Hello! Here we got chapter 10-some plot, some Remy POV, and some more fluff.
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Not much to say before this chapter outside of I hope you're having a great day and thanks for reading!
Chapter 10"Why wouldn't I just call someone? Wouldn't it be quicker?" Rogue snorted, listening to Kitty try to explain texting to Laura, who had shown up to the mansion before breakfast had even finished. Trask's involvement in this whole mess with the Sentinels had worried Logan and apparently Fury hadn't had a good enough response when it came to his young clone's safety. Not that Rogue minded. She liked Laura about as well as she liked anyone and it was certainly keeping Kitty off her back about the amount of texting Rogue was suddenly doing (something Kitty had honed in on scary fast).
It wasn't like there was anything else to do...sure, she could read or watch tv or work out, but it was kind of fun getting to keep talking to Remy throughout the day when they each got a chance. Not so fun was Kitty and Jean giving her shit for apparently blushing occasionally when she got a text.
She refused to confirm who it was, but sadly she was pretty sure the puzzle was a pretty easy one to solve: Gambit comes back into town, Rogue suddenly is texting a few times an hour (much more than normal). Rogue is obviously texting with Gambit. Puzzle solved. Gold star (except for the fact that Rogue refused to confirm the answer for them).
By the time Logan, Kurt, and Hank strolled into the meeting room, Laura understood the basics of how texting and switching between keyboards worked, but was still not grasping the logic behind why she wouldn't just call someone-it sounded a lot quicker to her.
Logan patted his clone on the shoulder as he walked past. "It ain't gonna make sense, kid. Just another way to communicate."
"Yeah, a better way," Kitty said to Laura.
"I believe everyone is here?" The Professor said, checking around the room. Along with Laura, the only other person added into the mix was Bobby, who was starting to get pulled up to the Senior team more often. Not often enough to consistently train with them, but generally whenever they needed an extra person.
"Yes, good." He cleared his throat. "It seems neither Magneto nor his team have used their powers all day. Not surprising-he knows we'd use Cerebro to keep track and try to predict their movements and plan."
"What're our options then, Chuck?"
"Well, we could proceed to go after the Sentinels on our own. Beat them to it. More likely we will have to keep our ear to the ground and be on damage control. We have no idea what Magneto is planning and he has a head start."
"Or," Hank cut in. "We go down the S.H.I.E.L.D route." He paused at Logan's glare in his direction. "Not directly ask for help, just information, Logan."
"We could go on a guard watch and station ourselves in teams in locations we think they'd strike," Jean offered. "You said you had talked to him, Professor. Do you have a guess where that could be?"
"Yes, although the locations are still too numerous for us to cover even if we were to bring in the New Recruits and far too populated and spread out to send teams too small to defend the area until help could arrive."
"As far as we can tell, Magneto wants to draw the Sentinels out into the open, much like our first fight with the Acolytes, and use the pressure of putting innocent civilians in danger to get S.H.I.E.L.D. to swoop in, capturing Trask and stopping him from any continued production of these new Sentinels for the time being," Hank said.
Logan scoffed, mumbling sarcastically. "Yeah, cause S.H.I.E.L.D. has a habit of fixing messes."
"What about Trask's backer? If I had the security clearance, I'm sure I could hack into Trask's system and trace to who it is. If we get the backer, he won't have the funds to continue making Sentinels in the first place," Kitty asked.
"A good plan, but one that would require either government clearance, or S.H.I.E.L.D. and you know our decision on that, Kathryn," Hank answered seriously.
"It doesn't have to," Kitty began arguing.
"It does if you want any approval from us or your parents, Kitty, and as you're still a minor with a large target on your back from your last hacking experience, you will be getting no approval unless we have no other option," The Professor answered calmly. "For now, as Hank said the best we can do is choose if we wish to proceed defensively or on the offence, as well as to continue guessing what Magneto and his team might be up to."
Noone had much to say in response to that outside of a little mumbling from Scott's direction. Rogue hadn't heard any of it but Jean apparently had and was not a fan: she swatted at Scott's arm just as Logan whipped his head around.
"Care to repeat that, Shades?"
"I said you could just ask Rogue since she's apparently been texting Gambit all day."
Jean threw her hands up in exasperation at her boyfriend. "I'm never telling you anything again!"
"And I'm never telling you anything again!" Kitty said, glaring at Jean.
"Care to comment, Stripes?"
She knew all eyes were on her, a few sympathetic, a few curious more than anything else, but the rest either surprised and outraged or just outraged.
"...Not really?" That answer didn't suffice for any of them if their reactions were anything to go off of, but she couldn't help but feel it was really none of their business.
"Not really, as in you haven't been texting him all day? Or not really as in you don't care to let your team in on the fact that you're friends with our enemy- specifically, the guy who kidnapped you," Scott spat out, each word colder than the last.
Rogue pursed her lips, feeling more trapped than she had in a long time. She might have had sympathetic looks from Jean and Kitty, but outside of that and mostly neutral expressions from Hank and Ororo, that was all the trust she was going to get it seemed.
Scott and Logan's expressions could have curdled dairy they were so enraged. Logan especially seemed pissed off since Scott had apparently been stewing over this while Logan was just now finding out. Laura didn't seem to care much one way or another, but when in doubt she usually ended up siding with Logan. None of it hit her gut and made her want to run like the abject horror on Kurt's face, although that just served to piss her off as much as it made her feel small. She didn't know where to look, but the silence as they all stared at her was so deafening she felt like her head was about to explode. How was it her friendship with Remy created this much tension?
She looked up at the Professor, hoping he would know what to say. That he would give his usual spiel about giving second chances and extending help and friendship to those who need it. She was met with a carefully blank expression, his fingers steepled in front of his face thoughtfully.
"Rogue, we're simply concerned for your safety," the Professor finally said, incredibly far off from what she'd hoped to hear. It sure didn't feel like concern for her safety.. It definitely felt like none of them trusted her in the slightest.
"We do trust you, Rogue," Jean cut in, apparently unaware she'd just read her mind. "These guys just need to lower their testosterone and calm down."
"But Rogue, he kidnapped you. Do you know how worried we all were? What if he had not given you back?" She knew Kurt's concern came from his heart more than it did suspicion over Remy, but it still stung a little that he apparently didn't trust her judgement at all either.
"He - "
"None of that bull about him not kidnapping you, Rogue. Say it all you want but it's not gonna make it true," Scott said, rising to his feet as he glared at Rogue.
"Yeah, cause believing me is an impossible task when you can just sit there and judge people instead, Scott, right?" He looked like he'd been slapped, but she couldn't stop her mouth now that words were flowing. "Y'all need to stop with this, seriously! I wouldn't even be an X men if someone," she glared even harder at Scott. "Hadn't decided it was fine to be friends with someone on a different team." She hadn't meant to raise her voice, but here she was. "He didn't 'give me back', I chose to come back. And it ain't any of y'all's business what we talk about because we made a deal to keep business out of it. Your secrets are safe with me," she finished. She hated seeing the hurt look on Kurt's face at the slightly bitter tone she finished on, but this was ridiculous. Did they really think that little of her? That she would trust someone blindly with no reason why and give up team secrets at the drop of a hat?
"Rogue, you are more important to us than any secret, you know this," Kurt answered back, looking like a puppy she'd just kicked.
"Coulda fooled me!"
"You don't seem to have a problem with my friendship with Pete," Kitty cut in, glaring at Scott, hands on her hips.
"That's different. Pete is -"
" - a guy who deserves a second chance just like everyone else? Including Gambit?" Jean cut in, crossing her eyes as she also stared her boyfriend down.
"He blew his second chance kidnapping Rogue. That's not my fault," Scott shot back stubbornly.
"He didn't-"
"Shades is right, Rogue. You're playing with f -"
"Rogue is right," Ororo said, cutting Logan off. "This is no one's business but her own. She is a smart girl. Trained by the best," and while somehow managing to narrow her eyes at Logan and Scott simultaneously. "She knows what information should remain private and knows how to keep it private." She looked towards Rogue, expression warm. "Most importantly, Rogue has shown that she has become an excellent judge of character and she knows how to keep our team business separate from her friendships."
"Yeah, but can you actually do it? You two looked pretty cozy in the Danger Room…" Scott cut in, apparently not ready to let this go even after Storm intercepted.
Kitty's eyes lit up and Rogue could already tell she was in for trouble later-Kitty definitely had not heard much about her Danger Room team up with Remy. "Look I'm only gonna say this once and you guys are either gonna have to trust me or deal with it however you need to. Gambit didn't kidnap me. I came back by choice. We keep our friendship separate from team stuff. You were able to be friends with Paul without tellin' him X Men secrets just fine, Scott. I can do the same with my friendships. If I end up bein' wrong, you can say I told you so then. Give me detention or probation however long you want. I don't care. But I haven't done anythin' wrong here outside of tryin' to have a friend."
The room went quiet until Kurt broke the silence, quietly. "Es tut mir Leid, Rogue. Of course I trust you. I just worry. We all do. We just do not want you to be hurt by someone with...bad intentions."
From the back of his room, Hank cleared his throat, trying to bring about some semblance of normal. "Right then. Shall we...continue on with the meeting?" He looked to the Professor, to Scott, and finally to Rogue who crossed her arms and refused to meet anyone's eyes. She knew it was childish, but how stupid did they think she was?
...or were they right and she was actually really just being stupid?
"I didn't mean to read your mind."
They were on their way out of the meeting room to grab dinner while the adults decided if they should strike now or wait. Kitty had taken off in the front of the group with Scott and Kurt while Jean had hung back with Rogue.
She nodded in response, not really sure she had much else to say. She knew how easy accidents were with powers, but still it sucked all the same to have her private thoughts broadcasted especially when she'd been basically on trial for having a friend her team didn't like enough. She knew it was more complicated than that. She knew their judgements had merit, but if she (the person Remy had wronged the most of all of them) could see past them enough to try for a friendship, why couldn't they trust her to follow her gut?
"They will."
Rogue looked over at Jean, pinching her mouth together tightly as the older girl winced and stopped walking, putting a hand to her head and looking quite frustrated herself. Jean sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to...I know that doesn't mean much though. I should probably be getting more sleep."
Rogue looked at the older girl for a moment. It had taken a long time for either girl to be vulnerable at all in front of the other. They'd had such huge perceptions of each other that had taken so long to reconcile with the person actually in front of them. As perfect as she'd always thought Jean was, she knew Jean was human just like anyone else (so to speak), someone who strived to reach the level of perfection everyone thought came naturally to her.
Just as Rogue never meant for the psyches to overtake her, Jean never meant for her powers to catch other's thoughts. Rogue was just lucky (she'd laughed dryly upon realizing she was calling herself lucky when she'd first realized) she could stop the psyches from taking over by not using her powers. Jean didn't have that convenience. She had better control of her powers, sure, but there was no off button.
"It's fine." She paused and softened her tone, realizing she could do to reassure the older girl a little more. "Really."
Jean smiled at her brightly, one word apparently making all the difference. "Come on, let's go get dinner before Kurt beats us -"
All talk of dinner was gone when an alarm went off blaring loudly as red lights rotated above them, the Professor's voice echoing through their brains. "Senior Team members, including Iceman, make your way to the hanger bay. Wheels up in 10."
They turned around, headed back towards the hanger bay and Rogue did her best to let on a small smile in Jean's direction as they ran, glad this mess might be over quickly. "Guess we're gonna have to wait on food."
"Hank and I'll be here at the jet keeping an eye out. Team Alpha. Storm'll take to the air and Hank'll run out if any trouble starts."
They'd made it downtown in record time, Logan grumbling and rumbling different battle strategies until he landed on one he liked.
"Jean, you head off with Cyclops. Team Beta. You get on any Sentinels you can find and run interference on any Acolytes."
Please don't say it.
"Nightcrawler,"
Please don't say it.
"You're with Shadowcat. Team Charlie. Civilian rescue and be on Sentinels when you can."
Damn it.
"Rogue, you're with Iceman. Team Delta."
Yep.
"Sentinels." Bobby cheered. " And keep an eye on the popsicle, would ya?" She nodded. There was a muted "hey!" from Bobby as she grabbed his shoulder, dragging him off the plane with her.
She didn't so much mind being partnered with Bobby as she did getting stuck in any of the messes Bobby made. She was used to working with someone more laid back for sure, if her past partnership with Evan had been any indication. But Evan had known when to be serious at least. Bobby, for all his strengths, took nothing seriously. More often than not, it made for a messy situation his partner usually had to get them out of. Namely, her.
He seemed to be trying to prove himself enough that he wasn't putting on his normal cocky attitude at least. He iced up and held up his arms, indicating Rogue should grab his waist. She sighed and did so, trying to keep as much space between them as possible. They hadn't figured out yet if his psyche or powers would transfer through his ice form and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out, really. Something about a mini Bobby in her head was enough to give her a headache, no absorption necessary.
He meant well, she knew. But it was sometimes hard to remember when he continually stuck his foot up his own ass over and over. The kid had so much tenacity he gave Kurt a run for his money even on his best day.
Like Kurt, he just had too much energy to know what to do with it sometimes. Unlike Kurt though, he hid his heart of gold underneath all his crazy schemes and his cocky demeanor.
She hung on tightly as he began moving, wondering how much closer she could deem safe to hold on to him the higher they got into the air.
"See anythin'?"
"Not yet."
A silence fell over them as she strained her eyes to look around for any sign of the Sentinels or Acolytes but found none. This felt like the first time they'd met the Acolytes...showing up somewhere with no sign of any danger until it was far too late.
"Hey, uh, Rogue," she could hear Bobby's voice past the wind whipping around them, although very distantly. It almost sounded like it flew past her on the wind.
She didn't answer, just chose to keep looking around, straining her eyes and ears to listen for any explosions or see any fire. He was going to talk whether she answered or not: it was part of the beauty of Bobby.
"...I was kinda an ass yesterday."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
She took a deep breath in. "Kitty put you up to this?"
"No. Well, yeah. But no. But also yeah," she rolled her eyes but didn't respond, smiling slightly since he couldn't see. He was an idiot, but he was trying not to be at least. And it wasn't like he'd been wrong. "I felt bad - you don't need it shoved in your face you can't date. Kitty just...encouraged me to let you know I know that. And that I'm sorry." He paused awkwardly and were he not creating a path of ice, she had a feeling he would be scratching the back of his head. "And I am. Sorry, that is."
"I get it, Bobby."
"So...we're cool?"
"Yeah, Bobby. It's fine."
"Alright!" Gone was the awkward sweet guy she'd just decided wasn't actually so bad, replaced again by the hyper popsicle. Not the worst thing in the world, she guessed. Definitely better than having no partner at least.
"Wait, you see that?"
"Huh?" Bobby pulled them to a stop, straining to see where she was pointing, right in the center of the city.
"There!"
"Aw, yeah! Time for some fire to meet ice!" Bobby cheered, taking off at breakneck speed towards the giant column of fire now shooting towards the sky she'd just been pointing at..
"Wait! Bobby! We should -"
Whatever she was trying to say to him was immediately lost to the wind and she couldn't stop herself from gripping his hips as tight as possible.
This was a bad idea. They had no idea if they were about to be out-numbered. Logan had no clue they were about to run headfirst into battle. Her only back up (until she could get to her communicator - if it was even safe enough to go for her communicator) was Bobby, who was so eager to jump into battle he'd run at it head first at the first sign of a fight.
It didn't take them long to find solid ground and Rogue had approximately three seconds to look around before a wall of fire flew right past them.
"Oi! You come to join the fun then?" John seemed to find this whole situation funny, even if no one else did. He cackled, manipulating his fire around in the air and sending it straight for a Sentinel a block away.
She heard a crack behind her and turned just in time to see a large boulder headed her way. She ducked just as she felt something collide with her from her side. Luckily for her, whatever it was didn't feel like a boulder at least.
She groaned and sat up despite the weight still over her abdomen. She opened her eyes, only shocked that she was surprised to see Gambit there. He groaned as well, slowly getting up, and turned towards her, a grin on his face. Of course he was grinning. In front of them lay a giant slab of concrete, smashed from it's impact.
"Ready for Sentinels, round two, chère?"
She snorted and stood as well, looking around as much as possible to figure out exactly what Bobby had thrown them into. "Sure, I'm super pumped."
"Heads up!" They dove to separate sides as Bobby came barrelling through, yahooing as he shot himself straight for the Sentinel Pyro was currently flame-blasting.
She stood, readying herself to grab her communicator and do...something. She looked around, trying to find something, anything, to help her out. It wasn't fair to count on Remy for any assistance here, even though he'd already saved her.
...However, Bobby had stuck her here and taken off with Pyro to tag team the Sentinel, apparently having the time of his life if his occasional whoops were any indication. If Bobby could fight side by side with Pyro, she didn't see why her teaming up with Gambit would be a bad plan, different teams or not. Luckily, there wasn't really anyone around to judge them for the time being.
She turned just in time to see a second Sentinel, much closer. The one who had thrown the boulder, probably. She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Gambit's back was still to the Sentinel.
"Watch your six!" She hollered just in time for both of them to dive out of the way of a blast. They both stood again, watching carefully as the Sentinel advanced towards them, another blast preparing to shoot. Wordlessly, he extended his bo-staff out to her. She took it without hesitation, feeling bad he was having to save her ass again. She was useless in the field if she didn't use her powers, but she was useless in regular life if she did-her powers took over everything. She couldn't win.
He fanned out his cards and looked at her, still grinning. "Ladies first."
She looked towards the Sentinel, determined. "If you insist," she said, already running towards the Sentinel, jamming his staff into the first joint she could find, hoping their previous strategy would still work. They were in luck and she managed to pry the joint apart and roll out of the way so he could aim a card and they began their system over again, picking up right where they'd left off the other day, stopping occasionally to dodge blasts the Sentinel sent their way. Just as they finally had both legs blown off (as well as a hand), the Sentinel began beeping, a blue light flashing with each sound, and almost immediately they heard the loud stomping of another Sentinel coming their way, followed by the shouts of what sounded like Jean and Cyclops.
"What the hell? Did it just…"
"There's no way they're that advanced. Nothin' 'bout it in the plans," Gambit yelled from across the street, answering her with a similar amount of surprise in his tone.
A new Sentinel came crashing through the building directly behind Rogue and she rolled out of the way as quick as possible, trying to avoid any of the falling debris. It was indeed followed by Jean and Cyclops, the latter with a giant frown on his face when he saw who Rogue was currently teamed up with. Great.
Luckily, if he had something to say, he had neither the time nor the balls to let it out right now. Or the sense to understand now wasn't the time. "Where's Iceman?"
"There's a third Sentinel down a block. He's over there with Pyro!" Rogue answered, trying to quickly size up how much damage Jean and Scott had been able to do to their Sentinel. Not much yet, unfortunately.
"He took off and left you?" Scott asked, incredulous.
"Why y' think I stayed over here instead of -" Remy never got to finish his sentence as he took a solid hit to his gut from flying debris.
"We'll deal with Bobby's lack of teamwork later!" Rogue yelled as the new Sentinel swung at both Jean and herself, grateful to see Remy pick himself up with little to no grimace.
Rogue immediately launched herself at the Sentinel in front of her, dislodging it at the elbow. "Jean! Rip it!" she hollered, rolling away. It took Jean a second longer than Rogue would have liked, but she got the idea, using her telekinesis to pull apart the wires holding the arm together, thick and strong like tendons.
From across the street, she heard the sound of explosions and Scott's power. Both guys were throwing as much firepower at the Sentinel as they could, but it wasn't getting them anywhere. Rogue looked around her, trying to find some solution to help both teams before her and Jean's Sentinel was back on the attack and spied a long pipe. Perfect.
"Gambit! Catch!" She watched long enough to see him grab his bo staff out of the air after she'd chucked it across the street at him before she dove for the pipe, pulling it out of a pile of debris and running towards her Sentinel at top speed to give Jean something to work with. Distantly, she heard Remy shouting directions and hoped Scott would just suck it up and listen for once.
"Are you sure this will work?" She heard Jean yell over the sound of tearing metal.
"Not really, but it's all we've got!" she hollered back as she climbed up the Sentinels limp arm and jammed her pipe into its neck. She hadn't tried that joint before, but she was hoping it might do enough damage to incapacitate the thing. She used as much leverage as she could, trying to pull something, anything apart, only to find this hadn't been her brightest idea. She looked over at Jean, hoping she would be on the same page, but Jean was too focused on another joint, trying to take it apart on her own.
Fuck. The Sentinel began moving it's head towards her and she looked around herself quickly, trying to find the best place to jump to before she heard Remy's voice repeating her earlier sentiment, "Catch!"
She turned, luckily timing it right to grab his staff just as it flew back towards her and she jammed it into the neck, determination starting her anew. His staff was much stronger than the pipe and it only took a few seconds for her to create enough damage the Sentinel began fritzing out. She jumped from its shoulder just in time to avoid an electric shock, softening the impact of her fall with a roll as best as possible.
She looked over and saw Scott and Gambit had completely dismantled their Sentinel and were now running across the street to join them. Rogue almost wanted to laugh. For all their bickering and apparent dislike of one another, apparently Remy and Scott were actually a good team when they had to be.
Remy and Scott had just enough time to get across the street before the still functioning Sentinel released a high pitched, ear shattering shrieking sound and before immediately collapsing. Just as it crashed to the ground, the sound stopped. Rogue stood, dusting herself off, and looked around. Wordlessly, the four mutants looked between each other, no one having any guesses what had just happened.
"Yo, you guys! You gotta see this! The Sentinel just dropped!" Came Bobby's voice over the radio.
"Our's too! And the one Pete was taking on down the block!" Kitty answered quickly.
Logan's voice crackled over the radio next. "Get back to the Velocity. We'll debrief when we get home."
Rogue looked at Jean and Scott, disbelieving. "What, that's it?"
Jean looked just as stumped but she simply shrugged, levitating herself up in preparation to head towards the plane. "He must have a good reason. We'll send Bobby your way when we pass over him and meet you guys at the plane."
She levitated herself and Scott up and they were off, simple as that, leaving Rogue alone with Remy. Rogue brushed her hair back from her forehead and plopped herself down on a nearby stoop, taking a deep breath and watching the Sentinel carefully.
"That was too easy."
Remy sat himself beside her, leaning his elbows forward on his knees as he turned to her and simply nodded. She leaned forward on her knees as well, content to just sit in the quiet with him for a moment as she waited for Bobby. It was nice, almost, if you didn't take into account the smoking Sentinel yards away and all the chaos around them from the battle they'd just fought.
Remy watched her for a moment carefully, something she tried to ignore to the best of her ability. Out of the corner of her eye he had that look on his face like he was trying to figure something out. He didn't say anything, just reached across her face slowly. She watched his hand as it swept her bangs out of her face and behind her ear before turning herself towards him as his hand dropped back down to his leg.
"Good day at school?" he asked, grinning.
She rolled her eyes, fighting the growing smile on her own face and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Got called out for a work emergency."
"Aw, that's too bad."
"Yeah, apparently my French teacher'll have to wait another day to see my homework."
He chuckled, looking down at the ground quickly before looking right back at her again, smile still firmly in place and humor laced throughout his tone. "The horror. Least y' got outta school, I guess."
"I missed half of last year. Can't really afford to miss much this year or Principal Kelly'll flunk me again," she said dryly. She continued on, not really wanting to have to address the fact that he was directly responsible for her missing several of her midterms. It was water under the bridge, but she couldn't help but think he might not see it that way. She sent a small smile his way before speaking again. "Good day at work?"
His grin grew wider and he shifted, resting his cheek on his fist. "So-so. Boss was on a rampage. Spent all day in meetin's listenin' t' him drone on and on. Y'know. The usual. Got stuck pullin' overtime too."
For some reason, that made them both laugh. Real laughs; full and comfortable. As bizarre as the situation was, it felt so completely normal and typical sitting there with him next to the smoking remains of a Sentinel on a city block they'd just help tear apart.
"You weren't supposed to stay this end of the block to fight." She didn't phrase it as a question in hopes it didn't push anything he couldn't or wouldn't want to talk about, but it had been bugging her since he'd yelled back at Scott concerning the Bobby mess. He didn't respond, just watched her carefully. "Not tryin' to pry. Just...thank you, is all." She looked down towards her hands as she spoke, hair falling forward into her eyes again, the words feeling unfamiliar.
She'd been so caught up wondering if she'd broken their careful balance she didn't see his hand reach out again, re-tucking her hair behind her ear, using her hair to skim his fingers along her jaw as he directed her to meet his eyes, intense yet warm. He left his fingers on her jawline a few seconds longer than he probably needed to, but she was comforted to see he was trying to be careful.
"Wasn't about t' let y' have all the fun over here."
She grinned back at him, wondering how it was he had just erased every bit of self consciousness she'd been feeling. "B'sides. Fighting with Pyro's a job hazard I'll find an excuse to avoid any day." She laughed at that, feeling for once like maybe avoiding using her powers hadn't made her a liability in battle or a weakling to be babysat.
She felt his thumb lightly stroke her cheek through his hair and for a very short moment, she felt content to just laugh with him among the smoldering piles of destruction while she waited for -
"Thank you for riding Bobby's Ice-Coaster, your journey has come to a close. Please keep all hands and legs inside the vehicle as you exit and make sure to not wipe out and fall on your ass."
There he was.
Rogue looked up, seeing Pyro let go of Bobby's waist and jump down to solid ground, looking a little worse for the wear, like he might hurl at any second. As Pyro finished dismounting, Rogue stood, taking that as her cue to hop on, gingerly putting her hands on Bobby's waist only to remember -
"Oh. Your staff," she turned back to Gambit, seeing both of them had apparently almost forgotten she still had it. She held it out (feeling more than a little awkward in front of Pyro and Bobby) and Remy stood to take it from her, the very picture of nonchalance. Bobby began a second speal about take off and once they were off and no one could see, Rogue allowed herself to smile again.
The calm only lasted only a few seconds. From down below, John was shrieking. "Hold up! You never let me use your staff! How come Rogue gets to?"
"So S.H.I.E.L.D. actually came through," Scott said dryly, leaning back against the plane's side.
Logan scoffed. "For now. They said they got Trask, but I've never known them to be able to keep their word too long."
"He hasn't said anything helpful?" Jean asked.
"Not yet, but he'll talk. There's a huge money trail behind the Sentinel upgrades. Only a matter of time before we find out who's backin' him, and then we'll know how to stop them from makin' more."
"They did take those ones in with Trask though, right?" Kitty asked.
Logan grunted in affirmative.
Kitty shuddered. "Good. I do not want to think about them being left on the streets for anyone to play with."
"You and me both, Half Pint."
Rogue leaned back in her seat, beat. Logan didn't sound so sure this was over, an opinion she leaned towards mostly because he'd rarely been wrong before in these kind of situations.
Kurt sat down next to her as Logan and Scott prepared to get the plane in the air. He looked exhausted as well. "Man, I hope not. I don't want to even see another Sentinel unless it's already blown to smithereens."
Rogue nodded in agreement absently. Somehow she didn't think they'd get that lucky, but maybe for once she could use a little of her brother's optimism.
Well. She could attempt to at least. Except...
"How did Trask know about the PowR-8 factory?" Rogue looked across the plane at Logan.
"Could be related, could've gotten lucky. That's one of the leads we'll start tracking. Company's not up and running yet, but they could be the money source or at least related to it."
Rogue nodded, not feeling comforted by that answer at all. Something felt off and the Sentinels all being remotely deactivated once Trask was taken in felt incredibly convenient, even knowing he'd given S.H.I.E.L.D. the codes to shut them down once they caught him.
Kurt's hand lightly touched her shoulder. "Hey, we will be okay. We are the X Men."
She smiled at him absently, glad she hadn't pushed him away all over again during their meeting earlier. He put up with a lot when she got pissed. Everyone here did really. Whether Remy was right about Scott's behavior or not, with the X men she had something she hadn't ever had before: a family. Maybe a weird family, maybe an overprotective family, but a family that (at the core of most things) just cared about her.
It just sucked that in that overprotectiveness they were actually doing exactly what she'd thought they had initially done to her: judging and not even giving Remy a chance to prove he could be different, at least with her. It sucked even more because Scott had faith in her back then and stood up for her back then-he was the reason she'd figured everything out and been able to switch teams so quickly, but he apparently refused to do the same for Gambit.
Scott refused to see the similarities and although she wasn't extending her faith and trust in the hopes Remy would ever join the X Men (she wasn't sure she could picture him settling down somewhere long enough to do that), she was frustrated no one else could see that there was more to Remy than met the eye (more than she felt she could learn in a lifetime) and she had a sinking feeling in her gut that right now he needed a friend. Needed support. Something had to have happened when he'd been away, she just had no clue what and wasn't sure she ever would unless she had to use her powers on him.
He was still himself, or what she knew of him previously, but he had those moments of staring off into space or pulling back a little when he used to push forward. Sometimes she would look at him and he would just seem so exhausted in a different way than when he'd sounded tired during the Danger Room fight. Exhausted like he was bone tired from running and trying to keep moving forward. Exhausted like even if she actually knew what he needed (or was running from), she wasn't sure she could actually help him if he'd even let her.
She was late.
Remy checked his phone absently to see if he had any texts waiting, not surprised when he found none. It had been a week of him showing up at Bayville High every day after the school day ended and she still somehow seemed surprised every day, like she'd been unsure he would be there again. He couldn't blame her, really.
He'd been in her head-he was sure she knew he never stuck around anywhere too long unless he had to (and he did, due to his contract with Magneto, although she didn't technically know that). He hadn't come through for her any of the times he'd had a chance (although outside of never answering her about Apocalypse and kidnapping her, he was pretty sure she didn't know he'd been on the team to save her in Tibet) despite her willingness to let him try to make it up to her. Beyond that, what had he really done to prove she could trust him in the first place?
He idly checked his clock and sent her a quick text, just in case. If she was held up by a teacher, at least she could use her ride as an excuse. Probably not the case though. Usually when she was this late, she'd gotten held back for detention-meaning her phone had been taken so she couldn't check for his message. He had time for a smoke, at least. He grabbed a cigarette, lighting it with his finger as he leaned back against his bike casually, ignoring the tittering of girls he heard off to his side where he knew some sort of sports team was practicing.
He scoffed, hoping they would stay where they were, surprising himself somewhat. He'd never been one to turn away a pretty face, even if they were as tedious as he'd found those girls. He usually had at least some energy to flirt back or have a standard interaction with them, but lately wasn't usually. Last week one girl had gotten brave enough to try to tell him he couldn't smoke here and had then proceeded to try to flirt with him unsuccessfully but, ladies man though he was, he'd just been instantly bored with her. Luckily, Rogue had just been running late that day and he'd been able to stop the conversation short by calling her over as soon as she exited the school. He'd made sure to smile a little wider in Rogue's direction (although, when he thought about it, he hadn't had to try too hard) to send the message to the intruding girl (Karen? Carly?): she wasn't even on his radar.
Rogue certainly hadn't expected him to be there that day and had looked up in shock hearing her name called out. It had only been the second day he'd picked her up, to be fair, and he'd never told her he wanted to pick her up in the first place, let alone that he was planning on doing it more than once. Or every day. He'd just figured she wouldn't mind a ride back from school and had started showing up the day after the Sentinel battle in town (if she did mind, she hadn't said anything). Still she'd found him quickly, and although surprise had shown on her face, she'd walked over and taken his spare helmet like they'd done this more than once before and hopped up behind him on his bike and before he knew it the other girl was just gone. He wasn't completely sure when she'd left: he'd been a little too distracted by Rogue's casual ribbing and teasing her back.
Ego boost though it was to have girls fawn over him, he found it didn't really give him the same rush lately. Not like it used to. He wondered if it ever would again, but found he honestly didn't care what the answer was anymore. Too much on his mind, too much that had happened lately, too much of his brain focused on getting to hang out with Rogue for a few normal minutes before they had to part ways, too much of him focusing on finding a sense of normalcy as often as possible...in truth it was probably some combination of all of the above.
As much as trying to find some sense of normal (for his own sanity, at least until he could finally catch his breath before leaping back into danger headfirst) had become a driving force in his life, Rogue had become a part of that normal and it was a normal he liked. He used to think normal would bore him, but when normal included Rogue it was the exact opposite. He was starting to think anything that included Rogue could never bore him, which he was okay with.
He'd known before coming back he'd wanted to make things right with her and hoped she would let him try. Remy was honestly still a little surprised she'd agreed. She might not have much experience making friends, but he had equally as little experience managing to follow through on good intentions. To be honest, he didn't have much experience keeping friends either. This was just as new to him even if she didn't seem to realize it. He hadn't realized how good it would actually feel to have a friend; someone to just joke around with and not have to talk about work or drama or any of the shit he wanted to avoid. She let him and in turn he let her. It worked.
She was a comfort, almost like a taste of the home he didn't have or the warmth of people he missed combined with something new and interesting and uniquely her. She'd always intrigued him in a detached sort of way even before he'd met her in person, but (as he'd found in New Orleans) she was different than everyone else; a puzzle he wanted to appreciate after he solved it instead of just taking it apart and throwing it back in the box. Maybe a puzzle he was willing to keep solving.
"Able to", he couldn't guarantee. But "willing to" and "wanting to" he was pretty sure he knew which direction he leaned.
The more she said (the more they interacted), the more he found new things about her he wanted to learn. Even simpler, the more they hung out the more he just wanted her to be there. It was weird. Almost everyone else in his life had immediately been the opposite of her with a rapid decay rate on his interest in them. Rogue just became exponentially more integral to what he wanted in his life. It didn't make sense, yet at the same time it did even if he couldn't explain why.
He finally had a chance again to choose what he wanted and he was becoming more and more surprised (while at the same time not that surprised really) that friendship with the girl he'd spied on, reported on to his boss, kidnapped, and let down multiple times was genuinely the choice he wanted. A friendship not tainted by guild rules or truces, a friendship that wasn't conditional upon what he could do for the other person. A person he didn't have to constantly be on his guard about analyzing. Just...a person he actually liked being around who he knew liked being around him too. A person who could not only keep up but set the pace sometimes when he couldn't. For the first time in a long time, something was coming to him easy for once. Relatively easy, at least.
"Y'ain't gotten tired of waiting around at a high school after hours, yet?"
He turned and grinned after exhaling smoke through the side of his mouth, throwing the bud down to stomp out as he grabbed his spare helmet. The routine was comfortable for both of them. Routine had always been something he would have thought would bore him. With Rogue, though, not much seemed to.
"How else'm I gonna see y' now that we're proper enemies again?"
She rolled her eyes and he could see her trying to fight a smile. Times like this, when she couldn't resist smiling anyway, were starting to become his favorite. "We've been texting all day, Swamp Rat."
Maybe he was coming on a little too strong, but at this point he wasn't sure he knew what normal really was or if he could be it if he tried. He just knew she felt normal (made him feel normal), like a homebase where he could actually ignore some of what he was trying to. Besides, she hadn't actually told him to stop, something he knew she would if she really wanted it. He didn't like the idea of pushing her far enough for her to put her foot down in the quest of understanding her boundaries, but he knew if push really came to shove she would tell him if he'd fucked up.
"Textin' doesn't hold a candle t' watchin' y' roll y' eyes at me in person, chere." True enough.
She glared at him and he laughed, knowing if she rolled her eyes she was about to prove him right.
"What they get y' f' t'day, ma chère?"
She wrinkled her nose as she continued to walk up to his bike, making him smile again. Did she know that when she wrinkled her nose like that it made her freckles stand out, even under her makeup? Did anyone but him know? "Apparently the outfit I've worn to school for the past four and a half years doesn't meet dress code."
He couldn't have stopped himself if he'd tried to not give her a quick look over. Her tights and boots helped keep her clothing mostly modest and hell if he had to stay covered up all the time he'd go crazy so he got the rest of the ensemble. But her outfits certainly left little to the imagination when you really looked. Gothic with a side of "grew up running around barefoot catching fireflies in the summer and staying covered up all the time drives me crazy". That part he didn't mind. Not at all. The gothic vibe worked for her and it definitely worked for him. Friend or not, it was only natural to appreciate how her skirt accentuated her hips (he wondered if he should let her know how great her ass looked when she bent over, something he'd been distracted by several times lately, or if that would make her never bend over in his presence again), which then drew attention to her slim waist, bare except for her mesh shirt. And then there was the tank she wore underneath-showing off just enough cleavage and midriff to make anyone's mind wander, which he definitely didn't mind.
"Would you stop lookin', Cajun?!" She thwacked him good on his shoulder as he found himself laughing again, hands up in defense.
"Cain't blame a man for appreciatin', chèrie."
"Whatever. It's bad enough I had those creepers in detention commentin'."
Okay, that part he did kind of mind.
He pushed that thought away and chuckled, reaching over to brush her hair out of her eyes and behind her ear. She'd almost stopped flinching when she saw his hand coming towards his face, something that would seem so small with anyone else, but with her he knew was gigantic.
"Wanna go kick their asses?" he joked, gratified to see her finally crack an almost full smile, eye roll and all as she finally grabbed his spare helmet.
"Yeah, that'll get me out of detention," she said, reminding him slightly of a grumpy kitten as she secured the helmet and made sure both straps of her backpack were around her shoulders. He wasn't sure she knew how her full lips became even fuller when she pouted like that.
He shrugged and turned, revving the engine and relishing the feel of her sliding in behind him. The first day he could tell she'd been so nervous to be that close to him. He'd almost (almost) offered to let her drive, although he wasn't quite sure him holding onto her tightly would have been any better for her. She'd covered well, though, and he hadn't been about to call her out on it just to be a dick.
Honestly he wasn't sure when he'd gotten to know her so well he could read moments like that so easily. He'd definitely started the process before New Orleans, but when exactly he couldn't be sure.
She settled her hands on his hips only making a small sound of protest when he rolled his eyes and pulled her arms tighter around his midsection, pulling her chest closer to his back and her thighs right under his. She always ended up like that anyway, so what was the harm? So sue him for wanting to enjoy the sensation a little longer today.
He felt her head rest against his shoulder as she gripped him a little tighter, hand sliding up the middle of his chest carefully. Not nearly as fit to his body as she would be by the end of the ride, but close enough. He grinned again, knowing she couldn't see, and revved his engine one more time before taking off maybe a little faster than necessary, smiling again when he felt her mold tighter against him in the process.
By the time they reached the Institute gates, Rogue was pushed just as tightly against his body as every other day he'd dropped her off. It was great. He kicked his foot out to hold the bike steady as he stopped and turned back to look at her before she could start getting off the bike.
She looked up at him, grey eyes meeting his own, waiting as if she expected him to speak. He had all the other days at that point but today he stopped himself, settling on just taking a second to smile down at her and find the flecks of green in her eyes that came out in the sunshine before turning to look at the mansion, never actually letting himself ask what he wanted.
He'd asked to hang out the past two days this week and, especially with no explanation outside of "I want to," he was wary of asking again without making things weird or pushing himself 100% into the "coming on too strong with this friendship thing" category.
It was just that it was so nice to not feel like he had to watch his back, to be able to sit with someone and not feel like he needed to fill the silence with empty words, especially on days like today where he felt more stuck in his head than moving through the world. Days where he couldn't stop thinking and needed the time to do so, but also needed the opportunity to ignore all his thinking. Above all that, he liked that he was able to have those things with her and that he wasn't the only one of them who needed that. As much as she brought him a sense of normality, he knew he brought something positive to the table for her as well (otherwise she wouldn't still be keeping him around).
She hopped off the bike and walked to the gate keypad, keying in a code and pressing her thumb against the scanner briefly. At least the X Mansion had upped their security a little in the days since he'd been a regular fly on their walls. He watched Rogue carefully, trying to guess what she was wanting. She'd kept her helmet on, so potentially she was ready to get right back on the bike behind him to ride up to the school and hang out. Or she wanted a ride to the building but not to hang out. Or she'd forgotten to give him the helmet back just yet.
Merde, LeBeau. He had to stop this overthinking shit. He'd never been very prone to it before, especially with women (although Rogue was a friend, not a girl he was about to hook up with, he reminded himself). Part of him wished he knew if he couldn't stop thinking because this was her, or if it was because his life had so recently been a gigantic shit storm he was still watching for over his shoulder. Another part of him (a much bigger part) was way too overdone with all the fucking overanalyzing his brain was doing.
She turned back to him and walked back to the bike, hesitating before looking up at him again through the helmet. "You wanna come in?"
He grinned. "Get on the bike."
Every time she had to hop on his bike a second time in a day, she always pulled herself that much snugger than before. That or he imagined she did. Either way, he liked the feel of her against his back, how her thighs squeezed against him, lean and strong. How it started to feel less like she was holding on for a ride and more like she was holding on to him. How she never tensed when he made a daring turn or sped too fast (he wasn't surprised she seemed to get as much of a thrill out of it as he did). That she kept getting back on the bike, trusting him to keep her safe. How occasionally if they rode around for a bit one arm would hold his waist while the other would slink upwards, her hand positioning somewhere around his lungs and heart.
They skidded to a stop at the Institute's steps and he kicked out his stand, hand already out to grab her helmet once she'd removed it, securing it before dismounting and easily catching up to Rogue, who had already taken a few steps up towards the main doors.
He wasn't sure he'd get used to entering the chaos that was the Xavier Institute. He definitely couldn't imagine doing it every day or calling it home. From the second they walked in, there was always something going on. Today it was something about little Wolverine and Boom Boom. Rogue sighed and looked at him apologetically. "Meet you in the tv room?"
He shrugged, already knowing Rogue was going to go problem solve, and headed that way. She'd never admit it about herself (or agree if he pointed it out) but she was a good leader here, one mostly everyone at the Institute seemed to respect and at least listen to if nothing else. Why they'd chosen Cyke as the leader for the senior team was beyond him, but he was trying to be better about that, if only to keep from fighting with Rogue again. Maybe in time he'd point some of that shit out to her again, but not right now.
He entered the tv room, relieved to see Pete was already there, chatting with Kitty as he painted a landscape of something Remy didn't recognize. At least he wouldn't have to hang out alone while waiting for Rogue. He never minded Pete, and Kitty was starting to grow on him a little.
Kitty looked up from watching Pete work, eyes immediately gleaming. He'd seen the look on her face directed towards Rogue, but never towards himself.
"Where's Rogue?"
"Some fight between little Wolvie and Boom Boom."
"Ugh, yeah. I saw that happening and ran the other way. It's so not Laura's fault she didn't have a normal upbringing. Tabby needs to chill."
Remy pulled out a deck of cards, not necessarily bored, but feeling a need to fidget. "She'll be done quick."
"Yeah, definitely...so...did you give her a ride home again? It's been like...almost a week of you picking her up right? Did she ask you to do that? What did you guys get up to?" Remy raised an eyebrow, looking at Kitty's eager expression as he leaned against a nearby wall. Kitty was about as subtle as a brick when it came to her nosiness into Rogue's friendship with him. He didn't particularly mind, but he figured out it made Rogue more self conscious pretty quickly.
"Ain't solvin' y' mysteries f' y', p'tite. Ask her y'self."
Kitty groaned, flopping onto a chair dramatically. "Ugh. Seriously? You're no fun, Remy."
He shrugged, grinning at her dramatics. "Odd, cause I'm havin' a blast right now."
"Yeah, making me suffer!"
"Who's makin' Kitty suffer?" Rogue entered the room, asking absently, followed quickly by the little Wolverine. He liked her better than her dad for sure. Or her uncle? At least that's where he assumed she came from. Rogue was incredibly tight lipped on the whole matter and Magneto hadn't given any order to look into the small girl, so Remy didn't really have a reason to.
"Herself," Remy said at the same time as Kitty who answered, "Remy!" before grabbing a nearby remote and beginning to flick through various channels.
Remy looked over at Rogue, eyebrow raised and a grin settled on his face. Rogue didn't look quite impressed, but she also didn't directly comment and simply made her way over to sit on the couch. Casually, he walked towards the couch and jumped over the back of it, landing next to her and earning the laugh he'd been hoping for (try as she might to cover it).
"Do I wanna know how you put Kitty in a dramatic tailspin, Swamp Rat?" Rogue said dryly, scooching a little closer to the arm of the couch and a little farther away from him, trying to create space. He fought the urge to frown quickly at the nickname. He didn't hate it. He found it endearing, really, coming from her. A small part of him, though, wondered what it would sound like for her to actually say his name.
He shrugged in response to her question, putting his deck of cards away. Just as she had resituated herself a little further away, trying to keep up the boundaries she kept with everyone else, Remy let his arm hang on the couch behind her, allowing himself to lean just a little closer to her. She didn't pull away and he resituated himself just a little more, so her head was no longer perpendicular with his wrist, but now a little past his elbow by his bicep.
Little Wolverine (Laura?) sat down stiffly in the chair on Rogue's side. "I still don't understand why we sit and watch a screen for entertainment."
Kitty immediately launched into a long tirade about the merits of television, but Remy didn't hear a word of it.
He was too busy trying to keep every perceptible reaction calm as he felt Rogue shift, pulling her feet up to tuck to the side of herself, in the process accidentally letting her shoulder bump his chest. She froze from beside him and he continued watching Laura learn about tv, keeping his face as neutral as possible while trying to show her this wasn't a big deal, as he let his arm drop lower on the couch back so when she finally straightened, his arm rested firmly around her shoulders, hand dangling casually so as to not freak her out more.
He could hear her taking slow breaths, scared and unsure, and let his thumb brush gently against her arm, slowly and carefully tracing patterns here and there, hoping it wasn't too much. Half of him was suddenly very curious what would happen if he pulled her into his side more snugly, but the other half of him knew it was too much for her. He looked down, seeing the blush through her hair even on her scalp, but what he could see of her face didn't look upset or uncomfortable, just figuring out how to react to being so close to someone. He continued stroking his thumb on her shoulder and gradually felt her relax, and found himself feeling perhaps more victorious than he had in a long, long while.
And then he had to ruin their moment of peace and calm when he looked down again to check in on her reaction, and he looked down a little too far
Her shirt really did allow for a great view-her bare shoulders rose and fell delicately with each breath and if he looked closely enough, he could see a patch of freckles starting ever so lightly below her clavicle, travelling down into her shirt. Did they travel all the way down past where fabric covered? And the view the fabric covered-it molded to her breasts perfectly and -
"Your heart rate is going very fast, Rogue." Both Rogue and Remy's heads snapped over to Little Wolvie. "Gambit's too." Fuck. His heart was racing.
They both stayed frozen (although why she was frozen as well he couldn't be sure of outside of this kind of closeness being new for her. And maybe Rogue feeling self conscious that not only was she physically close to him, but it was in front of people. People who were watching them incredibly closely at the moment), but he was glad to find Rogue still didn't pull away from him.
Merde. This was the very wrong time to be reveling in that.
"Uh, the show's really tense, Laura, that's all," Rogue said, a slight squeak to her voice. He was glad she was able to speak cause he apparently couldn't, that's for damn sure. The image of her breasts up close, moving so gently with each breath, was not an image he should have at the forefront of his mind at that exact moment, yet there it was distracting him.
Laura looked towards the tv and luckily Rogue had picked the right excuse to cover him: it was a horror movie with a woman running around screaming her head off as she tried to escape whatever this movie was about.
"Kitty's heart rate isn't fast. Are you sure you shouldn't see Hank?" Who the hell was this kid? A literal clone of Wolverine? She was more perceptive than he would have liked, even if his racing heart wouldn't have been a secret at all had the real Wolverine been in the room.
"Sometimes I am finding my heart races in scary movies, but sometimes it does not even if I am thinking it should," Pete cut in, talking carefully through a paintbrush between his teeth.
"I'm good, Laura, I promise."
The little girl looked at Rogue carefully and then turned her gaze to Remy, tone flat and calculating. "Are you sure he's not in your personal bubble? Your heart always gets fast when someone does that." He wanted to laugh at the phrasing of 'personal bubble'. Someone had clearly had to talk to Laura about that before.
Rogue made an odd choking noise and Remy turned to look down at her, curious what she would say.
"I - He's fine, Laura." Not a glowing review necessarily from anyone else, but he'd take it for now, especially from Rogue.
"Seriously, don't worry about it," Kitty cut in, and for once Remy was glad for her meddling spirit. "Like, sometimes that's just how watching a movie goes. It's one of the reasons we watch tv-all the excitement of adventure without actually being in danger ourselves."
Laura looked between the two older X girls, not looking like she really believed either of them, but she apparently had no way to disprove them so she nodded and sat back, putting her eyes on the screen, more like a student watching a teacher than a kid watching tv.
After giving it a few minutes, Remy let his thumb resume its patterns on Rogue's arm, pleased to find she'd relaxed back a little against his arm around her shoulders. He turned his head, quickly resting first his cheek and then the lower half of his face very softly against her hair before turning back to the tv.
For forty blissful minutes, until whatever cheesy slasher film they were watching ended, Rogue let him keep his arm on her shoulder. She was a little stiff (which was to be expected honestly). She seemed a little unsure (which he was finding he really didn't mind). But she'd still let him, something he couldn't stop himself from smiling about a little (even if he'd wanted to and, he was surprised to find, he didn't really mind or care to stop) as he rode back to the base that night.
There is a fanart I based a small snippet of off after the battle. You can find it here!
post/159239958983/bonka-and-i-have-been-watching-some-xmen-evolution