Dismal Angel 2010 - Episode 3
Chapter 3: Spider
"Rejoin the X-Men. I can't believe it," Rogue was speaking to herself more than Kitty Pryde who was helping her fold clean sheets in the small laundry room on the first floor.
Kitty Pryde felt she must have heard Rogue repeat this sentence almost three hundred times in the last hour, and was beginning to grow weary of it already. She could literally see the tension stretched tightly across her friend's flawless face, the way Rogue kept pursing her lips together, narrowing her eyes, and frowning. Sucking sharp breath through her teeth as if she were in acute discomfort.
Kitty finally spoke, "Y'know, Remy hasn't even said if he's gonna stay or not, you're really overreacting," she announced, she stood parallel to Rogue folding a large white sheet pristinely, "the way you're acting, you'd think the guy had already moved his stuff in or something," she admitted, they finished folding the sheet and placed it delicately upon the pile that was set on the top of the drying machine.
Rogue shrugged, and gave a sigh as if in defeat, "what's the point in trying to keep a positive outlook and trying to believe he's going to reject it, you know as well as I do that he's probably already said yes…he knows how good he'd have it if he lived here…and it'd probably delight him just to piss me off," she muttered, "he has grudges."
Kitty reached into the large circular door of the dryer and pulled out a warm freshly dried sheet, she tossed Rogue an end, "grudges? Against you?" she was slightly amused by this concept, what could Remy possibly have grudges against Rogue for? She'd done nothing wrong as far as Kitty could tell.
Rogue looked away guilty, "Because I judged him too quickly, I guess," she thought to the night before and when she'd tried to kiss him, she was almost positive now she had to have been drunk, nothing else could have possibly made her do something so foolish, she was certain of it.
"Is there something going on that you're not telling me about?" Kitty raised an eyebrow, she realised that for Rogue to be sure there was a grudge, there must have been a discussion, and this was something Kitty was positive Rogue hadn't mentioned yet.
"Look…I wasn't going to tell you this," she stopped the folding process for a moment to look at her best friend seriously, "but somethin' happened last night…I guess I had too much to drink, and just before I left McDuggins I'd had a double Scotch that Logan bought me, I guess it just went straight to my head…"
Kitty looked appalled, "and?"
"I made a move on him – God, I don't know WHAT the hell I was thinking," Rogue shook her head at herself in disgust, she placed one hand over her face, "and he pushed me away, preachin' about how he hadn't forgiven me for the fact I called him a killer," she felt her cheeks flush in fury at remembering this.
Kitty was surprised at this, she'd seriously thought Remy had wanted Rogue back, she couldn't believe he would have pushed her away. The way he'd been watching Rogue the night previous had seemed to suggest he still had feelings for her. "Wow…I didn't think he'd push any woman away," she admitted, another sheet was folded and placed upon the pile. "So are you upset about it?"
"Of course not," Rogue lied blatantly, her eyes darting left and right, her cheeks scarlet still, "I want that asshole out of the mansion as soon as possible."
"Y'know, I think he deserves a second chance," Kitty admitted, and winced at the reproachful expression building on Rogue's face, "as an X-Man I mean," she hastily added, chewing her bottom lip and shrugging, "he was good as one of us," she quickly met Rogue's end and took the newly folded sheet from her, and placed it down on the pile.
Rogue sat down on a large pile of folded up towels that were resting in a basket on the floor, "I don't believe you're siding with him already…despite what you claim, Kitty, I'm pretty sure you really do have the hots for the man."
"Oh come on," Kitty rolled her large blue eyes, but grinned, "have the hots for Gambit? As if!" she shook her head whimsically, she noted the nearby washing machine had done with a load, and she opened the door and began to haul out large handfuls of wet blankets, she loaded them into the dryer.
"Why is it you always side with him then?" Rogue asked grumpily as she rested her chin on her fists.
"Because I'm just one for always being fair," Kitty shrugged, she took the large pile of sheets carefully and loaded them into a laundry basket and picked it up, "I'm just gonna take this upstairs, can you load the washer with that next pile?"
Rogue gave a nonchalant shrug and watched Kitty leave, she sighed, and began to separate coloured blankets and sheets from white, once she had, she bent over to load the coloured ones into the washing machine, humming to herself absently.
A very hard smack right on her backside disrupted her, and she spun around with a gasp, facing Remy LeBeau, who was standing looking quite bemused with her reaction.
"You fucking pervert!" Rogue swung her hand out to slap him, which he expertly dodged by ducking slightly to the side, grinning broadly.
"Relax," Remy responded, "there was a big spider right on your ass," Rogue didn't miss the very amused expression in his eyes.
Rogue rolled her eyes, "whatever," she felt her face flush with rage.
Remy smirked and held up his hand, a large brownish gooey-looking smudge was on his hand, complete with a remaining spiders leg dangling from it.
Rogue made a face, "ew!" she moved back, "get that away from me."
"You're grossed out? By THIS?" he was curious, "Chere, you got the rest of it hanging from your ass."
Rogue grabbed a dirty blanket from the unwashed pile and wiped her backside with it making a face of disgust as she did. "What are you in here for anyway."
"I only got one change of clothes and if I have to squeeze myself into Scott's jeans for one more day I think I'll throw up. Things are so uncomfortably tight," Remy held up his black pants and sweater, the ones he'd been wearing the night he'd been caught in Illinois.
"Perhaps you shouldn't eat so much," Rogue grabbed the clothes from him haughtily and shoved them in the washing machine along with the coloured blankets.
"Oh, its not my waist that's experiencing the tightness," Remy responded matter-of-factly as he wiped the spider blood from his hand. After a moment, he noted a pile of clean laundry in a basket near the corner and picked up a black lace thong, "Hmmm, interesting choice of underwear someone has…"
"Those are mine," Rogue snatched the underwear from him and threw them back in the pile, "not that it's any of your business."
"Black thong, huh? Someone wants to have sex someday," he said wryly, then whistled as if impressed.
"They're comfortable."
"Sure."
"I don't like underwear lines showing through my uniform!" Rogue hissed at him angrily, she wished he'd just leave. She'd shoved his clothes in the washer, what else could he possibly want?
"You wear those under your uniform?" Remy now seemed even more fascinated than before, his ebony and ruby eyes widening slightly, they seemed to flicker in his curiosity, "you never cease to amaze me."
"And you never cease to annoy me," Rogue responded quickly to him, their eyes met and Rogue felt obliged to stare back at him intently as he was at her. It felt almost like a challenge, the way their eyes felt locked. Who would be the first to look away?
I won't look away, I won't let him think I'm weak and that I can't even stare him out, Rogue thought heatedly at herself.
"Guys, have you seen a large spider somewhere?" Kitty asked curiously as she entered the laundry room, "One of Hank's test subjects escaped, it was a wolf spider…black and kinda brownish?"
"Uhm…" Rogue's eyes widened a little, "it's just a spider…what's so important about it?"
"Hank had cloned a Wolf Spider and mutated it, a breakthrough in science," Kitty admitted.
At the same exact moment, Remy and Rogue glanced over to Kitty, and in complete unison spoke the words, "I haven't seen it."
"Oh, ok," Kitty shrugged and headed off out of the room, seemingly intent on finding the spider, which she had no idea was now deceased thanks to Remy's hand.
"Uhm…hell…Hank takes notes, right?" Remy asked concernedly.
"I think so," Rogue kept her voice low.
"Great, then he'll be able to clone and mutate another," Remy said, looking a little relieved, "Jesus, who the fuck would want to clone and mutate a spider anyway," he rolled his eyes and headed for the door. "What is it with fucking scientists, can't leave well enough alone," he muttered, in an almost bitter voice that caught Rogue more off guard than she would have expected to have been.
"Huh?"
Remy headed for the door, before leaving he sharply said, "yell for me when my clothes are ready."