Logan levered himself back onto his feet and gave the assembled students a clipped, “class dismissed.” He gave Scooter a brief nod as the younger man rounded up his excited students and ushered them back into their classroom.
“Rogue, hold back a sec,” Logan called out as the crowd headed toward the mansion. He looked the kid over as she lay sprawled on the ground where he had tackled her. Her cheeks were flushed, lips parted, and eyes were closed, she looked gorgeous. He gave himself a mental slap upside the head and dug out a cigar. Lighting the tip and taking a long drag he got serious and started talking.
“We need to set up some ground rules kid. You are going to hate my fucking guts at the end of this. And it won’t just be me. You need to be ready for anything. That means attacks in the middle of the night, on your way to class, at breakfast, anywhere. And anyone. If this was just about technique I’d say fuck it and let Scooter teach ya. But it’s more than fighting, it’s about instincts. We’ll start off slow but it isn’t going to be easy. Chuck set up the class with the other brats to meet every other day, but you’re going to need more than that. Every afternoon in the gym or in the Danger Room or out here. Every damn day kid. If you can’t promise me that, can’t promise to be here and give it one hundred percent, then walk away right now.”
He paused to take another slow drag off his cigar, “I also need you to trust me.” Seeing that she was already opening her mouth, no doubt to protest that of course she trusted him, he continued on. “I’m dead serious Marie. But it is more than that, I need to trust you too and that is fucking hard for me to do.”
She nodded thoughtfully, “We need a safe word.”
In a less than manly moment Logan inhaled sharply, promptly choking on his cigar. A few sputtering coughs were all he could manage as he looked over at her with watering eyes.
“The shit that comes out of your mouth kid, I swear…”
Rogue’s eyes widened comically as she realized what he thought she had meant and blushed wildly. “Jeez Logan! Not that! We need a word that either of us can use and the other will just stop and walk away, no questions asked.” She quickly added, “I’m not trying to make excuses or get out of anything. But we need it in case…well, just in case,” she finished lamely.
Logan nodded slowly thinking over what she clearly didn’t want to say. That HE would need a failsafe in place. Would need an out if the wolverine got to close to the surface and he knew that with Marie it was bound to happen. As always he wondered just how much of his fractured memories were in her head. She said that she could still feel him, but she couldn’t have everything. Couldn’t have nearly everything or else she wouldn’t be sitting on the grass next to him and looking at him with friendly affection. He both wondered at and dreaded the answer. Time to find out.
“So Chuck was saying that you knew what I was feeling yesterday?”
She quickly nodded her agreement. “It happened in Ms. Monroe’s history class. You were pissed, like breaking things pissed. I think it was you anyway. Made me want to break stuff too.” Then she added under her breath, “Woulda be more fun than history at any rate.”
He gave a brief chuckle, “How far is your class from Chuck’s office?”
She thought for a moment, “Just down the hall, about 35 or 40 feet I would guess.”
Logan nodded thoughtfully, “Sounds about right.” He was silent for a few moments trying to figure out the best way to explain it to her. “If you got the healing you probably have the senses too. Distance matters for everything. Hearing – you’ll learn to tune stuff out, like white noise. If you have problems sleeping you can try earplugs. Might help a little. But yesterday, now I know this sounds fucked up, but you can smell emotions and use that to read people just as easy as any telepath. I *was* pissed at Chuck and Scooter yesterday.”
“And you’re saying I could *smell* that?” Marie gaped incredulously. “No offense Logan – but that *is* completely fucked up.” She laughed a little even as her brow creased in thought. “But why do I know what you are feeling then and not everyone else?”
Well, now was as good a time to ask as any. Logan plunged ahead, “You said that day on the train that I’m still in your head. Just how much did you get?”
She eyed him warily, “What exactly are ya asking sugar?”
He didn’t like that guarded look on her at all. “Kid…”
She stammered out, “Everything Logan. Everything.”
He stopped breathing, then he got angry. At her for still acting like they were friends, at himself for having such a fucked up head, at the circumstances that had forced her to live with him in her head. “How can you fucking sit there kid? You should be running for the damn hills.” He couldn’t believe it. Everything. Christ.
She tried to reassure him mistaking the source of his anger. “It isn’t like that. I don’t just wander through your memories. It’s more like I stuff I do will trigger something. Like Mr. Summers tried to make me take his mechanics class but I got there and kept calling him Scooter and telling him that he had the timing set wrong on the Porsche and was he really that stupid.” She paused as Logan barked out an involuntary laugh. She smiled briefly at him and continued, “I never knew anything about motors but then all of a sudden I did. I could take the bike apart and put it back together if I had to. It’s weird ya know?” Then quieter so that even he had to strain to hear her, “I would never invade your privacy like that, you know that right?”
He did. He was a bastard, “Kid I’m not mad at you.” He thought a minute about what she had said, “It’s probably the same thing with the senses, the me in your head recognizing something. It’s weird thinking that I’m in you head sensing what the actual me is feeling.”
“You’re telling me.”
He took a deep breath and tried again. “You can ask me anything Marie, we’ll figure this out as we go. But it might be worth it to look through the ‘me’ in your head or even touch me again.” He held up a hand to halt her protests, “Figure since I know how to fight that you know now too if you are willing to look for it. Just need to practice until it becomes reflex. Maybe talk with Chuck, see if he can help pull those memories up.” Seeing the thoughtful look on her face he figured they had had enough serious talk for one day and decided to change the subject entirely.
“Hungry?”
She looked up at him with her big eyes and nodded.
“Off your butt then lazy,” he teased.
She stood up slowly and dusted the grass off her jeans, “Let’s go.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry this was so long coming!