Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men, I don't claim to, Beth, by the way, is mine. Just ask and you'll be allowed to borrow her, but do me the courtesy of asking, first. Please!
A.N: Okay, first off thanks to those diligent readers who waded through my grammatical and geographical errors to get to the point of the story. This chapter is for you. ---A very heartfelt thanks goes out to IvyZoe for pointing out that it does NOT snow in New Orleans. bushes and stammers…well, it was a freak storm, ummm, maybe Storm caused it…you know, had a tantrum, or something.
Archive: Please, please ask first.
CHAPTER THREE
"Don' do dat to your toes," said Remy, wincing slightly as he watched Beth parading around the living-room…on about two inches of porcelain.
He had agreed to get her a pair of points, but so far he wasn't so sure about his decision. He was convinced that her feet would be ruined if she kept on doing that.
"It feels so natural," she had said once. He wasn't so sure when she took the points off and her feet were bleeding, blisters forming on the tips and little sores appearing all over the place.
"That's weird," she had said. "I didn't even notice the pain while I was standing on them…I'll find out what I'm doing wrong."
She had gone back to the little ballet shop where she had ordered the points and had immediately been supplied with a pair of toe-protectors; little flat cushions that she was informed went over the toe to protect it from the pressure of standing on points.
Although Beth may have forgotten the small details of ballet she had not forgotten how to dance.
He was quite amazed at her flexibility, as it exceeded even his own, and he was pretty flexible.
After he taught her an array of martial arts he began to teach her gymnastics and acrobatics. She was now almost as agile as Jubilee had been, with the added grace of ballet, and a flexibility she had undoubtedly formed through countless hours of practice.
It had hurt her to lose her baby. Even though she was a stranger to herself, didn't know her own name, didn't know where she was or why she was there, she had found some measure of comfort in the baby.
It had hurt them both to see her lose it, and Remy had been especially wounded to see her grieve.
Now, as she paraded around the living-room she had to step aside every few minutes to avoid a suitcase. She had already packed for the both of them, and their bags were heaped up, rather hazardously, in all directions.
"Look, dat has just got to hurt," he said for what must have been the hundredth time.
"Well quite frankly, Remy, I never understood why you smoked. Or drink, for that matter. I tasted that bourbon one night and I must say it was not pleasant."
He chuckled slightly at her answer. "Hazardous obsessions we bot' have. You could break an ankle, I could get a cancer—"
"Or an array of other things," broke in Beth. "Not just cancer, you could get drunk, and kill someone with that bo-stick you always carry around."
Not jus' de bo-stick, chere. He thought. M' powers could suddenly spiral out of control. But den again, you'll never know dat.
He had never actually demonstrated to Beth how his powers worked. In some way, he didn't want to scare her, but he also didn't want to start using his powers again.
He had tried to live as normally as possible once leaving the X-men. He had opened a casino, quickly watching it grow before passing it over to a good friend of his who acted as partner.
He had tried to stop his thieving ways, and didn't gamble much anymore.
He hadn't told Beth that he had been a thief, or that he had been banished from a guild. He had almost not mentioned the X-men, until she had found the scarf in his coat, and when he had snatched it away, almost growling "Don't touch dat!" she had been curious and prodded the truth out of him.
Which was why they were now on their way to Westchester. Remy had finally given in, and now watched her pirouette her way through the maze of suitcases.
"Chere, really, the ankle…"
"Remy, truly, the cancer…"
He sighed and stubbed out the cigarette while Beth sat down and carefully removed the points.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
"What time is it?" asked Beth, pulling the covers over her head, then pushing them down.
"Right, X-men time." She groaned slightly and got up, brushing her hair out of her eyes as she contemplated her feet.
They were still sore, despite the toe-protectors, and she wiggled them, wincing slightly. She needed a hot shower and some breakfast. The plane left in four hours and she didn't want to be late.
She towel-dried her hair while making breakfast for her and Remy; hot coffee and cinnamon pancakes with syrup.
She also remembered to pack her points, do the dishes and hang up her towel to dry, then they grabbed the suitcases and caught a cab to the airport.
Beth got the window seat on the plane, and was awe-struck by the beauty of being lifted up into heaven, watching the country grow smaller, and the clouds grow larger.
"Wow, this is beautiful," she said, looking around at the clear sky. "It makes me want to be outside on the wing."
He laughed at that. "Really, I wouldn' advice dat."
"Do you miss Rogue?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, guess I do."
"I don't understand why she didn't come with you. I would have."
"I know, chere," he said simply. "I know."
A.N: Okay, this is short…but well, I'm getting there.
A special thanks goes to Mystical Sand, BlkDiamond, Herszel and IvyZoe. Thanks a lot for your reviews!