All rights belong to Marvel and Liz Phair
"I wasted your time, didn't I?" Rogue asked, looking at her cup of coffee, but clearly addressing the Cajun sitting across from her.
"What do ya mean, cher?" Gambit replied, equal measures of annoyance and confusion in his voice.
"All that time together, on and off, year after year – and when I finally got my powers and my mind under control, I throw in the towel."
"Sums it up," he bitterly replied.
"Any that's the reason why we aren't even friends anymore." A slight quiver in her voice clued him in to her distress.
"We're still friends. Look here, we're talking over morning coffee. Dat's what friends do, right?" He plastered on a charming grin.
She finally looked up from her drink. "I miss you. So badly."
All pretense fell from his face. "I miss you, too." He looked into the eyes that he had loved for so long. He still loved them, still loved her, but he wondered if she still felt the same. If somewhere along the line she stopped loving him, even being his friend. "When did you let go of me?" He asked softly.
"I didn't. Couldn't. Just pretended I did because I couldn't fight anymore. It was killing me."
He gave a bitter bark of laughter. "We sure could fight, couldn't we?" His eyes became distant, recounting all the times they had broken one another's heart. "So where do we go from here?" he finally asked.
She shrugged. "I'm still waiting for you to answer my first question."
"'Bout wasting my time?"
"Yeah. Wasted a whole lot of it, and I know you aren't a patient man."
"An' still I waited years fo' you."
"And I waited years for you."
He paused. "You didn't waste my time, Anna. Wouldn't take those years back for anything. Now answer my question."
"Where do we go from here? Don't know. I know that I don't have the heart to try one more false start in life."
He gave her a gentle smile and put his hand on her gloved hand. "Have dinner with me, chere. As friends, of course." She smiled and nodded. He smirked and continued, "and if anything more happens, so be it."
She rolled her eyes, "Keep dreamin', Gumbo."
He smiled lecherously at her, "Oh, I will, I will."