Disclaimer: Don't own the X-Men
And then he was gone. She stared absently long minutes after he had slunk back into the shadows, feeling a deep well of pain rise up again. Damn. She hadn't counted on the reaction that his eyes would have on her, that the sight of him would create such a gaping chasm.
For two years she had shut out his memory so carefully that seeing him alive was a deep and cutting shock. Two years getting over the Cajun. Two years. The mansion had brought back so many unwanted memories, but not near the amount that seeing Gambit in person did.
***
He shivered, and slid into the shadows. Professor Xavier had once told him he was playing a dangerous game. He wasn't then, but this time he was. And he was cheating. Playing for keeps. Suddenly a heavy hand fell on his slender shoulders and there was an unmistakable *snikt*
"What the hell are you doing back here Gumbo, without a word to your old friend?" Logan's eyes were bright with anger. "Don't tell me you're going to confront Rogue. She's in enough pain as it is." He pressed the tips of his claws into Remy's stomach, not enough so it would hurt, but enough that he felt it. "I don't buy the shit that you were just trying to help that lady. If we hadn't all come out there when we did you would've done a lot more then you did, damn it."
He had nothing he needed to say, because he knew that Logan would never believe him anyway, All he did was press into the claws a bit, let them cut a little bit. Enough pain to bring him back to his senses. "Gambit wasn't goin go to Rogue" He lied. "Just sayin goodbye one last time, mon ami" This said with a mimicking smirk, making fun of Logan's angry and sarcastic wording.
At this the mutant let go, sheathed his claws and slipped inside. He'd be watching Gumbo like a hawk. Or, more fittingly, a wolverine.
***
That wasn't good. Now he knew that there was still hold grudges and accusations. He had to be careful, since Logan's supersenses could pick him up sneaking up to talk to Rogue. "Merde" he muttered angrily, and sulked off to hide until the morning.
***
She had fallen asleep on her windowsill, head still tilted towards the spot where Remy had been. The morning sun fell on her face like shards of the purest gold, highlighting each feature on her face. He sat, leaning against a stone wall, watching her. She was still so innocent, yet the pain she saw had tarnished the purity.
When her eyes began to flutter from the unrelenting glare of the dawning sun, he entered the shadows, eyes being the last images to disappear into the forigiving darkness.
***
Suddenly, all the memories of the precious night came flooding back, and a small tear appeared at the corner of her eye, and rolled down her cheek. No more tears. Just one.
Rising from her cramped position, Rogue stretched luxuriously and changed out of last night's revealing cloths before flitting out her door and out of the mansion into the morning sun. She had forgotten how wonderful the dawn was, and gave herself up to the giddy emotions of the moment. Everything swirled around her as she leaped and twisted and ran, leaving the hatred and self-loathing of last night behind.
She ended up in Remy's arms.
***
He truly hadn't meant to catch her, but she was to far gone into her spiraling, twirling dance, and when he saw her coming towards him he nearly ran. But, stupid as he was, he decided that it was unlikely that she would hit him.
He was wrong, of course.
Rogue's last twisting leap had landed her right on top of Remy, and without thinking he clasped her to keep her from tumbling over his shoulder. Bad move, he told himself. But…
***
"Remy?" She stared at him without seeing, without thinking, for what seemed like forever but was really less then a minute.
It took him a few moments to realize she was returned his embrace, slowly, carefully, but still returning it. No way. Not without a few words. He dropped his arms to his sides, and Rogue reluctantly did the same.
"Long time no see Chere"