"Yeah," came Logan's gruff greeting.

"Hey." Rogue had spent the last hour playing over in her mind what she was going to say to him. She tried several times to open her mouth to do anything more than take in a shaky breath.

Maybe if she told him she was at her apartment like she used to, he would rush over to be with her. She knew that routine wasn't going to happen again, despite the countless times that short conversation was all they needed in the past. Instead she went over and over again everything in her head until it sounded perfect and she knew he would understand. Still none of it would allow itself to be spoken.

Finally, she heard someone speak to him, a muffled voice too low for her to make out what was being said. "I gotta go." She heard a twisting in his voice.

Rogue hesitated, and when the quiet stretched on too long she said, "I'm sorry." There was so much she was sorry for, but most of all for not being willing to change, not being able to have the conversation he needed. The conversation they needed.

Just before the line went dead she thought she heard a faint, "I know".

She glared at her phone. At least he'd answered, let her listen to him breathe. It wasn't as good as when he curled around her; gently breathing across her heated flesh, but it was something.

The call time blinked off. Oh lord, he'd hung on for twenty minutes while she said nothing. Why would he do that?

Why would she do that? She was a rogue, the Rogue. She didn't let herself get attached to people.

She almost threw her phone; she really wanted to throw it. It would hit the brick wall and shatter into unusable pieces, but then she wouldn't have his number anymore. Without his number, she wouldn't be able to call him anymore. If she couldn't call him, he wouldn't be able to answer anymore. And if he couldn't answer, she couldn't listen to him breathe anymore.

Wiping a tear from her face, she stared at it glistening on her finger. This was the first time in a long time Rogue could remember crying. Logan was slipping from her and she didn't know how to get him back.

The first week after he left she'd tried to pretend that he would be back; she refused to think otherwise. Give him a few days and he would be knocking at her door, breakfast in hand. They would pick up where they first started.

The second week she was too stubborn to admit Logan wasn't coming back. She started to look at job offers to fill the time until he called, but that depressed her; she needed to be close and every offer required travel.

Rogue began to hate her apartment, down to every last detail. He'd left his mark on every single square inch of her and it, and the memories of them were everywhere. How could she possibly miss someone so much? Did Logan miss her this much and would his healing factor take care of the pain?




"Hello!" Rogue looked at the phone questioningly before ending the call. Her speed dial must have glitched. It wasn't like she'd been dialing that number multiple times a day since he quit answering.

At first it didn't concern her; he'd eventually pick up, he always did. Four days later he still hadn't answered and she was trying to press redial less than five times a day. She reasoned that less than five was a sane amount for trying to contact a person, anything more might be construed as stalking. Not that she hadn't considered stalking Logan.

"If you are--" Rogue hung up the phone quickly. That same perky voice again; it had to have been a glitch. He'd replaced her already. He replaced her with a bubbly woman, some tramp probably completely unlike Rogue herself.

She took a deep breath. Logan wouldn't do that. It had only been three weeks and only five days ago he'd answered to listen to her say nothing.

"Don't hang up!" came the rushed voice through the phone.

Rogue put a hand on her hip, she'd give the hussy a chance. "Okay."

"He's gone on an assignment and left his phone. Wolvie'd kill me if he knew I answered it." Rogue rolled her eyes; the wench already had a pet name for him. "I only answered because this is the umpteenth time I've heard it ring and I thought it might be important." The floozy made an expectant pause.

No way was Rogue going to say anymore then she had to. Besides it would interrupt her contemplation of assassinating this trollop as soon as she could.

"Alrighty… you must be Rogue. Kitty mentioned you two might be an item. I don't know what happened, but if there is anyway it could be fixed…"

"Uhm…" This didn't sound right. Why would the other woman want her to reconcile with Logan? And why did it no longer bother her that others knew about their relationship?

"You know Wolvie, he's all gruff and grouchy. But lately he's been miserable and is making everyone else around this place miserable." The woman stopped to suck in a breath.

"Oh." Rogue was beginning to think she'd over reacted and misjudged the perky voice on the other end of the line.

"Wolvie's always had his tragic past thing going, until he found you. I never thought he could stay in a stable relationship, but he was almost happy. Not that Wolvie's ever happy. So if you could manage to kiss and make up with him before the strain does the rest of us in, it would be much appreciated."

Rogue sighed, how did this become so complicated. What started out as a challenge to the Wolverine to prove himself, turned into a relationship with feelings she couldn't even put words to.

"Great! He should be back tonight or tomorrow."

That had to be one of the strangest phone conversations Rogue had ever been party to, and in her line of work she'd had some doozies.

Logan was miserable, too. Was he miserable enough to give her a second chance? Would she be able to tell him what he needed to hear?

Rogue's life before Logan held nothing she couldn't walk away from. Love and contentment weren't words she had ever associated with her life, maybe it was about time she gave them a try.

She had a day to make the plans she needed, real plans this time.

~*~
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