Author's Note: This story is the first installment of a ten part series. 10 Women Remy LeBeau Never Married was partially inspired by "five things" lists, which I've seen done in other fanfic fandoms (although each part will be a full story unlike the traditional blurb) and partially inspired by the question, "What if Jean Luc had betrothed Remy to someone other than Belle?" This story will feature an OC of my creation. Normally, I hate OCs but I didn't want to try to force an existing character into the mold I need to explain how his marriage came to be. If you dislike OCs take comfort in the fact that this story is about Remy, not my created character, or just wait for the next installment. I have already decided to do the following parings: Remy/Yukio, Remy/Jubilee, and Remy/Rogue. I am also considering Remy/Kitty, Remy/Mystique, Remy/Emma Frost, Remy/Sage, and Remy/Storm. Feel free to suggest pairings, or even create a detailed enough description of your own OC and I'll be sure to credit you if I choose her. Some installments of this series will be more AU than others. I doubt every installment will be posted under X-men Evo, so look at my profile or the X-men movie and comic pages if you want to keep reading them. I may change it to 5 pairings instead of 10.
This story is set in Evo universe after the Apocalypse saga, but it is slightly AU. The X-men have only had contact with Gambit twice. Once when the Acolytes first appeared, and once when he took Rogue to New Orleans. Also, I've changed it so that Rogue has never absorbed Gambit. Any other time that Gambit showed up in the cartoon just mentally erase him. Magneto wanted him for his skills as a thief not as a fighter so most of the time he was off on his own. Jean and Scott are 18 and in college now. Rogue and Kitty are seniors (Kitty is younger but skipped a grade). Let me know what you think. Criticism is always welcome.
This is an introduction. AKA: exposition. If you want to go straight to the first chapter feel free. You should be able to understand the story without reading the below. It is for the sake of readers who like to know the situation before going in.
Remy LeBeau was sprawled idly in the corner of one of the love seats in the "family room" of the Xavier Institute. A white-striped brunette was curled up in the seat next to him ostensibly reading a book. Remy couldn't help but notice, however, that she hadn't turned the page in well over ten minutes and her dull green eyes were glazed over. He wondered if she was lost in thought or just bored out of her mind. He sighed as he shuffled a deck of cards with one hand. He'd bet on the latter. He certainly felt that the joys of companionable silence had ended about five minutes after they began. That was a good hour ago at least. He groaned and sent the whole deck of cards arcing through the air in front of him, only to catch them with his other hand. Card tricks of that nature were only interesting when you were twelve and had just learned to do them. He was twenty and sitting in a boarding house primarily intended for high school students, with his sorta not-quite quasi girlfriend. Card tricks were not interesting anymore, and he couldn't think of any games that they hadn't already played at least a half dozen times, and she had imposed a rule of silence until she had finished her chapter. He was going to go insane. He narrowed his eyes at her unturned page. She was doing this on purpose just to torture him. He knew it. He wanted her to put her book down and entertain him, or he could entertain her. He just wanted to do something other than sit here. Suddenly she caught his gaze. "Ah swear Remy ya're worse than a damn dog!" she exclaimed, exasperated, "we've been sitting here for all of five minutes and already you look like you're planning on flopping across the top of my book 'cause you're jealous it's getting more attention than ya!" Remy merely arched an eyebrow. That idea actually held some appeal to him; after all, the book was in her lap. She must have read something in his gaze because she slammed her book closed and stood up with a scowl, "I'm your friend, not your babysitter. It ain't my job to entertain ya. I'll be in my room. When I'm done with my homework I'll find ya and ya can apologize fer being so damn annoying!"
Remy watched his companion storm out of the room. She would have knocked over the petite brunette entering the room had it been anyone other than Katherine Pryde. The perky valley girl however, simply shifted into an intangible form and 'phased' through her temperamental best friend. "Like, what'd you do to set Rogue off this time?" the girl asked. "Remy didn' do not'in," the young man replied. Kitty had to stifle a giggle at the sight of his pout. A small part of her wanted to melt into a puddle because he was so attractive but mostly she found it ridiculous that someone his age still used a pout in semi-seriousness. "Come on Remy, I know she can over-react but what'd you do?" "Well, I might have been a little impatient for her to finish her homework," Remy replied sheepishly. Kitty frowned slightly, "That's not so bad, as long as you weren't breathing down her neck or anything." Remy's expression somehow became even more sheepish and Kitty giggled again, "Like, really Remy, you didn't! No one likes someone breathing down their throat when they're trying to concentrate." Ororo Monroe strode past the door just in time to hear the Cajun's reply, "Didn' mean to crowd her. Was just bored and waiting for her to finish." The tall African woman stuck her head in through the door way, "If you are in need of something to do Mr. LeBeau you may join me in the greenhouse. My ferns are in desperate need of repotting."
Remy sighed, "D'accord Stormy. Be dere in five minutes." Storm simply nodded and continued on her way, calling over her shoulder, "Don't call me by that ridiculous nickname again Mr. LeBeau." Remy grumbled out a farewell to Kitty before leaving the room and trudging towards his own to change into some clothes he didn't mind getting dirty. Anytime any of the adults residing in the mansion caught him idling they thought up something that needed to be done, normally in their company. When he wasn't busy with chores, his X-men duties, or his "special assignments" from Xavier he was taking classes because Xavier recommended that he attend college with Jean and Scott. He also had to take special science lessons with Hank due to the fact that his father had home schooled him and felt that science was useless for a thief, so his scientific knowledge was about as complete as an elementary school student's. He suspected his full schedule had less to do with them worrying about his lack of activity and more to do with the fact that none of them trusted him enough yet to leave him to his own devices. He may have been allowed into the X-men but it seemed that his membership was on a trial basis, at least for now.
Remy couldn't blame them for being suspicious. After all, they hadn't asked him join their "family." He had just shown up on their doorstep one day (while Wolverine was out, naturally) and informed them that his contract with Magneto had run out, he was not interested in renewing it, and wondered if they had a position on their team available. To the shock of everyone in the institute Charles Xavier had simply asked Jean to show him to a room in the teachers' quarters. He would not tell anyone about the nature of his agreement with Magneto. He would not tell anyone why he had left. He would not tell anyone where Magneto was stationed or anything about Magneto's plans or security measures. He gave no personal information about himself beyond his name and the fact that he came from New Orleans. He came and went as he pleased, without explanation, and while few noticed this it caused a few raised eyebrows amongst those that did. Consequently, quite a few students and a few of the faculty felt that Xavier had simply invited a spy into their midst. They knew that the professor had not read the red-on-black eyed mutant's mind. Jean and Scott knew that she could not read it. What no one knew was that the cajun thief and the founder of the X-men had actually had an agreement beforehand.
Gambit had worked for the man for a few years on a job by job basis. However, he had in the beginning no personal contact with the professor. Originally their agreements had all been made through his agent. It was only after he joined Magneto that he had begun to deal with the professor personally. The professor had, on more than one occasion, attempted to recruit Gambit, but Gambit had refused to break contract.
Only twice had Gambit requested any non-monetary payment of the professor. The first had been we he asked for the location of where his father was being held hostage and as the professor was not indebted to him at the time he had requested a favor in return. It was the most unusual request that Gambit had ever received from the professor. The professor had admitted that he could not reach one his students and was running out of ideas. He wanted Remy to find a way to help her. Gambit still had no idea why the professor thought he would be able to do this but he very much doubted that the professor had expected him to abduct her and take her to Mardi Gras. Ask an unusual question; get an unusual response. He had half expected the professor to break off all contact with him after the incident. Remy really hadn't intended to get her involved with the Rippers or the mess with his father but he had been out of New Orleans for a while and the territorial boundaries of the city had been re-drawn. When Rogue had absorbed the memories of the former assassin she had assumed that Remy had led her into the absorption on purpose. Gambit had momentarily considered pointing out that he had not initiated any of the circumstances leading to the skin on skin contact but decided that it would be better to go with the flow and let her believe what she wanted. It was certainly more plausible than the truth. It also had the unexpected benefit of really getting through to her, not just cheering her up slightly. He had somehow unintentionally imparted a lesson about mistakes, intentions, and being human to her. All he could figure was that the professor was either a pre-cog on top of being a telepath or that he believed more in the end justifying the means than he wanted to admit because he had hardly even mentioned the incident the next time they met. There was only a slight comment about how the professor would appreciate it if no more of his students disappeared.
The second time that Remy had requested a personal favor of the professor was when his contacts had finally been able to locate Piotr's family. Remy needed a team to extract them from Magneto's care. He could not involve the guild further due to their internal laws and he was unwilling to hire mercenaries to deal with the simple farm family. He also needed a doctor on the team to deal with Illiana during the transportation. Gambit felt that the X-men were ideal because Magneto was used to them foiling his plans and he would not question how they had found the family. He would only assume that Xavier had somehow bested him and there would be no trail leading back to Gambit. Xavier had not only agreed to send in the X-men but also arranged a safe home on Muir Island where Illiana could receive the medical attention she needed. In return he had asked Gambit to join the X-men. Gambit had balked at the realization that Xavier was unwilling to make this a contract with a time limitation but Xavier had assured him that he could leave anytime he saw fit. This had only lead to suspicion. After all, if he really could leave anytime he wanted then how did Xavier know that he would stay more than a day? Xavier managed to convince him that even if he left after an hour he would not hold it against him, however, Xavier had faith that he was honorable enough to at least make an effort for things to work out, and that Xavier trusted his judgment enough to let Remy decide when it was time to part ways. Remy agreed to join the X-men once his contact with Magneto ran out.
Of course, not everyone was so willing to accept him. He very much doubted either Wolverine or Storm would ever forgive him for the Mardi Gras incident but luckily Rogue held no grudge, thus becoming his only friend at the mansion. Beast seemed unsure what to make of him. Hank was the only one who knew of Remy's role as instigator in the mission to rescue Piotr's family. Beast was needed as a consultant before anyone else knew that there would be a mission because he needed to give Remy a list on information to gather about Illiana's condition in order to prepare for her transportation. Kurt and Kitty had eventually warmed up to Remy. This was partially because they were not the type of people to hold grudges and were both naturally cheery, friendly people. With Kurt it was also partially due to the fact that he and Remy had several things in common and he did not wish to upset his sister. However, a slight layer of distrust was always between them despite the fuzzy blue boy's best intentions. With Kitty, Remy suspected that she had warmed up to him largely because she believed that he had joined the X-men to be with Rogue and that was "like, so romantic." He seemed incapable of discouraging the girl from believing the notion.
Remy and Rogue weren't an item. They didn't date, they hung out. That didn't stop anyone from believing they were together. Kitty had successfully spread the idea that Remy was in love with Rogue and her lack of animosity towards the Cajun seemed to convince everyone that she was in love with him as well. They had stopped fighting the assumption that they were together because once the mansion gossips had decided they were an established couple they were no longer interesting and the intense scrutiny stopped. The truth was that neither of them was sure what they were. They were friends; definitely. They spent obscene amounts of time alone together, but that was probably because neither had any other close friends. Well, Rogue had Kurt and Kitty, but seemed to prefer his company, most likely due to the fact that she didn't have much in common with the other two. They flirted of course. They were attracted to one another, but then Remy was also attracted to Jean and Ororo so he doubted that meant much. There had been that one time Remy decided to show her that she could kiss and had draped a sheer scarf across her face and done it, but that was just to prove a point. They were in limbo somewhere and didn't seem to be moving in one direction or another, which in all honesty suited Remy just fine.
Unfortunately, the fact that Wolverine also believed they were romantically involved kept Remy in the forefront of his attention. Wolverine observed every training session Remy had. When Remy trained with the X-men Wolverine was there, even if Storm or Cyclops was in charge of the session. When Remy trained the X-men or New Recruits in stealth and agility, or select students with weaponry, Wolverine was there. Wolverine was there when he snuck in or out at night, even though curfew wasn't supposed to apply to him. Wolverine was the one who raised a fuss about catching the young man with bourbon, much to everyone else's amusement. Wolverine was never more than a room away when Scott tutored him in English Literature, or he tutored Jean in French. It seemed that the only break he got from Wolverine's presence came when Wolverine had to run a training session that he was not in or Rogue got huffy and shooed him off.
So now that he had the audacity to mention that he was bored and was roped into more menial labor he had temporarily exchanged Wolverine's supervision for Storm's. Hmm… well at least when he was finished Wolverine would be running a session with the New Recruits. Kitty always seemed to be done with her homework before getting home. Maybe, he could finish teaching her how to hack into the pentagon's files without being detected?