Remy sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed his face. His brow was furrowed and his hair was messy. After spending so much time with Édith and Colette, he was exhausted. Both girls had so much energy that it was very easy for them to run him ragged. Hearing someone enter his room, Remy looked up. Édith was standing in the doorway, brown hair in two braids. She saw the suitcase on his bed that was open and half way filled with clothing. Her eyebrows pulled together and she frowned.

"Where are you going?" It was obvious to him that he couldn't lie to her.

"I don' know yet, jes' know I gotta get outa dis place." She looked around his small room and nodded.

"I'd wanna get out of here too." Her light humor made a smile appear on his face.

"'S not da bes' place, I know." They shared a familiar look.

"You miss home." He looked up at her, confused at how she would know. She laughed at his expression before taking a seat at his side.

"Gambit," He jumped at the use of his code name, "I'm a powerful empath and a slight telepath. You exude so much emotion all the time, and whenever you feel particularly lonely, your thoughts turn to home," She paused a compassionate look in her brown eyes, "and to Anna Marie."

"I love her, but she don' wan' me no mo', tol' me I could pretty much go screw myself."

"Remy, any girl's heart could change in five years," Her smile was sweet and considerate, "And besides, you belong in the place that makes you feel happy. You've not been happy one day here as silly as I've been." He chuckled before nodding.

"I t'ink your right Édith, i's time for Gambit t' go home."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Rogue laughed at the expression on Bobby's face when he realized that Logan had made chili for dinner. The Canadian's chili was known for being very spicy, very strong with some very smelly results. Her laughter was cut short when Scott entered the room dressed in his battle uniform.

"That insufferable man sure does loooove that spandex." Her sarcastic thought made her chuckle, earning her a reproving glare from Scott.

"Yes, he does." Came Jean's telepathic response to her thought. "But I must disagree with the insufferable part, he's generally a pretty easy person to get along with."

"Jean, as much as ah would just love to sit here and listen to ya talk all about ya love life, ah have some stuff that needs to be attended to, undahstand?" The auburn haired southern belle smarted back. Hearing Jean chuckle back telepathically, Rogue smiled at her.

"Of course Rogue, ah undahstand." Answered Jean mimmicing Rogue's southern drawl. Marie mused that her accent wasn't that bad either.

"Har har, very cute."

"Sorry Rogue, I couldn't help it! But anyways, do you still have that green dress I lent you? I was wondering if I'd be able to have it back. Me and Scott are going on a date and I would simply love to wear that dress." The southern belle smiled at Jean from across the room.

"Sure, ah'll just go get it as soon as Scooter let's us outa heah."

"X-Men, report to the proffesor's office ASAP" With that said, the X-Men's 'fearless leader' left the room, soon to be followed by the mass of people in the kitchen. Because Rogue was closest to the door she was able to exit the room first. She jogged through the mansion until she reached her room and plummeted into her closet. Searching for the green, satin dress Jean had let her borrow she did not hear the soft rumble of a harley coming down the driveway.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Remy stared at the door to the professor's office blankly. His mind was out of control with thoughts. He was worried that they would be hesitant to take back a renegade X-Man that had walked away with no warning. He almost made himself walk away his thoughts were so strong. However, the soft greeting from the Professor urged him to enter the room.

"Come in" The thief pushed the door open only to be greeted by the faces of his past comrades. The red eyed cajun was not shocked by the difference of emotions in the room. He knew that it was only normal to invoke many different thoughts from everyone. The emotions ranged from happiness to anger, from sadness to nonchallance. Ororo's small smile gave him enough courage to brave the crowd of people in the room.

Walking up to the professor's desk, Remy smiled broadly.

"Bonjour mes amis, m'avez-vous manqué?" Hearing Logan's low growl from a corner in the room made the Cajun smile even larger.

"Hello again Remy, welcome back to the Institute. Come home to stay this time?" The Professor's question was not unexpected or unwelcome. Remy let an honest smile spread across his lips.

"Yeah, dis Cajun don' wanna wanda no more. Dis place still open to Remy?"

"Of course."

"Good, i's good t' be home."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Logan sat on his bed with a velvet box in his hand. He popped it open to stare at the delicate diamond ring. He knew that Marie would appreciate a small, yet beautiful ring. She wasn't into big jewelry. When he saw this ring in the store, he knew that it was exactly the kind of ring that she would be proud to wear. He was not the best man for being able to determine what was going on in a woman's mind, but he knew Rogue. He loved her. He'd loved many women through the years, Mariko, Yukio and Jean being three of them, but when he looked at Rogue, he saw his future instead of his past. Thinking about Rogue brought thoughts of the errant Cajun.

Logan was not a jealous man, but he was afraid that once Gambit came back into her life, Marie would no longer wish to spend time with him. The last thing he wanted was to lose Marie to the very man who broke her heart in the first place. He'd worked so hard for so long. His love for her had only grown in the past five years; he couldn't imagine himself with anybody else. The Swamp Rat had looked so disgustingly charming standing in the Professor's office earlier, like a misbehaving child that could get away with anything. He snarled instinctively at the thought of the man stealing his woman.

And that's what Rogue was.

His woman.