Rogue spent Sunday afternoon helping Storm organize class schedules, working out in the gym, and fretting. Evening found her heading toward the library for reference books, but as she pushed open the door, she saw Bobby leaning over Kitty where she sat reading. They were laughing quietly, and his hand was on her shoulder, then stroking her hair. Kitty leaned into his body and almost purred her contentment before she saw Rogue at the door, and quickly leaned away from Bobby. They reeked of guilt. Curious to know where everyone stood, Rogue did the one thing they wouldn’t expect her to do. She strode into the room, pulled out the chair beside Kitty, and plunked down. Bobby stood halfway between the two women, touching neither, saying nothing.
“Anything exciting going on?” Rogue almost felt ashamed of herself for baiting them.
“Ugh, not unless you consider homework exciting. I’m trying to get ahead of the game before midterms. Jubilee questions my sanity, and I don’t blame her,” Kitty scrambled papers in front of her, flipped books open, and worked hard at being busy.
Rogue focused on Bobby, “Thought you were going into town for some distraction.”
Bobby twiddled a pencil in one hand before answering, “Nah, decided against it. Nothing much to do on a Sunday evening, anyway. You up for another movie tonight?”
“Maybe later. I’ve got a few more things to do before I settle down for the night,” Rogue noted the window and the glowing colors of sunset, recalling her promise to check on Logan.
“How’s Logan doing?” Kitty interjected.
“So far, so good, I guess. He’s sleeping off the whole experience, I think. I need to go check on him soon, so if you’ll excuse me....” She slipped off the chair and left without another word. Once outside the library doors, she waited for a few moments before discretely peeking back through the door. Bobby had taken Rogue’s seat and was wiggling closer to Kitty who ignored her books again.
‘It’s time,’ Rogue thought to herself, ‘time to break it off. There’s just nothing left but a habit, and it’s a habit I want to break.’ She headed for the bustling kitchen.
Snatching up a covered plate, she chose meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, and collard greens; nothing that would required cutting with a knife. It would be too awkward yet for Logan to handle cutlery, and she wouldn’t embarrass him by serving him something he’d have to ask for help with before eating. Contemplating the bacon-seasoned collard greens, she made a duplicate plate for herself. Apparently her many appeals to the cooks for some southern dishes had paid off. Adding two sodas, she snapped the covers on the plates, placed everything on a serving tray, and headed for the elevator.
Outside his door, she called to him three times before he answered, “Leave me alone, kid. I ain’t hungry.” He didn’t sound sleepy, so she must not have woke him.
“Logan, let me in. This tray is heavy, and I’ve got special stuff for both of us. Get the grub while it’s still hotter than the waitress.”
“I don’t like repeatin’ myself, Marie.” Rogue detected a snarly tone, but it wasn’t totally convincing.
“Goddammit, Logan! Let me in, or I’ll get Kitty to open this door for me, from the inside.”
She heard a muttered ‘shit’ from within, then the bed springs creaked. Muffled footsteps. Locks clicking. Door knob turning. Logan shirtless. Oh my heavens, yes.
Her eyes crawled up from his bare chest to his scowling face. His hair was scrambled and he wasn’t pale any more; in fact, he looked fairly normal other than the bandages. Rogue gave him a slightly embarrassed grin.
“Dinner is served, sir.”
She shouldered her way past him and into the room. With cajoling and southern charm, flirts, threats and jokes, she got the surly out of him and the meatloaf into him, plus half the potatoes and two bites of collards before he protested.
“That’s rabbit food, darlin’. Count me out.”
They had settled on the sofa in front of the TV which babbled away in the background, rehashing the NASCAR race from that afternoon. Rogue munched her collards and his as they watched the points standings scroll past.
With no warning, Logan commented, “It didn’t get past me, by the way. Thanks.”
Mopping juice off her lips, she turned questioningly toward him, “Huh?”
“The food. Fork only. No knives. Thanks.”
“No problem. You know me, Sundance: always thinkin’,” she paraphrased badly from the last movie they’d watched together.
“You’re the Sundance Kid, baby, ‘cause there ain’t no way in hell anyone would ever call you Butch.”
Rogue nearly dropped her fork when he made that observation. Apparently his mutations were toast, but not his snarky sense of humor.
“If you make me spit my collards out like I did that french fry the other night, there will be hell to pay.”
One corner of his mouth started to curl; damn, but it was almost a smile! She continued, “You know, I’d like to watch that movie through from the beginning some time, when we could actually concentrate on it. I think it would be good for the Pop Culture class I’m gonna substitute-teach for Storm. I guess I didn’t tell you about that; even though I’m not certified or anything, she’s gonna make me a TA, a teacher’s assistant, to help out with the overload until more certified teachers are hired. Bobby’s handling Math for the younger kids, and I’m taking over Pop Culture, so Storm can drift between classes; have a presence in both classes at the same time, yet allow the TAs to handle the bulk of the work.”
Logan turned toward her on the sofa with an expression of pride, “You’re gonna teach more? That’s great, Marie. I’m proud of you.”
“Well, I’m not quite legit yet. It’s kind of like having a learner’s permit to drive a car, but still needing a licensed driver with you. I have to have a certified teacher overseeing the class or it doesn’t count for the student’s credits. But it’ll allow Storm to technically be in two classes at the same time, with less effort from her. I get paid for TA’ing, too. And I get extra credit for helping with establishing curriculum and the actual teaching. Win-win.”
“Good deal,” Logan started to drape his right arm around her shoulders out of habit, but winced when he was halfway there. She saw the slash of pain cross his face as he put his arm back down to rest on his leg.
“That hurts?”
“Yeah. The needle that was buried in my shoulder broke into pieces. Hank had to cut me open to get it all out, I guess. There are some stitches back there, too.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah.”
“How many?”
“Dunno.”
“Can I look?”
He leaned forward and allowed her to examine his bare shoulder. “You’ve got three here, tiny ones. They’re kind of red and puffy - have you been keeping them clean?”
“I’m supposed to go down there twice a day to get them cleaned and get the hands re-wrapped, but I ain’t gonna.”
Giving him the evil-eyebrow look, she asked, “Why?”
I don’t wanna be wrapped up like a mummy. Hell, I can’t even take a shower. As a matter of fact, if I can ask a favor, it’ll help me out a lot.”
“Okay, now I am suspicious.”
“Go to Hank, get what we need to swab off the stitches, and then bring it back here.”
“You don’t have any intention of going back for your follow-ups with him, do you?”
“Nope, not for a while.”
“Logan, I swear.....” Exasperated, she put down her empty plate and twisted on the sofa to face him directly. “I know this is not what you want to hear right now, but it’s the honest truth, and I’ve never known you to run from the truth. Your body isn’t healing itself fast now. You need to take care of these wounds for them to heal properly. And to compound the issue, you KNOW that.”
“And you know I hate labs and medical stuff. I don’t want to be down there all the time. I stirs up too much shit for me,” his emotions were starting to work out to his expression: the lips were a grim, thin line, the eyes hard and unyielding. He worked through the explanation after a deep sigh, “If I spend much more time down in Med Lab getting worked on, I’m thinkin’ it’ll stir up the nightmares from the other lab. You know better than anyone when I have those dreams, the really bad ones, my claws come out before I even wake up.” He looked down at the bandages, “You understand? I can’t do that now.”
“Okay, I understand - I hadn’t thought it through that far.” She settled in deeper against the sofa, and nestled against his side, “I’ll help you out, especially because.”
His face softened a little, realizing that he’d convinced her, “‘Cause why, babe?”
“‘Cause you’re Butch, and I’m the Kid, and we’re an outlaw team,” she gave him a playful grin. “Plus, I find it highly significant that you’ve got the ‘magic number’ of stitches in your hide right now,” she noted his head cocked in curiosity, but he waited for her explanation.
“Hank said there were sixty-six stitches in your hands, and I’ve just seen the three in your shoulder. You do the math,” she gave him her impression of a leer before bounding off the sofa toward the door. Another chuckle issued from behind her as he caught her joke.
“Someday, you’re gonna make some poor sucker wonder what the hell he was thinkin’ when he laid you.”
“I love you, too, sugar. Don’t lock the door behind me, or I’ll have to threaten you with Kitty again. Oh, and I’ll be breaking up with Bobby ASAP. I’ll be right back,” the door immediately clicked closed behind her.
Rogue's parting words hung in the air like smoke before her blunt declaration, and what it could mean to Logan, finally hit him.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Bobby and Kitty are acting guilty; Rogue coerces Logan to cooperate, then drops a bombshell.