Chapter Seventy-One:


"Six ball, corner pocket," Remy announced smoothly, and gave the ball a solid tap with his cue-stick, sending it into its intended target with ease.

Lance Alvers rolled his eyes, resting his chin on the top of his own cue-stick. "Lucky shot," he grumbled.

"Den it looks like Remy's been havin' not'ing but luck dis whole game, hahn?" Remy retorted with a grin.

"Shut up and take your next shot, would you?" Lance grunted.

Remy chuckled, moving around to the other side of the pool table to get a better angle. They had decided to play a few rounds after spotting the table in the mansion's recreation room during the quick tour Jean Grey-Summers had given them upon their arrival. She and Rogue had chatted excitedly about just about everything under the sun as Jean showed them around. It was ironic, really, that two teenage girls who had rarely seen eye-to-eye had grown into women with a good deal of respect and affection for one another.

Neither Tessa nor Lucas had understood the reason that both Remy and Rogue chuckled when Jean informed them that she now went by the colorful codename of Phoenix, but he supposed they would ask about it later if they really wanted to know. It was one of the many small oddities that Remy had picked up on about the X-men during his time with Magneto, that Jean Grey had been the only one without a codename. They had asked Rogue and Evan about it while they were on the island together, but neither of them had known the answer, and St. John had spent a good deal of time trying to figure it out, coming up with some of the craziest theories Remy could have ever imagined.

Shaking his head, Remy let out a small sigh. Piotr had briefly filled him in on what he knew about the rest of the Acolytes, and the news about St. John was unsettling. It seemed that the pyromaniac had been infected with the Legacy Virus, courtesy of Henry Gyrich and his soldiers, during one of Magneto's attempts at world domination earlier that year. Their former teammate was currently in the care of Moira MacTaggert, who was using her resources on Muir Island to try and find a cure for the lethal disease. So far there hadn't been much progress, but Dr. MacTaggert was hopeful, and with so many mutant lives depending on her finding a cure, she wasn't going to give up until she succeeded.

Mebbe when t'ings settle down, Remy'll pay ol' Johnny a visit, Remy thought to himself. He was certain that Rogue would want to once she heard the news, and according to Piotr, Moira had been able to isolate the part of the virus that made it contagious, so there was no need to worry about catching the virus from St. John. Of course, Gyrich was still out there trying to spread the virus throughout the mutant population, and Stryker was working just as hard to find a way to destroy them.

One of these days, someone was going to have to take those two out of the picture once and for all.

"X-geek alert," Lance muttered under his breath as Scott Summers approached, flanked by Sam Guthrie and Roberto DaCosta.

Remy didn't so much as blink at the warning, leaning over the table to bank his next shot. He'd known they were watching him, Tessa had alerted him to their presence in the room upon their arrival a few minutes ago. The telepath glanced up from the book she was reading in the corner as the X-men moved towards him, and despite the fact that she didn't make any move to get to her feet, her watchful gaze never wavered.

Knowing what he did about the X-men, both from Magneto's surveillance files and from what Rogue had told him over the years, he had been expecting Scott to confront him sooner of later. Now that Rogue and Xavier were gone, off discussing some things in private in the Professor's office, it looked like the leader of the X-men had decided that now was as good a time as any.

Reaching for the cue chalk, he twisted it on top of his cue, lifting his eyes to meet Lucas' stony gaze across the pool table. His friend raised his eyebrow ever so slightly, an unspoken offer to find a way to get rid of the X-men coming his way, but Remy dismissed it with a faint shake of his head. This conversation needed to happen, for Rogue's sake if nothing else, and the sooner he got it over with, the better.

The X-men meant the world to her, they always had, and if there was one thing that Remy had learned about the X-men while working for Magneto, it was that they took care of their own. It didn't matter that it had been four years since they last laid eyes on her, or that they had thought her dead and lost forever, from the moment that she had stepped through that doorway, Rogue had been accepted back into the fold without reservation.

And that meant that the way Remy saw it he needed to be on his best behavior for now, for her sake.

"Looks like this has been an intense game," Scott observed neutrally as he came to a halt at the far end of the table, eyeing the remaining billiard balls through his rose-quartz sunglasses. "Who's solids?"

"Remy," Lance grunted, obviously not pleased about that fact that he was losing, and losing quite badly at that.

"You've got an impressive shot," Scott commented as Remy sunk the eight-ball in the corner pocket, effectively ending the game.

"T'anks, homme," Remy replied evenly, blowing chalk off the tip of his cue-stick. "Been playin' since I was jus' a pup."

"That go for cards, too?" Scott inquired, trying to appear nonchalant, but Remy could tell where the X-men's field leader was going with this.

"Cards are Remy's weapon o' choice," Remy shrugged, handing his cue-stick to Lucas, who silently moved to place it back on the rack along the wall. "Been dat way fo' as long as I can 'member."

"Tricks of the trade, huh?" Roberto asked with a smirk.

"One o' dem, oui," Remy agreed smoothly. "But a good t'ief never reveals his secrets."

"Of course not," Scott said dryly, folding his arms over his chest and fixing Remy with a stare that Remy found a little unsettling, considering he couldn't tell what the man was thinking thanks to those damn rose-quartz glasses. Of course, if Scott's body language was any indication, then Remy's nonchalant attitude was having a similar affect on the X-man known as Cyclops.

For a long moment they stood there sizing one another up, and Remy knew that if his wife was there she would have rolled her eyes and made some terribly sarcastic remark about them acting like a pack of dogs.

"Y' got somet'ing dat y' wan' say t' Remy, or y' jus' like starin'?" he finally asked, tired of dancing around the subject.

"As a matter of fact, there is," Scott confirmed with a curt nod. "I don't know how you got Rogue to marry you, but you better treat her right, Gambit, or there's going to be hell to pay."

Remy had the urge to roll his eyes, but decided against it since it was likely to only encourage them, since he knew that their intentions were good. "If y' so concerned 'bout de way Remy be treatin' his femme, den why don' y' jus' ask her yo'selves?"

"Because they don't have a death wish, that's why," Lance said with a smirk, earning a glare from Summers, but the former leader of the Brotherhood just grinned, obviously enjoying the chance to annoy him.

"Look, Ah think what Scott's tryin' t' say is that we're jus' lookin' out fo' Rogue," Sam said evenly, and Remy decided he could see what Rogue liked about the younger man. "She's been a big part o' our lives, an' we all care 'bout her."

"Dat's good t' hear," Remy replied, and he meant every word. "Because she cares 'bout de lot o' y', too. It tore her up when she thought dat y' were dead. Took her a long time t' get over dat."

"But you were there to help her with that, right?"

"O' course," Remy said, not bothering to rise to the bait. "Her happiness is de only t'ing dat matters t' me, comprenez?" he insisted, giving the leader of the X-men an intent look. "Always has been, always will be. She has my heart, dere's not'ing dat I wouldn' do fo' de femme, an' dat's all dat matters, non?"

"Marie has been very happy with us," Lucas spoke up, his tone quiet but serious. "And she has brought a good deal of happiness into our lives in return."

Remy shot his friend a grateful look, even though he knew that Lucas had done it as much for himself as for Remy and Rogue. The Thieves Guild was the only family that the dark-skinned mutant had left, but the four of them, the mutant thieves, had formed a small little family of their own, and Remy knew that Lucas would defend it against anything, or anyone, that he percieved to be a threat.

Roberto nodded. "Good, that's all we wanted to hear, right, guys?"

"Right," Sam agreed with a lopsided smile.

Scott, however, remained silent, studying Remy with a thoughtful and appraising expression. After a long pause, he sighed and extended his hand. Remy clasped it in his own, and Scott dug his fingers into his wrist tightly. "If you ever hurt her," Scott warned grimly. "Then you'll live to regret it."

"Don' worry 'bout dat, mon ami," Remy assured him with a small smirk. "It'll never happen."

"I hope not," Scott said seriously.

"Are you guys done with this ridiculous display of testosterone?" a female voice demanded sarcastically from the doorway, and they all looked up to see a green-haired woman standing there with Scott's brother Alex on her arms.

"You know us men, Lorna," Alex quipped as they entered the room. "We have to act manly whenever possibly."

"More like idiotically," Lorna rolled her eyes.

"Remy, this is my brother Alex," Scott said, and Remy decided there was no need to point out that he knew who Alex was, that Magneto had a very in-depth file on the younger mutant. "And his girlfriend Lorna Dane."

"Pleasure t' meet y', p'tite," Remy said, kissing Lorna's hand. "Dat yo' natural hair color?"

"Yes," Lorna nodded. "I was born with it."

"It's nice," Remy commented. "De green goes well wit' yo' eyes."

"Thank you," Lorna said with a smile, her cheeks flushing at the compliment. "I used to want to dye it when I was younger, but my aunt wouldn't let me."

"I'm glad she didn't, it's part of what makes you the woman I love," Alex told her, earning an adoring look from his girlfriend and a snort from his older brother.

"Nice t' meet y'," Remy told him, and Alex nodded in greeting.

"You worked for Magneto, huh?"

"Fo' a time," Remy answered. "Den ma chere helped me t' see de light."

"More like she clubbed you upside the head so hard you saw the light," Lucas muttered, and Remy raised an eyebrow at his friend. "What?" Lucas grunted, folding his muscular arms over his chest. "It's true, isn't it?"

"Oui," Remy sighed dramatically. "T'is true, mon ami. When y' get right down t' it, Magneto may be one scary homme, but he don' got not'ing on my wife, 'specially durin' dat time o' de month."

Tessa gave him a cool look over the top of her book, but did not comment. Most likely she was filing that comment away inside her head to use against him at a latter date. Sometimes it sucked living with women who could either suck the thoughts right out of your head with a single touch or simply peer into your head, but the worst thing of all was living with a woman who never forget anything.

Not ever.

"I would avoid letting her hear you say that," Lucas advised grimly. "Or you'll be sleeping on the couch again."

"Ah," Remy scoffed with a grin. "She can' stay away from moi. She be lettin' me crawl back in t' de bed b'fo' de end o' de night, like always."

"Too much information," Sam protested with a shudder.

"Yeah," Scott agreed, shifting uncomfortably. "I'd prefer not to have to think about the two of you sharing a bed, thanks."

"Yo' a married man, homme," Remy reminded him with a smirk, unable to pass up the chance to rib on him a little. "Y' should already know what goes on behind closed doors. B'sides, Tante Mattie taught me dat a gentleman never kisses an' tells."

"You think of yourself as a gentleman?" Scott asked skeptically.

"Ignore Summers," Lance told him with a roll of his eyes. "He just can't get it through his thick skull that the girls aren't his responsibility anymore. You should have seen him when Kitty announced our engagement, I thought he was going to burst a blood vessel."

"He nearly did," Roberto snickered, and Scott opened his mouth to defend himself, but was cut off by a loud explosion from outside.

Remy flinched, but Scott and the others just sighed in annoyance.

"What was that?" Lucas asked with a frown.

"Tabitha and Amara are having a snowball fight with some of the kids," Lance informed them with a grimace. "Looks like they broke the 'no powers' rule already. I'd better go make sure they don't blow up anything."

A few seconds later there was another bang, and a guttural male cry of frustration, which earned a chuckle from Sam and Roberto.

"Tabby must have nailed him good," Roberto observed.

"She's setting a bad example for the students," Scott sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if she's ever going to grow up."

"Probably not," Sam retorted. "But hey, Kitty grew outta her damn 'Valley Girl' phase, so maybe there's hope fo' Tabby, too."

"Don't count on it," Roberto snorted. "Some people never change."

"And some people do," Scott mused, glancing in Remy's direction. "It's good to see Rogue smiling again. She never did that often enough when she was with us."

Remy gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, and let his thoughts wander for a moment to the girl that his wife had once been, the girl that, he was certain, was perfectly preserved in the memories of Scott and the other X-men, the people who had loved and cared for her as one of their own.

He remembered what she had looked like the first time he met her, with her pale skin and dark makeup, and the clothing that covered as much skin as possible. She'd been timid when it came to physical contact back then, as much for her own safety as for the safety of those around her, but she'd still had that fiery disposition that he loved so dearly. To her friends, though, it must have been like looking at her through one of those Fun House mirrors- the moody, sullen Gothic teenager had suddenly blossomed into a breathtaking, vivacious and carefree young woman who smiled and laughed without hesitation.

Remy liked to flatter himself by thinking that he'd had something to do with her transformation.

He was jolted out of her reverie when he heard Lucas suddenly call Tessa's name, and he followed his friend's gaze to find that the telepath had gone still, her eyes closed and her lips drawn together in a thin line.

Alarmed, Remy hurried over to her side, with Lucas at his heels, and knelt down to lay a hand on her knee. "Que? Que est mauvais?" he asked.

Tessa shook her head lightly. "Nothing is... wrong," she assured him, but there was a troubled look in her eyes when she opened them. "I was picking up some unsettled emotions from Marie just now, but she seems to have recovered enough to get her emotions back under control."

Remy frowned, not liking what that sounded like. "Somet'ing Xavier say upset her?"

"I'm not sure," Tessa gave him an apologetic look. "And I don't think it would be my place to say even if I did."

"Y' an' yo' telepathic integrity," Remy said with a faint smile. "Yo' sure dat it's not'ing dat needs t' be dealt wit' right now?"

"Yes," Tessa nodded. "She'll come to you when she's ready to talk about it."

"Okay," Remy sighed, knowing that she was probably right. She was always right, about anything and everything, it was one of her more infuriating character traits. Sometimes he wondered if her powers made it statistically impossible for her to be wrong. "Keep tabs on her fo' me, will y', p'tite? If she needs me..."

"I will inform you if she does," Tessa promised.

"Merci," Remy said, and he let her return to her reading, but Lucas remained at her side, lifting a book from the bookshelf and settling down in the chair across from her. It was all Remy could do not to smirk, despite his concern for his wife, and he shook his head, wondering if they would ever get it together, or if Mercy, Bella and Rogue would have to make good on their threat to start playing matchmaker.

"What was that all about?" Alex asked curiously when he reached them.

"Tessa jus' picked up on some stuff from Marie," Remy replied, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Mebbe she's jus' apprehensive 'bout seein' her mere and frere again."

"Speaking of," Scott advised grimly. "You should definitely keep your guard up when they arrive. Kurt's normally a pretty reasonable guy, but when it comes to Rogue he's always been a bit overzealous."

"Kurt's not the one he has to watch out for," Roberto snickered. "Mystique's the reformed terrorist and assassin, remember?"

"That's only if there's anythin' left o' him fo' her t' get her hands on once Logan's done with him," Sam pointed out with a shudder. "Ah ain't hopin' t' have front row seats t' that bloodbath. He's likely t' burst a blood vessel when he finds out his li'l girl's a married woman."

"Sam," Roberto elbowed him sharply.

Remy frowned, picking up on the uneasiness that had suddenly filled the room. "What's goin' on? Dere's somet'ing dat y' ain't tellin' Remy here."

Scott and the others exchanged hesitant glances, then Scott sighed. "You might as well know the truth, Rogue's probably hearing it from the Professor right now anyway."

"Jus' spit it out, homme," Remy grunted irritably.

"Fine," Scott said, and leveled him with a steady gaze. "Turns out that Logan is Rogue's biological father."

Remy blinked, staring at him in shock, frozen in disbelief.

When the shock finally wore off, he only had one thing to say about the whole thing.

"Merde, he's gon' kill me."


Translations:

Comprenez- understand?
Que- what?
Que est mauvais- what is wrong?
mere- mother
frere- brother
merde- shit


A/N: Sorry this chapter was kind of short, guys, exams are killing me. But they are done in a few days, and then I have a nice three weeks off for Christmas, so I will have a lot more time to update :)