Author's Notes:

Hey everyone, I'm alive! And I've finally finished writing the next chapter of the story. Something that I can tell for the reviews and messages that I have received has been long awaited. Thank you everyone for for putting up with me and patiently waiting for me to get this chapter done. I'm finally happy with how this turned out; all fifteen pages worth of it. ;P

Also I'm happy to say that I have part of the following chapter already started, and parts of later chapters as well.

So without any further ado here is the next chapter that you have all been waiting for.

And yes, Remy is back. ;P

Chapter 9: Dinner Conversation

She was deep in thought; her iPod was playing soft trance music that helped her to achieve the level of meditation that would allow her into the jumble and confusing expanse that was her mindscape.

It was something that the Professor had taught her to do in order to manage the many voices and personalities in her crowded mind.

This morning she had woken up with the sheets tangled between her legs, her body flushed with a fine sheen of perspiration and her hormones raging.

That's the last time I listen to The Devil's Carnival's 'In All My Dreams I Drown' before going to bed.

It wasn't exactly an unwelcome feeling she thought as she remembered the vivid imagery that had caused her to wake up as such. Strong arms, teasing fingers, and heated kisses; the weight of which she could still feel on her lips when she woke up. But damn if it wasn't frustrating. She had gotten up and taken a long shower; enjoying the feel of the water as it ran over her heated flesh, taking her time in running her hands over tense muscles in the hopes of releasing some of the tension that had built up.

Several hours later found her seated in full lotus position on the ground, her back straight as she practiced her breathing. Trance music bled together to the point where she didn't know how long she had been seated there.

Her usually chaotic mindscape was quiet and peaceful for a change; annoying psyches locked away, while others wondered here and there in the mansion of her mind; keeping themselves busy and silent for the most part. She wondered the halls checking up on them, and giving them attention here and there because they were very much like little children; annoying and bothersome when they didn't get any attention.

She had been at this for a time till she was jolted awake out of her meditation. She blinked her eyes a few times to get her bearings. There was a pillow in front of her; the object that had undoubtedly woken her from her respite. Looking up she found the culprit who had undoubtedly tossed the pillow at her.

Pulling out her headphones she chuckled at the image of Mercy standing over her with a somewhat sheepish expression on her face.

"Sorry. I figured that was the best was to get your attention." She said with sincerity. "You're not exactly wearing a lot of clothes and I wasn't sure if you were the type of person who reacts badly to people touching you while you meditate."

"Smart move." Rogue chuckled as she stretched out her legs. "I do have a tendency to, as Kitty says, 'wig out'."

Mercy giggled. "How bad?"

"Well the first and only person who ever tried to wake me up during a meditation session was Bobby; he went and shake my shoulder to get my attention and I kind of throw him across the room out of pure instinct. Needless to say no one has tried since."

"It probably doesn't help that you're not wearing a full top."

Rogue shrugged. It was a hot day so she was bumbling around in a pair of wrap-around pant and a sports bra. Standing up she stretched out her stiff muscles.

"So may I ask what you're doing here Mercy, and if you say it's to take me out shopping again the answer is no." Rogue said pointing a finger at the petite blond. "I'm not going to have to go shopping for clothes for the next two years."

"No, no shopping today. And how can you say you have enough clothes? No one ever has enough clothes." She laughed at the expression on Rogue's face. "No I'm here to pick you up. The boys are on their way home and we're all having dinner at the main house before going out for some fun tonight."

"A successful business transaction I take it." Rogue smiled.

"Oui, that it was indeed."

"Well I guess I should say that I'm happy for them." Rogue thought for a moment. "Is it actually alright to say that when I know that they have obviously just ripped some people off?"

Mercy laughed. "Oh hon, you might want to check your morals at the door tonight. And yeah you should be fine; just think of it like any business transaction."

"Right." It's like being back in the Brotherhood house, if you don't want to know, don't ask.

Gathering up the cushions that she had been sitting on, she took a look at the clock. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon. It was later then she expected.

"So who's going to be at dinner tonight?"

"Everyone." She said. "Well, everyone that counts that is." She added flopping down on the sofa.

"You, me, Henry, Remy, Jean-Luc, Tante Mattie, Emil, Etienne, Theoron."

"Ah 'kay. What should I look forward to? Formal? Dressed down?" Rogue headed off to the bedroom.

Mercy shrugged. "It's kinda' a family thing; not formal, but Mattie has always asked to boys to not look like slobs, and they tend to dress well enough; casual but nice. But I have it on good authority that we're going to a small bar afterwards to play some pool."

Rogue peered back around the doorframe. "How much of a girl have I turned into if I can't think of what I want to wear?" she asked scrunching up her face before disappearing back into the room.

"Happens to me all the time." Mercy answered. "If your trying to make a good impression on Jean-Luc I don't think you need to worry."

"Screw Jean-Luc, he's seen me in ripped jeans and gothic makeup while saving his ass; no I want to make a nice impression on Remy's aunt."

"Tante Mattie? Oh she'll like you hon." Mercy smiled as she followed Rogue into the bedroom where she found Rogue standing in front of the closet with some of her clothes.

"So what were you thinking?" she asked looking at the selection of clothes, most of which she had purchased for Rogue.

Rogue ran a hand through her hair with a slightly frustrated sigh. "Well I was originally thinking a dress, you know something feminine; but then you mentioned going out to play pool, and I'm guessing it's not exactly a squeaky clean place."

Mercy laughed. "Not exactly. More like little dive that Remy and Henri go to often to play. It's dark and seedy, and Remy will probably be driving his bike."

"And not someplace to be wearing a dress while playing pool." Rogue tilted her head back and let out a groan of frustration. "I swear I was never this much of a girl. I would wear whatever I wanted, and not care what others thought. When did I become such a girl?"

"I have an idea. Wear a dress to dinner and then change into something more bar appropriate."

Rogue's head snapped back up and looked at the clothes. "That could work."

She began flipping through the clothes to decide what to wear. Eventually a smile creped across her face as she pulled out some clothes and laid them across the bed.

Mercy smiled and pointed to the pants Rogue had laid out. "For Remy?" she asked with a sly look.

"Maybe." She smiled back.

Mercy giggled. "I'm seeing a theme here." She said making a motion with her hand to the various garment.

Rogue grinned back. "Yeah, little something new."

"We should start with your hair, let me see if I can find some pictures to follow; you will look great with some victory rolls."

A few hours later found Mercy and Rogue getting out of the car in front of the LeBeau estate.

Rogue stared slightly slack jawed at the image in front of her. The only thing she could compare and describe the building in front of her was the image of the plantation house in Interview with the Vampire; and then times that by about three. To say that it was palatial was doing it an injustice.

"You live here?" she said as they climbed the step.

Mercy smiled and nodded heading for the door.

"This place is magnificent."

"Agreed; and to think before the 1940s it was only three floors; you can't even tell that the top floor was built later, they paid close attention to detail in the construction."

It was true; just looking at the house she would have bet even money that it had been built as such; then again, four floor on a plantation house of that era was unheard of, even ones with three were rare.

Even in the dim light of the swamp the white washed walls of the exterior gleamed in the late afternoon light. Cypress trees covered in hanging Spanish moss and willows surrounded the property and ran along the long serpentine drive, effectively hiding the plantation house of the Thieves Guild headquarters from the outside world.

The humidity pressed in on a person from all sides here in the swamp, and even in the coming gloom the home didn't look as menacing as the one belonging to the Rippers.

That had been her expectation when she heard that they were heading into the swamp. Visions surfaced of making their way through the dank in a small dingy from the March before last when she had followed Remy into the swamp in order to save his father from the rival gang.

The two-story plantation in Blood Moon Bayou was a pale shadow of its former self, and a far cry from the splendour of the building in front of her. She could still remember the look of the decaying interior if she thought about it.

Thankfully Mercy opened the door at that moment and her mind immediately forgot about the squalor that was the Ripper stronghold in favour of the beauty and majesty of the LeBeau Family estate.

The front hall was grand indeed. White plaster and Corinthian columns met rich and well-worn mahogany floors. A large sweeping staircase disappeared up to the third level and she was sure another went to the higher level as well. With a Persian rug on the floor and an ornate mirror hanging over an antique baroque wall table Rogue felt rather small in the splendour of it all.

"I seriously don't know where to look first." Rogue said turning in a slow circle to get a better sense of the place. It was epic, and this was even compared to living at Xavier's after the massive remodelling that had taken place at the end of the last summer.

Mercy laughed and was about to say something when a woman wearing a modest version of a French maid's attire came up to them.

"Madame LeBeau." She held out a small folded shift of paper to the petit blond.

"Thank you Annette." She replied taking and reading the note; the maid waited patiently for further instructions.

"Oh." Mercy said, and then proceeded to blush. "Umm Rogue, why don't you go wonder around before dinner, I'm just going to go wash up and change before dinner."

Rogue looked at her with a slightly bewildered expression. "Are you sure? Do you want me to come and help you?"

She smiled. "No need. Henri's home."

"Oh!" Rogue's smile grew, knowing full well what Mercy actually intended.

"Go ahead, have a look around; Remy's on his way, he was on a later flight." She handed her purse off to Annette before she started to climb the stairs. "If you have any questions just ask Annette, she'll point you in the right direction."

And with that she took off in search of her husband.

Rogue just shook her head and turned to the maid, who was dutifully standing there in front of her waiting.

"The washroom, could you point it out to me?"

"Oui Mademoiselle, this way." She then proceeded to show Rogue down one of the corridors that led towards the back of the house.

"Here you are; is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Umm, could you point the way to the kitchen out to me, I'll find my way there myself."

"Oui Mademoiselle, follow this corridor, hang a left at the end, take the stairs to the ground floor and then follow your nose; Madame Baptiste's cooking is the delicious aroma that will lead you there." She gave a smile and left Rogue to her own devises.

Rogue reemerged shortly after from the very lavish washroom, complete with baroque style furnishings, and headed in the direction the maid had pointed out.

Sure enough she was soon following her nose and made it safely to the source of some of the most delicious food she had ever smelled.

Rogue peered around the corner and found herself looking into a large and well stocked kitchen. A handful of people made up the kitchen staff; and all of them were taking orders from a stalwart older woman. From the onset Rogue could tell that she was pure creole Cajun, and an imposing figure at that.

"Madame Baptiste?"

The woman turned around to see who had entered her kitchen, fully expecting to give them a good talking too about bothering her while making dinner when she saw the girl that her dear Remy had spoken so often of.

"Oh my honeychil," the older woman came around the kitchen till she was standing right in front of her. She pulled Rogue into a bear hug, surprising the southern bell with both her strength and the fact that the woman took little notice of her mutation. "Will you look at you."

She held Rogue out at arms length to examine her better. "But you're too skinny; aren't they feeding you at that fancy school of yours?"

She didn't give Rogue time to answer before pulling her towards the counter and sitting her down in one of the bar chairs there. She then went over to one of the baskets and pulled out a buttermilk biscuit, and returned with it on a small plate with a dollop of butter.

"There, something to tide you over till dinner is ready."

Rogue chuckled at the good-natured actions of the matronly woman. "It all smells amazing Madame Baptiste."

And it truly did. Sausage, shrimp, chicken, peppers; Rogue was in soul food heaven.

"Tante, you call me Tante honeychil, now eat up." She said going over to one of the pots and stirred its contents.

Rogue smiled. "Tante, the reason I came in here was not to snag some of your delicious cooking, mouth watering as it may be; I came to give you this."

Standing up Rogue rummaged in he messenger bag that she propped on the stool and pulled out a mason jar filled with chicory tea. She handed the jar over to the woman who was looking at her with endearment in her eyes.

"Well aren't you the sweetest thing, my favorite." She smiled a huge smile at the young mutant standing in front of her. "I'll have to make you a cup after dinner."

"What's this I hear, you going to make something for Rogue? What about for poor Remy?"

Rogue turned around and smiled as she saw Remy walk into the room.

"There are my two favorite girls." He came and gave Mattie a kiss on the check to which she blushed and shooed him away.

He then turned his eyes to the girl that had been on his mind since the moment he had to leave her asleep in his bed a few short days ago. Gathering her up he twirled the both of them around. Rogue giggled as he sat her back down on her feet.

"Well look at you; this is something new." Holding her by the hand he twirled her around on the spot so as to get a better look at the dress she was sporting. The skirt twirled out around her with a swish of the red petticoat underneath. She was pure rockabilly from her partial up-do with side-parted victory rolls, to her 'Daisy Swing Dance' dress in black with cherries, down to her vintage styled Genie Heels in red leather. She even wore a lace styled motorcycle jacket over it and a pair of delicate lace gloves to complete the look. She looked sweet and yet still had an edge to her.

"I'm wondering if I should style my hair into a pompadour now." He said smiling down at her.

Rogue just smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair. "You'd make a good greaser I think."

"Missed me?" he asked as she wondered back to sit down at the counter.

"Missed your cooking; though you were right, Mattie's cooking is delicious if this biscuit is any indication."

"Ooo. Biscuit." He said noticing the biscuit Mattie had given to Rogue.

"Ah, that's not for you; you'll spoil your dinner." She said smacking his hand away from the biscuit.

"Spoil my dinner, what about her?" he asked indignantly, Rogue just laughed at the picture that was playing out in front of her.

"The poor girl is nothing but skin and bones. That fancy school of her's obviously don't know how to make a good meal."

"Mattie, compared to you no one knows how to make a good meal."

"He's a charmer this one." Mattie said to Rogue while pointing a spoon at Remy. "Now off with the both of you. Let this old lady get back to work if you want to eat dinner tonight."

Stuffing the last little bit of the delicious biscuit into her mouth, she gathered up her bag and followed Remy out of the kitchen. The two of them wandered down the hallway till they were out of sight from everyone else.

When he was sure no one else was around he pulled Rogue into a side room and kissed her soundly.

"Well hello." She smiled up at him. "I take it you missed me."

She expected him to make a witty comment but instead he just kissed her again.

"Yes. Yes I did." Taking her bag off her shoulder he deposited it on the floor and, picking her up twirled her around in his arms.

"Aren't we in a happy mood." She teased once he finally stopped.

"Well of course. I'm back. You have no idea how much I missed having you beside me in bed." He leaned down and placed his forehead against hers. "I wake up to an empty bed wishing you were there."

She had to giggle at that. "Remy, we've only slept together twice, once because I woke up screaming from a nightmare and the other time you had to get up early to catch a flight. You seriously couldn't have missed me that much."

"You're far better company then the lot I've had to deal with the past few days; and I was definitely not going to let one of them share my bed."

"I take it you would much rather have a girl."

"Most assuredly."

"And I forget that the consummate lover that you are is probably used to waking up with a girl in his bed."

He chuckled. "Very rarely do I wake up next to them, but then again I don't usually let them spend the night."

Rogue smiled a sweet smile. "Oh so I'm special then aren't I."

The devilish smile that Rogue associated with him crept across his face. Leaning down he placed his hands on the back of her thigh and hoisted her up till she was level with him.

"Definitely special my dear."

Hearing that made Rogue feel warm and fuzzy. A girl always wants to hear that she's special.

"So how about a tour of the place before dinner?" he asked placed her back on her feet.

"Sounds like a plan."

Wrapping his arm around her waist he lead her back out into the hallway and proceeded to show her around.

Wondering around the first floor and main floor he showed her sitting and drawing rooms, the library, and a salon. They also passed by the rooms the held the surveillance monitors and his father's office, both of which were closed.

Eventually they headed to the forth floor, Remy said that the third was mainly guestrooms and rooms dedicated to the Guild. Upon reaching the top floor he led her along till they came upon his room.

It was a rather spacious room decorated like the rest of the house in antique baroque furniture. Two doors led to what she would assume were a closet and an in suite washroom. A set of double French doors led out onto a balcony that circumvented the house, and which gave a beautiful view of the grounds.

Remy leaned against the doorjamb and watched as Rogue walk in and examined the room. After removing her bag and depositing it on the floor she walked slowly over to the French doors. He gently kicked closed his bedroom door and followed to where she stood looking out at the view of the grounds. Taking he hand he opened the doors and led her outside to better enjoy the sights.

And it was breathtaking. His room faces off the back of the house and had a beautiful view of the lawn as it slopped down to the dock and the swamp. The image was timeless, and probably looked relatively the same since the house was built.

"It's beautiful." Rogue said leading against the banister as she took in the amazing view.

"Oui, made all the more so by you Chère."

She turned and looked at him with a smirk on her face. "Making up for lost time with your compliments I take it."

He grinned. "Maybe."

He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, absently playing with a lock of her hair all the while.

"Missed me." He asked once he pulled away.

"Truthfully?" she asked. "A bit, surprisingly."

A smirk pulled at the corner of his lips.

"What?"

"Nothing." He said all the while still smiling. "So how were your past few days?"

Rogue shrugged. "Relaxing. Slept in. And believe me that was probably the best part."

He chuckled imagining Rogue burring herself in his bed whiling away the day; he also pictured her naked and curled up against him but that was beside the point.

"Wondered around town a bit, did the touristy thing," she continued, a devilish grin appeared on her lips. "Got hit on by a guy in the Voodoo Museum…"

He narrowed his eyes and pinned her with his gaze.

"I kind of liked the feeling." She laughed.

"Ah oui? And…" He was jealous, she could tell, and she was enjoying it.

She shrugged a shoulder. "He was sweet."

"Et?" It was torturing him.

"Poor guy was trying hard." She said. "But I told him I was seeing someone."

Smirking he pulled her towards him by the edge of her jacket and proceeded to kiss her once again.

"Tease."

"Who me?" she laughed. "Maybe I should test it out on some other guys to see if it was just a fluke."

"It wasn't a fluke, you're beautiful." He said, "And you're not going to test your skills on anyone. You do and I'll end up having a list of guys to intimidate and cause bodily harm too."

"Jealousy is not a good colour on anyone Remy." she said with a smile, "You included."

Though she had to admit that being in this situation it did make her a bit happy. It was petty, but it was something new for her. He seemed to read her mind and smiled.

"Yeah, but secretly you like it."

"And I'm trying not to encourage your bad behaviour."

"Chère, I thought you would know by now;" He teased with a sinful smile, "I'm nothing if not a promoter of bad behaviour."

She let her eyes flick quickly over him, she knew he was; his body alone incited thoughts to make even a nun blush.

"Oh I believe it."

He just continued to smile. Taking hold of the railing, he hoped up onto the wrought iron banister and walked the length of it as if he was walking normally, and not inch wide wrote iron railing before seating himself on it, his back leaning against one of the colonnades that supported the roof.

"Show off." She said shaking her head.

He chuckled. "Bet you're just as skilled though Chère"

"Yeah, not in heels thought."

"So take them off."

Giving a shrug she gently slipped off her shoes before taking hold of the bar. With slow and deliberate movements, because she knew he was watching, she pulled herself up onto the bar. She had nowhere near his natural agility but still was able to walk across the narrow metal with little effort. Slowly, dipping her foot off the side she made it across the balcony without much effort, and without falling to come and stand in front of where he was seated. Leaning over she placed her palms on the railing, supporting her body weight, and swung her legs down to sit with her legs on either side of the bar.

"Very nice." He said appraising her. She wasn't at a thief's level of practice but all the same, she had done very well; and well, he just enjoyed watching the view. "Next time try it without holding your arms out."

"Yeah well not all of us have your natural grace and agility." She remarked with a mock glare. "Besides, it's easier to do so when you're not wearing a dress with a petticoat. It would be easier if I was wearing my new uniform."

He got an amused quizzical look on his face. "New uniform?"

"Oh that's right, you haven't seen my new one." She smiled a cheeky smile. "It's practical. Black leather, really soft leather too, but it's stronger the Kevlar; or so I'm told. Mine has detachable gloves; they go up to my elbow, and they fit like a second skin. The stitching on it is one of my favourite colors."

"Deep emerald green if I remember." He said lazily. His mind was busy imagining what she was describing.

"That's right; and the belt is the X-Men's symbol in black chrome; the same with the communication button that is located on the collar."

She was enjoying watching him; she knew he was picturing exactly what it looked like, and what it would look like on her. With a sweet and mischievous smile she leaned forward. "It has a detachable cowl hood, and the zipper goes from here…" she pointed to the hollow at the base of her neck and dragged it slowly over her chest, across her stomach to just below her belly button. "…to here."

He let a low growl escape his throat as he watched her trace the path down her body. He had been sitting with his back against the pillar and one foot resting on the railing. Now he dropped it down on the other side and pulled her till she was leaning against him. He then proceeded to run his hands up her waist and back and pulling her in close for a deep kiss.

"You're a tease you know that." He said as his thumb ran gentle circles over her neck.

"So I've been told." Leaning back in she wrapped her harms around his neck and kissed him some more.

"Oy check out the lovebirds"

Both Rogue and Remy looked down to see three guys striding over the lawn towards the house.

"Stop sucking face with your girl and bring her down here to introduce her to use." One of them yelled up at them.

"Like she wants to meet a bunch couyon come vous." Remy yelled back at them with a laugh.

"Your cousins I take it?" Rogue asked.

"Oui. Son des fou." He replied with a grin. "I'll keep you safe from their idiocy up here if you want."

"Nah, I'll be sociable."

"Oy, slow pokes, you coming or what?" Another shouted up.

"I'll come down there and wring your neck Emil if you don't shut it."

Emil, the redhead of the bunch raised his arms and made a 'bring it on motion'. To which Remy playfully flipped him off.

He turned back to Rogue. "Did you want to take the fast route down?"

"What's the fast route?" she asked.

"Climb down the tree." He answered with a nod at the Cyprus tree right beside him."

"Yeah, no. Not in this dress." she said. "Not unless you want them to get a good view up my skirt."

"You're right." He said examining the edge of her dress. "Allow me to beat the rowdy lot of them into submission; they should be better company by the time you get down there."

And with that he hopped back up onto the bar gracefully and launched himself off into the tree. Rogue just shook her head and after putting her shoes back on, made her way down through the house at an unhurried pace.

By the time she made it out the back of the house, with a little direction from a maid who was cleaning a side table on the second floor, she found Gambit and his three cousins talking on the back porch.

"Ah, la vois là." One of them said as she made her way towards them.

"Delicate little thing aren't you." Another asked as she went to stand by Remy.

"Pardon?"

"Didn't feel like climbing down with lover boy."

She smiled. "Didn't feel like having to watch Remy beat you for ogling me in a dress."

"She's never met you and she knows you guys well enough already." Remy teased.

"And delicate ain't exactly a word that most people would use to describe me." She grinned back at them. "Didn't he tell you about the time I knocked him out?'

"You were under Mesmero's control Chère." Remy pointed out.

"Still counts Sugar." she laughed. "He may have been controlling my mind but trouncing you was still all me."

He opened his mouth to retort, but she cut in before he could say something. "My power's your power and I can take more than one."

"I can't argue with that." he said with a shrug.

She just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oy watch it." He chuckled at her.

"So you going to introduce us or not?" One of the guys said. "Or you just going to moon over each other."

Remy proceeded to punch the younger man in the arm. "Manners you impatient little boy."

"Mine? What about yours?" he piped back.

"Boys, play nice or I'll call Tante Mattie out here to deal with the lot of you." Rogue said with an amused expression on her face. She laughed at their reaction; which is to say that all four of them blanched.

"That's playing dirty Chère." Remy said giving her a look of amusement. "Bien, these are my cousins, you can refer to them as fou if you like. Theoron's the quiet one who has yet to say a thing." he pointed to a tall gentleman with dark hair.

"His brother, Etienne, is the impatient one." He said pointing to the youngest of the three.

"And the redhead who can't seem to sit still is Emil, but we all just call him Lapin as I already told you." He said pointing to the tall lanky ginger that indeed had been fidgeting the past while."

"Nice to meet you." Rogue said and shook each of their hands in turn.

"Now I totally see why this idiot's been pining over you the past few days." Leaning down he took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of her glove. "If you ever get tired of this one I'm sure I can step in and take over."

"Oy, paws off." Remy said shooing his cousin away.

"Or what, you'll beat me up for kissing your girl." Emil teased.

"Don't have to." He said with a smile. "She'll do it for me."

"You have a thing for redheads don't you Sugar." She said with a smile turning to Gambit beside her.

"Pardon?"

"John, him; you making a collection of energetic redheads?" she teased.

One of his cousins laughed. "She's funny." Etienne said.

"Never really had a preference Chère." Gambit said coming to stand behind her. He wrapped his arms around her, and proceeds to kiss the base of her neck. "Though, I'm finding myself being swayed by a feisty brunet."

"Flatterer." She commented. "Has he always been like this, or is he only this bad with me?"

"Just with you." Emil laughed. "But then you don't seem to be swallowing his bullshit so he's been laying it on a little thick."

"It's not bullshit." Gambit said rolling his eyes. "It's called wooing; charm, sophistication…"

"And ego, and bullshits." Rogue cut in with a smile and turned back to his cousin. "Yes, we've had this conversation already."

No one really had time to make a retort because at that moment they were called into dinner by one of the maids.

Heading towards the dining room they met up with Mercy and Remy's brother Henry.

"So this is the girl that has my brother acting like a love sick idiot." He said extending his hand out to Rogue.

"Apparently so." She smiled accepting his hand.

Henri was a gentleman about half a head shorter than his brother, and she could see the family resemblance with his father. He a portly man, but Rogue wouldn't say fat. He was stocky and muscular, similar to Victorian era boxers. Aside from the mustache that he had grown he was bald.

Off to the side Mercy stood there with a shit-eating grin on her face. Rogue just smiled back and lightly shook her head, knowing full well why she was smiling so much.

"Any one seen Jean-Luc?" Theoron asked once everyone started heading towards the dining room.

"Non, mais he's probably locked away in his office like usual." Henri said off-handedly. "Tente Mattie is probably dragging him out as we speak."

Sure enough, as they neared the dining hall they found him being prodded along my Tante Mattie.

"Don't care if you have a tone of paperwork, everything will still be there once you've eaten a good meal for once today. We're having a family dinner and you're going to eat and be nice and sociable and not be the cantankerous arse that you are." She said shoving him forward.

"Alright woman, just stop shoving me." He said indignantly.

Rogue had a surprise expression on her face, one that was working its way into a giggle. Apparently Mattie was every bit the determined woman that everyone made her out to be. From what little she understood about the Guild and the fact that Jean-Luc was the Patriarch of the organization she didn't think that anyone would be willing to go against his wishes, let alone order and push him around as if he was a ten year old boy.

"See." Henri teased. "Told you so."

Turning Jean-Luc greeted his family and Rogue. He looked pretty much the same since the first time she saw him; maybe a few more age lines if you looked close but that was about it.

Coming closer he extended his hand out towards her. "It's nice to see you again my dear. I don't believe I thanked you and your family last time." he said with a tight smile. Ten to one someone, read Mattie and Remy, was telling him to be polite.

"No you didn't, but Remy did so it's alright." Rogue replied with a rather smug expression.

She didn't like Jean-Luc, he was no better than Mystique, worse in some ways; Mystique loved Rogue in her weird and twisted way and believed she was doing the right thing in the long run. Jean-Luc on the other hand tended to use his family as he saw fit for the betterment of the guild. Thankfully somehow both Remy and Henri had grown up to be well rounded and respectful men; Tente Mattie, Rogue believed, most likely had a heavy hand in this.

"Mattie says that she's made a feast and that she doesn't want it getting cold, so we best go in before she brains the lot of us with a spoon." With that he turned and walked into the dining room, the rest of their motley group following behind.

Mattie was already hard at work ladling out a delicious smelling soup into the bowls around the table. Biscuits and other small food were laid out, but Rogue was sure from what she saw in the kitchen earlier that there was a lot more to come.

Pulling out her chair for her, Gambit sat her down to his right; between himself and Emil on her right. To his left sat his father at the head of the table, with Henri, Mercy, Etienne, and Theoron on the opposite side. Tante Mattie, after passing out the soup, sat at the foot of the table.

After placing her napkin on her lap Rogue waited to see what everyone else did. They were Catholic after all. Did they say grace? They didn't at the mansion; hell it was very much a free for all back home.

As it turned out they didn't, they just waited for everyone to be seated before they started passing around the delicious biscuits that Rogue had sampled before, and began to heartily dig in to the meal before them.

The soup, Rogue discovered was a heavenly roasted garlic soup. With a dollop of cream fresh and a buttermilk biscuit Rogue was set. It was so good that she would have been more then happy if it had been the only course of the evening.

Conversations started up practically the moment everyone sat down. Some of it was about how the job went, while other bits where more mundane, random things, like what the girls had been up to over the past few days; Henri didn't even bat an eye that Mercy had been out shopping.

"So Rogue, Remy mentioned that you recently graduated from high school." Jean-Luc said after a time. "I believe congratulations are in order."

"Thank you." She said with a smile. "I was so happy to have that chapter of my life over with. Convocation was last week, I only went because Kitty made me. I would have graduated at the end of the last school year but unfortunately I missed too many school days, and the school didn't think I had completed enough to qualify even though I had completed the work for my classes."

"How does someone miss too many days of school to not graduate?" Etienne asked.

"Asks the boy who has never spent a day in a conventional school." Henry mocked popping a pit of soup soaked biscuit into his mouth.

"I had to take a few months off for medical reasons." She answered with a flippant motion. "Then there was the saving the world thing"

"Saving the world?" he asked with a queer look on his face.

Emil sitting beside her gave a sigh. "Do you ever pay attention to anything other then chasing girls in your spare time?"

"Too busy chasing girls to notice the Apocalypse?" Rogue grinned.

"Oh you mean the pyramids thing?"

Remy groaned. "Yes the pyramids; and you can thank Rogue for not having alligator skin or something."

"You're telling me that was you?" Theoron asked.

"Well it wasn't just me." Rogue said with a shrug. "In fact I was one of the last people to the party, and took advantage of a weak moment on his part. But then again that was the only way we were going to win."

"So you're saying you're the one who stopped the big bad?" Henry asked with a smile; not condescending, more just amused.

"Yeah, go figure. Like my little brother Kurt said after we all survived 'You did it Rogue. The girl who shut herself off from the world just saved it.'" She gave a shrug.

"What a selfless act child." Mattie said. "You could have been killed."

"I guess it's just what I do; it's what we all do, the X-Men that is. I mean someone had to do it; we had to try. I hate to think of what would have happened if we hadn't managed to stop him."

"A toast." Emil said raising his glass, a huge goofy smile on his face. "To the girl who managed to keep us all alive and not under the oppression of a mega-maniacal overload."

She had to laugh at that one. "Well it was the least I could do for setting the bastard free in the first place."

"No one blames you for that Chère." Remy said leaning over and kissing her temple. "We all had a hand in that if you remember."

They all raised their glasses and toasted to better days and a happier future.

"With all that behind you, do you have any plans now that you're done high school, plans for the future?" Jean-Luc asked.

Rogue could see where this was going, but she decided to play it cool. "I figured I would probably take some classes at New York University in Manhattan to work towards a Bachelor's Degree; I already started taking classes since I finished my high school ones before the Christmas holidays."

"Any plans for a career?" he inquired; his eyes had a certain gleam in them, as if he was appraising a precious item.

"Jean-Luc." Remy said shooting a look at his father. So much for being on one's best behavior.

"It's alright Remy." Setting aside her spoon she turned her head to face the guild patriarch. "Mr. LeBeau, please let me make myself clear; I have no interest in being a thief, no matter how suited my mutation is.

"What most people don't know about my mutation is that though yes I can take information from people, it causes them great pain, and if I hold on to long I can kill them; suck the very life out of them and leave them with nothing. My momma may be an international terrorist, raised me and trained me; but where she has little care for the well-being of others, I do."

"We are not assassins my dear, no one is asking you to kill people."

"Yes, but I'd rather not loose what little bit of sanity I have left in the process." She waited a second, and she could tell that he didn't know what she was talking about; aside from Remy and Mercy everyone else had the same expression on their face. "What most people don't know, let alone understand is that with my powers, when I absorbed a person I absorb a little bit of them; and they stay with me, in my head, forever.

"They don't go away, and they are a constant reminder of all the people I have touched since my powers manifested. They talk a lot; to the point where I can't here myself think; where I can't even concentrate on what I'm doing. Most of them are scared, and some of them can be mean and violent.

"I have a friend back home, Wanda, she spent most of her life in a mental asylum; when she asked me what it was like and I told her she said she didn't know how I stayed sane. I'm not.

"There are days when I wake up and I have moments when I'm not sure who I am. The medical reasons I missed school for, aside from the first encounter with Apocalypse, was due to the fact that the voices in my head rebelled so much that I actually lost control and they took over. It nearly killed me; I nearly killed a lot of the people I care about. It left me physically, emotional and psychologically drained to the point were I was hospitalized for a few months. I live everyday with the constant fear that it will happen again, and that if it does I will lose myself completely.

"So you will have to excuse me for not jumping at a job offer."

Everyone around the table was silent. Remy had placed a hand on her knee under the table and was shooting his father a scathing glare as most of the rest of the table looked uncomfortable and embarrassed.

With that she turned back to the small portion of soup left in her bowl. Lapping it up on a biscuit she popped it in her mouth with a small appreciative moan.

"Tante Mattie your cooking is absolutely divine; if the rest of the meal is half as good as this soup you will have to roll me out of my chair." She said smiling at the older woman.

"Well then we should test that theory Honeychil; let me clear away these bowls and we can get started on the dinner I made."

"Here let me help you with that." Rogue said making to help clear the table for the motherly figure.

"Thank you Honeychil, but you sit right there, you're a guest; I'll not have you making a mess of that pretty dress." With that she continued walking around the table and collecting the soup bowls. When she got behind Jean-Luc she clapped him upside of the head with her hand.

"Ah …" he was about to say something but she cut him off.

"You know exactly what that was for so shut it."

Everyone at the table stifled their laughter and busied him or herself with what was in front of them.

At this rate, Rogue thought, it's going to be a fun evening.

French Translation:

Et? – And?

couyon come vous – fools like you

Son des fou – They're crazy

la vois là – there she is

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!