Selected lines taken from "I'm Already There" by Lone Star. Once again, I own nothing but the strange ramblings of my twisted mind.

Smoke Rings in the Dark: Chapter 2- Already There
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What did you do?! she screamed at him, clawing wildly at his face and pushing him away.

Easy, chere, he soothed her. Easy. 'S okay...

Okay?!

Shhh... He held her close and she relaxed against him, bonelessly, hopelessly.

Remy, ya can't be here! Remy... I... I killed ya...

Non, chere. Nobody's killin' anybody.

But Remy...

He kissed her long and hard. After a moment she responded, twining her arms around his neck and running her hands up through his hair. He leaned back a little and smiled at her. Don' know 'bout you, but I never felt so alive. He touched her face softly, marveling at the small gesture that had always been forbidden to him before. If the rules don' work, we make our own. Closing his eyes, he brushed his lips ever so lightly against her face in search of her mouth.

I wish I was in your arms
lying right there beside you
but I know that I'll be in your dreams tonight
and I'll gently kiss your lips
touch you with my fingertips
so turn out the lights and close your eyes

Trapped in that space between dreams and wakefulness, she jerked herself to consciousness. "Remy?" she whispered. Voices darted above her, but not the one she listened for.

"Should we tell her?"

"She'll figure it out soon enough either way."

She frowned and tried to open her eyes. They felt so heavy, as if weighted down by the knowledge that she would not see the face she wanted to. "Remy?" she asked again, stronger this time, demanding an answer.

Right here, chere.

She opened her eyes hopefully. "Remy? Where..."

"He's not here Rogue."

"But I heard him say..."

She could hear him laughing. Non chere. Here!

She pressed a hand to her temple and groaned. "What did I do?"

He kissed her cheek impishly. You didn' do nothin' Rogue.

How can you say that?! she demanded. Is this a game to you? Stop playing with my mind! She shoved him and stomped away, hoping maybe he'd just leave.

No such luck. He darted after her and, grabbing her, shoved her against the wall. Her lip curled in annoyance and she opened her mouth, ready to lay into him in the way that always seemed to hurt him the most. To her surprise he kissed her again. You know the hardest part of being alive chere? Not being able to do t'is to stop you from arguin' all the time. He kissed her again, softly this time.

But Remy... she sighed. This isn't real.

Who says? His hands ran down her body, and her response was definitely not just in her imagination.

I'm already there
don't make a sound
I'm the beat in your heart
I'm the moonlight shining down
I'm the whisper in the wind
and I'll be there till the end
can you feel the love that we share
oh, I'm already there

She pushed him away. If this is real, than where are we? she demanded. Where is this place? If you're here, than am I? Or are you real and I'm a dream? She shook her head in confusion and despair of ever figuring anything out.

He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to his. What do you think?

Her eyes betrayed her surprise. What?

Chere, there's no way this can be real if you don't think it is. He sat down, as if preparing for a long wait, and pulled out his deck. An' I don' seem to be convincin' you.

That doesn't make sense. She shook her head, but thought about it a moment. If it was real to her, and it was real to him... In their line of work they had learned early on that reality was something the boundaries of which were not as defined as one would think. But allowing herself to believe that something good could come from her power was beyond the realm of reality. Happiness... It couldn't be real. Could it? She explored the possibility, poking at it, seeing how it reacted. It felt good... but oh so frightening! Opening up like that, allowing someone else to get that close to her... to hurt her.

I'd never hurt you.

His voice was so soft she barely heard it. For a moment she thought it was because he was fading, and she wondered why that thought saddened her. She turned around. I know. She was surprised to find that those words were true. I know Remy. I just... She shrugged. I just never really believed myself before. She sighed. Too bad we had to come this far before we... before I could figure it out.

'S okay chere. He repeated the words of comfort he had offered earlier. Maybe we's supposed to come t'is far. Maybe t'is where we're supposed to be.

She tilted her head up at him in a gesture of contemplation. Ya think so? She smiled and held out her hand to him. He took it with an old-fashioned courtly gesture and pulled her toward him. She traced a bare finger down his face and shivered. I'm scared Remy, so scared. But... maybe together we can be strong enough. Stronger than we ever were apart.

I'd never hurt you Rogue, and I'd never leave you. I'll be wit' you 'til the end. An' beyon'.

She smiled.

Ororo looked down at her friend's still form as Rogue lay resting in the bed. She was surprised to see the other woman smile. "Rogue?" she asked softly.

"He's here, 'Ro. He was already there. I just had to catch up..." She looked up at her friend, her eyes reflecting the love in her heart that she had been unable to find before, but that now seemed so clear. "I never saw it before, but 'Ro- I was missing something... him. He is the other half of me..." She yawned and curled up on the bed like a kitten. "I'm not making any sense. But he knows, and that's all that matters." She relaxed for the first time in a long while, the mental siege she had hardly been aware of finally resolved, and slipped off to the place where her love waited.

I'm already there
take a look around
I'm the sunshine in your hair
I'm the shadow on the ground
I'm the whisper in the wind
and I'll be there till the end
can you feel the love that we share
oh, I'm already there
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lol Whacha think? I think there's another chapter left somewhere in me... and as soon as I get inspired, I'll write it. Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoyed. =]