(Six)

The next morning, Remy knocked on Kimble's door. He'd had a decent night's sleep and decided to come here and try and get Kimble's point of view on his troubles. He was surprised to see the recent construction work inside the ship. He hadn't understood what he had seen Fallen moving around the hanger bay yesterday, but was glad for the improvement. Kimble had his own space now, a better sense of belonging somewhere. Remy also hoped this was a sign the Lucky Dragon was staying around. He enjoyed Kimble's company and didn't want them to leave.

Kimble's door wasn't latched so he let himself in. The Siskan had finished the framework and put up the walls for the rooms, there was the smell of fresh paint. Kimble wasn't one to sleep much and had used the time well, the room was largely finished. He moved some furniture in and stopped there for the moment. It didn't quite have a lived in feel, but that would come in time.

Remy found his friend at a small table, drawing.

Henry had brought Kimble the table and some nice pencils with some fine drawing paper. There were two reasons for this. The first was to keep Kimble busy. The second was to keep an eye on Kimble's mental condition. Henry was now aware that Kimble was having trouble fitting in and was even more concerned that Kimble hadn't fully recovered from being broken and then being restored on the ship. He was curious what Kimble would draw, if he would sketch out his frustration and give him some ideas on how to help him.

Kimble didn't look up even though he heard Gambit come in and the tightness of his shoulders betrayed his foul mood. It didn't take long for Remy to see why. Kimble had a large rubber inflatable sex doll on his bed and Remy guessed that since the pilot had no money or access to a store, someone had left it there as a joke. Kimble hadn't taken it well.

Gambit couldn't help himself but greet, "Bonjour, Kim. New girl?"

Kimble snarled, deep and low, and spun quickly. He tossed a sharpened pencil like a dart, using his some telekinesis to add to its velocity, and popped the doll, furious. The pencil stabbed the poor thing in the throat and she wheezed helplessly before deflating with an unromantic hiss. "Not no more!"

First thing that morning, Kimble had gone to the lab on an errand for Henry. Beast had forgotten some equipment he needed to help out with Seth and figured that since Kimble was so bored he would send the pilot down to get it. Kimble, eager to please as always, was all too willing to help out. When he came back, he saw that someone had left him this little present. He didn't know all of the customs of this new world, but he was sexually intelligent enough to figure out what the purpose of this little toy was. He couldn't have been more insulted. It was so typical of these pathetic humans to make a mockery of such a beautiful thing as making love.

It didn't help matters that someone had snuck in here and left it, violating his privacy. The room was only just made and someone had already invaded it, not even a single day going by. He felt violated and took it as a sign that the others here considered him to be of no value and that he didn't have the same rights as everyone else because he wasn't real. It was always Kimble's way to overreact and take any kind of personal attack as an attack on his sense of being a real person.

"What a shame," Remy teased with a grin, unable to resist. "Look like an opportunity wasted, if you askin' me."

"I didn't ask!"

Remy sat down on the bed, tossing the rubber ruin onto the floor. "I 'eard you 'ad a visit from ol' One Eye. 'Eard 'e gave you some papers."

Kimble didn't answer. He just grabbed another pencil and kept scribbling, his face carved with a deep, angry frown.

"You gonna tell Gambit what happened wit dis girl, neh?"

"She kissed me," Kimble said defensively, not looking at him.

"People kiss 'ere for lots of reasons. Don' mean dey be wantin' anyt'ing more'n dat."

"She kissed me, I kissed her back," Kimble explained tersely, his voice tense and angry. "She didn't stop me, but no - I'm the bad guy. I'm the fuckin' pervert!"

Remy flinched a little, hearing the disgust and self loathing in Kimble's voice. "No one say dat 'bout you, little brother."

Kimble turned and glared at him. The blow up doll had been statement enough.

"You don' wanna talk about dis."

"No."

"Si bien, den. Look, well, Gambit's got some business in town, you know. Probably gonna be gone a coupla days. You gonna be okay on your own?"

"Whatever."

Remy put his head down and sighed. "What's your problem, Kim? You don' wanna talk, I can just go."

Kimble put his pencil down and closed his eyes. "Fallen took on a job here permanent and said nuthin' ta me about it."

"What's wrong wit dat? T'ought you wanted ta stay 'ere wit us."

"I hates it here. Evrabody hates me. They think I wanted ta rapes that girl. That ain't my way, but when I explains it they don' believe me. They don't think I'm real."

"Nobody 'ere say you ain't real. Dey jus' don' understand how - playful - you is, is all. You gotta give dem more time."

"Yer the only one who comes ta talk to me. Nobody here even wants ta make friends with me."

"You try talkin' to dem?"

"Yeah. Look how that turned out," Kimble snapped sarcastically.

"Makin' friends don' mean 'avin' sex, Kimble."

"I knows that!" Kimble snorted. "It ain't my fault Holly kissed me."

Remy put his head down and rubbed his hands some more. It had been explained to him that Kimble had some sort of charm power or some such nonsense, but he knew from their deep bonding it was just a form of Kimble's empathy running away with itself. He could see Kimble wasn't fully aware of it, but his friend's foul mood didn't inspire Remy to try and convince him it was a real thing that must be controlled. Not at this moment at least.

Kimble sniffed and continued whining now that Remy had gotten him started. "There ain't no fun here. No playin', jus' workin' an bein' bored. Seth won't play with me. I goes ta see him at night cuz I cain't sleeps too much an' he's busy. He's busy and Fallen's busy and now yer busy, too. Nobody wants ta plays with me."

Neither Seth nor Fallen had honored their word about spending time with him yesterday. There had been some kind of breakthrough on the codes and Kimble had been left in the dust. They hadn't even come to apologize. Coupled with his room invasion, Kimble had spiraled back down in cloud of black rage and despair.

"Kimble, you 'ave ta learn ta find stuff to do on your own. Dere's lots to do 'ere."

Kimble turned to him, his face angry. "Oh? Like what?"

"You got your guitar, eh? Lots of new music to learn. Look, you drawin' now. Dose are good t'ings to start wit."

"You don't get it, do you? I'm alone! I'm always alone now! It fuckin' sucks!"

Gambit raised his hands, asking for patience. "Esp'ere, fils. Calm down dere, buddy. Dis de real world now. We all 'ave to learn to do stuff on our own. Nobody's playin' wit me either 'cept you, eh? Now we both on our own. You gotta learn ta hang, man. Can you do that? I don' wanna be worryin' 'bout you while I'm gone."

"I already got the 'Just grow up' speech already. I don' needs ta hear it again." Kimble scribbled furiously now, ruining the picture he had just made, but no longer caring.

Gambit stood suddenly, irritated by Kimble's stubbornness and childish attitude. "I can't 'elp you if you gonna be some kind of asshole, Kimble!"

Kimble put his head down and dropped his pencil, sagging in his seat as his anger left him, leaving only despair in its wake. He let the pencil roll unobstructed to the edge of the table and it fell to the floor. He closed his eyes as silent tears spilled from his eyes.

Remy got up and stood behind his friend, his own anger gone. He looked over Kimble's shoulder and saw he had been drawing pictures of swords. He didn't know what this meant, only that it was better than dead bodies or something. He put his hands on Kimble's shoulders and leaned down next to his ear. "What's wrong wit you, cher?"

Kimble couldn't help but smile a little from the warmth of Remy's hands on his shoulders and the vibration of loving concern that came from him. The heat of it smoothed away his pain and the dark cloud lifted a little. He loved to be touched, especially by someone who cared about him personally, something that would never change. He wiped away at his tears and whispered. "I don' wants ta be alone no more. It ain't no good fer me."

"Gambit can't 'elp you wit dis, Kim. You gotta get outta dis rut you in. You gotta t'ink real 'ard 'bout what you doin' and be good."

"Lay with me," Kimble blurted out without thinking. Gambit's touch so close had robbed him of his senses. "I'll makes it good fer you, I promise."

Gambit just laughed with surprise at Kimble's boldness. "You got all de subtlety of a freight train, mon frere." He had to admit he was tempted, he could really use some runaway passion himself. He was lonely for Rogue, for some female company. He knew Kimble could shift and the girl skin was pretty enough, but he wasn't that stupid. Remy was no longer the impulsive youth from long ago when he would have taken up Kimble's offer with cheer. He had grown up. Gambit knew that Kimble was so needy right now that he would hound him forever afterwards, demanding more than Remy was willing to give. Remy didn't want to ruin the friendship and strong bonding they had by making a mistake.

"I'll change into a girl," Kimble insisted, sensing Remy's thoughts.

"Non. I told you 'ow it was wit you an' me. Nuthin's changed. You gotta 'ave some patience and let t'ings jus' happen. You ain't gonna be on your own forever. Now, promise me you will be good."

"Kimble will be good," he said with a small laugh, Remy's confidence making him feel better.

"Good. I'll be back tomorrow night, mebbe de nex' mornin'. If I take you somewhere now, you promise to be good?"

Kimble's face lit up with excitement brighter than a sixty watt bulb. "Where we goin'?"

"Come wit me."

(break)

Remy had intended to leave right away, but now he saw his friend was in dire need of some real attention. He took Kimble's hand and led him out of the ship to the lower level and to the Danger Room door. Kimble couldn't contain his excitement and began to tremble with anticipation, he had heard a lot about the Danger Room but hadn't been allowed in. Supposedly they used holograms in here and artificial environments to train. It all sounded like magic and mystery to Kimble, something exciting.

Remy clicked a button on the door security panel. "Codename: Gambit."

"Accepted," the computer chirped back and the door unlocked.

Kimble looked around in amazement as they walked in. He wasn't sure what to expect, but this large empty room wasn't it. The room was huge with plain metal walls. The walls weren't seamless, but had some markings where hidden doors might be. He could see another doorway that probably led to the control room he could see up above them. A large glass window looking down confirmed his guess, he could make out computer consoles and chairs up there, a sort of observation deck. Down in the room itself there were no machines or weapons in sight, nothing that would indicate anything exciting might happen, that was for sure. How did these guys train in here?

Gambit seemed unfazed by the spare, empty room. He simply walked to the middle of the area and called out, "Computer, activate Program: dancin' 402. Activate holograms Rogue, Phoenix, and Storm. Gotta 'ave company," he said to Kimble with a wink.

Kimble gasped in shock and surprise as the room suddenly changed. The walls seemed to melt away like magic and were replaced with an image of a country music dance hall, complete with sawdust on the floor. The same way this room created the Morlock tunnels so perfectly, it now flawlessly created the environment Gambit had asked for. Here was the magic that Kimble had been told about, the change was completely convincing, he had to keep reminding himself that this was the same room he had been in before. Kimble stepped back, awed again as holographic images of Jean, Storm and Rogue materialized next to him. He reached out and touched them, they felt real, but didn't acknowledge that he was there. They weren't as real or sentient as he was.

"What are these? They ain't like no 'grams I seen," Kimble asked, awed and more than a little confused by all of this. No Dognan technology came close to this.

Remy smiled, pleased by how Kimble had been so surprised. "Dese are just 'grams we use for teachin'. We got some more real dan dese, but I wouldn't want to start up some of dose. Dey might get a little too frisky for us."

"Frisky is good," Kimble said with a grin.

"Bien entendu, but not for dancin'."

Gambit took the Rogue hologram's hands, getting ready. Kimble saw him and hastily put himself in front of the Jean hologram, making his choice. The Storm hologram was left alone and Remy shut it off, chuckling over Kimble's selection. Fine country dance music came on and they began to dance. Kimble wasn't familiar with all forms of dance, but like anything else, Kimble learned quickly just by observing Remy's own classic moves and in no time, was having a blast. He laughed and joked around, losing himself in play.

They danced for a long time, changing themes from disco to Goth heavy metal. Remy loved to dance and appreciated all kinds of music. Kimble didn't mind the scheme changes, he was having too much fun. He transitioned effortlessly, all of his troubles fading away. He seemed tireless and grumbled good naturedly when it was time to quit. He was eager for more and this session had ended much too soon for his liking.

Remy dragged him out with a laugh, he had no choice, others were waiting. There were a lot of people living here and Danger Room time was doled out in allotments. Remy had stolen someone else's time slot and there was some grumbling about it. Not that he cared. He just hooked an arm around Kimble's shoulders and turned his back on the complainers as he led his friend away down the hall. Remy paused to bang on the Coke machine as they passed. "You good now for a while?" he asked, drinking from the can and passing it over to be shared.

"Yeah. We gots ta do this again, maybe with some real girls, huh?"

"Patience, little brother, Gambit be workin' on dat as we speak, je promets. We gotta be sneaky, though. De 'Fessor ain't so sure bout you leavin' de grounds."

"Jus' like Sheyman and the snow. I knows some things're worth the wait."

Remy's stomach growled. "Oui, some t'ings mebbe not. 'Ow bout Gambit show you what pizza's all about, hien?"

"Food of the gods," Kimble said with a mischievous smile, playfully using Henry's expression from days ago on the Lucky Dragon.

Gambit led Kimble upstairs to the large kitchen. There was an area set up for cooking for large groups and another smaller, more comfortable eating area. Gambit went to this smaller area and set Kimble down in a chair. While more private, this small kitchen was no less stocked. Remy poked his head in the freezer, rummaging around among the many boxes of food and packages of meat. He pulled out a frozen pie and set it up in a pan, adding some toppings of his own and extra cheese. It seemed like they never put enough stuff on there and he had made an art out of embellishing them with flair.

Kimble waited impatiently, watching with great expectations. Remy saw him there, rocking slightly as if he couldn't keep still, a look of rapturous joy on his face. He snickered at Kimble's childish joy and tossed him a small package from one of his large coat pockets. He had intended to give this to Kimble back at the ship, but decided to wait until now.

Kimble picked it up, a huge grin on his face. He loved surprises, especially presents. He opened up the box and gasped with wonder, Remy had gotten him a glass rod kaleidoscope. The glass rod was filled with pretty glitter and sparkling shapes. You looked through the viewer at the glass rod and the shapes made a lovely moving swirl of colors. Remy had gone into a children's store looking for some kind of toy to amuse his friend and knew Kimble would like it because of the pretty colors and the glass. He was right, Kimble was instantly mesmerized and wouldn't put it down.

"How they git them pretty glitter thingies in there?" he wanted to know.

Gambit just shrugged and laughed. "Gambit's got no clue. It's pretty, non?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Remy patted his shoulder, happy he was so easy to amuse. "Pas de quoi, cher. It's a small t'ing. P'etetre, de next time Gambit get you sumptin' a little better."

"No, no way. This's great!" Kimble held the tiny kaleidoscope up to the light and slid the glass rod through again. It was just too beautiful for words.

The pizza was done and Remy laughed as he had to gently force Kimble to put his new toy down in order to eat. Kimble sniffed at the pizza and tasted it. He grinned his approval and they sat munching quietly, enjoying what Remy had made.

Kimble was thrilled with this stolen time with Gambit, the Cajun always seemed to make time for him and went out of his way to try and make him feel better when he was down. Kimble's eyes kept straying up to look at Remy's face, loving him more and more as each moment passed and Gambit continued to accept him in spite of his screwing up all the time. For the first time, he wished Remy was his Master as Sheyman had been. What would be more blissful than a lifetime with this playful, thoughtful human? What fun and adventures they would have. Kimble lost himself in a pleasant daydream as he ate, his mind drifting a million miles away.

Their meal was suddenly interrupted as the back door opened and Cyclops walked in with someone Kimble hadn't seen before. Kimble stopped eating, stunned by the new arrival.

Warren Worthington, otherwise known by the codename Angel, was a beautiful man, having lovely blonde hair and large feathered wings like a bird. He was tall and lanky, sleek and streamlined. He wore a tight, red colored drysuit because he loved to fly at high altitude where it was colder and more damp. Like Scott, he was one of the oldest members of the team, and because of his high society upbringing, unfortunately one of the most arrogant. He'd been born into one of the richest families in New York and was a millionaire. He was still something of a playboy in spite of being a mutant, his feathered wings being seen by most girls as more attractive than repulsive. He knew just how good looking he was. He glanced over Kimble and dismissed him immediately for the worthless friend of a LeBeau that he was.

Kimble thought Warren was pretty and couldn't tear his eyes away. He did notice something odd about Warren, his shine hovered about his body, but not his wings, and Kimble realized then that Warren's wings were fake. Kimble paused in his admiration when he began to feel a painful vibration of disgust and loathing coming from Warren. For the first time it wasn't directed at him, it was aimed at Gambit.

"Bonjour, Warren," Gambit greeted, nonplused although Warren's mood was plain.

"LeBeau," Warren replied frostily, making a face in disgust.

Remy wondered why it was that it was that everyone said his last name in an ice cold sneer. Why not just say, 'Hey, asshole, I hate your stinking guts.' It would be refreshing to do away with all this stupid macho posturing.

"This is Kimble," Cyclops said, putting on his best face and introducing the pilot to Warren. He could sense the rising tension in the room and was hoping to deflect it away from Gambit. "He's a guest here at the house."

"Kimble, huh? I've heard so much about you," Warren replied, his tone not becoming any friendlier. Word of Kimble's little indiscretion had spread quickly amongst the senior staff, it wasn't much of a secret anymore. Of course that wasn't the source of Warren's disgust, it was the company Kimble had chosen to keep. Warren was positively vibrating with hatred at the sight of the thief.

Remy leaned back in his chair, acting as though he wasn't the least bit put off by the asshole in front of him, but his shine was shimmery with hurt and anger. He grinned at Kimble and teased, "See, Kimble? An you t'ought de X-men would never give you anyt'ing. Now you got a reputation."

"A reputation?" Kimble replied with a grin, willing to play along. "I likes the sound 'a that."

"You keep hanging around with low life scum like Gambit here, you'll get a lot more than just a reputation," Warren sneered.

"What's he doing up here anyway?" Cyclops asked, butting in to try and break off what could escalate into some kind of fight. "Kimble is supposed to stay downstairs. He's on probation."

"Nobody say 'e can't come up wit' an escort, patron," Gambit countered, almost daring Scott to argue. He was disturbed by Warren's cool greeting. He might have earned Warren's hatred, but Kimble hadn't.

"Well, you'd best be sure he gets back without any trouble."

"Absolument, patron."

Scott nodded and tugged gently on Warren, steering him away. The winged man followed easily enough, but his shoulders were high and tight with anger.

Remy laughed without a care at their departure, trying to put on a good face, and got up, putting the dishes in the sink. He wasn't going to let Warren ruin his moment here with Kimble, he just wasn't worth it. He moved on and popped open the fridge, taking out a box of Little Debbie cupcakes. He sat with the box and opened it, dumping all of the small cakes out onto the table, an invitation to gorge.

Kimble sniffed and excitedly pawed at them in their tiny plastic wrappings, already smelling the chocolate. They sat and ate like pigs, gorging until poor Kimble couldn't move. He lay back in his chair afterwards, his eyes already growing heavy from all the food.

"Remy?"

Gambit leaned back in his chair and burped loudly, rubbing his own contented belly. "Oui?"

"Why's that Warren guy's wings all funny?"

Gambit was startled by the question. "Why you say dat?"

"They gots no shine. They ain't real."

"Well, you know... 'E got 'urt real bad once. Dey 'ad to take 'is real wings off. 'E wear dose fake ones now so 'e can still fly."

Oh, there was so much more to the story than that simple explanation and no one knew better than the thief himself. Warren had every right to his bad attitude, seeing as how Remy was the one directly responsible for his crippling. Angel was a long time X-men member, part of the original team that had gone into the Morlock tunnels that day trying to stop the killing. Warren had gotten separated and then overrun by one of the Marauders, a powerful telekinetic that had used large spikes to tack the helpless X-man to the wall, shattering many of the tiny bones that allowed him to fly. When Warren was finally rescued, the damage had been too great and large portions of his wings had to be removed.

The loss of his wings and the ability to fly had been devastating to the young man. He had a severe mental breakdown and was in a hospital for a long time, horribly depressed and angry. During that time Henry had put his marvelous brain to work, researching robotics and ways he could use his knowledge of Shi'ar technology to help out his dear friend. It had taken many years and lots of hard work, but Beast had finally managed to put something together that once more allowed Warren true flight. Not that Henry had created the means for just anyone to fly, Warren's bones were hollow like those of a bird, making him lighter than a real man. He also had the mental wiring for those extra limbs, the prosthetics Henry had created acted on mental impulse. A normal human would never have been able to manipulate them. The new wings Henry had created were the cure for Warren's deep depression and he had been eager to receive them. He left the hospital and had just now completed extensive rehabilitation. Word around the Mansion had it that he had finally passed the rigorous physical requirements needed for squad placement. Warren was back here to be assigned. Remy of course said nothing of this, he didn't add to what he had already spoken.

Since Gambit had offered so little in his explanation, Kimble could sense he was holding back something. "Did he git hurt from you? Is that why he's all mad at you?"

Remy lit a cigarette and decided maybe this was as good a time as any to tell Kimble what he had done. Maybe the Siskan would feel a little less like an outsider when he learned he wasn't the only one to fuck up royally. He took his time and quietly explained to Kimble just what he had done. He explained about his role in the Massacre, leaving nothing out - not Sabretooth's vicious slashing of his chest, not the little girl he had saved on the way out, but mostly he took care to take the blame for Warren's terrible wounding. Gambit hadn't been the one to spike him, he hadn't actually seen any of the X-men there at all, but the responsibility for all the casualties was his just the same.

When it came out amongst the X-men that Remy had led the Marauders down to the tunnels, Remy found himself with another unforgiving soul to add to his list. Without the actual Marauder to vent his anger on, Angel was quick to single Gambit out. Mostly he and Remy avoided each other, but they bumped into each other now and again, usually with explosive results. Gambit had gotten off easy today, probably because Kimble had been with him and Warren didn't want to be any ruder than he had been.

Remy's crime took place before he had ever been an X-man. He had lied about it when he joined up, but they found out about it anyway. They booted him out during a mission in Antarctica, leaving him to fend for himself or freeze to death. Being lucky (or cursed, depending on your point of view), he survived. A year later he came crawling back and managed to earn his way back on the team. It was an on-going uphill battle. In spite of taking him back upon his return, Rogue had never really forgiven him for trying to hide what he had done. It had put a tension into their relationship that sometimes grew too big for them to handle. They would separate for a breather and get back together again. That secrecy had been a barrier between them then and now, it was part of the reason she was with Manny now, Remy explained.

Kimble listened to all of this quietly, grateful that Remy had trusted him enough to tell him. It put his own troubles into perspective and he vowed to try harder and not cause his friend any more pain.

"Now you understand what it is about me, Kim. Now you see why de Rogue is all mad and why Warren dere 'ate my guts. See, you ain't de only one ta screw up. Gambit learn ta grow up from dis, appreciate what 'e 'as in 'is life. You gotta do dis, too. Don' fuck up as bad as me, okay?"

"I'll try, Remy. I really will."

"Bien. Now it's time for me to go to work now. I'll walk ya down."