A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you like this too.
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How easy it was to lose track of time in a place like that. Always warm and snug. Borderline unreal. Daily sea bathing, strolling around, no time to start, no time to end, no responsibilities nor demands. They ate their meals when hungry, went to bed when sleepy, as if the outside world was now unreachable.
They had had that routine for a month and neither seemed to be growing tired of it nor getting stuck in a rut. And, above all, they never stopped enjoying being together, let alone having their bodies close.
Seeing everything with different eyes, Rogue could not dream up a more perfect place to reflect and find herself. She was fascinated by every discovery she made about herself. However, nothing could beat the discoveries she made about him. The same man she had learned to see as an enemy became constant in her life, just about 24-7. And she loved every minute of it.
Rogue had no idea what day or month it was. The hands of the clock seemed to move in a strange fashion. At times, it went by slowly; at others, so fast that it seemed to always be twilight. Thinking about it, Rogue wondered whether there was a clock in the house; she never noticed for there the time did not matter at all.
Gambit, on the other hand, seemed to always be a step ahead. So much so, on one night, which for Rogue was like any other, he reminded her it was the day to go to back to civilization to pick up supplies. This time around, Gambit had all set, the boat had been schedule previously, which would make the trip faster and less tiring. There were some provisions left, however, they were running out of some hygiene products.
Fighting her hotheaded nature, Rogue did not insist on going along. The trip was long and arduous, also, the farther she stayed away from people's eyes, the better. Rogue had finally accepted this fact, even though she knew there would be a boring day ahead of her. Gambit left first thing next morning after placing a goodbye kiss on her forehead. She muttered something and went back to sleep. Soon after, as she realized she was alone in bed, she rolled over to the other side and sunk her face into his pillow, breathing into his scent. His side of the bed was still warm.
She stretched out, not feeling like getting up. When she finally did, she went straight to the bathroom, barefoot and no need to put more clothes on. She wore her panties and thin white tank top, which barely served to cover up her breasts. She was still amazed that she slept like that next to him.
She spat toothpaste and took a deep discouraged breath. Wished he would show up behind her back and grab her by the waist, like so many times before, raining kisses on her, giving her no choice but to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him on his lips.
She would spend the next few hours trying to busy herself with small tasks, only to realize she would have to be patient. Eventually, she fell asleep on the couch, with a book on her chest, wishing it would not be long until Gambit returned. Rogue used to be by herself back at the Institute, and now the mere thought of solitude made her anxious.
She realized that they spent so much time together that neither got to miss the other. Now Rogue understood what it meant to feel butterflies in her stomach while waiting for someone to finally be there, to count down the minutes until they would be together again.
Every twenty minutes or so, Rogue would check the front door to see if Gambit was near. Around her eighth attempt she was rewarded. Upon spotting him, she ran straight at him, throwing herself in his arms. He let the two handmade bags drop to the ground in order to welcome her in an embrace. Her legs wrapped around his waist.
Rogue laughed at the ridiculous hat he was wearing (she would soon find out she got one as well) and tossed it away in order to kiss his warm lips.
They finished their welcome, she picked up one of the bags, took a pick inside it, and they headed back to the house. Sadly, this time, Gambit did not bring any news.
"I couldn't get in touch wit' my cousin" he said once they were back inside. "I went a little farther than usual to get better internet connection but didn't find anything other than we already know."
She smiled a toothless smile and assured him it was okay, hoping that lack of news meant good news.
Rogue yawned for the fifth time in the last three minutes. Stared down at her toes playing in the water. The weather was so hot. At least it was windy, she thought. Felt her eyes were slowly closing. Her body slightly leaned forward, lulled by sleep; she thought that she was going to fall right into the water, inviting as it was.
When she suggested that they should consider doing something different, she figured that Gambit would have a more creative idea than going fishing. He rigged a fishing pole up, and there they were sitting on a rock with their feet touching the water. Like him, Rogue wore the straw hat she hated so much, and a light shirt over her bathing suit.
After half an hour, which felt like forever, Rogue started to doubt they would ever catch any fish. "There's no fish here" she said grumpily.
"O'course dere is, chère. You gotta be patient" his focused expression was exasperating.
"We won't catch anything without appropriate bait" she rolled her eyes, frustrated with being ignored. "Ah don't know, Ah thought you'd be into a more adventurous activity or something" that was when it hit her. "You're just doing this to get under my skin, ain't you?" her question was a threat. Held back not to let out a "ha!".
Gambit did not show any reaction; just ignored her. Rogue could not tell whether it was her imagination or did a smile form on the corner of his lips.
Setting her fishing pole aside, Rogue determinedly rose to her feet. Stretched out, as her previous position was uncomfortable, raised her arms above her head and puffed up her chest. Took off her shorts and shirt fastened by the middle button, keeping only her bikini on, and lastly took the hat off. Made a pile of her clothes, placing her flip-flops, which she wore to step on hot sand, on top of it for weight.
Standing there, she looked at Gambit out of the corner of her eyes to see whether he was looking at her – apparently he was not. In fact, he was amused, only concealed it well.
Rogue then dived headfirst, in a leap that came off not as perfect as she had expected, because she slipped a little and fell clumsily. Stayed underwater for a few seconds to disguise. Emerged with only her eyes half-closed above the surface. He pretended not to notice. Gambit brought his feet up as he anticipated her next move was to pull him down.
Improvising, she adopted an oversweet tone of voice. "Come down, the water's warm and perfect."
"Not before I catch a fish" he said, trying not to laugh. "If you haven't already scared dem off, dat is."
She contemplated splashing water on him but decided against it as she doubted it would work. She then pulled his pole until he almost fell down. Having said that, breaking it was not her intention.
"I can't believe you broke my fishing pole" he said, struggling not to burst into laughter.
"So what? You caught me, now come down here" she demanded in an authoritative but playful tone of voice.
He stopped resisting, took his shirt and hat off, piling them up along with her clothes, and jumped to meet her. As if out of revenge, Rogue dived and swam away, yearning to get caught. Gambit was faster and caught her by the leg, pulling her to him and stealing an underwater kiss.
They finally emerged breathless. Rogue removed the hair from her face, sleeking it back, and grinning at him. Put her arms on his shoulders and kissed him on the lips before swimming away again.
She woke up to the scent of coffee and could not resist taking a peek at him in the kitchen. She stared at him from a distance and a smile crossed her lips. The more she tried rationalizing, the less sense it made. She was not blind to how good-looking he was but could never say their relationship started off based on physical attraction.
Few weeks before they fought opposite sides. She understood that Gambit did not concur with the Acolytes' ideology, still that was how they had crossed paths. Now she trusted him. She trusted him so that if she saw it from a third-party perspective she would probably regard herself as naïve. How could she not trust him, though? It seemed impossible after all he had done and still did for her. His being untrue was out of the question.
He saved her life when he could have just turned his back on her instead, put his own life in jeopardy. And again he stayed with her when he might as well just leave. And she knew that her feelings for him were not feelings of gratitude, not a debt of honor.
Gambit got them a place to stay and hide but it ultimately felt like home. He tried getting close to her the more delicate possible ways. Respected her limitations on letting anyone close, and broke down her walls. Perhaps Rogue did not even know that it was not that easy for him either. If keeping people at arm's length was her defense mechanism, getting physical was his. Walking that emotional path was torturous for a helpless, so many times used, street boy. They were so alike in that aspect that they could never desert each other, because they knew what it felt like to be used and betrayed and abandoned by someone they called a parent. They had each other now, despite nothing being that simple.
Past the flirting and teasing, they knew what they were feeling became dangerously real. As they feared, now it was too late to turn back.
As hard as it had been for Rogue to learn how to touch without restrictions, now she could. She was no longer the untouchable girl, only stubborn. To be honest with herself she had never overcome her fear of touching. Deep down, she was afraid her powers were going to be restored, although at that point she doubted it, the fear would always be with her.
She imagined what would have been like if they had met in different circumstances. Even if they were not foes, she pondered if she would have let him get so close in case she had her powers uncontrolled. Even without her powers, she resisted. Gambit, on the other hand, was more than willing to help her lose the fear once and for all, even with low artifices as it was definitely proved in that same afternoon in one of his boldest moves.
The day was unbearably hot. Rogue felt like her body was extending and melting. Probably the hottest day since their arriving. Lying flat on the couch, she needed to freshen up. The problem was that they had just come back from swimming in the sea. Her fingertips were still wrinkled from the hours spent in the water.
She decided to take her third bath of the day. Filled up the tub, hoping the water would come out cool. She had always enjoyed warm showers but the weather that day asked for a cool bath. Felt the water and made a face. It was warm. Got undressed slowly before stepping into the tub. Played with the soap bubbles. As she finally found a comfortable position, she closed her eyes and found herself smiling.
However, knockings on the door yanked her out of her daydreaming. She saw Remy's head appear through the door opening. Hadn't she locked the door? She surely had.
"Brought your towel. You left it on the bed, chère."
It was not the whole truth but he wanted an excuse to get in the tub with her, so he got himself an excuse.
"Thanks, Remy" she said, bewildered, sinking a little more into the water. When Remy did not leave, Rogue felt strangely self-conscious.
Walking around semi-naked on a deserted beach was one thing; being actually naked made her feel somewhat vulnerable. She had gotten used to not wearing a lot of clothes and not covering up her body. She was also used to Remy undressing her with his eyes whenever he could, even when she wore only bikini. The same happened with his hands that seemed to have the right to wander wherever they felt like. But now all that separated her nudity from him was soap bubbles.
Remy sat down on the edge of the tub, ran his fingers in the water. She sunk so only her eyes were above the surface.
"Do you mind if I get in dere wit' you?"
She breathed out heavily. "Ah don't think we fit here."
But it was too late, he entered anyway, still wearing his shorts. The water overflowed and ran onto the floor. He sat down opposite to her, bending his knees and pushing her to do the same.
As Rogue contracted, Gambit expanded. He put his arms out of the tub and smiled satisfied.
She squinted at him, not knowing how to feel, but somewhat angry. "You ask me to go easy on you but then you come barging in on mah bath."
"Not de first time I couldn't keep a promise, chère."
He then leaned forward at her direction, hovering his body over hers. When Rogue pouted he knew she was not really angry. He kissed her softly on her lips and she stopped resisting right away. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him guide.
Underwater, his hands went up her leg. Wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her with him as he sat down. For a moment, she forgot her being naked and let herself fall onto him, making more water overflow.
There was no room for him to stretch his legs so he kept them bent; only his knees could be seen above the water and her slim body between his knees.
Rogue kept her eyes closed as she dived into his mouth; still, she was aware of her breasts against his chest and her back and her cheeks above the surface.
"Anna?" he called her, panting, his lips on hers. She replied back with a weak moan, not wanting to take her tongue off his mouth. "I can't feel my butt."
She came to her senses, looked up at him and laughed. "I told you the tub was too small for the two of us" sat back on the other side, curling up, her arms crossed over her chest since a good chunk of the water had been spilled.
Gambit got out of the tub, splashing the floor even more, his shorts dripping. Crouching down, he gave her a long kiss.
"I'll wait in de kitchen" he said with a charming smile. "I'll fix us something to eat."
With a huge smile and cheeks blushed, Rogue stayed in the tub for a little longer. She dried and wrapped herself around the towel when she did not find her clothes she realized he must have taken them away. She got dressed before meeting him in the kitchen. They could clean up the mess in the bathroom some other time.
In a blurred sequence of events, she would soon find herself sitting on the table, her legs around his waist. They only stopped when smelled something burning.
It was rather early when the X-Men were called for a meeting. With the exception of the youngsters, who seemed to be oblivious to most of the commotion, the rest of the residents of the Xavier Institute got to the meeting room in less than five minutes, eager to hear good news.
Wolverine was the last to arrive. Silently sat down next to Storm. "Any progress?" she discreetly asked him, as if it was a secret they shared.
"No" the Wolverine replied, with wrath burning in his eyes. "It's no use, 'Ro. Mesmero won't spit it out."
That was the fourth failed attempt at interrogation. This time, Wolverine had lost his cool, and Mesmero ended up hurt. Wolverine changed into clean clothes; however, looking carefully, one could notice the dry blood under his fingernails. Storm noticed. She would never collude with such acts of violence but the desperation before that situation they were in turned her into his accomplice, albeit only by remaining silent.
On a big screen, Hank McCoy appeared. Although clearly worn out, his constant enthusiasm was not completely overshadowed by exhaustion. He had made important discoveries while he worked uninterruptedly for the past two days.
Thanks to team work, the pyramid remained hidden from the rest of the world as it was telepathically concealed when a vessel coming near was detected.
Behind Beast there was Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Jean and Cyclops, who made up team number two, on their shift. Nonetheless, the teams' job was to make sure that nothing went wrong and not to necessarily assist Beast. Unfortunately, the doctor would have to work by himself on that task, employing his intellect. There was not much the young ones could do and, even though they tried, could not find anything significant.
In a rough mechanic voice, Beast spoke up. "We found out that the inscriptions on the chamber speak of a prophecy. There are four artifacts, which combined mean Apocalypse's imprisonment, leading to his defeat."
"Any progress in finding out what these artifacts are?" asked Xavier.
Beast nodded his head after a two-second delay. "Three rings similar to the ones used to free Apocalypse. These, however, hold the opposite power" he paused. "The fourth artifact isn't a ring, though" he swallowed in a dry throat before finishing. "It's a mutant."
"Mesmero?" guessed Storm. The only one who dared say anything as the others stayed morbidly silent.
Beast shook his head. "We don't know."
"Can be any of us" Wolverine's hoarse voice was heard after a long moment of silence.
Xavier spoke again. "Hank, how are we supposed to find these artifacts?"
"As far as I learned, each one of these rings, and the mutant, are located in four different parts of the globe" he stopped for a moment and disappeared from the screen. There was the sound of rustling paper. Hank returned, showing a sheet with some rough but legible drawings. "Each artifact is depicted as a symbol. They are a scarab, a scorpion and a snake. The depiction of the mutant is of an open palm" he said pointing to the respective drawing. "The prophecy has it that this mutant will be able to merge into the artifacts, and thus, bring ruin upon Apocalypse" he said as if talking to himself. "There are no specifications of how this will come to be."
"How can we find them?" questioned Wolverine, unfairly losing his patience.
Beast did not falter, his voice remained amiable as always. "All I could find is that there'll be signs. Of what kind, I don't know; only that it will be unleashed as soon as the Genesis Chamber is open."
"Can you open it?" questioned Xavier.
With an uneasy smile, Beast said: "Yes."
Ever since Rogue had landed on that beach she hardly had any trouble sleeping again. With the odd absence of her powers, the voices in her head had been shut down. Perhaps gone for good, which was a comforting thought. That night, however, was an exception.
She could feel Gambit sleeping deeply next to her. Rogue, on the other hand, had a headache, and the skin of her face and shoulders burned from spending too much time in the sun.
She was lying on her back because she could not get comfortable on her side like she preferred. Only time she dozed, she woke up startled. Strangely enough, the nap caused a moment of confusion and, for some hopeless moments, she had no idea where she was. Thought she was back in the room she shared with Kitty at Xavier's, and her heart nearly stopped. Looked around but it was too dark to see. A gruff grave voice brought her back to reality, and Rogue finally realized where she was. Felt the relief run through her body as Remy switched on the lamp.
"You okay?" his voice was sleepy; his eyes half-closed due to the sudden light. "Somet'ing wrong, Anna?"
She tried to smile, and nodded negatively as a lump formed in her throat. The concern in his voice threw her off balance. It was not the kind of concern she was used to. It was not of a father fearing his child's safety, neither of a friend like she knew in Kitty and Kurt; or, even worse, the pity the others could not hide.
Had Remy called her chérie or any other pet name it would have been easier but when he called her by her real name, she knew it to be even more sincere.
He pulled her close to him, putting his arms around her tightly. Somehow, he knew what was troubling her. He could also sense reality forcing its way through their lives. Unlike her, Remy tried not to think about it. When it came to it, he would face it.
Shifting positions, she lay with her back to him and he embraced her. He brushed her ear with his lips as if about to confess something but stayed silent.
As Rogue had not slept well, she got up early, moving Remy's arm carefully in order not to wake him up.
She opened the front door noiselessly and sat down, watched the sunrise and felt as the weather got warmer. The day was clear when Gambit found her. It hurt his heart to see her alone. Would not let her isolate herself again.
"The sky looks beautiful" she said when felt his coming near. She had her legs pulled against her chest – remains of a habit that had not disappeared completely.
Gambit smiled contented. His presence no longer slipped away unnoticed. He was still as stealthy as always, she was the one who became more perceptive to him.
"Oui. It really does" he agreed, his voice soft and hoarse, as he sat down next to her. She silently laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled up into his arms.
"What's on your mind?" he whispered near her ear, which made her shiver.
She smiled and relaxed in his arms. "Ah been restless. Ah try not to but sometimes Ah wonder about how it's gonna be like when we get back... when we face... the lives we had before this."
That feeling would always be there, despite the effort to ignore it. A tiny weak voice deep down in their minds telling them that eventually it would have to come to an end.
Remy's expression became bitter. "You mean Apocalypse, your powers or... or me?"
Her face saddened as she turned to him. "Ah mean everything. Everything here is so... so perfect. Ah know it'll have to end and there's so many things... you have these... obligations to your father, your family."
"You mean Bella Donna, den?" Gambit asked in a severe tone.
"No" it was her frail reply. She barely remembered that name. "It's not it. It's just that the little you told me about this Guild of yours, it's clear you have responsibilities."
"Responsibilities you think I wouldn't give up on for you?"
"Responsibilities that might run out of our control."
"Would you go to New Orleans with me if I asked you to?"
"Yes" she answered so fast and assured that she herself was surprised. "Would you join the X-Men?"
"Yeah" he answered, although not as fast as she did. "No use worrying about it now. We'll cross the bridge when we come to it."
They had just started eating dinner that night when a thunderstorm made the lights go out. Gambit used a playing card to light up the way and went out the backdoor in order to look for what had occurred. Rogue stayed close to the door while Gambit went out of sight. Minutes later anxiety was pushing her into going after him. That was not necessary, though. Gambit showed up in front of her eyes, completely soaked. Rogue startled.
"De generator" he said. "it's out. No use trying to fix it in this weather. I'll see what I can do first thing in the morning."
"I think Ah saw candles somewhere" she remembered.
Using another card to light up the way, they went through the kitchen drawers. Found, in the bottom of a drawer, two flashlights – out of which only one worked – and some candles.
"We'll eat by candlelight then" he said with a wicked yet charming smile, after drying and changing into clean clothes. "It's kinda romantic."
"Not bad" she agreed, taking a seat.
As there was no candle holder, they placed them on saucers and spread a dozen of them around the house. Since there were two packs in the drawer they should last long enough.
After dinner, they played cards to pass the time, however the darkness, the heat and Gambit's innuendo made it hard to focus.
Remy sat down on the couch and Rogue laid her head down on his lap. Every now and then he leaned to steal a kiss. They chatted about various subjects. Gambit learned of Rogue's passion for motorcycles and classic movies. She learned that Gambit wore braces when he was twelve and she came to the conclusion he was a closeted nerd, because of his obvious love for the likes of Star Trek and Buffy, the Vampire-Slayer. Among other things, jazz was a mutual passion.
"Your chin looks huge from down here" she said to tease him.
"An' from up here you look like you're wearing a wig made of a skunk."
She sat up, her mouth wide-open in outrage. "How dare you, swamp rat?"
"Says the river rat."
As it always was, teasing led to a long kiss, which turned into another kiss and another. Started out smooth and gradually changed and became harder and more intense. Rogue felt her throat dry. Their lips throbbing, wanting more. His eyes looked even darker and more ardent. The shadows cast by the flickering flame danced over them.
They shifted positions, fitting their bodies together. Instinctively, she straddled him, their tongues exploring, trying different angles. His hands went up and down her legs, and then her back, under the tank top. She found herself arching at every touch of the palms of his hands that dared to go farther and farther. His fingers outlining the shape of her body, exploring every curve. The heat increased with each second, making it impossible not to gasp.
Thinking that his shirt was in the way of her hands, she pulled it up. He finished the movement and did the same with her tank top. With a herculean effort, she moved her body away from his and blew out the candles in a puff of air. She stood up and took slow steps backwards to the bedroom. When Gambit got up to go after her, Rogue turned around to gain distance and stumbled, falling to the ground in a burst of laughter. He lifted her up, pulling her to him, and the two went to bed, bodies and mouths together.
They found themselves inside the mosquito net, rolling over the sheets, wrinkling them and moving them out of place. There was only the wavering light of the candles, placed beside the now useless lamp. Their few pieces of clothing fell, leaving behind their skins burning from the heat and touching.
Lying on her back, she found it more difficult to move with each second. Following the example of his hands, now his lips explored every inch of her body completely at his disposal.
The movements of their hands were no longer coherent, hair, back, legs, they never stopped. It never seemed to be enough. Their sweaty bodies moved desperately until they finally found synchronism. When his lips found her mouth again, he was between her legs, which she wrapped around his waist. She bit her lip and pressed her body against his.
At some point, they rolled over and reversed their positions. Sitting on top of him, she moved her body back and forth, feeling his hands all over her skin. A shiver went up her back in a wave of pleasure. Their bodies trembled almost at the same time and she collapsed on his breathless chest.
She rolled to the side and he covered her up with the sheet. They lay facing each other, barely any space between them. Her eyes fell closed as he stroked her cheek and got a smile in return.
To be continued…
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