A/N: This was an idea that was heavily inspired by a book I read. Powers are the same, but backstories of the characters are going to be different to fit this story. I'm not a tattoo artist so if I do get anything wrong please let me know privately what it was and how I can correct it. I don't any characters.

She pushed the palm of her hand into her eye as she wiped another tear away angrily. She was annoyed with herself for not being able to control her tears, for not being able to make them stop. She sighed as she took a deep breath and just closed her eyes, then let her head relax back into the bench she was sitting on. The heat from the sun was warming her exposed skin and it felt like a comforting hug. She allowed the sounds of the birds chirping and the sounds of the French Quarter's morning commute take over her mind, slowly a small smile graced her beautiful lips, finally able to let go and just be content with her life.

The sound of her cell phone ringing had her sighing again, without opening her eyes she reached into her back pocket and hit silence. Just five more minutes she thought to herself, five more minutes to bask in the nature of her new surroundings and just soak everything in around her, that's all she really wanted. But alas her phone began to ring again, this time she opened her eyes to see who was calling her, she rolled her eyes as she brought the phone to her ear.

"Morning." she said as she relaxed into the bench again.

"Don't 'morning' me stripes. Where the hell are you? Your car's at my garage and you're not.

What's going on? Aren't you going into the shop? Don't you dare tell me I stuck my neck out on the line for you just so you could go fuck it up."

"Who pissed in your cheerios this morning?" she said with a smile. "I parked at your garage because 'Ro told me to, said it'd be faster for me to just walk instead of drive to the shop and try to find parking. I was a half hour early and decided to sit in Jackson square so don't even start with that bullshit of me fucking shit up Logan. I'm here because I'm taking care of all the shit that aint even mine. "

He grunted in response and Rogue's smile grew.

"Don't worry, I won't let anyone else know how much you actually care." that received another grunt.

"If anyone gives you a hard time over there you just let me know."

"Yes dad." she said sarcastically, Logan was by no means her father, but she did consider him to be an older brother to her. They had met while she had gone to Xavier's school for the gifted and he had taken her under his wing almost immediately. She had been shipped from foster home to foster home for as long as she could remember and when her powers manifested they had sent her to the school to get them under control, she had stayed there ever since not wanting to go back into the system. When he learned her story he knew he would do whatever it took to make her feel like she belonged somewhere, even if it was just with him.

"I mean it kid."

"I know Logan." she closed her eyes not wanting to cry again. "Thank you."

Another grunt and he ended the call.

She was so grateful to have him in her life, she started to think about all that he had done for her especially the last year and a half, but those thoughts created the well of tears behind her eyelids.

"UUGgghh!" She grunted as she leaned forward and dropped her head into her hands, she had to get her shit together. She rested her head on her knees, and brought her hands underneath her thighs. She slowly began to count down from five, taking deep breaths in between every number, now was not the time to go down memory lane. With one last deep breath she slowly sat up with her eyes still closed she turned her face toward the warmth of the sun one last time and let the warmth wash away the feelings she didn't want to have. She was beginning to feel better when she started getting the feeling that she was being watched. Opening her eyes she looked around but saw no one was around her, she's just feeling paranoid she thought with a shake of her head.

With a content sigh she stood up, stuffed her phone in the back pocket of her skinny jeans, and stretched, with her arms straight above her head her white off she shoulder long sleeved shirt rode up a bit revealing a strip of her flat stomach. Bringing her arms back down to her side she pulled her shirt back into place, rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck, she smiled to herself as she began walking, she picked up that terrible habit from Logan.

She reached her destination fifteen minutes early just as she had intended to, so she took a second and stood on the corner of Bourbon St and Orleans St. to admire the old architecture of the building she was about to work in. It was restored in colours that were neutral and elegant, it almost seemed pristine amongst the other colorful buildings surrounding it. In beautiful script that somehow matched the building was 'Gambit' scrawled above the french door entrance. That was it, no 'tattoo' under or beside it to indicate that it was indeed a tattoo shop or parlour as some would call it.

Not wanting to be late she quickly dashed across the street and pulled the door open. The space was huge, when she entered a counter that was as high as her waist was dead center a few meters in front of the door, there were couches on either side of the counter but pushed along the walls as a waiting area. Continuing behind the counter was more open space with six workstations, three along each wall, there were dividers with large squares windows between every station giving the idea of separation but maintaining the open feel concept . On the far wall directly opposite the greeting counter was another long counter with chairs all around and a few machines sitting on the corner of it.

The floors were a deep hardwood that shone with the natural light spilling through the windows at that front of the shop, the overhead lights shared the natural lighting not giving off a harsh fluorescent tone. She was in absolute awe. Above each workstation featured a large framed picture on the wall, and since all the walls and dividing window frames were painted black it made everything else pop. Especially the picture hanging on the back wall behind the counter, it was a black and white picture of an angel with her wings spread out beside her and her face turned up toward the sun showing only her profile. The wisps of her hair kissing the side of her face giving her the look of serenity and an air of mystery. Her arms spread out along side of her wings and her long beautiful legs held a graceful bend at the knee but still keeping her legs straight, just touching at the ankles and her toes pointing straight at the ground. There was what looked like an anklet dangling elegantly from her right ankle. Rogue was absolutely transfixed, a large white satin ribbon wrapped itself around the angels body, starting along one arm dropping to behind her back to come around to the front along her ample breasts, it draped in such a way that it showed off her curves to accentuate the woman she was making it powerfully sexy. The ribbon then wrapped around her back again to come forward one more time to wrap itself along her full hips looking almost like a skirt and the rest of the ribbon fell elegantly along her legs.

"Beauty isn't she?" a voice beside her spoke. Rogue was so mesmerized by the picture she didn't even realize she had gone around the front counter, passed the workstations and behind the back counter to stand directly in front of the framed angel. Blinking a few times she turned her head to where the voice came from.

"The boss drew this one himself. Obviously blew it up and what not but it is one of his originals. You must be Rogue, I'm Betsy, looks like I'll be training you today." she smiled as she extended her hand out.

"You're British." Rogue spoke as if still in a trance. Seeing the other woman quirk her brow and laugh, Rogue cleared her throat and shook her head and rested the tips of her fingers along her hairline. "I'm sorry that was stupid, you clearly already know that, it's just in New Orleans that's not an accent you usually hear." Rogue clarified with a chuckle as she shook Betsy's hand.

"Bets! I'm supposed to have a guy come in today, let me know he comes in eh chere!" A voice thick with cajun accent boomed from down the hallway that was beside the picture they were standing in front of.

"Now that's the type of accent I was expecting to hear." Rogue said with a smirk.

Betsy laughed and shook her head, making her long dark violet hair swing back and forth slightly, maybe she was the muse for the picture Rogue thought to herself.

"This is true." Betsy said with a fond smile. "Actually you're going to hear quite a few different accents in the shop none of them are from here, well except Gambit of course, he's the only one originally from here and obviously owns the business,."

"That really his name?"

"Is Rogue really yours?"

"Touche my friend." Rogue said with a chuckle, she turned to admire the picture one more time when she heard the sounds of footsteps and a door closing coming from the same hallway the voice had traveled down.

"Bets, did you grab the coffee on your last run?" The cajun accent was as smooth as whiskey that it took Rogue's attention from the picture. The man standing in the frame of the hallway was definitely worth the look, standing tall at six feet two inches, wearing a tight black short sleeve shirt that showed off his muscular chest and chiseled stomach, he wore fitted dark jeans that showed strength in his legs and biker boots. He leaned his very broad shoulder against the door jam as he continued to flip through the papers in his hands with a furrow in his brow.

He hated that when he came down the first thing he had to take care of was work that didn't have anything to do with his business. Today was a good day, it was the day things truly became his own. This report was not adding up and it was something that had to be taken care of right away, but in order to do that he really needed his morning caffeine fix. Wondering why Betsy had yet to answer him he looked up to see her looking at something beside her, he shifted a little so he could see what she was looking at, or rather at this point who she was looking at. There standing a few feet away from him along the wall, was the woman from the park he had seen when he passed by on his bike. Her white long sleeve draped to the one side showing off a slender shoulder with creamy porcelain skin that screamed blank canvas and had his fingers itching to draw something for her. Her black skinny jeans hugged her hips and showed off the curve of her lovely rear asset. She had black beanie on top her head and the rest of her hair cascaded down her back in soft silky waves. Her green eyes shined like emeralds looking at his eyes through his shades.

"Mon ange." He spoke, in a near whisper.

"Yes, she's absolutely gorgeous. Betsy was just telling me how this is actually one of your pieces." Rogue spoke after briefly clearing her throat then turning back to the picture on the wall, completely missing how his brow furrowed deeper.

Gambit blinked, and put on his most charming smile as he made his way to stand beside her.

"Oui, Remy be the one to draw that cherie."

"Who's Remy?" She asked. "I thought you were Gambit?" she asked causing Betsy to laugh.

"Je suis desole, cherie. Je suis Remy et Gambit. I'm known around these parts as Gambit, but you can call me Remy. Et what is your name chere?" He asked leaning into her, which allowed him to catch her scent of vanilla and something floral. Rogue to take a step away from him, allowing more space between them.

"My name is Rogue, and if people around here call you Gambit I'll just stick with that."

He quirked an eyebrow at her, a minute ago when he had walked in he had definitely sensed she was attracted to him, even noticed her checking him out. Yet when he made it very apparent he's just as into her she stepped back, this peaked his curiosity. He took another minute to really look at her from head to toe.

The beanie on her head made her look younger, her make up was subtle and soft. He followed the line of her neck to her sweater, her arms crossed underneath her breasts, causing them to lift more and to be shaped through the sweater, it wasn't baggy on her but it wasn't a tight fit either but most importantly he knew that it covered up even more delicate white skin beneath it. Her jeans were mid rise and hugged her hips and thighs nicely, her black jeans were well worn in, just like her converse shoes. When he looked back up at her face she had her own brow quirked at him.

"You know it aint polite to stare." She said as she waved her hand at him, not enjoying being under the microscope.

Aha! There it was, on her hands she wore black satin gloves, as she waving her hand it him he grabbed hold of her wrist where her sweater met her glove. Immediately on instinct she straightened out the arm that was in his hold and within a series of turns she had her arm free and ended up behind him.

Well he did not expect that! He turned towards her to see her take a step back holding her wrist to her chest. She looked like she was close to a state of panic, she watched him like a hawk. Betsy had taken a step back as well but she was ready for whatever was about to happen, watching Rogue's demeanor, both she and Remy understood she was in defense not offence. The ringing of the phone had Betsy walking back to the front of the shop to answer it.

Remy never took his eyes off Rogue, her chest and shoulders were still rising and falling quickly, indicating she was clearly no longer comfortable. The shift in her eyes told him she was looking for the quickest exit. He folded the papers in his hand and stuffed them into his back pocket. He slowly brought his in front of him and held them low to his waist fingers spread out.

"I'm sorry petite, I didn't mean to startle you." He spoke softly. He watched her close her eyes and take soft breaths through her soft plump lips. He was transfixed as he stood in front of her listening to soft counts between her breaths.

When she opened her eyes again, they seemed to have lost the shine he had initially seen. She lifted the side of her lip in a soft smirk.

"It's ok, I should be the one apologizing. I just like my personal space. I'm sorry about that."

"It's ok." he said as he relaxed his hands at his sides, still watching her hugging her wrist to her chest. "I was just curious about the gloves chere." he explained with a soft smile.

She looked down at her hands then back up at him, and gave him a soft smile back, but in her eyes he could see it was a sad smile.

"I have very sensitive skin, it's just better not to irritate it if I can help it."

He could tell that it wasn't the whole story but he wasn't going to push her further than he already did.

"D'accord. Thank you chere."

"Gambit Jean-Luc is on the phone." Betsy said as she was walking back to them. He just nodded his head saying thank you as he walked passed them to disappear down the hall where he came from.

Once Betsy heard his office door close she looked at Rogue who seemed to have relaxed again.

"You gonna share what the real story is luv?" she asked kindly.

Rogue blinked and visibly deflated, she was hoping to have this conversation at least after her orientation. The look Betsy gave her told her she was expecting the whole truth.

"I'm a mutant, and my power comes from direct skin to skin contact."

"Oh ok." she said with understanding."And you don't have control?"

"I haven't full tested it yet." Rogue said and gave her a wink wanting to lighten the mood again, Betsy chuckled now fully understanding the situation, but she still sensed some slight unease from the other woman so she shared that she too was a mutant with psychic and telekinetic abilities she even showed her capabilities of channeling her power into a psy-blade.

"I'm pretty sure Gambit would be willing to help you figure out your own powers." She said with a smile, causing Rogue to laugh, it had been a while since Betsy had seen him caught off guard, let alone because of a woman, come to think of it she had never seen him caught off guard by a woman.

"Shall we get started on my orientation? I only have a week with you right?" Rogue asked knowing she was being completely obvious about changing the subject, but not caring at all.

She had never been affected like that by a man before, to have her heart beat so quickly just at the sight of him, to have her breath literally taken from her. But the biggest thing was, his pinky had gotten beneath her sweater briefly and swiped her skin, and from that contact she had felt what could only be described as a spark. She had been completely disarmed when she felt him, he may not have noticed but that had been the only thing she was aware of. In over a year and a half he was the first person who had touched her skin, and her powers hadn't been triggered at all.

"Actually luv, we now only have two days."

"REALLY BETSY?!" Remy exclaimed from down the hallway.

"Jesus! Can you please NOT scream at us any more today?" She yelled back, even though he was standing in the doorway again.

"When were you going to share that little bit of information hein?"

"Right after closing up shop tomorrow."

"Well that aint going to be enough time to train mon cherie. You know how Remy like things run."

"Don't worry about it, I'm a quick study." Rogue said as she threw a wink at Remy "Shall we get started?" She asked turning to Betsy, who only smiled and nodded.

"Well cherie, if you're a such a quick study you can spare ten minutes of your day to come grab some coffee hein?"

"I'm a quick study, but not an idiot, if I'm not here I can't learn anything."

"Oh I like her! It's going to be fun having her around, very good choice luv!" Betsy said as she linked her arm through Rogues and led her away from Remy to the front counter.

Remy stood there not really knowing how to take their little exchange. On one hand he was very impressed with how she confident she was in her ability to learn new things, on the other hand he was completely disappointed she didn't take him up on his offer to go for coffee. But that just showed him how dedicated she was to actually learning the business and becoming an asset to the team, which was why he wasn't completely disappointed, and because at that moment he got to watch her very round, and very shapely asset walk away from him.

"Alright femmes, Remy knows when he's beat." He said following them. "What would mon chere like in her coffee?"

Not realizing he was talking to her Rogue completely ignored him and while flipping through a binder that Betsy had given her, it was one of the tattoo artists past work. This particular artist had a very delicate touch to the way they drew, the lines weren't too harsh and everything seemed to blend in seamlessly. Each piece was completely different from the next, the artist was so versatile it made Rogues fingers itch to draw something, she settled for running her fingers over the current drawing she was looking at. It was a mother looking down at her new born child cradled to her chest, the emotion conveyed in the drawing was so purely translated by how the artist had shaded, it was so technically well done it was as if she were looking at them in real life. Flipping to the next page it was one of a dog catching a Frisbee mid air, the message of joy this dog brought the owner was brought to life, how the dog's tail was curled mid jump, to the light in it's eye, and even the slight smirk only a dog could have. Rogue sighed at the beauty of the work, and it was all done in black and white.

"Rogue. What do you take in your coffee?" Betsy asked very much amused at the scene before her. Rogue was sitting in the office chair transfixed by the artwork in front of her that she hadn't noticed how transfixed Remy was on her. He stood to the side of the counter watching her flip through Piotr's work, he was completely lost in just watching her and she was completely oblivious to it and Betsy was absolutely thrilled!

"Nothing." Rogue said as she continued to flip through the binder.

"What do you mean 'nothing' chere?"

"Hmm, oh I just take it black."

Well another pleasant surprise, Remy thought to himself, with most girls he'd need to take notes on what they considered as coffee, it had been a while since he heard someone else say they take their coffee black.

"I'll get a low fat double tall chai tea latte with extra foam. Thanks luv!"

With a shake of his head he was almost out the doors, but not before he heard Rogue ask."What the hell type of drink is that?" he chuckled to himself hearing Betsy gasp but since the door closed he didn't hear her answer. I'm definitely going to enjoy having her around too, he thought to himself as he walked towards the local cafe down the street.

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review! MUCH LOVE !

xoxo,

L