The first morning that Rogue found a tray with milk, orange juice and toast waiting outside her bedroom door after she managed to drag herself out of bed and into some clothes, she reluctantly ate it all. In a way, it was a relief not to go down to the dining room and face the crowd. Soon they would have to notice that her appetite had changed, her routines had changed. You couldn't live with close to a hundred people and not notice little details about their lives. It was like the way she knew that 'Ro liked to garden early in the morning before classes, Scott would bury himself in a book or one of his cars for hours at a time when he was stressed out, and Hank hung upside down when he was deepest into his research because it “helped him concentrate.” The fact that Rogue hadn't attempted to spar with anyone in three weeks was probably being whispered about, and her new status as the Professor's assistant instead of active team member had already raised eyebrows. Maybe one or two of the more perceptive mansion residents might have put two and two together to come close to four.
Dragging herself away from the pointless circles her thoughts had become, Rogue decided to take the empty tray downstairs herself. Thanks to the unexpected breakfast, she was running a little ahead of her normal schedule. The food had been fairly perfect for someone fighting constant nausea, and she made a mental note to thank Scott. She was sure he was the one who had left her the tray. Maybe he had noticed how much more violent her morning sickness had become in the past few days.
However, Scott frowned when she mentioned her breakfast. “I didn't make you a tray, Marie, although I wish I had thought of it. I hate how much you're suffering because of me,” he said quietly, giving her hand a squeeze as they stood in the hallway before classes started.
Rogue's smile was distracted as she replied, “Oh, well, it was probably Hank, then. Plus, don't forget it took two of us to get in this situation. You didn't exactly force yourself on me...although there was that one night with the handcuffs...” She laughed when he blushed. The handcuffs had been a surprising addition to one of their nights together. At the time Scott had joked about wanting to keep her anchored to the bed for once.
Scott coughed a little as students began streaming around them, heading toward their first classes. Rogue grinned and went into her own classroom, feeling her stomach settle more as she used the students' participation to take her mind off of her nausea. The rest of the day passed by in a whirlwind, the way that the days sometimes did, and Rogue forgot to thank Hank for the tray.
Rogue actually didn't get a chance to talk to Hank for several days. Two hectic, back-to-back missions kept him busy downstairs healing injuries on the teams and giving new students physicals. When she finally cornered him to thank him for the breakfasts she was still receiving despite how busy he was, his reply startled her.
“I am sorry, my dear. I would like to claim such a thoughtful gesture as my own, but I would be lying. Perhaps someone has guessed your secret,” Hank said, inadvertently causing a fountain of swirling emotions to well up in Rogue’s head. He continued blithely, “The mystery will clear up once you make your announcement.”
Rogue nodded through the haze that had settled over her. Somehow she managed to thank Hank for his time and make it back to her room. She sat by her window for several hours watching the sun sink below the tree line. Since thinking led to ideas she really would rather not entertain, Rogue let her mind drift into a numb nothingness, a skill she had learned very well after Logan’s betrayal. It wasn’t a state she could maintain for long, but it helped sometimes.
This was not one of those times. When Rogue emerged from her numb cocoon the worry, pain and anger were still there, gnawing greedily at the edges of her thoughts. She tried to focus on the anger because that was safe. The anger could feed on the worry and pain, using them as a catalyst. In fact, the anger became strong enough that she rose to her feet, crossed her room, opened the door and went down the hall to the door she usually avoided. The anger forced her hand to rise, forced her fist to pound against the wood. When the door opened, she scowled at the man staring at her.
“I want you to stop leaving me breakfast in the morning. I don’t need you watching over me like a damn mother hen,” she snarled at him, riding that wave of anger.
“No.” He crossed his arms, leaned against the door jamb and quirked that eyebrow she used to love so much.
Rogue’s clenched into fists as if of their own free will. “What?!”
Logan kept his eyes steadily on hers. “N. O. That spells ‘no.’ Maybe you should work on your spelling if you’re going to be teaching the kids around here.”
Rogue’s eyes widened. She went with her instincts and let one of her fists fly out, connecting with his jaw in a sweet right hook. He sprawled on the floor, rubbing his jaw and glaring at her. Since she had heard the crunch as her fist connected with his face, Rogue figured a strategic retreat was called for.
“You’d better not do it again, Logan. I won’t eat anything you bring anymore!” She fired that parting shot as she spun her heel and marched back toward her own door. His quiet, “We’ll see,” followed her down the hall.
Logan heard Rogue’s door slam and smiled to himself. He had unsettled her. That was good. He had been wondering when she would realize who was leaving her a breakfast suited to a pregnant woman. As far as he was aware there were few options, but it had taken her a day longer than he had expected. The result was worth it, though. She had talked to him again. Yes, she was angry and knocked him across the room, but he’d been expecting something like that, actually. If he was getting under her skin, though, then she wasn’t as indifferent to him as she was pretending to be. That was all that mattered.
Logan was determined to keep up the first phase of his plan. After all, why would she ignore perfectly good food, especially when eating it in her room would keep prying eyes from stumbling across her condition sooner than she wanted? In addition to that, he would start planning the second phase now that she knew he was responsible for the first. The timing of when he would start would all be up to her, though.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000
Author's Chapter Notes:
Don't worry, I didn't abandon this one. My muse just kind of went on strike while I actually had something to do at work. Go figure.
Chapter End Notes:
Hmmm...I wonder what Logan will do next...