Archive: Sure, just ask me first at Note : I had some technical difficulties while uploading the last chapter that caused me to wait a couple of days before I could replace it (sorry about that). Thanks for all the reviews. Hope you enjoy.
Warning: This chapter may deviate slightly from X-men canon.
Edited Out Song: 2005 04 27
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Chapter 17
Waiting in Vain
(Rogue)
Rogue stood alone in the kitchen, splashing her hands through the soapy dishwater. She was not in any rush to finish washing the dishes, considering that in another two hours the sink would be filled again with dirty plates. Rogue was more concerned with finding Canon, the stranger in her mind, to see what he was up to.
Canon…Canon…why are you so quiet? She had repeated that sentence for a half an hour without any response from him.
Cat caught your tongue? She thought to him rather smugly. There was no response. When did you become so shy? Again, no answer.
She thought to him rather smugly. There was no response. Again, no answer.Rogue was ready to give up, hoping that maybe Canon was gone from her mind. However, she knew that it couldn't be true…she could still feel a bold presence belonging to him somewhere in her thoughts.
What did you do to me? Asked a hollow voice. It took her a moment to recognize the voice to be a weaker version of the Canon she remembered.
What happened to you? Your voice sounds strange.
Something happened to me when you used the bracelet. I can see through my hand. Canon was always a strong figure in her mind. If he was now becoming transparent, it meant that he was losing power.
What happened to you? Your voice sounds strange.Delight began to flow throughout her body. Hell! It seems like the bracelet caused mah powers to revert back to normal. You should have never existed so long in mah head in the first place. Ah guess now mah body is fixing the mistake.
What are you saying? He asked with a distant voice.
Ah'm sayin' that you will slowly lose consciousness and slip away. You will be able to feel your mind lose its grip on reality; Ah don't envy you.
You've got to help me! His pervious soft voice became harsh and desperate as he pleaded for his very existence.
Ah'm sayin' that you will slowly lose consciousness and slip away. You will be able to feel your mind lose its grip on reality; Ah don't envy you.Fuck you! She stated with satisfaction as she scraped a dirty pot. Ah'm gonna enjoy watching you slowly lose your mind.
Well, I'm still here now and fully conscience. If I do have to go down, I'll make sure your life will forever be a living hell. Maybe you won't feel it today, or tomorrow, but trust me you will feel it eventually…and it will be worth the wait.
For some reason, his threats were useless on her. Yes, Rogue knew that he was serious, but because he was losing his life force she new he wasn't dangerous.
Fuck you! She stated with satisfaction as she scraped a dirty pot. For some reason, his threats were useless on her. Yes, Rogue knew that he was serious, but because he was losing his life force she new he wasn't dangerous.You're losing it, Canon. She gave an evil laugh mentally. Die…slow!
"You seem really happy." Jean's voice cut into her thoughts snapping Rogue out of her metal dialogue with Canon.
She gave an evil laugh mentally. "You seem really happy." Jean's voice cut into her thoughts snapping Rogue out of her metal dialogue with Canon.Jean had on a big smile, seeming to feed off of Rogue's bright emotions. She was wearing tight blue jeans and a white fitted T-shit with a red heart in the center. Her long red hair was pulled in a tight ponytail that flowed over her shoulders.
Rogue gave Jean a huge grin. "Morning, Jean. Ah seem happy, 'cause Ah am. You ever had a day were everythin' seemed to be goin' right?"
Jean stepped closer to her, picking up a dishrag to wipe down the counters. "Yeah, I've had a couple."
"With me they are few and far between." She continued to play in the water. "But Ah'm having one today."
"I'm glad to hear it." Jean said as she finished wiping the counter.
Rogue watched Jean and felt that she was genuine in her response. Jean's attitude caused Rogue to feel a tad bit guilty.
Jean's so nice sometimes. Ah feel bad for turning her against Remy the other day, but Ah in a really bad mood. Oh well, what's done is done. "So what are you doing today?"
"I have furniture duty." She pouted. "I'm going to be dusting for hours."
"Ah know. Xavier has a lot of old junk around here…expensive old junk." Rogue was glad that she didn't get stuck with furniture duty. She always had a secret fear that she might accidentally break one of Xavier's antique vases with her super strength. "Hey, Ah have dish duty, but you don't see me complaining. Ah rather do the dishes then monitor terrorist crimes all night."
"I hear you." She said in agreement. However, Jean's mind was more focused on Rogue's good mood, and what that might mean for her chances of them finally sitting down and having a decent conversation. "Since you seem to be in such a talkative mood, I was hoping to arrange a schedule with you."
"Schedule for what?" She started to dry a couple of the dishes and put them away so she could have more room for the other plates yet to be washed.
"To talk about your bracelet, remember? You first told me that you were not going to activate it because we were on Red Alert. I just assumed now that you might be thinking about using it now that we are off Red Alert."
Rogue rolled her eyes and made it a point that Jean noticed her irritation. "Ah thought Ah told you that Ah don't need counseling. Besides, Ah still have to finish reading the handbook Beast gave me before Ah even think about turnin' it on."
"That's fine. There is nothing wrong with getting help a week or two before you use it." She looked down at the bracelet and noticed a change in its appearance. "Why are your buttons red? They were white before." Jean had a sharp mind and a fantastic memory for details.
Shit, shit, shit! Ah can't let her know that Ah've used it already. She'll tell Scott for sure, and then he'll tell Beast! "That's because Ah can change the colors anytime Ah want from white to red to green." She responded without a sweat. She secretly hoped that Jean wouldn't ask her for a demonstration, so she quickly changed the subject. "Ah still don't see why Ah need counseling. All Ah have to do is press a tiny button."
"Don't take it so lightly, Rogue. Minus a few exceptions, you haven't had the ability to touch another person freely since your early teens. When you do use the bracelet, you are bound to have some apprehension and emotional instability. It is not something that should be rushed into, if so it could have a regressive effect."
Regressive effect? That doesn't sound good. Rogue couldn't help but feel worried. "How so?"
"One wrong move from you or someone else could cause you to revert back to the mindset that your touch kills, even though you know you have the bracelet…"
That already happened…Rogue thought referring to when Remy inhaled too deeply and she suddenly thought she was sucking out his life force. She didn't trust herself after that incident to touch Remy again for the rest of the night. Although her mind told her she couldn't hurt Remy when the bracelet was activated, her heart was telling her she was still dangerous.
"Or…" Jean continued.
"Or!" What else could go wrong?
"Something so common to the rest of us, like pain for example, might also scare you away from using the bracelet again."
Pain? Her heart began to increase its pace. "Ah never thought about that."
Jean nodded her head slowly in response. "There are a lot of things we need to go over before you activate the bracelet. I'm sure Hank would have referred you to me had he been here or handled it himself. Then again, when he did give you the gadget he didn't know he would be leaving so soon."
"Yeah, that's true." She mumbled returning to the remaining dirty plates in the sink.
"Will you be free sometime this evening?"
"Huh?"
"This evening…will you be free to get together?"
Remy did say that whatever Ah tell Jean she would go yapping back to the professor. "No, Ah think Ah'm gonna be busy."
Jean pushed on. "What about later on tonight?"
Can't this girl take a hint! "Ah'm gonna be busy all of today."
"All right, that's okay. Let's just make the appointment for sometime tomorrow…" She walked over to the fridge and began to go through the dates on the calendar.
Her pushiness was starting to get aggravating. "No, Jean. Ah don't mean to brush you off, but Ah really don't feel up to it."
Jean looked at her with concern. Why is she fighting me so hard on this? "Listen: I know you stopped meeting with Xavier because his going through your head was starting to get intrusive."
"Ah jus' hated relying on him all the time. Ah like to be independent, is all." She shrugged, twisting her finger in her shirt.
"That's perfectly understandable. However, I will not be going into your mind. All we will be doing is talking." Her voice was soothing, almost sounding reasonable enough for Rogue to accept the offer…almost.
"Is it mandatory? Ah said, no!" Rogue lashed out in anger.
Jean waited a moment for Rogue to control her temper. The last thing she wanted was for Rogue to get angry. "Fine. I didn't mean to ignore your answer the first time. If that's the way you feel, then there is not much I can do."
"Good!" She snapped rudely. But on further thought, Rogue regretted her harshness. She decided to make peace. "Thanks away, Jean. Ah know you are jus' tryin' to help me and Ah really do appreciate it."
Jean smiled and nodded faintly; her attention was already focused at the mess on the kitchen table. "Who left all this food here?"
On the table was an open bag of whole wheat bread, margarine with the lid off, cheese, and various fruits that should have been put back in the fridge.
"It had to be one of the guys. As a matter of fact, Ah'm almost sure it was Remy. You know how careless he can be sometimes."
Remy! Nowadays, the mere mention of his name irritated Jean. If I could avoid him all-day it would be perfect. Then again, he hasn't bothered me since the time we were together in the war room. I guess he is one to give idle threats. Wait a second…she thought as a light bulb went off in her head.
Nowadays, the mere mention of his name irritated Jean. she thought as a light bulb went off in her head.She looked up from the mess on the table directly into Rogue's eyes. "Did Remy tell you not to speak with me?" She asked suspiciously.
The question came straight out of left field as far as Rogue was concerned. "What?"
"Rogue." Jean walked toward her, standing directly in front on her. "Did Remy convince you not to talk to be about the bracelet?" She asked again with more clarity.
"Ah have no idea what you're talking about." Her response fell short of being believable. Rouge was usually a good liar, however Jean's question caught her off guard.
"It's true, he got to you. He told you not to speak with me and you did what he said."
Rouge took great offence to her statement. "Listen, no one tells me to do anything Ah don't wanna do!"
"Except him. Gambit and I got into an argument. He thinks that I might talk you out of having a relationship with him. Because he's afraid of what I might say to you, he told me that he could get you to cancel your meetings with me…I never believed him, but he was right all along."
"You are way off base." Actually, she's right on target.
"I hope so, Rogue." She backed off slowly. " 'Cause blind love never seemed to be your style. After all, you were the one who defined the word Gambit to me."
Rogue felt angry about what Jean said. If Gambit thinks he can control me like some fucking puppet…
"Jean!" Scott had just entered the kitchen, happy to see his wife up and about after feeling sick. "I was just going home to check up on you. How are you feeling?" He walked up to her and gave a good morning kiss on her cheek.
"Don't worry about me, honey. I feel much better." She forced a smile, still a tad upset about smelling Betsy's perfume all over his body last night.
"That's great to hear. I was beginning to get worried."
Rogue watched them from across the room. His arms were wrapped around Jean's waste as he cooed over her. Sure others would have puked at the lovey-dovey sight, but Rogue relished in it.
"No need to worry; I feel fine." Jean reassured him. "I'm going to start the dusting now."
"That can wait until later." He wanted to make sure that she was in perfect health before allowing her to do work.
She smiled kissing him on the nose. "No it can't." Sometimes his over protective nature was annoying, but today she found it to be endearing. "See you later." Jean called out as she left the room.
"That's not fair…" Rogue pouted.
Scott turned to face her as if it was the first time he noticed that she was in the room. She sat atop the counter with her long legs crossed. Even though she was sitting, he could still tell how short her jeans were cut. Her white buttoned top was short sleeved and sheer enough to see her bra…it was white laced.
Oh boy! Scott thought to himself. She's in Ice Princess mode—as Gambit would say.
"…You never gave me a good morning kiss." Rogue finished with a wicked smile.
"I'm sorry, Rogue, but I really like the feeling of being conscious." Scott joked giving her a half smile.
She let out a fake pirate laugh. "Hardy-har-har."
He walked to where she sat and reached above her head to where the key hook was nailed. Rogue placed her bare hand over the key ring to prevent him from reaching it. "Were are you goin'?"
He smoothly brought his hand to the tip of his glasses, as if he was about to remove them and blast her hand. "I'm going into town to pick up I few items." He smiled. Rogue brought her hand back down to her lap with a grin, knowing that Scott's silent threat wasn't serious. He took the car key and pushed it into his pocket.
Rogue jumped off the counter top. "Can Ah come with?"
He folded his arms with great deliberations. "I don't know…you still have a few dishes left."
"Ah'll do 'em quick, if yah jus' wait for me. Please!" She begged, not wanting to spend the entire day cooped up in the mansion.
"Okay, I'll be out front. Don't be too long." He warned.
She mocked him with a salute. "Yes, sir, drill Sargent sir!"
"Hardy-har-har!" He rebutted walking out of the kitchen.
Rogue turned back to the sink and quickly began to finish off the last of the dishes.
(Logan/Remy)
Logan stood in the driveway of the mansion leaning on Remy's shiny new black sports car. His lips were cracked in a form of a smile as he watched Remy kill himself with laughter while sitting in the driver's seat.
When Remy was able to contain his composure, he managed to step out the car and face Logan. He put on a baseball cap to shade his exposed eyes from the sun. "You've got t' be kiddin' me!"
Logan shook his head removing the half-smoked cigar from his mouth. "I'm tellin' ya, the fucker slipped on ice!"
"Damn! I'm gonna die laughin'." He responded, holding his stomach as the laughter started up again.
"That's not even all of it. Cyke was shitting his pants, yellin' at Drake 'cause he knows that Xavier's gonna have his ass."
Remy paused momentarily, mulling over what Logan had said. "Why de fuck would Xavier blame Cyke?"
" 'Cause, Cyke was supposed to have ordered the equipment a week ago."
"Yeah, I remember now. Dat was when Cyke screwed up and forgot t' write de equipment down on de delivery list when Xavier made de order." He looked back at Logan with a smile. "What's funnier dan watchin' Cyke pout when Xavier goes off on him?"
"Hearin' that Bobby slipped on ice."
"Fuck, you're right." Remy agreed chuckling.
Logan heard the main door open and close shut from up the driveway. "Straighten up, Cajun. One Eye is lurking around."
Remy looked up the driveway as Scott turned the corner, headed in their direction. He glanced warily at Logan—having the good mood he was in falter for an instant.
Scott approached the two X-men with his eyes focused on the sports car. "Nice, Gambit." He said still eyeing the car. "I don't have to worry about a cop coming here looking for a stolen vehicle?"
"Nope." He answered digging through his toolbox.
"Shit, the car is on the up and up." Logan added blowing the cigar smoke into the air. "The money he bought the car with is what you got to worry about."
Remy looked up at Logan, both sharing a grin, although Scott didn't take the comment to heart.
"I'm sure the car and the money he bought the car with are legit. Gambit knows he's walking a thin line." Scott stated crossing his arms.
Confused by his statement, Logan looked to Remy for an explanation. "Cyke took all of my alcohol dis morning."
Logan chuckled. "You finally got busted, eh?"
"You knew about it?" Scott asked in disbelief.
Tapping his nose, Logan answered, "It's hard to get that much alcohol passed my senses."
Scott wasn't impressed. "You knew about the alcohol, and I wasn't informed?"
The Wolverine rolled his eyes. "When have you ever known me to be a snitch?"
Remy looked up from his toolbox to answer the question. "Never."
"Damn straight!"
Remy dumped all the tools from the toolbox on the ground. "Logan is a lucky bastard. He's allowed t' have his room stacked wit' dat lethal Canadian beer."
Logan looked at Remy with a smile. "Remember the time you drank three of my Canadian beers and got pissed drunk?"
Remy started laughing. "If I knew I was drinkin' Canadian beer, I would have paced myself. I couldn't walk straight for a…"
"I really shouldn't be hearing this." Scott cut in shaking his head hopelessly. They are admitting to breaking the rules right in front of me.
"What you need t' do is lighten up." Remy suggested, finally finding the tool he was looking for. "You and Jean should take off and go t' Hawaii or somet'ing."
"Well, maybe if I didn't have to spend all of my time babysitting everyone here…"
"Hey, nobody here needs you t' be lookin' after dem." Remy lips curled into a wicked grin. "Nobody except for Bobby." Logan started to laugh.
Scott shook his head. "How did you two find out?"
"We have our ways. Wolverine, watch dis." Remy began to imitate his vision of how Bobby could have possibly managed to slip on his own ice formations. Logan started to laugh at Remy's humorous skit.
Scott wasn't laughing. "It's not funny."
"How can you say dat? Shit! Bobby slipping on ice is like 'Ro bein' caught in a snowstorm—it's not supposed t' happen. You gotta love de irony."
Scott managed to crack a smile. "Okay, maybe it is funny."
"It's fuckin' hilarious!" Logan added as he slapped Scott on the back. It was at that time Rogue made her way into their conversation.
Remy took the opportunity to make mention of her presence. "Hey, watch your mouth, Logan. Dere's a lady present." He gestured to Rogue.
"So what were y'all laughing at?" Rogue asked eager to join in on the fun.
"Did ya hear? Bobby slipped on ice!" Remy answered with delight.
Inwardly, Rogue did not want to join in on the laughter. Yes the situation was funny, however she didn't feel right laughing about it behind Bobby's back. She especially didn't like Remy's hysterical laughter.
"Dat could have happen t' know one else but Bobby. I've never heard of Mr. Freeze falling on ice."
"Mr. Freeze?" She asked with confusion.
"Yeah, you know, de Batman villain." He could tell that she still didn't understand him, so he turned to the guys. "By de way, did you read de last comic issue? It was amazing…"
"Aren't you a li'l too old for comic books?" Rogue asked with a sly smile as Scott and Logan chuckled.
Remy looked at the men with a grin until their laughter died down. "Aren't you a li'l too young t' have your ass hangin' out?" Again he heard their laughter. Remy leaned in closer to Rogue and whispered in her ear. "You better go in and change before your mommy catches you."
She responded by sticking out her tongue.
"One of dese days I'm gonna catch dat tongue of yours." Remy then turned to Logan and whispered. "…In my mouth." Logan snorted, almost dropping the cigar from his lips.
"What did you say?" Rogue asked slapping Remy on the back so that he would look at her.
"I didn't say anyt'ing."
"Yes you did." He shook his head innocently as if she was going crazy. "Logan what did he say!"
Logan shrugged his shoulders. Not wanting to be dragged into their quarrel, he lifted up the hood of the car instead. He let out a low whistle. "Cyke, take a look at this."
Scott moved to stand beside Logan and took a look at the car engine. "Woow, sweet."
Remy decided to use the free time to talk to Rogue, since the other men were distracted. He pulled his driver gloves from his pocket and put them on. "Come here, I wanna talk t' you." Remy pulled on Rogue's arm for her to follow him away from the others.
"About what?" She demanded, pulling back her arm, which caused him to fall towards her. She smiled in triumph. Just hours earlier with the bracelet on, she was at the mercy of his strength.
"Please?" He begged, knowing that the only way he could get her to go with him was if she went willingly. Reluctantly, Rogue followed behind him.
Remy walked far enough away from Logan's eavesdropping capability. He turned to Rogue, demanding her full attention with his eyes. "How are you feelin'?"
He had do drag me all the way here to ask me that? "Ah told you this morning that Ah felt great."
He nodded his head. "I want t' know how you're feeling having your powers back. Last night you were in over your head."
"Ah know, Ah was out of it." She pushed her hair behind her ears, trying not to remember how confused her mind was that night. "But right now Ah couldn't feel any better."
"What exactly was your problem last night." He had no intention of dropping the conversation so easily. "You were sayin' some pretty weird t'ings."
"Ah don't remember much of it." She lied. Rogue remembered everything that happened.
"When I returned t' de bedroom, I saw you slumped against de wall wit' de adamentium scissors in your hand." He watched as her eyes widen at the mention of the scissors. He noticed the scissors by her hand that night and made a mental note to ask her about it whenever he had the opportunity.
"Uh-huh."
"What were you doin' wit' de scissors?"
She looked to the ground in frustration. "Ah don't remember. Who cares?"
"I care." He placed his gloved hand underneath her chin and raised her face to his. "It seemed like you were goin' t'…"
"What? Kill mahself?" She shook her head so that he would let go of her face. "It was never that bad, Remy. Nothin's ever that bad."
He smiled showing relief. "Good. Dat's what I wanted t' hear."
Rogue knew that Remy was only trying to look out for her, but after her talk with Jean she became skeptical. "Ah had a talk with Jean a few minutes ago."
"Yeah, so?" He shoved his hands casually in his pockets, giving no outward sign of his resentment toward the telepath.
"You remember yesterday evening when we were in the living room?" She waited for him to nod his head. "Ah told you mah mind was acting up again. Ah told you how confused Ah was feeling. Ah said Ah wanted to talk to Jean because maybe she could help me." He continued nodding, agreeing with everything she said. "You said it was better that Ah didn't talk to her 'cause she might go back and tell Xavier."
"I don't need a playback, Rogue. I know what I said."
She folded her arms across her chest in a hustle manner. "Then why did you say it? Jean told me today that you were afraid she would talk me out of having any kind of relationship with you. So again Ah ask, why did you talk me out of speaking with Jean? Is it because you were looking out for mah best interest or because you were looking out for yourself?"
Remy cursed mentally. Didn't I tell Jean t' mind her own fuckin' business? He put Jean aside for the moment in order to give Rogue an answer that would leave him smelling of roses. "I sa…"
"Don't lie to me." Rogue warned cutting him off. He closed his mouth, rethinking what he was going to say.
"I don't know, Rogue. Maybe I was doin' both." He lowered his eyes showing remorse. "I'm sorry. I t'ought whatever problem you were having I could handle it. But last night when I saw how messed up you were, I knew dat maybe I couldn't handle everyt'ing. I was prepared t' take you t' Jean for help."
He was speaking the truth. After he returned from Betsy's room he had every intention of bringing Rogue to Jean. However, Rogue had already turned on the bracelet, which caused Remy to change his game plan.
Rogue listened to the story of his last minute change of heart to bring her to Jean, knowing that his decision would have been too late. That night when Remy left his room to take care of Betsy, Rogue was on the brink of suicide. Rogue pushed the thought aside, not wanting to think about how close she came to death.
"Why do you always feel the need to do stuff like that Remy? Did you honestly think that Jean could say anything to me to change how I feel about you?"
"I know. I wasn't t'inking clearly." He took her hands in his and gave a charming smile. "I never do when it comes to you."
"Yeah, well cut it out!" She pulled her hands away from his grasp, not giving in to his flirtatious mood. She looked at him sincerely. "Nothin' Jean can say can stop me from being your friend, Remy."
Friend! It was all Remy could do to stop from yelling. He wouldn't play the passive role in her life any longer. "Let's jus' get one t'ing straight. I am not your…"
"Yo, Gambit!" Logan yelled from across the estate. Rogue and Remy looked over in his direction. "Where did you put the wires!"
Remy cupped his hands around his month to project his voice. "Over by the curb!" He yelled in response. He turned back to Rogue wanting to continue where he left off. "I'm not…"
"Where!" Scott yelled over Remy's voice. "We don't see it!"
Remy rolled his eyes. It's probably better dat I don't get into de 'friendship' discussion wit' Rogue now. I'm a li'l too high strung. Remy gestured for Rogue to follow him back to the car.
"It's over here." Remy answered picking the wires off the ground and throwing it to Logan. He then turned to examine the car engine with Scott.
"So, Rogue." Logan said sitting on the curb organizing the wires. "You blew me off yesterday." He said in reference to her leaving him in the weight room.
"Sorry about that." She sat down beside him. "Ah was having a bad moment."
"Yeah, so what else is new?" He joked. She gave him a playful hit on the arm. "You still on for tonight?"
"Yeah, I guess so." She looked up at him. "We're gonna be doing karate this time right?" He nodded his head. She had a big grin on her face. "Yes!" She got up from the curb and walked toward the parking lot.
Logan stopped untangling the wires while both Scott and Remy eyes wandered from the engine in order to observe Rogue's long walk.
Remy's eyes followed each step her legs made as well as the firmness of her behind. "She's in Ice Princess mode: Look but don't touch."
"Tell me about it." Scott whispered as Logan nodded his head in agreement.
Rogue turned around suddenly, catching all of the eyes on her. She placed her hand on her hip impatiently. "Hurry up, Scott!"
"I'll be there in a sec!" He yelled back. She proceeded to walk to the parking lot.
Remy's eyes shifted from his girl to his leader. "Where are you two goin'?"
"She's following me to the store." Scott answered indifferently.
Remy lips curled into a sinister smile. "Oh really?"
Logan got up and stood beside the men. "What Cajun? You seem worried." He stated, trying to stir the pot.
"Should I be?" Remy asked turning his attention to Scott.
The married man knew exactly what the other two were implying. "That's enough, you two. I have a wife who satisfies my every need."
Remy balked at the idea, turning over to Logan. "Someone get de pooper-scooper—dis mutie's talking shit." Logan started to laugh, but Remy was nowhere near finished voicing his observations. "I can feel how horny you are, Cyke. Take a good look Logan." He pointed to Scott. "Dis is a guy dat spent all of last night yanking his dick." Logan chuckled as he grabbed the one of the car speakers from the road.
"Shut up." Scott ordered. However, Remy did not obey the command; he was on a roll.
"Looks like Jean is keeping her legs locked." Remy looked past Scott to Logan who was laughing. He spotted his next victim. "I don't know why you're laughing, Wolverine. One touch of you wit' my empathy and I feel like peeing all over Rogue—to leave my mark." He added with a smirk. He had only touched Logan briefly with his empathy because he knew in advance that whatever Logan was feeling would be too raw and primal for him to handle for too long.
Logan placed the speaker down by his feet. He wasn't laughing anymore, but Scott was. "Fuck off."
Logan's aggression only encouraged Remy to keep going. "It's obvious dat Scott is horny because Jean is mad at him." Remy noticed Scott about to open his mouth in protest, so he silenced him with a wave of his hand as he turned to Logan. "But you don't have de same excuse, Logan. You're not tied down t' anyone, so you should be fucking every girl in sight…"
"For the record: The reason I didn't get laid last night was because Jean was sick." The two men looked over to Scott with a 'give me a break' expression.
Logan turned to Remy to pick up on his conversation. "I should be fuckin' every girl in sight? Speak for yourself, Gumbo. Why are you so backed up? I saw the way you had your hands all over 'Ro this morning. You always said she was like your sister—no brother would ever touch his sister that way." Logan tried hard to keep his emotions in check, not wanting to give the impression that he was jealous. Scott waited for the response.
"Wait a minute." Remy looked like he was offended. "First of all, hell yeah I'm
horny. My dick gets hard every time it brushes against my pants because de girl I'm interested in is a fucking tease." Scott laughed. "Second of all, I've never said 'Ro was like my sister." He gave them a shrewd grin. "She's more like my step-sister—so it's not incestuous."
Scott's laughter was interrupted by three car honks. They all looked down the estate to the parking lot, where Rogue sat in one of parked cars.
"I gotta go." Scott said realizing the noise was intended for him. "Oh, Logan. Did you finish installing the security codes?"
"Yup. I left the paper with the new codes in the Control Room."
Remy butted into their conversation. "What have I told you guys about never writing anyt'ing down? What if de passwords got into de wrong hands?"
"The wrong hands, meaning yours?" Scott joked. Logan couldn't help but chuckle.
Remy acted as if he was insulted. "I'm finally tryin' t' be serious and you're cracking jokes…"
A longer car honk drowned out Remy's voice.
Scott looked nervously in Rogue's direction. "I better go before she smashes the staring wheel."
Remy grabbed his arm to offer a final word of advice. "Don't do anyt'ing I would do." He said with a smile. Scott rolled his eyes in response and took off toward the parking lot.
After a couple of minutes Logan and Remy could hear the engine start and watched as Scott drove out of the estate with Rogue in the passenger seat.
"An' dere dey go…off into de wilderness."
"Quit yer yakin'." Logan growled impatiently rubbing his hands together. "Let's get our hands dirty."
Remy snapped out of his daze and focused on his teammate. He gestured his hand to the hood of the car. "Ladies first."
(Scott/Rogue)
They drove down the secluded road in silence. Not that they didn't have anything to talk about, its was just that Scott was too busy going over 'X-men' business mentally to take part in a conversation.
Rogue moved restlessly in the car. She was able to move so freely because there was never any need for her to buckle her seatbelt.
Scott's hand rested on his leg as he used the other hand to stare the car. Rogue noticed a ladybug resting on Scott's hand and moved to flick it off him with her finger.
Scott saw her fingers creep closer to him out of the corner of his eye, and moved his hand anyway from her. "What are you doing!" He said almost swerving the car off the road.
"Ah was jus' trying to get that bug off your hand! Shit!" She crossed her arms in a huff. Scott would always flinch away from her. He was the king of flinches.
"Sorry. You just caught me off guard."
"Yeah, whatever." She mumbled. He felt embarrassed with how bad he reacted to her approach. They again sat in silence.
Rogue finally spoke. "So…"
"So?"
"Why did you have to be so hard on Bobby?"
"Here we go." Scott rolled his eyes. He was expecting that reaction from her sooner or later. Leave it to Rogue to always stick up for Bobby. "He damaged expensive machinery."
"Ah know, but he didn't mean to. It was a silly mistake."
"Mistakes are not tolerated." He slipped her a look then returned his focus back to the road. "Mistakes costs lives and a shit load of money."
"Ah know, Ah know. But you didn't have to yell at him, is all." She said tracing her finger on the front window.
"That 300 grand he lost, pushed us over budget."
She turned to him. "How can that be? Ororo's usually good with handling money."
"Well, 'Ro is not in charge of the money anymore. I am."
When did that happen? Now that Ah think about it, Scott's been in charge of a lot more stuff lately. "What's been going on? Is 'Ro still the leader?"
He let out a sign; he really didn't intend on getting into the 'who's the leader' subject. "I know we haven't had an official meeting about it, but Storm is now second in command as oppose to co-leader."
"Why weren't we informed of this earlier?"
"To tell you the truth, no one was informed."
"Not even 'Ro?" He shook his head no. "Why wouldn't you tell her?"
"I don't know, just never got around to it." He mumbled with a shrug.
"Uh-huh." She rolled her eyes. "It's because you're still mad at her isn't it? You sure can hold a grudge."
He pushed lightly on the breaks so he could look at her longer. "What are you talking about?"
She watched as the arrow on the speed meter decreased slightly. "Ah know Ah haven't absorbed you in a long time, but the last time Ah did Ah felt the anger you still held against her." She shook her head. "Anger is the wrong word…you feel hurt."
He hadn't thought about the incident in a long time, but knew it was useless lying to her. "Don't you think I'm justified in my feeling? She should have told me."
"But she made a promise to Jean."
"Fuck a promise!" He retorted. "That's something you don't keep from a person that is suppose to be your friend. Besides, she could have told me the truth after Jean had supposedly died."
They were speaking about his father. Long ago Scott was introduced to a space pirate who Ororo knew to be his father through Jean. He never found out the truth until later on. Scott never could understand why Ororo would keep something so important hidden from him.
"Then why aren't you mad at Jean? After all, she was your girlfriend at the time and she didn't tell you about your father either. Jean was the person who should have told you, instead she kept it from you and made 'Ro do the same."
Scott did not say a word.
She looked out the window, as the trees rolled by. "But Ah don't blame you. It's probably a lot easier to have the blame rest on anyone's feet, but your wife. It makes it easier to look at her at night."
Again they sat in silence.
"She's really sorry, you know." She whispered, having also absorbed Ororo once before. " 'Ro never meant to hurt you."
"If she had to do it again, would she have still kept the secret from me?"
Rogue didn't answer him.
"That's what I thought. How sorry could she really be if she would do it again?"
"I didn't say she would do it again." She said defensively.
"You didn't have to."
"All Ah'm saying is that you should be consistent. If you're mad at Storm, so be it. But you should be mad at your wife as well."
"Yeah, whatever." He said focusing back on the road.
"Hypocrite." She said covered in a fake sneeze.
"What did you say?"
"Nothin. It was just a sneeze." She said batting her eyelashes innocently.
He turned back to the road; he couldn't even remember if he had ever heard her sneeze before. "Tease." He responded covered in a fake cough.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. I was just coughing." He glanced at her long enough to see her annoyed expression. Something tells me this is going to be a long ride.
Remy was having a good day. It seemed as if nothing could take the smile off his face. Then again, it was a little too hot for his taste, but he could cope; he was raised in the south after all.
"Dis is de perfect day t' be workin' outside." He commented wiping the bit of sweat from his forehead. "De only t'ing missing is a nice cold beer."
Logan lifted his head from the hood of the car. "Nice try, but it's not gonna work. I'm not givin' you any beer. You're not goin' to get Cyke on my case."
"Hey, I had t' try." He smiled bending over the speaker. "Pass de screwdriver, will ya?" He asked whistling a joyful tune as Logan passed him the tool.
His cheerfulness was too much for Logan to handle. "Why are you in such a good mood?"
He snickered in response. "You have t' ask?"
"Rogue, of course." He answered while nodding his head. "So everythin's goin' all right."
"So far so good."
Logan wasn't willing to bet on it. "Yeah? For how long?"
"You know me. I'm not one t' give up so easily. I can wait her out." He gave a confident smile.
The Canadian leaned on the car watching as Remy loosened some screws on the speaker. "I hear what you're saying, but you're still full of shit." Remy looked up long enough to laugh. "It's me you're talking to, not some woman you're trying to impress with the 'sensitive' role. I know waiting it out is a hard job. I'm surprised you haven't cracked all ready."
Remy put down the screwdriver and wiped his hands on a cloth. "Dat's because I know de payoff will be worth de wait."
His response was a little too cocky for Logan's taste. "You better watch yourself, Gumbo. You move a second too fast and I'll be there to skin you alive."
Remy threw up his hands in defeat. "Everyone here t'inks I can't control myself. Like de minute Rogue uses de bracelet I'm gonna drag her by de hair and pull her into my cave. I'm not like dat." He paused, showing that he was hurt. "Having sexual intercourse wit' her is de very last t'ing on my mind."
"Oh yeah?" He asked with raised eyebrows. "Then what's the first?
With mischief in his eyes, Remy moistened his lips. "Runnin' my tongue over every inch of her body."
Logan threw a dirty towel in his face. "Get back to work!" He ordered, trying hard to keep the smile off his face.
The closer they drove into town, the more cars they started to see on the road. Scott looked over to Rogue who seemed to be more interested in her examining her fingernails.
"Rogue?" He said causing her to focus on him. "It's weird, knowing that you have had a glimpse in my mind, into my inner thoughts. The only person I trust enough to get into my inner core is Jean, and even she doesn't stray too far."
"But you can't compare mah power to Jean's. You see, Ah didn't jus' glimpse your mind when Ah touched you, you became a part of me. For a couple of seconds you were in me, and forever you will still be a part of me."
He shifted nervously in his seat at the thought of her knowing him so intimately. "I can't even contemplate that thought. So what have you learned about me?"
"You're a control freak."
He wasn't impressed with her skill. "Everyone knows that."
"Okay, fine." She looked deep into her mind trying to search through the memories that belonged to him. "You feel the need to control everything around you because you cannot control your own powers."
"I've learned that from my many years with Jean and the professor." He said with a shrug. He turned to her and smiled. "You're the same way too, you know."
"What?"
"Remember your little bout with OCD?"
She smiled. "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Ah would always go up the steps in twos, flick the light switch twice before turning it on and blink mah eyes three times before Ah ate my dinner…among other things."
"Your OCD was totally connected to your inability to control your powers."
She had to agree with him. "Yeah, you're right. The professor had to work with me a long time before Ah gave it up."
"But still, your room is too clean for my taste." He gave a wink as she giggled. "Since you seem to be in a sharing mood…I been meaning to ask you something."
"Yeah, what?"
"Why did you and Remy break up in the first place a couple of weeks ago?"
Ah can't believe he's asking me that. "What makes you think Ah'm gonna answer that question?"
"I don't know." He answered.
She decided to change the topic. "Ah know what you guys say about me behind mah back."
"We guys? We don't say anything."
"Ice Princess?"
Scott started to protest. "For the record, Remy started all of the name calling from the very first day he met you. Ice Princess, Forbidden Fruit, The Untouchable…"
"Untouchable?" She cut him off tugging at her gloves. "Never heard that one before. It still doesn't mean you guys had to go along with him."
She's right, we didn't have to go along. But still, I didn't know she would take offence...
"Every time we dated, Remy was always the perfect gentlemen. He never rushed me or anythin'."
It took him a moment to realize that Rogue might be telling him about why she broke up with Remy weeks ago. "But…"
"But…there is only so much a guy can take—Ah know that. So, in our relationship there always comes a moment where he wants more."
"There are things you two can do that can be…satisfying…without physical contact."
She rolled her eyes. "Ah know, Ah know. But really Scott, be honest with me. Is there anythin' more sexually gratifying than having actual intercourse with a woman?"
His body tensed as he stuttered. "If you…considering that…it depends on…"
"No there isn't." She ended his uneasiness by answering the question herself. "Remy would have eventually wanted more. And at the time Ah couldn't give him what he wanted."
"So you broke up with him? Rogue, you didn't even give him a valid reason. He was totally caught off guard. Even I felt bad for the guy."
She continued ignoring his response. "Ah told him it was over, eventually we got into an argument. Ah wanted to make him mad; Ah wanted him to hate me."
"Why?"
"So that he could go out in the city and relieve his sexual frustrations with any girl he saw fit and not feel guilty about it." She felt the car take an unexpected swivel on the road. She waited for Scott to steady the car before she spoke again. "Ah thought if Ah couldn't satisfy mah boyfriend, some other woman could." She looked at him hopelessly. "Ah'm pathetic, Ah know."
Scott would never have had the gall to agree with her being pathetic. Anyway, he would not have used that word. Instead he might have used the words low self-esteem. "So…did he go to another woman?"
"Ah don't know. He did leave me that night in a huff. He went out and didn't return until morning. When he came back, instead of smelling of cigarette smoke and some little floozy's perfume, he smelt like soap. Really soapy, like he cleaned himself up real good. Shit, that could have meant a whole bunch of things. Ah jus' prefer not to think about it."
"You know that you are better than that, Rogue." He felt himself recycling the speech he used to cheer Betsy up. "You're a beautiful girl and…"
"Beauty has nothing to do with it." She concluded sharply. "A starving person would eat a plain piece of bread over a sandwich filled with poison baloney any day." He couldn't argue with her point.
"So anyway, Ah knew that Ah would get back together with him after he 'sewed his wild oats.' Hoping that in the time away from me he wouldn't find anyone else, maybe even secretly wishing that he would find someone else." She whispered. "I had everythin' all planned. We would get back together and start this never ending cycle again in a couple of months until he got tired of it. But then…"
"…Beast handed you the bracelet." Her story fell into place. He turned to her. "And in doing so, Beast disrupted the cycle."
She gave him a drained smile. "You're a bright boy, aren't yah."
The car started to slow down. They had reached the town store.
Remy placed car jacks around each end of the car. When everything was ready, he began to pump each jack, which raised the car a few inches from the ground.
He finally felt the time was right to ask Logan a question that was weighing on his mind. "So, you goin' t' tell me what you and Rogue will be doin' later on?" He over heard when Logan asked Rogue about getting together, but couldn't make out the rest of their conversation.
Logan shrugged his shoulders. "Same thing we did yesterday."
"Which was?"
His attention drifted from the car. "You mean, she never told you?"
"No, she didn't tell me anyt'ing." Remy answered as Logan turned back to the car. "So what's going on?"
He did not look at Remy when he responded. "Hey, if she doesn't want you to know, it's not my place to tell ya."
"You're kidding me, right?" He asked playfully. However, soon he realized that Logan was not playing. "You son of a bitch. I'll remember dis."
"Like I care." He snorted.
Remy pressed forward. "Does she ever talk t' you about us?" Logan did not answer. "Fine be dat way."
Remy rested his back on the roller and slid underneath the car, examining the parts. His figure was hidden under the car when he heard the footsteps of another person walking in his direction.
"Morning, Logan." Jean said as she tapped him on the shoulder.
Logan greeted her with a warm smile. He had sensed her coming, but was still surprised that she stopped to talk. "What you up to?"
"Nothing much." She said staring over his shoulders at the car.
He nodded. "How you feelin'? Cyke was saying somethin' about you being sick."
"Oh. Nothing's wrong, I'm fine." She responded without much feeling.
Logan cocked his head to the side. "How you really feeling?"
She gave him a small smile. "Could never get much past you, huh?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "You wear your emotions on your sleeve."
Yes that is true. "I just have something weighing on my mind."
"Maybe it will help you to talk about it."
"Maybe." Really, she didn't think it would help.
"You know I'm always here if you need someone to talk to."
"I know." She decided to take hold of the olive branch he was offering. "It's just that…" She trailed off not knowing how to begin her story.
"Yeah?"
She let it all rush out. "Scott was with Betsy last night and…" She heard the squeaking of wheels as Remy emerged from beneath the car. He stood up and dusted his hands on his pants.
"Didn't mean t' interrupt you." He stated in an eerie tone.
"You didn't." She responded defensively. "I was just leaving anyway. I have to get something from my husband." She turned to Logan. "Do you know where he is?"
"Yeah." Remy chimed in commanding her attention. He was still peeved at her for interfering with his relationship with Rogue. "He's in de mansion working on de insecurity system, I mean security system." He corrected his mistake giving her a wink.
"What the fuck are you talkin' about?" Logan cut in. "You know that Scott went out to the store with Rogue."
"Oh yeah. I must have forgot." He shrugged it off and walked over to the curb looking for a particular tool in the pile of mess.
Jean eyed Remy with contempt, even though he was paying her no mind. Finally she turned back to Logan. "Have you seen, 'Ro?"
"I think she might be meditating." He said rubbing his chin.
"Oh, okay." Damn! She could be meditating for hours. "I'll see you later, Wolvie." She turned around and walked back into the mansion.
Logan's eyes narrowed at Remy, who was oblivious to the situation. "That's three, Cajun." He stated in reference to how many times he witnessed Remy tick off Jean.
He looked away from the tools to Logan. "So what? You going t' beat me up now?" He asked holding back a chuckle.
Logan stepped toward him and looked down at the red on black eyes shaded by the rim of his baseball cap. "Why the fuck are you messing with her?"
He played innocent. "I haven't de slightest idea of what you are talkin' 'bout…"
To Remy's surprise, Logan pulled him up by his shirt and inches from his face. "You think I'm stupid? Insecurity system? You're fucking asking for a beat down."
What de fuck is his problem? "Take it easy, mon amie. Sure you can break my jaw, but if you do I won't be able t' tell you what I jus' found out."
Logan let go of his shirt, but stood his ground. "Go ahead, talk. It better be worth it." He warned. Remy was up for the challenge.
Rogue waited in the car while Scott hopped into the store to pick up a few items. The platinum bracelet with the red rubies glistened on her hand. She was happy that during their conversation, Scott did not notice the difference in the appearance of the nullifier.
Rogue was surprised that she confided as much as she did to Scott. But she needed someone to talk to and shared a special connection with him.
Then again, Ah probably only feel connected to Cyke because Ah touched him before. Which means that he can't feel the same connection towards me because he does not remember what happened when he was inside mah head.
The side door opened and Scott eased into the front seat, placing the purchased goods on the back seat. "You ready?"
"Yup. Let's go." He started the car and drove in the direction of the mansion.
"When will you be using the bracelet?" He finally asked her after a few minutes passed.
She lowered the back of her seat and relaxed more in the car. "To tell you the truth, Ah'm not in any rush. Ah still have yet to read through the booklet."
That's good to hear. "Yes, it is a difficult read." Henry sure loves his big words. "Is Gambit getting impatient?"
"Yes, it is a difficult read." "Is Gambit getting impatient?""Why should he be impatient? Shit, it seems like you, Beast, 'Ro, Jean, Bobby, and Logan think the bracelet is more for Gambit than it is for me. After Beast first gave me the bracelet he thought it best that Ah speak with Gambit. Then Bobby…"
"Don't be so surprised. Given your history with him, it's only natural that he would be part of a follow-up question on activating your neutralizer."
"Whatever. Still doesn't mean that Ah have to like it." She put her foot on the dashboard and retied her shoelaces. "You know what?"
"What?"
"Sometimes, Ah wish Remy was more like you." She stated matter-of-factly. He turned to her in shock. "Don't look so surprised. You've both lived similar lives, raised without parents. You could have easily grown up to be a bad guy. But you eventually found a do-gooder when you met up with Xavier, unfortunately Remy found a criminal when he met Jean Luc. And that was where Remy and your path in life differ."
"He had a good relationship with his adopted father?"
"Yeah, Ah suppose." She answered indifferently. "Ah understand Remy; Ah understand you. You do everything the professor says to a 'T' because some part of you is still afraid that Xavier might kick you out if you mess up—like the many foster parents you had. That's your worst fear."
Scott listened to her without saying a word. Even Jean never explained that part of his psychology to him.
"That's Remy's worst fear too, yah know? And that's exactly what Jean Luc did—kicked Remy out when he messed up."
"Shit." He cursed underneath his breath.
"I'm crazy."
"Huh?"
"Remy's carefree attitude is what Ah love about him. Then sometimes it's what Ah hate most."
"There's a thin line between love and hate." He added.
"How many times have you told Jean you loved her?"
He looked at her in confusion. "I don't know. That's something I can't even begin to count."
"What if Ah told you that Ah could count the number of times Remy has told me he loved me on one hand—even if Ah was missing two fingers and a thumb."
Which means that he has only said 'I love you' to her two times. I knew Remy was guarded, but I didn't think he was so guarded with her. "But you do know he loves you, right?" She must know. She's touched him before.
"But you do know he loves you, right?""Ah don't know. Could a guy like him truly ever love someone? Could Ah?"
He couldn't answer the question, but was now convinced Xavier was right to have concern with their unstable relationship.
"Remy's like an abused puppy who keeps on coming back for more. Everyone in his life who he has depended on abandoned him…everyone."
Scott knew she was referring to herself leaving Remy in Antarctica. "It's not your fault, Rogue. You weren't in your right mind."
"Am Ah ever? And still, is that a good excuse?" He could have died and it would have been all my fault. She pushed the memory out of her mind, not wanting to talk about the thief anymore.
She reached back into her thoughts, going through old memories that didn't belong to her. "You don't have to worry, you know."
"Worry about what?"
"You don't have to worry about the professor kicking you out if you mess up." He took his gaze off the road to look at her while she spoke. "He would never do that to you. You don't have to wait for his love and respect. He already has it for you, so stop trying to hard to earn it." She ended the conversation by reaching for the car radio and turning it on.
The soft music prevented him from asking her how she knew what Xavier felt. However, soon he remembered that Rogue had touched Xavier long ago as well.
"I found out somet'ing I t'ink you should know about." Remy said as he straightened out his ruffled shirt.
"Yeah? What's that?" He was curious.
"It's about 'Ro. Have you noticed her acting differently lately?"
Logan couldn't handle a long build up. "Get to the point, Cajun."
He would have rather dragged out the conversation, but yielded to Logan's request. "She has a 'secret' boyfriend."
"Uh-huh."
"You don't seem so surprised."
"Did you need your empathy to figure that out?" He asked sarcastically.
Suddenly the situation became as clear as day. "Shit, how could I be so stupid. Of course you would know she was wit' someone all dis time. You can smell him on her."
Logan was relieved that Remy didn't figure out the truth. "Yup, you're not tellin' me anythin' new." He finally stepped back from Remy and rested on the hood of the car.
"So aren't you de least bit concerned?"
"Ororo can handle herself. You don't need to worry about her. I've known her a long time."
I hate when he asks like he knows 'Ro more dan I do. "Yeah? Well, I practically raised her. Don't let me bring up dat whole scene wit' her and Forge. Sometimes she isn't a good judge of character. I mean, she brought me here didn't she?" He let the last sentence slip out, knowing that Logan wouldn't catch on to what he was really implying.
"Face it, Cajun. Even if 'Ro's man was perfect, you wouldn't like him. In your eyes, nobody's good enough for her."
"Dat's not true." He objected.
"Name someone you wouldn't mind seeing her date." Logan let a couple of seconds pass by for him to answer. In time he knew that there would be know answer. "See, just what I thought. You would rather her spend her life alone and safe than have her take a chance at love." Remy did not say anything.
Logan dusted his hands in completion. "There it's done."
"What?"
"You're car speakers. Everything should be working fine. But there's only one way to find out." Remy smiled as he tossed Logan the car keys.
Logan got inside the driver's seat and prepared to started the engine. Remy sat beside him.
"You know what?" Remy said as Logan pushed the key in the slot. "Dere is someone I wouldn't mind Stormy dating."
"Yeah? Who?" His mind drifted from the task at hand to listen to Remy's final answer.
"You."
Logan was caught off guard. "What?"
"You would be perfect for 'Ro. I wouldn't mind it one bit…if only…"
"If only what?" He asked consciously.
"If only you didn't still have a t'ing for Jean." He added in spite of his better judgement.
The car was silent for a moment. "What the fuck did you just say?" Logan asked in disbelief.
"Hey, take it easy, Logan." He said casually. "You still have a t'ing for Jean, is all I'm saying."
Logan jumped out of the car as Remy did the same. "Why the fuck would you even think that?" He asked walking over to Remy's side. "Is it just because I called you out today for getting under Jean's skin?"
"You didn't just do it today. You did it yesterday and de day before in de War room."
Logan stepped to him. "That's because I noticed you were trying to mess with her head."
"Yeah, you noticed. Which leads me t' wonder why you were starin' at her in de first place." He answered smugly. Logan didn't waste anytime pushing him into the side of the car. "What de…"
"Now you listen, and listen good." Logan snarled hitting Remy with his index finger every now and then. "You stop runnin' yer fucking month about things you know nothin' about, you hear? If not, I'm gonna have to shut yer month for ya." His claws popped out showing that he was serious.
"Meaning you're goin' t' cut out my tongue." Remy stated seeming disinterested. He was not intimidated at all, but knew that Logan was able to flip and do crazy things at a moment's notice.
Logan's mind wandered briefly to the thought of losing his girlfriend because of stupid rumors. Ororo might believe Remy's suspicion because of his empathy, even though he can't really use it on me. "You better not go and tell anyone else your wild stories." He drew back his claws and stormed away.
Remy looked around at the mess of tools on the ground. "So what, you're not goin' t' help me clean all of dis shit up!" Remy yelled after him. "Fine! I don't need your help, anyway!" He probably t'inks I'm going t' tell Jean he still loves her or somet'ing. Shit, can't he take a joke?
Scott and Rogue pulled up into the estate. He got out the car with his bag goods in hand, headed toward the mansion. Rogue jumped out of the car and flew toward Logan.
"Hey, Wolvie! When are we going to…"
"Not now, kid." He mumbled as she flew above his head.
"What's wrong?"
"Fuck! Don't you understand English! Beat it!" He yelled. She stayed in the air as he stomped off. Rogue wondered what was wrong and noticed Remy standing by his car. She flew to him and landed.
"What's wrong with, Wolverine?"
"He's having his period." He said sarcastically. "How de hell should I know?" He answered throwing his hands up in the air.
"You did somethin' to him. Ah know yah did."
Remy turned to her. "I didn't do anything. I was joking wit' him and all of a sudden he jus' turned all sensitive on me."
"Remy don't forget to take out the trash!" Scott shouted from the door of the mansion.
"Kiss my ass!" Remy said in a loud whispered while raising his thumb to Scott.
"Okay!" Scott yelled back with a raised thumb.
Remy and Rogue both laughed at Scott's action. It was clear to them that Scott didn't really hear what Remy yelled.
"Chere, listen to dis." Remy said stepping into his car and turning on the engine. Rogue got into the passenger seat and waiting as he switched radio dials. He found a music station that would best show off the latest addition to his car. He pressed a button that activated his new speakers. A heavy bass started to pound through the car.
"Wow! Sounds nice!" She yelled over the music.
"Do you hear dat bass! Now everywhere I go people will hear me coming from miles away!"
"That doesn't seem appropriate for a thief!" She knew he was about to make a witty remark, so she decided to cut him off before he could speak. "Remy, Ah need you to do me a favor."
"What!" He shouted over the loud noise. Rogue reached out and turned down the music.
"Ah said Ah need you to do me a favor."
He relaxed back in his seat. "What kind of favor?"
"Ah need some money."
"Oh, dat's it?" He said with a wave of his hand.
"A lot of money."
"How much are we talkin' about?"
She signed. "About $325,000." To her surprise he did not seem shocked at the amount of money she was asking for.
"I can scrape dat up for ya." He answered with a firm nod. "Wait a sec. Does de money have anyt'ing t' do wit' Bobby breaking de security device."
"Did Ah say it did?" She asked defensively.
He snickered. "No, you didn't say anyt'ing, but I know I'm right. Why didn't he jus' ask me for de money himself? I know we don't get along sometimes, but I would have gave him the money."
She knew it didn't make sense trying to hide the reason for the money from him when he already knew. " 'Cause if you lent Bobby the money, you will never let him forget about it."
"Dat's not true." He lied, but knew she wouldn't believe him. "Okay, I'd bug him for maybe a year and den I would forget about the hole thing."
"Whatever." She mumbled.
"I'll tell Bobby he'll get de money by tomorrow."
"No you won't." She said seriously. "He doesn't want anyone to know. You give it to me and Ah'll give it to him, okay?" He nodded in agreement. "Thanks, Remy. Ah owe you big time." He smiled knowing that him giving her the money would be a point in his favor.
A familiar Bob Marley song began to play on the radio. "Will you do me a favor?"
"What?" She asked with a curious smile.
"Dance wit' me." He answered.
As the song Waiting In Vain played, she smiled at him and jumped out of the car as he turned up the volume on his stereo and put on his driving gloves.
Remy got out the car, but Rogue did not wait for him to join her as she started dancing to the old reggae tune that played by herself.
Remy stood watching her as she danced seductively around him, swinging her hips to the rhythm. He silently wondered if she was paying any attention to the lyrics.
The song began a tale of a man who felt a connection with a woman he first layed eyes on, even though she did not feel the same way.
The words had an impact on Remy. Anytime he heard that particular song, it forced him to think about his relationship with Rogue.
Remy strolled over to her moving form and placed his hands on her hips. She hesitated for a moment, even though she saw he was wearing his driving gloves.
He looked deep into her eyes and knew she was pleading for him to be careful. He in turn nodded his head slowly to assure her that he received her message loud and clear. Carefully, she allowed him to pull her body closer to his. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders locking around his neck, cautiously avoiding touching his bare arms. He pulled her in as close as possible so their bodies where able to touch. She smiled with him as he led the slow dance.
Bob Marley contined on with his song. Three years had past and he is still waiting on his love to return the sentiment. He is willing to wait for her longer, but onl is she wants him too.
She rested her head on his shoulder and squeezed him tighter. Each step he took caused their bodies to rub against each other in all the right places. He knew the longer she stayed in his arms the harder it would be for him to let go. Still, he still held on.
He rocked her in his arms as the instrumental of the song played in the background. "Poor, Bob Marley." He whispered in her ear. "He's waiting for de love of a girl dat may never come."
"Really? That's not what Ah get from the song at all."
He stopped dancing, still holding her in his arms, and looked at her. "Den what did you get from de song?"
She shrugged. "It seems to me that Bob's more in love with the wait, than in wait for her love."
Remy mind twirled for a moment as he tried to dissect what she had just said.
She then gave him a dirty smile. "You might want to take care of that." She looked toward the center of his pants, and focused on his noticeable erection. "It looks kind of serious."
That was the flirtatious side of her that he grew accustomed to, but that flirtatious side was absent the night she used her bracelet. Rogue pulled back from his grasp and blew him a kiss. Instantly she took to the air and flew out of sight as Bob Marley continued to sing…
He watched as she disappeared into the clouds, guessing that she probably wasn't going too far.
"Down, boy, down." He whispered to his penis, which didn't seem to be paying attention. He stood by himself long enough for his extra sensitive body to settle down.
He thought about what he should do next. Now, he could go and take out the trash or he could take his improved car out for a joyride. After weighing both options for half a second, he jumped into his car and sped out of the estate in fifth gear.
ooooooooooooo
Author's Note: Waiting in Vain by Bob Marley
Next Time: Scott catches Logan's mistake, Jean is beginning to get on 'Ro's nerves, Logan and Rogue get heated and Bobby tries to settle things by making a bet with Remy…(Don't worry everyone, this story does lead somewhere—eventually. I'm already a couple of chapters past the half way mark!)