Sharing Nightmares <Wolverine>

[rogue]

Characters Appearing: Rogue and Wolverine
Time of Day: Midnight
Location(s): X-Mansion
Previous Thread Name/Info: N/A
NPCs Used: None
Plot Summary: In addition to their physical and personality traits, Rogue gains the memories of whoever she has touched. The memories aren't something that will go away, no matter how much time has passed since the contact. Sometimes memories lead to nightmares, but luckily for Rogue, someone knows exactly how these particular nightmares feel...

~*~*~*~*~

Gunshots... the smell of fire, burning buildings, and death. Run faster...get out of the fire fight. Kid needs medical attention. Too young for this, dammit, too young to be in a war, too young to be so far from home, and too young to die. It wasn't going to happen. Get out of the danger zone, get back to base, and get the kid to the medical tent... faster, go.... run... a shrill whistle... getting louder... a bomb, coming in fast. Ditch up ahead, run faster, get to the ditch, cover the kid...

An explosion, and then...

Darkness...

Another fight... another battle... another damn war. When would humanity learn? Just because some random country hardly anyone had even heard of before wanted something other than democracy... wait... what the hell is he doing? No, what's the matter with you?! She's an innocent girl! Get away from her! Blood... every where, blood...

And then darkness again.

Light... blinding light...

Voices... coming from different directions... and anger... so much anger... vengeance... that's what this was for... vengeance.

Suddenly-

PAIN AGONY RIPPED APART!!!

Rogue bolted up in bed, gasping for air, her brown eyes wide as they took in her dark bedroom. Sweat dotted her forehead even in the cool temperature. She looked to her right. Kitty and Jubilee were both sound asleep in their beds, unaware of any distress from her. The glowing digital clock on her nightstand just turned to midnight.

She sighed as she climbed out of bed and walked toward the kitchen, knowing sleep wasn't going to return to her anytime soon.

[wolverine]

They say things change...

[/color]

Sleep didn't really come to him frequently. It was blasted annoying, but it had become some sort of habit. He had almost gotten used to restless sleep. Logan shook his head as he ran his fingers through his hair with a grunt of his annoyance. Just another sleepless night, another time to flip through a multitude of TV channels. Just another evening to bark angrily at the screen at the lack of common sense in the world.

It was sickening really. He flopped onto one of the many chairs in the expansive rooms. He had to admit, Wheels had himself a nice place here, but it wasn't home. He couldn't even remember home. There was a rustling to his right and he quickly turned his head. Just another student, staying out past hours. He cocked an eyebrow at he scrawny lad whom quickly shuffled out of sight and into the hall. Logan let out a deep breath and settled back into the seat he had picked.

Reaching out he grasped the cool plastic of the remote and started flipping through channels: cooking show, infomercial, sports caps, infomercial, 700 club, infomercial, cartoons, infomercial, politics.

"Bah" he grunted, quickly changing the channel again. He reclined back in his seat, idly and lightly chewing on the unlit cigar in his mouth. He had half a mind to light it up but something kept him from doing that. Respect for the Professor, the fact that he really didn't want to smoke at the moment, or because he didn't have a lighter - he wasn't sure what it was at the moment. Instead he plucked it from his lips and set it down upon a nearby table.

Logan curled his hands behind his head after he reclined his chair back. He had settled the channel on some action movie he had seen before, but hadn't been too thrilled with. It was better than damn infomercials. Though he couldn't help but chuckle to himself a couple times at the latest "slice and dice" machines. It wasn't too long after that he heard footfalls down the hall.

It didn't bother him, it was probably that kid again to scrounge around for more food or something. Logan thought about telling him off, to go back to bed...be a good kid and all that. He slowly rolled out of the recliner, not bothering to put the foot stool down. He heavily walked to the refrigerator; after all he realized he was hungry too.

The footfalls came louder, deep echos in his mind. Everybody around here sometimes sounded like they were tromping down the building. He tried to ignore the sound as he rummaged through the fridge. No beer.

"Go back to bed, kid," he grumbled as he rested his arm against the door. He slowly lifted his head to see who was coming into the room.

...Nothing really changes

[/right] [/blockquote]

[rogue]

The nightmares came every so often. Sometimes they were David's... simple dreams like the test he didn't study for, or showing up in class with no clothes on. Then Eric's nightmares of being at the extermination camp in Auschwitz. The Nazis ripping him from the arms of his parents, and the despair he'd felt in that moment was enough to bring Rogue to tears whenever she woke up from it, despite her hatred of the other mutant.

Worse than Eric's nightmares though, were Logan's. His were always the worst. So sporadic and jumbled, more often than not they were no more than just brief images, as if from some twisted slide show presentation. It was no wonder he was the way he was. She had a hard time after her powers came about, but from what she got out of Logan's nightmares... her life really wasn't all that bad.

As much as the nightmares scared her, a part of her liked the fact that she was one of the few people who had somewhat of an understanding of the things Logan had gone through. Jean, Storm and Cyclops all assumed that her affection for him was just a childish crush, strengthened by the fact that he'd saved her life. More than once, actually. But they were wrong, it was more than that. It was why she and Bobby weren't together. Sure, they were good friends, and she thought he was really cute, and she was pretty sure he liked her a lot... but even he could see how often she thought of Logan after he left. She couldn't help it. She knew him, she knew part of what was buried deep in his memories, what was in his heart. She knew there was more to him - so much more - than what he allowed them to see.

Speak of the devil...

"Couldn't sleep." Rogue said, a slight smirk covering her face as he looked up to face her, apparently speaking before he'd realized it was her.

"Surprised at you, Logan." She teased lightly, her smirk becoming more of her own traditional smile. "Figured you would have guessed it was me by my scent."

God, but she had missed him. She threw her arms around him and embraced him tightly. He was still wearing his thick jacket, or else she wouldn't have dared, not while in a simple nightgown that exposed much of her arms. He must have just returned from his trip in Canada. Releasing him, she reached up around her neck and pulled off the dog tags he'd given her before he'd left, placing it carefully in his palm, managing to avoid touching his skin.

She grabbed a glass from the counter, waiting patiently for Logan to move so she could get a drink. The memories of her nightmare were still lingering, but there was no place in the world that she felt safer in than when she was close to Logan.

[wolverine]

This world wasn't made for us...

[/color]

He wrapped his hand around the cool plastic of a half gallon of milk. He shifted and lifted it from the shelf it was placed upon. Turning his head he lifted his gaze to hover over the door of the refrigerator. He chuckled under his breath and straightened his back a little bit. Logan stepped back and shut the door with a kick from the heel of his boot. He let out a laughing grunt and shook his head slightly as he twisted off the orange cap and tossed it into the trash.

"Lots of smells to get used to again," he said as he took several long drinks from the milk.

Logan rubbed his face and pulled some of the milk off of his beard. He lightly gestured around in the air as he took a few steps closer. He was slightly surprised by the hug. He stiffened and for a few seconds, froze. He lifted the milk jug a bit and wrapped his free arm around her and patted her on the back a few times. Letting go of her he looked at the metal tags that rested lightly in his palm.

Shifting he moved away from her and the refrigerator a few paces as she moved to get a drink. He lifted jug and took a few more swigs, finishing half of it in the process. He turned to face her as she grabbed the glass.
"I told you I'd be back," he said as he took a few moments to roll his jacket off of his shoulders.

He kept his words. He let out a breath as he looked around the large room. His efforts had been fruitless and he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself yet. His gut told him to go back here. And la de da, back in the land of kids and nerds. It wasn't really his kind of place, but he also didn't have one.

How long had it been sense he had left? He looked around and turned his head to the direction of the TV. He eyed it, searching, looking and listening for a sound or date - but it was still on the movie. He had to admit that he was happy about that she was still here and safe.

"How's school?" he asked with a smirk while he moved back to the chair.

...But we have no right to destroy it

[/right] [/blockquote]

[rogue]

"I knew you would." Rogue said softly as she reached for the pitcher of iced tea.

There was never any doubt in her mind that he'd come back. He had promised her, after all. After promising to take care of her, he'd shown that he was willing to give his life for her. She had no reason at all not to trust his word.

She poured her drink and pulled out a chair. He seemed a little distracted. She wondered if his time spent in Canada had given him any success whatsoever. She was glad to have him home, but she also wanted him to be able to get the answers he wanted. She wasn't sure how she'd react if so much of her life was just suddenly taken from her. She'd either go mad, or be like him, and dedicate her time to finding out who she was.

"School's alright." She answered. "I'm doing pretty well in class..."

As Rogue watched him pull up his own chair, her eyes fell back on the dog tags she'd held for the past months. She still didn't know much about why he held onto them, but then again, neither did he. She knew she was about to take a shot in the dark here, as even with her, having a full conversation with Logan was like pulling teeth out of an angry bear. Still, she wanted someone to talk to about the nightmares she'd just had. Who better than the person who'd (unintentionally) given them to her?

"So..." She said, trying to bring up the subject in a casual way. "Been sleeping alright?

Okay, maybe not that casual. But better than saying something like "Do you remember anything about that kid you tried to save in World War II?"

[wolverine]

Saints and scholars...

[/color]

Logan shifted the metal within his palm. The light clinking of the tags against the small balled up chain rang lightly in his ears. He settled into his chair and reached back out for the remote. He fiddled with the volume on the TV and decided to go back to channel surfing. He snorted with slight disgust at the crappy selections that were available to choose from. He kept pressing buttons, adding pressure to it as he slowly got aggravated with the TV.

He rested the open and half finished milk jug against his leg as he reclined back. Curling his arm behind his head he twisted his wrist slightly to keep the remote pointed at the TV. He heard Rogue settle into her own chair and took a few more slurps of the milk. It was going to be empty before the hour was over. He was going to have a fun time telling Scott to restock the fridge. A small smirk played on his face as he concentrated on that for a few moments.

The image in his head faded away as Rogue spoke. Logan turned his head to look at her and slowly arched his eyebrow at her, in a silent: "You're kidding me, right?" kind of look. He settled back into the chair and shook his head. Adjusting his arm he finally set the jug of milk down upon the table beside him.

"Rarely," he muttered darkly as he finally came full circle on the TV channels.
"Suppose that's why you're up, eh kid?" he asked as a pang of guilt resonated in his stomach.

He had no idea what kind of nightmares she would be experiencing or how specific they were. He had never asked, never really wanted to. It just made him unhappy with himself. It wasn't his fault, but she was just a kid and deserved a normal life. Well - as normal as a mutant kid could have in this day and age. He felt especially bad sense her mutation was so different and dangerous.

The memories of Ellis Island sprung back to mind and made his muscles in his arms tense slightly. He tried not to dwell too much on the painful memory, and turned his attention back to the TV, where some guy in a red cape and some sort of leather diaper was kicking another dude into a really big pit.

...They don't even bother

[/right] [/blockquote]

[rogue]

Rogue couldn't help but laugh a little at Logan's look. It was the very look she was expecting from him. Still, she really wanted to be able to talk about this, so she continued pushing the issue. She'd know when it was at the point where it'd be best to just let it go, and she wasn't there yet.

She nodded at his assumption.

"Bad dreams..." She admitted, sighing as he looked away.

"You know... that I don't blame you." She said, her voice a bit softer than before. "For the nightmares, I mean."

It was because of her, after all... her and her curse.

Rogue sighed as she looked down herself, her brown eyes falling on her bare arms. Who was she kidding? She'd never be able to be with Logan, or anyone. She'd never kiss, never hold hands, never hold her baby in her arms. She shut her eyes tightly to keep the tears from falling, but they still managed to fall.

She also wasn't naive enough not to notice the way Logan looked at Jean whenever she entered a the room. Even if by some God-given miracle she could learn to switch her power off... what chance did she have with someone like her? Jean was one of the most beautiful women she'd ever seen, of course she'd be the one he wanted...

It didn't matter that she was with Cyclops, Jean had Logan's heart too... and he had Rogue's... nothing would change that...

[wolverine]

Define your meaning of war...

[/color]

Bad, was an understatement. Wolverine was obviously uncomfortable with the subject at hand. He didn't like to brood on his dreams as it was. Surprisingly after he would wake up he would quickly forget them, leaving him with reliving the horrible emotions that came from the flashing images. Over the years he had pieced things together, and he could recall some scenes. He wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse. It was usually the wars, nine times out of ten it was some sort of war, or just trying to survive. He shut his eyes and knocked down the foot stand back down with a muddy boot.

She didn't blame him and that was fine, he had accepted that. He was thankful for it, but the guilt was still there - the same kind of negative twisting feeling he possessed when he had accidently stabbed her. He curled his fingers and gripped the arm of the chair before slowly getting up. He stare at the TV eyeing the people in their fancy togas with a deep frown upon his face. Logan turned to face her and watched the tears roll down her cheeks.

Oh God, not crying. No, no, he was too tired and restless for this to happen - especially to her. He walked over and stood beside her chair. He wanted to reach out and rub the tears off of her face, but the warning in the back of his head flared violently before he reached out. His fingers waved a little and frantically scanned for a tissue or a napkin or something. How many square feet did this darn school have and nobody bought a damned Kleenex box?

"Buck up, kiddo," he said as he tried give some sort of comfort. "They're just dreams, they can't hurt you.
They were just...really bad, really graphic, movies.

He reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. He was mindful, as always, of skin contact. He had not gotten injured recently, but he didn't want to risk opening up one right now. He hugged Rogue to his stomach and patted her shoulder.

"Besides, I instruct you in the art of flipping channels," he said with a small grin as his eyes wandered around the room.

...To me it's what we do when we're bored

[/right] [/blockquote]

[rogue]

Rogue considered for the briefest of moments to tell him it wasn't just the thought of the nightmares that were making her upset, but decided against it. The last thing she needed to hear right now was the 'I care about you, but' speech.

Carefully, he put his arm around her, offering what little comfort he could give. Again Rogue felt torn on how to react. Part of her wanted to obey the impulse to push him away, but the other half couldn't bear to. This was all she wanted, to be held by him... if only they didn't need cloth to protect him from her.

It was clear Logan didn't want to talk about the nightmares right now, and honestly, Rogue no longer had the energy to push the issue. Sleep would still be elusive, she knew, but now that the thought of what her curse meant was weighing on her once more... she couldn't deal with more emotional issues on top of that.

She sniffled a little, managing a tiny smile at his words.

"Art? You make it sound like there's more to it than just pressing a little button."

[wolverine]

I don't play by their rules...

[/color]

He looked down at her as she sniffled, concern weighing on the edges of his face for the moment. He continued to hold her there and the right side of his mouth curled into a smirk.
"Cause there is," he said with a chuckle as he leaned slightly and grabbed the remote with his other hand.

He lowered his arm and rested the remote around the level of her shoulders. He hugged her closer briefly before he removed his arm from her. Shifting he instead leaned upon the chair she was sitting in and glanced back at the TV. He waited for her to take the remote whilst he plucked his cigar from the table and popped it not his mouth again.

There were a lot of things that could have been taken for art but were not seen as such. Course he'd never have that sort of conversation with somebody; they would have said he was going soft in his old age. Of course having an extended life span, by yourself, gave somebody the time to appreciate the little things. There were subtle complexities that lots of people never gave the light of day to think about. Of course he had kind of dug himself into a sort of hole there. In all reality it was just pressing a button...

He lightly pressed his molars down upon the edges of the cigar, still refraining from lighting up just yet. No need to screw up her lungs.
"I dunno what though, but there is," he said as he rested his arm further into the plushy part of the chair.
"Besides, I've seen this movie a bunch."

Though he had managed to change the subject his min was whirling with possibilities. Were the dreams she was experiencing the ones he had, or were there hidden parts about his history that she was reliving? How often were they? How bad were they? What sort of horrible scenes, that he caused, was she watching? It slowly gnawed at him and his gut - or maybe that was because he had chugged a fourth gallon of milk...

"Haven't they taught you to 'share' here?" he asked.
Logan was sure that the kids were getting an excellent education here. He just like yanking their chain. He continued to rest against the chair. His free hand fiddling with his dogtags. He idly rubbed his thumb against the pressed metal, reading over the letters for the countless time. He lifted his hand and shifted his shoulder as he pulled them over his head and settled them back around his neck.

Having them back with him made him quite happy actually. He had grown quite attached to them over the years; not just because they had been his first clue about who he was. It was familiar, safe, it was his, it was...something like home.

...I have my own

[/right] [/blockquote]

[rogue]

Rogue closed her eyes again, content with the feeling of Logan holding her. Even through the layers of clothes, she could feel his warmth. She knew he cared about her... even if he'd never love her the way she loved him... she was content to have the close friendship they shared.

He released her, and she took a moment to compose herself, and wiped the remains of tears from her cheeks.

She managed another small smile as she took the remote, idly flipping through the channels. She enjoyed a good action film every once in a while, but Rogue was more of a classical film kind of girl. She could have just as easily pressed a few numbers on the remote and it would have taken her to the TCM channel, but somehow Logan's method was amusing her too.

"How am I doin'?" She asked, pausing at each channel just long enough to see if it was something that would interest her.

She giggled a little at his comment about sharing. "Says the guy who just downed our last jug of milk. You know, Cyclops is going to be mad when he finds you didn't at least use a glass."

As sad as she was feeling moments ago, he still managed to lift her melancholy mood. It was easy for her to feel safe and happy with him. She'd take whatever she could get.

[wolverine]

Despite all my rage...

[/color]

His gaze shifted back to the flashing screen as she started to rummage through the limited selection. Maybe something had finally changed, he could only hope so. Of course he was certain that infomercials would plague the screen. How did people get sucked into that crap? He didn’t understand it. His thoughts drifted off to the various machines that were advertized over the years; did any of them actually work?

“It seems you’re a pro,” he said with a chuckle.

Logan tilted his head as she spoke of Cyclops. He wondered how the red eyed guy was doing these days. More so he was wondering about that collection of vehicles in the garage. His teeth flashed as he laughed loudly. Scott would probably be irritated. He wasn’t sure what it was but something about that guy sometimes grinded his nerves; so the fact Scott would be irritated greatly amused him.

“I’ll toss him up a pop-tart,” he said with that grin still resting over his face. “It’s got vitamins right?” he asked as he snagged the jug and finally finished the contents within.

Taking the container he started to crush and crumple it within his hands. The sound of warping and bursting plastic pieces overpowered the sound of the television. Busying his hands with the object he watched as it slowly grew smaller and smaller between his palms. He smiled in a satisfied fashion as he stared at the good sized and uneven ball in his hands.

“If you kids need it, I’ll get some,” he said – silently trying to figure out a good hiding place to stash it away from Scotts reach. Maybe one of the students could help him with that.
Logan looked over his shoulder and tossed the ball towards the trash. He listened for a moment to see if he hit the open container. The rustling confirmed his success. He rolled the cigar to the other side of his mouth and stuffed his hand into his jean pocket.

”What was keeping you up exactly?” he finally asked.
It wasn’t as if he had too many helpful pointers on how to get back to sleep. Usually he just stayed up, or went outside and did some damage to inanimate objects in nature. Distractions were good but there wasn’t too much he could offer on the whole ‘comforting and calming’ bit. He wasn’t a psychic – ha.

...I’m still just a rat in a cage

[/right] [/blockquote]

[rogue]

She giggled again at the level of his concern at the thought of Cyclops being angry. Rogue liked him, but even she had to admit the guy was wound up tighter than a two dollar watch. Logan knew that, and his solution was to deliberately get Cyclops going even more. He'd probably drink out of the carton right in front of him, just to get him riled up.

"Yeah, I don't think a simple pop-tart will make it go away. You're gonna have to give him a lollipop or somethin'." She said, unable to resist giving her own small jab at Cyclops's expense. "But some of the younger students will be disappointed if they can't have chocolate milk."

They sat in what would have been silence if not for Logan crushing the milk jug. It was a wonder it wasn't waking anyone up, what with how loud the echoing was down the halls, but they were still alone when Logan threw it in the trash.

She was a little surprised at the question. It seemed that he was suddenly a bit more willing to talk than he was initially. She wondered what had changed...

"Nightmares..." She said again, suddenly nervous about where this conversation would lead. "Yours..."

She figured he might have guessed that much, but saying it out loud was something different. The images flashed through her head again, causing her to wince.

"A few wars... World War II, and then Vietnam, I think... there were other parts too... some lab... it all kinda jumped around..."

Suddenly feeling cold, she reached for one of the blankets draped over the couch, bringing it around herself.

[wolverine]

It's just another war...

[/color]

A lollipop for Scott...
The thought was actually a good idea. It would confuse him, keep his mouth shut (hopefully), and would probably somewhat belittle him as well. Usually he envisioned lollipops for the screaming kids after they got their shots, or the tiny ones at banks. A smirk fell over his face.
"He's a walking Visene Commercial, probably needs some cheering up," he chuckled.

As Rogue spoke of the nightmares, his face steeled slowly. It was a serious matter and a troubling one at that. He swallowed and lightly gnawed on the end of his cigar. He gave up in his restraint. He pulled a zippo out of his pocket and flicked it open. Lighting the end he watched as smoke curled away from the end and up towards the ceiling. Logan turned only to open a window and kept himself close to the opening.

"Nam?" he asked shortly as his lip curled slightly. "I'm sorry Rogue." he said as he seemed to heave the words out.

She should be having dreams about unicorns and rainbows, or something more...normal. He gritted his molars slightly as he recalled bits of the same images he was certain that she was having. Shifting against the wall he glanced out the window and then back to her. It still baffled him at times that he was really that old. Of course he had no idea how old he really was, not yet anyway.

"Have you talked to Xavier about them?" he asked after some careful consideration.

He had tried getting help from The Professor earlier about it. The guy wouldn't go digging around in his head for answers, and while that was moral and considerate - it wasn't helping him. Maybe he could at least help her figure something out, or at least do so mental mojo to make the dreams less frequent. Somebody in this blasted school had to know something.

As he heard her shift he looked back at her. He rotated his cigar and lowered the window a little bit. It was bad enough she was going through and being cold wasn't going to help. He shifted himself in front of the window, partially blocking it as he kept his smoke close to the entrance when it wasn't in his mouth.

"Can you change them, or are they just fixed a certain way?"

...Just another family torn

[/right] [/blockquote]

[rogue]

Rogue sighed, the stress of the dreams starting to weigh on her.

"I did talk to Professor Xavier." Rogue said softly. "But there's nothing he can really do for me. It's part of my power. I get memories from everyone I touch, and their nightmares... those stay, no matter how long it's been since I touched them."

She wasn't able to stop crying when Xavier told her he couldn't help her. She'd told him about all the nightmares, not just Logan's, but Eric's and David's as well. She'd wanted him to do something, anything to make them stop, but there was nothing that he could do.

"They're the same each time... I see them from the point of view of whoever nightmare they are... with yours... with yours, they're usually some battle... people who were around you then."