I do not own any rights to Marvel's X-Men.
Rogue walked up to where Wolverine was parked on the long forested road to Xavier's School for the Gifted, readjusting his gear. She was determined to at least make him hear her out this time, no evading or dodging the subject, she wanted him to know how she truly felt. Wolverine turned from his old motorcycle and faced her having heard her footfalls crunching on random fallen leaves, so long from the tree that they were curled and dry.
"Rogue? What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in class?"
Rogue looked up at him and shook her head, "No, I graduated remember?"
Wolverine gave her a blank look.
Rogue shook her head again, of course he wouldn't remember that she'd graduated shortly after he'd left six years ago. He hadn't been there after all. "I graduated six years ago. And since my ability came back Storm has had me trying to find a way to control my power so that the only time I take another's energy is when I try to. Nothing to that degree so far, but Storm is hopeful. So are Bobby, Kitty, Kurt and Piotr; they've been really supportive. I'm a bit skeptical myself. Though I have been able to control the amount of energy I take, Bobby and Kurt have been helping me with that by letting me hold onto their hands for long periods of time. I can manage the intake well enough that it takes about two hours for them to start feeling it. I don't know, maybe Storm's onto something? But I have to focus on that single thing in order for it to work; I can't try to do anything else at all, not even conversation. It kinda sucks." Rouge screwed up her face at this.
Wolverine laughed and pulled her into a bear hug, "Well that's something, right kid?"
Rogue smiled softly, "I missed you Logan."
Wolverine grinned, "I missed you too Marie."
"You were gone so long this time. When Aura picked your signature up on the road here I almost didn't believe him." Rogue pulled back to look him in the face; Wolverine looked down at her with a crooked grin on his face, his eyes however were a bit sad and far-away looking. Rogue sighed in defeat and she pulled out of the hug.
"Well I ended up going back to the Rockies in Canada and found my old house, still sittin' there in the middle of nowhere undisturbed; it brought back a lot of memories. I decided that it'd probably be better if I had someone out there with me, so I came back to see if you'd be up for it." Wolverine smirked, "If Iceman will let you go long enough. On the drive back a lot of things started to click into place. If you'd like to hear about it I could probably talk your ears off." Wolverine's eyes were smiling down at her now, no distance at all.
"Really?" Rogue looked up at him pleased to be thought of. "The loner actually wants company?"
"Yeah really. But I get the sense you met me out here for a reason." He inclined his head at her.
Rogue turned and strode a few paces away hesitating. "Well, I." Rogue whipped around, "I wanted you to know that...I realize you've had people you loved very deeply and that you can't forget them, Jean being one of them." An uncommon wind swept through the pause and made them both shiver uneasily. "But I wanted you to know that I love you Logan."
"So...wait what? What, why do...?" Wolverine didn't know what he was expected to do or say to that.
"I just wanted you to know that I love you. You don't have to return the feeling or anything." /But it'd be nice./ Rogue thought to herself, "You tend to avoid me when I start talking about feelings and stuff. So I decided that I'd make you hear me out this time."
Wolverine smiled softly at her, "What about Iceman?"
Rogue looked up from her perusal of her shoes, "He's dating Shadow Cat now. After I decided to take the 'cure' our relationship kind of went downhill. Not because he was mad at me or anything, though he hadn't wanted me to do it. He was alright with it because it was my decision, something I truly wanted to do for myself." Rogue hastened to say, "But more because of me. I realized that I really didn't like him that much. And before you ask, no we didn't." Rogue said after seeing the look on Wolverine's face. "I used to spend a lot of time with Jimmy," Rogue grinned sheepishly. "Guess I was hoping that being around him might make the 'cure' kick back in. Jimmy seemed to think it was funny that his ability is the only one I can't absorb. Which is ironic I guess. Anyway, I broke it off with Bobby because I kept calling for you in my sleep and I could tell how Kitty felt about him."
"So you're free then?" Rogue looked at him askance. "I was coming back to talk to you remember?" She nodded slowly. "I was gonna ask you if you would like to come with me. I got the urge to show you my home in Canada and maybe we could go check out the place I was born." Wolverine paused looking at her with a child-like hope in his expression. "Would you like to come with me?"
"I, I'd love too!" Rogue's eyes were bright with excitement. "But I'd have to go back and let Storm know I'm leaving. We could just leave and let the psychics tell her, but that's rude." Rogue smiled and turned to walk back up the road to the school. The eerie wind came back and swirled around them like a tornado on low rev.
"Rogue!" Wolverine cried out in alarm, the familiar fingers across his mind giving him warning. Rogue fell to her knees as another mind shoved into her own.
'You think you can make him forget me?!'
"No! Jean, that's not wha-!"
There was a gleeful laugh, 'I am not Jean Grey. I am the Phoenix! And now, thanks to you Rogue, I can be free of Jean! You can be my new puppet!'
Wolverine rushed toward Rogue, 'No! Logan don't!' But Jean's warning came too late and the Wolverine was thrown backward away from Rogue. "What?" Wolverine coughed out in confusion.
'Sorry.'
"Jean?"
'Yes, the Phoenix has hold of Rogue, she won't listen to me anymore, just pushes me aside. She wants to come back to life again, but she'd have to use MY body and she doesn't want that.'
"Wait. How does that work? Isn't she just another facet of yourself?"
"'No.'" Rogue stood and faced Wolverine jerkily, as if she were resisting an outside force. "'We are not the same person. We were twins but my body died and Jean didn't want to lose me, so she allowed me to reside within hers. I love my sister very much, I hadn't wanted to die and I'm grateful. But I've had enough!'" Rogue's voice sounded hollow and scratchy, like she wasn't used to using it.
Wolverine realized that the Phoenix probably wasn't, even when she was merged with Jean the voice was different between the two. "Let Rogue go, you shouldn't force yourself on people like that. I would have thought the Grey's had more manners than that." Wolverine was flippant.
'No.' Jean whispered through all of their minds, they could all imagine her closing her eyes as if to shut out something painful.
"'WHAT? You would compare me to people who barely cried over the still form of their already named daughter?! You think I want to be associated with my last name!?'" Rogue's body lifted into the air, her skin turned ashen and her eyes glowed red - the wind picked up and lashed out at Wolverine.
'Stop! Please. Let Rogue go, she's been used and manipulated by other mutants enough. Please, Emily don't do this.' Jean's mind was like cool water through Rogue's mind as she tried to calm the Phoenix.
Suddenly fire bloomed in Rogue's brain as Phoenix found the memories of her abuse by others. 'Fine, I'll let her go.' Phoenix sighed and Rogue fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. 'But I won't allow Wolverine to forget me. "I" want him, it was never you Jean, you had Cyclopes. But me?' Phoenix mentally shook her head.
"Rogue? Kid, you alright?" Wolverine was edging closer to the prone woman now lying in the middle of the street.
'She'll be alright Logan. She-." Jean's mental assurance was cut off as Phoenix slammed into Wolverine's mind.
'You are mine!'
"No, I'm not. You can look if you want Phoenix, but it was Jean that I was in love with."
'And now you love Rogue, who's attitude reminds you so much of Kayla? Pitiful.'
"Maybe, but I cared for her before I ever remembered any of that."
The Phoenix let out a frustrated scream, 'NO' Phoenix rushed toward Rogue again but crashed into Jean instead.
'No!'
There was a blast of wind that woke Rogue with its force and as she sat up unsteadily they were both transfixed by Jean suddenly standing alive before them, "I'm sorry you guys."
"Jean?"
"Yeah Logan it's me. But I'm not very stable; Emily is a lot stronger than I am." Her hair seemed to catch or become fire. "Please, I realize," she hesitated, "I and the Phoenix, Emily, destroyed perhaps the one person that could help us. But could you try to find-." Jean disappeared in a gust of wind just as quickly as she'd come.