EEEE EEEE EEEE EEEE…

Rogue shot out of bed instantly awake at the incessant and sharp buzzing. She glanced around in a second of momentary panic before recognizing the grating sounds of her alarm clock.

7:30AM. ARGH.

With a groan she dropped back to her pillow and groped blindly for the source of her rude awakening. Once silenced she burrowed deeper under the covers and groggily contemplated waking up on time.

Another 10 minutes won't hurt she thought. But as the film of sleep slowly lifted, she remembered today was a special day. Her birthday. Her 21st birthday to be exact. She was looking forward to it but at the same time she wasn't sure she was ready for it. She would be an adult. Officially. In the eyes of everyone.

Oh sure, she had matured quite a bit in the last few years – so much more than her classmates that it was hard to relate to them at times. But Rogue also knew that no matter how old she got, she would always be a "kid" in his eyes. That was fine with her. She wouldn't give up their special friendship for anything – even that. But every now and then, when she allowed her imagination free reign, she wondered about how it would be if things were different between them.

Rogue and the Wolverine.

A very unlikely pair.

But in the safety of her room and in the secrecy of her dreams, everything was perfect and the way it should be. It was during one of these dreams that she had just awakened from and she was eager to relive the feelings they stirred in her.

A soft smile played on Rogue's lips as she recalled the contents of her most recent dream. In it she had dreamed Logan had gotten all huffy over the attention she was getting from Bobby and had angrily revealed his true feelings for her. He then proceeded to sweep her into a passionate embrace and kiss her senseless – staking his claim on her for all to see. A giggle escaped her as she realized her tummy was already doing flip flops at the mere thought of such a scene. But that's all it would ever be. Just a scene she would play forever in her head.

Sighing heavily Rogue cautiously cracked one eye open to test the brightness of the room. She was up now and wouldn't likely fall back to sleep. Opening both eyes she tossed the covers off and sat up, wondering what was in store for her today.

Thinking back on the past few years it was hard to imagine having something to celebrate. With Scott, Jean, and the Professor all gone it didn't feel like there was much left to be happy about. It was a terrible time for everyone after that battle – particularly for Logan – but they had all survived and life had moved on. She had taken the cure but her excitement over her ability to touch was tempered by her grief at their astounding loss. Things had changed. Everyone had changed. Including her. Including Bobby.

In hindsight she recognized that taking the cure had been a desperate attempt at keeping Bobby. Even with Logan's admonition ringing in her ears – "This better not be for a boy" – she had swallowed her doubts and fears and taken the needle. But it didn't have the effect she had expected on their relationship. The distance that had slowly started to separate them instead of being bridged, became more pronounced as she was able to interact with other people and a whole new world opened up for her.

She and Bobby had broken up a few short months afterwards. They decided they were more friends now than lovers and were both happy with the bond that was still between them. Besides, Rogue though ruefully and slightly bitterly, she had seen the way his gaze tended to linger longer on Kitty more and more frequently. And she also wasn't surprised to notice that the attraction was reciprocated. Sure they probably would not have acted on it but knowing they wanted to but couldn't because of her, made Rogue feel even worse. Kitty and Bobby had been together now for over a year and they really did make a great couple. While both were very sensitive to Rogue and kept their PDAs to a minimum, it was hard not to notice and envy the obvious love they shared.

Giving herself a mental as well as physical shake, Rogue set herself to making her bed and getting showered. She wanted to look extra special today and had already planned her outfit. She had a lovely new white turtleneck sweater that highlighted the white streaks in her hair and showed off her curves. Womanly curves Rogue corrected herself and then grinned at her own silliness. She finished off the outfit with a pair of navy cargos that made her legs look like they went on forever and black boots that gave her an extra 3 inches in height. Today she wanted to be noticed. Not by anyone in particular, she silently assured herself. But if there was notice from that direction, who was she to complain?

As she carefully applied her makeup, Rogue studied her reflection in the mirror. With an objective eye, she observed herself and knew she was attractive. Her cheeks had hollowed out and her baby fat had gradually disappeared giving her a more mature profile that she quite liked. She had arranged her hair so that half was pulled back and away from her face. A little dab of lip gloss to bring out her full lips and she was ready!

As she headed towards her bedroom door, Rogue wondered if anyone else would be up to have breakfast with. Mentally reviewing her roster of friends she decided Peter was most likely up as well. But he had stayed up a little late the night before watching a movie on TV. Maybe Warren….

Lost in her thoughts, Rogue swiftly shut the door and spun around …into a brick wall. A warm brick wall with arms that caught her as she stumbled back. Startled she looked down at the hands grasping her and traveled up two slightly worn sleeves tightly encasing matching muscular arms to a pair of lips set in an oh of surprise. Her eyes traveled further up and she found herself staring into the most startling set of eyes she had ever seen. They were a deep red and black and they swirled with energy and fire.

"Are you ok, chere? Remy no' hurt you, no?" The deep and heavily accented voice brought Rogue out of her trance and she stepped back quickly. Embarrassed to be caught staring and equally embarrassed with her clumsiness, she stammered at a loss.

"No, no, Ah'm alright. Ah'm so sorry I bumped into you." Rogue bit her lip as she realized her own southern accent was stronger than usual due to her fluster. She took a deep breath and started again. "Did I hurt you?"

"Hurt by une petite fille? Remy hopes he is tougher than dat." Rogue had to laugh. Whoever he was, he certainly was charming.

"Rogue, you alright?" At the sound of the gruff voice, Rogue's cheeks turned red at being caught smiling up at the new stranger. Logan stepped around and touched her briefly on the shoulder. He roughly pushed in between the two and ran his hands up and down her arms, all the while glaring at the newcomer. After assuring Logan she was fine she turned back again to find herself being studied by a pair of unnerving red eyes.

"I'm Rogue. Are you new here?"

"My name is Remy. Most people know me as Gambit."

"He's a friend of Storm's. Just arrived. I was just showing him which room he can stay in." Logan's curt interruption took Remy by surprise until he noticed the way the Wolverine's hand was still resting on the belle fille's arm and the hostile looks he continued to throw in his direction. "It's down the hall, 4th door on your right".

And with that Logan pulled Rogue quickly away and down the stairs towards the kitchen. "C'mon Rogue, let's get some grub."

Logan's behavior threw Rogue off guard. She wasn't sure what to make of it. It was almost like he was jealous. But that was silly. What was there to be jealous of? She brushed it off and chalked it up to one of his many mood swings. She glanced back at Remy and was taken aback to see he was still watching her with a slight smile on his lips. She smiled back a little uncertainly and was rewarded with a mischievous wink of one fiery eye.

"I will see you around, chere."