Hello! Thank you again for all the kindness and support. I'm really happy you guys are enjoying and I hope you continue to.

Thanks per usual to thehazeofdusk for reading ahead of time.

While I'm definitely more comfortable with German than French, I still limited how much I had Kurt use it and kept to the "context clues/put it in where it feels right" method for right now.

Chapter 4

And so began one of the least fun plane rides Rogue had ever experienced, including but not limited to the numerous times sitting through Bobby learning how to fly the flight sim (with Lance, during his short lived attempt at being an X Man, chucking up his lunch in the back and Jamie clinging to her arm in terror while Scott did his best to guide the Icicle through correct flying procedures).

Once the plane was in the air and they were in relative safety, the noise began: Jean was radioing for the Professor, Storm, and Beast. Logan and Magneto were arguing about where they needed to go, since they could at least agree that heading to either team's base could just lead the Sentinels there. Mystique was alternating between fighting with Logan and Magneto and staring down Kurt and Rogue while making pointed comments to bait them into acknowledging her. Scott had struck up a conversation across the aisle with Kurt about the numerous new attacks the Sentinels had displayed, trying to keep him distracted from Mystique. Kitty, apparently deciding to play the awkward roll of peacemaker, took it upon herself to wave hi to Colossus and invite him to come sit. On the one hand this wasn't too much of a problem because he was so stoically quiet (something Rogue was very much appreciating amidst the rest of the chaos). But on the other hand, it also made things worse because as Colossus sat down in front of Rogue and Scott, so too came Pyro (who bounced into the seat next to Colossus) and Gambit (who casually slid into the row in front of Kurt and Kitty, claiming both seats for himself with his long legs). Gambit had put his back to the window as he sat, facing his teammates and setting his line of sight conveniently right in Rogue's direction.

With Pyro still prattling on about who knew what and Kitty now asking how Colossus had been since Apocalypse, it seemed to Rogue the only people on the plane not creating noise were her and the Swamp Rat, who seemed to be alternating between listening in on Magneto, Mystique, and Logan planning, looking at Scott with a funny sort of expression on his face, and glancing in Rogue's direction (even as she refused to meet his eye).

It was enough chaos to remind Rogue exactly why she'd been avoiding using her powers. At least when all of the noise was in her head, she'd learned enough techniques to mute the noise to a dull roar or make it go away. Unfortunately, there was no such fix right now.

Trying to tune out the conversations around her, she risked a glance towards Gambit. Based on how her day had gone so far, she should have guessed how her luck would turn out. She'd made her risk looking his direction at the exact wrong time and again he had her eyes locked into his from across the aisle. Instantly, she recognized the same expression he'd had after she found out he'd tricked her in New Orleans: guilt, frustration, and an almost pleading look to his eyes.

Good. He should be feeling guilty right now, she thought to herself bitterly, casting every bit of anger she could into her eyes for him to witness. They'd been alone for a decent amount of time in the maze of crates-he couldn't have once mentioned Mystique was there? Or that he was working on the same team with her?

She levelly met his gaze before ripping her eyes away and turning towards Colossus' back. Rogue knew it wasn't entirely fair for her to be so pissed at him. Like she'd told herself many times before, they weren't friends just because they'd spent some time alone together. He didn't technically owe her anything. He might have been playing some sort of game when they'd been fighting earlier, but that didn't mean anything in the long run. Even if this felt like a betrayal that he of all people should understand, Rogue could acknowledge that kind of grudge is technically a moot point when you're enemies (and since he was apparently back with the Acolytes, that pretty much confirmed for Rogue that they were supposed to be enemies again).

Frustrated, Rogue wasn't quite sure where she should be focusing on. She tried to distract herself by fiddling with her hands only to notice she'd missed putting her glove back on after all the chaos that had ensued. Quickly she looked down, and was filled with relief when she found the glove still tucked into her belt. 'At least that didn't go wrong,' she thought to herself as she quickly tugged her glove on. Scott looked down at the motion and then quickly to her face, realizing there was only one likely reason Rogue would have taken the glove off in the first place in this situation.

Softly (but definitely not as softly as Rogue would have liked) Scott gestured to her newly gloved hand. "Wait, did you actually use your powers?"

Before Rogue could respond, Kurt jumped in, practically leaning over Kitty to join the conversation. "Wait, Rogue used her powers?"

"Rogue used her powers? Seriously? You actually did?" Kitty echoed, head whipping in Rogue's direction as the brunette abruptly dropped out of her conversation with Colossus. Unfortunately for Rogue, this turned Colossus' and Pyro's heads in her direction as well. Kitty shot Rogue a look of concern. Of all the teammates, Kitty had been the most vocally supportive of Rogue not needing to always rely on her powers. Maybe it was because they'd been roommates and Kitty saw how little sleep Rogue's powers allotted, but it was most likely because against all odds, opposites had attracted and now even Rogue would admit (to Kitty or herself) how close of friends they'd become.

Rogue opened her mouth to speak, fighting the feeling of a shrinking violet with all of the attention now on her, including the incredibly intense gaze of Gambit whose eyes were locked in on her face again, not bothering to hide where his attentions were at in the current moment. Unintentionally, Rogue glanced in Gambit's direction, their eyes meeting before she turned back to Scott. "I-"

"Meine Schwester, wirklich? I am so proud of you!"

"Kurt, calm down I - "

"Wait, Rogue, seriously? It's been literal months!"

"Kit, I d - "

"Were you able to control the ability you got? How long did it hang on for?" Scott was immediately in team leader analysis and data mode. Rogue could only bite back a frustrated growl at the situation continuing to spiral out of control and constantly being cut off.

"Like, seriously, how much danger were you in if you resorted to that?" the look of concern on Kitty's face softened Rogue's frustration slightly. But not slightly enough.

"Hey, guys! Thanks for broadcastin' my business to everyone on the plane!" Rogue bit out sarcastically, doing her best to keep her volume down, glancing worriedly in Mystique's direction. As if that wasn't enough for her team to be on top of her about her powers, she knew Mystique could very easily be eavesdropping on any part of the conversation, important or not. And, important or not, any information was dangerous in Mystique's hands.

Kurt had the grace to look slightly ashamed and lowered his voice, noticing now, as Rogue had, that Mystique's attentions had been focused solely in their direction before Logan yanked her back into the discussion about their next move. "Sorry, Rogue. It's just so nice to see you accepting your gift again," he said apologetically.

"And deciding to be useful to the team again," Scott muttered under his breath, still clearly just as annoyed as Rogue about their conversation earlier that morning.

"Yeah, cause that's the only reason t' have someone 'round, right?" Rogue's face whipped in Gambit's direction. His eyes were now focused completely on Scott. It seemed to Rogue his eyes were almost glowing again, although the rest of his face was a blank mask. His voice had been quiet enough as he snapped at Scott, but that only served to amplify the cold expression on his face instead of dulling it.

"Excuse me?" Shit. Rogue knew that tone. It was the same voice Scott used whenever he and Lance started doing their competitive pissing match thing.

Gambit smirked as he leaned back into the window and began casually shuffling a deck of cards. His casual pose did nothing to lessen the animosity in his gaze. "Y' heard me." He shrugged and continued, his lazy drawl adding a dangerously casual tone to his voice as he picked out one card and flipped it between his fingers. Gambit kept his glare on Scott, but when he spoke next, it was to address Rogue, a deceptively sweet note mixing in with his cold tone, making him sound all the more like a snake about to strike. "Guess we cain't have an X Men choosin' t' be useful with skills outside'a they powers, now can we, chère?"

Rogue wasn't sure if he really did linger on the word 'useful' or if it was her imagination that gave the word an extra layer of distaste. She understood why that word would piss him off, but surely he couldn't be this mad about Scott's mindset, especially when it hardly affected Gambit himself. She couldn't understand why he was airing this grievance with so many people around to witness his reaction.

Honestly, she was surprised he'd said anything at all. He was a shit-stirrer, sure, but it seemed to Rogue that (the few times she'd seen him on the job) Gambit had always chosen the laid back approach and focused instead on the task at hand instead of getting into petty squabbles. Still, the way Gambit had spoken up and was still staring Scott down made Rogue fidget uncomfortably she could tell the look held too much intensity to be solely about Scott's comment, even if she had no clue what else it could be about.

Scott leaned forward, his voice low. "I don't think you have any right to comment on Rogue and her powers. Not after - "

Hurriedly, Rogue jabbed Scott in the gut. Of all the things she didn't want Mystique finding out about, Gambit kidnapping her and hauling her off to New Orleans was definitely in the top 5. Especially when they were all stuck on a very small jet together miles high in the sky. Rogue's eyes darted to Mystique. Her mother was still fighting with Logan and Magneto, so that was a hopeful sign they hadn't drawn her attention again at least. She turned to Scott, tilted her head in Mystiques direction once, and frowned at Scott, doing her best to silently convey "dude, what the hell" with only her face and gestures. For good measure she turned in Gambit's direction, only to see him calmly absorbed in shuffling his cards, as if he hadn't just fixed Scott with a glare that could have made a weaker man crumble.

Kitty looked at Rogue questioningly. Rogue rolled her eyes. "You really think Mystique hearin' even a whisper about that is gonna lead to anythin' good?" she whispered. Kitty's eyes widened in understanding and she saw Kurt and Scott each give a miniscule nod. Considering Gambit was still absorbed in his cards, although now back to playing with one card between his fingers again, Rogue was pretty sure they were all in agreeance about that at least.

As an awkward silence settled over the six, Rogue resolutely turned to look out her window, slouching down. Definitely the least fun plane ride she could remember. After several seconds, she saw Pyro lean into Colossus to quasi-whisper: "Mate, you see where the popcorn's at? This is the best damn show I've seen in ages."

With Jean finally succeeding in reaching the Institute over the radio, the conversation up front had calmed considerably as well, so at least they had that to be grateful for. The look of relief on Jean's face as Logan shooed her to the back was monumental, stress showing on the older girl's face as she made her way to the back. Unfortunately, with three extra bodies taking up seats, the sitting options were limited. Clearly seeing her options were limited to standing, kicking someone out of a seat, or taking Gambit's feet chair, Jean chose none of the above and instead chose to sit on Scott's lap, squeezing the couple and Rogue together awkwardly in the now very suddenly small space.

Rogue took a deep breath in and out of her nose, trying to calm her discomfort. It wasn't so much that it was Jean and Scott invading her space, as it was a couple displaying PDA next to her and invading her space. She was long since past her crush on Scott. Not only were the two basically attached at the hip, but the more Rogue had gotten used to seeing the two of them together, the more she found herself actually agreeing with Kitty about how cute they were together rather than agreeing for the sake of not causing waves. To her surprise, instead of the usual anxiety over people in her space and the lingering sadness she got seeing most couples, this time, observing how physically close Scott held Jean to him led Rogue's brain somewhere else entirely.

This time, Rogue's discomfort stemmed from memories flooding her brain of exactly how close Gambit had held her during the explosions. Every inch of his torso had felt molded to her own in such a way she'd almost been unable to tell whose heart was racing faster, although she'd have never known how fast his heart was going by how calm he'd looked externally. His hands had gripped her to him with purpose, firmly keeping her there and not letting go. And just when she'd thought it wasn't physically possible to get any closer to each other, the second explosion had hit and he'd tucked her right between his thighs like he wasn't potentially centimeters away from death (especially with his fingers uncovered and buried in her hair). And then there was his thighs, which had wrapped around her hips, locking them in an incredibly intimate position. His thighs, one of which she'd rested her hand on top of. For a while.

A flush swept through her and she quickly looked to the window, knowing it must show on her face and refusing to let her embarrassment grow right now.

She needed to stop thinking about this.

It was just...he'd shown zero hesitation. None. Whatsoever. Whether he'd worried internally or not about being too close to her, he'd grabbed her like she was no different than anyone one did that. Not with her. Especially not since her powers had manifested. Her friends at the Institute were known to casually high five her or give the occasional hug, but even Kitty's tightest "bestie time hugs" (as the smaller girl had dubbed them) hadn't felt nearly as close as what had just happened with Gambit.

Great. Now, to add onto the growing list of things she needed to not think about right now (a concerning number of which had to do with a certain Cajun), now she also needed to stop thinking about the fact that in the very small amount of time she'd spent around Gambit, he'd not only casually touched her more often than...pretty much anyone since her powers had manifested, but also he had held her closer than anyone else ever had with no sense of uncertainty or hesitation.

She tried to hide a sigh by blowing some silver bangs out of her eyes. Not thinking about this was going terribly. Luckily, she didn't have to sit and ruminate on not thinking for very long.

Hank's voice came over the radio, drawing the attention of the entire jet. "Wolverine, we have a situation."

"Of course," Logan grunted. He turned to the radio. "Okay Hank, lay it on me."

"There seems to be a large disturbance downtown near the Pow-R8 plant. Plenty of destruction, lots of chaos."

"You thinkin' it's Sentinels again? Or somethin' new?" Logan asked.

"I'd think Sentinels more likely given today's events. It's possible Trask knows exactly what Pow-R8 can do to mutants and he's drawing you there intentionally by attacking the surrounding area. Perhaps he's hoping to use the plant as a failsafe if his Sentinels fail to catch us again."

The X men all exchanged nervous glances. They'd known the plant was supposed to be functional again soon, but they had thought maybe they'd get some time before having to deal with the mutant poison. They'd seen what happened to Evan, and no one was prepared to see what their next encounter with the juice could hold.

The Professor's voice joined Hank's. "There are news crews trying to get there, but unfortunately we only know what we've told you."

"What is this plant? Why would Trask bother to draw us there?" demanded Magneto.

"Sports drink for humans. Poison for us," Kurt supplied.

Magneto's eyes darkened. "The humans have created a substance that poisons our kind and yet you've done nothing to destroy it?"

"We thought the operation had been shut down after the Morlocks trashed the place," Scott answered, jaw set and tone defensive.

Mystique scoffed. "Can't trust the Morlocks to finish any job. They only look out for themselves."

"Takes one to know one," Scott muttered.

Mystique spun on Scott, fury clear in her face. "Would you like to play this game again, little boy? I can think of plenty more deserts to drop you in."

Jean jumped up from Scott's lap and advanced on Mystique, finger pointed. "Just you try, Mystique!" Scott lept out of his seat to pull Jean back just as a metal pole from the back of the plane whizzed past Rogue's head to wrap around Mystique and pin her to the wall of the plane.

"Enough!" Magneto bellowed. "Mystique, you will back down. Do not forget why you're here." Rogue watched as her mother glared at Magneto, but made no move to continue to fight. The pole dropped and Mystique righted herself, crossing her arms. The same anger was still on her face, but she made no move to advance on Scott or Jean again. Rogue and Kurt exchanged glances, neither comfortable with their mother's sudden self control. Whatever Magneto had over her, it must be pretty big, Rogue thought to herself.

As if he hadn't just broken up a fight, Magneto turned to the radio. "Perhaps it would be beneficial to attack together. Take out both the plant and the Sentinels, since the issue was not previously dealt with."

A heavy sigh on the other end then, "I agree, Magnus. It seems we have no choice, since the owner of the plant decided to rebuild knowing how his product could harm mutants. Although I must insist the plant is cleared of all beings, mutant and human, before it is destroyed. Logan, we're sending you the coordinates now."

For the most part, planning teams and preparing for battle with the Acolytes went much smoother than Rogue would have ever guessed. With Magneto and the Professor discussing everything so cordially, she shouldn't have been surprised. However, she'd expected Logan or Mystique to interrupt or give input way more than they actually did.

It was easily decided Kurt and Kitty would keep an eye out for civilians to keep them safe from the surrounding damage. Colossus had volunteered to go along with them just in case they needed some extra strength and no one seemed to object.

Magneto, Logan, Jean, Pyro, Gambit, and Mystique would head straight for the Sentinels. Rogue made a note to thank Logan later for not placing her on this team; not only would she have to work with Mystique, but she'd have to suck it up and use her powers if she was going to be on the A-team attacking the Sentinels. He was saving her from being forced to use her powers and she was eternally grateful to her mentor for that. It had taken some work to convince Magneto that Rogue would be more useful elsewhere, but in the end he'd agreed to Logan's plan. The big hiccup came with finalizing who would break in to the Pow-R8 plant, a job that had fallen to Rogue and Scott. It should have been a fairly simple decision, given the two of them were the only ones not assigned to a team. However...

"Y' really tellin' me y' picked a team t' break in to the chemical plant and destroy the t'ing...and that team don't include the t'ief who explodes shit?" Gambit drawled, somehow managing to sound casual and incredulous at the same time. He looked up from the cards he'd still been shuffling to Wolverine and Magneto, waiting for their response.

Rogue slowly turned her head in Gambit's direction, trying incredibly hard to keep her face emotionless and also suddenly regretting thinking this process had gone smoothly thus far. She looked just in time to see him roll his eyes in disbelief at the situation.

"Gambit makes a good point. I think it prudent we move him to the Pow-R8 team. Once that team has done their job, they'll help finish the job with the Sentinels," Magneto conceded, either not seeing or not caring about the large amount of tension now flowing from several of the X Men.

Rogue quickly looked between Wolverine and Scott, both of whom looked like they were about to explode. She could already see the direction this was going. "Rogue, we might as well move you to the Sentinels team then. Scott and Gumbo can handle that on their own," Logan ground out, fixing Gambit with a murderous glare.

"Nonsense," Magneto cut in. "You've already said Rogue would be most useful taking down the factory. No need to remove the girl to swap Gambit in. Although if we only need two people, I don't see any reason why Cyclops couldn't join the team fighting Sentinels." When no one responded outside of Logan's glare, Magneto shrugged. "Very well then. Rogue, Gambit, and Mr. Summers will destroy the factory and then join us in fighting any Sentinels left."

Wolverine was stuck, and the X Men all knew it. From the smug look on his face, Gambit did too. No way was Wolverine going to admit he didn't want Gambit near Rogue in front of Magneto and Mystique, even if it meant being able to keep the Swamp Rat away from her. There was no moving Rogue around after he'd just spent the time convincing Magneto that Rogue would be integral to taking down the plant. She felt like her entire team was holding their breath, waiting to see what Logan would say.

"Fine."

From across the plane, Gambits eyes met Rogue's and he smirked as he responded to Logan. "Sounds good t' me."