Belong by New Moon
Summary: After Alcatraz, Rogue wonders about her place in the world
Categories: X3, AU Characters: None
Genres: Shipper
Tags: None
Warnings: Not Beta Read
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 1 Completed: Yes Word count: 1180 Read: 2463 Published: 02/01/2009 Updated: 02/01/2009
Story Notes:
This story is for dutchxfan's February fic challenge. Suggested prompts were Valentine's Day, Heroes and Failures, Bucket of Water, Meridian and the phrase "Can't Touch This"

1. Chapter 1 by New Moon

Chapter 1 by New Moon
Author's Notes:
I own nothing related to X-Men, Marvel, 20th Century Fox, etc. etc. etc.
She'd heard of Murphy's Law, of course, but at age 20, figured she had it trumped and then some.

She'd discovered she was a mutant at age 15 when she'd kissed a boy and put him into a coma thanks to her newly deadly skin. She'd run away from home, almost died in a truck explosion, been stabbed by a friend, kidnapped and nearly killed by a psychopath mutant, and lost her father figure to a murderous mutant who also held the key to the heart of the man she loved. Her boyfriend couldn't touch her and dumped her for a girl she'd considered a friend.

In a bid for normalcy, she'd gone and taken The Cure to remove her powers. Not that she considered them powers, more like a curse. In doing so, she was absent for the epic battle at Alcatraz. When she'd gone back to the mansion, those who didn't make her feel like a traitor for taking The Cure ostracized her for not being there when she was most needed as an X-Man. All but Logan, who didn't even come back to Xavier's. She'd stayed a scant month before she left, feeling more unwanted and out of place than ever, surrounded by painful memories and a disconsolate feeling of loss without Jean, Scott, the Professor and of course, Logan.

The day before she'd planned to leave the mansion, she'd gotten word that her parents had been killed in a car accident, lost to a drunk driver who'd crossed the line and hit them head on. Rogue stared down at their grave stones with dry eyes, pondering the irony that she'd left home because they'd disowned her over her mutation, but died before she could try to reconcile with them as a "normal" woman.

She didn't plan on staying in Meridian for very long, just long enough to take care of her parents' affairs before she moved on. Perhaps she'd seen too much of the world or just felt too much while out in it, but Meridian was no longer home to her. She didn't belong there any more than she did in Westchester. She placed the bouquet of flowers on her mother's grave and sighed. Maybe she couldn't ever belong anywhere ever again. She was caught between worlds; no longer a mutant but certainly not just a regular woman.

A shadow fell across the grave at the same moment the curl of smoke reached her nose.

"Hey, kid."

Rogue turned quickly, shielding her eyes against the bright sun behind her.

"Logan? What are ya'll doin' here? How did ya...."

He stepped forward, looking as he always did, snug jeans, a white t-shirt stretched taut across a muscled chest, dark hair slightly mussed and a cigar between his teeth. His hazel eyes met hers steadily. "I got back to the mansion a couple days after ya left. 'Ro told me what happened to yer folks. I'm sorry." He paused, his gaze intent. "You okay?"

If she hadn't felt so numb, she might have laughed bitterly. "Ah don't know what okay feels like any more." She crossed her arms and looked down. "Been so long since Ah felt okay that Ah don't know if Ah'd recognize it at this point."

With a sigh, she walked to the park bench nestled beneath a tree near her parents' grave. After a moment, Logan crossed to the bench and sat beside her and stared at the bare fingers that were in her lap. "So, you took The Cure, huh?"

Spine stiffening, she avoided his eyes and looked pointedly at her shoes. "Ah guess ya'll are disappointed in me too, right? Ah'm gettin' used ta lettin' people down. My parents, Storm, Bobby, the Professor..."

Her breath hitched as tears glazed her vision. "Ah even let myself down by takin' The Cure since now Ah can't even be an X-Man. Ah trained ta be a super hero and instead Ah'm just a failure."

There was a long moment of silence before Logan answered in his deep voice. "You ain't a failure, Marie." He hesitated, then laid one large hand over one of hers, squeezing her fingers lightly. She turned her head, brown eyes searching his in question. He leaned in slightly. "You might be the bravest person I know."

When her mouth dropped open in stunned disbelief, he shifted his cigar from one side to the other. "It took guts to leave home on your own as young as you were. It took balls to get into my truck that day. It took a helluva lot of guts to fly the jet to us at Alkali Lake. It sure as hell took more balls than most men have to face down your own fears and demons when you took The Cure." Logan reached for her chin, held it steady as he stared deep into her eyes. "Ya can't let people down when you're being true to yourself."

His thumb swept up to caress her lower lip softly. "You've never let me down, Marie. Never." Their eyes held. "When I doubt my own humantiy, you've always been there to let me know I'm a man and not some sort of animal. You've seen me at my worst but somehow bring out the best in me. You've never once called me Wolverine since we've known each other, did you know that?"

She smiled tremulously. "Ya'll are just Logan."

He smiled back. "Only to you, darlin', only to you."

She leaned back against the bench. After a moment, Logan placed his arm around her shoulder and hugged her close. They sat in companionable silence for several minutes before Logan spoke.

"What are ya gonna do now?"

She shrugged. "Ah don't rightly know. Ah can't stay here and Ah don't belong in Westchester any more."

Logan cleared his throat. "I've got a place up in Canada where you can stay. If ya want to, that is." He glanced at her sideways. "It's nothing fancy, just a cabin in the woods but I guess it's home."

Rogue turned to face him. "Home? Ya'll are askin' me to stay in your home?"

He nodded, looking more gruff than usual. "Well, yeah but you don't have to if you don't want to...." His words were cut off when slim arms were thrown around his neck in a hug. His arms wrapped around her as he rested his chin against the top of her head. "I take it that's a yes?"

She nodded against his neck, mumbling an affirmative.

Logan closed his eyes for a moment then took a deep breath. "It's not just my home. It can be your home too if that's what you want."

Rogue froze, certain she misunderstood. She leaned her back to see his face. Her eyes searched his. "Mine?"

A large hand cupped her face, smoothing white hair back behind her ear. "The cabin. And me. If you'll have us. If you'll be ours, too."

Joy burst through her as Logan lowered his mouth to hers. Her last clear thought was that finally she belonged.
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