Title; Linen And The Wind
Author; Eternity
Rating; PG 13 I guess, for nudity
Summary; Its time the unsaid was said between Logan and Rogue
Disclaimer; I don't own em, damn it!
Notes; Inspired by Wei Hui who said, " When the heart bleeds it can bleed enough to kill you."

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The wind chimes.

She'd thought they were a nice idea when she bought them, kind of romantic and mystical, like the distant laughter of fairies. But at two am, she concluded they were just one more thing keeping her awake.

The rest all being Logan.

She couldn't place her finger on the problem. He'd been back for over a year since he took off the first time, and in that time he'd only disappeared for a total of two months. But when he came back from his last trip, a week ago, something had changed. Gone was the sweet brother/sister ease between them, no more long conversations and playful fights. Now all that remained were awkward silences and avoidance tactics. The entire mansion played witness, over the past seven days, to the slow and agonising breakdown of the relationship of the once inseparable pair.

Rogue attempted to still the theories swimming in her head as she rose from her bed. With her own room towards the dense back of the school she was no longer confined to robes that covered every inch of skin and took liberty and confidence in sleeping entirely naked.

Except, of course, for Wolverine's tags. A habit, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break herself of.

She crossed the room to the window, where the wind chimes hung from the iron curtain rail. Cream linen curtains and drapes of white muslin filtered shafts of temperate blue moonlight that dappled her pale flesh, as she pulled over the wooden chair from her desk. She pushed herself up on shaky legs, blinking rapidly from lack of sleep. She steadied herself by holding the curtains with one hand, and fiddled with the chimes' tie with the other. The cool summer breeze moved the curtains in floating motion as she concentrated on the double-knot. She was increasingly irritated by her inability to loosen it.

They were coming down if it took all night.

Whilst fighting with the string, her mind wandered. She thought of the only time she'd seen Logan that day, as she passed him in the corridor in the afternoon. He wouldn't even look at her, no matter how much she pleaded with her eyes. Why was he punishing her?

As she pondered the question she lost her footing, falling off the chair, pulling the curtains, the rail and the blasted chimes to the floor with a loud thud. "Damn it," she muttered as she clambered to her feet, lightly kicking the now silent chimes. She'd begun to rub her hip and thigh searching for bruising she was sure would show tomorrow, when she stopped, all at once aware she was no longer alone.

She turned to the window beside her. Studying the garden, she traced the outlines of the trees in the outside clearing, until her gaze fell upon a familiar figure. There under her favourite tree he was standing. Surrounded by falling cascades of white blossoms, staring up at her as if in a trance. Mesmerised.

Logan.

Simply leaning against the tree trunk, looking at her with those eyes. Pure hazel, burning bright in the twilight. Rogue stood as if struck dumb by his presence. She looked down at herself, taking in the expanse of naked skin, and then back to him. Managing to tear her eyes from his reverent stare she moved to her right, accompanied only by the sound of her own deep breathing, until she stood in-front of the large, glass, bay doors next to her window.

She lifted her eyes to his again and he shifted to stand upright, overwhelmed by the sight of a now fully visible, naked Marie, just a pane of glass and fifteen feet separating them. She watched as his eyes absorbed her body, emanating carnal need from every inch of his own, causing lavish ripples of wantonness to flow through her like a waterfall. Rogue had never known anything so erotic. She involuntarily leant forward to press her forehead and palms to the chilling glass, revelling in the support of something solid in a world where everything around her was rapidly beginning to dissolve. Watching him then, his silhouette was enveloped in mist. Rogue smiled realising it was her own breath against the glass door. She watched as lingering eyes feasted on her body and his composure changed. His face tensed and his large hands turned to fists at his sides, his whole physique taking on a persona rigid with sensual passion. As the wind whistled through the trees outside and the cool air prickled her skin, causing goosebumps, Rogue grew wary of how vulnerable she was and gathered the linen curtains at her feet to wrap around herself. Still looking at the unmoving man outside, she mustered all her courage as she turned the door handle and took a small step out onto the surrounding stone porch.

The freezing stone beneath her bare feet was a rude awakening. She wasn't dreaming. She continued down the steps to the welcoming warmth of the soft grass of the lawn. All the time Logan's stare never wavered, holding her perfect form as she moved closer. She forced herself to come to a standstill a mere arms-length from him. Curiosity, lust and fear radiated from her as she nervously wrung the linen in her hands. She could barely hold still.

And that was how they stood, for what seemed like hours. Staring at each other in quiet contemplation, thinking of what should be said and what shouldn't, what needed to be heard and what didn't, but all that filled the deathly silence was the occasional rustle of leaves and falling blossoms from the dancing branches of nearby trees.

She spoke. For she knew he wouldn't begin.

"What are you doin' here?"

Even if she didn't really want to know the answer, it was the only thing she could think of to say. Every other question carried too many consequences or was too hard to ask.

"I just wanted to say…goodbye."

"Are you runnin' again?" She could not help the tight tone of her voice.

"Yes."

You wouldn't think that one, simple word could cause such devastation but you'd be wrong, and in that second Rogue could feel the nausea rising in her throat, her stomach turning and her lungs constricting.

She didn't want to play anymore.

"Goodbye."

She had said it calmly and quickly and turned to walk away. But he was faster. He reached out, laying two hands on her shoulders, stopping her and moving so his body was closely fit to hers from behind. She shook from the sensations caused by his leather gloves as his mouth hovered by her ear.

"I was hopin', maybe you'd like to run with me?"

He didn't know what he was doing. The exquisite pain he was causing. Rogue turned in his arms and focused on the face in front of her. The same face she had dreamt of every night since she'd first met him. She could never imagine saying no to this beast, this man. Yet she was going to.

"I'm a little tired of runnin' Logan. Send me a postcard though." She hadn't meant them to be, but her words were soaked in bitterness and she could tell by the look he gave her, she had stung him. He took a step back, dropping his warm hands from her cold shoulders. He closed his eyes as if composing himself and Rogue couldn't be sure but she sensed a flicker of anger. Logan's eyes snapped open and as he fixed her with his most intense stare, Rogue's heart skipped a beat.

"Fine, kid. You stay here with the wonder geeks. Waste your life on their stupid crusades, just don't come crying to me when you realised you've ruined your life!"

He still had a talent for being cruel when he wanted to be, but he had never wanted to be cruel to her. He was hoping she'd see she was better off with him, that he cared more for her than anyone else ever could, but all he was doing was pushing her further away, and it was killing him.

Her eyes rimmed with tears but she wouldn't cry in front of him, so she did the only thing she could do. He didn't understand that all she would ever receive from him was fantasies of kisses that would never happen and all she could ever give him were realities of looks filled with longing. And even she couldn't fall prey to that kind of sweet torture. So she did to him what he was doing to her. She would hurt him enough to drive him away. She could bear that, survive that. Alone again with her pain. She fought to speak and drank in his eyes as she spoke.

"Life?" she whispered "What would you know about that? You spend so much time searchin' for your life, Logan, you forget to live it!"

She bit her bottom lip and waited for his reaction. He watched her face and observed the panic glittering in her tear-laden eyes.

"At least I'm not hiding from who I really am, confined to this place!" he growled as he raised his arms to illustrate the buildings around them.

"And just what do you mean by that?" her voiced raised mimicking the heat in her body.

"Chuck, One-Eye, always goin' on about mutants and humans living together as one community but look at 'em! They live in fortress with eight-foot walls and perimeter alarms, they call this place a school but they're the ones cut off from society! They call this place a haven but it's just another prison cell!"

He finished with a snarl, out of breath, as Rogue listened, taking in his wild rant. The tears brimmed over and trailed down her face and all she could do was try to think of a way to end this without more waterworks.

"And I know all about prison cells, Logan!" She caught his attention with that and he turned towards her, eyebrow raised. "Where I am, Logan, makes no difference, because I will always be alone, cut-off from human contact! I'm held captive by my own body!…" Her voice broke as she fought back more inevitable sobbing, until calmly she finally finished "…. an eternity of solitary confinement."

She wished she hadn't seen the look he gave her then, one of complete sadness, pity and ruination. He moved towards her with the stealth of a hunter and paused so close she could experience the divine caress of his breath on her face.

"If you come with me, you'll never be alone. We could leave all our problems behind, run together." The low rumble sent more shivers through her body. Even if she awoke everyday to find him beside her, she suspected he wouldn't be there out of love but because he felt responsible or even sorry for her. She wanted more than that.

"Let me give you some advice Logan. You can't outrun darkness if it's engraved inside you. If you're a killer, then you're a killer. Don't look to me for a miracle." She hated herself for saying it but if he stayed with her she'd only drag him down as well. If she couldn't save herself, then how could she save him too? Logan looked at her in disbelief before lifting his hands to hold her face, his voice taking on the strain of urgency.

"What happened to you? When did you become so cynical and jaded? What happened to the Marie I knew and loved, the kind, innocent Marie who would never utter a hurtful word to anyone?" He sounded almost broken and Rogues' face contorted as she tried desperately to avoid his eyes.

"She died, Logan. Consumed with rage by all the voices in her head. She lost hope long ago, now there's nothin' left to love…" she trailed off as she freed her face from his grasp and lowered her head to the ground, ashamed at her own admission of defeat.

"No."

He said it with such conviction, the determination to make her see she was still worth fighting for evident in his face.

"She's still in here." As he spoke he placed his hand on her chest, over where her heart beat. She could feel his hand, hot and firm and real, even through the linen, burning away the barriers she had created to protect herself. He refused to believe she had become so easily disappointed and detached.

"Why are you doin' this, Marie?" His voiced carried in the air as the wind tossed her hair to cloud her face.

He wrapped a few strands in his fingers as he waited for her answer. Her verdict.

"I'm not who I once was, Logan." He closed his eyes to the words. "Don't you see that. Look at me!"

He opened his eyes to her request and examined the beautiful woman before him. He'd been too self-involved with his quest for the past to ever really see her, but he lost himself then. In her graceful face, her windswept, tousled hair and her dark cavernous eyes. He cursed himself for not realising sooner that his future was wherever she was and not out on distant roads on his own. She had overthrown him.

She watched Logan regard her, his alluring eyes absorbing every detail, every feature of her face, again cradled in his hands and she felt her heart ache for him. It hurt even more when through trembling lips he murmured, "I wanted you then and I want you now. Come with me."

She considered the words for a moment, revelling in the sentiment. But unsure of its authenticity she whispered, "You're a loner, Logan. I understand that and I won't be a burden to you. It's always been just you and it always will be. Here…" She pulled the dog tags from her elegant neck and freeing herself from his grip slipped them over his head, grazing his soft hair with slender, bare fingers.

She knew all too well that sometimes we are cruel to the people we love to make ourselves feel better.

Logan could hardly process the horror of the situation he was in. She thought that he thought she was just his charge and he was being noble, taking care of her. He craved her and loved her and was going to tell her if it was the last thing he ever did. He studied her face carefully as he pushed the words from his mouth.

"I need you, Marie."

The words haunted her; they rang in her ears and the lump in her throat rose again. Her eyes stung once more from the salt of oncoming tears.

"Well you can't have me anymore!" she screamed as she spun around and started to pace back to her room. But he wouldn't let her go without a fight.

"Don't you understand…" he roared as he grabbed the linen, spinning her around as he tore it from her body and threw it to the ground "Tags and promises or not, you belong to me!"

She circled him in shock to behold his frenzied face, and he moved closer again but this time removed his gloves. "No, Logan…" she spluttered, freezing to the spot as he edged closer.

"Why not?" It was barely a whisper as he stepped nearer to her again, drawing in deep breaths.

"Because if you come too near, I'll hurt you. Just like everyone else. And I don't want to hurt you anymore and…" The rest of the sentence was lost as she ceased breathing at the brush of rough fingers up her rib cage, over the swell of her breast, past her shoulder and to outline her jaw. The touch was so soft, so quick and so light her powers didn't have time to react. She whimpered when he drew back his hand but fell silent when he voiced what he was thinking.

"You could never hurt me, Marie, unless you tell me now that you don't love me. If you want me to stay here with you, I will. I would never hurt you, Marie, because…" he fought to swallow as he failed to express what he wanted so much to tell her. What he'd wanted to tell her since the first time he came back and she was still too young.

Rogue knew what he was desperate to say and her faith in Logan was strong, but she needed proof. She brought her hand up to run through his thick hair and carefully stroked his sideburns as she held his eyes in a timeless embrace, imploring him to say it. He surveyed her angelic face with yearning and she felt him shaking but she was determined to draw the vow from his lips.

"I love you."

With that she delicately brushed her lips over his in a scared kiss and he enfolded her naked body in his arms and smiled into her hair, inhaling her glorious scent. He bent his body and swept her off her feet in one fluid motion, as she enclosed her arms around his neck in a tender clasp. Logan carried Marie up the stone steps to her bedroom but left the bay doors open to their laughter, which mingled with the sound of the gentle wind outside. There was a lot to discuss and even more time to make up for. Nights to be filled with never-ending kisses and loving touches of pure ecstasy. It wasn't a happy ending, but a promising beginning. And soon the only explanation needed was to how a pair of linen curtains ended up on the mansion lawn.

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Disclaimer: All X-Men characters belong to Marvel and/or Fox. I do not own them and do not intend any infringement on their copyright.