Disclaimer: The X-men belong to Marvel...Absolutely NO profit$ are being made from this fic.
Author's Note: Although I did not stay for Mardi Gras L I visited New Orleans the weekend before and let me tell ya it was lively and a great time was had by all! So I find it very fitting to do a fun Mardi Gras fic. for my fav. X couple: Remy & Rogue! I know it's a bit late, but Mardi Gras works for me all yr. long! Thanks for all the response, I promise my other fic. continuations are coming along…I just got preoccupied with this! ENJOY & REVIEW J J
~the Rogue
NOTE: Based off the comics the story takes place not too long after Remy & Rogue's first real date (w/the gumbo + the carriage ride in the park!). If the original animated series is more to your liking it takes place soon after the Reunion episodes in season 2. In either case, their dating.
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MARDI GRAS MADNESS
-Part One-
It was that time of year again: Mardi Gras!
To New Orleans native, Remy Lebeau there was no holiday near as exciting as Mardi Gras and there was no other place Mardi Gras could be properly celebrated than de big easy. Remy had not been to a New Orlean's Mardi Gras for the longest time, 4 years in fact. He was utterly thrilled to be going and going with Rogue! It had taken extreme amounts of effort to convince her, but it was worth it. He would show her what Mardi Gras was all about…
* Flash Back *
A week before Fat Tuesday the professor had an assignment for the entire X team, except Storm, Jubilee, and Wolverine. Their mission was to assist in the clean up of a terrible oil spill that had recently occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. At first Remy was put off about the whole thing. He much rather preferred fighting mutant terrorists or villains, instead of natural disasters. But then an idea struck- He realized the Gulf of Mexico was near home and that Mardi Gras was quickly approaching. He had asked the professor if the mission was complete in time if he could make a quick trip home for Mardi Gras. The professor said that he could leave the mission the Sunday before Fat Tuesday and come home Thursday on one condition. He had to take one other X-man with him. Gambit agreed to the professor's terms.
He thought about it for a short time who ta ask? Immediately one name stood out: Rogue!
Gambit found Rogue and asked her about it, "Hey chere, how would you like ta spend Mardi Gras in de
Big Easy dis year…just you and moi?" From there it was a battle trying to convince her. He recalled some of their arguments.
"Remy ah don't think so, de professor may need us"
"Gambit already talked ta the professor…he said it would be fine."
"It's not fair ta the rest of the team."
"Dey don't really care, besides it'd give us a chance ta spend more time together."
"Ah'm gonna be tired after the mission and ah don't know if ah'll be able ta celebrate much of anything."
"Aww chere it will be fun, you need ta go ta at least one Mardi Gras in your life time."
Rogue sighed, Gambit grinned…I'm close ta winning and she knows it!
******
So there they were after all the persuading and spending almost 5 days purifying water. They had arrived in New Orleans Monday morning. Remy thought about his previous 2 visits home w/ Rogue…The first time was when he had been tricked to return home by Belladonna, his former lover. A few of the X-men, including Rogue had followed him there to help him. (I got that from the Externally Yours episode) The second had been to visit his at the time sick Tante Mattie and take care of some unwanted Guild business…
Taking advantage of the silence Rogue took in her surroundings. The city was bustling with energy. Decorations and bright colors filled the streets. Rogue wasn't expecting it to be this lively already.
"Isn't Mardi Gras not till tomorrow?" she asked curiously.
Gambit chuckled whole-heartedly, "Chere dey be celebratin all month, but dis ain't nothing compared ta tomorrow night."
Gambit grinned at her. Just wait Rogue, and you'll see what I mean Remy thought to himself. Just then a familiar voice interrupted his private thoughts.
"Remy Lebeau!"
Rogue looked at the two men approaching her and Remy. The one man who had called out Remy's name had long black hair neatly tied back in a ponytail. He was definitely from around here. He was a little, short man…a little childish looking even. He seemed really friendly. Him and Remy had quickly engrossed in conversation, probably catching up on old times Rogue thought. She noticed the other man had not said a word. He was muscular with gelled back blonde hair. Rogue thought he would actually be attractive if it was not for the serious and gruff look on his face.
Suddenly Rogue realized that Olivier was staring at her expectedly, "Rogue dis is mon amie
Olivier...Olivier dis be Rogue's very first real Mardi Gras" Remy said, introducing them.
"Nice ta meet ya." Rogue greeted smiling.
"Enchante Madamemosille." Olivier responded by kissing her hand and bowing. "I'm sure you will find Mardi Gras to be most enjoyable."
Rogue smiled again and then looked up at the other man, "Who's your friend here."
There was a noticeable silence before Olivier chimed in, breaking the tension, "Dis is Beniot"
"Beniot." Remy greeted in a not so friendly tone.
Beniot simply clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes at Gambit. Finally the man spoke, "Olivier it's best we be leaving." And he stomped off.
"Nice ta see ya again Remy. Happy Mardi Gras!" Olivier shouted, hurrying after Beniot.
Rogue immediately turned to Remy wanting an explanation of Beniot's cold behavior.
"Chere ya ready ta check in ta the inn." He asked with a charming grin.
Rogue didn't move, still waiting for an explanation.
Gambit sighed, he didn't want this to spoil their trip. "Beniot supported me getting kicked out of de guild. He don't like me, I don't like him simple as dat. I take it he's not happy ta see me, not like I was thrilled ta see dat-"
Seeing the pain of an old memory in Remy's face, Rogue grabbed his hand interrupting him, "Let's go check in sugah."
Gambit smiled as he and Rogue walked hand in hand down the streets of his hometown. Its good ta be back he thought to himself. His eyes then lit up as they one of his favorite old hangout spots. A small restaurant called "The Stove Top"
"Chere ya hungry at all?"
"Umm a little, but ah can-"
He cut her off by leading her into the small bustling restaurant. "Dis be one of Remy''s favorite placed ta grab a quick bite."
"RAOUL!" Rogue stopped short as Remy greeted the big man behind the bar. He had a big friendly laughed and looked like a big old teddy bear to Rogue.
"Remy Lebeau! Well all say it's been awhile. How ya doin ya theivin bastard?" Despite his word choice his tone was light and humble.
Gambit again took Rogue's gloved hand and sat her down at the bar, "Dis is Rogue."
Raoul glanced over her quickly smiling, "Well doncha look like a nice girl. Beautiful too. So what de hell are ya doin with this scoundrel?" Rogue joined the two men in laughing, she liked Raoul. Remy seemed to really respect him, regardless of his mockery.
Remy tried to stop laughing long enough to ask, "Chere what do ya want ta eat?"
Rogue glanced up at the menu, "Ah'll have a basket of buffalo wings, thank ya very much."
"Wait till ya try de sauce." Raoul began. "Polly!" he yelled to one of the waitresses across the restaurant. "Polly! Get me an order of buffalo wings pronto!"
Polly approached the bar. She was wearing a short black skirt and a white restaurant tee shirt. She practically threw the basket on the bar, "Whats a matter Raoul you pants catch on fire again?" She then gasped when she saw Remy, "Well if it ain't the Remy Lebeau? Long time no see, wait till the other gals here bout dis!" she stated smugly.
Rogue watched as Polly went to the back and then returned with two other girls. One fit the blonde stereotype perfectly. She was bubbly and excited, only it was obvious her hair wasn't naturally blonde. Rogue sighed the other girl was pretty, but plain looking-almost innocent. Well until Rogue saw them all getting mighty friendly with Remy as if trying to show them just how much they missed him.
Remy allowed the girls to drape themselves all over him, knowing Rogue was right there. He liked the idea of making her a little jealous and it was boosting his already too large ego. These girls had frequently kept Remy company in the "old days"
Not wanting Remy to see that their actions were bothering her (even though they most certainly were) Rogue concentrated on her buffalo wings. Raoul noticed this and graciously engaged conversation with the southern belle.
"So sweetie what brings you to New Orleans?"
Rogue was so grateful to Raoul that she listened to all of his stories with her undivided attention. Forgetting about Remy and the girls. She was really interested in Raoul and he was a good story teller. She could tell he was interested in her too.
Remy finally interrupted, becoming bored w/ the girls, "Chere ya wanna go check in ta the inn or listen to this man's century old stories."
Rogue looked at Remy and the girls for a second as if considering then looked back at Raoul, "So you were sayin sugah?"
Raoul let out a chuckle and continued his story. When he was finished Rogue looked up at the menu and saw a sign that said take the challenge. "Hey Raoul" she asked "what's the challenge?"
Polly answered for him. She must have been upset at the attention Rogue had drawn from Remy. "Well sugah its an arm wrestlin contest. Normally the rules are a guy challenges Raoul. Raoul wagers to throw out the guy's bill and the guy wagers somethin in return. Nobody's ever beatin Raoul, not even Remy here" she said squeezing remy's muscles suggestively. Rogue crinkled her nose in disgust.
Polly continued. "Well in your case you would arm wrestle me, cause it's unfair to have a woman arm wrestle Raoul, but I guess its kinda unfair to wrestle me too because I've also never lost. Right Remy?" She went on without waiting for an answer. "So you still think your up to it chere?"
Remy frowned, seeing the fire blaze in her green eyes. He had wanted to make her jealous- yes, but not mad. Things had gotten out of hand. Now Rogue had the opportunity to easily show up Polly with her superstrength and cause a scene. Then she would yell at him later, possibly not speak to him. Here we go he thought.
"Well what would ya want me ta wager?" Rogue asked, not at all backing down.
Polly ran her finger down Remy's shirt, "I'm sure we can work something out."
Remy wasn't worried about what Polly had in mind because Rogue was clearly about to take the victory.
Raoul set the girls up and announced for them to begin. The pain showed on Polly's face as Rogue squeezed her hand tightly. Rogue began to bend Polly's arm back slightly. Well she ain't wastin no time Gambit thought. Then the most unexpected thing happened. Rogue lightened her grip and pretended to struggle while Polly pushed her hand down. Polly looked surprised, but not so much that she didn't celebrate.
Rogue smiled sweetly, "Good match sugah." The girls shook hands. "You can work out your prize with Remy."
Rogue then turned to Raoul, "Ah'm gonna head ta the inn now, it was a real pleasure meeting you. Take care now ya here?"
Raoul gave her a hug, "Be sure to stop by before ya go home."
Rogue nodded, "How much do ah owe ya?"
Raoul whispered, "Don't worry about it. You had the match won"
Rogue smiled as she left, "Happy Mardi Gras."
"Happy Mardi Gras." Raoul responded He then turned to Remy, who was still in shock. "Hey Lebeau do me a favor and treat dis one right…she be something else non?"
"Dat she is." Remy agreed. He finally got up from his seat and left some folded bills on the counter. Raoul patted him on the back as he quietly left the restaurant. Polly was still busy celebrating and didn't notice. Raoul smiled to himself, watching Remy leave.
Rogue was already half way down the street when Remy spotted her, "Rogue!" he called out, but she didn't react. He ran ahead to catch up with her. Closing the distance between them to less then 10 feet Remy called her name again. This time she turned around and faced him.
"Chere why'd you throw the match? I know you can-"
"Doncha have somethin ta be doin back at Raoul's with a certain waitress?" she snapped.
"Aww chere…Remy;s sorry, dose girls don't mean near as much ta Remy as you do. I don't need dem, I need you. Now, what do you say we finally check into dat inn?"
Rogue nodded, "Okay." She then proceeded to follow Remy to the inn they would be staying at. He offered her his arm, but she declined feeling a bit angry at him still.
From the outside the inn was an antique looking building: old, but charming. It was made of bright red bricks and had many little balconies on it's sides. Remy quickly checked them in. They had separate, yet identical rooms on the same floor. Rogue went to her room to unpack- it was small, cozy like with simple furnishings (a chair, bed, dresser, toilet, bath, and coffee table) It was simple and colorful, Rogue liked it. She especially liked the small balcony, even though the view wasn't that interesting (just some trees) Her inspection of the room was interrupted by a knock on the door. She opened the door, to find Gambit.
"Well chere it ain't the ritz, but I figured it would do in a pinch. It ain't bad though."
"Ah like it." Rogue declared.
"Me too." Remy agreed. "Just came ta see if ya needed anything and ta see if you'd like to go out..mebbe dancin or somethin dis evenin."
"Actually Rem ah was kinda thinkin ah'd just take a walk and get some rest…ya know save mah energy."
"Gambit gotta better idea. How bout we go catch a movie and den we both go for a walk. De theater's only a couple blocks away and I'm sure we can find somethin decent ta watch."
…Only a few hours later Rogue found herself in line to see Castaway with Remy.
"Chere you still made at dis fool canjun?" he asked, trying to figure out her silent mood.
Rogue smiled as Remy wrapped his arms around her waist, "No ah ain't mad at ya." She answered leaning into his touch. Remy smiled too, this was one of their happier moments and it felt good to hold Rogue.
Suddenly they heard the sound of gunshots being fired in a nearby ally. They looked at each other and then headed towards the sound to investigate. When they got there they saw three men holding a woman against a wall. They could hear some of what was being said.
Your gonna hand it over, or the next time I fire my gun it will be aimed at your head!
We've gone through a lot of trouble because of you and it's about damn time it paid off
How long did you really think you could get away with having it
Not wasting anymore time Gambit grabbed some rocks from the ground and charged them-making all three men hit the floor. Rogue threw a large trash bin at them. Frightened the men ran off.
Both Rogue and Gambit turned to the woman they had rescued. She was wearing a full body suit and had black hair cut sharply right below her narrow ears. It framed her face which had very small features. The most odd thing about her was that nothing stood out about her besides her uncomfortable stare. She had no physical flaws, but at the same time no trademark characteristics. She looked like a model mannequin you see at a clothing store…unreal. Rogue and Gambit stopped staring when they realized she was laughing.
"Petite what did those guys want with you?" Gambit asked.
She smiled and then in a blink of an eye vanished without a trace.
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Next Part some questions will possibly be answered and Rogue/Remy WILL celebrate
Mardi GrasJ Make sure to REVIEW and tell me what you think!