Chapter 1: Alone
Remy LeBeau stared out from the danger room control annex watching as Scott Summers, the girl who liked to be known only as Rogue, Jean Grey, and Kurt Wagner were midway through a training exercise. Remy wished to be with them, it had been weeks since he'd had much chance to really practice any of his fighting skills, or anything else for that matter. He'd hurt his back two weeks earlier, during a confrontation with his adoptive sister which had ended up in an explosion in which a heavy wooden pillar had landed onto his back.
Although the pain was slowly going away, thanks to occasional physical therapy sessions and a lot of rest, he wasn't satisfied, and wouldn't be until he freely could be with the rest of the X-Men fighting in the danger room, and not watching them from behind a giant pane of glass.
He watched, rather intently, as Rogue flipped her away over obstacles and throwing her fists out at anything that came flying towards her. She looked dangerous. Remy supposed he had something to do with this – he always did have when it was Rogue and a bad mood. The night previous, Rogue and Jared had been fighting. Kitty Pryde had gotten involved, and was attacked for interfering – which was now why Kitty Pryde was recovering in the hospital wing rather than fighting with the other X-Men in the Danger Room.
"Are you paying attention, Gambit?" Ororo Munroe asked, she gestured to the control panel. This was one attempt in trying to involve Remy in the X-Men, by teaching him how to operate the danger room properly. He knew about as much about danger room programming as he did about religion…which was almost nearly absolutely nothing.
"Uhm, yes, sorry, Storm," Remy shook himself to his senses, and pretended to – for a moment – watch what she was doing.
"When the session ends…pulling down this lever here," Ororo gestured to the lever on the panel, "Will slow it down to a stop…if you wish to stop the danger room program instantly, give the lever a very hard pull quickly and it should stop at once."
Remy nodded, "can I try?" he asked, pretending to make some kind of effort knowing she would get icy with him if he didn't.
Ororo gestured to the lever again, giving a slow and steady nod.
Remy took hold of the lever handle, pulling down on it slowly, quite a lot of strength having to go into it. "Wow…why's this so hard to…pull?" he asked with a pant.
"Safety," Ororo explained, "Pushing it the other way will increase the exercise danger. With the lever so hard to move, this makes it almost impossible to accidentally nudge it to overdriven force," she explained.
Remy pulled the lever down all the way to the bottom, ending the danger room session, he watched as holograms vanished, leaving the X-Men standing in a very plain looking solid metal room. He stretched, "I think I've had enough learning for the day," he winced, his back still painful.
"I will teach you more tomorrow," Ororo explained softly. "6am, remember."
"Of course," Remy feigned a smile, and saluted her, then left.
He headed down the elevator, catching Rogue in the hallway just as she had been leaving the Danger Room. "Rogue!" he called out to her.
Rogue didn't even stop, she continued to walk.
Remy rushed after her, "Rogue…hey, stop…" he said softly, he put his hand gently around her upper left arm to stop her, she turned and looked at him, frowning a little.
"What?" she asked, her voice very bitter, her eyes dangerous.
Remy looked at her, her cold stare felt as if it were slicing into his flesh, seeing his bare soul with all its ugly truths. "I'm thinking of going to see Kitty in the hospital wing…I heard she's out of her coma…do you want—"
"I can't, I have lessons," Rogue remarked, she turned and walked on again, breaking her arm away from his grasp.
"Afterwards then?"
"I have to go somewhere."
Remy felt strange, he hadn't really had this kind of attitude from Rogue in a very long time. She hadn't been this way the night before. "Where you going?" Remy asked.
"None of your business," Rogue said, a lazy and slightly doleful tone spilling from her black lips.
"You won't find him…" Remy stood, "Ororo and Logan did a search last night, Chere, he be long gone. Get on with it," he said.
Rogue spun around, her eyes wide, "he'll be back! I'll bring him back!"
"You want to bring the guy who attacked your best friend back into our home? So, what, so he can attack someone again? Maybe this time even you!"
Rogue looked away, Remy could see at once that there was a slight sign on her face that she was remembering something, he could see that Jared had probably hurt her before.
"I don't have to a telepath to know the bastard been hurtin' you when he didn't get his way, Chere…" Remy drew his breath, the thought of Jared having hurt Rogue at all even accidentally made him want to kill him.
"It's none of your business…" she kept her eyes towards the floor, her dark makeup against her pale skin giving her an almost ghostly appearance.
Remy placed his hand upon her arm softly, "Cherie…I…never hurt you like he hurt you…"
Rogue pushed his hand away, "no, you did worse. You pushed me away when I needed you the most," she looked at him, her dark green eyes almost teary, she then turned to walk away from him.
Remy swallowed, a lump coming to his throat, "I need you, are you going to push me away when I need you the most?" he asked.
Rogue glanced over her shoulder at him, "I have to go, I have lessons," she uttered, then she was in the elevator, and gone.
"She's been in a bad mood all morning."
Remy turned to see Kurt standing with his back against the wall, he'd obviously heard everything. "Were you listening?"
"Of course," Kurt responded, "Gambit, listen, I know you and me don't talk very often," he said, "and I know it would seem weird for you to ever consider taking my advice…but I'm going to give it anyway," Kurt explained, "stay away from her," he said in a low utter, and then Kurt left too.
Remy stood alone in the hall wondering how he was going to ever fix this mess. Sighing, he headed off up towards the hospital wing, and sauntered in.
Kitty Pryde was lying in bed, school books set around her, a clipboard and paper upon her lap, pen poised as if ready to write something, she looked deep in thought. Her long brown hair hung loose around her shoulders, curling slightly at the ends, blue eyes staring into space.
"I see you recovered rather quick," Remy said, "How you feelin' Kitty-cat?" he walked in slowly.
"Oh, its you," Kitty made a face, "I was hoping it'd be someone I'm at least not mad at," she looked away, her expression full of disdain.
"Oh, c'mon, Kitty…" Remy walked over and sat on the edge of her bed, "you're still not bitter with me because of the little kiss I planted on you?" he asked in a low voice.
"Of course I am…"
Remy looked at her in surprise, raising an eyebrow.
"In fact, bitter is an understatement, I'm not bitter, I'm furious," Kitty remarked.
"It was a kiss, that's all!"
Kitty frowned, "jesus, don't you get it, it was you who caused the fight…so this most definitely IS all your fault," Kitty frowned at him. "I'm LYING in this bed because I stopped a fight that was about YOU. My brain got scrambled – and still is giving me trouble right now – because of you! Like I said, YOUR FAULT."
Remy looked to the floor, "always is," he muttered.
"Don't start that self-pitying crap with me, Remy LeBeau, I'm not in the mood," Kitty frowned, keeping her eyes away from him.
Remy looked at her, "this was your fuckin' idea, don't start gettin' all bitchy with me because YOUR idea blew up in your face!" he stood slowly.
"Y'know, you're right, yes, this WAS my fucking idea, and I, like, TAKE full responsibility for MY actions," she said, "but what I won't take responsibility for is yours!"
"It was just a KISS!" Remy yelled at her, flabbergasted.
"You still had no right," Kitty frowned, "and the more I think about it the more I get angry about it!" she clenched her fists around two handfuls of her blanket. "The only thing you think about is how you can have everything your way. I've known you a while, Gambit, but this has to be the most mean and manipulative thing you've ever done! You used her own powers against her!" Kitty tried to hold back on her voice, her high pitched tones probably about to attract more attention in the hospital wing than Remy would have liked.
"I…"
"You know what, Rogue is totally right, and I can understand why she doesn't wanna take you back! You are about as manipulative as she made you out to be…you're selfish, and conniving, and you play with peoples feelings!"
Remy looked to the floor, he wanted to deny it, but he knew she was right. "I don't mean to—"
"Save it," Kitty got out of bed steadily, steady enough for someone who'd suffered extreme trauma to the brain only a night previous. "I don't want to hear your apologies, because as far as I'm concerned, you don't deserve forgiveness for this," Kitty said, "You used her powers to get back at her for bein' with Jared, you deliberately hurt her – and you used me to do it!"
Remy raised his eyes as she stepped over to her, the air felt electric, he'd only ever seen Kitty so mad once, and that was the night Rogue had almost died from a deliberate overdose on painkillers. "It was your idea…"
"I didn't ask you to kiss me!" Kitty said, "now I have a lot of school work to do today, and I can't be bothered with your bullshit, so just get the fuck out of here before I call for Logan or Hank and have you removed!"
Remy looked at her, "fine…" He trailed off softly, and left the room feeling very miserable, and alone.