Chapter Text
It’s 29 days until the unveiling of his new boss’ big plan. Something about evolution and a crystal. He doesn't honestly care all that much. Remy isn't sure it will really affect him anyway. He hadn’t intended to leave home, but then home forced him out, so here he is under contract with some hot shot mutant terrorist wanting to crush the homosapiens or whatever.
To be honest, there’s not really much for Remy to do yet anyway. Magneto hadn’t been intending on hiring any members for his team, but then something went wrong with his original team and he’d needed a plan B. Thus, Remy. And the crazy Australian guy. And the quiet Russian.
He’s not sure what ruined Magneto’s original team (something about Mystique losing a prize mutant to the X men) but he figures it works for him just fine for now.
It’s 27 days until Magneto’s crazy crystal plan, and Remy is bored out of his skull. He supposes getting paid a shit ton to sit around and do nothing (for now) is a pretty sweet deal, but he’s not used to a stagnant lifestyle and he’s going stir crazy in this town.
It’s 25 days until Magneto’s master plan, and Remy finally has something to do. Magneto has presented to him files to sift through to better learn the enemy. Magneto wants him comfortable with each person before he goes out to personally spy on them and get more information.
He’s not sure spying on teenagers is what he would have ever imagined doing with his skills, but at least he has something to do other than shuffle his cards.
It’s 24 days until Magneto’s first step to taking over the world and Remy sees her for the first time, albeit in picture form. This sullen looking goth girl, only about three years his junior, was the prize mutant Magneto’s so pissed about losing? Sure her powers were something else, but they also had the major drawback of potentially knocking people into comas. Remy inspects her file and, outside of her pretty face, he decides there must be something missing from the paperwork that explains why she’s so special.
It’s 22 days until Magneto’s first step to taking over the world and Remy is on a mission. A self imposed mission, but a mission all the same. He has been able to watch over almost every member of the team: the tall ginger who has boys falling all over her, the boy scout with a giant stick up his ass, the skateboarder always drinking milk, the freshman valley girl taking senior level classes, and the goofy kid always talking about burgers. He’s seen them all and learned more than he probably needed to about each teen.
All but her.
It’s 21 days until the big plan comes to fruition and he finally sees her in person. He knows Magneto’s original team, including his son, are headed to some camp so he follows them there hoping that maybe this time he’ll get a glance at the one X man who has been alluding him. He is nothing if not tenacious when he has a goal in mind and the fact that she is still a mystery makes this into a game for him.
He finally sees her and she is everything he’d never imagined. He’d assumed she’d be quiet, withdrawn, and timid. He learns later that she is all of those things, but only after she is brash, sassy, and a perfect southern belle. He laughs to himself when he overhears her sarcastic comments and finds that he was right: the X man that had taken him the longest to find might just be the most interesting one.
It’s 17 days until the big plan comes to fruition and he almost feels bad for the small peppy girl, putting in maximum effort trying to create conversation with the goth. They are polar opposites, but there seems to at least be a mutual respect between them. The little one keeps asking questions about this and that and trying her damndest to engage the Rogue, who looks uncomfortable more than anything else, in shopping. The little one has yet to realize she is a puppy bouncing around and looking to play with a grumpy cat. A very cute cat, he can’t help but think, but a cat all the same.
It’s 15 days until the big plan comes to fruition and he’s learned all he needs to know about the X men. He doesn’t really need to be going out to watch them anymore. He’s thorough and good at his job-there’s a reason Magneto hired him. Still he finds himself continuing to go out every day anyway, haunting her favorite coffee shop and the library where she goes after school sometimes. He knows he’s being kind of creepy, but, for some reason he can’t explain, he is incredibly curious to learn more about her.
It’s 13 days unti Magneto unleashes his plan unto the mutant world and he decides fuck it all. He pops in his “regular eye” contacts and decides he just wants to meet her once. Just one time and his curiosity would end like that. It always has ended quickly for him when it comes to women. Although she's certainly unique, she will be no different.
When she goes to walk out of the coffee shop, he bumps into her, sending her coffee flying everywhere. Remy grabs her arm to steady her and she shakes him off as soon as she can, as if his touch burns her. He apologizes, making sure to throw a few french endearments in as he does so. He wants to see how she’ll respond.
She doesn’t disappoint when she reacts the exact opposite way most women did around him. She gruffly tells him not to worry about it, shoulders her bag closer to her and hurries off out the door. No fawning over him. No stopping to chat in their little rom-com “meet-cute” moment. Huh. That’s unexpected, he thinks to himself.
Its 12 days until Magneto unleashes his plan unto the mutant world, and Remy is more concerned with his own plan going well. He sits in the coffee shop, waiting for her to come in to do her homework. She arrives right on schedule and he hears the barista tell her that her drink has been paid for. Rogue is confused, until the barista gestures her in his direction. He is, as planned, leaned back in his chair, casually reading his book. He doesn’t check to see if she’s coming over. He knows she is.
And she does, but not to say thank you and maybe stay for a chit chat, as he’d assumed (hoped?). She simply plops the cup of coffee on the table in front of him and storms out of the shop.
He is bewildered, and quickly grabs his stuff so he can chase after her.
It’s starting to rain, he notes as he pulls his duster on. He moves quickly in her direction, not paying any mind to the other people walking by. She’s quick, but his legs are longer and he catches up with her fast enough.
He grabs her by the arm, glad he half expected her to swing at him so he could dodge in time.
She is frowning, her face is guarded, and she is glaring at him with the strength of ten pro fighters. She asks what his problem is.
He laughs, unable to help himself. He tells her he’d wanted to make up bumping into her yesterday and they’re both frequent customers (true enough now) so he hadn’t seen the harm in it. She rolls her eyes and tells him it’s not necessary, but thanks.
The rain is suddenly coming down harder and she looks up to the sky in worry. She tells him thanks again but she has to go now. He knows she is intending to walk home. He also knows it’s also at least a mile or two walk back. She’s perfectly capable of getting home, but he feels she shouldn’t have to.
He hollars after her, hoping calling her a River Rat will at least get her to turn around. This time he is right in his prediction and she stops and turns, calling him a Swamp Rat in the process.
He laughs again at her sass and asks her if she’s planning on walking home in this weather. She never gets to answer because two dumb jocks from across the street start yelling in her direction. She narrows her eyes at the idiots and Remy recognizes one of them from her school. They begin to cross the street just in time for the rain to fall even faster, making a bee line for Rogue.
Remy steps closer to her, annoyed their conversation has been interrupted just when he was finally getting somewhere. They are typical high school jocks, the ones Remy enjoyed pickpocketing from during Mardi Gras. Easy target, usually always a douchebag.
Not paying Remy any mind, the two guys circle Rogue, getting in her space and spitting insults. She tries to dodge around them, but her arms are exposed and she doesn’t have enough space to get away.
Ignoring him in favor of Rogue was a stupid move on their part: Remy’s done with this bullshit. He twists the blonde’s arm back painfully and tells them to get lost. The blonde almost looks like he wants to put up a fight, but his friend drags him away.
Alone again, Remy is finally able to tell her he has an apartment right around the corner. He’s not trying to be a creep, he reassures her, he just doesn’t want a River Rat like herself to drown trying to walk home.
She snorts and hesitates before cautiously agreeing.
He lets them in to his apartment, thankful he’s generally always been a clean guy, and they dry off. She takes the clothing he offers her to change into while hers go through the dryer and then they settle on his couch.
Unable to control his curiosity, he immediately starts asking about her life and to his surprise, she answers some of his questions. He’s even more surprised when she asks him questions and he finds himself answering her honestly.
The conversation lasts as long as the storm, several hours of easy conversation flowing from topic to topic. Remy cannot remember the last time he’s talked with someone for this long (or even half as long) without getting bored.
When the rain finally stops, she tells him she has to go-her home will worry about her. He agrees that’s a good idea and gets up to walk her out. Before she leaves he gives her his cell number. He knows she’ll make it home okay, but he also is unable to fight the desire to know that she makes it home safely. She laughs and tells him she’ll be fine, but agrees to text him when she makes it.
His eyes are burning from the amount of time he’s had his contacts in, but somehow he feels like every little bit of discomfort to hide his eyes was worth it after getting to talk to her.
He’s not sure why he waits up until she texts him she’s made it home safe, but he’s weirdly uncomfortable going to sleep until he’s sure she’s made it.
She does text him when she makes it and he can’t help but smile as he responds before turning in for the night.
It's 8 days until Magneto unleashes his master plan and Remy has been sitting on his couch for hours, texting with Rogue. It’s become a daily ritual for him: check in at the base, do some workouts, shoot the shit with Pete, shower, and head to the coffee shop so he can see Rogue. Whether she’s able to make it to the shop or not, he always ends up back in his apartment talking with her in the hours before they head to bed. He marvels that they never seem to run out of things to say. Sometimes, if he’s lucky, he can convince her to come hang out at his place and watch a movie. He likes being able to see her smile and hear the humor in her voice as she cracks a joke.
He worries this is a terrible idea, getting to know her, especially when he knows he works for the "enemy team" and she has no clue. Still he cannot resist continuing to talk to her and learning everything he can.
It's 7 days until Magneto's big day and they are at the coffee shop, talking again. They've been talking for hours (as is their norm), and Remy thinks to himself that he'd never thought he'd meet a person he doesn't get tired of. He really likes seeing her smile and is incredibly proud of himself whenever he earns a laugh from her. They talk until the coffee staff kicks them out for close and then after they head to their respective homes, they text for several hours more.
It’s 4 days until Magneto’s big day and after they're kicked out of the coffee shop at closing time, they are caught in the rain again. He drapes her with his duster and they run for the safety of his apartment, giggling with each other like children playing in a spring shower.
They get inside his place and he goes to dry off, knowing she is comfortable enough with his place at this point to find towels to dry her hair off. He walks out of his bedroom after changing to find her staring at him.
He freezes, unsure what she’s looking at and almost comically looks behind him.
She speaks before he has to wonder for too long, curiosity in her voice as she asks about his eyes.
Remy curses to himself, realizing his contacts must have dried up from the rain and come out when he was drying off. He feels his face burn in panic over the numerous problems his eyes cause and he feels like his heart stops, knowing where this is going and not ready to hear his friend’s reaction to his devil eyes.
He struggles to find words when she steps closer and asks if these are his real eyes. He nods, speechless, ready for her to scream or cower or shrink away, or avoid looking at him, or any of the things people do when they see his real eyes.
He should have expected her to surprise him, she always does. She does none of those things, simply smiles gently, looking him straight in the eye the entire time, and asks what his power is.
He is shocked and also wary of telling her too much, but has no way to cover this up so they can go back to five minutes ago. There are more landmines than his eyes and his powers though, he knows. He needs to be careful, or their budding friendship could come to an abrupt halt. If she let any of the X men know about him, they would come looking to try and get him to join their team, which he doubted Magneto would take kindly to.
He pulls out his deck of cards and demonstrates, lighting up the first card he pulled and sending it (and the nervous energy he'd poured into the charge) flying out his apartment window. It's the Queen of Hearts, he notes to himself absently. He looks to Rogue. She looks on in wonder and when she turns to look back into his eyes, he still sees no fear on her face, only a soft smile (the one he's beginning to realize might be his favorite).
He is smart enough to remember to ask her to not tell anyone: if his name or powers or eyes get mentioned around the wrong people he’ll be in a world of trouble (true, even if some details were left out). She doesn’t ask questions and just nods.
He almost neglects to ask her power back (because obviously she would assume she'd given up her secret by asking him his power), forgetting he only knows the answer because of Magneto’s files.
She frowns and explains information he mostly already knows, but he’s fine with this because it allows him to take a moment to really think about this girl in front of him. He is surprised to understand the long term effects of her powers in her brain though, or how completely uncontrollable her skin was. Magneto had written down so many theories in her file, but he’d assumed that was to make her stronger: not to fix what even Rogue called “broken”.
Still, as she talks about her powers and the psyches in her brain and never having a moment to herself anymore, she is optimistic in her sadness. She is truly unexpected (but valued) to him for all the reasons he never could have predicted.
It’s 3 days until the big day and he realizes he likes it that now she doesn’t have to tell him white lies about her mutation or the X men. He knows she would never be the kind of person to spill all their secrets, but he likes that she feels like she can trust him enough to not make up excuses anymore.
He doesn’t like the feeling of guilt that brings when he remembers exactly why she shouldn’t be trusting him. It’s a weird feeling, he muses, wanting to save her from himself.
It’s the day of Magneto’s big plan and Remy is surprised to find himself worrying over Rogue. She can handle herself, he knows, and she wouldn’t be sucked in by Magneto’s grand plan for evolution, he hopes. If the crystal could simply grant her control, he feels he would be among the first to hope she would do it. But he knows there’s no proof the crystal actually works and he also knows there will be a price tag attached that Rogue wouldn’t want to pay.