"The X-Mansion"

Ianto

"Why was Wolverine sniffing us?" I asked Gambit once I had put the ear piece back in and he was leading me to my room.

He shrugged "I'm sure we'll find out. So, whatchya t'ink so far?"

"I don't think I've had adequate time to form an opinion."

He looked at me with raised eyebrows "What teenage boy uses the word 'adequate'?"

"I do."

He sighed "Ianto Jones, you are a very strange child."

I grinned at him "Thank you."

He ruffled my hair "You are going to get along just fine with Hank."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"You seem to have the same vocabulary."

I mocked surprise "You know the word 'vocabulary'?"

"Brat."

On our way up to my room, I met Rogue. I have to say that it was no wonder Gambit fancied her.

"Ah, Rogue ma Cherie" Gambit blew her a kiss "did you miss me?"

She rolled her eyes "Like I'd miss you, ya dirn swamp rat" there was a touch of pink to her cheeks and I could tell she was lying.

Gambit put a hand over his heart and said over dramatically "Oh Cherie, why you have to be so cruel to Gambit?"

I bit my lip to keep from smiling.

Rogue saw me then and smiled "Ya must be Ianto" she held out a gloved hand "I'm Rogue."

I shook the offered hand "It's a pleasure ma'am. Gambit speaks very highly of you."

"I'm sure he does," her eyes sparkled "and call me Rogue, okay sugah?"

"Okay Rogue."

"So, Gambit" I said once we had left Rogue's company "that first day we met, what was that explosion about?"

"Huh? Oh, it was nothing" he was lying "someone was already handling it" that at least was the truth.

"Do you often run towards explosions?"

He sighed, "Boy, you live here long enough and you'll start running towards them too. Now, hush up, questions waste energy."

It would be some time before I found out what that explosion was about and who was already handling it—though I quite imagine you already have some idea.

Gambit led me to a room where as I said four other boys already resided. I wasn't sure how I felt about sharing a room, having been an only child and didn't fully grasp the concept of 'sharing' but I figured I'd have to deal with it as I had no other choice.


Remy

I didn't have the names of Ianto's roommates memorised except for Will Montgomery from South Carolina. I knew his name because he was always complaining about something or other. He seemed to be a very angry boy, it wasn't hard to tell why—his family had disowned him. I soon saw that it wasn't being a mutant that upset him; it was because he wasn't staring at the girls like other boys his age. Yep, I could tell he was batting for the boys' team but he was being in denial about it. You should never try and fight it. I had called him on it once, telling him I knew what it was like to be confused and he admitted that his powers developed when his daddy caught him looking at his aunt's Playgirl. By the way, I don't often have heart to hearts with the students but of the team I was the only one who got where he was coming from. I play for both teams though, I'm indecisive like that and I love it. I knew that Ianto shared my love of both sexes and hoped that with his confidence he could bring Will out of his closet. That's why I asked the Professor to put Ianto in that room—told him to keep my name out of it though.

I dropped Ianto off at his room and made the boys introduce themselves since I didn't know most of their names. After that I made for my pool house fully intending to sleep through dinner. Unless it was food I liked. I made sure to find out before I went for a nap.

Rogue, Jean and Storm were all in the kitchen when I walked in there.

"So, ladies, what we having?" I asked with a yawn.

"Fried chicken," Rogue said "and you can't add your dirn spices to the batter."

"Girl, you from Mississippi you like spices."

She just rolled her eyes at me.

I did get welcome home hugs from Jean and Storm though.

"How was the trip, Gambit?" Storm asked "I understand we have a new student."

"Yeah," I stretched my arms over my head "he's a brat to me but polite to everyone else, you'll like him. Trip was fine."

"What did you think of Cardiff?" asked Jean as she went back to cutting up potatoes.

I shrugged "All right I guess. Those Welsh people complained about the heat, it wasn't hot. One day it got to eighty and it wasn't even humid. That ain't hot, am I right chere?" I looked at Rogue.

"Maybe not to you and me but to some people it's boiling."

"I do not think it is hot either," Storm smiled.

"Of course you don't, ain't you from Egypt?"

Jean sighed "Remy, when will you learn proper grammar?"

"Jeanie, I already know how to speak 'properly' like you Yankees. I just choose not to most of the time." I took my leave of the kitchen and their raised eyebrows and went the rec room to relax with some pool. No need for them to know I was one decimal away from graduating high school with honours.


Ianto

I'm not going to relay the meeting of the roommates as I don't recall that too clearly—I was very tired at the time. Let me tell you about them though…

I was stuck sharing a room with (get ready for it) an English boy, a Scottish boy, a boy from South Carolina and a Yankee Doodle Dandy from Boston, all ranging in age from fourteen to seventeen. And my first impression as I remember it was that they didn't get on to well and quite a few wars were re-enacted often.

The English boy was Stephen, age sixteen and when I say English I mean ENGLISH. He drank tea every day, at four o'clock precisely and he always was impeccably dressed and he wore glasses…AND he was a snob. He was actually a stereotypical Englishman, if you know what I mean—I think he was from Oxford or something. His power was the ability to (other than taking English snobbishness to a new level) breathe under water and other such water talents. Quite often I've noticed powers will not fit the person they're attached to.

The Scot was the youngest at fourteen and his name was Danny, Danny Campbell and he was quite the rebellious Scot if you get my meaning. He had super strength so he would definitely win one of those log tossing contest things. His accent was thick and he spoke fluent Scots Gaelic—we sometimes traded insults with each other, him in Scottish and me in Welsh. I also sometimes joined him in poking fun at Stephen, it was great fun…

Dave Adams was the Bostonian and he, as I insinuated earlier had immense Yankee pride. He was seventeen and I'll admit quite dashing but he was so bloody annoying. He glared at Stephen each tea time and once grabbed his tea cup and dumped it out in a bowl of salt water he had prepared. He always called those of us from the UK 'redcoats' and he thought I was English when we first met. I was most insulted—granted, it's been my experience that not many Americans can tell the difference between a Welsh and English accent, hell, there's not many that have even heard of Wales. Anyway, I digress…Dave claimed to be descended from John Adams the second president of the United States and it only added to his pride. Dave's power was (other than being an encyclopaedia of American history) the ability to create fire out of nothing. (Apparently the villain Pyro could only control fire, not create it, something Dave liked to point out a lot).

Now we come to William James Montgomery III, the Southerner, hailing from South Carolina, the first state to secede from the Union in 1860 (I had to learn some US history while I was there, good God they think they're better than everyone). Will was my age and bloody gorgeous. I was quite fond of his accent but he…was…a…jerk. With my empathic abilities I could tell he didn't like anyone and he would rather be somewhere else. For awhile I assumed he was prejudice, though how a mutant could be prejudice was beyond me. He really hated Dave because Dave always rubbed the outcome of the American Civil War in his face. Will's power was invisibility and I suspected he was the type to spy on the girls' showers. Of course that was impossible because the X-men had precautions for that sort of thing and I was wrong anyway. More on that later…

After a couple hours rest I saw the Professor again so I could learn that mind exercise he mentioned earlier.

"Have you met your roommates?" he asked me.

"I have a feeling World War III will commence at some point" I said honestly.

He smiled "Yes, but that is why they are in the same room. I'm hoping it will teach them that the past is in the past. Perhaps you can help?"

"Maybe" my stomach growled.

"Well" he said brightly "let's begin the exercise and then we can be off to dinner. How does that sound?"

"It sounds just fine, sir."

It would take a little longer before I fully mastered control but that quick exercise certainly helped quiet the voices. Believe me, hearing the thoughts of others is not as fun as it sounds.

Anyway, the Professor and I entered the dining area together "Where should I sit?" I asked him.

"Why not sit with me tonight and meet the rest of the team?"

I smiled "Yes, thank you I would like that."

Apparently, everyone that Gambit told me about would be there. I greeted those I had already met first. Gambit ruffled my hair and I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him. Cyclops shook my hand warmly, Wolverine nodded and Rogue smiled and said "How ya doin' sugah?"

"Still a little tired", I told her, "but thank-you for asking. How are you?"

"Just fine, thank-ya, Ianto. Where'd ya learn to be such a gentleman? I know it wasn't from swamp rat over here" she jerked a thumb towards Gambit.

Gambit leaned back in his chair and shrugged "So maybe I failed Proper Gentleman 101."

And then I met the others. Gambit's description of Henry "Hank" McCoy a.k.a. Beast was accurate—looks like his name only blue and a very nice guy.

"I daresay it is a pleasure to finally meet you, Ianto" he said as we shook hands "we have all heard good things about you."

"And you sir" I said not at all weirded out by the fact he looked like some sort of muscular blue gorilla—with pointy cat-like ears. I imagined that it would be quite nice to cuddle up to him in the winter…but I digress "Gambit spoke very highly of you" which was in fact the truth.

Beast smiled "Indeed?"

"Dang, Gumbo" said Wolverine "did you actually talk nice about us to the kid?"

"More or less" Gambit shrugged "though he may have been embellishing just a bit for you."

I shook hands with Jean next "It's a pleasure, Mrs. Summers."

She smiled warmly and though I certainly wasn't as strong an empath as her I could tell she enjoyed that title "You too, Ianto and please call me Jean. Along with the Professor I'll be helping you with your power."

"I look forward to it" I said without thinking. Good Lord, I just flirted with a married woman.

"Hi there!" Jubilee said cheerily, thus saving me from my embarrassment "I'm Jubilee and I think you're really gonna like it here, Ianto."

"Thanks" I said while thinking that yes, Gambit was right she was cute. I made a note to tell her so later.

Now, I have to say that I have a thing for black women. Because when Storm walked in (she had been tending to her plants) I immediately thought she was the most beautiful one there, I thought she must have been some African goddess. I developed a crush on her right away.

She smiled at me and held out her hand "You must be Ianto" her voice was deep and cultured "Wolverine tells me you are the only polite young man he's ever met. It is a pleasure to meet you."

I shook her hand, my face extremely hot "Thank you ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Gambit spoke especially highly of you" how I kept my composure I don't know. She still makes me feel like a schoolboy.

Dinner that night was interesting…

I sat next to the Professor and Cyclops sat on the other side me. Gambit slouched in his chair on the other side of the table "I wonder if Mr. Fantastic sucks his own dick" he said suddenly.

In unison Rogue, Jean and Cyclops all said "Gambit!"

Gambit pretended to look sheepish "Hey, it's a legitimate question and if you're worried about the boy's "sensitive ears" don't… he swears in two different languages."

I felt my face heat up but I asked "Who is Mr. Fantastic?"

Beast took a drink of milk and then said "Mr. Fantastic is the leader of the Fantastic Four, though they do not carry the X-gene they bear mutant like powers…"

"They fight the bad guys" Wolverine interrupted "same as us. Jeez, Hank I wish you'd quite talkin' like a textbook."

"Like you know what a textbook is," Gambit muttered.

"You're one to talk" Wolverine growled back.

"If they don't have the X-gene then how…" I began.

"It's complicated" Cyclops said "and we're not sure exactly."

"What is Mr. Fantastic's power?"

"It's like he's made of rubber" Gambit answered before anyone else could "which is why wondering if he sucks his own dick is a natural thing to wonder. I'm sure everyone's thought of it."

"Remy, not while I'm eating" Rogue admonished him.

"Fine, how 'bout dis one den: Does Spider-man use his webbing for sex games?"

"Remy" there was a slight warning tone in the Professor's voice "that's enough."

"Yes indeed" said Beast "if you are going to speak Gambit, I suggest you use proper dinner etiquette."

Gambit smirked "As I said, I failed Proper Gentleman 101."

"That much is obvious."

"Perhaps I can teach you" I gave Gambit a sardonic smile.

Wolverine snorted as if he were trying to suppress a chuckle "That sounds like a good idea to me; you can learn a few things from the kid, Gumbo."

Gambit tossed a napkin ring at me—it landed in my potatoes "Brat" he said "am I de only one you ain't polite to?"

"I feel we know each other far too intimately to require use of formalities, Gambit."

He rolled his eyes and I could tell the others were amused "I swear dis boy," he said to no one in particular "he's been drivin' me crazy."

"Really?" said the Professor "I was hoping you could show him around the grounds tomorrow but if…"

"Nah, I'll do it, I'm de only who can handle him."

Conversation then shifted to other things, mainly Jubilee asking me what growing up in the UK was like, if I've ever met the Queen and if I've ever seen U2 live in concert.


Remy

Yeah, he was a brat but I felt he was my brat which is why I agreed to show him around. He was an awfully lot like me if I had been born Welsh and not had a guild to call home. We did have a few things in common; Monty Python, Mad Libs, Rocky Horror Picture Show, coffee, fine pastries, science fiction and gorgeous people. We disagreed somewhat when it came to Star Trek though, I preferred the original series while he preferred TNG. I was teaching him to shoot pool the third night he was here when we had such a discussion.

"Kirk" I said.

"Picard" he asserted "what's your problem with Picard?"

I aimed for the seven ball "He's supposed to be French but does he sound it? No. He sounds English! Patrick Stewart can't do a French accent apparently."

"It's called suspension of disbelief, you should try it sometime."

I sighed heavily "Whatever, I just prefer the original. Don't tell me you don't like Uhura."

"Well, of course I like her. She's my favourite in the original, that's beside the point."

"Then what is the point?"

"TNG lasted longer therefore more people watched it."

"Maybe but without the original we wouldn't have TNG. And if it weren't for Desilu picking it up…"

"What now?"

"Ah something you don't know. Back in the sixties when they were trying to sell Star Trek to the studios nobody wanted it. But Lucille Ball gave it a chance. If it weren't for her and Desilu Studios there wouldn't be a Star Trek at all."

Trekkies everywhere owe the world to Lucille Ball. Of course you have to love her anyway, I mean she's Lucy.

"Wow," said Ianto with awe in his voice "I have a newfound respect for Lucille Ball. Anyway, Riker is a better commander than…"

"Don't you even dare go there! They can't even compare."

"Perhaps," Hank spoke up from behind the book he was reading "you two should go to that Star Trek convention next month."

We both looked at him and said in unison "There's a Star Trek convention next month?"

"Indeed," he lowered his book "in Manhattan. I thought you'd like to know."

Ianto looked at me "Can we?"

I looked back at Hank who was back under his book, Oliver Twist of all things. It's a good book; I had to read it in school and then I read it again for fun. It spoke to me. I got an A on the essay. I sighed and said to Ianto "Maybe, I would hate for de other kids to think I was playin' favourites."

"Oh, I don't think that'll be an issue," Hank said as he stood up from his chair. He left the room before I could ask him to elaborate.


Ianto

A few days later, I was settling into my new life fairly well. With help from both the Professor and Jean, I wore that earpiece less and less. On that Saturday, Gambit challenged me to a game of one on one basketball in the gym.

"How do ya like t'ings so far?" he asked me.

"All right, I guess. I'm still getting used to it" I aimed for the basket and missed. Gambit caught the ball.

"Yeah, it takes awhile" he made a basket effortlessly "You gettin' on okay wit' your roomies?"

"Gambit, I'm stuck in a room with an English pig, a Scot, a Yank and a Reb. I'm Welsh, how do you think we're getting on?" I tried but failed to get the ball away from him.

He grinned and made another basket "Well not to sound too Full House or anythin', I'm sure it'll get better."

"The Reb's the most difficult, bloody hates everyone."

"Don't call him 'Reb', I find it derogatory. He may be from de Upper South but he's still a fellow southerner. And wouldn't all Americans be rebels to you people?"

"Sorry but he's like some junior KKKer."

Gambit sighed "No he ain't, the boy's got issues, main one bein' his family completely disowned him."

"For being a mutant?"

"And for being gay but you didn't hear that from me."

I stopped moving "He's what?" no way.

"Oui, his powers manifested when his daddy caught him with a Playgirl."

Holy shit "But he seems so…"

"I tol' you, he's got issues" he made another basket.

"I'll say" I went for the ball again but Wolverine came out of nowhere and took the ball from Gambit like taking a lolly from a baby.

"Oughta pay more attention, Gumbo," Wolverine made a basket.

I laughed "If that's your affectionate nickname for him, I wonder what you call him when you're irritated."

Wolverine smirked slightly "It's not fit for virgin ears, kid."

Gambit lunged for the ball "Boy may be a virgin but he knows more dirty words than you and me together."

Wolverine sidestepped him "You've taken a shine to him" he made another basket and let the ball roll away.

A corner of Gambit's mouth curved upwards "You kiddin'? I can't stand the sticky fingered brat."

"Let's all talk about Ianto as if he's not here" I deadpanned.

"Fuck, Gumbo, kid's been spending too much time with you. Now, you got him talkin' in the third person."

"Shut up. Whatchya want anyway, Wolverine?"

"Professor wants to see ya…both."

Jean, Scott and Beast were also in the Professor's office when the three of us arrived.

The Professor nodded to two empty chairs "You two may wish to sit down."

I sat but Gambit asked "What for?"

"You may recall the day Ianto arrived and Wolverine sniffed you both?"

Gambit and I nodded.

Beast spoke up "Well according to the superior senses of smell of both Wolverine and myself we believe that you two have the same parents."

Precisely three beats later, in unison Gambit and I said "What?" in two separate languages.