A/N: Thanks to StrawberryBlondeBookworm and Dholefire for adding this to Story Alert and RavenDove84 for adding this to her faves and me to her Author Alert. More awesomeness! :D
Chellerbelle: Hahaha....I loved your review! It's about time Kitty got some of the teasing. I quite agree, they are! ;)
Team-JEdward2010: Oh good! I hope that little bit of advice helped you out. I'll have to empty mine, before too much longer. XD
xdreamernumbuhfour: Yay! That makes me so happy. Yep, another one. :)
Anna Marie and the Purple Rose: Yes, she did, but then again, Wanda discovered that one. This time, she's in on this one. She tends to play it smarter with conspiracies than the others. It probably isn't, but sometimes they just don't learn. XD
Musik Drache: Yeah, now I hear it constantly. That's about the only pitfall with Romy. I'm willing to live with it....hehehe. Will he, or won't he? Hmm...good question and just wait til Logan finds out...lol! ;D
roguey21: Yeah, that was very sad, considering it was a deliberate misunderstanding on Bella's part. Yes, Kitty did. Pat on the back for her. Haha...that should be fun, when I get to that part. May be another chap or two before I get to that, we'll see what happens. 8D
Madame Star: Some people just don't learn, you know? That's what made me mad in 'Ascension'. He should have been in there! And yes, he can be maddeningly stubborn! XD
catkeeper93: Here ya are. Enjoy! :)
RealRogueGirl: I was going to have her touch Bella, but decided against it. That would've brought on a whole new problem, plus given away the fact that the wedding between them wasn't going to happen. Anyway, I want her to be able to touch Remy unhindered. That's the main reason why I have that in my stories. I like that you think this is amazing, other than the touching thing. :D
Chica De Los Ojos Cafe: Oh yes! Both of them are equally stubborn, so we'll see what happens. ;)
courtneykutie: Yeah, he really is. His patience will be tested, though. 8^)
Professor hangs up the phone with a happily surprised expression. Logan is in the office, giving Professor the data from the residents' DR sessions. Well, he was until the phone rang. He only caught the other man's end of the conversation, ending with: "Wonderful. We will see you at 5:30, right before dinner. I'm sure the others will be as excited as I am to have you as an addition to our team."
"Who was that, Chuck?"
"It was a young man I've been trying to recruit for some time. He's finally decided to accept my offer to join us." He informs Logan.
"Oh yeah? Who would that be?" Logan asks suspiciously.
"His name is Remy LeBeau, but his code name is Gambit."
"NO! Not him, Chuck! You remember what he did with Rogue." Logan snarls furiously.
"Logan, the way he went about procuring Rogue's help was not right, but his intentions were good, overall. Besides, that is all in the past. I have a feeling that Apocalypse will be making his move soon. He has already placed energy spheres around the pyramids. We need as many people as we can get for what I fear will be a war for survival."
"I don't like this, Charles."
"I knew you wouldn't, but he will be joining us, nonetheless. I know that you are concerned about the tenuous bond that Remy and Rogue forged while in Louisiana, but as I told you a few days ago, you need to step aside and let Rogue decide for herself what is best for her." Professor informs him soberly.
"What if he hurts her?"
"You know as I do, that we have all had to deal with life's hurts at one time or another. You cannot shield her from them for the rest of her life. These hurts are what strengthen us, Logan. Let me ask you this. What if he ends up being someone she comes to love? Would you deny her the chance to experience love and living life to the fullest?"
"Why him? Of all the guys around here, why him?" Logan questions as he places his head in one hand.
"Logan, when it comes to Rogue, I don't think any young man would be good enough for her, where you're concerned." Professor tells him with a knowing grin.
"Yeah, you're right, Chuck. ….Alright, I'll allow him ta see her, but only if it's what she wants. But if he hurts her, he's mine." Logan unsheathes the claws on one hand for emphasis."
Remy gazes around his apartment, making certain that he hasn't missed a thing. To think, here he has a nice place and he wasn't even able to stay in it for a full week. Oh well, the cause is definitely worth it. Rogue is worth giving up everything for. In the short time he has known her, no other woman has been able to stir him the way Rogue does. She is all fire and attitude on the outside, but inside, warmth and gentleness reigns. He hopes that she will allow him to explain what really happened.
He gives the place one more cursory glance. Picking up his bags, he takes a deep breath and leaves his apartment for the last time.
He pulls up to the mansion and finds Piotr waiting for him. "This is a change. I actually get to go in the normal way, this time." He smirks as the Russian giant gets into the car with him.
"I will show you to the garage and then I am to take you to Professor Xavier's office." Piotr kindly informs him.
"'S bon seein' y' again, Petey. Y'r famille's okay?"
"Yes, they are all fine. I have bought for them new house from money I have saved from working for Magneto." Pete tells him merrily.
"Dat's great, Pete! 'M real 'appy f'r y'." Remy slaps him on the back. "S' tell me, 'ave y' seen Rogue t'day?" He asks hesitantly.
"Da, I have. I have no idea what has happened, but when we came back from looking for her, Professor told us that she wanted to be left alone. I saw her come out of the Danger Room and go straight upstairs. I have not seen her since. I do not know what has made her so angry." Piotr shrugs his massive shoulders.
Remy winces slightly. "I t'ink I do, homme." He relays the entire story to his friend, who calmly listens.
"That explains it. Is that the reason why you are here?"
"It's one o' dem, but I also t'oug't it was time, w'at wit' Apocalypse bein' out dere causin' trouble."
"Yes, that has all of us deeply concerned." Pete answers somberly as he takes one of Remy's bags.
"Oui. 'Opefully, somet'in' can be done t' defeat 'im." Remy states seriously.
After meeting with Professor and enduring Logan's angry scowl, Professor calls everyone down to meet the newest resident. Rogue makes her way down unwillingly. She is really not in the mood for this. Kitty nudges her, silently telling her to at least look in the general direction of said new co-dweller. Resignation becomes fury when her eyes collide with Gambit's ruby ones. She manages to stay through introductions, but as soon as humanly possible, she slips away and runs back upstairs before he can follow. She makes a quick escape out her window and runs to her bike, riding off into the mid-afternoon horizon.
Remy immediately notices Rogue's disappearing act and attempts to follow, but is distracted by people wanting to welcome him. Not wanting to seem rude and possibly have them thinking the worst, he gets through as quickly as he can and runs to Rogue's door, only to find it locked. He picks the lock in seconds and opens the door. His shoulders slump as he sees that Rogue is gone. He strides over to her closet and notes that nothing is gone, so she must be coming back.
"Rogue, y' an' me are goin' t' talk 'bout dis. Make no mistake." He murmurs as he gazes out her balcony door.
Pete finds him in the same place moments later. "Comrade, I am to take you to your room. So she has run off." Pete states as he glances over her room.
"Y' t'ink?" Remy questions sarcastically. "Desole, Pete. Didn' mean t' take it out on y'."
"I understand. You will get your chance. You have never backed down from a challenge before." Pete points out.
"Yeah, I know. Jus' show me t' m' room s' I c'n unpack. I'll catch 'er lat'r." He states determinedly.
It turns out that since they will both be on the senior team, his room is just down the hall from hers. He decides to opt out of dinner, instead taking off on his bike to see if he can find Rogue. After no success a couple of hours later, he stops and grabs a quick bite and heads back to his new home.
Rogue is on a stretch of beach a good distance from the Institute. She hotly paces as she rants.
"I can' believe he had tha eva-lovin' nerve ta move inta my home! If he thinks he's jus' gonna talk ta me like nothin happened, he's got anotha thing comin'!" She hears the sound of a motorcycle and quickly moves her bike and herself out of sight and waits til it passes.
"He'd betta be prepared, 'cause I ain' gonna let him fin' me that easily." Rogue climbs on her bike and speeds toward home, where she heads back up to her room the same way she left. She finds Kitty waiting for her.
"Like, where have you been?" She demands angrily. "It was, like so rude of you to leave on Remy's first night here."
"Ya don' undastan', Kit! He lef' out one big detail when we were on our date."
"Yeah, like what was it?" Kitty pretends not to know.
"He's engaged, Kit. Tha man's engaged an' he was goin' out with me. Me!" Rogue says heatedly, but in a low tone, so as not to be overheard.
"Really? Wow, that is like, so totally wrong! Did you at least give him a chance to explain why?"
"Why should I? He cheated on his fiance!" Rogue asserts again.
"Rogue, just give him a chance to explain. Maybe he had a good reason for doing what he did."
"Kit...please jus' leave me be. I don' wanna talk about this anymore tanight. I'm goin' ta bed."
"Like, okay, but you're going to have to talk to him sometime."
'Sometime' isn't until two days later. He never realized how good Rogue is at hiding and slipping away. After speaking with Kitty, he finds out that her laundry day is today. He sneaks down after listening at her door as she sorts her clothes. Hiding in a small utility closet, he awaits her arrival. He doesn't have to wait very long, as he hears her humming along to a song on her iPod. She begins putting clothes into a couple of washers and doesn't notice when the door is closed and locked from the outside.
Remy smirks as he exits the closet and simply swipes her device, causing a slight tug on the buds in her ears. She whirls around and her eyes glitter dangerously as she snatches it back.
"Whaddya doin' here, Swamp Rat? In case ya haven' noticed, I ain' talkin' ta ya!" Rogue seethes fiercely.
"I've 'ad it wit' y' 'idin' fr'm me an' ignorin' me. Now I got some t'ings t' tell y' an' y'r gonna stay an' list'n til 'm done!" He scolds her indignantly.
"I ain' gonna do no such thing!" She retorts as she tries the door, only to find it locked. Kitty and Piotr stand just outside.
"Lemme outta here!" Rogue shouts irascibly.
"No, like the two of you are totally staying in there until you work thing out. We're all tired of watching you run from Remy every time he tries to talk to you." Kitty states in an irritated tone of voice.
"Kit, when I get outta here-" Rogue warns.
"No, Rogue. Katya is right. This is all a big...how you say...a misunderstanding. Yes, that is it. You need to listen to what Remy has to tell you." Pete tells her more gently.
"Y' goin' t' sit an' list'n t' me, Rogue." Remy informs her firmly.
"Whateva!" Rogue growls in aggravation as she plops down into one of the chairs and glares at him.
"Alrigh', dis all started years ago, jus' w'en Bella an' I were kids." Remy begins, only to be interrupted.
"Oh great, this is gonna be one a those long-winded 'when I was a kid' stories." Rogue complains.
"I could prob'ly tell it fast'r if I wasn' goin' t' be interrupted all de time." Remy grinds out.
"Fine! By all means, continue." Rogue motions him to carry on.
Remy pinches the bridge of his nose for a few seconds before continuing.
"Anyway...w'en Bella an' I were kids, our peres decided t' negotiate a 'peace treaty', o' sorts. De main point bein' dat w'en we bot' came o' age, we would marry, dereby sealin' de treaty. Bella was all f'r it, o' course, but I nev'r wanted t' go 'bout it dat way. I nev'r agreed wit' de idea o' arranged marriages. Well, our peres didn' back down fr'm de idea an' w'en we came o' age, Bella started plannin'. I tol' 'er dat de engagemen' was off, but she wouldn' listn'. Dat was w'en I took de job wit' Mags. It was m' way o' escapin' an impossible situation. Den I met y'. Dat's w'en I knew dat I wouldn' go t'roug' wit' de marriage. W'en I wen' back wit' Jean-Luc, aft'r our trip t' rescue 'im, de deux o' us decided not t' tell Bella dat I was back. I t'oug't dat 'e 'ad a change o' 'eart 'bout dat mess, but 'pparently, 'e tol' 'er I came back up 'ere aft'r I lef' de Guild f'r good. I don' know 'ow she foun' out I was seein' y'. Eit'er m' lovin' 'pere' tol' 'er, o' she was followin' us. I don' know. I will say dis again, jus' s' y' understan'. I nev'r wanted t' marry Bella. De engagemen' was called off years ago an' she's crazy if she t'inks 'm goin' t' go t'roug' wit' it. Granted, she's crazy anyway, but dere's no weddin', Rogue. Nev'r was." Remy gazes at her intently as he sees his news sinking in.
"So what she was tellin' me about gettin' ya ta come home so y'all can get married was all a lie?" Rogue asks in shocked disbelief.
"Oui, it was. I'd nev'r play on a femme 'm serious about, let alone one 'm engaged t'." Remy tells her seriously.
Rogue closes her eyes in relief and shame at how she acted over a misunderstanding. "I'm sorry for reactin' tha way I did, without givin' ya a chance ta explain. I acted like an idiot." She gazes at him contritely.
"I won' disagree wit' dat." Remy looks back with a hint of humor in his eyes.
"Gee, thanks Swamp Rat." Rogue shoots back drily.
Remy chuckles, then his expression sobers. "Desole, cherie. I shoulda tol' y' 'bout Bella." he says apologetically.
"Yeah, ya shoulda." Rogue shoots back smartly, but with a teasing sparkle in her eyes.
They share a brief kiss, then remembers their audience outside.
Kitty unlocks the door and moves back as they exit together, Rogue temporarily forgetting about her clothes still in the washers.
"'Scuse me, Remy. I got some business ta ten' ta." Rogue sweetly informs him as she whirls around and takes off after Kitty, shouting threats at her the whole time.
Remy chuckles as Pete looks on in confusion, not sure whether he should attempt to rescue the brunette from the Southerner or not.