Gambit sat in the back passenger seat of the smaller X-Plane with his head in one hand, looking out the window as he absentmindedly traced small circles on its surface. This new mode of transport was an ingenious little project that the Professor and Hank had just finished tinkering with and that fit in perfectly for missions needing only one or two X-Men. It didn't fly quite as fast as the X-Jet, however, so it had left Remy lots of time to think. Which, for him, was almost always a very dangerous thing.
"We're approaching the coordinates you gave me, Gambit," the Professor's voice interrupted over the intercom. "We will be landing in just a few minutes."
"Will do, Professor," Gambit replied, then leaned back him his seat, his hands crossed behind his head. He still couldn't believe he was going back home, and with the Professor at that. If someone had told him a year ago he'd be riding around with Professor Xavier as his newest X-Man, he would have thought they'd lost their mind.
But his adventure rescuing his father with Rogue had changed him more than he had cared to admit at the time. Rogue and the rest of the X-Men who had come to help her had stayed in his thoughts long after they had gone back home. He'd never really felt he'd had anyone he could depend on to watch out for him, anyone who was really like a family. Rogue had that with the X-Men. What would it be like to be surrounded by people who actually cared about what happened to you? It was a possibility that intrigued even him, and he was the most cynical person he knew.
Meanwhile, whether it was out of thankfulness for saving his life or of guilt for years of questionable parenting skills, Jean-Luc had seemed to be trying his best to make up for his past behavior towards Remy, and instead of verbally bludgeoning him with demands that he stay and help the Thieves' Guild, he'd actually asked what Remy himself wanted to do. At first, reflexively, Remy hadn't trusted the man farther than he could throw him, but after months of this new behavior, Jean-Luc seemed so insistently sincere that Remy had finally had gone against his better judgment and entrusted his true thoughts to his father – that he'd been thinking for awhile about joining up to help the X-Men, but he didn't see how they would possibly accept him. He had spent long evenings talking about them with his adopted father, who had eventually convinced him to give it a try, and had shown up the last evening before Remy was to leave with the mysterious coin he had eventually brought to the Professor.
"Thought this might help you boy," Jean-Luc had said as he had tossed the coin to Remy.
Gambit had examined it closely. "Where'd you get this?"
Jean-Luc had chuckled. "Did you think when I told ya I knew everyone in New Orleans dat I was lyin'? After you told me about dis particular bad guy, I started checking around. Dis turned up and I t'ought it might help you and your new friends stay safer, non?"
Gambit had kept a veneer of detached composure on his face, but inside he had been stunned by the gesture. Jean-Luc, trying to help the X-Men, the same team he was losing Gambit to? The old sayings are true, facing death must really make men like Jean-Luc come around, Remy had decided.
"'Member boy, information is more valuable dan gold," Jean-Luc said as he patted the doorway in Remy's room. "I'll let you finish packin'."
Remy was jostled out of his recollections by the sound of the X-Jet's engines powering off. They'd already landed.
He took a deep breath. Ready or not, here we go, mon ami.
The Professor and Gambit were slowly lowered to the ground through hatches under their seats, and as Gambit sat up and took a step onto the soggy ground, he took a good long look at their current surroundings. They were in a clearing in the deepest part of the swamp, and a dirt path twisted through the trees, leading to his adopted home. He sighed. As much as things had seemed to change in his opinion of his adopted father, Gambit would much rather have met Jean-Luc in a more public place, like the French Quarter, but the Professor had insisted they drop by informally, so as not to put Remy's adopted father on his guard.
"Such isolation," Charles noted as he glided up next to Gambit. "It must have been very lonely for you growing up in a place like this."
Gambit shrugged. "Not much of a choice in the matter -- then again, there wasn't much choice with a lot of things when it came to Jean-Luc." Gambit walked up to one of the larger trees directly off of the dirt path and peered into its trunk, which hid a cleverly-concealed optic scanner.
The sound of a gate rolling away echoed through the clearing.
"Now he knows for sure we are coming," Gambit said. "Are you sure about this, Professor?"
"We will be fine," the Professor assured him. "Let's go, shall we?"
"Rogue, PLEASE," Kitty whined. "You have to tell me!! Where did you get that dress?"
Rogue clutched her book bag and shook her head. "Forget it, I ain't telling you, Kitty." She rolled her eyes for what felt like the umpteenth time today and took a deep breath. It was going to be a very, VERY long walk home from school.
Kitty sighed theatrically and picked up her pace to keep up with Rogue. "Well, I know you didn't get it at the mall with me, and I don't think even Ebay ships stuff to people THAT fast." Her eyes widened. "Ooooh!! It was a present from someone, wasn't it?"
Rogue tried desperately to keep the crimson color from rising on her face, but it was too late. Kitty's embarrassment radar was just too well-honed.
"Oooh! I'm SO right!! Did Sam give it to you?"
"Kitty, you're givin' me a migraine."
"Hmm," Kitty said as she jumped in front of Rogue and started running backwards to match her pace, her eyes never leaving Rogue's face. "I don't think Sam's that spontaneous. Wait." Rogue saw the wheels turning in Kitty's head and feared the worst.
"I saw Gambit with a box this morning that looked a lot like the box your dress was in and OHMYGODGAMBITGAVEYOUTHATDRESS!!" Kitty squealed so loudly Rogue almost dropped her book bag to cover her ears and try to save what was left of her eardrums.
"Ohmigod Ohmigod!! This is SOOOOOOO romantic," Kitty swooned as she turned to walk next to Rogue. "I wish I had two boys completely in love with ME at the same time."
Rogue took another deep breath to help steel her patience and stopped. "Kitty, no one is in love with me. Sam only asked me 'cause he felt bad for me not going to my own Senior Prom, and Gambit was just trying to say thank you to me for speaking up for him with Logan and Scott in his own weird way. So now that I've introduced you to my good friend reality, can we PLEASE stop talking about this now?"
"I wish a cute boy would give ME a beautiful dress," Kitty whispered to herself, a dreamy look on her face.
What I wouldn't give to have Kurt's powers right now, Rogue sighed to herself.
A minute or so after walking through the gates, Gambit and the Professor were met at the bottom of a circular driveway by two armed guards. "Ah Remy, you back already?" one of them cackled. "They kick you out no?"
"We're here to talk to Jean-Luc, Pierre," Gambit replied testily. "Then we are going."
"So soon?" a familiar voice called from the doorway of the house in front of them. Gambit and the Professor looked around in dread as a dozen more armed guards encircled them. "I'd be a poor host if I let ya leave without even tryin' my famous jambalaya, Mon Professeur."