Ok folks, I am sorry for the delay. I know how much I hate waiting for new chapters, so I sympathize entirely! I tend to write in spurts though, so while the chapters are spaced now, every now and again you'll get like 4 chapters in one week. Don't lose faith in me! I swear I will not abandon this story. It just might take me a while to finish it. :)

I'm really glad you guys liked the ending to chapter 12. I'm trying to keep the pace realistic, but I really just thrive on the displays of affection between these two. I'm glad to hear I didn't jump the gun.:)

Brains-in-a-nutshell – I laugh every single time you say "yay! Update XD". Every single time. Without fail. Lol.

Roguechere – I think we understand each other, yes? Lol You're review made me laugh and I'm glad you enjoyed the breakfast scene.

CompleteLoser – Thank you thank you thank you for your message. Your kindness and enthusiasm really lit a fire under my bum to get this next chapter posted. I promise I will not abandon this story. I really wish I could work for Marvel. That would be pretty much my dream job..lol…but really, your message made my day and I hope to hear from you in the future!

Part 13: Revelation

I am not normally dis type o' guy. This is not the kind o' image I like to project, and I don' wan' anyone getting any funny ideas about it. What happened jus' now was not'ing less dan fate. De odds o' Jean-Luc and Belladonna conspiring jus' to get me back? Slim. De odds o' me actually getting stuck in dis situation fo' dis long? Very slim. De odds o' de Morlocks comin' back to haunt me? Teeny tiny. De odds o' all dese situations comin' to reality at de same time while Rogue was standin' in my bedroom? Dat's an act o' God or de Devil.

I had been impressed with how well I was keepin' t'ings together. If Rogue had jus' risen to de occasion and we'd had a little fight it would have been no big moment. But at de very moment I was holdin' it together by a thread, she had to give me dose big green eyes, worried and caring and open.

I jus' didn' wan' to be alone was all.

Later, layin' on dat cot starin' at de ceiling while she slept, I realized dat dis was de first time she touched me. Every other time she was either responding to me, or I jus' couldn' help myself. Now de t'ought of it consumed me. See Rogue…I jus' couldn' figure her out. I couldn' figure out myself around her. And it was damn hard to t'ink about anyt'ing with this morlock t'ing raging at de back o' my head.

Why did dat have to be de first touch? See when yo' wit' somebody...dat kind o' t'ing is expected. Give an' take. All de uddah girls put up wit me because eventually dey knew dey'd get somet'ing dey wanted. Dere's a lot of nice t'ings about bein' me when de ladies are around, but one o' de disadvantages is dat everyt'ing has to have dis undertone o' desire and expectation. Words, touch, time, it's all part o' de game, and it all has hidden meaning.

When Rogue talked to me, she said what she meant. When she spent time wit' me, it was cause she wanted to. An' now she had touched me, not to set a tab to be repaid, but because she wanted me to be ok. Plain. Simple. In some ways Rogue makes it hard on me, but in uddahs she makes it so very easy to be wit' her. Dere's no pretenses, and any mind games that happen happen because she's bein' stubborn, not cause she's manipulating.

I already knew I liked Rogue. I took de feelin' fo' granted, cause I'd been through this so many times before. But in that brief moment where we both dropped our guards, I started to see a woman totally unfamiliar…a woman who was totally different from any uddah one I'd ever come across. To be close to dis woman I would have to come up wit' a whole new set o' rules, a whole new set of expectations…she wouldn't want the parts of me I was so confident in, but the ones that hadn't been given before.

Why couldn't our first touch have been a kiss, a caress, hell, a pinch on de backside? This whole pure compassion t'ing set a terrible precedent, and had me feelin' as unpracticed as a thirteen-year-old with bad skin gettin' his first kiss under the bleachers. I didn' know what I was supposed to do next, what she expected, or most importantly what she wanted.

So I lay dere on dat cot unable to sleep, tryin' to pretend that there wasn't a question since I couldn't come up wit' an answer. If dere's one t'ing I am, it's true to form.

After all Rogue never even said she wanted me, or anybody. She jerked away whenever I touched her. I was here chasin' my ex-wife...chances were not'ing was happenin' wit' me an' Rogue, and not'ing was gonna happen. Based on dat logic, dere was not'ing to worry about.

Still couldn' sleep.

It was now dat she started talkin'. "Quiet now girl…yoah ok. Ya know it's just the cold that gets you feelin' down…just watch the lines go by…"

You know dat ol' expression, "penny fo' yo' t'oughts"? I'd pay more dan a penny to get inside dat head sometimes.

I had sort o' gotten used to dese midnight soliloquies over de past several nights. She didn' sleep long an' she didn' sleep well, but she hated it if I woke her up cause she got all embarrassed. So if t'ings sounded too bad I'd gotten in de habit of knockin' t'ings over. She'd stop breathin', an I'd sigh to let her know it was me. Den she'd settle back down an' go to sleep.

Dammit why was I payin' so much attention to dis girl? Dis untouchable, unreachable girl?

"Remy?"

Huh? I waited. Was she awake?

"Remy, its too cold foah you."

Her words trailed into mumbling an' den she was quiet. I listened to de rise an' fall o' her breath. An den de corner o' my mouth betrayed me. At first it twitched, and then it crept slowly up my cheek until it exploded into a full grin. So…de chere was dreamin' about me dese days? Ooh she'd hate dat, but I liked it fine. I laid dere grinnin' like a pole cat fo' several more minutes, until suddenly her voice rang out again.

"Are you awake?"

I laid still, unsure if she was really askin' or not.

"Remy?"

Apparently she was. I tried to make my voice sound groggy and muffled.

"Hahn? Chere? What you wan'?"

"How do you know Sinister?"

Can' we jus' have one nice moment? Jus' one time? "What you mean by dis?"

"Please. Ah know ah said ah wouldn't pry. Ah'm gonna try not to. But Sinister is something ah gotta know about. Emil mentioned him, and the more ah think about it, the more ah'm convinced you know what he was talkin' about."

It was the stupid "please.""What is it you wan' to know?" I was tryin' to hedge.

"Ah want to know…if ah should worry…" Her sweet voice was fumbling around what she wanted to ask.

"Spit it out, chere."

"Is he here? In New Orleans Ah mean?"

Whew! Well dat was an easier question den I expected. "Non chere…he was here a long time ago. Far as we know he's long gone an' not comin' back."

I heard her exhale. "What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?"

I lied. "Non. He helped me mostly."

"Helped you??"

She yanked on the sheet so hard it came down. I sat up and put my hands in front o' me. I swear, I never know what's gonna set dis girl off.

"Whoa dere! Hang on and lemme talk." I waited until she took a seat on de edge o' de bed.

"See Rogue when I first found out what I was, dat I was a mutant, I had some trouble controllin' my powers too. First time dey flared up I nearly took half de house down. Us bein' who we are, dere weren't many places we could go fo' help. I t'ought I might have to leave home. Den dis Sinister guy shows up, literally walks to our doorstep, and offers his help. We didn' know what else to do, so we t'ought we'd give it a shot. Sure enough, he helped me get t'ings under control, and also taught me a lot about security systems and computers. I didn' know him from Adam, an' it was 13 years ago."

She stared at me intently, absorbing every word. "Why would he help you without getting anythin' out of it?"

I smiled. That was a very well played question. De t'ief life was startin' to rub off on her.

"Of course he wouldn'. Dere were t'ings he wanted dat he couldn' get himself. Let's face it, he isn't de type o' guy dat blends in at parties."

Her forehead creased as she tried to sift through my words and find something more. I could tell that my light-hearted responses and half-smiles were annoying her. She t'ought dis was way more serious. Suddenly her eyes lighted on some t'ought, and her face got pale.

"You…"

Now it was my turn to be confused. What now? She just stared at me, and then at some point closed her eyes.

"No. You wouldn't. Ah don't believe it…but…"

"Chere?"

"Why didn't you say anything? All this time you never told any of us about it, least of all me. Why wouldn't you have told me?"

It wasn't clear whether she was talking to me still or now jus' to herself. I followed.

"You an yo' X-men, you don't have no secrets from each uddah? Scott, Jean, 'Ro, dey all know everyt'ing dere is to know about you?"

"Of course not."

"Why can't I have my secrets den? I got to tell you everyt'ing?"

"Remy this is different and you know it! If Cody showed up and tried to torture Jubilee to death Ah'd have the decency to tell her what ah knew; her if nobody else!"

"Suppose you know dat if you had piped up right away, den all yo' X-buddies would assume you were de one who gift wrapped Jubes for Cody? Isn't dat de idea you jus' talked yo'self out of? Dat I was de one who let Sinister inta de mansion?"

Her mouth dropped, and then snapped shut. She looked away.

"Hmm. And here I t'ought you trusted me."

"That's not fair. Ah do trust you. Ah talked mahself out of it didn't ah?"

"But why was dat de most obvious answer?"

"Yoah sayin' that you keep secrets because we don't trust you, meanwhile how can we trust you if yoah keepin' secrets all the time? Ah was just tryin' to find a way to fill in the holes. Ah can't go back to that table. Ah can't have people grabbin me. Ah don't care what ah have to do to keep that from happenin' again."

Her face was carefully composed, but her knuckles were white as they clutched at the sheets. Not a good time to push at her.

"Fair enough. Maybe I should've told you. But I t'ink we both agree dat I couldn't tell de rest o' de team an' expect as much understanding. You would know, dey treat you de same way. But movin' on. Sinister had me steal t'ings as payment. Mostly information. That was the bargain. I didn' ask too many questions, because well, I'm a t'ief. At de time he was well payin' and powerful. Bot' guilds worked fo' him. I parted ways wit' him a long time ago, before I even knew de X-men existed. You happy now?"

She t'ought fo' a minute. "Almost. Why'd you part ways? Sounds like a pretty good arrangement. Something had to have happened foah him to leave town permanently."

Oooh clever little trouble-maker. I smiled. "Well chere, Gambit was-,"

She raised a hand. "Don't lie to me if yoah plannin' to. If its that bad just don't answer."

Actually yeah, I was planning to lie right den, but she couldn't know dat.

"Fine den. I won't answer. Let's just say it might have somet'ing to do wit' de trouble we're in now."

She nodded once, curtly, clearly displeased with my answer. When it was clear I wasn't gonna offer any more, she lay back down and we pretended to sleep until sunup.

In time, I decided dat dis whole "lay low and wait" strategy was takin' far too long. Time fo' a switch from poker to roulette.

Next time I had de chance, I took anuddah trip to the Assassins camp. Now that I was 90 sure dat Jean-Luc couldn't hurt Belle, I figured dis was de place to start. I snuck into Belle's room and laid low. Of course I knew de way. I could probably find dat room by scent alone.

She made me wait a good long while, but eventually I heard her light footsteps dancin' down de hall. Once inside she locked the door behind her and leaned against it fo' a moment. Somethin' botherin her? Conscience maybe?

She went and sat at her vanity, loosing her hair and running a brush through it. Fo' just a moment, a blink of an eye, a tenderness gripped my chest. You got to understand…I didn' wan' her back, didn' wish fo' t'ings to be different. Belle and me just aren't meant to be. It was the delusion o' youth and blindness of first naïve love that ever made us t'ink different.

But we were so familiar. Maybe it wasn' true now, but at one time we knew each uddah inside an' out. She was de first girl dat really touched my heart, even though she never understood it completely. I knew every line o' her face, every curve o' her body, the twinkling sound o' her laugh, the golden shimmer o' her hair, but more importantly I knew her hopes, her fears, her vanity, her cruelty, and her vulnerability.

De feeling passed quickly. I wasn' here to play nice. De parts o' me dat really cared fo' her had gone silent long ago.

I moved carefully…underneath that porcelain appearance was a trained and elite Assassin, and I couldn' forget dat. Fortunately fo' me, she was distracted and her guard was down. I slipped one arm around her shoulders and put a blade to her throat wit' de uddah in one swift movement. She didn' move or scream, she jus' stiffened. Belle isn't one fo' panickin'. But when she caught my eyes in de mirror, she gasped.

I smiled and moved de blade away.

"You know Belle, you always wanted me to take you to dat opera. I never would, cause I hated to dress fancy and dey didn' have a smokin' section, not to mention dat well, I flat hated de whole idea."

I released her. She wasn' gon' do anyt'ing now dat she knew it was me.

"And I'm still not gon' take you. But we're gonna split de difference. You gon' sing fo' me now. You gon' tell me everyt'ing you know."

"If I don'?"

"Well petit, now dat I know dere's no danger, dere's no reason fo' me to stay. You either tell me what's goin' on or I'm gone. You didn' seem too keen on dat idea."

I didn' let on anyt'ing I'd already figured out. Let's let her start from scratch. See if we can' fill in some holes.

"You'd really leave me? You think I'd have gone to all dis trouble if I didn' really need you?"

"If it was dat simple you coulda jus' asked. Dere's plenty more I'd wager."

Her breathin' was heavy…she was excited. I'd caught her unprepared, and she wasn' as good at t'inkin on her feet. I'd counted on it.

"How bout we start wit' de truth and work our way back to de lies, hahn?"

"Remy…if I tell you…Jean-Luc…"

"Jean-Luc don' know I'm here. Besides, since when is de Killer Princess on de side o' de King o' T'ieves? Yo' papa wouldn' take so kindly to dat."

"He said you had to choose me freely. Otherwise he wouldn't allow it. Yo' good Remy but he can find you anywhere. He proved his end o' de bargain."

"Bargain?"

"Don't you see Remy? We both need you, Jean-Luc and I. We need you to do one of yo' miracles, but when you don't love us you won't help. So you got to love one o' us."

"Try not to be sentimental Belle. I'm feeling fairly vexed wit' you, it'd behoove you to be mo' cooperative."

"Are you threatenin' me?"

"I'm done bein' patient, if dat's what you mean."

"Den you should know, Remy LeBeau, dat I am not the same starry eyed, half-wit novice dat you used to best so easily."

She rose from her seat, and her movements were fluid. She had a snake-like grace to her form that she had lacked as a younger woman. As she approached, her gait took on a more sultry sway, and her mouth twisted into a mischievous smirk.

"In fact dere's quite a lot o' t'ings about me that you haven't had a chance to fully explore."

I caught her meanin'. It wasn' subtle. She reached to place her hands on either side o' my face, but I only studied her. Sometimes dere's only one way to get an answer to a question. I kept my hands firmly at my sides as she pulled up to her full height to plant her lips on mine.

And she was cold.

My lips followed along with her motion as I put my arms around behind her back, winding a trail with my fingertips gently up her spine, and then I grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, yanking her away from me.

"You would rather seduce a man you don' even care about den tell de truth? Belle yo' a lot o' t'ings but I never t'ought of you as a charlatan! What became of yo' dignity??"

I was shakin' her a little. I was honestly kinda mad. I didn' love Belle but I cared about her, and dis is what she had come to?

Her face twisted into a pained expression. It was fake.

"How can you say I don' care about you? Yo' de one who left me!"

"Belle you t'ink my memory is so short? I know yo' kiss. I know de way yo' body responds. I know de very rhythm of yo' breath. Yes, I left you, and since I been gone you realized de same t'ing I did: what we had wasn't real, it wasn't good enough."

Her mask twisted into real pain. I loosened my grip.

"But it was still good wasn' it? We could make do. We could give up on all dese childish fantasies about love and find some way to stop lookin' fo' somethin' more, can' we??"

"Belle…I know dat dere's trouble. I will try to help you as best I can, but you got to tell me what de problem is."

She sank into a heap on de floor.

"You won't take me back. No matter what I say, or do. Nothing I can offer will bring you back. You said what we had wasn' good enough, but you meant to say I wasn' good enough. Not fo' you."

"Belle I don' understand why dis is so important. You admit dat you don't wan' me. Not dat way. Not anymore. So why you wan' me to take you back?"

She sighed.

"Well since yo' not goin' to choose me freely or uddahwise, you might as well know dat I'm gettin' remarried."

I was staggered. "What??"

She smiled, but the smile was hard. "What, you t'ink dat jus' because you don' wan' me dat no one does?"

"Who?"

"Caliban."

My mind worked overtime to put a name wit' de face. Finally after shufflin' through a lifetime o' names and faces I remembered. Caliban was a Morlock, and a mutant. His skin was a muted grey, pulled tightly over his hairless body. His bones made strange, alien ridges across his brow and down his arms. His eyes were a milky yellow, and his mouth perpetually frowned. He barely spoke, and gravitated toward shadows. Dis couldn' be right. I couldn' imagine Belle…glowing, light, full of energy and charm…living in the sewers with a man that was little more than a somber wraith.

"Belle…" I fumbled around fo' my words.

"You t'ink that this is what I wanted? You t'ink dat I would do it if I had any uddah choice? Of course not! But apparently I don' have any choice. Once again you choose to leave me behind in a bloody mess."

Her words stung and I backed away as though she had actually hit me.

"Why? Belle jus' tell me why?"

"Because the Morlocks found out we were contracting wit' Sinister. Yo' guild and mine. They came back callin' fo' blood, but den found out there was a more…progressive way o' bleeding us dry that would do more fo' dere people. Dey place a bounty every month. Dey choose one member of each guild. If we don't pay de ransom den dey die. De Morlocks have grown in number and in ability. Dere's not'ing we can do but pay it."

I was vaguely aware dat my jaw had dropped as I listened, but I didn' care enough to do anyt'ing about it.

"Of course, de T'ieves have managed to keep up with de prices. Dey deal mostly in money anyway. We Assassins have been harder put to de task, and my papa doesn' know how much longer we can keep it up. So he tried to bargain wit' dem. Dey named dere price. Dey want me to marry Caliban. Marrow-," she practically spat the name, "thought it would be a fitting punishment fo' de Assassins, since we caused death, dat 'de mos' beautiful should have to live with de ugliest, to rot in de shadows away from all happiness.'"

"I did de only t'ing I could t'ink of. I told dem I already had a husband, and dat it wasn' possible." Her face contorted with shame. "She laughed at me. Said she'd heard all about my dear husband. You know my fam'ly. Dey wouldn' speak fo' you. So she told my papa dat I had a year to produce said husband, or I would marry Caliban. He agreed. What more could he do? We can't keep up wit de ransoms. Eventually we'll come up short an' lose somebody."

"I knew my fam'ly wouldn' help, so I worked wit' yo' papa to find you and bring you back."

I was havin' some trouble comin' up wit' breath to speak.

"H-how did you get him…Jean-Luc…to agree to dat?"

"I knew all he needed was an excuse. De Morlocks…dey been lookin' fo' you."

My chest constricted.

"I don' t'ink dey know. If dey did dey'd have done away with de t'ieves. No one knows what dey wan' from you, or why dere lookin' fo' you, but Jean-Luc wanted to keep you close jus' in case. Dat's de difference between yo' papa and mine, Remy. At de end of de day, when it really matters, Jean-Luc is yo' papa first. Marius is always Assassin first. So I will marry again."

"But Belle why not jus' leave? I'll help you. We can get away, I'll find some way fo' you to live. Dere's a life away from all dis!"

"Leave my fam'ly? Dishonor the guild? Break our word? Hope dey don't die? Ha! Not everyone is as faithless as you, Remy. I had hoped there would be annudah solution, and I was a fool. I see dat now."

"No Belle!"

I fell to the floor beside her and grabbed bot' her hands in mine.

"Belle you don't have to be bound up in all dis. You don't have to be an Assassin. You can't help it dat you were born into dis fam'ly, but dere is always, always a choice. You once believed dat life could be different. Dat wasn't so long ago."

"You forget Remy, you weren't born into dis life. Maybe dere was a choice fo' you. But I'm done puttin' my faith in you. It's not fair fo' me to keep expectin' a miracle from you ev'ry time t'ings go wrong. I'm done wit' hopin' fo' t'ings dat can't be."

"Don' say dat. I'll claim you. We can jus' lie to dem."

She laughed a wicked barking sound.

"You have no idea what kind o' hate yo' dealin' wit'. Imagine someone killed yo' whole fam'ly, you t'ink you'd leave any loopholes? You claim me Remy LeBeau, and yo' gon' have to stay here and be my husband. Fo' de rest of yo' life. Dey're always watching. How would dat plan fare wit' yo' little skunk head?"

I wasn't expectin' it, so my face confirmed what she said.

"Oh yes Remy, I heard all about her. Like a fool I t'ought I could win you back. I must look old. She doesn't look so pretty in de pictures I saw."

"Den yo' camera sucks."

I didn' mean to be smart. It jus' leapt out o' my mouth. Her mouth hardened into a line.

"It comes to dis Remy, are you goin' to be my husband or leave me to Caliban?"

I loosed her hands, and looked at her as hard as I could.

"Belle, if I took you back now, den neither o' us would ever be sure o' what we had. The love we had faded, but I still find joy in de time we spent together. You were my first love, and I was yo's. You would spend ev'ry day knowin' dat I was only goin' through de motions to save yo' life. I would know dat you were only wit' me cause you were scared o' de alternative. Dat life is no uglier dan we one you face wit' Caliban. I wish, mon dieu I wish you weren't so stubborn! I wish you could see dat you can make dis choice fo' yo'self. You don't have to live at de mercy of uddah people. You're a beautiful, intelligent, energetic woman. You should be at no one's back and call."

Her expression washed away, and left a dangerous glare in its place. She rose and I stood with her.

"You have made yo' choice then. Understand now, Remy LeBeau, dat you and I are enemies. Should we meet again I will give you no quarter, nor expect one from you. I AM ASSASSIN, and you are worse dan t'ief. Now get out."

My jaw dropped again.

"Belle you can't-,"

"GET OUT!"

I sighed. My shoulders suddenly felt heavy. I turned and headed to the window, feeling her eyes burnin' at me. I paused one moment before I leapt from the sill, and I didn' turn when I spoke.

"I know you don' understand now, but I'd like to go on de record and say dat no matter what, I will always be yo' friend."

I slipped out into de night, and let my mind stay mercifully devoid of t'ought as I made my way back home. Dis should feel like a victory. I had figured it out and I was free to go, but I felt empty. I didn' love Belle, but I cared. And I felt helpless. What could I do? I like de part where I storm in an save de day best. But dis time all I could do is walk away, leave t'ings every bit as bad as when I came. Didn't feel very good.

Ever notice how when bad t'ings happen, dey bring friends? Yeah.

I heard it before I saw anyt'ing. Wit'out t'inkin I picked up de pace, and within minutes de house was in sight.

De eastern wall had fallen, leavin' a sofa and de remains o' a tv out in de open night air. Lights were out inside and a few dark figures were scurrying from de hole. Cards came automatically to my hands but before I had time to throw dem those figures soared up into de air.

Rogue had two in one hand and the last in the uddah.

"AND STAY OUT!" She cried as she launched them like shotputs through the trees. Branches cracked and fell as they descended and scrambled off into the darkness.

"Rogue!"

Her livid eyes poured down on me.

"Dangit-all Remy!"

It shames me to say I was totally caught off guard when a blunt object caught me square across the shoulder blades. I tried to get to my feet, choking fo' the air dat was gone. I caught another blow. I rolled over jus' as the third was about to fall, and whipped my cards out, throwin' dem in de face o' whoever my assailant was.

"Aaaaccck!" He dropped his branch and stumbled backwards, tryin' to catch himself when a green-eyed torpedo planted bot' fists in his chest. He went flyin' thirty feet backwards, and from the sounds o' t'ings was planning to keep headin' dat direction.

Rogue grabbed me by my lapels and put me upright.

"You hurt? You ok?"

Her forehead was creased as her gloved hands flew over me checkin' for unseen injuries. Even on de worst day dat girl knows how to make un homme smile.

"Lower."

Her head snapped up, and her mouth pressed into a hard line just before she shoved me back down in de dirt. Of course dis time I was expectin it so I bounced right back.

"Come on swamp rat." She tossed over her shoulder as she flew into de house through what used to be de tv room.

I followed quickly, and was relieved to hear de family sound off.

"Everyone ok?" Henri called from the north window, where he was undoubtedly positioned with a custom weapon he affectionately called "The Sniper". Merci, Emil, and Jean-Luc all checked in.

The door to the basement creaked open and Tante Mattie came out holdin' Sebastien. Rogue exhaled audibly. She was worried? About my fam'ly? Funny, but interestin'.

"What happened?" I asked. My fam'ly jus' looked at one another, unsure o' how to answer. Rogue groaned. Adrenaline made her less patient.

"They came lookin' foah ya. Fortunately ya weren't here, but they must have gotten a tip somewhere that you were back in town."

"Morlocks you mean?"

"Guess so. Do Morlocks smell?"

"Mais oui."

"Yep. Was them."

Jean-Luc stepped forward.

"Where you been, mon fils?"

Now dat ev'ryt'ing was sorted, I could tell de truth.

"At Belle's."

"Den you know?"

"Oui."

"And you made a decision?"

"Yeah."

"I see." He paused and studied my face fo' a minute. "You leavin' again den?"

"Fo' now."

He raised one eyebrow and smiled a little. "Dat's a little more optimistic dan I'm used to."

"Jean-Luc…papa. I don' want to be a t'ief. I will never lead dis guild. Dis will not be my home, or my life. But apparently no matter what I do, dis will always be my fam'ly. De safest place fo' you to be right now is away from me, and de safest place I can be is in New York until we figure out what dey wan'."

"Remy, you know we will protect you. We always look after our own."

"Yeah but you'll also lie to me and drive me crazy. And dis is de best way I know to protect you. But I won't let dis go. I will find a way to help you."

Jean-Luc nodded once, and den his eyes glided over to Rogue.

"I wish you really had been marryin' my son. Fo' now I'll hold no ill-will against you. Consider us your friends, madamoiselle."

I laughed. "How'd you know?"

Jean-Luc grinned, but Henri answered. "You never kissed her, idiot!"

I laughed wit' dem, unthinking, amused at how well they remembered me. I didn' notice dat Rogue winced, or backed away unsmiling. But Henri did. He walked forward and clapped her on de back.

"But hey, dere's still time. Maybe next time you two come to visit, t'ings will be different. Hell, you'd be one sister I wouldn't arm wrestle, non?"

She smiled at him, but moved away from his hand.

"If you two are leavin', you'd better do it. Dey'll be watchin' fo' you to run."

I nodded at Tante Mattie, and den Rogue and I went to grab what few t'ings we brought wit' us.

I had jus' closed our one bag when I turned around and noticed dat Rogue was jus' standin' dere, lookin' around. Her face was unfathomable.

"Chere…you all right?"

The sound of my voice broke de spell. "Hmm? Oh. Yeah. I'm ready when you are."

I didn' have time to press de matter.

"Should we go and say goodbye?"

I grinned. "Our fam'ly never says goodbye. In fact, we're very creative at avoiding the phrase. Wanna give me a hand at keepin' de tradition?"

A gestured toward de window. Rogue smiled, but looked back over her shoulder fo' a moment. What's goin' on wit' her?

Finally, she took a deep breath, grabbed me, and we alighted into de night sky, away from my fam'ly, away from de guilds, and away from New Orleans.

15