Where You Go, I Go (June 2012)

It was early yet but Gambit allowed Serena to take him back to her room. Once the door was shut he sighed and sagged against the door. “Well that wasn’t so bad. I think I made real headway today,” Gambit said. Already the liquor was wearing off. He could never be drunk for long. “He asked me if we’d stay here, at the tower,” Gambit said. “I told him I’d have to talk to you. I mean...I like you teaching and the X-men need you...us,” He said. “And I need you right now,” he said as he leaned forward off of the door and came toward her. “I’ll take a shower...after,” he said with that sexy smile he gave her when he was thinking about having sex with her, which he obviously was.

The next morning Gambit kissed her softly as they lay facing one another. With the AC, her room became just a little bit chilly and they were covered by her sheets up to their necks. Gambit never wore clothes in bed and didn’t want her to either. The reason was obvious, he liked just being able to pull her toward him and taking her no matter what time it was. And he liked her being able to do that to him just as much. She didn’t oblige him like that all the time though. But she did last night and he felt her warm breasts pressed up against his chest. He felt her soft kisses on his neck. A sign she was feeling very content right then.

“So what are we going to do baby? I go where you go and I stay where you stay, so you tell me what you want and we will make it happen,” he said softly. His red eyes had alot of affection in them right then. They had made it out alive and he was quite happy and content himself in her arms.

Serena could hear that other people were up, but she and Gambit weren't quite ready to get up yet. They were content to just lie in each other's arms. They were facing one another and she was gently kissing his neck as he held her against his body. His body was warm and she was perfectly happy at that moment. She heard his question and she slowly pulled back to look up into his eyes.

"I'm conflicted about it to be honest," she told him. "My mother asked us to stay as well. I do like the mansion and the X-Men and teaching, but I also miss my family. I'm just not sure what to do. I want you to be comfortable and happy wherever we are though. Would you be happy here?"

Gambit just looked at Serena awhile without speaking. He saw her looking into his eyes, trying to decipher them but she didn’t say anything. Sometimes she smiled and sometimes her look changed to curiosity. ‘Does she know what I’m thinking?’ he wondered.

“I think we should elope and live together in the mansion for a while,” Gambit said suddenly. Then looked to see her reaction to that.

Of all the things she expected Gambit to say, THAT was not one of them. She just stared at Gambit for a moment as a stunned smile came to her face.

"Are you serious? You want to get married?"

Gambit smiled. “Well, that’s a bit sudden but alright,” he said with a chuckle as if she had asked him just now. He rolled them both over so he would be on top of her. He rested his head on his arm with his elbow next to Serena on the bed. “Mhmm, I do.” He said as he lightly kissed her lips. “Having this...resolution, this finality with the guild, I feel as if I can finally breathe. I feel...free, free to love you and not have to look over my shoulder all the time. No more secrets, no more lies,” he said as he shifted her legs open with his legs. “Just you and me and,” he began just as he entered her. “And alot of that,” He whispered into her ear. He tilted his head back to look into her eyes but didn’t move. He just remained there inside of her. They could not get any closer than they were right now. And that was what he wanted to feel. Wanted her to feel.

“I know decisions like this probably shouldn’t be made in bed,” He said as looked at her. “But I’m just crazy about you Serena. And I want to be your husband,” he said. “Will you marry me?”

Serena looked up at Gambit and into his eyes. She saw the love for her in his eyes and he would be able to see the love she had for him in her eyes. They hadn't known each other for very long...only about six months, but the only other person she had ever felt this close to was Evan. Gambit made her happy again. He made her laugh and smile and feel as if she could be completely herself with him. She would never love another man like she did him. The spontaneity of all of this was...exciting and a happy smile tugged at her lips.

"My parents are going to kill me when they find out we eloped...but I don't care. Yes, Gambit. I will marry you."

Gambit smiled and her saying yes made him feel giddy. He kissed her, passionately and then set about making love to her vigorously which was an indication of his mood. They took a shower together and she let him wash her hair. He towel dried her hair and she giggled when he put the towel over her eyes so she couldn’t see and then he kissed her, several times playfully.

They ate pancakes but because they were so late getting up they had to reheat them but they were still delicious. They were alone at the table, whispering about what they were going to do like thieves conspiring to steal something. Tony came over to get another cup of coffee and noticed them.

“What are you two whispering about...Ya know, if you don’t have much to do, I could use some help in the lab Serena,” He asked. She knew if he was asking she’d be in there for hours. Gambit surreptitiously made a gesture to his ring finger and pointed toward her. He wanted to take her to get an Engagement ring ordered. He looked at Gambit.

“What happened to your neck?” He asked them shrugged and headed toward the lab. Serena looked at Gambit’s neck more closely and it was where she bit him. She only intended to nibble but he was so rough she bit down a lot harder than. She meant to. Gambit smiled at her blushes.

Serena had not felt this happy in a long time. She felt almost giddy from it. She was completely in love with Gambit and it showed. She knew that things would not always be easy and happy, but they were a team now, like her parents, and they would make it through anything that was thrown before them.

They finally made it out to breakfast, but everyone else had already eaten and were going about doing other things. Serena and Gambit reheated the pancakes and began whispering to each other like children, and, like children, immediately stopped when her father walked in to get another cup of coffee. She glanced at her father and then saw Gambit's gesture. Her giddiness returned at the thought of getting an engagement ring.

She waited until her father was gone before grinning at Gambit. "When can we go?" She was as excited as a child opening presents on Christmas morning.

“Is right now to soon?” Gambit asked. “You know this area better than I do, you have to know a few nice stores,” Gambit said as he happily reached over and took her hand. He rubbed right where the ring would be and by her expression she must have known what he was doing. Gambit was dressed in blue jeans and white tennis shoes. His shirt was black and white and had the ‘Inertia’ Insignia on the left shoulder.

“We could make a day of it, I won’t be satisfied until its the one you want,” He whispered. And the best part was that it was his own money. Not hers, not her rich parents, but his. He had...well he had about 50k to spend on a ring but he hoped she’d not pick one out that was ‘that’ expensive. He didn’t know though. She didn’t seem like that kind of person but an engagement ring sometimes made women go all crazy. He wondered also if after she started with the rings if she’d chicken out and want to take the whole marriage thing slower. And do the whole big thing. He had an idea of how he’d do this eloping thing. Everyone in the tower would come and Logan would be his best man.

Serena smiled and went to go put on some makeup and fix her hair. Once she was ready they left the Tower and headed to a jewelry store on Fifth Avenue. It was the store where her father always got jewelry for her mother and Serena knew that the quality was exquisite. Of course she was recognized as soon as she walked in, but she told the store manager that her parents weren't aware yet of her engagement. She trusted the manager to be discrete and while she and Gambit were in the store the doors were locked and no one else was allowed in.

She knew Gambit had money, but she didn't want him to spend all of it on her ring. She also didn't want something that would be overly flashy or gaudy. She tried on many rings before finally deciding on a round cut diamond that was haloed in smaller diamonds. She and Gambit then choose their wedding bands. After everything was ordered and paid for they went out to lunch.

"So, how exactly are we going to make this elopement work?" she asked after they had placed their order.

Gambit had thought about this earlier and again when Serena was trying on rings He had some ideas and wanted to see if she’d bite on any of them.

“Well, You could wear a dress and I could wear a suit for pictures. We could tell everyone in the tower to meet us at the park. We could get anyone to officiate. I think you can get a license online now adays. OR we could do it up at the mansion. We could talk to Charles, get flowers, everything to make it beautiful. I mean...more beautiful, you being there at all makes it beautiful.” He said as he ate a french fry. He dabbed a little bit of ketchup on a fry then held it up to her mouth to eat. He smiled when she did and she even sucked the salt off of his fingers.

“Oh man...that’s damn hot, wow,” He said with a smile and laughed when she laughed.

Serena grinned at Gambit's reaction to what he had done. She was certainly feeling playful. She smiled at him and then reached across the table and took his hand into her own. "I think we should get married at the mansion. I think it will be beautiful there and we can invite everyone up." She then paused and was quiet a moment before speaking again. "We're going to have to tell my parents about this. They will be very upset if we spring this on them. We'll do it together."

Gambit removed his hand from hers and then put his arm over his head and tilted his head to the side and stuck out his tongue. He then shifted his arm over his head to make it look like he was being hanged by a rope. Her look of playful surprise made him laugh and he stopped and took up her hand again.

“Yep, I’m going to die here. Your mother is going to murder me cherie,” Gambit said though he said it with a smile. He was nervous about that though. Very nervous about making enemies out of them. “I really like your mother too,” He said.

Serena rolled her eyes but smiled at what Gambit did. When he took up her hand again she gave it a gentle squeeze. "Well, we have two options. The first would be to tell them before hand and just say we're going to get married no matter what they say. The second option would be to get married without telling them first and then tell them after. Either way their going to be upset, but at least with the first option they have the decision whether or not they want to attend the ceremony. I would hate to take that choice away from them."

“Alright, then we’ll do this the way you want,” Gambit said and then sat back in his chair and felt more relaxed. “One less decision we have to make,” He said and at a few more french fries.

When they got back to the tower Tony was talking to a young man. He had short, dirty blonde hair that was slightly curly and he had a well defined musculature underneath his blue t-shirt. “So uh, Mr. Stark. I really think we need to alternate the wavelength of the laser. I did a study once on that...I actually wrote a paper...no one read it actually...but it…” He said then paused when Gambit and Serena came into the kitchen area.

“Hey,” Gambit said with a smile as he stepped around them to get a couple of ice teas out of the fridge. As Serena stepped up Peter looked at her and his eyes suddenly lit up. “Wow...uh...hi…” He said though it came out as little more than a squeak. He held out his hand toward her. When she took it she noticed it was already warm and damp from sweat. Serena would know Peter was into her as soon as he saw her.

“Serena, this is Peter Parker,” He said. “He works for Norman but I’m borrowing him for a while to help me figure out how we can examine the tablet,” He said. Tony NEVER asked for help and if he was working with Peter, Peter must be a pretty smart guy.

“I...completed the laser wave length study you started with...uh, With Evan Cullen. It was real genius what you did with those algorithms. I found the aberration and made the corrections. It worked perfectly after that,” He said.

Serena was nervous about telling her parents that she and Gambit were getting married, but she knew they needed to do it. As they exited the elevator at the living level she saw her father in the kitchen but he wasn't alone. He was talking to a young man she did not recognize. He appeared to be about her age though and, from what little she overheard from the conversation he was having with her father, he was likely a scientist.

As Gambit went to get them something to drink she was introduced to Peter by her father. Peter appeared quite nervous suddenly based on the way he looked at her he was attracted to her. She was rather surprised to hear her father tell her that he had asked Peter to help him examine the tablet. The only person her father ever asked to help him was herself so Peter must be extremely intelligent if her father trusted him in his lab.

She blinked when Peter told her that he had completed the laser wave length study she had been working on with Evan and the rest of their group. Her expression suddenly changed and she found herself becoming upset as she remembered what happened.

"It's nice to meet you Peter...excuse me," she said as she abruptly left the kitchen and went to her room.

Gambit grabbed the drinks then hurried after her. He opened the door and went inside their room and shut the door. “Are you alright?” He asked. She looked upset and he didn’t know why. “Do you know this Peter?” He asked.

Serena knew she had been rude, but she was upset and needed a moment to gather herself and come to terms with the fact that Peter was using the algorithm she had created...the very one associated with Nyx and Evan's death.

She was sitting on her bed when Gambit came in. She sighed and shook her head. "No. He just...he just told me that he completed the laser wave length study that Evan and I had been working on. It just brought back memories of what happened and I just needed to step away."

“Oh, oh im sorry baby,” Gambit said and put down the teas and hugged her. He pressed his face to hers and kissed her cheek. THey shared a moment and when she was ready he stepped away and opened up the teas then gave her one.

“I guess you’re not quite over what happened,” He said. He knew she blamed herself and that the college tried to sue her but her father put a stop to that and settled. He knew she still took it hard though. She loved Evan and she felt, maybe still feels that she let him down.

Serena accepted the tea and took a sip. It was cold and tasted delicious. She looked at Gambit and then away slightly. "I don't think I will ever fully get over what happened. I mean Evan died in my arms and it was my fault. My gut told me to scrap the program and start over, but because everyone was excited and wanted to run the program then I gave in and it cost Evan his life. I worked really hard on that project and we were so close to finishing our research. I guess it just stings that this guy...Peter...finished it and is now using it to help my father."

Gambit wasn’t much of a scholar. He actually never went to a normal school. He was educated and knew several languages but he knew little about science. He loved to listen to Serena when she talked about things like that though. He loved that she was smart.

“Why does it sting, where’s that feeling coming from? So this Peter is as smart as you are. Maybe you could help them? Maybe you want to go back and finish your degree?” Gambit asked. “You could commute and I could cook dinner for us when you got home,” He said. “And...I could distract you with my epic bod while you’re trying to study,” He said seductively.

Serena smiled at that thought. She did want to go back and finish her advanced degree and hearing Gambit encourage her to do so only made her love him even more. She let him distract her for a while before she went to go find Peter and apologize. She found him alone in her father's lab and she knocked lightly to get his attention before stepping in.

"I just wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. I just didn't realize that someone else was finishing up my work and hearing you mention it just brought back some painful memories."

Peter flipped up his goggles then removed them. “Oh, its alright. Your work really was genius. If you want, I could show you where the aberration was and what it was actually doing,” He said then flipped up his laptop. He brought up the program and flew down to the area where the aberration was.

“It was unlike anything I have ever seen. Its configuration made no sense to me until I realized that it was actually using the lasers to affect our atmosphere. Once I realized that I was able to modify it without destroying the program,” he said. He continued to talk to her about the other things he modified. And he continued to compliment her on the work she did.

“Without your work I would have never thought of alternating wave lengths and power outputs. I did give you credit too Serena,” He said. “Do you want to see what I’ve done so far? I have the laser mods installed,” He asked. SHe had already spent almost 2 hours with Peter and it only felt like a few minutes. Peter liked her company and appreciated her insights. Serena was very intelligent and her mind was quick to come up with ideas.

Gambit was watching a baseball game on the big screen with Steve and Kate. Kate though was curled up on steve’s body and she was sleeping. Isabella came into the lab. “Peter will you be staying for dinner?” She asked. Peter looked at Serena. “Uh...I’d like that very much Mrs. Stark. That’s very kind,” He said politely. Peter had a shy way about him but he powered through it. He was well mannered and respectful. Kind and considerate and very much a science geek.

Serena was quite impressed by Peter. She, of course, knew what had caused the abberation (it had been Nyx effecting her mind) but actually seeing it was slightly unnerving. She remembered that Nyx was still walled up in her mind and she was fearful of what might happen if those walls were ever to come down. It was nice to hear that Peter had given her credit for the work she had done. In general, Peter seemed very nice and somewhat shy. He was also very intelligent. She was able to easily talk to him about science and technology and without realizing it two hours had passed and it was nearly time for dinner.

"My mom is a wonderful cook. I miss her cooking when I'm not here."

Peter decided to stay for dinner and he showed Serena what he did with the laser. He even demonstrated how he was going to use it and for the first time Serena saw the tablet. When she saw it, something stirred in her. Something that had lain dormant for months. Nyx had been locked away in her head by Charles Xavier. She was the goddess of Chaos. Everything about her was Chaos and upheaval and the tablet was actually a Rune fragment from her plane but no one knew that. Serena suddenly felt...light-headed just being near it and part of Nyx’s own personality began to slither out from the box she was captured in. The small sliver of personality that overlaid on Serena’s own made her think about enticing Peter. Seducing him and having her men compete for her affections. Him and Gambit, battling it out for her amusement. To do that she’d need to wear something alluring. Something revealing that showed off her assets though the larger part of her that was Serena knew she already had Gambit. It didn’t make sense to do this in her mind but she just knew she wanted to do it. When she left the lab those feelings persisted though Gambit stood up and came over to her. “Hey cherie, I wasn’t certain you’d ever come out. You are much like your father in that I think,” He said.