Chapter Summary: After Julien's comment, Remy decides it's time he and Rogue have a conversation.
XOXOXOXOX
After Julien's jackass comment, Rogue was sure that Remy was going to dislocate her shoulder as he pulled her along, up the stairs and out of the pawn shop. Moments later, they were standing back on the street with the rest of the Thieves.
When Remy held his hand out, Theo took one look at his cousin's face and tossed them his keys muttering he would catch a ride with someone else back to the Guild Hall. Now the two of them were riding back together with only the radio breaking the silence.
It was only when they passed under US-90 instead of taking the on-ramp to the bridge that Rogue asked where they were headed.
"Your place. We need to talk where no one will hear us." Remy answered vaguely. Rogue guessed her face must have shown her confusion because Remy looked at her before grabbing her hand and giving her a boyish grin. "Like I said last night, you and me, Cher, we need to have a conversation."
Rogue decided to let it lie until they got to the house. She didn't have it in her to worry after the events of last night and this morning.
As they entered the foyer, Remy turned to Rogue, "Meet me out back? I need to grab a few things." Remy turned heading off in the direction of the kitchen, not waiting for Rogue's answer.
Stepping onto the back porch, Rogue settled in, waiting for Remy. The porch was screened and deep enough to keep the sun off the house. From the ceiling, gas lanterns hung while several fans turned slowly, keeping the air moving. A mix-match of wicker and wood furniture filled the space. Rogue settled onto the porch bed to wait. A few minutes later, Remy reemerged with bowls of gumbo. Rogue raised an eyebrow in askance.
"Mais, I asked Etienne and Yvonne to drop off Tante's gumbo and some biscuits. I figured we might be hungry if the meeting ran long." Remy explained.
"They don't have a key," Rogue said pointedly.
"Nope," Remy grinned.
Rogue rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn't stick in the back of her head.
"I'm not going to have to worry about y'all breaking in here when I'm back in Bayville, am I?" Rogue asked between mouthfuls of gumbo.Sweet Jesus, that's good.
"Non, Jean-Luc placed you under the Guild's protection. That includes your home. No one is going to be dumb enough to break into a house under the Thieves Guild's protection." Remy responded, taking a bite of his biscuit.
"Thieves Guild protection. What does that entail exactly?" Rogue asked, setting her gumbo down to turn her attention to the man across from her.
"It means that as far as the other Guilds are concerned, you're one of us. Kinda like an honorary member, and if anyone was to target you, the Guild would be willing to wage war to back you." Remy replied. Rogue nodded her head slowly as she considered what Remy was telling her. The Guilds were secretive. There was no doubt that this was a tremendous honor. Still, worry gnawed at her.
"This isn't your Daddy's way of trying to get me to join the Guild formally, right? Because I can tell you right now, I'm going back to the X-Men." She warned.
"Maybe. Well…probably, but that's Jean-Luc for ya. He's never going to take no for an answer." Remy paused and set his own bowl forward, he grabbed both of her hands rubbing his thumbs across the knuckles.
Rogue watched the Cajun in mild amusement. He looked nervous. She had never known Remy to be anything other than cocksure and silver-tongued. Part of her thought to ask him what was on his mind, but a larger part of her was enjoying watching him sweat it out. She decided to torture him a bit and settled in, waiting for him to speak.
"I spoke to the Professor this morning. I want to go back with you to Bayville," Remy stared at her intently. Rogue felt her jaw drop. Absently she realized she probably looked like a fish out of water gaping at him. Karma was a bitch.
"What?" She finally managed.
"I spoke to the Professor. He's offered to let me join the X-Men…but I'll only take it if you want me to go with you." Remy ended his eyes not quite meeting hers. Rogue felt like her mind was running in a million different directions. There were a thousand questions on the tip of her tongue.
"Why?" she asked.
Apparently, Remy LeBeau could reduce her to one-word questions. Remy scooted closer towards her and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand, letting his lips linger there momentarily.
"I almost lost you, Cher. Don't think I've ever been so scared as when Yvonne came running in telling us what had happened and that you'd stayed behind to protect Julien. I kept thinking, what if we don't make it in time? I want to go with you, Cher." Remy said. Rogue blushed, glancing down at their hands before looking back up at him.
"I'd like that," she whispered. Remy smiled at her and leaned in, eyes burning.
Rogue felt one of his hands grasp her hip to keep her from scooting away. It wasn't necessary. Rogue wouldn't have moved an inch even if the whole house caught on fire. She could barely breathe.
Rogue automatically tilted her head back as Remy leaned over her. She was torn between wanting to watch and letting her eyes slide shut.
"I'm going t' kiss you now," he murmured. He was so close that Rogue could feel his breath against her lips. Her heart was hammering in her ears. He must have been able to hear it.
"Okay," she whispered.
And he did. Rogue felt his hand cup the back of her head as his mouth slanted over her. His mouth was firm, and he felt warm pressed against her. So damn warm. A soft whimper that Rogue would deny later escaped her as Rogue slid her hands back up around his neck and threaded her fingers into his hair. Desperately she found herself wishing that she could feel the texture through her gloves.
After a few moments, Rogue felt her powers kick in and Remy's memories being pulled into her own mind.
Releasing her arms and pulling back, she looked at Remy's face. He gave her a dumb, half-drunk smile and muttered 'worth it' before his eyes rolled up, and he collapsed backward onto the porch bed.
Memories swam behind Rogue's eyes. His fear as he raced to try and get to her before it was too late. Watching over her last night in case Julien and Colt's psyches caused her nightmares. And, to her pleasure, his jealousy at Julien's offer to make her the Assassins' Queen.
Blinking the memories away, Rogue stared down at the gorgeous, complicated man lying next to her. Carefully she stretched out on the porch bed next to him and tugged him over until his head rested on her chest, her arms around him. They still needed to tell the Guild Remy was leaving with her. That would bring troubles in its own right, but, for now, Rogue would take this moment of quiet.
"Julien had already figured out Colt was the killer by the time he approached Colt. Julien thought that he might be able to convince Colt to ally with him in the upcoming war in exchange for territory. He underestimated how much Colt blamed both Guilds for the death of his uncle and wanted them to suffer."
"Is dat right?" Jean-Luc asked, leaning back in his chair to bridge his hands in front of his face. Rogue nodded.
"Mmhmm. You were right about there being trouble in the Assassins Guild. Julien thinks his father is weak for trying to secure peace by betrothing Belladonna to Remy. I think he'll continue trying to antagonize Remy in hopes of sparking a fight. He's a war hawk through and through...some of the younger ones too."
"Why Remy?" asked Henri from his position at the other end of the couch where he sat with Mercy.
"He thinks that you and Jean-Luc are too controlled to goad into a fight publicly," Rogue replied.
How about you just tell the Thieves all of my secrets, fille?Julien growled in her head.
How about you sit down and shut up, and I won't explain the real reason you didn't want to see Belladonna marry Remy?Rogue shot back. Julien's psyche wisely remained silent.
While Rogue wouldn't say that Julien's psyche had become pleasant—Lord knows the boy was still a pain in the ass—he was less of a headache after this last absorption.
Rogue wasn't sure why. Her best guess was it had something to do with Julien needing her help when she absorbed him this time. The previous two times she had absorbed him it had been during the fight to free was possible the psyches were reflections of her victim's emotions when she absorbed them, not just a direct copy of their memories. She would need to talk to the Professor about that.
Either way, she was grateful. With three intentional absorptions, Julien was now one of the strongest psyches in her head. If locking him behind mental barriers became necessary again, it would require a lot more effort this time.
"Anything else?" asked Jean-Luc, bringing Rogue's attention back to the present. Rogue shook her head.
"Nothing concrete," she lied. Rogue doubted that Jean-Luc believed her, but he seemed satisfied at the moment and wasn't willing to push the subject. Instead, he changed the topic.
"You sure I can't convince you to stay down here? We have a number of jobs where you would be a great asset," asked Jean-Luc with a smirk.
Rogue laughed and shook her head.
"No, Sir. Besides, I'm not sure you want an angry Wolverine showing up on your doorstep," Rogue pointed out, only half joking. Jean-Luc may not be as heartless as she first thought, but Rogue wasn't above letting it slip that she had backup if it came to that.
"Ah. The one with the knives. No, he didn't seem like the one you wanted to make angry," Jean-Luc replied good-naturedly. Rogue gave a half-grin and then felt Remy step beside her and wrap an arm around her waist.
"I'm going with her, Pere," Remy declared. Jean-Luc's eyebrows flew to his hairline as Henri choked on his drink. Mercy, on the other hand, just settled further into the sofa with her arms crossed, looking pleased as punch.
"Is dat so?"
"Oui. I've been offered a spot on their team."
"What about the Thieves?"
"I'm a Thief through and through. You can call anytime."
Jean-Luc looked at Remy for a long moment before his eyes resettled on Rogue. Rogue felt like her skin was burning where Remy had his arm wrapped around her but made no effort to remove it. Instead, she met Jean-Luc's gaze dead on. After a few moments, Jean-Luc looked away, chuckling to himself.
"Bon. Getting you out of town might delay Julien stirring up more trouble. You have the Guild's blessing, mon fils." Remy gaped at his father for a second before remembering himself.
"Merci, Papa."
"Well, I'll be. I think mon frere has been domesticated. Good job, Rogue." cheered Henri. Rogue rolled her eyes as Merci swatted Henri on the back of the head.
The following day Rogue stood next to Remy's bike. His family was shipping most of his things up North, but the Cajun refused to leave his beloved motorcycle behind.Well, at least it's not an airplane.
Henri, Mercy, and Tante Mattie were standing with Rogue, having already said their goodbyes. Henri had promised Rogue that the Thieves would keep an eye on her house to, in his words, "keep the unsavory riff-raff away."
Yvonne and Etienne were sitting a few feet away on the porch steps. Yvonne had excitedly told Rogue that morning that Etienne had asked her out. Etienne seemed to be trying to take a page out of Remy's book and was keeping an arm firmly wrapped around Yvonne's waist.
"Well, looks like you saved the day after all," Emeric's voice sounded from behind her. Rogue cursed inwardly. The day had been going so nicely, too. Turning around, she saw Emeric leaning against the corner of the carriage house.
"Don't you have anywhere else to be?" Rogue bit out and crossed her arms, eyeing the cocky thief. Emeric kicked off the wall and sauntered over.
"Now, now, it'd be impolite not to see our esteemed guest off, wouldn't it?" the man smirked at her.
"Well, aren't you just Emily Post. Somehow, I think I would survive." Rogue scoffed.
"I'm sure. I see you're creating cracks in the LeBeau family again. Heard Remy's heading North with ya." His eyes flicked up over her shoulder.
Glancing around for the card-charging Cajun, Rogue spotted him talking with Jean-Luc on the far side of the porch, deep in conversation. Fortunately, whatever the pair was talking about seemed to be going well.
Suddenly, Jean-Luc broke off the conversation and pulled Remy into a hug before turning on his heel and heading for the group. Rogue smiled as she caught a peek at Remy, who looked like he would have been less shocked if it had started raining frogs.
"I wouldn't worry about them. In fact, Jean-Luc gave Remy his blessing to come North with me," Rogue turned back to the man in front of her and shot Emeric a nasty smile, "Sorry, Honey. You'll need to work harder if you're tryin' to break up the LeBeau family."
"I don't know what you're talkin' about. I told you before, fille, you best keep your mouth shut." Emeric's smirk dropped as he glared down at her.
"Now. Now." Jean-Luc smiled as he came up behind her and put a hand on the back of Rogue's shoulder, "We don't talk to ladies that way in our family, Emeric. Understand?"
"Yes," Emeric replied.
"Yes?" Jean-Luc prodded like he was speaking to a small child. Rogue bit back a laugh.
"Yes, Guildmaster," Emeric replied again, barely maintaining a polite tone.
"I think you owe de lady an apology," Jean-Luc suggested, his smile never faltering. Emeric's jaw clenched, but he turned towards her anyway.
"Excusez-moi, princesse. I didn't mean any offense." Emeric offered Rogue a thin smile.
"Call me Rogue, Honey. All my acquaintances do." Rogue gave the man a saccharine-sweet smile and fluttered her eyelashes for effect. Emeric's jaw ticked again, but he kept his mouth shut as he turned to leave.
"Oh…and Emeric," Jean-Luc added, stopping the man, "With mon fils heading North. We'll need someone t' help with de youngins who are just learnin' how t' pickpocket. I figure you should be able t' teach them pretty easily with your skills. I'll give de Paris job to Emil."
"Of course, Guildmaster." Emeric quickly retreated back around the carriage house and out of sight. Rogue gave up the fight and snickered violently, her shoulders shaking. That was beautiful.
"You ready to go, Petite?" Jean-Luc grinned down at her.
"I think so," Rogue said. Glancing at the bags pack on the back of the bike, then at Remy who had stopped to hug Henri, Mercy, and a tearful Tante Mattie. Turning back, she found herself carefully wrapped in Jean-Luc's arms.
"Watch over him for me, Rogue." the older man whispered, breaking contact to look her in the eye.
Rogue was stunned for a moment, glancing at Remy, who was busy laughing at something Henri had said, before giving Jean-Luc a small smile and quick nod.
"Child, you need to come back soon, you understand?" Tante Mattie broke in, grasping Remy by the arms, "Definitely for Thanksgiving and Christmas…and Marti Gras. Maybe you two could come back at the end of the summer too."
"Or, you know, Rogue could just come back by herself," added Henri. Tante Mattie tutted at him but pulled Remy in for one more fierce hug. Getting on the motorcycle, Remy started the engine as Rogue slid in behind him.
"You listen to your Tante now," Jean-Luc called over the sound of the engine, "And you be sure to bring my future belle-fille with ya."
Remy rolled his eyes but gave a two-finger salute. Gunning the engine, they flew out of the driveway. Rogue could feel her face flaming even in the wind as Remy's psyche whispered between her ears.
He called you his future daughter-in-law. It might be the first thing Jean-Luc and Remy have agreed on in a long time.
XOXOXOXOX
It's been a ride y'all. I can't believe I finally posted something. I hope everyone enjoyed it. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and kudos!
Fun Facts:
You might have noticed Remy calls Jean-Luc 'Papa' in this chapter, not 'Pere'. In many Cajun families, Papa and Mama are terms of endearment compared to Pere and Mere, which are the more formal titles of Father and Mother.
I've always thought Remy using 'Pere' or, worst, calling Jean-Luc by his first name were very telling about their relationship.