Remy's Got a Secret Chapter 11, a x-men fanfic

Chapter 11

The steam enveloped her as she stepped into the soothing cascade, seemingly washing away the trauma of that fastidious night. Truth be told, she scrubbed her skin much more than it was necessary, almost to the point of rawness, wishing she could cleanse her body from all the unwanted touches her skin had ever received in her life. The water danced on her skin, a gentle reprieve from the traumatic experiences that clung to her like shadows. With each drop, tension melted a bit more, leaving behind the residue of a day that had moments she wished she could forget and others, she would keep in her heart and treasure them in moments of need.

"Te amo," his voice reverberated inside her mind, the one good thing that happened in that house. Was it part of the con? She shook her head instinctively. She knew it had served both purposes. He had never made how much he loved her a secret to anyone. And her response had come out, so spontaneously, in a language that was not her own, but it came from within, and she wasn't expecting that. How many times had she fallen in and out of love with that man? It was virtually impossible to keep count.

She sighed at that realization and forced herself to think of something else. She started to analyse the big picture, which was the positive outcome of their actions. In the end, they had been victorious, that should be all that mattered. Their mission had been conquered. They had been successful, and together, they achieved much more than what they had initially set out to do. Freeing not only Carla from the wicked hold of her husband but several other women, too, was a huge win. With Remy and Maria's support, all the women who chose to get out of the abuse chain would have a chance at a fresh start.

Thinking of that, Rogue smiled despite herself. That's what they were made of. Their desire to help others was what ticked both of them, the driving force that motivated them both to get out of bed each and every day. Her heart found some solace in that notion. Even though Remy was in a room battered, just starting his recovery process after losing so much blood, she knew he wouldn't have had it any other way.

Later that night, Rogue learned from Maria that lawyers had already contacted her, and the news they shared was very reassuring. The endangered children were being taken from their broken homes to temporary foster homes. Giving evidence their mothers were able to support them, they would soon be reunited with their mothers, the lawyers were confident, Maria told her. "Rogue, my dear, you must be exhausted. You need rest too,"

"I wanted to be around, you know, in case they let me see Remy again," a sigh followed her confession.

Maria smiled at the young woman. All the things Remy had told about her, his feelings, his insecurities about Rogue. Did she still love him like he loved her? Or had she become purely her friend?

As far as she could tell, it seemed Remy LeBeau could craft a plan like no other, was wise beyond his years, but failed to read Rogue. Working with and for women all her life, it was easy to see how much the girl loved him. She may have other things going on, and not be ready to commit, but that did not invalidate her feelings for him.

"You'd better go. You'll be helping him by looking like your normal self tomorrow after a much-needed night's sleep. You know Mr. LeBeau better than I do. He'd hate to be the reason why you're feeling tired and miserable," she pointed out calmly. Her accent made her words sound comforting like a warm blanket that your mother would bring you on colder nights.

There was no point in trying to counter-argue her. She was right. Sleeping it off is what she needed. She was feeling exhausted. She dragged her feet back to the bedroom, once inside she saw the few belongings she had brought with her that fateful night when she decided to follow Remy LeBeau into his secret life of domestic violence victims' benefactor. On a chair were her disco night clothes and her phone. Shaking her head, she touched the dress fabric absent-mindedly. Then, she decided to take a quick peek and read the messages she most surely had received. Crossing her heart and hoping that no world-threatening event took place while she worked with Remy on his personal redemption project, she unlocked the screen.

Messages were mainly checking on her well-being and whereabouts, both from Avengers and X-Men teammates. Cap was already mentioning that he would put on a search and rescue mission for her if she didn't get in touch in the next 24 hours.

'Better get that one', she thought and quickly replied to her boss to shut down any actions on his part. Satisfied with her reply, she continued to scroll down through all the messages and saw almost 50 from Jubilee. Biting her lips and inward cringing for having left her like that at the disco, she tapped to open them.

"You guys are hopeless. I knew this was gonna happen."

"Rogue, it's been two days! You won't be walking straight whenever this fucking spree ends! I hope you guys will just get back together. We are happy for you! But Remy has to pay me the favor!"

"Remy Le Beau, if you're next to Anna, reading this because I know you always peek at people's phones, read this: Shogo's poopy diapers are waiting for you! Come on now! We had a deal! You promised!"

There were many other messages on the same theme. Rogue shook her head and chuckled lightly as she placed her phone back on the dresser where it was. She went to bed and looked pensively at the armchair Remy had slept on while they were planning their mission. She couldn't shake the gnawing worry that gripped her heart. Her mind was consumed by thoughts of Remy, her beloved, her everything. The agonizing silence of the house, that late at night, amplified her anxiety and every passing second felt like an eternity. Still, her eyes got heavy regardless. That day had felt like a whole year. It didn't take her much long to drift into a restless sleep.

-oOo-

As the humbly furnished bedroom gradually filled with soft morning light, his eyelids fluttered open. Those beautiful red irises of his finally came back to life. Confusion danced in his eyes as consciousness slowly returned. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor echoed the steady beat of his awakening.

"Mmm... that is new," he remembered the last time he needed the Guild's medical team. It was after a successful heist that still had left its marks. Back then, they hadn't brought proper hospital monitors with them. Some new acquisition, his father would call it. He just hoped that at least medical equipment was acquired the proper way.

The handsome man's gaze wandered around his surroundings, and for the first time that day, he thought of Anna. A mixture of relief and uncertainty crossed his face as memories started to piece together like a jigsaw puzzle. He wanted to kick himself for having put her in that position again, in that place that would have surely triggered bad memories. Silly him, always succumbing to her demands! He should have been firmer and sent her away. As if that femme of his would ever take no for an answer, he thought. Just then, as if she had the power to hear his thoughts and sense what was going on in his heart, the doorknob turned ever so slowly and gently. Her voice could be heard, talking back at someone, he could tell. His beautiful southern spitfire! Seemingly having won whatever argument that was taking place, she popped in her head to find him awake and staring back at her. An easy smile quickly spread over his delicious lips, lips she had tasted more times than she could keep count.

"Huh! You're awake! I wanted to be here for when you woke up, but they wouldn't let me. Can you believe that?"

He chuckled lightly, amused as always at her angry ways.

"They can be quite overzealous, chére. You can't blame them for doing their job right, mon amour," he commented dismissively and patted an empty space in the bed for her.

"You should tell them that I have always watched over you when you were injured after a mission. Always! Time after time! And you do the same for me. You woke up and I wasn't there. It makes me feel like I've let you down," she spoke low in his ear as she sat next to him. "Can I?" she asked. They could communicate without words. He shook his head in a silent positive affirmation, so she leaned into him, resting her face on his shoulder. It was a well-practiced routine of theirs.

"How's your arm?"

"I'll live," he said mockingly and chuckled.

"Duh, don't play superhero. It was super scary last night. You lost so much blood and passed out. I was worried sick, sugar."

"Yeah, I know. I might have looked bad, but you should see the other guy," he said, displaying his trademark lopsided smirk. When he saw Rogue was none the amused, he stated what he knew she wanted to hear all along. "I appreciate your concern, chére. I'm mostly fine, but still feel a bit weak, and light-headed. I've been much worse than that. You of all people know that," he commented lightly. But just like that, all their history was implied. Yes, she had seen much worse than that. Literally saw him at the gates of Heaven and brought him back to life. She fell silent, lost in thoughts and memories of many episodes they had been through together. He noticed her silence spoke volumes, he knew her too well not to know.

"So," she started, in a whole different tone, trying to lighten up their mood, "that lady doctor, I'll tell you what, sugar, she ain't got any love for me! What have I ever done to her? I wish I had spent the night here, watching over you, like I did many times before, like you did for me too. But she shut me down and sent me packing like it was no one's business. Geez!"

All the while Remy watched his reason for living with amused affection. Her accent seemed more pronounced when she was mad or complaining, and he found her ways endearing. The corners of his eyes were crinkling as he chuckled softly. He marveled at the way her pretty green eyes sparkled when she was talking to him.

"Why are you laughing, swamp rat?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, you did do something to deserve her wrath..."

"I've never met that woman before!" she replied defensively.

Then, he proceeded to tell her about how he was going to go out on a date with the older woman once.

"I know you're going to say she's older than me and all, but she's also very pretty and, to my father's absolute delight, the daughter of a higher-up in the New York Guild," he told her, and her face softened a bit, she knew what it was all about, but Remy continued anyway, "So, you can see where I'm going, right? My father loved arranging for us to meet for dinner. Of course, he sang high praises of his son and she was looking very much forward to it..."

Rogue shook her head in disbelief, "Jean Luc is unbelievable! He won't rest until he makes an honorable married man out of you, huh? Now what do I have to do with any of that?"

"Well, let's just say your Remy here called it all off at the very last minute because his best friend Rogue called him because she needed him."

"Oh!" She exclaimed, her plump lips forming a slightly rounded shape, a silent gasp escaping her in the wake of the unexpected ending to Remy's little tale. "Oopsy! Sorry, I ruined your date," she offered shyly.

"It's okay, chére. You called me, I don't even remember what it was, nothing major, you just wanted to vent about something, I guess. So I dropped everything in a beat. Then, someone told her that I ditched her to meet Rogue, as in THE Rogue. At this point, everyone in the Guild knows about you," he confessed openly, unashamedly.

"Oh, I've heard about that too," an awkward silence fell upon them for a moment. "Anyway, Remy, I... I just wanted to say that... I'm glad you are alright. Whenever something like this happens, I see the perishable side of you, that you are a mere mortal like everyone else, it is like I'm thrown in a pit, surrounded by darkness. I can barely breathe. It's as if you," she paused and looked away for a moment. She stood up from bed, shoved her hands in her pockets, and took some small awkward steps away from him. Looking down, she continued, "It's as if you are the only light in my life."

It was so strange for her to expose her naked feelings just like that. She couldn't bear to look at him and faced the window, half regretting having been so open about her emotions. Just then, Remy stood up slowly, even though his body felt heavy as if it were entangled in a web of invisible resistance. A dull ache emanated from his wounded arm, and he winced, she couldn't see it, though. Feeling inadequate, she was hugging herself, staring out the window in silence, when she was surprised by his soft embrace.

"Remy! You shouldn't! You have to rest, were you even cleared to stand up on your own? Plus, the IV! You will disconnect the wires," she tried to reason with him. He smiled a her, her concern for his health was endearing.

"Can you stop mothering me? Why don't you just say how much you enjoy being close to me instead?"

"I do enjoy being close to you, sugar. More than you know!"

"Oh, I know, chére. I do know!"

"You cocky bastard," she retorted. Again he chuckled, and this time she did too, until both their smiles faded and they were staring at each other. Remy's good hand trailed down the curve of her spine, sending a shiver through her body. His touch had always possessed an unstoppable force that drew her in, and with a heated intensity, he leaned in, and their lips met delicately.

Rogue's breath caught in her throat as his fingers tangled in the tousled waves of her hair, deepening their kiss as he did so. Their bodies pressed together, a symphony of longing and heat, as the intensity of the kiss left them both breathless. Just as the warmth of their shared moment began to envelop them, a quick knock could be heard and the door swung open with a quiet creak. It was the same young nurse from the previous night, he entered the room, carrying a tray of medications. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the unexpected display of affection.

"Oops! I'm sorry, so sorry, I can come back later," he said, quickly averting his gaze but failing to conceal the amused smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Rogue and Gambit broke the kiss, a flush of embarrassment coloring Rogue's face, not any hint of shame in Remy's. He grinned widely, while Rogue tried but failed miserably to suppress a giggle.

The young man, who tried hard to maintain a professional demeanor, cleared his throat. "I just need to administer Mr. LeBeau's medication and check his vitals," he said, trying to divert attention from the awkward moment. For a second his eyes met Rogue's and he swallowed hard. Crossing his heart, he hoped his boss wouldn't read him like a book and notice how his femme affected him. The lady was even prettier in the daytime, dressed in normal girls, looking like the girl next door. Remy was used to seeing folks getting sweaty and breathless when near his beautiful Rogue. He wasn't mad at him at all, he felt sorry for him if anything.

"Of course. But come on man, you can drop the Mr, you know me, it's Remy for you too," Remy said, his voice cheerful. He was definitely in good spirits after kissing Rogue. All pain was seemingly gone for a moment, it was just her touch, her lips, her smell, and her smile. Her smile meant everything to him.

As the nurse went about his tasks, Remy and Anna exchanged glances, their eyes sharing a mixture of amusement and lingering desire. The nurse efficiently finished his duties, offering a knowing smile before leaving the room. However, the beautiful couple would not be left alone just yet. The door swung open just seconds after the nurse left, and in entered Maria, a vision of grace and excitement. Her eyes sparkled with joy, happy as she was to see Remy LeBeau standing on his own two feet, next to the woman she knew he loved. A radiant smile adorned her face, casting a warm glow that filled Remy's heart. He immediately understood she was happy to see him looking well, and perhaps she would also have good news to share. Maria's steps were light and purposeful, carrying an air of anticipation as she approached the handsome man.

"Is it a good time? I can always come back later. I just thought you'd love to hear the news."

Remy did not object and so she started relaying all the updates, how things were going for the women they rescued, for Carla, and their children.

"Remy," Maria began, her voice filled with a mix of relief and excitement, "we did it, well, you two did it. You have successfully rescued the two women from their abusive situations. They are now safe and on their way to rebuilding their lives. Your good friends are taking care of the legal part as we speak. Also, you were able to frame Carla's husband. That other friend of yours sent them the video footage. It seems her husband was arrested last night, he and some other men too. Surely not all of them, it's never the case. But it's a victory, a huge one. Thanks to you, and you too, Rogue."

Remy's eyes widened, and a wave of emotions swept over him. The many hours the two of them spent in planning and coordination, and those sleepless nights had led to this moment. He couldn't help but feel a surge of pride and gratitude for Rogue's dedication too.

"That's incredible, Maria!" Mark exclaimed, a genuine smile breaking across his face. "Tell me everything. How did it all happen?"

Maria eagerly opened a folder she had been holding all the while and began to recount all the steps taken by the team of associates, as Remy called them, and everything that had been done and all that was still to happen to move along the healing process for those women. She described the meticulous planning, the collaboration with local law enforcement, and the courage displayed by each survivor as they navigated the delicate process of leaving their abusive partners for good, collecting their things at home, and ensuring their kids would be with them. There was still a long way to go, but the first and most important step had been taken, they decided not to go back to their house and report the abuse they suffered, pursue a divorce, and file for a restraining order, amongst a million of other things that would need to be done.

As she spoke, Rogue marveled at the resilience of the survivors and the compassion that Maria and Remy had displayed, putting together such an extensive ongoing operation. They had everything covered, every detail, all sorts of people that would help them help those women. It was a challenging journey, filled with unexpected obstacles, but the success of the mission spoke volumes about the collective determination to make a difference. She had never seen Remy so passionate about a cause other than the mutant one before. It made her wonder what could have ignited that in him. Her train of thought was interrupted by Maria speaking directly at her.

"Sorry, I... I didn't catch that," she said, blinking to try to regain focus. She had stopped following their conversation minutes ago.

"I was just asking if you'd like to follow me downstairs. I am going to grab some breakfast for the two of you. Or perhaps, you could bring it over here and I can leave the two of you alone," the woman replied with a gentle smile in her voice.

"I'd love that, chére if you could. So we can spend some time together before you slip away and go back to duty," he commented lightly. Minding his tone of voice, he was trying hard to not make it sound like an accusation. He didn't want to sound clingy, or that he was holding against her the fact that she was always rushing back to work. He understood her reasons, but it would be nice to be her priority for once.

And so, Anna Marie followed Maria out of the room and into the kitchen. The morning sun gently kissed the staircase as she descended the stairs in hurried steps and then, into the inviting aroma wafting from the kitchen. She followed the soft hum of a feminine voice as it led her to the heart of the home. The kitchen was aglow with morning light, and there were some women Rogue recognized from the previous night sitting at the table, talking cheerfully in Spanish. Their semblance was different from before, with relaxed smiles, and graceful gestures as they connected and got to know the real person behind the masquerade they presented at the club. When they saw Rogue, wider smiles spread over their lips. Carla lifted from her chair and walked in her direction, speaking to her in Spanish. She could tell those were words of gratitude, but she no longer held on to Maria's linguistic skills. She smiled politely back at her, but then was surprised with a hug. The other two women followed suit. The gesture was as unexpected as it was sincere. Tears welled up in Rogue's eyes as she felt the heartfelt thankfulness coming from those ladies who had been through so much in life. The weight of the gratitude and the impact of their words resonated deeply within her.

Meanwhile, Maria carried on with her duties and moved with an effortless rhythm as she prepared breakfast. The clinking of utensils against pans and the savory scent of brewing coffee surrounded them. She quickly glanced over her shoulder and saw the ladies locked in a sisterly embrace, Rogue's beautiful green eyes glittering with tears about to fall. Maria smiled despite herself. Rogue was a good woman. Maria felt happy for her friend, Remy. The girl was everything he told her about and more. Pity Rogue hadn't her mind set on committing to a loving relationship yet.

Rogue watched Maria for a moment, appreciating the dedication and skill with which she moved about the space. She had made a decision but was unsure how to approach the dedicated social worker Remy had befriended. With a gentle clearing of her throat, she caught Maria's attention.

"Maria, I have something I wanted to ask you," Rogue said, her voice carrying genuine warmth.

The lady turned, a bright smile lighting up her face as she was too clever not to guess what Rogue was going to say. The likes of her and Remy, yeah, she could tell what was going to follow. "What you do here, it is so great! Helping you out on this mission was so rewarding. I was wondering, could I make this a regular thing? Like, could I help you?" she inquired, her eyes gleaming with a rush of enthusiasm.

"I think the more the merrier, right? But you could talk to Remy about it and he could see where you could help, he does a lot to organize and direct our efforts."

"Really? Wow, it's so weird that he never told me about all of this. I can't help but wonder why."

"Why don't you just ask him? You said he's your best friend, didn't you?"

"Remy always kind of liked having his secrets, even from me. But I thought after all this time that we were past that, I may have assumed it wrong," she said, a hint of sadness tangible in her voice.

"You can just ask him, you know. He might surprise you with a forthcoming answer. You won't know until you try," she stated simply. Her eyes twinkled with a mix of affection and wisdom as she spoke to the beautiful lady in front of her. "Now, my dear, would you mind taking this tray to your friend Remy?" Martha asked, her voice carrying a tone of both kindness and knowing.

"Of course, Maria," she replied, her tone of voice filled with appreciation.

Maria handed her the tray with a gentle nod. "Love and friendship can be a beautiful thing, dear. Take this time you were not expecting to have with him to listen to him. I know for a fact that he has things he would like to share with you, but fears your judgment or worse, your rejection," she advised, her eyes reflecting the depth of her own life experiences. Whatever secrets Remy had from her, it was clear that Maria knew about them.

"Thank you for the advice, Maria," she replied. Crossing her heart and hoping Remy and his secrets weren't going to break her heart once again, she climbed up the stairs. Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, she knocked at his door this time.

"Chére," he started, "what took you so long? I was starting to think you had left without saying goodbye."

"Remy, I have questions for you."

He looked up and into her eyes, sensing the shift in her aura. Concern etched across his face, he nodded and gestured for her to proceed.

Taking a seat beside him in his makeshift hospital bed, she chose her words carefully. "There's something on my mind, something I wanted to know," she began, her eyes reflecting a mix of sincerity and vulnerability. "Why have you never told me about the amazing things you do here with Maria? And why are you passionate about it?"

"Oh, chére, it's a long story. Do you have the time?"

She nodded and leaned closer to him, resting her head against his shoulder, savoring their closeness for that moment. His unique scent and the steady rise and fall of his chest enveloped her in a sense of security and belonging. Soon enough, she would learn just how much Remy had suffered with the secret he kept inside.