Nightmare/Dream
Logan ran his hand up her side to tangle in her hair; his breathe hot and moist against her neck. Rogue began moving her hips up against his in a persistent rhythm, while he placed butterfly kisses along the sensitive skin of her throat. When he bit down she cried out her pleasure, only to have his lips silence her. He thrust his tongue into her mouth with an almost brutal force, demanding her surrender. She felt as if she were being devoured, and basked in the pleasure he was giving her. She returned the kiss with everything she had when Logan stilled above her. The veins in his face and neck began to bulge as the pull began and she felt everything he was begin to flow into her. She tried to push his body away, but he was so heavy and her arms were restricted. She looked down at her hands to see them cuffed into the machine that had nearly killed her. Logan fell away from her and began to bleed from a myriad of wounds. Rogue closed her eyes and felt the rain fall on her skin. She watched as her parents were dragged away towards certain death; she began to cry as she strained toward them, the hands of the soldiers holding her back. Her futile attempts to struggle were rewarded with the sound of groaning metal, the butt of the gun barely registered when it made contact. She came to when the first faceless doctor cut into her skin, her screams muffled by the green liquid that invaded her mouth and nose. The feeling of liquid metal being poured onto her bones made her thrash as much as the restraints allowed. She felt like her skin was on fire, the burning metal unbearable. She thought she would lose her mind from the pain and opened her mouth in an endless scream.
Rogue woke up with a scream, every inch of her skin on fire. Her body was drenched in sweat and every muscle ached. She quickly got out of bed and ran to the bathroom to empty the contents of her stomach. When she'd finished retching, she ran lukewarm water into the tub hoping to extinguish the fire in her veins.
As she sank into the water she felt the burning subside and began to cry. The after tremors of the nightmares combined with the pain from the gene therapy frayed at her nerves. She began to wonder if she could go through it all again, and if it would even work. Once she'd gotten the wrenching sobs under control she released the drain and began to towel herself off.
The pain was a small price to pay if it meant being able to touch again.
It was late when Logan and Scott finally got back. They'd been gone for little less than four weeks, and neither had gotten any sleep in the past 36 hours.
Logan had changed into a pair of jeans and a flannel during the flight back and was looking forward to crashing in a comfortable bed. He'd lived in less than desirable conditions for a long time, but he'd become accustomed to a decent bed, and a hot shower, and at that moment he was in desperate need of both. He was making his way down the hallway, duffel thrown over his shoulder, when he was assaulted by the brightest yellow jacket he'd ever seen.
"Hey Wolvie." Jubilee began to fidget with the buttons on her jacket at his approach. He could smell the apprehension on her as he got closer.
Logan nodded his head in her direction in greeting, as she fell into step beside him.
"Something on your mind Lee? It was a long trip and I have an appointment to keep with my bed, so if you could spit it out that would be great." Out of all of Marie's little friends Jubilee was the one he could tolerate the most. He had a grudging respect for the girl; she was good to Marie, and she was there for her when he couldn't be. He stopped walking and looked over at the Asian girl who had finally stopped playing with her buttons.
"Well, I know you just got back and all, but…. I'm worried about Rogue."
With those words she had his undivided attention. Logan felt his hackles rising when he asked, "What's the matter with Rogue?"
"She's hardly been around lately, which, ya know, isn't cause to worry or anything but when she HAS been here all she does is sleep. She's been shying away from everyone even more than usual, and her nightmares have been out of control. She's woken up screaming every night this week, and she won't talk to me about it. Every time I try to get her to open up she acts like she doesn't have the energy to get into it. I figured if anyone could figure out what was going on with her, it'd be you."
Logan rubbed the bridge of his nose as he processed everything Jubilee said. If something were wrong, Marie would tell him. In 15 years of remembered existence, she had been the one person able to get to him. She'd caused him to care, and because of her he had a home. She was the one person he'd learned to love, even if the thought did still scare him shitless. The fact remained however; he loved her, so he stayed. While he gave her time to grow up, he joined the team, he went on missions, and he even taught classes. With a sigh that sounded more like a growl he began to speak again.
"Look kid it's late, I need a shower and a decent nights sleep before I'm gonna be any good to anybody. First thing in the morning I'll find out what's goin on with Rogue ok?"
Jubilee visibly relaxed as she nodded her understanding. She began walking down the hall when Logan called out to her again.
"Hey Kid!"
Jubilee turned halfway on her heel to look at him before answering, "Yeah Wolvie?"
"You did good. Coming to me. Rogue's lucky to have you for a friend."
Jubilee smiled. "Aw shucks Wolvie, don't start getting all soft on me. It'll ruin your reputation." She winked as she turned back around and made her way to the room she shared with Marie.
Marie woke from another hellish night feeling weak and feverish, clutching the dog tags Logan had ordered especially for her. She looked down at her hand, wondering at what point during the night she had grabbed them.
'Could have sworn I left these in the nightstand,' she thought drowsily. Rogue untangled herself from her ravaged bed sheets, and walked on shaky legs to the bathroom. She took one look at her haggard appearance in the mirror as she slipped the tags over her head and groaned. Dr. Agee had explained that there would be side effects, but she hadn't realized they would be this bad.
'I can DO this,' she thought to herself,' just a few more weeks, and it'll be done and over with. What is a few weeks of pain compared to a lifetime without touch? I can do this.'
She repeated the mantra to herself over and over again as she pulled the brush through her two toned hair before pulling it back into a loose pony tail, the platinum streaks falling free to frame her face. She brushed her teeth quickly and slipped into a pair of jeans. Jubilee had an early class and was out of the room, and Rogue took the opportunity to turn on the radio. She'd just slipped on a bra and shirt when there was a knock at her door.
She smiled, already knowing who was on the other side. Metal fingers had a distinct sound even to those without enhanced senses. Logan was finally back.
"Come in sugar," she called.
When he opened the door and stepped inside, she giggled.
"What's so funny kid?" he asked with a hint of confusion.
"Your hair got long. What, they didn't have any barber shops where you were?"
Logan leaned against the door frame casually, while Rogue reclined on the bed.
"When you're undercover you don't exactly have time to stop for a haircut Marie."
"I'll bet Scott's hair looks the same," she smirked.
"He cuts it himself."
"Why didn't you ask him to trim yours wild man?" Her smirk had become a full blown grin at this point.
Logan let out a short bark of laughter.
"You think I trust Scooter with a pair of scissors to my head? Healing factor or not, I don't fucking think so!"
"Wuss," Marie teased.
"My healing factor covers a lot of things darlin' but pansy ass haircuts ain't one of em." He grinned at her before walking over to sit on the bed.
Marie leaned over and put her arms around his neck mindful of her uncovered hands.
"I missed you Logan," she whispered into his neck.
"Missed you too kid," he whispered back, taking the opportunity to breathe in her scent as it washed over him. He made a mental note of the changes since he'd been gone, and the heat of her skin against his.
"You feelin' ok girl?" he pulled back slightly to look at her.
She pulled away almost reluctantly before answering. "Not sleeping well, think maybe I'm coming down with something." She brushed a wisp of hair away from her eyes and looked down at her bare hands.
Logan cocked his head in the direction of her radio, "Well this shit IS pretty nauseating."
She clocked him lightly in the arm in response and pulled her legs up onto the bed to rest her chin on the tops of her knees.
"Marie?"
"Yeah Logan?"
"I liked it better when you listened to the depressing shit. At least that didn't make my ears bleed."
"Wolverine," she huffed indignantly," if you have nothing better to do than make fun of my taste in music you can just leave right now Mister." She threw a lopsided grin at him as he got off the bed.
"Join me for lunch kid?" he asked.
"Sure thing Logan." She smiled a brilliant smile up at him and he headed for the door.
Back in the relative quiet of his own room Logan thought about Marie. She'd seemed ok, a little tired, but Jubilee had mentioned that she'd been having nightmares. There were nights that he still woke up in terror; claws unleashed and ready to shred the non-existent demons that haunted his dreams, and she had Magneto's horrors on top of everything else. She'd told him once about the concentration camps, and the furnaces. How the smell of burning bodies would pervade and corrupt her dreams, and how she could still smell it days later. He tried to steer his mind away from that line of thought and instead concentrated on Marie herself.
He could still smell
her shampoo on his shirt, and inhaled deeply.
There had been
something odd about her scent, and he couldn't quite place what it
was. The shampoo scent was the same herbal rose she favored, and she
hadn't been wearing any sort of perfume. Her clothes smelled of
fabric softener, and he thought about the low cut top she'd been
wearing. She'd had the dog tags on, and he smiled at the thought of
the pieces of metal nestled between her cleavage. It was then that he
realized what had been different about her.
Her scent held a metallic tinge that hadn't been there before.
