By: Addie Logan

*** *** ***

Rogue was sitting on the couch watching television with her friends when he came back. She was wearing a T-shirt that read "I hear voices in my head and they don't like you," and the dogtags he'd given her were still around her neck.

But those weren't the first things he noticed.

He noticed that she wasn't wearing gloves.

And her hand was resting on Bobby Drake's bare arm.

Logan stared for a moment before he decided to make his presence known. He cleared his throat and she looked at him. "Hey, Kid."

Logan watched as recognition slowly crossed over Rogue's face. "Logan!" she cried as she jumped up from her place beside Bobby and ran to throw her arms around Wolverine's neck.

He lifted her off the ground in a tight hug and she giggled a little. When he put her back down, she grinned up at him. He glanced from her face to the dogtags and she reached up to touch them with her pale, ungloved fingers. "I still have these," she said.

Logan stopped her before she could take them off. "Keep 'em. They look better on you than they ever did on me anyway."

Rogue blushed and began to fiddle with the tags nervously.

Logan grinned, glad to see that the greeting she gave him was almost exactly as he had expected. He'd clung to the fact that things back in New York would be the same when he returned. And they seemed to be—except for the Marie gloveless thing, but he could handle that. He made a mental note to ask her about it a little later.

"Nice shirt."

Rogue laughed. "Jubilee gave it to me for Christmas," she explained.

"Is what it says true?"

"Well, one of the voices in my head is yours, after all."

"Good point." Logan looked up and noticed that her group of friends had become an audience to their reunion. "Uh, I'm gonna go upstairs and try to find the Professor. Talk to you later, okay Kid?"

Rogue nodded. "Okay, Logan. And I think the Professor's in his office."

"All right. Thanks." He ruffled her hair a little before turning to leave.

"Logan!" Rogue ran out into the hall after him.

He stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"

"I meant to ask ya if you found what you were lookin' for up north."

"I don't want to talk about that right now."

"Later?"

"Maybe."

Rogue nodded, understanding. "Kay. See ya, Logan."

He grinned. "See ya, Marie."

All in all, he thought it was a pretty good homecoming.

*** *** ***

Logan was glad to see that most everything else at the mansion had remained the same, too. Well, Jean had gone and married Scott, but he'd known that was going to happen. Besides, he wasn't above flirting with a married woman—especially since he knew she'd never give in. He'd come to that conclusion on the Statue of Liberty with the way Jean had told Scott to trust her. Scott hadn't even hesitated to open his eyes after that.

But that certainly didn't mean that making Jean blush and Scott angry was going to be crossed off Wolverine's list of favorite things to do anytime soon.

The Professor had told Logan that he still had a place on the team, and Logan said he'd help out—as long as he stayed. He'd made the last part perfectly clear. This wasn't his home, and he wasn't staying for good. Of course, that didn't mean that when he did leave, he wouldn't come back.

Rogue clung to him every chance she got. Apparently the adolescent crush she'd developed on him before was still firmly in place. He welcomed her company and the ego stroke he felt from her hero worship.

Well, that and he found that—surprisingly—he liked having her around. Logan didn't remember a time when he had actually enjoyed anyone's company as much as he did Rogue's.

Logan had been back for about a week when Marie began the ritual of doing her homework up in his room. Why, he wasn't sure, but he figured that it was just an excuse for her to be near him. And he didn't mind so much.

He was lying back on his bed, head propped up on pillows, chewing on the end of a cigar because he knew it bothered her when he smoked in enclosed spaces. Normally, he would've just told someone to shove it if they didn't want him smoking, but not Marie. He liked to see her smile and he didn't like to see her frown, simple as that.

So he was lying on his back, just chewing on his cigar, and watching her as she sat at his desk and scribbled furiously on a piece of paper. She sighed, flipped the pencil over, and began erasing furiously. "You're gonna rub a hole right through the paper there, Kid," Logan said, still chomping on the cigar.

"For the five millionth time, Logan," Marie grumbled in the Southern drawl that he found surprisingly endearing, "Be quiet so I can concentrate."

"If I annoy ya so much, why are ya in here?" Logan asked.

"Because you aren't half as distractin' as my roommates."

"You room with Kitty and Jubilee. What did you expect?"

"Pretty much what I got. Now hush back there!"

Logan smirked around his stogie, chuckling at the frustrated little noises Rogue was making. After a while, she grabbed the paper she was working on, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it across the room.

"Hey, don't go makin' a mess in here," Logan said.

Marie turned around and glared at him. He tried to look tough and not smile. "Pick that up."

She glared it him again for good measure and then went over to retrieve the paper ball. She got a mischievous look on her face, and suddenly, the wad of paper flew out of her hand and over to Logan, knocking the cigar from his mouth.

"Hey!" he said, his dignity wounded. He picked the cigar up from the bedspread and set it in his ashtray. Then, his lips curled in a mimic of her own impish grin and he picked the paper ball up and threw it back at her.

Rogue stared at him for a moment, stunned, then the paper ball was thrown back in his direction.

Logan got off the bed, paper in hand.

This meant war.

*** *** ***

Fifteen minutes and about twenty paper balls later, Scott Summers came running into the room. "What's going on in here?" he asked.

Both Rogue and Logan stopped and looked up at Scott, almost guiltily. Logan quickly regained his normal, cocky attitude. "What the hell are ya doin' bustin' in here like that, One-Eye?"

"I heard Rogue scream."

Rogue blushed. Logan glared. "She's fine. Go away."

Scott surveyed the room and the little balls of paper all around the room. "Okay…I'll, um, leave now."

Logan crossed his arms. "You do that."

Scott gave a nod to Rogue then slunk out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

As soon as he was gone, Marie broke into a fit of giggles, and it didn't take too long for Logan to start laughing, too. "What was that exactly?" Rogue asked once she could talk again.

"Scott bein' a dick as usual."

Marie snickered. "No, not that."

"Oh. That. A paper ball fight."

"Since when do you have paper ball fights, Wolverine?"

"Since you started throwin' paper at me. Couldn't let that go without standin' up for myself."

Marie laughed again, and Logan decided he really liked that sound. "You're a mess."

"I try, Kid."

Marie went back over to his desk and gathered up her books. "Hey, it's gettin' late, and I really should go back to my room. I had fun tonight with you, Logan."

"Me, too, Marie."

Rogue stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Logan on the cheek. "G'night. I'll see you in the mornin'."

"Yeah, see ya in the mornin'." Logan reached up and touched the place on his cheek where she'd kissed him. "Hey, Marie," he called out as she made her way to the door. "I've been meanin' to ask ya, when did you get your powers under control?"

Marie stopped and turned back around to look at him. "A couple of months ago. The Professor and I worked on it a lot, and I now I'm finally able to touch people."

Logan beamed down at her. "That's great, Kid. I'm real happy for ya."

"Yeah. I'm happy, too."

"I bet." Logan looked thoughtful for a second, then asked, "Hey, are you and that one kid—Bobby—an item?"

Rogue seemed to get uncomfortable at the question. "Uh, why do you ask?"

"I don't know, it's just that you were sittin' real close to him when I first got back, and you spend a lot of time with him—when you're not with me, that is."

"Would it bother you if we were?" Rogue asked.

"No. I'm just curious."

"Oh," Marie said softly. "Well, we're not—really. I mean, we've been on a few dates and stuff, but nothin' too serious. I wouldn't call us an 'item.'"

"Would he?"

"I don't know. I'm goin' now. Night, Logan."

"Night, Marie."

Marie hurried out before Logan could ask her anymore questions.

*** *** ***

Rogue came into her room, threw her books down, and flopped on the bed. Kitty and Jubilee both turned to look at her. "Uh, something wrong?" Kitty asked.

"Nope," Rogue replied.

"Liar," Jubilee said. "C'mon, what did Logan do?"

"He didn't do anything, Jubes."

"But you're all pouty," Jubilee said. "Has to be Logan."

"Was it Bobby?" Kitty offered.

Rogue sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "It wasn't Logan and it wasn't Bobby. Not really, anyway."

"'Not really anyway?' What does that mean?" Jubilee asked.

Rogue propped on her elbow so she was facing her friends. "It means, well, that it isn't them, but a situation involvin' them, I guess."

"Do tell," Kitty said.

"Well, Logan asked if Bobby and I were an item," Rogue explained.

Jubilee shrugged. "So? He wouldn't be the first person to ask that."

"I know," Rogue said, "But see, it was Logan askin', and well, I, um…"

"You're madly in love with him, we know that, Rogue," Jubilee said.

Rogue sat up. "I am not!"

"Then why did the fact he started asking about Bobby bother you so much?"

Rogue looked away. "I…I don't know."

"I do," Jubilee muttered.

"Look, so what if I do like Logan as more than a friend?" Rogue said, "What difference does it make? I'm always gonna be a kid in his eyes."

"So try to make yourself something other than a kid to him," Kitty said.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Right. Like that's ever gonna happen."

"It could!" Kitty said.

"I have an idea," Jubilee said.

"What?" Rogue asked.

"Dye your hair red and wear a white lab coat!" Jubilee exclaimed.

"I hate you," Rogue said, stifling a giggle.

Jubilee gave her a mock-pout. "Well, I think it's worth a try."

"Y'all are both insane, you know that, right?" Rogue said flopping back on her bed.

"Oh, so she's madly in love with a furry guy with claws and we're insane?" Jubilee commented. "Ow!" she said a moment later when Rogue's pillow hit her squarely in the chest. "I hope you know, you're not getting this back."

Rogue reached over to Jubilee's bed and snatched her pillow. "That's okay. I got yours now."

"Bitch."

"Hussy."

"Such love in this room," Kitty commented.

"Aw, come on, Kit, you know the only time any emotion even close to love came into this room—aside from Rogue's constant 'yearning-for-Logan' spells—was when that big Russian kid came in here looking to borrow a book and you about fell over yourself," Jubilee said.

Kitty turned bright red. "I did not!"

Rogue hugged Jubilee's pillow to her chest. "Hey, cut her some slack, Jubes," Rogue said. "You know Kitty can't help but be attracted to big, shiny things."

"Hey!" Kitty exclaimed. "You guys are pure evil!"

"You better believe it," Jubilee said. "Muahaha!"

Rogue looked over at the digital clock on the table between her and Jubilee's bed. "It's getting late, y'all and we've all got class in the mornin'. We should get to sleep."

Jubilee groaned. "Oh yeah, no fun allowed for the modern mutated college student."

Kitty shrugged. "Hey, I don't know about you guys, but I kinda like the fact that the Professor has it set up so we can stay at the mansion and take distance learning classes from a local college."

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "You would."

Kitty reached over and phased her arm though Jubilee. "Ah! That feels freaky!" Jubilee exclaimed.

Kitty giggled. "That's the point."

Rogue got up and grabbed her nightclothes. "Well, I don't know what y'all plan to do, but I'm goin' to bed."

"You gonna dream about Logan?" Jubilee asked with a smirk.

Rogue gave her friend a weak smile as she thought about the nightmares that had haunted her ever since the first time she'd touched Wolverine. "Yeah, Jubes, I probably am." With that, she went into the bathroom and shut the door.

*** *** ***

Logan had been back at the mansion for a two months, and Rogue stopped following him around quite as much, allowing herself to get used to the idea that maybe he was going to stick around for a while this time.

Exactly three months after he got back, Rogue found herself sitting on the couch with her friends, watching a movie, mimicking almost to the letter what she had been doing when Logan first returned. She was even wearing the same shirt.

"What's this movie called again?" St. John asked.

"Where the Heart Is," Jubilee replied.

St. John groaned. "Ack, the title even sounds like a sappy chick flick. How did I get roped into watching this? And what's with that woman that names all her kids after snack foods?"

"Hey, man, that's Ashley Judd," Bobby said. "Don't go dissin' Ashley Judd. She's hot. Besides, I still like the part where the guy called one of her kids 'Twinkie.'"

"Oh jeez, here we go again," Jubilee groaned.

"What? I just think it would be really cool to have a kid named Twinkie!"

"Bobby Drake, not only will you never find a woman that will allow you to name a child Twinkie, but you will never find a woman to have a child with you. Period," Jubilee said.

"Oh yeah," Bobby said with a grin. He turned to Rogue, taking her hands in his and doing his best to look as serious as possible. "Fair Rogue, would you do me the honor of having my lovechild?"

"Ah! I am not givin' birth to a Twinkie!"

"Well that's nice to know."

Rogue looked up to see who had said that and noticed that Logan standing in the doorway. Mortified, she turned bright red. "Uh, I, um—there's an explanation to that!"

Logan grinned. "I figured as much. C'mere, Kid, I need to talk to you."

Rogue felt like something cold had reached in and grabbed her stomach as she walked over to Logan and noticed he had a bag slung over his shoulder. "You runnin' again?" she asked, her voice soft and cracking.

"I have some stuff to take care of up north."

Rogue forced herself not to cry. She had been strong the first time Logan had left, and she was going to be this time, even though after all the time she'd gotten to spend with him over the past few months it was killing her even more than before. "What, got season tickets to the Canadiens or somethin'?" she joked.

Logan smiled at her. "I wish. Look, I'll be back real soon, I promise."

"You better."

He tapped the dogtags around her neck with his finger. "You're gonna take care of these for me, right?"

"I always do."

Rogue stepped forward and hugged him. "And you take care of yourself."

Logan chuckled, and Marie swooned from the way the sound rumbled in his chest. "You got it, Kid."

"Write me this time, okay Logan?" Marie said as she pulled away.

"I'll try."

"Please?"

"I gotta go, Kid. Bye Marie."

"Bye Logan."

Rogue stared at the closed door long after Wolverine was already gone.

*** *** ***

Rogue walked back to the couch fighting tears. She sat down next to Bobby, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her head down to rest on him. "Hey, Rogue, you okay?" he asked.

She couldn't keep herself from crying any longer.

Jubilee paused the movie and all eyes were on Rogue. "What happened?" Jubilee asked.

"Logan…left…again…"Rogue replied between sobs.

Bobby softly petted her hair. "Shh, it's okay, Rogue. He'll come back."

Kitty placed her hand comfortingly on Rogue's leg. "Yeah, it'll be okay, really. Logan won't stay away long."

Rogue sniffed. "I know, but he's been gone for like a minute, and I miss him already."

"I'm really sorry, Rogue," St. John muttered, unsure of what else to say or do.

"Ain't your fault," Rogue said. "Hey, if it's all right with y'all, I'm gonna go upstairs."

"Alright, Girl. You need anything, you let us know, okay?" Jubilee said.

Rogue nodded. "I will. Thanks."

She walked up to her room, avoiding even looking at anyone, then threw herself down on her bed and cried in a way she hadn't since the first time Logan left.

*** *** ***

To be continued…