Mutation. To humans it is a disease, a plague upon others, and an abomination that should be shamed upon. The only solution for such a horrible way of life is to inject the 'cure', to change who you are. Although the majority of mutants feel like they don't need it because there is nothing wrong with them, some people welcome it. The yearn to have normalcy in their lives was so great that they chose to change who they are. Deep in their soul they are the same person, but in reality they are no longer accepted by the people they used to trust. Is the Sacrifice really worth it?


Rogue made the decision before she even had a chance to really think about what the consequences would be of her actions. She wanted to touch people. Give them a hug, a handshake or even a kiss. For the last several months her and Bobby's relationship was dwindling. They never really talked anymore. Every Saturday they would go out on dates to the movies or to an ice cream parlor...but they haven't gone in 9 weeks. Rogue knew that he was slipping away from her because not only did she have Logan running around in her head making suspicious observations, she also had been sneaking around spying on him. A lot of the time he had stolen away a little time to hang out with Kitty. Every so often they would hold hands or hug her close. He even took her ice skating once because she was homesick. When was the last time he did that for Marie? Never.

As she packed clothes and necessities into her bag the wave of emotion flooded over her. The Professor was gone.
He was never coming back. There were only two people who really understood her; the Professor and Logan. All she had left was Logan and she couldn't even touch him. She choked back a small sob and zipped up her duffel. Throwing it over her shoulder she strode to the door, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror Rogue stopped to take one last look. [This is whatcha are Sugah. Ya the Gal who can't touch people. The one that people fear because of ya fatal flesh. No longer do ya have to scare them. This is ya one chance to be normal. Take it.] Her eyes gazed down at her body, black- everything had to be black. The only color she wore was her green hooded cloak. Her long hair hung over her shoulders, draping her breasts with the ends. Slowly she pulled up her hood to rest on the crown of her head.

"Goodbye Rogue, It's been fun Sugah." She whispered gently turning away from the mirror.

Thrusting the door open she had a determined look on her face as she went down the hall of bedrooms, down the main stair case and through several rooms toward the garage.

"You runnin' again?" It was the voice that was so well known to her, the one that haunted her dreams, haunted her mind and clutched her heart. She spun around to see Logan leaning against the door frame that she had just passed through. Boots, tight faded jeans, a white under shirt and one of his flannel shirts made his typical outfit. Today was no different.

"No. Ah.. Ah'm just leavin' fer a little while." She couldn't tell him goodbye. It would kill her if she had to say goodbye to Logan.

"Does Drake know where ya goin'?" He pulled out a cigar from his pocket along with a lighter and lit it. Him inhaling the sweet tobacco and letting it out made Rogue a little more at ease. The smell of his tobacco was always comforting to her. The specific scent gave her the satisfaction of knowing he was close. He was there.

"Nope. Ah'm venturin' out on mah own on this one. There's a few things Ah gotta take care of..."

Her voice trailed off as she noticed his head was down, he wasn't looking at her. That was odd, Logan always made eye contact when they were talking, unless the game was on. He had never put his head down. Not for her. Not for anyone.

"So that means that ya gunna go get the cure eh?"

"Yeah Logan, Ah am."

"There ain't nothing wrong with you kid. You're perfect just the way you are. I don't see why you gotta run off and change who ya are for-"

"Ya don't understand Logan. Ah wanna touch people. Ah wanna be able to wear tank tops in public without worryin' who in the hell is gunna accidentally bump int' meh an' invade mah mind. Ah'm tired of havin' t' wear layers of clothes when Ah sleep in the same bed with someone [You Logan... Ah wanna be in bed with you]. Ah want t' be able t' kiss Mah boyfriend! Ah wanna do little things that Ah have been robbed of these last several years of mah life. Ah'm an adult an' Ah have the right t' choose mah destiny."

Logan's head still didn't raise. He was seemingly staring at the same spot on the floor. An eerie silence settled upon them. Rogue tensed because she didn't think that Logan was going to take what she said very well.

Breaking the silence, Logan said in a calm and low voice, "I hope ya not doin' this for some boy Marie."

It was rare when he used her real name. The only time he did that was when they were alone and he was talking to her about things that rely on emotions. He always softened as the sounds of her name spilled from his lips. No one would understand how much they really cared for each other. Outsiders would never know.

"No. Ah ain't doin' it fer a boy." [Ah'm doin' it so that Ah can touch you. Ah'd give up my entire relationship with Bobby if Ah could just hold your hand Logan... can't you see that? No. Because you only see meh as a kid. An' ya always will. Logan Ah'm doin' this for meh. So Ah can touch and be touched... it doesn't mattah by who.]

He grunted apathetically and stood up straight, turned around and spoke over his shoulder. "Then ya better get a move on Kid, before someone sees you." He left.

He left her standing there in awe of what he had just said. Anger and sadness started to boil up in her. She spoke knowing that he would be able to hear her. "You've changed Logan. You've stopped caring about these kids. You've even stopped caring about me." Her feet quickly carried her to the garage where her baby sat in park. She had an old Ford Diesel truck that was just recently restored. The new paint was a dark green with a sparkly lime green candy coat to it. The color was one that you would never forget. The interior was all black with leather seats. She has had the truck for about 11 1/2 months. As she climbed into the driver's seat, tossing her duffel bag into the passenger's spot she couldn't help but remember the day she got it. The day he gave it to her.

~*Rogue woke up in a grumpy mood that morning despite the fact that it was her 18th birthday. The Southern Belle was in absolutely no mood to deal with people in cheery moods. She got up, showered, dressed, and went down stairs for breakfast. It turned out to be the typical morning chow time. Everyone drank coffee, chatted, bickered and ate the breakfast that was on the huge dining table. The only things that were odd was: 1. No one remembered her birthday and 2: Logan was no where to be seen.

Her mood spiraled as she realized that she loved it when Logan greeted her in the mornings. He's give her a hug, kiss her on the top of her head, ask her how she slept the night before and then they would start talking about random topics. It was the only time she felt that she could be around everyone and stay at ease.

Hours passed by and no one seemed to care to want to talk to Rogue, which was fine because she didn't want to talk to them either. It was something she really didn't care about. So she stayed in her room, she wrote a few poems, cleaned out her closet entirely and then curled up in a chair with a lamp to read a Romance Novel. 3 1/2 hours passed by before Rogue realized it was 10:30 and she had missed dinner. [Oh well, I'll just get a snack later] An envelope flew under her door. It took her several seconds of staring at it before deciding to get up and open it. It held a note in a familiar sloppy hand writing.

'Marie, meet me in the garage in 10 minutes. I got a surprise for ya Kid. -L'

Instantly a grin cracked across her face as she rushed around to make herself look decent. With a minute to spare Rogue walked into the dark entrance to the garage and flipped the switch. Nothing happened. It was still pitch black. Getting slightly creeped out she took a few steps before deciding to look for a flashlight on one of the shelves. Suddenly she screamed as someone came up from behind her and grabbed her, a gloved hand closing around her mouth.

"Damn Darlin' d' you want to ruin ya surprise."

Relief flooded through her as she was being picked up, the glove releasing her mouth. Instantly, her hands came around his neck in affection.

"Jesus Sugah, Ya scared the hell outta meh! What's this big surprise Ah'm gettin'???"

"Patience Kid." Her gently shifted her weight in his arms before he set her down. "Now when you see it, don't scream. You'll be tempted. But don't. My ears ring enough as it is."

"Oh Logan, Ah don't think it'll be somethin' that'll make meh scream. But fer ya Sugah, Ah'll make sure Ah suppress mah urges." She giggled teasingly in the darkness and her gloved hand found his as he moved to find a light switch. The moment he turned the lights on to the garage, when Rogue saw a big beautiful truck sitting before her... tears started to fall.

"Happy Birthday Kid. Ya've earned it."

She was speechless.

Logan swept a glove over her cheek to wipe her tears away. "What's wrong Darlin'?"

"It's... It's just so...Beautiful. Logan.. Ah...Ah Thank ya. Where did ya get it?"

"I bought it about a year or so ago. She was a rusted piece of junk though. But when I had free time, I'd drive up north and take a few days and work on it. I just finished it last night. And today I washed it and waxed it."

"Logan, You really didn't have to go through all this trouble fer lil' ol' meh. Ah only just got mah License and.. and... Oh God can Ah drive her?"

He laughed at her. "Of course you can Kid. She's yours!"*~

Rogue drove off with tears in her eyes. She loved this truck. But even more, she loved the sentiments that were put into it. It was designed perfectly for her. It suited her well. He knew exactly what she wanted. He knew exactly what she needed. Her drive was long and lonely as she drove to New York City. There was a facility there that gave out samples of the cure.

"Ah'm sorry Logan. Ah have to.."

She spoke softly to the truck, as if he could hear her through the truck. Within 5 minutes she had parked and entered the medical facility.

She walked out a changed woman. A normal woman.

Within a week things had flipped upside down.

Charles was dead. Scott was dead. Jean had gone postal and lost control of her powers, taking thousands of innocent lives. The damage that she caused was irreversible. Magneto and his brotherhood ruined a bridge, one of the many things that they had destroyed in order to claim their path for their cause. The lab that held the child who they derived the cure from was in shambles. All of it came to a stop when Wolverine killed Jean. Storm was now the new headmaster to Xavier's school for the gifted. A normalcy was trying to be obtained as everyone was trying to put the events of what happened behind them.

Rogue parked her truck in the garage and walked into the mansion a week after Jean's death. After getting the cure she decided to give herself 2 1/2 weeks to try to adjust to living a life of no longer being a mutant. For now she was ready to face the things at home. In her hotel room several nights ago she saw the footage of what the lab had looked like. It made her feel as though she was helpless. She hadn't participated in the fight against Magneto. Walking up the stairs to Bobby's room she found no one to cross her path. Opening the door that she had opened a thousand times over, she stepped in to find the room empty.

{Why are you back here Darlin'? Ya know that I... I need you. Get out of Slushy's room. Come and find me.}

[Ah can't Logan. Ah have to fix this first.]

{You're gunna regret it.}

{Ah don't care.}

Rogue's feet took her to Bobby's window, where she found the majority of the student body. They were doing typical Sunday stuff. Playing football, frizzbee, softball. Instantly she noticed Bobby playing tag football down below. He had a huge smile on his face as he went to tackle a slender girl. She phased right through him and then let him catch her around the waist when he turned around. They both were laughing.

Within her gut, knots were forming. She didn't want to let go of Bobby. He was there for her when Logan wasn't. He was a great friend. An acceptable companion. One that she so desperately needed when Logan was on missions. She continued to watch him as he then decided to quit the game and come into the mansion. Probably for a change of clothes. Rogue turned away and shook out of her coat. With the fingers of one hand she had gently started to take off the opposite hand's glove. It was no longer a necessity to wear them but she wore them as a practical article of clothing along with them being a reminder of who she was. Rogue sat on the bed and waited for Bobby to come into his room.

A few minutes later there was no longer a reason to wait. He had swung open the door and stared at the woman who was on his bed staring back.

"Rogue. You came back." Bobby had a look of shock on his face and when he spoke, you could tell he had an element of surprise in his voice.

"Of course Ah came back." Marie got up and walked over to him. "You know where Ah went right?"

He nodded gravely. "Rogue that wasn't what I wanted."

"Ah know. It's what Ah wanted."

She held up her hand and slowly made it to the side of his face. Stroking his face gently her eyes met with his.

"Ah can touch ya now. There ain't nothin' stoppin' us from really bein' togethah."

When she looked into his eyes she found something that she had never seen before despite his abilities. Those eyes held a coldness that made her blood turn cold in fear. Those eyes once held a look for her and only her. One that despite the ice in his body burned like a steady campfire. The look in those same pair of eyes no longer held that look for her. They were indifferent... borderline disgusted with her.

"Bobby what's wrong?" Her voice lace with concern.

"Listen, Rogue. This is going to be hard to hear."

"No Bobby. There can't be any-"

"ROGUE. I'm sorry. But it's over."

"What? Why??" She retracted her hand from his face and backed up a step.

"I don't think that we are going to work out. There are too many things that we differ on. There isn't much that we have in common anymore..." His voice trailed off. The problem now was like the big pink elephant that was in his room, but he refused to talk about it.

"Is it because Ah decided to get the cure? Is that what this is all about?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing from him. Rogue knew damn well how different they had always been, but that was never a problem until today. She wished that the pain in her voice would slice into his frozen heart. "Is it because Ah'm no longer a mutant?"

"No. No Rogue it isn't."

"Then what in tarnation could it be then?"

"There is someone else."

Her fear had been confirmed. The iceman found someone new he could freeze. A new statue to create because he was tired of the old one.

"Kitty. Ah knew it."

"Rogue... You don't understand."

She held up a hand to make him stop dead in his verbal tracks. "No Bobby, Ah understand perfectly." She turned and grabbed her coat and gloves before turning to look at him again. "Ah hope she is worth it. 'Cause there ain't no one else in this world that would have made the sacrifices that I made fer ya." She walked to the door to open it. Halfway out of it she turned back. "Goodbye Bobby. Have a nice life." The door closed with a sudden crack of finality.

{I told you that you would regret doin' that Darlin'.}

[No Sugah. That was exactly what Ah needed.]

*Why the fuck am I still here? There is no logical reason for me to stay at the school anymore. Jeanie's gone...got my own battles to face when it comes to that. One-Eye is gone, so I can't fuck with his life anymore. And Marie, my Marie left to get that fuckin cure. That girl has been needing someone to touch her for so long. While every one else here in this god forsaken hell hole has thought about nothing but themselves, I have gone out of my way to make that girl feel special. But I guess that wasn't enough. Fuck it. I should leave. Maybe go to Canada.*

Logan sat on the couch in his room and watched a baseball game that happened to be on while he sipped his beer. He hadn't done much else this past week since he killed Jean. The fact that the woman who he lusted over's blood could still be seen and smelt on his claws was enough to cut a small hole into his heart that wouldn't heal. He couldn't drink enough to ease the pain of what happened in the last month. It had been an emotional roller coaster, one that Logan did not want to deal with. He flipped off the television in frustration just as he heard a familiar voice coming from a lengthy distance down the hall.

"Ah hope she is worth it. 'Cause there ain't no one else in this world that would have made the sacrifices that I made fer ya.Goodbye Bobby. Have a nice life." With the slam of a door Logan stood up and smiled to himself.

*She came back. Marie came back. What the fuck did Icehole do to make her upset? She smells like she is about to cry. I swear to God, someday I am going to rip that boy's spine out for hurting her.*

The sound of the elevator doors closing gave him enough energy to throw on a pair of boots, change his flannel shirt and throw on his leather jacket. If anyone could get her to talk about what's goin' on.. it was Logan. It was always going to be Logan. A smirk showed up on his face before he put on that hard facade and strode from his room to the stairs at the end of the hall.

A few minutes later he found her on the roof, sitting with her knees to her chest in a small area that was visually unable to spot from anywhere except if you were on the roof. He could smell the salt from her tears and the amount of regret and anger that she happened to be bathing in at the time. Slowly he approached her and she stopped crying.

"Logan."

"Marie."

He sat down beside her and offered him his arm. Instinctively she wrapped her gloved hands around them and rested her head there as the tears started again. They sat in silence for several minutes.

His voice was steady, calming, and sensual as he spoke to her. "You gunna tell me why I have to go rip out Slushy's intestines or are you gunna leave me in the dark and let me do it anyway?"

A small laugh came from her and she wiped her hears on her green silk gloves. "It ain't nothin' fer ya to worry 'bout Logan. It's over between me and Bobby."

"I see." He paused for a long moment before moving his arm out of her grasp to place over her shoulder to bring her closer to him. "Why?"

"He said we're too different. That we don't have anythin' in common anymore."

Logan snorted. That Drake kid didn't even know what he had to begin with.

"Besides. He's with Kitty now. She can have that bastard. Ah didn' want him anymore anyway."

His eyebrow had risen at the information that Kitty and Bobby were together now. If she hadn't have continued on, he would have let his anger seep into his adamantium skeleton until the rage took him over. "Ya sure ya don't wan' him anymore?"

Rogue nodded. "Ah only have one small regret."

"And what's that?" Logan's interest peaked.

"That Ah didn't break it off with him first."

Logan shook his head. *Teenagers... they... Oh Shit. What day was today? the 17th. FUCK. Marie's birthday was yesterday. He was going to have to pull together something really special for her tomorrow.*

Rogue gave one last soft nuzzle into his chest and took a deep inhale of his smell before sitting up. The sudden movement she knew would alarm him.

"Ya know what sucks the most Logan?"

"What could that be Kid?"

Rogue had gotten up and brushed herself off. "After all he and Ah went through, one of the reasons Ah did it was so that Ah could touch him at least once."

"Reasons you did what?" Then it Dawned on him. *She went through with it. She had actually gotten it done.*

"Got the Cure."

*I wonder if it actually worked. I can, no I have to touch her to see if it is true.*

He stood up and took a step toward her. She didn't move. Good. "So I can touch you?"

"If Ya'd like t' Ya don't hafta-"

His hands instantly grabbed her face and started gently caressing her pale flesh. It was so soft. It felt exactly like it looked. He should kiss her... make her his. But she had smiled briefly and backed away from him.

"Ah'm goin' t' catch a few hours of sleep Logan. Ah'm very tired. Ah'll catch up with ya later."

"Sure kid. Get some sleep."

*Don't you fucking dare let her walk away without making her yours. Take her. She's open. She's free game. You have to. You have wanted her so bad. Be a fucking man and take her.*

Logan just stood there and watched Rogue disappear off the roof.

With the soft click of her door, Rogue closed it and pressed her back against the door. Her chin lifted to the ceiling and her eyes closed. Sighing loudly she started muttering to herself.

"Ya can d' this Sugah. Marie, ya can get through today... even if ya heart gets shattered."

In order to try to shake her fears away she shook her head violently as she pushed herself away from the door. Exhausted, she kicked her shoes off and pulled back the covers of her bed. Within moments she had snuggled herself into the covers while not even bothering to put on more comfortable clothes. Her eyes flashed to the digital clock on her nightstand. 8:57pm. Not as late as she thought it was.

[Ah can't deal with this now. Ah'll wait until tomorrah t' come up with a plan-."]

{Sleep well Darlin'.}

[Thanks Logan.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A graveyard could be a beautiful thing as you watch the sunset rise. The light seems to glean on the top of every single headstone. The headstones being the only reminder that the dead had to the living. Rogue was gracefully walking through the rows, looking over each phrase carved into each one of them. A sadness that she had never felt before settled into her bones as she saw a familiar headstone. One that had dead flowers in a vase next to it. 'Ororo Monroe'. She couldn't stop herself from reading the phrase outloud.

"Such a beautiful life, sucked away."

The next was Hank McCoy's.

"Drained of everything meaningful."

Another. Jubilation Lee.

"Diminished youth."

As she continued to walk down the lengthy plot line she saw another friend's headstone. And another. And another. All of the descriptions in reference to some sort of absorption of their life force. The last one in the long row of graves was the one that shattered her the most.

" 'Logan'. Loved by the woman. Died at the hands of the Rogue."

Her heart was metaphorically ripped from her as she fell to the ground. Not Logan. No. It wasn't possible. How could she be the one to have killed the man that she had always desperately loved? It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. Her tears spilled heavily down her cheeks as she stroked the letters L-O-G-A-N. Heartbreak couldn't possibly get worse.

Suddenly she was standing in a peaceful meadow. Marie was surrounded by flowers of all different types. A light breeze blew; it lifted tendrils of her hair and she closed her eyes to relish in how good it felt. Until the realization that she was alone kicked in.

"Where is everyone?"

She looked around. Not a soul was anywhere within screaming distance of her. A loud noise crashed within her head. It sounded as if someone had thrown something excessively heavy into a wooden table. Several voices were talking.

"How could you do that to me Rogue?" Jubes' voice was something just below a scream.

"Chere... Why Chere? Wasn't Remy nice t' you?"

Bobby's voice was filled with anger. "Was it because I couldn't stand to be with someone like you? Is that why you killed me???"

"You know what Rogue? You never should have come to the mansion. You were nothing but a pathetic teenager who ended up taking the lives of innocent people. You don't deserve to be a mutant." 'Ro's words stung as though she had whipped her with a metal chain.

"AH DID THE BEST AH COULD! AH DIDN'T MEAN IT! AH'M SORREH!"

Logan's rough tone was enough to make her die. "Sorry doesn't give our lives back Kid. Nothing ever will."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Marie woke up. Her body was shaking, her eyes letting tears of despair and sorrow wash over her face, she had broken into a cold sweat. There could have been nothing more that she could ever want to do than to run to Logan's room across the lengthy hallway, enter his room, crawl into bed and cry to him... but she didn't feel welcome in there anymore. She didn't belong there. Hell she no longer belonged in the mansion. She wasn't a mutant anymore. So what the fuck was she doing there?

Sure she had no home to run to. Little to no money. No family who accepted who she was. And now no real friends. But the one thing she did have was her drive and independence. There was one final option. She needed to get out of the Institute. Nothing and no one was keeping her there, except for maybe Logan.

Logan changed. Since she had come back from getting the cure the only time that she had any contact with him was on the roof. The look in his eye told her that he was a changed man. Nothing would ever be the same in his eyes as long as his precious Jean was no longer in his life. Marie knew she could never fill Jean's perfect shoes. She would never get the place in his head that she always wanted. And now she knew that there was nothing left to do but accept that.

Rogue flung her sheets away from her body and quickly got out of bed. Her shoes were on her feet in no time and she was grabbing a suitcase from under her bed to remove all of the things that she held dear to her from her room. Certain favorite items of clothes and scarfs, a few books, a small jewelery box that used to be her mother's, an extra stock on necessities and a few gifts that she had acquired in the last 3 years. She had zipped the suitcase shut and grabbed her lengthy green coat to put it on. When she was about to turn away from the room that she had lived in for the end of her teen years. Next to her bed, on the wall, was a small framed photo that was taken over a year ago. Her and Logan were in the Blackbird, it was the first time that she had gotten to suit up in the X-gear. He had tossed a camera to Kurt and pulled her close so that she could have a memento to cherish. Slowly she picked it up and took the picture from the frame. In doing so, she hadn't realized he wrote on the back of the photo when he framed it.

'I'm always gunna be there for you Kid. No matter what. -Logan"

Tears formed around her eyes as she flipped it over. Her fingers gently stroked the picture, right over Logan's handsome face.

[Ah'm so sorry Logan. Ah can't let you be here for meh.]

She tucked the photo into the breast pocket inside her coat and pulled out a pad of paper from the bedside table. Grabbing a pen she started to jot down a quick note. One that was meant for one person and one person only.

Marie, finally ready to go, picked up her duffel bag (Which hadn't been unpacked yet from arriving this morning), threw it over her shoulder, grabbed the handle to the suitcase and silently made her exit from her room. She didn't dare to look back at the room. The last thing Marie needed was another emotional string to realize that she was still attached to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The light slam of her truck's door and an engine starting was the last sign of Rogue being at the mansion. In her heart, she knew that she was leaving for good and she would never come back.

Her last thoughts as she left the garage were of the note that she had left in the picture frame that held the picture of her and Logan.

'Logan, I wanted to thank you for everything that you have done for me. The things you taught me will stay with me every single day, for the rest of my life. I'm sorry to say that although we tried very hard, it's just not going to be enough. I no longer belong in the mutant world. You will forever be in my heart. -Marie'

The parting words for the man who held her heart in his hands, never hurt more than when they were replayed over and over again in her head.

Driving for over 2 hours landed her in a small town, close to the Canadian border. Never in her life did she need a drink more. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a neon sign of a bar that was down the street from a motel. Perfect.

The truck was pulled into the parking lot of the motel. Within a half hour she had a key to the room she just booked for 2 days. Rogue had learned to push out thoughts that she did not need to focus on in order to keep her sanity in place several years ago. It was automatic. Every movement. Every choice made about how she was going to look was automatic.

A half hour later she had showered, rubbed lotion on her body, dressed in: a black bra, a matching thong, a short black skirt and a green shirt that showed plenty of her cleavage. She no longer had her powers, therefore she no longer needed to worry about anyone coming into contact with her skin. Her makeup was done. She blow dried her hair, styled it, put on her big black boots, and glanced at her self in the mirror. This was who she was. This was who she was going to be for the rest of her life. There was absolutely nothing she could do about the situation anymore. She is no longer a mutant. And she had never really been a human before... not since before Cody did she ever feel 'normal'.

She sighed and turned around. Grabbing her jacket, the motel key, and a wad of money that she had been saving up she left the motel with the thought of getting laid that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moment she walked into the bar she knew that she had grabbed the attention of at least half of the men who had been in the bar. Which was at least 12 men. Although there was a few women who were sprinkled throughout the place. It looked like the stereotypical truck stop bar. A smaller one perhaps, but one nonetheless. The smell of tobacco smoke radiated throughout the entire place. Billiard balls cracked loudly in the back ground. A jukebox was in the far corner that played nothing but semi-brutal music. The main bar had one large wooden counter top that extended for at least 15 feet and there was a lengthy shelves that held mildly expensive bottles of alcohol. Several tables lined the inside of the rest of the bar's space. It wasn't a place where massive amounts of people could hang out. It was more intimate than anything else. Just what she was looking for.

She walked over to the counter and sat on a wooden bar stool. "Ah'll have 2 beers."

"Sure thing Sweetness." The bartender pulled out two bottles of the usual brew and took off the tops for her. "That'll be 8 even."

Rogue handed him a ten from her roll of bills and instantly picked up one of the beers and took a long drink from it. Moose piss. Beer always tasted like moose piss to her. But hey, who gave a fuck? She was here to get drunk and score, not to necessarily like what she was drinking.

A big trucker with a beer gut came up and sat next to her. "Lemme buy you a drink Missy."

Rogue raised her eyebrow and a look of disgust settled on her face. She nodded to her two beers and muttered, "Looks like Ah'm all set. Leave me the hell alone."

"All I fuckin wanted was to buy ya a drink."

"No. Ya want t' get int' mah pants. That ain't gunna happen Sugah." [Because you're nothing but an ugly fuck. And Ah sure as hell don't want my first time to be with an ugly fuckin truck driver.]

"Fine. Be a bitch."

Rogue took another long ass drink of her beer before settling her attention to the fat ass in front of her. "Ya wanna call me that again?" The famous Southern attitude. That was exactly what he was going to get from this Southern Belle.

"I kinda wanna call you a cunt instead... Sugar."

"The lady told you to leave her alone." The voice that radiated from behind her seemed to be on the possessive side. And it was oh so familiar.

"Hey asshole. Stay out of this. This is between me and the Southern bitch."

"Do it again. I dare ya."

"What again?" Oh joy. Fat and stupid, what a lovely combination. By now Rogue had drained the rest of her beer out of the nervous waves of tension that echoed throughout the room.

"Call me an asshole again and I'll break your arm."

"HEY! If you guys are going to brawl, take it outside." The Bartender looked as though he was about to break out the shot gun he kept under the counter. Shooting her protector would be absolutely pointless. because of his healing factor. It would only piss him off. He would probably rip the bartender's head off after decimating the shotgun.

"Whatever. I'm out of here." The trucker sauntered off, muttering angrily to himself.

Rogue watched as he left. Fuck. She had to be alone with her protector now. Fuck her life.

The man took a seat right next to her and ordered a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass. Within moments He was given his choice of a poison and Rogue buried her thoughts and feelings into the beginning of her second beer. The silence was eating her alive. She couldn't talk about it. All she could do was allow her emerald eyes to fall on the face that she had seen many times.

When he looked back she found a hint of pain in his eyes.
"What are you staring at Kid?" He took a big Swig of his drink straight from the bottle.

"Nothing Victor. Nothing." Rogue stayed quiet and finished her beer before ordering 4 shots of Vodka.

2 beers and 6 shots of liquor later Rogue was getting bolder by the minute. Drinking with Victor right next to her was putting her on edge. An Edge that she didn't think that she was going to get rid of. It was one of those things that made a gal want to squirm in her seat before making the decision to high-tail it out of there. The alcohol, on the other hand, had a mind of it's own. Each and every muscle in her body was relaxed because of the amount that she had consumed. It made the conversation between her and Sabretooth go from silence to a few sentences here and there to a full blown conversation. Surprisingly he wasn't all to difficult to get along with. They hadn't seen each other since the incident with the Statue of Liberty. Marie wondered what had happened to him since then. He seemed a little less animal-like and more like a human being. Whatever it was that got to him, she was sure glad that they got to him when they did, or else everyone else in the world around him could be badly injured because he couldn't contain the beast within anymore. She was just thankful and glad that she could relax despite the alarm of a previous threat to her life. The Logan in her head did not seem to like the idea of 'alone time' with Creed.

"So this is whatcha do every damn night Sugah? Ya sit at a bar, alone, and ya drink the rest of the men under the table?" Rogue giggled and asked for one more shot from the bartender.

He had raised an eyebrow at her. "Ya think you wouldn't be so quick to judge girly. But yes, I do spend a lot of my nights in bars." He grinned and drank the last 2 swigs that were remaining from the bottle he ordered an hour ago. "And just between you and me," His voice had a seductive hint to it, "I know I can drink these young folk under the table.

"Is that so? Well then. Ya gunna hafta prove yourself." She said simply and with a devious look on her angelic face.

"An' how am I gunna do that?"

Her voice became low and filled with the Southern Charm that she was widely known for having. "By Playin' meh a few rounds of pool." The Bartender came by and gave her another shot of Vodka. As if being thirsty for over a decade she slammed it back and allowed the liquor to flow down her throat, loving the burning she felt as it made it's course.

He stared at her in awe. This woman was full of life. Full of spontaneity. Full of... Youth. Perhaps that was why the Runt was so interested in this woman, in keeping her safe. Perhaps she was the only thing in this world that was worth saving. He shook his head at his thoughts and watched as she stood, taunting him in many ways.

"C'mon Vic. Is the big kitty afraid of getting beat by a lil' o' Southern gal like mahself?" Slowly she leaned in, inches away from his face. She was clearly drunk. If there was any sobriety in her system she would have known better than to get so damn close to this carnivorous animal.

Victor was highly tempted to kiss her. She was very tempting. Curves in all the right places. Soft pale flesh. Long brunette hair with white streaks that formed around her face. And a set of plump rosey lips to make him want to drag her from the bar and snog her in the alley. "If I'm gunna be subjected to a beating on the table, then we should raise the stakes to make it interesting. If you win, what is it that you want?"

"Raising the stakes is a great idea Sugah. But what is it that you're lookin' t' have if Ah lose?"

"A night with you. Between the sheets."

It was a shocking statement as any. Her eyes opened wide for a moment. Her mouth opened with her lips parted, Rogue's tongue gently went over them with her tongue. Her silence was deafening in the pit of his stomach he was hoping that she would say hell no. That she could never do that to the Runt. That way he would have no excuse for finding someone else to fuck while he imagined her naked... her face... her scent.

"And if you win, what is it that you want Rogue?"

After a moment of being unsure, a long moment that she did not with to take back. Because in that moment she had made one of the biggest decisions of her life. The alcohol may have given her the liquid courage that she needed to go after something so bizaare Leaning in closer, her lips gently grazed his left ear. "If Ah win, Ya gotta make slow and sweet love t' meh."

Her scent filled him to the core. No one ever smelled as good as her. It was nothing short of intoxicating. The scent of her shampoo, her body wash, her perfume, and just that natural pheromones drove him wild. The inner beast he tried so hard to keep caged threatened to emerge from it's bindings. He kept him in check anyway. Never would he ever want to hurt this precious female. HIS precious female. The happiness spread from his heart to the rest of his body...especially to one particular appendage.

His hands ran over her pale shoulders as she lowered her naked form to his. Rosey pink nipples pressed against his hair covered chest, the softness nearly making him breathless. She was perfect. Every ivory colored inch of her flesh. Every curve. Every movement she made. Every sound. Every whimper as his hardened length gently stroked over her moist intimate folds. The scent of her arousal gently wafted, causing his senses to almost spazz out as he finally ended her torture and slowly entered her sweet heat. In one long stimulating movement he buried himself within her. Sheathing him like a glove, all the way to the base of his shaft, he felt her tighten around him until her body stretched to fit his length. He let her take the lead and was completely still until she decided to gently roll her hips away from him, slipping him out of her almost completely before she slammed him within her again. His hands stroked the soft skin of her back and he held back a grown of pleasure as she began to move against him.

Her soft moans started to get louder and with each one they rang through his ears over and over again. The animal within him rattled in his cage as his hands slid to her hips to start directing her inexperienced movements. In minutes of gentle slow strokes in and out of her pussy she finally broke.

"Ah Can't... Ah can't d' this anymore Sugah." Her voice was broken between pants of sexual arousal. "Ah need ya t' take meh." He continued the slow motions, trying to make her beg for it. The ego of his cried out for him to continue to drive her crazy with the hellishly slow pace of his thrusts. "Please.. Sugah, Ah need ya t' fuck meh. Fuck meh NOW!"

Her demand caused him to growl deep within his throat as he used his weight to roll her beneath him. His sudden movement forced his cock to be pressed deep within her. Her head hit a pillow, her brunette locks splayed over it the white streaks flowed away from her face. Her green eyes were clouded with passion as she looked up into his own. She was his. She was always going to be his. No one else will ever have her after him. He would make sure that they would pay a fine of blood if they took her from him.

"Whatever you wish Darlin'."

He immediately removed himself from her, noting that in doing so, it left his dick glistening with her wetness. The very essence of her femininity. A single powerful thrust was made and she obviously stifled a scream. Quickly, he repeated his action. Again and again she had to hold herself back from vocalizing the amount of pleasure he was giving her. Each thrust came a little faster than the last one had, making every hard thrust loud with the smacking sound of their flesh being brought together from their love making. That was exactly what it was. They were making love. He loved her. Always had. But never until this moment had he realized it. And for some reason it increased his pleasure. Increased his need to possess her. To make every single cell of her body into something that was his and his alone.

Her moans were turning into screams of intense pleasure as he plowed in and out of her. The final blow was sliding a hand between them and gently massaging the nub of ecstasy between her slit. Her body clenched and spasmed around him as her climax shattered upon her with her screaming his name. Nothing had ever been more beautiful than the look on her face as she reacted the highest point of sexual pleasure. Fuck the millions of sunrises/sunsets he had seen. Fuck the natural beauty that the Earth had. Nothing and no one would ever be as beautiful as the woman beneath him.

Not being able to handle much more, he continued to rapidly move within her until he himself climaxed. It was something that shook him to his very soul. Being able to fill her with a part of himself along with the sensations that she had brought him combined to make the best orgasm he had ever had. One that lasted for over 45 seconds. Finally drained, he detached himself from her and rolled onto his back beside her. Both of them panting and shaken from the intense passion that they shared.

His body pulsed with electrical charges. Every muscle seemed to have been affected from the sex he had with the angel next to him. Euphoria swept over him as he caught his breath... the only thing he could think of was her screaming his name.

"LOGAN!!!"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


He awoke with a raging hard-on and a massive amount of dread. The dream had been so real. It was as though he could feel and touch all of her. Hell she smelled the same! Anger started to boil within his gut. She was all he dreamed about since a few days after he killed Jeanie. It was as if Jeanie, Freezer-burn, and Chuck were the only people that were standing in the way of him and Marie finally getting a chance to be together... the way he always wanted. It was way too soon. There would be no way that he would be able to persuade her that they could make it work between each other if she had just gotten dumped by Frosty.

He rolled out of bed and stood. It was 1:21 in the morning. Fuck. He had only been asleep for an hour. After the conversation he had with Marie he had sat on the roof for over an hour before indulging himself in a half a case of beer and a hockey game. She had claimed to be tired, Logan stretched and sighed, it was the first game that they had both been in the mansion and they hadn't watched the game together.

He looked down at his throbbing erection. He really should take care of that. But there was only one thing that could satisfy his sexual appetites. Marie.

Without showering, or caring for his throbbing member Logan pulled on his clothes, shoved on his boots and went to the garage.

He had assumed that Rogue was still in her room, sleeping like the angel that she is. His thoughts were so focused on the dream that he had had that he hadn't noticed Marie's drifting scent that lingered in the garage or the fact that her truck was missing. He just hopped on Scott's old bike, in search of a way to feed the hunger that gnawed at his soul.

Raging hard-on. Angry at himself. Fuckin pissed at Ice-hole. All of which ran along side with being emotionally confused as what he should do in order to get Marie where he wanted her. On his dick. NO. There was no way that he was going to force her to fuck him just so he could be happy. She would have to come to him willingly. He refused to have it any other way.

The air blew through his hair, trees flew past him as the road all but ran under the tires of his bike, headlights came and went as he easily maneuvered the motorcycle. He decided to avoid a trip to Canada, the tightness in his pants begged him to not go on such a long ride. If he hadn't been so butt-hurt about how raging his dick was, he would have at least smirked when he thought that this *takes a whole new term to crotch rocket*. But back to serious business, he also wanted to stay close to the mansion. In the morning he was going to talk to Marie. Maybe, just maybe, he could convince her to take a vacation with him. He could bring her to the cabin he had in Canada! She would love a good break from the X geeks. Perhaps if they spent enough time together she could get a glimpse of what a life with him would be like. He was no Mr. Rogers, but shit he thought he could make her happy. Maybe.

It would be perfect. He would hunt and see to her every single comforting need,she could do whatever she wanted around the house. If she wanted to cook she could cook. The cabin was only 2 miles away from the nearest town so if she needed to get out she could always take her truck with them... Logan's thoughts were cut off as he saw a sign that was unmistakably for a bar. Good thing. 'Cause 40 minutes on a Harley with a stiffy is not exactly his cup of tea. As he rose into the dirt parking lot of the bar that radiated maleness, out of the corner of his eye he saw a hooded figure. It was a woman who was petite and when she turned toward him he nearly shat his heart out of his rectum. She was the spitting image of the woman who stole his heart when she was 16. Angelic face, similar rosey pink lips, and soft ivory flesh. He parked his motorcycle and took the key out shoving it in the pocket of the leather jacket that he frequently wore. By the time he swung his leg over the bike to stand he noticed that the woman was making her way towards him. She merely looked at him as he gawked at her. She looked almost exactly like Marie, but there was a few differences; her hair was auburn, obviously dyed from the looks of her brunette roots that molded with the color of her long locks with no streaks of white that gently framed the outer curves of her face, her nose was shaped a little differently, and above all her eyes were not emerald green they were hazel. The woman was breathtaking none the less. Her eyes dropped from his and she continued to walk, directly into the bar that he was planning to go into.

After a few moments, he had collected himself from slightly shaken up about how a complete stranger could affect him in such a way. His racing heart slowed down, the sweat on his palms was wiped off onto his jeans, and he shook his head amazed at how much the stranger looked like Marie. His Marie. With a crack of his neck and a roll of his shoulders he stepped over the threshold of the bar to see the hooded woman sitting alone at the bar. Walking over there he sat 3 empty seats away from her. Even from that distance her scent radiated from her. She smelled like cheap booze, heavy perfume and stale sex. Interesting combination. But it made the wheels in his head start to turn. *What if it had been this woman that he saved? A woman who clearly did not have a set amount of morals, who held herself as if she was a servant to man. That could have been Marie. His Marie could have been this woman.* That is a trippy thought. The thought started to ease his still throbbing erection and replaced with a boiling amount of anger at the pit of his stomach. Nothing would ever get to his precious angel. Nothing and no one. Ever.

6 beers and 2 cigars later, she had still been sitting at the bar. Alone. Sipping her 3rd glass of rum and coke. He forced himself not to seem interested at all, that he was just there to drink away his thoughts, when in reality this woman was still making him curious. 10 minutes later the bartender asked if Logan wanted another drink. He passed. Tired of drinking for now, *he really should go back to the mansion and sleep before he has that chat with Rogue in the morning. It was going to be a hellova doozy to try and pull off.* He noticed a shift in movement as the hooded woman had moved into the seat next to him.

"So Handsome, what's got you into a rut so bad thatcha got to drink your sorrows away?"

He had raised his eyebrows in full surprise, such a sudden change in events so soon.

"Just lookin' fer something I can release myself in." That came out so wrong. His dick started to throb a bit again as blood started to rush back into his manhood.

She laughed. One that was as beautiful as her face was, the kind of laughter that was brought not only to the body language, but also that of her eyes. "We all need a release sometimes. I'm looking for someone that can cure my lonliness for a night. You interested?" Her flirtations might get her somewhere.

"What's your name doll face?" *Doll face? Where the fuck did that come from? Oh yeah, her skin is like porcelain.* His eyes watched her face carefully. It was as if he entered an alternate universe. A mirrored different version of his...

"Maria."

*You have got to be shitting me. There is absolutely no god damn way that she could have a fucking twin, much less one that had almost the same damn name.* "Logan."

"Mmmm... That is the kind of name that can just roll off of my tongue. Looooogan."

*This chick must be tipsy. Otherwise there is no explanation for her being so open with herself and not just her mouth. I want her. I want my Marie, but I can't have her yet. Would it be cheating myself if I fucked this woman and then got together with Marie? No... They look so God Damn alike. But she isn't her. She isn't the woman that I want. I want only one woman. But this gal is a fuck lot like the woman I wanna be with. No. There is no point. She doesn't even smell the same, it would be way too strange.*

His dick started to become painful as it pressed tightly against his jeans. the Wolverine was about to make him change his mind. Maria was looking at him with big doe eyes, ones that if his heart wasn't branded by Rogue... were capable of making him melt a little bit. It was similar to the look that he had gotten a few hundred times over the last several years but from a gal with the prettiest green eyes he had ever seen.

*Fuck it. What's another one night stand?*

"You wanna get out of here and go somewhere, Darlin'?" Logan flashed her a smile that would normally make a woman weak at the knees.

It was infectious to where she gave him a seductive smile of her own. "Absolutely."

*Easy. That's what they are.*

He got up from the stool he had been sitting in at the bar, paid off his tab, turned around to see the woman had pulled down her hood, exposing the lengthy hair to his eyes. Her hair was in the middle of her back, perhaps 2 inches shorter than Marie's. His arm wrapped around her shoulders as he escorted her out of the bar protectively.

Her face was flush from the alcohol she had consumed. The scent of the man she was with was starting to seep into her very being, becoming one with her own scent. Her mind started to drift to what had happened earlier tonight. What was promised.

'If Ah win, Ya gotta make slow and sweet love t' meh.' Her own words rang through her ears over and over again. He wanted one night with her. She wanted to be made love to. He wanted to fuck. Either way it was inevitable that these two were going to be spending the rest of the night away from the bar and in a very intimate fashion.

Knowing what was at stake, the two of them had given their best... perhaps Victor had been a little easy on her. Or maybe when she was drunk she was much better at pool than she was when she was sober. They agreed that it would be the best 3 out of 5 games. The winner gets and takes what they want. It was tied. After 45 minutes, they had both won 2 games and it was coming down to the wire in this last one. 2 balls up, Marie being stripes, had her 11 pinned close to a corner pocket and Victor's 6 being in a most inconvenient spot in the middle of the railing on the opposite side of the table. The 8 ball stared at them from the center of the table, not caring which one knocked it in.

"Well Sugah, looks like it's mah turn." The cue ball was aligned almost perfectly for her to knock her ball in.

Victor grunted and took another swig of the beer he had in his right hand. "Don't get confident Sassy Pants. The game ain't over yet."

The Southern Charm leaked out with every word that she spoke as she brushed past him. "That may be so Vic, but Ah know that in the end Ah'mma win no mattah what." Leaving him speechless, she bent down, making sure that she stuck her ass out daringly enough, knowing that he was watching every single move that she made. With confidence she made her shot, easily sinking the ball she was aiming for. "That's one down an' one t' go." She stopped long enough to chalk the tip of her pool stick and give Victor a sweet smile before reassessing what her next shot would be. It was one of the shittiest shots she had ever had to take. And she missed her intended shot, to her dismay.

Victor broke out in a huge smile. Damn that man was striking when he smiled. It was as though he was really human and not merely a man who was nothing but an animal. She shook the thoughts from her head and focused on what shot she had left him. Aha! A bank shot. She still had a chance. A low voice from behind her growled in her ear. "I told you darlin', this game ain't over yet."
She felt one of his fingers run down her spine and her skin instantly was covered in fresh goosebumps.

In silence, Marie watched as he bent low to the table in the perfect form for the shot. A half hour ago he had shaken himself out of his big black trench coat. Which left behind a simple clean black shirt that tightly showed the muscles that obviously resided beneath. Faded black jeans that stretched over his thighs and taunt ass. Her emerald eyes fell to his arms. They were covered with the perfect amount of hair. The amount that radiated manliness. The hard formation of them and his large hands made her burn in places that she had never thought was possible. But what really got her was his face. She had never taken the time to really examine how handsome Victor was in the past. Hell when they first met, he had kidnapped her and held her hostage for magneto's scheme's. But now she wanted to see every single inch of his skin. His mutton chops, the color of his hair, the shape of his very kissable lips...

By the time she snapped out of it he had made his shot and was aiming for the 8 ball. "WAIT!" Okay, that came out a lot louder than she had wanted it to. Jesus Christ. Her tone softened as she walked over to him, a confused and suspicious look on his face. "Don'cha wanna get a token of good luck bef're ya take this monumental shot?"

He raised his eyebrow. "What did ya have in mind?"

She gave him a slight case of the puppy dog eyes and turned her head to one side slightly looking at him innocently. "Ah was thinkin' that Ah could give ya a good luck kiss."

In moments he had pulled her to him, knowing full well that the innocent act was not going to last. At least not with him. He was hoping he could bring out that spitfire passion that he knew she had within her. Her body was petite in comparison to his large one. he easily wrapped his arm around her waist protectively, not caring who would see them in such a way. His other arm was holding up the pool stick that he soon forgot he was holding.

Rogue looked into his eyes and was instantly lost. His eyes were the purest amber that she had ever seen. Yet there was something else that she hadn't quite seen before when someone looked at her. Sure, she had seen Jean look at Wolverine that way, but back then she didn't really know what exactly it meant. It was as though he was a hungry tiger and she was dinner that was going to be served to go. As if he was chilled to the bone and she was his only source of heat. It was a look of pure desire. A look a man only gave to the one woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. This was impossible, she must be misreading the look. She had to be.

"I'm waiting to be lucky." He grinned again. Oh God at this rate she was going to swoon.

"A gal should nevah keep a man waiting. Especially you." She had a grin on her own face as she slipped her arms around his neck, her fingers threading through his hair, pulling his lips to her own. If she thought his lips looked good...they sure as hell didn't compare to how they felt or tasted. Her body was going to explode if he pulled back. But he didn't. He was just as hungry for her as she was for him. She parted her lips long enough to let out a moan and Victor slipped his tongue into her mouth. Her heart began to pound wildly in her chest. She couldn't get enough of this. Instinctively she gently sucked on his tongue. He pushed his groin up against the curve of her lower stomach and she felt his arousal. Burning for her. Burning because of her. Reluctantly she backed away from his hold and his mind blowing tongue. Shaking slightly she looked up at him, her eyes clouded with lust.

"Good luck Sugah. Ya might need it."

He shook his head and swore under his breath at how tight his pants had suddenly gotten. God she had got him as hard as stone with one fucking kiss. As if trying to maintain self control over the animal inside of him wasn't hard enough? Shit. Temporarily distracted, he had completely forgotten they were playing pool over what sort of sex they were going to be having tonight. Victor shot halfheartedly, and the 8 ball had bounced off of an unexpected railing and flew across the table, damn near falling. Either way, he fucked up.

Marie giggled and moved into position. "Ah guess ya was right Sugah... this game ain't ovah until now. 8 in the corner." As if she wasn't trying hard at all to keep her composure Rogue shot and knocked the ball into the directed pocket. The cue ball stopped in the middle of the table. She had won. SHE BEAT HIM! It took a lot to make her smile until her face hurt, but she was very damn proud of herself so she couldn't help but have a shit-eating grin on her lovely face.

"Looks like ya gunna hafta be gentle t'night Big Guy." She walked over to the stick rack and put her stick away.

He was directly behind her his lips were on her ear. "And it looks like you are gunna have a night that you will never forget."

Turning around she met his eyes. There was no doubt in her mind that she was ever going to forget the man that she was going to give her virginity to. Let alone a man like Victor. She may lose her virtue tonight but will she leave behind her wounded heart as well? The night only knows.

The second they walked past the threshold of the door the night air was like ice on his face. His arm protectively resided on Maria's shoulders. Was it because she was the girl of his choice tonight? No, it couldn't be that. It had to be something more. Something much more. She embodied almost everything that the woman who held his heart was. Everything that he wanted in looks. Minus the eye color and the lack of pure white streaks in her hair, she was Marie. His Marie.

Shivering because of the cold, Maria wrapped her cloak around her tightly and lifted her face to look at him. With an angelic smile she spoke, "So where is it that a big handsome man like you taking me tonight?"

Her voice. God the fact that the voice she had wasn't that of his beloved Marie brought a rage in him that he barely contained. His heart was screaming that she wasn't the woman that he yearned to have. But his cock was telling him that this was the closest thing to her that he was going to get anytime soon. "Where is it ya want me to take ya Darlin'?" His voice was flat and apathetic.

"Anywhere close and remotely private is fine with me." She looked away from him, watching her feet as her heels clicked against the hard-packed dirt of the parking lot to the bar.

Logan looked around searching for somewhere near that he could take her. Knowing that there was a motel a few miles up the road, he quickly disregarded that idea because he didn't want to spend more time with this woman than he had to. Which goes to show how much he really cared about this angelic piece of ass. His eyes spotted an alleyway 100 or so yards away. Perfect. He could quickly get off and then leave her be. "You got any problems with bein' with me in an alley?"

She giggled and shook her head. "Wherever gets you deep inside of me the fastest. I don't give a damn."

Shit. This girl could have been the perfect woman for Logan. She had enough attitude and sexual appeal to make the Wolverine in him growl in dominance. And she had the most angelic features to anyone he had ever met...aside from his beautiful Marie of course. She wasn't picky. Hell maybe she had her own sob story about how no one wanted her. Not that it mattered much. While he was in the bar, looking her over from a few seats away he noticed the very faint tan line of what looked like a wedding ring on her finger. Maybe she was poison. She looked as though she was capable to rot a man from the inside out, making them sick with love. No. It looked like she had tried to cover up that part of her past. Drowning her sorrows in bar after bar. He must of left her. Fucking dumbshit.

With no response Logan headed her to the alleyway, knowing that they wouldn't be there long. The majority of the alley was covered in the shadows of the night. Several feet away from it's entry there was a street light that flickered occasionally. Fucked up wiring system. No big deal. The bright light of the moon cascaded through slim streaks onto the ground due to the rolling clouds passing it by. Going deep enough into the Alley to not be noticed or covered in shadows he pulled her into his embrace. His lips crashed against hers in a wild hunger. Not giving any signs of resistance, Maria matched his hungriness. Opening her mouth to let him ravage her, Maria panted and moaned sensually. His hands began to roam over her curves. They were much fuller than they looked from beneath her clothes. her hands ran up his arms and stopped at his shoulders pushing them apart forcefully.

"Wait.... Do you think ya could... I mean check the alley for anything dangerous before we get down to business?" Her voice was shaky from the passionate kiss and from fear of something lurking in the shadows.

His own breath came out in ragged gasps as he contemplated hitting her. Did the woman know how dangerous it was to deny HIM of all people from his animalistic urges? "Uhh.. yeah sure..."

He let her go and went deeper into the alley, he caught faint scents of homeless people who had resided in it yesterday, but nothing new and nothing so strong as the god awful stench that was billowing from the large garbage can.

While Logan was scouting out for the creatures in the night, Maria had bent down and took off her panties, kicking them into the light. Her strapless bra was pulled down to the base of her tits and she made sure that they could be pulled out of her top if he wanted them to be. she spread her legs and ran 2 cold fingers over her pussy lips to check if she was aroused enough. Oh yeah. This guy had gotten her good and wet. Damn. a minute and a half without him and she was already missing his tongue, his warm body pressed against hers and his roaming hands.

Walking back down the expanse of the alley, he caught the waft of her arousal hit him like a brick. His dick started to throb under his denim pants. Despite the fact that she wasn't the woman he loved, he was going to fuck her senseless. Without thinking about it he walked toward her, already unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans to unleash the appendage that now controlled his every thought. Logan stood in front of her just as she had stopped touching herself. "There was nothing there."

She exhaled. "That's a relief. Now you wanna get to fucking me already or what?"

He raised his eyebrow in response, not that she could see it in the dark. His eyes caught the small pair of panties that were on the ground in the light. No panties. This gal was too easy. With ease he thrusted his jeans to his thighs and lifted her up. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist and her back was being pressed up against the wall. He rubbed the head of his cock against her slick entrance.
"Is this what you want? You want my big cock to fuck you?" he raised a hand to her left breast to tease her nipple, his other below her ass.

"Mmm... Oh God yes. Fuck me Logan. Fuck me hard." She pulled her shirt down, exposing her large breasts to his touch. The sudden arousal and the cold night air putting goosebumps all over her chest and made her nipples perk up to hardened pebbles.

Without needing more of a request he let go. Let go of all reason. Let go of all sense and in one thrust buried himself within her to the base of his cock. At her near scream of pleasure his ego climbed. His lips found hers again and he removed himself fully before slamming into her pussy again. Over and over he found a quick and hard pace that suited his urges. He eventually allowed her lips to be free from his. She panted, moaned, moved with each of his thrusts, muttered words that were meaningless, and begged him to make her cum. He heard nothing. Nothing of value to him. He just continued to thrust himself in her over and over again.

He did notice that the clouds that covered the moon had shifted. Moonlight spread over her face. Marie's face. The look of sexual pleasure on her face made him more aroused to the point of not being able to stop himself as he quickened his hard thrusts. She screamed his name loudly in passion. "Oh Fuuuuuck. Logan please... Please Logan... Harder. Fuck me harder!" He watched her face as she spoke. She had been almost completely out of breath but she uttered them anyway. Why would he ever deny his Marie of such a request? He complied. Giving her everything he got until she finally climaxed. It was the most violent climax that he had given a woman. Her insides shook around him again and again. The rest of her body followed suit. As she twitched in sexual satisfaction, her silence gave him the excitement he needed to finally have his own pleasurable ending. He removed himself from her and placed her on the ground. Her legs were like Jello and she couldn't stand. She slipped to the ground completely and continued to spasm.

He was in his own world now. A world by which he was surrounded in the only thing he cared about. Rogue. He started to stroke himself quickly, his left hand pressed against the wall to keep him upright. Muttering to himself her name. "Mmmmarie...oh yeah....fuck yes...Oh God Marie." After a few seconds he let out a vicious growl and his orgasm exploded over him... and all over the wall he was facing. After coming down and readjusting himself back in his pants he finally looked at the woman that he just fucked. Reality came crashing down.

The woman was near tears and standing again. She was putting a foot into one of the leg holes of her panties. It was obvious that she was pissed off.

"What's wrong Doll face?" Doll face? What the hell is with that name?

"You give me the biggest fuckin orgasm of my life and then you have to turn out to be an asshole." She had pulled her panties completely up and was reaching under her bra to put it back in place.

"What? What the fuck did I do?"

"...My name is Maria. Not Marie."

Silence from him only made it more awkward than it already was.

"And for the record, to a woman who is having a really great fucking orgasm, the least she could do would be to give you one in return. You wouldn't even let me suck you off!" She ran her fingers through her hair to make it look a little more tame. and she pulled her cloak around her tightly again. "I really hope that you are a guy with a bad memory for names... cause if there was another girl, then I feel really fucking sorry for you." With that she stalked off leaving Logan in the dark, sexually calmed and emotionally distraught.

Heat rose to her cheeks as he quickly turned around, finished the end of his beer and grabbed his coat. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't stop watching every single manly move that he made. Who the hell did people think she was? A nun. Not even close. Besides... after tonight that occupational option will be out of the question. A rush of warmth started in the pit of her stomach. Oh yes she was anxious. Anxious to see if he was going to keep his side of the bargain or ravage her and leave.

Leave. God fucking damnit to hell. She turned around and placed her pool stick on the table so that he wouldn't see her expression. If he was anything like Logan, she knew he was going to leave. Hell he was supposed to be more ruthless than Logan, so she was damn fucking sure that he was going to leave. At least with Logan, if she meant anything to him, he would stay until the following morning to tell her it was a mistake and that it would never happen again.

"You having second thoughts Sweetheart?" His voice was quiet, the words meant for her ears and her ears only.

Fuck heightened senses. The smell of concern probably flowed right off her body and into Victor's nose. Goody for her. Turning quickly she bumped into the brick wall that was Victor's chest. "Of course not Sugah... but a gal can't help but wondah if ya gunna keep ya end of the bargain..." Her words trailed off and she couldn't bring her eyes to look into his. She ended up staring at one of the buttons of his black trench coat at the center of his chest.

His right hand reached out and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at his face,the touch was gentle and it surprised the hell out of her. The pleading look in his eyes didn't put her at ease either. "I realize that you have absolutely no reason to trust me. I have done you wrong on several occasions...some of which could have cost you your life. But in spite of that, I want you to take a chance. Take a chance on me. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to give you one hellova night. One hellova night for both of us." His tone elevated with emotion as he spoke softly. It sounded purely genuine. The look he was giving her from those bright amber eyes made it even more convincingly so.

Suspicious. That would be the only word to describe how Marie was feeling. How the hell can a man who is known for being the most brutal opponent to ever face, one who has slaughtered thousands of innocent people over the years--including children, one who everyone believed never had a merciful bone in his body ever want to make a sincere declaration to not hurt her? To make love to her no less? Not fucking. But to make gentle and passionate love to her for a night? Did she just step into the Twilight Zone when she walked through the door to this bar?

His hand gently went from her chin to her cheek. His thumb stroked her pink flesh in an adoring manor. The feeling of his lengthy nails caressed her face lightly only adding to the pleasure she was feeling. The reaction that her body has was unexpected. This was just stroking her face! It would have made her weak at the knees if she wasn't so determined to not make an ass of herself in front of Victor. Good God. What's going to happen to her when he starts stroking other parts of her body!!??? Then it hit her. He was like Logan. The only person on the planet who had more in common with the feral X-man that she did. The scenario dawns on her.

He has the healing factor. Can't die unless by a massively brutal and more or less painful death. Probably didn't have the perfect childhood. He was more than likely a loner, or at least anti-social teenager. She heard Logan call him a Sociopath on multiple occasions. Somewhere down the line he ended up in the hands of the military (knowledge that she acquired from reading a file on him at the mansion). Was trained to be a killing machine. Just like Wolverine. And as such he was known as an animal. 'The' Animal. Logan must have gotten tired of the life he was living and decided to change it, to control the beast within that tried desperately to claw it's way out at every given chance. What if Creed decided that he was finally tired of living as the animal? What if he just wanted to be a man and it took him a lot longer than Logan to realize it? Maybe he is just as misunderstood as Logan and yearning to be with someone who understands?


"Ah know ya ain't gunna hurt meh Sugah. Even if ya did... at this point, Ah really don't care."
She was serious. Dead serious. If she couldn't have a man who would take her to the peaks of ecstacy with a hint of danger... she would surely die. The risk is what she wanted. She wanted to know that a man that she gave herself to could hurt her but have the control to keep her safe... She wanted a man just like Logan. If she couldn't have him then she would settle with Creed. Sure, this was stupid, but she has lived a long life. At this point if she had to die... then it was her time. Acceptance does a lot to a person when you lose the one you really love.

His grin made her warm from the inside out. "Got someplace we can go Darlin'?"

"Mah hotel is just next door..." Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she found her hand surrounded gently by his huge palm. This really was going to be one hellova night.

Each step was more invigorating than the last because she was one step closer to being all alone with Victor in her hotel room. His hand keeping hers warm within his despite the cold of the early morning. Her eyes stayed to the ground, watching as they walked in sync, her boots and his. Those emerald orbs watched their hands, fingers laced together, it was a gesture that was much more intimate than it was meant to be... but it felt right. He made her feel safe. Solid. Secure. Just as long as he kept that big hand locked in hers. His eyes locked with hers as she lifted them to his face. He knew exactly what was running through her mind and he gave her a grin of knowledge. It almost made her melt. Marie couldn't help but blush and stare at the concrete again.
Finally they made it to her hotel room door. Slipping the key from her back pocket she went through the process of sliding the key into the lock. When it turned green she opened the door wide. "This is it Sugah." Her hand fell from his, an over powering feeling of loss filled her as she hurried inside to turn on the light, hoping he wouldn't notice her feelings. The orange glow filled the room, making her pale skin a light shade of peach. Her eyes watched as he surveyed the small room. There was a full bed, a bedside table that held the lamp and telephone, a dresser at the end of the bed that had the Tv on it, in front of Victor was a walkway to get to the bathroom. In seconds his attention faded from the surroundings of the room to the woman standing several feet from him. She was shrugging herself out of her coat. His eyes never left hers as he removed his own and left it in a pool at his feet. His steps moved in sequence with the beats of her heart until he was standing mere inches away from her.

"You're nervous little one." His voice smooth and filled with observation.

"You'd be nervous if ya was in mah shoes, Sugah." Her bottom lip trembled slightly as the words spilled from her mouth.

He arched an eyebrow to the heels that were near his own feet. "I think I'd be a little more than nervous if I was wearing those."

His amused tone and the visual image of Victor prancing around in her heels made her burst out with laughter. It was loud and rang out throughout the room. "Ah don't think Ah evah wanna witness that."

His hand made it up her her face as he lifted her chin to make her eyes reach his. "Then what do you want to witness my sweet?"

Without missing a beat Rogue couldn't help but tell him what was on her mind, "You're attempt t' deflower meh gently."

Her response would have surprised him if he wasn't expecting to crush his mouth to hers to drown it out... but that didn't happen just yet. What was wrong with him? Oh... maybe he was going to keep his promise to her. Proof that he is not a complete animal. That the animal isn't just who he is 99% of the time. There is a man behind that beast, and now would be the time to prove that to her.


The fingers of his right hand lightly ran up her arm as his eyes tore into hers. "As you wish my sweet." His lips found hers as his fingers met with her shoulder. At first Marie didn't respond, letting him begin his gentle assault on her. The quiver in the center of her being made her tremble as his touch reached over her naked collar bone. Could she handle this? Of course. This was going to happen eventually right? She couldn't just stay a virgin forever. That would be a shitty existence. Life without sex was considered boring and frowned upon in society. Would she want to grow to be an old woman who had never known the touch of a mans hands on her body? Hell the fuck no.

As her thoughts consumed her, she didn't notice when their lips had stopped touching or when his met with the soft skin of her neck. Damn this feels good. It's like he's barely touching me on purpose. The black of his tight shirt made her hands look sickly pale as they touched his shoulders and down his shoulder blades. Why did he have to be so damn tall?

He stopped touching her suddenly and took a step back from her. "What's wrong Vic-"

"Take off your clothes." His words were just above a whisper.

"But Ah..."

"I want to see you. All of you." His request was simple, but it was enough to make her shy and blush a light shade of red. The look on Victor's face was very stubborn and yet patient. It was amazing how persuasive he could be with just a facial expression.

"Al..Alright."

Rogue backed away from him and her fingers reached down to lift the hem of her low-cut blouse. She lifted it, showing him inch after inch of her creamy white flesh before heaving it over her head entirely, exposing her black bra. Her breasts were big enough to spill out over the tight contraption. She hesitated a moment before unzipping the back of her short black skirt. It fell to the floor to reveal a matching black silk thong. The inexperienced girl backed into the double bed that was in the center of the room as she bent down to unbuckle the straps of her high heeled boots. She removed one entirely before working at the buckles of the other. His eyes consumed her form. She knew quite well that she had a beautiful body, but never before had a man gotten a chance to see that beauty.

She started to pull down her fishnets when her hand was pulled away by one that was more commanding. "That's enough. I'll take care of the rest." Before she knew it, he had both of his big arms on either side of her, keeping her from moving anywhere but to lean back. His lips went to her right shoulder, leaving soft kisses on her skin that made her burn from the inside out.

He was being very gentle very kind thus far, and it made her believe that he was going to fully uphold his end of the bargain.

"You are so beautiful." His words were spoken into her flesh. She leaned back, holding herself up with her hands. Her palms pressed into the mattress. "Like heaven." His words gave her butterflies in her stomach. His tone was sincere. Before she could say 'thank you' his lips were pressed to hers again. His tongue was coaxing her to open her lips, which isn't that hard of a battle, just to have another taste of her. The kiss was making her dizzy. His scent was pure testosterone with a hint of spiciness. And he tasted so good. It could very well be because of the alcohol that she drank, but she started envisioning what it would be like to be with him forever like this.

His weight was taken from the mattress and he was no longer touching her again. It was frustrating the hell out of her. Like giving her something she always wanted at Christmas only to take it from her and give her something better than the original gift. The ultimate form of teasing.

"Lay down."

She only nodded and turned around, crawling into the center of the bed and in the process she gave him a tasty view of her ass. Turning around again she settled herself in the center of the bed before laying back, her hair splayed out against the pillows. Their eyes met. Passion burned in his dark hazel eyes.

"How are you feeling little one?" A devilishly handsome smile spread across his face.

Marie licked her lips in anxiousness. "Nervous."

He laughed and stripped himself of his tight black shirt, revealing a wide expanse of muscled chest that was covered in dark hair. "Good." He shuffled his feet, making it known to her that he was kicking off his shoes. Victor raised each foot to himself so that he could pull his socks off. Leaving himself in just his tight black jeans he started to crawl toward her.

His weight on the mattress made the springs creak. The sound was quickly forgotten as he lowered his head and started leaving trails of kisses on her naked stomach, right above the elastic of her thong. She was trying hard to stay still and had to close her eyes for 2 reasons. 1.) Concentrating on not making a fool out of herself and 2.) so she could savor the feeling of his lips on her body. When his lips found the flesh right below the wire line of her bra he went back and covered the trail of kisses he left on her with his tongue. This time she couldn't help herself from squirming.

"Relax." [Yeah right. Easier said and done, you aren't the virgin here big guy.]

His tongue worked his way up her stomach, skipped the material of her bra and started up the center of her chest over to the rounded flesh of her left breast. A soft moan came from her open mouth. It was such a foreign noise. Victor growled lightly in his throat as a response, as if to tell her he approved of her moan. Marie never would have thought that she could make such an arousing sound. If it didn't arouse him, it sure as hell made her a little more wet.

"Open your eyes." He may have said it softly, but she knew very well that it was a demand, one that she didn't want to know what the consequences of disregarding it would be. She opened her emerald eyes, glazed over with a new sense of lust into his. They used to be a dark shade of honey, but now they were a blazing golden yellow. An uneasy feeling of the need for dominance sparked within her. "What is it you want my pet?"

"Let me touch ya." Was she really asking that? No, it came out as a demand. Good Lord, was she really going to turn into a minx?

Victor rolled off of her and laid on his back, tucking his arms beneath his head. "Do as you wish."

She had blinked for a few moments. Was he really going to give her free reign to do what she wished? Being who he was that didn't seem likely. But hell, she'll take whatever offer he was willing to give her. He must have sensed her doubts and gave her a devilish grin while staying patient. Marie rose to her knees and straddled his thighs. If it was possible, the grin he had on was getting bigger. The animal must be enjoying the view. Trembling, she settled her hands at the base of his abdomen. His flesh was warm. So very tempting. Go into temptation. There was no going back now. Her palms moved upward, gliding over his skin and hair slowly to his chest. Victor was basically purring at her touch, looking up she noticed that his eyes were closed. Smiling to herself she bent over and placed a kiss right above his belly button. His stomach moved a millimeter or so, but enough for her to notice. The smile just wouldn't fade from her. Bending down again she left another soft kiss just above her last one. Soon she was leaving a trail of kisses up to his chest, each kiss got wetter than the last... and to say the least she was too. Experimentally she flicked her tongue out to his left nipple. The growl that came from him was enough to egg her on. Feeling a little more brave than she did a half hour ago when they first entered her motel room, she let one of her hands slide into the opposite direction of where her lips were headed. Her fingers met with the denim of his pants, an intense contrast to his warm flesh, but even then she was not prepared for what she found beneath her fingers.

His eyes were open. His hands came from behind his head to gently urge her into a kiss. Her hand started to stray away from his groin but was stopped with one of his own hands. It lay atop her own and moved it at his will. Rubbing his hardness. Giving her an idea of how big he really was. [Shit. This was gunna hurt like a mother-]

"See what you do to me angel? I'm already hard like stone. Care to help me outta these pants? It ain't the most comfortable place for my dick to be in it's state.." [Okay... maybe I don't care how much this is going to hurt. I'd be lying to myself if I said that I didn't ache to have him inside me. Good Lord in heavens, with every move I make I can feel how slick I am between my legs.] Her hands go straight to the button of his faded jeans, popping it open and zipping down the zipper. Wriggling her body down to his shins, Marie slipped her finger under the material and pulled it down. Victors hips rose and the denim slid out from under his ass. His cock sprang out from the material. It instantly fascinated her. Until now she had never seen a penis that up close and personal. it was certainly one of those things that she had sort of been afraid of but now that it was so close to her, she was intrigued.

"Does that feel bettah Sugah?" Her eyes never leaving his shaft.

"Mmm you bet Darlin'. Go ahead and touch it." He was watching her even as she hesitated. "It won't bite." That grin made her blush in embarrassment. She shook the anxious feelings away and her palm made its way to his shaft. Her dainty feminine fingers wrapped around him and she slowly moved her hand up and down. It was the strangest feeling. It was a part of his flesh, one that clearly looked like it should be sort of soft, yet it was so hard and she could feel it pulse as she moved her hand. A low growl sounded in his chest.

"Mmm... you like that Sugah?" her hand moved a little faster.

"I do." It was ironic to see this giant of a man, one that was known for his abilities to slaughter innocent people, that is left completely at the mercy of this girl with just a stroke of her closed palm.

She watched his face and he had closed his eyes. Perfect time to do something that would shock him. Over the years Marie had watched many pornographic videos so she wasn't entirely naive of what happens between a man and a woman behind closed doors. There was always at least one thing that she wanted to do to a man and this is as good as a chance as any. Right?
So without really over thinking it she bent down and licked the tip of his cock. Her tongue absorbing the salty droplets that had formed there. The growl got louder but Victor didn't open his eyes. Testing how far he'd let her go, she opened her mouth wide and encompassed the head of his manhood. That in itself was not an easy task because his dick really was proportionate to the rest of him...

To her surprise, Vic's hips started to gently move upwards as if to coax her into taking more of him within her. Opening wider she allowed a few more inches of him within her mouth. It didn't take long for her to find a rhythm to work with. Her mouth open for him to gently push in and out of, her tongue to flick the tip and underside of his hardened length upon entrance, and her fingers wrapped around him at the base to jerk him off at the same time. Just as she was really getting into it and speeding up her pace out of her own excitement a loud roar came from him and he blew his load into her mouth. It was unexpected. She almost choked at first but once she had gotten used to the substance she let it slide down her throat. Marie had finally straightened her back and was licking her lips when her eyes met his upper body. He wad gorgeous.

He was panting. Muscles were taught and covered in beads of sweat. A few of the hairs at the back of his head were sticking up from apparent thrashing of his head during pleasure. And when he opened his eyes it was as if the only person who mattered to him was her. This is the most fucked up situation to experience emotional conflict of circumstances. "Are you sure you are a Virgin my sweet?" She shook a yes with her head, unable to speak. "Well I'll be damned. Didn't know a virgin could give head like that." Marie blushed again. She really should stop doing that... "Well, now it's your turn to beg for mercy." A shot of excitement knotted her stomach for a moment before Victor had lifted her easily off of him and deposited her back onto the bed, her head laying on the pillows.

Before she knew it her panties were torn off and her legs were pushed apart. She closed her eyes just so she wouldn't panic. His fingers gently started rubbing the outer parts of her most intimate lips. She didn't make a sound. When he parted those lips and gently stroked her wet entrance, she panted. And the moment she felt something rough like fleshy sandpaper lave over her clit she jumped moaned loudly. Her defenses were melting quickly. His tongue was doing things to her that no other sex toy could have ever accomplish. She had to be burning up from the inside out. Oh God my tits ache to be played with. Out of sudden desperation her fingers met with the clasp in the front that opened her bra. Almost all concentration skills have flown out the window the moment he slipped a thick finger in the entrance of her pussy. Finally the bra is gone, flung over to the other side of the room. Oh fuck. Something's coming. I can feel it. How the hell can he do that? Another finger. Her own start massaging her breasts and tease her pale pink nipples that have grown hard.

"More... Of Fuck Please... Please Sugah.... Make meh Cum... Ah... Oh Yes Victor... Yes Yes YEEEEEEEESS.... MMMMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNNHHHH...."

He had managed to stimulate her G-spot just enough to throw her over the edge. Her body started to spasm violently, the inner walls of her sex gripped his fingers tightly, she screamed, and her knuckles went white from clutching the sheets so tightly. Now that he had removed his fingers and was leaving kisses all the way up her legs she was starting to calm down a bit. "Gawd that was... fuckin' amazing..." Her breathing was still labored.

"If you think that's all, you have another thing comin' Angel. I ain't nearly done with you yet."

"Promise?" A shit-eating grin parted her face.

He laughs. It's a great hearty genuine laugh. [One I doubt I'm going to forget anytime soon..]

45 pleasure-filled minutes passed by quickly. Rogue's hair was completely covered in sweat. Her heart was pounding in her chest as though she had just ran 5 miles around the track at Xavier's institute without stopping. Her mascara was running down her face with the beads of sweat. Great. Now she had raccoon eyes. Her eyes were closed and her arms were raised above her head. Her left palm wiped away some of the sweat that built up on her forehead before she opened her eyes.

Turning her head to her right, she looked at Victor. The smug bastard had a huge grin on his face. She rolled her eyes and smiled at him, continuously trying to slow down her erratic breathing.
Victor licked the fingers on his right hand, tasting that sweet sweet nectar that could only be described as the essence of Rogue. "I told ya that I'd keep my promise."

"Ah didn' doubt ya." She said, her breath and heartbeat beginning to slow down.

He turned on his elbow and loomed over her, their eyes meeting. "Satisfied yet?"

Grinning, she nodded. "For now. Ah need ta cool off." Unwillingly she sat up, swung her legs over the edge, and raised her body from the comforts of the bed. Fully naked and not giving a damn that his eyes were watching every single fraction of movement that she was making, Marie had walked over to the air conditioner. She bent over and squinted at the faded writing on the wretched machine. After 15 seconds of the unblinking stare, her patience had been shot to hell.

"Need help?"

Her head swung around and she glared at the naked man on the bed who was smirking at her. "NO! This damn thing just has a faded on and off sticker an' all Ah can make out is the dam,n 'o'."

He raised his body up with one hand and glanced over at it. "Turn it to the right." She did as she was instructed. The air conditioner kicked on and started blowing cool air directly onto her breasts, drying the sweat where it was. How the hell did he know to turn it right? Despite the lack of light and the fact that he was so far a--oh yeah. Enhanced senses. Damnit.

She stood back up and turned around to stretch. Her arms pointed to the ceiling and she raised herself to her toes, as though she was reaching for the Gods. Every muscle that was inbetween slowly extended. Victor watched as inches upon inches of beautiful ivory flesh ritualistically relaxed themselves. There was no denying that Rogue was a beautiful woman. He had known that since their first encounter together... that was a hellova long time ago. She had been a reasonably pretty teenage girl back then. He remembered staring at her when they put her in Magneto's machine, tears silently falling down her face as he thought to himself, "If she lives through this... that girl is going to be one hellova bombshell." Hot damn was he right. Although he never thought he would ever get the opportunity to tap that ass willingly... he sure as hell wasn't going to start complaining now. Just by the visual image of her nakedness, his cock was starting to throb again. Funny thing healing factor... the things it lets you do sexually is a curse and a Godsend at the same damn time.

As she finished her stretch and her arms came back to her sides she sighed in contentment. "That's bettah." Her eyes couldn't stop themselves from falling on his hardening cock. One of her eyebrows raised as a small knowing smile played on her lips. "Damn Sugah, ya like the energizer bunny... ya just keep goin' an' goin' an' goin'."

He chuckled. "First of all, you are probably the only person who has ever compared me to a bunny. Second of all, the body wants what I want." His eyes didn't have to have that special glint in them for her to know what it was that he wanted. "The question is, are you ready for it?"

Crawling onto the bed like a lioness, she stopped a few millimeters in front of him. His breath could be felt on her lips as he gazed at her adoringly. "Ah'm ready as Ah'll ever be." She daringly leaned forward and gave him a short gentle kiss. "Please Victor...Make love to meh."

A low growl of approval escaped him as he leaned into her and captured her lips with passion. She rotated her body and adjusted herself to where he could take the lead, after all she had yet to fully experience the act of sex on a personal level. He lead her to lay down beneath him, her arms wrapped around his neck as he continued to fully taste her mouth. When he lifted his head from hers and looked down into her eyes, his right hand went up to her cheek. "Are you sure this is what you want?" His thumb gently started to stroke her skin as she nodded. He nodded just the same and rose to his knees.

Automatically, as if she already knew the drill, Rogue's hands went to the corners of the pillow that was under her head. The fingers grasped onto the cotton and she just silently watched him as he lifted her legs, placing one on either side of him. Using two fingers he stroked her pussy lips to see if she was still lubricated enough for him to proceed. She was perfectly slicked to his liking. Excellent. Vic then leaned forward, placing his left hand on the mattress area between her arm and her raised leg. His right hand stroked the length of his hardness, preparing himself for her.

She could feel herself pulsating, wishing, wanting, yearning for him to be apart of her. No longer was it a secret that he was very good with his fingers, but she could not help herself from craving to have something more than his fingers deep within her. Suddenly something hot and hard was pressing against her and Marie was damn sure that it wasn't his finger. It rubbed against her clit, up and down, relishing in how she felt. Her eyes looked down at their hips and she noticed that he was getting very close to pressing at her entrance... Shitfuckchrist! This was really happening. All of the liquor and the beers that she had consumed left her system all at once. The reality of her losing her virtue after 20+ years kicked in and she sobered instantly.

"Look at me Angel." Her emerald eyes shined into his borderline feral ones. "I'm going to try my best to be as slow and gentle as possible, there aren't any guarantees that this ain't gunna hurt like a motherfucker, but I'm going to do my best." His voice was full of concern and sincerity, which she never thought that she was ever going to hear coming from Victor Creed of all fuckin people. But here she was, allowing him to deflower her in whatever way he decided to. Thus, she nodded in acknowledgment.

Those eyes never left hers as he gently started to push into her entrance a few inches. 'Well... this ain't as bad as Ah thought it was gunna-' She didn't get to even finish the thought before he had put enough pressure behind his cock to desecrate her hymen. The pain was shockingly sharp and it started to burn as he pushed a little deeper. Tears formed in her eyes at how big he was and how much pain it was to stretch her out enough to fit him. At the sight of her tears he leaned down, making sure he didn't move his hips any further into her, and started to kiss her tears away. "Shhh... it's okay Angel, I know it hurts... Shhh..." At this point she didn't know if she was sobbing because his cock was so damn big or if it was because he was acting in every way that she had ever wanted a man to act. He had kissed all her tears away and her tears dried in her eyes before he moved again.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity he was buried to the hilt within her. His self control was almost completely falling apart. She felt so damn good that he thought he was going to lose his mind. This was the first woman in...ever... that he treated with enough respect that he didn't just take what he wanted and left. There was something about her- perhaps it was the spark of life that she radiated wherever she was no matter what time of night or day- that just made him give a damn for a change. Prepare for the Apocalypse everyone, Victor actually gives a shit about somebody and it ain't Jimmy. "I'm gunna start moving now. Are you okay sweetheart?"

She liked the pet names he gave her since she had taken her clothes off, it made her feel significant. "Yeah Sugah...ju-just go slow will ya?"

"Of course, Angel." Thus, he pulled out inch by agonizing inch to only slowly slide back into her. Sweat started to build on his forehead and shoulders despite the fact that the air conditioning was blowing in their direction. "Fuck..." He growled as if in anguish. "Jesus. You're so fucking tight."

"...Well, DUH!" She couldn't stop herself from laughing. The negative aspect of her laughter, was that it caused her insides to tighten significantly more than she expected them to. Victor was forced to pull out and the disgruntled look on her face was enough to push her further into another fit of giggles.

"What's so funny?" His eyebrows pushed together and he barred his teeth, growling in aggravation.

"Nothin' Shuggs." Sobering quickly she grinned and raised herself to a sitting position.

"This will be easier if you were on top."Victor put himself in her position on the bed, leaving Rogue to hesitate. "C'mere Darlin'." With his guidance, she moved to position herself on top of him. Finding herself no longer shy she began to slowly rub her lower lips against his shaft. He groaned and she smirked to herself. It was amazing how much of an effect that she had on him. Vic had closed his eyes when she decided to quickly impale himself within her. In one motion he was buried inside, his eyes opened in shock and another growl of approval was given. He had a feeling that this girl was going to be one hellcat in the sack... and he liked it.

"How d' Ah feel now Sugah?" Her voice husky with lust, her eyes glimmering brightly with naughty thoughts.

"Shit. You feel perfect. Gggghhnnnmm... so very perfect." His fingers found her hands and they laced their digits together. There was no doubting that they had a spark, a connection and as of right now, they were joined at the hip--quite literally. By moving her hips slowly she found herself rocking back and forth, slowly finding it more pleasurable to raise herself up and then ease herself back down the length of his cock again. Her pants grew as she continued to move. Her pace quickened, and all the while he didn't move much. He held his hands up to steady her but he wanted her to find her own pace, a rhythm of her own that he could match. After experimenting with different movements and rotations, Marie had found one that for lack of a better phrase 'tickles her fancy'. Running with it, she continued at a medium pace and it made her inner walls build with tension.

Breaking the finger lacing Rogue placed her hands on his pecks for stability while his hands naturally fell to her hips. He gave her a quick slap on the ass to urge her to speed up. Her mouth made an 'O' shape and he grinned at her. Damn Victor is handsome. Every single line of his face was perfect. If she could play God and change the universe to her liking, the moment she got to him, she would choose not to change a single thing. She liked his looks for exactly what they were. His. If only she could be that too...

The idea pushed her over the edge and Victor raised his hips and pounded his body into hers, his hands gripping tightly to her hips as her inner walls shattered into violent spasms. They clenched so tightly that his dick felt like it was going to explode from all of the pressure that they were putting it under. Her breasts bounced with every thrust and as much of a distraction as they normally would be for him, he was captivated by the look on her face. She was gorgeous. Her body soaked in glistening sweat, her long hair cascading down in messy waves of auburn and white, her face flushed and her deep throaty moans matching the expression of sheer pleasure and release upon her face. It was enough to make him quickly thrust into her again and again before his cock went completely rigid and he spilled his seed deep within her.

Inexplicable heat spread inside her as her body shook involuntarily. Never in all of the times that she had gotten herself off did she have such an invigorating full-body orgasm. She couldn't stop. Her limbs spasmed, her body wriggled without control, and she almost screamed. Ecstasy. Purest form she had ever experienced. He had given her the little piece of heaven she had always wanted.

Logan pulled into the garage right as the sun was coming up. For the last 3 hours he had mentally hated himself for fucking that woman in the alley. All he wanted was to be with his Marie. Sex with other women just wasn't satisfying anymore.He had been through scores of women. So many women in the last 20 or so years that he had lost count after 300. A few of them he had feelings for, but they had all been women that he respected and those feelings never came close to being the big 'L' word. His inner animal yearned to dominate his mate; to make her really his. Even if he had a conscience and questioned whether or not Marie was his one and only, the Wolverine howled inside of him that it was nothing short of truth.

She needed time. Time to heal from the emotional break up with Bobby. It was too soon for him to intercept. He should take things slow... or at least slow by his standards. 24 hours was enough time, right? The plan he came up with was to go upstairs, take a shower, put on his 'I-don't-give-a-fuck-about-how-I-look-but-I-look-damn-good-wearing-it' clothes, make his way to her room to wake her up, and take her to a cheer-up breakfast. He'd tell her how despite the fact that she was still heartbroken over Bobby, he'd always be there for her for ANYTHING. Maybe if he could get through all of that he'd tell her how he feels about her and say that he would wait until she was ready for them to be together.

He started making a mental list of things that he had to do that morning. He turned off his motorcycle and headed upstairs. Yet again Logan did not notice that Rogue's big beautiful truck was gone.
___________________________________________________________________________

It took him a half hour to shower, shave, get dressed, throw on boots, and gather up the courage to make it to her door. When he knocked, silence answered. He knocked again, thinking she was sleeping because it was so early in the morning. His nose kicked in and her scent was faint. Logan turned the knob and his eyes feasted upon her bed. It was empty.

A sudden feeling of panic seized his heart. No. She couldn't be gone. It was much like the feeling that someone gets when they visit someone in the hospital only to find that the hospital bed is freshly made and they have passed on. His stomach dropped into the depths of his abdomen as he walked into Rogue's room. The majority of her belongings were still in place. But as his eyes roamed from her empty bed to her dresser it was obvious that several things were missing. Her jewelry boxes, a few pictures of her friends at the mansion were gone from the mirror, a couple of her nick-knacks off of her bookshelf and all of her precious scarves that hung from the left post at the foot of her bed were nowhere to be seen. The closet door was cracked a few inches. Logan walked over to it and thrusted the door to the right, exposing the fact that many of her favorite shirts were gone. He quickly turned to his right and opened the second drawer of her dresser where her pants normally resided. Nothing but wood showed before his eyes.

"No." He shook his head and closed his eyes before he shifted his attention back to her nightstand. The picture frame he had given her a few years ago was on the wall behind it, but the picture that it held was gone. A white folded piece of paper was in its place. Slowly he walked over to it, picking it up in his hands like it was a newborn infant. With all the care in the world, he ran his calloused hands over the edges of the frame, reminding himself of the afternoon he had picked it up from a grocery store the morning after he returned the third time looking for answers to his past and after doing a job for Chuckie.

"That'll be $17.47, Sir." the zit-faced teenager working the register looked at the few items that Logan was purchasing with morbid curiosity. A blatantly girly photo album, a 40 oz of Budweiser, and a light green yarn scarf on clearance did not seem to be the normal purchases of anyone in the small convenience store outside of New York, let alone for such a gnarly-looking fellow in the middle of spring. Logan handed him a $20 and was even tempted to growl at the youth for giving him the odd looks that he did. But instead he said nothing except that he muttered 'You too, Bub." when the youngster said for him to 'have a good day'. When he brought the frame and the scarf home, he couldn't wait to give them to the kid. She had jumped into his arms the moment he walked through the door, but he had waited until everyone had gone to bed to give her the gifts.

"Oh Logan, the picture frame is perfect for that one snapshot Kurt got of us in the black bird on my first mission!" He had nodded and gave her a gentle hug. Well, as gentle as the Wolverine could possibly be, before he let go and settled himself on to the one side of the bed she reserved for him to sleep when she had troubles with nightmares. She looked over at him, her emerald eyes sparkling with gratitude. "Ah'll treasure it always."

"It's really not that big of a deal kid. I saw it. Thought you'd like it. So I bought it. It ain't like it's the Dead Sea Scrolls or nothing." She laughed and threw a pillow at him for being such a smartass.

Now the picture frame that held so many warm memories felt cold and heavy in his fingers. Logan slowly sat down onto her bed, the mattress made a depression under his weight, and he slowly turned the frail gift in his hands to the back. Slowly his thumbs pressed the prongs away and popped the backing of the frame out, removing the folded piece of paper that resided within it. Without thinking about it he put the frame beside him on the bed and just held the note in his hands. It was the one thing in the room that reeked of Marie's scent. The picture frame must have preserved her scent. It smelled like she was in the room with him. With that thought he closed his eyes and considered not reading it, but his fingers wanted otherwise as they unfolded the piece of paper. His eyes were eager, but his heart wasn't ready for what was in the note.

'Logan, I wanted to thank you for everything that you have done for me. The things you taught me will stay with me every single day, for the rest of my life. I'm sorry to say that although we tried very hard, it's just not going to be enough. I no longer belong in the mutant world. You will forever be in my heart. -Marie'

Suddenly, his stomach felt like it too was full of adamantium and it had sunk into his feet. She wasn't gone. She didn't leave. This was all just a practical joke and he was going to go downstairs and see her eating breakfast and give her a hard time... it had to be a joke. His heart began to pound, but for once it wasn't out of anger, but out of sorrow and panic. "What has that girl gotten herself into? What if she gets in an accident and dies and I ain't there to make sure she's alright. To hold her hand and tell her everythin is gunna be okay?" His thoughts continued down that path until he was just about to lose his composure and have a mental breakdown.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that was reflecting light. Something bright that just refused to be ignored. Quickly he assessed where the light was coming from and he noticed that her bed-side table drawer was partially open and the morning light was shining within it. He opened it up all the way to find his tags sitting in a small pile on top of some old school notebooks. Reality hit. She really was gone.

He picked up the tags and held them tightly in his left hand. Logan understood that she wanted a life beyond these walls someday, that she wanted more than the school could eventually give her and ever since she took the cure it had become even more apparent. He had just never figured that she would be willing to live that kind of a life... without him.

For the first time in 20+ years Logan Let himself give into greif. The Wolverine within him howled at his loss, but the man behind the animal was broken. He had a purpose in his life the last several years. Marie had given him something to really live for. Now she was gone and he had nothing left here that he truly cared about. He laid against her pillows to soak in her scent, the wonderful smell of Marie. While clutching the small metal tags to his chest, the big bad Wolverine allowed tears to slide down his cheeks. Memories of the first time they had met, or how she greeted him when he had returned from lengthy trips, or the times he had taken her out to dinner and a movie when she was dating Bobby, the time when she yelled at him in front of his entire class of how much a 'controlling asshole' he was because he made her do an extra lap around the institute, and when she had come to him one night on advice on how to get around her mutation in order to become intimate with someone... This mental torture continued until his soul was once more accustomed in the ways of heartbreak; all the while the tears never stopped.

After the lengthy night of erotic affection, Rogue fell into a deep sleep. Normally she was plagued by the horrors of Logan's past, or that of her own fears that clawed their way out of her subconscious. Tonight she was allowed to have peace in her head for the first time in well... years.

It was strange, Logan had been quiet for the last several hours of her night at the bar. When she had walked in, he had criticized her for dealing with her problems by getting drunk. She snapped and told him to 'shove his adamantium where the sun doesn't shine'. His silence continued for the rest of the night. He didn't even growl when Victor sat down next to her, when they started talking, or even when the bet was made. The Wolverine in her head didn't make a single peep when Victor made love to her. Perhaps he really was butthurt after shoving his claws somewhere...

He was still silent when she started to rouse from her slumber. Normally when she was awakening, the first thing he would say was, {Good Morning, Darlin'.} But this morning was different. There was nothing. Did she finally silence the Wolverine? If so, for how long? Was it a latent effect of taking the cure?

Normally she had a few people in her head, all talking at once, arguing with every little thought she had. No one would ever understand how emotionally draining it was to be mentally arguing with voices while trying to have a civilized conversation with the person in front of you. Or how irritating it was to have 4 people arguing about the best kinds of pizza toppings at 3:30 in the morning when you're sick with menstrual cramps while you're trying to sleep. Nothing was more irritating when you found out that all of them had known that you had an important test in 4 hours. When she got the cure, most of the voices faded. Only Wolverine, Magneto, Bobby, and Jubes remained. Within a few days Bobby and Magnus were gone.

"I think ya look hot chicka!" Rogue had worn a tight red dress with a skin colored body suit, matching red gloves and heels. Her hair up in a massive curly updo, her white streaks hung in lengthy strands on each side of her face. The make up was perfect. The dress was perfect. Everything was perfect... well...It was her 19th birthday and she was having a party at the mansion. Jubes left the room over an hour and a half ago. But when Rogue got out of the shower, she tripped and accidentally bumped into Jubes. It wasn't enough to knock her out, but it was enough to freak them both out a lot.

"Thanks Jubie. Couldn't have done it without ya." For several months, the Jubilee in her head gave her fashion tips and advice on men...but then even she started to fade. Now Wolverine was the only person that she had in her head. It was as if that is what was meant to be. Her and Logan. Forever.

Now that the cure was done and over with, Marie wondered if the Logan inside her head was gone from the moment that she had taken the cure or if she heard him in her head all on her own. In which case, was she not ready to let him go yet? Was her mind ready to be on its own again?

Victor shifted next to her. He must have sensed that she was awake. Their limbs were entwined, her head was resting on his chest. Marie's ear listened to his heartbeat quickened as he roused. She didn't have to open her eyes to know that he had opened his and was looking down at her.
"I know you're awake Darlin'."

She inhaled and exhaled deeply while she pointed her toes toward the wall across from the bed in a stretch. Her emerald eyes looked up at him lazily. "Good mornin' Sugah." The light seeping in from the blinds made her head hurt so she closed her eyes again and snuggled into his chest. "Ah wasn't expectin' ya t' stay the whole night."

A deep throaty laugh escaped him and the sound of it was amplified by her head being on his chest. "Neither was I." He shifted again- stretching out his arms, which extended over the entire bed, yet tried not to move as much to disturb the woman snuggled onto him. With two loud cracks of his neck on either side, Victor settled down again, wrapping his left arm around her and his right hand started to caress up and down the arm that she splayed over him. "But I decided to stay." To be perfectly honest, Victor couldn't bring himself to leave last night.

It has been about 6:30 in the morning, when he had finally let her fall asleep. It could have been easy just to roll her over, slip out of the bed, put his clothes on and leave...but he just could not bring himself to move her from him. There was something about this woman that he just couldn't get enough of. Yeah, he knew that the runt liked something about this girl and there was the wonderful thought of how taking this girl from him would drive Logan to near insanity. Yet, as she was sleeping, he began to watch her every breath she took. Victor had memorized every line and curve of her face and it was nothing short of truth; this girl was an angel, something too precious to give to anyone else. By the time he had finished thinking about all of the events of the night in great detail it had been nearly 9:15.

Throughout the years, Victor never had much luck with women. It was not a turn on to women that for a living he would go around ripping people to shreds. Being such a feral man, he had certain sexual needs that could not be satisfied by the occasional whore that lurked outside the bars late at night. So he would go out on his missions to villages, small towns, cities wherever he could and after he did his hits he'd find a decent lookin girl and take what he wanted. He had accepted that part of himself was a monster. He relished in it because facing the horrors that he had caused was just too painful. Life was so much easier to handle when you desensitize yourself to your own actions and continue to live day after day the same way. The only catch here is that Victor has a healing factor which means that unless something highly catastrophic to him happens, he's always going to live. He was fine with living each day knowing how many gallons of blood were on his hands from his past, and he strived to look for more blood to drench over his pain...Until something drastic happened and he decided to finally deal with the pain.

When he looked at Marie, sleeping soundly on his chest, there was no pain. Not a single reminder of all the hell he had created for people on this planet ran through his head as he held her while she slept. Could this mean that his bad luck with women has run out? That he really had changed since his bloody epiphany? Was this change permanent? Should he leave her alone before he realizes that he can no longer change the animal that lives inside him? Or is she the one thing that could really save him as a person?

Marie's breathing was totally relaxed as he continued to stroke her arm. "How are you feeling this morning Angel?" Victor nudged her head and sniffed her hair at the same time. The scent of their love making mixed with the faint smell of smoke, alcohol and her shampoo was enough to make him half stiff again.

"Ah'm okay Sugah. Ah think Ah might be a lil' sore.. but Ah can't feel no discomfort fer now."

"Oh you will be sore Angel, there is no doubt about that one." His hand slipped between her arm and his body to gently grope onto her left breast. She had amazing tits. They were so soft and they fit in his hands perfectly. Don't get him started on hos much he loved her rosy pink nipples and the soft pink color of her areolas.

It was obvious that she started to fake a stretch, removing her arm from his body to put in the air before laying on her back on the bed. "What exactly d' ya think ya doin' Victor?" Her voice was playful and had a sexual tone to it.

He was now sitting up and staring at the beautiful woman below him, continuously toying with her breasts. Before he spoke he dipped down and began his oral assault on her body. She moaned and arched into his hand and his mouth. "I'm tryin' to getcha hot enough for ya to beg to have me fuck you again." His voice was strong and serious.

"Ah will not beg!" She sounded deeply wounded.

"Sure you won't Angel. Sure you won't." Victor had an evil grin on his face.
__________________________________________________________________________

An hour later Rogue had finally gotten out of the bed, her body coated in beads of sweat..among other fluids. Silently she walked over to the bathroom and started the shower. She knew very well that Victor had watched her ass move as she walked. By now, she was not even the slightest bit embarrassed to be walking around naked with a man in the room. Well, maybe just Victor... if anyone else of the opposite sex walked in, she probably would have shrieked like a little girl and covered herself. The cool water smothered her skin. Marie closed her eyes and relished in the feeling of water rushing over her. Quickly she washed her hair, soaped down her body and rinsed. It was a 10 minute shower at most. She grabbed a towel as she stepped out and put her hair up in a twist with it, wondering if it was just a female's intuition to do that with towels or if we are all silently taught to put our hair up in American turbans. Another towel wrapped around her body and she opened the bathroom door and went straight for where her bag was sitting on the floor.

Victor had gotten comfortable in the bed, his right arm behind his head. He looked like he was either thinking about something pensively or that he was staring off into space. Marie hadn't bothered to be the one to break the silence, she just kept her head down--focusing at the task at hand; getting dressed and back on the road. She dropped her towels, her hair draping the front of her face as she bent down and put on a clean pair of blue panties. "Did you have a good time last night?" Vic's voice was quiet, but it sounded relaxed.

Marie almost jumped. Her thoughts had gone into lists of things that she needed to do before she left again. "Uh, Ya Sugah. Ah ain't had such a good time in a long while."

"Why does it have to end?" He spoke it quietly, as if to say it to himself.

She stopped, ran a hand through her damp hair. She never thought that Victor would even think of having any sort of relationship that surpassed a one night stand-let alone a long term one. Marie suddenly thought of what it would be like being with Victor. Would they be able to have anything more than going around to local bars, getting drunk and then coming home to a hotel room and fucking? Maybe she wouldn't know unless she gave him a chance...

He started laughing, a laugh that held a sort of bitter sadness to it. Before she had a chance to answer, he spoke in the same exasperated quiet tone,"Perhaps some things will stay impossible." He sat up in the bed. With such a sudden movement, the room seemed to become smaller. For a while she had forgotten what a behemoth of a man Victor really was. He threw back the bedsheets and stood naked and in all his glory. A lengthy stretch allowed Marie to remind herself of the many inches of his muscular body and exactly how they felt. "I'm going to take a shower." His footsteps toward the bathroom seemed to silently scream that he didn't expect her to still be there when he got out.
___________________________________________________________________________________

It was the longest 15 minutes of her life. Her head was spinning. Her hands were shaking. She had spent the last several years of her life pining away for one man. How could she possibly be thinking of being with another one who was just as feral and just as possessive as her heart-throb crush?

Her eyes looked over to the bed. The sheets were crumpled every which way. There was a pillow on the floor. And if you dared to even take a step closer to the bed, it reeked of sex. She gave her virginity to him. It was the one thing that she knew was going to make her into a completely different person. Or at least that was what she had thought when she was still a virgin. That someday when she found a way to touch people again she would find a great guy and they would have sex and suddenly everything in the world was going to be alright again. Once again, Marie's adolescent beliefs had given her hope for something that was entirely illogical. Sex doesn't change the world. Well... the sex last night was hot enough to almost melt her molecular structure down... but that was besides the point!

By now she had thrown her clothes on, brushed out her hair, put on a little eyeliner, packed her belongings back up, and was in the midst of pulling her boots. It hit her. She knew exactly what she was going to do. There was no point. It was the obvious answer. Marie had a classic symptomatic case of running from her problems.

Her mind was made up, she grabbed her duffel, checked to make sure she had the motel key in her back pocket, took one last look at the room and left to her truck.
__________________________________________________________________________________

After 15 minutes of kicking his ass mentally for letting something so significant slip out like that, Victor's mood was not a very good one. He never experienced being vulnerable to a woman before. It was in his nature to be defensive and to stonewall himself even from his own feelings. Yet for some reason, when it came to this girl... he felt like even if he did open up a little, he'd be okay.
This woman was so very different from the normal whores that he bedded. Was this a good thing?

He shut off the faucet and stepped out of the shower, dripping wet. Grabbing a towel, he wiped the water droplets off of his chest and arms, rubbed the towel over his head--which made his hair poof out in a messy manner--before he took the same towel and wrapped it around his waist. The door opened and steam escaped as he walked through. First thing he noticed was that all of her stuff was gone. Second thing he noticed: She too was gone. His stomach lurched and he felt the oh-so-familiar feeling of anger rise up.

The door of the motel room opened just as he bent down to grab his pants from the floor. A person was leaning against the door frame.
"Rogue?"

"Hey Sugah."

He stood up and looked down at her with confusion. "I thought you left?"

"Ah went t' pack up da truck." She smiled at him.

"Oh." The towel dropped and he stepped into his pants, quickly buttoning and zipping them in place. He picked up his shirt, grabbed his boots, and sat on the bed.

"Ya thought Ah'd leave withou'cha?"

Throwing his shirt over his head and pulling it down, he looked at her and smirked. "Somethin' like that." He started unlacing his boots.

She pushed herself off of the door frame and picked up his socks. Playfully she threw them at him and they landed in his lap. Rogue turned around to look at nothing in particular for a minute when she heard him stand, boots on and ready to go. His arms came around her, holding her gently.
"What's wrong Rogue?"

She laughed. "Nothing Sugah. 'Cept one thing."

"And what might that be?" His voice full of curiosity. He turned her around. Her big green eyes fixated on his amber ones.

"The name is Marie."

He wasn't expecting her to tell him her real name. That means that she trusted him to a certain degree. "Marie? hmm.. I like it." He grinned and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

"Ready t' go Sugah?"

"Yeah."

"Just gotta turn in da key an' we can be on the road in no time." She wriggled out of his embrace and headed for the door.

"Where we goin'?"

She looked back at him, a wicked smile on her face. "Does it matter?"

He laughed and followed her, closing the door on the way out. It may have been just a motel door, but to Marie she felt like she was leaving a piece of herself there and moving on to bigger and better things. She was tired of running from everything. Now the best thing about it all, is that she is no longer doing it alone.

The worst thing about it all, was that Logan was still as silent as a grave.

"What in Christ-Fuck's name are you doing?"

"What's it to you?"

"What's it to me?...You're fucking joking right?"

"Nope."

"Oh quit crying like a fucking toddler who lost his pacifier and get the fuck up!"

"No."

"What do you mean 'No'?"

"I said NO." He growled.

"Well I don't give a squirrel's left nut what you said, you're gunna get up and you're going to fucking do something about it." The Wolverine was in 'Big-Boss-man' mode.

"And just what the fuck do you want me to do?? Marie left. She doesn't want this life anymore. She did the respectable thing and she went on her own path on her own terms."

"I want you to stop being such a pansy ass, go out there, track her down and drag her pretty little ass back there."

Growling possessively, "Don't talk about The Kid's ass like that."

"Whatcha gunna do about it? I AM YOU, ASSHOLE. What I like, deep down--You like it too. So suck it up, put on your big boy underpants and make yourself happy."

Logan was quiet. The tears had stopped. He had almost forgotten where he was. For several minutes he was stuck in his head, battling the beast within him. Pushy Motherfucker.

He sat up, the note still clutched in one of his hands; the room was just as empty as it was when he walked in. Devoid of Marie.

There was no other option for him. He needed to find Marie. If it took him years, he'd do it. It would probably only take a few months, considering his tracking abilities. He knew her scent better than anyone's in the entire mansion. Hell he almost knew her scent better than his own. He needed to go back to his room, pack a bag and jack Scott's bike again. Ya that's what he'll do.

::Logan. I need you in my office now.::

::God damnit Chuck, I have things to do!::

::It's a matter of great importance.::

::I'll be there in 10.::

::Alright::

His fucking timing is so damn bad. Logan could have been gone in 15 minutes; could have found her sooner. He could have told her how he felt sooner, before she changed her mind about leaving the mutant world behind.

Oh well, Duty calls right?
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"Thank you Logan, for joining us." Logan's eyes swept the room as the eyes of his team mates landed on him. No one was new to come by. Storm, Kurt, Beast, Cyke, Pete, Kitty and Bobby. God. He would much rather be on the open road having the wind whip through his hair as he listened specifically for the sound of the tires of the motorcycle rolling against the road.

"You're welcome. I guess." The tone was flat and uncaring much like how he spoke at most meetings since Jean drowned. Logan didn't much care for missions, that is until he got to see come action. "What was so important that I, specifically have been called in here Chuck?"

"When I said it was a matter of great importance Logan, I was not lying. Far from it actually." The professor's forehead was creased with lines of worry and deep thought. "There is a situation in California. It's a Mutant Testing facility that has the latest in technology and it is not just the medical instruments. Their guards are all military trained with the biggest and baddest weaponry. They keep their location extremely secret. Not to mention their facility is sealed shut. No one goes in. No one comes out. Especially if you are a mutant."

"So what you're saying is, you need my help in breaking into a place that you don't even know the location of?" Logan snorted. "That's just perfect."

Beast chimed in. "Logan, the situation is much graver than any of us could have imagined. They have compounded the likes of most experimental facilities that we have already destroyed. They have broken it off into sections, different levels." Hank pulled out a set of blueprints and set it on the Professor's desk. Pointing at the 4 story building that had 3 stories underground he continued to explain. "They have a floor for individual experiments. One for Breeding more extreme mutants. One that acts as a holding facility... and one for.. it's so ghastly I do not wish to say it."

"Logan! They're cloning mutants! Not just harvesting and distributing powers, but they are actually cloning them. Imagine having a million Jubilee's running around New York and blasting everything in sight! It can be really dangerous!" Kitty's voice shook with emotion full of disgust and worry.

Then Logan thought of having 1 million Jubilee's running around. There is no way he'd be able to survive all that yellow. God damn.

"Logan, This is no laughing matter." Xavier sounded cross.

"Sorry, Chuckie." Logan tightened his lips. Marie would have laughed. He knew she would.

"My point to calling you in here, is I need you to work with Scott on the mission's plans. We need a quick way into the building, and then an even quicker way out of the building. There are over 400 mutants trapped within those walls. We need to get them out as fast as possible and then I want everything of that compound destroyed. All evidence. And yes Logan.. that includes all human witnesses."

The Wolverine within him purred with approval. Logan grinned widely. It's been a while since he last sunk his claws into someone's living flesh and let them fall to the floor with the life drained from them. Perhaps that was his reward for having to deal with Optical Laser-butt.

"Agreed."

In the 7 months that Marie and Victor had been on the road together, they built a relationship deeper than any companionship she had come across. They were friends first. She told him anything and everything about herself, but avoided the topic of The Wolverine at all costs. That was the one thing about her mind that she held to herself. It wasn't like Vic didn't try to bring him up, but after knowing her intimately for so long... he knew better than to bring him up in any conversation.

"He and I's friendship is ovah Sugah. Ah don't wanna talk 'bout it. It ain't what's important anymore. Ah ain't plannin on seein' him anytime soon, so just drop it." Toward the end of her speech, her attitude went from smart to bitchy.

"I didn't mean for it to seem that way My Pet, I was just curious." Victor had grown very attached to this woman. Him, just like any other feral would be, was very overprotective of Marie. That meant that whoever made her upset in the slightest was going to face the wrath of 'The Animal'; including himself if he so did such a thing.

"You're curiosity will getcha nowhere." Her voice was full of adoration despite the annoyance that was obvious.

"I beg to differ." Vic smirked slyly at her and ran his right hand up her jean-covered upper thigh. Instantly her scent changed from aggravated to slightly aroused. He loved how he could change how she felt based on something so simple as a single stoke of her leg.

Marie blushed. "Victor, ya insatiable."

He chuckled heartily, his eyes glancing from hers back to the road. It was about a month and a half ago that they decided to settle down somewhere, to get their own place rather than spending every other night in either a motel or Marie's truck. After staying up all night talking in bed, they had decided upon what they both wanted. Vic wanted to open his own bar and Marie wanted to run a diner. So with that in mind, they merged the two ideas into one and decided to open up a bar that had an amazing and lengthy menu attached to it.

She straddled him with the sheets bunched up at her waist, in nothin but her purple bra. "Ya really wanna do this Sugah? Ah mean.. it ain't gunna be easy..." Marie started to have her doubts, her eyes easily gave that away.

"It really ain't gunna be that hard Darlin'. His hands rested on the tops of her thighs, "We just gotta handle things one at a time. It'll be easier then squashin an..." Oh Shit he was gunna say 'an X-man'... THAT WAS A BAD IDEA.

"Easier than squashin' WHAT?" Hands on her hips and emerald eyes suspicious as hell.

"An...an alligator-with a house."

Silence for a second. Then inexplicably loud laughter. Marie was holding her sides. "Easier than squashin' an alligator with a house?" The laughter increased until she thought she was gunna piss herself. "Ah dunno 'bout you Sugah, but that's the most ridiculous thing Ah have evah heard." More laughter, a few coughs and gasps as Vic rolled his eyes at her. "Ah think ya need some psychiatric help."

That got a growl out of him and a firm smack on her backside. "I do not." Vic rolled over, pushing her off of his waist. He was apparently butt-hurt at her remark.

A few giggles escaped her, "Come on Vicky! Ya know Ah didn' mean it."

With his eyes closed and in a non-amused voice, "Go to sleep Marie."

She sighed and snuggled up against his back. Her fingers started to run up his naked arms and all the way down to his waist. "What if Ah don't wanna sleep?"

Victor Chuckled. "Woman, Ya gunna be the end of me." He rolled over and pinned her to the bed.

Eyes gazing into each others; she responded.

"Ah'd rather be the beginning."

His heartbeat continued to pulsate as he leaned down and kissed her.

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After 2 weeks of searching they found a place that they could afford to buy and make renovations to. It was quite larger than they expected. The maximum capacity of people they could contain was 200. It even had a large loft apartment above it. Thus, they didn't have to travel very far to go to work. It was perfect for them. The bar was even in a decent location, on the outskirts of Toranto. It had a beautiful lake behind the woods at the back of the property.

Currently they were on their way to a construction company's office to talk about the different renovations that they wished to commence. Victor could do a lot of the work himself, so long as he had the materials to do it, but they wanted to be settled within the next 6 months.

Although they were thrilled when they heard the news, he knew that Marie was still worried about a stable environment to raise their child.

That's right folks. Marie is pregnant. With Victor's baby. 10 weeks pregnant to be exact.

With every passing day she was becoming more and more beautiful to him. Not just that fact that his child was growing inside of her, but because she was the most beautiful person he had ever come across. Her hair was getting so long, almost reaching her lower back. The long wavy brunette waves were contrasted by that big streak of snow white. Her eyes got this glimmer in them every time she looked at him. Radiant pale skin, with the cute little light brown freckles spread throughout her body. And obviously, he thought her body was that of a Greek goddesses. All of that may have been the physical characteristics, but Creed had come to absolutely love her personality. She is funny, kind, she has a huge heart that is capable of so much love, her intellect challenges his own on many occasions, but most of all-- when he told her the wretched things that he had done and his own life experiences... she listened and was not judgmental about who he WAS... but she was supportive and gentle to the man he IS.

If that's not a woman that he would wanna spend the rest of his life with, then what the hell was he doing buying a bar with her?

"Victor? Are ya even listenin' t' meh?" Marie crossed her arms out of frustration.

He just grinned. "I'm sorry angel, I was just thinkin' about how pretty you are today."

She rolled her eyes with such force that she almost gave herself a headache. "Oh please. Anyway, as Ah was sayin', we have a budget to go off of, so don't get too carried away with all the detailed wood work ya wanna do. We can always replace what we're gunna have with whatevah we want when we get some cash-flow in. Not only that, Ah know just how picky ya can be about things thatcha want your way, so we might as well save some money an' just have ya d' it yaself so that ya can get exactly whatcha wa---."

"Marie?"

"What?"

"Baby, You talk to much."

Silence for a few beats. "What in tarnation d' ya mean Ah talk t' much! Look at you! When Ah bring up somethin' about masonry or doin' anythin' that ya have specific interest in, Ah can' getcha t' shut up!"

Laughter.

"God damnit Vic, what the hell is so funny?" Her temper was starting to act up again.

"You're cute when ya get angry." He didn't even bother to take his eyes off the road to look at her, he already knew.

"Ah'm bein' serious here an' ya just keep ramblin' on 'bout how pretty Ah am. Are ya okay Sugah? D' ya got a fever?" She began to get over dramatic.

"Marie, you know damn well that I can't get a fever."

"Well ya actin' funny, an' Ah wanna know why." There's the hormonal defensiveness. What a joy to life.

"Well, I lied. I do have a fever." He looks over to her and smirks. "I got a constant fever for you my Sweet."

And damnit all to hell, he got her to smile.

"Shut up." She crossed her arms and smirked at him.

"That's what I was tryin' to get you to do."

Marie scowled at him.

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Later that week they found out that it was going to cost them about $6,000 to have the old piping torn out and redone. Another $4,000 to have the roofing redone and for the reinforcement of the structure of the building fixed. Add that with the $7-9,000 to refurnish the bar how they wanted, along with the $10,000 for supplies for the bar and the loft upstairs and you got yourself almost $30,000 to begin their dream. Between the 2 of them they had about $15,000 that they could spare with savings and old debts in their favor.

"How are we going to come up with the other $15,000?" Marie was sitting in the booth across from Victor as they ate their supper. Sitting in the old school diner that was a few miles away from their new place, they were eating a typical meal of Thanksgiving comfort food. Roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed veggies, Mac and cheese, dinner rolls, apple pie and a bowl of fresh fruit for Marie.

Vic was cleaning the turkey off of the Wishbone before he licked his lips and looked up at his fertile mate. "Don't worry about it."

A few beats of silence. "How am Ah supposed to not worry about it when we only have half the finances we need an' we got a little one on the way?"

"Look Marie, I know you worry about money and how we're gunna ge it, but I said don't worry about it. So don't worry about it, okay?" He stabbed his fork into a glob of mashed potatoes and hoisted it into his mouth. After a moment he swallowed it and continued talking. "You worry too damn much. Don't wanna put the baby at risk. I'll take care of you. Both of you. I promise."

Damn those hormones! She wanted nothing more than to burst into tears and cry her heart out until the problem was resolved. But then again was the question of how they would get the money really what was bothering her? No. It was how he said it, low, slow and full of promise. 'I'll take care of you...I promise...' Yeah she had heard that line before.

"Fine." She was getting up, which was not as easy as she thought. Ever since she found out she was pregnant she had felt as though she was carrying a metaphorically huge package that weighed 20 pounds under her shirt, even though she wasn't showing much.

"Where ya goin'?"

"To take a piss."

"Have fun."

"Thanks Vic."

"Don't fall in."

She rolled her eyes and continued her path to the bathroom. The restroom had 3 stalls in it, just out of habit she went into the biggest one. It was relatively clean. She had taken a piss in worse conditions. As she pulled down her jeans and her panties she started to wonder why she was in such a crabby mood. She obviously wasn't phasing Vic with her bad moods, he had taken them as they came and treated her with nothing but kindness. Sure he would poke fun at her every once in a while but that was just the Victor thing he did.

I'll take care of you...I promise...

Well Logan, you didn't hold true to your promise.

Logan.

She had pushed that name from her mind so many times that she lost count. Recently it hadn't been as hard not to think about him. She had Victor to keep her occupied and their new establishment and finding out about the baby...

Oh God the baby, was she really really ready to be a Mommy? What if she wasn't any good at it? Oh God what if the Cure wore off and she killed her baby? What if Vic left her?

Logan.

Ah miss Logan. Especially the one in my head.

Ah lost Logan a long time ago.

Hell maybe he wasn't even mine, not even for a second. Ah thought we couldda been... but hell Ah ain't seen him once since Ah left. If he really gave a damn he wouldda came an' found meh an' convinced meh t' come home. Ah wouldn't be pregnant. Ah wouldn't be with Victor. Ah'd be at the mansion doin' some good...

Oh yeah. Ah ain't a mutant no more. That's why Ah left. Logan wouldn't give a damn about some useless human. And Ah got a good thing goin' here with Victor. As far as Ah'm concerned he loves me. And he loves our baby. An' damnit Ah know he ain't gunna let me down. Why?

"Because he ain't Logan." she whispered to herself as she finished up her business and flushed the toilet.

Pulling up her pants, fixing the button, zipping the zipper and exiting the stall brought her to look in the mirror as she washed her hands. Her face was still the same face, only the woman looking back at her seemed happier than the girl who couldn't touch anyone. Her hair was longer. She had a few more freckles. She had gained a little weight but no one could really tell because it filled out in all the right places. To be honest she looked beautiful. She felt beautiful.

She quickly dried her hands, adjusted her bra straps and straightened her pinkish flowered blouse before walking out the bathroom. Instantly she felt his eyes on her. She net his with her own. Then he gave her that one smile, the one that said, "I-know-exactly-what-you-feel-like-naked-and-I-wouldn't-mind-taking-you-right-here-right-now." Her insides melted. And all of her doubts and fears flew out the window.

Of course he wasn't Logan. He was better.

The depths of solitude. The never ending darkness. The single sound of water dripping from a broken faucet. The occasional blood-curdling scream.

It was enough to drive her to madness.

Life wasn't supposed to be like this. What happened to the days where she would wake up in her own bed, the early morning sunshine on her face, another day... another beginning? Now it was nothing but blackness. The smell of blood, urine, and bleach. Surrounding her senses to the point of nausium. Her torn clothes hanging from her now 'skin and bone' form. Her hair a nest of rats that went from her scalp to the frayed tips. Bruises, dirt, fecal matter and dried blood coating almost every inch of her skin.

How long had she been in there now?

2 months? 3 months? She lost count. Perhaps she was never going to get out. They had forgotten about her. They must have given up. After all, she wasn't worth finding. She was now damaged goods. Like hell they would ever want a liability on their hands. That's what Logan and Scott would fight about when they planned missions. Logan would want to do business his way and Scott would through a bitch fit because he always disagreed with Logan, even if he knew Logan was right. Then they would bitch each other out until someone with a level head on their shoulders stepped in and brought their bitching spree to a closure point. At least for a while. Then they'd eventually quarrel again over another meaningless topic.

If they were fighting about what to do, the only thing she could hope for would be that they were fighting for her. At the very least Bobby would be fighting for her. She ran a hand over her matted hair in sorrow "Bobby loves me."

Her thoughts dwindled to the way he would smile at her.

"Bobby loves me." She repeated as her small body backed into a black corner.

"Bobby loves ME." Tears ran down her face as her body slowly slipped onto the floor.

Repeating over and over again that Bobby Drake loved her. It was the only comfort that she received.

Life wasn't supposed to be like this.

Kitty Pryde slowly allowed herself to slip into madness again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Why can't you see things the way that we see them?" Anger and frustration clearly being shown in his voice. His expression showing just how upset he really was.

"This isn't the time to be questioning my judgement." The professor's words were calm and almost said in a tone of disinterest.

"Do you realize how long she has been gone!" His tone being raised, as if he was about ready to either punch Xavier in the face or fall to the ground and begin to sob in hysterics.

"Drake, calm down. We all know how long the kid's been gone." Logan was surprisingly the cool-headed one in the room. Scott and Bobby were both enraged. Storm was quietly staring out the window, tears slowly falling down her face. Jubes was reduced to silence in the back of the room.

Just to let the world know: When shit gets really bad.. then and only then does Jubilation Lee get reduced to silence.

It's been 2 months, 16 days and 8 hours since Kitty Pryde was attacked on a mission and taken from the X-men. It was supposed to be a simple mission, scoping out the facts of another experimental lab... but it got ugly.

Just thinking about how Kitty was attacked was enough to make Jubes start crying again. Trapping her in one of the 'special cells' and gassing her with some sort of neurotoxin until she was on the ground. Paralyzed. Unable to move. Unable to speak. Unable to breathe. Unable to get herself out of the situation until it was too late. Jubilee wiped the tears away as she started to listen to them fight and quarrel again.

"You all do not understand the kind of precautions I am attempting to make." Charles looked as though he had aged an extra 15 years. The lines in his face drastically deepened. The circles under his eyes have grown noticeably bigger. And he just looked so much more tired than he had several months ago. This man had the weight of the world on his shoulders. None of them knew how hard it was for him to know that one of his very own children, one of his favorite students, was being brutally experimented on and he didn't have the location of her whereabouts so he was useless in helping her.

"I say to hell with your precautions! We need to find her and get her the fuck out of there!" Bobby's voice trembled in rage and sorrow.

The professor sighed. He could feel their projected pain, anger, their deepening sadness. It tore a crack in his heart with every passing day. "Okay Bobby. Relax. I want all of you to take the research into your own hands. I want a list of ANY and EVERY experimental lab containing mutants. But I must stress that no matter how badly you would like to investigate on your own, to see if Kitty is there, that you must tell the team and we will come up with a game plan." His eyes darted to Logan. "That includes you."

Logan snorted and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm serious Logan. And even more-so, I am serious about all of you doing your own mission. We have lost Kitty... I... I can't lose any of you too." His voice cracked a bit at the end of his directional speech. Moment of weakness. No one said a word about it. They all nodded in understanding.

"You are all dismissed." Charles turned his chair to face the window and look down at the grounds as he listened to them all exit. One projection being heard.

Thank you Professor.

You are welcome, Jubilation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been 8 months. 17 days. and 12 hours.

And I miss her so damn much.

You never know how much you truly adore someone until they are gone.

The things I miss most: are all the little things.

Being able to walk into a room and meet her eyes from far away. Being able to smell her scent. Hearing her heart beat quicken. See the way her mouth slowly curled from an apathetic shape to the biggest grin she could muster. Knowing I'd kill anyone who does her wrong.

I feel empty. The Wolverine inside howls in loneliness.

I had convinced myself that Chuck needed me more. That Marie would come back to me before too long. She knows where we are, she would come home and I would give her hell for making me worry for so long. A few days turned into a week. A week turned into a month. And as the months were passing by, after the 4 big labs that they had broken into and saved the mutants... I kept telling myself that I would leave after the next job. I had made the decision to leave in 2 days time when we found out kitty was taken. I was needed here. I am needed here.

But with every passing day, the beast within gets a little more restless. When Kitty is found... when she's found...

"That's when I leave."

Logan was sitting in his room, smoking a cigar and sippin' on a bottle of whiskey. His eyes focused outside the window, on the grounds of the institute.

He would never tell anyone how much it hurt that Marie left. He refused to even admit it to himself.