It was the morning after the rest of the team had departed for a trip to Europe. Logan stood outside of Rogue's door, arguing with himself over whether it might be too early to start her training.
Suddenly, the heavy door opened. Instead of a sleepy eyed teenager, he found her standing there, alert, fully dressed and her hair pulled back in a neat, tight pony tail.
She bit her lip and looked down before murmuring, "I heard you..."
"Oh...right", he cleared his throat, "We need to eat breakfast before we get started. Come on."
He turned and walked away as she silently trailed behind him. They went to the kitchen, where Logan pulled out copious amounts of bacon and eggs. He fried everything and fixed his own plate, leaving the rest of the food in the pans for her to serve to herself.
She quietly piled four pieces of bacon and a small pile of eggs onto her plate before sitting down across from him.
Logan was impressed when she ate all of her food, then stood up for seconds. As he shoveled the last bit of egg into his mouth, she wiped her mouth with a napkin and sighed, "So you're gonna train me..."
Logan just grunted in response as he stood and placed his plate in the sink, "Are ya done?"
Rogue nodded and stood before placing her plate in the sink alongside his. He turned and walked out of the room, leading her to the gym.
He laid two mats down on the floor and motioned for her to sit before sitting directly across from her, "The enhanced hearing...the smell, it's no good if you don't know how to control it. I don't even know how long you're gonna retain it, so may as well teach you to use it to your advantage."
"How do I do that?"
"First, learn the sounds of your own body. The beat of your heart, the breath in your chest...the rumble of your stomach. Hear them. Concentrate on them. Memorize them...then completely tune them out."
She furrowed her eyebrows, "How long does it take for you to do that?"
"Depends on how hard you work. Now shut your mouth and start."
Rogue rolled her eyes before lowering her head and taking a deep breath. For several moments, she stayed quiet and listened the various sounds in her body. The nudge of his hand on her arm made her open her eyes and look up at him.
"Alright. Now try to tune out the sounds of your body and listen for your surroundings."
She nodded and closed her eyes again as she began listening to the sound of doors closing in the distance...a heater kicking on...muffled voices in the next room.
Suddenly, Rogue felt a cup of ice water get tossed over her head. She shook her head and sputtered, "What the hell?"
"Hear, identify and move on so that you can start listening out for signs of danger."
Rogue wiped her face and stood to her feet, "The hell are you talkin' about? I was listening!"
"If you had been, you woulda heard me twirling that cup by your head for a full three minutes."
She glared and yanked off her jacket, revealing a dampened, white tank top. He quickly averted his eyes and set the cup down, "Now try again."
Logan watched her intently when she closed her eyes again.
She was so fucking pretty. He found himself becoming increasingly curious about her...
Why had she agreed to join Team X? Exactly how old was she?
After a few moments, he began inching toward her, but her eyes snapped open, "Heard ya comin'."
He nodded, "Good."
Rogue jumped up and smiled, "What? I don't get a 'good job'?"
"When you go on a mission, coming back alive is your 'congratulations', Rogue. I'm not here to give out gold stars. I'm here to teach you how to stay alive."
Over the next two weeks, the team came and went, frequently "dropping in" on their training sessions just to get a look at how their new recruit was shaping up. Victor, in particular, took an interest in watching her...and for some reason, that bothered Logan more than it should have.
Now that she had a handle on her new gifts, Logan moved on to self defense and counter attacks. Since she was so much smaller than him, she was able to make better use of his mutation's agility.
She was being trained by the best...and it showed.
One afternoon, after a particularly intense training session, Rogue wiped at her face with a towel and glanced at Logan, "How'd you end up here?"
He almost gave her his usual response of "we're not here to talk, we're here to train", but instead, he looked at her large brown eyes and sighed, "Stryker found out that me and my brother...Victor, had been in the army for close to 70 years...offered us a chance to get out of the monotony of fighting in war after war..."
She raised a brow, "Oh...how old are you?"
"I was born in 1860."
Rogue took a sip of water, "Wow. Guess I would need something to do if I had been around that long..."
Logan nodded before getting serious and looking into her eyes, "I don't know if my decelerating aging is something you've taken on...but if it is...I'm sorry."
He turned and started to leave, but she rushed after him and grabbed his arm. It was the first skin-on-skin contact they'd had since the night he healed her. He looked down at her hand, making her immediately snatch away and mutter an apology.
"S'Ok..."
"I didn't mean to-"
Logan held up a hand, "I'm not afraid of you...it's just...your hands are real soft."
Rogue blushed and looked down, "Oh...thanks."
He gave an uncomfortable nod before turning and walking away.
Logan succeeded in keeping things between he and Rogue strictly business on the outside...but on the inside, he was melting. The more time he spent with her, the more attached he became.
Over time, he began to realize just how unique she was. Her eyes told the story of a painful life, a wise soul and a tough-as-nails southern belle.
During one particular training, she got frustrated and snatched off the boxing gloves before throwing them across the room.
Since he'd never seen her show that much emotion, he just stood there and watched as she angrily stalked from one side of the room to the other.
"I'm NOT made for this shit!" she suddenly exclaimed.
That caught Logan by surprise. Rogue hadn't shared much about her background or previous experiences with fighting before, so this outburst clearly sparked his interest.
Logan started to hand her a a water, but she just plopped down on the mat and crossed her legs beneath her, "I don't have anywhere else to go...I have no money, no family...no future. That's why I'm here. Stryker lured me with the promise of free room and board...and more money than I'd ever even heard of...I still don't know why he wanted me. I've never fought anyone."
He furrowed his eyebrows and sat down next to her, "What do you mean, you've never fought anyone?"
"I'm just a runaway. My parents kicked me out when they found out what an abomination I was, so I moved in with my aunt...people in her town found out about me after the sheriff's son tried to..." her voice trailed off as she closed her eyes and looked away. "He tried to rape me...so I used my skin...I never wanted to, but I couldn't let him do that to me...I didn't mean to hold on until he died-" her voice broke down into deep sobs.
Logan cleared his throat and looked away, not sure what to do. He felt a little awkward...especially since watching her cry gave him the strong desire to lean forward and pull her into an embrace.
He watched as she feverishly worked to dry her tear stained face and muttered apologies. Finally, her voice was steady enough for her to speak again, "Do you ever get the feeling that you don't belong anywhere?"
He looked into her eyes and nodded, "All the time..."
Logan stood to his feet and pulled her up with him, "Training's over for the day. Go to your room, get showered and put on some clothes. We're going out."
"Out? But Stryker says-"
He raised a brow, "What is he gonna do? Punish us?"
Rogue knew he had a point there.
Within an hour, Rogue had changed into tight jeans, boots and a tight tee shirt. She wore a leather jacket over top. Logan was impressed with what he saw, but tried not to let it show as he led her out of the bunker and to the nearby hidden garage. He climbed onto a bike before feeling her climb on behind him and wrap her arms around his waist.
Just before he pulled off, he took a moment to relish the feel of her body holding onto his.
He took her to the nearest restaurant, which happened to be more of a roadhouse than anything else.
She ordered a simple chicken finger and fry basket, while he opted for roast beef and mashed potatoes. They waited for their food in their usual, comfortable silence until Logan suddenly spoke up, "How old are you?"
"I'll be 19 in two months."
Shit...she WAS young. Too young.
She sighed, "Absorbing one 26 year old and almost killing you has definitely aged me a little..." Rogue tapped her temple, "I'm not just some carefree teenager anymore."
Logan smirked as their food was sat down in front of them. After eating, Logan ordered another beer and sat back to appraise the young woman sitting across from him. She noticed his staring and blushed, "What?"
"All of the existing Team X members have military and law enforcement experience...I guess I'm tryin' to figure out why the hell Stryker wanted you, of all people, on the team. You're just...just a..."
"A kid", she finished for him.
"Yeah. No offense."
Rogue smirked and reached across the table before taking a hold of his beer and bringing it to her lips. He watched her with slight surprise as she took a gulp and set it down on the table, "I'm definitely not that much of a kid with a miniature version of the Wolverine stalking around my head...day and night. I've seen things from your memories-"
"I thought I taught you how to avoid those nightmares."
Again, a mischievous smile played across her lips, "Oh, I'm not talking about the nightmares...Logan. I'm talking about the women. The sex."
He gulped and shifted in his seat, "You...you've seen those memories?"
She nodded, "Oh yeah. It's kinda strange when a straight-laced southern belle like myself all of the sudden has a hankering to bang a hot brunette in an alley."
Logan's fist clenched beneath the table as he felt his erection instantly spring to life. The image of this sweet young thing rutting against another, equally hot woman in an alley was just too much. He quickly signaled for the waitress again. When she arrived, he ordered a whiskey double, no ice.
Rogue, who seemed completely oblivious to his very horny, very flustered state, flipped her hair and sighed wistfully, "I'm only 18...maybe this is a blessing in disguise. They say if you're gonna experiment, do it young...right?"
A look in her eyes told him that the sexually aggressive Wolverine in her mind was rearing its head. He cleared his throat as the waitress delivered his drink, which he quickly downed, "I don't think this is somethin' we should be talkin' about."
"What the hell else have we got to talk about? I've got you kicking around in my head. Don't you think I'm entitled to know the answers to some questions?"
"Like what?"
She sat back and took another swig of his beer, "Liiike...I saw a lot of girls...I mean A LOT...but you never kept one around for longer than it took to pull up your pants. What's up with that?"
"It's obvious. You have me in your head. You figure it out."
Rogue shook her head, "I may have some of your memories, your nightmares...maybe even some of your traits and habits...but what I don't have..." she leaned across the table and placed a hand on his chest, "is this...I can't feel with your heart."
Logan cleared his throat and looked down, "I'm over a hundred years old with no promise of death in sight. If I kept some chick around...and I started to give a damn, I'd have to be forced to watch her wither and die while my useless, undeserving ass gets to live on...so I save myself the trouble. I hate this life, I wish I could leave it all behind and be a normal guy living on a damn farm somewhere, but this is the hand the universe dealt. So I fuck and move on. Happy with that answer?"
She shook her head and crossed her arms before staring at him thoughtfully, "No...I'm actually very sad for you..."
He wanted to say "don't be" and dismiss her pity, but he found himself welcoming it. It allowed him to finally admit the loneliness that had plagued him for the better part of a hundred years.
Without another word, he plopped money on the table and stood to leave. She followed and they rode back in silence.
When they arrived back in the bunker, he cleared his throat, "So...I'll see ya later."
She nodded and started to turn toward her door, but she suddenly turned back and wrapped him in a hug. He was caught by surprise at first, but then slowly wrapped an arm around her waist and reciprocated the embrace. She whispered in his ear, "You only have to be alone for as long as you choose to be..."
And with that, she was gone. Logan heard a noise just down the dark hallway, but dismissed it since so many people mill about the bunker on a daily basis.
If he had bothered to investigate, he would have found out that Victor had been watching them...
This is definitely an "us against the world" situation. Who do you think is going to pose the biggest threat? Stryker? Zero? Victor? Ya never know in this story! Review please!