Beast of Burden

He didn't understand why she acted the way she did towards him. The anger, spite, disrespect. A simple hello was impossible for her to accept usually brushed off with a 'go to hell' or a 'get bent'. He hated that. Even on his best behavior she still dealt a no to his advances and affection. There was no doubt he could have any girl he desired with little to no effort but she made the chase that much more exciting. Catching her on a good day was far and few between but there were times when she was civil with him as they shared the events of their day to one another stirring small talk. Remy always caught passing a hint of attracion which would confuse the him to say the least. Lord he couldn't understand her...

Remy found himself alone in the dimly lit kitchen sitting at the island table resting his elbow on top holding his head in defeat. A hollow emotion filled his being as he thought of Rogue turning him down to a date in which he promised to keep his hands to himself and the tasteless vulgar passes clean. His ruby irises stared into the black coffee before him studying the curls of steam wondering what she didn't see in him.

'Get de hint, Remy, you're not 'er cup o' tea,' his fist slammed on the counter causing some of his coffee to spill over the rim onto the expensive granite. 'One minute she leads me on and de next shes throwin' me to de side...' He thought of the endless flirting she reciprocated sometimes implying dirty things she normally wouldn't say to anyone else. He loved her toilet humor . He loved her.

From the corner of his eye he spotted movement of someone very familliar aiming for the coffee Remy started minutes before. Rogue was here and on his mind, wishing he could get away from her for a few sane minutes. A barstool slid out next to him with little to no sound placing her mug and sugar shaker.

"Cain't sleep?" Rogue broke the silence.

"Somet'in' like dat," he refused to meet her gaze blankly staring into his less steamy drink. For the first time in the six months he had lived there, he cared not to speak to Rogue. It wasn't an attribute for him but she made him do it.

She poured about two table spoons of sugar into the cup stirring lazily, "You feelin' alright?"

His response was short and flat, "Sure." The glass met his lips, still ignoring the girl before him.

"This is about meh ain't it?" She held the mug with both hands lightly blowing the surface til it was cool enough to sip.

Remy glanced to his right with no emotion in his eyes, "Take it how y' want. I don' care no mo'."

"Dammit, Remy! Don't you get it? Ah cain't touch you as much as Ah'd lahk to. Ah know how you are, sugah. The things you've done and the things you want to do... To me," she took her pointer finger and directed it to her temple. "And as much as it sucks to say but Ah'd just be a tease..."

The corners of Remy's lips curled enough to change his image, "You t'ink dats all i want ya fo'? De sex? De physical contact? Sounds nice but I t'ink about ya all de time, Rogue! It's almost unhealthy but I can't help it. You're de firs' person I t'ink of when I wake up and surely de last when de sandman greets my sleep. Did it ever occur to ya da I might just love you?" His heart was spilling and wanting everything to take it back.

Rogue shot her attention from her drink to Remy upon hearing the words 'love you'. Together. In the same sentence. "You... You love meh?"

Remy nodded an unenthused yes, taking his mmind back to the defeated stage of mooving on, "Unfortunately, for me, yes, and I'm a fool for it too."

Rogue remained silent letting Remy's words sink into her mind. Everything she wanted to say left unsaid as the seconds passed with no vocalization between the two. She was too stubborn to speak her mind. Remy took the silence as his queue to leave Rogue where she sat. His barstool slid back a few inches as he took the mug from the counter top along with. Without looking back he disappeared into the early morning darkness.

It was just Rogue in her thoughts and her coffee. She studied his sullen frame as he left the room. The black wife beater he usually wore at night was wrinkled yet tight to his skin leaving every muscle in his body known. She was well aware of his sex appeal and his physique didn't make things any better. He looked like a broken man through her eyes and knew she was the cause. Guilt implanted itself into the crevices of her brain, "Ah'm an asshole, Ah swear..."

In a split decision she followed suit pushing the stool back with more noise than she wanted but didn't really care. Her mug was left in its place as she tried her hardest not to slip in her socks on the slick ceramic tile exiting the kitchen.

Her feet took her down the same hallway Remy trekked leading to the stairwell to the mens dormitories. Pounding heartbeats blocked the thuds her feet made with every passing step. The apex of the stairs was well in her sights climbing them two at a time, hand grazing along the cherrywood banister.

Once the stair mountain was conqured, she hastily followed the invisible path through the men's wing having an eye on a specific door down the way. His door. A faint glow from under the door made it official he wasn't out for the night but it made her decision that much harder feeling the anxiety swell in her gut. Every step closer made the butterflies want to escape her throat.

It was her and the door. The devil was behind it and he was gonna get a tatse of his own medicine. Her fingertips landed on the door lightly tapping with no particular beat loud enough for him to hear. Seconds passed brutally before any movement was made from the door. The handle clicked and slowly swung open. Remy's glowing eyes were perplexed as to her presence, "What you doin' 'ere chere?"

She raised her elbow above her head to the door frame with her other hand on her waist, giving him a seductive glare, "Ah came for you, sugah."

Remy couldn't believe his eyes: Rogue, the ice queen, was essentially throwing herself at him at three in the morning. Her body language spoke for itself and didn't make things any better with her choice of sleeping attire: Short softball shorts that showed off her forever long legs, a Motely Crue tank-top giving him sights of rarely seen spots of skin ususally covered causing uncensored yet ever-so welcome thoughts intrude his mind, 'Oh merde.'

She lowered her arm so she could enter, testing his hospitality as she moved closer to him. There was no way he had prepared for her to come-on to him, stepping away from the door to the center of the room keeping the distance even. Rogue took hold of the thick wood closing it behind her with a devilish grin across her lips. The room smelled of different aromas from multiple colognes all resembling Remy. All fragranced being smelled before in the past and one triggered a memory from New Orleans...

Rogue worked the courage to cut the distance between them never taking her eyes away from his. In a sudden movement a hand went for the black undershirt clutching as much of the cotton she could manage, pulling him forward with dominance. His lips crashed onto hers getting a feel of what he'd been missing for so long.

Complete control of her powers hadn't been achieved yet but she had developed a delay before her curse played its role. With greed and gluttony rolled into one sin, Rogue tasted everything she never got to experience before. One of his hands went through her hair possessively pulling her closer as if trying to melt her into him.

Foreign memories and thoughts passed through her mind as her powers took effect, ending the kiss that changed everything for her. A gasp escaped his lips falling to the floor by Rogue's feet. She towered over the collapsed man, licking her lips at the thought their kiss, "Love ya too, ya dumb cajun."

I got the idea from an Eddie Money song called 'I think I'm in Love' which seems to suit my idea of Gambit entirely... So yeah, I had a major malfunction with the laptop last friday in which I needed to redo Windows LOSING EVERYTHING and THEN my stupid thumb deleted this particular story I had been typing on my phone for a few days which is an effort for me lol... Epic fail :( woulda had this posted a few days ago but no. I'm relatively satisfied with the outcome so plzzz do that thang called 'review'. Anyways ima make like a baby and head out til next time. -HS