Fanfiction Archive

Ice and Thaw (3805 words) by Overlord_Mordax
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: X-Men – All Media Types, X-Men (Comicverse), Marvel 616, Marvel (Comics)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Remy LeBeau/Rogue
Characters: Remy LeBeau, Rogue (X-Men)
Additional Tags: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Domestic Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Christmas Fluff, Holidays, Ice Skating
Summary:

Gambit and Rogue go ice skating together on the pond behind the mansion under two different sets of circumstances.

Rogue sat on the bench, typing her second ice stake on tightly, and looking unsure about the whole afair. She glanced up at her partner for the afternoon from under a thick lock of curly hair.

“So where _did_ you learn to ice skate, sugar? Or is this gonna be a teaching moment?”

Gambit flashed her one of his usual grins…rougish and devil may care…as he checked the laces on his boot a second time.

“My ol’ job taught me a lotta skills, cher.” he winked , before looking out over the snowy landscape of Westchester in midwinter, flakes of snow fluttering down and landing in the chestnut waves of his hair as he gestured to the ice.

“Skatin’ should be a piece of cake.”

“Uhuh. I’m hearing the ‘should be’ there, hon,” she flashed him a dubious smile of her own. “If you break your teeth, I can’t promise I won’t laugh. But I do promise to get ya back to the medbay.”

She tugged on her laces a last time, and quite gracefully and smoothly stood on the blades.

“Well ain’t you just the sweetest.” he laughed as he slipped slowly to his feet…notably careful as he balanced himself on the blades.

He managed, standing smoothly with a cocky grin on his face and a hand on his hip.

“Ain’t the worst price to pay to hear a gal like you laughin’, I suppose.” He took a step and wobbled, his foot rapidly returning back to the ice.

“Easy there, sugar!” Rogue’s arm darted out to scoop under his, stabilizing him. They were both quite bundled up for an outting like this. At least there wasn’t any danger of an… accident.

Gambit laughed, glancing over at her “aw. Well lookie here.” He looped his arm smoothly around her waist, and regained…perfect balance with a wink.

“Looks like you really do like me, pretty thing.”
With how steady he was on his feet, even on the blades, and the cocky edge to his smile…

It must have been a gambit all along.

Rogue huffed, pursing her lips. “You cheeky devil,” she chuckled, pucnhing him– lightly all things considered– in the arm. But then she smiled. “Alright, alright, let’s get on the ice then, you con man.”

“I am what I am.” He laughed as he tugged her gently towards the frozen pond , his skates making contact and sliding gently over the surface…the ice holding up nicely below.

“and it got a pretty thing like you in my arms, so I ain’t gonna complain ’bout my nature.”

“Watch it, buster,” she chuckled. “If you think you can butter me up you are _sadly_ mistaken.”

She stepped out onto the icy pond behind the mansion, smoothly making the transition from walking to skating.

“Ain’t gonna stop me from trying.” Remy said as he slid out onto the ice with a chuckle “wouldja believe I got a crash course in skating from ol’ Bobby Drake?”

“He wasn’t happy I was such a fast learner.”

“Oh I see, he was tryin’ to knock ya down a peg, was he?” She pulled him behind her– watching to see if and how well he’d follow.

He gripped her gloved hands…maybe a little tighter than his bravado and outward confidence warranted, and followed along.

The man wasn’t a natural…but he never lacked for balance, his blades cutting thin lines in the ice as he followed with only a _little_ difficulty.

“Well, can’t blame the guy.” Gambit winked. “It’s me. But he ain’t got the best of me yet.”

“I’ll pay to watch the next round,” Rogue teased. She skated slowly in a wide figure 8, letting him follow her and get used to the pond.

He followed, his smooth turn hitching slightly as he stumbled around the curve of the eight…but he got his footing fast enough with a low chuckle.

“I’ll save a ticket for ya, cher.”

He looked up at her “you skate a lot?”

“I mean, not in the summer time,” she laughed, giving him a bashful smile. “Believe it or not, my mom Irene liked it.”

“…._Irene_” He said, for a moment looking actually taken by surprise.

“Destiny was a big figure skater. Really? Huh. Learn somethin’ new every day.”

“Probably the same reason she liked motorcycles and rollercoasters so much,” Rogue chuckled. “That feeling of motion. Sometimes when I’m skatin’ I close my eyes for a second to feel what it feels like for her but uh– then I open em again cause I don’t wanna crash.”

Remy laughed out loud, and gripped her hand a little tighter to pull her into an impromptu spin.
“Prolly for the best, cher. You’re hard to hurt, but it wouldn’t be _fun_.”

He grinned “I could hold ya for a second. Pull you along as ya keep them eyes closed for a second…you know. Make sure you don’t careen into a tree.”

She laughed, spinning around with him and making them go a little faster. “Oh and you think I trust you enough to let you do that, huh, sugar?”

“You don’t trust me, hon? My heart’s breakin’.” He kept his footing steady as they spun across the lake.

“Is this ’cause of that whole mess on that mission to Paris?” he shook his head “it’s real cute though…nice to hear you got some good memories of ’em.”

“Don’t remind me of Paris,” she huffed lightly, breaking the spin, and dragging him across the ice after her. “But yeah… it ain’t all bad….”

“Yes ma’am.” He flashed her his best smile as she dragged him along. He wasn’t about to complain.
“better than the alternative.” he chuckled , a little under his breath.

She glanced back over her shoulder at him. “I didn’t catch that?”

“Better than the alternative.” he said with a roll of his shoulders. “of there ain’t bein’ much good at all lookin’ back. That’s all.”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” she bit her lip thoughtfully. “So you didn’t expect me to skate– anything unexpected you got in there for me?”

She spun him close to her again.

Gambit leaned in close…as close as he could get as he swung in on the smooth curve of the ice. “Maybe, maybe. I’m a man of many talents…might have somethin’ up my sleeve for you.”

“Do you make cocoa?” she asked, pulling his wrists toward her, and swinging the two of them so that she was skating backwards, and him forwards toward her.

“You sure you ain’t grabbed a mind reader lately?” He flashed a grin “…I do make cocoa. Picked up a recipie from an ol’ pal of mine back in the day.”

His fingers curled against hers under his gloves, and he looked into her eyes as they slid across the lake “How about I make you a cup when we get in. Special.”

She curled her fingers against his and smiled. “Alright, sugar. Deal.”

She closed her eyes and let the momentum carry them along for the momeng– trustingly.

Gambit may have been a bit of a bastard from time to time…he knew that better than anyone.
But the last thing he wanted to do was betray that trust…so he kept them both on a safe trajectory, getting as close to her as he dared. “Deal, cher.”

She let them slow after a moment, squinting one eye open. “Well! I do declare we haven’t crashed into anything!” she teased.

“Toldja I’m full of surprises.” He purred with a wink. “how’d it feel with the wind on your face?”

“Felt nice,” she murmered, flushing a little. “Thanks.”

Gambit leaned a little closer “anytime, cher. Anytime. ‘sides. You looked awful cute with that look on your face.”

“Always mr. altruism,” she teased, pulling him around the pond in a long, slow curve as they closely got closer and closer.

“what can I say….I’m a better guy than the x-folks give me credit for.” he purred as his chest bumped against hers, closing the distance.

She let out a small noise as their bodies collided and they glided together slowly, face to face. Rogue swallowed hard, and glanced away.

Gambit chuckled as she turned away “aw, don’t I get a look at those pretty eyes of yours?”

“You’re gonna be lookin at the back of your own eyelids if we keep it up like this,” she murmured, blushing. “Maybe it oughta be time for cocoa…”

“maybe…maybe.” he purred “I’ll miss havin’ ya so close, though.”

“I know,” she murmured. “But you know I can’t…” they neared the edge of the rink, and Rogue slowed to a stop.

“I know, cher.” He said with a regretful smile.

“Maybe someday…for now though, just bein’ this close puts me on cloud nine.”

She thumped her fist against chest lightly and smiled up at him from under her cloud of hair, her eyes hidden. “There you go again, being almost a nice guy.”

“Damn.” he said with a laugh “…whatever am I gonna do about my reputation.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t spoil it for you. Well, not unless the cocoa’s _real_ good. Might not be able to help myself.” She bushed her hair out of her face to look up at him fully, but definitely wiped her eyes as well.

His hand reached out…hesitating in the air just by the fringe of her hair.

He let it lower , before he grabbed her shoulder instead. “then we’re both in danger.” he smiled “I make a damn good cup o’ cocoa.”

She smiled sadly at him and pulled away. “C’mon then, lover boy. Prove your chops.”

And with that, she headed back over to the bench to start untying her skates. As she walked away, Gambit noticed it had started to snow, and the flakes of it were getting caught in Rogues hair, making it sparkle and flash as she turned away from him.

He watched her for a long and quiet moment, untying his skates and working his feet from them.

He couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he murmured “Like a damn angel.”

000000000000000000

The snow was falling heavily, and there was a deep chill in the air as Rogue lingered by the doorway with her skates in hand. The sunlight was waning into dusk over the mansion grounds.

“Sugar, it’s freezing out, you sure you wanna go skating?”

“When’s a little cold ever stopped us?” Remy held his skates up as he lingered in the freezing air.

Even as he said it, he was visibly shivering. “If fuckin’ Bobby Drake can take it, so can Gambit.”

Even after all these years, his cocky grin was as debonair as ever. “thought it’d be romantic.”

She laughed and took his hand in her thick wooly mitten. “If we get frost bite, you’re the one explaining it in the medical center.”

“oof.” he grinned “and here I thought I could make it all better after by makin’ you a cup of that cocoa you like so much.”

He took her hand, and pulled her out into the cold “come on…I wanna get on the ice while I can still see your face.”

“Alright, alright, I’m goin, I’m goin,” she chuckled, following him out into the snow. “I swear, you are more like a kid than ever these days.”

“The older you get, the younger at heart ya gotta stay.” he laughed as he looped an arm over her jacketed shoulders. “Or you turn into an old bastard like Charles.”

“Lord have mercy, anything to avoid that,” she laughed, relaxing against his arm as they tromped out to the old pond. Her breath hung in the air. “You know I don’t think it was this cold last time we did this. God, how long ago was it even?”

“Hard to tell.” Remy peered out into the darkness “When things keep resetting…turning in on them selves….people keep dyin’ and coming back. But if I had to guess….a decade or so?”

He grinned at her “long enough for things to change. Least a bit.”

Rogue chuckled as they came up to the pond. The bench was already covered in snow. “Figured you were gonna say something like that. You ain’t wrong.”

“For one thing.” He put his hand to his chest “…you trust me a lil’ more.” he winked “ain’t the same ol’ Unreliable Remy I was back then.”

He said it with the air of a joke, before he bent down and began clearing snow from the bench for her.

She watched him, a soft smile on her face, somewhere between adoring and eyerolling. “Nah, now you’re ridiculous Remy, sugar.”

Still, she sat down after he’d cleared it and started switching her boots for her skates. “I guess I ain’t quite the same lady I was back then too. In a few ways.”

“In a few ways. Ain’t gotten any less gorgeous, I’ll say that.”

He winked at her as he knelt down and began working at his boots as well.

“Well, ain’t you the charmer,” she chuckled. “You need help with those?” She glanced at his boots as she finished tying on her skates.

“are ya offerin’?” He chuckled “yeah. these ol’ fingers are gettin’ stiff.” he joked “In my old age.”

She gave him a dubious look, “Uhuh. Sure. Alright grandpa, give it over here.”

He settled on the bench near her, grinning from ear to ear. “Thanks, ‘granny’. Careful, the new guard are going to start thinkin’ we’re unhip.”

“Well that’s just their bad taste,” Rogue tutted. With her mittens off, she carefully tied Gambit’s skate on, and tugged the other onto his foot. “What do they know– kids don’t even go to the mall any more.”

“yep.” Remy watched her as he moved his foot to help, an amused little smile on his face.
“Heard Jubilee literally cryin’ about it last week.”

“Poor thing,” she tutted, double knotting his laces, before standing up. She tugged her mittens on, and offered him a hand up. “I know she’s been takin’ it real hard.”

He grabbed her hand and shifted to his feet with a low chuckle “yeah, next thing you know she’ll be trying to turn the dorm hall into a makeshift mall. Ousting students from their beds so she can set up a Hot Topic.”

Rogue laughed. “Alright well if she did that she might actually get some interest. I know I’d take a look outta curiousity. C’mon, sugar. S’gettin’ dark.”

He stood with a stretch and balanced neatly upon the blades before taking her hand in his and tugging her towards the ice with a wink “and we don’t want to hit a tree while skating blind.”

She chuckled. “That’d sure put a damper on things. But you said it– I trust you.”

She stepped out onto the ice, and tugged him eagerly after her.

Gambit followed along, and skated deftly forward to scoop his arm around her waist and pull her close with a grin.

“How’d I ever manage that?”

“If I ever figure it out, I’ll let ya know,” she teased, gliding across the ice with him, leaning in close.

“Might be in the running for an actual miracle.” He chuckled “…I still remember the last five times your mom tried to kill me, hon.”

he leaned close, fingers curling against her side. .”but…I trust you too, ya know.”

She leaned her chin on his shoulder contentedly, and giggles. “Well hon, I remember the times she tried to kill me too. You ain’t special. Oh and let’s not forget the time or two _I_ tried to kill ya.”

“How could I forget.” He laughed as they cut twin paths through the ice, leaned chin to shoulder.

“_Rawr_. Can’t say i didn’t _enjoy_ it a little.”

“You lunatic,” she tutted, smiling at him happily as they skated across the ice in the waning light.

“Must be onna the things you like about me, cher.”

He reached up, toying the end of one of her locks of hair, humming as the two of them went into a lazy curve down the lake.

“God help me,” she teased. She clung close to him, and tugged at his arm suddenly, pulling him into a little tight spin.

He laughed, stumbling only a second before falling into the spin with his hands arm looping tighter around her waist.

“Dunno if god has anythin’ to do with it when it comes to us.” he winked “you know…”

“Yeah, you’re right,” she chuckled, turning her body around under his arms to press her back against his chest as she leaned into him and they glided across the ice.

He rested his chin against her shoulder, his breath forming clouds in the cool air as he grinned. “Did I tell you…way back then…how ya looked like an angel in the snow?”

She made a soft noise and leaned into his shoulder as they slowly cut a curve around the ice. “Been a long time. Better tell me now so I can remember.”

Gambit chuckled “You look like an angel in the snow, cher. When the snow catches in your hair, out on the ice. Like an angel come to earth, and for some reason spendin’ time with a grubby sinner like me.”

She laughed and shook her head, sending some of the fat flakes that had settled in her hair that night dancing back through the air. “Oh, Remy. I’m not angel. But even if I was I’d still love you.”

“And I’m glad for it.” He leaned a little closer “I know I’ve had my ups and downs…but you know I love ya, yeah?”

“I know,” she murmured, leaning closer to him in turn. She shifted her body as they skated so she was almost facing him again. “Maybe I wasn’t sure for a while. But I know.”

“I had trouble showing it for a bit.” He chuckled , almost ruefully. “And I’m a man who makes a lotta mistakes.”

He looked into her eyes as they made their way across the twilit lake. “Glad you know now.”

The waning embers of the sun cast the snow and ice in gold and lavender, and Rogue smiled up at him.

Their cheeks brushed, and she didn’t shy away. She pressed her lips to his.

He kissed her, grateful every time they did that the barrier between them had been lifted.

His arms tightened around her, his chilled lips pressing to hers as they came to a slow and sliding stop upon the gold and lavender ice.

She pressed her cheek to his as the kiss broke, and leaned into him, feeling his body against hers. “You know… last time we were out here, we couldn’t do that…”

“I was just thinking that.” He murmured as his stubbly cheek brushed hers.
“We’ve come a long way, haven’t we? Lotsa changes…and now here we are, kissin’ in the snow.”

“Kissin’ in the snow,” she murmured back. “I really never thought we’d get here.”

“Ya know, cher. I’d always hoped. Never knew for sure…but hoped.”

His hands pressed against her back, pulling her closer.

“Just took a little doin’.”

“A lotta doin,” she countered, kissing him on the chin. “But we did it.”

He tapped the bottom of her chin to grin at her “You’re the amazin’ one, sweetheart. I’m still the scrubby ol’ thief you picked up way back when.”

“I’d pick you up again, anytime, knowing how it all turne dout. Huh, mighta done that already,” she winked at him. “C’mon, it’s getting dark for real now– you oughta make me your cocoa.”

“you mighta.” He grinned as he offered her his hand “how about I walk you back an’ do just that. Hell. We can cuddle up with onna those old movies.”

She took his hand, leaning up close to him.. “I’d like that, Remy. I’d really like that.” In the waning light he could see the glimmer of tears in her eyes, despite her wide smile.

He reached up, and unlike last time…he could wipe them away without worry, using the back of one finger to brush the tears from under her eyes.

With a smile, he tugged her hand, and lead her off the ice.
“Me too , cher. Making up for lost time.”

She sniffled as they headed back to the bench, and leaned gratefully into his hand. “Yeah. I’ve never stopped being glad about it, you know? It was long enough that, I’m just still grateful for every moment….”

He smiled a little at her, before he helped her down to help her with her boots this time, nodding slowly “Never stopped bein’ glad about it neither , cher. Every moment…ups an’ downs and all. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

She looked down at him as he helped her, and she wiped her eyes. “You really mean it, sugar?”

He looked at her, unlacing her skates “You believe me , don’t ya?”

He nodded, his hair bouncing over the fringe of his eyes.

“I do. Mean it with all I’ve got.”

She leaned down, taking her mitten off, and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “I believe you, Remy.”

His face tinted the slightest red…not just from the cold, as he slipped her boot on.
“Means a lot to hear ya say that. I’d say the greatest heist I ever made was that heart of yours, but I think it went the other way ’round.”

She laughed, and sniffled, cupping his cheek with her fingers. “You and your corny lines… i love you so much.”

He placed his hand on his with a half smile “I love ya too, Anne Marie. And I got a million corny lines to letcha know.”

“And I’ll love every one of em, for some damned reason.” She stood up, and offered him a hand up.

He took it, and stood in a smooth motion. “terrible taste?”

She laughed and pulled him into her chest. “Yeah, prob’ly. Now lets get in the house. I’m _freezin_ and you gotta warm me up.”

He looped an arm around her with a grin as he suddenly scooped her into his arms “I’ve got _all kinds_ of was to warm you up, gorgeous. Starting with a blanket and some spiced cocoa~.”

“I’ll take it,” she declared nuzzling him as they headed back. “And after that we can see about your other methods.”

He carried her through the snow as it picked up, towards the bright lights of the Xavier mansion…the promise of a warm blanket and warmer drinks…and one another.

“Hope my luck holds out tonight, cher.” he teased.

“Sugar, I think it’s a pretty sure thing.”

0000000000000000000000000000