Rogue's stomach flip-flopped at the familiar sound. Actually flip-flopped was somewhat of an understatement. It did a wild burst of the can-can, before trampling over her sense of dignity and threatening to elope with her will power. There was a damn fine beast of a bike, crunching up the gravel at a speed no one else in their right mind would drive at.
She hadn't seen him for nearly three years. No one had. He'd all but disappeared off the face of the Earth, bar occasional contact with the Professor.
Only now, he appeared to be back.
Rogue drummed her fingers on her cluttered desk as she tried to resist the urge to stare out the window. Had he changed at all? Maybe he would still look exactly the same, taking the healing factor into account and everything. Would he still do that half smirk, half grin thing? Not that she cared of course...
She berated herself for the sudden way her hands trembled, blamed it on the Marie in her. Or possibly the Bobby. She always *had* been unsure which way he swung. For her part though she was over Logan; over the stupid childhood crush. He would walk in, and she would be fine. Cool. Distant, even. They would greet like adults, like warm friends, then they would pass the time of day and both go on with their lives.
Yes, she could see it now. He would be so impressed with her grown up coolness, that he would start to have a crush on *her* and...no. That's not what she wanted at all. Honestly. What was with her imagination today? She shouldn't have drunk all that coffee earlier.
She sneaked a glance out the window and her heart skipped a few times in her chest. Caffeine, definitely caffeine. But just one more peek. Just to make sure. Yep. It was definitely him. He looked every inch the Canadian logger; layered shirts, scruffy jeans, battered old jacket, all familiar somehow, and...shit.
Her eyes widened as he glanced up at the window and caught her staring. Gave her a wolf grin.
Fuck.
Deep breath Rogue, deeeeep breath. She could do this. She could be impartial.
She scraped her self-control back together and stood up from her desk, stubbornly ignoring the way her knees felt weak. With no other option left to her, she went down to greet him. Well, she could hardly pretend she hadn't seen him now, could she? And after all, that's what old friends did.
Think cool, she repeated to herself. Distant.
"Hey kid."
Damn he was hot.
He looked all weatherbeaten and ruffled by the journey, and she wondered if it would be inappropriate, as a friend of course, to collapse in an unresponsive heap at his feet.
"You just gonna stand there?"
Nope. When she remembered how her feet worked, she was gonna walk right on over. "Hey Logan." She gave him a genuine Marie smile. "It's been a while. How you doing?"
Damn fine, by the look of it.
"Not bad." He swung his duffle off his shoulder onto the floor and tilted his head to get a better look at her. "You look all grown up kid."
"You've been away for a long time. Not everyone stays the same age y'know." Her feet finally kickstarted themselves into action, so she walked over to him in what she hoped was a confident and sassy manner and...
"Ouch!"
*Fuck* that was embarrassing.
He reached out a hand to help her to her feet. Dammit, she hadn't really meant it about the unresponsive heap part.
"You ok? You..." he trailed off as he noticed her lack of gloves. "I really have been gone for a long time haven't I?"
Ha. So the Professor hadn't told him about that one. She managed a smile, secretly pleased about her small victory. "I can control it now." Then she shrugged. "Most of the time anyway. It sometimes gets away from me when I'm angry."
"Well I'm pleased for you kid, I-"
"Logan! Welcome back!"
Logan cocked an eyebrow as he turned to smirk at the professor. "Don't sound surprised Chuck. I know you've been watchin' me since I entered the state."
He had? And he had not told her about it? Rogue looked between the two of them. Ok, there was no conceivable reason why he *would* say anything, but still...
"Ah. Logan." That was Scott. Accompanied by this season's frown.
And Rogue felt her heart sink a little further as Jean followed close in his footsteps. She noticed the predatory way Logan's eyes glinted, even if no one else did. Well, no one but Scott, who's frown tackled new and dizzying heights of disapproval.
One big happy party, she thought to herself. All we need now is...oh look, there she is. "Hi ‘Ro," she smiled half-heartedly.
The other woman didn't notice, too busy smoothing her hair. Had she changed it again? Rogue rolled her eyes, and left them to it.
"Hey, kid?"
A voice, *his* voice, made her pause for a moment. She glanced back over her shoulder. "Yeah?"
"See you later," he promised. "We'll talk."
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
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Author's Chapter Notes:
This is fluffy foofy humoury stuff that requires absolutely no effort or brain power whatsoever to write or read! Basically a bunch of random clichéd situations linked together with a feeble (disclaimer: not really a) plot. You'll just have to bear with the first chapter. Takes a while to warm up this one. And it's all but done so you lucky and/or poor people will be getting updates probably much sooner than you care for *g*