A/N: This short fic falls into the same universe as Chapter 1, with Rogue and Remy's cute baby girl, Ava.


It's nice when family and friends give gifts to your little one... isn't it?


CHAPTER 2

Gifts

"It's open, Kit!"

Katherine Pryde slid the reusable bag full of groceries from one arm to the other. She opened the door of the penthouse apartment and was immediately greeted with the delicious aroma of meat and spices cooking. She headed straight for the living room and deposited the bag at the unoccupied end of the couch.

"I told you I'd cover the snacks for movie day." She removed her jacket and draped it over the back of the seat. "Why's Remy cooking?"

"Ah told him as much," came Rogue's response from her spot on the other end of the couch. An oversized bowl of popcorn rested in her lap, which she wordlessly offered to the new arrival. "It'd be a miracle if that man ever listens ta me, let me tell ya."

Scooping up a fistful of buttered kernels, Kitty made her way around the sectional and sat down. "So, where's my godbaby? I got something for her. I saw the cutest little t-shirt in a store last week, and I couldn't help myself." She reached over and removed a plastic bag from the package she had brought with her. Inside was a light gray shirt with violet sleeves and the words 'If I'm QUIET you better come find me…' printed in rainbow colors across the front.

Rogue broke into a smile and accepted the tiny tee, running her fingers over the design. "That's so adorable."

"I just thought it was kind of perfect, since Ava is Gambit's kid. Thief and all… you know…"

"An' more accurate than you'd think," laughed Rogue, setting the garment aside. "She's gettin' inta more an' more mischief, ever since she started crawlin' around." She gestured toward the hallway and the bedrooms beyond. "Th' li'l princess is nappin' now. Hopefully, she'll be sleepin' fo' th' next couple o' hours."

Kitty noticed the movie already playing on the television, and asked, "What're we watching? And why do you have the volume down so low? I can barely hear anything."

Before her hostess could reply, the creak of the balcony doors opening drew their attention, and they saw Gambit enter the apartment. A cellphone was pressed to his ear as he spoke rapidly in French and gestured wildly with his free hand, indifferent to the fact that the person he was speaking to couldn't see the motion. The tone he was using was fairly loud and seemed to be getting increasingly irate with each passing moment. He spotted Kitty and greeted her with a curt nod, before continuing on to the kitchen.

Instead of inquiring, Kitty merely turned to her friend and cocked a silent eyebrow.

"He's talkin' ta his daddy," Rogue explained simply. "Jean-Luc got a gift fo' Ava that Remy didn' think was appropriate."

"Why, what'd he get her?"

Rogue gestured to a piece of paper on the coffee table in front of them. Kitty reached for it and saw that it was a photo printout of a one-story, Acadian-style house, with a gabled roof and a covered front porch. There were two keys on a metal ring taped to the paper. Near the bottom of the page, the words 'For Ava' were written neatly in black ink. Kitty whistled low, admiring the house. "Pretty swanky digs for a baby who just turned six months old."

"That's what th' swamp rat said."

Kitty tilted her head thoughtfully, studying the picture. "But then again, considering Ava is Jean-Luc's first grandchild, maybe he's just excited to be a grandpa…? Most grandparents spoil their grandkids, right?"

"Don' let Remy hear ya say that," Rogue warned. "You'll prob'ly be th' next target once he gets off that phone."

"How long has he been on that call?"

Rogue craned her neck to check the wall clock hanging in the kitchen. "Ah'd say 'bout thirty minutes or so…"

A resounding bang came from Remy's general vicinity, and was immediately followed by a string of fast-paced, vehement words in his native dialect.

Puffing out a rather annoyed sigh, Rogue shoved several kernels into her mouth. "It'll be a miracle if Ava stays nappin' through all o' her daddy's racket."

Kitty nodded in agreement. "Do you know what he's saying? You understand French, don't you?"

Rogue paused to focus on the heated words pouring out of the kitchen. "He doesn't wanna accept th' house an' will be sendin' th' keys down ta Jean-Luc first thing in th' mornin'." She turned back to the television screen and once again dug into the popcorn bowl. "Either that or he's tellin' his daddy he's got an ass fo' a son — who really knows at this point?"

Grabbing the nearest throw pillow, Kitty hurled it at her teammate. "How can you live with him for this long and not know any French?"

"Oh, so yoah fluent in Russian all o' a sudden now, is that it?" Rogue challenged, snickering at the evasive look on the younger woman's face. "Ah didn' think so. Maybe we should ask Piotr ta give you a few private lessons."

In an attempt to avoid the topic of her own love life, Kitty dropped her gaze back to the photo in her hands. "Isn't it kind of useless to send a set of keys all the way up here? Couldn't Gambit just pick the lock on the door of the house? I mean, that is if he even lets Ava keep it."

The southerner shrugged her shoulders. "You got me, Kit. Prob'ly some kind o' guild symbolism, or tradition, or somethin' or th' other. Ah lost count o' how many o' those they got after th' first three hundred or so."

"Well, if Ava doesn't want the house, I'll take it," Kitty declared, returning the photo back to its place on the coffee table. She pulled a bag of chips from the snack supply behind her. After opening the package, she began popping two at a time into her mouth. "Heaven knows I could use a nice vacation spot to chill out and relax in."

Another loud crash echoed from the kitchen. Along with it came the distinct smell of food burning. It was obvious that Remy was no longer curbing his temper. The fiery tirade spewing from his mouth was rapid and intense. Rogue doubted that Jean-Luc's temperament on the other end of the conversation was any prettier.

An expression of concern quickly appeared on Kitty's face. She jabbed her thumb toward the noisy clanging sounds. "Do you think he's all right? Should we do anything to help calm him down?"

"Nah," Rogue replied, shaking her head. "Th' boy needs ta vent all that emotion out. Clean it outta his system." She offered Kitty some more popcorn, and in return swiped a handful of potato chips. "Besides, it sounds like he's on his fifth curse word already. He usually tapers off around the ninth or tenth."

Kitty raised another eyebrow in speculation. "I thought you said you didn't know any French."

"Ah don't," Rogue confirmed. More banging and rattling reached their ears. "Not unless you count all th' swear words. It's more fun ta learn how ta cuss a person out first, before you learn all th' other stuff."

Kitty laughed. "I can't argue with you there."

Both women fell quiet as they munched on their snacks and watched image after image flash across the muted TV screen.

After a few more minutes of silence, Kitty proposed, "How about if I teach you some Russian curse words and you teach me the French ones?"

Rogue smiled slyly at her. "Deal."