Flames licked the sky behind them as Rogue, Logan, Jubilee and Remy trudged away. They had stayed long enough to ensure that the flames consumed the guards’ bodies, but it was time to get out so that the authorities could be called in to control the fires. No one wanted to be responsible for starting a wildfire in southern Louisiana.
Jubilee and Remy walked a little ahead of Rogue and Logan, but Rogue was amused to see Jubilee glance back every few steps as if she was trying to make out what was going on between the two of them. Rogue caught her eye and raised an eyebrow. Jubilee grinned, undaunted, and gave Remy her undivided attention. Rogue shook her head a bit and maintained a tired silence while the two ahead chattered quietly.
The questions that had plagued her on the way to the rescue still rang in her mind. Now that the mission was complete, it was all she could think about. She remembered how Jubilee, devoted to making sure that Rogue stayed current on all of the mansion gossip while she was gone, often reported on how much Logan had changed. The question was, had he changed enough? Had she?
Rogue missed her family. Getting to fight with them had brought out a strange nostalgia in her. It would be so good to do this again, on a regular basis. Was that why she had this desire to throw in the towel on New Orleans and go rushing back to Xavier’s? Or was it the man walking next to her? Was she slipping back into that needy girl who would do anything for a crumb of his attention? If she returned, was she strong enough to stand up to Logan if he got all overprotective again? Would she be able to hold on to her new-found sense of self? Rogue was pretty sure that her assertive side wouldn’t just go back into hiding, that Logan and her ridiculously persistent feelings for him wouldn’t be able to shake that, but was it worth the risk?
Rogue’s contemplations were interrupted by their arrival at their vehicle. She eyed the driver’s door wearily as she fished the key out of the small, tight pocket at her hip. A large, warm hand closed over hers, making her jump. She looked up into Logan’s eyes.
“You’re tired, and you did a lot of good work today. Let me drive?” he asked quietly. Asked, not demanded. It was that as much as Rogue’s exhaustion that forced her to admit how physically and emotionally drained she was, at least to herself. She let the key slip into his hand and then expected him to drop hers. To her surprise, his fingers squeezed hers, his eyes warmed, and he smiled a little, one of the few smiles he had ever directed her way that wasn’t sarcastic or tinged with sadness and grief.
Rogue went around to the passenger side and climbed in. She clipped in her seatbelt, dropped her head back on to the headrest, and closed her eyes. Vaguely she heard Jubilee calling 911 to report a fire even as Logan started the car and pulled out of the clearing. Jubilee must have been using a drop phone; Rogue heard the distinctive sounds of Jubilee’s sparklies and smelled melted plastic. The window behind her rolled down and a clattering sound could be heard on the asphalt even as the window rolled back up. Rogue allowed her mind to drift, reassured that the emergency call wouldn’t be tracked to them.
Rogue woke up with a start when the car stopped. She opened and rubbed her eyes, then murmured good-bye to Remy, who was quietly exiting the vehicle so that he wouldn’t wake up Jubilee where she still slept in the backseat, snoring slightly. Remy whispered reassurances that he would see them later at the White Dove then closed the door. Logan grunted softly at the other man, and then they were off again. Rogue saw that they were driving down a dark, cramped street full of townhomes; she recognized Remy’s neighborhood. Realizing with dismay that she had fallen asleep only to leave Logan driving through an unfamiliar state and then city, she knew she would have stay awake to help navigate.
“Turn left at the next street,” she directed quietly, looking at Logan out of the corner of her eye.
He nodded and followed her direction. They fell into an unexpectedly easy silence, broken only by her instructions at first. After one particularly tight turn she saw him look her way quickly before turning his attention back to the road. Rogue braced herself for whatever he was about to say.
“Have you thought more about coming home?”
Rogue sighed and replied honestly, “Ah’ve been thinking about it for months, Logan. Ah’m just still not sure it’s a good idea.”
“What do I need to do to convince you, Marie? Is it…do you want me to leave?” Logan sounded reluctant and unhappy about the idea. Obviously he had become attached to the school, more than Rogue had thought possible.
She stared at him in horror. “No! Why would you even think that?”
“You left because you weren’t happy, and from your letter and what everyone has let drop that was at least partly my fault. I don’t want to be the one keeping you from your home, if that’s where you want to be. I just want you to be happy. If you can’t be with me there, I can leave. I’ve done it before.” The words were forced, bitter, and they made Rogue want to cry.
She grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly. “No, that isn’t what Ah want at all! Ah told you, Ah just needed to figure myself out, figure out what Ah want outta life,” she protested.
“Did you? Do you know what you want, Marie?” He twisted his hand so that his fingers tangled with hers.
Rogue felt her breath catch. Could she tell him? Did she dare take this leap? If she didn’t, would she really be being true to herself and all the work she had done? Wasn’t all of this about finding out who she was? The truth was, the part of her that was his was still there, still screamed for acknowledgment. Well, why not?
“Ah want you.” The words tumbled out of her mouth almost without her permission. She turned her head away from him to stare out the window blindly, unable to stand seeing the shock and possibly pity on his face.
Logan felt a heavy burden lift from his shoulders at Rogue’s words. She was radiating fear, anxiety, and sadness to his senses, and he realized that she was unsure what his reaction to her confession would be. For his part, Logan was so relieved that he could hardly speak. This was what had been bugging him. This was what he wanted, what he needed. He could only raise Rogue’s hand to his lips and press a kiss on her fingers. He was keeping an eye on the road, but he also managed to see her head whip around, disbelief in every line of her body. The few streetlights they passed didn’t quite explain the sheen in her eyes as she stared at him.
“Marie, the second I realized you left last year, I knew I wanted you back. I didn’t know why until I saw you again. I want you too, even if it’s taken me a while to admit it to myself,” Logan told her.
Rogue opened her mouth to reply, but he saw her eyes caught by something behind him. “Oh, hell. We should have turned two streets back, and Ah didn’t even notice!”
Logan sighed and turned onto the cramped street that she pointed to as an alternative. He spent the next minute or two listening to her smooth voice telling him to turn left or turn right, when all he wanted to do was stop the car and make her talk to him. Finally they were back in front of her apartment building. He parked and turned to Rogue, catching her under the chin with one hand so that she was forced to meet his eyes.
“Marie?” He was sure he didn’t need to say any more; she had to know what he was asking, what he couldn’t put into words.
Rogue gazed at him, and he wasn’t sure what to make of the serious look on her face. Then she smiled, just a small one but the happiest he had seen since his arrival in New Orleans. “All right, Logan. Ah’ll come home.”
Logan pulled her towards him. “Good,” he said just before his lips claimed hers. Her scent, the feel of her soft lips beneath his, and her very appealing taste threatened to overwhelm him, and the primitive part of his mind roared silently in triumph when she returned the kiss, parting her lips to welcome in the sweep of his tongue.
An irritating voice broke in, interrupting them. “Okay, guys, can we go in and change now? Isn’t it time to party? Does this mean you’re coming home, Roguey? Hey!” Logan pulled away from Rogue in time to see her swat blindly back at Jubilee, connecting with the side of her friend’s annoyingly bright yellow shoulder.
“Yes, Jubes,” was all Rogue said. She rolled her eyes towards Logan, her cheeks an attractive pink that made him wonder how far down the flush went. She smiled at him again and then quickly got out of the car. Logan watched her open Jubilee’s door and drag her friend out before he got out as well. He wanted to laugh when he heard what she was whispering fiercely to Sparky as she marched her into the building.
“Jubes, your timing sucks. Do you know how long Ah’ve been waiting for that?” Rogue was asking in a pretty good growl of her own.
Logan saw Jubilee nod in a world-weary way. “Chica, if I tried to remember back that far my brain might explode. Let’s get out of this leather, okay? I’m baking.”
Hmmmm…Logan liked the sound of that last comment, although it also made him feel a little guilty for not noticing what was right under his nose for so long. Well, that just gave him a lot to make up for, he decided as he followed the two women up the stairs, paying particular attention to one very fine leather-clad ass.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
And we're drawing close to the end with this one. Thank goodness! I hope you're all as relieved as I am. :-D
Chapter End Notes:
Well, did that satisfy your Rogan hunger? I hope I didn't make it too sappy. Let me know what you think! Was it worth not paying attention in a class I don't even need but have to take in order to write this? ;-)