A/N: Yet another fic. Three day weekend with nothing to do. Of course I'm writing something new. This one's more serious. And going along with the actual theme of the story, I took a little risk of my own with the whole Rogan thing.

Disclaimer: As usual, I own only my own writing. Logan and Marie do not belong to me.

When he finally found her, she was sitting cross-legged on the balcony, head resting heavily in her hands. He wanted to embrace her, hold her, comfort her in some way.

But he stayed where he was. In Logan's eyes, his own greatest failure was his inability to get close to anyone. To her.

Marie knew he was there. She had heard his footsteps and smelled cigars far before he had even reached her. She curled up further into herself, wishing she could just disappear altogether.

He couldn't see her like this.

If she was Kitty-even in her thoughts, she spat the name out-she could disappear. Turn into nothing. Fall through the wooden balcony floor and land someplace where she could be alone.

But she wasn't Kitty. And suddenly, she wished she was.

"Look at me, kid."

He heard her breath come out shaky...uneven...and he saw her head gently sway back and forth as she said a silent 'no'.

"Kid," his voice was stronger, more strict, "Look at me."

After a few seconds of hesitation, she slowly turned to face him. What Logan's eyes witnessed almost shattered his heart. The girl he had picked up a few years prior looked like she'd been torn in half. Her eyes were red, puffy...hopeless.

"P-please...don't cry." He felt his throat begin to close up. How he felt towards Marie was uncertain. Whether he thought of her as a daughter or a friend or...lover, even.

The last one was forbidden in his mind. He was never one to care what others thought, but seriously...how would it look if he and Marie were together? The others in Xavier's School for the Gifted didn't understand his attraction to the girl. To them, it would look like he was just using her. That thought sickened Logan beyond words.

But it would most certainly look like that. So many woman feared Logan. Marie didn't.

How easy would it be for him to take advantage of her?

He emitted a low growl of pain and tried to shake the thought from his mind. He wouldn't ever...ever attempt that. And he would kill anyone who did.

"Logan?"

He looked back down to the girl, unaware that he had become distracted with his own thoughts.

"Why would Bobby do that to me? I thought he loved me."

"He does love you, kid." It hurt Logan to speak of that other...boy...even glancing at his Marie. He didn't deserve her. Logan knew how wealthy Bobby's family was. And Logan doubted Bobby had ever had a painful moment in his life.

"I've seen the way he looks at Kitty, Logan. I'm not stupid. He can touch her. He can caress her, kiss her, make love to her. One finger on my skin, my wretched, horrible skin...and he gets burned. Why would anyone want that?"

"Because," For the first time in the conversation, Logan stepped towards her. Once reaching her, he sat down and put a hand on her shoulder. "it shouldn't matter what your skin does. The only thing that should matter is what's up here," He pointed at her head, "And what's in here." He rested his finger on her heart. "And if Bobby doesn't see that, you should look for something better."

Marie gave a solemn nod. "You're right."

It took everything within his power to hold back from kissing her. To brushing the brown and white hair from her eyes and just pressing his lips to hers.

But he didn't have to hold back. Because he felt her quickly press her lips to his.

It was over as soon as it started. Marie knew more than a few seconds could kill the man. Logan knew that as well.

So why did he want to risk his life kissing her?

Marie didn't apologize. Logan didn't tell her it was wrong. Instead, they sat in silence, staring into each others eyes before Logan reached forward and placed another small kiss on her lips.

Call Logan a masochist, but with each painful kiss brought more joy than he ever imagined.

"There are so many choices of better people to be with, Marie. I didn't think I was one of them."

"You told me to make a choice. I chose. Do you not want this?"

Silence. "I want this." Logan answered. Fuck what other people think, Logan thought. He was always one to take risks, anyway.