Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men
Sunday usually was the day everybody in the Institute stayed in bed until late, recovering from the weekend. Remy, on the other hand, woke up at 6a.m. not feeling recovered at all. He had gone out the night before in very good company, wasted some money with champagne, recovered that money at a poker table, and came back to the mansion to enjoy his company's presence a little more. Still, he didn't sleep well, and woke up feeling strangely disappointed, not really sure why he felt that way.
The champagne hadn't tasted the same, the winning hands in the poker matches didn't make him nearly as satisfied as they used to, and the company… well, he couldn't say he hadn't appreciated it. The girl and the illusions she was able to create before him were beautiful, but his interest vanished as fast as the illusions did when she left the room. He sighed, staring at the ceiling. 'It's just a phase.' He tried to convince himself of that.
A ray of sun passed through the curtains, shining on him. 'Probably a sign I should get out o' bed. It's not like I'm going t' sleep again anyways.' Remy thought, while rolling out of bed and stretching.
He walked around the room, as if searching for something, his thoughts still blurred from the restless night. He sighed when he stopped by the window and saw the garden and, further, the woods, the mist still lingering in the chill air. It was beautiful, but a different beauty from that he longed for. He recalled vividly the mornings back home. The oaks and Spanish mosses that gave the front yard a haunted atmosphere at night would be full of life every morning, with colorful and noisy birds on its branches. The oleanders next to the front door would fill the air with a sweet perfume, and the wisteria… how he loved them. The warmth, the damp air, the light breeze and delicate scents coming through his open French windows. Everything would be golden and green.
Remy closed his eyes, trying to remember every single detail. A frustrated groan escaped his lips. "It's useless t' think about dis now, y' idiot." He closed the curtains abruptly, suddenly irritated by the light.
Without anything interesting in mind to do that early in the day, he dressed up and went down to the Rec Room to watch a movie, his thoughts still drifting. As he passed in front of the kitchen, he noticed someone sitting alone on a stool by the kitchen's island. His thoughts went back to the present when he peeked inside and Rogue waved at him.
"Good morning, Cajun."
"Bonjour, belle." Remy went into the kitchen, forgetting about his previous destination. "You're definitely an early riser, aren't y'?"
Rogue played with her cup of coffee and sipped on it. "Not by choice." There were dark circles under her eyes, indicating she had a really bad night of sleep.
"Join the club then." He muttered while passing by her side, and she had to smile at that remark. He poured himself some of the coffee left and drank it, checking the refrigerator for some food.
"What are ya having for breakfast?" Rogue's voice came from behind him.
"I was thinkin' of a ham and cheese sandwich." He answered, putting the cheese on the counter and still searching for the ham.
Rogue pouted. "Ok…"
"Why?" He asked frankly, turning his head to look at her.
"Ya know… an omelet like that one ya cooked yesterday would taste much better than any kind of sandwich. Just saying." She pointed out.
Remy shrugged. "I don't know. Have y' ever tried ham and cheese omelet sandwich?" Rogue shook her head and Remy took some eggs from the refrigerator. "One can only know after tryin', eh?" He smirked and walked to her equilibrating the ingredients in his hands.
"What about a café au lait to wake us up, too?" Rogue asked, full of hope.
"Anything y' want, ma belle." Remy whispered, sitting in front of her. She chuckled and the careless smile that appeared on her face, along with the way it seemed to light up her green eyes, made his mind go blank suddenly. "Has anyone ever told ya' how beautiful the color of your eyes is?" He murmured before he could think of what he was saying. That green awoke so many memories…
"That is very sweet, swamp rat." She said with sarcasm, focusing her gaze on the ingredients on the table 'Yes, but a long, long time ago.' "Ah like your eyes too." She admitted, under her breath and, somehow, found the courage to lock her gaze on his. "They're unique." A tense silence followed her words, until she decided to break it. "So… c'mon, let's cook. Ah'll give ya a hand." She jumped to her feet.
"No kiss?" He teased, puckering up.
Rogue rolled her eyes. "No, just a hand." She said and pushed him from the stool. "You're hopeless, Cajun."
Mr. Sinister walked around his laboratory looking unsatisfied about something. He stopped in his tracks and looked at the body lying on the table. Jean Grey was in a deep induced coma since he found her, and Sinister wondered if it was a defense mechanism that provided that. Whenever he tried touching her with his bare hands, her body would heat up, immediately making it impossible for him to stand too close.
"You are indeed amazing, Miss Grey. Amazing." He would whisper constantly, his voice filled with anticipation. He experimented putting her on medical equipment to check her vital signs, and had the confirmation of what he expected: her body didn't repel the equipments, and was in perfect health.
While he waited for the results of some exams, Sinister flipped through the pages of a book so old that its pages were nearly falling apart. Many Egyptian hieroglyphs filled the pages, with a few drawings of what seemed to be a very tall man stepping on other men, with four creatures on his side, and a bird surrounded by bent priests on the opposite side of him. He caressed the pages of the book, his fingers tracing the shape of the bird, apparently lost in very dark thoughts.
"The time is coming."
That night, many of the mansion's residents were in the Rec Room. Jubilee, Rogue, Kitty, Sam, and Piotr sat on a round table playing Risk.
"Pete, where is Bobby? I haven't seen him tonight." Sam asked.
"I don't know. I haven't seen him either and he didn't tell me anything about going out tonight. Usually he asks me if I want to join him."
Kitty looked at Rogue for a brief second and whispered. "He was really upset earlier. Then he kind of, like, asked if I wanted to go take a walk with him. Said he needed to talk to me about something. But I declined."
Rogue tried not to give away her feelings by keeping a blank face. Piotr looked at his own hands, suddenly deeply interested in his nails.
"He is being a jackass." Jubilee stated as if she was saying the sky was blue. "Rogue just broke up with him and now he wants to look cool by going out with another girl before she finds herself a man."
"Jubs! We didn't break up. Ah just needed a break from everything for a while."
"Like I said… broke up. If it was just a break he wouldn't be asking any other girl out. Sorry Kitty."
"It's ok." Kitty shrugged. "In his defense, he was very upset, and sounded like he really had something to talk about. But I didn't feel it would be right to do that. And I wouldn't do that to Rogue, even if I did want to go out with him."
"Thanks, sugah."
"What I mean is… he is having this whole alpha male attitude now you two are not together anymore. To prove he is the guy." Jubilee popped her gum and Sam frowned.
"C'mon Jubilee, this sounds like things animals do." He said feeling a bit insulted.
"Guys are animals, Sam. Sorry to say that." She kept chewing her gum, missing the hurt look he gave her.
"Not all guys. There are the nice ones." Kitty said and blushed. Rogue saw the look she exchanged with Piotr but decided it was better not to make any comment. At least not in front of Jubilee.
"Whatever. Rogue, you have to find yourself a man." She said pointing a finger at her face.
"What?" Rogue caught her dice before they fell from the table. "Did ya just hit your head somewhere, Jubs?"
"You know, I always ask myself the same." Piotr chuckled. Jubilee glared at him and went on.
"These are modern times, chica. You are not supposed to sit quietly at home while he goes out with other girls."
"Jubilee, he just wanted to take a walk and probably grizzle. It hasn't been even two days since we bro… took a break!"
"You tell him that." Jubilee said ironically. "Why didn't he ask to take a walk with Pete?"
"Ah… Ah don't know. But even if he was trying to go out with a girl and move on, it's not like Ah can go out to a bar and pick a guy to get Bobby back for it. The guy wouldn't be interested to just talking to meh, and ya know that. And let's say the guy is nice enough to just talk to meh. What then? He would be a male friend and that's all. It's not like Ah can hook up with someone. Bobby was the one to put up with that entire situation and meh."
"No one puts up with you Rogue. We actually like to be with you." Piotr put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it.
"Yes, thank you, but a relationship with a boyfriend without touching is… impossible, Ah guess. No one can take it for too long." She said, playing with her gloves. "Ah think Bobby realized that at last, and decided it was better to move on with his life instead of coming after a girl like meh. Well, it was meh who asked for a break." Rogue had to admit, though, she had expected him to fight a little for her.
Jubilee bit her lip in thought. "You should try some flirting at least." She said after a moment of silence. "You don't even need to do it for Bobby. Do it for yourself, for the fun. It will make you cheer up and feel more confident. We both know you need to get your mind off him."
"Flirting?" Rogue snorted. "You mean Ah should tease the guys, knowing Ah'll never be able to give them what they want? That's a bit mean, don'tcha think?"
"That's the point." Jubilee gave her a wicked smile. "Just for fun."
"Girls." Sam shook his head.
On Monday, during their afternoon break, Bobby knocked on Rogue's door. However, it was Jubilee who opened the door and glared at him.
Bobby tried to take a peek inside the room but Jubilee blocked his vision. "Is Rogue in there?"
"No. What do you want with her?" She asked, popping her gum.
"I need to talk to her about our relationship." He said, putting his hands in his pockets and turning to leave.
"Didn't you take a break?"
"She decided to take this break. But I think she is overreacting. There has to be another way of making this work, instead of just avoiding our problems." Bobby said, facing Jubilee.
"Avoiding problems? I thought that was your thing, Bobby." Jubilee remarked sharply. "Seriously, why do you want to talk her out of it?"
"Because I want to be with her!" He was starting to get annoyed by her tone and questions.
"Like the way you were before? She was miserable almost all the time when you were with her! You want to go back and treat her the same way? If that's so, be sure of one thing: I'm not letting that happen."
"What are you talking about?!" Bobby asked, surprised with his friend's reaction.
"I'm talking about all the tears that girl shed, all the sleepless nights she had after your arguments; about the sad looks she gave you whenever you found a lame excuse for not being alone with her; about the evenings she spent reading while your were hanging out with Pete or Kitty; about all the times you flirted with Kitty when you thought Rogue wasn't listening or seeing. And guess what? Kitty is not even interested in you! Stop asking her out! To cut a long story short, Robert: I'm talking about you being a jerk to my friend! And don't make that stupid face!" She said, pointing a finger to his chest.
Bobby looked outraged at her and opened his mouth to reply. "The only reason I asked Kitty out…"
"Shut up!" Jubilee hissed. "If you want to get back with her to act the way you did before, you better think again. If you really want to change and be a good boyfriend, then first of all give her some space and time. This will be good for her." Her voice softened as her anger vanished slowly. "I got nothing personal against you, Bobby. You are a nice person, a nice friend. You just weren't a good boyfriend to her. I know it is hard to deal with her powers, but if it's too much for you to handle as a boyfriend, then you shouldn't stay in that relationship. Be her friend and that's all."
Going by the expression on Bobby's face, it seemed it was the first time he saw Jubilee for real. He lowered his head and scratched it, letting his thoughts drift for a second, then gave her a determined look. "I'll make her change her mind. Wait and see." With that, he left.
For those who like these kind of things, there is an Easter Egg in this chapter, very subtle. A clue: it's right in the beginning. xD