Title: Adjusting Roles
Author: Mango
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Rogue left six months after Jean returned as Phoenix. Now she has returned. This is my first X-men fic. Please review.
It had been almost three years. Three years since she left, leaving Logan in the dust behind her. Literally.
And now, it had appeared that Rogue had come full circle as she pulled in front of the school on one of Scott's bikes. As she stepped off the bike she gathered her bags and prepared herself for the inevitable.
She opened the doors and stormed through the hallways ignoring the protests of some of the younger inhabitants. She grabbed hold of the handle on a thick oak door and swung it open. Xavier was sitting at his desk apparently holding a meeting of some kind with the senior staff.
He smiled genuinely at her. "Welcome home, Rogue." He stated. "I trust you found what you were looking for?"
"Yes, thank you Professor." She answered, feeling suddenly like she never really left. She greeted Storm and Phoenix and they accepted her back with an ease she never thought possible. Hugs were exchanged with affection and she thought that this was what family felt like. She laughed at Scott who stood in the corner of the room looking somewhat shocked.
She tossed the keys that were in her gloved hand and he caught them out of reflex. "Thanks for the bike." She smiled and winked before she felt a tingle up her spine. She could probably sense him but didn't need to. She could smell his scent, like ocean and wilderness. She turned the door where she had made her entrance and found him leaning casually on the doorframe.
"Well, what have we here?" He inquired giving her a once over. She suddenly felt uncomfortable in her leather pants and jean jacket. It seemed appropriate for the bike, but now she felt awkward under his stony gaze.
"Logan." She responded coolly with a nod of her head.
"You're all grown up, Kid." He said, and she shrugged as nonchalantly as she could pull off.
"It happens." She turned to Xavier and inquired about her room.
"It's exactly how you left it, Rogue. Go rest some before dinner." he said, looking amused at the exchange.
"Thank you." She said and she turned and left. Logan followed her, and she let him. It was easier, she remembered, than trying to stop him from doing something he had made up his mind to do. She climbed the stairs and opened the door and left it open for him to follow her, if he wished.
"So that's it then?" He said angrily raising his voice.
"What were you expecting?" She tossed over her shoulder as she stripped off her jean jacket exposing her bare shoulders by wearing a black tank top. She then began to unpack her belongings.
"Well, I sure as hell wasn't expecting you take off like that. That's my role, Marie, not yours." He said, with such emotion that she was slightly taken aback, but she continued to unpack her bag. He grabbed her arm swung her around to face him. "Look at me, damn it!"
"It's Rogue." She responded while shaking off his arm. "And I guess we all pick our own roles, now don't we?" She said taking off her leather gloves and tossing them onto the desk.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Marie?" He said grabbing her arm. She froze, literally froze before she removed her arm from his grip.
"Careful, Wolverine." She said scolding him for his careless actions.
"I'm not scared of you, Marie." He said, in a more than slightly demeaning tone.
"Rogue. And it's supposed to mean that I'm sorry if I don't fit into to the role you set out for me, Wolverine, but I am my own person. I was sick and tired of being defined by the people I was surrounded with." She said, trying to remember the girl she once was.
"Like me?" He asked, his eyes boring into hers.
"Oh don't go getting all sentimental on me. You had your chance the night I left and you let me go. You let me go. Don't ever forget that, even if you find you hate who I have become. You're the reason I became who I am." She said before she could stop herself.
"What ever happened to not being defined by the people you are surrounded with?" He asked. She stopped dead in her tracks and glared at him. How could she leave herself so vulnerable?
"Please go. I need to freshen up before dinner." He left smirking and she cursed herself.