First she shed the gloves and sheer, long-sleeved white shirt. Then the jeans, so stifling in the summer heat, were violently yanked off and thrown across the room. She stood in the middle of the room she shared with her two best friends, grinning from ear to ear and dressed in nothing but a green silk camisole and black satin panties. She twirled, her long brown hair with twin platinum streaks flowing like streamers through the air around her. Arms raised high, she continued her happy dance until the door opened.

Kitty Pryde and Jubilation Lee—Jubilee to her friends—tumbled into the room laughing and chattering, full of the excitement of finishing their last day as high school students. They stopped, their eyes wide with shock, at the sight of so much deadly skin exposed to the open air. Not that they had never seen Rogue in various states of undress, but usually that was reserved for times like first thing in the morning or bedtime, not the middle of the afternoon. Usually she covered back up pretty quickly, too, so that they wouldn't have to remain on the alert for long. She definitely had never danced mostly naked in the middle of the room before!

“Rogue?” Jubilee asked slowly. “Are you okay?”

“It worked, it worked, it worked!” chanted Rogue as she continued dancing.

“The session with the Professor today?” Kitty asked as comprehension began to dawn on them. “You figured out how to control your skin?”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!” Rogue shouted, dancing over to them and grabbing their bare hands in hers.

The other two squealed as nothing happened, and then they were hugging her, all of them jumping up and down and talking at the same time. This lasted for a few minutes until they all managed to regain some semblance of calm. Just about then they noticed the open door and the audience beyond it.

“Can we join in?” asked Bobby Drake with a grin and raised eyebrows. He'd had a thing for Rogue for the first year she was at Professor Xavier's Institute for the Gifted (a.k.a. mutant kids), but recently, thanks to her many refusals, his attention had been fixed on Kitty. Still, there was no denying that the three of them made an interesting sight just then.

“Not a chance!” Jubilee shot back as she slammed the door in their faces. “Okay, chicas, we have GOT to have a girl's night out to celebrate this,” she told them, her own smile mirroring Rogue's.

Rogue bit her lip, suddenly wary. “I don't know, Jubes. I know it's Friday night and all, but...”

“No buts. We are going out, and we are going to have a fantastic time. We're going to paint the town yellow!” Jubilee said firmly.

Rogue rolled her eyes at that one. Everything just had to be yellow for Jubes. Since she knew it would do no good with her friend in this mood, Rogue gave up arguing against going out. A night out at clubs wasn't really what she wanted as a celebration, but since it was highly unlikely that she was going to get the celebration she truly wanted with the newly-returned Logan, any celebration was probably better than none.

The three young women settled down and spent the hours before dinner choosing and discarding dozens of outfits. By the time their stomachs informed them that it was mealtime the room looked like a hurricane had swept in and out, taking no prisoners and leaving clothing casualties strewn here or there, but they had decided what to wear and that they would change after eating. Giggling and discussing where they would go, they made their way to the dining hall. Rogue had slipped into a pair of short denim shorts and was wearing sandals borrowed from Kitty, who wore the same size. She grinned at everyone who stopped and stared at the Rogue walking the halls sans sleeves, gloves, scarves and jeans. Congratulations and whispers followed them as they walked by group after group. Rogue reveled in the attention, taking justifiable pride in her accomplishment, but then Kitty and Jubilee took it a little too far.

They reached the dining hall, and, without needing to discuss it, Jubilee and Kitty stepped in front of Rogue, entering the room first. They flung their arms wide, and Jubilee shouted, “Ladies and gentlemen, the new, non-lethal Rogue!”

Rogue rolled her eyes and stepped forward to stand between her two obviously insane friends. She smiled at the clapping and whistling then grabbed their arms and propelled them toward the buffet, protesting all the way. They all started laughing as they filled their plates and headed toward their usual table. Rogue's eyes shone as her friends gathered around her, laughing and joking and general making as much fuss as possible. There were pats on her shoulders and arms, touches that she thrilled to simply because she'd been deprived for so long. Still, she couldn't help but notice that none of their instructors had come to dinner yet. A small part of her whispered hopes for what would happen when their combat instructor of one month found out her good news.

At just that moment, with Rogue's table surrounded by students of all ages, the instructors arrived in a group with Charles Xavier in the lead. From the confusion on their faces, he hadn't clued them in yet. As Rogue smiled at him, he smiled back, proud mentor to the current star pupil. Rogue jumped up and ran over to him, bare arms and legs flashing pale in the sunlight from the several large windows in the room. The instructors all stared as she leaned down and gave the Professor a hug, pressing her cheek to his. “Thank you,” she whispered, repeating the gratitude she had given him earlier for his help in guiding her to controlling her mutation, but also showing how much she appreciated that he was allowing her to make the announcement as she chose. It made her believe that he was beginning to see her as an adult now.

“Of course, my dear. After all, it is your news to share,” the Professor replied, obviously touched by her hug.

Rogue straightened and looked at her former teachers, a grin still spread over her face. “I have control of my powers now!” she told them excitedly, in case they hadn't noticed that she had touched Xavier without draining him.

Ororo stepped forward first. “That's wonderful, Rogue! I'm so happy for you,” she said, drawing Rogue into a gentle hug.

“Good job, Rogue,” Scott told her, shaking her hand after Ororo released her.

Jean laid her hand on top of their joined ones, pressing briefly. “I knew you could do it,” she said sincerely. She and Scott wandered off arm in arm towards the buffet.

Rogue looked at Logan, expecting more congratulations, maybe even a hug. He was watching Jean and Scott, though, a dark frown in his eyes. It seemed to take an enormous amount of effort for him to drag his gaze back to hers. Rogue strove to keep her expression neutral, but in truth she was hurt. Couldn't he put aside his lust for an engaged woman for one minute to pay some attention to her on such a special day?

“I'm happy for you, kid,” Logan said almost absently. He squeezed her shoulder briefly with one hand as his eyes strayed in the direction of the buffet yet again.

Rogue stiffened, pulled away, and turn to walk back to her table. She had to work hard to keep the smile on her face and the tears out of her eyes. Ironically enough, she called on the Logan in her head to bolster her strength as she sat down. Thankfully everyone was busy eating. Rogue threw herself back into their chatter like a drowning woman. She hoped that no one noticed how little she actually ate, and if they did, that they would believe excitement had affected her appetite, not some darker emotion she had no name for.

Rogue didn't see the way that Logan's eyes had snapped back to her when she left him so abruptly or the way he looked at the hand which had touched her smooth skin for the first time without pain.

After dinner Rogue, Kitty, and Jubilee headed upstairs to their room to get ready for their night out. Rogue saw Logan approaching her out of the corner of her eye as they got up to leave, but she pretended that she didn't and kept pace with her friends. She really didn't want to discuss her dismissal of him earlier, even though he had deserved that and worse for being such an insensitive ass.

Jubilee and Kitty pushed Rogue into the shower first since, according to them, she had the longest hair so would take longest to get ready. Rogue laughed at their brand of logic but went willingly into the bathroom. In consideration of the fact that her friends needed to get in and out, too, Rogue quickly shampooed and conditioned her hair. She took a little more time washing her body, using the soap to shave so that her legs would be silky smooth, but she kept her shower to a record time of fifteen minutes. Rogue wrapped one towel around her body, another around her hair, and stepped out into the bedroom. Kitty, with the next-longest hair and thus the obvious choice for second, hurried in past her with a smile. The girls had taken to keeping all of their various post-shower products in the bedroom to make getting ready in the morning faster, so Rogue went over to the small vanity beside her bed and pulled out her favorite body lotion. It smelled like the honeysuckle she remembered growing in her mother's garden, a scent she'd often thought of as intoxicating once she was old enough to know what that word meant.

Slathering lotion onto her legs with a look of deep concentration, Rogue managed to avoid Jubilee's eyes. Since Jubes was rocking out to her iPod, she didn't notice. The quiet of the room gave Rogue the opportunity to think while she put on the underwear and bra she had laid out then sat down to brush her wet hair out.

It was probably pretty stupid to keep hoping for Logan to realize that she was eighteen now, graduated from high school (or at least, as of Monday she would be), and more than capable of making adult decisions. It might even make her pathetic. Rogue hated to think of herself as pathetic. After all, hadn't she managed to make her way all the way from Mississippi to Canada by herself? A pathetic person shouldn't have been able to do that. Her lessons with the Professor hadn't always been about controlling her powers; he had guided her in learning more about herself, about what she wanted out of life, who she wanted to be, in the hopes that centering herself mentally would create the kind of balance necessary to attain her goal of control. So Rogue knew that she wanted to be, and could be, strong. She knew that she was stubborn and could accomplish almost anything she wanted to do with enough determination.

The question she asked herself as she dried her long hair was whether what she wanted was to experience life without Logan or to wait around until he realized that she would kill for the chance to experience life with him. While the first option was scary, the second hadn't been working very well during the few visits he had made to the school since the Statue of Liberty incident or the past month since he agreed to become an instructor there. So she could embrace life and every chance it offered her, or pine away for a man who might, one day, figure out that she existed as a woman, not a child anymore. When she thought about it in those blunt terms, Rogue knew what she was going to do.

Application of make-up became something like war-paint, declaring her intentions through deep red lipstick and smoky eyeshadow. Kitty finished her shower in time to arrange Rogue's hair in a sexy up-do, with little curls trailing along her shoulders here or there and sparkling cubic zirconium-tipped pins holding it up and adding flash. Another flashy element was the necklace that she helped Rogue fasten, dripping with more cubic zirconium from her collarbone to her cleavage. Matching earrings were the last element to add to the above-neck portion of her.

Rogue paused in her dressing long enough to help Kitty with her hair, a classy French twist with pearl-tipped pins. Then it was time to put on the dress she had chosen for the night. Riding high on her thighs, dipping low in the front and suspended only by spaghetti straps, the sexy red dress was the most daring thing in her closet. She had never tried to wear it anywhere because it would have been too difficult to cover up every bit of skin it left exposed, but now it was just right. Slipping into the dress felt like heaven, but it also made her aware that she barely had any clothing on at all. The thought made her head spin, but in a happy way. She slid her feet into the strappy gold stilettos she had chosen to go with the dress and grinned at her reflection in the mirror hanging on her closet door. Fire with the red dress, gold, and ice from the jewelry. A very nice combination if she did say so herself. Jubilee came dancing out of the bathroom at that point in nothing but a towel, and she stopped dead when she saw Rogue.

“Damn, Roguey, don't you want to leave any guys for the rest of us?” she asked with a mock pout, her eyes gleaming as she took in her friend's very hot image.

Rogue laughed. “I'll leave a few for you, Jubes,” she told her.

Since Jubilee, with her spiky black hair, was able to get ready on her own, Rogue took the opportunity to slip out of the bedroom to find somewhere quiet to do a little more thinking now that Kitty and Jubilee were jabbering away about their plans. Normally she'd be right there with them, but she really needed a few moments to herself, and she didn't think her friends would see anything odd about it. After all, she'd had a momentous event happen today, and everyone needed a little time to adjust to something like that.

Rogue made her way downstairs without meeting any students or teachers, something that she would have considered amazing if she had been thinking about it. The garden and solitude were calling to her, however, if only for a few moments. She opened the French doors and stepped out onto the terrace, the lingering summer heat caressing her skin. Her eyes found the pink and gold sunset, and she drank in its beauty and the tranquility of the moment as she moved to the stone railing surrounding the large paved area.

Her mind seemed bent on examining the problem of Logan, so she let it have its way for a few minutes. She couldn't help but wonder how he would react to her taking control of her life this way, finding ways to experience life to the fullest. Especially ways that didn't involve him, since he seemed to want that. She'd never bothered with boyfriends at the school because they seemed too much like brothers, and any other young men in town were more likely to be humans than mutants. Trying a relationship with one of them before she had full control would have made her as good as a murderer. They would never have known to be careful with her skin the way a mutant would have. So Logan had never had the opportunity to see her in a relationship with any man that wasn't brotherly, and he had never thought of himself as qualifying as more than that, either. Rogue sensed that the outcome to her new desire to grab life in both hands and ride every wild turn might turn dangerous, if not to her then to others, but this was more a feeling than anything resembling a coherent thought, so she was able to dismiss it fairly easily.

As for how she planned to get the experiences she craved, well, she didn't really have a plan. However, she knew that Jubilee was probably the best guide a woman bent on having a good time could have, so she would just follow her lead. She knew she stood in no real danger from the path to experience thanks to her secret defense—her skin. So she wanted to latch onto enjoyment and just let it carry her away. Was that so very bad, anyway?

“Rogue!” she heard Jubilee call from inside the mansion. Her eyes lit with anticipation, and with a smile for what she expected to gain from the night she turned and went back inside where her friends were waiting for her at the door to the garage, the little gold and black clutch she'd picked earlier held out to her by Kitty. They made a great-looking group, Rogue in her red dress, Kitty in a black slinky number glittering with silver threads shot throughout, silver stilettos, and silver and pearl jewelry, and Jubilee sporting a tight yellow leather tank top and skirt ensemble with chunky black jewelry and black platform heel to make up for her lack of height. They were ready to party! The girls piled into the little black Jag that had been Kitty's eighteenth birthday present from her parents and drove away, ready and willing to see what the night would bring.

Rogue never saw the shadow that watched her as she stood on the terrace, too far away for her to smell the cigar smoke curling above his head. She never saw the glow of that same cigar as he watched the Jag disappear through the gates. His soft curse unheard, Logan headed for the garage himself, hopped onto his bike—courtesy of the Professor so that he wouldn't keep stealing Scott's—and with a roar of the engine pealed out of the gates and in the same direction as the Jag.

The music hit them with a pure wave of sound as they entered the club. Rogue, Kitty and Jubilee grinned at each other. This was the Freak Shack, an underground mutants-only club on the edge of New York City. They had needed to prove their mutations before entering, easy for Kitty and Jubilee but not so much for Rogue. Thankfully the bouncer at the door was a telepath, although not as strong as the Professor or Jean, and he was able to confirm her mutation that way. The small X tattoo with a circle around it between her shoulder blades that she had insisted on getting for her eighteenth birthday, managed through the tattoo artist's agreement to use latex gloves and cover up completely so that he could take up the challenge of her skin, well, that helped some, too, since Charles Xavier was well known in mutant circles. The ramshackle exterior of the condemned building that contained it gave no indication of the sheer opulence inside. However, compared to the occupants, the decorations were tame. Mutants of every creed and color crowded into the large open space, most dancing, some sitting in secluded booths...talking, or not. Rogue's eyes glinted as she took it in, her body already swaying to the music.

“Dancing first!” Jubilee cried, linking her arms through Rogue's and Kitty's. They made their way onto the dance floor.

Rogue had no idea how long they moved their bodies along to the beat, sometimes together and sometimes with some really good looking mutant men who approached them for a dance, but eventually she began to get thirsty. When she told Jubilee, her friend sighed but agreed that a drink might not be a bad idea. The three girls left the dance floor and headed to the bar.

Since Rogue still wasn't sure how her control of her mutation would hold up to alcohol, she just asked the bartender for water. Jubilee and Kitty, on the other hand, took advantage of the club's not-so-legal status and the willingness of the bartender to serve anything to a set of tits and big fluttery eyes and ordered drinks. Jubilee wanted vodka right away, while Kitty chose a strawberry daiquiri. They settled into a booth for a few minutes to drink and catch their breath from all the dancing.

Rogue looked around her in obvious enjoyment. This was only her second time going out clubbing with her friends. The first time, two months ago, she'd been so nervous about brushing up against anyone that it had taken out any enjoyment she might have gotten. This was so much better. Rogue closed her eyes and leaned back against the plush black leather padding of the booth, simply taking it all in. She needed to soak in every second, every sensation. It was such a high to be out in public and unafraid!

“Want to dance?” whispered a deep voice next to her ear. Rogue started and opened her eyes to see a dark-skinned man with glowing green eyes smiling at her as leaned down. He was the definition of hot from the top of his bald head to the highly muscled chest that was very well-defined underneath a charcoal gray silk T-shirt. Rogue had a weakness for silk. He straightened, a smile revealing perfect white teeth, and she realized that he must be almost a foot taller than her. Good. She decided trying out tall men wouldn't be a bad idea. He practically oozed sex appeal, glowing eyes or not.

Rogue glanced at Jubilee and Kitty. They were staring at the stranger with wide eyes and open mouths. Since their drinks were only half gone Rogue assumed that they were as attracted to him as she was. Rogue leaned in and whispered to Jubilee, “You can have the next one, chica,” and then turned back to the man waiting patiently next to her. “I'd love to dance. I'm Rogue,” she told him.

“I'm Bryan, beautiful Rogue,” he said, that gorgeous smile widening slightly. He held out a hand, and she allowed him to help her out of the booth and back to the dance floor. That's when she realized that the next song was a slow one. Well, good!

To say that the dance she shared with Bryan was sexy would have been a complete understatement. When she wrapped her arms around his neck he drew her close so that they were pressed together chest to knees. One hand stayed on her hip, guiding her as they swayed to the music, while the other explored her back and then strayed lower. His green eyes glinted knowingly when she whimpered a little, then he leaned down and took her mouth with his own. The kisses started soft and sweet but quickly turned heated. Rogue parted her lips and allowed his tongue to sweep in, moaning a little as he plundered those depths expertly. The sensory overload left her very pleasantly light-headed. By the end of the dance, she wasn't sure she'd be able to stand on her own.

Bryan smiled down at her as the music sped up and they parted. Rogue felt as if those glowing eyes had captured some part of her, and she wasn't sure if she liked that or not, but there was no argument that she had liked what his hands and mouth could do to her.

“Would you like to go back to your table?” he asked. “I think one of your friends is still there.”

Rogue nodded vaguely, still trying to come down from the heady cloud she was riding. “Sure, sugar. Just...I think I need some water. That was...mmm.”

Bryan chuckled softly. “Yeah, it was,” he said as he led her back to the booth where Kitty was waiting, nursing her drink and keeping an eye on Rogue's and Jubilee's.

Kitty smirked a little when they got back, her eyes bright. Rogue asked Bryan to get her some more water as an excuse to get him out of earshot so that Kitty could interrogate her.

“So you had fun with Mr. Tall and Hunky, huh, Roguey?” Kitty whispered, giggling. Really, was the girl drunk on one daiquiri? It usually took more than that when they raided the locked liquor cabinet in the pantry, the one that her particular mutation made much less secure.

Rogue hummed softly, taking a drink of what was left of her water. “Oh, yeah. My God, Kitty, that man's hands...they're straight out of a girl's wet dreams!”

Kitty whimpered a little herself at that. Both women turned when Bryan arrived with the replacement drink, and the smiles they gave him should have been the only hint he needed as to what the topic of their conversation was about.

“Kitty, why don't you join Jubilee out on the dance floor? I'll do drink duty for a few minutes,” Rogue suggested, giving her friend a pointed look as Bryan slid into the booth next to her, the smooth cotton of his khaki slacks brushing against the bare skin of her thigh and making her shudder slightly.

Kitty hurried to leave, giving Rogue a grin before heading off to find Jubilee. Rogue might have used the time to get to know Bryan better, asking about where he lived and worked, that sort of thing. However, it seemed like such a better idea to allow him to kiss and fondle her some more, showing her how much she had missed during the years of her isolation from the world of touch. So maybe his fingers slid a few places they shouldn't have in public, and maybe her hands did some inspecting of their own, but that was the whole point of this outing. Rogue was determined to get the experiences she'd been denied the past three years.

When Kitty and Jubilee finally came back to the booth Rogue and Bryan were exchanging phone numbers on napkins and promising to get in touch. They shared one last lingering kiss just before Rogue's friends reached the table, and then Bryan was saying goodbye to them all and promising that they would meet again soon. Rogue watched him leave with hungry eyes until he disappeared into the crowd, then she smiled at Kitty and Jubilee.

“That was absolutely so hot, Roguey!” Jubilee said as she leaned in to rescue what was left of her vodka. “I mean, I got asked to dance during that song, too, but my guy wasn't hot enough to take my attention off the two of you for long. I think most of the club was watching and getting wet!” she crowed enthusiastically.

Rogue blushed a little with embarrassment, but mostly she was just thrilled. The night passed quickly in a swirl of dancing, drinking and men, her new favorite pastimes. None of the men had stood out quite like Bryan, although she allowed a few to give her their numbers or other ways to contact them. There was no reason to narrow this particular field too soon.

Around one a.m. Rogue, Jubilee and Kitty piled into Kitty's Jag, this time with Rogue in the driver's seat. They gossiped animatedly during the one hour drive back to the mansion, comparing notes on guys and drinks they each thought were particularly good. By the time Rogue pulled into the garage, though, they had wound down and were more than happy to drag their exhausted bodies up the stairs and to their beds.

None of them noticed a particular shadowy presence in the bar. Somehow the motorcycle was able to follow them home without Rogue realizing what was happening. By the time its driver reached the mansion's garage, fifteen minutes behind the trio, no one was awake to notice its arrival. He parked and jumped off the bike, heading toward the small stand of forest to the north of the estate grounds. His mind roaring with suppressed fury, he spent an hour or two using his claws to provide the mansion with next year's allotment of firewood.

Rogue woke up feeling content with just a hint of uneasiness. The previous night had just been wonderful. Dancing, meeting some interesting guys, what more could an eighteen-year-old graduating from high school ask for? Well, probably a few shots of something that burned going down, but she knew better than that with her control over her deadly skin so new. Bare arms stretched over her head, she smiled. She'd tumbled into bed last night without changing, without thinking of the need to change. It was a wonderful feeling, this freedom she now had.

Humming, Rogue sat up in bed and glanced at the two sleeping forms across the room. Yeah, they were still completely out. Looked like her shower would have to be a quiet one. No singing. Not one word.

She broke that promise to herself the instant she stepped under the near-scalding water, belting out a rendition of Taylor Swift's “Fearless” as she shampooed, rinsed, conditioned, rinsed. Today she felt fearless, totally ready for whatever came her way. After all, if she could beat her mutation into submission, what was there to be afraid of? “Fearless” transitioned to “Untouchable” as she ran the loofah over her pale skin, mostly because she wasn't any more and because she'd been playing Taylor Swift on her iPod while working out yesterday morning.

Shower done and stomach clenching with hunger, Rogue turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a fluffy yellow towel from the shelf over the toilet and quickly drying off. Since her stomach was being so insistent she combed her hair out quickly, braided it, then wrapped the towel around herself to go out into the bedroom and find some clothes.

A yellow pillow hit her in the face when she opened the door. “Dammit, Rogue, some people have hangovers and just want SLEEP, not listen to your Taylor Swift concert!” Jubilee growled in a very good, if unintentional, imitation of Logan. “And would you mind closing the blinds? We forgot to last night, and that light's a killer.” The growl turned into a whimper, so despite the pillow to the face Rogue smiled and obliged her friend.

A quick grab of denim shorts and a tank top, since even the morning was going to be hot. Rogue dressed, smoothed lotion over her exposed skin, and then slipped out of the room. Since it was a Saturday and barely nine o'clock, the hallway was deserted. She practically skipped downstairs, her stomach now totally attuned to the glorious smell of food emanating from the dining room.

Very few people were eating when Rogue entered, but they all returned her smile. Rogue felt like she might never quit smiling. She made a beeline for the food-laden buffet, her mouth watering. Loading a plate with eggs, toast, bacon, hash browns, strawberries, and a banana, she made her way to a small table off to the side and sat down. She felt like taking a little quiet time by herself, not to mention she'd rather not let too many people see her make a pig out of herself the way she knew she was about to.

Eggs were demolished, toast reduced to crumbs, bacon polished off, hash browns long gone, and Rogue was just about to start in on the strawberries when Logan walked in. A large strawberry halfway between plate and her parted lips, her eyes met his. Something hot flared in his eyes as she finished the motion and took a slow bite out of the red fruit. Then she thought she had imagined it, or that he was angry with her, because he turned abruptly away and headed for the buffet. Rogue watched him while she ate her strawberries, seeing how he piled his plate high with steak—only steak—and then found his own table far away from hers. That was just fine with her, although he had occasionally sat with her for early morning breakfasts on the weekends since his return, talking about how life had treated them during his absence. The annoying man could stay there for all she cared. She didn't know what had his panties in a twist, but she was determined to stay in a good mood. So she peeled her banana, raised it to her lips, and took out a vicious bite. Just to show that she could, and in case any irritating males were watching.

After finishing her breakfast, Rogue left the room without a glance backwards. Logan was obviously in a mood over something. Maybe he'd tried to hit on Jean again last night after dinner, and maybe she'd turned him down again. That would serve him right, the stupid, blind idiot.

Rogue wandered the halls for a few minutes trying to decide what to do with her day. Maybe Ororo needed some help in the gardens which were her personal domain. It was a beautiful early summer day, and Rogue was in the mood to be out in it. All that pale skin needed some vitamin D!

She found Ororo kneeling beside a flower bed weeding. Rogue cleared her throat softly, and the other woman raised her head and smiled.

“Hello, Rogue! How are you feeling this morning? I heard that you girls went out last night,” Ororo said, gesturing for her to take a seat on a nearby bench.

“I'm fine. It was pretty exciting, but I'm not as tired as Jubilee or Kitty this morning. I guess I'm just too wired,” Rogue replied truthfully, thinking it was a good thing this wasn't Jean, who would have heard the way she mentally replaced “tired” with “hungover.” Rogue cleared her throat and kept standing. “Actually, I was wondering if you'd like some help, Ms. Munroe. It's too nice a day to be inside,” she offered.

Ororo's smile widened. “Of course I would. There's an extra set of gloves in my gardening bag over there,” she said, pointing with one gloved hand. “I know you probably don't want to cover up, but there are some spiky weeds in here that might hurt if you use bare hands. And, please, now that you're almost graduated, call me Ororo, or 'Ro, if you like.”

Rogue ducked her head, a little shy. She'd been thinking of her teachers by their first names since absorbing Logan years ago, but she was always really careful to address them the way the other students did. She retrieved the offered set of gloves and settled down to start pulling. “It's going to take a while to get used to that, 'Ro!” she said, more comfortable with the shortened version because it was also part of the other woman's last name.

“I'm sure it will. Have you decided what you want to do now that high school is over and you've managed to control your mutation? The sky really is the limit,” Ororo said.

Rogue tipped her head to look up at the sky for a moment, then resumed weeding. “I'm not sure. I had planned on doing community college from here, but now that there's no barrier from my mutation...I guess I'll have to think about it some more. It's so strange, not needing to worry. Even the little things are different.”

“You have a lot of exploring to do, mentally and emotionally as well as physically. I...hope that you might feel comfortable coming to me if you need to talk. You have your friends, of course, but sometimes an older woman, with more experience, can be a help to talk to,” Ororo said, diplomatically not mentioning that Rogue's own mother was unavailable for that position.

Rogue smiled, again shy. Still, she was smart enough to recognize that this was something she needed. “Thank you, 'Ro,” she said simply.

They weeded in silence for a while, moving on to another bed when they had finished with the first. The sun shone down, getting warmer as it rose higher in the bright blue sky. Few small white puffs of clouds attempted to mar that expanse, thus after an hour or so Ororo suggested that they head inside for some lemonade. The temperature was already above seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit.

Leaning against the kitchen counter as Ororo retrieved a pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator, Rogue found herself tracing patterns in the floor tile with her toe. “You said I could ask you about stuff that I wouldn't ask my friends my age, right, 'Ro?” she asked hesitantly, finding the need to busy herself by taking out two glasses from the cabinet.

Ororo looked at Rogue briefly before she began to pour with a steady hand. “Yes, dear,” she replied, wondering what was on Rogue's mind.

“Well, I just...howsoonistoosoontohavesexwithaguyyoujustmet?” Rogue asked in a rush, her face turning bright red.

Ororo's head snapped around, her eyes wide. Apparently she hadn't been expecting something like that to come up so quickly after her offer. Rogue helped her lift the pitcher back to an upright position right before the second glass began to overflow.

“Ummm...how soon is too soon to have sex with someone you just met?” Ororo repeated, as if to make sure. She licked her lips nervously.

Rogue nodded, finding the random flecks of shiny rock in the granite counter tops suddenly very fascinating. She was sure that there was no way she could ever blush any more than she was just then.

Ororo took a deep breath, as if to regain her composure. She returned the pitcher to the fridge, grabbed the two glasses and handed one to Rogue before leaning back on the counter next to her. She wasn't quite able to meet the girl's eyes, but she knew it was important to answer this question, especially for this particular girl, sooner rather than later.

“I guess it just depends on the two people involved, Rogue,” she said after a moment of thought. “I mean, you shouldn't let any guy pressure you into doing anything you feel you aren't ready for, but I can understand that you might have faced certain...frustrations due to your mutation which no longer apply, so you'll want to experiment a little. There's nothing wrong with that, in my book.”

Rogue let out her breath on a sigh. At least the way she was feeling about this was normal. “That's what I thought, but at the same time I'm a little worried that I might be the one who pressures me into doing something I'm not ready for. I know I've been pretty starved of human contact, but I've also got the same raging hormones as any other girl my age, and...I'd just like to find out what it's all about, you know?” There, she got that out without blushing anymore, although she really doubted she could.

Ororo nodded, finally able to look at Rogue. “I understand that. The only advice I can give you, then, is to let things happen naturally. As long as there's no overt pressure...as long as you don't feel as if you have to have sex with a guy just so that he'll keep his interest in you, then I see no problem with you satisfying any needs or curiosity you might have. Just...are you on birth control, Rogue?” Ororo asked uncertainly.

Rogue shook her head. “There was no reason to, before this. I've heard that it can take a month for the Pill to kick in, though...”

Ororo laughed. “And you don't want to wait that long, right? There are other methods, dear. You should go talk to Jean about it. I know that she keeps contraceptives on hand just in case, or she could prescribe something for you. In the meantime, make sure to carry a few different sizes of condoms on you, especially if you believe that you might be in a position to use one.”

Rogue bit her lip, took a long drink of her lemonade, and asked her next question a little more slowly than the last. “And...I know that they say in sex ed class that it hurts the first time, but...is it an awful lot?”

Ororo shook her head. “It really depends on the woman involved. You could have Jean examine you if you're worried about it. Has she ever given you a gynecological examine?”

Again Rogue shook her head no. “All she's done is a breast exam once a year. She said we'd cross the other if it ever got to that stage. It's not like I'd have caught anything or needed to worry about that area before now.” For some reason, it was a lot less embarrassing to talk about breast checks and pap smears than it was to talk about sex. Rogue wondered why that was.

“Then talk to Jean about it, see what she says,” Ororo said confidently.

“I think I will,” Rogue said thoughtfully.

Ororo finished her lemonade and put her glass into the dishwasher. “Ready to get back out there?” she asked.

“For a couple more hours,” Rogue told her. “When Jubilee and Kitty wake up, I think we're going to go shopping. I have a wardrobe I need to update. Then I think I have someone I need to call.”

Ororo chuckled and led the way back out to the garden.

He stepped into the kitchen after they left, a dark frown transforming him from intimidating to frightening. Eyes blazing, he watched the women through the kitchen window until they turned a corner and disappeared.

Rogue ventured upstairs from her examination a little shaken. Jean, as she insisted Rogue call her now at all times, not just missions, had been so very concerned that Rogue should know all of the facts about sex since she was now able to venture into that realm interacting with full grown men, not just the boys around school. So she had given Rogue a version of the “Talk” in blaring, clinical detail that would be very difficult to forget. Oh, Rogue intended to try, since it was a little too much information, but it would be hard.

And then Jean had offered her “visual aids” if she needed them.

And they had both blushed.

Thankfully, the process of prescribing Pills had already been completed, condoms given from a stash in the cabinet in Jean's office, and the physical examination all taken care of, so Rogue just said, “No, thank you,” and high-tailed it out of there as quickly as possible. The good news: pain probably wasn't going to be much of an issue for her. The bad news: there was a possibility that the heightened emotional and physical state of sexual intercourse would interfere with Rogue's control over her mutation. Those were Jean's exact words. Rogue was pretty sure that the stimulus last night would have been more than enough to weaken her control if that was all it took, but she would definitely take things slow, just in case.

The hallways were much more crowded after lunch. Rogue made her way through the dormitory section, her newfound sensitivity towards the opposite sex picking up the way half the male population was checking her out. It looked like the pansies who couldn't handle the thought of trying to get around her skin when it was deadly were more than willing to appreciate it now that it wasn't. That was fine, but she was keeping to a “look, but don't touch” rule for every male at the school who hadn't bothered with her before. A little flirting never hurt anyone, though, so she winked and smiled at boys and young men as she passed, suddenly feeling giddy at the thought that they might want her but couldn't get her. God, was she turning into a cock-tease? Well, maybe a little.

Jubilee and Kitty had finally dragged their hungover butts out of bed, showered, and were putting finishing touches on outfits for the day when Rogue burst in. Rogue gave Jubilee a big hug to apologize for waking her up and then looked at the mess their room was. Using up some of her pent up energy, Rogue made quick work of hanging up tops, dresses and skirts, tucking underwear and bras back into the appropriate drawers, and lining shoes up beside the owners' respective beds. Kitty and Jubilee just sat on their beds and watched in bemused silence as the whirlwind formerly known as Rogue set the room to rights.

Hands on her hips, Rogue surveyed her work and nodded happily. “Okay, now that I'm done with that, I think you should know that I'm kidnapping you two today,” she informed her intended victims mercilessly.

Jubilee raised an eyebrow. “Do we get kinky sex or strong drinks during our imprisonment?” she asked hopefully.

Rogue grinned. “Nope. You get to help me pick out a new wardrobe, especially stuff to wear on dates,” she informed them. Their eyes lit up, and she held up a hand. “I have a pretty solid core of basics, but everything else...we're talking dresses, jewelry, and better make-up. We're talking little sexy teddies and silk robes that are pretty much transparent. We're talking--”

“Too much!” Jubilee cried, reaching out and hugging Rogue in thanks for providing her with her favorite pastime—well, besides making boys cringe. “Let's get going already!”

“Do you want to eat here or grab a bite while we're out? We haven't had anything yet,” Kitty said, gathering up purses with a no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners look in her eyes. Shopping to Kitty was less than the religious experience it was for Jubilee, but it was also something she believed should be planned as well as any battle the X-team might have to fight. Rogue could foresee several changes to the black leather uniforms once Kitty got hold of them.

“I'm all for eating out, chicas. I want to try that new French bistro in town,” Jubilee said. “Plus, I heard the waiters are pretty yummy.”

“I'm fine with eating out, but do we have time for me to wash up a bit? I was out in the garden with 'Ro this morning,” Rogue said, heading for the bathroom anyway. No way did she want to go shopping sweaty and with no make-up on.

Jubilee and Kitty sighed and settled on their beds to wait. It only took Rogue about twenty minutes to jump in the shower quickly, careful not to wet her hair, jump out, comb and pull her hair into a pony tail, and put on a new outfit and light make-up, but by that time Jubilee had taken to pacing the bedroom, and Kitty had dug through her closet twice and made a list of necessary purchases. Her two friends pulled Rogue away from her mirror after she announced that she thought maybe she should do something a little nicer with her hair, and off they went.

Six hours, one bistro, three stores and two malls later, the three returned and struggled to pull all of the bags from the trunk and back seat of Kitty's Jag. In fact, there were so many that Jubilee couldn't get out of the car until the bags were removed! Thankfully, Bobby and John were walking by just then, so Rogue flagged them down and enlisted their help carrying the mountains of purchases up the stairs. Once the bags and boxes were piled onto Rogue's bed and strewn about the floor, they could only stare before deciding that it really wouldn't hurt to leave it just like this and grab some dinner. Shutting the door firmly behind them, they headed back downstairs.

At seven o'clock, full and happy, they gave in to the inevitable and trudged back upstairs to start unpacking. However, no sooner did they get the door shut behind them then Rogue made a dive for their ringing phone on the other side of the piles. She landed on her knees with a thud and grabbed the receiver.

“Hello? Oh, Bryan! It's good to hear from you.” Rogue grinned and rolled her eyes at her friends, fanning herself. It was all Kitty and Jubilee could do not to crack up right then and there.

“Yeah, I enjoyed last night, too. You're such a good dancer.” Was that a purr in her voice? Well, she felt like purring when she remembered that dance! “Let me just check on that, okay?” Rogue rustled the papers on the desk next to her for a few moments while Jubilee nearly collapsed from lack of oxygen with Kitty trying to hold her up and not die herself.

“Well, looks like I don't have anything going on tomorrow evening. What do you want to go do?” Rogue paused again, her smile getting even wider, if that was possible. “Oh, I just love surprises, sugar,” she said, allowing her voice to get all husky. Kitty and Jubilee began to fan themselves, and she had to hold in her own laughter. “Sure, I can be ready at seven. See you then!”

Rogue hit the end call button and shrieked. “Bryan's taking me out tomorrow night! This is just awesome!” She climbed back over the piles and did a happy dance with Jubilee and Kitty, who had regained their normal complexions now that they were able to laugh and breathe again.

“C'mon, chicas,” Jubilee said, wading into the first mountain of bags. “We need to pick out what you're going to wear tomorrow—starting with that sexy black bra and panty set from Victoria Secrets. You know, the ones with the little pink hearts printed all over and the pink bows.”

The other two squealed, and they were about to get to work when they heard a crash. They jumped and looked at each other wide-eyed for a moment, but when no other sounds reached their ears they shrugged.

“Kids,” Rogue said, rolling her eyes again. “Who wants to bet Scott rips 'em a new one for breaking whatever that was. If he can catch them!” They laughed and continued pulling out items and ripping off tags.

Outside the closed door a figure hovered for a moment, sheer menace in every line of his body. He stared at the door for a moment, then stalked back past the vase he had sliced in to three parts, its shattered remains after hitting the ground littering the hardwood. He didn't even care. This was getting so out of control!

The way Logan saw it, fate had a pretty fucked up sense of humor. It was either that or Murphy or random chance were out to get him, but for some reason Logan had always subscribed more to the idea of fate. He had no idea why. Maybe it was because fate was supposed to be a woman, or a group of women, and everyone knew women could be real bitches, taking vindictiveness to all new levels. Fate sure could be a bitch.

It had to have been fate that made him go out to smoke on the back terrace of the mansion only minutes before Rogue showed up. Since he was still pretty confused over the way she had reacted to his congratulations about her control, he slipped back into the shadows, grateful for the fact that he was downwind of her. He wasn't ready yet to ask her what the fuck all that had been about.

Of course, just because he was standing in shadows didn't mean that he couldn't see her just fine. She was wearing some red bit of fabric that barely covered her assets—or her ass—and draped around her in a way designed to drive men crazy. So of course he worried, especially when he turned back to the house and he saw the way she'd painted herself up so that her eyes were somehow wide and deep at the same time, her cheeks rosy and her skin looking so smooth...

Yeah, he was just worried. What if some guy got the wrong idea? He understood that she wanted to have a good time now that she didn't have to worry that a little bump skin to skin would drain some random stranger and have him living in her head for the rest of her life. He got it. But he didn't think that the guys at this club he'd heard her and her friends talking about were going to take into consideration the fact that she wasn't exactly the most experienced girl around.

Following the girls to that club had been an eye opener, that's for sure. First Rogue had danced to the fast songs with her friends, only brushing occasionally against this guy or that, flirting for the hell of it. If it had been anyone else, it would have been fun to watch. Since it was Rogue, and he knew he had to protect her, he watched from the shadows of one corner of the bar and waited for some jerk to make a wrong move, to hurt her.

Then, when Rogue, Jubilee and Kitty slowed down long enough to get their drinks, that guy stepped up. He oozed charm, and sure he was built, but should that have been enough for that prolonged spike of arousal he could smell from Rogue across the room? She was around handsome guys all day. Few of the grown men at the school were slouches in the looks department. Yet Rogue smiled at him like she'd been waiting for him all her life, placed her hand in his and let him lead her to the dance floor.

Where they proceeded to put on the kind of show that would have done a couple of porn stars proud. Logan knew his mouth had dropped open, cigar dangling from numb lips, as that man's hands roamed all over Rogue...and hers reciprocated. Her arousal wasn't just spiked. It was through the roof. Logan would have shouted at them to get a room, but he couldn't say something like that to Rogue, for goodness sake! He could tell that no one else was likely to, either. Every eye in the place was on them, even the ones belonging to those on the dance floor, even her friends, and the smell of arousal threatened to drown him. Logan grew hard watching it, and that made him feel as guilty as hell and pretty damn angry, too.

He was still trying to assimilate seeing Rogue as something sexual when she and her dance partner returned to the booth she'd been sitting at. She managed to get Kitty to go out and dance, then she and the stranger with the weird eyes proceeded to have a make out session that had the potential to top their previous performance. Logan shifted uncomfortably on his bar stool. This felt a little too much like voyeurism, but he couldn't look away.

The rest of the night dragged on through more of Rogue dancing, through Kitty and Jubilee drinking, and finally through all three staggering out, tired but happy expressions on their faces. Logan slipped out of the club after them and drove home, telling himself that he was only following them to make sure Rogue didn't fall asleep at the wheel. He knew she hadn't been drinking, but fatigue could do bad things to a person's response times, too. That's what he told himself.

He also told himself he wasn't brooding. And when he arrived back at the mansion and decided to go chop up some wood, well, he just needed to blow off some steam, right? It had been a stressful week, what with the kids all tense over exams, some of them not paying attention in their combat lessons and forcing him to be less than his usual gentle self, and Jean first teasing him and then pulling back. He'd been wanting to scream at her to make up her damn mind as they went in to dinner that evening.

So between his need to let off steam, a night spent struggling to get the picture of Rogue in that dress with some stranger's hands all over her out of his mind, and the dream that followed, Logan was not in a very good mood the next morning. He sure as hell wasn't in the mood for Rogue's chatter about her night or her happiness over her new control. The way she ate that strawberry, staring right at him, as he entered the dining room didn't help at all. It occurred to him when he sat down far away from her that she might be hurt by his action, but when he glanced at her quickly she seemed totally unconcerned. Instead, she was concentrating on the remains of what must have been a huge amount of food. Logan was much too aware of her as she got up to leave, so he kept his attention on his own food, silent curses filling his mind.

Fate played another little joke on him a couple hours later. He'd been about to enter the kitchen to get a nice cold beer when he heard Ororo and Rogue talking. Curious what those two might be talking about as they'd never spent much time together that he saw, and not wanting to interrupt what seemed to be an intense conversation, he froze with a hand raised and dawning horror as he grasped the details of their conversation. Sex advice. God, could this get worse? And Rogue was asking about how soon was too soon...Something inside him wanted to roar that she was too young to be thinking like that, dammit, and she needed to get her head out of the gutter. But he knew that she wasn't too young, so he kept his mouth shut and listened, since his feet didn't want to cooperate and let him leave.

Finally they left the kitchen, and Logan was able to get the beer he needed more than ever now. Only he didn't go to the refrigerator right away. Instead, something propelled him to go to the window and watch the two women, one so young and the other really not much older, when you thought about it. He was furious, but he really didn't know why. He didn't have any reason to be angry, did he? Rogue was being smart. She was getting advice from another woman, letting someone else know that she was on the hunt for someone. If she got hurt, there would be help.

Only Rogue wasn't supposed to get hurt, dammit. She was supposed to stay wrapped up in her nice layers, such a threat that only he, with his healing power, wasn't afraid to touch her. Wasn't she?

Rogue was nowhere to be found for the rest of the day. Not that he'd tried, mind you. He spent a few hours in the Danger Room, and by the time he came out she'd gone shopping with her friends. Logan told himself that was a good thing. He needed some time without constantly tripping over her to figure out what his brain was doing when it came to the way he was now thinking about Rogue. Beating up things in the Danger Room had helped relieve some of the aggression, but the confused anger he felt was definitely still there.

Then, as he was passing their room to get to his, Logan heard Rogue's voice. A little concentration told him that she was making a date with someone named Bryan. What a pussy name. Then he heard Jubilee say something that made him want to rip something to little tiny shreds.

“C'mon, chicas. We need to pick out what you're going to wear tomorrow—starting with that sexy black bra and panty set from Victoria Secrets. You know, the ones with the little pink hearts printed all over and the pink bows.”

Picturing Rogue wearing nothing but that, in that man's arms, was enough to have the claws flying before he thought. Scott was just going to have to deal with the remains of the vase that Logan left behind. He had bigger problems to worry about, like the erection he'd gotten from that image despite his rage.

Fate had to be woman, because she sure as hell was a bitch.

A pair of tiny satin panties with pink hearts held together by little pink bows. A matching bra that shaped her just right, also held together in the front by one of those pink bows. Over top, a slinky black sleeveless top, jeans that might have been painted on, and polished black knee high leather boots. Hair pulled up in a pony tail, but not a normal one, oh no. Tendrils curled lovingly, brushing her cheeks and necks while the heavy weight of the thick mane spread warmth down her mostly bare back. Light make up, a little dark around the eyes to add emphasis. Chunky silver necklace, earrings and bracelet completed the look.

Looking in the mirror, Rogue smirked. Damn, she was hot. Since Bryan wouldn't tell her where they were going on this date, she figured she'd go for a versatile look, one that would knock his socks off no matter what. As she turned to her friends and saw their eyes shining with approval and pride, she knew she'd probably succeeded.

“Roguey, you look just...wow,” Jubilee murmured, coming over to give her a hug.

“We definitely did a good job picking that outfit. If you want him, Rogue, he's yours tonight,” Kitty said, examining her from head to toe.

Rogue shrugged. “We'll see. I don't even know what we're doing, so there's no use making any plans like that. I'd hate to get my hopes crushed, you know?” she said with a wink.

Jubilee laughed. “That's our girl! Well, we know that you won't be able to have too wild a night. After all, tomorrow's Monday, so he'll probably have to go in to work.”

Rogue frowned a little. “You know, I never asked him what he does. I didn't tell him much about this place, either, just gave him the address along with my phone number. I wonder...should I have been more careful about this? I mean, we're both mutants, yeah, but there's the Brotherhood and other organizations out there...” Rogue didn't want to ruin the date before it got started, but it seemed like that little niggling worry wasn't willing to just go away.

“Well, look at it this way, Rogue. If you have to, you can use your skin to get away from any nefarious schemes he has in mind,” Kitty said fatalistically.

Rogue quirked an eyebrow at her. “Thanks, Kit. That was amazingly reassuring.”

“Nah, just honest,” Jubilee said, giving her another squeeze. “You'll have your cell phone on you. Don't forget the panic button that the Professor had installed. If anything happens, just press it. Your GPS coordinates will be sent here, and it will keep transmitting even if you're moved.”

Rogue sighed. “Wouldn't it be nice to be normal for once?” she mused out loud, reaching over to grab her purse off her nightstand.

“Girlie, you just got as close to normal as any of us will ever be able to get! You've now joined the I-can-control-my-powers club, which means that you can hide. That's the best we can do.” Jubilee's slight bitterness was understandable to the others, so they stood quietly for a moment before visibly shaking it off.

“Well, it's almost time! Wish me luck,” Rogue said, hugging her friends again.

They did, and she went downstairs to wait on the front steps. A low red sports car soon pulled through the gates, and Rogue had to bite back a sigh at the sexiness of the machine alone. Oh, please let that be Bryan!

When he stepped out of the car, Bryan smiled up at her. Rogue practically flew down the stairs to take his outstretched hand and be pulled into his arms. A quick, very passionate kiss later, she allowed him to help her into the car.

“You look gorgeous tonight, Rogue,” Bryan said as he slid behind the wheel.

Rogue blushed a little. “Thanks. You're not bad yourself, sugar,” she replied, allowing herself to take in his green short-sleeved button-up shirt, casual with the top button undone, and gray slacks.

“So you live here?” he asked, thumb pointing to the mansion behind them as they drove away. “You one of these Gifted Students?”

“I was. Don't worry, sugar, I'm legal,” she told him with a light laugh. “Mostly.”

Bryan grinned at her. “Good to hear. So, what do you do?”

“Well, I said I'm legal, right? Truth is, I just graduated from there. It's a school for mutants. They help us with controlling our powers, if we need it, as well as teaching the normal stuff,” Rogue said, settling comfortably into the leather-covered seat. Butter soft leather, at that.

“That's okay. I'm a college student at UNY. Sophomore. My parents...well, I guess they'd rather pay for me to go to college here than somewhere close to home back in California. They can forget they have a mutant son,” he said sadly. Apparently he'd worked through whatever bitterness he might have felt at his circumstances because there was none to be heard in his voice.

“Do you still talk to them?” Rogue was aware how few parents actually kept in contact with their mutant children once they managed to get them out of the house. One way or another.

“Yeah, every once in a while. I'm just happy when the tuition checks make it, to be honest,” he said candidly.

Rogue looked out her window for a moment. “You're lucky. Some of us never hear from our parents again,” she said, some of the happiness gone from her voice for a moment. “But Professor Xavier gives his students a new family, which can sometimes be better than the old one,” she added brightly, remembering her teachers and friends.

Bryan shot her a look. “Then sounds like you're the lucky one. I heard somewhere that friends are the family you can choose. Sometimes it seems to be the better way to go about it,” he said.

“Yeah.” They were quiet for a few minutes. The radio played jazz, low and soothing.

“So, what's your mutation, if you don't mind my asking? I mean, your eyes...they're unusual,” Rogue said into the silence.

Bryan smiled. “I've got night vision. I can see everything as clearly at night as I can during the day. Maybe it's not the most exciting mutation, or the most powerful, but I've found it useful. How about you?”

Rogue tensed. Why had she ever brought up mutations? Now she was going to have to tell him. It wasn't fair otherwise. “I—my skin can do things. Until I recently learned to control it I spent years covered up, not touching anyone because...I can be lethal. I suck people's energy and minds out of them, and mutations if they have them. If the contact doesn't break soon enough, they could die,” she confessed. “But I can control it now, really I can. I wouldn't have agreed to go out with you otherwise.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Bryan said, “Man, that must have been tough. I thought it was bad that my eyes glowed and freaked people out, but...I'm sorry, Rogue. Didn't anyone ever touch you? You said you stayed covered up.”

Rogue nodded, knowing he couldn't see it. “Yeah, a few people, every now and then. My best friends a lot. The school was great, and everyone was really understanding the few times there were accidents, but...it was hard. I'm so glad I don't have to worry much anymore,” she said softly.

Bryan reached over and took her hand. “I'm sure you'll do great, and I'm not worried at all. We're going to have fun tonight, I promise,” he told her with a smile.

Rogue returned the smile and squeezed his hand. “Thanks.”

They did have fun. Bryan took her to a restaurant where they performed different Off Broadway musicals or plays while you ate. It was magical. The production that night was “Dirty Dancing.” Partway through, Bryan leaned toward her and whispered, “I think we were better last night, don't you?”

Rogue had to swallow her laughter, hiding her face in her napkin until she knew she wasn't going to interrupt the performance, but her eyes sparkled as she looked at him. Once dinner was over, they collected his car from the valet service and sat there for a minute. Bryan turned to look at her.

“Rogue, would you like to come back to my place for a little while? I mean, you don't have to, and I'd still like to see you again, but...you're very beautiful, and I find you very, very attractive,” he said, taking her hand in his and raising it toward his lips. At the last moment, before his lips brushed the back of her hand, he turned it over and pressed a kiss to her wrist. Rogue almost moaned out loud.

Something inside her told her she needed this. She needed to be in his arms, feel hot skin pressed to hers. She let the physical attraction she felt for him flare and knew that, in this moment, this was right for her. She leaned over and kissed him, letting her lips press lightly at first before going further. Her tongue slid over his lips, pressing in, and then there was a moment where they were battling for supremacy, a moment that thrilled her. She pulled back.

“Let's go to your place.”

Hours later, Bryan's car drove back through the gates of the school, where no lights waited to greet them besides a few outdoor floodlights. He got out and opened Rogue's door for her, pausing for long moments to press her against the side of the car and kiss her long and sweetly, the heat still sizzling between them.

“Thanks, sugar. I'll see you next weekend,” she said, reaching up to run her finger over his bottom lip.

“I don't know if I can wait that long, Rogue,” Bryan told her honestly.

Rogue looked up into his glowing eyes and smiled slowly. “Well, maybe we can make some time in the middle of the week. I'll call you,” she said, pulling his mouth down to hers again for another kiss. “Now, get going. You've got a class in the morning, sugar, remember?”

With a groan Bryan pulled himself away. He watched while Rogue let herself in the front door of the mansion, then he sighed and turned to get back in his car. A flicker of light caught his eye to one side, but he thought it must have been a firefly because he didn't see any other source. The sleek red car drove off slowly.

In the shadows, Logan watched until the tail lights disappeared. He glared at the car and glared up at the house, toward a certain window. This was fucking great. He'd followed them on his bike, as inconspicuously as possible, to that restaurant. Grabbing a bite to eat from a fast food place down the street, he'd settled in to wait. Later, they didn't head back to the mansion like he was half hoping. Instead, the prick took her to a very nice apartment building where they stayed for the next three hours. Logan left when the scent of them, smothered in the smell of sex, neared the door to the complex. What the hell were they doing for three hours?

Well, he knew the answer to that, if he would only admit it to himself. There were a lot of things you could do in three hours, things he was sure that fucker was more than happy to show Rogue. Damn that girl, anyway! Why had she chosen to go out and do that? Why hadn't she—Logan stopped himself before that thought was fully formed. Dammit!

Looked like it was time to go make some more firewood. Might need some winter after next.

If he was being honest, Logan would admit that he felt like he'd been kicked in the gut, or maybe it was sucker punched. Yeah, he always healed from stuff like that pretty quick, but it hurt like hell when it happened. Days went by, but the rest of the world might as well have been going on without him. He was focused on one thing and one thing only.

Rogue may as well have waved a big sign in front of his eyes saying, “I don't need you anymore.” There were no discussions on the weekends at breakfast, no more smiles in the hallways or teasing laughs about his bad habits. She didn't follow him around like the kid sister he'd tried to convince himself she was, easily dismissed if something more important came up but always someone who would be there and who needed his protection.

Every night she was out. It wasn't always with that Bryan kid. Sometimes she'd go out on her own or with Jubilee, Kitty, or both, going to clubs, plays, concerts. Summer was in full swing, and for the older teenagers that seemed to mean a constant round of activities. Rogue reveled in them all and was rarely alone.

At least two nights a week she came back smelling like sex and Bryan, although now she used the Professor's graduation gift of an almost-new Prius to go out. Logan knew it was only the one guy whom she gave herself to, even though they weren't technically dating so far as he could tell, because only his scent mixed with hers in that way. She seemed to have plenty of dates, though, as if she was making up for lost time.

To Logan the worst part of the past month and half had been that, if he'd kept his old way of seeing Rogue, he would have been cheering her on. She deserved to experience life. He knew that. He knew she needed to feel the touches she'd been denied so long, skin on skin. It would have been so much better if she'd turned to his touches, though, his skin against hers.

At first he tortured himself with why. Why hadn't she come to him with her curiosity? He knew she'd had a crush on him at one time, and he was the only man at the mansion she'd spent more than ten minutes with at a time during his first month back. Wasn't that normal for her? It seemed to be normal still—she rarely hung out with any single guy here, preferring to find her companionship in the wider mutant and even human world. What he didn't know was why she took that particular stance. What was wrong with him, with the other men here, in her eyes?

It took him that first week to figure it out, and he felt like cursing himself to a dozen hells, a hundred hells, when he realized what it was. Rogue wasn't even the one to clue him into it. Ororo had taken to looking at him strangely, then glancing at Jean. At first he thought nothing of it. Then he caught the frown on Scott's face one day. Only it wasn't the usual “I-think-you're-a-fucker-who-wants-to-steal-my-woman” frown. It was confused. What the fuck was confusing Scooter? Logan hated that this little inconsistency was taking his attention from Rogue, but then it occurred to him that it was part of it. So was the disappointed look in Jean's eyes that he caught later that day when he looked at her and then turned away without even a smile, too focused on locating Rogue, swarmed by guys as usual these days, as they all gathered for a summer barbecue for dinner.

Just then Rogue's eyes had slid over him, the rest of the teachers, and then snapped back to him with a small frown before she visibly shook it off and turned back to her harem. (Yeah, he thought of the mansion group as her harem.) Logan's frown, seemingly habitual now, deepened, and he glanced around to try and figure out what had brought the confusion to her eyes. He was standing with his back to the others, arms crossed, so that he could keep his eyes on her, make sure that no one stepped out of line over there. Except that he couldn't seem to stop her from stepping out of line, or rather vaulting the line like an Olympic champ.

Ororo, Jean, and Scott were talking with the Professor. Jean was the furthest from him, and it was that which triggered his revelation. Logan had always tried to walk, stand or be as near as possible to Jean as he could for the first month that he was back. Flirting, joking, taking her attention away from Scott had consumed him as a pastime to help him forget the frustrations of the past few years of empty promises for answers to his past, deserted buildings and wiped computer drives. He had sometimes wondered if he really did have enough hold on her to take her away from her fiancee, and what he would do if that happened.

That was when Logan remembered what happened at dinner time the day that Rogue's control breakthrough occurred. He had been following Jean, as usual, trying to capture her attention, seeing if it would really work or if she was just stringing him along. She'd been subtly flirting with him on the walk to the dining hall, and then they'd been interrupted by Rogue's news. When it had been his turn to congratulate Rogue...

Logan felt like getting a strong drink at that point, but he contented himself with raking a hand through his hair and downing his half-bottle of beer in one long gulp. To all intents and purposes, he'd ignored her. Brushed off her triumph with a few distant words because all his concentration was on the woman walking away. He didn't realize that he was pushing away the woman beside him until it was too late.

His heart beating faster, his breath shallower, Logan tried to calm himself from the panic that threatened to overwhelm him. He may not have been the most experienced person in social nuances, but he was pretty sure that he had committed a Major Fuck Up. You don't ignore one woman for another without facing consequences, especially not if anything remotely like sex is involved. Or even affection. No. That was Not Good Manners.

As far as he could tell, he had only two choices. He could continue standing in the shadows, waiting for Rogue to outgrow this phase and come back to him. Given what he'd just realized, that wasn't likely to happen. He may have destroyed whatever she had felt for him with one stupid, selfish act. His other option was to fight through all of her admirers and take her for himself. Or convince her to take him.

Logan knew that there really wasn't any question about which choice he would take. He also knew that he would have to plan carefully. He couldn't just wade through chopping up bodies until he got to Rogue, although that sounded like fun in his current state. He was going to have to use a strategy that no one, especially Rogue, would expect from him if he was going to change Rogue's mind about him, make her want to give him a second chance without stepping on her newfound independent toes.

His eyes burned with a new fire as he gazed at her. Logan was going to have to be subtle. The only thing that worried him was that it might kill him before he reached his goal. Or she might.

Rogue pulled herself out of the pool and grabbed the towel she had left waiting to dry herself off with. At eleven o'clock in the morning, she was the only one taking advantage of the cool water for a swim. The younger kids, the ones without families who wanted them to come home for summer break, had been taken to the zoo by Ororo, Scott, Jean, and Kitty. They had asked her to come along, too, but while Rogue actually liked the zoo, she hadn't felt in the mood that morning. She'd had a few too many drinks while out with Bryan the night before, and she needed a chance to recover. Even the older, former students were nowhere to be seen. It looked like it was a take-time-for-yourself kind of day. Rogue was coming to appreciate those now that she had a much more active social life.

Toweling off her hair some, she settled into one of the lounging chairs facing the strong morning sun. The weather hadn't been cooperating with her desire to get some color on her skin the past few weeks, so she was determined to take the opportunity to presented today, with not a cloud in the sky. Grabbing her iPod, she slipped her headphones into her ears from behind, so that the cord wouldn't leave a weird tan line, and settled down to enjoy the heat lapping at her skin.

Rogue closed her eyes and prepared to doze for a while. Music and sun combined to soothe her, and she drifted into sleep. She had no idea how long she lay there like that, soaking up the sun's heat, when she felt a shadow overhead. Frowning, she opened her eyes. Had a cloud passed by?

Logan was standing over her, an eyebrow raised. “No harem today?” he asked sardonically.

Rogue choked on a laugh. How did he know what she'd taken to calling the group of male students and former students who now flocked around her when she was at home—at least in her own head? “Nope, I told them to go make themselves useful fluffing my silk cushions and mixing me some perfume,” she replied wickedly. “What're you doing out here?”

Logan gestured toward the pool. “It's hot. What do people usually do at a pool, Marie?” he asked before striding off toward the diving board.

Rogue watched him go. This was the first time he'd spoken more than two words to her in a month, and yet they'd fallen into the kind of easy banter they had shared when he first returned. What was going on? He'd been avoiding her, and she him, and now...

Don't think about it, Rogue, she told herself. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the day. So she laid her head back and closed her eyes again. Well, mostly closed her eyes. Given her recent preoccupation, it was definitely interesting to watch all those lovely muscles flexing as he prepared to dive. Chest muscles flowed smoothly together, rippling...Down, girl! she thought. That's Logan, the Man Obsessed With Jean, remember. Down!

Still, she couldn't help but watch as he performed several conventional dives, all without looking in her direction. Nothing unusual there. Apparently even her mostly-naked body, clad in a tiny little green bikini, wasn't enough to interest him. Rogue hmphed and closed her eyes completely.

At just that moment she heard a huge splash, and then she was covered in spray!

“LOGAN!” she shouted, jumping up, hands on hips and glaring at the man swimming towards her. “Dammit, that was cold, and now I'm soaked again!”

“Yeah, you are,” Logan replied. He seemed to look her up and down, but that was impossible. Logan checking her out? No way.

Rogue's eyes narrowed further. She decided that her best course was just to ignore the large, annoying man in the water and try to return to her peaceful sunbathing. Still glaring, she laid back down, this time without closing her eyes. Goodness knew what crazy idea might pop into the man's head next.

Fortunately Logan appeared ready to do laps at that point. Rogue watched him stroke lazily through the water, then with more energy. There was just something about the way he moved...Down, girl! She ripped her eyes away to stare out over the garden across the pool. There were some lovely flowers out there. Ororo was so talented.

Realizing that she was babbling to herself, Rogue tried to focus on her music again. That worked for about five seconds. Giving in to the inevitable, she let her eyes lock onto Logan as he swam back and forth. It was a pleasure just to watch him. They spent twenty minutes or so like them, swimming and watching. Finally, feeling pretty toasty on the front, Rogue prepared to turn over onto her stomach. As she adjusted the lounger, an evil little imp of an idea popped into her head. She spent a few seconds battling it internally before giving in. This could be interesting, anyway.

“Logan?” she called. When he stopped swimming and looked over at her, she asked, “Would you mind putting some more lotion on my back? I'm not sure I did a very good job, and I want an even tan.” She held up the small brown bottle.

Was it her imagination, or did Logan's eyes light up? Must have been a trick of the light, she assured herself as he swam over to the edge nearest her and pulled himself out of the water. She tried not to notice how his skin glistened, how little droplets trailed down the muscles of his chest, his arms, his legs...Abruptly she laid down on her stomach, turning her face away from him to try and hide her blushes.

“It can be pretty hard to reach the middle of your back, huh?” Logan said, grabbing the bottle as he knelt next to her.

Rogue felt it was safe to nod but left it at that. She tried to force herself to relax as she heard him open the bottle, pour lotion into his hands. The wet sound of him spreading the lotion from palm to fingers was, umm, interesting. Then his hands were on her, and she had to bite her bottom lip really hard to keep from moaning.

Logan's hands were surprisingly smooth, and it wasn't even the lotion's fault. She wondered idly if his mutation kept callouses from growing as he rubbed the coconut scented lotion into the skin of her back. He was being very thorough, starting at her shoulders and slowly heading toward the small of her back. When he was halfway down she felt a sharp pain and let out a gasp, tensing.

“Dammit,” she muttered. “Sorry, Logan, just a sore muscle from practice yesterday.” Rogue, Kitty, Jubilee, and Bobby had all decided to join the team, at least for the summer, as trial of sorts. Scott had made a comment about augmentation being useful even if they weren't full time members, something no one could deny.

“Here?” Logan's fingers found the spot and began a serious massage. “Stop tensing up,” he instructed her, rapping on knuckle on the back of her head.

Rogue chuckled. “Sorry. It really hurts. I've been trying to ignore it,” she said sheepishly. “It's not in a place where moving makes it worse, so I figured I'd just deal. We all have to learn how, right?”

“Mmm...yeah, if you're gonna be doing the X-Man thing on any sort of basis, you have to learn how to keep going despite the pain,” Logan answered. “You guys didn't do too bad yesterday, Marie, for beginners in the advanced program,” he added grudgingly.

“Gee, thanks, Logan. I'm so glad you approve,” was her only reply.

Somehow massaging that one small sore spot transitioned into him giving her a full back rub, not just rubbing on suntan lotion. Rogue wasn't complaining. It felt wonderful. Logan had some very skilled fingers. They were concentrating on the small of her back when she began to wonder how they would feel on other parts of her body. That thought made her bit her lip again, and she almost shuddered. Maybe he felt it. Logan took his hands away at just that point.

“There, that should do it,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Thanks, Logan,” she whispered, hoping he would think she was falling asleep. Praying he would think that.

“Sure, Marie. Any time. I'll see you at practice later.” With that he walked away. She turned her head to watch him leave, mind racing from what had just happened.

Rogue found herself desperately hoping that something had changed, that maybe Logan was starting to realize that she was all grown up now. He hadn't called her “kid” once. Only Marie. He was the only one she'd voluntarily told her true name, although she suspected the Professor and maybe Jean had picked it up at some point.

Closing her eyes as he disappeared around the corner of the house, Rogue sighed. This was going to take some thinking, and some observation. She'd wondered the other day, at the barbecue, about the way Logan had been standing so far from Jean. Was he starting to get over his attraction to the red-headed doctor? She hadn't had time to think about it then, but now the question kept pushing through, buzzing in her mind like a persistant little fly.

Could he be attracted to someone else now?

During the hours after what Rogue had come to think of as “the pool incident,” she bent her mind toward the task of figuring out what was going on in Logan's head. At times she thought it was a shame that she couldn't just take the easy way out and touch him with her power. Of course, that would having damaging repercussions both for him and for her place on the team, so she resisted the urge, even when so much bare skin was presented during combat practice and she might have been able to get away with it as an "accident."

Of course, Rogue knew that it wasn't a good idea to let Logan know that she was observing him. Nothing was worse than making the predator think he had become prey. Instead, she started slow and simple with dinner that evening. She and the other younger members of the team had begun to sit with the original members whenever they were around for dinner at the Professor's suggestion. So far Rogue had only been around for one dinner. She'd been spending so much time out that it was quicker and easier to grab a bite wherever she was. At the time she hadn't been paying much attention to Logan, to be honest. She was too preoccupied with her own activities to notice if there were any changes in the social dynamics around the mansion besides the obvious ones with the graduates.

Rogue timed her entry to dinner so that she was the last one at the X-table, as the students called it, to arrive. She made a point of not looking at anyone in particular as she got food and then headed for the table. To her surprise, she saw as she approached that while the usual arrangement of the Professor on one end with Scott beside him and Jean beside Scott had not changed, for some reason Storm was sitting next to Jean, with Logan on her other side. Bobby, Kitty, Jubilee and John were ranged on the other side of the table. Beside John and beside Logan there was an empty seat. Rogue bit her lip as she tried to decide which one to take.

She made her decision when Logan looked up at her and smiled. It wasn't his normal smile, but she was too disconcerted by the changed seating arrangements between Storm and Logan that she couldn't quite place what was different. Erring on the side of caution, Rogue placed her tray next to John and sat down quickly. She held Logan's eyes the entire time, but then she glanced down the table at her friends and smiled, mostly to escape the flare of—something—that she saw in his eyes.

“Rogue!” Jubilee said, leaning around John. “So no hot date tonight, huh?” she whispered loudly, giving her friend a grin.

Rogue shook her head. “No. I decided I need a quiet day and a quiet night. You know, slow down the pace a little. I feel like I'm being run ragged!” she said, rolling her eyes. “There's combat practice in the afternoons now, too, so I might be staying home more often just to recover!” she joked.

“Whatever, chica. I'm sure it'll be fine once we get used to the pace. After all, wouldn't Bryan miss you?” teased Jubilee.

“Yeah, Rogue, speaking of Bryan, what's up with that?” Kitty asked, also leaning forward. Of course, she'd given her friends the play by play after each encounter with Bryan, much to their delight, but they couldn't help but poke her a little about it in front of the others. They knew most of the guys at the mansion were disappointed that Rogue had looked a little farther afield for companionship.

Rogue shrugged, feigning complete and total interest in her steamed carrots. “Just some dates, Kitty. You know.” She shot her friend a warning looking and quickly looked back down.

John sighed. “Do you girls really have to have this conversation with me in the middle? Can't you wait until you get back to your room?” he asked.

Jubilee smacked the back of his head lightly. “Earth to John. We moved out of that room last week. We have our own rooms now,” she said smugly, knowing what was coming next.

“Your own rooms? Why do Bobby and I have to share a room?” John asked. Rogue glanced up to see that he was glaring across the table at the older men and women.

“Because there are only two of you, not three, and a few rooms opened up. Now we can put three younger girls in the old one, some that will be coming in the fall. So eat and don't complain,” Ororo replied, pointing at his plate.

Rogue couldn't help the small smirk from lifting up the corners of her lips. It was just too great that the guys hadn't even realized what had happened. She had been wondering when they would, or if they would have to have it pointed out for them. Looked like it was option two. As Rogue started to turn back to her own food, Logan's gaze somehow caught and held hers, despite the fact that she'd been trying to avoid just that. There was something...different about the way he was looking at her. Rogue stopped the shiver that wanted to run down her spine and gave renewed interest to the damn carrots. Too bad she could barely taste them. She actually liked carrots!

Rogue tried to tune out the dinner conversation after that. She let her thoughts wander as she attempted to keep an eye on the action across the table, or rather the lack of action, while avoiding eye contact. It puzzled her to see that Logan barely glanced at Jean, even when she was speaking. Even more surprising was the realization that every time she allowed her gaze to drift to Logan, he appeared to be watching her with that odd gleam in his eyes that made her stomach clench. She would look away, then rinse and repeat. By the end of the meal, Rogue's nerves were fried.

“Anyone up for cards?” asked John when it looked like most of them were finished eating.

For some reason Rogue balked at the idea. Another hour or two spent with Logan staring at her? That did not seem like a good idea in her current frame of mind. However, as the others started to enthusiastically take up the idea, she found that her mouth must not have been communicating with her brain. When Jubilee noticed that she was the last one still seated and asked if she was coming, she replied, “Sure, Jubes. I guess I just got too much sun today or something 'cause my head was totally in the clouds. I'll catch up in a minute.”

Rogue pretended complete attention to the last few bites of chicken left on her plate, hoping no one would question her sudden devotion to her food. They wandered off, leaving her to a few minutes of relative solitude. Even Professor Xavier had gone off, granted in a different direction. The remaining food on her plate disappeared far too quickly, it seemed. She forced herself to rise, drop off her tray and leave the dining room. Once in the hall she started towards the study where the occasional card games were usually held.

Rogue practically jumped out of her skin when Logan suddenly appeared beside her. “Dammit, Logan!” she cried, hand to her heart. “Walk louder or something, why don't you?”

Logan just smiled and kept pace with her. Rogue couldn't help wondering if he had been waiting for her. Then she silently scolded herself for being silly. He'd probably just needed to use the restroom or something completely normal like that. Keeping her eyes straight forward and telling herself that the air conditioning was the reason she was getting goosebumps, Rogue forced herself to enter the study moments before Logan.

And if Logan hadn't been right behind her, she just might have turned on her heel and run as fast as her feet would take her up the stairs and to the safety of her room. There were only two chairs left at the round table where everyone was setting up. These two chairs just happened, of course, to be right beside each other. It was going to be a crowded table, too. Rogue stopped the whimper that wanted to break free from her throat and marched resolutely to one chair, plopping down gracelessly and resisting the urge to cross her arms. Wasn't this going to just be loads of fun? The only good thing that Rogue could think of was that she wasn't going to have to meet Logan's gaze this way at all.

Bad news number one? Jean was seated directly across from Logan. Rogue tried to convince herself that this would just give her more opportunities to watch the two of them together, to see if her suspicions were self-delusions. Bad news number two came to light when Logan took his seat and made himself comfortable. That would have been just fine, of course, except that his knee and calf were pressed against hers. The feel of the denim pressing against her skin shouldn't have been unusual. How long had she been wearing pants again? That didn't matter. For some reason this particular denim, warm from Logan's skin, made her feel like her leg was on fire. Why couldn't the man be decent, like Jubilee on her other side, and keep his legs to himself? In defiance Rogue refused to move her own leg. Or at least, that's why she told herself she wasn't moving.

That might have been the worst poker game Rogue ever played. She honestly didn't remember much of it, and she ended up folding with every hand and desperately watching the others. She zeroed in on Kitty and Bobby, who were practically in each other's laps. When had that happened? Speculating on the exact timing of their realization that it wouldn't be such a bad idea to date each other was almost enough to keep Rogue's mind off of the man sitting next to her. Almost. She was able to take some comfort in the fact that it appeared at times that Jean was trying to catch Logan's eye, and from her annoyed frown it wasn't working as often as she might have liked. Although why Rogue was taking any comfort from that...she really wasn't going to think about it. Didn't it just add to this strange mystery?

Finally the last hand was called. Rogue sat through the play quietly, having folded without really looking at her cards. Then she helped clean up chips and cards, anything to keep her hands busy and her mind off that leg still pressed against hers. Finally she felt that it was safe to stand. Thankfully, Jubilee had the same notion, and she threw an arm around her friend's shoulders as they were headed out, thus inadvertantly blocking any more attempts from Logan--not that there would be any, of course.

“Poor Rogue. You sucked today. You really sucked. I know you can play better than that. What's wrong?” she asked as they made their way up the stairs.

At the top Rogue indulged herself just long enough to let her head drop to Jubilee's shoulder for a moment. “I'm fine, really,” she said, straightening and pulling away gently. “I guess that sun really was hotter than I thought. I'll just go take a warm shower and go to bed.”

Jubilee searched her face for a minute then nodded. “Don't forget that tomorrow's Friday, and Saturday there's that concert you said you wanted to go to. I'd hate it if you missed it 'cause you gave yourself sunstroke, Roguey, and you know you'd hate yourself, too!”

Rogue smiled and assured her friend that she would be fine as they parted ways at Jubilee's door. A five more doors down was Rogue's new room. She entered gratefully and shut out the world firmly. Then she headed straight to her phone and dialed a number.

“Bryan? I was wondering if you have plans for tomorrow night, say around 8:30?” For the first time she didn't smile when he said he was free. She was way too tense for that.

Rogue didn't hear the footsteps stopping outside her door as she made her call. She didn't see the clenched fists or the determined light in Logan's eyes as he tried to glare the door into splinters before turning and going to his own room just down the hall.

Around seven-thirty the next evening Rogue gave herself one last check in the mirror, absentmindedly adjusting the thin strap of her black sequined dress. The soft material started an inch or so below her armpit, ended mid-thigh, and hugged her curves in a way that left very little to the imagination. Silver stilettos, silver hoop earrings, and hair tumbled in a wild mane completed the picture. She gave her reflection a small smile with berry-painted lips and then turned on her heel and headed out of her room and down the stairs.

Rogue couldn't help but notice the number of heads, male and female, that turned as she walked by on her way to the garage. Kitty was in the kitchen and gave her a thumbs up and a wink around her bowl of ice cream. Rogue grinned back with some determination. This was going to be a night to remember because, if she had it her way, she would never have to have a similar experience.

The dark garage was no obstacle for Rogue, so she didn't even turn on the lights. She knew her Prius was close to the door, so it wasn't difficult to navigate to it. She opened the door and was about to slide in when light flared nearby then died to a dull orange glow.

“Going out tonight, darlin'?” His voice was low, deep, and maybe a bit dangerous.

“You bet, sugar. I've gotta take advantage when I'm not covered in bruises from training,” she answered as flippantly as she dared, sitting down and closing the door quickly. She winced as her abused ribcage, where she did have a nice big bruise, protested painfully.

As she started the car and pulled out of the drive, Rogue reflected on whether she had actually heard Logan mutter just before the car door closed, “Well, if that's what it takes...” The glow of the cigar disappeared from her rear view mirror, and Rogue breathed a sigh of relief she didn't even want to explain to herself.

---

Logan waited five minutes before hopping on his bike and heading for the nearest bar. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

---

Rogue arrived at Bryan's apartment building just before eight-thirty. She called up, and Bryan buzzed her in. A quick elevator ride up to the third floor brought Rogue to his door. He opened it with his familiar smile. Rogue returned the smile and walked straight into his arms.

“You look fantastic tonight, baby,” Bryan said, giving her a deep kiss that made her whole body tingle.

Rogue deepened the kiss further. She wasn't in the mood to pretend that this night was about anything except sex, rather like the way she had felt their first night together here. She hadn't been afraid then thanks to the memories in her head that at least gave her the technical details of what would happen, but she had certainly had some pleasant surprises from the female perspective. Another entirely satisfactory aspect of her times with Bryan was how long he could last and that he always made sure she'd orgasmed at least twice before he let himself go. Consideration definitely scored big points with Rogue.

Bryan's hands ran up and down her back. Even though Rogue purred a bit and moved closer, a part of her brain registered that it didn't feel quite right. She ruthlessly cut off that line of thought and attempted to focus solely on the way his firm lips slanted against hers, the heat that seared through her at his touch.

Not enough, whispered that damn persistent reminder in her head. Rogue pulled back a bit and asked, “Bryan, honey, could I have a glass of wine?”

He smiled down at her. “Rogue, baby, for you I've got champagne,” he said as they both ignored that she was still underage, just as they often did.

In fact, when Rogue saw the two flutes on his small wet bar she made a beeline for them. Bryan laughed as she snatched one up and sipped lovingly. Rogue just waited for the initial buzz to kick in, one that would hopefully allow her exactly what she wanted without running commentary in her head. Champagne in hand, Bryan led the way to his bedroom. Rogue always thought the room, with its stark white, black and brown décor, suited his sleek masculinity—something she was becoming more interested in with each mouthful of champagne that slipped down her throat.

Once Rogue finished her drink, Bryan took the flute from her hand and set both down on his nightstand. He pulled her into his arms for another long kiss. Rogue let herself fully open to the feeling of his hands on her body, something she wasn't sure she had done before. Sometimes she wasn't even sure she was aware who she was with, although he never commented about her using another name.

She let the little moans she knew he liked escape her as his lips blazed a path down her neck. His hands made quick work of her dress, peeling it off and flinging it away. Her own hands unbuttoned his white shirt so that she could run her fingers over the smooth skin. Despite the champagne, her mind insisted on wondering what it would be like if this were a more muscular, hairier chest. She reined thos thoughts in again and attempted to focus on the heat building inside of her. His very knowing fingers were dancing over the skin of her back, her stomach, her breasts, perhaps a little too lightly, but it still felt good.

Bryan's pants were a simple matter of a button and a zipper. Rogue pushed them down, along with his boxers, and then ran her hand up his thigh from where she knelt in front of him. She grinned up at him and took his cock in her hand, watching it swell. She rubbed for a few moments, slowly, and then she pressed her lips to the very tip. He groaned and twitched, and she smirked. She knew all of his buttons now; it could be so easy, so quick, but she wanted to take her time, make sure of her decision.

Rogue let her hot, wet mouth envelope Bryan's cock, sucked a few times, and then ran her tongue up and down the length of him. His hands tangled in her hair, she repeated this several times. Finally she stood, reached into his nightstand for the condom she knew would be there, and slipped it out of the foil and onto him. Then she allowed him to push her back onto his bed, the smooth satin of his comforter cool against her heated skin. Bryan pulled off her black thong, deliberately caressing her inner thighs. Then he joined her on the bed, kissing and fondling for a few minutes. Then his mouth found one of her nipples, and she moaned again at the pleasure of it. She didn't let herself think about how it would feel if it were a rougher, a little faster. This was Bryan's pace, and she liked the way it made her feel, really.

Bryan kissed his way down her stomach, commenting that it was his turn. Rogue fisted her hands in that cool satin as his tongue flicked her click then delved into her pussy, lapping up her juices. It felt so good, and yet, as Rogue glanced down through narrowed eyes, it wasn't his dark smooth head that she saw, but rather dark hair standing up wildly, golden skin and wicked hazel eyes. It was at that mental image more than the things Bryan was doing to her with his tongue that she came hard.

Rogue knew it would be selfish for her to leave then, although she had her answer, so she laid there for a moment to recover and then pulled Bryan towards her, over her. She sighed when he entered her, closed her eyes and let herself imagine. It was better that way, she told herself. She didn't want to be completely unresponsive, but the feelings were all so much different than what she now knew she wanted, wanted as a woman and not a girl.

Her moans grew louder, although she managed not to speak actual words. She was afraid of what she would say if she did. Limbs tangled, sweaty, Rogue let herself move with him as he thrust his cock in and out of her, over and over, then held him close as she climaxed and felt his answering shudders. Then it was quiet.

Rogue ran her hands over his back, slick with sweat, soothing him. She could tell that his orgasm had been so much more than hers, despite her pretending, and felt a little bad for it. But there was nothing that could be done about it now. Eventually Bryan pulled away and rolled onto his back. They lay there side by side for a few minutes, just recovering.

Rogue looked over at the lithe man beside her, the kind man who was unfortunately the wrong one. Thankfully she'd taken precautions early in their relationship to keep it as casual as possible, with little emotion involved. She hoped it had stayed that way on his part, because it certainly had on hers. The effects of the champagne were starting to wear off, so she moved onto her side, head propped up in one hand, and used her other hand to lightly run a finger over his ribs. Bryan chuckled and grabbed her hand, placing a kiss on her palm that somehow, perhaps because of her decision, didn't make her sizzle the way it would have only days ago.

“Bryan,” she said slowly. When he met her eyes, she smiled. “You know we agreed not to be exclusive, right?” She wanted to make sure that point was firmly on his mind.

Bryan sat up, pulling her with him. He smiled too, a little warily. “Yeah, I remember. You're not—were you wanting to change your mind about that?”

Rogue laughed at the slight note of panic in his voice, which instantly made both of them relax. “No, honey! I just wanted to let you know that, as much fun as we've been having, tonight will have to be the last time we do this. I—may have found someone I do want to get exclusive with,” she admitted.

Thankfully, Bryan just gave her a one-armed hug that was somehow more platonic than any they had ever shared, despite their nakedness. His smile widened. “So, the Rogue has been caught! Won't most of the guys at the club be upset!” His laugh rang out, reassuring her that he was fine with her choice.

Rogue hugged him back for a moment, then she pulled away, stood up and began searching for her underwear and dress. Bryan laughingly tossed her the latter from his side of the bed. She dressed, slipped her feet into her heels and then leaned over to exchange one last kiss with him.

“I'll let myself out. Good-bye,” Rogue told him with a wink as she pulled back. He smiled and waved as she glanced back before leaving. She returned both gestures.

Despite the physical activity of the past hour or so, Rogue felt energized as she made her way to her car. A chapter of her life was over, a short one, perhaps, but it had taught her quite a few things. On the horizon was the potential for a longer chapter, if she handled things properly.

Music blared from Rogue's open windows as she pulled into the mansion's garage. She was singing along at top volume with a grin on her face. It was with equal measures of relief and disappointment that Rogue saw Logan's empty spot. She wanted a little time before their next confrontation, and yet...

Rogue forced herself to get out of the car and head up to her room. A leisurely shower and fresh shorts and T-shirt were just what she needed. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to sleep because she was just too jazzed up, Rogue crept out of her room and back downstairs in the quiet of the—mostly—sleeping mansion. She made herself a bag of popcorn, grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge, and went into the TV room. After flipping the lights on, then realizing that it was much too bright and dimming them, she settled on the couch. Snuggling down into the comfortable cushions, Rogue flipped through the channels until she found a good thrill-and-slash movie. She hugged one of the cushions tightly, legs tucked underneath her, and prepared to enjoy the show.

Halfway through the movie, just as the usual stupid heroine, blond and busty of course, was about to be caught by the apparently telepathic villain who always manged to find her, a large hand clamped down over Rogue's mouth. Her scream muffled by the hand, she jumped up and turned her skin on automatically, a reflex she had been practicing. Rogue felt the draw even as she pulled away. The vague presence in her mind was all too familiar.

“Logan, how many times do you want me to be pissed at you for sneaking up on me this week?” Rogue hissed, turning to glare at the man behind her who was shaking his hand a little. Good, it must have stung. “And do you have a death wish or something tonight?” Chest heaving at the thought of what she might have done to him, Rogue dropped back onto the couch and stared at the screen without really paying attention to what was going on anymore. She crossed her arms as she switched off her power.

“Good reflexes, darlin'. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't scream too loud and wake up the whole house,” was all Logan said as he came around to sit beside her. Rogue could feel the heat of his skin as his arm brushed hers, and she allowed herself a small shiver, although she was still angry with him.

They sat there staring at the TV for a few minutes, neither one really seeing it. Finally Logan turned his head to look at her and said, “Thought you went out tonight.” She felt his gaze on her face but refused to meet it.

“I did. I decided to make it an early night,” Rogue said, pretending to take great interest in the movie for her pride's sake if nothing else. In truth, despite the irritation still sizzling through her, it felt much too good to be sitting next to him, arms and thighs barely touching.

“First time in a while,” was his only comment after a moment.

Rogue gritted her a teeth a little. “You have a problem with me getting a social life finally, sugar?” she asked, making a point of casually turning her head to look at him, eyebrow raised in a subconscious imitation of his.

Logan frowned a little before replying. “Maybe,” he said eventually.

Rogue's stare turned incredulous. “Really? You think it was better for me to walk around covered up like a fucking mummy?!” She only just managed to keep her voice low at the last second, but there was plenty of heat there.

“Yes.” Now Logan sounded irritated, too, and in the glow of the television his face took on a stubborn cast she remembered only too well. “It was better than watching anything with a dick panting after you, with you barely wearing a stitch of clothing.”

Rage pounded in Rogue's ears and gave her an instant headache. “Almost anything, you mean! What fucking right do you have to tell me what I should or shouldn't be wearing? Last I checked, sugar, we're not related, so get over the protective bullshit already,” she growled, starting to jump back up. His hand on her wrist stopped her, and she just looked down at it and then back into his eyes, glaring to keep back the tears that wanted to fall. Oh, god, was that all his stares had been about? Stupid fucking protective instincts? Rogue wasn't sure if she wanted to scream or cry more.

Screaming would have won, but Rogue kept herself in check and simply shoved a finger into his chest instead. “I don't belong to you, Wolverine, no matter what you might think. I have only myself to answer to right now, and I happen to enjoy going out and having a good time instead of sitting around this damn school wondering who I'll come close to killing next!”

Logan pulled her closer with a growl of his own. “What the fuck do you mean by 'almost,' Rogue? You're damn right we're not related, and it's a good thing because I sure as hell noticed you and all that bare skin!” His eyes racked her up and down, almost leaving a tangible trail of fire. “I also noticed you didn't bother waiting for me to catch up, either, before you were jumping in bed with the first willing fucker to cross your path!”

They were on their feet by then, not yelling but both furious. Rogue didn't mean for it to happen. It was like her hand lifted of its own accord and cracked, palm to cheek, against Logan's face with all the strength she had left. Then she turned to stalk out, but he caught her by the arm and swung her back around to face him. Rage and hurt mingled in her dark eyes, she glared up at him in the moments before his mouth captured hers, lips burning as they struggled to consume each other. When Rogue felt herself responding, felt her body pressing willingly against his, she jerked away and stared at him for a long moment before turning and finally making it to the door. When she was in the doorway she looked back at him and fired one more shot at the bastard standing there almost visibly restraining himself from strangling her.

“Maybe you would have noticed in time to do something about it if you hadn't been chasing someone else's woman. You're sure one to talk about my sex life, Logan. At least I was honest with Bryan. We both knew what we were in it for. Have you been as honest?” With that she ran upstairs to her room, slammed the door and locked it, then proceeded to cry herself to sleep.

She didn't see Logan sitting in the hall outside her room as she wept, tears of anger and frustration at his own stupidity there but refusing to fall as he clenched and unclenched his fists. When her breathing finally attained the deep rhythms of sleep, he stood up, stared at her door for several long minutes, and then went to find his own bed and try to sleep away the pain inside of him.

Rogue stared at her alarm clock from the haven of her pillow. Seven a.m. Damn. After the night she just had, all she wanted was to sleep in, but apparently her body had other ideas despite shitty sleep and a lot of crying. The icing on the fucking cake had been a recurrence of Logan's nightmare, possibly brought on by briefly using her powers on him the previous night. Just thinking about it was enough to bring back the anger and hurt from the words they threw at each other. Oh, sure, Logan had admitted he wanted her, but then he basically blamed it on her clothing and called her a whore! Rogue ground her teeth together, hand fisted into the soft cotton of her pillow, and without thinking about it she yanked it from under her own head and threw it at the door. Face plastered to the mattress, chest heaving and now both hands clenched into fists, she imagined what she'd like to do to Logan just then, and none of it was kiss and make up.

Then she realized that she could do better than just imagining. Rogue jumped out of bed and rummaged through her drawers until she found what she was looking for. She quickly stripped then pulled on black spandex workout shorts and a green sports bra. Briefly she considered a T-shirt then snarled, rejecting that as a hang up from her argument with Logan. She brushed out her hair, practically ripping through knots acquired tossing and turning while trying to sleep and taking perverse pleasure in the pain she was causing herself. Then she pulled the brown and white mass back into a ponytail, braided it and looped it around itself several times before securing it with a second hair band. She slipped socks and sneakers onto her feet, then she quickly brushed her teeth to get rid of the morning funk in her mouth. Finally ready, she opened her bedroom door as quietly as possible and made her way to the third floor access to the elevator. Rogue stepped in and said, “Danger Room” as the door slid shut behind her.

Rogue held herself tensely as the door to the sub-level opened revealing a dark hallway. As she stepped out of the elevator, the lights came on. Rogue cursed herself for jumping, especially since she knew the lights were motion sensitive. She listened for a moment but couldn't hear anyone else on that level. Reassured since she knew she was about to break the rules, Rogue walked quickly down the hall to the double doors that promised her some good old-fashioned stress relief. She blessed Scott silently for coming up with this as the door sensor scanned her retina, then she walked through the opening portal.

No one was supposed to use the Danger Room alone, although Rogue knew Logan did. Just then she couldn't have cared less about that particular precaution. She knew she'd been doing better than merely “good” at self-defense and combat training, especially hand-to-hand, for the past two years, classes that Professor Xavier thought were necessary for young mutants in the current times as a safeguard. Training with the team had barely broken her stride. The only difference had been the introduction to her new favorite place in the mansion—the Danger Room.

“Computer, open simulation FOH23,” Rogue instructed, calling up her favorite of the programs they had practiced with so far. It was perfect for her style of fighting.

Thanks to recent breakthroughs in holographic technology and the Professor's connections which kept them up to date on the latest, a dark forest sprang up around Rogue. She was standing in the middle of the only clearing in sight. She smiled, feeling the anger coursing through her. “Computer, play RogueWorkout,” she called out. That was her favorite play list. She had downloaded it into the school's internal network audio files long ago so that she could use it in the gym when she was by herself, really disliking those ear bud headphones. She knew the Danger Room computer had access to the network. Music filled the large room, the beat making Rogue twitch with the need to move to it. She was ready.

“Computer, begin combat simulation.”

Almost immediately, Rogue was being attacked by robots wearing holographic projections of generic Friends of Humanity fighters. One after another they came for her. Each blank face became Logan's in her mind as she kicked, punched, grappled with, slammed against trees and otherwise damaged the robots. Rogue felt a little of her anger draining away as she fought. Of course, there was the distraction of a foot finding her already-sore ribs, a hand grabbing her wrist and flipping her onto her back, an arm around her neck, choking her, before she managed a flip of her own. Pain shot through her with each contact, hers or theirs, making her fight back that much harder to let the physical pain wash over her and hopefully drown the emotion hurts.

Rogue was in the middle of delivering a high kick to the throat of one particularly persistent soldier when the program froze and her music stopped. Her kick knocked the soldier over, but there were no more attacks, and then the robots disappeared back into the “trees,” mostly likely really going back to their charging stations. Only outside interference from someone with command access could do that, she thought. There were only two people in the mansion with that kind of access, and she prayed silently that Scott had been the one to find her illicitly using the Danger Room, not—

---

Logan woke up from restless sleep for a final time at seven-thirty a.m. He admitted defeat at that point, got up, threw on a pair of sweatpants, and left his room. Scenes from the past night played in his head as they had all night, further darkening his mood as he headed down to the Danger Room.

Rogue wearing an excuse for a dress that made him want to rip it off of her and take her right there up against her car. Rogue curled up like the innocent kid he was very aware she no longer was, watching a scary movie in a dimly lit room. The feisty lecture about sneaking up on her. Those were the good memories from last night.

The lingering scents of Rogue, sex, and that asshole she kept meeting as he passed her car while going back into the house. The stupid things he'd said because she'd made him so angry by saying she wasn't his, and the slap she'd laid on him when he insinuated that she was whoring herself out. Her final words to him before she fled, words that hurt a hundred times worse than the slap because they were true, all of them. Those were the parts that sucked the most.

Balanced on a razor edge between good and bad had been her admission that he could have had her if he had only been paying attention. Also the kiss, the one he forced on her because it was that or strangle her. Remembering the feel of her body pressed against him, all soft curves and lean muscle, was making him horny, which just added to his need to beat something up since chances of him getting relief any other way seemed pretty slim just then. The Danger Room it was.

Only the Danger Room was already in use when he got there. Logan frowned and wondered which of the lazy fucks it could be since almost no one was awake at this time on a Saturday morning. He moved to the observation room and switched on the cameras. What he saw made him so enraged that his claws popped out reflexively, and it took some effort to draw them back in. Rogue was in there, alone, ignoring what she knew was a sensible safety protocol! Logan was momentarily distracted by the way she looked as she wailed on the hologram-cloaked robots, that body hugged by snug black and green and little else transitioning smoothly from one attack to another, a wild grin lighting her face and eyes with each impact.

Then a soldier wrapped his arm around her neck and squeezed until she flipped him over her own head, but not before Logan noticed how she gasped for air. Logan's fury returned in full force, and he entered the authorization to halt the program just as she gathered herself to kick another soldier in the throat. Then he slammed out of the observation room and over to the large silver doors. One retina scan later the doors opened to reveal hundreds of trees surrounding the small clearing where Rogue stood breathing heavily. She turned at the sound of the door opening, braced her feet and raised her chin defiantly as she met his eyes. Her grin had disappeared, replaced with a sneer.

“What do you want?” she asked as if she had every right to be where she was, putting herself at risk.

Logan kept his mouth shut as he paced toward her, deliberately slow as an animal stalking its prey might be. Her eyes narrowed and nostrils flaring, Rogue watched him warily.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” he asked, voice low and deadly cold as his eyes raked over her, checking for injuries and registering every bruise, every scrape and cut. He picked up the tang of her blood in the air and snarled.

“I had some anger management issues I needed to work out,” she drawled sarcastically, giving a little shrug.

Logan brushed off that hit. “Yeah, me too, darlin'. Thing is, when I use the Danger Room alone, I'm not endangering my life!” He couldn't help raising his voice.

Rogue just scoffed. “I can handle myself, Logan. I wasn't even using a potentially lethal program, just one for hand-to-hand,” she informed him stiffly. “But if you need to use it now, I guess I'll go for a run,” she said with another shrug as she turned to leave.

Logan was too angry to let her. “I don't think so, Rogue. Computer, lock door, authorization W69L16,” he said, smirking nastily when he heard the click.

Rogue spun around to face him, her eyes wide. “What the fuck are you doing?” she yelled at him.

“I'm about to show you how lethal hand-to-hand can be, darlin'. And no using your skin,” he said, circling her.

Rogue's eyes lit viciously, and she bared her teeth at him. “Then no claws, sugar,” she ordered as she braced herself.

Logan launched himself at her, fist headed straight for her face. Rogue ducked smoothly and used his momentum to ram her own fist into his solar plexus. The brief flare of pain and lack of breath gave her an opportunity to move out of his reach--almost. He reached out a hand and snagged her shoulder, slamming her to the ground. She was back on her feet in one fluid motion that sent a wave of lust pounding through him. She managed a kick that connected with the soft tissue of his side instead of his adamantium-reinforced ribcage. He grabbed her arm and spun her so the for one moment they touched chest to thigh before she stomped on his instep, the surprise making him let her go. It was in that moment of closeness that he caught the first whiff--aroused Rogue. She was getting as turned on by this fight as he was!

Logan blocked another kick from Rogue and used his grip on her ankle to try and send her back down to the ground, but somehow she managed to back flip and land on her feet. Logan used the moments where she was off balance to kick her hip, sending her to her knees with a shriek partly of rage, partly of pain.

“So far nothing lethal, sugar,” she taunted him as she glanced over her shoulder.

Logan charged toward her then, and she crouched on hands and knees, snapping one foot out at the last moment and catching the muscle of his thigh, knocking him off his feet and shoving so he'd land on the ground next to her instead of on top of her. He landed on his back. Rogue jumped on top of him, knee connecting with his stomach and hands pinning his shoulders momentarily. He caught her wrists and rolled, capturing her beneath him.

Logan froze, the feel of her body, slick with sweat and with so little as a barrier between them, bringing instincts he had to struggle to control raging forward. Rogue met his eyes and smiled that wild smile, licking her lips. Logan felt his control slip at the scent of her, anger and pain and arousal mixed together, intoxicating him as it combined with his own scent, tempting him to lift a hand from one of her wrists to run it up the soft, smooth skin of her side. Just as his fingers found her breast, exploring its roundness, Rogue wrapped her legs around his thighs, trapping them, and then she did the hottest damn thing. She flexed her hips and suddenly regained the upper hand by rolling them back over. Rogue's free arm pressed into his neck, bearing down on his windpipe as she lowered her mouth to his for a slow, very hot kiss. Logan caught her hips in his hands, fingers digging into her flesh through the spandex as he rubbed his erection into the apex of her thighs. Rogue moaned and the pressure on his throat increased for a bit before she pulled back. She stared down at him, panting.

---

Rogue wondered what to say as she met Logan's eyes, suddenly unsure despite their current positions. Catching her change in mood, he sat up and gently moved her so that she was draped across his lap.

“I'm still angry with you,” Rogue told him, watching his every move warily. She knew they were both still turned on by their fight—-evidence was currently pressed against her hip—-but she didn't want her first time with Logan to be marred by the words still between them.

Logan ran a hand through his hair even as he held her close with his other arm. “I shouldn't have said what I did, Marie. I'm just so damned frustrated...”he admitted. “I've been angry with myself for being angry at you for enjoying not having to bundle up for the last few weeks, even though I knew it was stupid to feel that way. Then I realized it wasn't just anger, and I guess the jealousy just built up until I couldn't see straight.”

Rogue sighed and raised her knees to wrap her arms around him, turning a little away from him. “I'm not going to apologize for my behavior, Logan. I really thought you were too busy drooling over Jean to notice me. I did my damnedest to get over you, too,” she muttered.

“I know,” Logan said darkly. When Rogue glared at him over her shoulder, he held up a hand. “I'm not accusing you of anything, okay? It was just really hard to watch.”

Rogue was quiet, eyes back on the holographic grass in front of her. “I told Bryan good-bye last night, you know,” she said softly. When he growled, she looked back again. “I know you didn't like him, but he was a decent guy who treated me well, and he didn't deserve for me to just drop him like he had the plague or something,” she scolded him.

Logan carefully wrapped his arms around her. “If he had hurt you, I would have killed him,” was all he said. Rogue snorted but didn't comment.

They sat there like that, silent, for a few minutes, each one unsure what to say next. Rogue's stomach made the decision for them by grumbling loudly. She laughed weakly.

“I guess I should get some breakfast,” she said, standing up. When Logan just sat there staring up at her, she raised her eyebrows. “You going to unlock the door, sugar?”

Logan got to his feet and sighed. “Computer, end program and unlock door, authorization W69L16,” he commanded.

Rogue gave him a look as they left the Danger Room. “69, huh?”

Logan grinned a little. “Yep.”

“And 16?”

Logan just ushered her to the elevator as quickly as he could.

After a breakfast relatively peaceful breakfast, broken only the occasional brushes of skin meant to drive each other crazy and one or two mind-numbing kisses, Rogue and Logan headed upstairs to shower. He suggested showering together to save time, and she glared at him. “Somehow I doubt you, me and a shower equals quick. I'll save that one for another time, sugar. Shower time is individual right now!” she said firmly, stepping into her room and closing the door.

Rogue gathered up underwear and a towel. She entered her bathroom and turned the shower water on so hot it would probably be close to scalding, then carefully she stripped away her exercise clothes and looked down. Somehow Logan hadn't noticed the faint darkening of her ribcage, which was good because he would have gone all over-protective and started lecture mode. Of course, if he had she could have just peeled down a little of one side of her shorts to show him the huge fucking bruise he landed on her with that damn kick. She'd taken most of it on the hip bone, and now the very black and blue evidence was staring her in the face, so to speak. She didn't tend to bruise easily, which meant that she'd taken one hell of a beating during her solo fight and then their little session—for lack of a better word.

Rogue stepped into the shower and whimpered in pain as the strong jets of water hit her skin. Unfortunately it wasn't the heat that was causing her pain, which made her wonder how she was going to get through the day without revealing her state to Logan. She was just going to have to try, she thought grimly as she slowly shampooed and soaped up, wincing each time she had to turn her torso or stretch out her leg on her bruised side. Raising her arms was a no-no as well, she discovered, and once she was out of the shower and turned her back to the mirror she was able to see a huge bruise along one bicep. This was Not Good. If Logan caught sight of any of these bruises...Rogue gulped a little at the thought. He was always trying to tell her to be more careful during training sessions, but she'd just get so into the fight that she wouldn't care or feel what was being done to her until an hour or two later.

And now you're gonna pay for it if Logan sees these, Rogue girl, she told herself as she slathered on lotion and slipped on underwear and her bra. After she combed out and dried her hair, she went into her bedroom and looked through the closet. She'd shoved all of her long sleeved shirts and pants into the back, ruthlessly relegating them to winter wear. Now she was just thankful that she hadn't burned it all. It would have been a terrible waste of clothes that she could have used again, but it had been so tempting a month ago...Rogue sighed and searched until she found what she was looking for.

A pair of black leather pants that fit her like a second skin and managed to limit her mobility enough that she might not give away how much her hip hurt went on first. A red tank top paired with a sheer black blouse became the next part of her attempt to misdirect Logan. She looked into the mirror and groaned, dropping onto her bed and burying her head in her hands. She was so screwed.

There was no way Logan was going to see her in this outfit and not realize that something was up. She hadn't worn this much clothing since gaining control of her mutation, and it definitely wasn't the season for it. He was going to ask questions. She wouldn't be able to lie to him, even if she wanted to, because he always knew when he was lying. Stupid mutation. Yes, she was screwed.

Resigning herself to a game of Twenty Questions, and swearing she wouldn't cave on the first one, Rogue opened her door. To her chagrin Logan was leaning against the far wall, looking as hot as usual in jeans and a white T-shirt, and he frowned when he saw her. His eyes flickered down to her bare hands and then back up to her face. Rogue tried to ignore him and started down the stairs, Logan sticking to her side and silent as she headed toward the TV room. Maybe someone would be in there, witnesses so that he wouldn't feel compelled to—damn it. The room was deserted. Granted it was barely nine o'clock, and it was Saturday, but wasn't anyone else awake? Anyone?

“Okay, Marie, what's up?” Logan asked as she headed over to the DVD cabinet, still carefully avoiding looking at him.

“I just thought it'd be nice to watch a movie together while everything is still so quiet,” she replied, deliberately misunderstanding him. She reached out blindly and picked a random movie as she felt him move in behind her. Her breath caught and she closed her eyes. She felt his hands on her shoulders. One hand slipped under the collar of her black shirt to caress her skin.

“Hmm...mutation still off,” Logan said, his voice low, his mouth so close to her ear that she shivered as his hot breath whispered along her skin.

Rogue forced herself to turn around and gaze up at him innocently. “Have you noticed that maybe the air conditioning is working a little too efficiently?” she asked, grabbing at the first desperate thing she could think of.

Logan's hands had dropped to her arms as she turned, and now he held her as his eyes traveled down from her face. He smirked, and then one left her arm to cup her breast. Rogue drew in a breath and felt her nipples tightening, and not from anything cold. She felt the heat pooling between her legs, making them a little weak.

“Yeah, it sure is cold.” Logan's sardonic voice broke through the sudden haze of desire she felt, and she looked up into his eyes. Big mistake there because her already wobbly legs went even weaker when she saw the passion there, and Logan must have noticed because his grip on her arm tightened. Unfortunately, that was her bruised arm, and she winced. There was no way that Logan, looking right into her face, could have missed that either.

Of course he hadn't. Rogue could tell from the way his face went from smirking to frowning in less than one second.

“Something you're not telling me, darlin'?” His low voice now had a dangerous edge to it, and Rogue tried to swallow the knot in her throat. She decided that counted as his second question, not his first, so she wouldn't be breaking her vow to herself if she answered.

“Well, I don't think it would be a good idea to walk around looking like a battered woman, you know? People, well, people besides the ones who live here, might start asking questions,” she said defiantly. Her bravado was false. She just knew she was in for it.

“Battered woman? What the fuck, Marie?” Logan growled, and some part of that found that so sexy that despite her precarious position she felt her desire for him grow by leaps and bounds. Down, girl!

Rogue tried for a nonchalant shrug, but it didn't help that she winced again because shrugging had pulled on her bruised muscle. “I'm just a little sore, Logan. That's all,” she tried to convince them, holding the DVD between them as an ineffectual shield.

Logan's hand left her arm, but before she could escape she found her black shirt being pulled over her head. “Logan!” It was too late. He was turning her to the side, and the black glare she saw when she glanced over her shoulder told her that he saw the bruise.

“You were just going to cover this up, weren't you?” he growled. Rogue watched him, tongue-tied and wide-eyed, as his gaze lowered to her pants. “And your legs?” It was harsh and contained a warning that she better not lie to him.

“Not...my legs,” she mumbled, turning away to look at the far wall. Anything so that she could try to control her blushes.

Logan pulled her closer. “Where?” Just the one word, but so very powerful.

Rogue broke. “My hip,” she said shortly, sending her own glare towards him. “Did you think we were exchanging love taps in there, sugar?”

Logan growled again and proceeded to peel down her waistband with one hand while he held her with the other. Rogue bit back a moan at the feeling of his rough skin against hers, knowing that she really shouldn't let him do this in such a public place and that she really, really shouldn't be getting turned on by any of it, especially not the way that the leather pressed into her bruise where it was still covered and hurt just a little, reminding her that it was there, who put it there, and how. She followed Logan's eyes down to the inches of pale skin he had exposed, and more specifically to the large black blotch spreading across it.

“God, Marie,” Logan groaned, apparently unaware of how his touch was seeping into her and turning every nerve center, especially the ones on that hip, into molten lava. “Turn on your touch. Let me heal you.”

Rogue just shook her head. “No.”

“No? Why the hell not?” Logan turned her back to face him. His hands were on her shoulders now, and she wanted to snap that she liked them fine just where they had been...but that would be revealing too much.

She refused to meet his eyes at first. Licking her lips, she told him, “I don't need to heal every time I get a bruise from fighting or...anything else. It's not like it's life-threatening, Logan.”

Logan's eyes narrowed, and his nostrils flared. Rogue knew he could tell that she had just lied. “What's your real reason, Marie?” he asked, backing her up until she felt the press of the DVD cabinet's shelves in her back and hips.

Rogue let her eyes meet his, and she had a sinking feeling that he knew. “I—like them,” she whispered hesitantly.

Logan stared at her. “You like bruises?”

Rogue ducked her head again, a blush stealing up her throat and spreading over her cheeks. “Not all of them, but...well, it's like a reminder.” Rogue peeked at him through her eyelashes.

Comprehension filled his hazel eyes, and his hands slid down to grip her hips, deliberately digging in slightly. Rogue moaned a little, and he smiled a very wicked smile at her. Ever so slowly he lowered his mouth to hers. He brushed her lips with his lightly at first, increasing the pressure of lips and fingers at the same time, and Rogue twined her arms around his neck to hold him closer. His lips parted hers even as one thigh pushed hers apart, pressing up against her and adding an all new pressure point. She whimpered, and he nipped her lower lip, almost hard enough to draw blood. She ran her hands through his hair, clenching them when he increased the pressure between her legs.

At the sound of high-pitched laughter and running footsteps, Logan abruptly moved away. They stared at each other for a few moments, trying to catch their breaths, and then Logan grabbed her hand and pulled her to the couch. In ten seconds flat the TV was on and ESPN was playing. Twenty seconds later, three students ran in, pausing when they saw Logan and Rogue on the couch. They noticed his arm around her and the way she was snuggled against him, but both had their eyes on the television screen, so the teens shrugged and went to the foosball table for a game.

Rogue concentrated very hard on breathing normally, although that felt like an almost Herculean task. Logan was rubbing her upper arm in little circles, probably in an attempt to sooth her, but since she could feel the tension radiating off of him it didn't help much. Rogue stretched up and whispered low so that only he could hear, “No more public places.”

He glanced down at her. “No more public places without locks.”

---

Logan looked down at the dark head leaning against his shoulder and smiled despite the frustrated sexual desires he was feeling. Damn kids just had to wake up, didn't they? Oh, well. It did feel nice to have Rogue cuddled up next to him, even if she had taken to teasingly sliding her fingertips under the hem of his shirt to rub little circles on his stomach, using her fingernails more than anything else. In retaliation Logan let his own fingers slip just enough into the waistband of her leather pants to find that particular bruise she didn't want to get rid of and press down lightly. She squirmed, and he could tell by the way that she pressed her hip even more firmly into his hand that it wasn't really in pain. There was the smell of her arousal again. He couldn't believe that she actually enjoyed being marked by him, especially the way it had been done, but it was such a turn on that he wasn't going to complain. Of course, from now on he was determined that any marks he gave her outside of combat practice were more along the lines of bites, nips, pinches....hmmm...

Rogue must have sensed the direction his thoughts were taking—it might have been the way that his hand was creeping up the smooth skin of her side—because she grabbed his hand and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “I'm really not in the mood for TV, sugar. Want to do something else?”

Logan let his eyes roam over her body. He smirked at her blush and said, “Well, now that you mention it...”

Rogue slapped his chest lightly. “That's not what I meant,” she said with a quick glance at the kids across the room. Thankfully they seemed absorbed in their game.

Logan tried for an offended expression, but when Rogue just grinned at him he shook his head. “Head out of the gutter, Marie. I was going to suggest that we go for a ride, maybe get some lunch somewhere, since you're already wearing leather. You'd just need to grab that leather jacket I got you for your birthday,” he said. He couldn't resist letting his hand wander back down to cup her backside for a moment, earning him a dirty look that quickly became excited.

“You mean on your motorcycle?” Rogue asked, her eyes shining. “I've been begging Scott to let me learn on his for the past year, but every time I mentioned it he'd just go all pale, so I kind of gave up. I don't suppose you'd teach me, would you, Logan?” she asked.

Logan felt trapped as he stared into those deep brown eyes and tried to come up with reasons why it wasn't a good idea for her to learn on his motorcycle, which was a newer version of Scott's. Every time he thought up a reason and tried to make his mouth open to say it, he'd get caught again. In the span of a few seconds he knew he was lost, though. He'd been quiet too long, and that hopeful expression was dying on that beautiful face...

“Yeah, Marie, once we get somewhere that I think is remote enough that you won't go killing anyone, I'll teach you how to ride,” Logan heard himself say. He managed not to wince.

Rogue jumped up from the couch, leaned down and gave him a quick kiss. “I'll go get my jacket!” she said, running out of the room.

Logan consoled himself over giving in by watching the way her breasts bounced as she left. Then he turned to see that the students playing foosball had stopped and were staring at him with smirks, like they knew he'd just been beaten.

“You know, I bet I could get real creative with combat training next term,” Logan said, a warning growl in his voice. The kids immediately returned to their games, smirks gone. Feeling just a little better, Logan prepared to spend the next few hours praying that Rogue was a fast learner and that his bike would survive.

Logan thought the best place to teach Rogue how to ride would be somewhere deserted enough that she wouldn't risk killing anyone—or damaging the bike much. So he picked a pretty remote area about an hour away from the school. He wasn't counting on the torture he would be putting himself though. Of course, part of it was her fault. In fact, all of it was probably her fault. Not only did she feel wonderful with her arms and thighs wrapped around him, not enough ten minutes into the ride she decided to play Explore Logan. One hand left the relatively safe zone of his waist to rub small circles up his chest before clutching at his shoulder when he swerved a little. She rested her head, safely encased in a helmet, against his shoulder for a minute before straightening again. He wondered if she was done.

She wasn't. Next the hand still at his waist began to migrate lower, tracing the muscles of his abdomen with just enough pressure not to tickle. He found himself wishing that hand was rubbing somewhere a little further down, and then it was. The surprise made him jerk the bike to the left, which sent them into the oncoming lane, thankfully empty, for a few seconds before he was able to regain control. He growled, and he felt her giggle. Her hand found a slightly safer place to play on his thigh, although the way she was massaging up and down really didn't help, especially when she would get just a little too high before slowly wandering back down. Logan gritted his teeth and did his best to keep the bike steady, although there were a few more close calls.

Finally they reached the spot he had in mind. It was the very large parking lot of a little-used metro park north of Salem, and thankfully it was empty of other visitors. Logan drew to a halt, grabbed the wrist of that adventurous hand, and with a quick yank pulled Rogue around so that she was draped over his lap. She just removed her helmet and grinned at him, wrapping one arm around his neck. He kissed her until they were both breathless.

“So, are you gonna teach me how to ride this thing, Logan?” she purred sweetly when they managed to break apart.

Logan closed his eyes briefly. “Sure, darlin',” he said in resignation.

He let her jump up, stifling the urge to pull her back. He could think of plenty of other things he'd rather be doing with—or to—her. The idea of her on his bike...he wouldn't shudder, he wouldn't.

Logan reluctantly got off of the bike and turned to look at it. “Okay, darlin', hop on,” he instructed. He watched her clumsily straddle the seat and kept the wince he felt from reaching the surface. “Now, adjust your mirrors.” He noted that this, at least, was established competently. Next he took her through the controls so that she would know how to do simple things like, oh, accelerate and brake, for now, as well as how to use the clutch and how to shift between gears. Finally, he thought she might be ready to do a small test drive. That's when he got his next big shock.

Rogue hit the kill switch, turned the key and the bike started back up. That's when she took off, with far more control and speed than he would have thought possible, and proceeded to do figure eights around him in the parking lot for a couple of minutes. When she finally tired of that and stopped next to him, he put his hands on his hips.

“You've done this before, haven't you, Marie?” he accused, trying to fight back the smile that wanted to pop out in response to her mischievous smile.

Rogue shrugged. “Scott was so insistent that I wait until my eighteenth birthday to learn, but then he kept finding reasons not to teach me. After a week of that, I decided screw it. Since it was summer break, it was sooo easy to drive into town for lessons for a week or so, just to get the hang of it. A...friend drove me to the DMV and let me use his bike,” she said. Logan wondered if that friend was the fucker she'd been sleeping with or just one of the others she'd toyed with. He shook his head to dispel the thought. It wasn't worth fighting about that all over again, and she had deliberately glossed it over, probably hoping that he would let the matter drop.

“In that case, what do you really want to do?” he asked, crossing his arms.

She smiled back, to his surprise looking a little shy. “Well, we're at a park. Why don't we just take a walk around? I bet there are some nice paths here,” she replied.

Logan returned her smile. “I'd like that. Why don't you park that thing, and we'll see what we can find,” he told her.

They wandered the peaceful grounds of the park, walking the paths that wound through trees and over streams. Their conversations ranged over many topics, some they had discussed before and others they hadn't, some of the little “getting to know you” details that they hadn't managed to get to before things went so far off course. Finally they ended the morning sitting on the bank of a small lake, absently trying to skip pebbles along the surface, which Rogue was very good at and Logan, surprisingly, wasn't.

Rogue rested her head on Logan's shoulder, feeling content for the first time in over a month. She'd been so restless, seeking something beyond these feelings she thought would never be returned, that it was so strange to just sit and feel at peace, especially in the presence of a man whose life wasn't exactly defined as peaceful. That was okay, though. Too much peace could be boring.

“What are you thinking?” Logan's voice was quiet as he slipped his arm around her.

“That I'm happy,” she told him truthfully. “I was kind of worried I wasn't going to find that again.”

“Weren't you happy these last few weeks?” he asked, rubbing his against her silky hair.

Rogue grimaced. “I think was trying really hard to be happy, but there was a part of me that knew I was just kidding myself. I...it was difficult to be happy when I hardly saw you,” she confessed.

Logan reached over and turned her face towards him, his fingers lightly caressing her cheek. “I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't be around me anymore, Marie.”

She smiled at him. “I'll let you keep apologizing on that one for a while, I think,” she teased him. Then her eyes dropped to his lips. “Of course, you could try persuading me to forgive you a little sooner...”

The kiss was softer than any they had shared so far, and it went a very long way towards healing the hurt in both of them. After they broke apart, Logan pulled her into his lap, cuddling her against him, and they stayed that way until their bodies reminded them that lunch would probably be a good thing.