Treats

by LJL

(ON HIATUS) Series of fluffy one-shots. Trying to have any sort of relationship at the Xavier Institute may seem like a bad idea; trying to have a relationship with a girl whose only family is Wolverine might be downright suicidal. Julian/Laura. Rating for frank descriptions of sex.

1. Midnight Treats

Disclaimer: The author of this story has no affiliation with Marvel, the owners of the characters herein. No profit has been, nor will be, made for the making or distribution of this piece.

A Note on Timeframe: This piece takes place after M-Day and the attack on the former students, but before the formation of the New X-Men. I know that kind of strains continuity - Laura shows up at the mansion just after the bus attack and just before the selection of the New X-Men. Call this an AU if you must; I just picture it as stretching out the time between events in canon.

Enjoy.

MIDNIGHT TREATS

Logan wasn't thrilled when, on his way to the kitchen at one in the morning for a midnight snack, he ran into one of his least favorite people at the Institute: Emma Frost, the erstwhile headmistress. As always, the hair on the back of his head stood on end the second they made eye contact, a subtle sign that on some level she was attempting to probe his mind and was running up against his psychic shields. For a second they both stood, looking at each other across the hallway, Logan's hand on the door to the kitchen. He thought about saying something about the probe - possibly just tapping his forehead and smiling at her, that had a tendency to unnerve people the way Logan liked - but ultimately decided against it. A quick mind probe was like "hello" to psychics like Frost.

He preferred more traditional ways of greeting people. "'Lo, Emma," he said, nodding.

Frost nodded back to him, her haughty expression betraying the slightest frustration at being repulsed by Logan's fortress-like mind, her nose wrinkling up in annoyance, like she was smelling something unpleasant. Every time she does that, Logan thought. Wonder if she does that to Summers. Wonder if she does that to Summers in bed. Serves him right. "Hello, Logan."

"Couldn't sleep?" Logan asked, his hand still on the kitchen door. He was hoping they could exchange a few awkward pleasantries - for someone used to the total honesty of knowing exactly what everyone around her was thinking, Frost was unusually concerned with banal conversation at times - and be on their (separate) ways. If he opened the door and walked in before they'd parted she might follow him in and he might have to put up with her for longer.

She quirked an eyebrow at him and nodded again. "If only Scott had a similar problem. I'm afraid his...endurance...doesn't match mine."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Not information I need or want, darlin'."

Frost put a hand one hip, leaving an imprint in the skintight white dress she was (barely) wearing. Logan had a moment to wonder if she never changed to go to bed, since she was always wearing a similar getup, but then he remembered that he himself was wearing a plaid shirt and jeans, just like he'd worn for the last two straight weeks. "I am not your 'darling.'"

Logan shrugged. "Who said you were? We done here?"

She sighed. "I suppose I'm bored. Entertain me."

It was Logan's turn to quirk an eyebrow at Frost. Not getting rid of her any time soon. Might as well see if that slice of cheesecake's still hidden in the back of the fridge. "Coming from any other woman on the planet, I'd have interpreted that a little different. I'd have wanted to interpret it a little different, if you get my drift."

To his annoyance, she did follow him into the kitchen and watched as he pulled open one of the large, industrial grade refrigerators. They'd had two dozen of them back when the school had had an actual population, beyond what remained of the X-Men and the next generation after M-Day. He started pushing things aside - low population aside, a mansion full of teenagers and superheroes generated a lot of leftovers. "I am certain I could think of at least one woman you wouldn't want to interpret that different from. Your sister, for one."

Logan stopped looking through the fridge to look back at Frost. "First off, lady, you gotta be pretty twisted to even think of that. Second of all, Laura's no woman, she's a girl, a kid, which really just makes the whole idea that much worse."

Frost grinned, leaning back against one of the counters. Probably realizes she struck a nerve, Logan reasoned. Bitch has it easy insulting other people, with me she has to try to figure out what to say. How do I make this game not fun for her so she leaves me to my damn cheesecake? "She's what, sixteen? Seventeen? You might want to get used to the notion that she's becoming a woman, Logan."

Logan shoved a casserole dish full of tater tots (whose idea was it to put those in the refrigerator?) a little too hard and he heard it crack against the side of the refrigerator. "Seventeen. We ain't discussing this."

He could feel Frost's grin widening. "On the contrary, we are. I've been meaning to talk to you about X-23 - "

"Laura," Logan growled, threateningly, still looking through the fridge.

"Fine, Laura," Frost bit back. "Anyway. How would you say the little psychopath is settling in?"

Logan pushed aside another casserole dish and sighted his target at the back of the fridge - a paper plate with red plastic wrap covering it, a small, yellow-white slice of cheesecake underneath. Bingo. I've got the sweet, now if only I can get rid of the sour. "Laura is settlin' in just fine. I told you, you don't have to worry 'bout her. I've got it under control."

Frost shook her head. "That's the problem with her," she said. "She is inherently out of control, Logan. Why do you think they built that trigger scent into her mind? Built it in so deep that even I can't get it out."
Logan rounded on her, but rather than popping his claws and shredding her into tiny little scantily-clad pieces, he grinned maliciously and spoke. "Chuck probably coulda." And Jean too. The second part went unspoken - Logan's irreverence might go so far as to invoke the name of the still-missing professor for a jab at Frost, but it definitely did not stretch far enough to do the same for Jean Grey, his - and Scott's - dead love, and Frost's main rival for Scott's romantic attention. Despite being dead. Ah, she never stays dead more'n a few years anyway. Probably be back by Christmas.

Frost's eyes grew cold. Logan - 1, Emma Frost - er, 1, I guess. Damn. "I highly doubt that," that she responded, her words clipped. "Don't try to change the subject. I have concerns about X-23 being allowed to stay here."

Logan sighed and set his cheesecake, still wrapped, down on the counter. "How many times do I have to tell you, it's Laura. Laura Kinney. Unless you want me to get people to start calling you 'White Queen' all the time."

Frost's eyes narrowed further. "You wouldn't dare."

Logan's smile was all about self confident self-indulgence. "Wouldn't I?"

Frost looked ready to stamp her foot in impatient frustration. Logan - 2, Emma Frost (White Queen!) - 1. That's better. "Damn it, Wolverine, stop trying to change the subject. What are we going to do about the girl?"

"What would you like to do?" Logan responded, opening a drawer next to the refrigerator and pulling out a fork. He looked at it closely, sniffed, then tossed it in the sink. "I hate it when Bobby does the dishes. Course the guy whose frozen wouldn't think to pay close enough attention for the guys with advanced senses of smell." He looked around at Frost, who was looking expectantly at him. "Look, I got it under control, okay? Laura's a special case. Even more so than the other student,s and we both know that's saying something. Yeah, she's got kinda a dark past, but there's enough dark pasts under this roof to turn out all the lights in New York. She wants to be Laura Kinney, she just needs help getting there. If she's here, we can help her - I can help her. If we kick her out, then she has to figure it out all by herself, in the middle of a cruel world that'll use her for her talents, or her body, or both, just like before." He picked another fork and, satisfied that the number of germs clinging to it was below his threshold to consider it clean, started unwrapping the plastic wrap covering his cheesecake. He forked up a mouthful and started chewing, the creamy, sweet treat enhanced by his enhanced senses. He spoke again through his mouthful of cheesecake. "To be clear, that ain't happenin'."

Frost drew herself up ramrod straight. "You are not the headmaster of this school."

Logan shook his head. "Neither are you. You and Summers are 'co-headmasters.' And he said Laura stays. If you say she goes, you need a tiebreaker, and I'm mighty good at breaking things, so I say she stays. End of conversation."

Frost shook her head, seething at Logan's feigned indifference. "This isn't the time to be letting a trained killer into our midst."

Logan sliced off another forkful of cheesecake and passed it to his mouth. "Nah, it's time to piss a trained killer off and then toss her back out into the world so she can be used, likely against us, by evil people. I forgot I saw that on my page-a-day calendar this morning." Frost opened her mouth to respond, but Wolverine was getting fed up. "Would you quit it? Laura's my problem. I'm handling it, the best way possible: slowly. But that bein' said, Laura is not a problem, I've got the situation completely under control. Can I please enjoy my cheesecake now?"

Before she could respond, both Frost and Logan heard a large thumping noise come from the floor above them. Both paled slightly and bolted for the stairs, another Purifier attack on their brains.

( X )

"Careful!" Julian Keller hissed, eying the lamp that lay in pieces next to his bed, victim of the fist of the girl splayed out in front of him on his bed. "If you keep thrashing around like that we're gonna get caught."

A pair of emerald green eyes - the prettiest thing I've seen since the first time I saw my own telekinesis - nah, prettier than that - turned to meet his. Their beauty wasn't the only thing off-putting about them; despite the intimate situation in which Laura Kinney was at that time engaged, they retained a slightly far-off look. Granted it was far less prominent than when Julian had first met Laura, but not by enough to be completely gone. Part of Julian wondered where Laura was inside her own head half the time; but part of him really, really didn't want to know. "I am sorry, Julian. I thought that motions indicating extreme pleasure would in turn bring you pleasure."

Julian sighed and picked himself up off Laura's prone form. He took stock of the situation - he was down to his boxers, Laura herself was missing all of her clothing below the waist and her tank top hung far enough askew to not be covering any of her bra. Her feet were propped up, leaving her legs hanging open in a way that made Julian's head swim.

He had to remind himself three times that he wasn't a virgin before he was able to speak again. "It does. Bring me, you know, pleasure. What doesn't bring me pleasure is the idea of Wolverine slashing his way through the door while we're in the middle of this, only to then slash his way through me. See where that might be a problem for me?"

"Yes," Laura said, nodding, her tone entirely even. "You find it difficult to focus on pleasurable sexual activity while imagining combat and/or torture."

"You don't?" Julian asked, then instantly regretted it.

Still laying in exactly the same position - Laura rarely chose to move without a specific reason for doing so and seemed to have no concept of physical comfort - she continued. "I do not, no. While you have been stimulating me with your fingers, I've reviewed in my mind my last two combat training simulations. Plus, I have considered contingencies for a variety of violent intrusions on our copulation. I believe that should anyone attack us while we are performing sexual acts on each other, I will still be able to respond with 98% efficiency to defend us." She cocked her head at him. "I wish you would not stop."

Despite the barest hint of a seductive undertone in the last sentence, Julian couldn't help but dwell on the rest. "Jesus, Laura, you're thinking about all that when I finger you? Do you think about all that when we have sex?"

She cocked her head again, her expression changing to one of confusion. "The act you were just performing is considered a sexual act in most parts of the world, with only a few remote regions considering it otherwise; so I do not see how we were not just "having sex," so to speak. If you're referring to penetrative intercourse, I would remind you that we have only done so on one occasion before this. You should not consider data regarding only one occurrence to be indicative of a trend."

Julian put his hands on his hips, the frustration he felt managing to block out some of the raging hormones he felt at Laura's provocative posture. "Is that your way of saying 'yes,' then?"

Laura's confused expression slowly melted into one of worry, a look which Julian had seen there all too often. And now I'm the cause of it. Great. How do I always wind up as such a heel? "I am always thinking these things, Julian. It is - it is how I was made, and how I must be in order to feel safe."

Mood-killer. Oh well, guess we need to have this conversation. To help keep his mind off of sex (or rather his throbbing, straining desire to have it), Julian crossed his room back to his bed, nudged Laura's feet so they fell off the side and she sat up, and sat down next to her. "Don't you ever wonder what it'd be like to let that stuff go for a little while? Really relax and let loose?"

Laura stared him right in the eye, unblinking, unphased. "No. I do not. These are things that have been ingrained since I was born, Julian. You might just as easily ask someone if they have ever considered not breathing."

Julian took Laura's hand. His ego swelled to find it covered in a thin film of sweat, just as his ego had bloomed minutes before at finding the physical evidence of Laura's sexual arousal. Now, though, he needed the physical intimacy to indicate to her that he was saying things to her as a caring friend, not just as a horny teenage boy. "It's not the same thing," he said, as gently as possible. I need to talk to Cessily about the whole "sensitivity" thing. Apparently I'm still not so good at it. "You have to breathe to survive because, well, that's biology, just like having skin is biology or our powers are biology. The stuff that goes on in your head is there because that place - " despite knowing the name of the Facility, Julian, like all of Laura's newer friends, declined from using its name around her, in an effort to keep from upsetting her - "put it there. If someone put it there, someone can take it out again."

Laura's gaze didn't waiver a centimeter, and yet, Julian could have sworn he saw hope in her eyes. "Like Ms. Frost?"

"Probably not Ms. Frost," Julian replied. "She tried already and announced it'd be futile. She doesn't say something isn't doable if it's doable. Psychics aren't the way to go - you need healthy, natural stuff."

The hope was still there. "So like you, then?"

Julian gave Laura's hand a squeeze. As much as he wanted to be the white knight (or the conquering hero, she's still not wearing pants agh why is life so hard agh again why'd I have to think of the word "hard") the part of him that had grown up by watching his friends lose their powers and subsequently leave or die knew that it wasn't up to him to save the day. "Like you," he said. "If you try at it, you'll accomplish your goals. You kinda don't strike me as the failing type, Laura."

She shook her head, the sadness creeping back into her eyes. "I do not know what to try."

Ignoring the flood of suggestions for things she could "try" that barraged Julian's brain, he again managed to respond well. "Don't."

Laura looked up again, confused. "What?"

"Don't," Julian repeated. "You said, 'I do not know what to try.' Try saying 'don't' instead."

She still looked confused. "What will this accomplish?"

Julian shrugged. "I dunno. Try it. It's something different, right?"

Laura looked back at him for a moment. "I don't know what to try," she said, finally, stretching her mouth a little around the contraction. She stopped to consider after getting the sentence out, but then looked back at Julian. "I do not believe that has effected any quantifiable or qualifiable change in me."

Julian couldn't help rolling his eyes. "You're not going to be a completely different person overnight. Hell, it took me years to work up the amount of maturity it took just to have this conversation. Especially with you sitting there half naked."

Laura eyed the bulge in Julian's boxers and Julian felt himself twitch involuntarily. "Come to think of it, I did feel some desire to focus more on the sensations of copulation than on potentials for combat the last time we copulated. Perhaps this would be a more effective means of changing who I am?"

I must have been a good boy all last year because God and/or Santa Claus has come through. Either that or karma's making up for everything. "I am so willing to find out."

Laura gave him a rare smile as he reached for her and she began to lean back again, when they both heard stomping boots and knocking sounds. Laura gently pushed him off of her and bolted upright, her claws sliding out with a soft snikt. Julian couldn't tell what was more disorienting - the sudden view of her ample, excellent posterior, the juxtaposition of that image with her deadly adamantium claws, or the approaching footsteps. "It is too far past curfew for anyone to be walking around, and if they are attempting to sneak out, their stealth is terrible. And I believe they are knocking on doors. Something is wrong."

Julian also rose to stand next to Laura. "Can you make out what they're saying?"

Laura squinted. "Something about hearing a crash and checking on everyone."

Julian paled, his eyes roving back to the shattered lamp. Before he could look back at Laura, a knock came at the door. "Julian, this is Ms. Frost. Please open the door. We believe something may be amiss on this floor."

Julian panicked. Casting around the room, the only refuge he could see was the bed. "Quick! Hide under the sheets!" he hissed at Laura, who dove for the bed. In the heat of the moment forgetting his powers, Julian dove too, trying to grab as many sheets and blankets and cover Laura as completely as possible as fast as possible.

Ms. Frost's voice came back, even more urgent. "Mr. Keller, open this door at once, if you are able."

Julian tucked away the last of Laura's hair under the blanket, in time to hear something which made the remaining blood he had in his body drain away and evaporate. The gruff voice of Wolverine. "Stand back, Emma."

A second later, before Julian could think of something to yell through the door to Ms. Frost and Wolverine (should have said something the first time, damn it I am so going to die in like a minute), his door exploded forward to admit Wolverine, who'd clearly charged it and shoulder-blocked it open. Wolverine's claws were out. Julian tried as hard as possible to not look at them, instead standing ramrod straight and smiling.

Ms. Frost followed Wolverine into the room. "Julian, why did you not answer when I asked you to open the door?'

"I was exercising and I knocked over the lamp," Julian blurted. Realizing a second later that he technically hadn't answered her question, he continued. "Uh, I guess I was, you know, really into my exercising and didn't hear you knock."

Both Wolverine and Ms. Frost looked down Julian's body to his crotch. With a flood of heat to his face - and a slight tingling sensation, the flush was replacing the blood in his face that had drained away a moment before - Julian realized that he was still aroused. Visibly.

Wolverine snorted. "Exercising. Right."

Ms. Frost looked torn between extreme annoyance and extreme amusement. "Mr. Keller, while we all respect your privacy and your right to, ahem, exercise in the privacy of your room, you must recall that the whole mansion is on high alert after the recent Purifier attacks. Sudden loud crashes in the middle of the night should be reported to the psychic on duty so they may relay to the rest of the faculty, staff, and students who may have heard that it was just an accident and nothing is wrong. We were quite clear on this point at the assembly last week."

Julian felt like his face was on fire. Maybe my powers are mutating. Super-embarrassment. A large part of Julian wanted to contradict what Wolverine and Ms. Frost were obviously assuming about the situation, because it wounded his ego to have anyone think he would do that to himself when there were girls tripping over themselves (or so he told himself) to do it for him. His survival instincts, thankfully, had sharpened to the point where he realized doing so could be a fatal mistake. "Thank you, Ms. Frost," he managed to choke out.

Shaking her head, Ms. Frost went to put her hand to her head, presumably to send a telepathic message to the rest of the students and staff they'd already awoken telling them to stand down, when she stopped and cocked her head to look around Julian's bed. "Julian...what...?"

Julian followed her gaze and felt the blood rush straight out of his face again, his entirely body reflecting a sudden chill. Ms. Frost was staring at Laura's discarded, lacy black panties. Slowly, feeling like his bones were grinding together with every inch of movement, Julian turned back to Ms. Frost. She wore a severe expression. "Would you care to explain this development, Mr. Keller?"

Julian's mind flew in a million directions at once. He knew that if Ms. Frost was probing his mind at that moment she wouldn't have gotten a clear picture of anything specific but would have been able to tell he was trying to concoct a lie. Hell, anyone looking at his face could probably tell he was trying to concoct a lie. Unbidden, a clear voice sounded in his shattered consciousness. If you can't be convincing, be embarrassing. Maybe it'll make them go away.

Julian closed his eyes. No way word of this wouldn't get out and he'd be branded for life. Better branded for life than having my life end right now. And I don't even want to think about what he'll do to Laura. "They're mine," he said, gritting his teeth now as well. "I bought them. You know, for, uh, help. You know, help."

A second of silence later, Julian peeked through one eye to find both Ms. Frost and Wolverine staring at him in utter disbelief. He tried for a sheepish grin, hoping they'd just accept his complete social suicide and leave him in peace. No such luck. Ms. Frost shook the cobwebs out and spoke, although she still looked flabbergasted at Julian's words. "A nice try, Mr. Keller, but I can sense that another person is in this room, hiding under your bedclothes. I can't read her mind, but I can tell she's there."

Wolverine grinned. "Way to go, kid!"

Ms. Frost's outraged face returned and she turned on Wolverine. "Logan! You are a senior staff member at a school! This is not behavior you encourage!"

Wolverine grinned at Ms. Frost. "Oh, get stuffed, ya old hen. They're just having a little fun. Who's the mystery girl, Keller? Surge? Pixie?" Then his eyes narrowed. He looked back at Frost. "Wait a minute. Who in the mansion can you not read, besides...me..."

He sniffed at the air and then strode forward. Julian hung his head as Wolverine threw back the covers of Julian's bed to find Laura curled up in a fetal position, that same slightly far-off but otherwise unconcerned look on her face. "Hello."

( X )

Logan saw red. Keller's back was to him from where he was standing in relation to the boy's bed, and he may have turned his claws on the kid had it not been for a diamond hand landing firmly on his arm. Do not harm the boy, Logan, he heard in his head. We must take appropriate action given the circumstances.

"Appropriate action my ass! This punk's sleeping with my sister!"

Your sister whose claws are now out as well and who is poised to keep you from touching the boy, if you'll care to look down.

Slowly, his breathing evening out, Wolverine looked down, to find that Frost was right; while he'd moved to skewer Keller through the back, Laura had moved to intercept him. If he moved towards Keller he'd be moving onto Laura's claws.

"I think perhaps we should all try to calm down," Frost said, her voice projecting calmness despite the heightened tensions. "Logan, Laura, why don't you both retract your claws? I don't think anyone's interests will be served tonight by getting cut to pieces."

"Him first." Laura's response was tighter, less friendly and mild than her usual words.

"You don't tell me what to do, pint-size." Wolverine eyed Laura. She was still partially covered by Keller's bedclothes, but had twisted around so that she was laying across the bed at just the right angle to put herself between the two males.

"And yet I'd say she has a point, Logan. You are the one who initiated hostilities. You should be the first one to back down. It's only fair."

A second of controlled breathing later, Wolverine's claws retracted back into his arms. He straightened up as Laura's did the same, and took a step back from Keller. "Damn you, Frost," he muttered. "Fine, what do we do with 'em?"

Frost addressed him directly with her response. "We discipline them." She turned back to Laura and Julian, the former sitting on the bed in the same position and eying Wolverine warily, the latter still hanging with his head hung, albeit every muscle in his body tense. "Kids, we're going to step out and let both of you get dressed. If you are not fully dressed and out of this room in two minutes, we'll come back in - and I will make Mr. Keller think that he is a chimpanzee for the next month, and Mr. Logan will find a way to more severely discipline X-23. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Ms. Frost," both teenagers muttered.

"Excellent. Logan, if you please, let's allow them the chance to get decent."

Grudgingly, Logan followed Ms. Frost out of the door, which Wolverine raised back onto its hinges. A crowd of students had gathered outside, most of whom didn't even bother to try and make it look like they hadn't been eavesdropping. After issuing a telepathic command to them to get back to their rooms, Frost turned back to Wolverine. We should communicate like this to avoid X-23 overhearing.

Laura, Wolverine thought back at Frost. What are you thinkin' we should do? It's not like Chuck ever put me in charge of handing out punishments to misbehavin' kids. I'm a little outta my depth here.

As evidenced by your move to murder one of our students. Yes, yes, you wouldn't have actually killed him, I know, you don't need to defend yourself, Frost continued, as she felt the outrage at the suggestion that he'd murder a student, even for a really, really good reason, well up inside Wolverine's head, to the point where she could feel it despite his psychic shields. I think we should separate them and discuss what their intentions are for each other. I'll take X-23 - Laura, if you must - and you take Mr. Keller.

What? Why?

Frost sighed and glanced at the mostly-ruined door. Wolverine followed her gaze. Rustling sounds from within told him they only had a moment before Julian and Laura would emerge. I do not trust your Laura. You do not trust Hellion. If we are to decide what to do in regard to this transgression, we both must come to mutual understandings with the pupils we do not like.

Fine, fine, Wolverine thought back to her.

One last thing. I don't fully trust you, either. Scott will accompany you when you have your talk with Hellion. I have already called for him.

Great. More fun with Summers the Joyless.

I heard that too, you know.

Yeah, 'cause it was on purpose.

A second later, Laura and Julian - both wearing jeans, him in a white t-shirt, her in a tank top, both wearing black sneakers - emerged through the ruined tatters of Julian's door. Wolverine glanced up and down the corridor. It was clear. Which don't mean shit in a school with a half dozen people with super-hearing and a half dozen telepaths. "Children," Frost greeted, alternating an icy stare of disapproval at Laura and Julian. "Logan and I will be speaking to you separately regarding your transgression. As in, he will be speaking with you, Mr. Keller, and I will be speaking with Ms. Kinney."

"What?" Keller looked back and forth between Wolverine and Frost, outraged himself. "He just tried to kill me! What's wrong with you, putting him in a room with me where he can finish the job?"

Frost's voice was sharper than the crack of a whip. "First of all, you will never address me in that tone of voice again. Second of all, Logan is a staff member of this school and will be treated with respect. Third of all, Logan was not going to kill you - he was understandably upset but at no point did I feel that your life was actually in any danger, and you shouldn't feel that it was, either. And fourth of all, given your circumstances, you are hardly in a place to complain." She took a deep breath, eying Laura. Wolverine could sense that, at the announcement of who would be going with who, Laura's muscles had all tensed. Cause she's protective of the boy, not 'cause she doesn't want to face Emma. Sheesh, this has already gone way too far. "If it will make you feel better, Cyclops will be present with Logan and Julian."

Keller eyed Frost, plucking up his courage. "And who's going to mediate between you and Laura?"

Frost's eyes narrowed. For a second, she seemed to forget to be angry at Julian's continued irreverent tone, analyzing his words. "I beg your pardon?"

Keller put his hands on his hips, looking stern at Frost. "It's not exactly a secret that you don't like Laura. I - I appreciate you having Cyclops sit in with me and Mr. Logan." The boy glanced nervously at Wolverine, who kept his face completely impassive. He's stickin' up for her? That's not Hellion's style. "But I think someone needs to sit in with you and Laura, too."

"I really do not see the need - "

"Wake Kitty up," Logan interrupted. "She'll keep things, uh, objective."

Frost spared a withering glance at Wolverine, no doubt less than thrilled at picking Frost's least favorite staff member (and one of Wolverine's favorites, no less). "Fine. If it will make you more comfortable. Kitty Pryde is on her way. Shall we disburse?"

( X )

Ms. Frost sat down behind her desk and indicated to X-23 to sit down across from her. The clone glanced around Frost's posh but business-like office before sitting. "Ms. Pryde is not here."

Frost couldn't help but sneer at the title. "No, Ms. Pryde isn't here."

X-23 cocked her head at the headmistress. "You lied. You were able to lie without a single physical indicator. Logan and I both would have picked up on it if there'd been something." Laura's head settled back into her usual straight posture. "Your capacity for subterfuge is impressive."

Frost had been growing increasingly uncomfortable at X-23's thorough analysis of the older woman's ability to lie without giving anything away. The last sentence brought her back to the task at hand. If I play my cards right I may be rid of the little clone tonight. "You find subterfuge impressive?"

X-23 nodded, her response level and, seemingly, honest. "Yes. I was trained in stealth and infiltration, but my ability to lie without any physical tells was not proficient, and seeing as my template, Wolverine, did not possess such an ability either, the Facility did not deem it necessary to train me further on the matter."

"So you are willing to admit it?" Frost asked, a tinge of disbelief in her voice.

"I just pointed out that I am not skilled at lying."

"Yes, I supposed you did," Frost replied, playing with a pen on her desk. The girl is so frank, she thought. Discussing anything with her is almost exactly like reading a person's mind - except I have no super-developed sense of sound or smell to tell if she's lying. It's like this girl was made specifically to frustrate me. "I will get right to the point with you, X-23. What are your intentions for Mr. Keller?"

At the sound of her codename, Frost was able to observe the clone go slightly rigid. She still responded, though. "I have no specific intentions for Julian."

Frost rolled her eyes. "Then what were you doing with him?"

X-23's gaze and voice were still perfectly level. "Sex," she replied, simply.

"You have worked as a prostitute before." When X-23 nodded, Frost continued. "Is Mr. Keller paying you for your services?"

The younger girl shook her head. "No. When I met Julian, it was clear immediately that he found me sexually attractive. I was - surprised, to find that I reciprocated the feeling. I had never felt attraction for anyone, especially not my 'customers.' I wanted to explore the sensation."

Frost leaned forward. "So this was just about the sex?"

X-23 went to answer, but then stopped, faltering for the first time. Frost examined her closely as lines of confusion and worry crossed her face. What is going on in there? Oh, psychic shields be damned straight to hell. "I do not know," X-23 admitted. "I feel as though I would have thought so an hour ago, but now when you ask me the question - I do not understand it, but I feel something different."

Frost leaned back in her chair, giving up on studying the clone closely to find clues in her body language as to what was going on in her mind. There simply were none. "How would you characterize this 'something different'?"

The clone looked downright troubled. "It is disconcertingly strong. I go to say that the relationship I have with Julian is only about sex, but I feel revolted - not at the idea of the sex, which has been surprisingly pleasant, but at the idea of saying that my relationship with Julian is only about the sex." She cocked her head at Frost. "Is this because he is my friend?"

Is she seriously asking me for advice right now? The nerve. Damn it, I like nerve. "Perhaps," she replied. "Listen, X-23, I am going to ask you this straight out: how can I trust you?"

The clone tensed again at the sound of her codename, although not as much as the first time Frost had used it. "Why do you insist on referring to me by that name? I have requested to be referred to as Laura."

Frost sighed. It's not like an artificial mutant would understand this. "Our codenames are defining characteristics of who we are as people. They're much more defining than our, as the humans call them, 'real names.' Avoiding X-23 is about avoiding who you really are."

She shook her head. "Most mutants choose their codenames, yes?" When Frost nodded, X-23 continued. "I did not choose to be X-23 - both in the sense that I did not choose the designation, which is cold and reduces me to a statistic, and the sense that I did not choose to be what X-23 represented - a cold assassin."

Frost mulled those words over. "From what I understand, you did not choose the name "Laura Kinney" either. It was given to you by your human mother."

"Correct." The clone flipped her hair over her shoulder. She still had a bit of sweat clinging to her skin from her earlier encounter with Hellion. "Until my mother told me that my name was Laura, "Laura Kinney" didn't exist. The only identity I had was X-23, as much as I did not want to be X-23. "Laura Kinney" wasn't a real person yet, even after my mother gave me the name. I have chosen to be Laura Kinney because I do not identify with X-23." She cocked her head again. "In a sense, Laura Kinney is my "codename." I have chosen it."

Frost folded her hands. "We choose our codenames when we're ready, Laura. Hellion, for example, underwent much training before deciding to take on that codename - as a reflection of his often-brash personality, but also to honor me, his loyalty to other mutants, even those he has not met, his dedication to remembering fallen comrades and his oath to save more from sharing the fate of my former students."
The clone shook her head. "Julian is Hellion, but he is also still Julian, and he is okay with that. Mutants are not humans, but neither are they completely separate from humans, and turning their backs on the human side of their heritage would only encourage the sort of discrimination your institute wishes to eliminate. On the other hand, I am Laura Kinney, but I have no desire to be X-23 anymore, and I gain nothing by continuing the association. Maybe I am not ready to be Laura Kinney - I do not understand the nature of the feelings I possess for Julian, for example - but I cannot be X-23 any longer."

Frost again took a moment to mull over the clone's words. "I don't know if I can trust you, without being able to see into your mind."

"Julian does."

Frost laughed. "Julian is a wonderful boy - charismatic, talented, and very powerful. He's still learning, though, and at the end of the day, he's still a teenage boy, and you're a pretty girl who, if you don't mind my saying so, seems to have zero inhibitions when it comes to sexual desire."

"I do not mind you saying so," the clone replied. "His hormones are difficult for him sometimes. Tonight when we were talking, I believe my lack of clothing on the lower half of my body and the position of my legs were quite distracting for him."

Frost raised an eyebrow. "Whatever were you having a conversation for while half naked?"

"It started when I broke the lamp, but I think it was about what we are discussing now. Me being someone other than who I was. Me being who I want to be. Whoever that is."

Frost found her eyes narrowing again. "And what did Julian have to say on the subject?"

X-23 frowned as well. "He tried to get me to say "don't" instead of "do not." When I did, and told him that I felt no different and was troubled at the notion, he told me that I would not change completely overnight. We were about to re-engage our coupling when you and Logan arrived. The rest you know."

Seeing her opening, Frost pounced. "It won't happen overnight. It could take months, years even. What will you do when Hellion inevitably loses interest in waiting for you to become something other than a toy he can play with? Do you think he'll wait years for you to become a girl he can have a real relationship with?"

X-23 shook her head. "I do not know. I hope that if there is any part of our relationship that he finds unsatisfactory that he will tell me and we can, as Logan says, 'talk it out.' And I know nothing of years from now. I know that now he likes me, and I believe I like him, and I wish to see where that leads." All of a sudden, the clone's face brightened. "I do not have a plan."

Frost's face betrayed her confusion. "And that excites you?"

"Yes," the clone responded, nodding vigorously. "At the Facility, one of the prime directives was to always have a plan. I spend all of my time analyzing situations and planning for contingencies - there are seven ways I could escape this office without you being able to alert the rest of the staff, four of which do not involve you being injured, all of which I've devised since we sat down - but I never stopped to consider my overall plan. I have none. I am a different person from who they made me to be." For a moment, the clone - Laura, Frost thought, begrudgingly - just looked around her office in wonder. Then her gaze refocused on the headmistress. "When can I tell Julian?"

( X )

Julian, meanwhile, was sitting opposite Wolverine. In an interrogation room next to the holding cells - uncomfortable metal chairs, shiny metal table, and reflective window to the side and everything. Jesus, what kind of school has holding cells? Why did I ever think any of this was a good idea? His only comfort was the presence of Cyclops, leaning against the wall behind Wolverine. But of course there's no way to look into his eyes and tell what he thinks of this whole thing, so who knows how this plays out?

"So, kid," Wolverine started. "You're banging my sister."

Julian felt the blood draining from his face again. That can't be a good start. "Uh. I guess so. Sir."

"Ya guess so? What, you weren't there for it? Does yer cock just detach itself and go pork her on its own?"

"Logan," Cyclops warned.

"Go see your optometrist, Summers. This kid's messing with my family. The gloves are off."

Definitely not good. I only actually got to have sex with her once!

Cyclops pushed off the wall and crossed over to sit next to Wolverine. The headmaster's closer proximity was undeniably calming to Julian. Just in case Wolverine makes a move. Cyclops was looking at him, though. "You're assuming that Julian was 'messing' with Laura to start with. Julian, are you using Laura for sex?"

"No!" Julian responded. "Look, I may be kinda a jerk sometimes, but I'm a gentleman. Uh, mostly. I wouldn't use a girl for sex, ever. Period."

Wolverine rolled his eyes. "Right, 'cause you're so likely to tell the truth right now if the truth is, 'yeah, I was totally using her for her body and I'm going to dump her and have a good laugh over it with my friends tomorrow.' Give me a break, Summers, it's not like asking him questions like that are going to help."

Cyclops folded his arms, shooting Wolverine a glance which, coupled with his body language, read as annoyance. Huh. He 'shot' a glance. This is probably the worst timing ever to be making puns. "Fine," Cyclops said, and turned back to Julian. "Julian, whose idea was it to have sex?"

"Hers, actually." When Wolverine snorted, Julian continued. "She came up to me after Danger Room session a couple weeks ago and just said, "You are physically attracted to me. I can tell from the smell of the pheromones you emit in my presence, the elevation of your heart rate and development of perspiration, and the frequency with which you visually examine my erogenous zones when you think I am not looking. I have not had sexual relations in two and a half months. Do you wish to copulate with me?" So we did. We didn't talk about it again until earlier today - it's been crazy around here with all the extra training to resist Purifier attacks if they show up again - and we decided to mess around again tonight."

Cyclops looked amused. "You memorized all that?"

The slight edge of disbelief in his voice annoyed Julian worse. "If you were seventeen and you hadn't gotten laid in twice as long as what she was saying, and a pretty girl said that to you right after a lot of sweaty workout violence, wouldn't you memorize it?" When Wolverine snorted again, still in disbelief, Julian felt himself lose hold on his temper. "I'm sorry, maybe I should only direct that comment at the person in the room who actually remembers being seventeen."

Wolverine's eyes narrowed at the insult. Cyclops put a hand on Wolverine's shoulder, keeping the clawed mutant from rising from his chair to attack Julian. Cyclops' comment was sharp and directed at the teen. "Don't dig your own grave here, Julian."

He hung his head. "I'm sorry, professor."

Wolverine's eyes were still narrowed. "You're not sorry, kid," he said. "I got senses that can tell when a person's heart skips just the slightest, when their pores flare up, when they hesitate for the barest half seconds. Natural lie detector. I can tell you're not sorry."

Julian sighed. Oh, well. Nice knowing you, Laura. "You're right, I'm not sorry." He looked between the two senior X-Men. "I don't see what we were doing as wrong at all. Laura is - she's special. She's trying to build something of herself when all the rest of us are either trying to rebuild what's left or else protect the last things we have left. She's - I don't know, she's better than the rest of us, and when I'm with her I feel like a little of that betterness rubs off on me. And I think maybe I can build something new of myself, or at the very least I can help her build something of herself, because that'd be something really worth it to do."

"And what's that got to do with having sex with her?" Wolverine asked.

"I have no idea!" He sounded bewildered and exhilarated at the same time. "She likes it. I like it. I like her, and I think maybe she likes me. We're going with what feels good, trying to make the best of things as they come."

"Ugh. Bad pun, kid. Didn't need the visual that one's got tacked on it."

Julian felt his face flush. "Okay, point taken."

Wolverine leaned forward. "Look, kid, you're right about Laura being special. And you're right about her trying to make something of herself right now. Which is why this relationship is probably not a good idea - she's at a fragile stage and sex complicates things a lot, so maybe it's best for her not to be doing it right now."

Julian felt another wave of sarcasm overtaking his better sense. "So it'd be better to tell her to stop having sex right now? To tell her she should be afraid of wanting to have sex after everything she's been through?"

Wolverine's eyes narrowed again. "Everything she's been through?" he quoted. "What are you talkin' about, kid? Specifically?"

Julian let out a long breath. "New York. She told me." No one said anything for a moment; Wolverine was staring intently at Julian. Julian decided to break the silence. "Look, I don't know much about how peoples' minds work, and I know even less about how her mind works because she's the weirdest girl I've ever known. So if you tell me I need to back off, I'll back off. I don't think it's right, but what do I know."

Wolverine sat back. "Fine. Back off." Julian looked pained. "Promise me, kid. You don't go near her anymore."

Slowly, Julian nodded. "Fine. I won't go near her anymore. Just - you know, tell her this wasn't my choice." Suddenly angry, he pushed himself back from the table and stood. "Can I go now? Isn't this punishment enough?"

"Hold on a sec, kid," Wolverine said, waving in a much more casual manner toward the chair than either Julian or Cyclops, judging by his expression, were expecting. "Got some other stuff to say. You can still see her."

Julian had taken hold of the chair angrily - he didn't want to stick around any longer with either X-Man - and a little bit of his green telekinetic aura had leaked out, crackling over its surface. When he heard the last sentence from Wolverine, though, some of the tension left him - due to confusion - and he dropped the rest of the way back into the chair. "What? I can?"

Wolverine tapped his ear. "Lie detector, remember? I had to see if you were willing to sacrifice for her. You were telling the truth when you said you'd trust us to come up with what's best for her, and you were telling the truth when you said you'd leave her alone since we were telling you to."

"Since you were telling him to," Cyclops muttered.

"There's gonna have to be some ground rules," Wolverine said, ignoring Cyclops. "I know - I know Laura's past ain't sunshine and roses, even where matters of the heart are concerned. Or matters of the - well, you know. And if she's gettin' by all that, great, I'm happy for her, I really am. Here's the thing you gotta know. Laura was a prostitute, Julian, a street hooker. You ever known one of them? Personally, I mean."

"No!" Julian looked scandalized, but then reconsidered. Maybe now's a good time to stop looking down on prostitutes. Since, you know, I'm dating one. Geez. "I mean, no. Not really."

Wolverine nodded. "Okay. Well, thing is, they're taught, pretty much from day one, that sayin' 'no' ain't okay. She's probably still got that in her head."

Julian shook his head, not comprehending. "Okay?"

Wolverine rolled his eyes again. "Which means she might not be able to say 'no' to you if you do somethin' she doesn't like."

"Oh," Julian said. "Uh. Well." After a moment of searching his mind for the answer to how to handle the situation Wolverine brought up, Julian leaned forward. "So what do I do about that?"

"Talk to her. Hell, I'll be talkin' to her - a lot - but you need to, to. She maybe has some twisted up ideas of what sex is, and trust me, it'll be about a thousand times less awkward to figure out what those things are before you're doin' it than while."

"Then what?" Julian was practically entranced.

"Then - I don't know. That's up to you, I guess." Wolverine growled. "I'm not doin' it for you, kid."

As Julian blushed, Cyclops glanced between he and Wolverine. "Uh, Logan, we're not allowing students to have sex here, are we?"

Wolverine didn't look at the headmaster. "Special case, Cyke. We're all about those, right?"

"Yes, but...look, this behavior is inappropriate for teenagers." Cyclops shifted uneasily, not wanting to look at Hellion as he and Wolverine had this conversation.

"So's fightin' religious nuts and giant killer robots."

Cyclops shifted again. "We don't encourage the students to do that, Wolverine."

"'Course not. But sometimes they gotta. This is kinda like that."

Cyclops went to respond, but no words came out and for a moment his mouth hung open as he considered. He glanced at Hellion, who looked back at him with a slight blush. He's literally deciding the future of my sex life. Or he thinks he is. If Wolverine is on board for Laura and I dating, I doubt that Mr. Summers will really be able to get in the way. "Fine," he said, finally. "I'll have to talk to Emma, see what she has to say after talking to Laura. She's not going to like this." Cyclops' gaze focused sharply on Julian. Wish he wouldn't do that. Most guys can't literally kill with a look. "And the fact that we'll be lenient on the rules for you and Laura does not become public knowledge. That means no bragging, Mr. Keller."

"No, sir." Julian risked a glance at Wolverine to see how he was taking the idea of Julian bragging about his experiences with Laura. "I'm not that stupid, sir. I'm not sure if Laura or Mr. Logan would kill me first."

Cyclops sighed and pushed back from the table, standing up. "Can we at least agree on no killing?"

Wolverine gave him a lopsided grin. "No promises, bub."

( X )

Laura bounded into the common room in which Julian sat. Along with the usual range of tactical data - positions of openings to other rooms, relative strength of walls and which sections were load-bearing for the roof in the event that high damage combat were to ensue, which furniture implements could be used to deter bullets and which would just be cut apart immediately - she registered surprise on the boy's face at her exuberance. Laura felt her own stomach flutter at the sight of him. That is the fourth time I have observed that sensation. Perhaps I will ask Dr. McCoy to run an exam on me tomorrow to determine if I am ill.

Julian recovered from his surprise as he stood and Laura hugged him tightly. "I'm guessing it went good with Ms. Frost?"

"Yes," Laura muttered into Julian's ear, enjoying the sensation of pressing her body against his. Even with our clothes on I derive pleasure from this action. A part of it is sexual attraction, but most is a different kind of pleasure. I will have to explore this further.

Julian craned his neck around to see Ms. Frost follow Laura into the room. Gently, still slightly embarrassed at being publicly seen in a romantic situation by his advisor, Julian pushed Laura away, giving her a quick kiss on the side of her head as a means of telling her that he wasn't pushing her away because he didn't want to be in contact with her. Julian nodded his head, respectfully. "Ms. Frost."

She returned the courtesy. "Julian." Her tone was pleasant - the tone he associated with her attempts at being benevolent toward people. Frost cleared her throat, looking between Laura and Julian. "I do not particularly approve of this match. However, I find that I do not disapprove of it either. I had thought that she was beneath you, Julian. I am now willing to entertain the notion that I was incorrect."

That has to be the closest thing to an apology I've ever heard from her, Julian thought, staring at his advisor in bewilderment.

Ms. Frost scowled at him. I heard that. She glanced between the two of them again. Go. Have fun. Be safe. If one of the telekinetic professors hasn't taught you about contraceptive applications of your powers yet, I will make an appointment for you to have the talk tomorrow.

With that, she turned and walked away.

Julian followed her retreat from the room, but then frowned as he looked at the door that Laura and Frost had come out of. "Wait a minute. Where's Ms. Pryde?"

Laura moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She's being awfully affectionate. "Ms. Pryde did not attend my conversation with Ms. Frost."

Julian's face darkened. "She lied when she said she was sending for her. How, grr, typical. I ought to - "

"Julian!" Laura said, grabbing his face gently and centering his gaze back on her eyes. There are stars in her eyes. "I can handle Ms. Frost." When Julian continued to frown, Laura scrambled for a way to bring the conversation back to where she wanted it to be. Distract him. With a joke. "Most males would point out the innuendo inherent in saying that I 'handled' Ms. Frost. Most would find the notion sexually arousing."

Julian finally stopped scowling to stare at Laura. "What?"

He does not understand. "I was making a joke. In the hopes that it might arouse you sexually and distract you from your displeasure over Ms. Frost's lie - which, I would like to point out, did nothing to harm me."

Julian shook his head. "I don't think of Ms. Frost that way."

Laura cocked her head. "Yes, that is true. While every other male student - with the exception of Anole, who I believe to prefer males - is sexually aroused by Ms. Frost, you never seem to be. Perhaps her position as surrogate mother to you has something to do with it."

Julian felt an eyebrow quirk. "A second ago you said you were trying to arouse me. This isn't how you do it."

Laura shook her head, taking the opportunity to draw their bodies closer. "I do not understand."

Julian observed the closing distance between them. "I think maybe you do," he said. When Laura stopped moving and remained silent, he sighed. "It's just - well, have you ever heard of a mood-killer, Laura?"

"I have killed many things. A 'mood' has never been one of them."

Julian chose to skim past the part about killing many things - maybe she's still trying to make jokes, we'll have to work on that - and focus on the rest. "Well, you kinda have. Earlier tonight, with all the stuff about combat and death and stuff, and just then with the stuff about me thinking of Ms. Frost as my mother. Those subjects aren't things that most people find arousing."

Laura shook her head. "They were not meant to be. The innuendo was meant to be."

"I know. But when you say one thing that's alluring, and one thing that's whatever the opposite of alluring is, you kill the mood."

"Because the one cancels the other out?"

"Because sex is about building toward something," Julian said, making it up as he went along. Maybe I should buy one of those guidebook things for her? Christ, maybe I should buy one for myself. "You do one thing your partner likes, then you do another thing your partner likes, and your partner does something you like, and you build on each other's, uh, actions. But if you say something that turns off your partner, the momentum breaks down. You might be able to get right back into it, but you might also have to start over, or you might be done for the night."

Slowly, Laura nodded. "I think I understand."

Julian smiled. "Good. No more torture talk. And definitely no more talking about Ms. Frost." He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

They'd kissed - during their copulation two weeks previous. That had been a hurried, sloppy affair, made between bouts of heavy breathing and moaning on both of their parts. This kiss was different. It was slower, more methodical. Laura found herself studying the physical sensation in minute detail. Julian's lips were moist and soft and covered hers in near-perfect symmetry, and she felt a thrill go through her - and that same fluttering feeling in her stomach - as he gently sucked on her upper lip. Almost unbidden, her grip on his neck tightened and she pressed her face tighter against his. She felt as his hands also wound their way around her back, pushing up the thin fabric of her tank top.

When Julian pulled back, several years that were far too short later, Laura opened her eyes to find his glowing green. "Wow," he said.

"Yes," she agreed. "Wow."

FIN

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for reading! I've wanted to write a Hellion/X-23 story for a long time, and after reading several excellent stories about them recently I figured I'd give it a shot. I have a few ideas for other pieces about them, too, if there's any interest.

Make sure to drop a review. Thanks again!