Rogue (92131) (aintalady) wrote in incompletedata, @ 2017-06-15 09:39:00 |
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Entry tags: | marvel: comics: remy lebeau, marvel: xmen tas: rogue |
WHO: Rogue (TAS) & Remy Lebeau
WHERE: Out by the horses
WHEN: After Wednesday night's show and this
WHAT: Just a little kiss
WARNINGS: None
STATUS: Complete
She’d been with the horses most of the day, aside from dinner when she’d headed to the fire and then again during the show itself. As it ended and the attendees began to leave, Rogue had begun to fret over her task, which led to her questioning. And now, here she was, waiting for Remy of all people to show up so she could hurt him and they could hopefully keep others from being hurt. Sometimes, their life really sucked. As she leaned against the railing of the temporary paddock, Rogue glanced down at her device and saw the message from the Professor, and spent a few minutes replying to his invitation - though even that was a little reluctant, but she’d appreciated him sticking up for her before. That done, she put it away and lifted her head to watch the horses graze, biting back a sigh. She still didn’t really want to do this. She usually avoided using her absorption powers if she could help it, especially now that she could remember what she’d done to Ms. Marvel. Carol. The battle for her subconscious had been a painful one that she would have lost without Jean’s help, but in a way she still wondered if maybe she had deserved that. The crunch of shoes on gravel and sticks caught her ears, and Rogue tensed a little, then turned to face the man approaching, even as she leaned back against the railing, trying to act like she wasn’t half as nervous as she felt. “Hey,” she called out, once he was close enough to hear her. “You really sure about this?” “Ain’ never been more sure uh anythin’ in m’ whole life.” The Cajun responded with a smooth, charming sort of grin. Of course he was trying to make her feel more at ease with this, every ounce of him wanted to make this easier for her. From the way he walked-- so confident and smooth, fluid and sure of himself-- to the way he spoke. He knew what he was doing. She could trust him, she could follow his lead, and he wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her. He’d always done right by the Southern Belle, why would he give that up now? Of course.. You just had to forgive him all the times he’d screwed it up. Surely the older Rogue would be glad to give this younger one a blow-by-blow of all the times the Cajun had fucked it all up.. But right now, she didn’t know any of that. And hopefully, the man she knew hadn’t screwed things up so badly that she wouldn’t trust this one. Not that Gambit was entirely worthy of her trust (or anyone’s for that matter), but here he was all the same. She needed him. He was there. It was the best he could do. And, if he was entirely honest, he would have done this for no reason at all except to touch her skin to skin. Except to kiss her. Because as much as he knew that this wasn’t the same woman he’d been with on and off for years now, it didn’t matter. She was still Rogue. She was still Anna. She was still his. So he was here. For her. He allowed his hands-- still gloveless, thanks to that bit of giving spirit-- to slip into his pockets, as if to ensure that he wouldn’t be reaching out and grabbing her for any reason. He wanted to make her feel safe. “Wouldn’t lie t’ you, Chere.” Well, sure he would, but not about this. “Gonna be okay, don’t gotta be scared.” As if that would somehow soothe her. Though the man that came into view was as different from the Remy she knew as she was from his Rogue, the accent was the same, and that tiny piece of familiarity had her relaxing subtly, though she still stayed put at the railing, mainly so she could watch him and be ready if she needed to vault over and fly away. Running away had been a regular coping mechanism of hers, but this damn circus and these scientists - there was no way to run from all that. Not really. "It aint gonna be pretty or feel good, ya know," she felt compelled to warn him. He'd basically confirmed that the other Rogue had the same powers, and she wanted to ask him why that one didn't wear gloves or cover up, but it was a conversation for another time. "And this might not work for those scientists. After all, I told ya about it already...so I'm thinkin' I probably failed." She was stalling, and she knew it. Despite his reassurances, Rogue was terrified of hurting him - like he’d pointed out, she did love him and all the rest of the X-Men, and she never liked taking another mutant’s powers. The last time she’d done it, it had been Scott’s and that had been terrifying in itself. “I aint scared,” she told him, though it was more than obvious that was a lie, voice trembling a tiny bit, even as her eyes dared him to call her on it. “I know y’ ain’t.” He told her quietly, coming closer step by step, slow and easy, like a man trying not to spook a wild pony. Slowly, his hands slipped from his pockets and he raised them, splaying his fingers in a ‘surrender’ position. He kept them up. He meant no harm. “Know how strong y’ are, Rogue. Need y’ t’ ‘member how strong Remy is too, non? Gonna be fine. Wouldn’t never le’cha hurt me.” Step by step, closer and closer. Until he was able to stop within a few feet of her, close enough he could hear her breathing in the quiet around them. The only noise to distract from the silence was the occasional snort from one of the horses. The stomp of a hoof. Then silence again. “M’ gonna take care of you right back. Mean ‘dat.” She knew him. She knew him well. They’d talked more times than they could count.. He’d flirted, she’d even flirted back now and again. They’d fought together against enemies and.. Well.. they’d fought together, too. He knew her, even if this wasn’t the version he knew. He knew her and she knew him. So perhaps the softer look in his eyes was surprising. The way those red-on-black seemed more gentle somehow, more focused on her. Loving, even. He was sure, at this moment, that he’d always loved her, every moment he’d known her. “Quick, non? Like pullin’ off a bandaid.” He wouldn’t even touch on the topic of it possibly not working. It had to work. Kylo Ren was not someone to be messed with, even if he was sure Rogue could likely hold her own. She shouldn’t have to. And it wouldn’t just be Ren, there were plenty of them would be angry with her.. Moreover, there was a chance they could hurt her. Or hurt Laura. And he couldn’t let that happen. Even though he wasn’t her Remy, his presence was soothing, and for someone as utterly confused and conflicted and lonely as she was right now, well, she could have certainly done worse for company. She tried to comfort herself with the knowledge that he, at least, knew the risks of what might happen. And she also refused to do to him what she’d done to Carol and hang on too long. She’d never forgive herelf if that happened. Breathing out a slow breath as she met his eyes, Rogue gave a reluctant nod. “Like a bandaid,” she agreed, then started to carefully tug at the fingers of one of the borrowed gloves, until it slid off. She clenched her hand into a slight fist, then relaxed her hand again and, finally, held it out to Remy, palm up. “Only for a second. Not even - like a half second, suga.” “Only for uh secon’.” He promised with that same easy going, cheshire smile. But as he stepped forward, her vulnerable hand would connect instead with his chest, pushed up against the soft material of his dark shirt as he moved both hands up to her cheeks-- brave Like a bandaid. There was confusion in her eyes when instead of taking her hand, he stepped closer, but before she even had a chance to question just what he was doing, his hands were on her face - and Lordy was that something she hadn’t felt in such a long time - and then his lips were on hers. For a heartbeat, she didn’t move, frozen in surprise. In the next, she had leaned in just a tiny bit, and in the third she was reeling back as his emotions, thoughts, memories - all of it slammed into her mind like a wave crashing upon a beach. Her bare hand flickered with dark red energy as she instinctively pushed back from him, sending him reeling a few feet back and her over the rail and into the grass, a short cry tearing from her throat as her eyes squeezed shut tightly. It was too much, she knew anything from him would be too much. It was all too much. He’d apologize for it later. Emotions. Memories. Powers chief among all of it.. But worst, really, was knowing what he knew. Friends wasn’t the right word, not when describing them. She’d know that now, she’d see it, every dirty detail of the things she’d witnessed. Loving. Fighting. More loving. They’d broken one another’s hearts far too often, but they were always there again to mend them. Well. Mostly. Were she unlucky enough, she might even gain a few of those memories of Sinister, purely from the Cajun’s own vantage point. The things he’d done over the years, things he wasn’t proud of as well as things that he was. The emotions would be the most overwhelming part, certainly. He didn’t love her. He loved her. But it would all come to an abrupt end as she shoved the long-limbed Cajun back, Gambit crumpling like a rag doll as the force of her push lost against the force of gravity, landing in a heap on the ground. Merde, he’d feel that for weeks. Everything in his body hurt. He was conscious, but only barely, and chose to remain absolutely still in the hopes of remaining that way. Worth it. At the moment, it was all too much for her to even sort through - it always was, no matter whose memories she picked up. The emotions, though, those would have knocked her flat out if she hadn’t already been on the ground, struggling not to curl up into a ball and whimper. Mentally fighting to lock him away just like she had too many others, Rogue sat up slowly. His power still flickered around her hand as she clutched at the grass beside her. She’d seen his powers go awry a time or two and the last thing any of them needed was for that to happen now. It was several minutes before she managed to open her eyes and focus blearily on his prone form. Seeing him not moving instilled an instant panic, which overrode everything else and Rogue scrambled to her feet. “Gambit?! Remy - “ No more wasted breath as she used her power of flight to take herself instantly to his side. The one glove had been dropped, and so she kept her left hand carefully away, and with her right she reached down to touch his cheek, her own guilt fighting through the storm to take center stage. “....Remy?” “Y’ tas’e like strawberries.” He told her in a muffled tone, finally pulling together the strength to push himself from his side and over onto his back, letting out a breath that signalled it’d been far too much effort for that small, insignificant task. Somehow, however, he managed to find the strength to smile up at her. Everything was going to be alright, he was just fine, see? And she hadn’t blown up any pieces of the fence, or feed buckets, or anything else. The worst was when you charged up your own clothing-- take it from Gambit. That was always a mess. “M fine, Chere.” See? He’d told you. A hand came up slowly to rest atop the one on his cheek, grasping it just gently, his own fingers wrapping around the leather that covered hers. “How’er you doin’?” She looked panicked. He imagined she had to feel worse than she looked. She slumped in relief when he spoke, barely paying attention to the words at the moment, and watched as he rolled onto his back and smile. “Fine?” She gave a short laugh that was verging on the hysterical. “Here ya are laid out like last year’s rug and you’re sayin’ your fine?” Her fingers flinched under his, despite the glove between their skin, then relaxed again as she shook her head. “Just fine an’ dandy,” she replied, though she was anything but right now. “You’re an idiot.” But she let her hand stay where it was for a moment longer before slowly settling back to sit on the grass, breathing out another sigh. This was all just a bit too intense, but she hoped like hell that it satisfied those damn doctors. She didn’t honestly want anyone hurt on account of her, but she hated that she’d been forced into making that choice. Finally, Rogue stood and walked back over to where the other glove had fallen. Scooping it up, she pulled it onto her shaking hand and returned to Remy so she could hold out that same hand to him. “C’mon, sugar. Let’s get you to bed so you c’n rest.” It took all her strength at the moment not to accidentally charge anything at all, and kept her focus on making sure he was alright. He would take that hand-- both of them, in fact, if she allowed it-- and let her help him up to his feet. Oh, that took more effort than he was willing to admit. But he was on his feet (barely) and able to stay upright (thanks to her) and he could still manage a smile. Maybe it was even a little smug. “M’ ready f’ uh nap.” He’d admit as they started that slow walk back towards the train. He kept one long arm around her shoulders to help steady himself and he kept his pace slow. If they tried to push it too fast, he’d end up on his face on the ground and neither of them (well, maybe Rogue..) wanted that. Gambit counted tonight as a win. Even if she’d failed the experiment by telling him what it was, she’d completed it. So maybe, just maybe, those assholes would give her a pass. They could only hope. |