When Love Is Not Enough- Part Two
By Kenne Morrison
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and storylines are copyright their respective owners. This is a fanfic, not for profit, story based on characters that belong to Marvel Comics. For entertainment purposes only. NOT FOR SALE.
Author's Notes: There was never a plan to continue this story, but it turns out I upset a few Gambit fans by my portrayal of him. When I realized that I needed to get his side of things, I decided to write this portion. Whether this story continues from here or not is up in the air. It depends on how well it's received. Also, I make no guarantees that the events portrayed her are accurate. It's been so long since Rogue and Gambit first met that I don't even remember the details. I claim poetic license. Please read and review.
Also, please bear in mind that I'm not very fond of Gambit. I guess you could say I'm a little bitter that the relationship between Rogue and Gambit has tarnished their characters, and since I'm primarily a Rogue fan, I have to lay most of the blame at his feet. I'm sorry if this offends you, but I did attempt to be fair to him in this part of the story.
Here Begins the Story
When the violinists had begun to play, Remy was busy in the groom's dressing room fidgeting with his bow tie. Stupid thing! Why did he have to wear one of those anyway? If you asked him, he'd swear that it was a woman who invented the tie. After all, what man in his right mind would invent a device that came close to cutting off the airway and was bleeping uncomfortable to wear. He was about to give it up and blow the stupid thing up when the door opened.
He smelled her before he saw her. Though he'd never had the nerve to say so, he'd always found Betsy Braddock to be one of the sexiest women he'd ever seen. Even her scent was intoxicating with the combination of her expensive perfume, skin care and hair products. There was so much more to Elizabeth Anne Braddock than any other woman could aspire to. After all, how many women could pull off purple hair and still look stunning. Make no mistake, Psylocke was the woman that all the other X-Men would love to be trapped under rubble with.
"Oh, excuse me," she said when she saw him standing there staring at her. She shut the door to block out the noise from the sanctuary. "I was looking for Hank, do you know where he is?"
Remy tugged on his bowtie in disgust as he answered her, "Ole Beasty had to go to the boy's room. I t'ink he coughed up a hairball. But come in, how are you, Chere?"
"Remiel Luc LeBeau! How dare you flirt with me on today of all days! Why I oughta run out there and let Rogue know what a pig you are!" Betsy tried to put him in his place by standing with her hands on her hips and her legs stretched a few feet apart. But, then she recalled some of the things she had done to make certain romances falter. She smiled as she opened the door.
"Lebeau! I swear if you don't stop your horndog antics, I'm going to slice you in two!" Logan retorted as he walked out of the bathroom behind Remy. Betsy saw her moment to escape, so she slid out and shut the door behind her. Logan stood before Remy with a snarl on his face and popped one of his claws. "Is this how you treat Rogue after all this time. I'd think you'd be thanking your lucky stars that she's still willin' to marry you after all you put her through."
Chagrined, Remy let his hands fall to the side. "You're right, Mon Ami. I'm sorry."
"I ain't the one you ought to be apologizin' to, bub." Logan said with a gruff. Then he jerked Remy around so that the Cajun could look him in the eye. "Are you sure you want to get married? It's an awfully serious step to be takin'. I gotta admit I'm not convinced it's the right thing for you two to be doin."
I love her, Logan. What else is dere for me to do? He thought about the days he'd spent with Rogue and how no matter what had happened he'd always had her to hold on to.
The first day Remy had met Rogue had been the best day of his life. Up until that moment, he had felt like a good for nothing street rat who's only true skill was charming his way out of sticky situations. Even his thieving abilities were secondary to his flirtatious nature. He was know in the thieves circles as the charmer who could convince Queen Elizabeth to hand over her crown and scepter.
And yet, being a thief left him feeling empty and unfulfilled. In fact, it was lucky for him that he'd met Ororo Munroe, a teenaged thief with so much spirit and intelligence that he had been incredibly impressed. She provided him with a way out of the darkness. She was a vulnerable young woman with a mission who allowed him to tag along as her bodyguard. But, she was a sister to him. After a few weeks in her company, he was beginning to feel lonely, not in the physical sense, but in the heart sense. He desired someone that he could lavish love and affection upon. He needed someone who could fulfill his physical needs.
The day he met Rogue changed all that. He had known eventually that Ororo was bringing him to a school for other mutants like him. She was also a mutant, unfortunately the process that de-aged her had taken away that ability. But, she knew that the X-Men would help her, and she convinced him that the X-Men would give him a place to belong as well. He had his doubts and might have even left eventually had it not been for her, the woman with a skunk stripe in her hair. A woman with so much to offer but unable and unwilling to risk the dangers to give it. In Rogue, Gambit found a mate that matched his own tortured and damaged soul. Once he met her, there was no way he'd leave the X-Men, no way he could ever leave her.
He wasn't sure she would say yes when he asked her out. Surely even someone with such a handicap as incapable of physical contact would have her share of suitors. Because whatever Rogue lacked in the ability to touch, she more than made up for in beauty and capacity to love. Remy had known that and was honestly surprised that no one else seemed to notice it as well. That first date had been everything he could have hoped for and more.
In fact, there had never been a second date, nor even a slow transition from teammates to lovers. That first day seemed to solidify their relationship so that they didn't have to take time to woo or be wooed. Oh, he'd take her out, whenever they had the time, but it was always understood that they'd always be there for each other. No two people had ever loved so completely as they did.
But, like all relationships, things weren't always easy. First there was the missions they found themselves on, any one of them dangerous enough that death was always a distinct possibility. Then they got separated when the team got so big that squads were formed. Sometimes he and Rogue were on the same squad, but sometimes they were not. It forced each of them to play the waiting bride wondering when the word would come to tell them that their husband had been killed in combat. Those sorts of dangers and unsure emotions were bound to wear them down, and over time that's exactly what happened.
There was also the physical needs that Remy had been willing to deny for her sake. Only, he was a male in his prime. There was only so much abstinence he could take. That forced him to make a serious mistake. He tried to force her to get physical with no regards to the consequences. He would have gladly lived his life as a vegetable for one night of bliss. It made things so bad that he stopped trying. She turned into a shrieking harpy who'd blame him for all their problems, and he'd threaten to walk out knowing that it was something that he could never do. Not even when his presumed dead wife showed up again, at the height of his problems with Rogue, could convince him to stray. It just wasn't in his nature.
And despite the rumors, Remy had never slept with Mystique in any form whatsoever. Oh, he'd be an ass to deny that he wanted to especially when she looked like his lover. It could have been easy to let go and pretend that the woman lying beneath him was the woman he'd lost his heart to. But, it would have been a lie. It would have served the purpose of releasing some of his sexual frustrations, but it would have torn Rogue apart to be reminded that he'd let someone else satisfy those needs.
Not that Rogue believed him when he told her that he never strayed. She had seen him be tempted. She'd felt him struggling with his own lust for physical contact, to be with a woman in a way he couldn't be with her. And she had let that lust cloud her judgment. What had she expected? That he'd act like a eunuch when encountering someone he desired? No, he had been a man. He had been weak and unsure that he'd be able to fight the temptation. But he had triumphed. He'd sent Mystique packing with her tail hanging between her legs. It was just frustrating to him that Rogue didn't believe him when he said so.
Perhaps it was despair that his relationship was permanently doomed to end that drove him to make a move that the others would consider an act of betrayal. They just didn't know the full story. He hadn't told anyone what the effect M-day had on him. No one could find out that he had been stripped of his powers. That was not acceptable. He'd seen what was happening with other mutants that had lost their mutancy. Emma was throwing them out left and right. For his relationship's sake, he couldn't let that happen to him. For that reason, Apocalypse sounded like the answer to all his problems. He could approach that monster, pretend to want to fight with him, and then once the process was complete, his powers or some powers restored to him, he could turn on the mad tyrant. Maybe he could come out looking like the hero by delivering the final blow that would end Apocalypse's life forever.
How was he to know that Apocalypse had prepared for the possibility of betrayal. Gambit's transformation had been more thorough than even the transformation that turned Sunfire into Famine. Whenever Remy had thought about turning against his master, his mind would shut down. Remy had gambled with his life and freedom, and he had lost. Had it not been for Ozymandias, who knows how long he would have been enslaved as a horseman?
And yet, when he had returned to the X-Men, he had to let them believe he had planned all of this all along. It had served Ozy's purpose to let Gambit take the glory for taking down Apocalypse. He had thought Rogue would be proud of him. And over time, maybe she had. After all, when he realized that she needed to know he'd never leave her again, he'd proposed, and she'd said yes.
"Ahem!" Logan cleared his throat as he jabbed a finger in Remy's side. "It doesn't sound too good for you two when it takes you so long to answer my question. "Are you sure you want to get married?"
Remy looked straight ahead as he said, " I love her. I'll always love her. I can't imagine my life without her. If she needs a wedding to keep her with me, then that's what I'm prepared to do."
