Remy Lebeau stepped into the bar. Letting the humid night air in as he opened the door.What kind of name was Sunnydale?  The town was certainly not sunny. The town had more cemeteries then houses.

He walked through the crowded, noisy bar, passing chatting people as he went. He looked for a place to sit and his red-on-black eyes landed on her.  She couldn't have been much more than twenty-one.  She was a pretty girl, with long blonde hair and blue eyes.

He shook his head. What was he thinking? He hadn't noticed a woman since he started his trip. He had been traveling for nearly three months, with no destination in mind. Just traveling without a map. Gambling and playing pool here and there when his cash ran short. He would stay in cheap motels, sometimes staying in the city or town for a few days. But no more then a week. Never a week. Not long enough incase one of his former team members tried to find him.

No one ever found him.

As much as he wanted to get away from the X-men, wanted to forget his years there, he always thought of them. There was never a night where he didn't think of at least one of them and every night he thought of her. Of Rogue. He thought and dreamed of the women he loved for the past few years, her hair, her eyes, her body, what her touch must be like. And he thought of how much she hurt him, stabbed him in the back, and yet he was still in love with her. Or was he? She never said she was sorry for what she did. The bitch. He hated her.

Love was the bitch.

But at the moment he wasn't thinking of Rogue. He was thinking of the blonde haired women who sat on a bar stool, her back to him. He noticed how her hair fell around her shoulders. A shining girl. A pretty girl.

He saw that the seat next to her was empty. Without bothering to look for another one, he steeped forward and took the seat next to her. He ordered a beer and went through two before looking at her from the corner of his eye. He blue eyes were full of saddess and he could feel it. What could a pretty girl like her had to be sad about? He wondered.  

She must  have seen him because she looked up from her glass and smiled a little. He smiled back."The name's Remy." He said holding out his hand hoping that she would take it. She did. "Tara. Tara McClay." She said. Her voice was pretty too.

"Your not from here." Tara said.

"No, cher, I'm not." He answered.

"Where from?"  She asked.

"New Orleans. Although it's been sometime since I've been." How many years? He couldn't remember. 

"Oh. I've never been there."

"It's a great city."

"I've heard it is." She took a few sips of his drink and Remy did the same to his. "What brings you to Sunnydale?" She asked not looking away from her drink.

"Just passing through."

"LA's only three hours away from here." She said.

"I'll keep that in mind." He ordered another beer and she ordered another drink.

"Are you from here?" Remy asked her. She shook his head. 

"I moved here a few years ago. To go to school." Remy tried not look puzzled. What could this town have to offer? She must have sensed what he was thinking. She chuckled and said,

"I know what Sunnydale must appear like. But it's really not that bad." He could sense she wasn't telling the whole truth. He didn't push it.

"I'll take your word for it, cher."

They drank in uncomfortable silence. They didn't say anything until he was on his fourth beer. Or maybe it was fifth? He lost count.

"Can I ask you something? Something that might seem personal?"

"Depends on what it is, cher."

"Umm...your eyes. They aren't...normal." She looked down at her lap, her hair falling over her cheek, perhaps embarrassed by her question.

"I'm not excatly normal." He repiled.

"I..I...di-didn't mean to offend you. It's okay, about your eyes. I mean, I'm not normal myself. I've seen things that people wouldn't believe that I've seen." He wondered what she meant. Could she be a muntant as well or did she mean something else? He had seen plenty of non-muntant things in his life. Weird things. Un-human things.

"I didn't offend you did I?" She asked. Her eyes were back to the sad look Remy had seen earlier. He reached over and placed his hand ontop of hers. What was making him do this? Maybe it was the he had beer.

Liar. A voice told him. You like her.

She tensed up but didn't pull away. "No. You didn't." He pulled his hand away but she didn't relax. She drank the rest of her drink and put it down. "I'm bi." She blurted out. Remy blinked. He didn't see that coming. He watched her blush. "I'm sorry. I guess I've had too much to drink." He wanted to make her feel better. Not feel so uncomfortable.

"It's fine, cher. I don't care."

"Why do you keep calling that?" She asked.

"What? Cher? It's what I call all the pretty women I run into." He was flirting now and she blushed again.

"I don't think I'm pretty." More hair fell down in her face. "You're right, you're not." He reached up and moved the hair away. "You're gorgeous." The ends of her mouth curled into a smile, but not a full smile.

"When I told you I was passing through, it wasn't the full truth." Remy admited.

"Oh."

"I'm trying to get away from something, or someone. Her name's Rogue."

"What happened?" Tara asked.

"She betrayed me." Remy said. It was more or less fact. Tara's eyes filled with understanding.

"My ex did the same."

"It seems we have something in common,cher. "

 "It appears we do." They both looked each other in the eye. "Would you like get out of here, Tara?" He used her name for the first time tonight. She nodded. "Where?" She asked.

"Where ever you want to go."

"We could go The Bronze. It's a club or..." She bit her lip before speaking again. "Or we could go back to my place. It's not far from here. I could make some coffee."

"Coffee sounds great."

Her apartment was small and there weren't many things in it. The furniture was used and there was a tiny TV with a VCR sitting on the coffee table. He could see the kitchen from where he stood in the living room. Some of the cabinets didn't have any doors. The was another room blocked by a shower curtian. He supposed that was the bed room. The motel rooms he stayed in were better then this.  

"Sorry, it's not the best." She haded him the cup of coffee. "They don't have any spots opened in the dorms until next semester and I'm not here most of the time anyway."

"Where are you then?" He asked her.

"The library, mostly. Or the coffee shop. Or with a friend." She drank her coffee and sat the cup down on the table. "Do you know how long you are going to be here in Sunnydale." He shrugged. "Not really. I might hang around for a few days." He saw a clock on the wall. It read past one thrity.

"I should find somewhere to stay. Maybe we can meet for breakfast tomorrow?" He asked.

"You could come here and I can make pancakes. I make good pancakes. At least, that's what people tell me." She said.

"Sounds good." He turned to leave but felt a hand close around his. "Wait." She whispered. He turned back around and caught her eye.

"It..it really isn't safe out there. Y-you shouldn't go out there." He smiled at her concern and ran a hand over her cheek.

"I'll be fine. I can take care of myself." He assured her. She didn't let go of his hand. Remy felt different emotions from her suddenly. Confussion, desire, and hurt. All mixed together. He watched as her lips parted slightly about to say something, but then she closed them.

There was something urging him to kiss her. He pulled her closer and did so. Feeling her soft lips under his.He was surprised when she didn't pull away but made the kiss deeper. He put his hands on her hips and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him harder.

They kissed for what Remy felt must have been hours, barely stopping for air. Every kiss was filled with lust and desire and passion. Tara took a step back and looked over her shoulder towards the bedroom. Remy nodded and without any words exchanged between them, they went to into her bedroom.

As soon as they stepped into the room they were kissing again. The kisses were harder and fiercer then earlier. Falling back onto the bed, they tore into each other. Tara pushed his shirt up and once the shirt was off she ran her hands down his chest feeling his skin. He kissed his way down her neck, working the buttons on her blouse as quickly as he could.

Once all the buttons were undone, she threw her blouse off and starting to undo his belt. They kept kissing the whole time, not wanting to stop feeling the others touch. When his pants were finally off and he was left in nothing but his boxers, Remy grabbed the sides of her skirt and pulled it down.

Tara layed down on her back so he could get the skirt off all the way. When it was, Remy stared down her . She was a goddess in white lacy lingerie. He leaned down and placed kisses down her stomach. She arched into his touch and moaned. He ran a hand up her leg, feeling her soft skin.

He heard her gasp and before he could register what was happening until she was crawling away from him. "I'm sorry." She apologized. "I can't do this. I thought I could but I can't. I'm sorry. It's not you it's me. It's too soon." There were tears streaming down her face. All the desire was gone from her and was replaced by sheer panic. "I'm sorry. I'm so screwed up." She went get up from the bed but he reached out a hand and stopped her.

"It's alright cher." He told her. Remy kissed her on the cheek tasting the salt.

"C-could you j-just h-hold m-me?" She studdered. "Of course. Come here." He gathered her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and they settled back on the bed. Remy pulled the covers up to them and ran his fingers through her hair. Her breathing evened after a few mintues and he kissed her temple before giving himself up to the sand man.

He woke up to the smell of pancakes and coffee the next morning. When he entered the living room Tara looked up and smiled. "Good morning." She said.

"Good morning." He said back. They ate in mostly in silence, sometimes saying this or that every now and then.

"Have you decided where you are going to head to next?" She asked him.

"Not really. I'll just follow the road."

"When were you going to leave?"

"I was thinking now would be a good time.You know what they say. No time like the present." He stood up and she walked him up out to his car.

"If you're ever in Sunnydale again, you should stop by." She said.

"I'll be sure to do that." He said getting into his car.

He started the car up and pulled out of the parking lot. Remy looked back in his rear-view mirror and saw Tara was watching him drive away. The sun was shinning on her making him think of a Greek goddess.

He returned his eyes to the road and drove on.