Hey all... sorry for the long delay. I moved and started school again. Here is the new chapter!
Song: Downfall
Artist: Matchbox 20
Enjoy!
Remy looked at Rogue. Truly looked at her, and felt his lungs tighten in his chest, his heart start beating louder and harder, slamming against his ribs with masochistic pleasure. It has always been like this for him. One look in those emerald eyes and the rest of the world was dark, inhospitable, and cold. In her gaze he felt alive in a way that he hadn't for a long before going to the institute and had longed for since he walked away from her. She was his dream, his angel of the final hour, hovering there on void between life and death… a sweet temptation, the mysterious end of all he knew. God, how he'd missed her… how he wanted to touch her, hold her, feel her…
I wonder how you sleep
I wonder what you think - of me
If I could go back
Would you have ever been with me
He knew what she wanted to know… knew that this moment was going to come. That she would want the true and that he would give it to her, because he wasn't strong enough to do anything but tell her the truth.
"Chere…You got to understand… Remy" Rogue interrupted him.
"I have a name, Remy. Use it. And I don't want to hear about why Remy did something. I want to hear why led me on, why you broke my heart… and most importantly why exactly you think that I am going to help you now?"
I want you to be uneased
I want you to remember
I want you to believe in me
I want you on my side
Remy had to force himself not to smile. There was a spark of the women that he had fallen in love with, it was an ember that this fragile creature before him kept locked away deep within. Still, he could see his Rogue rising up from where she'd been hidden.
"Listen, Rogue. I know what I did was wrong. I know that I made a mistake. It's just…" Remy paused. He ran his hands over his face, feeling the lines from lack of sleep and hard living etched in his skin, he was to young to feel this old.
"I know that you are too good for me. I know that I am nothing but trouble that you don't need in your life. I've done some bad things in my life… I've done things that would make you sick if you knew. I didn't want you to get hurt because of me. I wanted you to be free to love someone who could give you the life you deserve." He didn't look at her face, he turned his back on her a moved quickly toward the door.
Come on
And lay it down
I've always been with you
Here and now
He heard her footsteps but had little time to react. Like a shot of strong aged bourbon, her hand touched his shoulder, and burned away his senses. Her strong right fist connecting with his right eye brought them right back. He wasn't sure if it was distraction or the force of the blow, but he found himself looking up a Rogue from the floor. His hand came to his eye, feeling the tender skin, knowing that in the morning the bruise would make it hard for him to see from that eye. He started to say something but Rogue spoke first.
"That's it. That's your reason. YOU MORON. I aught to kill you Remy LeBeau. Kill you and leave you hanging in the middle of your precious city as an example to all the other morons out there." Rogue's cheeks were flushed with anger, her breathing was heavy, and her eyes were like the molten core of a volcano. Remy was fairly certain that this was more of his southern spitfire's temper then he had ever seen before.
Give all that's within you
Be my savior
And I'll be your downfall
mmm, mmm, mmm
Still on the floor, Remy was forced to look up at Rogue as she let loose her temper.
"You think I didn't already know about your past. I absorb people's memories when I touch them. Not just their powers and behaviors. I absorbed you twice when you kidnapped me… God knows how many times after you joined the x-men. I know all about your past. I don't care. I loved you. I'm pretty sure I always will."
Her anger seemed to slip away and leave her with only sadness. She looked down at him with something that could only be pity as she spoke.
"Your right though, You don't deserve me. Not if you are willing to throw everything away for something so stupid. If you aren't willing to fight to be with me then you don't deserve my love."
Here we go again
Ashamed of being broken in
We're getting off track
I wanna get you back again
She walked away from him. Moving to the bar covered window on the other side of the room. Remy sat in shocked silence, before he found the strength to pull himself off the floor.
"You knew? You knew the whole time. You never said anything, why? Why didn't you tell me that you knew?" Remy could feel a spark of his old life coursing through his veins.
"Oh, right Remy. Are you kidding me? What was I supposed to say? Remy I know all about the guild, and your arranged marriage, and the man you killed… and how much you hate your eyes, how afraid you are of making the same mistakes you did before… Would you have listened? Or would you have left? Run-away like you always do. Oh, that's the other thing I know. You run. Whenever things get hard, when it feels like things are getting to heavy… you take off." Rogue turned to face him again, waiting for some kind of response.
I want you to trouble me
I wanted you turning down
I want you to agree with me
I want so much so bad
"So what if I run Rogue? At least I let people get close to me. At least I let the people who love me be part of my life…" Remy stop speaking, the second the words were past his lips he knew that he'd said the wrong thing.
"You let the people who love you be part of your life. I must have heard you wrong, I could have sworn that you just said that you let people get close to you… I could have sworn to God above that you just said that you let the people who love you be part of your life. You wouldn't say that, right, not me. Not to me…" Rogue didn't know how to feel, she could feel so many emotions boiling up inside of her, threatening to overwhelm her
Come on and lay it down
I've always been with you
Here and now
Give all that's within you
Be my savior
And I'll be your downfall
mmm, mmm, mmm
"Rogue, I'm sorry I didn't mean it." He tried to move toward her to lay comforting hand on her shoulder, but Rogue was in no mood to be comforted.
"You did mean it Remy. I know that I might come off as a bitch sometimes… that doesn't mean that I don't love my family. Let me ask though… how often has me letting people get close ended up with me getting burned? You are the best example of that. I trusted with everything. I told you all the things that I kept hidden from everyone else. I would have given you everything, but you… being so god damn selfish like always, decided that I didn't deserve the chance to fight for what I wanted. You did that same thing by bringing me here. I may not have been super happy back in Montana, but I was healing. Living on my terms, no teams… no politics… no heart break… just me."
Rogue watched and waited he had taught her to overly cautious when he walked away… it was a lesson wore like a bullet proof vest.
"I never meant to be selfish. I just wanted to see you again and I needed your help. God, I, I, I…. I am being selfish…" Remy exhaled deeply and sat down on the bed with his head in his hands.
Yeah, be my savior
(Only love can save us now)
(Don't lay me down)
(Only love can save us now)
I'll be your downfall (I'll be your downfall)
(Ah, love can save us now)
(Don't save me now)
"I could have told you that." Rogue voice was laced with something that until this point he had not heard… humor.
Remy looked over at the fiery southerner and felt a self-deprecating smile tug on his lips.
"I guess it's something I need to work on." His voice sounded tired, even to his own ears.
"That and the fact that I'm always right." Rogue sat beside him on the bed. Separate from him, but close enough that he understood what this moment was… a peace offering. A truce.
Lay it down
I've always been with you
Hear me now
With all that's within you
Be my savior
And I'll be your downfall
mmm, mmm, mmm
"I am truly sorry, Rogue. I don't think I can say that enough." Remy looked out into the space in front of him. Not sure that he could look at her at her now that he fully understood how wrong he'd been.
"I agree, sugar. You have a lot of apologies to make before I even consider forgiving you. Even then it's not for certain. You made a mistake a huge mistake, Remy, one that is going to hang between us for a while." Remy had to look at her now.
"You truly are too good for this old thief." Remy saw something spark in her eyes and once again found himself on the floor. This time courtesy of a hard shove.
"Watch it Swamp Rat!" Remy felt his mouth lift into a smile.
Now I'm back on my own
Hear my feet, they're made of stone
Man, I make you go where I go
"I see our time apart has made you more violent. I'm afraid I'll be covered in bruises before long." Remy joked.
"You keep acting like an idiot and you will. I've decided that every time you make me angry you deserve to get hit." Rogue looked dead serious, save for the hesitant sparkle of life in her eyes.
"… and you are always right, Chere. So, I must deserve it right?" Rogue smacked him upside the back of his head and raised her eyebrows high.
"I didn't give you permission to call me Chere. We are starting all over here Remy. That means until I say so you call me by my name and if I walk away… you have to respect that." The somber words broke their light teasing. Remy nodded sadly and moved so his back rested against the bed.
"So. You going to tell me what's going on with your family or do I have to use my powers and take the information?" Rogue wiggled her bare fingers near his face as she spoke.
Well hell, you, can I take you home
Well, I'm coming home on my back
Kissing me, your lips painted black
Saying Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh
Let me be your downfall
Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh
Let me be your downfall, baby
"I'm glad you're here, Rogue. I could use the help. It's like this…" Remy started to tell her all the things that had happened over the last two months. It was like old times… or at least it was getting there.