Chapter Eleven - Nire's World
The first thing Rogue noticed - besides the fact that she felt sick - was that it was cold, like early, early spring. She was glad that she had put on her coat. The second thing was the people. She could only see a couple humans. It was…unnerving. There were about en people milling around the camp, along with a bunch of children. The children swarmed over to Rogue and Nire, but Rogue was all eyes for the camp. It was a ring of tents around a huge fire pit, which was blazing brightly. Little campfires were scattered throughout the tents. A forest of trees was not far off from the edge of the tents. Far off on the horizon, a stretch of imposing mountains could be seen rising from the tundra, their craggy, snow-covered peaks stretching for the crystal blue sky. The starkly beautiful scene was not marred in the least by the vestiges of a technological civilization.
"English, kiddos, English."
Rogue abruptly realized that the children had been babbling to her in a foreign language. Their close proximity was beginning to make her uncomfortable. They were just little children - what happened if one of them chanced to brush against bare skin?
They were firing rapid questions at her, now in perfect English. "What's your name?" "Where're you from?" "You here to stay?" "Can you do any magic?" "Know how to fight?"
Nire noticed how uncomfortable Rogue was getting. "Hey!" she shouted above their voices. "Back off kiddos." They kids all backed away a couple of steps, but didn't stop talking, obviously teasing Nire. "You guys are incorrigible! Go play a game or something! Come back later." There was laughter in Nire's voice as she shooed away the children.
The kids scattered, and the adults started to migrate towards them.
"This is me family," Nire said, extending her arm and sweeping it in a wide arc. "Welcome to The Band." Her voice changed to project across the entire encampment. "Hey, y'all! Listen up!" All noise stopped and all heads turned to face Nire and Rogue, including those of the children. Rogue was suddenly self-conscious at being the center of attention. "This is Rogue. She's here on a visit, getting away from her life. Make her feel at home." There was a chorus of hellos and warm smiles. "A word of caution." Rogue winced as she realized what was coming. This was what she had hoped to get away from - she thought Nire knew that. "Trust me," Nire muttered. "Like I said before, you're one of the least freakiest amongst us." Her voice rose again. "Don't touch her skin unless it's covered by clothing. Bare skin is lethal. Got it?" There were various noises of assent through out the camp.
Rogue wished Nire had said nothing, but knew that the people had to be warned when there were so many little kids around. Caution on her part just would not be enough.
"C'mon. I'll take you around to meet everyone." Rogue followed Nire around as the fifteen-year-old introduced her to all the people. There were several elves - two of which had ebony black skin, darker than anything she had ever seen - but, contrary to what she had first thought, most were human. There was one ugly little creature with impeccable manners that Nire said was a goblin. Everybody, even though they knew of her skin, offered a handshake and a few words. None of them looked afraid or smelled of fear.
"Are ya hungry?" Nire glanced at the sun. " 'S nearly noon."
Rogue nodded meekly. Her head was whirling. She had millions of questions, but couldn't voice them yet. These people honestly seemed to accept her, this mass amount of people. She was speechless, to say the least.
Nire led her to one of the logs that served as chairs and handed her a bowl of soup from the kettle hanging over the big fire, and took one for herself. It tasted like nothing Rogue had ever had before, but it was good. As she spooned the soup into her mouth, a couple of children came and sat cross-legged in a semi-circle before her.
"Is your name really Rogue?" one of the little girls asked.
"Uh-huh."
"I'm Ivy. Did you mommy name you Rogue?"
"No. Ah named mahself when Ah left mah parents."
"I like it. It's a pretty name. How old are you?"
"Eighteen. How old are you?"
"I'm five. This is my sister, Dawn." She indicated the little girl on her left. The two of them looked scrawny and malnourished. "She's four. The baby's Amariyah. She's only two."
"Hi."
"So what would happen if we touched your skin?"
Rogue unconsciously drew herself inwards, so as to occupy the least space possible. "Well, uh, Ah'd suck out your life force. You'd be dead if Ah couldn't pull away fast enough." Being accepted by these people was not worth the curiosity of a little girl causing her downfall. Best to scare them away now.
"What happened to you?" the wide-eyed little girl asked. The other two looked on silently with huge eyes.
Rogue furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"
"Is it a curse? Was a spell put on you? What happened?"
"Oh. It's just mah mutation." The little girl cocked her head. "Ah was born with it, an' it started affecting people when Ah turned fifteen."
"Why?"
"Well…" This conversation was starting to make Rogue uncomfortable.
Nire noticed this. "Hey," she said sharply. "Not polite. Change the subject."
This turned the girls' attentions on Nire. "Why not?"
"Cuz. It isn't. How would you like it if someone started asking you why your aunt treated you and Dawn like slave labor?"
The little girls' face fell, as did her sister's. "Sorry," Ivy said to Rogue.
Rogue felt sorry for the two of them, their faces looked so pitiful. She figured that this must have been a recent thing; that they hadn't been living with Nire for long. Nire put down her bowl and knelt on the ground, her arms open. The two girls threw themselves into her arms, receiving and giving tight hugs. Nire rubbed their backs and gave them each a kiss on the cheek. Then she sat back on her seat, ruffling their hair. Rogue thought that Nire acted a lot like a mother to them, event though she was only fifteen.
"You girls want some lunch?" Nire grabbed three more bowls and spooned child-sized portions into them, handing them to the two older children. "C'mon Amariyah. You want some soup, too?" Nire took the toddler in her lap and started spooning her bites of soup.
Dawn kneeled before Rogue, putting a tiny hand on her knee. "Stories? You know any stories?"
"Well…" Rogue wracked her brain for stories other than the classic fairytales that would be suitable for such young children.
"Statue of Liberty," Nire said. "Tell them what Logan told you of the fight 'twixt him and Sabertooth."
Rogue glanced questioningly at the three young children. They seemed too young to her to hear such a tale.
"They've seen worse right in their own backyard. It'll keep 'em entertained."
Rogue commenced to tell the story, adding a few fanciful embellishments of her own. The three children watched her with wide eyes as she got into the story, telling it as much with her gloved hands as with her words. She found that she liked storytelling. There weren't any little children at the mansion, only teenagers. She liked the rapt attention of the three little girls, and of the other children who wandered over to listen. Unbeknownst to her, many of the adults were also listening and enjoying her story.
What surprised her was that Dawn climbed into her lap to listen. This left her with only one hand to motion with, but that was enough.
It's her naptime, Nire 'pathed to Rogue, surprising her a little. Although she had known Nire was telepathic, she hadn't really believed it until now. Amariyah was already asleep, cradled in Nire's lap. She still takes sporadic naps, and is probably tired.
So, Rogue held Dawn in one arm and continued her story. She was happy - happier than she was at the mansion, unless Logan was with her. So, of course, generally she was pretty damn happy there, but still…it was very nice here. Once her story was over, the children begged for another. Nire intervened and told them to wait for another time. She and other adults took the sleeping children and put them into a tent. Apparently, each of the adults had their own, but all the kids were in one. The rest of the kids scattered off to various games, leaving only the adults.
"So, are you staying here for long?" a man with shoulder-length blonde hair and gray eyes - Danilo, Rogue thought Nire had called him - asked. The man was dressed rather flamboyantly in complete red.
"No, Ah just needed to get away from my life for a couple of days."
"Ah, the most common reason for becoming a member of Nire's band of adventurers. She should turn this place into a fancy resort for the rich and charge people money to come here."
"Oh, shut up, Dan." The raven-haired woman with striking blue eyes and pale skin who was sitting next to him - they were obviously together - socked him gently in the shoulder. "If she did, you wouldn't come here anymore. Wait, no, you probably would."
Everyone laughed at that. "I'd never charge my family for coming to my resort," Nire laughed.
"Oh," Dan said teasingly, "so now, not only have you coerced us into becoming your friends, but your family, as well?"
"Hey, what can I say. You guys are all I got. 'Sides - who's uncle adopted me?"
"He should have known that was a mistake."
Rogue watched this interplay, amazed. This was a totally different Nire than the one who had stared at the mansion. This one was friendly, and actually joking with people. She was letting others tease her without trying to kill them.
"So, where are you from?" This came from one of the ebony-skinned elves with long white hair and golden eyes. She was leaning comfortably in the arms of a huge man with dark hair and ice-blue eyes. Rogue did not remember the elf's name, but she thought the man was called Fyodor.
"Westchester, New York."
"A city in my world," Nire explained. "You've obviously got about sixty million questions running through your head. Fire away, before you explode."
Rogue paused for a moment to decide what to ask first. "Well… How did you get us here? One second, we were in mah room, then a step later, we were standing here." She was starting to get cold from the incessant win that blew over the tundra.
"Magic. Seriously. It's a gate spell I invented. It's really tiring, but it can get me to anywhere, anywhen. Comes in hand when you're trying to rescue people, but after casting it a couple times, or holding it open for a while, I'm exhausted.
"Magic?"
"Sure. That's one of the things I love about here. Magic doesn't work as well on Earth."
"Where are we, anyway?"
A man in the back answered. "Icewind Dale, on Faerûn, on the planet Toril. Right outside of Ten Towns. Those mountains you see in the distance are the Spine of the World. Over that way are the dwarven mines. Icewind Dale is home to not only Bruenor Battlehammer, ninth king of Mithril Hall, but also the famous drow ranger, Drizzt Do'Urden."
The other ebony-skinned, white-haired elf smiled, his lavender eyes twinkling with amusement. "And I'm sure that draws many people to the frigid plains of the Dale, the chance to see Bruenor and myself, Frajen."
"No, no, no," the man scoffed. "Nobody cares about you. They are coming in hopes of winning the hand of fair Catti-brie, princess of Mithril Hall. Well, she would be if old Gandalug weren't still kicking around."
"Please," the auburn-haired woman next to the dark elf said.l "I ain't fer marryin' anyone, right now. An' may th' gods help ye if me da ever hears ye sayin' that about his many-times great grandda."
Rogue noticed the flicker of sadness that passed across the dark elf - Drizzt's - face at her first statement, and the wistful look as the woman - Catti-brie - glanced at Drizzt as she said it. Interesting, thought Rogue. Crossed signals? Even I can see that they love each other.
"Who…" she was trying to think of a tactful way to put this, her curiosity driving her to ask. "Who's the leader here?" Nire seemed to be it, but that couldn't be. There were so many older people than her.
"Nire," Danilo said. Everybody enjoyed a quick laugh at the slightly shocked expression on Rogue's face. "And may the gods help any of us who try to take that position away from her. She's the one who met us all and brought us together - even the ones like Arilyn and I who don't live here - and she can fight better than all of us. Hurls spells better, too. She's mother to all these children you see running around - waifs whom she's taken off the streets, or rescued from abusive families. And she's a damn good friend to the rest of us, and damn good family, too!"
A resounding cheer went up at this, while Nire fairly glowed with the praise. Rogue was faintly jealous - she had such a large group of family/friends who obviously loved her dearly, something Rogue herself would never have.
"What do you do here?" was her next question.
"Oh, everything and nothing," Nire answered. "Basically, we fight all evil we find and have fun. The best part being, those that live here, at least, never work. Ever. All we do is play."
"Then how do you get money?"
"Steal from the rich, give to the poor, a la Robin Hood. Of course, we always keep our own coffers full. But, basically, any immoral way we can."
"Of course, not all of us agree with these methods," Drizzt said sternly.
"Ah, but you never can catch us, and we always stick to those who have enough to spare. Of course, to mollify those like Drizzt, and we do have a few of 'em, most of us have some sort of skill that we enjoy doing and can sell. Me? I tend to protect trading wagons, or provide flute music for large social events at prestigious houses."
An unidentifiable person interrupted her. "She is so high in demand it is ridiculous." He shook his head, admiration and envy in his voice.
"Thanks, man." Nire smiled at the guy. "Many here carve would or scrimshaw, selling it to merchants in Ten Towns. But, it's all fun and games for us."
Rogue pondered over her next question for a moment, trying to decide if she cold ask Nire, for she was not sure how the girl would react. In the end, she decided that this Nire was changed enough from the one at that mansion to ask. But before she did, another question occurred to her.
"Where's the m-elf who came and picked you up at the mansion? You two seemed almost joined at the hip."
Someone snorted loudly and shouted, "That's how they are all of the time!"
Nire glared jokingly around that circle of people. "He's out hunting for dinner. Or breakfast, depending on when he gets back."
Now, Rogue asked the other question, the one that delved into Nire's past life. "You obviously live here, and yet, you seem extremely familiar with my world." The most noticeable difference - besides the types of people and their clothes - was that everybody fairly bristled with weaponry.
"That's because I was from Earth, originally. Do you want the Campbell's Condensed Soup version of the story?"
"Sure."
"Okay. I had a mum, a dad, an older bro by 14 years, and a sis younger by 16 months. Basically, my family life sucked majorly. My mum was okay most of the time, but my dad was a bastard, my sis was a racist bitch. My bro was okay because I didn't see much of him - he moved to sunny ol' Californ-yi-ay. My social life bit cuz didn't like people, and the feeling was generally mutual - I was this fat ugly kid. So, I retreated into a world of books. By the time I was eight, I was a psychological mess - suicidal, paranoid, trust issues, antisocial, the work. That year, a mage from Krynn, another world, accidentally created a gate into the woods behind my house where I hid out a lot. Raistlin became a friend, and taught me magic. His twin, Caramon and Caramon's friends taught me to fight. According to them, I was a prodigy at both things. My parents knew nothing of this, just thought I spent a lot of time alone in my room and in the woods. When I was nine, my love accidentally stumbled through a gate Raist had created into this world, Faerûn. I saved his ass, and we became best friends. He made me be nice to people, which became a habit. Now that I knew that the places in the books I read were real, I met all the people from them. I convinced some of them to come move up here, to form an adventuring band. My parents eventually found out, freaked out, but there was little they could do. My mum eventually came to accept it. The day I turned fifteen, I couldn't take it any more. I told them that, left, and moved here. Khelben and Laeral had adopted me a while back. Everybody you see here and more, from other worlds, were already my true family. Now, I'm living happily ever after. At least for now."
To Rogue, it sounded like a fairytale. She found that she believed every word the girl had said. She wished her life would turn out that way, ending like a happy fairy tale. Unfortunately, she knew that in real life, that hardly ever happened. Nire was just one of the few lucky ones.
"But, wait, you and that elf aren't just best friends now." She still did not know the elf's name.
"Hell, no! After years of pretending that we didn't love each other, and feeling that we weren't worthy of each other, and the other couldn't possibly love us back, we both accidentally found out that we were being a couple of idiots. And the rest is history."
"They were being completely blind assholes," Arilyn said. "Anybody with eyes could have seen they loved each other and were the perfect match."
"The way anyone could see we were a perfect match but you?" Dan gently teased her, receiving a clout on the head.
Rogue continued asking questions and getting answers. Eventually, all the children had come over, too, and were spread out among the adults, either on the ground, or on someone's lap. When Rogue started to shiver, even with her coat on, Nire tossed her her own forest green cloak and went and grabbed a light blue one from a tent.
Rogue ran out of questions at about the same time she - and everyone else - noticed the golden-haired elf trekking back across the wind-swept tundra. He was carrying - carrying! - what looked to be a…a reindeer towards the camp. He dropped it outside the camp as the older children ran to get knives to skin it. Nire ran and gave him a hug and a kiss, then brought him back to the group.
"That, plus what we already have, should be enough for everyone," he was saying. "Hello Rogue. How are you?"
"Ah'm fine, thank you."
"That's good. Here for a visit? Seeing what the life of Nire I really like?"
"Yes, Ah am." Rogue couldn't bring herself to look like a fool and inquire his name. For now, until someone inadvertently mentioned his name, she would just think of him as Elf. And be careful never to call him anything, even though this galled her Mississippian manners.
The reindeer venison was excellent, although Rogue couldn't quite shake the feeling that (even though she didn't believe in Santa Clause) this might be one of Santa's reindeer. It could be Comet, or Donder, or Vixen. She didn't think it could be Rudolph, because from what she had seen, its nose wasn't red. Of course, she hadn't really watched, the whole thing making her queasy.
After dinner was apparently entertainment/social time. The fires provided enough light to see by. First, Danilo did some humorous ballads, the two most memorably being one about a paladin and one about a knight who wished for a better lance. Next was Frajen, who sung what were apparently classics. He played his lap harp most beautifully. AS the children fell asleep, they were carried off to bed.
Next came Nire. She sang, surprisingly, 'Hero' by Enrique Iglesias. She played a piano that just sort of materialized out of thin air, and Danilo accompanied her on a guitar. Then Jander went up with her, and they sang a harmonized version of 'Iris' by The Goo Goo Dolls. Then, they went into some lovely ballads in a tongue foreign to Rogue, but that was beautiful all the same.
This continued on for some time. As people got tired, they went off to bed. Drizzt and Catti-brie left early, before dark, going back to the dwarven mines. The rest went to their tents. When Rogue started yawning, Nire showed her to a 'guest tent'.
"There are plenty of blankets in there. It should be warm, anyways. I think its one of the ones with a heat spell on it. If not, you'll still be warm. If you need anything, talk to whoever's on watch. Listen closely to me. Don't go anywhere here alone. Make sure someone who lives here is with you. Out here, you need to be constantly on guard, or else you'll get yourself killed."
Rogue nodded tiredly, said good night, and went into her tent. Nire was right - it was comfortably warm. Rogue had no clue how they did it, but magic was explanation enough for her.
* * * * *
Rogue woke up the next morning to the sound of clashing metal. She stuck her head out of the tent, and was relieved to see it was only a couple of sparring kids - practice, it seemed. She quickly got dressed and brushed out her hair. AS she stepped out of her tent, she glanced around for Nire. The girl appeared freakily fast at her side.
"Want breakfast? We got venison bacon - don't ask how they managed to do that - and eggs. Pretty damn good for something Frajen cooked."
"I heard that!" came a yell from across camp.
"And ya know it's true!" Nire shouted back.
"Uh…sure. I guess," Rogue responded.
It was good, if a bit odd. Who's ever heard of venison-bacon, after all? Then Nire sat her down on a log next to an open area in which all of the fighting was going on. Apparently, Nire trained the kids during the mornings. IT was interesting, watching the strikes and parries, Nire correcting hteir grip and stances. Even the two-year-old Amariyah was doing some stuff. Eventually, the group changed and Elf took over, training the adults/teenagers.
"You wanna learn some?" Nire offered Rogue. "We got extra swords and shit. Long bows, crossbows, scimitars, all that happy crap."
"Umm…Think I could learn to shoot a bow?"
"Sure, why not. C'mon."
Nire grabbed two bows and a quiver of arrows. "Hey guys! Keep an' eye on the borders! Don't shoot us when we're comin' back!"
Rogue followed Nire to a ways away from the outskirts of the camp. Nire set up a target, then took them even farther away. Rogue spent an hour learning to hold to hold the bow and arrow, how to release the arrow correctly and how to aim. Then she spent another hour trying to put t he three together and failing miserably.
Then Nire said it was time for lunch. Rogue was glad because her arms and shoulders killed. More venison for lunch. Rogue felt totally refreshed and almost ready to go back home. Seeing this large group of odd people living together as one big family gave her…hope, oddly enough. It gave her the hope that maybe her life could get better. Not that it wasn't already good… but still… it could be better.
Danilo and Arilyn came up to Nire and Rogue. "We're going home, now. 'Twas a wonderful visit."
Nire stood up and gave them each a hug. "Tell Khel I said hello. Maybe I'll take a road trip to Waterdeep in a couple weeks. Haven't been able to wreak havoc there in a while.":
The elf (or did Nire say she was a half elf?), grinned devilishly. "I'll make sure to warn old Blackstaff to get his cleanup crew ready." Then she turned to Rogue. "It was a pleasure meeting you. Hope to see you again sometime."
She got handshakes from both, a rare thing once people knew her power. Arilyn blanched a little - barely noticeable on her naturally pale face - as Danilo twisted a ring on his finger. Then the two faded away.
"Rare thing, seeing Arilyn here," Nire commented. "She hates magical travel."
Elf came and sat with Rogue and Nire, pulling Nire tight against his side. Rogue wished that Logan would do that to her, look at her with eyes so filled with love.
"You're buttering me up for something, aren't you, love?" Nire smiled up into his bronze face.
"No, of course not. You've just been very busy lately, and I'm getting in some cuddling time before you disappear again."
"Okay. Just making sure." Nire snuggled into his side, looking for all the world like a happy kitten.
At that moment, a group of children swarmed over. "Another story! More stories!" they clamored.
The fight between Logan and Sabertooth in Canada, or something like that. Or fairytales are always a big hit.
Rogue elected to tell them 'Snow White', knowing that one best. They listened with rapt attention, a little boy she didn't know the name of crawling into her lap. She enjoyed the little body sitting so trustfully in her lap. But it also made her heartsick for the children she would never have, the babies she would never hold.
* * * * *
Rogue stayed for one more night. Then she asked Nire to take her home. She did not want to stay away for long, on the off chance that Logan would come back when she was away. She wanted to be the first one to see him when he came back, to find out whether it had been a success of not.
Unfortunately, he wasn't back. The Professor did request that she tell an actually body before leaving for an extended period of time, not just leave a note. Rogue readily agreed, then went down for some lunch. After that, she went back up to her room. Scott had given her a copy of Wuthering Heights, telling he she would enjoy it. So far, he was right, and she wanted to get back to it.
She had just picked it up, and was curling up on her bed, when someone knocked on the door.
"Just a sec," she said, putting down her book and getting up. She wondered who it was, because Logan was gone, and the rest of her friends were with their families. Upon opening the door, she saw one of the four who had run from her the other day standing there. He was kind of cute - most definitely Russian. "What?" she said harshly. She wished Logan were here to beat the shit out of the kid - those four had been the first to show such blatant fear in three years.
"I wish to apologize for my behavior two days past. That was-"
"Yeah, whatever." Rogue cut him off and slammed the door in his face. She was still pissed - or was that the Logan in her head that was still pissed…
She felt sort of bad for doing that, so she opened the door again. The Russian kid was just starting to leave, but stopped and turned around again.
"That was inexcusable behavior and I am extremely sorry," he finished off. "I hope you can forgive my gross blunder."
Rogue regarded him for a moment, trying to decide whether or not someone had told him he had to apologize. If Logan had been there, she would not have doubted it. But, he wasn't, and the kid certainly looked apologetic. SO, she flashed him a bright smile.
"No problem."
He seemed to relax and stuck out his hand, surprisingly enough. "My name is Peter."
"Rogue." She shook his hand, letting go quickly. Nervous habits die hard.
"I am pleased to make your acquaintance."
Rogue tried not to laugh at his almost stuffy manners. "Likewise"
They stood in uncomfortable silence, until Peter peered past her and said, "You have a very nice room."
"Thanks." She stepped aside to let him come in if he wanted, which he did. They chatted amiably for a few minutes, then he left. Rogue was still pissed, but somewhat mollified by his apologetic behavior.
Dinner was interesting. One of the new kids - a Cajun with red eyes - was doing card tricks. Apparently he didn't go anywhere without them, because Rogue had seen him shuffling them around at lunch, too. Then, her attention was drawn to what used to be her and Logan's table - hell, still was during the school year, when Kitty and Jubes were sitting with other people. Now, Peter was sitting there, all alone.
Why isn't he sitting with his friends, the people he came in with? she wondered. SO, she excused herself from the teachers' table and went over there, twisting a chair around and crossing her arms over the back. He quickly flipped closed a spiral bound book he had been writing in - a sketchbook, she saw.
"Hey. How come ya aren't sittin' with your friends?" She felt bad for anyone sitting alone, knowing how it felt.
"They are not my friends, just my…" He could not seem to find the word.
"Acquaintances? Traveling companions?"
"Traveling companions. Thank you." HE had the cutest Russian accent. "If you do not mind my asking, why do you sit with the teachers?"
Rogue wasn't quite sure how to answer that. She sat with the teachers because she did. "Because it's summer, because all mah friends are at their parents' or their friends' parents'. AN' the teachers are mah friends, too." Pause. "What's that?" She pointed to his pad.
He self-consciously covered the closed pad with his arm. "Is just some sketches."
"May I see?"
Peter pulled back the pad a little, like he expected her to grab it. "I…do not really like people looking at my sketches."
"Rogue smiled. " 'Kay." Before she could say anymore, the card-shuffler came over.
"Gambit wants to apologize for his behavior the other day."
Rogue glanced questioningly at Peter. Who the hell was Gambit, and why didn't he apologize for himself?
"His name is Gambit. He talks about himself in third person."
Okay. This was just plain weird. Both the Cajuns and all the apologies. Nobody ever apologized for acting like asses, nor did she expect it. She just expected them to stay out of her way from then on.
"Gambit was very rude and hopes you can forgive him." That French accent was beginning to piss her off. She couldn't decide if it was fake or not.
"Fat chance."
Unfortunately for her, he did not take the hint and leave. He continued talking - what she was sure were faked apologies - and pissing her off. No matter how many hints she dropped - nor how blatant - he would not leave. Peter was no help, reluctant to get involved, perhaps not even sure if she wished the Cajun to leave. In a lucky turn, she sensed Logan come in.
Yes! He's home! was her first thought. Then, He'll be able to get this bastard to leave.
Logan saw her immediately - he white streak standing out among the rainbow of other colors. She was sitting with two guys - a Russian and a Cajun. The Cajun was talking earnestly to her, and she looked pissed. When he got closer, she threw him a pleading look. This was something he could take care of, and have some fun, too.
"Beat it, punk," he growled, interrupting the Cajun's fake-French accent.
"Gambit has a right to be here."
"Yeah? Well if Gambit does not get his skinny ass away from my table, I will purée him with my claws. Scram Frenchie."
The Cajun paled and left. Peter, too, started to get up, but Rogue smiled at him and told him he could stay if he wished. So, he sat down again, having no wish to offend her, even though the large man who had just threatened Gambit scared him a little.
"Thank Logan," Rogue said in her soft southern drawl once Gambit had sat down.
"No problem, kid. How long has he been bothering you?" There was a dangerous glint in Logan's eye that made Rogue's heart sing.
"Not long, an' not anymore. Ya scared him off. Peter, this is Logan. Logan, Peter."
Logan grunted what might have been a greeting. If you stretched your imagination. Peter, of course, had a very polite, "Pleased to meet you."
"Did ya find anything?" Rogue asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Peter had opened his sketchpad again, and was drawing with his pencil.
"Nope. Not a thing, kid." This lead had come just in time, giving him a legit excuse to leave for a while. HE needed some time away from Marie, to curb the Wolverine's growing urges to throw her on a bed (or up against a wall, or anything) and ravish her, willing or not. Well, no, only if she was willing, because she was Marie, and he loved her. No he didn't! The lead had petered out to nothing almost on day two. The rest of the time had been spent roaming, and cooling off.
"Ah'm sorry." There was that look that made his heart
flutter! Damn her!
Marie was slowly trying to
inch her way over to see what Peter was drawing. But, before she could get close enough, he closed it, put the
pencil in the spirals, and stood up.
"It was nice meeting you, Logan, and nice talking to you, Rogue." Then he left the dining room.
"Damn it," Rogue swore softly.
"What?" Logan asked.
"Ah was hopin' to get a look at what he was drawin'. No, don't look at me like that. Ah did ask, an' he said he didn't like people seeing what he drew."
Logan rolled his eyes. "Okay, kid. So, how you been?"
"Ah've been good. Kitty an' Jubes are comin' back in a week. Bobby an' St. John in two."\
"Wonderful. The Bee is coming back."
"Yep. She hasn't gotten herself killed yet. Scott can finally walk without the cane, so ya need to find somethin' new to torment him about."
Logan grinned devilishly. "Be assured I shall."
" 'Hamlet' is coming on HBO in twenty minutes. Want to watch it with me?" Marie had missed the contact when he was gone, even though it was only for a couple weeks.
"Sure, kid. That's not going to get over until about midnight, though."
"It can't be that long."
Logan smiled slightly as he followed her out of the dining room. Maybe she would fall asleep and he'd have to carry her up to her room…or maybe she'd fall asleep curled up next to him…he couldn't believe he was thinking like that.
AS usual, they took over one of the small TV rooms, where it would be just them. Logan did not want to have to do the fast-talking he would have to do if someone found him watching 'Hamlet'. Marie curled up on the opposite end of the couch, but Logan knew she would eventually migrate to his side, if the movie were long enough. And this one certainly was.
"This reminds me a bit of some other movie," she said about an hour through. "Ah just can't figure out which one." She expected him to call her crazy, and was surprised when he actually had an answer.
"Disney's 'The Lion King'? Most of the plot was taken from 'Hamlet'."
Marie thought for a minute, then smiled. "Yeah, you're right. How do ya know all this stuff?"
Logan grinned. "I don't remember."
An hour through the movie, Marie was three-quarters of the way across the couch to him.
"Have you read this?" she asked.
Quick check for the scent of anyone outside within listening distance. "Uh-huh."
"Is this anything like it?"
"Yeah. Pretty much."
"Which do ya like better?"
"Books are always better." Beat. "They're both equally good."
This elicited a giggle from Marie, exactly what he wanted. By eleven fifteen, she was a hairs-breadth away from him, where she always stayed until he either moved over a bit or pulled her closer. Since she was already yawning, he voted to pull her closer to him, since that gave him an excuse to leave his arm there. She leaned sleepily into his side, unconsciously wiggling around to get more comfortable. It felt good to have her cuddling into his side. When the movie ended - the funeral of the poor, insane Danish prince - Rogue was asleep, and Logan was pretty damn close. He switched the channel to ESPN, telling himself he would bring Marie up to bed in a couple minutes.
Of course, when he woke up the next morning, that hadn't happened. The TV was still on and he felt a little stiff from sleeping sitting up. Marie's head was pillowed in his lap. Before he could try to get up without waking her, Marie stretched and opened her eyes. Then, once she realized where she was sleeping, she shot up into a sitting position.
"Jeez, sorry Logan. Ah guess Ah did fall asleep."
" 'S okay darlin'. I did too." Damn, but that was nice! He should get her to watch movies late at night more often.
She relaxed against his side for a moment, watching the morning news with them. Then she stood up and stretched.
"See ya alter, sugah. Ah need a shower."
Logan didn't think she realized she had called him that - wait. She did. She was blushing faintly and smelled embarrassed. But he didn't mind - he liked it. There were interesting possibilities if she had a nickname for him…Damn it! He went up to take his own shower. Sick, wrong, dirty old man thoughts.
* * * * *
"Logan?"
Oh, fuck. What was she doing in his room in the middle of the night? "Yeah, kid?" He sat up and flicked on a light. She smelled like a scared Marie. Not of him, and not of being in his room. Nightmares, he bet. Probably his.
She stood there, cupping her elbows in her hands, shivering a little. "Ah…Ah had a nightmare."
He slid over and patted the bed. "C'mon, kid."
She gratefully climbed in next to him, sliding just under the top sheet.
"Get under both, kid." Logan got out and got under the top one, leaving her no choice.
So, she curled up by his side, falling asleep almost immediately. She had him in her head, knew the kind of person he was, knew what he had done, yet still trusted him enough to come to him for comfort after a nightmare. That just floored Logan.
This became their thing. Whenever Marie had a nightmare, she came and talked to Logan for a couple minutes. If it were especially bad, she would sometimes stay there. Logan felt so bad for her - his nightmares scared him shitless, made him want to crawl into bed with someone. He could not imagine what it must be like for her. She still worried a little about hurting him, but she trusted Logan and was careful - long pajamas and a sheet separating them when she stayed. At first, Logan worried about him having a nightmare and hurting her, but he found that, at least on the nights when she was there, he didn't have any. Instead, he dreamed about her…