A/N So obviously my planned timeline is out the window. I've once again been ridiculously sick, think pink eye, flu, ear infections so bad I can't hear jack and pneumonia, and school is kicking me in the nose. Long story short, I'll do my best by let's be honest, it might take awhile. Positive note, I know what's going to happen! Mostly.

The news that Kitty and Pete were now dating spread like napalm through the mansion. A few girls were disappointed that Pete was no longer available. The gossip seemed to linger longer than normal because they were both so reserved and secret about it. Everyone wanted a little nugget of information. When they realized they weren't going to get their wish, the gossip faded and people got used to the sight of them hand in hand. The community even got used to Gambit and Rogue constantly touching as somehow their sessions with Emma had become public knowledge. Bobby was still collecting parts from his engine and to everyone's surprise, he was actually making progress. Miniscule and barely recognizable progress, but progress nonetheless. Rogue wouldn't acknowledge his existence still even though a month and some odd days had passed.

To the mansion's collective surprise, Thanksgiving was coming up. Storm was wound up with renewed fears for the students' safety. What if something happened to the kids while they were home with their families? What about the kids who normally traveled alone? Storm's brain was spinning. Eventually, she decided to send a letter to the families who knew about the mutant aspects of the school, explaining the situation and that the students were welcome to stay for the break if that's what the parents wanted. Most parents, while thoroughly shocked and frightened, insisted the safest place for their children was at home and that they could protect them just fine. Luckily, most were willing to pick them up from the school so they didn't have to travel alone. Some parents were more worried and agreed to their children spending the holiday at school.

"What about the ones who travel alone and their parents don't know they're mutants?" Rogue asked.

"We only have a few in that situation luckily," Storm said heavily. "I think we'll just have to escort them all home. Teams of two." Rogue nodded in agreement. "Tell Kitty and Jubilee to remember to pass out the panic buttons before anyone leaves." Each student was being sent home with a little circle that had two buttons. One needed to be pushed once a day. If it wasn't, someone from the school would be calling. If it wasn't pushed after two days, the X-Men would come. The other button was a panic button, just in case. Someone students tried to be flippant about the new security measures, but a glare from Logan shut them up fast.

Classes were cut short a few days early to facilitate getting the students home safely. It took two days to escort all the students home who needed it. Finally, they were able to prepare for the most crowded Thanksgiving the school had seen in years. Gambit, of course, was relegated to the kitchen. Rogue and Kitty were his reluctant assistants.

"It's because we're girls, isn't it?" Kitty grumbled Thanksgiving morning, helping Rogue with the stuffing.

"It isn't," Rogue said calmly. "Would you rather it be Jubilee? Or Logan?"

A disgusted look painted Kitty's face. "Good point." Kitty opened her a mouth a few times in the next minute, but oddly no sound came out.

"You okay?" Rogue asked the next time this happened.

"Yes," Kitty said quickly. "Uhm, I was wondering, could I ask you guys something?"

Rogue and Gambit glanced at each other. "Of course," Gambit told her, mercifully not teasing her.

"Well, Pete and I have dinner reservations for tomorrow night and we were hoping you might come with us?" She said this all very fast, Rogue was even unsure at first what she'd asked.

"Are you sure?" Rogue asked her friend once Kitty repeated herself.

"Well the reservations are for four. Jubes was going to bring a date but that didn't quite work out…" That was an understatement. Jubilee and her almost-boyfriend Roger had had a very loud phone argument, ending in her telling him to eat something and stuff it somewhere that was all too graphic for the younger students to hear. Gambit had covered Rogue's ears in mock horror. "So you're the only other couple I know. I mean, I know you're not a couple couple, but you're the only two people we'd enjoy spending time with without it being awkward."

Rogue looked at Gambit again, which he knew to be her letting him take this one, asking him what he thought. He gave a shrug and nodded to her. "Sure Kitty," Rogue said. "It sounds nice."

"I love that nonverbal communication you guys can do!" Rogue and Gambit glanced at each other for a third time and Kitty lapsed into shrill giggles that they all attributed to her nervousness about the 'double date'. "Anyways, not super formal, but pretty dressy," Kitty told them.

"The things we do for friends," Rogue muttered.

They used the formal dining hall for Thanksgiving dinner in an attempt to get everyone into a festive mood. Gambit's meal was, not surprisingly, excellent. Even Bobby was, very grudgingly, impressed. He automatically tried to sit by Rogue as he always did on holidays and was annoyed to see Gambit sitting to her right, and Logan to her left. He sullenly stabbed at his food. Rogue was in great spirits and seemed not to notice.

They were all reasonably sleepy fairly early in the night and despite a few stragglers, the majority of the mansion's inhabitants headed to bed early. Rogue and Gambit were left to relax while those who hadn't helped with dinner cleaned up.

"Time, chère," Gambit said.

"What?" she asked, distracted. She was sitting next to Gambit on one the couches, using him as a leg rest and pouring over a new book.

"You've practiced on Logan, can't procrastinate any longer." Rogue's eyes had stopped moving and were fixed on a picture of a former vice president. "You need de practice."

"I don't want to hurt you," she said, not looking up at him. The echo of what she'd said to Bobby well over a year ago rattled around her head. She was very aware of how wrong that went, too.

"I'm pretty hard t' hurt." She didn't mention that when she first met him, he had been bleeding. "Emma said yo' need t' be comfortable with more dan one person."

Rogue frowned. "I can't believe you're relying on Emma's logic."

Gambit smiled. "Me neither, actually." He held his hand out. Reluctantly, Rogue sat all the way up and took off her glove. She hesitated before slowly reaching out, those black on red eyes burning into hers all the while. She brushed his fingertips with hers before grabbing his hand.

Gambit was dancing to a slow, romantic song while he was wrapped around a leggy blonde. She whispered in his ear. He laughed richly and kissed her.

There were men surrounding Gambit. His eyes flashed magenta. "Mes amis, dis is hardly fair." With a flurry of magenta light, they all dropped. He walked away calmly without a word.

A man with his face covered handed Gambit a wad of cash. Gambit quickly slid it out of sight, mentally cursing the other man for his lack of stealth. The man nodded to Gambit before disappearing into the shadows. Gambit's heart beat uneasily. He tried to dismiss it as indigestion, but he knew that was a lie. He would have to look a little deeper into his employer. Damn.

He was barely breathing, he could feel his arm hanging at an unnatural angle, sending shocks of pain through him. Blood dripped into his eyes and he tried to blink them away, no strength left to wipe it from his head. He rang the doorbell again, hoping against hope that Storm would let him in. He needed to let them know, they needed to know…

He walked as this girl, Rogue, walked away from him, paying extra attention to the way her hips moved within her jeans as she stepped. Feisty…sounded fun.

Rogue gasped as she let go, coming back to reality. Gambit slumped a bit to the side, taking a minute or so to recover. Rogue fought to not feel guilty or evil. Gambit patted her shoulder as soon as he had oriented himself.

"Don't worry chère, I'm fine, just a bit drained."

"You sure?"

"Oui." He looked at her curiously. "What'd yo' see?"

"Who's the blonde lady in the red and black dress?" she asked. Gambit kept his face carefully blank.

"I'm not sure. Dere have been lots of ladies, in dresses or not."

Rogue raised a eyebrow. "Sure."

Gambit sighed. He couldn't be mad at her for seeing that, he all but made her absorb him. Plus, she'd shared some of her deepest problems, fears, and insecurities, it'd be pretty awful of him to not answer her something so simple. "Her name is Belladonna. We were…engaged."

"You were engaged?" Rogue asked, stunned.

"Oui, her frère took exception to dat. T' avoid war wit' de guilds, we broke it off. Ironic, since it was supposed to unite us in de first place. She was a member of de Assassins Guild," he added to her confused expression.

"Oh," Rogue said, eyebrows still high. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Gambit waved her away. "It was a long time ago."

"Some things stick with you, though."

"Oui," Gambit conceded. He looked at her, a considering look on his face. "But sometimes, yo' find something more important." Rogue tilted her head to the side but before he let her question that, he pressed on. "Anything else yo' saw?"

"Um, you kicked some mutant-hating ass, distrusted an employer, came to our doorstep, totally bleeding and broken, and stared at my ass," Rogue said.

Gambit chuckled. "Sounds about right."