(A/N: I went over this last update, I'm not even saying my excuses anymore, I mean lets face it you guys don't really want to read through how busy my summer has been just as much as I don't want to be beaten to death by angry readers. So lets just say I won't talk about all my AP Physics summer assignments, my job or the volunteer work I do, and you guys don't form an angry mob. Is that ok with you guys? See, it's a win/win situation! A good time had by all.

On with the chapter, oh man, I'm really proud of this one kids. If you are a fan of Kurt and his inevitable comic relief you are going to like this chapter a lot… at least I hope you will, you'll just HAVE to review and let me know.

Onto a serious note, you ALL owe Wiccamage a cookie… or a cake… no wait one of those giant cookie cakes. Well you all owe her something for how awesome she has been with helping me with my story. A few chapters ago I gave her five gold stars, but somehow that's not enough to show how much she has made a difference in this fic, so I decided to write her a poem:

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Wiccamage is so damn cool
if you don't agree then you're a fool
When I would give others head aches
She could always find my spelling mistakes
A grammar slip-up she'll never miss
even if its during Rogue and Gambit's kiss
If she never helped me you wouldn't be reading
a mob against me your would be most likely be leading
Now this poem's been fun but all joking aside
with out Wiccamage this fic would have died

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and THAT my friends, is from the heart!!! … on with the show!)

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Chapter 15

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Kurt sat alone in the TV room as he casually flipped through the channels. He leaned his head back as he let out a sigh.

BAMF!

When the smoke cleared, he hung from the ceiling above the couch. His feet were tucked securely under a beam as his tail swung idly behind him. Kurt continued to flip channels, hoping seeing things upside down would be more interesting.

"What are you doing up there?" Kitty asked as she entered the room and sat down on the couch beneath him.

"Just hanging around." Kurt answered not missing a beat as he changed the channel again.

Kitty let out a laugh; "I walked right into that one didn't I?"

Kurt nodded in reply. "How is Rogue doing?" he asked as his attention slipped from the screen to the top of Kitty's head.

"She's been awake for a while. Dr. McCoy is finally allowing visitors-"

BAMF!

"Wait!" she shouted as she stood up from the couch and bit her bottom lip. She was worried that Rogue wasn't up for a guest yet, especially not after her visit with Kitty. She didn't exactly leave Rogue in the highest of spirits, and if Rogue had listened to Kitty's advise she would be talking to Gambit right now. Kitty smiled. 'That's so cute!' she thought at the idea of Rogue and Gambit in the Med Lab together… alone. "Oh no." she said out loud as she shook her head, "Kurt! Wait!"

Kitty phased through the couch as she sprinted down the hallway after Kurt. 'Oh my god! If Kurt sees Gambit talking to her - even if they are just TALKING - Kurt's going to flip out.' Kitty told herself as she rounded a corner passing the kitchen. 'I've got to get down there first'

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"Geez! Watch It Kurt!" called Bobby as the blue teen jumped off a wall to avoid him.

"Sorry!" Kurt called behind him as he turned another corner and started down the next hallway towards the elevator.

Kurt smiled to see the elevator doors open as he darted towards them.

BAMF!

Kurt hit the button for the Med Lab and tapped his foot impatiently. He hated taking the elevator when he knew porting would be faster, but Dr. McCoy had made him promise to never teleport into Med Lab. Beast had said something about safety and patient confidentiality but Kurt couldn't remember the exact reason.

As the doors began to close he noticed something. 'That smell…' he thought as he sniffed the air to refresh his memory, but it didn't take much. Kurt knew the smell of Gambit's cologne, and he also knew it shouldn't be on the first floor.

BAMF!

Kurt reappeared in the hallway as the elevator doors closed with a soft thud behind him and the whirr of motors lessened as it descended. He smelled the air again and followed the scent down a few hallways until he stopped at a door that led outside towards the baseball field.

Opening the door Kurt looked outside. He quickly surveyed the area, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. 'Where did he go?' he thought furiously scanning the yard.

Suddenly Kurt heard something snap in the distance. He looked in the direction of the noise and could see Gambit pushing on the kickstand of his motorcycle with his foot.

BAMF!

Without hesitation Kurt vanished and reappeared in a tree almost twenty feet away from the mansion's gate. He perched on a large branch as he watched Gambit carefully.

Gambit heard the sound of leaves rustling in the tree behind him, but did not turn to look. 'Did Rogue order me a chaperone?' he thought, as he grew a little annoyed. 'Nah, I trust her, this homme must be following me all by himself.' He began to smile as he revved up his bike. 'Well let's just see if he can keep up.'

Gambit pulled his front wheel up off the ground as he sped off down the street. Kurt watched for only a moment.

BAMF!

With some smoke Kurt reappeared on top of the far end of the Mansion's gate and watched stealth fully as Gambit drove past him. Kurt glanced up to take in his new surrounding and quickly chose his destination.

BAMF!

The German mutant found himself hanging upside down concealed in a large tree from the woods outside of the mansion's gate. With a comfortable twenty feet between him and the road he watched again as the motorcycle sped past him and down the road towards town.

Kurt waited a moment after Gambit passed, and prepared for the inevitable tree hopping to get himself closer to town. Through a quick survey he mapped out a course.

BAMF!

Birch tree.

BAMF!

Pine.

BAMF!

Phone pole.

BAMF!

Another phone pole.

BAMF!

Street Light.

BAMF!

With little difficulty Kurt now perched over the edge of a four-story building. He looked down to his right and found the road leading from the mansion, but quickly glanced to his left to see Gambit's motorcycle turn a corner two blocks down.

'He's faster than I thought.' Kurt said to himself with slight panic, 'Maybe I should just head back to the Mansion. I mean he's gone right? He left. This is a good thing… but he left in a hurry, and if the professor knew about it, he would have had an escort… this doesn't add up.'

BAMF!

Kurt reappeared atop the building two blocks down where the bike had turned. 'No, I should find out where he's going.'

BAMF!

Unable to see exactly where Gambit was, Kurt relied on the sound of the bike's engine to guide him. From the new rooftop he glanced down over the edge until he was sure he was following the right noise.

BAMF!

Kurt appeared six blocks further from his last building and gave a moment's glance to see if Gambit was in sight. No luck, but the engine was definitely louder.

BAMF!

Four blocks to the right this time, and Kurt caught a glimpse of Gambit turning another corner.

BAMF!

Kurt followed. He found himself on top of a Diner on the edge of town as he watched the motorcycle tear down an empty stretch of road leading to a dark horizon.

He prepared to teleport again, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the realization that he was about as far away from the mansion as he had ever gone on foot, or maybe it was the fact that he had just ported sixteen times in the last few minutes, but Kurt took this momentary pause as a chance to think as he continued to watch Gambit drive off.

He fought himself over whether he should keep going. Kurt knew it was 10:30 when he had left the mansion, and that he was definitely not aloud to be this far away without anyone knowing where he was.

'But I've got to keep going, if I go back now, I'll lose him.' Kurt thought as he watched the taillights of Gambit's bike in the distance. They were the only thing he could still make out of the motorcycle in the darkness. 'I've already lost to much time.'

BAMF!

Kurt landed on his feet on the shoulder of the road about two hundred yards from the Diner. The road had few street lamps and the ones that were there were spaced far apart.

BAMF!

He reappeared another hundred yards down in the dim yellow circle of a streetlight "Wo ist er?" [Where is he?] Kurt asked himself as he tried to see down the road before hearing the new sound of a car coming up behind him. With out thinking he reached for his image inducer and quickly turned it on as a pair of headlights turned onto the road near the Diner.

'What am I thinking?' he asked himself again, 'I should have ported off the road, into the shadows.' Soon Kurt saw his own shadow projected in front of him by the car's headlights. 'Well it's too late now, they can see me, I'll have to wait till the car passes. If I disappear they'll become suspicious, maybe call the cops or-'

But his thoughts were interrupted as a pair of red and blue flashing lights lit up his head light silhouette. 'You got to be kidding me!' he said in disbelief as the cop car pulled to a stop next to him.

"What are you doing out this late in the middle of nowhere, son?" asked the middle-aged cop in the passenger seat after he rolled down the window.

Kurt didn't say anything. What could he say? He was in disbelief.

"Son? I asked you a question."

Kurt flinched as a flashlight lit up his face. "I was… just out for a walk… sir."

"At 10:30 at night on a week day? I doubt that, why don't you try telling me the truth, boy?"

Kurt panicked, but cooled off as quickly as he could, and started to lie. "Well you see officer, it's actually a pretty long story…"

"We got time…"

"Well you see my… a… my grandmother is really sick…"

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Gambit pushed down the kickstand of his bike and left it in the shadows off of the shoulder of an old deserted road. He walked through the woods to a group of warehouses with a sense of confidence that should have surprised him.

'Essex be in Seattle tonight,' he reminded himself, 'least he should be…' he thought grimly as he came to a collection of crates outside a door. To the right of the door a grate used for ventilation jutted out of the wall. Gambit placed his hand on one of the crates for a few seconds before a crackling sound filled the night and he left to walk down an ally between two buildings. Gambit bent down and pulled open the angled doors that led into a basement and climbed down the stairs while listening for any footsteps other than his own.

'No one ever comes this way, except to catch a smoke, but that wouldn't happen till later tonight.' Gambit considered as he walked down a long hallway until it connected with another. He listened carefully for footsteps before checking to make sure the hall was empty. 'All clear.' He thought to himself with a slight smile before walking on.

Gambit glanced at his watch before he opened a door and walked inside the room. He carefully shut the door behind him and crouched down under a lab bench.

He looked up to see two men in white coats in the middle of the room. One stood behind a window and would write on his clipboard while monitoring dials as the other man wearing rubber gloves and a mask stood on the other side of a glass wall. The second man worked at a table and used a machine to carefully pour one chemical into the next.

"Almost, the numbers aren't matching up yet, but it's getting close." The first man said as he tapped a dial with his pen.

"How close? I don't like being near the chemicals when they are mixing. How much longer does it look like?" asked the second man through his mask.

"Just another minute or two, come on its not that bad, and besides-" but the man was cut off as a red light began to flash. "Uh-o…"

Gambit smiled as he looked back at his watch 'Right on time.'

"Uh-o? UH-O?! I don't like to hear that Jeff!"

"It looks like something got caught in the ventilation shaft. We need to cut the experiment. Those chemical vapors are poisonous, and if they can't get out…"

"I get the idea, just hit the kill switch already!!" the second man began to panic as he backed away from the table."

"Ok, ok." The first man replied as he pushed the red kill switch on the wall. There was a deafening silence as the whirrs from all the different machines in the room became quiet. "Come on lets go get some coffee or something, it's going to take twenty minutes for the system to get back online."

Gambit waited a moment as both men left the room and he slowly stood up from under his hiding place. He walked out past where the two men had been and came to another door that led to a small hallway. Once in the hallway he stalked to a room across the hall marked 'Archives'.

To the side of the door was a large window. Gambit slowly checked inside the room for anyone. He had never actually seen anyone ever inside this room, but he had to be sure.

Gambit dialed the access code he had taken from one of the scientists last year and a green light came on as he opened the door and entered the room.

There were many file cabinets against the wall and one desk with a computer on it. The room was rather large with other connecting rooms towards the back. He walked over to the Archive Department's computer and entered the same password that had opened the door. He quickly took to the keyboard as he searched through different files and experiments on the computer's database.

The printer started up as the experiment files on Rogue's watch began to print. Gambit got up and walked over to one of the file cabinets and dragged his index finger over the letters until he got to 'R' and pulled out the drawer. 'Wait… non, it would not be under 'R'' He said to himself as he closed that cabinet and found the drawer labeled 'X'.

'Essex would alphabetize by organizations, not people.' Gambit thumbed through the files until he got to a separator labeled 'X-Men'. He pulled out the entire cluster of folders that were held together by rubber bands and placed them down on the desk. Next Gambit searched through the different named folders, 'Lets see… The Professor… blue homme… the Canadian… ah Rogue.' All of the folders seemed very thin and couldn't have much more information in them other than simply their name, power and possibly a brief background is Dr. Essex had felt interested enough.

Gambit opened Rogue's folder and flipped through the few pieces of paper inside it. The folder consisted of a school picture, some basic information, and an abridged version of the experiment that had just finished printing. He closed the folder and placed it back onto the pile, but this time noticed two very thick folders near the bottom.

Intrigued, Gambit picked one up and flipped through it. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Merde…" [shit…] he said out loud before closing the folder and dropping it back on the desk. Gambit rushed back to the computer and began searching through the experiment database again. Windows began popping up on the screen; text windows, pictures, diagrams.

The printer started up again as Gambit stood up and walked back to the folders. He quickly re wrapped them with rubber bands and shut the file cabinet.

"Is somebody in here?" a nasal sounding voice came from one of the connecting offices in the back of the room.

Gambit ran back over to the computer and closed everything down as quickly as he could. He rushed to the printer and grabbed all of the papers and then picked up the folders off of the corner of the desk as he snuck out the door and back through the lab.

"You aren't suppose to be using that printer, you need to send it to the one next door…" a small man in a white coat emerged from the very back of the room. "Hello?"

Once outside, Gambit started his motorcycle as he tried to balance the files under one arm as he drove off down the road.

'Got to make a quick stop on the way back.' The thought brought a smirk to his lips, 'Got to make it fast though… what would be open this late?'

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"So let me get this strait," the policeman started as he pointed off towards the direction Gambit had driven down, "you live over that way, in a town that you don't remember the name of, with your grandmother?"

"And your grandmother," continued the other cop, "she is really sick, with something called 'Magna-toe'."

Kurt nodded to the two cops who were both standing outside their squad car on the side of the road.

"And the doctors prescribed her this medicine called 'Xavieroth'."

"But they couldn't get it delivered to your town," continued the second policeman, "So you took a bus all the way over here to pick it up-"

"Cause his grandma was just too sick to drive him."

"Right, but after you picked up the medicine, you accidentally missed your bus home."

"So now you're walking all the way back?"

Kurt smiled as he nodded "Yes officer, that is why I am out this late."

The older officer smiled reassuringly back to Kurt. "Well do you mind if we ask to see this 'Xavieroth' medicine?"

"Ummm… of course not officer…" Kurt padded his pockets but knew nothing was there to find, "Oh man!" He pretended to be surprised as he pulled his pockets inside out. "I don't know where it is. I must have dropped it back at the bus station. I can't believe this!"

"Neither can I…" said the cop as his smile vanished and his arms crossed over his chest. "We just stood here for over forty minutes to hear some made up story. Now I'm only going to ask you one more time son. What are you doing out here?!"

Kurt panicked, "Well… I swear that's the truth… I mean-"

But he was cut off as all three of them looked up as Gambit pulled his motorcycle to a stop on the other side of the street. "Is there a problem here officers?" Gambit asked.

"Do you know this kid?" Asked the younger officer as a flashlight's beam hit Gambit's face.

He hardly flinched from the light before saying, "Of course I know my own brother."

"Brother?!" the other three people asked together as the policemen alternated shining their flash light on the two mutants.

"Come on brother," Gambit said with a huge smile as he flagged Kurt over to his bike. "We need to be getting home."

Kurt didn't move, the last thing he wanted was to be rescued by Gambit, or maybe the last thing he wanted was to be brought back to the Mansion by the police. The two choices were close, but on second thought riding on Gambit's bike didn't seem quite so bad.

Kurt walked calmly past the policemen and began to cross the street towards Gambit. "But first we need to go into town THAT way to pick up GRANDMA'S medicine."

Gambit smirked for a moment before plastering his face with fake concern. "Is Grandmother still sick?"

"Yes very. I left the her medicine back at the train station, or maybe at the pharmacy, I'm not sure so we need to go check."

"Well we should hurry, you know how Grandmother worries about you."

"Now just wait a minute!" chimed in one of the cops. "Do you actually expect us to believe that you two are brothers? You two sound nothing alike, and even in this dark I can tell you sure don't look alike either."

"He's adopted." Both teens answered as they pointed to the other.

The middle-aged police officer placed his head in his hands for a moment before saying anything more. "Fine, I don't care if you're his uncle as long as you take him home right now."

"Yes officer, right away." Gambit promised with a mock salute as Kurt climbed onto the back of the bike.

"Wait, that boy needs a helmet."

"He has one officer. Brother, please put on your favorite helmet that you ALWAYS wear when ever you ride on my bike." Gambit said with a sickeningly sweet smile that made Kurt lean away slightly.

"Well I would… brother… but I don't see it anyw-" but Kurt stopped as he noticed the helmet hanging from Gambit's right hand. "You're kidding right?" he whispered as Gambit proudly presented him with a bright pink helmet covered in glitter.

"Gambit never kids about safety!" he shouted dramatically after a short gasp. "Now come on, we have to get home to our poor sick grandmother."

Kurt almost got off the bike to say something before glancing back to the cops who were watching intently. "Fine." He said under his breath as he took the helmet and fastened it under his chin. "Lets go."

"Good bye officers!" called Gambit as he drove off with Kurt holding on behind him.

Kurt said nothing as the bike sped past the Diner and they made their way through town, but eventually he broke the silence, "Do you always use this helmet?"

Gambit just laughed, "Yeah, it brings out my eyes."

Kurt's eyes grew angry before he noticed an annoying sound around his right ear. He reached up with one hand and grabbed something off the side of the helmet and pulled down to snap it off. 'Tags?' he thought as he looked at the price tags in his hand, 'he just bought it? … he knew I was following him…' Kurt looked down with disappointment but soon shook himself out of it.

"Where did you go?" he asked Gambit

"None of your business."

"You left the mansion."

"So did you."

"Yeah to follow you!"

"I noticed." Gambit said with a laugh. "You make some new friends back there?"

Kurt grew angry again before considering the alternative to being on this motorcycle right now. "thanks" he said very quietly under his breath.

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(A/N: So?!?! Was that just Kurt-a-liciouse? Haha I'm sorry I'll stop inventing words, but still I absolutely love writing Kurt into my story. He is just so easy to work into comic situations, and on top of that he is just plain cool. I mean Kurt has been with me in this story all the way from 'Leggo My Eggo', to my personal favorite 'shouting randomly in German'. But after this chapter and learning about his poor sick grandmother, I might have a new favorite. Haha

ok, well just a heads up before you guys go review, according to my little story outline, the next chapter should be my last one for this fic. It kind of depends on how big it ends up being, I might be able to break it into two more instead of one, but most likely chapter 16 will be the last one. :'( so sad… such good times you guys… come on group hug… I told myself I wasn't going to cry, come on Green Sandels, stay strong, you can do this!

I'm sorry about that you guys, I'm ok now. But just letting you know these are most likely my second to last shout outs, and if you want in on the shout out action next chapter, you better give me a review!! And incase you haven't noticed, though I appreciate the average "great chap. Update soon pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease" reviews, they don't usually get shout outs.

On that note, here are the Shout Outs:

Wiccamage: I hope you liked that poem, I made it all by myself!!! I really mean it though, thanks so much for helping me with this and all my chapters, your truly the un-sung hero of this fic… well not anymore cause in my head that poem is really a song haha

Ms.Rogue LeBeau: green sadels flips on a light switch hey you had the lights off in here, that's not safe… haha nah I'm just kidding, trust me I'll randomly guess in the dark and try to call an ending to movies with my friends. The hard part is knowing which of your friends it pisses off, and which think its funny. But don't worry about me; I love it when people try to guess the ending. I hope you'll like the way it ACTUALLY ends. Haha

ishandahalf: you can stop shaking your fist at me now that I have SAFELY returned Gambit. Haha see no harm done, no DEATH and DOOM… just folders… and lots of ishandahalf-approved romy-ness to come. And that's a fact! I know you can't wait, and trust me I can't either. I just hope you, and everyone else, enjoyed this chapter which involved Kurt almost getting put in the back of a squad car.

willa. J: let me just explain one thing to you my friend, and that is the fact that X-Men: TAS (the animated series) was what my Saturday mornings were all about! Haha I LOVED the early 90's cartoon which in turn got me hooked on the comics, which is one thing that irks me about evo, is just how they mess up some people, but hey, that's what ff.n is for right? I'm flattered to hear you enjoyed my story so much I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I am very sorry about your exams.

RoguesHeart: PLEASE DO NOT EXPLODE!!! I would be so sad if you exploded and I never got to tell you how proud I am about how good your Spanish is. Haha I hope you liked this chapter, and I'm really flattered you like my story.

Gothic Cajun: haha you review the way I think, random sentences, one right after another. Haha I'm just messn' with you, trust me it made perfect sense. Well here is your update, so you go review again so I can update again!!

Rogue4787: I am so flattered that you like my story so much, I hope you liked this chapter. There wasn't any Romy-ness in it, but there is some classic comedy that will hopefully hold you off until next chapter, which will be utterly DRENCHED in romy-ness, and you have my word!

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Well that's the end of that, now go review!!! FOR THE SECOND TO LAST TIME!!! Haha