Come lay beside me
This won't hurt, I swear
She loves me not
She loves me still
But she'll never love again
She lay beside me
But she'll be there when I'm gone
Black heart scarring darker still
Yes, she'll be there when I'm gone
Yes, she'll be there when I'm gone
Dead sure she'll be there

Mercy" by Sarah McLachlan

---

Marie,

It was easier before, wasn't it? I shouldn't have left. I admit it. I got scared and I ran and I hurt you. Might have hurt you too much for you to forgive me, and that kills me. It kills me that I can look at you and be near you and feel so damn good because I know you don't feel the same way. I know all the time you're making me feel good, I'm making you hurt.

Maybe we can talk this out. I want to try to be something again, you and me. Sounds strange like that, but it's what I want. I want you to talk to me and maybe trust me a little. I want you to feel something for me again, even though I know I don't deserve a damn second of your time.

I still want it.

Just talk to me.

-Logan

Logan stared at the letter clasped in his hands and sighed. It felt silly to be writing Marie. He wondered bitterly if he should leave it under her door or just pass it to her in study hall. But he wasn't in the mood for jokes, even his own. Striding down the hall with an unmistakable air of purpose, he passed only a handful of students on his way to Marie's room.

He could smell her, the gentle aroma of her vanilla shampoo and light floral perfume, the beautiful natural scent that was simply her. Shaking away the slightly giddy feeling she had aroused in him since he awakened to her maturity, Logan knelt and quickly slid the folded letter under her door.

As he turned the corner at the end of the hall, he heard her door creak open and half-considered turning and going back for her. He knew she wasn't ready. She needed to read the letter, needed to decide for herself. Logan just hoped she would give him a chance.

Mercy - pure and simple
Longing - cold and hollow
With sweet breath you'd come to warm me
But I held on too hard to only a memory

"Mercy" by Sarah McLachlan

---

Logan,

I don't know how to try. I don't know how to feel the things you're wanting me to feel. I know how to be alone, and I know how to stay alone. I know how to push everyone away but the people who are in here with me, stuck inside my damn head. I know Erik and David and even you.

I know you but I don't know the first thing about you. I know the you I wanted to keep with me, the one I held tight to and wouldn't let slip away. I'm used to it being me, alone, untouchable. I don't even know if I want to learn how to be more than just me.

I'm in love with a you that probably doesn't exist anywhere but in me. I hate pushing you away on the one hand and don't know anything else that I can do on the other. You scare me. You scare me because I know that I could get to know you, maybe get to care about you, and I could lose what's here inside of me. I could lose the person who has been keeping me sane all these years alone and untouched. I need him. Maybe I need you too.

Give me time.

~Marie

Rogue's heart pounded in her chest as she made her way down the hall to Logan's room. She knew that he would know she was there, that he would probably smell her the second she came down the hallway. She just hoped he knew better than to try to talk to her. Yet.

Fighting her nervousness, Rogue slid the note under Logan's door. She wondered absently if she should have tried to find something other than the blood red pen when writing it. But somehow the color seemed appropriate, fitting. It had hurt to write the letter. It was emotional blood and the scrawled letters on the page fit that feeling with their crimson tint.

Rogue almost ran back to her room, shutting the door behind her with a surprisingly loud WHAM! sound and leaned back against the solid, comforting wood, willing her knees to solidify again and her pulse to slow. All she needed was time.

Lay beside me
Tell me what they've done
Speak the words I wanna hear
To make my demons run
The door is locked now
But it's open if you're true
If you can understand the me
Then I can understand the you

The Unforgiven II by Metallica

---

Logan had been pacing in the hall outside Rogue's door for close to an hour before he finally got up the courage to speak. "Marie?" Then he cursed silently when he remembered she didn't like to be called that anymore.

"Yeah?"

He sighed, thinking it a good sign that she didn't sound angry. "Can we maybe... can we talk?" After a few moments of silence, he added, "Maybe tonight? That's later." She had, after all, said she needed time. He had tried so hard to wait until she came to him. But he couldn't.

"Yeah. Later. Meet ya outside 'round sunset, alright?"

Logan grinned. He could feel the muscles in his shoulders untense slightly. "I'll be waitin', Marie... Rogue," he corrected as quickly as possible before turning to walk away.

"Logan?"

He hurried back to the door, leaning against the wall, almost able to construct a picture of her sitting up on her bed as she spoke. "Yeah?"

"You can call me Marie... if you want to."

If he hadn't thought it would tick Rogue off, he would have laughed. "Sure thing, Marie, darlin'. I'll see ya tonight." And then he walked away. But only, he reminded himself, for a little while.

You lie there on the swollen ground
Deserted in your heart
Still longing for what yesterdays lost
And for all that tomorrow might bring
The passion lost - taken, stolen
The dreams we had and we shared - shattered, broken
With kind words you'd come to soothe me
But I go blind and filled with fear

"Mercy" by Sarah McLachlan

---

It wasn't until Rogue was actually outside standing beside the reflecting pool that she realized Logan had no idea that was where she meant when she said to meet her outside. It was where they met inside, in her head. That meant something to her, but not to him. She closed her eyes and sighed, cursing her own thoughtlessness. Not that Logan couldn't sniff her out with ease. That was given. Still...

She was distracted enough with her inner mutterings that when Logan did walk up beside her, she jumped and let out a yelp of surprise. Blushing and feeling like even more of an idiot, Rogue mumbled, "Startled me."

"Sorry, darlin'," he said, letting a smile slip through before he managed to paste on a look of concern.

Brown eyes narrowed in the pink and orange light bathing them in pastels. "It ain't funny," she grated before smiling herself to show that she was kidding. Mostly. "So... so ya wanted to talk?"

Logan nodded and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. Rogue smiled openly then. He felt as nervous as she did. Maybe more. "Yeah... look, mind if we sit down?"

"Sure." She sat down on the nearest bench and Logan sat at the opposite end, eyes darting up toward her from time to time. "So you gonna say somethin' or are ya tryin' to work on yer telepathy?"

Chuckling softly, Logan shook his head. "Looks like I'm just gonna hafta stick with words here. They aren't exactly my strong suit either. Look, I'm not gonna pretend I understand everything you've been through or done or whatever since I ran outta here. That'd be stupid. We both know better." His eyes were locked with hers now, the hazel of them painfully intense in the waning light. "I wanna try to understand, though. Can't do that if you won't help me out. So... ya willin' to help me out? I mean, I may not be the guy ya want me to be, but I wanna give it a shot."

Rogue realized her hands were twisting together, fingers interlocking and releasing, working off her nervous tension. With an effort, she stilled them and looked up at Logan. "Ah... yeah." She shifted a little on the seat. The decision had been made, and she had no idea what to do next. She wasn't even completely sure it was the right decision. "Now what?"

Logan frowned and looked away for a moment, then back to Rogue. He shrugged slightly and shook his head. "Damned if I know, darlin'. I guess we keep talkin'."

"Oh. Okay. So... pretty sunset."

Logan's hazel eyes shifted away from her, focusing on the colors of the sky as they faded into night. "Yeah. Pretty sunset."