AN: in the interest of both plot and the fun that can be had with it, I will be making this a Kuranda, and eventual Lancitty, although the second won't come about for a while yet.

AN: This chapter is VERY slow, but it mostly serves as a filler, to set up a few things to come in the next few chapters.  Oh, and by the way, Kyle and Rogue may seem almost like their flirting, but one thing about Kyle's personality is that he is nearly impossible to hate, he's just that kind of person.

Chaotic Boredom: Personally, I sit in a variation of cross-legged, with my right leg across the top of my left.  My friends think that it has to hurt, but my hips disagree.  And Kyle's gonna try his darnedest on him, for all our sakes.

Risty: Yes Mystique.

Chapter 6:  Braille on the Wall, and Bells in the Air

Over the course of the next month and a half, Kyle began to settle into the routine of the institute.  Also over the course of the next two weeks, the institute saw a few changes to help the blind young man.  Everyone received quite a shock when they woke up one morning to find plates to the right of each door, with strange looking bumps on them. (AN: None of them have seen Kyle read.)  When they went to ask the Professor about this, their only response was a laugh from Kyle, who had noticed the additions.  When he could finally be calmed down enough to speak, he explained that the signs each were written in Braille.  He translated a few of them, and, to judge by their contents, they were made by Logan, as they all bore his nicknames for students beneath the student's name.

Midterms also proved to be joyous.  Joyous as in that only a quarter of the institute was destroyed by frustrated mutants, and the Danger Room only needed a few million dollars in repairs.  However, with their passing, the students had something to look forward to… Christmas Break!  And Storm was celebrating this with one of the biggest snowstorms in recent history, which curiously only hit the institute.

Over the time he had been at the institute, Kyle had made some observations about his classmates. From these observations, he had managed to compose a mental shopping list for each of them.  However, the one person he could not figure a gift for, was the local goth, the Rogue.

However, the snowball in the side of his head reminded him that the middle of a snowball fight was not the ideal time to contemplate this topic. Grinning like the Mad Hatter, Kyle scooped up a snowball.  He knew from listening to the girl's gossip that the aforementioned goth was sitting quietly to the side, reading an Anne Rice book.  Kyle smirked, he had made it his personal goal to get Rogue to lighten up, or at least try to socialize.  He snuck up on the broody goth, and, smiling lightly, planted the snowball firmly in the middle of her hair.

The results surprised everyone.  Half of the institute's student body expected Rogue to attempt to kill Kyle; the other half expected her to threaten all his extremities with a dull spoon.  The result of her looking at him, then shaking the snow from her hair, and then gathering her own snowball was totally unexpected. However, they shook it off quickly and continued their game, with the addition of one goth.

Much later, while everyone was trying to warm up from the small snow skirmish, Kyle meditated by the fire.  In his mind, he contemplated two things, what to get the Rogue for the holidays, and what he could do to help draw her from his shell.

Suddenly, it hit him in a flash.  An idea that could accomplish both his personal goal, and get her the perfect gift, if his intuition was correct.  He stood, and started to make his way out of the rec room.

Amara, who had been gossiping with Jubilee and Rahne, saw him leaving the room, and started to wonder where he was going.  There was no need for them to leave at this time, and this was likely to be the warmest place in the house.  They didn't have school for another two weeks. And when she thought about it, he hadn't been himself lately, he meditated a lot more recently, and wasn't as social as he had been when he first arrived.  While she was thinking, although she didn't realize it, she had begun to stare at Kyle.  Jubilee and Rahne had noticed, however.

"Looks like 'Mar's got a crush."  Teased Jubilee, bringing the flame-wielding mutant back to reality.

"Aye, lass.  It be seemin' that ye' 'ave ta'en a liken ta aour blind housemate." Rahne said, fielding the verbal ball.

"No I don't." Amara said, her voice firm, while, inside her head, their comments had started a very serious chain of thought. (AN: One you will be privy to… eventually)

Jubilee and Rahne simply gave their royal friend a look, which said, 'If you think we believe that, then the two of us will go and join Magneto right now;' and continued with their gossip.

Kyle, meanwhile, had had a very fruitful conversation with the Professor, Dr. McCoy, and Sensei.  Their joint opinion was, that it couldn't hurt to try his idea, as long as they did it so that they wouldn't raise suspicion.  Sensei had figured that one out, as he had been getting ready to begin with meditation training in the class anyways, he simply would have her work harder.

Kyle smiled as he walked back into the rec room, where the rest of the students were still gathered, socializing and attempting to get a little bit warmer.  Although, from the sounds he was hearing, Scott and Jean were taking a less than standard approach.  As he walked past the two, he muttered under his breath, "Remember, there are some here that don't need to see your tongue's down each others throats."  After this pronouncement from Kyle, the noises from the couple abruptly stopped, and did not restart for the rest of the evening.

Eventually, the teenage mutants could not make up any more reasons to stay in the rec room, and were beginning to disperse when Kyle had a brainstorm.  Since, due to recent events, none of them were going home for the holidays, he suggested that it might be fun to talk about what their families did during the holiday season. This managed to occupy them for the rest of the evening.

*The next morning*

Amara had just finished getting dressed when she and Rahne, who was putting in her normal pigtails, heard a loud CLANG ring out from the hall. They opened the door to investigate the source of the noise.  There, in the middle of the hallway, was Sensei, with a bucket in both hands, held upside down over his own head.  Standing just outside his room was Kyle, who was dressed in his gi, his cane in hand.  However, this was not what caused the bursts of laughter. The source of that was that Sensei was soaking wet, as the bucket had apparently been full of water and ice.  Kyle shook his head at his father, and said, "You would think, that after I have caught you at that, every time you have tried it, since I was nine, you would get sick of taking a bath in either ice or ice-water.  If you'll excuse me, Sensei, I am going to the dojo to do some kata." He then took a cautious step past the ice-water, and headed out to do just that.  As he exited the dormitory wing, he passed Wolverine, who asked him gruffly, "What's all the laughin' about, Grasshopper."

Kyle shook his head, "My father took his usual bath." Wolverine, confused by that statement, went to investigate the dorm. wing further.  Upon seeing the Sensei, soaking wet, bucket still over his head, he shook his head, and left.

Sensei, however, turned to look at the other students, and said, "I guess you should learn something from that…  and that is, that a skilled fighter is always aware of his surroundings.  I knew Kyle would get me again. But I proved my point, even if I have sacrificed a little bit of credibility. Kyle always stops just inside his door, and listens for a second.  If he hears breathing, then he knows from experience to bring his cane up to hit the bucket, before it dumps." With that, he bent down to scoop as much of the ice up as he could.  Amara took pity on him, and, powering up, quickly melted the ice, and then dried the rug.  She then powered down, smiled at Sensei, and headed towards the kitchen.

At breakfast, the Professor made an announcement.  "Today, I would like you all to decorate the mansion."  At the groans from this, the Professor smiled, "It won't take you that long if you use your powers.  So no complaints."  As the teenagers finished, and went to put on their snow clothes, Logan turned to the Professor.

"You sure that's a good idea, Chuck?  You know that some of those decorations are fragile."

The Professor smiled, "It will keep them out of trouble, and out of your hair."

At this pronouncement, Logan smiled, and left to get acquainted with the bottom of a bottle.

*Outside*

(AN: FLUFF ALERT, FLUFF ALERT!  If you don't want to read fluff, then pay attention when I say this, because I MEAN IT! I have incredible tolerance for writing and reading fluff, and I intend to use it at several points in this fic. This is mostly for reference, but this will be the first romance scene of the fic, and probably be the mildest, since many couples aren't developed yet, it will also set the tone for the involved couples relationships. Synopsis: A touch of Rahm (Rahne/Sam) , Jubby (Jubilee/Bobby), and the soon-to-be-constant-even-in-battle flirting between Amara and Kyle begins.)

As the teenagers dragged the huge box of lights for the outside of the mansion out, there was a fierce debate about whether to take the efficient route, or the fun one.   Unfortunately for the efficiency freaks, they were out numbered, as it was Scott and Jean Vs. Everyone Else.

In the end, it was agreed that Jean would lift the strings into place on the house, while Kurt, Rogue and Roberto would hang them.  Meanwhile, Kyle, Amara, Jubilee, Bobby, Rahne and Sam would hang lights in various trees, and the remaining teenagers began working inside and on putting lights on the fence.  Kyle found that, while he couldn't see the lights, his martial arts skills made him ideal for getting into the tree without falling on his butt.

While he was climbing up one tree, Jubilee caught Amara staring at that particular part of his anatomy.  She smiled, and whispered, "See, I knew you liked him!"

Amara looked over at Jubilee and responded, "Oh really… Well, what did you call that pat you gave Bobby's butt when you were 'brushing him off'?"  Jubilee blushed at this, knowing she was busted.

The two called an unspoken truce, and, before the six teens realized it, they were out of lights.

(AN: now the fluff begins)

PLOP. "WHOA" CRASH!!!

The first noise was Kyle dropping from the tree.  The second was the noise he made when he slipped in the snow, and the third was the noise he made when, after desperately attempting to use her to balance himself, Kyle dragging both himself and Amara to the ground.

Kyle, after realizing that he not only was going down, but was dragging down Amara with him, twisted himself so that he landed underneath the slim girl.  However, what he was not aware of until that point was that, due to a combination of fate, and their comparative heights, that Amara's face was right over his.  Either that, or Storm was blowing a warm wind directly at his face, in bursts.

The two stayed in this position for about two seconds, until their friends, getting over the shock, burst out laughing.  Kyle and Amara both scrambled to their feet, their faces redder than cold could ever account for.  The two of them traded looks, and…

PLOOP-PLOOP. "WHAT THE!!" "A'm gonna' get yeh for thaet one, lass."

The first noise was the sound of two snowballs hitting, and the second, the outraged cries of the targets, Iceman and Rahne respectively.  With this, a snow war was begun in the trees.  However, soon it broke up into three smaller wars, Jubilee vs. Bobby, Amara vs. Kyle, and Rahne vs. Sam.

Jubilee had found the one disadvantage to having a boyfriend whom could control ice… you tended to loose snowball fights, a point which Bobby was driving home with a flurry of white fluff.

Suddenly, on an impulse that she would not be able to explain later, no mater how much she was drilled on it, Jubilee turned around, and pegged a swift kiss on Bobby's cheek.  Then she stepped back, her face the color of Sunspot's after charging up.  Bobby took a long look at Jubilee, and shook his head, "That's not how it's done."  With that, he grabbed her, and gave her a kiss, dead on the lips, tipped back, the whole shebang.

(AN: Remember that impulse of Jubilee's, we'll see more of them. Their source will be explained, but that comes later.)

While Jubilee and Bobby were giving each other lessons on just how a kiss is supposed to be, a textbook stereotype scene was playing out.  The scene, a boy an his dog… Until, after having a snowball planted on it's head, the dog transformed into a rather irate Scottish lass, who proceeded to show the boy just what a pair of pants full of snow felt like.

Amara and Kyle walked silently through the trees on the institute grounds. The silence between them was comfortable, and, had they been holding hands, the scene would have been highly romantic.  Sadly, the only thing that either of their hands were holding at that moment was the snowballs that Amara was quietly trying to create without the every astute Kyle noticing.

Finally, she was ready. She turned, and planted the snowball into Kyle's face.  Kyle stopped for a second, surprised by the unexpected attack, but a smile quickly overtook his face, one that promised vengence for his snowing.  He reached down for the snow, and began to chase after Amara, who had run off laughing when he began smiling.

After chasing her for five minutes, he finally caught her with a tackling move that actually hit with less force than it looked like.  Of course, making himself into the density of a human sized feather for a second might have had something to do with it. The end result of this tackle was that their positions from earlier were reversed, him just over her face, both of them breathing hard.  The laughter that interrupted them was not their classmates, but, rather their own.  Kyle helped Amara to her feet, and the two of them began leisurely walking to the mansion.

(Post Chap. AN: I now need to go brush my teeth from all that fluff. R&R)