HEY EVERYONE!

This is the final chapter for Explosions of Every Kind.

As sad as it is to write this author's note, I loved writing this story and I hope you loved reading it :)

So please R&R and enjoy the last chapter

Explosions of Every Kind Chapter 24: Just Coffee

The reflection of Rogue was unmistakably discernible in her scalding hot coffee that rested within the deep crimson mug matching perfectly the unique eyes of her boyfriend as her own iridescent emerald eyes gleamed in Gambit's direction. This would be the fifth time their absent-minded, fair-haired waitress had come back to "stumble" on an imaginary crack in the tile floor and fall every so clumsily onto Gambit's arm for balance. "Sorry sweetheart," she'd croon, "Anything else you want besides coffee?" And each time, Gambit, as politely as he could, shoved her from his arm and asked for nothing more than the refill she kept forgetting to bring.

Sipping silently at his cracked porcelain mug, Gambit waited for Rogue to comment on the waitress' desperateness. Instead, she went another way and said in a half shocked, half mocking tone, "Can y'believe it?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her while hearing the clang from his action of placing the cup in his hand onto its matching saucer. "What?"

"We've been here nearly a'half hour an' y'haven't hit on our busty bottle blonde waitress?" Rogue couldn't help but let a modest giggle escape from the crook of her mouth at her own clever usage of alliteration.

"Guess I got mo' important t'ings t't'ink 'bout, no?" He replied charismatically.

"Y'mean like bein' an acolyte, then almost getting' killed by y'r own team member," she paused then added, "…an' by meh. Then savin' meh an' join' the X-men and pissin' everyone off. Then getting' saved by meh, then watchin' meh slowly lose mah mind an' bringin' meh back… yeah maybe y'do have more t'think 'bout than a desperate waitress."

He couldn't contain his laughter at the mundane way Rogue prattled all that off in almost a single sentence. The laughter disheartened the waitress and made her turn back from what was going to be her sixth clasp of Gambit's muscular arm.

"I didn't piss everyone off," he chuckled after taking a drink of his stale coffee.

"Jus' about," Rogue lingered silently as a thought dawned on her, "Remy," she started, playing with the silver spoon in her mug, "Y'think y'r ol' buddies miss ya back wit' the Acolytes?" Before he had a chance to respond she added, "Y'miss them?"

Gambit looked grave, "Never asked me dat before, Cherie. Don' know if I got an answer fo' you."

"They were y'r friends weren't they?"

""Sabertooth, no." Rogue rolled her eyes, obviously already knowing that, however the mood soon became sullen once more as he continued, "But John, yeah we used t'play pool, and Peter, he was never in it fo' Magneto."

Each stared at their own distorted reflections in their coffee as neither had the stomach to say what they were really thinking. "Ah'm sorry," was all Rogue was able to mutter out.

"I'd take you over them a million times over, Rogue."

"Even when Ah try t'kill you?"

He couldn't tell if she was joking or not and felt it best to stay with the serious tone he possessed, "especially when y'try t'kill me."

The smile that curled across her slender, violet lips gave him reassurance and let his nervous heart regain it's usual pace. Each reached out their gloved hand to the other and took hold, "It's been almost a week," Rogue remarked. "Just once?"

It was killing Gambit to tell her no but he knew, and so did she, that it was for the best. So they sat there silently, hand in hand, knowing how much the other cared for them.

A few minutes later Gambit had excused himself to go to the bathroom and Rogue sat there, on a springy worn-out cherry cushion that squeaked when she moved, staring at the other patrons of the diner. There was an obnoxious family of five with each parent on a separate mobile device while the kids planned there attack strategies of which waitress to trip, a few loners sipping their piping hot beverage while reading whatever section of the paper interested them the most, two couples in their early to late twenties discussing life over a piece of shared pie, and her. Rogue, who was sitting alone, leg shaking in the fear that she really was alone, that Gambit would leave with or without an explanation or get killed or somehow taken from her. Then she stared at his empty, cracked cup, just stared, the cup seemed to alleviate those fears slightly, seemed to tell her that no matter what he was coming back… and she didn't know why but she picked up that cup and drank the last remains of whatever bitter, stale, caffeine-filled brew was in it and smiled.

"Rogue?"

The thickly accented voice caught her off guard and the cup slipped from her hands, shattering on the floor. "Oops," she kidded looking up into his strange eyes, "guess that's how it got cracked in the first place." The booth squeaked as Gambit slid back onto his side while Rogue remarked, "Well gives that waitress a chance t'come over here an' lean on ya again."

"Jealous, Rogue? Y'don' even know she's comin'."

"Annoyed is more like it." Within two seconds flat the blonde waitress was rushing over to the broken shards of Gambit's cup, but with what seemed unfortunate for her, she had happened to be one of the devilish children's trip victims and this time didn't have to fake her fall into Gambit's lap.

"Oh," she pretended to act flustered, "I'm sorry, sir. It was those darn kids!" She wrapped her arms around his neck as if for protection from the three, four, and five year olds.

With the swooning, despairing floozy of a waitress wrapped around her boyfriend Rogue decided to brag, "Sayin' Ah tol' ya so is beneath mah dignity, so instead, Ah'll just say...nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah." (1)

As both Rogue and Gambit snickered, blatantly ignoring the woman in the middle of their conversation, the waitress got so discouraged she actually picked herself off of Gambit's lap and cleaned the ceramic shards with tears welling up in the crooks of her eyes.

After the crying waitress had run away from their table and the two had begun another conversation, the grey, hazy sky had finally given way to the rain everyone knew was coming. The windows were battered with drops of water that hastily trickled down to the sidewalk below.

The radio in the diner had begun to cut in and out as the storm warning began to sound something like, "Downtow— lookin— thun— clouds—" then finally melted into static altogether.

"Somethin' tells meh ridin' y'r bike home ain't a'good idea."

"Unless y'like bein' struck by light'ning," he peered out the window as he saw a cell tower spark from the collision with a particularly nasty bolt.

"Not on mah bucket list, Cajun, sorry."

Suddenly reverberations were without a doubt noticeable in the black coffee that was left in Rogue's smooth ceramic mug as footsteps could be felt coming nearer and nearer. Even before their communicators went off, Rogue and Gambit could see the enormous shadow of the Juggernaut trampling through town as Xavier's voice came on saying, "Caution! Juggernaut extremely dangerous and on a rampage downtown. Make sure civilians are not injured!"

Leaping out of the noisy booth, they threw their money on the table with a diminutive tip and replied to the Professor with a smirk he was not able to see, "We're already there."

(1) Quote from Gambit #5

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