The next day started with plenty of promise, Rogue thought. She rose just after the sun and set about cleaning her room, which desperately needed it. Straightening out her clothes and junk somehow managed to help her straighten out the muddled thoughts in her mind. After her cleaning extravaganza, Rogue treated herself to a late breakfast with her best friend. The great thing about Jubliation Lee was that she could basically carry on an entire conversation by herself. All one had to do was nod and toss in the occasional "I know!"
It all made for a pretty relaxing start to the day, getting Rogue's mind off the events of the previous evening. Too bad it wouldn’t last.
The two girls decided to add a workout to their agenda, remembering that early weekdays were usually a less crowded time to hit the training room. Though both women were vital team members, and Rogue had even been given a shot at running a squad, they both preferred to do their training when the place wasn't crawling with the “big guys” or the more tenured members of the team.
"I mean, I don't mind my share of lookin'," Jubes said, popping her gum and increasing her pace on the treadmill. "I just always feel like a pip-squeak, pushing around my dinky 20 pounds while Pete's benching 250 plus! Plus...I always feel like he stares at me when I'm in here and I don't want looking at me while I'm all sweaty and grunting."
Rogue almost fell off her treadmill with laughter. "You sure about that, Jubes? I bet he'd luuuuv to see you sweaty and gruntin'!"
Both of them laughed loudly until their privacy was interrupted by Ororo Munroe.
"Hello ladies," the weather witch smiled politely.
"Hello," they said in unison, trying to be on their best behavior. Some habits died hard.
Over the next half hour, their gym sanctuary was invaded by a stream of other residents, including Warren, Bobby, Kitty, and Peter - followed not too long after by Victor Creed.
"What is up with the rush hour traffic 'round here?" Jubes huffed in protest. "Don't they know this is *our* sweatin' time?"
"Guess not," Rogue mumbled, trying hard not to notice the feral gaze that was tracking her.
Jubilee sighed dramatically. "Although...the view ain't so bad," she added quietly, waggling her eyebrows in the direction of the free weights, where both Peter and Victor now stood.
"I mean, I know the guy's a creep...but if you forget all that, you know, maybe put duct tape on his mouth and tie his hands behind his back - he's not so bad on the eyes,” she continued. “Scruffy and hairy, but so is Logan...it's manly in a scary bad guy kinda way," she said with a mock growl thrown in at the end.
Rogue glanced in their direction but didn't want to sound too interested. "Who you talkin' about Jubes, Colossus or Sabretooth?"
Jubilee managed not to laugh. "Girl! Seriously. I don't think Colossus qualifies as scruffy...or hairy." After a long pause and a hard stare in his direction she added, "You know...I bet he shaves...everywhere!"
Unable to hold it in, both girls erupted into laughter. Rogue's chuckle died quickly when Victor blatantly eyed her from across the gym.
"I'm uh...I'm gonna go move some heavy stuff around," she said quickly to her partner in crime as she left for the far side of the room where the weight machines stood.
"M'kay, Rogue-y. Happy sweatin'!" Jubes called after her.
Rogue concentrated on a rowing machine, her back to the rest of the room, until her space was encroached upon by Victor. He took a seat on the machine next to her, inhaling deeply and cocking his head in her direction.
"So..'Rogue-y'. You plan on hittin' the showers after this?"
Rogue ignored him, thinking maybe if she didn’t react, he’d get bored and go away.
"'Cause... you know, if you need a hand, I'm here for you. Not like I haven't seen all you've got before."
She let the weights drop with a loud clink, drawing a few stares.
"You come near me again, Creed, and I won't hesitate to drain you this time. Just enough so I can kick you while you're down!" she hissed, quietly.
Victor's eyes flashed at her threat. "Oh I wish you would, angel. Why wait? Do it now - see what's *really* on my mind."
A hand shot out to grab her elbow as she got up to get away from him. Rogue's hand wrapped around his wrist to pull it free and an open challenge danced in his eyes. He didn’t believe she had the nerve.
Taking a glimpse around to see that no one paid them any attention, she let her mutation open up.
She tried to only brush him - just enough to weaken his hold, but a surge of energy shot through her and made him falter, shaking his head, pain written on his face. The touch was lightening fast, but it was enough to get the brunt of his main thoughts...and they were all about her. Rogue in the shower feeling helpless in front of him; Rogue fighting in the Danger Room, barking orders at him, being in control; Rogue in his hands, loosing all that control and loving every minute of it.
The images made her stare back at him in silence. Shock wasn't the right word, because she could have guessed someone like him would have lewd thoughts. It was the intensity of the images and feelings, like a bolt of lightening, that surprised her.
Logan picked that moment to enter the gym, but didn't notice the two of them at first. Her gaze swept from Victor to Logan and back again.
"Told you. He's never gonna see you like I do," Victor said plainly, rising to his full height and towering over her.
She looked back to Logan who was now staring right at them. His eyebrow arched at the sight in front of him. Her eyes pleaded with him to come to her aid; in two blinks, he was right beside her, staring down his nemesis.
"You protecting your little girl, Logan?" Victor snarled in disdain.
"Not my little girl, Creed - but she doesn't look like she wants you anywhere near her and I'll take any excuse to kick your ass again."
His laugh was low and mocking. "Dream on, runt! I'll leave her alone for now, but only because we're done talking. Isn't that right, sweetheart?"
Rogue scowled while watching him smile slyly at them both before leaving the room.
"You okay, kid?" Logan asked with one hand on her shoulder.
Turning to face him, she saw his concern and nodded. Kid. That was her alright. She was the little girl. Child and Protector - and she played right into that part of him. Damn it! Forget any sparking moments in the study, forget how he could and had touched her, forget that she was his squad leader and a full grown woman to boot; she was just a kid and Logan had rescued her - again.
"I'm fine Logan," she muttered before walking away. It would not happen anymore. She could take care of herself. From now on, she'd just have to handle Victor Creed by her own terms...with no rescuing from anyone.
*******
Logan was still keyed up and looking for an excuse to vent some pent up aggression when he sought solitude on the mansion's back veranda. He’d had worse run-ins with people like Creed before - but something about the man just set his blood to boil.
First off, he wasn't wild about how the bastard had stood way too close to Rogue, intimidation through invading her personal space. Second, he didn't like the look in the man's eyes. Even if he was always up to no good, he'd looked particularly up to no good in the training room. Third, he didn't like the comment about them talking, even less the added 'sweetheart' thrown in at the end.
A quick flame lit the end of his cigar before he leaned back in one of the chairs, stretching his long, jean clad legs and taking a deep breath. The urge to pick a fight with Creed right there in the gym was strong, but it had to take a back seat to what was 'best for the team'. It was such bullshit sometimes, but the last thing anyone needed was two team members pummeling each other, getting blood all over the weight machines and those fancy elliptical things that everyone thought were so great. Still, the need to do some kind of physical damage to the blonde behemoth was making Logan's knuckles itch. If he was thinking of messing with Rogue - giving her some kind of trouble, he thought, that jack ass better think again.
Just then, the focus of all his animosity came into view. Victor Creed sauntered towards him, leaned his heavy mass against the thick concrete rail, and eyed him conspicuously. Logan blew out a huge puff of smoke in his direction and smiled to see Victor squint through it.
"You need somethin' Creed?" he asked, clenching the cigar between his teeth. God it was gonna feel good to irritate that bastard. Messing with Scott had lost some of its shine and Sabretooth made for a despicable adversary. If Logan couldn't beat the ever-loving shit out of him, then he'd have to settle for being a royal pain in the ass.
"Yeah, actually I was lookin' for something," Victor smiled and Logan wanted to knock the smug expression right off his face. "I figured you were the man to come to for the information I needed, so here I am."
Logan laughed then, his head tossed back arrogantly. "Oh you want something from me? That's rich. Not likely to happen, but let's hear it."
The expression on Victor's face didn't falter. "Don't think this information will be any real stretch for you - I wanna know where the hell a man goes around here for some action."
An arched eyebrow was Logan's response.
"The action," Victor repeated. "Don't play dumb with me Wolverine. I know that if anyone knows where the dive bars, the cheap booze, and the loose women are around here...it's you. I'm lookin' for all three...but the third is a requirement," he added with a sly grin.
Repressing a surprising urge to roll his eyes, Logan locked his fingers behind his head and leaned his chair back.
"Awhh...is Sabretooth gettin' lonely?" he taunted. "Needin' a quick drink and an easy fuck?"
"Well it's either that," Victor said and crossed his massive arms over his chest, "or work my way through the women here. Which would you prefer?"
The feet of Logan's chair hit the floor with a thud as he jumped up to stand toe to toe with the man. "You keep your fuckin' dick in your pants around here, asshole," he bit off, standing with his finger in Victor's face. "I'm only barely tolerating you because it's what the Professor wants. You so much as think about crossing that line and I'll make sure you got no fuckin' dick to worry about, you got it?!"
"Relax," Victor forced a chuckle but the flash of a challenge crossed his eyes. "All I wanna know is where you go for your tramps. I'm just tryin' to be one of the good guys now. It’s not my fault one of these little tarts has got me so worked up I gotta come to you to find out where to get my rocks off. Maybe if she'd quit being such a damn cock tease I wouldn't have a problem, but she keeps flauntin' that sweet piece of southern ass in front of me and won't do shit for follow up."
Logan had heard enough, yet part of him wanted to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of his claims. He wasn’t going to give this asshole the satisfaction of even letting on that he knew exactly which ass he was referring to.
"Creed," he warned, "you're so fuckin' full of it! No one here is flaunting jack shit for you. No one is teasing a goddamn thing for you, so drop it now or you and I are gonna have a big problem."
"If I'm so delusional, runt - if that minx ain't playing the tease for me, then why the hell does she keep seeking me out? Giving me the eye and wantin’ to talk to me? Tell me why she's sneakin' around, leaving her things in my locker."
Distrust, suspicion, and anger had Logan's hands drawn into tight fists ready to strike out.
Suddenly, Victor flung something towards him, making Logan reach up to catch it against his chest. It was a small piece of pink lace, a tiny thong with a little dark pink bow in the front.
"Smell familiar?" Victor's voice rumbled.
Logan's hand clenched around the scrap of lace just before he punched Victor in the face.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
“It all made for a pretty relaxing start to the day, getting Rogue's mind off the events of the previous evening. Too bad it wouldn’t last.”