“Here you go,” Jaime smiled softly at Rogue as he passed her a cup of water.
Glancing up at him, she blinked twice before Logan reached forward and grasped the cup himself. Jaime frowned and backed away from the couch Rogue was sitting on with Logan hovering just beside her.
“Thanks,” Logan muttered, but his eyes were on Rogue as she wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the floor.
Jaime started to shrug himself out of his jacket.
“I got it,” Logan spoke levelly as he took his jacket off and placed it over Rogue’s shoulders. She didn’t look up at him but her fingers clenched the beaten leather jacket closer. Jaime quirked an eyebrow at the way she closed her eyes and inhaled the collar of the jacket. Logan, however, appeared unfazed.
Rogue’s dark brown eyes darted towards Wanda and Pietro as they joined them but she still didn’t speak. She drew her body up as much as she could in the over-sized jacket and leant back, noticeably closer to Logan’s presence.
“Rogue,” Wanda whispered with relief as she stepped forward. “It’s so good to see you…alive.”
Rogue leant back further at the same time Logan stepped forward, her eyes were wide.
Wanda frowned and looked from the unresponsive Rogue to Logan.
“She’s a little overwhelmed,” he supplied, his tone held a warning.
Wanda nodded slowly. “When do you think she’ll be,” she paused searching for the words. “More coherent?”
Logan shrugged. “It’s hard to know in such situations how long it takes a person to deal with the fact they’ve come back from the dead.”
All four of them watched silently as Rogue absently rubbed her head and scrunched her eyes closed.
“What’s wrong?” Pietro asked.
Moving very slowly, Logan crouched in front of her, his hand faltering as he placed it on the couch beside her thigh.
Leaning forward, Rogue opened her eyes.
“Not real,” she whispered her voice hoarse.
Logan sighed and clenched his fist beside her. His lips twitched but he failed to provide her with a comforting smile.
“It is da…” he paused and glanced downwards before glancing up and succeeding in giving her a small smile. “It’s real. You’re safe.” He nodded.
She stared at him, her deep brown eyes wide as they glistened and shook her head furiously from side to side.
“Yes,” Logan spoke softly.
She shook her head no again and he could tell she was about to become hysterical. Clenching his jaw he unclenched his fist and slowly touched her thigh. She stilled immediately and glanced down at his hand. She nodded slowly and Logan’s hand relaxed but it was noticeable that the rest of him was tense.
“Perhaps she simply doesn’t believe it,” Pietro began, speaking up and breaking the silence in the room.
“Believe what?” Logan ground out but didn’t turn around.
“You’re the last person she’d expect to see, so I’m sure your presence isn’t helping with her state of mind.”
Logan turned and glared at the other man, as a small growl vibrated in his chest. The noise however stopped immediately as he felt a light touch on his hand. Shifting his head he watched Rogue as she absently rubbed the space between his knuckles.
“I’m not so sure you’re right about that Pietro,” Jaime added sincerely but with a wry sense of humour.
Coughing slightly Logan pulled his hand back very slowly.
Standing up straight he passed Rogue the cup of water who seemed unaffected by his sudden discomfort.
“Maybe, if we move her somewhere more comfortable she’ll recuperate faster and then – well then we can go from there,” Wanda interjected the tense silence. Her gaze held a mix of amusement and fascination as she watched Rogue and Logan interact.
“In case you’ve forgotten we still have one hell of a babe with snake skin and a small task force after us,” Jaime remarked.
“The faster Rogue recuperates the faster we can grill her for answers,” Wanda replied, her gaze sharpening as she focused on the unconcerned Rogue.
“There’s the Wanda I know,” Jaime smirked.
Wanda smiled kindly at Rogue who suddenly looked up at her, but her words were sharp. “She may be my friend, but after the week I’ve had I’m going to want some damn answers.” She glanced up and met Logan’s hard gaze. “I’m sure I’m not the only one.”
Logan crossed his arms and levelled his gaze.
“As much as I hate to say it,” Pietro interjected. “We will have to ease her into what’s going on. So no pushing Wanda.”
Wanda rolled her eyes.
“We’ll head into the next town, where we met you Logan and go from there.”
Logan grunted at Pietro. “Staying in a motel or hotel will be a good idea, the more public the better. The people after us whoever they are aren’t going to want to draw any un-necessary attention.”
“Does that mean we’ll actually get to have some fun and some real food?” Jaime spoke up.
“Is that all you think about?” Wanda snapped.
Jaime shrugged. “I want to sleep on a real bed.”
“Let’s move then,” Pietro instructed.
Logan’s hand hovered behind Rogue’s back as he indicated for her to stand up. She complied and stepped forward; her eyes darted around the room and stopped as she spotted the coffin in the back room. Immediately, her face creased in confusion but Logan pulled her away before she had a chance to focus on it any further.
“Couldn’t have shut the door after yourself, Pietro?” Jaime questioned as he headed towards the exit.
Pietro frowned and moved forward as he placed himself between the exit and Rogue. He motioned for her to move through but she backed up towards Logan.
Logan’s hand moved to touch her back lightly.
“It’s alright,” he directed softly but his eyes were on Pietro.
Both Rogue and Logan moved through the door.
“Don’t beat yourself up about it too much,” Wanda whispered softly towards her brother. “It’s not really about you.”
Pietro grimaced. “She doesn’t seem to recognize any of us yet. But him….” He finished more forcibly.
“It’s just instinct,” Wanda shrugged and moved past him.
Pietro huffed and followed her. “It’s going to be a joy when she remembers they hate each other.”
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