Why was he going into the kitchen? He remembered a story about the siren. The legend said that her song was so captivating that men could not resist it. Sailors would leap from their ships and drown trying to reach the mythical temptress. As he reached the kitchen's swinging door he did not hesitate, but rather entered boldy and headed straight for the fridge.

The bang of the door as it swung in against the wall startled Rogue, who had been dozing. She straightened up and drew a quick breath. "Sorry, chere." Gambit glanced up over the opened refridgerator door. "Didn't notice ya there."

She knew he was lying. He always knew where everyone was in a room as soon as he entered it. It annoyed her that he was already playing games. She noticed his right hand, which was holding the fridge's door open. The knuckles were cut and starting to bruise. "Gambit, what did y'all do ta ya hand?"

Gambit had retrieved a beer from the back of the fridge. He quickly shoved the offending hand into his pocket. He felt stupid for letting her see it. "It's nothin," he shrugged.

"Did ya get in a fight?"

"Heh," he laughed. "Non, chere. Gambit didn't fight any battle t'nite...lest ya count what went on 'tween us."

Rogue cringed a bit at the last comment, but fought against it showing on her face. "Then what the heck did happen?"

"I cut mahself shaving, alright?!" Rogue crossed her arms and averted his gaze. He hadn't meant to get annoyed with her. "Jus' let it go. Please, chere," his voice was soft and pleading. "Ah don't wanna talk 'bout it right now."

Gambit had done his best to make ammends. He'd tried to show her that he was just tired and edgy, and he had his reasons for not wanting to talk. Rogue did not catch the inflection of his voice; the soft tones that he'd meant to say 'I'm sorry.' She remained with her arms stubbornly crossed. "Fine then. Why don't we talk 'bout what you did on yer lil' night out?"

Her voice was bitter and provoking. She was baiting a hook and it enfuriated him. If she wanted to know where he'd run off to, then he certainly wasn't going to with hold the truth. "Well, to start I t'ought I'd getta lil' hammered. And den I spent a lovely evenin' with a femme by the name... huh... oh yeah...Angela."

Rogue felt her heart flutter weakly in her chest. She looked at his dishevled hair, clothes that were haphazardly arranged, and a flushed, pink bite mark on his neck. She'd finally done it. She'd finally pushed him too far, and now he was going to find someone who could give him what she never could. He wouldn't love her anymore. Her green eyes flashed with tears. "How could you...?" She struggled to find her voice, "So what? Ah can't give ya what ya need, so you go out and fin' some lil' tramp who can...? and ya'd throw everything away we..?"

"The last ah checked, dere ain't no 'we' that includes de two o' us. And if I recall dat's at your reguest." Rogue's reaction just made him more angry. Wasn't it just like her put everything on him? "And your perfectly capable of givin me all dat I need... you jus' won't. Don't worry though, Gambit won't bring de femme round here...hang on 'er arm, just to let ya know how well ah'm gettin along without ya."

He stared at her defiantly. Daring her to respond. Rogue dug her fingers into the arm of her chair. "That's not fair," she seethed.

"And what is it dat you t'ink's fair, petite? I supose dat it was fair for me to watch you hangin all ov'r dat villian after Seattle? And it was only just dat you fo'give Joseph all his sins, and none o' mine?! What da ya want, Rogue? You want dat I watch ya smile at every man but me?!" Gambit placed both hands on the table and leaned in toward her. His eyes glowed with the passion of his outburst. Despite the strength she possessed, Rogue felt intimidated, maybe even a little frightened. Her eyes glittered like a little girl's. He stared at her for a few moments, and then spoke softly, "Oui. Bet you'd like dat. Ta watch me pine my life away after somet'ing you know ain't never gonna happen."

Moments that seemed like hours passed as they stared at each other. Both were breathing a little more quickly, shaking slightly with rage. They could here their own heartbeats pounding in their ears. Neither knew what to say. Neither was willing to back down.

It was the beep of Rogue's com-badge, and Scott's voice, that finally broke the silence. "Rogue." They both jumped a bit at the noise. Scott impatiently beeped in again, "Rogue, you there?"

She didn't break Gambit's gaze as she reached to activate it. "Yeah, Cyke. Ah'm here."

"I need you in the war room. I can't find Gambit, so we'll have to do this without..."

"We're comin'."

"Oh...he's there?" Scott was a bit startled by her harsh tone. "Well then, you've both got ten minutes to change into your uniforms before I'll expect to see you."

"Gotchya." Rogue stood with as much dignity as she could muster, walking past Gambit without giving him a second look.

He had calmed down a bit, and was already kicking himself for the things he'd said. He put a hand on her shoulder as she walked past, and started to apologize, "Chere...I..."

She violently shrugged off his hand, and glared at him over her shoulder. He was taken back by the venom in her eyes. "You'd betta go and get changed, LeBeau," she spat. "'Cause personally, ah can't stand ta look at ya."

She stormed out of the room without another word, leaving him alone with a fresh set of regrets.