Rogue hurried away from the kitchen. As she passed by a mirror, she noticed a fairly stupid grin was plastered across her face. So it was Ororo and Logan now? She started to remember little clues. Barely perceptible moments had past between the lovers that might have let her know what was going on. She couldn't blame them for wanting to keep the relationship private. The X-Men were worse than a southern quilting circle when it came to gossip. She even found herself under the microscope when she had become involved with Remy.
It seemed to her that every resident of the Xavier Institute had something to say behind her back about her relationship with Remy. She'd even found out that while she was involved with Joseph there had been a bet about how long it would take her to go running back to the Cajun. Bobby had thought she would leave Joseph on his ass within the month. Kitty thought that Gambit would throw down with Joe before Rogue had the chance. And Betsy insisted that Rogue would simply have a nervous breakdown and leave them both. * Ah wonder who won th' pool? * she thought as she made her way to the roof. * In a way ah s'pose they were all right. *
Yeah, their relationship was dysfunctional. Rogue knew this. That didn't make it okay for everyone else to pass their judgements. Who were they to trivialize? Who were they to turn her life into one big joke? Or worse, a goddamn bet. Rogue's hand became a fist as her anger grew, but thinking better, she relaxed. This wasn't about everyone else. It only had to do with her and Remy. Rogue realized that maybe she'd lost sight of that. It was possible that she'd let everyone else's opinions cloud what she truly felt. In time she had decided that it would never work, and that she needed to get over him.
Settling herself on the roof, Rogue began to think about what had happened earlier in the day. She had been determined to finally cut him loose, and instead had become closer still. She didn't really want to let him go. She was just frightened. Remy's words rung in her ears: "You not be so tough as you act." Was she really so transparent? Pathetic really, how she ran from the best thing she had. She had to laugh. He'd called her out. He'd laid his heart at her feet, just to give her the opportunity to change her mind. And Rogue had changed her mind. For the first time since she'd committed herself to the X-Men, she decided to stop running.
She floated silently around the roof until she came to Gambit's window. Normally he would have been awakened by the sound of her lifting it open, even though she did so as quietly as possible. But since Hank had prescribed him a sedative to help him sleep without waking every telepath in the house, he didn't move a muscle. She moved across the room to his bed, not touching the floor.
He stirred slightly as she settled her weight on the corner of the bed. In his sleep he looked younger. His face was soft and relaxed, not showing the strain of all those hard years. He was so damn beautiful. Rogue marveled that such a man could love her so completely as he did. She unzipped the hooded sweatshirt she was wearing and set it on the floor. Beneath it she wore only a thin-strapped tank top, revealing her neck and shoulders. Next she pulled of her gloves and tossed them aside. * Remy, * She placed a finger on his lips and whispered through her mind. * wake up, sugah. *
Remy opened his eyes groggily. "Rogue? Dat you, chere?" He set himself up onto his elbows. "What are y'doing here? What's wrong?"
"Nothin's wrong... jus' wanted ta talk t'ya."
Remy sat up fully, shaking off the dopey feeling of the sedative. As the sheets slid off of him, Rogue saw he was completely bare from the waist up. Instantly she felt a cloud of butterflies boil up in her stomach. "If you came t'hear me tell you I hate you, Remy's afraid he's gonna have to disappoint." He flashed that familiar smile that set her at ease.
She laughed quietly and whispered, "No, swamp rat, that ain't why ah came." She took a deep breath, and released in rapid succession, "Ah wanted ta tell ya that ah'm sorry for always pushin' ya away. An' ah wanted ta thank ya for being so annoyingly persistent. An' ah wanted ta tell ya that ah ain't gonna run anymore."
Remy was silent for a moment as he absorbed the barrage of powerful confessions. "Dat's great, really chere, but do you mind if I ask where all dis comes from?" Remy suddenly noticed the amount of bare flesh she was showing. "Rogue, why...?" he began to ask, but she stopped him by bringing her fingers to his lips. He reflexively shied away from her touch, but nothing happened when her skin met his.
"Ah love you, Remy." The sincerity of her words, and the depth of her eyes, almost made him forget that it was unnatural for her to be touching him. "Ah've learned ta control mah powers."
"I see," he gulped. "How? When?... What!?"
Rogue sought to quickly relieve his confusion. "About three weeks ago. Found out that I retained some of th' powers ah got from ya when we touched. Jean helped me ta use your psi-walls ta manage mah absorption ability. Ah'm sorry ah couldn't tell ya sooner, but ah needed some time. Needed ta figure out what this means fo' me, and for us."
"For us?" he asked timidly, afraid the response might not be what he wanted to hear. Rogue raised her hand to his face again. This time she ran her fingertips from his hairline to his chin, her palm hovering over his skin. She allowed his emotions to flow through her flesh into her mind. Flooded with anticipation, fear of rejection, guilt, acceptance, forgiveness, and over all, love; Rogue felt a warm but sharp ache in her chest. Finally she could understand him. She felt the confirmation of all the strength, weakness, and tenderness she had subconsciencly always expected to find in him. Remy closed his eyes and exhaled, apparently feeling her emotions as well. "What was dat, chere?" he breathed.
"Ah got your empathy too, Remy. I can see everythin' you're thinkin' and feelin', and since you're an empath it works th' other way 'round too."
"Everyt'ing I jus' felt: dat came from you?" She nodded. "I love you too, Rogue."
"Ah know."
"Y'need t'know somet'ing, chere. Dat femme, I didn't sleep wit her. I couldn't. She jus' wasn't you."
Rogue smiled. "Ah know that too. Wolvie told me. Said he didn't smell it on ya."
"Ain't dere no privacy in dis house?"
"No. An' in this case ah'd say y'all are lucky there isn't."
Gambit laughed and noticed that she watched his mouth as he did. Could she really be here? Could all this really be true? He'd felt that she loved him, that she was unafraid, when she touched him moments before. "Have ya really forgiven me, chere?"
She smiled warmly. "No, baby. Ah forgave ya a long time ago. Ah think ah just forgave mahself." She leaned toward him and placed a delicate hand on his jaw. Her thumb brushed gently over his lips. She closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly to one side.
"Rogue?" He stopped her. "You sure you're ready fo' dis?"
She spoke through the link between their flesh, echoing the words he'd said in what seemed like another lifetime, * No secrets, no shame... So that we can get past this an' go on from here. Th' way ah want us to... together... as one. Choice is yours. *
He touched her then, tangled a hand in the long hair at the back of her head. He kissed her, very softly, absorbing her emotions with each pass of their lips. She told him over and over again that she loved him. It was so intense a presence that he wasn't sure where her thoughts ended and his began. His kiss grew with the passion that he had been forced to hide.
She let her hands travel the length of his body. She slowly explored the flesh that she had loved for so long, but had never known. The pace was fine, as far as Remy was concerned. Each touch contained a wave of feeling. The most beautiful, warm emotions he'd ever felt. If they moved any faster, he might lose his mind with the intensity. God, he loved her. How many times had he thought about this? How many times he pictured the feel of her skin, the warmth of her body? He could never have imagined this. It was like nothing else he'd ever experienced. Belle had been his best friend before they even thought of themselves as a couple. And he could say in truth that when he'd been with her they'd 'made love'. But what he was feeling, with Rogue in his arms, this was something else entirely.
Rogue pulled her shirt over her head. Her skin prickled with goose bumps as her hair fell back down around her shoulders. Gambit paused, reeling a bit from the vision before him. "In all my life," he whispered as unshed tears cracked his voice, "I swear, I've never seen anyt'ing as beautiful as you." Rogue quickly wrapped him in her arms and found his mouth.
He sent reassurance and trust through their link, constantly making sure she was all right. They made love, tenderly, and without spoken words. Each understood how the other needed to be touched, how the other wanted to be held. The feelings of warmth and ecstasy grew slowly inside her. Gradually it spread through her limbs, out of her fingers, head, and toes. Its roots held tightly at her very soul.
He held her tightly for several moments afterward, still inside her, just letting everything he was feeling pass into her mind. He rolled onto his side and she followed so they could face each other. "Remy, can we just stay like this? Always?" Her watercolor eyes looked even more brilliant through her tears of joy and wonder.
"You mean jus' stay here in bed forever?"
"Ya'd stop time for me, Cajun?"
"Course, chere. Anyt'ing you want."
"Ah jus' want you."
"All ready got dat... Always did... Always will."
She smiled contently. In one slow, fluid motion, she ran her fingertips along the side of his face, down his neck and arm, to his hand. "Are ya very tired?"
"Not so much. Kinda feelin' too excited ta sleep."
She giggled. He did look like a kid at Christmas, she thought. "Now how does it go? Jut ahme?"
He made a very sour face at her poor attempt at French. "What was dat s'posed to be?"
"Hey!" she protested, punching him in the arm.
"Oww!"
"God, ah'm sorry! Did that really hurt?"
"No," he laughed.
"Damn it, Remy!" she hit him again, this time she made sure it hurt a little. "Swamp rat."
"River rat." He reached out for her, and held her then, needing to touch as much of her skin as possible. "Je t'aime, Rogue," he whispered, "Dat's how you say it... Je t'aime, mon petite chere: I love you so much it hurts."
"Where does it hurt?" He placed her hand over his chest. "Let's nevah hurt that part o' us again."
"I promise, chere." She rested her head on his chest, and brought her arm across his body. Waves of auburn and white hair tumble around him, softly falling against his neck and stomach. He closed his eyes and let unshed tears shiver between his eyelashes. When he eventually fell asleep the nightmare was gone. In its place was only the gentle heave of her chest as she slept, and the subtle perfume of her hair.
*********************************************************************************
Author's note: No, this is not the end. I know that I said it would be nine chapters, but it turns out it's longer. So y'all still have a few more dramas to endure. Hope this last one wasn't too heavy a sprinklin' o' cheese. I just get so hopelessly romantic sometimes. *sigh* That's all for now. See you in chapter 10! ~ Vegas
It seemed to her that every resident of the Xavier Institute had something to say behind her back about her relationship with Remy. She'd even found out that while she was involved with Joseph there had been a bet about how long it would take her to go running back to the Cajun. Bobby had thought she would leave Joseph on his ass within the month. Kitty thought that Gambit would throw down with Joe before Rogue had the chance. And Betsy insisted that Rogue would simply have a nervous breakdown and leave them both. * Ah wonder who won th' pool? * she thought as she made her way to the roof. * In a way ah s'pose they were all right. *
Yeah, their relationship was dysfunctional. Rogue knew this. That didn't make it okay for everyone else to pass their judgements. Who were they to trivialize? Who were they to turn her life into one big joke? Or worse, a goddamn bet. Rogue's hand became a fist as her anger grew, but thinking better, she relaxed. This wasn't about everyone else. It only had to do with her and Remy. Rogue realized that maybe she'd lost sight of that. It was possible that she'd let everyone else's opinions cloud what she truly felt. In time she had decided that it would never work, and that she needed to get over him.
Settling herself on the roof, Rogue began to think about what had happened earlier in the day. She had been determined to finally cut him loose, and instead had become closer still. She didn't really want to let him go. She was just frightened. Remy's words rung in her ears: "You not be so tough as you act." Was she really so transparent? Pathetic really, how she ran from the best thing she had. She had to laugh. He'd called her out. He'd laid his heart at her feet, just to give her the opportunity to change her mind. And Rogue had changed her mind. For the first time since she'd committed herself to the X-Men, she decided to stop running.
She floated silently around the roof until she came to Gambit's window. Normally he would have been awakened by the sound of her lifting it open, even though she did so as quietly as possible. But since Hank had prescribed him a sedative to help him sleep without waking every telepath in the house, he didn't move a muscle. She moved across the room to his bed, not touching the floor.
He stirred slightly as she settled her weight on the corner of the bed. In his sleep he looked younger. His face was soft and relaxed, not showing the strain of all those hard years. He was so damn beautiful. Rogue marveled that such a man could love her so completely as he did. She unzipped the hooded sweatshirt she was wearing and set it on the floor. Beneath it she wore only a thin-strapped tank top, revealing her neck and shoulders. Next she pulled of her gloves and tossed them aside. * Remy, * She placed a finger on his lips and whispered through her mind. * wake up, sugah. *
Remy opened his eyes groggily. "Rogue? Dat you, chere?" He set himself up onto his elbows. "What are y'doing here? What's wrong?"
"Nothin's wrong... jus' wanted ta talk t'ya."
Remy sat up fully, shaking off the dopey feeling of the sedative. As the sheets slid off of him, Rogue saw he was completely bare from the waist up. Instantly she felt a cloud of butterflies boil up in her stomach. "If you came t'hear me tell you I hate you, Remy's afraid he's gonna have to disappoint." He flashed that familiar smile that set her at ease.
She laughed quietly and whispered, "No, swamp rat, that ain't why ah came." She took a deep breath, and released in rapid succession, "Ah wanted ta tell ya that ah'm sorry for always pushin' ya away. An' ah wanted ta thank ya for being so annoyingly persistent. An' ah wanted ta tell ya that ah ain't gonna run anymore."
Remy was silent for a moment as he absorbed the barrage of powerful confessions. "Dat's great, really chere, but do you mind if I ask where all dis comes from?" Remy suddenly noticed the amount of bare flesh she was showing. "Rogue, why...?" he began to ask, but she stopped him by bringing her fingers to his lips. He reflexively shied away from her touch, but nothing happened when her skin met his.
"Ah love you, Remy." The sincerity of her words, and the depth of her eyes, almost made him forget that it was unnatural for her to be touching him. "Ah've learned ta control mah powers."
"I see," he gulped. "How? When?... What!?"
Rogue sought to quickly relieve his confusion. "About three weeks ago. Found out that I retained some of th' powers ah got from ya when we touched. Jean helped me ta use your psi-walls ta manage mah absorption ability. Ah'm sorry ah couldn't tell ya sooner, but ah needed some time. Needed ta figure out what this means fo' me, and for us."
"For us?" he asked timidly, afraid the response might not be what he wanted to hear. Rogue raised her hand to his face again. This time she ran her fingertips from his hairline to his chin, her palm hovering over his skin. She allowed his emotions to flow through her flesh into her mind. Flooded with anticipation, fear of rejection, guilt, acceptance, forgiveness, and over all, love; Rogue felt a warm but sharp ache in her chest. Finally she could understand him. She felt the confirmation of all the strength, weakness, and tenderness she had subconsciencly always expected to find in him. Remy closed his eyes and exhaled, apparently feeling her emotions as well. "What was dat, chere?" he breathed.
"Ah got your empathy too, Remy. I can see everythin' you're thinkin' and feelin', and since you're an empath it works th' other way 'round too."
"Everyt'ing I jus' felt: dat came from you?" She nodded. "I love you too, Rogue."
"Ah know."
"Y'need t'know somet'ing, chere. Dat femme, I didn't sleep wit her. I couldn't. She jus' wasn't you."
Rogue smiled. "Ah know that too. Wolvie told me. Said he didn't smell it on ya."
"Ain't dere no privacy in dis house?"
"No. An' in this case ah'd say y'all are lucky there isn't."
Gambit laughed and noticed that she watched his mouth as he did. Could she really be here? Could all this really be true? He'd felt that she loved him, that she was unafraid, when she touched him moments before. "Have ya really forgiven me, chere?"
She smiled warmly. "No, baby. Ah forgave ya a long time ago. Ah think ah just forgave mahself." She leaned toward him and placed a delicate hand on his jaw. Her thumb brushed gently over his lips. She closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly to one side.
"Rogue?" He stopped her. "You sure you're ready fo' dis?"
She spoke through the link between their flesh, echoing the words he'd said in what seemed like another lifetime, * No secrets, no shame... So that we can get past this an' go on from here. Th' way ah want us to... together... as one. Choice is yours. *
He touched her then, tangled a hand in the long hair at the back of her head. He kissed her, very softly, absorbing her emotions with each pass of their lips. She told him over and over again that she loved him. It was so intense a presence that he wasn't sure where her thoughts ended and his began. His kiss grew with the passion that he had been forced to hide.
She let her hands travel the length of his body. She slowly explored the flesh that she had loved for so long, but had never known. The pace was fine, as far as Remy was concerned. Each touch contained a wave of feeling. The most beautiful, warm emotions he'd ever felt. If they moved any faster, he might lose his mind with the intensity. God, he loved her. How many times had he thought about this? How many times he pictured the feel of her skin, the warmth of her body? He could never have imagined this. It was like nothing else he'd ever experienced. Belle had been his best friend before they even thought of themselves as a couple. And he could say in truth that when he'd been with her they'd 'made love'. But what he was feeling, with Rogue in his arms, this was something else entirely.
Rogue pulled her shirt over her head. Her skin prickled with goose bumps as her hair fell back down around her shoulders. Gambit paused, reeling a bit from the vision before him. "In all my life," he whispered as unshed tears cracked his voice, "I swear, I've never seen anyt'ing as beautiful as you." Rogue quickly wrapped him in her arms and found his mouth.
He sent reassurance and trust through their link, constantly making sure she was all right. They made love, tenderly, and without spoken words. Each understood how the other needed to be touched, how the other wanted to be held. The feelings of warmth and ecstasy grew slowly inside her. Gradually it spread through her limbs, out of her fingers, head, and toes. Its roots held tightly at her very soul.
He held her tightly for several moments afterward, still inside her, just letting everything he was feeling pass into her mind. He rolled onto his side and she followed so they could face each other. "Remy, can we just stay like this? Always?" Her watercolor eyes looked even more brilliant through her tears of joy and wonder.
"You mean jus' stay here in bed forever?"
"Ya'd stop time for me, Cajun?"
"Course, chere. Anyt'ing you want."
"Ah jus' want you."
"All ready got dat... Always did... Always will."
She smiled contently. In one slow, fluid motion, she ran her fingertips along the side of his face, down his neck and arm, to his hand. "Are ya very tired?"
"Not so much. Kinda feelin' too excited ta sleep."
She giggled. He did look like a kid at Christmas, she thought. "Now how does it go? Jut ahme?"
He made a very sour face at her poor attempt at French. "What was dat s'posed to be?"
"Hey!" she protested, punching him in the arm.
"Oww!"
"God, ah'm sorry! Did that really hurt?"
"No," he laughed.
"Damn it, Remy!" she hit him again, this time she made sure it hurt a little. "Swamp rat."
"River rat." He reached out for her, and held her then, needing to touch as much of her skin as possible. "Je t'aime, Rogue," he whispered, "Dat's how you say it... Je t'aime, mon petite chere: I love you so much it hurts."
"Where does it hurt?" He placed her hand over his chest. "Let's nevah hurt that part o' us again."
"I promise, chere." She rested her head on his chest, and brought her arm across his body. Waves of auburn and white hair tumble around him, softly falling against his neck and stomach. He closed his eyes and let unshed tears shiver between his eyelashes. When he eventually fell asleep the nightmare was gone. In its place was only the gentle heave of her chest as she slept, and the subtle perfume of her hair.
*********************************************************************************
Author's note: No, this is not the end. I know that I said it would be nine chapters, but it turns out it's longer. So y'all still have a few more dramas to endure. Hope this last one wasn't too heavy a sprinklin' o' cheese. I just get so hopelessly romantic sometimes. *sigh* That's all for now. See you in chapter 10! ~ Vegas