Disclaimer: I don't own Gambit, Rogue or the majority of anything written here. Marvel does. I just borrow them for occasional fantasies and stories.

Background Info: This is a retelling of Gambit's past up to his joining the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men #266.

Gambit Rewind

by Alisx123@yahoo.com

Julian jerked and Remy swiftly pulled his blade from his chest. He didn't say a word as Julian's hateful glare slowly disappeared into a blank stare and he stumbled forward as his body lost its life falling to the floor. His bloodied blade touched the ground as his arms went loose at his sides and Remy watched his new brother-in-law die on the ground in front of him.

"You were a dick, Julian." He finally said when the body stopped twitching. Remy held his sword up and watched the blood drip down the sharp blade as he considered his options. His new wife BellaDonna was waiting for him to cut the first slice of cake and he had killed her older brother Julian instead. It was so funny he laughed aloud and wiped the blood off his sword.

"Dieu!" His best friend Lapin said running into the clearing. "Fuck! Remy, why de fuck did you do dis?! Dey'll kill you…" He pointed to the dead body on the floor and to his surprise Remy laughed again softly. He couldn't believe this had happened. It felt like a bad dream but he knew he wouldn't wake up..

"You t'ink dis is funny, homme? You killed de prince of de assassins guild, you're brother in law an hour after you were wedded to his sister to bring peace to de guilds. You will probably be sentenced to death, Remy. Even if he initiated it… Dis is serious." Lapin shook his head and took the sword from his friend.

"It was self-defense. He attacked me wit' de sword an' I took it from him. He's a bad fencer." Even as Remy said the words he knew Lapin was right, whether it was self-defense or not - the Guilds would put him on trial for Julian's death.

Belle…

"Murderering Thief!" Julian's best friend Pierre yelled and threw a poison tipped dagger at Remy. He dodged it and Pierre ran towards him throwing another that connected with a tree nearby.

More voices and people starting gathering closer and Remy was tempted to run into the woods. Figuring that would make everything worse, he stood his ground and Pierre was now at Julian's body checking for a pulse calling to the others.

Remy's father Jean-Luc was next to Marius who dropped down next to his son's lifeless body and looked up hatefully at his daughter's new husband. Jean-Luc moved towards Remy just as BellaDonna ran into the clearing to see where everyone was going.

"Non." She whispered and looked from her father to Julian's body to Remy. Jean-Luc moved to Remy's side and asked him what happened.

"He pulled de sword on me and tried to kill me. I took de sword from him and he just fell on it. It was self-defense. I had to protect myself." Remy turned from Marius to his father who looked at him sadly.

"Liar!" Pierre rushed toward him but Marius put up a hand halting his movement. "No one else is to die tonight." He said firmly and BellaDonna went to him resting her hands on his shoulder. "This celebration is over and tomorrow after we bury my son we can sort dis out."

"I agree and my condolences." Jean-Luc said and motioned for the other thieves to gather and prepare to leave as Marius did the same. As they started to leave Jean-Luc put a protective arm around Remy's shoulders.

BellaDonna watched the Thieves Guild leave with Remy and her friend Suzette took her hand. "Come chere," She said firmy. "You can' save Julian now."

"I love my family an' de Guild, chere." BellaDonna said moving away from Suzette. "But I love Remy too."

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"Say No! Walk away, boy!" Jean-Luc cursed and rested his forehead in his hands counting off numbers in his head to calm himself down. "Dat's your problem, Remy. You need to know when to say no and walk away. Killing Julian was not an option."

"He ran into de sword after I took it! He was goading me on about Belle and he's a fuckin' pervert anyway. He wanted her for himself. Always did." Remy knew it was futile to argue but at this point nothing was going to help him anyway so being understood was the best he could go for. Julien had made it very clear he disapproved of Remy and his marriage to Belle and had even tried to kill him on many occasions. Jean-Luc was right. The only difference now was that Remy had survived and Julian was dead at his hands. 

Jean-Luc quietly ran his hands through his hair watching his youngest son intently. Remy had just turned18 years old and now he was facing a death sentence. Due to the prophecy he had always thought that Remy would bring peace to the Guilds but as soon as Julian died that dream had dissolved. He knew that Julian probably did just walk into the sword or goad Remy into the fight and he even knew that the other male had a sick fetish for Belladonna despite the fact that they were siblings. This was all brought up in the trial but tradition called for Remy to be punished with death for treason in the Guild. 

Jean Luc sighed and watched as the vibrant young man he had raised for the past 11 years stared blankly into the wall. Granted, the wall was dark ornamented cherry wood but Jean Luc doubted that it was as interesting as the boy seemed to let on.

"You must leave Remy. You can't stay here." Jean Luc finally said and Remy didn't appear to even register the impact of what his father was saying. Appearances can be deceiving, especially from a skilled thief.

"If you stay we will have to kill you." Jean Luc continued before pausing and resting his hand on the younger man's musculed shoulder. Remy flinched but his face showed no emotion. To his father though, the lack of emotion on his face said more than Remy ever could allow himself to show after his thief training.

 "If you leave, we will not follow you. Some peace will be preserved and after some time has passed…" Remy made a stifled choking sound suddenly and looked up at Jean-Luc pleadingly.

"Help me." Remy said grasping Jean Luc's arm. "Please, Papa don't do dis. I don' want to leave. I want to stay here-" His blood red eyes begged his father for a second chance. For help. Not to send him away from his home. Remy's thoughts were jumbled and as emotional as his eyes teared feverously.

"Listen to me boy!" Jean-Luc demanded and grasped Remy's shoulders strongly pulling him up from the chair he was sitting in. "Get a hold of yourself and listen to me."

"NO!" Remy pushed Jean-Luc off of him and the two men wrestled against eachother. After a few minutes Remy was out of Jean-Luc's grasp but then Jean-Luc pulled a knife from his person and put it to his son's neck causing him to freeze.

"You have to listen to me, boy. 'Cause if you don' den you're going to die." Jean-Luc said softly despite the words he spoke. "You don' want to die do you  Remy? My boy?" Remy couldn't move his head because of the knife against his neck and Jean-Luc's strong grip.

"I love you, Remy. I don' want you to die. I know you are angry at me right now. You may think dat I am betraying you but I am trying to save you. I can' save you through de guild. Dey won' have you. – not now. You stay here – you die. You leave New Orleans and keep low profile for a bit in our world den you live." Jean-Luc took the knife away from Remy's neck and threw it across the room.

"You are a survivor. A big boy. My boy…" Jean-Luc said smiling proudly but sadly. "You'll be ok, Remy. You can live a real life now away from dis thieving if you want – dis world. You can be free."

"Thieving is all I know. It's all you taught me."  Remy said staring blankly into the wall again. He always used to like the wall when he first came here to this house. He had been 7 when Jean-Luc and took him off the streets. Now he wanted to burn it down – use his mutant power and light it up.

"You were taught English, French, Math, Science, Geography, just like everyone else. Home-taught, but from de best. You ain' a fool. You're a damn near genius on dose IQ tests. You're de best hacker, I know! Best thief, I know! I gave you an education, boy. You go use it."  Jean-Luc took out a plastic baggie from his inner pockets and set it on Remy's lap.

"Dere are new passports, credit cards. You can set yourself up wit' dem. Start a new life. 'Bout 2 million dollars allotted to you. Dat will set you up good, boy. If you need anything, you contact me via Tante Mattie, eh?" Remy didn't take the plastic baggie from his lap and it slid onto the floor. He stared at it.

"I need your help now." He said softly looking at Jean-Luc.

"I am helping you de way I can, Remy." Jean-Luc motioned towards the plastic baggie Remy was staring at on the floor. "Pick it up. Take it with you. Book a ticket for wherever you like and go there. Don't try to play de fool and not take dem. You need money and you need an identity. Birth documents and social security." Jean-Luc headed towards the door to his study and looked back at Remy before walking out saying, "I love you, Remy. Always will. Any way I can help you I will. Tante will also."

Then he left. Remy stared at the baggie on the floor for a few minutes. He wanted to cry. Wanted to break something. Blow the house up. Something. New Orleans was all he knew to be home. He always seemed to screw up his life somehow. He couldn't remember his real parents but he knew that they had abandoned him and gave him to the Antiquary because of his eyes. Just another mistake he made. Being born was a mistake. Being born a mutant. Being born, period.

Finally, Remy picked up the baggie on the floor and set it on his father's desk. He then opened one of the huge windows and went outside to do what had to be done. Leave his home, life and family to never come back. First, he had to visit the house he and Belle were going to live in after their honeymoon if the wedding had gone as planned. He wanted to leave a note for her. She would see it there when she eventually went there. Even though this was his fate that didn't mean he had to take her down with him.

To be continued…