Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made by this work.
Watching the two square off in the sort of negotiation she was used to seeing in the back rooms as they haggled over price and profit verse risk and reward, Ororo smiled seeing her beau crack first under the weighty gaze of Maria Espinosa.
"Despite the rumours flyin' around Maria it's just a barbeque 'n kids should be out havin' fun. Not cooped up inside watchin' the tube." Logan tried.
"They can have fun without water guns and ruining their clothes." Maria countered.
"I'll pay fer the dry cleanin' after the matter." Logan added.
Tapping a finger against the table and having a sip of her coffee, Maria looked to be considering it with a sideways glance to Ororo herself and Yukio who were hardly the best examples of upstanding individuals.
"And if they rip their clothes?" Marie asked.
"You and the future Missus here can take all the kiddies off shoppin' on my dime, just so long as I don't hafta tag along." Logan conceded.
"Shopping and you have to come along, we should get to know another better since Angelo is always talking about his little Jubecita so much." Maria stated firmly, her voice growing softer as she talked about her eldest child and his 'friend' as she saw it.
Sighing heavy and hard and rubbing his eyes, Logan looked from Maria to Ororo to find both awaiting his reply. Feeling a toe rubbing up against his leg, it seemed another deal was being made if he was any judge of it and at least this one promised to be more enjoyable.
"Fine, dry cleaning and shoppin' all on my dime. Now if you three ladies will excuse me I have some kids ta go 'n make their day." Logan said with a wink to Ororo as he left.
Pouring another cup for their guest, Ororo freshened her own and smiled at the sound of the raucous cheer from the house joined with the trampling of feet rushing after Logan. So much alike, Maria had too moved for the sake of her family and a better life even if their reasons had been a little different.
"You said you're between Jobs?" Maria asked returning to the conversation at hand before Logan had stepped in to do some horse trading.
"Yes, it was...time for a chance of scenery." Ororo replied thinking of how wondrous it was to wake up in his arms with a view of the distant mountains through their window.
"What were you in?" Maria inquired as she stirred her coffee.
"Acquisitions. I was self employed but there was no future in the work so, when Logan proposed I decided to take some time to myself and my growing family. I believe I shall be...looking for a new line of work come the fall once the girls are back in school." Ororo fibbed just enough to hide her questionable past.
That was still a conversation she had to have with Logan but one she rather thought to put off until after their wedding. Now that was a conversation that was all the more pressing, the thought alone of the two sides of this family of theirs coming together was absurd. Mercenaries and military men on the one side and rogues and thieves on the other, just the thought of how many bounties there would be between the two would have it a powder keg ready to blow.
Ororo saw Maria's eyes light up suddenly with a bit of craftiness going on that she was all too accustomed to. It seemed the woman was trying to play whatever her ploy was close to her chest, but to a master thief she might as well just blurted out whatever it was. Thinking back to what had been said, an inkling of what it just might be came to her.
"I understand you're a single mother Maria, goodness I've often had my hands full enough with Rogue by herself. That you have so many children, you amaze me." Ororo said speaking only the truth.
"Dios! Can you believe it, twins twice! My Papi, no one can question his manliness..." Maria started with a breath and a shake of her head clearly remembering better days.
"Just his honour." Ororo posed.
"I ever catch that man, I am going to..." Maria swore loudly before breaking out into a string of Spanish filled with enough expletives and oaths that had the two ladies across from her blush.
Turning at the noise of so many giggling screams, the trio of ladies looked to where Rogue was leading the girls against the boys lead by Logan in a battle of watery death. That Wade was nowhere to be found was a worry for Yukio who had promised to keep him under wraps in that one phone call earlier. Leaning back in her chair and seeing the relief sooth the harried mother, she just waited for the conversation to head just where she thought it would.
"So just how do you handle the children when the schools are closed for the summer?" Ororo asked.
Maria looked up at that, their eyes locking only for a smile to spread between them with the one having clearly outwitted the other. Laughing and having another look to her youngest, Maria just nodded in defeat and mustered the question felt a bit shameful of asking.
"Last summer I sent them to camp but it was tight, Angelo was going to watch them this summer as he is old enough now but...he should be playing himself." Maria said softly shaking her head.
"Well, as I have said I am doing little from now to the fall other than planning my wedding. You can bring them over and just pick them up when you're ready. I don't think my 'Papi' will mind in the least. In return maybe you can help me hone my own green thumb." Ororo said, a look over her shoulder showing Logan ganged up on by all the kids with betrayal the name of the game.
"You're a life saver Missus Howlett." Maria cooed, reaching across to take her hands.
Thinking she'd never tire of hearing herself addressed that way, Ororo looked forward to the day it would become real and everything that would follow from the night after to all the years later.
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"You ready?" Jubilee asked.
Next to her Amiko just nodded and hide in the shadows of the roof as if it were the most natural thing to do. That future Mom and Yukio were thieves clued her in to why, something she still had to ask if she was able to tell Angelo who was over on the next peak of the roof armed and ready. Hearing Wade climbing back up with the garden hose slung over his shoulder, Jubilee thought this was gonna be great, wishing she had come up with the idea herself.
"Everyone armed?" Wade asked in a whisper.
"Dad's gonna kill us." Jubilee giggled.
"He's gotta catch us first." Wade replied.
How a grown up could think like this Jubilee didn't know, but looking at the preparations all that was left was for Angelo to play the bait and lure in her dad. Waiting for the breeze to blow just right, Angelo lit up one of the pilfered cigars that Wade had procured and let the smoke drift. Only after getting it in writing that it was all Wade's idea did he agree and she couldn't blame him. Her dad had a sense of smell like a hound dog, the first time he met Angelo asking right away if he smoked and laying down the law that he wasn't allowed to smoke around his 'little Darlin'.
"Here he comes..." Amiko said softly from her shadow.
Tensing for a fight, Jubilee readied herself and waited. Stalking up to the house looking to kick butt and take names, Logan looked around and then up to the roof with his eyes scanning every shadow and hiding place. She didn't know how he did it, but she was sure he was staring her dead in her own shadow.
"Ya got three seconds ta explain yerselves before I c'mon up there after ya, one, two..." Logan roared angrily.
"No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!" Wade quoted as he leapt from his hiding place.
Angelo's brothers and sisters were faster on the uptake to what was going on than Logan it seemed, their water guns firing at the roof trying to hit the infamous Merc with the Mouth. Returning fire, Jubilee and Amiko leapt from their hiding places with Angelo hurling water balloons at his squealing siblings. Standing there and taking his soaking though, Logan just had eyes for Wade and the garden hose slung around the man's shoulders.
"I shoulda known ya were up ta somethin' Wilson!" Logan called up as he took a few steps closer to the edge of the roof.
"Release the burning tar and pitch, we're under siege!" Wade roared.
Forgetting their feeble weapons and going for the big guns, Jubilee and Amiko rushed to where Angelo was waiting.
"If this works dude, it's so gonna be worth being grounded till I graduate!" Jubilee laughed taking up a pair of full buckets they had pilfered from the garage.
As one the four of them released their watery burden to wash as a wave down the slope of the roof with the sound of her Dad swearing a blue streak proving it had been a success. Angelo had come up with the idea for the buckets, but throwing the slurry of crushed ice they had fun making out in the garage had been one hundred percent Wade.
Expecting much, the sudden silence was wholly unnerving and unexpected. Looking to another and shrugging, they crept as one to the edge of the roof and peeked down to find Logan soaked to the core and standing there still staring up there waiting for them.
"I just got one question..." Logan said in a deadly voice that had Jubilee feel as frozen as her father likely was just then.
"Who stole my cigar?" Logan further added.
Three sets of fingers were pointed to Wade in that moment that lasted for half a heartbeat before they raced off leaving him to his fate. Making a beeline for the porch and jumping off to land in a tumble, Jubilee was already on her bike to find Amiko was no slouch either grabbing one herself. Angelo took a few seconds longer swinging over the edge to land on the railing below and rush after them to hop on his own bike.
"Vamonos!" Angelo yelled, the trio leaving dust in their wake.
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Walking out to catcalls and whistles dressed in just a pair of jeans and a towel thrown over his shoulders, Logan looked to the gaggle of ladies who appeared to be enjoying the show. Rogue had found her way back it seemed and was busy texting away, while the rest of the Espinosa kids were moving away from the water guns with the sun hanging low over the mountains.
"Well, I guess it's about time we got some meat on the grill." Logan remarked as he headed off to the kitchen.
Hearing her light tread and feeling her hands against his shoulders with her body pressed against his, the kiss at his neck was a welcome reminder of all the times she had woken in the early hours of the morning when he had been haunted by the ghosts of the missions he could never forget. She made him fill whole and human, while his little Darlin' out there made him feel like he could be a better man than he was. Looking off to the deck where Rogue sat smiling softly as she read another of her texts, he figured just who she was talking to and admitted Remy might just be worth suffering in his life if he just kept it up.
"Ya wanna get the buns?" Logan asked with a nod to the hamburger and hot dog buns.
Instead he felt her hands trail down his back and take his own 'buns' in hand for a saucy squeeze. Chuckling and turning about to face her, he wrapped her up in his arms and rested his chin on her shoulder looking off to a house that had really become a home.
"I've got a job already it seems." Ororo whispered.
"Oh?" Logan asked only to nuzzle her ear with his nose.
"I'll be looking after Maria's children over the summer, in return she promises to teach me all about growing the bounty of the land." Ororo purred at his toying and teasing.
"S'nough acreage out back fer ya to do whatever ya like with, never had much use fer it other than lettin' Jubes run wild." Logan whispered.
"Thank you. Now why don't I go get you a shirt and then I'll gather up the rest of the buns." Ororo teased with one last playful pinch.
Watching her traipse off to the stairs barefooted like some fey princess, he headed back on out to the grill with all the meaty morsels and noticed Rogue watching him as he walked on past. Throwing her a wink, he earned an affectionate boot to the butt in passing and chuckled at her antic. Lining up the burgers and loving that sizzle, come the first flip already the kids were rushing up to the patio at the unmistakable aroma of seared meat.
With a shirt finding its way over his shoulder, pulling on the T and staring down at it he had to look to his love and wonder what sort of fun she was having at his expense.
"Funny." Logan smirked, the ladies raising their lemonade in toast to him.
"Another gift from Jubilation?" Ororo inquired after her rummage fo his wardrobe.
"Nah, I just like advertisin' I'm a hunk o' Canadian Grade Triple A Beef." Logan snorted.
"You happen to have a brother?" Maria teased to which Ororo and Yukio shared a look of pure evil mischief.
"Don't you even dare..." Logan threatened, flipping the burgers and dogs again.
Huddling up for a bit of gossip and a slew of giggling, Logan shook his head thinking the last thing he needed was his brother getting set up with his neighbour. His one consolation was that Jubes was still a few years from having an inkling of interest in boys, throwing the first round of burgers on a tray for the kids to have at.
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Rolling on down the back acreage of Pappy Logan's, Rogue couldn't believe it when he told her to take an order down to the wayward kids. Thinking she'd have to walk, he surprised her by telling her to take the Jeep. Only have ever driven a few times, it was both exhilarating and just a bit scary whenever she'd find a rut or log she wasn't expecting. Coming on a tree she recognized from earlier on, looking up into the shadowy boughs she could see Amiko a few branches down from the one that Angelo and Jubilee shared.
"Jubilee and Angelo sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Rogue sang up to the pair after throwing the truck in park.
"Loser!" Jubilee shouted back down.
"Guess me and Miko get to eat all these burgers ourselves then." Rogue sniffed, Amiko already leaping from branch to branch clearly hungry.
"Just toss ours up please!" Jubilee begged from her branch.
"Maybe..." Rogue said deviously as Amiko popped into the shotgun seat.
"Thanks." Amiko said taking her burger wrapped up in tinfoil.
"No problem girl. What should we make them do if they don't wanna come on down?" Rogue asked, reclining her seat back to stare up at the two.
"Whatever we want?" Amiko asked to clarify.
"I can smell them from here, anything! Por favor!" Angelo cried on down, the aroma of the burgers below tormenting him.
"Oh c'mon Roguey, just give us our burgers and I promise to not bug you for a whole...I promise not to...oh just give us our burgers!" Jubilee yelled down, thinking again as possible promises were nixed as just being too hard to do.
"I want you to kiss Angelo, and none o' this kids stuff. Ya gotta really kiss him!" Rogue called up with a devilish grin.
"Ew, he smokes! I wouldn't share gum with him let alone spit!" Jubilee shrieked.
Hungry as he was, and just a touch intrigued after seeing a side to his 'Jubecita' he hadn't ever seen before, Angelo instead took the initiative and the choice right out of her hands. Cupping her cheeks in his hands and pressing a kiss to her lips, he was amazed that lips that could spout such harsh language were so soft. The punch to the side of his head didn't stop him, but as the kiss carried on he found the outrage bleeding out of her eyes to straight up surprise. Parting and leaving her breathless, it turned out she was twice a liar as he started chewing her gum.
"Dude..." Jubilee whispered.
"A man has to do what a man has to do Jubecita, I'm starving." Angelo explained in the quiet of their branch.
Blushing and breathless, Jubilee tried to find the words that had been there only a second ago to express her outrage at the whole idea let alone everything that had followed. The mad laughter and giggles below brought her back, Rogue and Amiko with the phones out and pointed at them with a flash lighting up the early evening.
"Okay we kissed, now give us our burgers!" Jubilee roared down there crossing her arms in a hissy fit.
"Okay, just let me git this video sent on ta Remy." Rogue called up snickering, making sure both she and he had their blackmail to threaten the squirt with the next time she got too big for her breeches.
Cranking some tunes and enjoying the night as the stars came out one at a time, it wouldn't be much longer for the new moon that a promise was hinging on.
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