The familiar sound of a roaring motorcycle engine drew the attention of the few regulars in the diner. They watched in silence as the motorcycle roared to a stop in its familiar parking spot near the largest tree in the lot and the familiar man got off.

Glancing upwards at the clock they chuckled, “He’s getting earlier every night,” Frank, a regular short-haul trucker declared easily as he dug into his steak and potato.

“Yeah, but he sits there until dawn,” Holly declared grabbing two cups and the coffee pot. Moving through the tables she set both cups down on the table and poured one even as the man settled. She frowned slightly as she watched him, she’d heard the girl call him Logan more than once and figured that to be his name, “Anything else tonight Logan?”

“Maybe,” Logan grunted as he reached for his coffee before turning to watch for the familiar old pickup that Rogue drove.

The day had been a bitch and after having to deal with Jeannie and her little tests all afternoon he’d needed an escape. Finding his jacket, keys, and wallet laid out on his bed had drawn a smile and he’d quickly gotten himself together and out the door. He had no doubt that Rogue would be a while; it was rare that she could sneak out of the mansion so early, but he knew she’d at least try.

Sipping at his coffee Logan smirked at the glow of headlights as they pulled in next to the bike and the driver slid out of the cab. She’d obviously changed her clothes if the long blouse and gold belt were any indication. Black leggings completed her outfit and she wore his old jean jacket.

Watching her walk into the restaurant he ignored the stares of those at the counter, they were all harmless truckers with nothing better to do. Smirking up at her as she approached him he nodded, “That’s where it went huh?”

“It’s a good jacket,” Rogue declared dropping onto the bench next to him and smiling at Holly, “Thanks sugah,” she declared as she took the hot coffee and began adding her fixings to it. “Besides it smells like you and that’s more than enough of a reason for me to steal it.”

Logan chuckled and nudged her with his shoulder, “In future anything I got is yours, and all you need to do is ask for it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Rogue declared moaning softly at the warmth seeping through her body because of the coffee. “So how was the lab?”

“Uh, I hate that place even worse than I hate the meeting room,” Logan groused easily. “I swear Jean’s got it into her head to break my whole thing down to the bare bones before she puts it together. I tried to tell her she ain’t gonna find anything new but she won’t listen to me.”

Rogue grinned, “Yeah I know. If she’s not running tests on you, she’s running them on me. What the heck is she trying to find? A genetic signature or something?”

“God only knows. Scooter ain’t doin’ too well on distractin’ her though,” Logan grumbled good naturedly. “If he was we wouldn’t have to be the living guinea pigs.”

Rogue laughed softly and nodded as she leaned against him, “Yeah but just think I get to see you without a shirt on for hours at a time. That’s worth it to me.”

With a dark look at her that didn’t mean a thing with the twinkle in his eyes, Logan shrugged, “Fine. I promise to wear no clothes for a few hours a day..”

“Jeans are a must,” Rogue declared with a semi-serious, mischievousness. “Don’t want the other girls staring at your butt you know.”

“You two hungry?” Holly asked interrupting them as she moved toward the table with a pitcher of sugar.

“Could eat,” Logan glanced at Rogue, “How ‘bout you?”

“Yeah, I think so. Dinner wasn’t really all that wonderful,” Rogue nodded and glanced at the older woman watching them. “Burger and fries Holly.”

“Steak, rare, baked potato..” Logan started along the familiar order.

“I remember,” Holly grinned at Logan, “Been doing this for nearly forty years Logan, I think I’d remember a regular’s dinner order.”

Logan grunted a reply and watched her walk away, “Smart-ass,” he muttered just loud enough for Rogue to hear before cracking a grin at her giggle.

“Perhaps,” Rogue sighed and leaned back in the booth, “So Scott wants me to go with him to that stupid pick-up tomorrow night.”

“It reeks,” Logan grunted angrily. Truth be told he didn’t think it was what the team should be involved in. Some puny kid needed a ride from New Orleans and he could feel a change coming on the wind and he didn’t like it.

Rogue smiled softly, “I know. He thinks I spend too much time with you as is.”

“Tell me about it. Seems the only thing he has to say to me these days are Rogue’s too young for you and variations thereof.”

“So what do you think this trip’s about?”

“Honestly, I think he figures if he exposes you to someone younger, you’ll fall out with me and move on to someone your own age.”

“He doesn’t know me too well does he,” Rogue sighed and rubbed her temple before looking at Logan, “I made my choice long before the X-men entered the picture Logan. I knew back in Laughlin, and over the course of our lives since then you’ve only reinforced the credibility of that choice.”

“Rogue..,” Logan started.

“I can trust you,” Rogue whispered softly, “I know that at the end of the day you would do anything for me, even die so no worries. My mind and my heart are made up. I’m not about to change them. Now eat, that steak looks good.”

Growling softly at her, Logan cut into his steak and popped a bite into his mouth. “You know kid, I’m glad we’re a team. Glad we’ve got this.”

Rogue smiled and nodded, it was true. At the mansion they had to act like they were friends, like brother and sister when neither of them really thought like that. Rogue often slipped into Logan’s room after hours because there she could sleep, there wrapped around each other they could get a few hours of rest.

Granted they weren’t comfortable enough with touch yet to have sex, but it wasn’t because the desire wasn’t there. It was, it flowed between them like a rushing river, it was just they needed to heal, to come to terms with who they were before they moved on.

Rogue knew she had to learn to trust herself not to hurt him, not to use her skin in a moment of panic. She also knew that it was sometimes hard to do especially when the weight of a man on top of her sent off warning flags. Still she knew she’d been lucky with only a bad scare, it could have been so much worse if that man had raped her.

Logan was just learning that touch didn’t necessarily mean pain. That he could find pleasure in the soft caress, in the easy touch of a lover. Until then they would hold each other, love each other, and every night they would sneak out to come here, to at least try to be a normal couple for a few hours.

Glancing at Logan Rogue sighed; she knew someday they’d have more than an old, well used leather bench in an equally old diner on the side of a highway across from a fight bar. Knew deep within her soul that they would have what they both wanted, what they needed and she knew she could be patient because the end result, the end reward was well worth the effort.