More of this, for those that were enjoying it! Hope this will suffice, been pretty busy lately.

Logan's foot swept along the mat. Rogue jolted back, just out of reach.

"Faster." He growled, stepping forward and closing the space she'd just bought.

His arm swung out in an arc and she ducked, then rolled to one side. She wasn't ready for his foot this time, as it crashed into her gut before she'd even made it to her knees and she tumbled over backwards.

As she struggled up, she saw Jubilee behind him her elbow raised, poised to drive it into the back of his neck. Too late she realised some…tell…in her expression must have given something away, and she fought to mask it.

Too late.

Logan's eyes were fixed on her, a mild look of disappointment, as he sidestepped Jubilee easily and raised his arm, practically 'closelining' the poor girl as she collided with it. Jubilee wrenched back, her legs flying up as her body was caught behind and she crashed to the floor, groaning.

Across the gym, she heard muffled laughter. Deep, throaty. Cable and Bishop must have been having the time of their lives.

Rogue lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling, catching her breath.

It was great having Logan back, she'd never say otherwise.

…but it also meant Logan assuming his temporary position in charge of physical training for the kids, students…and the older residents of the mansion again. And right now, after this morning…and that god damn hangover…she felt like she could have done without this.

"Sloppy." Logan sighed, scratching his chin idly. "Read your face like a book. You got no poker face."

"Rogue!" Jubilee whined, rolling haphazardly onto her side. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Sorry." Rogue struggled onto her side. "I wasn't feelin' myself this mornin', for some reason." She shot Logan a sour look.

"Mrm. I'll think of somethin'." Logan cleared his throat, looking briefly sympathetic. "Well, we'll call it for now. Got time to correct the shitshow training Cyke's been puttin' you through, it's gonna take more'n a few hours."

Jubilee shot her a goofy grin, mouthing something.

"'Correct?'" Rogue snorted, pulling herself onto her knees, still panting slightly. "Don't let Scott hear that. He worked us hard."

She was hot as hell, but that came with the black bodysuit she had to wear for training. Some precautions she just had to take.

"Not hard enough." Logan wandered back to the edge of the gym, toward where Bishop and Cable were hanging around, watching them suffer. "Hit the showers."

"Oh thank god." Jubilee gasped. Her friend turned toward her. "I'll never know how you do it, Rogue, but you're the only one who can get him to ease up on u-"

"Five laps around the gym first." Logan called, without turning around.

"Oh fuc-" Jubilee flopped forward, head hitting the mat.

"Six." Logan called back.

"Thanks, Jubes." Rogue smiled, wryly, struggling to her feet.

She held out a hand, but Jubilee waved her off, managing to get up on her own and straightening out her tracksuit bottoms and sleeveless top.

"I'm sweatin' to death in this thing for a reason, Jubes." Rogue quipped, withdrawing her hand.

Jubilee got a look on her face and winced apologetically.

"Sorry, it wasn't that, I just didn't want to give wolfman over there another reason to pick on u-"

"Seven!" Bishop suddenly called over, laughing, as Logan left.

The two girls glanced at one another and shrugged, helplessly. Then started to run.

…

"I'll catch you later, Rogue." Jubilee waved, lazily, heading her own way after they left the gym.

They'd showered and changed, Jubilee in her own violently, colourfully offensive yellow pleather jacket and purple top ensemble, gleefully all-but skipping outside.

Looking for more trouble, no doubt, Rogue mused.

Rogue turned towards the kitchen instead. After last night, and that session in the gym, she was starving.

She felt a lot better for the shower, and changing out of the clingy, sweaty bodysuit into a flowing black skirt and loose-fitting green sweater, accompanied by her ever-present elbow gloves and black choker. The halls of the mansion were cool and airy too, refreshing.

Rogue was almost to the kitchen when Kurt materialised in front of her. He beamed, almost manically, bright eyes flashing against his dark blue skin and blue-tinted hair.

"Rogue, fancy seeing you here!" Manic, and a touch strained perhaps.

Rogue frowned.

"Okay, what's up?" She crossed her arms.

"Nothing." He poofed out of sight for a moment, then back, holding a frisbee. "Want to play?"

"It's kinda chilly out, don'tcha think?" She quipped, trying to sidestep him.

"Inside?" He sidestepped with her, still smiling desperately.

Rogue peered around him, but couldn't see into the kitchen. She looked back at Kurt, still trying to smile and hold her attention. She made an educated guess.

"Bobby and Kitty are in there aren't they?"

"…no?" Kurt tried, wincing involuntarily the exact moment he lied.

She felt a little sorry for him. He was trying to help, and he couldn't lie to save his life.

"Appreciate the effort, Kurt." Rogue sighed. "But I'm hungry anyway, and you can't lie for shit." She grinned.

"Sorry." He smiled weakly.

"S'okay. I'm up for hangin' out when I'm done though?"

"Oh, you know me." Kurt disappeared and reappeared further back down the corridor. "I'll be around!" Then he was gone again.

Rogue turned back toward the kitchen and made a concerted effort to reinforce her smile as she mentally prepared herself.

So she'd broken up with Bobby, and so they'd both agreed to be cool about it, and so she was fine with him seeing other people, and so Kitty was her friend…

…that didn't instantly make it easier.

"What's up, guys?" She breezed in, making an effort not to look directly at the two of them, who she could see had been standing together, getting cosy by the glass doors leading outside.

"Rogue-"
"Rogue-" They blurted, stepping apart.

"I'll be outta your hair in a minute." Rogue waved them off, plucking an apple out of the fruitbowl in the middle counter and tossing it up and down.

"…er…" Bobby tried, raising a hand hesitantly as she moved around the kitchen.

"Rogue, you feeling alright?" Kitty asked, sounding concerned.

Rogue fought the urge to wince, or sigh. She stopped, leaning back on the counter.

"Great. Hanging like fu-" She started.

"Like what, was that, Rogue?" Xavier wheeled into the kitchen, an expression of thinly veiled interest on his face.

"…uh…" Rogue fumbled.

"You look tired." Xavier said, glancing up at her, all innocence.

"Morning session with Logan'll do that with you." She offered, hoping that would satisfy.

"Evening session with Logan too, considering how you looked last-ooumph!" Bobby grunted, as Kitty elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"There's nothing wrong with…letting our hair down, so to speak." The old man chuckled at their expense, as they all suddenly found something else to look at besides his hairless scalp.

"I had…a drink. Or two." Rogue replied.

She wasn't even lying, she mused, thinking back to Logan's mix-up.

"Yeah, how big?" Bobby sniggered.

Kitty elbowed him again. Xavier chuckled, then cleared his throat.

"Oddly enough, I did have something important to do, as entertaining as this has been. " The professor nodded towards Bobby. "Could I borrow you for a moment?"

"…uh…sure, professor." Bobby nodded, leaving Kitty and she an awkward parting glance.

"Oh, and Rogue. Logan asked me to tell you to be in the lounge later this evening. I believe he's organised another training session…of sorts." Xavier's eyes flickered with amusement, then he left with Bobby.

Leaving her, and Kitty, alone. In silence. Quickly getting awkward. She took a bite out of the apple.

She wondered if she should say something, put her friend at ease.

"I'm sorry, Rogue." Kitty said, suddenly, leaning on the other side of the counter. "We should have said something."

Nevermind.

"It's okay." She half-smiled, chewing.

And it was, really. Mostly. Generally.

"No, we're friends. We both should have…y'know…anything is better than sneaking around like…this?" Kitty gestured helplessly.

Rogue shrugged.

"Won't pretend it doesn't sting a little, but I broke up with him Kitty. I did, me." She smiled weakly. "There are things I can't do, no sense pretendin'. Just the way things are."

"It's not fair." Kitty sighed.

"Yeah, maybe." Rogue bit into the apple again. "But know what else isn't fair? My friends not gettin' it on because they're scared of what I'll think." She managed a grin.

"Jesus, Rogue." Kitty chuckled.

"Look, Kitty, I know you're worried about hurtin' my feelings or something, but really, havin' to think about you and Bobby wanting to but not gettin' freaky ain't much easier than thinkin' about you and Bobby gettin' freaky, anyway."

They stared at each other across the counter before both breaking down in a fit of embarrassed laughter.

"Y'know, sometimes I wonder whether it's just that bit of Logan left in your head or whether you were always like this." Kitty sniggered.

"Bit of both maybe." Rogue drawled, tossing the apple core into a bin.

"I can believe that, girl."

…

Rogue made her way to the lounge, later that afternoon. She wasn't really sure what to expect. She hadn't seen Logan since that morning, and she wasn't sure what the professor had quite meant by "training".

As a result, she'd elected not to change into anything particularly combat-ready. On the off-chance he might just want to hang out, rather than drill her into the ground again.

Rogue wasn't sure what to expect, but in retrospect, she should have expected something unexpected.

Seeing Logan at the table on the far side of the lounge, with Cable and Bishop, shuffling a deck of cards with stacks of poker chips between them, was pretty high on the 'unexpected' list.

"Kid." He nodded, not looking up. Bishop and Cable did the same.

It looked like Rogue was going to get to spend her evening with three gruff, stoic, grizzly, combative men many, many times her own age.

Many, many, many, many times her age, considering two were from the future and Logan was anywhere between a century or two old in the other direction.

Even if he didn't look it, a sneaky, treacherous thought bubbled up in her mind.

"What are we doin'?" She asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down.

"Training." Logan replied, dealing out cards.

"Your poker face needs work." Bishop added.

"It sucks." Cable snorted.

"Thanks." Rogue shot him a dry look. "Poker?"

"Need to learn control." Logan slid her cards across.

She picked them up.

"I can play poker." She argued.

"Not good enough." Cable cut in, looking at his own cards.

"You gotta win." Bishop grinned, over his own.

Rogue scowled across the table at Logan.

"How much did he pay you to do this?"

"Twenty bucks." Cable grumbled, laying a chip.

"I'm just here for the show." Bishop chuckled, following with his own bet.

"Mrhm." Logan grumbled, plucking a cigar from his jacket, over the back of his chair and sticking it in his mouth.

Rogue placed her own bet.

"Sloppy this mornin'." Logan rumbled, chewing on the end of his cigar.

"Well, whose fault is that?" She glowered.

"Sure you ain't just light, Rogue?" Bishop grinned.

"I'd watch it, fella." Logan raised his brow, glancing across at the other man. "She knocked back a bottle of the good stuff. Had you ruinin' your shoes, as I remember, after half."

Bishop laughed.

"What kinda example're you settin' the girl, Wolverine?" He chuckled. "That shit kills livers."

"Language." Logan growled, his eyes flickered over to her, briefly.

Rogue grinned back.

"Raise five." Cable muttered.

"Sounds like you had a good birthday then?" Bishop smirked.

"Had a blast, sugah." She tossed her own chip down, and took another card. "Felt it in the mornin', though."

"You get used to that." Bishop grinned, picking up another card.

"You don't." Cable sneered.

"Hey, fu-"

"Language." Logan growled again, louder, picking up a card of his own.

"I'm eighteen." Rogue rolled her eyes. "Although maybe you missed that fact, with all the partyin' an' drinkin' last night."

"Oh, he noticed." Bishop chuckled.

Logan snarled and Bishop cried out suddenly as the table shook. She looked back at Logan, who only glanced at her for a moment, before going back to his cards, chewing his cigar.

"Behave." She smirked, over her cards.

"Kids." Cable muttered, laying another bet.

"What's going on here?" Kurt appeared beside the table. "Cards?"

"Cards?"

Rogue turned to see Jubilee breeze in, excitedly, with Bobby, Kitty and Remy in her wake.

Cable made a noise at the back of his throat. Bishop stifled a laugh.

"Training." Logan replied, seriously.

"Yeah, right. Scoot over, honey." Jubilee pushed her over, squeezing onto her chair. "Can we play? Deal us in!"

"Yes, but be prepare to be losing preddy quick, fellas." Remy pulled up another chair, grinning widely. At her. "'Allo, cherie."

"Remy." She nodded, trying to hide behind Jubilee.

Cable looked like he wanted to shoot something as the others all sat down around the table. Bishop seemed to be taking no small amount of amusement at his comrade's discomfort. Logan was displaying an truly astonishing level of patience, and dealt them all in without a word.

"So…training, huh?" Jubilee elbowed her.

"If she loses, you're both doin' laps tomorrow." Logan rumbled, shuffling through his cards.

"What?" Jubilee squeaked. "But that's bullsh-"

"Language."
"Language."
"Language." Logan, Cable and Bishop said at the same time.

The others laughed. Rogue sniggered as Jubilee pouted, in a huff.

"Well, are you winning yet?" She asked, trying to peer at her cards.

"I'm doin' fine." Rogue shot back.

"Fear not, cherie, I shall win dis for ya." Remy leaned back in his chair, smiling broadly. "De Wolverine 'as met 'is match."

"You're runnin' laps tomorrow just for that, Cajun." Logan grumbled, not looking up from his cards.

"Rats." Remy groaned.

Rogue looked bleakly around the suddenly packed table, at her friends, teachers, comrades, all talking, laughing, jostling…

…it was going to be another long night.

She suddenly felt a foot tap down on top of hers. It did so repeatedly, slowly, but consistently. It was calming. She looked up at Logan. His eye met hers for a moment, then went back to his cards. He plucked his cigar out of his mouth and grinned slightly.

"Your turn, darlin'." He put it back in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "Take it easy."

Rogue looked back at her cards, trying to concentrate, and not to blush, even though everyone was busy doing their own thing. She smiled.

A long night, maybe. But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.