Rogue looked over the board one more time. She'd passed her intro to mechanical engineering class, but just barely. Seething, she resisted the urge to deck her dean, again. The difference this time being that the assault would be intentional and not an accident brought on by a bar brawl. A bar brawl she'd been an unwilling participant of.

The cops had cleared her. No charges were pressed, but Carol Danvers' ego had been bruised. Rogue felt the woman should have thanked her. If it hadn't been for that rather public act of drunkenness on Professor Danvers' part and sub-sequential beat down Rogue had handed her, the woman would have never gone to rehab. So, her current coherent state was mostly thanks to Rogue.

Grumpy and hungry, Rogue pulled her coat tight in preparation for braving the DC cold. The trip across campus to her dorm was almost enough to make her quit and escape to an island. It certainly made her miss the days at Xavier's when she rarely even had to leave the mansion turned boarding school.

She hurried to her room as soon as she made it to her building. With a sigh of relief she unlocked her door, shoving it open with every intent of pilfering her roommates secret stash of cocoa. As soon as she opened her door, though, that hope was dashed.

"Great! You're back." Her roommate, a deceptively slight looking creature with silver hair she kept rather short, sat on her bed with her pepper spray pointed toward the occupant of Rogue's own bed. "Your secret lover decided to pay us a visit."

"First off, put that shit away. He's harmless." Which was a lie, and she knew that but she didn't want Siobhan to freak out. "Secondly, he's not my secret lover."

"Right. So he's not the guy you've been emailing religiously since your dad dumped you here."

Rogue groaned and tossed her bag toward her desk. "Not my dad. Seriously, put away the pepper spray."

"It's fine, chere." Gambit, the name Rogue had taken to calling him since she had never been made aware of his full name, looked comfortable and at ease on her little twin mattress. "I'm just happy she didn't pull her gun."

"Gun?" Rogue had a gun and permit of her own, but her roommate was less than aggressive and wore flower print and pastels. "You have a gun?"

"I mean, I go shooting about once a month." She shrugged and finally tossed her pepper spray aside. "My dad insisted."

"I don't know how to respond to that." She glowered at Gambit. "How did you know she had a gun?"

"I'm a thief, Rogue. I cased the place when the semester started and I figured you were sticking around." He shrugged and pointed at Siobhan. "That, and her father is the CEO of a very high level private security company that I've had more than my fair share of run-ins with on the job."

"That's putting it mildly."

Rogue huffed. "Bet Logan knows."

"Totally knows." Siobhan shrugged under her roommates scrutiny. "My mom knows him from her days with my dad's company and he called in a favour. I requested you."

"Asshole!" Her roommate snorted. "Well, that's just great."

"If it's any consolation, I'm kinda glad he did. The bitches in this place make me grumps." She sighed and stood from her bed. "I'll leave you and your beau to your rendezvous. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Which basically leaves you with being able to eat and watch cartoons. Should be kinky."

She snickered as she grabbed up her boots and coat before leaving. Gambit appeared to be amused by her antics. Rogue on the other hand was not at all pleased with the way her evening was going.

"What are you doing here, Gambit?" He reached into the pocket of his duster and pulled out a small box with a flourish. "Really? Gifts."

"A gift. Singular."

She glowered at him. "Gambit, really." She shook her head. "I just finished finals, like, two days ago. I want to relax."

"I know." He toyed with the box in his hands. "Can't you do that with me, though?"

She fell on to the bed beside him, unsure of what to do. She liked Gambit. They had spent two fun days on the run the summer prior until Logan had finally caught up with them and taken him into custody. She'd been sent to spend some time at the cabin her uncle kept in Canada while he made the trade off.

Rogue hadn't been informed of what deal had ultimately been worked out, but Logan had been paid and Gambit was wondering the world doing what he did. She didn't ask for the details. She was still toying around with joining law enforcement after she graduated and figured being in constant communication with a known thief was bad enough.

"I'm leaving for Logan's in the morning since finals are up and my grades have posted. I told you that." She had. She'd told him almost everything that had been happening since she'd agreed to their weird pen-pal friendship. "How are things for you?"

"Been good." He shifted, tapping the box on his leg in an unknown rhythm. "Thinking about a carrier change. Your uncle has some contacts that could make the transition easy."

She blinked in surprise. "You love thieving! What would make you quit?"

His eyes shifted to her before turning to the window. "Got my reasons, mias I wanted to speak to you first."

She blushed. "We're just friends, Gambit."

"Remy." She felt her throat go dry. He took advantage of her distraction and grasped her fingers in his to place a soft kiss on her knuckles. "My name is Remy Etienne LeBeau. Pleasure to meet you, Marie."

She smiled despite herself and nudged him with her shoulder. "Snake Charmer." He snickered and paused before offering her his gift. "I really shouldn't."

"You keep saying that, mias," he trailed off and let the silence speak for itself.

She took the box from him and with cautious fingers, removed the lid. Nestled in a bit of tissue paper was a key. She blinked down at the simple object.

"Since I needed to case the place, and I was biding my time, I signed a six month lease on an apartment. It's up at the end of next month, so you have a bit of time to decide. I understand if you want to stay in the dorms."

His usual flirtatious nature wasn't present in that moment and she bit her lip, steeling herself. "I, uh, used to joke that I had poisonous skin. When I was a kid I was a bit of Tom-boy. I had a ton of guy friends, but never any "boyfriends." The first guy I did kiss, when I was 15, ended up getting hit so hard in a football game the next day that he was in a medically induced coma for 24 hours to reduce swelling. He joked that he stayed in a coma for the following three weeks for kicks."

Rogue snorted weakly at the gallows humour. "Once I got to Xavier's, everyone knew Logan cause he would sub phys Ed if he was in town. No one dared date me once word got around he and I were close." She shifted under his scrutiny. "Bobby gave it a shot but eventually gave up when I didn't respond to his more amorous desires."

"Well, that's just dumb." He stood and paced in front of her. "If you ain't ready, you ain't ready."

She was confused by his clear agitation. "I mean, I liked Bobby and I had fun with him." She shrugged and diverted her gaze. "Just didn't see the point in rushing."

Gambit paused and looked at her with conflicted eyes, bloodshot as always. "You're telling me that you've made it to 21 without getting any? That's a crime right there, ma chere."

"I'll be 21 in January."

Gambit laughed and it sounded pained. "Jesus Christ. Can't drink, doesn't smoke, considering a career in law enforcement and has made it to 20 plus years without losing her virginity." He laughed louder and fell into Rogue's desk chair. "What have I gotten into?"

"Well, damn, Swamp Rat!" She stood and tossed the box into his lap. "If it's that much of big deal, you can leave any time. Ain't nothing holding your ass here, any how."

"Mias, there is, though." He huffed and transferred the box to her desk so he could stand toe to toe with her. "There is a very real thing holding me here. It's what brought me here. It's what made me sign even a temporary lease here," he paused, gently brushing her odd white streak behind her ear. "It's what's making me considering a career change."

"What would you do?" She tried to sound sassy, but it came out as a whisper. "I mean, you're a thief."

"Got some options. Depends."

"On?"

He leaned in and paused. She knew he was waiting for her to pull back. He expected it.

"I won't move into your apartment, Remy." He closed his eyes and the lines of resignation in his face said it all. "I will hold on to that key, though. I expect to be treated to home cooked meals when you're in town. You spent more than enough time yapping about your cooking skills. Time to put your money where your mouth is."

She didn't move, and neither did he, as they stayed as if frozen in place. "I will utilise your apartment for studying and crashing as I see fit. Sleeping arrangements to be determined by my mood."

He stopped breathing. "Merde."

"Oh, yeah, Swamp Rat. I'm calling your bluff." Then she grabbed the lapels of his beat-up duster. "Show me your hand, Remy."

She kissed him before he could speak. "One more thing." He groaned and reached out to grip her waist in attempt to keep her close. "You've been keeping in contact with Logan?"

A/N: This acts a sequel to the first installation on this compilation of stories. As you can guess, all human. I thought about adding more and making this story longer, but I like where it ended. Hope you enjoyed the little addition. Much love from this cheeseball writer.