ICEMAN

"I am just too good," the young Bobby Drake said to himself, as he put the finishing touches on his world-class ice cream sundae. "And a cherry on top!"

He knew what he was going to do for the rest of the day. He had a pile of movies to watch and a lot of junk food to eat, and he had every intention of claiming the entertainment center for himself.

However, a certain southern couple beat him to it. Rogue was laying on her stomach on the overstuffed couch, and Remy was sitting on her legs rubbing her back.

"UGH!" he yelled as he shielded his eyes. "Can't you two do that somewhere else, like a motel room or something?" He cleanly dodged the throw pillow which was, appropriately, thrown at him by Rogue.

"Ya'll c'n just hush! Mah back is still sore from this mornin's Danger Room exercise. And Remy here is jus' comin' through with his promise," she grinned up at Remy. "Aintcha sugah?"

"Mais oui, I always keep my promises to a belle femme," he grinned back.

"Okay! I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be sick now," Bobby said sarcastically, "and I was really looking forward to some junk food and Jim Carrey movies, so could you not ruin it? Besides, Gambit, you know she's faking it. She has that whole invulnerability thing going on, y'know."

"Yeah I figured as much, but hey, I'll look at her from behind for as long as she let me!"

With that, Remy presently found himself on the floor flat on his back, having been kicked off by Rogue. "Swamp rat," Rogue muttered as she moved herself to a sitting position.

Gambit laughed and got back up on the couch to sit next to her. "Yeah I am, but y'know y'love it. I mean how c'n ya not?" he said playfully.

"You know what, Ah might jus' think about that if you really want me to," she said, mock-threateningly.

"Sure ya will, chere," he said as he snuggled up even closer to her.

"Okay you guys, are you gonna knock it off and act normal or do I have to go somewhere else to watch my movies?" Bobby interrupted.

"Oh sugah, you c'n watch 'em here. Ah promise Ah'll be good, but Ah cain't make no promises about the Cajun here."

Remy sighed loudly. "Oui, I suppose I c'n behave, a little. What you say you was gonna watch?"

Bobby stepped up to the VCR with a video in each hand. "I couldn't decide…Cable Guy or Liar Liar?"

"Ugh, the Cable Guy sucked, put in Liar Liar," Rogue decided for them.

"It shall be done!" Bobby said dramatically, and with a flashy movement of his arm placed the video in the machine, earning an eye roll from both members of his audience.

As the movie started, Rogue leaned back against the arm of the couch, and Remy leaned back against her. As Bobby made his way over to one of the overstuffed chairs in the room, Rogue asked, "Why you sittin' way over there? There's room on the couch for you ta sit."

Bobby glanced back at the reclining couple. "Um, yeah…that's a 'no thanks' on that one!"

Rogue blushed as Remy rested his head on her breasts. "Hey t'anks, mon ami!" he grinned.

"No problem," he laughed as he sat down.

The movie was the kind that never stopped being hilarious no matter how many times you saw it. The sound of boisterous laughter could be heard yards away from the entertainment room.

Bobby looked over at the couple. Rogue had both her arms wrapped around Remy and right leg over his. One of Remy's arms reached behind him and his gloved fingers stroked Rogue's neck, while the other held her own gloved hand.

Bobby thought it was interesting how they both always dressed all covered up. He understood why Rogue did, of course, but why Remy? It's not like he couldn't touch anybody. He wondered if he maybe did it to make Rogue more comfortable, like she wasn't the only one who had to be covered. They so often had two layers between them, it was a wonder they could feel anything at all.

He chided himself for that thought. They do what they have to do, that's all.

There was a time when Bobby didn't like Gambit very much, if at all. He thought that he was only going to hurt Rogue in the end. The thing was, he'd seen personally that Gambit's heart was in this for real. Bobby would never forget the look on Gambit's face that night in Seattle when Rogue left him. That was pain. He knew then that Gambit truly cared for her. And then the whole Joseph thing, well, that was just bad for both of them. And nothing even needs to be said about Gambit's past, or the constant issue of Rogue's powers. The truth was, the two of them got through some of the worst things that could have happened to them, and here they were, today, laying in each other's arms. There was obviously something more there than the mindless flirting and teasing. Maybe it's a front for everybody else to see, a kind of protection for their love? Bobby didn't know why, but he did know that they turned out perfect for each other after all.

The movie ended and he glanced over at them. They were asleep.

Bobby smiled and turned off the TV. He headed for the door.

"Sweet dreams, you guys. You earned it," he murmured as he turned off the light.

SHADOWCAT

A loud bang suddenly woke the dozing Kitty. "Ugghhh…" she sat up from her desk groggily. She must have fallen asleep reading Little Women, again. "Man this book is terrible…just because it's old doesn't mean it's literature, that's for damn sure," she muttered to herself. She tossed the book on the floor and strode over to her door to inspect the noise.

Just before she reached her destination, however, she was stopped in her tracks by the sound of angry screams. She discreetly phased her head slightly through her door, and looked in the direction she heard the yelling come from. Halfway down the hall…was Rogue's room.

Kitty came back through the door. 'They're fighting again,' she thought to herself sadly. She didn't understand what was up with them. They'll be like high school sweethearts for a week, and then one day they do this whole big fighting thing. It wasn't healthy. 'Heh, yeah, I'm the one who should be judging relationship health,' she thought grimly. 'I'd be the expert on that.'

She dared to peek her head through the door again. Rogue's door was closed and she was too far away to hear exactly what was being said between them, but Kitty could definitely tell they were yelling at each other. "Why do you do this to yourselves, you guys?" she whispered. She, and probably everyone else, knew that nothing ever came from these arguments except grief on both their parts. Of course, she couldn't exactly blame them for needing to explode sometimes; they were both under so much pressure all the time.

Kitty didn't always know what to make of Rogue and Gambit. She didn't really know Gambit all that well, and Rogue had changed so much from when she was on the team before. She could tell they made each other happy, but she could also tell they hurt each other a lot. Sometimes it seemed they did it on purpose even. She'd heard some of the things they'd said to each other when they weren't on the best terms, and the comments always seemed to cut to the quick. They knew each other so well they knew exactly what to say to make the other person happier than anything in the world, or to hit upon the one thing, the sore spot that would hurt the most. Most often for Rogue it was her powers, for Remy his jaded past. Strangely enough though, it was through each other that they were able to deal with these things.

Suddenly the door to Rogue's room flew open. Kitty jumped and withdrew until only her eyes were through the door. She felt bad for spying, but she was getting worried about them. She had heard what sounded like someone banging their fist against the wall, she didn't know which it had been. But this fight was definitely a bad one.

Rogue stormed out of her room. She turned back to the door and pointed down the hall, obviously kicking Remy out of her room. He appeared at the door, red eyes burning bright with his anger, and maybe something else? 'Desperation?' Kitty wondered.

She watched as they continued their argument. She still couldn't hear what was being said, they had lowered their voices considerably since coming out of the room. But she could see their faces clearly. Rogue's was almost stony, she was obviously trying to hide her emotions, but her eyes betrayed her, as they shone with unspilled tears. Remy's was only slightly more giving. Kitty could plainly see the hurt on his face, but his jaw was set, and she could tell he was clenching and unclenching his teeth in his silent frustration.

Rogue abruptly ended the argument when she pushed him away from her and turned and began walking away. Something in Remy's eyes sparked and he swiftly caught up with her and grabbed her wrist, spinning her back around to face him. They were considerably closer to Kitty's room now, but they still took no notice of her, either because the hallway was too dark or they just didn't notice her in their involvement with each other. But the new proximity allowed Kitty to hear their quiet voices, albeit muffled through her door.

She watched, shocked, as Rogue allowed herself to be shoved up against the wall opposite Kitty's room, and Remy pressed himself against her, refusing to let her leave. She saw him reach up and clasp her face in both of his gloved hands, and forced her to look at him.

"Look at me. LOOK at me!" she heard him say. "I love you! I do!" he whispered urgently. Rogue could no longer hold back her tears, and they spilled down her cheeks, Remy wiping them away with his thumbs. She reached up and placed her hands over his and wept softly.

Kitty stood there dumbfounded. Was that what the fight had been about?? Rogue didn't think he loved her?? It seemed it was obvious to everyone besides her that he did. Maybe it was Rogue just unable to believe that he could? Maybe it was that he didn't tell her that he did often enough? Kitty didn't know.

"Remy, Ah, Gawd Ah love you so much!" she faintly heard Rogue say. Remy leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers, safely separated by their hair. Kitty could see the obvious longing in each other's faces. "Ah wish Ah could show ya how much Ah love ya," she whimpered.

"You do, cherie. Everyday," he whispered back. He pulled her in closer and wrapped his arms around her. Rogue's crying softly shook her, and he held her all the more tightly. He gently guided her back to her room, and quietly shut the door.

Kitty pulled herself back into her own room. She was surprised to find tears hovering in her own eyes.

"Whew! That was a little too much drama for me tonight," she said. "Well, at least they made up." She shook her head slowly. "Damn."

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Sorry this chapter took longer than expected. How was it? Better? Worse? The same? Let me know what you think!