Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men!

Chapter 9: Green.

The absence of green in his range of vision startled him. It was all black, brown, grey, white… this was his bedroom, but…

Remy jumped out of bed, his heart racing again and the back of his neck covered in sweat. This had happened the previous times, this kind of awakening. He didn't look out the window though, to the mansion's backyard. Not this time.

He opened the door and looked in one direction of the hallway. Then the other one. Everything was quiet, at least around there. He waited few moments but nothing new came along. And his mind was at the edge: had she made it? A part of him thought that she should have, because it only made sense: it appeared that she was meant to get shot; all right then, but what would happen after that, didn't necessarily have to be written (was anything at all, anyway?) Another part of him was preparing himself for the worst; for the realization that no matter what he did, there was no way to avoid the imminent.

Better sooner than later, he thought, so he closed the door and headed to the girls' dorm rooms' area.

He crossed no one in his path. But that didn't mean anything, right? He was trying to find signals anywhere, proofs that she was around, somewhere, breathing and okay. Simply okay.

The door to her bedroom was right in front of him now. He would knock. From the other side she would ask Who is it? He'd reply Remy LeBeau at yer service, cherie. She would open the door with that expression on her face, one of the many that kept bringing him back to this door, to her, to anything that could have anything to do with her, including of course, changing time lines to keep her alive.

He was always very confident about his actions and decisions. But all of this had brought the taste of doubt and dread to his mouth, one he wasn't very familiar with.

It would be all over, or start all over again, soon.

He was about to knock on the door, when someone came through it.

"Petite!?"

"Eh, hey, what's up?" She seemed flustered, taking looks to both sides of the hallway.

He had to ask, there was no other way: "Is Rogue 'round here?"

Kitty's expression became a mixture of terror and God knows what else.

"Eh…"

"What? What it is? Where is she?"

"Remy…"

This was it. He'd hear it now. It hadn't worked out. How could he believe it would?

"What?"

Her hands had been behind her back, but then she brought them to the front:

"Please don't tell her I borrowed her jacket! She said no, but it really matches my new jeans, you know?"

"Ha…" Was all he could say, staring at the brown piece of clothing.

"I'll return it tonight, I promise! Just don't tell her!"

Kitty placed her index finger over her lips, with all the seriousness in her expression as she was talking about national security. Then she looked to both sides of the hallway again and left, down the opposite direction Remy had came from.

He looked to the floor, still savoring what he had just heard.

The air he breathed became suddenly lighter and fresher. She was… okay?

Then, to his left, he heard steps approaching.

The pace, the sound they made, it was all familiar.

So he looked in that direction.

Someone emerged from the corner at the end of the hallway.

Even from the distance, he could see her smile: small at first, then a little wider and then a big one. She looked down and then to the front again, as she approached, raising a brow at him when she was close enough.

It was fair to say never in his entirely life had Remy LeBeau been speechless.

"Lookin' for someone?" she questioned him, taking a glimpse at her bedroom's door.

Seeing this face as he went back in time had been temporally reliving. But seeing it now, beautiful and lively… was unbeatable.

Finally, he managed to pronounce some words that made sense:

"Coincidentally, oui".

"Oh, yeah? An' who would that be? Remy…?!"

After having been separated by death, odds and time, he thought he wouldn't let 3 or 4 feet kept her away from him. Maybe she would protest, or push him away, he'd deal with that later. So he wrapped his arms around her and brought her against his chest, for the first time ever, after all the time they had spent together, the dinners they had cooked and the infomercials they had laughed at.

She was a little tense the first couple of seconds, but then he felt her relax and hide her face against him, laughing, when two of the youngest kids in the institute passed by and threw a "uuuuuuuh!" at them, to then leave snickering.

They stayed like that a little more, only feeling the other's warmth and presence.

"Hun" she said at last, placing a gloved hand at the side of his face, brushing his stubble: "Yah okay?"

"Sure" he hurried to say: "I was just takin' a nap and I think I was havin' a bad dream 'bout, y' know, the other day".

"Yeah…"
"But y're okay." He said this more to himself than to her, as he kept his arms around her.

"Course Ah am, thanks to Logan. Ah don't know how he got there, but Ah sure appreciate it".

Remy nodded several times, raising his brows: "Right. I appreciate it too".

"Ah mean… it was still pretty messed up. Ah mean, in a way Ah did die, don't yah think?"
"Don't matter. What matters is that y're here". All of a sudden, he felt like saying something. After second guessing for few instants, he realized it'd be stupid not to say it, after all of this: "Chere, had I ever told y' that… I love y'?"

The way she smiled there, disarmed him: "Only 'bout a hundred times since I kind of resurrected":

"Ah, oui? So y' counted them?"

"Maybe".

"An' what did y' say to me?" Maybe it was pushing his luck too much, but he was in a state of not giving a damn about logic.

"Rem…" she got tense again: "Yah know 'bout my power an'…"

"Shush, non, I don't care 'bout that, don't wanna hear it…"

"But…"

"We'll figure that out later on. Let's just enjoy this day for what it is. For what we got now, that is, y' an' me. 'kay?"

She seemed a little hesitant, but finally gave in:

"Okay. In that case, I wanna say it again too".

"Say what?"

"Ah mean, yah're right, Ah guess we don't know when we'll be here ann when we'll get wiped away from the face of the Earth, just like that. So we better say what we feel when we have the chance".

"Agreed". She kept smiling and nodding, so he continued: "An' what y' wanted to say was…?"

"That Ah love yah too, swamp boy".

She rested her face against his chest again, so he could kiss and caress the crown of her head with his fingers. They had never been this close, at least not that he knew of; who knew what had happened these three or four days that weren't in his memory. Anyway, whatever it was, seemed to be good.

"Hey" she looked up at him: "What yah say we cook that gumbo?"

All of a sudden, he realized he was hungry. "Y' mean I cook the gumbo an' y' watch?"

She opened her mouth in disbelief: "How dare yah! I'm a good cook!"

"Oui but gumbo's my specialty cherie, sorry".

"'Kay, I'll be your assistant then, how 'bout that?"

"Can't complain!"

"Okay, so let's go buy the ingredients. Ah'll go get my bag an' coat".

"Alright".

She was about to enter her room and close the door but he hadn't moved:

"Remy?"

"Oui?"

He was still mesmerized, like he didn't want to be more than the strictly necessary inch or two away from her.

"Yah should put some shoes on".

"True, I'll go do that".

She gave him another smile before closing the door.

He walked towards his bedroom like in a dream. It surely looked like that: her dead body in the med bay, beating Scott up, the bottles of alcohol he gulped one after the other, the funeral, God, the coffin… it all seemed like a nightmare now. It was so strange because he was the only one to remember, to know all of that. Should he tell her? He didn't see the point of it now. Maybe later. Way later. Or never at all.

"Cajun."

He heard a voice behind his back when he was about to enter his bedroom. He must have still been so astonished, that his guard was off.

"Logan" he said with a nod.

Wolverine went straight to the point: "Takes a lot to earn my respect", then offered a hand shake.

Remy had no idea how much or how little he had told him or the elf. But who cared.

They shook hands and as the Canadian walked away, he thought that was his way of saying "you've indeed got my respect, well done". It was more than he could have aspired for when he came to live in the mansion, and not because he cared, but because he knew Logan was important for Rogue.

Shoes and trench coat on, and five minutes later, he was knocking on Rogue's door again.

"Couldn't find my brown jacket, that's weird" she said, wearing a black one.

Remy chuckled in his inside. He owed Kitty a lot, even if she didn't know it, so he would keep that little secret for her.

They would walk to the groceries store that was almost a mile away from the mansion. They just felt like walking that day.

"Y' know what, chere?" He said, as they exited the perimeter of the institute: "I'ma hold your hand now".

"Really? An' we're gonna… walk like that, like movie characters?"

"Exactly, like a boyfriend – girlfriend kind of thing".

"Oh, wow."

He could see the way she was trying not to smile.

"So? May I?"

"Yah just said yah would, so…"

"Well, I'm askin' your permission".

"Aw, that's so… thoughtful, all right, yeah, why not?"

"'Why not'?"

"Why not?"

The sky was grey but there was still green around, in the trees and grass that extended on both sides of the street. But those greens were dull and they paled completely, in front of the one in her eyes. In her two pupils that were as bright and alive as ever.

END.

Note: Hi everyone! Okay, about the previous chap (N° 8), I have to say that coming up with all that stuff was a little complicated for me, because I felt like there were a lot of rough edges. I mean, I had to plan it all well so there would be no plot holes. And few days ago, I found one. Damn. But it's too late now so well, if you find it, let's remember I'm only human XD and that even Hollywood movies have plot holes, so yeah. I'm planning on fixing it anyway because it's in chapter 1.

Note 2: OMG my eyes are kind of teary after this ending. I enjoyed so much writing this fic and I feel like I could put it in words, just as I had it on my mind. That doesn't always happen. THANKS so much for reading and reviewing, for being patient through Rogue's many deaths (lol) and for taking this journey with me. I guess this is the magic in writing: imagining, creating, sharing, interacting, and enjoying. Thanks again!