Hitching his bag higher on his shoulder, Logan stepped onto the elevator. He’d been somewhat surprised at the other occupant which proved he was more exhausted than he thought. Jeannie’s scent is what he’d been following and why he took the elevator in the first place, his senses quickly told him that Jean’s scent was older than he’d guessed at moments ago. All the same, it was nice to come face to face with Rogue just as he was returning.
“Hey, stranger didn’t know you were back,” she said with a smile spreading across her face.
“Just walked in the door,” he replied accepting the hug she offered. It had been a year since he’d gotten a welcome back hug and he’d missed them. Chasing down his past and her busy college schedule had stymied their friendship.
Rogue didn’t want to let go, she’d missed the closeness from when they first arrived at the mansion. Back then with his constant travels, he’d managed to make time for her, even to just lend an ear. If only life could go back to her last year of high school and how uncomplicated it seemed in retrospect.
“How was Japan? Was Yashida helpful?” she asked pulling back. She’d gotten sporadic calls and messages from him while he was gone. None of them were long, more along the lines of him checking in so she wouldn’t worry.
“Japan’s interesting, found some info about who I used to be,” Logan answered straightening up. He had to admit the hug was the best thing that had happened to him in some time and he was sorry to let her go. “Yashida… wasn’t very helpful.”
That was an understatement. If he didn’t have this place to come back to, he might not have seen the old man’s set up coming quite as soon as he did. He might also have been tempted by his brief dalliance with Mariko or to travel more with Yukio. Glancing at Rogue’s smile he knew she was also a big part of why he’d come back.
“Sounds like things got complicated,” she stated and he snorted at her. She might not be a mind reader but she’d always been good at reading him, knowing what was on his mind. After he got some sleep, he’d have to tell her the whole story.
“Yeah, when aren’t our life’s complicated?” he said. She laughed, nodding at the thought. “Got some leads to follow, so it wasn’t a complete loss.”
Rogue tilted her head a little at the almost wistful look he was wearing. She knew he hadn’t stayed in Japan the entire time and traveled some afterward, but still, there were few things that produced that look. “Oh no, don’t tell me you found a redhead while you were there?”
He raised an eyebrow at her and appeared slightly offended. “It wasn’t like that.”
“Okay, if you say so,” she teased with a wink, earning her another snort. It was nice to know that their friendship was still intact even if they hadn’t talked in a while.
“Speaking of reddish hair,” Logan poked.
“Oh, ouch! Rub a little salt in the wound why don’t ya’.” She tried to make a dramatic pause with a hand over her heart but couldn’t muster the energy. “I wasn’t into him as much as he was into him.”
“He did use his own name a lot.”
“Hmm, you think that was a hint?” she asked already knowing the answer. Rogue knew that Logan had kept his personal opinion of the relationship to himself and she was glad he had or she might still be trying to prove him wrong. At his shrug, she continued, “I’ll put that on the list of bad character traits to avoid.”
Logan hadn’t wanted to tell her at the time and wouldn’t now, but from what little he saw, he knew it wouldn’t last. The Cajun was a charmer, and she’d needed that as she was learning control; it had helped with her confidence. He’d say the man had more than a few bad traits making him a poor match for her but Logan was the last person to be throwing stones.
“Is it that obvious… the red hair?” he asked after a few seconds. If that was one of his own bad traits that anyone could see, he best find out and work on it.
“The Professor and Jean probably know, being mind readers and all. Me, I just have a piece of you in my head,” she said, tapping her temple. “Don’t know if anyone else pays enough attention.”
The elevator doors opened, and they exited on the staff floor. Logan was lost in thought as he walked toward his room. His pride wouldn’t let him believe he was that transparent about redheads in general and Jeannie specifically. It was never good to be an open book, and it was a habit best dropped.
“Hey, Logan,” Rogue called to him. He looked back over his shoulder at her standing in her open doorway. “For what it’s worth, it doesn’t matter who you were. I like who you are now.”
A smile broke out on his face, it was good to be home. “Thanks, kid.”
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
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Story Notes:
Thanks to RogueLotus and Nebelwerfer42 for the beta and Aerosmith for the cheesy title. This tried to be a 5 things story but I'm not good with rules. Sometime after X1 with ideas borrowed from The Wolverine.