Disclaimer: I do not own the amazing characters that make up X-men; that honor belongs to Marvel Comics, Stan Lee and all the other creators.

Authors Note: This idea came to me and I figured it would best fit the X-men evolution version of Rouge and Gambit. This is my first X-men evolution fanfic so let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy!

Birthday Surprise

By: Nicole

Chocolates? No. Flowers? No. Jewelry? No. Ahhhhhh, he had never been this frustrated before. Why in the world was this so difficult he wondered as he continued down the sidewalk deep in thought. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his weathered brown trench coat, and his eyes were fixed ahead starring at nothing, held at bay by jumbled thoughts. His footsteps even seemed a bit angry as they pounded the ground while he walked; the tell-tell sign of frustration.

The glow in the window caught his attention and drew him from his reverie. His eyes focused on the storefront display window as new thoughts flooded his mind. The fabric clung to the manikin as if it were a part of the plasticity it was compiled of; almost as though it were painted on with smooth brush strokes, showcasing all the curves a woman possesses. The stringy straps, short length and low neck line gave off a mouthwatering sexiness that would give pleasure to any guy.

But that was not what he liked most about it. It was the color.

The green of the dress was the same green of Rogues eyes; majestic emerald, the color that he had grown to love. That was what drew him to the window, because he had come to associate that color with Rogue; so much that thoughts of her would swarm his mind anytime he saw that emerald green color. Humph, as if he wasn't thinking about Rouge enough already. It seemed to be the only topic of interest to him lately. He definitely had Rogue on the brain, and had been having her on the brain for months now. This little outing further proved it.

He remained in front of the window, starring at the dress and imagined what Rogue would look like wearing it. He knew that she was the only person who was meant to wear that dress; was the only person who would do justice to it. Yes, he had found his answer.

Gambit was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't realize that someone had come up from behind and now stood beside him, with eyes fixed upon the same item.

"I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no."

Gambit turned in surprise to the familiar face next to him. He tried to hide his embarrassment for being caught at doing what was probably obvious to the person alongside him and was just about to deny any conceptions or thoughts that were surely about to be thrown at him, but wasn't quick enough.

"I only have one word for you." The familiar eyes of Pyro turned to Gambit, and with a serious face said, "Penis."

Gambit looked at his friend with raised eyebrows, taken aback by his response.

Pyro nodded his head and repeated himself as if Gambit didn't hear him the first time. "Penis. That's your answer."

Gambit gave the mutant next to him a sly smile. "What was my question?"

Now it was Pyro who smiled, and along with the smile he laughed out loud. "Who you trying to fool Gambit? There's only one reason a guy would be drooling over a dress on a girl that can't be felt up. Unless you know something about Miss Manikin there that I don't know." He laughed again.

"You still haven't answered my question."

Pyro tried to contain his chuckles, but couldn't stop the grin from spreading upon his face. "Through the grapevine I hear it's soon to be a certain X-man's birthday. Now with that information, one would only assume that the logical thing for you to do would be to get this particular X-man a birthday present." Pyro was proud of his logical analysis.

Gambit stared at him doubtingly. "And why would I want to do that mon ami?"

Giving him a disappointed look and shaking his head, "Gambit, Gambit, Gambit. Must we really play this game? I've seen the way you look at Rogue when you think no one's looking. Only an idiot wouldn't be able to put two and two together. I know what's going on. Just like I know that you're trying to figure out what to get her for her birthday." He paused as if waiting for a response, but Gambit remained silent. "But this here dress is not the right gift my friend, not the right gift at all, not for a girl like Rogue."

"I don't need any advice about women Pyro. Never have and never will. Some things just come naturally."

"If you say so man, but think about it, if you take my advice it'll save you a lot of time and headache. All you would need is a red ribbon and you're done."

"Thanks but I think I'll keep looking."

"Well, you better look fast because the clock is ticking."

"I've got time."

"Hours man. Only hours."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The sun shone in through her thin curtains and landed its rays upon her face. She stirred in her drifting slumber, feeling the suns light on her pale skin. Something told her that there was something important about today and even in her between sleep and wake stage, that nagging feeling that she had forgotten something, would not leave. It was like an incessant tick that would continue to bother her unless she figured it out. She didn't have any missions today, did she? No, she didn't. Was everyone at the mansion? Yes, Wolverine had gotten back last night from his last mission. Everything seemed to be fine. There was nothing different about today then any other day, and yet, she could not shake that feeling. There was definitely something about today that she could not put her finger on.

The faint sounds of the happenings of the world outside of sleep began to make themselves all the more clearer, as she knew that soon she would be wide awake. She pulled the covers over her head to delay the inevitable. Of course it was pointless because soon Kitty would come bursting in from the bathroom with too much energy and happiness for anyone, but especially for anyone this early in the morning, and force her to wake up for the day. She waited for the usual climatic morning greeting, but it did not come. Come to think of it, she hadn't heard Kitty showering this morning. She hadn't heard Kitty humming in the bathroom as she applied her makeup either. She hadn't heard Kitty at all this morning.

She pulled the covers from over her head and peered across the room to Kitty's side. The bed was empty. Kitty had to have left pretty early for Rogue not to have heard her leave the room. Rogue tried to decide if she should get up or go back to sleep. Looking at the clock on her nightstand decided for her; it was nearing 11:00am. She was usually up by 9am at the latest, yes, it was definitely time for her to get up. She thought it was strange that Kitty had not awakened her, because the younger girl had always taken the responsibility of doing so on previous occasions. But Rogue pushed it from her mind and groggily got out of bed and headed for the shower. As much as she wanted to sleep, she hated starting the day off late when everyone else was up and about.

After her shower Rogue was alert and refreshed and began to make her way down the steps, but halted on the third step. The lights were turned off on the 1st floor. Why were the lights turned off? A brief tinge of abandonment ran through her, as if she had been forgotten and left behind. It was almost like she was in the movie Home Alone, and had awakened to discover her family had gone on vacation without her. But instead of joy and freedom, she felt isolation and desertion. She hurried down the silent, dimly lit steps making her way towards the light switch, hoping she would be able to find someone in the mansion or at least a note none the less. When her hand was just about to flick on the lights, the whole bottom floor illuminated with bright lights and a yell consisting of many voices was heard from behind as the word, SURPRISE was shouted.

Rouge swung around to confront the happy faces before her; Kitty's being the centerpiece with arms holding the largest cake Rouge had ever seen.

"Happy Birthday Rogue!"

Ve got you good didn't ve?

"Man, you should have seen your face."

"Happy birthday kid."

"Happiness and joyous times are in order for you today Rogue."

"Happy birthday!"

"Yeah, happy birthday rogue."

"Happy birthday."

In the mist of all the congratulatory declarations and heartfelt wishes, Rogue didn't know what to say. She was touched, truly touched. They were all here, celebrating her birthday. They had gone through the trouble of baking a cake, making decorations, buying gifts, and supporting her and showing their love for her on this very special day. No one had really ever done that for her. And yet here they were doing that very thing, all of them, here for her; just like a family should be.

She brushed the hair from her face, allowing them to all see the look of happiness and appreciation she suddenly felt; appreciation for being allowed to be apart of the X-men, apart of the crazy, annoying and at times loving group of people, apart of a real family. "I, I don't know what to say, but, thank you. Thank you all."

Their smiles reciprocated the one that now showed on her face. They all knew that this was a birthday that Rogue deserved and from the expression on her face, they knew that their hard work had been worth it.

"Can ve cut the cake now?" asked an anxious Kurt.

They all looked to Rogue. "Sure. You can do the honors if you want."

Kurt reached for the cake from Kitty's arms, but she snatched it away.

"No way Kurt, Rogue is supposed to cut the cake," she stated adamantly.

"Give it here Kitty, she said I could do it."

"And I said no!" yelled Kitty, stepping back from the blue mutant.

Snkt, a single adamantium claw shot out of Wolverines right hand. "That's enough you two. I'll cut it."

"Man, I love it vhen he does that! Kurt announced as he imitated Wolverine and imagined claws coming from his own blue furry knuckles.

Everyone couldn't help but laugh.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In Rogue's opinion, this was the best birthday that she could have wished for. Well, almost. There was one distant wish in her head that she had successfully ignored all day long, and she would not allow herself to think on it now. Besides, it was getting late and she was getting a little tired. She looked around at the room and groaned inwardly. It was in ruins; rendered to a pure mess of disarray because of the day long party and festivities. This would take forever to clean up, so it was best that they got started. Kitty seemed to have read her mind as she got up from the sofa and began collecting the plates laying haphazardly around the room, and took them to the kitchen. Rogue got up to follow her, grabbing a few plates of her own and stifling a yawn on the way.

Noticing Rogue behind her, Kitty turned to her. "What are you doing?"

"Ah'm cleaning up"

Kitty almost laughed out loud. "Are you kidding, it's your birthday. Go up and get some sleep. I'll rope one of the boys into helping me. I can't even believe you haven't passed out from exhaustion, now go on upstairs. I'll take care of this."

Rogue hesitated. "You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Now go to sleep."

Rogue nodded and slowly made her way to the steps and to the comforts of her shared bedroom. She flipped on the light and went straight to her dresser, pulling open the top drawer to retrieve a pair of pajamas for the night, but something on the balcony caught her eye. She opened the French doors leading to the outside terrace and approached the railing. Upon it lay a green dress that almost seemed to glow in the fading light. It looked as if someone had delicately placed it there, just for her. She looked at the dress through curious and enchantment filled eyes as she dragged her hand across the smooth fabric.

She picked it up, testing to see if it was indeed her size. But as she lifted the dress from the rail, a paper thin object fluttered to the ground. It was a playing card. A King of Hearts to be exact. She smiled as she picked up the card, and immediately leaned over the banister, looking around for someone in a trenchcoat making off into the approaching night. There was no one and no movement below her balcony or anywhere on the mansion lawn. She sighed, wondering if she had just missed him and wished that he would have remained on the balcony to present the gift to her himself. But he was gone now and had left her the most beautiful dress she had ever laid eyes on. She took the dress and card into her room and returned to the still open top dresser drawer. She dug her hand to the bottom, pushing her underwear and pajama tops to the side, bringing out a playing card matching the one found on her balcony; same suit and same color, the only difference being one was a king and the other a queen. She placed them both on top of the dresser, laying them side by side. They looked good together. She smiled at the thought.

Now for the dress. She held the dress up to her, and was amazed that it appeared to be her exact size. She didn't feel tired anymore and had somehow discovered a newfound source of energy, clearly given off by the gorgeous garb held up against her. Yep, she had to definitely try this dress on. No doubt about it. She knew Kitty wouldn't be up for a few hours so she didn't even bother going into the bathroom to change.

She gently laid the precious garment across her bed and pulled her shirt off over her head, throwing it to the floor. She kicked off her shoes and followed suit by peeling off her pants and socks, adding them to the shirt pile on the floor. With her back to the balcony she unclipped her black bra and added it to the pile of clothes as if it were a cherry topping off a cake. She slid the dress over her head and felt the soft material slide down her body, covering her black laced panties and stopping shortly thereafter.

She turned to face the full body length mirror tacked on the wall to get a glimpse of herself and her most recent birthday gift. The image in the mirror shocked her. The dress brought out the full color of her eyes, making them appear brighter and livelier than ever, giving off an alluring appeal.

She liked it. The sheer sexiness of the dress and the feeling it gave off was enthralling. She slowly ran her hand down her waist and rested it on her hip. Was this what Gambit liked? She smiled at the idea, almost ashamed for even thinking it; almost. She turned in the mirror and looked over her shoulder to get a glimpse of what the back looked like. But as she did, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. There was someone on the balcony. She turned in that direction, and met the intense gaze of Gambit. The brightness of his eyes was so acute; they almost seemed to singe a hole through the glass door before him.

Rogue slowly advanced to the door, not yet opening it, but pausing before the barrier that obstructed her access to Gambit. Was she prepared to cross that line into unknown territory? Was she truly ready? Was he?

She looked up, meeting his powerful gaze head on. She felt the breath leave her body. His eyes screamed a very loud YES! Steadying herself she took the initiative and opened the door, allowing them both to cross the barrier as he stepped into her room.

The moment his feet touched the carpeted floor, it was as if the air in the room changed and Rogue felt light headed as if she were high in the clouds without a care in the world. She could not break away from the connection with his eyes. Her eyes were so securely fixed upon his red orbs, that she could not turn away even if Magneto himself had stepped into the room.

"Mon Dieu." It was barley a whisper, and yet he was surprised that he was even able to verbalize a coherent thought through the shocked state she had rendered him to. He had been right. She was the only person who was meant to wear that dress.

"You're beautiful" he declared, his voice projecting just a little louder.

Rogue smiled, feeling color rising to her cheeks. The words seemed to break the spell she was under and she dropped her eyes to the floor. Lifting her head back up but not looking at him directly, she politely said, "thank you for the dress."

"It suits you."

He could not get over how incredibly beautiful she was at this moment. He had been more then right about the dress. All of his imagined images of her was nothing compared to the reality of the moment and the image of the angel that now stood before him. It took everything he had to not take her in his arms and kiss her up and down until the taste of her skin was so deeply imbedded within his tongue that whenever he licked his lips it would be like receiving a kiss from her. But of course he didn't want to frighten her or come on too strongly. And then there was that getting knocked unconscious thing, but that was a minor price to pay to receive a kiss from the Rogue.

She still wasn't able to make full eye contact with him. She was determined to avoid his eyes and the feelings they stirred inside of her. He had looked at her with such passion and wanting, and it was almost too much for her to handle. Because at this moment she wanted nothing more but to leap in his arms and kiss him without consequence, and have her tongue become one with his tongue and explore not only his mouth but every part of his anatomy. But of course, that could never happen. All she could do was tell him how much she loved the dress.

"This is the best birthday present Ah've ever gotten."

He gave her his charming smile. "Glad to hear that, Cherie. But it be only one part of the gift."

Her eyes shot up to his face. Only one part? She was afraid to question what the remaining gift would include. She hoped the Cajun wouldn't try to kiss her or make a move on her. But then again, she hoped that he would.

He took a step towards her. It took everything she had not to take a step back. She was so used to avoiding close contact with people, but she knew that this was one encounter she did not want to avoid. Gambit was good at hiding his thoughts from others and concealing certain emotions, knowing the importance of maintaining that hard shell and holding up appearances, but at this moment none of that applied. For the first time in a long time he was going to open himself up to someone else. For a split second he thought of Pyro's suggestion of gift wrapping his penis for Rogue, but he knew that what he was about to do was a much better gesture and was the best gift that he could offer; for he was preparing to give Rogue his heart.

"And here is the second part." He wrapped his arms around the green material of her dress, resting his hands on her thin waist, bringing her body closer to his, as his face made a slow descend towards hers. He paused right before he got to her lips and he felt her heavy breaths upon his face. She did not struggle or protest, but nervously waited for him to make the next move.

He purred the words she heard only in her dreams. "Je t'aime. I love you Rogue, with every beat of my heart." His lips crashed onto hers, pouring all the love he possessed into her mouth, as burning trails were imbedded on every pore of her tongue, ensuring that she knew all that he felt in the few seconds he was able to hold out until he slid from her embrace and his unconscious form slumped to the floor.

Rogue's gasp for air, filled the room as she tried to steady her rapidly beating heart. She was overwhelmed by the passionate display she had just taken part in, no matter how brief it was. Never before had she experienced such an ardent act of one's emotions. She knelt down beside the unconscious mutant outstretched upon the floor. She laid down on the floor beside him and draped an arm over his stomach, resting her head upon his shoulder. He loved her. He actually loved her. What more could a girl ask for. She would wait until he awakened, wait right here beside him. She closed her eyes and nuzzled her head closer to him, finding comfort in the position, despite the hard floor. She imagined the playing cards that were on top of the dresser; The King of Hearts next to the Queen of hearts, his king to go with her queen. He truly was the king of her heart, and the realization of that was the best birthday surprise she could ever have hoped for.

The End

Thanks for reading

I would like to say a special thank you to Midnightflavoblaze who provided me with the correct translation of "I love you" - Je t'aime.

So, Je t'aime to all of you who read, all of you who reviewed and all of you on fanfiction!