It had been a week since Gambit had left for New Orleans, without a mention as to what he was planning to do. This, of course, left much up to the imagination. Whether she was shuffling through magazines, shopping with the other X-Men, or spending alone time with Joseph, Rogue couldn't help fabricate long and elaborate stories in her mind to make sense of his unexplained trip. During the past two days, she seemed to manifest feelings of fear that Remy had gotten hurt or fallen in with the wrong crowd of mutants.

Her eyes were now moving rhythmically back and forth, skimming the pages of the latest edition of Vogue (No, I don't own the rights to this magazine at all), but Rogue couldn't seem to get passed the first few paragraphs. She would be on autopilot, going through the motions of reading but not actually absorbing anything. Soon she would realize that she got caught up in thought, and would backtrack a few sentences. It became a vicious cycle, but she refused to put down the magazine, for that would mean she would have to own up to the fact that she was thinking about him, couldn't stop thinking about him…

Soon she was lying down on her bed, her head resting on her pillow. Her eyes were growing tired and strained, and her arms ached as she tried to prop the magazine up higher so that she could still read the article. It was no use; her eyelids began to fall as if they were filled with lead.

She awoke hours later by loud voices from the mansion's front entrance. She groggily turned her body to face her alarm clock. Oh mah! Ah was out fah three whole hours! She swung her legs around to the edge of the bed, and shuffled out of her dormitory, making her way to the staircase. Moments later she stood dead still, not even daring to breathe. He was home, and a congregation of X-Men had come to meet Gambit at the door. The most distinct voice was Jubilee, who was animatedly talking a mile a minute about the new record she had accomplished in the Danger Room during his absence.

Rogue took a deep breath in. She knew she would have to face them all sooner or later. After the way she had behaved not so long ago, she had hoped the topic would resurface later, as far later as possible! However, her back was now pinned against a wall, and she had no where to run. She slowly descended down the steps.

"Ah, so the Cajun returns." She chided. Gambit's eyes shot directly to hers, and he just stood there momentarily at a loss of words. Finally, he swallowed hard and brought himself to respond.

"Well hullo der, chèrie. Gambit wonderin' where you ran off to."

"Nah, see apparently thah's yoah job, Swamp rat."

Jubilee, reading the tension circulating in the room and becoming evermore desperate to change the topic, pointed to the bright red shopping bag hanging in Remy's hand. "Hey Gambit, what's this?"

"Sorry petite. Can't say." He mused lightly.

"OooOOoo! Moah secrets he's keepin' from us. How bland an' predictable."

Gambit rolled his eyes in exasperation, and then turned briskly to Jubilee. "Fine!" he sparred, "Dis be Rogue's birt'day present." He cocked his head to the side slightly, staring defiantly back at Rogue. "Ya happy now, chère?"

"Bu'….Ah...whah?" She stammered incoherently. Rogue was definitely caught of guard. "Don' tell me yah wen' all th'way back tah N'Awlins jus' tah get me a birthday gift!?" She asked, voice cracking with emotion. Her insolence seemed to dissolve into a form of sentiment, laced with shame.

"Mais, Oui." Gambit shifted uncomfortably. He had suddenly become aware of how hot the room felt, and how all his fellow teammates were watching his intimate life unfold as if it were a daytime television soap. "I'm going upstairs to change, put my baggage away. Den I be back down in a moment, mon ami."

"Well, this is a good time to start dinner." Jean announced. "I believe it's Iceman and Wolverine's turn to cook." The entire X-Men gathering moaned in unison, and proceeded to the kitchen. Surely they knew Bobby and Logan's choice of menu by now, and had grown accustomed to either lending a hand with the meal, or choke back the cold macaroni and cheese that was made with more than enough for leftovers.

As Gambit ascended the stairs, Rogue couldn't help but watch him. She felt utterly bewildered by the many feelings and emotions perpetually swirling inside of her these past few weeks. Now they were coming to a head. "How deep do mah feelings run? How much does he really care about me? Whah should Ah care? ...

…How many women did he sleep with in N'Awlins???" She let out a minute sigh and smile, as she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. Lost in thought completely, she didn't notice the tall figure that had fallen back from the migrating X-Men. Joseph could see it in her eyes, the look had returned, most definitely as…love. It was a far cry from how she often stared into his own eyes, seemingly lackluster. Joseph knew she cared for him; she really did. Nevertheless, there was always that reservation in her voice, her way of disassociating herself with Joseph's emotions. "I just need to push her in the right direction. I'd be the best choice for her anyways. She just needs to see that." He weaved the tiny black box around his fingers in his pants pocket.

Joseph placed his best foot forward and spoke instantaneously. "Rogue, darling, I really need to speak to you."

Rogue peeled her eyes away from the now vacant staircase to look squarely at Joseph. "Sure, sugah. What is it?"

He drew in a short breath, and then Joseph's mouth began to move as if it were independent from his mind, racing through consonants and vowels, barely allotting time for much needed breaks between words.

"Rogue, I...loveyouandItrulyhopeyoulovemetoo…you'rethebestthingthateverhappenedtomebutIfeelthat -"

"Jesus Joe, slow that motor mouth of yoahs down! Breath, whah don'tcha?!"

Again he drew in a full lung of air, but it appeared a pointless effort; his breathing became rapid and shallow. Firmly closing his eyes, he lowered to one knee and withdrew the velvet box.

"Please be my wife. I love you and can offer you the world, so marry me Rogue." He hurriedly cracked open the box, unveiling a large diamond ring inside. As Rogue's eyes swelled wide with shock, they caught the diamond's twinkle.

"Uhh…Joe Ah don't think that Ah'm…"

"Darling, I'm the only one who can offer you choice. Just think! I'm the one that can offer touch, that can offer you a family …" He knew now that the subtle glimmer in her eye was no longer that of the diamond, but was a flicker, or rather a twinge of hope. He went in for the kill…

"…and the only one that can offer you a normal life."