Rogue uneasily looked at Gambit, raising her eyebrow suspiciously at him, as they sat on the wooden bench in the courtyard of the camp. She sighed, and placed her gloved hands in her lap. "So, what'd you wanna talk about, Gumbo?" Rogue asked.
Gambit looked up at her, and shrugged. "Well, first off, what's with all the pranks?" He smirked.
Rogue sighed, and looked up. "Unbelievable!" She muttered. She then looked at him, "Because, Cajun! Your little immature cabin boys decided to steal some intimate articles of clothing from my friends!" Rogue snapped at him.
Gambit shook his head, laughing. "You know, you're one fiery southern belle, chere!" He smiled at her.
Rogue blushed. She eased up a little, and sighed, looking away from him. "I'm sorry." She apologized.
Gambit shook his head. "No need to apologize. I just feel that since I'm livin' at the Institute with ya, I might as well get to know ya." He smiled.
Rogue looked at him, almost shocked; yet overtaken by his comment. "Why me?" She asked.
Gambit leaned towards her, smiling, "Isn't it obvious?"
Rogue leaned back away from him. "But, why me? What is it about me that gets to you?" Rogue nervously asked.
Gambit raised his eyebrow, as his eyes moved down, searching her, and then, moved back up to meet with hers. "Well, chere, for one, you're one hell of a looker. Two, you've got a personality that just sucks me in!" He grinned.
Rogue gulped nervously, as she saw him leaning closer. She immediately jumped up to her feet, causing him to fall onto the bench. She looked at him, "Look. I know you're only tryin' to be nice, but don't you get it? I can't touch anyone!" She snapped at him.
Gambit sat up, and rested his chin on his hand, as he placed his elbow onto the table in front of him. He looked at her, shrugging. He smiled, staring at her, "You can drain my energy any time, chere! Gambit has plenty!" He smiled.
Rogue rolled her eyes, and slightly smiled at his comment. Damn arrogant bastard!, she thought to herself. He slid off of the bench towards her, and walked to her. She backed away from him, as he kept walking into her. She backed up into a tree, and nervously looked up at him, as he placed his hands on the sides of her head against the tree she leaned against. "Don't worry, chere. I won't hurt you."
"Uh, Gambit. I don't feel like risking on havin' you in my head just to give you a damn kiss!" She nervously stuttered.
"You don't want any of me in you?" He grinned playfully.
Rogue sighed, and looked up at him. "Gambit, please?" She sighed.
Gambit stared at her, "Rogue, I have heard Mr. McCoy talkin' to the Prof about some invention he was comin' up with to stop the X Gene from happenin'." He told her.
Rogue nodded, "Yeah, he's talked to me about it."
Gambit shrugged, "What, you wanna try it out?" He smiled.
Rogue's heart nearly melted as he smiled at her. That was his trademark; his smile. He had a smile to seriously kill women. "Gambit, I don't know." She nervously said.
Gambit leaned away from her, standing up straight. He bent his arm, gesturing for her to link her sleeved arm through his. "Come on, Rogue. Let's just walk together, okay?" He offered.
Rogue looked at his arm, then up at him, as she curled a platinum white hair bang behind her ear. "Come on." He insisted.
Rogue nervously linked her arm with his and walked with him. He placed his hand on to her gloved hand that linked through his arm, and looked at her, smiling. "There's nothing wrong with touching Rogue. Even if it's covered." He smiled.
Rogue eased, and nervously placed her cheek against his shoulder, as they began to walk through the courtyard. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She smiled.
*~*~*~*
"Did you see that?" Kitty whispered to Tabitha.
Tabitha nodded, standing next to her. They looked at each other, as they witnessed the talk between Rogue and Gambit. They were hidden in the shadows, away from the courtyard. "That was so cute!" Tabitha smiled.
Kitty grabbed onto Tabitha's arm, "Come on! Let's see if we can find Pietro and Betts!" She eagerly offered.
Tabitha smiled as Kitty pulled her by the arm towards the lake.
*~*~*~*
Elizabeth sighed, as she dangled her legs over the edge of the dock. Pietro sat next to her, doing the same. Elizabeth nervously cleared her throat, feeling Pietro staring at her. She looked out towards the lake in front of them, smiling at the reflection of the moon on the still water. "It's a beautiful night." She finally said, breaking the nervous silence.
Pietro smiled and quickly looked away from her as her eyes moved to look at him. He cleared his throat loudly, sobering his face. "Yeah," He stuttered, "Yeah, it is."
Elizabeth turned her face to look at him, raising an eyebrow, "Am I making you nervous, Pietro?" She smiled.
Pietro looked at her, and gulped. He stared at her, embedding her face into his mind. "M-Maybe." He stuttered.
Elizabeth let out a small laugh, and shyly looked away towards the lake. Good god, you're beautiful, he thought.
Elizabeth grinned even more, turning her face away from him, as she heard his thoughts. She finally looked at him, "You're pretty intriguing yourself, Quicksilver!" She smiled.
Pietro smiled at how she used his common codename. "You heard my thought, didn't you?" He asked, with a suspicious smile, and an eyebrow raised.
Elizabeth smiled, shrugging, "Well, it was unavoidable." She smiled. "But, am I?"
Pietro sobered, staring at her. Their eyes met, and locked. "Yeah. A little." He smiled.
Elizabeth's smile slowly faded, as they stared at each other. "Well, you're making me a little nervous too." She sheepishly told him.
"Well, you are hot, Betsy." He grinned at her.
Elizabeth shook her head, smiling. She pushed him lightly, "Oh, Pietro you—",
Pietro immediately placed his hand on the side of her face, turning her towards him, and planted his lips onto hers, stopping her sentence. They broke away after a moment, and stared at each other. Elizabeth nervously bit on her lip, "Pietro, uhm, I don't know about this." She sighed.
"Why?" Pietro asked, as his fingers began to stroke her face lightly.
"Because; you're known and I quote, as a 'player'." She told him, her eyes moving up to look into his.
"Well, you may end up making me an honest guy, Betts." Pietro smiled.
He leaned to her, and they kissed again. They wrapped their arms around each other, kissing, unknowledgeable that they were being watched.
*~*~*~*
Kitty and Tabitha's mouths dropped, as they hid behind a large rock at the head of the dock leading to the lake. They stared at each other, and back at the two kissing at the edge of the dock. "Oh my god!" Kitty gasped.
Tabitha quickly placed her hand over Kitty's mouth, "Shh! They might hear us!" Tabitha whispered.
Kitty nodded, and Tabitha removed her hand from Kitty's mouth. "This is so juicy!" Tabitha smiled.
"Let's go!" Kitty grinned, grabbing onto her arm.
Kitty pulled Tabitha back towards the cabins.
