THE HEAVENS OPEN
By Stormkeeper (stormkpr@usa.net)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
*************
Four days after the X-men had departed from Nari Silara, Jean approached Hank. The doctor gave her the update she requested; nothing he said surprised her in the least. There was no change in Rogue's condition.
Jean brought breakfast to Gambit. He was sitting at his post by Rogue's side. The only time Gambit made public appearances was during the team training sessions. He didn't look up when Jean placed the tray on the counter next to him and then left sick bay. Jean knew that Gambit had been there all night.
`What would the Professor do?' Jean asked herself as she walked down the hallway. She mulled over that question, allowed it to stew and simmer on her backburner. After a while, she got an idea. She returned to the infirmary.
"Gambit," Jean said his name, placing a hand on his shoulder. She felt the cottony material of his T-shirt. It was getting threadbare in a few places.
"Hi Jean," he mumbled. He actually turned his head and made eye contact with her, though one of his hands remained holding one of Rogue's.
"I—I wish to discuss something with you. I have an idea of how I – we might be able to help Rogue."
Gambit's face perked up and, for an instant, he resembled the old Gambit that Jean knew. "Tell me 'bout it, Jean," he eagerly begged.
"We know that I can not get inside Rogue's mind," Jean began, "but I have an idea. What if **you** are capable of getting inside it? You're not a telepath, but I think that I can take you there. I can first enter your mind, and link our consciousness together. Then I can take you to Rogue's mind….to that locked box that I wasn't able to open. Maybe **you** can be the one who breaks her out of it. If we do this, it will let you get a lot closer to her mind---far closer than you've been able to this way."
"Jean, I'll try anyt'ing to help Rogue, you know dat. You t'ink dis will work?" Gambit's eyes once again reflected a hint of their usual fire.
"I don't know for sure. But I think there's a good chance. At the very least, it's worth a try." She then paused and took on a more serious tone. "But Gambit, there is one thing you must keep in mind. When I enter your mind to link with you – "
"I know. You gonna have access to my memories. To everyt'in." He stated the words plainly, without emotion.
"Yes. I certainly do not intend to browse around and invade your privacy. But….I wonder how I might explain this….even if I do not actively seek out your memories and thoughts, I will have been exposed to them."
"I know. Jean, remember I know a lot 'bout telepat'y; I got a good idea 'bout how dis works. You go into my head, even if you don't plan to sit dere and read my mind, you still gonna have an imprint of my past. It's gonna pop into your head wit'out you tryin'---for mont's or years to come."
Jean nodded. "I see that you do understand it exactly. I could find myself – a year or two later---sitting in the same room with you and feel one of your memories pop up, or be able to read whatever thought you have that day, without really trying." She took a breath. "Remember those FOH men who's minds I entered, to change their minds about using the virus against us?" At Gambit's nod, she continued, "I will occasionally find myself experiencing a memory of one of theirs. It's annoying and I can brush it aside easily. And it's really not too bad since I never **see** these men; never even met them before I read their minds. But you and I are in close contact quite a bit. This….this would really compromise your privacy. And, um, I know that none of us have exactly been saints in the past…."
"Leas' of all me," he finished for her. "Dat's okay. Jean, you know dat I gonna try anyt'ing to save Rogue." He spoke the truth. The idea of his mind exposed, naked was hard to stomach. Gambit treasured his privacy above almost all else. But he treasured Rogue more. The words of the Nalarians rang in his ears: Love shall conquer all. Maybe his sacrifice, born out of love, would be the act of love needed to liberate Rogue.
"And you know that I will not tell anyone of whatever I find in your mind. I promise to respect your privacy and never reveal what I learn."
"I understand."
Jean then added, remembering Gambit's slight telepathic abilities as evidenced by his shielding, "Given your limited telepathic abilities, it is at least possible you might absorb some of my memories and thoughts, as well."
"If dat happens I promise to do the same wit' you and respect your privacy. Can we start now?"
****************
Hank was informed of their plans, and a sign was placed about the locked doors to sick bay. Hank would remain in the lab, loosely monitoring Rogue as they worked. Jean seated herself next to Gambit and began to open her mind, and open his.
Unpeeling the layers of Remy LeBeau's mind was far more difficult than tapping into the FOH members' minds. Jean assumed that Gambit had, over the years, erected so many shields to protect his consciousness. And he now, even though supporting what she was doing, was unable to consciously remove the barriers. Or perhaps he had removed many of them but had constructed additional protective barriers that he was not consciously aware of. So Jean worked around the shields, patiently and skillfully stripping away the protective coating. With each passing minute, she gently unwrapped another layer, akin to peeling the green leaves off of a husk of corn.
She worked diligently until she finally reached the core of Remy's consciousness. In the mental landscape of her mind, Jean placed her arms around Remy and felt herself infused with his spirit. She absorbed his being. She then firmly grasped one of Remy's hands and led him towards a tunnel. The way Jean's mind saw it, they were swimming underwater in a vast sea, swimming peacefully together towards a particular channel. Jean was leading Remy as they swam, but he eagerly kept pace with her.
Once they swam down the passageway, Jean led Remy to a treasure chest. She wasn't sure why her mind painted Rogue's consciousness in the likeness of a treasure chest. Maybe, she would later speculate, it had been because when Jean first met Remy, she had – only half-seriously -- viewed his image as resembling that of a pirate.
Still holding hands, Jean and Remy swam downwards and surrounded the treasure chest. They outstretched their arms and embraced it.
Jean then looked at Remy. It was his turn.
*****************
A flurry of images, a cascade of mental fragments drifted. Various clippings from the memory swam by.
An older woman, eyes hidden behind sunglasses, saying, "Your powers are a gift, not a curse. Raven and I will teach you how to use them." The warmth of hot tea sliding down the throat.
A man with a heavy southern accent and alcohol on his breath, yelling and throwing a bottle against a window.
A strong woman flying through the air, commending her for just having helped the X-men save the world. The intense feeling of power and pride. Having a purpose in life.
The loud sounds of a motorcycle, as heard from a bedroom window. Peering out at a mysterious man in a trench coat, duffel bag draped over his shoulder, walking into the large mansion.
Panic and fear, holding onto a young woman in a speeding aircraft as her powers and mind were absorbed. The rush that followed, when the ability to fly and the super-strength had been taken. The confusion and terror over not being able to control new abilities. The inability to drown out a voice that haunted the mind for days, then weeks.
Leaving home again, with the mind more ragged and scarred than ever. Jaded and numbed, but even still feeling the ache of loneliness worse than ever before.
**************
//Focus more, Remy// Jean communicated telepathically. //See if you can grasp on to some concrete memories. Try for some that you remember, too, so that they will be more clear.//
Gambit's head hurt. Even in the trance state Jean had him in, he could feel the exhaustion of their work.
//Concentrate, concentrate. It will make more sense to her if the memories are in chronological order.//
***************
Sitting in a car, driving it away from the mansion. Gambit trying to convince her to stay, convince her that he wouldn't mind a hospital stay in exchange for a kiss. Raging at him, "How about gittin' your butt outta my car?" Hoisting him out of the convertible with one hand.
Sitting in a prison cell on a strange world, Mr. Sinister standing by, ready to torture Rogue. Gambit grasping her to him, kissing her. "Gambit never say dis to anyone before. Gambit love you." The stunning realization that Gambit spoke the truth, the confusion over not knowing what to do with this love.
Being awakened from a nap by Gambit's kiss. Reaching with shock and seeing Gambit toppling over and falling unconscious as she herself was filled with his powers, his emotions. Shivering in her room alone much later, wrenched from that millisecond of paradise as she wished she had been awake for that instant where lips had touched lips.
Remy touching her breasts through the thin cloth of her shirt. Straddling his leg and thrusting her hips against it. Kneeling before him and stroking his hardness through her satin gloves, her eyes wide at the sight of him naked. The first time they ever made love.
Enduring the unendurable at the hands of the Friends of Humanity. Despising every revolting moment of it. Going along with it to prevent them from causing any harm to Remy.
Exiled from earth, living aboard a starship with their family. The castaways enjoying together a festive Christmas celebration, a celebration which had signaled the advent of better times with Remy, too. Willingly wearing a collar as Remy massaged her back, giving her the experience of touch in a positive way. Feeling the shock and the comfort simultaneously. Her fears starting to thaw, her mind and heart starting to accept his love once more.
Vacationing on a planet referred to as "Paradise." Swimming together nude. Remy whispering, "Gonna make you come so hard tonight." The sensation of pleasurable skin-on-skin contact. A whole new world opening. Remy fulfilling his pledge, several times that night.
Walking down the aisle on An'zhina, everyone looking at her. Standing next to the man she loved and exchanging vows to last a lifetime.
Cowering together in another FOH cell, the X-men having been captured once again. Remy murmuring soothing words to her and feeling comforted by them.
Sitting in the lab with Hank and hearing the test results. Shaking Remy awake, sharing with him the knowledge that they were to become parents.
***************
Hank McCoy gently shook Jean and Gambit as the monitor made excited noises. "Gambit…Jean….look at these readings. She---she is regaining consciousness!"
Rogue's groggy eyes slowly opened. Gambit looked at the readings to which Hank was gesturng. His heart started racing.
Later, much later, in the evening, Jean approached her husband. She caressed him in a suggestive manner, inviting him. Somehow, having her consciousness linked with that of Gambit, Jean felt infused with the presence of this most sensual man. Jean's romantic and sexual feelings were for Scott only, but that day Gambit had an effect on her psyche too. Jean joyfully and expressively made love to her very willing husband. It seemed that night that every touch was heightened; Jean drank in Scott.
******************
Rogue sat on the bed in sick bay, enveloped by Gambit. Well-wishers stopping by would have to wait. Rogue just rocked back and forth in Gambit's arms. She didn't know the full story yet, nor did she want or need to know. Not at this time. Her mind still felt heavy and slow, her usually-invincible body was tired and battered. But both were gradually healing themselves.
"Remy, we're back together. You did it," she murmured. She had an awareness of what he—and Jean---had accomplished inside her mind, and she tried to articulate that she understood. But her weary mind and mouth wouldn't cooperate.
Gambit was too overwhelmed to smile just then. He simply held her body against his, feeling the love coursing through his body. Someday he would recount to her how he had saved the day, teleporting down to Nari Silara and rescuing Jean. But it almost seemed irrelevant now; there was no need to brag. All he cared about was the fact that Rogue, his Rogue was back.
At some indistinct hour later, Hank gently told the couple that they could leave sick bay. Upon their questioning, he told them that as far as he could tell, the fetus inside Rogue was unharmed. Gambit carried Rogue to the privacy of their room. This solid body belonging to the woman of legendary strength was not yet up to walking down the corridor. When they reached their room, Gambit changed Rogue into her favorite nightgown; it was emerald green and made of satin. He gently brushed her hair; Rogue preferred to have her mane brushed out before bedtime.
Still recovering her strength, Rogue hardly spoke. But after Gambit turned off the light, able to relax his exhausted body at long last too, Rogue whispered to him. "You were there the whole time. I felt you."
She wanted to add "I love you," but her strength failed again and she needed to rest. It didn't matter that the words weren't spoken that night. He knew it.
******************
Hank watched Gambit and Rogue leave sick bay, Rogue being carried in Gambit's arms. Undying love, he observed. Love strong enough to draw someone out of a coma, strong enough to bring someone back from the brink.
Hank bit his lip and returned to the deserted sick bay. Feeling very alone, he sat back down at his chair with the wheels on it and continued the work he had left at his computer.
*****************
Dani Moonstar's communicator sounded. She almost didn't hear it; sitting inside Storm's room, she and the Wind Rider had been playing their flutes together.
"That was my communicator, wasn't it?" Dani asked, her tone displaying her complete lack of enthusiasm. They both knew who was likely calling.
She pressed a button. "Hello?"
"It's Marrow." An awkward pause. "Let's have dinner together."
"Sure." Dani never argued with Marrow or tried to turn down her requests. Nor did she ever pretend to be ill. She was here to do a job, and when she returned to the X-men, she wanted it to never be said that she had not held up her end of the bargain.
"How about now?"
Although she would not refuse Marrow's requests, Dani did have room to maneuver a bit. "Well, Storm and I are in the middle of a practice session. Flute playing. And I'm not really hungry yet." Dani was not one to be dictated by a clock---not by a long shot---but she could swear that she just finished lunch a few hours ago.
"Well, beep me when you're ready, okay?"
"Okay."
As soon as the communicator was shut off, Moonstar looked at Storm and they resumed their playing, starting from the beginning of the song which had been interrupted. They didn't say anything to each other about the conversation with Marrow. They had already talked it out a hundred times, and what more could be said? Storm closed her eyes as she resumed playing, and swallowed her guilt.
Later, Marrow and Dani sat across from each other in Marrow's room. Marrow had replicated one of Dani's favorite types of wine. This was not lost on Dani. Moonstar herself had access to a food replicator, of course; she could (and did) replicate the wine whenever she wanted to. But Marrow wasn't renowned for picking up on the details or for her sensitivity. Yet she'd noticed that Dani really liked this particular wine, with its woody taste.
Dani couldn't figure Marrow out. 'She seems like she really really likes me. It's endearing in a perverse kinda way,' she told herself.
"Have you ever had a massage?" Dani asked. The question jumped into her head and she decided to ask it. Sometimes they went for long stretches without talking, and that was okay with Dani, but she didn't really like to eat in stony silence either.
"You mean like….where someone rubs your back or somethin'?"
"Yeah, that's kind of what it's like. Someone skilled at it can do more than just rubbing your back, but that's the general idea."
Marrow was silent. "You haven't ever had one, have you?" Dani asked. Sometimes you would ask Marrow a question and you really had to prompt her to get a reply.
"Nope."
"So, do you want one?" Moonstar asked.
More silence. Dani then prodded, "I know you don't like to be touched too much. But you might like this. If you don't, we can stop it."
"What about my bones?"
"I can massage around them. Unless you think there might be some benefit for me trying to massage them." Dani took a bite of her replicated steak and chewed thoughtfully. "You do get some sensation from your bones, don't you?" Marrow had that small protruding bone in the neighborhood of her groin which she frequently penetrated Dani with. As far as Dani could tell, Marrow's closed-eye grunts seemed to mean she enjoyed what she did; the guttural noises she made seemed to indicate an orgasm.
"Yeah, I do."
"Well, I could try to massage them too."
Marrow was quiet for a few moments. "They're rough. They might hurt your hands."
"It's okay. Feel how rough my hands are," Moonstar said, extending a hand. Marrow touched it briefly, and then held on for longer. No matter how much hand lotion Dani used, her hands were dry. Descended from generations of women and men who worked with their hands, Dani would never have the finely manicured nails and smooth hands of a wealthy lady. Her Navajo mother had had arthritis in both hands at the time of her death, when she was in her forties.
"Okay," Marrow said. "But I gotta be in the right mood before you touch me."
She didn't elaborate any further as to what it might take to get her in the mood. Marrow simply wolfed down the remainder of her dinner. Dani tried to keep pace with her. Not being a fan of sweets, Dani had no dessert but she watched as Marrow devoured her favorite – a mint crème bar.
"Go ahead and lay on your stomach," Dani gestured to the bed, once dinner had been put away and Marrow had unceremoniously discarded her clothing.
"Don't got much of a choice about that," Marrow said, referring to having to lay face-down. She had several bones protruding from her back, and a few on one side now. She could wrench them off when they got to be too much of a nuisance, but removing them caused pain too and Marrow wasn't yet fully immune.
"Ow!" Marrow yelped, at the first touch of Dani's hands.
"Sorry," Dani apologized. This was not the first time that Dani had touched Marrow in a "wrong" way. She never knew when Marrow would recoil at which particular touch.
"How's this?" Dani asked. She took one hand and laid it, unmoving, on a spot on Marrow's back.
"Yeah, that's okay."
Marrow's first massage was a trial-and-error experience for Dani. Marrow got a great deal of enjoyment from having her bones stroked. Dani rubbed each and every one of Marrow external bones, provoking several squawks of pleasure. Bare skin was another matter---Marrow was overly sensitive in some spots; in others, it seemed she had no sense of sensation at all. Touching Marrow's neck and ears had always caused pain, but Dani learned that if she approached in just the right way, Marrow was okay with it. She liked having her feet rubbed too.
Marrow made another groaning sound, and Dani noticed that she was spreading her legs. The massage had aroused her. Perhaps disoriented from the massage, Marrow attempted to lay on her back. She squealed unpleasantly, jolted back to reality, when her bones made contact with the bed unevenly.
"Here," Dani whispered. She brought her fingers to Marrow's groin area and boldly touched her. Marrow had to settle for an awkward position, akin to crouching on all fours. But she let Dani touch her, more than she ever had. Dani brought Marrow to a climax, after which Marrow gave her a kiss that could only be described as exuberant.
Dani couldn't say why---there was certainly no logical reason---but after that night, she started to view Marrow differently. Before, Marrow had been like a thick, unctuous cough syrup that Dani had no choice about having to ingest; she was an illness or a broken leg that Dani was forced to put up with. Now she was more of a wounded dog. Or an awkward and handicapped young woman, Dani thought (though she cautioned herself about misusing words that described the disabled.)
Dani began to shift from her indifferences to something akin to sympathy – or perhaps empathy.
************
"Can you believe it? Rogue's back to normal!"
Jubilee sat on the sofa across from the one occupied by Bobby. They were in the rec room, with Rory and Charlotte playing on the floor, in between them.
"It's amazing when you think about it," Bobby replied. "Yesterday she was in a coma and now she's…she's up and around."
A few hours ago, Jubilee had been in the gym to witness a friendly argument between Rogue and Wolverine. Rogue insisted she was ready to join the team training sessions, while Wolverine passionately pleaded for her to take a day of bed rest. Gambit and Cyclops ended up agreeing with Wolverine, and Rogue had finally backed down. Rogue had truly been in good spirits during the disagreement and, as everyone had surmised, it was the look on Gambit's face which had convinced her to take it easy for the day.
"Okay, sugar," Rogue had called sweetly to Gambit, "I'll be waitin' for you in the bedroom then."
Several good-natured giggles had ensued from the rest of the X-men who were milling about the gym and waiting for the session to begin. (Even though most surmised that Rogue had truly been referring to taking a nap. But still, as Jubilee said, "It sounded funny.")
"I heard she even apologized to Kurt, Wolvie, and Jean," Jubilee added to Bobby in the rec room. "For what happened on the planet."
"They would have none of it, I'm sure?" Bobby asked.
"Oh, of course. They knew what happened wasn't her fault, and they knew that **she** knew deep down too."
"That's good. The last thing we need is an angst about the mission." Bobby paused. "It happened, it's over. Let's move on."
"Is that how you feel, really? I mean, about the mission in general, and us leaving Nal---what's it called?--- Nali Silara?" Jubilee asked.
"Nari Silara, I think," Bobby corrected. "I dunno, Jubilee. I really feel bad for what we did to the planet---leaving our shuttle and then this…weird Dagron guy discovering space travel because of it. It's pretty serious stuff and it freaks me out. But I guess I'm of the mindset that if we keep interfering, we keep doing even more damage. Better just to leave it alone and keep from messing it up even more."
"I guess I agree," Jubilee said. She would have to honestly admit that she didn't feel strongly one way or the other about the mission. She was glad that Rogue and Jean were safe and they were one team again.
Then Jubilee decided to just ask it. They were alone in the rec room, aside from the children, and the rec room rarely remained so minimally-occupied. Who knew when they'd get another chance alone?
"Can I ask you a question, Bobby?"
"You can ask me anything, Jubilee; you know that," Bobby answered, with a smile.
Jubilee knew that. She also knew—and liked---that Bobby really didn't seem to mind opening up about things. What a refreshing change from Wolverine! She wondered if the time Bobby had spent in therapy had helped him to be so open. He was always okay with talking about his feelings. She loved the fact that you could joke around and act serious with him one moment, and discuss your innermost feelings the next. Sam didn't open up as easily as Bobby either, though he was far better than Wolverine.
"When you were in San Francisco, you had a boyfriend, right? A guy you were with for a while?"
"Yeah, Michael," Bobby replied, supplying his ex's name. "We were together for three years. Lived together for some of that time too."
"You broke up before you rejoined the X-men, right?" Upon seeing Bobby's nod, Jubilee asked, "Why did you break up?"
Bobby shrugged. "I used to tell myself it was because he was uncomfortable that I was a mutant. But I think that's a lie---it's not like that ever came up in conversation much, and I don't think he really cared about that. Despite all the shit going on with FOH coming to power, we hardly ever talked about that stuff---Michael was never big on current events." He paused and said with a sigh, "You know, there wasn't one big traumatic event that broke us up or anything like that. It was like…towards the end, we were more like friends who occasionally slept together. I loved him, but I didn't love him any more than I loved, say, Hank or any of the other friends I'd had. Um…I hate to sound like I'm in a soap opera, but I'd say that in the end I wasn't **in** love with him anymore, and he felt the same. So we talked about it and we agreed to break it off."
"Was that your first real relationship?" She was leaning forward in her seat, listening ardently.
"Yeah, pretty much. The first one that lasted more than a month or two, anyway." He looked like he was about to elaborate, but stopped himself. He then turned to Jubilee and smiled, "So like….why are you asking this? I mean, I'm just curious---I don't mind talking about it. But this topic sure came from out of nowhere."
Jubilee froze, fearing that her motive was transparent. She'd had that good talk with Wolverine and wanted to keep her doubts about being with Sam confined there. Wolverine would never divulge it to anyone else. Bobby might---not out of any mean-spiritedness---but Bobby's nature was to talk, and gossip was not unknown to him.
"Just curious," Jubilee shrugged. "You and Northstar look so solid, I'd be bummed if anything happened to you two."
Thankfully for Jubilee, Bobby became distracted by thoughts of his lover. "Yeah, I'm not too worried right now. I think we're actually more in love now than ever," he said dreamily. "We're more in synch than we've ever been."
"That's so cool!" Jubilee enthused.
***********
Rogue's healing occurred rapidly, as expected. Two days after rising from the coma, she was training with the team. Her fighting skills were nearly up to par. And mentally she was the same person she always had been.
After the morning training session, she and Gambit sat crammed into the captain's chair during Gambit's bridge duty shift. They didn't talk a lot; mostly they cuddled, looking into each other's eyes. They silently gazed at each other for a long, long time. Rogue allowed her thinking mind to shut down and just lost herself in Gambit's passionate, fiery eyes.
It was some of the most incredible foreplay Rogue had ever experienced.
Gambit looked at Rogue, mesmerized. The depth of caring and reserves of strength in her eyes enthralled him. He looked at her mouth with its determination. The woman he held in his arms was the same strong, sassy spirit he'd known when they first met. Since they relived all those memories together so recently, they were fresh on Remy's mind. Rogue looked slightly older than she had when he first met her, but her beauty had not faded. And she was now a happier, more mature, more loving person than ever.
A hand briefly caressed her midsection; Gambit was awed that she carried their child. He still harbored his ambivalence about the prospect of fatherhood, but it did not mean that he wasn't pleased as well. Together, they had done something common and ordinary, but wondrous too.
Rogue moaned at his touch. "This is intense, Remy. Just sittin' here lookin' at you is intense," she whispered.
"I know, chere." And he did know. After having been in each other's minds so intimately, he had to know.
"I wanna make love to you so badly now." Rogue had still been recovering her strength the past two days.
"Me too." He smiled.
"You got that look in your eyes, sugar," she said, commenting on his smile.
"Jus' remembrin' one time when we stranded on the Paradise Planet, an' we make love on the bridge. Anyone couldda walked in at any time."
Rogue smiled at the memory. "That was so sexy. I still feel sexy with you, but today I wanna make love to feel even closer to you. Emotionally."
"I know."
"It's like I want you inside me. I wanna envelope you. I want us as close as we can git."
"I want dat too." Remy eyed his timepiece. "We still got hours left on dis shift," he said, confirming what they both knew. "Maybe it best to jus' let it simmer. Even dough I want you right now."
"Yeah….you're right. We can't do it while you're on duty." The disappointment in Rogue's voice tore at Remy's heart.
Moments later they were ripping their clothing off, adjusting the angle of the main space monitor, and turning up the sensors' volumes. Rogue lay down on her back on the cold metal floor. "Here," Gambit said, "Lay on dis duster," he said, handing her the full-length jacket that he still wore often.
"You want it dis way, chere?" Remy asked quietly, tenderly as she positioned herself on top of his duster. "You don't always cum in dis position."
"It's okay." She reached one hand and opened her lips to him. "I'm so wet right now I don't think it matters. I want you inside me right now."
Remy, who couldn't explain why he was trembling, lowered himself down to the floor. As soon as he was inside her, he kissed her deeply and slowly, keeping his hips still. He kept on kissing her, slowly. Rogue kissed him back and thrust her hips up at him. She then wrapped her legs around his lower body, and reached her arms around him as best as she could.
When their lips and tongues weren't engaged and wrapped around each other's, they just looked into each other's eyes as they thrust together slowly. Rogue's eyes started to fill with tears. Remy looked at them and understood that they were not tears of sadness. He kissed the salty tears.
The lovers did hear the door open – and quickly close---at one point, but neither broke eye contact.
Afterwards, they put their clothing back on and set the monitors and sensors back to normal. Remy sat again on the captain's chair, Rogue in his lap. She soon feel asleep.
***************
Northstar had spotted an old deck of cards on the floor of the Danger Room. It was unlike Gambit to forget or misplace anything, but he was sure that the cards belonged to Gambit. Who else owned a deck? The X-men did keep a few in the rec room, but odds were that a deck of cards found outside of there belonged to the Cajun. Northstar thought he remembered, last time he checked the schedule, that Gambit would be on bridge duty now. A quick check of the schedule confirmed that. He seized the deck and headed for the bridge.
As soon as Northstar spotted the lovemaking on the bridge, he immediately turned and left the vicinity.
`Wow, that Gambit. Making love to Rogue while he's on duty,' Northstar mused as he walked down the hallway. He admired it. He and Bobby had never done so, as arousing as the idea was. It didn't really compromise the safety of the ship, Northstar justified – nothing ever happened during bridge duty anyway. But if Cyclops ever found Northstar and Iceman making love during one of their shifts, he'd kill them. 'Cyclops would probably kill Rogue and Gambit too, if he found out. He'd kill Bobby and I more though.'
It wasn't the first time Jean-Paul had glimpsed Gambit in the nude – the tantalizing glances he'd taken when the X-men had to share group showers had been the first. But it was the first time he'd seen Gambit in action, and that had been thrilling, even though his view had lasted a mere second or two. Remy had been engrossed in the loving, moving slowly and tenderly. It made sense, Northstar thought, given what the couple had just been through. He envisioned Gambit as a very versatile lover---capable of trying new and inventive things, and also a lover completely present in the moment, romantic, gentle, ultra ultra sensual. But also sexy, rough, aggressive, and focussed on gratification when appropriate, too.
'I know, I know,' Jean-Paul told himself. 'I've been thinking way **too much** about what Gambit would be like as a lover.' He had to cut it out, he knew.
`Maybe the problem is that I haven't told anyone. Maybe if I talk about it, it will disappear; I'll stop thinking about it and it won't be such a big deal anymore.' But he didn't feel that he could tell Bobby. He didn't want to hurt his feelings and he knew he wouldn't ever actually sleep with Gambit, so what would be the point? Telling his lover would succeed in only disturbing Bobby.
'Maybe Kurt. I could tell him.' Northstar liked their therapy sessions. He trusted Nightcrawler and believed that the monk would never betray his confidences---or anyone else's. He played with the idea and it started to sound better and better. 'I'll get it off my chest and maybe then I'll stop thinking about Gambit that way.'
*****************
Wolverine took the bridge for his shift. He pointedly sniffed the air, disgusted with Gambit and Rogue for putting the ship and crew at risk like this while on duty. It wasn't the first time he'd smelled sex on the bridge and it probably would not be the last either. `We're gonna get ourselves killed if people keep doin' shit like this on the bridge.'
****************
Several members of the crew had decided to use the holodeck to watch a movie. Assembled in the darkened holodeck in front of the big screen that evening were Jean, Rogue, Cannonball, Jubilee, Wraith, and Jeanne-Marie. Cyclops was to join them, but he deferred in favor of babysitting. Christopher had been under the weather lately, so Scott had decided upon a laid-back evening with his children in lieu of the movie.
Jean was disappointed that she'd been unable to persuade Hank to join them. The brilliant man was ensconced in his laboratory, as always. One rarely saw him now if one didn't make a specific effort by visiting him in the lab. With Rogue out of her coma, Jean wondered what Hank was so diligently working on now. No matter what it was, she thought that a small mental diversion could only help him.
The group munched on popcorn and assorted sweets as they watched the Endarian film. A lot of Endarian movies were not quite comprehendible to the X-men. The Endarians had a completely different culture and the X-men, therefore, lacked the cultural context to make sense of the films. Usually, they couldn't understand the metaphors, the references, or the background of Endarian films and therefore movies from Endaria were never a big hit on board Freedom. This film, however, was much more easily digestible. It was a straightforward heroes-versus-villains flick, starring a swashbuckling protagonist.
Rogue watched the movie with a smile on her face. Although the male lead's face bore no resemblance to Gambit's, he reminded her of the Cajun. The movie's hero was caped, sexy, and stealthy and he had a murky past. Rogue watched the agile way he moved and remembered how she had felt when Gambit first joined the X-men – and how she still felt to this day.
After the movie finished, Cannonball and Jubilee soon left the holodeck and Wraith had to head for his bridge duty shift.
"I liked that movie! What did you think of it?" Rogue asked Jean and Jeanne-Marie, the only two who remained in the room.
Jeanne-Marie shrugged. "A little harmless escapism never hurt anyone." It was amazing, Rogue speculated, how condescending Jeanne-Marie could sound -- especially when there was no reason for it. Rogue reminded herself to be kind and that perhaps Jeanne-Marie did not intend to come off so haughty.
"I liked it too. It was fluff," Jean allowed with a smile, looking at Rogue. "But it was fun fluff. And the hero was quite good-looking." She quickly added, "Nowhere near as good-looking as Scott, of course."
Rogue smiled at seeing this other side of Jean. Jean used to do that on earth. If she ever commented on a male public figure as being attractive, she would always hasten to add that the man was not as handsome to her as Scott was. Rogue hadn't had occasion to hear Jean make such a remark for years and it brought back some memories.
"He was nice to look at," Jeanne-Marie allowed. "I saw both of you---and Jubilee---drooling over him. But I think that deep down most women don't want a man like him in the long run. He was sexy and dashing and all that, but you know a man like that is going to cheat on you. I think most women," Jeanne-Marie gave a sideways glance towards Jean, "want to settle down with Mr. Dependable. Someone reliable and boring who will be a good father. A man like the one in the movie is good for a fantasy but he's not husband material."
Jeanne-Marie left soon afterwards, and Rogue and Jean exchanged a look. "What's her deal?" Rogue's tone belied that she was none too pleased.
Jean sighed. "I think that's just Jeanne-Marie for you. I try to cut her some slack. She did lose her husband and she's been through a lot. But still." Jean bit her tongue to keep from saying more. Jeanne-Marie had indeed endured quite a lot during the past few years, and Jean felt sympathy for her. But on a personal level, she never had cared for Jeanne-Marie's company much. Jean also fleetingly remembered an incident on An'zhina when Jeanne-Marie's bratty son had actually hit Charlotte.
"Yeah, but…." Rogue began a thought, but decided against verbalizing it. 'Of course,' she said to herself, 'Jean's used her telepathy on me so much and so recently that maybe she read my mind anyway.'
Walking down the corridors back to her room, Rogue couldn't shake the conversation that had just occurred. She knew that all during the film, she had been comparing the male lead to Gambit; she had seen some of the qualities that she found so attractive in Gambit. But could Jeanne-Marie be right? Was a man like that just destined to cheat?
`No,' Rogue told herself. `He waited a year for me to be ready to sleep with him when we first got together. And he waited forever again after those FOH bastards attacked me.' But then the nay-saying voice in the back of her mind countered, 'Course he waited forever. He didn't have a choice. There weren't any other women there that he was about to sleep with.'
'But he **did** have a choice that first time, back at the mansion, when we were first gittin' together!' she reminded herself. There had been plenty of women on earth who would've slept with Gambit at the drop of a hat. Yet he refrained; he stayed away from them as he waited for Rogue.
Rogue's fears, however, retorted, 'Well, just wait till he's a Daddy. When that baby comes, everythin's gonna change.'
"Shut up!" Rogue said aloud, startling herself. She guiltily looked around and, relieved, saw that no one else was in the hallway to hear her outburst. She then said to herself, `I'm happy with my relationship with Remy. Jeanne-Marie's a damn fool and why the hell am I givin' anything she says a second thought?'
Rogue wondered if other people carried on conversations with themselves like this. She missed Storm greatly.
*****************
Northstar entered the rec room and found who he was looking for. Gambit played a card game with Wolverine and Shaman, and Northstar walked up to the table.
"Is this yours?" he asked, setting Gambit's worn deck of cards down on the table next to him.
"Dere it is! One of my favorite decks. Where did you find it?" Gambit asked.
"Danger Room. Earlier today."
"Merci, mon ami," Gambit said, meeting Northstar's eyes briefly.
"You want us to deal you in?" Wolverine asked Northstar.
"No." He looked around the rec room, which was atypically deserted, other than the four men. "Where is everyone?"
"Many are on the holodeck, watching a movie," Shaman said.
"Ah, yes," Northstar said, remembering the announcement. "I don't care for those Endarian films. They might as well be in Greek. I cannot ever figure them out."
"Me neither," Wolverine grumbled.
Northstar then seated himself by one of the computers, amusing himself with a computer game. Later, when the card game had finished, Gambit approached him. "Did you try to return dis during my bridge shift?" the Cajun asked, his voice quiet and low. He held the card deck.
Northstar noticed that Wolverine had left the room; only Shaman remained now --- on the other side of rec room, apparently immersed in a book. "Yes. I left as soon as I saw what was going on."
Gambit looked at Northstar. The Cajun liked attention; there was no doubt about that, and he'd known from a while that the Quebecer found him attractive. It was flattering, definitely. Remy's peacock side wouldn't turn down attention from anyone.
"Dat's good," he said, his voice remaining kind. For a second, Gambit considered adding that he and Rogue had been careful and Freedom had been in no real danger but he decided against justifying himself. Besides, he could tell that Northstar wouldn't hold it against him. `He and Bobby probably did dat before anyway.' "Well, t'anks again for the cards."
"Pas de quoi."
They left it at that. Gambit returned to his room, feeling uncharacteristically tired so early in the evening. He was glad to see Rogue inside the room, waiting for him.
"We've been through a lot," Rogue said, playing with his hair after he yawned expressively. "No wonder you're tired so early." They sat on the bed together, Gambit reclining against Rogue. It was still early enough in her pregnancy that he was able to lean on her in this manner. She was several months away from "showing", and he wasn't putting his weight on her anyway.
"Past few days been busy. You were amazin' in dat Danger Room again, chere. No one would know dat you were in a coma two days ago."
"I hope our baby will be as strong as I am," she said. She added, "And I hope he'll be like you too---heroic, carin', lovin'….with amazin' intelligence an' skill. 'Cept I don't know if any other person can have so many incredible qualities like you."
"Aww, chere. You so sweet to me." And he knew that she meant every word she said. He knew it before, too, but since they'd been in each other's minds so intimately, he now fully understood and internalized her adoration of him to a degree greater than ever before. Never had he been so loved before in his life.
"Remy, can I ask you a question?" Her voice was serious and a bit nervous.
"Chere, you know dat you can ask whatever you want."
"You ever miss havin' so many women?" She asked the question delicately and with only the faintest note of fear in her tone.
He hesitated, not out of uncertainty to the answer but rather because he wondered what might have precipitated the question. He felt so secure in their relationship, now more than ever before. It disturbed him to think that she perhaps wasn't on the same wavelength. He turned around to face her, looking into her eyes. "No. I don't miss it and I love you more den anyone else in my life. You the only one for me." He spoke the truth, as he always did to Rogue. He didn't regret his many experiences with women before Rogue, but he had no desire to stray from her.
Rogue closed her eyes and nodded. "I knew that," she said, partially to herself.
"Why did you ask the question? I feel so secure wit' you…wit' us. More den ever before. I t'ought dat you feel the same." He expressed his confusion tenderly and without sounding accusatory. But he didn't try to mask his disappointment.
"I do. I really do," Rogue insisted, reaching for the side of his face and caressing his bristly cheek. "It's just that….this is gonna sound silly." But she decided to share it with him anyway. She had told him a little about the Endarian movie earlier, but she now shared her likening of Gambit to the movie's hero, and she told him of Jeanne-Marie's comments.
Once the words were out of her mouth, they laughed about the scenario. "I guess it's crazy," Rogue admitted. "Jeanne-Marie sounded so serious 'bout a man like that cheatin.' I dunno why I even listened to her-----what's she know anyway?"
"She don't know anyt'ing 'bout dis," Gambit said, smiling along with Rogue. He liked Northstar but would have to admit that he didn't care much for Northstar's sister. She usually kept to herself and had never made any effort to really become a member of the team. He knew that Jeanne-Marie had been through hell and he wouldn't begrudge her having her own space, but Gambit couldn't help but to notice that Northstar and Bobby seemed to be the only two that Jeanne-Marie spent any time with. He also knew that his indifference to her was shared by most of the team.
Thoughts of Jeanne-Marie soon flew from his mind. Gambit looked at Rogue's smiling face and knew that she truly understood his fidelity now.
******************
TO BE CONTINUED
And a note to readers:
As some of you might have noticed, the love scenes in this fic so far have been kinda tame compared to the love scenes in my previous two books. What do you think about that? Are you missing the longer, more explicit love scenes? Or are you alright with how things are now? Do you have a burning desire (sorry….couldn't resist) to see more explicit love scenes and, if so, which couples? Let me know and I shall do my best to fulfil your desires (sorry…I'll stop with the puns now.) Please send any thoughts and feedback to stormkpr@usa.net