Next morning found her from a small diner, waiting for Logan to finally wake up. The old woman from the motel had flashed her surprisingly radiant smile and winked at her, then turned her gaze towards the door of Logan’s room. Rogue had politely smiled back and shaken her head when the woman had suggested that she should go and wake up her friend.
She was halfway through her second burrito when Logan sauntered in. He didn’t bother to call the waitress; he didn’t have to. He just walked up to where Rogue sat and waitress followed him, carrying a steaming pot of hot coffee. He waited until the woman left, then took a careful sip from the coffee.
“Slept well?” She asked. Logan shrugged his shoulders, took another sip. Rogue had long ago gotten accustomed to this. Quiet mornings with Logan, just sitting with him and waiting for him to ingest enough caffeine to dull his sour mood and crankiness.
“Slept well as soon as you let me…” He grunted, reaching for a discarded newspaper at the next table.
“Look. I’m sorry about last night. Hell, I’m sorry about yesterday. Period. I was a bit…” She started to apologize. Logan shook his head.
“You have nothing to apologize. We were both quite frazzled up and tired. Just behave today and we’re all good.”
She attacked the remains of the hapless burrito on her plate, suddenly unsure of what to think. What to say. How to behave. Why the hell had she asked Logan to come with her? Why had he agreed instead of being the sensible adult… At that point she had to stifle a sudden burst of giggles. Sensible adult? Logan? And the man in question was now staring at her over the brim of the newspaper, puzzled frown glued over his features.
“What?” He asked. She bit her lip.
“It’s nothing. Just a private joke… Uhm… So. What are we going to do today?” She asked quickly, trying to change the subject. Again Logan just shrugged his shoulders.
“I have an appointment with that fucking bull today. Don’t have any other plans. It’s your party after that, kid.”
“O-okay…”
“You got a problem with that?” Logan asked. She poked and prodded the burrito for a good while, then sighed.
“I’m just worried.”
“For what? It’s not like it can hurt me or anything…”
“But it can! It can throw you down and step on you, or… And those horns were so big and sharp and…” She stuttered, feeling the crimson blush flashing all over her skin. Suddenly greasy patterns drawn with fork on to her plate started to look quite fascinating. She couldn’t look at Logan. She couldn’t make her head turn. He’d think of her as a silly little girl. Certainly after that outburst. He’d laugh. It really was stupid to worry over him. He’d heal no matter what. But…
“Hey, kid…” Strong hand under her jaw, forcing her to raise her head.
“You really are scared, aren’t you… Shit. I don’t have to ride that goddamned animal if you don’t want me to,” Logan huffed. She could see conflicting emotions running wild in his eyes. Something old, feral and stubborn trying to claw its way to surface. Logan, just Logan throwing it back in to darkness.
“It’s stupid, anyway. It’s really not worth the trouble. I rode it last year and got trampled pretty good. Wanted to put down that beast for that. But what the hell, we can skip it…” He said, then turned his head and hailed the waitress to bring another dose of caffeine.
“You want to get going already?” He asked when she huffed.
“I don’t know where to go. You’re the one who’s lived here before. Shouldn’t you give me a grand tour?” She asked. Logan smirked.
“Grand tour… Hmm… I guess I could try. But I have to warn you. There’s nothing grand in places I used to visit.”
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