I never considered myself a masochist. Pain was not my idea of pleasure. There was no such thing as sweet torture in my book. Funny that I was friends, really good friends, with a guy who really got off on pain and violence. Truth be told, Logan's preferences concerning the opposite sex was something I never really thought about in all our years as friends. I loved him absolutely. But, after my puppy love crush faded, I realized he was someone that I loved without constantly thinking about whether or not he'd ever get in my pants, or what it might be like if he ever did. Jubilee went and shot that all to hell in a single afternoon. She's such a good friend.....

We were the group of friends who spent way too much time together. If one of us was seen, the others weren't far behind. Me, Jubilee, Kitty, Bobby, Pete, and John. We were the mutant equivalent of "Friends". We were all in our mid-twenties, teachers at Xavier's, part-time superheros, and we'd all made out with each other at some point. Bobby and Kitty had started dating after he and I broke up. I learned to control my skin and when things finally took a turn for the physical, we realized it didn't feel...right. We parted on good terms and he started dating Kitty. Two years later and they were still going strong. The rest of us were unattached, just happy playing the field and none of us really ended up in serious relationships. Besides, if I really wanted to hang out with someone outside "the circle", I had Logan. We watched violent action movies, drank beer, and went out to dinner to just catch-up. It was easy. Platonic. Then he paid a visit to me and Jubes room one day and it all got so damn complicated.
The six of us were just bullshitting, listening to music, and just killing time on a Friday afternoon. Classes were done for the day, so we were plotting the nighttime wave of attack on a new bar that was opening up in town.
"OK! Here's the dealr12;we'll get ready and all meet up in the front foyer at around 8 or 8:30. Sound good?" Jubilee was like a full time party planner with teaching as a side job. There were nods all around. It was only 4:00. Plenty of time to eat and get ready. Just then, the radio started playing the Offspring's "I want you Bad". We all kinda looked at each other and burst into song and dance. We are such freaks.
During our impromptu show, Logan appeared at the doorway, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. Scott came up next to him and cleared his throat.
"Hey! Hate to break up the "Fame" reunion here, but we need some help!" That Scott, so funny.
We collapsed in laughter and I walked over to see what he wanted.
"What's wrong?"
Logan was the first to speak. "We had a little disagreement about this danger room program and now it needs some tweaking before we can actually run it."
"Logan made it way too dangerous. I hate to see any of you maimed in practice."
"I did not make it too dangerous, I know what they can handle."
I held up my hands to signal them both to shut up. If you let them get started, they wouldn't let up. Ever. "OK, we'll all look at it and figure out what can stay and what can go, alright? Just, sit down and we'll all go over it." Go me! Let those boys know who the boss is. Jubilee apparently thought the same thing and chose that moment to open her big mouth.
"You tell 'em Rogue. All you need is some skimpy leather and a whip and you'd make one hot dominatrix. Tellin' boys what to do. Maybe I'll get you some handcuffs for your birthday." Everyone laughed. Even Scott. Hard. Except Logan. He looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time. That's the thing about talking about sex. Once you do, everyone pictures you naked. Or, in this case, handcuffed to a bed naked. Sad part was, I looked at Logan and pictured myself naked, handcuffed, and on his bed. Dammit.
I shook the thought out of my head and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Next thing I knew it was 6:00, and the program was finally done. Scott had been right, some of the stuff Logan thought we could "handle" may have resulted in some handicapped superheroes. We all bolted for the dining hall and ate dinner quickly so we could get ready for the new bar opening. I, of course, was the first to be done. I'm a pretty low maintenance girl. I threw on a dark pair of jeans that fit like a glove and a green and white patterned tube top that tied to one side and had material trailing down my thigh. Dark green wedges completed the look. I was waiting for everyone else to show when I heard footsteps on the stairs. I looked up to see Logan making his way towards me, eyes looking me up and down. Logan, bed, naked, handcuffs, flashed through my mind. Oh hell.
"Hey! What's going on!" Was my voice always so high and strained sounding? Damn Jubilee and her little comments. Now all she could think about was Logan, in a very dirty way.
"Just thought I'd tag along tonight. I could use a night away."
Logan was always asked, but NEVER came out with us. His idea of a good bar and ours were worlds apart. We liked to sing, dance and act dumber than we ever would in the school setting. He liked quiet music on the jukebox, a bar stool and an attentive bartender who kept them coming without making a big deal of the amount of liquor the man could consume.
"Really? Well, that's great, Logan. You haven't been out with all of us since I turned 21. I don't remember much, but I think I had a lot of fun." He laughed easily and shook his head.
"You did have fun. And even survived to not remember it." I couldn't help but laugh. I was about to say something when noise from the stairs distracted me. Everyone began to trickle down the stairs and my boys made appreciative sounds about my outfit.
"Whoo! Rogue, you look good tonight! We're gonna be fightin' off the drunks with a stick!" John always teased me about dressing way to conservatively. A tube top was a big change of pace. Beside me, I could feel Logan's eyes burning my skin. I glanced over and saw his nod of agreement.
"She could wear a paper bag and still look hot with those curves, lucky bitch." Jubes, what a sweetie.
"Alright, enough fashion talk, let's get going." I rolled my eyes and reached for the door. Logan reached at the same time and , suddenly, our skin made contact and sparked. It felt like a thousand volts had just ran through me. Logan looked a little shaken himself. This was bad. Again, Logan, naked, bed images invaded my dirty mind. No handcuffs this time. Full participation was required in this fantasy. Well, definitely no more touching tonight. Like I said, I am not a masochist. We both said "Sorry" at the same time and he yanked the door open and motioned for me to go. "Thanks" I said softly. And we were off.
The guys took one car and the girls another, and before I knew it, we were standing in front of a large, three-story high sports bar. "Overtime" it was called. We pushed our way through the crowd and landed a large table for the seven of us. Wouldn't you know it, Logan slipped into the seat next to me. I was hyper aware of him beside me and as we ordered our drinks, I couldn't help but wonder, could he tell what I was thinking? He kept giving me these "looks".
The night progressed, and we drank, laughed and danced. At least the girls danced. The boys took Logan being there as a good excuse to stay put and keep him company. Logan was not a guy who would dance to "Get Low". He just kept watching me with an amused look on his face. I would've gave anything to have the guts to flick on my skin switch and just see what he was thinking. But, that wouldn't be right. I kept telling myself that over, and over, and over again.
As the night drew to a close, last call was announced and we all had a round of tequila, our ritual last drink. When I licked my wrist, I caught Logan's eyes watching me and about had a heart attack. Was that lust? Looked like it to me. I quickly downed my shot and turned to Jubes, who was hanging off her chair. Way too much to drink on her part. John came around and help me gather up our drunken friend. We all got in our respective cars and made our way back to the mansion.
We pulled into the garage and said our goodbyes at around 3 am. Logan's eyes locked on mine.
"Need help getting her up to bed? She looks kinda....incapacitated."
I thought for a minute. She was really heavy and wobbly. The stairs might be tricky all on my own. "Sure. Thanks. I'd hate to drop her drunk ass on the stairs. Even though she kinda deserves it for drinking so damn much." He nodded and grabbed her other side and we made our way to our room. When we got there, Logan and I deposited her into bed and I pulled off her shoes. When I stood up straight, he was directly behind me and I breathed deep when my back made contact with his chest. His mouth was right by my ear and I could feel the warmth of his breath. I knew what he was going to do, and I cursed myself for wanting him to do it. Finally, I felt his warm lips on my neck.
I could've put a stop to what was happening. One word, one look, and he would've backed off. I didn't do anything. As a matter of fact, I tilted my head to give him more access to my neck and let him explore the area at his leisure. When he moved back up to my ear and nipped at the lobe gently, I lost my composure. I moaned, and moved my hand up to cradle his head. His hands began to explore the lines of my body. When I felt a thumb flick at my hardened nipple, I shivered at the sensation. I wanted more. A lot more. And I wanted it now. Just then I spun on my heels and crushed my lips against his. Wow, this man could kiss. His tongue slipped through my lips and began to explore my mouth in a way I've never experienced. We were possessed. Moaning softly, our hands roaming anywhere we could reach, our bodies rubbing together. I couldn't get close enough to him. Just then, he pulled back, his breathing heavy.
"Waitr12;just wait. How much did you drink tonight? Are you drunk?" That threw me. Was I drunk? Feeling good, for sure. But the room wasn't spinning and there was only one of him in front of me.
"I'm drunk enough to think this is a really, really good idea. But I'm not near drunk enough you should worry you're taking advantage." Good answer, girl. Logan looked at me for a second, then stepped closer.
"Well, I think that's just the right amount of drunk...don't you?"
"Oh, yeah. I agree." Our lips collided again and I started pulling on his shirt when he stopped me and whispered in my ear-"My bed. I want you in my bed." Oh, what a sexy voice. He pulled me towards the door. His room was only two doors down and we were there in seconds. He pushed me through the doorway, spinning me around and closing the door as he pressed my body against it. We fumbled with buttons, zippers, and suddenly we were in nothing but our underwear, still against the door. Just then, he picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He laid me on the bed and I felt his weight on top of me. I didn't know I could even make the sounds coming from my mouth. I wanted him so much, Magneto could've come knocking and I would have ignored him. I became aware of his hands roaming lower and lower until he delved a hand under my panties and straight inside me. "OH! Logan!" It felt so damn good, I almost came immediately. Then I realized that's what he wanted.
"Come for me, Marie. I wanna see it, hear it. Come for me." His fingers circled and stroked me until my hips were rotating against his hand. His mouth was sucking and licking a nipple, and his sexy words sent me over the edge. My body shuddered with a powerful release, and I screamed his name as I came.
In my post-orgasmic haze, I became aware that he was slowly pulling down my panties and throwing them to the floor. His boxers followed. He was all naked, and pressing against my still shaking body.
"You still sure? Do you really want me inside you?" I couldn't talk. I shook my head, and wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him closer. I felt him pressing against me and all I wanted was all of him inside me, and right now.
"Just relax, I'll give you what you want." His voice was so hushed and just arousing. He pressed into me pushed himself deeper and deeper inside me. I bit my lipand whimpered quietly. OK, ow, ow, ow. It hurt a little more than I thought it would. He froze and looked down at me.
"I'm sorry, I'm hurting you, aren't I?"
"No! Please, don't stop....I'm alright!"
"I wasn't planning on stopping, baby. I'll just go a little slower."
He pushed in and out of me at a pace I could only describe as torture. The longer he did it, the better it felt, until my hips were rising off the bed and I encouraged him to go harder, deeper, faster. He started whispering in my ear and biting my shoulder. Telling me how good I felt, how he wanted me to come with him.
"I want you to come around me, come while I'm inside your body." He reached a hand between us and rubbed my clit. It took seconds until we were both coming hard and screaming out our simultaneous release.
We were still shuddering with aftershocks when he spoke.
"You alright?"
Was I alright? Hell, yeah. I felt so damn good I decided that I may just forgo ever leaving this bed, ever. Instead, I said "Yeah, I'm perfect. Great." He nodded. And pulled out of my body, laying to my side and pulling me across his chest. He kissed my forehead and said "Get some sleep, kid. We'll talk in the morning."
"OK. Sure." Sleep was already over taking me and I was drifting into the darkness quickly.

I woke up in a panic. I had no idea where I was or how long I'd been there. Everyone has had that feeling, you wake up in a strange place and your brain just doesn't kick in for a few minutes. Something eventually triggers your memory and you're ok. For me, my memory kicked in when I realized Logan was talking to me and rubbing my back.
"What? I'm....sorry. What did you say?" Nothing was processing in my head.
"I asked if you're alright. Were you having a nightmare?" He sounded a little annoyed, which annoyed me.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just couldn't think of where I was. I'm not used to not sleeping in my own bed, ya know." Why was I so irritated with him all the sudden?
"No, I guess you're not." He gave me this wry look, like he had something more to say, but he stayed silent. We just sat there for a few minutes, until I couldn't take it anymore.
"Ok! Well, since I don't normally go AWOL from my room, I should probably head back, check on Jubes, make sure she isn't forming a search party." He just stared at me. Really, this was getting more and more ridiculous.
"Look Marie, we need to talk about last night. I think that maybe we---" I held up a hand to stop him. I did not want to talk about anything. I just wanted to shower and have some coffee.
"Logan. I don't want some weird, morning-after chat. Can we just, stick a pin in it and carry on like we normally do? We can talk about it later." Or never. I glanced up at him and he narrowed his eyes. Dammit, man, what were you thinking?
"Stick... a... pin... in.. it?" He repeated each word slowly, as if I was talking in some foreign language. "We had sex, Marie. We had sex without protection. You had sex for the very first time. You want to stick a pin in it? I think we have some shit to discuss, now, not later!" He was angry, OK, I get that. Damage control. But I just stared at him. It hit me between the eyes. I had sex. I had sex with my friend Logan, losing my virginity, and I never even thought of using a condom. I'm an idiot. Big one. Wait! No! Shot in the ass, every three months....what the hell is it called? Depo shot! No little Logan's running around to worry about.
"Logan! It's fine! I'm on birth-control. I started it when I gained control and just figured it was a good thing to stay with, should something happen." I threw back the sheet and started to gather my clothes. I was naked, so it was a little awkward, but I really needed to get out of there. "Besides, I'm not a complete idiot. If I wasn't on something, I would've thought to use a condom." Take that!
"Really?" He actually laughed. I wanted to hit him. "Cause I don't think that you were thinking much of anything through last night. Now you just want to, what? Pretend it didn't happen? No, sorry kid. Not gonna happen. Are you that naïve, Marie? You think that you'll just forget the first time, especially when it was with someone you see everyday?" He looked at me, waiting for my answer. Truth be told, I just couldn't even begin to deal with what happened last night. I wanted to do something Logan should've understood. I wanted to run. Run and hide. But he was looking at me, expecting me to answer him. I just took my fear and confusion and turned it into something I could actually user12;anger.
"Listen up, Logan! I may look naïve, but I'm not. And you, you need to remember that! Yes, I know that I won't forget last night, I just don't want to analyze the shit out of it right now! I want to shower, check on my friend, and get a goddamn cup of coffee! And since when are you all Mr. Concerned, let's talk about our feelings man? You never wanna talk about anything that has to do with feelings. Don't pretend like you would do this normally. I do remember things, Logan. I try not to sift through you're personal stuff in the memories, but I do see glimpses once in awhile. I just want to talk, later, ok?" I finished my tirade, and waited for his reaction. He didn't really have a reaction the whole time I was going off, and he was still unreadable. Finally, after about a minute, he spoke.
"OK. You don't wanna talk right now, fine. That's fine. But know this, kid, we will talk about this sooner rather than later. I have no problem being the way we always have been around each other, so no weirdness on my part to worry about. Now, I'm hungry." He threw back the sheet and got out of bed. "Go grab a shower, and we'll head down to breakfast." He yelled as he closed the bathroom door. Bossy, self-centered jerk. I stuck my tongue out at the bathroom door, and left to go get a shower. Not because he told me to, but because I really wanted one. It was going to be a long day.

When I got back to my room, Jubilee was, thankfully, still down for the count. I quickly went into the bathroom and jumped in the shower. The water was blissfully hot and I stood there, just letting the water wash over my sore, aching body. I felt bad for how I had reacted to Logan. I just didn't know what to do. I was scared, I was confused. What did he want? What did he think about the whole thing? Did he want it to be a one-time thing? Did he want a relationship? Or did he just want to be friends who sometimes fucked? My head was starting to hurt. Sex really did complicate things. I started to understand the allure of one-night stands. No feelings, no messy morning-afters. You could just move on after the physical pleasure, without the emotional pain. Like I said, I never considered myself a masochist. Now, I wasn't so sure. Even after everything, I wanted to just crawl back into Logan's bed and let him do whatever he wanted to me.

I kicked Jubilee out of bed finally and forced her to get ready to go down to breakfast. I had just come out of our bathroom from holding back her hair for the third time when I ran right into Logan's chest.
"Hey, kid. You ready to get something to eat?"
"Yeah, I was just nursing Jubilee's hanging-over ass!"
"I heard that!" Was her muffled response.
"I wish you would hear that! I don't think she's gonna make it down. But we can go. Hey Jubes! I'm heading down! I'll bring up some stuff for you, OK?!" I heard her groan her acknowledgment, and we made our way down to the dining hall.
The mansion's dining hall on a Saturday is a lot like any other school cafeteria: Lots of kids, lots of noise, and general teenage debauchery. Music was playing, people were laughing. The only difference was the quality of the food. I had to admit, we ate good here. Nothing but the best for Xavier's children. Logan and I made our way through the short line and walked to the staff table. Everyone else was already present and accounted for: Scott and Jean directly in front of us, on the end. Storm next to Jean, Kitty and Bobby beside her, and Pyro and John across from them, next to Logan and me. The Professor was always up with the sun, so he had already been and gone. Good Mornings were exchanged all around, and we set to have our breakfast when John's voice reached my ears.
"Is Jubilee still alive and kicking? I went to check on her early this morning, and she didn't look too good." Bastard. I knew what he was doing. He was gonna "innocently" ask where I was early this morning.
"Yeah, John. She'll live. I'm gonna take up some coffee and stuff for her when I'm done eatin'." So far, so good. Maybe he wouldn't say anything.
"Where were you this morning, anyway? Your bed didn't even looked slept in. Care to share with the class, Miss. Rogue?" Dammit, he would say something. Suddenly, I noticed every set of eyes were on me. Even Scott, with his glasses could manage to stare at someone. What was I gonna say? 'Yeah, sure. I got home and went to Logan's room, where he proceeded to fuck me silly, thus, de-virginizing me.' Probably not the way to go. Um....what the hell was I gonna say?!
"Rogue! You there? You look all ashamed and nervous. Don't tell me our little girl was off somewhere becoming a woman." John was smiling from ear to ear, and I realized he knew something was up and wasn't going to let it go. He was like a dog with a bone.
"Now that's none of your business, John Allerdyce." I snapped back at him, my accent thick. Logan's head snapped up at my tone.
"Geez, Rogue, defensive much? You're so uptight. There's nothing wrong with getting laid. You could use a little release. Maybe you'd actually like it." Now he was getting snappy.
"What do you want me to say, John? I have a mutation that sucks the life from people by touching their skin! Sex makes me uncomfortable. Sex...could kill you. Especially with me. Do you know what the human body goes through when you have sex? Pupils dilate, arteries constrict, core temperature rises, heart races, blood pressure skyrockets [Logan is starting to look uncomfortable], respiration becomes rapid and shallow, the brain fires bursts of electrical impulses from nowhere to nowhere and secretions spit out of every gland [Logan is starting to look for an escape route], and the muscles tense and spasm like your're lifting three times your body weight. It's violent, it's ugly, and it's messy, and if God hadn't made it unbelievably fun... the human race would have died out eons ago." At this point, everyone at the table is either choking on their food, or staring at me like I have officially gone totally insane. I think I may have. I saw that little speech on a rerun of a 'House' episode just the other night, and it kinda stuck with me. I just can't believe I actually said it out loud, in front of people. In front of the man I'd lost my virginity to. I began to wonder if, at some point while cleaning my ears, I'd pushed the q-tip in too far and given myself brain damage.
"Umm....Wow. Rogue, I don't even have anything to say to that. Really, I got nothin'." John sat back in his chair, shaking his head. Great. I'd gone so far off the deep end that Mr. 'I -have-an-opinion-about-everything' was speechless. I couldn't even look at Logan. I got up and grabbed my food.
"I'm gonna go check on Jubilee. See ya later." I bolted. I walked as fast as I could until I came to our room. I put the food and coffee down and collapsed on my bed. Then, I did the most ridiculous thing: I started to laugh. I laughed until I cried and my stomach hurt. I laughed so hard, Jubilee ran out of the bathroom thinking I was having some kind of seizure. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I told her the whole damn story. When I'd finished, she just stared at me. Finally, her brain re-engaged.
"All I did was make one little comment." She said, her eyes wide with shock. "Well, sweetie. I just have one question. How was it?" Only Jubes could go from shock to inappropriately nosey in three seconds flat.
"It was...great. Really great. It hurt at first, but then I relaxed and it felt so amazing. I never thought of being with Logan like that. Now, it's all I can think about." I flopped back on my bed and stared at the ceiling. We lived in the same house. It was a big-ass house, but I was bound to run into him eventually. After flying my crazy flag in the middle of breakfast, I was even more unsure of what to say to him.

I managed to avoid Logan the whole rest of the morning, not because of my stealth and cunning, but because I kept my ass in my room. I wasn't sure, but I didn't think he'd try ambushing me on my own turf. Especially with a hung-over Jubilee plastered to her bed and in a foul mood. Unfortunately, lunchtime rolled around and by 1:00, Jubes was claiming starvation.
"C'mon, girl. I am famished!! I need food, and Logan's fine ass isn't gonna let you hide in here forever. At least you'll be in a group. Safety in numbers, and all that. Let's go!" She was already opening the door and on her way out. She was right, and man did I hate that.

We made it the whole way to the dining hall without incident but, of coarse, when we got to the table, my usual seat next to Logan was empty and waiting for me. I had another flash of our dirty little secret from the night before. My face flushed and I had a vivid memory of me screaming out his name as he made me come. Twice. I wondered what the reaction would be if I just tore off my clothes and let him screw my brains out right there on the table. Bad thoughts, Rogue, baaad thoughts.

We sat down and John came up to me and hugged my shoulders. I was surprised and a little nervous. I could only imagine what words would spew out of his mouth.
"Hey, I'm sorry for getting you worked up this morning. I had a stupid leak, OK? It's none of my business. Friends? Truce?" John really could be sweet when he wanted. It just wasn't very often.
"It's fine. Sorry for bein' such a bitch." It was true, I had been a bitch. I was a bitch to Logan, too. I could feel his eyes on me, and after John took the seat next to Jubes, I turned my head to look at him. He gave me a little smile, and squeezed my shoulder. I wanted him. Badly. Back to dirty thoughts. The ones that got me in this whole mess: Bed, Naked, Logan. I was right--long day ahead.

Lunch was sailing along smoothly, the normal chit-chat about training, classes, missions and the upcoming parents night were the main focus. Just then, John decided that he was bored. It happened easily with him. I swear the poor thing suffered from ADHD. Boredom in the dining hall meant entertainment for the rest of us: Dinner and a Show. Unfortunately for us, the other five I mean, we normally ended up being part of the show. The kids loved it. Watching the teachers act like 15 year olds cracked them up, and being mutants, they didn't get to laugh in real life a lot. We went along with John's little games when that was his reasoning for humiliating us the first time. He cranked up the radio to Good Charlotte's "The Anthem".

(Yeah, here we go)
It's a new day, but it all feels old
It's a good life, that's what I'm told
But everything, it all just feels the same

John was already standing on his chair, singing at the top of his lungs. If he hadn't been a mutant, he'd probably some bad boy rockstar, with mug shots to go with his records.

At my high school, it felt more to me
Like a jail cell, a penitentiary
My time spent there, it only made me see

That I don't ever wanna be like you
I don't wanna do the things you do
I'm never gonna hear the words you say
and I don't ever wanna, I don't ever wanna be

Now we were all up and dancing. Most of the kids were, too. We danced and belted out the song like we were the only ones in the world. Logan and Scott, being more alike than they would ever admit, stayed seated and enjoyed the show.

You...don't wanna be just like you
Oh what I'm sayin' is this is the anthem, throw all your hands up,
you... don't wanna be you

Go to college, a university, get a real job,
That's what they said to me
But I could never live the way they want
I'm gonna get by, and just do my time, out of step while, they all
get in line
I'm just a minor threat so pay no mind

Do you really wanna be like them, do you really wanna be another
trend?
Do you wanna be part of that crowd?
'cause I don't ever wanna, I don't ever wanna be

You...don't wanna be just like you
Oh what I'm sayin' is this is the anthem throw all your hands up,
you, don't wanna be you

I looked over and saw Logan, watching me and he had a genuine smile on his face. He normally just looked mildly amused by our little childish antics. The music just plain hurt his ears, and he saw our little games as nothing more than the inmates running the asylum. There was something different in his eyes. Like he just loved seeing me enjoying myself. It warmed my heart.

Shake it once, that's fine
Shake it twice, that's okay
Shake it three times, you're playing with yourself, again.

You...don't wanna be just like you
What I'm sayin' is this is the anthem throw all your hands up,
Y'all got to feel me, sing if you're with me, you, don't wanna
be just like you (just like you)
This is the anthem throw all your hands up, y'all got to feel
me, sing if you're with me
Another loser anthem (whoa-oh)
Another loser anthem (whoa-oh)
Another loser anthem (whoa-oh)
Another loser anthem

The song ended, and we all had a good laugh and took a bow as the applause filled the room. Just another Saturday afternoon at Mutant High.

As we all began to make our way out to continue the day, Logan gently pulled at my elbow, bringing me to the side of the crowd moving out of the dining hall. We continued to walk, but he was looking down at me like a man on a mission.
"Hey, Marie, can we talk now?" His voice was so low, no one could've ever heard him use my given name. I looked at his face, in his eyes, and realized that putting this off wasn't going to be an option.
"Sure. Where do you....?" I shrugged my shoulders. Please not your room, Please not your room, Please not your room.
"My room? We won't be interrupted there." Dammit. That's what I was afraid of.
"'Kay, Sure." Why did my vocabulary go monosyllabic around him all the sudden? And was my voice always so high and squeaky?

My nerves were shot by the time we reached his door. He opened it and allowed me to pass through. As I was turning, he closed the door, putting his hands in his pockets and walking towards me.
"I get you don't want to talk about last night. But, Marie, you were the first person in a long fucking time I gave a damn about besides myself. I'm not going to mess that up over sex. Great sex, by the way, but if we never sleep together again, that's okay. We can go back to being just friends. We still have to deal with what happened, though. If we don't, it'll always be there, and it won't be good for you. I've never told you what to do." He pointed his finger at me and shook his head. " I've always told you to follow your instincts. So, just do that. I don't play games. I don't want you saying whatever the hell you think I wanna hear. I wanna hear what you think." I just stood there. He was right in front of me. I suddenly had forgotten how to speak. I just did what he said: I followed my instincts. I reached up and kissed him with everything I had. That was what I felt. It went on for minutes and then he pulled back slightly.
"If we do this, we really did this. No games. No bullshit. And no hiding. And I won't mess around with anyone else if you don't." His voice was hushed, and so damn sexy. I couldn't, for the life of me, think of a single reason to say no to what he was offering.
"Alright." It was all I could get out, because his mouth was on mine, teasing me and making me shiver with anticipation.

Logan was touching me, exploring me, discovering my body with his hands. I could hear his breath becoming ragged, I could feel his heartbeat against my chest. He pushed me back until the backs of my knees hit his bed. He pressed me to my back, and straddled my hips. He eased my t-shirt up and over my head, running his hands all over my chest and stomach. My bra was next to go, and I leaned up to pull on his white t-shirt. He yanked it off and threw it on the floor with the rest. He brought his mouth down to my neck and began to explore it with his tongue, working his way down until he was nibbling and tasting my breast. I was moaning softly, exploring the skin of his shoulders and back.

It was a lesson in arousal. I'd never even realized how many nerves I had in my body, or how sensitive they would be to Logan's hands and mouth. I barely registered that he was sliding my jeans off, and taking my panties with them. I ran my hands down his sides and discovered his jeans were loose. He pushed those away, kicking them off to the floor. I could feel every inch of his body against mine. We were touching and kissing each other anywhere we could reach. I could barely keep myself from screaming out, it felt so good. I arched up my hips against his and he moaned loudly. The sound was enough for me to repeat the act again.
"Logan, Please." I wasn't really sure what I was asking for. I was still unsure of the future of our relationship. But I needed to feel him, all of him, inside me again. He laughed softly as he kissed my neck. He could tell I was distracted.
"Relax, don't think about anything but right now. Just tell me what you want me to do." Well, that was an easy one.
"I want you inside me, Logan." My voice was barely a whisper.
"Alright." He kissed me deeply and I could feel him entering me. He continued the kiss as he pushed himself further and further inside my body. I was still a little sore, and it stung a bit, but I could take a little discomfort with the pleasure he was giving me. Maybe I was a masochist.
When he was completely buried inside me, we both gave out loud moans. He began to move, slowly at first, then a little quicker. I wanted to explode. He continued to move in me, and I felt a little frustration at the fact I wasn't coming yet. I wanted to so much, and I was so close. He sensed my change in feeling, and stopped moving to look down at me.
"Wrap your legs higher up my back. Move with me. When I push in, lift up your hips, when I withdraw, lower them." I did as he said and we began to move together, faster, and faster. It was just a few minutes before we both came so hard I nearly sobbed. He thrust hard and deep inside me one last time, and collapsed onto my chest, panting. Waves of pleasure washed over me. How had I ever lived without this?
"You alright?" He asked softly.
"I'm good. Really good." I smiled up at him and felt my heart lurch at the concerned look on his face. I could fall in love with him. The thought scared me. If things went bad, if someone got hurt....I didn't want to think about it.

He pulled out of me and I felt strangely empty. He rolled onto his back and pulled me into his side.
"We should probably get up. You have to be hurting, and if we stay in here, I won't be able to stop myself from doing ungodly things to you over and over again." He kissed my forehead and ran his hand down my body. I giggled and kissed his chest.
"I'll be fine, but I do have a lesson plan to finish, and if we stay in here, I'll let you do ungodly things to me over and over again." I gave him my sexiest smile, and laughed.
We both got up and began to redress. I smoothed my hair and adjusted my shirt. I felt....empowered. Cocky, even. I looked over at Logan and smiled.
"What?" He lifted his eyebrows up and smiled back.
"Nothin'." I went over and wrapped my arms around his waist. He returned the embrace and led me to the door.
"I gotta go help Scott in the garage. There's a couple cars that need oil changes. We'll catch up at dinner." He opened the door, then bent down to softly kiss my lips.
"I'll see ya later." he said.
"OK, see ya later." I headed towards my room. Barely aware of the stares from the few students milling around the hallway. When I reached my room, I heard the sounds of my friends, talking and laughing. I was going to have to tell them about Logan and I. There was no way they weren't going to notice something was up with me. I took a deep breath and stepped in the room. Everyone would be happy for us, right?

"Hey everyone!!" I bounced into the room with a great big smile on my face. Everyone greeted me, and Jubilee shot me a look that meant 'I know what you've been doing'. I took a deep breath and decided to just come out with it; what was the point in skating around the subject? Logan and I were 'seeing' each other. Of course, we were mostly 'seeing' each other naked. Was it really that big a deal?

"So....Guess what! I'm seeing someone, finally!" I laughed nervously. These were my friends, why the hell was I so nervous?

"No shit? I knew it! So who is it? Someone you met last night?" John had been the first to speak, as usual. Everyone waited, staring at me, for my answer.

"No, actually, it's....Logan. We talked about it, and decided that we were going to give it a shot. Being more than just friends." I looked around as I talked, trying to gage the reactions of all my friends.

"Rogue, what are doing?" Bobby was shaking his head like I'd just said Scott and I were having an affair behind Jean's back. "It's a bad idea. Do you really think that there's any way it'll work out? Logan is a guy who's relationship's last only until the sun comes up. You know I care about you, Rogue, I don't wanna see you get hurt." I was shocked by his words. Mostly because he was telling the truth as he knew it. In all the years we'd known Logan, he'd never had a steady girlfriend. My stomach was twisting up tighter and tighter.

"Bobby, that's not fair! He loves Rogue! Maybe it'll be different. I got your back, sweetie!" Jubilee had come to stand beside me, hands on hips, looking ready to kick Bobby's ass.

"I'm sorry, I agree with Jubilee. Rogue can date whoever she wants. It's not our decision." Kitty put her hand on Bobby's shoulder, as if she was saying 'sorry you're being a jerk'. Good for her. Though now I felt bad that the couple were having a difference of opinion.

"Well, if we're doing roll-call over this, I gotta say, I agree with Bobby. It's gonna end bad. No freaking way around it. Not to mention, how the hell you think Scott's gonna react? He's going to have a fit! It's just gonna cause trouble." John always backed Bobby up and vice versa. It didn't matter how wrong they were. Some kinda weird man-code they had. Well, I'd had enough, and was going to say so.

"How do you know what's gonna happen? Maybe it'll be over in two days, or maybe we'll be together in two years! And what Scott thinks really doesn't matter to me. He's not dating Logan, I am. We are adults, and we can handle having a relationship and working together. Logan and I aren't the petty, playing games type of people." Take that! I am an adult and, dammit, I could have an adult relationship.

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Bobby was getting angry. It was a rare thing, but when he wanted, he could unleash a nasty temper. "Are you ready for the kind of relationship Logan is gonna expect? 'Cause lemme tell you, he won't go without getting laid for long. If you're expecting him to take it slow, you have another thing coming. He may love you as a friend, but now all he's thinking about is getting in you're pants! What are you going to do when he dumps you for not putting out, or worse, gets bored after you start putting out?" Everyone was staring at me and Bobby, now face to face in the middle of the room. Now, this was something that wasn't going to end well. Pete, being the pacifist he was, remained silent. I could tell he wasn't going to take sides, and he knew that jumping in the middle was not a good idea.

"Bobby Drake, I can't believe you could even say that to me! Logan may be a lot of things, but I trust him to treat me the way I deserve to be treated. He is a gentleman when it comes to me. I know he cares about me, I felt it when he kissed me! Andr12;"

"You kissed him?!!" Bobby's voice cut off the rest of my tirade.

"That's none of your business." I wasn't about to tell him about last night, or just a little while ago.

"What else did you do?" Bobby had lowered his tone and it was full of concern. I didn't care. I didn't need his concern.

"Now, that's really none of your business!" I was getting angrier by the minute.

"What are you thinking? It's not like you have any kind of future with him."

"He may never die, Bobby. I have nothin' but a future with him."

"Oh, that's real cute, Rogue. This is a big mistake, you can bet on it." He actually had the balls to shake his finger at me.

"OK! Now this is getting borin'!" I turned to stalk out of my room.

"Where are you going?!" Bobby called after me.

"For a walk!!" I snapped back as I stalked down the hall. People were jumping out of my way like I was carrying a machine gun in my hand. Well, that had gone well. Who the hell did he think he was? Bobby was completely out of line. I just couldn't wait to go to dinner. That should be a nice, awkward situation.

I had stalked my entire way through the mansion and out to the lake situated on the edge of the property. I just wanted to be alone, but apparently, I was doomed to be disappointed today.

"Hey kid, what're doin' out here?" Logan. Of coarse he'd find me. He had a habit of always knowing when I was pissed or hurting. He always tracked me down. And he always made me tell him what was going on. I never knew if it was because he really gave a damn about my little dramas or if he was just plain nosey.

"I had to get away before I decided to put my ex in the med-lab." I really didn't want to have this discussion.

"You told your friends about us?" at my nod, he continued. "I heard you were in a mood. Should've known it had something to do with one of them."

"Jubes and Kitty backed me up, Bobby and John think it's a big mistake, and Pete just sat there like he always does. He's like a big, metal, mutant version of Switzerland." I laughed bitterly. "It's not that I care what they think, really. But Bobby was so.....angry. I just don't get it."

"He's your ex-boyfriend. You guys are still friends, he worries about you. Maybe he'll calm down. Maybe he won't. That's between you two. I'll do a lot for you, but I draw the line at getting involved in your business with your friends. You wanna talk, I'll listen, but I'm not going to play referee for my girl and her ex." Logan was, above all, a simple thinking man. Despite his love for a good fight and his constant harping of Scott, he really just hated the petty kind of fighting. Who would've thought?

"I don't expect you to referee. I know how you hate this stuff. I hate it, too. It makes me feel like I'm 15 all over again and my best friend passed a note to the boy I liked in class. I'll try to talk it out with him, minus the yelling this time." At the mention of time, I glanced at my watch and realized I'd actually been there most of the afternoon. It was almost 4:30 which meant almost time to eat. It also meant having to be in a social setting with Bobby. "Shit! I didn't realize how late it was! We better head in before someone comes lookin' for us." I stood up and dusted of the back of my jeans and straightened my shirt. I looked up at Logan and smiled. He was so easy to be around. Even after sleeping together, it still felt so comfortable just being near him.

"Ready, darlin'? I'm starving. Scott and I either tuned up or changed the oil on every damn car in that garage, I swear. The bonus was I got to bug him the whole damn time, so it made it kinda fun." He laughed quietly and took my hand. "It'll be fine, y'know? Don't worry too much about it. Just take it a day at a time." He had let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He kissed my head and we walked back to the mansion. As we neared the doors, I took a deep breath and hoped Logan was right about everything being fine. Scott, Jean, Storm, and the Professor still had yet to know about me and Logan's newly defined relationship, and I had a feeling Bobby and John were about to gain some support in their opinion of said relationship. Like I had said what felt like a year ago, it'd been a long day. And it wasn't over quite yet.

We entered the dining hall hand in hand. Well, actually, Logan was kinda dragging me through the crowd. Hand in hand sounds more romantic. The two of us holding hands wasn't exactly anything unusual. It'd happened before, so no one really noticed the difference. We were running a bit late, so we went through the line, got our food, and headed to our usual table. We took our seats across from Scott and Jean, as usual. Jubilee sat next to me, normal. Then, things changed. Kitty came inr12;alone. She sat next to Jubilee. Bobby and John came in a few minutes later and sat down by Scott, as they glared at the rest of us. Storm was in the city doing some business for the school. Poor Peter took one look at the scene before him and mumbled something about getting some fresh air and ran as fast as he could. He nearly took out a few students on the way. The Professor passed him on the way in and gave a small smile. He always knew when something was going on, and I swear he found the goings-on at his school more entertaining than he'd ever let on. He rolled up to the head of the table by Jean and Logan and thanked the small girl who had been carrying his dinner.

"Good evening, everyone." He always managed to sound so warm even when he spoke so properly. We all made our return greetings and started in on our food. There were a few minutes of blissful peace, but I knew it was only a matter of time until someone, namely Bobby, said something about me and Logan being together. More quiet minutes passed and Jean and Scott started looking around at us. We never stayed quiet this long. John hadn't broke out in song yet. Jubilee wasn't blabbing away about Saturday night plans. And they definitely noticed that Bobby and Kitty, who were normally attached somewhere around the hip, were sitting at opposite sides of the table.

Jean was the first to speak. "You sure are a quiet bunch tonight. Did you guys do something we should know about?" I could tell by her tone she was teasing, but the smile faded from her face when none of us spoke up to answer. Instead, Scott looked up and cleared his throat.

"OK. What's going on? As much as I'm enjoying the peace and quiet, something's up. Jubilee's normally chewing everyone's ear off by now. Out with it." I prayed a silent prayer that Jubilee would come up with something quickly, but Bobby was the one who broke the silence.

"We're having some... differences." I waited for the other shoe to drop. It did, but it came from the quietest of all of us: Kitty.

"Yeah, the differences being Bobby and John are assholes and we're not!" I swear my heart stopped for a full minute. It's always the quiet ones.....

"Gimme a break, Kitty! You are being ridiculous about this!" Bobby's raised voice brought attention to our table, and it felt like everyone was staring at us. Scott was still choking on whatever was in his mouth when Kitty had decided to cuss right in front of the professor, and Jean was rubbing his back. The professor was just looking on neutrally.

"She is not being ridiculous, Bobby. You're the one who started the whole thing by starting the whole throw-down with Rogue. Maybe you should've engaged your brain before you put your mouth in gear." Jubilee's voice was at the low tone she gets when she's super-pissed. Not good.

"I'm entitled to my opinion, Jubilee." Bobby ground out between clenched teeth.

"Well, Mr. Drake, your opinion SUCKS!!!" Jubilee yelled back. Oh, no. It was on, now. They both stood up and started yelling. At some point John and Kitty joined in. I was in the seventh circle of hell. Oddly enough, they weren't really yelling about what caused the fight in the first place. Logan looked at me and shook his head. The rest of us sat in shock as the recriminations flew around us. Suddenly, the Professor broke his silence.

"Enough, all of you! Now sit down and explain what is going on." I'd never seen four people sit down so fast in my life. I wasn't about to let everyone else tell the Professor my business, so I decided to finally speak up.

"It's my fault, Professor. Bobby and I had a fight, and everyone else got dragged into it." I took a deep breath and decided that I might as well tell them about Logan and me. "Logan and I are," I searched for the right word, "seeing each other now." What happened earlier in his room flashed through my mind and I prayed the two telepaths sitting by me weren't looking in my head. Logan leaned back in his chair, and said nothing. Scott was glaring at him through his glasses, Jean' mouth was hanging open, and the Professor was just nodding his head.

"I see. Well, as long as it does not interfere with the team during missions or cause anymore public outbursts, then that is between the two of you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll finish my dinner in private. Settle this dispute before you leave this room. Good night." The Professor had spoken. We watched as he wheeled away, and I decided to take the dive on this one and try to make peace.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I didn't think it was gonna cause so many problems." There, I was being an adult. Really, their problem with my personal life was not at all my fault, but I hoped that it would calm everyone down. Jean smiled softly at me and shook her head.

"Don't apologize, Rogue. It's really none of our business, anyway." Jean had a knack for just being comforting without judging. I was feeling better until Scott spoke up.

"Not our business? I think it's very much our business when it causes our entire team to engage in a screaming match in front of the student body. Rogue, your an adult, a staff member. I can't tell you who to date. I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into." Scott shot a look at Logan,and I knew that Logan's silence was about to come to a screeching halt.

"Excuse me? What exactly is she getting herself into, Summers?" Logan stared right back at Scott as he sat up straighter and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Well, let's face it, Logan. You aren't exactly the kinda guy you bring home to meet the parents." I willed Scott to shut his mouth.

"Her parents kicked her out. The Professor is her only parent figure, and he's okay with it. So, anything else that actually makes sense?"

"You really think this is going to end well? Come on Logan. She will end up hurt, one way or another, and when she does it's going to affect all of us." Now he was pissing me off. Logan was getting irritated, too, and I decided to speak up before he said something we'd both regret.

"'SHE' is sitting right here, Scott. I'd appreciate it if you'd include me in this discussion about my personal life." I was getting mighty sick of everyone deciding what was best for me.

"I'm sorry, Rogue. This just worries me. You're a good girl. I just hate to see you go down this path." Scott shook his head grimly. All I could think was: Screw him!

"Well, lucky for you Mr. Summers, nobody's forcin' you to watch. Now if y'all would excuse me, I've gotta be going now." And with that I pushed away from the table and stalked my way out of the dining hall. There was no way I was going to sit there and let them argue over who I chose to see personally. I just hoped that Logan would take my cue and walk away from the inevitable smack-down between him and Scott. Adamantium claws and eyes that could punch a hole in a mountain were not a good combination in a fight in the middle of the dining hall. I made my way up to my room and felt relief when the fire alarms didn't go off and there were no signs of explosions. I sat on my bed and grabbed a magazine off the bedside table. I just wanted to be alone. Of coarse, that would never happen in this house.

"See? Didn't I say everything would be fine?" Logan smirked at me as he walked right into my room and sat on the foot of the bed. What a smart-ass.

"You call that 'fine'?" I shook my head at him "But, I have to say, you were strangely calm down there. Why? I thought for sure you would've gone after Scott a little harder."

"Pick your battles, kid. Besides, you did just fine shutting him up and there wasn't even any blood to clean up." We both laughed quietly and then an intense look crossed his face.

"You know I wouldn't hurt you, right? At least not if I could help it." He was looking so deeply in my eyes I swear he could see into my soul.

"I know that, Logan. I trust you. And I know you." I started to crawl towards him on my hands and knees. "I know you very well, in fact." I placed my hands on his shoulders and gently kissed his neck. He groaned softly and put his hands on my waist.

"Don't start, Marie. I think we need to go do something fully clothed. Soon." He was running his hands all over my body. I ignored his order and kissed him with everything I had. I maneuvered myself so I was straddling his hips and started rocking hard against his lap. He let it go on for a few minutes until he finally grabbed my ass fully and stood up. I thought maybe he was taking me off to his room, but instead, he turned around and dumped me unceremoniously on the bed. I gasped in shock and gave him a questioning look.

"Logan! What the hell?"

"I told you to stop." He was pointing his finger at me, jerk. "Now is not the time. And you aren't going to be able to walk if you keep on seducing me every few hours." I shot him a dirty look. The man was actually turning down sex. But he did have a point. I hadn't even lost my virginity 24 hours ago and I was a little achy.

"Well, what do you want to do, Saint Logan?" I said in my sweetest voice. He shot me a dirty look and went over to my shelves of movies.

"Movie in the Rec Room?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Unless you feel like going out? I don't know."

"How about we go see a movie at the theater? I think that new action movie looks good." I was trying to be nonchalant, but he knew what I was doing. He pointed his finger at me again.

"Marie. Let me make this clear: No sex. Take a break. My God, woman, I'd have never thought...."

"Thought what?" I snapped back.

"That you'd turn into a nympho. I think maybe Scott should be worrying about me."

"Logan! I am not a nympho! I was just kidding about the movies." I held up my hands as I swore my innocence.

"Uh Huh..." His raised eyebrows and smirk told me he knew better. "Movie in the Rec Room it is. Now get over here, help me pick something, and try to keep your cute little hands off me." He flashed a big smile at me, and I walked over to help him pick out something. In that minute, I felt so happy. Maybe Logan had been right about us trying out the whole relationship thing. And I really believed everyone would come around. Maybe we would live happily ever after. Or, maybe, everything would go horribly wrong. I'm kinda a cynic, so the latter path was the most likely with my luck. And then Jubilee came racing in the room like the devil himself was after her.

"Let's go!! We got a mission! The Professor wants everyone downstairs, dressed, and ready to go, like, yesterday." With that, she raced back out. Logan and I gave each other a look, dropped the movies in our hands and took off after Jubes. I briefly thanked God we hadn't been having sex when she came in. As we raced to the elevator, my stomach twisted and I felt something was wrong. Very wrong. Logan grabbed my hand and squeezed. He felt it, too. Suddenly, everything else didn't matter. I said my usual silent prayer as we rode the elevator down to the lower levels. Time to go be an X-Man. At least you get to see Logan in his uniform.....damn devil on my shoulder. I think he smokes pot. We reached the ground floor and, with a nod, we went separate ways to get dressed. I took a deep breath and tried to get my game face on. But I couldn't help but wonder, how was today's events going to effect the team during this mission?

I had dressed out in my uniform in record time. I was quickly making my way to the war room (I'd always wondered about that name, especially coming from the Professor) when I'd ran into Storm.

"Hey Storm," I said brightly. "How was the city?"

"Oh, it was fine. Same old stuff. Do you know anything about this mission?" I shook my head. I hated these minutes before a briefing. You hope and pray that it isn't anything catastrophic and that everyone is going to come back in one piece. I had a terrible feeling, though, that this time it was something catastrophic. I wiped my mind clean as we entered the war room. The last thing you needed to do when you're around two powerful telepaths is to broadcast your fears like you were yelling over a loudspeaker.

"There has been an incident concerning a large amount of mutants in rural Mississippi. As a matter of fact, Rogue, it's taking place in your hometown of Meridian. A young boy who was in the hospital for heart surgery manifested his mutation and now the doctor's have been forced to postpone the surgery." The Professor was trying to nail down how I was feeling about returning to my home, but I clamped down my mental shields on him. I didn't know how I was feeeling....

"What's his mutation? Why did they have to postpone a critical surgery over it?" Storm asked. Jean was the one who spoke up this time. "He is actually John's opposite—he can create fire, but he has no control over it. If he is sedated for the surgery, he will be intubated, and he will be on oxygen. If, in his unconscious state, he creates any fire he could cause a major explosion." We all looked at each other. For once, this really had nothing to do with the fact he was a mutant. It had to do with the fact he could hurt himself and everyone around him.

"The surgery is essential to the boy's survival. The plan is to go to the hospital, they are expecting us, and allow both John and Jean to be present during the surgery. Jean will try to enter his mind to keep him from creating any fire while sedated, and John will be there to extinguish any fire that make occur. Now-" Logan's voice cut off the Professor.

"And what about the 'large amount of mutants' you mentioned way back?" Logan knew something was up. The Professor was making this sound way too simple.

"Yes, Logan. I was getting to that. There seems to be a mutant rights group surrounding the hospital and protesting rather violently. They are convinced the hospital is simply withholding treatment from a mutant," he paused and I knew the other shoe was about to drop. "It's the Brotherhood. With Eric and Mystique leading the way." Magneto. Dammit, dammit, dammit. Not only did I have to go to my old hometown, but I had to deal with the guy who would've liked nothing more than to shuffle loose my mortal coil. In simple terms: Kill my ass for his own gain. Awesome. This should be a good mission. The Professor's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"......important to make sure that there are human or mutant fatalities. At least as much as you can. Help in any way you are needed. You are there to assist the local law enforcement keep the peace and make sure the hospital is not full-out attacked. I know you can do it. Good Luck." And with that, we were walking to the Blackbird. The ten of us had been on many missions before, most of them pretty mundane. Pick up this mutant kid, or stop this one from incinerating an entire city block. We got more fighting time in the danger room than anywhere. We boarded the jet and I strapped on my seat belt. Logan was in front of me and he swung his seat around to look at me.

"You're gonna be fine. Hometown, who cares? Magneto? We won't let him get you. Not again. I promise." Logan spoke so low that no one else would be able to hear him. I gave him a pathetic half-smile and turned to look out the window. I heard him sigh and swing his seat back around. I tuned out most of the flight.

"Logan! You don't look so good! Flying still really bothers you, huh?" Scott was practically choking to try to stop from laughing. "If God wanted us to fly, He'd have given us wings, Cyke." Everyone laughed quietly. Logan was notorious for being a nervous flyer. It was funny because, of everyone, he'd probably be the only one to actually survive a plane crash. He took a lot of shit from Scott over his one real fear.

"OK, Boys! Playtime's over," Storm yelled from the controls. "We are coming up on the hospital, now. Oh my God...."

We all scrambled to look at what Storm was seeing, and it wasn't good. Probably around 100 or so mutants screaming, yelling, and climbing around the hospital. The police looked like they were about to piss their pants. Magneto being there meant no guns for the poor human police. We were their only line of defense. Scott threw himself into fearless leader mode as we landed.

"OK everyone. Here's the plan. Jean, Pyro, and Kitty will go inside the hospital. The dean of medicine will brief you on what needs to be done. Jean and Pyro, you know what you have to do. Kitty will be there to phase out anyone should something go wrong. The rest of us will set up a perimeter between the protesters and the hospital. We are not to engage in any physical altercations unless it is absolutely necessary. Logan, that means keep the claws in as much as you can. We are simply going to try to allow the doctor's the time to perform the surgery. It could take up to 4 hours. Diplomacy is a must. Keep telling them that the surgery is underway and that any attacks could endanger the boy. Remember that Mystique is sneaky. Make sure there aren't two of any of us milling around causing trouble. Keep all com lines open. And use them. Radio silence is not the best way to go. We need to talk to each other and stay informed. Jean will keep us updated as the surgery progresses. We can relay that information to everyone outside. Hopefully that will get them to calm down. Any questions?" He looked around to make sure we all knew what we were doing. "Good. Now let's go!" We exited the jet and were met by a group of doctor's, nurses, and police. They led us down to the surgical floor. Once Jean, Pyro, and Kitty went with the Dean, the rest of us were escorted to the front of the hospital. We stood silently at the doors of the ER. After a collective deep breath, we pushed through the doors with our usual degree of confidence and made our way towards the enraged crowd. As we separated into our line, Scott talked quietly with the police. He came to stand in front of us, holding a megaphone.

"Can I have everyone's attention, please! We are here to help the boy inside! Two of our people are using their gifts to assist the doctor's so that the surgery can commence. We will be given updates and we will pass them on to you. If you want this child to survive, you must stand down! If you attack this hospital, you could inadvertently cause death or injury to anyone inside: Mutant or Human! Please, let us help him!" Scott took a visible deep breath. The crowd was still restless. Then, they began to part as though being moved by an unseen force. Just then, Magneto appeared with Mystique by his side. This should be fun. I held my head a little higher and switched on my skin. What I wouldn't give for a chance to drain him, and her for that matter, dry. He was nothing but a trouble maker.

"Well! If it isn't the X-Men! Like I didn't see this coming from a mile away! How can you actually stand in defense of these homo-sapiens? That boy could still die because of the delay created by their fear and hatred of mutants!" What a dick. He still didn't get it. Just his voice was enough to make my blood boil. Just then, Scott spoke up.

"Magneto, we don't want trouble. We got here as fast as we could. Jean and Pyro are inside, helping control his mutation long enough so that the surgery can proceed. As soon as he's out of surgery and it's safe, we'll go. We don't want any problems. Neither does the Professor." Scott sounded every bit of the diplomat he needed to be. I knew it wasn't going to be enough.

"Not good enough!" Oh no. I saw what happened next in slow motion. He raised his right arm and with the smallest movement of his wrist, the army behind him rushed toward us. Seven versus one-hundred, if not more. This was gonna suck.

The fight began. I heard Logan's claws emerge, Storm took to the sky, Pete's body shifted into a metal wall, I saw flashes of red from Scott out of the corner of my eye. Sparks flew from Jubilee's fingers. Bobby had made a series of fort-like structures with ice. And I was throwing punches and kicks wherever I could. I was snatching pieces of mutations and throwing it right back at them. I slowly became aware of Logan right beside me. I noticed that attacks against me were getting less frequent. He was shielding me! I was getting more and more pissed. I did not need a babysitter, especially one who also fucked me. I knocked out a girl who had been teleporting around me in circles. I was getting way irritated with that bullshit. Once I finally landed a kick from behind my back, I gently made contact with her face. I teleported as far away from Logan as I could. He realized what I'd done after about five minutes and came rushing over to my new position.

"You OK kid?"

"Stop following me Logan!" this was said as I brought a knee up to the guy who kept turning into jelly every time I tried to hit him. "Or that'll be you, next!"

"I'm not following you. I'm making sure Magneto doesn't decide to try to off you again!" He sank his claws into a guy covered in spikes. It amazed me how we could actually be having a conversation in the middle of fighting off a mass of people who was trying their damn best to kill us.

"I can take care of myself!" I took a sucker punch to the stomach. I doubled over, then came up with an uppercut to the jerk-off's chin. "Didn't anyone teach you not to hit girls! I'm telling you, none of y'all have any goddamn home trainin'!"

The fighting raged on and I was getting mighty tired. We were trying to keep repositioning ourselves so that we each could take somewhat of a break, but it wasn't going well. Storm was going from sky to ground, trying to electrocute anyone she could. Scott was trying to stun anyone that got too close to the hospital. We did seem to be making some headway. The crowd was thinning out. We heard Jean through the comm sets, telling us that the surgery was going as well as could be expected. I didn't even know how long we'd been fighting, but I knew that we weren't going to be able to keep this up for four hours, if not more. Just then, I heard Logan yell out. Suddenly he was airborne, being flung through the air. He hit the outside of the hospital with an ear-splitting crack.

"Logan!" I had been fighting with some guy who kept changing his size from anorexic-size to sumo-size. Finally, I just kneed him. It was an easy way to bring down any man, and even though it was fighting dirty, I'd had enough. He went down and I turned to run to Logan.

"Get your man, girl, I gotcha!" Jubilee shouted as she took my place and started setting off sparks with everything she had.

"Logan! Logan, wake up!" I was careful not to touch any exposed skin. I shook him. Nothing. The impact had definitely rang his bell. I heard somebody coming up behind me and I swung around, ready to attack.

"Look who it is, Mystique. Our little sponge. We love what you've done with your hair," they looked at each other and laughed. Yeah, ha ha. "He seems to spend a lot of time unconscious around you."

"I'm gonna drain you so slowly, you're gonna be begging me to kill you." I stood up and walked towards them. Just then, Mystique spun around and her foot connected with my face. It wasn't long enough for me to absorb her. Blue bitch was smiling at me as I regained my composure. I lunged at her, and we were off. Before I knew it, she had me pinned on the ground, my hands useless and restrained to my sides. She licked her lips and smiled.

"Who's your daddy, little girl?" Now that was just uncalled for. Suddenly I became aware of another set of hands on my waist. Before I could even react, I was phasing out of her grip and standing up behind her. I kicked as hard as I could and she was on the ground. I straddled her hips and put my hands on her face.

"Who's your daddy, now." I took just enough to make her pretty useless for awhile and fought the urge to morph into everyone she'd ever become. I stood up and turned to face Kitty. She was smiling in her quiet way.

"Thought you guys could use some help," she said.

"Oh, you don't know. Thanks Kitty. Now, let's get to work." She grabbed my covered wrist and we spun around to see that Magneto had disappeared, but Logan was coming to. I briefly wondered what his angle was. He just walked away. He was doing all of this for a reason, but I couldn't sift through Mystique's memories at the moment to find that reason. I had to check on Logan.

"Logan! You alright?" I yelled as we phased through someone and knocked them down from behind.

"Sure, Kid! Just taking a quick breather," He looked back at the damaged wall. "Damn! That's gonna be expensive to fix. I hope they have insurance." Yep. He was just fine. Smart-ass. I noticed that our attackers were finally falling back, but there was a crowd of civilians forming in their place. Watching the drama unfold. What did they think this was, reality TV? As we started to regroup, I scanned the crowd off to the side and I saw two faces I knew. And then, I knew nothing.

There was lots of talking, a flash of light, and then I heard Logan's voice. I just couldn't understand what he was saying. Up. Kid. Marie. Wake up. Suddenly I sat straight up and my eyes flew open. I was off to the side of the front doors, Logan still shaking me gently.

"Marie, baby. What happened? You went down like a ton of bricks. You alright?" I didn't answer. "Kid! You alright?" I looked at him blankly and shook my head to clear it up.

"Yeah....I think. I just....I thought I saw....," I gave up and decided that laying down was better. Just then, Scott came running over to me and Logan.

"She injured? Rogue, did you get hurt?" I couldn't answer. I just rolled my head back and forth on Logan's arm.

"I don't see any blood, besides a split lip. I think she just....passed out? She said she saw something. She's still out of it." Logan's voice still seemed kinda far away, and I fought the current trying to pull me under. Just then, I realized what I'd seen. I jumped up, nearly knocking Logan over in the process. Not an easy feat when you're talking about a guy laced with a shit-load of metal. He called my name, but I ignored him and ran towards the crowd. I was scanning every face I could. I knew what I saw. I knew who I saw. I had seen my parents. I ran around, trying to catch another glimpse. I felt hands, pulling me back. I fought them and kept looking. Then I saw them.

"Mama, Daddy?" my voice was barely a whisper. Suddenly the hands on my body loosened and I walked numbly towards the two people who had given me life. Everything else went away. I stopped two feet from them. They were behind a sort of make-shift fence.

"Mama, Daddy," apparently that was as far as my vocabulary went. I took a deep breath. "What are you doin' here? Are you alright? This is dangerous. You shouldn't be here." Why did I care? They had kicked me out. My head was a mash-up of swirling thoughts. Both my own and from those who I'd touched. Then, something slid across my mind. Mystique. Magneto's plan. I looked at my parents. "I'll be right back, don't you go anywhere!" I ran to Scott. "Scott! Magneto! He wants to have his own country. A place for only mutants. Basically a cult. He's going to continue to stir up small battles like this to get his way. He's going to convince the government that these things wouldn't happen if there was a place for just mutants to live and rule. That's his plan." I was talking so fast, I wasn't sure if I'd even been speaking English. After dropping that bombshell, I ran back to where my parents had been. They were gone.

"Shit!" I ran into the crowd, yelling for them. As I made it to the back of the crowd, I spotted them walking away from the hospital. "Please! Stop! You came here for a reason." I stopped in front of them and they took a few steps back, my dad holding my mom. They looked so much older. We just stared back at me for what felt like forever. Finally, my dad spoke.

"We thought it was you on the TV. You were protecting the hospital with those other....mutants. I don't know why we came." my father shook his head.

"I can control it, now. I can. I do. Most of the time, I don't even have my skin, well, on. I guess that's the best way to say that. I'm an X-Man. I help people. I'm not evil. I'm not. I love you." I'd never said so much so fast in my life. I was breathing hard. My heart was pounding. I wanted to throw myself into their arms. I waited for them to speak. I waited for them to run away. Finally, my mother burst into tears.

"Marie! My baby girl, I missed you so much. I—I... oh, I love you, too!" She was sobbing, and I became aware of the tears rolling down my cheeks. I mustered up the concentration to switch off my skin and took a step toward them, my hand outreached.

"It's safe, I swear. It's safe." I stepped closer. Just then, my mother flung herself at me. She was holding me so tight, I could barely breathe, but I didn't care. My father came over to join us. I was full out crying now. I knew that they had missed me, I knew that I was going to have my parents back in my life, and I knew it was all gonna be alright. I knew nothing.

I felt the knife go in without realizing it. I stumbled back. I looked at my "parents". My mother had become a man I didn't recognize, and my father started to say something as he walked towards me with a bloody knife in his hand.

"Like, I asked before: Who's your daddy, little girl?" Mystique was standing in front of me. I felt another bolt of pain rip through my stomach, and I realized she'd stabbed me again. I fell. I couldn't even scream. I looked up at her standing above me.

"Don't fuck with me, you life-sucking bitch. Too bad you threw your comm unit. It's gonna be awfully hard to call for help, isn't it? Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. Now, I really need to go.....maybe I'll come dance on your grave. That'd be fun." She slowly walked away. I was laying in an ally, alone. When had we even walked into an ally? The pain was unbearable. I tried to scream. I tried to crawl. Another current was pulling me under. I was helpless to stop it this time.

Logan's voice. His voice was all I could hear. I couldn't make out the words. I was pretty sure that if this was me dead, it was going to be pretty boring. Was I dead? Things flashed through my mind: The mission, the hospital, the fight, my parents, Mystique, a knife, lots of pain. I didn't feel pain. I didn't really feel anything. Then, new images started bombarding my head. I could barely make out most of them. My teammates, standing around me. Lots of yelling, and then, love. Desperation, more love. Fear, more love. Memories that weren't mine came flooding into my mind. All of Logan. Logan's memories. He was asking where I went. He was running, screaming my name. He was listening to Storm tell him she found me. Bring Jean. She's hurt. He was looking at me, covered in blood, in a dirty ally. I looked bad. I looked....dead. He was pushing everyone aside. Grabbing my face. "Come on, baby, come on. Her skin's not working. Turn it on, baby. Come on." I felt his pain as everything he had inside him rushed into my dying body. I slowly opened my eyes. God, it was bright. Where was I? I turned my head to the sound of a pen gliding across paper. Jean, writing in a chart. I wiggled my body. I moaned softly. I felt like the last degree of nasty. Jean came towards me. She was smiling.

"Hey, honey. Welcome back. We were worried there for awhile." She had on gloves and she was brushing my hair back from my forehead.

"Logan? Where is he? Is he alright? Tell me he's ok." Tears were flowing down my cheeks.

"He's going to be fine. He's not awake, yet, but he'll heal."

"How long have I been.....?"

"Three days. You lost a lot of blood. Logan's healing ability had to fight hard to mend your wounds. What do you remember?" I spent the next hour telling her the entire story. By the time it was over, I was mentally and physically drained. I went back to sleep. When I woke again, I was still in the med lab. I gathered all my concentration and switched my skin off. Even that hurt. I slid off the bed and made my way to Logan. He was still in a coma. I crawled up and laid my head on his chest. I fell back into a deep sleep as I listened to the strong beat of his heart.

I woke up to a strong hand rubbing my arm and lips brushing across my forehead. I tilted my head up to see Logan's eyes, wide open and looking at me. I smiled at him and kissed his lips. He tasted and felt so good. Before either of us could speak, Jean and the Professor came in the door.

"Welcome back both of you. We've missed you." The Professor's face was smiling and warm. We launched into a debriefing of all we'd missed the past four days. Mutant kid safe, check. Protesters dispersed, check. Hospital safe, check. No word on Mystique or Magneto, but they had petitioned the government about the whole 'mutant country' thing. Scary part was, it was a well-received idea. It could actually happen.

Logan and I were forced to stay in the med lab for two more days in the name of observation. All the issues about our romantic relationship were either set aside for our sake, or nobody really gave a damn anymore. Our friends teammates, and students visited us throughout the day, and at night we curled up together to just watch a movie or sleep. It was, to my disappointment, very platonic. I tried kissing him once, but he pulled back and mumbled something about me wiping him out. I hoped that when we were released back into general population, things would change. Finally, Jean gave the go-ahead and we walked out of the med-lab, healed and with a clean bill of health for the both of us. He walked me to my door, told me to get some rest, and proceeded to walk away. I stood and stared at his back, dumbstruck. He slipped into his room and closed the door. Suddenly I was pissed. I stalked after him and banged on the door as hard as I could. He swung it open, and gave me a questioning look>

"Logan! What the fuck!" He grabbed my arm and dragged me into his room, slamming the door behind him.

"What your mouth, kid! I thought I told you to get some rest." He ran his hands through his hair as he paced back and forth.

"I don't need anymore fucking rest," I could feel his personality overtaking my words. "I need to be with you. And not just like we have been." I knew he caught my drift when his head snapped up.

"No, that is not what you need. You took a lot of me. That's just what you think you need. I know because I think that's what I need, too." His voice was so low and so sexy, I was instantly aroused.

"Maybe that is exactly what we need. I nearly died, Logan. You nearly died bringing me back. Can you think of any better way to feel alive right now?" I had walked to the door and clicked the lock in place. I didn't know what he would do, but I knew what I wanted him to do. I stayed facing the door when suddenly, I was spun around and slammed up against. Logan's mouth was on mine, and he was rough with it. The kiss was ferocious. I could taste his frustration, want, and maybe even a bit of anger. I loved it.

I kissed him back with the same fierce passion he was giving to me. I nipped at his lips with my teeth, which earned me a vicious and spine-tingling thrust of his hips. More, I wanted more. I yanked at his shirt until he lifted his arms and I tossed it aside. I'd never been so glad to be wearing little sundress. He pulled the shoulder straps down and began to ravish my breasts, I was moaning and still needed to have more of him. With my fingers working with amazing dexterity, I undid his belt and pants, pushing them down, and grabbing at his ass to pull him closer against my body. With a low growl he cupped my ass and lifted me up so I could feel him against my wetness. He grabbed my panties and tore them away with a tearing sound. He stopped for a second and looked at me. I was done waiting.

"Logan, Yes! Now!" I probably had yelled that out a bit loud, but I really didn't care.

There were no preliminaries left. With one single, hard thrust, he was deep inside me and I cried out at the feeling. "Ohmygod! Logan!" My head snapped back and hit the door, but I didn't care. I tightened my legs around his waist so his thighs and his poor, creaking door was taking on my weight. His breathing was ragged and harsh and his mouth was everywhere, and everywhere in a hurry. He kept pounding into me, deeper and longer. I knew I was pushing him beyond his control, and it just made me hotter.

"Harder, Logan, harder, please!" I was inciting him to lose even more control, and that he did. He thrusting inside me, against me, and with me as I tried to bite, scratch, kiss, suck any inch of his skin I could reach. I felt the skin under my nails as I raked them down his back. He moaned loudly and just went even harder and faster. The door was rattling and I just hoped it could hold up a little longer. I begged him for more. I begged him to make it hurt. I was a masochist. I loved the wildness of him, I loved how he was showing my body no mercy. It was selfish, and primitive. Noisy, and sweaty. We came together in a climax so powerful, I think it may have shook the entire mansion. We were out of breath and still shaking against the door when he spoke against my neck.

"I'm sorry. Are you OK? Did I hurt you much? I lost control, I shouldn't have." He looked into my eyes with concern.

"Nope, I am beyond OK. I. Am. Fantastic. I guess I really needed that." I couldn't stop smiling. I felt amazing.

"Yeah, me too. How 'bout we give the door a break do that again on the bed?" He jerked his head back towards that big, inviting bed. I could feel him, still inside me, getting hard all over again. I groaned with anticipation.

"Oh, yes. Let's do that again." I laughed as he stayed inside me and walked over to the bed. When we laid down, he kissed my mouth deeply, slowly. I was squirming underneath him. I pressed my hips up to encourage him to move. Finally, after I started begging him to stop teasing me, he finally moved. We moaned in unison as he pushed in and out of me. I vaguely wondered how loud we were being. I wondered if our moans were carrying out to the hall. I decided when he began to suck and nip at one of my nipples I really didn't care. He made love to me slowly, torturously, until I was begging him to finish me off all over again. He kept me on the edge, and I was begging him to let me come. When he finally did, I almost sobbed with pleasure. He finally collapsed on top of me and we stayed that way, breathing hard and still moaning with the aftershocks of such intense lovemaking.

I knew we had a lot to talk about, we hadn't really talked about what had happened at the hospital, yet. But, for now, all I wanted to do was stay as we were, wrapped up in each other. I wanted to just stay in bed and screw until we starved. We both drifted off to sleep and the last thing I remembered was him mumbling "I love you". He probably thought it was too low for me to hear it, but I did. I smiled and fell into a deep sleep. I briefly thought that the next time I saw Jubilee, I'd have to thank her for her big mouth and for her one little comment that somehow had brought me here.

I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. A big-ass truck. That was the first thought that came into my head when I opened my eyes the next morning. Strangely enough, I felt more like myself than I had for the last entire week. Logan had been right, his presence in my head had really taken over. Our frantic and mildly violent lovemaking the night before really had been the work of the Logan in my head. I sat up slowly and noticed it was already ten in the morning. I'd slept like the dead. Logan was already gone, which was fine with me until I got moving and loosened up my aching muscles. I crawled out of his bed and grabbed the first shirt I found on the floor. It was one of his and probably dirty, but I didn't even care. I threw it around myself and made my way to the bathroom. I really had to pee, first of all, and I wanted to do nothing more than throw myself in a hot shower.

As I flushed the toilet, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the full-length mirror. I looked about as bad as I felt. I slipped off Logan's shirt and started taking inventory of the marks across my skin. My inner thighs were bruised from having my legs wrapped around his waist. There were distinct bite marks across my collarbone and breasts. Fingerprints on my hips and butt. My entire back was spotted with bruises from being slammed against the door. My arms had spotted bruises. My whole body was marked up. I didn't remember any of this hurting during the sex. I was shocked at how out of control we'd gotten. As I was staring at my reflection, I heard a sound at the door. I spun around to see Logan staring at me. I grabbed his shirt and went to put it on, but he grabbed it and ripped it from my hands.

"Look at what I did to you," he demanded. "This is why you should've gone to your room alone. I lost control and I shouldn't have. I'm so sorry, kid."

"No! Logan, don't apologize. I'm as guilty as you are. I was out of control, too. I'm fine. The bruises will go away, and it'll be fine." He was shaking his head. "Logan, I mean it, I'll be fine." He threw his shirt back at me and turned to leave the bathroom. I followed him and we sat down on the bed, beside each other.

"You know we were really loud, right?" I looked at him, not understanding what he was trying to say. "Everyone on this floor heard us. The Professor isn't real happy with us right now." The panic must have shown on my face, because he raised his hand to stop me from talking. "I talked to him, it'll be fine, but we either need to keep it down, or go elsewhere to be alone. Scott thought we were trying to kill each other." That got a small, sad smile. He really did like to piss him off. "I'm sorry. I lov- I lost control." I stared at him. I remembered the whispered 'I love you' from the night before. He didn't want me to hear it. He couldn't say it to me. It triggered something in my head.

"Why don't you think you're good enough for me? Why do you think you should just suffer alone? You are ridiculous, Logan. I swear. You are a better man than you think. What the hell have you done that's so bad that you can't just be happy? You deserve to be happy. I know that Stryker convinced you that you were some kind of animal, but he was wrong. You're not an animal, Logan." I looked at him coldly. I was sick and tired to death of his tough-guy games. He was going to talk to me, and I wasn't leaving until he did.

"You don't know anything." He got up from the bed and began to pace. "I volunteered for the experiment. I don't remember why. I believe him. I think that I was a very bad guy. I think I did some terrible shit. I think I probably killed a lot of people. That part of me will always be there, Marie. You want to be with someone who did terrible things to people? You want to be with someone who was so good at being violent? Look at yourself! I made you do that! My thoughts, they told you to let me hurt you, because, deep down, it's what I need. To control. To hurt. Look in my eyes and tell me it's what you want." I looked at him. I knew he'd probably done some things in the past he wasn't proud of. I never thought of him as a killer. I looked at him and just saw Logan.

"I don't care what you think you may have done 20 damn years ago! I will only ever see you. And that is who I want. I want you. I love you. And I love everything about you, the good and the bad. I am done living in the past. You aren't getting rid of me, so you better make peace with that! Now, I need a damn shower. I'm taking one here. You can either join me or sit out here and fume some more. You're choice." I walked into the bathroom and turned on the hot water full blast. I threw off the shirt and stepped in. Idiot men. I didn't care about anything but right now.

I jumped when I felt him touch my back. He came into the shower and wrapped me in his arms. He held me for a few minutes, until he finally spoke against my ear.

"You really want this? I don't want to hurt you."

"Yes. I really want this. You won't hurt me." I leaned up and kissed his mouth. He didn't pull away, thank God, and he kissed me back. His hands roamed my body gently. I could feel his fingertips gently circle my back. The kiss was getting deeper and deeper when suddenly, he pulled away. I whimpered like a child.

"Quit whining. I'm going to get you cleaned up and get you ready to face the world. I promise to make it up to you later. Right now, I need to get you downstairs to eat before people think I have you handcuffed to my bed." I couldn't help myself, I started laughing as he washed my hair and body. When he was done, he cut off the water, wrapped me in a towel, and led me back to his bed. I sat down and he went to his door and opened it. He picked something up and turned around with a bag in his hand. I gave him a quizzical look and he tossed the bag at me.

"I had Jubilee grab some clothes for you from your room and drop them off. Now, get dressed so we can eat." We dried off and dressed. When I'd pulled on my shirt, he came over and kissed me gently. "Come on, darlin'. Time to get some food in that beautiful body of yours." He grabbed my hand and led me out the door. I felt nervous as we made our way down the deserted hallway. It was lunchtime Saturday. I couldn't believe it'd been only a week today we'd made the same walk. It felt like a lifetime ago. As we neared the dining hall, I could hear all the noise coming from inside. He must have felt me stiffen, because he stopped and looked at me.

"It'll be fine. Relax. I promise no one will give us a hard time. Let's go." I nodded, still unconvinced. He sighed heavily. "Trust me?" I did. I really did.

"Yes. I trust you. Let's go." With that, we walked into the room. Everyone stopped and stared at us. He tightened his grip on my hand and pulled me forward. Another long day. Great, that was just great.

It took everything I had not to throw up when we reached our table. Everyone was staring at us. Logan reached down and took my hand and squeezed. Scott and Bobby were glaring at Logan. If looks could kill he'd be cold before he hit the ground. Kitty and Peter kinda looked like they felt really bad for me, which pissed me off a little bit. Jean had a soft smile on her face. She was every bit the lady everyone saw. John and Jubilee were just grinning from ear to ear. That could not be a good sign. That usually meant they were about to say something terribly embarrassing. Apparently, my crazy, loud sex with Logan had raised me in John's hormone fueled estimation. Wonderful. He must have been pretty impressed to cross Bobby and break their "man code". Jubilee's big mouth was the first one I heard, and I should've known she would make one of her little comments.

"Hey girl! Glad Logan cut the ropes so you could come join the land of the vertical." She was such a smart-ass. She looked at me and winked. I really hated her at that moment. And of course John was only encouraging her by laughing his ass off.

"From good girl to Sasha Grey in one week. Nice, Rogue." That John, what a sweetie. I rolled my eyes at him and flopped down into my chair. "Come on. I'm just kidding. You had to know you were gonna get hassled at least a little." John flashed me a genuine smile. I couldn't help it, I shook my head in defeat and smiled back.

"You know, not everyone finds this funny, John." Bobby turned his glare to his best friend. "Not everyone thinks that Rogue getting hurt is entertaining." I knew this was coming. I took a deep breath and counted to ten. I couldn't just let it go, but I could keep a straight head about it.

"I'm perfectly fine, Bobby. There's not even a mark from where Mystique stabbed me. He didn't mean anything. We always pick on each other. It's our thing." I knew perfectly well he was not talking about the stabbing, but I hoped I could make the point that I didn't want to discuss me and Logan's relationship.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about--"

"I know what you're talking about, and I don't feel the need to talk about it at lunch. Or really at all with you." Another deep breath. I really didn't want to cause a scene over this.

"He's just worried about you, Rogue. We all are. You've had a lot going on and we just think maybe you should take it easy for a while." Scott's glare never left Logan, even as he spoke to me. I had a feeling this was gonna get real bad, real fast. Logan wasn't going to take Scott's stare down much longer.

"I know everyone's worried about me, but I am fine. What I need to do is just get back to normal. Can we please just eat and talk about something else?" I took a bite of my sandwich and hoped I'd closed the subject. I hadn't. Logan finally opened his mouth, and I knew exactly what he was going to say. The throw up feeling came back. I silently begged him to not talk, but it wasn't happening.

"Are your lives so boring you have nothing better to do than talk about Rogue? Why don't you all worry about your own bullshit and I'll worry about Rogue all on my own." OK, there were no claws involved and he seemed pretty calm. Not so bad. But I had a feeling it wasn't over.

"My life isn't boring at all, Logan," Oh please, Scott, no. "As a matter of fact, I have more 'bullshit' going on than I need. And on top of it all, I have to hear your door damn near coming off the hinges because you decided to have, in my opinion, way too rough sex with with a friend of mine against it." Run, Scott. Please Run.

"What we do in the privacy of my bedroom is not any of your goddamn business, Cyke. We got a little carried away, we admit it, it won't happen again. But I will be damned if I'm going to let anyone tell me how to have sex with my girlfriend. Stop the staring and mouth runnin' before you really piss me off." Logan sat back in his chair and continued his lunch. Still no claws. Good sign.

"Before you get pissed off? I am about two miles past pissed off! You two together is a bad idea. And last night's display just proves it. Your not thinking of-"

"Scott!" Jean cut him off. "I've listened to this long enough. If we really need to discuss this, let's do so in private. The dining hall in front of all our students is not the place to talk about these things." With that, Jean gracefully got up to leave. Suddenly, she turned to look at all of us. "We will meet in an hour in the Professor's office. We will settle this. And then we will move on." Go Jean! As I watched her walk away, I realized the private discussion may end up way worse than the public one we just had.

We finished eating, then Logan and I decided to take a walk. I waved quietly to my friends and we walked away. Jubilee came running up behind us and threw her arms around both Logan and I.

"I love you guys, and don't worry, I got your backs. See ya soon." With that, she ran off to join the rest of her friends.

"Thank you, Logan."

"For what?"

"Not kicking anyone's ass. I know it took a lot not to. Thanks."

"Well, don't thank me yet. The day's young." With that, he grabbed my hand and led me out to the garden. For several precious minutes, we just walked, talked about anything but us, and we were just a normal couple. It was perfect. Finally, Logan looked at his watch.

"Well, kid, time to go." He kissed my forehead and pulled me towards the house. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't say anything and just followed him numbly.

We got to the Professor's office and walked in. The whole entire group of X-Men had amassed for the meeting. Storm, who had not been at lunch, was also present. We took our seats on the end, beside Jubilee, and braced ourselves for the worse. The Professor took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Here at this school, we the staff are to be examples of tolerance, strength in character, dependability, respect for everyone, and we are here to provide the students with a safe and secure feeling of family. That's just to name a few of the things I expect from my X-Men. Over the last week, it has become clear to me that you all need to be reminded of that. I have already spoken privately with Logan concerning last night's....incident. And he, in turn, has spoken to Rogue. Since the subject has already been addressed, I do not believe anymore discussion is really necessary. Whatever issues any of you have personally with their relationship, you need to remember they are both adults. They can and will make their own decisions. I am asking all of you to respect each other's privacy in the matter of personal relationships unless you are expressly asked to give your opinion. And absolutely no more debates relating to intimacy will be tolerated in the dining hall in the presence of our students. Have I made myself clear?" There were nods all around. When the Professor spoke, we all listened and respected his wishes. If I'd been hoping for the 'meeting' to end there, I was doomed to disappointment.

"Now then, I am going to leave the ten of you to say anything you feel the need to say. When you finish, the subject will be closed and I expect there will be no more problems with my team. Thank you." He started to leave, then looked back over his shoulder, "And I also expect my office to be in the same condition I'm leaving it in. If it is not, you will all spend any free moments you have cleaning the mansion with toothbrushes together until you can get along." No threat from the Professor was idle and we knew it was the least he could do to us. When the door closed behind him, we all just sat quietly, not speaking. Finally, Jubilee spoke up, as usual.

"That went well, I think." She was actually serious. John started laughing. Again, as usual.

"Yeah, real well. All this cause Logan over there had to go and make our little Rogue a woman. And that woman turned out to be a little freaky. We're screwed. Big time. I'm gonna pick out the biggest toothbrush I can find."

"Well thanks for the warm fuzzies, John. And I am not freaky. You're the one who told me I needed to relieve some tension. Apparently I had a lot. The whole going on a mission, being tricked, nearly getting murdered, and absorbing so much of someone I put them in a coma for four damn days was a tiny bit stressful! Did I miss anything? Any other shit I should pile on top of all that other shit? Huh? Anything?" I looked around at everyone. They were all silent and kinda looking down. I felt a single tear slide down my cheek. I wiped it away, and took a deep breath. I was not going to start crying on top of everything else. I felt a strong arm go around me. Logan rubbed my shoulder and kissed my head.

"Hey, it's OK. We know you've been through a lot. It's going to be fine." He kissed my head again.

"Look, I'm sorry things got heated at lunch. The Professor is right, none of my business. Just as long, Logan, Rogue doesn't get hurt, I'll stay out of it. I won't like it, but I'll stay out of it." Scott's words surprised me and I kinda wondered if Jean had brainwashed him or threatened him.

"Well, I for one don't really want involved in any of this. And I have other things to do, so you all are on your own." Storm made her way out the door. She wasn't one to beat around the bush, that's for sure. So then there was nine. Peter took his opportunity to make an escape, too.

"Look, as long as they teach their classes, kick ass on missions, and help the students when they need it, I don't care what kinda crazy shit they do in their own bedroom. Logan, Rogue, good luck. I'm gonna go help Storm." Two down. I knew I wasn't going to be so lucky with Bobby. He was not going to go down without a fight. I could only hope Logan could show some self control. On cue, Bobby stood up and started to speak.

"I do care. I'm sorry, Rogue. I'm worried about you. Logan is dangerous and unpredictable. He runs off whenever he feels like it and I can't stand by and just let you stand on the tracks when there's a train coming right at you."

"Bobby, please just let this go," Kitty pleaded. "It's not our business. You heard the Professor."

"No, Kitty. I won't let it go. I can't believe you guys! You all heard it last night. I don't think it's coincidence she's all covered up today. I bet she's covered in bruises from head to toe! I don't care what her part was in it. He's too rough. We've all seen it in training, too."

"Now, Bobby, come on! We all get our asses kicked in training. And for a damn good reason. Look, you really want to do this? I have to wonder why you care so freaking much about what your ex-girlfriend is doing with her new boyfriend. Maybe you're not worried about her at all! Maybe you're just jealous he fucked her first!" Kitty stood up so fast, her chair tipped backwards and she stormed out of the room. Like I said, it's always the quiet ones. Bobby stared after her, dumbstruck. Then he looked at Logan.

"Happy now? You're causing problems in other relationships now. That's just great Logan. Just fucking perfect." Bobby slammed his fist on the Professor's desk. I could feel Logan stiffen beside me. He suddenly stood up, and I could feel the anger coming off of him in waves. Dammit, dammit, dammit.

"That's enough! Maybe you should listen to your girlfriend and let it go. I think you are jealous. You dated Rogue for years. Maybe your just pissed you put all that time in for nothing. Whatever your problem is, get over it. I'm not going to let this bullshit hurt Rogue anymore. I'm not going to hurt her, physically or otherwise. I'm not going to run off on her. We're just going to try being together. If it works, great. If it doesn't, we'll be fine and we'll still be friends. Look at her, man, the girl's a freaking goddess. How long did you think it was going to be before someone else saw it? Now, you've said your peace, and I've said mine. Anyone else have anything to say?" He looked at Jean, John, and Jubilee. I looked at him. I couldn't believe what he had said. And in front of people. It felt good to hear him talk about me that way. But, I couldn't dwell on it, and turned my attention to the others. They had all kept their mouths shut nearly the entire time. It was almost creepy. Jubilee usually never shuts up. But Jean was the first to speak.

"As long as no one is getting hurt, it's none of my business. I think this has gotten out of control. I've never seen this happen before with relationships at the school. I don't know why you two seem to be the exception, but it's not fair. Be happy. Try not to kill each other. Scott and I will mind our own business." Jean took Scott's hand, which really made me wonder again what she said or did to him.

"All this drama is crap! We may live in a high school, but we don't need to act like a bunch of teenagers. You guys can go at it like bunnies who just got outta prison for all I care. As long as I don't have to see it, or hear it--sorry Rogue, but it was a little much, I'm fine with whatever you do." She pointed her finger at Logan. "You hurt her, I'll fry you, though. Got it?" Logan nodded at Jubes with a smirk on his face.

"Pyro. I can't believe you don't have anything to say." Logan said to him dryly.

"OK. Here's my two cents: I don't give a fuck. I don't. I think it's hilarious that everyone heard you guys going at it last night. It's just entertaining for me. Do whatever you want, and leave me out of it. At least the poor, sexually suppressed girl is finally getting laid. More power to ya. It was getting kinda sad, her savin' it all this time. So....whatever. Can we please get back to our lives, now?" I stood up. I'd been listening to everyone talk about me like I wasn't here most of the time and I realized I had something to say myself.

"No, not yet. It's my turn. I'm glad most of you realized that it's none of your business. I'm fine. Whatever happens with me and Logan, it's just between us. If I need someone's advice, I'll ask for it. Right now, I have it under control. And Bobby, I'm sorry this is causing problems with Kitty. No matter how badly your going about it, it's sweet of you to try to take this on for me and protect me. I just don't need your protection anymore. I'm asking you this as my friend, OK? Please, just let it lie. Let me do this myself. If it's a mistake, it's one I just need to make right now." I took a deep breath. No one spoke as I looked at Bobby, and he looked back at me.

"This is what you want?" I nodded solemnly. "Fine. But I'm doing this for your sake, and yours alone. If he hurts you in any way, then, all bet's are off. That's the best I can do." Bobby came over and wrapped me in his arms. "Maybe I am a little jealous, but not because of what everyone thinks. It's because I feel like I failed to make you happy. I just want you to be happy." With that he turned to leave. No one spoke. No one moved. I felt drained. Finally, we all made our way out. I looked back at the Professor's office. It was still intact. Well, except for Kitty's chair. I ran back in the room and righted it. I looked up to see Logan looking at me with a grin on his face.

"I'm not taking any chances," I said laughing. We walked out of the room to finish our day. I said a silent prayer for smooth sailing.

We managed to get through dinner with very little tension. Things were still a little awkward, but it was definitely better. When we were finished, I told everyone I'd see them tomorrow, and Logan and I headed to his room. When we got there, I threw myself on his bed a sighed.

"Well, that was one crazy day. I will never take boring for granted again. Boring would be great right now." I rolled onto my back, and Logan laid down beside me.

"I agree." Logan, he's a man of few words. I looked at him, laying there beside me, and suddenly I wasn't so tired. I leaned up and kissed him softly. As the kiss began to deepen, he rolled back on top of me and broke away to pay some attention to my neck.

"You sure you're up for this? Enjoying it? I promise I'll be careful." He was whispering against my ear, and it was driving me crazy.

"Oh, yeah. I think I can enjoy anything you do." He looked up at me with a smile and then went to work. He undressed me slowly and gently, kissing every inch of new skin he uncovered. It was maddening. Every time I tried to reciprocate more, he just laid me back down and told me to let him take care of me. His mouth worshipped every inch of my skin, paying special attention the marks left from the night before. At some point I realized he had managed to undress us both without me even realizing. He touched and teased me. He bathed in me. I felt like I was going to scream if he didn't speed up soon. Finally, I told him as much.

"It's called foreplay, baby. Enjoy it." I tried to relax as he latched onto one of my breasts and slid his fingers lower and lower until they were inside me, stroking me, making me writhe. I was almost there when he suddenly pulled his hand away. I groaned in protest.

"Not yet, just relax. There's more I need to do." His voice was low and hushed and so sexy. He kissed his way down my body, slowly. Finally, he kissed his way up my inner thighs and I felt the first feel of his tongue against my clit. I couldn't help myself, and I cried out.

"Oh, Logan! Please! You're driving me crazy!"

"Hey, remember, keep it down." He laughed from between my legs. Keep it down? Not with what he was doing to me. His mouth on me, his tongue inside of me. I began to feel the coil tighten, and I was way ready. He continued to suck and lick until I just couldn't take anymore. He finally let me come, and he soothed me as I shook and moaned out my completion. It was amazing. And he wasn't done yet.