Alright this is a one-shot potentially more, but it's based loosely off the song by Jack's Mannequin of the same title. The first verse just made me thing of a nightmare Rogue might have and I thought it was the perfect moment for a Logan-Rogue Father-Daughter moment. I love these :) Also a bit of Loro going on too ;)
Disclaimer: Yeah, don't own X-men, don't own the song. Yep, that seems about right.
XxXxX
Kill the Messenger
Rogue screamed and bolted up. She had that nightmare again. It was the worst thing and it terrified her that her own mind had concocted it.
She was trapped. She was trapped on the moon, which as crazy as it seems, was not the truly scary part. The X-men, HER X-men, the only family she had ever had, gave up on her.
In the dream she had once again lost control of her powers. All of them. Except this time there was no control, and instead of fighting for and with her, Wolverine himself had sentenced her to solitary confinement, and nobody argued. Nobody fought his decision, they all just… agreed.
Rogue curled into a ball in her bed, trying to fight the tears in her eyes. She remembered watching her friends and only people she'd ever considered family. She remembered watching them from the moon, how happy they'd been. Kitty got a new roommate, Logan wasn't constantly worrying about her, and nobody missed her.
The doorknob to her room turned quietly and slowly. Rogue quickly tried to compose herself, failing miserably.
"Stripes, you okay?"
"Ah'm… Ah'm…" Rogue had problems trying to speak through the tears.
"Hey kid, lets go to the kitchen. Wouldn't want half-pint to worry." Rogue slid out of bed, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. She knew that she couldn't say no to him, but she also knew she didn't want to. She needed someone to tell her she was wrong, that she belonged, that they wouldn't send her to the moon.
The two walked down the hall in silence, Rogue finally getting control of the tears and wiping them away. Logan was periodically glancing at his surrogate daughter, making sure she was going to be okay, but still worried. When they reached the kitchen, Logan pulled out a beer for himself and poured a glass of milk for Rogue.
"Alright kid, what's up?" Logan leaned on the counter across from where Rogue was sitting. Her eyes were still puffy and bloodshot, and her voice was still thick from sleep and tears.
"Ah had a nightmare." She explained the nightmare to him, leaving nothing out. She new if she did he would know. He always seemed to know. Logan listened in silence, grunting every once in a while, but other than that only squinting his eyebrows every so often. After Rogue finished the older man stared at her for a minute while Rogue stared at her hands.
"Alright Stripes, first things first. The moon?" Logan looked at her with one eyebrow raised. Rogue let out a small giggle, only marred by the small hiccup in the middle. "Second, Stripes, you know I could never do that to ya. Even if you did go all crazy psycho with your powers, Chuck would find a way to stop you."
Rogue rolled her eyes. Logan wasn't one to sugar coat things, and it was times like these she wished he did a little. Not that she was complaining. "Logan, Ah'm just scared that Ah might hurt someone, and then ya'll will hate me!"
Logan shook his head. "Listen Stripes, I'm not gonna lie to ya. You've got a lot of people who care about ya, but you aren't exactly the most welcoming. Between you and me, I think even Kitty feels a little left out when you don't talk to her. You've got me, Kitty, Kurt, 'Ro, Chuck, and Hank who are all fightin' for ya, but you've got to let us in. Hey, even the new mutants want at least some acknowledgement from you every once in a while. You've got to remember, darlin', you're not alone, but the more you act like it the more people are going to treat you like it."
"You're one to talk!" Rogue glared. She wasn't angry, just frustrated because she knew he was right. "Mr. Lone wolf or whatever. How many times have you ditched us for weeks at a time?"
"Don't Kill the Messenger Kid. I'm not telling you I'm any better at it. Heck, I'm still getting used to the idea of 'Ro ever putting up with my crap." This received another giggle from Rogue. The big wolf man had finally gotten the guts to ask the weather goddess out and they were getting along swimmingly since then. Turns out that Logan wanted to stay on her good side, so he didn't try to cause unnecessary problems. "It takes some work, kid. How about I make you a deal? You talk to Kitty more. Tell her about the dream, hang out with half-pint, maybe even let her take you shopping," Rogue gagged. "And I'll take 'Ro on some real dates, get out of the house, and I promise not to leave any time soon without direct permission from you. Deal?"
Rogue smiled. She knew that when the time came it would be hard to hold up his end of the bargain, but she knew he would try. "Do Ah HAVE tah let her take me shopping?"
"Nah, but you have to get out of this mansion and do something fun with her. Maybe take Kurt and a couple of the younger ones."
"Alright," Rogue agreed, sticking her hand out to the older man. "Ya have a deal, old man."
Logan took her hand a shook it. He walked around the bar in the kitchen and gave Rogue a side hug. "Listen kid, ya know I'm always here for ya. Any more nightmares and you just tell them if they hurt you I'll rip them to shreds. I'm sure Chuck will find a way to get me in there." Logan winked. Rogue smiled a full blown smile, a rare occurrence. The two sat and talked for a while longer, laughing at how the training was going with the younger kids as well as how ironically funny Scott and Jean's relationship was. It didn't take long until Rogue's eyes started to droop a little and Logan walked her back to the room she shared with Kitty.
The next day was a Saturday and while there was training in the morning, Logan made it a point when tucking Rogue into bed to unplug their alarm clock. The two girls could use the extra bit of sleep for once. Smiling, Logan crouched down and made sure Rogue was fully under the covers. Before he got up, he placed a small fatherly kiss on her head, her hair protecting him, not that he believed she could do him much harm in this state. He crept out of the room silently, sneaking back into the room he shared with his wife.
"Logan," the woman yawned. "Where did you go?"
Logan crawled into bed, wrapping his arm around the woman he cared about. "Rogue had a nightmare. You know, it makes me think that being a real dad might not be such a bad thing. Hell, half-pint and Stripes practically make it easy."
"Let's just sleep for now. You'll come to your senses in the morning. Tomorrow is Saturday. All the kids are home for the whole day. You'll change your mind." Ororo smiled as she curled into Logan, feeling his chuckle rumble through his chest. Tomorrow was another day.
