Author's Notes: This story takes place at the end of the eight month gap between 'Secret Wars' and the 'All-New' series. Some character's story lines will be slightly altered but I've tried to keep them close to cannon. As established in 'Gambit' Vol. 5, Gambit is the King of Thieves; and in 'Uncanny Avengers' Vol. 3, Rogue is the field leader of the Unity Squad. Raven LeBeau was established by Chris Claremont in 'X-Men: The End' mini-series and its sequel, 'GeNext'. As with all my stories, this one is Romy in nature and features many adult themes but I've really made an effort to keep it T-rated.

Veritas Temporis Filia

The raging fire in the distance was coming for them. Heaven vanished with a roar while the oceans blazed. The heat was merciless and made the babies scream. Raven couldn't see. Through black smoke and blindness, she groped for the little ones, but their voices were overtaken by the painful cry of a dying planet. The air burned, and in turn, burned the lungs which inhaled it. Her little brothers and sisters flash-fried; their insides glowing softly beneath ash figurines. Raven stumbled into her sister-in-law, burned beyond all recognition, but still alive and screaming for the man who'd promised to protect her.

'Oli! Oli!'

"OLI!" Raven ripped from her nightmare.

Remy had thrown water on her face after turning on the light and shouting hadn't broken her terror.

"It's okay now," he handed her a towel. "I would've left ya, but you're breakin' things."

She realized her wet blanket was shredded. Trembling, she said: "Sorry, I… I need air. Can't breathe in here!"

Stepping onto the balcony, she felt a cold bite of New York in October. No stars in Manhattan. She wanted to shoot up to heaven and then plummet back to the cement. Instead, she sank to the floor and buried her face into the towel as she sobbed. After a moment, Remy brought a coat, draped it over her, and silently stepped back inside. Oliver, his tangerine kitten, had been hiding in the pocket, and slinked onto her lap. Indifferent to her misery, he clawed her chest until she rubbed his ears.

In apartments around them, people stirred quietly. Someone was up with a baby. Someone else was coming home from a graveyard shift. Her world and everyone on it was dead, but life went on. It was heartbreakingly unfair. Jack would've been nine months old today. He should've been cutting teeth and learning to crawl. Instead, he was in the White Hot Room with his parents, and the only marker left to memorialize him was the space he'd taken in Raven's heart.

Dawn broke in hues of pale blush and almond-white. Another day without her husband. Late husband. She still had to remind herself, and at night, when she rolled over and realized he wasn't there, she'd wake up and mourn all over again. He didn't feel gone. If he rounded a corner one day, she wouldn't be surprised.

Remy emerged again with a cup of coffee and this time she smiled. "Thank you."

"Can I get y' anything else?"

"Just a few minutes, please."

He'd been so kind – offering his home and emotional support. In Raven's distant, now extinct world, he'd been her father, and because she was the mirror image of her mother (and his love), trust came easily. But she couldn't stay. Upon arrival, she'd pissed off a lot of people. Including the Guild. Now their new, untested king was harboring their number one enemy.

But where could she go? What could she do? In her old world, she'd been a Guild Councilmember, but this Guild wanted to kill her. Most of her time had been spent tending her father's numerous love-children, but they were all dead. Rogue wanted-

Rogue!

"I'm sorry!" She rushed inside as Rogue entered. "I forgot all about it! Just lemme get dressed!"

The Avenger untied her signature white scarf and frowned. "If ya aren't feelin' up to it-"

"No, no! Two minutes!"

Another group of people Raven had pissed off was the NYPD. After she'd crash-landed, a couple officers had attempted to detain her and she'd attacked them. The video footage went viral. Granted, everyone thought she was Rogue and she wasn't coherent – it made everyone look bad. So Rogue arranged for her to meet with the officers and formerly apologize. A couple newspapers agreed to publish it as a way to promote Rogue's new Avengers team, the Unity Squad.

It was the first productive thing Raven would do in this world. She was sick of nightmares and loneliness and depression. She wanted to be useful. She wanted to make Rogue proud!

So she dashed around, snatching clothes and make-up as quickly as she could.

"Okay, I'm-" She opened her door to an intimate scene between them. They quickly turned away. Yet another reason to leave… "Guys?"

Rogue re-wrapped her scarf. "Let's go."

…

Breck's
Queens, New York

"Paaaarty! Whoo!"

Remy wanted to selfishly bask in his rare solitude while Raven went out. Instead, he journeyed downtown to see what chicken wings might be half-price on a Friday morning. The party was waiting. A mousy ash-blond bride in white ruffles and cotton cuffs beamed at his arrival.

"Gambit!"

"Darce!"

She hugged him, which was a first. He awkwardly returned the embrace as if she was half butterfly and half kitten.

"You look beautiful." He wasn't going to say otherwise. Not today.

"Like it?" She smiled and twirled to show the horror – high collar, empire-waist, ruffles that hid her modest bust and exaggerated her wide hips, and severe cuffs at the sleeves and hem – in its entire splendor. "It's my great-grandmother's wedding dress!"

"It's… white."

"Dude! Ya made it!" Fence thundered between them. He, too, was feeling expressive, and pounded Remy's back in a bro-embrace.

"We were hoping you'd bring someone," Darce smiled.

She meant Rogue, of course, but Rogue knew nothing about his friends and less about their shared occupation. He wasn't sure how much information to share with her, either, now that she was employed by the world's strongest justice enforcement agency. But he merely said: "Wouldn't wanna give her any ideas."

And they laughed pleasantly.

"I'd say I'm happy you're here," said Fence, "But the truth is, I can't wait for you losers to leave!"

"Stop that!" She smacked his Buddha-belly. "Oh! There's the Archivist! Let's go say hi."

The groom groaned as he was steered away.

Remy felt eyes on him and followed the sensation to a lonely woman in a burgundy pant-suit at the bar. Wicked grinned and he grinned back.

"Agent Cooper."

"Mr. LeBeau."

"Must've messed up big time t' get stuck babysittin' a weddin'. Or are you here t' feast on the souls of de innocent?"

"If I am, I'm in the wrong place. Darce and I go way back, believe it or not. Went to Dartmouth together. I was shocked when she dropped out to pursue freelance photography. Makes sense now... If this is the best the Thieves can offer, you should be ashamed. Poor girl can't even afford a wedding dress!"

"Lower your damn voice!"

"Why? I already told her she looks like the Easter Bunny."

"You require garlic or will mint do?" He reached into his pocket for a container of tic-tacs, poured some into his palm, and threw them at her. Juvenile, yes, but he could invent no other solution without the possibility of prison.

She flinched and blocked her face from the pelting candy. "Give me a reason!"

"You came to insult my friends." He threw another handful. "On their weddin' day?"

She snatched the tiny container and launched it across the room. It smacked against the wall and broke on the floor. With tears brimming, she huffed: "Your friends!?"

Suddenly, the deduction formed. Cooper had considered herself a close ally of Darce without ever really comprehending her career outside legal boundaries. Had Darce used this friendship to her advantage? A case for her guilt was compounded when one figured that Cooper only realized the truth today – at Darce's wedding, where the issue wouldn't be confronted. Gambit felt something he hadn't expected. Guilt.

A wailing sound – like an ambulance or injured hound – filled the alley beside them. Louder and louder grew the bloodcurdling cry, which periodically paused to inhale.

He rushed outside and saw a naked girl running down the street. Stunned pedestrians recoiled in horror, so on and on she rushed until he caught her. She fought against his protective arms and his coat wrapped around her.

"Look at me! Look! You're safe now."

Her wild eyes fell into his hypnotic charm. When he felt at ease, he dared to glance at Agent Cooper.

"Never a quiet day for an X-Man," she whispered.

…

Village Temple
Manhattan

Rogue watched Raven and the officers making small talk. The 'pop' of cameras at every sentimental moment was getting irritating, so she finally told them to stop or leave. Raven glanced over and then back to the officers. Her eyes were dead.

'God, she's lost it,' Rogue thought. So she asked, and then insisted, that the reporters leave.

"What's your problem?" snapped a camera man. "You wanted us here, here we are!"

Raven trembled.

"We write the story! Not you!" the reporter yelled.

One of the officers grabbed Raven's white knuckles. "You okay, honey? Need your mom?"

"She's NOT my mom!" she screamed. "And you're DEAD! You're all dead men dancing with masks! Think I can't see the moon? I know it's there!"

Rogue forgot the reporters and the police men. She gently, firmly took Raven by the shoulders and led her outside. The girl was indestructible. They didn't need her taking any more shots at people. So Rogue led her with a purpose, although she had no plan. Why hadn't Remy noticed her odd behavior? Why had she thought this was a good idea? The girl was a basket case. And if she turned violent… what could they do?

"I'm sorry," Raven shuttered. "Sorry, I'm okay now. Let's go back."

"Let's talk." She continued to a café, where they sat down to green tea.

"I'm sorry," she said again. "You must be so disappointed."

"Disappointed? Sugah, you survived the end of the world. Lost everything and everyone and you're still breathin'. Ah've got no right to ask you to do more."

"Everything… Everyone…" Tears streamed down her face. For a long time, she could only cry and Rogue let her. Finally, she said: "I can't even talk about it… Like they never mattered."

"No one thinks that."

Her lip trembled and fresh tears flowed.

"Ah think you should see a doctor."

"No."

"Okay. You can talk to me, though. Ah know you tell Remy things… You can tell me, too."

"Those kids… were the biggest part of my life… My mother never knew."

"Your father's other children?"

She nodded.

"Your father wasn't my husband. Doesn't hurt me. And it's not a sin to love them."

Raven placed a hand over Rogue's. "Oli never forgave me. He knew if Momma had known, it would've killed her. He wanted me to hate Daddy, too, and when I didn't… Things changed after Jack. That boy softened Oli's heart but it was too little too late. Daddy never forgave him and neither did the kids. I thought things would go back to how they were when Oli and I were little. We were buddies. I thought we'd have more time… But that didn't happen." She squeezed Rogue's hand. "I don't want you and Remy to make that same mistake. You haven't got all the time in the world. Sometimes you've gotta suffer for love."

She blinked, startled. "Remy and Ah… It's complicated."

"All that's done can be undone if our hearts are in the right place."

…

Lower East Side
Manhattan

"Where've you been?" Rogue asked.

It was dark by the time Remy arrived home. After that poor girl was taken to the hospital, the Guild held an unscheduled meeting in one of his safe houses nearby. His motley crew bade for blood and it was decided that they'd settle the matter with their own swift justice.

He hadn't known if Rogue would stay with Raven until he returned, but coming home to her was a wonderful surprise. For a moment, he felt like he'd stepped into a dream. Then she spoke, and he awoke to hard reality.

Her words came out more spiteful than she meant. She started again: "Ah didn't think you'd be gone so long. Groom didn't jilt, did he?"

"No." He glanced at Raven's bedroom door, which was shut to muffle angry music. "Bad day?"

"Ah wouldn't say bad… Challenging. Ah pushed her too soon."

She grabbed her jacket from the closet, intending to leave, when his hand pressed to the small of her back. Warm pricks tingled in the wake of his touch. She wanted to feel it all over and at once. No one else had ever made her feel this way, and she was suddenly overwhelmed with desire. Everywhere he wasn't touching ached.

When she turned, his body instantly responded to the yearning in her eyes. He closed the space between them, pressed her against the wall, and was about to take her right there in the closet with Raven on the other side when reason prevailed.

"Wait, wait," he said. "We… we need t' talk."

"Ah'm not seein' Johnny anymore."

Of course she wasn't. She belonged to him, although they hadn't been together since Paris. The thought of her being empty drove him crazy and he needed to claim her like he needed to breathe. But he knew Rogue. She stopped listening as soon as he pants came off, so he needed to tell her while they were still clothed.

"Chere, this is comin' across casual and that's not how I feel. Think this means somethin' else for you."

"You think Ah don't have feelings for you?"

"You don't know… I've done things…" He swallowed hard and started again. "I tried t' tell you in Paris. I work with dangerous people. You should know what you're gettin' into."

"You ain't exactly safe. And Ah don't scare easy."

Suddenly, the world went quiet. Raven had turned off the music – probably because she'd heard his voice. She'd be waiting. If he didn't go to her soon, she'd come for him, but for the moment, he didn't care.

Rogue was in his arms giving him those 'come get me, tiger' eyes. A few frail pieces of fabric: that was the only thing keeping them apart. But to discard those barriers would risk losing her forever. 'I'm your home, your harbor' he'd told her. He wouldn't be a campsite she continuously circled back to until someone better came along. But here, too, he had to proceed cautiously. Was he hearing what he wanted to hear? Or was she making a choice?

"Wanna tell you everythin'," he said. "But this ain't the time."

"Lust is probably cloudin' our judgement," she reached down and grabbed his erection, which he eagerly thrust into her hand. Pressing her against the wall again, he bit that sensitive spot on her neck. She hissed and curled against him.

"He never found that, did he?" he asked, still nibbling on her neck. His mouth climbed to her ear lobe, and when he grabbed it between his teeth, she gasped his name.

"Lots a' me ain't been touched since you left…"

He saw her in his mind's eye – the smooth expanses of flesh, the secret crevices, the unwritten code that unlocked her pleasure… They weren't all taboo places, either: the soles of her feet, for example, or the skin behind her ear. But no one would know unless they loved her enough to seek them out. He wanted her body for himself. He wanted to make her teeth rattle and legs quiver. He wanted her until she couldn't walk.

Instead, he locked her in his arms and stilled his racing heart. "Wait. I'm leavin' tonight. When I get back, I'll explain everything. And if you still want me… I want you forever."

"Ah know," she said sadly. "Ah know…"

…

To Be Continued…

…

Story Notes: The title 'Veritas Temporis Filia' is Latin for 'truth is the daughter of time'. It means the truth always comes to light with enough time. I found out that Queen Mary I of England used it as her motto and really love it. Fence belongs to Marvel but Darce is my own creation. If you've read 'Vicarious' you may recall their reluctant courtship started there. Sorry but I don't have time to relate their racetrack to the altar. Basically, she'd fancied him for a long time and when he finally wised up, decided to put a ring on it before someone else did. You can find her wedding dress in an issue of Vogue, believe it or not. I did not imagine that nightmare – it really exists.