#void!gambit

Torture to know he was so close. Torture to not know what he was thinking. To not know were they stood. Most painful of all was how he wasn't your Remy. He said he wasn't even sure he remembered his life before being in the Void. He barely seemed to recognize you when you woke up in the Void. You had felt like someone tore off your blanket in the middle of a freezing night. The safety you had felt the moment you saw him vanished when he asked who you were. It had been months since then. You had started working with the resistance, and had been on many recon missions with this Gambit. It would be easier if there was more that was different about this version of Gambit,But he was just like he was before. The flirtatious lines, the friendly competition, everything about him was so familiar, and yet it was impossible to just go back to how it was.

"Gambit can feel ya' thinkin' ov'r there Chérie. Tell Remy wha' goin' on in tha' pretty head o' yours." His soft voice interrupted your spiraling thoughts. You lifted your head to look in his direction, still slightly surprised to meet his blue eyes. That's the one difference, baby blue eyes in place of the Ruby red you knew and loved.

"It's nothing." You lied, tearing your gaze away from his. You knew he wasn't going to let it go but you might as well try.

"Tch… there's no need for all that Chére. Gambit sees everythin' you tryin' to hide." he replied

You scoffed "Do you really? Or are you just saying you do in hopes I'll spill?" In response all you got from Remy was a smirk and a shrug. Typical. You let out a sigh as you rolled your eyes. You knew full well he wasn't gonna let it go. However you were too stubborn to let him win that fast. You rolled up onto your feet, pushing yourself off the ground and walking out the nearest door. You knew he'd get up and followed but at least you had a slight head start.

"Hey! Slow down, Gambit ain't lookin' to run a race right now." Gambit called out after you as he followed you out into the woods surrounding the hide out. You didn't slow down, In fact you picked up the pace. Quickly making your way through the trees, ignoring how Remy was closing the distance between the two of you with ease. You felt his fingers wrap around your wrist, pulling you to a stop. "Talk to Remy, Chére."

"You have no idea what you're asking from me." You reply sharply as you tried to pull out of his grasp. In turn he held on tighter, turning you around with ease pulling you against him, wrapping his free arm around your waist. His other hand still holding your wrist, his eyes met yours. You felt your heart skip a beat, your breathing was shakey.

"Why you Trembling Chére? It's Just Gambit." He whispered, his fingers moved so he was holding your hand, pressing the back of your hand against his cheek. You felt the sting of tears in the corner of your eyes. Your throat felt tight, the idea of saying a single word felt painful. But in a way, he was right. He's Just Gambit. The man you once trusted with your life, your deepest secrets and each of your trivial thoughts. In another universe he was the love of your life, even if he never returned the feeling.

But in the Void?

"You have no idea how loaded that sentence is." You mutter, your gaze dropping from his eyes to his lips for a brief moment. "You're never 'Just Gambit' to me." your eyes return to his. "I can't stand here and pretend any more. I can't pretend there wasn't something between us in my universe. I can't pretend that seeing you everyday is like seeing a ghost. I wake up every day hoping that maybe you know who I was to you, Praying that maybe you remember me. Then I remember we live here. This landscape of rejects and Variants gone wrong. And I-"

"Now hold on Chére, whatchu mean Somethin' between us? You told Gambit that your Gambit was wit' Anna Marie. You neva said a ting about me and yous." Remy interrupted, his brow furrowed as His eyes scanned your face.

"We'll that's just it! My Gambit was dedicated to Rogue, But we still had something. He just chose Anna Marie. We had a brief fling that lead to me in love with someone who couldn't want me back!" You snap back.

"Ya, but this Gambit can want you back. This Gambit still wants you Chére, just like I always have. Eva since you shown up, I've been wantin' you." His grip tightened on your waist, his other hand reaches up to grab your chin, tilting your face up, bringing you even closer. His eyes were slightly crazed.

"Please… Kiss me." You mutter. Your eyes shut closed, and you lean in to close the distance between you. Before you could his lips crash into yours, molding his body to yours like you'd done this a million times before. The kiss was a frenzy of movement, Lips and tongues moving together in a battle for dominance, teeth nip at bits of skin with a desperate desire to have more of each other. Remy started to walk you back against a tree, holding you in place as he moves to kiss your neck. "Gambit ain't losin' you again, Chére."

"Remy, I don't under-" His mouth was on yours before you can say anymore. His fingers wrapped around the back of your neck. You were pushing him off, wanting so badly to find out what he's talking about. "Please Remy!"

"Alrigh' alrigh' can't blame Gambit for tryin'." Remy lifted you by the hips, spinning you around. You wanted to ask a thousand questions. What did he mean he couldn't lose you again? your feet finally landed on the ground. Gambit looked at you with guilt in his eyes, His usual smirk replaced with a somber expression. "You prolly want Gambit to 'splain himself to you."

"That would be great yeah." You responded quietly. You crossed your arms.

Remy Sighed and put his hand on the back of his neck. "You ain't the first You to show up in tha' Void. The last time you showed up, you were so scared and you only knew Gambit. You only trusted Gambit. That you an' me, well, we got close, n' closer than Gambit ever gotten to anyone." He paused, taking a deep breath.

"Then what happened Remy?" You asked carefully.

"We were out scoutin' seeing what we could fin'. And what we found, was trouble… Thats when Gambit lost you. Gambit couldn't go through that again." Remy looked at the ground. You knew how hard that must have been. Since you've been here you've lost more than a few friends. and unfortunately you could understand what he went though, because you felt it every time you thought about losing him.

"That's why you lied. Why you said you didn't know me. And said You'd forgotten your own timeline?"

"Oui… and Non. Lied about knowin' you, but it's true that I don' remember where I came from." Gambit's eyes met yours. "Gambit shouda' never lied to you Chére. Could you forgive Gambit?"

Part of you felt like you shouldn't forgive him for lying. Part of you still thought you needed to keep your guard up and keep the distance. However the rest of you felt like you'd both been through enough misery already. You both had spent enough time looking for someone else in the other's existence. It was never gonna be how it was before, but it could be exactly what you needed now. You closed the distance between the two of you, wrapping your arms around his neck, letting out a chuckle.

"Alright, I'll forgive ya'. But If I find out you're lying to me again?"

Remy smiled lifting you up into his arms with a laugh. "Won't happen, Gambit ain't ever gonna tell no lie to you again, Chére." He nuzzled his nose against your neck, a smile on his face. For the first time in a long time you felt content, happy even. Sure this was most likely a cheat, you'd managed to find happiness in the place were all things would turn to dust. But you're gonna take this happiness and run. After all this time, Remy Lebeau loved you back, and nothing was going to stop you from enjoying that.

But before you could take more than a minute to bask in that feeling you could hear the sound of the others shouting, a sign there was trouble ahead. Remy set you down allowing you to settle on your feet. The two of you start to jog in the general direction of the chaos.

"C'mon, Lets get dis dealt wit so Gambit can get to what he's been waiting fo." Gambit pulled out his cards and started shuffling

"Oh? What might that be?" You asked as you prepared for the fight.

"Makin' Love of course." He wiggled his eyebrows at you.

You laugh "Corny, but I'll take it."

"Oh, yes you will Chére, yes you will."

Okay, so! The timeline for hee is kinda wacky. Bear with me. It's X-Men TAS, X-Men 97, and also Deadpool & Wolverine.

Rhiannon was born to Daryl and Lucille Hicks on July 21st, 1975, in Southshore, Kentucky. Lucille left Daryl when Rhiannon was two years old and Daryl fell into alcoholism and addiction. The owner of the local bar, Carolina, had his second child, Anessa, a year later. Daryl is very absent, but Rhiannon and Anessa play in the back room at the bar while Carolina works. She isn't motherly at all, but she's not leaving a 3 year old to take care of a baby. At least not down the street.

Daryl gets another woman pregnant, a hooker, and she leaves him with Callie when Rhiannon and Anessa are 6 and 3 respectively. Then Daryl meets an angel of a woman. Rehab nurse. Michelle. They date for a few years and get married. Daryl has really cleaned up his act, things are going well. Michelle tragically passes while giving birth to Thomas (Tommy).

Rhiannon, at thirteen, drops out and never goes to high school. Taked odd jobs for money and takes care of the kids because Daryl is drinking and using again. He is becoming physically abusive as well, and Rhiannon takes the lashings for the other kids.

She's sixteen when he tries to sell her off to the local pimp. Rhiannon panics and fights, obviously, and in that moment of stress, unleashes her mutation. Her mutation being, aerokinesis. Then in that small, poor, trailer park, she is no longer welcome. Not even as a product. People here hate mutants. Even Rhiannon feared them herself.

So she leaves home with one thing in her mind. The radio, she had heard because they didn't have a tv in the house, about some mutant school in New York somewhere. So she starts walking. And hitchhiking. She left home in May and made it to the city in August. She turns seventeen on the road.

On August 17th, she got a little hungry. So she made an attempt to pickpocket some man on the street. Unfortunately, that happened to be Scott Summers. Rhiannon ran, Scott and Jean chased after her after Jean said she felt a major disturbance from Rhiannon. They get ahold of her and ask her some questions before bringing her home to the mansion.

Rhiannon begins to train under Ororo, who she is wildly intimidated by. She's actually terrified of everyone there, including herself. She's terrified of Logan and Gambit mostly. By the time Hank is out of freaking jail, she's kinda calmed down and is mostly okay with him.

She gets really bad uncanny valley from Remy. His eyes actually scare the fuck out of her. She will not look at him. Not that she looks up anyways, her head is always hung and she's ways staring at her feet. Poor girl is terrfied.

In the episode "Days of Future Past" in the original cartoon (yes I've timelined it, you haven't?) Bishop makes his first appearance and makes claims that the downfall of the future is Gambit's fault bc he killed Senator Kelly. For those of you who havent watched it. Basically the team takes Bishop's side over Remy's with arguments like "We may not know Bishop at all, but we don't know anything about you either." And basically saying the evidence could go either way.

Remy storms out, mad as hell, Rhiannon coincidentally happens to be near the War Room and pokes her head in (the trailer park in her is nosy as hell.) And she asks what's going on and who Bishop is. And they give her the rundown on what just happened. And something deep in Rhiannon's chest just squeezed. So she kinda chewed them out for believing a stranger over someone they've shared a roof with for years, not only that, someone they literally risk their lives with every day. And Rhiannon felt like if they could just turn away from him, what stopped them from turning on her too?

All that mess from a girl who hadn't barely held a conversation with him, btw. Logan ends up teading Remy about it (since Remy had already left the room, he didn't know she had defended him.) And he's all "That's weird? She's petrified of me?" Episode concludes with Remy being innocent and it was Mystique (my opp) trying to frame him for it. Kelly was rescued, all was well. As 90s cartoons often were.

Couple weeks of Rhiannon's defense eating at his mind, Remy finally asked her why. She said she didn't know. But still, they formed a bond nonetheless. A close one. He really brought her out of her shell, and she gives him like all the credit for her finding herself.

July 4th, 1993. Rhiannon gets a call at the mansion from a very, very panicked Callie. Daryl had just pawned off Anessa to that same pimp from years ago. So Rhiannon, amidst the preparations for a 4th of July celebration at the mansion, runs off and Remy of course comes with her. Because something is really bothering his actual legitimate best friend.

He flies the jet for her, Rhiannon gives him a very angry and colorfully worded rundown on the situation while still somehow being incredibly vague. They land and she runs to her old house. Remy is chasing after her and seeing the actual poverty she used to live in, but he makes no comments. Rhiannon kicked down the door to her old trailer and is screaming to find Daryl, completely wrecking the place. Throwing things, breaking everything. A storm tore through that house. Daryl wasn't there and when she realized that, she began to sob. Remy finds her in the house and comforts her, then Callie very shyly pokes her head out from the one bedroom in the house. Rhiannon sees her, runs to her, holds her, and begs her to tell her where 1. Daryl is. And 2. Tommy is. Daryl is at the bar, Tommy is with a friend. Rhiannon tells Remy to get Callie and Tommy back to the jet and then find her when they're settled, then she bolts out the door again.

While Remy is getting her siblings, Rhiannon is beating the shit out of Daryl at the bar to tell her where Jackson (pimp) is taking Anessa. He's slinging profanities at her this entire time. Then he breaks down crying, drunk, then Remy finally finds her when she's on the brink of killing Daryl. Then Daryl starts calling her weak and whatnot and Remy has to drag her out of the bar.

They find Jackson in his usual abandoned hotel and Remy fights him to distract him while Rhiannon searches for Anessa. Rhiannon grabs Anessa and they take all three kids back to the mansion (Rhiannon didn't ask permission at all, she didn't even tell Charles they had 3 more kids, she wasn't making the request, she wasn't leaving them again.) They get settled and have a nice little independence day. Also, at this time Anessa, Callie, and Tommy are 15, 12, and 4 respectively.

Remy and the team adore these kids and are all fairly close to them (Remy being significantly closer bc he literally helped rescue them.) So as the years pass, yk, everyone is family. Happy, happy, happy. Low conflict, happy ending 90s cartoon routine.

97 happens and whatnot. I choose to believe each season of the original series was one year, and I'm pretty sure 97 works on that logic too? Since 97 is more recent and whatnot, im not explaining episode per episode. But at this point we all know Remy died in the first season.

Rhiannon, 1. Watched it happen. 2. COMPLETELY spiraled. They were CLOSE. For FIVE years. He was her first hest friend, the first person who made her feel safe enough to explore her own personality and growth. He was close to her family (Tommy legit called him dad. Kid has a freakin Cajun accent despite being born in Kentucky and raised in New York. That's how close Remy is to Rhiannon's family.) So she is naturally inconsolable. So while Anna-Marie, is out kicking Captain America around (lol,) Rhiannon is drinking herself to death, taking pills, and confined to her bed OR she occasionally wanders and passes out on Remy's actual grave. Rhiannon, naturally, gets a little left behind with everything else going on with the team.

One night she almost overdosed, passed out, hit her head on the floor. (That's what our initial art piece at the top is inspired by.) Tommy, who is nine, was the one to find her. He gets help and Rhiannon is taken to the medical bay for supervision and detox. Remember this part, folks, if you've made it this far we ARE on the homestretch.

Rhiannon does her best to get clean, bc she couldn't imagine abandoning Tommy and the near death experience kinda scared her straight. More 97 stuff happens that in not typing bc do these bitches ever catch a break? They sure can't.

Rhiannon is in her room one night when she is abducted by, take your guesses now! Survey says!! TVA!!! So she's taken by the TVA. And now you're thinking, oh she got pruned, this is where Void Gambit comes in! You're wayyy ahead of yourself. She actually escapes through and open portal and they kinda let it slide bc they don't care where she is, she's gonna die.

Except she lived, and she lives in 10005. Across the hall from Deadpool and Blind Al, funnily enough. Wade has no clue, btw. To him, she's the chick that lives across the hall and does hair. That's all. So she lives there for about 8 years. Then the events of DP&W happen. And guess who was inconveniently walking into the hall just as Wade was getting grabbed by the TVA? Survey says!!! RHIANNON! DING DING DING!!

So he's making a joke out of this. Paradox hates Rhiannon, reveals to her that she was taken bc she didn't die that night and that she was never meant to get clean or survive. Which was heartbreaking information. Wade demands she gets a new suit with him, just for shits and giggles. Paradox gives Rhiannon her old uniform, JUST to torture her! Then Wade goes on his Wolvie hunt. Y'all have seen the movie. This repeatedly traumatized Rhia because she wants to go home, like HOME home. And she just keeps hoping maybe the next timeline is hers. Newsflash! It's not. So they end up with the worst Logan. Which is also so hard for her to be around bc she misses HER Logan.

Then it all get worse when they're pruned! And then guess what? It gets WORSE! Because obviously Laira still finds the car. They obviously still meet the resistance. Then she sees that card fly through that door all slow-mo like. And she turns her back to the door. The whole time she can't look at him, she is petrified. She is like so disassociated. Then Remy's dumb fucking ass only sees the back of a pretty girl's head and he's tryna flirt with her. (That and he's trying to comprehend why he feels this tugging toward her in his chest. He doesn't know who she is, and given that he doesn't have his own timeline, he didn't know that he was SUPPOSED to know her. But since he didn't get the timeline, he didn't get his Rhia. So he don't know what he's missing, all he knows is that she fills that space.) Meanwhile, Rhiannon is legit in shock.

She has a nightmare that night, runs outside to cope, he hears her scream, followed her outside. He really just wanted to calm her down, and he was successful and they basically pinky promise to have each other's backs during the fight at Cassandra's. And they do, Rhiannon actually goes all Mortal Kombat brutality on those freaking goons.

When its over, she's still high on adrenaline so she runs to him to check for injuries (he's literally fine.) And they have a cute little moment I guess, idk. Then they go back to 10005. She's about to ditch him and finally go and detox from the situation. Then she realized that he literally has nowhere to go and she will NAWT allow herself to abandon him like that. So she takes him in. And that starts their ROOOMATE ARC!!! Silly, mentally unwell, roommate adventures ensue. It takes a LOT of work for her mentally and she hides her past from him for a long time. But they eventually work through it. It's a SLOW, SLOW burn. But they DO eventually fall in love and whatnot. He takes such good care of her. So understanding. Big fat yearner. He don't care how long he gotta wait, he wants that lady. And he gets her eventually. Then they live happily ever after, the end.

He hunted you down in the void like a rabid wolf looking for a squared meal. You were the reason why he got here in the first place, and it was your fault that he wasn’t home. He wasn’t sure if his cats were alright or know if Rogue was waiting for him. He longed for him more than he wanted to admit, but it was clear to everyone whenever he would wake up screaming out her name into the cold night air, flinging a card into the darkness to explode at nothing.

It was your fault.

All. Your. Fault.

So, hunting you down was like a little reward for him, and getting the satisfaction of watching the light leave your eyes was the most rewarding thing he’ll ever settle for in this wasteland. The moment he got a lead on you, he took it; no one was going to stop him no matter how hard they tried. Hell, even Johnny tried to stop him but ended on the ground with the business end of a charged bow staff. The glow in his red eyes screamed danger as they burned in bright embers and coal, making Johnny shuffling away from the ground to his feet. The anger that raised from Gambit’s blood to his stare was enough to warn off any creature, mutant and human alike. He was going to hunt you down without mercy, without thinking. He hated the way that you’re still breathing and not six-feet-under yet. For you, he’ll make it twelve feet.

You’re about to become a body that’ll never be found. Even in the land of the forgotten, no one will ever remember you. Show him a good time while he ends your life, though. It would be the cherry on top of his sundae.

So, when he found you at your makeshift campsite at the bottom of a haler, living your life as if you weren’t in danger, only brought more heat on his breath. How dare you hum a familiar tune. How dare you act as if you did nothing wrong! You were the main reason why he felt empty, felt hollow without his love! Whenever he closed his eyes, he would envision her in all her beauty, all her grace. Rogue was the true Mississippian Bell of the south, and he a fool of Louisiana with a heart of coal and swamp water. The more he thought of her laughter and her smile flashing in his memory, the more possessed he felt on putting you down. If he were a puppet right now for someone’s game, he only hops he was pulling the strings and breaking free from your grasp.

He gripped staff tightly and felt a few cards beginning to hover by his face, up by his eyes, and alongside of his free hand. Gambit wanted nothing more than to hurt you, break you until you were begging him to stop. This ends now; today! It may not bring back his love or free him, but it would bring him temporary comfort knowing you’re gone. With a flick of his wrist, his cards flew past him and hit you in the back. He earns a surprised yelp from you, but it wasn’t good enough. He towered over you from his spot, his shadow casting over your campfire with only his bright red eyes glowing in his darkness.

“You,” he snarled, his eyes narrowing down. “You took her from me!”

He saw you were about to open your mouth, but he silenced you with an ace card. It hit you in the chest and knocked you back, slamming you into a log. He didn’t give you time to get up as he slide down the little hill and slung another card at you, the charge stronger than the last. It knocked you to the ground within a snap, and he didn’t give you time to get back up on your feet; he pinned you to the forest floor, his legs on each side of you and a strong hand holding your hands above your head. He brought back his fist and landed it on your face, breaking your nose in the process.

With each hit from his gloved hand, each blow and broken bone under his touch, his thoughts flooded of Rogue in the sundress, the one with lime slices and honeysuckle. He heard his voice, singing sweetly and bright, as she stirred the pot for dinner. Everything he did, every he landed blow on your face and skin, felt like justice for himself. No matter how loud you screamed at him to stop, how many pleas and begs, he didn’t hear them Gambit knows what he wanted, and it burned his skin like wire over a flame. He wanted to free; he wanted to get out faster and sooner! Even if you can’t bring him back to his world and back to the swamplands, this will be the closest thing.

If anything, he was happy to see the blinking collar around your neck, showing that your mind powers were off and not tricking him. Where did you get it and who put it on you? He didn’t care. He won’t care.

He felt the strings around him break as his mind finally breaks into clarity. He wanted to see you bloodied and beaten under him. He held his fist over your head and watched as blood dripped from his knuckles; your blood never looked sweeter.

He quickly dug into his coat pocket and pulled out the Queen of Hearts. He felt all his energy, all the static around him, build into the card and charged it up with bright purple and red energy. He wanted you to fell the burn and the swiftness of his powers. He wanted you to see how fast and easy he could end you with this single card.

The cards always be in Gambit’s favor—

“Remy.”

As soon as the blood in his ears stopped roaring and his eyes were cleared from his anger, he looked down at the person beneath him. His heart nearly stopped as he looked at the woman looking back at him. His heart began to break, and his lungs filled with pained regret. Looking back at him with bright green eyes was Anna Maria, Rogue; his world. Her face swollen and bruised from his hits, eye swollen and too blue and purple for his stomach to handle, her throat with his mark, his handprint, that will forever be burned into her skin just under the blinking collar, shutting off her strength. The cut on her cheek bleed with the cut above her eye. The shattered look in her eyes only made his heart erupt in pieces. Her lips, beautiful and so soft, was plumped and bruised, cracked and bloody. The clothing he thought you were in turned into her green and yellow jumpsuit, and her hair a mess and matted from being held down for so long. He physically felt the string around his throat snap and break free from his skin, and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

She looked like an angel whose wings were torn off and left for the gators to finish off.

His charged card quickly stopped glowing, and he got off her. His touch made her flinch away as he scooped her into his arms. His emotions flooding his lungs as he cradled her in his arms, holding her tightly as if he was the duct tape trying to keep his world together. It all felt so real when he told Johnny to stay behind. It all felt real when he found your campsite. He was so sure that he was there beating you until your lungs stopped and he had your heart in his hands, but he wasn’t. The world he thought he was in wasn’t there at all; the void surrender him months ago and brought him back to Rogue, back to her arms.

He let her see the side of him he never wanted to show. How could he do this? How could he let himself—

You’re a good puppet, Gambit. Your voice began to echo in his head, causing him to look wildly around the forest clearing until he saw you standing in your shadows and cloak. Such a good tool for me to use.

“Get away from us,” he breathed, shielding Rogue with his bruised hands. His red on black eyes were sharp as he glared at you. “You get away from us!” As he raised his voice, Rogue flinched in his arms, curling into a ball. “Shh, mon chere. Gambit ne vous fera pas de mal. I won’t—”

He heard your cold, heartless laugh, which only made him growl. You’re a fun one, Remy LuBeau.

He growled as he felt his powers begin to build back into the cards in his coat. “Ya don’ getta say my name!” He snapped. When Rogue’s tears touched his skin, it felt like acid burning through his bones and his skin. Every cell in his body felt like it was dying. “Never say my name!”

Do you know how easy it is to shape your vision? How easy it was to make you believe you were attacking me? It’s almost as if you were mocking him as you swirled shadows around your finger. It was so careless and thoughtless; he hated it. You really thought that New Yorker was going to stop you? Gods, you’re so stupid.

“Get outta my head.” He took a card from the ground and charged it until it glowed bright and strong. “Laissez-nous!”

You smiled sweetly at him as you opened your lips, letting luna moths escape from your lips and flutter around him. “I’ll always find a way to hurt you, Cajun. Never forget me. Never.”

“I’ll make ya pay! Hear me clear—I swear!” Gambit held Rogue protectively as he readied his card. “Swear it t’ya. I’ll never stop until you’re dead!”

“Oh, Remy,” you said his name with empty emotion that it nearly made a vein pop in his neck. “I look forward to it.”

With a yell, he through his card and hurled it towards you with as much as he could muster, with all his energy and power.