For someone who’d never played a video game before, Logan was doing a remarkable job of kicking Bobby’s ass at the latest Tekken when they heard the combination growl/scream from the foyer.

“AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!”

Logan was off the couch the instant he realized it was Rogue, shoving Bobby none-too-gently out of his way as he raced out of the game room. Bobby recovered quickly and arrived soon after, glaring at the older man. Logan didn’t care. If Marie was in trouble, he was the one most likely to be able to help her, anyway.

She didn’t look like she was in trouble.

She looked angry.

Logan exchanged a glance with Iceboy and leaned casually against the wall, just as if his heart wasn’t trying to pound out of his chest from the brief scare. He took a moment to survey the scene.

Rogue stood, holding a paperback book in her hands, a large yellow envelope bursting with tissue paper dropped at her feet. Her long, dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, a few white strands escaping to brush her face. Her face was flushed and twisted into a scowl. She still managed to look pretty, he thought, but he wouldn’t necessarily like to have her scowling at him that way.

The book was currently on the receiving end of her vicious glare.

“What’s up, Rogue?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. He always thought of her as “Marie,” but he never used that name around anyone else. A small, horrible part of him wanted that to be just between them. He knew it was wrong, but he loved the idea that he was the only one who knew her real name. Even her own boyfriend didn’t know.

“He -- urm ... I can’t ...” She finished that incoherent thought with a credible growl.

Bobby, unconsciously or not, had mirrored Logan’s stance, leaning against another wall. “Who did what?” he asked.

Rogue growled again, stooping down to root out a piece of paper from the envelope and paper at her feet. She held it out, and Bobby jumped to grab it before Logan could move. “What’s this?” Bobby unfolded the paper and read aloud. “ ‘R-- I’m sure you’ve missed me as much as I’ve missed you. If you ever get tired of freezing your ass off with B, I’ve got a little something to warm you up. -- Pyro.”

Logan shook his head. Pyro might have chosen the wrong team, but at least the kid had attitude.

To his credit, Bobby was laughing at the note instead of getting mad. Rogue, however, was not laughing.

“Ignore him,” Bobby said. “He obviously has nothing better to do than needle you.”

“Oh,” Rogue said angrily, shaking the paperback in her hand. “He’s been real busy.”

She held up the book so they could see the cover. Logan stepped closer and read the title out loud. “Burning Passion,” he said. Rogue shifted her gloved hand so he could see the rest of the cover. “Whoa!”

The couple clutching one another on the cover bore a strong resemblance to Pyro and Rogue. The woman had dark, flowing hair with streaks of white in the front. She also had a very, very low cut forest green dress clinging to her nicely curved body.

Surely, he thought, Marie’s breasts were not that big. He couldn’t stop himself from checking, though. His eyes ran up her body and over the T-shirt stretched tight across her chest, breaking off his gaze as she loudly cleared her throat.

She jammed her free hand on her hip and glared at him. “Do you mind?” she asked before crossing her arms over her chest.

“Um.” He wanted to apologize, but he was stuck on the fact that while her breasts were not quite as big as the woman’s on the book, they were a very nice size and dammit he wasn’t supposed to be thinking about her like that, anyway. With her nice boyfriend standing right next to him being all ... nice and young and good for her and everything.

Rogue obviously hadn’t expected any kind of apology, because she had paced away from them and was reading from the back of the book. “ ‘She was a rogue,’” she read, her voice trembling with anger. After another growl, she continued. “ ‘He was an outsider. She needed someone to melt the wall of ice around her heart, and he was the only one who could ignite the fire of passion in her body and soul.’” She paced around the foyer, cursing under her breath.

Logan snorted, and Bobby collapsed against a wall, laughing.

Rogue swept around to face them, glaring. “You think this is funny?” she asked, her voice low and dangerous. She stepped closer to Bobby. “Do. You. Think this. Is funny?”

Bobby stopped laughing. “Uh.” He cleared his throat. “No ...” Logan grinned as he heard the “ma’am” that remained unsaid.

Rogue shook the book in Logan’s direction, fixing him with a glare. “Logan? Is this funny?”

He leaned against the wall again. “Oh, yeah,” he said, smirking. He wasn’t backing down from some kid, no matter how mad -- or cute -- she was. “Funny as hell.”

She growled again and hurled the book at his head. He grabbed it before it hit him, wincing slightly as the force stung his hand. The girl had a good throwing arm. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ve been looking for something to read.”

Her eyes widened. “No way. Give that back. I’m going to burn it.”

“Now, Rogue,” he said, shaking his head. “Burning books ... that’s censorship.”

She gasped and grabbed for the book. He held it just out of her reach and grinned at her. “I can’t wait to see how he ignites her fire of passion,” he said, strolling out of the room, whistling for good measure.

Judging by the “AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!” behind him, he was going to have to watch his back for a while.

At least it kept his life interesting.

End