Jean saw Rogue come downstairs with a bag slung over her shoulder. "Where are you going?" Jean asked.
"I need to do something," Rogue replied.
"Rogue, are you sure about that?"
"It's okay, Jean. I already talked to the Professor. He knows where I'm goin'."
Jean frowned, obviously unsure. "Where are you going?"
"That's personal."
"Be careful."
"I will be."
Rogue gave the older woman a hug. "I'll be back soon, Jean."
"I know. And don't be too hard on Logan, okay?"
Rogue chuckled. "Telepaths…"
Jean laughed back. "Hey, it doesn't take a telepath to figure out where you're headed."
*** *** ***
Well I play an old guitar from nine 'till half past one
I'm just tryin' to make a livin' watching everybody else havin' fun
Well I don't miss much if it happens on a dancehall floor
Mercy look what just walked through that door
Well hello T-R-O-U-B-L-E
Tell me what in the world
You doin' A-L-O-N-E
Yeah say hey good L double O-K-I-N-G
Well I smell T-R-O-U-B-L-E
Almost ever chin in the bar hit the floor when a young woman, scantily clad enough to make Lady Godiva blush, walked in. Her long brown hair tumbled around her shoulders with ivory streaks falling in front of her face. Her big brown eyes were dark and made it clear that she was there for more than a drink and idle conversation.
I was a little bitty baby when my papa hit the skids
Mama had a time tryin' to raise nine kids
She told me not to stare cause it was impolite
She did the best she could to try to raise me right
Cause mama never told me 'bout nothin' like Y-O-U
Bet your mama musta been another good lookin' honey too
Hey good L double O-K-I-N-G
Well I smell T-R-O-U-B-L-E
From across the bar, Wolverine's nose wrinkled as he took in a familiar scent. He looked up and did a double take as he recognized the woman who had just walked in. "Marie?!" he exclaimed in surprise as he stood up, causing the woman who was sitting in his lap to fall to the ground. She got up and dusted herself off with a "humph!" going off to find someone else to flirt with.
Logan made a beeline to Rogue, pushing anybody who stood in front of him out of his way. He grabbed Rogue by the arm. "What the hell are ya doin' here, Marie?" he growled.
Rogue met his eye defiantly. "What does it matter to you?" She narrowed her gaze. "And the name's Rogue."
"Fine. What the hell are ya doin' here, Rogue."
"I came to see you, Logan," she purred.
Wolverine frowned. "Why?"
"So I can give you a message. Don't even bother coming back to the mansion. Just stay up here with your seedy bars and skanky bar hoes." She gestured to the woman who had fallen off Logan's lap. "If you act like a chickenshit and run off just 'cause somethin' gets you spooked a little then you don't need to be there in the first place. And you definitely don't need to be around me."
"Marie…Rogue…I didn't leave 'cause I couldn't handle what you said the other night. I just needed to clear my head."
"Don't give me that, Logan. All you've been doin' since the moment we met is runnin', and here you are, runnin' again."
"I've never run from anything in my life, Kid."
"You run from everything, Wolverine. Or at least everything that matters."
Logan looked down. "Where are my dogtags?"
Rogue glared at him. "You told me to take care of them. You never said I had to wear them."
Logan glared back. "Get outta here, Marie. This ain't no place for someone like you."
Marie gave him a devilish smile. "I don't know, Logan, I think this place suits me just fine. Reminds me of where we first met. It's even got a cage."
"That's why I'm here, Kid. T'fight. Action starts in fifteen minutes and I want you outta here."
Marie crossed her arms. "I don't think so. I'll think I'll stay right here."
"Look, I don't know what kinda game you're tryin' to play, but it ain't cute. You said you had somethin' to say to me and you said it. Now get out."
"Funny, I don't remember you havin' the authority to tell me where I can and can't go."
"I promised I'd protect you."
"I don't need you're fucking protection anymore, Wolverine."
Rogue sauntered over to the bar and ordered a beer, making sure to hang over the edge enough to give the bartender a good view of her cleavage. Wolverine stood behind her and watched, a low growl rumbling deep in his chest. Rogue sat down on a barstool, spun around to face Logan, took a swig of her beer, then winked.
- Wolverine narrowed his eyes in response then stalked over towards the cage. He could tell it was going to be a long night…
Well a sweet talkin', sexy walkin', honky tonkin' baby
The men are gonna love ya and the woman gonna hate ya
Remindin' them of everything they're never gonna be
May be the beginning of a world war three
Cause the world ain't ready for nothing like Y-O-U
I bet your mama musta been another good lookin' mama too
Hey say hey good L double O-K-I-N-G
Well I smell T-R-O-U-B-L-E
I said hey
I smell T-R-O-U-B-L-E
*** *** ***
Wolverine delivered a punch and his opponent staggered backwards. He paced around the cage some, all the while watching Rogue from the corner of his eye. She was flirting with some guy Logan knew he could tear apart without even blinking. The guy put his hand on Rogue's leg, and she moved in closer, lowering her eyelashes seductively. Wolverine was contemplating just how many ways he could disembowel Rogue's new little "friend," when a sharp punch to the jaw brought him back to reality.
Wolverine whipped around, snarling, as the other man went down, clutching his now broken hand. Wolverine kicked his opponent as he went down, and the man fell to the floor, coughing up a little blood. Wolverine growled as he cracked his neck, knowing that fight was over.
He looked back to see that Rogue was now in that guy's lap. Wolverine grinned ferally. He still wasn't sure what game she was playing, but he decided he was willing to be one of the players…
*** *** ***
"Dance with me, Darlin'," Logan demanded as he walked up to Rogue.
Rogue smiled. "I'd rather dance with Fred here."
"Uh, it's Frank…" the guy said timidly.
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"I'm sure Fred wouldn't mind."
"It's…it's Frank."
Wolverine snarled and Frank cowered in fear. "Never mind..." Frank said in a meek voice.
"You're dancin' with me." Wolverine said.
Rogue stood up. "Fine. But I'm pickin' the song."
"You got it."
Rogue sauntered over to the jukebox and looked over the selections. She reached into Logan's pocket and got out a coin, responding to Logan's gasp with a wink. She put the coin into the jukebox, pushed a couple of buttons, and the song began.
Well you're the real tough cookie with the long history
Of breaking little hearts, like the one in me
That's okay, let's see how you do it
Put up your dukes, let's get down to it!
Hit me with your best shot!
Why don't you hit me with your best shot!
Hit me with your best shot!
Fire away!
Wolverine pulled Rogue against him as they moved on to the dance floor. "Did ya really come here just to tell me to get out of your life?" Logan asked.
Rogue did her best to look innocent. "Of course. Why wouldn't I have?"
"In that dress? All I could think when I looked up and saw ya in that thing was 'oh hell.'"
"What makes you think I wore it for you, Sugah?"
"Who else would you have worn it for? Fred?"
"I think his name was Frank."
You come on with a "come on," you don't fight fair
But that's okay, see if I care!
Knock me down, it's all in vain
I'll get right back on my feet again!
Hit me with your best shot!
Why don't you hit me with your best shot!
Hit me with your best shot!
Fire away!
"Well, whoever you wore it for, it looks damn good on ya, Darlin'." Logan moved closer and whispered in her ear. "Bet it would look even better off ya."
Rogue's heart leapt into her throat. "What…what did you say."
"You heard me, Darlin'. C'mon. Leave with me tonight. I want you, Marie."
Marie started to wonder if maybe she'd gotten in over her head. She'd wanted Logan to notice, to realize what he'd turned away, but this…She hadn't expected this. "Logan, I don't know, I mean…" she started, her voice faltering.
Logan grabbed her arms and pulled her to his lips, kissing her with enough passion to make Marie go limp. "C'mon, Darlin'. You know you want to. It'll be all right."
Marie simply nodded yes.
Well you're the real tough cookie with the long history
Of breaking little hearts, like the one in me
Before I put another notch in my lipstick case
You better make sure you put me in my place
Hit me with your best shot!
Come on, hit me with your best shot!
Hit me with your best shot!
Fire away!
Hit me with your best shot!
Why don't you hit me with your best shot!
Hit me with your best shot!
Fire away!
*** *** ***
Rogue woke in a panic the next morning, unsure of where she was. She tried to sit up, but found that something heavy was holding her to the bed. She realized that is was an arm draped around her waist and then it became clear as to where she was—with Logan! Marie smiled in delight as she moved closer to him. Finally, she had the man of her dreams!
She felt Logan stirring behind her. He kissed her hair. "Mornin' Marie," he said, the sleepy-husky sound of his voice making Marie shiver.
"Mornin' Logan. Sleep okay?" she asked, realizing that she didn't quite know what she was supposed to say in her current situation.
Logan's kisses trailed from her hair, down the side of her face, and across her shoulder. "Slept great, Darlin'. Didn't even have any nightmares. For the little time we were sleepin' that is."
Marie blushed as she thought over the previous night. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever thought anything like that could ever happen between her and Logan. But it had, and here she was, wrapped up in his arms. She wanted to tell him she loved him—sober this time—but she was too afraid of scaring him off again.
Logan stopped for a moment, then rolled Marie over so she was facing him. He looked into her eyes and frowned. "You okay, Marie?"
"Of course, Logan! Why wouldn't I be?"
Logan stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Last night. You're okay with what happened with us?"
"What happened last night that I might not be okay with."
"We had sex, Marie."
Marie laughed. "I sorta noticed that, Logan. I just don't see why I'd have a problem with it." She frowned. "Unless you have a problem with it."
Logan pulled her to him so her head was resting on her chest. "Last night was great, Darlin'. Meant a lot to me."
Marie smiled at him and suddenly the words just tumbled out before she could stop them. "I love you, Logan."
He blinked back, looking surprised, but then leaned down and kissed her forehead when he noticed her wince. "I know, Marie. And it's all right—really."
It wasn't quite the answer Rogue had wanted, but she figured it was better than, "Uh…that's nice…look at the time," or something similar.
She decided to change the subject. "You don't have anything to eat, do you?"
Logan grinned, remembering back to when he'd first met her. "Well, about all they have at this place is stale doughnuts and weak coffee. But there's a little place down the road that makes breakfast all right. No beef jerky though, I'm sorry…"
Rogue giggled. "That'll do. I'm not quite hungry enough this time to actually eat beef jerky."
"Now there's absolutely nothing wrong with beef jerky."
"Sure, when you've got teeth as sharp as yours!"
"I didn't see you havin' any problems with it."
"You'd be amazed what you can pull off when you're starving."
"So are you starvin' now—or could you wait a little while?"
"Depends. What you have in mind to distract me from my hunger."
Logan grinned and moved over her, and Rogue knew her stomach wouldn't distract her again for quite some time.
*** *** ***
Neither Logan nor Marie said anything for a long time as they sat together at breakfast. Marie picked at her eggs, suddenly too nervous to eat. She looked over at Logan and noticed he seemed distracted, too. What if now, in the light of day and out in the real world, he was seeing things differently. What if he thought the night before was a mistake?
"Ain'tcha gonna eat, Darlin'?" Logan asked.
Marie looked up at the sound of his voice. "Yeah." She took a bite of toast, but didn't attempt to eat anything else.
Logan frowned. "What's wrong?"
Marie forced herself to look into his eyes. "Are you going to send me back home now?"
Logan's brow furrowed. "What makes you say that?"
Marie looked back down and shrugged. "Well, you left after I told you I lo…after I said that stuff when I was drunk, and I just thought maybe you'd want me gone now that we've…"
The feel of Logan taking her hand made Marie stopped short. "Marie…Darlin'…don't think what happened between us was just a one night stand. I know I panicked and left before when ya said you loved me, but that doesn't mean I don't care about ya. When you said that, it just took me by surprise and made me have to sort out a few things, that's all. But last night meant something to me. Don't think it didn't. I couldn't stand to think I'd hurt you like that."
Hope gleamed in Marie's eyes. "Does that mean I can stay here with you for a little while, Logan?"
"Yeah, Darlin', it does."
"Logan, I…"
"Eat your eggs, Marie."
Marie just smiled and finished her breakfast.
*** *** ***
Logan watched as Marie sat on his bed, painting her toes some girlie shade of pink. "Don't spill that Pepto-Bismol lookin' stuff on my sheets…"
Marie rolled her eyes. "The color's called cupcake, Logan."
Logan grinned. "Sorry. I should've known that."
"Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?"
"Sure, you do every day. But then again, you're still sleepin' in my bed, so you must just be makin' it up."
"No, you're just sexy and damn good in bed, so I figure that outweighs all your annoying qualities."
"Well, I'm glad I can be forgiven."
Marie giggled.
Logan smiled at her. "You're cute."
"Thanks."
"Really. Sitting there, painting your toes like that…you're adorable."
"Then why were you picking on me about it?" Marie asked, paying more attention to her feet than to Wolverine.
"Because it's fun."
"Gee, thanks. I'm glad to know that tormenting me amuses you."
"Doing other things to you amuses me, too," Logan said, wagging his eyebrows up and down.
Marie sighed. "You're incorrigible."
"And you want me anyway."
"I do? Why?"
"I think this goes back to the whole me being 'sexy and damn good in bed' thing."
Marie sighed. "Oh, yeah…"
Logan came over and sat on the bed with her. "The paint job does look nice, though. Good color for you."
"Thanks."
"Hey, Marie?"
"Yeah?"
"I've liked havin' ya here with me. It's the first time in a long time that I haven't been lonely at all. You make me happy."
Marie looked away from her toes. "Thank you, Logan. That means a lot to me."
He reached out and held her face. "And you mean a lot to me, Marie."
She blushed. "I…I…I don't want to smear the polish."
Logan chuckled. "All right, Darlin'. We won't then."
"Logan?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you really like having me around?"
"Of course I do. If I didn't I would've left that first night, two weeks ago."
"Are you going to leave?"
"When?"
"Ever."
"I don't know."
Marie focused back on her toes again, feeling a stab of pain in her stomach that Logan didn't just automatically tell her that no, of course he'd never leave her. She tried to focus on the fact he hadn't told her that he was definitely leaving either, but still, it hurt.
"Marie…Marie, look at me…"
She forced her gaze upwards.
"Marie, I'm not the sort of guy who can make any promises about his future. I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow, or the day after that. Hell, I don't even know what's gonna happen five minutes from now, but I can tell you that I will never leave you completely Marie, no matter what."
"I know that, Logan. I guess what I'm really askin' is, are you gonna run again?"
"Why do you have to ask stuff like that?" Logan asked as he got off the bed and started pacing. "Isn't right now good enough for you? Why do you have to ruin a perfectly good moment by dwellin' on the bad things that could happen?"
Marie put the top back on her nail polish and set it on the dresser. "I'm not 'dwelling on the bad things that could happen,' Logan. I'm just worried. Things have been good these past couple of weeks, and I'm happy with you, but I never know where things stand, whether or not you're gonna be there when I turn around. Yesterday when I woke up and you were in the other room, I panicked. I thought you'd left me again, and I didn't know what to do. How can I live with uncertainty like that hanging over me all the time?"
Logan stopped, facing away from her. "I…I don't know, Darlin'."
Marie got up, careful not to smear her toes, and walked over to Logan. She ran her hand tentatively down his shoulder blade, then wrapped her slender arms around his waist. "Logan, please…I don't want things between us to be hard on you, but I don't want them to hard on me, either. And you're right…what we have now is great and I'm enjoying it more than I ever have anything else, but I don't want this to be all there is for us. I love you."
Logan turned around, wanting to say something, but found all his words lost in her deep brown eyes. He leaned in and kissed her, savoring the taste of her mouth, the feel of her body molding to his, and wanting to give her so much more than he could. He led her over to the bed and loved her in the way that often felt like the only way he knew how.
*** *** ***
Logan held Marie late into the night, watching the peaceful expression on her face as she slept. He kept playing their earlier conversation in his head and remembering the way she'd clung to him as they'd made love. He brushed a lock of moonlit hair away from her face. She loved him—wanted him to be there for her, and be the kind of man women like her dreamed about. Logan knew he'd never be anything but a disappointment to her, and that thought tore him apart.
I thought that I was passing through
Another town along the highway
I never meant to fall for you
The song Logan had heard before, back in New York with Marie played through his head now. It seemed so fitting now, as Logan thought about how he'd ended up with her. He certainly hadn't been looking for anything like this when he'd gone into that bar in Laughlin City, and not even when he'd agreed to stay in Westchester until Professor Xavier figured out what Magneto wanted. But here she was, and somehow she'd found a way into his heart.
"I don't deserve you, Baby," he murmured, pressing a small kiss into her temple. He started thinking about what had made him leave her back in New York in the first place. She thought that he was afraid of her love, but that wasn't it at all. It was the knowledge that he would someday hurt her and there was no way to avoid it.
He thought back to where it had began for him, back in the bar when Rogue had walked in, dressed to kill. She'd reeked of trouble, and Logan had loved it. He hadn't thought of what would happen the next morning, or any day afterwards. All that had mattered to him was he'd wanted her and she'd wanted him.
When I sleep with you, Maria
There's nothing left for dreams to steal
Then, the next morning, he hadn't wanted to leave. He'd loved the feel of her in his arms, the shy smile she'd worn, the way she'd blushed when she said she loved him. She was so innocent, so pure—so in love.
"She doesn't need to be mixed up with a man like me…"
Logan winced at the thought. He'd known that from the start, but he'd let himself fall into her arms. Part of him wanted to take her away with him, somewhere where they could really be together, away from everyone and everything else, and he could be happy. But he knew that wasn't what Marie needed. She needed someone who could give her what she needed, the kind of love she deserved. "Someone like that Bobby kid that's so wild about her," Logan thought.
He took Marie into his arms and rolled her over on his chest. She whimpered a little, but quickly nestled into him. He held her tightly, not sure of what he was going to do, but knowing whatever it was, it would be what was best for Marie.
I can't tell you what I'll do
But I've a mind to take you with me
And I've got a heart to stay with you
*** *** ***
Marie woke up the next morning to a cold, empty bed. "Logan?" she called. No answer. "Logan?"
Still no answer and she panicked. "Logan!"
The silence tore at her stomach as she bolted up. She looked beside her where Logan slept and saw a piece of paper on his pillow. Her heart sank as she realized what it was.
Marie—
I don't know quite how to say this to make you understand, but leaving was what I had to do. If I stayed with you, it just wouldn't be right. Like you said last night, you could never be sure with me, and that isn't fair to you. You want a man who can give his promise of commitment, and no matter how badly I want to, I can't. I'm not leaving because I don't love you, but I'm because I do. I love you as much as I've ever loved anyone, Darlin', which is why I have to step back. You're the kind of woman who deserves a man who can give her a home, a family, and I can never do that. You need to find someone else, someone who can do what I can't. I know this is breaking your heart, and I hate that I had to leave this way, but it's what I had to do. Someday you'll realize that, too.
I'll always be with you, Marie, and someday, I'll see you again. Hopefully by then you'll have found what you need.
—Logan
Rogue balled the letter up and threw it at the wall with all her strength. How could he do this to her? Didn't he know that she didn't care about a home, or a family, or any of those things? She only wanted him, dammit!
She turned around and started punching her pillow, hot tears stinging her eyes. She'd always been afraid he'd leave again but still, in the back of her mind, she'd never believed that Logan would actually be capable of doing that to her—after all, he'd sworn to take care of her. But he'd done it. He'd caused her the greatest pain she'd ever known, and all under the guise of protecting her. God, how it hurt.
Rogue lay in the bed for the next few hours, just staring up at the ceiling and letting the tears flow. All too soon, however, she knew she had to get up. It was time for her to return to the mansion, rejected and alone.
*** *** ***
To be continued…