The sound of heels on hardwood echoed in the main hall as Rogue hurried toward the door. She’d seen the van coming up the driveway and wanted to be near Logan, wanted to know he was safe.
Jerking open the door just as the van came to a stop she stepped out into the early morning light and smiled at the rumpled looking man who was stepping down from the drivers side of the van.
“Made it back I see,” she teased gently.
“Yeah darlin’,” Logan replied tiredly, driving steadily for three days had bought them some distance but would it ever be enough for him?
“I missed you,” Rogue whispered as he neared her, “I couldn’t sleep.”
Logan nodded pulling her against him and holding her gently, “Its done now, come on lets get some rest.”
Following his lead, Rogue let him lead her back to their bedroom and through the door. Closing and locking it for good measure she glanced at him as he sank into the overstuffed chair and began pulling off his boots.
“Kitty’s excited about getting away from here,” Rogue stated softly, a tremble in her voice and hands. Fear was a powerful emotion, and right now it was clogging her throat. Fear that he’d come to his senses, fear that he’d see her for the scarred monster she was, fear that she’d end up like Kitty – bitter and alone.
“Good,” Logan rose and pulled off his multiple shirts in one smooth motion before dropping them onto the chair and meeting her eyes, “What about you?”
Rogue shrugged out there no one knew her secrets, no one would care what her past was like, no one would…
“Marie,” Logan’s low growl had her glancing sharply at him. “Talk to me.”
“I don’t know,” Rogue replied softly. “I don’t know what I feel, or why. All I know is out there in a new place there are no reminders of what happened, of what I was made into. No one…”
“You’re scared, I understand that,” Logan said pulling her onto the bed with him, “I can’t give guarantees Marie, life isn’t like that. You have to take the good with the bad…”
“But you’re a Creed! You have a life, a family, a future here…we don’t. Jubilee, Kitty, me…we’re all excess baggage. We were made what would anyone want with that?”
“Ask Tank, ask Scooter, because I don’t know where their minds are but I know where mine is. You belong to me. You think I don’t see what happened? You think I don’t understand but I do. No look at me,” Logan ground out when Rogue turned away. Holding up a fist in front o fher face he let the claws out with a sickeningly familiar screech and held them there, “Do you look down on me because of ‘em? Huh? You think I’m excess baggage?”
“No,” Rogue whispered softly, “I’ve never thought that. I’ve always trusted you, depended upon you. I know I could survive without you but I choose not to. You’re missing what I’m saying Logan.” Rising off the bed Rogue paced, “Your mom is here, your brother, hell most of the answers you’ve searched for are here! Do you really think I would ask you to leave that behind? That I would willingly let you forsake what you’ve needed for the past twenty eight years?”
“My answers aren’t as important to me as you are!” Logan rose and stared at her silently willing himself not to say something that would hurt her, that would wound her delicate psyche. “I’d gladly spend the rest of my life not knowing as long as you’re there! You aren’t some fly by night thing to me, you never were!”
“But they know!” Rogue screamed waving a hand at the door. “They know you, they know things that I never will. I can’t give you that! I can’t give you answers to your past not like these people!”
“I don’t give a flying fuck about these people!” Logan shouted back, “If I had to choose between knowing I’m related to the overstuffed, rotten sewer rat ‘Tooth and never knowing who I am I’ll take the never knowing! I don’t care if they are my family by blood, if they have the holy fuckin’ grail Marie, they don’t have you!”
Rogue stared at him, her body trembling, her heart pounding, and a deep ache within her chest, “But…”
“I don’t care. They aren’t half as important to me as you are. I’d trade all of ‘em in a second for you, and Jubilee, and Kitty. You’re the family that matters to me. You are my family, my life and I’m never gonna let anyone or anything hurt you again.”
Blinking at the burning in her eyes Rogue barely felt the tears streaking down her face, “I don’t want to hurt you again,” she whispered softly, tearfully.
“Baby you couldn’t hurt me by loving me. The only way you’re ever gonna hurt me is if you leave, I need you. I love you Marie and nothing is gonna change that, not the adamantium, not the nightmares, not the fact that you didn’t escape the same fate as Kitty and Jubes,” he paused at her tensing. “I’m not stupid Marie, I pick up on things, I’ve always know.”
“But they didn’t..”
Logan sighed and pulled her into a tight hug, “The drugs baby, they block things, erase memories. No, they didn’t steal your virginity, what they did was even worse. But I don’t care about that, I don’t care who they were anymore. All I want is you, nothing else.”
With a broken sob Rogue nodded and clung to him, even as a soft knock sounded on the door, “Logan? Rogue?” Kitty’s concerned voice had Logan rocking Rogue as she cried.
“It’s okay kid,” Logan called just as Kitty phased through the door and eyed them, “Just had some things to work out.”
“You okay now?” Kitty’s gaze never strayed from Rogue who sobbed into Logan’s chest, unaware of the homicidal look upon his face, or the slow, steady oozing of claws from his fists at the thought that anyone had done what they’d done to her.
“She will be,” Logan replied as he slid his claws back in before he picked her up and put her into bed. “I’ve got her now Kitty, she’ll be safe.”
Kitty nodded and turned to disappear, “Logan? Did he get home safely?”
“Yeah,” Logan nodded holding Rogue tightly, “Dropped him off across from the school and watched to make sure nothing happened before I left. Next time though might not be such a happy reunion.”
Kitty shrugged, “I look forward to it.”
Nodding Logan held Rogue as she cried, his eyes filled with pain, with a knowledge that no one should ever have to endure. He knew what had happened in those cells, knew beyond a doubt that Rogue hadn’t endured the physical penetration of rape but she’d been be assaulted none the less. It was something revealed in her nightmares, something in the way she scrubbed her skin raw after each one that told him what they’d done to her and he hated them all the more for it.
Pushing aside any thoughts of vengeance for the moment Logan held onto the young woman in his arms until she’d cried herself to sleep. Listening to the hitching of her breathing even in her sleep Logan’s heart ached all that much more for her.
Nuzzling into her hair he stared at the wall at the growing light that slipped past the blinds, past the curtains. They needed a fresh start and soon, they needed to have the time and space to heal and while they’d done a lot of that here, they would never be able to fully heal until they’d faced their ghosts.
The biggest was Xavier and his team, Logan knew it, understood it and he knew that there would come a day when they had to face him but for now… now he could let them heal. They’d keep in contact with Helen and do the odd pick up, the odd rescue but their escape from the prying eyes of this group was to heal those scars that could be healed right away.
Determined to let them have that Logan snuggled closer to Rogue, holding her with one hand on her stomach as he slid into a light sleep, tomorrow they’d get started on finding a place, finding a new home.
Tomorrow Frankenstein would learn how to walk alone.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000