4
Later that day, Rogue came out of her room after reading through the files. Unknown to her, Gambit had peeped a glance into her window to see if she was there. He'd caught her lay out on her bed, reading through all of the files Magneto had given her on the X-Men, Brotherhood and Mystique. She seemed amazed by what she was reading. Almost, shocked. He found her rather cute as he saw a more vulnerable side to her. She looked excited and worried at the same time. He knew what was in those files and that she was learning what Mystique had been doing up in Bayville with the X-Men and Brotherhood, so knew why she might seemed shocked.
He left her alone though, agreeing to himself to check on her later.
Rogue was brought out of her reading by her door opening by itself. She had been shocked to learn that Mystique had been hiding in Bayville for a while and that she had scouted and formed the Brotherhood under Magneto's guidance. Mystique never had really spoken to her about what she did when she was away from Mississippi. Now, she knew parts of what she had been doing when she wasn't with her. Rogue felt like over half the file on Mystique was missing and that Magneto had done that on purpose. However, she guessed she'd find out one way or another what Mystique had been up to for all those years.
When her door opened, she saw Magneto stood on the other side. Rogue sat up on her bed as she placed a smile on her lips. Without Magneto stealing her away, Rogue would have never known that Mystique had another life, caring for other mutants that she let run around freely (unlike her). She wasn't too sure what she would say to Mystique if she were to appear in front of her right then, but… she was just more glad she knew what kind of woman she was dealing with.
"Well, what brings ya back ta meh sugar?" Rogue asked.
Magneto stepped more into her room.
"There is a matter I wish to discuss with you concerning Mystique." Magneto said.
Rogue closed the file she was reading and stood up off her bed, now all ears. What more could this man know about the woman who was supposed to be her mother that she didn't know? It didn't feel right, as her daughter, not knowing. She felt… well, almost disowned by Mystique. Like she was just a tool, which, she knew she was before, but now it just felt more and more so. It made her almost… mad at her.
"The school that I am sending you to, Bayville High, Mystique used to be the headmistress there." He said.
"Used to?" Rogue asked, folding her arms and raising her eyebrows.
"Indeed, however, since we thought on Asteroid M, she has disappeared once again and a new headmaster has taken her place." Magneto said.
"And ya tellin' meh this because?" Rogue asked, feeling like her first mission was about to be destroyed. If Mystique was around this area, surely, she would find her and kidnap her. She really hoped this wasn't the case. She was looking forward to having a normal life.
"I do not believe Mystique has left the area." He said. "We both know she is stubborn and will not go away easily without a fight."
"Wait, are you tellin' meh ya think Mystique's gonna find meh and take meh back?" Rogue asked, anger raising in her voice. She'd already put two and two together. She just wanted to know if it was going to change things. If he had a plan.
"I believe she will find you, yes. However, I assure you that, so long as you wish to stay with me and do not give me reason to send you back, I will keep her from taking you." Magneto said.
Rogue tsked, "Yeah, and how you gonna do that?" Rogue asked, needing to know the details. She wanted to stay. She wanted to go to school.
"I have many ways. The Acolytes will also fight for your freedom. I just want you to be made aware that, as you meet new people, she maybe one of them in disguise. Be wary of her and never trust anyone outside of the Acolytes unless you wish to be a prisoner held captive by her forever."
Rogue snorted. She knew the punishment would be just that if she ever did get caught by her mamas. She'd decided, however, with Magneto's offer and the push he gave her that she wasn't going back to that life ever again. Sure, she was grateful as hell to be given a home, but she just couldn't live like that again. Not now that she was about to taste actual freedom.
"I very much doubt Mystique will have an easy time persuading you to return to the south as she once did now that you know of me. I just have to be certain that this risk I am taking too in regards to your freedom will not back fire on me." He said.
"I won't go back with her." Rogue said, looking away from Magneto. This was her chance to find out more answers to her question. "You and Mystique go back a while, don'tcha? When was it ya meet her? How long has she been workin' for ya?" Rogue asked, thinking of the missing papers in Mystique's file.
She knew she could just touch him and get the answers, but if she did that, she guessed she'd be running from two people and their goons rather than just one.
"I have known Mystique for many many years and worked with her for most of those years. I understand how frustrating this much be for you to learn of this and how many questions you may have."
Rogue shrugged her shoulders, turning away. "Ain't nothin' new." She admitted, not wanting to show how angry and disappointed she really was. She just felt so betrayed. Pushed aside. Mystique would rather be in Bayville with these other mutants than the daughter she'd adopted and raised. For what?
"Expect, this time you are not blindly following her commands. If I were you, I would be working on getting to know your allies who will fight besides you. Knowing something small and seemingly insignificant about them maybe what helps prevent you from being stolen by Mystique once again seeing as she may also be able to transform into any of us." Magneto said.
Rogue stared at him. Was he… telling her to become friends with his men? That didn't seem like him. Not that she knew him well, but being all buddy buddy just didn't seem his style. But what he was saying made sense.
"What if she does trick me? Gets a hold of me?" Rogue asked.
"Then I shall take you back by force if necessary." Magneto said.
Rogue nodded, rather glad to hear that. A part of her wasn't. She didn't want any harm to come to Mystique, but… the woman had chosen her side, her people. She had to take care of her own interests now and fight for the freedom she wanted to keep.
"How would ya find meh?" Rogue asked.
"I have my ways." Magneto said, obviously not ready to tell her how he even located her in Mississippi yet. "I have other issues to attend to. If you do decide to leave, be sure you are not followed back. There is a training session tomorrow morning at eight. Be there on time. And be prepared for you first day at school come Monday." Magneto said before leaving.
That was right. She could just up and leave and wonder the streets whenever now. So long as she attended meetings and training sessions, she was free. And… she actually felt conflicted. Confused almost on what to do. She had no problems wondering around. She'd done that plenty of times before. But… a part of her was scared. Scared that Mystique would find her and steal all of this away from her.
Another part of her began to go over what Magneto had been saying to her. Get to know the Acolytes. She'd… never really had friends before. And she doubted that they'd stay friends for long. Her friendships never did tend to last. Not when she could never make plans with them or guarantee that she'd be there the next day to see them. But then… she planned to stay here for at least two weeks. Maybe she should see what the people she was living with were like.
With that, Rogue began to leave her room. She wondered around the metal base, getting lost a few times and struggling to find anyone about.
That was, until she heard the tell tale thumps. Rogue headed towards where they were coming from and found Colossus encased in metal walking with a large box balanced on his shoulder.
Rogue entered the room quietly and decided to make herself known: "Hello sugar. What you up to?" She asked.
The Russian glanced at her, then set the box down.
"Moving cargo." He responded.
Rogue nodded her head. "I can see that. What's in it?" She asked.
"Most likely metal. I do not know all of what Magneto buys." He said.
"So, this is where all the money he woulda put inta havin' a mortgage would go, huh." Rogue said.
Colossus looked at her confused. Rogue smirked.
"Never mind." She said. "So, errrr, you move boxes often?"
Rogue felt like hitting herself in the head. She sounded so lame! If she was trying to come on to this guy, she could have made her words and actions flirtatious, but she wasn't. He felt uncomfortable with her flirting anyway, so she was trying to be normal… She didn't really have much experience with normal. She just had what Irene had told her to do if she found herself in a situation where she couldn't flirt to get what she wanted.
"I mostly do the heavy lifting, yes." Colossus said.
Rogue nodded her head, raising her hand to the back of it. Her mind was blank as she tried to remember scenes from movies where new kids meet other kids and what they would say to become friends.
"So… what'd you do for fun around her?" Rogue asked.
Colossus had stopped working to look at Rogue and pay attention to her. He had realised she was trying to be friendly with him. He wasn't much for being friendly himself. But with her, he thought he may be able to make an exception. After hearing about her life before this and her words against Magneto, he was sure that she was not here simply because she believed in Magneto's cause like the others. She was here to avoid something else. Something worse. He sympathised with that.
He also took into consideration how awkward and uncomfortable she seemed to be. She had been confident when she was flirting with the others, but now, she seemed to be shy. He did not understand why.
"The others mostly find their own source of entertainment. They go into town for fun. Sometimes, they train for lack of a better thing to do. Sometimes, they play games. I believe Pyro and Gambit are playing basketball now." Colossus said, pointing towards a door.
"Basketball, huh?" Rogue said, feeling a little uncomfortable.
"We could ask to join." Colossus said, "I do not believe they will say no."
He began to walk towards the exit. Rogue began to follow him, uneasy.
They had to walk around the outside of the dome until they found two of the four Acolytes playing basketball.
Rogue stopped to lean against a wall as Colossus approached the two. She watched them all from afar. She'd only ever saw basketball being played on TV. She felt almost embarrassed that she didn't know how to play, really.
Pyro just seemed to be going crazy on the field and Gambit seemed to actually have speed and skill on his side as he jumped up and put the ball through the net.
Gambit had spotted her. He let the ball go and dropped down from the net.
"Bonjour Cherie." He said, smirking at her. "Colossus. Care to join us? Add to the numbers?"
Rogue did kind of want to say yes. Especially as the ball rolled towards her. In good sport, she picked up the ball and tossed it towards Colossus who caught it.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll be seein' you boys around." Rogue said, throwing them a smirk and waving her hand in the air as she turned and left.
Rogue decided that she'd try socialising with the others another time. Until then, she was going to wonder Bayville. She had an idea now what it was she was going to go and find first.
Xxxxx
Pyro snorted.
"Guess the Shelia don't like us much after all. Hey, where you goin' mate?" he asked.
Gambit had begun to walk after Rogue. He saw that she was dressed and had her jacket on. He gathered she was leaving the base and he'd been given the job to babysit.
Gambit smirked back at Pyro. "Sorry moi ami. Got some business to take care of." He said as he continued into the base, going to take a quick shower and change. The girl didn't have a ride, he knew that. So she would be on foot and he had time to catch up.
"Southerns, ay. Where you goin' now?" Pyro asked, noticing Colossus was walking away too.
"Magneto wanted the cargo moving before fall. It is already late." The Russian said.
He was a little unsure why Rogue had decided to leave. He had thought she wanted to socialise with them. He guessed he was wrong.
And with that, poor Pyro was left alone.
"Well this sucks!" He said to no one.
Xxxxxx
Rogue had to stop and ask every now and again for directions, seemingly, not getting any hate off anyone when she asked which made her more confused as to what Magneto was so upset about when it came to humans. Sure, she never said she was a mutant, but they weren't nasty to her. She let that conversation just fall out of her head as she found what she was looking for.
Rogue sat on a bench that was outside of the cage where the basketball court was. There were a few people in there, kids, teens and adults playing a full blown game of basketball. Rogue watched them play all the way until the sun began to set. She'd started to pick up the gist of the game from watching them and was still confused as to what game the Acolytes had been playing before.
She'd been spotted and eyed up by a few of the basketball players during the day. She'd declined them whenever they came on to her or asked her if she wanted to join in. She waited and waited until there was just one man left in the court. Then, she stood up.
The man was tall. About Gambit's height. She could tell he was a good boy since he hadn't tried to come onto her. She guessed, maybe the shy type which was fine with her. He reminded her of Colossus in that way. But she didn't care about this guy. She just wanted something out of him.
He had stayed behind to practice shooting some hoops when Rogue entered the court.
Gambit was sat on a roof top as he watched Rogue approach the man. Normally, he found babysitting a pain, but he was curious about this girl. Why had she left them to go and watch a few human's play basketball?
"Hi there," Rogue said, making the man miss the hoop.
"Erm, hi." He said, seeming to glam up.
Rogue just wandered up to him, keeping her hands behind her back, looking down as if almost shy. She guessed that if she went in on full out flirt mood she would scare him away. He wasn't the type of boy who'd go looking for what she supposedly had to offer anyway. He'd shown that by simply ignoring her and the other pretty girls all day.
Gambit almost chuckled as he noticed Rogue's body language change. He knew she was trying to pose as a sweet, innocent girl who was simply interested in a ball. He wondered what her game was and continued watching.
"So, your good." Rogue said, coming to stop in front of the man.
The man didn't move. He seemed nervous and to be tripping over his own words.
"I, erm, well, I guess." He said, looking away from her and blushing red.
Rogue smirked. These types were so easy sometimes. Colossus wasn't, but that was a different story.
"You won the game. Without you, those other boys wouldn't have stood a chance." She said, stepping in closer to the man.
"Well, I-I mean they're good. They could have-" he began to stumble.
"Maybe, but you were better. You helped them win the game. Made their day. Don't ya think you deserve a reward for all your hard work?" Rogue asked, placing a hand on the man's chest.
He stepped back, placing his hand on the back of his head and looking down and away, blushing.
Gambit wondered why Rogue was coming on to the man. He didn't think a shy, basketball player would be her type. Then again, he wondered what her type actually was. He'd guessed somebody who could give as good as they got from her flirting. But then, she'd shown so many ways of flirting. He wondered which type of flirting the girl actually preferred. He continued to watch to see what she was up to. But he had to admit, he guessed she was up to no good and he was intrigued.
"Well, I- No, no. I get my reward. I, erm, I-" the basketball player muttered.
But it was too late. He was hers. Rogue stood up on her tip toes and kissed the man on the lips. She was glad he wasn't that bad looking and enjoyed the short contact before he fainted.
Rogue grimaced as she held her head and tried to use Emma's powers to lock his psyche away. He'd been shocked, shy and overjoyed that this was happening to him He had thought he might finally find a girlfriend to show off to his friends. A really pretty one at that. But that was where his thoughts had ended. Not knowing what was happening.
Huffing after locking the guy's psyche away, Rogue reached down and began dragging the man by his legs, using Harry Leland's powers of mass to make the man lighter as she dragged him down a side ally.
Gambit's eyebrow rose as he watched her dump the man in a side ally and walk away. He'd put two and two together and figured out before Rogue even went back to the basketball court and picked up the ball that she'd absorbed him because of his basketball skill. He thought, maybe, the girl was taking the man's skill, only to come back and try and beat all their arses the next time she played. He found that idea quite charming that she'd put so much time into stealing a skill just to be able to go toe to toe with them. Gambit felt himself somewhat complimented.
But he saw where Rogue was being naive. He'd climbed down the fire escape and moved the basketball player's body somewhere more hidden. He was too much in the public eye for Rogue to get away with what she did. For good measure as well, Gambit hit the man over the head, unsure and took his wallet. The first thing he did was because he was unsure how long Rogue's mutation would knock the man out for. The second was to make it look like the basketball player had been attacked from behind and mugged rather than being attacked by a mutant who just wanted his skill.
Gambit moved down the ally way, walking out of it as he saw Rogue attempting to throw the ball into the hoop. Her technique was exactly the same as the man she'd absorbed.
He'd figured that he'd best make himself known, seeing as he didn't know if the basketball player's friends would come back for him. If he and Rogue were found playing with his ball in the court, it wouldn't look good.
He watched Rogue from the basketball cage entrance for a moment as she practiced dribbling the ball. He felt like he was seeing her with her defences down. She looked… rather upset. Disappointed almost.
Rogue picked up the ball that the man, Sam, had dropped. She began bouncing it, then aimed and shot it at the hoop. She went to fetch the ball, attempting to dribble it like she'd seen and knew from Sam's memories and then aimed and shot again from a different angle. The game was explained to her from Sam's memories as she thought it should be played, but she was still so confused as to what the others had been playing before. She'd found memories of Sam playing one on one games and stuff but… Rogue just felt frustrated for some reason.
Rogue aimed and missed the hoop. The ball hit off it and bounced a few times towards her. Rogue went to grab the ball when a hand reached out in front of her and snatched it out of her grasp.
Rogue gasped, shocked by the sudden hands. She turned her head up to see Gambit bouncing the ball, dribbling it. He ran, aimed and then got the ball in the hoop. He turned to look at her, catching the ball that fell.
"Looks like you need work on your defence, Cherie." He said.
Rogue blushed bright red. She'd left the base to figure out how to play basketball on her own so she didn't embarrass herself in front of the others. Now, she felt like she'd been embarrassed. And she went straight to anger.
"You were followin' meh?" Rogue snapped.
Was he going to demand she come back? Was he going to end her fun like Mystique did so many times before him? If so, she would definitely be leaving Magneto's group, Rogue thought.
Gambit, however, had a smug smirk on his face and threw the ball back at Rogue. She caught it and felt… unsure what to do.
"Just lookin' out for ya. Gotta say Cherie, kind of hurt you'd rather play alone then with us." Gambit said, as he began to step towards her, smirk still on his face. He knew he was flirting with her a little, especially with what he had planned. But she had flirted with him first. And besides, it was just a part of who he was.
Rogue lowered the ball, glaring at Gambit.
"I prefer to do a lot of things alone." Rogue said.
"Then by all means," Gambit said, almost bowing slightly as one arm crossed over his body and the other motioned to the hoop, "shoot away."
Rogue… wasn't too sure what to do. Did she drop the ball and storm away? Or did she try and make the shot? She wondered how long he'd been watching her. Did he watch her miss before? Did he think he was better than her? Why was he still grinning like that? Was he telling her he was going to back off?
Rogue glanced down at the ball, almost glaring at it. Then, she decided to try and make the hoop. She wanted to get it in just so she could walk away, looking like she knew what she was doing and had skill. Just encase Gambit thought otherwise.
Rogue aimed then jumped, releasing the ball. She gasped when Gambit moved faster than her, jumping up in front of her and catching the ball, hitting it down. He began bouncing it.
"Well come on Cherie. Ain't you gonna try takin' it back?" he asked.
He'd noticed that Rogue looked horrified. Her eyes were wide and her face was a mix of surprise and confusion. He saw her glance down at the ball, then back at him.
Rogue felt frustrated. She knew from the basketball players mind how to tackle. She knew she could use his skill to try and get it back… But she'd never tackled anyone before. Not like this. What if she messed up? What if he tautened her about it? What if she made a fool of herself? She already felt like one. Did she try and play and make herself seem the bigger fool or walk away.
Rogue growled at the Cajun, then turned, almost stomping away like a child having a tantrum.
"Awww," Gambit said, coming to hold the ball steady in his hand, "Never thought de Rogue would be scared of a challenge."
Rogue whipped around, glaring at him. "I am not! I just don't wanna play with a loser like ya!"
Gambit snorted, starting to put a few things together by Rogue refusing to play against him and acting like a brat.
"Seem to moi you be the sore loser. Otherwise, ya would be puttin' moi in my place, non? Rather than walk away from de challenge. " Gambit taunted.
Rogue turned more, glaring at him. She hated this. She felt like she had been backed into a corner by him. If she walked away, he could hold this over her. If she played, but messed up anyway, he could hold that over her too. She glared at the ball he held, then moved to take it. There was a chance she could win. All she had to do was get the ball away from him and score once, then she could call him a loser and walk away unashamed.
Gambit bounced the ball and Rogue followed it with her eyes. She began to watch Gambit's movements, trying to predict what his next move was. She followed him as he ran back towards the hoop, attempting to get the ball back, but she was struggling.
As she became more frustrated, she began to lose the concentration she had on the basketball player's skills and became worse.
Rogue made to dive and snatch the ball up, but Gambit side stepped her, aimed and got the ball in.
Rogue felt defeated and embarrassed. She'd lost and now he could hold this against her for the rest of her stay with Magneto.
"Nice try Cherie." Gambit said, catching the ball and throwing it her way. "Your turn to start."
Rogue raised her eyebrow at Gambit. Was he giving her another chance? He was smiling this time rather than smirking. He seemed to be genuine in playing the game. Rogue had stood there for a moment just holding the ball. Then she bounced it once and went to aim.
Gambit shot at her.
Using the memories and skills of the basketball play though, Rogue pulled the ball back, twisted, stepped, bounce the ball then made her shot at scoring. The ball went in the hoop and she smiled. She'd had a victory.
"Good dodge. Moi turn to start." Gambit said.
Rogue looked at him almost seeming dumbfounded. After a time though, she seemed to nodded her head in agreement and crouched back down. Rogue had figured that this was turning into a one on one game like the basketball player had played so many times with his dad. She didn't know what the winning number of hoops would be. But… as long as she got more than Gambit, she would win, wouldn't she? She'd beat him and be able to hold that above his head.
Gambit began to dribble and Rogue chased after him. This time, she did manage to get the ball back, but Gambit got it back off her. She'd gone stiff as she felt his chest touching her back and one of his hands place on her shoulder. His other hand also slide right down her arm, blocking most of her front too from moving right like she was going to. Gambit had took the ball then and scored.
"Foul!" Rogue screamed out, coming back to herself.
She'd been so distracted and on edge by the contact and the thought of accidentally absorbing Gambit then being blamed for laying him out, that she hadn't even realised he'd committed a foul. As soon as she did, she called it.
Gambit chuckled, letting the ball just drop as he glanced back at the angry Rogue. They'd had their fun, but time was getting on and he was still wary of someone finding them.
"Problem, Cherie?" he asked.
"You cheated!" Rogue snapped.
Gambit shrugged, "Alls fair in mutant basketball." He said.
"That ain't fair! Ya didn't tell meh it was mutant basketball! You can't just go makin' up some stupid rules I don't know half way through the game. That ain't fair!" Rogue snapped again.
Gambit had to hold back his chuckle as he watched Rogue fold her arms over her chest. This was a completely new side to her than the dangerous flirt last night who'd willingly risk making an extremely powerful mutant mad at her, but who got angry at a simple foul. He thought there was more behind this. Last night, she had seemed to know what she was doing. Today, she kept tensing and seeming unsure about a lot of things and getting angry.
"You de one that set the rules when you used your abilities to drop de head of the basketball team. Seems like you set it up to be a mutant game 'fore I even came along." Gambit said.
Rogue glanced away from him. Frustrated at herself.
Gambit began to walk to her. "Speaking of said basketball player, you might wanna take more care in where you dump your bodies 'fore you go back to steal his ball, non? If someone woulda found him, you would have had a mob on your hands."
"Then I woulda dropped 'em too!" Rogue snapped.
"I'm sure you would have." Gambit said, raising his eyebrow at her. She was still glancing away from him and holding herself. From what he read of her body language, she really did feel embarrassed about losing to him. She had a fire to her though and he liked that in a girl.
"Although, I'd rather avoid helpin' you take down an angry mob. Don't think the boss man would appreciate the commotion either." Gambit said.
Rogue just hmphed.
She went stiff as she felt his arm wrap around her shoulders.
"We best get back cherie. That way, we can keep playin' and not get blamed for de unconscious basketball player." He said.
Rogue was used to a man wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Mystique had taken her to balls in the past where she'd acted the part of a woman simply enjoying the night and embarrassing a lover's touch. She'd had to act that way to lure the man she was after obtaining information from in and to get him alone so she could get it. However, she'd always been briefed and made aware of who her target was. She'd known she was going to have someone try and touch her. Besides that, no one reached out to touch her like this. No one. Not even the gang of friends she'd formed when sneaking out from under her mamas' watch to go exploring. She'd always made it clear to them she was not to be touched.
Rogue stormed out of Gambit's hold, spinning to point a finger in his face.
"Don't touch meh!" she snapped, "Ya don't get ta touch meh unless I say so." She said.
Gambit snorted at this, letting his arm drop back to his side. This fille was really in for a rude awakening since she didn't know who she was messing with.
"Seems like you were pretty touchy-feely last night Cherie." He said.
"That was different." She said, stepping closer into his personal space, "If I wanna touch ya, I will. But unless you wanna be dropped like a sack of potatoes, ya keep ya hands to themselves."
"Seems a little unfair if you ask me, Cherie. Thought you liked things fair considerin' the way you were just snappin' at me when you thought I was cheatin'." Gambit said, grinning.
He just couldn't help himself. This girl was just so confusing. So firey. One minute, she was getting up close and personal and flirting, the next she was distant and dismissive of everyone and now she was hot and bothered. He didn't remember hormones being that bad. He guessed there was more behind the girl than she was letting on.
Rogue snorted, "I'll be keepin' ma hands to maself from now on now I know what a low life ya are." She said, stepping back and turning away from Gambit.
Rogue began to walk out of the basketball field. She felt embarrassed, humiliated. All she had wanted to do was learn how to actually play basketball by herself because she'd never played before and didn't want to embarrass herself in front of the guys she was supposed to be living with.
Then, Gambit had showed up, forced her into playing a game and, although it didn't seem to be going that bad, she still felt like she'd made a fool out of herself. Especially with the touching thing. She felt like an idiot.
Gambit began to walk after Rogue, guessing it was time to go.
"You know, I am curious to know out of anyone you could have touched, why him?" he said as he followed her storming off form. "Out of all the people whose memories and abilities you could take, you take a normal human's who's just good at playing basketball. You intimidated by our skills back there, Cherie?" Gambit asked.
"What? No!" Rogue snapped, darting faster away and out of the basketball cage.
"Then what is it?" He asked, keeping paste with her. He didn't believe her either.
"I don't have to answer to you!" Rogue snapped behind her, continuing to move forwards and back towards the direction of the base.
But then, Gambit grabbed her arm, bringing her to a holt and turning her to face him. He made it so she was staring into his eyes. His wonderful, deep, dark eyes. He felt it. He had her under his spell.
"Why'd you do it Cherie?" he asked.
Rogue felt herself becoming lost in his eyes. She felt her fight slowly leaving her. She knew what was happening but she didn't feel like she could stop it as she said: "I told ya not to touch meh."
She tried to pull her arm away. To not fall under his spell, but it was being more and more difficult. Gambit noticed the resistance and began to realise that Rogue had caught on fast to what his abilities were. If he'd known that she had a clue, he would have saved it till when he really needed to use it. If someone figured out his ability, the less affective it was because they'd be wary to avoid him. But it was too late now. He had her under his spell.
"You didn't know how to play, did you?" Gambit asked her, getting straight to the point he'd concluded in his head.
He'd figured she ran away to learn how to play and was just practicing before she came back to them to play. He had wanted to know if he was right. Break down her barriers, almost, so he could have something over her. He always found it worked in his favour to have some kind of leverage over someone. Sure, something as meaningless as knowing why some felt they had to prove they were good at something wouldn't give him much, but he saw that Rogue was trying to be subtle and hide it. This meant something to her and that's where it would give him an edge. If she felt like it was her decision to convinced in him about something that was important to her, he kind of figured she might begin to trust him. To tell him stuff that could be useful later on down the line.
He didn't think now making that connection was as important as keeping his secret ability hidden, but he'd realised too late. Now, he just had to try and milk it for all it was worth before he let her go.
"That's why you stole his memories." He continued, "Ain't you ever played basketball before?" he asked, raising his eyebrow, giving her a soft look.
"I… No! I ain't ever played before, all right?" Rogue snapped.
Gambit was impressed that she was fighting him on this. He felt her struggle in his hold and kept trying to pull out of it. Not many people could resist him when he was this close. It made her even more interesting. "You happy now?" Rogue snapped back at him.
Rogue tried to fight off Gambit's charm, but was finding it hard to keep her mouth shut.
"So ya answer ta learnin' how to play was ta take someone else's memories who knew how to play. Cherie, why didn't you just say you'd never played?" he asked, still trying to be gentle as she struggled against him.
Rogue huffed, stopping her struggling for a moment. She figured he wasn't going to ease up on his grip any time soon if he knew she was still fighting him. So she was going to wait for her opportunity. She just hoped he wouldn't make her say too much. Luckily, her bad attitude was still getting through.
"Yeah, 'cause that'll be a fun conversation." She said, sarcasm rolling from her tongue, "I ain't there to be mocked!"
"You know, Piotr never played basketball either till he joined us. Didn't think for one moment to mock em." Gambit said, honestly.
"Yeah, but ya woulda mocked meh!" Rogue said.
"Non," Gambit said, tilting his head to one side, making him look cuter. Rogue didn't realise she found him cute.
"We be mutants too cher. We understand what it's like not to have a normal life and miss out on things like this." He said, using his fingers to stroke circles into her arm now she'd stopped struggling. "There be a few things I didn't know 'bout either till I joined Mags, but there weren't one person there who made fun of moi."
Rogue felt herself become… deflated. He… wouldn't have mocked her?
"But… ya called meh a sore loser." Rogue said.
"Non, I made a statement about you callin' me one of those. Tell me, did you ever feel like I was mockin' ya durin' that game?" he asked.
He felt the tension in her arm loosen as he watched her think it over.
"No," Rogue muttered, looking away and down.
She felt horrible. Horrible and embarrassed.
"Whoever you might have been hangin' around with in the past might of mocked ya and made you feel like you had to prove yourself like dis Cherie, but we ain't em. Least, I ain't." Gambit said.
Rogue eyed him, thinking she didn't believe him. She'd meet a few people who had told her they were this and that, but they never were what they said they were. For some reason though, she did want to believe him. She guessed it was just the charm he had over her, but… the idea of living in a place where she could live freely and explore, then come back to a place where she didn't feel judged or bad about herself… Wasn't that all she ever wanted?
"Next time ya don't know how ta do somethin', just come and ask, non? Rather than puttin' ya self at risk like ya did today. We can't afford you just droppin' people ta learn stuff. Besides, it much more fun ta learn a skill than steal it. Trust me on that one." Gambit said, now smirking. He found what he was saying rather ironic to himself and funny considering stealing was his family business. But the girl had made him speak the words.
Rogue sighed as she looked away.
Gambit, feeling that he'd accomplished what it was he originally set out to do by trapping her in his charm let her go.
"It's gettin' late." Rogue said, wrapping her arms around herself. She was glad Gambit had let go of her, but she felt like the damage had been done. She'd admitted she felt embarrassed by not knowing how to play. Admitting it almost felt like actually embarrassing herself by trying to play. Only now, she felt worse because she couldn't just get angry and play it off. Now, she'd admitted it and felt like all her anger was gone. She felt vulnerable and like a child almost being told off. It was far more embarrassing than just attempting to play and failing.
She'd have to be very wary of Gambit from now on, she realised.
"Oui, and de pussycat needs feedin', non?" Gambit said.
Rogue chuckled at that, meeting his eyes which sparkled still with a small, kind smile on his lips. They really were nice eyes… Would people really treat him any differently just because of them?
"You hungry?" Gambit asked.
"Starved." Rogue said, realising she hadn't eaten since yesterday.
"We'll head back then." Gambit said, wrapping an arm around Rogue's back and leading her away from the basketball court.
"I said not ta-"
"I know I know. But what be the harm, non?" Gambit said, his teeth showing now through his grin. "Besides, what is it you said? You'd drop moi if you didn't want my touch. Dat offer still stands, non?"
"You wanna get dropped?" Rogue asked as her eyebrow rose. His arm was still around her waist. She hadn't moved her arms from around her body, starting to feel a bit chilly now.
"What can I say? Always did like a challenge." He said.
"Ya as crazy as the Aussie." Rogue said.
Gambit shrugged, pulling her along as he guided her towards his bike.
"He grows on ya." Gambit said.
"Somehow, that thought's terrifying." Rogue said.
Gambit chuckled, "Oui, but thrillin' at de same time. You like bikes?" he asked, eyeing her out of the corner of his eye to watch her reaction.
He saw her smile devilishly, "Love em." She said.
Now Gambit laughed out loud. He knew from the moment he meet this girl they were going to get on. Now, he was sure they were. At least, while she was there. If she kept going with the attitude she had with Magneto, well, he figured the man would lock her up and never let her out until he needed her powers. But, until then, he'd have some fun with her.