(A/N: Ok, I'm really really sorry that it took a week to post this. But it is a LONG story. The jest of it is that my computer had decided to randomly stop working, and in trying to make it work, I apparently enraged the wrath of the almighty computer god, who decided to smite my computer with fire and smoke! So I just got my new tower, and it took a while to get all my files back, and to hook me up to the Internet.
Ok, so I'll give you a quick re-cap of last chapter, just because it's been so long. Lets see…
Rogue has a dream about Gambit. She wakes up, and goes up to the roof to sort things out. She thinks about the dream, and it's almost like her subconscious betrayed her. Then she thinks about what had happened when her, Kitty, and Logan had gotten home. Everyone had 'found out' about her and Gambit, even though in her opinion there is no her and Gambit, and everyone is over exaggerating it. Logan comes in at the end of the flashback. Then we come back to the present, and she notices she isn't alone on the roof. DUN DUN DUN!!! And that cliffhanger was where we left off.
Ok, now if everyone would take out your pop quizzes from last week, and a red pen to grade them with, I will begin with the story so you can correct them. Now no cheating please, and I do award partial credit. Oh, and you all get ten points extra credit because I made you wait ^_^ Isn't this the best course!! Anyway, on with your test corrections… KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR OWN PAPER!)
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Chapter 8
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Gambit sat up in his bed, and rested his hands behind his head. 'No sleep for Remy tonight…' he thought as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and placed his hands at his sides.
Gambit hardly ever dreamed, but whenever he closed his eyes, he would see her. He would see Rogue. 'What is it about that fillie?' Gambit never had girl troubles. He has had troubles with the Girl's family, but never troubles with the girl. 'She is belle, no doubt she is belle… but it is more than that…' Gambit looked down at his feet, almost ashamed to admit, even if only to himself, that there was more to this fillie than just her looks. 'But she is just another fillie, nothing to get worked up about!' Gambit shook his head as if to remove any thoughts of her at all. 'Got to go get some air…'
Gambit stood up, and stretched his arms a little as he looked over to the clock on the wall. It said that the time was 1:12 am. Gambit pulled on his boots, and grabbed his trench coat, which was thrown over the back of a chair. He slipped one arm in as he opened the door with the other.
Gambit sat on his Motorcycle. He idly twirled the keys in his right hand as he tried hard to clear his mind of anything other than the jingle of the keys. Soon enough, his thoughts went silent. He smiled solemnly as he started the bike and pulled onto the street.
The night air was refreshingly cool and soothing. Gambit had no place to be right now, he was just driving where the traffic flow was low, allowing him to go as fast as he wanted. With no real destination, it was easy to loose himself in the moment, and just go where the wind took him. He noticed, when he passed the Bayville High School. The school seemed so vacant this Friday night, or should he say Saturday morning. The parking lot seemed deserted, and no lights were on inside. He pulled onward past the school.
Gambit looked down at his bike, he had an almost full tank of gas. He smirked, remembering how he had treated his bike to a full tank earlier that day, after receiving some 'funds'. His smirk faded as he remembered what had also happened that afternoon. How he had found Rogue, and followed her to the diner. 'No, keep your thoughts clear homme…' Gambit pleaded with his subconscious, for what seemed like eternity, while he continued down the road. He turned a few times, paying even less attention to where he was headed.
'Just forget about today, it was nothing, just a game...' he told himself, 'just to get under her skin…' Gambit pulled the bike to a halt and parked it along some trees. He suddenly became aware of the motor turning off, and snapped out of his argument with himself. 'Now where did Gambit take himself to…?' He thought as he looked around for a familiar landmark, and he found one. 'Shit!' he thought as he laid his eyes on the all to familiar gates. "Non! Ceci ne peut pas être!" [This cannot be] Gambit said out loud as his eyes made their way to the Mansion that was the X-men's base. 'How could you be so stupid!' he thought as he turned sideways and sat on the bike facing the offending mansion. 'You're trying to forget, or did you forget that?!' Gambit continued to curse at himself for even subconsciously going to the mansion, for going to her home.
Suddenly a figure on the roof caught his attention. He squinted, not because of the dark, but because of the distance. 'Could it be?' he thought. 'It is, that's her… What is she doing up at two in the morning?' His forehead scrunched together as he continued to watch her on the roof. She suddenly stood up, and brought her hands to her head as if she was in pain.
'I hope she is ok…' Gambit quickly shook his head and frowned, 'I WONDER if she is ok… No, I don't even care either way…' Gambit could lie to anyone, about anything, and they would take it like it was an obvious fact, but he could never lie to himself. He would never be able to convince himself he didn't care. But it would never stop him from trying.
'Gambit should go check on the fillie… maybe she is hurt?' Gambit seemed annoyed at himself for even considering such a thing. "Gambit should not go 'check' on her! He doesn't need to…" but as he was saying this, he felt himself walk towards the brick fence around the perimeter of the Mansion's property. He knew all to well where, and why he was going, but he was unable to admit it to himself.
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'I had made it up to my room. I stayed in there till curfew.' Rogue thought as she rubbed her legs a little for warmth. 'When Kitty came up to go to sleep, she didn't say anything to me. I liked it, but it was a little scary. Like I know everyone was talking about me after I left.'
Rogue looked back up at the stars, admiring the bright full moon. Her eyes widened when she was suddenly aware of someone else on the roof with her.
Rogue slowly pulled herself to her feet, as naturally as she could muster. She didn't want who ever it is to know she was aware of their presence. Right now, if they thought they were still a secret to her, it was her only advantage. She reached to slowly undo the Velcro of her gloves, but soon realized they weren't on her to begin with. This worried Rogue, even though she would have taken them off anyway, she liked to feel in control. Incase she had to, she could put them back on.
Rogue took a slow calming breath as she prepared herself to turn around. She slowly pivoted her feet, and brought herself face to chest with a very familiar Cajun.
She stood there a moment, as she was reminded of her dream, but soon regained her composure. 'It wasn't real!' she seemed to scream inside her head as she put her hands up to his chest. "no!" she said quietly, yet forcefully, as she pushed herself away, and out of his reach. "no!" she said again, but she soon lost her footing on the roof as one of the shingles under her right foot broke and slid down to the edge.
Rogue fell onto her face, and slid down to the edge of the roof. She slid down, knocking off a few shingles on the way. She was almost able to grab onto the edge of the roof, but couldn't manage to get her fingers around the gutter. If she had, she probably would have ripped the gutter off the roof causing a lot of noise. With out even looking down, she knew that she was almost 6 stories up, and falling. "no!" she tried to scream, but her voice wasn't there.
She soon felt a gloved hand on her wrist. She almost squirmed out of his grasp before remembering her current position of hanging off the roof. Rogue looked up to meet eyes with Gambit's eyes; they seemed full of concern and worry. That expression soon faded from his eyes, as if it had never happened, and at that moment, Rogue wasn't even sure if it had happened at all.
"Chere, when they say 'fallen head over heels' you don't actually have to fall." Gambit said nonchalantly with a smirk.
The comment, though it had made it to Rogue's ears, was not fully processed. She had much bigger problems at the moment.
Gambit reached with his other hand and offered it to her. "Come on chere." He said it softly, as an order, not a plea, and Rogue found herself taking his other hand with out a second thought about it.
Gambit pulled her up silently, with out showing any effort. "You ok?" he asked calmly as he put her back onto her feet.
Rogue shook her head 'no' as she sat down on the roof. She bent her knees, and brought them to her chest. She examined the minor scrapes on her knees and shins. They were nothing of real concern. There was hardly any blood, and what cuts were bleeding, it was no more than if she had cut herself there shaving.
Gambit sat down next to her and looked at her knees and shins. "Oh come on chere… those are nothing, just a few scrapes, maybe a bruise or two."
"I know." She said solemnly as she ran her ungloved hands over her offending shins. "Its not that…I just…. I'm fine really; just leave me alone…"
"You don't really want Gambit to leave you alone." He said as he pulled a small white cloth out of his pocket. He used it to gently wipe some blood from her shins.
She cringed lightly at his touch, and soon grabbed the sheet from him. "I can do it myself." She gently padded her legs, and concentrated on the silence that now formed. Why was HE here, he was the last person on earth she wanted, or needed to talk to right now.
She soon felt his eyes on her, but she chose not to look at him. "You should go. I'm sure someone heard all the noise I made… Some one might be here soon"
"Doubt it chere, you didn't really make any noise… besides the shingles breaking off, you only slid a few feet."
"You should go." she said seriously as she continued to avoid his eyes.
"You want to protect Gambit from the Wolverine, non?" Gambit said as he drew a smirk onto his face. "Oh chere didn't know you cared so much about moi."
"I don't care about you," she said with speed. "I just don't want anyone to see you and me together… They all got the wrong idea to begin with, I don't want to give them any evidence and let them think they are right."
Gambit smiled to himself, he brought his attention to the star filled night above them. "It is beautiful non?"
Rogue looked at his face confused, but noticed his upward gaze. "Yeah… I've never seen the moon so big up here… I mean back home, you could see the stars, but here near the city, its hardly ever clear like this…" Rogue didn't understand what or why she was saying to him what she had just said, but it was to late to take it back, and it was of nothing of importance to bother herself over. Its not like she went and said something stupid, or something about the X-men, it was just pointless drivel, and she felt no real remorse over it, at least she shouldn't.
"Where are you from?" Gambit asked not removing his eyes from the heavens.
"Mississippi…"
"Well Gambit knows that already," He laughed at her vague answer. "What part of Mississippi?"
"That's none of your business." Rogue dropped the slightly bloody sheet, and folded her arms across her knees.
"Gambit is from New Orleans."
"I didn't ask you… and I already knew that."
Gambit chuckled to himself, and noticed Rogue's sour face get a little softer. "What's your name chere?"
Rogue took a deep breath. "Rogue…"
"Non chere, your real name…"
"That's none of your business." Rogue gave him a glare, but he just smiled softly and brought his eyes back to the stars. "Why do you care so much about me?" She leaned back into her arms, which were now to her sides.
"Because someone should..." the statement was so blunt, so to the point, it hit Rogue hard in the stomach. "Don't act so surprised chere; it's clear how you push everyone away, to keep them safe, to keep yourself safe. It's not fair to them, and it's definitely not fair to you." Gambit placed his hand on top of hers, and she immediately pulled it away. "See there you go again. Gambit was just trying to be comforting, and you won't accept it."
"That's not it at all!" she said as she turned to face him. "I'm not wearing any gloves." She lifted her hands and wiggled her fingers a little to prove her point. She stared at him with very angry eyes.
"But Gambit is wearing gloves." He lifted his hands to show her.
"That's not the point!"
"Then what is?!"
Rogue stopped dead in her tracks. The anger melted from her eyes as she stared back into his. Now he seemed angry, angry that she was able to lie to herself for so long. 'If that wasn't the point then what was?' She searched her mind for the answer, but found only his words from before. She knew she pushed everyone away, to keep them safe, and to keep herself safe. But it didn't matter if it was 'fair' or not, it was the way things had to be. "You don't understand." She said it in a mostly calm voice as her eyes dropped to her feet. But he did understand, he was the first person to ever really understand at all.
"Then explain…" he said it very softly, just above a whisper.
Rogue took another deep breath. "You don't understand, you can never understand."
"Not if you don't tell Gambit…"
She paused at first, raising her eyes to his. Rogue took a deep breath. "If you can touch someone, if you can hug a friend when they are sad, if you can kiss someone you care about, if you can shake someone's hand, or even give someone a high five, then you can never really understand." She took another unsteady breath. Tears began to form from behind her eyes, and she tried with all her will power not to let them flow. "What I wouldn't give to have beams coming out of my eyes, or to just be able to walk through walls, or hell, I would trade places with you in a heart beat, even if it meant working for Magneto…"
Gambits face became solemn, and for the first time, Rogue felt his expression was genuine, and not some fake plastered smirk. "You don't mean that chere, you don't want what Gambit's got, what he's left behind, no one does…"
There was a silence between them for a few moments. Then Gambit's face smirked a little as he broke the comfortable silence. "We are a lot a like you know…"
Rogue raised her head; her eyes had tears in the corners of them. She was confused, and her eyes showed it. She tried not to squint so much as to let any tears roll down her face. Gambit smiled, his face becoming more genuine again as he noticed her expression. He was about to explain, when suddenly his eyes went serious. And his neck snapped to one side. He jumped to his feet, quickly and quietly. He looked over at the entrance leading into the mansion, just as Wolverine busted through the door.
Wolverine gave a low growl, before extending his claws, and lunging towards Gambit. Gambit made a dash for the edge of the mansion's roof, and gracefully dove off. Like a cat, he landed gracefully, six stories or not, with a summersault, that rolled him back onto his feet. Gambit smiled as he noticed the security systems kick in. Benches fell on to their backs, revealing guns of some kind, along with guns sporadically placed around the yard almost like lawn sprinklers. They were no problem to dodge, and he soon found himself twenty feet from the gate. He pulled out his collapsed Bo staff, and with pressing a few buttons, it extended, and he quickly pole-vaulted over the edge of the wall.
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Back on the mansion's roof, Wolverine was fighting the urge to dive off after the damn Cajun. He knew he would still be able to catch up, and if not, he would hunt him down by his sent, but something was stopping him from jumping off after the acolyte. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Rogue sitting tightly in a ball. Her knees were to her chest, and her arms were wrapped around them. He had notice she was there, when he first came onto the roof, but now something caught his attention. He could see by the movement of her back, her breaths were very uneven, telling him she was most likely crying.
Almost anyone else in the mansion, he would have almost purposefully walked away from, if he had noticed them crying, but not Rogue. Wolverine couldn't have forced himself off that roof, knowing she was crying. So he turned, and slowly made his way over to her.
He immediately noticed a bloody rag near her side, and some dried blood on her legs. "You ok stripes?" he bent down near her, but kept a comfortable distance. He didn't want her to feel like she was trapped. He had heard 'what had happened' earlier today, and though it sounded nothing like the Rogue he knew, late night meetings with Gambit didn't help her defend herself either.
Rogue didn't say anything. She tried her hardest to steady her breathing, and to calm down, but all she could think about was what Gambit had said. He had said so many things to her, and all of them had hit her hard. But she needed to calm down, if she was ever going to explain anything to anyone. Slowly her breathing became normal, and she began to speak very softly. "Nothing happened."
Wolverine raised an eyebrow slightly as he pointed at her shins. "Nothing? Pretty bloody nothing if you ask me."
"I fell"
Wolverine shook his head, he was no detective, but that seemed to be all the clues he needed. She was covering up for something. No one just 'falls' on top of the roof, at two in the morning, with the enemy right there, and they wouldn't be crying afterwards. There wasn't any deep cuts, and nothing to be worried about, maybe she had had a light fight with the acolyte, but then why would she be covering that up? "Come on lets go."
"Go where?" Rogue raised her head as Wolverine stood up, and picked her up, though mostly gently, a little forcefully by her shirt. "I can get myself back to my room."
"We aren't going to your room, I want you to go see Hank in Med Lab before you go back to bed." He made his way to the door, with her close behind.
"For what, these little scrapes? They are nothing, I'll be fine with some peroxide and some bandages." She argued, but she knew it was useless. She followed Wolverine into the mansion.
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Dr. McCoy and Logan looked in at Rogue while she lay in the hospital bed of the Med Lab. Her legs had been treated, and she seemed a lot more collected in her thoughts. "How is she Hank?"
"If you are referring to the light wounds on her legs, they have been treated, and she will no doubt be fine to make her way back to her own dorm for the remainder of the night." Dr. Hank McCoy said as he sorted through a few charts and selecting one. He gave it close attention, and then continued his reassuring smile, as if to say the chart supported his diagnosis.
"But I'm not…" Logan slowly brought his attention off of Rogue and onto the Doctor. "She doesn't seem her self. I don't know what's going on with her. And she doesn't seem to want to talk about it."
"She will be willing to share all information when she is ready, I'm sure. But until then… You'll just have to wait." Hank walked into the connected room where his office was, and sat down at his desk. There was a moment of silence before Hank said anything more. "If you would like, She can stay here until morning. I have a few open beds. I'm sure she would protest given the option, but…"
"Thanks Bub, I appreciate it." With that Logan left the Med Lab, though he almost wished he could stay there with her, but Hank was right, She didn't want to talk yet, and when she did, he would be there for her.
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(A/N: I love this chapter so much, I don't know what it is, if it's the fact that I got to write what's going on in Remy's head, and the part where he is angry that she can lie to her self (I love that part), or that he got a message across to her, but they were fighting the whole time (I liked that part cause it was more of what there relationship was like in the comics and the older cartoon), that I got to write in Beast, who is also one of my favorite characters from the old cartoon (I got to type like I was smart, and use stuff like ' referring' and 'no doubt' and what not… I didn't have him quote anyone though…)
Or maybe its just the fact that I know all of you failed the pop quiz!!! Because BOTH Gambit and Logan were on the roof with her!!! Trick question!!! Oh… good times… lol
Just so you guys know, it wasn't a poll or anything, I knew I was going to do that in the beginning. I knew I wanted Gambit on the roof to say all that stuff to her, and then I was going to have either Kurt or Logan chase him off. And the more and more I thought about it, it was easier to write in Logan, not easier, it just made more sense.
After I got all the reviews with your votes in them, I thought it would be funny, if I was like "And the answer is…. E, all of the above" and some how worked them all onto the roof. And I guess I could have done it, but I really love how this one went over, because it gave you a look/foreshadowing as to how Logan feels towards Rogue, and how he is like a father figure.
OMG! This is like Clue or something, I should come up with alternate ending and stuff!! LOL I won't don't worry! Just kidding, it would be cute though, but after making you guys wait so long, I won't go fooling around with all that. Though in Theory, it sounds funny, I think it would just be annoying.
Any way… I guess you all failed the pop quiz, cause even if you guessed C or D, it was only partial credit, and then with your ten points extra credit, that brings you to a sixty… Hmmm… that's not going to look good on your report card… Tell you what, If you review, I'll give you thirty extra credit points!!! And I'll give ten more extra credit points if in your review you can think of a title for the chapter, or any other one I don't have labeled. This really IS the best course ever!!!
Ok, so I'll give you a quick re-cap of last chapter, just because it's been so long. Lets see…
Rogue has a dream about Gambit. She wakes up, and goes up to the roof to sort things out. She thinks about the dream, and it's almost like her subconscious betrayed her. Then she thinks about what had happened when her, Kitty, and Logan had gotten home. Everyone had 'found out' about her and Gambit, even though in her opinion there is no her and Gambit, and everyone is over exaggerating it. Logan comes in at the end of the flashback. Then we come back to the present, and she notices she isn't alone on the roof. DUN DUN DUN!!! And that cliffhanger was where we left off.
Ok, now if everyone would take out your pop quizzes from last week, and a red pen to grade them with, I will begin with the story so you can correct them. Now no cheating please, and I do award partial credit. Oh, and you all get ten points extra credit because I made you wait ^_^ Isn't this the best course!! Anyway, on with your test corrections… KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR OWN PAPER!)
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Chapter 8
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Gambit sat up in his bed, and rested his hands behind his head. 'No sleep for Remy tonight…' he thought as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and placed his hands at his sides.
Gambit hardly ever dreamed, but whenever he closed his eyes, he would see her. He would see Rogue. 'What is it about that fillie?' Gambit never had girl troubles. He has had troubles with the Girl's family, but never troubles with the girl. 'She is belle, no doubt she is belle… but it is more than that…' Gambit looked down at his feet, almost ashamed to admit, even if only to himself, that there was more to this fillie than just her looks. 'But she is just another fillie, nothing to get worked up about!' Gambit shook his head as if to remove any thoughts of her at all. 'Got to go get some air…'
Gambit stood up, and stretched his arms a little as he looked over to the clock on the wall. It said that the time was 1:12 am. Gambit pulled on his boots, and grabbed his trench coat, which was thrown over the back of a chair. He slipped one arm in as he opened the door with the other.
Gambit sat on his Motorcycle. He idly twirled the keys in his right hand as he tried hard to clear his mind of anything other than the jingle of the keys. Soon enough, his thoughts went silent. He smiled solemnly as he started the bike and pulled onto the street.
The night air was refreshingly cool and soothing. Gambit had no place to be right now, he was just driving where the traffic flow was low, allowing him to go as fast as he wanted. With no real destination, it was easy to loose himself in the moment, and just go where the wind took him. He noticed, when he passed the Bayville High School. The school seemed so vacant this Friday night, or should he say Saturday morning. The parking lot seemed deserted, and no lights were on inside. He pulled onward past the school.
Gambit looked down at his bike, he had an almost full tank of gas. He smirked, remembering how he had treated his bike to a full tank earlier that day, after receiving some 'funds'. His smirk faded as he remembered what had also happened that afternoon. How he had found Rogue, and followed her to the diner. 'No, keep your thoughts clear homme…' Gambit pleaded with his subconscious, for what seemed like eternity, while he continued down the road. He turned a few times, paying even less attention to where he was headed.
'Just forget about today, it was nothing, just a game...' he told himself, 'just to get under her skin…' Gambit pulled the bike to a halt and parked it along some trees. He suddenly became aware of the motor turning off, and snapped out of his argument with himself. 'Now where did Gambit take himself to…?' He thought as he looked around for a familiar landmark, and he found one. 'Shit!' he thought as he laid his eyes on the all to familiar gates. "Non! Ceci ne peut pas être!" [This cannot be] Gambit said out loud as his eyes made their way to the Mansion that was the X-men's base. 'How could you be so stupid!' he thought as he turned sideways and sat on the bike facing the offending mansion. 'You're trying to forget, or did you forget that?!' Gambit continued to curse at himself for even subconsciously going to the mansion, for going to her home.
Suddenly a figure on the roof caught his attention. He squinted, not because of the dark, but because of the distance. 'Could it be?' he thought. 'It is, that's her… What is she doing up at two in the morning?' His forehead scrunched together as he continued to watch her on the roof. She suddenly stood up, and brought her hands to her head as if she was in pain.
'I hope she is ok…' Gambit quickly shook his head and frowned, 'I WONDER if she is ok… No, I don't even care either way…' Gambit could lie to anyone, about anything, and they would take it like it was an obvious fact, but he could never lie to himself. He would never be able to convince himself he didn't care. But it would never stop him from trying.
'Gambit should go check on the fillie… maybe she is hurt?' Gambit seemed annoyed at himself for even considering such a thing. "Gambit should not go 'check' on her! He doesn't need to…" but as he was saying this, he felt himself walk towards the brick fence around the perimeter of the Mansion's property. He knew all to well where, and why he was going, but he was unable to admit it to himself.
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'I had made it up to my room. I stayed in there till curfew.' Rogue thought as she rubbed her legs a little for warmth. 'When Kitty came up to go to sleep, she didn't say anything to me. I liked it, but it was a little scary. Like I know everyone was talking about me after I left.'
Rogue looked back up at the stars, admiring the bright full moon. Her eyes widened when she was suddenly aware of someone else on the roof with her.
Rogue slowly pulled herself to her feet, as naturally as she could muster. She didn't want who ever it is to know she was aware of their presence. Right now, if they thought they were still a secret to her, it was her only advantage. She reached to slowly undo the Velcro of her gloves, but soon realized they weren't on her to begin with. This worried Rogue, even though she would have taken them off anyway, she liked to feel in control. Incase she had to, she could put them back on.
Rogue took a slow calming breath as she prepared herself to turn around. She slowly pivoted her feet, and brought herself face to chest with a very familiar Cajun.
She stood there a moment, as she was reminded of her dream, but soon regained her composure. 'It wasn't real!' she seemed to scream inside her head as she put her hands up to his chest. "no!" she said quietly, yet forcefully, as she pushed herself away, and out of his reach. "no!" she said again, but she soon lost her footing on the roof as one of the shingles under her right foot broke and slid down to the edge.
Rogue fell onto her face, and slid down to the edge of the roof. She slid down, knocking off a few shingles on the way. She was almost able to grab onto the edge of the roof, but couldn't manage to get her fingers around the gutter. If she had, she probably would have ripped the gutter off the roof causing a lot of noise. With out even looking down, she knew that she was almost 6 stories up, and falling. "no!" she tried to scream, but her voice wasn't there.
She soon felt a gloved hand on her wrist. She almost squirmed out of his grasp before remembering her current position of hanging off the roof. Rogue looked up to meet eyes with Gambit's eyes; they seemed full of concern and worry. That expression soon faded from his eyes, as if it had never happened, and at that moment, Rogue wasn't even sure if it had happened at all.
"Chere, when they say 'fallen head over heels' you don't actually have to fall." Gambit said nonchalantly with a smirk.
The comment, though it had made it to Rogue's ears, was not fully processed. She had much bigger problems at the moment.
Gambit reached with his other hand and offered it to her. "Come on chere." He said it softly, as an order, not a plea, and Rogue found herself taking his other hand with out a second thought about it.
Gambit pulled her up silently, with out showing any effort. "You ok?" he asked calmly as he put her back onto her feet.
Rogue shook her head 'no' as she sat down on the roof. She bent her knees, and brought them to her chest. She examined the minor scrapes on her knees and shins. They were nothing of real concern. There was hardly any blood, and what cuts were bleeding, it was no more than if she had cut herself there shaving.
Gambit sat down next to her and looked at her knees and shins. "Oh come on chere… those are nothing, just a few scrapes, maybe a bruise or two."
"I know." She said solemnly as she ran her ungloved hands over her offending shins. "Its not that…I just…. I'm fine really; just leave me alone…"
"You don't really want Gambit to leave you alone." He said as he pulled a small white cloth out of his pocket. He used it to gently wipe some blood from her shins.
She cringed lightly at his touch, and soon grabbed the sheet from him. "I can do it myself." She gently padded her legs, and concentrated on the silence that now formed. Why was HE here, he was the last person on earth she wanted, or needed to talk to right now.
She soon felt his eyes on her, but she chose not to look at him. "You should go. I'm sure someone heard all the noise I made… Some one might be here soon"
"Doubt it chere, you didn't really make any noise… besides the shingles breaking off, you only slid a few feet."
"You should go." she said seriously as she continued to avoid his eyes.
"You want to protect Gambit from the Wolverine, non?" Gambit said as he drew a smirk onto his face. "Oh chere didn't know you cared so much about moi."
"I don't care about you," she said with speed. "I just don't want anyone to see you and me together… They all got the wrong idea to begin with, I don't want to give them any evidence and let them think they are right."
Gambit smiled to himself, he brought his attention to the star filled night above them. "It is beautiful non?"
Rogue looked at his face confused, but noticed his upward gaze. "Yeah… I've never seen the moon so big up here… I mean back home, you could see the stars, but here near the city, its hardly ever clear like this…" Rogue didn't understand what or why she was saying to him what she had just said, but it was to late to take it back, and it was of nothing of importance to bother herself over. Its not like she went and said something stupid, or something about the X-men, it was just pointless drivel, and she felt no real remorse over it, at least she shouldn't.
"Where are you from?" Gambit asked not removing his eyes from the heavens.
"Mississippi…"
"Well Gambit knows that already," He laughed at her vague answer. "What part of Mississippi?"
"That's none of your business." Rogue dropped the slightly bloody sheet, and folded her arms across her knees.
"Gambit is from New Orleans."
"I didn't ask you… and I already knew that."
Gambit chuckled to himself, and noticed Rogue's sour face get a little softer. "What's your name chere?"
Rogue took a deep breath. "Rogue…"
"Non chere, your real name…"
"That's none of your business." Rogue gave him a glare, but he just smiled softly and brought his eyes back to the stars. "Why do you care so much about me?" She leaned back into her arms, which were now to her sides.
"Because someone should..." the statement was so blunt, so to the point, it hit Rogue hard in the stomach. "Don't act so surprised chere; it's clear how you push everyone away, to keep them safe, to keep yourself safe. It's not fair to them, and it's definitely not fair to you." Gambit placed his hand on top of hers, and she immediately pulled it away. "See there you go again. Gambit was just trying to be comforting, and you won't accept it."
"That's not it at all!" she said as she turned to face him. "I'm not wearing any gloves." She lifted her hands and wiggled her fingers a little to prove her point. She stared at him with very angry eyes.
"But Gambit is wearing gloves." He lifted his hands to show her.
"That's not the point!"
"Then what is?!"
Rogue stopped dead in her tracks. The anger melted from her eyes as she stared back into his. Now he seemed angry, angry that she was able to lie to herself for so long. 'If that wasn't the point then what was?' She searched her mind for the answer, but found only his words from before. She knew she pushed everyone away, to keep them safe, and to keep herself safe. But it didn't matter if it was 'fair' or not, it was the way things had to be. "You don't understand." She said it in a mostly calm voice as her eyes dropped to her feet. But he did understand, he was the first person to ever really understand at all.
"Then explain…" he said it very softly, just above a whisper.
Rogue took another deep breath. "You don't understand, you can never understand."
"Not if you don't tell Gambit…"
She paused at first, raising her eyes to his. Rogue took a deep breath. "If you can touch someone, if you can hug a friend when they are sad, if you can kiss someone you care about, if you can shake someone's hand, or even give someone a high five, then you can never really understand." She took another unsteady breath. Tears began to form from behind her eyes, and she tried with all her will power not to let them flow. "What I wouldn't give to have beams coming out of my eyes, or to just be able to walk through walls, or hell, I would trade places with you in a heart beat, even if it meant working for Magneto…"
Gambits face became solemn, and for the first time, Rogue felt his expression was genuine, and not some fake plastered smirk. "You don't mean that chere, you don't want what Gambit's got, what he's left behind, no one does…"
There was a silence between them for a few moments. Then Gambit's face smirked a little as he broke the comfortable silence. "We are a lot a like you know…"
Rogue raised her head; her eyes had tears in the corners of them. She was confused, and her eyes showed it. She tried not to squint so much as to let any tears roll down her face. Gambit smiled, his face becoming more genuine again as he noticed her expression. He was about to explain, when suddenly his eyes went serious. And his neck snapped to one side. He jumped to his feet, quickly and quietly. He looked over at the entrance leading into the mansion, just as Wolverine busted through the door.
Wolverine gave a low growl, before extending his claws, and lunging towards Gambit. Gambit made a dash for the edge of the mansion's roof, and gracefully dove off. Like a cat, he landed gracefully, six stories or not, with a summersault, that rolled him back onto his feet. Gambit smiled as he noticed the security systems kick in. Benches fell on to their backs, revealing guns of some kind, along with guns sporadically placed around the yard almost like lawn sprinklers. They were no problem to dodge, and he soon found himself twenty feet from the gate. He pulled out his collapsed Bo staff, and with pressing a few buttons, it extended, and he quickly pole-vaulted over the edge of the wall.
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Back on the mansion's roof, Wolverine was fighting the urge to dive off after the damn Cajun. He knew he would still be able to catch up, and if not, he would hunt him down by his sent, but something was stopping him from jumping off after the acolyte. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Rogue sitting tightly in a ball. Her knees were to her chest, and her arms were wrapped around them. He had notice she was there, when he first came onto the roof, but now something caught his attention. He could see by the movement of her back, her breaths were very uneven, telling him she was most likely crying.
Almost anyone else in the mansion, he would have almost purposefully walked away from, if he had noticed them crying, but not Rogue. Wolverine couldn't have forced himself off that roof, knowing she was crying. So he turned, and slowly made his way over to her.
He immediately noticed a bloody rag near her side, and some dried blood on her legs. "You ok stripes?" he bent down near her, but kept a comfortable distance. He didn't want her to feel like she was trapped. He had heard 'what had happened' earlier today, and though it sounded nothing like the Rogue he knew, late night meetings with Gambit didn't help her defend herself either.
Rogue didn't say anything. She tried her hardest to steady her breathing, and to calm down, but all she could think about was what Gambit had said. He had said so many things to her, and all of them had hit her hard. But she needed to calm down, if she was ever going to explain anything to anyone. Slowly her breathing became normal, and she began to speak very softly. "Nothing happened."
Wolverine raised an eyebrow slightly as he pointed at her shins. "Nothing? Pretty bloody nothing if you ask me."
"I fell"
Wolverine shook his head, he was no detective, but that seemed to be all the clues he needed. She was covering up for something. No one just 'falls' on top of the roof, at two in the morning, with the enemy right there, and they wouldn't be crying afterwards. There wasn't any deep cuts, and nothing to be worried about, maybe she had had a light fight with the acolyte, but then why would she be covering that up? "Come on lets go."
"Go where?" Rogue raised her head as Wolverine stood up, and picked her up, though mostly gently, a little forcefully by her shirt. "I can get myself back to my room."
"We aren't going to your room, I want you to go see Hank in Med Lab before you go back to bed." He made his way to the door, with her close behind.
"For what, these little scrapes? They are nothing, I'll be fine with some peroxide and some bandages." She argued, but she knew it was useless. She followed Wolverine into the mansion.
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Dr. McCoy and Logan looked in at Rogue while she lay in the hospital bed of the Med Lab. Her legs had been treated, and she seemed a lot more collected in her thoughts. "How is she Hank?"
"If you are referring to the light wounds on her legs, they have been treated, and she will no doubt be fine to make her way back to her own dorm for the remainder of the night." Dr. Hank McCoy said as he sorted through a few charts and selecting one. He gave it close attention, and then continued his reassuring smile, as if to say the chart supported his diagnosis.
"But I'm not…" Logan slowly brought his attention off of Rogue and onto the Doctor. "She doesn't seem her self. I don't know what's going on with her. And she doesn't seem to want to talk about it."
"She will be willing to share all information when she is ready, I'm sure. But until then… You'll just have to wait." Hank walked into the connected room where his office was, and sat down at his desk. There was a moment of silence before Hank said anything more. "If you would like, She can stay here until morning. I have a few open beds. I'm sure she would protest given the option, but…"
"Thanks Bub, I appreciate it." With that Logan left the Med Lab, though he almost wished he could stay there with her, but Hank was right, She didn't want to talk yet, and when she did, he would be there for her.
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(A/N: I love this chapter so much, I don't know what it is, if it's the fact that I got to write what's going on in Remy's head, and the part where he is angry that she can lie to her self (I love that part), or that he got a message across to her, but they were fighting the whole time (I liked that part cause it was more of what there relationship was like in the comics and the older cartoon), that I got to write in Beast, who is also one of my favorite characters from the old cartoon (I got to type like I was smart, and use stuff like ' referring' and 'no doubt' and what not… I didn't have him quote anyone though…)
Or maybe its just the fact that I know all of you failed the pop quiz!!! Because BOTH Gambit and Logan were on the roof with her!!! Trick question!!! Oh… good times… lol
Just so you guys know, it wasn't a poll or anything, I knew I was going to do that in the beginning. I knew I wanted Gambit on the roof to say all that stuff to her, and then I was going to have either Kurt or Logan chase him off. And the more and more I thought about it, it was easier to write in Logan, not easier, it just made more sense.
After I got all the reviews with your votes in them, I thought it would be funny, if I was like "And the answer is…. E, all of the above" and some how worked them all onto the roof. And I guess I could have done it, but I really love how this one went over, because it gave you a look/foreshadowing as to how Logan feels towards Rogue, and how he is like a father figure.
OMG! This is like Clue or something, I should come up with alternate ending and stuff!! LOL I won't don't worry! Just kidding, it would be cute though, but after making you guys wait so long, I won't go fooling around with all that. Though in Theory, it sounds funny, I think it would just be annoying.
Any way… I guess you all failed the pop quiz, cause even if you guessed C or D, it was only partial credit, and then with your ten points extra credit, that brings you to a sixty… Hmmm… that's not going to look good on your report card… Tell you what, If you review, I'll give you thirty extra credit points!!! And I'll give ten more extra credit points if in your review you can think of a title for the chapter, or any other one I don't have labeled. This really IS the best course ever!!!