Hello, all. This is a little one-shot I wrote when I was supposed to be writing something else (oops). It's a brief meeting between Rogue and Gambit, back before they really knew each other, and I'm pretty sure I destroyed a fair amount of canon in writing it (oops again). If you don't like it, don't read it.
But if you do like it, let me know!
Enjoy!
K.S.
PS: I don't own these characters. I just mess around with them at one in the morning when I should be asleep.
I didn't know what time it was. Late, late enough that there was no one in the kitchen when I turned the lights on, no one to complain about the mindless flickering of the muted television. No one was awake to notice me sitting in the corner, all curled up with my arms wrapped around my legs and my chin resting on my knees, staring blankly into space.
I couldn't sleep. Not in the late summer heat, not in pajamas that reached down to my ankles and out to my wrists, not while other girls got to wear shorts and tank tops.
I glanced down at my bare feet and wished I'd worn socks. I loved the relief of the cool floor against the soles of my feet, but I couldn't bear to look at my own bare skin and know what it could do.
A rattle at the door made my heard jerk up and I went tense for a moment, my mind filled with thoughts of late night intruders and half-remember scenes from horror movies. But when the door finally banged open, I recognized the man who stumbled inside, crashing into the counter and grabbing on for support. Gambit swayed on his feet as he stripped off his long coat and threw it onto the table, shaking his long hair out of his face.
I stayed frozen in my corner, unsure what to do. I hadn't expected company. I didn't even know Gambit. I'd only seen around the school once or twice. We'd never spoken.
Gambit grabbed a handful of paper towels from the roll on the counter, his hand trembling as he pressed the bunch of paper against his side. The towels came away red, and I caught my breath – but the blood didn't seem to be his.
"Damn crazy bayou rat," he muttered, and collapsed into a chair at the table, still trying to clean the blood off of himself. "What the hell was he doing this far north?"
Even after he picked his head up, it took me a full surprised moment of staring into deep red eyes to realize he'd noticed me.
"Well, hello, cheré," Gambit said softly. "Who are you?"
"Rogue," I whispered, unable to take my eyes off him.
He smiled a little, a crooked kind of smile that made me feel a little less frozen, and gestured at the chair across from him. I slowly stood up and took the chair, not knowing what to do or say. I wasn't really prepared to pretend to be ok. Not right now.
"What are you doing down here?" Gambit asked pleasantly, returning his attention to the bloody paper towels.
I twisted my fingers together under the table, trying to resist the urge to ask him what had happened. People always thought I asked too many questions. I didn't want to make Gambit angry with me. It already felt like everyone else was.
"I can't sleep," I admitted.
"Bad dreams?"
"No." Not yet, anyway. "Just . . . bad thoughts." I glanced down at the table, biting my lip and trying not to remember what it felt like to accidentally almost kill someone.
I looked up when I heard cards being shuffled. I don't know where he got the cards from, but his fingers were flying, so quickly – tap, flick, touch – cards dancing in his hands like seasons in a hurricane.
Gambit didn't even bother to look at his hands as he said, "I can charge one of these with enough energy to blow up a wall. It's part of my mutation. But this?"
He held up the ace of spades, mixed it back into the deck, and a second later had it in his other hand. "This has nothing to do with genetics. I learned my cards long before I joined up with all these fancy people in spandex suits. 'Cause I'm more than a mutation. Gambit's only a part of Remy LeBeau."
He held out the card to me, and said, "I'm gonna ask you one more time, cheré – who are you?"
I smiled a little as I took the ace from his hand, careful not to let our fingers touch. "Marie," I said firmly, and he grinned crookedly.
"Mighty pleased to make your acquaintance," Remy said, and winked at me. "Do you play cards?"
Let me know what you think! The review button is easy to find.