Sighing softly at the warm, soft breeze that ruffled her hair Rogue tilted her face to the sun as the ship slid easily through the waves. Both of the past two ports of call had been completed without landing, but she’d still managed to get a dress, two beautiful body suits, and a case of bourbon for Logan.
A quick glance behind her and she smiled at the growing stack of goodies in her room and sighed. When they got to Barcelona the items were being shipped to New York and from there to the mansion.
Rogue glanced upwards at the sky and sighed softly. Would he be as willing to risk it all as she was? Could she convince him that what they had was more important than the team’s opinion?
Rogue shrugged a soft giggle escaping. She had more than one means of convincing, and she wasn’t above using seduction to get what she wanted – at least from Logan.
The annoying buzz of her phone had her reaching for it, “Hello?”
“Hey, darlin’, how’s it going?” Logan’s voice was warm, solid, almost as though he didn’t care who heard him.
“Good. How are you?”
“Good. I, uh, know I haven’t exactly kept in touch the past couple of days and I’m sorry…”
“Hey, I know you’re doing something that’s real important, Logan. I know you need to be there. If there is no phone, there’s no phone. You drinking?”
“No. Sitting in some tiny rented room staring at a blank TV, wishing you were closer to me.”
Smiling giddily, Rogue glanced upwards, ‘Thank you’, she mouthed before refocusing on Logan. “How’s the search going?”
“Got what I needed,” Logan admitted quickly. “Found the answers I wanted, hoped I’d get, and now I’m getting ready to head home. When will you be there?”
“Another few weeks,” Rogue shrugged and settled onto the bed cross-legged. “Maybe sooner if that annoying prick doesn’t quit.”
”What prick?”
“Oh, some smooth talkin’ blonde on board who seems to think he’s God’s gift to women… he ain’t even in the running. I mean Scott’s more of a man than he is.”
The warm chuckle that drifted across the phone line had her grinning, “What, he is.”
“I’ll take your word for it. You, uh, okay there? You want me to find him and teach him to treat a lady properly,” the soft snikt of claws being extended on the other end of the line had Rogue shaking her head.
“No, Logan, I’m fine. I, uh, got you some bourbon, hope you’ll like it.”
“Anything from you is a guaranteed like for me, darlin’,” Logan admitted quickly, “Damn gotta run, baby, but I’ll call you back later, okay?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Some cop’s eying my bike.”
“Scott’s bike,” Rogue pointed out calmly, softly.
“Whatever, he’s eying it so I better go talk him outta a ticket.”
“Keep safe, okay?”
“I’ll see you in a few weeks,” Logan promised before hanging up, leaving Rogue with a slight frowning smirk twisting her lips.
Tossing her phone aside, she slid off the bed and grabbed a green and white summer dress. A few minutes later, hair pulled back in a loose ponytail and white sandals on her feet, Rogue headed upstairs to the top deck to see if anything was going on.
“Good morning, Miss Rogue,” the distinct voice had her smiling as she turned to greet the captain.
“Morning, sir, do we have an agenda for today?”
“We’ll be getting into Barcelona around three, until then if you’d like to relax, enjoy the beauty of the day.”
“Thanks. I think I’m gonna get that book I picked up last night and finish it,” Rogue said turning to head back downstairs.
“How has everything been so far?” The captain asked calmly, quickly. “Any problems with other guests?”
“No, none that I can’t handle,” Rogue replied with a smile. “Miss my friends though. I never thought I’d ever go so long without seeing them.”
Chuckling, he nodded, “That’s the way life works sometimes. Have to let people spread their own wings before you can ever hope to get them to settle down.”
Rogue giggled and scurried away. Slipping into the library she picked up the thick, leather bound volume she’d started the evening before and turned to the door where a rather disgruntled looking man stood staring at her. She grimaced, “Is there some reason you’re stalking me?”
“You’re one ‘em aren’t you?” the drunken slur had Rogue going tense.
“What?”
“A freak, a stupid, greedy…”
“The only greedy thing around here is you and your wife,” Rogue snapped angrily. “What’s that got to do with anything? You’re still not stewing about the brush off are you? Sorry I prefer my men to be real – not some painted pretty-boy who hasn’t got the balls to admit he’s an asshole.”
“Don’t you…”
“I suggest you go sleep off whatever you’ve drank because if you don’t, I will kick your ass.”
“You stupid…” the man stopped suddenly, paled and stalked off drunkenly.
Frowning, Rogue stared at the open door for a moment before a dark shape moved into it and the familiar figure of Mr. M stood there eying the retreating man with open hostility.
“Seems I owe you one. Saved me having to kick his ass.”
*Pretty lady like you shouldn’t have to kick anyone’s ass,* Mr. M smiled at her softly. *I came to see if you would join me for a game of crib.*
“Sure,” Rogue started for the doorway, “You mind if I bring my book for later?”
A quick shake of his head, and he offered his arm for her to take as they headed upstairs.
The soft blaring of the horn broke Rogue’s concentration hours later as she tossed her cards onto the table, “Wow, it’s three already?”
*Must be.*
“You certainly know how to play the game. Most of the time I play it back home I’m bored stiff after about two hands. Of course those I play with at home spend more time talking than playing cards, but that’s beside the point.”
*Dinner on shore?*
“Sounds great. You can tell me more about this girl you’ve got waiting for you. I know she’s pretty, she’s not materialistic, and she lives in the States.”
Chuckling, Mr. M shrugged, *I’ll tell you all about her at dinner. Until then I’ll leave you to refresh yourself and, uh, meet you at the gangplank in say an hour?*
“Sounds good.” Rising, Rogue headed for her room to collect her purse.
Hours later sitting peacefully at a little umbrella covered table, Rogue watched the sun slowly sinking in silence. Mr. M sat on her right, one hand wrapped around the base of his wine glass, the other in his lap, his gaze on the horizon.
“It’s so beautiful,” Rogue whispered softly, “Not as beautiful as some of the ones Logan’s seen but it’s right up there. Makes me think that there’s hope out there that we can all win and be united.”
*All win?*
“This whole Mutant’s are to be Hated thing,” Rogue explained sadly, “We’re all human, none of us ever asked to be born different and yet for something we have no control over we’re persecuted, hated, reviled – it doesn’t make any sense to me.”
*Do you wish you weren’t one?*
Rogue frowned as she thought of it; did she wish she wasn’t a mutant? Could she live her life as a normal human being? If she wasn’t a mutant would she have as much as she did? “No, no, I don’t. If I wasn’t a mutant, if my life had gone a different direction I wouldn’t have met Logan. I wouldn’t have experienced so much that it’s made me more alive than anyone else around me. No, no, I wouldn’t trade being what I am, who I am, for being normal.”
*Many would.*
“My mutation sucks – literally as well as figuratively, but it’s given me the most treasured thing in my life. It gave me Logan, it gave me a chance to be the woman he needs and I wouldn’t, couldn’t trade that off. Logan needs a strong, capable woman – anyone else would never really be able to know him like I do.”
*That’s important to you, isn’t it? That you know him so well, that you have a part of him that no one else will ever have.*
Rogue smiled and shrugged, “It is. For so long I’ve lived in the shadows, lived with the fear of hurting those around me and, you know, Logan’s the only one who’s never feared me. The only one who’s given me a chance to be, to have a normal existence. He’s taught me that there’s more to touching someone than physical contact, and I treasure that.”
Mr. M nodded thoughtfully, *You know, you’re the most enigmatic person I’ve ever met, and yet you’re so clear. Like looking into a pond and seeing the bottom.*
Rogue shrugged and flushed, “You were going to tell me about your girlfriend..” she prodded softly, unwilling to discuss herself any further.
*Yes, I was,* he replied. *She’s smart, sexy. But there’s more to her than just looks. She’s had more than her fair share of shit dumped on her, and yet she’s stronger than most women could ever be. She’s willing to risk so much to have what she needs, what she wants, and yet there’s an innocence, a delicateness to her. And enigma wrapped within a mystery, wrapped within the beauty of a woman.*
“What does she do?”
*At the moment she’s not really doing much. She’s taking some personal time, getting used to being in her own skin without having to deal with what others are telling her. Building on her strength, her character,* he paused, *She’s learning that she can have love, that she’s worthy of it. I mean, I could tell her that, but she’s got to learn that for herself. She’s also a tutor, when she’s not on her down time.*
“You said she’s not materialistic, yet I’ve seen you purchase her gifts,” Rogue paused, “Why?”
*What woman doesn’t like getting a gift, especially if it says I love you?* He explained, *I buy her things because she’s never asked for them, never given me any indication that she expects me to lavish them upon her. I can’t explain…*
“No need,” Rogue smiled, “You’re showing her she’s worth it to you without being all in your face. Logan does that, just with the life-saveage as opposed to gifts. I miss him,” she said, looking at the ocean for a moment.
The soft touch on her hand had her glancing back at her dinner companion, *Missing him doesn’t make you weak, it gives us strength to know that we can feel that much.*
“A fairytale that never ends,” Rogue whispered softly. “So where did you meet her?”
Smiling at the blatant attempt to change the topic of conversation, he shrugged, *At a fight.*
“You mean like..”
*Oh, no, nothing like that. Bar had fight network going. She was there having a drink.*
Rogue nodded and sipped at her drink as she waited for him to continue.
*She gives me life, ya know? She makes me think about more than just money. She could never hurt me really; I know that she’s worried about that more than once but she never could do it. She’s just not that way – there isn’t any way anything she ever does could hurt me.*
“Do you think that she knows it?”
Mr. M frowned slightly, *Honestly I don’t know, we never really talked about it. I’ve always known she’s scared but I never really thought that she didn’t understand that her touch, her presence could never hurt me. I trust her.*
Rogue nodded at the solid, calm way he stated it. It was more a statement of fact than a suggestion. “Does she trust you?”
Mr. M glanced at her before smirking slightly, *I think so.*
“I’m glad. Trust is a rare commodity, sometimes it’s very hard to get. Sorta like respect.”
*Respect isn’t given; it’s earned the same as trust. If you’re really lucky, I mean truly lucky then you find someone who you can give that trust, that respect, as soon as you look them in the eye. It was that way with her, I trusted her, respected her, even as I feared her. She woke something within me that I didn’t want to face, some little part of me that I wanted to hide away, a piece of me I wanted to keep safe and when our eyes met I knew beyond a doubt that nothing, not death, not rage, not fear would ever really separate us,* he took a sip of his wine, *But we both needed time to come to terms with that realization. We gave ourselves that time, and others tried to change us, tried to make us who we were never supposed to be. It took longer for me to trust, to respect them than it did her.*
“What would you change if you could?”
Staring across the water he sat silently, a thoughtful expression on his face, *Not telling her when I had to leave.*
“Tell her what?”
*That I belonged to her, that we could make it. That I was leaving part of me with her to keep safe.*
Rogue smiled softly, “I’m sure she knew. If you are as close as you say you are, she knew. Deep inside where it really counts she knew, she knows.”
Mr. M smiled softly, a touch sadly, *How can you be sure?*
“Because, I’ve been there. I’ve had someone look at me and say one thing with his words but his eyes told me something else, his very presence, posture everything told me another. He loved me even then; he just knew he had to find himself before we could have us.”
*A brilliant man.*
“Some would argue with you there. You know love sure gets complicated at times and yet with Logan it was easy. I never felt the whole pressure to do things for him that everyone I’ve been around says comes with love, there was no hero-worship at all. Sure he’s saved me more times than I can count but he’s also pushed me, angered me, nearly killed me, threatened to abandon me, and given me taste of the horrors he’s endured. Through it all there was this deep… I don’t know..”
*Emotional bond that gives you the strength to keep doing what you’re doing because it’s the way for you to feel alive. That bond keeps you going when everyone else has fallen away, lights the darkness, and slakes the thirst that draws upon us at times,* Mr. M finished for her and smiled at her quick nod.
“It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who understands.”
*Shall we take a walk along the shops? I’m sure there’s something we could see?* Mr. M suggested as the plates were taken from their table.
“Delighted,” Walking arm in arm with him, Rogue paused in front of a little stand where hand crafted jewelry was on display. Glancing at it she sighed as she fingered a decorative shell necklace with silver and gemstone trim.
*It’s beautiful.*
“Yes it is,” Rogue admitted as she lifted it up and smiled at him, “Here, you should buy it for your girlfriend. A last trinket before you fly home in the morning.”
Taking it, he fingered the delicately colored shells before glancing at her through his dark glasses. How like her to pick out a piece that was original and yet simplistic, something that was perfect for her. *Thanks, I think I will.*
After paying for it and having it placed in a slim, simple box Mr. M offered her an arm as they made their way back to their hotel. Keeping any signing to a minimum, he walked her through the gathering darkness and left her at her door with a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
Long after the door had closed with a soft click, he stood in the shadows, watching the door, at peace for once, content with the way things were. He knew now what he’d feared had been just that: fear he had a reason to go back; he had a promise to keep – and a heart to claim. Glancing down at the package in his hand he smiled, it would be the first key to opening her eyes, the first in a great many turns that would ensure that they both had what they wanted.
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