Time for a new one! Changing the way Gambit got into the X-Men a little, for my own personal amusement. I make no money from this, and, being as I am not of Cajun descent, I have a spot of bother with the accent. You can tell me if I'm getting it wrong.

Restless Sinner, Rest in Sin

The boy was very nearly dead when he brought their Storm home. He cradled the girl in his strong thin arms, wrapped her up in his coat, forsaking his form to the elements. The bottoms of his sleeves had been turned into bandages and he fell against the doorjam, hardly awake when Logan opened the door to the noise.

"Blue, I got a couple for ya'. Goin' out fer a smoke, an' I'll be in to check on 'em." Logan snipped the end of his cigar, and let Hank gather the kids in his arms to take them into the lab. The boy was tall, all limbs, Logan noted, probably not too long out of puberty. Smelled like cigarettes and something strange, like energy, if that had a smell it was lingering on the kid. He lit the cigar and watched the rain come down, heard the mansion rousing to the return of their girl, and the new boy, who brought her home.

He slunk back into the mansion and down the stairs into the lab, the boy was hooked up to monitors and Hank was chattering to himself excitedly. He couldn't see Storm. Couldn't even smell her.

"Where's 'Ro?" He called through the lab.

"I have her in containment, she's begun to grow back into the form we know." Hank smiled, let his furred hand rest across Logan's back. "Her companion is most fascinating, however. You should have seen his eyes when he woke a few minutes ago." Hank continued making notes to himself. "I'll like to see his power when he wakes fully."

"Do we know anything about him, doc?"

"Only that he had four forms of identification with four different names on them, but every one cited his home town as New Orleans."

"Probably can't hide the accent." Logan grumbled, and sat in one of the lab chairs.

"Likely. I'm going to check on Ororo, do you mind watching to see if he wakes?"

"Don't mind."

Hank wandered off, still talking to himself about mental states and the like. Logan sunk into a chair and stared at the boy. All arms and legs, a sweep of almost red auburn hair made his features hard to tell, but he couldn't see him as older than twenty. His face was angles and lines, softened by long eyelashes and plush lips. Kid was probably much the looker when he was conscious. Logan settled further back into the chair and let his senses pan out. Something was making him want to protect the boy, and that feeling radiated from the boy himself. He wondered if it was part of his mutation, that need to let him come to no harm. Survival instinct. Kid probably had no issue getting his way when conscious. But then why had he chosen to save Ororo? Why would he bring her to her home when he could get what he wanted out of anyone. He was tossing in his sleep, pulling out the few wires Hank had plugged him into to monitor his rest. Mumbling aloud, he fell into a dream that looked like it was against him. Logan could sympathize. He shook the boy's shoulder to wake him.

"Kid. Hey, kid. S'ok. You're safe."

His eyes shot open and Logan almost jumped. He hadn't expected the boy's eyes, red on black, wide and frightened. They were these demon eyes, and of all the mutations Logan had seen at least those he had been prepared for. He'd known the kid was a mutant, yet he looked so human the eyes had caught him off guard. Boy covered them, breathed heavy. "Désole," he whispered, "désole."

"What're you sorry for? Should be thanking you, brought 'Ro back."

He looked up between his fingers, eyes smiling. "I made it?"

Logan tried to grant him a warm smile. "Yeah."

"Merci."

"Yeah, thanks for bringing her home." Logan put his hand on the boy's, he was still trying to cover his eyes. "Kid move your hands."

"'M not a kid."

"Kid to me. Move them."

The door shut and Hank walked in. "Good morning, my friend. I think I speak for everyone when I thank you for returning Miss Ororo to us. We'd missed her deeply."

The boy curled into the bed, covering his face, hiding. He trembled slightly, held onto himself, kid had to be fairly tall if he stood up proper. Probably didn't look as much like a kid, come to think of it.

"Oh my." Hank muttered to himself, approaching the kid with trepidation. He checked monitors and looked to Logan, "How long has he been awake?"

"Two minutes, tops. Keeps trying to cover his eyes, doesn't know where he is."

"Well the second one is hardly a surprise. I looked over some of the results, none of our databases are aware he exists."

"'Dat's… Is 'de point." He whispered, still hiding in himself. "Wasn' suppos'to exist proper."

"Kid?" Logan put his hand on the boy's shoulder, "What's that mean?"

"'Zactly what it sound like." He settled himself into the bed. "'Dis'un don' wanna' be no bother, he leave soon as he's rested up."

"You're more than welcome to stay, friend. Do you have a name?" Hank was as open and friendly as Logan had ever seen him, but the boy was unmoved. Instead, he curled deeper into himself, mumbled something Logan couldn't quite pick up, despite preternatural hearing. He grabbed both his hands, forced him to look at Logan. His eyes seemed almost to glow.

"Got a name, kid?"

"G-Gambit." He stammered. Then, more confident. "C'n call me Gambit."