Chapter Two

If there was one thing Gambit loved marginally more than stealing, it was women. He liked their curves and how their softness countered his hardness. Yes, pun intended. Remy knew what women wanted, and above all, he excelled at delivering it to them. A string of yearning hearts followed him as he was the type of man to never settle on one person for long. There were exceptions, as there always is; a ladies' man usually goes down this path due his own heart being broken, or mommy issues. He luckily, only suffered from one. But more importantly, Remy had yet to find a woman worth allowing himself to be caught for.

So as he walked up the porch steps, that led him to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and rang the doorbell, Remy was absolutely blindsided by pickle he found himself.

"Mon dieu." A guttural sound prefaced the words. His red on black eyes flared to life behind the sunglasses residing on the bridge of his nose. The so called King of Hearts was dumbfounded at the heart palpitations in his chest.

Gambit took in every detail this alluring woman had to offer. He lingered over her breasts before resting on her shapely hips and legs, where he could see the beginning of a strap connecting her stockings to a garter belt.

His face met hers again and he felt himself wanting to purr. A ponytail of auburn hair fell over her shoulder and a shock of white bordered her face. Cat like verdant eyes sparkled at plump, red lips held a grin and he could hear muffled laughter come from behind. The exquisite creature drawled to him, "You lost sugah?" Her hip was cocked out the side, her hand lightly resting upon it. Instantly, he could tell she was feisty. And he liked feisty.

Remy leaned against the doorway and coerced his lips into a honey-dripping grin. "Oui chère, do you think can help me find mon mère? I believe she goes by the name of Stormy."

The woman smirked at him before turning her head to the right and hollering, "Hey Storm! You expecting someone? Maybe a Cajun boy?" She reversed her head back to his, giving him a once over. Gambit grinned at her. Based on her approving stare, she definitely liked what he had to offer.

Storm's reply was quick and suddenly appeared to the woman's left. He fought hard to maintain his composure as he looked at her. The snowy locks were shaved on the sides of her head, the middle loosely standing up.

"Stormy, your hair! Did one of your students get scissor happy?"

Storm gazed at him in shock then annoyance. "No, Gambit." She seethed out his name.

Remy couldn't help but let out a laugh that oozed out, "You look magnifique, mon chère. No need to be testy."

The striped haired vision excused herself. She turned on her heels, clicking away from the pair. He watched as her hips swayed away and his breath hitched at the sight of her back. It was completely bare, right until the forsaken fabric came to a halt above her round, pert ass.

"Fuck Stormy, tell me her name."

Storm raised an eyebrow. "She is a member of my team." She smiled adoringly at woman departing.

"Your X-filles?"

When he had met Storm in France over a year ago, she mentioned working at Xavier's and moonlighting as part of the X-Men. She gushed about her new division, consisting of all women. They were strong and resilient, but also considerate and compassionate about the kind of work they handled.

She eventually offered him a spot on the main roster after seeing his capabilities, and later on, his drive to do the right thing. Initially, Remy turned her down. He wasn't ready to depart from his wayward status and didn't want to feel tied down to another group of people. But as time went on, an unmistakable, familiar feeling of apathy flooded back into his being. It was finally time to see if he could turn his life around, instead of letting the lack of emotion drive and lead him further down a path he did not want to take.

"Can I meet them?" Remy asked, wanting to see the team Storm had affectionately talked about often in their little time together.

Storm eyed him for a moment before she inclined her head and invited him in with a hand extended. Remy followed behind her through the foyer before stopping outside a lively room. He watched the animated group of women converse with one another. The green-eyed woman's throat was bared as her head tipped back in laughter and Remy longed to run his tongue along it.

Storm had paused next to him. "Word to the wise, Jubilee might paw at you."

Remy turned his head and smirked. "I can handle myself, Stormy. I'm a big boy." She rolled her eyes before completely entering the room. Curious faces looked at her before cutting to him.

"Ladies, this is Gambit." Storm stopped next to a couch. "He is our newest addition."

A purple haired, Asian woman gracefully gathered herself from her seat and stepped in his direction. She held out her hand. "Hello, I'm Betsy. Some call me Psylocke." Her amethyst eyes peered at him skeptically.

"Enchanté. Remy LeBeau." He bent to kiss the back of her hand.

A loud, dreamy sigh came from his left. He cast his head aside, finding a short, black haired, Asian woman excitedly standing up from the sofa.

"French is so sexy. I'm Jubilee!"

Remy walked over and picked up her eager outstretched hand, delivering a kiss to it. "Bonjour, chère."

Jubilee giggled and dropped her hand from his to grip his bicep. "Ooo, its firm." He smirked at her forwardness.

His attention turned to a sitting brunette next to Jubilee's legs, giving him a wave. "I'm Kitty. It's nice to meet you."

Remy chuckled. "Enchanté, Chaton." She blushed furiously in response.

"I'm Rogue."

Remy straightened his back and closed his eyes momentarily before turning to her. Rogue's legs were crossed, her heeled foot circling at a slow speed. Immediately, she stood up, smoothing down her dress. She had a coy smile on her face as she gradually held her hand out.

Remy picked it up, his eyes never leaving hers. Leaning down, he whispered, "Belle." Then kissed the back of her pale hand.

He turned over her wrist before she could pull away and fingered her pulse. It was racing like his, their hearts beating in a similar erratic rhythm. His eyes locked on hers as he bent down to kiss the thumping vein. Rogue's emerald eyes widened at his movement.

A cough broke through the silence. "Right, well, I'll be showing you to your room, Remy." Storm was beckoning to him from the doorway in his peripheral.

"Of course." He reluctantly let go of silky appendage his own. "Bonsoir, chèrie."

Rogue let a small smile adorn her face as he turned to leave. "I'll be seeing you, Remy."

He grinned back before turning around and nodding to the others. Storm led him up the stairs, his eyes cataloguing the extravagance surrounding them. "It would have been nice to get a call beforehand."

Gambit grinned at her back but said nothing. He knew his actions would annoy the orderly Storm. It was the exact reason he chose to show up unannounced.

"Why are y'all dolled up?" Remy asked as they walked down a wood paneled hallway. He took note of an ornate vase at the end. She stopped outside of a door, second to the end of the corridor.

Proceeding to open the door and turn on a light, Storm answered, "Every other Friday night we go out for girls' night." She glided in and Remy followed behind her. "We often find ourselves at a discontent with our X-Men duties. It's become a regular occurrence as a way to decompress." She stopped. "Plus it's fun."

Remy glanced around the room, nodding to himself before gracefully jumping on the plain bed. His hands entwined behind his head as he grinned at Storm. "This is cozy."

Storm sat on the edge of the bed next to his reclined form. "Remy, please do not steal anything while you are here."

Remy shook his head, his eyes mischievous. "I would do no such thing!" Storm gave him a pointed look and he sighed, "Bien, I promise." His twisted fingers behind his back said otherwise.

She seemed somewhat pacified with his answer before standing to her feet and heading to the door. Remy felt the weight in his pocket, reminding him of part of the reason he decided to come here.

"Ororo, wait."

Storm turned her head instantly. "What is it?" She looked unnerved by his sudden serious tone.

Remy ran a hand across his face and took off his sunglasses, laying them on the bed. He reached into his trench coat and folded file appeared.

He handed it to her. "You need to look into this."

Storm grabbed the folder and read. She periodically glanced up at him as she read before stating, "You found something."

Remy nodded his head gravely. "I did." He clasped her hand in his. "I thought you should have it. Immediately."

Storm squeezed his hand. "Thank you, Remy." She abruptly turned to the door before peering back at him. "I'm going to give this to Hank, he's the go to guy for these types of things." She put a key on a dresser near the door. She looked back at him with a slight smile. "Get settled. We'll talk in the morning." The door shut behind her.

He looked around. The room, his room, was an unusual combination of bare and ornate. Dark wood with sleek curvatures was surrounded by a pale grey wall paint. Remy hadn't given much thought about the length of his stay before arriving, but seeing his barren room gave him a profound feeling. This was his new beginning, a fresh start, and he was bound and determined to make it last.

His first stop was a new coat of paint.

After settling his few belongings into place, Remy spent a good amount of his evening wandering throughout the mansion. He discovered many classrooms, the kitchen and cafeteria before embarking down a hall and coming to a stop.

The wall seemed to be humming.

Remy watched as an opening formed and two men departed from an elevator.

"Hey! You must be Gambit. Storm mentioned you before she left." He watched as the man's eyes ran along his form slowly, checking him out. With sandy blonde hair and ice blue eyes, Remy was reminded of an all American boy. "I'm Bobby."

"Remy," was all he replied back.

The man next to him was an angel, a legit angel. His large, feathered white wings extended from his bare back and touched the floor as he shifted. He offered up his hand. "Warren."

"Warren Worthington III to be exact, am I correct?" Remy shook the outstretched appendage. Warren nodded his head, eyes wary at his blatantness. "I remember you from the news. Very courageous to save a man who wanted to eradicate our kind."

Warren took his hand back sharply. "That man is my father," he angrily conveyed. He looked at Remy before beginning to move away.

"I meant no offense, mon ami. Just stating a simple fact." Remy shrugged and further explained, "It was a brave thing to do." He knew all too well how family could turn their backs on you and yet, you would willingly go out the way to help and protect them.

Understanding what Remy was elusively saying, Warren looked more at ease and nodded his head.

"Well, Remy, welcome to the team," Bobby hastily inserted. "Just so you know, Storm's team basically took all the women. Including you, we've got six men and two women. That's not including the new recruits though." Bobby grinned at him and put his hands up as if surrendering. "Not that I have a problem with that, but some might consider it sexist that the main rosters like that. Really puts the men in X-Men."

Remy chuckled before inclining his head to the elevator. "Where does that go?" Bobby looked at the wall and pushes a button along the wood paneling. He beckoned Gambit with a hand to follow him inside when it opened. Warren waved them goodbye as the elevator door closed. "We're going to the lair."

Bobby was pretty chatty as he showed Remy "the lair". Glossy metal rooms lined the basement, consisting of the Med Bay, Danger Room, War Room, and along with other X-Men hotspots. One of which, included a hanger; the blackbird and a couple jets gleamed at him as they walked through. Remy was also introduced to Hank, who's blue, furry form hankered down, diligently typing away at a computer and offered up a jolly greeting as they passed by on their way back to the elevator.

"Did you meet any of the girls? They usually hangout near the front door as they await their chariot." Bobby was leading him down the hallway where his room was.

"I did." Remy thoughts turned to grassy eyes and red pouted lips.

"They're great, can kick some serious ass that's for sure." Bobby's eyes glazed over and he grinned. "Especially Rogue, her temper and right hook is legendary."

He instantly turned to his attention to Bobby. "Rogue?" She seemed spirited and definitely had a bite to her.

Bobby nodded his head and continued down the hall. Remy detected an admiring tone in his voice. "She has a way about her. You'll find out that out soon enough."

He was curious and was about to ask Bobby to elaborate when they arrived at his door. "This is me."

Bobby grinned and turned to go down opposite end of the hallway. "Nice meeting you, Remy!"

He opened his door and instantly went to the window. He needed a cigarette, badly. The tour went on longer than he expected and Remy wanted some time to contemplate all that had happened.

His fit body climbed out and began scaling the wall. Remy reached the roof and pulling out a pack, a stoge sprang into his fingers. He lit the tip with a touch of his finger. His legs stealthily moved along the roof tiles, smoke billowing from his hand as he found a spot near the edge. It was around midnight based on the moon's range in the sky.

The time had passed by so quickly since his arrival. It felt as if seconds ago he had made his way up the path and hesitantly knocked on the door.

His initial reservations about this change clouded his mind again. Was this the right move for him? Was he actually ready to move on and be something else, rather than what he had been?

A black SUV pulled up along the driveway and stopped in front of the garage. A delighted scream broke out across the yard and Remy observed as Storm and Kitty hauled Jubilee from the SUV, her legs seemingly failed to work.

"He had such a tight ass, I couldn't help myself!" Jubilee boisterous voice sounded.

Kitty looked like she was trying not to laugh at her drunken friend's announcement.

Gambit smiled as a gruff looking man left the driver's side, following behind them with a pained expression. He probably wished he hadn't been on designated driver duty that night.

"That's sexual harassment, Jubes." Rogue came around the side and locked arms with Betsy. Jubilee's response was to laugh louder.

Remy watched as Rogue glanced up to the roof at him, sensing his sentinel presence. She was keen to her surroundings and instantly locked eyes with him.

Jubilee shrieked again and her gaze turned from his to the hyper drunk. The group walked into the mansion and Jubilee could be heard conversing loudly with the others about what how it was sexual harassment if the guy hadn't put her hand on his butt. Finally, the door closed behind them and a quiet settled over the grounds.

Remy took a long drag. He felt the light breeze blow across his face and watched the smoke tendrils billow in the wind.

He felt ready to move on.