His first thought upon pulling up to the mansion was that he shouldn't have filled the tank in town. One less thing to annoy One-Eye later. The second was that it was early, really early, and short of some insomnia-induced miracle he would be the only one up and moving in the house. Logan wasn't even sure why he had the urge to ride through the night when they weren't expecting him until this evening, but here he was and the relaxation that eased through his muscles at the sight of the building made one truth clear.
It was good to be home.
Inside, he was heading for the kitchen when he heard someone running down the main stairs. He turned and there she was, framed by the early morning light. She had grown taller and her hair stopped just above her shoulders. She had also filled out a little more, but Logan tried to ignore that fact even as he was noticing it. No question, this was Rogue.
She stood for a moment and smiled. "You're back." He smiled back and then she hurried forward to hug him. "Welcome home." Hugging was good, Logan decided. He hadn't done it in months, and she was always warm and liked to hold tight. She pulled away sooner than he expected. "It's really good to see you."
"Same here." He lifted a bit of her hair. "Nearly didn't recognize you." A complete lie. Even without the scarf and gloves and beaming smile, he would have known her scent anywhere.
"It's been five months, Logan. Things change." She grinned. "Including you." She scanned him. "You look good." She was a little too comfortable taking him in like a piece of meat. Logan wasn't used to her acting so... appreciative. "Careful. Don't want to annoy the boyfriend."
Her smile faded. "Oh, Bobby and I aren't--"
"Logan, it is you!" Storm approached them with a pleasant smile. "You're early."
"And right on time," Rogue added. "We think Magneto's using a building in Maine to train mutants. Storm and I are gonna do a little snooping. We could use your senses."
"Sure, I'm game."
- - -
The building was already deserted when they arrived. They would have made the trip yesterday but there had been an unexpected problem with the jet's engine and Scott had spent the entire night fixing it.
Logan did a quick sweep to confirm that everyone was gone while Storm and Rogue looked for evidence of what had been going on. Aside from some debris scattered across the floor, though, there were only blackened walls and columns and doors. Rogue traced the scorched concrete wall with her gloved fingers, feeling a shiver crawl up her spine. "John did this." The next scorch mark, large and round, made her stop. "But this looks more like an explosion." She heard a small crunch and looked down, moving her foot away. On the ground lay the burnt remains of something small and white. Kneeling down she picked up one of the larger pieces and realized it was the charred corner of a playing card.
"It's clear," Logan called out, walking up to her. "Find anything?"
"I'm not sure."
- - -
Logan was in his room after dinner. There was still the vague scent of cigar smoke in the air, a fact he liked - it seemed to mark the place as his own. There was a knock at the door and Rogue entered. "Just wanted to check on you. Getting settled in okay?"
"Everything's fine. Just the way I left it."
"I can tell. Anyone suffering from nicotine withdrawal would be lucky to spend the night here." He grinned in response and she bit her lower lip. "I have a small confession to make."
He stepped closer. "This could be interesting."
"Oh, well, not really. It's just--remember the week before you left, when you caught me from falling down the stairs?"
He nodded. "Sure."
"Well, when we touched, I actually got an impression from you. Nothing big, but enough, and it got me thinking, so..." She reached into her pocket. "Here." She held out a small white tissue-wrapped package and smiled at his surprise. "It's nothing huge," she said softly, but her face said something different.
Logan tore away the paper and opened the box, and fond himself looking at a pair of shiny new dogtags. Rogue stood by, hopeful. She'd had one inscribed with Logan and the other with Wolverine, and both shared a significant set of numbers - nevermind that she knew his real ID number by heart. Wearing dogtags constantly and fingering the imprinted symbols will have that effect. He held up the dogtags with a smile, then looked at her with an eyebrow raised in question.
"I know the numbers aren't right. When we touched it was just enough to see you... that day at Alkali Lake. Those dogtags meant a lot to you but mostly they reminded you of a past you weren't sure you needed anymore. Those eight digits are the day you were first brought to the mansion." She smiled. "The day we met." Her eyes were steady on his and the smile wasn't fading. "New keepsake for new memories."
She seemed fine but Logan was suddenly feeling uncomfortable and not entirely sure why. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, to fill the silence, but Jubilee and Kitty called from the hall and Rogue turned before he could find any words.
"We're having a competition, guys vs. girls." Kitty announced, breathless.
"It's about time we found you," Jubilee added. "We've been looking everywhere. We're claiming you for our team." She grinned at Logan. "You should watch, Wolvie. Rogue here has some pretty sweet moves."
"I'm in," Rogue agreed. The two ran off and Rogue turned back at the door. "Coming?"
- - -
"Pool?"
"I like it." She pulled the gloves up high on her arms. "It's one of those things I can do with the others without them worrying about contact. I mean, they're usually fine and everything, but sometimes it helps for them to be relaxed, you know?"
Logan stood beside her and watched the current game. She was up next against Bobby and he suddenly recalled what she had started to say that morning. They seemed fine around each other but he'd been gone the entire summer. Whatever had happened, they both seemed over each other.
Once the game started, however, Logan found himself questioning that assumption. Rogue was so busy concentrating on the game and laughing with her friends that the glances a few guys gave as she leaned over for a shot were missed by her. Not by Bobby, though, and the evil glances he shot them made it clear that he was still thinking of her as his girl. Logan couldn't really blame the kid. He knew firsthand what it was like to lose a great catch. Thoughts of Jean appeared in his head but he pushed them away. Now wasn't the time.
- - -
The students' tournament ended late, and after her early morning Rogue was one of the first to leave the group for bed. Logan walked her upstairs but was confused when she kept walking to the end of the hallway. "My new room," she explained, and walked in.
It was the same size and style as Logan's but with small touches like sheer white curtains that gave the room a soft, womanly feel. "What's with the royal treatment?"
"A promotion of sorts, I guess. I'm staying here and commuting to college next year. Professor and I agreed that I might as well get my own place sooner rather than later." Logan wondered if there was more to the story, but she didn't add anything so he didn't press.
"So what you're saying is that I'm stuck with you, huh?"
She grinned. "For a few more years, at least." She busied herself with pulling her hair into a ponytail. "What about you? Think you'll be running again anytime soon?"
Despite her casual voice, Logan knew how important the answer was to her. "I don't know," he answered honestly.
Smoothing her hair, Rogue moved close and looked up into his eyes. "It really is good to have you back," she said softly. She saw the chain around his neck and smiled. "Maybe one day you won't need to run anymore." She pressed two fingers to his chest, with only the shirt between her and his dogtags. "Like I said - new memories. You have a home here with us. Never forget that." She hugged him tightly and again let go before he expected. "Sweet dreams, Logan."
It was good to be home.
Inside, he was heading for the kitchen when he heard someone running down the main stairs. He turned and there she was, framed by the early morning light. She had grown taller and her hair stopped just above her shoulders. She had also filled out a little more, but Logan tried to ignore that fact even as he was noticing it. No question, this was Rogue.
She stood for a moment and smiled. "You're back." He smiled back and then she hurried forward to hug him. "Welcome home." Hugging was good, Logan decided. He hadn't done it in months, and she was always warm and liked to hold tight. She pulled away sooner than he expected. "It's really good to see you."
"Same here." He lifted a bit of her hair. "Nearly didn't recognize you." A complete lie. Even without the scarf and gloves and beaming smile, he would have known her scent anywhere.
"It's been five months, Logan. Things change." She grinned. "Including you." She scanned him. "You look good." She was a little too comfortable taking him in like a piece of meat. Logan wasn't used to her acting so... appreciative. "Careful. Don't want to annoy the boyfriend."
Her smile faded. "Oh, Bobby and I aren't--"
"Logan, it is you!" Storm approached them with a pleasant smile. "You're early."
"And right on time," Rogue added. "We think Magneto's using a building in Maine to train mutants. Storm and I are gonna do a little snooping. We could use your senses."
"Sure, I'm game."
- - -
The building was already deserted when they arrived. They would have made the trip yesterday but there had been an unexpected problem with the jet's engine and Scott had spent the entire night fixing it.
Logan did a quick sweep to confirm that everyone was gone while Storm and Rogue looked for evidence of what had been going on. Aside from some debris scattered across the floor, though, there were only blackened walls and columns and doors. Rogue traced the scorched concrete wall with her gloved fingers, feeling a shiver crawl up her spine. "John did this." The next scorch mark, large and round, made her stop. "But this looks more like an explosion." She heard a small crunch and looked down, moving her foot away. On the ground lay the burnt remains of something small and white. Kneeling down she picked up one of the larger pieces and realized it was the charred corner of a playing card.
"It's clear," Logan called out, walking up to her. "Find anything?"
"I'm not sure."
- - -
Logan was in his room after dinner. There was still the vague scent of cigar smoke in the air, a fact he liked - it seemed to mark the place as his own. There was a knock at the door and Rogue entered. "Just wanted to check on you. Getting settled in okay?"
"Everything's fine. Just the way I left it."
"I can tell. Anyone suffering from nicotine withdrawal would be lucky to spend the night here." He grinned in response and she bit her lower lip. "I have a small confession to make."
He stepped closer. "This could be interesting."
"Oh, well, not really. It's just--remember the week before you left, when you caught me from falling down the stairs?"
He nodded. "Sure."
"Well, when we touched, I actually got an impression from you. Nothing big, but enough, and it got me thinking, so..." She reached into her pocket. "Here." She held out a small white tissue-wrapped package and smiled at his surprise. "It's nothing huge," she said softly, but her face said something different.
Logan tore away the paper and opened the box, and fond himself looking at a pair of shiny new dogtags. Rogue stood by, hopeful. She'd had one inscribed with Logan and the other with Wolverine, and both shared a significant set of numbers - nevermind that she knew his real ID number by heart. Wearing dogtags constantly and fingering the imprinted symbols will have that effect. He held up the dogtags with a smile, then looked at her with an eyebrow raised in question.
"I know the numbers aren't right. When we touched it was just enough to see you... that day at Alkali Lake. Those dogtags meant a lot to you but mostly they reminded you of a past you weren't sure you needed anymore. Those eight digits are the day you were first brought to the mansion." She smiled. "The day we met." Her eyes were steady on his and the smile wasn't fading. "New keepsake for new memories."
She seemed fine but Logan was suddenly feeling uncomfortable and not entirely sure why. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, to fill the silence, but Jubilee and Kitty called from the hall and Rogue turned before he could find any words.
"We're having a competition, guys vs. girls." Kitty announced, breathless.
"It's about time we found you," Jubilee added. "We've been looking everywhere. We're claiming you for our team." She grinned at Logan. "You should watch, Wolvie. Rogue here has some pretty sweet moves."
"I'm in," Rogue agreed. The two ran off and Rogue turned back at the door. "Coming?"
- - -
"Pool?"
"I like it." She pulled the gloves up high on her arms. "It's one of those things I can do with the others without them worrying about contact. I mean, they're usually fine and everything, but sometimes it helps for them to be relaxed, you know?"
Logan stood beside her and watched the current game. She was up next against Bobby and he suddenly recalled what she had started to say that morning. They seemed fine around each other but he'd been gone the entire summer. Whatever had happened, they both seemed over each other.
Once the game started, however, Logan found himself questioning that assumption. Rogue was so busy concentrating on the game and laughing with her friends that the glances a few guys gave as she leaned over for a shot were missed by her. Not by Bobby, though, and the evil glances he shot them made it clear that he was still thinking of her as his girl. Logan couldn't really blame the kid. He knew firsthand what it was like to lose a great catch. Thoughts of Jean appeared in his head but he pushed them away. Now wasn't the time.
- - -
The students' tournament ended late, and after her early morning Rogue was one of the first to leave the group for bed. Logan walked her upstairs but was confused when she kept walking to the end of the hallway. "My new room," she explained, and walked in.
It was the same size and style as Logan's but with small touches like sheer white curtains that gave the room a soft, womanly feel. "What's with the royal treatment?"
"A promotion of sorts, I guess. I'm staying here and commuting to college next year. Professor and I agreed that I might as well get my own place sooner rather than later." Logan wondered if there was more to the story, but she didn't add anything so he didn't press.
"So what you're saying is that I'm stuck with you, huh?"
She grinned. "For a few more years, at least." She busied herself with pulling her hair into a ponytail. "What about you? Think you'll be running again anytime soon?"
Despite her casual voice, Logan knew how important the answer was to her. "I don't know," he answered honestly.
Smoothing her hair, Rogue moved close and looked up into his eyes. "It really is good to have you back," she said softly. She saw the chain around his neck and smiled. "Maybe one day you won't need to run anymore." She pressed two fingers to his chest, with only the shirt between her and his dogtags. "Like I said - new memories. You have a home here with us. Never forget that." She hugged him tightly and again let go before he expected. "Sweet dreams, Logan."