Chapter 9: Actions speak louder than words
Scent, emotions, image, one after the other at dizzying speeds as Rogue tried to organise all the new information from the latest Wolverine ‘download’ into something that made sense. She had been sat in the middle of her bed for over an hour already, trying create order out of such a confusing reaction. The Wolverine’s uncertainty over his own reaction certainly didn’t help her understanding along either. Somehow it seemed as if the explanation behind the Wolverine’s reaction was hidden from him, in the same way that her own history was hidden behind a strange partition in the mess of her brain. Did this mean they had a past in common somehow, or was it just the same technique applied by different shady groups?
Rogue sat in the middle of her bed, hands wrapped around her knees, her whole body radiating tension. Usually meditation was enough to organize a new collection of memories and to calm herself down after the stress of the precipitating ‘touch incident’. More than an hour spent meditating on a very short burst of thoughts and she was no further in understanding it. Rogue refused to acknowledge that part of the reason she was having trouble processing this new information was that it affected her more that she would admit to even herself, that having his primal thoughts in her head was...right, somehow. So the answer was to stuff it away and not think about it until she was far away enough from Wolverine to be certain she was not going to act on it.
As if conjured by the power of intense reverie, Rogue sensed Wolverine nearby. His power was already fading from her system, but there was enough left to know that he was outside her door. She could faintly hear his heart beating steadily, but slightly faster than normal. Did that mean he was going to attack or that he was still feeling the effects of their encounter? And his scent, she couldn’t ferret any details out other than the certainty he was on the other side of her door.
Wolverine and Rogue stood on either side of the wooden door; neither prepared to initiate the conversation that they knew was inevitable, yet neither one was prepared to back down yet. A yard away from each other, nerves twanging as if the mere physical presence of one another was enough to bring every cell to attention. A sigh finally came from Wolverine’s side of the door, followed by the soft sound of his movement away from the door. This sign of his defeat in their contest of wills forced Rogue’s hand to wrench open the door and stand in the entrance, every fibre of her being wiling her to reach for him, hold him close and not let go. The only outward sign of this overwhelming urge was a hand reached out to him, a quiet “wait”.
Logan turned, having only managed two steps before he heard the doorknob turning and Rogue stepped through the door as if she were rushing to stop him. He would have been able to walk away if she hadn’t reached for him, her pose almost the same as most of their previous encounters, except for the clear intent. Her eyes were wide, lips parted slightly as if about to speak and a waft of that tantalising aroma. The word ‘wait’ had barely passed her lips before Logan had crossed the short distance between them and halted an inch away from her, a fierce expression of desperation on his face. His bare hand hovered over her cheek, a hair’s breadth from touching, his body almost vibrating with tension as he moved his hand around the outline of her face, down her neck to finally come to rest in a fist by his side to resist temptation.
Their breath mingled as they stood opposite one another, so close to touching and yet both unwilling to cross the line from enemy into the unknown. Breathing quickly and shallowly, Rogue stared up at him, fighting every instinct to lean into his hand and press herself against the length of his body. She argued with herself that this was far from a normal reaction, she never connected with anyone, she was alone in the world and that was the way things would stay. But to have him so close, almost drowning in his presence, made it difficult to reason well. Her hand reached up of its own accord again, the lightest brush of her bare fingers against his whisker-protected cheek and his eyes squeezed tightly closed to savour the touch. At long last it was Rogue who broke the silence, somehow breaking the tension at the same time.
“Logan...”
His eyes opened and she dropped her hand, taking a step back so she could breathe and attempt to think more clearly. This was the first time she had ever used his real name to address him face to face and he knew this held huge significance. Before she could ruin the moment by giving in to the human need to explain and over-analyse everything, he decided to take action. Logan stepped forward, crowding her again with his sheer physicality and buying himself time.
“Don’t move away from me, you know there’s somethin' here. I ain’t ever felt somethin’ like that before and I’m damn sure you ain’t by the look on your face. This is real and I’m goin’ to find out what’s goin’ on, even if Chuck hasta get involved. You really wanna let this pass you by without findin’ out why?”
Moving slowly so as not to startle her away from him, Logan wrapped his fingers around a lock of her hair, keeping his eyes fixed on hers as he lifted it to his nose, taking a deep breath and inhaling every molecule of scent he could. The same instant feelings rose up again, less overwhelming because they were expected, but no less powerful.
Later he would blame his actions on insanity brought on by too much of her scent overwhelming his common sense, but secretly he didn’t regret a moment. Leaning in, his hand still wrapped possessively in her hair, he pressed his lips to Rogue’s as lightly and gently as he could. For one second it went exactly as he planned; all the thoughts associated with her scent were at the forefront of his mind and he focused on passing those to her somehow, hoping her skin worked the way he had assumed. Then, like a match to touch paper, his reaction was ignited in Rogue and he didn’t care about the reaction or scent anymore. Her hands entwined in his hair, every inch of her body plastered against him, lips pressed to his as if he were oxygen and she a drowning woman.
Even as he felt himself draining into her, he clung to her, arm around her waist and hand anchored in her hair, conscious thought a forgotten thing. Nothing mattered, only the feel of her body under his hand and the taste of her on his tongue. A moment to rejoice in finally laying claim to his mate and then nothing.
Rogue gasped and pushed Logan away, drawing in deep breaths to steady herself as Logan fell into the hall unconscious. She pressed her palms to her forehead; her eyes squeezed shut as she fought for control over her mind, to push Logan’s overpowering presence into his own corner of her brain. It took Rogue every ounce of control to stand away from him and attempt to calm her hormones along with her emotions, trying to find common sense again. It seemed that without an adrenalin-filled fight leading up to a close encounter, Logan’s visceral reaction to her presence translated into overwhelming need for intimate contact. In some part of her brain, Rogue felt Logan’s presence, pleased that he had finally imprinted his scent all over her and that she had done the same to him.
Rogue kneeled down so she was by Logan’s feet, her finger’s brushing against her lips absently as she stared at him. When was the last time anyone had kissed her, willingly touched her bare skin? Her lips tingled slightly from their fierce kiss and she allowed a small smile to escape. When he was conscious again she would give him hell for his behaviour and allow her anger at his presumption to make itself known, but for now she revelled in the memory, determined to savour every micro-second of contact.
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Chapter End Notes:
Sorry for the short chapter and late update folks; bronchitis knocked my socks off for a few weeks and made it difficult think of much beyond cough syrup and House MD! But two chapters in one month is not bad, I think this updating thing might become a habit :). Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!
As with the last chapter, this is not beta-read, so if anyone knows someone with an interest in W/R and some free time please let me know :).
As with the last chapter, this is not beta-read, so if anyone knows someone with an interest in W/R and some free time please let me know :).