xp_logs | Log: Remy/Ororo

Just because you work in intelligence doesn't make you intelligent.

The food was cold. Granted, it was only take-out, but Ororo couldn't have been more annoyed if she had slaved over a hot stove herself to make it. Fighting her way through traffic to get into the city was not her idea of an afternoon well-spent, nor was having to wait in Remy's apartment for him to be able to get away to see her. If it had been the first time this was a problem, perhaps she wouldn't have been quite so put out, but this had been a pattern for months now, and even the weather witch's infinite patience was beginning to wear thin.

Despite his assurances that it would only be 'a few more minutes, chere', Ororo decided to head out into the city to entertain herself, and perhaps seek out some food that wasn't congealing. She was just gathering up her things when she heard the doorknob turn, signaling Remy's arrival. Her preparations to depart did not halt.

"Sorry I'm late, chere." Remy said distractedly, coming through the door. As always, there was a stack of files under his arm, which got deposited on the coffee table before the Cajun even looked around. Remy typically worked at home in the evenings, but what had been only a few time sensitive issues had grown into larger piles of notes and reports from the field. What had been supposed to be a few minutes had turned into three-quarters of an hour.

Remy shrugged out of his coat, and noticed her putting hers on. "Um, are we going out now?"

"I would imagine you are not, as you obviously have work to do; I, however, am." Her tone was cold, though her expression was perfectly neutral to look at. "There is food on the table, or I will bring some back for you. It is your choice."

"I thought dat we were eating together tonight." Remy said, almost puzzled by the tone. He didn't think he'd done anything wrong lately. He certainly wasn't running around with anyone else, and hadn't missed her birthday.

"As did I." Ororo finished putting her coat on, shouldering her bag and turning to face her partner. There was nothing to be gained from being passive-aggressive except for a petty sense of satisfaction, but that wasn't what she wanted. "I cannot sit here all evening waiting for you, Remy. I understand that you are busy but when I come all this way it would be nice to be able to see you."

"I would have been home, but dere's a situation developing in India dat I need to stay on top of. Sometimes things come up, like dis report 'bout Indonesia starting some kind of secret talks wit' dere counterparts in North Korea and India. What do dey have to talk 'bout and-"

"I know," Ororo cut in, interrupting his stream of reasonable excuses. Unfortunately, she didn't feel like being reasonable. "And I grant you that it is important. But is our time together not also important?"

"Remy never said dat it wasn't!" LeBeau blurted out. "But Wisdom's not back, I've got barely enough trained people to cover two-thirds of what we need and dat means I've got to be de one to pick up de slack. We going to miss something and de only way dat I can keep it getting worse is to be on top of things."

Ororo sighed, turning away again to look out the window. The sky was still light, despite the evening hour, and clouds streaking the horizon looked as if they were threatening to break over some distant part of the city. "You are over-extending yourself, Remy. You cannot do everything. If you try to, you will only end up disappointing yourself. Asking yourself and the others to keep to this pace is unrealistic and cruel. Do you really think you can keep this up indefinitely?"

"What's de option, 'ro? Let some bastard get away wit' selling mutant children because I want to put my feet up? Say dat dis genocide is going to have to slip through de cracks because I have plans tonight?" Remy shot back hotly, and immediately regretted the words. He was smart enough to know that the strain of the increased workload was too much, but he didn't know how to put it down, and now he'd just made Ororo pay for his frustration.

"No, that would be wrong. And I certainly would not ask you to do that because of me. Just do not ask me to sit back and watch you do this to yourself; I cannot." Ororo understood the demands of a high-pressure, life-consuming job. One of the reasons she and Remy had made things work was because they both led that sort of life and understood the sacrifices that had to be made sometimes. But when sometimes turned into months and maybe turned into definitely it was impossible to ignore. "I want to be here for you, Remy. I want to help. But I cannot, not if you continue on this way. Go back to your work - I will show myself out."

"But--" Remy said, too stunned to respond. Ororo was right, and she was also walking out the door. He didn't know what to say, and as the door closed, realised that was his problem. Not that he didn't know what to say, but that he'd somewhere had forgotten to listen. He looked at the cartons of food, the stacks of paper, and sighed.

"You idiot." He muttered to himself. He wanted to go after Ororo now, but overrode the impulse. If he didn't want to make the same mistake, the first thing he had to do was think about them, and all the things he'd been selfishly pushing off or not really listening to before trying to make things right. With a sigh, he began to clean up his apartment, really considering what she'd been saying, and trying to figure out a way to prove that he understood.