'~*~'

"Um… The kitchen is the other way," Rogue piped up after she realized they were walking in the wrong direction.

"Storm asked me to take you to lunch, not to the kitchen," Nathan answered.

"So… We're leaving campus?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No…"

"Good," he smiled. She followed him to the garage, apprehensive of the stranger she was about to crawl into a car with. It was not that she did not trust that he was a good person; she was slightly frightened by Storm's intentions. Why had she wanted Nathan to take her to lunch? Was she about to be interrogated? Nathan noticed her hesitation and let out a small chuckle.

"Storm wants me to talk to you," he explained, brushing a piece of chocolate brown hair from his eyes.

"About what?"

"What do you think?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Logan," she guessed. His answering smile was her confirmation.

"Come on, get in," Nathan ordered kindly. With a tired sigh she complied climbing into the passenger seat of his Prius. Normally she would make some sort of jab at his masculinity for driving such a car, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to do it. Somehow he managed to make the Prius, sexy.

The two sat in silence as Nathan drove them to a small diner nearby. When they arrived, Rogue couldn't help but wonder how Logan was doing. He had to be doing better by then, but this did not put her worry at rest. Nathan seemed to notice her distracted gaze as she climbed out of the black car.

"Marie, he's fine,"

"Huh?"

"Logan, he is fine,"

"How did you know I was thinking about him?" She suddenly wondered if he was a psychic.

He gave a small chuckle, "Lucky guess I suppose. What else would you be thinking about?" She shrugged in response, he had a point. They walked into the friendly little diner. It wasn't very busy but there were a few people seated in booths chatting happily. A few glanced in their direction, their eyes pausing an extra beat when resting on Rogue. No doubt they weren't used to seeing a girl dressed in gothic attire. She ignored the pressing stares and followed a young female waitress as she led them to their table.

"Can I start you off with something to drink?" She asked, pulling a notepad out from her apron and giving Nathan a friendly smile.

"Iced tea will be fine,"

"And you?" When she turned to Rogue her smile vanished and the warm tone she had used with Nathan was gone.

"Same," Rogue gave her the best smile she could, showing she was unfazed by her cold demeanor towards her.

"Alright, I'll be right back with those,"

"You know, I was under the impression that sort of stuff only happened in movies," she snorted once the waitress was out of earshot.

"What stuff?" Nathan wondered.

"The whole, waitress flirts with attractive guy and turns the cold shoulder to the girl he is eating with,"

"Ah, that, yes well you should take that as a compliment. Obviously she is intimidated by you, thus why she was being so rude," he explained. She couldn't help but blush slightly at his compliment. It's not that she had any romantic interest in the man before her, but he was attractive. As his icy blue eyes met hers, she couldn't help but be reminded of Bobby.

"Are you and Bobby related?" She blurted. The question caught him by surprise.

"Why do you ask?"

"Your eyes, they're the same colour as his are," she shrugged.

"Many people have blue eyes," he chuckled.

"Blue, yes. However, most people don't have that specific colour of blue; it's very beautiful and very noticeable,"

"You are very observant. Yes, we are related," he smiled.

"Well…" Rogue hinted for him to explain. He gave out a long sigh before allowing his smile to fade.

"He and I haven't talked about it much. I'm his older brother, but neither of us knew that until recently," he explained, "Technically we are only half brothers. We share the same father, different mothers though. It seems as though our father wasn't very faithful to Bobby's mother,"

"And… He had an affair with your mother?"

"Yes. Then, about three years later, Bobby was born. I wanted to find my father, but my mother never told me who it was. A couple of years ago I came here, hoping to learn more about my own mutation, and I met Bobby. I suppose it's sort of funny, the way some things happen. It was Thanksgiving and we agreed to spend dinner together with our families. When I told him that I only had my mother, he invited us to come eat with his family…"

"Hold on, last time I was at Bobby's house, his brother called the cops and his parents flipped," Rogue interrupted.

"Well, either he patched things up with them, or they were just on their best behavior because it was a holiday. Anyway, we went over to his house and, well, his father recognized my mother and she recognized him. It wasn't a very friendly Thanksgiving. After a long scream out, some crying, and a cold turkey dinner, Bobby and I came to the full realization that we were brothers. We aren't exactly close friends anymore due to the slight awkwardness of the situation,"

"That's understandable I suppose,"

"Sorry for taking so long with your drinks, can I get you guys something to eat?" The waitress returned and pulled out her notepad once again. As she had done before, she focused most of her attention on Nathan.

"I'll have a bowl of clam chowder,"

"Alright… And you?" She turned to Rogue with a tight smile.

"Grilled cheese,"

"What type of soup would you like with that?"

"Tomato,"

"Okey dokey then, I'll get those to you shortly," she gave Nathan one last smile before leaving to serve another table.

"Anyway…" Rogue giggled slightly.

"To be honest this isn't exactly what I had in mind when I was told to take you to lunch. I shouldn't be talking about myself. The point was to talk to you about your relationship with Logan," he sighed seriously.

"We're just friends," she responded too quickly.

"Right," he snorted, "And I was just elected President of Russia,"

She ran her gloved fingers through her hair, "What is there to talk about?"

"Well obviously you're upset by it,"

"I'm not upset by my relationship with him. I'm upset because I can't touch him without nearly killing him, or anyone for that matter,"

"Yes, Storm talked to me briefly about that. I do not know the full extent of your mutation. How long can you touch someone before it takes effect, how long does it take to cause serious damage, and how long do you have a mutant's powers afterwards?" He wondered with genuine curiosity.

"Would you like to find out?" She asked sarcastically, pretending to start taking off her glove.

"No," he laughed, "I'd rather not. All joking aside, how long did it take for Logan to get hurt when you kissed him?"

"What?" She squeaked. Had someone been watching?

"Well, I'm assuming that's what happened," he shrugged. She relaxed slightly.

"My eyes were closed, but I am guessing it only took a few seconds," Rogue admitted, her gaze dropping to the table.

"No need to look so ashamed about it. It's part of who you are, you shouldn't worry about it so much. However, I do think you need to be a tad bit more careful," his comment sparked up a small flame in her chest, and not a good one like the one she had for Logan.

"Be more careful? Yeah, I'll just do that," she snapped, "I want to see you be around someone you love and not be able to touch them!"

He seemed unfazed by her outburst and his voice remained even and smooth, "I can't imagine what that's like, not being have any skin contact with someone you care about. However, the point is, you can't. It's terribly unfortunate, but it is the life you have been saddled with. I want you to make the best of it. I believe, soon, you will learn how to control your mutation and be able to touch again, but until that day, I think you simply need to be more careful. Hormones and feelings can be dangerous for mutants in your position. I do not want to see you or anyone else hurt,"

"I know," she slumped back into her seat, "Logan isn't exactly helping the situation,"

"I'm sure Storm is speaking to him at this moment,"

"It's not just him, either. I mean, I'm a grown woman and I…"she trailed off awkwardly.

"We're both adults, it's okay,"

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I would mind having some fun once in a while,"

"You mean sex?"

"To be blunt, yes. I'm not saying I want to whore around, but when I started off with my job as a stripper I couldn't help but want to be able to explore that side of life. There was this guy, he was young and attractive, and he came into the club. I had just finished my shift and I was at the bar getting and drink and he approached me. We talked a lot and he turned out to be pretty nice. Of course, I knew he was only talking to me because I wasn't wearing much and he just wanted me in bed, but I didn't really care. Anyway, he reached out to rub my leg and…" Rogue trailed off sadly.

"That was the day you learned your powers had returned," he finished for her.

"Yes,"

"Was he okay?"

"Yeah he was fine. He was more freaked out than anything. Ha, if he thought he was scared he should have felt how I was feeling. I don't think I had ever been so horrified in my life," she laughed dryly.

"Marie, I'm very sorry," Nathan said sincerely, resting on of his hands on hers. The warmth that seeped through the fabric was comforting and that annoying itch to remove her gloves returned. "Technically, you could touch me if you wanted, it just won't be very warm," he muttered softly. Her eyes flickered to his questioningly. "Bobby and I share the same power. Normally that doesn't happen amongst siblings, but apparently it did with us,"

"So… How does that help with me being able to touch you?" her brow furrowed slightly in confusion. He chuckled lightly and lifted his hand, his palm facing hers. Slowly, his skin turned a slight bluish colour and sparkled like ice.

"Go ahead," he encouraged.

"I don't want to hurt you," she shook her head.

"You won't,"

"How do you know?"

"I just do,"

"How do I know?"

"You'll just have to trust me," a playful smile curved Nathan's lips. His other hand reached out and tugged lightly at each finger of her glove until finally it slid off. "I'll be fine, I promise," Rogue sucked in a sharp breath as she hesitantly raised her hand until it was only inches from his. He closed the distance between them, pressing his palm into hers. She was slightly shocked by the chill, but even more shocked by the fact that he wasn't on the ground writhing yet.

"How?" She mouthed.

"I can form and extremely thin layer of ice over my skin. It's thin enough to leave my skin feeling nearly the same as it would without it, but just a bit colder," he explained.

"Wow," she murmured, tracing the lines in his hand. She couldn't believe it. It felt like real skin, it was real skin. She didn't even mind the fact that it was noticeably cooler than a normal human. The feeling was indescribably sweet and wonderful. Her entire body came alive in response. Without thinking she leaned forward and buried her cheek in his hand.

Nathan watched Marie with amusement and curiosity. She was completely engrossed with the feeling of his skin against hers, and he found himself slightly distracted as well. She was beautiful no doubt, and like any man would, he couldn't help but find the feeling of her skin enjoyable. He was careful not to move, fearful that his attraction would be given away, and instead let her have her moment. Obviously this was huge for her and in no way did he plan on ruining it. Besides, he rather enjoyed watching her. It was like looking at a small child holding their first stuffed animal. It was sweet and innocent.

Although he was sure she was simply doing it because she was lost in the experience, he couldn't help but shiver slightly as her lips pressed against each one of his fingertips.

"Marie I…" He stuttered a bit, "I understand that you are Logan's girl, but I am a man. My self control is not as strong as you are obviously giving me credit for,"

"I'm sorry," she blushed deeply, "I just, it feels so wonderful,"

"Yes, I know," he laughed.

"Can do you that to other people? Cover their skin in ice I mean?"

"Unfortunately, no. It will melt almost immediately unless I am close by or physically touching them at all times," he apologized, already guessing what she intended to ask.

"Oh," she sighed, still holding his hand.

"I'm sorry Marie,"

"It's okay I just wish there was some way… I just want to be able to kiss him without killing him," her eyes were filled with longing and sadness. It made him want to reach out and comfort her, to brush her cheek softly or pull her into a hug. Dammit, he thought to himself, she isn't mine. She is Logan's. Logan is my friend and I could never try anything. But she is just so beautiful and sad. She just wants a kiss… No, you can't and you won't. He internally fought with himself. What was wrong with him? This wasn't the first time he had had problems with self control, but this was the hardest because he was indeed friends with Logan and he had no intentions of hurting him. Besides, he barely knew the girl at all.

Rogue watched the conflicting expressions flash across Nathan's face but she was too distracted to ask what was happening. She could not get passed the fact that she was touching someone, a person. Granted, yes, she was upset that she would not be able to have this opportunity with Logan any time soon, she was just happy that her frustrations could slowly be released. She heard Nathan give out a long tired sigh before she met her eyes with his icy blue ones.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Would you…" He gulped nervously, "Would you like to kiss me?" She was stunned.

"What?"

"I don't mean it like that!" He practically yelled defensively.

"Well what do you mean?" She eyed him skeptically.

"You seemed so upset by what happened with Logan, and I know how much you've missed skin to skin contact. I was just wondering if you wanted to kiss me. Purely for frustration reasons of course," he explained. She couldn't deny that the offer was tempting, but she was in love with Logan. She honestly didn't really want to kiss anyone but him. However, here was an attractive guy who she could actually touch, offering her something she had wanted for the longest time: A simple kiss. Just one, that's all. It will mean nothing, obviously. I love Logan and as Nathan said, it's purely to get it out of my system. The longer I let this boil inside me the harder it will be.

"Okay," she finally said. His eyes lit up with surprise.

"You're sure?"

"Yes," she breathed. They both didn't move at first. Finally, however, Nathan leaned forward over the table slightly, his eyes never leaving hers. She mirrored his actions until they were only inches apart. His breath was shockingly cool against her face. Odds are he was putting ice over his lips thus the cold breath, but instead of make things weird, she actually kind of liked it.

"Don't tell Logan please, he gets angry really easily," she muttered.

"Of course,"

With those last two words they were kissing. It was soft at first, totally innocent and scared. Rogue was absorbed in the feeling of his lips against hers, finding the coldness of his lips to be almost refreshing. She deepened the kiss, not out of passion but out of pure wistfulness. She had waited for so long to be able to kiss someone without putting them in danger, and now she was. It didn't hurt that he was fairly hot as well. Finally, however, she pulled away, breathless and in shock.

"Wow,"

HEADS UP! I know I'll get reviews saying things like "She can't be with Nathan!" and "She belongs with Logan!" She is still going to be with Logan. I just wanted to add… Temptation and leave some doors open for many possible future conflicts. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, please review!