Heaven Sent 3: Hold Onto My Heart

by Morgana

Fandom: X-Men

Parings: Remy/Warren Bobby/ original character.

Rating: NC-17 for explicit sexual content or violence

Disclaimers: Gambit and X-Men is (c)copyright of Marvel Comics. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: When Jean-Luc dies unexpectedly, Warren finds himself comforting Remy

Warning: This story is definitely Alternate Universe!

Warren enjoyed spending some quiet moments at the mansion. Most X-Men were gone for the Christmas holidays. Jubes and Logan had decided on a nice trip into the snow covered mountains, Scott had taken Jean to a B&B to get her away from the mansion, and Hank and Bobby were raiding stores on a Twinkie run. I get the feeling we will be eating Twinkies on Christmas Eve... Which was only one day away. Even the professor had taken a break, not specifying his destination to anyone but Scott in case they needed to contact him.

The only downer was Gambit's presence. The Cajun had stayed at the boathouse for several weeks, but the central heating had broken down, forcing him to move back to the mansion. Luckily, his room was at the far end of the corridor and the Cajun didn't venture out much. They had only met one time, in the kitchen, when Gambit had been fixing himself something to eat. Warren had left the kitchen at once, waiting for Gambit to leave so that he could make himself some sandwiches.

"Let's see, what am I going to do today? I’ve got all the peace and quiet I ever wished for!" Collapsing on the couch in the living room, he switched on the television, channel surfing for a while. Suddenly, his heart contracted. Bets... Betsy and he had broken up two weeks before. They had grown apart; he simply couldn't handle her shadow walking. She had changed after walking in the shadows. To be perfectly honest, she creeped him out.

It was a good thing that Rogue and Betsy had decided to go on a shopping trip, and this time he wasn't paying! His credit cards were safely in his wallet. He had almost felt sorry for Joseph, who had followed Rogue obediently; Joseph hadn't looked thrilled at the prospect of spending the next few days in and out of shopping malls.

Bored, he switched off the television and walked over to the window. It was snowing and Bobby would have loved sliding through the white blanket. He suddenly regretted declining Bobby's invitation to accompany them on the Twinkie run. Now he was stuck here all alone. Well, Gambit was here, but the Cajun didn't count as company.

In an effort to distract himself, he headed for the control room. Everyone had left addresses or phone numbers where he could contact them in case of an emergency, but he was hesitant to do so. After reaching the control room, he sat down behind the console and checked the security cams. Everything seemed quiet. Next, he checked communications.

Gambit is on the phone... Wonder who he's talking to? He was tempted to listen in on the call, but then dismissed the thought. Even Gambit was entitled to some privacy! However, what if he is up to something? Going behind our backs? No, I shouldn't listen in on his call, but what if...? His fingers moved over the control buttons and before he knew it, Remy's voice echoed through the room.

"Ai, Mattie, wish I could be wit' you in N'Arlings right now! Hate bein' banished from home!"

"Remy, Jean-Luc was tryin' to undo your banishment, mais de Assassins didn' wanna hear 'bout it... and now it's too late. I'm so sorry, mon fils... Jean-Luc didn' deserve to die dat way!"

"I miss Poppa 'ready..." A sob escaped Remy.

Warren pushed the button that would cut him out of the call. Poppa? That word sounded familiar. Poppa, that means daddy! Oh my God! His father died! Stunned, Warren stared at the control panel. I shouldn't have listened in! I don't want to know what's going on in his life!

But his father died. Remember how you felt when your father died? You were crushed... And he had had people around him that cared for him. Gambit was alone with his grief. All alone in his room with no one to talk to!

Fuck! Why did I have to hear that? The lights indicated that Remy had hung up and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. What do I do? I needed to talk to someone after dad died... Gambit doesn't have anyone to talk to.

Undecided, he tapped his fingertips on the control panel. Suddenly, he had to decide where he stood concerning Remy LeBeau. He had hated the Cajun at one point. At the trial, he had hated Gambit with all his heart. The hatred had diminished slightly, but he still didn't trust him either. Damn, why am I the only one at the mansion? Why can't Jean be here? Why did Storm have to go back to Africa, to her roots? I don't know what to do!

How do I feel about him? I don't consider him a friend, I don't even trust him as a teammate, but... he’s alone. I know how it feels to be alone. After I lost my wings I was alone... It led me straight to Apocalypse. There’s no way of telling how Remy will react! What if he turns to Sinister? Normally he wouldn't do that, but...

He resolutely got to his feet and walked into the corridor. He couldn't simply turn his back on another human being; regardless what mistakes Gambit had made, the Cajun didn't deserve to be alone in a time like this!

He didn't know how he was going to handle this situation, or what he was going to say or do. Much depended on Gambit's reaction to seeing him, but he was determined to stay close.

A few minutes later, he found himself in front of Gambit's door. He drew in a deep breath and knocked softly. "Gambit? Can I come inside?"

"Go 'way! Don' wanna talk to you!"

Warren released the breath he had been holding. Gambit's tone was venomous, but he also recognized the pain in the Cajun's voice. Damn, how was he going to do this? He couldn't tell Gambit he knew about Jean-Luc! If he did, he would also have to confess up to listening in on that phone call! Somehow, he had to find a way to convince Gambit to talk to him! "Remy? Please open the door."

"Non! Go 'way! Don' make me blast you 'way!"

The rage and sorrow in Remy's voice had reached new heights; it was time he acted now! "I'm coming inside."

"Non! Don' you listen? I want you gone!"

I don't believe that, Remy. Although I told everyone that I wanted to be alone when my father died, I didn't want them to leave. You need someone to talk to, even if it is only me. He placed his hand on the door handle and pushed down, expecting to find the door locked, but to his surprise the door opened at once.

"Remy?" Slowly, he stepped into the darkened room. Remy had switched off all lights and he had trouble finding the Cajun's form in the darkness. However, his sharp eyes adapted to the darkness and showed him Remy kneeling beneath the window.

"Leave me 'lone! I told you to go 'way! I don' want you here!"

Warren took another step closer to the huddled form on the floor. "Remy, what's going on? What are you doing here in the dark?" Remember, you can't tell him you know! Remy didn't react or move so he approached the Cajun slowly. "Did something bad happen?"

"Why would you care?" Remy's tone bordered on panic. "You ignored me since Antarctica! And when you talk to me it's to lemme know you hate me! I know what you t'ink of me! You wish I’d died in Antarctica. Get de hell outta here and leave me 'lone."

Warren sighed deeply. "I guess I deserved that." He had reached Remy and now lowered himself onto his heels. "But I'm here now. Why don't you tell me why you're sitting here in the dark, crying?"

"Dat doesn' concern you!"

Warren almost backed away when burning, red eyes glared at him; they looked eerie in the dark. The hate that shone from them was mixed with grief and loneliness. "Give me a chance, Remy, even if I don't deserve it. Yes, I hated you at one time. It was the reason why I walked out on you during the trial, but... I don't hate you anymore."

"You don' trust me eit'er!" Remy's eyes simmered with emotions.

Warren opted for the truth. "Yeah, that's true. After learning that you worked for Sinister I lost my trust in you, but... that doesn't mean I won't trust you again. It means we need to work on that." Damn, he had never intended to address Antarctica! "I can only offer you the truth, Remy."

Relieved, he realized that Remy's rapid breathing was slowing down and the Cajun raised a hand to wipe away his tears. "Remy, what happened? I've never seen you cry before."

Briefly, it seemed like Remy was going to open up to him, but then the Cajun jumped to his feet, grabbed his collar and pushed him hard against the wall. "Remy, stop it!" Now that his eyes had fully adapted to the darkness, he saw the pain on Remy's face. Determined not to fight Remy off, he allowed the Cajun to hold him in place. "Lashing out at me isn't the answer." Remy bowed his head, but the Cajun tightened the hold.

"Mais I have to lash out at someone..."

"Why, Remy Why do you feel the need to lash out?" Warren held his breath, praying Remy would confide in him. "We're the only two at the mansion right now. Nothing you tell me will leave this room."

"Why?"

Remy raised his head and locked eyes with him. Warren swallowed hard, seeing the tears that slid down the Cajun's face. "Why what?"

"Why are you here? Why are you talkin' to me?" Remy's eyes mirrored his disbelief.

"Because I think you need someone to talk to... and Remy? Let me down? This is getting uncomfortable." Remy's strength surprised him, considering the weight the Cajun had lost since Antarctica. He could probably fight himself a way out of Remy's hold, but he didn't want to start a fight; that was the last thing Remy needed.

Remy suddenly released him and the Cajun stumbled away from him. Warren straightened out his clothes and followed Remy over to the window.

"You didn' fight back..." Remy whispered, obviously puzzled.

"I didn't come here to fight. Remy, I want you to know that I'll listen if you need to talk to someone." He knew when to back off. Remy wasn't ready yet to share his pain. "I'll be in the kitchen, cooking dinner, all right?"

He didn't move, waiting for Remy to acknowledge his offer. Finally, Remy nodded his head. "I don't know what's going on," Warren lied, unable to reveal the truth, "but it's obvious that you need to talk to someone. I'll be waiting." Discretely, he retreated to the doorway, stepped into the corridor and closed the door behind him. All he could do now was wait for Remy to reach a decision.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren had set the table, cooked dinner and had given up hope that Remy would accept his offer. Two hours had passed and he was sitting at the kitchen table by himself, poking at a steak that usually made his mouth water, but his appetite had disappeared. He couldn't stop thinking about Remy, who was sitting in his room all alone, trying to deal with the death of a loved one.

Maybe he should go back and confess to eavesdropping? Maybe that would make it easier on Remy to address Jean-Luc's death. But no, he couldn't do that. Remy would think he was spying on the Cajun. Damn, what should he do?

His fork and knife dropped from his fingers and hit the plate with a loud bang. Come on, Remy, come down here and talk to me! I can't drag you from your room! Warren bit his bottom lip, wishing the professor or Jean were here to help.

"Uh..." Remy cleared his throat, hesitantly shuffling into the kitchen. He remained standing near the doorway, seemingly uncertain if he was welcome.

Looking up, Warren released a relieved sigh. Thanks for trusting me enough to come down here... Steadfast, he met Remy's watering eyes. "Hungry?" He pushed a chair toward Remy, hoping the other man would join him at the kitchen table.

"Non, I ain' hungry." Remy gingerly sat down, lowering his eyes.

"Ready to talk to me?" Warren filled a glass with orange juice and pushed it toward Remy.

Remy accepted it and sipped slowly. "I got some bad news today."

Bad news? That's quite an understatement! "What kind of bad news?"

Remy's fingers trembled and the Cajun quickly put down the glass. "I can' talk 'bout it."

"Yes, you can. You want to. That's why you're here." Warren tried to cover some of the emotional distance by capturing Remy's evasive glance.

Remy swallowed convulsively. "My fat'er died..."

Yes! Warren nodded his head, relieved that Remy had finally taken the step to confide in him. "I know how you're feeling right now..."

"Non, you don'!" Remy's tone was edgy. "You don' know a t'ing!"

Warren had expected that outburst and let Remy rave. "My dad died a few years ago and I remember feeling lost and confused. You might not believe me, but I do know how you feel."

"Your dad died...?" Regretting the emotional explosion, Remy hesitantly searched Warren's eyes. "Sorry, didn' know dat."

"It happened years ago, Remy, and I coped with it. But that's why I know how hard this is on you."

"Jean-Luc was much more dan my fat'er..." Remy nervously shifted on the chair. "He saved my life... and was de only one who loved me unconditionally. He accepted me and my faults, all de mistakes I made."

"Shouldn't you be with your family right now?"

"Can' ever go back to N'Arlings," Remy admitted in a choked up tone. "I talked to Mattie on de phone, mais... She can' leave N'Arlings and I can' go dere... I can' be wit' her..."

"And now you're stuck with me," Warren said, trying to take away some of the tension that was eating away at Remy.

Remy managed a weak smile, but then his expression darkened again. "I still don' get it."

"What?"

"Why you're talkin' to me. You always avoid me..." Remy's hand shook as he sipped again. "Why did you come to my room? You never did dat 'fore."

I have to be careful now... Warren shrugged his shoulders. "I was getting bored all alone and I was wondering if you wanted to watch a game. I was looking forward to spending some time alone, but when I got it, I missed having company." Remy's probing look almost made him burst out in sweat. Those eyes searched his soul. Would they uncover his white lies?

Remy's shoulders suddenly slumped forward. "T'ought you had some hidden motives."

"You thought I was playing with you?" Ouch, that hurt! Be honest, he chided himself, you don't trust him, you don't consider him a friend, and he knows that! It's understandable he'd think that! "No, I'm serious, Remy. I want to help. Why don't you tell me what your father was like?"

A weak smile reappeared on Remy's face. "Jean-Luc was a good man. He was a t'ief, taught me everyt'in' he knew and he even loved my freak eyes."

Warren wanted to say something, but bite back his comment. He wanted to let Remy finish first.

"I never t'ought he'd die..." Remy suddenly seemed uneasy. "I ain' sayin' he was immortal or a mutant, mais... I expected him to live a lot longer."

Warren encouragingly nodded his head. "Go on."

"I loved him. He... he was de only one I could count on to be dere for me... Mon Dieu, why am I tellin' you dis?" Remy suddenly choked up, his old distrust flaring in his eyes. "You ain' interested in my history."

"Do you have a picture of him? I don't think I ever met him." Warren let Remy's last remark slip. And what about his freak eyes? I didn't know he felt like that!

Puzzled, Remy looked at him. "A picture?"

Warren nodded his head. "Yeah, a picture." Remembering the good times will help him through this and... I can't believe I'm saying this, but he's still keeping it inside. Once the dam bursts, there will be a flood of emotions and I'd better be there when that happens. He seems fragile at best...

"I got a picture of Jean-Luc in my room," Remy admitted hesitantly.

"Then let's go to your room." Warren pushed his chair away from the kitchen table and got to his feet. "Are you coming?" Remy hadn't moved yet. The questioning expression on the Cajun's face made him feel guilty. "No hidden motives, I promise. I lost my father and now you did as well. Talking about Jean-Luc will help, trust me."

"Trust you? Trust you?" Remy's eyes grew big. "You don' trust me eit'er, remember?"

"And I told you we'd work on it. Come on, I want to see that picture." Warren walked over to the doorway, still waiting for Remy to follow him. Remy slowly rose from the chair and moved awkwardly, all elegance gone. Warren cringed inwardly, realizing how baggy Remy's clothes had become. Only a few weeks ago they had fit the Cajun perfectly. Maybe this is why I stayed... maybe it's time to bury the hatchet?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren followed Remy inside and waited for the Cajun to switch on some lights. Only now did he realize that the room was a mess. Blankets, clothes, sheets, books, and notebooks were spread all over the room. Remy probably feels as messed up as his room looks.

Remy uncovered a framed picture from beneath some clothes and stared at it. Tears appeared in his eyes and he quickly pressed the photograph into Warren's hands. "Dis is Jean-Luc." He turned away, staring into the darkness of the night.

Ah, Remy, I know you're crying. Turning your back toward me doesn't change that! He looked at the picture and saw a smiling, middle-aged man in a trench coat. His dark hair was combed back into a ponytail and a dark moustache sat mischievously on his upper lip. "You look a lot like him."

Remy released a strangled laugh.

"What?" Warren put the picture down on the nightstand and joined Remy in front of the window.

"He ain' my real fat'er. Jean-Luc adopted me when I was ten!"

Warren realized the mistake he had made, but wasn't changing his opinion. "You still resemble him... and both of you seem to be fond of trench coats!" He hoped the teasing would work.

Remy's shoulders shook with tears, which he desperately tried to hide. "I can' believe he's gone. I only talked to him on de phone a few days ago and he was in a good mood... He even promised to visit shortly. Now I ain' never gonna see him 'gain!"

What do I do now? I'm not such a cold-hearted bastard to let him grieve alone... am I? Damn, why aren't the others here? I'm no good at comforting others! Acting on instinct, he rested his hand on Remy's shoulder. The Cajun tried to pull away, but Warren didn't let him. Oh, man, I can't hug him! I don't hug people! I don't hug men! I never hugged Bobby and he's my best friend, but... Oh, what the hell!

He moved even closer and folded an arm around the other man's waist. Remy's breath caught and the Cajun grew tense against him. "When my father died I really needed someone to hold me, but I didn't have anyone. My father's lawyers were rather distant and... I hugged my pillow instead."

Remy lifted his eyes and tried to wipe away his tears, but Warren stopped him. "Hey, it's okay to cry. You're feeling terribly hurt inside and it's okay to let it out. You need to let it out or the pain will consume you."

"You're offerin' to hug me?" Remy shook his head in disbelief.

"Want me to hold you?" Warren refused to pressure Remy into cooperation. He would only proceed with Remy's permission.

"Oui, hold me..." Remy's gaze broke, helplessly admitting his vulnerability.

Warren reacted at once and pulled him closer. He held Remy close, rubbing soothing circles over his back. The Cajun shook in his arms and he simply held Remy tight. "It's going to be all right. You don't believe that now, but I learned how to deal with it and so will you."

"How am I gonna make it t'rough de night? I can' be 'lone now..." Remy involuntarily returned the hug, holding on tight.

"In that case I'll stay with you, okay?" Warren led Remy to the big four-poster bed and waited for the Cajun to take the hint to lie down. I only had a pillow to hug... and because of my father's money I didn't have any real friends, but I'll be damned if I let you deal with this on your own.

Remy curled up on the bed and pulled up the comforter. Warren sat down and rested his back against the headboard. He was still running comforting circles over Remy's back and moved a little closer, until Remy's head rested against his chest. "You can tell me more about your Jean-Luc."

"Non, I don' wanna talk..." Remy closed his eyes, trying to shut out the terrible pain that clawed at his soul.

"Then try to sleep," Warren suggested. "I'll stay."

Too emotionally exhausted to thank Warren for being there for him when he had least expected it, Remy willed himself to fall asleep; thinking back to when he was a child and Jean-Luc had rocked him to sleep. He found comfort in that memory. Giving in, he let Warren's touch soothe him.

A lump had formed in Warren's throat, seeing Remy's pain and obvious need to be held. I can't take away the pain inside your soul, but I can make sure you aren't alone. I'll hold you, hold you as long as you need to be held...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Non, scold! Toocold! Don'... donleaveme!"

Warren's eyes flashed open. At first, he didn't know where he was or what was happening, but then he recalled comforting Remy and staying with the Cajun. Remy, damn it! He quickly checked on the Cajun, who was lying next to him in bed. Sometime during the night, their positions had shifted and they had ended up face to face, his arms tightly wrapped around Remy's waist. Oh, it's a good thing Bobby isn't around to take a picture or start annoying rumors!

"Rogue, don'godon'godon'go..." Remy thrashed in the bed, fighting something that only existed in his nightmares.

Undecided, Warren wondered what to do. He never had nightmares and Betsy hadn't any either, so what approach would work best? Hell, I should probably wake him up!

"Henri! Donleave... Betsypleasecomebackforme... donleaveme!"

"Damn it, Remy, you're having a nightmare, stop kicking me!" Remy was moving about wildly, kicking and punching him repeatedly. "Come on, Remy, wake up!" He was tempted to shake the Cajun awake, but his instincts told him he should try talking first.

Remy's eyes opened, but the raving continued. A seemingly endless stream of words left his lips and Warren had to listen closely to understand what Remy was saying

"Warren, donwalkoutonme! Comeback! Ididnknowdidnknowdidnknow. SinisternevertoldmebouthisplansfordeMorlocks! Didnknowdidnknowdidnknow..."

"I've had enough of this, Remy. Come on, look at me! You're at Westchester, in your room!" He placed his hands on either side of Remy's head, clutching it, forcing Remy to look at him.

"Scold... scold... snowandice... scold..." Rocking hard, Remy almost toppled over and fell out of bed.

Luckily, Warren had a tight hold on him. "Remy, it's okay... you're back home, back at the mansion!" Feeling at a loss, he rubbed Remy's back, trying to get through to the other man. "Remy, listen to me. You're in your room and you're not cold." Not cold anymore... Damn it! Why didn't we turn the Blackbird around when Rogue showed up alone? Why? I didn't offer to go back and look for him. I was mad as hell, but... This is such a mess!

Remy's eyes finally regained a sense of sanity and he swallowed hard, still rocking under the aftereffects of the nightmare. "I was back dere..."

Warren shook his head. "Only in your dreams." Did Remy have these nightmares often? That would explain the dark circles under his eyes.

Remy looked about, clearly shaken and confused. "Where am I?"

"At the mansion, in your room." Remy trembled against him. "You had a nightmare, remember?" Why was he so damn eager to comfort Remy? Hours ago, he had still been distancing himself from the Cajun, avoiding him, and now? Being held calmed him down earlier... His arms were still wrapped around Remy's waist and he gently pulled Remy closer until the Cajun's head rested against his shoulder. "You dreamt about Antarctica and us walking out on you." Remy nodded weakly against his shoulder. "I'm sorry that happened," Warren said honestly. "I don't know why we were so eager to put all the blame on you when Sinister was really to blame. We took the easy way out."

But Remy wasn't really listening, lost in his memories as he was. "Was cold out dere... I even tried to draw energy from de wirin', eatin' it. If it hadn' been for my li'l green ghost I would have died."

Scott had told him about the green entity and Warren felt relieved that they had been able to 'exorcize' her. I never realized how deeply this affected you. I was so mad and angry with you that I never considered your feelings. None of us did. We were all relieved when you moved into the boathouse. It meant we didn't have to deal with our own failure.

Remy shivered violently and Warren pulled up the comforter. Slowly, letting his actions speak instead of his words, he gently lowered Remy back into the comfort of the mattress. The fact that Remy allowed it showed how confused the Cajun was.

"Do you think you can go back to sleep, Remy?" Warren tucked the comforter around their forms, growing cold as well. Gooseflesh had formed on his skin, but that wasn't due to the chilly room; it was the realization of the guilt he had never acknowledged, but he carried it nonetheless. He had let Eric the Red and Magneto make him betray a teammate.

"Don' wanna sleep," Remy said, fatigued. "De moment I close my eyes I'm back dere."

Warren didn't really know how to respond, but did the best he could. "At least try to rest, okay?"

"I'll try..." Remy said in a tiny tone.

Warren didn't pressure Remy into talking. He fervently hoped that Remy would fall asleep again and that the nightmares wouldn't haunt him again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remy lay awake the next few hours, marveling at the fact that Warren was holding him. I don' understand. Why is he here? Why is he lookin' after me? He ignored me de last few weeks and in Antarctica he made no secret of de fact dat he loathed de sight of me! I jus' can' figure it out!

He had never expected Warren to come to his room after Mattie had told him about Jean-Luc's death. The bad news had hit him hard. The Elixir should have ensured Jean-Luc lived a long time, but Jean-Luc had been on a construction site, overseeing the building of their new headquarters when a metal beam had broken loose and nearly decapitated him. Even the Elixir was useless against such force. Jean-Luc's neck had snapped upon impact.

Merde, he was shivering again! Tears fought to form in his eyes, but he bit them back. Warren probably thought he was a wuss, breaking down this easily, but Jean-Luc had been the only person who he had ever loved unconditionally and his father had returned that affection. Now he felt alone. Even Mattie couldn't take away that feeling of abandonment.

Secretly, he had always hoped to return to New Orleans and call it home again. With Jean-Luc gone, he had to let go of that hope. He didn't know who would succeed his father, but Jean-Luc had surely left instructions. It was probably Henri.

Unexpectedly, Warren's arms around him tightened and Remy bit his bottom lip. Warren's presence made him nervous, not knowing why the other man was here, comforting him. He hates me!

"Uh, Remy? We could grab a snack in the kitchen or warm some milk? I don't think this is going to do the trick."

Remy jerked away from Warren, who quickly released him. He's playin' games. What does he want from me? One moment he wants to hold me and de next he can' wait to get 'way from me! He avoided Warren's eyes and sat on the side of the bed, looking at the framed picture showing Jean-Luc with a blinding smile. Merde, he couldn't feel this now! Not while Warren was close! He was making a complete fool of himself by crying like this!

Be a man! Wipe dose tears 'way, apologize to Warren and get de hell outta here! The urge to flee the mansion and Warren overwhelmed him, and he was about to jump to his feet when Warren's hand settled on his right shoulder.

"Hey, I merely meant that you're too emotional to rest. We might as well watch a movie or a game. Maybe that will help you relax and eventually fall asleep."

Warren's hand gently squeezed his shoulder. "I should apologize." Remy didn't turn around to face Warren and stared at the wall. Biting back his tears, he hoped his voice sounded steady. "I don' usually act like dis, mais hearin' he had died was... unexpected." Oui, that sounded okay, but his voice still trembled.

"Remy? Turn around and look at me?"

Remy didn't want to look Warren in the eyes, but the other man deserved the same respect, which Warren had given him these last hours. Remy gingerly turned around, buried his hands in the comforter, clawing it, and finally found the courage to meet Warren's gaze.

The expression on Warren's face took him aback. He had expected loathing and pity, but Warren seemed genuinely concerned. Fine lines showed on the other man's brow and the blue eyes revealed worry. Stunned, Remy averted his eyes. Why did Warren care what happened to him?

"I hurt as well when my dad died and I was younger than you are now. It's okay to feel... to feel these emotions and it's probably weird to have to confide in me because no one else is around. I'll leave if I'm making you uncomfortable. The look you're giving me explains it all."

Now I feel guilty for makin' him feel bad! "I jus' don' understand why you're here! I never expected you to care!" He was startled to hear the pleading tone in his voice, but he had to understand before he could decide on his course of action.

"Why don't you tell me what you're thinking? Yeah, it must feel weird, talking to me like this, but I'm listening and I won't make fun of you. This is serious." Warren sat cross-legged in the center of the bed, waiting for Remy's reply.

"It means a lot to me dat you're here, listenin', mais... I t'ought you couldn' care less 'bout me. When you knocked on my door last night I didn' expect you to come inside and ask me what was wrong. You seemed concerned and dat t'rew me off. Dan you suggest eatin' dinner and... I still don' know why I showed up."

"Go on, I'm still listening." Warren moved a little closer.

Remy shivered; realizing Warren was really listening and not just humoring him. Warren really seemed to care and that was almost surreal. A part of him still couldn't believe that the other man no longer hated him. "You really wanna hear dis?"

Warren's expression grew sad. "Yeah, and I owe you an apology as well, Remy."

That got Remy's attention and he turned around, peeking at Warren's eyes. "Owe me? Why?"

Warren drew in a deep breath before explaining. "I spent a long time hating you for working for Sinister and gathering the Marauders. I was so busy hating you that I stopped thinking rationally. This isn't easy to admit, but... it was easier to hate you than look at reality. Yes, you gathered the Marauders, but that doesn't make you responsible for their actions. They injured my wings, but it was a so-called friend of mine who amputated them. I blamed the loss of my wings on you as well. It was easier to blame you than admit to the fact that a friend had betrayed me."

Remy's eyes grew big. Hearing this apology was the last thing he had expected and God help him, but Warren seemed sincere. Enthralled, he listened closely and searched Warren's face at the same time.

"Remy, this hate blinded me until only a few hours ago. When I found out that your father had died I was forced to re-evaluate my thinking. I remembered how hurt I was when my dad died and you... You're banished from New Orleans and you don't really have anyone to turn to."

"And you decided to comfort me? Why don' I believe dat?" He wanted to believe Warren was sincere, but nothing in life came for free. People always wanted something, had hidden motives. He just hadn't figured out Warren's yet.

"I know it's hard to believe," Warren admitted. "And there's nothing I can say that will change your mind, but I meant what I said earlier; we could work on trusting each other again."

"I'd like dat." Remy bit his lip. He hadn't wanted to reveal that to Warren, not yet anyway.

Warren smiled and extended his right hand. "Let's shake on it? We should let the past be the past."

Remy eyed Warren's hand suspiciously. Raising his right hand, he hesitantly shook Warren's. "We can try."

Warren nodded his head. "Now that we got that out of the way... It's only four in the morning. What do you want to do? Go back to sleep or watch a movie?"

Remy hadn't fully realized until now that Warren had kept him company in bed for the first half of the night. Growing uncomfortable, he stared at the mattress, recalling Warren holding him. He had to put a stop to that. "I t'ink I can deal wit' dis on my own. You don' have to stay." Trying to act casually, his gaze fastened on Warren's wings. The soft, white feathers had always called out to him and he had wanted to touch them more than once, but in the end, he had always stopped himself from caressing them.

Warren noticed the barely hidden longing in Remy's eyes. "You can touch them if you want."

Remy shook his head. Non, don' deserve dat. Suddenly he realized that his fingers were still curled around Warren's after the handshake and he tried to pull back, wishing the other man would leave his room and let him suffer in private.

"Come on, I don't bite!" Warren guided Remy's hand to his wings.

The trembling in his hand grew worse and he was shaking when his fingers finally made contact with the soft feathers. Why was Warren doing this? Warren's eyes locked with his; the questions in them were obvious, but he couldn't address them. The softness teased his fingertips and he gingerly examined the texture of the feathers, unexpectedly to hit bone.

"You see?" Warren smiled smugly, and then allowed Remy to pull back. "Now why didn't you want to do that?"

Feeling lost, Remy shrugged his shoulders; he couldn't tell Warren the truth. I don' deserve your forgiveness, your friendship. You shouldn' lemme in. "Would you leave me 'lone now?"

"Are you sure?" Warren arched an eyebrow, expressing his doubts.

Non, I ain' sure... "Oui, I wanna be 'lone." Why couldn't he ever admit to his needs? Don' want him to see me like dis, dis vulnerable. It's bad 'nough I asked him to hold me last night!

Warren slowly got to his feet, but his eyes never left Remy. "You know where to find me in case you need to talk. I doubt I'll sleep much tonight either, so feel free to drop by anytime."

Remy nodded his head. Non, won' bot'er you anymore. You might not hate me now, mais once you're 'lone 'gain you'll remember why you hate me. He was too afraid to believe that this was the start of a new friendship. Turning away from Warren, he listened to the other man's retreating footfalls. Eventually the door closed and he was alone again, just as he had said he had wanted. But what he said and what he wanted were two different things, but he would never admit that.

He curled up on his bed, pulled the comforter over his shivering body and closed his eyes, trying to remember the good times he and Jean-Luc had shared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Damn, I'm feeling guilty for leaving him alone in his room! I can't fucking believe this!" Warren had taken a quick shower and was now lying down, trying to get comfortable in bed, but the mattress suddenly felt lumpy and his pillow just didn't want to support his head properly. His fist impacted with the pillow, trying to push it into the desired shape, but his attempts at getting some sleep were useless. Tossing and turning, he finally gave up, switched on the light and stared at the ceiling.

The emotional turmoil he was in, was nothing compared to how he had felt when he had broken up with Bets and he had been stressed when she had dumped him. The turmoil he was experiencing now was of a different nature. He had misjudged a teammate. He and Remy had never been friends, but his hate hadn't been justified at all. I jumped on the bandwagon. Everyone blamed Remy and I just joined in. He was paying the price for that now. No, Remy paid the price. Once Hank and Bobby get back I'll talk to them about Remy. Maybe we can turn this around.

And tomorrow's Christmas Eve. Man, that's going to be depressing. I doubt Hank and Bobby will be back in time and that leaves Remy and I alone at the mansion. They had put up a tree before the rest of the team had left to celebrate Christmas privately, but the Christmas spirit hadn't settled on the mansion yet. Maybe I can change that. Celebrating Christmas is probably the last thing on Remy's mind, but maybe it'll distract him.

I still need to get some groceries. We should have a decent Christmas dinner. Presents? No, that would be overkill, but maybe we can watch a vid. Man, I feel so damned guilty for letting things go this far! He had never felt this guilty before. His conscience was acting up big time. Should I check on Remy? I could have a quick look... No, he'll think I'm spying on him. Damn it, I can't sleep!

Giving up on getting some decent sleep, he picked up the book he was reading, flipped to the right page and started reading, but his thoughts continued to drift off to Remy...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren got up at dawn, dressed and headed for the kitchen. His feet almost carried him to Remy's room, but he changed direction just in time. Once he entered the kitchen, his stomach growled loudly. He hadn't expected to have an appetite, and decided to make some pancakes. He switched on the coffee maker, dying to taste the black gold.

Uhm, should I wake Remy and invite him to have breakfast with me or should I let him sleep in? Maybe he only just now fell asleep and... The nervous shuffling of feet made him look up and he smiled, seeing Remy hover near the doorway. The Cajun's hair was still wet from the shower he had taken and his eyes looked less draped than last night. That got solved quickly!

But Remy didn't enter the kitchen and Warren took action. "Coffee's almost ready. What would you like for breakfast? Pancakes? Or cereal? I could toast some bread... Sit down, Remy. Coffee or juice?" The look Remy gave him spoke of bafflement and disbelief and again his guilt came rushing in. Remy obviously thought he had ulterior motives for inviting him to breakfast!

"Your pancake's burnin'..." Remy whispered the warning, almost afraid to break the enchantment of the moment.

"Fuck!" Warren quickly removed the pan and sighed. The pancake was beyond saving. "Good thing I didn't burn the others." Grinning smugly, he placed the plate with a pile of small pancakes on the table. Remy still hadn't moved and Warren wondered what to do next. Sitting down, he pushed a chair in Remy's direction. "Keep me company? I made too many pancakes! I can't possibly eat them on my own."

Remy hesitantly sat down, staring at the pancakes. "Warren?"

"Yes?" Warren dropped a pancake onto Remy's plate and then served himself. Shame and embarrassment were written all over Remy's face and he had to say something to assure the Cajun. "You had a bad night, okay? Happens to all of us."

Remy quickly nodded his head and stared at the pancake. "I ain' hungry..."

"I understand that food is the last thing on your mind after losing Jean-Luc, but you can't neglect your needs. Just eat a bit, drink some juice and try to keep it down." Damn, Remy looked as weak as a kitten; his face was pale, and the dark rings under his eyes proved that he hadn't had much sleep last night. You're too skinny anyway. When was the last time I saw you eat? I really can't remember. When I walked in on you in the kitchen you were fixing a bite, but you didn't take the sandwich with you...

Remy reached for the honey and let the golden liquid drip onto his pancake. Warren smiled; at least Remy was willing to eat. He filled the Cajun's glass with juice and poured him a mug of coffee. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you tell me last night that you couldn't go to New Orleans because you were banished from that city?"

Remy flinched violently and then nodded his head. "Can' go back."

"But you've still got family there?" Warren watched Remy take a reluctant bite and swallow it.

"Oui, Henri, mon frère and Mattie..."

"Who's Mattie?" Maybe if he gave Remy a chance to talk about his family the Cajun wouldn't miss them that much.

"Mattie helped Jean-Luc raise me. I was a handful... Deir words, not mine."

Warren laughed. "I can imagine. You must have kept them busy."

Remy suddenly looked up, sharply. "Why'd you say dat?"

Warren realized that he was treading on thin ice for some reason. "I don't know. As a kid you probably got into a lot of trouble."

Remy couldn't deny the truth. "Well, I did..."

The Cajun obviously wasn't going in to details and Warren accepted that. "You could call them, you know? You might not be able to go to New Orleans, but the phone's always available." And I won't eavesdrop this time!

Remy shrugged his shoulders. "Don' know 'bout callin' dem. Henri and Mattie got so much on deir minds right now."

Warren frowned. What's more important than supporting you? They're your family! "What things?"

"Guild matters," Remy revealed reluctantly.

"Guild matters?" Confused, Warren stared into his coffee. He knew that Remy was a Guild thief, but the Guilds itself were a mystery to him.

"Can' really talk 'bout dat." Remy dropped his fork on to the plate, having lost his appetite.

"So you're stuck here at the mansion?"

"I'd rat'er return to de boathouse."

"We haven’t had a chance to fix the heating yet," Warren reminded him. "And it's Christmas! You can't be there on your own on Christmas Eve."

"Don' feel like celebratin'..."

"I understand that, but Remy... You shouldn't isolate yourself. I tried that after I got rid of Death. Trust me, it doesn't work." Warren moistened his lips. These last twelve hours he had revealed many personal things to Remy. Maybe that was why they were getting along.

"I don' mind bein' 'lone." Remy pushed the plate away and clasped his fingers around the glass. Sipping his juice, he tried to avoid Warren's stare.

"You know what? I don't believe that."

Remy's head jerked back and finally met Warren's eyes. "What?"

"I don't believe that you want to be alone." Warren leaned back and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Remy looked perplexed. "Homme?"

"I need to get some groceries and you're coming with me. We'll eat Christmas dinner in the dining room and we'll prepare it together. You even get to pick the movie we'll watch afterwards." Warren privately wondered about his decisiveness. He was damned determined not to let Remy drown in his sorrow. If necessary, he would drag Remy with him into the stores.

Remy shrugged his shoulders again. "I don' care, homme."

I think you do, Remy. You just don't know what to make of my behavior and neither do I.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wasn' hungry, I really wasn', mais somehow Warren managed to make me eat four pancakes and drink some juice. I don' know what to make of him. After last night I t'ought he'd start avoidin' me 'gain and when I smelled de coffee I almost turned 'round 'gain, mais he invited me in, even poured me juice and coffee and den...

He said he didn' believe me! Said he didn' believe I really wanted to be 'lone! And he got pushy! Warren doesn' do pushy, at least not to get my cooperation. First Poppa dies and now Warren's actin' weird.

And den he decides dat I have to go grocery shoppin' wit' him and cook Christmas Dinner! Like I care 'bout Christmas right now. I wanted to tell him dat I had a femme waitin' for me, mais I couldn' pull it off. I haven' dated for ages. After Rogue and I broke up I jus' didn' have de energy to flirt and smoot' talk de femmes... or de hommes.

So now he's draggin' me from one store to anot'er, addin' to de shoppin' cart like he's got an orphanage to feed. Why is he doin' dis?

Mon Dieu, I want to be wit' Henri and Tante so bad and I can'. Tante said dat Poppa was tryin' to convince de Assassins to lemme come home, mais he died before dey gave in. I'm still not welcome in N'Arlings... Where else can I go? I don' have a home. At one time I t'ought I had found one at Westchester, but de trial crushed dat hope. I don' have a home anymore... what am I still doin' here? I should have left Westchester a long time ago. Rien holdin' me here!

"Remy, do you like strawberries? Jean once showed me how to make a tasty dessert. It mostly featured strawberries..." Warren held out a basket filled with strawberries.

Remy forced himself to reply and pushed his thoughts and doubts in to the back of his mind. "Strawberries are bien, homme."

Warren added them to the shopping cart. "Anything else we need?" Looking about, he moved forward and took hold of a package of Twinkies. "Nah, Bobby and Hank will bring tons of these back home! We'll be eating Twinkies until New Year's!"

Remy actually chuckled softly. He could easily imagine Bobby and Hank living on Twinkies during the holidays. When he had heard about the Twinkie run, he had been sad that they hadn't asked him to accompany them. A Twinkie run sounded like a lot of fun, but he understood that they didn't want him to tag along. He was an outsider, the traitor, and his place wasn't at their side. During a mission maybe, but not in their spare time.

"I think we got everything we need." Warren steered the shopping card towards the check-out desk.

Remy obediently followed Warren, wondering why he was allowing the other man to boss him around. De trut' is dat I don' wanna be 'lone, mais I don' wanna take up his time eit'er...

"Remy, take these to the car? I'll carry the rest."

Remy released a deep sigh, allowing Warren to push some grocery bags into his arms. Following Warren's orders, he returned to the car and put the groceries in the trunk. A brunette gave him an appreciative smile, but he looked away, unable to encourage her. She was pretty, but he wasn't in the mood to romance her. Pulling up the collar of his coat, he slid onto the passenger's seat and waited for Warren to join him. The girl was no longer interested and turned her back on him, heading back into the mall.

What's takin' Warren dis long? I wanna go ho... back to de mansion. No longer home... no longer home... it ain' home... He flinched when Warren suddenly closed the trunk with a loud bang. "Merde, I'm actin' like a li'l kid." Every sound seemed to startle him.

"Ready to go home?" Warren slipped behind the wheel and keyed the ignition.

He caught Warren's questioning look when he didn't reply and merely tried to hide deeper behind his collar. Warren tuned into an oldie station that was playing Christmas carols and he barely refrained from changing the station. He wasn't in the mood for music and certainly not carols!

"Did you make that phone call to Mattie and Henri yet?"

He remembered deir names? Guess he really listened! Remy shook his head. He was still working up his courage to call them. Hearing their voices from a distance would worsen his pain.

Warren stared at the road, trying to avoid patches of ice on the road. "Remy?"

"Oui?" Remy shot Warren a puzzled look.

"If you don't want to spend Christmas Eve with me, that's okay. I know I was pushy at breakfast, but I don't want you think that you're not welcome. It's just the two of us and I'd like some company, but if you don't want to... I'll understand."

At least Warren was now offering him a choice and he desperately wanted to take Warren up on his offer. But did he really want to spend Christmas Eve alone in his room? "Non, it's bien... We can eat somet'in' and I'll help you cook."

Warren smiled. "That's great, Remy."

Remy hid deeper behind his collar. "Can I ask you somet'in'?"

"Sure, shoot."

"You explained why you're stickin' close, mais... dat doesn' explain why you wanna spend Christmas Eve wit' me. You hate my guts!" He knew he wasn't fair toward Warren, but he just didn't get it!

"We're working on trusting each other again, remember? We can only do that if we do stuff together. I want to make this friendship work... It pretty much depends on you if we're going to be friends or not." Warren's tone remained calm, explaining his reasons all over again. "I made mistakes too. Can't you simply accept that I'm trying to get to know you and maybe become friends?"

For once Remy decided to speak his mind. "Non, people don' jus' like me for no reason and you went from hatin' me to wantin' to be friends in twenty-four hours."

"Don't you think I'm surprised as well? I don't understand it myself, Remy, but I mean it. We shook on it, remember? Let's start all over again. Let's stop making accusations and try to move on?"

No matter how hard he pushed Warren, he always got the same answer and he was too tired to remain suspicious. "I'll try."

"Good, that's all I can ask for." Warren drove up the driveway and put the car into park. "Help me carry everything inside?"

Remy acted without questioning Warren's request. And mebbe I'll call Tante later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Tante?" Remy had finally found the courage to make the phone call and now waited for Tante to answer him. His heart thumped loudly and seemed to expand in his chest, pressing down on his ribs and making him gasp for air.

"Remy! Chile! It's good to hear your voice! I wanted to call you, mais I'm glad you beat me to it. It's so sad dat you can' be here. Henri talked to Belle, tryin' to get her permission to fly you in, mais de Assassins refused. How are you holdin' up, petit?"

Even after so many years, hearing Tante call him 'petit' made his heart miss a beat. That word carried so many wonderful memories that it brought tears to his eyes. "I wish I could be wit' you and Henri. How's he dealin' wit' Poppa's deat'? Must be hard on him."

"Oui, it's hard on Henri, mais I t'ink it's a lot harder on you. Henri mourns Jean-Luc's deat', mais... you needed Jean-Luc de most." Tante paused briefly and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. "Call me, Remy, call me daily. I need to talk to you."

"I need to talk to you too, Tante." Remy had lost the fight against his tears and they flowed down his face, making him feel like the little child that the LeBeau family had taken in years ago. "What's gonna happen next? Will he be cremated? Buried at de family crypt? What did Poppa want?"

"His body will be embalmed and placed in de family tomb. We planned a memorial service for tomorrow evenin' and it's a shame you can' be dere, chile. You've got every right to attend!"

Remy used his sleeve to wipe away his tears. He was in the living room and Warren had retreated to the kitchen, but the other man could still hear him or walk in on him. "Je t'aime, Tante..."

"Ai, Remy... I'm so sorry. I wish I could put my arms 'round you and hold you. Please tell Tante dat you ain' 'lone. You do have someone who'll help you t'rough dis? What was dat girl's name? Rogue?"

"We're no longer toget'er, Tante." Merde, this wasn't the right time to tell Tante that Rogue had dumped him.

"Chile, non! Do you want me to come to Westchester, petit? You know I will, jus' tell me! You can' be 'lone right now! Jean-Luc was important to you and I doubt anyone else will understand what his deat's doin' to you."

He really wanted to tell her to come to Westchester, but he couldn't. Henri and the Guild needed her and he was just one man who needed her. "Non, Tante, stay in N'Arlings."

"Remy, chile... I need to know you ain' 'lone or I'm comin' anyway!"

He recognized her tone; she meant business. "I ain' 'lone, Tante... Warren's here."

"Warren? I don' know dat name... Did you ever mention him before?"

"Non, don' t'ink so. He's an X-Man, Tante."

"And he knows 'bout Jean-Luc?"

Remy cringed. "Oui, Tante, he knows."

"Put him on de phone."

"Tante! Don' do dis to me! I ain' a chile." Oh, but she was going to make him do this! "Tante, Warren's here, you don' have to talk to him!"

"Don' contradict me, chile. Put de homme on de phone and when I'm satisfied dat he knows what you're goin' t'rough I'll stay in N'Arlings, if not, I'm comin' to Westchester. Now listen to Tante, chile."

Trying to change her mind was useless, he had learned that a long time ago. "I'll ask him if he wants to talk to you..."

"Move it, chile. I'm waitin'."

Resigned, Remy walked into the kitchen.

Warren was busy preparing dinner. He looked up and arched an eyebrow, seeing that Remy was still on the phone. "Something wrong?"

"Tante wants to talk to you." Remy mumbled the words, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. He handed Warren, who had to dry his hands first, the phone and gave the other man an apologetic look. Embarrassed, he sat down at the kitchen table, wringing his hands nervously.

Warren shrugged his shoulders. "This is Warren."

"Warren? Dis is Mattie Baptiste. You could say I'm Remy's... foster mot'er and I need to know dat he's tellin' me de truth."

Remy cringed, seeing the amusement on Warren's face. Why did he feel like they were ganging up against him?

"The truth about what, ma’am?" Warren had a good idea what this was about, but wasn't relying on assumptions.

"Did Remy tell you dat his fat'er died?"

"Yes, he did. He told me last night and he hasn't been alone since... Well, I left him alone to catch some sleep, but I'm keeping a close eye on him."

Tante sighed, pleased. "Bon, he seems to be in good hands, mais listen to me, Warren. Jean-Luc meant de world to Remy and de chile can be stubborn. Don' let him fool you. He has to be depressed."

Warren nodded his head. "I agree with you, ma’am. He seems depressed to me as well."

Remy shifted on the chair. "Depressed?" Had Tante really told Warren that?

"You can rest assured, ma’am. I'll take care of Remy," Warren assured Tante.

"Bon... I have to go now... Henri needs my help... Tell de chile I love him!" Tante regretted ending the call this abruptly, but the Assassins were standing on her doorstep.

"I'll tell him." Warren put down the cell phone and joined Remy at the kitchen table. "She wants you to know she loves you."

Remy blushed. God help him, but he couldn't stop it. I know dat...

"Hey, you're blushing! Are you really blushing? That's a first!" Warren hoped that the teasing would ease the tension between them. "Seriously, she sounds like a lovely lady."

"She is," Remy whispered, shyly. Desperately to change their subject matter, he looked about. "You made a mess, Wings... Need help cookin' Christmas Dinner?" Talking to Tante had helped. He did feel better now.

"Sure, I need all the help I can get. Come on, little elf and put on some water." Warren searched and found the oldie station on the radio and signaled Remy to get to his feet.

"Elf? Did you really call me an elf? What does dat make you? Rudolph, de red-nosed reindeer?"

"Rudolph?"

"You got de wings to pull Santa's sledge." Remy moved to fill the pan with water. The bantering helped him relax. Mebbe spendin' Christmas wit' Warren won' be dat bad...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Surprised at how well the turkey tasted, Remy peeked at Warren, who seemed to enjoy their meal as well. "You're a betta cook dan I t'ought."

"You made the stuffing and that tastes great as well," Warren said, returning the compliment.

Remy marveled at the inner peace he felt, sitting here opposite Warren at the dinner table. The radio still played Christmas carols and, looking out of the window, he found that it had started snowing again. He still hated the snow, which constantly reminded him of Antarctica.

"You hate the snow, don't you?"

Warren's question surprised him, but he didn't deny it. "Makes me t'ink back to Antarctica."

"I'm sorry we didn't go back, but I'm glad you survived."

"Survived..." Well, that was all he had done, survive. He didn't feel like he was really alive.

"You got some space left for dessert?" Warren got to his feet, collected their empty plates and got the desserts from the kitchen.

Remy was rather curious to taste Warren's dessert. It consisted of vanilla ice cream, strawberries and hot chocolate sauce. "Looks bien."

"It tastes even better." Warren dug in, letting Remy decide if he wanted to eat it now or later.

Remy stared at the spoonful and then let it slide onto his tongue. "Mon Dieu..." It tasted excellent!

"I like to cook," Warren revealed. "But Bets liked to go to fancy places for dinner."

"She missed out on a great dessert." Remy and Warren ate in silence, letting the Christmas carols fill the room.

"Why don't you pick a movie? He's the TV-guide." Warren carried the dirty dishes to the kitchen and joined Remy in the living room a few minutes later. He sat down on the other couch, stretched and released a sigh. "I ate too much."

"I know how dat feels," Remy said teasingly and rested his feet on the coffee table. While Warren had been in the kitchen, he had unbuttoned the top button of his jeans, giving his belly some space to expand. "Can' remember de last time I ate dat much."

"You could gain some weight," Warren said thoughtfully. "You lost weight, didn't you?"

"Don' usually feel hungry. Tonight was an exception..." After searching the TV-guide, he gave up. He wasn't in the right mood to watch a Christmas movie.

"There's a Friends marathon on. We could watch that." Warren shrugged his shoulders. "But don't be surprised if I fall asleep. After that meal I could use a nap."

"Nap all you want." Remy changed the station and found the Friends marathon. He had never before watched the show, but couldn't help chuckling occasionally. Warren had grown quiet and he looked at the other man, finding him asleep. Didn' take him long to fall 'sleep. Mais den 'gain, he didn' get much sleep last night... because of me, my nightmares and... I really freaked out. Wonder what he t'inks of me now.

He continued to watch the television show, repeatedly glancing at Warren to see if the other man was awake yet. Although he didn't want to admit it, he missed hearing Warren's voice, the cheerful chattering. It had been ages since someone had shown an interest in him. Realizing that for the moment he felt at peace with the world, he closed his eyes as well, trying to rest a little.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hank, be quiet! I want to sneak up on him!" Exasperated, Bobby shook his head. "How can you be so clumsy at times?"

Hank looked guilty. "You made me eat all those surplus Twinkies! I told you the trunk was full, but no, you had to hit another store!" His stomach was acting up after eating several pounds of Twinkies.

"I still wonder why Warren wanted to stay at the mansion. He missed out on a lot of fun." Bobby grinned, remembering the storeowners' surprised faces when they bought their entire Twinkie supply. They now had enough Twinkies for the rest of the year... or at least the next six months.

"He was looking forward to spending some time on his own. I do believe he is still trying to deal with the break up." Hank soundlessly moved through the hall, following Bobby. "Where are we headed?"

"The lights were on in the dining room when we drove up the mansion." Bobby pushed the door, which was ajar, open. "Come on, Hank, you've got to see this!"

"See what?" Hank moved closer and looked inside as well.

"I wonder how they ended up in the same room... and judging from the mess on the dinner table they also had dinner together." Bobby first studied the pleased expression on Warren's face, peacefully asleep on the couch, a quilt keeping him warm. Remy was curled up on the other couch and an episode of Friends was on TV. Bobby turned around to address Hank. "Would you get a load of Twinkies from the car?"

Hank groaned. He had hoped to retire for the night after wishing Warren a happy Christmas! "I will get them for you, but then I am seeking out my room." His stomach twitched in protest, demanding rest.

"Thanks, Blue!" Bobby returned to watching Warren and Remy. Okay, this is unexpected. I figured they would avoid each other and now they shared dinner and watched TV before falling asleep. What's going on here? Too bad Slim isn't here. He would love them trying to get along.

"Robert, your Twinkies. Goodnight!" Hank dropped his load into Bobby's arms and walked away. "Wish them a Merry Christmas for me!" His stomach was sending him toward the bathroom and he vowed never again to eat that many Twinkies in twenty-four hours. He was a physician and should know better!

Bobby stood in the corridor, cursing softly as two Twinkies escaped the confines of his arms. "This calls for drastic measures..." Bobby stepped into the living room, cleared his throat and grinned wickedly. "Merry Christmas, guys!" He threw the Twinkies at the sleeping men, and the snacks went flying through the room. It never crossed his mind that it was the wrong thing to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren's eyes flew open and he cursed loudly as three Twinkies hit his head. It only took him a moment to identify the source of this mayhem and he relaxed. He had been ready to fight off their attackers and instead he found Bobby in the doorway, grinning.

But Remy's reaction wasn't that mellow. Charging the pillow beneath his head, he threw it at his attacker, trying to duck the items flying through the air.

"Take cover!" Warren immediately recognized the danger; the charged pillow was going to explode.

Mouth agape, Bobby stared at the pillow and realized it was heading in his direction. Man, that joke had backfired big time! He quickly ducked and the pillow exploded only a few feet away, knocking him onto his butt. As the smoke cleared, he tried to assess the damage. Part of the wall had been knocked over. "Uhm, sorry?" He knew very well that he was to blame for this little stunt.

Warren sighed, shook his head and gave Bobby a long, hard stare. Bobby's face contorted and he looked pleadingly at his friend. "I didn't mean it like that, Warren. It was meant to be funny."

"Well, it wasn't!" Warren marched toward Bobby. "What do you think you're doing? We were asleep and you throw Twinkie at us? Bobby, just how old are you?"

"I'm only a kid," Bobby defended himself, but knew from previous experience that Warren wouldn't let him get away with it. "Merry Christmas?"

"Robert Drake," Warren started ominously, but then a hand settled onto his arm, stopping the lecture.

Bobby watched in surprise as Warren locked eyes with Remy. He expected Warren to lash out at Remy for touching him. Everyone at the mansion knew that the two men didn't get along.

"Remy, you could have destroyed the ceiling, burying us alive. Bobby needs to learn he can't pull stunts like these!" Warren's gaze traveled from Remy back to Bobby. "I know you meant well, but you put us in danger!"

Bobby's eyes widened. "But Remy blew up part of the wall! I only gave you some Twinkies! You should be mad at him." What the hell had happened during his absence? Warren was mad at him and not at Remy!

"Remy reacted to a potential threat, Bobby. He didn't know it was you." Warren sighed. "And where's Hank? Shouldn't he be keeping an eye on you?"

"I don't need a baby sitter!" Bobby still felt flabbergasted. And did Warren really say Remy? He never uses his first name; it's Gambit, or Cajun, but never Remy! "I'm sorry... I won't do it again. Come on, Warren, it's Christmas!"

"And you'll fix the wall," Warren told Bobby.

"Me?" Bobby raised an eyebrow. "I don't get it..." Shaking his head, he realized that Remy's hand still rested on Warren's arm, who allowed it for some reason. "What happened while I was away?" He noticed the look Warren gave Remy. The Cajun shook his head and Warren's lips tightened.

"Remy and I decided to forget the past." Warren stared at the hole in the wall. "You'd better take care of that before Slim gets home."

Yeah, Warren was probably right. Scott wouldn't be thrilled to find he had destroyed part of the living room. "I'll take of it." Bobby was about to leave when he saw Remy pick up one of the Twinkies, unwrap it and take a bite out of it, smiling weakly.

"Merci, Robert and a Merry Christmas to you too."

"Thanks... Remy..." Puzzled, Bobby watched Warren steer Remy back to the couch. Did I end up in an alternate universe where they actually get along? I have to tell Hank! He won't believe that Warren and Remy are friends all of a sudden... He took hold of a Twinkie and while eating it, he headed for Hank's room to update his friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren took his seat on the couch again and continued to shake his head. "Sometimes I wonder if he'll ever grow up."

"I wish I could be like dat," Remy said, with obvious regret in his voice.

"You do?" Warren questioningly looked at Remy.

"I haven' had much fun in my life so far," Remy admitted, gingerly. He envied Bobby's carefree way of life.

"Well, at least we're awake now." Warren checked the time; it was almost midnight. "What do you want to do? Watch TV or retire for the night?" He felt refreshed after his nap, but Remy still looked tired.

"I'm goin' to bed." Remy walked over to the doorway. Shyly, he locked eyes with Warren. "Merci for tonight. You were right, you know. I didn' wanna be 'lone."

Warren smiled smugly. "I knew that."

A grin flashed across his face. "You're too smug for your own good."

"Ah, people told me that before." Warren switched off the TV, stretched, shook his head again at the hole in the wall and followed Remy into the corridor. Should I offer to sit with him tonight? Does he have those nightmares every night? Nah, can't say I'm that worried, but I can check on him during the night, stroll casually by his room and listen closely. Yeah, that's what I'm going to do.

"Night, Wings... and merci." Remy quickly looked away, scared that Warren would read too many emotions in his eyes.

"I had a good time as well and I'm glad you liked the dessert." Warren was stalling, and he suddenly realized that Remy wasn't very eager to disappear into his room neither. "Will you be okay tonight?"

"Oui, I t'ink so." Remy reluctantly opened the door to his room. "Night..."

"Good night, Remy." Warren watched the door close and then continued to his own door at the end of the corridor. He slowly entered his room, slipped into some sweats and sat down on his bed. He would give Remy one hour to fall asleep and then check on him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren had barely made it into the corridor when he heard Remy's first cry. He started for the Cajun's room and was surprised to see Bobby step into the corridor as well.

"What's going on, Warren? Is that Remy?" Bobby frowned. Remy had only recently moved back to the mansion and although he had heard strange noises before he hadn't attributed them to Remy.

"Go back to sleep, Bobby. I'll take care of this." He had done so the night before and he had half expected this to happen again tonight.

"You are taking care of it? Warren... I want to know what's going on. You can't stand Remy!"

"Bobby, I don't have the time to explain now. Just go back to bed and let me deal with this."

"You'd better explain this to me in the morning," Bobby mumbled, reluctantly returning to his room.

Warren waited until Bobby had closed the door behind him and then softly knocked on Remy's door. Not getting a response, he pushed down the door handle, finding the door open again. You're damn careless for a trained thief, Remy. You should know better than to not lock your door... or do you want me here? Is that it?

Remy was thrashing in bed. The comforter was entangled around the Cajun's body and Remy was whimpering softly. Warren strained to make out the words.

"Non... non... scold... snow... ice... Poppa? Where are you, Poppa?" Remy's pleading tone cut through the room.

It urged Warren closer and he sat down on the side of the bed. "Remy? You're having another nightmare." This time he didn't wait for Remy to wake up and rested his back against the headboard. The only thing that seemed to calm Remy down was holding him tight. Although he felt slightly awkward holding another man, Warren ignored his unease. He would do the same thing for Bobby or anyone else in emotional pain.

"It's okay, Remy. Everything's going to be okay. You're at home in your..." Warren looked at the antique bed. "In your four poster bed. It's okay." At least Remy wasn't kicking and struggling like he had last night. Remy calmed down and he found himself gently stroking the auburn hair. "Yes, that's it... that's much better."

"Warren, is he okay? I can get Hank if you want."

"Bobby, I told you to go back to bed!" Warren sighed, exasperated. Great, now Bobby knew he was holding Remy in his sleep. It wouldn't be long before Hank knew as well. "He's been having nightmares, but he's settled down again. Everything's okay."

"If you say so..." Bobby reluctantly closed the door and returned to his room.

Looking down, he found that Remy was peacefully asleep. The Cajun had wrapped his arms around him and Remy's head rested against his chest. "Looks like I'm stuck here for the rest of the night." It was a small price to pay for Remy's undisturbed sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing Remy noticed was how comfortable he was. He was warm and felt secure, sensations that had been unknown to him for some time. He didn't really want to wake up and open his eyes and tried to make the feelings last longer. When he could finally no longer lie still, he opened his eyes.

Mon Dieu! I ain' 'lone in my bed! His head rested on someone's chest and he had wrapped his arms around this person in bed with him. In return, he was held close as well. Didn' I go to bed 'lone? Confused, he cocked his head, trying to catch a glance of this person's face.

Warren? What's he doin' in bed wit' me? Perplexed, he searched his memory.

"Good morning, Remy."

Warren's voice startled him. "Didn' know you were 'wake."

"I woke up just now. You're probably wondering what I'm doing here. You had some nightmares last night and I decided to stay with you for a while. I hope you don't mind me getting comfortable and you should know that Bobby saw us like this."

"Bobby? What was Bobby doin' in here?" Suddenly, he felt ridiculous, talking to Warren's chest, and sat upright after freeing himself from the other man's embrace.

"He heard you yelling and was worried about you. There's a big chance that if I hadn't made it here, Bobby would have and you'd be waking up with him now." Warren stretched and groaned painfully as his cramped muscles protested the abuse. "I should stop falling asleep like this."

It suddenly hit Remy that this was the second time Warren had ended up in his bed, holding him. Was a pattern forming? "When will de heatin' at de boathouse be workin' 'gain?" He had to move back there before the others returned and heard him screaming at night.

"Oh, no, you're not moving back to the boathouse!"

Warren's firm tone made Remy look up. "What, homme?"

"You heard me! You're staying close so I can keep an eye on you!"

Something inside Remy snapped. "You're a li'l late, bein' concerned 'bout me!" He expected Warren to yell back at him, but the other man remained calm.

"You're right about that, but I'm trying now, doesn't that count? Not even a little?"

"Oui, it does. 'msorry, you didn' deserve dat. Don' know what's wrong wit' me."

"You want to be in New Orleans with your family, which is very understandable." Warren rose from the bed, stretched again and headed for the doorway. "Look, why don't you take a shower and then join us for breakfast? I'm sure Bobby and Hank want us to join them."

"Mebbe." Remy wasn't sure he wanted company right now.

"Hey, I promised your Tante to keep my eye on you. So start cooperating or do you want me to give her a call and tell her you're getting stubborn?"

Remy sighed, knowing Warren would actually do it. "I'll join you for breakfast."

Warren smiled, opened the door and stepped into the corridor. "See you in fifteen!"

Remy closed the door and dragged himself to the bathroom. Tiredly, he slipped out of his shirt and sweatpants and stepped beneath the refreshing water beams. He rested his head against the tiles and released the tears he had been holding since he had talked to Mattie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bobby and Hank were already preparing breakfast when Warren joined them in the kitchen. "Morning..."

Bobby turned around at once. "You owe me an explanation."

Warren decided to fight dirty. "Did you already repair the hole in the wall?"

"That has nothing to do with this! You promised to tell me why Remy was having nightmares!" Bobby pointed his finger at Warren. "Come on, we're best friends, share!"

Hank remained quiet and watched the exchange. He noticed the softer expression to Warren's eyes. The anger that usually lingered there was gone. A significant change, which he applauded.

"It's about Antarctica," Warren said, more sharply than he intended. "He grows cold at night and thinks he's back in the citadel." Turning to Hank, Warren's eyes took one a pleading expression. "Why didn't we go back for him?"

Hank didn't know the answer to that one. "I asked myself that same question over and over again and I still don't know why we left him there." It didn't stop him from feeling guilty though. Hearing that Remy still suffered from nightmares which featured Antarctica only worsened his guilt.

Bobby placed a pile of waffles on the kitchen table. "Is he joining us for breakfast?"

"I hope so... or else I'm going to get him." Warren sat down and sipped his coffee. He released a pleased sigh as the liquid slid down his throat. "I needed that."

"So what's the deal with you and Remy?" Bobby poured himself some milk and sat down as well, closely watching Warren. "When we left, you told me you'd do your best to avoid him."

"I decided to bury the hatchet; can't stay mad at him forever. You know, I've been thinking about the team. We need to make some changes. It's not right, the way we keep treating Remy."

"And you have already set those changes in motion." Hank nodded his head approvingly. "If we set the example the rest will follow."

"But Remy won't know what hit him." Warren locked eyes with Hank. "He keeps asking me why I'm acting all friendly all of sudden. He thinks I have some hidden agenda."

"I understand his doubts," Hank replied. "We ignored him for weeks. Adapting to this change takes time."

Warren raised his hand, stopping their conversation as he heard footfalls in the corridor. "So what are today's plans? What are we going to do? Throw more Twinkies, Bobby?" He smiled, seeing Remy appear in the doorway. "I saved you a waffle."

"Merci." Gingerly, Remy stepped into the kitchen and sat down on the only chair left, between Bobby and Warren.

"Coffee or juice? Or both?" Bobby walked over to the kitchen counter and waited for Remy's reply.

"Coffee would be great, Bobby." Remy's gaze traveled from one to the other, trying to read their expressions.

"I won't be throwing any more Twinkies," Bobby promised, pouring Remy's coffee. "But we could try eating them."

"Have mercy..." Hank bowed his head, remembering his misery when he had thrown up last night. He couldn't stand the sight of even a single Twinkie right now.

Warren felt content, watching them. Bobby and Hank were just the company Remy needed to distract and cheer him up.

"It's a pity we didn't get any presents." Bobby looked disappointed. "Maybe we can go shopping and buy some belated gifts?"

"Most stores are closed today." Warren had something else in mind. "It's cold outside, maybe we can watch some movies, get the additional Christmas decorations into place and talk?"

"Talk?" Remy was startled, hearing that suggestion. What was there to talk about? His mistakes? His failures? His doomed love affairs?

Warren immediately noticed Remy's mood change and knew he had to do something to cheer him up, but Bobby beat him to it.

"We could build a snowman and have a snowball fight!" Bobby enthusiastically nodded his head, already envisioning a day spent in the snow, but then noticed Remy shiver. "Huh, dumb idea, but I'm sure we'll come up with something. Let's start with the Christmas decorations."

Warren sought out Remy's eyes, seeing the disinterest in them. We'll make you laugh, Remy, I promise. I don't know yet how we're going to do it, but we'll cheer you up!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"A little bit to the right... left... right..."

"Damn it, Bobby, make up your mind!" Warren was up on the roof, getting two reindeer in place. For some reason he had given in when Bobby had suggested decorating outside.

"Actually, that's perfect!" Bobby nodded his head. "Perfect. What do you think, Remy?"

It looks dumb... But he couldn't say that aloud. Bobby was getting in to the Christmas spirit and beginning to scare him. "Jus' don' dress up in a Santa costume," he said, only half joking.

"Nah, Hank does the best Santa of us all. Warren, get down here!"

"Sometimes it really comes in handy, having wings." Warren folded his wings after touching down and walked over to them. So far, they had managed to survive the morning and afternoon. Remy shivered again, in spite of the parka he was wearing. "We should go back inside."

Remy was the first to enter the mansion and quickly headed for the fireplace and the blaze they had built earlier. He needed to get warm again.

"Remy, would you help me build a snowman? Please?" Bobby gave Remy his best puppy dog look.

Remy actually hesitated. "Homme, it's cold out dere."

"I'll make you some grog afterwards." Bobby sat on his heels next to Remy. "Come on, it won't take that long."

"Mebbe..." Remy finally shrugged out of the parka and settled down on the couch, pulling the quilt over his legs. These last few hours had him confused. Although Hank had excused himself because he was still feeling nauseous, Warren and Bobby had kept him company and they were getting on his nerves.

"Hey, Remy what were your Christmases like before you joined the X-Men?" Bobby carried three mugs of coffee, spiked with alcohol and placed them on the coffee table.

Remy warmed his hands on his mug and pointedly looked away from Bobby. "Not dat great."

Bobby got the hint and dropped the subject. "Are you still moving back to the boathouse?"

"Oui."

Bobby was glad when Warren finally joined them. Remy's short answers unnerved him.

"So what's going on in here?" Warren sipped his coffee and hissed, tasting the alcohol. "Bobby?"

"Get over it, Warren, it's Christmas!"

Bobby actually had a point. "You know, it's kinda nice." He managed to catch Remy's gaze. "Bobby, Hank and I are part of the original team and we spent our first Christmases together. Even back then Slim and Jean liked to be alone during the holidays."

"Mais I ain' part of the original team." Remy reluctantly sipped his coffee.

"You can be an honorary member," Bobby said, amused.

Remy quickly averted his eyes, knowing that otherwise they would see the disbelief in his eyes. Going from being an outcast to a well-liked team member was hard to deal with. He still expected them to change their minds.

Suddenly, the alarm went off. Warren was the first to get to his feet and access the comm. system. "Hank, do you know what's going on?" Hank had volunteered to run a maintenance check on the security system and was hopefully still in the control room.

"Affirmative. We have an intruder on the premises. I have a visual of him right now, but I do not know him."

"What sector?" Warren released his wings, ready to take action.

"Actually, he is coming up to the house... Looks like he is headed for the back door."

"Then we'll meet him there. Bobby, Remy, let's check this out." Warren led the way while Bobby iced up and Remy uncovered his deck of cards, ready to charge them.

Hearing a knock on the back door stunned Warren. "Since when do burglars knock?" Looking at Remy, he saw the Cajun grow pale.

"Not a burglar, a t'ief..."

"Remy, what are you doing! Get away from the door!" Warren tried to stop Remy, but the Cajun slipped past him and opened the door.

A man, dressed in black clothes and a brown trench coat, stepped into the corridor. He didn't seem the least impressed when seeing them. Instead, his eyes fastened on Remy. "I had to come here myself and give you dis."

"Henri, what is it?" Remy's hands shook as he accepted the scroll.

"Jean-Luc's will. You need to read it and act on it."

"Henri?" Warren suddenly recognized the name. "Remy, is this your brother?"

"Oui," Remy whispered, absentmindedly staring at the scroll. "Dis is Henri LeBeau. You know, Henri, you could have used de front door." Remy smiled. "And de security system picked you up. You should practice more often!" He opened his arms and Henri accepted and returned the hug. "Henri, it's good to have you here, mais shouldn' you be in N'Arlings?"

"Dat's why I'm here, Remy. De assassins..." Henri's eyes grew big as he reached for the wall. "Mon Dieu, dey followed me... Remy, take cover! Dey're after you as well!" A rivulet of blood dripped from his lips and he fell forward.

Remy, who was the closest, caught Henri in his arms. "Henri?" Shocked, he stared at the long, slender dagger in Henri's back. "Non!"

"Get away from the door!" Warren cursed his negligence and threw the door shut.

Remy had dropped onto his knees, holding Henri close. "Get Hank in here! Henri's needs medical attention!"

"Bobby, go get Hank, now!" Warren pushed a shocked Bobby into the right direction and joined Remy, sitting on his heels next to the Cajun. "Remy..."

"Non, you can' die on me! First Poppa and now you! Don' you dare die on me!"

"Remy, I'm sorry. I should have paid more attention to my surroundings, mais I was so glad to see you... Mattie's worried 'bout you." Henri closed his eyes and his body convulsed, suffering a seizure.

"Non, stay wit' me! Don' die! De Elixer won' let you die!"

"Remy, de assassins... dey developed a drug dat overrides de Elixir... it can' help me now... dat drug's stronger..." Henri bit his tongue, when another seizure tormented his body. "Read de will..." Henri released his last breath, while staring into Remy's eyes.

"Non... non!" Remy went from yelling to mumbling within seconds as he rocked his brother's dead body. "Non..."

"Warren, what happened?" Hank had arrived, quickly examined Henri, but realized he was too late. "Remy, I am sorry. There is nothing I can do."

"He was my brot'er... I don' wanna lose him too. First Poppa and now Henri..." Remy held on to Henri tightly, refusing to let go.

"Remy, let Hank take care of Henri." Warren recognized the first signs of shock on Remy and shook his head when Hank gave him a questioning look. "I'll look after Remy."

Hank sought out Remy's eyes. "I will treat your brother respectfully." He would put Henri in the cooling cell in his lab until Remy was up to addressing the issue of transporting Henri back to New Orleans. But Remy didn't react, simply held onto Henri. "Warren, take Remy away from here."

Together, they pried Remy's arms loose and Warren pulled the Cajun to his feet. Remy didn't respond at all and Warren guided him to the living room.

Hank recalled Remy's words and realized what had caused Remy's blue funk earlier. "He lost his father and now his brother, oh my."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Remy, sit down and talk to me?"

Why couldn't Warren leave him alone? Didn't the man understand that he had just lost his brother as well as his father? The only one he had left right now was Mattie and what if she was in danger as well? But no, Mattie wasn't a LeBeau...

"Remy, drink this..." Warren sat down beside Remy and helped him curl his fingers around the coffee mug. "Sip, it'll help."

Help? Not likely. He had just lost his family. Jean-Luc's death had hurt him terribly, but Henri's death had been so fucking unexpected. He hadn't known Henri was near and then his brother had died in his arms. Tears threatened to escape his eyes, but he fought them back. He wasn't going to cry in front of Warren and Bobby!

"Bobby, why don't you check the security system? I don't want you chasing them on your own, but we can upgrade the mansion's security." In times like these no one wondered why Warren took charge and Bobby obeyed, leaving the two men alone.

"Remy, it's okay to show your emotions. Your brother just died in your arms. That would freak me out too." Warren hesitantly folded an arm around Remy, who was shaking himself to pieces. "It's okay to cry."

Non, I'm t'rough wit' cryin'! Dey took 'way what's most precious to me and I'll get back at dem, at Belle! He nearly dropped the coffee, but Warren anticipated the move and placed the mug safely on the coffee table. "Remy? Would you at least look at me?"

Non, I don' want you close! Don' you understand dat? I've been 'lone most of my life and I can' deal wit' you bein' close after you hated me for so long! In his entire life he had only allowed in one person, Jean-Luc, and he had made his father prove his love countless times. He wanted to shrug off Warren's arm, but subconsciously, he didn't want to be alone. Inwardly torn, he remained frozen.

"Remy, I probably shouldn't bring this up right now, but... Henri was murdered... Do you think they also killed Jean-Luc?"

What? Remy finally looked up and stared at Warren in disbelief. "What did you say?"

Warren felt relieved now that Remy was responding again. "Look, I'm just saying that Jean-Luc's death might not have been an accident. Maybe someone's trying to do away with your family and that would also make you a target. Henri did say they were also after you. Maybe you need to read that will?"

"He died deliverin' it to me. Why didn' he sent one of his men? He didn' have to do it himself!" Remy was growing angry. If what Warren suggested was true, Jean-Luc had been murdered. His anger ebbed away again and sorrow and loneliness replaced it. "I can' deal wit' dis now..." What he really wanted was to curl up beneath his comforter and pretend none of this had ever happened.

"You need time to deal with this. You have been through something very traumatic. I don't have any siblings, but I lost friends and teammates... I can't say that I know what you're going through, but I know you're hurting." Warren held him close, rocking him. "I'm not letting you deal with this on your own. Why don't we move to your room? We have more privacy there."

Remy adroitly rose from the couch and stared blankly at the wall. Tears blurred his vision and he wiped them away before they slid down his face. His knees almost gave out on him, but Warren's hold kept him upright and walking. It seemed to take an eternity to get to his room. He slouched toward the bed, dropped onto it, and began to shake.

Warren closed the door and joined Remy. Lying down beside him, he pulled the hurting man into his arms, ignoring Remy's futile attempts to get away from him. "Don't..."

Remy gave in, realizing Warren was determined to stay. Tomorrow, he had to contact Mattie and tell her Henri had died. He couldn't do it right now; he wouldn't be able to say the words. Tomorrow, he would read Jean-Luc's will and act on it, but tonight he needed to let go. Damn Warren for staying and seeing him break down like this! He would never be able to look Warren in the eyes again without remembering this incident.

"Remy, you can cry you now... I won't think any less of you if you do."

Warren continued to rock him and that motion reminded him so much of Jean-Luc that he finally started to cry. Burying his hands in Warren's shirt, he tried to hang on to some semblance of being in control of his emotions, but failed miserable. Warren's hand gently stroked his hair, and the other man continued to mumble soft assurances. Unable to fight any longer, Remy sobbed, acknowledging his pain and loss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren had seldom felt this confused and the timing couldn't be worse. He had known all his life that he was bisexual, but his father had told him at a very young age that he would have none of it. He was only allowed to date women and his dad would cut him out of the will if he were ever seen with a man at his arm.

He had loved his father and hadn't been comfortable with the idea of dating men himself, so he had obeyed. His father and teachers had instilled feelings of guilt in him for even being attracted to another man, so he had hidden those feelings so deep that he had nearly lost them... until Remy.

Lying this close to Remy brought back certain feelings. The first time he had realized he was bi was when he had developed a crush on one of the family servants, a young Cuban with an exotic appearance and a hot temper. Manuel had been a welcome change in his father's cold household, but once his dad realized the attraction he had fired Manuel and lectured his son on being attracted to men.

Even though his father had died many years ago, the guilt and shame hadn't died with him. He had never allowed himself to find another man handsome or check him out. Rationally, he knew he could give in to these desires; his father was not here to lecture or threaten him, but denying these feelings had become second nature, but now he wondered... wondered about Remy.

From day one he had resented the Cajun and he had easily given into his hate after the trial, but maybe there was a reason why he resented Remy. Remy was handsome, had been cheerful and amusing when he had joined the team and had flirted with every female on two legs. There was little left of that man. The man he was holding in his sleep was vulnerable and beat.

Did I feel attracted to him and then blame him for those feelings? No one knows that I'm bi, not even Bobby and I don't know what to do. Holding Remy feels right. I seldom felt this needed and... Damn it, why does this have to happen now? I can't have feelings for him. It isn't right... no, it's right, it's... I no longer know right from wrong, thanks dad!

Maybe if his mother had been around, his dad wouldn't have reacted that fiercely, but she had died shortly after he was born and he had never gotten to know her. All he had had left was his dad, and he had desperately wanted to please him so that he would be loved in return. The truth was that his father had been a cunning businessman, but an emotionally unavailable father.

It seemed that Remy had been luckier, having Jean-Luc as a father. Suddenly, he realized that he was fingering a lock of Remy's hair and he inhaled the other man's scent, smiling against the dark hair. Yeah, Remy definitely was handsome, but he was setting himself up for heartache. Remy liked women, not men, as it was supposed to be. He had better bury these feelings before the attraction grew worse. Remy would make fun of him if the Cajun ever found out about the attraction. This was his secret and he would keep it well. He would be there for Remy as long as the Cajun needed him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His sore muscles made Remy cringe in pain and he shook like a leaf, remembering last night's tragic events. Mon Dieu, Henri! Non! He can' be dead! De Elixir shoulda kept him 'live, mais he said somet'in' 'bout a drug, created by de assassins, and what 'bout Poppa's will? Where did I put it? Ai, I need to call Tante and tell her, tell her dat...

"Shhh, Remy, it's okay. You don't have to do this on your own, remember? And it's healthy to have a good cry."

Mon Dieu, it's Warren! He's still here? Why? Warren's arms were tightly wrapped around him and his head rested on the other man's chest. It was incredible how warm and cherished he felt and he wanted this never to stop, but that was just wishful thinking. "You stayed?"

"Yeah, you were really upset and I didn't dare leave you alone. It's becoming a habit, isn't it? Waking up in your bed."

"You don' have to do dis." His tone lacked any determination. He was glad he wasn't alone. "I need to call Tante and tell her 'bout... Henri."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Remy abruptly sat upright, embarrassed for clinging to Warren like a frightened child. "I wouldn' know how."

"Want me to be close when you make that call? In case you need emotional support?" Warren sat upright as well.

"Don' know 'bout dat..." Could he take the risk of breaking down in front of Warren again? His self-esteem was dwindling swiftly, suffering one breakdown after another. It amazed him that Warren hadn't turned away in disgust. He constantly whined and cried!

"Remy, splash some water onto your face and I'll get us some coffee from the kitchen. You should wake up properly before making that call."

Remy sighed and nodded his head. Warren's suggestion made sense. As he headed for the bathroom, he heard Warren leave. Staring into the bathroom mirror, he flinched. He was a mess, but he didn't have the energy to take a shower. Following Warren's advice, he splashed some water onto his face and then returned to the bed. He collapsed onto it and stared at the ceiling.

"Henri's dead. How do I tell Tante?" She had just lost Jean-Luc and now he was going to be the bringer of even worse news. Staring at his hands, he realized that the shaking was getting worse. Merde, he didn't need this right now. He had to be strong for Mattie, had to arrange transport home for Henri and... Mon Dieu, Henri... why?

Suddenly, an arm folded around him, pulling him close. The fragrance of hot coffee drifted into his nostrils and he rubbed his eyes, trying to rid himself of lurking tears. Warren was sitting next to him, handing him a mug of coffee. His hand shook so badly that he spilled some on the comforter and he grabbed the mug with two hands.

"Remy, Hank wants you to know that he took good care of your brother. We can take Henri back to New Orleans after you made that call. We'll take the Blackbird."

"Merci, Warren." Remy wasn't sure what he was feeling, but he definitely felt grateful for Warren's support. What would I do wit'out Warren? He was dere for me when dis nightmare started and...

Warren waited for Remy to sip the coffee and then placed the cell phone on the other man's lap. "It won't get any easier."

"I know dat, mais she jus' lost Jean-Luc and now..."

"Share your sorrow with her, Remy. You can be there for her." Warren patiently waited for Remy to finish his coffee and then placed the mug on the floor. Acting on impulse, he took hold of Remy's left hand and gently squeezed it. "Call her."

Remy gingerly dialed the number and waited for Tante to answer the phone. His heart was going a hundred miles a minute and cold sweat erupted over his entire body. He squeezed Warren's hand hard as Tante's voice sounded over the phone. "Tante, c'est moi, Remy."

"Remy! I was 'bout to call you, mon fils. Did Henri talk to you?"

"Oui, he did..." A dry sob tormented his throat and he pleadingly looked up at Warren. "I can' do dis," he whispered softly.

"Yes, you can," Warren encouraged him, gently rubbing Remy's knuckles. "Tell her."

Remy swallowed hard and his mouth went completely dry. His voice cracked, addressing her again. "Tante, de assassins... dey killed him. Henri's dead..."

Tante moaned in disbelief. "What, chile?"

"He made it to de mansion and he handed me Poppa's will, den... den... dey stabbed him in de back, Tante. He whispered somet'in' 'bout a drug and I bet it was on de dagger... Henri died in my arms." Unable to hold back any longer, hot tears dripped from his chin. "I'm so sorry, Tante, was my fault!"

Warren's breath caught. "It wasn't your fault! The assassins killed your brother."

"Chile, who's on de phone wit' you?"

"C'est Warren, you remember him?"

"Oui, I do... Bon, at least you ain' 'lone and stop talkin' nonsense! It wasn' your fault. Henri went to Westchester to warn you. Our informants told us dat someone wants to eradicate de LeBeaus and now you're a target as well." Tante grabbed her handkerchief and dried her tears. "A few days ago I lost a good friend and now I lost a son... Henri was as a son to me, as are you, chile."

"Tante..." Remy's voice broke and the phone almost slipped from his fingers.

"Let me..." Warren took hold of the phone. "Ma’am? It's Warren. Remy's too emotional to talk right now."

"Where's Henri's body?" Tante needed to make arrangements for Henri's memorial service and then they had to place his body in to the tomb as well as Jean-Luc's!

"In our lab, well taken care of. We'll bring him home when Remy feels up to it."

"We'll take Henri home tomorrow," Remy decided. He needed today to sort himself out.

"Remy says tomorrow," Warren informed Tante. "I'll let you know the exact time."

"Bon. Please put Remy back on? And merci for your help."

Warren handed the phone back to Remy. "She wants to talk to you."

Remy pressed the phone against his ear. "Tante?"

"I know you're tryin' to keep it all inside, chile, mais let it out. Let Warren help, bien?"

"I'll try, Tante."

"I'll see you tomorrow den. I'll tell Belle of your arrival. Please be careful, chile. Assassins can' be trusted."

"I'll be careful," Remy promised. He terminated the connection and stared at the cell phone. He had done it; he had told Tante the horrible news. She had been strong for him, but was without any doubt now crying her heart out. And he felt like doing that too, but he couldn't, not with Warren close. "Leave me' lone?"

Warren considered the request. "I'll be back in an hour with breakfast. Is that enough time?"

Remy nodded his head. "Merci."

Warren raised his hand and wanted to squeeze Remy's shoulder, but then reconsidered. He was touching the Cajun an awful lot lately and he had to stop it, or Remy might get suspicious and figure out that he was fallen in love with him. "One hour."

Remy waited for Warren to leave the room, before dropping backward onto the bed. He curled up, and let his tears flow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Warren? Can we talk?" Bobby and Hank approached Warren, who was sitting on the couch in the living room.

Warren sighed, nodded his head and signaled them to sit down. "You want to talk about Remy."

"Yes." Bobby exchanged a glance with Hank, who was content to let him do the talking. "What's going on with him? Yes, I know his brother died, but there's more."

"His father died the day before Christmas Eve." Warren carefully masked his real feelings. Bobby was very observant and knew him too well; he was capable of figuring out why he suddenly cared this much about Remy. "First, he loses his father and then his brother. I'd be devastated as well."

"So that's why you reached out... I was surprised when I found you and Remy in the same room." Bobby nodded his head. "What do you want to do next?"

"We'll take Henri's body back to New Orleans tomorrow," Warren said thoughtfully.

"We?" Hank eyed Warren carefully, trying to probe beneath the surface.

"I'm accompanying Remy. I won't let him go alone. The two of you stay here. Upgrade the security system and contact Slim and the professor. This has progressed to a point where they need to know what's going in. I'll keep in contact with you." Warren suspected Remy would protest to him tagging along, but he was determined to stay close to the Cajun.

Hank nodded his head. "Do you want me to talk to Remy and find out what state he is in?"

"I think I have that covered," Warren said, thoughtfully. "I'm not saying he trusts me, but he's confiding in me."

"That takes a lot of courage," Hank remarked, observing Warren closely. "I must admit your concern and actions surprise me, my old friend. You clearly disliked Remy from the start and yet, you are the one who is taking care of him in his hour of need."

"I'm surprised as well, Hank." Warren wanted to end this conversation. The look Hank was giving him made him uncomfortable. "I'm taking some breakfast upstairs."

"Do you think he will be able to eat?" Hank got to his feet, correctly interpreting the evasive expression in Warren's eyes.

"I'll do my best to make him eat something. Did you see how much weight he's lost?" Warren remembered his own disbelief when he had realized that Remy's clothes had grown baggy.

"I noticed," Hank admitted. "Make him eat and tell him he can consult me, if he wants to. I will look after Henri's body."

"Thanks, Hank." Warren walked over to the doorway. "Remy needs to know we'll back him up... If you get the chance, try to show your support."

"We will," Bobby assured him.

Warren left the living room and headed for the kitchen, where he leaned against the wall. Hank... I didn't count on Hank figuring things out, but that look he gave me... he's on to something! Falling for Remy in that way had surprised him as well. He knew what was happening; butterflies tickled his insides and he desperately wanted to get back to Remy. I can't feel like this... this can't be happening.

He placed cereal, toast, marmalade, waffles, juice and coffee on the tray and headed for Remy's room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Remy? I got you some breakfast!"

Merde! Warren was back! Remy hid his duffel bag under the bed and pulled the comforter over his body. "I ain' hungry!"

"You're eating breakfast anyway." Warren opened the door and walked over to the bed, where he placed the tray on the nightstand. "Eat something, Remy."

"What's de time?" Remy sat upright, leaned against the headboard and stared at the food. His stomach convulsed at its sight.

"Almost noon." Warren pulled up a chair and sat down next to Remy's bed. "Are you feeling any better?"

Remy didn't want to lie, but..."Oui, un peu." He managed to sip some juice, but stayed away from the food. Maybe he would manage some later.

"Uhm, Remy, why are you packing?" Warren's eyes narrowed, having discovered the open duffel bag under the bed.

"Started packin' to be on de safe side. Don' wanna forget my stuff tomorrow." Merde, Warren didn't believe him! He could tell by the look in the other man's eyes.

"You wanted to leave today, without me." Warren's eyes hardened. "Why?"

Remy wrung his hands. "Look, I don' wanna be a burden. You got stuff to do, places to go and I'm keepin' you here... and it's dangerous to be 'round a LeBeau right now." Yes, he had wanted to slip into the lab, retrieve Henri's body, carry it to the Blackbird and take off without Warren. "De assassins won' stop until dey achieved deir goal. I don' want you to end up in de middle of our vendetta."

Warren rose from the chair. "Do you want to leave right now?"

Remy cringed. Warren's eyes were hard and unyielding. "Mon ami, don' take it personally..."

"Don't take it personally?" Warren shook his head. "How can you say that? I wanted to show you I was serious about being friends and friends help each other out when they hit a rough spot. You obviously don't feel the same way, splitting like that. You were going to sneak out."

Remy lowered his eyes, feeling guilty. Don' want you to get hurt, Warren. You don' know 'bout de assassins. Dey won' hesitate to hurt you if dey t'ink dey can get to me like dat.

"I'll tell Hank to take Henri's body to the Blackbird and we won't bother you anymore." Obviously hurt, Warren turned around and marched to the door.

"Non, stop! Wait!" Remy jumped from the bed. Acting instinctively, he took hold of Warren's arm and stopped the other man from leaving. "Don' go."

Warren sharply turned around. His hard glare softened. "Remy, you have to trust me. I've been an X-Man for years. I've dealt with worse than the assassins. I know it's hard to trust me, but... give me a break. I've been trying hard to convince you I'm serious. Walk out on me now and we won't ever be friends. It's your decision."

"I'm worried you'll get hurt," Remy admitted, feeling guilty. "I want you dere, mais... de assassins..."

"Let's take one step at a time." Warren searched Remy's face. "Look, I want to help."

"And I don' want you to get hurt..."

"I can take care of myself."

In the end, Remy nodded his head. "We're leavin' in an hour. I can' wait any longer. Stayin' here is drivin' me mad."

"You should call Mattie and tell her about the change in plans."

"I will... Warren, merci... 'gain." Remy smiled weakly. Until now he hadn't been sure that Warren was serious about being friends... but not any more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Uh, Remy? I really don't know what to say," Bobby stuttered, while saying goodbye to Remy. It was stupid, he knew the Cajun would be back shortly, but he remembered Warren's request to show their support. "I'm really sorry about your father and brother, and if there's anything I can do, just let me know, please?"

The look on Remy's face revealed his surprise; it was obvious that he didn't know how to respond and Bobby simply smiled. "Don't take too long coming back, okay?"

Remy shyly nodded his head, unable to respond verbally.

Bobby's smile continued, seeing Hank rest a hand on Remy's shoulders, gently squeezing it in unspoken support. That gesture meant more than words and briefly, he wondered if he saw tears swimming in Remy's eyes. The Cajun quickly hurried inside, almost fleeing their presence. Hank joined him and Bobby locked eyes with his friend. "He didn't know what to say."

Hank nodded once. "He was astounded that we openly showed our support."

The Blackbird took off and both men watched until the plan disappeared from view, secretly wishing they had been able to accompany their friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remy agreed to let Warren pilot, mainly because his hands were still shaking. Since waking up, he had been trying to get a hold on his emotions, but the shock had been too great; first losing Jean-Luc and then Henri. And Henri had died in his arms! He still couldn't believe that the assassins had developed a drug that counteracted the Elixir! Why were they so determined to take out his family? I'm de only one left now, dat's if dey t'ink of me as a real LeBeau. I'm only adopted, mebbe Henri was wrong and I ain' in any danger at all. De Guilds never fully accepted me, so why would dey start now?

"Remy? Have you already read Jean-Luc's will?" Warren reckoned they would arrive in New Orleans in thirty minutes.

"I can'... I tried... mais readin' it makes it more final..."

"You can't keep postponing it."

"I'll read it after we reached N'Arlings, promise." The truth was that he feared reading Jean-Luc's will and why should he? Henri had been Jean-Luc's successor, the next Patriarch and now that Henri was dead, the Guilds had to decide who would become the new Patriarch and that certainly wasn't him! He shivered, realizing that Henri's dead body was on the plane with them. Henri wasn't supposed to die at such a young age!

He felt grateful when Warren stopped asking questions, giving him some time to sort out his feelings. Tante had been quiet and subdued when he had told her they would be arriving early and he wasn't looking forward to facing several Guild members who had never hidden their disapproval when Jean-Luc had officially adopted him, which reminded Remy to warn Warren. "You should use Hank's image inducer when goin' outside. De Guilds don' like mutants."

Warren raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"Dey'll hate your blue skin... de wings wouldn' be dat bad, I suppose, but you'd betta not take any risks at all."

Warren remained quiet for a moment. "How did you deal with it then? Did you always hide your eyes?"

"It's kinda hard to fight wit' sunglasses on." Remy shrugged his shoulders. "LeBeaus were de only ones who really accepted me... Belle did as well, mais not de ot'ers. Didn' have dat many friends growin' up."

"I'm surprised that they are so prejudiced." Warren shot Remy a thoughtful expression. "I'm sorry you didn't have many friends. If it makes you feel any better, neither did I. As a rich kid I didn't know if people liked me or were after my money. I mostly had to rely on myself."

"Mais you weren' shunned for havin' diable's eyes."

"What?"

"Devil's eyes." Remy looked away; on old reflex that had taken him years to undo and still popped up now and then.

"You called them freak eyes..."

"I did? When?" Alarmed, Remy tried to remember when he had let that one slip.

"When you told me that Jean-Luc had died. Did they tease you about your eyes?"

"Tease? Tease?" They had pestered and harassed him because of his eyes!

"Sorry, I didn't want to make you remember something unpleasant." Warren checked their location. "We're approaching New Orleans. Can you take it from here?"

"Oui." He knew the best location to put down the Blackbird so it wouldn't draw any attention. Behind the LeBeau residence was a secret landing area, hidden from view by several fake houses. He landed the Blackbird and got to his feet. He dismissed carrying Henri's body outside. Facing his brother now would make him even more emotional. The doors opened and he left the Blackbird, immediately seeing Tante waiting for him. Several of Jean-Luc's confidants had joined her. Their faces seemed carved out of stone, without any emotion. "Tante!"

"Ai, Remy! Mon fils!"

Remy hurried toward her, trying hard not to run. He needed to be calm and composed. Tante wrapped her arms around him and he sighed relieved, breathing in her familiar and comforting scent. "It's good to be back. Missed you, Tante."

"I missed you too, chile." Tante pulled back to study his face. "You look tired..."

"Didn' get dat much sleep since... since Poppa died."

"We waited for your arrival and still have to place his body in de tomb. I t'ought you'd want to be present and we'll wait until Henri's body's been prepared to join his fat'er." She signaled the men to enter the plane and retrieve Henri LeBeau's body, knowing how hard this was on Remy.

"Tante, you're de only family I have left." Remy's eyes were swimming.

Tante gave him a reassuring smile. "We'll deal wit' dis toget'er, chile... and who's dis homme?"

"Dis is Warren, you talked to him on de phone."

After Warren's warning on the plane he expected her to act funny, seeing his blue skin and wings, but she extended her hand in greeting and he shook it. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Remy's told me some things about his family and I'm glad he's still got you after all the recent losses he suffered."

Tante's sad smile was sincere. "And I'm glad Remy had you when de bad news reached him."

Everyone grew quiet as the thieves carried Henri's body back to the mansion.

"Do you want to say goodbye to Jean-Luc?" Tante followed the men and took hold of Remy's arm, pulling him close.

"Can I?"

"Oui, we'll place him and Henri in de tomb tomorrow." Tante watched Warren closely, seeing worry in his eyes.

"I wanna say goodbye to him," Remy decided. He hadn't counted on seeing his father one last time. Saying goodbye would be hard, but he needed to do it in order to move on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remy swallowed hard, staring at Jean-Luc's frozen features. Jean-Luc merely seemed asleep, but the cold that emanated from his father's body reminded him that Jean-Luc was dead. Hesitantly, Remy raised his hand to touch Jean-Luc's brow. "Poppa, miss you." It took all his strength to hold back his tears, not wanting to embarrass himself.

"Chile, I cried, Henri cried... It's bien for you to cry." Tante folded an arm around him.

Remy rested his head on Tante's shoulder. "What do I do now? Poppa..." Words failed him. Unable to express his sorrow verbally, he let his tears flow freely. "I should have been here. Mebbe I could have stopped it."

"You didn' know he was in danger, chile, neit'er did I." Tante drew in a deep breath. "He loved you, you know dat, don' you, chile?"

Remy nodded his head. "And now he's gone. I always wanted to come back home and... now he's gone. It's too late. I won' ever hear him talk or laugh 'gain."

Warren, who was standing near the doorway, almost joined them, feeling the need to comfort Remy as well, but kept back. This was a family affair and he had been surprised when they had allowed him in.

"Adieu, Poppa." Remy leaned forward and placed a last kiss on Jean-Luc's cold skin. Shocked, he jerked back, turned around and fled the room.

Tante was about to follow Remy outside, but Warren whispered, "I can handle it." She watched him leave, chasing after Remy and smiled. This young man greatly cared about Remy and that was just what her son needed. Turning toward Jean-Luc again, she sighed. "We did our best, Jean-Luc. We raised Remy well. Henri's deat's a shock, mais Remy's strong. He'll be a wort'y Patriarch. Rest gently, my old friend."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Remy, wait for me!" Warren chased Remy through several corridors. Remy disappeared into a room and he followed inside. "Remy?" Looking about, he realized it had to be Remy's room. He almost expected a four-poster bed, but Remy had probably taken that with him to Westchester, never buying a substitute as he didn't expect to return home. Several paintings decorated the walls and an oak desk and warm, red carpet completed the room.

"Leave me 'lone." Remy's tone was haunted and lost.

Warren walked over to the bed and sat down next to Remy. "That must have been heard on you. I remember saying goodbye to my dad and I wasn't that close to him as you were to Jean-Luc."

"I can' believe he's really gone." Remy wiped away his tears. "You can go back to Westchester. I'll stay for a few more days."

"No, I'm staying," Warren said in a remarkably soft tone. "And we're going home together once you feel up to it. You need to talk to Tante, take care of your business here... and read Jean-Luc's will. It was important enough for Henri to risk his life for."

"It probably named Henri his heir and now dat Henri's dead, de Guild masters will take over, choose a new Patriarch."

"Aren't you in the least bit interested what the will says? Maybe there's a last personal message from Jean-Luc, which you should read."

Remy uncovered the scroll from a hidden pocket. "I can'... not now after seein' him. Mebbe dis evenin'..."

Warren decided to distract Remy. "Why don't you give me a tour of the house? It looks old."

"And we should arrange for a room for you," Remy said, relieved he could focus on something else. "We should talk to Tante."

"Do you feel up to that?"

"Oui." Remy smiled weakly. "Did I already t'ank for not listenin' to me? I'm really glad you came 'long."

Warmth blossomed in his heart, actually hearing Remy admit it like that. "You said thanks plenty of times, Remy." Don't blush... don't start blushing, just don't! Remy was close and warm, leaning against him and it would be so easy to lean in and kiss him. You can't do that! It's wrong to feel this way, dad was right!

"Wings?" Remy looked confused.

"Just thinking..." Warren forced himself to smile and to move away from Remy. "Let's find Tante."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ah, dere you are 'gain, chile. Come, sit wit' me."

Warren and Remy joined Mattie in the living room, sitting down on the other couch. Being here brought back loads of memories and Remy began to relax. He had always felt safe at the LeBeau household. "Tante..."

Mattie poured them some tea, which she had just made, and handed then them the mugs. "You calmed down, chile?"

"Oui, t'anks to Warren..." Remy saw the stunned look on Warren's face at hearing that. "It's true," he whispered, trying to fight down a blush.

"I had your room cleaned," Mattie said, sipping her tea. "I'm sure you and Warren will be comfortable dere. You'll need your beau close."

Remy nearly choked on his tea. Quickly, he glanced at Warren, finding a similarly shocked expression on his face. "What?"

"Remy, I'm glad you found someone who loves you back. Did you t'ink I wouldn' realize de trut'?" She chuckled. "You don' let people in, except if dey mean a lot to you. It was easy to figure out you're lovers and I approve of it. Now don' try to deny de trut', chile." Pleased, she leaned back and enjoyed her tea.

Remy pleadingly stared at Warren, who uncomfortably shrugged his shoulders. It seemed like Tante was convinced she was right. It would take ages to get through to her and he lacked the energy to do so. Warren's hand briefly touched his to draw his attention and he realized that it were these gestures that had led Tante to believe that they were lovers. Lovers, can' imagine bein' lovers wit' Warren. I don' understand Tante! Oui, he touches me a lot lately, mais dat doesn' mean... He woke up in my bed dese last few nights and... Non, it means rien! He jus' wants to comfort me! Warren likes de femmes! He would never be interested in a t'ief and traitor like me!

Warren cleared his throat, feeling nervous. "Remy, can we talk? Privately?"

"Oui... Tante, please excuse us?" Remy got to his feet and followed Warren outside, never noticing Mattie's smug grin. "Wings, I'm sorry! I don' know why she t'inks we're lovers! I'll tell her de trut', mais she won' believe me! Once she gets somet'in' in her head..."

"Remy, calm down. I'm not thrilled about this development, but we'll manage. Hey, I've been sleeping in your room these last few nights anyway."

Remy appreciated it that Warren didn't make a fuss over this. "I can sleep on de floor."

"No, that isn't necessary. I'm sure we can behave ourselves."

Remy wondered about the draped expression in Warren's eyes. "I'm really sorry 'bout dis."

"Don't be," Warren said, smiling. "But we should go back before she decides to check on us. She'd be disappointed not to find us kissing."

That remark did it. Remy blushed. "Don' say dat... Don' give her any ideas..." He turned around and they headed back to the living room. Tension had formed between them and Remy forced himself to take his seat again on the couch and not distance himself from Warren.

Tante nodded her head, smiled and contently sipped her tea. These two were meant for each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is weird... Warren had changed into a T-shirt and was wondering if he should put on some sweat pants now that he was officially to share Remy's bed. They had decided to let Mattie believe they were lovers, mainly because Remy didn't have the energy to argue with her. And now that they were getting ready to go bed, he felt uncomfortable. Well, he was wearing boxers and the shirt did cover his upper body. Sweats are always so hot... and it's already warm in here.

"Remy, I'm done in the bathroom..." He had brushed his teeth, removed some tangles from his hair and was trying hard not to show his nervousness. This felt completely different from the last two nights when Remy had been emotional and in need of support.

He exited the bathroom and stared at the bed. Remy had already pulled back the covers, and he could hop right in when he was ready. He avoided looking at Remy as he headed for the bed. Everything's okay. Remy doesn't know I'm nervous and who knows, maybe he's nervous too. Wordlessly, Remy disappeared into the bathroom and Warren walked over to the open window, enjoying the breeze. I wonder why Mattie thinks we're lovers. We don't kiss, we don't hold each other... in public. I just don't get it.

"Hey, Remy, what side of the bed do you want?" When had Remy slept here last? How many years ago? A book was still open on the nightstand and he was tempted to peek at its title. He could use some reading material himself and strolled over to an antique looking bookcase.

"De one closest to de window."

"Do you mind if I borrow a book? I'm not sure I can sleep tonight." Hum, Remy had an interesting book collection; mostly first editions.

"Go 'head..." Remy stepped into his bedroom and shuffled his feet. "I can' believe Tante t'inks we're... lovers."

Warren, who stood with his back to Remy, frowned. "Why? Would you be embarrassed having me for a lover?" He selected 'The turn of the screw' by Henri James and returned to the bed. Remy's face revealed shock. "What's wrong? Aren't you feeling well?"

"Non, I wouldn' be embarrassed," Remy whispered, shakily. But you like de femmes...

He stared at Remy's back and wished the Cajun would turn around so they were face to face. "Is that it? Because I think there's more." He placed the book on the nightstand and listened to Remy's too fast breathing.

Remy's breath hitched. "I'm a Guild t'ief, a traitor... t'ings you loathe. You let me know dat repeatedly."

Warren swallowed hard. "I'm sure you had to train hard to earn that title, Guild thief, and you're not a traitor. Remy, would you please turn around so I can look at you?"

"Don' want you to look at me." Remy clutched the comforter tighter, trying to hide under it. "I wanna go to sleep, if you don' mind." He switched off the light on his nightstand and stared into the darkness. It was a good thing Warren couldn't see his eerie eyes in the dark.

Warren was at a loss. Not wanting to bother Remy, he switched off his light as well. "You want to keep the window open? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Dis is de only safe place in de world. We're bein' constantly guarded. No assassin will slip t'rough."

Warren lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. Every now and then, he stared at the window, expecting an assassin to attack them. "Remy, this won't work."

Remy sighed. "What won' work?"

"Switch places with me." If the Cajun didn't want to close the window, he wanted Remy's side of the bed. If someone dared sneak in they had to go through him first.

"Warren..."

"Just humor me, or I'll keep you up all night." Warren waited for Remy to get moving. The Cajun slowly rose to his feet, left the bed and climbed in on the other side.

"Happy now?"

"Actually, yeah." Warren smiled, pleased. Remy now lay on his back and he could see the haunted expression on his face. "What's going to happen tomorrow?" It was obvious that they wouldn't get much sleep tonight.

"We'll take Poppa and Henri's body to de family crypt and say our last good-byes."

In the dark, Warren saw the fast rise and fall of Remy's chest. Tears glistered in the alien eyes. "I don't know what to say to make you feel better."

"No one can make me feel betta." Remy closed his eyes, turned on his left side, away from Warren and curled up beneath the comforter.

Warren took the hint; Remy didn't want to talk any more. Staring at the window, he tried to calm his raging thoughts. Remy was so close and he wanted to reach out and comfort the hurting man so badly, but he couldn't. Hearing that Remy still thought of himself as a traitor hurt. You'd make a fine lover, Remy... and I'd love to have you, but it can't happen. We're both guys and giving in to these desires would be wrong. Closing his eyes, he pretended to be asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, Warren was still awake. He would have loved to toss and turn, but Remy's regular breathing told him that the Cajun had finally fallen asleep and he didn't want to disturb the other man. Sleeping in the same bed like this was definitely weird. In his entire life he had never shared a bed with a man, only with women, and Remy's cologne tickled his nostrils. Slowly, he rolled onto his left side, watching Remy's back. He would love to hold Remy in his sleep, but the other man was off limits!

Suddenly, Remy moved restlessly and accidentally slid closer to the center of the bed. Normally, he'd sleep in the center, so maybe the mattress is slightly dented and he's rolling closer unintended. Remy was only a few inches away and still moving closer. His breath caught as Remy suddenly cuddled up to him, moving into his arms and pressing his back against his chest. Remy, what are you doing? They were touching; Remy's ass grinding against his groin and a content sigh escaped Remy's lips.

Warren was too scared to breathe too deeply, fearing Remy might wake up and turn away from him in disgust. But Remy stayed soundly asleep, so Warren raised one arm, folding it around the Cajun's waist. Remy moaned softly and the sound traveled straight to his groin. Oh my, this can't be happening. Why is he doing this to me? He was utterly embarrassed when he grew hard. He tried to move away from Remy, but the Cajun moved with him. Please, let my arousal die, please! I don't want him to wake up like this! No way can I explain this!

But Remy was finally comfortable and stayed in place. Nervous and ashamed, Warren panicked. Don't let me stay hard, please! Maybe if I think of something bad, like Remy's brother dying in his arms... Yes, that works... Thank God! His arousal diminished, but his panic didn't. What if he wakes up and we're still like this? What will he think?

His panic wore him down and an hour later, his eyes closed as well. His subconscious registered the warm and pliant form in his arms and he held Remy tight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was warm, warm and in someone's arms. Confused, Remy opened his eyes and didn't recognize his surroundings at first. Wasn't he at Westchester? Non, we traveled to N'Arlings. I'm back in my old room. He cringed; realizing what dreadful task that lay ahead of him, but before he could burst out in to tears, he wondered about the arm wrapped around him. A warm body lay spooned behind him and judging by the calm breathing, was still asleep. Warren, it has to be Warren! We went to sleep last night and somehow he ended up holdin' me... Mon Dieu, I didn' try anyt'in', did I? I'd never forgive myself if I did!

He considered moving away from Warren, but that would most certainly wake the other man, but then again, Warren was going to wake up anyway. Mais de problem is dat I don' wanna move. I feel warm and dis feels comfortable. Let him hate me later for pushin' myself on him, I'm enjoyin' dis now.

Remy stared at the wall for long moments, then managed to take hold of his book and began reading, enjoying waking up like this. The horrors of life would sink their teeth in him soon enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mmmm..."

Remy had expected to feel nervous when Warren would finally wake up, but he didn't. He had been reading for one hour now and felt at peace. The fact that Warren was responsible for his brief happiness was something he didn't dwell on. Once they headed back home, Warren would grow distant again.

"Mmmm..."

"You sound comfortable, homme." Remy wondered how Warren would react when the other man realized that his morning erection was poking his ass!

"What...?" Warren reluctantly opened his eyes.

"You feelin' at home dere?" Remy resisted turning around just yet. First, he wanted to get even with Warren for bossing him around.

"What? Oh, fuck...I... Remy..."

Remy felt bad for teasing Warren and rolled onto his other side. "It's bien, Wings. We're bot' hommes. I got one too. It's normal, always happens in de mornin'. Doesn' mean a t'ing. Doesn' mean you're all hot for me." Warren blushed. Remy blinked his eyes. Warren never blushed! "Warren?"

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Calm down, mon ami. Rien happened. It's bien..." It felt odd, reassuring Warren after being on the receiving end of such assurance for a while. "You like de femmes, oui? Your body's playin' a trick on you, likin' de warmt' and my closeness."

Warren averted his eyes. "Do you want the first shower or...?"

"Why don' you go first? I'll read a li'l longer. Don' wanna get up anyway." He felt bereft of Warren's warmth and closeness when the other man left the bed. From the corner of his eye, he watched Warren gather his duffel bag and hurry into the bathroom. Smiling, he concentrated on his book again, trying to lock out the harshness of reality just a little bit longer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren rested his forehead against the cool tiles, trying to calm down. Sleeping in Remy's bed had been a big mistake. He should have known better, should have anticipated his body would react like that. At least Remy didn't make a big fuss over it.

His right hand closed around his straining erection and he stroked firmly, trying to get it over with. He felt ashamed for feeling this way about Remy. The Cajun was a man, had just lost two family members and he was getting off on holding Remy in his sleep. Recalling Remy's voice, and how warm he had felt in his arms, it only took him a minute to reach orgasm. He bit his bottom lip, trying to muffle the sounds so Remy wouldn't hear him jacking off.

His come splashed into the stream of water and disappeared down the shower drain. Oh man, why did I do that? Now I can't face him. He'll now what I did in here... Just like my dad did. His dad had once caught him jerking off, whispering Manuel's name. The fact that he was masturbating hadn't bothered his father, but that Manuel had been the object of his fantasies had enraged his dad. He had been grounded and sent to his room without dinner. The next few weeks his guilty conscience had pressed heavily on him, censoring his thoughts. And now it had happened again!

"Warren! You almost done in dere? I need to get ready!"

"Yeah, just a moment." His voice sounded surprisingly calm. He cleaned up after himself, making sure he wasn't leaving any clues to what he had been doing and stepped out of the shower cabin to dry his skin. From the duffel bag, he retrieved a pair of black pants and a gray shirt. His wings twitched; Betsy would have smoothed out his feathers at this point, but they were no longer together and he tried his best to do it himself. He fastened the image inducer to his belt in case he needed it. "I'm ready. Bathroom's all yours."

Remy left the bed and passed him by on his way to the bathroom. The Cajun wore briefs and a shirt and the long legs seemed endless. Warren cleared his throat and he threatened to grow flustered again. Fortunately Remy had closed the bathroom door by now. How am I going to survive being close to him? I'd better leave for Westchester as quickly as possible!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Belle would like to talk to you later," Mattie said, sad and discouraged. Today she would bury two of her best friends. She had helped Jean-Luc lead the Thieves Guild for a hundred years and not many people knew that she had been his right hand. Looking at Remy, she saw her own sadness reflected in his eyes.

"Why? She didn' even want me to be here!" Saying goodbye to Henri and Jean-Luc was a family affair and he had refused when she had asked him permission to attend. They were still officially married, but their love had died years ago.

Mattie nodded her head. Belle had been determined to prevent Remy from coming to New Orleans, but now that Remy was the new Patriarch, his power exceeded hers when it came to the Thieves Guild. She was glad that Remy had returned home this quickly. The Guilds needed to know he was a force to reckon with. She would discuss these matters with him later tonight and offer him her services. Jean-Luc had fortunately stated his wishes very clearly in his will.

The tomb wasn't nearly big enough to hold the three of them. Add to that the pallbearers and two coffins and the crypt was crowded. The thieves pushed the coffins into the holes cut out in the stone and then stepped back, leaving them alone. Warren had been surprised when Remy and Mattie had insisted he joined them.

"Remy?" Mattie looked at her son, finding a terribly lost expression on his face.

Remy raised his hand and touched the foot end of Jean-Luc's coffin, the only visible section. Later, the bearers would return, lay bricks and add the names of the deceased next to those of their forefathers'. "It's hard to believe dat I lost dem forever. Mebbe dey'll lay me to rest here as well, one day..."

Mattie exchanged a worried look with Warren, who seemed equally concerned for Remy. "Chile, let dem rest in peace. We should go back home. Belle and de assassins are waitin' for you."

"I really don' wanna talk to dem." But he knew he should give Belle a chance to explain herself to him. Maybe she just wanted to offer her condolences.

"I'd probably better leave now," Warren said, uncertain why Remy was still including him in these family matters. Remy seemed strong enough to deal with everything on his own and didn't need his support with Mattie at his side. It couldn't be only because Mattie thought they were lovers.

"Non, please stay..." Remy shot him Warren a pleading look. "Talkin' to Belle's never easy."

"I've been meaning to ask you, who's Belle?" Warren didn't want to pry but if Remy expected him to be present, he should know who he was dealing with.

Remy cringed. "Belle's my wife."

Warren's eyes bulged. "Your wife? I didn't know you were married." This certainly put a twist on everything. Now he had to cover up his attraction even better. Remy was a married man!

They had reached Jean-Luc's study by now and Mattie entered first. Belle stood in front of the desk and two assassins filled the back of the office, guarding her. "Belle," Mattie said, greeting her.

Belle immediately sought eye contact with Remy. "Ai, Remy, I'm so sorry 'bout Jean-Luc and Henri, mais comin' here was de worst t'ing you could do!"

Warren studied her, confused. So this was Remy's wife? Belle was beautiful, but his instincts warned him not to trust her.

Remy hesitantly sat down behind Jean-Luc's desk, feeling unworthy. He would talk to Belle, and after making sure Mattie was handling everything, he would leave for Westchester. Now that Jean-Luc was gone, he didn't belong here anymore. "What do you want, Belle? Dey were my family. Why keep me 'way?"

"Cause assassins were plannin' to kill you, Remy! I was tryin' to protect you! Now dat you're here, dey can easily get to you."

"Like I was safe in Westchester. Dey killed Henri at de mansion and why would dey come after me?" Remy tried to mask the bitterness in his tone. "I ain' a real LeBeau, just de adopted freak."

Warren flinched, hearing the self-loathing in Remy's voice. They would address that later; now he was interested in finding out if his suspicions were correct.

"Remy," Belle started, moving closer. "A small group of assassins wants to eradicate de LeBeaus and to dem you're de real t'ing. Dey won' stop."

"Den why didn' you stop dem?" Mattie had been listening quietly, but couldn't stay silent any longer. "You're deir leader!"

"Dey don' want anyt'in' to do wit' me," Belle explained. "Dey're actin' under someone else's leadership. I tried to stop dem, mais dey are trained well."

Remy tried to deal with this new information. "So I'm next on deir hit-list?"

"Oui, I'm sorry, Remy." Belle placed her hands on the desk and leaned forward. "Dey want you dead de most."

"Why?" Remy met her gaze, remembering why he had loved her once. She was beautiful, intelligent and compassionate.

"I don' know why, Remy. Mebbe it's 'cause you're a mutant, mebbe it's somet'in' else, mais dey'll try hard to kill you."

Remy shook his head. His powers would haunt him for the rest of his life and his eyes always gave him away. "Merci for de warnin' and sorry for judgin' you. I t'ought you didn' want me to say goodbye to Jean-Luc 'cause you were tryin' to get back at me."

Belle sighed. "Remy, we were lovers once and friends later. I was just tryin' to protect you. You're de new Patriarch of de T'ieves Guild and..."

"What?" Remy's jaw dropped. "What did you say?"

"You're de new Patriarch." Belle looked questioningly at Mattie. "I t'ought he knew."

"He does..." Mattie walked over to Remy. "Jean-Luc's will was very clear. You were to lead de Guild if somet'in' happened to Henri."

"Non..." Remy sought out Warren's eyes. "I didn' know dat..." Warren had been right, he should have read that will. I can' be de new Patriarch! De Guild will never accept me. What did Poppa t'ink he was doin'?

"I can see dat dis is a shock to you," Belle said, walking toward the doorway. "We'll talk later, oui?"

"Oui..." Remy stared at the desk in disbelief. Jean-Luc wanted him to follow in his footsteps? To sit at this desk and guide the Thieves Guild? He was relieved when Belle finally left and he looked to Mattie for answers. "I don' understand, why me?"

"You're his son, Remy. Why are you surprised?"

"I'm only adopted!"

"You're a LeBeau," Tante said, firmly. Then her tone and gaze softened. "Mais you need to discuss dis wit' your beau. I'll leave you 'lone. Warren can help you best." She left the room, wondering why Remy had such a hard time to accept something perfectly simple.

"I can' be de new Patriarch..." Remy got to his feet, fled the desk and stared out of the window.

"Remy, what's a Patriarch?" Warren approached him, but didn't touch Remy yet.

"I'd be in charge of de T'ieves Guild. One of de most powerful jobs in de world." He shook his head. "I always wanted to live here 'gain, mais not like dis." Feeling lost, he turned to Warren for comfort. "I know dis is strange, mais... would you hold me?" He desperately needed someone close.

Warren hesitated and feeling hurt, Remy was about to walk away when Warren's arms caught him around the middle. "You don' have to, if you don' wanna."

"Your request surprised me, that's all." Warren gingerly pulled him close, bearing in mind he was hugging a married man. "We'll find a way to deal with this, Remy."

Remy nodded against Warren's chest. Warren would help him sort out this mess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Late that evening, they retired to Remy's room. Remy had been tense since learning that he was the new Patriarch of the Thieves Guild and Warren now faced an inner struggle. Being honest with himself, he admitted that he didn't want Remy to stay in New Orleans. He wanted Remy to accompany him home, back to Westchester, but... His attraction to Remy was still growing and being close to the Cajun was dangerous. What if he gave himself away and Remy realized what his feelings were about? Then he would lose the friendship he had been so carefully building and he didn't want to risk that.

He lay down on his side of the bed, listening to Remy move about in the bathroom. I can't be selfish now. If I really care about Remy I’ll do what's best for him, not me. And the best thing for Remy is to stay here and lead the Guild. New Orleans is his home, he loves Mattie and his wife's here. Asking him to come back to the mansion would be selfish on my part and accomplishes nothing. Besides... Remy's married and maybe there's a chance he and Belle can get together again. I can't stand in the way of Remy's happiness.

"Hey, Wings, you're lookin' all gloomy. Somet'in' wrong?" Remy exited the bathroom, wearing his briefs and a T-shirt. He seemed more comfortable than last night.

"I was thinking about your father's will." Warren immediately noticed Remy's darkening expression and sat upright in bed. "I can't blame you for wanting to stay here and carrying out your father's last wish."

Remy opened his mouth, but then closed it again without saying a single word. He walked over to the window and stared outside.

"What? Did I say something wrong? You do want to honor your father's last wish, don't you?" An unreadable expression passed over Remy's features and made Warren frown. "Remy?"

"I don' know yet... A part of me desperately wants to stay and try to be wort'y of Poppa's trust in me, mais... I never t'ought I'd say it, mais I wanna go back to Westchester as well. When I left, Bobby and Hank were real friendly and now dat you're mon ami..."

Warren's eyes widened. "So you finally accepted that I want to be your friend?"

"Oui, took me some time to get used to de idea, mais oui." Remy smiled apologetically. "Means a lot to me dat you stayed close. Bein' here is hard on me and seein' Belle 'gain..."

"You probably love her a lot..." Warren's heart contracted in anticipated pain.

Remy shrugged his shoulders. "Loved her once, oui, mais no more."

"What happened?" Warren frowned; Remy's answer surprised him. "Aren't you married to her?"

A bitter smile appeared on Remy's face. "Don' know for sure. My weddin' was a mess. Belle and I are no longer toget'er and she don' love me no more, if she ever did. Same goes for me." Remy sighed. "Why are we talkin' 'bout Belle?"

"Beats me..." Warren pretended ignorance. He doesn't love her? And he isn't even sure if they're married? Well, he did date Rogue and Belle didn't appear to be on his mind back then.

"Are you ready to turn in? I don' know why, mais I feel awfully tired..." Remy yawned, walked over to his bed and slipped beneath the covers.

Warren swallowed hard, recalling waking up with the Cajun in his arms, Remy's ass pressed against his erection. That couldn't ever happen again! Maybe he should sleep on the floor? The chair? But Remy might find that odd, after having slept in the same bed last night. There was no way out for him, he had to sleep beside Remy. He fled to the bathroom and stared at his reflection. He loathed the blue skin and looked down; Apocalypse had done that to him. But at least he did have his feather wings back!

Taking his time, he brushed his teeth. He was stalling, not wanting to go back out there and join Remy in bed. If he was lucky, Remy would be asleep by the time he joined the Cajun and he could scoot to the farthest side of the bed, making sure they weren't touching.

A few minutes later, he entered Remy's room again. Involuntarily, he said a soft prayer. Remy was already asleep, facing him. He quickly slipped beneath the covers as well and watched the Cajun sleep. His crush was growing worse and sleeping this close to someone that he couldn't have was pure torment. I'll head home tomorrow. I'll ask Hank to come to New Orleans to keep an eye on Remy. I can't stay any longer. This is hell...

After staring at Remy for the next two hours, his eyes finally closed as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remy yawned while opening his eyes after a good night's sleep. He had expected to have nightmares, but hadn't even woken once during the night. His breath caught, finding himself in Warren's arms once more. This time they lay facing each other and Warren was holding him tight. His head rested against Warren's chest and one hand lay tangled in his hair. Dis is strange. Yesterday mornin' he was holdin' me too. I don' get it. I can understand he feels guilty for ignorin' me, -I certainly know guilt can do strange t'ings to you,- mais dat doesn' explain him holdin' me every night.

Warren looked relaxed in sleep; a smile ghosted on his lips and he snuggled closer. Remy held his breath, wondering what this meant. Warren had gone from hating him to being his best friend, from avoiding him to holding him at night and... At times, the draped expression in Warren's eyes almost resembled desire. But no, that was impossible. Warren didn't like men in that way and certainly not him!

Mais wait, what if it's true? I never saw him date an homme, dat's true, mais... dat doesn' mean he can' be gay. I didn' dates hommes when I was livin' at de mansion so he doesn' know I'm bi... Hum, dat's a weird way to t'ink 'bout it! Ha! Like Warren could have a crush on me! Me! Mais it would explain his sudden concern and interest, why he's stayin' close... Non, I've got to be wrong... Warren ain' bi... But the thought didn't leave him alone. Falling in love with him would explain Warren's odd behavior. Should he try to find out? What if he was wrong and made a big fool of himself? Could he risk another heartache? And before he even considered confronting Warren, he had to find out what his feelings for the other man were.

Lately, he had caught himself wanting to be close to Warren, enjoying being held by the other man. Looking at Warren's relaxed features he had to admit to finding him handsome and attractive. He even liked the blue skin and he simply adored those feather wings. He had hated the metallic ones.

Checking the time, he realized that they didn't have to get up for another four hours and he should try to get some more sleep. He had to tell Tante if he accepted his new position or if he was going back to Westchester. The choice was much harder than it should be. New Orleans was his home, Tante the only 'relative' he had left and he cared about the Thieves Guild. Instinctively he knew that he would be the right man for the job, but... he didn't want to give up this new friendship. Warren had supported him in his darkest hour and they had grown close, close enough to sleep like this.

If there was only a remote chance that Warren had developed feelings for him, he would be a fool not to pursue this. Warren possessed all the qualities he had ever wanted in a lover. The man was intelligent, compassionate, honest and supportive. Why would he settle for me? He can have anyone he wants and he would want me? Dat's wishful t'inkin' on my part... mais what if it's true? What if he's attracted to me? How do I find out?

Why couldn't he be a telepath like Jean or the professor? Yes, probing Warren's mind would be unethical, but would tell him the truth. Now he had to find out the hard way or not find out at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh no, it happened again! I can't believe I did it again! He sighed. Fortunately Remy was facing him and he didn't have to worry about the Cajun noticing his aroused state. Yesterday morning Remy had teased him with it, but maybe the Cajun would now realize what was really happening; that he was aroused because he was in love with him. No more postponing that trip back. I'm telling Remy that I'm heading home this afternoon. If I stay I'll give myself away!

"Mornin', mon ami."

Oh, shit, he's awake! Cold sweat formed on his body and his arousal diminished at the prospect of being found out. Act normal, act like nothing's wrong! Act like you don't get a hard-on every time you hold him! Forcing himself to act casually, he smiled and stretched, quickly releasing Remy. "Morning, you must have slept well to sound this cheery." Alarmed, he froze. Remy's grin was diabolically wicked.

"Must have somet'in' to do wit' sleepin' in your arms... Doesn' dat make you uncomfortable? I wondered 'bout it... I woke up in an homme's bed before, mais you..."

"What did you say?" Warren's eyes widened and Remy's sparkled. Why do I feel like I'm being set up here?

"Said I woke up in an homme's bed before..."

Remy's pause seemed overly dramatic to Warren.

"Wings, I like havin' sex wit' an homme."

Warren tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. No, I'm not going to have my first panic attack, I'm not!

"Warren? Hey, you're lookin' spooked..."

"I never... pictured it like that." Why did have Remy to put it like that!

"I dated Rogue and I'm de fait'ful kind. When I'm seein' someone I don' stray. Honesty and commitment are really important in a relationship, oui?"

Warren's world was crumbling. Damn, I need to get away from him. I'd never forgive myself if I acted on this. It's wrong; dad was right. It's unnatural for two men to be together in that way. Frantically, he crawled out of the bed and stumbled to his feet. "I'm taking the first shower, is that okay with you?"

Startled, Remy nodded his head. "Oui, bien wit' me, mon ami."

Great, I went from 'homme' to mon ami'. What's next? Cher? "And Remy? I'll be leaving for Westchester today. You're in control of the situation; you don't need me anymore. I should go home and check if Bobby fixed that hole in the wall yet." Cowardly, he disappeared into the bathroom without giving Remy a chance to react.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What? He's leavin'? Non, he's supposed to stay! He promised he'd stay! He can' leave like dis... What did I do? I shouldn' have teased him like dat. Would it help if I apologized? Mais... I've got de feelin' I'm right. He was hard and his pupils were dilated. He reacted like dat 'cause I was close! I've seen dat reaction before. Mon Dieu, can it really be? Is he in love wit' me? And what do I do 'bout it?

I don' do a t'ing. He wants to leave, he jus' told me. I don' know what's goin' on, but I ain' pushin' him. Mon Dieu, why can' l'amour be simple? Why dis complicated? Don' I deserve a break? I'll be 'lone 'gain. Oui, Tante's here, mais... I have feelings for Warren, I jus' don' know what kinda feelings and now dat he's leavin' I won' find out. Mon Dieu, why not gimme a break?

The bathroom door opened and Warren emerged, fully clothed. "Wings, did you mean it? You leavin' today?" Please say it ain' so!

"Remy, I came along because you needed a friend, some support, but you're handling everything okay. Mattie will help you and you don't really need me. Slim's probably going insane, not knowing what's going on and what if there's an emergency? The team can't be without two members at once! No, I need to go back, but you can always contact me, talk to me in case you need someone to listen to you. I'll only be a phone call away."

Remy was silent, unable to understand why Warren was deserting him when he still needed him so badly! But he wasn't going to beg Warren to stay. He still had his pride. Whatever feelings Warren bore him weren't strong enough to make him stay!

"Jean-Luc wants you to lead the Guild. Remy, be sensible. I can't stay here forever. Your life's here now and mine's in Westchester."

Remy's heart twitched. "I can tell Tante I won' do it, won' lead de Guild."

"But you want to lead the Guild. Be honest with yourself, Remy. Your heart's here. If you returned to Westchester with me, you'd regret it for the rest of your life."

So Warren wanted him to stay and sacrifice their friendship? "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure, Remy. You told me you always wanted to go home, back to New Orleans. You're finally home now. Don't throw it all away."

I'd t'row it all away for you... in a heartbeat... if you asked me to come wit' you, I would. Please tell me you don' want me to stay... Pleadingly, he looked into Warren's eyes, but the other man turned away, starting to pack his duffel bag. Why are you doin' dis? Was I so wrong? I really t'ought you had a crush on me. Must have been wrong den. "Warren? Merci for helpin' me." Defeated, he got to his feet and walked into the bathroom.

"You're welcome, Remy. I'm going to inspect the Blackbird, see if she's ready for take off. I'll say goodbye to Mattie and then I'll leave."

Remy closed his eyes, pretending Warren wasn't leaving, but knew he was fooling himself. Warren had made his decision.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mais you can' leave!" Mattie frowned. "Why would you leave now? De assassins can' be trusted and Remy needs you close!"

Warren cringed; maybe it had been a mistake to let Mattie believe that they were loves. "Remy's strong. He doesn't need me."

"You have no idea..." Mattie sighed, displeased. "Go if you must, mais I don' understand you."

Warren felt like a jerk for abandoning Remy like this, but he just couldn't stay. "Take good care of him for me."

Mattie nodded once. "Dat's your job, not mine."

Warren's feelings of guilt doubled. "Sorry, but I can't stay." He quickly fled the room and headed for the Blackbird. If everything went according to plan he would be back in Westchester in a few hours. Remy would be far away from him by then, safe.

He boarded the Blackbird, sat down in the pilot's seat and fired up the engines. Remy, I'm sorry, I really am, but I can't be attracted to you.

The plane took off and he laid in a course that would take him to Westchester. Letting the automatic pilot do the job for him, he closed his eyes and sighed deeply, trying hard not to think of Remy. The Cajun probably felt deserted by now. He had fled New Orleans like a coward once Remy... once Remy had done what? Made advances? Had Remy been flirting with him or had he just imagined the tension between them? It was just that, tension. Remy was tired and still dealing with the deaths of his loved ones. It's only normal that he isn't acting rationally right now. That means I have to be the sensible one.

Looking out of the window, New Orleans had grown small, had almost vanished from view. I'm so sorry, Remy, but this is for the best!

Suddenly, a low rumbling in one of the engines attracted his attention. Was something wrong? He had run down his checklist before taking off and everything had seemed fine at the time, so what was going on now? Worried, his brow furrowed, he ran a diagnostic on the troubled engine. A moment later, the other engine began to roar. Shit, he was in trouble! Engine number one was shutting down and his only option now was to make a crash landing, no a controlled landing. Scott would kill him if the Blackbird was destroyed!

I can fly out, but I don't want the plane to hit a populated area. I don't get it. Everything was fine when I checked the engines! Losing precious time, he steered the plane toward some farmland, hoping no one was out there. He had completely lost control; he couldn't control this emergency landing! He had better leave now while he was still alive! Spreading his wings, he used one of the escape hatches and soared into the sky, letting his wings carry him. He had to get away from the plane or it would draw him in and burn him when it crashed!

He managed to fly away from it and watched it crash. An angry red fireball exploded in the air, burning sky and earth. "Scott's going to kill me..." He stared at the spectacle in horrid fascination and at first he didn't notice the itching sensation on his back. But then the itching changed to a burning sensation and his eyes widened as his wings froze. Diving toward the earth, he tried to break his fall, fluttering helplessly. In mid-air, still several hundred yards above the safety of the earth he lost consciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh my God, I feel nauseous! Warren coughed and threw up this morning's breakfast. Once he had emptied his stomach, he opened his eyes. He was in a darkened room, lying on the floor, hands and feet bound tightly. It took most of his strength to push himself over the floor to distance himself from his vomit, which stank horribly. As soon as he moved, he sucked in his breath as a blinding pain nearly rendered him unconscious again. Hanging on, he closed his eyes and breathed through the pain. It emanated from his right wing. No, not my wings! Not again!

He was on his left side, trying to favor his right wing, but the pain remained. Had he crashed, landing on his wings? If so, he was surprised he had survived the fall. Who had found him and why had they tied him up? The Blackbird was tampered with. It was perfectly fine when we flew in. Someone sabotaged it, wanting me to crash, but who and why?

The door opened unexpectedly and he quickly closed his eyes against the sharp blinding light of the flashlight, shining into his face. Listening closely, he heard three different pairs of footfalls. The three men circled him and one boot crashed against his injured wing, causing him to scream out his pain. Panting softly, he cracked his eyes partly open to stare at his nemesis. He didn't know the men, what did they want from him? Before he managed to ask his question the boot impacted again, and this time he swore he heard bones in his wings crack!

Biting his bottom lip, he tried to hide the agony he was in, but that only seemed to anger his tormentor. A series of kicks hit him in the back, shoulder and wing. This time he screamed out, cursing and then begging them to stop. He couldn't lose his wing again! "Please, don't..." His nemesis grabbed a handful of his hair and jerked his head back. A terrible pain shot down his spine and his injured wing trembled violently.

"Make sure it's a bien shot. I want de bastard to see his pain!"

Pain blurred his vision as he tried to focus on the man who was jerking his head around. "I don't know you..."

"Mais de LeBeau bastard does... He will give in once he sees you in pain."

Warren tried to laugh, but he ended up coughing. "Give in?"

"LeBeau will watch dis tape and he will want to save his beau, so he'll give in to my demands."

"His what? His beau? Oh, come on! We're not lovers!" Warren suddenly realized that he was coughing up blood. How badly had he been injured in that fall? He was bordering on the edge of unconsciousness, but managed to hang on a little longer. "We only let them think that! We're not lovers."

The other man laughed, obvious amused. "And you t'ink I believe you? Non, you're tryin' to save your skin. I saw de way you comforted him after I killed Henri. You sleep in de same bed! Don' mistake me for a fool!"

"You killed Henri? You killed his brother?" Warren's eyes widened. "You're an Assassin!"

"And proud of bein' one! I ain' a mutie, I didn' play no one to become part of one of the most influential families in N'Arlings. I'm an Assassin by birt'. If it hadn' been for dat bastard I'd be leadin' de Assassins right now and not my sister!"

The insane gleam in the other man's eyes made Warren swallow nervously. Only now did he notice the camera that was capturing their conversation. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to hurt..."

Another kick to his shoulder blade made Warren breathless. "Why?" But the other man no longer replied, pounding on his wing instead. The pain reached its limit and shuddering, he lost consciousness.

"Take de tape to de bastard and state my demands."

"Oui, Julien." The Assassin quickly left to carry out his leader's orders.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Remy? Dis was delivered a few minutes ago. It's a tape." Mattie placed the small package on the desk. When she had entered the study she had expected to see Jean-Luc behind the desk, but Remy now resided in the study. The young man looked withdrawn and worried. It had started when Warren had left yesterday, leaving Remy depressed and lonely. "Mebbe he'll be back." She had tried to offer him some comfort; she always did. When he had been little she had often rocked him to sleep in her arms.

"A tape?" Remy forced himself to act. His heart ached for Warren's company, but he couldn't pick up the phone and contact him. Warren had made the decision to leave and he had to respect that. He took hold of the package and opened it, knowing thieves had already checked it contents and deemed it safe for him to open it. Looking at it, he frowned. There was no return address and suddenly he grew worried. "Pop it in?" After handing Mattie the tape, he turned the chair around to watch the screen.

"Oh non!" He jumped to his feet and stared in horror at the screen. "Warren!" The other man looked miserable, hands and feet tied. He even made out blood on the right wing! "What? Who would do dis to him?"

A door opened and three men descended the stairs. Remy hissed, recognizing Julien. "I should have known! Julien hates me, hates our family! I bet he killed Poppa and Henri!"

"Remy, be quiet and listen!" Mattie agreed with Remy, but they needed to focus on rescuing Warren!

Entranced, Remy listened to the conversation and he cringed, seeing Julien pound on Warren's already injured wing. Warren's blue eyes closed and Julien looked straight into the camera. "Make sure de bastard gets dis."

The screen darkened and Remy collapsed onto his chair. "Mon Dieu! Julien's gonna kill him!" He suddenly noticed the letter in the package and unfolded it.

It's been a while, Remy. You have probably seen the tape by now and you're wondering about my demands. Renounce your position as leader of the Thieves' Guild and hand it over to me. I already killed Jean-Luc and Henri. You prevented me from claiming my rightful place as leader of the Assassins, so I reckon you owe me. I will lead the Thieves. Refuse me and your lover dies and I promise you that he will die slowly and very painfully. One of my men will be waiting for you at the old church where you and Belle got married. Come alone and unarmed. Ignore this message and I will send you your lover's dead body. Come to the church at sunset.

Julien.

"Mon Dieu, he's finally gone completely insane!" Remy dropped the letter onto the desk and paced the study. Warren's agony was tormenting him. He didn't doubt that Julien would carry out his threat. The assassin knew how to draw out death and make it extremely painful for Warren. "I don' have a choice, Tante. I'll accept."

"Remy, chile, you can'..." Mattie walked up to him and folded an arm around him. "De t'ieves will never accept him as deir Patriarch. Even if you step down, Julien won' become de new Patriarch. Dis is out of your hands."

"Mais Warren...!" Remy pleadingly locked eyes with her. "He's hurt and his wing was bleedin'! He lost dem wings before. He won' survive losin' dem a second time!"

"Den find him and free him! Every master t'ief will help you locate him, mais don' give in. I know you love him, and dat's what Julien is countin' on. You have to be strong now, Remy." Mattie gently squeezed his shoulder. "We will find him. Sunset is still hours away and I will contact de Master t'ieves. We should locate Warren before sunset. Have some fait' in us, chile." Remy nodded once and she hurried to contact the thieves.

Remy walked over to the VCR and hit play again. Seeing Warren crumpled and in pain cut through his heart. He placed his right hand on the screen, trying to make contact, but the glass felt cold under his fingertips. "I'm sorry, Warren. Didn' want you to get mixed up in dis. I can' believe I didn' see it comin'. I should have known it was Julien! He hates me! Hates de LeBeaus and now he's usin' you to get to me! I'll find you, mon ami, and I'll try to make t'ings up to you."

"Remy? You’ve got an incomin' call!" Mattie had hurried back to the study to inform Remy and now left again to offer him some privacy.

"An incomin' call? God help him if it was Julien!" He wouldn't be able to control his emotions, hearing Julien's voice over the phone and Warren's screams in the background. He picked up the phone, trying to control his raging emotions.

"Gambit? What the hell's going on in New Orleans? Did the Blackbird really explode? Do you know how valuable and unique that plane was? And what's Warren doing there with you? Bobby and Hank aren't much of a help and..."

"Cyke?" Remy frowned. Scott was the last person he expected to contact him.

"Yes, it's me. Remy, you'd better start talking!"

"It's a mess..." admitted Remy. "Warren accompanied me to N'arlings after my fat'er and brot'er died."

"Uh... I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't know..."

"It's bien, Cyke, you couldn' know..." Remy drew in a deep breath. "You said de Blackbird exploded?"

"Yes, it carries several transmitters and they all died at the same time. I can no longer access the plane's computers, it's like it no longer exists and where's Warren?"

"Warren's in trouble. One of my old enemies got his hands on him." Remy wondered how much to reveal to Scott. "Mais I can handle dis."

"Remy, I'm sending Hank and Bobby to help you." Scott sounded worried.

"Mais..."

"No buts! You just told me Warren's in trouble and you'll need help to get him out of there. Hank and Bobby can help you, accept it and... What are you doing in New Orleans in the first place?"

"Takin' my fat'er's place as leader of de T'ieves Guild." Remy didn't like this one bit; why was Scott sending Hank and Bobby? He could deal with Julien on his own!

"Wait... You're the new Patriarch? Is that what you're telling me?"

Remy raised a surprised eyebrow. He hadn't realized that Scott had actually listened to him the few times that he had mentioned the Guilds to his team leader. Scott hadn't seemed particularly interested, but apparently looks had been deceiving. "I have to get to Warren before sunset or de Assassins will torture him to deat'."

"I have no idea what's going on there in New Orleans, but I don't like it one bit. Try to wait for Bobby and Hank, they are on their way already. Don't take any unnecessary risks. I trust you to handle this successfully."

"You do?" Scott continued to amaze him. "I'll do my best, Cyke." Of course would he do his best!

"Good, expect Hank and Bobby to arrive in one hour. How much time do you have until sunset?"

"Five hours."

"I'll contact you in six." Scott terminated the call.

Remy put the phone down and was jolted into action. "Tante, I need a location! Where are dey holdin' Warren?" He stormed into the livin' room, where Mattie was talking to several Guild thieves.

"I'm workin' on it, Remy, mais I need more time!" Mattie sent the thieves away after instructing them. "What happened?"

"I talked to Scott and he's sendin' reinforcements. Hank and Bobby will help me free Warren."

"Dis is a good t'ing? You don' look too happy 'bout dat."

Remy shrugged. "I don' know, Tante. I didn' expect dem to come here, mais we have a betta chance at freein' Warren when dey're part of de team. Lemme know de moment dey arrive? And I need dat location as well!"

"I'm workin' on it, Remy." Mattie watched him leave and smiled. Oui, Remy made a good Patriarch!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren's world existed of pain and agony. Lying on the cold and wet concrete, the chill seeped into his body, reached his back and made him go limp. He had lost all sense of time and his thoughts were running in circles. He should have run one more check on the engines, should have taken a different route home. Maybe then he would be safe and sound at home right now.

Cringing, he wondered what Remy's reaction would be when the Cajun watched the tape. He realized that this Julien was using him to get to Remy, but he had no idea who Julien was or what he wanted. The rope cut in to his wrists and he remained motionless, trying to alleviate some of the pain his movement was causing him. His wing throbbed heavily and he lacked the strength to get to his feet and search for a way out. His throat felt like sand paper and he closed his eyes, wishing he had some water.

Remy would try to help him. The Cajun would locate him and then free him. Remy was his only chance to get out of this alive.

The door opened again and light flooded the room. Warren quickly closed his eyes. His retinas didn't like the blinding light after being in the dark for so long. He didn't have to wait long before the first kick impacted against his shoulder. A keening wail escaped his lips as his wing seemed to burn with pain.

"You'll die anyway, even if de bastard accepts my demands... Mutants... you don' deserve to live... any of you. I can' let him become dis powerful... His mutant powers, combined wit' de Elixir would make him invincible."

Warren heard the words, but didn't understand them; pain was consuming him. His wing fluttered helplessly, hitting cold concrete. "No..." Mumbling feverishly, he curled up as much as the restraints allowed him, trying to protect his head and stomach from the blows that would surely follow.

"You only got a few more hours to live... make de best of dem!" Julien laughed loudly, kicked Warren once more and then left the room.

The pain... it's too much... I can't deal with it... Remy, I don't know what you're doing, but if you're trying to find me I suggest you hurry. It feels like my wing's infected... Don't let me go through this again! Please, Remy... come for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Remy? What happened? Slim sounded worried when he told us to come here." Bobby looked about. Mattie had led them to this study and seeing Remy sitting behind the desk felt odd. He didn't know much about the Guilds. Yes, Remy had told him that he was a Guild thief, but that was about it.

"Warren's been abducted by an old enemy of mine. His name's Julien and he's practically immortal. Gettin' Warren back won' be easy," warned Remy. "I have a location, mais we have to act quickly. Julien will kill Warren at sunset." If he hasn' killed Warren already. Julien never keeps his word.

"You have a location? What are we waiting for?" Bobby started for the door, suddenly seeing the odd look in Mattie's eyes when she studied Hank. He was so used to having Hank around that his friend's appearance had become normal to him. Mattie hadn't seen Hank before and was clearly curious.

"Tante? We're leavin'" announced Remy. "We're goin' to get Warren."

"Are you takin' de Master t'ieves wit' you? Dey can help." Mattie concentrated on Remy again, ignoring her curiosity for now. This Hank McCoy certainly looked interesting.

Remy considered the question. He didn't want them getting in their way. Maybe the thieves could provide a distraction when they moved in. "Oui."

"What's your plan?" Bobby and Hank followed Remy outside.

"We go in and secure Warren. He's in a bad way, remember, he can' get 'way wit'out our help." Remy looked up at the sky. "De sun's 'bout to set. We need to move now!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feeling miserable, Warren tried to get more comfortable on the hard concrete, but moving about only added to his pain. His fever had climbed this last hour and he was beginning to hallucinate, seeing glasses filled with water and other refreshing drinks. Swallowing hurt and he tried to be completely still. Sudden noises coming from behind the wooden door slowly registered, and in the end he realized that something was going on. He lay facing the door and had already closed his eyes in fearful anticipation of the blinding light. Please, Remy, I can't be that hard to find... I need you... I'm sorry I left like that. If I had told you how I truly felt I wouldn't be in this mess, but with you.

The door suddenly burst open and noise exploded all around him. He heard that particular sound of Remy, releasing a kinetic charge through his cards and he even thought he heard Bobby's voice. Must be the fever, getting worse... so thirsty... Remy, where are you? I'm so sorry...

"I found him!"

Huh, what's Hank doing here? What's this fever doing to me? Warren managed to half open his eyes and tried to focus on the man kneeling beside him. There was definitely a mass of blue fur.

"Hank!" Remy ran into the room, sat on his heels and tried to regulate his breathing.

Hey, Remy, this is a cool dream. I hoped you'd come for me and you did. It's okay that this is just a dream, makes it easier. My wing's lost anyway and I can't go through the pain a second time. Using his last bit of strength, Warren raised his left hand and brushed Remy's cheek. "Am sorry..." whispered Warren in a cracked tone. "Shouldn't have left... I... I love you..." Remy's eyes flared in the semi darkness and Warren's heart beat a little faster. This dream felt awfully real. "Where's... Ju...lien?" His strength was quickly deserting him.

"He ain' here. De place was empty when we moved in." Remy tightly curled his fingers around Warren's hand and cradled it against his chest. "Do you mean it?"

"What?" His eyes were closing and he was drifting back in to oblivion.

"Do you love me?"

"Yeah... I do... can't tell you though... Dad doesn't approve..." Warren's head lolled, losing consciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank decided to take charge. Warren was in a bad way and needed immediate medical attention. Remy assured him that the lab in the basement of the LeBeau residence held all necessary medical equipment and Hank agreed to take Warren there. Hank carried Warren out of the dark room after ignoring Remy's protests of wanting to carry the injured man himself. Warren's wings made it hard to carry him and Hank didn't want to risk Warren taking a fall.

Remy followed, obviously displeased that Hank had overruled his decision. Bobby was walking next to him, and the other man continued to reassure him that Warren would be fine. In the end, he couldn't take it anymore. "Bobby, please shut up. Jus' shut up." Seeing Bobby's startled and hurt expression, he instantly felt guilty. "Didn' mean it like dat, mais I'm worried and you're gettin' on my nerves."

They boarded the helicopter that would take them straight home and Remy's eyes stayed glued to Warren's form. He said he loves me! Mais it can' be de trut'. It's jus' de fever talkin'...

"I didn't know Warren was in love with you," said Bobby. "But now Warren's behavior makes sense. It's amazing though; I never realized he was bi! He never even looked at another man!"

Remy cringed. "He can' be in love wit' me."

"Why?" Bobby looked Remy in the eyes. "Why do you think that?"

"He always came down hard on me. He can' stand me..."

"That isn't true, Remy. He was really upset after the trial, but Warren's a forgiving man." Bobby wished the pilot would hurry up. Warren's wing looked badly infected.

Remy shrugged his shoulders. "I jus' want him to get betta." He also had to catch Julien and deal with the insane maniac, which reminded him that he should strengthen security around his house.

"Remy, he said he loved you. No matter how delirious Warren is, he would never come up with something like that if it wasn't true and you know that."

Remy ignored Bobby for now and stared at Hank who was already trying to examine Warren. "What 'bout his wing?"

Hank's gaze hardened. "I do not know how badly infected his right wing is. I need to run some tests on it. How much longer?"

"Ten minutes." The LeBeau mansion was already in sight. "Can I touch him?" He pretended not to see Hank's surprised glance. Hank slowly nodded his head and Remy rested his hand against the blond locks, now stained with blood and dirt. "He has to recover. Dis is my fault. I should have known Julien was behind it."

"You didn't know this could happen," said Bobby, reassuring him. "And Hank's the best. If someone can fix Warren's wing, it's Hank."

"Thank you for your vote of confidence," said Hank, hoping Bobby's faith in him wasn't misplaced. "I will do my best, but..."

The helicopter landed and they quickly entered the building. Remy was walking up front, showing Hank the way. Mattie met up with them, realized the situation at once and offered to assist Hank in case he needed to operate. Hank accepted and requested that Remy and Bobby leave the lab.

"Come on, Remy, I'll keep you company," promised Bobby. "Warren's my best friend so I kinda know what you're going through." Bobby pulled Remy into the corridor and found an empty living room where he pushed Remy onto the couch. "Now talk to me. You look like you need to get something in the open."

Remy drew in a deep breath now that Hank was taking care of Warren. Hank and Mattie wouldn't let anything bad happen to Warren; they would save his wing.

"So Warren's in love with you," said Bobby, trying to make Remy open up to him. "Do you have feelings for him as well?" Remy's shocked look didn't elude him. "What?"

"Warren can' be in love wit' me, Bobby. He hated me!"

"Hated, Remy, that's past tense. Something happened over Christmas, something that brought Warren and you closer. When Hank and I got back from our Twinkie run the change was already visible. Why don't you want to believe Warren spoke the truth?"

"Bobby, dey eit'er die or leave me! Poppa's dead, so is Henri. Dey loved me, were my family. Rogue betrayed me on de ice and Warren..."

"You're scared Warren will hurt you too." Bobby understood. "Love doesn't come with guarantees, Remy. Just tell me, do you return Warren's feelings?"

"I don' know," said Remy in a tiny tone. "Never thought of him as a potential lover. He always hated me and... I didn' see dis comin', I had suspicions, mais..."

"So you like Warren? Do you like him enough to make this work? Or do you love him? You have to figure out what your feelings for Warren are."

"I need some time to t'ink dis over, Bobby. Dis is unexpected. I never t'ought Warren would actually say it."

"I don't know if you want my advice, but I'm giving it anyway." Bobby leaned in closer. "Warren's a decent guy, but he made some bad choices when it came to choosing his lover. I always disliked Betsy, and Warren was hurt when she dumped him. If you have some sort of feelings for Warren, why not give him a chance? I'm not saying you should jump his bones, but you could try talking about your feelings. Warren's a bit repressed that way. If you had known his father you'd understand. He probably wasn't thrilled when he found out that Warren was bi."

Remy nodded his head. "You're right, I'll talk to him."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Remy?" Mattie sought out Remy's worried eyes. "Hank says you can see Warren now." Remy jumped to his feet, left Bobby standing in the living room and ran toward the lab. Mattie smiled and met Bobby's eyes. "L'amour... too bad I'm only an old woman."

Bobby heard the melancholy in her tone. "But a beautiful one." He gently took hold of her hand and kissed it.

Mattie chuckled. "You're quite de charmer."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remy hesitantly entered the lab. "Tante said I could see Warren?" Warren was on the exam table, resting on his stomach to give both wings ample space. The right wing was heavily bandaged and bruises showed just above the blanket that Hank had used to cover his patient with.

"Yes, you may sit with him." Hank pulled up a chair to the exam table and gestured for Remy to sit down. "I do not want to move him just yet, but maybe you can find him a warm and comfortable bed in a few hours?"

"No problem, he can have mine. It's de best in de whole house." Remy wanted to touch Warren, but his hand remained poised in the air above Warren's head.

"Go ahead, you can touch him. Just stay clear of his wing and the bruises."

"Hank, how badly hurt is he?" The blanket slipped slightly, revealing more bruises. I'm gonna sent Julien to hell for what he did to Warren! But he had to catch the elusive assassin first!

"Two bruised ribs and he is sporting several bruises as you can see. He was dehydrated, that is why I had to hook him up to an IV. The worst injury is his wing. The assassins probably used a dart to tranquilize him. Warren had an allergic reaction to that substance and the poison attacked the bone."

"Will he make a complete recovery?" Remy finally felt confidant enough to tuck a stray lock behind Warren's ear.

"Given time and proper treatment, yes he will. But he will be on the inactive list for some time. If you would excuse me now...? I have to report to Scott."

Remy absentmindedly nodded his head. "Sure... mais I can stay? I'll keep an eye on him while you're 'way."

"Yes, you may stay. Just do not wake him."

"I'll be quiet," promised Remy, "Merci, for lettin' me stay." Hank left the room and Remy leaned in closer after making sure they were alone. "Do you really love me, cher? Do you?" He pressed a gentle kiss on Warren's brow. Closing his eyes, he searched his own feelings. "Wanna be wit' you, cher..."

"Do... you... Remy?"

Shocked, Remy jerked away from Warren. "You were 'sleep!"

"I woke up." Warren's face contorted with pain, but he tried to ignore it. "Remy, why do you think I love you?"

"You said so..." Remy's expression grew sad. "Wasn' true, was it? It was jus' de fever talkin'. I knew dat, should never have listened to Bobby!" He wanted to rise to his feet, but froze when Warren rested his hand on his arm. The movement caused Warren pain and he released a soft moan. "Don' do dis. You need to rest. You're supposed to be 'sleep!"

"I told you?" Warren brow furrowed, biting down the pain. "When?"

"When we found you. You said you loved me, mais it was de fever..." Remy began to pull back, trying to shake off Warren's hand without adding to the injured man's pain. "I'd betta go now so you can sleep. Hank will be back in a few minutes."

"Hank's here?"

"Cyke sent them when he heard you'd been kidnapped."

"Remy, there's so much we need to talk about!" Warren yawned and his eyes closed. "And we will... later."

"Mais naturelement, mon ami. Later." Disappointed, Remy rose from his chair. It had been the fever talking! He had known Bobby was wrong, but had let the other man convince him that Warren loved him. "It's bien, cher. You don' love me, mais I t'ink I love you..." After caressing a lock of Warren's hair, he got to his feet and left for his study. He needed to be alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bobby noticed the confused look on Remy's face when the Cajun left Warren's room. "Hank, excuse me just one sec..." Not waiting for Hank to answer him, he hurried over to Remy. "What happened?"

"It was a mistake, Bobby. Warren doesn' love me. It was jus' de fever, jus' as I t'ought!" Remy brushed him off and disappeared down a corridor.

"I don't get it." Bobby frowned and returned to Hank. "You heard Warren say it too, didn't you?"

"What?"

"That he loved Remy."

"Actually, yes I did."

"Hank, do you believe Warren meant it? Because I do..."

Hank considered the question. "Maybe you should talk to Warren when he wakes up? However, it will be a few hours before the medication loses its effect."

"I'll sit with Warren and when he wakes up, we're going to talk. I'm getting fed up with this!" Bobby marched into Warren's room, seated himself on the chair Remy had vacated and waited for his friend to wake up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren woke up eight hours later. By that time, Bobby had slept some hours himself, had taken a quick shower and eaten some sandwiches so when Warren finally opened his eyes, Bobby felt alert and ready to confront his friend. "Hey, how are you doing, buddy?"

Warren blinked. "Bobby? What... are you doing... here...?"

"Thirsty? You certainly sound like it." Bobby filled a glass with cool water, helped Warren roll on to his side and supported his head as he sipped slowly.

"Thanks, that's much better." Warren smiled weakly. "Care to tell me where I am and what happened?"

"Remy tracked you down and we charged the place. Most assassins were already gone." Bobby leaned back and studied Warren. "We need to have a serious talk."

Warren raised an eyebrow. "Serious? You?"

"Come on, Warren, cut the crap. Why did you take it back?"

"I took what back?" Confused, Warren tried to push himself upright, but the burning pain in his wing stopped him. He quickly looked over his shoulder and his breath caught, seeing the bandaged wing. "How bad is it?"

"You won't lose your wing. It'll heal. Now don't try to change the subject."

At a loss, Warren stared at his friend. "Bobby, what are you talking about? Could you make some sense? I'm not feeling too hot right now." Why was Bobby acting this oddly? And why wasn't Remy close? He had hoped to see the Cajun when he woke up again.

"Why did you take it back? You told Remy you loved him when we found you. A few hours ago you took it back. I have rarely seen Remy so rejected and hurt as when he stormed out of here."

"Rejected and hurt?" Warren really had no idea what was going on. "I only told him that we would talk later. I was so tired and the pain was so bad."

Bobby calmed down, cutting Warren some slack. "So you didn't take it back?"

Warren closed his eyes and a faint blush settled on his features. "I never wanted him to find out in the first place."

"So you do love him?" Bobby felt triumphant.

"Yeah, I think so, but Bobby... this can't happen..."

"It's like I hear your father talking."

"That's not fair, Bobby." Warren opened his eyes and sought out Bobby's. "You know that I have no problem with you being gay, but it's different when it comes down to me. It's wrong."

"You think it's wrong, because your dad fucking brainwashed you!" Unable to stay seated any longer, Bobby took to pacing the small room. "Why should it be okay for me, but not for you?" He walked back to the exam table and locked gazes with Warren. "I know what your dad told you and that you loved him, but don't let him ruin your life. You know he was wrong! He just indoctrinated you so you'd believe what he wanted you to believe. I knew your dad, and although he was an okay guy, he never respected your sexual preference. But he's gone now. You can't let him do this to you. Remy loves you and you love him back! That should be enough!"

"Bobby, wait..." Warren panted softly. "Did you really say that?"

"What? That Remy loves you? Why do you think he's so desperate for you to confirm what you said earlier?"

"I can't believe it..." He hissed as another wave of pain swept through his wing. "Bobby, I'm not sure I can do this. I always believed... My dad... I... I don't know..."

"Hey, it's okay." Bobby smiled reassuringly. "I was confused as hell when I admitted to myself that I liked guys. You're entitled to a little crises."

"So what do I do now?" Growing tired again, his eyes began to close.

"Just answer me this, do you love Remy? Do you want this to work?"

"Yes... on both accounts." Warren peeked at his friend, cringing at the mischievous expression in Bobby's eyes. "Don't make this worse, Bobby."

"Why don't you go back to sleep? You look bad... I'll talk some sense in to Remy in the meantime."

"No, you're not!" Upset, Warren reached for Bobby and grabbed his wrist. A sharp pain slashed through his back at moving like that.

"Warren, let me fix this. It's just a major misunderstanding. Don't you want to be with Remy? Well? Don't you?"

"Yes..." Warren lacked the strength to object any longer. "But Bobby... if Remy doesn't want to pursue this, let it rest, okay?"

Bobby grinned. "Fat chance in hell that Remy doesn't want this..." He stayed with Warren until the other man was sound asleep and then headed for Remy's rooms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remy had just taken a long soak in the bathtub when Bobby knocked on his door. "Come on in." He quickly slipped in to some jeans and a shirt.

Bobby entered and walked up to him. "Remy? Got a moment to spare? I want to discuss something."

Mentally drained, Remy nodded his head and gestured Bobby to sit down on his bed. "Whatever it is, cut it short? Mattie and several t'ieves are waitin' for me to attend a meetin'."

"I talked to Warren." Bobby grinned, seeing shock in Remy's eyes. "He loves you too!"

Remy blinked. "What? It ain' nice playin' people like dis, Bobby." Remy walked over to the doorway. "You'd betta leave now."

"Remy, listen to me, damn it!" Bobby stalked over to Remy and stared into the alien eyes. "You never met Warren's dad! You don't know what he was like!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, that got your attention all right!" Bobby was getting pissed off. "Warren's father couldn't accept the fact that Warren was bi. That's probably the main reason why Warren never dated a man. His dad only accepted female lovers. Now that Warren's in love with you he doesn't know what to do. His father really brainwashed him. You have to give Warren a chance! He's new at this and... scared. I think he's scared shitless because he's doing something he never dared to do before; allowing himself to feel in that special way about you!"

Remy stared at the floor, feeling miserable. "I didn' know dat."

"Remy, that meeting can wait. Go to Warren and talk to him. Believe me, Warren is even more nervous than you are."

"Bien." Remy nodded his head. "I'll give dis one more try."

Bobby smiled, seeing the determined expression in Remy's eyes. "What are you waiting for? Go for it!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remy soundlessly approached Warren, who was resting in a warm bed. Hank had deemed the time right to move Warren to a bed, which Mattie had had delivered to the lab so that the injured man could sleep more comfortably. Now wanting to disturb Warren's sleep, Remy sat down on a chair, taking in Warren's appearance. Warren looked warm and was sleeping soundly. Just as he wanted to get back to his feet to leave the room, Warren's eyes opened.

"Salut," said Remy, hesitantly. "Didn' wanna disturb your sleep. Jus' wanted to check on you."

"Remy, please stay." Warren moistened his lips, still feeling thirsty. Remy offered him some water and he greedily swallowed the cool liquid. "Thanks."

Remy felt uncomfortable. Warren had grabbed his hand and refused to let go. He seldom felt lost for words, but he was speechless now.

"I'm sorry I gave you the wrong impression," said Warren. "I wasn't feeling too well when we talked."

Warren was trying to catch his eyes, but Remy avoided meeting his gaze. "Dat's understandable."

Warren sighed. "Yeah, I meant it. I meant what I said."

Confused, Remy looked up and met Warren's eyes. "What are you talkin' 'bout?"

"I'm in love with you... No, let me say this, don't interrupt me. I need to do this now."

Remy remained quiet and stared at Warren's fingers, which rested against the inside of his wrist.

"I don't know why it happened, but I started to have feelings for you after that first night when I held you. My feelings have only become stronger since then, but... My dad... he... he once caught me daydreaming about one of our servants and... He would have cut me out of his will if I ever looked at a man again. He constantly told me how wrong it was to like men and that I couldn't give in to those feelings. I have been denying them for so many years and now... When you found me I thought it was a dream and everything slipped out."

Remy had listened patiently, not interrupting Warren. "I didn' know it eit'er, mais I t'ink I love you too. Don' understand dat myself. Been 'round you for years and I never felt attracted to you, mais when I woke up dat mornin' wit' you holdin' me, it felt so incredibly right."

Warren smiled weakly. "Does that mean you feel the same way about me?"

"Je t'aime, I t'ink, if dat's what you wanna know. I feel confused too. You always hated me, never lemme close..." Remy was stuttering and he didn't care. "I don' have nightmares when... when you hold me at night. When I woke up dis mornin' I felt 'lone and de nightmares were back."

"You'll have to be very patient with me, Remy. I... I'm new at this... I never kissed a man before and it'll take me some time to get used to the idea that I'm dating a man. You might want to go slow with me." His bottom lip trembled. "Remy, are we going to try to make this work or pretend we never had this conversation?"

"We'll make it work," said Remy, firmly. "I don' wanna go t'rough life knowin' I passed up dis chance." Leaning in closer, he tenderly tucked a blond lock behind Warren's right ear. He wanted to kiss Warren, but wasn't sure the other man was ready for that.

Warren's smile brightened. "If it weren't for the pain..."

"Pain?" Alarmed, Remy looked about, trying to locate Hank. "We should take care of de pain... Hank!"

"Remy, wait!" But it was too late. Hank was already walking toward them. "I just wanted to say that I would like to feel you close..."

"Close?" Remy frowned.

"What is the matter, my friends?" Hank's gaze traveled from one man to the other, realizing what had just happened.

"He's in pain, Hank..." Remy gently squeezed Warren's hand.

"Pain?" Hank adjusted the IV's, feeding Warren more painkillers. "Anything else?"

"No," said Warren. "Hank, I need a moment alone with Remy."

Hank took the hint and left with a grin on his face. Just wait until I tell Bobby!

"What do you mean by close?" Remy trembled slightly.

"I'd love to hold you, but I don't think this bed is big enough for the two of us."

"You have bruised ribs, cher. You shouldn' put any pressure on dem. I'll jus' sit here, bien?" He still rubbed the knuckles of Warren's hand. "Hank told me dat you have to take it easy for a few weeks. You can recuperate here, if you wanna."

"I'd love to, Remy..." Warren yawned. A terrible weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Telling Remy made him feel better. "Stay a little longer?"

"I'll stay as long as you want me to," said Remy reassuringly. "I won' let go."

Warren smiled as he dozed off again. "Damn, Hank's meds are..."

"Too much for you, cher. It's bien, let go. I've got you and won' let go..."

Warren fell asleep with a smile on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Remy? Belle's here to see you." Mattie opened the door to the study and let her in.

Remy straightened his back. Belle's visit wasn't unexpected. After finding out who was behind the murders, he had contacted her and told her the identity of the killer. She had been speechless, shocked, and had told him that she wanted to speak to him in person. "Belle, please sit down." She looked jumpy.

"I can' believe Julien killed Jean-Luc and Henri! All dat to get back at you and gain control over de T'ieves Guild! He finally went insane! No t'ief would follow an assassin willingly! His plan couldn't work."

"Mais he's still out dere, Belle, and I doubt he'll stop, even after bein' found out."

"I also heard Julien tortured your..." Her eyes pleadingly locked with his.

"My beau, my lover, oui." Remy held her stare, not backing down. "Warren's badly hurt."

"I didn' expect you to remain fait'ful to me, not really anyway. Alt'ough we're still officially married, not'ing binds us."

"You should try to find l'amour yourself, Belle." Remy rose from his chair, walked up to her and sat down on the edge of the desk. "How do you feel 'bout me takin' a lover?"

"I wasn' pleased when I found out 'bout Rogue," admitted Belle, "Mais dat's 'cause I instantly disliked her. Warren... he's de one wit' de blue skin and wings?"

Remy smiled. "Oui." Belle's spies had probably already informed her of everything that went on in the LeBeau residence. He still had to upgrade the security system to avoid spying.

"Do you love him, Remy?"

"Oui and he loves me back..." Remy moistened his lips. "Can we call it a truce?"

Belle nodded once. "And I'll do my best to locate Julien. Once I caught him, he'll answer for his deeds. De Assassins Guild will condemn his actions. I only regret dat Jean-Luc and Henri died before we realized what was goin' on, I should have known! Should have prevented dis!"

Remy shook his head, but was careful not to touch her. "You didn' know it was Julien and neit'er did I. You ain' to blame."

Belle smiled, saddened. "I'll find him, I promise, Remy."

"Mais in de meantime I'll guard Warren closely."

"You t'ink Julien will try 'gain?"

"Belle, he's insane... Oui, I t'ink he'll try 'gain and dis time I'll be prepared!"

Belle got to her feet. "Julien's my business... I'll take him out."

"Mais if he sets a single step in my home I'll kill him."

Belle paled slightly. "As is your right, mais he's my brot'er."

"Den you'd betta find him first." Remy watched her leave and collapsed on to his chair. If Julien ever tries to hurt someone dear to me 'gain, I will kill him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren moistened his chapped lips. He was still running a fever and was thirsty.

"Do you wanna drink, cher?" Remy leaned in closer and placed the glass at Warren's lips.

Warren swallowed gratefully and stared into Remy's eyes. "Feels definitely weird now," admitted Warren between sips. "You knowing I'm in love with you..."

Remy smiled. "Oui, and I love you, cher." He disposed of the empty glass and carefully sat down on the side of the bed. "How are your ribs today? Do dey still hurt?"

"Hank bandaged them rather tightly, so no, not really. My wing still throbs, but apart from that I feel fine. Are you sure I can't leave my bed yet?" Twenty-four hours after surgery he felt a lot better. "I hate being confined to bed. I'm bored."

"Bored?" Remy chuckled. "I know a remedy, mais..." His smile suddenly faded. "Non..."

"What? What remedy?" Transfixed, Warren stared at Remy's lips, wondering what brushing them would feel like. If he weren't such a damn coward he would have found out by now.

"Was t'inkin' of kissin' you," admitted Remy. "Mais I ain' sure... mebbe it's too early, oui?"

"Maybe we should try and find out?" Warren tried hard to hide his nervousness. I'm going to kiss a man for the very first time in my life. Dad would have a heart attack if he were still alive...

"Uhm, cher, you sure 'bout dat? You look... scared."

"Nervous, Remy, nervous, not scared... At least that's what I'm trying to tell myself." Warren raised his arm and gently brushed Remy's cheek, never losing eye contact with the Cajun. "Lovers are supposed to kiss, aren't they? Wanna try?"

Remy smiled warmly. "Cher? Are you sure? Don' wanna freak you out or..."

Warren effectively silenced Remy by pulling the Cajun close. He pressed his lips on Remy's, loving the soft feel of them. I'd better be careful or I might get addicted to him... When he finally released Remy, his stomach was doing somersaults and butterflies tickled his insides. "I liked that."

Stunned, Remy nodded his head. "Oui, c'est très bien, cher."

"You wanna do it again?" Warren was definitely getting the hang of winding Remy around his little finger. Pulling Remy close again, he wrapped one arm around the Cajun's waist and this time he kissed a little bolder, urging Remy to part his lips and teeth. When Remy gave in, his tongue quickly slipped inside, meeting its counterpart and locking in a lazy kiss. If I'd known it would be like this, I'd have kissed him days ago! Remy moaned softly into his mouth and Warren's eyes widened, realizing he was growing hard. Okay, I'm convinced. I like men, well actually, one man... Dad was wrong. This feels right...

Remy pulled away, breaking the kiss. Panting softly, he tried to catch his breath. "Cher, you're a bon kisser... You held out on me!"

Warren grinned. "I'm glad you liked it... Remy?" He fingered one of Remy's locks and hated bringing this up right now. "Who's Julien and why is he after me?"

"Julien's insane..." Remy didn't know how to explain things to Warren. "I t'ought I killed him in a duel, mais his fat'er slipped him de Elixir and..."

Warren grabbed Remy's wrist. "What? What did you say?"

Remy frowned. "Cher?"

"What elixir?"

"Merde, cher, I..." He couldn't really tell Warren Guild secrets.

"No, listen. Julien said he had to stop you from becoming even more powerful. You already had your mutant powers and he'd make sure you'd never drink that Elixir!"

Remy realized he had to tell Warren. "De Elixir makes us t'ieves nearly immortal. Dat was why I couldn' believe dat Jean-Luc and Henri really died. De Elixir should have kept dem alive."

"Did you drink it yet?"

"Non, it's traditional to wait until de thirtieth birt'day. I jus' turned twenty-six, so I won' drink it for anot'er four years."

"And it would make you... immortal?"

Remy shrugged. "I used to t'ink so, mais Jean-Luc and Henri both died. I don' know, cher."

"Do you have a choice in this matter or do you have to drink it?"

"I have a choice, mais I'd be stupid not to drink it."

Warren's eyes darkened. "And leave me behind? You do realize that when I'm old and dying, you'll still be young and healthy?"

Remy cringed. "I didn' realize dat, cher. I didn' t'ink dat far ahead..."

Warren sighed. "Remy, we'll deal with this in four years. I just thought you should know what Julien said."

"Merci, cher, and I'm sorry for de way he treated you... It's all my fault." Remy bowed his head in defeat, recalling the duel he had fought a lifetime ago. "Mais Belle's tryin' to track Julien down and I'm gonna upgrade de security system. T'ieves are constantly patrollin' and no one should get t'rough."

"Remy, do you think you can convince Hank to let me go? I'd feel more comfortable in your room; that is if you want me there."

"Cher, you're still fightin' an infection. Would be unwise to leave yet." To make up for his words, he brushed Warren's lips. Warren reacted hungrily and pulled him close until he almost toppled over. "Careful, cher! Don' wanna add to your injuries!"

Warren smiled. "I can't stop wondering how it will feel..."

"What?" Remy caressed Warren's face, tracing the outline of the other man's lips.

"Making love to you." Seeing Remy's surprised expression, he explained. "I never made love to a man before, hell, I don't even know what to do... Don't get me wrong, I know where everything goes, but... What'll my role be?"

Remy grinned. "We'll find out when you're feelin' betta..."

"Remy, what would you like? I mean, with the women I never wondered. I always was on top and..."

"Dat's where I want you too, cher, on top. Does dat answer your question?" He had seen the brief panic in Warren's eyes. And mebbe, when you feel comfortable makin' love to me, I'll get to be on top once in a while...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One week later.

"Remy? Belle's on de phone for you."

"Thanks, Francois." Remy waited for the thief to leave the study and then answered the call. "Oui?"

"Remy? I located Julien and I'm movin' in tonight. Do you wanna be dere as well? I rat'er take him 'live; he is my brot'er and..."

Remy tensed. "He killed Jean-Luc and Henri... Julien deserves to die."

"Remy, he's already dead, remember?"

"Dere are ways to deal wit' dat, mais I will be dere. I want him to answer some questions!" Remy terminated the call and headed for his rooms, needing to talk to Warren. Hank had released Warren yesterday and they had moved Warren's things to his rooms. Warren had mostly slept until now. The infection in his wing was almost gone, but the ribs still hampered him. Today would be Warren's first time out of bed.

Remy opened the door and smiled, seeing Warren in front of the window. Warren leaned against the wall, but he had made it over there unaided. "Salut, cher."

"Hello, Remy..." Warren turned around and smiled. Pulling Remy close, he leaned in for a kiss. They had limited themselves to kissing and touching during his recovery, but he hoped it wouldn't be long before they made that final step.

"Belle found Julien." Remy opted for the direct approach. "We're goin' in for him tonight."

"I want to be there as well."

"Non, you're still healin' and you're an easy target, Julien would use dat to his advantage. Please stay here and lemme do dis. I promise he won' escape. De Guilds will put him on trial and punish him."

Warren wanted to argue, but seeing the expression in Remy's eyes, he remained quiet. You just lost Jean-Luc and Henri and now you're afraid you'll lose me too. I probably shouldn't pressure you into letting me tag along. "Okay, I'll stay here... Just be careful."

"I promise, cher." Remy smiled and guided Warren back to the bed. "How are you doin', cher? How's de wing? De ribs?"

"They're healing, Remy. I was wondering though..." Warren lay down beside Remy and enjoyed the cuddling. "I want to make love with you."

"Are you sure, cher? Ain' it too soon? What 'bout your ribs and...?"

"My ribs are only bruised, Remy... Really, I want to experience this with you... Maybe tonight?"

Remy considered this. "Cher, I still t'ink it's too early."

"Come on, Remy, I'm horny," admitted Warren, embarrassed. "Are you going to make me beg for it?"

"Mebbe," said Remy, wickedly. "We'll see what happens tonight, bien? First I have to deal with Julien."

Warren leaned in and claimed Remy's lips. Yeah, I want you... Tonight. It surprised him how quickly he had been able to do away with his father's unwelcome legacy. Once he had gotten past the barrier of kissing Remy, his desire had only grown and now he was hard most of the time. I'll make things special tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remy joined the Assassins. Belle was already waiting for him and pointed out an abandoned house to him. "My men saw him move 'bout in dere."

"Den what are we waitin' for?"

Belle nodded once. "Let's move in." She positioned her men and gave them the signal to move in. "He's gettin' negligent. He should know we're after him."

Remy walked next to her, watching the Assassins move in and secure the place. Screams, curses and even gunfire sounded through the deserted house.

"Belle, we cornered him in de basement!"

"We're on our way!" Belle walked up front and Remy followed her. "Remember, I want him 'live!"

Remy didn't react. Julien was close; his instincts kicked in, warning him and he pulled Belle down with him as he dove toward the floor. A dagger, doubtlessly poisoned, just missed them. "Looks like your precious brot'er jus' tried to kill you. Face it, Belle, he's a menace."

Belle stared at the dagger and picked it up. A tear made its way down her face. Looking up at her second in command, she nodded her head. "Take him out. If necessary, kill him."

Belle and Remy watched the fight from a safe distance. As leaders of the Guilds, they weren't allowed to fight in the front line. Suddenly, Julien left his shelter and headed for Remy.

"Die!"

Remy reacted instinctively and opened his bo staff, charged it, and plunged it into Julien's chest as the assassin tried to bury a dagger in his chest. Belle staggered beside him, fell to one knee and stared at Julien. "It was self-defense... 'gain," whispered Remy. "He wanted to kill me."

"I know dat," said Belle. "You didn' have a choice." Looking at Julien, she shook her head. "Why? Julien, why kill Jean-Luc and Henri? Dey were our friends."

"Cause of him!" Julien struggled to draw in his next breath. "De bastard... had to get rid of him!"

Remy suddenly felt defeated. "You didn' have to kill Jean-Luc and Henri to get to me."

"You took everyt'in' away from me! I wanted you to suffer de same fate!" Julien's eyes widened, his breathing shut down and his head lolled to the right as he released his last breath.

"He's dead..." Belle wiped away the few tears that had left her eyes. "I'm sorry, Remy. Jean-Luc, Henri and you didn' deserve dis."

"At least it's over now." Remy closed his bo staff and walked away from Julien's body, needing to be close to Warren.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren was pacing Remy's room, hoping Remy had dealt with Julien. He longed to hold the Cajun in his arms and to make love for the first time, but when Remy finally entered their room, he saw the expression in Remy's eyes and led him to their bed, where he lay the Cajun down.

"Julien's dead."

Remy moved closer to him and Warren ignored his stinging ribs, knowing how important it was that he comforted Remy right now. "Then the nightmare is over?"

"Mais Jean-Luc and Henri are still dead..."

"But you're not alone. You've got Mattie and me..."

"Cher, I know you want to make love, mais everyt'in' suddenly hit me and..."

"It's okay, Remy. We'll just cuddle tonight and I'll hold you... We'll make love when the time is right."

"Merci, cher..." Remy closed his eyes, snuggled as close as he could possible get and sighed. Oui, de nightmare's over... And our life toget'er can start.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remy stretched luxuriously, delighted to wake up in Warren's arms once more. During the night they had ended up facing each other, his head resting on Warren's chest and his arms tightly wrapped around the other man. He sure hoped he wasn't putting any pressure on Warren's still mending ribs. Smiling softly, he studied his lover's features. I still have a hard time believin' dat he loves me. After what Bobby told me, dis can' be easy on Warren. I don' know how I would have reacted had poppa hated my bisexuality. I was so lucky to have his unconditional love... And now he's gone. He would never stop missing Jean-Luc.

"Hey, a penny for your thoughts, Remy." Warren returned the smile and raised a hand to push back some stray locks that had fallen in Remy's face. "You're looking sad and I don't like that."

"Was t'inkin' 'bout poppa..." His own openness surprised Remy. He wasn't used to sharing his private thoughts and emotions. "I miss him."

Warren nodded, understanding his lover's loss. "And you always will. It's only normal to miss him. It's okay." Gently, he brushed Remy's lips with his fingertips. Looking at the window, he caught a glimpse of the rising sun. "I guess you'll be busy with Guild matters all day long?"

"Am afraid so, cher. I need to talk to de master t'ieves, show dem I'm wort'y of deir trust, mais we still have de evenin'." He hated leaving Warren alone all day, but he needed to get a tight hold on the Guild or everything would fall apart.

Warren yawned. "I suspect I'll be sleeping most of the day anyway. Hank assured me it's normal, but I haven't slept this much in years." Although the infection that had raged inside his wing was gone, he still felt exhausted. The fact that his ribs were still mending wasn't helping either.

"Don' forget to eat, cher? I'm sure tante will love some company." Remy regretted having to get up. He was right where he wanted to be, in Warren's arms, and he wanted to stay there.

"I'll eat... Now you sound like Hank." Warren grinned. "What about a kiss? It will keep me going for the rest of the day." Remy's blush surprised him. It was almost like Remy felt shy. "Remy?"

"You gotta understand, cher," started Remy, averting his eyes. "It's been a while for me too. Wit' Rogue dere wasn' any kissin' or touchin' and..."

"I get the picture." Warren cupped Remy's chin in the palm of his hand and pressed his lips on his lover's, gently tasting him. When Remy's teeth parted, he accepted the invitation and moved in. It was still early and his morning erection throbbed painfully, hoping for some release. Ignoring the discomfort his ribs caused him, he gently rolled Remy on to his back, covering his lover's body with his own. His cock twitched appreciatively when Remy's legs parted, accepting him. "I love you..."

Remy's breath hitched, hearing those words. Not bothering with words, he deepened the kiss and rubbed suggestively against his lover. Agile thief's fingers freed Warren's cock from the boxers and he stroked slowly, enjoying the soft moans that left Warren's lips.

Warren acted instinctively and thrust, fucking Remy's hand. "So good..." He closed his eyes, but never stopped kissing the Cajun. A few more thrusts and he came hard. His eyes flashed open and he stared at Remy, suddenly realizing he had left his lover behind. Still riding the last tremors that his orgasm sent through his body, he devoured Remy's mouth, while his right hand found a way inside his lover's boxers. Rolling Remy on his side, he lay down facing his lover. "Now it's my turn."

Remy's blush deepened. "Are you sure, cher?" He vividly recalled Warren's admission that he had never been with a man before and he didn't want to rush this.

"I'm sure." Warren coaxed Remy into moving closer until his lover rested in his arms. Slowly, he pushed down the briefs Remy was wearing and studied the hard flesh, twitching against the Cajun's stomach. "I hope I'll get it right." He had never done this before and he hoped he could pull it off. "Tell me if you don't like it?" He silenced Remy with a kiss when the Cajun tried to speak up. After curling his fingers around Remy's cock, he stroked experimentally. "Good?"

Remy bit his bottom lip. "Bien..." Arching his back, he tried to thrust harder, faster.

Warren quickly picked up on Remy's silent clues and allowed him to thrust in his own speed. "I can't believe I'm doing this." His father would condemn his actions, but the man was no longer alive and he had to move on. Seeing Remy whip him himself into orgasm, he licked his lips. Remy reached for him, obviously wanting to kiss him, but he resisted, closing his lips over a nipple instead and gently sucking it.

"Mon Dieu!" Unable to hold back any longer, Remy released his come in short, jerky spurts. Panting, his big eyes fastened on Warren. "Merci, cher."

Warren shook his head. "No, I should be thanking you. All my life I was afraid of this moment, of giving in to my desires, but now that I'm doing just that I feel complete for the first time in my life. I can hardly wait to make love to you... Ouch!" His ribs suddenly acted up and he rolled on to his back, wrapping an arm around them for support. "Although... we might have to wait a little longer. I don't think my ribs actually liked the work out."

Concerned, Remy fussed over him. "Want me to call Hank? Is dere anyt'in' I can do?"

Warren smiled in spite of the discomfort. "I really was a fool..."

"Wings?" Puzzled, Remy raised an eyebrow.

"I fought this for years, probably since I set eyes on you. I never realized just how much you care..." Warren locked gazes with Remy while his hand tangled in the long, auburn hair. "We'll talk some more tonight. There's so much I want to tell you, so much I want you to know about me."

Remy swallowed hard, realizing how serious Warren took their relationship. "In dat case I should tell you some t'ings too."

"Tonight," decreed Warren. "Tonight we'll talk all night long."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remy was distracted all day long. Although he tried to concentrate on the meeting, his thoughts continued to drift off to Warren the entire time. He had hoped that Warren wanted to take this to the next level, emotionally wise, but he hadn't been sure Warren was ready for that. Now he realized that Warren was more than ready to open up and do some soul searching. It's me, feelin' insecure.

If I really want this to work I'll have to tell him 'bout de Collection, livin' on de streets, and all de mistakes I made. Well, he already knows 'bout de worst of dem... But it wasn't something he was looking forward to. He knew himself well enough to admit that he suffered from fear of abandonment and that had everything to do with the fact that his real parents had never wanted him. Jean-Luc had tried to heal that hurt, but the pain sat deep. Trusting in Warren meant facing that fear of losing his new lover.

"Remy?"

Remy sighed and forced himself to pay attention to the master thief who was updating him. Warren had said he wanted to talk tonight. He had better save his fears until then and start acting like the Patriarch now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ah, Warren! I'm glad dat you're feelin' betta!" Mattie stepped into the living room and watched him sip his tea. "Hope you don' mind me restin' my old bones here." She sat down in the chair next to him and observed him. Warren was frowning and deep lines were etched on his brow. "Is it Remy?"

Warren actually smiled. "In a way."

"In what way?" She realized he was brooding; it was best to get everything in the open. "He's a good homme."

"Yeah, he is." Warren didn't know why, but he felt like he could trust her. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to confide in her. "He's my first male lover and I don't know... I feel... shy..." His face grew flustered, suddenly wondering if he wasn't making a mistake by telling her. "But you can't be interested in..."

"Chile, hush..." Mattie straightened her back, watching him intently. "I suspected as much."

"You did?" Warren frowned.

"Remy acted shy and nervous when he dated an homme for de first time." Mattie smiled. "Does he know he's your first...?"

"Yeah, I told him." Uncomfortably, Warren shifted in the chair. "But I shouldn't be discussing this with you."

Mattie nodded her head. "You're right. You should be discussin' dis wit' Remy."

"I will... tonight." Warren sighed. His ribs protested to sitting upright and he realized he should be laying down instead.

"Chile, before you go, lemme tell you one t'in'." Mattie pushed her chair a little closer to his. "Remy's de best beau you could ever find. Treat him bien and he'll love you forever, mais..."

"But what?" Warren saw the hesitation in her eyes and watched her hands move over the arm rest in a restless manner.

"Remy's been hurt badly in de past. His lovers never really loved him and even dis... Rogue never appreciated him. It made Remy wary. De chile doesn' trust easy."

Warren arched an eyebrow. What was Mattie trying to tell him? "Yes?"

"Remy's afraid of gettin' hurt 'gain..." Mattie didn't know how to put her fears into words. "I hope you're serious 'bout dis."

"Oh yes, I am!" Warren fervently nodded his head. "I won't hurt him."

A sad expression appeared on Mattie's face. "I hope dose aren' jus' empty words, because Remy deserves someone who really loves him."

"I love him..." Warren smiled, confident in his feelings for Remy. "I really do."

Mattie searched his eyes for some time and then sighed approvingly. "I believe you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night they retired to Remy's room after dinner. What had seemed a brilliant idea in the morning, to share their histories, now seemed to smother them. Warren collapsed on the bed, surprised that the simple action of having dinner could drain him like this. Maybe Hank was right and he did need more rest. Hank wasn't putting him back on the active list for at least a few more weeks anyway.

Remy sat down in a comfortable chair near the window. Pulling up his legs, he wrapped his arms around them and rested his head on his knees.

Warren felt Remy's posture was rather defensive and wondered why the prospect of sharing their history unnerved them both. "Maybe I should go first?" Remy hesitantly nodded his head. "Remy, before we start, come over here? You seem a million miles away like that."

Remy sighed and got to his feet. Stalling, he shuffled his way over to the bed and sat down on the side. When Warren reached for him, he went willingly, lying down in his lover's arms. Watching Warren closely, he realized that his lover was equally nervous and he relaxed somewhat. "We don' have to do dis."

"Yes, we do." Warren gently stroked his lover's silken locks. "When I was born my dad was happy I was a boy, he never wanted a girl. My mother died a few days later. An internal bleeding had started and the doctors were unable to stop it." Seeing a question in Remy's eyes, he nodded encouragingly. "What is it?"

"Were you born wit' dose wings?" Remy was still hesitant to touch their magnificent beauty.

"No, they developed later." Warren sighed deeply and then continued. "During the first ten years of my childhood I rarely saw my dad. He was always away on business trips and left it to his household staff to raise me. I had a nanny and fortunately I really liked Liz, but I always wondered why my dad didn't want me around. He didn't even show up on my birthdays and the only thing I got was a card sometimes. I wasn't interesting to my dad until I hit puberty. Then he wanted to introduce me to the company; he saw me as the heir to his throne. But I wasn't interested in bonds and financial partners. I wanted my dad to love me."

Warren paused, seeing the expression in Remy's eyes. "Don't get me wrong. I had an okay childhood; I just didn't have friends my own age and I couldn't even confide in the staff, knowing a lot of them hoped to get to my dad's money through me. It was lonely, but I did okay."

Remy raised his right hand and gently caressed his lover's face. Words eluded him and he hoped to comfort through touch.

"Then Manuel joined the household and I developed a crush on him. I was fifteen at that time. My dad was furious and I got several lectures. He fired Manuel and I... I was so confused. I knew what I fell for Manuel was true, but my dad told me it was so wrong and... I decided not to explore those feelings."

Remy's soft caress touched Warren's heart. "Later, it made me hate you, but I'm getting ahead of things. My dad sent me to boarding school and for the first time I was around kids my own age. I really liked it there and then... suddenly I had wings!" Warren shook his head, remembering. "I was so naive back then. I wanted to be a hero and tried to act like one. One night there was a fire in the dorms and I rescued several students. I was careless and people found out about my identity, but maybe it was the nature of my mutation, but they never hunted me down. My wings reminded them of an angel and... I was lucky. People tolerated me."

Remy was listening closely, hearing the pain that Warren was trying to hide. Warren had always wanted to belong, but had never found the place or person to belong to, a feeling he knew only too well.

"To cut a long story short, my dad died, I inherited the company and ran it on my own. In my spare time I continued to chase the bad guys. I dated, women of course, but things never worked out." He grew silent, remembering Candy. "Hodge killed one of my girlfriends after torturing her and Bets... I always picked strong women..."

Remy was tempted to say something to comfort Warren, but didn't, realizing how important it was Warren finished.

"When you joined the X-Men, I felt something I couldn't label. By then I had successfully buried my real feelings and was living the lie with conviction. Subconsciously, I must have realized I was attracted to you and not Bets, but... I denied having those desires. It got easier when you started to date Rogue."

"Warren..." Remy sighed the name, wondering what to say.

"No, I'm not finished yet. I still got one big admission to make." One, which he dreaded making. "You asked me that night when Jean-Luc died why I came to your room. The truth is that I accidentally listened in one of your calls. Mattie was telling you that Jean-Luc had died and when I heard you call him poppa I knew what you were going through and I couldn't bear the thought of you being on your own."

Remy sucked in his breath. "You eavesdropped?"

"It wasn't intentional." Warren cringed. "Can you forgive me?"

Remy's eyes widened. "Mais oui!" If it hadn't been for Warren he might never have dealt with Jean-Luc's death that night. "Means a lot to me dat you cared, cher."

"I felt guilty about listening in, but later I was relieved I did. At least then I knew what you were going through." Warren stared at Remy's inviting lips. "I never had a male lover before, but you probably figured that one out. That doesn't mean I don't know what goes where, but... I lack actual experience and when you told me you wanted me to top, I... felt relieved..."

Remy nodded in understanding. Being on the bottom would probably scare Warren. "I don' mind, cher. I love takin' it up de ass." To his amusement, Warren blushed fiercely. "Cher?"

"Did you have to phrase it like that?" Just picturing it made him hard.

Wickedly, Remy licked his lips. "It's de trut', cher."

Warren willed his arousal to diminish. "Do you have any questions, Remy?"

Remy decided to behave for now. This was a serious conversation and he could tease Warren later. "Non, not really, mais lemme t'ink 'bout it, bien?"

"Bien," teased Warren, kissing Remy's soft lips. "Now it's your turn."

Remy flinched. "Must I?"

"Yeah." Warren wondered about the panicked expression in Remy's eyes. The Cajun looked away, severing eye contact. Remy's monotone voice sounded out of place when the Cajun began speaking. Instinctively, he tightened the embrace, trying to catch Remy's gaze once more, but the Cajun cunningly avoided looking at him.

"Dis ain' easy," started Remy, trying to find a way to explain everything to Warren.

"Try..."

Remy sighed deeply. "I never knew my parents. All I know is dat I spent de first ten years of my life as part of de Antiquary's Collection." Seeing Warren's frown, he tried to explain. "De Antiquary's de Guild's Patron, a wizard, who collects chilren. He kept us locked up and we weren' supposed to be friends."

"Remy..." Warren tried to understand the concept.

"I know it's hard to understand. I had my own room and all de t'ings I needed, except for l'amour. De Antiquary wanted us for our mutant powers. I t'ink he wanted to eradicate all possible t'reats to his reign. Once a mutant was born, he would put it in his Collection, controllin' it."

"I'm so sorry." Soothingly, Warren rubbed his lover's back.

"It wasn' so bad." Remy shrugged his shoulders. "When I was 'bout ten, I managed to run 'way and ended up on de streets. Dat was worse. I knew rien of de real world and had to fight my way out more dan once. Den a group of former t'ieves took me in and trained me." Remy hated making the next admission. "I locked 'way my feelings dose first twelve years of my life. I knew I'd get hurt and I had been hurt too much already."

Suddenly Mattie's words returned to Warren. Was that what she had hinted at yesterday?

"When I was t'irteen I tried to pick Jean-Luc's pockets. I didn' know who he was and he easily caught me. He never told me why he took me in, but he took me home and tante instantly started mot'erin' me. I had a few friends when I was growin' up and you were right, I did get in to a lot of trouble."

Warren shook his head. And he had thought that he'd had a bad childhood! His little problems didn't compare to Remy's!

"Den poppa and de Assassins decided Belle and I had to marry to unite de Guilds. I liked her, mebbe even loved her, mais we'd never work out. Durin' de wedding, Julien challenged me and I..."

"Julien? The maniac who kidnapped me?" Warren finally managed to catch Remy's eyes.

"Oui, for some reason he always hated me." Remy shrugged. "I t'ought I had killed him, mais his fat'er slipped him de Elixir and turned Julien in to de walkin' dead. I had to flee and was banished from N'Arlings. Belle didn' really seem to mind losin' me. She eventually succeeded her fat'er and..."

Warren cupped Remy's face in his hand and searched the alien eyes. "I'm beginning to understand what you have been trough."

Remy laughed bitterly. "I ain' finished yet. After I left N'Arlings I ended up workin' for Sinister. My powers were outta control and he fixed dat. I return, I stole some equipment for him. When he asked me to gat'er de Marauders I was already lookin' for a way out, and decided dat dis last service would pay my debt in full." Remy swallowed hard. "You know what happened in de tunnels. Creed injured me when I fought back and I spent de next months recoverin'. When I met Storm I had no idea who she was and I followed her when she returned to de X-Men."

"Remy, why Rogue?" That question had burned his lips for some time now. "It always felt wrong. I don't know why..."

Remy shrugged again. "I don' know. She reminded me of myself. She was lonely and cut off. I wanted to help."

"Did you ever love her?"

"Cher, I like de hommes much betta dan de femmes. I liked her... I cared 'bout her, mais..."

"What about me then?" Warren watched Remy closely. "Do you love me?"

"Oui," said Remy, firmly. "I do."

Warren nodded his head. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

Remy shook his head. There were so many things Warren should know, but he had done enough emotional bloodletting for today. "Any questions?"

Warren cleared his throat, feeling embarrassed. "You hinted at having male lovers before."

"Oui, I did." But it wasn't something he was proud of. One night stands which he had taken home because he had felt lonely and guilty.

"Did you bottom with them as well, or...?" Warren didn't want Remy to do something that went against his nature just to please him.

Remy was speechless, never expecting that question. After a while, he realized that the silence was growing uncomfortable. "Mostly, oui."

"But you'd top as well?"

"Once or twice..." Remy frowned. Why was Warren asking these questions. "Mais I want you to take me, cher. Understood?"

"Why? I can't believe anyone would bottom voluntarily."

"Why not?" Remy elbowed himself in an upright position. "Cher?"

Warren blushed, embarrassed. "It must hurt."

Remy blinked. "Oui, it does, at first, mais..."

"I just can't understand you'd want that." Warren averted his eyes.

"Cher, don' worry! It'll be grande!" Remy leaned in closer and kissed his lover's lips. If they hadn't been this emotional he would have instigated making love, but the time wasn't right for that. Maybe in the morning. "Give it time to get used to de idea."

Warren shyly nodded his head. "Now what?"

"Now we sleep, cher. I don' know 'bout you mais I'm tired." Talking about his past always drained him.

"In that case we better change." Warren didn't fancy sleeping in his jeans and sweater.

"Oui, skin on skin..." Remy unzipped his jeans, kicked them off and removed his shirt as well. He stole a glance at Warren as his lover struggled with his sweater, but Warren managed in the end. After Warren removed his jeans as well, Remy wickedly slipped out of his briefs, presenting himself to his lover. They had never slept naked before, always keeping the barrier of clothes in place.

Warren swallowed hard, seeing Remy naked. "You want me to..." His voice trailed off when Remy hooked his fingers behind the elastic of his boxers and removed them.

"Wanna sleep like dis." Remy acted at once, rolled on to his side and pressed his ass against Warren's groin.

"Remy..." Warren spooned closely behind Remy, loving the feel of his lover's body against his. "Shit, I'm..." He was growing hard and his cock slipped between Remy's ass cheeks.

"It's bien, cher. I love it like dat." Suggestively, Remy pressed back.

"Remy, stop it. I'm not yet ready to..."

"I know dat, cher. Jus' enjoy de moment." Remy closed his eyes and pulled Warren's arms around him. "I'll sure have sweet dreams tonight!"

Warren bit his bottom lip. His cock was moving undependably, as if seeking the little pucker that would give him entry to his lover's body. The fact that Remy continued to wiggle didn't help either. "Remy? Talk to me..."

Remy smiled impishly. "Ah, cher... Soon you'll be inside me, makin' me scream for more. You're big... I like dem big."

"Remy, don't!" Warren wondered why he had asked Remy to talk to him. "Just don't!"

Remy laughed wickedly and gave in. "Je t'aime, cher."

Warren kissed the back of Remy's neck. "I love you too, Remy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Warren felt rather disappointed when he found Remy had already left the bed. Remy's spot had already cooled down and he had never noticed his lover leaving. Opening his eyes, he immediately noticed the note on the pillow.

Cher,

The Assassins are handing over what's left of the Blackbird and I'm taking Hank and Bobby to establish the damage done to the plane. Hank advised me to let you sleep in late. I'll be back for dinner. I'm not sure though Hank and Bobby will as well, depends on the state the plane is in. If it is still capable of flight they are taking it back to Westchester.

I'm sorry to leave you like this, cher...

Je t'aime...

Remy.

Warren felt disappointed that Remy hadn't taken him along, but understood. His ribs still caused him problems at times and rest was the best option right now. Staring at the note, he smiled. Remy really loved him... He sighed, recalling falling asleep with his hard dick poking his lover's ass. He hadn't believed it possible, but he really wanted to make love to Remy.

But I should so some research first... His gaze settled on the computer on Remy's desk. "Let's see if he has internet access... I'm sure I can find tons of information on the net."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours later, Warren sat blushing in front of the computer. "Too much information..." After running a search he had hit a site that offered free gay movies and he had opened one out of curiosity. The images on screen made him blush. "Stop it..." His dick was hard again, telling him it liked the onscreen performance.

"How can it fit?" Entranced, he watched how the man on top pushed inside, burying himself completely. His partner was moaning and squirming helplessly. Shaking his head, he imagined doing this to Remy and although his cock throbbed in appreciation, he couldn't understand how the man on the bottom could like it.

Unable to stop watching, he swallowed hard at the pace with which the man thrust inside his lover's body. "I can't do this to Remy!" The face of the man on the receiving end was contorted.

"What can' you do to me, cher?" Remy strolled inside, grinning as he caught a glimpse of the performance onscreen.

"Remy!" Warren yelped, alarmed and tried to close the window.

"Non, leave it on..." Remy came to a halt behind his lover and wrapped his arms around him. "What upset you?"

Warren's fierce blush intensified. "Look at him!"

Remy suddenly realized the problem. "He likes it, cher."

"He isn't even hard!" Warren held his breath as the man pulled out only to push back inside again. "And you want me to do that to you?"

"Ah, oui, cher... All night long." Watching the action had made him hard as well. The man on the bottom suddenly came, shouting something intelligible.

"Remy..." Pleadingly, Warren looked Remy in the eyes.

"Cher, come here." Remy took the lead, pulled Warren to his feet and led his lover to their bed. After pushing Warren down, he straddled his lover's hips. Warren was sitting upright and Remy moved suggestively on his lover's lap, feeling Warren's hard dick beneath the fabric of his jeans. "Don' t'ink... jus' lemme take care of dat, oui?"

Perplexed, Warren nodded. "What..." But Remy's finger against his lips silenced him. Agile fingers quickly unzipped him, pulled down his boxers and released his eager cock from its confines. When Remy pushed him down, he lay down, watching entranced as Remy knelt on the floor, and parted his legs. His eyes bulged when Remy leaned forward and closed his lips around him. "Remy!" Women had gone down on him, but they had never managed to take him completely. Remy was right to call him big. His seven inches were impressive.

Remy relaxed his throat and licked his way down Warren's dick, deepthroating his lover. Suckling the slit and massaging the heavy balls, he felt how Warren's hand settled on his head, grabbing strands of his hair. Doubling his efforts to bring Warren to a shattering orgasm, he increased the speed, swallowing the length and let Warren fuck his mouth.

Warren lost his control, feeling the moist warmth around him, enclose him, suck him. "Remy..." Growling softly, he arched his back, fucking his lover's mouth and thrusting ruthlessly. It only took him a few seconds to shoot his load, using his hold on his lover's head to keep Remy in place.

Remy regulated his breathing and swallowed the salty come. Warren's hand kept him down, and he licked his lover clean. Warren's reaction hadn't surprised him. His lover never expected him to go down on him and had gotten carried away. Peeking at Warren, he saw the satiated expression on his lover's face. He let the sated cock slip from his lips and gently kissed the spent balls.

Coming down from the orgasmic high, Warren suddenly realized he hadn't given Remy much of a choice, except to finish going down on him. "Remy, I..."

Remy smiled. "It's bien, cher... Don' worry."

Warren removed his hand as if burned and watched Remy crawl toward him on all fours. "I didn't want to..."

Remy grinned and instead of answering Warren verbally, he leaned in closer and kissed him gently. He knew that not every lover wanted to taste himself, so he kept the kiss light and not invasive.

Warren parted his teeth, pulled Remy on top and challenged his lover's tongue to a duel. "You're hard..."

Remy chuckled. "Mebbe you should do somet'in' 'bout dat?"

"What? How?" Lazily, he fingered a lock of Remy's hair. He had seldom felt this relaxed when making love.

"Fuck me... Wanna feel you inside, mon coeur."

Warren wavered. "Remy, I..."

"I can do all de work... You only have to lie back and enjoy de ride..." If Warren had been hard, he would have impaled himself on his lover's cock, that was how much he craved being one with Warren.

"Don't I have to prepare you first? At least, that's how they did it in the movie..." Warren swallowed hard, seeing this wild, sensual creature lick down his chest. "Remy..."

Remy licked one nipple into hardness, then rolled Warren's other nipple between his fingers. "We need lube..." He reached to his right, in to the nightstand and uncovered a tube of KY. "How do you wanna do dis?" He was eager to let Warren decide, putting his lover back in the driver's seat.

Warren took hold of the tube and stared at it. "What would work best?"

Remy considered the question. "Would you like to see my face?"

The question puzzled Warren. "Yes."

Remy rolled on to his back and pushed some pillows beneath his hips, exposing himself to his lover. "Like dis?"

Warren nodded eagerly. Some of his nervousness had faded now that he was growing hard again. "Why did you go down on me?" He opened the tube and squeezed a generous amount on to his fingertip.

"Dat way you'll last longer." Remy licked his lips, parted his legs and placed his feet against Warren's chest. "Mon Dieu, I can' wait for you to fuck me..." Squirming, he watched as Warren placed a finger against his pucker. "Slowly. It's been a while for me. I'll be tight and you're...big... Mon Dieu, seven inches?"

Warren suddenly felt insecure about this size. Looking at his lover, he wondered how he would ever fit in there. He massaged the guardian ring, waiting for his slippery finger to slip inside. Suddenly, Remy moved, raised his hips and his fingertip slid inside. Amazed, he realized how hot Remy felt around his digit. "Are you okay?" Looking at his lover, he found that Remy was biting his bottom lip and beads of sweat had appeared on Remy's brow.

"Deeper, please, cher?" He hadn't lied when he had said that he loved taking it up the ass, he did, and right now Warren's slow pace was killing him. He realized they needed to go slow because Warren lacked experience, but he just wanted his lover to fuck him!

Nervously, Warren obliged, pushing deeper. "What do I do now?"

"Try to find de sweet spot, cher..."

"Your prostate?" Warren nodded his head, probing experimentally. "Remy, guide me."

"To de left, up, oui, press li'l harder..." Panting, Remy's eyes widened. "Oui, cher!" He yelped softly as Warren's fingertip brushed the gland. "Mon Dieu, please get inside..."

"No..." He had read on the net that he should stretch Remy first and he pulled back, added more lube and then returned with two fingers. "Just relax..." He watched Remy's face intently, searching for signs of discomfort, but the pupils were dilated and his cock hard. "You really want this, don't you...?" Knowing that Remy craved this, made things easier on him.

"Ah, cher... want you so much, want you inside, want you to fuck me..." Remy briefly closed his eyes when Warren returned to massaging his prostate. "Cher, won' last long dis way..."

"Remy, what do I do next? Three fingers?" He pulled out again, checking for blood. He refused to hurt his lover!

Remy quickly sat upright, grabbed the tube and rubbed a liberal amount on to Warren's dick, which twitched excitedly. It if were up to him, he would go for doggie style, but Warren was big and inexperienced and might up tearing him unintended. Lying back down, he adjusted the pillows and rested his feet on Warren's shoulders, shamelessly exposing himself to his lover. "Fuck me, cher... I want you..." Licking his lips, he ignored his own dick, not wanting to come yet. "Cher... fuck me... Need you!"

Unable to deny his lover, Warren moved closer, kneeling between his lover's legs. Seeing Remy like this, made his cock throb in want. "Remy?"

Warren's plea for permission touched Remy. "Oui, fuck me..." His hands found Warren's back, moved closer to the wings and caressed the feathers. When Warren spread his wings, a soft moan escaped him. "Beau... bein' fucked by an ange..."

Remy's words pushed Warren over the edge and his instincts took over. Curling his fingers around his dick, he positioned himself at Remy's entrance and slowly opened his lover.

"Mon Dieu!" Remy yelped, forced himself to relax and buried his face against Warren's shoulder. "Don' stop!" Warren had frozen and Remy grew scared that his lover had changed his mind. "Cher, fuck me, please... deeper..."

Those words were all Warren needed to hear and he pushed in deeper, sliding inside until Remy's breath hitched. He paused then, giving his lover time to adjust to the bulk inside him and once Remy relaxed again, he buried himself inside the hot channel. His heavy balls slapped against Remy's ass and he licked the skin beneath his lover's collarbone. "I..." Lost for words, he stared in to Remy's eyes. "Are you okay? I don't want to hurt you."

"Mon Dieu, you're big, Wings... Gimme a moment... never took someone dis big, never felt dis full before." He was careful not to move, letting himself be stretched. His fingers clawed the magnificent white wings, that covered him. "C'est bien, you can start fuckin' me now... I want you so badly, cher..." A scream died on his lips when Warren took him up on his offer and started thrusting. "Ai..." Instinctively, he rested his head on Warren's shoulder, suckling the skin there.

Warren threw back his head, pulled out completely and then drove himself home again. "It never felt like this before..." Losing himself in primal urges, his thrusts grew wild and erratic. He allowed Remy to bite him, break his skin and his long, wild thrusts became short and violent. "Remy!" He screamed his lover's name, climaxing and coming hard. The hot channel contracted around him, and he whispered soft words of love. Remembering not to leave his lover behind again, he curled his fingers around Remy's cock and stroked hard.

Remy came a few seconds later, spilling his seed all over Warren's hand. Shocked, he stared at the majestic angel, and accepted the kisses that Warren bestowed on his face. "Mon Dieu..." Warren's wings fluttered restlessly, and tears stung his eyes. Never before and he seen something this divine.

Spent, Warren collapsed on to his lover. Sweat covered his brow and he guided Remy's legs down, gently placing them on the mattress. Stunned, he realized that he was still inside his lover, semi-hard. "Remy? Did I...?"

Remy didn't let him finish. "Took my breat' 'way, you. Cher, dat was..." Unable to find the right words, he opted for a passionate kiss.

Slowly, they came down from the rush and they stared at each other. "Uhm, Remy? I'm still inside you... What do I do?"

"Pull out, mais do it slowly!" Remy tried to relax and groaned softly as Warren pulled out. Fighting down a wave of shallow pain, he panted. "I'll be sore for days!"

Warren chuckled softly. "And that's a bad thing? You begged me to fuck you!" His smile faded, seeing droplets of blood on cock head. "Remy?" Shocked, he stared at his lover.

Remy shrugged. "You're big, cher. I expected some slight tearin'. It's rien, will heal by itself." Stretching, he cringed as his lower body protested the movement. A hot bath would help. "Cher, come here." He didn't like the shocked expression in Warren's eyes and pulled him into an embrace.

"I hurt you." Lost, Warren wondered how to apologize.

"Don'." Remy placed a finger against his lover's lips. "Dis happens. It's normal. Don' feel bad 'bout it."

"But..."

Remy kissed him, effectively rendering Warren speechless. "It's bien, cher. Don' make a fuss."

Seeing the honesty in Remy's eyes, Warren gave in. "But I still feel bad about making you..."

"Don' say it, cher!" Remy was getting irritated. "It's different wit' an homme, cher."

Warren decided not to push it. "Being inside you felt wonderful, Remy. Did you like it too?"

"Loved it, cher." Remy rolled Warren on to his back and covered him like a blanket, wrapping himself around his lover. "A li'l nap?"

"Uh, we'd better clean up if we don't want to end up stuck together."

Remy nodded. "You're right, cher... Race you to de bat'room." He bit down the shallow pain and wriggled his ass, heading for the bathroom.

Warren followed slowly, granting Remy his little victory. "I love you, Remy..." Thoughtfully, he walked over to the bathroom. He didn't know what the future held in store for them, but he sure as hell would never let Remy go.