Chapter 3
-----Gambit managed to get the Danger Room to display a peaceful meadow without any opponents. Gambit had programmed the dimensions of his Bo staff into the computer and now handed Rogue his, he took the prop. Rogue removed her glove and put the tip of her finger on the tip of Gambit’s for a second. He began teacher her how to wield the staff; she learned quickly and soon could do several combinations fluidly. Gambit was very pleased,
“You are doing excellent.” He said as he stood up from the last move he’d just shown her. Rogue stepped closer, smiling,
“That’s because I have an excellent teacher.” She reached up and kissed him gently. He smiled tenderly at her as she began to repeat the move he’d done. With Gambit’s knowledge and his direct teaching, Rogue easily completed each move he showed her with little to no errors.
-----Logan entered to find Gambit and Rogue performing a complicated series of movements in perfect unison. He watched in awe, smiling. When the two had finished, he approached. Logan tossed a glance at Gambit who gave the slightest nod before heading for the control room to switch off the Danger Room. Logan approached Rogue and somehow she knew – he’d changed since she saw him a few hours ago. He came up and hugged her. Rogue was a little surprised,
“Whoa!” She said as she closed her eyes and hugged him back. He held her tight, as if
he’d been the one traumatized while
she lay unconscious in bed for a month. Finally, he loosened his grip and she leaned back to look up at him,
“What’s gotten into you?” She asked, smiling broadly.
“I’ve just…I’ve missed you.” He said, his eyes gentle and full of affection.
“Aw, Ah’ve missed you too Logan.” She said, almost tearing up. Just then Gambit came back in and, seeing the looks on both their faces, as he came to stand beside Rogue, knew that they had finally past the “rough patch” and they were as close as ever. Having just caught the end of the conversation, Gambit chimed-in,
“Hasn’t anyone missed me?” He asked playfully, pretending to be hurt. They all laughed and Rogue leaned against him.
“How could Ah miss you? You were there for me the whole time.” She said lovingly. He smiled and gently kissed her head, misty-eyed. Seeing how close Gambit was to tears, Logan changed the subject,
“Blind Alley?” Gambit caught Logan’s eye and nodded gratefully, Rogue smiled broadly.
-----Blind Alley was a particularly tricky program where you fought blindfolded. Not surprisingly, Logan held the impossible record for this program, but Rogue was getting pretty good at it.
-----Gambit leaned back and laughed,
“Aw, man! You guys are ganging up on me.” He’d never been very good at this one.
“You can sit this one out if you’re not up to it Cajun.” Logan smiled at the playful taunt. Rogue smiled at the two.
“And let you have all the fun? No way!” Gambit replied, grinning challengingly.
“Let’s see what you got.” Logan leaned forward slightly. Gambit narrowed his eyes,
“You’re on!” Rogue sighed in mock exasperation,
“Boys?” She called softly, as if they were lost thought. They both looked over at her.
“Can we start?” She asked eagerly. They both nodded and fastened their blindfolds, she did the same.
“Begin.” Logan said clearly, starting the program.
Chapter 4
-----Rogue took advantage of her new skills with a Bo staff and, using the computer-generated prop, successfully downed many opponents. She did considerably well; almost always being with Logan, she had taught herself how to really
listen and was now knocking opponents down as they approached rather than after they attacked.
-----Gambit fumbled around in his blind-fold, almost knocking Wolverine down multiple times.
“Hey! Watch it, Cajun!” Logan growled, ducking as heard Gambit’s staff slicing through the air.
“I don’t know how you guys do it.” Gambit said, amazed, as they reviewed the score once the session had ended. Blind Alley was one of the few programs that kept score, and Rogue was now in third place – just below Beast, though neither of them was even close to beating Logan.
“You can’t just swing around aimlessly,” Logan smiled.
“You have to focus. Think. Listen.” He replaced his blindfold, ready for another round.
“Easy for you to say!” Gambit swung his staff at Logan, who ducked effortlessly.
“You hear everything!” Rogue laughed, tying her blindfold,
“You don’t have to have heightened senses to beat the computer, Remy.” She motioned for him to swing at her too. He hesitated, not wanting to hurt her but he knew she could take it. He sighed quietly, and swung at her too. She threw up her hand and grabbed his staff; catching him off-guard, she easily yanked it from his grasp and swung around, performing a newly-learned move that ended with the staff just a few inches from his throat. Gambit stared at her, wide-eyed with surprise.
“Stop gaping and put your blindfold back on!” Logan whispered from behind him, making him jump as Rogue tossed his staff back to him. Gambit smiled, now determined to use all of his senses in an attempt to jump to fourth place.
“Begin.” He said as steadily as he could.
-----Seeing Gambit’s new score, Rogue almost knocked him over with an ecstatic hug; Logan gave him an approving nod and wide smile – he was tied with Beast for third place.
“Oooph! You did excellent too!” He said, noticing that Rogue had beat Beast by several points. Rogue let go and grinned.