Gambit parked alongside the road and got out of the car. He took a moment to admire the estate before him: double garage, red brick, elegant pillars and a small stone fountain in the middle of the path leading from the footpath to the double doors on the front veranda. There was a sign out the front with "For Sale", the phone number and another sign saying "Open for Inspection" with the times.
As a surprise for Rogue, Gambit was making plans to move - he was going to show her their new place when they got back from their honeymoon after their wedding next year. Fact was that his current place was perfect for a bachelor, but not really a place for a couple, especially not one that planned on having children.
Of course, hopefully Rogue would be willing to wait a couple of years first. He knew that having children was something she never thought she'd be able to do (okay, sex was something she thought she'd never be able to do), and that having a family was very important to her.
Gambit made his way up to the front door and rang the bell.
Gwen
Gwen had been drinking a cup of tea in the sitting room and staring out the window. She'd sent Mordred and the kids off while she got the place looking presentable for the inspections that were starting today.
Hearing the doorbell, she placed her teacup down on the saucer and went to answer the door.
Gambit
Gambit was contemplating hitting the bell again when the door opened.
"Good day, cherie," He greeted. "I'm here for the open house?"
There was something familiar about her.
Gwen
Gwen eyed Gambit for a second, trying to place where she'd seen him before, when she remembered... he was the guy that was dating Dem, and was now with Rogue.
Ah, probably best to not mention that to Mordred.
"Hi, I'm Gwen."
She held her hand out to him.
"Come in."
Gambit
"Gambit," Gambit replied. "Thank you."
He followed Gwen inside.
Gwen
Gwen began explaining the house and the history to Gambit as she showed him through the various rooms.
"Honestly, for my family, it's just too small now."
And that was saying something, considering the large size of the house.
Gambit
Gambit nodded.
"Well, the place I'm currently in is fine for just me. But I'm going to be getting married next year, and I want a place we can have a family in."
Gwen
"It is a great size for a family..."
Gwen paused.
"I'll break the icea nd say that I know you know about Xavier's, so this is less awkward. But my family, a family of mutants... just not enough room for the destruction I know my kids will cause."
She smiled.
Gambit
Gambit snapped his fingers.
"I knew I'd seen you someplace before," he said. "Marvellous. That means the sunglasses are unneccesary."
He pulled off his dark sunglasses, revealing his black and red eyes. Made the house inspection a lot easier.
"Yes, kids can get a little destructive at times, can't they? Especially with powers they may or may not be able to control. I remember some of the things I did," Gambit mused.
Gwen
Gwen smiled wryly. "Yes, I remember what I did too."
She continued to show him around.
"It's hard with shapeshifting kids who just want to eat things when they've shifted."
Gambit
Gambit paused for a moment as he digested that.
"Yes," he said slowly. "I imagine it would be."
It was certainly a very nice place.
Gwen
"And one daughter who is experimenting with her elemental powers, and her twin brother who is able to be blown up and is taking the opportunity to have that happen is often as possible."
Gwen rolled her eyes good naturedly.
"Trust me, wait until you are ready to deal with the craziness until you have kids."
Gambit
Gambit chuckled.
"I plan on waiting," he replied, smiling. "It's Rogue I'm not so sure about."
Gwen
"Ah."
Gwen indicated the kitchen.
"We're going to finish the repainting, don't worry. We were never happy with that lemony colour, so we've been fixing that up."
Gambit
Gambit nodded, and looked around the kitchen, attemping to envision what it would look like when the painting was done.
"It's certainly a lot more spacious than what I have at the moment."
Gwen
"I love cooking, so basically, I need a huge kitchen," Gwen told him. "I'm at pains to leave this one."
She smiled and indicated the backyard.
Gambit
Ooooh a pool!
Gambit nodded, not letting his excitement show. He always wanted a pool.
"Impressive," he replied.
Gwen
"There's a bit of a vegie patch as well," Gwen said, sliding open the door.
"And herbs."
Gambit
"Ahh," Gambit nodded appreciatively. "What every good cook needs."
It also added a nice, asthetic touch to the wide open yard.
Gwen
Gwen indicated the courtyard in the far end of the yard.
"It was falling down when we moved in and we've slowly been restoring it."
Gambit
Gambit walked over to have a closer look at it.
"Some good work here," he observed.
He admired the intricate design on the pavers and pillars.
Gwen
Gwen ran her hand over one of the pillars.
"Yeah, these were a beautiful design, but over the years, I guess the weather got to them. But I searched out the same marble and had it restored, it would be a shame to knock it down."
Gambit
"Yes, yes it work," Gambit agreed. "You don't see artistry like this very often."
If he bought this place, he would definitely try to get the courtyard finished before bringing Rogue here. She would love it.
Gwen
"And if you decided to buy, and this wasn't finished, I've already paid for all of the work to be done, so that's not an extra cost. We've just had setbacks with weather and holidays and everything."
Gwen smiled warmly.
"Ok, now," she said, starting to head back to the house. "The security system is a little bit complex, very high tech, just because I'm in the business of... security."
It's hard to come out and say you're a thief.
Gambit
"I was in the security business myself for awhile," Gambit replied smoothly, noting her moments' hesitation. "You could say that I help to find the flaws in security networks. Purely in the intention of helping them fix them up... of course."
He smiled to himself.
Gwen
Gwen smiled, suddenly remembering how Demetria had told her that Gambit was a thief.
"Our alarm is wired by me, basically," Gwen said, opening the door back to inside the house. "Because of my power, electricity, it's all a lot of metal plates and complicated laser stuff."
Gambit
"Interesting," Gambit replied, already intrigued.
He followed Gwen back inside.
"I suppose that means when you move out it will need to be, ahem, plugged into a new power source?"
Gwen
Gwen thought for a moment.
"It's really only the metal plates that will need changing, so that you could activate it with your own hand, rather than a spark of electricity. I can play around with that... if you choose to buy, that is."
Gambit
Gambit nodded.
"It's definitely high on the list so far," he conceeded.
Gwen
"Well, I'll show you the rooms upstairs."
Gwen indicated for him to follow her up the staircase.
Gambit
"Sounds good," Gambit replied.
He followed her up the stairs, noting the fine woodwork on the railing.
Gwen
They reached the top of the stairs and Gwen gestured off to her left.
"Master bedroom this way..."
Gambit
Gambit looked through the door and noted a large room with very little mess (probably because it was Open House after all).
Gwen
Gwen took him in to show him the ensuite, which had been polished top to bottom. The marble was almost sparkling.
"We re-did this bathroom as well, about six months ago, so everything in here is rather up to date and working."
Gambit
"Nicely done," Gambit said appreciatvely, looking around.
It was all nice and modern and shiny. All good things.
Gwen
Gwen smiled her thanks, and then led him out and down the long hallway to the kids rooms.
"Ok, these are as tidy as you'll ever see them," she warned.
Gambit
Gambit chuckled as he peeked in.
"Hmm, your kids look about as tidy as I am," he half-joked.
Gwen
"My husband and I just told them to clean it, we didn't interfere in that process, for fear of sullen children that think we were prying."
Gwen shook her head, but she was smiling.
"You probably can't tell it from all their junk, but the rooms are all quite spacious."
Gambit
"I'd believe it," Gambit replied, glancing at the uncluttered ceiling. "How many bedrooms are they? They all this size, or do they vary?"
Gwen
"There's 3 this size, and 2 more slightly bigger."
Gwen led him further down the hall.
Gambit
Gambit nodded and followed Gwen.
"How many bathrooms?" he asked, thinking that if all the bedrooms were occupied there should be enough bathrooms to cater to them all.
Gwen
"There's 3 up here, including the ensuite, and 2 downstairs. One of the ones downstairs is a new addition, we didn't add it, the previous owners did. So basically, everyone has their own bathroom."
Gwen led him down to the bathrooms.
Gambit
"That's certainly convienient," Gambit replied.
He followed Gwen to the bathrooms and liked what he saw.
Gwen
"Well... that's pretty much it," Gwen said, starting to lead Gambit back down the stairs.
"Any questions?"
Gambit
"What's wrong with this place?" Gambit asked, half joking. "Is the plumbing really old or something?"
He had been greatly impressed by the house and was seriously considering making an offer on the spot. Certainly it was the best of all the places he had looked at thus far.
Gwen
"Well, like I said, we need a bigger place," Gwen replied.
"And my husband and I are talking about moving over to Wales for a year or so, so the kids get a feel for their heritage on their father's side."
Gambit
"Oh, okay," Gambit replied. "Sounds worthwhile."
He tapped his fingers on his leg for a moment, thinking quickly and came to a conclusion.
"So, how much are you looking at?"
Gwen
Gwen started to discuss the prices of the house and land value.
"So, what doy ou think?"
Gambit
Which of course was the point where Gambit stepped in with a counter offer, but in the end came to a price that they both were happy with. Gambit then pulled out his cheque book to write up a cheque for a deposit.
Gwen
After settling on a deal that was much more than she had originally set in her mind, Gwen happily accepted the deposit cheque.