20

Rogue had returned to the mansion to tell the news that Gambit was going back to New Orleans to be with his family. She left the part about the thieves' guild out as only she and, maybe, a few others actually knew about that side of Gambit's life. The kids Gambit had been training had been disappointed. They wanted to go after him, but the Professor had backed Rogue up when she told them no. To leave him.

Jean and Kitty had tried to be comforting towards Rogue, but Rogue just brushed them off. Logan's advances too when he tried to talk to her about it. She just wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone. Instead, she threw herself back into her school work.

Xxxxx

Gambit had been driving for some time when he decided to pull over and find a motel for the night. He stole a wallet of some hopeless woman who was spoiling her grandchild at nine o clock at night, letting them buy sweets and chocolate for the night. He honestly thought he was doing the parents a favour by taking the cash off the old woman who was wiped by the greedy child.

He got a motel and lay on the bed. He'd had a lot of time to think about Rogue and the X-Men. But his resolve was still the same.

Finally, he decided to give his Tante Mattie a call. She answered after two rings.

"Remy! You be in mighty trouble! It be almost a week and you ain't told moi nothin' 'bout how dat femme of yours likes 'er dress!" Tante snapped down the phone at him.

Gambit instantly felt guilty, "Desole! Desole Tante! Honest, it be a simple mistake." Gambit tried to tell her.

"Don't you try fool me boy! Now, tell moi! How things gettin' on with de fillie? You treatin' 'er well?" Tante asked.

"Dere, erm, they be goin'. Actually phoned to say I be comin' back." He said.

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. A very long pause.

"Remy, what happened child?" Tante asked.

Gambit shrugged to himself, "De mission be done. It was on de news dis mornin'. De prisons I wanted to hit, they gone for now."

"You know that ain't what I mean. What happened 'tween you and your femme?" she asked.

"She never be mon woman, tante. It was just a dress," he said.

"No, no, no, dat be where your wrong child. This Remy I be talkin' to right here, he be heartbroken. De boy I talked to last time, he be in love. Somethin' happened. Why you comin' back?" Tante said.

Gambit sighed. He could hardly keep anything from this woman and he knew it. He even wondered why he bothered to call her. He knew he would just be interrogated.

"De job ain't over. Sinister still be out there. Those prisons, they just be practice." Gambit said.

"Practice you needed de X-Men's help for. It dun't make sense why you'd leave em when you managed ta get de job done with em. Boy, you best start confessin' everything to your tante, or so help me, I'll come down der with moi rollin' pin and-"

"Alright, alright!" Gambit said, trying to calm the woman. She was terrifying when she was angry. "Oui, de X-Men, dey get the job done good. But I couldn't stay Tante. It be a house overflowin' with mutants. Just hittin' de MRD prisons be troublesome and a huge risk for 'em. Their whole familie coulda been at risk. I can't do dat ta em with him. I can't take dat risk. Besides, they ain't got no info on him. Already checked. It be best I use de thieves' sources for trackin' em." Gambit said.

"Then what Remy? You take dat mad man down alone?" Tante asked.

"By den, I hopin' to have found Mags." Gambit admitted.

"Remy, child. You know you coulda accessed de thieves' resources from where you were. You wanted to leave de X-Men. Why? What went so wrong?" she asked.

Gambit huffed a sigh. "They been good to me tante. I don't want no harm to come. 'sides, there be some mutants there Sinister will hunt to de ends of de earth if he learns 'bout em."

"Remy, you already know he knows-"

"We don't though." Gambit interrupted her.

"Child, you know never to underestimate da man. If you got a honey trap for em, don't you think it be best dat you stick around, waitin' for de prey ta come?" she asked.

Gambit sighed, "I don't know tante. I don't know… It be best if I be on moi own. I can track em myself."

"You can still do dat with de X-Men. Dey don't have trackers? They tracked down your friend dat one time who helped save ya pere." Tante said.

"Oui, dey have trackers." Gambit admitted.

"What happened with ya fillie?" Tante asked again.

Gambit was silent for a long while. "She become heartbroken, tante…. Der was dis other homme, Joseph. He been there some time 'fore moi."

"She loved him?" Tante asked.

"Oui, I think so." Gambit said.

"She ever say she did? Do somethin' to make you think otherwise?" Tante asked.

Gambit thought about it and thought about it. The first time he'd seen Rogue and Joseph together, Rogue told him to leave her alone because he was pushing himself on her. Next, he'd heard everyone saying they were a thing. Then, he was gone for a week. She never said two words 'bout him really to anyone unless they asked where he was. Next was the ball. He never saw, but Rogue told them all how he confessed his love and he'd seen how hurt and angry she'd been at the betrayal. Had it been just the betrayal that hurt her, or something more, he didn't know. But she had been moping around afterwards. Wasn't the same because she was hurting over him. Then, she had admitted she'd cared for him and he hurt her when he pushed her that time on the roof. That had been the only times he knew of.

Gambit ended up telling Tante all of this. She wanted to know more about what happened on the rooftop and Gambit told her. He explained he was angry because he didn't think he could rely on the X-Men to get the job done. That Rogue had come to convince him they could. That he admitted he might leave and she told him she wanted him to stay.

"She told you dat? She wanted you to stay?" Tante asked.

"Well, oui. She seemed to struggle to admit dat though." He said.

"Then, you said she just be usin' you as a replacement for Joseph, non?" Tante asked.

"Oui," Gambit sighed, feeling ashamed of himself. He knew his Tante wouldn't have liked that he did that either.

"And, de two of you, what it be like 'tween you two? From de start. Leave de more exotic details out S'il vous plaît." Tante said.

Gambit chuckled at that. "There be no exotic details to tell. From de start, huh? How far back we talkin'? When I tried blownin' her hand up back when I was with Mags?" he asked.

"Non, just livin' with de X-Men?" Tante said.

And Gambit told her. Told her how he didn't feel he could entrust the Professor with the job, so he turned to Rogue because he trusted her. He explained how she agreed, not even knowing what the job was and that he looked on her computer. She wanted to visit Paris. He told Tante how he helped her with her homework, how they bantered. How it seemed to continue like dat for a while till she smelled some other woman's perfume. How she seemed distant after that. How he asked Tante for Rogue's dress. How he'd danced with her at the ball. How she instantly helped him when he needed it. How she'd let on to being disappointed at the other woman. How she asked if he cared for her. How she told him about going dancing and never having good dancing partners. How they'd joked (sort of) about Rogue dancing with her own Prince. How she'd fallen ill and feel asleep in his lap in the car ride home. How he'd admitted to her that he trusted her and cared for her after she first learned about Joseph's betrayal. How she still helped him get the job done with all the MRD business happening and how, that tension on the roof afterwards, made it so they were avoiding each other. How she'd noticed him freeze up in the prison. How she'd told him to go, that she'd take his place. How she'd asked if he was still leaving after that and how, only a few hours ago, she had tracked him down and come after him in a jet just to try and get him to return to the mansion.

Tante was silent as she listened to all of Gambit's story. She was quite amazed by it.

"Remy, mon child, you truly do love dis girl." Tante said.

"Ain't-" Gambit went to say, but Tante interrupted him.

"Don't you go interruptin' me now boy! You had your say, now you listen closely to your tante! You love dis girl, Remy. It be obvious. You don't trust easy, dat be first. How many other women be there who you go tellin' ya plans to? Your secrets? 'cause I know de number to dat garcon and it ain't many. You know you care 'bout dis girl and what happens to her. You near told 'er so when you comforted her after dat idiot man's betrayal. But now, you sayin' you leavin' 'cause you don't wanna bring trouble to de X-Men. I reckon you know de X-Men can take care of demthemes no matter what comes at em. I reckon, you leavin' cause somehow, you got it in ya mind dat, if you leave her, you keep her safe. How many women you try to protect Remy? How many women you go to such lenghs as you have for dis one?"

Gambit stayed silent on the other end.

"Dey be a strong familie, dat one. And dey wants ya to be there with em. A familie where you be with de woman ya love, and, from de sounds of it, she be smitten with you too. How many women you know willin' to put their own lives in danger 'foe yours when it comes to un mission? How many women you know fly un jet out half way cross de country to ask ya to come back home? Now, I dun't know dis woman Remy, but those actions, they sure don't seem to be from someone who ain't in love."

Gambit continued to remain silent.

"Remy, I been worried 'bout you. You ain't settled one bit. You been runnin' off, always doin' somethin' ta keep active. Dis girl, she groundin' you, I see it! And I see you ain't likin' it. What is it you be runnin' from?" she asked.

"I ain't runnin' from nothin'." Gambit stressed, becoming a bit tired of this conversation now. But he knew Tante would not let it end. Even if he ended it here. She would track him, force him in a room and box his ears for daring to defy her.

"I think you are, child. I think you still runnin' from dat man, Sinister. You know he knows 'bout em and dat he'll be 'round dem sometime soon, if not already. He scares you. Scares you real good and you don't wanna be within ten foot of de man." Tante said.

"I ain't scared of 'em!" Gambit snapped.

"It ain't revenge your chasin' Remy. Revenge be un powerful thing dat drives ya straight to de person you want it on. But you be runnin' from dat. No, I think, you lookin' for a way to make him go away. You want him gone 'cause then, you be able to sleep more soundly at night, knowin' dat mad man ain't gonna find ya and snatch ya back up again. Dat why ya be lookin' for Magneto. You want him to get rid of de man you be scared of. You knew dat old brute would march straight into battle without ya and dat what you be countin' on. De X-Men though, they be different. They work together. Un team. Un familie. And you knew you'd be right there beside em when it came to confirmin dat man and it scared ya. Scared ya 'cause ya don't wanna confrony em. Scared ya 'cause ya do see de X-Men as familie and ya don't wanna risk seein' dem get hurt de way you have." She said.

Again, there was a long silence.

"What you went through, it be a traumatic experience. Now, me and Jean-Luc, we left you to it. Left you to find your own way to recover and you chose to throw yourself into your work and night activities. It ain't healthy for you, garcon! And you know it. You weren't happy. Dat one time you called ta talk 'bout dis girl, it been de happiest I ever heard you for a long while. I think you be scared. Scared of settlin' and havin' any happiness you found ripped out from under ya by dat madman again and dat's why you be on de run again now." She said.

Gambit had to put the phone down. He felt his chest become too tight. He paced for some time, feeling his gloves charge. He had to fight for control. Had to reel it in. He had to blow something up. He slumped down to the side of his bed, almost in tears at the pain in his hands.

"Remy, cher, you there?" he could hear his tante saying.

"I here. I be losin' it tante. I losin' it." He said.

"Breathe Remy, breathe. It just be a panic attack. Just focus on your breathin'." She said.

Gambit did as he was told. Trying to take deep breaths as tears left his eyes. He could hear Tante's voice saying other things to him, but he couldn't make out what they were. After a long while, he finally calmed down, feeling extremely tired from his attack. When he thought he had his charge under control, he lift up the phone.

"Remy? Remy child?" he heard.

"I here tante. I be here. I be alright." He said.

"Bon, bon. Just breathe mon Coeur. Just breathe." She said.

"Desole! Desole tante. I just lost it." He said.

"It be alright, child. It all be alright." She said.

They had another long pause of silence before Tante continued to speak.

"Remy, I think you need to go back." She said.

"Oui, I be comin' back. I be back home-" he started to say.

"Not here. Not to New Orleans. To de X-Men." She said.

"Quoi?" he asked.

"I think you need to go back to de X-Men mon coeur. Back ta your femme." Tante said, slowly and gently.

"But, I… Quoi?" he said.

"You be happiest there. Dis femme of yours, she cares 'bout you and you 'bout her, non?" she said.

"She be in love with Joseph." Gambit said.

"You don't know dat. You ain't never asked. You just assumed. But it be you de fille chased after, non? You be de one she asked not to leave 'cause she didn't want you to. You may think you doin' de fillie good by leavin' 'cause of Sinister, but you ain't. Dat fillie, she be goin' through her own troubles. Never bein' able to touch another livin' soul, dat gonna affect her honey child. She might not be sayin' it so much with her words, but deep down, I'm sure she loves you too. She just too scared to admit it herself. Too scared to let herself become close to someone 'cause she scared it's all gonna be ripped out from under her too. She be probably, de one person who knows what you be feelin' right now. Maybe not experience wise, but she be scared of settlin'. Scared of carin' too much when one touch, one bit of affection too much and she could rip ya soul out from under ya in one go. She hurtin' too garcon, but she still cars. And she needs to know de people she loves ain't goin' nowhere just like you need to know de people you love be safe from dat mad man as well. You need each other. Need to be der and comfort one another. If she saw you now, what'd you think she'd do?" Tante asked.

Gambit thought about it. Really thought about it. When he needed her, someone, to support him in the prison, she was there, reaching out for him. Fighting to bring him back. To make sure he was safe… and she kissed him. She kissed him. She said she'd kissed Joseph. No, that was forced. She'd kissed him willingly. He thought, well, hoped, that she would be able to kiss him now. That she would reach out for him just as she did in that prison. Hold him. Protect him. Keep him safe from these fears he was facing. These fears that were becoming too overwhelming for him currently. He wanted her to hold him and tell him everything was going to be alright because, when she did, it gave him strength. Strengh to do stuff he doubted he could. Just like when he was in that prison. He'd had a moment's doubt and she'd filled him with hope. Confidence. He wanted to do it. Had to do it so she wouldn't have to. He wanted to keep her safe because having her hold him and be there for him made him feel safer than he ever had before. Right now, he wanted her to be here. He didn't want her to see him so weak and emotional, but he wanted that boost. That feeling again that she gave him when she held him. Right now, he just wanted to hold her. To hold her and never let go. He didn't want to be seen broken like this, but she'd already witnessed a glimpse of that. He wanted her. More than anything right now, he wanted Rogue. He'd always wanted her. When he was sleeping around, he'd thought that he wished it could be her, didn't he? That he was spending the night with her in his arms? He wanted her to be happy. Hell, he even gave up smoking because it made her unhappy. Got her a dress when she had none. Made her laugh when she seemed miserable. He just wanted his Rogue.

"I… I want Rogue, Tante. I want to be with Rogue… Your right. I do… I do care 'bout de femme." He said. "And dat scares de hell outta moi." He admitted.

"Love is always scary, garcon. But it be a good kind. Sleep on it tonight, but tomorrow, go to her. Stay with de X-Men. Be with her. You can keep huntin' down Sinister for as long as it takes and you know de X-Men will help you but an end to his reign of terror. But don't let dat femme slip through your fingers, Remy. She be one a de best things to happen to you. And I think she be feelin' de same." Tante said.

"I don't wanna tell her 'bout Sinister, Tante. I don't." he admitted.

"Not now. Now, you be goin' back to fix what be broken, non? Go back to de fillie. Admit, you wanna stay. Try reachin' out to her and lettin' her know your there." Tante said, "deal with de woman you love first. Sinister can wait. Don't let dat devil come 'tween what you two share."

"I won't tante. I won't." he said.

They talked a little bit more and Tante was only satisfied to hang up once she heard the gentle breathing of Gambit's snores. When she believed Gambit had fallen asleep, she hung up the phone.

Xxxxx

In the very early hours of the morning the next day, however, the Professor woke up the original X-Men members. Everyone stood in the Professor's office as Hank had set up a tv screen for them to watch. The Professor had played the clip to them and it stunned everyone.

"Joseph?" Rogue muttered as she saw his face appear on the screen.

His face had blood running down it and there was fire and destruction behind him. His clothes were ripped and he looked in a bad way. He had, somehow, found a camera and was recording himself.

"X-Men," his voice said, crackling a little, "I ne- help…trapped on… with a mad man. He…" then the video cut off with Joseph looking away and jumping as he dodged something. The video camera had been destroyed.

"This arrived a few minutes ago." The Professor explained. "Hank was working late on a project of ours when he noticed this recording come in. He awoke me and we watched it together. We were able to track down the video's location. This is where we believe Joseph is." The Professor said, now showing a map of the sea and a little dot in the middle of it.

"Professor, are you asking us to go and back Joseph up?" Scott asked.

The Professor nodded his head, "Indeed. I am aware there is mistrust where it concerns Joseph at the moment, but we cannot turn our backs on him. That is not the X-Man way."

"But Professor how do we, like, know this isn't a trap? He did almost steal Rogue away when he put that mutant power collar on her." Kitty said.

Rogue had felt eyes on her throughout the whole thing. She didn't like it. Not one bit. She still didn't trust Joseph. She felt betrayed by him. Used. But it hurt her to see him injured like that. She didn't know what to think.

"The MRD have already explained that Joseph does not work for them. I admit, it is suspicious that Joseph did have access to a collar. However, we do not know how or why. Perhaps, the video we have received from him now is the consequences of where he sort the collar from. What I believe is best is that we provide Joseph with back up and provide him a safe return here. That way, we will be able to ask him questions as to where and how he got the mutant neglecter collar. We will be able to get the answers we do not know from him." He explained.

"I don't like this chuck." Logan said, stepping forwards, "the man tries his experiment on Rogue then takes off for a week only to send us this recording. Somethings off with it."

"I understand your concern. I do not like it either. But, if we do not answer Joseph's call, we may possibly condemn him to death." The Professor said. "That is not something I am willing to do."

"But what about the team's safety? We don't even know what it is we're flying into. There isn't even an island on that map." Scott said.

"I believe you will be able to handle the risk, Scott. I believe, all of you can. And I will be with you using cerebro. I will have a second team assembled if something was to go wrong." He said.

Everyone went silent. The Professor looked among his X-Men, seeing the reluctance from them from going on this trip. The Professor… almost didn't recognise the people in front of him. When had he lost their trust? He wondered.

"We're sorry Professor. This just isn't something easy for us to swallow." Jean said, stroking her arm in comfort.

Rogue had listened to the Professor's side of things and the X-Men's side of things. She understood both sides deeply. But… the Professor made sense. Joseph might have betrayed her and used her, but she didn't want him to die. She'd pushed Mystique off a cliff once and that had just caused her agony. She couldn't just turn her back on him. It would be just like pushing Mystique off a cliff and dealing with that backlash all over again. Besides, getting Joseph back here to answer some of her questions felt like a good idea to her.

Rogue, stepped forwards, all eyes on her.

"I'll go Professor." She said.

Everyone in the room seemed stunned by this.

"But Rogue, he tried to hurt you!" Kurt said, stepping forwards to grab her arm.

Rogue snatched it back. "Don't ya think I know that? Look, I don't trust him as far as I can throw him, but I don't think he deserves ta die. I pushed Mystique off a cliff before for liein' ta meh and usin' meh and it didn't make meh feel any better. In fact, it made meh feel worse. I ain't gonna just turn ma back on Joseph just 'cause he did something stupid like that. I can't. I won't go through that again. And besides, once I drag his stupid arse back here, I'm droppin' it." Rogue said, taking her glove off.

The X-Men all looked at each other, debating what Rogue said.

Scott was the first to step up besides Rogue and place his hand on her shoulder.

"If you're going, then I'll go too." He said.

The other X-Men all seemed to chip in and agree to go then. Rogue felt a little guilty, as if she was dragging everyone into this, but it felt comforting to know she wasn't going to be doing this on her own. Wasn't going to be facing Joseph on her own.

"Then I believe that's settled." The Professor said, eyeing Rogue carefully.

The original X-Men team that consisted of Storm, Wolverine, Cyclopes, Jean, Kitty, Kurt and Rogue then all proceeded to the Black Bird, ready to find Joseph's location.