Tentatively, Logan pushed open Rogue’s bedroom door, peering in to see her sat on the edge of her bed with her back to the door. “Hey, kid,” he called softly in a bid to get her attention. There was a momentary hesitation before Rogue slowly glanced over her shoulder to welcome him with a small smile. At this, Logan pushed into the room, gently letting the door fall shut behind him. He slowly walked into the room, dressed in his usual attire of a buttoned shirt, vest and fitting jeans since he had been discharged from the medical bay.
“Hey, glad to see you up and about,” she said as her eyes followed him into the room.
Logan shrugged some at this, a small smirk evident on his face. “Nothin’ keeps me down for long.” He leant upon her chest of drawers casually with his forearm, watching her on the bed in front of him. He saw her smile once more at the response, before she glanced down at her lap somewhat awkwardly. “Hey,” he began, to get her attention, “I’m sorry for everythin’.. ” Rogue watched him as he spoke, knowing exactly what he meant without him needing to elaborate. “I really am,” he added quietly. Whilst if he had been in control he would never have done such a thing to her, he was well aware that those instincts that fuelled Wolverine were instincts he still had even now. The only difference was, he could control them. He could control himself.
“I know, Logan,” Rogue told him, her smile a little strained, but still genuine. “Let’s just forget about it. Put it in the past. Just as long as you never tell me to stay away from you again, all right?” Her smile was more relaxed now, more amused.
“I won’t,” he assured with a faint grin. There was a comfortable pause of silence between the pair before Logan leaned forward to gently brush at her white streaks in question.
Rogue’s eyes follow his hand, feeling his fingers skim her cheek delicately. “I kinda like it,” she told him in response to the streaks. It was a symbol, a defiant mark of the recent events. It wasn’t, as people assumed, a sign of her escaping Magneto, but it was a reminder of Logan’s loyal determination. His strength to rescue her no matter how dire the situation had been for either of them. It was pride.
Logan smiled a little, nodding his head slowly at her. He understood her desire to keep the streaks, just like she understood his desire to keep his dog tags. In reality, neither offered much aid, but they were there, and they were needed. “We’ll just stick together, eh, kid?”
Rogue’s smile weakened a little at this, initially summoning a bemused frown upon Logan’s face. “Kid?” she repeated in a quiet voice. “Logan, I’m no longer a kid. You know that.” Logan looked rather disconcerted by this, for he knew what Rogue meant. Rogue’s eyes trailed his expression searchingly, for her words had specified the fact he had seen her naked, and that to call her a kid was somewhat backwards. Rogue didn’t look at all abashed by her disguised bluntness; in fact, it was like she was intending to dig deep.
“Look..” began Logan, deciding to intervene and steer the topic out of these uncertain waters.
But Rogue stood up sharply off the bed, Logan straightening out of his lean on the chest of drawers to watch her uncertainly. “I know why you call me kid,” she said, the tone almost threatening as she took a step towards him. As she continued to advance, Logan had a fleeting desire to back away. “The only reason you call me kid is to convince yourself that that’s all I am.” She was now directly in front of him, but Logan stood firm, looking down at her with an even darker frown. “Even when I’m obviously not one,” she added, challenging eyes staring up at him.
Logan remained silent, needing to avert his gaze from hers. She had hit the truth very closely, and that disconcerted him. It was something he had been battling with for a long time, that his innocent little Marie was just a kid, a kid he was to protect. Definitely not someone who should become the object of a grown man’s lusty affections. But Rogue had proven her worth time and time again, in different ways, to make his name for her irrelevant and misjudged.
“Stop usin’ it as an excuse,” she said firmly after a short while, and Logan looked back to see her eyes still fixated on his.
“I’m not,” Logan argued lamely, now watching her with worry.
Rogue mildly rolled her eyes at this, before she continued. “Do I need to prove it, Logan?”
Before Logan could tell her that it wasn’t necessary, she did something that shocked him. Something he could never have prepared for. Rogue was also shocked, shocked at her daring, for without any word of warning, she had thrown out her gloved hands to grab him around the neck, and used his large body as leverage to pull herself in against him and meet his lips in a fierce kiss.
Unlike before, Logan didn’t have time to avoid her embrace, and unlike before, he responded positively. True, he may have been surprised by her audacity, but he found his hands instinctively creeping to clasp the woman’s hips. Forcing his powers to battle against any impending danger, Logan used his grip to pull her even tighter against his form. There was no trace of anything that resembled innocence as Rogue continued to kiss him with the pent up passion. She gave a soft gasp of breath that trailed along his lips when they moved each against other, before sealing the kiss once more with such a hunger, like they had been denied of each other for too long.
Rogue wasn’t sure where her sudden fire came from, normally, she was awkward and hesitant when it came to her feelings for Logan, but now she had some form of acceptance, it was like it had opened the gates of her heart and everything came crashing out to meet this kiss and make it incredibly memorable. Even Logan’s usual thoughts of denial seemed to have absconded the instant the lips he had yearned met his. The clouds of murky uncertainty seemed clear with a sparkling clarity, for the time being.
Breaths heavy from their amorous embrace, the pair withdrew slowly. Rogue’s gloved fingers gently trailed down the thick column of his throat as a hand pulled down from his nape. Her wide eyes stared at the lips she had just kissed before returning to his gaze. “Logan..” she whispered softly, unnecessarily, for his attention was solely on her.
He gazed down at her, a hand lifting from her waist to delicately brush aside a white streak that had become tousled during their passion. “Why did you do that?” he asked her quietly.
Swallowing a little as she came up with a response, Rogue answered with a small smile, “Because I wanted to.”
“You sure?” he asked her, his hand now resting on her shoulder.
“Of course I’m sure. I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t sure.”
Logan glanced aside for a moment. “All right..”
Concerned, Rogue moved her head in a bid to catch his gaze, “Logan? What’s wrong?”
“Nothin’,” he said softly, leaning closer to kiss her forehead in a reassuring manner. “I just need to think, that’s all.”
Rogue stared at him. Think? Hadn’t they been thinking long enough? But she didn’t voice her disagreement, “Ok..” she said meekly.
Logan seemed to look a little hearted by her lack of arguing. “I’m gonna go and get a beer, sit outside for a bit. I’ll talk to you later, all right?” This time, Rogue couldn’t get her throat to work, so could only manage a non-committal jerk of her head. At that, Logan gave her forehead another kiss, gently slipping from her side and walking towards her bedroom door. Without looking back, he exited, leaving Rogue staring at the closed wooden door in confusion.
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