Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A/N: You lucky people! I was going to wait a week to post this next chapter, but after the wonderful reviews I recieved, I could wait no longer. So, here it is...

Chapter 2: Home Again

"I could never forget you."

Rogue smiled, much of the pain she had been feeling evaporating. She looked up him trustingly, the way she had that day on the bus when he had told her he'd take care of her. "You promise?"

Logan ruffled her hair affectionately, and leaned down to place a chaste kiss on her forehead even as she hugged him tightly. "I promise."

Five Years Later…

Logan brought the bike to a stop, staring up at the place he thought he had left behind for good. Still taking in the changes that five years had brought the buildings and grounds, he shut off the engine and found himself heading for the polished stones that marked the graves of Charles Xavier and Jean Grey.

Finally, after years spent coming to terms with the loss of the first -the only- woman he ever loved, Logan felt ready to lay her ghost aside. He'd had a lot of time to think, these last few years. It was time to put the past behind him, time to move on.

He came to a stop in front of the beautiful memorial bearing her name. For the first few minutes he just stood there, gazing at nothing as memories of Jean played through his head. The first time he saw her, their first kiss, the moment he knew he loved her…

He let the memories run their course, trying neither to stop them, nor encourage them. Eventually, they played themselves out, and Logan was left staring at the stone marker. Slowly, almost reverently, he knelt before it, carefully placing the bouquet of flowers he'd been carrying on the soft ground.

"Goodbye, Jean."

He waited a moment longer, then rose to his feet, his usual composure restored. Walking quickly, he headed inside, suddenly eager to talk to Storm and learn how things were going here these days.

The school was mostly as he remembered it, but he did notice a few small changes: a new chandelier here, a different portrait on the wall there…in some of the rooms, the carpet had even been changed. He smiled slightly, seeing Storm's obvious influence. They seemed like styles that would suit the weather-witch.

A group of students passed him on the staircase, their curious eyes reminding him just how long it had been since he'd last set foot in these halls. Most of them probably wouldn't remember him, and what's more, he wasn't sure he'd recognize any of them. None except Rogue, that was.

His heart sped up a little at the thought. It had been so long since he'd last seen her, last heard her voice. He tried to imagine what it would be like, seeing her again after five years apart. Would they still care for each other as much as they had before his departure? Logan knew what the answer was for him. Aside from Storm, Rogue was the only person Logan had really missed since he'd been gone.

He wondered suddenly, with a vague sense of unease, if he should have written to her, gave her a call to let her know he was coming. Then again, he hadn't written to her more than five times in the years he'd been gone, and sad excuses for letters they were. Most consisted of no more than a few hastily scribbled lines saying where he was at and that he was okay and she shouldn't worry. Comforting, he knew, but then he'd never been that great at communicating. Mostly the letters were simply to reassure her that his promise was being kept: he hadn't forgotten her.

He had never gotten a reply, but it wasn't necessarily for Rogue's lack of effort. He was on the move too much to ever leave a return address. Still, he trusted Storm and knew Rogue was in good hands here at the school. Besides, she had Bobby. His lips twisted in a wry grin at the thought of his last memory of the two of them together, the day he had left Xavier's school. They had been clinging to each other like there was no tomorrow, and Logan remembered thinking at the time how good they looked together. Yes, the Iceman would have taken good care of his girl.

He had reached the door to Storm's -once the Professor's- office, and hesitated briefly. It had only just occurred to him that Storm might not be all that happy to see him. After all, he had left suddenly, with barely an explanation at all and on very short notice, leaving her to deal with things at the school almost entirely single-handedly.

With a shrug, he lifted his hand and knocked. He was here now, he might as well see what lay in store for him.

"Come on in," Storm's familiar voice directed.

Logan opened the door and stepped inside, shutting it softly behind him.

"I'll be with you in a moment," Storm said, her eyes still glued to the papers in front of her.

Logan said nothing, only waited as she graded the last of the students' work.

"Sorry for the wait. Can I help you?" Finally, Storm looked up; and froze, her eyes flashing in recognition. "Logan?"

The man before her winced at the tone of her voice. It was surprise and happiness, relief and anger all rolled into one. "Hey, Storm."

She just sat there looking at him, the time dragging by until it seemed as though they had been there for hours, when in reality it had been only minutes.

Finally, she stood, and her voice shook with emotion when she spoke again. "'Hey?'" she quoted his own words back at him. "You've been gone for five years, Logan, and all you can think of to say is 'hey'?"

Logan shrugged. "What can I say, I'm a man of few words." He grimaced inwardly at how callous that sounded.

"And few brain-waves, it would seem!" Storm snapped, her tense form suddenly silhouetted by the streak of lightening that flashed outside the window behind her. She glared at him for a moment, then sank back in her chair, looking away. The dark clouds that had begun to fill the skyline dispersed as quickly as they'd come. "I'm sorry, Logan." Storm sounded half-ashamed of herself. "I shouldn't have gotten so upset."

Logan sought to meet her eyes. "Yes, you should have. You have every right."

"Perhaps," Storm conceded. "But just because we can do something doesn't mean we should."

Logan smiled, his eyes lighting. "You sound just like the Professor."

Storm smiled back. "It's good to see you, Logan."

"You too."

A/N: And there you have it: Chapter 2. Hope ya'll liked it. I'm going to stick to my original plan of trying to update weekly, so just remember to check back at about that time for Chapter 3, in which Logan recieves some very unexpected news...

And now, shout-outs to all my wonderful reviewers: DarkAngelmi818, Zotikos, WhiteMoonFlower, frelke, arohalove, pennychick, and Hidden Fear.

Thank you all so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter, and I promise this does get better...we get more into the story in the next chapter.

Oh, and I've got a question: In this story, I've got Rogue's age set at 22/23. I went by the fact that she was 17 in X1, and then I set the date X3 ends at about a year after that. If anyone can tell me whether this is right or not, I'd appreciate it. If it's one of those things no one really knows, then I'll just leave it as is.