A/N: Sorry to update a little later than usual. My schedule's been off, so unfortunately so have my posts. Anyway, I've decided to have a little vote about which fic I publish next. The details are on my profile page and I'll explain a little better on the review responses so there will be no further delay here. Enjoy!
.
.
.
.
.
Tears started to spring in her eyes. Even though he wasn't going anywhere at the moment Rogue grabbed his arm with her gloved hands to prevent him from moving. Just when she thought her only problem was the day she had and the idea of settling for Joseph Remy had to go and pull this stunt burdening her further.
"Jus' be in th' way o' y' an' Joe. 'Sides, wasn' meant t' be, remember?"
"Ah was thinkin' of breakin' it off anyway. Ah'll just tell him no an' we-"
"-Not dis time, cheri."
"Yes, Remy. We can work this out. Ah love ya!"
He just shook his head. Once she had told him the only time they ever cared about what they had was when they were about to lose it. Faced with such a situation made her profess her love, which had seemingly been dormant all this time. No, there was no point in trying to make something work that hadn't so many times before. Rogue slowly began to realize and understand what he meant as she stopped her desperate motions. Releasing his arm, she turned back to resume her first position on the bench with her left side leaning against the lattice. She roughly wiped away her tears. Remy hadn't moved from her side as they sat in solitude. Finally, something he said earlier clicked in her mind.
"Earlier ya said thah ring was for yer wife, but ya didn't give it ta Bella. So how could it be hers?"
"When Mignonette was on her deat' bed she called her daughter, Raison, t' her side. She asked Raison t' open a drawer in her jewelry box an' pull back th' lining. When she found th' ring she brought it t' her mè re. Mignonette tol' her 'bout Alarico an' deir love an' 'bout bein' promised t' Gaeton. By dis time Raison had been married by arrangemen' an' had a bebe fille. Givin' th' ring t' her daughter Mignonette made her promise t' keep th' symbol o' th' love she an' Alarico shared an' continue t' pass it down. She believed dat her bond wit' th' man she truly loved would one day be fulfilled when a LeBeau daughter married fo' love an' not obligation."
"So ya didn't give it ta Bella 'cause of yer arranged marriage."
"Oui an' non."
"Huh?"
Rogue had moved from her slouched position against the trellis to sit sideways on the bench so she could gaze at Remy. For some reason when he said no her hopes raised just a little.
"Mignonette was right 'bout one t'ing: she an' Alarico were reunited when a LeBeau fell in love. She jus' didn' know it would be a son an' not a daughter who brought deir bond back t' life. Th' ring was 'spose t' be m' wife's, 'cept y' weren' here when I got back from Merci's."
"Ah don't understand-"
She was so focused on his words that she missed their meaning. Suddenly it hit her like a ton of bricks. If she hadn't cut him out of her life so completely four years ago then she would have been his wife. The ring was supposed to be hers, but since they never got married it made his earlier statement "it would have" true. How in the world could Rogue have been so stupid? And why in the world had Remy for once chosen not to pursue her? Her thoughts were quickly abandoned when she watched him open the clasp to his necklace and pull off the ring.
"Marie, dere hasn' been a day since we met dat I haven' loved y' an' dere never will be a day when I stop. Believe me, I've tried. I know she wanted dis t' belong t' a LeBeau, but I t'ink Mignonette would've wanted y' t' have th' honor. Jus' promise y'll take good care o' it."
Remy took hold of her open hand and placed the gold Victorian ring in her palm. Closing her fingers around it, he took one last look at her. The realization that he was committing her face to memory didn't fail her notice. She opened her hand to look at the delicate ring. It was a large, two carat rose cut collet-set diamond with twelve slightly violet Burmese rubies surrounding it in little fleur-de-lis settings. Turning the gorgeous jewels around to see the full detail she noticed a stamp on the inside.
"What's this? Ah can't read it."
"Alarico had a hallmark stamped: 'aimer n'est jamais perdu'."
"Love is never lost."
Deep in her soul she knew this was either the beginning of the end or the start of an even deeper relationship that she couldn't possibly fathom. The sickening feeling that everything could be over between them twisted in her stomach. If it was truly the end she wouldn't be able to bare keeping such a personal keepsake of bittersweet memories.
"Ah can't accept it, Remy. Not if ya're gonna leave things lahke this between us. The only way Ah could possibly take it would be as yer wife an' we both know I'm too stubborn an' ya're too proud."
"Please-"
"-Shhh."
Placing her index and middle fingers over his lips she wiped away an unshed tear from her eye with her other hand. Rogue took one last look at Remy. The cardinal starfire burning in deep velvet revealed the true depth of pain she had just caued him by her refusal. She couldn't bare to look at what she had just done to the only man she had ever loved. Rising from the bench, Rogue made her way back to the edge of the roof above her rear facing room. As soon as she had turned away from him, Remy let down his guard and a huge smile spread across his face. He jumped up to follow her, stopping her dead with his words.
"Marie D'Ancanto. Marry me."
Rogue froze in place. Had he just asked what she thought he asked? No. It wasn't a question, but the affect was still the same. By now Remy was standing right next to her, reaching out to hold her by the shoulders. The distance and gesture was perfect for any reaction, whatever her answer may be.
"Ah thought ya said ya wouldn' propose ta meh?"
"No, I asked y' if y' were 'xpectin' me t' propose. Y' were th' one who said y' didn' 'xpect nothin' from me. Well, what do y' say?"
"What about Joe? What do Ah tell him?"
"Don' t'ink y' gon' have t' worry 'bout Joe."
"Why not? What aren'cha tellin' meh?"
"What's y' answer, Marie?"
It was yes or no, now or never. She could tell he wouldn't be satisfied until she gave him an answer and if she just left he would take it as a no. Not having a lot of time to contemplate her answer she quickly ran through everything she learned. He wasn't married. The reason he left was to get her engagement ring. And if it hadn't been for Jubilee's little mistake he would have followed her. Everything that had kept Rogue at a distance from Remy suddenly dissolved. By all reason there was nothing keeping them apart except themselves. She threw herself in his arms, careful of her exposed face. His coat, which she was still wearing, provided enough protection for the rest of their bodies.
"Yes! Yes! Oh, Remy, of course Ah will."
His grasp on her moved from her shoulders to completely encircle her. The embrace was tight and they held it for what seemed like forever. The simple action held all the love and longing they had missed out on while separated and foretold the depth their bond would grow in the future. Remy knew he shouldn't, but before Rogue had a chance to protest he raised her chin with his forefingers and firmly planted his lips on hers. The contact was just the briefest of touches, not allowing her mutation to take effect. As much as he wanted more from her, he knew it would have to wait until the contact was protected. Breaking their embrace he slid the heirloom ring on her finger before clasping her hand in his. He started to lead her to the edge of the roof.
"C'mon. Let's go tell th' ot'ers."
Rogue nodded in affirmation still too stunned to believe it was all true. Joseph popped into her mind suddenly and she realized she would have to tell him first so he wouldn't find out from someone else. He deserved that much from her. Remy was about to make his way down the side of the mansion when he turned back to her.
"Chere, what would y' say if I tol' y' dis whole t'ing was planned?"
"What do'ya mean 'whole thing'?"
"Nevermind. Let's find our amis."
.
.
.
.
.
R/R: Okay, I've decided to let you guys vote for which fic I publish next. If you go to my profile page you can read a quick description of each fic and get the information on how to vote. Whichever one is NOT picked will be published immediately after the one that is. That's pretty much it, short and simple. Now down to business. As always, thank you to everyone who's reading. If you'd like a Special Thanks too, just leave a review:
IvyZoe: I'm sorry to hear you broke your arm. I hope it doesn't hurt too much and it gets better soon. It's really cool that you took the time to write something:) As for the fic, technically, Remy didn't ask. And see, Rogue didn't get that weepy. I hate it too 'cause she's got such strong character. I'm really pleased to hear you love the story. Thanks for the review!
WolvGambit Le Diable Blanc: With only two chapters left, I think that's the end of the cliffhangers:) Sorry to keep you waiting for the update. Thanks for the review!
VinGirl: Was this fast enough of an update? Well, I'll try to be quicker next time if it wasn't. :) Thanks for the review!
Prexistence: If your classes are like my classes, then anything would be better. Okay, you have my blessing to harm Joe soon. In fact, I thought about torturing him a bit in my next fic, but you know what, I'm really, really, really tired of him, so I think I might help you. See, there was no need to do any convincing. It was already decided. Kinda. And don't feel bad for the guys who didn't get Rogue, they won't be too heartbroken because-NO! bad, writer, bad. No telling secrets before the end:) Okay, so we've established happy ending now. Joe beating to commence (out of fic of course). And there are a few more explanations to be made. Well, all that's left is for you to start hating a mysterious lady now. Wait, that's a different, soon to be published fic. Thanks for the review!
kyo-kitty: I hope this chapter satisfied your anticipation. :) Sorry I didn't get it up sooner. Thanks for the review!
ishandahalf: Yay! every time I see one of your updates I get a huge smile and most of the time a laugh! I'm so glad you liked the story with the ring. I didn't want to come straight out and say why Remy carried it, so telling a little history seemed a way to draw out the suspense. Yeah, Rogue did get snarly about Belle, didn't she? And I agree that I wouldn't want to hear anything either, but curiosity normally gets the better of most people and they don't wait years to find out what happened. As for the timing, well, you'll see soon enough. And Jubilee does have a big mouth. The first draft just kind of used her as a scapegoat, but I didn't really like how vague it was so I went back and expounded upon just what trouble she caused exactly. It also seemed to breed a little animosity toward her, at least to me, which I didn't like, so now it's just poor judgement. Yep, the marriage is annulled and Belle's not dead. Boy, are you going to hate me soon. I mean, searing, scathing reviews are in my future… I know the interaction between Rogue and Bella would have been interesting to say the least, but I wanted this to focus on Remy and Rogue, so no flashback or explanations. Just she showed up. And who ever said Remy wasn't a romantic? He had to stay around to make sure no one got too cozy with Rogue! How'd you like the drastic plan implementation? LOL! Yay, you fell for my trap with him leaving! He was just teasing her, you know. Getting her to realize exactly how much she still loved him and didn't want to lose him. With only two chapters left, that should be the end of the cliffhangers. Maybe I didn't say it before, but Rogue doesn't reject Joe's proposal. You can't reject something that wasn't giv-oops, there I go again. But, you should still get your laugh when you read the last few paragraphs of the fic. And I don't think I've ever said how much I love that drugged out bunny of yours. The bunny gets me every time:) Thanks for the review!
MJK: Nope, not married the whole time. That's what stupid actions will cost you, or Rogue anyway when she cut Remy out of her life. So, did you like how she got her act together. She still has some things to get over, but you'll see soon enough how she deals with that. You're right. It would have been cute if she'd asked him after all her proposals today. :) I wish I'd thought of that. Of course, if I had this probably would have taken an entirely different direction. Sorry I didn't get the post up quicker. Thanks for the review!