Logan was glad that spring break came along when it did. He had awakened a week earlier to this slightly different version of events than he remembered. It felt like an undercover mission where he had to act like he knew what was going on, but in reality the only intel available to him were the names of the main players. Even knowing that didn't help his feeling of being out of step with everyone in the mansion.
Xavier had given him a vague outline to work from and pointed out some of Logan’s own books that dealt with the recent world history if he needed help getting caught up. Logan thought it would be more helpful, in this situation, if he had some telepathic ability rather than books.
Logan then turned to Hank in the lab. Hank had been full of questions trying to piece together a theory that fit with the quantum physics theory Hank had talked about the other day… or rather decades ago. After an exhausting hour of playing twenty questions, Hank finally let him go with a reset password for all the mansion's systems and a quick rundown of the school schedule at Logan's classroom.
He was surprised to find lesson plans for the rest of the year in his own handwriting and a few notes on the students. Logan managed to make it through to the end of the week without too many stares or awkward moments. Thankfully, by late Friday afternoon, the mansion was left quiet as most of the students departed for the coming week.
Most of the day-to-day operations of the mansion were easy for him to figure out: where everyone’s rooms were, and most importantly the location of his cache of cigars and liquor. His interactions with others still suffered, not that anyone had ever accused him of having stellar interpersonal communication skills. There were a handful of faces Logan knew he should recognize, but couldn’t place.
All in all Logan managed to navigate the new patterns of social interaction with the other X-Men without too much trouble. The Professor was patient, Hank still full of questions, and Jean looked at him in confusion; luckily Scott took the change in stride, continuing on as if nothing were different.
The only person who troubled Logan was Rogue. He couldn’t decide how he was supposed to interact with her. He remembered them in the old timeline as being friendly, with an undercurrent of something else that always remained untouched. At one time, they both seemed to have an unspoken understanding of the unconventional friendship they shared, but now? Now he kept feeling that he was missing all of the social cues she was putting out.
He tried poring over all the mission logs and mansion files for further clues. All they yielded was the fact that he came back to the mansion one time with Rogue in tow. Even though he had been with the X-Men off and on previous to that time, the X-Men had not facilitated in Rogue’s arrival at the mansion.
Within days of waking up in the new timeline Logan noticed a difference in Rogue. This Rogue had a confidence that the other hadn't. She understood her power, how to use it, and wasn't afraid of using it.
Then the first time he saw Rogue in her uniform, he took a second look. This Rogue knew how to use the uniform to her advantage, standing in such a way that it showed off her curves. Walking so that it accentuated the sway of her hips. Logan was man enough to admit to himself that he wouldn't mind taking a look at those curves without the uniform.
Every time Rogue looked at him, Logan got the feeling she was mentally building a check list of all the things she wanted to do to him. He'd even heard Jubilee complain, more than once, about the sexual tension he and Rogue brought to the training sessions.
One day after a Danger Room session, Rogue flashed a smile at Logan as she walked away from him. She had seen the look he was giving her. (Logan was pretty sure his thoughts at the time had been along the lines of eating her up like a chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven.) Making a quick turn with a hand on a hip, she raked her gaze up his body, raising an eyebrow as her eyes met his.
"Can I do something for you, Sugar?" she asked in a suggestive, smooth Southern tone.
Jubilee and Kitty calling after Rogue saved Logan that time. When she turned her head he made his escape. Since then she'd been giving him heated glances every time she caught sight of him, the type of looks that would have left a lesser man blushing. Logan always made sure he left before he could return the gaze, though lately he was beginning to wonder why. The fact that he had only known this Rogue for two weeks was starting to mean less and less. It was hard for him to deny the chemistry between them.
“You’ve been avoidin’ me,” Rogue stated as he came into the staging area next to the jet.
Logan simply grunted, not agreeing or disagreeing. He knew Rogue had been shadowing him the past week, but had decided to let her determine the time and place for their first real conversation.
She fidgeted with her gloves a second. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
He looked at her, briefly considering how to evade her question the same way he'd been evading her heated looks and loaded questions all week, but decided against it this time. Despite her casual attitude he could sense how serious she was. Something in the way she squared her shoulders told him that this time, she wasn't going to let it slide. Best to take the bull by the horns. “What makes you think somethin’ is wrong?”
“You’re different.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. Rogue continued undaunted.
“You’ve forgotten a few names. And you act like everything is slightly out of place.” She stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Your fighting style has changed. I don’t think anyone else will notice, but I did the other day when you were in the Danger Room.”
Logan glanced toward the hall and determined by the sound that the others would still be a minute or so from joining them. “My memory is off.”
She wrinkled her brow and stepped close enough to place a hand on his chest. “How serious is it?”
Shrugging, he tried to make light of it. “Hank's got some fancy theory, but basically my recent memories don’t exactly match up with everyone else’s.”
“How far back?” she asked searching his face for something. Her hand pressed more firmly into his chest than he would have expected, suggesting a familiarity in their relationship, which had not been between them in his previous timeline. This knowledge both excited and frustrated him. Logan was not against a physical relationship with Rogue, although he thought it might be unfair to her if she didn't understand that he wasn't the Logan she may have known.
“A few years.” Best to keep it simple; besides it wasn’t a complete lie. Logan would tell her more when he concluded exactly what their current relationship was going to be and what she needed or wanted to know.
“Do you remember how we met?” Rogue asked.
“Does it involve a Canadian bar and a cage fight?”
“No,” she shook her head with a smile. “But it sounds fun.”
“Darlin’, you have no idea,” Logan replied. Rogue laughed lightly, about to say something, but their conversation was cut short as the others arrived and the group departed on the mission.
Upon entering the jet after the mission, Rogue’s eyes narrowed at the bullet holes in Logan’s uniform. Her smile faded to a grim line as she turned to the controls for the return flight.
He hadn’t purposely gotten shot. He had been distracted, thinking over their earlier conversation. Rogue’s ease made him believe that there was more to their relationship than just heated looks, and the thought of that made Logan's blood race. If he were right, he wouldn't mind her murmuring her needs to him as his mouth roamed her body. And right then is when the gun appeared. Logan thought, in his state of preoccupation, that his method of dealing with the situation to be the most direct. It also had the added benefit of ticking off Scott. A win, win.
Now if Logan could just as easily solve how to deal with Rogue. The waves of anxiety coming off of her were headache inducing.
When they set down at the mansion he quickly departed as Rogue went through the jet’s various shutdown procedures. He needed more time to study this situation before talking with her again.
Logan skipped the lower level showers and used the back stairs to get to his room. In minutes his boots were off and the shower started. He had unzipped his uniform top and began peeling it off slowly, as what blood there had been was already dried and making everything stick. Examining himself in the mirror over the sink, he turned, peering into the other room. Someone was stopped outside the hall door.
He wasn’t surprised when Rogue walked in, almost slamming the door behind her. It was obvious she had a purpose as she walked determinedly toward him. The way her hips swayed made his fingers ache with need. The need to pull her body closer, to hold her hips securely to his.
She pushed him back against the bathroom counter and shoved his uniform jacket down his shoulders, effectively restricting the movement of his arms. “Did they all come out?” she asked, staring at the blood caked to his chest.
“Yeah, straight through.” He wanted to look somewhere else besides at her. She was too close and his body was going to betray him at any moment.
Pursing her lips, Rogue put a gloved had to his chest and started probing for any sign of lingering damage. He probably should have told her it wasn’t necessary, but he was taking an odd bit of pleasure with the way her small hand looked on his chest. He also suspected that this was an excuse for her to confront him.
Rogue paused and quickly stripped her gloves from her hands. He had a moment of caution, before realizing this Rogue's confidence might be due to her having better control of her mutation.
He chose to trust her and sucked in a breath to steel himself. Logan's grip on the counter turned white knuckle when she placed both hands at his waist. Nothing. Nothing except for the tantalizing feel of her soft hands grasping his sides, thumbs caressing the sensitive skin below his ribs.
He studied Rogue's face a moment. Her eyes drifted further down, past her hands, toward his unbuttoned pants. Her scent was tinged with unease and her hands timidly dipped lower. Halting her movements, she bit her lip.
This was that thing between them, that line they never crossed. He may have been skirting the issue all week, but at this particular second, with her hands on his body and the way her breasts rose and feel with each breath, she made him wish his hands were free.
Logan was used to having command of situations, something he was sorely lacking since waking up in this timeline. But now…now with him pinned against the counter as he was, he wanted to give her control. Let her do as she pleased. He was willing to let her lure him over the imaginary line he'd set up. Or better yet, erase the line altogether.
His thoughts were interrupted when she swept a hand across his abdomen that made his breath hitch. Her scent changed subtly, accompanied by a slight quirk of her lips and a movement of her hands that drew a moan from him. Rogue gave him that appraising look, the one he'd seen all week, that made his blood run hot.
She leaned in close, her breath mingling with his. It seemed an eternity that they stayed in that position, him breathing in her scent and enjoying the closeness of her body. The tip of her tongue touched her lips and she suddenly pushed away from him. Rogue's eyes slowly raked up his body as she bit her lower lip. "You need a shower," she said, turning around and sauntering into the other room.
Logan quickly undressed and entered the shower. He took his time making sure to wash all the blood from his body. At the same time, he puzzled over Rogue and exactly what was going on between them. If they had been intimate before, as he suspected, then why had she stopped short? Then again, maybe she wanted to give him time to adjust his memory.
Whatever the reasons, it put him on edge. The constant tension of not knowing, kept his body on high alert for her presence. Yearning for any kind of contact.
Finishing up his shower, he heard the bathroom door open and close, followed by soft footsteps. He saw her through the frosted glass of the shower door, hesitating. She grabbed for the handle, sliding the door open and stepping into the shower in one smooth motion. Still clothed in her uniform, only her boots and gloves missing, she shut the door. "Do you mind?"
Logan looked her over, missing nothing, including the corner of a condom wrapper sticking out of a pocket. He simply extended her a hand and let her show him what their relationship should be like. She stared at his hand a second before embracing him. Logan threaded his fingers through her hair, cupping her head. Her lips were warm, her mouth sweet and inviting. He was lost in the smoothness of her tongue gliding against his. He wanted to be consumed by the pleasure she was offering.
His first thought was of cookies, not that Rogue tasted of cookies, but that he wanted another kiss like you'd want another cookie. Maybe to nibble on that lip she'd been biting on earlier. Then work his way down her body now that his hands were free.
Rogue seemed to be thinking along the same lines, tasting and sampling him with a growing hunger. There was no hesitation in her kiss, until he felt a slight pull of her mutation. She drew, back breathing heavily. "You still up for this?" He answered her by pressing his erection into her hip and recapturing her lips.
They struggled with the wet leather between kisses, stopping periodically for her to regain her composure and then drawing back together frantically several times before she was finally free of the uniform. Rogue stood in her tank top and panties, fumbling with the foil condom wrapper. It dawned on Logan, panting as he rested, his forehead on hers, that this was not their norm.
Her trembling, although from excitement, had an unmistakable nervous edge to it. Everything about her was screaming that this was a completely new experience for her. Her control was good, but he could tell by the number of breathers they had taken that this was not common enough for her to have the control needed.
He drew her tight against him, trapping her shaking hands between them. "I think you're takin' advantage of my situation."
She exhaled softly, trying to pull away and finally resting her head on his shoulder when he wouldn't let her escape. Rogue then squared up her shoulders in a way that reminded Logan of her seriousness before the mission. "You always told me if I saw an opportunity to take it."
He let out a short, husky laugh. "I'm sure that advice was for fightin'."
Rogue shrugged. "I…we…there is always a lot of tension between us. We're close, almost intimate, but always afraid to take the next step. I thought this was the chance we needed." She leaned more heavily into him. "Are you mad at me?"
"No." Logan punctuated the statement with a quick kiss behind her ear. He really wasn't mad at her; it was exactly the kind of move he'd admire in a fight. He couldn't deny the tension between them and she had taken the steps she thought necessary to alleviate it. He respected her gumption. The fact that she was willing to do this was a turn on, and he wanted to make sure this opportunity wasn't wasted. "I'm definitely not mad at you. But it might be best to slow down a bit. Maybe save this fantasy for later."
At that, she pulled back a little to look him square in the eye. "Will there be a later?"
A smile slowly spread across his face and she blushed in return. "Yes." There certainly would be a later, because she was beautiful all wet and wanting him. He reached to turn off the water. "For now let's move to the bedroom and work on your control."
Rogue turned even redder. "That might take some time."
Stepping out of the shower, Logan reached for a towel and wrapped it around her, eyes wandering down the wet material clinging to her perfect breast. He took a deep breath and barely contained a rumble of desire. "We'll look at it as an opportunity to work on my patience."
He watched her a second as she dried off, her eyes darting about and trying to avoid his intense gaze. Her lips looked positively mouthwatering Logan found himself thinking of warm chocolate chip cookies again…one kiss would never be enough. Scooping Rogue up in his arms, he smiled when she gave a little squeak as he headed for the bedroom. "Damn patience. I have a healing factor for a reason."
~*~
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
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Story Notes:
Thanks to RogueLotus, SJ, Margaret and Jamie for the beta. An extra thanks to RogueLotus for the handholding and listening to me whine.