What Might Have Been

By: Stretch

"I try not to think about what might have been.

'Cause that was then,

And we have taken different roads.

We can't go back again, there's no use giving in.

And there's no way to know…

What might have been."

-Little Texas

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Prologue

Rogue clutched the limp ticket in her hand, damp from sweat, the ink leaving a purple stain on her skin. She didn't notice. Her attention was focused elsewhere: on the reflection staring back at her from the dingy public bathroom mirror. The girl glaring back wore a somber expression, her green eyes ringed with dark circles of fatigue, and slightly bloodshot from tears.

With sudden swiftness, Rogue slammed both fists down onto the ceramic sink in front of her, relieved at the pain that pulsed through her arms and forced a soft sob from her mouth.

Relieved that she could feel anything at all.

'It doesn't matter anymore,' she told herself. The Institute didn't want her. The Professor didn't want her. Logan didn't want her. 'Maybe some people are just meant to be alone,' she figured.

Maybe she was one of those people.

That wasn't the first time a thought like that had crossed her mind, but each time it did, it hurt a little less than before. 'Maybe,' she wondered mentally, 'this is the second phase of my curse they call a mutation. Step one: no feeling on the outside. Step two: no feeling on the inside either.' It was easier to live without emotion, she decided. It would make the isolation more bearable. Just then, Rogue's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp crackle as a voice burst over the speaker system yelling,

"Track 8 now boarding, making the following stops: Illinois by way of Carbondale, Kentucky by way of Nashville, and Louisiana by way of New Orleans. Again, Amtrak on Track 8 is now boarding."

Sighing, Rogue gave one final glance at her reflection before stuffing the ticket into her pocket and pulling on her brown leather gloves, now slightly damp from lying on the bathroom counter. Throwing up the hood on her mother's borrowed cloak, she stepped out into the chaos that was Grand Central Station, pushing her way toward Tack 8, duffle thrown carelessly over her shoulder. Handing her ticket and bag to the conductor, she paused in the doorway to take a final glance around.

'So long New York,' she thought bitterly. Then, with bold steps, she marched onto the train. Leaning deeply into her seat, she watched the station begin to slip away behind her as the train gained momentum. Rogue had no idea where she was going, but it had to be better than the mess she was leaving behind.

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Logan killed the engine of his 'borrowed' Harley and coasted to a stop in front of the station. He scanned the crowed for any sign of his young companion, his every sense alive for the slightest trace of her. He breathed in deeply, Rogue's scent faint on the air around him. Following his nose, he shoved inside, bumping into people here and there, completely focused on the task at hand.

Finding himself on the now empty platform for track 8, he spun frantically, refusing to believe that the scent trail ended here.

"No…hell no," he muttered, glancing onto the quickly platform 9, and then to the emptying number 7. But his senses didn't lie. Rogue was gone.

He was too late.

But Logan was not alone. Another scent hung lightly on the air, something foreign and …dangerous. Turning on heel, he strode out of the empty platform. He may have lost her this time, but Logan wasn't about to let Rogue do anything foolish. He was going to find her.

No matter what.

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A/N: Hi ya'all. Now those of you who know me know that I usually avoid shippers like the plague. Not that I have a problem with them, they're just not my favorite type of stories to read…and I never write them. That is, 'till now. I was on vacation in NYC, standing in Grand Central Station (which, btw, is not the train station used in X1, but the set was modeled after it.) and then it hit me: What if Rogue had gotten away on that train? That, combined with my love of Gambit, prompted me to write this story. Not that I have anything against the Bobby/Rogue deal, and I love the whole Logan/Rogue friendship thingie, but I just wanted to try my hand at a very famous Marvel paring. So be forewarned, there will be major fluffiness by the second or third chapter, and this story will be an alternate ending of X1. So, now hit that purple button at the bottom and boost my ego, 'cause I won't write me unless you all want me too :)

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, Marvel does. I don't own the lyrics to What Might Have Been, Little Texas does. Don't sue, please.