Gambit, fingers idly tracing the lettering and images upon the aged surfaces of his playing cards, was more attuned to silence than anything else, having been mysteriously left to his own devices for the better portion of the day by a seemingly flushed, nervous Ororo, her hurried words still echoing in his head hours after she'd gone.
And when Gambit was left alone, he got bored, and that boredom usually resulted in a few catastrophes that one or more of the academy students was left to discover, wide-eyed and silently shocked as the culprit sullenly hung in a corner of the room, an apologetic grin plastered to his face. Remy didn't think that Storm would like to come back home and find the living room in shambles, so he restricted his actions and movements, opting to lie down on the couch and take a nap for a few minutes.
Apparently having underestimated his previous exhaustion, Gambit woke hours later to the muffled sound of voices in the other room, the hushed, excited chattering of young students, and he thought he heard Ororo's silky whispers every now and then, too.
Struggling to a sitting position, he strained to focus in on the conversations, and smiled when his girlfriend's warm laughter drifted into the commons area from the kitchen, the sound of her light voice making him grin. Stretching his arms, Gambit was about to sneak into the kitchen and see what all the fuss was about, but Storm slipped out of the double doors and made her grand entrance, beaming from ear to ear as she tip-toed across the hardwood, only to find that Remy was already headed her way.
Disappointed, Storm let her smile fall just a fraction, and threw her hands behind her back so fast that he couldn't tell what had been grasped within her fingers. Shoveling his cards in his pocket, he shifted on his feet, and started toward her suspiciously, smiling teasingly as she blinked innocently at him.
"What?" Storm questioned lightly, her snowy hair flipped up at the ends and her dark eyes shadowed by the dim lighting, throwing her sultry smile in gilded darkness as he sidled up to her to circle his fingers around her half hidden elbows. Squirming out of his hold, she laughed amusedly, and skirted away from his reach, careful not to reveal her back to him. Without his trademark leather jacket, Gambit felt lighter, and he rushed forward faster than he normally would have to wrap his arms about the mutant's waist, smiling as his dark hair fell in front of his eyes.
She tenderly reached up to brush a lock out of his face and he used the distraction as an opportunity to snatch what she was holding from her hand, whipping it around to fully see it. It was a gift, small and wrapped with careful fingers, silver paper stretched tautly around it. Glancing up at her, Remy smiled fondly, throat bobbing.
"I...thought you'd forgotten," he murmured slowly, and Storm pursed her lips and brought her lithe arms up to snake around his neck.
"I'd never forget your birthday," she whispered lovingly, and gestured to the kitchen door behind her, "They're all waiting for you, you know-ready to surprise you."
The delicate corners of her lips curled up enticingly, and he dipped his head down to capture her mouth in his, smiling against her skin as her body heat warmed him to the core. Drawing away, he clutched the present in his hands, thumb running over the blue bow atop the paper, and shook his head, eyes glinting in the darkness.
"Thank you, Ororo," he said gratefully, and her hold on his neck loosened as she dropped her hand to his, tugging him away from the room to venture into the crowded, excited kitchen, laughter and 'Happy Birthday's echoing all around them.
Please R&R! Feedback of any kind is always appreciated! ;)
Some Gambit and Storm requested by Beanie McChimp. I didn't want to do another holiday fic, so I went with a birthday one, instead. xD
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