Disclaimer: I don't even own the rights to my college degrees and will not for many, many, many years… It's called a starving ex-student, and by the state of my bank account, I'm living the dream.
Pairing: Rogue and Gambit
Rating: Teen/Mature
Warnings: Contains dark and adult themes
Summary: It's what happens when two sides collide. The explosion between what you want and what you need, what's right and what's wrong. It's the wreckage. And it could be so easy. ROMY.
The Wreckage
Chapter Twenty-Five
A Bit of That Holiday Cheer
or
That Which Cannot Be Unseen
Rogue could feel his eyes scrutinizing her current position, but she didn't give a flying backflip. Last night she had done the world good (she assumed) and she was feeling a little more hopeful that every time she turned a corner, she wouldn't be drugged/attacked/kidnapped. After her celebratory killing spree last night, she had slept late and woke up later. She was tired and hungry and enjoying the sheer simplicity of an empty mansion to its absolute fullest.
"You do own a clock, right?"
Only her eyes briefly flitted over to him hanging over the back of the couch. He didn't know she smashed another alarm clock this month, did he? "What does it matter?"
"It's half past noon."
"So?" she raised an eyebrow.
Remy obviously ran his eyes over her lazy form. For once, she realized it wasn't to ogle her. It was clearly a look of judgment. "You're eatin' a bowl of cereal in your pajamas."
"So observant, Captain Obvious," she slurped a large spoonful of her sweet, delicious, fatty cinnamon treat from the bowl resting on her boobs and proceeded to give him a clearly unimpressed look. "And for your information, I'm not in my pajamas. These are just regular lazy people clothes."
"My mistake," he raised his eyebrows sarcastically before hopping over the couch.
"Hey!" she yelped as she jumped up quickly to avoid her cereal milk sloshing over her front. A wet and milky shirt in front of Remy would be hard to live down, not to mention ruin the wonderful start her day was having. She grumbled as she scrunched to her side of the couch. Of all the seating available in the room, he always chose next to her.
Remy tugged at her shoe anyways and grinned. "Good to know you feel comfortable enough around me to wear these. I'm flattered."
"Well, don't be," Rogue narrowed her eyes and huffed in annoyance, pulling her feet back into herself. "No point in hidin' them when you're the one who blackmailed me with 'em."
"Blackmail, hmm? Whatever makes you feel better, chére," he hummed as he flicked through the channels. She hadn't even realized he stole the remote again. Damn sneak.
Rogue ignored him and finished off the last of her cereal, setting the bowl off to the side and stretching. At least she was doing the same thing every other Institute resident was indulging in- eating ridiculously sugary foods with ridiculously fatty milk as breakfast/lunch/dinner. It was nice to not have mandatory Danger Room sessions during the holidays and even nicer it wasn't by Logan's ruling.
"No Black Friday shenanigans for you?"
Her eyes couldn't help but flicker over to his face quickly for a double take. It always unnerved her when he asked these random, conversational questions. It always made her suspicious of what secretive double entendre he was waiting to spew.
"No," she reluctantly answered. "Capitalistic mobs aren't really my thing." Not to mention the fact she was under house arrest for the hell of it. Honestly, she doubted any student that was at home for the holidays was under constant surveillance like she was.
"Not even online shoppin'?"
"You're talkin' to the wrong girl," she snorted. "Maybe I should re-introduce you to Jubes and Kitty when they get back."
From the corner of her eye she saw him shrug. "That's too bad. There were some good deals today."
"Let me guess," she began dryly. "'Good deals' is Swamp Rat for 'good steals'?"
"First, we've been over this. I can't steal while I'm here, I merely… distribute evenly. Spread a bit of that holiday cheer. Take from the rich and -"
"Okay, Robin Hood," she stopped him from spewing more bullshit to her sensitive ears. Then the implications hit her and she sat up straight in disbelief. "Wait. Does this mean you actually bought somethin'?"
"I buy things all the time. Take these for instance," he tugged at her boots with a shit-eating grin.
"But that was a purchase of revenge- for a favor," she reminded him as she yanked her foot back again. "That doesn't count."
"It doesn't?" He playfully frowned at her and it was almost comical how it clashed with his eyes. "I'm hurt."
"Oh, whatever," she kicked him lightly and resumed her television consumption. The implications of his legal purchases kept bugging her and he said nothing to solve the mystery. What could he have needed so bad that he had to buy? Her curiosity gnawed at her until she could bit her tongue no more.
"Okay, fine. What did you get?"
He chuckled lightly. "A TV."
Her jaw almost dropped. Televisions these days were a bit on the extravagant side of purchases these days… "A TV?"
"For some reason, you sound unfamiliar with the concept," he mused drily, pointing at the TV in front of her.
"That's just… really random…" she tried to explain.
"How so?"
She scrunched up her nose a bit. Somehow, combining him and a common, lowly activity of staring at a screen for hours on end didn't really add up. "Random for you. I can see everyone else sittin' still for more than thirty minutes, fascinated with the trivial dramas of modern day entertainment, but not you." It was an odd paring considering he was constantly hopped up on himself.
"Just because I tend to live outside the law doesn't mean I don't enjoy typical, mindless American activities too."
"I guess," she shrugged, almost confused. And then another thought hit her. "When did you even go?" She figured she would have at least heard something as massive as a TV being lugged through the Institute.
"This mornin'."
And he didn't even think to ask- her eyes almost widened in alarm and she stopped that thought dead in its track. "Jeez, do you ever sleep?" Regardless, she was positive he went to sleep after her- and that was after sunrise.
Remy shrugged noncommittally. "Eh."
Rogue slapped her head. What was it with these other mutants not needing sleep?
"Unless if you mean sleep you mean-"
"No, I didn't," she kicked him. "Not all of us speak in double entendres all of time."
"Just makin' sure."
Why did he insist on switching every conversation they ever had into something dirty? And was this something she'd have to get used to? The thought was worrying. "So, how does it feel havin' one of the very few, precious TVs here?"
"I didn't realize it was such big deal."
"You've obviously never seen Jubilee and Bobby goin' at it for control of the remote then- hey, do you get cable up there?"
His eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Oh, no reason," she shrugged, feeling a bubbling laugh erupt from her diaphragm. "I just wonder how you're gonna stop a hoard of girls from gatherin' in your room durin' primetime. I heard the next episode of Glee is going to be killer."
Was it just her wishful thinking, or did his face blanched ever so slightly?
"Didn't think of that, did ya?" she grinned evilly.
"Non," he ran his hands through his hair in agitation. "But that's all I'm gonna think of now, thanks."
"Glad I could spread a bit of that holiday cheer, too," she sighed happily. "And I'm sure I'll really spread it around when all the girls come back…" she threatened lightly as she leaned back leisurely.
"You wouldn't," he muttered lowly.
"Oh, I'm sure it'll come up, say, primetime Tuesday?" Rogue tapped her chin innocently. "I can almost see it happenin' now." Rogue waved her hand loftily in the air in front of her face. "Kitty will ask me what I did all break and Jubes or Tabby will ask me what you did all break. I'll, of course, answer with 'why the hell would I know' but then I'll remember that interestin' tidbit – you know, how you got a brand, spankin' new flatscreen…"
She took a long moment to look at him squarely in the eye. "And the conversation will stop there because everyone will want to check it out."
In the few months she had been around him, very few times had his poker face dropped completely and revealed his visible annoyance. Whether it was by her, by her barely conceal threat or the certain validity of her predictions, the annoyance thrilled her and she could hardly conceal her glee.
"Price."
"What was that?" she leaned her ear in closer.
"Your price," he deadpanned. "What is it?"
"The price of?" she fluttered her eyelashes a little. It felt wrong. She stopped immediately.
"Your silence."
"Oh that," she nodded finally. "Well, you know what they say. If you have to ask…"
He growled a bit.
"Tell you what," she smirked. "My lips are sealed… because of that favor you now owe me."
Remy narrowed his eyes. Really, he should have expected this. "What kind of favor?"
"Dunno yet," Rogue shrugged leisurely and rolled her eyes at his dubious expression. "It won't go against your morals or anythin' like that," she mimicked him shamelessly, recalling the conversation they had only weeks before. "Well, what loose ones you claim to have anyways."
By the amount of time it took Remy to consider the situation, it was obvious he didn't particularly like being in debt to anyone. Letting unused favors loom over the heads of others though? He had no problem with. It felt nice to put on over him, even if she didn't really intend to ever cash in on it.
Maybe he called her bluff too, as he finally nodded in agreement. "Fine. Your silence grants you one favor."
"I say nothing about you ownin' a TV and I get one favor, no expiration date, within reasonable moral boundaries," she repeated.
"Ownin' a TV, watchin' TV, talkin' about TV. Nothin' 'bout TVs and me in the same sentence."
She nodded stiffly. "Agreed."
Remy stuck out his hand and she reached out to shake it firmly.
"Damn schemers, all of you," he grumbled as he stood up.
"Like you're one to talk," she scoffed.
He mimicked her feminine voice poorly as he walked out the room.
"Hey Remy," she called back.
"What?" she heard him mutter a moment later.
"I imagine you bought a Blu-Ray player, too. And that technically isn't a TV…"
She heard him cursing in French even as she heard him enter the elevator to the lower levels. She laughed manically. That last part was just for kicks and he definitely called her bluff, knowing she would be honorable about this. But still, she had a fantastic time annoying him. That's what you get when you judge someone for being lazy on her day off. You get blackmailed.
After the third round of screaming, Rogue paused her game and picked up her screeching phone from its vibrating dance on the floor. A glance at the caller ID and she winced. Due to the day and the sheer persistence, she had really assumed it was Kitty calling about the day's purchases. After seeing it was Wanda, she felt a little guilty.
"Hey, sorry. I thought you were Kitty," she answered sheepishly.
"It's understandable. It is National Shopping Day after all. Now get up," Wanda commanded briskly.
Rogue sat up a little straighter. "Uh…"
"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair."
"Wait- what?"
"Get up off your X-box whoring ass and put on some actual pants. I'm outside."
"Outside where?"
"You hear this?" Wanda asked in annoyance and a blaring car horn resonated in Rogue's ear. Faintly, she could hear it outside- or was that just the ringing in her ears?
"What the hell?"
"Work your magic and make the guards grant you fresh air. You look like you could use some good, old-fashioned vitamin D."
"Isn't magic your thing? And it's completely overcast outside."
"I alter probabilities, dear. And having your friend waiting oh-so-patiently at your front gate is altering the probability of getting you to stay over tonight."
A grin blossomed on Rogue's face. "I'll see what I can do."
"Good. Don't forget about pants," Wanda reminded cheerfully as she hung up.
Rogue sprinted to the Professor's office and halted herself barely before she slammed into the door. Taking a moment to calm herself and clear her thoughts, she politely knocked on the door before entering as she heard the syllables come out of his mouth.
"Hey, Professor X," she grinned brightly, hoping it would help her campaign. "Wanda's outside and she's wonderin' if I could maybe please stay the night and visit with her and the rest of the Brotherhood and put a smile on their faces with my company?" It was a rushed, half-formulated plea for permission but maybe a sheepish smile and little fluttering of eyelashes would help…
Bu it didn't. The Professor's forehead creased as he dissected her sentence. "Rogue, you know it's not safe to be out alone right now."
"But I'm not alone," she interjected. "Wanda's outside and then it's like a two minute drive down to their house and then the rest of the boys are there. I'll be fine."
He sighed. "I realize, but I'm not aware of what their security situation is. It wouldn't be-"
"But Bucketh- I mean Magneto vamped up their entire security system and-"
"I understand he did but I would feel much better if you slept under the Institute's protection, just until I confer with Magnus the state of security."
Rogue heart and face fell a bit. "So it's a no…"
"Feel free to invite Wanda to spend the night though," he offered.
Rogue chewed her lip. There was a reason Wanda came to pick her up unannounced. "Even if I can't stay the night, may I still go over? And they could drop me off later?"
It was a compromise and he had to consider it more thoroughly. "I'm not so sure I like having teenagers out past curfew," he answered slowly. "You are still minors and being recognizable mutants out past curfew wouldn't hold well with law enforcement in the event something happened."
"Can someone here pick me up? Storm? Hank?" It was borderline whiney, but the thought of spending some time elsewhere was too nice to pass up.
The Professor shook his head. "They're all out at the moment. Logan, too, of course."
"What about Remy?" Rogue blurted out without thinking.
The Professor sighed. There it was- the solution. "I don't know what his plans are. I'd have to ask-"
"I'll ask!" Hope danged in front of her face once more and she visibly startled the Professor with her (desperate) enthusiasm. "Do you know where he is?"
"He's… in his room…"
"I'll be right back," she called back as she skidded out and upstairs.
Almost tripped before his door, she didn't bother calming herself down. "Hey hey," she banged on the door. "Hey!"
"Oui?" she heard him through the door. For some reason, she took that as the okay to open the door. She immediately wished she hadn't.
Rogue's face flushed as she stared at a still dripping wet Remy with a towel slung dangerously low on his hips. Out of habit, she recoiled from his room and stepped into the safety of the hallway. (Did the Professor turn up the heat? It was so very warm in here.) But for some reason, her wide eyes couldn't tear away from the deliciously defined ridges and tanned planes and oh dear god, was that an eight-pack?
She had never seen him so… naked and it jolted her out of reality for a hot moment. Jubilee and Tabitha did not do him justice and there was no repressing that errant thought.
Rogue hastily made sure her gloves and long sweater over lapped as she stuttered in the seemingly endless silence. "Sorry, I- I didn't realize," she tugged her sweater to cover more of her neck. It didn't help that she was flashing back to that first drunken motorcycle escapade those months back, where she could feel every muscle she was now looking at…
"Can I help you with somethin', chére?" he smirked in amusement, stepping ever so close to her.
"No," she sputtered quickly. "Wait- I mean yeah. I mean, maybe- I mean- would you put some damn clothes on! I could kill you!" she almost shrieked. Why couldn't she look away? And he would let her almost kill him, because he insisted she use her imagination on him yesterday and he wasn't joking…
"I was about to, but I was interrupted," he cocked his head to the side, clearly amused.
"Well, hurry up, then," she snapped with flamingly red cheeks, or at least, that's what it felt like.
"I will- do you wanna help?" he offered.
"No!" she almost shouted. It's like he's photoshopped!
"Then you might want to close the door," he smirked.
Rogue leapt to yank the door knob just as Remy whipped off the edge of his towel. If she didn't need desperately him to pick her up from the Brotherhood house tonight, she would have beat on him a little bit for his clear disregard for her personal comfort.
A few seconds later, the door whipped open and a still-amused-but-now-clothed Remy was smirking down on her. "What can I do for you… chére?"
She begged her warm cheeks to calm down as she glared up at him. Having clothes on didn't help- she couldn't unseen what she had just seen.
"You busy tonight?" she finally choked out and immediately regretted the words. Honestly, what was wrong with her? It wasn't as if she had never seen a half-naked guy before- and it was Remy, the Cajun sleeze-ball that oozed STD.
Kurt and Logan don't count, Kitty's psych hissed at her sharply.
Remy, however, counts as a half-naked man biscuit, Jubilee sighed.
Agreed. Tabby purred. What I give to sink my teeth into his-
She shoved them back into the deep crevices of her mind before flitting back to the present. Wait- did he just ask her if she was asking him out on a date?
"I'm not askin' you out on a date, you perv!" she exclaimed indignantly.
With a fake, dejected sigh, he walked back into his room and picked up a comb from his dresser. "Then I'm afraid I am most definitely busy tonight," he ran the comb through his shaggy hair as he admired himself through his mirror.
Her hopes fell immediately. She really needed his assistance tonight. "Like, all night?" She hated how meek her voice sounded.
His eyes flickered briefly towards hers through the mirror. "Maybe not all night. Just until after I make the drop."
"And that's around what time?" she asked hopefully.
He shrugged noncommittally. "Why does it matter?"
She meandered into his room a bit and leaned against the door as nonchalantly as she could given her burning cheeks. "Well, Wanda invited me over but the Prof won't let me stay the night… And Logan's M.I.A."
"So you need a chauffeur?" he finished.
"Yeah," she grinned weakly.
"And nobody else is around?"
"No one."
"Not even St. John?"
"I… don't think so," Rogue paused and thought. "Actually, I don't remember the last time I saw him."
"Me neither." Remy paused and furrowed his brows in thought. Burgeoning panic swelled in Rogue chest but Remy squashed it with an indifferent shrugged. "Eh, he'll show up. He always does."
"So…?" she bit her lip as pitifully as she could. "Please? I helped you with your mission, help me with mine?"
Remy gave her a long, calculating stare and finally shook his head with a smirk. "Fine."
"Yes," she hissed.
"Gotta work on your bargainin' skills though. Didn't need to play the heavy so early in the game, chére," he advised.
She couldn't resist the grin blossoming on her face. This was going to be a good night. "Does it matter? Got you to do my biddin' either way."
"Touché."
"Call me when you're on your way," she waved as she skidded down the hallway to put on real pants and to tell the Professor the final verdict. "And this doesn't count as that favor you owe me!"
Ten minutes and a pair of pants later, Rogue was running out of the Institute knowing that until she left the grounds, permission could be resigned at any moment.
"You know, I'm almost surprised Xavier didn't call my dad to make sure it was okay for you to come over for to play," Wanda fluttered her eyelashes in sarcasm as Rogue hopped over the broken door. Safe.
"Same here," Rogue muttered, clicking the near-defective seatbelt into place. "I'm just surprised he let me go at all."
"It's too bad you can't stay the night. It'll make things a bit more difficult," Wanda heaved a playful sigh as she peeled down the road.
"What things more difficult?" The mischievous glint in Wanda's eye gave her little butterflies of nervous anticipation.
St. John cackled suddenly, flinging off a blanket he had been hiding under in the back of the jeep.
"Holy mother-" Rogue flinched away from the grinning redhead. "This is where he's been hidin' out?"
"Yeah, he just kind of showed up at the house the other day. Said it was going to be boring at the Institute for a couple days."
"And you haven't kicked him out yet?" Rogue scooted away from the fiery heat emanating from the backseat, protectively tucking her hair into her hood.
Wanda looked unwaveringly ahead with a straight face. "He has his… uses."
"Does he now?" Rogue let a small smile inch onto her face as she peered into the backseat. "St. John," she began sweetly. "Can I see what you have under the blanket?"
"Can you keep a secret, sheila?" he grinned.
"I always do."
He lifted up the blanket and she grinned.
"Boy, am I glad Logan isn't around tonight," Rogue breathed.
"Oh really?"
"Yep," Rogue smirked happily.
St. John and Wanda exchanged grins through the battered rearview mirror.
"And behind door number two," St. John whipped out a small bag of neatly wrapped, individual chocolate delicacies.
Oh yes. It was going to be a fantastic night.
AN: Had to cut this chapter in half. It'll be up soon. Savor the next chapter, I may be on hiatus after… :frownyface:
Also, review me? Please? I'm almost at 200 review mark and you'd make a jobless girl quite happy...:D