Note: Ok, this is sort of important to the story. I've changed the choker that Gambit gives Rogue to an engagement ring. Gambit gives Rogue something very valuable to him. The ring used to be his birth mother's, and when he got abandoned at the hospital he was born in because of his eyes, his mother left the ring with him. In this story, Gambit had always worn the ring around his neck, but he's put it in a nice red box and gave it to Rogue. Rogue, of course refuses, but Gambit makes her take it. After Gambit breaks things off at the alter, Rogue still keeps the ring since she ran off. She looks at it and thinks of Gambit and tries giving it back to him when he comes around to Rogue's and Natalie's flat, but he refuses it.
Chapter 15
Rogue was right about keeping quite about things. He had found the main supermarket in the town and people were already pulling him over and asking him why he was interested in the house outside of the town. He'd told them it was none of their business in the politest way possible. He had gotten the food and a few horror movies he was sure Rogue would like and a few extra things for the house.
When he headed back he wondered about Rogue. Wondered what was going to happen next. Rogue hadn't been the only one thinking about the last time they watched movies. He wanted to hold her like he had done on the hotel bed again. Wanted to feel her warmth and comfort and that spicy sweet perfume. He didn't just like it when she was in his arms though; he liked it because he didn't feel as if that house he'd left her in was safe. He felt like he had to hold her to keep her safe. He wondered if Rogue would let him hold her again. If things were going to work out.
When he got to the house, he stepped in as if it were his own home he was returning to. He wondered about that too. Wondered about what life would be like if Bell did get accused and he was free to marry who he wanted. If he made things right with Rogue and maybe they could try again. He wondered what it would be like to be able to come to a place he and Rogue could actually call home. Just be able to walk in and know that inside his chére was waiting for him. He'd thought she'd be sat on the sofa, maybe reading a book or something, but he couldn't find her downstairs at all.
Gambit dropped the bags down on the table in the living room and thought that if she wasn't downstairs, then she'd be upstairs. He was sure that he could hear movement upstairs. So he climbed the stairs quietly. He could hear the snoring from the first closed door and guested from having already heard Rogue's silent, peaceful breathing that that wasn't Rogue, so it must have been her father. There were three rooms. The first two doors were shut, but the last door was open. That's where he saw Rogue. Stood in the door way of the third room, looking into it. He came up behind her, looking into the room.
The room looked to be for a young child with the walls painted blue like the sky, and the carpet green like grass. When he looked in he found the sheets and bedding on the floor, the wardrobe was broken and kicked in, the shelves were broken and toys scattered and broken all over the floor. This looked like a broken childhood to Gambit. He guessed this must have been Rogue's old room, but why did it look like a gorilla had been set loose in her room."Chére?" Gambit almost whispered.
Rogue shuck at his voice. She hadn't heard him coming up the stairs. She saw him through the corner of her eyes, but couldn't look away from her old bedroom. Memories had flooded her mind at seeing this room. Good memories, but mainly bad memories. One memory in particular that she knew about but hadn't been there for it. She felt an emotional burst, and felt like she needed to talk about it. Keeping her voice to a whisper even though she knew her father was out cold and wouldn't hear her, she said.
"This used ta be mah room... Used ta love havin' mah teady bears with meh in bed when ah was scared... Ah, erm, used ta get locked in mah room often... If ah weren't bein' punished that was... Ah ran away... Didn't even think 'bout my room any time when ah left or since I've been back...Ah had this one teddy bear. It was ginger and fluffy and had this bright red bow and green heart around its neck... Mah mama got it for meh when she knew she was expecting meh. Ah took it with meh when ah ran away... Can't remember what ever did happen to that bear... But, it comforted meh on those cold wet nights... It was tha only thing ah cared 'bout from mah room really... Ah forgot all 'bout this room. Never thought of what would happen ta it after ah left... Looks like mah papa got mad when he figured ah'd ran away, and trashed it..." Rogue took one long, final look around the room before moving to push open the door next to her room. Gambit looked inside to see an elegant creamy room with a double bed and furnishings. The room looked like it hadn't been untouched in years. " This was...ma auntie's room... Mah room's a mess... Too late ta clean up...could stay in here for tha night..."
Gambit didn't like how upset Rogue was. He wasn't sure what to do, but something about the two rooms made him feel like an echo of someone walking over his grave. He wondered if it was actually Rogue's feelings that he was feeling. If so, then he didn't think it was a good idea to have her in a place that upset her. Slowly he placed his hands on her shoulders and in a quiet voice, close to her ear said, "Why don't we go back downstairs? I've got us de food, drinks and movies. Come on. We don't have ta be up here."
Rogue was stiff under Gambit's hands, and after pulling herself away from memory lane, she let him lead her downstairs. It felt weird as she got lead back down stairs. Like a blur. While she was still coming out of her shock, Gambit worked around comforting Rogue. He'd started heating the food, and had brought down a blanket from upstairs to cover Rogue up in. He even moved the DVD player out of Rogue's auntie's room and downstairs. As Rogue finally came out of it and focused on what Gambit was doing, she saw him trying to connect the DVD player to the TV.
"Channel five." Rogue said.
It almost scared Gambit to hear Rogue talk to him. But he did as he was told and managed to get the DVD working on channel five. He but the DVD in and got up to come over to sit besides her. She took a moment, gathering herself before she looked to Gambit. They had another moment of just looking into each other's eyes and finding some sort of harmony. After that moment, Rogue grabbed the blanket and shared it with Gambit. Smiling, he slipped his trench coat off before slipping in besides Rogue. Rogue moved a little closer to him too, until finally Gambit attempted to wrap his arm around her and they cuddled up while watching the film. Just like last time.
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After a few moments, Gambit knew he had to move before the food burnt. Gambit didn't want to leave the warmth of Rogue and it seemed the feeling was mutual. But as Gambit was busy in the kitchen, Rogue found her bags by the door and pulled out some yoga pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt. By the time she finished changing Gambit entered with the food. He gave her a little smile while placing the food on the table. For a moment there was silence until Rogue decided that they needed a plan and some instruction for tonight And tomorrow.
"Errr, ah think ya should go." Rogue said.
"What?" Gambit asked, feeling rather let down.
"Ah want ya ta go. Hitch a rid or sumthin'. Go back home."
Gambit looked at her confused. He didn't understand what was happening. Why was she kicking him out? They had been just fine a minute ago. He knew it was upsetting for Rogue to come back home to a bad childhood and seeing her room like that didn't help. He hadn't known before that, sometimes, Rogue liked hugs when she was upset, but he knew now from the moment he'd first come into the house and Rogue had cried into his shoulder while sat in his lap. She'd been upset at being home and losing Irene and everything. Then, when he got back, she was in some kind of upset daze and needed hugs to comfort her. But now that she'd had that she was kicking him out with no place to go for the night. He didn't understand.
"Rogue, I'm not leaving."
"I'm not askin'."
"Rogue..." She wouldn't even look at him."What's happened? Before we were fine. Why'd ya wanna kick me out suddenly?"
"Cause ya don't belong here."
"No, dat ain't the reason. Look at me Rogue and tell me ya want me ta leave ya alone." Slowly Rogue looked up at him. It hurt to see how broken she looked behind those eyes. But she couldn't do it. She didn't want to be alone. But she couldn't have him here. Her father... She looked away, not able to say it.
"Chére?"Gambit asked.
Rogue cleared her throat and said. "It is late... Ya can take the blanket upstairs and stay in my aunt's bedroom. She died years ago, and mah papa won't wake till tomorrow afternoon. He's got a large hangover. Ya can leave tomorrow mornin'. Go home, back ta your family. Ah think they need ya more than meh at the moment, what with this thief."
"Rogue, look at me." Rogue looked at him through the corner of her eye. "Do ya a want me ta leave?"
"... No... But that dun't mean ya should stay."
"Chére," Gambit said, reaching out and grasping her gloved hand with his. "I ain't goin' anywhere unless ya tell me ya want me ta go."
This bought a tear to Rogue's eye which she quickly caught. "Ya not gonna wanna stay after ya meet mah papa. He ain't nice Remy."
"Dunt matter. I'm here for you. Nothin's gonna make me leave ya until you tell me ya don't want me anymore."
"Not even of ya don't wanna be 'round meh anymore?"
"There ain't ever gonna be a time I'm not gonna wanna be 'round ya. And yes. Even if ya make me mad. Even if ya make me sad and make me go crazy, I ain't leavin' ya... Not till you send me away."
This made Rogue smile a little. But then she remembered everything life had taught her so far. Mainly, her father. She tried not to get her hopes up. She knew Gambit wouldn't stay. But it was kinda nice to hear that. Even if it only meant him staying for one night.
"Finah. Well, we'll watch the movie, and ya can take the blanket upstairs and sleep in mah auntie's room after."
Gambit felt a little happier knowing she really didn't want him to go but felt bad for taking the bed. "Non, it's ok. I'll take the sofa. You take the bed."
"No, Ah'll take the sofa. Ah'll use mah old blanket for cover... Ah, don't really like mah auntie's bedroom... It's... Kinda creepy. Ah neva was allow in it when ah was little, and still wasn't after she died... Ah used ta have nightmares, thinkin' her ghost haunted her room."
"I ain't leavin' ya downstairs. I'll sleep on de floor besides ya."
"What? No, ya not sleepin' on the floor. Not when there's a perfectly comfortable bed upstairs for ya."
"It's fine. I'd rather sleep by your feet, than be in some five star resort with a king-size bed that has memory foam mattresses and duck feather pillows."
"Well, ah don't know 'bout a five-star resort, but the room's betta than the floor."
"You're more important than the bed Rogue. I ain't sleepin' in the bed, while your down here. Ta me, it'll just be like campin' out. Remind me of a few old heists me and mon brother did tagether."
Rogue could see the determination in his eyes. He wasn't going to back down now and the situation had felt a little tense once again. Looking at him now though and how a smile tugged at his lips at the memories he had, Rogue decided to let some happiness enter the conversation and enter her life if only for a little while. "What kinda adventures did ya have?" Rogue asked, giving in and sitting back down on the sofa.
Gambit's smile widened as he flopped down next to her, kicking off his shoes, and his trench coat was already off, otherwise, he would have taken it off as well to further his point that he was getting comfortable and staying. He began telling stories of the nightmare LeBeau brothers who used to camp out all over the place around their house and make trouble by playing pranks on each other and slipping in the house at night to set up traps for the morning, and how they used to record their conversations and make two shadows against the tent to fool the adults into thinking they were there while they ran off with a few of their cousins to prank the rippers kids.
Rogue wasn't one for that many pranks, but she told Gambit about a few of them she'd pulled on the boys and girls when they did her head in or she needed to get them back. She told him her secret advantage over the rest of the pranksters or the main prankers in the house being Kurt and Bobby. Her secret was that she already had their minds and had learnt all their tricks and even knew that they had a pranks bible hidden in the attic somewhere where they went to worship it and pick big pranks when they thought the place needed living up. Gambit laughed at Rogue's stories as she did his. Rogue's favorite story about Gambit's pranks was when he and his brother dressed up as a gater and tipped Julian's and his friends' boat over. Gambit pulled Julian down deeper into the water, while Henri would open up red paint bombs and when Gambit let Julian go, he thought he had been bite and ripped open and was dieing. Gambit had a few favorites of Rogues stories. He liked how Rogue sensed that the guys had tried to play an exploding toilet trick on her, but instead she let Jean go to the toilet first and she got covered in foam from which the guys had put a whole tub of washing up liquid down. To get revenge, as it was meant for her, and Jean as she ended up having the prank done to her. The girls bought loads of washing up liquid bottles, filled all the men's toilets with the liquid, and then took all the towels and tissue and redecorated Kurt and Bobby's room with them. He found it hilarious that the girls forget to tell Logan and he went mad at Kurt and bobby for it.
By the end of the storytelling, the film had gone off hardly having been paid attention to, the food had been eaten and now Gambit lay back with Rogue falling asleep on his chest. Gambit yarned followed by Rogue. He gave a little smirk at her yarning. He found it cute. He found cuddling up to her even better. He moved one of Rogue's hairs out of her face and watched as she slowly drifted off to sleep. He soon followed.
