Interval
Carol snatched up the ringing phone.
"Hello?" she said, leaning on the kitchen bench as she answered it.
"Rogue?" inquired the male voice on the other end.
"No, this is Carol," Carol replied, her eyes glancing at her housemate, who was reading a book and drinking coffee at the dining table. "Who's this?"
"Remy," Gambit said. "It's a pleasure to talk to you, Carol. Rogue's told me all about you."
"Oh reeeeallly?" Carol asked, grinning mischievously at Rogue. "That's funny, 'cause Rogue hasn't mentioned you at all."
Rogue looked up from her book at the sound of her name.
"Oh," Gambit said, and tried not to sound disappointed. Great, he had fallen so beneath Rogue's good opinion that she didn't even consider him worth discussing with her best friend.
"So, you're just going to have to fill in the blanks for me," Carol went on.
"Who's on the phone?" Rogue asked.
"Are you someone she met during the BeautyandtheGeek thing?" Carol asked.
"Oui," Gambit replied, hesitated, and then decided that if there was even the slightest chance he might still be able to get together with Rogue, it was through Carol. "Of course, I can't say too much about what happened, secrecy agreements and all that, but I can say that I thought Rogue was the single most attractive woman in the mansion."
"Awww," Carol said, still grinning.
"Carol—" Rogue said tersely.
"She was even more beautiful than the Beauties," Gambit went on, "and that was before the makeover episode."
"Charmer," Carol said.
"It's Remy, isn't it?" Rogue demanded.
"She pushed me away, of course," Gambit went on.
"Oh, she always does that," Carol replied as Rogue stood up.
"Give me the phone," Rogue said, holding out her hand.
"But I kept trying anyway," Gambit went on. "And then the little minx stole my heart."
"Awww," Carol said while playing a determined game of 'keep away' with Rogue, made all the more fun as both women could fly.
"She serenaded me too," Gambit went on. "And well, obviously, she gave me her number, so I figured she must like me back at least a little. Plus, she did agree to go on date with me—"
"Oh did she now?" Carol asked gleefully. "Hey Rogue."
"Give me the—" Rogue started.
"Did you agree to go on a date with Remy?"
Rogue glared at her and reached for the phone again. Her feet scraped against the ceiling in the process and Carol ducked out of the way.
"Oh you did!" Carol exclaimed. "Well, well, well, we can't have you backing out on Remy,"
"I wasn't going to—" Rogue began.
"I was actually going to be in New York next week," Gambit said, sensing he did indeed have an ally in Carol. "I was calling to find out if there was a chance Rogue and I could hook up while I was in town?"
"Oh there's definitely a chance," Carol said, and then thrust the phone out to Rogue. "All yours."
Rogue snatched the phone away and glared at Carol. Carol chuckled wickedly and left the room to give them some privacy.
"Hi Remy," Rogue said tersely, floating down to a sitting position on the bench.
"Hi Roguey," Gambit said, sounding amused. "So, that was Carol."
"Yeah, that was Carol."
"Look, ahh, I'm going to be in New York next week. I'm going to be there for a while, actually, and I was hoping you and I could meet up? Maybe go on that date," Gambit said.
Rogue sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"Yeah, okay," she said.
"You don't sound very happy about it. See something in my head you didn't like?"
"Well there's a stupid question," Rogue replied scornfully. "I always see things in people's heads I don't like. Always. There's no such thing as a perfect person. We all do crappy stuff. The real difference is our attitude. I would much rather deal with say, a klepto who knows he's doing the wrong thing and wants to stop, than with a chronic liar who insists he only tells 'little white lies' and doesn't believe there's anything wrong with that."
Gambit was silent for a moment, and then said: "Well, you said we'd talk later, but we never ended up talking. I can't help but think you're giving me the cold shoulder."
"The break up party was only two days ago, Remy," Rogue said irritably. "I couldn't find a way to pull you aside discreetly. Not with everyone and their cousin insisting that you're in love with me. This was not a conversation I wanted to have then. This isn't even a conversation we should be having over the phone. I like you, Remy, but this is confusing for me too."
"Never told Carol about me."
"Remy, are you pouting?"
"You can see that over the phone? Wow, you really are smart."
"Dork."
Arcade looked around the lab with his hands on his hips and a glare on his face. There were two other people in the lab; the android, Vision, and some new guy Arcade hadn't seen before.
"Where is that Toad?" he demanded. "He was supposed to be back today. And who's this new guy? I said no more interns—"
"Uhh," said the stranger. "I am Toad."
Arcade gaped at him. "You... Toad? What the hell happened to you?"
Toad grinned at him.
"I had a complete makeover," Toad replied proudly. "And now the ladies are going to be falling at my feet."
"Even before they smell your breath?" Vision deadpanned.
Toad laughed.
A little over a week later, Gambit arrived at a little cafe that he had arranged to meet Rogue at. He didn't see her at first, and for a moment he panicked that she had stood her up. Then the van moved and he saw Rogue walking towards him.
"Roguey," he said, and immediately swept her up in his arms and hugged her tightly.
"Umm, hi," Rogue said, feeling a little awkward with her arms stuck between their chests. "Good to see you too."
"Missed you."
"I gathered," Rogue said, paused, and then asked: "Are you always this clingy?"
Gambit slowly let Rogue go. "No, I'm not actually. It's starting to worry me."
Rogue laughed and took his hand. They walked into the cafe and found a table. There was very little conversation until after they ordered their lunch.
"So as much as I'd hate to spoil good food with deep and possibly unpleasant conversation," said Gambit, "I think we should address the elephant in the room."
Rogue nodded. "Alright. Remy, you went into the BeautyandtheGeek thing with the intention of manipulating everyone for your own personal entertainment—"
"Rogue—"
"—and I knew that even before I absorbed you."
Gambit blinked and stared at her. Rogue smiled wryly back at him.
"I'm not going to deny that absorbing you may have had some impact on my decision of who to vote for," she went on gently. "But let's be honest here, you didn't even care about winning the money. You were there for the fun of it. And because Mercy goaded you into it."
Gambit snickered.
"I think I like her, by the way," Rogue added. "I hope one day we get to meet."
"Oh?" Gambit inquired, tilting his head. "That would imply you want there to be an 'us'. Meeting family's a pretty big step."
"Me even considering thinking about seriously dating someone for the first time in five years is a pretty big step," Rogue replied. "Massive, even."
Gambit nodded thoughtfully, accepting that. "Is my career choice going to be a problem? I'm assuming you know..."
"Yeah, I know. But that's part of the whole Remy package," Rogue said, and Gambit grinned at her. "I don't know if it'll be a problem later, but it's not right now."
"Just like that, huh?"
"Remy, I'm usually on the receiving end of being rejected because of one part of who I am," Rogue said gently. "Not just romantic relationships, but of what might have been normal friendships too because I can't control my mutation. And we won't even go into all the bullying I was a victim of during school because of that. I might not necessarily agree with your career of choice, but I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to get to know you because of it."
Gambit smiled and took her hand in his.
"I'm glad," he said. "So, does this mean I can officially call you my girlfriend now?"
Rogue paused, then grinned and gave a little laugh.
"Sure," she said. "Why not?"
"Because Carol would nag you into changing your mind?" Gambit suggested cheekily.
"You've only spoken to her once and you already know her too well."
A few days later—during which Rogue and Gambit had gone out on two more dates—Carol decided to throw a party. The party was mostly an excuse to meet Gambit as so far Rogue had been pretty good at putting off the inevitable meeting. Gambit was the first one to arrive.
"Hey," Carol said when she opened up the door, "you must be Remy."
And much to the shock of both Rogue and Gambit, Carol planted a big, noisy, over-exaggerated kiss on his lips.
"Carol!" Rogue exclaimed.
Carol grinned at Rogue and hugged Gambit tight.
"I just wanted your boyfriend to know I really appreciate him," she said innocently. "Seriously, it's about time someone swept you off your feet, girl."
Carol let go of Gambit and let him step the whole way into the apartment.
"Shut up," Rogue said. "Meddler."
Carol chuckled and closed the apartment door as she looked Gambit over. "Hey, you're pretty hot. Were you a Beauty or a Geek?"
"A Beauty, actually," Gambit replied, snaring an arm around Rogue.
"Don't let him fool you," Rogue said, allowing him to pull her close. "He's smarter than he'll have you believe."
"Oh I don't doubt that," Carol said. "Most people do tend to look for their intellectual equivalent in a mate. I expected Remy to be smart."
"Hmph. Did you really have to kiss him?" Rogue asked as Carol walked over to the kitchen bench.
"Yes," Carol replied without skipping a beat. "But at least I didn't use tongue."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Rogue demanded.
"You mean it's not?" Carol asked cheekily, floating up into a sitting position on the kitchen bench.
"You can fly?" Gambit asked, frowning slightly.
"Yup," Carol replied, then flashed a curious look at Rogue. "You didn't tell him?"
"He knows I stripped you of your powers," Rogue said.
"I just didn't realise you got them back," Gambit said. "She mentioned how your mind needed to be transferred back after you woke up from the coma..."
"Oh yeah, I was powerless when I woke up," Carol said as she started filling bowls with chips and other party food. "They jump-started my powers."
Gambit nodded. Rogue cleared her throat uncomfortably.
"So do you ladies need a hand with anything?" Gambit asked.
"Nah, we're pretty much right," Rogue said. "Allow me to give you the grand tour."
By the time Rogue and Gambit returned for the 'grand' tour of their two-bedroom apartment, the first guests had arrived. At first Rogue tried to introduce Gambit to everyone, but it quickly became evident to Gambit that Carol had a lot of friends, and he suspected that Rogue wasn't quite as familiar with everyone as she would have liked.
Partway through the evening, Gambit left Rogue's side to visit the bathroom. When he returned, he found her in conversation with a tall, dark-haired man. Worse, appearing to enjoy having the conversation with him. He bit the inside of his lip, clenched his fists and made a point of reminding himself that Rogue was allowed to have male friends. He also reminded himself that it had been made abundantly clear to him that he was the only guy she had even entertained the idea of dating in years.
Once Gambit felt like he had sufficiently curbed any jealous outbursts, he approached Rogue and the mystery man. Rogue smiled at him as soon as she saw him, and took his arm.
"And speak of the devil," Rogue said. "Mike, this is Remy. Remy, this is Michael, Carol's boyfriend."
"Pleasure to finally put a face to the name," Michael said, holding out his hand. "You're all Carol's been able to talk about for days."
"Really?" Gambit asked as he shook Michael's hand. "Those much have been really short conversations."
Michael laughed.
"So, did she kiss you?' Michael asked. "She was telling me she was thinking about it."
"Oui," Gambit said the same time Rogue exclaimed: "Wait, you knew about that?"
"She was excited for you," Michael replied, giving Rogue a grin, and then he nudged Gambit. "Word of warning, Rogue and Carol are close. Really, really close. Sometimes I think they don't even brush their teeth without telling the other about it."
Gambit chuckled.
"Not that I think you'll have any problems with this, but stay in good with Carol," Michael went on cheerfully. "Just like I stay in good with Rogue. We will not discuss what Rogue has done to Carol's ex-boyfriends."
"They deserved it," Rogue said seriously, but her eyes twinkled with mischief.
"I'm not going to argue," Michael replied.
"Smart move, Ace."
"Also, there will be double dating in our future."
Gambit nodded. "I think I can handle that."
"So, what is it that you do?" Michael asked Gambit.
"Whatever I feel like, really," Gambit replied with a shrug. "It usually leads me to playing poker in Vegas."
He gave Rogue a wink.
"He's a bit of a playboy," Rogue said dryly.
"Really," Michael drawled, sounding unimpressed and a little disappointed. "I'm air force."
"My commiserations," Gambit replied.
"Let's please not start comparing the value of your, umm, respective careers," Rogue said quickly. "Remember, Mike, Carol likes Remy."
"Okay, okay," Michael said, holding up his hands, and then eyeing Gambit skeptically. "Just tell me you're not dating Rogue just for the lark?"
"I'm not dating Rogue just for a lark," Gambit replied with a smirk.
"I really hope that's the truth for your sake if no one else's," Michael said seriously. "Carol went through a three-year coma after Rogue tried to commit suicide; she'd have no problems screwing you up into a little ball and—what?"
Rogue coughed uncomfortably under Gambit's horrified gaze.
"I kinda didn't tell him that part," Rogue said, avoiding everyone's eyes. "I feel that admitting I threw myself naked off the Golden Gate Bridge takes away from the whole 'dire warning, don't touch me' thing."
Michael cleared his throat. "Yeah, I guess it would. Umm... I'm going to go this way now."
Michael quickly made himself scarce. Gambit turned to face Rogue properly. He lifted his gloved hand and brushed her cheek, encouraging her to actually look at him.
"Roguey?" he asked.
"What can I say?" Rogue said with a shrug, continuing to avoid his eyes. "The whole 'no touching' thing was going to get to me eventually. I reached my breaking point. I freed myself of my prison, jumped...and the next thing I know Carol's gone and caught me. Of course, naked, so there was no way for her to avoid touching my skin, and by the time we were safe..."
"She was in a coma," Gambit finished. "And they still denied you the implant? Even after that?"
"My shrink is of the opinion that if I'm invulnerable, I can't kill myself," Rogue said bitterly. "Which is completely stupid. I could, I don't know, drown or asphyxiate myself or something."
"But you haven't..."
Rogue shook her head. "I'm not going to do that to Carol. I'm not going to let her sacrifice be in vain."
Gambit pulled Rogue close and hugged her gently.
"Remind me to thank her," he said.
Gambit dallied in New York for a few weeks, and then he had to move on for a job. Distance, however, didn't stop him from contacting Rogue—whether by phone or by email—multiple times a day. Rogue didn't mind, although Carol started to worry that maybe he was smothering her.
"I just don't want to see you get hurt," she told Rogue.
"I know, and it's fine," Rogue assured her. "At the moment I don't mind. We're really still getting to know each other. I'm sure things will settle down eventually."
Gambit was always very good about leaving town after pulling off a job and rarely dallied more than a day. On this occasion, he realised that X-23 lived nearby, just far enough away to put some good distance between him and his latest job. He figured, hey, why not? So Gambit called her, and they arranged to meet at a particular park.
When he arrived, he found a group of people practicing Tai Chi in the middle of the park. He watched the group for a time, and then realised that X-23 was amongst them. He found himself a nearby bench to sit on and watched.
The session soon came to an end. Gambit watched as X-23 walked over to the instructor, who was about the same hight as well as the same hair colour. Gambit stood when X-23 started gesturing towards him. As X-23 and her instructor started walking towards him, Gambit realised they had the same eyes, the same face shape, the same nose... Gambit figured this was probably her father. Although there was something about the age in his face and the way he had his hair that reminded Gambit of someone else again, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Hello Remy," she said as they drew close.
"Bonjour Laura," Gambit replied with a nod of his head. "How have you been?"
"I am well," X-23 replied. "This is my father, Logan."
Technically, X-23 was Logan's clone, but since cloning was illegal she couldn't actually admit that.
"Pleasure to meet you," Gambit replied, holding out his hand.
Logan regarded him for a moment, sniffed, and then took his hand and shook it firmly.
"Laura told me you were her teammate on that show," Logan said.
"Oui," Gambit replied.
"I've heard a lot about you."
"I find that very hard to believe," Gambit said before he could stop his quick tongue.
Logan gave Gambit a hard look and then grinned. "I've heard very little about you, and that's a lot for Laura."
"Aww, I feel loved."
Roberto "Sunsport" Da Costa looked over Ray "Bezerker" Crisp as he worked on the computer. Roberto watched as a piece of footage from BeautyandtheGeek played out on the screen.
"How's it going?" Roberto asked.
Ray gave a shrug. "An editors job is never done. Or it feels that way."
Roberto chuckled.
Gambit lay on the bed in his hotel room in Las Vegas with his phone plastered to his ear. He loved listening to the sound of Rogue's voice. What he wasn't enjoying was the frequency the names of other men appeared in their conversation. Okay, sure, these were guys she worked with, or were friends of Carol's or for some other reason had known them for awhile. He knew he had nothing to be concerned about, but she kept talking about them with affection in her voice and mentioning things they did together, and it was driving him crazy.
Finally, while Rogue was in the middle of recounting a story about something that some Steve guy did while in the lunchroom at work that day, Gambit yelled "well why don't you date him then!" and hung up in her ear. He immediately regretted this action, realising immediately that he had let his jealously get the better of him once again. He tried calling her back, but there was no answer.
Gambit sighed and sat on the side of the bed, his head buried in his hands. It was just a stupid story. There was no reason for him to get upset over it. Heck, there was no reason for him to get upset about Steve at all! Okay, sure, Steve did get to see Rogue all the time because they worked together, and no doubt they had a close working relationship, and probably they had their little inside jokes, and he might even have her phone number and occasionally contacted her at home—
"Remy shut up," he told himself.
He tried ringing Rogue again, still no answer. Great; once again he had screwed up a perfectly good relationship.
Gambit gave it a few more minutes and tried again. When there was still no response, he pulled out his laptop computer and started searching for florists near Rogue's apartment.
x-x-x
As soon as Rogue got to the lobby of the Las Vegas hotel that Gambit was staying at, she pulled out her phone. She ignored the stares her dishevelled appearance and wind-whipped hair was getting, and dialled Gambit's number.
"Roguey!" he exclaimed as soon as he answered. "Oh thank—"
"Which room are you in, Swamp Rat?" Rogue demanded, storming into the elevator.
A little confused, Gambit told her the number. Rogue pressed the appropriate floor button in the elevator.
"I'm going to be knocking on your door in a minute and if you don't answer it straightaway, you're going to be up for the repair costs, you got me?"
Rogue hung up before Gambit could reply. The elevator doors opened on Gambit's floor, and Rogue stalked out and down the hallway. It was easy to find Gambit's room, because he was already holding the door open when she got there.
"Rogue?" he queried.
Rogue grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pushed him into the room, letting the door close behind her, and pressed him up against the wall.
"Don't you ever hang up on me again!" she yelled at him.
"I...I..." Gambit said, completely thrown off by the fact that she was here, "I promise I won't do it again."
"Good!" Rogue said. "Honestly, of all the stupid things—"
"I know, and I'm sorry," Gambit said earnestly. "I know you and Steve work together, and there's nothing...like that...going on between you, and it was stupid and I'm sorry and—"
Rogue pressed her gloved fingers against Gambit's lips and he fell silent, his eyes pleading.
"Well, you did warn me you got jealous," she said, sighed and finally released him. "Don't worry. We'll figure this out together."
Gambit stared at her. A smile grew on his lips.
"You mean that?" he asked hopefully. "Really?"
"Of course I mean that."
Gambit hugged her tightly. "No one's ever said that to me before. My ex-girlfriends—the ones I cared about, I mean—they always told me to get over it."
"Well, you do have to get over it," Rogue said, hugging him back. "But I'm not going to make you try to do it by yourself."
Gambit buried his face in her shoulder. "I love you."
Rogue smiled. "I love you too."
There was a pause, and then Gambit said: "Can you say that again?"
Rogue giggled as she pulled back from the hug.
"I love you too," she said. "I don't love it when you hang up in my ear though. I don't even 'extreme like' you when you do that."
"Sorry," Gambit said, brushing her hair out of her face. "How'd you get here so fast, anyway?"
"I flew," she replied with a shrug.
"But...New York is five or six hours away," Gambit pointed out. "It's only been an hour."
"It's five or six hours away if you're on a big, clunky, heavy commercial plane," Rogue said cockily. "Do I look like a Boeing 747 to you?"
Gambit laughed. "No, not you definite do not. And it explains the bug guts on your forehead."
"Ugh, yeah hate that," Rogue said, resisting the urge to wipe her forehead. "That and getting a face full of bird. That sucks."
"You can use my shower if you want," Gambit said, sliding his hand around her waist.
"That's a little redundant if I'm flying straight back, Swamp Rat," Rogue replied, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Aww, but you just got here," Gambit said. "You should at least let me take you out to dinner, or maybe you could stay the weekend?"
Before Rogue could reply, her phone rang. She cleared her throat, let go of Gambit, and pulled her phone from her pocket.
"Hello?," Rogue said.
"Hey," Carol replied. "So, did you and Remy have a fight?"
Rogue blinked in surprise at the question. "I guess, why?"
"Because I just took receipt of a big bouquet of flowers, a box of Swiss chocolates, and half a dozen balloons that say 'I'm sorry.'"
"Aww," Rogue said and grinned at Gambit. "Did you send me flowers?"
Gambit coughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Umm, yes..."
"Are you with him right now?" Carol asked.
"Yes," Rogue replied, taking Gambit's hand with her free one.
"I thought he was in Vegas."
"He is."
"Ahhh," Carol said knowingly. "So can I expect you back soon, or are you still busy kicking his butt?"
"Actually," Rogue said, smiling at Gambit. "I thought I might stay for the weekend."
"Darn," Carol said while Gambit pumped a fist in the air in a silent cheer, "now I'm going to have to go back out and buy my own Swiss chocolates,"
Rogue laughed.
"Okay, well, have fun in Vegas," Carol went on cheerfully. "And don't forget, we both promised each other we'd be the maid of honour at each other's weddings—"
"Carol—"
"—so make sure you give me at least two hours notice before any last minute wedding plans."
"See you Monday, Carol," Rogue said dryly.
Carol laughed wickedly as she hung up.
"Eeee!" Kitty said, clapping her hands excitedly and bouncing on the spot in front of the TV. "Pete! I'm on TV!"
Her boyfriend, Pete Wisdom, looked in the lounge room as Kitty giddily rewound the ad.
"You have to see this!" she insisted.
Kitty pressed play again, and Pete smile while an ad played for the next season of BeautyandtheGeek.
"See! There I am!" she said pointing excitedly. "And there's my partner, Pete, except he's Piotr, not Peter like you, and that's..."
"This," Henri said, sitting down on the lounge in between Mercy and Gambit with a big bowl of popcorn in his hands, "is going to be good."
Gambit chuckled. "Just remember, Mercy made me do it."
"Ha!" Mercy said. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have met that Rogue fille we still haven't met yet."
"All in good time," Gambit said.
"Shh, it's starting!"
The first episode of BeautyandtheGeek began to play, and it opened up with a few of the auditions that had occurred around the country. They got a good laugh at a number of the Beauties who didn't know the answers to what they thought were easy questions, and then got even more laughs about the number of Geeks who could recite Pi to a ridiculous number of decimal places. They also had a good giggle at the small piece of Gambit's audition that they showed:
"What race is Mr Spock?"
"Who?"
"Mr Spock."
"Umm..." Gambit said, appearing to thinking about this very hard. "Chinese?"
Henri sniggered. "Did they ever figure out you like StarTrek?"
"Nope," Gambit replied proudly. "But while I was saying that, all I could think about was the time Kirk said Spock got his head caught in a mechanical rice picker. I wonder how many nerds out there will get the joke?"
Henri turned to Mercy. "This is all your fault, you know that, right?"
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Mercy replied.
Finally, the show moved on from the auditions to the BeautyandtheGeek mansion. They were briefly introduced to each of the Beauties upon their arrival, and then the Geeks.
"I'm Rogue, and I didn't pick that name for the fun of it," Rogue said, her face dominating the screen. "I'm untouchable, undateable, and my idea of a good time is being left alone."
"Wow, she has the perfect mating call for you, Remy," Henri teased him.
Gambit chuckled. The show then went through the rigmarole of picking partners, showed a little part of their pool party that night, and finally moved on to the first challenges. Henri couldn't stop laughing during Gambit's debate with Tabitha.
"Mon dieu, you were playing that poor fille like a fiddle," Henri said, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Yes, yes I did," Gambit replied proudly. "And Tabby will never know."
After the challenges, Gambit had the chance to listen to Tabitha, Scott, Pietro and Rahne's discussion on who to send to elimination. Having never been privy to that conversation at the time—for obvious reason—he found it fascinating to get an idea of how that conversation went.
"I sense I'm going to enjoy watching this," he said. "Even if it is a little weird seeing myself on TV."
"Hi Sis," Pietro said, zipping to Wanda's side while she was busy on the computer. "Whatcha doing?"
"Ahh! Pietro!" Wanda exclaimed, irritated at being startled by his abrupt appearance. " No one invited you. And I'm seeing what the world at large thinks of the first episode."
"Hmm, interesting, interesting," said Pietro, glancing over the forum. He then pointed at one subject line. "'Remy is a plant'. What's that about?"
Wanda clicked on the link.
"Huh," she mused and she read, and Pietro read over her shoulder. "Apparently Remy is smarter than he appeared."
"That guy thinks Remy's a con artist," Pietro said.
Wanda and Pietro looked at each other. "Nah."
X-23 sat in front of the TV with her circle of friends: Julian, Surge, David, Mercury, Dust and Santo. As they watched the second episode of BeautyandtheGeek, the scene changed to one of herself and Gambit sitting on the bed with the books.
"So," Gambit said. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
There was a long pause, and then X-23 replied: "I do not know."
Another pause and then: "But there is someone you have, ahh, romantic feelings for?"
"I do not want to talk about it."
"Gee," said Surge. "I wonder who that could be? Hmmmm..."
Mercury giggled and Santo guffawed.
"You're hilarious, Surge," Julian retorted hotly.
X-23 looked down at her hands in her lap. After returning home, she had been able to tell Julian that she missed him. It was harder trying to tell him that she liked him. The words wouldn't emerge from her mouth.
As the episode progressed, she felt more and more embarrassed by her performance, especially when she saw her efforts during the challenge, the relationship advice. Her friends found her efforts hilarious. X-23 just felt woefully inept.
"Leave her alone," Dust said firmly. "Laura did her best."
"That's right," said a deeper voice from behind them, and everyone bar X-23 turned to see Logan leaning against the door frame.
"Uhh, hi Logan," said Mercury. "Been there long?"
Logan lit his cigar. "Long enough."
The group watched the rest of the show in silence. When it finished, the chief offenders were very quick to depart. Dust was the second last to go, leaving X-23 alone with Julian.
"So, umm," he said awkwardly. "That Remy guy seems, umm, nice."
"He was a good partner," X-23 replied. "He helped me a lot."
"Well, that's good to know."
Silence fell. Julian took a deep breath. Normally he didn't have problems asking out girls, but he found it very off-putting being attracted to someone who literally scared him. Still, she had all but told him to his face that she liked him too, and the teasing from their peers was getting a bit much. Plus with their friends always acting as if they were already a couple, calling himself X-23's boyfriend, and referring to X-23 as his "crazy girlfriend" it was little wonder X-23 was confused about their status.
"I, uhh...I've got umm, romantic feelings for you too," he said finally.
X-23 chewed her bottom lip for a moment, and then said: "W-would you like to go on a date with me?"
"Yeah, I'd like that," Julian replied, a grin appearing on his face. "How about Friday? We can go out to dinner."
"Yes."
"Great. I'll pick you up, say, about six-thirty?"
"That is acceptable."
Julian's grin broadened. "Good. I have to go, but I guess I'll see you on Friday."
X-23 walked with Julian to the door and said goodbye. As she turned back into the house, she saw Logan standing there. He took in the bright smile on her face and nodded.
"About time, kid," he said.
Carol snatched up the phone as it rang, wondering it if it would be for her, or if it was Gambit again. It used to be that every time the phone rang it was for her. Not that she was complaining about the change in status quo.
"Hello?"
"Good afternoon, my name is Dr Hank McCoy," said the caller. "I'm calling from Forge Industries and I was hoping that Rogue might be there. Or are you she?"
"No, I'm her housemate, Carol," she replied, startled. "I'll just get her for you, just a second."
Carol put the phone down, and then trotted down the hall to Rogue's bedroom. She gave a quick knock on the door, and then poked her head in.
"There's a doctor from Forge Industries on the phone for you," Carol said as Rogue lifted her head from her book.
"Forge Industries?" Rogue repeated. "Why would they be calling me?"
"No idea, honey," Carol replied. "Maybe you should pick up the phone and ask him."
Rogue pulled at face at Carol as if to say 'well duh' and put down her book. Momentarily she was on the phone.
"I have an application you put in about four years ago for one of the power control implants," Hank said after identifying himself again. "Is this the most recent?"
"Yeah," Rogue said slowly.
"Well, after reviewing it this morning—along with a number of the other previous applications—I would like you to consider reapplying," Hank said seriously. "I find some of the reasons why the psychiatrist on this application in particular for not giving you an implant to be rather specious. I would suggest you making an appointment and applying through one of our recommended psychiatrists; yes they are more expensive, but you'd have to see one of them if you were accepted for the implant anyway, at least for a short while."
"You...you want me to reapply," Rogue said, sounding stunned.
"Yes," Hank confirmed. "I can't give you a definite, of course, but I believe you have a good chance of being accepted. Fifteen years is a long time not to be able to touch anyone, as I'm certain you're well aware. I am both surprised and concerned you weren't granted an implant years ago."
"You really think I have a chance?" Rogue asked, trying not to get hopeful, lest her hopes were dashed once more. "I gave up applying because the hassle wasn't worth the constant rejections."
"Yes, I do," Hank said. "In fact, I already took the liberty of talking to Doc Samson—one of our recommended psychiatrists—he has had a cancellation this Thursday at two, if you're interested."
"Yes, please, absolutely," Rogue said.
"Excellent. I can book you in right now..." Hank replied. "Do you have pen and paper handy?"
Rogue did. She wrote down the address, as well as the name and time, thanked Hank profusely, and finally hung up. Carol watched her curiously.
"He wanted me to reapply for the implant," Rogue explained, trying very hard and failing not to get too excited. "He can't understand why I haven't got one already. I'm to see a Doc Samson—one of their shrinks—this Thursday."
"Oh Rogue, that's wonderful," Carol said, trotting over to give her friend a hug.
"He said he can't guarantee it," Rogue said. "And I'm trying really hard not to get my hopes up."
"I'll get my hopes up for the both of us then," said Carol.
Rogue giggled. "I can't believe it. It's so out of the blue too."
"Not really," Carol replied. "I mean, it was only last night you were telling Remy on BeautyandtheGeek why you didn't have an implant."
"Oh you're right," Rogue said, remembering watching the massage/car maintenance episode with Carol the night before. "Do you suppose Dr McCoy watches it then?"
"It's one hell of a coincidence if he—or someone he knows—doesn't."
"Good point," Rogue said thoughtfully. "Carol, don't tell anyone just yet. Especially not Remy."
"My lips are sealed."
After watching the fourth episode of BeautyandtheGeek, the one with the interior decorating and computer challenges, Gambit was reminded of something. On impulse, he rang X-23's home phone number.
"Yeah?" was Logan's gruff response upon answering the phone.
"Bonjour M'sieur Logan," said Gambit. "This is Remy—"
"Laura's not here right now."
"That's fine. Actually, I was hoping to talk to you."
x-x-x
A few days later, X-23 opened up the door of her home and was able to confirm what her nose already knew; Gambit was there.
"Hello," she said.
"Hi Laura," Gambit replied as Logan came into view behind her, and lifted up the big box in his hands. "I know it's not Christmas or your Birth—well, actually I have no idea when your Birthday is... In any case, I got you a present. May I come in?"
"Yes," X-23 replied and opened up the door. There was a particular scent about him, one she liked, and it was particularly strong. It made her happy and sad at the same time.
Gambit walked inside and X-23 led him to the lounge room. Logan followed, keeping his distance. Once they were settled on the lounge, Gambit handed X-23 the box.
"Here you go," he said.
He watched as X-23 lifted them lid of the box, and he grinned when the little brown Labrador puppy immediately put his little paws on the side of the box and poked his head up. The best part, however, was seeing X-23's face go from her usual solemn expression to "Eee he's so cute!" in under a second. She darted a look at Gambit.
"He's all yours," Gambit said. "I picked him out especially for you."
X-23 looked back at the puppy, not knowing if she dared.
"It's okay, Laura," Logan said, smelling her anxiety. "No one's going to make you kill this one."
Gambit was curious about that particular reassurance, but it seemed to do the trick. In moments the box was on the floor and X-23 was hugging the puppy with all the enthusiasm of a girl a third her age.
"That's because today is... Geek Makeover Day!"
"Yay!" Carol cheered.
Rogue laughed. They were sitting in front of the TV with Michael, watching the fifth episode.
"We can already see the results of the makeover," said Michael. "Rogue doesn't wear a clown's supply of make up any more."
"Shush you," Rogue retorted.
"Hey, I'm excited 'cause now we get to see the transformation as it happened," Carol said. "Hurrah!"
x-x-x
Amara scowled at the TV, watching herself looking dejected and miserable at the bar during the 'frumpy flirting' challenge. She hated that challenge. And she hated seeing herself so miserable, and remembering how awful that experience had been.
But if just seeing herself wasn't bad enough, it was worse when she saw the other's reflections on the challenge. One in particular:
"I don't know why everyone got so upset about it," Gambit told the camera. "It's not like it was real. It was a game, a challenge, and man it was fun. I wanna do it again, only this time I want to be even more repulsive to look at. Maybe with a great bit wart..."
x-x-x
"I suspect that Remy had fun with the challenge today," Rogue said to the camera. "I don't think he said anything because he realised he would piss a lot of people off if he told them he actually enjoyed himself. But yeah, Remy makes me think of the prince who pretends to be a pauper just for kicks."
Henri laughed.
"She has you pegged, doesn't she?" Mercy said, smirking at Gambit.
"Almost," said Gambit, grinning. "It's more the pauper who became a prince, who occasionally pretends to be a pauper again for nostalgia value."
After they break, the episode moved onto the speed dating. Gambit geared himself up for watching Rogue with the other guys, but strangely, when the moment came, the green-eyed monster never showed up. He glared at Joseph every time he appeared on the screen, but otherwise Gambit found himself to be surprisingly calm. He figured it was probably because it happened months ago now, and he had been prepared.
…...…...
The sixth episode of BeautyandtheGeek wasn't even over when the denouncements started. In less than twenty-four hours, Wanda, Amara, Amanda and Lance discovered the truth: they had been played by a card shark.
Wanda, thanks to her constant review of the BeautyandtheGeek forums, was the first to find out. Initially she couldn't quite believe what was being said; that Gambit practically lived in Vegas and he regularly played—and won big—at the poker tables. She dismissed them at first, primarily because there were only two kinds of threads about Gambit in the forums; those who hated his guts and those who adored him. She had gotten tired of reading both. Still, if the card shark thing was true, maybe some of the other rumours might be true too...
Henri and Mercy thought it was hilarious. So did Emil, and a number of other friends of Gambit's, who called him up to congratulate or otherwise tell him off for his tricks.
"So yeah," Gambit said cheerfully to Rogue over the phone. "I'm having a great day. Man, I'm already looking forward to the reunion."
"Oh? So you haven't actually spoken to anyone yet?" Rogue asked, sounding amused.
"Nah, I'm only in contact with you and Laura," Gambit replied. "What about you?"
"Wanda, Toad, Kurt, Pyro, Laura, Kitty, and Pete," Rogue replied.
"Wow, you really did make friends."
"Carol was impressed."
Gambit froze while watching the seventh episode.
"I knew it!" he exclaimed. "I knew he looked familiar but I figured it was just because he and Laura looked so much alike."
"What?" Henri asked, eyeing him curiously.
Gambit paused the TV and pointed to one of the manikins in the background during the tour guide challenge. "That's Wolverine."
"Yeah, so?"
"Laura's dad. Logan. He's Wolverine," Gambit said, running his fingers through his hair. "I am such an idiot for not realising it earlier. The healing factor, the claws, the fact that Laura knew everything about Wolverine during our study. And I mean everything. At the time I thought it was just a military history enthusiasm thing but... damn..."
x-x-x
"Huh," Rogue mused as the episode came to an end.
"What's 'huh'?" Carol asked.
"Remy decided to kiss me after that elimination," Rogue said. "I guess they decided to cut that bit out."
"Darn, they always cut out the good parts."
"Hello?" Carol said upon answering the phone.
"Hey Carol," Gambit said. "Is Rogue there? I've been trying to get her for days now."
"Oh, she didn't tell you?" Carol asked.
"Tell me what?"
"She's having...umm..." Carol hesitated, and then changed what she was going to say: "She's got a big project on at the moment and is incommunicado for now."
"Oh," Gambit said. "I was hoping we could hook up before the reunion. I wonder why she didn't tell me?"
Gambit sounded so unhappy, that it took all Carol's self-restraint not to blow Rogue's secret.
"She is going to be at the reunion, but she might not have a chance to see you before that," Carol said carefully. "I'm not even able to contact her at the moment either. Oh, I watched BeautyandtheGeek last night. I loved your little reunion with Rogue when you guys were all looking for your former housemates."
"Yeah, that was a pleasant surprise," Gambit said glumly. "There isn't anything wrong is there? She's not having second thoughts about us...is she?"
"What? No! Definitely not," Carol said, and Gambit was instantly reassured by her vehement tone. "She's had a one-track mind all week leading up to this. As incredible as it sounds, she probably just forgot to tell you. It's a pretty big deal, and I'd love to fill you in on the details, but you should really hear it from Rogue, not me."
A few days later, Carol arrived at Forge Industries Medi Lab. She was directed to Rogue's private room, and found her best friend waiting nervously.
"Hi," Carol said, smiling at her. "How'd it go?"
Rogue turned and smiled back at her. "Good, good. I don't really feel any different, but Dr McCoy says the surgery was a success."
"A very happy success, I might add," said Hank from the doorway, with a clipboard in one hand. "Not a single complication, which is how we like these things to go. Ms Danvers, I assume?"
"Yes, but please call me Carol," Carol replied.
"Carol," Hank repeated with a nod, and then gestured to the hallway with his free hand. "If you two ladies would like to come with me. We're most appreciative of your assistance, Carol. I understand you've been at the receiving end of Rogue's mutation before."
"I have," Carol replied, following Hank out alongside Rogue: "I'm hoping not to be today."
Hank chuckled. "You're not the only one."
Hank led them to a lab where both women were set up with a number of different monitors. Rogue took off her gloves and Carol saw a new watch on Rogue's left hand.
"Okay, Rogue," said Hank from behind a nearby console. "Whenever you're ready."
Rogue took a deep breath and reminded herself that all the other tests had worked out. They wouldn't be doing a 'real' test now if they had doubts it wouldn't work. She pressed the appropriate button on her watch, which activated the new power control implant in her brain. Her nervous green eyes met Carol's encouraging blue ones, and she reached out her hand to take Carol's bare ones.
Nothing happened.
Rogue started to cry. She couldn't help herself. For the first time in fifteen years she was touching the skin of another person and not hurting them. Her hands gripped Carol's tightly and then moved up her bare arms.
"Congratulations Rogue," Carol said, holding her tight, but not too tightly, as the implant would have turned off Rogue's borrowed powers too. "Congratulations."