Disclaimer: Marvel's, not mine.
Thanks to my reviewers so far!
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It had been a good year or so when he had last seen her. But she had been a grown woman then. The girl in front of him now was no more than twelve. But how many young, white haired African women were there out in the world. He had only been gone a little over a year, so this could not be her child. Maybe she was a relative. Either way, she had struck Remy's curiosity, and without another word, he scooped her up, saving her from the clutches of the Shadow King. And to think, he had only been there to steal some art.
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The girl seemed to trust Remy, and had not protested the plane trip back to New Orleans. He watched her rapidly consume the food in front of her, seated across from her at a local diner. She had not said much since he had saved her life.
"What's y're name petit?" His smooth voice did not startle the young girl, nor did his red on black eyes.
"My names Ororo." With that she continued on eating her food.
Remy merely smiled. The last and only times he had ever seen Ororo, she had wielded a punkish look, her white hair in a Mohawk fashion, black leather adorning her person. This girl had long white flowing hair, and she wore nothing but rags really.
"Well Ro' y'wouldn' happen t'control de weather, would y'?
Ororo looked up at him with wide blue eyes. Then her expression narrowed, getting defensive.
"Maybe.
"Ever go by de name of Storm?
"Who the hell are you?" Ororo was never one to skirt around the issue, apparently even when she was just a girl.
"Y'don' recognize me girl?
"I-I don't remember much about my life. I vaguely remember a family, a large one, a mutant family.
"De X-Men?
"Yes! That's them.
Remy gave a long sigh. He knew he would have to return back there some day. He also realized that a part of him missed the place, missed the close knit community, missed being part of something. It looked like little Ororo would be his ticket back.
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It had taken them a little over a month to leave New Orleans and return back to the mansion. Ororo had gained a large part of her memory back, leaving a women's mind trapped in a child' body. During their time spent in New Orleans, Remy had helped Ororo up her thieving skills, in turn creating a unique bond with the young woman.
At the present moment, they lay crouched in some bushes, staring ahead at the mansion. Remy's acute mastery as a thief was the only thing that helped him not give away his nervousness. Finally, Ororo stood, heading for the mansion's front door. Gambit quickly moved to follow her, slinking in the shadows wherever possible. Reaching the front door, Remy placed himself behind Ororo, not an effective hiding position considering Remy towered over the five foot girl at his full six foot two height.
"I'm not sure if I should knock, or just walk in.
"I tink it be best if we knock chere. Gambit didn' exactly leave on de best terms.
Ororo reached her tiny hand up, giving a hard, loud knock surprising for her tiny stature. "That's only because you told no one you were leaving Gambit.
"Dat be true Stormy, but-
Just then the door opened, revealing Logan behind it. The first thing he saw and smelt was Remy, and his fury seemed to distract him from Ororo's presence.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slam this door in yer face Gumbo.
Logan's subtlety never ceased to amaze Remy. All Remy could do though, was give one of his dashing grins, and point down to Ororo.
The cigar that had been dangling between Logan's lips dropped to the ground, as his mouth opened in shock.
"Now, Logan, I trust you will let us in?
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Remy had left Storm in the med bay, running into Hank, Jean and Cyclops along the way. No one had asked him his reason for leaving yet, they had simply greeted him hello and went on their way to helping Storm. Remy knew the way of the X-Men though. They would call a meeting, where Remy would be put on the spot in front of the entire team. That is when they would ask about his departure.
In his tired reverie, Gambit's spatial awareness failed to pick up the person around the corner until he had bumped into her. He gave a once over to the asian beauty, taking in her lack of clothing, agile movements, and her long purple hair. Purple, just like dat Brit Betsy. Must be a popular color round here, Remy thought.
"Sorry bout dat chere." Remy didn't really feel like being friendly, but he figured if he wanted any place on the team again, he better start acting like it now. "Don' believe we met before. De name's Gambit." With that, Remy reached for her hand, placing a light kiss on it.
A smile crept up the woman's face, and she looked like she was about to burst with laughter. Merde, Remy thought, women dese days didn' appreciate chivalry.
"We have already met before Remy." Remy's eyes widened at her British accent.
"Mon Dieu, I'm gone just one year, and everyone here has changed dere physical appearances!
Betsy laughed. "Not everyone Gambit. Just me, Warren and I suppose Storm. I was just briefed about her situation, I'm heading down to the med lab now. I'd ask about your disappearance, but I'm sure we will all be debriefed about that as well." Betsy gave a cruel smile at this, adding as she began to walk away, "And don't worry Gambit, your dear Rogue's appearance hasn't changed in your absence.
That did not ease Remy's anticipation of seeing Rogue, but somehow he gathered, it wasn't meant to.
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Remy had been back at the mansion for a week now, and still no sign of Rogue. He was told she was out on a solo mission and would be back soon. He had, as expected, been forced to attend a meeting in order to question his motivation for both leaving the team and then asking to rejoin. He had mumbled something about needing some time to himself in order to perform better on the team. Apparently, many of the X-Men took breaks like this, so no one was too overly suspicious, save for Cyclops and Wolverine.
Jean had been wary of Gambit at first, but had later opened up to him, informing him of who had left the team and who had been added. Remy pretending to listen, but the only one that concerned and affected him was Warren Worthington, other wise known as Angel. Apparently, his wings had been amputated during the Morlock Massacre, and he had sold his soul to a villain named Apocalypse, gaining a pair of steel wings. After battling his conscious, he had returned to the X-Men as Archangel. Remy felt the guilt swell in his chest. He could only blame himself for Warren's situation. Quickly he pushed those thoughts away. He would become a new man. He would erase his past, and no one would have to know.
Thanking Jean for the debriefing, Remy left to gather his thoughts.
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Remy sat on the roof, no cigarette to occupy his hands, eyes closed to the bright stars. He heard feet land gently on the roof behind him, but did not stir. He only held his breath as the smell of magnolias filled his senses.
He was expecting a fight. A swarm of yelling to crush his self pity further. But none come. No words came at all that night. Instead, she sat down next to him, not once glancing in his direction. He watched her auburn curls lightly blow in front of her face, entrapping her features from his view. Inwardly he signed, sucking in the breadth of her being. She sat crossed legged, and brushed the stray hairs away from her eyes. He watched her full lips curl into a smile, but still she said nothing.
Turning forward, Remy too smiled. He realized, for the first time, why he had such an urge to return to this place.
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He was running after her. Again. How often did he have to chase her, before she would understand his honesty? He had been such a fool. But love makes you do funny, sometimes drastic things, and they were so sure that they were going to die. Their relationship had withstood so much in the last year, he could not bear for it to break now.
But once again she had denied him, and once again his past had returned to haunt him.
"I see Remy, that you are once again following your heart rather than your head. Do you not see that it is leading you around in circles?
"Dat be my concern Essex, not yours.
"You were meant for better things LeBeau.
"Are y'tryin' to bribe me inta joinin' y'again? Is dat why y're here?
"Actually no, not yet anyway. I am simply here to warn you.
"Warn me about what?
"That all of your hardwork to become a better person is about to be for nothing. They will find out LeBeau, and when they do, you will come crawling back to me.
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But all I've ever learned from love, was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya.
Love is strong. It allows you a few blissful moments, and in return grabs hold of your soul, the core of your emotions, and continually rips away your very will to live, to trust, to believe.
He stared into her eyes, blinded and hopeful. That night, in the dark, damp conditions that surrounded them, love teased them. Her beauty overthrew his senses, his movements broke through her shield. They gave it all away that night, throwing all care to the wind, the wolves, whatever would cling to it.
As he was slowly dragged from her side, her body numbed, as she imagined his did too. Love had giving them their chance, their moment, and they had greedily taken it. Their eyes met, his dying with realization, hers welling with confusion and fear.
Their moment was over.
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Notes: As you may or may not have noticed, I like writing scenes in which words are not exchanged between Remy and Rogue. I believe that, in a way, is where the strength of their relationship lies. Their physical motions, and the connection they share seems to emit from them without words, as both are pretty sensual characters. In the comics, words always seemed to hurt their relationship. However, they will still talk in this fic! You may have already guessed where the next chapter is heading. This will probably be a two part story, but the next one won't jump around as quickly as this one. This story is just relaying the basic background info. The one song lyric here is from Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah.