Nightmares (Gambit)

[Sunshine]

Penny sat straight up and barely stopped the scream. She'd been having nightmares quite a bit lately and was wanting to talk to Professor Xavier about it. It wasn't the first time if she wondered if she were naturally prone to them or if they were a product of her gift. She wasn't going to be sleeping for the rest of the night and she glanced at the clock. Four in the morning? No one is going to be awake at four in the morning. Then she realized that wasn't really a bad thing. Try as she might she couldn't remember the nightmare now, but the fear still clung to her. Maybe if she got a hold of a small animal and tried to transfer it? No, Penny couldn't do that she'd rather keeping having the nightmares herself. If they had anything to do with her powers.

The girl got a quick shower and dressed and then headed outside. The night was cool and this was one of the few times she didn't go for the food. Honestly, she was afraid if she ate it wouldn't stay down. She made her way to an open area of grass and then laid down and looked up at the stars, well what she could see of them anyway. Maybe she needed to learn meditation, either way she was awake now with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Sometimes, life sucked.

[Gambit]

Crimson colored irises set in dark orbs stared out into the vast abyss of the night sky, taking in the stars. He preferred them over a television any day. Taking out a cigarette, he lit it with a small amount of his power. Nothing like a quiet smoke under the stars and moon.

Sharp ears caught the sound of a door opening and closing on the wind. Someone up at this hour? With his curiousity peaked, he sat up and looked in the direction the sound came from. The crimson eyes of one trained in darkness picked out a sole figure easily out of the shadows that cloak it. It must have been one of the students, seemingly female? Maybe a jolie dame in distress?

With curiousity getting the best of him, he rolled off the roof and landed lightly on the ground. A cloud of smoke escaped his lips as he silently made his way after the student. Finally stepping into an open area, he spoke up loud enough to be heard while remaining careful not to startle her. Well, not to startle her too much.

"Bit late ta be out an' 'bout ain't it, Petit?"

[Sunshine]

Penny had been trying to rid herself of the fear the nightmare left. She didn't even hear the man land. Well she wouldn't have anyway because of how quiet he was. When he spoke she didn't jump but she sat straight up and looked around. "Early actually." Her head tilted to the side as she finally located where the voice came from. The smoke tipped her off. "What about you? A little late, huh?" She had to admit the accent intrigued her and she wondered how much she could get him to talk.

The girl shifted so she was sitting cross legged in the grass and tilted her head back to look up at him. "I'm Penny." Something in the back of her mind told her she at least knew of this guy, if not on a personal level. But she dismissed it as just having seen him around. She patted the ground in front of her and hoped that he'd sit if they were actually going to talk, otherwise her neck was going to kill her in no time flat.

[Gambit]

Gambit raised an eyebrow at her reaction, or her lack thereof. No surprise or fear just an interest as she looked in his direction. He dismissed her lack of surprise and let out a small chuckle at her response. It was early was it? He must have been on the roof longer than he thought. He could have sworn it was 'late' last time he checked.

"Ah though' it was early, no?" he asked with a smile. At the sight of her offering a spot next to him, he moved over to sit next to her. Gambit wasn't one to ignore a woman's beckoning. He let out a deep breath of smoke and nodded as she gave him her name, showing that he heard. He plucked the cigarette from his mouth to dispose of it, while he enjoyed them most women did not.

"Ma name's Gambit, Cher," he spoke gazing into her eyes, adding a bit of his Cajun Charm. "Ya a early riser? Don' see many up while the moon still out...An' Ah think Ah woulda noticed ya before, Ah don' forget a lovely face." The cigarette in his hand was then charged with a bit of energy and he threw it a safe distance away where it exploded like a small firecracker.

[Sunshine]

Alright she was curious. She liked the way he talked and wondered how much more she could get him to say. Really didn't care what he said, just as long as he kept talking. "I went to sleep and woke up, it's early. I don't mind if you smoke." She looked around and sighed softly, it was a great night/morning. She looked up at him when he said his name. An no wonder, she'd heard about him before. Now she can understand why sometimes he's all the girls talk about. Interesting.

"Hello, Gambit. Not usually this early, no. Got woken up so to speak. What about you?" She blushed a bright red when he said she had a pretty face. Then she looked behind her almost expecting someone else to be there. "Couldn't go back to sleep so I came out here." She cleared her throat and then smiled at him. Her head tilted when he charged and tossed the cigarette. "Nice. You know the girl's talk about you right?"

[Gambit]

“Neva good to smoke too much, Cher,” he said watching the cigarette blow up. “Ruins ah kiss…” he finished. Too much smoke tasted on the breath and lips didn’t often appeal to woman. A small taste of smoke sometimes drew them in and hooked them. However, if all they tasted was smoke the warning bells would go off. Women didn’t like a man with too many bad habits. The occasional smoke could be overlooked.

The comment about her sleep didn’t escape him though. People didn’t tend to break normal sleeping habits unless something happened. A loud roommate that snored could have woken her or a nightmare maybe? There were a bunch of possibilities, but he wouldn’t bring them up. Best to let her ask for help if she wanted it. So he dismissed the trouble that could have woken her, he wasn’t one to meddle… usually.

"Jus enjoyin' som quiet an' watchin' the stars," he answered. Her blush was cute, it made her look innocent and shy even though she tried to cover it up by looking around. If anyone wandered close Gambit would notice, it was rare anyone could sneak up on one trained as a thief and assassin.

Her comment about girls talking about him didn’t really surprise him at all. Gambit did have a tendency to flirt around with most of them even though he wasn’t after any of them. It was just another habit of his he hadn’t yet broken. “Course Ah do, Cher,” he said smiling at her. “Ya wouldn’ happen ta be one of them, eh?”

[Sunshine]

Oh golly the rumors about him were true. Penny ran a hand over her face to cover her embarrassment. That and the blush. It had to be the way he said stuff, that had to be it. He had one of those voices and accents that just.... Before she went into total dream mode she shook her head and frowned a bit. "Oh that was embarrassing....." All the guy had to do was say the word 'kissing' and she went gooey. That can't be good. But he said so.. so... Again she shook her head to try to clear it. Boy, she must be more tired than she thought. Then she shrugged. "Wouldn't know about that kissing stuff."

"It is nice out here. I'm thinking I should get up this early more often." She chuckled a bit at that. No she really wouldn't want to get up this early, she'd fall asleep in class. Brown eyes blined up at him. "Nope, at least not yet. I just met you and haven't really seen you before. But I can understand why they do. It's gotta be the accent." Again she covered her face and was wondering how fast her chunky butt could get up and run. This was one of those awkward honest moments she had told Mr. Wisdom about.

[Gambit]

The girl beside him could have beat out an apple contest of which was redder. "She must get flustered easily," he thought to himself as she stated her embarrasment. Maybe he should ease up on the charm lest he end up making her faint. Then again, she hadn't fainted yet...and he just couldn't resist commenting on her next statement.

"Ah'd be glad ta teach ya a bit 'bout this 'kissin stuff'," he said slyly, giving her a charming smile. He was joking of course, but she didn't have to know that just yet. And it'd be fun to see how she reacted until she realized he was just kidding.

He had to cut her a bit of slack though. She had a good head on her shoulders. She didn't judge him based on rumors alone, instead she let her decision for after she knew him better. But she was starting to fluster herself more, best try and calm her down a bit. "Ya should relax Cher, that was a joke and Ah don' bite. Well, unless ya inta tha' sorta stuff..." he trailed off for a bit before catching himself. He was trying to calm her not make her die of embarrasment. "But honestly Cher, relax. Ah'm just 'nother guy once ya get to know me and get past the accent."

[Sunshine]

Penny thought she was going to die when he said he could teach her about kissing. She knew he was just teasing her. She knew it, but she still felt that little flutter that a girl gets when a situation like this occurs. But Penny being honest, to quite a fault looked up at him. "Don't tease. I'd say yes, even if I knew you didn't mean it. Then you'd have to tell me you were teasing, then it becomes a whole mess and I don't even know why I'd say yes. OK well I do know why but it wouldn't be good because, you don't mean it, and I heard you had a girlfriend anyway, and she'd kick my butt." Well it seems that perhaps her nightmare was continuing only this time she wasn't waking up from it. Perhaps now would be a good time to find a place to hide.

She groaned when he mentioned biting and wondered if he couldn't help making sexual references. Gosh but she was going to have a very long day. "It's not your fault, it's a girl thing. It's not just the accent from what I gather either. It's the way you use it. I guess that doesn't make any sense but I know what I mean. It's a natural part of you but you wield it like a... a... sexual tension weapon. But it's not your fault. I just have to get used to it." Absently she wondered if he was ever not blamed for it. She knew a lot of the girls would blame him for leading them on, but even she could tell that wasn't his intention. Penny had a funny feeling if you were the girl he was interested in you'd definitely tell and she didn't know she'd pity the girl or be jealous of her.

[Gambit]

The girl next to just kept getting more and more flustered. Maybe it was about time he eased up on her. He didn’t want to seem cruel. However, when she stated that she would have taken him up on the offer…well, he just had to be just slightly interested. He wouldn’t be much of a man if he wasn’t. The reminder of Rogue derailed that train of thought quickly. “Ah think Ah’d be more worried than you Cher…” She’d kill him. And it would be hell to make it up to her. But he had to be honest, it was frustrating sometimes being unable to touch her. To love her… He sighed and dismissed those thoughts as well. They would find a way.

He relaxed and chuckled at her as she continued. It was way to easy to fluster her. She was making it too easy for him to make those kinds of comments. Remy barely kept himself from offering to relieve that sexual tension. He did though, the thought of a furious Rogue kept him mouth shut. “Ah have other weapons, ‘side ma voice, Cher.” Well damn…that one honestly slipped. It wasn’t even suppose to be suggestive. “But Ah don’ think Ah’ll be usin’ ‘em on ya. Ah’d rather not break ma Rogue’s heart…”

[Sunshine]

All she had to do was keep reminding herself that he had a girlfriend and he was just teasing. Besides, it was her, he wouldn't have meant it even if he was single. But he wasn't single and that was what was going to save her. Or drive her slightly mad, she wasn't sure which way to go on that subject yet. "I was just warning you, I'd probably cave, so it'd be best not to even tease about it." Her honesty was going to keep her single for the rest of her life, even if she ever lost her wait. Either that or she was going embarrass herself into an early grave. The funny thing is, she's not even blaming him for any of this.

At his next words she groaned and fell backwards. She laid there staring up at the stars. Who really could blame her? She was a nineteen year old virgin that hadn't even been kissed yet, and he was... Well... Gambit. That alone explained most of it. "You are not good for my mental health. Actually... " She sits back up and looks at him. "Actually, I think I understand it a bit now. You are one of those guys, that girls only hear about, but never thought they'd actually meet. That bad boy with enough charm to tempt a Saint out of her knickers. No matter how much we swear we would never... You are that kind of guy that we wouldn't even have to be drunk to do whatever you wanted. While it's exciting and thrilling, it scares the beejeesus out of us at the same time. We are torn between wanting to say yes and forget the consequences and saying no thinking that it will save us from making complete fools of ourselves. Even though, much like I am right now, we make fools of ourselves anway. And the worst of it... It's not even your fault. You are just being yourself. It's all on us, but I bet you get blamed for it don't you? That's not fair." She took a breath and then looked at the ground. She started to pick at the grass then looked back at him. "Can I get one of those?" She pointed to his pack of cigarettes.

[Gambit]

Cave in? Gambit was pretty sure it was safe to assume she wasn't in a relationship right now with what she was telling him as well as the easy embarrassment. Temptation was a cruel thing indeed, it always took on a pleasing shape. Penny was a nice girl and easy on the eyes. If he hadn't found Rogue she'd most likely already be in his arms. Then again, that might not have been much of a good thing. Not many of his past relationships had lasted long. Rogue was the only exception. She was different from the other women even Penny. That wasn't to say Penny wasn't special, just not for him. He was sure she'd fine the right person given time.

His attention went back to Penny as she tried to decifer him. "Ya flatterin' me Cher. And Ah don' think ya a fool, just honest. That's a good thing." She asked for one of his cigarettes and he gave her a slightly stern look. They weren't good in the slightest, a young girl like herself shouldn't be smoking. But his gaze eased. "These things ain't good for ya physical health either Cher." Nontheless he offered her one. Plenty of thing would kill you these days, not just cigarettes. "Need a light?"

[Sunshine]

He wasn't saying much and Penny was arguing with herself to shut up. Really, if she dug the hole she was in any deeper she may as just lay down and die. It wasn't even that she was interested in him, well every girl was, but she would rather have a boyfriend then a fling. He just got her all flustered and she didn't know which way was up. But now she looked like a Desperate Housewife and there was no taking any of it back. "I'll shut up now."

She tilted her head at the look he gave her. She was nineteen, not nine, and she found out that unless she was really stressed out, she didn't smoke. "There are a lot of things not good for my physical health. Fried chicken being one of them, and I'm not giving that up for anything." She nodded when he asked her if she needed a light. "Please?" Once it was lit she took a drag and the let it out slowly. "Let's make a deal, because I really would like to be your friend. You try to tone down the flirting, and I'll try not to be so... so.... flustered. I think once I actually get to know you it and get fully comfortable it won't be an issue. OK?" She really would like to be his friend and the flirting would have been fun if she had been prepared for the impact of his charm.

[Gambit]

When she asked for a light, he pulled out another one of his cards and charged it. It was much easier than fighting with a cheap lighter. And, in his opinion, a bit more robust. He tossed the card far away so that it wouldn't cause any harm and stood as she proposed her deal. He was getting a bit stiff not moving around so he stretched himself out a bit while listening to her.

"Sounds like a deal ta me, Cher." He offered her a hand up. "Best be gettin' back now though. Ya can finish the smoke on the way."

[Sunshine]

Penny watched as he charged the card and then lit her cigarette. Her eyes tracked it when he threw it and she sighed softly. She watched as she stood up and wondering how bad she tanked all of this. Maybe she should just lock herself in her kitchen or room, it would save her the embarrassment. She took his hand when he offered to help her up and gave him a small smile. "It's a deal then." She looked around and nodded. "We probably should, breakfast will be served soon and then classes. I'll need coffee."