Old Scars (Rogue, post year plot)

[Gambit]

Remy LeBeau's face had seen better days, it had seen a helluva lot worse too, but right now he was thinking of the former. The glass from the blast had been removed, with only a few scabs and a paper stitch or two to show for it. Thankfully his body was much the same, a burn here and there and some painful bruises, but it could've been a lot worse.

He stretched his arms out as he walked the perimeter, the Massachusetts academy was pretty cramped with all of their own kids and Xaviers running around. He needed a breather, and a smoke. Emma, of course had the same policy with smoking, not that Logan adhered to it, but she came up with some pretty colorful threats if the Cajun so much as lit up inside her school, and he wasn't too keen to see if she would follow through on them.

He heaved a loud sigh and shrugged his trench off, revealing the dark tee shirt underneath. He proceeded to plop down heavily on his trusty coat, now a makeshift blanket on the closely, if not a tad obsessively, trimmed grass. Out of the corner of his eye he spied a 'no walking on the grass' sign and quietly mumbled some choice words in both languages he spoke.

[rogue]

Whether she was a part of the Brotherhood now or not, Rogue still cared very much for the X-men. They may have felt a bit bitter about her shift in alliance but over all that, she still considered them her family and she worried about them. So you can imagine how angry and horrified she felt after hearing what Apocalypse had done to the mansion. It was gone, blown to pieces. Now her vendetta against Apocalypse was very personal. The bastard wouldn't get away with blowing up her former home. But all in do time. For now, she had to make sure that everyone was alright.

She knew that Emma had opened up her school for Xavier and his students and staff after the crisis. Amazing, so the woman did have a heart under all that silicone. She flew over the academy to take a glance at the going ons. She wanted to personally have a talk with the Professor, but she was sure a school full of hellions and X-men wouldn't take kindly to one of Magneto's B-Hood members. She drifted above the academy's yard. She was about to get another surprise. Her eyes locked onto someone who had made themselves comfortable on the lawn. So...he had returned to the mansion? Of course the Professor never turned away anyone...not even swamp rats like Remy. Maybe that was just her anger towards him talking. Either way, she stayed afloat glaring at the Cajun from above. She wondered how long it would be until he noticed her there.

[Gambit]

Running his hand over the back of his neck he thought briefly about shifting, no doubt there was a troublesome Hellion around every corner waiting to tattle on the X-Men, should they even toe out of line in Emma's realm. But that would require effort on his part that he was just not willing to spare.

As his hand made its way back over his face, the sound of his stubble against his hand made a soft crackling sound before he winced away from his own touch. Okay maybe he was a little bit worse than he was admitting to, Remy wasn't exactly young anymore.

That thought alone depressed him enough to reach for his pack of cigarettes. As he half turned to rummage them out of his coat, he got the feeling someone was watching him. He creased his brow and flicked his eyes upwards, squinting a little from the sun glare. He made out a form, hanging there midair that made his stomach flip upside down a little.

Rogue.

"Been up dere long, chere?" He asked flippantly, swallowing down any emotion he was feeling, so it was only an afterthought. There were a lot of things he wanted to ask her, and more that he wanted to tell her. Sorry, for one. But what his head thought and what his mouth said didn't always correlate. "Dat Magneto send'ja ta spy on ol'Remy?" Probably not the best thing to say to a brotherhood member. He winced at himself internally as he leaned back, propping himself up on his elbows.

[rogue]

She didn't respond right away, instead she stared down at him, brushing away a stray strand of white hair that had been blown into her face by a passing breeze. She was confused at the moment. Part of her wanted to thrash him and break every single bone in his body while another part wanted to drop in his arms. The latter would have been a bit foolish in her own opinion. She wouldn't just fall back to him. Not after he left her like that.

"And t'think ah would be the one askin the questions. But you've always been selfish, so no surprise you'd put yours over mine." she replied with a glare, almost as if she was trying to burn a hole through his soul. He hurt her, bad. She wanted him to feel that pain, but she also knew it wasn't worth it. Because no matter how much she could bash his head in, he'd never understand how she felt and what she had to go through. He said he'd stick it out with her, how much he cared and he wasn't bothered by the gloves. That they would find a way to overcome her powers together...and then he left. She didn't have anyone. Scott and Jean had each other, Bobby had Kelly, Megan had Kurt...Rogue was alone and it seemed like she was destined to stay that way.

"Surprised you're so laxed 'bout this. For all you know, ah could be here t'kill you." her eyes narrowed.

[Gambit]

Rogue always did have a way of making her words feel like weapons, half the time she wouldn't need her powers to cut down the resilience of her foes, just that sharp tongue. The evils she was giving him were almost bad enough to send a chill up his spine, he looked away for a brief moment and took a deep breath. "Okay, maybe ah deserved dat" He continued to rummage in his coat with one hand to retrieve his smokes.

His red on black eyes glanced back to her, she sure wasn't a teenager anymore, she was a young woman now. And he had missed that. "Chere, ah kno' y'ain't here t'kill me, as much as y'want'ta" She deserved to feel that anger, but he did have her best interests at heart. "If you really wanted t'kill me ah would be already dead, non? You know betta dan t'talk it up..."

Fishing out the packet he pulled free a cigarette, and passed it between the fingers on his right hand "Wouldn't be good for dat l'il Bro-hood truce t'ing you're boss is so keen on if y'did" He cocked his head to the side, scanning his eyes over her. God she was beautiful. "As much as 'Bucket 'ed would love it t'be you who finally offs me..." He put the cigarette to his lips "Y'would still be askin' dose questions, non?"

[rogue]

"Don't tell me what ah will and won't do..." she descended towards to the ground and walked towards him. "This ain't got nothin' t'do wit the brotherhood, Remy. This is between you and me." her gloved hand reached down and grabbed the cajun by his collar and she hoisted him up so they were eye to eye. Her free hand snatched the cigarette from his lips and tossed it to the side.

"Ah trusted you..." she said in a low growl as her grip on his shirt tightened. Every ounce of will power was put to work to restrain her other arm from driving a fist into his skull. It would have made her feel better temporarily but it wouldn't have changed what she felt in her heart.

"You promised you'd be there for me. All that garbage you spat out 'bout you caring to get me to stay...and then you left. You're horrible...you probably already know that, but ah think you should hear it from me." her eyes still portrayed anger, but the feeling of heartbreak reared itself in the form of tears preparing to spill over onto her cheeks. "Before I toss you away like the trash you are, Ah'd just like to know why you did me like that."

[Gambit]

His eyes widened some as she came closer, and grabbed him around the neck. He really had no choice but to go with her pull, she was angry and that super strength could easily rip his spine out and play it like an instrument, if she so wished. "Dat wasn' necessary..." He groaned as the cigarette was tossed to the side. It was a perfectly good cigarette.

He tried to reply when she growled at him, but the words stuck in his throat. And it was getting increasingly difficult to swallow with her vice-like grip on his shirt collar "Ah-" He gulped down hard "Chere..." He looked into those deep green eyes of hers and watched them well up with tears. He was supposed to be protecting her from this, not making her life worse.

His hands gently moved to her waist, if she was going to launch him it wouldn't do much good, but that wasn't the point of the touch "Rogue... ah nevah, evah meant to hurt'chu, ah..." His heart sank "Ah'm a stupid, stubborn, self-centred son of a bitch but der wasn' one day dat went by dat ah didn' t'ink of you" He tried to keep her gaze, if honesty was what she wanted then she could have it all, for the most part "Ah meant everyt'in ah said, an ah still do... but'chu got every right t'toss me out w'it de garbage"

[rogue]

"All those sweet lies..." she said. Her grip on his collar loosened up a bit as she felt his hands go to her waist. It was odd how her touch would kill but his always seemed to make her melt. She refused to...completely. You could always tell if someone was lying by the look in their eyes. She saw Remy's and she hated to admit to herself that she was the truth.

"Let me guess...you did it to protect me? Or it was for my own good? Somethin' in that nature? Ever thought that ah could care less 'bout my own good and that ah'd risk it if it meant ah could be with someone who cares about me even with my powers?" she asked. "You didn't mean to, but you did. Ah'm hurt. Broken, empty. Congratulations." she said setting him back down and turning away from him as she hugged herself.

"Ah just wanted to be with you..."

[Gambit]

He breathed a small sigh of relief that she didn't fling him halfway across Boston, but then as he watched the tears roll off her cheeks, he couldn't help but think that any physical pain she could inflict on him wouldn't much compare to the emotional. Right then he would've welcomed a superpowered fist to the jaw.

"Somet'in like dat..." He half smiled, he had forgotten just how well she could read him "Dere were some t'ings dat ah didn' wanna put'chu through, an' by doin' dat ah managed to do more damage..." He let his arms flop lifelessly to the side as she moved and turned her back to him "S'an uncanny talent ah posses..."

He rubbed the orbits of his eyes with his thumb and forefinger and blew out a long breath, he couldn't tell her why, not really, not yet "Y't'ink ah'm proud of any of dis? Y't'ink dat when ah came back ah didn't wanna see you?" He took a step closer to her, moving his hand to brush her shoulder, if she would let him "Ah t'ought maybe you was happier up dere, wit dem... dat maybe you found somet'in dat de X-Men couldn' give ya" He swallowed hard "Somet'in ah couldn' give ya..."

[rogue]

"It's not the same...they don't offer anything different. Ah'm still in square one." she confessed looking down at her hands. He was right though, his effort to protect her only kicked her down a few pegs when she was left alone again.

"Only reason ah went to Magneto was because the professor couldn't help me and ah though he could, but nothin's changed. So ah'm alienated from what used to be my family....not sure what to do anymore." she turned to face him again just as he brushed her shoulder and her green eyes locked with his red and black ones.

"They couldn't give me what you gave me....hope. But now that's been dragged through the mud. Honestly, it would be unjust for me to beat you senseless. It ain't worth it cause ah know in the end some stupid part of me would regret hurtin' you."

[Gambit]

Remy tutted softly as he watched her stare down at her own hands, she shouldn't have had to bear this weight on her shoulders. "Look, chere you a young lady, y'got de rest o'your life t'figure out dose powahs o'yours, jus' coz somebody ain't got da answers t'day don' mean dat it won' come t'morrah" He raised his eyebrows and looked into her eyes once more, wishing they weren't so sad. The guilt gnawed away at his conscience, like rabid sewer rats.

"An y'know everybodeh 'ere would welcome yah back wit open arms if dats wot'cha chose t'do" He shrugged some, of course they would it was still the same Rogue, the person that they had eaten with, fought with and lived with.. and loved."Nobody can blame y'fa wantin' a normal life" He just hoped that no one would offer her the same deal he had been. No, he would protect her from that at all costs. "Leas' of all me"

"Well if y'eva change y'mind 'bout givin' me dat punch, y'kno where ol'Remy is, non?" He forced a wry grin as he rubbed his hand up his arm "Ah ain't goin no where dis time, chere... promise you dat" Remy added quietly, his eyes flicking downwards towards his boots.

[rogue]

"Funny, everybody says that line. 'Y'got ya whole life ahead of ya' but yeah, I could very well die tomorrow. Heck maybe even tonight. Possibly as soon as ah leave." she said. Taking in his words, she glanced back at him. She hated it. She couldn't stay mad at him for what he had done and she hated it. Every urge to snap his body in half had left. Instead she could just wrapped a glove hand over his and slip her fingers through his.

"How do ah know y'gonna keep that promise? Circumstances always seem to pop up and prevent us from bein happy t'gether. Whether is powers or somethin else entirely."

[Gambit]

"Den ya jus' gotta live every moment like it counts, chere" God he wished he'd tried to get up on that asteroid, at least to let her know that he was alive. He almost told her to live with no regrets, but anyone with a history and a conscience knew that the only people living life like that were psychopaths and villains, and as jaded as he was, he was neither.

"Ah won't let anyt'in like dat 'appen to ya" He quickly responded as the concern for her well being rose in him, not that it ever really left him, but the way she said it made him feel like she wasn't really bothered if she did die sooner rather than later. That would crush him.

He moved forward a little, his eyes finding their way back to hers "Ah ain't no precog, ah can't tell whats gonna come tomorrah, or de day after dat but..." He sighed a little, baring his soul out on Emma Frosts front lawn wasn't exactly the way he imagined it. He felt more than a little exposed, but after all he'd put her through, she deserved to know something. "Ah ain't never gonna stop fightin' for you, maybe ah make some wrong choices 'ere an' dere..." He gave her a smirk "Ok, maybe alot'ta wrong choices but, dese t'ings are sent t'try us, non? Love ain't nuttin' like you see it in de movies... is hard..." He fidgeted, running his hand through his hair multiple times before he continued "But some t'ings... some people is worth it"

[rogue]

"That's sweet...but don't make promises y'can't keep, sug. You ain't got control over life 'n death, so don't try and feel responsible should somethin' happens t'me. " she said with a half chuckle. There was a hint of sadness in her tone. These times were full of uncertainty.

"Apocalypse nearly killed you and tha others...who knows what'll happin next....and he's got Bobby....Ah can't sit down and let him get away wit it. Ah go down, ah'll go down fightin. Cause ah'll fight f'you too." she said. The thought of going to attack Apocalypse himself had crossed her mind. Her powers, she could absorb a multitude of others and become a one woman army....she'd risk her sanity, but it'd be worth it to stop Apocalypse.

When he started talking about love, she raised a brow. She hadn't mentioned the L word once. It was there but she never said it....cause she was never sure how strong he had really felt about her, but now she was tempted to know. "Aight cajun, be honest. You in love wit me?"

[Gambit]

"Ah know ya will chere ah..." He didn't want to loose her, again "Ah just don' wan'cha ta run headlong into it is all" This coming from a self styled self destruction guru was pretty rich, but this was pretty much uncharted territory for the Cajun. Sure he had cared about girls before, and maybe he could have even loved Bella Donna at one time, maybe. But nothing like this. "We'll get Bobby back, some'ow" He shook his head at himself, for someone who was just coming outside for a cigarette he sure was making a lot of promises.

But, She was worth every promise.

He watched her raise her brow at him, maybe he'd let his mouth run away with his brain a little too much. He made a stammering sound before clearing his throat "Love? Ah... uh..." There was a tight knot in the pit of his stomach as he squirmed quite visibly, he looked around to see if there was any sort of distraction the Massachusetts academy could give him.

Of course, there was never was when he needed it "Um..." He looked back to Rogue. Usually he was so seamless and he knew how he felt, but putting yourself out there was the easiest way he knew of getting yourself hurt. "Loves a two way street, no?" He asked finally, flicking the hair out of his face "Ah've left alot'a girls in mah time, chere... Ah ain't never felt for anybody like ah do for you... dere ain't nuttin' ah wouldn' do" He stepped closer and shrugged a little "If dats wha' love is, den ah guess ah am"