Two Freaks together

It needed almost another week till she spoke again. Everybody waited for it to happen and they were disappointed when it didn't. Nobody blamed Logan, it was still a wonder that he got a word out of her.

Logan walked through the park when he saw Rogue, sitting under a tree. He stepped closer very quiet and then he stopped a few metres in front of her.

"Hey", he softly said.

She looked up startled. When she recognized him, she began to relax. She watched and he sat down beside her but far enough not to make her run away.

"What are you doing here"? Of course she didn't answer. But he acted like she had. "Yes, your right. This is a good place to think about stuff", he said.

She looked up again in surprise when he kept on talking. "And why aren't you with the other kids"?

She remained silent. "I understand you, I don't like crowed places either", was his answer.

She grinned a bit and he smiled. He got what he'd wanted. "You're completely off your rocker", she said with a unsteady voice.

Her speaking let his heart beat faster but he acted normal. "I am. I'm a genuine Freak, ya know", he said and grinned.

She nodded. "Me, too". And suddenly he knew he had her trust. He came a bit nearer.

"I don't see any reason that makes clear to me that you're a freak. I mean your look quite normal. In a beautiful way, of course", he stated.

She flushed. "It's my gift that makes me a freak", she quietly said. His heart stopped.

"What's your gift"? She took a deep breath but in that moment somebody appeared at her side. It was this boy Bobby. He smiled but Logan realized he was too close. The boy was able to touch her and he was sure she would run. And she did.

She jumped up and ran to the wood. Logan glared at Bobby. "Stupid Idiot", he yelled and followed her quickly.

He walked through the dark wood and yelled her name. "Rogue! Rogue where are you? Come out, the dick is gone. Rogue"!

"My name's Marie", she whispered suddenly. He turned around to see her squatted by a tree. She took her knees to her chin and sniffed.

He carefully sat down beside her. "What are you scared of? Is it touch? Why are you so frightened that somebody could touch you?"

She didn't answer. A terrible suspicion entered his mind. "You haven't been.. you know.. raped or something like that, right"? He asked in a shaky voice.

She looked at him and shook her head. "No, don't worry. It's because of my gift". He sighed. "Wanna tell me what your gift is"?

She sniffed again and closed her eyes. "If people touch my skin they get hurt. I can't explain, they just hurt themselves, or die. Guess I got poisonous skin".

He stared at her in shock. That explained everything. Her being so scared of people for example. He hold his hand out.

She looked up. And his crawls snapped out. She gasped. "Look at these. But that's not my mutation. I can't remember how I've got the crawls. Just as little as I know, where I come from, who my family is and who I am".

Her eyes filled with tears. "Guess, we both haven't got so much luck in our past, right"? He nodded. "But ya know what. We move on, don't we?"

She whipped her tears away. "I don't know how". He hold out his hand. "I'll show you".

She stared at his hand. "Aren't you scared of my skin"? He laughed. "But dear, your skin is covered with gloves, isn't it? So why hesitate"?

"I haven't touched anyone since a couple of months", was all she said. And the sad look that crept into her eyes by this , tore his heart apart.

"What? None of this stupid geeks, gave you a single hug since you're here"? The fact made him angry and sick. She was young, she longed for love and they weren't able to give her at last one simply hug.

"I didn't let them. They don't know who I am and what my gift is. They don't know anything. But that's not their fault, I just didn't speak", she said quickly when she saw his anger.

And suddenly she felt strong and warm arms around her. Her first impulse was to flinch away but she didn't. And then she pressed herself against his chest and began to cry. The first time since months. He just stroke her hair and let her. There he was, holding this sad little girl in his arms and his heart started to beat madly in his chest. She was so beautiful and she was like him. He only knew her since a few weeks but he was sure that he could trust her and that she would trust him. Him, the bad, hard monster with the crawls. It didn't seemed to bother her.

They stayed in the woods a few more hours till she fell asleep in his arms. And he stood up and carried her out of the cold back into the mansion.

Jean ran to his side. "Where have you been? We looked for you everywhere. Is she okay"? He nodded and looked down on her sleeping form.

"I'll tell you everything. Call Charles, Scott and Storm to meet me in the office", was all he said and then he walked to his room. Carefully he laid her down on the bed and covered her with his blanket. He watched her, sighed and quietly left the room.

Soon the whole team sat in Charles Office.

Charles rubbed his chin thoughtful. "So, that's her gift. Well, it explains her fear for people but not why she didn't talk", he said and turned to Logan.

Everybody looked at him, waiting for an explanation. He cleared his throat. "I don't know"! They sighed disappointed.

"Well, you can ask her, can't you. You're the only one she trust", said Scott.

Logan was nervous. That was what he tried to avoid his whole life. Having responsibility for someone. He hated it, it scared him. He didn't think he was the right one for taking care of people. He couldn't mange to be reasonable and stuff. And now this heavy burden in form of Rogue laid on his shoulders.

He stood up and turned to the door. "I'll see what I can do", was all he said. Then he left.

Quietly he sat down beside his bed and watched her. Not matter how much it scared him, he would take care of her. He would protect her with his life. And he had no idea why he was feeling this way.