Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I making any money from, the X-Men
characters. Thank you to Corrinth for the loan of Ilehana Xavier. Blaze is,
always has been, and forever will be mine, so there!
A/N: Okay here goes with the final part of my 'Dark' trilogy. Thanks are due to all my readers and reviewers over the past two stories, and I hope that this next one exceeds your expectations! Enjoy and don't forget to review!
Scene 1
Sidney, Australia, five years previous...
The eighteen-year-old girl danced. Arms stretched high, red curls bouncing about her shoulders, brown eyes half shut. She lived the music as it pounded relentlessly through the nightclub. She didn't see that so many of the men around admired her as she moved, but he did.
He didn't know what to think of her these days. She'd grown so much since he first met her; she was in fact a different person. Yeah, sure some of it was related to the development and complete suppression of her mutant power, and more was due to his training of her as a thief, his protégée. But he could account for those things; this was something else.
A man approached her, and Gambit felt a stab of envy. He always did, though he knew Blaze could never let any relationship last. She was too scared that she might get too emotional, too involved, that her red-hot power might kill again if she lost control even for a moment. That was how they'd met, how he'd saved her. She'd been angry, afraid, and she had killed three men. Right now though she just smiled and soulfully shook her head at the man who wanted to buy her a drink. Not right now, she was dancing...
Eventually, as the single, lonely bottle of beer grew warm on the tabletop in front of the Cajun, she remembered he was still there. Grinning she beckoned him to come dance with her, just tonight. He shook his head, Remy le Beau didn't dance, and while a presumptuous Aussie belle from another table came to ask him his name, he lost sight of Blaze completely.
It was the early hours when Blaze and Gambit left the club, music still throbbing away under the streetlights behind them. Blaze hummed as she danced rather than walked along besides him. She had a terrible voice, but she sure could move. Suddenly Gambit was inordinately aware of how close she was to him, how elegantly her eyelashes brushed her cheeks, how soft her lips looked as she took a breath of cold night air...
Remy tripped and stumbled, swearing in French. What was wrong with him tonight? Blaze didn't laugh, dropping her arms to her sides and frowning at him, concerned. It was the worst thing she could have done. Pulling her to his body in a sudden flush of adrenaline he pressed his lips against hers. How dare she be so beautiful and not be his?
Blaze pulled back from her friend's kiss, confused, worried about him. Women had always surrounded him, and he'd never shown any interest in her before. In fact Blaze had become so like him herself, with many, even multiple partners but with none meaning anything really to her, just to keep her feelings for Remy as far from her having to admit them as possible. And now he dared to kiss her?
"Don't touch me, le Beau." She warned as an early morning jogger ran past along the quayside, and the sun threatened to creep over the horizon. "Don't do anything you wont want me to tell you about when you're sober and don't remember a thing."
"Jamais..." He muttered, meaning never, he'd never do that. Blaze didn't believe him, forcefully pushed him away.
"Don't you dare start that crap on me! How can you try this, haven't you known me long enough or something? I've had a great night and now you want to ruin it by playing the drunken idiot? Get lost Rem, I'll walk myself home!" Blaze wriggled free of his grasping after her and stormed off into the electric night, shoe heels clicking on the sidewalk, tears falling down her cheeks. How could he do this to her, especially when he wouldn't remember when she spoke to him next?
Feeling a complete idiote, humiliated and scared stupid that something would happen to his friend on her way back to her apartment Gambit followed her at a discrete distance. Only when she was in the building and the light flicked on in her top floor room did he make his own way back to his less sumptuous pad. The one beer in his stomach suddenly felt very lonely. He hadn't meant to act the fool, but something had changed in Blaze recently. He guessed it was all that firepower, stored up inside her, making her seductive, beautiful like fire itself, eyes glowing like candle flames, skin glowing with radiance...
He'd been in love before; been so serious about a girl he couldn't think of anything else but her. She'd been his best friend, even though their 'families', their crime syndicates were at war. He'd run away from that. Could he run away from Blaze? Did things even have to get that bad? She thought he'd been drunk tonight, he could live with that. She wouldn't mention it ever again if he didn't; she had that much respect for him. He could never fall in love again like he had with Belladonna...
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Airport Arrivals, present day...
Scott Summers paced the arrival lounge like some kind of captured animal. The clock on the arrivals board ticked over slowly, agonisingly. Okay, Storm had been right when she said he was leaving the mansion too early. Tsunami's flight still wasn't due in for half an hour, and then she had to get through customs and everything... Still he'd rather pace here than at the mansion with everyone glaring at him.
He'd met Tsunami that spring. She'd nearly killed Rogue, two policemen and himself whilst under bizarre mind control that made her think she was a resurrected goddess. Only when the X-Men had broken that control did the slight, shy but bubbly secretary from Hong Kong realise what she had been doing. It had been Scott who'd got her to reverse the effects of her powers, drawing the water she controlled out of the lungs of the policemen and saving their lives. They'd stayed in touch ever since, always with the intention of Sun coming back to visit soon. And now they were a short half hour away from seeing each other again. He hoped Jean would approve, but he needed to get on with his life now.
"Hey, man." A little wimpy voice came from by Scott's elbow. "You a mutant? You smell like a mutant. You a mutant?" The speaker, a short, hairy, ratty- looking guy, rambled on quickly, obviously nervous.
"Yeah, I'm a mutant. You need help or something?" Cyclops replied quietly, not wanting the whole airport to hear.
"You wanna buy some ace? I got ace for sale, good prices." The little man looked warily form side to side as he spoke, not looking at Scott directly.
"I don't know what that is, but it sounds illegal. I'm not interested okay, so scat."
"Please buy some, man? Only my boss'll fry me if I don't make a sale right now. It's a good price, my ace, good stuff."
"Get out of here before I call security. And don't hassle me again, okay?" Scott had no patience with the dealer, scary boss or no scary boss. Chances were he's got himself in this situation anyway. The p.a. announced that the Hong Kong flight was landing now, and Cyclops forgot all about the ratty- man and his ace for sale as he rushed to buy flowers and chocolates before Tsunami appeared...
A/N: Okay here goes with the final part of my 'Dark' trilogy. Thanks are due to all my readers and reviewers over the past two stories, and I hope that this next one exceeds your expectations! Enjoy and don't forget to review!
Scene 1
Sidney, Australia, five years previous...
The eighteen-year-old girl danced. Arms stretched high, red curls bouncing about her shoulders, brown eyes half shut. She lived the music as it pounded relentlessly through the nightclub. She didn't see that so many of the men around admired her as she moved, but he did.
He didn't know what to think of her these days. She'd grown so much since he first met her; she was in fact a different person. Yeah, sure some of it was related to the development and complete suppression of her mutant power, and more was due to his training of her as a thief, his protégée. But he could account for those things; this was something else.
A man approached her, and Gambit felt a stab of envy. He always did, though he knew Blaze could never let any relationship last. She was too scared that she might get too emotional, too involved, that her red-hot power might kill again if she lost control even for a moment. That was how they'd met, how he'd saved her. She'd been angry, afraid, and she had killed three men. Right now though she just smiled and soulfully shook her head at the man who wanted to buy her a drink. Not right now, she was dancing...
Eventually, as the single, lonely bottle of beer grew warm on the tabletop in front of the Cajun, she remembered he was still there. Grinning she beckoned him to come dance with her, just tonight. He shook his head, Remy le Beau didn't dance, and while a presumptuous Aussie belle from another table came to ask him his name, he lost sight of Blaze completely.
It was the early hours when Blaze and Gambit left the club, music still throbbing away under the streetlights behind them. Blaze hummed as she danced rather than walked along besides him. She had a terrible voice, but she sure could move. Suddenly Gambit was inordinately aware of how close she was to him, how elegantly her eyelashes brushed her cheeks, how soft her lips looked as she took a breath of cold night air...
Remy tripped and stumbled, swearing in French. What was wrong with him tonight? Blaze didn't laugh, dropping her arms to her sides and frowning at him, concerned. It was the worst thing she could have done. Pulling her to his body in a sudden flush of adrenaline he pressed his lips against hers. How dare she be so beautiful and not be his?
Blaze pulled back from her friend's kiss, confused, worried about him. Women had always surrounded him, and he'd never shown any interest in her before. In fact Blaze had become so like him herself, with many, even multiple partners but with none meaning anything really to her, just to keep her feelings for Remy as far from her having to admit them as possible. And now he dared to kiss her?
"Don't touch me, le Beau." She warned as an early morning jogger ran past along the quayside, and the sun threatened to creep over the horizon. "Don't do anything you wont want me to tell you about when you're sober and don't remember a thing."
"Jamais..." He muttered, meaning never, he'd never do that. Blaze didn't believe him, forcefully pushed him away.
"Don't you dare start that crap on me! How can you try this, haven't you known me long enough or something? I've had a great night and now you want to ruin it by playing the drunken idiot? Get lost Rem, I'll walk myself home!" Blaze wriggled free of his grasping after her and stormed off into the electric night, shoe heels clicking on the sidewalk, tears falling down her cheeks. How could he do this to her, especially when he wouldn't remember when she spoke to him next?
Feeling a complete idiote, humiliated and scared stupid that something would happen to his friend on her way back to her apartment Gambit followed her at a discrete distance. Only when she was in the building and the light flicked on in her top floor room did he make his own way back to his less sumptuous pad. The one beer in his stomach suddenly felt very lonely. He hadn't meant to act the fool, but something had changed in Blaze recently. He guessed it was all that firepower, stored up inside her, making her seductive, beautiful like fire itself, eyes glowing like candle flames, skin glowing with radiance...
He'd been in love before; been so serious about a girl he couldn't think of anything else but her. She'd been his best friend, even though their 'families', their crime syndicates were at war. He'd run away from that. Could he run away from Blaze? Did things even have to get that bad? She thought he'd been drunk tonight, he could live with that. She wouldn't mention it ever again if he didn't; she had that much respect for him. He could never fall in love again like he had with Belladonna...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Airport Arrivals, present day...
Scott Summers paced the arrival lounge like some kind of captured animal. The clock on the arrivals board ticked over slowly, agonisingly. Okay, Storm had been right when she said he was leaving the mansion too early. Tsunami's flight still wasn't due in for half an hour, and then she had to get through customs and everything... Still he'd rather pace here than at the mansion with everyone glaring at him.
He'd met Tsunami that spring. She'd nearly killed Rogue, two policemen and himself whilst under bizarre mind control that made her think she was a resurrected goddess. Only when the X-Men had broken that control did the slight, shy but bubbly secretary from Hong Kong realise what she had been doing. It had been Scott who'd got her to reverse the effects of her powers, drawing the water she controlled out of the lungs of the policemen and saving their lives. They'd stayed in touch ever since, always with the intention of Sun coming back to visit soon. And now they were a short half hour away from seeing each other again. He hoped Jean would approve, but he needed to get on with his life now.
"Hey, man." A little wimpy voice came from by Scott's elbow. "You a mutant? You smell like a mutant. You a mutant?" The speaker, a short, hairy, ratty- looking guy, rambled on quickly, obviously nervous.
"Yeah, I'm a mutant. You need help or something?" Cyclops replied quietly, not wanting the whole airport to hear.
"You wanna buy some ace? I got ace for sale, good prices." The little man looked warily form side to side as he spoke, not looking at Scott directly.
"I don't know what that is, but it sounds illegal. I'm not interested okay, so scat."
"Please buy some, man? Only my boss'll fry me if I don't make a sale right now. It's a good price, my ace, good stuff."
"Get out of here before I call security. And don't hassle me again, okay?" Scott had no patience with the dealer, scary boss or no scary boss. Chances were he's got himself in this situation anyway. The p.a. announced that the Hong Kong flight was landing now, and Cyclops forgot all about the ratty- man and his ace for sale as he rushed to buy flowers and chocolates before Tsunami appeared...