A few hours later Logan was sprawled across his bed, pillows piled against the headboard supporting his back. A hockey game was playing on low volume on the smaller sized TV he kept in his room and Rogue was curled up against his side, her head resting on his shoulder as she read through her Biology textbook. Unbeknownst to Logan, instead of paying attention to what she was reading, she was quietly contemplating her time at the mansion. She had always been too aware of her awkward role there to feel comfortable studying in the library or kitchen as most of the students at Xavier’s did. She was the only one her age living at the mansion. Kitty, Jubilee, and Bobby would sometimes come visit when they got breaks from school, but Rogue was the only who had decided to stay. She had spent months before their high school graduation agonizing over the decision. At the time, she also had the more pressing concern of the return of her mutation. She had somehow known that the cure wouldn’t be permanent. She had also somehow known that to take it when she did, when it was in the earliest stages of its development, would probably render her immune to any future versions, much like a bacteria might develop a resistance to a whole family of drugs when introduced to even the weakest member. Nevertheless, she had grasped at the chance to feel normal again, if only for a short while, and hadn’t even felt surprised when the cure lasted for an even shorter period of time than she had expected. It had given her a mere three months of freedom from her skin, a mere three months to experience life as a normal girl again. Ironically, her relationship with Bobby didn’t survive those three months, but looking back, Rogue could see that it was because she had been able to see him as a normal girl would, instead of always seeing him from the perspective of a girl who was deathly afraid of being alone her whole life. Temporarily freed from that mindset, she had realized that while she felt fondness for him and gratitude, she did not love him. Besides, even as a normal girl, she still saw the looks he and Kitty sent each other. Barely a month after taking the cure, she had told Bobby that they should end their relationship. To his credit, Bobby had seemed surprised, and did not approach Kitty right away. In fact, he and Kitty hadn’t gotten together until after Rogue’s mutation had reappeared.
She hadn’t found out about its return in any dramatic or dangerous way, for which she would always be grateful. It had been Logan, even mired in grief over Jean’s death as he was, who had picked up on her anxious behavior and confronted her about it. They never beat around the bush with each other; Logan had cornered her in the library late one night and with one word, “Spill,” had Rogue confiding in him. He had listened calmly as she explained the suppressed feeling to her skin, the slight tingling “hum” that she had been feeling ever since the doctor had injected her with the cure. He hadn’t reacted at all when she told him she could feel the pressure on her skin lessening each day, that the “humming” beneath her skin was gradually becoming muted. He had merely stood looking at her until she finally begged, “Say something.” To which he had replied, “Every morning and every night we’ll meet in my room and you can touch me. If it does come back, I’m not going to let you be surprised by it. And if you feel at all funny during the day, come find me and we’ll test it out.”
So began their routine of daily meetings and neither of them questioned that they kept it up even after her mutation reemerged. Her company allowed Logan to heal from Jean’s death, and his willingness to spend time with her when he no longer had to had bolstered Rogue’s courage and confidence and gave her the peace of mind she needed to make progress in her mental training sessions with the professor. After her friends went away for college, Rogue was left feeling a bit adrift with Logan as her only possible anchor. He didn’t seem to mind the role, and so hockey and studying became their usual after dinner ritual. The only things that varied were the teams fighting it out on the screen and the subject Rogue was studying. On this particular night, the ritual was interrupted by the phone ringing.
Logan and Rogue froze briefly before giving each other identical wicked grins.
“You know,” he rumbled quietly as the phone rang again, “I never though anybody but you would ever be callin’ this number.”
Rogue patted his firm stomach affectionately before saying, “And, sugar, Ah never though Ah would ever be givin’ yer number to another woman.” Logan chuckled quietly as he rolled to a sitting position and picked up the phone.
“What?” he growled into the receiver. He turned his head and locked eyes with Rogue. When there was no immediate reply, he said in the same growling voice, “Listen, either speak or hang up the damn phone.” Rogue could swear his eyes were almost twinkling with mirth as tinny stammering finally emerged from the other end of the line.
“Um…y-yeah. Sorry. I’m, uh, I’m calling to talk to a classmate.” Logan raised his eyebrow as Rogue slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.
“This ‘classmate’ have a name, genius?” The growl was a tad rougher this time.
“Oh! Oh, yeah, it’s…uh, it’s ‘Rogue’?”
“Is that an answer or a question? Are you looking for Rogue or aren’t you?” By this point Rogue was clutching her stomach with her free hand as she rolled back and forth on the bed in silent laughter. Logan winked at her.
“Are. I m-mean ‘am’. Yes, I’m looking for Rogue.”
“Then why didn’t you say so instead of wastin' my time with this twenty questions bullshit?” The growl was rougher still. “Hang on.” He held the phone slightly away from his face before saying loud enough for Monique to hear, “There’s some idiot on the phone for you, darlin’. Says she’s your classmate.”
Suppressing the last of her giggles, Rogue pitched her voice a bit louder as she answered, “The must be Monique then.” Logan gave her another smirk and an approving nod before handing the phone over.
“Monique? Hi,” Rogue said breezily as Logan turned back to his hockey game. She could tell that he was still monitoring the conversation though.
“Just who the hell was that?” Monique demanded angrily.
“That was Logan,” Marie deadpanned. She had to hold the receiver away from her ear at Monique’s wordless shriek, and from the corner of her eye, Rogue could see Logan flinch in discomfort.
“And who the hell is Logan?” How the girl could get any words out at that pitch and volume was beyond Rogue.
“None o’ yer business,” she managed calmly. “Now, have ya decided when and where we’re meeting?”
“As a matter of fact I have.” Rogue was instantly on edge hearing Monique’s smug tone.
“Where?” she asked, glad that none of her nerves were apparent in her voice.
“Todd told me that you live off campus….”
“Yeah, so?”
“Sooo,” Monique drew out the word, letting Rogue know that she wasn’t going to like whatever followed. “Since it’s so hard to find a quiet place to study on campus, we decided that we’ll come to your place on Saturday morning. Say around ten?”
“Now wait just a minute!” Rogue exclaimed as she jack-knifed to a sitting position, thrusting her hand down on Logan’s stomach hard enough to make him grunt. “ Ah don’t live here all by mahself, ya know. Ah can’t just have guests without clearin' it first.”
“So clear it now. I’ll wait for a few minutes.” Rogue loathed Monique’s condescending smugness.
“Fine! Hang on a minute.” Rogue slammed the receiver down on the bedside stand, hoping that the impact at least left Monique’s ear ringing. “Can ya believe her nerve?” she whisper-yelled to Logan.
“Just ask the professor, darlin’. I doubt he’ll agree to people traipsing through the mansion anyway.”
Rogue immediately relaxed and nodded. “Ye’re right.” Professor? she queried mentally, knowing that he would pick it up even though she had no telepathic abilities whatsoever.
Yes, my dear? he answered immediately.
Ah have a bit of a problem. Rather than spend time “verbally” explaining the situation, Rogue allowed the professor to see through her recent memories on fast-forward before concluding with, so, they wanna come here on Saturday morning. But that’s not possible, right?
There was silence for a moment. Not necessarily. Rogue slapped her hand against Logan’s stomach again, forcing yet another grunt from him. She barely even noticed the annoyed look he cast her as he trapped her hand in place with his.
What do ya mean?
I mean, my dear, that you shouldn’t have to be a prisoner here. It’s your home as much as mine, and you may have whatever visitors you like.
But Ah don’t like! she shrieked mentally. Ah mean, Ah don’t want them here.
I think it’s more the tone of the young lady’s request you object to than her actual presence here, is it not?
Ah…Ah don’t know. Rogue frowned in confusion as she tried to look at her dislike of Monique objectively. She wouldn’t have a problem with any of the others coming to the mansion, but she couldn’t stand the thought of Monique being there, of seeing her living with other mutants. If that happened, then Monique would -
If that’s what you’re worried about, my dear, it won’t be a problem this weekend, Xavier interrupted gently. Scott and Ororo are taking all of the younger students to the amusement park. Only a few of the older students and Kurt and Hank are staying behind, and I think they can be trusted not to cause problems.
But, professor, Rogue protested immediately, they shouldn’t have to hide or sneak around in their own home.
Oh, I didn’t say that they would be forced to. Give me just a moment to ask them what they think.
Professor, no, wait! Rogue was met only with silence. “Ah can’t believe this!” Her sudden exclamation caused Logan to clench his fingers tight around her hand, whether in surprise or as protection against another physical outburst Rogue couldn’t be sure.
“What’s going on?” he grunted. Rogue opened her mouth to answer and switched to shaking her head as she felt the professor’s presence once more.
Rogue? They don’t mind at all. Tell your classmates that they are welcome. The students won’t be due back until almost six, so you’ll have plenty of time.
Professor, wait! Ah’ve changed my mind! They don’t need to come here, Ah’ll just tell Monique it’s not possible. Ah’m sure Logan won’t mind bringin' me to campus.
Rogue, no. She had rarely heard such a firm tone from the professor. Normally, he was more than willing to grant whatever request one of his students, or former student in her case, might have. I will not allow you to sequester yourself in such a way. It is normal for one to have visitors on occasion, and you know that I have never approved of how solitary you and Logan force yourselves to be.
Professor, it’s not safe! Rogue used her trump card in hope of dissuading the professor.
Rogue, do you trust me?
Of course! she answered immediately.
Then trust me in this and trust that I will keep you and everybody under my care safe. Now pick up the phone and tell the young lady that ten o’clock Saturday is fine.
“Unbelievable!” she snarled in an uncannily accurate imitation of Logan. She picked up the phone, as instructed, and breathed in slowly and deeply. “Monique?”
“Took you long enough!” Rogue gritted her teeth.
“Yeah, well, like Ah said, it’s not just me makin' decisions around here. Ten o’clock Saturday is fine. Let me give ya directions.”
“Dummy! Just give me the address. We’ll get directions online.”
“Fine.” Rogue rattled off the address before adding, “We’ll only have until four or five at the latest.”
“Fine. We’ll be there exactly at ten, so you better be up and ready.”
“Fine.” Rogue wondered idly if the conversation was really as childish as it sounded. “Call this number if ya have any trouble gettin' in.”
Monique snorted. “What? You live in a gated community or something?”
“Or somethin'.”
“Whatever.” The buzzing of dial tone interrupted anything Rogue might have said, and she slammed the phone back in the cradle harder than necessary. She let her breath out in a frustrated huff as she looked at Logan. He raised an eyebrow.
“So the wicked witch is coming for a visit?”
“Yeah,” she answered grimly. “Think the professor would mind if Ah dropped the house on her?”
Logan shrugged and saluted her with his empty beer bottle before turning back to the game.
* * *
Saturday morning found Professor Charles Xavier at his desk going over the budget for the following school year. While he could personally absorb some of the costs of running the school, he did rely partially on grants and some anonymous backers. The bulk of his own money went into maintaining and upgrading the lower levels of the mansion, the part that had nothing to do with formal education. He always managed the budget with incredible care, making sure not to take any funds from the money intended for the children’s education. On this particular day, an accounting discrepancy was causing him a headache, which he found mildly amusing. He could look effortlessly through all the minds in the world, but a single column of black numbers was making his thoughts swim. Just as he came to the decision to leave the problem to Scott, the buzzing of the intercom on his desk interrupted him. The flashing red light to the left of the buttons told him that it was the front gate.
He knew that it must be Rogue’s classmates as a glance at the clock showed that it was precisely 10am. Although he would never admit it, he was intensely curious about them. Rogue’s vehement reaction two nights ago suggested that she didn’t want anybody from her school to come to the mansion, but Xavier had picked up a marked dislike for only one of the students. It was his policy to never intrude unnecessarily on another’s thoughts, but when speaking mind to mind as he and Rogue had been, a little “spillover” was to be expected. Frankly, though, he was surprised to have picked up even that much from Rogue. She had the most unique mind he had ever encountered, and its strange unfamiliarity made it almost impossible for him to read her, even when she wasn’t actively shielding her thoughts.
Further contemplating the impression he had gotten from Rogue, he realized that what had been lurking in her subconscious thoughts was incredibly close to loathing. Bone deep, all-encompassing loathing, an emotion Xavier would never have expected from Rogue. She had always seemed to be such a gentle, caring girl that he had never realized she had the capability to dislike someone so intensely. To his knowledge, she did not even feel that way toward Magneto, but perhaps that was because she had him in her head and knew him just as well as, if not better than, Charles did. It was much harder, Xavier reflected, to hate someone you knew. Pulling himself forcible from his musings, which had taken place in the span of only a few seconds, Xavier pressed the button to connect him to the front gate intercom. Immediately, a heated argument filled his ears.
“No, there’s no way that little ghetto-rat lives here! I mean, look at this place! It’s practically a palace.”
“Monique,” a male voice responded, “this is the address Rogue gave us. Stop jumping to conclusions about her, and please stop calling her names.”
In a nasal tone dripping with disdain, Monique challenged, “Why should you care what I call her? You got a thing for the little freak or something?”
Xavier’s eyebrows shot up toward his nonexistent hairline. Freak? Did this girl know that Rogue was a mutant? Making a split-second decision that Rogue’s safety, and that of everyone at the school, trumped his moral squeamishness over eavesdropping, Xavier stretched his mind toward the girl at the gate. What he received when he made contact was a hectic jumble of thoughts and images. He saw Rogue as he always saw her: beautiful, withdrawn, her countenance tined with sadness. The thoughts accompanying those images, however, were drastically different from his. Monique saw Rogue as creepy and unnatural. Oddly enough, she also saw her as competition since Rogue gained a fair amount of attention around campus. This made Monique see her as a chronic attention-seeker despite the fact that she had no real evidence to support that belief. Digging a little deeper, Xavier noted wryly that this was, in fact, one of Monique’s own shortcomings projected onto Rogue. Taken all together, Monique’s mostly incorrect assumptions about Rogue culminated into a mangled, confused ball of irritation, jealousy, impatience, fear, and, Xavier was worried to note, the seeds of hate. Putting “freak” together with “fear” and “hate” in his mind, Xavier became even more worried that the girl knew Rogue was a mutant.
Morals and ethics be damned, Xavier thought, and delved deeper into the girl’s mind, sifting through memories of her childhood, adolescence, and her time at college. While he was relieved at his findings and actually slumped back into his chair, he couldn’t help but pity the girl. Deep down, she actually admired Rogue’s quiet confidence. Thinking about it for a moment, Xavier realized he would never have thought to include confidence as one of Rogue’s attributes. He should have, though, considering that at seventeen, Rogue had been able to leave the only home she had ever known and make her way alone to Canada. The professor had always assumed the task had been accomplished on adrenaline and fear, an instinctive flight response to the rather traumatic manifestation of her mutation. Making a mental note to never underestimate Rogue again, he leaned slightly forward and spoke into the intercom.
“May I help you?” He had to speak loudly to be heard over the continuous bickering from the car. He was somewhat amused to note that two more female voices had chimed in, one invariably supporting Monique and the other somewhat more diplomatic, pointing out that Todd might have a point.
“Oh! Uh, yeah.” The sound of a throat being cleared interrupted the young man’s words. “We’re looking for Rogue. Is this the right place?”
“Indeed it is,” Xavier said cheerfully. “Let me buzz you through. You may park to the left of the garage and I’ll meet you at the front door.”
Some more throat-clearing and then a somewhat muted “Thanks” was the only response Xavier got. Manipulating the controls on his wheelchair, he exited his study and slowly made his way down the hall toward the foyer. He alerted Rogue to her classmates’ arrival with a simple projected thought. He caught the barest hint of resignation from her before he severed the telepathic connection.
* * *
Rogue let out a wordless huff of irritation. Not only would she have to deal with Monique all day, but Logan had high-tailed it out of the mansion an hour earlier, refusing to answer her questions about where he was going and when he would be back. He merely shook his head once and offered a gruff “Good luck, kid.” She couldn’t stop the soft smile that came to her lips at the memory; Logan would probably still call her “kid” when she was in her eighties. Rogue smoothed her hands down the sides of her forest green shirt, slightly worried about the skin the slashed sleeves revealed. The plunging V-neckline showed yet more skin, but the cut remained modest. She grabbed a sheer silk scarf in the same green color and would it around her neck, one end trailing in the back and one in the front.
She was going without gloves today, confident that she could control her skin for a few hours. As long as nobody unexpectedly bumped into the bared skin of her upper arms, everything should be fine. At the professor’s mental call telling her that her guests had arrived, Rogue cast one last nervous glance in the mirror and clutched Logan’s tags briefly with one hand before dropping them to rest warmly against her chest once again. She grabbed her psychology book and notes and made her way downstairs. Hearing voices from the foyer, Rogue paused mid-step on the bottom stair as she realized that she was the current topic of conversation.
* * *
Xavier had remained in the foyer with the visitors after introducing himself and assuring them that Rogue would be down shortly. He watched as Monique and the two other girls looked around curiously while doing their best to maintain expressions of disinterest. Xavier noticed Todd, the only one who had bothered to give his name, also observing the girls. The professor was amused to see Todd roll his eyes at their behavior before turning to face him.
“Professor Xavier, may I ask you a few questions?” Todd asked politely.
Xavier considered the young man for a few moments before replying. “You may, but I cannot promise to answer all of them.” Todd nodded once in acknowledgement.
“Why does Rogue live here?” The three girls suddenly lost interest in looking around the foyer and down the one hall they could see and focused all their attention on Xavier.
“As you may have noticed from the sign at the entrance, this is a school. Rogue was one of my students, and when she graduated and enrolled at your college, I asked her if she would like to stay here. Of course, she has a room in the teachers’ wing now, rather than in the students’ dorm.”
“Forgive me for saying this, but isn’t that a little odd? I mean, you can’t offer that option to all your former students, right? So why did you offer it to Rogue?”
“In many ways, Rogue is like a daughter to me. I think of all my students as my children, but she had a rather unique situation and came to us relatively late. That, combined with various other things, made it somewhat difficult for Rogue to leave immediately after graduation.”
“What he means,” Rogue drawled as she walked up beside the professor and laid a hand on his shoulder, “is that mah parents kicked me out when Ah was sixteen and told me to never come back.”
“Why? What did you do?” Monique blurted, speaking for the first time since entering the mansion.
“Ah almost killed somebody. Satisfied?” Rogue responded, challenge clear in her voice. Todd drew in a sharp breath.
“Rogue!” Xavier warned in a low voice.
“You don’t have to be so mean. It was just a question,” Monique scoffed after a moment of stunned silence. “And I don’t appreciate the sarcasm. If you don’t want to tell, you don’t need to make up a story. I mean, I’m sure we can all figure it out anyway.”
“Oh?” Rogue tilted her head to the side. “And what do ya think ya have figured out?” she asked in a dangerously soft tone.
“Well obviously they caught you in bed with some boy,” Monique said with fake innocence. Rogue couldn’t contain her snort of cynical amusement as she reflected that it had actually been something like that. Monique’s eyes narrowed in response. “Oh no,” she continued with manufactured worry, “you didn’t get pregnant, did you, honey?”
Rogue arched a brow. “Speakin' from experience?”
“That is quite enough!” Xavier interrupted firmly. His statement was met with sighs of relief from the other observers. “I believe you will be quite comfortable studying in the kitchen. And, Rogue, make sure to offer your guests, all of them,” he emphasized, “whatever they might need. I will be in my study should you need anything.”
As Xavier turned away, Monique smirked at Rogue. She was barely able to contain a growl before leading them to the kitchen.
* * *
Several hours later, they had made good progress on their research into the psychological aspects of indoctrination. They hadn’t yet come up with examples to analyze during their presentation, but they still had plenty of time. Thankfully, Monique was actually a studious person and her attention to their research had kept Rogue from wanting to throttle her.
Todd leaned back in his chair, stretching his legs out in front of him and his arms above his head. Rogue could hear several soft pops deep in his back as his spine decompressed.
“I could use a break,” he said. “How about you, ladies?” A chorus of agreement met his suggestion.
“Ah’ll get us some drinks,” Rogue volunteered. “Ya’ll want some soda?”
“I’ll have spring water,” Monique said as Rogue opened the refrigerator.
“Of course ya will,” Rogue muttered under her breath. She pulled out three cans of soda for the others and had stuck her head back in the fridge to dig around for Monique’s water when she heard the door leading in from the garage open. The chattering at the table behind her died abruptly.
“You better not be after my beer again, darlin’,” Logan’s deep voice rumbled. Rogue felt his hand rest comfortably on the swell of her right hip as he leaned slightly against her left side and with his left hand reached into the back of the fridge to pull out a bottle of Molson. He straightened up and grabbed the magnetic-backed bottle opener from the freezer door to pop the top off his beer. Finally locating a bottle of water, Rogue grabbed it quickly and kicked the fridge closed with her foot as she handed the water to Monique. Turning back to Logan, she propped her hands on her hips and smiled saucily.
“And what would ya do about it if Ah was after yer beer?”
Logan took a long pull from the bottle and leaned back against the granite-topped island in the center of the kitchen. He considered her for a moment and then a wicked grin spread across his face.
“I suppose I’d just have to turn you over my knee.” Three feminine gasps came from the table, but Rogue and Logan ignored them. Rogue dropped her hands to her sides and sauntered closer to Logan, stopping only when the toes of her shoes were meeting the toes of his worn boots. Logan brought his left hand up to grip Rogue’s hip, his thumb feathering lightly against her waist. Her eyes locked with his, Rogue reached up slowly and pulled the bottle out of Logan’s hand, inwardly amused when she met no resistance. Tipping her head back slightly, but maintaining eye contact, she brought the bottle to her lips and took a long, slow sip of beer. The kitchen was silent save for the humming of the refrigerator.
“Is that a promise, sugar?” Rogue winked. Logan’s hand tightened reflexively on her hip before he chuckled and snagged his beer back.
“This one’s mine. Get one of your own, darlin’.”
Any response Rogue would have made was interrupted by the hum of the professor’s wheelchair at the entrance to the kitchen.
“Ah, I’m glad you’re back, Logan. I need to talk to you about something,” Xavier said in his cultured tones.
“Logan?” Monique squeaked from her chair. “You’re the jerk who answered the phone the other night?”
Logan allowed his hand to trail across Rogue’s stomach before gripping her opposite hip as she turned within his circling arm to face Monique. Rogue leaned her back comfortably against his chest and narrowed her eyes.
“Ya know, it’s not polite to call people names in their own home.”
Todd merely shook his head and sipped his soda when Monique narrowed her eyes in return.
“He lives here? As what? The resident handyman or your personal bed-warmer?” she asked snidely.
Logan cut off Rogue’s reply as he pulled her tighter against him and nuzzled her hair. “Don’t pay any attention to her, darlin’,” he rumbled in Rogue’s ear. “The bitch is just jealous.”
“Logan! That’s enough!” the professor commanded.
Logan’s head whipped around to face Xavier. “Or what?” he growled.
“Or I’ll turn you over my knee?” Xavier suggested archly.
The kitchen once again fell silent. After a full ten seconds, a choking sound from the table drew Rogue’s attention. Todd was desperately trying to repress his laughter while Monique, Rachel, and Jennifer just sat with confused looks on their faces.
Rogue snickered.
Logan lightly pinched her side in reproach and she erupted into full-blown laughter. She turned her face into Logan’s T-shirt covered chest and continued laughing as her eyes teared with mirth. Logan dropped his hand lower on her hip and smacked her bottom sharply.
“I’m glad you find it so amusing,” he growled in irritation.
Rogue looked up at him and gasped through her laughter, “Logan, ya have to admit, the visual is pretty damn funny.”
He stared at her blankly for a moment. All of a sudden he snorted, and a reluctant grin pulled up one corner of his lips. He hid it quickly by draining the rest of his beer, but Rogue caught it all the same. He smacked her bottom once more, lightly this time, before letting her go and moving toward the fridge. He tossed his empty into the recycling bin beside it and then pulled two more bottles of beer out of the fridge. He popped the tops off both of them and silently handed one to Rogue.
The professor cleared his throat to draw everybody’s attention back to him. “I have taken the liberty of ordering pizza for dinner. It should be here in about forty-five minutes, so, Rogue, would you be so kind as to get the door when it comes?” He waited for Rogue’s nod before continuing. “It’s all paid for – the tip too – so you needn’t worry about that.” Turning his head slightly to look at the guests, he added politely, “And of course you all must join us. I trust you like pizza, yes?” Monique made a face and opened her mouth, but before she could speak, the professor cut her off. “I also ordered a small vegetarian pizza just in case one of you might prefer that. Now, Logan, I need a word with you in my office.” Without waiting for acknowledgement, Xavier manipulated the controls on his chair deftly, turning around and whirring off down the hall. After exchanging a brief glace with Rogue, Logan followed.
“Like the professor said, ya’ll can stay fer dinner,” Rogue said, “but ya’ll’ll have to leave right after.”
“That’s fine,” Todd responded. “We – well, I wasn’t expecting you to feed us, so make sure to thank the professor for us if we don’t see him again before leaving. Do you want to work on the project a little more while we wait for the food?”
“Hell no!” Monique burst out and glared at Rogue. “Little Miss Rogue here owes us an explanation.”
“How do ya figure?”
“That Logan guy,” Monique snapped, earning nods of agreement from Jennifer and Rachel, who had been oddly quiet the whole day.
“What about him?” Rogue growled in a fair imitation of Logan.
“Who is he?”
“Listen, Monique, Rogue doesn’t owe you anything. And don’t forget that we’re guests here. You’re being rude.” Todd tried to derail Monique’s line of questioning.
“It’s all right, Todd,” Rogue said in a much calmer tone. “Logan’s a teacher here.”
“You’re having an affair with a teacher?” Monique squawked. “Do you sleep with the professors at school too?”
“It’s not an affair,” Rogue snarled, “and he’s not mah teacher, so it wouldn’t matter even if it was. And Ah’m not even going to respond to yer last bit o’ idiocy.”
“You little—”
“Just stop,” Rogue interrupted, suddenly feeling tired. “It really isn’t any of yer business, but Logan’s mah best friend and Ah’m his. Ya don’t need to know anythin' beyond that, so just drop it. Now let’s get back to work. We’ve got all this research done and tons of notes, but we haven’t discussed how we’re gonna present any of it yet.”
* * *
Logan shut the office door behind him and watched Xavier maneuver himself into position behind his desk. The professor absently steepled his fingers in front of his chest and looked up at Logan.
“Please, sit.”
Logan grunted and took one of the two seats in front of the professor’s desk. Xavier stared at Logan for several seconds before finally speaking.
“You know that I have always had a difficult time reading you and Rogue.” Logan didn’t respond and the professor shifted a bit uncomfortably. “Yes, well. How are you and Rogue doing? I assume everything is well between the two of you?”
“Look, Chuck. I have no idea what you’re actually asking. I’m fine, she’s fine. We’re fine. Now what the hell is this actually about?” Xavier was actually surprised at how even Logan’s tone was. Of course, it did have the dangerous undertone of impatience and irritation that seemed to be typical of all of Logan’s conversations. Save the ones with Rogue. He was counting on her being one of the topics of this conversation to keep Logan somewhat in line.
“What is the—” Xavier cleared his throat and tried again. “What is the nature of your relationship?”
“We’re friends,” Logan said warily, suspiciously.
“Yes, yes of course. But is there anything more than friendship?”
Logan narrowed his eyes. “How is that any of your business?” he growled.
Xavier swallowed hard. “Logan, I understand that, strictly speaking, it is absolutely none of my business,” he began placatingly. “But please trust me enough to answer my questions honestly. I assure you that there is a very good reason I need to know some things.” The professor had the uncomfortable impression that Logan was weighing him with his piercing hazel eyes. He had never been frightened of the man, but on several occasions he had been made startlingly aware of Logan’s feral nature. Xavier found it extremely disconcerting to feel like he was facing not a man, but an animal, one capable of intelligent cunning and planning, motivated to act on primal emotion. He had often wondered if such a behavioral pattern was the reason he continued to find it difficult to read Logan. The human characteristics of his mind were familiar enough to Xavier, and he knew that Logan was an extremely intelligent man, despite the lengths he took to hide it. However, Logan’s animal characteristics were so much a part of his thought processes that the professor was often unable to make sense of the things he gleaned from the man’s mind. Even Logan’s insistence on hiding his intelligence had a very animalistic motivation: the animal in him saw that his intelligence could be targeted, and so they hid it, much like an animal may feign injury to draw his pursuers in close enough to attack. If all anyone saw in Logan was pure animal brawn and reflexes, they wouldn’t be prepared to deal with him as a thinking, adaptable, and highly inventive human being.
Xavier found the similarities between Logan’s and Rogue’s minds startling. Rogue did not possess a normal human, or even mutant, mind either. The only time he had attempted to read her was that first time he had searched for her with Cerebro, and although he had located her, he was unable to get anything more than her surface thoughts. Any attempt to pry further met with a stubborn, foreign resistance. A primal defense, the professor had thought at the time, that was due to her recent absorption of Logan’s personality. However, as time passed and Logan’s presence in her mind should have faded, Xavier remained unable to bypass her defenses. The sessions they had done together to help her control her skin had been most vexing to the professor as he was only able to talk her through the image “training” he had developed for his students. Although Rogue had grasped the concept of seeing her mutation as a physical entity in her mind, a realm completely under her control, Xavier was unable to monitor her progress as he was used to doing with the other students.
“Chuck? Hey, Chuck, you all right?” Logan’s gruffly concerned voice brought him back to the present.
“I’m sorry, Logan, I find myself easily lost in thought today. I received some rather disturbing news earlier.”
It was Logan’s turn to shift uncomfortably. “What’s the problem?”
“Everything’s all right for now. Although things may become dangerous in the very near future, and I’ll need your help and Rogue’s to try to prevent that. That’s why I need you to answer some questions for me before I tell you about it.”
“Well, hell, Wheels. Now that you put it that way, what do you need to know?"
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the second chapter; obviously, some things differ from the events of X3. I kept some people alive, and explanations may follow. But if they never do, just consider it slight AU. My apologies for taking so long getting this up, and thanks to all who have read and reviewed!
Chapter End Notes:
Next chapter we find out exactly what has the professor prying into Logan's and Rogue's business and why he's so worried.