Disclaimer: Sadly (and I have complained about it, I promise) I don't own the X-men – if I did there would be some MAJOR changes!
Summary: After the events of X3, Logan is left heart-broken and desolate while the ecstatic Marie gets some bad news of her own, but will anyone be able to help them, or will they have to rely on each other? WARNING – X3 spoilers and later romance.
Marie opened and closed the door as quietly as possible as she slipped out of her room. It was 1 o'clock in the morning, and as she was technically still a student at Xavier's school she was breaking curfew, but that just made the act to come all the more sweeter, she thought, grinning slyly to herself in the darkness. Most would find the overwhelming dark of night disorientating in a place such as the mansion, but Marie thrived in it. Prolonged exposure between formerly deadly skin and Logan did that to you – even after the cure she retained mildly enhanced senses and a persistent craving for beer and cigars. But that deadly skin was long gone, and tonight was the night to prove it.
It had been 3 weeks since she got the cure, 3 weeks since Alcatraz, and the school was still recovering, still repairing the scars and cracks that had formed. It had been busy, and as final year students Rogue, Bobby, Kitty and Piotr had had to take some of the work left by Scott and Jean, looking after classes and the students, as well as supporting the remaining staff, and they were few and far between nowadays; Storm, as the new Head, Hank McCoy (when he wasn't on duty as UN ambassador) as a part-time medic and teacher, Warren Worthington III (who gained the nickname Angel) as well as a new recruit and former student Emma Frost, who had given up her role as Chair of an international company so she could help old friends. Then, there was Logan…
Marie stopped in her tracks, next to a window looking out on the gardens and the graves… there he was. Marie stepped behind the curtain he wouldn't see her – not that he's in the mindset to notice, she thought sadly. He was crying. Before Alcatraz and the horrifying outcome, no one would dream of ever seeing Logan emotional, but it seemed last week he cracked. No one was there to see it, but somehow everyone knew about it: The Wolverine had emotions. Now it seemed he grieved at the dead of night, lest he seem too weak. Marie watched for a few moments, as he knelt by the grave of Jean Grey, his hands on top of the headstone, his head bent, sobbing uncontrollably. Her heart went out to him, it really did, but she forced herself to keep moving – this was her night, she would deal with Logan tomorrow.
For while they had all been rushed off their feet, Marie and Bobby had had little chance to themselves, let alone together, apart from the few choice moments, where nothing had gone further than a fumbled kiss. But she was tired of it, tired of the suspense, of the waiting, and so was taking things into her own hands. If a few rules were broken in the process, she thought wryly, then so be it.
So as she tiptoed along the 3rd floor corridor towards his room, Marie started to play out in her head how it would play out. She had gone out shopping with her friend Jubilee earlier in the day (which in hindsight was a mistake, as they spent more time in the mall updating Jubes' wardrobe than hers) and bought some ultra sexy red underwear and a very tempting black slip which she wore over the top, under her normal dressing gown (well, she should retain SOME dignity if caught). Hopefully Bobby would like the effort. She hoped. Oh god she'd waited too long for this, not just to touch, but to find someone, well, to touch with. So as she crept along, past Jean and Scott's old room (left empty), she thought about how this moment would change things. Sure, before she'd got the cure she'd been a bit pissed with Bobby, but that was because she had realised her relationship needed to go further, because in the end, doesn't everyone need to be held? The cure was the right thing to do, she told herself, before Bobby realised that too.
'Right, room 3.19…Bobby's room. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Come on Rogue, breath girl! This is the right thing to do, the cure was the right thing to do, this will be worth it, completely worth…'
'Oh god…' she only noticed the noise from within when she turned the door handle, and by then it was too late. The door swung open. Slow motion took over. A muffled scream. A flurry of movement, and someone phasing through the bed. All of this illuminated by the stars. All the while Marie watched as her boyfriend looked in horror at her, not even knowing what to say to defend himself. Her heart shattered into a million tiny pieces…