Tears in the Rain (X-Men ROMY)

Chapter One

“I understand that you have your own... interests, Mr LeBeau, but I'm sure we can accommodate you should you need it.”

“Let me get this straight, you don't want my money, but you'll employ a thief?”

“A master thief,” Charles corrected. “I did some checking into you when I discovered that you were on your way here, and I can find no trace of a criminal record. Quite a feat, I would say.”

Remy couldn't help but smile, taking it as a compliment. “Still, not exactly a trait you want in a teacher, non?”

“Let me show you something,” Charles said.

He led Remy down to the lower levels of the school, where the X-men were housed.

“What is this place?”

My school actually has two functions,” Charles explained. “The students are our public face but down here, that's where I and a few associates do what we can to keep mutants safe.”

Charles explained how cerebro worked, and eased some of Remy's tension when he let slip that he had actually heard the school being mentioned in Storm's mind, not Remy's.

Remy was especially intrigued by the idea of the Danger Room, which was still being constructed. Still, the technology behind it was amazing, and Remy couldn't help but think how good it would be to have such a thing to train in when he was planning a heist. He could literally do a break in again and again until he got it right.

Then he remembered that he was with a telepath and turned towards Charles, looking a little bit abashed.

“I actually think that your skills, especially your stealth, could be a very big asset to the team.”

Remy frowned, that wasn't the reaction that he was expecting.

“I understand that sometimes lines must be crossed, Mr LeBeau, and in the eyes of the law, our group would be considered vigilantes, however, I believe that what we are doing is for the greater good.”

“So you'd have no problem with me upping and leaving for a few weeks to steal something?”

“I'm not your parent, Mr LeBeau, and from what I have gathered, even they approve of your lifestyle. As long as you aren't working against the mutant cause and keep your affairs to yourself, I leave your conscience to decide the rest for you.”

Remy smiled, this seemed like an organisation that he could work with. Okay, it wasn't like the thieves guild, he wasn't being given approval to steal, but he was being given a free reign.

“Call me Remy,” he said, holding his hand out.

Remy stayed at the school, with Storm, for three months, until the summer holidays. He found himself teaching French and self defence, as well as helping to construct the Danger Room, which was the brainchild of Charles and a friend if his, a blue mutant by the name of Hank McCoy.

The school only had twenty one students at the moment, ranging in age from 12 to 18, and Remy liked those numbers. His pupils were more friends than students and he liked that.

Thankfully his charm worked wonders on them and Remy never had to be a disciplinarian in the classroom. They wanted to please him. It seemed that they boys wanted to be him and the girls wanted to be with him (he'd seen his name scrawled in a few girls notebooks). He was never inappropriate though. He liked women but he knew where to draw the line.

Besides, his movements after school hours weren't restricted and the local town had quite a few bars, so he was never short of adult female company when he wanted it. He did try to tone it down though and keep it to a few night a week, and in fact he had more freedom now than he'd had after he had met Storm.