Queen of Hearts
Chapter Twelve: Call to Action
Xxx
"I haven't any idea what to order," Peter admitted sheepishly. He stared at the neon menu board with wide eyes. "I'm still not familiar with American food."
Kitty flashed him a grin. "Don't worry! I'll order for you! This place is soooo cool. They bring everything out to your car just like in the 50s!"
While she may think it "cool", sitting in this tin can with wheels is not very romantic, Colossus thought with a frown. He smiled in return despite his feelings and replied, "Very well. I trust your judgment."
She pressed the red button. A voice practically yelled in response, "Welcome to Sonic, how may I help you?!"
Colossus jumped back in fear, but Kitty wasn't fazed by the loud noise. She responded in an equally thunderous voice, "Hi! I would like two bacon cheeseburgers, one with extra mayonnaise, two large onion rings, two large French fries, um, ooh, an order of mozzarella sticks with marina sauce please, oooh oooh we need two chilli cheese coneys too, and, umm… two large Cherry Limeades with extra cherries, and umm… well, that's all for now, but I bet we'll want dessert later!"
While the intercom blared their total, Colossus started to object- "Katherine, that's a lot of food-"
"Well, I want you to try everything. You don't have to eat it all, but, like, once you start eating, I guarantee you won't stop!"
He leaned back in the driver's seat and sighed. "I'm sorry I'm taking you here…"
Kitty squeezed his hand. "Don't worry. It was Lance and me who caused that whole scene at the restaurant, and don't forget that burgers were MY idea." She flashed him a sly grin. "Besides, we couldn't even read that menu anyway."
xxx
"Where are we goin'?" Rogue asked, feeling blindly around her. Her eyes were covered with a black scarf. Gambit asked her to put in on when they escaped the X Mansion, much to her displeasure. "Gawd, Ah can't see a thing!"
Gambit smirked as he maneuvered the girl down the path. "Dat's kind of de point, chere," he replied with a chuckle. "Else dis wouldn't be much of a surprise."
Rogue's fists tightened. She threw back her shoulders in anger. "Yeah, well, Ah've had enough surprises f'r tonight! Thanks t' you Ah have a MONTH of Logan sessions an KITCHEN DETAIL! Do you have any idea how much Ah hate cleaning? Scratch that – do you have any idea how messy everyone in the mansion is? It's like cleanin' up after a den of lions!"
In a split second, she felt Gambit's fingers graze the back of her head. The scarf fell away. "Wh-wha…?" Rogue's voice soon trailed off. A moonlit gazebo situated by the water appeared when her eyes finally adjusted. "Ah don't… Ah don't understand…"
"Gambit decided dat we should have ourselves a picnic," he replied nonchalantly.
She slowly crossed over to the table, scanning the lilies, champagne flutes, and two china bowls. A picnic basket sat on the very end. When she lifted up the lid curiously, the heady scent of jambalaya escaped from a silver thermos.
Warm arms circled her waist. "Whatcha t'ink?"
Rogue tilted her head to meet his eyes. With a small smile she lifted her gloved hand to his mouth.
"Mmph!" he protested.
"Hush yoh mouth, Cajun," she whispered before kissing the barrier between their lips. "Ah'm afraid that's the best Ah can do."
His demon eyes crinkled in delight. He captured her tiny face in his gloved hands and kissed the top of her head softly. "Dat's moh dan enough foh me right now, cherie."
Leaning into his muscular frame, Rogue laid her head of his shoulder, sighing. Her hair shone brightly in the moonlight. The soft, porcelain skin on her face glowed with a slight hint of pink. She was wearing her unflatteringly dark lipstick, but her eyes were not competing for attention with gaudy violet eye shadow. She hadn't worn her trademark face paint for quite sometime. Without the darkness, her emerald gems held a brilliant purity that Remy found intoxicating.
"Why don'tcha take a picture?" the Southern belle teased. "It'll last longer."
"If Remy takes any picture o' you, chere, yoh gonna have t' take off dat dress," he whispered huskily. Rogue rolled her eyes, a reaction that did not surprise the Cajun in the least. "Please, have a seat."
She sunk into a wicker chair with little ceremony. Gambit, however, was feeling more playful. He uncorked the champagne, causing Rogue to jump at the loud POP! He filled the glasses like a waiter might in some fancy restaurant, then began serving the meal. "I picked dis 'specially for you, so Remy hopes you enjoy it."
"You know," Rogue said thoughtfully, "yer quite charmin' when ya wanna be. Has anyone ever told you that?"
"Mebbe, but Gambit don' remember."
As Remy slipped into the chair opposite, Rogue lifted up her spoon and dipped it into the soup. It smelled delicious, and she took an experimental taste. "Did ya make this jambalaya y'rself?"
"Oui," Gambit said, draping a napkin across his lap- ever the gentleman. "It's an old New Orleans recipe. Ma tante taught it to me when I was just a pup."
"It's really good," she replied, surprised. "Ah never knew you were such a good cook."
"Gambit's a good t'ief, a good cook, and an even better boyfriend."
Rogue's heart nearly skipped a beat at his words, but she could not allow herself to believe them. "Ah'm sure ya are," she said softly, "but Ah'm afraid bein' mah boyfriend is out of the question."
Remy did not think she was being very funny. His brows furrowed in anger and annoyance. "What you sayin'?" he asked. "After all we been t'rough – after all de work Gambit put into dis dinner! What did you t'ink dis all meant? Dat we'd shake hands an' part ways as friends? Roguey, I don' wanna be just friends. Don't you feel de same?"
"Ah don't know." Rogue bit her lip. "It's just… Remy, you know you can't touch me!" There, she said it. Finally. So why didn't she feel any better?
Suddenly, Gambit reached over the table and seized her wrist. "Don't ya say dat."
She jerked away. "Why not?" she challenged. "It's true, ain't it? No matter how Ah feel about you… no matter how we feel 'bout each other… nothin' can come of it."
"Not'in'?" Remy couldn't hide his hurt. "You t'ink you got not'in' wit' Gambit?"
"That's not what Ah mean! You have no idea what it's like. Ah'm sure you've had tons of girlfriends. Ah'm sure you kissed them, held their hand – hell, even tapped their bare shoulder. Ah can't have that, Remy. Ever. An part of me… part of me thinks that it's better if we don't try. You know we can't do normal boyfriend and girlfriend stuff. How long can it last? Ah mean, really last?"
"Dat's just a cop out!" Remy shot back. "You afraid of gettin' hurt. But dat's just de way t'ings go, chere. Dese t'ings take risks. Mebbe it'll work out. Mebbe it won't. But ya can't distance yohself from everybody. Like it or not, dere are people who care foh you. So, tell me, is it worth it? To not let yohself love foh fear of gettin' hurt?"
"It's not me Ah'm scared of hurtin'," she said meaningfully.
Gambit shook his head. "Non, chere, dat fear belongs to you. Remy a big boy. He can make his own decisions. 'Sides, 'm not somebody dat afraid o' dyin'. I smoke cigarettes. I drink. I gamble. Why should Gambit start carin' 'bout his heath now?" His hand stretched to her again, but this time he placed it gently over her hand. "I may be trouble, but I know dat you like me. Why would you come here if ya didn't?"
Rogue shifted her legs uncomfortably. She raised her eyes to meet Gambit's. The warmth she felt from them almost made her knees weak. "Ah just don't understand. You could have anybody. Why me?"
"Why not? I could t'ink of a million t'ings you got dat other girls ain't got."
"Yeah, one that's especially important: scary mutant power that hurts anyone who touches me."
"Look," he said finally, "If you don' stop dis, yoh food's gonna get cold."
She looked down at the table. She had forgotten all about the dinner. Ah'm an asshole, she thought remorsefully. Of course Ah gotta go an ruin a perfectly good moment because Ah'm scareder than shit that he's gonna break mah heart. Rogue nodded and picked up her spoon once more. "Y'r right. Sorry. Ah should appreciate all ya've set up here."
"Remy just want you t' have a good time." He grinned. Rogue loved it when he smiled like that. It was so damned… charming… sexy. He really had no idea how much she wanted him. He'd never know that when she chided him for his male hormones she was really chiding herself. She'd dreamed him so many times… but they were only dreams. Rogue wondered briefly what kind of dreams he'd had about her. Did it kill him too? That they'd ever become reality?
But all this thinking was seriously putting her in a funk. Rogue sighed and gulped down the champagne that, until that moment, had remained untouched. A warm, giddy feeling crept over her almost immediately. And it tasted… delicious! It definitely was not Korbel. "How much did this cost?" Rogue asked. "Ah mean, this is champagne. You know, real champagne with grapes stomped by French feet. Not that sparklin' wine crap."
"Oui, chere," he said smoothly. "It's from France. And it cost about… oh, I dunno, mebbe ninety bucks?"
Her eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. "Ninety dollars f'r champagne?! How could you afford this?! What is Magneto payin' you?! Maybe Ah should go back to him."
"O' course, Gambit got de five-finger discount…"
"You stole it?"
"Absolument. Remy ain't twenty-one. How else would I get aholda dat?"
"T' tell ya the truth, Ah'm a little tipsy already…" Rogue studied her empty glass curiously. "Ah mean, damn…"
He lifted his glass in mock-salute. "Looks like Remy got a little catchin' up t' do."
The meal continued in comfortable silence until Rogue suddenly inquired about Kitty's date with Colossus. Gambit smiled. "Oh, 'm sure de Tin Can is charmin' her pants off."
"Ah hope that was unintentional," she snapped. "The last thang Ah want is f'r Kitty's pants t' be comin' off f'r any guy."
He refilled their glasses and gave her a smoldering look. "An you, chere? Yoh pants comin' off anytime soon?"
"Oh, come on!" She usually responded to his shameless flirting with such disdain, but this time was different. The comment stung. What did he think he was accomplishing? Words, however flattering, did not change the fact that Rogue could never have the intimacy he insinuated. "Ah already told ya, Cajun. That's just not possible!"
"Who said we had t' be touchin' anyt'in'? Dat's nice an all, but sometimes it be over-rated. Me, I like lookin', chere, 'specially when you be lookin' so good." He chuckled. "Damn. I still can't get dat image of you in yoh undies outta my head."
Rogue lifted a spoon to her lips, glad that eating would excuse her silence. But Gambit wasn't fooled. "What I mean is," he continued, "mebbe dere are other ways of doin' normal boyfriend and girlfriend t'ings, ya know? We could try dem." Rogue bristled, but he continued. "I wanna help you get over dis. I wanna show you dat it ain't impossible t' be happy."
"Remy…"
He took her hand and kissed the top of it. But he did not let go. "I may not be de perfect man. 'm selfish and immoral. I work foh de enemy. But…" Rogue's chest hitched in fear and anticipation. "I t'ink you one o' de most beautiful, most interestin' girl I've ever met. It's been a fun chase. You tough t' catch. But I don' wanna be runnin' 'round no more. I want an answer, Rogue. Forget yoh powers. Forget yoh teammates. I wanna be wit' you. What do you want?"
She had not expected this. Gambit was never serious. "You see, de t'ing is…" A shrill, polyphonic ring cut Remy off. He made a face a dug for the cell phone in his pocket. "Damn t'ings are perfect foh ruinin' de moment." He smiled apologetically and reached for the silent button. Then his expression darkened. "Actually, dis might be important…" He flipped open the device. "Bonjour. Bobby? Wait, hold on. I can't understand when you talk dat fast. Calm down and tell me what happened from de beginnin'. Dey WHAT?! When?! O' course Remy's comin'. Well, yeah, I know, but I can't just ignore dis. He's still mon pere. Oui, je sais (I know). I'll be dere as soon as I can. Oui. Au revoir."
"What was that about?" Rogue asked as Remy closed the phone and returned it to his pocket.
"My father's been kidnapped," he said. "Dat was my brother. Says dat whoever did it left a note specifically addressed t' me."
"What are you gonna do?"
Remy frowned, pulled out his signature deck of cards, and stared at the face card, the ace of clubs, for several minutes before speaking again. "I gotta back dere. If dey came after mon pere and left a note foh me when I been gone foh so long… dey targettin' me, dat's foh sure. Dat gives this whole situation a sense o' responsibility dat I can't ignore. If dey want Gambit t' save 'im, den dat's what he's gonna do." His brows furrowed as he pressed his lips together in frustration. "Merde (Shit)!" he hissed. "I shoulda seen dis comin'. First Malick and Nicole... now dis... What de hell is goin' on in New Orleans?"
"What if it's a trap?" Rogue asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"Dat can't be helped if dey de ones layin' out de deck," he replied morosely. "An it probably is a trap."
"When are ya leavin'?" Of course something like this would happen. The moment Remy LeBeau finally declared his love for her in such a clear yet tender way it just had to be interrupted by some personal crisis. She would have laughed at the irony if she wasn't so upset. He had just asked her to stay with him, but now he wanted to leave her? It just wasn't fair! Not that Rogue's life had ever been "fair"… it was just harder to swallow now that things had finally started to look up.
"As soon as I can. Dere's no tellin' what'll happen if I don' do somet'ing."
"Ah'm comin' with you."
The words escaped her lips on impulse, yet once she said them, she knew that she couldn't take them back. Rogue didn't want to just sit around in the X-Mansion while Gambit embarked on some personal and most likely dangerous journey. How dare he even think that he could just steal her heart like that, and then walk away the next day! The unwarranted thought of his ex-love, Belladonna, crept into her head and turned her assertion into a pledge of stone. Remy would leave with her, or not at all!
Gambit, however, did not agree. "Non," he said sharply. "You stay here. It's dangerous. 'Sides, don' you have school? How ya gonna graduate when ya miss class?"
"How am Ah gonna concentrate when Ah'm scared t' death that y'r in danger?" she retorted. "Don't ya dare tell me t' stay here, Cajun! Not after all ya said tonight. You wanna be with me? Then take me with you!"
"Non," he repeated. "Dis is somet'ing dat Remy has t' do alone."
"Remy Lebeau," Rogue began in a tone that would freeze the hearts of even the bravest of men, "If you think, even f'r a second, that Ah'd let you go t' New Orleans and leave me with a month of kitchen detail and Logan sessions that, need Ah remind you, is all y'r fault, then you are outta y'r God damned mind!" She slammed her palms down on the table and rose in one swift, angry movement. "So, please, Ah dare ya, say it again. Say y'r gonna just go off somewhere and leave me here."
He opened his mouth, but closed it when he saw the fire burning in her eyes. Rogue was not someone you could expect to best in any argument. Besides… maybe she was right. Perhaps he had acted callously when he had asked her for her companionship only to leave her to next day. But the kidnapping was a LeBeau problem, or, more importantly, a Thieves Guild problem. The fact that the culprit knew Gambit was Jean-Luc's son worried him. What if they knew more? What if they began targeting other members of the LeBeau family? Or, even worse, Rogue? He would be putting Rogue in danger by allowing her to tag along. What if his father's kidnapper decided to kidnap Rogue, too? That would put him at a decided disadvantage…
"Ah know what y'r thinkin', so just don't think it. Weren't you just sayin' that you were a big boy, that you didn't mind bein' in danger? So what makes you think you can make decisions for me, huh? Ah said Ah'm comin' with you. It's mah choice. Ah never said it was up f'r discussion."
Gambit looked up, surprised to see Rogue hovering just above him and leaning so that her breasts were situated directly in his line of vision. "Don't make me show you what y'r gonna miss," she purred. He nearly choked as she leaned forward and manuevered her arms in a way that forced her cleavage to increase exponentially. "If words ain't gonna work, sugah, Ah have other ways of persuasion…"
"Y'r de devil," he groaned, not one to argue with that type of rhetoric.
Rogue grinned and terminated operation-seductress. "Then it's settled. We'll leave tonight. Ah'll have to leave a note so the rest of the mansion doesn't worry… Ah'm sure Ah'll be in big trouble when Ah get back, but Ah'm hopin' at least some of the X-Men will understand."
"And what about school?"
"Ah'm sure the Prof can invent some excuse for my absence. He's done it before." She paused, wincing. "Well, that's assumin' he ain't livid about me leavin' before Ah even serve my 'punishment'."
"Looks like we got a bit of packin' and plannin' t' do, chere. Hows about a toast?" He lifted up his champagne glass and pondered to what exactly they should toast. Rogue raised her glass absently. "T' family," he decided finally, "love 'em or hate 'em, dey still yoh family, right, chere?"
Rogue giggled, thinking about her "family" at the X-Mansion. She could only imagine the shenanigans going on at that moment or the chaos that would ensue once everyone learned of her absence. She'd be lucky if Wolverine didn't track them down and slice Gambit into a million pieces. "Absolutely," she said.
Their classes clinked. A new journey lay ahead of them. Who was the kidnapper? What was their motive? Remy LeBeau could only speculate. He only hoped that he wouldn't get in over his head, especially with Rogue around. He knew she was one hell of a fighter, but he also worried that the kidnapper, who held Gambit's father for ransom and left a teasing note, might not exactly be fighting fair. Rogue might be targeted too. But they were in this together now. Remy knew there was no changing Rogue's mind. Girl's stubborn as a mule, he thought before downing his glass.
~Fin… for now. For a second-helping of Romyness, watch for the sequel, King of Hearts, which will hopefully coming soon to .
Author's Note: I'm truly sorry for the extreme hiatus. I had writer's block for such a long time, and then I came to college and forgot all about fan fiction and my love for X-Men Evolution. But one day, while bored at work, I stumbled upon this unfinished chapter and decided to pick up from where I had left off. Gambit's family problem has been slightly ripped off from an episode with a dilemma eerily similar to this one, except with my own little twist – mainly that the X-Men don't come in and rescue them. Because this story seemed to wander with no plot but Romy mush, and because I wrote too much about Rogue and not enough about Gambit's past and family, the rest of the fic will take place in New Orleans under a different title. A sequel, you could say? I also plan to write more Gambit POV than what I've written previously – part of the reason why the second piece is called "King of Hearts". You'll see how Gambit is dealing with his relationship and his family issues. Just to warn you – I can only update when I have free time, which, when I attend college and work, is very rare. I do plan to update, but I know those waiting several years for this will meet my promise with skepticism.
Also, I wanted to say that although the story will be in a new setting with new characters, several of your favorites will show up. If you think Rogue was pissed that Remy would leave without her, wait until you see who can't stand to be apart from our favorite couple.
Don't worry, though. I thoroughly believe that all things ROMY will persevere. Until next time…
Love,
Free
