Disclaimer: Marvel characters are not mine.
A/N: Spoiler alert! This little story prefaces the state ofRogue and Remy'srelationship in my larger fic, Bloodlines.
Reservations. Check.
CD. Check.
Flower. Check.
Little Blue Box. Check.
Remy reviewed his mental checklist for the third time. Tonight had to be perfect, every last detail had to be as smooth as his over inflated reputation suggested him to be. He traced the lip of the fuzzy sky blue box wrapped with a white satin ribbon.
The spinning sensation in his head could have been from excitement, or terror, or from the fact that he had forgotten to eat since yesterday. He flipped the box open for the hundredth time today and, just like each time before, a swarm of angry butterflies fluttered helplessly in his stomach. He twisted the box from side to side watching the stone catch and refract the pale purple light that filtered into his room through the curtains.
He inhaled sharply, smiling weakly at his own trepidation. Closing the box, he placed it in the center of his bed where he was sure not to forget it. Slowly, he backed away from it, as if it might make a break for the door if he let it out of his sight.
He stood there for a long minute, maybe ten, staring at it, going over the words in his head again and again.
Will you do m' de honor... noooo. Make m' de happiest man on... nooo. I may be de t'ief but you have stolen m' heart... maybe.
For all his legendary charm, the man who always had a witty retort for any occasion was stumbling helplessly over his own words, unable to summon the perfect combination.
Rogue, will you... nooo. Anna, will you marry me? His breath caught in his throat as he thought the words.
If I can't even t'ink it without gettin' all loopy den how am I gonna say it? He rubbed his hands together nervously then realized they were quite clammy. He wiped them on his jeans with an exasperated sigh.
He hadn't been this nervous when he married Belle. But then again, he never really got to ask her the question. It had all been arranged. All he had to do was show up, which her family made sure of, in a none too subtle manner.
He and Rogue had a rocky relationship but they always ended up together in the end. They had been together for close to two years now, were happier than they had ever been, and they hadn't even had so much as a disagreement in the past few months. For all the chasing and running away from each other they did it finally seemed that they caught one another. The timing was impeccable. He wasn't going to let her get away ever again. They were going to get their happily ever after, and it was going to start tonight.
He opened his closet. His clothes for the evening were still hanging in the garment bag from when he'd purchased them two weeks ago. Off the rack just would not do for a night so important. Valentino leather pants, butter soft, laced up the sides, hugging every curve, and highlighting every muscle, packaging his round ass like a naughty Christmas present that threatened to fall open of its own accord. He ended up a bit embarrassed when he had tried them on. The sale girls had stood around him like a pack of groupies biting their lower lips, wide eyed and blatantly drooling. They would be perfect.
A crisp, white, unstructured Egyptian cotton shirt. Formal enough to impress, casual enough to still look cool. A sleek pair of side laced, pointed toe, biker leather half boots. A crimson tie and the matching Valentino leather jacket for the restaurant. He was going to have her undivided attention. He laid the garment bag on the bed, unwrapping the clothes and lining them up just so.
He stepped back, taking a big breath. He ran a hand through his hair as he exhaled with a deep sigh. His rigid shoulders finally relaxing, the pressure of the nervous chatter filling his head slowly decompressing to a more manageable level. He tried the words on for size one more time.
"Anna, will you marry me?" He lingered intently on each word, emphasizing the significance each one possessed. His mouth was dry. Giving the words a voice brought all his insecurities into sharp focus. The gravity of the impending question suddenly weighing heavily on his mind.
Why am I doin' dis? He was anxious and unexpectedly unsure but determined none the less. He tried to steel his nerves to banish his rebellious emotions but echoing in the back of his head, loud and clear, he heard Jean Luc's words.
If it ain't broke, don' fix it. He wrestled with the errant thought, trying to will it back into the recesses of his mind from which it broke free but it had already done it's damage.
Dere ain't no question. He scolded himself, angered at even the idea of questioning his devotion to her. For the first time, in a long time, their relationship wasn't broken. They loved each other, heart and soul, and he was going to prove it for all the world to see before someone, or something, once again found a way to tear them apart.
It's now or never.
A knock on his door snapped him out of his daze. He cracked the door open slightly peering cautiously around its edge.
"Not to worry, little brother, it is just me." Ororo's smiling face greeted him.
Remy quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her into his room, snapping the door closed behind her. She giggled uncontrollably, she had never seen him so nervous before.
"Wha's so funny?" Remy looked at her with wide eyes, his voice coming out higher pitched than usual. This just caused Ro to giggle all the more. He looked positively panicked.
"You best sit down, Remy before you pass out." she took him by the arm and guided him to the edge of his bed, backing him into it until his knees folded and he fell with a 'plop'.
"I have never seen you this nervous before." she chided with a glowing grin, taking a seat next to him, gently brushing an errant strand of hair from his face. "It is rather endearing."
"I t'ink I be less nervous facing Apocalypse on m'own right now." He smiled back at her weakly, wiping his clammy hands nervously up and down his denim clad thighs.
She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in for a hug, placing her head on his shoulder.
"I'm so happy for you." Ororo was having trouble wiping the megawatt smile off of her face for days now.
Ororo had to purposely avoided Rogue this past week to prevent herself from accidentally giving away Remy's secret. And, from the look of things, Rogue was getting suspicious. Ororo walked into the kitchen as Rogue was sternly warning Bobby against making her a victim in one of his pranks. A poor, confused Bobby just shrugged his shoulders, pleading his innocence. A few days later Rogue offhandedly mentioned how Logan was avoiding her. She had cornered Logan on the side porch just yesterday, as he stepped out to smoke a cigar. When she finally realized Logan was clamming up tighter than a virgin on prom night, she stomped off, cursing up a Mississippi blue streak in her wake. Logan could hear her angry tirade until she was well past the garage. He and Ro had a hearty laugh over that one.
"I just wanted to wish you luck, padnat." Ro kissed his cheek and, as she stood to leave, she caught site of the little blue box.
"Is that..." She motioned to the box.
"Yeah, dat's it." He offered it to Ro for her inspection.
Slowly, Ororo opened the precious little package. She cupped a hand to her mouth, awe struck at the ring she found inside.
"Remy, it is so beautiful. I have never seen anything like it."
"A friend recommended a jewelry artist in Vermont. I t'ink he's a genius."
"Remy, she is going to love it." Ro reached over, kissing his cheek again. She closed the box and placed it in his hand.
"She is such a lucky girl." She turned and left quickly, so Remy wouldn't see the misty tears welling in her eyes. She was so happy for both of them she could no longer contain her elation.
The skies over New York would be bright and clear tonight, the Harvest Moon glowing like a huge lantern over the Manhattan skyline. Ororo would make sure it shone unobstructed just for them.
Knock, knock ,knock.
"Rogue, let me in." Kitty called, jiggling the locked knob impatiently from outside the door.
"Ah'm comin'. Hold on."
Rogue opened her door draped in a heavy terry bathrobe, her hair tightly wrapped in towel.
"Oh, no. You are not going anywhere like that." Kitty pushed her into the room, slamming the door behind her.
"Ah just got outta the shower, girl." Rogue held out her arms, to emphasize the fact, that she was indeed, wearing a bathrobe. " Of course, ah'm not goin' out like..."
Kitty cut her off mid sentence. "I can't believe you're not ready yet!" Kitty grabbed her terrycloth clad arm, and dragged her into the bathroom.
"What are you talkin' about, sugah. We ain't leavin' til six. Ah got plenty a time." Rogue argued.
Kitty stood her friend in front of the mirror and carefully unwrapped her hair from the towel. She plugged in the hair dryer and shoved it into Rogue's hand.
"I've watched enough 'Sex in the City' to know that Givenchey and Manolo aren't the kind of clothes you buy at the mall." She smiled slyly at Rogue in the mirror as she preceded to roughly towel dry her wet head.
"Remy's bought me plenty a clothes, Kitty. Ah really don't see why..."
"Rogue, are you blind?" Kitty ceased her attack on Rogue's damp locks. "Even you said Ro and Logan have been acting strange, Remy's been making himself scarce all week, and now this big fancy date out of the blue. Come on!" Kitty looked at her in anticipation, waiting for the lightbulb above her head to flicker, as she connected the dots just outlined so clearly for her.
After a long, pensive moment, the lightbulb started to flicker. "What? You don't think..." Rogue's voice trailed off in disbelief.
Kitty just smiled sarcastically and emphatically shook her head 'yes'.
"Kitty, there is no way Remy's gonna ask me to..." She couldn't even bring herself to say the words. She never put any serious thought into the possibility of getting married.
After so many failed attempts at controlling her mutation she always ended up right back at the beginning - unable to touch another person. She and Remy did have their time together, without powers, like normal people. It was sheer bliss. But how could she even entertain the thought of marrying Remy now that they couldn't touch once again. Sure, he was pretty creative in working around their limitation but those games were too dangerous to play on any kind of regular basis. There was no way.
Rogue just shook her head with a wistful smile. "You're dreamin', girl. Ah can guarantee he's got somethin' in mind but that ain't it." She flicked on the hair dryer, shaking her shaggy chestnut and white mane.
Kitty leaned against the door, arms crossed, confident. "You're wrong." she mouthed at her friend in the mirror.
"No, ah'm not." Rogue responded confidently to her reflection.