Logan was surprisingly relieved when the key had still not been returned by the next morning. Rogue hadn't shown up but he wasn't too worried about that, he figured it would take her a while to adjust to the idea. Three days later, he was kicked back with a beer in front of the TV when he heard the front door click and squeak open.

"In here," he called out a moment later, when the door had closed again but he could hear that Rogue hadn't moved any further into the apartment. He listened as her tentative footsteps came down the short hall and into the lounge. He smiled at her reassuringly and patted the couch next to him as he continued to watch yet another Hockey re-run.

She sat down gingerly and stiffly, before Logan reached out and pulled her back and closer, so she was sitting right next to him, leaning into him, with his arm around her shoulders. They stayed like that for the rest of the game, as Rogue slowly relaxed into the contact.

When the game was finished, he switched off the TV before asking, "You had dinner yet?"

"Uh, no," Rogue replied.

"What do you want? We've got pizza, Thai, Chinese..." he rattled off a list of options as he leafed through a pile of takeout menus tucked away in the side table drawer.

"Don't care," Rogue shrugged.

"I'll warn you, I don't do the whole twenty questions thing most chicks expect when they can't decide what to eat, you say you don't care I'll buy you something and you'll eat it, no complaints," Logan warned.

Rogue laughed. "No problem, I really don't care, though I'm not really hungry... nerves," she admitted.

"You've got no reason to be nervous, nothing's going to happen that you're not ready for, and if all you're ready for is sitting on the couch like this then that's all that'll happen. I want you to feel normal, and that means being comfortable, this isn't about sex, not for you, that key is yours to keep, you come around whenever you feel like it, okay?" he said.

Rogue smiled again, tears in her eyes now, and a new relaxed relief in her stance, she nodded. "Thanks Logan."

"Now, unless you object and pick something else right now, we're having Chinese," he announced.

"Sounds good," she replied, "You order whatever, I'm feeling kind of adventurous tonight."

--

After dinner they watched a movie, that Logan picked, it was a mix of action and horror, and by about halfway through Rogue had the distinct impression he had picked it specifically so she would spend two hours practically in his lap due to the continual jump scares. The problem came once the movie was done and Rogue yawned widely.

"Time for bed," Logan said, helping her to her feet and leading her across the room to the only bedroom. She froze in the doorway looking conflicted.

"What?" Logan asked, watching her closely, "Don't worry, I can sleep on the couch if you'd prefer."

"Uh, well, this is going to make me sound like a wimp but... I don't want to sleep alone after that movie but... I don't want to hurt you either," she admitted.

"Not a problem," Logan replied, he walked over to the bedside table and pulled out a full-length cotton nightgown, with long sleeves and a hood, which he handed her. For a minute she thought he was giving her clothes from one of his previous 'visitors' until she saw the tags showing it was brand new.

"Did you... did you buy this for me?" she asked surprised.

"Yep, should be enough cover for you over night," he replied, before turning his back on her and pulling out sweat pants and socks for himself.

Rogue turned around quickly with a blush when he dropped his jeans but quickly caught herself. She had come here with the intention of having sex with the guy and here she was getting all flustered at him changing his pants. She shrugged it off and quickly changed herself, with her back still to Logan. When she turned back around, she found him sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard, watching her. Neither of them said anything, though Rogue blushed at the extra attention, before she tentatively climbed into the bed. She'd left her gloves and her socks on but Logan insisted she take her socks off with the excuse he was wearing a pair so she didn't have to, he was also wearing gloves, along with his t-shirt and sweats.

Once Rogue was under the covers Logan slid under too and lay down next to her. "'Night," he said, before switching off the lights. Rogue lay still and tense as Logan shifted beside her, squeaking suddenly when he reached out and pulled her closer to him. He spooned against her before mumbling to her to relax and sleep, before going quiet.

Rogue lay still, trying not to be tense, for a good half an hour before her eyes closed from sheer exhaustion. Logan sighed in relief as he finally felt her relax into sleep, he wasn't expecting to sleep tonight, planning to keep aware to make sure nothing happened while she slept, but soon after found himself lulled to sleep listening to the gentle rhythm of her heartbeat.

--

He woke the next morning, surprisingly well rested, with an amazing smelling woman in his arms, pressed up against him in all the right places. Rogue stirred a moment later, breathing a contented sleepy sigh before she jumped in surprise at finding arms wrapped around her. It took her a minute to calm herself down, and Logan heard her whisper to herself, "It's okay, everything's fine."

"It sure is darlin'," Logan replied, grinding his groin against her butt.

Rogue gasped in surprise before giggling nervously, her cheeks flushed with colour. "Uh, good morning," she said hesitantly.

"Morning," he answered, "You sleep okay?"

"Well, I didn't kill anyone so I guess so," Rogue answered.

"That's good," Logan said, not making any move to release her from his arms.

For the next twenty minutes Rogue, tried to preserve the relaxed physical contact until Logan suddenly commented, "You okay darlin'?"

"Mmhmm," she replied.

"What's with the water works?" he asked, obviously having scented her tears.

"I need to pee but I don't want to stop … this," she admitted.

Logan chuckled. "So go, then come back, I'm not going anywhere."

"'Kay," she replied, but still made no effort to move until Logan pulled the covers back. She leaped out of bed and ran for the bathroom, returning a few minutes later and immediately diving back into his arms, this time facing him, her arms wrapped around him as she buried her face in his t-shirt clad chest. For an hour longer they lounged in bed, neither saying anything just holding each other, until Rogue's stomach growled loudly and forced them both out of bed, laughing as they went.

After breakfast they both headed back to the mansion, Logan had a summer class to terrorise, and Rogue had plans with those of her friends who hadn't gone away for the holidays.

--

For the next week their routine continued much the same, Rogue would arrive at about seven, Logan would buy dinner, they'd watch a movie or some sporting event, and they'd eventually retire to bed and sleep soundly wrapped around each other.

Logan knew something was different when he arrived home one evening to find Rogue already there. She was busy in the apartment’s small kitchen cooking dinner, and if it tasted as good as it smelled he couldn't wait.

"I didn't know you could cook," he commented, as he kicked his boots off and emptied his pockets into the drawer of the hall table.

"What kind of southern girl can't cook!" Rogue exclaimed indignantly from the kitchen.

"I think you'd actually be surprised," Logan commented with a chuckle, "So what are we having?"

"We got barbecue ribs, shrimp and grits, hush puppies, fried green tomatoes, and peach cobbler with lemongrass ice cream for dessert," Rogue answered, as she put the finishing touches to two loaded plates.

"Wow," Logan exclaimed, eyeing up the plate she set down in front of him, "You've been busy!"

"The question is, does it taste any good," Rogue added.

"If it tastes as good as it smells I'll have to keep you on permanent, and up my gym time," Logan joked as he dug in, eager to taste the offering before him. "This is fantastic!" he added after a few mouthfuls, slowing down his usual eating pace to enjoy the flavours. Rogue smiled brilliantly, before digging in to her own plate.

By the time they retired to the couch they were both stuffed. They'd progressed over the week from sitting on the couch to lounging, and as Logan sprawled out with his feet propped up on the coffee table, Rogue lay down across the couch with her head resting on one solid pec, as his arm lay over her waist. They settled in to watch a particularly boring baseball game but Logan found his attention turning Rogue.

She'd definitely become more comfortable touching him, actually going so far as to initiate contact herself. He'd caught himself most surprisingly actually enjoying her company. While the kids from the school were bearable, he didn’t spend any more time around them than necessary - which was most of the reason he had his own apartment - and usually the women he had around were there for one reason and one reason only.

The thought hit him as he shifted to rest his cheek against Rogue's head, that he hadn't had a woman in a while, not since the first time he left his key for Rogue three weeks ago, and for him, three weeks was a long time to go without. Oddly though, he found he didn't care, and he grinned contentedly as he felt Rogue drift off to sleep where she lay.

A few hours later, he decided Rogue wasn't going to wake back up, so he gingerly picked her up and carried her to bed. She barely stirred as he stripped off her restrictive clothes, he was surprised to discover she was wearing a sheer black body stocking under her clothes. Though it was now the height of summer, and she'd been wearing lighter clothing in an effort to beat the heat, so he supposed it made sense. It also meant he didn't have to try and wrestle her into some kind of bed wear and risk waking her up.

Leaving her in the body stocking, gloves, and her panties, he shucked his jeans, leaving himself clad in boxers and a t-shirt, and crawled into bed next to her, tugging up the thin sheet to cover them both. Rogue instinctively shuffled closer to him allowing him to spoon her before joining her in sleep.
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