That, Which Binds
New York state was always cold at this time of year. Snow still sat molded against the edge of the roads and scraped messily across the sidewalks, now gray and littered with leaves and mud having been frozen solid for weeks, without even a sparkle or glisten from the street lights in the premature winter darkness - to resemble the once feather-light flakes that fell from the sky.
The young woman stepped over such a formation quickly and pulled her covered arms tighter around her chest in a bid to keep out the sharp chill of winter, her shoulders shuddering almost violently as another gust of frozen air blew her strange two-tone brown and snow white locks around her face, whipping harshly against her pale skin.
Rogue quickened her pace along the deserted street, wishing she had the sense to have put on a hat this morning. Or even better, she wished she could drive into New York city rather than have to catch the train there everyday. Of course Logan had offered to give her a ride home, but being as she was - Rogue politely declined, in favor of suffering the twenty minute walk to and from the large mansion in the small town of Bayville, New York which she called home.
To any other person it would have made sense to take the plunge and just move to the city and enjoy student life as it should be – house parties and having fun. For her family and friends, there would have been no question as to why they shouldn't – for Rogue, there was the small matter of her not being able to touch another person's skin without stealing they're very souls – her mutant ability, her gift as her mentor Professor Charles Xavier liked to call it.
But this 'gift' or 'curse', depending on your outlook on life – ruled Rogue, it made the decisions for her – and so, living in one of the busiest and most populated cities in the world was not an option for her.
When it came down to it, Rogue wanted to be able to get away when the psyches in her head became too much to bear – after all, the people living at Xavier's School were mutants like herself and knew when to keep they're distance, unlike the general public outside that little world.
Just one brush of her skin against someone else's, even for the smallest fraction of a second would be enough to transfer that persons thoughts and memories into her mind. It was not a painless experience, else Rogue herself would be more welcoming to it perhaps – no, it hurt – a lot.
She could see the big iron gates ahead of her that signified she was almost at her destination, the metal plated plaque mounted against the red brick on either side of the gate naming the exquisite building beyond – reflected the light from the street lamps brightly in the darkness.
Rogue walked swiftly to the sheltered number pad and tapped in the code that would open the gates. "Access Denied" An accent-less womans voice blurted at her from the high tech machine. Her brow twisted in confusion and once the machine had reset itself, she tried once more – tapping in each number precisely.
"Access Denied" The voice blurted once again. Rogue huffed in annoyance and pressed the intercom button on the pad.
"Hello?" She recognized the voice immediately, to that of Jean Grey. As teenagers they had been polar opposites of each other, Jean being popular and outgoing whilst Rogue was not. They had since, over the years come to a mutual understanding, which in many ways made life easier for both even though the two women knew they would never be 'close' friends.
"Jean? It's me Rogue – could ya let me in, ah've forgotten the code again" She spoke as clearly as she could, trying not to let her teeth chatter in the cold and ignored the whirring sound of the security camera above her as it focused on her face.
"Yeah, sure" Jean replied helpfully, with the low hum of the electronic gated opening slowly beside her.
"Thanks" She acknowledged the person beyond the intercom and hurried through the open gateway, following the smoothness of the long curved road toward the welcoming glow of the porch.
Pushing the stiff, heavy wooden door, she allowed the heat from inside to wash over her in relief from the bitter cold outside and after a second or so closed it behind her- wiping her boots on the welcome mat and wandered casually up the grand staircase.
She could hear the television coming from the recreation room beyond, which would explain why the house was so unusually quiet – the kids were probably watching a movie that was keeping them entertained for a while, inadvertently allowing her to slip unnoticed through the house and into her room.
Since her old roommate Kitty had left a couple of years ago to attend a college in her native Illinois, she had been upgraded – so to speak, to her own private room and Rogue was very grateful to Professor Xavier for the kind gesture. But, although she would never admit it out loud – she did miss Kitty sometimes, even though they kept in touch and Kitty never stayed away long from the institute, always bestowing herself upon the place during the seasonal breaks from school. Still, the place wasn't the same without her.
But Rogue knew that this would also be her last year living at the school. This was her final year after all and she intended on moving out, getting a job and living life like everybody else and not forgetting to pay back every penny that Xavier had spent out for her education.
Of course, Rogue had no money – no parents or financial support behind her to fund her Columbia course fee's and so Xavier had kindly offered to pay them for her, even though he had said that he did not require the money to be returned – Rogue had insisted that upon graduation, she would repay all of it.
But Xavier was not so kind as not to expect anything. In return he required her to do some part time teaching to the students at the institution, even though Rogue knew that she was not well suited to the part of an educator – she highly suspected that the professor was using her as some kind of role model for the young mutants who like her, were unable to control they're abilities.
It was not something she particularly enjoyed, although her brother, Kurt thought the world of her for doing it.
Walking into pitch black, she closed the door softly behind her and felt around for the table lamp she knew was there. Finally finding it, she turned it on – the soft bulb putting the room in a dim light, casting more shadows than anything.
Rogue sighed contently. Letting the heavy brown leather satchel that she had been carrying drop to the floor and slipping off her gloves and finally her thick woolen coat, she allowed herself to collapse back onto the large, freshly made bed in the center of her room. She shivered with the loss of layers. The cold must have gotten to her more than she thought.
The solution of course was to take a hot shower, warm the blood up. Heaving herself from the comfort of the soft mattress was no easy task, but doing so she stumbled over to the wide set glass doors that led out onto a half circle balcony beyond and noticed that one of the doors was ever so slightly ajar.
Frowning somewhat in confusion, she opened the offending door quickly and then tugged it back tightly, making sure that it was properly closed – of course, nothing prepared her for when glancing a reflection in the glass, she saw a tall lean figure standing behind her and in utter shock she twisted around, almost tripping on the long curtains that framed the doors and she grabbed them with one hand to hold herself up.
"Shit!Oh Mah Gahd!" Was her first reaction when she instantly recognized the intruder in her room. The long, weathered tan trench coat, messy auburn hair and red on black eyes gave him away instantly. Gambit.
"Develop'd a li'l bit o' a potty mouth dere, non?" He chuckled, both at her unanticipated reaction and choice of words.
"What the hell are you doin' heah?" Rogue cried out in a strangled stupor, pulling herself up into a steadier position and watching him suspiciously. He hadn't changed much, other than his hair being longer and having exchanged the previously favored goatee for an all around five o'clock shadow – time had not aged him visibly.
"Well, dat's not very invitin' is it?" He chastised playfully.
"How on earth did ya get past ground security?" She asked instead, X-man instinct kicking in finally. He shrugged nonchalantly and smirked back at her, leaning casually against the wall closest to him and folding his arms across his chest.
"What's up Rogue? Y' don't seem very pleas'd t' see me?" The smirk stayed resolutely on his lips, keeping his eyes focused on the deep green of hers.
"Should ah be pleased ta see you?" Rogue demanded in astonishment, taking a step toward him warily.
"Well, aft'r our last meetin' . . . ." He let the statement hang, watching her already confused face mull over new theories. He enjoyed getting this reaction out of her.
"Three year's ago! And it was against mah will, remembah?" Her voice was calmer now, but non-the less incredulous at his audacity.
"Still sore about dat huh?" He made it sound like it was no big deal that he had abducted her years before hand and yet, it still stung inside just a little to hear her refer to it like that. Rogue pursed her lips and stayed silent for a few seconds before putting one hand on her hip.
". . . . What do you think?" She answered rhetorically, raising an eyebrow at his apparent ignorance. He watched her silently, the customary smirk unmoved .
"I'm thinkin' dat y' seem differen'" He concurred.
"Yeah, well things . . people change" Was her reply. A cover for that unexpected comment from the master thief.
"Hmmm . . . So I can see . . ." He let his eyes take in her appearance – she had changed. Her hair was longer, the dark black make-up of her teenage years was gone, although her skin was still deathly pale. But the real difference was in her behavior and body language. There was a slight openness, a silent confidence, a contentedness - something that was surely not there before, or had at least not been evident.
"Ugh! This is a school foh mutants, not a whore house Gambit!" Rogue let the disgust show, turning her head away from him to look at the wall. He made her uncomfortable looking at her like that.
"An' here I was thinkin' we were on firs' name basis?" Underneath the facade, Remy was disappointed that she had called him by his codename. He hadn't known what reaction to really expect from her when he decided to pay her a visit, but did he really expect anything else?
"What do ya want?" Rogue ignored his comment, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously once more.
"Do you still have my card?" He asked instead. He wanted a reaction from her.
"What? No, ah don't still have yoah card" She replied hastily. Too hastily. Of course she still had the stupid card - as dog-eared as it was – stored away in a tin full of little pieces of things that meant something to her, things that reminded her of who she was when things got tough.
"Hmmm" He mused.
They stayed silent for a minute or so, staring each other down like two alley cats trying to work out whether their opponent was a threat or not. She kept her eyes solely on his figure, ready for any wrong move – any signal that meant he was here for any other reason than to torment her.
After all, he was at one time an enemy, the opposition to her disjointed but well meaning family of mutants. Even after the misguided stunt he pulled in New Orleans years ago, they parted somewhat amicably. But as far as Rogue was concerned, his intentions were still unclear. She couldn't trust him.
"Look, you bettah leave befoah Logan finds out yoah heah" She stated quietly.
"Some things don't change . . ." He let the comment drift, the habitual smirk leaving his lips for the first time since they had started this exchange.
"What do ya want Gambit?" She asked once more, sighing as she did so. Remy tensed, albeit very inconspicuously and stood away from the wall, rising to his full height.
"I . . want t' talk t' y' about somet'in'" His voice deadly serious, his eyes focusing solely on her.
"So talk" Rogue shrugged nonchalantly, having to raise her head to meet his face. Had he always been this tall? It had been a long time since she had last seen him.
"Not here . . . somewhere else" His voice was subdued, but the smirk had returned.
"Not a chance!" Rogue exclaimed indignantly, instantly spinning herself right around and marching over to the balcony doors to show him the way out. She couldn't stand for this and there was absolutely no way she was meeting him anywhere. If he wanted to speak, then here was his chance.
"Oh c'mon chérie . . ." He took a step towards her as she spun around furiously.
"Don't call meh that!" She admonished sternly, jutting her chin forward angrily before clutching the handle on the balcony door and throwing it open – indicating for him to leave.
"Please . . ." He tried again, standing defiantly against her instruction.
"No!" Rogue exaggerated the word like you would to a child, trying to ignore the cool blasts of air that struck her through the open door.
"I'll come back ev'ry night until y' do" Remy kept his voice low, but it was a threat he knew she would not ignore.
"What? Yoah not just goin' ta kidnap meh this tahme?" Her tone was sarcastic, but still he chuckled.
". . . Non" Was his only reply, observing with amusement as her face switched between anger and resignation. There was no way she wanted that hanging over her head – plus, as elusive as Gambit was, she knew Logan would catch up with him eventually and she didn't want to have to explain to anyone why Magneto's ex-acolyte was hanging around in her room.
"Ugh! Fahne!" She resigned, throwing her arms up in mock submission.
"Eight-thirty tomorrow night at Luigi's okay wit' y'?" He spoke quickly as though he were sealing a business agreement, walking swiftly toward the door that Rogue was holding open, now that the stand-off was over.
"Whatevah – now get out of heah befoah ah change mah mind" She was beyond irritated that she was being manipulated into this and watched grumpily as he sauntered past her out the open door, keeping her eyes focused on him until the point at which she would have to turn her head, which she would not – out of principle.
"Au revoir mon chérie . . ." He spoke the words so casually, arrogantly as he vaulted deftly from the balcony railings into the ebony black of the winter's evening.
"Ah already told you . . ." But he had disappeared into the cover of darkness before she could even finish the sentence.
Chapter II, to follow soon. Stay tuned.