"Damn it," Rogue muttered, staring at the envelope through watery eyes.

"Return to Sender" was written across it in a handwriting she recognized at her father's.

It was a Christmas card. Just a stupid card.

"What you got there, kid? Love letter from Icicle Boy?"

Rogue looked up just as Logan snatched the card from her hand. They were standing in the foyer of the mansion; all lit up and decorated for the holidays. The rest of the mail lay strewn across a nearby table. The students who could go home were home as the school was closed and anyone who remained either had no family ... or no family that wanted them.

Like Rogue's.

"No, it's not," she said, trying to snatch it back but Logan's quick reflexes kept it away. Frustrated, she reached for it again.

"I think it is," he said, holding it just high enough so she couldn't get it. He grinned at her efforts. "Who else gets you all worked up like this?"

"Logan," she said, her voice almost pleading. She couldn't understand why he cared whom it was from. It wasn't like Logan paid her much attention now that he was back. After Jean's death, he didn't seem to care much about anything. He came and went as he pleased and kept to himself. She saw him primarily during missions despite the fact he tried to keep her and Bobby off them.

His grin turned into a smirk as he took a couple steps back. She lunged for it now, fighting off angry tears that were welling in her eyes. "You'll have to do better than that..."

"Just give me the damn card," Rogue demanded as Logan dodged her further.

"This card?" he persisted, managing to get far enough away from her to look at it. "This little card right ... oh shit."

Logan stopped moving and looked back at Rogue.

"Yeah," she muttered, walking up to him and snapping it out of his hand. She angrily swiped away at the tear that slipped out and down her cheek. She wasn't sure who she was more mad at...her dad or Logan or herself for sending it in the first place.

"I'm sorry," he said, taking a step toward her. Now it was Rogue's turn to dodge. "Look, I didn't know..."

"Just forget you saw it, okay?" Rogue replied, shaking her head as she folded the card in half and shoved it in her pocket. She waved him off and started to back up. "Just ... forget it."

Before he could say anything more, Rogue turned and took off up the stairs.

---

Logan took one final puff on his cigar before putting it out. He looked out across the front lawn of the school at all the shrubs and bushes decked out in clear white lights. The kids had done a good job decorating. There was certainly enough crap everywhere.

He sighed and looked back up at the mansion, at one room in particular. The light that had been on for the last hour suddenly clicked off. Rogue was finally done crying or whatever it was she was doing up there. He had already tried talking to her and was told in no uncertain terms to "go the fuck away" so he did. Or rather, he tried and got as far as the front steps and decided he couldn't go without at least knowing she was okay.

Not like there wasn't plenty of crap planned at the mansion tonight. There was. Logan just didn't feel like participating in any of it. He never bothered with it before and it wasn't about to start now. He had a nice evening planned at the local tavern. Alone. He was used to be alone but she didn't have to be. It was his fault she'd gone into hiding as it were and he was going to at least try and get her out.

It didn't take Logan very long to find where she had gone. Her scent was one he knew a little too well. He smiled a little at that thought. She may be with Ice Cube but her heart always beat a little fast when he was around. Taken with him, that's what Jeannie had said.

Jean ... Logan shook her quickly out of his mind.

"Hungry?" Logan asked as he peeked into the kitchen. Rogue was standing at the counter with a container of ice cream in one hand and spoon in the other.

"Go away," she said firmly, looking down into the container and swirling the spoon around.

"You know, they have some real food at the thing tonight," he suggested, gesturing back from where he'd just passed the evening's 'festivities'. "It's quite a spread."

"Then why don't you go and enjoy it," Rogue answered, her spoon moving around a little slower as she lifted her eyes to his. Fuck. She had been crying.

"I think you should go," he said, moving in closer. He stopped on the other side of the counter, keeping a safe distance between them. "You've got family in there..."

Rogue's eyes narrowed and she threw the spoon down on the table. It made a very loud, very angry metal clank. "They're not my family, Logan. I have a family. They may not want me but they're still my family and pretending they don't exist doesn't make it all better..."

"I never said they didn't exist. I said..." Logan interrupted but she just ignored him.

"You said I've got 'family' in there. I don't," she continued, folding her arms over her chest. Her breast swelled a little as she caught her breath. Logan tried not to notice the rather ample curve the gesture created, which provided a pleasant distraction as she carried on some more. "... Logan, are you even listening to me?"

Too much of a distraction.

"Yeah," he said quickly, his eyes snapping back up to hers.

"Really. Then what did I just say?"

Fuck.

"Uh, do you want to get out of here?" he blurted out, surprising himself and her with the offer. What the hell was he doing? He already had plans. Alone plans that were quickly fading with the smile spreading fast across Rogue's lips.

And damn was it ever a pretty smile.

"I would. I really, really would," she said, smiling even more.

---

"Can I get you anything ... else?" purred the waitress as she purposely leaned into Logan as she picked up the empty plates. Her breasts were spilling out of her white fur lined tank top that matched her Santa cap. "Another Molson?"

"I'd like another," Rogue said, giving her a rather smug look as she reminded her who Logan was with. Well, not 'with' in that sense of the word but he was with her tonight and that was all that mattered. She waited for Logan to cancel her order but instead, he looked almost amused by it.

"You heard the lady," he said, sitting back so her breasts were no longer in his face. Rogue felt like the cat that ate the canary as the waitress straightened up and left.

"Lady?" Rogue repeated, sitting back herself as straight and as ladylike as she could despite her surroundings. The bar was filthy, smelly and full of drunks getting drunker by minute.

"Just an expression," Logan assured her, his eyes sweeping over her in such a way that Rogue wished she had changed before they left. Her shirt was a size too small and her jeans a size too big and she was sure the only reason she was getting served at all was because of Logan. She was still underage -- for alcohol, anyway.

"She seems disappointed you're here with me," Rogue said, glancing back at the waitress.

"Are you disappointed?" Logan asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

"No."

"Then who cares if she is," he answered, wrapping his fingers around the long neck of his Molson. He finished it up in one swig, then set it down. He stared at it instead of her. "You should stop worrying about disappointing people."

Rogue sighed and stared at the empty bottle as well. She had wondered how long it was going to be before Logan brought up her parents. As much as she wished this night out could be about anything else, it was about that stupid card.

"I'm not worrying about it. I just wanted them to know I'm...okay," she said softly, her eyes moving off the bottle and up to Logan's. He was staring at her now, waiting for her to continue. "I'm okay with it."

"Glad to hear it," he said, his own voice low and a little gravely. "That all?"

"I just wanted...I mean, I just hoped that by now..." she stammered around the lump that was forming in her throat. Damn it. She wasn't going to do this in front of Logan.

"They'd be okay with it, too?" he guessed and she nodded. Rogue reached out across the table, her gloved hand reaching for his.

"It's Christmas, Logan," she said, squeezing his fingers tight with her own. "It's Christmas and I miss them and I thought they missed me, too."

"Don't see how they couldn't," he muttered, averting his eyes again. He cleared his throat and let her hand go, his gaze sweeping the bar like he was looking for something. Rogue couldn't help but smile at how uncomfortable he'd suddenly become. "I'd miss you if I were..."

"Did you miss me?" Rogue asked, the words coming out of her mouth before she could stop them. Logan looked back at her fast, his dark eyes fixing on her once more.

Despite the crowd around them, the room seemed impossibly quiet as Rogue held her breath and waited for him to say something.

---

Fuck. He had to say something.

Logan opened his mouth but nothing came out. She was supposed to be talking about her folks. She wasn't supposed to be asking him questions. Especially not that question.

"Uh, what?" he managed after a minute or two.

"When you left for Alikali Lake. After what happened at Liberty Island, I--I missed you. I missed you a lot," she said, her words running together. She was nervous now and he could smell it despite the thick cloud of cigarette smoke that hung in the air.

"Icicle Boy helped you get over it, didn't he?" he replied, avoiding the question completely. What did it matter if he missed her or not? He came back to find her snuggled up with the Drake kid and happy to be. It had been a good thing, too.

"I guess," she answered, sounding as unsure as Logan felt at the moment. He hoped she wasn't going to ask him anything else but knew she was. "Do you miss Jean?"

"I guess," he replied, intentionally repeating her answer. "But it doesn't matter because she's gone. What matters is you and if you're happy with how things are."

"How what things are?"

"Things," Logan said, nearly growling the word. "Beside the thing with your folks."

"They're getting better," she said, looking down at her gloved hands before peeling one off. It was always strange to see her bare hands and how small they really were. Logan watched as she reached for his hand again, then carefully swept her fingertips over his palm. Unlike before, he only felt a dull spark and a faint prickle of electricity as she touched him. "I've been working really hard at it."

"I see that," Logan said, wondering how hard she'd be 'working' on it with the Drake boy. He felt a pang of jealously at the thought but it was quickly followed by guilt. She was still too young. She'd always be too young. "Proud of you, kid."

Rogue winced slightly and pulled back, giving him an admonishing look. "I'm not always happy with you."

"I know," he admitted, wincing himself.

"I don't want you keeping me off missions anymore," she said, that look becoming serious. "I know you try to talk the Professor out of it but I'm ready, Logan. I'm ready for lots of...things."

Something about the way she said that made his mouth seem impossibly dry and he wished the damn waitress would come back with that beer. Unfortunately, she was stuck at another table and he was stuck with Rogue sitting across from him telling him that. She wasn't really saying what he thought she was saying, right? His eyes moved back to hers and they were filled with such longing that he began to think that maybe she was.

"Not sure I am," he mumbled and Rogue gave him a puzzled look. Good. She didn't hear him. Logan wasn't comfortable with where the conversation was heading so he decided to end it for the moment. He stood up and gestured to just behind the bar where the restrooms were. He cleared his throat. "I-uh, gotta use the can. Be right back."

"Okay," she said. She looked even more puzzled as he started walking away.

---

Rogue was pretty sure that wasn't what Logan had just said.

She waited until he was out of sight before slumping back and rolling her eyes at her own stupidity. What was she thinking? Telling him she was "ready" like that? No wonder Logan bolted the way he did. He was probably thinking up a good excuse to get back her back to the school and fast. She could hardly blame him if he was.

She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling the emotions from earlier welling up again. Her parents didn't want her. Logan didn't want her. The only person that did was Bobby but she wasn't sure he was the one she wanted. That's why she told him to go on and spend the holidays with his family. It gave him a chance to try and patch things up with them. It also gave her a chance to think things over. It wasn't fair to Bobby to keep leading him on if she didn't feel the same.

And she didn't.

"Here's your beer, honey."

Rogue opened her eyes and watched as a different waitress set the beer down in front of her. This one looked a little older and had less cleavage. She gave a Rogue a friendly smile as she cleared up the empty bottles from the table.

"Thanks," Rogue said.

"He comes in here a lot," she said, lowering her voice a bit. "That guy you're with. Always by himself. He doesn't always leave by himself but he comes in by himself."

"So?" Rogue said, wondering why she was telling her any of this. Did she want Logan, too? Who wouldn't want Logan?

"So it just surprised us he came in with you," she continued, taking a rag out of her back pocket and wiping the table down even though it didn't need to be wiped. "Don't take this the wrong way but you don't seem his type, that's all."

"And I suppose you are?" Rogue couldn't help but notice her hair was slightly reddish in color.

"No," the waitress replied, shrugging off Rogue's flippant comment. She continued wiping. "I just meant it's nice to see him with someone like you for a change."

"He's not with me," Rogue admitted, getting up. She dug into her back pocket and handed her enough money for the beer so they could just go the second Logan got back. The waitress hesitated a moment before taking it.

"Thanks. Have a Merry Christmas," she said, tucking the money into the front pocket of her apron before slowly walking away.

"Yeah. It's really merry," Rogue muttered, grabbing her coat and slipping it back on.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?"

She turned her head just enough to see Logan heading back to the table.

"Aren't we leaving?"

"Do you want to leave?"

"Don't you?" Rogue said, her voice finally breaking with emotion. She reached into her other pocket and pulled out the card. She dropped it down on the table and started buttoning up her coat. "I don't need your pity, Logan. I don't need it over this stupid card

"Is that what you think this is?" he asked, reaching for the crumbled envelope. "It's not."

"No, it's definitely not. And leave that there. Or read it. I just don't care anymore," Rogue said, thinking out loud. She was tired. She was frustrated.

And the waitress was right. She wasn't his type and she never would be.

---

Before he could stop her, Rogue brushed past Logan and started heading for door. He looked at her then down at the "stupid card" in his hand. Seeing how much trouble it has caused, he didn't want to just leave it there without reading it first.

Logan turned it over, hooked a finger in the corned and tore it open. A smiling snowman stared back at him, embellished with blue sparkles that caught even the dim light of the bar. Opening it, he skipped over the preprinted message and just started reading what Rogue had written.

Logan closed the card, set it down on the table before catching up with her at the door. He caught her arm just before she walked through it and turned her around so she was facing him.

"Let me go," she said, trying to shake him off. It didn't work.

"Why did you want me to read that?" he asked, softening his grip to where he was just holding onto her instead. Rogue didn't answer. Logan brought his other hand up to her other arm to gently keep her in place. "We're not going anywhere until you tell me."

For a minute, Rogue looked as if she was willing to stand there all night. She kept her eyes off his and her feet firmly planted until he drew her a little closer. Close enough to feel the warmth of her body as it pressed against his. She relaxed into his touch, the tension melting away as she leaned in even more before lifting her face to his.

"You know why, Logan," she said softly. "You like to pretend you don't but you know."

She was right. He did. Even before Jeannie had said anything, he knew. He just figured it was something she'd get over before he did. She may have written those words for her family but maybe they weren't meant for them. Maybe they were really meant for...

Before he could finish that thought, Logan felt something nudging him. Hard.

"Here." It was the red-haired waitress and she was holding a sprig of something. She quickly reached over both their heads and fastened it to the threshold before backing away. "Now you have no excuse."

"Excuse?"

"To kiss me," Rogue said, looking up at it and then back at him.

"Didn't know I needed one," he said, carefully moving his hands up to either side of her head. Her hair was soft against the rough skin of his fingers as he titled her head up to his. He was fairly certain she could control it long enough for a kiss.

Or two.

"You don't," Rogue answered happily as he brought her lips to his. Again, he felt the dull spark but nothing more as her mouth opened under his. It was only the need for air that caused them to separate.

"Stupid card," Logan whispered and Rogue smiled.

"Really stupid card," she agreed just before she kissed him again.

The End