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Chapter 2
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Chapter 5
 
 
 

Always Relied on the Kindness of Strange Femmes - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Diamonde
Last updated: 01/02/2007 02:01:11 AM

Chapter 5

Always Relied on the Kindness of Strange Femmes

Remy could feel himself beginning to wake up as he rolled over. No! Don't want to! His mind turned around and scrabbled back into the dream. But it wasn't the same, he knew it was a dream now. And he was just going to wake up again in a minute. He relaxed his psychological fingers and surrendered to the currents of awareness. Why couldn't he have deluded himself for another hour or two?

"Ah, you're awake. Feeling better?" Kitty Pryde put down her book and smiled at him.

"No. I was having a nice dream and I didn't see how it finished." He pouted and crossed his arms sulkily. Pain blossomed and he swore, cradling his injured left arm. Kitty giggled and he glared at her. "Shadowcat, right? Why're you here?"

"Oh, Rogue and… Julia got dragged away, and most other people went to bed. I was going to be awake most of the night anyway, and I'd had a nap in the afternoon, so I said me and Rachel would watch you."

"Rachel?"

"Rachel Illyana Wisdom, my little baby girl. She's asleep right now, but she'll be awake in an hour or so and then you can meet her if you want." Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Don't sleep through the night yet?"

"Not once. We live in hope, though." She sighed. "When did Marie get her diurnal rhythm worked out?"

Remy frowned. "When she was about two and a half, I t'ink. Only woke me up on monster calls or when Julia wasn't home, so I'm not sure."

"Two and a half? You mean I'm not going to get a full night's sleep for another two years?" She looked absolutely outraged.

"Marie isn't an average kid. Some start at six weeks, some six months…"

"Others two and a half years."

"Sometimes. But dat's a depressing idea, time t' change de subject. What time is it?"

Kitty looked at her watch. "Nearly four thirty tomorrow morning to you. A few early risers will be up and about soon."

"Can I ask a few questions b'fore dey are?" Remy snuggled back down. He wasn't really ready to go back to sleep, but he calculated the odds of him getting up before another nap to be the same as the odds of Bishop singing along to the Village People.

"Go ahead."

"Why're you being so nice t' me? I'm de big bad traitor who killed all de Morlocks single-handed, 'member?"

Kitty leaned back and looked thoughtful. "Yeah, that was pretty horrible. But I got cured of judging as straight 'right' or 'wrong' years ago. There's just too many other things to consider. Religion, passion, circumstance, upbringing, accident, insanity, fear, anger, love, lifestyle, belief, gullibility, loyalty, protection and a million more. And people change. Jesus was a very smart man."

"Excuse me?"

"You know, 'judge not, that you be judged'. The whole 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone' thing."

"I know dat. It just seemed a little strange coming from you."

"Because I'm Jewish?"

Because we've all heard what Pete Wisdom said 'bout you four years ago, before someone tracked him down and sobered 'im up. But I'm not going t' say dat. Even though everyone had found Pete to be quite amusing, it wasn't really something she needed to hear.

Kitty was continuing anyway. "That doesn't mean I can't appreciate the truth of it. But you weren't asking about my religious beliefs. The real reason why I don't see you as the big bad traitor is that I don't think you are. I did, once. When I first heard about your part in the massacre I hated you, and I still don't really trust you. But if you were you wouldn't have been prepared to kill yourself to save one little girl." Her voice softened and she patted his hand. "I've got a daughter of my own and can really appreciate that."

"T'anks, but I was only delayin' de inevitable. I still live on a leash, and Sinister's just reminded me who's holding de end." Remy sighed. Working for Sinister was like a Satanic version of the Hotel California. You can check out, but you can never leave. Rather like the X-Men, really.

"What?" Kitty frowned, momentarily confused. "Oh. I'm so sorry, I should have realised you wouldn't know."

"Know what?"

"Gambit, Sinister's dead. Maggott's slugs ate him right down to the atomic level." She smiled. "How does it feel to be a free man?"

Remy closed his eyes and tried to adjust to a world without Nathaniel Essex. Slowly the idea seeped through, like sunshine into a crypt. Kitty basked in self-satisfaction as a smile spread across his face. "Pretty damn good." He sighed. "I don't know if I should laugh, cry or sing. Free. I t'ink maybe I've forgotten how dat goes."

"Easy." She sang softly with a mischievous smile. "And I think to myself…"

"What a won-derful wo-orld." Remy finished the line and swung his legs off the bed. "You're right, it is. And I'm goin' outside t watch de sunrise."

"But you're not supposed to-"

"Don't ca-are!" He chirruped, ducking around her arm and bouncing happily out the door. If it had occurred to him, he might have made a comment about keeping a careful eye on Bishop.

"Gambit!" But he'd somehow disappeared. "At least put some clothes on," Kitty muttered. She grabbed a few things and went to try and find him.

She didn't. At five-thirty Storm came floating outside, and discovered an extremely guilty-looking Shadowcat. "What is the matter, Kitten?"

"I, um, lost Gambit."

Storm paused for a second, then spoke very carefully. "How could you lose him? He was unconscious."

"He woke up."

"And injured."

"He really seems much better."

"Kitty!"

"Alright. We were having a nice little talk and then I told him that Sinister was dead. He was really happy, and suddenly decided that he wanted to go watch the sunrise. He ran, well, skipped, out the door before I could stop him and disappeared. I can't find him. Hence the 'lost' classification."

"Why not simply use the computer?"

"I tried that, but there's something wrong with it. Whenever I ask it to find someone it tells me to mind my own f-ing business." Kitty snorted in remembered annoyance.

"I thought you were the Goddess of Computing."

Kitty made a mental note to hit her husband for spreading that one so thoroughly. "It's the artificial intelligence they put in to make it easier for the non-deities, it's the one screwing things up. And I can't get around it because it won't let me." She sighed and crossed her arms. "I liked computers so much more when they were dumb."

Storm frowned, totally confused. "But why would Cerebro II want to stop you finding him?"

"As far as I can tell, someone put the fear of violence into it and it's more scared of them than me."

"I wonder who…" They both thought about it.

"In this house? Nearly anyone."

"We will have to find him the old-fashioned way then." A thought occurred to her. "Did you check the roof?"

"First place I looked."

"You lost him? Well Ah guess Ah'll just have to find him then." Rogue was the sixth person to join in the hunt, but Jean was having no luck finding him telepathically. Wolverine could have found Gambit easily, but he'd flown to Massachusetts the night before, which left flyers such as Rogue with the best chance. Cecilia was less troubled than the others by how well his on-again-off-again ex was handling it and more anxious about her patient.

"Here, take a blanket. It's not good for him to get cold."

Rogue took it and began to search, slowly working out from the mansion in widening circles as she thought. Jean and Storm couldn't find him from the air, so he's probably under some trees. But there's a lot of those. He's probably gone to a specific place…

She was just about to check her place by the lake, where she'd taken him on his last visit, when she found him. He was sitting on a rock that stretched out into the water, happily kicking his feet. He noticed her as she started to descend and waved cheerily. She landed on the rock next to him.

"Ya shouldn't run off like that, Remy. We were gettin' worried." But it was still sight worth seeing. The self-contained, always fashionably dressed and definitively anti-morning Remy LeBeau sitting in the X-Men's version of a hospital gown, with the happiest smile she'd ever seen, playing in the early sunshine.

"I'm f-fine. I'm always fine. I c-can look after myself."

"Uh huh." Rogue put a hand on his shoulder. The cloth was damp, and he was shivering. "You're cold, mister, and you weren't supposed to do that."

"I don' c-care. 'S nice out here. Watch." He splashed the water up again, and all the drops sparkled. "Isn't dat beautiful?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Better dan d-diamonds. I know, I've stolen a few in m-my time."

"Ah guess you would have. But Ah like the real thing better." She draped the blanket around his shoulders. He pushed it off. She put it back on and wrapped her arms around him so it would stay. He snuggled against her with a contented sigh, and Rogue got the sudden feeling she'd been had.

"Dey're nice too. But diamonds look best on beautiful women an' are expensive. Water's dere all de time, and anyone can enjoy it."

"But with diamonds nearly any woman looks beautiful. And they're much more sophisticated."

Remy snorted. "Diamonds are just bits of squashed carbon, chere. All de diamonds in de world couldn't give you beauty or class. You got it, or you don't, an' no amount o' jewels gonna make you what you ain't."

"But they're so pretty!" Rogue wailed.

"Depends. By demselves dey just bits of sparkly rock. But if you wore dem, den dey be de most beautiful sparkly rocks in de world."

Rogue couldn't stop herself smiling. "That's sweet, Remy. But diamonds are a little bit out of mah financial league."

"Dat's easy. Just charm some unfortunate man like me into buyin' dem for you. Actually, I already got some dat'd look just perfect on you. Want dem?"

Rogue laughed, caught up in the charm all over again. "Remy, Ah can't just let you give me diamonds like that! Don't be silly."

"Dey're just collecting dust. Why not? You enjoy dem." He grinned wickedly. "Dey're stashed in France, but it only take us a few hours if you fly us, non? Let's go now." One arm wriggled out from under the blanket and waved vaguely in the direction of Europe. "Up, up and away!"

"Okay." She scooped him up easily and took off.

"I just knew dere was an adventurer's heart in dat lovely chest, and- hey! Other direction! Dis is de way back to de house!"

"If y'all still wanna go to France when you're well, buy a plane ticket."

"Spoilsport."

"AH FO-OUND HIM!"

"Ow. Watch de ears, chere."

Cecilia marched out, hands on hips. "Where was he and what was he doing?"

"I was down by de lake watchin' de sunrise."

"And playing in the water."

"Gambit!"

He looked at her with injured innocence. "Just my feet. How much harm it do wit' just my feet?"

Cecilia sighed and spoke resignedly. "Well, if you die of pneumonia don't come running to me."

"I wouldn't. I'd be dead. And I don't wanna die, because Rogue promised she'd go to France wit' me when I get better, which I say will be de day after tomorrow."

"Ah did not!" Rogue cried. Then she frowned. "Did Ah? Ah'm sure Ah didn't…"

"You did. And if y' didn't completely promise, you owe it t' me now for trickin' me." He shook his head sadly at Cecilia as she led firmly back into the house. "She's a terrible woman. Gets a man's hopes up, den drags him back here by force to be poked and prodded and looked at and most prob'ly spat on…"

"If anyone wishes to spit on you, Remy, they must pass me first."

"T'anks, Stormy." He smiled at her, the same bad-little-boy grin he'd always had.

"Do not call me that," she replied automatically.

"And if they get past her, I cut their salivary glands out. Repeatedly if necessary." Vedis glared pointedly at the recently returned (and grumpy from lack of sleep since he'd been up all night dealing with Jubilee's latest crisis) Wolverine, and Remy chuckled.

"Ya challengin' me, kid?" Logan raised an interested eyebrow and a corner of his mouth quirked upwards.

"I'm no kid, so why don't you come over here and see?" Her tone was light, but the offer was obviously a dare.

Remy shrugged Cecilia off and watched with perhaps overly bright eyes. "Now dat's a fight I'd like to see. And maybe take bets on."

"Not now you're not. You're going back to bed right now."

"Make me. I ain't missing dis."

"Fine." She stomped over to Wolverine and leaned in until their faces were two inches apart. "You. Will. Not. Fight. With. Her. Clear?"

"Yeah, yeah. No scrappin' until Gumbo can play bookie."

Cecilia gave him a final warning glare and went back to hustling her patient along. "See? Now you have something to look forward to."

"Yeah. Poking and prodding. But I'll co-operate, since I t'ink I used up all my energy already…"

But when he'd been poked to Cecilia's satisfaction and bundled off to bed, Remy received a secret little surprise. He cuddled it close and went to sleep, a deep, dreamless and completely happy sleep.

"Psst. Cecilia. Look at this."

"What this time, Hank?"

"Shh. Just look."

Cecilia peeked around the edge of the doorway and smiled. Marie had somehow sneaked into the room and crawled into Gambit's bed. They were curled up asleep together.

"Pretty cute. Like kittens."

"What's you medical opinion?"

"Leave them alone. It'll probably do them good."

"My thoughts exactly. Their somewhat meek demeanors and lack of customary fussing would seem to denote guilt."

"But maybe we should take a picture. That is really very cute…"

 

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