A/n: Thanks for your reviews, guys.
There is WAY too much M/A on at the moment. I had to update this just to get some M/L back on the front page. This chapter is just fluff, but at least there's no cliff.
I swear, Rei, I wrote this before you reviewed. Great minds think alike, huh?
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Chapter 28: The Morning After
Logan woke slowly, feeling inexplicably content. Must have had a nice dream, he thought. Wish I could remember it. It was only when he started to sit up to squint at the clock that he noticed the weight on the bed beside him.
Max was lying on top of the sheets, fast asleep, her head resting on his shoulder as she hugged his arm to her chest. Logan noted that her fingers were tightly intertwined with his own.
Well, this is a new one, he thought, his brain still bleary with sleep. Usually this fantasy involves a lot less clothes. He groped for the nightstand with his free hand and located his glasses, sliding them onto his nose by pure muscle memory. Then he turned to look at Max again; in focus, this time.
Somehow, he was starting to doubt this was a dream. There was no way he'd ever imagine this scenario with tear tracks on Max's face. She looked as if she'd cried herself to sleep, clutching at his unconscious form for comfort. White hot guilt shot through him that he hadn't awoken to take care of her, to soothe whatever pain she felt.
It was only then that memory returned in a rush, and Logan realised that he himself was the cause of her distress. That damn letter he'd written; did he have to be so honest? Max had enough burdens of her own to carry without him adding to them.
He wondered absently what she'd thought as she read; could she still accept him as her friend, or whatever they were to one another? Or was she only sticking around as long as she needed him, until he took out Manticore for her? Or even because she felt some kind of obligation, because of what her creators had done to him?
Logan reached out, unable to resist stroking a stray ringlet away from her face with a long finger. God, she was beautiful, even tearstained and rumpled after sleeping in her clothes. And she was here, for whatever reason, in his bed; he decided that whatever happened when she woke, for now, he should just enjoy the sensation. He doubted he'd ever get this close to Max again.
He slipped his glasses back off and wrapped a tentative arm around her slender waist. Max sighed, smiling in her sleep, nuzzling even closer to him and shifting a leg to lie across his own.
Yes, Logan thought. This is definitely something I'm going to enjoy for as long as possible.
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When Max's eyes fluttered open some time later, she found a pair of tender blue orbs watching her.
"Hey, sleepyhead," said Logan softly, his smile audible. Max caught her breath.
God, he's beautiful, she thought. Logan's face was bare inches from her own, bringing all his features into mesmerising detail. The soft lines of his red lips as they curved up into a smile, contrasting sharply with the coarse stubble on his jaw, and the dimples that puckered his cheeks, giving him that adorable childlike charm. But most of all his eyes, those bright blue eyes made somehow closer, more intense, by the removal of the glass barrier that usually shielded them. And that smell… cinnamon, citrus, and the unique scent of Logan… She flushed, feeling her body start to respond to his proximity.
Logan must have caught the flicker of her eyes, because his grin faded. "Max?" He said, sounding uncertain.
"Logan?" Get a grip, Max, she told herself firmly. "What… oh, right, yeah. Sorry, for, you know, crashing on you," she said, embarrassed. "I heard a noise; you were having a nightmare… Seemed to calm down when I sat next to you. Guess I got comfortable."
Logan's brow furrowed. "I don't remember that," he said. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I don't mind."
"You really don't remember anything?" Asked Max, not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.
"No. I didn't say anything dumb, did I?"
"No, you didn't." Logan missed the stress on the second word as Max shifted, realising how entwined they were. "I'll, uh, go put some coffee on," she said, awkwardly.
"Hey, you're the guest here, remember?" Teased Logan gently. "I'll get the coffee, you go take a shower. Make the most of the hot water while you can."
"That's ok," Max said, sitting up. "I don't have a change of clothes here right now anyway."
"I'm sure we could find something to fit you while we wash what you have. We need to talk, Max, you know we do. It could take some time."
"All right," Max conceded defeat. "But you're making breakfast."
A smile broke across Logan's features. "Was there ever any doubt?"
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Tell me what you thought.
