At The Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men

It was a cold day as Rogue drove up to Laughlin City. She was taking a little vacation from Xavier's school for a while and had arrived at her destination. While there was little in Laughlin City except for bars and such, it was also a place of memories. This was where her journey as a mutant had truly begun and it was where she'd met her greatest friend, Logan.

The feral mutant was on a trip to discover his past and Rogue hadn't heard from him in a while, but she'd kept his dog tags safe and sound for him.

"Hey, kid," said a voice, startling her.

Rogue spun around to see Logan, standing behind her. He was wearing his usual leather outfit and had Scott's bike that he'd swiped with him.

"Logan!" said Rogue, hugging him. "I can't believe it. What're you doing here?"

"Looking for you. I came back to the school and Xavier said you'd left on a little vacation. What're you doing in this dump?" he asked.

We were strangers starting out on our journey
Never dreaming what we'd have to go through
Now here we are and I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you

"I just felt like reminiscing," she said. "This is where we met, remember?"

"Sure do," said Logan. "You stowed away in the back of my trailer."

"And you let me stay with you and said you'd take care of me. And you did," said Rogue, smiling.

No one told me I was going to find you
Unexpected what you did to my heart
When I lost hope you were there to remind me
This is the start

"Well, what else can a guy do for someone he cares about?" asked Logan, smiling.

When he'd found Rogue in the back of his trailer, he hadn't expected that she would change his as she did or that he would grow to care about her so much that he would give her his power or protect her so fiercely from the likes of Magneto. She could tame the Wolverine with just a look.

Rogue smiled. "Thanks. You mean a lot to me too. Come on, let's get inside. I'm freezing."

And Life is a road and I want to keep going
Love is a river I want to keep flowing
Life is a road now and forever
A Wonderful journey

They went inside and got some drinks and talked about all that happened since Logan had left the school. Logan hadn't found out anything about his past, but he'd find out someday. He had all the time in the world. Rogue had made a great deal of friends at the school and Bobby Drake had been a little taken with her, but she'd said that her heart belonged to someone else.

"Oh, really?" said Logan, feeling a little jealous. "And just whom might that be?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" said Rogue, enjoying this. She slipped off his tags and held them out for him. "Here, these are yours."

"Thanks," said Logan. "By the way, I got you something."

I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

He handed her a small bundle which turned out to be a tag with "Rogue" inscribed on it.

Rogue smiled. "Thanks, Logan. I'll never take it off."

He smiled.

We were strangers on a crazy adventure
Never dreaming how our dreams would come true
Now here we stand unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you

"What're you thinking about?" he asked.

"I'm just grateful, I guess. I'm grateful that I found you that day," said Rogue.

"Feeling's mutual," said Logan.

I knew there was somebody somewhere
Like me alone in the dark
I know that my dream will live on
I've been waiting so long
Nothing's gonna tear us apart

Before they'd met, they'd just been two lonely wandering souls who'd wanted to find somewhere to belong and someone to belong to. Then they'd met and everything had changed. They'd become close over an adventure that had almost cost them one another. But Logan had promised he'd take of her and he had. He was never going to let anything take his Rogue away from him and Rogue would never let anything happen to her Wolverine.

"Logan, I've got a little surprise for you," said Rogue, as they headed to her car.

"What is it?" asked Logan.

Rogue slipped off her glove and surprised him by placing her bare hand on his cheek and Logan felt no pain or familiar tug of power.

"How--?" he asked, shocked.

"The Professor helped me gain control," said Rogue. "I wanted you to be the first to know. I can touch now."

Logan smiled and took her hand into his before kissing her soundly on the lips.

Life is a road and I want to keep going
Love is a river I want to keep going on
Starting out on a journey

In the time that they'd been apart while he'd been roaming, their feelings for one another had grown and right now, they were expressing their feelings in the best way that they could, with love and strong passion.

"I love you," he said, when they broke apart for air.

"I love you too," said Rogue.

This was where they had met and their journey together had begun, and now this place was where their feelings for one another were finally made known.

Life is a road and I want to keep going
Love is a river I want to keep flowing
In the end I wanna be standing at the beginning with you

The End