Hi everybody.

I had some fan fic fluff in my head and wanted to get it out so I could concentrate on some other stuff. Mostly, I just got tired of some people thinking that Gambit never cared about Belladonna and wrote this. REALLY short. Let me know what you think. :)

As a Bird
By Frank Southerington

I sit on the edge of your balcony, not daring to come in and not daring to go. Looking in on you I can see that you've cried yourself to sleep and can't help but feel that it's all my fault. I suppose it is. You'll probably never want to see this face again but I had to see you one last time before my exile takes full effect. I finally convince myself to slip in as I have done so many times before and kneel by your bed. Pulling the gold band from my ring finger, I leave it on you night stand, knowing it may be the first thing you see when you wake. The last ties of our marriage, hardly a day old.

I could take you with me. We could leave New Orleans and never look back, just ride out of this city, away from these people, away from our troubles. But I know I can't do that. You'd never be happy, not completely. You care for your clan too much to walk away from it. Better I walk away from you. And there's a part of me that doesn't believe we belong with each other. I love you with all my heart, you must understand that, but we could never last forever.

I remember you used to watch the birds. You loved them, their grace, their flight, their freedom. You needed what they had, still do. I would come and find you here, where I'm sitting now, mesmerized by them. Trust me that your dreams can fly higher here than they ever could if you came with me.

It hurts to walk away and back to the balcony because I know I may never see you again. You are dear to me, cherished. The first friend I've ever had. Part of me stays with you even though I'm gone. Tomorrow you will bury your brother I took from you and bury the part of me you carried with him. Maybe then we can both fly as high as your birds.