I would like to dedicate this chapter to RogueNya, you were my first reviewer, Thank you so much :-D
Well, here's the second chapter. Hope you like it.
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Half an hour later, after Rouge had moved around a chair slightly so that it was easier to converse with the LeBeau's, the doors were opened once more and another man entered and headed to their table, only this time, only a small handful of people bowed as he entered, him being so quiet that nobeody really noticed him. As he got closer they all turned and Jean-Luc rose, causing the others to do so, although the x-men were a little slow, having noticed that Rogue seemed to know what she was doing so had figured they should just follow her lead for the evening.
"Mon fils, it be 'bout time ya got 'ere." Jean-Luc greeted his son.
"Desole Pere, dere were a few problems we didn' forsee. it all bin teken care of now though." He finished.
As soon as the man spoke the x-men gasped a little, having recognised the man that now stood before them as none other that Remy Lebeau, AKA, Gambit, one of Magnetos old acolytes. All the x-men turned to look at Rogue somewhat hesitantly, knowing that the pair had always had a somewhat strange and volatile relationship. Kitty was the only one who knew of Rogue's feelings for the cajun and so was watching her friend carefully to see how she would take this suprise.
"Gumbo!" Logan half snarled, receiving a glare for his tone from the Professor, Storm and Rogue, causing him to back of a bit in a huff.
"M'siu Wolfie, what a pleasen' suprise." Remy smirked, bowing slightly. Logan remained stiffly glaring at the cajun until Rogue gave him a mental slap and told him to bow in return. Logan did, but glared at Rogue the whole time, although she pretended not to notice.
"Remy, I see ya already aquainted wit' our guests." Jean-Luc commented, having noticed the interaction between Logan and Rogue but wisely chosen to ignore it. As it turned out that Remy knew the girl, he would grill his son about her later on.
"Oui pere. We met when Remy were up Nort'." He explained.
A couple of eyebows were raised at his explanation, but it was left at that. It was only then that Remy took a glance around the table to see who else was there, although he froze and gasped when he saw Rogue, who was still staring at him, not sure what to think of his presence. "CHERE!" He cried, when he saw her, drinking in her appearance, he was astounded by how amazingly beautiful she looked, and she was actually showing off skin. SHe had less make up one too, obviously having dropped the whole goth look since he last saw her. He had heard rumours that she had gotten control over her powers, but wasn't sure if it was really true or not. He smirked at her. "Ya miss Remy chere?" He asked her, playfully.
Rogue saw the range of emotions cross his face and wasn't sure what to make of them. But at his question settled for glaring at him. "Not at all Swamp Rat. Why? Ya miss me?" She returned, smirking at him. The rest of Remy's family, biting their lips to keep from laughing, never having heard Remy being spoken to in this way before.
Remy pouted and placed a hand over his heart. "Cherie, ya woun' Remy. O' course 'e missed ya. Life jus' i'n't da same wit'out such a belle femme such as yerself aroun'." He told her.
Rogue just rolled her eyes, already knowing where this would end up going. Jean-Luc noticed the atmosphere between the two and decided to change the subject. "Remy, why don' ya tek a seat an den we can all get somet'in ta eat huh?" He suggested.
Remy just nodded and walked around the table until he reached the empty chair between Rogue and Scott, Kitty having been moved to sit between Kurt and Logan. Rogue and the Lebeau's all waited until Jean-Luc had been seated first before sitting down themselves, the x-men however, did not think to do so. But then, seeing as they didn't realise what the status of Jean-Luc was, she couldn't really say anything outloud without it being awkward, and she knew that even if they did know, they would only act like idiots, so figured it would probably be best for them to remain ignorant.
Rogue sat down and turned back to Henri, Tante and Mercy to continue the conversation that had been carrying out before Remy's arrival. "So, anyway. We arrived yesterday afternoon. That hotel ya'll recommended is amazing. Kit and ah tried the club just down the street last night and really enjoyed it. Ah can't get over how nice everyone is down here. It makes a nice change from New York." She told them. The others smiling and nodding at her.
"Ah know wha' ya mean Rogue, ah went up north once fer a job I 'ad. Couldn' get over 'ow rude an' ignorant everyone dere was." Henri told her.
"Don' ya worry non bout de 'otel chil'. We recommended it, because it be run by de guilds." Tante explained. Silently wondering whether Rogue knew what she was on about or not.
Rogue looked slightly puzzled for a moment before she nodded. "Right, of course." SHe stated. "Ah take it then, that the guards at the club, are also on the guild payroll?" She asked, suprising the other thieves at how quick she was to pick up on things.
Remy saw the suprise on his family's faces and couldn't help the smirk that played at his lips. "Don' look so suprised mon famille, ma cherie be more quick on de uptek dan ya giv' 'er credit for." He told them.
Rogue turned to glare slightly at Remy. "Cajun, ah've told ya before and ah'll tell ya again. Ah ain't nothin' of yours! Got it?!" She told him firmly, glaring at him in full force now.
Henri and Mercy couldn't help but smirk at the pair, but Tante Mattie just smiled knowingly at them. "Aw chere, ya know ya love Remy really." He told her, smirking as he leaned towards her, suddenly coming to a grinding halt, almost as though he had smashed against an invisable wall. Remy tuned to look at Jean, but found that she wasn't even loking in their direction which meant that it couldn't have been her. Slowly Remy turned back to Rogue, suddenly realising that Rogue's control was more than he originally thought. "Chere, was dat you?" He asked, cautiously.
Rogue folded her arms and glared at him. "Damn right it was. Ah don't want your slimy hands any nearer to meh than is completely necessary." She told him, causing a few chuckles form his family.
Remy turned serious for a moment. "Rogue, why didn' ya tell me ya got control?" He asked quietly, so that no one would be able to hear.
Rogue saw the expression on his face and knew that he was being serious, added to that was that fact that he had said 'me' instead of 'Remy'. She turned her gaze down to her lap and fiddled with the napkin she had placed there as the food was being served. "Ah was going to, but then you just up and left without a word. It wasn't like the others stuck around after you left or gave meh a forwarding adress or anything. Besides, ah didn't have complete control til a couple months back, just as the Professor nailed home this peace thing between humans and mutants." he told him, still gazing at her lap.
The other LeBeau's at the table had noticed the suddenly serious tone of Remy and had politely pretended not to listen, although they were all straining their ears to hear what was being said between the two as it was obvious that the pair had a history together.
Just then the plates arrived and the pair couldn't talk anymore for fear of being overheard. A short ways into the dinner and Rogue reached out with her mind to knock on the barriers that Remy kept up around his own mind. He dropped them slightly, just enough to let Rogue in, but no one else. 'Ya alright chere?' He asked.
'Yeah, ah guess so. But ah know we can't really talk in front of everyone, so figured this would be the next best thing.' She told him.
Remy gave a small smile. 'So, Chere, why don't ya tell Remy wha's bin 'app'nin' since 'e left de noth?' He asked her.
Rogue gave a sort of mental scoff. 'If ah were ta tell ya everything we'd be here all night.' She told him. 'a lot has happened since you left.' She told him.
'Well, why don' ya jus' tell Remy de importan' bits den huh?' He asked her, turning to glance at her out of the corner of his eye, only to find her looking intently at her plate as she started to eat her food.
'Ah don't know what ta say. Ah mean, yeah, ah got control an all, but it wasn't easy and it did have a lot of side effects at first. Ah've still got all the psyches in mah head, and ah still get nightmares of everyones worst memories. But ah can block most of them during the day, so it's not as bad as it could be. When as first got control ah would suddenly freeze up at odd moments, a memory overpowering meh. It was awful, an kinda scary too. Ah kept passing out because of it. No one really knew what was happening to meh.' She told him.
He could hear the sorrow and fear that was in her voice and sent out some comforting emotion in her direction, making sure that only she would feel it. She looked up suddenly and turned to face him; he gave her a nod a small smile of his face which he was pleased to see her return. 'So what about you Cajun, what you been up to since we parted ways?' She asked him.
Remy sighed. 'Not much chere, jus' stuff fer de famille, ya know what dey like. I t'ink I tol' ya 'bout dem befor'.' He told her.
Rogue could sense that he was upset about that so tried to comfort him in some way. 'Hey, you're not supposed to be upset when you're with your family. It can't be that bad right?' She asked him.
Remy gave a wan smile to her. 'Guess not, but it not wha' Remy 'ad wan'ed ta come 'ome ta.' He told her.
Rogue smirked at him. 'None of us ever get the perfect welcome home Remy, Ah know that more than anybody.' She told him.
'Wha's dat s'posed ta mean Chere?' He asked.
Too late Rogue realised that she had said something she shouldn't have so she turned her face away and broke the mind connection between them, instead turning to talk with Mercy and Henri.
Remy felt his curiosity peak and he felt Rogue break the connection she had forged between them, turning away from him in order ot speak to his brother and sister-in-law. For the rest of the meal he kept a close eye on her, his empathy keeping a permanent tab on her emotions, able to feel the permanent saddness that seemed to radiate from her. He knew that he needed to find out more, and thought it was the perfect opportunity when the meal ended and music started up again. Remy turned to Rogue, clearing his throat. "Chere, Remy woul' be honoured if 'e could 'ave dis dance." He asked her.
Rogue looked at him a little unsure, but knowing that he was related to Jean-Luc, and secretly wanting to hold his hand more than anything else in the world, she nodded and let him take her hand and lead her onto the dancefloor. The pair were the first to step onto the floor, and the others, having seen Rogue dancing earlier, decided to sit out for the first dance so that they could watch what they knew would be spectacular.
Sure enough the music started to play, and everyone's eyes were on the pair glided accross the floor, Rogue slightly suprised to find that for the first time, she had found a partner. Remy forced Rogue to look into his eyes, so that she could see just how much he cared for her. He was also slightly taken aback by how good she was, he had never seen the girl dance before, and from what he knew of her, he never would have pegged her as the kind of girl to learn it, so to speak. He wondered idley when she had learnt to dance like this.
Rogue could see the care and affection in his eyes, but she could also sense his suprise at her dancing abilities. The discovery made her smirk at him. "There's a lot you don't know about me Swamp rat." She told him.
Remy returned her smirk. "So Remy see Chere. When ya learn ta dance like dis huh?" He asked, his curiousity overtaking him.
Rogue's smirk got a little wider. "Ah've danced all mah life Cajun. Ah just kept it secret when ah came to New York." She told him.
Remy felt his eyes widen, causing the girl watching him to chuckle. He smiled genuinely when he heard it. "Ya got a belle laugh Chere. I like hearin it." He told her sincerely.
Rogue was a little taken aback by his confession, and if it hadn't been for that fact that he had used the first person, she would have said he was having a laugh. "Oh, well, thank you ah guess." She told him, a little unsure of what to make of that.
Remy just chuckled at her. "Ya most welcome Chere. So, wha' ya up ta now dat dis peace t'ing's in place?" He asked her.
"Not a lot ah guess." She told him, tiliting her head slightly, both of them letting the music carry them accross the dancefloor as they talked. "We don't get called out all that much now, just when the cops or whatever need a bit of mutant back up, so to speak." She told him. "Ah guess now that ah finished school Ah'll look at going to college or something." She told him.
Remy nodded. "Glad ta 'ear it Chere, ya too smart ta let it all go ta waste." He told her.
"Yeah, well don't write yourself off too much Cajun, it takes a lot of brains to pull off such thievery and not get caught." She told him, smirk back in place.
Remy grinned at her. "Why t'ank ya chere, I'll tek tha' as a compliment, which I know ta be rare from ya." He told her.
"Maybe in the past." She told him softly. "Ah can do and say what ah really mean and feel now. Ah'm not constricted anymore by keeping people away from me. Ah don't have to be a stereotype." She told him, gently.
"Ya never were ta me chere. Ya were always yer own person, an' I knew dere was more ta ya dan met de eye." He smiled.
She returned his smile. "Thanks Swamp rat, that means a lot." She told him.
"So Chere, ya never tol' Remy wha' ya were gonna study?" He asked her.
Rogue chuckled at him, looking down slightly, shaking her head. "You're right, ah didn't. Ah wonder why that is." She told him.
"Remy don' know wha' ya mean chere." Remy looked at her a little confused.
"Cajun, what difference does it make to you what ah study?" She asked him, one eyebrow arched gracefully.
"Remy just tekin an intrest chere." He defended himself.
"Sure you are." She told him, smirking.
"Ya woun' Remy cherie." He told her, pouting slightly.
"Get over yourself cajun, that don't work on meh. You know that." She told him, smiling in spite of herself.
Remy grinned at her. "Aw Chere, ya know me too well." He told her.
Rogue looked a little downcast. "Yeah, well, that's what comes from having people in your head." She told him.
Remy pulled her a little closer to him so that she had to look into his eyes. "Chere?" He asked, gently, wanting to make sure that she was alright.
She gave him a small smile. "Ah'm ok, ah just -" She sighed. "Ah still get nightmares from the memories ah have. Ah can control people's powers and touch now, which is nice, but ah just though that when ah got control the nightmares would stop you know?" She asked him.
Remy could feel her saddness at the fact that she still had nightmares about other peoples nightmares, and knew that some of his memories contributed to that. He felt his heart tighten at the thought of all the girl in his arms had been through in such a short space of time. "Chere. . " He started, not knowing what he could say to her.
Rogue chuckled. "Don't worry about it Remy, there's nothing you can do about it, ah just gotta learn to live with it. It'll probably get better in time." She told him, forcing herself to smile a little, wanting to reassure him, after all, he had done a lot for her. He had saved her life a couple of times, and he had helped her get away from everything when it all got too much for her at the institute, he gave her a means of escape when she needed it the most. She knew that if it weren't for him she would have lost control more than the once.
He noticed that she was trying to put on a brave front and let her rest her head on his shoulder as the music got slower. He knew that she felt grateful for all that he had done to her, but what she didn't seem to realise was that she had saved him too. She had saved him from himself. He had blamed himself for so much over the years, he had thought that his family were the worst out there, that they were manipulative and were only interested in his powers, but meeting her showed him otherwise. Mystique had only been interested in her powers, she hadn't cared what effect that had on Rogue. Learning about her had showed him that his family weren't all that bad, that they really did care for him, and that he cared for them, not to mention that there are some things in life that you have no control over, after all, the mere fact that they were mutants were proof of that, none of them had chosen to be that way.
For the rest of the dance Remy just kept Rogue close to him as they danced, the pair finding some sort of comfort in each other that niether expected to find, or even thought that they needed.
Back at the table, the other occupants were all watching Rogue and Remy dance, noticing the different range of emotions and expressions that crossed their features. The girls and the LeBeaus all smiled when they saw Rogue lean her head on Remy's shoulder, the pair slowing down to dance in time to the music. The Xavier boys on the other hand, all frowned at what they saw, all of them still seeing Remy as the enemy, well, except for Xavier himsefl, after all, he had already achieved his dream, he didn't feel all that much hostility towards anyone anymore.
When the music came to a close, other couples began to take to the floor, Rogue and Remy continuing to dance oblivious to the people around them, only aware of each other. Just taking comfort in each others presence, not realising how much they relied and drew strengh from each other.
Jean-Luc watched as his other son took to the floor with Mercy, and the couples Xavier had brought with him also left to dance, leaving just Xavior, himself and Tante Mattie. When they were all gone Jean-Luc turned towards his old friend. "So dis Rogue, she be a lil diff'ren' from yer other students." He suggested casually, trying not to let his curiosity at the girl show.
Xavier had always been able to read his old friend like a book, no matter how hard he tried to conceal his emotions. He gave a chuckle at his comment. "Yes, Rogue is rather special. I think she is the student I am most proud to have had the honour of teaching and helping, although I don't think I really did all that much for her." He thought to himself, not realising that he had said it aloud.
"Oh? An' why migh' dat be?" Jean-Luc asked.
"Well, Rogue had a rather harsh mutation, she would absorb the life energy of any person she touched, the memories and life force, and should the person be a mutant then their powers as well, just through touching them skin to skin. It meant that she had to cover up from head to toe, which was hard to watch, especially during the summer when the other students would be walking around in shorts and tank tops." He explained, a slightly sad look in his eyes. "Sadly she developed a prickly personality to try and keep people at arms length, which, considering how she's been treated in the past I can't really blame her for. After all, if everyone you ever loved or cared for either hurt you, let you down or lied to you, I think you would do the same." He commented.
"De poor chil'." Mattie exclaimed, saddened to hear all that the girl had gone through.
"So 'ow de fille end up wit' ya?" Jean-Luc asked.
"Well, when Rogue's mutation first manifested you can imagine how scared and horrified she was, after all, her first kiss and the boy ends up in a coma for three months. Understandably the girl was lost and confused, she ran. We tried to find her so that we could try to help her, but Mystique had been tipped off about her and managed to confuse the poor girl even more, transforming into each of us and convincing her that we wanted to kill her. She ended up joining the Brotherhood of Mutants, also based in Bayville, and led by didn't realise this at the time, so we kept trying to get through to her. Scott eventually got through to her, and she helped jean out several times, which made us think that maybe she wasn't totally against the idea of joining our ranks. I think Logan helped a lot in her final decision though. He seemed to understand her more than the rest of us could." He explained.
The pair nodded. "So she 'as control now?" Jean-Luc asked, curious in spite of himself.
Xavier nodded. "Yes, quite remarkable actually. She now has the ability to control every power that she has ever absorbed without having to reabsorb it. She can touch as well, which is the part she is most pleased about. Sadly the payches are still there, but her mental shields are getting stronger, and in time, there is a chance that they will fade to the extent where they no longer bother her at night." He told them, although from the tone of his voice they could both tell that he was reluctant to get his hopes up at the idea.
"What da ya mean by 'psyches'?" Mattie asked.
"Well, whenever Rogue absorbs someone, it's a bit like a part of the person is absorbed as well. They take on a personality in her mind, and tend to try and take over in moments of weakness. Not long after her powers manifested the build up became too much and she lost control, the psyches all fighting to gain control over her mind and body, thinking that it would give them a life." He explained to the pair. "I don't think I've ever feared any of my students before like I did in that moment when I went into her mind to help fight off the psyches. There were so many of them, and the noise . . . I don't know how she managed to control it before, and even now. I don't think I could." He revealed, shaking his head a little slightly.
"She's so young ta, an' yet she's bin trou so much." Mattie shook her head.
Their gaze turned back to Rogue and Remy who were still slowly spinning round the dancefloor. "So wha's de fille up ta now dat ya not fightin' de oter mutants all de time?" Mattie asked, knowing that the same question would be running through Jean-Luc's mind as well.
Xavier looked a little taken aback by the pairs interest in Rogue. "Well, not a lot I suppose. She's just finished school, and I believe is looking at different colleges to go to. I think she'll go south though. I know that she misses it down here. You can see it in her expression, she was over the moon when I told her we would be coming South to meet you and not you coming North." He smiled.
The pair next to him grinned and exchanged a look, wondering if they would be able to convince the girl to move to their city. After all, they had a lot of influence with the colleges and school around there, they were pretty sure that they would be able to ensure that the girls course was on offer at one of them.
Several hours later Jean-Luc took to the stage and cleared his throat, everyone instantly stopping whatever they were doing and falling gracefully into a deep bow or curtsey, Rogue the only one from the Xavier group who did so, something which caused Remy to raise an eyebrow at her and the others to feel a surge of respect towards, after all, she didn't know anything about them and yet the girl was still observing and participating in their culture, which was more than could be said for the rest of her group. "Now, as is tradition wit' dese balls, we 'ave da kareoke session where 4 people are selected at random an' perform a song of dere choice. Now, as we are joined by guests dis evenin', I would like it if un or doux of dem took part in dis, but I shall leave de decision up ta dem." He annouced.
The group all turned to each other and with a silent nodd they all knew that they would get Rogue to participate, all of them knowing how beautiful her voice was. They knew that none of them would be able to compete with her, so just let her compete. Jean-Luc nodded at their decision and then turned to his own people. "Now, we 'ave da contestan' from de guest group. Who o' ya is willin' ta compete 'gainst our guest?" He asked.
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Well? What did you think? Please review.