It's been awhile… But you all asked for it. Epilogue time!

I've never been great about ending fics, which is why I was so proud of myself when I kept this one short and focused on what it was I was trying to write, which was the backstory of Rogue and Gambit in Wolverine and the X-Men animated series, and furthering their relationship into the story.

With Mr & Mrs X getting everyone interesting in our Southern lovebirds again, I recently wrote a fic titled "Savage Honeymoon", if any of you would be interested in reading a second honeymoon one-shot fic.

As a result, I've gotten in the mood to write again, and going back reading the reviews for this one, it seemed pretty clear that people wanted an epilogue for this story.

Keep in mind, it has been about 10 years since I wrote this fic, so dialogue consistency might be iffy going from Chapter 5 to this.

Shout out to you guys, you're the reason I'm writing this fic!

Disclaimer: Marvel owns all X-Men related things, though I own this fic and the general concept for it.

Rating: Rated T for language and subject matter. *EDIT* Now Rated M.

Enjoy!

Epilogue

"Why did we think this was a good idea again?" Rogue hissed as she tried to pull herself up the side of the mansion to her bedroom balcony.

"Seemed like it at de time, chere," Remy replied, helping to hoist her up.

It was 2 am, and the mansion was dark. Everyone seemed to be asleep and that was just how they wanted it. They had been gone for more than 24 hours by the time they left the comfort of the hotel room, and Rogue was beginning to regret ever leaving its walls.

Rogue groaned as she flipped over the railing, landing square on her ass, "Remind me to never listen to mah silly ideas ev'a again."

She stood to her feet as she saw Remy already scaling the wall, in only the way a professional acrobat and thief could. Rogue reached out her hand to help lift him over the railing and he landed with a more quieted shuffle.

"It wasn' a silly idea. Just worked better in theory den in practice," Remy stated smoothly, "Besides, you didn' wan' de entire house findin' out 'bout dis just yet."

He lifted her left hand, the engagement ring perfectly poised on top of her ring finger and shone against the moon light. Rogue moved her hand to look at the ring and her face soured.

"If we came through that front door, we'd have been bombarded with questions 'bout here we'd been for the last 24 hours, and they'd find out. Ah wanna enjoy this time alone togeth'a befo' everyone else starts makin' their opinions heard 'bout how bad an idea this is," She retorted, already hearing the judgements from her teammates in her mind.

She could clearly imagine Scott and Kurt throwing a conniption over it, and Logan, oh boy… Logan would tear her new fiancée to shreds if he had the chance. Jean would butt her nose into their business like she usually did, and the one thing Rogue wanted right now was for her private relationship to stay that way. Everything was just perfect right now, and she didn't want to lose it because they don't understand.

"I understand, chere. It'll take time befo' dey come 'round to my bein' an X-Man, let alone yo' future husban'," he drawled before positing, "Maybe we jus' don' tell them for a while, til my probation's over?"

Rogue sighed, "No, tryin' tah hide it'll just make it worse if one of the psychics finds out. Ah'd rath'a be up front now than lat'a."

Remy reached out and wrapped his arms around her, Rogue burying her face in his duster, enveloped in his amazing scent, "Whatev'a you decide, mon coeur."

They stayed there, holding one another for a few moments on the balcony before Rogue shivered from the cool breeze, "Let's get inside. We can discuss this more in the mornin'."

Remy nodded and followed as she moved to open the balcony door into her bedroom, "You should stay the night," Rogue prompted as she closed the door, shutting them into their own little world again.

Remy turned to look over his shoulder with mischievous grin, "Never satisfied, I see," he joked.

"Pfft, if it was just sex Ah wanted from you, Cajun, Ah'd have just come out with it," she threw back at him with a snarky tone, moving right into his space, brushing her gloved hand along his chest, "Logan's nose is not tah be messed with. If he can smell you coming out of my bedroom, and back to your room, we'll have to deal with this situation a lot sooner than Ah'd like tah," she explained, continuing to walk past Remy, heading towards her dresser to grab her sweatpants and thin, long-sleeved shirt to wear to bed.

"Knew you were de smart one in de relationship," Remy chuckled, beginning to undress himself. Rogue turned and saw his shirtless form, letting out the tiniest shriek before giggling. Remy lifted her to the bed, her pajamas falling to the floor as her hands reached for something to hold onto, namely his broad shoulders.

"Remy LeBeau, you scoundrel, put me down!" she half-heartedly scolded him.

"As you wish, mon amour," he replied, plopping her onto the bed. She let out a 'oof' as she hit the sheets, but laughed out loud as Remy began crawling over her, his shoulder blades shifting in just the sexiest way. Like a panther stalking its prey.

"Sir, Ah do believe you are lookin' at me with evil intentions in your eyes," Rogue joked as he came up over her. She pressed her gloved hand into his cheek, reaching back into his hair and wishing she could just kiss him. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw Remy holding the collar.

"Thief," she stated with a grin across her lips.

"Princess," he countered, slipping the collar around her neck and clicking it into place, activating it instantly, "May we have one last night of uninterrupted debauchery?"

"Fuck yes," she moaned, pulling him into a soul searing kiss, nearly knocking the wind out of him.

The couple stayed in bed for the remainder of the night, making love to one another, just as they had been the previous day. They didn't want to give up this silence the world seemed to be offering them for this brief time.

But of course, nothing ever lasts…

The following morning saw the house waking and performing their usual routines. Breakfast for the mass of students and teachers was prepared, and the congregation slowly began. Greetings and pleasantries were exchanged as people came and went from the kitchen and the hallways.

"Morning, Logan," Ororo greeted as Logan came into the kitchen, catching everyone's attention, but he clearly was not in the mood for a cheerful start to the day.

"Has anyone seen Rogue or 'the thief' this mornin'?" he asked with a sour tone in his voice. Everyone that was in the kitchen generally shrugged their shoulders, or replied with a tentative 'no'. He turned on his heel and left just as quickly as he had come in. He stormed out the main entrance, sniffing the air to see if he could catch either of their scents on the property.

Back in the kitchen, Kitty, Bobby, Ororo, Jean, Scott, and Kurt all turned to each other with a look of concern.

"They've been gone for quite a while," Kitty said timidly to the group, "I figured they'd wanna have a night to catch up, but to be gone for almost 2 days, and to not hear from them?"

"I agree, it's worrying," Kurt stated.

"Did anyone bother to check the grounds? Maybe they're just around somewhere? Out for a morning stroll perhaps?" Scott suggested.

"I imagine that's where Logan has just run off to," Ororo replied.

Scott turned to Jean, "Do you sense them?"

Jean took a moment, and replied calmly so as not to alarm anyone, "They're here."

"Here?" Bobby asked, the group eager for clarification.

"Yes, they're in the dorms. I'm surprised Logan didn't just check their rooms before he came storming down here," she expanded, hoping it would satisfy the group's curiosity.

"Well they owe us an explanation for where they've been for God knows how long. What if we had a mission and they weren't here to help?" Scott retorted, standing from where he was leaning against the countertop.

"Scott wait!" Jean called out, but he was already on the move to the dormitory. Kurt, Kitty and Bobby followed, wanting to be sure they were okay, but Ororo, noting Jean's tone of voice, knew that she knew something the others didn't. The pair ran off to catch up with the others as Scott just made it to the landing in front of Rogue's room. He tested the doorknob, noting that it was unlocked, and pushed into the room.

"Scott!" Jean called out again, but it was too late.

"Rogue?" Scott called into the room, expecting to maybe see Rogue still in bed, or even an empty bed. Instead…

"AAHHHH! What the hell, Scott?! Didn't anyone ev'a teach you to knock before enterin' a room?!" Rogue screamed out in protest, jutting out of the bed, with only her sheet barely covering her chest. She stood to face the intruder, her sheet covering the front side of her body. As the rest of the group had caught up to Scott, it was already too late.

"Oh, Rogue I'm so sorry! I didn't think before I..." Scott started to apologize, but when he noticed movement behind Rogue, he paused and turned his attention to the figure in her bed. Remy slowly shuffled to the edge of the bed, the comforter just covering his waist down. He stayed seated there as he could clearly see Scott eyeing him through his sunglasses.

Rogue forced Scott's attention back to her, "You were sayin', one eye?"

"Oh, right. I apologize. I should have knocked first," Scott apologized meagrely, though he was now thoroughly engaged in a staring contest with Remy.

"Rogue, I apologize for all this. The others were worried when we hadn't heard from you or Gambit in over a day. I tried to stop him, but…" Jean rambled, "You know how Scott can be."

Rogue thrusted her hand up in a motion to shoo the group of interlopers out of her room, "Do ya'll mind just givin' us some privacy for a moment?"

Jean nodded, "Of course, we'll be just outside," before quickly turning and pulling Scott out of the room, breaking his eye contact with Remy, but not before Kitty let out the loudest squeal known to man-kind just as the door shut.

Rogue sighed, turning back to the bed to face Remy, "Guess we couldn't out run this forev'a."

Remy stood to meet her and opened his arms to her. She stepped into his embrace, letting him gently caress her hair and her exposed back. He swiftly kissed her temple, "It'll all be alright, I promise."

Rogue nodded against his shoulder, "Ah hope so, Remy."

The bedroom door opened, startling the group of X-Men just outside, and the two Southerners stepped out, fully dressed and ready to talk.

Jean stepped forward, "Rogue, Gambit, I just want to apologize again. I tried to stop…" she was cut off by Rogue waving her hand.

"It's alright, Jean," Rogue started, "We were hoping this wasn't gonna be a huge spectacle, but it seems like the cat's outta the bag now."

Just as Rogue finished her statement, the group heard footsteps coming down the hallway. They turned to see Logan there, approaching the couple directly, "Where the hell have you two been?"

His question came with a whole host of threats behind it, but Rogue knew better than to let him see through her. She refused to answer. They didn't owe anyone an explanation. And she sure as hell wouldn't be bullied by Logan of all people.

But what happened next stunned everyone.

"Please, Monsieur Logan, allow me to apologize for the worry I've caused everyone over Rogue's well-bein'," Remy stepped forward and securely stood beside Rogue, his arm wrapping around her upper arm as he explained, "It was my fault we were out for so long. You see, Rogue and I knew each other a long time ago, and when we were catching up, we drank far too much, and I insisted that we stay in a hotel in the city. We were in no condition to be returnin' home and Rogue didn't want everyone worryin' over her, so I got us the room to be sure we could sober up before returnin'."

Rogue smirked at him, knowing that while most of that was a lie, it was partially true. They were drunk out of their minds that first night, and it wouldn't have been safe for him to ride his motorcycle in his condition. But the intentions weren't so noble. He could be such a charmer when he wanted to be. It seemed to get Logan to calm down at least.

"You guys have history?" Bobby questioned, "And here I thought the Rogue had jumped into bed with a man she barely- ugh!"

Kitty quickly elbowed Bobby in the stomach for the crude comment, "Shut. Up," she scolded under her breath.

Rogue laughed a little at the idea, "No, Remy and I know each oth'a very well. We used to be…" she turned to face Remy, giving him a suggestive look, "…what would you call it, sug'a? Wasn't exactly a 'normal' relationship between us."

"Hmm," Remy paused, pretending to really think about what to call their previous situation, "Roommates?" he replied.

"Ah was thinkin' "friends with benefits"- minus the benefits," she joked, "But I guess roommates works too."

"So, you two are…?" Kurt started to ask the question, but Rogue quickly answered.

"Yes, we're togeth'a," she stated point blank, "Actually, that was somethin' we wanted to talk to ya'll about when we got the moment. Guess now's the time," Rogue continued by lifting her gloved left hand, the engagement ring glittering in the light.

Audible gasps were heard throughout the group, though nothing compared to Kitty's reaction.

"Oh My Gawd!" Kitty exclaimed with excitement, grabbing Rogue's hand to examine the ring, "You're engaged?!"

Rogue shrugged her shoulders in a 'not sure how to deal with this response' kinda way, but that was quickly eased by everyone moving to hug the couple.

"Congratulations!" Kitty screamed.

"We're so happy for you, child," Ororo continued.

Rogue and Remy were taken aback by the warm hugs and words of congratulations. They really hadn't been expecting this.

"Wait, ya'll are happy for us?" Rogue asked.

"Would'a thought you all would be tryin' to kick my ass outta here sayin' I'm no good for her," Remy voiced.

"Oh, I do think that," Logan retorted, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Some in the group turned to him, giving him stares of annoyance.

"Logan, please," Ororo started, but found she didn't need to proceed with her scolding.

"I second that," Scott stated, raising his hand to show his same unease, "As far as I know, you two barely know each other. It'd been only 2 days since he's been and X-Man, so call me skeptical of his intentions."

Rogue and Remy held each other's hand as the criticisms of their relationship began. They can't say they didn't expect this, but it still hurt.

"I too cannot say I can fully support this union, but only because I do not know you well enough to judge, Gambit," Kurt added, earning a nod from Remy. He understood Kurt's perspective. He still didn't trust Gambit as far as he could throw him. And now, he was to marry his sister? It would take time before Kurt could bring himself to accept that.

"But!" Logan interjected, "I can see how happy she is," his chin nodding in Rogue's direction, "if this is what you both want, I won't stand in yer way."

Rogue pushed through the group to approach Logan, stood square with him, and asked him, "You mean that?"

"I know you better than you think, kid. If this is what you want, who am I to stop you?" Logan replied, his tone smoothing out to its general gruff but kind manner.

Rogue smiled and hugged Logan, "Thank you," she whispered.

They broke their hug and she turned to face the rest of them, "Ah know ya'll haven't had the time to get to know who Gambit really is. Trust me, it look a long time for me to see what kind of man he is," she started, her voice shaky and uneven, trying to find the words, "But if ya'll love me, like Ah know ya do, then trust me when Ah say Remy would nev'a do anythin' tah hurt me."

She strode back to Remy's side, her arms wrapping around his waist, and his returning to hers, "We love each oth'a, more than Ah'll ev'a be able to say. If you trust me, then please trust in him. He has the capability to be a good man, and great X-Man."

Scott and Kurt glanced at each other, but soon shrugged their shoulders before Scott spoke, "if you trust him Rogue, then we do too."

Kurt agreed with a nod.

Rogue slumped a little next to Remy, the weight of the situation finally lifting and her knees feeling slightly weak from the intensity. Luckily, his arm was wrapped so securely around her he kept her upright with ease. She turned to Remy and hugged him as the rush of the moment over took them.

Kitty, Jean, Ororo, and Bobby all moved to embrace them, as a supportive family would.

"Oh we're so happy for you guys!" Kitty cried out, "Please tell me I can be one of your bridesmaids?!"

Rogue laughed as the atmosphere diffused into one of joy and celebration, "Of course, Kit."

THE END

I hope you all enjoyed the expansion of this story! A lot of you were interested to see how the X-Men would react to our favourite couple coming home engaged, but I wanted to keep it slightly realistic. It's not all joy and laughter, and I wanted there to be some tension around the union. But ultimately, who can truly stand in the way of love?

I'm currently looking to finish up my other X-Men fics. (dunno how long they'll take, but I do have them outlined)

If you guys are willing to stick around and read my fics, I'd love to read your reviews and comments.

Thanks again for everyone who suggested I write an epilogue, and

Until Next Time…