Dismal Angel 2010 - Episode 20

Chapter 6: Can't This Wait?

Remy LeBeau didn't bother to knock on Rogue's bedroom door when he approached, he simply tried the handle, and when he found that locked, all he had to do was yank out his lockpicking kit and easily unlock it. He wasn't going to be kept out of that room even if his life depended on it. He found himself musing this was the second door within twenty-four hours that he'd unlocked by no one's authority but his own.

The light came on just as he entered the room, Rogue – or rather Carol Danvers – was sitting up on the bed, hand on the lightswitch, her hair mussed, eyes tired, she looked at him confusedly, holding the covers to her chest with her other hand. "Remy, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" she demanded. "It's only five-forty-five am!"

"I want to talk to you, and I want to talk to you now," he said, he slammed the door behind himself, and he moved over, he grabbed a chair from against the wall, spun it around and sat upon it backwards with his arms resting upon the back.

"Can't this wait?" she asked dully, yawning, she rubbed her eyes, then stretched a little.

"No, it fucking can't," he said coldly, his eyes flashing angrily, "I want you out of her body NOW."

"Well, I can guarantee you, LeBeau, that's not happening. I haven't been out of her body since the day she absorbed me, and if it hasn't happened by now, it's never happening," Carol let the covers dropped, she was in nothing more than a very skimpy black satin camisole that seemed to accentuate Rogue's ample bosom more than Remy could have thought possible.

Remy had to break himself out of the stare, "you know what I mean," he frowned, "I want Rogue back in control of her own body."

Carol smirked, "make me…" she climbed out of the bed, the camisole showing every curve of Rogue's body, revealing how flawless her skin was. Remy couldn't remember having seen Rogue look so…undressed. The closest he'd ever come to seeing her this unclothed had been on his twenty-first birthday – she'd been wearing a skimpy black mesh top over a black bra – he'd been able to see right through it. She'd later taken that top off to let it dry from a heavy rain shower they'd both been caught on, Remy remember his breath catching in his throat then the same way it was doing now.

"I can make you," Remy said, he looked up at her.

"What you going to do, keep bugging me until I give up?" she asked with a laugh, she smirked, "you'll give up when you get bored, you always do."

"Not this time," Remy responded, "are you forgetting what Rogue means to me?"

"Of course not," Carol stated calmly, "that's why I'm doing this, to let you know how it FEELS to have something taken from you, seeing it right there but never being able to just TAKE it."

Remy frowned, "this isn't even the same thing, Carol. This is just spite, that's what it was. So what if you're mad at me, you KNOW in your heart that this isn't my fault, and it isn't Rogue's fault."

"I MIGHT know that," Carol frowned, "but it doesn't make ME the one who's at fault either," she gestured to herself, "you on the other hand, you DO have part of the blame. You KNEW what you were doing! You might have not had a CLUE what Magneto was up to, but you still seduced me when you knew it was wrong, you led me on and told me you loved me when you had no such feelings. You knew Magneto was using me for something, you just didn't know WHAT…"

Remy looked away.

"You had a choice and you made your decision. This is MINES," Carol gestured to Rogue's body.

"But Rogue is the innocent in all this…" Remy looked at her, "the old Carol I knew would never have put an innocent at risk."

"The old Remy I thought I knew would have never jeopardized someone's life!" Carol cried, "but you did. I guess we were BOTH wrong," she retorted.

"Don't make me do something to hurt you, Carol," Remy said, "I'd do ANYTHING to get Rogue back, even threaten to kill your family – I was there, remember, I KNOW where they live."

"You wouldn't dare, Remy. You'd never hurt an innocent, you haven't got the balls."

Remy scowled. This wasn't working. She knew him too well. He got up, tossing the chair over so that it fell to the floor, "I'll MAKE you bring her back," he grumbled, and before he left the room, he stopped and added, "I swear it."

In the Danger Room control annex, Kitty was giving Piotr some tips about helping the children train, she had a folder with Rogue's lesson plan on it, and was going through it step by step.

"So here, you see, keep them on their toes but don't over stress them," she was saying, she'd been speaking quickly and barely giving Piotr enough chance to keep up with her. He'd barely had enough time to ask her any questions. He found it strange, she liked to talk a lot, of course, he realised this, but it was the first time he'd known her to talk non-stop, it was almost as if she were nervous about something.

He looked at her, she was pointing to a printed out map of the danger room she had laid out on a countertop, she was circling areas off with a pencil, "here, here and here…are generally where the kids tend to find trouble, the corners are where the kids will get trapped, KEEP an eye out for that. And watch out for the middle of the room, everything usually spawns there. The Program is already set for you anyway, it's an easy one, you should get by no problem, just make sure they keep their powers to a low level, we don't want anyone getting hurt."

"Katya," Piotr put his hand against her back tenderly, she was leaning over the counter still marking off her print out. "Is something the matter?"

"No…why?" Kitty asked, her voice high and squeaky.

"You have not stopped speaking since we left the war room," Piotr replied, he rubbed her back, "it is almost as if you are…nervous."

"I'm not nervous," Kitty forced a smile, "I'm fine. I'm just…I think I've had too much coffee, y'know? It's kind of got me on a caffeine high or something."

"I did not see you drink any…" Piotr responded curiously.

"I was up all night," Kitty said, she deliberately left out the part about having spent the night with Remy LeBeau consoling her over an unwanted pregnancy. "I…I had a lot to do," she said, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice, "grading maths homework is so abysmal…especially from these new students, half of them couldn't tell me what three hundred times two is, y'know what I'm saying?" she laughed a little.

"I see," Piotr said, "Well, perhaps you should give yourself a little time off."

"I can't, I have so much to do," Kitty said, but it was a lie, she had everything under control as far as her work went. It was her personal life that wasn't in control anymore, not that it had ever been. Her personal life had always been shoved aside for career – and of course the needs of others.

No wonder, I got myself in this fix, she thought miserably. How am I going to tell him? Look at him, he's just so…innocent. And we're just starting out still and we haven't even got to the point of thinking about the rest of our lives together…this is going to drive him away…I know it.

"You look sad," Piotr said softly, he turned her towards him with the slightest press of his hand against her shoulder.

"I'm not sad, I'm happy. Got my job, got my man…got my friends…everything is…" she swallowed back the need to cry, "fantastic."

"Are you sure you are not sad?" Piotr's cornflower blue eyes softened and he leaned hunched a little so he could look into her eyes a little closer.

"Just a little…" Kitty felt she had to admit to something, he seemed to know her too well and he was looking in her eyes that way she felt he might be able to read right through her, "over Rogue…being pushed into the back of her own mind while Carol takes the reins."

"Ah," Piotr nodded, "Yes, I know you are close."

"She's…" Kitty paused and swallowed, "kind of like the sister I never had. When we were younger, we kind of…hated each other…at first. Y'know she had her 'I'm too goth to be your friend' attitude, and she thought I was too preppy and happy to hang out with…but…over the years, we have grown close, I guess…I don't know what I'd do without her…"

"You did not seem so bothered by it before," Piotr admitted, "when Rogue was comatose you barely seemed to bat an eyelid – why the concern now.

"I'm under stress, all this work, and I'm still worried about Remy…y'know, he's gone through so much, and I just wish I could do more to help him…" Kitty confessed, she looked away, at least Piotr seemed to believe that it was only Rogue that was upsetting her, and not anything else.

"You should not be focusing so much of your attention on Remy, he is a grown man, let him solve his own problems…and I am not sure you should be spending so much time with him. When I worked with him when we were both Acolytes, he had…what was referred to as…a wandering eye. He'd be dating several girls simultaneously…and I would not like to think he has you under that charm of his."

"No, you don't get it," Kitty sighed, "he's my friend…and I know that if I had problems…I could turn to him and he WOULD be there…"

"I doubt he would," Piotr admitted coolly.

"You don't know him as well as you think," Kitty replied softly.

Piotr smiled a little, "Well…to be honest, there is only one person I am truly dedicated to knowing," he brushed his lips against hers, "and that is you."

The End (or is it? DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNN, mwahahahaha.)

okay, so yeah, more angst, but let's face it, happy stories just get boring WAY too quickly. Anyway, props to everyone who put in a good review in for the last episode…I don't know if I can name anyone, but this includes Sweety8587, IvyZoe, Illusen, Vampire Adrian, TruleyRogue, Rogue4787, misspresh, Aro and ishandahalf. Props to Aro for just being…Aro. Props to Rogue4787 for saying my guitar wavs were good (which has nothing to do with DA, but I thought I'd put it in anyway), and props to ishandahalf for bunnies on crack.

- Ash