A/N: You have no idea how weird it is for me to be uploading another chapter a little more than a week after the last one. *waits for collective gasp to die down* I know! I don't even remember the last time this was done, or if it ever was… maybe a lifetime ago. But who's counting?
So, I realized something recently: writing is ultimately cheaper than therapy. (It's been 19 years now using the penname Neurotic Temptress, which just seals the deal that therapy is needed, wouldn't you say?) Anyway, that's my rationale for rebelling against Real Life and diving back full force into the Rogue and Remy world that I missed so much.
CHAPTER 14
Memories and Meandering
Logan groaned for what felt like the twentieth time that day. "What is with you an' this friggin' gum commercial?" He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in a futile attempt to block out the jingle that was playing again on the diner TV behind his sister.
Rogue glanced over as if she had only noticed the incessant melody at that moment. "Oh, yeah. Kind o' annoyin', right?" She shrugged indifferently. "Heard it somewhere th' other day, an' it's been stuck in mah head ever since."
"At least mute it or somethin', will ya? B'fore I slice the whole damn TV off the wall."
"Geez, Logan, relax. Do ya always got ta be so violent?"
"Yeah," he stated matter-of-factly, unsheathing his claws. "I'm a cage fighter."
Rogue waved her hand dismissively. "Pfft. Details," she huffed.
Unbeknownst to her brother, the song was starting to drive her crazy too. There was only so much high-spirited positivism she could take in one afternoon. However, focusing on something as repetitive and shallow as an irritating gum commercial was the only thing keeping her private memories of Gambit off the screen and away from her brother's eyes.
Mentally lining up a few more rounds of the campy music successfully shielded her wandering thoughts and ensured that her secrets were kept secret. Though she wouldn't admit to it, she was starting to feel just how much effort was going into controlling her memories. A bead of sweat had already broken out on her brow, and her palms were stark white from where she was clenching her fists, pushing her mind to bend the way she wanted it to.
Relax, she ordered herself, repeating the word she had thrown her brother's way only a moment before. Ya holdin' on so tight, yoah gon' snap somethin' in two.
She took a deep, cleansing breath, held it in for a few heartbeats, and then let it out slowly, internally counting down as she exhaled.
… three… two… one…
She released the offending gum commercial from her mind's eye and replaced it with a memory that was fairly innocent, safe enough to display without drawing any suspicion. Rogue had been across the bar and had caught sight of Gambit and Ororo in the midst of one of their playful arguments. Although Rogue couldn't hear the actual conversation, judging by Ororo's gestures and expressions, she was voicing her opinion on Remy's womanizing lifestyle. Rogue enjoyed seeing the two of them like that, trading lighthearted banter back and forth, as if they were also brother and sister. In a strange way, it looked like a milder version of the clashes she and Logan would get into.
Without warning, Rogue felt something in her stomach drop and churn with uneasiness. It took her a minute to recognize that she was taking on the same emotions that she had when the actual memory had been happening. It took her another minute to realize that Gambit was the reason for the uneasiness. But before she could contemplate the thought any further, Logan drew her attention back to the task at hand.
"You know, this ain't ever gon' sit well with me, kid." He retracted his claws and removed another cigar from his shirt pocket, but didn't bother lighting it. "Still think this is a bad idea."
Rogue snorted, hearing another memory echo in her mind.
"This is prob'ly a bad idea, sugah."
"Prob'ly," he agreed.
She pushed it away. "Well, if it is, then we add it ta all th' other bad ideas we got goin' on," she half joked, reaching her bare palm out to him. "Come on now. Quit flappin' yoah gums, an' let's get this show on th' road."
Logan grunted but reluctantly clasped her hand in his. As soon as he did, a blinding spark flashed between them, causing him to momentarily look away. When he glanced back, he saw the familiar pale golden glow surrounding his hand. It was his turn to snort.
Rogue's eyebrow arched as she took his palm in her hands and spread it flat. "What?"
"Ya still haven't butched up the color o' my power in ya mind yet, is all," he grumbled, gesturing to the luminous gold. "Go ahead an' make the damn thing pink, why don'cha?"
"Yeah, Logan," she jeered, "Ah'll get right on that, seein' as it should be on th' very top o' mah list. Now, quit yoah squirmin'."
She touched the tip of her middle finger to his palm and began to move it in a slow swirling motion. As they watched, the glow in Logan's hand started to follow her movements, and before long, a golden whirlpool had formed. With one final dip into his skin, Rogue withdrew her finger, fluidly pulling the golden glow from her brother's hand into her own.
She let the fresh, clean sensation wash over her, allowing it to repair the little nicks and scratches that she hadn't even bothered to notice. Letting out a deep breath, she looked down and saw the golden shimmer of Logan's healing factor dancing just beneath her skin. The golden hue had taken on an iridescent quality when she had pulled it into herself, causing the color to change slightly as she moved her hand from one angle to the next.
Logan nodded once she had successfully extracted his power. "Okay, easy part's done. Now, how do we find 'Ro?"
"That part's easy too," Rogue stated, sliding out from the booth to stand up. "Ah go look fo' her."
"I'm comin' with ya then."
She stopped her brother before he could get up from the table. "No offense, Logan, but it's mah mind. Ah'll find her faster by mahself."
He threw a questioning glare in her direction.
"What?" she tossed back, already walking toward the exit. "You think Ah'm gon' get lost in mah own head? Please."
- oOo -
I hated waitin'.
Prob'ly hated it more dan a bad batch o' gumbo… Or losin' a hand at poker – which never happened… Or dat annoyin' gum commercial dat would always get stuck in my head f'r days…
Never been able t' stay still f'r very long, which is why I hated waitin'. I liked movin'. I liked flowin'. I liked action.
Never really t'ought 'bout it b'fore, but maybe dat was a side effect o' my powers. Maybe could never sit still 'cause essentially I was a big ball o' kinetic energy lookin' t' explode.
Made sense.
Sorta.
I guessed.
I really hated waitin'.
Dat was prob'ly why it was less irritatin' when Ice-Pick called my attention again, f'r what felt like de hundredth time in ten minutes.
"Hey, Cajun…"
"Hey, Drake…" Barely even lifted my head from de cards I was shufflin' in my hands again. De only t'ing I could do t' keep me sane from all de waitin'… 'cept f'r blowin' somet'in' up. But I figured dat wouldn't be such a good idea, considerin' we were in a hospital an' all…
De way dat Bobby turned t' scowl down at me almost got me laughin'. Was squattin' on de floor next t' Rogue, so Drake had t' contort dat body o' his a good measure t' glare down at me properly. Any other day, would be pokin' fun at him, f'r sure.
Not t'day.
T'day got me waitin'.
An' I hated waitin'.
Didn't stop him from gettin' dat mug o' his in my line o' sight again, pullin' a face dat looked pretty damn near Rogue's evil eye. Wasn't nearly as cute as her though, not by a longshot.
"So, are you planning on just brooding all day long or what?"
I smirked. "Was t'inkin' 'bout it." Didn' need t' look at him t' feel his eyes rollin' at me.
"Well, then I guess you wouldn't be interested to know that Rogue's hand is glowing now, huh?"
De cards were back in my coat b'fore I was even on my feet. Sure enough, Rogue's right hand was shinin' a bright shade o' gold. De kind o' gold dat caught a t'ief's attention, an' made it real hard t' look away.
"You ever seen her do dis b'fore, homme?"
He was shakin' his head no. "She's told me about borrowing Logan's power a couple times, but I've never actually seen her do it before."
Nodded at dat. Never seen her do dis neither.
Sure hope ya know what ya doin', chère.
Lifted my eyes t' her face. Saw a single bead o' sweat on her brow an' felt somet'in' in my stomach drop. Dat wasn't dere de last time I looked.
Merde.
I hated waitin'.
I've been toying with the idea of writing shorter chapters than I used to, just because Real Life has a tendency to get in my face a lot. I actually had most of Chapter 13 written out about a year ago, but got stuck on the last scene, so I parked it and said I would get back to it after a while. Can you believe I actually forgot all about it and only remembered it last month when I decided to reread the story? But by then, I had lost the original Chapter 13 draft when my old laptop died on me, and moronic little me didn't bother backing anything up. So, I don't know… Guess we'll see what the plot bunnies have up their sleeves… ;)
