Rogue's Love For A Wolverine(COMPLETED)

Chapter 5

Logan was torn on what to do. Should he push to stay? He felt her hesitation at him leaving. Should he go?
As if she read his mind she answered," Stay? I feel more calm and less angry with you than I was."
" All right. Is that really what you want?"
She nodded. " Yes, please. Tonight felt like old times. It felt good sitting here with you. I am still a little worked up from that dream."
"What was it about? Let's talk about it."
Rogue sat cross legged now on the couch facing him. Her hair fell in her face , she was scared to share her dream because she was afraid it would upset him. Logan reached out and brushed her hair behind her ear, brushing her cheek gently with his big hand.
" It was about Stryker, and some of the things he did to you." She said softly.
Logan sucked in a breath." You really did keep some of me didn't you?"
" I told you."
" God Rogue, how often have you dreamed of it?"
" Several times over the years."
" Do you just see things or do you feel them too?" Logan was worried at what all the stress of other peoples memories could do to her.
" When I dream it feels very real. Though I can imagine I haven't felt a fraction of what you went through. Mostly it disturbs me to think of the things that he did to you. But there's the positive stuff too. I've felt your love for Jean, and even your fondness for me. Your protectiveness from when you and I crossed paths the first time."
"So much goes on in your head, how do you keep from going crazy? Did the Professor erase any of it?"
" No! I never asked him to. I want to keep it all. It has helped me be closer to the people I've absorbed. Mainly because I understand them more. But the Professor and Hank have helped me meditate and learn stress relief. Though combat training with the students helps a lot, and I practice with Piotr, Kurt , and Storm and Kitty too. They help a lot."
" You're so strong, I am impressed. I felt like you had strength deep in you, but you were just a kid then."
" I've been through some shit." She grinned.
" I guess so." He agreed.
There was a moment of silence as if they were trying to figure out what the next move was.
" Logan, would you stay the night?" Rogue asked shyly.
Logan was shocked at her request.
" Not for....sex....just, for comfort?" She clarified.
" All right. " he said.
" Give me a moment to shut things down and lock up. "
" Here, I'll lock up you do what you need to do."Logan offered. He got up and went to the door, then he watched her as she shut things down. Once things were dark he followed her down the hall to her room. He didn't need help seeing in the dark. Rogue flicked on the lights switch and she turned down the bed. Then she went to her dresser looking for a night gown. She had a classy taste in clothes, she always had. She went to change in the bathroom, her gown was black satin with lace trim. She put on her elbow length gloves which added to the affect.
Logan cocked an eyebrow at her.
She shrugged," I don't have control over my powers when I sleep. I don't want to hurt you. It takes a great deal of concentration to not hurt people."
" Well I can appreciate that. Thanks for protecting me. "
Rogue laughed at his humor. Then she crawled into bed.
Logan pulled off his shirt, laying it on the arm of a comfy looking chair. Then he stepped out of his jeans and also rested them on the chair. Rogue had averted her eyes briefly, and Logan had caught her trying to be modest and not look at all of him. None the less a flush crept into her cheeks when she looked up and accidentally looked at all of Logan, his boxer briefs did not leave much to the imagination. He grinned.
" You sure you're all right with all of this?" He was skeptical.
" I'll be fine. I think..." She sat up against the head board and Logan joined her. Her night gown had long enough sleeves that her gloves almost covered all her skin other than the small space between the gloves and sleeves.
" Mind if I turn out the lights?" Logan asked.
" That's fine. I'm starting to feel sleepy again."
Logan reached up to turn the lights off. They sat in silence a moment.
Logan sank down and laid on his back but Rogue hadn't moved yet. He heard her heart beating fast.
" Come here Anna Marie." He said gently. Logan opened his arm so that she could snuggle in, but before she did she put up the hood of her robe so that her face didn't touch his skin. Once she was settled, Logan pulled her in tight, keeping his arm around her shoulders his other hand rested on her arm. He pulled down the top side of her hood so that he could stroke her hair. His fingers played with her hair and he occasionally stroked her cheek lightly with his thumb. Rogue sighed.
" Everything all right?" Logan asked.
" I was just thinking."
" About?"
" About how I am stressed right now, how am I ever supposed to have a normal relationship when I'm terrified of accidentally killing the person I'm sleeping next to?"
" Well, you gotta find some one with rapid healing...or maybe some one immune. There has to be a way to make it work."
" It's one thing, when I'm awake I can be aware and do my best to control my powers, but when I'm asleep I lose complete control. Do you understand how easily i could kill you just by accident?"
Logan sighed, " I do seem to remember how quickly you drained me. But don't worry, if I feel like you're taking too much of my life force then I will get out of bed. All right?"
" You better, I would feel horrible if I hurt you Logan."
" Just be at ease, it'll take a lot to hurt me. Come on, try and go back to sleep. "
It took awhile, but eventually Logan heard her breath slow and fall steady, she was finally asleep. He listened for awhile then he to drifted off. Morning arrived and Rogue had managed not to kill Logan, she woke first, feeling very warm, Logan put out a lot of heat. She felt safe in his arms now that she had started to let go of her anger toward him. Logan was facing her, so she watched him, in sleep he looked at peace. She reached up with her gloves and carefully traced the outline of his jaw. His hand came up and laced his fingers with hers, though his eyes hadn't opened yet. A calm smile formed on his lips. Then he opened his eyes and gazed into her chocolate colored eyes.
" Did you sleep well?" She asked softly.
" I did. That was the best sleep I've had in awhile. " he squeezed her fingers lightly. "How about you?"
"I did sleep a lot better. Thank you for staying. "
"I was happy to. Thank you for inviting me to stay. "
" I was glad to have your company after that dream. I felt safe. Thank you Logan."
He squeezed her fingers gently again. " I hope it helped. "
" It really did. "
"It helped me too." Logan said.
They laid there a few moments, but suddenly they heard Kitty coming home. She had stayed with Pete over night, but now she was home.
Rogue sat up quickly. "Oh no..."
Logan sat up too." It will be fine. "
He reached over to grab his pants. Rogue got up, her hood falling down, hair slightly mussed. She wasn't sure what her next move should be. Logan buttoned and zipped his pants then turned to her. He saw her panic and went to her. He took her carefully by her shoulders and she turned toward him.
" Calm down! Everything is fine! " he tried to make her understand. " Everything is fine. "
"She's going to ask questions. "
" So let her ask. " his voice was kind. Rogue sighed in defeat. "
"Fine, all right. "
Logan reached out and touched her cheek.
"Everything is fine. Come on let's go. " he slipped on his shirt and opened the door. Then he led the way to the kitchen. Rogue was behind him. She was not looking forward to Kitty and her impending questions.
Kitty was startled when she turned from the fridge to see Logan standing there.
"Logan! What the Hell?"
"Sorry, Kitty, good morning."
" Good morning to you too! Um, Rogue? What's going on?"
Logan cut in before she could answer. " We ran into each other last night and ended up having dinner together. "
" I invited him to stay for a movie, and kind of fell asleep..."
Kitty grinned, " Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"
"Ugh. It's not like that." Rogue said.
"Sure it's not. " Kitty said.
" I had a nightmare and asked him to stay, it was one of the bad ones."
Kitty's eyes flew to Rogue's.
"Oh. You haven't had one of those in a while, you ok?"
" Because Logan was here, i am now. I'm trying to get over my issues with him. "
"I see. Well, Logan , you better not hurt her, because Pete will have your ass."
"Believe me Kitty, it's my goal to keep her safe from harm." Logan said.
"Good, now, what's the breakfast situation? I was thinking of going out, Pete's busy working with a couple students for some extra credit this morning. "
"We could maybe get a group together and go to that little diner down town. Their breakfast is fantastic. " Rogue suggested.
On que Logans stomach growled very loudly. The girls looked at him and giggled.
He shrugged, " I guess food might be a good idea. "
"I'll get a hold of Kurt and Storm, why don't you try Cipher and Firestar?" Kitty said.
Rogue nodded, " Sure."she reached for her phone and started dialing.
They got a hold of their friends and arranged plans.
" Okay, I got a hold of the girls they will meet us there in twenty five minutes. " Rogue said.
" I got Storm and Kurt coming about the same time. "
" All right. I am going to go change, I'll be back out in a few minutes." Rogue said.
Logan and Kitty eyed each other up after Rogue left the room.
" So, am I going to need to get used to having you around here more?" Kitty asked.
Logan shrugged, " I don't know."
" Seems like she's coming around some. You work fast. "
" I'm not here to cause trouble or hurt her. I am back to keep a promise to her that I screwed up on long ago. I'm trying to make amends. "
" She told me you kissed her, so was that you protecting her?"
"It's complicated."
"So you have feelings for her then?"
" I do. I didn't know until I saw her again. I've always cared for her, but it's stronger now. "
" You be careful with her. "
" I know! You keep telling me."
" I was there through the worst, I am very protective of her. "
" I understand Kitty. All I want is her happy and safe. That's most important to me. "
" All right Logan, I'm going to try and back off then."
Rogue came out then, her long hair brushed and tidy. She wore black jeans ,a pretty dark green top and her signature elbow gloves.
"So, we should probably go and get our table huh?" She asked.
Both Kitty and Logan agreed. They packed up and went outside.
Now came the moment where they decided who was going to drive.
" I'll drive. " Rogue said.
"All right. " the other two agreed.
"Logan, afterwards do you want me to drop you off at your place?"
"If you don't mind that would be great." Logan took the shotgun seat of Rogue's little Black mustang, Kitty crawled in the back.
" Nice car kid! You've done well!"
Logan approved of her choice in car.
She grinned, the car was her baby."Thanks! Sometimes we have to get places fast, so it was my first choice. "
"I like it!" Logan grinned as Rogue drove. They arrived at the diner just as Kurt and Storm pulled up in Storm's BMW Z3 Roadster. They were currently dating so they had ridden together. Kurt was the gentleman, opening Storm's door. Every one filed out of Rogue's Mustang. Then Firestar and Cipher showed up in Cipher's Jeep.
They grouped up and walked into the diner together. It was an intimidating group but luckily it was quiet so they were able to push tables together to make everyone fit. The waitress took their orders and soon food arrived. They all enjoyed the meal, and just as they finished squaring up the bills everyone's phones started going off. The Professor was summoning them to Headquarters for a meeting.
"Well it was a nice weekend while it lasted. I wonder what's going on. "Kitty said.
" I don't remember having anything scheduled for this weekend." Storm said.
"Well, let's go see what's going on. Hopefully nothing too crazy."
The group piled back into cars and sped over to Headquarters to meet up with Charles. Storm led them inside, Logan felt nostalgic as he walked inside, he noted several updates to the facility. Charles had mentioned to meet in the danger room, a very large room where they normally performed combat simulations. Charles was in the center of the room waiting patiently with Hank McCoy. Next to them was a large man with a long black trench coat and a patch over one eye. This would prove to be interesting. He had a group of people with him, some of them the X-men recognized from watching the News. They were known as the Avengers. Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barten, Bruce Banner,and Steve Rogers as well as head of security Phil Coulson. The X-men eyed up the Avengers and the Avengers sized up the X-men. Everyone looked around until Charles smiled and cleared his throat.
" Good morning all. I trust that you all had a good breakfast?"
Piotr came in then and stood next to Kitty. "I have gathered you here this morning to meet some people that you may recognise from the news. These are the Avengers." The X-men all stood there wide eyed.
"Professor? What is going on here?" Storm asked.
"Well team, it seems that an evil group called Hydra has been causing a lot of trouble, and it seems that they are looking to team up with Magneto. Team, this is Director Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D , his head of security officer Phil Coulson and you may recognize some of the Avengers. "
Storm recognized Tony Stark," Mr. Stark, I've read much about you."
Tony smiled and came to shake her hand, " Ms.Munroe I have read about you, I understand that you help the Professor run things here. "
" I do. We are a team though. And Mr.Stark you can call me Storm."
" I look forward to seeing a demonstration of your powers. "
"Will there be a demonstration? " Storm looked the Charles and Nick.
" In time yes. So that the Avengers learn what we do. Director Fury and I are hoping to form an alliance. And in time we will ask that everyone has a chance to show off their skills and abilities, I am working with Doctor McCoy on a program for the Danger Room as training for you all, I just need a few more days and it will be complete. Now I would like first to introduce my team to the Avengers. As Mr.Stark mentioned, Storm runs the school with me, she has been a large help in keeping things going here, Storm can control the weather and use it to her advantage. Kurt Wagner is known as Night Crawler is a teleporter, very quick in combat. Piotr Rasputin can turn his skin into armor as strong as metal and has super strength. Angelica Jones, known as Firestar stores ambient energy and can release several different types of energies, heat mainly. Alisa Tager, known as Cipher can go invisible, walk through walls , and has the ability to block psychic attacks. Katherine Pryde, known as Kitty Pryde has the ability to walk through walls, but can also take people with her. Logan Howlette, known as Wolverine has actually just come back to the group after being away an extended time, he has super healing, super heightened senses and agility, as well ashaving Adamantium grafted to his skeletal system, he is able to extend claws from his hands. Finally, Anna Marie Kellogg, known as Rogue, is able to absorb others powers, also taking some memories from those that she absorbs. This is my team, they also all teach the children here. Director Fury , I would like to turn things over to you. "
Director Fury stepped forward, "Thank you Professor. It is an honor to meet you all, I am hoping both our teams can collaborate on this mission. We will need to do some training together , to get to know eachother better. Learn combat styles. You are all assets to the Professor so I am very hopeful in your ability to team up with the Avengers and the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. As you know I'm sure, Tony Stark is Ironman, but Clint Barten is a sharp shooter and trained assassin. Natasha Romanoff is also a trained assassin and trained in espionage. Steve Rogers is known as Captain America, he was experimented on during world war two, he took a serum that made him extremely strong and agile and extremely fast. Bruce Banner is a brilliant doctor of physics and many other sciences, he is also however another government experiment known as the Incredible Hulk. Doctor Banner can transform into a very large war machine, his skin is bullet proof and he is extremely strong. There's two members of our team that are not always accessible to us, that is Thor, the God of Thunder, and Colonel Rhodes who uses the War Machine suit when we really need him. He hails from Asgard, unfortunately it is not often that we are graced by his presence, but believe me, when the time comes, you will see his value in battle. Does anyone have any questions?"
" How do you know that Hydra is working to team up with Magneto?" Storm asked.
Nick accepted her query," One of our agents has been working day and night to infiltrate Hydra, she has managed to gain access to some emails that state exactly that they wish to join up with Magneto and his group the Dark Brotherhood. There is to be a meeting coming up in the next month, we have only a short time to get used to eachother so that we can take them down."
"Where are they meeting?" Asked Kitty.
"Therein lies the problem. We don't know yet. Our agents are monitoring the emails but so far nothing has, been finalized. "
Rogue was feeling uneasy, as were most of the people in the room. Logan stood by her, and rested his large hand on her shoulder. She jumped a little then realised it was him. Logan was not looking forward to combat. He was feeling rusty. He hoped that the training would help him get back where he needed to be. This plan though was not terribly b good since he was made of metal and they were about to deal with Magneto.
" I have a concern. "Logan spoke up.
Nick nodded," Go ahead Logan."
" I am made of metal and you're telling me we're going to be dealing with Erik?"
" We hadn't known that you'd be here, it is something the Professor and I will have to discuss. We don't want Erik to get to you. We could use you in the helicarrier as a leader there away from him perhaps. "
"Logan, we will find a safe position for you where you can still be of great assistance. " Charles said.
" I want to be here for the team." He was trying to be careful of his words, but what he really meant was Rogue. Logan was concerned about not being there in battle near Rogue.
"You will be. " Nick said. "Anyone else?"
"So you have two people that were experimented on , like genetically transformed?" Kitty asked.
"Yes Miss Pryde."
" So basically Doctor Banner and Captain America are technically synthetic mutants? Basically?"
" I guess you could say that, yes. "
"Well they'll fit right in here then." Kitty said.
"This is going to be a learning experience for all of us, but the Director and I feel that we have the right people to take on this mission. S.H.I.E.L.D had a better containment until to put Erik in and I feel that we will make a great team. As long as you work together. "
Storm now stepped forward, "If we are to work together, we should get to know one another before the danger room sessions start."
" We agree." Charles said.
Now Tony Stark stepped forward," I have organized a little soiree for us all for tomorrow night, at my place, Stark Tower. And you all better be there. We do need a chance to get to know eachother. I have drinks, music, lots of food, just bring yourselves. Be there or be square folks."
" Is there a dress code?" Storm asked.
"Nope, I want to know the real you, come as you are. Let's just be us, because soon we'll have to be the Super Us. Let's have some fun!" Tony's attitude was up beat, though his eyes showed some concern. His mind was always working. "Oh! And feel free to bring significant others if any one is attached, they may as well party too."l
Every one was still in a bit of shock. Everyone's minds were turning. This was going to be an odd mission. There could be casualties, but they would try to prevent it. Finally after just a little more information the meeting was broken up. The v last thing the Professor had to say was ," In efforts to get prepared I intend on giving the children a holiday so that we may work."
On that note the meeting concluded.