Chapter 2

Remy dutifully and silently carried Jaleena's bags up the stairs to her room, trailing behind her and Jubilee. It wasn't normally in his nature to keep his mouth shut, but he didn't want to push his luck with Jaleena. Yet. She had looked positively terrified when she'd seen him at the airport. It had been hard to just give her a light hug when he had wanted to just pull her into his arms and kiss her until she remembered she loved him. Or used to. But it wasn't the time for that; it was far too early. What they'd been telling Jubilee for months was true. They barely knew each other at this point in their lives, and rushing things certainly hadn't helped in Ireland.

Besides, he was enjoying watching the two women together. Jubilee was even more bubbly than she usually was, and Jaleena was just beaming her happiness- -at least until she looked at him, then she sobered and got a weird look on her face. He couldn't read her, but she seemed to cringe away from him every time he got near her, so he was keeping his distance and enjoying the view. Particularly at that moment as she climbed the stairs in front of him in her light blue yoga pants.

Jubilee turned around to attempt (again) to draw him into the conversation and saw the direction of his gaze. She rolled her eyes and immediately turned back around. They had spent quite a bit of time together, and she'd prodded him for all of the details he could share about her mother—how they'd met, the rather shabby wedding, their transition into parenthood. He had answered all of her questions until she'd started prodding him about his present feelings for Jaleena. He'd done his best to avoid those questions, but she was a smart kid and had put two and two together when he told her that he and Rogue weren't an item any longer. He wished he could add things up as quickly and simply as she did.

The last week he'd spent at Ballenger Academy had been torture. He'd had to come to terms with a lot of his emotions as he kept his distance from Leena. Delving into emotions was something he dreaded doing at any time, let alone when he was in the same building as the source of some of those emotions. He was more of a man of action and didn't see the point in wasting time talking about feelings when you could just do something about them. Thank God for Ororo. With her calming presence and thought-provoking questions, she'd help him realize some important things. So he had made a list:

What he'd said to Leena in anger was true. They didn't know each other.

No matter how he and Jaleena felt about each other, Jubilee was what really mattered, so they had to at least make peace for her sake. At some point.

He was still angry. Scratch that. He was furious that she had allowed him to think she was dead for so many years.

He wasn't going to be able to really tell if he still loved her until he could forgive her. And according to Stormy, he might just love her based on a lot of complicated factors she explained but he didn't quite understand. He figured he didn't need to know the why, just whether he did or not. So the jury was still out on that question.

Before he could deal with anything relating to his feelings about Jaleena, he needed to be honest with Rogue.

The last one had been the hardest, but he'd done it, and for once in his life, things had turned out all right rather easily. Not at first, but eventually.

"Remy, can I talk to ya for a sec?"

Gambit turned, surprised to find Rogue standing in the doorway of the library. She had been the last person he would have expected to seek him out. The last time they'd spoken he had told her about Jaleena and had been candid about what had gone on while he was at Ballenger Academy. She had not taken it well, and there had certainly been a lot of broken objects in the room before she'd stormed out. She had been avoiding him for the previous two weeks.

"Sure, cher." He set down the paper he had been reading to give her his full attention, his expression wary.

She pushed the paper aside and sat next to him on the couch. "Ah wanted to apologize to ya for everythin' that happened a few weeks ago."

He shook his head. "You got not'ing to apologize for, cher. Remy done the wrong, and he deserved everyt'ing you t'rew at 'im."

Rogue nodded. "Ah agree with that part. You were a jerk." She smiled at him while saying the words, "But Ah've come to terms with it."

He blinked at her, completely surprised. She was over it. Already? "Uh…" he trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Yeah," she said, "Ah know. Ah was awful surprised, too. The first week, Ah was just so damn mad! Ah wanted to wring your neck every time Ah saw ya. But it took me a little while to realize that that's all Ah was: Angry. Ah felt betrayed, that part was clear, but Ah didn't feel heartbroken." She paused to meet his gaze. "Shouldn't a girl be heartbroken when the man she loves tells her he's been with another woman?"

He pressed his lips together, affected by the note of vulnerability in her voice. He held out his arms, and she crawled into his lap so he could hold her. If he knew one thing about Rogue, it was that any sort of physical contact was like a balm for her since it had been so absent in most of her life.

She rested her forehead against his shoulder and took one of his hands into her gloved ones. "Ah think it bothered me more that mah heart wasn't breaking than it bothered me that you cheated." She explained. "And that just made me madder 'cause Ah didn't know what Ah was feelin'. Ah talked to Logan about it, since he was over there with y'all."

He shuddered, "God help a man, if you talked to Logan, Remy surprised you here right now."

She laughed her signature, throaty laugh. "Aww, it's not that bad. Ah know he was upset about you not tellin' anyone about Jubilee, but he's a smart guy. He pays attention to a lot a things that most people miss." She squeezed his hand. "He helped me understand what you went through while you were over there, and it helped me be a little more forgivin'." She leaned back to peer up at him. "Now don't take that to mean you're off the hook, 'cause yer not. Yer goin' to owe me for a while, Remy Lebeau." When he tried to give her one of his most charming smiles, she just rolled her eyes. "That ain't gettin' ya no where anymore, sugah. Ah still love lookin' at ya and being around ya, but we were doomed from the start, ya know?"

He sighed and hugged her tighter. "Dat be true, cher. Remy really does love you though, you know dat right?"

She nodded and rested her head against his shoulder again. "Ah know. It's just different from how you love her."

When he remained silent, she looked up at him again in question. He shook his head. "Remy don't know how he feel, cher. It been a long time."

Rogue just smiled and squeezed his hand. "You'll figure it out, sugah. Just give it time."

Since then, Remy hadn't noticed much of a change in their relationship. She still sought him out, and he still flirted with her every chance he got, but it was much more light-hearted. He was grateful that he had been able to maintain their friendship with no strain save for the first few weeks after their "break up."

When they reached the room Jaleena would be staying in, he stepped inside to put her bags down and turned to find both women staring at him, Jubilee looking expectant and Jaleena looking…with that weird expression again. What the hell did that mean?

"Thanks, Remy." Leena said, and it was followed by an awkward moment of silence, Jubilee clearly trying to tell him to do something with weird gestures. He ignored her and looked back to Leena, who just smiled tightly. "I suppose we'll see you at dinner?" she asked, though she didn't seem thrilled by the prospect.

"Sure, Dat'd be nice." He responded as he turned to head toward the door, Jubilee followed him, but all he did was scowl and close the door in her face, effectively leaving her in the room with her mother. The last thing he needed was romantic advice from a seventeen year old. Besides, he had to get started on #1 on his list, and he couldn't do that if she would barely speak to him. He had plans to formulate.