Work Text:
One love, one blood
One life, you got to do what you should
One life, with each other
Sisters, brothers
One life but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One
One
Everyone hears Lila Cheney’s beautiful voice slowly fade out as the newlyweds finish their first dance. “One” by U2 was chosen by the couple and the gathered crowd watched Scott and Jean part ways.
He’s one of the only two people not watching the newlyweds. His attention is on her. Her red dress catches his eye, like a shining ruby in a sea of blacks, whites, and blues. He sees her sweet smile, and almost unconsciously, he smiles back. He feels like the luckiest man alive, whenever she looks at him. Glancing over to the newlyweds, he sees Scott dancing with Jean’s mom, while Jean is dancing with her dad. It gives Remy an idea for later. He heads towards her, ready for anything. From the moment he first met her, he fell. He fell hard for her. And today, maybe it’s finally the chance to show her.
She was watching him, moving like the thief he is. Every move is calculated. He saunters over to her, his red eyes glowing with mischievous intent. He cracks a smooth smile at her and she feels her heart lurch. Glancing over to the newlyweds, she sees Jean dancing with her dad, and Scott dancing with her mom. It hurts Anna Marie knowing she can’t. Not without these long gloves. She can’t touch anyone, can’t connect with anyone. And of course, she picks the one man that can’t be pinned down to fall for.
They part ways, as the ladies get ready to catch the bouquet. He uses that time to try and enact his plan. He looks around at the guests, locating the one person he needs to make this work.
“Leech! I need your help with a little project I got cooking up,” Gambit says, kneeling down so he’s eye to eye with the kid. He explains his full plan, calmly, and with a wide smile. Leech, seeing how enthusiastic Gambit is about this plan, readily agrees with little convincing. In an uncharacteristic move, Gambit hugs the little kid in thanks, ecstatic that his plan has a chance of working. “Remember, not until I give the signal, and not until everyone else leaves.” Leech smiles widely and gives his agreement.
“Hey! No fair! She can fly!” Gambit hears the commotion and the only person who be that loud but still entertaining was Jubilee. Heading over, he sees that Rogue has caught the bouquet in midair.
“You got it, Squirt, then you can flaunt it!” Rogue taunts. Gambit can’t help but smile at that. But before he can do anything, he sees Beast, Cable, Forge, Warpath, Archangel, and Strong Guy lining up as Scott slides the garter off of Jean’s leg. It gives him a second idea, and with a mischievous grin, he tosses a playing card at the group as they lunge for the thrown piece of fabric. In the confusion of the explosion, Gambit, his fist glowing in kinetic energy, emerges the victor.
“Now, mes amis, you didn’t think I’d give anyone else a chance t’slip this on the little lady, did you? I t’ink not,” Gambit retorts, spinning the garter on his finger.
“Was that really necessary, Gambit? It is just a garter,” Beast lectures from near the bottom of the human, well mutant, dogpile.
“I t’hink we both know it wasn’ Beastie Boy. Not gonna subject my girl to Guido, of all people, putting a garter on her.”
“Hey!” Guido shouts indignantly from the bottom of the pile. “Actually, that’s totally legit.”
He feels on top of the world as he approaches her.
She feels on top of the world as she approaches him.
“Well, don’t you look like the cat that ate the canary, Gambit,” Rogue teasingly says, a smile forming on her face. He smiles at her and cocks an eyebrow.
“Is there an R-rated version of that phrase? If so, you may be right, chère.” He takes her hand and leads her away, wanting to do this ‘away from prying eyes.’
She sits in a chair, with her heart pounding in her ears. He stretches the garter as far as he can and slips it up her leg, careful to avoid even the slightest brush against her skin. He wonders if she’s enjoying this as much as he is. She wonders if he’s enjoying it as much as she is. He pulls her to her feet, the two close enough to kiss. But he backs away and grabs her hand, leading her back to the reception area. Before they part again, he tells her to come back here after everyone left. Before she can even question his plan, he disappears.
Hours pass and Gambit is the only one left. He walks through, slowly moving tables and chairs out the way. He grabs a few decorative pebbles from a jar on one of the tables and keeps them in his pocket. Satisfied with the amount of space he created, he waits.
She watches him fix up the area, perplexed at what he’s up to. She sees him stop, and she figures it’s time for her to make her entrance. While his back is to her, she hugs him. Sneaking up on a thief is normally a bad idea, but Gambit almost immediately recognizes who it is and relaxes in a way that he never has before. Turning around, he hugs her.
He starts swaying to a beat that’s not there and moving her to the rhythm playing his head. Going along with him, she dances with him, following his lead. As he spins her, he reaches into his pocket, pulls the decorative pebbles out, and tosses them above their head. He charged them with enough energy to make them explode in a sea of rainbow dust, illuminated by the night sky. He looks and sees Leech getting into position and with a nod of his head, Leech sets up a dampening field around the two of them.
“Chère, you make Gambit feel like a lucky man,” He leans in as if to kiss her. She tenses for a second, afraid to hurt him.
“This is our story, Remy. We flirt, an’ we fight, but we can’t- we can’t.” She stops herself for a second, with tears in her eyes. “Ah don’t wanna hurt you. An’ touching mah skin will hurt you.”
“Gambit don’t get hurt, you know this, petite. And ‘sides, how you gonna hurt me?” Upon asking that, he places his bare band on her bare shoulder. She flinches for a second before realizing that her powers aren’t kicking in. She looks over Gambit’s shoulder and sees Leech concentrating on keeping a field up, and it clicks for her. He set this whole thing up. For her. She laughs and moves in closer to him. Before he can move, she traps his lips with hers, and the two fall to the ground, one large smile split between the two of them.
If they weren’t sure how strong their feelings were for each other before this, at this moment they knew it was love.