Hey Everybody!
Btw i had to point out that I am, right this very minute, eating ben and jerry's ice cream:) (not that you care)
So I kind of wrote this chapter in little episodes. Hope you guys enjoy :)
And as always R&R!
Explosions of Every Kind Chapter 19: It's My Life and I'll Do with It What I Want
Rogue's exhausted torso was tenderly elevated on to a man's amiable lap as she opened her eyes and the crust attached to them began to crack up and descend. As her vision cleared, the blurred scene of peach and auburn gave way to a familiar mutant's face.
"Chere? Y'okay?" Gambit whispered, being mindful of her tired state.
"Why—why are y'in mah room, Gambit?" Rogue stumbled into a seated position under her snug emerald comforter next to him. Seeing the puzzled look on his face she paused for a second, and then flipping on her bedside lamp to illuminate the room saw everyone else taking up temporary residence there. "What's goin' on?"
"Who's coming?" Scott asked, protruding from the crowd of concerned mutants.
Rogue's eyebrows curled together in confusion as she asked, "What are y'talkin' 'bout?"
Gambit leaned over and caressed the comforter where he knew her hand was, "Rogue?" He sounded exceptionally troubled, which only worsened Rogue's confusion.
"Yeah?"
"Do y'remember what happ'ned last night?"
"Ah…" she rubbed her head, "Ah was sleepin' last night."
"Dat it?"
"Yeah…" Rogue stopped again to massage her temples, "And then Ah woke up t'all y'guys here in mah room."
Jean took a seat on the bed by Gambit questioning, "Nothing else happened to you last night?"
Rogue, still befuddled, answered, "Not that Ah remember." Worried looks were exchanged back and forth by everyone when Rogue continued, "Why? Did something happen t'meh last night?"
Gambit offered her an endearing smile and responded with a stroke of her snow white tresses, "No Cherie, not a t'ing."
2 days later.
Rogue and Kitty were downstairs surrounding the peach granite island in their pj's discussing the newest infatuation in Kitty's life which happened to be stepping on Kurt's tail. At the same time, Gambit was on a much more serious errand. He was once again behind that soaring mahogany door that came to represent sanity within the insane: Xavier's office.
"I want y'to," he argued.
"No Gambit," Xavier disagreed as he shook his head, "it's invasive and dishonest."
"Y'do it all de time!" he exploded, "But dis time I'm askin' y'to do it fo' a good reason. I know she's not okay!"
"That may be the case," Xavier retorted, "However if she wants to return to a 'normal' life I will not be the one to prevent her from doing so unless I see she's beginning to self-destruct again."
"Y'gotta Xavier," he continued, relentlessly pacing through his office, "Y'gotta probe her mind. I know dat dream's still in dere and its gotta be hauntin' her. I need t'know exactly what dat dream was."
He opened up an old, dusty book as Xavier responded, "I will not prod her unless she asks me to, Gambit. Accept that." He slammed the book shut with a loud thud that stung both of their ears and a dust cloud that caused their eyes to water.
"I'll accept dat," Gambit clenched his fists, "But accept dis, I'm not goin' t'stop. I'm goin' t'find out what happened to her."
Xavier, already knowing the answer to his question, asked, "Why is it so important that you know?"
Gambit turned to him with wild eyes as he smashed his palms on to the desk swearing, "Merde! Alors…alors…Je ne peux protéger son prochain! 1"
***Damn it! So…so… I can protect her next time!1 ***
Xavier simply nodded without a sound.
1 day later.
Rogue flopped on to her bed after a brutal danger room session with Logan. "Damn him," she cursed peering at the singes on her uniform's forearm from the laser drills they were forced to run, and then rerun, and then rerun again.
As she was contemplating whether she should sew her current uniform or ask for a new one, there was a knock at Rogue's door. "Not locked," she shouted to whoever her guest was. Gambit sauntered in as if he belonged there and plopped down next to her.
"I had a thought," he began as she turned her weary head towards him.
"An' what's that, Cajun?"
"Let's go out fo' dinner tonight."
"Candlelight?" Rogue teased with a grin.
"Oui."
"Roses?" she carried on.
"Of course."
"Champagne?" she laughed.
"Why Chere y'r not old enough t'drink," he responded with an ear-to-ear smile.
Returning his smile she crooned, "Jus' lemme take a shower first."
He nodded, and then taking his gloved thumb traced the contour of her lips asking, "Need some company?"
Rogue shoved him off her jade green bed and only after hearing the pound of his flank strike her tan carpet responded, "No thanks."
Due to past experiences Gambit knew exactly how much time he had from the moment Rogue's foot touched the linoleum floor of her shower to when she slipped that same foot into her high-heeled boots, plus the added time Kitty would expend grilling her for information while helping her with her hair. Because of this, he knew he had enough time to go see Jean before his dinner date.
She too was relaxing in her room after Logan's session.
"Come in." Gambit came hurriedly in and stood in the far corner of the space, peering out the window. "What can I do you for Gambit?" she asked cheerily.
"I need y'r opinion," he sounded sullen.
"Yeah…"
"Three days ago, Rogue's nightmare," she nodded in understanding, "Dat was no normal nightmare. Any ideas why it was so real t'her?"
"I…I," she stuttered, "I don't have much experience with the mental aspect of Rogue's mutation. Have you asked the Professor?"
He began his pacing once again and continued, "Jus' give me y'r best guess."
"Well, from what I understand, when she absorbs someone they stay in her. A shade of them I guess?" He nodded, having experienced this first hand with his own double. "And I'm assuming the man in Rogue's dream was Magneto." He nodded again, having figured that much out. "So maybe it was real for her because in the dream he was attacking her but in her mind his shade was?" Jean seemed puzzled by her own accusations. "Is that possible?"
"Wit' Rogue, anyt'ing's possible."
"How could she stop something in her head?" Jean asked, beginning to understand the complexity of Rogue's mutation.
"Thanks fo' yo' help, Jean," and with that he disappeared off of her balcony.
Gambit rolled through the dew-filled blades of emerald grass until regaining his standing posture and promenading back to the doors of the mansion to see one other person.
Kurt's door nearly swung off its hinges as Gambit entered without a courtesy knock.
"Uhhh, hey man," Kurt offered.
"Bonjour mon ami," for nearly ripping his door off the wall Gambit was in a pretty chipper mood Kurt thought, "I need t'ask y'something."
"About Rogue?"
"Oui. Y'r sister, has she ev'r had a'nightmare like dat before?"
"Once. It involved Mystique and me. She was almost living Mystique's memory as her dream," he stopped to remember the horror that memory presented to him, "anyways, she thrashed around then too."
Gambit nodded, checked the time, and then became absent from Kurt's room.
Rogue opened her door in a spaghetti-strap silk, garnet dress that, Gambit would have said, hung perfectly on her every curve. Her pale skin was illuminated by glossy ivory curls pulled back over auburn ones with a diamond bobby pin. Rogue adorned not charcoal boots but stilettos, Gambit guessed she was serious about the candlelight and champagne, with onyx gloves that reached her upper arm and the same lace wrap she wore to Magneto's funeral.
He'd seen her quote on quote "doll up" before but every time it rendered him speechless. He simply outstretched his arm and waited for his beautiful girlfriend to take it and hopefully start the conversation. She did.
"So where y'takin' meh?" The raven eyeliner she donned made the green of her eyes shine like emeralds against their snowy backgrounds. "'Cause y'know Ah don't get dressed up for jus' any occasion."
"Candlelight, roses, an' champagne? I got a'perfect place in mind," he smirked as his arm found its way around her waist.
Gambit's motorcycle revved into the driveway of a world famous Mario Batalli restaurant as he peered over his shoulder to the girl leaning against his broad back and commented, "Good enough fo' you?"
"We'll see," she whispered into his ear.
The waiting line was over two hours long so they had time to chat. They talked about what they'd been through, how they feel about each other, random comical things they've observed about the other students, and after an hour and a half had gone by they had gotten to the Magneto incident.
"Rogue…"
She turned away from him and pretended to reread the menu she'd already browsed through several times.
"Rogue…"
He lifted the menu from her hands and replaced it with his hands.
"Ah don't want t'discuss this."
"Y'need to."
She peered into his face, "No Ah don't," Rogue gingerly caressed the contour of his jaw, "Gambit Ah have to get on wit' mah life, not look back."
"But what if lookin' in de past could save yo' future?"
"Because Ah cannot move backwards, Ah have t'push forwards or Ah'll unravel inside! Ah'll lose it! Ah'll go crazy!" Her raised voice had begun to draw the attention of the other patrons in line. "Wait a second," she took no notice of the other people, "'save mah future'? You've already looked back into it haven't you?" He gazed over her head at the selection of wine bottles and endeavored to avoid eye contact. "Didn't you!"
"I…Rogue yo' bein' ridiculous, y'need t'figure this out!"
"No, Ah need t'regain some sense of normality! Ah thought YOU out of everyone would understand that."
"I do!"
"Then butt out of mah life! Stop investigatin' or talkin' t'people or whatever the hell y'r doin'! This is MAH life and Ah'll deal wit' this how Ah see fit."
The large crowds of people waiting to taste even a bite of remarkable Italian food had uncomfortably created a barrier around Rogue and Gambit, pretending to turn their backs and not hear a thing.
"Yo' life? Yo' life?" he fumed, "Rogue! We are in dis toget'er! It ain't jus' you. It ain't jus' yo' life. Rogue, it's OUR life now!"
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Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN XMEN/XMEN EVOLUTION