Chapter 2:
There was a knock on Tony's office door. His young assistant Aldo Malvagio stood at the door, clutching a clipboard to his chest.
"Mr. Stark, there's someone waiting for you in the living room."
"Who is it, Aldo? And you know you can call me 'Tony'..."
"Yes, sir. He says his name is 'Gambit.'"
"Bring him down here, Aldo, it's rude to make people wait."
"No need," came a voice from behind Aldo. Remy leaned casually on the stairway rail. He was a tall drink of water, Tony could admit, and looked like he could crush his young assistant in the palm of his hand. Actually, Tony mused silently, Remy could obliterate the slight man without even touching him. "When are you going to get ready for tonight? You're not going to dinner in those grungy, grease-streaked, sweaty jeans, are you?"
"Hey. I work these babies. If I wanted to, I could get Kathleen in the sack wearing these dirty jeans, a plaid lumberjack shirt, and a Carmen Miranda fruit hat."
"I don't doubt that, Tony, but I thought this was going to be a business dinner," Remy said. "Do you have any cologne? I accidentally charged mine."
"You haven't accidentally blown something up since you proposed to Marie," Tony noted, tossing the cologne in Remy's direction. "And why are you picking on me about looking presentable? Mr. Scruffy. At least I'm clean-shaven."
Aldo had scurried away before Tony could get him to do his bowtie. He'd just have to go without one. It wasn't like he couldn't tie a bowtie himself. But he knew that Aldo could tie a mean bowtie. It was one of the reasons he hired the skittish guy.
Ever since Pepper Potts had left him, eloping with the chauffeur Happy of all people, he made a point of becoming self-capable. He realized that he didn't like needing someone to take care of him. When Pepper left, he learned how to do everything. He learned his social security number, he made an automatic, timed espresso machine, and he learned to become self-sufficient.
Tony didn't need a woman. Miss Kathleen was just going to be a fleeting moment in a guy's life.
"In case you didn't realize yet, I've called dibs on Kathleen. You get the scary looking torture expert."
"Don't paint her in a bad light. She only tortures terrorrists."
"You're already defending your woman? Remy. I'm delighted by this development."
Instead of answering with words, Remy chucked the glass bottle of cologne back at him. At that point, Tony knew him too well for arguing to do him any good.
They hadn't always been friends. When Tony first saw Remy, he saw a scoundrel. He didn't like the fact that with just a wink, Remy could blow up anything he wanted, including a human body. Learning Remy's past as a member of a thief gang didn't help his case.
But even after Remy decided to divorce his wife of seven years, Tony stood by him. Remy was a guy's guy, and Tony understood that Marie had her crazy, temperamental moments. In fact, Marie's power was only a tiny bit more dangerous than Remy's when it came to physical contact with another human, yet Remy controlled it a lot better. Tony had witnessed Remy struggle with controlling his kinetic energy countless times. He'd even had to stop him from charging a few prostitutes that accosted them as they drove through the streets of downtown Los Angeles.
On the surface, Remy LeBeau looked like a cold, greedy thief with no morals. Tony was one of only a handful of people who knew that his friend had a streak of duty in him that ran deeper than any of his other admirable qualities, such as his politeness, his compassion, and his courage. The original Iron Man hated to admit it, but Remy LeBeau, the scoundrel mutant from Louisiana, was a very good influence on him.
Aldo poked his head into the room.
"Mr. Stark, the car is ready."
"Alright, thank you, Aldo," Tony thanked the young man, who flushed with happiness. Tony turned to Remy and held his arms out to his sides. "How do I look?"
"Like you normally do."
"Excellent."
"This is a nice looking neighborhood," Tony remarked as they drove towards Eli's house. "Your girlfriend has class."
Remy just turned his glowing eyes in his friend's direction in warning. The glass of champagne in Tony's hand began to shake with energy.
"You need to get a handle on that," Tony remarked.
The shaking stopped.
"Pull over right here," Tony said to the driver. The two ladies were standing outside the door that led to Eli's house. Kathleen wasn't shivering as obviously as her smaller companion was, but both of their breaths came out in very visible clouds.
"Wow, Kathleen," Tony said as he stopped out of the car. She looked amazing--he was working hard to keep from wolf-whistling.
But Eli looked just as good, and Tony dearly wanted to know how Remy would react. Remy was expecting a mousy, solemn university professor. The difference between the intimidating from before and the attractive of now only made her look better.
What happened next was better than Tony could have imagined. Remy stepped out into the cold to greet his date. He had his hands in his pockets, partly from gruffness and partly from the cold. Almost immediately the sides of Remy's jacket burst.
"Do I excite you, Mr. LeBeau?" Eli asked. Her eyes were shining wickedly.
"You...you clean up well," he said. The remains of his cellphone and bits of a joker card littered the ground around his feet.
"I've got an extra jacket in the limo for this such occasion. I got your back," Tony offered. He held out a hand to Kathleen. "Ladies? It's cold, and as my assistant has just texted me, the restaurant hostess is expecting us."
The restaurant was not just a restaurant, as it turned out, but the restaurant night club combination that Tony had bought years ago. It was extremely exclusive--it even had a bouncer that greeted them warmly when he saw Mr. Stark approaching.
"Good evening, Mr. Stark," the tall gruff man said. He nodded to the lady on his arm and his friend and corresponding date.
"Hello, Roger," Tony greeted in reply. "This is my friend Remy, Eli, and this is Kathleen."
"Good evening, ladies, gentleman."
Every person greeted them kindly because they were with the charismatic and wealthy Mr. Stark. Most of the female patrons of the restaurant showed obvious signs of distress at seeing the tall brunette close at his side with her hand linked around his elbow. The stares didn't stop when he pulled her chair out for her and helped her sit, placing his hand possessively on the small of her back.
By the time they had ordered their food, the whole restaurant had become aware of Tony's presence. People were stopping at their table to express gratitude to the original Iron Man for all he had done for the United States. Tony had never made his superhero identity a secret--his alter ego was by no means "mild mannered" as the secret identity stereotype went. Over time, with the gradual increase of Iron Men soldiers, Tony's Iron Man became the last resort in times of crisis, giving him time to live a relaxing life of retirement where he could occupy himself with other enterprises besides saving the world. He was grateful, but never lost his flamboyance. People still knew who he was.
"A toast to new colleagues," Tony said, lifting his glass. "Remy, you are an excellent addition to the Stark University faculty."
"Thanks, Tony," Remy replied.
"A new explosives expert on campus. Oh, this is going to be exciting," Kathleen remarked. "I bet you could blow those pencil pushing scientists in the bomb lab out of the water."
"Oh, Kathleen, he can do that literally and figuratively," Tony said before Remy could modestly deny it.
"I don't think explosives are very necessary," Eli said suddenly. She thoughtfully took a sip of champagne. "We were doing fine with just guns and the force flight stabilizers. The last thing we need are live explosives strapped onto those already heavy metal suits."
"Excuse me, ma'am," Remy drawled as a slight Cajun accent crept into his speech. "Are you calling me useless?"
"No, just unnecessary."
Kathleen and Tony watched their exchange unfold and evolve into a heated debate.
"Right, because wars are fought with brains and psychological weaponry. Not all of us are psychic, Miss Eli."
"I have brought numbers of terrorists to their knees, Mr. LeBeau, and all you do is blow their faces off," she hissed.
"Lets see how that pretty brain of yours holds up against a brick of C-4."
Tony could see Remy's hand beginning to clench dangerously around the thin, fragile glass. Bubbles started to form rapidly in Gambit's champagne.
"Your disdain for the intellectual side of defeating the enemy is clear, Remy," Tony said in an effort to cut through the tension.
"Yes, Remy, you shouldn't dislike someone just because her IQ is higher than yours," Eli said snidely.
"You intellectual soldiers are against physical damage, you think everything can be solved by talking it out. Hugs all around!"
"Eli isn't just a thinker for the Iron Men, you know," Kathleen told him. She wanted Remy and Eli to work out just as much as Tony did. "She's an important person when it comes to interrogation."
"I think 'feared by millions' was the words the newspaper used," Tony added. Kathleen shot him a look as if to say "you're not helping." But Remy just stared at the fuming woman sitting across from him. All sorts of images of her wielding whips and handcuffs and administering torture techniques entered his mind. It was kind of funny and frightening at the same time. It was disturbingly easy to imagine her cute, small face set in a grim stony expression while she extracted tons of knowledge nuggets from the world's most despicable criminals.
"I suppose I shouldn't get on your bad side then, hm?" he said, reverting back to his charming, hypnotic self. Looking at her with his eerie, glowing eyes, he drained his glass. It was flat. He had charged all of the fizz out of it.
She just ignored him. The air was thick with her clear dislike of the dashing scoundrel staring at her from across the table. Their food came in a wave of attractive, beaming waitresses, all steaming plates and exquisite aromas. Eli's mood lightened as she tucked into her chicken. Kathleen noted gleefully that Remy's eyes returned every so often to Eli's face. She was carefully averting her gaze.
By the time they finished the meal, everyone was content and full of delicious food. All sour feelings had dissipated into the air. The champagne made Eli's face glow, Remy realized, because she was such a small person, and there was no way she would be able to handle a lot of alcohol. Her words weren't slurred or anything, but Remy could see the shine in her eyes and a milder grip on her self-tension. Kathleen, on the other hand, was completely normal. She and Tony were discussing the effectiveness of the projectile missiles equipped on the standard Iron Man suits, without any of the disagreeing tone that had been between Eli and Remy.
"Well, ladies, we should probably get you back to Eli's house. It's getting late and who knows what sort of things you've got planned for tomorrow."
Once they were outside, Tony called the driver with Kathleen's hand in the crook of his elbow again. Eli stood a little away from them, shivering in the night air, even colder than before. A warm smooth presence suddenly covered her and she jumped in surprise. Remy was behind her, placing his trench coat around her shoulders. His bare arms reflected a little in the moonlight, the energy racing through his body, warming him.
"Don't argue," he said smoothly. Eli could only look into his face for a few seconds before murmuring, "Thank you."
"We can take you back to your place, Kathleen," Tony said as they approached Eli's house. "I don't want you walking in the dark by yourself, especially dressed like that."
"Oh, what a gentleman you are," Kathleen said, winking at him and snuggling deeper into his side. The car came to a stop, and Eli bid her friend goodbye before stepping out. Remy followed her.
"Let me walk you to the door," he said. She raised an arched eyebrow at him.
"This is Malibu, Mr. LeBeau. I hardly need you to escort me."
He just gave her a look, as if to say, "Just let me be masculine, please."
The two of them began to walk towards the door, and Remy was the one who was purposefully walking slowly. Inside the limo, Tony chuckled watching. Kathleen lifted her head from his shoulder. "Look," he said, gesturing in their direction. They were at the door, talking quietly enough so the two in the limo couldn't hear, but Remy looked nervous, and, surprisingly, so did Eli.
"Five bucks says he kisses her," Kathleen said, causing Tony to chuckle.
"I don't know...he's been taking things a little slow ever since the wife left him?"
"Oh?"
"Yeah....it was hard on him. But I'll take that bet."
Kathleen's face was turned away from him, so he couldn't see the concentrated look on her face as she digested this new information. "Deal," she said.
"Look, I'm sorry about how I was at dinner," Remy said. The awkward in the air could have been cut with scissors.
"How were you at dinner?" Eli asked.
"I said some pretty rude crap about your job, and I'm sorry..."
"What's done is done, I suppose," she answered, dismissing his bad behavior with a shrug. Remy was slightly concerned with how accustomed she seemed to being treated badly by men.
"Yeah...so...when am I going to see you again?"
She raised an eyebrow at him again.
"Well, we'll be working together...at the same small university, so I imagine that would be very soon."
"I mean in more of a social context, cherie."
The endearment disarmed her quickly, another thing that bothered him.
"You...well...um...."
"How 'bout next weekend?" he suggested, the Cajun accent thick in his nervousness.
"I...don't know. Just text me later," she answered. He smirked. It wasn't eagerness, but it definitely wasn't a rejection either.
"Goodnight," Eli said, slipping the key into the lock. Her head snapped up to look at him when he placed a warm hand over hers.
"Wait."
"Yes?"
Remy just stared at her. More accurately, at her lips, which were dark red and slightly swollen from the champagne she had drunk during dinner. Realizing what he was thinking, her lips slightly parted in surprise. He lifted his other hand as if to caress her face, but at the last minute, ran the hand through his hair.
"Uh...goodnight night, cherie."
Eli looked away demurely, a blush crossing her nose. Without another word to him, she entered her house and closed the door behind her. Remy headed back to the limo, trying to figure out if he regretted holding back. A heated discussion awaited him.
"Aw, COME ON. You can tell he wanted to!" Kathleen insisted.
"But he still didn't actually do it!" Tony said gleefully. "I know my homeboy too well, Kathleen, that was a terrible bet to make with me."
"But--"
"Face it. You're just gonna have to cough up the five bucks. I beat you," Tony said.
Kathleen grumbled as she rummaged in her purse. She threw a crumpled five dollar bill at her dinner date.
"Happy?"
"Extremely," Tony said.
"You're such a dork."
"You're just jealous that I'm better at this than you," Tony quipped back.
Comprehension dawned on Remy as he watched this exchange.
"What the...did y'all make a wager as to whether or not I would--DAMMIT TONY."
"What?" Tony asked, miming a halo over his head. "I just find your romantic endeavors to be very interesting. And profitable. Is that a crime?"
"It's insulting."
"Aww, don't be upset. You two are just too cute to ignore. The two of us can't help being interested," Kathleen said.
"....You think we're cute?" Remy repeated.
"Oh yeah, totally. And another thing--she didn't directly turn you down. It means she likes you. At least kind of."
"Really?" Remy asked, his mood lifting instantly.
The rest of the car ride was pleasant as Tony directed the driver to Kathleen's house. Remy eventually fell asleep on Tony's other shoulder, and Kathleen sat up and a little distance away so that Tony wouldn't feel sandwiched. Little did she know that in this particular case, he wouldn't have minded.
"So I read an article in Sunset about your mansion the other day. Sounds pretty sweet," Kathleen said in an effort to make small talk.
"Oh yeah? It kind of is. You should come up and see it in person," he said, willing her to understand his other meaning by staring unblinkingly at her. However, she didn't seem to notice as she was staring out the tinted window.
"That would be nice. I also hear you're quite the art collector. I was an art major in college," she said.
"Oh, really? And now you're...a top 'gun' professor? When did the switch come about?"
"Tony. Please. The best gunmen in the world were art majors in college."
"Ah, of course."
Kathleen didn't live far from Eli, so the drive was short.
"Well, thank you. I had a really nice time," Kathleen said. She stepped one strappy heel onto the sidewalk. Tony wrapped a hand around her wrist before she could exit completely.
"Wait," he said.
"Yes?" she asked curiously, looking at him through her long, brunette eyelashes.
"Why don't you come to my mansion? Tonight? I could show you my...art collection..."
She finally understood his meaning. Just like Eli had to Remy, she raised an eyebrow.
"Thanks...but I don't usually see a man's 'art collection' until at least the third date. Call me old-fashioned."
"I see...well, at least let me walk you to your door," Tony offered, intrigued rather than stung that he had been turned down. But Kathleen shook her head.
"No, it's okay. You'll disturb Remy if you get out," she said, nodding her head at the man who had fallen asleep on Tony's shoulder. He muttered a name in his sleep that made Tony smile gently in a way that made Kathleen want to hug him. Kathleen's heart melted at the sight of Remy vulnerable, adorable, and still manly while asleep on Tony, who looked at his best friend protectively. This was a true bromance, no gay overtones, just pure manly friendship. Tony turned his gaze toward Kathleen.
"Can I...call you?"
The question sounded awkward and cute coming from him. It sounded like he didn't have to ask the question often. He usually was the one being called, obviously.
"Of course. Anyway," she answered as she got out of the limo, "I'll see ya."
"Yeah...see you around."
Tony sat back in his seat and hung his head back in shock. He lifted his head at the sound of heels clacking toward the limo.
"Wait a second," Kathleen said, popping her head back into the car. She kissed him on the cheek. "I really had a wonderful time tonight. Thank you."
Then she left. All of a sudden, Tony broke out in a grin.
"So she's old fashioned," he said to himself. He chuckled softly. "This will be fun."
"So what did you do for the rest of the weekend after our double date with the dashing debonair duo Iron Man and Gambit?"
"One. It wasn't a double date. Two. I did some research on Gambit. There isn't much out there about him. Not even in the confidential records."
Kathleen and Eli were walking to the administrative offices to pick up their paychecks. Eli had skirted around talking about Mr. Remy LeBeau, and eventually Kathleen gave up trying to get her to say her opinion on the man. When it came to men, Eli was all objectivity and logic. Of course she would research Remy. The clicking of their heels made heads turn--the presence of high heels meant women, unfortunately an uncommon presence on the Stark University campus. Young men of a range of ages openly stared at the two pretty women as they walked into the tall, impressing building that housed all the important offices.
Galia, the Secretary of the administrative office, greeted them when they entered through the heavy doors. Kathleen and Eli were a familiar face to her, being the only two professors who didn't wait for their paychecks to be delivered to their mailboxes. Galia was the epitome of a fairy-tale beauty. She had high-class cheekbones, golden caramel hair, and bright unearthly eyes. Her milky skin didn't help in keeping the male students from wandering into her office to flirt. Galia also had the curvaceous body that most males would find worth fighting for.
"Hello, ladies. Have you come for your paychecks?" Galia asked. She knew how neurotic Eli was about her routines. Every day before official paycheck day, Eli drops by her office to pick hers up. Kathleen usually was with her. They weren't close friends, even though they had the potential to be. Each time the three had interacted in a non-business setting, they had gotten along very well. But Galia's job as the Secretary to the President of the university kept her constantly busy. She didn't have much free time like Eli and Kathleen to go out like they always seemed to be doing.
The two professors stopped mid-conversation to smile and take the envelopes from Galia.
"How was your weekend, Galia?" Kathleen asked. Galia always thought Kathleen dressed so well, especially being the leading projectile, also known as guns, professor. Eli scared her a little more because her reputation had preceded her. The compact Eli always looked so serious, Galia had to wonder what about her made her friends with the outgoing Kathleen.
"It was fine, really uneventful. I had to work a lot though," Galia said. "I can feel the black circles under my eyes."
"I see no black circles," Eli said so matter-of-factly that Galia didn't feel like it was a compliment, more like a mere observation. "Your skin is seems just as clear as before."
"You should come out with us one weekend. Both of you," Kathleen said, looking from Galia to Eli with meaning, "need to stop working so hard. You make all the male employees look bad."
Galia laughed. Kathleen was always so friendly. It would be nice to see them more. Perhaps she could become part of their impressive, imposing bubble of epicness, even though she was just an administrative secretary. She had heard rumors that Kathleen could hit any target with anything she wanted. Eli, she heard, could translate effectively in more than seven languages, could extract a confession from and make a terrorist suspect piss his pants and cry like a baby without ever laying a finger on him. Many of the Stark University students actually voiced suspicions that Kathleen and Eli had super powers. But Galia had access to their files, and she knew that they were just non-powered human beings who happened to be remarkable in their fields.
"Well, we've got to run. Classes, you know, the professors can't be late."
"Yeah, of course. I'll see you two around," Galia said, waving goodbye.
Gambit was literally just strolling through the campus, familiarizing himself with his future workplace, when he saw Eli and Kathleen walking out of the impressive administrative building. Eli wasn't smiling like Kathleen was, but she certainly looked pleasant. His neck suddenly felt hot under the collar of his trench coat, which had kept her warm that last Friday. Fighting the urge to call out to get their attention, he just watched her silently, willing her with his mind and hypnotic charm to notice him first. It was working, he could feel it. She stopped mid-smile in her conversation with Kathleen, and her head slowly turned in his direction. The look on her face was purely instinct, as if some unknown force was compelling her to look for him. Her pretty mouth opened slightly in, first, surprise and recognition, then second, a little embarrassment.
Then abruptly, a shrill siren pierced through the air as an ambulance made its way toward Stark University Hospital, and Remy's spell over Eli broke. Her head snapped away from him and looked at the oncoming ambulance just in time to stop Kathleen from stepping into the street as it whizzed before them. The ambulance caused such alarm that even Remy couldn't keep his eyes from following it as it headed toward the hospital. Once he looked back at the two ladies, they were walking in another direction away from him.