Disclaimer: Don't own 'em; wish I did. Sueing is pure stupidity.

Note: This is a sequel so you might want to read the first fic first. Read and review. The author's bribe still stands. For those of you who know not what that is, it's if you review one of my stories, I'll read and review one of your stories. On to the fic! ^_^

Kitty woke up to find herself nestled under Kurt's arms, though both of them were fully dressed. So nothing had happened. She knew this; she actually remembered everything that had happened yesterday, well, almost everything. Some of the more sordid details remained blurry, but those mattered little. What did matter was that her Kurt went to Germany. For some reason, Kitty suddenly realized this trip was extremely important to the way Kurt saw her, to how she would be able to deal with his absence. He needed to go home, needed that closure so he could either stay or decide to eventually return for forever. And so in that moment of insentiential wakefulness, the Shadowcat decided that for Kurt alone she would "forget" all that had occurred yesterday on the walk home from school; none at the Institute would know that she had almost been raped unless Kurt told. She also decided that she was finally ready to reveal the contents of the box to he who she adored dearly.

To implement the illusion, she pushed against the furry body next to her, mumbling incoherently as he groaned. His eyes opened and he looked at her, concerned. At that look she shot up, "Kurt, what did we, like, do? We didn't-" she blushed, "we didn't, like, you know, did we? I, like, don't feel any different, but tell me we didn't." Widening her eyes, Kitty looked at him, noticing his confounded expression. "Why am I, like, in here anyway?" an idea came to her and she went with it. "Did something, like, happen, Kurt? To one of us? I can't remember. Kurt, what, like, happened after school yesterday?" She noticed his intake of breath and wondered if he would lie to her. For some reason she hoped he would; if he did then she'd be able to pretend it hadn't happened at all.

"Vell, Keety, I came to peeck you up avter school und you vere in zhe nurse'z ovfice. So, I brought you home und up to mein room so you vouldn't have to explain to zhe Provessor. Do you feel better?" His eyes shone rather more than they should, a perfect signifyer of a lie. "Vell, Keety, I must finish packing, but iv you vish, you can stay vith me. Vhen I finish, a revard kiss is customary in Germany." Another shining of his eyes, this one happy; no such tradition existed anywhere and both of them knew it! Kitty merely nodded and kissed him before rising and fixing her hair.

After a meager ten minutes, the fuzzy one had almost completed his packing. One thing remained to be placed in the large duffel laying on the bed beside his Katzchen, the tiny mahogany box she had given him their first Christmas together. Never had he really brought it up, knowing he'd know what it contained when she thought both of them were ready. Of course, it did get rather annoying to have it placed on his dresser not knowing whether he'd actually like what was inside or not. Then, as he began to place it into his duffle, for he did use it to somewhat symbolize the love he and Kitty shared, the object of his affection had reached out and plucked it from his grasp. For some reason, this action worried him… The thought that maybe she didn't love him crossed his mind, but he hurriedly dismissed it. If Kitty wanted to break up, she'd actually tell him. Even if they couldn't see quite as much of each other as they'd like, Kurt still knew Kitty better than any other of the mutants at the Institute… unless, of course, Rogue decided to 'borrow' her powers which would end with her 'borrowing' her memories as well… NO! Kitty was not going to break up with him, and he had a plane he needed to catch. For some reason, Kurt hoped Kitty really had forgotten all that occurred yesterday, if she had seen him attack those boys, she might have become frightened.

"Keety, I have to go. Zhe Provessor said zhat zhe plane vas going to be an early vone. Und I need to talk vith Remy before I say gutte-bye to you, mein Katzchen." Trying very hard to ignore her disappointed look, he grabbed her waist, bamfed them both to her room, then 'ported himself to Remy's room. Knocking loudly on the door, he chuckled quietly to himself when cursing in English and French echoed through the room. After a few moments of shuffling in the background, the door opened to show the black-and red-eyed mutant snarling at him. "Gutte morning, mein friend, Remy! I need your aszistance in vone leetle manner vhich concerns your knowledge of French. Can you translate zhis poem vor me? I vound it in vone of Keety's pockets in her bag, but I don't zhink she knows ov it…" Slightly weary, the blue mutant handed over the small paper containing the poem.

Gambit looked at the words, frowning at what was written there. "Well, Remy don' be knowin' much 'bout them who be writin' such thin's 'bout the petite femme, but Remy be knowin' this ain' no poem pour votre jolie femme. Let Gambit be tellin' you just what these words be meanin'…

I'll Be Your Bane

When your darkness eats your heart away

I'll be the night's new moon

When the stars all fail you one by one

I'll be the street's broken lamp

When your light feeds all hopeful eyes

I'll be the window's ebony shade

And when the adoration of your followers dies

I'll be the morgue it lies in.

La petite must be havin' some who deteste her. Elle est danke? (Is she okay?) Kurt, can you be tellin' ol' Gambit 'bout what be goin' on? Le homme bleu do be goin' back home for le vacation, after all, and none do be here to protect her from Lance or les autres." Knowing what had been written, Kurt knew he needed someone to look after her, and with her repressing the memories, it seemed that Remy and Evan would have to know anyway to keep her from being attacked again.

And so the demon-like mutant told the Cajun about what had happened yesterday and how she had forgotten what she could. "Gambit, I need you to vatch out vor her vor me. I hate zhat I have to go, but zhe Profeszor made zhe arrangements und so I must go. Plus, mein parents have not seen me in almost zhree years. Mein friend, I must go say good-bye to mein Katzchen, but danke (this one's German, the other danke ^ was French) vor your aszistance."

A quick wave and a puff of sulfurry smoke were his exitting show and he found himself back in Kitty's room. Quickly, he gathered Kitty into his arms, kissing her soundly. He would not be able to kiss her for almost a week… He chucked her under the chin before grinning and 'porting to the lobby of the mansion. The only thing left of his presence in the room a scent of sulfur and the echo of a few whispered good-byes.

Kitty had watched him go and prepared herself to miss him, but Thanksgiving and the overload of food had been a painful reminder of his absence. True, he did have to spend a lot of time at the college, but he still lived at the mansion and still hung out with the other mutants. Post-Thanksgiving, though, Kitty began to have a lot on her mind, such as, how on EARTH she would be able to go to the city without everyone hanging on her back. Luckily for her, the situation came in the form of Jean needing to get a Christmas gift for Evan. That thought momentarily distracted her as she remembered how pissed Scott had been when he'd found out that Jean, who he thought of as his girl had secretly been dating Evan for what could have been a week to a month. Neither of them would tell. So, when Jean announced that she needed to go into the city to do some serious shopping, Kitty had immediately asked the Professor if she could go as well. Jean wouldn't mind; the two had become extremely close, and even Rogue had started to like the telepath once Remy had come and taken her mind off Scott. And then there was Jubilee… She too had become one of the little foursome family (No dirty thoughts, you guys, remember? ALL of them are happily paired off!) and when they decided to go shopping no one could find a way to deter them.

After they arrived, Kitty looked over at her best friends entreatingly and Jean nodded to her. "You go ahead and do what you need to Kit, we'll meet you at the food court in an hour, kay?" When she hesitated, Rogue pulled at one of her gloves threateningly, and Jubilee sent up a tiny spark; all three grinned conspiratorily at her. Finally she nodded gratefully and turned towards the locksmith's she had seen on the drive in.

As the Shadowcat waited patiently for the key to be made, she thought over why she had changed her mind about how Kurt was to find what she had placed in the box. In the beginning, she had thought that she would just phase through it and give it to him, but now that seemed like a bad idea. She knew that Kurt still became embarrassed about certain things, and if she were to just hand him the… umm, thing… then he might never forgive her.And so she had come to this key shop, getting a key made for a box that had been waiting to be opened for far too long. A slow moment passed when she wondered if she were doing the right thing, but then she realized that Kurt had risked everything in saving her, and that that had been the last straw for her heart. She had finished falling for the German mutant and now she needed to let him know what she had just learned. She later met up with the other girls and all four shopped the day away, gathering bags by the armfulls. This would most certainly be a Christmas to remember for all of them. The X-men's female gossip network was truly one of the more powerful things that could be connected to the Mutant Academy.

Kurt stepped off the plane and was immediately rushed by an ecstatic Kitty who couldn't restrain herself enough to refrain from instantly covering his face with the merest whispers of kisses. Grinning, Kurt pulled back, looking her over, "Zhat's all I get for being gone for a veek? Give a guy some credit. Vhen I come back vrom some place, I need a real kiss!" So saying, he followed words with actions and pulled the senior into a powerful embrace. When they eventually came up for air, Kitty whispered into his ear, "I'm glad you're, like, back. Let's go home." And so they returned to the mansion. When they got there, and all the welcome backs had been said, Kurt and Kitty went to his room to talk about how Germany had changed and stayed the same, and how the blue mutant's parents had made his visit wonderful. As they entered, Kurt overtly glanced towards his dresser, instinctively searching for the tiny mahogany box; and there it was, perched in it's usual spot. Reassured, the Nightcrawler wrapped his tail about Kitty's waist and enthusiastically described his home villiage. Even so, he watched her covertly, noticing the slight hesitancies she had to suppress when she touched him. Either she remembered what had happened, or her subconscious left her feeling slightly resistance to touch from any one. The thought saddened the returned Kurt, and he worked very hard to help her forget.

Well, if this was slight crap, I apologize, but I wanted to give you a Christmas Eve present. I've been working to get it finished, and the 3rd chapter will appear soon. AND!! The contents of that damned box will be revealed… In the 3rd chapter… Seriously! Hope there was slight niceness in this chapter, and, hey, it's longer. ^_^

Happy Holidays

~The Alciontae Shadow~