AN: In my head this story comes after the events of Pyro's NaNoWriMo, however, it is not necessary to read that story in order to enjoy this one.
Summer Christmas
Rogue squirted out some sunscreen onto her leg and began rubbing it into her pale skin. It was wonderfully hot out, with the sun shining brightly, and she had no intention of paying for a rare opportunity to outside in a bikini with a nasty sunburn.
She still couldn't believe she was really here. Rogue figured she was going to be stuck in snowy Bayville over the Christmas season while half her friends went home to be with their families. When an icy road almost sent Rogue and Gambit into a tree when they were driving home from a date, she had ranted at length about how much she hated the snow. Gambit agreed with her whole-heartedly.
"In fact that's all I want for Christmas this year," she had said, her rant not at all appeased by Gambit's full agreement. "I want a summer Christmas. No snow, no wind chill factor, just me and the sun, and no one else around so I can actually enjoy it without worrying I'm going to hurt someone or overheating."
Not for a moment did she imagine that Gambit would actually be able to organise that. Yet somehow, within a week, Gambit had managed to acquire the use of a four-bedroom house situated on its own private beach in the middle of nowhere.
Rogue set the tube of sun screen aside and made her way barefoot across the hot sands to the water's edge. Gambit, already in the water with Pyro and Wanda, grinned at her when he saw her approach, and offered her a wolf whistle as she stepped into the water. Rogue was a little nervous about baring so much skin around people who were wearing just as much as she, if not less, but it was a big ocean and Rogue was confident she could avoid making physical contact.
Pyro and Wanda had been invited as something of an after thought. Certain members of the X-Men who were still not happy about the idea of Rogue dating Gambit were even less than impressed about the idea of her going on a "romantic getaway" with her boyfriend of less than a month. It turned out that Pyro hated the snow as much as Rogue and Gambit did, so he and Wanda (who'd also been dating less than a month) were invited. Although those certain members of the X-Men were still not happy about Rogue going on vacation with members of the Brotherhood, it was easier for them to see the trip as a "group of friends hanging out" rather than a romantic getaway.
"Ah," Pyro said as he laid back in the water while small waves washed over him. "Now this brings me back. Hitting the beach on a hot summer's day. Getting dunked by waves."
"Somehow I never really pictured you as the beach kind," Wanda commented.
"Well, I don't go surfing or anything, but just chilling in the water," Pyro replied.
"I was thinking more because of your powers," Wanda amended as she bobbed in the water.
"Depending on the fire, water can actually help spread it," Pyro pointed out.
"True."
"How's the water, chere?" Gambit asked Rogue as she paddled a little ways away from them.
"Divine," Rogue replied with a happy sigh. "You have no idea how wonderful this feels."
"And you have no idea how wonderful this looks," Gambit said with a grin, referring to the clear water which allowed him to continue to admire Rogue's minimally dressed form.
Rogue chuckled and grinned back at him. "The view looks pretty nice from over here too."
"We should go skinny dipping later," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Then the view will really improve."
"Okay you two do that," Wanda said quickly before Rogue could respond. "I will be sitting out."
"And by 'I' you mean, you and Pyro," Gambit replied wickedly.
"If she doesn't then I will insist on it," Pyro said with a smirk. "Some people prefer to actually date for awhile before they see each other naked."
"What a crazy idea," Gambit joked.
Truthfully, Gambit wasn't entirely certain how he and Rogue ended up so physical so soon into their relationship, or even before it started. He figured Rogue was the type who would want to be wooed, and he wasn't sure if he was mistaken or if she might have been influenced by absorbing him at critical moments. Regardless, his attraction and interest in Rogue went beyond her incredibly sexy body and all the dirty, impossible things he wanted to do with it, and he was attempting to make sure she knew that.
Attempting.
"Right now I think I actually don't care if anyone sees me naked," Rogue said, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the feel of the ocean water against her skin. "It's so nice to be able to go swimming without having to wear a wet suit, or attempting to book private time in the pool only for the kids to decide to intrude."
Gambit paused for a moment and then looked at Pyro: "No, you may not burn her clothes off again."
Pyro smirked at him. "No need. I was trying to make a point. I made it."
…...
After a long relaxing swim, the four headed back to the house, one by one, each requiring a shower to wash off the salty water. Rogue stayed out the longest, really not wanting to get out of the water, despite the fact that it was getting cold. She finally emerged, shivered a little as she ran up the beach through the soft, cool sand to the house. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself as she headed inside.
The lounge room looked bigger than it really was, thanks to the large windows and minimal furniture. There was a TV, a couple of mismatched lounges, a coffee table and very little else. She could hear movement and the sound of sizzling coming from the kitchen and knew Gambit was cooking. Wanda and Pyro shared a lounge; Wanda was reading, and Pyro was working on a story on his new laptop.
"There'd better be some hot water left," Rogue said as she headed towards the bathroom.
"If there's not, let me know," Wanda said, glancing up briefly from her book. "Be happy to hex you some."
"Thanks."
As it happened, there was still plenty of hot water left, so no hexing was required. Rogue dried herself off and went into her room to change into something warmer than the little yellow bikini she'd been wearing for the last few hours. Her timing was good, for when she emerged, Gambit announced that dinner was ready, and they all sat down at the long kitchen counter that doubled as a dining table.
"So," Gambit said as they ate. "Do we want to break out the Christmas decorations tonight, or will we do that tomorrow."
"Oh, let's do it tomorrow," Wanda replied. "I just wanna veg out tonight. We did bring movies, right?"
"Oui. Did you want regular movies or Christmas specials?" Gambit asked.
"Christmas specials," Rogue said, "but only if they're good ones."
"And as long as we don't end up watching thirty billion different versions of A Christmas Carol," Pyro added. "There's only so many variations of that story I can tolerate."
They finished eating and then headed back into the lounge room to watch TV. They picked out a couple of movies and Gambit organised them to play, and then joined Rogue on one of the lounges.
Wanda and Pyro seemed content to simply share their lounge. Gambit sat with his back in the crevice between the arm and the back of the lounge, with one leg on the lounge and the other off the edge, and drew Rogue up between his legs so that her back was leaning against his front.
As the movies played, Gambit's hands played on Rogue's body, gently caressing her here and there, but not anywhere risqué. He liked holding her, and in turn, Rogue liked being held by him. No one ever got cosy with her like this, and she was thoroughly enjoying it.
Subsequently, Rogue was rather disappointed when the movies came to an end and the four decided to retire for the night.
"You know," she said softly to Gambit when they paused outside her room. "We never did end up going skinny dipping tonight."
Gambit grinned at her and replied discreetly: "Well, we have two weeks. I'm sure we'll have a chance later."
"I look forward to it."
…...
The following day, as planned, the four went about decorating the house for Christmas. Rogue and Gambit headed outside with fairy lights while Wanda and Pyro turned their attention indoors. Wanda caught Pyro watching her with interest while she decorated the little plastic Christmas tree they'd bought with them.
"What?" she asked.
"Well, it's just occurred to me that Magsy is Jewish," Pyro replied as he pulled out some tinsel from the bag. "And he's your Dad. Only I didn't see you celebrating Hanukkah or anything."
"I'm Wiccan," Wanda replied and turned back to the little tree to put a star on top. "What we call Christmas today is a result of the early Christian church deciding to bastardise both Pagan and Christian observances by meshing them together until only people who actually put in the effort to study them can tell the difference between the two. In this case, it's the Winter Solstice and the Birth of Christ."
"Oh right."
Wanda turned her head back at Pyro and gave him a smirk. "What about you? What's your excuse? You can't tell me you're religious."
"I believe in Santa Claus," Pyro replied, finally having found the end of the tinsel and standing up to stick it to the wall.
"Seriously?"
"I believe in anyone who gives me presents."
Wanda laughed.
...
"Well," Gambit said, looking up at the roof from where he stood with Rogue, admiringly their handiwork. "Looks good. Though, I don't think we'll be testing anything until tonight when it's dark."
"Yeah," Rogue agreed, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Okay, I'm done standing out in this heat. I'm going swimming again."
"Sounds good," Gambit replied agreeably.
Rogue stepped back from him and lifted her shirt up over her head. Gambit paused in surprise and watched as she continued to undress.
"Not going to get your bikini?" he asked mildly.
"Not bothered," Rogue replied, and pointed over to the sunscreen she'd left outside from yesterday, and then at the towels they'd slung over the railing to dry. "Everything I need is out here."
Gambit grinned and glanced towards the doors, then began undressing as well. "Works for me."
Rogue was first to finish undressing and was quick to pick up the sunscreen and began slathering herself in it. She caught Gambit slowing down in his undressing to watch her rub the lotion into her skin.
"Enjoying the show?" she asked him slyly.
Without taking his eyes off her, Gambit dropped his pants. "I think the evidence speaks for itself."
...
Wanda started to walk outside, then stopped, turned and walked back into the house again, shutting the door firmly behind her.
"What?" Pyro asked when she almost ran into him. "I thought we were going swimming?"
"Rogue and Remy are out there," Wanda said. "And I'm pretty sure they're naked."
Pyro skipped a beat. "Okay, I guess we can go swimming later then."
"Yeah," Wanda replied with an irritated sigh and matched over to one of the lounges. "Honestly those two. They're like rabbits."
"So what you're saying," Pyro said as he sat down on the other lounge and pulled over the coffee table upon which his laptop was sitting, "is that its a good thing all they can really do is look 'cause Rogue would be pregnant now, otherwise?"
"Probably," Wanda mumbled in reply, stretching herself out on the lounge in her red bikini, intending to make the most of the breeze the room fan was making.
Pyro chuckled as he waited for his computer to start up.
"Well, think of it this way. They can't go on like this forever," he said. "If sex is the only thing they have together then it's only a matter of time before they break up."
"Maybe. I dunno, I have mixed feelings I think," Wanda said slowly. "Rogue seems to be happy, but I'm not sure if it's because she likes Remy for him or because he's offering her a physical relationship. And I have no idea how Remy feels about Rogue at all."
"Yeah, I have a hard time figuring Remy out myself," Pyro replied agreeably. "And I think he prefers it that way. But I'm pretty sure that he's interested in Rogue for more than sex. I mean, it's Remy. If sex was all he wanted, he could get it anywhere."
Wanda grunted at that. Pyro opened up the story he was trying to finish and began to write. Wanda sighed irritably.
"I'm bored," she said.
"Hi Bored, I'm Pyro, how you doing?" Pyro replied.
"Very funny."
"I thought so."
"Mind if I watch TV?"
"Go for it."
...
Sometime later, the door opened, and Pyro and Wanda looked up to see Rogue and Gambit re-enter the house, dressed only in their towels with their clothes bunched up in their hands.
"Have fun?" Pyro asked musingly.
"Yeah, I'd say so," Gambit replied with a familiar twinkle in his eye.
"About time you two got out of there," Wanda said, switching off the movie she was watching. "I've been wanting to go swimming all day."
"You could have come out at any time," Gambit said. "We wouldn't have minded."
"Uh no. I have no desire to see either of you naked," Wanda replied firmly as she stood. "Now, if you don't mind. Coming Pyro?"
"Yeah, yeah, hang on, let me save this," Pyro said, his eyes firmly on his laptop.
He quickly saved his story (he was so close to finishing it, he could taste it), shut the laptop down, and followed Wanda outside. As he shut the door behind him, he heard Gambit said to Rogue: "So, need some help drying off?"
Pyro shook his head and raced down to the waters edge where Wanda was plunging into the waves. He quickly joined her, the cool ocean water feeling wonderful around his hot skin.
They played around in the waves for awhile, and then Wanda paddled over to him and wrapped her arms about his neck.
"Hey," she said playfully.
"Hey," he replied.
There was but a moment's hesitation, and then they leaned in and kissed each other.
And promptly got dunked by a wave.
Once they caught their breath and otherwise recovered from their unexpected dunking, they found their way to each others arms again. Pyro looked for the next wave and gave Wanda a quick kiss, lest history repeat itself.
"You know, I'm kind of glad Rogue and Remy went skinny dipping before," he said.
"You are?" Wanda asked in surprise. She couldn't wait to get into the water.
"Yeah," Pyro replied. "Now you and I get some alone time on the beach."
Wanda smiled. "Okay, I'll give you that."
...
The days passed quickly and were filled with swimming, movies, Pyro writing his story, and Rogue and Gambit finding ways around her mutation. On one day they decided to build sandcastles just because they could, and on another Pyro celebrated the fact that he'd finally finished writing his story.
"And now for editing," he said. "But I'll start after the New Year."
Before they knew it, Christmas Day was upon them. The night before they put their presents for each other underneath the little Christmas Tree that Wanda had so artfully decorated. After a very light breakfast, they sat in the lounge room and passed around the presents.
Wanda's gift to Pyro was an external hard drive.
"Now you have something you can back up your new laptop too, so you don't lose any more stories," she said with a grin.
"Heh, thanks," Pyro replied with a wry nod. "Always need a good backup device."
Rogue opened up her present from Wanda, a new part of fancy gloves. Gambit's present from Pyro was an apron that said "kiss the chef."
"And yes, I do expect you to wear that while cooking the barbecue," Pyro teased Gambit.
"Fine," Gambit replied and gave Rogue a wink. "But I don't promise to wear anything else."
From Pyro, Wanda received a new book. It was the latest book by one of hers and Rogue's favourite authors.
"Awesome, thanks," Wanda said delightedly. "I've been looking forward to reading this."
"Oh you have to be kidding me," Gambit said, looking at the book with some irritation, and then passed on his book-shaped gift to Rogue.
"What?" Wanda asked.
Rogue ripped over the wrapping paper and she, Wanda, and Pyro laughed when they realised it was the exact same book.
"I did not copy Pyro," Gambit said firmly. "Let's just make that clear."
"Sure, sure," Pyro teased Gambit, and opened up his present from the Cajun. "Ooh spiffy! A new lighter to add to my collection."
Rogue's present to Wanda was a pentagram necklace, which she adored.
Finally, Gambit opened up Rogue's present to him. He frowned with mixed feelings upon pulling out the genuine silk scarf.
"I wasn't really sure what to give you," Rogue admitted. "So I sorta, kinda cheated and asked your psyche what he thought."
Gambit looked up at Rogue as she tapped the side of her head. He winced and cleared his throat.
"Did, ah, did he happen to mention why I would like this?" Gambit asked.
Rogue shook her head, stopped, and then her eyes widened and a blush filled her cheeks.
"It looks like Remy's psyche just told her what he'd use it for. And I'm guessing it's dirty," Wanda remarked wryly. "There's a shock."
"Well, I guess that answers the question I've been wondering these last few weeks," Gambit said, and he set the scarf aside so he could take Rogue's gloved hands. "I think maybe, you've been absorbing me too much. More to the point, I think you've been absorbing me too much because we've been getting carried away and been, umm, picking up on my baser feelings for you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rogue asked with a frown. "You don't think I have any 'baser' feelings for you?"
"Not at all, I just always figured a classy southern belle like yourself would want to be wooed properly," Gambit replied gently.
"So you think I'm incapable of making decisions about what I want and how I feel and how I want to do things without being influenced by the voices in my head?" Rogue demanded, jerking her hands from his grip.
"Uh, you just say that you picked this out because of why my psyche suggested," Gambit pointed out tentatively, gesturing to the scarf.
"Yeah, because I asked him, you ass," Rogue snapped at him.
"Oh well, that's just so nice you can ask part of me for advice whenever you want," Gambit retorted. "So, what about the day after Pyro burned off all your clothes and you came over to return my coat? Did you decide to jump me before or after you kissed me?"
Rogue's eyes flared in rage. "Why you little bastard—"
"Why? Because I want to date you and not the people inside your head?" Gambit demanded. "Because I want to know that it's you I'm making love to and not myself?"
"Funny," Pyro said before Rogue could retort. "I always figured you were narcissistic enough that you'd happily make love to yourself."
"I believe that's called masturbating," Wanda said to Pyro.
"I could picture Remy in the bathroom with scented candles and mood music," Pyro said mischievously. "Admiring himself in the mirror."
"Excuse me?" Rogue interrupted, glaring at them. "We're in the middle of a fight here."
"I'm sorry, are you mad that your boyfriend wants to spend quality time with you that doesn't always involve screwing around and wants to make sure that when you do screw around, it's fully consensual?" Wanda asked her.
"I..." Rogue trailed off uncertainly for a moment, and then glared. "No, that's not it at all. I'm pissed because he," Rogue pointed accusingly at Gambit, "thinks I'm incapable of stopping the voices in my head from controlling me."
"Non, non," Gambit said, moving in towards Rogue with the intend of turning on all the charm and diffusing this argument before it could really spoil their Christmas together. "I'm sure that you are more than capable on controlling them, I just know that I've hurt people before. People I care about."
He took her hand in his again, his eyes locked with hers as he drew her in.
"I don't want to hurt you too, ma chere," he said softly, reaching for the scarf with his free hand. "You mean too much to me."
Rogue felt her anger seeping away as she was enraptured by his deep red eyes. She licked her lips.
"Remy..." she said, still wanting to be angry and finding she wasn't able to.
Gambit leaned in towards her and lifted the scarf between them. He kissed her lips gently through the soft, thin fabric. It was but a simple kiss, yet it meant everything to her.
"Merry Christmas, Roguey."
...
Gambit stood at the barbecue in his new apron, speedos, and a stack of sunscreen and put some of the waiting meat and onions on to cook. It wasn't a very big barbecue, so they'd only brought out a small portion of the meat they had to begin with.
"Alright, we've got more room here," Gambit said and then grinned mischievously at Pyro. "Let's throw another shrimp on the barbie."
Pyro pulled at face at Gambit. "Okay, first of all, no Aussie ever says that, unless we're making of Americans."
Gambit chuckled wickedly.
"Secondly, they're called 'prawns' not 'shrimp'," Pyro went on.
"Prawns?" Gambit repeated. "That a stupid word."
"Shrimp is stupider," Pyro retorted. "And thirdly, does anyone actually ever barbecue prawns? 'Cause I've been to a lot of barbecues and I have yet to see anyone barbecue a prawn."
"It's because they're busy barbecuing shrimp," Gambit replied teasingly.
"I'll get more meat," Wanda said, getting up from where she'd been lounging nearby. "What do we want? More steak? Sausages?"
"Bit of both, I think," Gambit replied.
Wanda gave a nod and headed back inside to the kitchen while Rogue continued to set up plates, salads, bread, and everything else at the table. She made sure to set her chair away from the others, as they were all in their swimwear and Rogue didn't want to accidentally absorb anyone.
Lunch was cooked in short order and conversation dwindled while they ate and drank. Soon only a solitary sausage was left and Gambit made short work of it since no one else wanted it.
"Keep room for dessert," Pyro advised him.
"I think I'm out of room for dessert," Wanda remarked.
"Not on a day like this, you're not."
"We have a beach," Rogue said, and gestured towards the ocean. "We don't need dessert to cool off."
"We need dessert for cooling off our insides after eating hot food," Pyro insisted.
Rogue grinned at him and reached for the punch. "That's what this is for."
"Fine. No dessert for you then."
"I never said I didn't want any dessert."
"All this talk about dessert is making me want dessert," Gambit said. "I'm going to finish this, and then go grab it."
The other three snickered. Gambit finished off his lunch and then headed inside to grab the chocolaty treat they'd brought. No sooner than he brought it back, but it was cut up into four for them to eat at their leisure.
"I can't believe we're going to be going home soon," Rogue said with a sigh. "This has been so much fun."
"You know," Wanda said slyly. "If you were to come back to the Brotherhood, we could hang out a lot more."
"Um, no, I left because Mystique used me and lied to me," Rogue replied. "I have good relationships with the other X-Men. I'm not going to leave them."
"But you don't really believe in their cause," Pyro said, looking at her seriously.
"Come again?" Rogue said, staring hard at Pyro.
"Just what I said. You don't really believe. They're all 'humans and mutants can live together', but everything we've see so far indicates that humans are more interested in killing us than welcoming us with open arms," Pyro said seriously. "I bet you've asked yourself a million times if fighting for Xavier's dream really is worth the effort."
Rogue looked uncomfortable. She had a few times, but...
"Feeling despair at times isn't the same thing as not believing," Rogue replied.
Pyro gave a shrug and was about to respond when Wanda spoke up.
"Actually, I'm going to agree with Rogue on this one," Wanda said. "I think that having doubts occasionally can actually make you stronger, if you use those doubts as motivation to investigate, as opposed to letting them rule you."
"I believe in the money that ol' Bucklethead is paying me," Gambit said mischievously.
"So would you join the X-Men if you got paid enough?" Rogue asked.
"If I joined the X-Men," Gambit said, grinning at Rogue with suggestion in his eyes, "it wouldn't be for money. Or politics neither."
"Aww," Wanda said teasingly.
"Of course, at the moment it's a moot point, since I still have a contract that I need to fulfil," Gambit went on with a shrug, digging his spoon into his dessert.
"Yeah, me too," Pyro said. "But I plan to renew mine. I want a work where I can feel free to burn stuff down and still go to book signings when I finally have something published without having to worry about being arrested. That would put a bit of a damper on meeting my future fans."
"So modest," Wanda said, grinning slyly at him.
Pyro gave a shrug. "Why would they want my autograph if they weren't a fan? Or at least mildly interested in my book?"
"Because they're hoping you'll get big later so they can sell their signed copy on eBay," Gambit replied wickedly.
"I don't think personalised autographs are worth as much," Pyro said thoughtfully. "Not sure. Have to check that."
"Who knows, maybe the market will have changed by the time you get published."
"Maybe."
"What about you, Wanda?" Rogue asked as she scooped up more of her dessert. "Would you actually stay with the Brotherhood, or could you be enticed over to the X-Men?"
Wanda looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I would want to be with my family," she said finally. "I don't really care much about causes. Family, that's what's important."
...
Hours later, Rogue and Gambit sat curled up together on a towel, looking up at the night sky. Rogue was still in her bikini. Gambit had changed into long pants, long sleeves, and gloves so he could comfortably hold his girlfriend in his arms while she enjoyed one of the last nights before she would have to go back to convering up again. The biggest problem Gambit had as they looked at the stars, was resisting the urge to plant a kiss on her here and there.
"I don't want to go home," Rogue said after a time, enjoying the cool breeze that took the edge off the lingering warmth from the day. "I think I'd like to stay here forever."
Gambit chuckled lightly.
"We can always take off on vacation again sometime, ma chere," he said.
"I think I'd like that. But maybe not too often. We wouldn't want certain people to get any more upset," Rogue replied wryly.
"I think what you really mean is that you don't want them giving you a hard time," Gambit said.
"I don't want them giving us a hard time. I want to see where this going without third parties voicing their opinions every three seconds."
"So do I."
They looked at each other and smiled.
"This has been a wonderful trip away, Remy," Rogue said. "I can't tell you just how much this has all meant to me."
Gambit laced his fingers with hers. "Just seeing you so happy, chere, that's all the thanks I need."
Rogue smirked. "Merry Christmas, Remy."
"Merry Christmas, Roguey."