Oops, I lied. There was only the one more chapter left, and this is it... Sorry.

And thanks again, Evilerk, good to hear from someone that they're enjoying this. Not sure when we'll post anything else on ffn at this point, as we're both a bit snowed under with assorted stuff, but the next bit of the story, such as it is, is going up at because it's too raunchy for here. And yeah, Logan/Rogue definitely isn't something that's a possibility at Evolution Unbound, seeing as Logan thinks of her as one of 'his' kids and all. Anyway, hope you enjoy this last bit and thanks for the feedback. ;)

Rogue
—
"Yup, definitely a squirmer. I squirm and wriggle all over the place, and then there's the tail." Yes. Then there was the tail, wasn't there? Not going to think about it. "There'd be blood. It'd be messy. We don't want to go there." He was right. It would be messy, and they didn't want to go there. Looking up at him, she informed him that it was safe to come down. Sort of.

"You know, I actually have a cousin who likes to be called Samurai. He's kind of a dick though." Raising an eyebrow, she frowned. That was odd, to say the least. She had the sudden mental image of a somewhat obese Japanese teenager with pimples sitting at his computer, trying to pick up women over the internet. "Bet he doesn't get out much."

"Don't know if my ass could survive you going ninja on it, after all." She shook her head. It definitely couldn't. As he fixed his pants and pulled a lollipop out of God only knew where, she sat down in one of the chairs, re-folding his shirt on her lap. It was a nice shirt, and she planned on keeping it for as long as she could.

Nodding toward the remaining piece of candy, she held out her hands to catch it. Going over to retrieve it would require standing up, and she was comfortable. "He told me he was a gym teacher. There was a sort of, kind of, for now type thing involved though"

Leaning forward a bit, she bowed her head, trying to think of the best way to phrase what exactly Logan was. "He's more of a drill sergeant. A really old drill sergeant with a great ass and a fondness for beer, cigars and motorcycles."

Glancing thoughtfully toward the window, she briefly considered adding that he also had a fondness for men in comas, but someone reminded her that that was a bit insensitive. Fine. Instead, she clarified further, "He runs a lot of the training sessions."

Kurt
—
"Professor gave me a bunch of stuff to read. I haven't yet." Mariko explained and he laughed quietly at the admission.

"Neither have I, and I've been here for almost two years," he answered with a grin and a wink as he hopped up to perch on the arm of the couch across from her. "I always kind of figured that if it was important enough they'd get around to telling me eventually. Seems to have worked fine so far." He glanced over at Rogue out of the corner of his eye, his shirt folded neatly in her lap. Yup, just lull her into a false sense of security and he could snatch it back...soon...

"He told me he was a gym teacher," Mariko said, before popping the candy into her mouth, rolling it around as she gazed up at the ceiling, "there was a sort of, kind of, for now type thing involved though." Kurt switched his attention back from his shirt, lips twitching in amusement as he tried to envision Logan teaching freshman P.E. at BHS.

"He's more of a drill sergeant. A really old drill sergeant with a great ass and a fondness for beer, cigars and motorcycles." Rogue explained and Kurt snorted in laughter at the description, though he had to admit...

"Yeah, that's pretty fair. Except let's be clear that he has a fondness for cheapass Canadian beer," he added and grinned broadly as Rogue added what appeared to be her final comment on the man.

"He runs a lot of the training sessions."

"Martial arts, danger room drills, security systems, search and rescue, longass runs through the woods to see who'll drop first...that kind of stuff," Kurt elaborated.

Mariko
—
"Neither have I, and I've been here for almost two years, I always kind of figured that if it was important enough they'd get around to telling me eventually. Seems to have worked fine so far."

Mariko grinned and gave a nod of her head. "File it away. Forget about it. Got it."

"Bet he doesn't get out much."

Mariko shrugged her shoulders as she let her hands rest in her lap. She'd said more than enough already. Airing family business in public was hardly appropriate behaviour. Even if they had told her stuff about their mother. With a slightly gloomy sigh, she shifted, propping one elbow against her knee and cupping her chin in the palm of her hand.

"He's more of a drill sergeant. A really old drill sergeant with a great ass and a fondness for beer, cigars and motorcycles."

Mariko nodded, eyes wide. She really couldn't say that she'd been overly aware of his ass. He was male and frankly, more than a little outside her age range.

"He runs a lot of the training sessions."

"Martial arts, danger room drills, security systems, search and rescue, longass runs through the woods to see who'll drop first...that kind of stuff,"

"Naa," Mariko wailed plaintively as she fell back against the armrest, melodramatically. "Suddenly, my motel room doesn't look so bad. Sure, it was loud and smelly and I was living on a diet of sugar and additives, but there was no training involved."

Naa that's great

Rogue
—
"Martial arts, danger room drills, security systems, search and rescue, longass runs through the woods to see who'll drop first...that kind of stuff," Kurt added. She nodded in agreement. Yeah, that was a much more in-depth description.

"Naa, Suddenly, my motel room doesn't look so bad. Sure, it was loud and smelly and I was living on a diet of sugar and additives, but there was no training involved." She was pretty sure that the first part there was Japanese. She probably should have known a little bit of the language, from absorbing Logan... she vaguely remembered being able to speak Japanese. Or was it Chinese? Something-nese. Didn't really matter, though, since the rest of the sentence was plain English. Would've been nice to have kept some of that foreign language knowledge. Would be nice to keep something more than just annoying as hell voices. Would have been nicest of all to not keep anything.

Blinking herself out of her little pity party, she looked over at Mariko, tilting her head slightly. "Well, here you get all of the above. It's loud, it's smelly, there's more sugar than you can shake a stick at, and there's training." She nudged the box of Ho-Hos with her foot, continuing, "You get used to it, though. Real fast. Least I did."

She glanced over at Kurt, nodding. "Right, Fuzzy?"

Grinning as she remembered that she had his shirt, she held it up a bit. Ha, he was definitely never getting it back. Even if she had to sleep with it on. Well, that might be creepy. But still, she'd do it. It was her shirt, now.

Kurt
—
Kurt giggled as Mariko pulled a Sarah Bernhardt against the armrest of the couch. "Naa. Suddenly, my motel room doesn't look so bad. Sure, it was loud and smelly and I was living on a diet of sugar and additives, but there was no training involved."

"Impressive, usually Logan has to drive people away in person," Kurt commented, as his tail snaked out to retrieve one of the remaining - kinda lukewarm - rootbeers. "Think his mutant power of driving people away might be moving to the next level...or that might just be the body odor," he concluded thoughtfully as his tail passed him the can and he popped it open.

"Well, here you get all of the above, Rogue chimed in. It's loud, it's smelly, there's more sugar than you can shake a stick at, and there's training." She nudged the box of Ho-Hos with her foot, continuing, "You get used to it, though. Real fast. Least I did."

She glanced over at Kurt, nodding. "Right, Fuzzy?"

"Yeah, she was extra special good at the taking orders part," he agreed with a sardonic wink. "Oh, and the getting up at the buttcrack of dawn," he added, grinning teasingly over at her. "She adapted to that right...away." And she was holding his shirt hostage. Definitely. He studiously ignored the reminder as he turned his attention back to Mariko. He was going to get that verdammt shirt back...eventually...through sneakery, because a frontal assault was obviously suicidal.

"It's not that bad, though. Really," he reassured Mariko, popping his sucker out of his mouth so he could take a drink of his soda. Wouldn't do to scare her away on the first day...or at all, really. She seemed pretty cool. And it wasn't really...by comparison to the kind of schedule he'd had to keep in the circus, anyway. After talking to some of the other kids who'd had more...traditional...upbringings he'd come to the conclusion that it was pretty brutal. But no reason to tell her that. Nope. None at all.

"What else would you really want to do with all that empty time before breakfast anyway?" he asked with a grin.

Mariko
—
"Well, here you get all of the above. It's loud, it's smelly, there's more sugar than you can shake a stick at, and there's training. You get used to it, though. Real fast. Least I did. Right, Fuzzy?"

Mariko sighed mournfully. She didn't want to get used to it. Or she didn't want to have to get used to it. She wanted a life free of training and early mornings. Maybe somewhere that she didn't have to speak English.

"What else would you really want to do with all that empty time before breakfast anyway?"

"I'm definitely thinking sleep," Mariko decided with a nod. More sleep was definitely a good thing. "Or maybe-" thoughtfully, she tapped one finger against her chin, "maybe- and I haven't exactly worked out the details on this just yet, but I'm thinking some kind of pre-breakfast." It was meant as a joke, but it was not an entirely meritless idea.

Rogue
—
"Yeah, she was extra special good at the taking orders part," he agreed with a sardonic wink. "Oh, and the getting up at the buttcrack of dawn," he added, grinning teasingly over at her. "She adapted to that right...away." She rolled her eyes. Really, he was definitely just trying to work "buttcrack" into a sentence about her. There was no other possible reason for that.

"What else would you really want to do with all that empty time before breakfast anyway?"

Rogue didn't even have to think before responding, "Sleep."

Mariko, it seemed, agreed. "I'm definitely thinking sleep, Or maybe- maybe- and I haven't exactly worked out the details on this just yet, but I'm thinking some kind of pre-breakfast." Rogue stood up, deciding that if they were going to talk about food, it was probably best to make her exit. "Don't give him any ideas."

Moving around the furniture, she nodded at both of them, slinging the shirt casually over her shoulder. "It was nice meeting you, Mariko. Think I'll go to my room now." Arching an eyebrow at Kurt, she held the shirt up. "And you'll have to think of some way to get this back. After all, tomorrow is another day." Fuck. Why had she said that? It was a clean exit, and then she had to go and make mental connections to things in her mind and quote movies that she was pretending she didn't practically know by heart. Frowning, she sighed and turned to exit.

"Yeah, I'm leaving now. Bye."

Heading down the hallway, she shouted back as an afterthought, "Thanks for taking care of my trash, Kurt." She had t-shirts to hide, she couldn't deal with throwing away Ho-Ho wrappers.

Kurt
—
"I'm definitely thinking sleep, Or maybe- maybe- and I haven't exactly worked out the details on this just yet, but I'm thinking some kind of pre-breakfast." Kurt watched, head cocked slightly, as she tapped her finger on her chin as she thought. For whatever reason - and with a couple of very notable exceptions - the X-gene did seem to draw from the gorgeous end of the gene pool.

"Don't give him any ideas."

"I don't need any ideas where food's concerned," Kurt answered, looking up to find that Rogue had gotten up and, his shirt slung casually over her shoulder, was making her way towards the door. Verfluckt, she got back to her room with it and the odds of retrieving it were gonna go right down the toilet. "Pre-breakfast is a pre-training requirement, after all," he finished, watching his shirt recede mournfully. He could just ask for it back, of course...she might even give it to him. But that would be conceding defeat.

"It was nice meeting you, Mariko. Think I'll go to my room now." Arching an eyebrow at Kurt, she held the shirt up. "And you'll have to think of some way to get this back. After all, tomorrow is another day."

Okay, so much for just asking for it back, but on the plus side, she'd just quoted Scarlett again, which was well worth the sacrifice of a t-shirt. Especially since he really could just 'port over, snatch it and 'port away again if he really wanted to...but that ruined all the fun of actually trying to get it back by sneaky means.

"Just watch your back, Scarlett," he answered, waving cheerily at her. "Thought it's a small sacrifice if it makes you that happy to see me shirtless," he added.

"Yeah, I'm leaving now. Bye."

"Yup, what can I say?" he asked, turning a cocky grin back on Mariko. "Chicks dig the fuzzy dude," and he winked, just as Rogue's voice drifted back down the hallway to them.

"Thanks for taking care of my trash, Kurt."

"Or at least they dig the Fuzzy Dude Janitorial Service," he added with a mock-mournful sigh as he sucked on his Tootsie Pop and got up to survey the detritus of the afternoon. Scattered popcorn, HoHo wrappers, abandoned soda cans. Yup, she'd stuck it to him good...like usual. Oh well, trash wasn't picking up itself...

"Y'know, I was serious earlier," he told Mariko around his sucker as he grabbed the popcorn bowl and started to fill it with trash. "If you want the grand tour of beautiful downtown Bayville tomorrow, or just a ride to the mall so you can snag a bathing suit, it's no problem."

Mariko
—
"Pre-breakfast is a pre-training requirement, after all,"

Pre-training? For a moment, Mariko's eyes widened as she digested the possibility that pre-training was to training as pre-breakfast was to breakfast. It didn't take long for her to decide that was probably wrong though.

"It was nice meeting you, Mariko. Think I'll go to my room now. And you'll have to think of some way to get this back. After all, tomorrow is another day."

"You too," Mariko replied with a genuine smile.

"Or at least they dig the Fuzzy Dude Janitorial Service,"

"Let me help with that?" Mariko suggested as she sat up, before sliding to the floor. For several moments, she simply helped in silence, picking up assorted trash and starting a pile on the table, so that Kurt could easily scoop it into his bowl. When he spoke again, she sat back up on her haunches to listen.

"Y'know, I was serious earlier. If you want the grand tour of beautiful downtown Bayville tomorrow, or just a ride to the mall so you can snag a bathing suit, it's no problem."

Hands resting on her knees, Mariko smiled brightly at Kurt. "I think that would be nice," she decided, "as long as you can put your cheat-y perviness aside," she added with a grin, "besides, I'm pretty sure my schedule's free." A thoughtful frown clouded her expression, "that seemed kind of abrupt," she observed, pointing in the direction Rogue had gone.

Kurt
—
He smiled his gratitude as Mariko pitched in with the clean-up. It wasn't really that bad...other than the spilled popcorn. Should only take a couple of minutes, hopefully

He watched for Mariko's reaction out of the corner of his eye when he asked about showing her around tomorrow, and grinned cheerily when it came with a smile.

"I think that would be nice," she decided, "as long as you can put your cheat-y perviness aside," she added with a grin, "besides, I'm pretty sure my schedule's free."

"Cheat-y??" he asked with an indignant huff. "What do you mean cheat-y? Now the perviness..." he waggled his eyebrows teasingly at her as his tail swept up a wrapper and dropped it in the popcorn bowl. "That I'll own, but I'm gonna have to protest any accusations of cheating. Definitely..." He trailed off, cocking his head in curiosity as she frowned thoughtfully.

"That seemed kind of abrupt," she observed, pointing in the direction Rogue had gone.

He shrugged dismissively, his grin returning full force. "That meine Freundin, is Rogue for you. Abrupt is just the tip of the iceberg," he assured her cheerily. "But I'm sure part of it was just getting my verdammt shirt out of here before I managed to sneak up on her and snag it back," he added with a wink.

"So, where will it be?" he asked, reverting to the former topic of conversation as he plucked the last few pluckable kernels of popcorn from the oriental rug. What was left was gonna require vacuuming and, Gott, he despised vacuums. "The mall, downtown, the boardwalk? I'll drag you wherever you wanna go."

Mariko
—
"That I'll own, but I'm gonna have to protest any accusations of cheating. Definitely..."

Mariko frowned, but said nothing. She was fairly sure that the exact phrase Rogue had used was pervy cheater. Still, that was far from her main concern. Rogue's departure had been kind of sudden. She just hoped that it was not something that she had said. Truth be told though, she was fairly sure it wasn't, but that didn't prevent a concerned frown clouding her features.

"That meine Freundin, is Rogue for you. Abrupt is just the tip of the iceberg,"

Freundin? Mariko's eyebrows flickered upward ever so slightly, but she remained silent. It didn't sound like it was an insult, so she could probably live with the trauma of not knowing.

"But I'm sure part of it was just getting my verdammt shirt out of here before I managed to sneak up on her and snag it back,"

"I'm sure it was," Mariko agreed with a mockingly puzzled smile, "does that kind of thing really happen all that often around here?"

"So, where will it be? The mall, downtown, the boardwalk? I'll drag you wherever you wanna go."

Mariko shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know what to see, because she wanted to see it all. "Dragging aside, because I think we can do without that, I guess mall would be nice, for the actually buying stuff side of things. Anywhere else is just an added extra."

Kurt
—
"I'm sure it was," Mariko agreed with a mockingly puzzled smile, "does that kind of thing really happen all that often around here?"

"If by that kind of thing you mean theft, mayhem, pranking and general insanity then I'd have to say..." he paused, looking thoughtfully up at the ceiling for a moment. "I hope you're not too attached to any of your personal possessions, oh, or your dignity. Because none of that tends to be safe for long around here," he informed her with a cheery grin.

"So, where will it be? The mall, downtown, the boardwalk? I'll drag you wherever you wanna go," he continued as the gathered up the last of the clutter between them.

"Dragging aside, because I think we can do without that, I guess mall would be nice, for the actually buying stuff side of things. Anywhere else is just an added extra."

"Check, no dragging. And a trip to the mall to buy 'stuff' it is, maybe with a bit of a tour of lovely Bayville if we have time," he agreed with a particularly cheerful grin. The mall worked for him. She seemed pretty cool, and far be it from him to pass up a chance to hang out with a cute girl who was, most likely, going to be buying a bathing suit...and maybe, just maybe, if he was lucky and God was smiling down on him tomorrow, wanting an opinion as to which one looked best on her. Yup, mall sounded good to him...and maybe he should say an extra few decades of the rosary tonight, just to stack things in his favor.

"Dankeschoen for the help cleaning up," he added, dropping the last couple items into the empty popcorn bowl and realizing he didn't really have any excuse to linger any longer now that the mess was taken care of. "And I look forward to the pleasure of your company tomorrow at the beautiful and exotic Bayville Mall."

Holding the bowl out of the way he offered her an elaborate bow before smiling cheerily up at her from beneath his bangs...maybe Rogue was right and he should get someone to cut his hair...before disappearing in a burst of lavender smoke.