Chapter 3: Confrontation
Rogue couldn't sleep, every time she tried to she couldn't help that creeping feeling inside of her that Gambit had somehow faked his injuries and was really lying downstairs in the hospital wing pretending to be unconscious. She kept imagining he was still intent on taking her back to Magneto. She just couldn't trust Gambit, period. Despite being wounded she knew he'd still somehow be quite capable of taking her out.
Even with her new powers, she knew Gambit, with his speed, precision and skill would be a formidable opponent. She remembered the last battle she'd had with him. It had scorned her.
She sighed and got up from her bed and wandered over to the window, and pulled the drapes back wearily and gazed out at the mansion grounds, swathed in the shadows of night time. It was raining, and she could hear the soft patting sounds of the rain hitting the windows.
I know he's down there, creeping around…I know it, she thought to herself worriedly. Her common sense tried to tell her that she was being paranoid, but something in her, instinct perhaps, told her otherwise. Rogue decided she had to check, just to be sure.
She closed the drapes again and walked quietly across the room and opened the door. The hallway lights were still on and light spilled in, casting a soft glow upon sleeping Kitty Pryde's face. Rogue avoided waking her up, she crept out of the room and closed the door silently behind her.
She headed downstairs, into the grand hall, all the lights were off down there, and everything was still and silent – save the ticking of the Grandfather clock against the wall. She headed down another hallway towards the kitchen, she heard a noise coming from the kitchen, it sounded like a door being closed, she felt her heart jump and she gasped, she could hear someone creeping around.
"I knew it," she whispered to herself, she reached for something, finding an umbrella stand in the hall she found an umbrella and held it above her head. She slowly tiptoed with her back against the walls, hiding in the shadows and the dark, she reached the large open threshold leading into the kitchen, and she quietly crept in. The lights were off but she could still hear "Don't move!" she yelled.
She heard a gasp and something land on the floor with a soft thud and the sound of liquid spilling, she reached for the light switch and turned it on, her instincts had been right, it was Gambit.
"Hands in the air, now…!" Rogue pointed the umbrella at him.
He was standing topless, in a pair of plain cotton pyjama bottoms that she recognised as belonging to Scot. He had a bandage over his upper chest and crossed over one shoulder. "That ain't no gun you be toting, chere," he looked at the umbrella and smirked a little.
She looked at the umbrella and then back to him, "Never mind what I'm toting, what are you doin' sneakin' around?!" she demanded, she kept the umbrella pointed at him, ready to strike if he should lash out at her any moment.
He held up his hands in surrender, "Okay, you caught me, I'm a criminal," he smiled a little, and laughed under his breath, "I'm guilty of drinking orange juice straight from the carton…" Gambit gave a smirk, he pointed to the floor, he was standing in a puddle of orange juice, the carton laying on the floor.
"You spilled it everywhere!" she gasped, she tossed the umbrella away realising it wouldn't be much of a weapon against him – he could easily grab it and charge it up with kinetic energy anyway.
"I didn't expect someone to come flying out of nowhere wielding an umbrella," Gambit remarked, he looked at her. "Usually I'm a little harder to startle, but you caught me off guard. Not many women be able to do that you know."
Rogue frowned, why was this guy so infuriating?
"Got a mop? This puddle here could cause some serious damage if someone slipped in it – not to mention it'll stain these pretty tiles," Gambit splashed his foot a little in the orange liquid.
"You're meant to be injured and recovering in the hospital wing…" Rogue looked at him. "What are you doin' here?!"
"Just what you said, Chere, recovering…"
"And doing a fine job of it, too, I might add. Only hours ago you were at death's door."
"I feel it, despite being fully mobile I'm far from recovered," Gambit found a roll of kitchen paper, and tore off a huge bundle of it, "I'll clean it up…"
Rogue watched as he winced, slowly moving downwards, every movement obviously caused him some pain. "Leave it, I'll do it," she sighed, she grabbed the kitchen paper from his hand, "Just stand over there – where I can see you," she remarked.
He held up his hands, "why you tryin' to pick a fight with me, chere?" he asked in an innocent tone.
"Why?!" Rogue was stunned he should act as if he didn't know why she was so angry with him. "Stop acting all so innocent, Gambit, you know why I'm mad at you!"
"I ain't done nothing wrong," he stated, keeping his eyes on hers, he was good at lying, with an expression like his she would have almost believed he was innocent – if it had not been her he'd tried to abduct that was.
"No? What about last time?" Rogue demanded coldly, she dropped to her knees and began to wipe up the spilt orange juice, luckily there wasn't too much of it there. She couldn't help but keep glancing up at him, the overhead lights flattered his chiselled features, and even his dark brown hair looked good mussed from sleep, she reckoned he was the kind of guy who could roll out of bed after a night of heavy partying, and still look good.
"You cling to the past too much, chere," he gave a soft laugh, but the laugh sounded almost empty.
"Don't call me 'chere', you Cajun bad-ass-wannabe," she muttered.
"Call me Remy," he suggested, he kept his eyes on hers, she met his eyes for a moment, his eyes were black as night, except for the iris, which seemed to almost glow red, especially when he lowered his head a little and his hair shaded his eyes.
"I don't want to be on first name basis with you, slimeball," she muttered, she finished wiping the orange juice up and tossed the soaked paper into the garbage bin under the sink. "What do you think you're playing at creepin' around at all hours?" she demanded.
"I could ask the same thing about you, chere," Remy remarked.
"You have no right to ask me anything," she folded her arms.
"You're sexy when you're angry," Remy laughed, he pressed his tongue into his left cheek and tried not to laugh at the stubborn expression on her pale face.
"I oughta--!" Rogue felt her anger flaring.
"Why do I make you so angry, chere?" Remy walked over to her, and stood before her.
Rogue moved away from him, "Listen, creep, just because the others are okay with you being here doesn't mean I am – in fact, I resent the fact they even took you in, they should have left you there to die."
"You would have left me?" He looked at her with those intense eyes of his. She felt as if he could see right through her, she hugged herself insecurely and moved back from him a little more. She wanted to walk away from him but did not want to turn away from him in fear that he'd stick one of the large knives in the block on the kitchen counter into her back.
"Yes I would have," she spat the words out, yet, she felt as if the words were untrue, and as if they left a foul taste in her mouth as she spoke them.
Remy chuckled softly to himself, and he reached over to her and brushed his fingers against the sleeve of her pyjama top. She flinched away, "you couldn't leave anyone to die, you have too much compassion."
"What the hell would you know, you don't KNOW me," Rogue frowned at him.
"I do, Rogue, more than you think," he stated. "Me and you, we're the same you and me," he added.
"Jesus, you're talking in that stupid way that Magneto talks," Rogue rolled her eyes. "And besides, you would have left me to die if it had been me lying there…" she stated.
"Not now," he uttered, "maybe in the past but…not now. Isn't there such a thing as forgive and forget?" he asked in a light tone.
"Forgive and FORGET?!" She demanded in a loud tone, then hushed realising she might wake up the whole mansion, "You're the enemy! You work for Magneto!" she said in dismay.
"Now, see, that's where you're wrong," Remy headed towards the door, and stopped as he reached the threshold, he looked over his shoulder at her, "I WAS the enemy," he said, "and I DID work for Magneto…" he looked at her, "we be on the same side, now, chere," he commented, and with that, disappeared into the blackness of the hallway.
Rogue stood in the kitchen breathing heavy in anger, fuming. She swore to herself silently that there would be no way she would ever be on the same side as Remy. Never.
"I don't trust him," she said to herself quietly, she waited a few moments, and then headed back into the grand hall, pushed the button for the secret elevator and headed down into the basement area of the mansion, and along to the war room.
The war room was quiet, except of course for the hum of the computers. She found a seat in front of the main mansion security control panel, and looked at the monitor, it asked for a password to log in.
She paused, remembering about what Kurt said about the Mansion security systems, she located the security and alarm systems reports from at previous morning, and went through each page, locating the right code to access the security system. Once she had done so, she began to search through various cameras. There was a security camera in the hospital wing.
She located the camera and zoomed a little with it, Remy was lying on the bed on his side, still awake, she watched him intently, deciding she would make herself sit up all night watching him just to make sure he did not go wandering off again.
