Chapter 3: The Talk
Remy's chores and duties took him all day – in fact, it was 8pm by the time he was finished, his fingers and cheeks stinging, his back and neck aching. He hated February, he hated any month where the sun wasn't shining and warm air circulating around him.
He stepped into the mansion, dirty, smelling of garbage, and feeling rather tender, his head hurting from all his thinking. It was what he hated about his chores, they were all physical labour – it didn't require too much thought, and that was when other thoughts crept into the mind.
Remy headed upstairs to the boys dorm, the bathroom silent, he sighed, and stepped in, yanking off his dirty clothes, and tossing them into a hamper, he shoved the plug in the bath, and turned on the hot tap, steam rising into the air moments later. He glanced around, finding some bubblebath, its label promising muscular pain relief. Normally bubbles weren't his thing – baths weren't either – but for the pain right now, he'd try anything. He poured a generous amount into the water, and watched as bubbles began to build up over the surface.
He looked at himself in the mirror. Exhaustion, and pain agreed with him, anyone looking at him might have never even guessed how bad he was feeling, how tender his muscles were and how tired he was. Thoughtfully, he ran his bare fingers against the scar on his chest, it had been so long ago since he'd received it, the wound hadn't ever really healed properly, it still looked almost fresh, the scar purpling, and almost seeming bruised slightly around the edges.
When the bath was full of hot steaming water, he slipped in, wincing at how hot the water was, yet grateful for the effect it had to his cold and smarting skin. He sank down, closing his eyes, exhaustion settling over him already.
I should have told her about Xavier trying to stop us from dating…I had no right to keep it from her, he thought at himself angrily, he dipped a washcloth into the water and took it out, watching water seeping from it desperately. He sunk lower, until he was underwater up to his neck, the hot water lapping at his jaw and chin, bubble tickling his ears, he closed his eyes, feeling relaxation begin to finally kick in as he submerged himself in hot water and foam.
Rogue stepped into Professor Xavier's office, hugging herself against a chill that had been raging in the hall all day. He sat behind his desk, writing something, she had entered without knocking so quickly to redeem her manners, she knocked on the door as it hung open. "Professor?"
"Yes?" Professor Xavier stopped writing, he looked at her.
"Remy was kind of upset…" Rogue said, "I spoke with him earlier, I was just wondering if you knew if something was wrong…"
Professor Xavier – for the first time – had what Rogue could classify as a truly guilty expression on his face. Rogue suddenly knew something had gone on – something Remy wasn't telling her. "Myself and Remy did have a discussion – a disagreement if you will – of course, it was not what he wanted to hear so he stormed out swearing," Professor Xavier explained simply, "He's very headstrong."
"Not always," Rogue rubbed her arms briskly, "What did you disagree about?"
"Rogue, please sit down," Professor Xavier offered her a chair near the desk.
"No thanks, I'd rather stand," Rogue said, Professor Xavier raised an eyebrow at her. Rogue wondered if Remy had stood when he'd come to see the Professor also.
"I think you and Remy should hold off on your plans for romance for maybe another few months…after your recent suicide attempt—"
"Professor, please…" Rogue felt infuriated immediately, "I'd rather not be reminded – and what do you MEAN hold off our plans for romance, we've waited two months, we've been waiting since we met, I'm not gonna hold off any longer…"
"Rogue, please, calm yourself," Professor Xavier looked rather helpless at that moment.
"No," Rogue folded her arms angrily, "you know that everything has been trying to keep me from being with Remy and I'm not going to wait any longer. I'm sorry, Professor, but this is one thing I'm gonna have to agree with Remy on…please stay out of this…its none of your business," Rogue fumed, and with that left, slamming the door behind her she didn't hear the crack of the wood, she was already flying up the stairs to find Remy.
She looked all over for him, his room was empty, he wasn't outside, and Bobby had said he'd seen him going into the bathroom looking rather filthy. The boys dorms were quiet, but downstairs Rogue could hear the excited cry of almost all the residents in the house – a pool match going on in the recreation room.
Rogue approached the bathroom door and knocked, "Remy?" she asked.
No answer came, and Rogue began to wonder if he really was in there or not. She tried the handle, for the moment forgetting all the bathroom doors didn't have locks anymore, the door swung open, Remy was lying in the bathtub, sleeping soundly. Steam rising into the air from the water, foam sparkling around Remy's nude upper torso, she could see nothing below the waist.
She admired him, the way his body glistened in the overhead light, the heat making his body sweat intensely, his hair tinged with water, his eyes closed lightly. She slipped in, closed the door quietly behind herself, and knelt beside the bath, reaching over with a gloved hand to touch his cheek, "Remy…"
Remy's eyes snapped open with a start, and he sat up, the water making a loud splash against the bath, he gasped, "what the…"
"You fell asleep," Rogue pointed out, "don't you know that's dangerous?"
Remy rubbed his face a little, his eyes felt unfocused and dry, "what time is it?"
"Nine…" Rogue glanced at her watch, "How long you been in here…"
"Since about eight-fifteen I think," Remy leaned back in the bath, "what are you doin' here?" he asked, he rubbed his head, it was throbbing.
"I was lookin' for you. Xavier just told me that me and you should hold off for a few months," Rogue said incredulously, "the nerve of that man," she snorted in contempt.
"Yeah, he said the same thing to me," Remy sighed, he glanced over himself to make sure that she couldn't see anything below his waist, the last thing he needed was the embarrassment of that.
"Don't worry, I can't see anything," Rogue commented, "and what does it matter, I've already seen you naked."
"You haven't taken a good look though, I'd like to protect what little modesty I have left," He said. He turned on his side placing both arms on the edge of the bath and resting his cheek against them, "so…you disagreed with Xavier too?" he asked.
"What do you think," Rogue reached over and moved some of Remy's damp hair away from his forehead, "You look tired," she murmured.
"I am," He sighed, "Long day pickin' up garbage," he said, "and that danger room session this morning was a killer, its no wonder my back hurts," he mumbled, he looked up at her, she still wore no makeup, she looked so natural and fresh, her hair now dry, pulled back by a couple of butterfly clips.
Rogue run her gloved fingers across his forehead in a romantic tender way, he closed his eyes, savouring the touch, even with the leather of her gloves between their skin, "look at you, so cute," she smirked.
Remy smirked a little and opened his eyes, gazing up at her again, "just cute? Or drop dead handsome and sexier than any man on earth?"
Rogue laughed, "don't push it," she got up, "I better go."
"Stay and talk to me," Remy murmured.
"What do you possibly have to talk about?"
"I don't know," Remy sighed, "I just wanna know that you're here, and not gonna go off and rethink about what Xavier said," he explained.
"Fine," Rogue knelt back down beside the bath, her back against the wall, "You realise it's been almost nine months since you've been with the X-Men," she said.
"I know," Remy laughed a little, "strange how time flies," he admitted, he looked at her deep in her eyes, and when she looked back at him he could see his reflection in those eyes, "I probably would have never come back if it hadn't been for you," he reached over, taking her gloved hand and kissing it lightly, "my cherie amour," he murmured.
"I told you not to call me that," Rogue rolled her eyes.
"Y'know, I have pet names for you," Remy remarked, he sat up and began to finish washing his arms and shoulders, "but you never call me anything but Remy."
"What do you want me to call you?" Rogue asked.
"Your Adonis," Remy joked.
"I'm serious," Rogue remarked.
"I don't know, something that rolls naturally off of your tongue I guess," Remy shrugged.
"Whatever I'd call you, it has to be something that'd suit you," Rogue pulled herself up, and sat on the edge of the bathtub, watching him scrub his shoulders. "Nothing French though. Something simple…like sweetie, or darling, or something," she shrugged.
"Not sweetie, and not darling, I'm not a darling…" he remarked, he turned and looked at her as if she were absurd.
Rogue smirked, "sugar."
"Sugar," he raised an eyebrow, "I hate it even more."
"I like it," Rogue smirked, "sugar it is."
"No…" Remy pouted, "anything but that."
"No, I've made up my mind. You have your pet name for me, I have mines for you, we're even," Rogue took the washcloth from him and ran it between his shoulder blades.
"I'd rather just be Remy, in that case," he closed his eyes, feeling the hot water trickling down her back as she pressed the cloth between his shoulder blades. "Keep scrubbing," he then commanded.
"What am I, your servant?" Rogue kept washing his back.
"My love slave," Remy remarked with a soft laugh, he hugged his knees, "you should feel honoured, I never let girls scrub my back."
"Never?" Rogue was surprised.
"Never."
"So…you've never did the shower thing then?" Rogue asked.
"The what?" Remy glanced over his shoulder at her.
"Y'know, the shower thing, its in all the movies, people havin' sex in the shower, scrubbin' each other, soap everywhere…not exactly the good clean fun you'd expect," She explained.
"How much porn HAVE you been watching?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Just answer the question…"
"Never took a shower with a girl," he said quietly.
"Not even with Bella Donna?" Rogue asked, it sounded as if she'd been so intent on asking it in the first place, as if the question had played itself in her mind.
Remy already knew what was coming, but before he had time to realise it, he'd already answered, "no, I—"
"You must have had some degree of love with her, you've been with her several times – even lost your virginity to her," Rogue remarked, "Isn't that meant to be special."
"Its different—" Remy tried to say, but she interrupted again.
"Did you and she do it all the time?" Rogue asked quickly.
Remy felt his temper flare, "for fucks sake…" he shook his head, "get out…get out right now," he commanded angrily, gesturing to the door.
"What?" Rogue asked, she looked quite taken aback by his sudden hostility.
"Just get out."
Rogue just stood, looking at him with confusion, "what did I do?!"
"I'll tell you what you fucking did, you're getting on my nerves, that's what," he growled, "just get out."
Rogue obliged, slamming the door behind herself.