Chapter Six
Remy awoke from his coma on the 8th day and was confused to find himself in Rogue's bed, and with her sleeping on a makeshift bed on the floor. To make matters worse, he had a thumping hangover, which probably accounted for why he couldn't remember how he got here. He tried to get up but really, it was more effort than it was worth.
He settled back into her bed and closed his eyes, though thankfully only sleep awaited him this time, not a coma.
***
The next time he awoke, Rogue was gone from beside the bed but was pacing up and down outside the bedroom door, squeezing something in her hand. She hadn't noticed him yet, so he took a few moments to try and recall how he ended up here.
He remembered flying back from France, then grocery shopping, then... then he kissed her!
He smiled at the memory.
"Chère?" he called, though his voice was hoarse from lack of use.
He heard a loud bang as the thing she was squeezing burst, which made him jump. If he wasn't completely awake before, he sure was now; then she was at his side.
"Hey," she smiled down at him, although she looked apprehensive.
"How are you?" he asked.
"I think that should be my line." She tried to smile but she appeared tired and haggard.
"What's up?" he asked but she didn't answer. "Didn't it work?"
She looked blank.
"Transferring my thieving memories to you," he clarified.
"Oh, yeah, that worked great," her smile this time was genuine, but still hesitant.
"So what's got you so sad?"
"Nothing, I'm fine," she turned away to leave the room but Remy grabbed her wrist. "Let me go!" she cried, although she could easily get out of his grip were she thinking clearly.
"No, not until you tell me what's bothering you!"
"I'm just worried, okay! You've been asleep for eight days and until just now, I had no guarantee you would ever wake up again!"
Although it was the truth, it wasn't what was bothering her and she felt bad as Remy let her hand go and seemed to visibly deflate before her eyes.
"I'm sorry, chère, I didn't think what effect this could have on you. Do you forgive me?" He looked up at her, hope shining in his eyes.
"Forgive you?" she sounded shocked.
"I know I don't deserve it but-"
"No," she cut him off, knelt down beside the bed and took his hands in her gloved ones. "Remy, I thought you'd hate me."
"Why would I hate you?"
Now she was the one looking downcast. "Because it hurts, and... and no one else has ever wanted to be my friend after."
Remy wanted to tilt her head up but he wasn't wearing gloves.
"Chère, look at me."
Although she was slow to respond, her gaze slowly drifted northwards until she was looking in his eyes.
"Rogue, that was the best damn kiss of my life, and I'd gladly do it again."
She smiled but looked away as her cheeks flushed.
"So, uh, I guess you must be hungry?" she quickly changed the subject to spare her embarrassment.
"Come to think of it, yeah, a little."
"I made up a big batch of gumbo a few days ago, so why don't you grab a shower while I microwave you a bowl?"
"Sounds good to me, chère."
His muscles were stiff from lack of use but a hot shower helped. By the time he was finished, his stomach was growling and he dressed quickly and made his way to the small kitchen.
She had two bowls of gumbo waiting with sliced white bread. Remy would have preferred fresh bread but right now, almost anything looked appetising. They ate in awkward silence and Remy began to fear the worst.
"Rogue, other than how to steal, you didn't happen to see anything else when you absorbed me, did you?"
"Like what?" she asked as she played with her food, refusing to look at him.
"Like things I ain't too proud of."
She finally looked up. "I saw flashes."
"Like what?"
"Well... are, uh, are you married?"
Remy sighed. "No. Did you see anything else?"
"Like I say, flashes. I saw you in morning suit, a white dress, a red stain, a woman getting arrested and blaming you, an explosion..."
Remy didn't have much of an appetite left and pushed the rest of his food away. Probably best he didn't eat too much in one go right now anyway. He took a deep breath.
"The arrest is the shorter story. For my master tilling I was to steal a painting from the Louvre, single handed. I researched and discovered that a young American called Genevieve was interning in the restoration department, so I arranged to meet her, wined and dined her. She loved her job and freely told me all I needed to know. Then I stole her ID card and altered my appearance with holographic technology, so I looked just like her. Thankfully she was also very tall and wore heels, so in flats, no one noticed that she'd grown an inch or so. I drugged her for the day and took her place, leaving that evening with the painting."
"And they arrested her?" Rogue sounded shocked.
"I honestly hadn't considered that. I was 17 and I needed to pass the Master test in order to marry Bell. I was cocky, over confident and reckless." He let out a long sigh. "I was careful not to be caught on camera as I took the painting but when they mapped everyone's movements for the day, they came up with her. I also hadn't accounted for the fact that I'd develop feelings for her... I passed my masters test, but seeing her arrested was one of the worst moments of my life."
"She knew it was you, didn't she?" Rogue remembered Genevieve looking into her (or rather Gambit's) eyes as she was led away in handcuffs, her expression filled with pain, asking him 'why?'.
"She didn't have any proof, but yeah. No one else could have drugged her morning coffee, or stolen her pass card. I think my face as I saw them arrest her was the final nail in my coffin."
"So did they convict her?"
"No, I managed to muddy the waters and bribe enough officials so that they dropped the charges. I'm not proud of what I did and believe me, I learned from it."
Rogue processed that for a few moments.
"Okay, so what about the wedding?"
"That is an even worse story," he said, his voice a low monotone.
Rogue waited patiently for him to continue and when he didn't, she got up to make some coffee. Suddenly he began talking but she didn't stop what she was doing, lest it change his mind.
"Bella Donna and I were friends from childhood but when the Thieves Guild adopted me, I was forced to stop seeing her. Her father was head of the Assassins Guild, mine of the Thieves, and there's been a bitter rivalry between the two guilds for centuries."
He paused again and Rogue continued making the coffee, as though there was nothing at all unusual about what he was saying.
"When I was 15 we met by chance and resumed our friendship, then we became a couple. We kept it quiet, of course, but eventually they found out. My father and Bell's got together, behind our backs, and decided that they could use this to their advantage. Both were tired of the feuding and they thought that a marriage could help bring peace. So we were engaged to be married once we had both passed out Masters, hopefully when we were 18."
Rogue wanted to ask if he minded being married off without his permission, but she didn't know how to.
"We were a little odd with each other at first, but we got used to the idea, we grew closer together... I loved her... I thought I could save her..." he swallowed. "Her father went against the guild code when he married outside the guild."
"Married outside?" she couldn't help herself asking.
"Outside the Assassin's Guild. Bell's mother was a civilian and generally speaking, civilians don't take kindly to people they love getting paid to kill people. As head of the guild, Marius didn't do much killing himself any more, so he was able to keep it from her for a time. By the time she found out the truth, she had two kids under five and was trapped. You don't just leave the head of the assassins guild. I think her influence was what saved Bell. Didn't work on her brother, he was always a cold hearted bastard, but Bell didn't want to be a killer. She had no choice but to study and eventually take her tests, but she didn't want that life. She once told me that the faces of the people she'd killed haunted her every day. I could relate to that. Anyway, by marrying we would both take over as head of our respective guilds, thus Bell wouldn't have to do any more killing if she didn't want to.
"It was hard on Henri and Julian though, our older brothers, because they were supposed to be next in line. I was thrilled because I knew it meant Bell wouldn't have to kill any one any more. Henri eventually forgave me, said running the Guild looked like too much paperwork anyway. Julian though... he never forgot being passed over."
Rogue took the coffee's through to the sitting room, hoping that Remy would follow, which he did.
"Then what happened?" Rogue asked once they were settled.
"I got stupid," he answered. "The night before the wedding was my batcher party, nothing too riotous but Bell's brother decided to crash. He didn't like that Bella was about to supersede him as Guild Master, and he really didn't like the idea of a thief marrying his sister. He tried to pick a fight but I wasn't going to fight him, plus I was surrounded by Thieves who would stop him if he tried." He gave a hollow laugh. "I was drunk and stupid and I taunted him, asked him how it felt to know that a thief was fucking his sister, lots of crass stuff like that. Julian stormed off and we celebrated his departure, just as much as we celebrated my last night of freedom.
"Next day I had a little headache but didn't think too much of the night before. Me and Julian have always been like that, but I guess both me and the situation pushed him too far. Bella and I had just finished reciting our vows but we hadn't got to the I do's yet, when Julian stormed in, shouting and yelling. Some of the assassins tried to calm him down but he pulled out a gun. Bear in mind that he was a well trained assassin and under the terms of the treaty, no one else had come armed, so they kept their distance and looked for an opportunity to strike.
"He ranted and raved for a while and I began to hope that he'd get it out of his system and leave, but then his father, Marius, told him to sit down and show some fucking respect to his future Guild leaders. Julian snapped."
Remy swallowed down his tears but Rogue could still tell that he was upset.
"He took aim and fired, but Bell realised what he was about to do and stepped in front of me. The shot went through my shoulder but first... Bell... the angle... it hit just above her heart. Severed her aorta. She died almost instantly..." He took another long pause, to gather his emotions in once again.
"I caught her and lowered her to the ground, watching as the red stain spread so quickly over her white gown. I didn't really believing that she was dying. She couldn't be dying, this is our wedding day, for fuck sake!" He slipped into the present tense, a sign that he was reliving the emotions of that day, and finally his tears overflowed. Rogue reached over and took his hands in hers.
"She looked up at me and smiled, she actually smiled, and in the softest voice, she said 'I do'... Then she was gone. I screamed and pulled her to me, rocking her like... I don't know if I was rocking her or me. I didn't care about anyone else, I just wanted my Bella back.
"Eventually my father and brother came up to me and pulled me away from her. I could hear sirens in the distance but I knew she was already dead. Julian was surrounded by assassins trying to restrain him but when I stood up, he struggled even harder and got free. To this day I don't know if he was coming for me or for his sister. I could see the devastation in his eyes but I was too angry to care. I just saw red. I don't remember much of what happened then, but they say I grabbed Julian and charged his clothes. I don't know if I meant to or not but the result was the same, either way. He pulled away before I could reabsorb the charge and... he exploded. Everyone close got burned, so it must have been one hell of a charge I used.
"In order to save the peace, it was decided that I must be excommunicated from the guild, New Orleans and their lives. My family can't even call me... not that they'd want to."
"What? How could they do that? Julian started it, and he shot his own sister!" She was outraged on Remy's behalf, how could they blame this on him when Julian had started it? It didn't make sense to her.
"But Marius had lost two children, while my father still had us both. He was being kind really, he could have ordered my death. My father and Henri backed Marius up, abandoned me for the greater good of the Guild... I lost everything that day."
Rogue didn't know what to say. Part of her wanted to continue arguing with him, but Mini-Remy reminded her that Remy wasn't the one who could fix this mess; he hadn't exiled himself. All she could do was be there for him, to try and understand.
"I'm so sorry."
Remy didn't seem to have heard her. "Sometimes I like to believe that I did know what I was doing when i charged his clothes, and that I was punishing Julian. Then I remember Bell and how much she loved the prick. She would never want him dead. She didn't even like it when we fought. She always was too soft for her own good. She was a terrible assassin, couldn't even hurt an animal!"
He began to laugh through his tears, although it sounded hysterical to Rogue. Thankfully he stopped soon, because she really didn't know how to comfort him on something like that. She had no experience of comforting anyone at all, really.
"She loved you, doesn't that count for something?"
"Yeah, her death," he answered bitterly. "She took a bullet that probably wouldn't have killed me and if I hadn't riled her brother up, he might not have done that."
"Probably and might aren't reasons to blame yourself. You have no control over how other people act or react."
"But I can control myself, and I should have. If I had, maybe she'd be alive today."
"And maybe she wouldn't." Acting on some previously unknown instinct, she let go of his hand and pulled her to him, cradling him against her chest. Remy lost the last vestiges of control.
"She's dead because of me," he sobbed. "I shouldn't have trusted our parents when they said everything would be okay. I shouldn't have taunted her brother, and I shouldn't have let her fall in love with me. She's dead because she loved me, because she tried to save me."
His tears continued to flow as his grief poured out of him. Rogue did her best to comfort him, rubbing his back and murmuring soothing nonsense into his ear. Finally he shifted positions so he was lying on his side, his head in her lap, so she began to run her fingers through his hair. Not long after, he was cried out and exhausted, so he slept while Rogue watched over him.
***
When Remy awoke he felt refreshed for about two seconds, until he remembered confessing everything to Rogue. She knew all his dirty little secrets now. A moment later he realised that his head was on her lap and he raised himself up to look at her.
She looked worried.
"Chère?" he asked, afraid to ask how she felt about him now.
"How are you?"
"I'm fine, how about you?"
"I'm okay, I just... I'm sorry you had to live through that, Remy, and despite what you think, it's not your fault."
He decided not to argue for the moment.
"Remy?"
Rogue blushed. "Yeah, Mimi-Remy, the copy of you I have in my head, he told me your name. Do you mind me using it?"
"No, not if you tell me yours."
Her expression became guarded and she hesitated.
"I'll tell you," she began, "but you have to promise to never call me by that name. That's the name my Momma called me, and I hate it as much as I hate her."
He nodded gravely and Rogue took a deep breath.
"It's Anna-Marie Darkholm."
Remy took her gloved hand. "Doesn't suit you," he said, placing a kiss on her knuckles. "A woman with your strength and vitality needs a strong and lively name. Rogue is much better."
She smiled, pleased by his assessment and deciding that he had enough of secrets for one day, Remy changed the subject.
"So, what'd you get up to while I was gone?"
Rogue got a bag from the bedroom and explained about each job as she pulled something out of the bag, proof of each theft. He mostly listened but interrupted to ask a question a time or two.
"And this," Rogue got a ring and a necklace box out and held them. "This was just for fun. The jewellers wasn't very up-market or anything, so the alarm system and locks were relatively easy to pick, but this just caught my eye and it had a matching necklace, and I just had to get them. It's not expensive or anything, and the stones are probably just glass but anyway, I stole it so I guess they're free and..." she knew she was rambling so she shut up and handed the boxes to him. "Here."
He opened the ring box to find a man's signet ring inlaid with a square of black onyx and a small ruby coloured stone in one corner. Remy realised that the stones reminded her of his eyes, but he couldn't quite believe that she liked them. Even his father and Bella Donna had been unnerved by his eyes, especially at first.
"It's beautiful," he said.
"Just like your eyes." She had a hopeful smile on her face but he didn't know how to answer that, so he moved into the next box.
In there, on a 12 inch gold chain, sat a central ruby surrounded by onyx stones. This was definitely not a man's necklace. He took it from the box and cradled it in his hand for a moment to admire it, then he motioned for Rogue to turn around, which she did, holding her hair out of the way. Carefully he fastened the necklace around her neck and as she turned back, he was finding out which finger the ring best fit. It turned out to be the perfect fit for the ring finger on his right hand.
"So, if we're wearing matching jewellery now, does that mean we're dating?"
Rogue bit her lip and looked down and Remy silently kicked himself for making such an inane joke.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I promised you that... I'm sorry. Please forgive me, chère? 'Sides, I'll just get you hurt in some way, it's what I do."
"Remy, if you truly believe that, and I certainly don't, you couldn't pick a better person. I'm already invulnerable and besides, the things most likely to get me killed have nothing to do with you."
Rogue reached behind the sofa and did something that Remy couldn't see, but the next instant he felt the energy drain from his body. Not like when Rogue had touched him, this was how it felt when his ability to kinetically charge things went, when a power dampener was turned on. Through his practice at overcoming the inhibitor, his power soon returned to him, but not at the levels he usually had.
Rogue hadn't had time to teach her body to override the dampening field yet though, meaning she was powerless. He looked into her eyes and saw a shy smile there.
"Rogue?"
"I want this, Remy."
"You sure?"
She nodded. "I've never... I mean dating hasn't been a part of my life. Hell, my actions weren't my own for a long time, and they only taught me what they thought would be useful for them. They taught me to be seductive, but I guess they never planned on letting me date anyone. I'll be the first to admit that I don't really know what I'm doing, but I want to try."
And right there, Remy thought, was her dichotomy. She was a grown woman with a wealth of experience, more pain pain than any one person deserved in one lifetime and yet in some ways, she was still innocent. Her experiences had put an old head on young shoulders but sometimes, she was still just a 13 year old girl, virtually frozen at the point that 'they' had got their hands on her.
He didn't want to hurt her, he wanted to take things slowly for her sake, but he was clinging to her assertion that her invulnerability made her perfect for him, like a drowning man clings to a life raft. But she was vulnerable, emotionally of not physically.
"You know, if you practice overriding the field and using your powers, eventually it won't work on you and we won't be able to touch any more?" He was too busy wanting her to come up with a better argument.
She nodded sadly, that had occurred to her as well. "I know. I think I can handle it. At least, I hope I can. You?"
"I can handle not being able to touch you again, but I don't want to cause you any more pain."
Rogue shrugged, she had already had this argument with both herself and Mini-Remy. "I don't care. Sometimes I just want to feel like a normal girl."
Remy wasn't about to argue with her any longer, and he scooped her up and set her on his lap as he began to kiss her. He was hard instantly, but as easily as he had been swayed and as attracted to her as he felt, he didn't want to rush things. Rogue deserved to be worshipped, to be shown with his every action how much she meant to him. She wasn't some nameless girl that he had picked up in a bar, she was different, she was special.
Unfortunately just as he was setting his resolve that this would be nothing more than a make-out session, Rogue groaned and moved so that she was straddling his lap.
Remy was done for.