Chapter 3 of Hearts' Desires here. Welcome aboard and please keep your arms and legs in the ride at all times for your safety.

Ok I know I've been taking forever but cut me some slack. Its not easy to have a life in the real world and three in the fictitious one. And homework doesn't do itself. Since finals are coming up the teachers have suddenly realized that now they better cram all the stuff we were supposed to learn but never did into the last quarter. On the plus side summer vacay's on its way.

Disclaimer- Think about it. Think really hard. Think about the possibility of me actually owning something so huge as the X-men in this seemingly logical world when I don't even have my own room.

And a new tradition of a quote starting each chapter begins here- A dessert without cheese is like a pretty woman who is missing an eye--French Proverb

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Logan stood in the doorway looking more than a little angry and less than a bit thrilled. "I ain't askin' why Speedy's in an all girls dorm. I ain't askin' why the two o' ya are so close and cuddly. All I'm sayin' is that it had better change before I count to three. Or Speedbump, yell have a nice set of navel piercin's." Logan's voice was low and silky and all the teens in the room gulped knowing it was a sign of threat and danger.

"Logan..." Amara started but a growl told the princess to hold her tongue.

"He was trying to comfort her." Lorna blurted. Then she blushed slightly. "Sir."

"I'm not too keen on this kinda comfort." Logan raised an eyebrow toward Pietro's arms which were still around Tabitha's waist. In shock he hadn't been able to move. Now his eyes grew wide and he pulled his arms back. "What was so bad that ya needed ta cling ta him?" Logan crinkled his nose in confusion.

"She was crying Mr. Logan." Jubilee blurted before either guilty party could respond.

"What the Hell'd you do to her Maximoff!" Logan snarled.

"Wait no it wasn't Pietro!" Tabitha cried with wide eyes.

"Oh?"

"No. It was Ray, Roberto, and Sam who made her cry." Jubilee broke in. "Pietro was trying to find out what was wrong."

Logan rolled his eyes and looked directly at Tabby. "This about the incident last week?" She looked away and nodded.

Pietro and all her roommates looked at her in curiosity. What incident could he possibly be referring to. But nobody got a chance to ask. All of a sudden she looked pale and miserable and terrified. She sat on her bed and fiddled with the corner of the bedspread.

Logan nodded to her in understanding. "Alright Speedy. This is yer first and only warning. Yer not ever gonna be in here or any other girl's dorm again. Out!" The young mutant grinned at how easy he was getting out of this situation.

"So, does-this-mean-I'm-not-in-trouble?"

Logan grinned, and it was disturbing to behold. "Oh I never said that. I'll be seeing you at five sharp for a danger room session." He chuckled and held the door open for the scowling teenager.

"Lights out Ladies." He said gruffly as he shut their bedroom door. He headed down the hall. Pietro fell into step beside him.

"What was that all about?" He tilted his head in curiosity.

"None o' yer business Speedbump." Logan grunted.

"What incident? What happened?"

"Look kid, her business is her business. This ain't yer concern."

"I got a right to know why she was crying." Pietro crossed his arms defiantly.

"Then ask her." The older man snapped.

"Don't think I won't." Pietro muttered sullenly. "It have anythin' to do with the three morons who made her cry?"

Logan gave him an irritated glare. "Keep yer nose outta this kid. She don't pry inta yer life. Repay the favor."

Pietro let it drop for a moment. "What happened to her?"

The older man growled. "Since we're on this schedule, what the hell were you doing in an all girls dorm? You know the rules Maximoff."

The albino teen frowned. "You won't answer my question but I gotta answer that?"

The silence spoke volumes. "You know, if my father knew how you people were treating me..."

"Yer dear old Dad ain't around at the moment. He ditched ya so yer stuck with us for a while. And I don't care if yer father's the damn president of the united states, which he definitely ain't, yer no exception to the rules."

Pietro scowled. "For your information I wanted to talk to her."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Really? So now to talk you gotta go into a girls bedroom and put yer arms all over her?"

Pietro rolled his eyes. "Now tell me what happened."

"Here's yer room. You'll do well to stay in it till u meet me at five." Wolverine grunted. "I'll be checkin' up on ya with yer roommates."

Pietro sulked and entered his room. Freddy was sitting on his bed and reading a recipe book. Tomorrow was his night to cook and he wanted to find something that most of the kids would like. Toad was watching some cartoon special on TV.

"Hey 'Tro." Toad acknowledged him.

Pietro scowled and turned out the lights and flopped onto his dark blue blankets which had never been made this morning.

"What's up with him?" Fred asked Toad with bewilderment.

"Like I know, fool?" Toad shrugged. "Guess he's finally run outta girls to mess around with. Or maybe its just that time o' the month or somethin'."

Pietro shot him a nasty glare. "Danger room. Five. Shut up."

"Oh! What'd ya do?" Toad grinned impishly.

The albino speedster rolled over. "Got caught in a girls' bedroom." He grumbled.

Both of his roommates' eyes widened considerably. "Whose?"

Pietro was silent for a moment. "The Princess, The fourth of July human incarnation, Tabitha, and my...sister's."

"Huh? But those ain't Wanda's roomies."

"No I think he means that new girl, yo." Toad said. "Lucy or Laura or what ever. Ya know the one who calls herself Pollyanna or somethin'?

"Lorna. And it's Polaris." Pietro gritted his teeth, showing that he was not comfortable with this topic.

"Hey whatever, so why were you in there?" Fred wrinkled his nose. "I thought all of them except Tabitha liked the Popsicle boy."

"Yeah." Pietro shrugged absently. "I wanted to talk to Boom Boom."

"Oh." The other two frowned. It took the speedster a few moments to catch on to the way the boys had assumed his 'talking' meant.

"No we didn't do anything like that. Something's wrong with her." He commented quietly. "Something bad happened to her involving Crisp, Da Costa, and Guthrie. And I feel weird about the whole thing." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Maybe I'm just tired or whatever."

Toad and Blob exchanged confused glances. Toad bounded over and clapped a slimy hand over Pietro's brow. He beckoned their other roommate and touched his forehead as well.

Pietro opened one eye irritably. "Whata ya doin slimeball?"

"Well, the way I sees it, you gotta be sick, yo. Yer actually expressin' concern for anotha person who ain't yer daddy dearest or yer reflection in the mirror." Toad explained and frowned. "Yea, I ain't no doctor, Freddy, but he feels a bit warm don't he?"

"Git off!" Pietro pushed Toad away. "Ugh! Now I'm gonna smell like slime all week! Thanks a whole lot Toad! And nothing's wrong with me! I'm just worried about her alright? I mean, she used to live with us for crying out loud!"

Fred pondered for a second then broke into an eerie grin. "Nah he's alright Toad. Ya wanna know what's wrong with 'im?" He didn't wait for a verbal reaction. "If ya ask me, our liddle 'Tro is growin' up."

Toad gained an impish grin. "Ya don't mean...?"

"Yep. Sure do! Widdle Pietro has a crush!"

"ON BOOM BOOM!" Pietro cried, horror struck. "YA GOTTA BE KIDDIN' ME!"

"Nope. You got it bad 'Tro." Fred kept a serious face as Toad broke into hysterical laughter. "Well I guess she is pretty and all."

"What! Me! Attracted to that crazy witch! You're both crazy!" Pietro gaped.

"Pie an' Tabby sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Toad hopped away from strangling reach. "First comes LOVE! Then comes MARRIAGE! Then Tabby's pushin' a-"

Suddenly a fist with an adamantium laced skeleton was holding Toad by throat. Logan snarled and pushed the amphibious boy against the wall. The two outer claws on that hand extended and trapped Toad's neck. The middle one extended just enough to make Todd Tolansky's eyes widen and his breathing stop. "Look frog breath. I am only gonna say this once. So listen up now. If you so much as think of finishing that sentence, I will not hesitate in extending this claw to full length. Then I'll gut you and hang yer insides over the mantle. Understood?"

Toad nodded his head about a millimeter and seconds later Logan snarled and released his hold. The boy sank to the floor trembling and terrified. He brought a hand to his neck and tried to get his breathing back to normal.

Logan growled. "Lights out. I don't want to hear a damned peep from this room until I see Slime bucket here in the DR at 4 sharp." All three boys gulped. The older man gruffly stormed to the door. "Oh and Maximoff, before ya say anythin' that was about her. Not you." He slammed the door and after his heavy footsteps faded, Toad made his way shakily back to his bed.

"What was that about, yo?" Toad swallowed hard.

"I don't know..." Pietro stared at the door intently. "Makes ya wonder what those creeps did that he gets so guard dog over her..."

Fred nodded and turned out the lights. "You two have early DR sessions. We should all get some sleep."

Pietro mumbled his gratitude and lay staring at the ceiling, curiously wondering what happened to Tabitha. To his annoyance, both his roommates were snickering and whispering in low tones for a while until they fell asleep.

Morning came abruptly upon the mansion. Rogue woke up with a start when Kitty's alarm clock/radio started playing some Hilary Duff song Rogue didn't know the title of, which was quite alright as she had no desire to.

"Pryde, turn that blasted thin' off!" She hollered and buried her head in her pillow.

Kitty yawned and sat up. "Like, good morning. Rise and Shine sleepy head." She giggled.

Rogue snarled. "Ah'll rise but Ah ain't shinin'."

"Oh, didn't you sleep well?" Kitty asked curiously, as she dangled her toes over the edge of her bed, turning off the clock.

"No." Rogue replied curtly as she rolled out of bed and headed to her dresser. "Fo' some reason, Ah had nightmares about gittin' married to someone Ah barely even know, all night." She sent a glare to her roommate.

Kitty giggled and grabbed her change of clothes and shower stuff and headed down to the bathroom. Rogue frowned and headed out the door with her stuff too.

"This whole damn mess is yar fault Kit." Rogue grumbled. "Ya an' Tabby. Mostly her. Stupid tape. No really its all his fault! Ah don' need this right now. Ah don' want a relationship! Ah ain't some prissy li'l dolly that needs a guy ta be happy." Rogue babbled as Kitty tried ignoring her. "Ah mean, do Ah look lahke some damn Barbie who needs a Ken? Ah like bein' an independent woman!"

"Uh Rogue..."

"Hush up Kit, anyway who does he think he is ta just up an' drop this in mah lap like its mah fault or mah problem?"

"Rogue...um there's, like, something I should-"

"Ah'm rantin' here Kit. What gave him the right to just pop up an' start doin' stuff lahke this ta me? Ah mean sho' he's got a nice body an' beautiful eyes an' a gorgeous accent but-"

"Bon matin filles." The Cajun himself approached the girls, his hair still wet from his morning shower after the DR session he had surprisingly had company for. "Now who de mos' magnifique femme in de worl' talkin' bout like dat, hm?"

"Kit," Rogue turned to her friend weakly and whispered so the other girl nearly had to read her lips. "Do meh a fava and phase me through a wall please?" She rose her voice and turned to him. "Wouldn't ya lahke ta know?" She smirked and ran a gloved forefinger under his chin as she stepped into the now vacant girls' bathroom.

Remy blinked in confusion. "Did Remy fall inta some ot'er d'mension, ou was it 'er?"

Tabitha, who had just stepped out of the bathroom, scowled. "What ever conversation I just missed was so obviously more important than blow drying my hair."

"She flirted! Wit' Remy!" He stared at the bathroom door in astonishment. He raised an awed hand to the place her gloved finger had touched his chin. "Unless dis is some kinda dream ou somet'in."

Without warning Tabitha reached over and pinched Remy's arm. Her nails were sharp and freshly manicured neon pink with black splatter lines. "Ow!" He yelped and pulled away. "What was dat fo'?"

"Guess its not a dream then." She remarked cheerfully.

"Dat hurt p'tie." He rubbed his arm. "An' y' sposed t' pinch y'self."

"Sorry." She shrugged sounding anything but. "So anyway Gambit, glad I ran into ya. We have a good hour until breakfast, lets get down to business shall we?"

"Works fo' Remy. Excuse-moi p'ti'e." He winked at Kitty and headed off after Tabby.

Kitty stood there utterly bewildered and vowed that as soon as Rogue came out of that bathroom she'd get a good talking to.

Tabby turned. "Where do you wanna go? We have rec. room, living room, kitchen, my room or yours. I figure since you want a low profile on this you don't want to be in a public view place so there's also roof, gazebo, or anywhere on the grounds I guess."

"Remy's room works Remy guess." He shrugged. She gestured for him to lead the way. Shortly they were up in the boys dormitories entering the room she had entered last night.

Piotr was at his easel silently painting. He nodded to acknowledge their presence and went back to concentrating on his brushstrokes. Lance was sitting on his bed basically just bobbing his head to the music from a headset. And Pyro was sprawled out in his bed, half strangled by sheets with one arm hanging off, and snoring.

Tabitha raised her eyebrow as she realized they weren't alone. Remy shrugged before she could ask. "Dey already know. An' Remy figured it'd be better fo' bot' our reputations if we had witnesses."

Tabitha blinked looking suddenly distant. "Yeah. Good idea."

Remy searched her face in mild confusion. "What de matter wit' y' p'tie?"

"Nothing...I'm fine. So...where do you want to start?"

He gave her a concerned look but continued. "What kin y' tell dis homme?"

Tabby grinned a Cheshire cat grin and dug into the bag she had brought to the showers this morning. From it she removed a well worn black diary. "What do you want to know about her?"

His eyes widened. "Remy non wanna read de fille's diary." He said hesitantly. "It don't feel right." Though she could tell he was obviously curious.

"Fine you don't have to. I can tell you a bunch anyway. For starters, she has a really messed up family life. And all the pushing away she does? She has her reasons, and they aren't limited to her powers. This puppy goes way back while she lived in Caldecott. Covers everything from her first chocolate ice cream cone to her first boyfriend up until well, the day before yesterday. I snatched it and had Jamie make a multiple of it." She grinned at him as he absorbed this information slowly. "And don't worry, I don't single anyone out, I get everyone's diaries this way. Eventually they just fade away so there's no trouble."

Remy laughed. "Y' pretty clever, kid. Don' tell nobody Remy said dis but y'd make a damn good t'ief."

She shrugged off the comment. "When you've been used in crime since before you could walk and talk by your own father, its something you hafta pick up. If you don't get good you get caught.

"Y' an' Remy could write a novel bout dat den." He reminisced. A dark look flashed through his eyes. "So, y' de boss...what Remy s'posed t' do?"

"Ah I knew you would ask that." She grinned and rubbed her hands together. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to ask Rogue out. As in on a date. As in ASAP. Like, after breakfast."

His eyes widened comically. "Ask 'er out?" His voice hit a high pitch. "But...She'd kill Remy! Or say non! Et que ferions-nous?"

"Gambit..." Tabby raised an eyebrow.

"Comment juste demandez-vous hors d'une fille que vous aimez plus que la terre et le ciel ? Et ce qui si elle dit le non?"

"Gambit! I don't speak French or Russian or Pig Latin or Japanese or whatever you're using!" Tabby frowned.

"What Remy gonna do? How does Remy do it?"

"Pardon?"

"How should Remy ask de fille out?" He averted his eyes as hers grew wide.

She laughed. "Are you serious? You? You need help asking a girl out? I thought you were our resident Cassanova, more experienced even than Pietro and me put together!"

He fidgeted uncomfortably. "Oui, an' Remy ain' denyin' it.But Remy never done de askin! Filles usually be linin' up at Remy's door. An' Rogue not like de ot'er filles."

Lance smirked from his perch on his bed. "Yeah. She doesn't fall for cheesy lines or suggestive double entendres."

"Rocky, shut up." Tabby rolled her eyes.

"Well he be right. De normal routines don' work an' Remy guess dat be a bon t'ing parce que Remy don' wanna hurt her."

Tabby nodded sagely. "Well young grasshopper you have much to learn and a short time to do so. There's just forty-five minutes until breakfast."

He chuckled and then gestured for her to get started.

"Ok. Number one, Rogue hates being treated fragile. She hates pity. Don't do it because if you do, you may never have the opportunity to parent children again. She has a nasty temper. That's a big thing. Stuff most people don't think about sets her off. Pushing physical boundaries and treating her weird are major no-nos. You following?"

He nodded and she continued. "Ok, believe it or not, she's a hopeless romantic. But she's not so into classics. Roses are nice but don't overdo it. Her favorite flowers are tulips. Dark purple. No mushy gushy crap, basically just avoid hallmark and fufu pink and cutesy stuff. If Kitty would like it, Rogue wouldn't."

Remy looked slightly overwhelmed but nodded anyway. Tabitha smiled. "Ok, now I'm gonna give you a list of what you have to do. Number one. Ask her out. After she says yes-"

"How d' y' know she'll say yes?"

Tabby gave him a 'duh!' look and continued. "Next you plan what you'll do. Let her pick the day. From that you base what you do. That decision will affect what you can do and what you want to do. For example a picnic would be fine on a warm Wednesday or Monday afternoon but a movie might be better if its a Friday or Saturday with rain or something. After that you can worry about what to wear. You want to look nice, but be comfortable at the same time. And don't worry, at this point she already said yes so she doesn't care how you dress. Now, fourth, finally, and most important you need to go buy a French to English dictionary at the nearest book store."

"What de dictionary fo'?" Remy asked puzzled.

"So I understand what you're saying when you go all French on me." She explained.

He nodded. "Ask her, pick what t' do, pick out clothes, get y' a dictionaire. Got it."

"Good, now lets head down to breakfast shall we? You need to know how you're gonna ask her."

Rogue still felt confused as she finished her shower. She had no idea what had possessed her to be so flirty. Her heart was all aflutter and weird emotions and sensations chased each other through her stomach. And what on Earth was up with the look on his face? He had flirted with her innumerable times. Okay so her response usually involved a sarcastic snappy comment or pushing him further away, but where in the rules did it say she wasn't allowed to flirt back.

"This proves it." She told her reflection in the mirror. "He don' really like me at all. Ah'm just a challenge: the only gal he can't sleep with. He wants ta break down mah mental barriers an' get his way wit' meh just fo' braggin' rights." She convinced herself and looked disgusted at the thought. "Well monsieur Remy LeBeau, that ain't happ'nin'." She got dressed and put on her make up and headed down to breakfast.

Down in the kitchen she took her normal seat next to Wanda and vaguely looked around at the other occupants of the table. Toad was there, drooling over Wanda with an idiotic grin on his face. Kurt and Bobby were cracking jokes. Kitty was concentrating on writing in a small pink notepad, occasionally asking Jean a question or two while the other woman clutched Scott's hand possessively and spent the majority of her time glaring at Emma Frost. Scott was oblivious to the mental sparks over his head and he continued reading the newspaper, unaware that his wife was on the verge of murdering Ms Frost who had for some reason decided that a tight low cut white leather corset and miniskirt was appropriate attire for appearing in public in. Lorna Dane was using her powers to make her silverware chase itself around her glass of orange juice while Amara and Jubilee shared the latest gossip.

Rogue's eyes then caught a sight that made her heart stop for a second. She didn't know why it would hurt her, but a weird squirmy feeling erupted in her stomach as she saw Remy talking with Tabitha. He'd say something and she laughed and shook her head. The blond gained a mysteriously impish gleam when she noticed Rogue looking.

She whispered something to Remy and then laughed softly at whatever his reaction was. He started turning his head but Tabitha tutted and snapped her fingers. Remy's head snapped back around as the blond shook her head as if to say no.

"Figures." Rogue spat to herself bitterly. "Ah bet she just set that whole thing up ta get me ta make a fool of mahself. An' Ah'll eat mah boots if that's gonna happen."

"What!" Wanda turned her head and gave Rogue a questioning glance.

"Hm? Oh nothing neva mind." Rogue blushed slightly, as she hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud.

"Talkin' to the voices again Rogue?" Wanda joked playfully.

"Yeah." Rogue answered as relief that could be read as embarrassment flushed her features. "Ya caught meh."

Wanda smiled and returned her attention to the jokes Pyro was giving her with an amused expression.

At that moment Storm announced breakfast was ready and was being served buffet style this morning. In the mad dash for food, Rogue's bitterness and resent were forgotten. Rogue made it back to her seat with a bowl of frosted mini wheats, a blueberry muffin and a couple slices of bacon. It wasn't that there hadn't been enough, but Rogue always ate hardly anything at breakfast. It wasn't a weight issue, as she had a relatively high metabolism.

She sat and moodily stirred her cereal around the bowl. Kitty took the opportunity to drop into the seat next to her with a plate heaped with healthy vegetarian foods and a perky 'I'm a morning person' smile. "Hey Rogue. Are you, like, okay?"

"Ah'm fahne." Rogue sighed.

"Uh huh, and like, a totally obvious liar. What's wrong?" Kitty frowned, puzzled, as she spread some strawberry jam on to a slice of toast.

"Nothin'." Rogue insisted but her eyes betrayed her by wandering down the table to where Remy and Tabitha were seated, whispering feverishly and forcefully, their food forgotten.

Kitty followed Rogue's gaze with an amused smile. "Well, that's, like, one hot nothing." She winked.

"Kitty, ya have a boyfriend." Rogue pointed out and nodded over towards Lance who was still patiently in line.

"Well, I can totally still look Rogue." She giggled. "Besides, he's like, totally hungover on you. Isn't it so sweet how he sings about you in the shower?"

"Ask Tabitha, she might appreciate it more than Ah would. After all its her stupid trick."

Kitty raised an eyebrow. "No, what about that tape?"

"Kit, sugah, ya way too naive. How hard do ya think it is ta edit a tape so it says what ya want it ta? Or how hard would it be if the damn swamp rat was in on the whole thin'? Ah'm not gonna let Smith set meh up fo' a huge embarrassment lahke that."

"But..."

"No buts Kit. The swamp rat don' like me. End o' story. Boom Boom is just tryin' ta pull a prank on meh. She prolly wants everyone forgettin' bout what happened with her, Berserker, Cannonball, an' Sunspot last week."

Kitty frowned. "I don't think so Rogue. Yeah she's upset, but I don't really see her as the kinda girl who'd do something like that...to another girl. She's a bit too playful sometimes but, like, she isn't mean and vicious like that."

"What eva ya say Kit." Rogue shook her head bitterly. "She's a lil playaette. Look how touchy feely they ah ova thay." Rogue rolled her eyes over to where Tabitha had one of Remy's hands clasped between both her own. "Let her have him. He's not mah type."

"And, like, what exactly is your "type"?" Kitty raised an eyebrow. Before Rogue could reply she continued. "Like, let me guess, tall, strong, serious, orders everyone around, gets a sadistic pleasure from making people get up at inexcusable hours for Danger room sessions, obsessed with redheaded telepaths?" Kitty smirked coyly.

Rogue choked and her eyes widened. "Shut up. Just shut up." She snapped.

"Look Rogue, he's like, married now. So its time for you to move on. Gambit's single and from what I hear he's so totally got the hots for you, girl!" Kitty giggled. "And besides, he's totally checking you out right now."

Rogue glowered and flipped him a rude hand gesture. "Fo'get this. Ah'm outta here. Anyone asks, Ah ran away, got it?" Rogue didn't wait for a reply before angrily pushing her food away and storming off. The room fell silent for a few moments before continuing its semi normal routine. After all, everyone was used to Rogue's sudden mood changes.

REWIND APPROX 45 MINUTES

Remy and Tabitha had been among the first down in the dining room. After Pyro had woken up abruptly during a nightmare that they were fairly certain involved a koala bear, waffles, and a fire hose, they decided they may as well head downstairs to avoid any incident or loss of sanity.

She continued giving him bits of advice about how to approach Rogue the right way and he began to look like he was drowning. Doubts and fears were tearing at his stomach from the inside. He was about to comment on them when Toad and Pietro had stumbled into the dining room. Both looked as though they'd just stepped from the showers and both were looking thoroughly exhausted.

"Ow!" Pietro winced, "I don't think that can be legal. That's gotta qualify as child abuse or somethin'." He rubbed his arm.

"What you complainin' bout, yo? I was in that hellhole longer than you." Toad groaned. "I'm startin' to think that we was better off in the Boarding house, yo."

"If my father was here we'd never have to put up with this crap." Pietro whined pathetically.

"Want some cheese with that whine, Pie?" Tabby called over. The two boys noticed her and Remy for the first time.

"Hey Gambit. Morning Tabby." Toad nodded, suddenly grinning evilly.

The two limped over to their chairs and dropped like string less puppets.

"What happened to you to?" She asked with her head tilted in semi amusement.

"Wolverine happened to us." Pietro grimaced. "Been in the Danger Room since five."

"Four for me." Toad spoke up. He'd dropped his head to the table and raised a hand up.

"All for being caught in my room?" Tabby wrinkled her nose as Pietro lay his head on his folded arms on the table.

"Mmhm." He nodded.

"Harsh. What'd you get busted for, Toad?"

"Teasin' Tro." The younger boy mumbled.

"Ohhh! What happened?" Tabby clapped her hands together in fiendish delight.

But neither of the former brotherhood boys responded. They couldn't as they were both fast asleep and breathing evenly and heavily.

Tabitha laughed and shook her head. "Logan musta worked them pretty hard." She mused.

"Ouais. Remy got excused from de usual early mornin' torture session because Wolvie had dese deux down there t' be 'is punchin' bags stead o' Remy for his pre mornin' workout." Remy looked relieved about this fact.

"Well they're out fast. Poor guys." Tabby smiled.

"Yeah po' Quickie 'n' Slimeboy." Remy rolled his eyes.

"Hey you know how it feels." Tabitha was quick to jump to her old housemate's defense crossly. "You should have pity for them."

Remy raised an eyebrow as she looked quickly at Pietro. "Speakin' o' de Speedbump, what was dat 'bout him gittin' in trouble cuz he got caught in yo' room las' night?"

"It wasn't what you're thinking." Tabitha assured him quickly. "I was upset and he was actually being really sweet for once. He was trying to make sure I was okay after what happened." She lowered her eyes shielding a smile. "We got into a pillow fight and Logan burst in and well Pietro got a five AM danger room sentence outta the deal."

Remy nodded. The gruff man would never admit it, but he was especially protective of the mansion's teenage girls. Somehow, over the course of time, Logan's war scarred heart had softened and he assumed the role of a mixture between an older brother, surrogate father figure, and uncle for the girls.

He was closest to Rogue, Kitty, and most recently and surprisingly Jubilee. However, since an incident last week that most of the kids knew nothing more than the vaguest details of, he'd been hyper sensitive when it came to Tabitha. All Remy himself knew was she'd ended up running out of the mansion in tears and Logan had gotten particularly nasty with Ray Crisp, Roberto Da Costa, and Sam Guthrie. It had taken hours to track the girl down and when she was returned she was different; less hyper and she seemed distant. She refused to tell anybody anything about it and most people tried to just forget it.

He was more curious than ever about what had happened, even to the point of using his empathy to force her to share but suddenly an angel walked in the dining room doors, joining the group that had been growing quickly.

Tabitha noticed his attention waning and turned expectantly. Rogue was slumping into a chair next to Wanda. She looked pretty cross and grumpy, but that wasn't really a change from the norm. Tabitha rolled her eyes.

"Gambit! Earth to Gambit!" She hissed.

He turned ruefully around in his chair.

"Could you at least pay attention to what I'm saying? You asked for my help so listen." She mock scolded. "Ok fine, next step, I need to ask you something. What do you see?" She gestured at Rogue.

"Remy see de mos' belle angèle Remy ever seen. Mais she's mad. Mos' likely at Remy. Mebe Remy ought t' not do dis. She deserve somebody better den a lowly t'ief."

She gave him a puzzled look. "What? Where's that fiery streak of self assuredness? What happened to the ego the size of the mighty Mississippi?"

"De fille don' even like Remy. Askin' her out won' help nuttin'. It'd only hurt her, an' dat de last t'in' dis homme wants fo' 'er. B'sides, she'd say non. Dere ain't no point in askin'."

Tabitha frowned. She didn't understand the Cajun's sudden insecurities. This was not like the Gambit she knew. This guy was meek and almost shy.

"Are you okay?"

"Remy fine. Remy be better den fine." He frowned. "Remy can't do it. Remy don' want t'. B'sides, y' made Remy promise not t' hurt her an dats what will happen if Remy does dis."

"What happened?" Tabitha demanded. "Something's wrong. You're supposed to be the resident skirt chaser along with Pietro. You're supposed to be 'easy'. This whole shy demented thing is not working for me."

"Remy woke up from de dream world." He mumbled seriously.

"Something happened to you, didn't it?" She accused as it dawned on her. "Something involving love. Or at least some kind of commitment."

His eyes grew wide before he could verbally defend himself, revealing the answer.

Tabitha's voice lowered. "I'm right. What happened? What put the fear of love in your heart?"

"P'tie, y' really don' wanna hear de story." Remy admitted in a defeated tone. "Le's jus' say dat Remy got some...issues wit his famille et wit...an ex."

Tabitha's eyes grew large. "Oh God, you got some girl pregnant or something didn't you!"

"Quoi?" Remy blinked in disbelief not knowing how she'd made that assumption.

"If not that then what do you have to be shy over?"

"Trust Remy when he say he been in mo' situations den any person ever should be."

"I know how that is." Tabby frowned. "My father had me in petty theft since before I could talk. And if I didn't do what he wanted..." She shuddered and subconsciously brought a hand up to her right ear which had a long and faint pink scar running behind it.

"Remy hears y'." He sighed and closed his eyes in reminiscence of his own personal history. "Remy hears y' louder den anyone else ever will."

Tabitha nodded. "But, it's the past and I'd rather not reopen those wounds." She whispered in a haunting voice.

"Oui, an' dose who don' learn from history be damned t' repeat it." Remy agreed cryptically. "Which explains why seniors in high school be in freshmen history classes, non?"

Tabitha laughed despite herself. "Yeah, I guess so." She noticed the set of narrowed emerald eyes focusing on her and Remy. "Don't look now but Roguey's practically spitting poison over here."

Remy slowly turned his head and Tabitha frowned. "Hey!" She snapped her fingers and he whirled his head back to face her. "I said don't look! Now she's gonna think we were talking about her!"

"But we are talkin bout her..." He said in confusion.

Tabby rolled her eyes.

"Sorry." He muttered.

"Yeah you better be." She grumbled. Ororo called that breakfast was ready and Remy gratefully slipped away to go get his food.

Tabitha rolled her eyes and followed quietly. She noted with a frown that Remy only took a bagel and a few strips of bacon.

"What's this? Some kind of crazy diet or something?" She remarked playfully as she loaded pancakes and eggs onto her plate.

"Remy not very hungry, petite." He sighed.

Tabitha frowned and the duo headed back to the table. "Gambit, what's wrong?"

"Nuttin." He said firmly.

"Uh huh, and Pyro is a pre-med student." Tabitha snorted and looked down the table to where the aforementioned guy was hanging a spoon on his nose and crossing his eyes to see it. "You gonna tell me what's running through your head?"

"Remy jus' t'inkin'." He dismissed her.

She gave him a look and he sighed. "Remy t'inkin' bout de past...y' eve' wonder if y' could change one t'in' bout y' past?"

"All the time." Tabitha grew serious. "There's a whole lot I wish I'd avoided." She mumbled.

"Ouais." Remy nodded. "But if Remy had de chance...he'd wipe one spot o' de past away fo'ever. All de mistakes, all de pain an' betrayal, none o' it would ever happen."

Tabitha's eyes grew watery. She took hold of Remy's hand. "It hurt you, didn't it? Whatever it was that put a sour spin on your view of love." It wasn't a question really it was a statement. He closed his eyes. She whispered. "I know what it's like."

"Dat ain't somethin' anyone should know." He leaned back. "Y' so young an' all."

"You aren't that much older than me." She scolded. "I can see from your eyes that you're carrying too much excess baggage too." She sighed.

"De deux o' us got a lot in common, non?" He chuckled dryly.

She frowned. "Don't bring that up. You know, if I didn't think you and Rogue were cut from the same cloth...You're alright Gambit. For a guy." She smiled weakly.

Suddenly a feminine cough snatched Remy's attention. His head whipped around in concern. He knew who it was before he saw her face, all flushed and embarrassed. Rogue retorted to Kitty's comment with a snapping remark and then she froze. For one beautiful moment the twin emeralds met with the rubies set in beds of onyx down the table. Remy's heart skipped a beat and leapt to his throat.

He smiled; it was fairly awkward and dare he say it almost shy but it was still a smile. Her features then went dark and she showed him a rather rude gesture. After growling a message to Kitty, the disgruntled Goth stormed off. The room was quiet for a moment or two but everybody returned to normal activity, apparently immune to shock when it came to Rogue's outbursts.

Before Remy realized what he was doing, he was on his feet and heading to the door. Tabitha was calling him an idiot and burying her face in her hands whilst laughing softly. Then he froze and sheepishly slowed. The Institute and grounds were huge and he had no idea where Rogue would go. As he hadn't heard the conversation he could hardly guess her emotion. She varied her seclusion places by mood and though he'd learnt them all by heart, there were a great many of them. He didn't want to waste time searching.

His years of training as a thief had honed his senses and he quickly realized that there was a set of eyes watching him curiously. He turned to Kitty and his expression brightened. Though the two girls were as different as chalk and cheese from most external viewpoints, the young and perky Kitty Pryde was his Rogue's best friend. If anybody would know her whereabouts it would be her. Well, Wanda would probably know but she'd be more difficult to receive the details from as she was known to be quite stubborn.

He slowed his pace and suavely moved to Kitty's side. "Bon Matin p'ti'e." He winked and she repressed a giggle.

"Like, hi."

"Remy was just wond'rin' why une jolie fille such as y'self be sittin' all alone on dis bon mornin."

Kitty giggled and rolled her eyes. Lance immediately gained the air of a cat who puffed up to protect its territory. "Rogue like, says she ran away."

Remy sighed and frowned. It was the cute puppy pout that nobody has the power to resist. Well, except for Kitty that is.

"Come off it Gambit. That's my face. I've mastered it and that makes me immune." She smiled sweetly. "And like, don't even try using your empathy charm thing."

"Fine. Where she go? Sil te plais tell Remy?"

"Like, why should I?"

Remy gave her a trapped and helpless look. Lance sighed and took pity. "Kit-Kat, give a guy a break. She'd tell me where you went if it was us instead of them."

Kitty fixed an intense look on the twenty year old former thief at her side. "There's, like, these rumors going around the girls' wing. Are they true?"

Remy's eyes widened. "Merde, all de girls know?"

Kitty giggled. "Well I totally heard 'em from Rogue who, like, heard it from Tabitha. Nobody else knows." She whispered.

Remy sighed and put a hand over his heart.

"Not like it isn't totally obvious though." Kitty continued despite his look of horror. "I mean, you've been like totally pining over her and everything." He groaned but she quickly reassured him. "No, it's not bad. I think its, like, the most totally sweet and romantic thing!" She gushed.

Lance chuckled at his roommate's expense while Remy looked skyward. "Why? Why did Remy come here when Bucket head disappeared? Remy was legal! Di'n' need a guardian. Why di'n' Remy jus' go back t' Louisiana? Ou just gone somewhere an' started clean?"

"Cuz, you're, like, a mutant and mutants are being all prosecuted and stuff. Oh and you're, like, totally obsessed with Rogue." Kitty giggled.

Remy sighed and pleaded with his eyes. "Oui, de rumor be true."

"Smart Gambit, you know you could have just agreed to something crazy right?" Lance raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you check what she means?"

"Like, don't scare him Lance." Kitty admonished. "She's up in my room, well I guess its her room too. And Wanda's."

Then Kitty turned her attention to the legal notepad in front of her once more and Remy took it as his cue to leave.

He hurried up the stairs and into the girl's dorm wing. He glanced at the gold plated engraved plaques on the doors as he walked briskly past. Most of the doors were still open. He peered into the first room and knew immediately who it belonged to. Though Betsy Braddock and Emma Frost were both aristocratic classy telepaths, the two could hardly be any more different. Brittish born Psylocke's side was dark purple with black silk bedding and curtains. A dark cherry wood dresser was to the side and posters papered the walls. The other side of the room had a white canopy bed with lace curtains and a fur rug off the side of the bed. There was a vanity with the White Queen's initials in silver cursive over the mirror and an elegant lamp on the desk at that side of the room.

Remy shook his head and headed on, passing many doors and knowing the rooms' owners due to the name plates and contents. Finally he came to the end of the hall. On one side was an open door labeled, Rahne Sinclair and X-23. That was possibly the least decorated room as neither of the two young girls had seen the need to change much. The carpet was mossy green and the walls were a pale off white. There was a bed on either side of the room. One had 101 Dalmatians bedding and the other had a simple blue comforter pristinely tucked in. Other than a few tennis balls and chew toys littering the floor, the room was fairly tidy. A well stocked bookshelf per girl and two simple dressers finished the look nicely. But that was not the room the Cajun needed.

Remy turned and low and behold the door behind him was labeled: Wanda Maximoff, Katherine Pryde & Rogue. He knocked assertively.

"It ain' locked!" Rogue's voice called from within. He looked slightly shocked but he opened the door and entered. On the bed closest to the window, Rogue sat reading a thick book. She didn't look up to greet her visitor.

"Can Ah help ya?"

"Y' okay?"

She jolted upright. "Swamp Rat! What are you doin' here?" She glowered at the page in her book.

"Remy just wanted t' talk t' une jolie femme." He smiled.

"Well tell Remy he can just jump off a bridge. Can ya do that sugah?" She said in an acidly oversweet tone.

"What Remy do?" He asked bewildered.

"Firsta all, Remy got involved in Boom Boom's stupid prank." She slammed her book shut and glared. "Second of all Remy barged int' the girls' dormitories. And third of all, Remy is speakin' in third person an' downright drivin' meh insane!"

"'M sorry." He bowed his head. She stopped mid rant.

"What'd ya just say?"

"'M sorry, Chère. Didn' know y' di'n' like dat."

She blinked and looked at him in wonder. "Why were ya an' Tabitha tryin' ta prank meh? Is it funny? Lets feed the untouchable lies and then make 'er feel worse bout herself?"

"It wasn' a prank." Remy looked wounded. "Remy meant every word he said...Remy don' know why but Remy nuts bout y'." He sighed. "Dere be su'tin bout ya Rogue. Don' know what exactly...but it dere. Remy wanna know y' mo'. Remy wanna make sho' y' happy, an' be dere fo' y'." He took a deep breath and continued. "Remy wants t' be in yo' life. Remy wants t' date y', Chère."

"What!"

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So yea this chap's ended. Next up is BID but it may take a while. So if you need something to sustain you go check out the story I am cowriting with Howlerdrode. Its in his account and its called End of the World. It is a tie in and sister story to BID though you don't necessarily need BID for it, I highly recommend it.

Now for those of you who don't know, my story 24 hours is begining to come to a close. My next project will be a parody. For your choices there are many lovely options. Most notably there is

Anastasia

Sweet Home Alabama

Beauty and the Beast

Aladdin

Grease

for a completer list see the reference in 24 Hours. Send in your vote. I'll do what you wanna read. So far Anastasia is in the lead with three votes and Sweet Home Alabama with two. Let me know this is a democracy (for now anyway...)

CNLOGAN- Hm, sorry didn't catch your review in time but I'll consider taking the idea and modifying it for a little later. Thanks for reviewing!

xmengirlzrule- I fully agree with you but its necessary for the something that I shall be including in the story. Don't worry, the three goons will get theirs eventually. Hm, as for the romancy stuffs only time will tell. wink Thanks for reviewing.

ishandahalf- Yes continue I did and continue I shall. I just figured that it would be something Kitty would say. Sorry this wasn't so fast, but how fast do these bunnies of yours go anyway? Thanks for reviewing.

Allimba- LOL glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing.

Chica De Los Ojos Cafe- Glad you like it, thanks for the review.

Katatonia- Yeah its one of my odder little quirks but oh well. I'm glad you like it, thanks for the review.

Sweety8587- Sorry can't cite the quote. I have heard it though, and I fully agree. And I've been needing to quench my Tabbietro thirst as of late but not many people are writing it now. More and more do stuff with Crystal or X-23 and granted I like the latter of those too, Tabbietro's great too. Thanks for reviewing.

Violet Aura- Glad you like it; I love writing it. Thanks for reviewing.

DemonicGambit- Uh hehehe...Would you not like the story anymore if I told you that you essentially just outlined my plottish thing for this story? You'd be surprised at how many people are seeming to be all for the violent kill Pietro approach. I don't think that Wolvie has a Pietro gutting on his agenda at the moment but Pietro may push his luck later on. Thanks for reviewing.

Black Cat of the Black Rose-Uh sure...Glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing.

Howlerdrode- You are right. Amazing how many people agree on that one. The terrible trio will get what's due them and their behavior will be rationalized at a later point and time. Thanks for the review.

roguewannabe29- Oh don't cry, here's the update. Glad ya like it, hope you enjoyed this chapter, thanki much for the review.

Furry Elf- Um sure...ok...thank you for reviewing.

A Cute But Psycho Bunny- Ok here's your update. Glad ya like it so much. You update your stuff now, kay? LOL Thanks for reviewing.

Neige- I'm glad you liked it so much. Nah I don't think desiring a happy ending is so wrong or abnormal. I personally like em. Thanki much for reviewing.

Snickerdoodle- Glad ya like it. Yea I'm trying to improve with experience. I daresay I make a lot less rookie errors now and I hope to continue to improve. Thank you for reviewing.

elmo the cajun puppet- Glad ya like it thanks for reviewing.

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