Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Rogue and Remy were back in Louisiana. This time, thy had brought Kitty with them. After all, the maid of honor wanted to go dress shopping with her best friend. At least, that had been her argument.
Rogue, Remy, and Kitty got off the plane and went to the baggage claim. They were met there by a red headed thief.
"Lapin!" Rogue gave her favorite of Remy's cousins a hug.
"Good t' see y' too, fille."
Kitty looked at him in confusion before turning to Remy. "What did he just say?"
Remy chuckled at the petite brunette's question. "He said 'Good to see y' too, girl."
"You Cajuns can't just speak plain English, can you?"
"Nope, petit. It's more fun t' confuse y'." Kitty groaned as Remy easily slipped back into the Cajun accent that he usually spoke without.
"I think I like you better in New York. At least I can understand what you're saying then."
Rogue caught the younger girls comment and smiled at her. "Are ya complainin 'bout my man's sexy Cajun accent?"
"Y' t'ink Cajun accents are sexy, chére?" Lapin asked.
"Only when the Cajun is tall, dark, and handsome. Sorry, sugah."
"Y' a riot, Anna," Lapin replied dryly. His eyes caught the girl standing next to Remy.
"Lapin, let me introduce y' t' Anna's maid of honor. This is le chat."
"Le chat? Y' de cat?"
"What? My name's Kitty. Kitty Pryde."
"Now I get it. M' name's Emil Lapin."
"What does le chat mean?" Kitty looked at Emil, but Remy answered.
"It means the cat, like Lapin means rabbit." Remy smirked at his younger cousin.
"Y' jus' got off de plane an' already y' abusing m'. M' gonna tell Jean Luc 'bout dis."
Remy shrugged. "Emil, y' talkin t' de Prince of Thieves. Y' think he's goin' believe y' over his own son?"
"Dat depends on what dis son has done recently."
Remy shrugged. "Been in New York with mon amour workin on weddin plans. Y' think he'll complain bout that?"
"Damn. Y' right."
"I know. Let's get outta here." Remy led the way out of the airport and then followed Emil to the car.
Rogue and Remy chatted easily with Lapin on the way back to the Guild house. Kitty was so absorbed in looking at the old city that she had no idea what they were even talking about. She gasped when they pulled up in front of the LeBeau mansion.
"Wow. It's, like, huge! It's bigger than the Institute."
"Needs t' be, chat. Dere's a lot o' t'ieves here." Lapin led the way inside. Rogue automatically started walking toward Jena Luc's office.
"He's not in dere, fille." Rogue turned around and hugged the dark haired man that had snuck up behind her.
"Bonjour, Theo."
"Good t' see y', Anna." Theo then embraced his younger cousin. "Remy, good t' see y' didn' run off."
"What the hell has gotten into everyone? M' not gonna take off." Theo and Emil chuckled at Remy's expression.
"Theo, Emil, y'all behave," Rogue reprimanded. "Theo, meet my friend, Kitty Pryde. Kit, this is Remy's cousin Theoren Marceaux."
"Nice t' meet y'." Theo nodded to her before looking back at Lapin. "Y' might wanna hide, Lapin. Mercy's pissed 'bout somet'in y' did."
"Merde." Lapin wandered off.
"Who's Mercy?"
"Dat'd be moi." Kitty turned around to see a beautiful blond woman standing behind her with an attractive man. "Anna, good t' see y', chére." The blond gave her a hug while the man hugged Remy.
"Henri, ya shaved your head." Anna gave the older man a hug while Kitty looked on in confusion.
"Kitty, dis is m' brother, Henri and his wife, Mercy. Henri, Mercy, dis is le chat."
"Her name's Kitty," Rogue interrupted.
"Nice t' meet y'." Mercy told her. "Anna, Jean Luc's at y' family's house." At her questioning gaze, Mercy shook her head. "Not'in like dat. He an' Marius are talkin 'bout de weddin."
"That can't be good."
Mercy shrugged. "Why don' we find a room for Kitty? Or are y' stayin with de Assassins?"
"We're stayin here, sugah. We stayed with the Assassins last time. Ah'm sure Marius'll have something to say bout it, but Ah don't really give a damn."
"Henri, can y' show Kitty t' a room?"
"Oui. Come on, fille." Kitty followed Remy's brother down the hall.
"Y' found y' dress yet?"
"No. Ah'm hopin to get a chance to go shoppin down here."
"No problem, Anna. We can go whoever y' feel like. I know dis great lil shop dat has de most belle dresses."
"Sounds great, sugah." Rogue smiled at Mercy as she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye.
Mercy saw this too. "Emil Lapin, y get back here!" She went to find the younger thief.
"Merde. Dis is gonna be a crazy stay," Remy commented as he watched his sister-in-law go after his cousin.
"Ya said it, sugah." Rogue looked around the hall that they were standing in. "Which way to your room?"
Remy smirked and led her toward the steps. They went up two flights and turned. Remy opened the door to reveal a huge bedroom with a king size bed. Rogue gave a low whistle.
"Nice, eh, chére?"
"Ya got that right." Rogue set her stuff down and walked into the adjoining bathroom. It was also a pretty good size. There was a shower and a Jacuzzi tub. "Sugah, this is the life."
"Some days," Remy replied. He was laying across the bed. "Y' even got a private balcony, chére." Remy smirked at her. He knew her fondness for sunbathing.
"Great. Ah'm gonna go see Marius. Ya wanna come?"
"Sure."
"Let me change first and then find Kitty." Rogue was dressed for the fall weather in upstate New York. It was too hot to wear long sleeves in the bayou. She pulled on a white t-shirt and short jean shorts with tennis shoes. Remy also changed into a black t-shirt. Rogue knew that the trench would stay behind today.
"Lead the way, Rem." Rogue followed him through the mansion to the guest rooms. He knocked on the door to one and Kitty's head popped out.
"Like, hey." She phased through the door and Rogue noticed that the younger girl had also changed. Instead of the pink sweater she had been wearing, she now had on a red tank and capris.
"We're goin to see my family. Ya wanna come?"
"Totally. I so want to meet, like, your whole family."
"It's just my father. He's the only family Ah have besides Mystique and Kurt."
"Y' wound me, chére."
"Oh, and the LeBeaus. And Ah guess ya could count the X-Men, if you're countin the Guilds."
Kitty nodded. "So is there anything that I, like, need to know before I meet anyone else?"
"Don't trust Lapin," Remy quickly answered. "Anythin y' hear from him, 'specially bout me, should always be questioned 'fore y' believe it."
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ignore him, Kit. Lapin's great. He's just sayin that 'cause Lapin has all kinds of stories 'bout him."
"Really?" Kitty made a mental note to ask the redhead about Remy later. "Anything else?"
"You'll probably meet Gris Gris at my father's house. If he's a dick, don't take it personally. That's just his personality."
"I'll try to remember that."
"There's not much to really know 'bout it. Just stick close to us."
"Okay." Kitty climbed in the backseat of the car. Remy drove to the Bourdeaux mansion since he knew the way. Kitty ignored the conversation, choosing to look out at the strangely gorgeous swaps.
Remy stopped at the huge wrought iron gate. An intercom buzzed to life next to the car.
"'Who is it?"
"Dat anyway t' answer, Gris Gris?"
"Fuck off, LeBeau."
"Watch y' language. I've got Marius's daughter with me." Kitty heard a growl from the other end, but the gate swung open anyway. Remy parked near the front of the house and the three climbed out. Gris Gris met them at the door.
"Welcome back, Anna."
"Thank ya sugah. My father busy?"
"No, follow me." Rogue followed after the man without hesitation. Kitty looked at him a minute before following.
"Thank ya," Rogue told him as he stopped at the door. Gris Gris nodded and started to walk off. "Oh, and if ya ever talk to Remy like that again, Ah'll kick your ass."
"Like you could."
"Ah may not be able to, but my father sure as hell can." Gris Gris glared at her and walked off. Rogue turned back to Remy and Kitty. "Ah love doin that." She knocked on the door.
"I'm busy."
"Ya sure 'bout that?" Rogue asked as she stuck her head inside the office. She smiled at Jean Luc. He nodded in response.
"Anna, come in, fille." Marius stood and walked toward the door as Rogue, Remy and Kitty filed in. He gave Rogue a crushing hug.
"Remy, mon fils, good t' see y'." Remy nodded and gave his father a quick embrace. Kitty stood there awkwardly as the others greeted each other.
"Papa, this is Kitty. She's a friend from up north and my maid of honor." Marius looked over at his daughter's friend.
"Bonjour, Kitty." He offered the girl a smile.
"Nice to meet you, sir."
"Jus' call m' Marius."
"An' m' Jean Luc." The man that had spoken bowed and kissed her hand. Kitty couldn't hold back a giggle at the gentlemanly gesture.
"I can see where Remy gets it from."
"Y' been home yet?" Jean Luc asked them.
"Oui. When we left, Mercy was tryin to catch Lapin for something."
Jean Luc shook his head. "Dat boy'll never learn."
Rogue shrugged. "He's always been like that, sugah, ever since Ah met him." She looked over at her father and Kitty could see a slight resemblance. "Anyway, we," she motioned to herself and Kitty, "were planning on goin dress shoppin sometime this week…" Rogue trailed off and gave her father a smile.
Marius looked at her and gave a small sigh. "Y' want m' card?"
"If you're offerin," Rogue grinned at her father and he pulled out his wallet. He handed her a credit card before putting his wallet back. She threw her arms around his neck and he smiled.
"Y' have a good time shoppin an' don't spend all m' money." Just after seeing the mansion and it's elaborate furnishings, Kitty had a feeling that even she couldn't spend all of his money.
"Thank ya."
Marius shrugged. "It'll be y' money one day." Kitty gaped at the man. She had no idea the Rogue would inherit everything.
Rogue looked uncomfortable. That comment had reminded her that her brother was dead and that her mother had been responsible for the death of her sister. "Anyway, Ah think we're gonna head back, but Ah'll be back tomorrow or the next day." She hugged her father and gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning to leave.
"See y' three at home." They nodded at Jean Luc's comment and went back to the LeBeau mansion.
When they got there, Rogue told Kitty and Remy to go hang out with his cousins. Remy gave her a questioning look, but went along with it. Rogue had something that she needed to do.
Rogue went back up to the room her and Remy were sharing. She dug around in her bag for her phone before finally finding it. She flipped it open and dialed a number she hadn't used in a while.
"Hello?"
"Mother?"
"Anna, I knew you'd call eventually."
"Ah'm sure."
"How have you been?"
"Just dandy. Well, someone killed my brother, but other than that."
"Something happened to Kurt? I'll kill them…"
"Mother," Rogue interrupted her rant. "Kurt's fine. Ah was talking about Julian." Silence met her ears. "Mother, are ya there?"
"I'm here. I heard about that. Such an unfortunate thing."
"Why'd ya do it?"
"What?"
"Don't deny it. Ah know that ya did it. It had ya marked all over it."
"What are you talking about."
"Dark alley, beautiful girl, drunk guy. It's your style."
"I' afraid I don't know what you're talking about."
"Stop denying it, damn it! We both know you did it. I just want to know why."
"Just looking out for your well being."
"Don't give me that bullshit. Ah know ya had a reason."
"You're right. That bastard hurt me a long time ago and this was my way of getting revenge on him for all the pain he caused me."
"You're still pissed at Marius for something that happened twenty years ago? Ah can't believe this! You killed his children, for Christ's sake! How can you be cold enough to do that?"
"You weren't complaining when I killed Bella."
"That psycho bitch was trying to kill me. Besides, this is different."
"How so?"
"Bella was always unstable. The smallest thing would set her off. I know that she would've killed me eventually. Julian was different."
"You're wrong."
"Really? And how do you know this, oh great one?" Rogue asked sarcastically.
"I heard him talking to his friends about how he had already lost one sister because of Remy LeBeau. He told them that he sure as hell wasn't losing another. He was planning on killing Remy."
"Why the hell should Ah believe you? You're a fuckin liar! You've lied to me so many damn times that Ah'm surprised that Ah'm not in therapy to sort out my fucked up mind!"
"Believe what you want. I'm telling the truth."
"Ah don't know if Ah can believe ya anymore."
"Anna, I can tell that you want to believe what I'm saying."
"You're my mother. Ah want to believe ya, but Ah can't. Ah've heard so many damn lies in the past few years that Ah find it hard to believe anyone."
"Where are you?"
"New Orleans."
"I'm coming to see you tomorrow."
"Ah'm goin dress shoppin with Kitty and Mercy."
"Darling, you cannot go dress shopping without me. I've had minimum contact with you since Apocalypse, but there is no way that I am missing my only daughter buying a wedding dress."
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Fine, but ya better meet us at the shop."
"I was planning on it."
Rogue hung up and threw her phone across the room. It hit the wall next to the doorway just as Remy came in. He looked from her to the phone and picked it up. He set it on the bedside table before sitting next to her.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah don't want to talk about it." Remy sighed. He knew she wouldn't talk about it until she was ready. Instead of pressing her, he wrapped his arms around her and just held her. Rogue buried her face in his chest and inhaled his distinct scent.
They had been sitting like that for ten minutes before Rogue pulled away slightly. Remy let her go, knowing that she was ready to talk and couldn't do so with her face buried in his shirt. He waited for her to start talking.
"Ah found out who killed Julian." Remy's eyes widened in surprise. That was the last thing that he was expecting.
"It was Mystique. She said that she was looking out for me. Claimed that he had mouthing off to his friends after he was drunk. Said he'd already lost one sister to ya and he wasn't losing another. She said that he was going to kill ya."
"Merde," Remy muttered quietly.
"Ah really want to be mad at her, to hate her or something. But Ah can't. Ah don't know if she's lyin, but Ah've got to wonder if there isn't some truth to it. Ah know that Julian always talked a lot when he was drunk. And he hated ya something terrible."
"I wouldn't put it past him, chére. He threatened t' kill m' after Bella died. I don't doubt that he'd kill m' t' protect y'."
"Ah know and that's why Ah can't hate her for this. The part that gets me is that she said that she did this for me than said that she did it for revenge against Marius. Ah can't help but wonder if revenge means more to her than Ah do."
Remy wrapped his arms tighter around her as her tears began to fall. "Shh, chére. M' sure it don't." He tilted her chin up to meet his gaze. "Sounds like y' need t' have a good talk with her."
"Ah'm planning on it. She's goin dress shoppin with us tomorrow. Ah'm hopin that Ah can talk to her after."
"Good idea." He looked closely at her. "Y' gonna be okay?"
Rogue nodded. "Ah'll be fine."
"Good, 'cause we're goin out for dinner."
"We?"
"Me, y', Emil, Mercy, Henri, an' Kitty. So get ready."
Rogue pressed her lips to his. "Ah love ya, Mr. LeBeau."
"An' I love y' too. Now get." Remy pushed her toward the bathroom and she laughed. She suddenly felt much better about everything.
This'll probably be the last chapter I get up before I go back to school, but I may write another chapter tomorrow, I don't really know yet. To anyone that figure out the killer - good job. I wasn't too creative there, but it fits in with the other stuff that she's done in this story. ANyway, enjoy. Thanks to my reviewers.