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]

[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.]

[kineticcajun]

[Gambit also goes for another swig of his drink, but he catches that glance out of the corner of his own eye. His smile twitches a little wider before he lowers the coffee cup.]

At leas' I'm an idiot you can't keep your eyes off of.

[Which probably shouldn't amuse him half as much as it does.]

[touchofrogue]

[a;lskkfjda;slkdfj busted.

And also: pfff.

She sets the hot chocolate down, tilts her head a little so he'll see that she's giving him a complete looking-over as she drawls.] I'm just waitin' for your head ta actually inflate an' start floatin' away. It could happen any minute now, an' I'd hate ta miss it.

[kineticcajun]

[He is not opposed to the looking-over. At all. If anything, it just makes the smile reach his eyes.]

I t'ink it's stayin' where it is for now. Hate to disappoint, chere.

[touchofrogue]

[She snaps her fingers.] Shoot. Guess that means I'll hafta keep checkin'.

[A small smirk, and the light of amusement in her eyes with that, because - Rogue is not about to deny that she enjoys window shopping, and here she's set herself up with an excellent excuse. Ha-ha, she wins.

...sort of.]

[kineticcajun]

[She can window shop all she wants. He doesn't mind. But he still has to tease about it.]

Maybe I oughta sell tickets if it's so rivetin'.

[touchofrogue]

[A mock!gasp and her eyes widen, staring at his head.] Lookit that! I think it just got bigger!

[It is very difficult not to smile right now, but she's managing it quite well.]

[kineticcajun]

[She is really making it hard not to laugh.]

Maybe you'll get your wish after all.

[touchofrogue]

[Oh, you wanna play, Mr. Hot Shot Cajun? Let's play. Dramatic. Sigh.]

A girl's gotta get lucky sometime.

[She said, as she brushed some hair out of her face with a little stretch that arches just so - before turning her attention completely back to her hot chocolate.]

[kineticcajun]

[Dieu. She's good at this game. But he can play it cool just as well as she can. Idly swirling the last part of his coffee, he fights back a grin.]

You know I got a few t'ings that could help wit' that luck.

[touchofrogue]

[Dryly, and still not looking at him.] I'm sure ya think you do.

[Tiny. Little. Knowing. Smirk.]

[kineticcajun]

[...Woman, how much do you remember from that zap way back when?

He glances over at her from the corner of his eye, weighing that reaction. She's got to be bluffing. His tone is just as calm.]

Oughta give it a chance 'fore you write it off like that, chere.

[touchofrogue]

[She finishes up her hot chocolate and makes a tiny, satisfied, mmm. Not over the top - just about right. And she manages to keep from looking at him, although she can feel his gaze.

It's. Really, really hard not to smile right now. But she just tilts her head to the side.] I don't think so.

[And then she slides off the bar stool, slipping on her coat. Glancing at him, she can't help push a bit more, or the tiny smile on her lips, and the light of genuine amusement in her eyes.]

Lookit that. Seems like your head's back ta normal after all.

[kineticcajun]

[Rogue, you really need to smile more.]

Small miracles, non?

[touchofrogue]

[Oh, you did not just leave that opened.

...oh, she can't help herself. She really should stop to think. But, you know, she doesn't. It's too perfect, and Rogue just takes the opportunity, dropping her gaze before meeting his eyes.]

Small indeed.

[kineticcajun]

[You, ma'am. Have just upped the ante. And slightly injured his male pride, but that'll recover in about five seconds.

Remy puts his coffee cup down, slides off his own bar stool, and then goes to brush past her on his way to the door. Except that he leans in very close, so that his lips are just a ghost's width away from the top of her ear. Any closer and he'd probably be knocking himself flat, but hey, that's part of the fun of invading her personal space.]

A miracle's still a miracle, mon chere.

1/3

[touchofrogue]

[Rogue tenses when he brushes close to her, her instinctive response not moving so as not to hurt him when he leans... close. He's close enough, in fact, that he can probably hear her breath hitch.

Oh.

Oh.

When he pulls back a hair, she can still feel the warmth of his breath on her ear, an almost-touch, an almost-brush of his lips and she swallows hard.]

[touchofrogue]

[Why that swamp rat. Does he think it's going to be this easy? Pull yourself together, girl!

Of course, the heartbeat or two of frozen silence probably tells a different tale...]

done!

[touchofrogue]

[...but eventually she twists just enough so that her body is still facing forward and yet she's able to face him, arching her back slightly to do so. They're close enough that this move risks their chests brushing together, but hell, they're both wearing clothes. (Except that contact is electrifying and she probably will remember it even after she walks away, but-)

Challenge accepted.

She moves to lay a gloved hand on his cheek, in part to see if he'll flinch. If the hand is allowed to land there, regardless of flinch, she'll pat it once as she speaks. There is a wary, knowing edge to her smile, and her eyes glint with both challenge and awareness.]

I guess I just don't have that much faith.

[And she'll move to let the hand drop. She'd love to walk away right now, but he was decent enough to let her respond - for now, she'll play by the same rules.]

[kineticcajun]

[That heartbeat or two of frozen silence nearly lulls him into thinking he's already gotten a solid win this time around. He's a little surprised when she twists around, though he still doesn't flinch at all when she lays a hand on his cheek. No flinch, but one eyebrow just slightly quirked upward at the gesture.

So that's how it's going to be, huh.

Before her hand can drop back to her side, he catches it in his own.]

A li'l Southern belle like you, lackin' in faith? [Here he presses a light kiss to the back of her glove, followed by a wink before he lets her go.] I'm not buyin' it.

[And now he will finally start to back off and give her back that personal space he's been violating.]

1/2

[touchofrogue]

[No flinch. Interesting. Also mildly terrifying, if she thinks about it long enough. Which she doesn't. Because he grabs her hand and lifts it to his mouth and kisses it. Her eyes widen, and for a moment - a very short moment - her face loses that cynical knowing and goes slack with some very girlish openness.

Something in her heart aches.

A corner of her lips tweak up in response to that wink. Incorrigible. But - all in good fun, in a way. It sure said something about him that he was unafraid to flirt with her, but thought he could swoop in and then leave, just like that.]