Chapter Sixty-Nine:


"What de hell is takin' de filles so long?" Remy muttered under his breath, glancing in the direction of the bathrooms for what felt like the hundredth time in the past ten minutes.

"Be patient," Lucas grunted beside him.

"Patient?" Remy echoed with a scowl. "We're almost t' de front o' de boardin' line."

"They'll be back in time," Lucas said evenly. "It isn't possible for Tessa to be late, you know that."

"Oui," Remy muttered. "Jus' wish dey'd hurry up."

Lucas glanced over at him appraisingly, and raised an eyebrow. "Nervous?"

"Non," Remy shook his head, insulted, then sighed. "Mebbe jus' a li'l."

"Then imagine how Marie feels," Lucas pointed out quietly.

"Y' got a point dere, mon ami," Remy conceded. "Dat could be why dey takin' so long, non? Nerves got her estomac all in a twist t'day."

Lucas shrugged calmly, ever the perfect image of stoicism. "Possibly."

"Yo' not bein' much help, y' know dat?"

"I am aware of that, yes," Lucas replied somberly, without even the faintest trace of a smile. But Remy had known the dark-skinned mutant for most of his life, and he knew that with Lucas the smile was in the eyes, not the lips. And his dark eyes were bright with quiet amusement.

Remy rolled his eyes. "Yo' a pain in de-"

"You're one to talk, LeBeau," Lucas cut him off dryly.

Shaking his head, Remy glanced around the airport terminal, taking in the bustle of tourists. They were currently standing in line with Lance Alvers and Kitty Pryde, along with Tabitha Smith, Todd Tolensky and Wanda Maximoff, waiting to hand over their boarding passes at the gate so they could board their plane. Almost as soon as they had joined the back of the long line, Rogue had started to feel queasy, so she and Tessa had left their bags with Lucas and headed off to find a bathroom.

Remy couldn't say he was too surprised, Rogue hadn't slept very well the night before. She'd been too anxious about being reunited with the X-men, especially Mystique, Kurt, Logan, Bobby and Scott, not to mention Xavier himself. It had nearly destroyed her when she'd been told they were all dead, and now that she had learned they had survived it was making her stomach churn.

What did you say to the family you had mourned for and buried? To the people who you had grieved for, so fiercely, and then finally let go of? No one could blame her for moving on, she'd had no way of knowing they were alive, and carrying them around her neck all these years would have turned her into a wreck, but Remy knew she was still feeling guilty for starting a new life without them.

The way he saw it, though, she had no reason to. Especially not when the X-men had apparently let her go, as well. That made him a little uncomfortable, to say the least, knowing that they had grieved for her, that they had believed her dead all this time, when she had been safe and happy with him in New Orleans. It was crazy, he knew, but he still felt a little guilty himself, as if he'd let him suffer needlessly somehow.

"See?" Lucas grunted, jolting him out of his reverie. "Here they come."

Turning around, Remy spotted Rogue and Tessa weaving their way through the crowded terminal. The two women were engaged in quiet conversation, so Remy took a moment to look them both over appraisingly. Tessa was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black top, as usual, underneath a black leather duster. Rogue, too, wore a black leather jacket, but hers was a fitted blazer that hugged her curves. Underneath it she had chosen a pair of dark blue jeans and a hunter green ribbed turtleneck, complemented by the silver hoop-earrings she had put on that morning. She looked breathtaking, and Remy knew that was what she had been going for.

After all, she wanted to look her best when she arrived at the Westchester Academy, for which Remy couldn't fault her in the least. It had been four years since she'd last seen the X-men, she wanted to make a good impression.

Glancing down at the khakis and navy sweater he was wearing, he had to admit she wasn't the only one.

Merde, he groaned to himself. Dis look is jus' not me.

"You look as handsome as ever, Remy," Tessa stated as she and Rogue reached them. "The prep look is rather intriguing on you."

Rogue shot the telepath a warning look, but she couldn't keep the grin off her face. "Ya can look, but ya can' touch, Tess."

"I assure you, Marie," Tessa deadpanned, lifting her nose in distaste. "I have no interest in doing either."

"Dat's right," Remy smirked, winking at his wife. "Her tastes run more in de tall, dark an' silent... do y' know any mutants like dat, chere?"

"Hmm," Rogue tapped a finger to her lips thoughtfully. "Now that ya mention it, there is this one fella..."

"Do you two ever shut up and mind your own business?" Lucas demanded gruffly, clearly more embarrassed than anything.

"No," Rogue shrugged. "Not really."

Remy grinned, draping an arm around his wife's slender shoulders. "What she said, mon ami."

In front of them, Wanda turned around, slinging her carryon bag over her shoulder. "We're next at the counter," she informed them. "Make sure you have your tickets out."

Remy reached into his pockets, looking for their boarding passes, but turned up empty, and Tessa calmly held up the four tickets in her hand. "Merci, p'tite," Remy said with a rueful smile, taking two of the tickets. He turned to hand one of them to Rogue, and saw her eyes flutter closed for a moment, a hand going to her stomach. "Y' feel okay, chere?" he asked in concern.

"Yeah," Rogue nodded, flashing him a small, tired smile as she opened her eyes again. "Ah'm jus' a li'l nauseous, that's all. Nothin' t' worry 'bout."

"Maybe it was Kitty's cooking," Tabitha suggested with a snicker as she handed her ticket over to the woman behind the desk.

"Hey!" Kitty protested, elbowing her in the back. "That is so not funny! I haven't given anyone food poisoning in years!"

The woman behind the desk blinked at her, then handed Tabitha her ticket, gesturing for her to go ahead and board the plane.

"It wasn't the food," Rogue assured Kitty. "Ah'm jus' a whole mess t'day, that's all."

"I bet," Kitty nodded sympathetically. "Anxious about seeing the others, huh?"

"Somethin' like that," Rogue replied with a weak smile.

"Your ticket, miss?"

"Oh, sorry," Kitty handed it over with sheepish smile. "See you guys on board," she called over her shoulder, and disappeared down the corridor after Tabitha. Lance, Todd and Wanda moved through quickly, turning in their tickets and then starting through the gate to the plane.

Remy flashed the woman behind the desk a charming smile as she took their tickets, and as the four of them swept past, they heard the woman giggle. Rogue rolled her eyes, and Lucas raised an eyebrow, but none of them chose to comment.

Lance had managed to get nine seats close together when he booked their flight. He and Todd were seated together, with an empty seat between them, and Wanda sat with Kitty and Tabitha across the aisle, the latter two already pulling out their fashion magazines.

Stopping at his row, Remy looked over his shoulder at Rogue. "Window or aisle, chere?"

"Window," Rogue replied, slipping past him to drop down in her seat. Remy lowered himself into the seat closest to the aisle, leaving the seat between them empty to give them both more room. Tessa and Lucas were in the row across from them, and he wasn't surprised to find that Tessa was already pulling out her Newsweek magazine.

A stewardess came by a few minutes after takeoff and handed him a pillow and a blanket, which he deposited in the empty seat next to him before turning to eye his wife appraisingly. Rogue was staring out the window at the clouds, no doubt itching to get out of the plane and fly under her own power.

"Y' sure yo' okay, chere?" Remy asked, and when she looked in his direction he searched her gaze with concern.

Rogue smiled, that small, adoring little smile she flashed him on occasion, the one that always made his stomach flutter, even after all these years. "Ah'm sure," she assured him. "Ah reckon Ah've jus' been tuckered out since findin' out the X-men are alive, that's all."

Remy raised an eyebrow worriedly. "Chere, mebbe y' got a virus or somet'ing, y' sure it's just nerves?"

"Ask me again sometime," Rogue said softly, flashing him a lopsided smile. "Right now mah shoulders are so tense Ah'm nothin' but nerves."

"Wan' Remy t' rub dem den, make all de tension go away?"

"Ah'll take ya up on that t'night at the mansion if ya don' mind," Rogue replied with a yawn. "Right now Ah'm hankerin' fo' a nap."

Reaching into the empty seat, Remy grabbed his pillow and placed it in his lap. "Den y' jus' close yo' eyes an' rest, beb. Remy wake y' when we get t' Westchester."

"Merci, mon amour," Rogue murmured, closing her eyes and stretching out across the seats, resting her head on his lap.

Running his fingers through her hair, Remy grinned to himself. She'd been the one to bring him into her world first, by making him rethink his allegiance to Magneto and to Magneto's cause, turning him into more of an X-man than he would have ever thought possible, but he'd left his mark on her, too. She was as much of a swamp rat as he was now.

That morning he and Lucas had slipped off into town to do a little pick-pocketing, but only Rogue and Tessa knew that, since the girls were all too aware of what type of "business" it was that they had to attend to. Since he doubted Xavier and the others would approve of that lifestyle, he figured it was best to go ahead and get whatever they might need before they reached Westchester.

Besides, his little outing had served another purpose, it had given him a chance to make a brief phone-call to his father back in New Orleans. The relief in Jean-Luc's voice had been unmistakable, and after spending the first five minutes assuring his father that he, Rogue, Tessa and Lucas were all doing fine, Remy had broken the news about the X-men.

His father's stunned silence had pretty much summed up the way Remy had felt when Lance told them that Xavier and his students were all alive. In the fifteen minutes or so that they talked after that, Remy had filled him in as best he could on what they'd learned from Lance and Kitty and the others. He'd promised to call again when they reached Westchester to let the family know that they'd gotten there okay, and so that Jean-Luc could speak with Rogue, then ended the call after asking his father to give his love to his brother and the rest of the family.

He missed them, and he had no idea when he might see them again. Even if things calmed down enough for them to go home to New Orleans, he wasn't sure whether or not Rogue would be ready to leave Westchester and the X-men now that she'd finally found them again.

You worry too much, Tessa's voice whispered into his mind, and he turned his head to look across the aisle at the telepath, who sat with Lucas, a magazine in her hands. She didn't bother to look up from her reading, but he knew that she was aware that he was looking at her. Things will work out on their own.

Let's hope so, Remy muttered.

Now Tessa did lift her gaze, only for a moment, to fix him with a hard stare. Marie has much to deal with at the moment, she needs time to process everything. Her entire world has just been turned upside down all over again. Before you start worrying about what she'll decide she wants, maybe you should figure out what it is that you want.

Remy blinked, startled, and Tessa turned her attention back to her magazine. Lucas glanced up, having caught on that there was some sort of silent conversation taking place around him, and offered Remy a faint smile of sympathy. It was impossible to argue with Tessa's logic, and they both knew it.

Sighing, Remy leaned his head back, his fingers still absently running through his wife's hair, and decided maybe Tessa was right. They hadn't even gotten to Westchester yet, Rogue probably hadn't given any thought to what she wanted to do in the long-run. He'd leave it alone for now, let her just savor the reunion with her family and friends, and then they'd talk about it when the time came.

In the meantime, there had to be a decent in-flight movie to watch.


Translations:
filles- girls
estomac- stomach


A/N: Sorry this one is a little short, guys, I spent the weekend back home with my family for Thanksgiving, and now I am off to the library to do some research for a paper that's due tomorrow. The next chapter will have Rogue's arrival at the Westchester Academy, so keep your eyes peeled for it :)