Archive of Our Own

Work Text

The year that Darcy Marie Lewis turned twelve, puberty came at her with a stick. She shot up a few inches, and grew three sizes in a single summer. But that wasn't the worst of it. She started to wear her sunglasses even more than she had before, until she found out that colored contacts existed. She felt things… emotions. Grief, love, rage. Fear. She cried her hardest when her grandma died, before her mother even had a chance to say a word to tell her what had happened.She only realized what was happening when her father came after her with a knife, going on about 'dirty mutants’. He chased her out of the house, screaming that if he ever saw her again, he would kill her in a heartbeat.Compared to that, living on the streets seemed almost like a piece of cake. It was strange, almost - people gave her money when she needed it, dogs didn't bark at her, bad people didn't come near her. If they tried to, something always happened to them before they could get too close to her. She was lucky. It was about eight months before she stumbled onto what she would always claim was the best piece of luck in her life - a short, hairy man in a back-alley fight. He was just picking himself up off the ground when she came running around the corner, crashing into him.She hid behind him without even seeming to notice his claws. “Stay still, would you?” She hissed when he tried to move. “You can go back to killing those dudes in a minute.”. Honestly, he wasn't anywhere near the strangest thing that she had ever seen while living on the street.He would have shot back a reply, but a few seconds later he could smell other people approaching, and then they came around the corner. There were three of them - two of them tall and skinny, and the other one short and stocky, but they were all muscular. They were obviously angry about something, but calmed down slightly once they saw Logan standing there.“Oh, hey.” The shorter man said, pasting a relieved smile on his face. “You found my little sister. Thanks man.”. But Logan could feel her pressing further into his side, like she was trying to disappear. He could smell their lie - one of the many ways his enhanced senses worked in his favor. So of course, it wasn't hard to draw the obvious conclusion. “She ain't yer sister.” The grin he gave was predatory in a way that set Logan's teeth on edge. “Maybe not.” He admitted. “But nobody here is gonna say anything, are they?” he pulled a switchblade out of his pocket, flicking it open in a way that would have felt threatening to anybody else.He laughed, but it sounded like a growl even to him. “Sure thing, bub.” They paled when he growled at them, and then turned and ran as soon as he let his claws out. The girl behind him cackled as they ran away, but then composed herself as soon as he turned back to look at her.“Thanks for the help, pops.” she said sarcastically, flashing him a quick grin. Of course, he could smell the fear coming off of her, so he stopped her. She froze, and the fear emanated off of her, coming through to him and attacking his brain. He tensed up slightly, before relaxing - after years of dealing with the kids at Chuck's place, he knew how to recognize an empath when he ran into one.“Wait a second, half-pint.” he said, retracting his claws even as he reached out a hand to rest on her shoulder.She tensed up, whipping around to glare at him defiantly through her sunglasses. “Let go of me, you old creep.” She snarled, sending a pulse of anger and fear in his direction.“Easy there, girlie.” he said, putting his hands up defensively, even as he scented the air to see if he could figure out anything else about her. He could already tell that she was living rough - her hair was greasy and slightly matted, her clothes looked slept in, and she was a lot skinnier than any kid should have been. “'m not gonna hurt ya.”“Don't call me girlie.” She said automatically. She looked skeptical, but the tension bled out of her slightly. “What do you want then?” She asked, arching an eyebrow in his direction even as she wrapped her arms around herself defensively.“T’ help, if yer up for it.” he offered. “Yer a mutant, ain't ya?”She pulled off her sunglasses, resigned amusement coming off of her in waves when she felt his reaction to her eyes. That was the thing with empaths - if they didn't know what they were doing there was a high chance that they would end up projecting their emotions onto anyone around them. “What gave me away?” “Dunno, kid.” He said, giving a small grin that she quickly returned. “Just somethin’ about ya.”She snorted a laugh even as she shoved the plastic frames back onto her face.“Ya hungry?” He asked, scenting the air. He could smell pie and coffee about a block away and guessed it was a greasy spoon of some sort. She nodded, and he offered her his hand. As they made their way to the diner, he turned to look down at her.“Let me tell ya a bit about my friend Chuck…”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Darcy Darcy Darcy Darcy Darce!”. She could hear her roommate screaming from all the way down the hall, along with the flow of excitement that came towards her. She had been around some people long enough now that some of their emotions stood out - they were always colors. Logan's were different shades of brown most of the time. The Professor’s were different shades of blue and silver. This was a mix of colors that told her exactly who was running towards her - Kitty Pryde.“What what what what?” She called back, shouting loud enough to be heard through the closed door.“Storm and Logan are back! And they brought a friend.” Kitty said, bursting into the dorm room that she, Darcy, and Jubilee all shared. The trio had been friends since they all started at Xavier's - not to mention that Logan had basically adopted all three of them. “Logan said his name was, like, Gambit or something.”“‘Ro’s back?” Darcy asked, eyes widening in surprise. The last that she had heard, the storm goddess had died in battle - but, she conceded, it wouldn't be the first time that an X-man was assumed dead and came back. So she focused on the second part of what her pseudo-sister said. “Who's Gambit?” Darcy asked absently from where she sat on her bed. She was trying to hack through Beast’s firewalls for the fifth time that week - she had been caught every time so far, but she was determined to get past it. But if she was ever going to be useful for more than just the solo missions that the Professor sent her on, she needed to learn.It had been almost five years now since she first arrived at Xavier's, and she had blossomed since then. Gone was the scared kid who didn't know what to do with her abilities, who stayed away from people so she wouldn't end up overwhelmed with emotions. Instead, she mastered her empathic abilities, and found out about the other ability she had.“I told you already.” Kitty giggled as she bounced on the end of Darcy's bed. “He and 'Ro are like total besties or something. Even Logan likes him.”Darcy rolled her eyes, flopping down next to her pseudo-sister. “Is this like the time you swore that Cyke and 'Ro had totally paired up and got them both in trouble?”Kitty shrugged. “How was I supposed to know that they were planning a surprise for Jean?”. She said, and Darcy rolled her eyes.“Whatever, kitty-cat.” Darcy teased, screeching out a laugh when the other brunette tackled her for the use of the nickname, phasing them both through the bed and then the floor and into the room below. They froze for a second when they hit the floor, trying to recover the breath that had been forced out of their lungs.“What the hell?” A voice called out, and they froze. They knew that voice, and the feathers that dragged slightly on the floor from the weight of his wings.Warren Worthington the Third. The angelic asshole of X-Manor.“Kit.” Darcy said, keeping her voice low in an attempt to keep from startling the angry dude in front of them. “Run.” she sent a burst of surprise at him, making him stumble back a step. That wouldn't have been enough to keep him from catching them if he hadn't stepped back onto a hairbrush and slipped on it, falling onto his back. His wings flapped as his arms pinwheeled, trying to catch him before he hit the ground. She smirked - it was nice when the luck worked in her favor.“Like, let's get out of here!” Kitty said, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her off of the floor, phasing them both through the closed door and out into the hallway.“Do you have to phase through people?” She asked, tensing slightly every time they phased through a person. She had no idea how Kitty got used to the feeling, but it gave her the creeps every time.They made their way through the halls, laughing nervously when they heard Angel come crashing down the hall. Most people dodged out of their way, except for one - a petite Chinese girl with her dark hair in a pixie cut.“Jubes!” Darcy shouted. She grabbed the other girl’s hand, yanking her through another kid - she thought his name might have been Tyrone, but she wasn't sure. The pyrotechnic yelped as she was dragged along, and groaned when her sunglasses fell off her head, clattering to the floor. She had shed her jacket for once, leaving her in a plain black top and shorts.“Hey!” She protested, but quickly stopped when she realized what exactly they were running from. “Aw jeez… what did you guys do this time?”They both replied “nothing” far too quickly for her to actually believe them - not to mention the yelling that was following them as they ran. They finally managed to lose him when Kitty phased them through the floor again, and they ran out through a side wall.The trio collapsed to the ground, laughing hysterically until a shadow fell over them. “What did you pups do this time?”That had them all sobering in an instant. In an almost eerie harmony, they all replied, 'Nothing.’Logan smirked down at them, offering a hand to help them up. First Jubilee, then Kitty, then Darcy. “Likely story.” He scoffed, tilting his head slightly to the side. “Can hear the birdbrain yellin’ from out here.”“It was an accident?” Kitty offered, but Logan shook his head. “Behave, would ya?” the feral mutant asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Ororo n’ I are takin’ the new kid on a tour fer Chuck, which means we won’t be able ta watch yer backs in case ya piss off the wrong person.”Darcy rolled her eyes, taking the sunglasses Logan offered her and slipping them on. “You make it sound like you don’t trust us to be good.” she said, feigning hurt.“That’s ‘cause I don’t.” Logan snorted. “Now go play, pups.”The girls waited until their father-figure had walked away before Darcy turned to look at her sisters. “I feel like we should follow them.” she said, already turning and stalking after Logan, the thick grass muffling her footsteps. Kitty and Jubilee hurried after her.Darcy grabbed them both by the shoulders, yanking them down into the grass moments before Ororo looked up, her blue eyes sweeping over the spot where they had just been standing.“Holy hell balls.” Darcy said to her sister as she looked over the man who was still deep in conversation with Ororo and Logan. Auburn hair was braided back tightly apart from the bangs that fell in his face, and sunglasses hid his eyes. He wore a dark colored button-down and worn, torn up jeans underneath a trench coat. “Is his mutation being super pretty?”Kitty and Jubilee laughed. “Nah.” Kitty replied, shaking her head and giggling when her ponytail smacked Jubes in the face. “No one knows what he does.” Jubilee said, sounding irritated. She hated it when she couldn't find something out. “No one even knows what his name is.”“Then I suppose,” Darcy sighed, smirking at her sisters as she stood up again, “I’ll have to go to the trouble of finding out.” And with that, she marched down the hill towards the group that they had been spying on.8888Logan grimaced when he saw Darcy coming down the hill, the familiar set to her shoulders that meant she wasn’t going to back down from whatever it was she was planning. “Behave yerself, Gumbo.” he warned the young man in front of him, but didn’t have time to say anything else before the pup was on top of them.She tapped on his shoulder, pouting slightly when he didn’t jump in spite of her having snuck up on him. “You’re the new guy, right?” she asked, looking up at him through her sunglasses.“Oui. De name’s Gambit.” he said, bending low to kiss her hand as he introduced himself. Logan growled quietly at the movement, but Ororo hushed him, putting a hand on his arm to keep him from doing anything rash.She blushed slightly, and he smirked as he stood back up again. “What do you do?” she asked, looking at him curiously. She couldn’t see any outward signs of mutation, but then the more powerful mutations tended not to have many visible signs. People like Jean and Ororo could blend in with no problems whatsoever, but mutations like theirs were the most deadly. That rule didn’t always apply, but it was common enough that they tended to follow it.He smirked, pulling a deck of playing cards out of his coat pocket, shuffling them without looking or fumbling a single card. “Gambit’s got de charge.” he explained. He picked one of the cards out of the deck in a single fluid motion, sticking the rest of the deck back in his pocket with his free hand. The card began to glow - a hot, electric pink - before he flicked it up into the air and it exploded. She was impressed, to say the least. “What did y’ get stuck wit’, cher?”“The Professor calls it ‘subconscious telekinetic probability manipulation’.” she told him. When he just looked confused, she smirked and elaborated.“Everyone else just likes to say that I’m lucky.” As if to prove her point, a volleyball from the courts came flying in their direction, straight for her head. Right before it collided with her, a frisbee came flying from the other direction, hitting the volleyball and knocking it away. Logan rolled his eyes at the display, before grabbing Ororo by the arm and walking away. As they left, she could hear him grumbling about ‘damn Cajuns’.“Come, my friend.” Ororo's voice echoed over the grounds, growing slightly fainter as they walked away. “Tell me all that I have missed in my time away.”“Merde.” Gambit swore, looking impressed. Darcy smiled. “Dat's some bien stuff, cher.”. He lowered his glasses slightly, and she couldn't help the slight gasp that escaped her when she saw his eyes. Crimson irises and black sclera looked back at her.It was only when she felt the hurt radiating off of him that she realized she was gawking.She stared down at her hands. “Sorry.” She said quickly, blushing slightly.“Non, Gambit understands.” He said, eyes growing hard. “Y’ scared of el diable blanc, non?”She tried to explain what had happened, but he was already on a roll. “I wasn’t -”But he was muttering to himself, working himself into a frenzy. “A freak among freaks -” “I didn’t -” She cut him off, trying once again to explain. “‘Course y’ didn’t.” he snarled, eyes flashing. “Why would y’ t’ink about somethin’ like dat?”That was when she snapped. “WOULD YOU SHUT UP!” she screamed, drawing the attention of everyone else outside. The Cajun flinched back, shrinking into himself. She could feel the panic and self-deprecation rolling off of him, especially once he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks.“Gambit hurt y’.” he said softly, reaching out to her. He flinched when she pulled away from him, and she almost felt sorry for doing so.She snorted. “You think so?” she asked, flopping down into the grass. She folded her arms under her head, drawing her knees up close to her chest as she sat there.“Je suis désolé, chér.” He said softly, towering over her. “Gambit been havin’ a hard run o’ t’ings lately.”“If you think that makes it okay to treat anyone like that, you've got another thing coming.” She said darkly. He looked ashamed though, which made her feel slightly better about what she knew she was about to say. She didn't want to be nice to him after he was such an ass, but she had long since learned to listen to the little voice in the back of her head when it told her to do specific things. The last time, it had woken her up in the middle of the night, just in time for her to catch the glint of lights in the sky that signaled a Sentinel attack. This might not have been a case of life and death like that was, but it seemed to be almost as important. Not to mention, he was really pretty. “Can we just… I don't know, start over?” She asked.“D’accord.” He promised, settling down next to her. His limbs stretched out in front of him, and while he looked relaxed, there was still a sense that he was ready to spring into action at any given moment.She didn't even mean to say anything - she meant to just let him sit there until he got the message and went away. So when he asked her a question, she jumped. “Y’ got somet’in t’ say t’ me, cher?” He asked, looking amused. “Can feel de nerves pourin’ out of y’.”She waited another few moments before she actually said anything. “I wasn't scared of your eyes, you know.” She said softly, keeping her chin balanced on her knees. “They're actually kind of pretty.”She could feel his surprise as much as he felt her honesty. “Oui?” He asked, and she winced at the bitterness that came off of him in waves. “Den why did y’ start when y’ saw dem?”“Because I've never seen anyone with eyes even close to mine before.” she admitted. He looked over at her in surprise, and she pulled off her sunglasses in answer to his unasked question.He couldn't help his sharp intake of breath when he saw them. Her eyes were big, surrounded by thick lashes… and were pure white, without even any visible pupil. “They aren't exactly the most common mutation around here.” she said, with a surprising lack of bitterness. He could feel the respect coming off of her in waves, and it wasn't very hard to decipher why. He doubted that many people could meet her blank stare head-on, even in a school full of mutants.“But dey tend t’ be de ones dat startle de most, oui?” He finished, and she nodded.Ever since Gambit had first told her his name - or at the very least his codename, since she doubted he was actually named gambit - Darcy had been trying to figure out exactly who the newcomer was. She had been weeding through all of the stories her pseudo-father had told her and his other adopted children - affectionately referred to by those around X-Manor as his 'pups’ - trying to figure out which one he was. It took a few minutes - he was always full of stories about the people he met whenever he returned to the Mansion. “Logan's mentioned you.” She said suddenly, and he turned to look at her. “He says you're a thief.”He snorted a laugh, taken by surprise that this tiny woman would be so bold with someone she had just met. “Wolvie says a lot of t’ings.” Gambit said in reply.She raised an eyebrow. “So he's lying?” she challenged.“Gambit never said dat, cher.” she huffed - she should have expected that response. She could already tell that the man in front of her could twist his words like nothing she had ever seen before.“So you are a thief.”“Master T’ief.” He corrected despite his every instinct telling him not to say a word. “Dis po’ boy worked ‘ard fo’ dat title.”She laughed, holding her hands up in joking surrender. “Master Thief then. Either way, Logan has told us a lot about you.”“All bad t’ings, ‘m sure. But Gambit don't know if Wolvie mentioned y’, cher.” The Cajun said, slipping his sunglasses back on as they talked. “Seein’ as y’ haven't introduced y’self.”“You haven’t told me your name, either, buster.” she replied, arching an eyebrow at him. Despite the blankness of her eyes, they still seemed to fill with mischief as she teased him.“In dat case,” he said, giving her a roguish grin, “seems only fair t’ introduce m’self properly. De name's Remy, cher. Remy LeBeau.”“Well if we’re doing this in the name of fairness,” she said, laying back in the grass. “Then it’s Darcy LeBeau - Lewis!” she corrected hastily as she sat back up. He looked at her in disbelief for a second before he started laughing. “I meant to say Lewis!”“‘Course y’ did.” he replied, still laughing. Then he stopped, paling slightly. “Y’r one of Wolvie’s pups, ain't y?” He asked, and she nodded, looking confused.“How'd you know?” She asked, and he grinned despite the nerves that emanated from him. “Cause de homme looks like he's ‘bout t’ rip m’ damn head off.”She turned to look in the direction that he was facing. Sure enough, Logan was heading in their direction, claws already out. She swore under her breath, looking back over at Remy to see that he had already climbed to his feet, holding out a hand to help her up. “C'mon den, cher. Gambit ain't about t’ be sliced t'day.”“Merde.” he laughed, looking down at her once she was on her feet. “Y’ a petite bebelle, ain't y’?”“A what?”He smiled, eyes twinkling with mischief. “A tiny doll, non?” he translated.She pouted as he laughed, feeling betrayed. He was at least a foot taller than she was, and that was with her standing up higher on the hill than he was. “Not all of us can be giants.” she shot back. “Now, shouldn’t we be running to get away from Logan?”“Lead de way, petite.” he said. “‘M followin’ y’.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

They ran until they were both out of breath and were sure that there was no possible way for Logan to track them anymore. Remy laughed despite himself - it had been a long time since he had run from someone who wasn’t the law or an employer that he had screwed over. The beautiful woman next to him didn’t hurt things either. He looked down at her, seeing her blank eyes looking up at him.She studied him carefully for a moment before her eyes went wide. “You’re an empath too, aren’t you?” she asked.Instantly, his mental walls raised, and his easygoing smile slipped away to be replaced with something a little less real, a little more calculating. “Remy don’t know what y’r talkin’ ‘bout.” he denied, shaking his head. Even as he denied it, he checked his charm - while a minuscule amount flowed out of him almost constantly, it was uncontrollable in larger amounts. There had been too many times when he had lost control of his charm, and the results were catastrophic every time.But Darcy just scoffed. “I can feel it - you’re projecting at me. Kind of rude, dude.” she smirked up at him, crossing her arms over her chest as she cocked a hip. “Say it, don’t spray it.” A laugh bubbled out of him despite himself at her flippant behavior, and he decided to take a risk. There was something about the woman in front of him that drew him in, like nothing he’d ever met before. It was almost intoxicating. But before he had a chance to say anything to her, he could feel someone prying at his mental shields.Mr. Gambit, this is Professor Xavier. Please come see me at once. With that said, the voice was gone, leaving him with the strange sensation that came from someone poking around in his head. He shoved back the feeling, already resigning himself to no sleep for the night - it was never a good idea to sleep after being reminded of that time in his lifeEven as he tensed up at the feeling of someone else in his head - even if it was just on the surface enough to leave a quick message - he saw Darcy tense as well. It passed quickly, like the sensation was something that she was used to.“And on that note, I have to go.” she said, tapping a finger to her head. “The Professor called - judging by the look on your face I'm guessing he sent for you, too?” She asked. “It seems like you might be handy on my kind of missions.”“Y’r kind of’ missions?” He asked, looking surprised. The girl in front of him looked far too innocent to do anything like that - but then looks could be deceiving, he mused. “Dey let a lil’ t’ing like y’ out on missions?” She glared at him. “They don’t let me do anything.” she snapped. “They send me on missions that can use my skills.”He put his hands up in a sign of surrender. “Je suis desole, cherie.” he apologized. “Remy didn’t mean to offend.”“Come on, Rem.” she said, the nickname slipping from her lips like she had been using it for years. “Let’s go see what the Professor wants.”8888The mission that the Professor and Scott had given them to do was simple enough in theory. All that they had to do was get into a secret base, retrieve the latest plans for upgraded versions of the Sentinel robots, and get out without being caught. This was really their only chance at doing so - according to the intelligence that Cyclops had gotten, the plans were being moved the next day. They would have to move quickly if they wanted to get to the plans before they were gone.The pair was sent off to get everything they would need for the mission - which for Remy, wasn’t much. He braided his hair back tightly and made sure had a few extra decks of cards tucked into the pockets of his trench coat. So as soon as he that was finished, he made his way to where the airplane hangar was kept. Anyone else would have had to ask for help, but he had studied the schematics for Xavier’s School long before arriving - he knew exactly where everything was. As he made his way through the halls, he carefully noted every valuable in the house, cataloging their value in the back of his mind, while taking in every bit of security in the house at the same time. It was something that he did instinctively at this point in his life, something that came as naturally as breathing.Once down in the hangar, he found Logan already waiting there for him. The feral man was carefully checking over the Blackbird’s equipment, making sure that everything was ready for him to fly them in. He would be their drop-off and pick-up, staying on the sidelines in case they needed a rescue. But the Wolverine was a brawler at heart, and they needed stealth, and just a bit of luck for this mission. Logan’s skill set was the exact opposite of that.“Keep an eye on Darce, will ya?” Logan asked, showing a softness that not many people knew he had. “She’s good at what she does, but…” “Y’ worry.” Gambit finished, looking at the man over the tops of his glasses. He had already seen the older man scold Darcy and the two other girls - it seemed that the Wolverine was much more of a papa bear than the lone wolf he pretended to be. “Not to worry, mon ami - Gambit’ll take good care of de girl.”“That’s what I’m afraid of.” the other man grumbled, making Gambit laugh.He turned towards the hangar entrance as soon as he heard the sound of footsteps, and his words dried up in his throat as soon as she turned the corner. She wore a suit of her own, but it was nothing like the X-men uniforms that he had seen so far. It was in charcoal grey with black lining, hugging her curves. A belt covered in pouches to store gear was wrapped around her hips, and well-fitted boots were on her feet. As she walked in, she pulled up her hood, and the shadows created it hid her face until all that could be seen was the white of her eyes.Logan smacked the back of his head. “Eyes front, Gumbo.” he snarled.Remy turned to face the feral man, pasting an innocent expression on his face. “Don’t know what y’ mean, Wolvie.” that innocence faded when Darcy came closer.“Don't y’ look good enough t’ eat.” he teased, winking at her over the tops of his glasses. She smirked at him, walking past him onto the plane, winking at him and smiling at Logan as she passed. The feral man rolled his eyes at her, shaking his head as he followed his adopted daughter onto the Blackbird.“Got yer gear, kid?” he checked, beginning to get the plane ready for take-off. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Cajun menace climb on board, settling himself in the seat next to Darcy, and he had to work to fight off the growl that settled in the back of his throat. Darcy could handle herself, he knew that. He still wanted to punch the other man’s teeth in.8888Darcy barely paid any attention to the man sitting next to her, instead checking over everything that she would need for the upcoming mission. As pretty as the New Orleans native was, he was also the last thing that she needed on this mission - he was too distracting by half.“Normally it would be Shadowcat on one of these missions with me.” she said, eyeing him cautiously. “Get in, get out, fry all the circuitry on the way out the door.”“Dat so?” he asked, watching her. She was trying to braid her hair back, but strands kept falling out, making her huff in annoyance. “Why ain’t she here den?” he watched her struggle for a few more seconds, before batting her hands away. He took her hair in his hands, quickly brushing through it with his fingers before braiding it back - the knowledge had come in handy for himself a few times over the years.“The half-pint had ta go on a grocery run.” Logan called back, using the old codes that had been established in the sixties, when the school was first starting up. Darcy nodded - Kitty had gone to find a mutant that might end up joining the school - but Remy just looked confused. He quickly shook it off though, pulling out the plans that Scott had provided them with. He had already gone through them while waiting for Darcy to arrive, but now he had to fill her in on the plan that he had concocted. “Fortuna, Gambit - yer goin’ in hot.” Logan told them as the plane took off. “Ya got about an hour ‘fore we get ta the drop-zone.”“Merci, mon ami.” Gambit called back, then turned to face his partner for the mission. “Now den, here’s de plan…”8888The drop itself went easily enough - they jumped out over the base, landing carefully a short distance outside the fence to keep from setting off any alarms. Normally, if it was her and Kitty, the other girl would have phased them through the fence, and they would have been able to walk right in without setting off a single alarm. But she had to admit - there was something kind of cool about how simple Gambit made dismantling the base’s outer perimeter look. He could only get to the electric fence from outside, but once they made it to the room he would be able to disable the rest of it as well. She studied the fence and the sweeping searchlights that covered the field, noting depressions in the grass that probably signified mines of some sort - whether they were actual explosive landmines or would just set off alarms didn’t matter, they needed to be avoided.The next thing that she knew, he was vaulting over the fence, using a bo-staff as a pole vault. His trench coat flared out behind him dramatically as he landed in the grass, and red-on-black eyes smirked at her from the other side of the fence.“Where were you keeping that bo-staff?” she asked, looking at him in confusion.“Don’t ask if y’ don’t want to know.” he said with a grin, and she snorted.Right…” she drawled, finding a weak spot in the fence. She pulled wire-clippers out of a pocket, quickly snipping through it to make a large hole - one much bigger than she was. When she saw the questioning look that Gambit was sending her, she smiled. “If the hole is bigger than me, they won’t be looking for anyone my size, will they?” she reasoned. He looked mildly impressed with her logic, and gestured for her to lead the way, sweeping into a low bow even as he winked at her. She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face at the Cajun’s flirtatious manner.Of course, as soon as they got within twenty feet of the first searchlight, that flirtatiousness disappeared, replaced with a razor-sharp focus. He moved lightly on his feet, not making a single sound as he darted around the mines buried in the ground, evading the beams of the floodlights. It was only when he checked behind him that he realized that she wasn’t doing the same.“Y’ got to hide, cherie.” Remy hissed, but she smirked, walking across the field like there was nothing going on. He watched in amazement as she simply walked across the field, none of the searchlights landing on her. Every step was timed perfectly so that she made it across the field without being spotted by anyone.They barely managed to make it onto the roof before a floodlight swept over the spot that they had been in moments earlier. The pair smiled at each other, relief and adrenaline making them both slightly giddy.Of course, that was the moment when everything went to shit.He tripped an alarm - she tried to warn him about it, but the warning didn’t come in time. Guards poured out of the rooftop door, surrounding the pair. Gambit smiled at the men coming at them. “Hey dere, mes amis.” he said, feeling the wave of calm that Fortuna was projecting roll over him. “We just here for some plans - Gambit don’t suppose y’ would mind tellin’ dis po’ boy where t’ find dem?” he asked, drawling out the words far thicker than he normally would, feeling his charm washing over them as well.Darcy - Fortuna - rolled her eyes. “Some thief you are.” she hissed under her breath. Slowly, she raised her hands into the air even as the guards pulled out their weapons, aiming them at the pair. “Broadcasting our plans to them.”“Excusez-moi,” he replied, clearly offended. He reached carefully into his coat, pulling out the collapsible staff once more. Snapping it open, he sent it into one man’s stomach and another’s temple at the same time. The sudden attack was enough to send the guards into a frenzy, coming after them in a rush. “Not m’ faute dat de schematics ol’ Fearless gave weren’t accurate. If Gambit had de time, he would have done his own reconnaissance. ‘Sides, it ain’t like dey’re gonna remember us when we’ve gone.”“Fearless?” she asked, studying the men that were rushing at the Cajun. They seemed to be ignoring her for the most part - something that she was keen to fix. Relaxing her body slightly, she snapped one leg out to nail a man in the groin, even as she reached into one of the pockets on her suit, pulling out the staff that she kept there. It extended, and she couldn’t help the small grin that flickered over her face at the sight of the stickers that Jubilee had decorated it with one day a few years earlier.“Oui.” he nodded, flicking a card to blow a man’s gun out of his hand. “De fearless leader of de X-Men. Ol’ Fearless.”She threw her staff, and it missed by inches, knocking a gas canister off the wall. Ducking between two of the men, she picked it up again, using it as an extension to lift herself a bit off the ground, nailing one of the men in the groin with her knee. “Sounds like the kind of thing that Cyclops would hate.” she said, being careful to use code names even as she used her staff to vault over someone who was rushing at her. “I like it.” she said as she kicked someone in the head.He turned to throw some sort of remark at her - something flirty about being dangerous and pretty - and time stopped. She was staring down the barrel of a gun, pointed right in between her eyes, a look of utter annoyance on her face. He was the last man left, staring her down with a look of hatred.He was frozen in place, sure that she was about to die and wondering why she didn't do anything except stare at the man pointing a gun at her head. He didn't even have time to think so much for luck, cherie, before the man pulled the trigger, a wide grin on his face.And then he watched in shock as Fortuna laughed when the gun simply clicked, signalling an empty cartridge. She smirked for a second, before stomping on the gas canister that had fallen earlier. The seal - already weakened by the hit from her staff - broke, and the man was sprayed with gas. He went down, and she bared her teeth in a vicious smile. At the same time, she extended her staff behind her, knocking out the man that was trying to creep up on her.All he did was shake his head in amazement and say, “Y’r trouble, petite.” But that very moment was when he made a promise to himself. Someday, he swore, 'm gonna marry dat girl.
8888

They got married barely a year later, when she was eighteen and he was twenty-five. Some people thought that it was far too fast, but that was the plus side of empaths - they could avoid all the awkwardness of trying to decipher what the other person was really feeling. Logan walked her down the aisle, as proud of a papa as he could be. Jubilee and Kitty were her bridesmaids, while Ororo and Kurt were Remy's groomsmen - Ororo was surprised when Remy had asked, but he had told her that he didn't want to get married without his little sister supporting him.

“Dis ain't a promise.” He said, “but de promise of a t’ief ain't worth much anyway.” He squeezed her hand in his, using his free hand to brush away the tears that had started to well up in her eyes. “Y've always been m’ lucky charm, Darcy Marie. And I will always do m’best to be worthy of dat. Life's a game o’ cards, oui? Y’ got t’ play de hand y'r dealt, an’ I t'ink dat dis here is my winnin’ hand.” His words were simple, sweet and to the point - utterly perfect. He finished his vows by pressing a soft kiss to the back of her hands. “Je t’aime, ma femme.”

There was an exchange of rings, although everyone present knew that it was a bad idea for them to wear them. Remy was the Prince of Thieves and an X-Man, and Darcy had made her own enemies over the years doing missions for Scott and the Professor. Either one of them would be put in danger if their enemies found out that they were married.

Neither one of them were willing to risk that happening.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

He could feel his wife’s anxiety pushing at the edges of his mind, ramping up his own nerves enough that he was continuously releasing a charge into a single card before drawing the energy back in and starting the process over again - an exercise that he had been doing since he was a boy to help relieve tension. This was the kind of anxiety that came with a new semester of college, he knew that, but it still made him nervous every time. Darcy had taught classes at Xavier's for a little over a year before deciding it was time for her to go out into the world and go to a real college. Four years had passed since then - making it nearly six years since they had gotten married - and she was almost done with her degree. Every time that she left for another semester, she got nervous, and it would be up to him to talk her back down. But this time there was an edge to her nerves that worried him - a stronger undercurrent than just her normal nerves - and so he set off for their rooms, planning how to pull la petite bebelle out of her funk.He wove through the throngs of younger mutants, ducking and dodging every now and then to avoid a tail or horns or other appendages. The halls started to thin out when he reached the hallway where the teachers lived, thankfully. If he got hit in the gut with one more tail or spike, he was gonna give them hell to pay. He finally made it to the rooms that he and Darcy shared, making sure to be quiet as he pushed the door open. If Darcy was in the middle of an anxiety attack, the last thing she needed was for him to scare her with loud noises. He pulled off his sunglasses as the door shut behind him, sticking them in the bowl by the door where Darcy kept her sunglasses. She didn't technically need to wear them - the contacts that Beast had designed worked just fine to hide her white eyes - but it was habit for them both whenever they were out in public. Hiding their physical mutations from everyone but each other.Following their link back through the rooms until he reached their bedroom, he leaned against the doorframe. “Why y’ be leavin’ me, cherie?” he asked, teasing her. She was standing in front of their bed, packing her suitcase. That in itself wasn't odd - she was in Virginia for months at a time, away at college for another semester. Sometimes he would go with her, sharing the small apartment that they had bought using their salaries from teaching at Xavier's. No matter what, they always stayed in touch through the empathetic link that their mutations gave them. Eight years had passed since they had started going out, and everyone swore they were still as sickeningly sweet as the day they met.She looked up at him, rolling her eyes like she always did. “I’m not leaving you, you stupid Cajun.” she teased, sounding equal parts frustrated and amused. “I’m just going a bit farther than normal.”“Je sais.” He replied, crossing the room to be next to her side. “I was only teasin’ y’, cherie. What’s de matter?” he pushed her suitcase off of the bed to make room for the two of them, ignoring her sound of protest. Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her onto the bed with him, making her laugh despite her sour mood when they bounced.“I still need six science credits to graduate ” She said shortly, curling into his side as they shifted to be slightly more comfortable. “But the only way to get them is through an internship.”“What's so bad about dat?” He asked, sitting next to her. She leaned into his side, taking comfort in his scent. It was a mixture of clove cigarettes, cologne, and the sort of musky warmth that oozed off of Remy - he liked to joke and say that it was the scent of his charm. Whatever it was, it soothed her enough to have her pause and take a moment to let her brain work through things.“It's in New Mexico.” She blurted out, and he winced - living and working together over the years had made it so that whenever they were apart was that much stranger. “It'll give me the six measly credits I need to graduate, but..”“I won't be able t’ visit y’.” He finished for her. She shrugged. “Not with classes and everything else.” she reasoned, her voice dropping slightly.“Why dis one?” He asked, picking up the paperwork that she had left on the nightstand. He looked it over, saving every important detail to memory - including the stack of applications and acceptances that were all close to home. “Y’ got options closer t’ home.” he pointed out. “New York, Salem, Connecticut…”“Dunno.” She shrugged. “I’ve just got a feeling that that's where I'm supposed to be.”Remy nodded - Darcy's 'feelings’ were almost legendary around the Mansion. She would get them every so often - just say a place and that that was where she needed to be. Sometimes it took awhile, but in the end she always figured out why she was supposed to be there. Sometimes it was something as simple as tying up a loose end. Other times it was an attack that had been planned, or something worse. He hadn't been at the Manor for the Sentinel attack that Darcy had woken up for - the combination of empathy and pure luck working in her favor, giving them time to sound the alarm and empty out the Manor before the robots landed.Those ‘feelings’ saved lives - everyone had learned to trust them. Not to mention - he had grown up in New Orleans, where the spirits were trusted more than most. From the moment that he had heard about her ‘feelings’, he was inclined to trust them - the same way both he and his father always trusted Mattie’s ‘spirits’ with their lives. “Den y’ better go.” he agreed. “Don’t want trouble ‘cause y’ didn’t listen to a feeling.”She pulled away from him, pulling her suitcase back up on the bed, scowling as she had to pile her clothes back into her suitcase, refolding half of them in the process. Moving over to the closet, she dumped another armload of clothes into the suitcase before flipping the lid closed.She zipped her suitcase shut, pressing a kiss to his cheek before standing back up. “Have you seen Kurt anywhere?” she asked, moving towards the hallway. “I need to see if he’ll be willing to cover my classes and guidance sessions - his fuzzy butt owes me a favor. And then I have to find Kit and Jubes… the last time I left without letting them know, they nearly did me in.”“Don’t know where y'r sœurs be, but de elf's in de kitchen again - he keeps tryin’ t’ cook.” he told her, a smirk already on his face as he waited for the reaction that he knew was coming.“Gross! Kurt, you’re gonna shed in the food!” she yelled, already racing for the kitchen. While the Mansion had one massive kitchen that was used to cook for the entire school, there was a separate kitchen in the staff quarters. If he listened closely, he could already hear her charging at the German mutant.“Get off me, Glücksbringer!” he heard Kurt yelp, and rolled his eyes as he climbed off of the bed. Even if Darcy was right - the elf really did shed everywhere - Remy figured he should probably help the blue mutant before he decided to dump his wife in the lake.8888Not even a day had passed since then, but Darcy had already packed everything she would need and bought her plane ticket. She was ready to go - now all that was left to do was spend as much time as she could with her husband before it was time to leave.She was sitting in their little kitchen, perched on the counter as she went through the stack of mail that she had brought up with her, while her husband went over his lesson plans for the next day. “Things are changing, Rem.” She set down the letters - making sure to keep ahold of one in particular, he noticed, looking up from his notes.“Ain't never been able to see de future before, cherie.” He noted, and she smirked.“I don't need to see the future to know when trouble is coming - especially when you're involved.” She teased. She laughed when he leered at her, getting out of his chair to stalk over to where she sat.“Dere's always trouble, ma bebelle.” he told her, tucking a strand of hair behind one ear.“The question is - are we ready for it? Cause, I don't know about you, but I'm not looking forward to whatever the hell is coming next.” She tried to throw some humor into what she was saying, but her worry pushed through their empathetic link, and he frowned.“Y’ always be m’ lucky charm, Darcy LeBeau.” he said, running a hand through her hair before he pressed a kiss to her forehead. She curled in closer to him, drawing comfort from his above average body heat. “Dat luck holds, no matter how far we be. No matter what trouble might be comin’ our way, we'll get t'rough it.”“Promise?” She asked quietly, and he chuckled, pressing a kiss to her hair.“Oui. I promise, bebelle.” he whispered. He pulled away, pasting a smile on his face. “C'mon, den. How 'bout we go into town an' see a show, Darcy?”She smiled, pushing him away slightly. “Sure.” She agreed, swatting his butt as he walked back to their bedroom. “Go get dressed - I'll be there in a minute.”As soon as he was out of the room, she threw the letter into the fireplace, watching as it burned to ash. The letter held terrible information, but it wasn't for today. She had plenty of time to worry about it's contents.8888“A month's passed too quickly, bebelle.” Remy said, slipping an arm around her shoulders as they made their way through the airport parking lot. “Y’ sure y’ can't take a different internship?” he asked, only the slightest hint of teasing in his voice. She looked up at him, taking in the tenseness of his shoulders. She sent a wave of calm to him, smiling as he relaxed slightly.“I'm sure.” She said. “Dr. Foster needs an intern, Rem. I can't just drop out now.”“Sure y’ can.” He suggested. “Just turn around, and we can go back to de Mansion.”“Remy.” She warned, sunglasses slipping down enough to show off the colorless eyes that he loved so much. His Darcy looked just as good with her blue contacts, but there was something about her in her natural state that made his heart beat faster.He shrugged, already pulling on a mask to hide how worried he was. His femme wasn't the only one who had contacts in the world to let her know when trouble was rearing it's head - his people had warned him as well. There was something big coming, and it looked as though it was heading straight for them, particularly his femme. But for the moment, there was nothing that he could do but support her. “Mais oui. I had to try, non?”It took them a while to get through security - they were followed more than once by officers who wanted to ask about their sunglasses. Despite the innocence in their tones, it was obvious what they were looking for. Mutants. The law had never been kind to them, but airports were always the worst - on the lookout for attacks at every gate. They stood at the departure gate, earning themselves a wide berth from the people around them, who either stared outright at the couple, or glared when either one of their glasses slipped. After the last time that that had happened and her husband had nearly started a fight in the middle of the airport, she had confiscated the deck of cards that he held, keeping one arm wrapped around his to keep him at her side. The last thing that she needed was for him to pick a fight and get kicked out the airport before they had a chance to say goodbye.8888They made it to the gates, settling down in chairs next to the exit - the quickest escape route in case anything happened.“Don't be findin’ any other men to fall under y'r charms.” He teased, breaking the tense atmosphere. She snorted, rolling her eyes at his attempts at humor. “I'll be back as soon as I can.” she said, but there was no strength to her words - they both knew that she had no idea when that might be. But he nodded, accepting her words as the comfort she meant for them to be.“Y’ promise me, bebelle.” He said softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Promise me y’ come home safe.”“Of course.” She replied, not even bothering to try and ease the tension just yet. But when she saw the worry on his face, she couldn't help but try and cheer him up. “And I'll call every night, so you'd better pick up, mister. Or else I'll just have to find some other Cajun to call at night.” She poked his chest with her finger, making him laugh. She saved that moment in her memory - her husband smiling, sunglasses slipping down just enough for her to see the barest flash of red eyes.“Flight from JFK to ROW is now boarding.” The flight attendant called over the loudspeaker.“Au revoir, Darcy.” he said sadly. He slipped the Queen of Hearts card from his latest deck into her pocket. It had become his goodbye over the years - giving her the Queen to his King in a small reminder to both of them.“I'll see you soon, Rem.” she said softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek.And with that, she walked onto the plane, not looking back.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The plane ride itself was nerve-wracking, just because she wasn't the biggest fan of planes to begin with. Flying was something that she hadn't done since her last mission with the X-Men. Even then, it had been Scott flying the plane. And as much of a pain the man could be, he was still a far better pilot than any commercial pilot. After the flight from hell, the sheer dry heat of New Mexico was practically a relief, despite being a New Yorker. Of course, once she was off the plane she was quickly reminded why it was nice to have Remy around all of the time. Not only was it reassuring to have him around, but it also served the purpose of keeping creeps away. There was something about having a tall man with demon eyes next to you that kept people from bothering you, she had learned.Now there was nothing but her Taser to keep creeps at bay, and since those weren't exactly allowed in an airport, she was almost defenceless. One man in particular was following her, and she gripped her bag just a little bit tighter as she hurried to the baggage claim. Once there, however, she was stuck with nothing to do but wait for her bags. That was when he struck. He came walking over, standing next to her for a moment before he said anything.“Hey beautiful.” he said, moving closer. She took a step away from him. He may have towered over her five-three frame, but it did little more than annoy her. “How about a drink?”“Nope.” she said, clutching her bag just a little bit tighter and making sure that her sunglasses were secure on her face. “I'm good.”“Oh come on, no need to play hard to get.” he said, shooting her a smile. “Have a drink with me.”“Please go away, I’m happily married.” she said, a slight sing-song quality to her voice that only happened when she was irritated or tired. Her hand dipped into her purse, fingers tightening around the cool plastic of her taser. It grounded her slightly, keeping her from losing her cool when he leaned in against her.“I don’t see a ring.” he pressed. That was what got her to finally pay him the slightest bit of attention, turning to face him with her arms crossed over her chest.“You can’t just take my word on it?” She asked, arching an eyebrow at the man. He shook his head in reply and she sighed, wondering if tasing the man would work out in her favor.“Would you get off of me?” she said, shoving him slightly. It shouldn’t have been enough to send him flying like he did, but he still staggered a few feet away.“Oh for Curie's sake, would you leave her alone?” they both turned to stare at the tiny brunette woman - who couldn’t have been more than a hundred pounds soaking wet, Darcy noticed - that had shoved into him at the same time she did. She shoved him away again, hair flying slightly as she did. “Go. Get out of here before I call security.”Once he had walked away, she turned her attention to the other woman. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared her down. “Did you just swear by Marie Curie?” she asked in disbelief.Immediately the other woman turned to her, and Darcy was met by something rare - someone who was shorter than she was. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and brown eyes stared at her with a startling amount of intelligence for someone who looked like they had just rolled out of bed. “So what if I did?”A smile spread across her face - she recognized the voice from the different phone conversations that they had had. “I don't suppose you're Dr. Foster, are you?” she asked.Shock fluttered through - across her face and through her emotions - before the other woman’s eyes narrowed. “How did you know that?”Her tone was as dry as the air that surrounded them when she answered. “Because we’ve talked on the phone before.”“Oh. You must be Darcy Lewis.” Dr. Foster said, and she just barely managed to hold back her wince at hearing the name 'Lewis’ again. It was strange - for six years, she had been 'LeBeau’. Even then, most of the time she hadn't had to bother with introductions because they already knew everyone at the Mansion. But she managed to paste a smile on her face anyway.“That's me.” she replied. “Great!” Jane smiled, before getting straight to business. “So, here's everything that you're going to be doing in this internship…”“I gotta ask.” Darcy interrupted, staying close to the other woman as they navigated through the airport crowds. “I'm a political science major… why did you pick me?”“You were the only applicant.” Jane admitted, and Darcy smiled. She pushed her glasses up further on her face - while the contacts Beast had designed for her worked better, they were murder on long flights.“Lucky me.” she quipped. Sticking close to Jane, she followed the other woman through the airport and out to the parking lot. It was only when Dr. Foster stopped in from of a massive, halfway broken-down van that took up two parking spaces on it's own that she paused.She stopped in her tracks even as Jane heaved open the driver’s side door, climbing inside. Even if she hadn't been living in a house full of car nuts for the past twelve years of her life, she still would have been wary of the monstrous vehicle that Jane apparently trusted. “I am not getting in that deathtrap.” she announced, loudly enough that several other people stopped and stared at her.Jane rolled her eyes. “Miss Lewis - Darcy - just get in the car.” She stared at the vehicle for a moment, mentally weighing out the probabilities before sighing and moving forward. “Fine.” she said, rolling her eyes. “But if we die, I’m haunting your ass for eternity.”8888The massive van nearly broke down three different times on the way back from the airport, and Jane wasn't surprised even once. That was the first sign that things with Jane Foster were going to be difficult. The car itself would be easy to fix - one of the first things that Logan had taught her was how to fix an engine - but the ease with which the astrophysicist accepted the break down worried her. The next came when they stopped in front of what the petite scientist proudly proclaimed as her lab.“This is it.” Jane said, gesturing grandly at the abandoned car dealership that she had taken over. “Home sweet home.” They walked inside, and Darcy felt her heart drop as soon as Jane turned on the lights.“Oh Janey…” Darcy said, the nickname slipping off her tongue like she had known the other woman for her entire life. She looked around the building in dismay, her bag slipping off of her shoulder and crashing to the ground.Jane Foster needed some luck, she realized, once she saw the state of the astrophysicist’s laboratory - or at the very least a good cleaning service. Everything was scattered around the room, and the only thing that was in any actual sort of order were the machines lined up against the walls. Old food sat on plates, rotting away, while notes were scattered all over the room, occasionally written on the walls in some places. “It’s not the best set up,” the other woman admitted, taking in the distressed look on Darcy’s face to mean that she wasn’t pleased with the lab itself. “But I haven’t had the chance to really get much done - my last assistant quit.” she couldn’t help the slightly guilty look that crossed over her face as she looked at the lab. She was normally so deep into her work that she didn’t pay much attention to anything else - which explained why the place looked like both a tsunami and a tornado had hit it.Darcy looked around the room around her one more time. “I wonder why.” she quipped. She set her bag down, rolling up her sleeves as she tried to figure out which area to tackle first. “Right then.” she said, quickly tying her hair back. “Let’s get to work.”8888“So the swamp rat’s back in his bayou, huh?” Darcy teased. It was a slow day in the land of enchantment - Jane had finally fallen asleep after a three-day science bender, so she had taken the opportunity to clean the lab and take care of the things that she hadn’t been able to do while she was trying to talk the scientist out of her Science! high. After three weeks spent in the scientist’s company, she had finally figured out a schedule for the scientist that had her eating and sleeping at a semi-normal rate - and even that was apparently light years better than what she had been doing before. Now that she had gotten her scientist to go to sleep, she took the time to start food for dinner, and get things back into some semblance of order. She had also taken the opportunity to call her husband - something that didn't happen nearly as often as she would like. After four - nearly five - years spent practically joined at the hip with the occasional separation, six months apart was killing them, and the time apart had barely even begun. Their empathic link made them even more touchy than normal, and only seeing each other over the occasional video call wasn't helping as much as they had thought it would.“Oui, cherie.” her husband's voice echoed down the line, making her smile. “'s bon to be back where dis Cajun belongs.”. It was Remy's first time back in New Orleans since he had been banned, and she had to admit that she was more than a bit nervous. She had gone down on her own more than a few times since they had gotten married, and Jean-Luc would come up to visit them on occasion, but that was it. But now he was back on his territory, and it made her worry. She had heard too many stories about her husband's past - particularly about the lovely Bella Donna Bordeaux - and while she trusted him, she wasn't quite sure that she trusted the women of New Orleans.But the ban had officially been lifted for one reason or another, and her husband was looking forward to seeing his family in person for the first time in over a decade. She may have been nervous about what was going to happen, but she wouldn't say anything for fear of keeping him from going in the first place. “Come back to me in one piece, alright?” she tried to joke. He must have picked up on the tremor in her voice, because he didn't hesitate in his reply. “Y’ know I'll never leave y’, petit.” he said solemnly. “Y’r stuck with dis Cajun till y’ get sick of de very sight of him.”She blushed despite herself, willing herself to stop even though she knew no one could see her. “Tell Jean-Luc and Tante Mattie I said hello.” she requested, changing the subject.“Of course, mon coeur.” he said warmly, before changing the subject on her. “How are t’ings in de land of enchantement?” he asked, chuckling when his wife groaned in response. “So boring - how do people live out here where there’s literally nothing going on?” she asked, throwing herself down in a chair, spinning in it. “I miss people, Rem. And take out. And clubs, and anything other than small-town mentalities.”He picked up on her annoyance as she mentioned small town mentalities, and she felt him focus in on it. “What happened, cherie?” he asked, and she winced. Remy was as overprotective as they got - occasionally he could be worse than Logan, and that was something that no one thought was possible. But they had both seen enough cases of what happened to mutants in small towns to know that there were plenty of dangers in small towns for anyone who was considered different.“Nothing.” she lied quickly, and he growled. “Nothing too bad.” she amended. “I've had to hand a few locals their asses on a platter, but other than that…”. She trailed off, smothering a grin when she felt his irritation echo over their bond.“When Remy gets his hands on dem fils de putain -” her husband growled, and Darcy quickly cut him off.“Have I ever needed you to fight my battles for me?” She asked, arching an eyebrow and putting a hand on her hip even though she knew he couldn't see her.Her husband's rumbling laugh came down the line. “Non, Darcy.”“And I'm not going to start now.” she told him. “So take that overprotective streak and shove it.”He laughed again, and she couldn't help the smile that grew. “D’accord. Ain't never been said dat Remy don't know when to quit.” he teased, and she laughed at the familiar joke. Gambit was infamous for never giving up on anything - whether it was a mission or a particularly difficult theft. Remy was the same way, never knowing when to quit. It had resulted in more than a few arguments between Scott and her husband over the years, and she knew that it would create many more over time.“How’s y’r Janey?” he asked, and she heard the faint sound of a charge over the phone line. That combined with the feeling of relaxation that emanated from him could only mean one thing - he had just lit up a cigarette.“She’s good - well, she’s Jane.” Darcy amended.
“What’s de matter?” he asked, picking up on her hesitation.“I'm basically screwed.” Darcy admitted, scrunching up her nose as she picked up a mug with a questionable growth inside it. “Jane is the best - my skills make it easier for me to manage her at times, but if something were going to happen - and let’s be honest, it probably will…” she trailed off, knowing that he would pick up what she was saying without her actually having to say it.“Y’ would reveal y’rself f’ her.” he said softly, sounding awed. The idea that Darcy would be willing to do anything like that for a human after what had happened in her past just proved how special the woman was, bringing the woman up several notches in his estimation.“She’s just so… warm.” Darcy said, struggling to explain what her empathic nature knew about the woman in terms that her husband could understand. His empathy was at the lower end of the spectrum, although it had grown stronger in the years since their link had first formed. “Everything she feels is so strong, but there’s nothing bad to it. Its comforting - like Logan.” the feral mutant had strong emotions - there was something about ferals in general that had their emotions running much stronger than normal humans did, or even more than regular mutants did. “Just… be careful, non?” Remy said, his voice low. “If y’ get into trouble, Remy ain’t gonna be dere t’ save y’r ass, fine as it may be.”She giggled, feeling how pleased he was with the sound. The enjoyment was weaker than it normally would have been, but that had to do with the sheer distance between them. That thought was enough to make her go silent, and he didn’t say anything either. Sometimes they didn’t need their empathic link to know what the other was feeling - six years of marriage was more than enough.“Je t’aime, mon coeur.” He said quietly, and she smiled. She sent love and fondness over their bond, having to work to get it to him over the distance. New Mexico was a long way from New Orleans.“I love you too.” she said softly, and hung up the phone. She stared at it for a few seconds, feeling the emotions pass over her in a wave. Phone calls were nice - especially when they managed to get some time alone, she couldn’t help but think - but it still didn’t compare to actually seeing each other.“That was your husband, wasn't it?” Jane asked, and Darcy jumped, her chair flying out from under her. Taking a moment to collect herself, she thanked every deity that she could think of that she had left her colored contacts in even after Jane had fallen asleep.She turned around, hands on her hips as she stared down her scientist. “Cyke on a stick, Jane!” She scolded. “Don't scare me like that!”Jane ignored her friend's irritation, too intent on getting answers. “That was him, wasn't it?” She pressed. She moved closer to the other woman, sitting on the desk in front of her. When Darcy nodded, Jane squealed. “I knew it!”Darcy blinked at the excited reaction from the other woman - normally she only got that excited about the science periodicals that came in the mail every so often.“Why doesn’t he ever come and visit?” Jane asked, sitting down. She had gone into fact-gathering mode, something that could work in Darcy’s favor if she played her cards correctly. She shoved a sandwich into Jane’s hands, and the scientist started eating. “You obviously miss each other.” she commented through a mouthful of bread and turkey.“His job is… intense.” Darcy said carefully. The X-Men were well known in the right circles, but the existence of Xavier’s School was still a well-kept secret. It was a secret that anyone there would take to their graves - the only humans who knew about it’s location were those who had children attending the school, and even then it was rare for them to know the truth. “He needs to be in the area at all times, just in case something comes up.”That’s stupid.” Jane said, scoffing as she went back to what she was working on."Its not, though.” Darcy said, raising her voice slightly. That, if anything, was one of the things that she loved most about him. Jane studied her for a moment. “You used to work with him, didn’t you?” Jane asked, her voice soft. A knowing smile crossed her face when Darcy nodded. “I worked with my whole family.” she said, a small smile crossing her face at the memory of running missions with her sisters at her side, Scott yelling at them over the comms.“You don’t ever really talk about them.”“Who?”“Your family.” Jane said, keeping her head down. “I know you have a husband, and a dad and sisters. But you never say anything about them.”“You never say anything about your family.” Darcy countered, raising an eyebrow at her boss. She knew why - Logan had had the Professor run a background check on the woman before Darcy started working with her - but she wasn’t against bringing it up in order to force a change of topic if she had to.Jane stiffened. “That’s because I don’t get along with them.” she said, her voice stilted.“Right then, changing the subject because now it’s awkward.” Darcy said, and Jane laughed in relief. “So that new thingy that you’re building -”“You mean the astro-particle stabilization module?”“Yeah that thingy.” Darcy nodded, pleased that Jane had understood what she meant. “What exactly is it for? Because right now it just looks like a couple of toasters got smashed together.”She smiled, glad that she had managed to distract Jane with Science! It stayed on her face even as she turned back to the ridiculous amount of data that had piled up before she got there.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Even with everything Darcy had seen since her powers manifested when she was twelve, she still wasn't prepared for the man that fell out of a wormhole, only to be hit by Jane’s van. When he claimed to be Thor, she originally thought that he was either lying, crazy, or had suffered some sort of brain injury. But his emotions had shown a fourth possibility - he was telling the truth. The demigod was massive, with the strength of Piotr and some bastardization of 'Ro’s powers. But those she could have easily handled - she had spent enough time teaching at the School to be able to handle just about anything.It was his emotions that got to her, in the end. He was a mess of anger and entitlement and sorrow. It was almost painful, the constant tsunami of emotions that poured off of him, pounding into her like nothing that she had ever felt before, not even when Wolverine was in his most feral state. So she tried to distract herself by taunting Agent IPod Thief, seeing how irritated she could make him before his bland mask cracked. He held out rather well, which annoyed her - she had spent her teenage years working on her ability to get under people’s skin with Jubilee by her side, the pair of them causing mischief with Kitty occasionally joining them. She and Jubilee had even timed themselves once, seeing how long it took them to get Cyclops to break. The X-Men’s field leader had lasted almost two hours under a dual assault from the two of them, with Logan pitching in from time to time. So far, Agent Coulson had managed to last a full three hours at one time around her with barely a change in expression. She was impressed, to say the least.Really, she was impressed with herself that she had only tased the demigod the one time. Even if lugging him around was a workout, it was worth it to have a moment of relief from the wave of emotion. When Remy had found out about that, he had been worried - even more so when he realized through the series of codes that they had set up that SHIELD has shown up. She had known the moment that SHIELD had shown up - as far as super-spy agencies went, they weren’t very discreet. He was all for having Kurt or Logan come out to pick her up - maybe even send a few Guild members as bodyguards for her. But she had brushed him off, at least on the idea of sending out someone to bring her home. It would look even more suspicious than things already did if she just disappeared overnight, she pointed out. The hardest part of the whole thing would be pretending like she was just an ordinary intern. One who was good at her job, but nothing more than that. But that wasn’t the problem anymore - there was no way she was going to disappear now. Now they had stolen Jane’s work, which made things personal. She, Jane, and Erik were in the middle of the old car lot that they had taken over as a lab, with Jane almost in tears as she looked at the torn apart room. Everything was gone - the agents had left mere minutes before, trucks full of Jane’s notes and equipment leaving with them. “It’s all gone. Everything is… just gone.”There was a moment of silence before she spoke up.“Well, I managed to steal this back from them.” Darcy said softly, holding up a notebook that had had it's binding taped up at least three different times. “It's not much, but it's better than nothing.” Both of the scientists turned to look at her.Erik looked stunned. “How did you…” he trailed off, shaking his head. “Do you know how much trouble you could have brought if they had caught you?”“But they didn’t catch me. I've got skills.” she shrugged, playing it off like it was no big deal. “You probably just don't want to ask about where I got them from.” she turned to Jane, holding it out as a sort of offering. “It’s not much, but at least you won’t have to start from scratch.”Jane beamed, taking the notebook from her intern turned best friend before quickly folding her into a hug. The depression that had been wafting off of her faded slightly, to be replaced with a small amount of hope. “Thank you.”8888Things had gone by far too quickly for her to fully process them - in just a few days time, they had gone from studying the stars to practically leveling a small town. The aftermath of the Destroyer had led to a three-hour video conference with her family, spent trying to convince them that they didn’t need to come and get her. Out of all of them, Kitty was the one that she had spent the most time reassuring - as the baby of their little family she was a lot more prone to worrying. The battle had been over for less than three days, and Darcy was already done with everything, but especially with SHIELD. They had returned all of the equipment that they had originally stolen from Jane, before making them sign so many NDAs that she was sure that she officially no longer existed. Jane had been up for the past seventy hours straight - getting herself reacquainted with her machines - and had finally gone to bed a few hours ago. Normally, Darcy would have followed the scientist to bed, but she still had serious amounts of clean up left to do. She looked around the disaster that SHIELD had left - all of Jane’s equipment and notes just randomly thrown into boxes - and sighed. It was times like these that she wished she had Jean’s powers - it would be nice to just wave her hands and have everything settle into place.But she didn’t, she reminded herself - her powers were more intangible than others. So she pulled off her glasses, put her hair up, and picked up a broom. Her contacts had been gone for the night a few hours ago - much like normal contacts, keeping them in for too long was a terrible idea. Jane had just gotten used to her quirks by now - she didn’t even react when Darcy would wear her sunglasses occasionally at night.But none of that mattered right now, she thought, as she plugged in her newly-recovered iPod and smiled as the sounds of New Orleans jazz washed over her. Normally she avoided the sound of the bayou as much as possible, but at the moment she was just homesick. The swell of brass filled the room, and she smiled at the familiar music that played - she and Remy had gone to see them a few years back when they had gotten a weekend away from the Mansion.8888Jane rolled over in her bed, pulling her covers up over her head in order to try and block out the sounds that were coming from the lab. She knew that there was no way that she had been sleeping for more than an hour or two, and one of the first rules that Darcy had put into place was that ‘no Science! could be done without at least six hours of sleep’.But the music that was coming from the main lab was far too loud for her to even think about sleeping, no matter how many times she tried to block out the sound. So she climbed out of bed, brushing her hair out of her face as she shuffled out of the bedroom. Her eyes widened as her half-asleep brain took in the scene in front of her - Darcy cleaning up the lab like normal. But then she looked up for a moment, eyes open wide as she sang along to the music that filled the lab. Pure white eyes - no iris, no pupil - stared across the room, making her jump. It went quiet as the song switched over, and that was when Jane finally spoke.“Oh my god.” Jane said, making Darcy look up, her face twisting as she quickly shut her eyes. But the damage had already been done. “Your eyes… they're blank.” “Heyyy, Boss Lady.” Darcy said, smiling nervously as her mind raced to figure out how to explain this. She kept her eyes shut for the moment. Jane was way too smart to believe that she was just exhausted and seeing things - not to mention she already felt guilty for keeping her secret from the woman who had quickly become her best friend outside of the Mansion. “Surprise?” She offered weakly. Her eyes fluttered open, taking in the expression on her friend’s face.“You’re a mutant.” she said, the words coming out slightly accusing.Darcy winced, but stiffened her spine - looking far too much like an animal backed into a corner and unsure of what its next move should be. “Is it that obvious?”Jane couldn’t help the slightly hysterical laughter that bubbled out of her. “Just a bit.”Blank eyes narrowed at the scientist, and Darcy tensed. “Is it going to be a problem?” she asked. There had been too many times in the past that she had thought everything would be fine, only to have her mutation be the only thing getting her out of a situation in one piece.But Jane just looked confused. “Why would it be?”The relief that flooded through Darcy was like a drug. “Good. That’s good.”“So what's your mutation?” Jane asked after a minute or so of silence.Darcy looked serious, and for a moment Jane thought she was going to get an honest answer. “The ability to wear hats and yet - not have hat hair.” she quipped.Jane snorted, but then looked at her friend as seriously as she could for someone with bedhead and stained pyjamas. “But seriously, Darcy. I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to…”Darcy hesitated. For a moment she remembered the last time that someone who wasn't a mutant had found out about her mutation, but then she stopped herself - Jane was her friend. Her best friend, if she wasn’t counting her sisters. “The professor says that I have the ability to manipulate probabilities.” she shrugged. “But I just like to call it luck - it's less of a mouthful.”“That explains how you managed to not get hit by anything during the battle in Puente Antigo!” Jane said thoughtfully, her face gaining the same expression it got when she figured out the answer to a particularly difficult equation. “I've been trying to figure that out for ages.”“Well I wasn't just gonna let the puppies die.” she replied, slightly offended.“Can you do anything else?” Jane asked. She was practically vibrating in place with excitement, making Darcy laugh. This was why she loved Jane - the woman had an endless amount of energy when it came to discovering new things. It didn’t matter if those things were the secrets of the universe or that her best friend had been keeping a massive part of herself hidden. Jane was going to respond exactly the same either way - with complete and utter enthusiasm.8888Jane heard the roar of an engine outside, but tuned it out, too focused in on the calculations in front of her to really notice anything else. It was a small town in the middle of New Mexico, after all - if she got worried every time she heard an engine that was too loud, she would be on edge 24/7.It was only when someone began banging on the door that she actually paid attention to what was going on, and even there she only barely did.“Darcy, can you get that?” Jane asked, nose buried in the latest sets of data that they had collected. It was times like these that made her miss Erik - she could have used another scientist to help her get through the numbers piling up on her. And as much as she loved Darcy, the other woman just didn’t have a head for numbers. She could organize and collate data with the best of them, but when it came to actually deciphering the numbers themselves and what they meant in the grand scheme of things, she was hopeless.It took her a minute or two to realize that someone was still banging on the door, and she looked around for Darcy. The curvy woman was nowhere to be found, and it took a moment for Jane to remember that the other woman was sleeping after a two-day science bender. She sighed, pushing her hair out of her face and climbing to her feet. She made her way to the door, grumbling the entire time about interruptions.“Can I help you?” She asked, snapping slightly with her irritation at being interrupted even as she looked over the man on their doorstep, a motorcycle helmet still held under one arm.His long auburn hair was back into a ponytail, and his eyes were mostly hidden behind a fringe of hair that should have made him look ridiculous but somehow worked. Designer sunglasses covered the rest of his eyes, despite it being too dark for them to actually be useful. A well-worn trench coat covered his clothes, and fingerless gloves covered his hands. A black top clung to him like a second skin, as did the jeans that were almost artfully torn and faded. She could see his motorcycle in the parking lot, and she clutched the edge of the door a tiny bit tighter. The man looked like trouble, and that was the last thing that they needed.He smiled. “Remy hopes so, cherie. Remy's lookin’ fo’ his femme. You seen her 'round here?”Of course, that was when Darcy came in, still half asleep and clutching her coffee like her life depended on it. “It's too early for jack-booted thugs.” She grumped, not even bothering to actually check who was in the doorway. She wasn't fully functional until at least her third cup of coffee, so when he came at her, she did something that neither Remy or Jane were expecting.“Dere she is.” He said, his accent smoothing out a bit. He walked over to her, a shit eating grin plastered on his face. Arms opening to her, he looked like he thought that she was going to jump onto him.Instead, she did the opposite - she flipped him. It was only when he was on the floor, having trouble getting air to go back into his lungs properly that she seemed to realize who he was.Jane shrieked, and Remy groaned, relaxing into the floor beneath him as he fought for breath.“Merde, Darcy.” He wheezed. “Dis how y’ say bonjour now?”“Remy Etienne LeBeau.” She said, taking a long look at her husband. “Why the hell would you sneak up on me like that?” “What did you do that for?” Jane asked, looking at her friend like she had grown a second head.“'s alright, cherie.” He said, reassuring the scientist, slowly getting to his feet and brushing his hair out of his eyes and readjusting his sunglasses. “I should’ve known better dan t’ sneak on ma jolie fille.”“Damn straight.” She muttered, making him laugh. She held out a hand, yanking him up to his feet. “What are you doing here?”“Came t’ check on y’.” he said, slipping off his shoes at the door but leaving his trenchcoat on. He pulled off his glasses as well, clipping them to the front of his jacket. His eyes were hidden by his bangs - Darcy might have trusted Jane, but that didn't mean that he did. “Y'r sœurs were gettin’ worried about y’, an’ dey sent Ol’ Remy t’ make sure dat y' was alright.”She raised an eyebrow at him, her blank eyes narrowing slightly. Even now that Jane knew her secret, she still wore her colored contacts most of the time - they never knew when SHIELD agents might drop in on them. The only times she didn’t wear them were when she first woke up, and when they were out stargazing in the middle of nowhere. “And you came just because they asked you to?”“Well…” he smirked. “might have had my own reasons for visitin’, me.”“There we go.” she teased, letting him pull her in close. “Finally, some honesty.” “So how did everyt’in go?” he asked, turning his attention to Jane. “Between de government an’ de little green men comin’ down on y’.”“They weren’t little, or green.” Jane argued. Darcy cut in before she could get another word out.“Yeah.” the woman agreed. “They were big and blonde and buff.” Jane blushed, which only made Darcy keep going. “Holy biceps - oh wait, I’ve got pictures somewhere.”“We were really lucky.” Jane commented, talking over Darcy, and Remy didn't even bother to hide his smirk. “It could have ended so much worse.”“Y’know what dey say, mademoiselle.” He shrugged to hide his laughter at the exasperated look on his petit bebelle’s face. “Luck be a lady…” “Lady luck won't be on your side much longer if you keep singing.” Darcy threatened, even as she fought back a smile. The months of stress that had come from this internship - first keeping Jane and Erik alive, then trying to keep her powers hidden during everything that happened with Thor - were finally starting to melt away.He shrugged, giving her a wicked grin. “Zut alors.”Jane laughed, and the pair jumped slightly at the reminder that the woman was still there.“Just so you know, I'm totally gonna climb you like a tree later.” Darcy said, taking another sip of her coffee and enjoying the look that her husband gave her. The shit-eating grin and bedroom eyes that were exclusively for her. And the way that Jane didn't even spit out her coffee anymore, completely used to her runaway mouth.“Dat a promise, cherie?” Remy purred, pushing his bangs enough out of his face to send her an absolutely filthy look.“Oh my god.” Jane said, and they both looked up from each other to find the astrophysicist staring in horror. “Your eyes.”“I said he was a demon.” Darcy shrugged, sending her husband a wave of love and affection to make up for her harsh words. Settling in a chair, she watched the byplay between her husband and her best friend, hoping that things would work out fine.“You said he was a demon in the sheets!” Jane protested. “I didn't think you meant an actual demon!”He winced, a sharp sliver of hurt running through him. It had been years since he had last heard that word from anyone but his wife, and she had long since turned it into a teasing term of endearment.“Jane!” Darcy snapped, and the scientist jumped. She had never heard that tone before from her friend - there was a sort of growling edge to her voice that almost scared her.“'s alright, petite.” He said, keeping his voice low as he settled on the ground next to her chair. “Remy don't mind none. De femme’s welcome t’ her opinion.”“Not when it's hurting you.” She growled.He chuckled, reaching up to skim his hand over her calf even as he laid the back of his head against her leg. “Easy dere, bebelle.” He cautioned. “Y’ startin’ t’ sound like Wolvie wit’ all y’r growlin’.”She quieted down slightly, but there was a moment where Jane just studied the pair before turning her attention to Remy. “Why do you call her that? Bebelle.” “She's so tiny, like a doll.” He explained, but Jane didn't look convinced.“Remy tried t’ call her m’ gris-gris, mais she didn't like dat very much.” he told the diminutive scientist, cracking a wide, toothy grin when he heard his wife groan behind him. “An’ Ol’ Remy have t’ be motier faux t’ rile dis femme up.”“I hate that nickname.” She muttered petulantly, slouching down in her seat for a moment before sliding off of it to curl in next to her husband. “Almost as much as I hate that stupid codename.”“What codename?” Jane asked, folding her legs beneath her as she perched on top of a table. The scientist in her couldn’t help but study the differences in her friend now that her other half was there. She didn’t seem that much different at first, but it was also like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.“Her real codename is Fortuna - like de goddess of luck.” Remy explained once it became obvious that Darcy wasn’t going to start talking about it on her own. “But her sœurs didn't like dat - t'ought it was too pretentious for her.”“So they started calling me Lucky Charm instead.” Darcy explained, her nose scrunching up with distaste at the nickname, but Jane could read her fondness - not in her eyes, but in her body language. It was a lot harder to read someone’s emotions in their eyes when said eyes were a blank slate.“Y’ my lucky charm, Darcy LeBeau.” Remy said, falling into a familiar bit of banter. “Y’ always will be.”“You're such a sap.” She said in reply, even as she leaned over to kiss him. His answering grin nearly blinded her, and Jane couldn't help but smile at the pair. Darcy had said that they had been married for over six years at this point, but they still acted like newlyweds for the most part.“Now den,” he said, standing up from his spot on the ground. He held out a hand to his wife, helping her up as well. “How ‘bout some fireworks, hmm?” His wife’s face lit up in a smile that he loved to see.“Come on, Janey.” Darcy said, grabbing her friend's hand in her own. “You have to come see this.”They made their way up to the roof with a bottle of tequila to split between the three of them, Remy and Darcy hand-in-hand. Darcy had collected a jar full of pebbles and debris before they came upstairs, and she carefully set it down on the roof before sitting down herself. She flung her legs over the side of the roof, swinging them back and forth as she stared out over the desert.“Be careful!” Jane chided, looking worried.But Darcy just laughed. “Don’t worry, Janey - I’m lucky, remember.”Remy rolled his eyes, throwing himself into one of the lawn chairs that they kept on the roof for these sort of occasions. “Dat doesn’t mean y’ need t’ be takin’ extra risks.” he grumbled, knowing from experience that his protests wouldn’t stop her.She looked back over her shoulder at them, pale skin glowing against the inky black sky. “Look who’s talking.” she shot back, and he grinned. “Come on - put on a show, mon mari.”He grinned. “As ma femme commands.” he said, leaning down to scoop a handful of gravel out of the jar. The gravel in his hand glowed red, and he tossed it up into the air, out and away from their heads. It exploded, creating small bursts of light - like fireworks, but without the multitude of colors. Darcy laughed, smiling when her husband moved so that he was sitting next to her instead of on a chair behind her.Jane laughed in amazement. “That's… incredible.” she whispered, and Darcy could feel how pleased Remy was with the scientist’s words. His eyes glowed slightly as he looked down at her, the dark night sky above them making them appear to glow that much brighter.8888Remy stayed with them for almost a week before he was called back to New York. Even then he hesitated, but his wife pointed out that they wouldn't have called him if it wasn't an emergency. He agreed, and began to pack up what he had brought with him.Before he left, he handed Jane a plain white business card, with only a phone number stamped into it. No name, no address - nothing but the number.“Y’ ever need anyt’in, cherie, y’ give dis number a call, oui?”. There was a strange sort of intensity to his eyes that let her know that this was nothing to take lightly. This was an offer that wasn’t given often, if at all.She took the card from his hand, tucking it away in her pocket. “Got it.” She said, nodding her head even as she crossed her arms over her chest. They watched him climb onto his bike, sliding his helmet into place. With one last look back over his shoulder at Darcy, he rode off into the night.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Almost a year had passed since Puente Antigo, and in that time the world had changed. Superheroes were a thing, Thor had returned, and a massive portal had opened over New York City. While Jane was more irritated about Thor having returned and not having said anything to her, Darcy was worried. In the footage of the Battle of New York, the reporters mainly focused in on the newly-formed Avengers. But if one knew what to look for, they could see signs of other heroes in the background - mainly, the X-Men. Red energy blasts from Cyclops and Havok, ice from Iceman and freak weather from Storm were the most obvious ones. But occasionally she would see hints of a pink explosion, and know that her husband was out there fighting aliens.Eventually, Stark came calling - he had heard enough about Jane from Thor to be more than curious about the astrophysicist and her assistant. It didn't take much to get either woman on his side, although he offered everything. All he needed to offer was to get them away from SHIELD. He also gave the promise of lab space and rooms, food and all of the equipment they would need. He almost seemed to pout when Darcy said that she probably wouldn’t be living in Avengers Tower, although Jane definitely would. He would even pay to fly them and all of the equipment back to New York.“Good.” Darcy said, smiling as she stood up, pushing her chair away from the laptop that she had been using to video-conference with the genius. You get the equipment, I’ll get Jane.”You’re bossy.” he noted, and her grin grew bigger.“Yup.” Mr. Stark - Tony - paused, thinking things over. “Maybe this was a bad idea. You and Pepper together -”“Too late now.” she chirped. “I’ll get us plane tickets and send you the bill.” The last thing that the inventor saw was the curvy assistant moving away from the computer, all the while shouting over her shoulder. “Jane, get in the car!” After that, the screen went blank, and he was left to wonder about what exactly he had agreed to.8888Pepper offered her a full-time contract her second day in the labs after she had managed to stop four different explosions and get all three scientists - Jane, Bruce, and Tony - to eat and go to sleep at a decent time.It seemed that the key to thriving in the labs of Stark Tower was a combination of knowing who was feeling what - because she had quickly learned that cranky and tired scientists were more likely to blow things up - the ability to deal with complete and utter chaos, and sheer luck. Luckily for her, she had all of those in spades. The main thing that came in handy living with superheroes, she found, were her empathic abilities. Reading the situation, diffusing tensions, knowing when someone was lying about being hurt - it all came in handy in Avengers Tower.Remy wasn't thrilled with the idea - he had been worried enough when all she had had to deal with was just the sort of trouble that followed her around as a mutant. That was understandable - she had the same worries about him, although they were multiplied whenever he was out with the X-Men. But he had just about lost his mind with worry when he learned that she would be around the Avengers all the time.It had taken about three hours of shouting at each other before they came to an agreement - Remy acknowledged that she was a skilled fighter in her own right, but he admitted that he would always worry about her. She retorted that she was perfectly capable of handling herself, and that even if there was trouble they would have to get through the entire Avengers team before getting to her. Besides, she had told him that there was no way they would let anyone get to her or Jane. After that, the issue was settled, and life at the Tower began.One of the things that she had to get used to in the Tower was JARVIS. It wasn’t that she was unfamiliar with disembodied voices talking to her - she had grown up in a house full of telepaths. The tricky part was remembering to answer back out loud. The first few times she had answered mentally, only to remember that the AI wouldn’t be able to hear her. After that, though, it quickly became second nature to have conversations with JARVIS on a daily basis. She would ask him for his opinions on things, hold entire conversations with him. Both JARVIS and Tony adored her for it.Once, Tony asked her why she treated JARVIS like a person. He did, as well as most of the other scientists who understood exactly what the program was capable of. They carried on conversations with him, asked for gossip, his opinions on music and current events. JARVIS was the one who was used as a neutral third party in arguments, carefully listening to each side before making a decision. But for the others in the Tower, they acted like the AI was more of a glorified search engine. They didn’t seem to understand that JARVIS was sentient, that he had a personality and emotions to go with his limitless knowledge.But Darcy’s answer stuck with Tony - she had never realized that he was anything but a person.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Slowly, people at the Tower began to learn about her husband - never anything specific, just that he existed. Even then, it was a very select few who knew about him, mainly her scientists and their associated people, like Thor and Pepper. She didn’t know the others well enough to trust them with that sort of information - not to mention that there were certain parts of her life that she didn’t need anyone else knowing about, particularly not SHIELD agents. They had kept the School hidden from the world since it was founded - there was no way that she was going to be the one to give away its location, no matter how long it had been since she was last there.But it was Pepper who first asked about him, after she had had a fight with Tony.“How do you keep your husband from panicking?” she asked, throwing herself down on the couch next to Darcy. Gone was the always perfectly polished Pepper Potts, to be replaced by a woman who was just as stunning as always - and completely done with her boyfriend’s antics. “About you being around all of this, I mean. He doesn’t try and send armored suits with you on business meetings.” she explained, rolling her eyes.She decided not to mention that, while Remy didn’t send her with armored suits, he did make sure that she kept at least one set of weapons on her at all times, and was constantly checking in on her. “I don’t.” she admitted, putting down what she was working on - Logan had sent her silk yarn from Japan, and she had pulled out the first skein of it to work with. “He worries about everything - Rem knows I can take care of myself, but that's never stopped him from fussing over me.”“So how did you get him to back off?” Pepper asked, and the brunette shot her an evil grin.“I tied him to the bed and didn’t let him up until he agreed to leave me be.”8888The Science! Trio had been invited to a seminar on the advancements in science over the last decade, with each scientist invited to speak on their respective subjects. Bruce and Jane were excited for that reason. Tony, on the other hand, was more excited because the conference was in Las Vegas than he was about the conference itself.“What do you say, shortstack?” Tony asked, making her look up from the toolbox that she was contemplating - she was almost finished with her current set of repairs. “Vegas? A week on the strip? Maybe hit a club, see some shows?”She gave a hum of disappointment as she picked through the tools, starting to fiddle with the pendant on her necklace. “Sorry, can't. I've been kind of… banned. From literally all of the fun in Vegas.”Both Tony and Bruce turned to stare at her, identical looks of surprise on their faces. but Jane just snorted out a laugh, looking up from the machine that she was trying to fix.“Honeymoon?” Jane asked, and Darcy nodded, a wicked grin lighting up her features as she stopped what she was doing, sparing a moment to reminisce.“Once they found out about it back home, it was all anyone talked about for ages.” She laughed. “Logan still likes to tease us about it. Scott was pissed.”Jane rolled her eyes, more than familiar with Scott just from the sheer amount of stories that her friend had told her about the man. She didn’t know anything about his powers - Darcy made a point to leave out information on anyone’s powers, no matter who she was talking to - and there were times where she wondered if the man actually had powers at all. But she had told her about the house that she grew up in, and the people there. She knew just why the need for secrecy was so great. Jane had even met Logan and Kitty, and they had scheduled lunch with Jubilee in the next week.“Hey, how come you never talk about your husband anyway?” Tony asked. He put down what he was working on, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at her. “I’m starting to think that you just made him up to make Bob in Accounting go away - wouldn’t blame you if you did, by the way.” he added, shivering theatrically at the mention of the other man.But Jane shook her head, drawing their attention her way. “He’s real.” she reported, not looking up from the machinery that she was trying to repair. “They’re almost sickeningly sweet together. He came out to see us after New Mexico but before Tromso. Which one was that?” she asked, turning to look at Darcy who was half buried under one of Jane’s machines - a different one than the one that Jane was trying to fix. “I think it was the one in Wisconsin?” Darcy replied, her voice muffled slightly. “The yikes?”“Yerkes.”“That’s what I said.” Darcy told her, wheeling out from under the machine. She swapped out one tool for another before looking at her boss. “Either way you’re wrong, boss lady - we were still in Puente Antigo then.”“How did he get past the SHIELD agents?” Clint asked, appearing from nowhere. There was a frown on his face as he leaned against the wall, completely oblivious to the heart-attacks that he had given them all. “They should have been able to catch him, even if they were newbies on surveillance duty.”But she just grinned, shrugging negligently before rolling back under the machine. “I guess he’s just that good.” she said.8888He didn’t even notice her come into the lab until it was too late, and she was already standing at his lab table. Normally that would have been cause for concern - he couldn’t remember the last time that he slept or ate, which usually meant that Darcy was there to yell at him. But not this time. Instead, she pulled a large duffel bag off of her shoulder, unzipping it. He didn’t even have a chance to ask what she was doing before she started talking, blue eyes flashing in anger.“Here Bruce - have some cards.” Darcy said randomly, upending the bag she was carrying. All three scientists stared at her in disbelief as dozens of decks of cards came pouring out of the bag, thumping onto the tabletop.“Why do you have so many playing cards?” he asked, staring at the pile on the table in front of him. He took his glasses off and cleaned them before putting them back on his face, just to be sure that he was seeing things properly. He was.Her reply didn’t make any more sense than the pile of card decks in front of him. “Because my husband is an idiot.”Bruce looked at her, scrunching his face in confusion. “He’s an idiot because he bought so many decks of cards?” he guessed, but Darcy shook her head.“No.” Darcy said, her words more clipped than they usually were. “he's an idiot because he decided to go to a bar, get drunk, and start a fight.” she mumbled something else under her breath, and he could just barely pick up a few words: no-good… Luke’s… cajun bastard...“What does that have to do with the playing cards?” Bruce asked, rightfully confused. He was an expert on gamma radiation and biology, not… whatever this was. It felt like a domestic dispute that he was going to end up stuck in the middle of.But Darcy just shrugged in reply, not seeming concerned in the slightest. “Whenever he’s being irritating, I steal his cards.”“You have the strangest relationship.” Bruce said, smiling softly at her.Darcy snorted, absently adjusting her glasses as she turned to see Tony slumped over his desk, nearly passed out from sheer exhaustion. “You don’t know the half of it, Brucie.”It took him almost another thirty minutes to process what she had told him. “You’re married?” he asked, looking at her in surprise.Her answer was nothing more than a drawn out groan.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It took a little over a year for the subject of her marriage to come up with anyone else on the team, and even then it was more of a accident than anything she said on purpose. “I really wish you didn't walk home alone, Miss Lewis.” Steve said again. He had started having this conversation with her every night as she got ready to leave the Tower once he learned that she lived in Hell's Kitchen. He was convinced that one night she would get into trouble and end up hurt - which was kind of rich coming from the guy who went down in history as being known for picking fights in back alleys.“I don't need an escort, Steve.” Darcy said, rolling her eyes as she leaned back against the elevator wall. “I like the quiet of walking home. And how many times do I have to tell you, call me Darcy.”“No offense meant, Miss - Darcy,” he corrected himself. They stood in awkward silence for a minute before he said anything else. “I know Stark has offered you an apartment here.”Darcy huffed. While she knew that the super soldier only had her best interests at heart, it was more than a little annoying that he continued to insist. “And I’ve already explained to him why I won’t accept his offer. Now if you'll excuse me, it's getting late, and mon mari is cooking.”“Mo Marie?” The captain asked, stumbling over the pronunciation slightly.Darcy couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her - his mangled pronunciation and accent and the way his nose scrunched up as he tried was hilarious. “Mon mari.” She corrected. After a little over eight years of marriage, she had picked up more than a few of the phrases her husband used regularly, as well as enough French to get through. She was his femme, and he was her mari. “My husband.”“You're married?” Steve asked, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes. She had assumed that that bit of gossip would have made its rounds around the tower by now, but apparently not. Only half of the Tower’s residents seemed to know about her spouse, and it was starting to get on her nerves, having to explain things over and over again. To be fair to the Captain, though, the main people that she spent time with were her scientists, and he tended to stay as far away from the labs as possible, as well as keeping to himself. It was entirely possible that he didn't know because he hadn't spent enough time with the people who did know the truth.So she fished out her ring from the chain it was on, showing it off to him - along with the Queen of hearts pendant on the chain. “Eight years and counting.”. She said, slipping the chain back under her shirt. She had learned early on in her marriage that wearing her ring around people who didn't know the truth was a bad idea. People usually either assumed she was making it up, since she never really talked about her husband, or would try and find out who she was married to - and that was the sort of trouble that neither she nor Remy needed.He looked surprised. “I never took you for the marriage type.” Steve admitted. “No one ever does.” she relied, shrugging off his words even as she faked a smile. She didn’t mind it, really - it made her life easier in the long run. Remy was the same way - they both were terrible flirts, but everyone who knew them knew that it didn’t actually mean anything.She glared up at the ceiling - the elevator was moving far slower than it usually did, and she knew that it was JARVIS having a laugh at her expense. Tony kept the elevators running at twice the speed that most did, which meant that interference from the AI was the only logical explanation.“So, your husband…” Steve said awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets. “What does he do? Does he know that you…”“That I spend my time babysitting a team of superheroes?” She teased, laughing. Even as he laughed along with her, she was trying to figure out what to tell him about Remy. Saying that her husband was part of a team that the government had technically declared as a terrorist organization probably wouldn't go over well with the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan. “Yeah, he knows.”“So what does he do while you're chasing after Stark and Banner?” Steve asked.“He's an art history teacher.” She said, leaning back against the wall. “He teaches at a boarding school for gifted kids. It's where we met, actually.”He looked alarmed, and it took her a moment to figure out why. “You married your teacher?” He choked out, and her eyes widened for a second before she started laughing.“Jesus Christ, Steven.” She said, nearly doubling over in her laughter. “Don't be gross, all of my teachers are like twenty years older than me.”“So then…”“We both taught there, but we met as students. Teenage romance, y’know?” She shrugged. That was the easiest way to explain their story. But there was something in the air - in the emotions that were radiating off of him - that was niggling at her. “He teaches art history, I was a counselor. I went back to school for political science, and met Jane. The rest is history.”He smiled somewhat awkwardly, and she finally realized what it was that she was feeling. Awkwardness, sadness, and a hint of something else that she tended to get only from Remy - a sort of warm, fluttery feeling that made her insides wriggle in the best way when it was coming from her husband, because she knew it was love. This time, it just made her slightly uncomfortable.“He does security consults sometimes, too.” She added, trying to fill in the awkward silence without giving away the information that she had just learned. That earned a nod of approval from the captain. That almost made her snort - if only he knew that Remy’s 'security consultations’ had less to do with him studying blueprints and more to do with him climbing through vents and cracking codes. It was part of the reason why Remy wasn't allowed anywhere near Avengers Tower - he tended to get a bit too excited when it came to the more high-end security systems. JARVIS was more than enough to make the thief salviate.No one would ever find out that the other reason why Remy LeBeau wasn't allowed near Avengers Tower was an order from the Professor himself. The thief had run into Agents Romanoff and Barton in the past far too many times while doing work for the X-Men. Needless to say, Strike Team Delta wouldn't be too pleased to find the ‘Ragin’ Cajun’ on their turf.Finally, the elevator slowed to a halt, and the doors opened to let her out into the lobby. Waving an awkward goodbye to Steve, she spared a second to glare at the nearest camera to let JARVIS know just how displeased she was, then headed out the doors and into the New York night.She put her head down and her hands in her pockets, bracing herself against the stiff cold as she started her trek home for the night. With a little bit of luck, she would make it home in twenty five minutes or less.8888What she hadn't told Steve was that their place in Hell's Kitchen was an entire apartment building. They had torn up the inside with some help from Logan, and turned it into a gorgeous home. It wasn't like they had had any trouble affording the place, either - between Darcy's luck in the stock markets, Remy's various jobs, her paycheck from Stark, and their honeymoon trip to Vegas, they were very well off. She had protested the idea of buying an entire building at first, saying that they didn't need that much space. That was when Remy pointed out that they were both empaths, living in the middle of a massive city. Having the whole building to themselves was really the only way that they would ever be able to let their shields actually relax. While their shields had been built up enough over the years to be perfectly fine on their own, there were still times when the constant press of millions of people's emotions got to be too much. Even the buffer of a mostly empty building was enough of a respite for them to use it at every chance.She made her way up the first few flights of stairs, passing the dummy apartments and security systems that Remy had installed. There were a couple of people who lived on the first floor - mostly other mutants with strong shields, but also a few Guild members that Darcy pretended to not know were there. Plausible deniability was a good thing to have when there was every chance that the Director of SHIELD would come busting through your work.Despite the shabby appearance of the place, every inch of the building was structurally sound and as well-cared for as the Mansion itself. They had gone over every inch of the place when they first bought it, making repairs and replacements as needed. She smiled when she finally reached the correct floor, pressing her hand against the wall as she turned the doorknob and activating the hidden fingerprint scanner there. It beeped, verifying who she was, and the door opened. At first she had protested the ridiculous amount of security that he had put in the building - the place had more security than Fort Knox did.“No cigarettes in the house, Remy LeBeau.” Darcy called out, shutting and locking the door behind her.“I ain't got any!” Her husband called back, but she could hear the laughter in his voice even as the slightest hint of a lie came at her through their bond. A second later she heard the slight pop of a charged cigarette butt exploding, and she couldn't help the laughter that escaped her. There was something about coming home on the nights that Rem was in town that made her feel seventeen all over again.His cheerful mood buoyed her own, as did the smell of boudin cooking - some of the Cajun recipes that Remy loved so much were too much for those at the Mansion, and so he only made them at home. It only improved when she saw the man himself at the counter. Auburn hair was braided back out of his way, and she pulled on the end of it, bringing a laugh from him. His jeans were practically painted on, and a studded belt was wrapped loosely around his waist, an ancient Guns n Roses shirt on his chest.It was almost ridiculous, the sheer difference between the cocky and confident Gambit that everyone else saw, and the man that she knew. Remy had always worn his confidence like a shield - using people's misconceptions of the smooth-talking Cajun for his own gain. He was still a little shit half of the time if he didn't get what he wanted, and could charm his way into and out of trouble to no end, much to her dismay. But he was just… different. Less of the Ragin’ Cajun, and more of just Remy. It was like the difference when he spoke in third person vs first - the third person speech was a way to play on what people saw when they looked at him. They saw an uneducated swamp rat, and that's what he gave them. But when they dug a little deeper, they saw the genius hidden behind the mask. “Just you, cherie?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her.“Were you expecting someone else?” she teased. “Maybe your other wife?” “Oui, cherie.” He teased back, a cheeky grin on his face. “Got two wives, me. De other one's shorter an’ tinier, an’ she only eats when m’ femme drags her home. Got her head in de stars, dat one.”“Very funny, Rem.” She muttered, poking him in the side and smirking when he jumped. He swatted at her playfully, and she ducked before weaving around him so his arm ended up wrapped around her waist. She leaned into his side, frowning slightly at the fact that he was still wearing his trench coat. At one point she would have made a joke about it, but by now she knew better. That trench coat was more of an armor to her husband than his actual battle armor was - it had extra hidden pockets sewn into it, each one filled with card decks, lockpicks, and any other tools that he might need. She was the only person who could so much as touch it without him snarling at them - she liked to steal it and wear it as a robe on occasion. Him still wearing it meant that there was a chance they would need the protection that it represented.“What's going on?” She asked, giving him a searching look. There was a moment when she thought he would try and brush her worry off, but he surprised her. “De homme down at Luke’s bar was talkin’ about some connard wit’ mind powers.”. Remy admitted after thinking about it for a moment. “Got worried. Ain't many dat know we're here, but de ones dat do... “ he trailed off, letting the unfinished thought hang in the air.“Are you gonna be ok?” She asked, looking up at him. She wasn't worried about herself as much - she had the Avengers at her back, and a husband who would destroy the world to keep her safe. She would do the same for him in a heartbeat. But Remy was paranoid enough as it was - growing up a Thief would do that to you. Not to mention that he didn't have the Avengers to use for protection, nor did he want it. He often claimed that ‘if Remy wanted t’ be stuck around some righteous fucker wit’ a superiority complex, Remy would’ve gone t’ dinner wit’ Fearless.’“Oui. Fine as always.” he promised, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. “Now go on - y’ ain’t touchin’ de food til y’ get dat smell off y’. Y’ reek of smoke, an’ not de good kind.”She sniffed her hair, pulling a face even as she turned and headed for the bathroom. “Jane had an accident - it was only a little explosion.”“Makes me nervous when y’ say t’ings like dat.” he called out. She stripped out of her clothes, turning on the shower and allowing the water to heat up before stepping in.“Like what?” she asked, raising her voice a bit to be heard over the pounding water.“Little explosions.” she laughed at the exasperated amusement coloring his tone, stepping into the shower. It took her all of fifteen minutes to get cleaned up and throw on a pair of her own pajama pants and her husband’s t-shirt, and then she was back out in the kitchen, grabbing plates and cups while Remy got silverware.“What's wrong, bebelle?” he asked as they set the table. “Can feel de worry pourin’ out of y’.”She didn't answer until they had sat down, trying to figure out exactly how to tell him what she had learned. There were two ways that her husband might react to the information - he would either take it like an adult, or go storming in the direction of Avengers Tower, cards ablaze.“Steve has a crush on me.” she said abruptly, and Remy choked on his food. She winced - maybe that wasn't the best way to let him know, but she had wanted to get the reveal over and done with. Like ripping off a band-aid.“Merde, Darcy.” He swore once he was able to breathe again. “Y’ ought t’ warn a man 'fore y’ let him know t’ings like dat.”“Sorry.” she said, and he narrowed his eyes at her, feeling her amusement instead of anything resembling guilt. He snorted a laugh, knowing that she was anything but. But his mind was stuck on her words - the all-American, apple-pie super-soldier had a crush on his Darcy. His jaw squared and he tried to fight down the feelings bubbling up inside of him, but it was too late.“Hang on… are you jealous?” she asked, looking incredulous. Remy snorted, pushing his hair out of his face.“Of de walkin’ flag? Course not.” he forced the words out, wincing when he realized that it wasn’t going to work. That was one of the downsides of their link - not only could she tell that he was lying, but she could feel his jealousy.She looked delighted, and he scowled. “You’re so jealous!"“Dey're askin’ about y’ at de Mansion.” he said, quickly changing the subject. She hadn't been back since she left to go to New Mexico for her internship - one of her 'feelings’ kept her from returning, saying that this was where she needed to be. Most of the current generation of students had no idea that she even existed - if her family wanted to visit they came out to the city. Remy taught there, but he tended to keep things to himself - none of them talked about Darcy except for occasional references to their sister or the missions that she had gone on as Fortuna. “Jeannie wants t’ know if y’ would want t’ take up a class.”But Darcy shook her head. “Not yet.” she said, taking a bite of her dinner. “It’s not time for me to go back to the Manor.”Remy paused - Darcy had never been able to see the future before. Something was going on there. He looked up at her, raising an eyebrow at the way she was looking at him - like she was waiting for him to question her. And of course, he was never one to disappoint his femme. “Y’ got a new power I don’t know about?”She shook her head, eating another bite of food.“Den where y’ gettin’ y’r info’mation from?” he asked.She looked at him, completely serious. “Mattie.”“Mattie?” Remy asked, red eyes flashing in disbelief. “Tante Mattie sent y’ dis info’mation?”She nodded, looking as worried as he felt. Remy had been brought up on the streets with a strong respect for those who Saw things - those who could tell the future, whether it was by mystical means or through their mutant abilities. After being adopted by Jean-Luc LeBeau, and meeting Mattie Baptiste, that respect grew - the LeBeau family owed their lives to the older woman several times over. But as much as she cared about them, she tended to keep her eyes on New Orleans, not bothering herself with anything outside of the town. If she had sent Darcy information about whatever it was that she had Seen, whatever was going to happen was serious.“She said your life would depend on that information - that I had to stay away from the Mansion until I know that it’s time to go back.” she shrugged, helpless. “I wasn’t about to argue with her.”His eyes were unfocused, slightly glazed over as his mind moved five hundred miles an hour, trying to determine what could be that important. “When did she tell you dis?”“Right before I left to work with Jane.”“De letter.” he realized, shaking his head - the one that she had kept close, that he had never seen again. He had gone to get a shower, he remembered, and then when he came back it was gone. At the time he hadn’t worried about it, but it seemed that his inattention then was coming back to bite him now. “Y’ve been holdin’ dis for dat long?”She nodded, looking miserable. “You know I couldn’t tell you.” he did know that - Mattie had driven it into him at a young age that once you knew your future, it was set in stone.“I know.” he said, smiling reassuringly at her. “Jus’ makes me wonder, dat’s all - what could be comin’ dat’s so terrible.”She looked at him in complete horror, kicking him under the table. White eyes narrowed at him. “Well now you’ve just jinxed us.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

She was in the middle of making lunch for the ravenous hordes of Avengers Tower when the familiar click of Pepper’s heels could be heard echoing through the halls, coming closer to the kitchen with every step. “I’ll be fine, Tony.” the redhead said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed a mug and a teabag out of the cupboards. Tony followed her, wearing three-day old clothes and covered in grease. Darcy sighed - she would finish lunch and make Tony eat something, but then it would be time for him to sleep for at least seven hours, more if she could get her way. When she had first begun to enforce bedtimes for the scientists, Tony was the one who was the least compliant. Of course, it hadn’t taken much for her to get JARVIS on her side. After that, locking him out of the labs until he got enough sleep was child’s play. She tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Pepper continue. “It’s just a board meeting in New Orleans, and some publicity photos. That’s nowhere near a good reason to think about sending part of the Iron Legion as bodyguards.”“Do you know what kind of shit goes on down there?” Tony asked, sounding far too serious for anyone’s liking. While it was true that New Orleans had one of the highest crime rates - worse than even New York - part of that was due to the Guilds that had been in place for as long as the city had been standing. “I can’t protect you there. You’re taking the Legion.”“I’ll take two human bodyguards.” Pepper negotiated, looking irritated at having to negotiate at all. That was the moment that Darcy decided to step in - it would be much easier for her to take care of Tony if his partner didn’t kill him, after all.“If you're going to New Orleans, I can come with you.”. Darcy piped up from where she stood in the kitchen. “You'll need someone who knows the area and the people, and speaks the language.”“I speak fluent French.” Pepper objected, feeling a little bit hurt at the insinuation that she would need help. After all, it was New Orleans - it couldn't possibly be that hard to get around.“That's not exactly what I meant, boss lady.” Darcy said, stirring the big pot on the stove. She was piecing together one of the recipes that Logan had taught her years ago, chopping up bits and pieces before tipping them into the pot. It took a lot to feed the sheer amount of people in the tower - luckily she was used to feeding a crowd. “The locals aren't exactly that fond of outsiders poking their noses in where they don’t belong. They do the tourist schtick, and then all bets are off. You'll need someone who knows them if you want to make the right business connections. Plus, I can totally be a PA.”“See?” Tony said, pointing at the woman. “Darcy can go with you - she's like a good luck charm.”Darcy started choking a bit at the description, calming down after a few seconds. “I can go.” she agreed, shaking off the strange looks that the others were sending her. Tony clapped, drawing the attention back to himself.“Great! So Pep, take Darcy and a couple of guards with you.” he said. “Are you sure its okay with you, Darcy?” Pepper asked, looking worried. “I don’t want to impose…” But Darcy nodded - no matter what happened, she would never pass up a chance to go back to the city in the southland.“Yeah, of course!” she said, stirring the pot in front of her, careful not to let it burn. “It’ll give me a chance to visit the in-laws.”“If you’re sure…” Pepper said, still obviously not convinced.“Pepper, we go shopping together before every event and half the time you refuse to let me pay for my dress. The least I can do is go on this trip with you.”Darcy waited until the others had left before she actually started to think over what she had just promised. She was going to be taking her boss, Pepper goddamn Potts, to meet her in-laws, who were criminals. There was an extremely slim chance that this would work out, which meant that she would have to be on her guard. “Laissez les bon temp rouler.” she muttered under her breath as she started to serve up lunch.8888As the plane started its descent into MSY airport, Darcy remembered the first time that she had been to New Orleans. Barely nineteen and married just over a year, Remy had asked her to go back to his hometown in his place - he was still banned from New Orleans after his first marriage, and had important information to give to his father. She had expected to get in and get out, with no fuss or anything to worry about. Just a simple information drop. Of course, she had forgotten one simple thing - this was the LeBeau family, and things were never that simple with them. As soon as she had stepped off the plane, three men were waiting for her - Thieves that had been sent to act as bodyguards. They had taken her straight to the LeBeau family mansion, where Jean-Luc and the rest of the LeBeau clan were waiting with open arms. After that, it was like she had stepped into an alternate reality of sorts - one where the laws of honor were still in play, and thieves and assassins ruled the nights. Darcy shook her head, pulling herself out of her thoughts. If she was going to bring her boss and friend into the Big Easy, she was at least going to warn the woman of what was waiting. “So before we get there, I need to tell you something important.” she said, setting aside the file that she had been looking over. Pepper put hers down as well, studying her friend. Her red hair shone gold in the sunlight, and the crisp white of her suit gleamed.“What’s the matter?” she asked, looking far more worried than she probably should have. But then, she had been dealing with Tony for years by that point. The phrase ‘I need to tell you something’ probably set off something in her brain by this point, a sort of danger sense that told her reflexively that Tony was up to something.“Nothing bad.” she promised, then took a deep breath before she began. “This is the South - the deep South. There's a way of doing things around here that is found nowhere else. New Orleans is a town built on traditions and old feuds that come into play far too often. All the old families know each other.” she smiled softly, shrugging as she added in one more piece of information. “Unfortunately for me, I married into one of those old families.” Pepper looked intrigued. “So what does that mean?”“Lots of old traditions.” she joked. “There are laws down here that aren’t found anywhere else in the world, that have been in use since before the laws were actually written down. They pride themselves on their reputation,” which didn’t mean what Pepper most likely thought it meant, Darcy couldn’t help but think. “And they don’t like outsiders much. That’s part of why I insisted on coming with you.”
‘
“It’s not going to be dangerous, is it?” Pepper asked, glancing back towards the bodyguards who had taken over the back of the plane - close enough to keep an eye on them, but far enough away to keep from being overbearing. But Darcy shook her head.“You’re just visiting, so you’ll be okay. I’m mostly here as insurance.” she tried to make her words as joking as possible, but there was a shrewd look in the business woman's eyes that let Darcy know that her friend had seen far more than she wanted her to.“How do you handle it?” Pepper asked. There was a knowing gleam in her eyes, one that said she had an idea of what the brunette’s family was like. “Being the hit of the social scene?” Darcy snorted - she wasn’t wrong, in a way. The family was definitely popular, just probably not in the way that the redhead imagined.She smiled wryly. “I've had years to get used to it. Plus I don’t spend a lot of time down here anyway - I tend to stay out of the spotlight.”8888They were whisked away to their hotel as soon as they landed, a SI limo with tinted windows picking them up. Out of the corner of her eye, Darcy could see an almost obvious tail behind them - she would have to talk to Jean-Luc about the skillsets of his Thieves. While they typically didn’t follow people, when they did it they would have to at least be competent at it. Their hotel was one of the more modern ones a short distance away from the French Quarter, which meant that they were at least a bit away from the traffic and tourists that filled the square. There was already paparazzi waiting outside for them when they pulled up, and she was abruptly relieved for the SI bodyguards that Tony sent along. No one recognized her - no one ever did, she was just lucky like that - but it was still nice to know that there were Thieves in the crowd, keeping an eye on the reporters. There was a part of her that knew that none of the photos that they were taking would ever make it to print, but the rest of her was just irritated that they were standing between her and the hotel entrance.Once they finally got inside and past the endless rounds of I know you from somewhere, don’t I? that always happened whenever Pepper went anywhere, they made it to the hotel room.“So the first SI meeting isn't until tomorrow morning at ten.” Darcy said, checking the schedule as she flopped down on the bed. Her hair fell into her face, and she sighed, pushing it back behind one ear. She would braid it back before they left the room, but for now she just let it lay there. “Which means we have the rest of today to see everything.”“I don't know, Darcy…” Pepper said, running a hand through her hair. The always put-together woman was looking distinctly frazzled, and she couldn't help but smirk - the humidity of New Orleans did that with ease. “I don't think I can go out in that heat.”“I told you not to wear a suit…” she said in a sing-song voice, laughing at the eyeroll that the redhead gave her. “Besides, you totally have to check out some of the places on my list - they're New Orleans must-sees.”Pepper sighed, but grabbed a sundress and a pair of flats out of her bag, heading towards the bathroom with it. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready.” she called over her shoulder, closing the door behind her.8888Darcy felt a weight lift off of her shoulders the second that they hit the New Orleans streets. There was just something about this city that felt like home as much as the Mansion always had. It was in the air and the relaxed atmosphere, the smell of spices and cooking food. It was the strains of music that floated around them from performers on every street corner, and the people peddling food and gris-gris on the streets. But it was more than that, in a way. It was the knowledge that nothing could happen to her here, due to a combination of her own training and skills and the Guild members. Her own skills - built from years spent training with the team and extra sessions with her sisters, Logan, and husband - were more than enough to get her out of any situation that could possibly occur, but having that extra protection made it a lot easier to relax. Back when she had first come to New Orleans, the feeling of eyes constantly watching her had made her nervous - the Thieves were good at staying hidden, but she could feel their concentration. Now, she banished it to the back of her mind, ignoring them unless she needed them for something.“Come on, Pepper.” she said, wrapping her arm around her friend’s and dragging her through the hotel lobby. “I’ll give you the official New Orleans tour.”They went to a few of the tourist traps, but also made their way through places that only the locals really knew - places that her family had shown her over the years. She was recognized in a few places, either from past trips or as a vague associate of New Orleans elite. They made their way to Bourbon Street next - somewhere Pepper insisted on going - and stopped in every shop they saw, no matter what they sold.They were halfway to the restaurant that Darcy wanted to go to for lunch - a place that served the best crawfish and oysters that she had ever tasted - when she felt it. Taking a moment to center herself, she zeroed in her senses on the emotions around them.It was the same sort of feeling that she got from Remy occasionally - the muffled sort of focus, like all of their energy was focused on being as stealthy as possible. With him it usually meant that he was trying to sneak up on her if they were at home, or that he was thieving if they were out somewhere. But this felt just a bit darker, with none of the light-heartedness that Remy was known for. That was what told her to act.She pivoted just enough to move without being instantly noticeable, before grabbing ahold of the kid who was just about to slit the straps of Pepper's purse. They dropped the knife in their surprise, and she made sure to scoop that up as well, pocketing it in one smooth motion - there was no point in leaving the weapon behind where anyone could pick it up.“Oh no you don't.” Darcy said, making the child let go of Pepper's bag. At the same time, she signaled to their bodyguards - both the Stark employees and the Guild members - that she could handle this. “But nice try, kiddo.”The girl’s eyes widened slightly as they stared at the hand that had been caught, and she had to fight back the urge to laugh at the sheer disbelief on her face.“How did y’…” the child began, looking up at her in amazement. She had to fight back the urge to laugh at the expression on the kid’s face - it was the same sort of surprise that the Avengers got when something happened that they couldn’t quite explain, but somehow knew that she had something to do with.Her eyes widened behind her glasses, and a smile pulled at her mouth as she wiggled her fingers in the air. “Magic.” she said, giggling softly when the girl just rolled her eyes.She smiled softly at her response, even as the girl tried to pull away and melt back into the crowd. But Darcy held onto her wrist, keeping her grip tight. The girl’s smile fell and she started to try and yank her arm away, black hair flying out behind her with every yank. “Let go o’ me.” she urged, trying to sound as threatening as possible. It didn’t work in the slightest.“On one condition.” Darcy said, taking in the threadbare condition of her clothes and the way her skin stretched over her tiny frame. “Go to the Beauregard-Keyes house, and ask for help.”But the girl - she couldn’t have been more than twelve - shook her head. “Non, mademoiselle.” she replied, eyes wide with fear. “Dat’s de T’ieves land - I ain’t couillon. No one goes in dere wit’out bein’ invited an’ comes back out.” Darcy smiled - this girl was smart if she knew about the Thieves Guild. Information about them was strongly protected, enough that even those who had lived in New Orleans for their entire lives often thought it was just a legend. But she paused before she said anything else, mind racing as she thought of the potential outcomes that might occur from this. New Orleans ran on different laws than the rest of the country - codes and honor systems that were so old they had never really even been written down. She had to proceed very cautiously here or she might end up taking home a child. “Ask for Jean-Luc when you get there. If he’s not there, then ask for Mattie Baptiste. Tell him Darcy sent you.” as soon as she said that, the girl went pale - probably realizing that she had just tried to pickpocket someone associated with the Thieves Guild. “And if anyone stops you, tell them you have an important message for the King.”There was a moment when her eyes burned with anger, but it quickly died down. “What ‘m I supposed t’ tell him, den?” she asked sullenly.Darcy smiled - the hard part, getting the little girl to listen to her, was over and done with. “You tell him what happened, and then you ask him for a job.”Surprise emanated from her, as evident on her face as it was in the reading that Darcy got off of her. “A job?”“Someone with your skills needs to be honing those skills, using them.”“You caught me.” the girl pointed out, but Darcy just grinned.“I have an advantage.” she admitted. “Now go.” she ordered, and the girl nodded, turning and heading in the right direction.“That was lucky.” Pepper remarked, earning a snort of laughter from Darcy. She turned to face her friend, linking their arms together as they continued on their way down the street like nothing had happened.“You haven't even seen my kind of luck yet.” Darcy said, shaking her head as they followed the smell of seafood and spices. “Hopefully you'll never have to.”. With that cryptic statement, they continued on their way.8888They had finally sat down for lunch when Pepper went stiff. “Darcy,” she said quietly, taking care to keep from acting like anything had changed. “Do you see -”“The dudes following us?” She finished for her friend, not even bothering to turn and look at the people that Pepper were staring at. “Yuppers. They've been there since the airport.”. She seemed completely unconcerned by the idea, instead just taking another look over the menu.“And you're not panicking because…”“Because they're guards from my father-in-law.” she said simply, then started to point them out. “The one in the corner on his cell phone with the trenchcoat… the blonde woman reading over there… and the man at the corner with the plate of beignets.”. She didn't mention the three members of the Assassins Guild that she had seen keeping tabs on them since they had started walking. The last thing that she needed was to let anyone know what she had seen and make the age-old feud between Guilds worse. Chances were, the Assassins had no idea who she was - they were only following them because of the Thieves that were guarding them. Most of the people in New Orleans had no idea who the LeBeau family was, except for the legends of the Guilds that were told on dark nights. Even in the Guild itself, most of the members had never met Jean-Luc or Henri - even fewer of them had met Remy, as he had been banished over a decade ago and only recently allowed back. She let a smile play over her lips as she wondered what exactly the Guild members who were guarding them had been told.She waited until their waiter had left before continuing the conversation. “Jean-Luc knows everything that happens in his city.” Darcy said, keeping her voice low to avoid drawing attention. “He knew the moment that the plane touched down that we were here.”“That doesn't worry you?” Pepper asked, raising an eyebrow. “That he has guards following us, I mean.”Darcy thought about it for a second, before admitting, “It used to freak me out a bit. I thought it was because he was waiting for me to screw up. Then I realized - he does the same thing with his sons. He has guards follow them whenever they're in the city. Henri has never left New Orleans as far as I know, and Rem put his foot down about having guards outside the city.” She shrugged, stirring her drink with her straw. A small, fond smile crossed her face. “It's his way of showing that he cares. The whole family has enemies that they need protecting against, a lot like Tony does - they’re old money, my family. Not to mention the job makes me a bit of a target.” she added, smiling self-deprecatingly.That at least made sense, and answered the question of why he had sent guards. Kidnapping attempts was something that everyone connected to money had to worry about, but it was worse when they were connected to the people that they knew.“And if I know him at all, he'll have something planned for tonight to welcome us.” Darcy continued. With that said, she waved frantically in the direction of one of the people that she had identified as one of their guards. Pepper had to work to smother her laughter when the man paled, realizing that he had been made. It was only sheer professionalism that kept him upright as he walked over - his face grew redder with every step he took until he was standing right in front of their table. He bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement to Darcy, before turning and doing the same thing to Pepper.“Bonjour, mon ami. Tu travaillez pour Jean-Luc, oui?” She asked the man. In the years that she had known Remy, she had slowly but surely learned the language. He liked to tease her that her accent was terrible, but she still did well enough to pass.“Oui, Mme Lewis.” he responded. It took Pepper a moment to translate what they were saying - Louisiana French wasn't much different than regular French, but it was enough of a difference to throw her off.
“y a-t-il quelque chose à faire? je sais qu'il planifie quelque chose...”
He nodded. “Oui - un fais do-do.”She switched back over to English, still keeping her eyes trained on the man in front of them. “There’s not going to be any business happening, is there?” she asked, and the man looked shocked before he schooled his expression. She had to work to keep from smirking - it was always nice to get one over on a Thief, even if it wasn’t her Thief. “I’d hate to interrupt a meeting.”“Non, madame.” the man reassured, before switching over to English. “Dere won’t be anything but de music an’ food.” his voice was accented, but not like a native of the area. It was a bit lighter - like that of someone who had simply lived in New Orleans for long enough to pick up the accent.“Thanks, dude.” she said, waving him off with a smile. “You can go back to your skulking now - I’ll even act like I have no idea you and your buddies are here.”The man cracked half of a smile at that before bowing out of the conversation and leaving the duo to their lunch.8888It was later that night when Darcy got a text from an unknown number - Dinner’s at six, ma fille. Don’t be late. She smiled at her phone - she may not have known the number, but she definitely knew who the sender was. “Pepper, do you want to come over to my father-in-law’s house for dinner?” she asked, looking up from her phone. The redheaded woman was sprawled out on one of the beds in their two-bedroom suite, with Darcy perched on the couch nearby. Pepper thought about it for a moment before nodding her head, climbing off of the bed and heading for the closet. After a day of being tourists in the New Orleans heat, even Pepper was in need of a shower.“Wear something pretty.” Darcy advised, getting up from her spot and heading for the suitcase that she had left somewhere in the monstrosity of a suite that Tony had booked for them. “Just not business-y. Trust me, business and bayou don't mix very well.”Darcy slipped on a floral sundress that she had brought with her, along with a pair of heels that Remy had gotten for her (read: stole) during a mission in France a few months earlier. Pulling her hair up and quickly fixing her makeup was all that she had time for before Pepper came back out of the bathroom in a sundress of her own with matching sandals. “Are you ready?” she asked, still putting in earrings as she made her way to the door. “I want to meet this family of yours.”Darcy nodded, smiling widely at the thought of introducing her friend to her family. “But before we go…” she trailed off as she rummaged through her bag, before finally pulling out a bottle of Scotch that she had liberated from Tony before they left the Tower. “We’re gonna need this.”“What for?” Pepper asked, and Darcy grinned.“You can't go to a party and not bring a gift.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A car was already waiting outside the hotel for them when they made it down to the lobby, leaving the guards that Tony had assigned upstairs. Darcy smiled, thanking the man who opened the back for them with a warm smile. He bowed slightly, earning a curious look from Pepper. Darcy shook her head in reply, a silent request to not ask. The windows were tinted dark enough that no one would be able to see inside the car, and the driver had the partition up so that he didn’t see who he was driving, and they weren’t able to ask him any questions.They made their way through the city, lit up with the nightlife that the town was famous for. People milled through the streets, ducking in and out of bars and restaurants. It was only when the car started to go further and further into the outskirts of the city - closer to the bayous than she was completely comfortable with - that she started to worry a bit. “Where exactly are we going?” Pepper asked, looking out the window at everything passing them by. Houses were becoming few and far between, and the nighttime air was filled with the sounds of crickets and birds and the occasional burst of laughter. “Here we are.” she finally said, smiling as the car rolled to a stop outside of a wrought iron gate. The window rolled down for the guard at the gate to check and see who was inside, and the man smiled when he caught sight of Darcy. “Mme. LeBeau, ‘s bon t’ see y’.”Darcy’s answering grin was infectious. “Heyyy, dude.” she said, holding out her hand for a fist bump that the guard gladly returned. “How’s it going?”“Everyt’in is bien, madame.” he reported, straightening up like a soldier would. Darcy smiled in satisfaction, pleased that things were going well. If they weren’t, she would have had the car turn around immediately. “Awesome.” she said, relaxing back into the seat. “Have fun on guard duty.” she teased as the car pulled in past the gates, making the way up the long driveway.Pepper’s eyes widened slightly as the house came into view. “This place is impressive… and definitely not what I was expecting.” She said, taking in the old Southern-style facade of the mansion in the starlight. At least two stories tall, with a wrap-around porch on the first and second stories, the house was lit up from the inside. Strains of music floated outside, and they could hear laughter coming from inside as they climbed out of the car and headed for the door. “What's going on in there?”“'s a fais do-do, cherie.” A rough, smoky voice replied from the shadows, making Pepper jump and Darcy beam. She was one of the most eccentric people that Pepper had ever seen in her life. Tiny and wizened, her hair a never-ending mass of beads piled on top of her head, the woman stepped out of the shadows that filled the New Orleans night.“Bonsoir, Tante.” Darcy said, hurrying over to the tiny woman that was making her way over to them. “How's everything in the Big Easy?”“Life’s bon, chile - jus’ like always.” the woman replied, pulling Darcy in for a bone-crushing hug. “Dat fille y’ sent over sends ‘er regards, by de way. Now den - y’ gon’ introduce me t’ y’r ami?”“This is Mattie Baptiste - she runs the whole LeBeau family.” Darcy said, introducing the two woman. “Tante, this is my friend, Pepper Potts.”Pepper smiled warmly at the old lady who seemed to emanate wisdom. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Baptiste.” she said, holding out her hand.But the woman bypassed her hand entirely, pulling her into a hug instead. “Y’ call me Tante, chile.” Mattie chided. “Jus’ like de rest o’ dem.”“What’s the occasion for the party?” Pepper asked, looking around. The house was lit up from the inside, warm and inviting despite its imposing size.“This is N’Awlins, cherie!” Mattie cackled, waving off her words. “Y’ don’t need an occasion f’ a party.”They walked into the house, Mattie in between them and asking mostly harmless questions, although Pepper swore that the woman knew more than she was letting on. The house itself made her pause - it was gorgeous. Polished wood floors covered every inch, with expensive rugs thrown over it in places. Two gleaming spiral staircases led to the upstairs balcony, where a group of people stood, watching everything below them. Past the staircases, the house opened up into a large room where dozens of people gathered, dancing and drinking. Some of them looked at Tante Mattie with some idea of who she was, nodding their heads in silent respect. That was the thing about her father-in-law’s ‘court’ - no one knew exactly who they were, but they knew that these people were with Mattie, which made them important to the King of Thieves.“If it ain't our Darcy Marie.” A voice boomed from across the room. “What are y’ doin’ here, cherie?” A man came across the room, the crowds parting before him like they knew he was coming. Whoever this man was, he was important, Pepper realized. Not Tony important - where everyone knew him - but a different sort of important. This man could say jump and people would ask ‘how high?’, but then disappear into the shadows with no one knowing who he was. Jean-Luc LeBeau was the opposite of what people usually assumed a thief would be like. He was tall and muscular, with close-cropped hair that was halfway to gray. While he had the same thick accent that his son did, it was somehow more refined than Remy's, holding none of the slang or poor grammar that the younger Cajun used. His sharp eyes softened slightly when he saw the trio of women making their way across the floor.“Don't act so surprised, Jean-Luc.” Darcy replied, trying to act at least slightly professional in a house full of people who didn't know who she was - and who she preferred to keep from finding out who she was. “You knew I was coming.”“That I did. Bonsoir, jolie fille.” He said, making the people around him stop talking as he crossed those last few feet, pulling Darcy into a hug. Pepper looked on in surprise - while Darcy seemed to crave human contact at times, she also was normally the one to initiate it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one man who had started to move towards them as soon as Darcy had moved towards Jean-Luc, but he was held back by someone else before he could take more than two steps. She shook it off, though, paying attention to her friend. “Hey, Papa.” Darcy said softly, having long ago adopted the name. “Darcy.” He replied, just as softly. He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head before letting her go. “What are y’ doin’ in N’awlins, petite? An’ where’s dat scientist of y’rs?”“Actually we’re here on business - Jane’s back in New York.” she said, and Jean-Luc scoffed. “No, really.” she pulled Pepper forward by the hand, making Jean-Luc look at her appraisingly. Pepper flinched under his gaze - it was like he was looking into her very soul, seeing if she meant them any harm. Evidently, she passed the test because he relaxed slightly. “Jean-Luc, this is my boss Ms. Potts. Pepper,” she paused, taking a breath before continuing on. “This is my father-in-law, Monsieur LeBeau.” Pepper did well at hiding her surprise, but they both still caught it. “You have a lovely home, Mr. LeBeau.” she said, once she had gotten over the brief moment of surprise. She had been picturing an older gentleman with a beer gut and a house in the suburbs, not the man in front of her.“Merci.” Jean-Luc grinned. “Now den.” he said, turning to look at his daughter-in-law. “Are y’ just here for de fais do-do, or...?” he trailed off, a knowing look in his eyes.“Actually I came to ask for a favor.” Darcy said. The man nodded, already knowing what she was going to ask.“Dere’s no need to ask, petite.” he said gently, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Y’ know we’ll take care of y’.”Darcy’s smile was slightly strained as she looked up at the man that had taken in her husband as a child, and then her as an adult. Many in her position would have been terrified, asking a favor from the King of Thieves. But she wasn’t most people, and he wasn’t the King at the moment. “So you'll keep her safe?” “Of course, ma fille.” Jean-Luc drawled, looking slightly offended that she had even asked such a question. “Do y’ really think I'd let anyt’in happen t’ y’r ami?”

“Not really.” she admitted, pulling him into another hug. “Thanks, Papa.”

“Y'r so very welcome, m’ Darcy-Marie.”

She turned to Pepper, linking their arms together as they walked away. She could feel Jean-Luc’s apprehension and knew that this fais do-do was more than it appeared. There was no doubt that somewhere right now, part of the Guild was off committing a high-profile robbery. This was Jean-Luc’s alibi. With her shields open like they were, for a moment she swore that she felt a familiar brush against her mind. She paused, closing her eyes as she swept the room again, but whoever it was was gone.

“Darcy Marie!” Jean-Luc called out once they had made it halfway across the floor. The sounds of the party quieted slightly, all of the guests wanting to know what was so important as to have Jean-Luc LeBeau shouting across his own house. “Dere’s some homme dat wants t’ talk with y’.”

“What’s your take on him?” Darcy asked, looking up so she could see where he pointed. She didn’t recognize anyone up there, but half of the balcony was hidden in shadows so there was a good chance that they were hiding there. She was used to this by now - people who thought that asking her for help or trying to use her to get to the LeBeau clan were smart ideas. They saw her tiny frame and figured that she would be the weakest link.

She had a lot of fun proving them wrong.

“I think he's a couillon.” Jean-Luc replied, a hint of laughter in his voice. “And dat y’r too good for de likes of him. But y’ might think different.”

“Merci beaucoup, Papa.” a deep, heavily accented voice drawled in amusement from the shadows at the top of the stairs.

Murmurs of “le diable Blanc" swept the room, making Pepper slightly uneasy. She studied the man coming down the stairs - from his long hair to the obviously expensive clothes he wore - but couldn't see any reason as to why they called him the White Devil. The only thing that she didn't quite understand was why he was wearing sunglasses inside and at night.

His footsteps echoed against the wooden floor as he crossed the room to them, and people fell silent as he walked by - women practically fell over, and men either glared or did the same. Pepper watched as he nodded in her direction, before sweeping down to kiss Darcy's hand. “Bonsoir, ma belle.”

That piqued her curiosity - especially when Darcy smiled in response, instead of pulling out her taser that she had used the last time someone had flirted with her. “I thought that was you that I felt earlier,” she smirked. “You’re getting slow.” she said, taking his sunglasses from him as he straightened up.

He winced playfully, a smile playing on his face. “Y’ wound me, bebe.” she snorted, shaking her head at his cheesy routine.

“Dance wit’ me?” he asked, offering her his hand. “'Fore Remy gets too old t’ dance.”

Darcy rolled her eyes even as she took his hand, saying, “You're not much older than I am, Rem.”

“Mebbe not.” He conceded, sweeping her out onto the floor. “But y’ ain't gonna blame me fo’ stealin’ y’ away, are y’? Not when y’r lookin’ dis bon.”

“Shut up.” she snarked, resting one hand on his waist as she intertwined the fingers of her other hand with his. He smirked but didn’t say anything as he began to lead her through the steps. She kept one eye on her feet and one on her husband, worried about tripping but too excited to actually look away from him for longer than a minute or so.

“Y’ look so beau.” his voice was so quiet that at first, she wasn’t sure if he had said anything at all, but one look was enough to assure her that he had.

“You always say that.” She replied, and Remy smirked. He spun them around and she laughed, earning them a dirty look from an older couple on the dance floor.

“Dat's because it's always true.” he added, and she turned her head away. “Dere it is.” He said, a Cheshire grin spreading across his face as he spotted her blush. “Dat rose in y’r cheeks dat always looks so beau.”

8888

Pepper watched the pair spinning around on the floor, a small smile on her face as she swayed to the beat of the music. It was obvious just from watching the pair on the dance floor who the man with Darcy was, and while she couldn’t quite understand why her friend had never brought the man around the Tower, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the family business. Despite that, there was something about the family that made her want to trust them - and she had spent many days learning how to tell if a person was trustworthy or not. Despite everything that should have told her otherwise, she had a strong feeling that the LeBeau family was far better than they appeared.

“Ms. Potts!” a voice called out, drawing the redhead’s attention away from her friend on the dance floor. Pepper looked over to see a familiar figure coming towards her, one that she had argued with many times over a boardroom table. She sighed even as she straightened up, going from relaxing to ready for battle in the blink of an eye.

“Mr. Gotthard.” she greeted, a strained smile on her face as she turned to face the man. “What a… pleasant surprise.”

“I’m just as surprised to see you here.” he replied, but there was a gleam in his eyes that made her nervous, like he thought he had just gotten some kind of leverage over her. She wasn’t exactly sure what he thought it was, but that look needed to disappear immediately.

“I’m here as a friend of the family, I suppose.” Pepper said. She wasn’t quite sure how to describe her relationship to the people who had welcomed her into their house with open arms, but that seemed to be as good a way as any. “One of my friends is… close with them. And you?”

“Strictly business, I’m afraid.” he said, now looking distinctly nervous, the air of triumph completely gone. Those nerves grew when a tiny figure appeared at her side, the beads in her hair shining in the light.

“Everyt’in’ a’right o’er here, cherie?” Mattie asked, her low voice a soothing counterpart to the hum of voices around them. There was a look in the older woman’s eyes that made Pepper stop for a moment - a look that reminded her of Tony on the warpath.

“Everything’s fine, Ms. Baptiste.” Pepper replied diplomatically, and the woman snorted.

“Don’t y’ lie t’ Mattie, petite - it ain’t gon’ work. An’ I done tol’ y’, y’ call me Tante like de rest of dem.” the elderly woman scolded. She didn’t have a chance to say anything else before they were interrupted again.

“Monsieur, y’ wouldn’t be botherin’ de lovely Mme. Potts, would y’?” Jean-Luc said, sounding cordial enough to anyone listening. But there was an iciness to his gaze that - while Pepper saw it clear as day - Mr. Gotthard ignored.

“Mr. LeBeau, this is Brian Gotthard.” Pepper said, introducing the two men. Mr. Gotthard seemed to be ecstatic to have a chance to meet their host, while Jean-Luc himself didn’t seem particularly pleased to deal with the other man.

“Y’ call me Jean-Luc, madame.” the man said, smiling warmly at the woman before turning to look at Mr. Gotthard. “An’ I’m very familiar wit’ dis fils de putain.” the curse was Cajun, and so she couldn’t quite decipher what it meant, but there was a familiar tone to his voice that let her guess as to the general meaning of the phrase.

“Jean-Luc.” Mr. Gotthard said, looking excited to have a chance to speak with the man, but the older gentlemen cut him off quickly with a tone of pure steel.

“Y’ can call me Monsieur LeBeau.” he snapped, before his face eased into a pleasant smile - one that a person would have to work hard to tell was forced. “Y’ are not supposed to be here, monsieur - dis party is for family.”

“Miss Potts is here.” the man replied, a hint of warning in his tone.

“Mme. Potts doesn’t need t’ do business wit’ us.” Jean-Luc said, his eyes narrowed. “She’s perfectly capable of managing her own accounts, and is here as an ami of my daughter.” from the tone of his voice and Mr. Gotthard’s reaction, she could tell that there was some veiled threat or insult in his seemingly innocuous statement

“What was that about?” Pepper asked, letting Jean-Luc pull her onto the dance floor. They spun around, Jean-Luc leading and Pepper trying to keep up with the unfamiliar steps. Despite everything that she knew, dancing was one of the few things that had never been her forte. They spun past Darcy and her husband, who had stopped actually dancing and were just swaying together on the side of the floor.

“Dere are times when it's better not to know.” he said, spinning her around. “Dis town thrives on secrets, Madame.” he must have seen the look on her face, because he smiled, quick to reassure her. Not to worry, though - nothing here will come back to harm you. Dis family’s been blessed with luck.”

“What I could use is some luck in avoiding the paparazzi.” she muttered, quiet enough that she didn’t think he would hear her. If the LeBeau family was involved in anything illegal- and she was beginning to think that they were - the last thing that she needed was a paparazzo snapping pictures of her leaving.

“Taken care of, cherie.” he reassured her. “Dere’s no paps in N’Awlins dat would come near here, no matter who we have in de house. In fact,” he added, a crooked grin on his face, “it wouldn’t surprise me if dere were no pictures of dis trip at all.”

“Maybe you are lucky after all.” she said, and he laughed.

“Dat we are, cherie.”

Eventually the music slowed down, and dinner was served. Jean-Luc pulled out her chair when they went to sit down, waiting until she had before sitting down himself. Pepper sat on Darcy’s left, with Remy on her right and Jean-Luc next to the redhead. Tante Mattie sat on Jean-Luc’s other side.

“I'm surprised 'Ro didn't come with you.” Darcy said once they were all settled in. Remy shrugged, draping an arm around her shoulder. Jean-Luc glared at him, and the arm quickly fell away - he had already been lectured enough times about proper manners, and he didn’t feel like getting called out on it.

“Mais, m’ Stormie had her own t’ings t’ attend to.” he said, shaking his head. “She an’ Logan had classes t’ teach.”

“So why aren’t you in class?” Darcy asked, cuddling in as close to her husband as she could while still following Jean-Luc’s rules for appropriate behavior. Normally they would have been fine, but this was technically a public setting and as such, had much more stringent rules.

“‘Cause ol’ Remy had un bebelle t’ surprise.” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “An’ dat was much more important.”

Pepper elbowed her lightly, and she jumped - she had practically forgotten the other woman was there. She blushed slightly, waiting for the catering staff - who had all been vetted by the Guild before being allowed within 100 feet of the LeBeau property even if they didn’t know who the LeBeau clan was - to move away from the table, letting them speak freely.

“Shoot, sorry.” she said, apologizing to her friend. “Pepper, this is my husband Remy. Rem, this is my boss - Pepper Potts.”

“Bonsoir, mademoiselle.” Remy said, finally looking at her. Only years of living with Tony Stark kept her from reacting to the startling eyes that stared back at her. After a moment, he relaxed, an easy going smile spreading across his face as he accepted that she wasn’t going to panic.

“A’right, chile,” Mattie said, drawing attention away from Remy. “Y’ gon’ tell us anyt’in about dem couillon y’r workin’ fo’, or do we have t’ keep on guessin’?”

Darcy tried to look scandalized while the rest of the table laughed - even Pepper had a hard time keeping a straight face.

“Actually...” Pepper said, drawing all of their attention. She set her wineglass down on the table, a smirk forming on her face as she locked eyes with her friend. “I’ll trade you - stories about Tony and the team in exchange for this gumbo recipe.”

They all stared at her for a moment or two, and she was almost afraid that she had said the wrong thing until Remy cracked a grin. “Y’ can have anyt’in y’ want, cherie, so long as y’ keep tellin’ dem stories.”

8888

“Y’ take care of y’rself, Darcy Marie.” Jean-Luc said, turning to look at his son and daughter-in-law. The pair had barely let go of each other for a second since Remy had shown up. Even during dinner, one of them was always brushing up against the other. If it was anyone else, he would have said something - but Jean-Luc LeBeau had always had a soft spot for the orphan boy that he had brought in off the streets, and that soft spot only grew when he sent his new bride down in his place to bring him sensitive information. The poor girl had looked like she was terrified of him at first, but had quickly come out of her shell, charming them all in a little under a day. “An’ y’ as well, Remy.” he turned to the newcomer - Miss Virginia Potts - giving his son and daughter-in-law a moment to themselves.

“An’ as for de lovely Mme. Potts…” he began, and Pepper looked up at the man in front of her, chin held high as she waited for him to pass judgment over her. It wasn’t the first time in her life that something like that had happened, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. But after a moment he smiled, brown eyes lighting up with fondness. “Y’ come back whenever y’ want, petite.”

8888

The same driver who had picked them up earlier in the evening dropped them off in front of their hotel late that night.

“Do me a favor, Pepper?” Darcy asked nervously, sitting down on a couch and pulling off her shoes with one hand. “If we could not tell the team about Rem and everyone else…”

“Why not?”

“We’re really private people. Remy’s family is famous in certain circles, and so we don't like to talk much… it's safer for both of us that way.” Darcy explained, hoping that she wouldn't have to say much more. There wasn't much else that she would be able to say without giving everything away.

“Your secret is safe with me.” Pepper promised. “I can understand your reasoning - you have no idea how often I wish that Tony and I had kept our relationship secret.”

“But that being said…” Pepper said, grabbing her friend’s attention once more, “don’t let your need for secrecy get in the way of living, okay?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

As soon as the alarms went off inside of Avengers Tower, they all knew that something serious was about to go down. There were three different levels of alarms - the normal intruder alarm, the Science! Alarm, and the ‘the world is ending we’re all going to die’ alarm. This one was none of those three. Instead, it was the special ‘Avengers attack in the Tower’ alarm that Tony had installed after the first time. Darcy made sure that all of the scientists on her floor of the building made it to the panic rooms before taking her Scientists Three and heading for their own, specially Hulk-Proofed room, JARVIS keeping them updated on everything going on around them.They watched what was going on through the video feed that JARVIS was streaming into the room, wincing with every particularly bad hit that the team took. “Janey, I need you to keep Brucie-bear calm.” Darcy said, wincing as Tony took a brutal hit. They had made it to the panic room - Bruce tended to come with them for these because he didn't want to break any more of the city than was absolutely necessary.“Why?” Jane asked, looking at her best friend through narrowed eyes. “What are you going to do?”“Something stupid.” Darcy admitted. “But helpful.” She pulled off her glasses, folding them up before taking out her contacts and letting her eyes adjust. They might have helped to disguise her eyes, but the contacts also kept her from seeing everything as clearly as she needed to - hence the glasses that she had to wear with them.She took a deep breath, unsheathing her weapons from the holsters that were hidden in her boots. Jane didn't react - she had watched her spar with Remy enough times to have faith in her friend's abilities. But Bruce reeled a bit at the sight of her with a Bo staff in one hand and a knife in the other. She tucked the blade into the band of her stockings, letting her skirts settle over it so that it was hidden, then extended her staff. “Lady luck, don't fail me now.” she whispered, before walking over to the keypad that would let her open the door to the panic room. “It’s automatically locked.” Bruce told her, taking off his glasses to clean them - a nervous tic that he had no hopes of ever shaking. “There’s no way to get out until the lockdown is lifted, unless you know the code - which none of us do.”But Darcy just studied the pad for a moment before punching in a number. The light flashed green and the door swung open even as she turned and smirked at them“Lucky guess.” Bruce commented, but the way both women looked at him - a pair of brown eyes and a pair of pure white ones - made him feel as though it was anything but luck at work.“Stay here, both of you.” Darcy warned, before closing the door behind her. They watched on the live feed as she made her way through the halls, weapons at the ready.As soon as Darcy was out of sight of the first camera, Jane was pulling out her cellphone while JARVIS switched over to the next one. While the tracker had been disabled long ago - thanks to Erik and his paranoia after everything that had happened after Loki - Tony had also upgraded it to make sure that it would work anywhere on the planet, even if cell service had been cut. “You’ve reached Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.” the voice on the other end of the phone said, sounding fed up with answering the phones. “How may I help you?”“Hi.” She said, the second that the person on the other end stopped talking long enough to take a breath. “My name is Doctor Jane Foster. I need to talk to Remy, now.”“I’m sorry ma’am, I’m afraid I don’t -” the person on the other end tried to weasel their way out, but she had had far too much experience dealing with irritating SHIELD agents to be stopped by someone trying to cover up for her best friend’s husband. “Put Remy LeBeau on the phone, he’s the one who gave me the number in the first place.” Jane demanded, pacing back and forth while Bruce stared at her like she had grown a second head. “Tell him something is on fire for all I care, just get him.”8888 It had been years since she had been involved in an actual battle, but Darcy was quickly finding that it was a lot like riding a bike. The majority of it was muscle memory - not letting her thoughts get in the way of the actions that she was doing. She took in everything around her - the largest group of attackers was being handled by the Avengers, but there were still others that had snuck past them to reach the labs, which was something that she couldn’t allow. She had spent too much time working on turning all of Jane’s scribbles into something actually usable. So she snapped her bo to its full length, wishing that she had worn anything other than an old swing dress that day.She crept through the halls, tracing back her steps to get back to the main lab area. There, everything branched off - a large common area where the scientists slept and hallways that led to each of the Scientists Three’s respective labs. All of the rest of the labs were on the five floors below them, where the majority of the attackers were still doing battle. There was a loud crash from one of the labs that drew her attention back to what was happening. As much as she was nervous about going into battle while the Avengers fought one floor below her, she couldn’t help the small smile that spread across her face as the familiar surge of adrenaline started to run through her veins. She paused outside the main door to Bruce’s lab, extending her senses and feeling for where her targets were. There were six of them, masses of concentration and rage and nerves.She swooped into the room, taking out the first one with a blow to the back of the head before the others even realized she was there. After that, it was a free-for-all. They were trading blow-for-blow - a hit to the gut from her bo staff was returned with gunfire, which missed her every time. They were confused by that at first, until one of them got close enough to see her eyes.“Fuck, it’s a mutant!” he called out to his friends, shock radiating through him, a sliver of fear working its way up his spine.“Yes, she is.” she quipped, flipping off a wall and wincing as she hit a desk. She was out of practice, and would fix that as soon as she could.Something pinched her, and it took a moment to morph into the radiating pain of a bullet wound. It only took her a moment to fall, right before something small flew by her, right where her neck would have been moments before.The last thing that she heard before the world turned black was JARVIS. “Remain calm, Miss Lewis - there is help on the way.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The Avengers had been trying to find a way to meet Darcy's husband for months at that point. Jane and Pepper had met him, and they both seemed utterly charmed by him, but the Avengers themselves weren't quite convinced. Of course, this wasn't how any of them had imagined meeting - in the aftermath of an attack, with Darcy in the medical bay and none of them knowing who he was. Jane and Bruce were still locked in the panic room, and Pepper was out of the country - and none of them knew who he was.Which was why when he appeared, none of them were expecting an enraged Cajun. He appeared in the medical wing in a puff of sulfurous smoke, with a blue demon at his side. The demon disappeared after whispering something to the man, leaving him alone to make his way through the security team that had gathered on the floor within seconds of his arrival. “Sir, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” One of them said, his hand resting on the butt of his stun gun.The alert was put out to the Avengers, who came rushing in. Still in their gear from the attack, the team was high on adrenaline and rage at the fact that one of their own - a civilian, as far as any of them knew - was hurt.He stood there in the hall, sunglasses covering his face and body tense with what they rightly assumed was anger. The man stalked forward, oozing danger with every step. A battered trench coat covered his body and he had auburn hair that was short and curly on top, and sheared short on the sides.“Who the hell are you?” Tony asked, keeping his gauntlet aimed at the man. Of course, then he had to ruin it by looking away, taking his attention off of his opponent. “Who the hell is this?” He asked, turning to face one of the other Avengers. Remy used that distraction to his advantage, taking one of the cards out of his deck and charging it. While he normally would have been throwing quips and flirtatious remarks to go with his cards, this time he just wanted to get to his prize, and he wasn’t afraid to fight the entire Avengers team if it got him there.“Y’ should be movin’ out o’ de way, mon ami.” he warned, his eyes glowing slightly behind his glasses to match the card in between his fingers. “'Fore Remy gets real upset.”“Yeah, see… that's not going to happen.” Tony replied. He kept himself between the man and Darcy's door, every inch of him ready for battle, the rest of the team fanning out behind him. Darcy had quickly become like the younger sister that he never had, and there was no way he was going to let this stranger anywhere near her.“Ma bebelle's gonna kill dis po’ boy.” He muttered, but seemed to weigh things out for a second. Then he shook his head, coming to a decision. “Not gonna risk usin’ de charm, me. Dat femme’s got a wrath like not’in ever seen.”The Avengers all looked at each other in confusion, wondering who he was talking about. That confusion was pushed aside for concern when he started hurling explosive cards at them.“Fuck, it's Gambit!” Hawkeye shouted even as he loaded his bow, loosing arrow after arrow. The man just dodged them all, making it look incredibly easy as he did.Tony looked back at him - out of his suit and with only one repulsor that he didn’t really want to fire in the middle of a hospital, there wasn’t much that he could do at the moment. “You know this guy?” he asked, but Clint didn't have a chance to reply.“Stunning only, people.” Captain America ordered. “This is a hospital, let’s not cause any more damage than we have to.”The Avengers were good - they were Earth's Mightiest Heroes. But Gambit was better - the close quarters were better suited to a Thief instead of a seven person team - and fought like a man possessed, pulling out every dirty trick in the book. He was a one-man army, taking out each Avenger one at a time with precision, up until he made it past Darcy's door. Then he nearly collapsed upon seeing her in the hospital bed, wired up to all the machines. Doctors and nurses surrounded her, with an oxygen mask strapped to her face and blood everywhere.That was all the opening they needed. One quick jab from the Captain, and Gambit was down.8888 They watched him through the one-way glass, all seven of them. The man was cuffed to a table, which was bolted to the floor in turn. He was still slumped over from the bump to his head, and while they had left his coat on him, they had cleaned out all of the pockets of anything that he could possibly use to escape the room. Tony had hacked the SHIELD servers to find out more information about the man, and was mildly impressed to find only a single sheet of paper on him, with nothing more than his basic vitals and statistics, and a link to another file. When he clicked on the link for that one, it opened up a file that was fifty pages long, full of robberies that SHIELD suspected had been committed by the thief.“How did he even know to come here now?” Clint asked, looking suspicious. “Gambit’s good, but he's not that good.”Natasha studied the man carefully from where she was leaning against the wall. “Maybe he planned the whole thing.” she offered. “Sent in the attackers to use as a distraction, then planned to rob Stark blind.”“He was looking for Double D.” Tony pointed out. “He only stopped when he saw her. Maybe she’s in some kind of trouble?” he offered, saying what none of them wanted to believe.“There’s only one way to find out.” Natasha said, looking through the one-way glass into the other room, where Gambit was just starting to stir.8888When Steve went into the interrogation room, their attacker was leaning back in his chair, looking as boneless and relaxed as if he were on the middle of a beach somewhere. When he saw who had come into the room his smirk only grew. “Well if it ain't de Capitan 'imself.” the man said, leaning forward in his chair and drawing his hands up to rest under his chin, rattling the chains holding him. “Must be important if dey sent y’ out t’ talk wit’ ol’ Gambit.” He drawled the words out, surprising the captain with his thick accent. Loose curls fell in his face, and sunglasses covered his eyes. He wore a worn and wrinkled t-shirt and jeans, with thick boots on his feet. All in all, he didn't look like someone who had come to attack them - rather he looked almost worried, like he had gotten bad news and rolled out of bed to come in. All of that was fed to him by Natasha as he walked into the room from the earpiece that he was wearing. She was still standing on the other side of the one-way glass, reading their prisoner’s body language.“Would you mind taking your glasses off?” Steve asked as he took a seat on the other side of the table.His easy going smile faded just slightly, replaced with a hint of a sneer. “Y’ don't want Gambit t’ do dat, mon ami.” he warned. “Besides,” he said, a naughty grin spreading across his face as he leaned back, holding up his cuffed hands. “Y’ got dis boy a bit tied up, chere.” His smirk became a bit more pronounced. “Ain't too sure how Gambit feels about dat. 'Sides, y’ ain't exactly m’ type. Too blonde.”It took him a moment, but he got the joke in the end. He could hear Clint on the other end of the comms, laughing at how red his face was.“I think I do, actually.” Steve replied, putting a bit of steel into his tone. Something about the man in front of him set him on edge, and he wasn't sure what it was. It should have only been the sort of anger that came when a friend was attacked, but it was more than that. He knew exactly what it was, but it had to do with his feelings for a married woman - and as such, he buried it as deeply as he could. “Take off the glasses, son.”Gambit shrugged loosely, regaining Steve's attention. “Y’r choice, mon ami.”. With that, he pulled off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of startling red-on-black eyes. The sight made the captain jump slightly in his chair, completely shocked. He knew that the man had powers - his display with his cards had made that perfectly clear - but he hadn’t been expecting the eyes of a hellish creature to stare back at him.He smirked, a flash of humor showing in his glowing red eyes. “Boo.” Certain that he had shaken the super soldier, Remy LeBeau leaned back in his chair once more, an insolent grin crossing his face. “We doin’ dis, den?” he asked, and the captain nodded. “Bon. Laissez les bon temp rouler...”8888“According to our records, Mr. LeBeau, you're the thief known as ‘Gambit’.” Steve began, reading information out of the file that Natasha had given him. “A skilled thief - responsible for a number of felonies, and assumed to be responsible for many others as well.”“Dat’s Gambit t’ y’, sil tu plait.” the man said in reply, his voice sharp. “An’ Gambit’s a Master Thief - he worked hard for dat title, would appreciate if y’ used it.”“What brought you here, Mr. Gambit?” Steve asked, setting the file down on the table. He stared the mutant in the eyes - piercing blue versus red-on-black. “Did you plan the attack? Trying to use it as a distraction to steal Stark Industries secrets?”That got the captain a very angry man jumping to his feet and swearing obscenities in Cajun, French, and English. Eyes filled with hellfire glared at him over the table, promising a slow death. For the first time in a very long time, Captain Steve Rogers felt afraid. But he pushed that aside, continuing with the interrogation instead.“So if that wasn't why you're here,” he asked, settling back down in his chair, “then why did you come?” He had asked the same question twenty times over by now, to the point where most of the Avengers had moved on to other tasks. At first, all that the captain had gotten was a mix of sullen and sarcastic responses. But eventually the Cajun thief gave an actual reply - only it was one that none of the Avengers that had stayed to watch the interrogation believed.“Gambit told y’ - ma femme was hurt an’ he need t’ get t’ her.” The Cajun explained, voice hoarse. He had been stuck in this room for over an hour now, growing more and more frantic as time went on. His Darcy was stuck in a hospital bed, all alone. His fear of hospitals had gotten slightly better over time, but he still wasn’t willing to leave her alone in one of them.“Your femme?” the captain asked, trying out the unfamiliar word. “Oui.” he replied, glaring at the captain. The mutant was at the point where he knew that the other man wasn’t actually listening to a word he was saying, and so he kept his answers short and to the point. “M’ femme - m’ wife.”“Your ex-wife, you mean.” The captain corrected, consulting the file in front of him. “Bella Donna Bordeaux?”But the man in front of him smirked, shaking his head. “Non. Ain't heard from dat folle femme in years, me. Gambit’s talkin’ about mon petite bebelle.”The captain raised an eyebrow, listening to the information he was being fed through his earpiece. “There are no records of you being currently married.”Remy snorted. “Oui.” He replied, sinking lower in his seat, something the captain hadn't thought possible. “We ain't stupid, mec. Dere are too many connards in de world dat want dis po’ boy dead. Y’ t'ink Gambit would put 'is bebelle in trouble like dat? De femme can do dat enough on her own.” he clucked his tongue, devil eyes flashing with amusement as he shook his head. “Y’ more of a couillon den Gambit t'ought.”Steve sighed. “And what's a coo-yawn?” He asked, stumbling over the unfamiliar word.He realized that was the wrong thing to ask when he was treated to a shit eating grin. “A damn fool.” Gambit purred.Steve huffed, slamming a fist down on the table to try and regain the upper hand. “You aren't answering my questions, Mr. Gambit.” he said, a note of warning clear in his voice.“First of all, homme - y’ just call me Gambit. Y've had me tied t’ de table long enough dat dere ain't need for formalities, non?” The man said, an evil grin on his face. “An’ I gave y’ de answers. Dey just weren't de ones y’ wanted t’ hear.”“Who exactly is your wife?” the Captain asked, changing his tactics slightly. If they could figure at least that much out, then there was a chance that they could also figure out why the man had come.But the man just shook his head, seeming amused that Steve had even asked that question to begin with. “If she ain't told y’ about Gambit, den it ain't m'place t’ tell y’.” he said.Steve stood up from his chair, shaking his head as he walked towards the door.“De girl in de bed.” Gambit said suddenly, a strange intensity in his voice. “What happened t’ her?” Steve stared at him for a moment, an unreadable expression on the blond’s face. ”Tell me, sil tu plait.”“She was hit in the attack.” Steve said, watching Gambit’s face. The man had a blank mask on, but the fire in his eyes dimmed slightly at the news.“De… de doctors, what do dey say?”“Why do you care?” he asked, turning back to the door. “You're just a thief.”8888“I can't get anything from him!” Steve thundered, pacing back and forth as the rest of the team watched him. He had been interrogating the man for over an hour at this point, and still had no more information than he had when he began. “We need to know why he’s here, and he won’t tell us anything!” he was irritated - his friend was laying in a hospital bed, and the man that he was sure had caused it wasn’t telling him anything.“Calm down, Rogers.” Tony said, coming back into the room from the labs where he had been repairing the damage the intruders made. “You won’t crack ‘em all."“Gambit is uncooperative, stubborn, and completely childish!” the Captain raged, and Tony grinned.“I like him.” he announced, barely looking up from the tablet that he was working on.That was when Jane and Bruce came rushing in, having finally been released from the panic room. “Where's Darcy?” she demanded. She looked over the people in the room quickly, not even noticing the man in interrogation on the other side of the glass.“In medical.” Natasha said gently, while Clint wrapped his arms around the petite scientist to try and offer some comfort. “She's going to be fine, Jane.”“We caught the man who did all this.” Steve said, arms crossed over his chest as he stared down the person on the other side of the glass. “He's a notorious thief - Clint and Natasha have connected him to at leave twenty high-profile cases.”Jane moved over to the window, looking through the one-way glass. As soon as she saw the head of auburn hair and shoulders slumped, head buried in his hands, she reeled back. “But that's Remy.” Jane said, completely shocked. Intellectually, she knew about that side of the man that she considered a friend - she had seen him come back home more than a few times covered in cuts and bruises from whatever it was that he had been doing. “Don't be ridiculous - he would never hurt Darcy.”“You know him?” Clint asked, his face as hard as stone. “You know Gambit?”But Jane just shook her head, still frozen at the very thought that the man on the other side of the glass would ever hurt her best friend. “Of course I know him, don’t be ridiculous.” “Dr. Foster, you need to tell us where you know this man from.” Natasha said sternly. But there was a crack in her armor - her eyes kept flickering back to the man in the interrogation room, studying him. Tony was doing the same thing.“Wait, you're serious.” Jane realized, turning to stare at the Avengers. “You actually think Remy hurt Darcy.” she couldn’t believe it - but all of them, except for Tony were staring at the man with varying levels of mistrust. Tony just looked curious, like he was trying to put together a puzzle that he didn’t have all the pieces to.“Dr. Foster - we need to know how you know this man.”“Of course I know him - that's Darcy's husband.” Jane rolled her eyes. Steve paled, taking a step back in his shock. “That's Darcy's husband?” “How did he know to come here?” Tony asked, and Jane rolled her eyes. The tiny physicist looked at the superheroes that surrounded her, silently wondering how they had managed to survive for so many years. These were some of the most powerful people on the planet, and yet there were times when she honestly worried about them.“Because I called him.” she said, not giving them even another second of her time before she grabbed the handcuff keys from Steve and went racing out the door, into the interrogation room.8888The red-eyed mutant looked up when the door opened, but a wave of relief swept over him when he saw the woman in the doorway instead of the Captain again. The man was even more bullheaded than Scotty was, and that was saying something.“Janey.” Remy said, showing the first hint of emotion since the Avengers had dragged him into the interrogation room. It wasn't irritation or smug success, like they had thought it would have been. Instead it was like a mask had fallen away, leaving nothing behind but pure, unadulterated grief. “Where’s m’bebelle?”“In medical.” She said, crossing the room and undoing the cuffs around his wrists. “They said she’ll be fine - I'll take you to her.”He took a second to massage his wrists where the cuffs had dug into them, then stormed over to the one-way glass. Pulling his glasses off his face to give them the full effect of his demon eyes, the man stared down the Avengers through the glass.“'m gonna kick m’ girl's ass fo’ worryin’ dis po’ boy, den m’ gonna kick all y’r asses fo’ lettin’ m’ bebelle get hurt in de first place.” He practically snarled out the words before turning on his heel and following Jane, running out the door.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

By the time the Avengers had caught up with the pair, they had long since reached the medical wing. Jane had settled into a seat to wait for news on Darcy, and four people that none of the Avengers recognized were sitting next to her - two of whom were watching Remy, and the other two were talking animatedly with Jane.“She tell Remy, 'I be safe wit’ dem, Remy. No need t’ fret f’ me, Remy. Dey take care o’ me, Remy.’” he was pacing up and down the hallway outside the surgery center as he babbled, running his hands through his hair. His accent got thicker and thicker the more he worked himself up, until he just started muttering under his breath in French. “C’est de ma faute elle est blessée, j’aurais dû être là. Ma faute, ma faute…”“Relax, Cajun.” the older man said, leaning back into his chair. “Yer makin’ me nervous.”. While the man with the thick sideburns and plaid shirt wasn't showing his nerves as much as any of the others, his anxiousness was still easy to read for the empath and the women who he had claimed as his daughters. It had taken the Cajun a long time to admit he even had the slightest hint of empathetic powers, other than what he called his ‘charm’, which he used to bend people to see things his way - to listen to what he had to tell them. Even then, he used it sparingly - he didn’t trust his power enough unless Darcy was there to help him control it. But that train of thought vanished when he turned to see the Avengers staring him down. At that point, he was willing to do anything if it got them to leave him alone - even if it meant using his powers against them.“Who exactly are you all?” Steve asked, eyeing the group that had settled in to wait with the team. There was another man besides Darcy's husband, and three women. They were all completely different, but had the same sort of tightly-knit dynamic that he recognized from back in the war - a family that had been thrown together, bonding over hardships as much as laughter. He still didn't trust Gambit - or rather, Remy - any further than he could throw him, and it was obvious that the other man felt the same way about him. Dr. Foster seemed to trust them all, however - she had easily settled in the middle of the group, talking quietly with one of the women, her eyes darting back and forth to check on Remy.“We're Darce’s family.” One of the women replied - she had short black hair, and wore a yellow trench coat and pink sunglasses. Her fingers kept twitching, black-painted nails gleaming slightly under the harsh lights of the waiting area. The other woman was curled against her, long brown hair tumbling over her shoulders. She had pulled the sleeves of her over sized sweater over her hands, and her eyes kept darting between the door to Darcy's room, Remy LeBeau, and the shorter man with the mutton chop sideburns.“What's it t’ you, bub?” the older man snarled. There was an almost constant rumble emanating from the feral mutant - the Wolverine making its concern for one of his pups known. A hint of gold was visible around the edges of his blue eyes, and his hands kept clenching and unclenching reflexively.Remy was still pacing, and both Steve and Logan looked like they wanted to strangle him.“Logan, calm down - snarling will not hurry things along. Brother, come and sit with me.” the last woman said calmly. When it looked like he was going to argue with her, she shot the Cajun a look that said not to even bother. He huffed under his breath, but threw himself down in the chair next to her as she looked on in amusement.She was a tall, elegant woman with dark skin, snow-white hair and bright blue eyes that sparkled with amusement at the other man's situation. At the same time, there was a hidden sort of rage there that spoke to what she would do if her sister wasn't okay. “Darcy will be fine, brother.” she said calmly, running a hand down his back in an attempt to soothe him.“Je sais, Stormie.” He said softly, practically collapsing in the chair next to her. Jane moved away from the other women and sat down on his other side. He gave her a half-hearted smile. "Dat don't mean I ain't gonna kill her when she wakes up."“I’ve got a question, if you don’t mind.” Tony asked, moving into the middle of the group. “How exactly did you all get in here? Because, according to JARVIS, you weren’t here one second, and the next you were.”.The group looked at each other, a silent conversation happening using minute changes in expression and eyebrows to convey their points. In the end, it was one of the girls who spoke up. “You're not the only one with skills, Mr. Stark.”Any more questions that Tony had were stopped when Remy spoke up again. “She ain't gonna let Remy drag her back home, is she?” He asked, sounding like he already knew the answer to his question. His head was buried in his hands, curls spilling Logan snorted, amused that the other man had even suggested the idea. “'Course not.” He said, shaking his head. “The pup's too stubborn for that.”“Ain't that the truth.” one of the women said, and the other snarled at her.“Shut up, Jubes.” “Bite me, Kitty-Cat.”“Both of ya, knock it off.” Logan said sharply, and the girls stopped talking, but continued to glare at each other until he growled, making the Avengers stare at him. The man took a few deep breaths, taking a moment to get himself under control before he said anything. “We're all worried 'bout yer sister, but snippin’ at each other ain't gonna help her. So either knock it off, or yer volunteerin’ ta train the babies.”That was enough to have both Kitty and Jubilee snapping to attention, looking as innocent as possible. Remy smiled in spite of himself, a short laugh falling out of him. Kitty and Jubilee shared a look, smiles pulling at their mouths. They had stayed at the Mansion, teaching classes and running missions with the X-Men, keeping things going after Darcy left. While their team wasn't quite complete anymore, the sisters still did things for each other, sending texts and phone calls like breathing. In exchange for 5th Avenue accessories every so often, they would watch out for Remy for her. Of course, they would have done it anyway, but this way it took care of Darcy's need to take care of people.They looked out for each other, and that was that. 8888As soon as the doctor came out to meet them, Remy and Logan were on their feet, anxious to hear any news that she had to give them. She looked slightly nervous to have such a large group of people waiting - the Avengers and the patient's family - but she shook it off after a moment. It was just another family waiting to hear news about what had happened.She made her way over to the group, nearly jumping when two of the men separated from the group, coming up to meet her. Two of the women - Dr. Foster, whom she recognized from around the tower, and a dark skinned goddess - got up from their seats, pulling the men back to sit with them. “She got lucky.” The doctor said, looking amazed despite herself, checking over Miss Lewis’s - Mrs. LeBeau’s, she noted - charts once again. “Another inch to the left, and she would have been dead.”“Oui.” Remy chuckled darkly, running a hand over his face. “Lucky.”. He started to drum his fingers against his leg, and the Avengers all marveled at how he hadn't stayed still for even a second so far - even when he was handcuffed to a table. He was practically brimming with energy. Even as they watched, he pulled a deck of playing cards out of his coat and began to shuffle the cards in increasingly complicated moves.“They're moving her to recovery right now - you'll be able to go and see her in a few minutes.” The doctor finished awkwardly, then walked away.“I watched the CCTV.” Clint said after another minute or so. He kept his voice low, trying to keep from spooking Remy. Despite their past history, the archer could see the sheer worry in the Thief’s body language. Darcy was a friend of his - not to mention if she found out that they had been terrible to her husband they would have to deal with her wrath. So he played nice, trying to be reassuring. “If she hadn't gone down when she did, the next bullet would have gone straight through her throat. She got really lucky, man.” “De next person t’ say she was lucky is goin’ t’ get a charge shoved down dere throat, d’accord?” He snapped, and he would have jumped out of his chair again if it hadn't been for both Jane and Ororo holding him down. “Mr. LeBeau,” the Captain began, crossing his arms over his chest. He understood that the man was upset, but he couldn't just go around threatening the people who were trying to help him. “Agent Barton is right - your wife got lucky.” he stopped, however, when he saw the other man’s reaction.The mutant’s hands glowed an electric pink, spreading to the card still clutched in his fist. The eerie glow of his red pupils seemed to grow brighter as he glared at the man standing in front of him. “What did I just say, homme?” Remy asked, eyes flashing.“Remy.” Jane hissed sharply, tugging on his arm. “You can't blow up Captain America.” “Y’ sure 'bout dat, cherie?” he muttered petulantly. Logan snorted, actually laughing when he saw how excited Tony was at the idea of the Captain getting a charge. Ororo didn’t seem to be quite as amused. “Remy.” she warned. “We do not attack people without due cause.” she said, referring to the X-Men’s code.“Den Remy quit.”A peal of thunder sounded outside, and he flinched. “Desole, Stormie.” he apologized, looking sullen.“De people who attacked - who were dey?” Remy asked once he got himself back under control. He turned to look at Tony, surprising the rest of the team. But he had heard enough about the engineer from his wife to know that the man was most likely already running searches on the people who had broken in, finding out every detail about their lives.But Tony shrugged. “We don’t know yet.” he admitted, sounding irritated with himself. “J and I are going to find out everything about them, pink ace - don’t worry your pretty head.”“You can go see her now.” a nurse said, barely even stopping in her rounds. The medical wing of the Tower was full after the last attack, and the staff were being worked to the bone. The group was instantly on their feet, Remy leading the way to her room.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Remy froze as soon as he stepped into the room where his wife lay, his eyes locking in on the thick metal collar around his wife's neck. Her long, dark hair served as a startling contrast against the gleaming silver and blinking red lights of the device. He could feel his rage building, and from the sudden crack of thunder he knew his Stormie had seen it too. That was enough to have the others racing into the room, even as the Avengers stopped, staring out the window at the clear blue skies. The mutants knew that when thunder rang out like that, something bad was going on.Tony swore under his breath when he came into the room, and Clint flinched at the sight. The rest of the Avengers filed in after them, barely able to fit into the room with the sheer amount of people there.“What is that?” Steve asked, staring at the thing around Darcy’s neck in confusion. It was a thick ring of metal, with several different diodes and buttons visible. Judging by the look of the thing - and the tension that filled the room - it wasn’t good.“It’s an inhibitor collar.” Natasha said, her voice low and thick with restrained anger. “They’re used in prisons to cancel out people’s mutations.”“Mutation?” Steve asked, surprised. “What mutation?” None of Darcy’s family answered him, all of them too focused in on the brunette in the bed.“Where de fils de putain be hidin’?” Remy asked, his voice low as he stalked towards the bed. He couldn’t feel anything coming off of Darcy, which meant that she was still unconscious, and he breathed a silent sigh of relief. “Who’s de connard dat put a collar on m’ wife?”“The only person other than us who’s had any access to this room is the doctor treating her.” Tony quickly told them. He moved over to the foot of the bed, picking up the doctor’s charts and flipping through them. “J, who’s the doctor assigned to Darcy?” he asked. The inventor’s voice was thick with anger. “Whoever it is, bring them here, now.”“Right away, sir.” JARVIS said. Just like Darcy, none of the newcomers were even the slightest bit surprised by the disembodied voice coming from the ceiling. If anything, they all seemed slightly comforted.It was a different doctor than before - a well put together man instead of a woman. Either way, as soon as they entered the room, Remy was on top of them, slamming him into the wall hard enough that his head bounced.“Y’ connard.” he spat the word out, pulling his Bo staff out of his coat and using it to keep the man pinned to the wall. “What de hell did y’ do t’ her?”Instantly, the look on the doctor’s face changed from terrified to angry. “She's not right!” The doctor sneered. There was a fanatical sort of gleam in his eyes that made them all wary. “Mr. Stark had to be made aware that there was a damn mutie working for him!”“So ya threw a collar on our girl, ta keep her from doin’ anythin'.” Logan growled. The low sound echoed throughout the room, making the hair stand up on people’s necks. But of course, Tony quickly stole the show. “What, like I didn't know that shortstack is a mutant?” Tony scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I know all, I see all.”“JARVIS told you, didn't he?” Jane said from where she stood by the side of the bed.“I created JARVIS, so technically I still saw it.”The sound of Remy's dark laughter drew their attention back over to him, and he eased his hold on the doctor’s throat slightly. “Don’t t’ink dat’s how it works, mec.” the doctor tried to move, and Remy quickly slammed him against the wall, his glasses slipping slightly down his face so that the other man could see the hellfire in his eyes. “Ne bouge pas.”“JARVIS, call security to take the doc.”. Tony instructed, but Darcy’s sisters stopped him.“No need.” Kitty said, moving over to the doctor with a relaxed grace that didn’t once betray how angry she was. “Jubilee and I can totally handle him.”She grabbed ahold of the man's hand, gently pulling him down from the wall. Jubilee followed behind them, a small smirk on her face as she watched her sister. “Yeah,” she drawled, a tight-lipped smirk on her face. “We'll give him the old one-two.”. “One.” Kitty said, a glib smile on her face as she shoved the man towards a closet, keeping her hands on his back. He cried out, lifting his arms to protect his head, but at the last second he phased through the door, making the Avengers yell in shock. She pulled her arm back through the door, before gesturing to Jubilee.She put one black-tipped hand up to the handle of the door, letting a few colorful sparks fly between her fingertips and the lock. It melted before their eyes, sealing the doctor inside. “And two.” she finished off, and the girls high-fived before turning back to the others in the room. “Now how do we get that thing off of her?” She asked.“I'll go hunt down the key.” Clint offered, but Remy shook his head.“Dat will take too long.” he said softly, bending over to examine the lock. “Can y’ disable it, Kitty?” he asked, looking hopeful.The tiny woman shook her head regretfully. “Even if I could fry it while it was on her, it would still short-circuit and hurt her. Sparks everywhere.”The man gave a crooked grin, pulling off the sunglasses that he had slipped back onto his face when he was leaving the interrogation room. “Den its up t’ Gambit, non?”He bent over the bed, pulling a slim case out of his coat and rolling it open. Steve’s eyes widened in surprise - he hadn't expected Darcy's husband to be carrying a set of lock-picks with him. But then, he mused, he hadn't been expecting her husband to be a thief and a con-man, either. He contorted himself so he could reach the lock on the side of the collar without disrupting Darcy's sleep. Moving slowly and carefully, he stuck the picks into the lock, fiddling with them as he muttered under his breath. “At least she's still asleep.” the woman with the pixie cut offered, and the rest of her family nodded in agreement. Steve was in shock for a moment, before fixing them all with his 'Captain-America-Is-Disappointed-In-You’ face. These were the people who claimed to be her friends, and they were saying that it was a good thing that she had been dragged into unconsciousness by some mutant-hating bigot.“You want your friend to have been attacked?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared them down.“Don't be ridiculous.” Kitty said, her nostrils flaring out even as her eyes flashed with irritation.“Do not judge us on things you do not understand, Captain.” Ororo warned him, matching his disappointed face with one of her own. “Losing the use of one's abilities is like the removal of a limb. It is only natural that we wish to spare her that pain, and the pain that comes with regaining those powers.”“You put it nicer than I would have.” Kitty said darkly.Remy smiled as he pulled away, having finally released the lock on the collar. “Someone get dat t’ing away from her.” he growled, eyes flashing. He was half tempted to just blow up the collar and be rid of the thing for good, but knew that it would just cause them more problems in the long run.“Are you all mutants?” Tony asked, looking intrigued. Ororo nodded, but didn’t elaborate. The last thing that they needed was for Darcy’s friends to learn exactly who they were - they knew enough as it was already.8888 Steve stood just outside the doorway, watching Darcy and her husband. Bruce had theorized that she would be unconscious for a day or so while she healed from her injuries, but so far it had been three days and she had yet to wake up. While the rest of her friends and family had eventually left to sleep or eat, Remy had yet to move a muscle.He stayed by the side of her bed, keeping one of her hands wrapped in his. At some point his coat had been tossed into a corner of the room., his glasses long since abandoned. “Jus’ wake up, ma petite bebelle. I get you anyt’in y’ want… I’ll do anyt’in, s’long as y’ wake up.” he pleaded. For all the skills the thief boasted, at the current moment there was no way he could have known the other man was there. He was far too focused on the woman in front of him.Steve stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the man who held Darcy's heart beg for her to come back to him.“Y’ my raison d'etre, Darcy.” Remy LeBeau said quietly, smoothing back his wife’s hair. Steve moved to leave them be, but accidentally bumped the door, making the man jump.“Need somet’in, capitaine?” Remy asked, red eyes flashing with suspicion. His voice was hoarse from disuseBut instead of asking him anything, Steve just stared him down. “You really love her, huh?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the door frame.Remy nodded. “M’ Papa once told me day a t'ief should be pragmatic - not running after imperiled damsels.” LeBeau said, his voice rough. “Maybe he was right. But den, dey always said dat Remy was too emotional for a T’ief t’ begin wit’.” but he turned to look at his wife, and a smile spread across his face as he looked at her. “Still… wouldn’t trade her for all de bijou in de world.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

She woke up slowly, and then all at once when she caught sight of the silver collar on the bedside table, ruby diodes blinking every few seconds. She could hear something beeping next to her, and had spent enough time in the Mansion's medical wing to know a heart rate monitor when she heard one. She groaned - she couldn't remember what she had done to end up in medical this time, but she was sure that she would remember it soon. She felt weightless enough to know that whatever she was on, it was the good stuff - which also meant that she was going to have hell to pay for worrying her family.“Darcy?” A sleep-thickened accent said her name, and she smiled sleepily. She could focus on whatever had happened to her later - she just wanted to focus on whatever had her husband sounding so worried so that she could fix it. Her eyes struggled to open, but once they did she relaxed slightly. “Rem.” Her voice was more of a hoarse whisper than anything substantial, but it was more than enough to have him tearing up. Blank eyes stared up at him, and he grinned at the familiar sight. There had been more than a few moments over the last couple of days when he hadn’t been sure if he would ever see that sight again.“Oh, Merci Dieu.” He whispered, picking up her free hand in his. “Merci dieu.” “Hey baby.” she said, smiling softly. She reached over towards him, running a hand over his cheek as she pouted, the drugs beginning to wear off enough for her to speak. “Why aren't you cuddling with me?” She asked, and he smirked - Mr. Stark had said that he would make sure that she was on the good stuff, and it would seem like he hadn't disappointed.He lifted an arm, rattling the handcuffs that were keeping him attached to the bed frame. “Would if I could, cherie.” He drawled. “But y’r amis don't seem too fond of me.” Steve in particular, along with Clint, didn’t seem too trusting of him. But being cuffed was a small concession to make if it meant he got to stay by her side - no to mention that it would really only take him a few moments to break loose if he chose to do so. But in doing so there was a chance that he would make things awkward between Darcy and her amis, and he didn’t want to risk that.There was a split second where she was going to question what he had done to make them lock him, but then decided to just let it go. In all honesty, she probably didn’t want to know what he had been up to - that was something that she could ask later, when it didn’t hurt so much to talk. Things were slowly starting to come back to her, and she winced as she remembered exactly what she had done to end up in the medical floor of Avengers Tower. “Come here.” She said, smiling fondly. Her voice was hoarse from disuse, her throat scratchy. She fought against the drug-induced haze that filled her mind, trying to focus in on what she was doing, reaching up to pull a hair pin from her braid. “I’m surprised you didn’t just steal the key off of him.”“Wanted dem to trust me.” he explained, offering up his wrist. She pulled the bobby pins out of her hair, manipulating them with the sort of ease that came from years of practice. After that, it only took a minute to get the handcuffs to pop open even in her half-awake state. Once those were off, he climbed into the bed with her, carefully rearranging them both until he was curled around her. “Merci beaucoup.” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the palm of her hand.“What happened to your hair?” Darcy said softly after a moment, running her hand through the short and curly strands. The sides were cut short, but the top was still a decent enough length. “Had a run-in with de Brotherhood.” He rumbled, eyes fluttering shut as he relaxed for the first time in days, the soothing feeling of her hand in his hair nearly sending him to sleep. “Damn firebug lit me up. Lost most of it, but one of de students did a hack job wit’ some shears.”“I like it.” she said, curling into his shoulder and pressing her hand against his heart. The steady beating of it was enough to help calm her down so she fell asleep properly, Remy following soon after. A nurse discovered them curled up together on her next round, and merely smiled, shaking her head as she did so. Maybe now they would get a break from the man and his nagging.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Almost six hours had passed since Darcy had woken up for the second time, and her doctors were still restricting access to her - no one but Remy was allowed into the room, and she wasn't allowed out of it. Both of her families were starting to get anxious, one of them more than the other. While the Avengers were mainly worried about her, Logan and her sisters were far too familiar with her habits in medical to want anything to do with her so soon. Logan was trying to keep his snickering to a minimum since his enhanced senses were giving him a front-row seat to the pup’s temper tantrum the next room over. “I want out of this hospital gown, out of the med bay, and back in my own home.” she snapped for the third time. Remy didn't take it personally - Darcy had never once been good with hospitals in all the years that he had known her. Neither had he, for that matter. But if it meant that his femme would sit still long enough for the doctors to look at her, then he would suck it up.But then she tried to get out of the bed, wobbling on unsteady legs, and he saw red. “Darcy Marie, y’ sit y'r ass on dat bed right dis second.” he barked.“Or what?” She looked up at him, a challenge written in the way she moved. “What are you gonna do?” She challenged, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared him down. But she stayed on the bed, sensing that his already fragile control was about to snap. She had worried him - more than that, she had scared him.“Or Remy’ll make y’.” he threatened, although they both knew that he didn’t mean it. But she laughed, and he lost the tenuous grasp on his temper.“Don’t y’ ever do dat t’ me again.” he snapped, eyes flashing with hellfire as they fell back into a familiar argument. He could feel her temper brewing, stoking his as well. That was the issue with empaths, too - if they lost control of their emotions, they kept building and building in a vicious cycle until someone snapped. This cycle was built on hurt and pain and fear - it was already close to breaking. “How de hell y’r still alive, I’ll never know.”“It’s because I’ve got you looking out for me.”“Well y’ didn’t dis time.” he practically snarled, letting all of his worry and fear and anger at the situation out. “What de hell were y’ t’inkin’?”“I wasn’t just going to let them fend for themselves, Rem.” She snapped, settling back on the bed. As much as she wanted to be on her feet - Remy was right. She was still too weak to actually get out of bed, which only made her temper worse.“Why de hell not?” he asked, throwing his hands up into the air. Remy's temper had always burned bright, and this time was no exception. “De’re earth’s mightiest connards, ain’t dey? Dey can take care of’ demselves.”Where her husband's temper ran hot, Darcy's simmered for a long time before she really blew up. “They’re my friends.”. She said, her voice low and even - a warning in itself. One that he had heard a hundred times before, but for once ignored.“An’ what happens if y’ get hurt, huh? If dis happens again?” he asked, ignoring the warning in her tone. “What do y’ expect me t’ do den?”That stung, but she tried to keep from reacting. They had had variations on this fight many times before, and they would continue to have it until the end of time. “I expect you to let me handle things.”“What if y’ can’t, Darcy?” he snapped, and that was when she lost it.“If I can’t, then I can’t. But either way, I expect you to trust me. If I can help people, then I will - isn’t that the same thing you do everyday?” she challenged. “But either way, I’m not going to just sit on my ass while the people I care about are in danger - it would kill me.” her eyes were full of the fire that he loved to see pointed at anyone else, but there was also a level of determination there that made him nervous.“An’ losin’ y’ would kill me!” he shouted his answer, accent thick with anger and frustration, tears running down his face.“I ain’t about t’ lose y’.” he whispered, looking at her with desperation in his eyes. It was that moment when she realized just how bad of shape he was in. There were dark circles under his eyes, his hair hung limply down his back. His clothes looked like they had been slept in for the past several days. Finally, she opened up her senses, reaching out to her husband and wincing at what she found. Remy was a mess of fear and anger and worry that had been festering for days.She reached out, sending waves of calm and affection towards her husband. He relaxed slightly, leaning further into the bed, burying his face in the blankets that covered her lap. He repeated his words from earlier, mumbling them into the blankets. “I ain’t about t’ lose y’, Darcy.”She rolled her eyes even as she moved around, trying to get more comfortable. “You’re not gonna lose me, you ridiculous Cajun.” she said, wincing slightly.He sat up straight in his chair, feeling the waves of discomfort rolling off of her. “C’mere, bébé.” He said, sliding in behind her. She fit in between his legs, but he winced when he heard her hiss in pain. “Je suis desole, Darcy.” “I'm fine.” She lied, ignoring the way her leg throbbed with pain. Her entire body hurt, really - her leg was just the part that hurt the most at that moment. It was times like these that she would have given anything for Logan’s healing factor.He helped her get her gown off, replacing it with a worn Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt that she had stolen from him years ago. It was big enough on her that it left plenty of room for her injuries to be accessed, and fell to just past her hips so that she was still covered when he pulled up the blanket around her.“Dat's better, oui?” He asked, pressing a kiss to her hair when she nodded.“Can you get the team, please?” She asked, running a hand over his arm and down to his hand before lacing their fingers together. “I think they're gonna have some questions for us.”Remy huffed out a laugh, moving carefully to stand up with jostling her too much. “T’ink dat’s an understatement, Darcy.” but he did as she asked, going over to the door and sticking his head out. He said something in a voice too low for her to make out properly, and then they were coming in, all of the Avengers.She watched her friends closely as they filed into the room single-file, taking note of who flinched at her blank stare and who didn’t. Out of all the Avengers and their support, the only ones who didn’t even react were Jane, Natasha, and surprisingly Tony. Clint looked surprised for a moment before his features smoothed out, and Bruce just looked curious. But Steve… Steve flinched. That hurt her more than she was willing to admit - they had been friends, after all - and Remy picked up on it judging by the glare he sent the Captain. She sent waves of calm his way, and he relaxed slightly, although there was still a tenseness to his frame that let her know he was still pissed. He kept his position at the door, fiddling with a deck of cards as her friends arranged themselves around her bed.“Why didn't you ever say anything?” Darcy blinked her wide, blank eyes slowly, thinking before she answered. “At first it was just… nice, you know? To have something that was just us. We've been married for years, but it's kind of hard to have any privacy when you live in the same house as a bunch of telepaths.” She said wryly, and Remy snorted from his place by the door, making everyone turn to look at him.“Dat’s one way of puttin’ it.” He muttered, and Darcy used the distraction that he made to take a moment to collect herself.He picked up the explanation when Darcy paused to take a breath. “Den ma bebelle got de job with Dr. Foster, an’ with everyt’in dat happened after…” he trailed off, shrugging. “We liked de idea of privacy.”“So he's your husband?” Tony asked, a mischievous look on his face as he mock-scolded her. “You’ve been holding out on us.” She just shrugged in reply, a small smile on her face as she looked at her husband. “Husband, partner, best friend… whatever you want to call him, really.”“Amoureux works.” he leered, moving closer to her. She rolled her eyes - which looked extremely odd when she had no irises or pupils.“Can you behave for five seconds?” She asked, sounding both exasperated and fond. She reached an arm out to smack him lightly. He dodged it, grabbing the offending hand and laughing when her face screwed up in disappointment.He grinned, kissing her hand. “I t’ink y’ like me like dis, ma petite bebelle.”“You're not wrong.” She told him seriously. “But you're scarring my friends.”“Je suis desole, mon amis.” Remy apologized even as he settled in next to her. “Been a bit since Remy saw his femme. Makes de reunions a bit spicier den most people like.”“What are your powers?” Natasha asked, leaning forward in her seat.“She’s a human gris-gris.” Remy said, smirking when Darcy narrowed her eyes at him before turning to look at the redhead. The apple crisp feel of his humor washed over her, and she basked in the feeling for a moment before turning her attention back to the Widow.“One of my teachers in school called it ‘subconscious probability manipulation’. My sisters and I always just called it luck. I also have empathy, but it’s more of a defensive power, like my luck is. Remy’s the more offensive one of us.”Tony looked intrigued. “They have teachers that specialize in things like that?” there were a hundred different questions in his eyes, and Darcy smiled. Tony had been the one that she was least nervous about - she knew that he would understand her desire to keep some things secret.“I'm sorry - can we focus in here for a moment, please. You married a criminal?” Steve asked, looking more confused than ever. “And you’re just okay with that?”“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, lacing her fingers through Remy’s. He lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing the back of it. “Its kind of sexy, really - or maybe that’s just the drugs talking.”“Non, bebelle.” Remy said, leering good-naturedly. “Y’ say dat when y’r sober, too.”Tony snorted at that, and Jane just looked amused, like she was used to this kind of behavior from the two of them. But Darcy continued to stare the Captain down, the same stubborn set to her shoulders that she got when the scientists refused to listen to her. “Remy’s mine, Steve.” she said, with none of the heat that he was expecting. She said it like it was a fact of the universe, one of those things that just made sense - she said it with the same certainty that one would say that the sky is blue. “And I’m his. And if you don’t like it, then you can leave.”“Speakin’ of family, cherie…” Remy said, drawing the attention back to him. “Y’ got a few people here wantin’ t’ see y’.”Her eyes widened slightly and she slumped down in the bed slightly. She only had to raise her voice slightly to know that Logan would hear her, and she called out to her family. “You might as well come in.”With that, her family came into the room, making the already crowded space feel even smaller. Despite knowing the lecture that she knew she was about to get, she couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face at the sight of them. Her sisters came to sit by her bed - Ororo and Kitty on one side and Jubilee on the other - but Logan stayed propped up against the doorframe.“Hey there, pup.”Darcy groaned as soon as she saw the look on Logan's face. “You're gonna make me run Danger Room sims, aren't you?” she sighed, looking up at Logan with the look of a long-suffering daughter. But she noticed the ring of gold around his eyes, and the way his hackles were raised - the feral was fighting for control with his animal side. So she tilted her head slightly to the side, baring her neck as she cleared a spot for him to sit down next to her. She might not have been a feral herself, but she had been around an overprotective Logan enough times to know how to handle the situation.He tried not to let his gratitude show as he set himself on the bed, but couldn’t help the pleased chuff that escaped him. And if his 'pups’ caught him scenting her slightly, to reassure himself that she was alright - they weren't going to say anything about it.“Now yer gettin’ it.” he answered, looking slightly more in control now that he had reassured himself that she was alright.“'Ro, save me.” Darcy pleaded, turning to look at her sister-in-law. But the storm goddess just laughed, shaking her head.“Consider it your penance for worrying us.’ the stately woman said, arching an eyebrow at her sister-in-law. “You’re going to be running simulations for a long time, I’m afraid.”8888Almost four hours had passed since the team had first been allowed to come and see her, and Darcy was starting to get antsy. “I want to go home.” She said, trying to look as desperate as possible. It almost worked - Steve got up and started moving toward her.But Remy barely looked away from the conversation that he and Tony were having about security systems. “Non, Darcy. Not yet - de doctor needs t’ let y’ go.”But Darcy shook her head, throwing the blankets off as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, starting to unattach herself from the machines that she was hooked up to. “I'm going home, Remy, and you can’t stop me.” she said, not even bothering to look up from unstrapping herself.Her husband chuckled, his eyes flashing a warning. “Remy t’inks he can, bebelle.”. There was a challenge in the air - one of them was going to have to back down, and they were both convinced that it was going to be the other.“Fine.” Darcy said, an air of calm settling over her that no one believed. “Then let’s play for it.”Remy got up, pacing back and forth a few times before turning to glare at the hospital bed. “We ain't doin’ dis, Darcy LeBeau.” He warned. “Not wit’ dis.”“What exactly are you doing?” Tony asked, voicing the question on everyone's minds.“We're doing the same thing we've done every time we've fought since we got married.” Darcy said, reaching into the pocket of her husband's trench coat and pulling out a new deck of cards, removing the cellophane in one practiced movement before handing them over to Remy. “We're playing cards - winner takes all.”“You’re settling an argument with a card game?” Clint asked, looking incredulous for a moment before his expression smoothed out. “Nice.”“Well you’re all here and apparently not leaving so we can’t fight and then have angry sex.” Darcy pointed out, and Remy laughed even as he reached around to lower her morphine dosage the slightest bit.They spread the cards out in well-practiced motions, laying out the cards for a game that only they knew. They went back and forth, laying out cards until Remy cheered. He flourished, holding out a single face card.“De joker - de wild card of de deck. Always mischievous… always unpredictable.”“Always annoying.” Darcy said, rolling her eyes at her husband’s dramatics. She slumped back into the bed, letting Bruce and Logan reattach all of the scanners and medical equipment that she had undone. Remy sat down next to her, running his fingers through her hair.“Rest, bebelle.” Remy said softly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head while Logan upped the dosage of a sedative that they were giving her. It was underhanded, but Logan knew what he was doing. “Remy’ll take care of y’.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

She had been planning a quiet night in with her husband, but he had been called out to a mission at the last moment - taking her from their brownstone in Hell’s Kitchen back to Avengers Tower. She made her way through the security lines, ignoring the people glaring at her as the guards simply waved her through. A section of the wall opened up, revealing the private elevator that led to the Avengers floors.
Welcome back, Miss Lewis. May I just say that it is a surprise to see you back so soon.
“Hey J - I didn’t expect to be back.” she replied as soon as the doors had closed behind her. “Any missions running?”
Not a single one. I assume that you are planning to hold a mandatory dinner night?
She smiled at one of his cameras, nodding happily. “Sound the alarm, J-man.”
With pleasure, Miss Lewis.
Throughout the Avengers floors, JARVIS began sounding the alarm, one that Darcy had created specifically to pull the Avengers out of whatever they were working on. She smirked, imagining that she could already hear the sweet sounds of them moaning at Justin Bieber’s ‘Baby’ playing in whatever room they were in. The scientists wouldn’t hear it, but JARVIS would gradually increase the volume until they heard it.8888Bruce was waiting in the kitchen when she arrived, and she smiled. Back when she had first started making Team Dinners a mandatory thing, she had made up a schedule of things so that one Avenger had to help with each meal. Whoever was helping got to choose what they were making that night - that way, she didn’t get stuck making every meal, and they got to eat something that they loved.“What are we making today, Brucie?” she asked, already pulling out pots and pans.He smiled, moving over to the fridge and pulling things from there. “I was thinking murg makhani.”They were almost finished with making dinner - just carrying everything to the table - when it struck. The rest of the Avengers had slowly begun to file into the room over time, and the only ones still missing were the scientists, meaning that none of them had any clue what was happening when she collapsed.Panic - nothing but pure panic, racing through the bond that she had with Remy. It was so quick, she dropped the pan she was holding, curry sauce flying across the room and landing on her skin, burning her in a second. She clutched her head in one hand, leaning against the countertop with the other. Voices barely permeated the fog in her mind, but it faded slightly as the panic faded and was replaced by sorrow and acceptance. Her heart started racing, and she sent frantic panic and worry through their link, only to be met with love. Pure love - the kind that created the best sort of high - filled her body, but the feeling was almost negated by her own worry. There had never been a time in their entire relationship that he had done that before, and the fact that he was now was worrying.As the link between them snapped, she screamed, and the world around her went dark. She just barely registered someone catching her before she hit the floor.8888She wasn’t sure how much time had passed between her passing out and waking up. It was enough time for them to move her, but not long enough for anyone to panic and decide that she needed the medical bay. Instead, she was lying on a couch in the common area, the team gathered around her with varying amounts of panic on their faces.“What happened?” someone asked her, and she fought to sit up again.“The link… it snapped.” she was too numb to even bother contemplating what that meant at the moment, let alone if she was making any sense.“What link?” she heard someone - she was pretty sure it was Steve - ask. She tried to answer the question, but her brain wasn’t working enough for her do so.Luckily, Jane was there to explain for her. “Darcy and Remy have an empathic link - its part of how they communicate with each other.”“And it… what?” Tony asked, looking worried. “Got disconnected? Put on hold? Lost signal?”But Darcy shook her head. “It broke.”But Bruce shook his head, and Helen looked horrified - like she knew exactly what happened. “That shouldn’t be possible.” he said. “A link like that shouLdn’t just break…” but he trailed off, realizing the answer to what he was thinking and stopping himself before he could say it out loud.“It's gone dormant before - usually if one of us is in a bad situation at the moment. But this…” she shook her head. “it was dormant for a few days, before opening back up. It was only up for a few minutes, and then… it just collapsed. He’s in trouble, Janey, I know it.” Darcy struggled to get the words out, looking as though she wished she was saying anything else. “Rem… Remy’s gone.”This was it - what Mattie had warned her about all those years ago. She could feel it in her bones. “I have to go.” she got to her feet, ignoring the protests of her friends as she headed for the doors. Her head was pounding and there was an empty spot in the back of her head where Remy should have been. She was trying to ignore that, though - thinking about it would only lead to a breakdown. The only one who wasn’t arguing with her was Jane, who was just smiling at her sadly. The scientist knew what her friend needed to do, and she wasn’t going to try and stop her.“Take someone with you.” Jane asked hopefully, but Darcy shook her head.“No way, boss lady.” she said, heading for the elevator, her mind already planning out how to get to Westchester the quickest. “I’m going home, and none of you are coming with me.”“Darcy -” Clint began, but she cut him off before he could get another word out.“No.” she said, glaring at them all. “It’s not just me that I’m protecting here. There are too many people who want to know where I’m going, people who would want to use us.”With that said, she headed down to the garage, grabbing one of the motorcycles up against the wall, one that Tony had always said that she was free to use. She had never had a reason to take him up on the offer before now. She spared a few minutes to disable the tracker on it and secure a promise from JARVIS that he wouldn’t let Tony track her no matter what.“Westchester, here I come.” she said under her breath, revving the engine before driving away into the New York night.