Logan
Logan looked at Xavier calmly. "I'm leavin'. Thought you might want to know."
"But what about Jubilee...?" Xavier asked hesitantly, sensing the wounded spirit in Logan.
"I'll work on my own. I'll call you guys round sometime." Logan shrugged. "Maybe since I'm leaving, Magento will try to pick me up. Maybe I can work with him from there and help you get the kids out."
"It appears that you have thought this through..."
"Look, Chuck, I just can't handle being around here anymore." Logan's mouth tightened.
The smell of her hair.
The amused flash in her eyes as she looked at the students, pitying them yet faintly envious at the same time.
Emerald eyes glazed over and her mouth just slightly open as she flung her head back in a cascade of ebony strands.
Sparring with her, quick wheel and turn about. Could he even fight again without thinking of her...?
The quick banter they threw back and forth, relishing the contact with someone of a long perspective.
Her laugh.
Her smile.
Her claws and fangs.
Everything that made her who she was.
"I...have to go." He couldn't stand the pity in everyone's eyes. The pity he saw now. None of you understand. Except maybe Gwen. But he was thinking it really wasn't the boy's fault now. Nathan had...said some things. About a cat's nature. But finding Gwen to tell her what had happened...harder. "Maybe I can find Gwen and talk to her about..." He shrugged uselessly.
"Quite." Xavier nodded slowly.
"But I was thinking of heading to Japan, so maybe you should ring that Angel guy. See if he knows where she is," Logan offered then resettled the backpack on his shoulder.
"Feel free to take the bike," Xavier said. Logan eyed him carefully.
"You know Scott will kill you." It was a statement not a question. Xavier's eyes twinkled slightly.
"Think of it as an extended loan."
"I always pay my debts." Logan went to the door, and then looked back. "And Chuck? Thanks." And he walked out the door. Now to go find Marie. Xavoer nodded slightly, then turned back to his paperwork. "Hey, kid, you got a minute?" Logan said to Rogue.
Rogue
"Rusty stop harrassing your brother," Rogue scolded the red fuzzle.
She looked up at Logan and smiled.
"Sure, Ah always have a moment for you."
Logan
"I just..." Logan rubbed a hand through his wild hair. "Look, you know what happened with Nyx, right? Well, I'm taking off for a bit. Thinking of going to Japan or something."
Rogue
Rogue nodded slowly.
"Ah... Ah see..." she replied quietly. "You ever going ta come back?"
Although she could understand his reason, Rogue shifted her gaze from him.
Logan
"I don't know..." Logan looked miserable. "Probably. But it'll be a long tome from now. Marie, I can still *smell* her everywhere. Everything reminds me of her. I can't..." He just shook his head. "I'll send postcards, and ring every once in a while. I won't disappear on ya."
Rogue
Rogue chewed her lip.
"Okay," she said finally. "Ah'm going ta miss you."
Logan
Logan put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll miss ya to, kid. But ya understand why I need ta go?"
Rogue
"Sure Ah do," Rogue replied sadly. "Ah just wish you didn't have ta go."
She looked down at the fuzzles who were happily playing.
"They're going ta miss you too," she said decisively.
Logan
"Yeah...I'll make sure that at least in two years, I'll pay you all a visit. How does that sound?" Logan offered. "Baring impossible circumstance."
Rogue
Rogue grinned at him.
"Good. Ah just might hold you ta that."
She stood up and gave him a big hug, careful not to touch his skin with her own.
Logan
"I'll expect ya to," Logan said as he rested his chin against the top of her head for a moment. "I'll bring ya back something from Japan. A geisha doll or somwthin'."
Rogue
Rogue grinned at him.
"Okay," she replied.
She paused for a moment.
"Would you like a fuzzle?"
Logan
Logan scratched his head, thinking about it. "If ya think it won't get lonely or lost," he said hesitantly. "I ain't the best of company, even for a ball o' fluff. And I might be doing some dangerous things."
Rogue
Rogue chewed her lip.
"Maybe not," she said at last. "I don't think they're old enough to be sensible yet. When... when are you going?"
LOgan
"Now," Logan said simply. "I just wanted to say goodbye to you, and then I'm gone. Chuck gave me the bike." He grinned slightly. "You never told me...what the hell kind of name is Rogue?"
Rogue
Rogue giggled.
"One that's a hell of a lot more fitting than Marie," she grinned. "Good luck - Wolverine."
Logan
"Thanks, kid." Logan ruffled her hair briefly. "I think I'll need it." He hesitated for a moment, then pressed a brief kiss to her forehead. "I heal fast, I'll be good." He gave her a jaunty wave and steadied the pack on his shoulder. "Be seeing ya round...Rogue." He left and went to the garage. He grinned as he tossed the keys to Scott's motorbike in the air, then caught them in one hand. Hey, he even had permission this time.
Soon, the bike roared out of the gates and the Wolverine left the mansion for parts unknown and uncharted.