Episode 5: Part 1
Toad got out of the shower and dried off quickly. He grabbed his clothes and changed into his favourite—and only—pair of jeans, which had holes at the knees and showed other signs of long wear. He put on a white, long sleeved shirt and a brown short-sleeved top over that. He dried off his shaggy brown hair with a towel, looked in the mirror and gave himself what he considered to be a very debonair raise of the eyebrow. Satisfied with his appearance, he left the bathroom.
The last couple of days had largely been spent bumming around the mansion. It was nice to have a break—and Toad was sure that the crew agreed—but there was also an underlying anxiety: what would the next challenge be?
Not long after breakfast, everyone gathered in the study. Toad and Wanda were the first two there. As always, Wanda looked gorgeous in her little red dress. Gambit and X-23 soon joined them; Gambit in dark jeans and a tight muscle shirt; and X-23 in combat boots, cargo pants, and a shirt.
Toad grumbled a little when Pyro and Amara arrived and Pyro sat next to Wanda. He grumbled even more when Wanda looked at Pyro in his baggy orange clothes like she was happy to see him. Amara almost matched Pyro in her gold clothes.
Amanda wore black jeans and a loose but classy purple shirt. She sat on the other lounge by Kurt in his red pants and a shirt that said "To Err is Human, To Arr is Pirate". Kitty, pretty in pink, sat between Kurt and Piotr. Piotr wore a collared shirt and a pair of shorts.
Lance seemed a little annoyed that he couldn't sit next to Kitty. He was wearing blue jeans and a fitted white shirt. Rogue stood nearby in her usual layers of dark purple and black clothing, dog collar, and heavy make up.
Finally, Spyke entered the room and stood behind the desk. Normally there was something on the desk that would give a clue about the challenges, but there wasn't this time—something that did not go unnoticed by the housemates.
"Good morning," Spyke said, smiling at the group. "Ready to find out what you get to study next?
A chorus of affirmatives answered him.
"Well, I'm sorry, but your next challenge has no study materials," Spyke said, and grinned at everyone's shocked and anxious reactions to that. "That's because today is... Geek Makeover Day!"
Wanda, Kitty, Amara and Amanda promptly squealed and cheered in delight. Gambit gave a laugh and then winked at Rogue, who pretending not to notice and continued standing there with an apprehensive expression on her face that matched X-23's. Toad and Pyro cheered. Piotr and Kurt looked nervous, and a little amused by the reactions of the girl Beauties. Lance just nodded.
"That's right, Geeks," Spyke said. "Today you're going to be given a whole new look from head to toe, and everything in between; new clothes, hair cuts, shaving, even the dreaded wax."
"Noooooo!" Kurt said dramatically.
"So Beauties, take one last look at your Geeks, because they're leaving..." Spyke said, "right now."
Spyke gestured towards the door and the Geeks, some reluctantly, moved from their places towards the door.
"Don't worry so much," Amanda called after Kurt. "When you come back, you're gonna be hot."
"Aww, you mean I'm not already hot?" Kurt asked, walking backwards towards the door.
"Of course you're hot, Fuzzy Elf," Kitty said, grinning. "We just want more Elf, less Fuzzy."
Amanda giggled. "What she said."
Spyke followed the Geeks out the door, and shut it behind him, leaving the Beauties to have the mansion all to themselves for awhile. The Geeks piled into a mini bus which took them to their destination: a couple of clothes shops which had been booked out for exclusive access for the duration.
Piotr, Toad, Pyro and Kurt were directed to the menswear shop where they were introduced to their stylists, Alex Masters and Lorna Dane. In no time at all, the pair had their four Geeks trying on all sorts of clothes, some with more enthusiasm than others.
Rogue and X-23 met their stylist, Betsy Braddock, in the women's fashion shop. Betsy took one look at the girls and then started telling them what to try on. X-23 did so with some relief, feeling much more comfortable with having clear instructions. Rogue, on the other hand, ended up getting into an argument with her:
"I'm not wearing that," Rogue insisted, gesturing to the shirt made of sheer, thin, green material. "It's too much of a risk."
"I assure you," Betsy replied, "this will be adequate protection against—"
"Not if it rips."
"It won't rip."
"Oh yeah? Tell that to the one I wore to a concert when I was in high school," Rogue practically snarled at her. "Tell that to the half dozen people—at least—I absorbed at that concert when the whole sleeve was tore off. Tell that to all the people who looked after me while I spent the next six weeks recovering!"
"Fine," Betsy said tersely. "And I suppose you think stockings are out for the same reason?"
"One bitten, twice shy."
Betsy was not happy since it ruined some of her plans, but she prided herself on being able to improvise.
After many, many clothes had been picked out—the plan was for the Geek to continue to dress fashionably for the rest of the show—the Geeks were taken to a nearby beauty salon. Their hair was washed, cut, dyed, rinsed and restyled. Their nails were done, and they were subjected to waxing.
"Do I really have to do this?" Kurt asked as he prepared to lie down on the waxing table.
"Yes, you really have to do this," Lorna replied with a knowing grin. "Trust me, it'll be worth it."
Kurt didn't look convinced. He was even less convinced when the hot wax was applied to his hairy chest. He tried to tell himself it couldn't be that bad. After all, he'd performed in the circus for years, and had been hurt plenty of times.
The paper was placed on the wax.
"Yeeeow!"
Piotr, Pyro, Rogue, X-23 and Toad all looked anxiously towards the waxing room from their various places in the salon.
"That doesn't sound good," Toad said as the hair dresser worked on his hair.
"I am not looking forward to it either," Piotr replied from the chair next to Toad's.
Rogue gave a smug little laugh. "There's no point to trying to wax me. Waxing is supposed to take the hair out by the roots, but I'm invulnerable, so waxing me will only take off the surface hair."
"Your hair isn't invulnerable too?" Toad asked.
Rogue gestured to her hair dresser, who was demonstrating as they spoke by trimming Rogue's long locks. An inch of hair dropped to the floor.
"That answer your question?" she said. "Hair's just dead cells anyway."
"Point taken," Toad said. "Hey, imagine if hair was alive!"
"I think that if hair was alive, it would hurt when we cut it," Piotr said. "I think I am glad it is not."
Eventually, all the Geeks went into the waxing room, although Rogue was treated to a shaving of her legs, rather than an actual wax. Of all the Geeks, X-23 was the only one who bore the wax without so much as a bat of the eye. She had never waxed before and when queried later, merely shrugged and said she'd felt worse. If anything, she seemed fascinated by the process.
The Beauties were alerted to the Geeks imminent return, and they gathered in the study. Each of them sat down on a chair with a space next to them for their respective Geeks.
"Okay Beauties," Spyke said, standing by the doorway of the room. "Are you ready to see your Geeks' new looks?"
"Yeah!" they replied, almost in unison as they clapped.
"First up... Piotr!"
Piotr stood outside of the curtain that had been draped across the doorway to the study. Upon hearing his name, he took a deep breath, parted the curtains with his large hands and stepped through. His entrance was then celebrated by cheering and screaming.
"Ohmigod! You look so good!"
He couldn't help but grin back as Kitty leapt up from her seat to give him a hug. His hair had been cut and dyed to make it "blacker" if that was possible. He wore a casual jacket with a tight shirt underneath and a pair of blue jeans.
"You look awesome," Kitty said, beaming up at him with her arms wrapped as far around him as they could go. "Come sit by me, you sexy thing you."
Lance frowned as Kitty pulled Piotr back to their seats, but said nothing.
Spyke waited until everyone settled down congratulating Piotr, and then announced: "Laura."
X-23 stepped through the curtain. She wore a cute, purple cocktail dress which showed off her cleavage, and a pair of matching stiletto heels. Her long black hair had only been cut a little—enough to get rid of split ends—and she now had a short fringe over her forehead. She had also gotten some light make up done. Gambit gave her a wolf-whistle.
"You look hot, chère," he said, grinning at her.
X-23 blinked, chewed her bottom lip for a moment and then said: "Thank you."
He chuckled as he stood and made his way over to her.
"I love your eyelashes," Amara said. "I'm just so jealous right now."
"You look gorgeous, girl," Amanda added.
Gambit slipped his arm around her waist. "How does it feel?"
X-23 looked around the room, a little overwhelmed.
"It feels...different," she said, and looked down at her feet. "I am not used to wearing heels this high."
After the congratulating and praising was done, X-23 sat down by Gambit. The curtain was settled back into place, and Spyke announced the next Geek:
"Pyro."
Pyro strode through the curtains. He had been transformed from a shaggy-haired, dirty blond to a short-haired golden blond. He was wearing a light brown jacket and dress pants. As the jacket was open, they could see the light yellow dress shirt underneath which had the first few buttons undone. He stretched out his arms, then pointed first at Amara and then at Wanda with his index fingers while his thumbs were pointing up and his other fingers curled up into his palms.
"Hey good looking," Wanda said.
"Hey," Pyro said, giving her a proud grin.
"Wow," Amara said, standing up to walk around him for a better look. "You look hotter than ever."
Pyro licked his finger and then made a sizzling noise as he touched it to the revealed part of his freshly waxed chest. "Is that even possible?"
"And the Geek is back," Amara teased him.
Spyke straightened up the curtain and waited for his cue once Pyro and Amara had sat down. "Kurt."
Amanda bit her lip, almost expecting Kurt to teleport into the room. He didn't; instead he strode through the curtain with his hands planted on the top of his mustard-yellow jeans like he was a model. He strutted to the front of the group, leaned to one side, then leaned to the other while those watching on clapped and cheered. Then he slowly turned around and once his back was to the audience he slowly pulled off his light, casual jacket, revealing a snug white shirt underneath that clung to his athletic torso like a second skin. The display won him much applause and wolf-whistling.
Kurt turned the rest of the way to face everyone one more, and slung his jacket over his shoulder with ease. Amanda laughed and jumped up to hug him.
"You look amazing," she told him.
"Danke," Kurt replied with a grin and a nod.
"So is it true?" asked Kitty. "Are you now more Elf and less Fuzzy?"
"Could be," Kurt said teasingly.
"Show us! Show us!"
When Kurt didn't immediately move to lift his shirt, Amanda took the liberty of lifting the front up for him. She ran a hand over his stomach just to 'confirm' and Kurt swallowed, just a little uncomfortable with this kind of unexpected attention.
"Oh yeah," Amanda said, grinning at Kurt. "He's nice and smooth."
"Yay!" Kitty cheered. "Now we have to change his nickname to just Elf."
"Hey Kurt," Gambit said, leaning back in his chair with a smirk on his face. "I have a stick you can use to fend them off with if you want."
Kurt laughed. Soon he was sitting down in the spare seat between Amanda and Kitty. Once again, Spyke waited until everyone had settled and then said: "Rogue."
Rogue took a deep breath, and reluctantly walked through the curtain. Regardless of whether people should judge by appearances or not, people still did; this whole makeover nonsense was proof of that. She had gone to a great deal of trouble to dress in a way that would repel people and encouraged them to leave her alone (and she liked purple and black). That barrier she had created for herself was now gone.
She wore a short-sleeved, emerald green mini dress which brought out the colour of her eyes and fit snugly around her body, showing off every curve. The bowl neckline revealed more skin than she was happy with, but she wore a white silk scarf to off-set it. Her opera length gloves matched the green of her dress, as did the high-heeled knee-high boots. Underneath the dress and boots she wore light tan leggings.
As if payment for not getting a wax, Rogue had been the only Geek to get a spray tan done. Her previously pasty-white skin now had a golden glow. Her face had been completely stripped of make up, and replaced with a little mascara and natural-coloured lipstick. Her streak of white hair framed her face instead of hiding it.
"Wow," Kitty said. "Girl, you look amazing."
Rogue shrugged and crossed her arms awkwardly.
"Thanks," she said.
Lance pushed off his seat and joined Rogue in front of everyone, just because all the other Beauties had with their Geeks. She did actually clean up better than he thought she would.
"You look good, Rogue," he said.
Rogue barely had a chance to acknowledge him when Gambit called out: "See chère? I always knew you were the hottest femme in the house."
Rogue rolled her eyes but couldn't quite stop the smile from quirking at her lips. Gambit noticed, of course, and grinned at her, deliberately running his eyes over her in such a way that even those who had their backs to him couldn't help but notice he was checking over every last curve on Rogue's body.
"Be careful, Swamp Rat," she said dangerously, cocking one hip to the side. "Men who've looked at me like that in the past have learned to regret it."
"The only thing I regret right now is that I don't know nearly enough about you," Gambit replied.
"Good, let's keep it that way, shall we?"
"Are you insane?" Wanda asked, looking at Rogue like she was, well, insane. "He's totally flirting with you and you're turning him down?"
"Am I insane?" Rogue repeated, regarding Wanda incredulously. "I can't touch anyone without hurting them! He's the one who's insane."
"What can I say?" Gambit said, grinning broadly as he leaned back in his chair. "I'm crazy for you."
"Ugh," Rogue said and looked at Lance who was still standing awkwardly next to her. "Lance? You are the greatest team mate ever."
"Uhh, thanks," Lance replied awkwardly.
"Aww," Kitty said, clasping her hands together with a giggle.
"And finally," Spyke said after Rogue reluctantly sat down in the chair between Lance and Gambit. "Toad."
Wanda covered her eyes with her hands. She wasn't sure she wanted to look. She simply couldn't imagine Toad cleaning up to look at all presentable. She heard the curtains open and then the cries of astonishment from her friends. She dared to open her fingers just enough to let one eye peek through. Wanda gasped and her hands fell from her face as she stared at the new and improved Toad standing hopefully before her.
Toad's shaggy hair had been cut quite short and highlights had been put through it. Someone must have had a word with him about standing up straight for he wasn't as hunched over as he usually was. The rags he called clothes were gone, instead Toad was wearing a suit and tie.
"No way," Wanda said shaking her head. "You... I... You...You look like a completely different person. Wow. I almost didn't recognise you."
Toad rubbed the back of his neck, grinning, but also looking a little uncertain. "Is that a good thing?"
"It's a great thing!" Wanda insisted, standing up and walking over to him. "You look so handsome."
Toad beamed. "Thanks, babycakes!"
"Please don't call me that."
The others added their shock and approval of Toad's dashing new looks, and then he sat down in the last empty chair next to Wanda. Spyke got everyone's attention.
"Okay ladies, gentlemen," he said. "You should all return to your rooms. The Geeks have some additional instructions they need to follow before dinner tonight."
The meeting was broken up not long after that, and everyone trotted up the stairs to their rooms, as instructed. On each of the Geek's beds was an envelope, which they each in turn opened and read with varying levels of dread and excitement.
"What does it say?" Wanda asked Toad when he stood there gaping at the note for a little too long in her opinion."
Toad took a deep breath. "I have to ask one of the Beauties—not my partner—out to dinner tonight."
"Oh," Wanda replied, not really sure what she thought about that.
"It also says where in the house I'll be taking my, uhh, date," Toad said and dropped his hand. "It's a shame I can't ask you."
"Oh well," Wanda said with a slight shrug. "It's probably because asking your team mate would be too easy."
"Yeah, probably," Toad said, still disappointed. Wanda was the Beauty he liked the most.
Abruptly Wanda started laughing. Toad frowned and looked at her curiously. "What?"
"I just realised," she said, giggling. "Rogue will have to ask Remy. She's just going to loooove that."
Kurt was the first Geek to take the plunge. He set aside his nervousness and located Kitty in the rec room with Lance, Piotr, Gambit and Amanda.
"Uhh, Kitty," he said. "Might I have a word with you?"
Kitty looked up at him with a smile, suspecting what was coming as Piotr had told her what he had been instructed to do.
"Sure," she said, getting up off the lounge.
"Great," Kurt said, and he tried to pretend not to notice all the grins sent in his direction as they walked out of the room.
"So," Kitty said when they had a little more privacy. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Well," Kurt said nervously, taking her hands into his. "I was wondering, would you go out to dinner with me tonight?"
Kitty grinned at him. "I'd love to."
x-x-x
Shortly after Kitty and Kurt's return to the rest of the group, X-23 entered the room. Her eyes fell on Lance, who straightened up in his seat when he noticed her, and she strode purposefully over to him.
"Lance," X-23 said, looking him directly in the eye and seemingly oblivious to everyone else in the room. "Would you join me for dinner tonight?"
Lance cleared his throat. "Sure."
"Good. I shall meet you at your door at nineteen hundred hours," X-23 said with a brief nod.
She turned on her heel and departed just as quickly as she arrived. Amanda giggled. Lance just looked confused.
"What's nineteen hundred hours?" he asked, looking at everyone.
"Military time," Gambit explained with a sly grin. "Means seven o'clock."
"Oh," Lance said, frowned, and then asked: "Then why didn't she say seven o'clock?"
"She thought she did."
x-x-x
Pyro cleared his throat nervously as Wanda, wearing her bikini with a towel slung over her shoulder, headed down the hall in his direction towards the stairs. He hadn't counted on Wanda planning on going swimming when he approached her.
"Hey Wanda," he said, making a concerted effort to sound casual as he played with the lighter in his hands. "I was wondering, ahh...would...would you do me the honour of joining me for dinner tonight?"
Wanda smiled as she drew closer. "Absolutely."
x-x-x
Piotr spotted Toad out of the corner of his eye in the hallway. Fortunately, Toad was only pacing, although he did keep looking into the lounge as if he was trying to build up the courage to walk in. Piotr felt his pain, but it also served to kick him into gear; after all, the only unavailable Beauty in the room was Amanda, and he had intended on asking her.
"Amanda," he said abruptly, his voice coming out a lot more firmly than he expected and silencing the group mid-conversation. "Would you go out to dinner with me tonight? Please?"
Amanda smiled.
"I'd love to," she said as Toad finally worked up the courage to enter the room.
"Great," Piotr replied, feeling very relieved.
"So hey yo," Toad said to the group, nervously hopping from foot to foot.
"Hi Toad," Gambit replied, a sly smile filling his face.
"So, ahh," Toad said, scratched his head and then looked at Kitty. "Hey Kitty, umm, could I... maybe... talking to you in private for a moment."
Kitty kept her face composed as she stood.
"Sure," she replied sincerely.
"Great, great," Toad said.
Kitty followed Toad out of the room, ignoring the reactions of the others as she did so. Once they were in the hallway, Toad did a bit more hopping from foot to foot and finally blurted out: "Would you go out to dinner with me tonight?"
"Aww, I'm sorry, honey," Kitty replied sympathetically. "I'm afraid that Kurt already asked me."
Toad's face fell. "Oh."
"And Pete just asked Amanda."
"Oh."
Kitty patted his shoulder. "I believe Amara's free."
Toad sighed. "I really wanted to ask Wanda, but..."
"Yeah, can't ask your partner," Kitty said. "I think Amara's in the pool."
"Okay, thanks anyway."
Kitty allowed herself a smile as Toad walked off, then turned and re-entered the lounge room. She took in all the silly grins on everyone's faces, rolled her eyes and sat back down.
"Don't be like that," she said. "I felt bad saying no to him."
"This is why I asked you straight away," Kurt said with a nod. "I knew you were popular."
"Aww," Kitty replied, batting her eyes at him. "I feel so loved."
"Speaking of feeling loved," Gambit said, lifting his legs up onto the coffee table, "I wonder when I can expect a visit from Rogue?"
x-x-x
Rogue was alone in her room, practicing her guitar. She hadn't practiced all day and it was clearly more important than asking Gambit out to dinner.
x-x-x
Toad found Amara relaxing on a lounge chair by the pool. He cleared his throat and walked over to her.
"Hey Amara," he said tentatively.
Amara opened one eye and looked at Toad. Knowing what the Geek's instructions were, it didn't take her long to figure out why Toad was talking to her.
"Hi," she replied shortly.
"So, uhh, I was wondering," Toad said, hopping from foot to foot. "Would go got out to dinner with me tonight?"
Amara stifled a sigh and forced a smile.
"Of course I will," she said.
x-x-x
Kitty, Piotr, Kurt, Amanda and Lance decided to join Wanda and Amara at the pool, along with X-23 and Pyro. Gambit chose to stay in the lounge room, thinking that perhaps the only reason why Rogue hadn't approached him was because she didn't want to ask him out in front of others.
So he waited.
And waited.
And contemplated going looking for her, but ultimately decided against it as the whole point of the task was for the Geeks to approach the Beauties.
Just as he was reconsidering his plan to seek Rogue out, she walked into the lounge room. He smiled when he saw her, but she didn't give him more than a glance and sat down on a lounge at a right-angle to his.
"Bonjour ma chère," Gambit said, leaning on the arm of the lounge and gazing at her.
"Hi," she replied, not looking at him.
Silence followed.
"There a reason why you're not in the pool with everyone else?" Rogue asked.
"I just didn't feel like swimming," he replied nonchalantly.
"Sure you didn't."
"Besides," Gambit went on, searching his face and attempting to get her to look at him, "if I went swimming too, why you'd be all alone in this great big house."
"Ahh to be alone," Rogue said wistfully. "To truly be alone. If only that were possible."
There was something loaded in that comment which made Gambit rather curious. Slowly Rogue turned her head to look at him, and she finally met his eyes. A slight, smug smile played on her lips.
"I will never be alone," she told him. "Even when I'm the only one in the room, I'm not alone. You see, that's the one part of my mutation I haven't told you guys about yet: When I absorb someone, I don't hurt them and borrow their powers. I copy their minds too. Everyone I've ever absorbed is up here," and Rogue tapped her head. "Everyone except Carol, because I took her mind in its entirety and when her body woke up from her coma, we needed a class four telepath to transfer her mind back to her body."
Rogue leaned in towards him—not too close—and asked sweetly: "So, Remy, would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Gambit replied, appearing to be completely unfazed by Rogue's little speech. "I'd love to go out with you."
At nineteen hundred hours, X-23 knocked on Lance and Rogue's bedroom door. A moment later, the door opened and Lance stood before her.
"Hi," he said.
"Are you ready to depart?" X-23 asked.
"Uhh, yes," Lance said, uncomfortably adjusting his jacket.
"Good. We have been assigned the lounge room for our dinner," X-23 went on. "Please follow me."
Lance look at X-23 as she turned her back, then glanced at Rogue, who gave him a grin. Lance let out a long slow breath and followed X-23 into the hall and down the stairs.
At the same time, Pyro was at Wanda's door, leaning on the wall and trying to be suave and sophisticated.
"And may I say you look gorgeous this evening," Pyro told Wanda as she exited her bedroom.
"Why, thank you," Wanda replied, offering him a smile. "You look very handsome yourself."
Kurt picked up Kitty. Toad escorted Amara down the stairs. Piotr walked silently with Amanda to their destination.
Rogue rapped on Gambit's door and entered at his "come in" only to find her date standing in front of the full-length mirror. He glanced at her through his reflection.
"Roguey, so glad you're here," he said, and lifted up the lower part of the jacket of his dinner suit. "Does my butt look big in this?"
Rogue shut her eyes and kicked the door closed with her foot.
"How long have you been wanting to say that for?" she asked, opening her eyes again and walking over to the door leading to the balcony.
"Years," Gambit replied, grinning at her mischievously. "Never really had a good opportunity until now."
"Mmmhmm," was Rogue murmured reply as she stepped onto the balcony.
Gambit raised his eyebrows, then grabbed his gloves. He wanted the option to touch her face tonight, should the opportunity arise. As he pulled his gloves on, he joined her on the balcony.
"I could be wrong, chère," he said. "But shouldn't we be using that door?"
He pointed back into the room towards the door leading to the hallway as he finished pulling on his second glove. Rogue smiled at him and such the sliding door.
"I decided to take a short cut."
Before Gambit could question that, Rogue picked him up bridal style and starting flying up to the roof. Gambit's arms automatically wrapped about her neck and shoulders to stabilise himself in her arms. This was certainly different. He looked around, then looked at Rogue.
"My hero," he said, batting his eyelids.
Rogue smirked and landed gently on the roof. There was a table waiting for them with a couple of plates covered by silver lids. There was also a stereo and after setting Gambit down, Rogue turned it on. Jazz music began to play softly.
"Well now," Gambit said looking around. "Ain't this nice?" He paused and looked at Rogue slyly: "And romantic?"
"Oh yes, I'm just swooning over here," Rogue replied blandly.
She started to walk over to the table and chairs, but Gambit zipped over and beat her there. He held out one of the chairs for her. Rogue looked at the chair, then at Gambit and pursed her lips.
"Thank you," she said with clipped politeness.
x-x-x
Kitty watched and listened politely while Kurt said Grace.
"Amen," he said finally, and lifted his head.
Kitty nodded. "So, ahh, you do that at every meal?"
"Yes."
"You realise most people don't do that," Kitty said slowly.
Kurt gave a shrug. "I know, but my faith is more important to me than what other people think of me."
x-x-x
Amanda's eyes started to glazed over while Piotr talked on and on about his favourite painters and techniques. When she asked him about his painting, she hadn't expected to get an art lecture.
x-x-x
"So," Wanda said as she gathered her next mouthful of food, "have you ever sold movie rights for any of your books?"
"Sadly, no," Pyro replied. "Which is a shame, 'cause I would love to see Sinjin Four on the big screen."
"What about one, two, and three?"
"Huh? Oh, 'Sinjin Four' is the name of the planet," Pyro said with a nod. "Sinjin One, Two and Three are uninhabitable."
"Oh," Wanda said, chewed thoughtfully, and then asked: "So... why don't they just call it 'Sinjin'?"
"Because 'Sinjin' is the name of the system," Pyro replied. "It had six planets; Five and Six are uninhabitable too."
"I see. What's it about? The book, I mean."
"Oh, well, it's about..."
x-x-x
Amara and Toad's date was outdoors, and it was taking all of Toad's self restraint not to eat some of those pesky mosquitoes that were hanging around. After the meal, Toad conjured up a very loud burp. Amara blanched.
"Compliments to the chef, am I right?" Toad said proudly.
x-x-x
There was silence at X-23 and Lance's table. Lance attempted to engage X-23 in conversation on multiple occasions but she was painfully prone to "yes" and "no" answers. Eventually he just gave up. The only conversation they'd had of any substance had been the one about fitness routines. It was a relief when the dinner came to an end.
"I am supposed to ask you if you would go on a second date," X-23 said as they prepared to end their evening.
"Uhh," Lance said awkwardly, pushing his chair in as an excuse not to look at her. "Well... uhh... This was a pretty, umm, awkward first date. Lots of long silences."
X-23 said nothing, she just looked at him. Lance sighed, feeling like a jerk already for what he was about to say:
"Honestly? Probably not," he said. "Sorry."
x-x-x
Although initially their dinner had been a little tense, Gambit and Rogue did manage to have a relaxing, extensive conversation about the many things it turned out they had in common. They both loved motorcycles, travelled, and had similar tastes in music and movies. Gambit asked her about her work, and managed to skirt around the query of what he did by saying nothing more than 'family business' and changing the subject.
The conversation was so good and comfortable that they were still talking well after their plates had been scraped clean. Their location also granted them the most wonderful, panoramic view of the sunset.
"Well, thank you for joining me for dinner," Rogue said as she stood up. "I have to admit, this evening went a lot better than I was expecting it to."
Gambit grinned and stood as well.
"I'm glad to hear that," he said, taking her hand. "But who says the night is over?"
Rogue raised an eyebrow. "What? You were planning on taking me back to your pad?"
He chuckled lightly and drew her away from the table. "We have music, a beautiful view, nowhere we need to be at any particular time. Come dance with me."
"I don't dance," Rogue said, even as Gambit wrapped his other hand around her waist.
"Is that because you can't, or because you don't want to?" Gambit asked, swaying gently with her on the spot.
Rogue sighed, one hand in Gambit's, and the other hanging limply by her side.
"Because I can't," she said. "And because most guys have this thing called a sense of self-preservation and don't want to dance with me."
"Oh don't you worry, ma chère," Gambit said as he took hold of her limp hand and slung it over his shoulder before sliding his hand back onto her waist again, "I have one of those. It regularly gets into fights with my spirit of adventure."
"Yeah?" Rogue inquired dryly. "And how do those fights using end up?"
"Spirit of Adventure threatens to beat the crap out of Sense of Self Preservation, and Sense of Self Preservation wisely backs off."
Rogue laughed despite herself. Gambit grinned at her.
"I just... I really need you to be careful, okay?" she said. "I don't want to hurt you."
"I'm not afraid," he insisted, holding her gaze.
Rogue glared at him and pulled herself out of his grip. "Don't you dare. Don't you dare start."
"Chère?" he questioned, puzzled as Rogue shook her finger at him.
"You don't think I've heard that before?" she demanded. "You don't think I've put up with self-centred dirtbags like you, who are so arrogant that they think nothing can hurt them? That they're invincible and immune to the world? News flash, Swamp Rat, you're not. My first boyfriend was just like you, insisting he wasn't afraid, right up until the day he pushed things too far and I did absorb him. He couldn't leave me fast enough."
Gambit opened his mouth to reply, but didn't get any further than that before Rogue continued with her tirade:
"And my second boyfriend? The day I absorbed that little prick I discovered that he considered me his 'novelty girlfriend' and had cheated on me with three other women over the course of our six month relationship! And that's not even counting all the guys with the same damn attitude that I didn't date. You're all the same. One absorption and you'll be running for the hills, just like everyone else."
"Oh?" Gambit asked softly, then pulled off one of his gloves and held his bare hand out to her. "Then let's get it over with, shall we?"
Rogue backed off even further. "No."
"Afraid to call my bluff, chère?" he challenged her. "Afraid I still might find you attractive afterwards?"
"Even if I wanted to, I still wouldn't," Rogue said defiantly, head up high. "If I absorb anyone deliberately while I'm here, I get disqualified. Because I have mind-reading capabilities, absorbing anyone—particularly a Beauty—could give me an unfair advantage."
"Hmm," Gambit considered as he accepted that and pulled his glove back on. "Then you're just going to have to put up with me flirting with you. You're a passionate woman, Roguey. I'm attracted to passionate women. I'm also attracted to dangerous women, so it's of little surprise to me that I find you so alluring. But...if it helps relieve your mind any if I say so, I have little interest in ending up in a coma. And I can't say I really want my mind read either. But you did say that most of the time it's just a dizzy spell, and well, look at you, chère," he said, gesturing to her clothing as he closed the distance between them. "You're all covered up! Maybe touching your skin is dangerous, but right now the risk factor is so low it would be silly of me to be afraid."
Rogue sighed irritably as Gambit took hold of her hands.
"Come dance with me, chère," he said softly. "maybe I can't take you, ahem, 'back to my pad' and make love to you all night long, but that doesn't mean I can't hold you in my arms and—"
"I swear, Remy," Rogue said, glowering at him, "if you declare your undying love for me, I will deck you."
Gambit chuckled and held one of her hand while placing the other on his shoulder.
"Nah," he said, slipping his arm around her waist once more. "The last time I did that, she annulled the marriage half an hour later."
Rogue gaped up at him as he pulled her all so gently close to him. "You were married?"
"For half an hour," he reiterated with a grin.
"What happened?"
"It's a long story," Gambit replied as he began to sway with her, lulling her into a slow dance rhythm. "And not one I wish to share when there are cameras around. Let's just say, her brother had a problem with me."
"Didn't approve of your playboy lifestyle?" Rogue asked wickedly.
"Actually he didn't like my family in general, and me in particular because I had the audacity to be involved with his beloved sister," he said. "And I didn't really have much of a playboy lifestyle at the time: I was only eighteen."
"Wow," Rogue said softly, looking more over his shoulder than at him, "that's really young."
Gambit didn't reply. He didn't really have anything to say, and the truth was he wanted them to stop talking so he could just enjoy holding her. He allowed himself a smile when she rested her head on his shoulder.
"What was she like?" Rogue asked after awhile.
Gambit was silent for a moment, and then said: "Passionate and dangerous."
Rogue snorted contemptuously.
"And she never cared who she hurt, or how badly she hurt them," he went on. "In fact, I think she enjoyed it."
"You loved her a lot, didn't you?" Rogue asked, hearing more the tone of his voice than what he said.
Gambit leaned his head forward and rested his cheek against her head over her hair. "I did, but I think it's for the best that we're no longer together. We had known each other since childhood, but we were starting to grow apart, and I don't think our marriage would have lasted either way. But enough about this. Shouldn't talk about exes on the first date. Or any date really. They're mood killers."
And having nothing else to say, they both drifted off into silence. After a time, Rogue became aware that they were actually moving their feet in more than just a simple swaying motion and also realised that she hadn't even trod on his foot or anything. She also found, much to her dismay, that she was really enjoying being in his arms.
Still, their evening did finally come to an end, and Gambit insisted in his own, smooth, joking way that she should walk him to his door. They went the conventional way this time: through the door and down the stairs.
"Oh, before I forget," Rogue said as they walked down the hall towards their bedrooms, which were next to each other. "This is probably a stupid question, but I'm supposed to ask you if you'd be interested in a second date."
"Absolutely," Gambit said, stopping outside his door. "And I'm going to hold you to it."
"Remy—" Rogue began.
"Wanna come in for some 'coffee'?" he asked suggestively, opening the door.
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Good night, Swamp Rat."
He grinned after her as she turned and walked towards her own bedroom. "Good night, River Rat."
Gambit was certain he heard a chuckle before she disappeared from sight.