Chapter 19

Rogue and Gambit had left the house all locked up again and Gambit took Rogue into town to a place she hadn't been for ages.

"An ice ring?" Rogue laughed.

"Oui. An ice ring." Gambit said, swallowing something hard down in his throat.

"Can ya skate Cajun?" Rogue asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

Gambit looked down at her with a look of confidence. "Course I can. I'm a natural athlete."

Rogue giggled, then they entered, borrowing skates and putting them on. Gambit didn't think it was so bad walking in the blades off ice. Then he got onto the ice and instantly almost fell. Luckily Rogue had her back to him. He grabbed the sides and moved his way along with wobbly legs. He watched as Rogue took to the ice as if she had been skating all her life. She did a little skate out then came back to him in a circle, smiling at him cheekily.

"Ya alright there swamp rat?" Rogue asked, holding back a laugh.

"Course I am. Just findin mon balance."

"Do ya need help?" Rogue asked with a raised eye brow, that humerous smile never leaving her features.

"course not. Just... Need time ta get used ta de ice and cold, is all."

"Oh, alright. Well hurry up already so we can skate properly."

Gambit swallowed hard again then straightened. He wobbled and almost fell, but Rogue was their, her arms around him. She turned them around, placing Gambit's arms around her shoulders and instructed him on what to do. Gambit soon got some rhyme going in his foot work and smiled at himself, then down to Rogue.

"If I knew all it took was takin' ya skatin' ta get ya ta hold me dis close, then I woulda done it sooner-" and then Gambit fell, taking Rogue down with him. Of course he made it so Rogue fell on top of him. His face crunched up as he felt the burn and pain, but when he reopened his eyes, seeing Rogue's wide worrying eyes and panic on her face, Gambit gave a little smile, happy to see she was there caring about him, instead of laughing at him.

"Remy, are you alright?" Rogue asked as she climbed up off him onto her knees.

"Course I am. Your here arent ya? How can I neva be alright with you here?" Gambit said, making Rogue blush and turn away from him as he sat up.

"Hey, you two al-... Rogue?" Rogue and Gambit both looked up to see who the helper on ice was. And looking back down at Rogue was a blonde haired, blue eyed boy.

"Cody?" Rogue smiled.

Cody reached out a hand for her which she took and he helped her up.

"I thought you were leavin town?" Cody said looking at Rogue. Then he remembered Gambit and looked down to him with an O shaped mouth. Gambit had seen the way Rogue's eyes lit up at seeing this boy and vise versa. He didn't like it. He studied the boy, seeing he was buff, good looking and competition. Especially when Rogue said his name the way she did. So this was Cody, huh. This was what he was up against? Gambit glared at Cody, ignoring his offer at a hand and shakily got up himself.

"I'm fine." Was what he said, trying to hide the mood in his voice. But as he stood straight on his feet, he started shaking again. And luck have it, Rogue was there, wrapping her arms around him and staying by him. Gambit smiled down at Rogue and in his head counted a victory point. Then looked back to Cody with a smug smirk.

"Ah was, but... Ah decided ta stay for a while. Ya know. There's someone else in this small town part from you who I've come ta... Make amends with. Ah'm stayin' with them at the moment. Oh this is Remy, errr." Rogue said not sure how to introduce him to Cody.

Cody's eyes looked almost sad and disappointed at seeing Remy. But he put on a small smile and reached out his hand. "How'd ya do? I'm Cody. Cody Robinson."

"Remy. Remy LeBeau." Gambit said, being a good sport and shaking the guy's hand. He noticed Cody had a firm hand shake. That said a lot about him.

"So,errr, how long you stayin' in town for then?" Cody asked turning his attention back to Rogue.

"Don't know yet."

"Oh right." Cody said scratching the back of his head. "You said so the last time. You never told me though, where you'd be headin' off to if you did leave town."

"Oh, ah still don't know that either." Rogue said.

Gambit looked down at her with a bit of hurt. He was sure after her father, she'd come back to New Orleans with him. He said nothing though. just felt disappointed. He turned his attention back to Cody.

"Oh well, couldn't you stay in town? Or is the person your stayin with only keepin' ya for a short time?"

"No, errr, ah don't think they really... Notice we're there."

"We're? Oh do you two, err?" Gambit smiled thinking he'd gained another victory point over Rogue than Cody who stood pointing between them and looked lost.

"Sorta. It's complicated." Rogue said, shying away herself. Gambit decided to take over.

"Me and Rogue decided ta travel for a bit. Come here first from New Orleans. We don't really have that much of a plan, but we're workin' on it." Gambit said looking down at Rogue who looked up at him questioning.

"Oh," Cody said, sounding more defeated. "I thought... Didn't you say you'd left New Orleans to get away from someone? A guy?" Cody looked at Gambit as he said that.

Gambit felt anger as he knew now that Rogue had told him about the wedding. He wondered how much she had said though.

"Errr, yeah. Ah did. Errr, but Remy's mah... Friend, and we both wanted ta travel, and ah wanted ta get away from the jerk at the alter so... We came here. Don't know what'll happen after this but... Guess we'll find out after." Rogue said refusing to met eithers eye.

Gambit felt something crack in his heart. Rogue had said they were friends... He thought...more. Gambit took his arm out from over Rogue's shoulders and said, "I'm gonna go... Do sumthin. You two talk if ya want... I'll be... Waitin." Gambit said as he started to skate to the exit struggling.

"Remy?" Rogue questioned after him.

"No, it's alright Rogue. I see ya want a moment alone with... Him." Gambit said trying to hide the venom in his voice. His eyes sparked from under his shades as he looked at both Rogue and Cody.

"I'll be waitin." He said, as he continued to struggle on.

Gambit got to the exit just as he was about to fall and climbed out, to go sit on the benches around the ice ring. He watched how Rogue looked distressed as she talked to Cody. Cody had some sort of distressed look himself, as he scratched the back of his head. Gambit felt angry towards Cody looking so dumbfound stood there in front of Rogue on the ice. Didn't he know he'd won? Well, sort of. Well Rogue had made herself available to Cody anyway. Which hurt. Hurt so much that as he looked at them, it only hurt more. Gambit decided he couldn't watch the girl he loved fall for someone else. He took off his skates, gave them back in and left the ice ring. Outside, he crossed to a shop selling cigarettes and bought a packet. He'd given up for Rogue straight after she told him the first moment he got back to Bayville that she didn't like smoking. Now though, he was too stressed and was glad when he got outside and lit a cigarette.

A moment later, Rogue emerged from the ice ring and looked paniced as her eyes searched everywhere around the area. Finally landing on him. She stormed over to him, stopped in front of him, folded her arms and in her mood said, "What was that?"

Gambit ignored her and just stared out past her. This got Rogue even more fuming as she clicked her fingers in front of his eyes, "Hey, what the hell was that in there?"

"You tell me?" Gambit finally snapped. "You tell me what happened in there Rogue? You tell me who was comin' on ta who and who was choicin' who in der."

Rogue's angry face fell into some sort of confused face and disgust. "What are ya talkin' 'bout Remy?"

"Oh, I don't know? Just how I poured mon heart out to ya the otha night, then ya go tell ya old boyfriend in there dat we're just friends."

"W-What?" Rogue asked opened mouthed. Then anger flashed again."Oh, ah'm Sorrah. What would ya have had meh say? Dat your the idiot fiancé of mine who said a load of mean stuff ta meh at the alter and dumbed meh,huh? Is that what ya wanted meh ta say?"

"Non. But ya coulda... I don't know... I thought..."

"Thought what Remy?" Rogue asked, her anger still boiling. "That I'd just drop ya and go off with Cody? Ah already told ya that's impossable. Ah can't give him what he wants."

"Ya don't havta. I seen the way he looks at ya."

"Oh really? And ya think a look is enough, do ya?"

"No, but... Ya said friends Rogue..."

Rogues angry suddenly disappeared as she realised now why he was mad. This wasn't about Cody and her. It was about Remy and her.

"What would ya have meh say Remy...? What are we? Friends... Close friends. Best friends. Brotherly sister firends. Ex lovers. Ex fiancé . Ex boyfriend. Ex girlfriend... Boy friend and girl friend... What? What are we?"

Rogue said looking at him with wide pleading eyes. Gambit looked away from her, not expecting it to be this awkward. "...I. Errr, well... I thought... I errr."

"Ah told him ya was mah Ex." Rogue said. Gambit looked back to her, feeling his heart sink all over. But he was confused at that burning determination in her eye. "Ah told him ya were the idiot ex of mine who ended the relationship, because he thought he was no good for meh. I told him that ya the idiot ex who chased after meh.I told him that ya really are an idiot... Cause ya were the best thing that ever happened to meh. Ah told him that we're back on, and tryna make it work."

Gambit dropped his cigarette, stamped on it, then his arms wrapped around Rogue's waist, bringing her into a hug.

"If I could kiss ya now, mon Chèrie, I would."

Gambit leant his head down until his forehead rested on the top of Rogue's head. They were so close, all he needed to was move a few more tiny inchies and their lips would connect. It wasn't her saying she loved him, but somehow, it was close enough. Her admitting to her old boyfriend that she had chosen him. It just made him happy that Rogue would chose a low life like him over the perfect, golden American boy.

Rogue broke the hug, smiling up at him too. Then asked, "So what are we then?"

Gambit looked to the sky and seemed to think hard about it. "Hmmm, well if it was up to me I'd have ya as mon fiancé again, but I'm guessin' dat might be movin' too fast, so... how 'bout boyfriend and girlfriend? I like de sound of dat."

Rogue copied his cheeky grin. "Me too."

"So, how 'bout a mocha? I saw a coffee shop a little down the road. How 'bout we go get warmed up. Dat ice was cold."

Rogue laughed, as she started to walk with Gambit. "Only cause ya kept fallin' over." She said.

"Chère, dat was all planned ta get ya closer ta moi."

"Sure it was." Rogue rolled her eyes. "Just like it was your planned bumping inta Cody and havin' that conversation."

"How'd ya guess that? Dieu chèrie, ya see right through me."

They laughed as they made their way to the steaming, warm coffee shop to warm up, and the fun continued with no more hiccups of upset to ruin their day.