Disclaimer: The only compensation I am making from this fic is the warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart whenever I open my email and see that someone took the time off to review it. Obviously, none of the characters are mine. It's Marvel's. And Warner Brothers'. I think.
A/N: Chapter 6, as promised. =)
This is supposed to be part of Chapter 5 but I decided that short but regular updates is better than long but rare ones. Right?
Chapter 6
In retrospect, Remy was willing to admit that giving Anna Darkholme a box set of Gambit's first season was probably not the wisest thing that he did. But that femme has got him so intrigued and confused that he could not be thinking straight around her.
She was so different from the rest of the female species that was usually around him. For one thing, she seemed immune to her charms. No matter how he hits on her, she just rolls her eyes. Instead of turning beet red and stammering at Remy's extra attention, Anna only looks like she was merely tolerating his silliness.
And Remy would be damned if that didn't make him want her more.
So Remy made the mistake of treating her like he treats the rest of his groupies. Well, he's here to remedy his mistakes.
Armed with a lovely bouquet of lilies and other assorted flowers he could not name, Remy LeBeau strode confidently to Anna Darkholme's front door. But just as he was to ring the doorbell, the door swung open.
Remy's confident smirk slipped a bit when he saw a crumpled Cody Robbins from behind the door.
Cody Robbins, another hindrance to Remy's prize that was Anna. Remy could only admire and marvel at Anna's love and devotion to the man.
Not that he was going to let that stop him from attaining his goal.
"Anna?" Remy tentatively touched Anna's bare shoulders. Feeling her cold skin and seeing goose bumps on her exposed flesh, Remy removed her dinner jacket and draped it on her petite frame.
He had followed her immediately after she stormed out of the main dining hall after he and Belle interrupted her dinner with Cody Robbins.
Anna didn't turn to him nor made any acknowledgment of his presence.
"Sorry, chere," he murmured as he stood beside her on the veranda of Eros. Like her, he pretended to admire the view of the city at night before him.
"Are you?" She turned expectantly to him.
Remy raised an eyebrow. "Am I—" he pressed.
"Sorry." She clarified. "Are you really sorry?"
Remy grinned at her. "Can't say that I am," he admitted. He would be the first to admit that he's the sort of person that would do anything to get what he wants. And right now, he wanted Anna's heart. And the Robbins heir stands between him and her.
She was silent for a second, regarding him with an intensity that almost made him uncomfortable. Then, she abruptly turned away.
"Chere?" Remy prompted after a moment of uncomfortable silence, well, uncomfortable for him.
"Have you ever been in love?" She finally asked softly, so softly that Remy wasn't sure he heard her or imagined it.
"Mais O—"
"Really been in love," she continued before he could finish his answer. "So much that your own happiness didn't matter, only the other person's."
Remy turned to her in interest.
"So much that no matter how it hurts, you can't let go because if you do, you would hurt the other person more. And you would rather die than hurt him,"
"We're not talking about Remy anymore, are we, cher?"
Anna let out a painful sob and turned away from him.
"Cher," Remy murmured as he gently took her chin and used it to turn her face back to him. He carefully brushed away a tear that had fallen on her cheeks.
That was all it took before Anna broke down in front of him. She covered her face with her hand as she cried.
"Anna," he whispered her name reverently, hoping to give her comfort. Tentatively, awkwardly, Remy stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms loosely around her.
"It hurts, Remy," she whispered in between sobs. "But I love him so much,"
"Shh," one of his hands moved up and started to stroke her hair. "It'll be OK,"
After a while, Anna ceased crying. "I'm sorry," she attempted to break away from Remy's embrace.
But Remy wouldn't let her go. "Are you?"
Anna giggled a bit as she tried to contain her sniffles. "I deserved that."
"Oui, that you do," he smirked down at her though she couldn't see him in his embrace. "Here," he handed her his handkerchief.
"Thanks," she stepped back a little to dab at her face but still, Remy didn't let her go.
Remy wondered at himself. Never had a woman cried in his arms. Never had he seen a woman cry for a man other than him. Never felt the need to protect someone as fiercely as the need to protect Anna at this moment. "Anna, what are you doing to me?" Muttered under his breath.
"What?" Anna asked him with a frown as she pulled further back to study his face.
"Nothing," he denied as he pulled her closer. "Just want you to know, chere, anytime you need a friend, Remy's here."
He could almost feel the smile on her face. "Thanks." She sniffed. "Uh, Remy?"
"Oui?"
"Are you feeling me up?"
"Monsieur Robbins," Remy greeted pleasantly. "Fancy meeting you here,"
Cody grabbed Remy's shirt.
Remy's grin grew wider, anticipating a fight. It had been a while since he had let out steam in a good old fashioned brawl. The staged and carefully choreographed fight scenes in Gambit were not enough to quell his need for violence.
He was disappointed, however, when Cody took a deep, calming breath and stepped back.
"Sorry about that," he immediately apologized. "That girl keeps me from thinking straight."
Join the club, Remy almost uttered out loud. "Why? What's wrong?" He asked instead.
"I'm not really sure," Cody admitted. "I'm on my way to Wolverine's, to see if Anna's there."
"She isn't." Remy said confidently. "That's where I was. I came here to see if she and Kitty needs a ride when I didn't see them. Is anything wrong?"
There was brief moment of struggle in Cody's face. "She called me up a while ago," he finally said. "She didn't make any sense. And I have this feeling that she's drunk."
Remy was surprised. Anna didn't seem like the type who drinks all her problems away.
"She's not used to drinking." Cody affirmed Remy's thoughts. "And she's hurting. She has a history of doing—things—that she won't usually do when she's hurting."
She's hurting because of you, Remy glared darkly at him.
"Can you help me find her?" Cody asked.
Remy nodded, his hand already on his phone before Cody can even ask the question.
"Belle?"
"Remy!" Bella Donna's delighted laugh floated from Remy's phone. "You'll never guess who I'm with!"
"Anna Darkholme."
Bella Donna laughed once more. "You know me too well. No need to thank me, chere,"
"Where are you?" Remy asked, distress obvious in his voice.
"Having a wee bit of fun, of course!"
"And her friends?" Remy pressed.
"If you're talking about the perky brunette and the annoying redhead, then they're with us, too."
Remy let out a grunt of frustration. "Where are you?"
"My, my, LeBeau, a little impatient, are we?"
"Belle, now's not the time for games. Her boyfriend called and roused every friend they have. They're worried about her."
"And with a good reason." Belle teased. "Your little geek becomes Ms. Hyde with the right incentive."
"What are you talking about?" He pressed.
"Why don't you see for yourself, Remy?" Belle dared him. "I'm very sure that you'll be very grateful to me."
When Anna Darkholme was in high school, she discovered that her mother lied to her. By a cruel twist of fate, she met a stranger who saved her life on the very week that they moved to Bayville. That stranger turned out to be her father.
Hurt and confused, the normally happy and content Anna rebelled against her mother.
She hung out with the slacker group of Bayville High—a group of misfits who couldn't care less about school or rules.
Sick of being everything her mother expected her to be, she decided to experiment in an attempt on self-expression.
It turned out that she liked being Goth, much to her conservative mother's horror.
Dressed in dark shades of green and black, and wearing dark or purple make-up was only the beginning. Soon, she found herself listening almost exclusively to heavy rock and punk, much to her mother's chagrin. And to top it off, she dyed her longish bangs white.
Now, dressed in a tight black tank top and a short leather mini skirt with matching boots, Anna looked like she was having a lapse of her high school phase, complete with the two-toned hair.
In addition, she was presently drunk in the middle of the dance floor. To the delight of the men present, she was grinding and loosing herself to the music, unmindful of everything else around her.
And from a corner booth where it was out of the way of other patrons but with a great view of the dance floor, Bella Donna sipped her drink and marveled at the wild spirit Anna reined inside.
Usually, Bella Donna was the one doing the dancing and the grinding. But tonight, she was content to sit back and enjoy the chaos she unleashed. Her two friends, Kitty and Wanda, were currently in the same state as their friend—drunk as a skunk.
Bella supposed it had something to do with the drinks she ordered, which she assured was lite (though really, it was so strong that one bottle could give Remy a swift kick in the arse). True to her presumption, the three women could not hold their drinks. And that all three were happy drunks.
Now, three bottles later, the three were in the middle of the dance floor, uncaring of everything else.
Oh, won't Remy be proud!
"Belle."
Belle looked up and was surprised to see Remy. She wasn't surprise that he was actually there, after all, she did invite him to join the festivities. What surprised him was the barely concealed anger that radiated in him.
Behind Remy was his strong, silent bodyguard, Piotr something-or-the-other. He was actually Belle's next project before she met Cody Robbins.
"What's wrong, chere?" Bella cooed to him as she attempted to pull him down to her.
Remy, to Belle's further aggravation, resisted and merely narrowed his eyes at her. "Where is she? And her friends?"
Belle forced a smile on her face as she gestured towards the dance floor.
Remy's jaw tightened in what Belle recognized as anger. The last time Belle saw that expression on his face was when Julien reminded Remy that he was a mere street urchin who only thrived because he was adopted by a prominent family in New Orleans, aside from that he was nothing; and certainly did not deserve Bella Donna.
Anna, unaware of the trouble brewing at the table, was currently dancing suggestively against a man. On the other hand, Wanda and Kitty were dirty-dancing against each other, which left many men drooling after them.
Remy turned to Piotr. "Get those two." He motioned towards Wanda and Kitty. Without another word, Remy strode to the floor, with Piotr close behind.
"Anna."
Anna's face brightened and she stopped dancing when she saw the man who had taken possession of her arm. "Remy!" She laughed as she launched herself at him.
Remy's suspicions were correct. Anna reeked of beer.
"Hey!" The man who was dancing with Anna protested. "She's with me. Get your own partner."
Remy pulled the woman closer to him and glowered threateningly at the man. Though lean, there was no denying the strength and the power behind the physique of the Cajun, which was evident despite the darkness.
Anna's dance partner shrugged. "Whatever, man." He shuffled away. Well, there were more than one fish in the sea anyway.
"Let's go back," Remy told Anna.
"Kei," she slurred as she placed her weight on Remy to help her walk in a straight line. "Beer baaad."
"That's right, chere," Remy whispered soothingly to her ear. "My chere would regret her little drinking spree tomorrow."
"Not your cherry!" She tried to push him away but he was stronger and sober.
Remy chuckled.
Piotr reddened as he thought furiously as to how to attack the problem.
The two women Remy asked him to fetch from the dance floor were oblivious to everything but each other. He had tried clearing his throat, calling them, and tapping their shoulders for attention, but he was ignored.
He was embarrassed would rather be anywhere but here, but Remy was a good employer and rarely asks for much so when the Cajun asks for him to take the girls, he would take them.
As soon as they stop doing that to each other!
Piotr resisted the urge to close his eyes. Not only were the two women practically indecent with the way they were dressed, their dancing leaves a lot to be desired.
Finally, he went for the direct approach. Grabbing onto the back of the neck of one girl with one hand and the other hand with another, he pried the two apart.
"Hey!" The redhead protested. "Wanna dance!"
"Like, yeah!" Her partner confirmed.
They tried to wiggle away so Piotr tried to find a more stable purchase.
Placing either arm on the girls' waist, Piotr literally carried the two towards Bella Donna's table amidst protests, whines, and threats.
"Why are you doing this, Remy?" Belle hissed. "Look at her. All willing and pliant and available. I thought I would be doing you a favor."
Remy snorted as he shifted Anna, who seemed to have fallen asleep. "Doing me a favor? Aren't you doing this so that she would do something incredibly stupid and unforgivable that would make Robbins leave her?"
Belle glared. "And you're complaining because?" She demanded. "She barely gives you time of the day when she's sober. And look at her now, ready, willing, and able,"
"If I want easy, Belle, that's what you're here for!" Remy finally snapped.
Belle's eyes widened as she sprung up and slapped Remy soundly. With that, she stalked away.
Remy's shoulders slumped. That wasn't quite how he planned his evening.
"Uh, boss?" Piotr lumbered behind Remy. "What am I supposed to do with these?" He lifted his two packages—two wide awake, screeching, kicking, scratching women.
tbc
To all those who patiently waited for last chapter, thanks and I hope you enjoyed this make-up chap!
enchantedlight, thanks! Here's the update as promised.
Cathain Nottingham, I'm feeling a bit better. I'm a little down with a cough, but nothing I can't handle. Anyway, your losing track of this fic may be my fault since I took forever to update. But no fear, next chapter is here (and I rhymed, too)!
DaughterofDeath, your wish is my command! =)
ishandahalf, ooh! Very sharp with the connection of Robbins Hotels with Cody! Although I had a difficult time of coming up with a first name. I'm still not satisfied with Dakota but I supposed it's better than the other names I came up with. Yikes. Anyway, if you notice, Remy's starting to thaw a little, due to your review. I mean if the Queen of Romyness herself starts to hope that Rogue stays with her boyfriend instead of hooking up with Remy, then there must be something seriously wrong in my story. So I hope you change your view. Remy's starting to do the right thing and Bella Donna, well, she's doing what she does best.
kk, a wee bit impatient are we? Well, here it is!
Star-of-Chaos, thanks, I am feeling better. And Belle's not so discreet scheme backfired cringes Alright. So I'm not a scheming person. That's the best evil plan I can come up with. Argh!
dreamschemer, thanks for the compliment. And maybe like Rogue's so-called friends, I can make her famous too, courtesy of paparazzi! Whatchathink?
Lady Farevay, thanks for the advice. I felt a lot better after reading your review. But I came out with this chap nevertheless because I have nothing else to do. My mom and dad are babying me as of the moment, catering to my every needs. Mwahahaha! =) I'm gonna miss this when I go back to school. sighs
charice, as you wish!
AND
to curlygurly, YOU RAWK!
If there's anyone I missed, I'm so sorry, but I tried answering all reviews to the best of my abilities.
'Til next time! Mwah!
