Anna and the gang go to the beach for some summer fun, when Anna has an unexpected encounter...
Here is a sneak peek!
**
Finally, she forced herself to the edge of the pier and sat down. Body facing the railing and towards the ocean, she allowed her legs to dangle over the side and her forehead to sit flat against the rail. The rough edge of the wood hurt her face, but she couldn't bring herself to care. The abusive sun above and the shards of broken splinters in her skin made for a twisted sort of comfort that only confirmed to her over and over again that this whole thing was a stupid idea.
"Well, hey Chere!"
There was no way.
Anna managed to convince herself to pull her face out of the comfortable nest of twisted pine to angle her neck up at Gambit. "How are you here?"
"Think I live at that Starbucks?" From there, Gambit towered over her. Her thick, dark hair was fastened into braids and tied behind her back. She wore a yellow crop top with blue waves and a towel fastened around her generous hips. "Reason you're sitting here staring at the sun by yourself?"
"Family road trip." Anna let her head fall back where it was.
"Where's the family at?"
"Probably doing something way more interesting than me."
"And why aren't you with them?"
"Because I'd just slow them down."
Anna heard a tisk from Gambit to her right and felt the other woman lower to her level. "Here," she felt a prodding on her shoulder. When Anna looked, she was it was a drink with a white lid.
"What is it?"
"Life's ambrosia."
Anna took a sip and snapped her face as far away from the beverage as possible right after. "That's black coffee!"
"Yeah, like I said!"
"How can you drink that on the hottest day on the planet?"
"It's a dry heat. You should see how it is in New Orleans. You wanna talk about heat -"
"You don't need to tell me, I was bred and raised in Mississippi. I know what humidity is."
"Then you know all you gotta do to cool off is to stop sitting in the sun!" Gambit stood and held out a hand. Without much thought, Anna slipped her gloved hand in hers and was pulled easily to her feet. Her hand still in Gambit's, Gambit guided her thought the crowd into a spot shadded by unbrellas in the passageway between a few shops.
"Here." Gambit slipped a bottle of water out of a large bag slung across her body. "I bet you ain't drunk nothing since you even got here."
Anna took the bottle with thanks and sucked it half down. "That's funny," she wiped a bead of water off her lip. "Didn't take you for the purse type."
"Oh, this?" Gambit took off her bag and rested it on the waist-high table they stood near. The dark brown leather back was studded with silver and tassels. "Sometimes I like to bust out on everyone once in a while to feel a little pretty. You know, in that earthy way? Don't always need to be looming around with a duster and staff looking to bust skulls. Sides, that trench would be murder at the beach. Speaking of," Gambit made to feel Anna's arm with the back of her hand. "You must be burning up!"
Anna flinched away, "Don't!"
"Oh!" Gambit pulled her arm back, "Sorry, Chere. Didn't mean to cross a boundary there."
"No… no. It's not like that. It's a part of my power. I'll absorb your power and could make you lose consciousness if I touch you long enough."
"Really?"
"I touched one guy for so long that I gained his powers for good. Now I could probably juggle a truck, and it'd still feel like a ball to me."
"Why aren't you more covered up than?"
"Same reason everyone else isn't. I didn't feel like dying in the heat. Besides, this trip wasn't exactly up for debate. I was just told this morning to pack a bag for some 'summer fun.' Fun for them, maybe. For me, I need to watch my back constantly or face the consequences."
"That must be hella stressful."
Anna paused and looked between Gambit's ruby irises. Something hot beyond the sun's heat flashed from her throat to her eyes. "Yeah," She ducked her head. She sucked in a lung's full of air but it still didn't feel enough. "Yeah, it is." The heat turned wet behind her eyelids and she screwed them shut as hard she could. A hand very gently touched her back.
"I'm so sorry that you've been saddled with that, Rogue. I'm sorry that it makes even going somewhere as beautiful as the beach a nightmare."
"It's fine." Anna wiped her eye with the crook of her thumb. "It's… you know what? No, it's not! Why does everyone else get to go out and have fun? They can do stuff with people they love and not have to worry about hurting them! I always have to be on guard! Always! Because whatever happens is my fault, Gambit! It's always going to be my fault! Even if it's just a simple mistake like bumping into them, okay? Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"I hear you, Rogue. I hear you." Gambit shed the towel around her waist and draped it around Anna. Then she wrapped her in a hug. "I hear you, Chere. I hear you."
Anna rested her tear-stained cheeks on the shoulder of Gambit's crop top. "I'm sorry." She said between deep breaths. "I shouldn't be dumping this on you."
"You ain't dumping nothing on nobody." Gambit ran her hands down Anna's arm through the protection of the towel. "If you'd like, and feel free to say no, I have some ideas that might help out."
"Like what?"
**
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