Not many people thought a good old-fashioned brawl made for a relaxing time, but then again most people weren't Wolverine. Ten to one had been fair odds when he started. Now he was beginning to think he'd made it too easy.

Logan lined up the perfect punch to take down the last guy. Yep, too easy. Smiling, he made the final swing and his opponent vanished into thin air. With a growl that would scare the fiercest of the X-Men, he spun toward the entrance of the Danger Room. There stood Jubilation Lee.

"What?!" he ground out. Logan didn't take kindly to being interrupted and it was rare these days to have the Danger Room to himself.

"Rogue had an incident." Jubilee didn't wait to see if he would follow. She was already jogging down the hallway with him hot on her heels.

Logan took a deep breath when they entered the elevator. They'd passed the infirmary, which was a good sign. "What happened?"

"We were outside, studying for finals. Okay, messing around, when Rogue lost control. Dr. Grey was there and checked Kitty out. Kitty didn't even really go down or nothing, but Rogue panicked and split." They exited the elevator on the floor that housed the junior team and those in college. "She's locked herself in the bathroom and won't come out. That was over an hour ago and we can't get her to even talk to us."

In Rogue's room, Kitty was standing by the bathroom door. "Come on, honey, you didn't hurt me." Kitty turned to them with a weak smile. "I peeked through the door earlier, she's okay. She just isn't going to come out for us."

"Alright." Logan knocked on the door as the two young women left the room, shutting the outer door behind them. "Marie?"

"Go away, Logan." He could barely hear her over the sound of the shower.

"No can do, Darlin'." Slicing the lock would have been a simple solution, but Xavier didn't need another repair in a mansion full of mutants learning self-control. On the nearby dresser he found the answer, grabbing a bobby pin, he straightened it out then stuck the end through the small hole in the middle of the knob. The lock popped and he opened the door.

Steam lay heavy in the room even though the vent fan was doing its best to carry it away. Rogue's clothes were haphazardly strewn across the floor. He could hear the muffled sob coming from behind the partition of the shower room.

Logan's preferred method was a tough no holds barred tongue-lashing. This was what he used with the students in training sessions. No crying allowed in his class. But they weren't in class and what Marie needed at this moment wasn't an ass kicking for her behavior.

She had struggled long and hard to gain control of her mutation. Even dressing in layers for months after learning just to be safe. Her last slip had been almost a year ago with him during a sparring session. At the time she had apologized profusely then used his analysis of her fighting to score points.

So what was different? What about it made her lock herself away from her friends?

Most, if not all of Logan's former students would testify under oath that he was not into coddling people. Furthermore, they all knew his soft spot for Rogue and would readily admit even she received no favoritism from him. When it came to life, he thought they all needed to buck up and learn to cope. Probably the exact reason he was put in charge of training the junior X-Men.

That was his public persona. In private he was willing to let Marie get by with just about anything. Though he didn't think this particular situation was a healthy way to deal with life, who was he to judge given some of his choices.

The least he could do was meet her halfway. This called for compassion and understanding, and since Xavier wasn't present; Logan would have to do his best.

He stepped into the opening of the shower room to assess the situation. Marie was seated on the floor hugging her knees in the scalding shower spray. She was completely nude except for a pair of gloves. Her usually pale skin was bright pink with darker red spots where it had been scrubbed raw.

This was not how Logan had wanted to see her naked for the first time. Reality always had a way of crushing long held fantasies.

"Marie, will you talk to me?" He'd hoped his mere presence in the bathroom would spark a reaction.

Indignation would have been Rogue's first choice on most days, but today was a new low and he could stand there staring at her for all she cared. Even when he walked past to turn the water to a more comfortable level, she didn't budge. He sat down next to her fully clothed, minus his boots and belt, and leaned back against the wall.

"Bad day?" he asked.

It was the same tone he used when she thought she'd failed Algebra I her first semester of college. That day, he'd let her finish off his beer while he smoked a cigar. One of those little ways he had of letting her know he cared. Here he was again, letting her know he had a shoulder she could cry on.

Rogue had already done her best to deal with this. Scouring herself head to toe, hoping to wash away the layer of her skin that carried her mutation. It wouldn't make a difference, but at the time it had seemed like the ideal plan.

Logan pushed the mop of wet hair away from her face. It was puffy and blotched red from all the tears shed. Every line of her body spoke to the misery she'd let herself sink into. Taking one of her hands, he pulled the waterlogged glove off; then did the same with the other hand.

Her hands were a mess of broken nails and bleeding fingertips. Gently he kissed the palm of one hand. A sob was wrenched from her throat. Logan didn't do mushy and yet she'd reduced him to this.

"You've slipped with me before," he said, kissing the other palm. "Why's this worth tearing yourself up for?"

She leaned into him then, doing her best to cover her breasts. In turn he ignored her awkwardness and put an arm over her shoulders, drawing her closer. This was their standard comforting posture, no matter who was doing the comforting.

"You don't mind. I can't even count the times you've offered your healing up to help me." Rogue began picking at one of her broken nails. "But Kitty, who wouldn't hurt a fly, was scared to death. She held it together pretty good, but in her head she was really afraid that I was going to kill her." Logan placed a hand over hers, keeping her from picking at her poor hands. "One of my best friends is scared of me."

"You know every time I pop the claws, I can smell the fear. It oozes out of their pores. Used to make me sick to my stomach." Rogue was nodding her agreement. He had to smile at the things she got him to share. Chuck wouldn't have been able to drag that out of him.

"Do you ever get used to it?"

Looking up at him with those big brown eyes, he couldn't lie to her, not at a time like this. "It gets easier. Some people get over it, some never do." He shrugged. "Not much you can do about it."

"So suck it up and get on with life?"

"Yeah, something like that." Logan puffed out his chest. "I'm not half bad at this touchy-feely shit."

Rogue snorted. "Stop, you'll make be snot."

He chuckled. "Okay, maybe I'll stick to practicing on you."

She sighed, looking up at him again. He was the one person she could depend on to be completely honest with her. Well, not completely. There was still that part of him that loved her; he tried to hide it from her. She'd known about it for quite sometime and let him keep his secret. Though right this moment she could see it in his eyes. He wouldn't have done this for any other person and yet he still held back.

His eyes slid from hers, afraid he would push too hard, make a misstep that sent her right back to crying. Instead he focused on her shoulder. Shoulders were safe, they told you that in all the anti-sexual harassment seminars he went to for teaching. However, Marie's shoulder was bare and led to the rest of her naked body. This was the wrong time to be thinking of such things.

"Uhm…," he cleared his throat. "Can I offer a little bit of healing?" He waved a hand at her bright red shins.

"Yeah, I probably look a real mess," she said smiling at him.

Holding up two fingers a fraction of an inch apart, he intended on saying - a little. But she had placed a hand on his sideburn and was bringing his face a fraction of an inch from hers.

"Don't be afraid of this, Logan. You won't hurt me."

Marie had always known how to poke holes in his armor. She'd let him keep his distance, but maybe he needed this bit of counseling as much as she'd needed his help only minutes ago.

Her full lips opened under his and he couldn't remember why he'd been waiting. There had been some fear of losing her, but that was a silly thought. She was pulling him down sweeping her tongue into his mouth and he knew she wasn't going to let him go.

He pulled back, breathing hard. "Marie,…we were supposed to be healing you."

"Mmhmm, I got a little distracted," she said, glancing down to his hand on her breast.

Carefully, he moved his hand back to her shoulder. Somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered something about trauma. Marie's shoulders may not be completely safe, but right now it was safer than her breast. Maybe it was best to stop for now and not cover recent trauma over with sexual desire.

She gave him an impish smile. "Later?"

"Yeah. We should get out of here before we both end up with heat rash in places we'd rather not have it."

He stood and offered her a hand up. When she took it, he felt the slight prickling sensation of her mutation pulling at his and then releasing it. She stood in front of him good as new and gave him a hug.

"You know this didn't quite live up to my daydream of us in the shower," she teased.
He smiled down at her, pushing the white strand of hair behind her ear. Logan was sure; from the look she was giving him, he wouldn't be holding back from her much longer. "How about we get dressed and go get something to eat?"

Rogue stood on her tiptoes and gave him another kiss. "I need to talk to Kitty and Jubilee first." She turned, grabbed a towel and tossed one to him. "Then, Logan, you can show me a good time."

"Yes, Darlin'." He emphasized the point with a wink and a snap of the towel that caught her butt cheek. Logan laughed at her squeal of delight. Holding out was a thing of the past.

~*~