Author's Note
I'm totally dedicating this chapter to ishandahalf who, despite my intense lack of updating, came back to review my story and whose insistent use of the line "quick like a bunny on crack" never fails to amuse me. Here's to you ishandahalf. :hands over a stuffed kola bear: BTW, I stocked it full of ROMYness for you. Thanks for the reviews. You're awesome.
0000000
As soon as she broke transmission with Scott, Rogue leapt forward, vaulting over the heads of her admirers with a sleek grace that only served to heighten their admiration. She hit the street without so much as a grunt and was up and running, twisting her way through the crowd of people. They stared after her, mouths open wide with astonishment. When their eyes finally lost sight of her in the sea of people, they turned to each other, identical thoughts running through their heads.
"That was the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life."
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." He sighed. "I think I'm in love."
"No way. I totally saw her first."
"So what? I'm the one who talked to her."
"Yeah, some great conversationalist you are. The Eiffel Tower? That's in Germany you idiot."
"At least I talked to her. You just stood there like some weird stalker freak all googly eyed."
The two boys glared at each other for a long moment, fists clenched at their sides. And then, the moment passed.
"So….you want to go to the comic book store?"
"Yeah, sure."
Rogue pushed her way through, around, and over slow moving people, doing her best not to send anyone flying. What she wouldn't give for an earthquake at that moment. That would really clear the streets. But she pushed the thought out of her head as she struggled on, her eyes forward. Up ahead of her was a hotel, a shiny tower of metal and glass that rose high into the air. And climbing up the shadowed side of it, she could just make out a figure carrying something on its back that looked suspiciously like a bazooka. With all the people that were lining the streets, taking in the warm weather and the putrid New York air, she didn't want to even think about how much damage that thing could do if it were fired off. That meant there was only one thing to do. She had to get up there so she could add that baby to her ever growing collection of illegal firearms.
She skidded to a halt in front of the hotel's entrance and decided that it wouldn't be practical to go barging in the front door. They'd just think she was crazy and any warning she gave could start a panic. Crowded streets did not make a good backdrop for panicked people. So instead she ducked down the hotel's side alley, her eyes searching for a way up. Her vision swam for a moment as she looked around, taking in the clunky metal bins shadowed and rusty. Broken glass littered the ground along with scraps of cardboard and strips of dirty cloth. Her head began to pound and she pressed a hand to her forehead at the sudden pain.
"Help me! Please, somebody help me!"
"Scream for me. Nobody'll come."
"I jus—just wanted to ha—have some fun."
"Remy. Remy LeBeau. Gambit is for business hours only, cherie."
Rogue slowly opened her eyes and let her hands fall away from her face. At some point she had sunk down to her knees and she could feel the gravel from the street bite into her skin. Her head was still pounding and her stomach rolled greasily. Sweat gathered on her brow. She blew out a long breath and slowly got to her feet, running a hand through hair. Looking down, she saw that her hand was shaking and she grabbed it with her other. Rubbing them together she shook her head as if she could shake the feeling away as well. What's wrong with me? she thought. She tilted her head back and saw the figure slip over the edge of the roof and disappear. No time to think about it now. Her eyes drifted back down and caught on a fire escape some four feet above her head. She looked around for something to stand on but both metal containers were too far away. She turned to the side of the building the fire escape was bolted to and bit her lip. Ah, what the hell. It works in the movies.
Shifting her head from side to side, Rogue blew out another breath, flexed her fingers, and ran forward. When she reached the wall she jumped, stepping up with her left leg. Then she shifted her body sideways, planted her right foot, and shoved off the brick. With her hands outstretched she flew towards the fire escape ladder. Her hands closed over the rough metal and the entire frame gave a protesting groan at the addition of her weight. Gritting her teeth, Rogue slowly pulled herself up, one hand at a time. If this piece of crap falls apart on me Ah swear to God Ah'll get Scott to melt every inch of it into dust and Ah'll dance on the ashes. Luckily for her, and the fire escape, the metal held together and she managed to drag herself up onto the first platform. Wheezing slightly, she brushed herself off and glanced over the railing at the ground. And grinned.
"Well. That was easy."
Lifting her eyes back towards the roof, Rogue started up the fire escape, trying to move as fast as possible without letting the figure know she was coming. Which was practically impossible since even the smallest movement had the metal screeching like a dying alley cat. But she wasn't too worried about her slow pace. The nearest building to the hotel was still too far to jump and whoever he was, he could hardly go down through the hotel with that giant thing strapped to his back. And if he was going to fire it off, he probably would have done so already. So she continued to slowly make her way up.
She had nearly reached the roof when her eyes caught sight of another figure, this one familiar, as it slipped inside a hotel window. Her eyes narrowed at the edge of a brown trench coat as it disappeared into the room.
0000000
Gambit whistled quietly to himself as he slid inside the room. He tucked his lock picks into one of many pockets sewn into the inside of his long coat and took a precursory glance around. It was nice. Beyond nice. A luscious suite for lovers on vacation or looking to escape the noise, crowds, and grime of the city outside. Rich lovers, he thought as he spied the sparkling diamond necklace and matching bracelet lying out on the counter. He walked over to it noiselessly and ran a gloved finger over the precious stones. Really. People were so careless with their fine things. Shouldn't just leave them around like that. Somebody might take them. He'd be a good friend and put them somewhere safe. Grinning to himself, he picked up the necklace and dropped it into his pocket. He held the bracelet up so that it could catch the sun shinning in from the window. The diamonds lit up like fire. His grin widened. No matter how many times he did it, it never failed to amuse him.
"Looks a little girly for you. But then again, you look like the feminine type."
At the sound of her voice, Gambit turned his head. She stood in the window, one hand fisted on her hip, white bangs framing her face, and something that looked suspiciously like murder in her bright green eyes. The sun streamed in behind her, giving her a glowing shimmer that did nothing to dispel the fact that she was quite obviously pissed about something. Gambit glanced back at the diamonds.
They paled in comparison.
He opened his mouth to respond when his sharp ears caught the heavy fall of footsteps and the jiggling of keys being slid into a lock. Tossing the bracelet back onto the dresser, he lunged forward and grabbed hold of her, dragging her into the closet and snapping the door shut behind him. He pressed her back against the wall and clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled and he could feel her lips moving underneath his gloved palm.
"Shhhhhh. Don't t'ink you want to be caught aidin' and abettin'."
Her eyes narrowed to thin slits but she fell silent. He cocked his head and heard the sound of the door opening and closing. Voices filled the room.
"Honestly Harry, it's like every freak in the city is out there. It's ridiculous."
"I know darling. Try not to think about it. I'll make our reservations."
There was a bit of shuffling. "Honey? Have you seen my diamond necklace?"
"What's that dear?"
"My diamond necklace."
"Not since this morning. You had it on in the bedroom."
"Right. I thought I took it off and put on the counter here, next to my bracelet."
"Well I'm sure it must be somewhere."
"Help me look for it."
There was the sound of more shuffling and then fading footsteps as the couple moved into another room. But Gambit found it hard to pay attention to the couple's movements. Instead all his attention seemed to be focused on the young woman he couldn't see but knew was in front of him. He could feel her body beneath his, with all its soft curves and strong lines. And his hand was still over her mouth; he could feel the warmth of her breath through the thin fabric of his glove. Experimentally he shifted slightly, leaning forward so that his chin brushed the side of her hair. He breathed in quietly and took in the subtle scent of jasmine. Without thinking he turned his head so that his lips brushed her hair. He felt her stiffen and had a moment to consider it before he felt her fist ram into his stomach.
"Ooof," he wheezed quietly, resting his head on her shoulder. He felt her mouth move under his palm and shifted his hand from her face to the wall behind her head.
"What the hell do you think your doing?" Rogue hissed. Gambit rubbed his stomach with his other hand.
"Movin'. Dis a small space, cherie." He could almost feel her eyes drilling holes into him.
"This is all your fault. What were you doing with that necklace?"
"Stealin' it."
"What for?"
"'Cause dat's what I do, cherie. And I was doin' it jus' fine 'fore you decided to jump in."
Rogue gritted her teeth in the darkness. She couldn't decide if she wanted to scream in frustration at him or beat the living tar out of him. Not that it matter since she couldn't do either at the moment, not unless she wanted to spend ten to fifteen years of her life in prison for being an accessory to what was probably grand larceny. Plus, she was finding it difficult to think at all in there, in the darkness, with him just a few inches away. She could smell the mixture of tobacco and spice that always seemed to cling to him. And she didn't know if it was just him or the fact that he was wearing a trench coat on a day when it was eighty degrees out, but warmth was pouring off of him. It slid over her, just as solid as his fingers, and made her throat dry.
"You're awfully tense, cherie," she heard his voice whisper somewhere near her ear. Frustration boiled up inside of her. She reached up over his shoulder and stuck her hand underneath his chin, hooked one of her legs with his, and wrenched, flipping their positions so that now his back was to the wall. He gave another little "ooof" of surprise. Then he chuckled lightly.
"You want to play? Let's play." She felt his hand on the small of her back and before she could stop him, he jerked her forward so that their lips were only centimeters away. She could feel them across the darkness. Involuntarily her eyes flickered up and she could see his eyes glowing red. His breath feathered over her lips, sending tiny little shivers up and down her spine. Her thoughts buzzed around furiously in her head. Don't touch him. Don't touch him. Maybe I should. I could find out what it feels like, find out what happened that night, and knock him unconscious. Seems like a win-win situation. The voices in her head chimed in their own opinions.
GO FOR IT!
Don't do it. You really want his slimy thoughts in your head?
Oh shut up. When is she gonna get another chance at this?
Can't you think about anything other than sex?
I could if I was GETTING SOME!
You're impossible. Don't do it. You'll regret it.
Don't you have a pole to shove up your ass or something?
You are impossible.
Despite the rowdy clamor in her head, Rogue felt herself leaning forward, her eyes closing. . .
"It's not here! Oh my god it's been stolen!"
At the sudden exclamation, Rogue jerked back and would have stumbled loudly if Gambit's arms hadn't tightened around her, keeping her steady.
"Now, now, honey, let's not jump to conclusions. Maybe you were wearing it and it fell off."
"And how is THAT ANY BETTER?"
"Calm down. Let's just go retrace your steps and see if we can find it, okay?"
From the other side of the door there was some rattling and swishing, followed by footsteps again and the slamming of a door. A minute later there was the sound of a key jiggling in a lock.