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It was a perfect spring day. Not warm enough for her cropped shorts, but not so cold she needed more than one layer. Birds were making their nests while singing their love songs to the newly bloomed daffodils. The weather was in its lamb phase of March, and early rain showers had left the garden glistening with dewdrops.
Perfect, Rogue thought to herself as she stretched in the afternoon sun. She had been cooped up in a meeting all day listening to Scott natter on about team logistics and battle strategy like they were a bunch of trainees. Now, finally, she could do what she’d been itching to do all day— fly.
She took off like a comet, wind whipping through her hair, clouds breaking away as she twirled through them. It felt like freedom. Nothing compares, she thought, to the rush of soaring through the bright blue sky. Rogue laughed like a wild child as she chased a pair of barn swallows. They chattered at her while swooping and dancing around each other, and an idea sprouted in her head.
It was a terribly silly idea. But one she couldn’t shake. She wanted to share this— this deeply personal, almost sacred pastime— with him.
As soon as she’d determined to ask him, the anxiety set in. What if he refused? That was unlikely. Gambit was up for almost anything when it involved her. What really worried her was that he wouldn’t enjoy it. She had flown him before, of course, in the midst of battles; caught him when he was thrown by some villain-of-the-week. But, this was different. This was special. There was a vulnerability about her up here where no one else could reach her. Sure there were others who could fly, but they never interrupted this little ritual of hers because they understood. And there was a chance that he… wouldn’t. Though it may sound silly, it’d kind of break her heart a little if she shared this piece of herself, and he just wasn’t interested.
Rogue floated back down to their rooftop more tense than she’d been when she’d taken off, and that almost never happened. The smell of lingering smoke alerted her to his presence before anything else. She tried to cool her expression, but knew right away by his tilted gaze that she had failed. Sometimes she cursed his Gambit sensibilities.
“Comment ca va?” He asked lightly, “Somethin’ on your mind, Chere?”
Rogue crossed her arms and grumbled, “Sometimes I think you may be a secret telepath or something…”
Gambit shrugged, “Maybe I'm bluffin’.”
“Are you tryin’ to make me fold?” She said with a flirtatious flip of her hair.
He grinned like a kid in a candy store. It always tickled his fancy when she made card puns with him. Maybe it would distract him from trying to figure her out. And it looked like it might’ve worked. He had that twinkle in his eye he always had before saying something untoward.
He hummed, and she preemptively rolled her eyes before he said, “I do enjoy making you fold in every manner of ways, mon amour, but—” Rogue silently cursed. So much for honey traps. “— you ain’t answered my question yet. What’s eatin’ you, cause I know it ain’t me.”
“... Scoundrel.”
“You love it.”
Rogue huffed, her cheeks pink with embarrassment that had nothing to do with his ridiculous innuendos. “It's silly, but I'd like to fly with you,” She finally admitted.
“In the Blackbird?” He asked, confused.
“No, that's not—” Rogue took a second to temper her tone. She didn't want him to think she was angry. “I mean, I'd like to take you flying with me. There's somethin’ real special about flying. I don't have the words, but… I'd like to share it with you.” There, she'd said it, and now she felt completely ridiculous. “You don't hafta, of course—”
“I'd love to.”
“Really?”
“You know I’d go anywhere with you, right?” He grinned, “Fly me to the moon, Chere.”
“It's the middle of the afternoon.” Sweeping him up into her arms, her heart felt a little lighter than it had before. She wondered if she'd ever be able to measure up to how much he loved her. “But, I’ll see what I can manage. You ready, Sug?”
“I don’t know,” he joked. “Do you have a seat belt? If you fly anything like you drive, I’ll be needin’—”
Rogue took off like a bullet, spinning at a velocity which made Gambit immediately stop talking to cling to her. As she broke through the clouds, she reminded herself she was supposed to make this enjoyable, not traumatic. Slowing her aerial maneuvers to a cruise speed, she glided across the skyline. Remy unburied his face from her neck as a flock of starlings flew by in a wave of feathers and soprano chirps. She flew with them, mimicking their path— a twisting torrent of swoops and dives.
Finally, she dared to look at his face. His cheeks were pink, and his hair was a windy mess. He looked back at her with an exhilarating grin.
“Do a barrel roll.” He shouted over the wind.
She rolled her eyes but obliged, “You been playin’ too many of those silly games with Jubilee.”
They went on like that, with Gambit shouting out tricks, and Rogue complying with a bit of extra flair. “Loopty loop!” He’d shout, and she’d somersault them no fewer than three times. “Oh, but can you yo-yo?” He teased, and she’d snort, “High or low, Swamp Rat?” She threw in extra twirls, feigned a dead drop and let him slip just a hair from her grasp before catching him again.
By the time they touched back down on the roof, they’d missed lunch by a mile. Remy’s legs were a bit like jelly, and she laughed a bit at his expense as the usually graceful man stumbled. He glared back half-heartedly before saying, “Chere, I don’t know what you were so worried about. Hoo, Lawd! Gave me frissons in the best way.”
She laughed, “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” They were about to open the door to head down and steal some food from the fridge when she stopped him, “Darlin’ hold up a sec, you got somethin’...” She picked a huge goose feather out of his hair with a laugh.
“Merci, mon chérie.”
“Welcome.” She said before adding, “and thank you.”
“Ain’t no need for thanks, not when I got to spend the afternoon in your arms.” He leaned down for a kiss, and she met him in the middle. Just the simple brush of lips; afterall, her control was somewhat exhausted after an afternoon of holding her powers back. “Pleasure was all mine, Chere. Always.”