“So I told him I won’t be a dishwasher. Come on, like I would stoop that low.” Craig Woods was the kind of guy she hated. The kind that are insensitive and full of themselves. Sure he was cute, probably why Jubilee set her up with him in the first place, but he was obnoxious and self centered.
“So what do you do for a living?” She was trying her hardest to be polite and get his attention away from her breast and somewhere in the vicinity of her eyes. She had liked the way she looked when she left the house with her new black jeans tucked into knee high boots, white cotton tank top, black bangles on her wrist and a black beaded necklace that came down to her navel. She thought it was perfect for her without being too sexy but now, with his eyes on her, she felt exposed and she didn’t even have a sweater to cover herself.
“Nothing right now but it’s fine, I live with my parents so it’s not like I need the money.” It took a lot of restraint to not yell ‘check please’ after that.
~Bobby, I’m going to smack him in a minute~ She had let Bobby out of his box two minutes into the date and was having a better time with someone’s conscience than with the man in front of her.
~Relax Roguey
~But he’s such an ass. Can I hit him? Just once? I won’t even close my fist.
~I know this guy’s an ass, but you can’t hit him, you have super strength. Just get out of this date now. This is definitely not the guy for you.
She excused herself to the bathroom; she put Bobby back in his box and set the timer on her cell phone to go off in five minutes. Back at the table, she sat through five minutes of self-absorbed talk and him staring at her breast again, before her phone went off.
She took it out, looked at it, looked at him, said “Excuse me but I really have to take this” and proceeded to put on an Oscar worthy performance.
“Hey. Is everything ok? Tell him he’s going to get into trouble if he wakes the little one. Is she feeling any better? No. Ok. I’ll be right there. Bye.” She closed the phone and looked at her date who looked disappointed.
“Sorry. It was the babysitter one of my kids is sick. I got to go.” She picked up the napkin in her lap and placed it on the table.
“You have kids?”
“Yeah. Five”
“Five?” All the color drained from his face and suddenly he looked thrilled to see her go.
“Yeah. Scott’s the oldest, then Kurt, the twins Katherine and Georgia, and the baby, little Jean. All my friends say I’m the most fertile woman they know. I swear if I even think about having sex, I could probably get pregnant.” She let out a little laugh. “If you want to continue this date at my house we can. It wouldn’t take that long to put the kids back to bed, especially if you help me. God, the kids are going to love you.”
“Actually. I have to be going home anyway, my mom doesn’t like it if I wake her up when I get home too late. Bye.” Then he got up and left as fast as his feet could carry him.
“Great, it worked so well I got stuck with the bill. Shit.” She muttered under her breath as she got the waiters attention.
She left the restaurant thirty-nine dollars and eighty-two cents lighter, which meant she didn’t even have enough money for a cab home. Sure, she could call someone and ask them to be at the door with money to pay for her cab or even to pick her up but she wanted Jubilee to at least think she gave the date a try. It was still light out at eight o’clock so she decided to walk.
She walked half a mile, cursing her heels, the unnaturally cool night for summer and her lack of jacket or sweater the whole way, before she sat on a curb and pulled her boots off wiggling her toes in relief. After a moments rest she collected her boots and continued walking. Her plan was to walk the several miles to the mansion and hide out at her spot in the woods until she was sure everyone was asleep and sneak in.
It was another half a mile before she heard a motorcycle, the first sign of life she heard since she turned on this road. She didn’t look at the bike as it drove past her, she didn’t even look up when she heard the engine stop but she did look up when she heard a gruff voice call out.
“Marie?” Her head snapped up and she saw Logan straddling a motorcycle that looked vaguely familiar. “What are you doing out here by yourself at this time? And why are you walking in your socks?” he looked at her slightly amused.
“Long story short, I was set up on a date from hell and these ain’t exactly walking shoes.” She was on a date. His hands clenched into a fist and he felt a pang of … actually he wasn’t sure what it was, just that he didn’t like it.
“He didn’t even give you a ride home? What kind of asshole does that?” She was sitting down on the ground slipping her feet back into her boots.
“Sure, like you drive all those ‘friends’ of yours home when you’re done with them.” She laughed when he gave her a hard look, “Relax, I was just joking. Not like you can call what you do with them a date. Booty call is more like it.” She giggled again, thinking that maybe she had too much wine, but then remembering she needed it to get through the date.
“You want a ride to the mansion?”
“I would but I don’t want to go home yet. I know the girls are probably waiting up for me and I don’t want to tell them it was a bust. Thanks anyway.” She waved and started to walk away but he didn’t want to let her go. He really enjoyed spending time with her which was different for him because he never liked spending time with people, he tolerated them, he didn’t intentionally want someone around him, like he did her.
“Wait.” She stopped and turned to him, “Get on, I want to show you something.” She looked at him, her head tilted slightly and her bottom lip between her teeth, debating if she should get on the bike. “Come on. I know a place that you’ll love.” He held out his hand and before she knew what she was doing, she took it and used it as leverage as she swung her leg around to sit on the bike behind him. “Hold on.”
Logan was thankful for the roar of the cycle because once she wrapped her arms around his middle he let out a satisfied growl right before he took off. He drove for a few minutes enjoying the feel of the woman on his back before he veered off the tar road and onto a dirt one leading deep into the woods. The ride became a little bumpier and Logan felt every shift and jiggled of Marie’s breast against him, he was in heaven.
After another few minutes the bike slowed to a stop.
“We’ll walk from here. It’s not long.” He grabbed her hands and pulled her behind him. She struggled to keep up to him as he weaved through bushes and trees. Soon the woods thinned out to a clearing and the view was breathtaking. It was about a twenty feet by fifteen feet clearing surrounded by thicket on three sides, the fourth side of the clearing was a cliff overlooking more woods and in the distance houses and buildings. The sun was more than three quarters of the way set and everything was painting in golds and oranges and fiery reds.
“Wow” she was awed by the sight.
“You like it?” She turned to look at him and she bit back a smirk, he looked like a three year seeking approval.
“You were right. I love it.” He seemed truly pleased by that answer. He walked right to the end of the cliff and sat down, his feet dangling over the edge of the very high drop, then patted the spot next to him as he looked up to her. She raised her eyebrows and gave him and expression that said “you got to be kidding me”.
“Just sit down, if it’s sturdy enough to hold my body with all the metal in it, it could definitely hold you no problems.” She shrugged her shoulders and sat next to him. They sat in silence for the next seven minutes as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon, the full moon the only light for them to see by now.
“Damn. I can’t remember the last time I saw a sunset. I really should take the time to see them more often.”
“I try to see one whenever I can. The only thing better than a sunset is a sunrise, now that’s something.” He watched her for a second as she looked down at the drop. “You ready to go back yet?”
“No, but I don’t want to keep you. You can go. I’ll find my way back. I’m going to stay here for a while.”
“I got nothing better to do.” She muttered an ‘oh thanks’ that his hearing picked up. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that you’re not keeping me from anything. I want to stay here with you.” There was a moment where they locked eyes and she tried to bite back a smile as she blushed slightly. “Stay right here, I’ll be right back”
She scooted back away from the ledge and removed her boots for the second time that night as she waited for Logan to come back from whatever he was doing.
“Why do you keep taking off those boots?” She didn’t look up from her feet as she rubbed them when she answered him.
“I haven’t broken them in yet and they hurt my feet.” She looked up to see him with a duffel bag in his hand. He sat down in front of her and rummaged through the bag.
“Here” He said as he removed a bottle of whiskey and handed it to her. Once she took the bottle he forcibly grabbed one of her feet, pulled it into his lap and began to massage it.
“What are you doing?” her face the picture of confusion.
“You said your feet hurt.” He never failed to amaze her. The corners of her mouth were raised as she whispered an ‘oh’.
“Thanks. What’s this for?” She lifted the bottle.
“I thought we’d drink it.” He spoke as if to a child. She rolled her eyes at him as she cracked the seal. Logan watched mesmerized as she brought the bottle to her lips and drank from it. She didn’t wince or make a face like most women he seen drink, she drank like a man and he wondered if he found himself a decent drinking partner. Time will tell.
She passed him the liquor and rubbed her arms, she really regretted not bringing some type of jacket. Logan noticed and put the whiskey on the dirt next to him, so he could shrug off his leather jacket.
“Here, put this on.” She grabbed the jacket and slide her arms into the oversized sleeves.
“Who would have guessed you were the chivalrous type?”
“Who knew you weren’t such a princess?” He smirked and decided she looked good wearing his jacket, covered in his scent. The jacket was several sizes too big for her but was warm, which was all that mattered. She pulled the sleeves up until she was able to use her hands. She thought the jacket smelled of evergreen trees, fuel, a distinctive smell that had to be pure Logan and tobacco. Speaking of tobacco, she searched through her purse for her cigarettes and lighter.
“You smoke?” He wasn’t judging her just asking, as he took a swig from the bottle.
“Sometimes but don’t tell anyone. I picked it up in Paris, everybody smokes there plus it calmed my nerves. If Scott finds out, he’d kill me.” Ok maybe not kill her but there will be disappointment from the fearless leader who believes in putting only healthy thing into the body.
“I won’t.” he then leaned over and felt around into one of the pockets of the jacket Rogue was now wearing, pulling out a cigar. She handed him the lighter and he passed her the bottle. “You and Scott are close, aren’t you?” She took another healthy shot of whiskey.
“Not at first. When I first got here, I thought he had a stick up his butt.-”
“Still does if you ask me.” She giggled before she continued.
“I hated how anal he was about, well everything. But after Bobby died we mourned together, became close. Bobby was a mixture of son and brother to him. That’s why he looks after me now. He feels he owes it to Bobby.”
They spent the next half hour in comfortable silence, which surprised the hell out of Logan. Any time he spent with other women, they always wanted to talk and when there was silence it sure as hell wasn’t comfortable. But this he enjoyed, they smoked and passed the bottle back and forth between them. He liked that he could taste her on the bottle, vanilla and wine but just barely.
She shifted so she was sitting next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. The liquor was affecting her ability to hold herself up, but still she said nothing, just grabbed the bottle away from him and drank. ‘I definitely found myself a drinking buddy’ he thought, but he found himself wishing it could be more. He didn’t know what to do with her. When she put her head on him, his body reacted in a way that surprised him, he felt warmth and contentment, but he also felt possessiveness. He’s never felt these things for someone before and it scared the shit out of him.
She liked the way he felt next to her. Warm. Solid. Strong. She felt safe when she was around him. But that was odd because she hardly spent any time with him and at first they couldn’t stand each other, yet here they were getting drunk together, truly enjoying each other’s company. When she first saw him she thought he was hot, sexy, attractive, pick you adjective, but she had standards. A guy had to be more than flat abs and a tight ass to keep her interest. Then she got to know him and he’s proven to be a good guy and she knew she was the only one who saw his redeeming qualities which left her with mixed feelings.
On one hand she thought it was a shame that everyone in the mansion saw him as a dumb, mean mutant, who was only good at fighting and scaring people. But on the other hand she liked that she was the only one who saw that part of him, made her feel special and it’s been a long time since she felt special. Since Bobby and that was… wow that was almost four years ago. Had it really been that long since she was with a man? In a relationship? Shit.
Logan was so unlike Bobby. Bobby was Mr. Prom King, as American as apple pie and baseball, could have easily been an Aeropostale model with his clear blue eyes, sandy blond hair and slim athletic body. He was a prankster, constantly the center of attention, a sneaky grin permanently on his clean shaven face, his heart on his sleeve.
Logan was almost the total opposite of Bobby. He’s big and muscular, black hair styled into two ridiculous points, that somehow works for him, thick muttonchops and hazel-gold eyes that you could get lost in. He’s the kind of guy her mama back in Meridian warned her about. He’s gruff and crass, some might even say vulgar, with a hair trigger temper. But he’s also thoughtful, smart, surprisingly caring, and funny in his own way. He had a strong sense of what was right or wrong for him and he stuck by it.
She tilted her head back to see his face, he was just enjoying the view the cliff offered to them.
“How c-come you’re not dr-drunk?” She hiccupped.
“Part of having a healing factor is it takes a lot to get me drunk.”
“Ssh-shit. That’s not fair. Next time w-we drink together, you have to take four shots every t-time I take one. Deal?” She sat up straight and held out her hand for him to shake. At least that’s what she intended to do. Her body was still not ready to hold her up and she ended up falling back, her outstretched hand slapping him in the face with more force than he was expecting until her remembered her super strength.
Logan smirked and shook his head, not wanting to let on how much it truly hurt, as she lay on her back, trying to apologize through her laughter. He leaned back on one elbow and turned to face her.
“You ok? You fell back pretty hard there”
“Oh my god!” More laughter. “I’m so sorry I slapped you.” Even more laughter. “I- I’m fine. I-” She stopped laughing when she realized how close his face was to hers. “Wow.” She whispered, suddenly feeling very warm.
“What?”
“I never seen eyes that color before. They’re beautiful.” If anyone else had used the word ‘beautiful’ to describe him, he would have punched them but coming from her, he liked it. She brought one hand up to run through his hair then brought it down, tracing his cheek along his jaw and across his lips.
He froze, his eyes wide his breath stuck somewhere in his throat. He couldn’t understand how a simple touch could get his heart pounding so fast and so loud he was sure she could hear it.
She mistook his temporary paralysis for fear and pulled her hand back quickly. Once her soft fingers left his skin, he was able to breath again.
“What was that for?” Not that he was complaining.
“I shouldn’t have touched you. I’m sorry. But you don’t have to afraid my skin was off.” He raised his eyebrow in confusion.
“I wasn’t afraid. I was shocked.” He needed to make her understand that he could never be afraid of her.
“Then why did you freeze up?”
“You don’t have to have poisonous skin for people not to touch you. I don’t exactly give off the touch me vibe now do I?” She smiled sadly at him.
“No I guess not but still to not be touched is a lonely thing. At least I had a legitimate reason” He felt something in his chest at that moment but chalked it up to heartburn or … something.
“Let’s get going, you got to be ready for bed.” He went to stand but she stopped him.
“Can we just stay here?” her voice soft almost pleading.
“You want to sleep out here?”
“Yeah, why not? You strike me as the outdoorsy type.”
“I’ve done it before but what about you, darlin’? A dirt ground ain’t the most comfortable place to sleep.” She rolled her eyes at him.
“You have to stop thinking I’m some princess or something. When I was hitchhiking I used to curl up where ever I could, including church steps, parks and dirt ground, especially if I couldn’t get a ride or if I didn’t trust to sleep around the person who was giving me one.” He wished he could have protected her from that and then immediately dismissed the thought. She made it out fine and she’s the person she is now because of it.
“Ok. Sleepover in the woods it is.” As she took off the jacket he gave her, he moved his duffel bag behind him and lay back using it as a pillow. Then he remembered that she had nothing to put under her head. He was going to offer his flannel shirt or maybe a rolled up pair of jeans he had in the bag, but she lower her head onto his chest and covered herself with his jacket. This is much better, he thought as he wrapped an arm around her.
He watched her as her breathing evened out and eventually she was sleeping. He was amazed that she was here, with him. She’s so unlike anyone he ever met. She was breathtakingly beautiful. There was no other way to describe it. His finger slipped easily through her deep brown locks, the bolts of platinum framing her face making her look unique, then he remembered how she got them and he growled, vowing to make metal-head pay for what he did to her.
He felt like a teenager (not that he remembered what it was like to be one), all awkward and unsure of himself. He’s been with other women but none that he ever felt like taking home or caring about. He soon fell asleep, his hand on her bare waist, feeling happier than he ever remembered being.
Rogue slowly woke up, not looking forward to the day because of the hangover she was feeling. The sun was far too bright for her liking and she brought an arm up to cover her eyes. She was surprised when the pillow she was using took a deep breath. Tilting her head back she saw it was actually Logan. She bit her lip, smiling thinking how even in his sleep he was sexy.
All of a sudden he whimpered, shaking his head back and forth and mumbling in his sleep. He seemed to be in physical pain. She put her hand on his shoulder and tried to shake him awake. He growled loudly, sending a flock of birds that were sleeping in a nearby tree soaring into the air, sitting upright in an instant, the ‘snikt’ of his claws coming out echoing through the clearing right before they sunk deep into her chest, coming out the other side.
She tried to draw breath but found she couldn’t, feeling like a fish out of water. She looked down and saw Logan’s three claws embedded in her chest. *Hmm, I guess my invulnerability has one weakness… Adamantium.* She slowly lifted her head and saw Logan’s beautiful eyes, panicked and slowly filling with tears.
“Oh God. I’m sorry.” Another ‘snikt’ and she jerked forward as she felt the blades pull out of her. “Oh God Marie. I’m so sorry.” This couldn’t be happening to him. He was having a nightmare about those fucking doctors and the unspeakable things they did to him and the next thing he knew, his claws where in her. God no, he just found this woman who was … well he didn’t know what she was to him yet except that she was special and now he – God no.
She wanted to warn him, she really did, tell him she could fix this, make herself better but that she had to touch him … with her skin on, but she couldn’t. She felt the blood rushing into her lungs, felt the rattle, or maybe waves is a better word, of the blood against the inside of her lungs as she tried to apologize to him, that she would only take what she needed but it would still hurt. She flipped the switch and instantly felt the buzz of her skin. The last thought that went through her mind as she brought her hand up to his face was ‘Dear God, this must’ve been what Bobby felt’.
Logan felt liquid cold rush through his veins the moment her fingers touched his face. Then the cold was quickly replaced by fire bursting open in his body and even though he never felt such pain, he was grateful that she had the wisdom to put her skin on and think about self preservation. He just hoped he could heal from whatever was happening to him. As his world faded to black and he started to slump back, he caught a glimpse of her skin knitting itself back together and heard her take a deep gasping breath. *At least she’s alright*
“Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead.” She repeated in her mind over and over as she tried to catch her breath. Other than the slow movement of his chest barely rising he was deathly still. She quickly crawled over to her purse to find her cell phone and call Scott. Flipping it open, she noticed it was off and cursed herself for shutting it off last night because now she had to wait for it to power up. Once it was on she dialed the mansion and waited for someone to answer.
Ring. 'Pick up, pick up.'
Ring. 'Damn it, answer the fucking phone.'
Ri- “Hello.”
“Scott. I need help. It’s Logan.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
A/N:: ~ ~ = Internal dialogue
' ' = Thoughts
' ' = Thoughts