AN:
Well, I wasn't going to write an epilogue, but I got so many requests for more that I gave in, haha. One of the chief requests was to see everyone's – especially Storm and Logan's - reactions to Gambit and Rogue's sudden marriage. Personally, I think you're nuts. Why would you want to see Storm and Logan's reactions to the marriage? That's a conversation that's only going to end badly:
Storm: Oh dear goddess, you did what?
Logan: Were you drunk?
Rogue: No
Gambit: Full from lunch though
Storm: Trust you to make an impulsive decision, Remy. Really, there are some things you need to think about first.
Gambit: Hey we thought about it. (For all of 10 seconds.)
Storm: Which might be adequate thinking time for deciding what shirt to wear, but not for getting married!
Logan: You're not pregnant, are you?
Rogue: What? No! And even if I was, it would be too early to tell anyway.
Storm: Forge, why didn't you stop them?
Forge: I did suggest they might want to think about it some more -
Logan: Suggest!
Rogue: What's wrong with you people? Why can't you just be happy for us?
Kitty: Umm, I'm happy for you
Rogue: Thank you Kitty
Logan death glares Kitty. Kitty squeals in fright and hides.
Hehe. I send a variation of that to a whole bunch of people yesterday who wanted to see the reaction and a couple of others whom I thought would appreciate it. Seriously, I did not want to end the story with Rogue, Gambit, Logan and Storm fighting.
However, since so many of you did want more and requested an epilogue, I have decided to acquiesce. Besides, the chief criticism of this story (and I have to agree) was that it seemed rushed. I got impatient and it ruined the pacing of the story. So that's my advice to anyone who wants it: don't get impatient, haha.
Epilogue
Rogue and Gambit sat at the desk in their hotel room. The last day of the convention had come to an end yesterday and Forge had already returned home. Rogue and Gambit had opted to stay another couple of days in Vegas and were now looking at photos on Gambit's laptop.
"Remy?" Rogue asked, looking at the latest photo on the screen.
"Oui ma chere?"
"Did you get enough pictures of me as an Orion?"
Gambit considered thoughtfully, using the question as an excuse to continue gazing at the all so lovely picture of green-painted, scantily-clad Rogue leaning over.
"Possibly not," he said finally.
"Uh huh," Rogue drawled and then pointed to one of the other convention goers in the shot. "He's checking me out."
"Merde," Gambit exclaimed and pointed to another guy. "And so's he."
Rogue chuckled wickedly and moved to the next photo, which was another picture of her fine green self. Or more accurately, her fine green self from behind.
"Remy!" Rogue exclaimed and jabbed him in the ribs.
"Oh that's a good shot," Gambit said with a smirk.
"And you wonder why you're not the only one ogling me," Rogue muttered. "What did you expect was going to happen, Remy?"
"Hmph," Gambit grunted and pressed the button for the next photo. "Hey when did you take this?"
"When you weren't looking apparently," Rogue replied with a smirk, looking proudly at the picture of Gambit in Forge's uniform, studying a large replica of the Enterprise from the Original Series.
They flipped through a few more photos of Rogue as an Orion Slave Girl and then got to the wedding photos that Forge had taken.
"Aww, I like this photo," Rogue said, admiring a close up shot of herself wrapped up in Gambit's arms. "We definitely need to get this one printed and framed."
"I agree," Gambit said.
Gambit wrote down the filename on a nearby sheet of paper and then flipped to the next photo. They watched their oh-so-short wedding happen in reverse, going through the ceremony and emerging in the waiting room. They stopped on one photo, of which the focus was a shoe.
"Okay," said Rogue slowly. "Is that Forge's shoe or yours?"
"I think that's Forge's," Gambit said thoughtfully. "Typical. He's gone and taken photos for the sake of taking photos."
The next photo was of Forge's hand, then a few of Forge's face taken at an awkward angle with him pulling difference faces in each photo. There was a photo of the chapel and then there are a series of photos of random objects and candid shots of Rogue and Gambit.
"Someone got a little trigger-happy," Gambit said dryly.
Rogue just laughed.
"And that's the last of the new ones," Gambit said. "Oh, I should show you the ones from New Orleans."
"Okay sure," Rogue agreed brightly.
Gambit opened up the relevant album.
"Well this is a good photo to open up on," Gambit said and then proceeded to point to everyone in the group shot. "That's my sister-in-law, Mercy; mon frere, Henri; mon nephew, Jacques –"
"He's so happy to be photographed too," Rogue said with a smirk.
"If you think that look's sour, you should see the one of him dressed up as a pirate," Gambit replied. "Those are my cousins Theo and Emil, and that's Tante Mattie. Tante's like our surrogate mother. She's looked after all of us and I swear she always knows what you're going to do before you do."
Rogue laughed at the half indignant, half pleased expression on his face. She pointed to the last figure in the picture.
"Who's that?" she asked cheekily.
"That's me, silly girl," Gambit replied.
"Ohhhh, it is too," Rogue joked. "Fancy that."
"No photos of Jean-Luc though," Gambit said as he continued through the photos. "Mercy was going to send some pre-stroke photos of him to Stormy for me though."
"I'm sorry about your dad," Rogue said softly.
"Yeah. Me too," Gambit replied. "Ah ha! Here's Jacques the pirate."
"That really is a sour look," Rogue said with a giggle.
"Oui, and we'll just skip this next photo and –"
"Waitwaitwait, was that you as a pirate?"
"No, this is Mercy and Henri as pirates," Gambit said.
"Not that photo, dork boy," Rogue said, reaching for the mouse. "The one before. The one you skipped."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Gambit said, attempting to hold the mouse away and fend Rogue off.
"I wanna see," Rogue declared. "Show me!"
"I really don't think so," Gambit replied.
Her attempt to get the mouse foiled, Rogue pulled a face and then lit up and pressed a button on the keyboard instead to flip the photo back.
"Aww you look great!" she exclaimed.
"Dammit," Gambit muttered. "I knew I should have deleted that photo."
Rogue giggled as Gambit put the mouse back down on the desk.
"Are you actually embarrassed?" Rogue asked with a silly grin on her face.
"Why should I be embarrassed?" Gambit asked loftily. "That pirate costume got me in and out of New Orleans unseen."
"Uh huh," Rogue drawled. "Star Fleet uniform didn't seem so bad after that?"
"Well, at least I'm not half-blind in the Star Fleet uniform," Gambit replied.
Rogue chuckled and wrapped her arms around him.
"Going back home soon," she said as she snuggled into him. "I wonder how everyone's going to react."
"I have no idea," Gambit replied. "But I do know one thing."
"What's that?"
"I'm going to have words with Forge about my camera."
Rogue laughed.
"Hey when you get Forge a new uniform, you should get a new one for yourself," she said. "A nice gold one. That way next con you can be Captain Kirk and I can do the Orion costume you like so much."
"I don't know, cherie," Gambit said thoughtfully. "I think a few too many other people like it too."
"Yes, but I'm your wife, not theirs," Rogue pointed out. "Whaddya say, Captain?"
Gambit's eyes ran over Rogue with a slight smile on his face. He glanced over at the bed behind them and then looked back at Rogue's sly grin.
"I think I need to see you in my ready room," he drawled.