The woman looked up again at the young couple standing in front of the counter, her gaze falling particularly on the pale, dark haired female. Both looked tired beyond hell, dark circles festooned both sets of eyes and the guy – as good looking as he was - looked as though he hadn't shaved for a good week or so.
What struck her most was that they literally looked like they had just walked out of a war zone or something. Ample welts and cuts marred their arms and faces - the young woman having a predominantly nasty looking contusion very high up on the right cheekbone, just under her eye. Noticing the young man looking strangely at her as she had stopped packing their groceries, she instantly went back to her task.
"That'll be sixteen forty-five" The woman told them, placing a final pack of cookies into the brown paper bag. The young man handed her a twenty without delay and picked up the bag and left the store. The woman watched him go with confusion before his female companion held out her hand for the small change. Giving the younger woman a sympathetic look, she handed her the few coins and one dollar bills and observed as the young woman glanced back at her peculiarly and then followed after her companion
Remy waited outside for Rogue, holding the full paper bag in one arm as she walked out the grocery store towards him. Digging into the pocket of his jeans, he presented a pair of dark sunglasses as she reached him.
"Do me a favo'r chérie an' put dese on," He asked condescendingly, handing her the glasses. Rogue looked up at him oddly as she took them from him and handed him the change in return.
"Why?" She asked, her brow knit as they began walking away from the store.
"B'cause I'm sick o' bein' looked at like I'm a woman beater o' somet'in'" He stated inarguably, walking awkwardly as they reached the first of the Californian sand.
"Sorry ah asked" She replied sardonically, following his lead through the golden sand until he finally seated himself on the natural ridge of the beach over-looking the gently lapping sea, hued in an orangey pinkish glow as the sun began its routine setting in the distance.
"Easy fo' y' t' say. Y' ain't been gettin' glared at all day" He responded diffidently, taking a bottle of water from the bag and opening it. Rogue rolled her eyes and put the glasses on, taking a seat beside him and pulled out the pack of white chocolate and macadamia cookies from the brown paper.
"So wheah we headed next? Ah'm guessin' eithah north or south b'cause we can't go any furthah west an' ah doubt we came all this way ta go back east" She reasoned logically, looking to him for an answer. Remy didn't look at her but took a cookie from the packet now lying between them.
"Dunno. Wher'd y' wanna go petit'? De whole o' de USA is y're oyst'r . . . except Louisiana an' surroundin' areas" He explained, twisting the cookie in his hand, looking at it hungrily.
"Hmmm . . . Seattle" Returning her attention to her cookie.
"Seattle?" Remy repeated as a cue for her to carry on.
"Yeah . . . ah'd lahke ta see th' home o' Starbucks" Her reply was muffled because she had a mouthful of cookie, making Remy laugh at her. She asked him an almost indecipherable 'What?' causing him to shake his head with a smile.
"Jus' y're reasonin'"
"Mah reasonin'? So says mistah 'ah-care-thaht-everyone-is-lookin'-at-meh'" She retorted dramatically, finishing her cookie.
"Well dey wouldn't if someone hadn't start'd a full on bar brawl" He came back with, taking a sharp bite from the cookie and wincing as he chewed, raising a hand and holding his jaw.
"Ah didn't start it!" Rogue proclaimed against the insinuation.
"Okay, y're wolf frien' did den" Remy replied, still wincing as he swallowed the food. Rogue made a 'pffft' sound and looked out resolutely to the ocean. They sat in silence as they watched the evening rays of light make the gentle waters glisten and shimmer - the beach was mostly empty around them apart from a young family further down by the shore, the parents packing up buckets and spades while the two children paddled and splashed about happily in the sea - their giggles making Rogue smile despite herself.
Couples and singles dotted themselves about the beach in a bid for privacy to catch the last sun of the day - the sand still felt comfortably warm under foot, making it feel like a cozy blanket to lie against. Rogue sighed contently and removed her boots and socks, stretching out her legs in front of her and leaning back on her elbows so she still see the colorful ocean - watching as a man and woman wondered along the shore, hands entwined and looking at each other adoringly.
"Ya evah been in love?" She asked softly, glancing over to see Remy lying back, arms beneath his head looking up at the sky.
"No. Don't t'ink I'm de type." He replied in an equal tone, not removing his gaze. Rogue rolled her eyes at his answer and shook her head gently.
"Famous las' words huh?" She stated with a smirk.
"What do y' mean?" He asked unmoving.
"Well, people who say thaht usually end up fallin' head ovah heels" Her answer making him laugh a little as she returned her gaze to the view in front.
"Y' sound like someone who would know" He reasoned, feeling a cooling breeze blow across the sand bank.
"Ya do know who ya're talkin' ta rahte?" She answered with an incredulous snort, sitting up and removing the sunglasses, prodding the bruise on her face carefully - wincing noticeably as her fingers came into contact with the damaged skin.
"I happen t' t'ink und'r dat 'untouchable' facade is de ultimate romance novel fan" He replied deadly serious, just about managing to hold back a smirk as he pictured the look on her face at his comment, though he could not see.
"Yeah, ah'm in the Mill's and Boone section at th' book store regularly - jeez Rem, ya must'a got a concussion or' somthin'!" She retorted sarcastically kicking his leg. Remy smiled at her response and kicked her back, which Rogue returned by kicking sand at his feet - this little exchange carrying on a little longer until eventually Remy leaped up unexpectedly and half picked up a struggling and protesting Rogue - part carrying, part dragging her across the sand until they reached the first ripples of water.
Catching her just before she made a run for it, he lifted her in an ungainly bridal-style with her still thrashing about and continued into the cool water until it reached just above his knees and dumped her unceremoniously. A huge grin adorned his face as he watched her lift herself out of the water gasping and soaking wet, grinning insatiably as she gawked at him in disbelief he started laughing.
Turning about he began walking back towards the shore still chortling - Rogue, coming to her senses gave chase and threw herself at him, pushing her weight into his shoulders and throwing him off balance, causing him to fall backwards into the water. Breaking above the surface, he gasped and pushed back his sopping wet hair with one hand, splashing Rogue with the other. She retorted with a larger splash that in turn started another good-humored fight until Remy grabbed her and pulled her close, putting a hand on her head and threatening to dunk her.
"Okay, okay ah give up!" She cried laughingly as Remy removed his hand from above her head and she twisted her body around to face him. Rogue looked out onto the brilliantly setting sun, half of it already dipped below the horizon and out of sight - reality all but blurred at the brushing sensation of her hair as it blew across her face with the heightened breeze.
Remy raised his hand and tucked it behind her ear gently and then softly touched the purpled skin on her cheekbone. Rogue turned to him at the contact, their eyes met instantly - searching the others soul for any identical feeling. His were different, Rogue noticed - she couldn't tell what it was, they had the same darkness to them as when they had first met, the same odd mahogany coloring - but she could feel the intense warmth, emotion, passion emerging from him now. As though on an automatic timer their faces leaned in, stopping just a millimeter from contact - their lips parting, the warm breath detected by the other, both deciding whether they should take the next step.
Taking the initiative, Remy met her lips with his own, savoring the sweet suppleness of hers. Starting slow and encouraging her to open her lips more to deepen the kiss, his tongue slipping into her mouth sensuously, tasting the sugary reminiscence of the cookie she had eaten earlier. She kissed him back, feeling his rough stubble tickle her chin, his arm still hanging loosely around her waist - her heart beating heavily. Slowly pulling apart for respiratory reasons, they opened their eyes to see what they had been closed to.
"Sorry" He murmured, not taking breaking contact.
"Ah didn't stop ya," She whispered gently back, already missing the sensation. Remy held eye contact, trying to force himself to step away - knowing that for her own sake it would be better for him to just walk away. But his thoughts were all in vain as he found himself frozen to the spot, staring into those gloriously deep emerald eyes of hers - widened at the prospect of whatever was going to happen next.
Tipping her head to the side a little, she tentatively raised her hand and brushed her fingers tenderly across his throbbing jaw line before leaning up and pressing her lips ever so softly against his. She deepened the kiss, leaning into him, liking the new surge of feelings that were rushing through her veins at that moment. He knew then that he couldn't resist her, wanting whatever part of her that she would let him have.
It was only the rapidly cooling water as the evening sun disappeared over the horizon that broke them apart, as they both started to feel the effects of standing in freezing cold water whilst soaked to the bone. Letting each other go, they walked back to the sand bank where they had been sat and collected up their belongings in silence.
He couldn't do this to her. Remy knew that he could not give her what she most desired, or more importantly what she needed. It was selfish on his part that he was more than willing to accept whatever she would give and yet not want to give her anything in return. Underneath it all, Rogue was still an innocent and loyal to the core – perhaps even naïve to an extent.
As selfish as he wanted to be, he just couldn't do that to her and he was pretty certain that she understood that on some level. He wasn't good for her and in return, she was definitely not good for him and he knew that if this was allowed to continue, he would ultimately disappoint and break her trust in the end.
"Rogue . . ." Remy began quietly as she turned to face him at the sound of his voice. She could see the hesitancy in his eyes and knew exactly what he was going to say.
"Ah know," She stated simply, giving him a weak smile and zipping up her boot and walking away.