A/N Sorry it took so long, hospital visits and cancer tests. But I'm back! Oh, and I'm abandoning accents, it's too much work.

Once again, thank you reviewers, laenamoradadeROGUE, sharky237, awh1202a, BlkDiamond, Ryromaniac, ChamberlinofMusic, cheerpandagal, chère, The Duplicitous One, Emerald Grey Clouds, Chica De Los Ojos Café, Rachael, Chellerbelle, Crushed Hale.x, microcheese, Bloodypassion, and Fostersb!

Rogue tossed their few bags into the trunk of the nondescript 90s model sedan. The guild has promised the car was untraceable, plus it would blend in. She still wasn't sure, despite Gambit's confidence. It seemed to her that since she was trying to hide, she would be more noticeable, irrational but true. Her worries faded a bit as she and Gambit left the house behind them. He wove through the cities, then to the outskirts.

"I swear we drove by that building already," Rogue said commented 45 minutes into the drive. Gambit glanced at the restaurant Rogue was pointing to.

"We have," Gambit confirmed. "Trying to make it hard to follow us."

"Smart man," Rogue said. "Though this way, a drive that should take a few days, maybe, will take about a week."

"Probably," Gambit replied cheerfully. "Better than being dead though."

"Fair enough."

"Plus," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "More Roguey/Gambit time…naked time." Rogue laughed and relaxed back into her seat. At first the idea of a road trip with him had slightly worried her, it could very quickly turn awkward. If he got tired of her, or worse, when he finally came to his senses and ran from her and her mutation. Gambit glanced over and saw her shift in her seat uncomfortably, and turn slightly away from him. He frowned.

"So," he said, matter-of-factly, "thinking it through, it won't be smart to use our names at motels along the way."

"What?"

"'Rogue and Gambit' will draw some unwanted attention," he said.

"Oh," she answered. She'd never really considered it, she always had used the alias 'Rogue' when she checked in, but she hadn't exactly been trying to erase a trail either. "Any suggestions?"

"As fine as I am with you calling me 'Remy', and as beautiful as 'Marie' is, we're going to need something else. How about Mr. and Mrs. Howard Nash? Seeing the U.S.A. as newlyweds on $10 a day."

"Why husband of mine," Rogue laughed. " I certainly hope you spent more than $10 on my wedding ring."

"The government did," Gambit answered promptly. "Because we're actually agents…Tangelo and Mandarin."

"Why are we citrus products?"

"Because it's perfect to investigate agricultural catastrophes of these United States."

Gambit was pleased to see that the tension Rogue had been holding for the first few hours of the drive was slowly fading. By the time they stopped for the night, she was completely at ease, chatting animatedly with her feet up on the dash.

"Enlighten me," Rogue said as they pulled up to the Triple Star Motel. "Why are we in Texas? I'm pretty sure that's the exact opposite direction from where we want to be."

"That it is," Gambit confirmed. "Consider it…a zig-zag route. Leave them chasing their tails, if they decide to follow us."

"And if they aren't following us?"

"Then we've wasted a few gallons of our lovely planet's finite resources," Gambit answered, as he held the door open to the motel's office. He turned his attention to the aging man behind the counter. Rogue's mouth curved into half a smile as he a adopted a middle-of-nowhere accent. "Room for the night please?"

"One or two beds?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow at them.

"One," Gambit answered cheerfully. The man rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath that sounded oddly like 'lucky bastard'. Rogue turned to Gambit with an eyebrow cocked. She couldn't believe he wanted to share a bed with her, the leech. Sure, he had last night, but he'd been up way before her. Unless he just wanted one bed to save money, and one of them would sleep on the floor. Yes, that was probably it.

"Name?" the man asked.

"Tangelo," Gambit answered, causing Rogue to whip around to hide her smile from the clerk. "Robert and Lily Tangelo."

"Credit card?" the man requested, either not noticing, or ignoring, the strange name.

"How's cash sound?" Gambit asked, slapping a surprisingly large wad of cash onto the desk. The cranky man's eyes grew wide, his little tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth.

"Of course Mr. Tangelo," the man said very brightly. "Room service?"

"No thank you," Gambit answered. He took the key, wrapped and arm around Rogue's shoulders and called good night to the clerk.

"Mr. Tangelo?" Rogue snorted as they entered the room. The motel room was typically gaudy, faded sea foam green walls with faded salmon green chairs, and…"Is that a skull?"

Gambit looked over to where she was pointing. A small longhorn skull was mounted above the bed. "Yep," he answered, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind." We are in Texas, chère."

"So? Rogue asked, automatically leaning back against him. "I'm from Mississippi, I don't dig a trench for a river to run through my living room." Gambit let out a surprised bark of a laugh and squeezed her close before letting go. He closed the shades over the windows and moved the two chairs and small table under the windows. Both locks were already set on the door, but Gambit added his own touch, a little circle about the size of a quarter, and stuck it to the door.

"Sensor," he said before Rogue could ask. "It'll beep like all hell is breaking loose if the door is opened."

"And the furniture under the window?" she asked.

"If anyone tries to get in through the windows, hopefully they'll fall and make some noise."

"Very thorough," Rogue commented. Gambit sighed and turned around to her.

"Okay Rogue, what is it?" he asked. "These short answers, what's going on?

"What're you talking about?"

"All today, you've only given me a few words for answers, what's going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rogue said, turning around the rummage through the duffel bag she'd set on the bed. She didn't hear Gambit move until he was right behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Gambit," she started, but he shook his head next to her ear.

"Remy," he whispered, sending her into an involuntary shudder.

"R-Remy," she started again. "What..."

"Do you really think I'm going to let a little thing like a mutation get in our way?" he asked, voice soft, nose still grazing her ear.

"Our way?" she asked.

"Yes, two people generally constitute a plural notation," he answered. He frowned, very aware that she was frozen against him. He tightened his arms around her and put his lips impossibly closer to his ear, brushing it as he said, "Marie, I will not run from you."

Rogue whipped around faster than Gambit had anticipated, causing him to jump back to avoid getting whacked. Her face was a jigsaw puzzle of one emotion chasing another after another, some of them he couldn't even indentify. Desire and tenderness finally won, and the disbelief had almost vanished.

"You want me," she stated. "You want me…"

"Yes," Gambit said, smiling. "I've been trying to tell you, and certainly show you, that…"

"For how long?" she asked slowly. She scrutinized Gambit's face for any kind of change, but saw just that calm, happy expression.

"For as long as you'll have me." Rogue has no answer for that, but to launch herself at him. She threw her arms around his neck, pulling his lips to hers. His hands on her waist gave him balance but also provided leverage as he pulled her back to the motel room's bed.

Hours later, Rogue was long asleep, nude and curled against Gambit's side. He kept and arm wrapped around her, and only then began to think about what he had said. 'As long as you'll have me.' He hadn't considered what he would say at the time, it just popped out. It had felt right. With a start, he realized it was completely true. He would go with this woman anywhere, for as long as she wanted him. He slept better that night than he had in the last decade.

Rogue groaned as her world started bouncing. She opened an eye to see Gambit merrily jumping on the foot of the bed. She muttered something about mutant stew and burrowed deeper under the blankets. Gambit yanked the blankets off her, causing a very un-Rogueish squeal.

"Remy!"

"Rise and shine Roguey!"

"Why?" she grumbled.

"So we can get a move on!" he answered. Gambit jumped down and pulled on a jacket. "On another note, I'll be back in a half hour, be packed and ready to go." Rogue struggled to sit up.

"What? Where you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to procure our transportation," he told her, impish grin covering his face. "Smarter to switch cars. Be ready." With that, he swept out of the room. Rogue grumbled again but pulled herself up. She threw on a clean pair of jeans and a tee shirt. Rogue's version of packing consisted of tossing her possessions unceremoniously into the bag, before flopping back down onto their bed. As she drifted back to sleep, her lips quirked up at that thought, their bed.

Gambit popped back in the room and snorted at Rogue asleep on the bed. He leaped up and ended on all fours over her. Rogue jerked awake and sat up, whacking her head against his.

"Ow!" she yelped, falling back. Gambit jumped away, rubbing his forehead.

"Years of being a ladies' man, and you make me feel like a prepubescent teenager," Gambit muttered.

"Well, I'd apologize, but you wouldn't learn anything," Rogue teased, sitting up.

"Oh, like what?" he grumbled, grabbing the bags.

"Well, about normal personal boundaries for starters," rogue laughed, pecking a kiss to his cheek as she walked by.

"Well as a thief, personal boundaries aren't really a part of everyday life," Gambit teased back.

"Like this car," she said as they got in the new truck. "We have violated its personal boundaries."

"Absolument."

Two days later, they'd made it from Texas to Kansas, and from Kansas to Belleville, Illinois. Rogue was getting a little bit grumpy.

"Come on Roguey, it's not that bad," Gambit responded to her groan as they pulled into another motel. "Life on the road, lots of interesting people."

"Along with lots of interesting bedspreads and exceptionally thin walls," she muttered, stretching her limbs. Gambit turned off the truck and leaned over, kissing her thoroughly, hand holding her neck. "Though…I think the perks are well worth it."

"Mmm," he nuzzled into her neck. "What perks are you referring to?"

"I-I…" she stammered as his teeth ran along her throat. "Those perks." Grinning as they got out of the car, he laced his fingers with hers, leading his red-faced Rogue into the motel. They registered at Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Plantain, and retreated to the shockingly pink motel room, settling in for another night. While Gambit set his usual security measures around the windows, Rogue grabbed their bags, ready to utilize the first motel laundry room they'd come across.

"Don't take too long," Gambit called as she walked out. "It makes me nervous." She leaned back in the door and kissed him on the nose.

"You're cute when you worry," she said before slipping out. Gambit flopped onto the bed and turned on the TV, flipping to his favorite news station. It was always nice to be informed of the world's events, though mainstream news wasn't even close to trustworthy. The blonde weather woman who, to Gambit, looked pretty empty behind the eyes (probably too many drugs and some family issues) rambled on about weather patterns.

Gambit used the time to muse on the events of the last few days. In four days, and a night if he included the first time he was with her, he'd become entirely too comfortable with her. He enjoyed the simple company she offered, everything about her invited him in. He should be angry or freaked out about the relationship with her, but he wasn't. For that's what it was, he decided, a relationship.

"And in more news, a motel in eastern Texas burned to the ground early yesterday afternoon. Arson is listed as the official cause. The Triple Star Motel was a historical landmark, and the arsonist will be pursued by the local police." The reporter moved on to another topic, while Gambit just stared in shock.

"Shit," he muttered. "Shit, shit, shit!"

"What?" Rogue asked, walking in with a folded pile of laundry.

"Our motel from Texas is burned down," Gambit said. "We need to find out if the same is true for Kansas."

"To see if it's a coincidence or not," Rogue nodded. "How? If anyone is looking, they'll be able to trace the call."

"I'll contact the guild," Gambit said. "See if I can find anything. Meanwhile, we're going to need to change things up."

"Suggestions?"

"Charter plane," Gambit said promptly.

"Not sneaky."

Gambit laughed. "As of now, they only know we're poor, travelling from motel to motel. Tomorrow, Jacob Hill and his assistant Katelyn Frost are flying to New York."

"Hmm," Rogue said, moving into his arms. "Mr. Hill is doing some very interesting things with his assistant, huh?"

"Heh," he smiled, pulling her closer. "Maybe…" Gambit froze, then swung Rogue behind him.

"Wha-"

"Shh!" he hissed, whipping out a playing card, and charging it up. Rogue stepped to the side, rolling her sleeves up and faced the door in a defensive crouch. They stayed still for a moment, when the door burst open.

"Move and I'll blow you to high heaven," Gambit growled.

"Wait!" Rogue yelled, darting between Gambit and the intruder. "Wait!"

"Rogue?" Gambit asked.

"This is Logan," Rogue said, moving to throw her arms around Logan's neck. Gambit ignored the pang of jealousy that shot through him and slowly put the card back in his pocket.

"Logan, what're you doing here?" she asked.

"I was about to ask you the same question, kid," Logan growled, glaring between her and Gambit. Rogue crossed her arms over her chest and glared right back.

"I can go wherever I want," she said, annoyed.

"Yeah but not with people you don't know!" Rogue snorted.

"Logan, aren't we a little old for the 'don't talk to strangers' conversation?" she asked.

"Apparently not," he answered and started to stalk towards Gambit. Rogue jumped between them, staring up at Logan defiantly.

"Stop," she commanded. "Now."

"Kid, you don't ever order me around."

"Then listen," she snapped right back. "He is not a stranger. This is Re-er-Gambit. He's saved my life, isn't that good enough for you?" Logan looked back and forth between them again.

"He saved you?" Logan asked.

"More or less," she muttered.

"And more," Gambit chimed in. He placed a hand on her waist and pulled her closer. "We are, how you say, an item." Blushing furiously, Rogue tensed, Gambit rubbed reassuring circles on her waist, willing her to relax.

"Oh, really?" Logan asked darkly, crossing his arms.

"Yes," Rogue said, refusing to flinch under his stare.

"Fine," Logan snapped. "Fine. We're leaving now."

"No, we aren't," Rogue said. "WE are leaving tomorrow. You can come if you wish, I guess." Logan ground his teeth together before sighing.

"Fine. I'll get a room," he said. When he was right outside the room, he turned and said, "No bed-sharing."

"No promises," Rogue said, closing the door in Logan's astounded face.