JULY

I gulped and slowly paddled to the shore. My feet touched bottom, and I stood, the water lapping at my shoulders. Logan stood at the water's edge, arms crossed. I could feel his glare on me as I took a step forward. The water dropped to my collar bones. Another step. It was just at the top of my chest.

Nothin' he ain't seen before, kit. Now get yer ass up there 'fore ya get yerself in more trouble.

I walked out the rest of the way without pausing. I was naked and in a heap of trouble, but it would be best to get this over with. Like ripping off a bandaid. Finally, I stood in front of him, arms wrapped around my chest more for warmth than modesty. Logan looked me over, and I blushed.

For the first time, it really hit me that Logan was a man, and maybe I wasn't a little girl anymore.

But he only handed me my towel and averted his eyes to glare out over the lake. I took it and wrapped it around myself, looking around for my clothes.

"Where are mah—"

"Raccoons."

I glanced at the rock where I'd put them, but all that was left was one sock. It figured that raccoons would steal my clothes. Outlandish stuff like that always seemed to happen to me. I slipped my shoes back on without being prompted to, then stood still, awkwardly waiting for another order. Logan looked at me again, and his hand twitched as if he might grab me. He seemed to reconsider though and lowered it down to his side.

"C'mon." He growled. "Ya can hike yer own ass back up."

He set off back up the hill without waiting for an answer, and I thought if that was all my punishment, I would be getting off easy. I was wrong. Stumbling down had been hard enough, but hiking back up was torture. My legs burned after only a few minutes. I kept tripping, and my towel kept slipping. I had to hold it up with one hand and wave my other hand around for balance. Logan didn't help me as much as he did before, either because this was my punishment or because body parts kept slipping out from behind my towel. It probably took us about forty minutes to hike back up, mostly because I kept stopping to pant for breath. I hadn't got much sleep, and I wasn't in shape for this sort of activity, and I almost collapsed out of exhaustion when we finally reached the top.

Logan took pity on me though and picked me up bridal style, hands carefully placed in neutral places. He carried me across the clearing and back into the cabin. I let my entire body go limp in his grip and just gasped to get my breath back. He set me down in the bathroom then stormed out, slamming the door behind him without a word. I waited for a moment and nothing else happened, so I decided to take a shower. There wasn't much else for me to do, and I felt grimy from the lake water and the hike back up. I threw my dirty towel in the corner and turned on the water. I'd forgotten to bring in the bathroom stuff, like my travel sized soap and shampoo, so I just stepped under the spray and stood there.

The door opened just long enough for Logan to throw one of his shirts in, then it slammed back shut. I sighed. I was probably still in trouble. The worst part was that I could sort of understand it, and the rest of me was just too tired to protest. Maybe he'd let me sleep and yell at me in the morning.

I ran my hands through my hands, raking out the tangles and pieces of leaves until it was somewhat tamed. There wasn't much else I could do without soap, so I just brushed my hands over my body to feel like I'd wiped the worst of the sweat and grime off and turned off the water. I stepped out and dried myself with a clean towel, then hung both towels up to dry and his shirt on. Since my pajamas were gone, it would just have to do. I couldn't hear Logan moving around, and I didn't know if the silence was good or bad. It seemed bad.

Like ripping off a bandaid.

I walked out of the bathroom. Logan sat at the edge of the bed, but when he raised his head, it was Wolverine who look back at me. Yeah, this was definitely bad. I kept moving though, until I stood in front of him. He stood up, his broad shoulders even with my head. I stared at his neck and didn't move. His hand trailed up my arm, then to my chin, lifting it up. I didn't know if I should dare to look him in the eyes or not. He made the decision for me when he tilted my head to the side.

I kept my eyes downcast while he turned my head back and forth to examine my face. The bruise over my cheek from the fight with May had faded so that it was barely noticeable. He looked over the rest of me next, and I kept my eyes safely focused on his neck. I was so tired, I could feel my knees begin to tremble, and I sat gratefully when he maneuvered us around so that I could sit on the bed and he stood above me. I belatedly realized that left him towering over me, but I was to exhausted to care.

"Explain."

"Ah had a nightmare. Ah didn't want to talk about it. Ah just had to—" I looked up at him and shrugged. "Ah ran."

"You didn't wake me."

"Ah left a note."

His eyes gleamed in the darkness as he regarded me, and he crouched down in front of me. "Our bones are metal. We can't swim. If something had happened to you in the lake...we wouldn't have been able to save you."

I nodded. His anger made a lot more sense now, and I could feel the guilt, but it was difficult just to keep my eyes open. Wolverine saw my struggle and cupped my cheek. I leaned my head against his hand and blinked slowly at him.

"Ah'll be really sorry in the morning." I promised.

He snorted. Grim amusement was better than outright anger though. Maybe. He scooped me up again and carried me to the head of the bed, setting me down so that I could crawl beneath the covers again. I collapsed onto my stomach and didn't even protest when Wolverine spooned me from behind. It only took me a few minutes to fall asleep, one that was thankfully dreamless.

I woke up the next morning to a low growl in my ear. I sleepily responded by extending my neck, and he nudged my head. I thought it might be approval or maybe he just wanted me to wake up. I opened my eyes and turned slightly to see him, just in case.

"Wolvie?"

He tugged on my shoulder, and I rolled over accordingly. Wolverine stared down at me with golden eyes.

"Marie." He rumbled.

I dropped my eyes and bit my lip. Wolverine always called me kit or kitling. He only used my name when something was wrong, so I must still be in trouble. He brushed his thumb over my cheek, then moved down to rub my side. I relaxed into his touch. I might be in trouble, but he wasn't yelling or ignoring me. Instead, he was checking to make sure I was okay. Whatever my punishment might be, I trusted that it wouldn't be pointless or mean. Wolverine took care of me.

That's right, kit. I ain't like yer father.

I shuddered at the thought. My Wolvie only wanted to help, but that hit a little too close to home for me, literally. I knew Wolverine—and Logan too—wasn't my father, the very thought of it freaked me out, but they were very clearly in charge of my welfare. They fed, clothed, and sheltered me, and I had agreed to follow their rules. And the very first rule Wolverine had asked me to obey was to be careful and not endanger myself.

Not that I planned on passively accepting my punishment without at least getting some say in the matter however. I didn't like the thought that I still wasn't trusted to go anywhere without him. I thought he'd gotten over that when we both got cellphones, but last night he'd acted like I wasn't allowed to leave the cabin on my own. I opened my mouth to start arguing my case, but my stomach interrupted me with a growl. He did the eyebrow thing, which never failed to make me blush.

"Hungry, kit?" He asked.

I gave him a careful nod.

"Then we'll eat first." He announced.

I blanched at the implication of first, and he noticed. He stood and offered me his hand. I grabbed it and got out of bed, but he steered me into the bathroom instead of the kitchen. I turned and looked at his back as he walked away.

"Put your underwear on, kitling."

I stood in the middle of the bathroom and blushed at the empty doorway, just now fully remembering the whole, "I got naked and had my pajamas stolen by raccoons" part of last night. Either Logan or Wolverine had given me their shirt, and at some point his tags had ended up back around my neck. I had collapsed in bed without any underwear on though, and their shirt was the only thing I had on. I snapped out of my embarrassment and looked around the bathroom, spotting a pair of my panties and my bra sitting on the counter next to my toothbrush. No other clothes had been set out.

I took his shirt off and put both of them on, then reconsidered his shirt. I'd worn one of his shirts to bed as a nightgown with just my bra and panties underneath several times before, but now I was giving a bit more thought to the little epiphany I had last night.

Maybe I was getting just a little too old to be running around half or fully naked in front of a grown man, even if he was my man-puppy best friend. But he hadn't set out any other clothes for me, so did that mean he wanted me to wear his shirt?

I might just want my scent on ya.

I gripped the sink counter and leaned forward, breathing heavily in fear at the unexpected uncertainty in my Wolvie's voice.

What do yah mean "might"?!

I ain't in his head anymore, kit. I'm in yers.

Then tell meh what yah think. Why would yah want meh wearing yeh shirt?

...I don't know.

My breathing got more erratic. I hadn't realized how much I relied on my Wolvie until he suddenly didn't have any answers.

Yer the first person I've ever cared about. Honestly kit, I'm makin' shit up as I go, and he probably is too.

I let out a long, slow breath. I was just guessing and making stuff up too. But I'd already messed up, and Wolverine hadn't been mean about it. So I'd just wear his shirt and trust him to have his reasons. I tugged it back on and brushed my teeth, then walked into the kitchen. The moment I walked in, Wolverine pushed a box of bisquick into my hands. He tapped the picture of pancakes on the box.

"Make this."

He looked at me almost eagerly, and I offered him a small smile in return. He leaned against the counter, mostly out my way, but still close enough that we touched when I got out the milk and griddle. I opened several cabinets before I found a bowl large enough to mix up all the batter I would need, but it was too high up for me to reach. Wolverine pressed his chest into my back, then the bowl was sitting on the counter in front of me. It took me a moment to snap out of the daze caused by his overwhelming physical proximity to realize he'd gotten the bowl for me.

I had to swallow twice before I could speak. "Thanks."

He smirked and took up his post leaning on the counter again while I made an ungodly amount of pancake batter. If pancakes were all he was eating, he would probably eat an entire mountain of them, and I still wanted to get some breakfast in myself. I expected an awkward silence until after we ate, but Wolverine spoke up.

"You have anything to say for yourself?" He asked.

I paused and looked over at him. "Ah thought yah were waiting until after breakfast."

"For your punishment." He agreed. "But I know you got shit to say, so get it out now."

I started stirring again. "Ah jus'...needed to get some air for a while. Ah didn't wake yah up because Ah wanted to be alone, but Ah left a note for yah so yah'd at least know where Ah went."

Wolverine stayed silent, his entire posture casually dominant, and it was really starting to piss me off. What I did wasn't even that bad, and I had deliberately tried to make it better by leaving the note. I just didn't know what he thought I should have done otherwise.

"Alrah-ght yes, Ah ran off without telling yah an' it was probably kinda stupid an' Ah got naked. Mah bad." I stirred harder, taking my frustration out on the innocent pancake batter. "But yah do that all the time, so no, Ah don't think it's fair that Ah'm getting in trouble for it."

"You're right."

I dropped the spoon in the batter out of shock. "Ah am?"

He nodded at the bowl, and I dug out the spoon. I set it in the sink and stopped trying to make pancakes. He waited until he had my full attention before he continued.

"If I wanted to tramp around the forest in the middle of the night, take off all my clothes, and go swimming, I could. And it wouldn't be a problem." He said.

"Then why—"

"You can't because you're a kitling."

"But—"

"I am a trained killer with animal instincts. I'm not going to trip on a log I didn't see and break my neck. I'm not going to be attacked by a wild animal..." He gave me another grim smile. "...because I am a wild animal. And if a couple of rednecks with shotguns found me naked and thought I was pretty, I could fight them off. That's the difference between you and me."

He moved closer with every sentence, until he stood right in front of me, pressed so close our chests almost touched. I made a distressed noise in the back of my throat. Rednecks hitting on Logan or Wolverine might sound funny, but I'd seen the way those two guys had looked at me, and that hadn't been funny at all. I had just wanted some time alone, where I could just be me, and not worry about my skin for five goddamn seconds. But I should have known better.

"Ah didn't think of that." I mumbled.

"I know. You're just a kitling." He lifted my chin again. "But you won't be a kitling much longer, and you need to start thinking things through, instead of doing reckless things that could get you hurt or killed or worse."

I nodded as much as his hand allowed, but he didn't let go.

"That's why you're being punished." He continued. "So next time you remember this, and you think before you act."

He dropped his hand then, and I stared at my feet, taking shaky breaths. He pulled me close and nuzzled my hair while I pushed back my stupid emotion tears and got my breathing under control. I pressed my face into his bare chest, feeling the rough tickle of his chest hair and firm heartbeat. He rubbed my back for a few more minutes, then gently pushed me back.

"Floppy bread things." He said, giving the bowl of pancake batter a pointed look.

I laughed at his description of pancakes and sniffled a bit. "Okay...floppy bread things."

He leaned forward and bumped my head with his chin, which I thought roughly translated from feral to human into a forehead kiss. I got a spatula and carefully poured out four pancakes onto the griddle. While I waited to flip them, Wolverine pulled a package of bacon out of the fridge.

"Skillet?" He asked.

"I thought I saw one in there." I said, pointing to a cabinet.

He took out the skillet, slapped half the package in it, and turned on the burner. I stared as he cooked the bacon, only remembering the pancakes at the last second. I quickly flipped them over. They looked a little bit browner than I liked, but at least they hadn't burnt. That would have been really embarrassing, and this morning had been crazy emotional as it was. And even if I could only see his back—"only" as if the muscles of his broad back weren't incredibly attractive—Wolverine looked really good, cooking bacon in just a pair of sweats.

Like, really good.

I blushed and stared hard at the pancakes. Logan and Wolverine were my best friends...friend? Were they singular or plural? Like one coin, but with two sides? Was I singular or plural, with all the voices in my head?

Whatever, best friends or not, they had a great body. And a girl was allowed the occasional peek, right? What was the point of having a best friend if you couldn't check them out every now and then? And smack...grab...admire...their ass.

But they never needed to know about any of that.

My Wolvie was silent in my head, a surprising mixture of male pride and embarrassment coming off of him. I was kind of embarrassed about it too, and between my imminent punishment and promised fighting lessons, I should really just calm my genitals before I embarrassed myself any further.

I flipped the pancakes onto a plate and poured four more circles of batter on the griddle. I kept my eyes on the pancakes and nothing but until I had a sizable stack built up on the plate. The bacon had finished cooking, and Wolverine sat at the table, munching on it. I searched the cabinets and found some leftover maple syrup from whoever had stayed here last. The expiration date was still good, so I sat that down on the table with the pancakes in front of him. I went back to making more pancakes, and Wolverine had no problem digging in without waiting for me. At least he made his own bacon.

Once the next four pancakes had cooked, I put two on a plate for me and set the other two on Wolverine's rapidly diminishing stack of pancakes. He grunted out an acknowledge from a mouthful of bacon, then reached for another pancake. I stared at him in horror as he rolled it up like a tortilla and ate half of it in one bite.

"No!"

He looked up at me, slack jawed, showing off the half chewed food in his mouth.

"No, no, no! That's not how you eat that!" I insisted, absolutely scandalized.

I knew better than to try to reach for the food already in his hand, so I took a single pancake off his stack and poured syrup over it, then overacted cutting off a bit with a knife and fork.

"See?" I continued. "You use silverware and eat it a piece at a time."

Wolverine gave me a look of pure disgust and defiantly shoved the rest of the pancake in his mouth. I made a pained noise, but he just shooed me away from his food, hunching over his plate and shooting me disgruntled looks. Maybe it was too much for me to expect "the" Wolverine to have manners, but the least he could do was not eat his pancakes like a heathen. What on earth would ever even possess him to roll them like that anyway? It physically hurt me to watch him eat, so I kept my eyes on my own food and tried to ignore the blasphemy taking place next to me.

Halfway through my second pancake, he pushed his empty plate at me and grunted. I glanced at it, then up at him. What, did he expect me to wait on him hand and foot?

"More."

Apparently.

Ya did promise ya'd cook for us, kit.

Oh, gawddamn. Fine.

"Ah'm finishing mah pancake first." I said, taking another bite.

He held my gaze for a few seconds, then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, still staring at me. I resisted the urge to hurry or slow down and tried to eat the rest of my pancake at a normal pace. I was fine with cooking for him, a little happy at the chance to give back even, but I wasn't going to drop everything just to serve him. I finished eating and stood up, taking his plate with me back over to the griddle. He watched as I made four more pancakes for him. I held out the plate to him in offering, but he just tipped his chin up, his eyes challenging me.

I gave in and walked over, setting the plate of pancakes in front of him. He grabbed my arm before I could go and tugged on it, pulling my shoulder down. I stooped awkwardly in front of him, unsure of what he wanted, until he rubbed his cheek against mine. He made a deep purring sound when he did it, then he let me go so I could stumble back to the counter and make more pancakes while he ate.

Good kitling. I like when ya take care of me.

My Wolvie's translation made me feel better about the exchange. I supposed it might still be a bit chauvinistic of him to expect me to cook and wait on him, but at least he had said thank you, sort of, in his own way. And honestly, I really didn't have any other skills to offer. It wasn't as if I could go out and get a job, even if I wanted to. Not one that was safe or legal anyway. So if cooking and cleaning were the only things I could do for him, I would deal with the slight sting to my pride and do that.

The next time I put another set of four pancakes on his plate, he pushed the plate of bacon my way. I was surprised he shared his food, especially food that he had cooked himself. He looked almost smug though when I took a slice and nibbled on it while I scraped out the last of the batter. I hoped he was getting full, otherwise I'd have to make a whole new bowl of batter. And anyway, he'd already eaten enough to feed a very large army of hungry men. I gave him the last of the pancakes and began cleaning up the kitchen, hoping he'd take the hint that breakfast was over. He must have, because he sat back and allowed me to take both plates once he was done. I set them in the sink with the rest of the dirty dishes and wondered if I could get away with stalling for more time by washing them.

Wolverine came up behind me and took my hand, so apparently not. I tried to control my breathing as he led me back to the table and sat down. I couldn't figure out what he was going to do until I was suddenly staring at the floor, with my waist bent over his knee. It clicked in my mind how he planned on punishing me, and I struggled in his grip.

"No, Wolv—"

"Marie." He growled again, using The Voice.

I quit trying to protest, but kept flailing. He just grabbed both of my hands and held them behind my back. When I tried to get up, he pulled my hands up, forcing my shoulders and torso back down. I kicked my legs, but I was bent over his right knee, and he used his left to trap my legs in between the two. I couldn't kick, he had my hands trapped, and he used the leverage to keep my waist bent and my upper half shoved down. I was trapped, with my ass pushed up in the air and only covered by his shirt and my panties. He moved the shirt out of the way, and I whined desperately.

"This spanking has been a long time coming now, and you know it, kitling." He said, in a completely even tone that I hated.

My brilliant reply was another frantic whimper.

"You get ten swats, and you're going to be a good little kitling and count them for me out loud." He continued.

"Wha—"

The first smack hit right between my nearly bare ass and my upper thighs, and I gasped in a mixture of shock and pain. Tears welled up as the sting of it burned through my skin. I heaved, trying to draw in air past the pain and sheer disbelief that he was actually spanking me.

"Kitling. I'm only going to warn you once."

I panted in short, quick breaths, nearly hyperventilating. What was he even talking about? Why did he have to hit so hard? It really, really hurt.

Yer supposed t'be countin', kit.

I considered not saying anything at all, first of all because counting how many times I got spanked was ridiculous and secondly because fuck him, that's why. But then he growled lowly, this time not in approval at all, and my will crumbled.

"...one."

A/N: So how's that for a cliffhanger? Is it weird that I've really been looking forward to FINALLY writing a scene where Wolverine spanks Marie for real?

And for those of you that have been wondering or asking about it, Marie is in fact starting to see Logan and Wolverine as a bit more than just her best friend. She's not going to suddenly fall in love with them over night, but she's definitely going to start noticing them in a different way physically. It'll be a while before loving them as a friend and protector will change to in love with them, but she's finally starting down that path! WHOO!

The next chapter will be the rest of her punishment, her promised fighting lessons, and some camping. But I'm open for ideas, especially about what they should do camping. Sleep in the cabin or outside under the stars? Campfire and marshmallows? Any more swimming to be done at the lake?

Also, really great news: I only have about 7 or 8 important plot events to happen before shit goes down and they start on their journey to the mansion! And by "important plot events" I mean things like Marie's fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays, two more Christmas specials, Marie having a wet dream about Logan, Logan opening up and talking about his nightmares, and Marie getting jealous of barflies. (No particular order on that list by the way.) I feel like all of those are too important to skip over, but I'll try to get them down in only one chapter or two at the most so we can get on to the mansion quicker.

And since so many of you have written me such nice, sympathetic reviews about the semester starting and how you're all worrying about school too, I asked Logan for some advice. If you want to hear what tips he gave me for surviving the semester, REVIEW and I'll post it on Friday as a short little back to school special to make up for the cutback on updates!