Disclaimer: I'm sure you all know this by now.
A/N: Never fear, ishandahalf is here! Huzzah, I managed one last post before university starts, so enjoy!
Aro, Star-of-Chaos, PomegranateQueen, Raven2687,mollymo, AnalisDestiny, Adri, EE's Skysong, Ms. Rogue LeBeau, Anamaniax, enchantedlight, flowerperson,Rogue14, perturbedpercy, TheRealMai, Rogue Almighty,darkstorm5000, Dreamcatcher89, ChibiKaril, and heartsyhawk - Aww, I feel the love. I heart you all!
demiducky25 – I wrote it in the order it's posted. It was quite difficult to go backwards sometimes… But only at the start and at the end. The middle was just fluff filled, and not a lot of order or progression was needed. Plus, fluff is always fun.
TheDreamerLady – Technically I suppose he could, but then they'd be memories only seen through his eyes, with his feelings and best possible recollections replaced in Remy's mind, so it'd be kinda weird. For the sake of my plot, I guess that's a no! ;-)
SweetRevenge151 – School too, eh? Shall we make a "ignore learning and concentrate on fics" pact this time?
Calliann – No floatation device? I'd suggest you install soon, you might need it for the next chapter – I got all choked up writing it, it's pretty sad. I'm only looking out for your safety! ;-)
Goddess Evie – Hey, I didn't agree to speedos! Can I back out, or do you already have the corn prepped? Actually, now that I think about it, I really do have a craving for some… Creamed corn, that is, not speedos. Heh.
Sophie – Well crikey, why do you get the hottie diver? Hah, what if I get to him first, eh? I think I'll be able to handle you not speaking to me, cuz I'll have him for company… Yummers. But don't you worry, I'll send you pictures of his buff, sexy body to taunt you! ;-)
Eileen Blazer – I'm a wee bit worried about you – Remy looks especially good every day! As for the bookstore man, maybe he's a romantic at heart, so he'll get some joy from kicking them out of the store and pushing them together instead of selling a book… Sure.
Sweety8587 – Umm, the sun does come up from the East… ;-)
angyxoxo – Yup, don't fret, we're almost done with the memories, then real life fun and confusion shall commence! But wait, what's that, " Poor Pietro"? Feeling bad for him cuz Remy will swoop back in and steal Rogue away from him, are you?Perhaps… And perhaps not. Shmeh, I doubt anybody will be feeling sorry for him later, bwa ha ha!
Ooh, is everybody ready for their first "date"? I'm sure it'll just go swimmingly…
Loved and Lost, or Never At All?
Chapter 17 – Beginning
"Remember tonight… for it is the beginning of always." – Dante Alighieri
Moments ago it had been a nice day – a bit humid, but pleasant nonetheless. Then within seconds, sheets of rain began pouring down relentlessly, drenching the poor Cajun who had simply been out for a stroll around town. Remy despised wearing soaking wet clothes – it wasn't the end of the world, the water would dry after all, but it was a pet peeve of his.
He scanned the area, seeking a place where he could take temporary shelter. The bank and the jewellery store were out of the question – he wouldn't mind entering and staking them out, but somehow the thief doubted that the managers would allow a suspicious man in sunglasses and a trench coat to loiter. There was a flower shop – no. A toy store? No, definitely not. The bookstore? Maybe… But then his eyes fell on the café across the street. Le Café Café – he smirked at the name, but thought it looked rather inviting. Yes, it would do nicely.
Scampering across the street, nimbly avoiding large puddles, Remy paused under the awning hanging above the door. Taking off his sunglasses, he managed to wipe the raindrops away with a small part of his shirt that was miraculously still dry. Then he put them back on – he wouldn't want to scare the employees and have them kick him back out into the downpour.
Pushing open the door, the Cajun strode inside, and was warmed up instantly. As always, he carefully scrutinized the establishment – he liked it almost immediately. There was a comfortable feeling to it, almost as if he had entered a library or a den.
He took in the customers sitting at the tables, and then automatically searched for any and all exits – his training was so deeply lodged into him that he couldn't even get a cup of coffee without a twinge of paranoia, he thought. However, that cynical contemplation quickly left his mind when a more important thing was brought to his attention.
While Remy's eyes had been picking out an exit sign towards the back of the café, he couldn't help but notice something else – or rather, someone else. It was whom he saw under the sign that he found much more interesting than potential getaway routes.
Sitting alone, at the very back table that was almost obscured from view, was the same girl that had been swirling around his thoughts recently. Rogue. She was curled up in the corner, intently reading a book. A gloved hand reached out and brought a steaming coffee mug to her lips, but then quickly jerked the scalding liquid away. All the while, her eyes never left the pages.
Shaking himself out of his trance, Remy finally jolted back to reality. How long had he stood there watching her? He must have looked so silly, standing alone at the entrance like that… But he didn't care. All he felt was a strange excitement – this was perfect! He could finally have a chance to talk to her, she who seemed to be haunting him.
Willing his feet to move, he began to march towards the rear. He wasn't completely sure as to what his plan would be – perhaps charm her like all the rest, and get her out of his system? Yes, that would surely do it. Once he found out more about her, his mind would realize that she was really nothing special.
Remy finally reached her table – it had seemed like a longer distance than it really was, like the path to her stretched on forever, like he would always be walking it. Shrugging off that crazy notion, he plastered on the most charismatic smile he could and began, "Excusez-moi, chère, mind if I sit down?"
At the sound of his voice, her head snapped up. When she saw who happened to be standing in front of her, Rogue's jaw dropped open in shock. Composing herself quickly, she then glared at him and replied coldly, "Actually, Ah do mind."
His ears perked up at her response, soothed by the Southern twang, despite its harsh tone. Acting as if he didn't hear her, however, Remy pulled out a chair and sat down across from her anyway.
She narrowed her captivating eyes, which he was too busy admiring to notice her annoyance. "Are yah deaf? Ah didn't say yah could sit down!"
"'M not deaf, I just chose not t' listen," he smoothly answered. "I wan' t' talk t' y'."
"Believe meh, Ah'm not interested," she stated, attempting to get back to her book.
"Oh, I t'ink y' are," Remy smirked. After all, how could she not be? He had yet to meet a woman impervious to his charms.
"An' why would yah think that?" she scowled, shutting her novel and looking up at him. "Yah don't know meh."
"Non, but I'd like t'."
This time Rogue was the one to smirk. "An' how do yah know that? Again, yah don't know meh," she repeated, believing she had gotten the best of him.
Clearly, she didn't know him either, if she thought those words would make him leave! If anything, they only served to intrigue him – a girl was actually pushing him away, this was a first… "Dat's true. I might not know y' now, but I'd like t'."
"Why?" she asked suspiciously.
He mentally kicked himself, realizing that she probably thought he was here enacting one of Magneto's evil plots – that couldn't have been further from the truth. He was here solely for his own purposes. Trying to reassure her, Remy said, "Cause I t'ink y're interestin', an' dat y're someone worth knowin'. Dere's no evil purpose b'hind dis."
"Riiight," she drawled disbelievingly.
"'M serious!" he attempted to convince her. "Can't un homme sit down wit' a bellefille he's interested in an' talk t' her?"
"No!" she shouted, and then appeared embarrassed when a few of the other patrons looked her way. Quieting her voice, her words were still as sharp as ever. "No, no, yah can't, not when that girl is meh, yah got it, Gambit?" she spat out in a vicious whisper.
"Why not?" he queried softly. She had a tortured look in her eyes, and for a second he hated himself for bringing that out in her.
"Yah know about mah powers?" Rogue hissed, more of a statement than a question.
"A bit," Remy admitted. "Can y' tell m' more?"
"Yah really don't wanna know," she mumbled, crossing her arms and slouching in her seat.
"I asked, didn' I?"
She glanced back up at him, and then huffed in contempt. "Fine, yah wanna know? Ah absorb th' memories an' life force o' whoever Ah touch skin to skin, an' if they're a mutant, Ah get their powers," explained Rogue bitterly, and then continued in a sarcastic tone. "An' th' best part is that Ah can't control it!"
Remy felt his heart go out to her. He considered it rather strange – he would have thought his initial reaction would be fear, knowing the danger she possessed in a single touch, but instead, he felt sympathy. Living without skin-on-skin contact? It must be so hard… His estimation of her increased tenfold.
"So," the girl continued cynically. "Yah still wanna talk to meh? Or are yah gonna go an' keep yer distance like everyone else?"
"Mebbe dey all keep a distance cause y' make dem," he observed sagely.
He saw her feelings of self-loathing disappear, to be replaced with solely loathing, all directed at him. "Excuse meh?" Rogue whispered, slowly and vehemently, as if daring him to explain.
Remy knew he would probably only incite her anger further, but still felt the need to continue. "Y' seem t' push people away. I just wanted t' talk t' y', dere's nothin' wrong wit' dat, but instead, y' act all hostile!"
"Hostile? Yah're damn right Ah'm hostile!" she exclaimed, almost hysterically, yet somehow managing to keep her voice down. "Ah hurt people with a touch! Yah can't possibly know what that feels like! Yah can't possibly know what it's like to have people afraid o' yah, an' have 'em flinch when yah come near!"
He frowned. "I know more den y' t'ink," he told her. "I blow t'ings up wit' a touch – when I first got m' powers, I blew up everyt'in', so I know 'bout hurtin' people, an' not touchin' anyt'in'. An' believe me, I know 'bout people bein' afraid o' y', an' flinchin' around y'," Remy divulged as he took off his sunglasses and looked straight at Rogue. "At least dey don't call y' Le Diable (the Devil)."
Her eyes widened, but he didn't see fear in them like he had expected. She didn't flinch or wince or scream, like so many people had in the past. She simply sat there staring at him, with something akin to awe on her face.
"They're not devil eyes," Rogue finally spoke, voice hushed, with a strange hitch to it. "They're beautiful."
"So are yours, chère… Wait, what? Y' mean dat?" he flirted automatically, before enquiring about her words that sunk in so slowly. It must have been a fluke, a slip of the tongue…
Remy blinked at the compliment, wondering if he was hearing things. Surely, she didn't just say what he thought she had said… He doubted it – firstly because they were just fighting seconds ago, and secondly, because the nicest things anybody had said about his eyes up until now were that they were 'special'. He knew that was just another synonym for strange, frightening, demonic…
"Course Ah do," Rogue said in an almost insulted manner, as if he thought she was lying. "What, yah don't believe meh?"
"Well, y' didn' believe me 'bout wantin' t' talk to y'…"
She scowled. "Back to that again?"
"Oui."
"Argh!" she burst out, throwing her hands in the air, and then leaned across the small table to poke him in the chest. "Get this through yer thick skull, Cajun – Ah'm not a concept, Ah'm not just th' untouchable gal yah can win over as a challenge!" Rogue informed him fiercely, stabbing him with her finger to accentuate her words. "Ah'm fucked up enough as it is without some… Some swamp rat playin' meh!"
"Good, cause 'm not playin'," Remy told her coolly, as if her outburst had never happened.
"Holy shit, what th' hell will it take to get rid o' yah?" she cried.
"Like I said befo', I want t' sit an' talk wit' y'. 'S not dat much t' ask."
"Yah can't be serious. After all that?" she marvelled.
"'M very serious," he persisted, but deep down, he was as amazed as she was. He couldn't believe he was still sitting here! "If y'd stop wit' all dat self-pity, mebbe y' could see dat. Can' we please just sit an' chat?"
"Oh yeah, cause yah're really winnin' meh over by talkin' to meh that way," Rogue shot back sarcastically.
He heaved a huge sigh. "Desolé," he muttered, running a hand through his damp hair. "Look, dere's no harm in talkin', henh? Gimme a few minutes, it won' kill y'."
Rogue gave him a frosty look, and gestured towards her coffee. "Yah've got until Ah finish this cup, an' then Ah'm outta here," she ruled, leaving no room for negotiations. He felt a swell of satisfaction, but it was short-lived. The fille was so stubborn, it was exasperating!
"Ahh, merci, chère," Remy smiled at her, trying to revert into his charming, cool and collected persona. It was harder than he thought, she had his blood boiling like never before.
"Ah'm not yer chère, swamp rat," she snorted, and tentatively sipped her coffee. It had probably cooled down enough to drink, Remy deduced, and that meant she would soon leave! No, he couldn't have that – after all the trouble he had just gone through, he wasn't about to let her go so easily!
"Well, y' have a pet name f'r me already, 'm only returnin' de favour," he retorted with a grin, hoping their banter would keep her occupied. Covertly, he began to inch his hand, already resting on the table, towards her mug. Touching it with his pinky finger, Remy lightly charged it up, heating it back to an inconsumable temperature.
"Aww, how considerate," Rogue said in a saccharine sweet tone that dripped with insincerity. "As kind as that is, Ah'll have to decline th' favour."
"Well den, how 'bout y' just call me Remy."
"That's yer name?" she inquired while once again tasting her drink. This time, she found it too hot, and put it down. Unfortunately, she kept it close to her, with her hands wrapped around it. There was no chance to charge it up once again – he had only bought himself a few minutes.
"Oui, Remy LeBeau, at yo' service, chère," he introduced himself, even bowing a little. He would have to make due with the time he had left. "An' y' are?"
"Rogue," she stated. "An' Ah'm not yer chère!"
"I already know dat name. What's yo' real one?" Remy asked.
She grimaced. "It's just Rogue, swamp rat," she enlightened him sternly.
"How mysterious," he grinned. He always enjoyed a good mystery, and this one would be particularly satisfying to solve.
"Ah try," was the brusque response.
"So…" he then trailed off, unsure of what to say next. This had never happened before – Emil was the one who got tongue-tied talking to women, not Remy!
Much to his chagrin, Rogue picked up on it. "Hmm, yah run outta charm already, bayou boy?" she taunted him.
"'M never out o' charm," Remy retorted. "Y' just interrupted me befo' I could keep talkin'," he lied, hoping she would buy it.
"Suuure," she teased him. "Then by all means, continue. What were yah gonna say?"
"Well… Tell m' about yo'self," he requested. He wanted to know more about her, after all, and this was the perfect way. If she was like any of the countless other girls he pursued (although he was starting to doubt that very much), then she would run with the subject and talk for hours.
Once again, she surprised him. "Yah ain't gettin' anythin' outta meh," she said guardedly. "Yah even knowin' mah name is too much information."
"Hey, no need t' get defensive!" he yelped, throwing his hands up in the air in surrender. "'S just a simple question, y' don' have t' answer it."
"Good, cause Ah wasn't gonna," Rogue let him know.
"Well, how are we goin' t' get t' know each ot'er if y' won' speak?" Remy beseeched her. He enjoyed riling her up like this – the blaze of fury in those green eyes of hers screamed murder, but they were so very stunning!
"Ah don't wanna know yah!" she corrected him, abruptly standing up from her chair. "An' yah've learned all yah will about meh!"
"Oui, I learned dat y've got one hell o' a temper…"
"An' hopefully yah've grasped th' fact that Ah'm not gonna just sit here an' let yah play yer damn game!" she seethed, grabbing her novel and moving to leave.
Before she could get any further, Remy shot his leg out, blocking her between it and the wall beside them. "Hey, not so fast, chère," he wagged his finger at her. "Y' said I had until y' finished de drink."
Shooting him a glare that put all her previous ones to shame, Rogue managed to force out, "Fine."
Thinking she was keeping to their earlier agreement and would sit back down, Remy felt rather smug. That evaporated when instead, he watched her grab the mug and finish the rest of her hot coffee in one go.
"There, done," she panted, pushed his leg out of the way, and stalked out of the café without another word.
Whistling impressively to himself, Remy leaned back in his seat with a satisfied grin on his face. That went rather well… Not exactly as smoothly as he would have liked it, but it would do. He had gotten a taste of what she was like, that should do to push her out of his head.
But wait… That's not what he wanted – he couldn't let her go! He jumped to his feet in an instant before realizing that she had already left. She was gone…
"Merde!" he thundered, grabbing the empty mug on the table and throwing it against the wall in rage. He watched as it shattered into pieces that then fell tinkling to the ground, but it didn't make him feel any better. Time was rapidly running out, they were nearing the beginning, and he had just let her go like that… He was furious with himself.
Taking a deep breath to try and steady himself, Remy leaned against the table, his head hanging low. He could see the fog drifting around his feet, and he knew it was only a matter of moments until the café would disappear. That was fine, there was nothing left for him here…
Waiting for it to happen, he instead tried to channel his anger into determination. He couldn't, and wouldn't, let this happen again!
- X -
It was the witching hour, and the Acolyte base was dark and silent. The boys were all slumbering, except for a certain thief sneaking down the hallway. Remy couldn't sleep – a stripey-haired, green-eyed beauty had managed to permeate his dreams. As if it wasn't enough to have her overrun his thoughts all day long…
He decided to do something about it. With Magneto away, he could easily sneak a peek at the Master of Magnetism's files. Maybe learning some information about the girl would settle his mind. It was only curiosity that made him think of her so often, he was sure… And so the Cajun found himself sliding open a file cabinet and searching for the one marked 'Rogue'.
He quickly began cursing his boss' organizational methods. There were dozens of folders, in no apparent order, none of them labelled. He should hire a secretary… But then again, what would the want ad say, wondered Remy with a quiet chuckle. "Looking to hire one secretary; must have a metal fetish and not mind plans for mutant supremacy"?
Skimming through a few sleeves, he came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be such a bad idea – it would take him hours to go through every single mutant Magneto had a dossier on! Most of them were people had had never heard of… But then he found one on Avalanche. After that came a few more Brotherhood members – they looked to be grouped together by their team affiliation, Gambit noted. Good, that might help.
Flipping through some more, he finally came to the profile on Cyclops. He scoffed at the boy's picture – Dieu, if he looked uptight there, it must be much worse in reality. Becoming increasingly impatient, Remy simply grabbed a whole stack of the X-Men's files and dropped them on the table behind him. Pulling out a chair, he leaned back, propped his legs up, and continued his investigation.
The top one on the pile belonged to Nightcrawler. He dropped it onto his lap, and moved on to the next one. Cannonball? Nope. Magma? No. Jean Grey? Definitely not… The discard pile on his knees grew larger until finally, he found it. Rogue. It was the last one in the stack – figures.
Remy shifted in his seat, and opened it eagerly. Her record was small, with a single sheet of paper inside – there was little there, but he read what he could voraciously.
Her real name was unknown. That was slightly disappointing – he would have liked to know… Although he had to admit, from what little he'd seen of her, Rogue seemed to suit her. She was only two years younger than he was, and she hailed from Mississippi – but he knew that already by her accent.
She was an orphan, just like him… She was adopted by Mystique? That must have been an interesting household growing up, to say the least. A member of the Brotherhood before joining the X-Men – 'Bit o' a naughty fille den, henh?' he grinned to himself.
Ah, but then there was what he was really interested in – her powers. He read on keenly:
Possesses the ability to knock her victim out with a touch, while gaining their memories and any mutant powers.
Well, that didn't tell him much. Rogue was a thief then, just like he was… Taking powers, memories, and consciousness through touch? She had access to things he could never steal. That would explain why she had her glove off when he saw her. But why wear gloves in the first place? Wouldn't it be easier to have her hands exposed? Unless…
Remy picked up the attached picture of her and frowned. She was entirely covered – not that it hampered her beauty in any way. Maybe she didn't have control of her powers? For some reason that didn't repel him from thoughts of her like he expected. She wouldn't be able to do what he had dreamt about earlier, but there could be ways around that… Wait, what was he thinking? He wanted her out of his head! Yet know he wanted to know more… Why?
He tried to find an acceptable answer to that, staring at her picture in contemplation. He found himself gazing at those entrancing eyes of hers – they paled in comparison to their real counterparts, but they were still enchanting. Suddenly, Remy was startled when he thought he saw her picture move. No, wait… It wasn't moving, it was fading! He stood up in shock and dropped the image onto the floor, where the rest of the folders fell too, slipping off his lap.
Cursing, he dropped to his knees and hurriedly sifted through the mess, trying to find her photograph again. "Come on, come on!" he muttered to himself, knowing there was little time left. There was Magma's photo again, there was Storm's… He tossed them over his shoulder, throwing them out of the way. The pictures he kept finding weren't the ones he was looking for! He had to hurry, it was getting darker, the room was dieing away…
There, there was only one picture left! It had to be hers… Picking it up, Remy flipped it over, only to find nothing on it. In dread and confusion, he turned it over once more – it was blank. No, no, she was gone!
Crumpling up the photograph in his fist, he charged it up and let it fly from his hand. It fell through the mist that had appeared, now drifting closer. Remy didn't see or hear the explosion as fog smothered him.
Oh yeah, what great first impressions, eh? ;-)
Next chapter – Remy's last memory, his first meeting with Rogue! Dun dun duhhh…
I think I've sunk to a new low – not only am I begging for reviews to this fic, but I am for another as well! Remember way back in Chapter 1, when I mentioned the collaboration I'm doing with melancholic? Well, it's finally up! It's good, I swear, we'd appreciate it if you checked it out: that's Chase, by ishaholic. Thankies!
Toodles,
- ish -