Okay….. hi! This is my first attempt at writing a fic, so criticism is welcome! I plan on making this into a Romy eventually, not sure when it'll get there, but it will. Also, the updates may be sporadic, so please, feel free to yell at me. I'm not sure how the whole Beta thing works, so my story is not proof read, I apologize for spelling and grammar errors (my spelling is terrible, and slightly offensive… T_T) I plan on manipulating the time line for my benefit, and going through some major time skips. As far as the plot goes, this is more of a character fic, going inside the mind, and discovering things. And finally, this will be a slightly darker fic, not so much an-omg-i-have-to-go-slit-my-wrist-after-reading-that-last-chapter, kind of fic, just a slightly more realistic version of what could happen. So thanks for reading!
PS REVIEW…. Please?
Logan was confounded, well not so much confounded as mildly confused, but Strom couldn't quite distinguish the emotions displayed on his face to be sure. So for now she settled for looking at him from her peripheral vision discreetly as he stared conspicuously at the residents of the garden.
It had been three months sense Logan had left the mansion after the events of Liberty Island, leaving no trace of himself behind other than the new addition to the students known as Rogue, the fiery southerner, and the gaping space in the garage where Scott's bike once resided. The professor said that he had gone north again, in serch of his past. To be totally honest, Storm had not thought that they would ever see the feral flannel wearing mutant again, but here he was, standing next to her looking as if he had just found out that the sky was green, and the grass was blue.
"We hadn't expected to see you again this soon Logan." Storm said in an attempt to bring him from his stopper. It worked; Logan took his gaze away from the teenagers milling about the garden on their day off and looked at her quizzically.
"I told Rogue I'd be here within the week," he started, and then his expression changed from confused to mild amusement, "guess Rogue wanted to surprise Scooter". For a moment he looked as if he was going to say more but changed his mind and returned to looking out across the terrace. If Storm could guess, she would say that perhaps thoughts of Scott, turned into thoughts of Jean, and perhaps that lead to questions about how she was doing, but then he thought better of it.
Storm was about to say something about taking him to the Professor, but then something about his last statement struck her as odd. "Rogue knew you were coming? I hadn't realized you two kept in touch." The look of amusement was back on his face as Logan once again looked away from the garden.
"Once a week," he said, "keeps her from going crazy, hearing about places other than where she is."
Storm looked at him for a moment, she had no idea that he and Rogue had stayed in contact, not that Storm spent much time with the girl, but they had shared a few late night conversations, those where the times that the residents of the mansion where woken by the screams from one of Rogues many nightmares.
"Kid likes to keep things to herself. Can hardly blame her." True, with all the extra occupants in Rogues mind she probably felt that her business was constantly being looked into; a little outward privacy was probably all she could do to keep from feeling to exposed. Though for a girl who was constantly covered from head to tow in yards of fabric, exposure of any kind was hard to manage.
As Storm was about to say something else she caught the smile that spread across Logan's features just as he was tackled by a blur of fabric and two toned hair.
"Logan! Ah wasn' expectn' you fer another copple'a days, why didn't you call?" Her smooth southern twang floated across the open space of the garden, drawing the attention of most the other occupants. Including that of the small group of teenagers she had suddenly left.
"What, and ruin the surprise darlin'? Nah, thought I'd get here early and give you your present." As Storm watched the exchange she couldn't help but to notice its strangeness. Here was this gruff, dangerous mutant talking pleasantly with the aloof and distant untouchable girl. Apparently, she wasn't the only one to find the exchange odd, jugging by the confused faces of the group of Rogues friends who had made there way up the lawn, and where now looking onto the scene with slight shock. Logan and Rogue continued on, completely oblivious to the small audience they had acquired sense Rogue's exclamation.
"Present? Why Logan, you old softy, you didn' haft'a git meh anythin'." Though the look on her face suggested to Storm that she wouldn't object too much to getting it anyway.
Logan simply raised one eyebrow at her and began to re-zip the old worn duffle bag at his feet. "Well kid, if you don't want it…" he trailed off jokingly. Huh, Storm thought, who knew the Wolverine could joke?
Rogue simply smacked his shoulder and put her hand out, all the while putting a look of pure innocence on her face. Logan let out a small chuckle and dug into his bag. Storm briefly wondered about what it was the Wolverine had gotten the girl. Gloves? Jewelry? A trinket of some kind? But the more Storm thought about it the more hilarious the image of Logan shopping for a teenaged girl became. Before she could laugh out right she was pulled from her musings by a triumphant grunt from Logan as he pulled out something tiny and raped messily in old news paper.
Rogue took it from Logan's hand and examined it with a falsely critical air. "Rapped it yourself, did yah sugah'?" before opening it to revel a shot glass printed with Toronto in black lettering and a red maple leaf. She looked at it for a second, and storm wondered if Rogue liked it or not before the southern girl let out a long stream of laughter that took several secants to subside before hugging Logan again.
"Thought you'd like it kid."
"Yeh Logan, I like it, another one for the collection all right."
"That was the idea Darlin'."
Storm realized she was missing something.
Later, after a short meeting with the professor, and some short and awkward introductions to some of Rogues friends Storm was on her way to dinner navigating the long corridor of the teachers wing when she passed a slightly open door. This was nothing unusual, the residents of the mansion were not known to lock their doors, or fear for their things to be stolen, if you couldn't trust the people here then who could you trust? What did strike Storm as odd was the fact that the room was the one given to Logan, and that it sounded as if some one was in there with him.
Now, Strom was not by nature a suspicious person, merely a curious one, so as she got closer, and the voices grew louder Storm's curiosity was picked. It was Rogue's voice that was floating into the hallway. For a moment Storm debated with herself on the ethics of listening in on privet conversations, but her mind was settled as she herd the topic of conversation.
"Ah never really thought you'd get meh the shot glass Logan, yah know ah was just joken when ah said ah was thinkin' of starten' a collection." Well, that answered that, thought Storm.
"I know kid, but I thought you could use a hobby anyway." Logan's gruff response was colored with a hint of amusement.
"And shot glass colectin' is the hobby of choice for 17 year old gals is Logan?" Came the playfully sarcastic response.
There was a momentary pause in conversation, and a small rustling of fabric, Storm guessed that Rogue was helping Logan settle in. Thinking that the conversation was nearing its end, Storm was a bout to turn around and continue en-root to dinner when there was a thought clearing cough from inside the room fallowed by Logan's voice. "So kid, seems like you've been having fun here." There was a slight pause before he continued. "Made some new friends, some good friends."
A slight huff of annoyance was heard before Rogue spoke up, "Just say what you wan'a say Logan, and stop beaten around the darn bush already." The cool frankness of her voice surprised Storm.
"All right kid. Why didn't you tell me you where seeing any one?" Strange, Storm thought, that Wolverine was so interested in Rogue's social life.
"I told yah ah was seen Bobby, remember? You threatened to slice and dice him if he treated me wrong." Storm thought back to Logan's meeting with Bobby, when the Iceman iced over Wolverine's hand. Ah, the wonderful world of teenaged jealousy.
A half amused half annoyed grunt could be heard from Logan, "That's right, what I meant to say I why didn't you tell me you where seeing two guy's, and one a whole lot more than the other?"
"That's…"
"Don't try to deny it kid, I could smell you on both of 'um, and that fire kid had a whole lot more of your sent then I ever needed to smell." There was silence in the room.
Well, Storm thought; that explained Logan's puzzled look this morning.