked to life at the contact. The increased peeps from the machines were peculiarly romantic, but judging by the way the couple was reacting, or rather weren't reacting, he decided that they probably hadn't given them a second thought, or didn't care. Scolding himself when he realized he was now spying on the couple, Hank shut the door to allow them their privacy. He checked Remys' read-outs from where he was, and everything looked fine. His heart was beating rather rapidly, but nothing Hank was terribly worried about considering Remy's current activities. He'd find some excuse to come back out there and take a closer look at Remy's vitals in a few minutes, but for now, he'd leave them alone.
Remy opened his eyes to meet with a pair of eyes as deep and green as the ocean after a storm that mirrored the joy behind his own. Her face took up his entire field of vision. If he hadn't known any better, he would have guessed that he had died and gone to heaven. The face that now seemed to be the only thing in the world other than himself could only belong to an angel. It was more beautiful than anything he could have ever imagined. Her red lips parted and spoke:
"Wake up, Sleepin' Beauty."
"Isn't dis supposed to be de odder way around, mon belle?" Red lips pulled back into a smile and laughed. "I mean, after all, ain't I your Prince Charmin'?"
"Maybe in the fairy tales, sugah." (Ooo, she had used that word he loved to hear her say!) "But I want a real life."
"Sounds good ta me," he whispered and gave her his signature grin. He moved to sit up in the bed, never letting his eyes move from hers, and drew her close.
"'Sides. Y'all are so much more than mah prince charmin'. Ya mah soul mate."
"An' you're my soul mate, Roguie," he said, meaning every syllable of it from the depths of his heart. His lips descended upon hers once more, his tongue slipped into her mouth. If he could kiss her for all eternity, it wouldn't be nearly long enough.
"Oh my stars and garters!" Remy nearly jumped out of his skin at Hank's exclamation – which, had he been paying more attention, sounded a bit like the good doctor was faining surprise; Hank really wasn't that good of an actor. At any rate, Remy thought that he knew the real reason why the man was called Beast. "Remy," Hank continued, "Rogue, what's going on? My, my you two, the way you two kiss would make Wesley and Buttercup green with envy! Are you okay?"
"Well, Ah'm a little jumpy after y'all burst in here an' scared us half to death, but before that, Ah'd nevah been better."
"Well, I'm happy to hear that, and glad to see that you seemed to have mastered your absorbing powers, my dear Rogue, but I'm still not positive the effects of your, eh, touch, are still not entire healthy for our resident Cajun. Why just look at his heart rate!"
"I'm fine," Remy protested as Hank prepared to prod him. Hank had obviously ignored his last statement, though, and continued to ramble on.
"Moreover, I think it imperative to inform our benefactor of the recent developments here –"
Oh wonderful, Remy thought, just what I need, more people down here, and he rolled his eyes as he watched Hank go for the blood pressure cuff and his stethoscope. As if sensing his annoyance, he heard Rogue say "He's just concerned. 'Sides, we've waited this long, we can wait a little while longer to be alone without fear." He supposed she was right, and his agitation lessoned a little. He wasn't really looking at her though, so he hadn't realize that she hadn't actually spoken her last words to him.
Patiently, Remy let Hank poke a prod him, listening to his babbling. Rogue didn't move from her spot next to him on the bed, and he was content to hold her bare hand in his. Had he been paying attention to the big blue furball other than just his requests that he stick out his tongue, turn his head and cough, etc., he would have realized that Dr. McCoy was doing a great deal more than was really necessary, almost as if Henry seemed to be enjoying delaying the couple a bit too much.
"So, Hank tells me that Rogue seems to have gained control over her powers," the professor stated rather superfluously upon entering the Med Lab once again.
"Yeah, it seems dat she has." Remy sounded a little more annoyed than he had intended, but decided that he didn't care.
The professor looked at the couple. "I knew you had it in you. Congratulations, to both of you."
"Thank ya," Remy heard a beautiful voice reply
"I must admit, though, it seems to have occurred at a much faster rate than I thought possible. I would have guessed that it would have been a more gradual transition. Tell me, how was this accomplished?"
Rogue proceeded to tell him of the earlier events of that same evening. Sometime though it, Hank had finished with his check-up, and pulled up a stool to listen. Remy was the only in the room that wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying, though. He didn't need to. He knew how it went.
"Fascinating!" Hank and Xavier said in unison when it was over.
"So what's de verdict, doc? Kin I go back to my room?" Remy asked Hank.
"Yeah, sure, get out of here, you crazy kids."
"'K. Thanks, Beast. Say, where're my clothes?" Remy asked as he prepared to get up from the bed. Better get them quick. This place makes me nervous. Reminds me o' Sinister's Labs, he thought to himself. Or at least he believed it was to himself.
Rogue gasped, her eyes widening in shock. Remy shot his head to her.
"Chere, what's wrong?"
"Remy...do you remember the time ya spent in mah head?"
"Yeah...why?"
"Well, Remy...Ah kin still hear your thoughts in mah head."
"Fascinating!"
"Really? How 'bout dis one?" All I wanna do right now it take you upstairs, undress you, lather butter all over your naked body just so I lick it all off and then –
"Remy!" she cut him off. She was blushing furiously. "Ah can't believe what a mind ya've got!" Don't you know that too much butter will upset your stomach? Why, you can't even handle butter on your popcorn! No, we'll use the whipped cream and chocolate syrup.
He let out a hearty chuckle as he drew her closer. I'm so lucky to have someone like you who's always looking out for me, he projected to her as he kissed her, not quite as passionately as he would have liked. After all, there were people around.