21
The past couple of days had been such a flurry of activity with him trying to spend as much time possible with his little boy while pretending that everything was peachy, that he didn't really have time to stop and dwell on the situation. Until tonight. They were set to leave in the morning. He opted out of 'group dinner time' and skulked off to his room where he flopped down on his bed and put on some blues. Putting on such a front was terribly exhausting. He just needed some time alone.
After an hour or so, there was a knock on his door. He sighed to himself before calling out for his guest to enter.
"Hey." Sarah crossed her arms and leaned against the doorjamb, giving him a slow once over. "You skipped dinner."
He looked over at her from his place stretched out on his bed with his hands propped behind his head against the headboard and gave her a lazy grin. "Wasn' hungry."
"Yeah." She stepped inside, closing the door behind her before reaching into her back pocket and pulling out a cereal bar which she tossed onto his chest. "Sure."
Remy eyed it hesitantly, eventually moving it over to his nightstand. "Thanks."
She nodded and looked up towards the stereo speakers, listening to the smooth blues style song that he had softly playing in the background. "This is a nice song. Kinda sad though, don't you think?"
"Never noticed." He shrugged.
Sarah smiled and looked back at him. "I like it. You can hear the yearning and sadness in his voice-"
"What do you want Sarah?"
"We haven't had any time to talk in a few days."
"When do we ever really talk?"
She stretched out next to him on his bed, facing him so her body lay flush with his, resting her head on his shoulder with a sigh. "It took me a while, but I figured everything out."
"When y'start beginnin' conversations like dat y' remind me of Kitty." He smiled and shook his head, twisting his arm around her as she got comfortable. "You gotta start spendin' less time with Kitty. Spend some more time with me, hein?"
Sarah pursed her lips. "When were you planning on telling me that you've been married?"
Remy looked over at her and knit his brow. "I told you I was engaged, ain't my fault y'took dat t'mean we never followed through."
She rolled her eyes with a smile and shook her head. "You were always so cryptic when I'd try to get anything out of you... and it just got worse as soon as she showed up."
He silently squared his jaw and let out a breath.
"I always assumed your commitment issues stemmed from your ex... fiancee." She moved her hand to his chest, drawing lazy designs as she continued. "And I was ok with that. So imagine my shock when you set your sights on some chick who used to be your friend years ago. And then I walk in on you two talking about the son you have together. Not impressed."
"Sarah-"
"So then I'm thinking... This bimbo had her chance. Now she's nosing around my territory. I'm feeling... well, used. And I don't like that." Sarah lifted her head off his shoulder and propped it up on her hand, looking down on him with a small smile. "And then in the back of my mind, I remember that we said no emotional attachment, and no strings. So I shouldn't really be angry. But lets face it Remy," The smile slides off her face and her brow puckers slightly. "There are always strings."
Remy closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "Sarah... I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Remy. I wasn't talking about me."
He opened his eyes up and cut them towards her with another frown.
"I was talking about you, silly." She taps his nose with a playful smile and perched her chin on his chest. "It's pretty obvious once you know all the facts. So what happened? Did you have a fight or something?"
"Nothing happened." He looked forward and rubbed her back out of habitual affection. "I just... left."
Sarah knit her brow and searched his face. "Why?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm kinda known for my trend in dissapointin' people. I figured it was better t'ruin her week den d'rest of her life."
"You got scared." Sarah said softly, puckering her brow with a sympathetic smile.
"Well..." He gave her a half smile, "I like d'way I said it better."
"And you didn't know about Cole."
He shook his head silently. "An' now they're leavin'."
"What did she say when you told her how you felt?"
He hesitated for a moment before letting out a short breath. "I didn't. I'm takin' d'high road." He grinned and gave her a wink. "I'm respectin' her decision."
"A decision she made without having all the facts."
Sarah sat up slightly and gave him a stern stare causing Remy to roll his eyes and pull his arm from around her body. "Alright, now you're really startin' remind me of Kitty." He pushed himself up and sat on the edge of the bed with his back facing her.
"Scared again." Sarah sat up and crossed her legs with her back against the headboard. "Oh no, I'm sorry. You're choosing not to 'ruin the rest of her life'. How nobel."
"Stop talking now."
Sarah slid off the bed and stood up. "It's your choice, man." She moved towards the door. "But you're not only giving up on Rogue. You're giving up on Cole too."
"I'm not givin' up on anybody! We both agreed that it'd be better for him out dere." Remy glowered back at her.
"Okay.
A knock at his door saved him from figuring out how to respond. "Come in." He barked, keeping his glare set on Sarah.
The door opened a tiny crack and a small voice drifted through. "Daddy?"
Remy stood up and turned towards the door. "C'mon in p'tite." His frown lifted into a smile, watching Cole push the door open a bit more and take one step inside.
"I'm all done my supper. I ate all my veggies too, so Momma said I could play video games with Bobby. Do you wanna come play too?"
Remy's smile grew and he nodded. "I'd love to p'tite mec." He looked up at Sarah who pursed her lips and quietly slipped out. Cole led the way down to the rec. room, chattering the entire way. When they rounded the corner, Rogue gave him a warm smile.
"Now you play fair Cole. Don't kick their butts too bad." She mussed up his hair and he giggled. "An' no more sugar. It's gettin' late," She looked at the clock and shook her head. "Ah don't want you havin' nightmares."
Cole nodded and scurried past her, scooping up the game controller and plunking himself down next to Bobby on the sofa, waving for Remy to join him.
"Ah gotta go organize boxes. My room's a mess. Ah might have t'make my bed on top of boxes tonight. It'll be like the princess and the pea."
Remy smirked. "Plenty a'room in mine."
She gave him a nudge as she passed, offering him a smile. "Have fun."
XXXX
Rogue reluctantly opened one eye, squinting at the glowing green numbers on the nightstand beside her. Just past 1. She'd gotten, maybe, 2 solid hours of sleep. She rolled over and sighed. She'd have to get used to this sooner or later, it was inevitable. A happy consequence of her bed being occupied by half packed boxes, but one that also forced her to face her quick approaching reality. Joseph breathed softly beside her, laying perfectly still with the exception of the slow rise and fall of his chest. The only other person she'd ever actually slept with was Cole. And of course, on the odd occasion Remy. Usually though, they'd part ways before there was any actually sleeping involved. It was never easy for her to fall asleep with another human being so close, fearing that for some reason she'd suddenly lose her control and kill them while they both slept. Joseph's head rolled to the side, and he opened his eyes slightly when he noticed she was awake.
"You okay?"
She nodded silently, letting her head rest against his bare shoulder.
He twisted his arm around her and planted a kiss on her forehead. "You can't sleep?"
"Not well." She closed her eyes and gave him a tired smile. "It's just different."
"You'll get used to it." He murmured against her forehead, gently tracing circles on her arm as he spoke. "Did you want me to sing you a lullaby?"
She laughed softly, "What if ah said yes?"
"Then I don't think anyone would be sleeping."
She chuckled and shook her head, but before she could respond her eyes flew wide open and jerked upright. Joseph began to ask what was wrong, when he heard the source of her sudden concern;
A small, but very audible cry coming from just down the hall; The voice of a little boy, begging for his Momma.
Rogue shot out of bed like a pistol, racing down the black hallway in nothing but her tank top and shorts. A few people stuck their heads out into the hallway questioningly at the sound of Rogue thundering down the hall, but she ignored them, focusing solely on his voice.
She reached his door, bursting through with a breath of relief the instant she noticed his bed was not glowing.
"Honey, Momma's here." She cooed, moving over to his side and sitting down next to him, circling her arms around him in a big hug. "Shhh, it's okay baby."
Joseph came to a quick stop just inside the room in his PJ bottoms, followed by Remy and a handful of concerned teammates. "Is he okay?" Joseph frowned.
"I had a nightmare." Cole informed them, rubbing the tears from his eyes. Rogue squared her jaw as she stroked the little boy's brown hair, pulling him back slightly to look him in the eye.
"You had sugar before bedtime. Didn't you? Ah told you, Cole, no sugar!"
"Mr. Bobby gave me some cookies."
Logan growled and Rogue glared at Bobby who shrunk back slightly with a shrug. "I didn't think he'd actually get nightmares..."
Kitty scoffed. "You're a moron."
"Takes one to know one."
She crossed her arms and gave an offended gasp. "You're rubber and I'm glue, and whatever you say... whatever I... you're glue, and I'm... SHUT UP!"
Remy ran a hand over his face and shook his head as Bobby chuckled. "You keep gigglin' an' I'm gunna knock your head through dat wall."
Bobby clamped his mouth shut as Piotr rubbed Kitty's back reassuringly. "It's okay Katya, you'll think of a comeback later."
"Momma..." Cole looked up at Rogue, his big green eyes glimmered from the light provided by his plug-in night light. "I want help."
Rogue let out a breath and bit her lip. "You're sure?"
He nodded silently. She frowned, looking back at the group of people and waving for them to go.
"Alright, show's over I guess." Logan grumbled, ushering everyone but Remy and Joseph away and closing the door on his way out.
Cole lay back down on his pillow and closed his eyes before Rogue bent over him.
"Sleep tight, baby."
He nodded, and she gave him a kiss on the forehead, effectively knocking him out cold.
Joseph moved over to her side, taking her hand in his with a concerned frown still in place. "Is he going to be okay?"
She smiled up at him and nodded. "Oh yeah," She stood, letting Joseph pull her in close in a side hug. "This hasn't happened for awhile th-"
Rogue stopped and sucked in a deep breath, throwing a hand to her chest suddenly.
"Anna!" Joseph lowered his head to get a better look at her. "Are you okay?"
Her brow knit and she shook her head, turning to Remy who still stood silently at the closed door. "Ah'm fine."
Remy rubbed the back of his neck, with his eyes fixed on the floor between them. "I can stay with him. If y'want."
"No. He'll be fine now." She shrugged with a quick wave of her hand.
"Well den, gunna go back t'bed. Need my beauty sleep." He smirked, reaching back and pulling the door open, offering them a nod before slipping out.
Joseph started for the door with her hand still tangled in his until Rogue pulled it away. "Y'know, ah think ah'm just gunna clear off my bed an' sleep there."
"You sure?"
"Yeah... ah'll have a hard enough time gettin' back t'sleep now anyways." She half smiled and gathered her hair over her shoulder. "Even if you were t'sing me t'sleep."
Joseph let out a small laugh and nodded. "Okay. Let me know if you need me."
Her smile grew and she waved him goodbye, plopping back down on Cole's bed once he'd left. She sat there for a few minutes, staring at her motionless son while he slept before eventually getting up and leaving. She did a quick visual sweep of the dark hallway, before tip toeing down in the opposite direction from Joe's room. She came to a stop in front of the door, doing another hall check, and then knocking lightly three times.
After a quick moment, the door opened and Remy frowned down at her. "What's wrong?"
She stepped past him into his room and looked up at him as she closed the door with his hand still on the knob.
"Rogue, wh-"
"Why didn't you say something?"
He stared back at her, letting go of the door knob to cross his arms over his bare chest. "Say something about...?"
Rogue looked away with a slight sigh and rubbed her forehead. "Ah have Cole's powers Remy. Ah know how you feel."
He tensed up and squared his jaw. She looked back at him and puckered her brow. "Why didn't you say something?"
"Would it have made a difference?"
"No." She answered, turning her head again as she shook her head and took a few steps away. "Ah don't know. Dammit Remy, ah thought everything was fine! An' you lied t'me about bein' okay with all of this."
"I just want you t'be happy."
"You think lying to me makes me happy?"
Remy pursed his lips. "No, but I do think dat ignorance is bliss."
She began pacing back and forth as she spoke, "Every thing's done Remy! Ah'm almost completely packed!" She stopped and looked up at him with a frown. "We leave in the morning!"
"I know."
She turned away with a shake of her head and continued pacing. "Why wouldn't you have said somethin' to me? Ah was right here." Rogue looked up at him again with her brow puckered, "Ah didn't think... ah always just thought you got bored."
He squared his jaw, turning his eyes away from her.
She balled her hands up at her sides and shot out a breath. "Say somethin', Cajun!"
Remy reluctantly dragged his gaze up to meet hers.
They stared at one another silently for a full minute before Rogue stepped towards him. She put her hand on his jaw tenderly while she searched his eyes, running her bare fingers along the stubble on his chin. Before he could say anything, she pulled him in and crushed her mouth against his. He slid his hands around her waist to gently pull her closer which only served to spur her on more. She ran one hand up his bare chest, snaking her other hand from the hard line of his jaw around to the back of his neck, and into his hair. He swallowed back a groan and mustered up enough strength to pull her back slightly.
"What are you doin'?"
"Ah don't know." She whispered against his mouth before eagerly closing the space again. His hands wandered up under the hem of her tank top, smoothing their way up her back. She groaned and tightened her grip on him, as if she could pull him in any closer. Suddenly, she angled her head away, forcing down a swallow. "Ah don't know."
Remy stood frozen with his hands on her back, waiting for her to make her next move. She shifted back and let out a frustrated sigh. "Ah'm sorry." She said, pulling his door open and quickly exiting. After a quick visual sweep, she hurried back down the hall to her room.
After closing the door behind her, she eyed the half full boxes on her bed as she chewed her lip. There was no way she'd be sleeping tonight; she might as well get to work.
A/N: Story's almost done! Sorry for the late update, I've been trying to get it totally finished before posting this chapter, but decided I should just hurry up and post already. :/
I think the last chapter I wrote, had the best reviews EVER! I even received the first chapter of a potential sequel via review. F'realz. You guys are awesome! I just noticed I'm over 300 reviews! Yee haw!
And since Kitty never actually responds to her reviews in her blog, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank her reviewers as well, on her behalf. :) Kitty also would like to say, that Starlight2Twilight needs to update Mutants Next Door. Her exact words were, and I quote: "Um, hellooo?"
And then she rolled her eyes.
Since this story is winding up, I'm putting in a plug for another story that I've been writing for like, ever, and actually plan on posting soon. It's called "The Hand". Keep an eye out for it!
Reviews pour favor! :D (Uhh, that means please in French.)