A/N So here's something a little lighter after the last chapter (which was a bit of a sad one). Sorry it took so long. Writers' block.

You reviews are lovely people! ChamberlinofMusic, byproducts, Kitkat, alfredo joy, Titanium A and everyone else who alerted/favorited. You rock my stressed out world.

Thanks to everyone who made suggestions for the letter E! I was close to using edible, empty, euphoria and of course erotica. For some, like these, I'll be doing a few little snippets with different words of the same letter. Poking at my OCD a bit, but oh well.

E is for Elephant

Gambit figured out that Rogue loved elephants when the school went on a field trip to the local zoo. Sam was making a disgusted face at the elephant pen, staring at a popping elephant. "Gross," he muttered.

"Anything's gross if you look at their butthole," Pixie said with a laugh. Sam made a face and moved on. Rogue, however, stayed still, a small smile playing at her lips.

Gambit moved up behind her, trailing fingers from her neck down to her waist where he rested his hand. "You okay, chère?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, just looking," she said, motioning to the elephant by the water hole, shaking its big ears. Rogue grinned, a purely happy, engrossed smile. Gambit ran his eyes over her enraptured face and smiled to himself.

When Rogue got back to her room that night, there was a little silver elephant sitting on her pillow. She cocked her head in confusion as she ran her fingers over the little grooves. It was tiny, not much bigger than a monopoly piece, but heavy. She twirled it in her hand before setting it next to her lamp and going about her night.

A few days later, Gambit flourished a little box at her. She looked up from her book. "Yes?"

"It's a present," Gambit said, obviously.

"I see that," she said with a smirk. "Any reason why?"

"Well it's a present for you and for me," he admitted.

She frowned suspiciously and almost choked on her own tongue when she opened it. It was a little man thong with an elephant's face on the front with a long trunk on the front that housed…

"Do you put your penis in the trunk?"

Gambit grinned. Rogue shoved the package back at him, laughing. "You keep that in your room," she said, trying to breath past the laughter.

"Oh for later then?" Gambit said with a wink, then disappeared out of the door.

Rogue wasn't a stupid woman, she figured Gambit was giving her the elephants. She wasn't sure why she was surprised he noticed, it was part of his profession to notice things. But when a real, live elephant appeared on the front lawn, she had no idea what to say.

Gambit dragged her outside, surrounded by a crowd of kids. A smiling man stood there next to a small elephant with what looked like a very strange saddle.

"Remy, what…?"

"Elephant rides," he said with a flourish and a bow. Rogue's words failed her, she just started like a stunned idiot. Gambit pulled her forward, helping her up. Kids formed a line by Gambit, all waiting for turns.

"Gambit," she whispered. "How'd you do this?"

"Money, charm," he said with a shrug. "Love my Roguey."

She grinned. "Love my swap rat."

Logan stared disapprovingly from the side, his nose twitching at the offending smell.

"You okay mon ami?" Gambit asked.

"Why do you think I never go to the zoo?" he grunted. Logan's eyes followed Rogue's progress around the yard, her cheek splitting grin. "You did good," he grumbled reluctantly.

"Sorry?" Gambit asked. "I wasn't paying attention, what was that?"

"I'll skewer ya."

"Kinky."

E is for Empty

Rogue hadn't heard from Gambit all day, which was unusual but nothing to really be concerned about. They were both busy, classes, training, dodging Logan's disapproving looks. She went to his room that night to find it empty and unlocked. She frowned. She couldn't remember a single time since she'd known him that Gambit didn't lock his door. She glanced around and nothing was obviously out of place, but the room still had an odd feel to it.

"Logan!" Rogue turned on her heel in search of her friend. If there was one thing both Gambit and Logan had drilled into her head was that her instincts were almost always right and right now they were screaming at her that something was wrong. There was no reason why, but she was sure.

"Logan!" She threw open his bedroom door to find Logan lounging on his bed, freshly opened beer in hand. He merely glanced at her as if he'd known she was coming. Considering his senses, he probably did.

"Something I can do for you, Stripes?"

"I need your nose."

He held out his hand. "Absorb away."

"I need you AND your nose."

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Gambit's gone," she said.

"Gambit's gone a lot."

"He usually tells me," Rogue said. "This isn't some girlie 'ohmygod my boyfriend isn't calling me' thing, Logan. He's not here, his door isn't locked, he isn't answering his phone-"

"His door is unlocked?" Logan asked, frowning.

"Yes," Rogue said. She put her hands on her hips, glaring as if daring him to disagree.

"That's weird," Logan admitted. "But it doesn't mean-"

"Logan, I'm not overreacting. All my psyches even feel like something is off."

He was quiet for a moment before saying, "Okay," standing up and walking out with Rogue following.

They took their motorcycles, Logan in the lead. They followed Gambit's scent to a nearby bar, but Logan could tell he was long gone. By a wall near the alley were scorch marks, just like the ones Gambit's charged cards made when they hit something. Logan looked at Rogue warily.

They followed a trail from bar to bar, casino to casino until finally it left them on a track to a woodsy park. Logan stopped, Rogue behind him, and they followed in on foot. About a mile in, Gambit was flopped on the ground, a bottle of bourbon lying by his head. Logan pushed Rogue forward.

"This ain't my area of expertise, darlin'."

"I'd say drinking is solidly your area," Rogue said snarkily before moving forward. Gambit's heavy lidded eyes opened a bit when he heard her move forward.

"S'matter chère?" he asked, sitting up. "You look pissed."

"Well we just played Where In The World is Gambit Sandiego with the whole state of New York looking for you," she said lightly, sitting next to him. "So, I'm going to be pissed if you don't give me a reason why."

Gambit groaned and collapsed back down, head in Rogue's lap. She sighed, running fingers through his auburn hair. Instead of soft as usual, it was matted and sweaty, like he'd been rolling in dirt. For awhile they just sat there quietly, his head in her hands, her fingers rubbing gently around his scalp.

"Roguey," he mumbled.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"M'name's Remy," he said.

She frowned, eyebrows drawn together. "I know that."

"You can call me that, you know," he said.

Rogue smiled slightly. "I'll do that from now on."

"I don't know yours." Rogue stilled, her fingers freezing during their ministrations. But Gambit plowed on, not waiting for an answer. "I don't know...anything about you, not really."

"You know why though," she said softly.

"All I know is that at any mo-mo-moment, you could slip away from me, and I wouldn't even know where to look," he mumbled.

Rogue turned his head to look up at her. "You know I'm not going anywhere," she murmured. "What's really going on, Gam-Remy? Where did this come from?"

"It's today," he said.

"Today?"

Gambit groaned and shuddered. "A couple years ago, my cousin died, shot. A few years before that, Belladonna and I broke. A few years before that, I blew someone's arm off."

"I'm sorry," she said, still not sure what this had to do with her.

"Bad things happen to me today."

"Are you saying you're cursed one day a year?"

"No," he said, sitting up. He took her face in his hands, rubbing thumbs over her cheekbones. "Today just reminds me of all I lost. And all the ways I can lose you."

Rogue sighed and pulled him closer, Gambit nuzzling into the crook of her neck. "I love you Remy, you have to see that. You're not going to lose me," she said, running hands over his back. "Unless you keep barhopping and getting drunk in the woods, then we might just lose you. If you die in a drunk driving accident, I'll kick your ass so hard…"

Gambit snorted into her neck. "I know, I'm sorry chère."

"I'm serious. Do it again and I'll hurt you."

"I promise," he said.

Rogue yanked him up, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She dragged him, stumbling, back to the street where Logan was sitting with their motorcycles. They basically tied Gambit to Rogue's waist for the ride back to the mansion, Rogue promising that if he fell asleep she'd go on a sex strike. She also promised, whispering in his ears, "If it still bothers you when you're sober, I'll tell you anything you want."

Rogue tucked Gambit into bed, cuddling next to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. For tonight, she was a glorified teddy bear. She ran her hands over his, fingers running across his longer ones. The vulnerable Gambit, the one who only peeked out at her once in awhile, was clinging to her like she was the last solid thing in the world. Gambit's psyche was suspiciously quiet, scared that if he said anything, he'd reveal that at the moment she was.

E is for Epikinion (an ode of victory)

Saying Gambit liked to win is a massive understatement, like saying Wolverine's hair was a little large. Games, bets, and various challenges went up over 200% since Gambit's arrival at the mansion. Eventually some people became tired of this, the allure faded with time, but Rogue wasn't among them. She was one of the few who could really give him a run for his money. Of course, Storm and Logan could but they frequently didn't care enough to. Rogue however also loved to win.

But she wasn't stupid.

"I bet you I can make it from this roof to the next without falling," Gambit said, glancing behind them. They were seated in a rooftop restaurant, surrounded by silk and blinking lights. Rogue didn't even turn her head, keeping her eyes on her menu.

"No shit," she said. "I think I'll have the steak."

Gambit pouted.

"No," she said, still not looking up. "We're going to enjoy dinner for once without you making a bet out of it."

"But chère," he whined.

She glanced up. "We could put money on how many bones I break in your hands if you keep that up."

Gambit grinned, shoving his hand to her. "Okay!"

She sighed and glanced around. "Fine. What do you want to do?"

"Whoever gets the waiter to cry first-"

"No."

"Guess the color of their under-"

"No."

"We could-"

"We are NOT having sex on this table."

"Of course not!" Gambit said, throwing a hand over his heart. "I'd never suggest such a thing…we should have sex UNDER the table."

"And what exactly is that winning?"

"Sex under the table…"

"I'll tell you what. You make it through dinner without any sexual comments and I'll –"

"Flash cars on the way home," Gambit interrupted.

"What are you, 15?" she asked with a laugh. "Fine."

"Bon!"

"You won't make it."

"You doubt me chère? Tsk tsk. I'll make it just fine, thank you."

He didn't make it. He was close, but lost it when the waitress said their specialty dessert was Nipples of Venus.

Eventually small bets and regular poker games weren't enough for him. He branched out to local casinos, but they wised up quickly that he was a great player so that became boring fast. He decided to instigate the first Xavier Institute Olympics.

"Olympics," Storm repeated slowly.

"Oui," Gambit said cheerily. "Healthy competition is good for the soul, no?"

"That's what Danger Room sessions are for," Logan grunted.

"I think you and I have different meanings for the word 'healthy'," Gambit said. Logan glared. "Seriously though. Give the kids a chance to blow off some steam. Points for accuracy with powers for some, subtlety with others, we'll tweak it for some."

Storm smiled slightly. "I think that's perfect for end of the year festivities. It's been a hard year on everyone, maybe this is just what the students need to relax."

Logan grunted.

There were races, an archery style bullseye competition (with powers, of course), capture the flag, and other games for the kids. Each kid was put on a team with a teacher mentor with Logan officiating and not surprisingly, Gambit and Rogue's teams were tied for the lead. The last event was a water balloon tag event, three on three but it was down to two people, one on each time. The first person hit in the body was out.

"Don't be a gentleman!" Gambit said in a passionate whisper. "There's no room for gentleness, splash him!"

"I'm not a gentleman…" Sarah whispered back, puzzled.

"That's right, and don't you forget it!"

Rogue, across the lawn, was hissing to Sam Guthrie. "This is no holds barred, if Gambit wins you will never hear the end of it!"

"He's my teacher," Sam said, confused.

"Exactly! Every time you go to class, he'll remind you that his team won!" Rogue said.

"…So?"

Rogue sighed, exasperated. "Fine, if you win I'll take a month of your garbage chores."

Sam perked up at that. "Yeah, okay!"

Sam and Sarah faced off across the yard. Each had a little bucket of water balloons and weren't allowed to cross the line in the middle of the field. Wolverine yelled "GO!" and they shot off. Sam, living up to his name Cannonball, zoomed around the playing field, trying to disorient Sarah. Sarah dodged around as well, but didn't let Sam overwhelm her. He tried to shoot a water balloon at her while running and it flew way wide, almost hitting Gambit instead. Rogue laughed from the other side of the field as Gambit jumped out of the way.

Sarah splashed one on his left foot, but it wasn't a body shot so no score. Sam zoomed around in a huge figure eight, something Sarah noticed and was aiming, ready to fire where she knew he would be…then he shot to the far left, then right in front of her, and let loose a water balloon right to the chest.

"Yes!" Rogue screamed. She ran and grabbed Sam in a quick hug, and switched to a high five when he squirmed away, whispering something about "gross". Sarah sighed. Gambit put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, petite. Hand to hand you could have taken him," he said with a wink. Sarah grinned back and ran off to grab a water bottle.

There was a little ceremony, the winning team getting little gold metals, the second silver and third bronze. Rogue looked over to Gambit's team with a smirk and quirked brow. "I think it's time to pay up, Mr. Gambit," she said.

Gambit sighed and walked up to the makeshift podium. He cleared his throat and began to sing. "As anyone can plainly see, Roguey Roo has beaten me. Her wit is sharp, her beauty reigns, she's strong as Wolvie, she is a pain! As anyone can plainly tell, I'm an empty, beaten shell. Rogue has charm, skills and pizzazz, I'm just a wimp from the land of jazz. Rogue's is Team Extraordinaire, if we're all frank, I just can't compare." He dropped to his knees in front of her, taking her hand in his, dropping his voice so most of the kids couldn't hear. "Besides this game, which she won quick, Rogue also won my heart and d-"

"OKAY that's enough!" Storm said quickly. "Everyone give team Rogue a hand!" She glared at Gambit, slamming her hands together in an overly violent clap.

Rogue yanked Gambit up by his hand, laughing. She gave him a punch to the arm and shook her head. "You Cajun scoundrel."

Gambit grinned, pulling her to his side. "Don't ever forget it." He kissed her chastely, being chastised from Storm recently for going a little overboard on the PDA in front of the kids. "Congratulations chère…we'll get you next year."

Thanks again for everyone who gave suggestions. Anything you want to see specifically in any upcoming letters?

For those curious, you can find the elephant man thong at Lovers dot com.