“Marie, you’ve got another customer at table 8. He’s kind of sexy in a dangerous way,” Sandra said, winking at Rogue and nudging her arm slightly. Rogue just smiled and tucked her pen behind her ear. She turned towards table 8 with a smile, but it faded quickly and she stopped mid-step. The man sitting there stared right back at her. She was the first to break eye contact, turning back to the counter. She took a deep breath as she reached down into the glass doored fridge space under the counter. She pulled out a bottle of Molsen and then marched over to his table.
“Thanks,” Logan said, staring up at her after she placed the bottle in front of him.
“Why’re you here,” she asked, an unreadable expression on her face.
Logan didn’t answer. Instead, he nodded at her slightly and asked, “What happened to the streaks?” He blinked a couple of times, as if he was having trouble focusing.
Rogue frowned and sat down across from him. She looked around at the half-empty diner before resting her forearms on the table and turning her eyes back on him. “I dyed them out. Now answer my question, Wolverine.”
Logan sat silent for a while, nursing his beer slowly. Finally, he sighed and looked at her. Rogue could see the pain he was feeling, but she’d be damned if she was going to let him know she saw it. “I came to see you… I missed you. Marie… I want yo-”
Rogue abruptly stood then, frowning. She pulled her apartment key out of her apron and tossed it onto the table. “Not here. My apartment is just down the road. Third floor. I’ll see you there when I get off my shift.” She pulled out a small notepad and pulled the pen out from behind her ear. “Now, do you want something to eat?”
“No,” Logan said, shaking his head, “I’ll just head to your apartment.” He pulled out his wallet and handed her a hundred dollar bill.
“Logan-“
“Keep the change…” and with that, Logan stood and walked out the door, her apartment key in his hand and his beer left on the table only half-finished. Rogue stood there for a moment before sighing and heading back up to the counter.
Logan didn’t have any problems finding her apartment. The place had her scent almost everywhere. He unlocked her front door and opened it only to have some small-bear-looking creature leap at him with a bark. It collided heavily with his chest and knocked him backwards off his feet. His head hit the floor painfully and he blinked a few times as his healing tried to refocus his eyes. When he looked up, there was a large German shepherd crossbreed standing over him, growling. The dog barked again and snapped at his face, but didn’t actually bite him. /Marie has a guard dog… good girl/ he thought.
He growled right back at the dog. It stopped snarling only to stare at him and cock his head to the side. Logan growled again and then suddenly, the dog was beating his legs with its tail and giving his face a bath. “Get off me, ya mutt,” Logan grumbled, pushing the dog off of him. He stood up and moved into the apartment. The dog followed right on his heels. It was large, coming up to his mid-thigh. The door quietly swung closed on its own because of the spring hinges on it.
Logan looked around the small apartment. The living room was decorated simply, but very much in a Marie fashion… and maybe even a few things that he liked. No doubt he had some hand in decorating the room… if he was still in her head that is. A black, leather couch sat on one side of the room and in the corner across from that sat a small, wooden entertainment center that contained a TV and DVD player. There was an old, used looking coffee table in between the couch and the television and across from the couch on the opposite wall was a black, leather recliner. Off to the left of the living room, was a small, sparse kitchen. There was just enough room to have a two-seater table. He then moved down the hallway on his right which wasn’t long at all. At the end of the hall was her bedroom. It was simple, just like the rest of the apartment. A beige carpet with a simple, king-sized bed and a used looking dresser were in the room. The comforter on the bed was her favorite color, dark green.
He moved back down the hall and glanced into the small bathroom. The curtain was a pale yellow, but everything else was a pristine white. He looked down the hall towards the living room and saw the dog sitting in the entrance way, staring at him. Logan glared at it for a long moment before moving out into the living room and sitting down on the couch. The shepherd-mix trotted over to him and rested a head on Logan’s knee, staring up at him with big, brown eyes.
It wasn’t long before Rogue opened the front door. The dog greeted her happily and Rogue greeted him right back with a hug, smile, and a kiss on the head, but when Logan stood up and drew her attention to him, the smile faded and she looked away, setting her purse and apron down. She sat in the reclining chair across from the couch, curling her legs up underneath her. Logan stood there, staring at the glass top of the coffee table before his hazel eyes shifted to her. “Marie-”
“I brought your change with me. Your beer was only 4 bucks.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the cash and tried handing it to him, but Logan shook his head.
“No. Keep it.”
“Logan-”
“No Marie. Keep the goddamned money.”
The room fell silent for a moment. Logan sighed and sat back down on the couch, running a hand through his already wild hair. “I’m sorry.” Logan looked up at Rogue at her words. “I should have told you sooner that I was moving.”
“And you should have told me why… but…” Logan sighed again, rubbing his face with a hand before allowing his eyes to meet hers. She looked sad. “I missed you, Marie.”
“I missed you too.” Rogue bit her lip, glancing down at the beast sitting next to her and then back to Logan. “A lot.”
“Why didn’t you just come back, then?”
“I couldn’t… I couldn’t sit by and watch you and Storm. It hurt too much.”
Logan sighed and moved closer to her, sitting down on the edge of the coffee table. It creaked under his weight. He leaned in closer to her, resting his hands on her bent knees. “You don’t have to anymore.”
Rogue looked up at him, a frown on her features. “Logan… you were happy with her… you shouldn’t-“
Logan shook his head at her. “No. ‘Ro and I agreed it was… it was about comfort… not love. We weren’t really… happy.”
Rogue’s eyes met his for the briefest of moments before they settled back on the dog who had tilted his head back, his ears flopping backwards slightly and his eyes trained on her. She couldn’t help it. A chuckle rose up in her and she found she was unable to hold it back. Logan looked at the dog as well who looked far beyond cute with his ears the way they were. He smiled slightly. Rogue scratched behind his ear and then leaned over and pressed a kiss to the side of his muzzle, then looked at Logan. “You have a place to stay,” she asked. Logan simply shook his head so Rogue nodded, placing one hand over his. “You can stay here then.”
Logan sat back and watched Rogue stand and move down the hall, the dog trotting after her happily, his tail wagging and nearly knocking over the side table right next to the doorway of the hall. He let a larger smile slip across his face. He hadn’t made up to Marie yet, but he will… he’ll find a way.
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