Disclaimer: Stan, this fic is a product of our love! Your characters, my plot. The rights to X-Men: Evolution are inconsequential in the face of this miracle! We're creating life! Stan, this fanfic... is our baby!
A/N: This chapter, the last chapter, is dedicated to everyone who did not get a personal chapter dedication, mainly those who were new reviewers for me. I've made new friends this fic, and it's been a pleasure to hear from you. Thank you all so much.
gambitfan85, ALLREMS, Devil-in-a-Redhead, tmmdeathwishraven, tfobmv18, xLebeaux, Kii-g-14, Raven34link, Warrior-princess-1980, Cowgrl94, ruroca57, virgo angelnine4, TaiOokamiYoukai, Beatlesrock101, Lorelei Cecily, Happy Little Girl, I-love-red-head-ninjas, Eve Hale, Dreamlover1102, ShadowedSaint, slientdreamer126, DarkLatinAngel, LaylaYuy, catycat010, Arich, xXxJessikaxXx, annacat721, Shadow-The Black Queen, and EvrAnge.
I feel like I'm bragging by writing all these names, but I wanted to make sure everyone got mentioned, even if your dedication isn't individual. Thank you all so much, once again.
Epilogue: The Motorcycle
New Orleans, Louisiana- The LeBeau Mansion
Ten days after Remy left a note on Rogue's pillow...
Leaving Tante Mattie and the LeBeaus was harder than Rogue had thought it would be. Not because they'd grown close, or she'd become attached, but simply because Tante didn't want them to leave.
"But, Remy, chil', y' jus' got here!" she wailed.
Remy smiled at her fondly. "Ah, ma Tante, Remy gotta go wit' his chere. Dat be de whole reason fo' dis little trip."
She sniffed. "Y' mean y' didn' come t' see y' poor ol' Tante?"
His red and black eyes twinkled. "Tante, y' an ol' schemer is what y' are, an' guilt trippin' ain' gon' work wit' dis Cajun. Ah've met wit' de best... she's standin' over dere actually." He pointed at Rogue, who waved awkwardly. Tante Mattie stopped sniffling and drew herself up to her full height of five feet and four inches.
"Remy LeBeau, y' take good care o' dat fille, y' hear Tante? 'Cause Ah'll be knowin' if y' don', an' y' won't like de cons'quences!"
He gave her a pained look. "Don' Remy know it, Tante. Y' ain't de only one gon' take a piece outta Remy's hide if he hurts her. Not," he added quickly. "Dat dat's ever gon' happen."
Rogue coughed discreetly in her place by their parked motorcycles. Tante glared up at him.
"Well? Get on wit' ya! Y' keepin' de lady waitin'!"
He threw up his hands. "Bon Seigneur! Je suis entouré par des femmes autoritaires!"
Rogue laughed. "You know it, bebe. Now get your butt over here, an' let's go, allons-nous?"
He glared at her. "Cheeky, li'l femme."
She grinned at him. "You love me. Now let's go!"
He sauntered over to his red and black Harley and swung astride it, his trench coat flaring out then settling around him as he got comfortable.
Rogue felt her mouth go dry. Did he have any idea how incredibly hot he looked when he did that? Especially when he leaned back just like...
Wait.
Her eyes snapped to his face to find him smirking at her. She scowled. "Swamp Rat, Ah swear, one of these days..."
He laughed and revved the bike. "C'mon, Roguey," he teased. "Let's go."
She straddled Logan's motorcyle grumpily, making sure her leather-covered leg stretched out as far as it would go for his benefit. She settled herself like a cat, instinctively stretching and twisting a little.
She glanced up at Remy and gulped when she saw the look on his face. Normally, she'd say that face was sexy. Now, she thought it looked a little dangerous.
"Chere," he said pleasantly. She could hear the purr behind the pet name and swallowed. "If y' actually be wantin' t' get on de road t' day, y'll be stoppin' wit' de writhin'. Now."
She froze, then tossed him a saucy grin. "Anythang fo' you, sugah," she drawled out. Without another word, she released the clutch on Logan's motorcycle and sped off with a roar. Behind her, Remy yelped and strained to catch up.
Somewhere, Louisiana
Ten days after Rogue set out for New Orleans...
Sissy looked up when the little bell over the door to her saloon jingled and her automatic, "Come on in, have a seat, cher," cut off abruptly. Standing just inside the door was a young woman in a brown motorcycle jacket, whose auburn and white hair was tousled from wearing a helmet. Standing beside her, an arm wrapped around her, was a tall young man wearing a trench coat, with fiery red eyes peering out from a drop-dead gorgeous face.
The Rogue had caught her devil.
"Sissy!" The girl caught the young man by the hand and darted forward eagerly. Sissy smiled to herself and walked around the counter to meet them.
"So dis be de Remy LeBeau Ah've heard so much 'bout."
He looked a little sheepish. "Dat's moi, ma'am."
She looked at Rogue. "Honey, y' weren't kiddin' when y' said he was hot. Ah think de temperature jus' rose in here!"
Remy felt his face grow red, but couldn't help but smirk when he saw his chere's blush too. "Y' mean ma cherie here, been tellin' y' about Remy's looks?" he teased, smiling down at Rogue. She glared a green-eyed glare up at him. "Not one word, Swamp Rat, not one word."
Sissy beamed at them. "Come on! Y' can have some supper an' tell Sissy all 'bout y'self!" She turned and hurried back behind the counter. Remy looked at Rogue, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged with a grin.
The door opened and the bell jingled again.
"Miss Rogue!"
She turned around and smiled. "Tom!"
The young man, wearing a hat that he pushed back on his blonde hair, hollered to the men already taking seats at the bar. "Hey, boys, it be Miss Rogue, come back from de Bayou! An' it looks like she done foun' dat Cajun stupid 'nough t' run from her!"
Remy swallowed and glanced at Rogue as an entire row of large, sweaty, mean-faced men turned around and looked at him. She smirked up at him smugly.
"Payback's a git, Swamp Rat."
Bayville, New York
Ten days after the Brotherhood appeared on the X-mansion's doorstep...
Professor Xavier made a noise. Everyone ignored him. He cleared his throat.
"Rogue... appears to be on her way home."
Everyone ignored him.
"With Remy." No one looked up. He glanced around and sighed. Why did no one ever listen to him?
Wade, Logan, and Betsy were continuing their ongoing conversation.
"D' you think I'll ever get to meet this guy?" Wade asked, sounding wistful. Logan snorted.
"From what Nosy over here's been tellin' me, her an' Rogue are gonna be regular pals, so I'd say that's likely."
"Yay! I wanna show him this cool thing I learned how to do to squirrels. See, you grab their livers and twist just so..."
Logan tuned him out.
Pietro was staring into space. Actually, he'd been staring into space for the last day and a half.
The Brotherhood boys-with the exception of Lance, who was still staring at Kitty- were getting nervous.
"Yo, Pietro's never been quiet for this long before. What did you do to him, foo?"
This last was directed at the monitor showing Patrick Jane's too-innocently smiling face.
"Me?"
"Yeah," Freddy put in. "Ever since you did that thing with the quarter, he's been all glassy-eyed and... quiet!"
Jane beamed. "I know! Isn't it great?"
"Jane!" Lisbon's voice was decidedly unhappy. "You used hypnosis on a minor?"
"Lisbon, darling, he's a mutant with super-speed. I'm sure he'll be okay. And it'll wear off soon anyway."
While she sputtered over "darling," Freddy glanced over his shoulder. "You know? I kinda hope it doesn't."
Somewhere, Mississippi
Thirteen days after Patrick Jane was "asked" to take a "vacation" from the CBI...
"What?"
Rogue placed her elbows on the table in front of her and sipped from the straw in her iced tea. "You heard me."
"Ah mean... dat's... Remy never..."
She smiled at him. Remy stared at the woman before him in shock. "So lemme get dis straight.Y' tol' every single person y' met 'bout where y' were goin' an' why, an' none o' dem turned out t' be anti-mutant or serial killers, or jus' general creeps who wanna take advantage of a belle fille travelin' alone?"
She grinned at him smugly. He continued. "An' on top of all dat, one o' dese guys jus' so happens to meet y' in dis diner, sit at dis table wit' y', an' be de very person who can help y' control y' mutation."
"Yup," she replied, popping the last letter and letting her tongue slide over her lips as she took another sip of her tea. Remy watched her in a sort of daze. She pretended to look up nonchalantly. "Ah guess when ya say it like that it does sound a little conspired."
He gave her a look-the one with the eyebrow. "A li'l?"
She shrugged. "Little, lot. It's all words."
Her Cajun rolled his gorgeous eyes. "Since when is anything "jus' words" t' y'?"
She leaned back and gave him an increasingly smug version of his favorite grin. "Ah'm lettin' the peace of the universe flow through me."
Beat.
"What?"
Bayville, New York
Thirteen days after Kitty and Lance had their... four hundred fifty-first fight...
"She's coming home, she's coming home, she's coming home-"
"Yeah, alright, we get it, she's coming home! Now could you please stop skipping around and singing, Pretty Kitty?"
There was silence for a minute.
"Did you just call me-"
"Yeah, yeah. Shut up."
Somewhere, Mississippi
Sixteen days after Remy told John he was going to New Orleans in an attempt to make Rogue admit her love for him (a fact that apparently slipped Johnny's mind in the subsequent conversation with Rogue)...
Tony didn't look up when the bells over the gas station door rang. He just mumbled a hello and went back to tallying the cash in the register.
He didn't hear the muffled, "No, Remy, you may NOT rob the place blind. Behave."
When the thump of leather boots on tiled floor stopped in front of the counter, Tony forced a smile and finally looked up, intending to say a quick "how's it going, is that all for you?" before going back to his routine. When he saw who was standing there, his smile became a lot less forced.
"Miss Rogue, as Ah live an' breathe!"
She grinned. "Hi, Tony." The young man at her side raised a cool eyebrow, before nodding in recognition.
"Bonjour, mon ami."
Tony hadn't smiled this much at work since his wife Betty had proposed to him by wrapping a note around a chocolate bar he was ringing up for her.
Bayville, New York
Sixteen days since Kurt survived having bombshell after bombshell dropped on him in one day (honestly, Rogue is in love with Remy, Logan actually trusts somebody with that motorcycle of his, Xavier is letting one of them leave the mansion with no back-up, the Brotherhood is "hanging out," Jamie listens to country music... it's a lot to take in at once)...
"Logan, baby, I'm just tellin' you-"
"Do not. Call me baby. Ever."
"He's right, sweetie. It's a little weird. Besides, I though I was your baby!"
"You are darling. Now where was I? Oh yeah. The guy with the chain-saw was hacking off my leg..."
Highway 42, Mississippi
Sixteen days since Rogue's boots became the most talked about item of apparel between New York and Louisiana...
The small highway had never seen so much heat in one concentrated area. And that included the Heat Rise of 1973.
Seriously, you could practically see steam.
Two motorcycles were parked on the shoulder of the road. One was unoccupied.
The other, a red and black Harley Davidson, was seating double. A young man dressed in a long brown trench coat was... embracing a young lady with striped hair wearing a pair of knee-high leather boots that were currently propped up on the back-board for the double-seat. The rest of her was in the man's lap.
As far as make-out sessions go, it appeared to be pretty tame. It was the fact that it was happening on the side of the highway that was shocking.
"Get a room!" yelled a young comedian out of his passenger side window as his friend's car drove by.
They ignored him.
Bayville, New York
Sixteen days after Wanda Maximoff considered the idea of seriously falling in love for the first time...
"Luv?"
"No."
"You didn' even let me say anything yet!"
"I know you're about to ask if you can have your lighter back, and the answer is no."
"Why not?"
"Because you'll burn something."
"Well, yeah, luv, what else would Oi want tha bloody thing for?"
"No."
"Please?"
Darn him and those blue eyes of his.
"If you actually damage anything I'm hexing it so it makes ice instead of fire."
"Thanks, luv."
Did he really just kiss my cheek?
Paintsville, Kentucky
Nineteen days after Wade Wilson escaped from a "secure" mutant-control facility in Venezuela (with help from Nick Fury, which led to the favor being performed in Kentucky)...
Marco... Palo... someone started in horror as the pretty little chica with the stripes in her hair strode through the restaurant doors, boots clomping softly on the wooden floor. His eyes instantly flew to her left shoulder, where-and he sighed in relief-the loco hombre with the big swords was not present. Then, all the relief left his body, as the current possessor of that obviously popular place turned red and black ojos de diablo on him.
Remy stared down at the unconscious waiter before him, a perplexed expression on his face.
"Remy jus' asked him if dey had any open tables."
Somewhere, New York
Nineteen and a half days since Betsy Braddock seriously considered tracking down her boyfriend and letting him see his worst nightmare in the form of his girlfriend...
Rogue's psyches were having a pointless discussion in the back of her mind, which she was ignoring as best she could while riding a motorcycle and simultaneously trying to keep her eyes on Remy.
It was very stressful.
But it was worth it to have Remy back. And back he was, snarky, smirky, sexy Remy LeBeau, teasing her, irritating her, touching her every time she came within arm's reach.
Joss, she'd missed him. Even if he was so snappin' annoying sometimes.
Remy shot her a grin from underneath his helmet, a full grin, not a smirk, and she felt her heart melt all over again.
Kitty's psyche was squealing in the backseat of Scott's car. Up front, Jean and Scott were talking quietly to each other, and trying to ignore the outrageous screeches behind them. Patrick Jane wasn't so fortunate.
Luckily, Jane was the type of person who actively listened to the type of chatter that Kitty Pryde regularly indulged in, and was currently having the time of his life.
Remy and Logan glanced at each other-neither psyche wearing a helmet in Rogue's mind-and rolled their eyes.
Bayville, New York
Twenty days after Logan handed Rogue the keys to his motorcycle and she promised not to bang it up...
The roar of two motorcycles cut the almost still air. Instantly, Kitty, Kurt, Wanda, John, and Logan were on their feet and headed for the door. Professor Xavier and Storm were right behind them, with the Brotherhood-minus Pietro, who still hadn't recovered from the semi-trance state Jane had put him in- and Jean and Scott following. Wade, Betsy, and the two CBI agents complained loudly about not being able to see anything, but were summarily ignored by everyone but Jamie, who paused to offer a sympathetic pat to Lisbon and Jane's monitor before scrambling for the door.
Outside, he found an interesting scene being played out.
Kitty was jumping on Rogue excitedly and babbling a mile a minute. Kurt was barely a step behind her, though he approached more warily, still a little sore about being left out of the "oh yeah, your sister's in love with that guy who kidnapped her three years ago thing." Remy was smiling a little nervously at him, which he appreciated, and when Rogue grabbed him in a hug as Kitty moved on to Remy-simultaneously lecturing and hugging him-he let a grin break out over his fangs and wrapped his arms around his sister, reaching out a two-fingered hand to Remy at the same time.
"Take care of her, mein freund."
The other man grinned at him and clasped his hand. "Of course."
Ororo stepped up and hugged them both, hard. "I'm so glad you're both back." Rogue smiled at her. "Thanks, 'Ro. It took awhile, but Ah got him."
Remy looked down at her, a fond smirk playing at his mouth. "Y' certainly did, chere."
Professor Xavier cleared his throat and beamed at them. "Welcome back, both of you."
Remy and Rogue ignored him, too busy staring into each other's eyes.
John interrupted their tender moment by flying towards Remy with outstretched arms screaming, "Mate! You've come back! An' look! It worked!"
Wanda glanced over from where she was greeting Rogue. "What worked?"
"Rems' plan ta get Roguey ta admit ta bein' in love with him," the Aussie said casually. Wanda and Rogue stared at him. "What?"
"You knew?"
He looked confused. "Knew what?"
"That Remy set me up."
"Set you up with who? He wouldn't do that, sheila, Rems is head over heels for ya!"
Rogue smacked her forehead. "Joss, it's like interrogating one of those prisoners who only respond with their unit name and serial number!"
Jean and Scott scowled. "You have no idea," Scott told her, glaring at the pyromaniac, who had quickly grown bored with the conversation and wandered off to set the gardenias on fire. The two most senior X-Men watched him with no surprise or even horror in their expressions. Wanda looked at them curiously.
"Aren't you going to try to stop him?"
Jean shook her head and shrugged. "What's the use? He'll just run or chase us with fire-animals again." Scott sighed. "I've kinda gotten used to the random outbreaks of destruction and having the sprinklers come on almost constantly."
Rogue and Remy blinked. "Wow. Ah leave you people alone for a few moments and look what happens, everything's gone to part!"
Remy hugged her to his side. "Aw, it's okay, Roguey. Y' had mo' 'portant t'ings t' do."
She smirked at him. "True," she drawled. He leaned down and kissed her. Jean and Scott sputtered.
"What-? How did-? What the-?"
Rogue laughed and kissed him again. And then again, just 'cause she could. Remy didn't seem to mind.
Wanda caught herself staring wistfully at the couple and turned her head sharply, only to find St. John Allerdyce only two feet away, staring wistfully at her.
Jean tried to comprehend what she was seeing, while Scott tried to figure out exactly how Remy was holding her still while she was kissing him so hard.
Logan stared in horror at the horrifying picture before him.
"Rogue!" he gasped in a strangled sort of yelp.
She looked over, trailing her Cajun. "Yeah, Logan?"
He pointed. She peered around his arm and said, "What about it?"
"W-w-"
Logan's motorcycle, his pride and joy, leaned on it's kick stand in the driveway next to Remy's red and black Harley. Well, leaned perhaps isn't the correct word. Slouched is more appropriate.
4,934 miles through state after state, rain, cornfields, and the bayous of Louisiana had done a number on the once gleaming surface. Mud covered it almost entirely. Scratches from where sticks and gravel had flown up and made their mark marred the plating. One handle bar and the entire front were twisted almost beyond recognition from Rogue's entrance at the LeBeau's. Logan was practically in tears.
"You promised not to bang her up!"
"Ah didn't!"
The handle bar fell off and hit the blacktop with a dull clunk. Rogue winced.
"Chere, if dat's y'r idea o' 'not bangin' her up,' y' ain' never drivin' Remy's bike."
She pouted. "Well sor-ry, Swamp Rat, but who was it that made this trip necessary in tha first place, hmm?"
He crossed his arms over his chest. "Y' are. Y' and y'r denial."
She scowled. "That ain't fair."
He stepped closer. "All's fair in love an' the distribution of blame, cherie."
She glared up at him. "Then Ah guess this is fair, then?"
He raised an eyebrow. "What?"
She drew back one leather-booted foot and kicked him in the shin.
While Remy was rolling on the ground in pain, Logan slowly approached the motorcycle as one would attempt to make contact with an injured beast one was trying to help. He knelt beside her and lovingly raised a hand to stroke the damaged paint. "It's okay, girl. We'll fix ya."
Remy pouted up at Rogue from his place on the ground at her feet. "Dat was mean, cherie," he said, rubbing his shin. She smirked at him.
"Don't be such a baby, Swamp Rat. You're fine."
Abruptly, the pout became a smirk and he leaned back away from his own legs, stretching out on the grass like it was a carpet placed in the world for his own personal use as sexy backdrop. Rogue swallowed.
"Why, Roguey," he purred. "Y' don't have t' tell Remy dat. He know's he's fine."
"Why you-"
"Y' too far."
She blinked at the interruption. "What?"
Reaching up, he caught her hand and pulled her down on top of him, leaving them lying in the grass-which was strangely crisp and smelling faintly of smoke-with her sprawled on his chest. He snuggled his face in her hair. "Ahh, dat's better."
In the back of her mind, Rogue's psyches were sitting on the steps of the mansions porch. Every single one of them had their knees propped up and their chins resting in their hands.
Kitty sighed. "I just like, love happy endings."
Jean smiled. "I'm happy for her. She deserves to be happy."
Scott groaned. "Even with Remy?"
Jean laughed. "Yes, Scott. Even with Remy."
Logan grunted, and since they all felt honored that he'd deigned to enter the conversation at all, they just nodded in agreement and moved on.
Patrick Jane smiled widely. "Good for her. I doubt she could do better."
Scott rolled his eyes. "No, she really could. A lot better."
Jane shrugged. "Tea, anyone?"
Scott waved his hand. "I mean, he's still a thief? He hasn't even tried to do any of that reforming he promised us, and-"
Logan's claws slid out suddenly. "Enough. He loves her. An' she loves him. Far as I'm concerned, that's good enough."
There was silence for a minute. Then, Kitty continued her previous line of thinking.
"She looks so... smiley. Rogue's never smiley. Except like, when Remy's around. Then it's like she can't stop. What do you think, Remy? Remy?"
They all stared at him for a minute, then Logan chuckled quietly. "Leave him alone, Half-pint. He ain't here with us anyway."
The Cajun was staring at Rogue, lying with himself in the burnt grass, and smiling up into devil eyes that shone with the light of an angel. Remy's psyche cocked his head a little, and a tiny smile appeared on his lips.
"Je t'aime, cherie. Je t'aime."
A/N: This. Story. Is. Done.
Wow! It's been a long one guys. Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, added to favorites or alerts, and those of you who continued conversation with me after reviewing. Thank you all, so, so much.
French Translations:
Bon Seigneur! Je suis entouré par des femmes autoritaires! - Good Lord! I'm surrounded by bossy women!
Je t'aime- I love you
Random Trivia about "Red and Black Harley!"
-The distance between New York and New Orleans is actually 4,934 miles. I didn't just pull it out of my hat.
- Rogue's boots are mentioned at least once in every chapter except for chapter 10, which was pretty much monopolized by Wade and Betsy, and chapter 11, which was kinda taken over by RoR (Recollections of Remy).
- Tony, Sissy, and Tom were all representatives of and derived from one person mentioned in verse two of the song "Little Red Rodeo." He was a gas station manager, but between the three of them, they all fulfilled his purpose.
- At least two people in the fic quoted Jack Sparrow, and one of them quoted themselves from the comics.
- The scene/time breaks in this chapter are all events that happened on the same day in continuity. The day Remy left a note on Rogue's pillow and left for Nawlins.
Well, it's the end of the road (pun intended). Do you two wanna say anything?
Y' wanna say it, Ashy?
Nah, 'sokay, luv, you can say it.
Bon den. See y' in de archives, ev'ry one.
Good job, luv.
Don' call Indy love.
And so it goes...