3rd Card Dealt [Action/Voice]

[kineticcajun]

[Finally. Finally the damn lights are out of his window. Gambit's never minded a little festivity, but when your eyes are sensitive to bright light, it gets a little hard to sleep when you can't. Take down. The Christmas lights.

So he's in a pretty good mood today. Snow aside, of course. He could do without that. But he's still venturing out in it - totally not slipping from time to time, you guys are imagining that - to swing by the grocery store.

Important business here. New Year's is coming up, and that means black-eyed peas. With the bad luck streak he's had going since he got here, he's going to need to make a ton of them for luck.

Which is making an idea dawn...]

[Voice]

What kinda New Year's celebrations y'all got 'round here? Seems like wit' all the dif'rent traditions poolin' in, there oughta be some kinda party. Gotta be one night outta the year this place gets good an' noisy.

[Filtered to Jubilee | 80% locked]

Hey, petite. I'm t'inkin' we could use some fireworks next weekend. Sound like a plan?

Comments

[touchofrogue]

That wasn't an invitation. [Huff. Who'd want to have hot chocolate with you, anyway, mischief maker.]

Ambusher. [So she'll just huff and start on her way back towards the Good Spirits.]

[kineticcajun]

[And he'll start after her. Because that huff makes all the button pushing worth it.]

'Course it wasn't. But warmin' up sounded like a good idea.

[Your very own Cajun shadow.]

[touchofrogue]

[Oh good Lord. She tosses her next comment over her shoulder.]

Good thing it's a big bar.

[But then she does bounce the door opened behind her so that he can catch it.]

[kineticcajun]

[And catch it he does! That totally counts as an invitation, for the record.]

Seems like it'd be a shame to spread out so much, non?

[touchofrogue]

[Curses. Next time she'll have to let the door close in his face.]

All that space - seems like it'd be a shame not ta use it.

[kineticcajun]

Why so opposed to a li'l company, chere?

[It can't possibly be because he's deliberately annoying you, right.]

[touchofrogue]

[Dryly:] I'd prefer ta keep my appetite.

[kineticcajun]

Keep your appetite? Gimme some credit, I know I ain't as repulsive as Toad.

[And she can play it cool all she wants, but he knows he's got to have something going for him if she's still putting up with him. To some extent.]

[touchofrogue]

[To an extent is right. Huff.]

Never said you were. That doesn't mean I wanna have a drink with you.

[kineticcajun]

[Sly grin.] Worried you might have too much fun?

[touchofrogue]

[Oh, that's too easy. She's not falling for that.]

What? From the likes of you? No.

[And she sits down on one of the bar stools. Look at all the space on either sie of her.]

'course not.

[...right. Of course she's not falling for that.]

[kineticcajun]

'course not.

[He'll ease onto a bar stool off to one side, leaving one empty in between them. And then actually be quiet for a moment.

Of course she isn't falling for it. But he's going to play along anyway and see what happens.]

[touchofrogue]

[Rogue is... going to ignore him, although it was a wise move leaving that one bit of space between them. This is the first time since the cave-in they've spent so much time together, and her instinctive friendly reaction to him outside was a cause for concern on further reflection. She's not sure where they stand now - again and it's frustrating.

Frustrating enough to order the whip cream with the hot chocolate and see if the barkeep can manage to put the right bits of jalapeño and cinnamon into it. She chances a sidelong glance at him. He's hard to ignore... one thing she'll say about him is that he's got Presence. And she enjoys talking with him. It's dangerous.

When will that hot chocolate get here to distract her?]

[kineticcajun]

[Ah, the ignore. Things seem to be returning pretty much back to the way they were. It's a little odd, after all that happened in the caves, but he's not exactly sure what he thought would happen once they got back to the village. This probably makes the most sense. Still an uphill journey.

The plain black coffee he ordered will probably be exactly what he's needing here.

He catches that sidelong glance and answers it with a small smile. He's sure they've both got plenty on their minds, and yet he's still taking the gently joking route.]

T'ink that order mighta been a bit too tough for 'em, chere.

[touchofrogue]

[And he caught her. Of course he caught her. It's not like he wasn't looking. She's got a bad feeling that he might be right.]

Have some faith in people, Swamp Rat. Ya never know. It could happen.

[kineticcajun]

[A day may come when Gambit does not notice a woman looking in his direction. It is not this day.]

The whipped cream and cinnamon, maybe. But gettin' the right amount of spice in there? [Headshake.]

[touchofrogue]

[A shrug.] Guess I'll find out.

[Looking AWAY from him now. Because that's so easy to do. Fortunately, her hot chocolate arrives. She cradles it in her gloved hands for a moment.]

[kineticcajun]

Guess so.

[Ah, and his coffee's here, too. Gambit is actually staying quiet for a moment again, this time in an attempt to warm up with this coffee. It may not be anything special, but it's hot. And with the way he can feel some traces of snow still in his hair - albeit melting a bit now - the warmth is definitely welcome.]

[touchofrogue]

[The trick with drinking hot chocolate piled high with whipped cream is "How do you drink it without getting whipped cream on your nose while sitting next to a hot guy?" Rogue is not sure she's mastered this trick, but she's about ready to give it a try.

She takes a cautious sip... yup. Too much cinnamon. Oh well, at least it's not undrinkable.

...how did they go from throwing snowballs at each other to this silence? Is it her fault? Which is better, which should she try to keep doing?]

[kineticcajun]

[Well, to be fair, it isn't so much silence anymore. Because Gambit is laughing quietly into his coffee.

Whipped cream is hard to triumph over, Rogue.]

Want me to get that for you, chere?

[touchofrogue]

[Oh hell. Rogue grabs a napkin and scrubs at her nose.]

Why? Feel like spendin' the afternoon in a coma?

[...he has a nice laugh.

Shut up!]

[kineticcajun]

Might be worth it.

[He's not really joking, but he wouldn't be surprised if she didn't take it seriously. Still, eyes twinkling a bit from the lingering laughter, he takes another swig of coffee.]

'Sides, we got ways 'round that here.

[touchofrogue]

[Oh he did not just reference that. Rogue's back straightens abruptly. That's a real glare she's leveling at him now, though her drawl is honey.]

If you think I'd take a long walk ta let you swipe some whipped cream offa my nose, you've got an even more inflated opinion of yourself than I thought.

[kineticcajun]

Jus' a thought.

[That might be a real glare he has leveled at him now, but he answers it with his best charming grin. Somehow he doubts this will entirely defuse the situation, but he's going to try it anyway.]

You know those eyes of yours are beautiful when you're mad, right?

[touchofrogue]

[There is just no way that those words which are so practiced and smooth should be slipping under her guard like that. But they are and they do. She doesn't blush, but those eyes of hers do widen for a split second before she huffs.]

Idiot.

[Lame come back is lame, which she is well-aware. But what can she say, she's not used to straight-out flattery from him. She turns away and takes another sip of her hot chocolate, but barely a second passes before she glances at him out of the corner of her eye again.]