Title: Seconds Between Life and Death
Rating: T
Summary: Nothing else matters except the seconds between life and death. Romy oneshot.
Disclaimer: I don't own squat, If I did own it, Romy would have been together from the first episode.
Zero. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Rogue was exhausted. A two hour, one-on-one danger room session with Logan with do that to a person. All she wanted to do was flop down on her bed and sleep for a few days. Opening the door to the room she shares with Kitty, Rogue flipped on the light and let out an ear piercing scream. There half hanging off her bed was the former Acolyte Gambit, bleeding everywhere. In moment of shock induced stillness, she noted that the window was open and there was a trail of blood leading to her bed and his (hopefully still alive) body.
Five. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
The moment passed quickly, Rogue forgot all about her exhaustion and ran to check Gambit, no Remy (he asked her to call him Remy on the train to New Orleans). He was beaten, badly and there was a gunshot would smack dab in the middle of his chest. His chest that was still rising up and down with shallow breaths. He was still alive! Immediately Rogue put pressure on the wound, he wasn't going to bleed to death on her. As Rogue applied pressure she watched in morbid fasination as the white gloves (a gift from Kurt because she needed to "lighten up" literally and emotionally) covering her hands began to turn crimson.
Twenty. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Suddenly Logan burst through the doorway, claws out and ready to kill with Hank, Jean and Ororo close on his heels. Rogue didn't even look up. She let Logan pull her away as Jean and Hank took over stopping the bleeding and getting him downstairs to the Med Bay. Logan shook her a few times, calling out her name but Rogue could only stare at the blood on her hands.
Three Thousand Six Hundred. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
A clean pair of (black!) gloves. She sat waiting to hear the news. Dead or alive. Kurt and Kitty sat on either side of her and Logan paced up and down the hallway a few feet away. Finally Hank came out. Remy would live. No visitors until he was more stable. It didn't matter. He lived. The precious seconds between life and death didn't matter because Remy was alive.
Eighty Six Thousand Four Hundred. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
She held his larger bare hand between her much smaller gloved hands. He was supposed to wake up any second. Rogue never thought she would be praying to hearing his voice or to see his red-on-black eyes. But each second he didn't wake up she sent a small prayer to whatever deity would take pity on her and make him open his eyes. Exhausted again from lack of sleep, she drifted off still clutching his hand. She dreamt of cold blood and even colder red-on-black eyes staring at her lifelessly. Shooting out of the chair she looked around wildly as she pieced together where she was and why. And that's when she noticed (warm) red-on-black eyes looking up at her.
Zero. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
"Bonjour cherie."
A.N: