Note: Thanks everyone for all the reviews :o)
Interplay
Chapter 2
Catching Up
(Full Cast)
Remy remained in his seat even after Xavier had dismissed the team. He wanted to leap over the table and talk to Rogue, but Betsy had beaten him to it–she had been doing that a lot lately. He silently watched as the two women blabbed to each other–what exactly, he did not know.
Still he watched as they laughed and took the time to examine their body movements. He had been tracking the progression of their relationship for the past three weeks, absorbing everything he could by observation and everything else from whatever information he could get out of Rogue. They seemed to have a genuine friendship–Rogue had finally found another girl to become close to and for that, Remy was happy...sort of.
Of all de people Rogue could of picked for a best friend, she had t' go and get de one person on de team I can't stand. However, he was willing to keep his grumbling to himself, realizing Rogue was her own person and would become upset if he were to voice his disapproval. Hell, if I complain 'bout Betsy, Rogue would probably draw closer t' her jus' t' piss me off...
He was so preoccupied with his girlfriend, he did not notice the man approaching him from the front of the room. He soon felt a tap on his shoulder and heard a chipper voice.
"Remy."
The thief turned around on his chair to see Xavier at his eye level. He called me 'Remy'. Dere are certain people I'm not use t' callin' me by my real name and X is on top of dat list. He smiled inwardly. He mus' be tryin' t' butter me up.
"It's good to see you here."
The professor looked as if he were in good spirits–so much soRemy felt the need to test him. Rubbing the stubble on his chin, he questioned, "It is?"
Xavier was taken aback by his confrontational response, but relaxed somewhat when Remy softened his words with a grin.
"Of course it is," he replied with a twinkle in his eyes. "I would like to have a private talk with you later on."
"Oh?" He asked surprised. I wonder what de ol' guy could wan'. "Whenever ya're ready, jus' let me know."
Xavier gave him a pleasant smile. "Will do." With that, he left the younger man to his own devices.
Remy focused back on Rogue. To his displeasure, she was still yakking it up with Betsy. Rather than wait for them to finish talking, he decided to look for something else to cure his boredom.
Bingo! He spotted the perfect diversion to preoccupy his time for the moment. Remy eased out of the chair and made his way over to the second in command.
Ororo was standing hunched over the computer module, typing a seris of codes into the keypad. Her muscles tensed as soon as she felt the presence of someone invading her personal space from behind; however, the familiar scent of expensive (and most likely stolen) cologne caused her to loosen up.
She spun around and smiled as her closest friend kissed her forehead.
"How ya doin', chere?"
"Very well, Remy," she answered, looking over his head to the clock. "Given the trouble Magneto is stirring up, it looks like we are going to have some very hectic days in our future."
He shrugged without a care because truly, he did not care. "Looks like," he mumbled, ready to quickly change the subject. Resting his back against the computer consol, he asked, "Ya doin' anyt'ing de rest of de night?"
Why would he ask such a thing? "Remy, you of all people know my calendar is pretty much clear."
He nodded his head in acceptance. Durin' de past lil' while she has been keepin' t' herself not really doin' much of anyt'ing. I hate seein' her so depressed. "So maybe I can look out for ya later. We can hang out."
His caring words caused her low spirits to rise. "I know what you are trying to do and I love you for it," she said as she squeezed his cheeks causing his lips to pout. "But I also know tonight is going to be pretty big for you and Rogue and I do not want you to ruin it with thoughts of me."
"But for de past couple of weeks we've been hangin' outa lot and..."
"...And you do not want it to seem like you are dumping me as soon as your girlfriend is finally able to touch, is that it?"
She knew him well. "Somet'ing like it." Taking a quick glance around them to make sure no one else was in earshot, he whispered, "Actually, I was t'inking more along de line of includin' ya in on Rogue bein' able t' touch."
She squinted her eyes with confusion. "How so?"
He wiggled his brows. "A lil' menage a trois."
She could not help but giggle. Shaking her head, she lightly pushed him away. "Do know I would have slapped you across the face if I did not know you were joking." Before he could tell her he was not joking, she continued speaking, "And speaking of jokes, did you have anything to do with that note poor Scott had to stand and read to the team?"
He looked at her with mock outrage, his mouth opened wide enough for her to see his tonsils. "I'm offended ya would even ask me such a t'ing."
"You may be offended, but you are not denying it."
He decided to laugh off her accusation instead of defending himself. A high pitch laughter caught his attention, causing him to steal a glance at the woman it came from.
Ororo looked over his shoulder at Rogue and turned back to Remy, noticing his faraway expression. It is the look of love–a look that even he cannot hide, she mused happily to herself. "You cannot wait, can you?"
Dat's an understatement! "We are dis close," pinching his index finger and thumb together, he repeated, "Dis close."
"Yes, in all likelihood Rogue will be getting the reformatted Genosha bracelet back tonight, but do not think everything will be smooth sailing."
"But it has been," he insisted. "De pass couple of weeks I've been de perfect boyfriend..."
She gave him a knowing look which reminded him he was not speaking the complete truth.
"...aside from de occasional slip up," he corrected with a wink. "I'm not givin' her any excuse t' break up wit' me–no reason at all. It's a piece of cake," he assured cooly.
He looks so happy, which makes me hate to say it, but..."Dealing with Rogue has never been so easy." Taking hold of his hand, she cautioned, "I hope you are up for it."
Wit' an openin' like dat, I can't resist. "I'm definitely up for it." Pulling her closer, he pointed behind her and whispered, "And if ya accompany me around de corner, I can prove it t' ya."
She held in her natural urge to laugh at his innuendoes, not wanting to encourage him further. "You better calm down, Remy," she warned. "If I feel it necessary I will cool you off with a cold shower."
They both laughed. He was happy to see her forget her troubles and she was happy he could always give her a reason to smile.
Jean had been spying on the two and used their moment of laughter to make her entrance. "What's so funny?" She asked ready to join in on the fun.
"Oh," 'Ro looked surprisingly over to her best friend a bit caught off guard. "Remy was just..."
"If ya will excuse me." With a slight bow of his head, Remy left the two women to themselves.
"Bye," Ororo tried to say, however he was already gone from her side. She faced Jean perplexed. "That was odd."
"See!" Jean grabbed her wrist. "I told you he's been avoiding me."
"Right," she agreed, nodding her head in remembrance, "you did mention something about that the other day."
The redhead trailed Remy with her eyes as he zigzagged across the war room. He had an added bounce to his step as if he knew he was being watched by her and reveled in the attention. "All I want to do is give him a proper thank you and he won't let me."
"Just let him be Jean. He will come around eventually." Ororo did not know the specifics of the situation between Jean and Remy, both choosing to keep their little tiff to themselves. Whatever it is that has caused them to be at odds cannot be all that serious. "Besides, you have been spending so much time with your husband, you and Remy barely have had any alone time to work through your problems."
Jean bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling, but she was not successful. She was beaming bright enough for her best friend to take notice.
"You have had that smile on your face for a couple of days now at the mere mention of Scott." With a hand on her hip, she asked suspiciously, "Is there anything I should know?"
Looking away from her, she answered coyly, "No, not now anyway." She then spotted Logan just as he was heading for the exit. Not wanting him to leave before she had the chance to speak with him, she yelled, "Hey, Logan!"
He stopped inches from the door cursing underneath his breath. "What?" He grumbled, cracking his neck in her direction.
'What'! She decided to overlook his rudeness and motioned for him with her hand. "Come over here."
He stood momentarily, almost sure he would have blown Jean off if Ororo had not been by her side. Never passing up an opportunity to spend time with his ex, he joined their little huddle. "Hey," he greeted Ororo with a slight nod of his head.
"Hi," she whispered, almost shyly.
Jean then captured his immediate attention by tugging on his elbow until he looked her way. "Did Xavier talk to you yet by any chance?"
What? "No."
"Oh," she responded flatly–'no', was not the answer she wanted to hear.
He raised a brow. "Was he suppose t'?"
Jean firmly closed her lips, giving a telling look which spoke volumes even though her mouth remained shut.
Ororo picked up on her friend's expression right away. Nudging Logan in the ribs, she informed, "That look means she must know something."
He zeroed in on her, not one to play around. "Spill it, Red."
That was all the prodding Jean needed to spread her gossip. "Listen to this," she lowered her voice as the other two hunched forward, "looks like the professor is going to have a talking with all of the people who were involved in the mishaps a couple of weeks ago."
Ororo wiped the imaginary sweat off of her forehead and sighed with relief. "Thankfully that leaves me out."
"And me too," Jean added proudly, briefly easing upon her tippytoe.
The girls then turned to Logan.
"Shit,"he mumbled, rolling his eyes. That's exactly what I need, another lecture, he thought sarcastically. "So what? X is gonna get on my case for messin' up the security system?"
"Looks like," she answered regretfully. "Because of you, the systemis still down."
With a gentle hand on his shoulder, Ororo reassured him, "I am sure Xavier will not be too hard on you."
His emotions perked up, not so much because of her reassuring words, but because of the physical contact. "Ya think so?"
"No," she said in good humor as Jean giggled.
He mustered a smile, happy that Ororo felt okay enough to joke with him again. Still he wanted more, but was not sure she would ever be ready to give herself completely to him as she had done in the past.
Wait a mintue...Ororo was stuck on something Jean had said earlier."Xavier should be speaking with you too. Didn't you brake the professor's priceless vase in your little scuffle with Betsy?"
I still can't stand to even hear her name, let alone be reminded about what she forced Scott to do! "I'm sure you remember the situation surrounding that incident." Her words were filled with venom. "I'm off the hook, Psylocke isn't." Her attention soon drifted to her husband. "Oh, Xavier's finished with Scott," she said, already beginning to move away from them. "See you two later."
"Bye," she called out, silently begging for Jean to stay.
The former lovers stood facing each other--the person who brought them together had now left them alone to linger in an awkward moment of silence. Their time with Jean was an example of the many situations Logan and Ororo had found themselves in over the past few weeks. Logan would marvel at how relaxed Ororo would seem when they were in a group of three or greater; however, whenever they were alone he could tell Ororo was itching for an excuse to leave.
Someone should give this girl an Oscar.
The fact she would not look him in the eyes once Jean disappeared was not lost on him. He hated how their once close relationship was now so distant.
Trying to bring back the light atmosphere, Logan picked up on what they were discussing earlier. "Ya know, ya have a part t' play in the downed security system too."
"Excuse me?"
"I messed up on the codes because I was rushin' t' meet up wit' ya."
She smiled at the memory. It was at a time when their love had been blossoming and Logan would have done anything to rush to her side and finally express their love for one another. "I'm sure you would agree that at the time it was worth it."
He took a step closer to her, not caring if anyone else in the room could see them. "It's still worth it."
Taking a step back, she stopped him from getting closer with a hand on his chest. "Logan..."
"Excuse my interruption, Ororo." Xavier said as he hovered beside them.
Logan grinded his teeth at the sight of the professor. Fuck!
"Do you mind if I have a moment alone with Logan?"
It was hard for her to hide her relief. "No, professor, not at all." Refusing to looking again at her ex, she left them be and headed toward the exit.
Logan watched her until she disappeared out the door into the basement hallway. He then pulled out a cigar and placed it unlit between his lips. "What's up, Chuck?"
x
Jean started off in the direction of her husband, but soon stopped short.
Shit.
She quickly made a detour, having been beat out by Remy who had already captured her husband's attention. The sight of two smiling and chatting together was still hard for her to become accustom to. Rather then interrupt them right away, she let them have some time alone.
I really don't get Remy. Yes, a while ago we were bitching back and forth because Rogue in one of her mischievous personalities put us against one another. But when he snuck in my house and left me the most thoughtful present I thought for sure he wanted to make up. Anxiously, she began to fiddle with the ends of her hair. Instead, he has grown more distant and won't even be near me long enough to apologize or say thank you.
Watching the two men, and seeing Remy was in a good mood, she reasoned it would be the perfect time to act.
"...Don't worry about it. I'll get the DVD from you later." Scott told Remy as they stood in the middle of the room.
Over the weeks he had been spending much more time with the allusive X-Man. Usually the only time the two would speak to one another was when Scott had to give orders or when he had to discipline Remy for disobeying orders. Their relationship might have remained the same if not for one night weeks ago in front of the boathouse. It was the first instant where the two men started to connect on a personal level and they had been connecting ever since.
Who would have thought I'd be getting marriage advice from Remy–and that he would actually know what he was talking about, Scott laughed to himself. "So, what did you think?"
"It's de T'ree Stooges–I t'ought it was classic!" He was getting excited just thinking about the old show. "Remember de part where..."
"Hello, boys." Jean said cheerily, interlocking her arm with Scott.
Remy choose not to looked at her. Dat's my cue t' exit. Taking a step back, he gave his leader a small salute with the tip of one finger. "I'll leave ya two t' yourselves."
"See you, later." Scott wrapped his arms around his wife's waist, pulling her closer towards him and gave her cheek a quick peck. "Hey there, beautiful."
She barely felt his kiss, her mind completely centered on the dillydallying of another man. "That's the second time in a matter of minutes Remy's side stepped me–not to mention the way he's been avoided me for weeks."
He widened his eyes even though she could not see them. "How dare he!" He stated sarcastically.
Clutching his uniform, she rested her forehead on his chest in a dramatic fashion. "Scott, this is serious," she wined, sneaking another peek at Remy. She watched him laughing and carrying-on as he sat on the war room table flipping his many cards over Bobby's head. "At first I was feeling guilty, now he's just pissing me off."
"Why are you getting so upset over it?" He held her tighter, lowering his chin on her head. "Just leave him be and he'll come around."
"That's almost verbatim what Ororo said," she mumbled, looking back at Scott. "I know how close you two have become. Has he said anything to you about me?"
"Nope."
"I don't believe you," she said flippantly to hide the truth in her statement. Clapping her hands together, she suggested--almost pleading, "Maybe you can talk to him for me?"
He shook his head adamantly, waving her off. "No way. I'm staying out of this. It's between you and him. Besides, I'm sure you can handle Remy on your own."
Wasn't Scott the one who once told me to never play a game with Gambit? "It's Gambit I'm dealing with and he's obviously playing a game with me." Pouting, she mumbled, "I'm pretty sure I'm going to need reinforcement."
x x x
Rogue clutched her side as she laughed out loud, unable to control her volume. Betsy was telling another one of her many adventures again and Rogue could hardly control her giggles.
"I'll never do that again..." Betsy's voice trailed off as she noticed the thief approaching. Trying hard not to roll her eyes, she watched as he wrapped his arms around Rogue from behind, silently resenting his interruption of her story.
Even though she was still looking at Betsy, Rogue's face lighted up as she leaned into her boyfriend's embrace. Her gloved hands covered his as it rested against the lower center of her stomach.
Remy avoided any eye contact with Betsy, still a tad upset with her for using her telekinetic power earlier on to disrupt the destination of his private note. He leaned into Rogue's ear, so close, but never touching. "So, we goin' now or what?" He asked in a low murmur.
If Rogue did not have his arms for support, she was certain she would have melted to the floor at the sound of his voice. He could always say the right thing and have that effect on her, though she realized lately it did not take much for him to get a reaction out of her. Maybe it's 'cause Ah know the moment we've been waitin' for is jus' around the cor...
Sigh!
The irritated sound of her newest best friend cut into her train of thought. "Soon," she finally responded to his question. Turning around to face him, she wrapped her arms around his slight but muscular shoulders. "Betsy told meh a minute agoshe has some thangs for meh in her room."
"It's a surprise," the ninja cut in with raised eyebrows.
"Raht." Rogue playfully rolled her eyes. "And yah know how Ah hate surprises, but Betsy swears it's a good one."
"It is!" She protested in good-nature.
Remy eyes wondered from the glow of his girl's loving face to the jealous violet eyes of the closest thing he had seen to an enemy in weeks. "How long will it take?" He asked in a calm manner.
"Really, I can't put a time limit on it," she responded vaguely, both of them putting on an act for the sake of the woman in between them.
"Ah'll jus' meet yah in yahr room when we're finish."
"But we all ready made plans..."
She pinched his cheeks. "Oh, Remy, don't sulk."
His eyes danced with amusement at her choice of words, causing the end of his lips to crack into a grin. Don't t'ink I've ever sulked passed de age of t'ree. "Never meant t' sulk, chere." His smile faded as his eyes again connected with Betsy. "Jus' seems like Psy is always stealin' ya away from me."
"Funny," she snorted as she took on a defensive stance. Both could feel the decorum of the moment slipping away. "I was just about to say the same thing about you."
They stared at each other in silence, daring the next one to escalate the now civil conversation into one of confrontation. They had managed to keep their tension between one another at bay for the last three weeks––always on the verge of an argument, but never quite crossing the line––funny how they would choose that particular evening as an opportunity to drudge up past threats.
However, all the hostility was lost on Rogue who had noticed the beginnings of her nightmare start to take effect. "Shit!" She dropped her hands from around Remy's shoulders and quickly spun around to face Betsy.
"What?" She asked in confusion before Remy had a chance to ask the same question.
Xavier joined the somewhat circle of their small group. "Betsy, Rogue," he greeted the women with a slight nod and friendly face.
Betsy returned the polite expression. "Xavier."
"Hi, Professah," Rogue said almost shyly as she looked more towards the floor than to him.
Xavier first look to Betsy, the Ninja Assassin, a telekinetic, and more importantly, a fellow telepath. "Psylocke, I will be needing to speak with you later on tonight."
She nodded her head without a care. "Sure thing."
Turning next to Rogue, he observed how she refused to look at him, as if she was too scared to do so and yet, he had expected that reaction from her. "And Rogue, as you should know, we have matters to discuss." His eyes could not help but noticed how Remy's arms were around her waist holding onto her hands. He could see how much their relationship had changed since he last was at the mansion.
She nodded her head faintly, her voice sad. "Yeah, Ah know."
Again he addressed the entire circle, though he looked more in Remy's direction and again said, "I'm glad to see you all here."
Remy gave an inward smile as he replayed Xavier's words in his mind. Twice in de matter of 15 minutes. I guess he's really glad I'm here. Still, he was no fool and some part of him could not wait to hear what exactly Xavier wanted to discuss, though more specifically, what Xavier wanted to discuss about Rogue.
When Xavier was clear across the room, Rogue squeezed his hands tight, mindful of her super strength. "Aw, hell!"
"What's wrong?" He asked.
Ain't it obvious! "Yah heard Xavier," she responded in a loud whisper. "He wants tah talk tah meh."
"So?" Betsy did not understand her anguish over the situation. "He wants to talk to me too, but you don't see me stressing out."
"That's 'cause yah didn't spend the first week of yahr vacation lyin' tah Beast, withholdin' vital information from Scott or dyin' twice due tah alcohol poisoning and a gross misuse of a Genosha bracelet!" She crossed her arms in a huff, hating that she felt like a child who had just been told to go to the principal's office after school. "He's goin' tah call meh into his office tah lecture meh about how disappointed he is."
"Well, dat's what ya get for not followin' de rules," he teased as she furrowed her brows even more. "X-Men code clearly states dat alcohol is not t' be consumed."
"Oh, hush up!" She whispered harshly, poking her finger repeatedly in his chest. "Especially when yah were the one that gave meh the alcohol. When Xavier starts chewin' meh out later on tonight, Ah should jus' blame the whole thang on yah!"
He could see she really was nervous about her meeting with Xavier and although he wanted to continue teasing her, his instinct to protect her was stronger. "If dat will make ya feel better, I'll take de hit for yah."
His willingness to sacrifice himself for her caused her to regret her earlier choice of words. "Thanks for the offer, sugah. But this was mah fuck up and Ah'll have tah own up tah it."
Nodding his head to Betsy, he concluded, "Spoken like a true recoverin' alcoholic."
As the two women laughed, Rogue playfully hit him on the arm with such force he wasn't sure if she was really playing.
x x x
Rogue stared at Logan from across the room, waiting for him to make eye contact. She watched as he leaned against the wall, arms folded and an ever present scowl on his face.
He's been wearin' that scowl for weeks now, she thought to herself.
She knew he was avoiding her stare–doing anything he could not to meet her gaze, but she also knew he would slip and she had all the time to wait for it to happen.
Within a minute, he could not help but look her way.
A-ha! Rogue used that as her opportunity to approach him, totally ignoring how he quickly looked away from her and eased himself from the wall.
"What's up, bub?" She yelled slapping him on the back, preventing him from trying to sneak away.
A muffled answer was his response as a cloud of smoke invaded her space.
She refused to let her hatred for the smellof smoke stop her away from bugging him. "Ah saw the professor givin' yah an ear full," she teased. "What was that all about?"
"What have I told ya 'bout mindin' yer own damn business?" He growled.
"Obviously not enough," she answered smiling. "Yah didn't even get into trouble when he was away."
He refused to correct her assumption.
"Oh wait," she remembered snapping her fingers. "The security codes!" Taunting him, she shook her head with disappointment. "Thanks tah yahr mess up, we still have tah constantly patrol the outer perimeters even though we're suppose tah be on vacation."
"Ya could use the practice." Removing the cigar from his lips, he continued, "Speakin' of which, ya've been brushin' me off for a while now. How's yer relationship goin' wit' Gambit?"
She could not resist. "Mind yahr own damn business."
His eyes locked with hers–an instant reminder of who she was dealing with. "Don't get smart wit' me."
"Wouldn't dream of it," she whispered. Glancing lovingly across the room to her boyfriend, she smiled proudly. Three weeks together without a breakup was unheard of as far as her relationships were concerned. "Remy and Ah are doin' great."
"So, Xavier is suppose t' give ya back the bracelet tonight?"
She bit her bottom lip, the happy expression being replaced by one of worry. "That's the plan."
He examined her solemn demeanor. And here we go again. I bet she's already searchin' for an excuse t' bail out on her relationship wit' the Cajun. "Ya don't seem too excited."
"Don't yah start," she warned, pointing her finger inches from his nose. "I'm excited to get the bracelet back, I'm just hoping Xavier doesn't give me too much grief over it."
"After all the shit ya caused wit' that thing, ya deserve much more then grief."
"Oh, Logan, shut up," she said with aggravation and turned around in a huff.
He did not care he made her angry. "You better not have me waiting on you later on."
She waved him off. "Whatever."
"I mean it," he yelled out to her before becoming the second X-Man to leave the War Room.
x
Betsy waited patiently across the room for Xavier to finish his conversation with Bobby. Seeing Bobby's distraught face only increased her curiosity in what they were discussing. Without a second thought, she slipped into Bobby's mind so delicately, he did not even realize she was there. After a couple of seconds she came out of his mind, gathering all the information that was needed.
Poor Robert is so confused. The professor chews him out for recklessly handling the security system and then tells him in the next breath that it wasn't necessary for him to refund the cost of the damaged item. Betsy smiled happily knowing Bobby would refuse Xavier's pleas to take back the money. His pride will not allow him to take back the $325 000 he borrowed from me to reimburse Xavier, which means I still have a servant.
Once the professor moved away from Bobby, she walked over to him and tapped his shoulder.
He spun around to face the beautiful Assassin and could tell she was ready to tear into him.
"I would ask you if you picked up my supplies yet, but I already happen to know you overslept," she said tapping her index finger on her temple.
Bobby rolled his eyes. It was obvious she had already searched his thoughts. She would usually do a quick scan of his mind on occasion, especially when she wanted answers to question she knew he would lie about.
I would have told her I already got the supplies and just slipped out tomorrow morning to get them. It shouldn't matter anyway, she doesn't need the items until sometime tomorrow afternoon.
"It isn't your place to tell me when my supplies are needed, only to get everything on the list I provide you by the date that's written."
And she's reading me again. Bobby bowed his head for a show of respect. "If you will forgive me, Your Majesty." He took her hand and pressed it against his forehead. "I shall never under mind your authority again."
Betsy laughed off his sarcastic remark, notingthe more time they spend together the less effort it took for him to put a smile on her face. She was willing to admit she had been hard on Bobby, but wasn't willing to show that she was weakening.
"If you go into the city now the stores will be open."
"The city?" His eyes bugged out. "You mean Manhattan?"
"Of course Manhattan. All the stores in this backward town are closed."
"Can't I just go tomorrow?" He wined.
"You could." She gave a sly grin with the realization that Bobby's laziness would be in her favor. "But then I'll just consider this a freebie."
Yes, he had to work off his debt to her, but he knew his body–after all the errands he had to run for her, plus his other X-Men duties–he was just too tired to get behind the wheel of a car. It's my screw up. I should have picked up the supplies earlier today. Throwing his hands in the air, he relented, "Fine, it's a freebie."
Betsy crossed her arms, smiling triumphantly. Walking out of the room into the hallway, she stated, "I expect to have the 10 items in my room before midday."
Trailing behind her, he pointed a finger in the air and corrected, "Nine items."
"Excuse me?"
"There are nine items on the list not ten." He reached into his back pocket and took out a folded paper still chasing behind her. "You probably just missed counted considering you didn't number the list."
"Miss counted?" She repeated with disbelief. "I've been counting successfully since before the age of two, I don't miss count." Grabbing the paper from his hands, she unfolded the note she had written to him the day before. She looked over her personal stationary, her fingers brushing across her gold initials in the left hand corner. She glanced at her fancy handwriting, rereading over everything that she had written. Her eyes stopped suddenly once it skimmed down to the bottom of the list.
Oh shit! She halted and spun around to face her man-servant. "There is an item missing."
Bobby shrugged. "You must have forgotten to write it."
Briefly looking up from the page to him, she stated with certainty. "I don't forget." This doesn't make any sense. "I wrote down ten things."
Pointing to the last line of the page, he replied, "Obviously you didn't."
She examined the paper with great scrutiny, turning it over just to make sure there was nothing written on the back. "Obviously there was some kind of mixup." Her sharp eyes looked at him accusingly, willing to believe he must have done something to the paper then to believe she had made a mistake.
Why is she freaking out about it? "So you forgot an item." He ignored the seething look directed at him. "Why is it so hard for you to admit?"
"What's so hard for her to admit?" Scott asked, suddenly joining the conversation.
"That she forgot..."
"Nothing," Betsy interrupted him with a plastered smile on her face. "Nothing at all."
The team leader of the X-Men was far too sharp to overlook Bobby's words. Betsy forgot something? Scott looked her over with concern. "Forgot what?"
"I forgot how much of an idiot Bobby can be on occasion," she answered easily sidestepping his probing. "I can't believe he wrote that note about Xavier."
Fuck! I knew people would think it was me. Quickly he looked over to Scott, shaking his head. "I swear I didn't write it."
Betsy pressed the button for the elevator. "It was either you or Gambit."
He scoffed at her remarks. "Deflection, deflection. You're just covering your tracks." Titling his head in her direction, he suggested to Scott, "It could just have easily been Psylocke."
Betsy rolled her eyes. "Right, because Xavier's glistening bald head resembles my balls."
Scott chuckled shaking his head. "How do you explain that, Bobby?" He asked as the doors opened to the elevator.
"Hey, hermaphrodites do exist," he replied cracking a smile. Giving her ribs a little tickle, he joked, "But don't worry, I'd still do ya."
She bit her lips, trying in vain to keep the smile from her face. "Lucky me," she whispered.
As they stepped into the elevator, Bobby laughed off her comment as he did every time she would flirt with him, or any other member of the team. However, Scott eyes shifted in her direction, reacting more to her facial expression then to what she had actually said. If I didn't see everything through a red haze, I'd swear Betsy's blushing.
The elevator door closed.
x
Remy sat on the edge of the long table, shuffling a deck of cards. The people in the War Room were beginning to clear out so he became one of the few to stay behind, waiting for Rogue to pull herself away from one of the computers. He was starting to become antsy, never liking to stay in the War Room for longer then he had to–it reminded him too much of work when he was suppose to be on vacation.
Remy looked up toward the ceiling and exhaled loudly, hoping his exaggerated restless sound would help speed Rogue along.
It did not work.
To pass the time, he decided to think about the future--the near future. Within the hour, Rogue would get back the Genosha bracelet which would negate her powers for up to eight hours. Within the hour, Rogue would be in Remy's room. Within the hour, Rogue would activate the bracelet.
Now what will I do wit' those eight hours? He grinned devilishly, his raging hormones getting the better of him. Would it be too forward if I jus' push her onto de bed and mount her? Mulling over the question for a couple of seconds, he concluded, Nahhh!
During the past couple of weeks as boyfriend and girlfriend, he would think constantly about Rogue when they were apart and even when they were together. With each approaching day, Rogue would be wearing less and less clothes in his mind's eye, to the point where it was sometimes hard for him to concentrate on anything else. Rogue had chastised him time and time again for not listening to her when she spoke–she would complain he was not paying attention to her–if only she knew his problem was that he was paying too much attention to her.
Even now as he waited for her to finish up, his mind was consumed with thoughts of their first night together. He tried to shake the thought from his head, before his daydream could prevent him from walking properly.
He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose with two fingers and when his eyes again opened, a pair of troubled green eyes was examining him with worry.
He sat up straight, trying not to get lost in her stare, though it was nearly impossible.
She placed the back of her hand on his forehead even though her gloves prevented her from getting a grasp of his temperature. "How are yah feelin' now?"
Grabbing hold of her hips, he pulled her between his legs. "Huh?" He muttered, finding her waistline more interesting then her question.
Moving her hand to the side of his face, she explained further, "When Ah first saw yah this mornin' yah said yah woke up with a bad headache."
"Oh yeah." He rubbed his head, suddenly remembering the pain he had felt hours ago. "Don't remind me. It was awful."
She gave him a once over. Compared to earlier in the day, he looked like his old self again. "Yah seem much better now."
"Yeah, I'm as good as new," he reassured her. I ain't use t' gettin' headaches dat bad, though it really didn't last too long. Seeing Rogue so concerned with his well being made him feel good–it seemed so right. It was the way things were suppose to be.
"What about yah're dream?" She asked snapping him out of his daze.
Yeah dat's another t'ing. I told her I had de weirdest dream and it was at de tip of my tongue but I jus' couldn't remember it. He shook his head. "I still don't remember it..."
"And Remy."
They both turned around to look down at Xavier in his hover chair. "Yeah?"
"The next time you feel like passing notes in the middle of a lecture...don't." Folding his hands together on his lap, he added, "No matter how much my head may remind you of a part of your anatomy."
Remy swallowed hard as Rogue gave his hand a little squeeze. Instead of denying the charges brought towards him, he decided to go along with a guilty plea. "Yes, sir," he responded humbly. "I'll t'ink better of it de next time."
Xavier moved passed them and out the exit of the War Room.
Rogue could not contain her laughter any longer as she yanked him off of the table. Pointing her finger in his face, she yelled, "Busted!"
Remy scratched his head. "But how did he know it was me?"
"Who cares?" She pulled on his arm leading him out of the room without giving him a chance to answer her question aloud.
I do.
xxxxxx
Author's Note: Okay, the first two chapters were just the set-up, next chapter is all about the one-on-ones!
Just to answer a couple of questions in the reviews:
Yes, I mentioned in the Interactions endnotes that Betsy/Rogue/Remy will have a sort of love triangle, but I didn't mean for it to be literal. I meant (as seen in their scene together) Remy and Betsy both like Rogue and can't stand each other (now that I think about it, it's not the definition of a love triangle, ;o) ).
This story will definitely have more mingling between different characters then in the last story. Because of past events, you can look forward to more scenes between Remy/Scott (now they are friends), Betsy/Bobby (she now owns him), Betsy/Logan (she will soon own him), Remy/Jean (I'm going to put a spin on their relationship that wasn't seen last story since they were at constant odds with each other), Rogue/Betsy (now best friends), and Ororo/Scott (they will soon share a common bond).
However for now, all the conflicts will be from within–and it time, there will be conflict from outside.
Also, Rogue being affected by Magneto has its place in the story.
And it was pointed out in the reviews that Betsy is not a telekinetic. Sorry for the slip (I always thought she was), but it did work well for the first chapter (the rolled up note needed to get to the other end of the table ;o) ). Besides this chapter and the last, I'm pretty sure nothing else will be mention of her telekinetic ability.
Thanks for all the reviews, critiques and questions. Don't forget to tell me what you think of this chapter. I'll try to get the next chapters out sooner along with the next part of Stolen ;o)
Next Time: Betsy's surprise is not to Remy's liking, Rogue and Remy discuss their future (what happened to one day at a time?) and Xavier makes an offer.