Marie was chatting with her friends as they headed to supper, amused at some joke Bobby had just made. She was actually surprised to have found a group of kids who wanted to hang with her, as dangerous as she could be. It felt just like any regular school setting, really. Except the food was better. And the students could be way, way more destructive, even if it was usually accidental. As the bunch of them passed by the rec room, she caught a glimpse of an instantly recognizable profile, its owner seated on a couch just within sight of the entryway.
"Hey guys, you go on without me, I'll catch up in a minute." The group of them acknowledged her words.
"I'll save you a seat," Bobby promised with a smile as they moved on, leaving the hallway quiet again. She stood there, just watching the familiar form of her best friend, Logan, as he stared at something on the television. He had to know she was watching him, could feel her eyes on him, but he seemed to be ignoring it for some reason. Marie frowned slightly. His posture was tense, even slumped on the couch, an inability to relax she hadn't seen in him since they first came to the school together as stranded mutants who'd been helped by the X-men. It made her sad to think he'd reverted to old habits, old paranoia. She could understand, really; after all she lived his nightmares sometimes at night, herself. Well, they were flashbacks, really, which was even worse, because terrible things had been done to him. Were still being done to him. And it looked like he wasn't bouncing back emotionally as fast as she would have wanted, for his sake. White teeth worried at a lush lower lip. Kitty had told her quite a bit of what had happened at the base after the rescue team had gotten there, but only because she knew how close Rogue and Logan were. Marie didn't want to interrupt what was probably a rare moment of quiet, but she did have some good news she wanted to share.
"Hey Logan," she called out, not loudly at all, but with more than enough volume for him to catch, wanting to announce herself even if he knew she was there. He didn't appear surprised, of course, but he still didn't relax as she came in and curled up on the cushion next to him, legs tucked under her. There was a sports game on the television, and Logan's hazel eyes stared straight ahead at it, but she would swear he wasn't really watching. It suddenly occurred to Rogue that he hadn't eaten any meals with her in the past few days since he'd woken up, probably staying out of sight and grabbing something afterward, wolfing it down in the lunchroom or taking it back to his bedroom.
"Hey kid," he grunted softly, wanting to acknowledge her, but still feeling the strain of his recent captivity. He had definitely not been in a social mood lately, not even for her, and felt just a little guilty about it. Her light soap scent was pleasant, and he closed his eyes in appreciation of it; he didn't know if it was because she'd absorbed him a couple of times, but she never used scented products. That fact made her company all the more enjoyable, usually. Well, except for times like now, when he was more inclined to be alone. "Been doing good?" Logan never took his eyes from the game he was pretending to watch. He'd really just been killing time, looking busy so no one would bother him. He could just see her nod in his peripheral vision as she tilted sideways, ending with her cheek resting against his flannel-clad upper arm. She'd gained some height since they met, but was still very petite compared to his over six-foot, muscular frame. Logan remembered the last time they'd been in here, watching a movie with her snuggled up to him, eating popcorn. It seemed like a lifetime ago instead of a few weeks. What he wouldn't give to go back in time and change some things, mostly not going off by himself on a wild impulse to find out about his past. The feral swallowed hard, struggling to maintain an external normalcy he really didn't feel. Unaware of her friend's swirling thoughts, Marie sighed quietly in contentment. It was great to have Logan back again.
"Some stuff happened while you were gone," she said suddenly, startling Logan into looking at her. A brief thought crossed his mind that it was ironically just like old times. No matter what happened or how things changed, some things were constant. He had barely glanced down before snapping his gaze back to the program.
"Mm…?" was the noncommittal answer. Marie almost giggled. He wasn't one to be interested in school gossip. He would usually only pretend to listen because it was one way for her to spend time with him, and she knew it. It was actually really sweet.
"Yeah. Jubilee took her turn helping in the kitchen for movie night and accidentally shorted out the microwave. And we had a pretty nice field trip to the museum, even if it was mostly educational… Oh, and apparently there was some new medical equipment that came in, although I don't really know what for, but Ms. Grey was super excited…"
Logan let her voice wash over him, glad that she seemed happy at the school, but also disheartened that it appeared life could go on very well without him. Of course, all the kids had classes to attend, and schoolwork, and the school staff couldn't just drop everything. In truth, it had been a bit before they realized he wasn't staying away voluntarily. But still, life went on, that was the way of it. Caught up in his thoughts and her soft, lilting voice in the background, he didn't catch the whisper of cloth on skin and a shift in her position. It wasn't until he felt something, not something, but skin, rubbing little circles on the back of his hand that he started and looked down, seeing her small, bare hand atop his. Hazel eyes widened and his gaze flew back up to meet her shy but pleased expression. There was nothing she had wanted more since he saved her life on Liberty Island than to be able to share close contact with her first true friend.
"Surprise, Logan. I've been working with the professor and I can control it for a couple of minutes or so. He's sure that with more time, I'll be able to control it completely." She saw a slow grin spread across his lips, the first smile she'd seen from him since his rescue, and it lightened her heart considerably.
"Congratulations Marie." Without thinking he pulled her into a hug, so proud of her that he couldn't say anything else because his throat had tightened with emotion. The gruff but sincere tone warmed her through, and Rogue returned the hug happily with slim arms around Wolverine's torso, glad to see him actually responsive for a change.
"Thanks! I was really looking forward to telling you, but I wanted you to have some space for a while." Logan smiled slightly at her thoughtfulness, in spite of the discomforting reminder of why she would have wanted to allow him some time alone. She really was an amazing girl.
"'m proud of you, kid." A kiss was pressed to the top of her head and she squeezed him once more around the waist before letting go and tugging her glove back on.
"I'd better go have supper. See you around, Logan." He nodded with a smile, but as soon as she was gone it vanished. It would probably be a good idea to get some food himself, but he really wasn't that hungry yet. Nor did he want to expose himself to the stares and whispers that were sure to occur if he made an appearance around the kids. It was likely the story of his rescue was making its way through the school, in some form of truth or another, and probably more in the way of exaggeration than anything. Not that the kids meant anything bad; that was just the way of rumors. Logan's head dropped back to the couch, giving up the pretense of watching television as he sighed deeply. He knew he should be safe at the school now. The soldiers from Alkali Lake who had known about it, and knew that Wolverine lived there, were probably in the base when it flooded, so the school's secret was protected once more. But it was hard to stop the knee-jerk reaction to be hypervigilant again, like when he was moving from town to town on the fight circuit, only surviving and hardly living while on the run from some unknown entity that haunted him. And too, in spite of Storm's assurances, he still felt a little like an animal. Whether it was his instinctual behavior at being threatened, or some ingrained training from a long past captivity, it wouldn't leave him alone. Maybe he'd be safer at the school, but would the school be safer with him? Giving up the pretense, Logan turned off the TV with the remote and stood up, suddenly feeling bone-weary for no real reason other than he was just tired of everything. The loose plan was to go upstairs, down his bottle of whiskey, and maybe see if he could catch some sleep without having too many bad memories flood his subconscious. He didn't even pretend to want supper anymore; his appetite just wasn't there.