Marie went to her own bedroom, thinking about what Logan had said. She knew he cared about her and would do anything for her. Including saying she was beautiful, when she knew he couldn't possibly be real about that. He was the Wolverine, for God sakes! Not only he was a legend, the best fighter she'd ever heard of, but he was also the hottest guy ever, not only in her opinion, but in half of the women in Xavier's school opinion too.
He was tall, muscular, with a jawline to kill for, and a rough sexiness that makes her knees weak. God knows how difficult it was for Marie to concentrate when she was training with him. Seeing him using the X-Men uniform was tempting enough and, to make it even worse, he would often take his shirt off, wearing only sweatpants. She could feel a shiver running through her body just to think about it.
That's why she was sure he couldn't be attracted to her in any way. Logan could have any women he wanted. Why would he end up with some girl he found at the road, whose life he saved once or twice?
She looked in the mirror and sighed, staring at her own image. A girl wearing tight black jeans, combat boots, a black top with her favorite green coat on top and a matching scarf covering her neck. She was ordinary, period. Tears came down her eyes when she realised Logan would never look at her the way she wanted him to.
A few weeks later, summer was approaching and the weather was getting warmer every day. It was a perfect day to be outside, enjoying the sun and drinking fresh lemonade. Even Logan was willing to stretch his legs a little by the mansion's lawn.
He went outside looking for Marie among her friends. He could see Bobby, Kitty and Jubilee, but she was nowhere to be found.
"Hey, Icycle, have you seen Rogue?", he asked Bobby.
"Yeah, we invited her to come outside with us, but she said she prefer to stay in her room, with the air conditioner on", Bobby replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Right", said Logan, skeptically.
He went upstairs, determined to convince Marie to join him outside.
As he was approaching her room, he could hear the noise of the AC on, and of her breathing. But everything else was silent. He thought it was weird that she wasn't sleeping, or listening to music, or even watching TV. What in hell was she doing in that room?
"Marie?", he asked, knocking on her door.
"Logan? What do you want?", he could tell by the sound of her voice that she was a little surprised he came looking for her.
"Just checkin' on you, kid. Why aren't you outside with your friends? S' everything alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just too hot to be outside", she lied through the closed door. He could sense a little sadness in her voice.
"Well, it's not too hot, that's why everyone else is enjoying the sun. Listen, why don't you join me? There's fresh lemonade in the kitchen and I could really use some company. You know I hate talking to those kids, and Storm, One-eye and Jeany can't stop talking about work, and I don't feel like thinkin' 'bout how the world is such a crappy place", he grunted, hearing her chuckle inside the room.
Marie was smiling, listening to him complaining about other people. Even that made her heart tighten. It was so Logan to give people nicknames and think their conversations are boring. The truth was, she didn't went outside because it was too hot with the amount of clothes she usually had to wore. That's why she hated summer so much. It was difficult when she couldn't control her mutation and now it was just as bad, because she got so used of covering her body, she couldn't bare the thought of wearing shorts, or dresses, or skirts, like she did back in Mississippi, before her powers manifested, and notice everyone staring at her. So, she wouldn't go outside, not even for Logan.
"No, Logan, I don't wanna go. Why don't you come inside? It's really good in here with the AC on. Come on in and we can find a hockey game to watch on TV", she asked, hoping he would accept her invitation.
Seeing he couldn't win this one and wanting to be with her, he said "Alright", and opened the door.
He stood by the door frame, surprised by the amount of clothes she was wearing with the warm weather. Marie was curled into her bed, slipping a stride of white hair through her fingers, wearing black high waisted jeans, a navy blue long sleeved button-up blouse and a black scarf. Her trustful gloves were on too. The only part of her body not covered by clothes was her feet.
"My God, kid, no wonder you don't wanna go outside. You're obviously gonna feel hot with that many clothes on", Logan said, a little overwhelmed by how far her insecurity could go.
"That's why the AC is on, genius", she answered, sarcastically, but blushing a little and not looking at him.
"I think we need to talk", he said, approaching, as she slided to the side so he could sit on the edge of the bed.
"Talk about what? About the fact that I don't feel like going outside? I just don't want to, Logan, it's pretty simple". Marie was upset, it was obvious, but he knew she wasn't telling the whole truth.
"It's pretty weird that you don't wanna spend time with those annoying friends of yours. I know you. You love being with Bobby, Kitty and Jubilee. And, yeah, before you say it, I know you hate summer, and you know I do too, hell, I'm canadian, but today's not that hot, Marie. There's no acceptable reason for you to be inside, with that many clothes on. So, spill it out, tell me what's wrong".
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised an eyebrow, staring at her. She knew she wasn't capable of hiding anything from him. They knew each other too well.
With a sigh, she hid her face in her hands. She could feel her eyes beginning to water, and the last thing she wanted was to cry in front of him.
"Baby, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Come here", Logan said, with the softest voice, pulling her into his arms. He only called her baby when they were alone, and she felt her heart melt because of how much she liked that nickname.
She hugged him really tight, burying her face into his muscular chest, but he placed a hand in her chin, making her lift her head and look into his eyes. She was screwed. She could never lie to him. Not when their faces were so close, his rough hand touching her soft skin.
"Fine", she started, her voice almost a whisper. "The truth is, I don't feel comfortable wearing summer clothes in front of people. I mean, I love Kitty and Jubes, you know that, they're the best friends I could ask for, but they can't stop talking about clothes, and new exercises they're doing at the gym, or new diets they saw in some magazine, and I can't stand that. They think I find them shallow, but it's not that. The fact is I'm not beautiful like them. I don't feel like I fit in when the girls are wearing shorts and tank tops. I just can't show my body like that. Besides, I know kids can be really mean, and I don't want anyone talking about me, since they're not used to see me show my skin, because of my mutation. And, yeah, now I can control it, but I still think it's safer for me to wear my layers of clothing".
Fuck. Marie was breathless. She couldn't believe that she spilled out so easily everything she was thinking and feeling. Logan has that power over her. They just don't lie to each other. It's like they have an implied deal to only speak the truth. They never talk about this agreement, but they both keep it.
"Damn", he said, getting up and walking away from her, running a hand through his face.
Sitting on the bed, Marie was suddenly nervous about what he would say about the amount of problems she just threw on him. He turned to look at her again, and there was something in his eyes that she couldn't really recognize.
"Kid, don't get me wrong, but I feel like I need to tell you some stuff, and you just listen to me", he said softly, stopping her from interrupting and sitting by her side again, tucking a stride of white hair behind her ear. "You're beautiful. Just beautiful. When I met you, you were a damn pretty girl, and now you're a beautiful woman. Believe me, any guy in the world would be lucky to have you. Damn, I'd be lucky to have ya. You deserve someone to love you and worship you. There, I said it", he finished, never letting go of her face, his thumbs caressing her cheeks.
She closed her eyes and felt tears running down her face. "Logan, please, don't do that. Don't lie to make me feel better. I can look myself in the mirror. I see the other girls and I see myself. You're the sweetest, and thank you, but you don't have to say those things". She tried to push his hands out of her face, scared by the amount of time they were making contact, scared she would lose control of her mutation. But he didn't let her go. He held her tightly and placed one of his hand in hers, coming closer to her.
"Did I ever lied to you before? Hell, if I ever hid something from you was to keep ya safe. If I didn't say those things earlier, it was because I didn't knew how to say. But I mean it. Every single word. I would never lie about something so serious. And I know you're insecure about your looks. There's no way I couldn't notice with the amount of time we spent together, but I thought by now you'd more confident, with the whole controlling your mutation and all. Ya know how I feel about you, right?", he asked, looking into her eyes.
"But why? I mean, look at yourself! Logan, you can have any woman you want. Do you know what the other girls say about you? Their conversations can make even you feel embarrassed, believe me, I heard most of them. Why would you want me? I'm… I'm just ordinary", she was looking at herself while talking, pointing at her body, like if she was trying to show him all her flaws.
"Baby, stop thinking so little about yourself. You're beautiful. Your body is perfect. Do you have any idea how hot you look with your uniform on? Everytime you wear that thing, well, let's just say it's enough to keep me up at night. I know you didn't heard many compliments in your life, and I also know that the guys you met were all pussies who couldn't handle a strong woman like you. Let me show you how beautiful you are". With that, he became even closer to her, pulling her to him by the waist. Very gently, his lips touched hers.
Logan knew when they met that Marie had a crush on him. As she got older and the two of them got closer, the admiration became love. But she was much younger than him, even though she was very mature for her age. His love for her grew with time too. She was wonderful, afterall. His desire for her wasn't simply because she was beautiful in his eyes, but because she was kind, compassionate, strong, honest, smart, funny… he could go on counting her qualities.
So, when he kissed her, Rogue was frightened. "Wait", she told, breaking the kissing and placing a hand on his cheek. "Are you sure? I mean… do you really want me? Like that?", she asked, forcing herself to look into his eyes. She was afraid she would see doubt in his expression.
"I do. But if what I'm saying to you isn't enough, let me show ya then". He pulled her even closer to him and kissed her again. This time, the kiss was rougher, more passionate, more… Logan. He opened his mouth and she could feel his tongue on her lips. She let him in and, suddenly, she forgot to worry about controlling her mutation. She felt her whole body tremble and the feeling of relief spreading from head to toe. He was finally hers.