Chapter 4: Marie

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His name was Gambit. She hadn't gotten a chance to speak to him yet, and now that he had found Logan, Marie wasn't sure he'd still want to. But she couldn't help peeking at him from behind the white shield of her hair. He was skinny but well-built, and tall with too-long hair. She liked his looks.

"How did you happen to be at the restaurant just then, Gambit?" the professor asked.

"I had plans to meet a friend." And then there was his accent. Familiar enough that it felt like a homecoming just listening to him, but tinged with that exotic Cajun twang.

"He was there to meet Marie." Marie thought she could listen to the two of them—Logan and Gambit—talk for hours. She loved their voices. But suddenly everyone was looking at her.

"Uhh, yeah, that's right." She still felt nervous around the X-Men, at least when they put her on the spot like this. She stood up, since they were all on their feet around Professor Xavier's desk and she felt like an outcast sitting in the corner chair. She was an outcast, of course, but she didn't want Gambit to know that. "He sent me a message asking to meet him there. I've never met him before in my life, though."

"So you can't speak for him." She shook her head.

"And he specifically asked to meet Marie there, where the vigilante happened to show up," Scott put in, sounding hostile.

"I can speak for him, professor," Logan said, stepping forward slightly. Marie smirked, sure that he had spoken up just to contradict his least favorite person. "At least, he saved my life five years ago. I can say that much."

"Saved it more than once, if I remember rightly." A few people, Marie included, tittered.

"Well then, Gambit, you are welcome to stay for the time being. For now, I want to hear each of your accounts of what happened today." Marie went first, then listened to Nightcrawler, Gambit, and finally Logan describing what they saw.

"And then I looked closer at the bird, and I don't know if spending too much time with you people is driving me nuts or what, but I could swear—"

"A bird, you say," Professor Xavier cut in, startling everyone. "Kurt, Gambit, did either of you see this flame-bird?" They shook their heads.

"I know they didn't see what I did. But I have to tell you—"

"That's alright, Logan. I think we have all the information we need. You can stay behind and fill me in on anything else you recall, but I want to let the others get started on their tasks before it's too late. Storm, Scott, I need you to deal with the police and the press. They've been broadcasting drawings of Kurt and Logan on every news bulletin since this afternoon. You need to convince them that they had nothing to do with this. Kurt, I want you to lay low until they've succeeded; help me keep an eye on the school for now. You can lead the summer session classes tomorrow. And as for you, Marie, I'd appreciate it if you'd get Gambit here settled in. I believe room 200 should be available."

Given their assignments, the X-Men filed out, seeming to forget that Professor Xavier had kept Logan from offering a final piece of information. Marie glanced over her shoulder as she led Gambit out, and saw that Logan was staying behind to say something more to the professor. She'd give anything to be able to hear that conversation, but she could hardly eavesdrop with Gambit around.

"This way," she gestured down the hall and they walked side by side. "What kind of name is Gambit, anyway?"

"It's the kind of name that means you want me on your side in a fight," he looked down at her and smiled. Even though his smile didn't reach his eyes, Marie couldn't resist returning it.

"Why's that?"

"Because I can stack the deck in your favor." In a flash he had whipped a deck of cards out of nowhere and fanned them from one hand to another before her eyes. Then he made them disappear, and Marie laughed in delight.

"I like your tricks, but that's no kind of answer at all to my question." Almost instinctively, her accent thickened while she spoke to him. This time when he smiled, his eyes warmed up, too.

"It's not?" She shook her head. "I guess I may have misunderstood the question. What kind of name is Marie, then?" The smile fell from her face. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have with someone she'd just met.

"It's the name my mama gave me. Here, we take these stairs to the second floor." She hurried ahead of him, trying to forestall further questions. It didn't work.

"I thought you went by Rogue."

"That was my mutant name."

"Then—oh. Oh, I am sorry. You were hit by one of those so-called cures, weren't you?" Marie stopped abruptly and turned to face Gambit. She looked up and found his deep, grey eyes, glaring to make sure he was listening.

"No. I voluntarily took the cure." He recoiled, his head actually jerking back and his mouth twisting. She had expected as much. "Now you're free to think what you want. I personally don't judge anyone who did or didn't choose to take it, and I certainly don't advocate for anyone to. There's no shame in being a mutant. But everyone's situation is different, and in my case—well, I did what I had to." She turned and continued down the hall, not really caring whether he followed or not.

"What was your situation?"

"That's none of your business. This'll be your room." Marie stopped in front of room 200. The key was in the door so she opened it and led him in. It was a comfortable guest suite with a large bed, a small sofa, and a writing desk, plus a basic but private bathroom. "Extra linens are in that closet, you can control the thermostat here, and this button is to call our housekeeper, Mrs. Arnold. The kitchen is on the first floor and you're free to use it as your own. There's a library down there, too. Welcome to Xavier's school." She headed for the door, wanting to end this awkward exchange as quickly as possible, but his hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Marie, wait." She froze, and he came around to stand in front of her. "You don't need to explain yourself to me," he said gently. She looked up and when their eyes met this time, they exchanged nothing but understanding. His eyes were incredibly deep, and she saw now that they were actually grayish-blue, not grey. Realizing she was gazing at him like a fool, Marie blinked and took a step back, giving a breathless little laugh.

He matched her with a step forward.

"I'd better—"

"How old are you?" Gambit asked, cocking his head slightly. Her eyes were drawn back to his.

"Eighteen. Why?" He smiled, a slow, devious smile that Marie knew right away meant trouble ahead.

"I just wanna make sure I'm not breaking any laws when I do this." He cupped her face in his hand and it felt so, so different from when Logan had done it—but she didn't want to think about Logan just now. Gambit hadn't taken his eyes off of her for a second and it felt like they were locked together somehow. He put his other hand on her waist and pulled her closer, and then he tilted her face up with a soft, delightful pressure, leaned down, and kissed her.

All thoughts of Logan and of everything else flew from her mind. The kiss took her over entirely, and yet they were still staring at each other. It was terrifying, to feel this much pleasure and to be staring into this strange man's eyes, but it was a thrilling, arousing sort of terror and she didn't want to stop. But when he pulled down her lower lip with his thumb and kissed her more deeply, both their eyes fell shut at the same time. Marie lost herself in the feeling of their mouths and tongues connecting, and wrapped her arms around his neck to get even closer.

"Marie?" A sharp, well-known voice cut into her hazy daze, and she jumped back from Gambit. She whirled around to see Logan stalk in through the door they had left open. He did not look happy.

Well, whatever hell she caught for that kiss, it was more than worth it. She looked back at Gambit and flashed him a quick smile, which he returned. Logan looked even less happy. She wondered fleetingly whether he could possibly be jealous, but she dismissed the thought. He was just about to be his regular, over-protective self.

"Gambit, I heard you've been looking for me," he growled, sounding more menacing than curious. "Marie, would you give me and my old friend some privacy? We've got a lot of catching up to do." She glanced one last time at Gambit, looking him over from head to toe. He looked like he could take care of himself, so she made to leave. But just in case, she stopped to hiss a warning at Logan.

"Do. Not. Interfere," she said in a low voice. He just glared at her until she kept going.

He shut the door behind her.

Marie stretched as she awoke and slowly rolled over, her gaze landing on Remy's sleeping face. She watched him for a moment, and then reached out to push the hair back from his forehead and brush her fingers over his eyelashes and eyebrows. He stirred, but didn't wake up until she started kissing him.

The smile he gave her could have broken her heart.

"Morning already?"

"'Fraid so." Remy—Remy LeBeau was Gambit's real name—never got enough sleep. He came in late most nights after hours of gambling and partying, and he hated mornings. Marie went out with him sometimes, but she valued her rest too much to follow him every night.

Some nights, like last night, she didn't see him at all. She would wake up in the morning and there he'd be, lying next to her, his sleeping face looking as angelic as if the thought of gambling had never crossed his mind. She giggled at the thought.

"What're you laughing at?" he mumbled, reaching out for her.

"Nothing," she laughed, leaning away from his reach, just to tease him and wake him all the way up.

"Hey, come here." He sat up and caught her, pulling her closer for another kiss and then lowering her to the bed as they got more heated. "God, Marie, I will never get enough of you," he said into her hair.

She knew he was telling the truth. The two of them burned like a lit match through dry hay. But it was more than that—they owned each other. Three weeks had passed since they'd met, but already she considered him her partner, and wanted to see him every day. She'd been surprised to discover how gentle and kind he was; he'd been the first to say "I love you." She'd laughed him off as crazy, but the following day she found herself telling him the same thing. And that was that. They just fit together.

When they were lying next to each other in bed again, contentedly breathing in sync, Marie turned to look at him.

"You're the reason I took the cure."

"What?" he asked, sounding understandably confused. She'd previously explained what her powers had been, and that she'd taken the mutant cure to be with Bobby.

"You. This. Wanting to love someone, and to feel that love. I never could have had this without the cure." He looked her for a moment, and then gave her a sad smile and a quick kiss.

"I won't say I'm glad you had to make that choice, because I'm not. All I can say is that I'm grateful for what we have, Marie. That's a fact." She pulled his arm around her and snuggled in close.

"It was never this way with Bobby."

"Better not have been," he shot back jokingly, but he sounded a little annoyed. She sometimes forgot how jealous he could be.

Sometimes he wouldn't let her forget.

"You sure you didn't have someone else in mind?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean when you got that cure. Were you picturing doing your loving with someone else?"

"Well I wasn't picturing you; I didn't even know you existed."

"But there was someone besides Bobby. You knew even then he wasn't enough for you."

"I did love Bobby. I thought I did, anyway. I didn't really know what love was yet."

"But there was someone else."

"Damn it, Remy, I know you and I know where you're going with this. I do not want to have this fight right now."

"How can I ever be sure—"

"No." She could see that this was tormenting him, but all she could do was keep repeating the same old refrain. She grabbed his chin so he'd look at her, and kissed him after every sentence. "I love you. I want to be with you. I do not want Logan. I love you, and I want this. Do you believe me?" He muttered unintelligibly against her lips. She tightened her grip and pulled his face back. "Do you believe me?"

"Yes." He grabbed her even more firmly and kissed her hard. Crisis averted.

He was reassured, but not convinced. He understood her too well. He couldn't be wholly convinced until she was, and she was still waiting for that to happen.

"OK, we have to go now, don't we?" he asked. She glanced at the clock and nodded.

"We're supposed to be in Professor Xavier's office in twenty minutes. I call the shower!"

"Not if I'm there first." He shot out of bed and they raced to the bathroom, but there was no contest. He shut the door in her face, laughing victoriously.

"You're evil, you know that?" she called over the sound of the shower. She glanced around his room and gathered her clothes. She kept most of her things in room 200 now, and her own, smaller guest room was slowly emptying of her belongings.

She looked at the clock again, and cursed aloud. She didn't have time for this. She went into the bathroom, threw off her clothes, and got in with Remy.

"Guess you can't get enough of me either, can you?" he grinned as she climbed in.

"Move aside, would you? I can't reach the shampoo." As they bathed each other, they talked about the current missions.

"So have you and Logan found any leads on this Gargouille person?"

"Yeah, she was spotted hanging around an abandoned church in downtown Brooklyn. I'm going out there today to see if I can find her."

"By yourself."

"Yes, by myself, sugar. That's how I'm used to doing things."

"The X-Men are a team, you know."

"Well it's a good thing I'm not an X-Man, then, isn't it?"

"So you're going to go by yourself to look for this woman even though she attacked you and shook you up so bad you went looking for Logan for help?"

"Well I'm not going to engage her. I'm just going to try to find her, and watch her, see what she's up to. I can be sneaky when it's called for."

"Remy, you might think about bringing Storm. She blends in well but she can unleash some serious firepower if Gargouille spots you."

"I guess I'll see what the Professor thinks. He may need her for something else today, like tracking down that vigilante."

"The vigilante hasn't done anything for the past few weeks, though, has he?"

"Nothing. Which is a damn nuisance because it means that Nightcrawler and Logan still can't go out anywhere." Marie snorted.

"Like that'd stop Logan. I don't think he's spent one full day at the school. He's not very good at lying low. It's harder for Kurt, though, as he's so recognizable."

"So what'll you be doing today?"

"Me? Nothing, same as always. Standing by the phones in case anyone needs help. Making sure the underground facilities are clean. The real glamorous stuff."

"It's important, even if it's not glamorous. I think you're to be admired for sticking around and helping even though you've lost your powers."

"These are still my people," Marie said with a shrug, trying to hide how much his words moved her. They both left the shower and got dressed, going downstairs to see what the Professor had in store for them that day.