-Y'all know the dilly yo, I don't own any of these characters, or x-men, or marvel.. blah blah blah.
This story takes place during the X-Treme X-men Times. I don't know when it would take place because if it's before the whole storm thing, it wouldn't make sense, and the intifada story isn't over yet so I don't know how it ends, but let's just say it'll be after intifada story., or the intifada story never happened. I'll decide after I know how intifada ends.
Commitment-Phobia
Anna Raven walked along the boardwalk, completely covered from head to toe in grease and oil. Work that day was strenuous and dirty and she wouldn't have preferred it any other way. The two bikes that had looked as if it stood no chance of ever working well again were all fixed up, waxed, polished, and ready for pick-up. It was another successful day for the temporary absence X-man at her relatively 'normal' job as a mechanic.
While she walked, she noticed that the sun was beginning to set in the horizon. Thus, she stopped and gazed at it. It was absolutely gorgeous and it was one of the reasons why she loved this place. Remy and her had settled down at Valle Soleada for a couple of months now, surprisingly because of his insistence. The minute their journey had brought them there, she knew that was where she wanted to call home and unexpectedly, it was Remy who verbalized that sentiment. The close-knit community of mutants and humans alike was extraordinary to be around. It almost made her feel like she had been successful at being an X-Man, even if that dream of peaceful co-existence survived only in a small community like Valle Soleada.
Within days of reaching the small beach side town, they had found a terrific beach house with a decent price. Then, she began to introduce herself as Anna Raven to her neighbours and eventually everyone else who inquired what her name was. She wasn't quite sure how she came about the name, Anna, but it seemed somewhat fitting and most likely it had been the first name that came to mind. And Raven, well, even if Mystique had been the worst possible mother, she was the only family Rogue had ever known. So, Raven felt fitting.
For the first couple of weeks of living in Valle Soleada, Rogue became quickly bored with the carefree life of having no real obligations or duties. Sure, it had been a great couple of weeks of playing honeymoon with Remy, but she felt that she should be productive somehow. Plus, they still had to pay off a mortgage, and even though Remy insisted that he had a great amount of money stashed up, she still wanted to experience this new 'normal' life to its fullest.
This was the incentive that drove her to start job hunting. She had applied for every job listing in the papers from being a waitress to a construction worker. At one point, she almost took an offer of being a bartender at the local club. However, Remy would not let her take the job because he insisted that he wanted his "chere" home at night in his arms where she belonged. She finally found a job at the local auto body shop, and her skills and knowledge of cars and especially motorcycles impressed her boss to such an extent that he had hired her right on the spot. Yes, Anna Raven was definitely happy. She had a sweetie, a house, a normal 9-5 job, and a life to call her own.
Anna looked down at her watch, and realized that it was getting late. Remy would expect her to be home in twenty minutes. With one last look towards the horizon, she turned away and continued home, whistling all the way.
-xoxo-
Remy LeBeau, dressed in a 'kiss the chef' apron, was cooking up a storm in the kitchen. He was making his famous seafood gumbo. He added in some cayenne and tasted his concoction. It tasted perfect, he thought, though he didn't expect anything less than perfect when it came to his cooking. Remy smiled contently as he tasted another sample of the gumbo. Perfection was definitely the word.
Pulling himself away from his savory dish just long enough to check the time, he realized that it was almost ten to six. Rogue should be home in ten minutes. The word 'perfect' came to his mind again as he realized that he had ten minutes to spare. Remy took off his apron, walked to the living room and sat down on the couch.
The last couple of months had been blissful. He had fallen in love with Valle Soleada, but who wouldn't with the wonderful weather the town seemed to have every single day. It hardly ever got cold there, and the cold was something he was never fond of. Then, there was the matter of living by the beach. Having a house by the ocean meant he was able to see Rogue in a bikini on a regular basis. He smiled as he remembered the first time he went along on one of her bikini shopping sprees. The sales lady practically had to pry their dressing room open in order to yank Remy out of there. If it weren't for the fact that Rogue had spent over five hundred dollars on multiples of skimpy bathing wear, they would have most likely been banned from the store. Along with that delightful memory, he recalled the carefree smile Rogue had on her face all day long. Seeing her happy made him happy, and that was something they constantly lacked in their rocky relationship, but not anymore.
Since they had settled down in Valle Soleada, Rogue insisted on getting herself a job whereas Remy refused to look for one. The reason was mainly because he didn't have to work especially with the huge sums of money he had stashed up in various accounts. Plus, he never worked an honest job in his entire life and he had no intention of starting. There would simply be too much irony if he did. It amused him that Rogue became a mechanic though. She always came home dirty, and her appearance never ceased to turn him on especially when it meant that he had a helping hand in cleaning her up. He could definitely get used to this whole touching thing.
What he was still getting used to was the fact that they were 'settled down' in Valle Soleada. Sure, it was him that insisted on it and he didn't regret that decision. But as much as he loved this town, he had only really suggested settling down there because it seemed like Rogue had wanted it, though she was afraid to say it. He never thought he'd be the type to settle down anywhere, and that was what he was trying to get used to. Though, a part of him still believed that one day they would get up and leave as simple as they had rooted themselves down.
Perhaps the major problem that he was trying to overcome was the fear he felt from settling down with Rogue. Under no circumstances would he give Rogue up again, but his fear of losing a part of his freedom scared him. He never truly thought that he would ever tie himself down to one woman for the rest of his life. Even when he had married Belladonna, in his heart he had known that their marriage wouldn't work out. Though he loved Rogue, he wasn't entirely sure if he was ready to be with just her and only her.
But at the same time, there was no other woman like Rogue. She was so incredibly strong, passionate, and beautiful. A woman like her could make a man do anything, and if at that very moment she walked in and asked him to go jump off a cliff, Remy knew he would have done it. The control she had over his heart was so strong, yet, she didn't even know it and if she did, she was certainly not abusing it. In addition, he loved her because she understood him like nobody else ever did or could. She was always able to put into words of what he felt even when he wasn't sure of it himself. Her ability to understand him scared him, but that only made him love her even more. Perhaps it was because of the fact that he loved what he feared for it brought a certain thrill. Perhaps not. Despite the lack of reasoning on his part, the one thing he still couldn't completely grasp was the concept of love. He thought he had known love. He had thought he was in love with Rogue before the circumstances they were in now. But being around her and only with her, completely changed the definition of love for him. He wasn't even sure how to explain into words what love was, but what he felt from it was so much more blissful than he had ever remembered.
"Honey, Ah'm home!" Rogue bellowed from the door, pulling Remy away from his thoughts.
He got up and went to greet her at the door. "Mon Dieu!" He cried as he saw how filthy she was. "Looks like mon chere crawled into a sewer and decided to go swimming." He commented, still looking her over.
Rogue stuck out her tongue at him, and then asked wisely, "Sugah, y 'sure yah don't wanna take back what ya just said?"
Remy chuckled at her childish threat and responded, "actually, Remy take dat back. Ma cherie looks like she gotten in a mud wrestling match instead."
"Fine! Since, ah've already been in a match today like ya said, then there ain't no point for us to go a round tonight, eh?" She replied coolly.
"Aww, chere, y'know Remy don't mean it like dat. Just teasin ya. C'mon mon ange, Remy'll give y' a kiss and make it all better." He replied as he wrapped her in his arms and gave her a deep longing kiss.
Rogue succumbed to his lips for a few seconds before she found the strength to pull away from him, "a kiss still ain't gonna mean ya'll be getting some tonight."
"C'mon, Roguey, you know y'll want it as much as dis Cajun. How about we go repeat de show from dis mornin' t' remind y' about how much y'll want dis Cajun and his magic hands later?" He whispered into her ear, and gave her lobe a little nibble. He smirked happily as he felt her knees go weak from his action.
"Swamp rat, ah hate ya." Rogue said feebly.
Acknowledging this was her way of saying yes, he lifted her up into his arms. "Sure you do, petite. Dat's why you got dis Cajun all dirty to join ya in the shower, non?" Without giving her a chance to answer, he bent down, kissed her, and carried her off to the bathroom where the shower was waiting once again.
-xoxo-
"Sugah, ya really outdid yourself this time. Dis is de best gumbo ah've tasted in a long time." Rogue said with her mouth full.
Remy laughed as he watched her gobble up the stew. It was nearly nine and they had spent more time in the shower than expected. However, they had taken a detour to the bedroom, before they even returned to the kitchen to eat. He wasn't surprised that she'd be hungry after all that 'exercise'.
"Chere, don't talk wit' your mouth full. Plus, dis gumbo ain't no different from all de other times, Remy made it." He replied but his expression turned to shock when a realization came to him, "Unless… you never liked my gumbo from before!" He said, as he pointed a accusing finger at her.
Rogue almost spat the gumbo out as she saw how humorous he looked at the moment. She swallowed what she had in her mouth as she tried to suppress her laughter. "Umm, umm… of course ah did, sugah. Ah meant, best gumbo in a long time dat's umm…" She trailed off while trying to find an excuse.
"Fine. So de truth comes out! Mon chere never liked Remy's gumbo from before. Fine!" Gambit said and proceeded to pout, yet, he maintained an adorable expression in case she wanted to make it up to him with some pity sex. Still trying not to laugh, she put her bowl of gumbo down, walked over to a moping Remy, and plopped herself down on his lap.
"Of course, ah loved your gumbo from before. Ah just meant that, umm… ya hadn't made gumbo in a long time. That's why it's been a long time since ah've eaten good gumbo." She said as convincingly as she could convey in order to convince him that her explanation was the truth, although she knew the real was that he usually overloaded his gumbo with cayenne.
"Right, dis t'ief ain't a fool. I can smell a liar from miles away." He said defiantly while he struggled to keep up his act, but was finding it a hard task to do since the situation was usually the other way around.
"Did ya pick dat up from Wolverine? How many times do ah have to tell ya, dat sniffing around especially people, ain't a normal thing t'do?" She commented lightly, but when she received no response from him, not even a smile, she realized that she would have to start playing dirty. "This position isn't comfortable at all, sugah. Hold on, ah'll get back to our conversation as soon as…" Rogue shifted from her sideway-sitting position on his lap, to straddling his lap. "Much better. Now what were we talking about?" She asked flirtatiously, as she could see that Remy was trying hard to resist her attempt.
"Dat ain't gonna work. I'm still mad at ya!" he said strongly and pried his eyes away from her.
"Really, now? Man, it's hot in here, Remy, don't ya think? Don't mind me if ah take off my shirt, k?" She said, took off her shirt, and threw it behind her. She wrapped her arms around Remy and lowered her face to his, inches from kissing him. "Ya still mad, sugah?"
"Umm…hell with it!!" He cried as his hormones got the better side of him as he found himself kissing Rogue and running his hands all over her half-naked body.
After a few minutes of making out like there was no tomorrow on the chair, he slowly got up with her legs wrapped around his waist, carried her to the couch, and laid her down. There he proceeded to kiss her entire body while mumbling sweet French phrases in between the kisses. As he made her way back to her lips, he whispered, "Je t'aime toujours."
"Ah love ya too, sugah." She whispered back, as he started doing some serious damage to her neck that would undoubtedly leave a handsome mark later.
"Remy, do you evah think that ya will ever be wit' anyone besides me from now on?" She asked as she ran her fingers through his hair.
Remy moved back up to her lips and right before he kissed her, he answered, "non. Not in a million years. You're de only one I want, Rogue."
Rogue stopped him from kissing her and he laid on top of her, noses touching, and eyes staring into each other's. "Then why don't we get married?" She asked softly.
Married? Did she just say married? Remy thought. He hastily got up off of her as his panic turned to terror. He moved to the other end of the couch and glanced in her direction before turning away from her, almost in shame. What is she talking about, he thought. Marriage. I can't get married. Well not again, anyway. Why the hell can't I though? He asked himself. He looked over at her again and when he saw that her eyes were full of confusion while she waited impatiently for an answer, he felt his lungs closing up as he struggled to get in a deep breath of air. Man, it's getting hot in here, I need to get some fresh air. He thought as he was convinced that he was suffocating at this point.
"Umm… chere, Remy…" He started to say, as he turned his head to her again, her eyes looked hopeful.
"Remy need some fresh air." He responded quickly.
"Actually…Umm… I need to run to de store for… umm… some… milk too! I'll be back in ten minutes!" He said rapidly, got up, grabbed his keys, and ran out the front door.
"Dammit, Lebeau, you're such a fucking chicken." he cursed himself as he soon as he got out of the house.
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