What if Rogue had met someone else instead of Logan?

A short Rictor fanfic. (Rogue/Sabretooth). Written in both POVs. Italics show the inner thoughts of the characters.

Had an idea for this while listening to The Heavy's "How You Like Me Now".

A little on the AU side. Probably some from X-Men: First Class.

Words in [...] is the voice of Victor's inner animal.

Now there was a time,

When you loved me so.

I couldn't do wrong,

And now you need to know.

See, I been a bad, bad, bad, bad man.

And I made a deal.

Yeah.

I found a brand new love for this man,

And I can't wait till you see.

I can't wait.

So how you like me now?

Marie

Three of them, two pinning my arms against the wall, the third standing in front of me, his hand hovering near my neck.

"You got nowhere to run now, sweet cheeks. Now be good and stop moving while we have a little fun." The man spat at me, his eyes wandering at my bare neck.

I waited for the moment where he placed his hand on my bare skin, and thought to myself. They'll probably shit in their pants and run while the guy goes limp and collapses onto the ground.

Just as the hand was about to come into contact with my neck, there was a sudden shift in the wind as the man in front of me was gone in two seconds flat.

"Leave the girl alone, if you know what's the best for you." A mysterious, low, guttural voice echoed down the narrow alley, the owner of the voice was hidden somewhere. The two men who had my arms against the wall let go immediately, holding up their arms in an attempt to strike at me. Without warning, a massive wall of muscle separated me from the two men.

A blur of black, a flash of red, a streak of denim blue danced around my vision before I realised the two men were also gone. The massive wall of muscle turned to face me. "You alright there?"

My hands wrapped around my upper arms as I took stock of the man that towered over me. His blonde hair fell in a messy waterfall, nearly reaching his shoulders The faded jeans and ripped shirt clung tightly to his obviously well-built body, and the black coat swayed slightly in the breeze as he looked at me.

He was looking at me.

"Hey, you okay there?" He nudged me slightly.

Realizing I hadn't responded, I quickly nodded, squeezing my eyes shut and opening them again. "Thanks, but ah had them where ah wanted." I shrugged, slipping my hands into my back pockets.

"Sure you did." He let out a grunt. I felt my insides tingle a little. "Three men against one woman."

"He was gonna be a goner when he touched my neck anyways. They were lucky only my neck wasn't covered."

He glanced at my neck, then slightly lower down, before his eyes shot back up nervously to meet mine. "What about that neck of yours?"

"Oh nothin'. Some nasty ol' disease. Wards off all perverts."

He laughed. "What kind of disease does that?"

"Oh, ah'm special. So ah get the nasty disease."

"There's more to that, ain't it?" He smirked, raising one of his hands up and his sharp nails start to grow and extend upwards to form claws.

I must have seemed shocked, because he cocked his eyebrow up and looked at me. "Never seen 'em before?"

I shook my head. "Ah've never seen any of our kind before."

He grabbed one of my gloved hands and pulled me out of the alley and into the streets. "Well, you've been missing out on a lot then, missy."

Victor

I'd seen her lurking around town these few days, her face hidden slightly by that emerald hood and cloak she wore. Covered from head to toe, even on the hottest days. Damn, that girl doesn't feel the heat? I had walked past one of the more lesser known alleys around town after I had my fill of booze, when I picked up her scent again. I turned into the alley and picked another three different scents, and sure enough, I saw three men closing in on her.

"You got nowhere to run, sweet cheeks." The man in front of her spoke. I stood well hidden in the dark corner, watching their movements. "Now be good and stop moving while we have a little fun." Immediately I eyed the men with disgust. Looks like they're about to feel some pain from ol' Sabretooth here.

Just as the man reached out for her neck, I leapt forward towards them, grabbing the one in front of her and flinging him up into the sky. "Leave the girl alone, if you know what's best for you." I growled, still well hidden in the dark corner. They both held up their arms to hit her, and that was enough cause to leap at them. I slid between the girl and the two men, clawing their faces at the same time. I reached out for their necks, but they were smart enough to run off.

Turning, I looked at the girl. "You alright there?" She didn't respond. [Probably got a bit of a shock there, well done ol' boy, scaring the girl with those claws of yours.] She wrapped herself in her arms as I noticed she was looking at me. I just stood there looking at her for a few moments, my breath caught in my throat as I realised I was standing too close to her. I took a step back, nudging her shoulder gently. "Hey, you okay there?"

"Thanks, but ah had them where ah wanted." She grimaced slightly. ]Mmh, judging by that accent, she's a southern girl. Kinda long way from home. Vulnerable and weak. Your job to protect her, ol' boy.]

"Sure you did." I grunted in disbelief, trying to shake away my inner thoughts. "Three men against one woman."

"He was gonna be a goner when he touched my neck anyways. They were lucky only my neck wasn't covered."

I couldn't help but look. What was it about her neck? My eyes flitted even further down her neck, a growl trying to escape from my throat but I held it in, quickly looking up, my eyes leveling with hers. Well I'll be damned, the girl's wearing some tight clothing. [Say something, twat, or she'll know you've just tried to check her out.] "What about that neck of yours?" I blurted out. [Great job twat, you couldn't ask a better question, could you? Who asks people about their necks the first time they meet?]

"Oh nothin'. Some nasty ol' disease. Wards off all perverts."

Perverts? Of course she'd encounter them with those tight- Stop thinking about her clothing! Letting out a laugh, I tried to relax a little. "What kind of disease does that?" [Oh, keep up the good job ol' boy, she'll be gone thinking what a loser you are with the questions you ask her.]

"Oh, ah'm special. So ah get the nasty disease."

"There's more to that, ain't it?" I smirked slightly. She wasn't the average girl you'd meet at the local bars, pretty with no brains. I took a gamble, raising one of my hands. She was definitely one of us. I extended my claws, hoping she'd react better than how normal people did.

Confusion was written all over her face. "Never seen 'em before?" [Man, you've scared her again!]

"Ah've never seen any of our kind before."

Ah, that explains. Looks like I've got a job to do here.

"Well, you've been missing out on a lot then, missy." I grabbed her hand and led her out of the alley and into the streets.