Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men or the related characters and places. Marvel does.

Scott mentally shook his head. It was amazing how much Gambit seemed to have changed over the last month or so. He didn't realize how much of Gambit's nasty attitude towards him had actually been a reflection of what he was giving out. Once he'd given Gambit a chance, a real one, he'd actually become an okay guy. His sense of humor was a bit out of place at times, and his sense of responsibility was iffy…but Gambit wasn't on his team.

That was one of the factors that worked for and against Remy in Scott's opinion. For once, Scott didn't really have to wonder or worry about making Gambit into a better person. Scott was supposedly in charge of all the mutants in the mansion, under the Professor, Storm, and Logan anyways. He always felt that little bit of extra pressure to be a good role model, and to push the other students to be better. He didn't have to do that with Remy, he wasn't his responsibility.

Gambit being an Acolyte though. It had been very difficult to try and compartmentalize his life to such a degree. Gambit was the enemy, but only sometimes. It was weird, and it was probably morally wrong, but as a pillow was flung his way, and Scott tossed it back across the living room, he found he really didn't care.

It was fun not to be in charge all the time, something Cyclops never thought he'd say. Of course there were always still worries that the young mutant could feel dripping down from the Professor. It wouldn't be a surprise to anyone that Remy was a recruiting aspect in his mind. Though Scott was relatively sure that Gambit, whatever his reasons, wasn't inclined to switch sides, so it was one of the many details he let slip for the moment. Cyclops' only real concern was that the younger students might see the life as a free-wheeling Acolyte fashionable.

To be fair, while Gambit wasn't being forced to go to school, or train, like the X-Men were, Gambit sometimes appeared to have a little freedom as they sometimes seemed to have. Remy was attached day and night to his phone, well, to his work – his part of the mutant equation. Plus Remy had to live with the likes of Sabretooth and Magneto. Pyro was a little less scary now that he wasn't an unknown, but Scott was pretty sure that the mutant was actually mentally imbalanced in some way. He never mentioned it of course, Gambit had never said anything about Kurt and he wasn't exactly the poster-child for mutant mental stability on his best day.

"Remy, your phone just died," complained Kitty trouncing up to the side of the couch, still holding his phone to her ear as if it would magically come back to life. Temporarily barred from the mansion's phone line due to an impressive phone bill, she had begged to borrow Remy's phone for a 'one-second' call that had gone over the hour mark already. Gambit's phone had call-waiting with his list of features, so he wasn't particularly concerned when he'd handed it over.

"Throw it here," Remy said, shifting oddly in his seat to dig the recharger cord out of one of the zillions of pockets his coat seemed to have.

"Wait, wait a minute," Kitty said confused, "there's somebody on the line…he says he's your doctor?"

Rogue, who had been lying on a pillow in Gambit's lap, felt the tension shoot through his body. He sat up stiffly and Kitty met him half-way.

Storm, the appointed chaperone for the night, pointed to the emptied couch cushion for Gambit to reclaim his seat, but the young Cajun blew her off, nothing more than a fleeting shadow as he swiftly passed from the room.

It was a long twenty minutes before Gambit came back. The whole room sat in anticipation not putting forth any energy towards watching the movie besides their head pointed in the general direction of the set.

Gambit swept back in and stooped to stroke his hand down Rogue's covered arm in a familiar way that they'd all learned to recognize as a sign that he was leaving.

"Do I even get a reason this time?" she asked.

"Chere, y' know I can'," he said sounding tortured turning his head to the side to break her gaze.

"I never asked ya, but ya know ya can always…" Rogue started grabbing for his hand softly.

"Don't ask chere," Gambit advised shaking his head sadly auburn locks tickling past his nose, "I can' say yes."

"Why do ya need a doctor?" she asked nostril flaring as her temper heated up, getting tired of her time with him being forever interrupted.

"Rogue, I can', 'm sorry."

"Can't or won't?"

"I gotta go," was his ineffectual parting shot, his voice suddenly clipped and cold. Long strides carried him away, his brown duster whipping about his heels.

Kitty waited a micro-second after he passed through the doorway before piping up.

"Rogue, I don't get why you put up with all of that mysterious crap from him. I mean sure, he's totally hot, his hair does that thing, and his abs are…okay never mind," she said giving her ponytail a light ruffle with her right hand.

"It's just how it is," Rogue muttered shooting a dark look at Storm out of the corner of her mascara drenched eye.

"Perhaps I will attend to my garden," Storm said tactfully as she excused herself. Subtly wasn't in Rogue's vocabulary, and truly, Storm wasn't sure what advice she could offer the young girl. Gambit was in sore need of an attitude adjustment, but he didn't see her in position of power as easily as he did Wolverine. She was fairly sure it wasn't a gender issue, but an issue of force. He responded much quicker to a loud voice and a threat of violence than the soft pressure her presence usually exuded. Not always a positive response, but a response none the less. Gambit would come around in time, hopefully.

Kurt blinked his yellow eyes at the stream of departures and spoke up, hoping to defuse the tension that refused to disperse.

"Look, Rogue –"

"No, I don't want to look, okay Kurt? Just…Just leave me alone," she said irritably, crossing her arms huffily.

"Rogue," Scott broke in disapprovingly.

"No. We've all been hanging out way too much as it is. I'm going up to my room and think about my boyfriend who tells me nothing, runs out for hours at a time, and comes back with bruises and cuts all over the place. And now, this doctor…"

"Rogue–"

"Do you know what's sad?" Rogue railed. "The fact that he's getting hurt doesn't even bother him anymore. And, for all your 'friends' talks nobody cares enough to notice but me. Gambit acts like it's normal, and maybe it is for him. But it shouldn't be."

A/N: Big thanks to my reviewers: Aethena, BlkDiamond, BJ2, Chica De Los Ojos Cafe, coldqueen, Dark Elf 3, Elmothecajunpuppet, Gambit's Belle Rogue, Ima Super Mute Ant, ishandahalf, IvyZoe, Kitsu Lebeau, Lumberjane, Nettlez, Puppybaddog, Samson28, Streetwise Girl, sheisbeautiful-sheisnotme, Shifting1, tinuviel-telcontar, Wildcard186, and X-Storm.