Remy paced his new room. Jean had given him the tour, then dropped him off, reminding him that dinner was at six o'clock. It was a nice enough room. Light and spacious, with a view overlooking the hills in the distance. He tested the window – unlocked, and as far as he could tell, no alarm system on it. He wondered idly if Xavier trusted the kids that much, or if the security on the grounds was enough to keep intruders out…and the students in. Probably the latter, he decided. Besides, the man's telepathic abilities undoubtedly helped him keep track of his charges.
Didn't do such a good job with Rogue, though. He was curious about that. If the professor was as concerned about the girl as he claimed, why wasn't he keeping a closer eye on her?
Rogue was in the Med Room, he knew. He thought he'd go see her after dinner, give her a little time to re-acclimate herself. Maybe bring her some dessert. In the meantime, he'd wander the mansion again. He knew he wouldn't feel comfortable until he had the layout down – ins and outs and shortcuts.
He headed out into the hallway, surprised to see that the room next to his belonged to the little blue guy. "Hey, homme," he called, smiling inwardly at the barely-concealed scowl. "Nightcrawler, right?"
"Right. Did you want something?"
"Jus' bein friendly." He leaned casually against the door.
"Yeah. You're a really friendly guy," Kurt muttered.
"You pretty good friends with de Rogue, non?"
"Why?" Kurt turned to face him reluctantly.
"Curious. You were real worried about her when you came bustin' in today – didn' go for me, jus' headed straight for her. Got a crush on her, mebbe?"
Kurt scoffed. "Hardly. She's my sister."
Remy's eyebrows lifted. "No offense, homme, but I don' 'zactly see de family resemblance."
"Adopted sister," Kurt amended through gritted teeth.
"Well, den. Dat's fine."
"So glad I have your approval." Kurt moved to open his door, then turned back to face Remy. "What are you still doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be off doing some errand for Magneto?"
Remy bristled. "Don' you people get de idea of freelance work? Magneto hired me for a job. De job done. Magneto and me – done. Dieu!"
"Oh, so that whole trying to kill us thing – that's all over?"
He shrugged. "Dat was business. And de Acolytes weren't tryin' to kill y'all. We were jus' makin' a point."
"And now?"
"Now I'm here."
Kurt's yellow eyes widened in horror. "Are you kidding? Why?"
"Because your professor asked me to stay a little while."
"What? If this is a joke, it's not funny."
"No joke. De professor t'inks Rogue and I could be friends. And he t'inks de fille need a friend. He's right, too. So I'm stayin', little blue man. Might as well get used to it." He smirked and headed towards the stairs as Kurt stomped into his room and slammed the door.
Remy had just gotten down the stairs when an ominous "snick" warned him that Wolverine was around.
"Charles said you're stayin'." He stalked across the foyer and came to a stop just a few menacing steps away from the Cajun.
"Yep. I decided t' take advantage of de Professor's offer."
"That better be the only thing you're taking advantage of." Wolverine crossed his arms and the light gleamed on his claws.
"Are you implyin' somet'in'?" Remy mocked.
"I'm not big on implying, Cajun. I'm telling. You hurt that girl, you'll be answerin' to me. And you won't be answerin' for long."
"Did it look like I was hurtin' de femme when y'all stopped by dis mornin'?"
Wolverine barely stopped himself from carving Gambit a new smile. "Listen, Gumbo. She's a kid. And she's had a hell of a time lately, so watch yourself around her. And I'll be watching you."
"Hey, I know de Rogue's had it tough. But she ain't a kid. Maybe dat's part o' de problem."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Briefly, Logan considered taking a top-to-bottom swipe of the cocky little bastard.
"Have you looked at dat fille? She really look like a kid to you? Non, homme. Nobody could go through everything she has and come out of it a kid. An' if you keep treatin' her like one, she's gonna think you don't trust her or respect her. So who's hurtin' her now?"
Icy fury engulfed Wolverine. "Go to hell. You don't know Rogue, or us. Chuck might be willing to give you a clean slate, but it's a different story with me. I don't like you. I don't trust you. And if I think for a second that you might be hurting Rogue…" he paused, and skewered the deck of cards Remy had been toying with. "…I will cut you into fifty-two pieces and play poker with the parts."
The man was serious, Remy knew. Hell, he'd probably have a beer and a cigar while he dealt out various organs. But Remy LeBeau had been born bluffing. He smiled nonchalantly and shrugged. "Glad we're clear on dat," he said, and forced himself to saunter past Wolverine to a hallway he was pretty certain led to the kitchen. "By the way," he shot over his shoulder. "If you're that worried about Rogue, mebbe you should be spendin' your time lookin' for whoever tried to snatch her last night. They don't seem like the type who're gonna give up. And I guarantee they don't play nice." And with that, he went to find himself a sandwich, leaving a fuming Logan alone.
He stalked to the elevator that would take him to the Danger Room. He had a feeling his sims tonight would be featuring Gambit, and he intended to be very thorough.
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Remy settled into the kitchen chair with a sigh. He had put together a sandwich out of the well-stocked fridge, scavenged a bag of chips and a cup of lukewarm coffee. "What a day," he murmured, shaking his head. Hearing a noise just outside the door, he straightened, bracing himself for another confrontation.
Then he relaxed as Kitty peeked her head around the doorframe. "Hey," she said tentatively. "Mind if I come in?"
"I'd mind if you didn't, chere." He sent her his best smile.
Kitty blushed prettily. "Thanks. I'm Kitty, by the way. Shadowcat." She got a can of Diet Coke and sat down opposite him. "So, are you settling in okay?"
He grimaced. "Oh, yeah. Dey rolled out de red carpet for me."
"I overheard you and Mr. Logan. I wasn't eavesdropping, really. I was taking a shortcut, and you guys were a little loud."
Unless Remy was mistaken, and he wasn't often mistaken about women, the little sprite was quite the source of gossip around the Institute. Her take on all of this should be interesting.
"He ain't real happy I'm stayin' around."
"Well, no, probably not. He's a little protective of Rogue."
"Really? Hadn't noticed," he said dryly. "And how does de Rogue feel about that?"
Kitty pondered this for a moment. "I think she's okay with it. I mean, it shows he cares, right? He gets mad at her in training sessions cause he thinks she gets reckless."
"Well, if she's screwin' up de job, makes sense. Seems a little like callin' de kettle black, but still makes sense."
"She doesn't ruin the mission," Kitty said. "Most of the time, it turns out even better than we planned."
"So den, why he so mad?"
"Because he doesn't want her to get hurt. But you can see that he's underneath the mad, he's really proud of her, 'cause it's what he would've done."
Remy considered this as he took a bite of sandwich. "And de blue boy?"
"Oh, Kurt?"
"Yeah. He didn't seem thrilled to meet his new neighbor."
"He'll be fine. He was just worried. He knows you helped Rogue out, and that'll go a long way with him. I think he was just shocked to see you and Rogue…um…" She became fascinated with the tab on her can of pop.
"Lookin' friendly?"
She smiled gratefully. "That's a nice way to put it. So are you two…friendly?"
He studied her for a moment, uncertain how to answer. Then, evading the question completely, "You used t go out with de earthquake guy," he said.
Her face fell. "Lance. Avalanche. We didn't really work out," she said softly.
"Hey, chere." He reached over and tilted her face up to meet his eyes. "Dat's his loss. All dat rock-shakin' must have scrambled his brain if he wasn't doin' right by you."
"You're sweet," she said. "Even if Mr. Logan thinks you're trouble." Her eyes widened at her gaffe.
Wolverine was more on-target than he knew, Remy thought bitterly. But that wasn't Kitty's fault. "'S'okay, chere. You not tellin' me anything I don' already know." But she could, he realized. "So if Wolverine is her guard dog, and Nightcrawler is her brother, who's de Rogue's boyfriend?" He turned his smile on her full force.
"She doesn't have one. She liked Scott for a while, but you can't tell her I told you." She was silent for a minute. "I don't know. She's always been a loner, even before everything that's happened lately. And the whole no-touching rule kind of takes the fun out of things."
He waggled his eyebrows at her. "Not all de fun," he said, and laughed as she choked on her drink.
"You're terrible!" she scolded him, but couldn't suppress a grin.
"You jus' said I was sweet!"
Her dimples flashed. "Maybe you're both. Are you interested in Rogue?"
"You certainly ain't shy, Kitty-cat."
"Nobody ever tells you anything if you don't ask," she pointed out.
"Sure they do. You jus' gotta listen right."
"Well, I'm listening, but I don't hear you answering my question."
Remy shifted uncomfortably. "She's interesting," he said finally.
"That means yes."
"I din't say dat," he protested.
"Sure you did." She mimicked him, "I was listening. How come you call yourself Gambit?"
"'Cause life's a gamble."
"What's your real name?"
He didn't answer for a minute. "Remy. Remy LeBeau. Not a lotta people use dat name." Rogue did, he mused. It sounded warm and soft when she said it, like rain at dusk, like whisky by a fire, like home.
"Should I just call you Gambit, then?" she asked timidly.
"Non. Remy's fine. Jus' not used to it, dat's all."
Kitty finished her pop. "I'm glad you're staying," she said. "You'll be good for Rogue."
"T'anks," he said quietly. "I hope so."
"Of course," she added sweetly, "if you do anything to hurt her, I'll sit on you and hold you down while Mr. Logan carves you into little bits." He wasn't sure she was kidding.
"Not my intention, chere. But t'anks for de warnin."
"You're welcome." She flashed him another grin and left.
He sighed and finished his sandwich, chewing thoughtfully.
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Some time later, he wandered towards the Med Room. He had unearthed a tin of really excellent chocolate-chocolate chip cookies. Rogue struck him as the type with a hidden sweet tooth. As he entered the lab, the furry blue doctor glanced up, his face breaking into a fearsome smile.
"Mr. LeBeau! I was hoping you might visit. I just wanted to add my thanks to that of the others. It was quite fortuitous that you happened upon Rogue in her time of need. I'm Hank McCoy, by the way."
"Nice t'meet you. Can I see her?" He gestured towards the exam room with the cookie.
"Oh, do you like them? I've found the key is the quality of cocoa powder one uses."
Remy blinked. "You made dem?"
Hank shrugged. "Baking is just edible chemistry," he said modestly. "As for Rogue, she's sleeping. Apparently, the drugs she was given are more potent than we had thought. The whole thing is quite confounding."
"What do you mean?"
"Due to her mutation, Rogue often has trouble sleeping. Her nightmares – the memories of the people she has absorbed – make it difficult for her."
"I've noticed."
"Well, then, take a look for yourself." He pushed a button on a keypad, and the opaque glass instantly turned clear, affording the two men a view of Rogue. She was asleep, and though her hands scrabbled lightly on the blankets, there were none of the night terrors Remy had seen in New York. "As I said, unusual." Hank spoke in a low voice, as if he feared he would waken the girl.
"How come de Professor ain't helpin' her?"
"He's tried. But he has been unable to put up mental blocks in her mind himself, and by the end of the day, Rogue's own ability to block the personalities is severely taxed. The Professor believes that the nightmares are another way for Rogue to integrate the personalities without letting them take over completely."
"So she has to sort out all de other people in her head before she can sleep?"
"Not exactly, but close enough. We hope that with training, she will be able to completely seal them off without the unfortunate side effects – the headaches, the dreams, and so on."
Remy shook his head. No wonder she was so tightly wound. "So why she sleepin' okay now?"
The doctor was silent, studying the girl through the glass. "Theories, nothing more." He turned to Remy. "I don't suppose you have any ideas?"
"Not really," he said off-handedly. "Can I leave this in there for her? I promise I won't wake de fille."
"Go ahead. It's a good choice," he added, motioning towards the cookie. "Those are her favorite." He returned his worktable as Remy entered the exam room without a sound.
He set the cookie on the side table and watched her for a moment. The plain white cotton blanket had slipped to her waist, and he gently tugged it back over her. She turned and curled into a ball, burrowing her face in the pillow, but didn't wake. The chain of her necklace gleamed dully, and he imagined the pendant lying warm against her heart. Almost without thinking, he selected a card and placed it next to the cookie, leaving as silently as he came.
A/N
So, here's part two, and in the spirit of duos, I have bad news and good news. The bad news is that the Floridian Nightmare Vacation (henceforth known as FNV) begins soon, and I doubt I'll be able to update again before we leave. The good news is that since I'll be trapped there for over a week (I'm an ungrateful wretch, I know), I should have plenty of time to get some writing done.
AthenaAlpha – Since this is my first fic, I don't know if I'll do other pairings. I've read several Rogue/Logan (Rogan?) fics that I've enjoyed, but I'm not sure I have the knack for it. I think that Remy and Rogue have enough issues between them that they can go for quite some time before everything is resolved to my exacting specifications. I'm enjoying your pieces, though. Huh. I should probably put that in your review section, shouldn't I? I'll try to do that once I get this typed up.
Ishandahalf – The lad is a puzzle, isn't he? I haven't met many boys who aren't. That's one of the things I like best about them, to tell the truth. I'm not sure he knows exactly what his feelings are, or if he's comfortable with them. And when you say the Prof is sneaky and conniving, you mean in a good way, right?
RajinCajun, DemonRogue13, Lid'l Rogue, Delirioushatter, chichi5, Jukebox, Snow Queen2 – Glad you're enjoying it, and thanks for the warm words – it's so gratifying to get positive reviews. I'd like to update more often, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and what with the tweaking and the research and making sure there's some degree of continuity, I figure once- to twice-a-week is about the best I can do and still respect myself in the morning.
GambitsRogue – Yeah, Logan's been kind of mean. Did you see Ghost of A Chance – where he went off on Rogue for leaving her partner (Kitty)? I thought he was being a little harsh, and started kicking around in my head exactly why that would be, and in a really, really roundabout way, you end up with this story.
RogueChere – Yes, he's staying to be her "friend." And I'm sure his interest in her well-being is strictly platonic and altruistic, don't you think? As if. But yeah, he's staying. I'm struggling with the employer – I don't really want to do an OC, but the alternative is an alliance I'm not sure I can pull off. Then again, I'm even less confident in my ability to inject an OC into such a well-established group of characters. As for the short chapters, I agree. I just can't figure out a way to gracefully combine chapters when the POV and timing is so different.
PantherNesmith, Yumiko, Ray1 – Thanks. I figure you don't get the mansion and the fancy wheelchair and your own team of superheroes to boss around if you can't make people dance like puppets every once in a while.
GothicCajun – Thanks, but don't cry. I'll feel guilty. And have I got a guilt complex already!
AngieX – No! No evil (or mean) Professor, I promise! I think he's worried about Rogue, and he's seen (or heard from the others) that there's some kind of connection between her and Remy. He's desperate enough to bring Remy in to help draw Rogue out. At the same time, he needs to make sure that the cure isn't worse than the disease, so to speak; he needs to be certain that Remy won't intentionally hurt her. Since he can't really read Remy's mind, Xavier has to maneuver him into showing that Remy doesn't view Rogue as just a business transaction. Once Remy says he won't take the money, Xavier knows that Remy can, at least in this area, be trusted. Ultimately, he's trying to do what's best for Rogue -- he's just not above manipulating people to accomplish that goal.
Flamekiller -- Thanks. Despite the slow updating, I'm actually writing as fast as my fingers will go. It's just that I'm so far ahead of what's posted, and it's such boggy ground, that I'm trying to be careful about not painting myself into a corner plot-wise. I'm also hampered by not knowing that much about the comicverse backgrounds of a lot of the characters, so I spend a fair amount of time researching, then deciding what to keep and what to ignore.