Rogue huffed, marginally annoyed that Logan wasn't willing to draw their trip out another couple of days. She recognised the countryside of upstate New York all to well, and had missed it more than she thought she would when they had originally set out. With the reality of the trips end looming over her, though, she found herself somehow not ready to be back.

"You gotta face it some day, kid."

Rogue glowered at him across the table of the little diner in Westchester. "Listen, you, I don't have to face anything." She picked up her fork, jabbing it at him before scooping up more hash browns. "If I learned nothing else from you after these last few months together, I learned that."

"Hey! I know for a fact I didn't owe that guy any beer." Logan scowled as he chewed his eggs thoughtfully. "At least I'm pretty sure I didn't."

"That selective amnesia of yours comes in handy, don't it?" She swallowed her food and sipped some coffee. "Who was that chick? The brunette we ran into at the bar in New York City."

"Can't say I remember her." He coughed and speared more egg. "Honestly, I probably slept with her at sometime point. I'm not exactly lily white, darling."

Rogue raised her eyebrows, very much aware that he was not virginal by any means. Flashes of some of his trysts would run through her mind from time to time and they were not PG-13 appropriate, to say the least.

After she'd started dating Bobby, she'd subconsciously started replacing the people in various scenes she'd inadvertently adopted with herself and others when she would day dream. Her crushes had fluctuated over the years, as most girl's did, and it made her blush to acknowledge that it wasn't always Bobby that she fantasised about doing things with. Since they had been broken up for several months, though, he was definitely no longer featured as her partner when she would let her mind wonder.

A pair of burning red irises flashed through her mind, bright with intent, and she drank more coffee in an attempt to cover her blush. Logan didn't even react anymore when her mood would suddenly shift at the thought of her one time, unconventional therapist. The time they had spent travelling together had taken away a lot of the shock of those moments for him. Rogue felt a little remorse over that, but ultimately decided it was for the best. He was going to have to accept that she was an adult female at some point

"Why the long, sullen silences today, Stripes?"

Her eyes drifted back to him and she shrugged. "I know I have to go back, and I want to. I just don't know if I'm ready. The way I left, and especially the way I left things with Bobby, just makes my stomach go nuts. Like Jubilee is in there setting off fireworks as she pleases."

"Yeah." Logan finished off his own coffee and signalled the waitress to fill it up. "Listen, I'm sure Drake will understand. You'd been broken up for a while before we booked it out of there. He's a good kid. He'll understand why you left and he'll forgive you. He forgave you the first time."

"Cause he had a crush on me." Logan's expression said he very much believed the boy still did. "Oh, shut up. What about Gambit, huh? Who's to say he's still there?"

"Said he'd be, didn't he?"

"Sure, but he's also a thief and a conman."

Logan sighed and pushed his finished plate aside. "He's also crazy about you, too. Not too mention, he's honourable. Unless he's working a job and you're part of it, you can trust him."

Rogue, finished with her food as well, pushed her plate away and fell back into the cracked vinyl booth. "I just don't know if I'm ready. I," she paused, waiting for the waitress to leave, again, after filling up their mugs and leaving the receipt. "I'm scared, Logan."

"Why?"

She looked down at her hands. "I think I may be in too deep with him. Which is nuts considering how little time we've known each other for." She closed her eyes and sighed. "It's like, everyday he breaks my heart."

"Rogue, that's just you." Logan tossed some bills on the table, but made no move to hurry her on. "Sure, there was the matter of you being a student, but the distance and the heartbreak? From what I can tell, that's you causing it."

"How can I not?" She groaned and lowered her voice. "My very mutation makes distance a necessity."

"That's why we asked him to come. Kid, we've been trying to get you to realise that it doesn't have to be. You'll figure it out when you're ready. I can tell you this, though, from what I've seen he's gonna be there when you do. Far as I can tell, that damn Cajun has nothing but time where you're concerned."

"Oh, just give it a rest." She got up from the booth and stretched. "Why are we booking it back to the institute, anyway? Classes don't start up for another couple of weeks. We didn't have to get here so quick."

Logan followed her lead out of the dinner. They checked their gear on the bike and mounted. She scowled furiously as he made it very clear he wasn't going to answer.

"I'm not putting this helmet on until you tell me. We have been hauling ass since Salem and I'm ready to know why." He turned to glare at her, but he'd stopped being threatening to her after the Statue of Liberty all those years ago, but he still tried. "Tell me, or I risk head injury."

"Look, Scott's been missing Danger Room sessions for a while now. Jubilee has been able to offer a hand the past few weeks, but she has a life of her own and can't dedicate this kind of time to the X-Men anymore. The older kids are working their asses off, but 'Ro is stretched pretty thin since the Professor has been trying to give her a crash course in running the school in case of his absence."

Rogue smirked at the soft tone his voice took once he mentioned Storm. "You have a thing for Miss Munroe." He raised an unimpressed brow at her sing-song teasing. "Sugar, I've got you in my head. I know Jean wasn't the only teacher you found quite appealing after you got to the Institute."

He grunted and turned back to face forward. "Oh, and after the Statue of Liberty, Jean wasn't the only one your psyche liked to check out."

She quickly shoved her helmet on when he abruptly started the motorcycle. She laughed, and tightened her grip around his waist as he gunned it out of the parking lot. He made a break for the main road and the end of their summer adventure.

Well, her adventure. She considered that this was his normal habit as they pulled up to the mansion. She had always known that Logan had needed it but now she'd experienced what it was like first hand. She heard the echo of his psyche assuring her that if she needed to run, she could and didn't need to give a damn about anyone else, including himself.

They pulled into the garage to see the engine of Scott's bike dismantled and left half way through being cleaned. "Ah, shit." Rogue took note of the thin layer of dust on the parts. "It's worse than I thought."

She noted that the engine itself hadn't even been handled carefully as she took in the state of the parts. Removing her bag from its storage on Logan's own ride, she flung it at the man. Ignoring his questioning gaze, she took off her gloves and knelt down to start assessing the state Scott had left the bike in.

Logan smirked down at her and wheeled a tool cart over to her before heading into the mansion. She wasn't sure how long she was there, dismantling the half-hazard maintenance work and cleaning the parts. After a time passed, she felt a familiar warmth at her shoulder.

"Hey, Remy." She didn't bother looking up from her work but his shadow shifted as he knelt on his haunches beside her. "I'm about done for tonight, I think. I'll have to have Logan check this over but I think I at least manage to get everything apart and cleaned."

"Mighty nice of you, chere."

She paused and looked to the side to meet his eyes. She's known she's missed the fiery orbs, but hadn't realised just how much until she was under his scrutiny once more. He smiled mischievously at her and tapped her nose with his own gloved finger.

"Made an appropriate mess of yourself while you were at it."

"Oh?" He nodded. "An appropriate one, huh? What constitutes as an inappropriate one?" She saw his eyes glow a fraction bright and she was blushing. "Never mind, Swamp Rat. I'm better off not knowing."

"Too late." She rustled up an annoyed glower for his eager expression. "It involves whipped cream and chocolate sauce."

A/N: I hope you enjoy. Reviews are appreciated. Much love from this cheeseball writer.