BENEATH THE SURFACE

Part Ten

For the week and a half, Rogue began to feel herself getting slowly back to normal at home in the mansion. After a few days of easy Danger Room sessions, the training schedule began to get rather challenging. Not only were they challenging, but slightly off-putting, as the Professor was allowing Remy to sit in the control annex to observe. The thought of Remy watching her every time she trained left her feeling uncomfortable, caused her to make mistakes out of nervousness. It had taken a long time for her to get used to the idea of being watched by the instructors, but she hated Remy watching her. She felt too studied.

If the Danger Room wasn't challenging enough, her relationship with Remy was nigh on impossible. Every moment of every day, he was around people, and even when she tried to get a moment alone with him, there'd be someone there interrupting. With the school year about to begin again within only a week, Rogue was pressed by Hank and the Professor to broach the idea with Remy about high school again while there was still time to get him quickly enrolled.

It was a Tuesday that she finally decided the time had come to talk about it with Remy. She just wasn't sure how to find the time alone with him to broach the subject gently. It was a sensitive subject, she was certain. She didn't want to bring it up in front of the others in case it turned into a rather heated debate about why he felt he didn't need to go and she was certain he didn't want people knowing he hadn't finished high school.

After her martial arts training session with Logan, she went up to the kitchen get a drink and it was by luck that she found Remy in there on his own. He was standing at the sink peeling a lot of potatoes, listening to the radio, his expression slightly distant.

Rogue stood for a moment, examining the way he made even peeling potatoes look like an art form, peelings flicking across the sink and parts of the counter, he never seemed to even look at the potatoes, just peeled, dumped, and got the next.

"Where's your chore buddy?" Rogue asked, raising an eyebrow. Usually chores like preparing dinner were set in pairs to make such things faster. She moved to the wall where the whiteboard with the chores rota was and noted that Jean was supposed to be helping him. It wasn't like Jean to skip out.

"She's gone to get corncobs from the store...we ran out," Remy turned to look at her, he examined her workout clothes, "Let me guess. Trainin' with y' sugar daddy?"

"Stop that," she warned coolly. The accusations about Logan were not amusing her. She moved over, "Need help with anything?"

"I got it," Remy responded.

"Listen, since we've got a moment," Rogue pulled herself up onto the counter and sat there at his left, "can we talk?"

"I been tryin' t' find some time t' talk with y' all week," Remy commented, "Y' friends keep gettin' in the goddamn way..."

Rogue kept an ear out for any intrusions, it sounded rather quiet, she supposed most of the others had gone to the store with Jean – it usually became a huge outing for junk food whenever someone needed to make a grocery trip. "Yeah, it's...hectic here."

"Y' did warn me, I guess," he said, he tossed a potato into the large pot to his right. "When we gon' get some time f' jus' us?" he asked, he eyed her, peeling the next potato swiftly.

"We'll find time soon..." she picked up an unpeeled potato and turned it around in her hands absently.

"Why don' we go out on a date?" he asked.

"What if someone saw?" she pointed out.

"What if?" he asked pointedly. "Y' embarrassed t' be caught goin' out with a no-hoper like me?"

Rogue frowned at him, "of course not."

"Then why we still playing this game?"

"Because Ah'm just not comfortable havin' people know about my private life..." she commented quietly, she stared down at the potato in her hands, "Anyway...you're not a no-hoper," she sighed.

He didn't respond, he tossed the next potato aside and went to the next.

"Have...you given any more thought to goin' to Bayville high?"

"Nice segue," he frowned at her.

"Huh?"

"If I ain' a no-hoper...why woul' y' want me t' go t' that damn place?"

"You're not a-" she caught herself from arguing, "look, have you at least thought about it?"

He snorted, "no. Why would I? I'm eighteen, an' it's not like I need t' get a diploma t' get a good job. I probably got enough money f' the next fifteen years...and then some..."

"That much?" she asked. She thought he'd only kept enough for a while, not for a lifetime. If he'd neglected to disclose that much, what else was he neglecting to disclose?

"That much," he commented quietly.

"What about when the next fifteen years are up?"

"Then I'll make more," he supposed.

"It's just...Ah mean, don't you think it'd be kind of cool to go to school together...share classes?"

Remy stopped peeling, his expression darkened a little, "how am I supposed t' go to school with eyes like these?" he pointed out.

"Sunglasses...just like Scott. Ah mean...he got away with it. And then everyone knew about us..."

"And y' were all shunned," he reminded.

"Who cares if you're shunned...you'll have us at school. Besides, guys like you always seem to become popular regardless."

"Why is it so important that I go?" he asked seriously.

"Because..." she trailed off, "It'd be nice for you to have one last year of bein' a kid, Ah guess."

He frowned, "the Professor put y' up t' this, didn' he?"

"Of course not," Rogue lied. "Ah just...Ah thought it would be nice to be at school together...we'd at least see each other a little more than we do right now. When Ah go back to school next week-"

"Next week?" he asked, looking worried, "school starts that soon?"

"Yes," she replied. "And when it starts...we'll barely see each other."

He tossed his peeled potato into the pot of water, it made a huge angry splash. "Fuck," he muttered.

"Remy, Ah told you it'd be like this..."

"It wouldn't be if y' jus' be honest with people..."

"You think they'd intrude any less?" she asked. "They'd probably find it funny to make even more of a nuisance of themselves than usual. We'd never get a minutes peace..."

He looked away, "can't help feelin' that y' jus' don' wan' t' tell people 'cause y' ashamed of me," he muttered.

"Ah ain't ashamed of you," she admitted, it being the truth. No, there was nothing shameful about being romantically attached to the boy. He was good looking, charming, strong and clever. She wasn't sure people would say the same thing about her, however. She could already picture her friends asking what he saw in her.

"Then go out on a date wit' me...let the others know about it..."

"Not yet," Rogue touched his shoulder gently, "please...just a little while longer?"

He shook his head, he wasn't happy with this, she could see it. It was getting harder and harder to keep him happy. Every day she saw the frustration building on his face about it, saw the distraction in his eyes that she could do nothing to help. Sometimes she longed to just sit beside him in the rec room and take his hand, or tell him how she felt about him in front of the others, but it felt oddly daunting...the idea of being so...public about it. It was uncomfortable being in the same room when Jean and Scott did it, she couldn't imagine being like that herself.

She slipped down from the counter, "at least think about School..." she pleaded of him, "it'd be good for you...even if it's just for a year."

"I don't even know why you're going back," he commented, "seems stupid havin' to redo the year."

At that moment, she couldn't help but think if she agreed with it, it would only help him reinforce his idea that he didn't need to go. "Ah thought at first maybe it was stupid but...Ah missed out on a lot of stuff and maybe a lot of it was important...maybe Ah'll need it some day..."

"Yeah," Remy grunted, "Like those stupid math questions that clearly gon' make a difference t' y' grown up adult life. Where the fuck y' gon' have t' ask y'self 'If y' have six apples and y' gave Johnny five of them, how many rockets could y' ride t' Mars before Lady Gaga released a hit single and Angelina Jolie adopted a new kid'?"

"Ah swear that question was on my last test. It was under 'If you bought eight cookies and gave Susie one, how many grams of cocaine would it take to kill Charlie Sheen'..." Rogue frowned a little. "Oh...come on, sugar..." she said quietly, hoping no one was going to hear. She moved behind him and put her hands gently on his shoulders, squeezing a little, "at least think about it, it'd be nice to go school together...be teenagers together..."

"We're eighteen, Rogue. We're adults...married adults," he reminded. "We ain' really high school kids any more."

Rogue stroked her hands gently down his arms, "what about roleplayin'?" she teased.

He turned slowly, raising an eyebrow at her questioningly.

Gently, she traced the band logo name on his t-shirt, trying her best to be a little beguiling, "You always liked a little roleplayin'..."

His eyes followed her fingers on his chest, his expression became just a little feverish. She realised it had been some time since they'd been that close. Not since the night they had sat down to watch that movie together...and Tabitha had interrupted.

"Maybe I'm sick of playin' roles, chere..." he admitted quietly, "maybe I jus' want t' be who I am."

"How will you ever know who you are if you don't even explore it?" Rogue asked, she tried to smile sweetly, "please...please...just think about this."

"How about you think about tellin' people the truth about us, and I think about goin' t' high school?" he asked seriously.

"Remy-"

"If y' like..." he licked his lips, "I can play it so innocently, chere...I can ask y' out...in front of everyone, make them think it's jus' a general thing. I can fake fallin' in love wit' y' f' there benefit. Shoul' be easy...I'm already crazy 'bout you..."

Rogue tilted her head up and stared into his eyes.

"We can make it look like it's happenin'..." he explained, "I mean...is how it happened why y' so reluctant t' tell them? 'Cause of how it came about?"

She moved away, suddenly feeling a little awkward, "ssh."

"That's it, ain' it? Y' don' want them knowin' that this all happened because I intended t' use y'...that this all happened like an accident 'cause of a favour..."

"How would we explain that?" she snorted, "We got together because you asked me to...to..."

"We married 'cause I asked y' f' a favour," He moved over to her, "We got t' gether 'cause I loved y'...and we stayed t' gether ' cause I still do..."

"Ssh!" she said quickly, she pressed her gloved hand to his mouth quickly, her eyes wide.

Remy's eyes shifted to the open doorway; Rogue heard the voices, the footsteps approaching. She didn't expect her to grab her by the waist and swing her into the broom closet nearby, he pushed himself in against her to fit himself with her and pulled the door closed as quietly as he could.

Rogue gasped, his face was inches from hers, his body pressed up against hers, her legs pressed so hard against a galvanised bucket that if she moved she was afraid she'd make a sound. Outside of the door, she could hear the others entering the kitchen, returning from their shopping trip.

"Where's Gambit gone?" asked Jean Grey.

Rogue's eyes shifted to the slats in the louvre door of the closet, she could see the colours and movement, but not much else from the angle she was at. Remy's breath tickled against her ear hotly. For a moment she was almost certain he was breathing like that deliberately against her.

"Probably for more potatoes, looks like he ran out – there's no way this is enough for us all," came Scott's voice. "He should have called, we could have picked them up."

"There's another bag in the pantry," Jean stated, there was the sound of the door, "he probably didn't know...either that or he's gone to answer a phone or something..."

Rogue turned slowly back to look at Remy; his face was slatted with pale silvery light from the louvre door, she gripped onto his t-shirt, feeling slightly awkward about where to put her hands in this confined space. The heat in the closet was stifling, the closeness of their breath did nothing to help that, made her face feel hot and sweaty. She felt his hand circling her hip, his red irises seemed to glimmer like the facets of rubies catching the light. She swallowed hard, the whole situation brought tension toher gut.

What would Jean and Scott say if they found them like this?

"Here's the rest of the stuff," came the voice of Kitty Pryde, a moment later, Tabitha Smith and Bobby Drake following suit.

"Why are we carrying all the heaviest stuff?" Bobby huffed, "you could have used your powers!"

"If you want the girls to like you, you need to work all those muscles out," teased Tabitha. "I mean look at your arms right now...I've seen bigger knots in a piece of thread."

"What is it with you girls and muscles?" Bobby grunted unhappily, "I saw the way you and Rahne were making eyes at Gambit at the pool yesterday when he had his shirt off..."

Rogue gazed at Remy, raising an eyebrow at him, even in the half-darkness, she could see the smirk forming on his face.

Jean wistfully sighed, "that guy has abs like a stone statue...I mean, they look diamond cut."

"Hey!" Scott complained, "how come you never talk about my abs like that?"

"I will when they start looking like that," Jean teased.

"Did you know he has a tattoo?" asked Tabitha suddenly.

"Who?"

"Gambit. I saw it on his hip."

"How did you see that?" Scott asked a little suspicious.

Rogue frowned at Remy now. How did she see that? she wondered suspiciously.

"I saw it when he was coming out of the pool and his shorts slipped a little...I think it was a spade and a heart..."

"Lame," said Bobby, "if you're gonna get a tattoo, get somethin' cool like...a flaming skull or...a huge dragon..."

"I dunno, it was kind of cute. I wonder if it means anything," Tabitha said casually.

Rogue took in a deep breath, the smell of Remy's cologne was thick in the closet, filling her senses, the heat felt as if it were starting to swallow her, there was very little ventilation coming in through those slats. Remy's hand was against her backside and she wasn't all that sure if she wanted him to remove it.

How long are they all gonna be in the kitchen? Rogue thought in panic, Remy leaned near her ear and breathed the words, "I'm real hard..." so very quietly she was barely sure she heard it. Her cheeks flushed hotter, her entire body flushed at the thought. She turned to gaze out of the slats, her chest rising and falling quickly. He wasn't joking, she felt him against her hip.

"Do you think we can really trust him?" Bobby asked after a moment.

Rogue swallowed hard, Remy was kissing her clothed shoulder, his hand squeezed her backside, she felt him trying to pull her towards him to close the (very small) gap between their bodies.

"I don't know," Kitty admitted after a moment, "Lance always said he was kind of...I don't know...untrustworthy..."

"You're taking that from Lance?" laughed Tabitha. "He's not the best judge of character, really."

Remy's teeth bit gently into her shoulder, she felt it through the cloth of her sweatshirt and she gasped a little, she could feel exactly what he was doing through the thin cotton, gently rolling his mouth over the curve of her shoulder, pulling gently against the flesh. She didn't want to even admit to herself it didn't feel unpleasant.

The closet was no place for this kind of behaviour, her stomach was fluttering with the possibility that they might be caught. If someone spills somethin' and needs a mop...what then?

"He...is sort of shady...sort of," supposed Scott, "he doesn't really talk too much...and if he does it's all really...vague or general. I don't think I've ever heard him talk about anything personal...he won't talk about where he came from or what his background is or anything. And lets not forget...he's a criminal..."

"I think he's okay, really," Tabitha admitted.

"I don't know," sighed Scott, "I have nothing against the guy, but I just...don't know if I do trust him yet."

"He's just...you know, like a lot of us...he did some bad things to make ends meet, to put a roof over his head...he isn't that different," said Tabitha.

"Lets hope you're right..." Kitty replied.

"Keep an eye out for any kind of weird behaviour...I mean...anything goes missing, you see him in any of the rooms or basements without the right access," Scott said quietly, "let me know. Just because Rogue thinks he's okay and the Professor thinks he's sound doesn't mean he's a hundred percent."

"I think you're kind of...I don't know...making him out to be a bad guy and he's not," Tabitha admitted.

"Maybe he's not, but we'll keep an eye out anyway," promised Kitty, "anyway, I'm gonna go call my parents."

"Wanna play Call of Duty?" Bobby asked Tabitha.

"Not if you're gonna be a little bitch about it again," Tabitha muttered.

Rogue listened closely as three sets of footsteps descended away from the kitchen, she held onto Remy's t-shirt, her chest rising and falling quickly, sweat was starting to trickle down her nose. She could hear the sounds of Scott and Jean putting groceries away; she hoped to god neither of them had anything to put away in the broom closet.

If there's cleanin' supplies in any of those bags, we're fucked, Rogue realised. She gasped a little, Remy bit down a little too hard, she was almost certain it was for the reaction. She wondered if for a moment he actually hoped she'd cry out so they did get caught.

"Jean?" Scott asked after a few moments.

"Hmm?" Jean asked, she sounded a little distant.

"You didn't answer when Bobby asked about Gambit," Scott said quietly.

"Oh," Jean said.

"What do you think about him?" Scott asked curiously.

"I don't think anything about him," Jean replied.

"Other than your appreciation of his diamond cut abs?" Scott snorted.

Remy chuckled under his breath, Rogue smacked him.

"Ssh!" she warned quietly.

"Stop being so jealous. You have a much nicer body..." Jean said, Rogue had the sense she was humouring her boyfriend.

"Seriously though," Scott sighed, "you ever pick anything up from him?"

"Nothing," Jean replied.

Rogue tried to ignore that from the way Remy had snaked his hand right behind her backside that he could twist his arm around enough to get enough access to press his fingers between her legs from behind. She bit into her lip at the touch, now she was almost certain he wanted to get them caught.

"How can you say you pick up nothing. You pick up bits and pieces from people all day..."

"Not from from him..." Jean admitted, "he's...difficult...most people are like...open books...or magazines...every now and then a rogue wind may stir the pages, and I might get a look at the pages...might see pictures and paragraphs...but with him...I just don't."

"You don't?"

Remy smirked at Rogue, he pressed his fingers a little harder against her, she drew her breath in sharply, it sounded loud to her and she hoped to god that it was not audible over the sound of the radio and Scott and Jean's moving items around in the kitchen.

"He's like one of those books you see behind a glass case in a museum, Scott..." Jean continued, "no random breeze will ever push those pages open...you can't get close enough to see the pages that are open, and he won't open the case. I just can't read him...he's carefully guarded."

Rogue gripped onto Remy's t-shirt more tightly, his touch was unbearable and at the same time, seemingly so very urgently necessary. Remy kept going and Rogue anxiously listened to the sounds of Scott and Jean putting groceries away, not knowing if she'd be trapped in this closet for all eternity. If they didn't finish soon, she wasn't sure how long she'd be able to hold herself together. The sensations, his sublime deliberate touch, it was making her tremble, and she had to keep biting her lip harder to refrain from crying out.

Ah'm gonna smack him when we get out of this, she thought desperately, fingers clutching at his t-shirt so hard she was sure she was stretching the fabric.

"That's the last of it."

"Wonder where Gambit's gone to," Scott wondered aloud.

"I thought I sensed him nearby a few moments ago but it's gone. He must be somewhere..." Jean responded, she sounded almost bored. "Want to play some pool before dinner?"

"Only if you stop using your powers to steer the balls in your favour," Scott mumbled.

"I only did that once and it was only because you were being a show off," Jean laughed, "come on."

The sounds of their footsteps seemed to disappear from the kitchen after a moment, Rogue reached for the handle on the inside of the closet, Remy caught her hand with his free one and stopped her, he pushed her further back into the closet, the bucket at her feet clanged a little at the movement; she gasped a little as he pushed himself up against her, pulling her leg up so that she was able to use the upturned bucket to prop her foot up; he led her hand to the hanging rail above (it had once been a coat closet) and he began grinding himself against her with furious urgency, his breathing heavy, his expression dark with lust...

She hated that it was the thought of that look in this dim light, the unpredictability of this all, and perhaps even the danger of possibly being caught that sent her right over the edge. She grasped onto him with her free arm, letting him do what he wanted, heart hammering madly, she had to bite down on her lip so hard she tasted a little blood. Her body ached as the first tremors came, muscles in spasm almost painfully, warm rushes of pleasure washing over her. Remy was spent fairly quickly to follow, faster than she'd have given him credit for. He leaned against her in the closet, breath hot and heavy, it seemed to shake and vibrate against her naked ear. His body seemed to rumble a little against her, she felt it as he held onto her tightly. She felt his heart thundering through her hand pressed against his back.

What had happened on the yacht...it had been nothing compared to that moment. The frustration coming to a head, perhaps the absence of any real time spent together was what had given it that power. Remy pulled away from her, pushing the door open and stepping out; she felt so weak kneed that she almost collapsed out of it and she had to grab onto the door frame for a moment to hold herself up.

Remy said absolutely nothing, he went back to the sink and began washing his hands; he was so quiet and oddly comfortable. Slightly embarrassed, red faced and sweating, Rogue made her way out of the kitchen and headed off upstairs to take a cold shower, she felt quite dirty (and what was worse, she felt oddly satisfied about it too).

"How long does it take you to peel potatoes?"

Remy blinked himself out of the reverie he'd been in, lost in the moment, he realised he must have been standing there at the sink holding the same potato for almost twenty minutes (judging by the clock on the windowsill), the thing hadn't been peeled yet. He turned slowly to gaze at Tabitha who was standing at his side, looking at him quizzically.

"Sorry?"

"I said how long does it take you to peel potatoes, Gambit," Tabitha folded her arms, a slight smirk playing about her painted red lips.

"Oh..." he shook his head, "sorry..."

"Ororo asked me to come put them on the boil but they're not even done yet..." Tabitha pointed out.

"Sorry," he said again.

"You're not just there to be pretty, you know, you have to work for your food here," Tabitha teased, she playfully ran her index finger along his jaw.

He shifted away from her touch, he couldn't explain why that touch felt a little uncalled for and unwelcome. His mind was still too clogged with thoughts of sex, too distracted with the fresh and satisfying memory of Rogue in the hot sticky darkness of the closet. Tabitha's touch somehow only made him think of it more, made her touch so inappropriate somehow.

Remy felt rather smug with himself about the closet; it had been a rather fulfilling moment, and perhaps even just a little amusing. In a way he supposed he should hate himself for putting Rogue in that position right then, knowing how afraid she'd been of being caught. But the moment had taken him, the closeness, the way her breath had been shuddering against his lip, the strangely pleasant smell of her sweat from her workout mixed with her slightly musky body spray. And then there was the proximity...

Jean-Luc couldn't touch them in there, there was no room for him right then. For a moment, regardless of who was on the other side of the door, or whomever was moving about in the kitchen, regardless of who had been talking on the other side of that louvre door...it had just been him and Rogue.

Chances like that were impossible in this place, and he wasn't going to ignore the opportunity. Rogue on the other hand...well...she had opportunity to ignore it, but he'd had her right where he wanted her. If she left the closet, she'd blow their cover. It was up to her right then if she wanted to do that and he'd known she wasn't about to. However, had she tried to leave the closet after the others had left the kitchen...he wouldn't have stopped her.

She didn' leave it though...she could have pushed me off.

Yes, there was no doubt in his mind that at that moment, he had completely and successfully seduced her. It wasn't like the yacht, it wasn't awkward and uncertain, there had been a burning heat this time, a passion with fiery urgency, something he hadn't fully felt with her before. He'd wanted her before, but not like that, not immediately, not regardless of what was happening and where they were. For just those brief moments, he'd almost felt like himself again, like the Remy LeBeau he'd been before Jean-Luc had ever tried to arrange his marriage to Bella Donna, before his life had been turned upside down by death and despair.

"Gammmmmmmbit..."

He shook himself out of the thoughts, realising he'd drifted away from what he was meant to be doing once again, he blinked and gazed at Tabitha, "Hmm?"

"What's up with you today?" her turquoise eyes squinted a little, "You were like...a gazillion miles away right then..."

"Oh...that," he shook his head, "Just thinkin' about things, I guess."

"Oh?" she leaned on the counter, watching him peeling the last few potatoes in the sink.

"I..." he faltered, trying to find a good excuse. He racked his brains, tried to make himself seem hesitant about talking about something, as if it were awkward, embarrassing to bring up. Then he remembered what Rogue had been talking about before the closet.

Oh...that closet...it was going to be very hard to ever look at that door again without thinking of how it had felt...without thinking of the look on Rogue's face at that orgasmic moment.

"You what?"

He kicked himself mentally, "I...the Professor wants me t' go t' Bayville high," he finally said, trying to make it sound as if this had been bothering him. He'd very rarely ever given it any thought at all but he needed the excuse. He wished he didn't have to make up excuses any more.

"He does?" Tabitha chewed her lip, "didn't you ever graduate?"

"Nah," he said quietly, "left early, guess it never really suited me. Don't know why anyone would ever want t' go t' Bayville High..."

"It's not so bad," Tabitha shrugged.

"Y' think so?"

"I used to think it was kind of lame," she shrugged, "I mean, I still do, kind of."

Remy turned to examine her, her expression was slightly conflicted.

"But...it was the one place I could get...you know...away."

Taking a breath, Remy sighed. He'd never seen school as a place to escape before. Even when his troubles had really begun, school was just the place to go between the misery.

"It's...you know, a place to be normal, not a mutant in training, not saving the world or being a petty crook..." she chewed her lip thoughtfully, then looked at him curiously, "How come you didn't graduate? Did you just leave or...did something happen?"

"I..." Remy sighed, "Look...it's..." he lowered his eyes, "can we talk about this another time?" he finished peeling the last potato and dropped it into the pot.

"You brought it up."

"Yeah, but it weren't an invite t' ask," he pointed out.

"Why is it you think that I won't get it?" Tabitha asked aloud,"I know what it's like, Gambit. We're cut from the same cloth, practically, you know..."

"Ssh," he warned her, he pointed the peeler towards her, "what I tol' you...it was in the strictest confidence," he hissed, "I don' need people 'roun' here knowin' about my shit..."

Tabitha sighed frustratedly, "so it's okay for you to ask me-"

"Look, I was tryin' to help-" he explained helplessly.

"And you think I'm not?"

"I don' need anyone's help, Tabitha," he said firmly, "I'm fine."

"Fine, huh?" Tabitha snorted, she headed towards the table casually, a random almost sway to her pace, "so fine that the idea of even going to high school freaks you out."

"It doesn'."

"So go," Tabitha said, "if there's nothing to be afraid of, why not just grin and bear it like the rest of us do."

Remy lowered his eyes to the counter, he frowned.

"I mean...what is it? Do you think you're not smart enough or something?" she asked bluntly.

"I know I'm smart enough," he replied, secretly doubting he was. Sometimes the subject matter he'd seen Rogue and her friends studying at the school when he'd been spying for Magneto had left him questioning his own intelligence, half of the subjects they were studying he wasn't even familiar with. He was smart enough to go to Bayville High, yes, but not smart enough to graduate without cheating his way through it. High school would just be like every other heist or con he'd ever taken on...he'd have to fake his way through it.

"That you won't fit in?" Tabitha asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don' care if I fit in or not, I used t' have everyone stare at me at the last school I was at," he commented quietly.

The blonde stood at the table, "teacher did something?"

Does doin' the teacher count? he wondered.

Remy grunted, "the potatoes are done, go boil them. I've got shit t' do," he gestured to the potatoes which still needed to be rinsed and boiled.

Tabitha moved over to the pot and turned on the faucet to rinse them in the pot, "you know, if you go to school, it'd be easier for you than being here."

"How?"

"You'll be sitting here alone all day," Tabitha supposed, "at least at School you'll be in classes with like...I don't know, probably Kurt or Rogue..." she shrugged, "hanging out at Lunch, going to games, you could even be lame and do prom. Or be lame like Rogue and Kitty and do drama club. I mean...it's what high school is for, right? To do stupid stuff."

"What about the learnin'?" he asked pointedly.

"What about it? You said it yourself, you're smart. What do you have to lose?"

"Boil the potatoes, Tabitha," Remy sighed, he wiped his hands off on a dish towel, "I'm done with the subject."

"Yeah, by the way," Tabitha moved her hand around in the cold water full of potatoes, "you might want to change your pants."

"Pardon?" he blinked.

"You got water on them, it looks like you've peed yourself," Tabitha turned on the faucet to fill the pot with water.

Remy lowered his eyes to his crotch; he'd been tolerating the uncomfortable feeling of his encounter with Rogue because he hadn't wanted to have to run upstairs and change just to continue peeling the potatoes. He hadn't realised it would seep right through. He grimaced, "yeah...splashed on me a bit when I was washin' off the dirt from the potatoes..." he sighed, he tugged his t-shirt down a little to hide it.

"Better change fast before Bobby gets sight of it, or you'll be 'Mr. Piss Pants' all year."

"Yeah. Thanks for the advice," Remy responded, rolling his eyes, glad that she'd assumed it was water and not anything else.

End of Part Ten

A nice little start of the week bit of Romy naughtiness for you all just to make Monday easier (this story is kind of dark and does get darker so it's important to have them now and then). The closet idea came rather suddenly and unexpectedly and I wasn't sure I'd leave it in; it seemed like something Gambit would do (slightly underhanded and a little self-serving I suppose, but not completely unsatisfying for his wife).

I really appreciate all the reviews I've gotten lately, some very interesting thoughts, especially regarding Remy's friendship with Tabitha. I've never really written her before like this and I don't know the character all that well so it's quite new for me. Tricky to try and make her likeable while obviously she might be a bit of a complication for some people. I don't want her to be the next 'Rowan Renz' and make her into someone people hate (that's what Magma is for, j/k...a little). Some interesting thoughts from Me Voila about Remy's sense of 'owing' people (so many nails being hit on the head here, lol).

Anyway, a small update to start the week, and now off I go to work on part 26. Love you all, have a great week :)