Well in case you were wondering I don't own the x-men they belong to Marvel. I am simply borrowing and playing with them and I am making no profit from it. *****************************************************************************************************************************************************
As I have said before this is my first fic and I hope you enjoy it. I made this chapter longer than the previous chapters. I hope you enjoy this chapter the story moves along more. Thanks go out to everyone who reviewed!!! You really made my day each one of you! Please continue to review. Thanks again!
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Gambit watched Cyclops closely as he whispered into Jean's ear. He watched as Jean's eyes moved to his red on black eyes telling him Jean was probably being whispered to about him. Jean quickly averted her eyes and then looked back to Gambit and forced a smile. Gambit smiled back in response, he knew Jean was trying to assure him that they weren't talking about him. He figured it wasn't anything bad but just some little detail that Scott wanted to share with Jean about his discovery. He wondered idly if she ever got tired of Scott going on and on about something. Not that he didn't like Scott he had a lot of respect for him they just had a different way of doing things. The letter came to mind again. He couldn't stop thinking about it since he found it. The letter was the reason for this very meeting having been called. It was kinda weird having had something to do with a meeting being called. Well having a meeting called on your behalf and you weren't in trouble for a change. He kinda saw now why Scott called so many meetings it was a power trip to have a captive audience like that. The meeting hadn't begun yet, they were still waiting for everyone to show up but as it was right now it was Jean, Scott and himself in the war room. Jean and Scott were across the room keeping themselves busy. Jean was still on her shift of using cerebro to scan for Rogue, her and Betsy had been taking turns searching for any sign of her over the past couple of days. Cyclops seemed to be going over what he was going to say in his head. Gambit's attention went back and forth between Jean and Scott since he didn't really have anything to do right now and he normally wasn't the first one here, in fact, usually he was the last or next to last one to show up at a meeting.
Gambit looked around the room for something to catch his eye. His eye fell on Rogue's empty chair just looking at it made him want to go sit on the roof. He grinned to himself even he could poke fun at his own quirks. He could see on the front of the table in front of Rogue's chair where he had carved Rogue and Gambit in a heart. He had done it in one of Scott's longer speeches much to Rogue's shock. After that at meetings every now and then Gambit would catch Rogue looking down and running her fingers over it and it would make her smile, which in turn made him smile. So when it was all said and done she had loved it, which made it all worthwhile when he had to wash and wax the blackbird everyday for a month. He had been ordered to refinish the table and to cover up his declaration of love, which he had refused to do on the matter of principle. Cyclops had argued about it with him for what seemed like hours when finally Scott had thrown his hands up in the air and told him to leave it but not to carve on anything else. The funny thing was after that he had overheard Jean and Rogue talking and Jean was saying how she sure wished Scott would do something romantic like that. Gambit looked at Scott who was studying the letter and wondered not for the first time if he should give him some advice on women of course now that he thought about it considering his recent developments with his girlfriend maybe he shouldn't pass on any advice. The door to the war room opened and in walked Storm. Storm saw Gambit and looked very surprised to see him here so soon, she smiled at him and then said, "You're here early."
"Yeah I know. I found a letter in Rogue's room from me but I didn't send it. It was sticking out from under her nightstand." Gambit added that last part he didn't want Stormy thinking he was digging through Rogue's things.
"Storm could you come over here please?" Cyclops asked from across the room.
"Of course I will be right there." Storm said.
"Back to work Stormy!" Gambit said with a wink. Storm laughed and headed towards Cyclops just as the door to the war room opened again and in walked Wolverine. Wolverine walked in and noticed Gambit and said, "Why are you here so early?"
"I'm trying to be good." Gambit replied with a smile.
"Your gonna have to try harder than that." Wolverine said and then he started laughing. Gambit shrugged his shoulders and pretended to be offended. Just then Angel and Psylocke walked in looked Gambit over and Psylocke said sarcastically, "Good to see you could make it."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Gambit popped off back. Gambit watched them sit down in silence. They were apparently going to ignore him the rest of the time. Which was fine with him if they were going to act that way.
Iceman walked in unaware of what had just transpired but he too noticed Gambit was already there and realized he was the last one in the door he seemed to feel the need to point out that he wasn't usually the last one in the room and said, "Wow, I'm last for a change!"
"That's not much better than next to last." Gambit said irritated by the conversation at this point. So what if he was always last in the door he was always there. Everyone took his or her seats but Scott and Ororo who were still discussing the letter, and Jean who was still monitoring the astral plane for Rogue. Conversations broke out between friends while everyone waited for the meeting to begin.
Scott and Ororo seemed to have finished discussing the letter Gambit surmised as they headed back to the table. Ororo sat down next to him and looked up at Scott expectantly. Scott looked over at Jean and then to the arranged group and said, "Jean won't be officially joining the meeting she is going to continue monitoring the astral plane for Rogue." Nods of understanding went around the room as Scott looked down at the envelope and letter he had in his hand. Everyone stared at the mysterious items in Scott's hands. Puzzled and frightened looks were all around the room as Scott cleared his throat and began the meeting.
"Well I'm sure you are all wondering why this meeting has been called and about this letter in my hand." Scott held up the letter and looked around the room. Earlier today Gambit found this letter in Rogue's room…"
"What was Gambit doing in Rogue's room?" Bobby demanded and looked pointedly at Gambit. Scott looked surprised at Bobby's reaction and looked to Gambit he had only thought about the implications the letter had on Rogue he hadn't considered why Gambit was in there.
"Well, I will talk to Gambit about that later." Scott said frankly a little puzzled.
"I should hope so!" Angel said.
"As a women I expect some reprimand to discourage this type of behavior." Psylocke said as Warren took hold of her hand in a comforting gesture.
"Yeah that's creepy!" Iceman chimed in.
Gambit could have crawled under the table at this point. It was all he could do not to bolt from the room. All eyes were on him with various emotions across them, from anger and disgust to confusion and sympathy. Gambit was so embarrassed because of the way Bobby, Betsy and Warren were talking about him like he was a peeping tom or something.
"I had forgot somet'ing." Gambit said remembering his earlier excuse if he had been caught reminiscing.
"In Rogue's panty drawer?" Bobby said angrily.
"It wasn't in Rogue's panty drawer it was on the floor by her bed!" Gambit said angrily back.
"What were you doing in Rogue's bed?" Betsy said with disgust clearly written all over her face and an edge to her voice. Gambit's face was all red now.
"I wasn't in her BED! It was on the floor beside her bed." Gambit said raising his voice slightly.
"That doesn't explain why you were in there." Warren shouted jumping in.
"I don't have to explain myself to any of you! So don' worry about it!" Gambit shouted back as he stood up.
"This is so typical of you---." Iceman said and was interrupted by Cyclops.
"That is enough! Gambit and I will talk later about why he was in there." Cyclops looked pointedly at Iceman, Psylocke and Angel. Cyclops then turned to Gambit and said, "I'm sure he had a good reason for being in there. He said he forgot something which if that is the case I don't really see the crime in that." Gambit half nodded and sat back down. "Now can we get back to the letter which might shed some light on Rogue's situation?" Everyone nodded in agreement so Scott took this as a sign that he could continue.
"Now as I was saying." Scott paused as he gathered his thoughts and then continued. "Gambit found this letter earlier in Rogue's room and it was addressed from him. But the dating of it was around the time that Gambit had been…" Scott stopped unsure of how to put Gambit's abandonment delicately. "Gambit was…um."
"I wasn't around." Gambit said matter- of- factly he didn't want to get into that right now, plus he had a tug of sympathy when Scott had faltered on what to say. Cyclops looked up gratefully and then continued, "Yeah, he wasn't around right then and Gambit says he didn't send the letter. So the big question is who did send the letter?"
"The other big question is what does it say?" Wolverine said impatiently, Summers could just go on and on he thought to himself.
"I was getting to that." Scott said.
"One day." Wolverine mumbled. Scott ignored that comment and began again, "Well the letter says…." Scott straitened up and unfolded the letter and began reading it aloud, "Rogue, we need to talk. I still love you but I need to speak to you alone. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me if you do or if you would just give me one last chance to explain what happened come to this address at the bottom of the page. Please, I'll be waiting. Love, Remy LeBeau." A hush fell over the room as everyone wondered who had sent it and why? Scott quietly folded the letter and put it back in its envelope.
"What is the address?" Psylocke asked.
"We have already looked up the address and its a club in Colorado. We are going to send a team to the club to see if there is any sign of Rogue or anything we can find out on her last whereabouts." Cyclops answered.
"Whose on the team?" This is what Gambit had been waiting to have answered. Cyclops looked to Storm whom he had been discussing this very issue with before answering.
"Well, Jean and Betsy are going to stay here so they can continue monitoring the astral plane. As for the rest of the team we are still deciding who should go and who should watch the home base. The team will be announced within the hour but for now the meeting is adjourned. Unless there are any questions?" Cyclops looked around the room and when no one spoke he stood and said, "Meeting adjourned. Gambit would you please stay behind so I can speak to you."
Gambit had to fight the urge to sigh rudely outloud. The hate trio smugly looked at Gambit before they went out the door. Gambit didn't move from his spot he just waited for Scott to say whatever it was he was going to say. Storm walked up to Cyclops and whispered something to him to which he nodded. Gambit watched as everyone left the room but himself, Cyclops and Jean who was monitoring the astral plane.
Scott sighed, sat back down and said, "I think its foolish to waste anytime on this when Rogue is out there God knows where. So when I ask you this I want you to be honest and quick about it. Gambit why were you in Rogue's room?" Gambit thought about what he had said and didn't really want to be difficult but at the same time he didn't want Cyclops getting angry at him and not allowing him to go on the mission. Gambit searched Scott's face for any emotion to give him a sign on rather or not he would believe him. It seemed like sometimes people always assumed the worst with him and he guessed he understood why but he couldn't have any doubt on this.
"I told you I forgot somet'ing in her room." Gambit said.
"You forgot something?" Cyclops asked not fully believing what he had said. Gambit paused and looked down before he spoke, "No, I didn't forget anyt'ing." Gambit stopped and chose his words carefully he didn't know if he should open up to Cyclops this way. "I just wanted to feel like I was near her. It wasn't anyt'ing bad. I just missed her." Gambit was surprised by the sound of defeat in his own voice as he finished. He figured he was in trouble but when he looked up Cyclops was beaming from ear to ear.
"Yeah, I know Storm told me but I'm *so* pleased you were honest with me about this. You see Gambit honesty is key in trust and trust is key in a team." Cyclops said. Gambit blinked in surprize and looked at Cyclops as if he was seeing him for the first time, he grinned and said, "Did Tony Robbins tell you that Scott?" Scott shook his head no and then Gambit said, "So considering that does that mean I'm on the team going to find out about Rogue?" Scott looked slyly at Gambit and said, "Well you were until that Tony Robbins remark." Gambit started laughing and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"Yeah, your on the team that's going." Cyclops grinned, as Gambit's glee was obviously plastered all over his face. "Gambit could you ask Storm to come back in here? We have to pick out the rest of the team."
"Sure thing Cyclops." Gambit said as he stood to go.
Gambit walked to the rec room to deliver the message to Storm and was still smiling when he got there, he noticed the hate trio didn't seem too happy about it. He turned to Storm and said, "Cyclops is ready to discuss the team."
"Did everything go alright?" Storm asked.
"Need you ask?" Gambit grinned. Storm smiled in response before going into the war room and closing the door.
Gambit turned around and was facing the rest of the room, which included the hate trio and Wolverine. Wolverine chuckled and said, "You always land on your feet don't you gumbo?"
"I try." Gambit sprawled out across the empty couch in the rec room. Gambit closed his eyes and tried to catnap but his mind was to frenzied. He was thinking about the team Cyke and Stormy would choose. Obviously he was going and Jean and Psylocke were not so that left Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Bobby and Warren to choose through. He figured Wolverine would go because of his enhanced smell so he might be able to pick up Rogue's scent. One of the leaders would go and one would stay so either Storm or Cyclops would go. So that left Iceman and Angel but with Iceman and Angel it was hard to say who they would choose for what team. His thoughts were interrupted by Iceman who said, "How can you sleep at a time like this?" Without missing a beat Gambit said, "What with someone as loud as you around." Wolverine almost fell out of his chair he started laughing so hard. The hate trio slowly one by one dissolved into laughter too, including Iceman. Gambit barely opened his eyes and looked around the room and he joined in too. Slowly the laughter died down around the room Wolverine being the last to stop as he wiped his eyes. A nice feeling filled the room and lulled Gambit to close his eyes again and the rest of the room talked and watched tv. After some time Cyclops and Storm entered the rec room and received everyones attention instantly.
"We have decided on the team that is going and they are Gambit, Wolverine, Iceman, and myself. The remaining team is here in case an emergency were to occur and in case Jean or Psylocke hear anything on the astral plane from Rogue. The team that is going needs to prepare and be ready to leave in an hour." Storm said.
Everyone who was going prepared to leave. The remaining team except for Jean who was still scanning for Rogue were gassing up the blackbird and the like to help get everyone off the ground and towards the club in question.
The team said their goodbyes and loaded onto the blackbird. After everyone had buckled in Storm began throwing switches and pushing buttons to get the blackbird fired up to go. Gambit fiddled with his buckle and tried to make himself comfortable for the flight. He watched Storm in silence as the blackbird took off and out into the sky and then he said, "What's the in flight movie Stormy?"
"Gambit I have told you before when I am piloting I want to be able to fully concentrate on flying that means no talking to me." Storm said gently. Gambit sat back agitated Stormy didn't want to play right now. "Sure thing, Mom." Gambit said.
Thunder roared in the distance and Gambit looked up sheepishly thinking he had really upset her but then he saw Storm had a sly smile on her face and he knew she was just playing.
"Better watch it Gumbo you'll get in more trouble than you can stand." Logan said laying back in his chair.
"Don't I know it." Gambit said.
"How long will it take to get to Colorado?" Iceman asked slightly annoyed. Gambit could do anything and get away with it. Sometimes he thought he was the only sane person around and that was scary considering all his antics.
"About an hour." Logan growled out.
"No Bobby were not there yet. You were supposed to go the bathroom before we left the house." Gambit said in a mocking parenting tone. Gambit always got wired when he was in a car or plane or a house now that he thought about it, he was wired pretty much all the time.
"Well excuse me for trying to be an adult around here. Yes I said adult." Bobby smiled to himself.
"Did Bobby just say adult in the same sentence as when he referenced himself?" Gambit said with a fake shocked smile on his face.
"Now you kids behave Daddy is trying to sleep and I don't want to listen to you two picking at each other the whole way." Wolverine said slightly irritated. Bobby pointed at Remy and mouthed later. Gambit turned back to face the window he decided he would let Wolverine sleep he did give him that beer the other day.
Gambit's thoughts returned back to the mission at hand. He not for the first time wondered where Rogue was? Who sent the letter? Why did they send the letter? It just didn't make sense. The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful, it seemed like the quiet before the storm. They landed and cloaked the black bird and headed towards the club to see what they could find out.
The outside of the club was dark and foreboding it seemed to warn Gambit of what little they knew about what they were walking into and what little they knew of what was to come.
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What did you think? Did you enjoy it? Was there a certain part you liked? As always your reviews are appreciated it lets me know to keep writing because someone out there is enjoying the story. Thanks in advance if you review.
As I have said before this is my first fic and I hope you enjoy it. I made this chapter longer than the previous chapters. I hope you enjoy this chapter the story moves along more. Thanks go out to everyone who reviewed!!! You really made my day each one of you! Please continue to review. Thanks again!
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************
Gambit watched Cyclops closely as he whispered into Jean's ear. He watched as Jean's eyes moved to his red on black eyes telling him Jean was probably being whispered to about him. Jean quickly averted her eyes and then looked back to Gambit and forced a smile. Gambit smiled back in response, he knew Jean was trying to assure him that they weren't talking about him. He figured it wasn't anything bad but just some little detail that Scott wanted to share with Jean about his discovery. He wondered idly if she ever got tired of Scott going on and on about something. Not that he didn't like Scott he had a lot of respect for him they just had a different way of doing things. The letter came to mind again. He couldn't stop thinking about it since he found it. The letter was the reason for this very meeting having been called. It was kinda weird having had something to do with a meeting being called. Well having a meeting called on your behalf and you weren't in trouble for a change. He kinda saw now why Scott called so many meetings it was a power trip to have a captive audience like that. The meeting hadn't begun yet, they were still waiting for everyone to show up but as it was right now it was Jean, Scott and himself in the war room. Jean and Scott were across the room keeping themselves busy. Jean was still on her shift of using cerebro to scan for Rogue, her and Betsy had been taking turns searching for any sign of her over the past couple of days. Cyclops seemed to be going over what he was going to say in his head. Gambit's attention went back and forth between Jean and Scott since he didn't really have anything to do right now and he normally wasn't the first one here, in fact, usually he was the last or next to last one to show up at a meeting.
Gambit looked around the room for something to catch his eye. His eye fell on Rogue's empty chair just looking at it made him want to go sit on the roof. He grinned to himself even he could poke fun at his own quirks. He could see on the front of the table in front of Rogue's chair where he had carved Rogue and Gambit in a heart. He had done it in one of Scott's longer speeches much to Rogue's shock. After that at meetings every now and then Gambit would catch Rogue looking down and running her fingers over it and it would make her smile, which in turn made him smile. So when it was all said and done she had loved it, which made it all worthwhile when he had to wash and wax the blackbird everyday for a month. He had been ordered to refinish the table and to cover up his declaration of love, which he had refused to do on the matter of principle. Cyclops had argued about it with him for what seemed like hours when finally Scott had thrown his hands up in the air and told him to leave it but not to carve on anything else. The funny thing was after that he had overheard Jean and Rogue talking and Jean was saying how she sure wished Scott would do something romantic like that. Gambit looked at Scott who was studying the letter and wondered not for the first time if he should give him some advice on women of course now that he thought about it considering his recent developments with his girlfriend maybe he shouldn't pass on any advice. The door to the war room opened and in walked Storm. Storm saw Gambit and looked very surprised to see him here so soon, she smiled at him and then said, "You're here early."
"Yeah I know. I found a letter in Rogue's room from me but I didn't send it. It was sticking out from under her nightstand." Gambit added that last part he didn't want Stormy thinking he was digging through Rogue's things.
"Storm could you come over here please?" Cyclops asked from across the room.
"Of course I will be right there." Storm said.
"Back to work Stormy!" Gambit said with a wink. Storm laughed and headed towards Cyclops just as the door to the war room opened again and in walked Wolverine. Wolverine walked in and noticed Gambit and said, "Why are you here so early?"
"I'm trying to be good." Gambit replied with a smile.
"Your gonna have to try harder than that." Wolverine said and then he started laughing. Gambit shrugged his shoulders and pretended to be offended. Just then Angel and Psylocke walked in looked Gambit over and Psylocke said sarcastically, "Good to see you could make it."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Gambit popped off back. Gambit watched them sit down in silence. They were apparently going to ignore him the rest of the time. Which was fine with him if they were going to act that way.
Iceman walked in unaware of what had just transpired but he too noticed Gambit was already there and realized he was the last one in the door he seemed to feel the need to point out that he wasn't usually the last one in the room and said, "Wow, I'm last for a change!"
"That's not much better than next to last." Gambit said irritated by the conversation at this point. So what if he was always last in the door he was always there. Everyone took his or her seats but Scott and Ororo who were still discussing the letter, and Jean who was still monitoring the astral plane for Rogue. Conversations broke out between friends while everyone waited for the meeting to begin.
Scott and Ororo seemed to have finished discussing the letter Gambit surmised as they headed back to the table. Ororo sat down next to him and looked up at Scott expectantly. Scott looked over at Jean and then to the arranged group and said, "Jean won't be officially joining the meeting she is going to continue monitoring the astral plane for Rogue." Nods of understanding went around the room as Scott looked down at the envelope and letter he had in his hand. Everyone stared at the mysterious items in Scott's hands. Puzzled and frightened looks were all around the room as Scott cleared his throat and began the meeting.
"Well I'm sure you are all wondering why this meeting has been called and about this letter in my hand." Scott held up the letter and looked around the room. Earlier today Gambit found this letter in Rogue's room…"
"What was Gambit doing in Rogue's room?" Bobby demanded and looked pointedly at Gambit. Scott looked surprised at Bobby's reaction and looked to Gambit he had only thought about the implications the letter had on Rogue he hadn't considered why Gambit was in there.
"Well, I will talk to Gambit about that later." Scott said frankly a little puzzled.
"I should hope so!" Angel said.
"As a women I expect some reprimand to discourage this type of behavior." Psylocke said as Warren took hold of her hand in a comforting gesture.
"Yeah that's creepy!" Iceman chimed in.
Gambit could have crawled under the table at this point. It was all he could do not to bolt from the room. All eyes were on him with various emotions across them, from anger and disgust to confusion and sympathy. Gambit was so embarrassed because of the way Bobby, Betsy and Warren were talking about him like he was a peeping tom or something.
"I had forgot somet'ing." Gambit said remembering his earlier excuse if he had been caught reminiscing.
"In Rogue's panty drawer?" Bobby said angrily.
"It wasn't in Rogue's panty drawer it was on the floor by her bed!" Gambit said angrily back.
"What were you doing in Rogue's bed?" Betsy said with disgust clearly written all over her face and an edge to her voice. Gambit's face was all red now.
"I wasn't in her BED! It was on the floor beside her bed." Gambit said raising his voice slightly.
"That doesn't explain why you were in there." Warren shouted jumping in.
"I don't have to explain myself to any of you! So don' worry about it!" Gambit shouted back as he stood up.
"This is so typical of you---." Iceman said and was interrupted by Cyclops.
"That is enough! Gambit and I will talk later about why he was in there." Cyclops looked pointedly at Iceman, Psylocke and Angel. Cyclops then turned to Gambit and said, "I'm sure he had a good reason for being in there. He said he forgot something which if that is the case I don't really see the crime in that." Gambit half nodded and sat back down. "Now can we get back to the letter which might shed some light on Rogue's situation?" Everyone nodded in agreement so Scott took this as a sign that he could continue.
"Now as I was saying." Scott paused as he gathered his thoughts and then continued. "Gambit found this letter earlier in Rogue's room and it was addressed from him. But the dating of it was around the time that Gambit had been…" Scott stopped unsure of how to put Gambit's abandonment delicately. "Gambit was…um."
"I wasn't around." Gambit said matter- of- factly he didn't want to get into that right now, plus he had a tug of sympathy when Scott had faltered on what to say. Cyclops looked up gratefully and then continued, "Yeah, he wasn't around right then and Gambit says he didn't send the letter. So the big question is who did send the letter?"
"The other big question is what does it say?" Wolverine said impatiently, Summers could just go on and on he thought to himself.
"I was getting to that." Scott said.
"One day." Wolverine mumbled. Scott ignored that comment and began again, "Well the letter says…." Scott straitened up and unfolded the letter and began reading it aloud, "Rogue, we need to talk. I still love you but I need to speak to you alone. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me if you do or if you would just give me one last chance to explain what happened come to this address at the bottom of the page. Please, I'll be waiting. Love, Remy LeBeau." A hush fell over the room as everyone wondered who had sent it and why? Scott quietly folded the letter and put it back in its envelope.
"What is the address?" Psylocke asked.
"We have already looked up the address and its a club in Colorado. We are going to send a team to the club to see if there is any sign of Rogue or anything we can find out on her last whereabouts." Cyclops answered.
"Whose on the team?" This is what Gambit had been waiting to have answered. Cyclops looked to Storm whom he had been discussing this very issue with before answering.
"Well, Jean and Betsy are going to stay here so they can continue monitoring the astral plane. As for the rest of the team we are still deciding who should go and who should watch the home base. The team will be announced within the hour but for now the meeting is adjourned. Unless there are any questions?" Cyclops looked around the room and when no one spoke he stood and said, "Meeting adjourned. Gambit would you please stay behind so I can speak to you."
Gambit had to fight the urge to sigh rudely outloud. The hate trio smugly looked at Gambit before they went out the door. Gambit didn't move from his spot he just waited for Scott to say whatever it was he was going to say. Storm walked up to Cyclops and whispered something to him to which he nodded. Gambit watched as everyone left the room but himself, Cyclops and Jean who was monitoring the astral plane.
Scott sighed, sat back down and said, "I think its foolish to waste anytime on this when Rogue is out there God knows where. So when I ask you this I want you to be honest and quick about it. Gambit why were you in Rogue's room?" Gambit thought about what he had said and didn't really want to be difficult but at the same time he didn't want Cyclops getting angry at him and not allowing him to go on the mission. Gambit searched Scott's face for any emotion to give him a sign on rather or not he would believe him. It seemed like sometimes people always assumed the worst with him and he guessed he understood why but he couldn't have any doubt on this.
"I told you I forgot somet'ing in her room." Gambit said.
"You forgot something?" Cyclops asked not fully believing what he had said. Gambit paused and looked down before he spoke, "No, I didn't forget anyt'ing." Gambit stopped and chose his words carefully he didn't know if he should open up to Cyclops this way. "I just wanted to feel like I was near her. It wasn't anyt'ing bad. I just missed her." Gambit was surprised by the sound of defeat in his own voice as he finished. He figured he was in trouble but when he looked up Cyclops was beaming from ear to ear.
"Yeah, I know Storm told me but I'm *so* pleased you were honest with me about this. You see Gambit honesty is key in trust and trust is key in a team." Cyclops said. Gambit blinked in surprize and looked at Cyclops as if he was seeing him for the first time, he grinned and said, "Did Tony Robbins tell you that Scott?" Scott shook his head no and then Gambit said, "So considering that does that mean I'm on the team going to find out about Rogue?" Scott looked slyly at Gambit and said, "Well you were until that Tony Robbins remark." Gambit started laughing and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"Yeah, your on the team that's going." Cyclops grinned, as Gambit's glee was obviously plastered all over his face. "Gambit could you ask Storm to come back in here? We have to pick out the rest of the team."
"Sure thing Cyclops." Gambit said as he stood to go.
Gambit walked to the rec room to deliver the message to Storm and was still smiling when he got there, he noticed the hate trio didn't seem too happy about it. He turned to Storm and said, "Cyclops is ready to discuss the team."
"Did everything go alright?" Storm asked.
"Need you ask?" Gambit grinned. Storm smiled in response before going into the war room and closing the door.
Gambit turned around and was facing the rest of the room, which included the hate trio and Wolverine. Wolverine chuckled and said, "You always land on your feet don't you gumbo?"
"I try." Gambit sprawled out across the empty couch in the rec room. Gambit closed his eyes and tried to catnap but his mind was to frenzied. He was thinking about the team Cyke and Stormy would choose. Obviously he was going and Jean and Psylocke were not so that left Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Bobby and Warren to choose through. He figured Wolverine would go because of his enhanced smell so he might be able to pick up Rogue's scent. One of the leaders would go and one would stay so either Storm or Cyclops would go. So that left Iceman and Angel but with Iceman and Angel it was hard to say who they would choose for what team. His thoughts were interrupted by Iceman who said, "How can you sleep at a time like this?" Without missing a beat Gambit said, "What with someone as loud as you around." Wolverine almost fell out of his chair he started laughing so hard. The hate trio slowly one by one dissolved into laughter too, including Iceman. Gambit barely opened his eyes and looked around the room and he joined in too. Slowly the laughter died down around the room Wolverine being the last to stop as he wiped his eyes. A nice feeling filled the room and lulled Gambit to close his eyes again and the rest of the room talked and watched tv. After some time Cyclops and Storm entered the rec room and received everyones attention instantly.
"We have decided on the team that is going and they are Gambit, Wolverine, Iceman, and myself. The remaining team is here in case an emergency were to occur and in case Jean or Psylocke hear anything on the astral plane from Rogue. The team that is going needs to prepare and be ready to leave in an hour." Storm said.
Everyone who was going prepared to leave. The remaining team except for Jean who was still scanning for Rogue were gassing up the blackbird and the like to help get everyone off the ground and towards the club in question.
The team said their goodbyes and loaded onto the blackbird. After everyone had buckled in Storm began throwing switches and pushing buttons to get the blackbird fired up to go. Gambit fiddled with his buckle and tried to make himself comfortable for the flight. He watched Storm in silence as the blackbird took off and out into the sky and then he said, "What's the in flight movie Stormy?"
"Gambit I have told you before when I am piloting I want to be able to fully concentrate on flying that means no talking to me." Storm said gently. Gambit sat back agitated Stormy didn't want to play right now. "Sure thing, Mom." Gambit said.
Thunder roared in the distance and Gambit looked up sheepishly thinking he had really upset her but then he saw Storm had a sly smile on her face and he knew she was just playing.
"Better watch it Gumbo you'll get in more trouble than you can stand." Logan said laying back in his chair.
"Don't I know it." Gambit said.
"How long will it take to get to Colorado?" Iceman asked slightly annoyed. Gambit could do anything and get away with it. Sometimes he thought he was the only sane person around and that was scary considering all his antics.
"About an hour." Logan growled out.
"No Bobby were not there yet. You were supposed to go the bathroom before we left the house." Gambit said in a mocking parenting tone. Gambit always got wired when he was in a car or plane or a house now that he thought about it, he was wired pretty much all the time.
"Well excuse me for trying to be an adult around here. Yes I said adult." Bobby smiled to himself.
"Did Bobby just say adult in the same sentence as when he referenced himself?" Gambit said with a fake shocked smile on his face.
"Now you kids behave Daddy is trying to sleep and I don't want to listen to you two picking at each other the whole way." Wolverine said slightly irritated. Bobby pointed at Remy and mouthed later. Gambit turned back to face the window he decided he would let Wolverine sleep he did give him that beer the other day.
Gambit's thoughts returned back to the mission at hand. He not for the first time wondered where Rogue was? Who sent the letter? Why did they send the letter? It just didn't make sense. The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful, it seemed like the quiet before the storm. They landed and cloaked the black bird and headed towards the club to see what they could find out.
The outside of the club was dark and foreboding it seemed to warn Gambit of what little they knew about what they were walking into and what little they knew of what was to come.
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What did you think? Did you enjoy it? Was there a certain part you liked? As always your reviews are appreciated it lets me know to keep writing because someone out there is enjoying the story. Thanks in advance if you review.