#rambit

I am making this purely for me. The age gap and the fact that these two met when Rouge was in high school throw me through a loop when the chemistry is too good. With that being said, here is this.

In this AU, all of the events of X-Men Evolution are canon. This includes...

The will they/won't they love triangle thing with Scott and Jean

Rouge being manipulated by and dealing with her mommy's issues in the most cathartic ways

Kurt being the brother she needs

All of the brotherhood bullshittery

All of the mind control/ manipulation shenanigans

AND... all of the interactions Rouge has had with Gambit. Including those that come with a creepy undertone considering the potential in ages. (yes, we will address this)

This starts about a year after Rouge graduates from high school alongside Kurt. Rouge took a year off from school to work on herself, get a hold of a job, and figure out what she wanted to do. Meanwhile, Kurt is back in Germany. He and Marie call often so they aren't out of the loop of each other's lives.

A few things to note regarding Kurt in this AU:

Kurt's parents are on the older side which is why he's back home rather than pursuing a job

Even so, I'm making him pursue online college

Hes also active in gaming communities too

And he's contemplating his faith :)

What? I like Kurt's relationship with religion in other iterations of Xmen. Plus, it makes sense. His parents are getting older, he's not around as many people near his age and he's one of two known blue people worldwide. Of course, he wants security.

Back to the AU:

This is taking place in Louisiana and maybe along the Mississippi, depending on what shenanigans arise. But that's for when we talk the Meet- Cute lol

Rouge lives on Campus, full-time in a all girl's dorm (Its the 2000's yall). I think she would be a liberal arts major with a concentration in either photography or ceramics, but she isn't at an art school. The college is most likely a general one that just so happens to have the program and location she wants.

If I return to this AU, I'd leave plenty of time to show the culture shock of college life along with the workload she has to deal with. Realy stress the importance of Rouge's fish out of water-ness alongside the people she's floating around. With that being said the majority of this AU will not focus on freshman year. I don't know about you all, but freshman year of college left me swamped with work. Most of it was an adjustment period on all fronts. While yeah, you can have fun and look around, more often than not you're gonna be working or chilling in your dorm. So yeah, we ain't seeing Gambit until Rouge is a sophomore.

Meanwhile, Gambit is running rampant in his stomping grounds. His adopted dad recently died, and the crime family he worked for is taking his word as law now. It's not his favorite thing, but it's better than having a ton of crooks acting on their own accord. At least like this, there can be some moral code.

As mentioned, meet-cute happens in the first month of Marie's second year at school (ue a cute catch-up with the rest of the X-Men/those who came to help her move in). Rouge is being dragged out of her dorm by her roommate/best friend (very Risty-coded) after settling back in. Meanwhile, Gambit is taking a night on the town to stretch his legs and his fingers. Somewhere in the mess of foot traffic, they actually bump into each other and... well... Marie thinks the worst while Remy is thinking, "Well shiiiiiiiiiit-"

OKay yall now's the time for logistics

Considering that Scott and Jean were Seniors and once they graduated while the Xmen were still attending school, I'm taking the liberty of assuming that Marie would have been a Senior post-graduation. This means that Gambit and Rouge met when she was a Junior in high school. Making Rouge 16/17 when they met.

NOW I KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS. CALM THE FUCK DOWN. I AM NOT GOING TO SUPPORT A SHIP BASED ON GROOMING.

What I am always down for is having Remy be respectable to every lady he comes in contact with. Even when the first meeting is having a card blow up in her face.

SO. For the sake of my sanity, we will keep this fact and view the canon as nothing but chemistry. It's not a foundation for a romantic relationship, just chemistry. The romance will remain in post-canon divergence (at least for me. Yall do whatever boats your float)

Also, Remy will be 19 when they first meet, making the age gap only three years as opposed to FIVE.

Okay that's the ground rules for this AU. I'll update this post if I actually write anything for it lol.

Up first, contributing on art we have the very talented @anna-dela-luz !

Another beautiful commission by the wonderful @nadaboodraws This time the beautiful mothership of all my OTP's, Rogue x Gambit

Here's more from @nadaboodraws

fandom: X-Men (Marvel), X-Men: Evolution story: Story Time With Remy LeBeau author: Midnight Auroua source: fanfiction.net

My first (printed) hardcover book. Prior to this I've only ever made one (empty) book using the same method - a square back binding. This did include some firsts though, like the sewn headbands!