Chapter 1

Rogue walked into her room in Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and slumped down on her bed, wiping a tear from her face as it trickled down her soft cheek. Bobby hadn't exactly reacted the way she wanted when she told him that she had taken the cure, he held her hand and looked deeply into her eyes, it was a moment that was almost dream like for Rogue, but was quickly ruined as he stormed out, leaving her to contemplate what went wrong. She thought he would have been happy, but instead he was acting like a child. This was what he wanted, right? He wanted to touch her, hold her, kiss her, so why was he so angry? Was it Kitty? Did she tell him to be this way? Rogue's mind was swimming when she stepped into the bathroom. She needed to calm down, she needed to relax, and come to peace with the decision that she had made. She ran the warm water into the large bathtub and added a couple splashes of bubble bath, which reminded her of her childhood, before she had developed the mutation... or at least had noticed it, and everything was perfect. She stepped back into her room to remove her clothes. She folded her jeans neatly and hung her shirt up, throwing her undergarments into the laundry hamper in her closet, she liked things neat and tidy, completely opposite from her life at the moment. Rogue walked back into the bathroom to stop the water from running and lit a candle to add ambiance. She then turned out the lights and closed the door, so the only light in the small dark room was the flickering of the candle, it was so soothing, but bright enough to see what she was doing a she braided her hair to the side, like she had done when she was a kid.

Sinking back into the warm water, she sighed out deeply, feeling the sweet aroma from the bubble bath fill the air. Suddenly Logan burst through the door, which she just then realized she had forgotten to lock. He immediately stepped back, still staring at Rogue who was scrambling to pull bubbles over her exposed body. "Hey kid," Logan cleared his throat and stared at the ceiling, trying to avoid eye contact, "I just wanted to make sure you got back okay." Rogue looked down and back up at Logan, "Well, I'm here." Logan chuckled and clicked back into reality and the fact that Rogue was naked. "We'll continue this conversation later then..." Rogue nodded awkwardly as Logan closed the door and walked out of her room. Although it was a bit of an awkward situation, she realized that she felt more comfortable with Logan than when she was naked in front of Bobby, which made her feel weird. She shook her head and tried to erase all thoughts of Bobby from her mind. Thoughts of Logan soon filled her; thoughts of him being vulnerable, soft spoken, naked. She didn't mind these thoughts and began to explore a darker part of her mind that she had pushed away so long ago. "Rogue, what happened?" she asked herself, sinking deeper into the water. The night Logan had saved her from Magneto, the train ride where he convinced her to stay, when he stopped to let her hitch a ride... it was all so overwhelming at the moment and she started to cry, the first time she had thought of Logan in this light. Bobby was just a boy, but Logan was a man; strong, mature and kind, everything she ever wanted. She suddenly sat up and drained the water, she needed to be with Logan right now, needed to see if these feelings were real. She missed him so quick, when he left the room, it was like he took the room with him and she was left with nothing. She toweled off and put on her short pajamas and a robe, tasteful yet sexy, her hair still braided.

"Logan," Rogue said as she tapped him on the shoulder, he was sitting, eating cereal in the kitchen. "Hey, kid," Logan smiled and continued to shovel Fruit Loops into his mouth, "Have a seat." He pulled out a chair beside him and she sat down. "Logan," she repeated herself. He turned to look at her, he saw a tear slide down her cheek and land on her thigh. "Rogue," he suddenly sounded concerned and wiped another tear from her cheek, "What's the matter?" She bowed her head and wiped her eyes, trying to stop crying. "It's Bobby," she suddenly said, trying to explain her situation to the man she now desperately wanted. "Did he hurt you?" Logan's claws suddenly emerged from his hands as he stood up. "No, no!" Rogue explained as she grabbed his arm and brought him back down to his seat. "He's mad at me for taking the cure." she sobbed a little and Logan swept his hand through her hair. "Let me get you a tissue," he stood up and walked into his room.

Suddenly, Bobby emerged from the kitchen entrance and saw Rogue. Logan walked back out and noticed Bobby, so he hid behind the wall, wanting to give them their space, while still keeping an eye on his distraught Marie. "Marie?" Bobby asked, walking towards her as she stood and tried to walk the other way. He grabbed her arms and spun her around. "Why are you crying?" he asked, staring into her eyes. "Why do you think?" Marie burst out. "Oh, come on, you want me to feel bad because you made a stupid decision?" Bobby huffed. Marie suddenly stopped crying as her emotion turned from sadness to anger. "I did it for you!" she scowled, pointing a finger at his face. "I didn't ask you to, so don't blame me," Bobby was getting annoyed as he turned to face the other wall, not wanting to look at her. "I wanted to touch you, hug you and kiss you, Bobby," Rogue continued, "But you were too busy getting it on with little Kitty, to notice my needs!" Bobby turned around and slapped her, insulted at the fact that she thought he would cheat. He suddenly realized what he had done as she gasped, rubbing her hand on her cheek and bursting into tears. "Rogue, I'm sorry, babe!" Bobby was shocked he had done that. Logan emerged from behind the wall and his claws burst through his skin, "That's how you treat her, Bobby!?" Bobby was stunned that Logan had appeared out of nowhere and ran out of the kitchen, Logan tried to chase after him but Rogue grabbed his shirt and spun him around, "Logan, please... let him go." she wept a little more and Logan brought her into a tight embrace, "It's okay, I'm here." Rogue sniffled and held him close as he kissed her forehead. She felt the rough texture of his facial hair rub against her face, which made her shiver. "Are you gonna be okay?" he asked, looking into her eyes, and checking for a bruise on her cheek. "Yea, I'll be fine," Rogue answered, breaking the hug to wrap her robe tighter around her body. Rogue left quickly, wanting to get back to her room to think about the moment she just had with Logan. When she opened the door to her room, she saw Bobby, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Rogue, I'm not leaving until we talk this out," Bobby sighed. "Well, I don't want to talk," Rogue scowled. "Well, then I'm not leaving." Bobby sat down on her bed again and crossed his arms. Rogue slammed the door as she walked back into the hallway and headed for Logan's room. She waltzed into his room like a breeze, knowing exactly what she wanted this time. "Hey, kid," Logan whispered, laying in bed, trying to fall asleep. "Bobby's in my room... he says he won't leave until we talk," Rogue spoke softly, sitting on the edge of his bed as Logan sat up. "I'll chase him out," Logan growled. "No," Rogue pushed Logan back, "Can I just sleep here tonight... I feel... safe with you." Logan smiled a little and patted her on the thigh, "Of course, I'll go sleep in the den." Logan started to get up but Rogue pushed him back down again, "It's okay, it's nice to be with someone, ya know?" She climbed into the bed beside Logan who laid back down. Rogue snuggled up beside him, resting her head on his chest. "I know, kid." Logan was feeling something for the first time since Jean died. This tremendous sense of concern and care he had for Rogue was started to form different kinds of emotions; love and lust. He lied awake, staring at the ceiling and contemplating these complicated feelings. Rogue rolled over; she was completely awake too, also thinking about feelings she had for him. Logan noticed that she was awake as she stoked a hand across his abdomen, feeling his tight muscles. He smiled; even though her touch was cured, it seemed like it had so much more power than before as it swept over his stomach. She rolled over even further and looked into his eyes and smiled. "I always liked that streak," Logan whispered as he ran his fingers through the snowy streak in her brown locks. Rogue giggled, "Why?" Logan laughed too, she was always so full of questions, right from the day they met. Logan turned to face her, "It's like a battle scar; a mark that means something special." Rogue lowered her smile and tried to control the urge she had to jump on top of him and kiss his face off. "What's your battle scar?" Rogue asked as she ran her smooth hand up his chiselled arms. Logan dropped his smile too and looked at the ceiling for a moment, and then back at Rogue, The distinct 'snikt' sound echoed through the bedroom as his claws emerged from his hands, "I guess it's these," Logan pulled his claws back in and adjusted himself so he and Rogue were facing each other, propping themselves up on their arms. Rogue slipped off her robe and threw it to the floor. She was now in hot pink short shorts and a white tank top. She laid back down beside Logan and grabbed his hand. "Can I see them?" Rogue asked, rubbing her thumb over the place where his third claw comes out. "Sure..." a hesitant Logan replied. 'Snikt' and his claws were out again, but only the one hand. Rogue ran the tip of her finger over the top edge of his claw; which wasn't as sharp as the bottom edge, and then smoothed her hand over his palm. Logan relaxed and closed his eyes, it felt good when she touched him. Marie lifted up her tank top a little so her right hip was exposed. She took Logan's claws and pressed them to her hip and dragged them across a few inches, cutting her and drawing blood.

Logan's claws retracted as he noticed what she had done; he was so relaxed, he didn't see it coming. "Rogue? What are you doing?" he sat up in a panic as she hissed at the pain and smoothed her hand over the three cuts. "Why did you do that?" Logan snapped and he tried to grab tissues to apply pressure to the wound. "Logan," Rogue spoke softly, "It's okay... it's just another battle scar." Rogue smiled as she brought him back down to lay with her. "It will heal, and when it does, it'll be a mark that means something, something special." Logan sighed and rubbed his fingers over the cuts in her soft flesh, "Where's my mark?" he snickered. Rogue suddenly rolled over on top of him and kissed his neck softly and he purred. "Kid, what are you doing?" he sat up. "You can't deny that you feel something, Logan," she whispered, "I knew since the day we met, but it has never been crystal clear until now." Logan looked into her dark eyes and then down at her 'mark'. "Rogue, we can't-" he was cut off my her lips pressing against his. "But we can, Logan, we can make this work. If you're willing to put in the effort, you can do almost anything." Logan chuckled a little, "This sounds a little like a motivational speech for kids." Rogue giggled a little bit too and then rolled back on top of him, he was surprised by her strength to push him around all the time. She kissed him passionately, and he did back. He was breathing heavily, trying to attack her lips with his own as his scratchy stubble grazed her skin. "You just broke up with Bobby," Logan continued, breaking off the kiss. "Bobby and I were done a long time ago, he just didn't know it, being too busy with Kitty and all." She leaned back in to kiss him again and he pulled away. "I'll admit, there are feelings, but I don't know if I can do this... I don't want to hurt you," he whispered. "You can't hurt me, Logan, I won't let you." She tried to climb back on top of him but he put his hand up to say "stop". Logan suddenly heard a voice... in his head. "Logan," the voice said as he looked around the room to see who was there, "Logan, it's me." He sat up suddenly, "Jean?" Rogue was confused and just sat there, staring at him. "Logan, you need to move on." Logan suddenly burst into tears, "I can't Jean," he sniffled. "Remember how I told you I can make people think things..." Jean spoke quietly, "I made you think you loved me, I needed you, I needed a distraction in my life, and I'm sorry for that." Logan looked to the ceiling, "No, you didn't... it was real," he replied. "I'm still doing it... but I realize now that it's not fair to you and I'm going to let you go. Be with Marie, you love her. I know you do." Logan looked at Rogue who was starting to cry too, seeing this emotional display unfold in front of her, she could hear Jean too, now. "But I'll always love you, you know that right?" Logan asked, staring back at the ceiling. "Scott wants me to tell you to get your own girl," Jean giggled. Logan chuckled and sighed, "Bye, Jean," he whispered. "Bye, Logan." Suddenly Logan felt different, like a hole in his heart had suddenly been filled... he felt stronger, satisfied and happier. His tears stopped as he turned to face Rogue. She tackled him and climbed on top. He groaned as she sucked at his neck. He sat up, trying to catch his breath and remove his shirt, when he noticed, in the mirror across the room, a small red and purple mark on his neck. "There's your mark," Rogue smiled.