The sound of Bobby's tapping foot was the only noise in the rec room. Piotr Rasputin, Kitty Pryde, Jubilation Lee, and Warren Worthington III all watched him sweat and glance around the room like something was going to fall out of the sky and crush him.
"Bobby," Kitty snapped, finally having had enough. "Stop being so paranoid! No one's just going to show up out of nowhere and punch you in the face!"
"Yeah," Jubilee confirmed. "Logan's not here right now and anyone who just shows up isn't going to have a reason to hate you."
"You are nice guy." Piotr added in his thick Russian accent. "Except for when you break Rogue's heart. That was not so nice."
Bobby went paler and turned to Warren expectantly.
"Hey," Warren held up his hands. "Don't look at me. I wasn't the one that told you to go fool around with Kitty."
Bobby laughed spastically and Kitty threw a pillow from the sofa at his face.
"Sorry, sorry!" He said, visibly calming down. "You guys are right. No one's gonna kill me today-."
"Sh!" Piotr suddenly said. Interrupting whatever else Bobby was going to say. "Does anyone else hear that?"
Everyone in the room listened closely. It sounded like… motorcycles?
"Two?" Warren asked, simultaneously unfurling his wings.
"Didn't you say Wolverine had just talked to Rogue before he took off?" Jubilee said, barely containing her excitement.
Everyone considered this for a moment before sprinting to the front of the mansion.
Two motorcycles were parked on the gravel driveway, Logan was straddling one while glaring at the attractive man leaning against the second, who was smiling down at a familiar figure sprawled on the ground, hand planted on her heaving chest as if her heart were going to explode.
"Never, ever,do that again!" Rogue breathed heavily, glaring up at the tall stranger.
"Aw, chere,you're no fun." He pretended to pout and Jubilee and Kitty swooned.
"There is a difference between fun and doing a wheelie on a motorcycle that has two people on it at seventy five miles per hour on a gravel driveway!" Rogue tried to yell, but she was too busy gasping for air.
"Rogue!" Piotr was first to snap out of the daze caused by seeing her, his metallic armor slid into place because he knew it was harder for her to absorb as he picked her up and pulled her into a giant bear hug which she almost disappeared in.
"Pete!" Rogue squealed, hugging him right back after a moment. "I missed you!"
"You did not leave because there was something more I could have done, then?" Piotr asked sheepishly.
"Oh no, sweetie." Rogue said sadly. "There was nothing you could have done."
"I could have told you sooner." Piotr shrugged. "Perhaps then you would not have run away."
"Probably not." Rogue grinned wickedly.
Piotr broke away from their hug and looked Rogue over. "What happened to your shirt?" He turned to Logan "Did you stab her again?"
"It was an accident."
"And here I thought y'all were lying to me about all that." The stranger's voice caught everyone's attention. He was obviously a mutant judging by those red on black eyes he had been inspecting Piotr with. He finally decided that the hug had been more paternal and let him alone.
"Oh," Rogue said, blushing. "Sorry. Everyone this is Rem-"
"Call me Gambit." He cut in, flashing a smile that caused Kitty and Jubilee to swoon again.
"It is very pleasant to be meeting you." Piotr extended his hand out to Gambit, who accepted it in a friendly manner. "How is it you came to be with Wolverine and Rogue?"
"Well, de filletried to swipe my wallet, then I hunted her down and she proceeded to pour hot soup on herself. After taking off her shirt in the middle of public and asking me if I was going to kill her I decided to take pity on her and offer to take her home." He said, chuckling slightly.
"That's not how it happened, swamp rat!" Rogue protested.
"That's exactly how it happened, chere."He mocked her, tugging on her hair slightly.
It didn't escape his attention how everyone winced when he got close to her.
Next to introduce himself was Warren, he hugged Rogue tightly, used to being close to her because it was him who always had to drop her on someone in battle and then scoop her up again, and he shook Gambit's hand in a very firm, business hold.
"Glad to hear someone can keep her in line." Warren smiled indicating Rogue. Rogue stuck out her tongue at him and he shot her a nasty face in return. Remy laughed, deciding their relationship was more of a brother/sister relationship.
The two that introduced themselves as Jubilee and Kitty giggled all over him until he maneuvered close enough to Rogue that Kitty feared for her life and Jubilee feared for her new shoes.
"Uh…Hi, Rogue." The last boy that had run out said. He was an all-American sort of kid, one they could slap on posters and replicate a million times. He stepped forward timidly and hugged Rogue closely, unlike the other two hugs; she didn't hesitate before hugging him back.
Remy watched him the same way he had with the other boys. The hug seemed to be more emotional than the other ones while simultaneously infinitely more awkward.
Warning bells went off- his hands were notstaying in the user friendly areas.
Remy and Logan both rearranged their postures to be more aggressive.
Rogue pushed him away, whether it was because of the hands or Logan and Gambit's reaction, no one knew.
Remy cleared his throat pointedly.
"Oh, Right." Rogue shook her head, trying to clear up her now confused thoughts. "Remy, this is Bobby-."
"Bobby?" Remy interrupted with disbelief.
"Yeah," Bobby smiled. "Why-."
Remy punched the kid in the face.
"Good deed for today - done." Remy said simply as everyone stared at the unconscious form of Bobby Drake.
Suddenly, Logan burst out laughing. "I change my mind, I like this guy." He said between gasps of air.
Warren was having a similar reaction a few feet away, Kitty was stuck in a state of appall, Piotr altered from being concerned to some make-shift form of redemption and back again several times, Jubilee was confused as too what exactly she was supposed to do, and Rogue stared at the Cajun in pure shock.
Again, Piotr was the first to snap out of it. Hefting the limp form of Bobby over his shoulder, he shot Gambit a smile. No hard feeling there.
"Will you not be staying with us at the mansion?"
Remy hesitated a moment. His plan had been to go back to New Orleans, to sneak around, get money, steal women… or was it the other way around? But something happened right then, it was slightly insignificant in anyone else's eyes and entirely innocent in its qualities, but Remy was smart enough to know that it meant the world.
Rogue tangled her gloved fingers in his apprehensively.
She touchedhim.
In the short time he had known the girl he knew she shied away from even the remotest contact with anyone besides Logan and apparently Bobby. But, for the first time, it was her who initiated touch with him.
"I don' see how it could hurt." He smiled at the tall Russian, lightly squeezing the fragile hand in his grasp.
"Come on, kid." Logan pulled Rogue out of his hands. Whether it was on purpose or coincidence, Remy didn't appreciate the gesture. "I'm sure 'Ro's gonna want to see ya." He started pulling her forward. "She's gonna want to meet you too." He threw over his shoulder too Remy before pulling Rogue all the way out of his view.
Remy tried not to pout as he followed the metal man with the unconscious body thrown over his shoulder, avoiding the advances of the very persistent Kitty and Jubilee.
He wanted his river rat back.