Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I making any money from, the X-Men
characters. Thank you to Corrinth for the loan of Ilehana Xavier. Blaze is,
always has been, and forever will be mine, so there!
A/N: Last chapter of the last part of my trilogy, I hope you have all enjoyed this as much as I have writing it? I am really pleased with this story, and its come together quicker than either of the other two. I'd really appreciate any comments you have on part or all of the series? And yes, Blaze will be back in a short ficlet of mine, before she makes another extended appearance in Corrinth's Guardians of Destiny. Thank you all in the meantime; your comments, emails and reviews are all very much appreciated. Lamby
Epilogue
For some months Gambit had refused to speak of the events on Jacobi's boat and before it. His eyes were the only windows to the pain he had suffered, the emotions he battled day by day. Even after Belladonna's trial, which he had refused to attend, was over he would not mention her name. And as for Blaze, she haunted him like a phantom, her laughter mingling with her former students over the foosball table, her music in every stereo turned up too loud. Charles Xavier watched and waited, confident that one day his X-Man would be ready to speak.
One day, much like all the others before it, there came the knock on Xavier's office that he had long been hoping for. Gambit entered hesitantly, and for a while they spoke of simple things, the work of the X- Men in preparing for the next assault of the FoH or Brotherhood of Mutants. Of Scott's joy at re-discovering his long-lost brother that saved him from who knew what after the loss of Tsunami so soon after losing Jean. Of the progress of absent friends, the university students of whom Xavier was so proud.
The conversation stalled there for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts, before Blaze's name was mentioned.
"I don't know why she did it." Gambit stated, matter of fact in tone though not in thought. "Why she leave us, why she leave me..."
"Why does Blaze mean so much to you, Gambit? You let so few people anywhere near you, why her?" Xavier answered Remy's question with a question of his own. Gambit sighed, pushing a hand back through his mop of hair.
"She never tried to change me. Everybody else, my foster parents, d'guild..." He would not name Belle, but he included her forcefully in the next bracket. "All d'girls I'se dated... They all want somethin', want a different Gambit... Blaze never did that, she took me as I come."
"And so she committed herself to never being anything more than your friend?" Xavier prompted. Gambit nodded.
"But I always there for her. Always. Maybe you could tell her dat?" He stood and left, heading for his bike and the open road to clear his head. Xavier headed himself for Cerebro...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The redhead ran her long fingers over the leather of the steering wheel, rearranging the photograph she kept stuck to the dash of her convertible wreck with the other hand as the lights stayed on red. A tall handsome man and a slender young woman, both dressed to impress smiled bashfully back at her. Blaze leant back into the seat as she felt Xavier brush her mind, enjoying the warmth of the L.A. sun on her skin. Remy's words relayed to her struck an emotional cord, and she felt justification that Xavier had not expected.
She had left the X-Men because she was afraid. She couldn't live that life, couldn't do what she had to do whilst trying to be a superhero. She had too much to lose now to be any good at that. And if Remy felt she was the only one to never try and change him, then she was justified in leaving him too. How could she force him to change, if she cared about him how could she not at least try and protect him? This way, she protected the two people that meant the most in the world to her...
The traffic light changed to green, and Blaze shifted the car into drive. Absently missing her pet Aston Martin, she placed a hand on her swollen belly, smiling contentedly as the baby inside her kicked just once...
A/N: Last chapter of the last part of my trilogy, I hope you have all enjoyed this as much as I have writing it? I am really pleased with this story, and its come together quicker than either of the other two. I'd really appreciate any comments you have on part or all of the series? And yes, Blaze will be back in a short ficlet of mine, before she makes another extended appearance in Corrinth's Guardians of Destiny. Thank you all in the meantime; your comments, emails and reviews are all very much appreciated. Lamby
Epilogue
For some months Gambit had refused to speak of the events on Jacobi's boat and before it. His eyes were the only windows to the pain he had suffered, the emotions he battled day by day. Even after Belladonna's trial, which he had refused to attend, was over he would not mention her name. And as for Blaze, she haunted him like a phantom, her laughter mingling with her former students over the foosball table, her music in every stereo turned up too loud. Charles Xavier watched and waited, confident that one day his X-Man would be ready to speak.
One day, much like all the others before it, there came the knock on Xavier's office that he had long been hoping for. Gambit entered hesitantly, and for a while they spoke of simple things, the work of the X- Men in preparing for the next assault of the FoH or Brotherhood of Mutants. Of Scott's joy at re-discovering his long-lost brother that saved him from who knew what after the loss of Tsunami so soon after losing Jean. Of the progress of absent friends, the university students of whom Xavier was so proud.
The conversation stalled there for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts, before Blaze's name was mentioned.
"I don't know why she did it." Gambit stated, matter of fact in tone though not in thought. "Why she leave us, why she leave me..."
"Why does Blaze mean so much to you, Gambit? You let so few people anywhere near you, why her?" Xavier answered Remy's question with a question of his own. Gambit sighed, pushing a hand back through his mop of hair.
"She never tried to change me. Everybody else, my foster parents, d'guild..." He would not name Belle, but he included her forcefully in the next bracket. "All d'girls I'se dated... They all want somethin', want a different Gambit... Blaze never did that, she took me as I come."
"And so she committed herself to never being anything more than your friend?" Xavier prompted. Gambit nodded.
"But I always there for her. Always. Maybe you could tell her dat?" He stood and left, heading for his bike and the open road to clear his head. Xavier headed himself for Cerebro...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The redhead ran her long fingers over the leather of the steering wheel, rearranging the photograph she kept stuck to the dash of her convertible wreck with the other hand as the lights stayed on red. A tall handsome man and a slender young woman, both dressed to impress smiled bashfully back at her. Blaze leant back into the seat as she felt Xavier brush her mind, enjoying the warmth of the L.A. sun on her skin. Remy's words relayed to her struck an emotional cord, and she felt justification that Xavier had not expected.
She had left the X-Men because she was afraid. She couldn't live that life, couldn't do what she had to do whilst trying to be a superhero. She had too much to lose now to be any good at that. And if Remy felt she was the only one to never try and change him, then she was justified in leaving him too. How could she force him to change, if she cared about him how could she not at least try and protect him? This way, she protected the two people that meant the most in the world to her...
The traffic light changed to green, and Blaze shifted the car into drive. Absently missing her pet Aston Martin, she placed a hand on her swollen belly, smiling contentedly as the baby inside her kicked just once...