Aliana
was exhausted when she got back. She
never really went to the mall to shop, usually she went to pick pocket. Boy, Jubilee knew how to spend money, Aliana cringed when she saw how much the other Asian
girl rang up. Hell, Aliana was groaning
along with
So as soon as
Aliana got home she headed to her room, shucked her clothes off and put on a
bikini. She threw on a loose fitted
dress and headed for the pool. She knew
no one would be there and she wanted to relax a bit.
She
pulled off her dress in one quick motion and slipped into the cool water. She didn’t mention
that she got her healing power from the sun, though it wasn’t a direct
resource. Mostly, she relied on her
food. That was why when she was
starving, she was extra careful of what she was doing.
She was
deep under water, slipping around just above the bottom. She turned to face the sun, willing herself
to stay at the bottom. Aliana lost track
of time and blinked, deciding it was time to breathe. She swam to the top and gracefully got out of
the pool.
Even
though her back was turned, she could sense someone was looking at her. She laid down on the
chair and focused her gaze on him. Wondering just how long Remy was there with his girlfriend...Sandra,
was that her name? She wasn’t sure, he had a lot of girlfriends, the man hated to
be alone apparently.
“Hello,”
she said as they walked up to her. Damn, she thought as she saw a shirtless
Remy, Why do all of the men here have to
look good?
Aliana
stood up showing off something that caught Remy LeBeau’s
attention immediately. It was a
tattoo. He would have never seen it had
she not worn the white bikini. He
gulped, “Chere, dis be
Sandra, Sandra, dis be Aliana.”
“Nice
to meet you, Sandra,” Aliana shook the taller woman’s hand, “I think I’ll leave
you two to your vices.” With a wink,
Aliana disappeared into the house carrying her stuff. She vaguely heard Remy gasp with pain and
disregarded it.
*********
Later
that night, Aliana was cooking dinner for herself. She missed eating with the rest of the group
because she was bathing. She sighed and
began to shovel the food she wanted for herself, pulled out a note, and stuck
it on the ball, telling anyone who was brave enough to have at it.
She
grabbed a bottle of water and sat outside on the patio. She ate underneath the stars as she wondered
what she will do for tomorrow. When she
was done, she just sat there for a while and looked next to her.
“Hey,”
she said softly finally acknowledging Remy, who had been there for a good five
minutes, “I decided to break the silence since you weren’t going to.”
He
smiled at her, “Petite.”
“How was your date with Sandra?” she asked curiously
taking his bowl, “And shouldn’t you be there with her now?”
“She
left,” he shrugged standing up with her as she reentered the kitchen to wash
up.
“Oh,”
she looked at him curiously, “I see that it doesn’t really matter to you. Was she angry?”
“Nothing
I couldn’t handle,” he smiled and put up the bowl for her, “And de petite has someting dat Remy did not believe
you have.”
“Talking
about the tattoo, right?” she grinned rolling her eyes, “Yeah, got that a year
or so ago. Waste of money, I could have
spent it on rent or something else, but it was something I needed to do.”
“Does
it mean anyting?”
“Yeah,
it does,” she dug around in the freezer to pull out lemon ice, “The Yin-yang
represents harmony between the good and the bad and all opposites. And for me it also
represents that there is always light in the dark times and there’s always
darkness in the light times. The star
represents direction, a compass of sorts.
It reminds me to follow my own path and to help me find my way back if I
get lost. As for the colors…I just like
black and red.”
“Dat be very interesting, petite,” he smiled at her and
nodded his thanks as she gave him a bowl of lemon ice.
“Yeah,
that’s what all the guys who see it tell me,” she muttered, “it’s no butterfly
and it isn’t very feminine, but that’s just the way it is. It is me.”
“Yes,
it is you, petite,” he nodded, agreeing with her, “But I do like it and I can’t
help but to like de colors.”
Aliana
grinned at Remy, ate the desert, and asked suddenly, “So what’s going on with
you and the rest of the X-men?”
He
choked for a second and she patted his back before handing him water, “What?”
“I’m
not blind, something is going on between you and the X-men, that’s the only
reason why you are living in the boat house,” she watched him carefully.
“I
don’t know what you are talking about, petite,” he said softly.
“Come
on, let’s go to that boat house of yours,” she said offering her hand to
him. Reluctantly, he took it and she led
him to his abode.
Remy
told her what happened. He told her
everything about his dark past. He held
him close as he cried on her shoulder.
He clung onto her as she held her rage dear to her. She didn’t want to
hurt Remy, she cared for him and she was going to share his sins.
**************
Remy LeBeau woke up to feel a warm body curled against him. He ran his fingers through her hair, thinking
it was his girlfriend momentarily, but then realized
it wasn’t. He cracked his eyes open and
found Aliana there instead of Sandra and realized that he had no girlfriend at the moment.
He felt
his burdens lighten considerably thanks to the woman in his arms. She provided the ear and he provided the
story. She accepted what he did and it
made him so very happy. He just hoped
that she felt that way when she woke up.
She
woke up when she felt someone play with her hair. She stirred some when he stopped and pulled
away. She looked at Remy, who gave her a
lazy smile, which belied the look of fear in his eyes.
“Good
morning,” she said softly, “You sleep okay?
No nightmares?”
“Oui, petite, Remy slept good last night,” he looked at her,
“You?”
“I did
too,” she smiled and brushed the hair away from her face, “If you ever want to
talk, you know where to find me, right?”
He
smiled at her and pulled her back into his arms. She relaxed against him, resting her head
against his chest right above his heart.
It was a comfort that she rarely had and she
relished in it.
“Let me
cook you, Remy’s world famous crepes,” he murmured against her hair and she
wanted so badly to make a smartass comment but she held it back.
“Okay,”
she said her hands playing with his shirt, “It’s about time you cook me
something.”
He
chuckled and she couldn’t help but to smile at that,
“I’ll meet you there, I have to freshen up some.” She reluctantly pulled away from Remy and got
out of the bed.
“I’ll
meet you in de kitchen, chere,” he said not moving.
Aliana
went to her room and changed clothes.
She could sense someone’s hot eyes on her so she turned to face
them. It was Rogue. Aliana smiled at the skunk haired woman and
brushed past her.
Rogue
grabbed her shoulder and squeezed it painfully, “You stay away from, Remy, you
hear?”
“You
condemned him to his death, Rogue,” Aliana hissed, “For that you should feel
his pain.”
Aliana
walked away from the shocked Rogue and went to the kitchen. Remy stood there wearing a black t-shirt and
some loose jeans. He sensed her when she
entered, it was something he was capable of doing the more he bonded to her.
“Petite,
you are going to love dis,” he said without turning
to face her.
“We’ll
see, Remy,” she replied with an amused grin.
A few
minutes later, Aliana was quite content as she murmured, “I think I could die
and go to heaven right about now.”
“Tank
you, petite,” Remy grinned at her quite happily.
“My
compliments to the chef,” she replied as she helped clean up.
“So
what will you be doing de rest of de day?” he asked
curiously.
“Have
to go in the Danger room today,” she said with a shrug, “which is a very good
thing that I had such yummy food.”
“Oh, who you be fighting against, chere?”
“Rogue,”
she stated pulling her long raven hair up and Remy nearly spit out his coffee.
“Rogue, petite? Are you sure dat is
wise?”
“Yes,”
she said and had a strange look in her dark eyes, “I think it is very wise.”
“But
she can kill you,” he murmured in dismay.
“Tut tut, you have no faith, my
dear,” she smiled, “I can handle it, don’t worry.”
He
shook his head as he looked at her, “I do have faith, petite, but dat Rogue, she be a powerhouse. She can absorb your power.”
“If she
does, she’ll kill us all,” Aliana replied simply and stood up, “I need to go
put on my uniform. Things are going to
get interesting soon.”
*********************