Marie was frozen in her spot in the hallway for, what felt like, an eternity. It wasn't until he started walking toward her did she finally snap back to reality.
She cleared her throat, "Hey Logan...hey."
"What? No hug?" he said as he dropped his duffle bag and opened his arms.
Marie cracked an uneasy smile and stumbled into his arms numbly. When she hugged him, Logan could immediately sense a hint of the smell of expensive cologne...one he'd smelled before. His scent memory placed the cologne...and he knew that the last time he'd smelled that particular brand, it had been worn by the one and only-
"Scott!" squeaked Marie as she quickly ended the embrace and stepped away.
Scott slowly approached with a brown paper bag and eyed them cautiously, "Logan. You're back."
"Yeah...and Marie and I were talking", came Logan's quip reply.
He took another few steps toward the two, "I have the supplies for that project we were talking about, Marie. We should get started soon."
Marie placed a hand on his arm, "Um. Scott, you can take the supplies to your room...I'll be there to help in a little bit."
Scott glanced between them and nodded before he turned around and left.
When he was out of sight, Logan turned back to her and raised a brow, "Supplies?"
Marie nodded, "Uhhh, yeah. He went and got some markers and stuff. I'm supposed to be helping him make posters for the um...school dance."
"You're actin' weird. Everything OK?"
Marie nodded quickly, "Yeah. Just surprised to see you back...that's all."
"Well, I figured I should grace you all with my presence again. It's been too long."
Marie had to look away before she got caught up in his intense, hazel gaze, "Uhh...right. Well, it's great to have you back."
"You sure you're OK?"
She smiled uneasily, "Um. Yeah. I have to go finish the um...posters. How about we go to dinner or somethin' when you've had the chance to get settled?"
"Sure."
Marie nodded quickly, "Great. Well...I gotta go."
"Ok."
She quickly rushed away and made her way to Scott's room, where he was eagerly waiting with the open pregnancy test.
"That asshole has perfect timing", he grumbled.
She learned to stay quiet when Scott got going about Logan. Marie completely understood his disdain for Logan, thanks to his tryst with Jean, but, despite the fact that he knew that she was still friends with him, he couldn't help but bad mouth the Wolverine whenever he had the chance.
"Let's just take the test, OK?" she said as she took it into the bathroom.
Scott nodded, "OK."
She emerged from the bathroom a few moments later, "Three minutes."
He nodded and clasped his hands together as he sat down on the bed. There was a long moment of silence before he decided to speak up, "So...Logan's back. Are you gonna...hang out with him?"
"I dunno...I guess."
When she noticed him shift uncomfortably, Marie sighed, "Let's not talk about that right now...OK?"
Scott nodded in agreement, "Ok. You're right. You're right."
"Are you nervous?"
"Yes", he said quickly.
Marie bit her lip and desperately tried to concentrate on the moment. Here she was, mere moments away from finding out the most important news of her life and she was distracted by none other than Logan.
Damn him.
Three minutes later, Scott quickly stood, "It's time."
She nodded, "You can look..."
He didn't stop to argue. He simply rushed into the bathroom. When he didn't immediately return, Marie followed him.
By the time she reached the doorway, he was staring down at the test. He looked up at her and smiled, "Two lines...two lines means pregnant..."
Marie jumped up and down for a moment, "We have two lines?"
Scott nodded and dropped the test before hugging her and kissing her cheek, "It's happening!"
She kissed him and hugged him back, then placed her hands over her flat stomach and shook her head, "It's happening...I know we've been planning on it, but it feels just...surreal..."
"There's so much to do! We have to buy a crib, a car seat..."
Marie smiled, "Yeah. I know."
Scott jumped, "I can't wait to tell everyone!"
He started to rush out of the room, but she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back toward her, "Whoa there, tiger...if my calculations are correct, I'm just over a month along. I don't want to sound like a Debbie Downer or anything...but I think it's too early to start breaking out the cigars."
"What? Ah! Come on!"
Marie sighed, "Please...we have to wait until I'm three months..."
"Two months."
"Ten weeks."
He held out a hand, "You've got a deal."
Marie took his hand and shook it. She squeaked as he suddenly yanked her close and laid a loving kiss on her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands snaked around her hips.
When the kiss drew to a close, Marie let out a breath, "Wow...what was that for?"
Scott brushed a finger down her cheek, "For making my most important dream come true."
She started to lean in to kiss him again, but she stopped herself and shook her head as she pried his hands from around her waist, "The only reason we started having sex was to get pregnant. Now that I am...aren't you afraid it'll get messy if we keep sex in our friendship?"
Scott nodded, "Yeah...it might."
Marie sighed, "Ok. I'll call and make a doctor's appointment, and let you know when."
His smile quickly returned, "Great. Can't wait."
She was elated, but after months of planning and being prepared to tell people about their baby once the time came, she had not devised a plan that detailed how she would tell Logan...nor had she imagined how he would react.
His return had thrown a wrench in her meticulous plans.
A couple of weeks, and a few close calls with Scott nearly spilling the beans, later, they made it to her very first doctor's appointment.
Of course, the doctor-administered test revealed a pregnancy. Scott eagerly asked if they could hear the heartbeat or see the baby, but the doctor informed them that the baby was still too small to pick up on the doppler or ultrasound.
Despite that, they both left the doctor's office on cloud 9. A couple of hours after returning to the mansion from her appointment, Logan knocked on her door.
"Hey", she said as she grabbed her jacket.
"Ready to go get that dinner?"
"What?"
He awkwardly rocked on his heels, "Um...you said once I got settled that we should go to dinner...I mean...unless you already ate-"
"No. I haven't eaten yet."
"So...do you wanna go?"
Marie nodded as she put her jacket on and shoved her phone into her pocket, "Yeah. Sure. I didn't want what they served in the cafeteria today anyways. Got any ideas for where you wanna go?"
"Meat", he said matter-of-factly.
She laughed, "Right..."
He led the way down to the garage, and directly to one of Scott's motorcycles. Marie's eyes widened. She was in absolutely no condition to ride a motorcycle...was she? Even if it was "ok", overly-cautious daddy-to-be Scott would probably have a conniption fit...and the fact that Logan was, yet again, "borrowing" his bike without permission again wouldn't help things.
Logan swung his leg over the motorcycle and furrowed his eyebrows at her hesitation. She'd ridden with him countless times before, so he had no idea why she was eyeing the bike like it was a death trap.
"Get on, kid. What are ya waitin' for?"
Marie's mind ran a mile a minute as she struggled not to let her inner turmoil show through on her face. Suddenly, the perfect lie popped into her brain.
"I think it's supposed to rain later. I'd rather not risk getting drenched on the back of a bike. Unlike you, I still catch colds."
Logan nodded, got off the bike, then allowed her to lead the way to her car.
Thirty minutes later, they were sitting in the booth of a steakhouse. The waitress came by to take their drink orders, so Logan glanced at the menu, "What do ya have on tap?"
"Heineken, Sweetwater, Molson's-"
"Molson's. We'll take two."
Marie suddenly sat up and cleared her throat, "Just a water for me."
The waitress nodded, made a note and walked away as Logan eyed her curiously, "No beer, kid?"
She stuttered a little and shook her head, "Um...nah. I just...I have some work to do later and I...I just need to keep a clear head."
"Suit yourself."
Marie smiled nervously and looked down at the menu. She had to relax. Logan wasn't stupid. If she kept up this stuttering and fumbling, he was bound to figure out that something was up.
She shook her shoulders a bit and let out a breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. She smiled as she glanced up at him from her menu, "Well, you picked the right place. Steak, steak...and, oh look...more steak."
Logan smirked, "Red meat is good for you."
"Not the way you consume it, Mr. Carnivore. It's good...in moderation..."
"That's not true...it's got a lot of protein, iron, Vitamin D, B12, folic acid-"
Marie quickly cut him off, "How do you know all of this?"
"I'm an old man with time on my side..." When she quirked a brow, he sighed, "I read it somewhere."
"Oh...ok...well, I guess I'll have a steak too, then. Sounds like a healthy choice."
They made small talk after the waitress took their orders, then sat in silence for a few moments before he leaned forward, "Something's up with you."
"What? What are you talking about? Nothing's up."
Logan laughed, "See...if you hadn't answered so fast, I would've believed you...but you did and now I'm sure something's up with you."
Marie averted her eyes in an effort to avoid his intense gaze. She fiddled with the edges of her jacket and bit her lip, "I uhhh...I just...I've been thinking about moving away from the mansion."
She'd lied to him again, and that was the best she could come up with when put on the spot. One look at Logan told her that it looked like he bought it. After all, she didn't make it a point to lie to him, and he, of all people, knew that...so he had no reason to NOT believe her.
Marie felt awful.
Logan nonchalantly sat back as he scratched his muttonchops, a move that told Marie that he was obviously in deep thought. He shook his head a little, "I don't think that's a good idea." Marie started to nod in agreement and say something, but he continued speaking, "The world isn't a nice place...and I know you're fully capable of taking care of yourself, but I'd prefer it if you didn't end up having to make it on your own again...even at the ripe old age of 30. You have people at that school who love you and want to keep you safe...there are mutants out there who don't have that and desperately need that. It would be shitty if you just pissed that all away so that you could live like a single chick in the city or whatever...no...that's not a good idea, kid. I'd worry about you too much..."
Logan had possibly spoken more words in that previous statement than he had in the last year. That had Marie stunned.
The man of few words had spoken quite a few...
She raised a brow, "You'd worry about me?"
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Oh come on...gimme a fuckin' break." Logan looked down, "You know I care about you..."
Marie stared at him wide eyed, but he didn't realize it. He was too busy trying not to look into her face...possibly because he was trying to avoid an awkward moment.
*What did he mean? Did he care me in the plutonic sense? Does he love me? If so, why did he fuck Jean and avoid the mansion at all costs during the past decade?*
Marie was so lost in her own thoughts, she nearly jumped out of her skin when a plate passed in front of her face and was set down on the table before her.
Sorry this update took so long! I have a bunch of crazy life changes coming up, and I'm hoping to finish this story up before the end of next week. Due to some unforeseen personal life circumstances, I might be taking a leave of absence from writing fanfiction AFTER I finish this story because I simply won't have the time to devote to this without taking valuable time away from my family.
Review please!