“The man’s a sadist.”
Rogue glanced up at Jubilee’s words and grinned at her friend who was panting for breath as she leaned against a wall. Several of the X-Men trainees had just completed a Danger Room simulation with Logan and as a result there wasn’t a student among them who didn’t have battle scars or extreme heart palpitations. Even Rogue, who was always head of the class, wasn’t left unscathed; her knee was oozing blood from where she had been struck by a flying piece of metal and she was now vainly trying to staunch the flow with her hand.
“C’mon Jubes, Logan ain’t that bad,” she said. “If ya layed off the junk food a bit, ya wouldn’t be havin’ irregular heartbeats right now.”
“Are you insinuating that I’m getting heavy?” Jubilee growled threateningly. “’Cause if you are, I’ll have you know that I’ve been the same weight since I was 15 years old.”
Rogue bit her lip to keep from laughing at the indignant scowl on the shorter girl’s face and instead turned to Kitty who was sprawled on her back on the floor, her chest heaving. “How ‘bout you Kit? Are ya regretting all those late night runs to the McDonald’s drive thru?”
“I’ve…just…renounced…the…Big-Mac,” she gasped in reply as she slowly hauled her body into a sitting position. “Physical exertions of any kind should be banned. Sitting in front of a computer is way better.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Rogue asked, one hand still clamped over her bleeding knee. “Ya don’t get any rush from a computer.”
“You don’t get sweaty either,” Kitty replied in disgust, swiping her hand across her dripping forehead before shooting an envious look at Rogue. “And why the hell aren’t you all hot and sticky looking? It’s not fair! Me and Jubes look like we’ve escaped from a gulag and you’re sitting there looking like you’ve just come from a photo shoot.”
Rogue shrugged and said easily, “Well, ah have been trainin’ with Logan longer than you guys. Maybe ah’ve just adjusted to his – “
“Sadistically cruel teaching methods?” Jubilee interjected. “At this rate we’ll all be dead before we even join the team.”
Before Rogue could reply to this, Logan stalked to the middle of the room and called out, “Alright, break’s over so everyone listen up.” Silence immediately reigned as the students watched him attentively; they all knew that when Logan spoke, they had to listen. Kitty even went so far as to try to curb her erratic breathing so the sound wouldn’t reach his ears.
“You’ve all made a lot of improvements,” Logan was saying as he paced the room. “But you’re still nowhere near ready to be on the team. I saw way too many amateur mistakes that would cost you your lives if we were really in battle.” His eyes roved over the crowd of sweaty, red faces before he paused on Piotr who appeared to be the only person not out of breath. “You, Tin-man,” he barked, making the big Russian straighten his shoulders with self-importance. “You did really well out there. You completed your objective and finished the session without a mark on you. Good job.”
Piotr’s chest visibly swelled with pride as he shot a smug glance around the room, but his victory was short lived as Logan continued. “However, you were so preoccupied with saving your own hide that you forgot about your teammates. Moonstar has a concussion from some debris that bounced off you because of that.”
“Oh, I’m alright Sir,” Moonstar slurred from where she leaned against Cannonball, her eyes glassy and unfocused. “I’m just admiring all the pretty colours… and has anyone ever told you that your hair is really pointy? I mean, like... whoa.”
The students in the classroom's eyes widened collectively while Logan looked momentarily at a loss for words for once before composing himself. “Sam!” he bellowed, causing Cannonball to outwardly cringe. “Didn’t I tell you to take her down to the infirmary?”
“I’m sorry, Sir,” he replied contritely. “I just wanted to hear if… you maybe had anything to say about me? Any suggestions for improvement?”
Still pacing around the room, Logan glared at the young man and growled impatiently, “Here’s a suggestion: when I tell you to do something, do it! Now get her out of here before she passes out.” Turning to the rest of the class, he raised an eyebrow at them and clapped his hands together loudly. “OK, everyone up. I told you, break’s over. Get your sparring partners and get to work.”
With muted groans of protest, the students slowly rose to their feet and began pairing up to begin practice on their hand-to-hand combat. Rogue got up as well, but with none of her usual fluid grace. Her still bleeding knee was throbbing badly and before she could hobble more than two steps, Logan was suddenly beside her, his hand holding her elbow gently.
“You alright Kid?” he asked, concern evident in his hazel eyes as he looked down at her injury.
“Ah’m fine Logan,” she replied with an airy laugh. “Ah just gotta walk it off. Gimme a few minutes to work out the kinks.”
“You’re bleeding,” he stated firmly before he placed one hand on the small of her back and began to guide her towards the room that served as an office. “C'mon, I think Scott keeps a first-aid kit in here somewhere.”
From their positions nearby, both Kitty and Jubilee dropped out of their fighting stances as they watched the pair vanish in the small room while the door closed behind them. Slowly their eyes met, identical expressions of incredulity on both their faces as Kitty asked, “Has he ever offered you medical assistance before?”
“Hell no!” Jubilee exclaimed, her eyes staring at the closed door as though she could see through it. “In this class you’d have to lose at least a pint of blood before he’d even notice you’re hurt." A frown creased her features as she considered her words before adding, "And even then he’d probably tell you to mop up the floor before he'd let go to the Med-Bay.”
Kitty pursed her lips together, her brow furrowed in thought. “Huh. And Rogue still says there’s nothing romantic about her relationship with him? This is beyond the buddy stage. Did you see the way he was touching her?”
Jubilee nodded, still staring at the door.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Kitty asked, her eyes boring into the closed door of the office that Logan and Rogue had disappeared into with an intensity that equaled her friend's.
Jubilee nodded as she squared her shoulders. “Yes. What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t spy on them? I mean, Wolvie’s got a healing factor; what the hell does he know about first-aid? For all we know he could be amputating her leg right now! It’s our duty to watch out for her best interests.” Meeting Kitty’s eyes, she said, “Let’s go.”
As unobtrusively as possible, the two girls slowly meandered towards the direction of the office, both trying to be as nonchalant as possible. The rest of the class was still absorbed in practicing their fighting techniques; even though Logan wasn’t watching them, they all knew better than to fool around after he had given them a direct order to work. They had learned from painful experience that ignoring their teacher was about the equivalent of playing Russian roulette, so as a result no one was really paying much attention to the pair furtively making their way to the closed door.
Kitty was humming the tune from ‘Mission: Impossible’ under her breath when they finally reached their objective, prompting Jubilee to elbow her sharply in the ribs. “Would you quit it?” she hissed. “We’re aiming for stealth here! Like James Bond? Instead you’re giving me Chris Farley!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Kitty replied, sinking down into a crouch beside her friend. “So how are we gonna do this? Sneak a peek through the window?”
“And miss hearing what they’re saying?” Jubilee scoffed. “Not a chance. C’mon, let’s get away from the door. You can phase our heads through the wall or something.”
“Won’t he smell us?” Kitty whispered fearfully as she followed the other girl to a less obtrusive spot along the wall while Jubilee merely shrugged in response.
“Nah,” she replied reassuringly. “That office reeks of feet and old socks. He probably won’t notice a thing.”
“I am so getting skewered,” Kitty muttered to herself as they positioned themselves in front of the wall of their choice. Both kneeled on the floor, hands joined, and with one last glance around the room to make sure they weren’t in direct view of anyone, finally pressed their heads through the wall and into the office.
Rogue was seated on a wooden chair across from Logan, who had an assortment of medical equipment spread out beside him on the bench he was sitting on, the open first-aid kit placed on the desk a few feet away. As he fiddled with several loose pieces of gauze, Rogue watched him silently though her lips were quirked in a gentle smile before she said, “Really Logan, ah told ya ah’m fine. It’s hardly even bleedin’ anymore, see?”
“It’ll leave a scar if it’s not disinfected,” he replied gruffly before he gently enclosed her ankle in his hand and drew her injured leg towards him, resting her foot on the bench between his legs as he scooted closer to her. With a studious expression, he lightly fingered the torn material over her knee for a moment before he popped a single claw and carefully widened the hole to give him better access to the wound while Jubilee and Kitty gaped at what their eyes were seeing. Logan wasn’t wearing any gloves, not even the latex ones that hung over the side of the first-aid kit and more amazingly, neither he nor Rogue seemed to notice or care.
Instead Rogue said in a scolding voice, "Ya could've used the scissors Logan! Ya know ah don't like it when ya hurt yourself like that for no good reason." When he merely smiled fondly at her concern and continued with his task, she asked in a milder tone, "Guess ah’m gonna need a new trainin’ uniform, huh?”
He still didn't reply as he retracted his claw, her knee now totally exposed while he studied the injury carefully. An angry looking bruise covered it with shades of blue and black while the scrapes in the centre still sluggishly seeped blood; though it appeared nasty, it was simply a superficial wound that would heal in a few days.
Logan turned slightly to reach for a bottle of alcohol beside him and some cotton balls. “How’d this happen anyway?” he asked, pouring the liquid from the bottle onto the cotton as he gestured towards her knee with his chin.
Rogue shrugged as her cheeks reddened slightly and her voice was sheepish when she said, “Forgot to tuck an’ roll, ah guess. Another of those ‘amateur mistakes’ ya mentioned out there durin’ your little pep talk.”
Logan nodded, a smirk on his lips as he placed one hand around her calf and lowered the wet cotton ball to her exposed knee. His hand hovered millimeters over her skin as he paused and glanced up at her. “I hear this stuff stings, so get ready.”
She rolled her eyes at him and said, “Ah’m a big girl, sugah. Do yo’ worst.”
Grinning at her flippant attitude, he carefully pressed the cotton against her bleeding skin, disinfecting the wound while at the same time wiping away the blood as Rogue bit the inside of her lip to keep from showing any sign of pain. With his face inches from her knee, Logan raised his eyes to hers and saw her discomfort, though to Jubilee and Kitty her expression remained neutral. They both watched in wonder as Logan pursed his lips and brought his mouth closer to her knee before blowing on it gently, his breath cooling the burning that the alcohol caused while Rogue’s eyes grew limpid from his actions as she stared at his bowed head.
Jubilee’s heart pounded fiercely in her chest as she watched the tender scene unfold. She had never imagined that Logan could be so gentle and even watching him now she still found it hard to believe. Just as surprising was the look on Rogue’s face. More often than not, her lips were curved into a cynical smile while her eyes appeared to challenge the world around her. Now though, none of that was evident; the expression that Jubilee saw on her face now was one that she had never seen on her friend before and it took her a moment to realize what was different. This was the face that she wore when all her defenses were down, when all masks were laid aside and Jubilee wondered at the implications. Rogue always said that there was no romance between her and the feral Wolverine, but after witnessing this, Jubilee knew that there was definitely something else afoot here besides mere friendship. She held her breath when Logan raised his head to meet Rogue’s green eyes, his hand still gently holding her calf as he swallowed thickly.
“Better?” he asked, his voice suddenly hoarse while Rogue nodded slightly, obviously incapable of speech at the moment. Their eyes remained locked together, Logan’s hand still curled around her leg while Jubilee and Kitty waited with bated breath, wondering what the pair would do next when the door to the office suddenly crashed open, breaking the spell. Logan dropped Rogue’s leg as though it had turned scalding hot and rose to his feet to meet the unannounced guest, his face back to its usual burly expression.
“What is it Magma?” he asked the girl standing before him as she wrung her hands together nervously.
“It’s Wolfsbane, Sir,” she replied hurriedly, barely even noticing Rogue who was now carefully covering her knee with a layer of gauze, her face carefully blank once more. “She ah… well, she kinda bit Bobby. I mean, he totally deserved it, but… well, pretty soon everyone got into the act and it’s... yeah, it's total anarchy out there now.” As though to punctuate her point, a loud explosion was heard from the next room, followed by the unmistakable sounds of a full-blown mutant brawl.
Muttering a string of curses under his breath, Logan started to follow Magma out the door and then paused to turn back to Rogue as she began putting items back into the first-aid kit. “Rogue…” he started but was cut off when a loud screech filled the room.
“Oh my God, something just pinched my ass!” Jubilee yelled as she felt a stabbing pain in her rear-end from where it jutted out into the Danger Room.
Logan and Rogue turned to the sound of her voice and both wore identical expressions of disbelief when they saw the two heads sticking out of the wall at knee-level. Kitty smiled apologetically and frantically tried to think how Rogue would have handled being caught in this situation. Realizing that she lacked her friend’s ability to charm her way out of things, she shot Jubilee an imploring glance, hoping the quick-talking Eurasian girl would get them out of this jam.
“Uh…” Jubilee began slowly, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. “We were…”
“Praying!” Kitty supplied when she trailed off. “We were praying because…’cause…”
“We’ve sinned!” Jubilee yelped. “And we felt that… well, there’s no time like the present to try to save your soul from the hell-fire, am I right?” She grinned winningly at them, trying her best to maintain her dignity despite the awkward position she was in. Sweat broke out on her forehead as Logan’s fierce eyes told her that he was in no way amused while Kitty wondered what being skewered actually felt like.
Suddenly another explosion rocked the Danger Room, drawing Logan’s attention away from the girls and with one final threatening look he turned and stalked out of the office, both sets of claws springing from his hands as he left.
Immediately after he disappeared, the two girls collapsed into the office completely, both panting as they lay on the ground. Rogue stood over them, her hands on her hips as she tapped her foot against the floor.
“Well?” she demanded. “What the hell was that all about?”
Jubilee pulled herself into a sitting position and stabbed her with an accusing glare. “You’ve always said you and Wolvie there aren’t anything but good friends. What was that all about, hmmmmm?”
Rogue laughed as she helped Kitty to her feet. “What was what about?” she asked. “Mah knee was bleedin'; he gave me first-aid. What’s the problem? Ah should be askin’ you two why ya were… praying, was it?”
Ignoring her sardonic tone, Jubilee rose to her feet as well and said primly, “Never mind what we were doing. He blew on your leg!”
“’Cause the alcohol made it sting,” Rogue said patiently, still maintaining her cool composure while Kitty snorted loudly.
“Oh please,” she said as she rubbed her legs to get the circulation going in them again. “Logan wouldn’t blow on us if we were on fire. You two are in denial.”
Rogue had begun to walk towards the door, but paused at her friend’s words. “An’ what exactly are we ‘denying’?” Jubilee opened her mouth to speak, but Rogue held up her hand to silence her. “Forget it, ah don’t wanna hear it. Now ah’m tellin’ you guys this one last time: there is nothin’ between me an’ Logan. We. Are. Just. Friends. OK?” She huffed out an exasperated breath as she drew a hand through her shaggy brown and white locks, her eyes still fixed on her friends. "Don't forget who ya guys are talkin' to here; deadly skin, remember? Mah life is complicated enough without addin' love into the mix."
Without waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel and left the office while Kitty and Jubilee stared at each other in silence for several moments until Kitty asked quietly, "Who mentioned love? I know I didn't; did you?"
"Nope," Jubilee replied smugly, a large grin spreading across her face. "Sounds to me like someone's got love on their mind."
As the pair slowly left the office, Kitty had one last question for her friend: “So what do you think? Complete denial?”
Jubilee nodded, her eyes on Rogue who was avoiding looking at Logan as he chewed out the class. “Oh yeah.”
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men I only borrow them upon occassion.
This is a little story I had in my head for a while. I just thought what if both Logan and Rogue didn't want to feel anything more than friendship for each other. title come from the song by Good Charlotte. Feedback is hoped for!
This is a little story I had in my head for a while. I just thought what if both Logan and Rogue didn't want to feel anything more than friendship for each other. title come from the song by Good Charlotte. Feedback is hoped for!