Nothing But Dust                                         

By Nadja Lee                                     11/10/01

English is not my native language. Please forgive me my mistakes.

Disclaimer: “X-men” and all the characters here belong to Marvel, 20 Century Fox and I intend no infringement, this is a piece of amateur fan fiction, and I make no money of it.

Only the original idea contained within this work is the property of the author. Please do not copy this story to any website or archive without permission of the author.

Timeline: Set in the movie universe. After the movie.   

Universe: Set in the movie universe; NOT the book which goes with it.

Romance: Logan/Rogue,

Summary: Logan was sent to guard Rogue and that’s just what he’ll do.

Archiving: Want, ASK, take,  have.

Feedback: Yes, please. My e-mail address is nadjalee2000@hotmail.com

Rating: PG-13

Sequel/series: None

Dedicated to Bani with thanks for all her kindness. *big hug*

 

Part 1:

Logan tiptoed along the golden fence, dragging Scott’s bike next to him. Almost to the gate and no one had seen him…

“Logan! Is that you?!”

“Damn,” Logan swore.

“Now, Logan, you know what the Old One says about swearing,” an older man said as he came toward Logan, a big smile on his face. He was dressed in white, a calendar looking book beneath his left arm and a big key in his right.

“ Hey, Pete. How’s it goin’?” Logan asked and let the other man give him a hug.

“Oh, you know. Nice and quit. I hear there’s a war coming though so I expect lots of customers soon,” Pete said as he walked with Logan towards the gate.

“Who said anythin’ about a war?!” Logan looked dumbstruck. Had he missed something here?

“Am I wrong?” Pete mumbled to himself. “Here, hold this,” Pete gave Logan the big key while he consulted his calendar. “Let me see…Day 1, create world….Day 2…yeada, yeada….” He turned several pages. “Alexander the Great….Christ is born….yeada, yeada….oh, here we are. The big war,” Pete showed the page to Logan.

“That’s the second World War,” Logan sighed. “Now, I can better understand how come you ‘accidentally’ send me to Earth…100 years too soon. My woman wasn’t even born yet!” Logan complained and gave Pete back his key.

“She’s not your woman, Logan. It is forbidden…” a new voice said and the source of the voice appeared; a blond man, again dressed in white with big feathered wings and a kind of armour on.

“For us to fall in lov’ with ‘em; I know,” Logan finished darkly for him.

“Exactly.”

“So, Gabi…what brings you to the gate?” Pete asked and smiled. Gabi frowned.

“That’s Mr. Gabriel to you, Peter.”

“We’re in a pesty mood today,” Pete mumbled but was intimidated enough by the awful man to return to the gate and a small table appeared with a big book on it. Pete turned to a page and began waiting for the first customer of the day.

“So, how did it go?” Gabriel asked.

“Fine. I found the girl…as I said to Pete he fucked with the timetable again; I was 100 years too early…”

“Language,” Gabriel reproved.

“…Anyway, I found the girl and saved her,” Logan finished and ignored Gabi’s comment.

“Hey, it wasn’t my fault. Time is a delicate thing. It is hard to send you down so precisely,” Pete mumbled.

“You’re late. You should have been up 2 Earth weeks ago,” Gabi commented.

“ My mission wasn’t over yet,” Logan insisted and refused to meet Gabi’s eyes, knowing he could read the truth in his eyes. Gabi’s eyes narrowed and he got a grim suspicion.

“You didn’t fall in love, did you? Did you?”

“…”

“You did!” Gabi yelled horrified.

“That’s great, son. I haven’t had a woman in…well, 2000 something years. Go for it,” Pete laughed but was silenced by an ice stare from Gabi.

“Have you forgotten what happened last time you fell in love with an Earth woman? Have you?”

“Of course I haven’t! You send me down there,” Logan made a downwards motion with his hands and first now did Gabi notice the motorcycle.

“You took THAT with you up here?”

“Hey, I happen to like this bike,” Logan protested with false wounded pride.

“ I like bikes too; they always drive too fast on them. Gives lots of customers,” Pete added his view on things.

“You didn’t steal this, did you?” Gabi demanded to know.

“You know we can’t steal. Scooter…” Gabi cast him a stern look. “Eg, Scott gave it to me.”

Suddenly before Logan’s and Gabi’s feet a part of the white cloud became very dark and black and it seemed to eat a hole through the sky until a man all dressed in black flew up to land before them. He was devilishly handsome with a black leather jacket, blue cowboy pants, a silver earring and long hair in a ponytail.

“ Did I or did I not hear someone say stealing? I heard a ‘no, no’ word,” he said with a smile.

“Lucifer,” Logan smiled and the two men embraced. Gabi took a hand up before his eyes.

“I’m not seeing this; I’m *not* seeing this.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Lucifer asked puzzled as he drew back.

“Traumatised childhood, a dull job; take your pick,” Logan grinned.

“So, what are you doing back up here? Last I heard the Old One had send you to Earth.”

“He did, I just came back,” Logan explained.

“Oh, alright. So, you wanna come down with me? It’s always more fun down there and it’s almost time for Hitler’s daily punishment. I’ll let you have the honours since you just came back,” Lucifer suggested.

“Tempting as that may sound…”Logan began.

“You’re not actually considering this, are you?” Gabi asked shocked.

“Hey, you got me send down there for 600 years. Any prisoner would make friends when they had *that* long to do it in.”

“We have rules, Logan, which we need to uphold. As I recall a woman got you into this mess to begin with.” 

Logan span around quicker than the wind and waved a warning finger at Gabi.

“Don’t you dare go there. Cleo loved me,” Logan insisted.

“Well, I gotta go then. Nice to see you again, Logan,” Lucifer said and disappeared downwards. Suddenly several people appeared before the gate and Pete got busy with his big book.

“Let’s go inside,” Gabi suggested and with a motion of his hand they suddenly stood inside the gates. The sight inside the gates was indescribable for it was Goodness and Perfection wrapped into one.

*Logan, Logan…. I need you. Please help me. Come to me. Help me*

Logan stopped in his tracks. That voice...it was Marie’s voice.

“What is it?” Gabi asked as he noticed Logan had stopped.

“She is calling me,” Logan explained as he listened to the words her heart had send to him.

“Marie?”

“Of course Marie. Am I the Guardian of anyone else?” Logan asked irritated.

* Logan, help me*

“I gotta go to her,” Logan said determined and got ready to fly down again. Gabi stretched out his arm and held him back.

“Logan…do you love this woman? The truth please for I’ll know if you lie.”

“Yes. I love her. I’ll do anything for her,” Logan said seriously. Gabi sighed deeply.

”I’ll let you go to her then but remember; you can never tell her you love her for if you do...”

“ I know...I’ll turn into dust,” Logan finished for him. “Who makes these stupid rules anyway?”

 “Well, that’s….” Gabi began but then stopped. “I actually don’t know. Anyway, just don’t say what you feel and you’ll be fine.”

“Don’t worry,” Logan got ready to fly again as Gabi stopped him…again. “ What now?!”

“I trust you, Logan, but not THAT much. Alexander!” Gabi called. A beautiful man with fine aristocratic features appeared next to them.

“What is it?” he asked. “Oh, hey Logan.”

“You guard Summers so since you’re going the same way I want you to keep an eye on Logan and keep him out of trouble,” Gabi insisted.

“Man, this is so unfair. You don’t send bodyguards with Jesus every time he visits Earth,” Logan protested.

“He also has some very good connections up here,” Alexander reminded him with a smile.

“Will you two stay on the subject!?” Gabi said irritated.

* Please, help me. Help me make the right decision, help me protect them…please let me save them; don’t let them die* Scott’s heart formed the words for Alexander to hear.

“Okay, okay. I’ll play nanny. Now, we better go. I hear my protégée calling me,” Alexander said. 

“Okay…go on,” Gabi waved them away.

As soon as the words were out his mouth as soon were the 2 men gone.

“The Old One must have been in a very good mood the day he made Marc Anthony his Angel of Death and Alexander The Great his military adviser. Too bad both jobs were cut in the latest reductions so I’m stuck with finding suitable candidates for them to be Guardian Angel to. Memo to me, memo to me: ask for a raise and never, never let Marc...I mean, Logan guard another woman; he falls in love far too easily,” Gabi mumbled to himself.

 

Part 2:

 Logan and Alexander landed outside the X-men’s mansion and hurried inside.

*Logan…help me*

“She’s in sickbay,” Logan said worried and hurried down the corridors, Alexander close behind.

“Remember, only you can see me,” Alexander reminded Logan. The others could only see Logan because Pete had sent him down as a mortal.   

“I know.”

Logan and Alexander reached sickbay and saw Rogue and Scott laying in each their beds.

“Wonderful. I’m gone for five hours and the kid gets into trouble. I swear I spend more time patching this kid up than I did conquering the known world,” Alexander complained as he hurried to Scott’s bedside and spread out his hands above his chest at the place of his heart. Golden light left his hands as Alexander began to heal him.

“Marie!” Logan yelled and ran to her. She were covered in tubes and connected to tons of machines. His heart broke just looking at her.

“Logan. You’re back,” Jean said surprised as she saw him.

“What’s wrong with her?” Logan demanded to know and took Rogue’s gloved hand in his.

“ Sabretooth and his companions attacked the mansion while the professor and I were at a Senate hearing,” Jean explained as she went back and forth with medical files in her hands, her high heels making it impossible to ignore her.

“She was left unprotected?! My Marie…” Logan cast a look at Alexander who was still concentrating to heal Scott. ”…you left her alone?!”

“ She wasn’t alone. Scott was at the school with the kids.”

“For all the good THAT did them,” Logan mumbled and turned back to Rogue. He didn’t notice the Professor before he spoke:

“ For your information Scott is dying from the wounds he got as he tried to defend Rogue who seemed to be Sabretooth’s main target. And do you know why they went after her specifically?” he didn’t wait for Logan’s answer. “Because they thought she was your woman.”

‘She IS my woman’ Logan instantly wanted to say and felt as guilty as he was sure Xavier had hoped. She was hurt because of him. Him who had been supposed to safeguard her.

“Will she live?” Logan asked softly and dreaded the answer.

“The truth?” Jean asked and Logan forced himself to nod though he wanted to scream; ‘no, lie to me.’

“She is dying. There is nothing I can do; she has lost too much blood.”

“She can’t die! She can’t!” Logan protested and wiped a loose hair away from Rogue’s face. She looked so peaceful; almost like she was sleeping. She looked like…an Angel. And speaking of the devil...eg, angel…

“I got mine. How’s yours?” Alexander asked and put a hand on Logan’s shoulder. Scott’s machine said something and Xavier and Jean hurried over to him. “Hmm, I save the kid and Miss. I-Wear-High -Heels-In-The-Lab gets the glory. Typical,” Alexander mumbled under his breath.

“She’s dying,” Logan whispered brokenly. Alexander smiled softly.

“You really love her, don’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah I do.”

“Then save her. I can only save people I guard so you have to do it. Save your woman,” Alexander urged.

“That’s just it; I can’t. I can’t heal her anymore. I was send down here as a human…” Logan began but stopped mid sentence. “But wait... I can heal her, also as a human,” a determined look had entered Logan’s eyes, a look Alexander knew well.

“Here we go again,” he mumbled as Logan bent down and claimed Rogue’s lips with his own. He deepened the kiss and waited for her powers to kick in like they had before…but nothing happened. He waited a while until he drew back.

“Maybe I’m not doing it right,” Logan mumbled frustrated and took Rogue’s right hand and ungloved it and put it to his cheek. Again nothing happened. He then laid both his hands on her face. Again nothing happened.

“Why isn’t it working?” Logan asked frustrated.

“Maybe because she’s gone,” Alexander said softly.

“NO! She can’t be dead. I refuse to believe that- She is NOT dead!” Logan almost yelled.

“That is not up to us to decide that, old friend,” Alexander said sadly.

“I don’t care. Can’t you understand that? I don’t care. I just want her to live,” Logan fought back tears. Damn, he hadn’t cried in…well, ever. Alexander saw how another soul was to leave a body behind and knew that within seconds it’ll be too late to do anything.

“There is a way,” Alexander reluctantly admitted.

“What? Tell me. What?” Logan demanded to know. Alexander avoided his eyes.

“I shouldn’t tell you this but…”

“TELL ME!” Logan demanded.

“Okay, okay…. It is true what Gabi said that if we declare our love for a mortal we turn into dust. BUT…our love can also save them.”

“Are you saying…” Logan began as what Alexander was saying sank in.

“Yes,” Alexander admitted reluctantly. “As you admit your love and turn to dust…she’ll live.”

 “Very well,” Logan simply said and took Rogue’s ungloved hand in his. “Marie, since the first time I saw you I knew you was the one I was searching for. Marie, I lo….”

”Stop!” Alexander quickly put his hand over Logan’s mouth. Logan removed his hand with an angry motion.

“What ARE you doing?!”

“If this is what you really want I’ll not stop you but do you know what you’re doing?” Alexander almost pleaded with him. “You know the truth of life after death; you know she’ll come up there, you know she’ll be taken care of. You could be with her every day…if you let her die.”

“But I can’t watch her die, can’t you see that? She may be taken care of but she’s barely a woman; there is so much still left for her to see, for her left to feel. All the countries she still has to see, all her loves…children...growing old. I wish all that for her and if she dies she’ll never even have a chance,” Logan explained softly and unnoticed tears ran down his cheeks as his eyes were fixed on Rogue’s lifeless body.

“You can’t come back again. This time you’ll simply…disappear. Will you really give all that up for her? Will you become nothing, have no place anywhere…all for her?” Alexander asked softly. There were no anger in his voice; only sadness and a need to understand.

“Yes. Yes, I will. In a heartbeat,” Logan said without hesitation.

“Oh, how I envy you the love you must feel at this moment,” Alexander whispered.

  “You’ve been a good friend, Alex. Promise me…you’ll take care of her.”

“I promise, my friend. I promise,” and now there were tears in his eyes as well. Logan nodded his thanks and turned back to Rogue. He had had this conversation in his mind dozens of times though he had thought he could never say it...yet now...now he didn’t know what to say.

“Marie, darlin’…I don’t know what to say. You mean everything to me. Before I met you I didn’t understand the true meaning of the words ’I love you’. I do now for my heart will always belong to you…Marie, I shall always be with you, I’ll never leave you…I shall love you from my grave…Marie, I love you,” as Logan bent down and planted a soft kiss to Rogue’s forehead his tears fell unto her face.

“It is working,” Alexander whispered as he saw her soul return to her body and…she woke up.

“Logan?” she asked weakly and smiled at him. “You came back,” she said happily.

“Of course I came back. For you I shall always come back,” Logan whispered and embraced her.

“My skin…” she began worried as they drew back; she had no glove on her right hand.

“Don’t worry about that now, lov’,“ Logan whispered softly as he felt himself grow weaker.

“Are you alright?” Rogue asked worried and stroked his cheek with her gloved hand. He caught her hand and kissed her palm through the glove.

“I am now that you’re awake.”

She smiled softly, love and warmth in her eyes.

“Logan…Ah love you,” she whispered softly and didn’t know why her cheeks suddenly felt wet, why his cheeks were wet…why he seemed to almost fade away before her eyes.

“And I love you. With all my heart. Remember that…Always,” Logan whispered and claimed her lips with his own. Rogue closed her eyes and enjoyed the taste of him as tears forced their way through her closed lids. The kiss seemed to last forever but lasted only seconds. As his warm lips disappeared from her mouth she was forced to open her eyes…and saw nothing but dust…dust in the wind.

Nothing but dust.

 

*                    *                      *

 

Pause.

Rogue looked around with growing panic. Was this the end?! It couldn’t be…could it?

 

Suddenly in a big light show and smoke Gabi appeared.

“*cough* Too much smoke…,” he complained as he finally could see clearly again and saw a very sad Alexander next to a heartbroken Rogue. “Alright, I take the bait. What did I miss?”

“Logan killed himself to save Rogue,” Alexander said sadly.

“Oh. Is that all?”

“Is that all?!” Alex asked shocked. “He’s dead!”

“He can’t be dead. The Old One still has use for him. Don’t worry. Logan has already died for Rogue some…” Gabi looked in his red notebook. “5 times already. He’ll be right back. Unfortunately he can never remember what he did when he returns so he never learns,” Gabi sighed. What had he done to deserve to be stuck with a man like Logan?! Overtime was all he got out of it. A lot of overtime that was unpaid. Why couldn’t that man just follow orders?

“He…he’s not dead?!” Rogue asked and looked through tears at him.

“He’s immortal; look it up. He can’t die, stupid,” Gabi said, rather irritated that people didn’t know this fact.

“But…  but I thought…if he…” Alex said confused.

“If you had spend more time studying and less time trying to take over the world with or without the help of your proteges you would have known this. This question is in all the Angel exams!”

“Oh,” Alex settled with. As promised Logan reappeared in lot of smoke and light.

“Damn, that actually hurt!” Logan complained and tried to see through the smoke. “Will someone stop that blazing smoke?!”
“I warned you, didn’t I?” Gabi said and sighed deeply. “Well, I have work to do and so do you two. This will come out of your salary. I’ll be watching you,” with that Gabi disappeared with as much smoke as he had entered.

“Well, I better get going too. Oh, and Logan…your woman saw us; Gabi forgot to shield. Good luck trying to explain THAT one away. Better not tell Gabi about this or we’ll be in deep trouble for sure. See ya,” and Alex was gone.

Rogue looked from Logan to where Alex and Gabi had been standing.

“Wh….what just happened?!” she asked confused.

Logan sighed.

“Don’t ask, darlin’. You really don’t want to know.”

                     

The End