Chapter 11
The storm finally abated and the pair on the couch drew apart. Remy kept his eyes lowered, unsure of himself but Betsy kept a hand on his shoulder as she smiled. "Thank you."
"Welcome."
There were a few more minutes of awkward silence before Besty spoke again. "Did you eat breakfast this morning?"
"Non, de storm come up and..."
She gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze. "I thought that would be the case."
His red on black eyes looked up from beneath his bangs. "You know Remy dat well, huh?"
"No, not yet. However, I am working on it. Shall we go out to eat?"
"Sound's bien."
"Good, where..." She was interrupted by the phone ringing. They both looked at it curiously before Remy reached over to answer it.
"Oui?" He listened for a few moments. "20 minutes. Got it. Oui, Remy will try." His eyes had darkened in annoyance as he hung up. "De fearless leader say de team got a workout in 20 minutes 'nd Remy betta' behave himself, startin' by bein' on time." Shaking his head in annoyance, he looked back at her. "You betta' get back up dere so you're not late."
"No, I will wait for you to get your things and we can go up together."
He gave her a rueful grin, "No more hiding, huh?"
"There is no more reason to."
"You don' know what you gettin' into. Was gonna wait t'tell ya 'cause Remy been enjoyin' havin' a frien' 'gain." He sighed. "Was gonna wait 'til I felt ready but 'm never gonna feel ready. Be unfair to you tho', gettin' you into my troubles wit'out you knowin' what ya gettin' into. T'day, go ta practice wit'out Remy, den, tonigh', we go somewhere else and Remy tell ya everyt'ing, ok?"
Betsy nodded, confused and concerned. "Tonight, then." Standing up, she reluctantly exited the house and ran up to the mansion to get ready for practice.
She arrived on time and thought it amusing that no one seemed curious as to how she had found out about the session when no one had told her. Remy was also on time, his eyes on the ground as he took his usual position away from the others leaning against a wall. The other's reactions were the same as yesterday. The only change being that Warren was pointedly ignoring her as well as glaring at the Cajun.
She stood next to Logan who was smoking one of his cigars, enjoying the disapproving glares he received from Scott. Looking up at her with concerned eyes, he asked in a low voice, inaudible to the others, "So, it's over?"
"Apparently."
He was silent for a few moments as Scott and Ororo conferred about the rules for the session. "This about the Cajun?"
"No. This is between Warren and I."
"Good. He don't need more guilt."
Betsy nodded, "I know."
"You need anything..."
"I will call."
He grunted in response and they lapsed into comfortable silence. Betsy was glad for the support Logan gave her. Emotions and communication were not his strong suits, but he was steady and dependable. He was also very observant and he obviously knew she had been speaking to Remy, but was too polite to interfere.
Today the teams would be sparring with each other and Betsy really had her doubts about Scott's wisdom. Warren and Jean were on the opposite team from Betsy and Remy and, after the very public altercations of the previous day, it did not seem a good idea to give the people involved such good shots at each other. There seemed a very dangerous gleam in Warren's eyes and where he led, she knew, Bobby would most likely follow. This was going to be much worse than yesterday.
The signal to begin went off and the teams immediately squared off. Scott and Ororo, being team leaders sparred against each other and, as expected, Angel dove right at Remy, who immediately dodged. Jean tried to invade Betsy's mind and the British mutant immediately turned her attention on deflecting the attack and retaliating by bringing the redhead into hand to hand combat. Unsurprisingly, she was intercepted along the way by Hank who immediately moved to protect the woman while Scott, distracted by Jean's peril, found himself knocked to the side by Ororo who turned her attention next to Rogue.
A well-placed side kick from Betsy knocked the breath out of her large opponent and allowed her to reach Jean and attack with her psychic knife before Jean could defend with telekinesis. Betsy turned to the battle and noticed that Scott had rejoined the fray, giving her a glare due to Jean's limp body on the floor at Betsy's feet. The ninja turned away in annoyance. What did he expect? Was she to throw the fight so his precious girlfriend did not get hurt? Looking around, she noticed Warren was trying to force Remy to dodge into areas where Bobby could get a free shot and Betsy felt a rising level of panic that did not feel completely like her own.
Betsy moved to go to his aid but was sidetracked once again by Hank, barely dodging a shoulder block guaranteed to have broken several ribs if it had connected. Although she had superior fighting skills, he had the muscle to be able to withstand her strongest strikes while she had to be careful to avoid even a glancing blow. Melting ice coated most of the Danger Room making footing slippery, but Betsy managed to keep her balance until a spike of fear and pain hit her shields, distracting her like someone yelling unexpectedly in her ear and causing her to miss a step, crashing to the ground. Hank immediately moved to take advantage of the situation but instead found him self pulled back by Logan, who smiled and tapped him on the nose, "You're out, Blue."
Betsy did not spare the humorous situation a glance as she immediately looked to check on Remy. He was on the ground, ice coating one leg and arm, his free arm curled against his body as if in pain.
She could not read Bobby's expression, but Warren's smile as he walked forward was not pleasant. Neither was the satisfied look in Rogue's eyes as she hovered nearby and Betsy was hoping the nasty suspicion that flashed in her mind was not true. Quickly regaining her feet, she moved to go to his aid, Logan right beside her, when lightening bolts flashed around the prone body, knocking the Rogue, Bobby, and Warren back then gale force winds pushed them away even farther as Ororo hovered near the ceiling, lightening literally flashing from her eyes.
Neither Betsy nor Logan hesitated. They ran to Remy's side, the winds making way for them while keeping the others at bay. Reaching the fallen Cajun, Logan retracted all his claws except one and carefully began cutting the ice away from his body while Betsy checked for other injuries. Seeing he was coherent, she took a deep breath, straining to seem calm as she asked what happened.
Remy shook his head. "Not here." His gaze was on the floor, his face a bland mask, refusing to show any pain, emotional or physical.
Betsy decided not to argue, even though it seemed as if she could feel rage rolling off him in waves. Instead, she asked if he hurt anywhere other than his free shoulder which was bruised but unbroken.
"Non."
Logan finished cutting the ice away that had been holding him and, together, they helped the Cajun regain his feet. He took a minute to steady himself before giving them both a grateful smile. "Merci, mes amis."
The two nodded and let go of him but did not step away. They could barely hear Scott shouting at Ororo over the winds surrounding, but that did not matter to the three of them. Instead they stood, wary and still, as the winds died and Ororo once again stood on the ground again. They knew another storm was coming.
The storm finally abated and the pair on the couch drew apart. Remy kept his eyes lowered, unsure of himself but Betsy kept a hand on his shoulder as she smiled. "Thank you."
"Welcome."
There were a few more minutes of awkward silence before Besty spoke again. "Did you eat breakfast this morning?"
"Non, de storm come up and..."
She gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze. "I thought that would be the case."
His red on black eyes looked up from beneath his bangs. "You know Remy dat well, huh?"
"No, not yet. However, I am working on it. Shall we go out to eat?"
"Sound's bien."
"Good, where..." She was interrupted by the phone ringing. They both looked at it curiously before Remy reached over to answer it.
"Oui?" He listened for a few moments. "20 minutes. Got it. Oui, Remy will try." His eyes had darkened in annoyance as he hung up. "De fearless leader say de team got a workout in 20 minutes 'nd Remy betta' behave himself, startin' by bein' on time." Shaking his head in annoyance, he looked back at her. "You betta' get back up dere so you're not late."
"No, I will wait for you to get your things and we can go up together."
He gave her a rueful grin, "No more hiding, huh?"
"There is no more reason to."
"You don' know what you gettin' into. Was gonna wait t'tell ya 'cause Remy been enjoyin' havin' a frien' 'gain." He sighed. "Was gonna wait 'til I felt ready but 'm never gonna feel ready. Be unfair to you tho', gettin' you into my troubles wit'out you knowin' what ya gettin' into. T'day, go ta practice wit'out Remy, den, tonigh', we go somewhere else and Remy tell ya everyt'ing, ok?"
Betsy nodded, confused and concerned. "Tonight, then." Standing up, she reluctantly exited the house and ran up to the mansion to get ready for practice.
She arrived on time and thought it amusing that no one seemed curious as to how she had found out about the session when no one had told her. Remy was also on time, his eyes on the ground as he took his usual position away from the others leaning against a wall. The other's reactions were the same as yesterday. The only change being that Warren was pointedly ignoring her as well as glaring at the Cajun.
She stood next to Logan who was smoking one of his cigars, enjoying the disapproving glares he received from Scott. Looking up at her with concerned eyes, he asked in a low voice, inaudible to the others, "So, it's over?"
"Apparently."
He was silent for a few moments as Scott and Ororo conferred about the rules for the session. "This about the Cajun?"
"No. This is between Warren and I."
"Good. He don't need more guilt."
Betsy nodded, "I know."
"You need anything..."
"I will call."
He grunted in response and they lapsed into comfortable silence. Betsy was glad for the support Logan gave her. Emotions and communication were not his strong suits, but he was steady and dependable. He was also very observant and he obviously knew she had been speaking to Remy, but was too polite to interfere.
Today the teams would be sparring with each other and Betsy really had her doubts about Scott's wisdom. Warren and Jean were on the opposite team from Betsy and Remy and, after the very public altercations of the previous day, it did not seem a good idea to give the people involved such good shots at each other. There seemed a very dangerous gleam in Warren's eyes and where he led, she knew, Bobby would most likely follow. This was going to be much worse than yesterday.
The signal to begin went off and the teams immediately squared off. Scott and Ororo, being team leaders sparred against each other and, as expected, Angel dove right at Remy, who immediately dodged. Jean tried to invade Betsy's mind and the British mutant immediately turned her attention on deflecting the attack and retaliating by bringing the redhead into hand to hand combat. Unsurprisingly, she was intercepted along the way by Hank who immediately moved to protect the woman while Scott, distracted by Jean's peril, found himself knocked to the side by Ororo who turned her attention next to Rogue.
A well-placed side kick from Betsy knocked the breath out of her large opponent and allowed her to reach Jean and attack with her psychic knife before Jean could defend with telekinesis. Betsy turned to the battle and noticed that Scott had rejoined the fray, giving her a glare due to Jean's limp body on the floor at Betsy's feet. The ninja turned away in annoyance. What did he expect? Was she to throw the fight so his precious girlfriend did not get hurt? Looking around, she noticed Warren was trying to force Remy to dodge into areas where Bobby could get a free shot and Betsy felt a rising level of panic that did not feel completely like her own.
Betsy moved to go to his aid but was sidetracked once again by Hank, barely dodging a shoulder block guaranteed to have broken several ribs if it had connected. Although she had superior fighting skills, he had the muscle to be able to withstand her strongest strikes while she had to be careful to avoid even a glancing blow. Melting ice coated most of the Danger Room making footing slippery, but Betsy managed to keep her balance until a spike of fear and pain hit her shields, distracting her like someone yelling unexpectedly in her ear and causing her to miss a step, crashing to the ground. Hank immediately moved to take advantage of the situation but instead found him self pulled back by Logan, who smiled and tapped him on the nose, "You're out, Blue."
Betsy did not spare the humorous situation a glance as she immediately looked to check on Remy. He was on the ground, ice coating one leg and arm, his free arm curled against his body as if in pain.
She could not read Bobby's expression, but Warren's smile as he walked forward was not pleasant. Neither was the satisfied look in Rogue's eyes as she hovered nearby and Betsy was hoping the nasty suspicion that flashed in her mind was not true. Quickly regaining her feet, she moved to go to his aid, Logan right beside her, when lightening bolts flashed around the prone body, knocking the Rogue, Bobby, and Warren back then gale force winds pushed them away even farther as Ororo hovered near the ceiling, lightening literally flashing from her eyes.
Neither Betsy nor Logan hesitated. They ran to Remy's side, the winds making way for them while keeping the others at bay. Reaching the fallen Cajun, Logan retracted all his claws except one and carefully began cutting the ice away from his body while Betsy checked for other injuries. Seeing he was coherent, she took a deep breath, straining to seem calm as she asked what happened.
Remy shook his head. "Not here." His gaze was on the floor, his face a bland mask, refusing to show any pain, emotional or physical.
Betsy decided not to argue, even though it seemed as if she could feel rage rolling off him in waves. Instead, she asked if he hurt anywhere other than his free shoulder which was bruised but unbroken.
"Non."
Logan finished cutting the ice away that had been holding him and, together, they helped the Cajun regain his feet. He took a minute to steady himself before giving them both a grateful smile. "Merci, mes amis."
The two nodded and let go of him but did not step away. They could barely hear Scott shouting at Ororo over the winds surrounding, but that did not matter to the three of them. Instead they stood, wary and still, as the winds died and Ororo once again stood on the ground again. They knew another storm was coming.