Logan handed down the last of the supplies for his group. Someone had opened an unofficial channel in the military to supply civilians with food. It didn't hurt that no guidelines had been set and Worthington Industries became a partner in distributing relief rations.
Everything had been checked and rechecked for transmitters and chemicals. Turned out the rations were expired and the troops couldn't get new ones until the others were gone. Enter Warren Worthington's assistants who bought the old ones for pennies on the dollar. It wasn't much, but it kept the various groups afloat.
Leaving the jet, he picked up the pack at the bottom of the ramp. "Jeannie about finished?" he asked the younger man.
"Yes, don't think your people needed much." Scott surveyed the area as the group got ready to continue on. "How's Rogue?"
"About as good as can be expected," Logan commented. He'd picked her up a few things and if he could get her out of the lab outfit, they might really be getting somewhere. Clapping Scott on the back, he said, "Don't let the kids at the orphanage run roughshod over ya'."
Logan walked off as Scott laughed behind him. He certainly thought he had the easier job, Scott had to balance intel gathering and dissemination, run the orphanage, and help Xavier keep it all above board so they could prove mutants weren't a threat. Actually, they were doing well if Xavier and Jeannie's ability to have several anti-mutant policies overturned was anything to go by. Then again having most major cities devastated and experimental labs that weren't supposed to exist exposed didn't sit well with anyone.
Rogue spotted them easily enough when they landed. She'd anticipated Wolverine’s arrival and contemplated getting closer. There were a man and a woman with Wolverine. The man she felt she should remember from the school (a teacher maybe), but the red-headed woman was ringing some kind of alarm bell in Rogue's head. A scientist.
She could spot one a mile away, and if she could've been a mile away it would've been better. As it was, she moved to the other side of the group away from the jet and began completing the task the second in command had given her. There were a few people going to be checked out by that scientist, but not her. No way in hell.
Walking briskly toward Marie, Logan noticed Jeannie on a trajectory for her also. He stepped up his pace; this wasn't going to end well. "Jeannie," he yelled trying to cut her off.
"Just a minute, Logan," Jean called over her shoulder, intent on reaching Rogue.
Jean made it first and he could see Rogue staring blankly at her, a chill went up his spine. This wasn't the stare of the last week, but the one she had when she first joined them from the lab. Closing in he caught the final part of the one-sided conversation. "...Logan would want me to take a look."
Rogue's eyes shifted to him. He'd only seen her show a couple of emotions up to that point, she'd just added animosity to her repertoire. Eyes sliding back to Jean, Rogue roughly yanked at her clothing to display the portion of her abdomen with the most scarring and the newest patch of missing skin.
Despite all her training and experience, Jean made an audible gasp. Rogue covered herself back up, grabbed the items she'd been working with and purposefully strode over to the second in command. She heard Wolverine cussing a blue streak as she walked away.
After handing over her completed task to the second in command, she proceeded away from the others. She tried to remember how her legs were supposed to work without running. The anger had faded, and she was left in turmoil again, her body feeling wooden.
Fixing her eyes on a large patch of shade trees, she moved much like she had at the lab only concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. Once there she pushed her way through the bushes until she was sure no one in the camp would see her. There was a sudden need to go further, but she fought that feeling down. She dropped to her knees and retched up her entire lunch. Hunching over the spot, she continued to heave for what seemed like an eternity.
She didn't know what possessed her, but she'd gotten an odd sense of satisfaction out of shocking the scientist. Wolverine had appeared mad, but she couldn't tell at who. Though she remembered him having a thing for the red-headed scientist, so he probably wasn't upset with the woman scientist.
If he was displeased with Rogue, it would be best to stay under the radar and out of sight. She could use the time to learn to read people's moods. She thought she might have known at one time how to do that. A year in the lab had left her unable to tell anymore, the scientists there had happily inflicted pain.
Wiping at her mouth, she began searching through the little bag she'd been given for her meager belongings. She took a sip of water from the container she carried. Then she found the gum that came with the food packets and popped it in her mouth.
The jet that the teacher and scientist had arrived on lifted off and she knew she needed to get back to the group. They would move out immediately and she didn't think she could survive on her own yet. She might know how to build a fire, but by herself, she doubted her ability to do much more.
When she caught up with them, she kept to the back and off to one side. Wolverine soon saw her, almost as if he'd been looking for her. He could easily track her anywhere, she knew that, but she wasn't ready to face the repercussions for what she'd done to the scientist. She didn't know why it should matter to her that he was mad.
She tried to keep her head down, not wanting to look at him and see the disapproval on his face. Maybe given some time she would be able to accept what he had to say, but until that time she best keep her distance. So for the next five days she waged a game of evasive maneuvers. All the while she watched the others hoping to learn, hoping to find out how they made up after they were mad.
Rogue stood before the once luxurious hotel that had lost its top two floors. It looked as if a sentinel had swiped them off, like a child would their wood block building. Rooms had been cleared, the ones with easy escape routes had been assigned to everyone. Though there hadn't been a report of any sentinel attacks since the transponder issue and the military hadn't done any raids since before she'd been freed from the lab. If everything went well, there would be approximately an hour of warm water and a possible night in a real bed.
She found her corner room easy enough, one window was almost even with the roof next door, the other window had a spectacular view of the city. That view wouldn't fetch the price it had in the past, as it only reminded one of how far society had fallen. In the day it had been a beautiful, well-appointed room, and she eyed the dark blue down comforter. Her old blanket was good, but she might have to find a way to take the comforter with her.
Time was ticking and she'd already wasted five minutes of it. Starting the shower she got the warm water promised and stepped in fully clothed, figuring on letting everything soak in the bottom of the tub while she washed. Plus, she could avoid looking at herself in the big mirror just a little longer.
All the little courtesy bottles were still in place and she took her pick of soaps. It had been a long time since she'd smelled of anything besides antiseptic. She thought there should be some big sigh of relief at the idea of normalcy. Or maybe she should crumple up and cry for herself, but she felt nothing other than the need to hurry and clean herself and her clothes.
The light from the windows filtered into the bathroom and after toweling off she decided to see what the damage was. She could understand why the scientist had gasped, but again she didn't feel the shock. It was surface damage; she was mostly intact and alive. It was more than some and less than others ended up with.
There was another thing she needed to check. She let her lips curl up; it wasn't a smile; not one most people would recognize, but it conveyed something more than her usual expressionless look. She tried to think back to a time when she did smile. The only times she could remember were when he was present. There had been a feeling that came too, something warm.
Sighing, she wrapped the towel around herself and picked up her wet clothes to hang on the chairs to dry. She'd spent enough time alone with her thoughts to last the rest of her life. Best to move forward.
Rogue wasn't surprised to find Wolverine sitting on the bed when she stepped out of the bathroom. His pack was on the desk across the room and the smaller, second pack he'd carried all week was next to him. She ignored him and went about the task of laying out her clothes.
"Marie...Look, I..." he stopped and let his shoulders slump. He couldn't word an apology that sounded sincere. He wouldn't blame Marie if she didn't accept it, he knew Jeannie's reaction had been a blow to the progress she'd made. "Jeannie, she-"
"Scientist," Rogue corrected. They were all the same, an interest in how the body worked. There was no way to tell the good ones from the bad ones.
Her interruption stunned Logan, she'd been insistent about it too. He took that as a good sign, she was willing to argue over her feelings; not quite the empty shell she projected.
He nodded. "She has her way of doing things." Marie turned to study him. He gave her a grim smile and shrugged. "Didn't want to cause a problem."
She didn't understand how it could cause a bigger problem than what happened. "Problem?"
"Jeannie accused me of using you." Marie’s brows were still knitted together, puzzling over his statement. He clarified, "Didn't like that we're involved."
"You told?" There was something in her voice he couldn't identify, but the indifference was gone.
“No, was projecting or something.” Then again Logan had felt the brushing of Jeannie's mind so she may have tried peeking to see why he was being so defensive of Marie.
Rogue walked closer she wanted to gauge his answer to the next question. "Is it...?" She searched for the right word.
"Inappropriate?" He rubbed the back of his neck, obviously thinking it over. "You tell me?"
Ignoring the question, she didn't much care what a scientist thought about what she was or wasn't doing. What she did care about was what he thought about the scientist. She needed to know; she didn't want to interfere with Wolverine's happiness, even if he chose a scientist. "You want the scientist?"
He looked her directly in the eye. "Wanted is a good way to put it. Don't much remember why."
"Flawless," she offered up.
Logan thought about that. Scrubbing his hand through his hair, he hoped she wouldn't take it the wrong way, though so far Marie had taken everything at face value. "Looks ain't everything, Darlin'."
She thought she understood; he hadn't been interested in her when she was that girl before the lab. Maybe he needed someone that was like him, imperfect. He had his flaws and now he was willing to accept hers in return. Then again, he was interested in the scientist back then.
He stood. "Need to clean up before the water's gone." He walked away then called from the bathroom, "Bag's yours. Thought you might like some options."
While he showered she sorted through the items in the bag. A hoodie, shirt, pants, low-heeled cowboy boots without the pointy toe and a folding knife. The clothes seemed to be close to her size. He'd thought about her when he'd been away and then carried the bag during the week when she wouldn't let him near her.
She'd thought of him while he was gone and again later, but that was about sex and wanting to have it with him. Was she supposed to get him something when he was gone? Some people in their group occasionally gave things to each other, she hadn't really paid attention to that part. Or why they gave things.
After neatly stacking the items on the small table by her drying clothes, she took off her towel and flopped on the bed. Cuddling up in the comforter, she decided she would take it with her. It was soft and lightweight, yet sturdy and wouldn't add much overall weight to her pack.
Wolverine was almost finished, she could hear him wringing the water out of his clothes. He came out of the bathroom with a towel slung low around his hips and started pulling clean clothes from this pack. She watched him, the muscles of his back, the way his towel threatened to slip off, and it made the heat spread through her belly.
Turning, Logan couldn't help but snort at her, all wound up with only her face and toes peeking out. He saw something in her eyes that drew him to the edge of the bed. There was a small flame of desire flickering in her eyes and he felt the weight of her gaze as it traveled down his body to his towel.
She stretched out her toes and ran them up his thigh under the towel as far as she could reach. "Sex?" she asked, her voice edged with need.
He looked out the window at the fading light, warring with himself about what was best for Marie. "Don't have much time.”
Rogue flipped back the comforter as an invitation to lay beside her. When he hesitated for a second, she was able to hook her toes into his towel and make it fall. He shook his head, smiling at her before he took his place beside her.
She put her fingertips to his temple and slowly traced his muttonchops down to his chin. The second in command's woman had done something like that and Rogue had wondered what it did for them. She was unsure, but it did give her a chance to really concentrate on Wolverine's face. The intensity of his hazel eyes gave her an odd feeling low in her stomach and she was curious to find out what would happen if she moved her hand further down.
Finding his jugular, she rested her hand there liking the rapid pounding of his pulse, but he didn't let her fingers stay there for long as he leaned in for a kiss. When he finished exploring her mouth, leaving her quite breathless, he began kissing a line down her jaw and throat. She thought she should be doing something instead of trying to catch her breath, however, he'd begun kissing every scarred place on her chest. He was attempting the same descending pattern as the first night and this time she didn't stop him.
In all her observation, she had not seen what she thought he was going to do. She had no idea if it would be enjoyable. Though she decided to trust him on this, everything he'd done with her so far had been worthwhile.
He'd moved down her body until he lay between her legs. There was a weird quiver in her stomach as his facial hair scraped along her inner thigh. She felt the surge of wetness that she didn't fight when his breath stirred her hair.
She gasped as his tongue touched her moist folds, but she fought the urge to arch her back; she thought it would be best to keep still as to not disturb him. He continued to lick her sensitive flesh, and she grabbed a fist full of comforter. This must've been why he stopped her the time she'd sucked his cock, the sensation was almost too much to bear.
Suddenly she found herself floating, lost in the feeling of his tongue on her clit. She was vaguely aware of him breathing heavily on her thigh before he moved. Coming back down, she found him kneeling between her knees with a smirk on his face. He seemed to be rather pleased with himself, and she supposed she should be blushing, but he reached forward and put his strong hands around her waist and gave her no time to contemplate it further.
Carefully he drug her into his lap, pushing into her as he did so. His hands moved further up her body to support her back as he pulled her upright. One of his hands stayed on her back, the other slid down to her ass and he gave an experimental thrust.
Not knowing what to do in this position, she embraced him resting her head on his shoulder. Although it was nice, and she liked holding him, his thrusts were shallow and the friction wasn't building fast enough.
Gripping his shoulders tightly she leaned back and away from him. This caused him to shift positions and rise up on his knees further to balance them. The change allowed her to dig her heels into the bed and for him to thrust deeper.
She wanted to watch him, to study him when he orgasmed, but her thighs were shaking and she dug her nails into him to hold on. One of them was making a low throaty sound, though she didn't think it was Wolverine cause he was smirking again as she convulsed around him. His smirk quickly disappeared and was replaced with grit teeth as he buried himself to the hilt, filling her.
He lay with her a few moments afterward as their bodies cooled. She knew he wouldn't stay long, there was his share of the night watch and other responsibilities he'd shouldered to make sure his people got a little respite. Not that she minded, it was best she slept alone to not wake others with her dreams.
Anyway, the bed was proving too soft and she might end up on the floor for the night as it was what she was used to. As She watched him get up and dress, she realized they had found a way to make up. It wasn't something she had seen others do during the previous days, or at least no one did it the same way. Together they had found their own way to solve the problem. Surely it wouldn't always be that easy.
He smiled down at her as she wrapped herself in the comforter contemplating what part of the floor would be best for sleeping. Bending over he gave her a soft kiss that seemed to convey more feelings than she could ever possess. "Be back in the morning," he stated and disappeared from the room.
Rogue woke with the first light, a habit borne out of the camp always being on the move. She dressed in a mix of the items he'd brought her the night before and what she'd had before, sorting through the rest she began packing her belongings, leaving room for the comforter.
Logan stepped into the room during what he was sure wasn't her first attempt at getting the comforter into her pack. She looked at him in frustration when he broke out laughing,
“Darlin', you're never gonna get that stuffed in a bag."
She narrowed her eyes at him because she wasn't giving up, even if she had to wear it like a cape. She was unsure but whatever look she'd given him earned her a kiss on the top of her head. For a few moments she couldn't think, she hadn't seen this among the group and she wanted to know why not. It left her with a warm, tingly feeling in her chest.
Unfolding the comforter, he spread it out on the floor and showed her how to roll it. Then he ripped strips out of the bedsheets to tie the comforter in a handful of places to keep it rolled. She put on her pack and he fastened it with more strips of the sheet around the outside of the pack.
"Got everything?" he asked once he was satisfied with the way it was secured.
She nodded; she was wearing the shirt and boots he'd gotten her and put the rest in the bag. When he eyed her pants, she felt the need to explain. "They're too rough," she said, pointing to her hip.
"Should've thought of that," he said, hefting his pack in place and leading the way down the hall. She'd obviously kept them and would wear them when she felt like it, time was all she needed.
Rogue followed, thinking about how his shirt and hoodie were comfortable and the boots fit better than the ones she'd had. It had felt odd to be thought of when she wasn't around and she was already turning over the problem of whether to get him something. What would Wolverine need?
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