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There was not a drop of doubt in his heart. Remy LeBeau was the luckiest man alive.
Others may try and vie for the title. So be it. He held onto it comfortably and without any real competition. It didn’t matter what others had endured, what they had been granted by the grace of God above. In this hard, cold world, Remy had gotten his Anna Marie. And he knew for damn sure no one else on planet Earth or beyond could say the same.
The team at Haven House came close enough, fine. They were lucky to have Rogue as their Queen. She sure ruled the place like one. She whipped the kids into shape and she expected to be treated with a certain amount of regality by the rest of the team. But she certainly pulled her weight! Did her chores, did her share of leading the training, and definitely did her share of the drinking, even with Wolverine around. But despite it all everyone knew she was something else. Their shining star. Their leader and the backbone of the Louisiana X-Men.
But she was only one man’s wife. One man’s heart, one man’s soulmate. It was Remy that had been chosen for this honour, and he treated it with the appreciation such an honour required. No doubt about it.
“Hotoru! Come on, now, pick up the pace!” she was yelling, and everybody was listening. She really knew how to get to people.
“Hey! He’s trying his best!” claimed Ransom, earning himself a nasty glare.
“Is that talk-back Ah’m hearin’?”
“No, ma’am!”
“That’s what ah thought!”
Really, there was little that the rest of the team had to do. For the most part, they watched on in fascination as Rogue did what she did best. She’d been on the X-Men far longer than Remy, so of course, he was more than happy to trust her word. But even if she hadn’t been, he’d do the same. She knew better than him when it came to most matters.
No, no. All matters. Usually when she was wrong and he was not, something definitely wasn’t quite right. Alternate universes and all-encompassing illusion spells. That sorta thing.
After leading practice like this, she’d be exhausted. Not physically, never. No, no, it took some real work to wear a woman like her out. This was this mental kind of exhaustion. The type of exhaustion that came with satisfaction. The type of exhaustion that made your heart swell as you watched the kids you set on the right path begin to build one of their own.
She was stretched out on a chair on the porch, feet against the wooden railing surrounding it. Her eyes were lazily moving this way and that, taking in the sight of the kids chasing one another around as Kurt took charge of their drills. They were giggling the whole time. He had a way of making this type of thing fun.
She was half-asleep when Remy drew close. He lightly tapped her shoulder. Skin-to-material, their special kind of close touch.
She looked up through her tangle of hair. She’d never looked more beautiful.
“For you, m’lady” – he presented a glass of lemonade like a wedding ring.
“Ma’ knight in shinin’ armour.”
He leaned against the wall next to her. A lot of the time, he thought as though he was made for this. Crafted with the sole purpose of completing this incredible woman just as she completed him. Out of the billions on this planet, the billions of billions out there in the great expanse of space, he had found her. The other half of his severed soul. How could other people exist without this? How could they eat and drink and breathe, without a point to it all?
“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Cajun?”
She’d caught him grinning. He grinned a little more. “Just a lady.”
“Oh, is that right?”
“Mhm.”
“Who’s this lady?”
“She’s…”
It was a stunning day. Bright and warm and full of life. The type of day that makes you appreciate being on this Earth. Could have been born on some cold, harsh moon. Or worse, in a Shi’ar imperial court. Nightmare.
But Remy was here. Right here. Where he belonged, with his soul intact.
“She’s real kind,” he said. “She’s real sweet. She’s got a way with the typ’a kids dat get lost, and need a hand to get found again. She’s stunnin’ and strong. She’s a gift to this world.”
“Careful, lover. You’ll make me jealous.”
“Gambit may be a thief, but he ain’t a liar.” He threw his hands up. “She’s a hero. A real one. Savin’ lives the old-fashioned way and all the other ways that matter. There’s no other girl quite like her. She’s special.”
“Mm… Is she, now?”
“Real special.”
“Ya wanna come over here and show me just how much?”
Sometimes he thought they were carved from the same clay, too. Whatever had made them designed them to fit in every way. If she had never found a way to control her powers, by God, he would have found found a way to resist that sting instead. Her lips were meant for his. Her hands were made to pull at his clothes and travel his neck, the back of his head. He nearly fell over himself, scrambling for the chair she sat on.
“Bit too eager, Cajun!”
“You gonna draw me in then blame me like dat?”
He felt her laughter through another kiss. It made his chest vibrate. She bit his bottom lip, then pushed him away.
“You go on and get me another one of them lemonades,” she said. “And we’ll see about lettin’ you have a little more.”
“You’re a cruel mistress.”
“Ah’m a fair one.”
She gave him a coy smile and a tiny wave. An invitation like this, Remy could not resist. He was a simple man with simple needs, and with a heart full of the sort of love that drowned you. It swirled like a fog over his mind. He could think of only one thing, of one woman that defined so many parts of him he could not imagine another life.
He lingered by the front door, watching her. The way the sun shone on her head as if it was made just to serve as a spotlight for her. The way her curls danced on her shoulders when she laughed. The way she curled her leg towards herself, placing her chin on her knee.
She felt him watching her. She’d feel his presence across a room, across a town, across a continent if need be. Their hearts sought one another out through resonance. Her eyes were made to meet his.
She winked. Blew him a kiss. He made a gesture of catching it, then finally slipped inside.
Yes, indeed. Remy LeBeau was the luckiest man alive.