* * *
Ignorin' Remy only made my problems seem worse. Ah managed ta avoid him for the whole day on Saturday. The wounds on my neck from the collar had shrunken into tiny scabs. They were so small that Ah could almost pretend they didn't exist. Almost, except Ah kept raisin' my fingers ta my skin ta find 'em. Took forever for the day ta end an' Ah was dreadin' Sunday, gettin' stir crazy.
Sunday mornin', Ah pulled out all my books an' told Kitty Ah had lots o' work ta do. She looked doubtful, but had the good sense not ta say anythin' about it. Ah did open my history book, but Ah kept readin' the same sentence over an' over again.
Middle o' the day, Logan came by. When he rapped on the door, it was the same sound from Friday night an' it sent a shiver o' alarm through me, rememberin' everythin' that'd happened.
"You okay, Stripes?" Logan asked. He'd softened his voice from its typical growl.
"Yeah. Ah've got a lot of work ta do, that's all."
"Okay," he agreed, but in the quiet after he said it Ah could hear his concern. Angrily, Ah slammed my pencil down on my book. Ah hated ta feel like anyone's charity case. But at the same time, Ah couldn't think o' why Remy hadn't even tried ta talk ta me. Can he really be that mad? My heart sank at the thought.
It was easy enough ta get myself out the window. Once Ah was in th' air, my scrambled thoughts started ta clear a little. The landscape below was pretty, an' sugar-frosted. Ah caught a glimpse o' Bobby all iced up an' slidin' through a field a little ways from the house. Pausin' in th' air, Ah watched him for a while, envious o' the lean line o' his form, the graceful way he slipped over th' ice and feelin' like Ah could never be that carefree, not if Ah lived a thousand years.
Ah tried ta shake the feelin' off, but it didn't work. Envy was like bein' stuck in the mud an' Ah hated how dirty it made me feel. Ah grimly told myself there were worse lives an' moved on. There were worse lives, lots of 'em.
Got as far as Bayville elementary before Ah turned 'round. Problem was, there was nowhere for me ta go. Wherever Ah ended up, there Ah was. Location wasn't really the problem at all, just me an' my thoughts.
It was startlin' but not exactly surprisin' ta see Kurt an' Amanda outside in the playground. Amanda's parents weren't exactly cool with Kurt's fur, or his blueness, or any o' him. But that only seemed ta make 'em try harder. Even though they shouldn't have ta. Ah swallowed a hard lump o' anger on his behalf.
They were on the swings. Amanda was sittin', drawin' patterns in the snow with the toes of her boots. Kurt was standin' on his swing, balancin' on one leg. He told some joke Ah couldn't hear an' they both burst into laughter. Sounded tinny over the distance. Ah was torn between bein' drawn in by the warmth o' their laughter an' feelin' like an intruder. While Ah tried ta decide what ta do, Ah edged closer.
Kurt had his image inducer off. He looked happier an' more relaxed than Ah'd seen in a long time. He touched Amanda's face an' she leaned into his hand.
"I'm vorried about Rogue," Ah heard him say. Ah stiffened, hopin' for more, but not exactly wantin' ta hear it either.
"What's up?"
"She and ze new boy...I don't vant her to be hurt."
"Everyone's got their own pace," Amanda suggested gently.
"Not just zat. She's...different zese days."
"Isn't that kinda Rogue being Rogue?"
"But zere's more zat she's not saying. I can tell."
Ah could see he was itchin' ta add "a brother can tell" at th' end o' that sentence, but Ah'd sworn him ta secrecy about that. Didn't want him runnin' off at the mouth when Ah could barely process the news myself. Fact o' the matter was Ah didn't want Mystique ta be my mother, even if she was only my adopted mother. Ah guess Ah'd always just seen myself springin' full grown from Irene's head like some modern-day Athena. Not havin' parents wasn't somethin' Ah'd considered much. Ah touched my neck softly.
Amanda kissed Kurt on the cheek. "Unless she confides in you, there's nothing you can do. You're sweet to worry though." Kurt turned his face ta hers and they were lost together. Not wantin' ta see more than Ah'd bargained for, Ah rose into the air an' took off back in the direction o' the house.
Hadn't gone far when Ah saw a familiar, long-legged figure trudgin' along the main road. Ah gritted my teeth--enough was enough--an' dropped down, landin' in front o' him.
The startled noise he made was somewhere in between a swear an' a shout.
Ah bit back a smile an' a sarcastic comment an' said, "Hi," instead. Ah wanted ta kick myself for how scared my voice sounded. Ah folded my hands together an' looked down at 'em. "So Ah guess you're pretty mad at me, huh?"
He pushed a hand back through his hair. He was forever complainin' 'bout the cold, but he never bothered ta dress right for it. "Been t'inkin' 'bout dat all day."
"And?" My hands itched ta grab him by the front o' his duster an' tell him all 'bout the collar so he could help me destroy it. But then the thought o' destroyin' it was enough ta make me bite my tongue.
"I'm not mad. Disappointed. Confused. Not mad."
It was like a dam broke inside me, fillin' me up with relief. Ah flung my arms around his neck an' he fit his body ta mine. Ah touched his cheeks, his lips, the tips o' his hair.
"Ah thought we were fucked up big time."
"Never," he said confidently. He cradled my hips between his palms. "You're warm," he observed. His hands moved lower.
"Maybe if ya'd wear more clothes ya'd be warmer," Ah told him, lettin' a bit of false exasperation creep into my voice.
"Mais (well), mebbe if y' wore less clothes I'd be warmer too."
Ah moved his hands away. "Good way ta catch hypothermia."
He grinned. "Might be worth the risk, non?"
"Maybe," Ah agreed, pattin' his hip, "but we'll never know, now will we?"
"Never?" He looked so disappointed that Ah had ta laugh. He looked at me mock-sternly before turnin' on his heel an' pretendin' ta walk away. "You're no fun."
Ah bent down, scooped up some snow an' tossed a snowball, hittin' him in the back. "Maybe Ah'm just not your kind o' fun."
He retaliated quickly. Ah should've known he was the last person Ah wanted ta get in a snowball fight with. All those years throwin' cards had made his aim much better than mine. Before Ah knew what was happenin', a hail o' snowballs exploded against my chest an' neck. Remy pounced an' we rolled on the ground. The snow trickled down inside my shirt, but Ah didn't notice it much. Our breath steamed in th' cold air. Remy's eyes were bright when he looked at me. Sometimes it was hard ta control Jenny's powers, feelin' like Ah had ta give everythin' a feather touch or it'd break. Other times Ah just forgot ta worry an' everythin' worked itself out. Remy was straddlin' my waist.
"Rogue, I just want you t' know dat Friday night was great. And if somet'ing's wrong wit' you..."
"It was great for me too," Ah cut in quickly. Ah did not wanna have the rest o' that conversation, especially not flat on my back in the snow. Remy didn't say anythin' either way, but he climbed off me quick enough an' helped me to my feet. "Later," was all he said.
Ah chose ta ignore that an' concentrated on brushin' the snow off my clothes. Remy helped a bit, but it was obvious that there was somethin' occupyin' his mind. "Penny for 'em," Ah offered.
"Comment (what)?"
"Never mind. So what were ya doin' out here anyway? Ah would've thought ya'd be in your room, prayin' for an early summer."
"Mebbe I'm adapting," he said seriously. For the briefest instant, there was somethin' shadowed in his eyes, but it passed so quickly Ah convinced myself that Ah'd imagined it.
* * *
After Rogue and I walked back t' de Institute, I had precious few hours t' warm up before going out in de cold again. John was waiting for me in de grove of trees he'd specified on Friday, leaning against one, casual, like he was waiting for de bus or somet'ing. At least he was dere, but I was still angry dat he'd failed t' make our earlier appointment.
"De more t'ings change..." I muttered loud enough for him t' hear.
"Come off it," John snapped. "You remember what it's like workin' for Magneto. Worse than a bloody slavedriver. If he insists on setting up out in the never-never (remote areas) what do I do then? At least I'm here now."
"At least," I said, putting de emphasis on de second word. Wasn't John so much, though I was frustrated dat he wanted me t' be his go-between, but I was still worried 'bout Rogue. Dere were marks on her neck dat I hadn't noticed before, but I was afraid t' ask her 'bout dem. She was so angry. Don't know if I'd ever realized it before. She felt t'ings too deeply an' tried t' pretend like she didn't. Had some experience in dat area myself.
Either John didn't hear de sarcasm or he chose t' ignore it. "I had a squiz (a quick look) into the lab the other day."
"C'est vrai ça (is that true)?"
He looked at me reproachfully. "In English, arse boy, in English."
"Dat de good oil (the truth)?" I fired back at him, crossing my arms and trying on de best Australian accent I could manage. "I learned your slang."
"Let's not start, eh? Magneto and Moreau have the whole mad scientist setup down. Couldn't tell much, but I nicked this off a table for ya." He dropped a long, silvery piece of metal into de palm of my hand. It looked like a necklace of some sort.
"Why John, y' shouldn't have! Of course I'll go steady wit' you." Flung my arms 'round his neck.
"Rack off (get lost)!" he said, annoyed. He pushed me back and stumbled a bit from de effort. "Be serious for once!"
Held de necklace between my thumb and forefinger. Seemed a little warm in my hand, probably because anyt'ing would've been warmer dan de air. "How d'you even know if dis means anyt'ing?"
"I don't, genius and I don't have any way to find out, but you do. That place you live in now must be stuffed with fancy gadgets, all that James Bond shite. Don't know how you sleep at night, all those valuables just spread out for the taking."
"Dere's such a t'ing as self-control," I told him coldly. "So say I do find out what dis li'l doohickey is, what den?"
He shrugged. "You're th' hero now, mate. Us bushrangers (outlaws) never know how to do the right thing. That's why we leave it up to you."
"I'll see what I can do wit' dis." Dropped de necklace into an inner pocket in my coat.
"Ripper (great)." He put his hand on my forearm and looked at me anxiously. "You'll tell me, right? Before you do anything?"
"Don't worry, she won't get hurt as long as she stays out of de way." Didn't t'ink it was possible, but I was getting colder. De tips of my fingers were completely numb and I wanted t' shove my hands as deep into my pockets as dey would go, but I didn't want John t' t'ink dat I was brushing him off.
"What's it like?" he asked suddenly, removing his hand and wrapping his arms around his body.
"What's what like?"
"The other side."
"Dere's more women here, dat's sure," I said airily, trying t' get a smile out o' him.
"Not exactly what I meant."
"People are people. Just dat we want different t'ings and dat can get us in trouble."
"What do the x-men want, then?"
"Don't know yet. Only been here for three weeks. Y' could come t' find out for yourself."
John shook his head. "Nah. That stuff isn't for me. Too goody-goody, innit (isn't it)?"
"Only if y' want it t' be. It's like..." paused for a moment, trying t' collect my t'oughts, "it's like Rahne."
"Who?"
"De wolf girl. She turns into a wolf and dat might be dangerous, or evil. But what dey did was show her dat it didn't have t' be either. She's free t' be a wolf and a girl because y' don't have t' be one t'ing." He still looked puzzled. "Like when I was wit' Magneto, all I was was Gambit. Dat's all he ever called me because he could only see my powers. My family still called me Remy, and here dere's a little of both."
"Reckon you like it here, then?"
"Haven't decided dat yet," I admitted and was shocked t' realize dat it was de truth. "But it's a good place for now, even if dey do make me go t' school."
"School?" John sounded out de word like he'd forgotten how t' say it.
"Home economics," I admitted sheepishly.
Never saw a boy go from standing t' rolling on de ground wit' laughter any faster. "My, my," he gasped, "you have been domesticated." Disgusted, I turned on my heel and left. De sound followed me almost t' de edge o' de forest, echoing 'till it seemed dat a hundred people were all laughing at what I'd become.
* * *
Lady MR: More John, just for you. I knew Remy + Rogue couldn't stay mad for long.
RaVeN*NYC: I'm more of the opinion that they got to third base (in the incredibly vague baseball analogy), but you get to draw your own conclusions on that one. I'm not sayin' how far they went because, damn, this is a family fic. ;)
Lace123: Sorry this was sorta long in coming (well, for me, okay). Not that I've been feeling uninspired, just that the holidays have attacked me and coated me with psychedelic 60s wrapping paper...
ishandahalf: Oh don't you worry, there will be some Remy home ec goodness in the next chapter for sure. I couldn't resist writing John's take on the whole situation either.
anonymous: So I feel this is a good time to point out that Cajun French and proper French French aren't the same thing (the same way Quebequois is different) and that "patate" is Cajun French for potato while "pomme de terre" is the French French word. This is probably true for other words as well since I tried (whenever I could) to use the Cajun French.
Lucky439: I feel like your drug dealer or something...let me go stand in the corner and look shifty...
Neurotic Temptress: You've got it, baby! It's that whole theory that if there's a gun on the mantle in the first act it will be fired in the third. Rogue WAS wearing all the jewelry as camouflage for the collar. I was hoping that I wasn't going to be too confusing, but I needed some way for her to keep her secret.
vagabond + Niteflite: Believe it or not, I know pretty much where the story is going (before I was often flying by the seat of my pants) and so the updates should be fairly regular. I just have to write the damn thing.
Jean1: Maybe I love all the minor characters because I feel like I can do more with their motivations? That would explain the Berzerker lurve and why I like Rahne. Heck, St. John isn't even developed as a Marvel character, double bonus! Of course he WAS killed by the Legacy Virus...
Flyby Stardancer: Yeah, the collar was causing the pain. Poor Rogue, she should just get rid of it. Ah, but then where would my story be??
evolutionary spider: Glad I could clear things up. I do try to be as explicit as I can without becoming obvious. It's a fine line. The mystery is interesting, no? I can't tell because...well, I know what's going to happen.
Panther Nesmith: I wouldn't want to be responsible for tipping you over the edge, so here's the newest chapter, hot off the presses. I feel as if I've set some standard for myself that I'll inevitably fall short on, but I'm trying my darnedest to make each chapter interesting in its own way.
NEXT CHAPTER, LOLITAS-SISTER IS PROUD TO PRESENT...
REMY IN HOME EC! see you then.
Ignorin' Remy only made my problems seem worse. Ah managed ta avoid him for the whole day on Saturday. The wounds on my neck from the collar had shrunken into tiny scabs. They were so small that Ah could almost pretend they didn't exist. Almost, except Ah kept raisin' my fingers ta my skin ta find 'em. Took forever for the day ta end an' Ah was dreadin' Sunday, gettin' stir crazy.
Sunday mornin', Ah pulled out all my books an' told Kitty Ah had lots o' work ta do. She looked doubtful, but had the good sense not ta say anythin' about it. Ah did open my history book, but Ah kept readin' the same sentence over an' over again.
Middle o' the day, Logan came by. When he rapped on the door, it was the same sound from Friday night an' it sent a shiver o' alarm through me, rememberin' everythin' that'd happened.
"You okay, Stripes?" Logan asked. He'd softened his voice from its typical growl.
"Yeah. Ah've got a lot of work ta do, that's all."
"Okay," he agreed, but in the quiet after he said it Ah could hear his concern. Angrily, Ah slammed my pencil down on my book. Ah hated ta feel like anyone's charity case. But at the same time, Ah couldn't think o' why Remy hadn't even tried ta talk ta me. Can he really be that mad? My heart sank at the thought.
It was easy enough ta get myself out the window. Once Ah was in th' air, my scrambled thoughts started ta clear a little. The landscape below was pretty, an' sugar-frosted. Ah caught a glimpse o' Bobby all iced up an' slidin' through a field a little ways from the house. Pausin' in th' air, Ah watched him for a while, envious o' the lean line o' his form, the graceful way he slipped over th' ice and feelin' like Ah could never be that carefree, not if Ah lived a thousand years.
Ah tried ta shake the feelin' off, but it didn't work. Envy was like bein' stuck in the mud an' Ah hated how dirty it made me feel. Ah grimly told myself there were worse lives an' moved on. There were worse lives, lots of 'em.
Got as far as Bayville elementary before Ah turned 'round. Problem was, there was nowhere for me ta go. Wherever Ah ended up, there Ah was. Location wasn't really the problem at all, just me an' my thoughts.
It was startlin' but not exactly surprisin' ta see Kurt an' Amanda outside in the playground. Amanda's parents weren't exactly cool with Kurt's fur, or his blueness, or any o' him. But that only seemed ta make 'em try harder. Even though they shouldn't have ta. Ah swallowed a hard lump o' anger on his behalf.
They were on the swings. Amanda was sittin', drawin' patterns in the snow with the toes of her boots. Kurt was standin' on his swing, balancin' on one leg. He told some joke Ah couldn't hear an' they both burst into laughter. Sounded tinny over the distance. Ah was torn between bein' drawn in by the warmth o' their laughter an' feelin' like an intruder. While Ah tried ta decide what ta do, Ah edged closer.
Kurt had his image inducer off. He looked happier an' more relaxed than Ah'd seen in a long time. He touched Amanda's face an' she leaned into his hand.
"I'm vorried about Rogue," Ah heard him say. Ah stiffened, hopin' for more, but not exactly wantin' ta hear it either.
"What's up?"
"She and ze new boy...I don't vant her to be hurt."
"Everyone's got their own pace," Amanda suggested gently.
"Not just zat. She's...different zese days."
"Isn't that kinda Rogue being Rogue?"
"But zere's more zat she's not saying. I can tell."
Ah could see he was itchin' ta add "a brother can tell" at th' end o' that sentence, but Ah'd sworn him ta secrecy about that. Didn't want him runnin' off at the mouth when Ah could barely process the news myself. Fact o' the matter was Ah didn't want Mystique ta be my mother, even if she was only my adopted mother. Ah guess Ah'd always just seen myself springin' full grown from Irene's head like some modern-day Athena. Not havin' parents wasn't somethin' Ah'd considered much. Ah touched my neck softly.
Amanda kissed Kurt on the cheek. "Unless she confides in you, there's nothing you can do. You're sweet to worry though." Kurt turned his face ta hers and they were lost together. Not wantin' ta see more than Ah'd bargained for, Ah rose into the air an' took off back in the direction o' the house.
Hadn't gone far when Ah saw a familiar, long-legged figure trudgin' along the main road. Ah gritted my teeth--enough was enough--an' dropped down, landin' in front o' him.
The startled noise he made was somewhere in between a swear an' a shout.
Ah bit back a smile an' a sarcastic comment an' said, "Hi," instead. Ah wanted ta kick myself for how scared my voice sounded. Ah folded my hands together an' looked down at 'em. "So Ah guess you're pretty mad at me, huh?"
He pushed a hand back through his hair. He was forever complainin' 'bout the cold, but he never bothered ta dress right for it. "Been t'inkin' 'bout dat all day."
"And?" My hands itched ta grab him by the front o' his duster an' tell him all 'bout the collar so he could help me destroy it. But then the thought o' destroyin' it was enough ta make me bite my tongue.
"I'm not mad. Disappointed. Confused. Not mad."
It was like a dam broke inside me, fillin' me up with relief. Ah flung my arms around his neck an' he fit his body ta mine. Ah touched his cheeks, his lips, the tips o' his hair.
"Ah thought we were fucked up big time."
"Never," he said confidently. He cradled my hips between his palms. "You're warm," he observed. His hands moved lower.
"Maybe if ya'd wear more clothes ya'd be warmer," Ah told him, lettin' a bit of false exasperation creep into my voice.
"Mais (well), mebbe if y' wore less clothes I'd be warmer too."
Ah moved his hands away. "Good way ta catch hypothermia."
He grinned. "Might be worth the risk, non?"
"Maybe," Ah agreed, pattin' his hip, "but we'll never know, now will we?"
"Never?" He looked so disappointed that Ah had ta laugh. He looked at me mock-sternly before turnin' on his heel an' pretendin' ta walk away. "You're no fun."
Ah bent down, scooped up some snow an' tossed a snowball, hittin' him in the back. "Maybe Ah'm just not your kind o' fun."
He retaliated quickly. Ah should've known he was the last person Ah wanted ta get in a snowball fight with. All those years throwin' cards had made his aim much better than mine. Before Ah knew what was happenin', a hail o' snowballs exploded against my chest an' neck. Remy pounced an' we rolled on the ground. The snow trickled down inside my shirt, but Ah didn't notice it much. Our breath steamed in th' cold air. Remy's eyes were bright when he looked at me. Sometimes it was hard ta control Jenny's powers, feelin' like Ah had ta give everythin' a feather touch or it'd break. Other times Ah just forgot ta worry an' everythin' worked itself out. Remy was straddlin' my waist.
"Rogue, I just want you t' know dat Friday night was great. And if somet'ing's wrong wit' you..."
"It was great for me too," Ah cut in quickly. Ah did not wanna have the rest o' that conversation, especially not flat on my back in the snow. Remy didn't say anythin' either way, but he climbed off me quick enough an' helped me to my feet. "Later," was all he said.
Ah chose ta ignore that an' concentrated on brushin' the snow off my clothes. Remy helped a bit, but it was obvious that there was somethin' occupyin' his mind. "Penny for 'em," Ah offered.
"Comment (what)?"
"Never mind. So what were ya doin' out here anyway? Ah would've thought ya'd be in your room, prayin' for an early summer."
"Mebbe I'm adapting," he said seriously. For the briefest instant, there was somethin' shadowed in his eyes, but it passed so quickly Ah convinced myself that Ah'd imagined it.
* * *
After Rogue and I walked back t' de Institute, I had precious few hours t' warm up before going out in de cold again. John was waiting for me in de grove of trees he'd specified on Friday, leaning against one, casual, like he was waiting for de bus or somet'ing. At least he was dere, but I was still angry dat he'd failed t' make our earlier appointment.
"De more t'ings change..." I muttered loud enough for him t' hear.
"Come off it," John snapped. "You remember what it's like workin' for Magneto. Worse than a bloody slavedriver. If he insists on setting up out in the never-never (remote areas) what do I do then? At least I'm here now."
"At least," I said, putting de emphasis on de second word. Wasn't John so much, though I was frustrated dat he wanted me t' be his go-between, but I was still worried 'bout Rogue. Dere were marks on her neck dat I hadn't noticed before, but I was afraid t' ask her 'bout dem. She was so angry. Don't know if I'd ever realized it before. She felt t'ings too deeply an' tried t' pretend like she didn't. Had some experience in dat area myself.
Either John didn't hear de sarcasm or he chose t' ignore it. "I had a squiz (a quick look) into the lab the other day."
"C'est vrai ça (is that true)?"
He looked at me reproachfully. "In English, arse boy, in English."
"Dat de good oil (the truth)?" I fired back at him, crossing my arms and trying on de best Australian accent I could manage. "I learned your slang."
"Let's not start, eh? Magneto and Moreau have the whole mad scientist setup down. Couldn't tell much, but I nicked this off a table for ya." He dropped a long, silvery piece of metal into de palm of my hand. It looked like a necklace of some sort.
"Why John, y' shouldn't have! Of course I'll go steady wit' you." Flung my arms 'round his neck.
"Rack off (get lost)!" he said, annoyed. He pushed me back and stumbled a bit from de effort. "Be serious for once!"
Held de necklace between my thumb and forefinger. Seemed a little warm in my hand, probably because anyt'ing would've been warmer dan de air. "How d'you even know if dis means anyt'ing?"
"I don't, genius and I don't have any way to find out, but you do. That place you live in now must be stuffed with fancy gadgets, all that James Bond shite. Don't know how you sleep at night, all those valuables just spread out for the taking."
"Dere's such a t'ing as self-control," I told him coldly. "So say I do find out what dis li'l doohickey is, what den?"
He shrugged. "You're th' hero now, mate. Us bushrangers (outlaws) never know how to do the right thing. That's why we leave it up to you."
"I'll see what I can do wit' dis." Dropped de necklace into an inner pocket in my coat.
"Ripper (great)." He put his hand on my forearm and looked at me anxiously. "You'll tell me, right? Before you do anything?"
"Don't worry, she won't get hurt as long as she stays out of de way." Didn't t'ink it was possible, but I was getting colder. De tips of my fingers were completely numb and I wanted t' shove my hands as deep into my pockets as dey would go, but I didn't want John t' t'ink dat I was brushing him off.
"What's it like?" he asked suddenly, removing his hand and wrapping his arms around his body.
"What's what like?"
"The other side."
"Dere's more women here, dat's sure," I said airily, trying t' get a smile out o' him.
"Not exactly what I meant."
"People are people. Just dat we want different t'ings and dat can get us in trouble."
"What do the x-men want, then?"
"Don't know yet. Only been here for three weeks. Y' could come t' find out for yourself."
John shook his head. "Nah. That stuff isn't for me. Too goody-goody, innit (isn't it)?"
"Only if y' want it t' be. It's like..." paused for a moment, trying t' collect my t'oughts, "it's like Rahne."
"Who?"
"De wolf girl. She turns into a wolf and dat might be dangerous, or evil. But what dey did was show her dat it didn't have t' be either. She's free t' be a wolf and a girl because y' don't have t' be one t'ing." He still looked puzzled. "Like when I was wit' Magneto, all I was was Gambit. Dat's all he ever called me because he could only see my powers. My family still called me Remy, and here dere's a little of both."
"Reckon you like it here, then?"
"Haven't decided dat yet," I admitted and was shocked t' realize dat it was de truth. "But it's a good place for now, even if dey do make me go t' school."
"School?" John sounded out de word like he'd forgotten how t' say it.
"Home economics," I admitted sheepishly.
Never saw a boy go from standing t' rolling on de ground wit' laughter any faster. "My, my," he gasped, "you have been domesticated." Disgusted, I turned on my heel and left. De sound followed me almost t' de edge o' de forest, echoing 'till it seemed dat a hundred people were all laughing at what I'd become.
* * *
Lady MR: More John, just for you. I knew Remy + Rogue couldn't stay mad for long.
RaVeN*NYC: I'm more of the opinion that they got to third base (in the incredibly vague baseball analogy), but you get to draw your own conclusions on that one. I'm not sayin' how far they went because, damn, this is a family fic. ;)
Lace123: Sorry this was sorta long in coming (well, for me, okay). Not that I've been feeling uninspired, just that the holidays have attacked me and coated me with psychedelic 60s wrapping paper...
ishandahalf: Oh don't you worry, there will be some Remy home ec goodness in the next chapter for sure. I couldn't resist writing John's take on the whole situation either.
anonymous: So I feel this is a good time to point out that Cajun French and proper French French aren't the same thing (the same way Quebequois is different) and that "patate" is Cajun French for potato while "pomme de terre" is the French French word. This is probably true for other words as well since I tried (whenever I could) to use the Cajun French.
Lucky439: I feel like your drug dealer or something...let me go stand in the corner and look shifty...
Neurotic Temptress: You've got it, baby! It's that whole theory that if there's a gun on the mantle in the first act it will be fired in the third. Rogue WAS wearing all the jewelry as camouflage for the collar. I was hoping that I wasn't going to be too confusing, but I needed some way for her to keep her secret.
vagabond + Niteflite: Believe it or not, I know pretty much where the story is going (before I was often flying by the seat of my pants) and so the updates should be fairly regular. I just have to write the damn thing.
Jean1: Maybe I love all the minor characters because I feel like I can do more with their motivations? That would explain the Berzerker lurve and why I like Rahne. Heck, St. John isn't even developed as a Marvel character, double bonus! Of course he WAS killed by the Legacy Virus...
Flyby Stardancer: Yeah, the collar was causing the pain. Poor Rogue, she should just get rid of it. Ah, but then where would my story be??
evolutionary spider: Glad I could clear things up. I do try to be as explicit as I can without becoming obvious. It's a fine line. The mystery is interesting, no? I can't tell because...well, I know what's going to happen.
Panther Nesmith: I wouldn't want to be responsible for tipping you over the edge, so here's the newest chapter, hot off the presses. I feel as if I've set some standard for myself that I'll inevitably fall short on, but I'm trying my darnedest to make each chapter interesting in its own way.
NEXT CHAPTER, LOLITAS-SISTER IS PROUD TO PRESENT...
REMY IN HOME EC! see you then.