Chapter 18
It took until noon for them to wake up, and Marie was still debating the merits of staying in bed. Logan's hand rested on her hip as he did his burrowing starfish imitation with the blankets. Victor had wrapped her in his arms, his body heat keeping her warm.
"How're you doin' sweetness," His lips trailed over her neck.
"Hmm…I'm with my men, I'm doin' pretty good," She sighed.
"You're bored to tears," Victor's amusement came through loud and clear.
"Logan's havin' so much fun," Marie smiled. "I like seein' him happy."
"He's happy because you're here," Her mate chuckled. "For a long time, this was what Jimmy did. He'd travel and work the fight circuit and then he'd hide out in some cabin just south enough that the winter wouldn't kill him. He wasn't exactly happy, but he was survivin'."
"He's better than this though," She shook her head. "You both are."
"We're kind of hiding out," Victor kissed her gently. "Staying on the move so Lehnsherr doesn't catch up with us."
"Because somehow he's gotten the idea that I'm still alive," Marie sighed. "At least he didn't recognize me in Chicago."
Victor nuzzled her neck, "Lorelei's dead, I called the hospital to confirm, but if Erik hears about how she died…" He sighed, "And helpful as it was with Vanisher…you usin' your mutation on him might've been a mistake."
"Because every time I use it on someone and they're still alive they can remember what I did and tell him," Marie groaned. "Even if they don't know it's me, they could just describe how it felt and Erik would realize. He knows what it's like."
Logan groaned, "You want me to call Chuck?" Hazel gold eyes met hers as he forced himself awake, "I can see what he's heard. Don't have to tell him it's you just yet, just that old Bucket Head is looking for a girl. Although once we're there he'll figure it out if we don't admit it."
Marie took his hand and tugged him closer, kissing him sweetly, "I think it's a good idea."
"Maybe let him 'talk' you into headin' to Westchester," Victor suggested.
"Yeah," Logan kissed Marie again and leaned back to grab his phone from the rickety nightstand. "I'll put it on speaker." He dialed and Marie took a minute to breathe and remind herself that this could be a good thing for them.
"Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters," A chipper voice answered the phone on the second ring.
"Jubilation," Logan greeted her. "Put me through to Chuck okay?"
"Wolverine! Where've you been? Everybody's worried an'—" Marie was pretty sure that questions would have gone on forever at the same fast pace if Logan hadn't cut her off. That voice was familiar, she might have met the girl before.
"Jubilee, later," He said firmly. "I need to talk to Chuck."
"Okay yeah, just a sec," Hold music came on the line and after a minute or so a cultured slightly British voice came on the line. "Logan?"
"Yeah Chuck, it's me. Got you on speaker," Logan answered. "Figured I better fill you in on what's been going on."
"I'm aware that you have been constantly on the move," The speaker, Chuck (weird to associate that name with this urbane voice), faded slightly for a moment as if he was moving before coming closer to the speaker again.
"Well… we ran into someone in Chicago, he had a job offer for us and we didn't want the work," Logan told him.
"He figured I wouldn't mind doing his dirty work again and if Jimmy was with me then he'd be of the same stamp," Victor spoke over Marie's shoulder. "Old friend of yours, by name of Lehnsherr… Magneto."
"I see…" Chuck's voice held a contemplative tone. "What was the nature of the work?"
"He wanted us to find a girl," Logan told him. "A girl that can borrow any mutation. He had her once before, but he thought she'd been killed. Seemed to think you'd know somethin' about that."
"He figured I'd find her easy since I knew her scent," Victor added.
"Oh dear, then Erik hasn't given up on his machine," Chuck sighed. "I never met the young lady in question. From what I read in the mission report, she was already in the machine, and it was running when Storm, Jean and Cyclops got to the top of the statue. Jean said there was no way to stop it. Cyclops used his optic blast to destroy the machine. He believed the girl killed in the explosion."
"Well apparently old Bucket Head thought the same thing, but he's been hearing things about her, or someone with a mutation like hers, and he wanted Vic and me to find her," Logan told him. "That was eight months ago," He paused for a moment looking at Marie and Victor, "It was eight months, right?"
"More like six and a half to seven," Victor corrected him. "In Chicago," He added. "And a couple days ago I had a solo job down near Green Bay, Erik caught up with me there. Gave me a strongly worded suggestion that I should go hunting for the girl. Implied that nothing but terrible things would ensue if I didn't."
"I take it you have no intention of taking Erik up on his 'job offer'," Chuck surmised.
"Nope," Victor shook his head. "But when I got back to Jimmy and our woman last night I told him and he figured he oughta call you, fill you in."
"Logan…I know that you dislike staying in one place, but can I convince you to come back to the school for a while? Bringing your brother and your…mate as well?" The sound of typing came across the speaker, "I can have the Blackbird pick you up."
"Chuck you really think that's a good idea?" Logan glanced at the two of them. "Pretty much everyone in that school thinks Vic's a monster. And Jean didn't exactly make a favorable impression with our woman."
"Jean is…sheltered," Chuck seemed to be making excuses. "The idea of your arrangement is shocking to her."
"She smelt like disgust," Victor growled. "Just from seeing us hold our mate, take comfort in being near her."
"And I'm certain she's gotten past that," Nice that Chuck was certain at least, Marie rolled her eyes. "Logan you know that Jean, and many of our students here, are very frightened of humans."
"Yeah, I know not everybody's got a mutation good for offense," Logan didn't seem pleased either. "But if our woman can accept us, guys more than half animal with claws and fangs, Jean really figured she'd have a problem with other mutants?"
"I doubt she thought it through that far," Chuck conceded. "There are also…conflicting reports as to whether or not your mate is actually human. Havoc and Polaris indicated that she had a mutation, telepathy, telekinesis, like Jean."
"Goes to show how stupid assuming anything is," Victor smirked. "Our woman dances for a living. Your redhead had a problem with that too."
"I see," A sigh came through the speaker. "It will require some adjustment on everyone's part, but I truly believe you would be safer here than on your own. Please consider it." A slight pause and some more tapping, "There's a cabin on the western edge of the lake, would the three of you be more comfortable there? It needs some work, so I'm afraid you'd need to stay at the school, for a while at least until it can be made comfortable."
"So long as no one treats our woman badly," Logan glanced at the two of them. "And doesn't freak out or start acting like Vic's goin' on a bloody rampage."
"You understand that I can't be comfortable giving him the run of the school Logan, or your mystery woman either," Chuck returned. "But I do understand your concerns. I hope you can understand mine."
"I'm used to everyone looking at me like I'm an animal," Victor growled, his grip on her hip tightening. "I am one. But I won't have anyone looking down at our mate because she's with the two of us. I don't care if they understand, but she's a lady and they'd better remember it."
"Havoc and Polaris spoke very well of her," It wasn't exactly a reassurance, but it seemed like the man didn't want to lie to them outright. "Is she there with you? Will you introduce us?"
"You can meet her when we get to the school," Logan told him when Marie shook her head. "We'll pack up and start drivin' east."
"If you are in a suitably deserted area I'll send the Blackbird," Chuck offered. "I believe the cargo space is sufficient to hold a Tahoe, unless you've changed to a larger vehicle?"
"Smaller actually," Victor informed him. "Where do you want to meet?"
Marie sighed softly and patted his hand to let her up. She'd better start getting ready.
Victor had suggested she wear the black wig out of the hotel and during the drive to the landing site. She could take it off and unbraid her hair once they were on the plane. In anticipation of a cold grassy or muddy field she hadn't worn her heels or any of her dresses or skirts. Stretch jeans, a tunic sweater and the sable her men had given her back Bozeman. The green high-top Converse looked a little incongruous with the fur, but it was the warmest coat she had and winter in Canada was damn cold.
Logan with his metal laced bones was even worse off and she considered again the possibility of stripping the metal from most of his skeleton. "Sugar, what does the metal do to you? 'Sides makin' it hard for you to get killed?"
"I was hard to kill before they coated my skeleton with adamantium," Logan shrugged.
"Saps his healing, constantly," Victor informed them. "I remember before and after and you healed a helluva lot faster before the metal. He can't swim to save his life, literally, he just sinks." He looked at her curiously, "Why?"
"Erik, his mutation could strip the metal from most of Logan's bones," Marie told them quietly. "I wouldn't want to take it off his spinal cord and skull or claws, but the rest of him? I could do it." She bit her lip, "It would hurt like hell though."
"It hurt like hellfire going on," Logan told her with a shrug. "If you can pull it off most of me it'd be worth it." He glanced at his brother, "Could we use the extra metal to coat Vic's skull and spine?"
"They told me I wouldn't heal fast enough to put it on my bones," Victor shook his head.
"Yeah 'cause Stryker was known for full and honest disclosure," Logan snorted his opinion of that.
"Somethin' to think about," Marie shrugged. "Though I don't know how smart it would be to make both of you susceptible to Erik's mutation."
"Yeah," Victor nodded towards the eastern sky. "Think that's them."
Marie took a deep breath, "Okay."
Victor kissed her, hungry and tender, before he got into the driver's seat of the SUV, ready to drive it up the plane's ramp. Unknown territory, and a potentially hostile reception did nothing to quiet her nerves.
The plane's jets whipped her hair around her face and Marie held her hat onto her head with one gloved hand. For the first time in a long while she felt her control of her mutation stutter. "Get a hold of yourself girl," She took a deep breath. Logan gave her a puzzled look and she shrugged, "Nerves. My skin came back on for a minute. I've got it now but…"
"It's defensive," He nodded his understanding and wrapped a heavy stabilizing arm around her waist.
Finally, the plane landed, and the ramp lowered. The blue furred man, Beast, walked down the ramp, wearing the same black clothing, at his side a tall rangy man with a red visor over his eyes was similarly clothed. "Logan," Beast greeted him with a wide smile that Marie could see showed off fangs and white teeth. "Charles informed me that you and your pack will be staying with us for a while?"
"Yeah, got a little situation Chuck wants to keep an eye on," Logan nodded. "Vic's in the SUV, he gonna be able to get out of it once it's in the plane?"
"It'll be a squeeze, but I believe so," Beast nodded.
"Good, we'll do introductions when we're back on the ground," Logan didn't even look at the other man. Scott Summers, Marie remembered (well, remembered with Erik's prompting), codename Cyclops.
"I'll guide him on," Summers motioned the SUV forward and to give him credit, didn't even flinch when Victor had to gun the motor to get the tires out of the mud and grass. Half way to the plane it got mired down in the thick mud and Victor climbed out.
"Shit." He regarded the tires and the field.
"We could unload it, and see if lightening the weight helps?" Cyclops was saying.
"Oh don't worry about that sweetheart," Marie walked over to her big(er) man. "Honey, just climb back in and be ready to steer once you get the front wheels on the ramp. Four-wheel drive should take care of the rest." She glanced at Summers, "You'd better get back up there to guide him in."
"Uh…huh…" He gave her a skeptical look but went back up the ramp.
"You sure this is a good idea sweetness?" Victor muttered to her as he got behind the wheel again.
"No. I'm pretty sure it's a bad idea. But it's the best bad idea we've got," She shrugged. "And apart from needing a vehicle in New York, I don't want to leave it like a signpost sayin' 'covert exfiltration here'."
He chuckled and kissed her before closing the door. Logan and Beast were also shaking their heads and laughing quietly. Marie took a deep breath and drew on Erik's mutation, pulling the metal up until the tires weren't mired in the mud and glided it over the field an inch or so above the grass. She grimaced as the vehicle bounced slightly when she lowered it to the ground and gave it a nudge until the tires were on the ramp. "Okay honey, try it now."
Victor carefully began to drive the Navigator up the ramp and Logan came to her side and kissed her, "Darlin' you're gettin' better and better at that."
"Not the first time you've gotten stuck in the mud I take it," Beast smiled genially.
Logan smirked and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, walking with the furry mutant towards the plane. "Darlin's gotten us out of a couple tight spots," He nodded.
The inside of the plane was utilitarian but not completely uncomfortable. Marie settled into one of the seats that lined either side of the jet and smiled as Victor sat on one side and Logan on the other. Victor had the foresight to grab her duffle. "Thanks honey."
"Thanks for the push sweetness," Victor gave her another kiss and helped her do up the harness for the seat.
She couldn't see the cockpit from where she sat, but Beast moved past them towards it. "Hank designed the Blackbird," Logan explained. "He flies it better than anyone else."
Summers came back and sat across from them, his expression slightly puzzled as he regarded Marie, "So you are a mutant."
"Wasn't aware that mattered so much when it came to common courtesy," Marie drawled and raised an eyebrow at him. Dismissing him for the moment she removed her hat and began to take the pins out of her wig, carefully removing it and putting it in her duffle bag with the pins. Victor had already grabbed her brush and gently began to unravel the crown of braids on her head.
She'd kept the feral mutations they'd given her active constantly, until they nearly made a single entity, a feral of her own, even when the shadows of Logan and Victor were in their own room. Victor's fingers massaged her scalp and Marie couldn't help the purr that rose in her throat. "Honey that feels so good…"
"She's…" Summers had to be staring. Logan's warning growl on her right a reaction to the other man.
"Ours," Victor didn't quite snarl but his tension seemed obvious, to Marie anyway. His hands stayed gentle though as he began to brush out her hair until it hung over her shoulder, a long fall of dark auburn, streaked with two long thick locks of white.
"Trip shouldn't take too long the way this jet moves," Logan told them quietly. Marie nodded, nerves flicking her skin on and off and Victor kissed her head.
He hadn't been wrong. As the crow (or Blackbird) flew it only took a little under an hour for them to arrive in Westchester. Logan explained where the jet would land and then be lowered into an underground hanger. They'd drive the SUV out through a tunnel with a floor lift to a garage.
By the time they got their duffle bags out of the Navigator the white-haired Storm was waiting for them at the entrance to the garage. Marie considered the pile of luggage in the back and grabbed her purse along with the case she kept her jewelry in. "Want me to lock it sugar?"
"Don't know that you'd need to," Logan clicked the door locks. "Not any more than it is."
"How do you mean," Storm asked politely. "You have a secondary locking system?"
Marie shook her head and Victor stroked his hand down her hair, "Sweetness uses the mutation she has to mess with the locks, so it won't open even with the key. 'Course if someone's determined they'll just bust the windows."
"That shouldn't be necessary," Storm shook her head. "Professor Xavier would like to meet with you in person now that you're here."
"I know the way 'Ro if you got things to do," Logan swung his duffle bag over his shoulder and Victor grabbed his and Marie's while she carried her jewelry case. It was a conscious move on both their parts, Victor keeping his hands full, looking a helluva lot more harmless than he was, and Logan keeping his hands free. It would reassure the inhabitants of the school that Logan could keep Victor from attacking anyone. Marie rolled her eyes and Victor smirked at her as if he knew what she was thinking. He probably did. The man was uncannily observant.
Storm smiled, "Not at all. I'm happy to walk with you." She guided them through the doors and wood paneled old world hallways. They passed a few classrooms and other spaces that looked like family rooms.
"This place is huge," Marie murmured.
"Been in Chuck's family for a long time," Logan commented.
Victor chuckled, "Most of these old robber baron houses are crumbling away. Xavier's family was either good with their money or they learned to adapt and make their fortune in new ways."
"I think a little of both," Storm smiled. "Here we are." She stopped in front of a set of double doors, thick oak and old crystal doorknobs.
"Come in," A voice called from behind the doors, and Storm pushed them open for the visitors with a nod to the man behind the desk.
"Professor, I'll see you later," The white-haired woman waved them into the room before she closed the doors behind them. Marie tried not to imagine the click of the handles as ominous.
"Welcome," The urbane voice came from a man of indeterminate age, between forty and sixty Marie would guess, bald and with an aura of power surrounding him that had nothing to do with his physical body. He had what her mother used to call 'presence'. "Logan, it is very good to see you." He tilted his head, blue eyes shrewd as he regarded Victor and gave him a polite nod. "Sabretooth." And then those uncanny eyes turned on her and Marie instinctively stiffened the walls in her mind and kept her mental presence firmly behind them. "And this young lady can only be your mate."
Logan's hand rubbed between her shoulder blades, gentle over her stiff spine while Victor dropped his bag and his palm settled at the small of her back, "Sweetness, we won't let anything happen to you." Victor promised. "I don't care if I hafta gut Magneto."
"My dear, I assure you, no one here means you any harm," The Professor had no idea what he was saying.
Marie forced herself to take long deep breaths and pushed back the sudden heat of rage boiling through her. Unexpected, the desire to use Erik's mutation and Bryan's to throw everything in this room around like dice in a cup. This was the Charles whom Erik talked about, the one who could enter any mind, who'd taught Erik the way to focus but not what to do with that focus. The Charles who'd fought beside Erik but failed to convince him that violence wasn't the answer. "Are you certain of that," She couldn't banish the southern from her voice completely. "Can you possibly know that? Absolutely?"
"Yes, I can," He nodded firmly.
Marie almost laughed through her anger. "Really? Because the first time I came into contact with the people from your school, your X-Men, they didn't really show much concern for my well-being." Victor's lips pressed to her hair and Logan's throat constricted in a faint whine as they realized all over again how close they'd come to never knowing her. "They were worried about all those folks at the conference Erik was targeting but not me. I guess when you don't know someone's name they're an acceptable sacrifice." She shrugged, "Didn't sound like they even tried to help. Sure didn't look around after the explosion. Or they might have found me."
"Our mate was the girl in the machine," Victor said quietly. "The girl Magneto's lookin' for." He pressed a kiss to her hair, "She got a hit of my mutation, survived the blast, and the machine, and then hitting the water."
"He gave it to me," Marie anticipated Xavier's question. "Even with his mind half buried in blood and rage, he couldn't stomach Erik's henchmen beating on someone he considered a child."
"Changed me," Victor admitted, and she knew he truly disliked showing any weakness to this man who regarded him as an enemy but for her, to keep her safe, he'd do damn near anything. "Woke me up. Went and found my brother. Started to get my balance back."
"What did you do?" Xavier had a strange look in his eyes. A mental question of Erik revealed it as curiosity and worry, but worry about what? "How did you survive…"
"Alone?" Marie lifted an eyebrow sardonically, "The same way I had before Erik found me. Worked. Kept covered up. That far north gloves weren't uncommon. Met a telepath whose gift delved into the subconscious. Well, more like crashed into her and absorbed her mutation until we got untangled. With her help I started getting control of my skin. I worked and I kept moving."
"Why did you not come here," The telepath wondered. "We would have helped you."
"Well first of all, I didn't know any of you, or the people in black leather with red lasers coming out of their eyes," Marie pointed out. "And after they'd nearly killed me, even when I realized who they were, who they worked for, I wasn't really sure I'd be welcome."
"Why ever not," Now he simply looked surprised.
"Because Erik might have been your friend once but he's your enemy now and was when he put me up in that machine," She shrugged.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Confused, and she got the impression it was rare for him, and that he didn't care for the feeling. Well really, who did?
"Nobody ever really figured out how my mutation worked," Marie shook her head. "I mean, Erik figured I'd take in his mutation. Probably figured it out before I did. But what nobody else ever knew was that I get a carbon copy of every damn person I absorbed in my head. I get their mutation sure, but I get their thoughts, their history, their hopes and fears…and the longer I hold on the more I get. Erik made me hold onto him for a long time."
"Then Magneto… is… in your… mind," The lines of his forehead eased slightly even as the ones around his eyes deepened with concern. Easy to see on his face, the understanding of why she hadn't thought herself welcome at his school. And now it seemed that he might be just as cautious of her as he was of Sabretooth.
"Him, the Sabretooth, Wolverine, and about half a dozen others," Marie shrugged. "All nice and neat and fixed up in rooms with locked doors. They'll fade and die eventually if I don't engage with them, don't interact. A certain amount of communication is necessary if I'm gonna learn to use their mutation, but after that?"
"What do you learn from them," The Professor wondered, and she smiled coldly. With Erik's experience added to hers Xavier was easier to read. The slight tightening of his jaw, his mouth firming and the lines around his eyes getting even more pronounced. Wondering if she truly had control of those people in her head or it they'd begun to influence her. Was he actually talking to her or one of those other voices captured in her head? Did the Wolverine and Sabretooth truly know her or was their 'mate' a façade?
"I also get their nightmares." Logan's hand gripped her shoulder in silent support. "Erik…taught me chess, and German, and I got a close up look at a concentration camp." Her smile faded, "Living through that, I could almost understand why he was so desperate to make everyone a mutant. To make everyone the same on a cellular level."
"So you believed you wouldn't be welcome because of Erik," Blue eyes filled with sorrow even through the signs of suspicion she read so easily with Erik's help. "I would have helped you." It was likely that he was telling the truth, but she couldn't have known that then.
Marie shrugged again, "Doesn't really matter. I made my own way."
"Yes, you're a dancer," He was very careful to not put any inflection upon the profession at all. Even without a particular emphasis she got the impression that he didn't think much of it.
"Started out as a waitress, stripping got me more money and less grabbing, better all-around really, since back then my control was still iffy whenever I got freaked out," She drawled. "But I'm good at it. I earned enough to keep myself fed and sheltered. And I never had to whore myself out."
"Despite what Jean implied," Logan added tightly.
"I see," Xavier really didn't know what to say, that much was obvious. "If you'd like to keep your skills up, there is a dance studio next to the dojo, Logan knows where it is." He smiled, "Tomorrow Hank will want to do a medical workup on all of you. But you'll want some rest first. And I believe an old acquaintance wishes to greet you."
"Don't feel the need to interrogate me?" Victor picked up the bags he'd dropped.
"Sabretooth, you're very obviously in love with the young lady," Xavier half smiled. "For her sake I believe you will do your best to remain on friendly terms with the people here."
"You forgot one thing Chuck," Logan took Marie's hand.
"Have I," The man looked disturbed, though not by the nickname strangely enough.
"Her name," Marie could hear the roll of Logan's eyes in his voice.
"Oh my," Chagrin filled his face and voice. "So I have. My apologies. I am Professor Charles Xavier."
"Ya'll can call me Rogue," Marie smiled, she could be polite. "Only my men use my name." She smirked, "And when I'm on stage, people call me Magnolia."
"You're just tryin' to make me think of you in cuffs and heels aren't you darlin'," Logan murmured.
Marie giggled, wicked and sultry, "Why sugar, I don't know what you mean."
"Ah, that reminds me," Xavier held up a hand. "Might I ask your age Rogue?"
"You can ask," She pulled off her gloves and tucked them in the coat pockets considering the potential motivation behind the question. A quick consultation with Erik… Ah, Xavier wanted to make sure Logan and Victor weren't fucking a minor. "Got kicked out of the house and put up in a machine when I was fifteen years old. Met these two when I was eighteen…we've been runnin' around together for almost two years now I think honey?"
"It'll be two years next month," Victor grinned. "Gonna give us a special present for our anniversary?"
"Maybe I'll just dance for ya'll private like," She teased back.
"So, twenty," Xavier nodded. "Thank you. Polaris will show you to the guest suite you've been assigned until the cabin has been repaired."
Polaris (as Marie had suspected) turned out to be Lorna and her hair was longer than it had been but still green. She wasn't the babbling type but she did mention that she'd started to take ballet classes and loved how graceful it made her feel.
"There's a shop in town that sells dance gear if you need it," She tapped the door of the room. "This is you; Professor X says that someone'll come by in the morning and get you for breakfast then take you down to see Hank. Got a private bathroom and a little sitting area and bedroom. Dinner is in a couple hours and Storm mentioned Professor X and the rest of the staff will be dining privately in the small dining room and you're invited to join them."
"Thanks," Logan nodded though his expression suggested the dinner invitation wasn't exactly welcome.
"What is it sugar," Marie asked when Lorna had left with a friendly wave.
"Dining privately is like…" He frowned, "Not fancy but not cafeteria style either."
"Formal, like suits an' ties?" Victor carried their bags into the room and began to unpack the duffle bags.
"Like…nice but not neckties," Logan shook his head.
"Sugar, you want me to look?" Marie touched his hand and he nodded. With the mental defenses ferals tended to develop (and the metal encasing his skull) it was easier to use the telepathy she had if she touched them.
"Yeah, I really can't explain it."
A quick look into his mind and she chuckled, "I get it." She looked at Victor, "General atmosphere would be like…meeting the parents. So dress to impress without overdoing it and looking gauche."
"Got it," Victor frowned at the clothing in the bags. "We really don't have much in these besides work clothes and running clothes." Running meaning on the run, not a morning jog.
"We got a couple suits in the garment bag," Marie reminded him. "Since we were doin' hotels so much this past six months ya'll actually have a more extensive travelin' wardrobe." She took off the heavy fur coat and petted the sleeve after she hung it up.
"You remember what bags our stuff is in?" Victor asked as he stretched.
"Yeah," Marie nodded. "Sugar, you wanna escort me down to the garage and we'll grab the right cases?"
"I can do that," He smirked at her. "If you'll walk in front of me on the way back so I can watch those hips and ass."
She laughed and nodded, "Want me to put my heels on sugar?"
"Darlin' the day I turn down a chance to see you in heels is the day I'm too senile to appreciate the view," He grinned at her.
The trip down to the garage and halfway back was uneventful. They'd found the luggage with the nicer clothes for her men and Marie had grabbed one of her carry-ons she knew had fancy underthings and a complete outfit suitable for a dressy dinner.
On the way back though classes let out for the day and the halls became chaos. Marie stopped dead in her tracks and tried to keep her heart from beating in her throat and cutting off her oxygen. Thankfully Logan seemed to realize (her scent probably blazed with alarm) because he tugged her out of the hall and into a mostly empty classroom. "Breathe darlin', they're just kids."
"Sugar you know how long it's been since I was around teenagers," Marie leaned against him and took deep breaths.
"Well they're a pain in the ass but it's not like they're dangerous, much," He added as an afterthought.
"I don't…" Marie sighed. "Sorry sugar, I just don't have good memories of high school. And movin' around so much…you gotta admit, we don't exactly live a normal life."
"Fuck normal baby," He pressed a kiss to her lips and grinned when her mutation buzzed. "You oughta turn your skin on more often darlin', you touch me enough and I might be able to get drunk."
"I do hope you're not planning on imbibing in front of the students Logan," The dry question came from the front of the classroom where a tall curvy woman with black hair and gorgeous high cheekbones was currently working at the desk.
"Dani," Logan nodded to her. "They got you teachin' now?"
"American History," She nodded. "Coming to dinner tonight?"
"Yeah, just grabbing some 'appropriate attire' as Chuck would say," He chuckled.
"Sorry," Marie shook her head. "I can handle grabby drunks but a hallway full of teenagers throws me off my game."
"I threw up before class every day my first week teaching," The dark-haired woman winked at her. "Trust me, I understand." She looked at the clock, "The chaos should be dying down. You're safe to make your escape."
"Thanks Dani," Logan tossed her a grin and grabbed the suitcases. Taking a breath Marie did the same. Thankfully they got back to the room without any more incidents.
"Woman how do you keep getting prettier," Victor pressed a kiss to her cheek.
"They're called cosmetics honey," She laughed as she wound part of her hair back into a soft knot at her crown and let the rest of it fall down her back, then tugged a few tendrils loose to frame her face. The slender necklace and earrings would do nothing to hide her mating marks on her throat and the wide V-neck collar exposed her throat and collarbone completely. His eyes gleamed gold for a moment, seeing the emerald and diamond jewelry drawing attention to the claim marks on either side of her neck. His gaze dropped to her wrist where she'd wrapped the chain with his and Logan's tags like a bracelet.
"Nope, it ain't make up. It's you," He inserted the cufflinks into the sleeves of his shirt and buttoned the vest over it. "Jimmy, here, lemme give you a hand." Logan had agreed to wear a dress shirt, tailored to fit closely just as Victor's was, so long as he didn't have to wear a tie. The mark Marie had given him would remain fully exposed just like Victor's. What Logan hated were the cufflinks. He liked the look but getting them into the cuffs was an exercise in frustration.
Marie smiled and pulled on the mermaid tail skirt, pulling her blouse taut from below it and making sure everything would stay in place as she zipped up the back. The five-inch heels still wouldn't bring her up to Logan's height let alone Victor's, but they matched the emerald green skirt perfectly.
"Oh, Jimmy, I picked up that box you wanted while I was in the states," Victor tossed a small black velvet case to his brother.
"They finally got it done," Logan grinned like a little boy.
"What is it sugar," Marie admired the picture her men made, Logan's black slacks and burgundy black shirt made his hazel eyes brighter. He wouldn't ever get rid of his sideburns but he was good about shaving. Ever since he'd given her whisker burn and she'd winced sitting down until she called up his healing.
Victor had gone with a pristine white shirt, and dark grey suit that perfectly matched his eyes before the gold began to show through them. The suit jacket stayed on the hanger for a slightly more casual look. But as if to remind everyone that he was still the Sabretooth he'd left the five o'clock shadow unshaved. Marie had to admit she enjoyed the contrast between the unshaven jaw and the oh so civilized suit pants and vest. He put her in mind of old wild west drawings of cowboys duded up for the town social.
The two of them wouldn't wear dress shoes but they had cleaned up some of their boots until the black leather shone. Both her men still looked dangerous and wild, despite the veneer of civilized clothing. She wouldn't want them to change after all. She liked her mates the way they were.
"Just something we figured you'd like," Logan smiled at her. "C'mere." He sat on the edge of the bed and patted the mattress.
"Okay sugar," She sat and smiled when he took her hand. Victor, for once, didn't sit down on her other side, standing behind his brother.
"We know that this…bond we've got, the marks and our relationship, isn't somethin' you were brought up to think was right," Logan began, and she realized he was nervous. "And people give you a hard time about it."
"I don't care about other people; I care about my men. It's not traditional but this works for us, right?" Marie looked at the two of them in concern.
"Yeah baby, it works great for us," Victor reassured her gently.
"But we figured, even if we can't do a church ceremony, we could at least…" Logan opened the box and handed it to her. "We could get you a ring, to wear like a wedding set, three bands for the three of us, something beautiful because you're our center Marie."
She couldn't breathe for a moment, out of shock mostly. "Logan, Victor, it's beautiful…" She couldn't stop staring at it. Shimmering silver metal (platinum knowing her men), two slender diamond eternity bands and a pear-shaped diamond bigger than her thumbnail with a halo of smaller diamonds around it, set on a slender eternity band that twisted like ribbon.
Logan took it out of the box and held it for her, "Vic, c'mon, it's gotta be both of us."
His brother moved around him to help hold the ring. "It's got our names engraved inside, the date we met and something else." He showed her the inscription, a simple word on each band, 'today, tomorrow, always'. "Marie, sweetness," He glanced at Logan and gave her that wicked adoring smile she loved so much. "Think you could stand to marry us?"
Marie nodded, laughing softly, "Yeah, I think I could stand that. I love you two crazy ferals."
Logan sighed in relief and the two of them pushed the ring onto her left ring finger. "We love you too darlin'." Victor grinned at her and helped her up. Logan groaned, "So I guess we oughta go down to that dinner."
She would not be intimidated, Marie reminded herself firmly. The formally elegant 'small' dining room set with crystal, silver and porcelain was nothing more than a display. She knew how to behave like a lady even if the way she earned her living wasn't (strictly) ladylike.
She'd been seated between Victor and Logan, with the Professor on Logan's other side and Alex Summers next to Victor at a large oval table. Jean Grey, Storm, Beast and Cyclops sat across from them, the kind teacher Dani and another blue man next to Lorna and Alex.
"I hope your room is comfortable," The Professor inquired kindly. "I'm aware that Logan requires a certain amount of breathing room."
"It's lovely, thank you," Marie smiled. "The French doors lead to what I'm sure will be a beautiful garden in the spring."
"The doors to outside make it easier," Victor agreed drawing slightly shocked look from Cyclops and Jean. He glanced around the table, "Just to make sure I've got the names right." He nodded at Alex next to him, "Alex Summers, called Havoc. Lorna, an' she's Polaris." His gaze fell on the blue man, "Kurt Wagner? Nightcrawler right?" The man (who looked a lot like an elf) raised his glass in a silent salute. Victor half smiled, "You're Danielle Moonstar, go by Mirage," He addressed the teacher. "And then we've got Jean Grey, no callsign. Scott Summers, Alex's little brother, Cyclops. Ororo Munroe, the weather witch Storm. And Doctor Henry McCoy, Beast."
The Professor half smiled though his eyes were cautious, "You know all of us rather well Mr. Creed."
"Until our woman and Jimmy snapped me out of the…let's call it a haze, that I was in, I considered you my enemies," Victor told him flatly. "I might've been more rabid than not, but I still had a brain and no alpha worth his salt disregards a chance to know his enemy."
"Haze," Doctor McCoy regarded him thoughtfully. "When Storm encountered you five years ago she mentioned you seemed quite…animalistic."
Victor chuckled grimly, "That's the problem bein' feral." His hand gripped Marie's knee under the table and she covered it with her own in silent support. "Animals…they're pure. Instinct. Pack behavior. It's all ingrained. They just know what to do. It's the human part that fucks everything up."
"Man is the only animal who blushes, or needs to," Marie added softly. For a moment every pair of eyes at the table riveted to her as if astonished. Yes, she mentally rolled her eyes, the stripper is well read, try not to faint.
"I'm afraid I don't understand," Xavier regarded Victor expectantly.
"He's sayin' that animals don't have wars, don't rape, or murder, don't have all the crap humans call civilization," Logan's words held a low growl under them. "Mix a human's tendencies in with the animal instincts…"
"Then throw a feral into war after war with nothing but running and persecution in between," Victor continued. "Trying to make decisions to protect the pack, just to survive, until you can't even see the world for the haze of blood over your eyes."
"Until you're fighting your own pack, your family, because you've taught the animal that's the only way," Marie finished quietly.
"How do you break free of that," Doctor McCoy wondered. "It seems as if you would be caught in a vicious spiral downward."
"A shock," Victor gave him a grim smile. "Like realizing that you'd been part of killing an innocent fifteen-year-old kid, stood by and watched her get beaten bloody and blue, against every animal instinct. That's how low you've fallen."
"You were better than they were honey," Marie lifted his hand from her knee and pressed a kiss to his knuckles and claws, purring softly for him. "You touched me, deliberately gave me your healing, fed me so it would work." She smiled up at him, letting her love for him show in her eyes before turning her gaze towards the three X-men who, along with Magneto, had nearly killed her. Her smile chilled, "If he hadn't done that, I would be dead."
Interesting to see shock on three different faces. Storm's serene countenance crumbling with sorrow and compassion, "I'm so sorry. I tried—"
"We tried," Summers interrupted. "The machine wouldn't stop." He seemed to be steeling himself against further recriminations.
Marie nodded shortly, "Victor saved my life."
"Doesn't quite make up for bringing you to him in the first place," He muttered.
"How is it that Logan hadn't succumbed to the same difficulties," Jean's cool cultured voice inquired.
"Different upbringing," Logan gave her the short answer.
"Kinda emphasizes the nature versus nurture debate," Marie added. "Like I figured out that my skin was defensive, but my parents weren't demonstrative. And they taught me that it wasn't proper, wasn't right, to allow others to touch me. When my skin came on that attitude they'd instilled in me just kept it on. Took me the better part of a year and a half to figure out what the problem was and how to turn it off."
"And you have control of it now," The Doctor asked eagerly. "How does it work exactly?"
"Rogue explained it to me," Professor Xavier said quietly. "But perhaps it isn't the best subject for the dinner table."
"Logan you never did say how you met Rogue," Jean's syrupy sweet voice grated on Marie's ears. Victor's subvocal growled reinforced her aggravation with the red head. A glance at Logan told her that neither of her men were fooled by the elaborately saccharine tone.
"Nope," Logan chewed and swallowed before he continued. "I didn't."
"Perhaps Rogue will tell us," Jean smiled, cotton candy had nothing on the sugar in her voice. The others looked interested, the typical normal curiosity, but then they didn't exactly know what she did for a living. They probably thought it was some kind of 'meet-cute' like in rom-coms. Marie eyed her and then smiled widely, she had nothing to be ashamed of, she'd done nothing wrong. And she was grateful all over again for the experiences and mutations that let her read a room like this and get at least a general idea of the attitude of the people around her.
"Lorna mentioned that you're a dancer," Storm smiled. "Ballet, modern?"
Oh, the woman was either sweet or naïve, or both. Marie shook her head, her lips quirking dryly, "Exotic." Now the woman was shocked and slightly uncomfortable but at least she was polite about it. Marie's mouth quirked up in one corner and she winked at the white-haired woman, deliberately playing up her accent, "I should start by sayin' that to work in a club, you gotta be twenty-one. So I was sorta breakin' the law. But since I don't really drink I figured it was harmless enough. I had a good fake ID. And the white streaks kinda helped age me up some."
"A club," Dani tilted her head.
"A gentlemen's club," Marie clarified. "But bein' a waitress you get groped more often than not and you don't make much in wages or tips." Dani's eyes grew big, but she nodded her understanding. "I had control of my skin but being grabbed still unnerved me and sometimes I couldn't keep it off. I figured I wasn't making much as a waitress and asked about dancing."
She shrugged, "Dancers, they don't get grabbed much or if they do the bouncers throw the guy out, and I could wear stockings and garters, cover my legs so I didn't accidently hurt anyone. One of the women there, she'd been dancing a while, and she was pretty good, she helped me work up a routine. And she got me an audience, first the rest of the dancers and then when I was used to them, the bouncers and the owner. It's a competitive business so she really was being kind helping me."
"You weren't embarrassed," Lorna asked curiously. "I can't imagine it."
"Honestly, at first, yeah, very," Marie chuckled. "Even in front of the girls, I turned so red…but after a while you get used to it." She shrugged again, "It's muscle memory, and it's my skin, my body. I can do what I want with it so long as it's not illegal."
"Rogue was dancin' when we stopped in her club," Logan smiled down at her. "We couldn't believe it."
"You knew her," Storm smiled encouragingly.
"Not her name," He shook his head. "Just knew she was ours."
"Ours," Cyclops looked at them. "Wolverine, I never got the impression you were the sharing type."
"Two alphas, such as Sabretooth and Wolverine," Doctor McCoy hurried into the dead silence after that remark. "Normally would not. Normally could not even remain in each other's territory without fighting." He glanced at the two men in question as if to confirm that and got a short nod from Victor. "I suspect, though of course I cannot know with certainty, that Rogue keeps the peace between them."
"How does that work," Summers men apparently got awkward questioning as a dominant gene along with red energy blasts. Alex looked at the three of them curiously. "I mean, when you two busted us out of jail, I thought she was with Wolverine."
"Alex," Marie drawled. "Sweetie, I hope you aren't really askin' after our love life, at the dinner table no less." She concentrated on her meal as the older Summers brother flushed red.
"But how does it work," Cyclops was shaking his head. "You've got two ferals, both of them prone to violence, a tiny girl between them, and she's supposed to keep them from fighting over her? I'm sorry but that's just dangerous."
"Cutiepie," Her southern was coming out stronger with her irritation. "Ya'll can see our marks, claimin' each other. They ain't for show. I don't keep them from fightin' over me. I don't hafta."
"Because of our mate, we don't want to fight," Victor finished. "Not each other anyway," He glared around the table as if daring someone else to ask another question.
"Glad as we are to see you again Logan," Jean began again after they'd all eaten a bit more of the meal. "I must admit that I'm surprised. I was under the impression that you were pleased to see the back of us in Montana."
"Because I was," Logan's voice dropped to subzero temperatures. "You came onto our territory. Into our home. We didn't invite you. You were in our woman's club and made it obvious that you considered every woman in there beneath you."
"Well, honestly, that profession, if one can even call it a profession, doesn't exactly engender respect," Jean flicked her fingers dismissing that issue. Completely ignoring how offensive Rogue might find her statement.
"That profession," Marie stared at her. "I suppose you think that women become dancers because they're lazy and it's easy money. That they sell more than dancing because anything for a dollar, right?" The woman didn't respond, simply sipped her wine as if Marie was beneath her notice. There was something seriously wrong with the redhead, even her scent was strange, beyond the strong perfume.
Victor's growl and Logan's snarl filled the chilly silence and for once Marie wasn't sure she wanted to play peacemaker. "That," Logan snarled. "That attitude is what you brought into our home. The home you found because you snooped in my head the night before at the club."
Marie glanced at the Professor who was regarding Jean with disappointment, "An' there's the other reason we didn't think we'd be welcome. Wolverine held back, didn't spill a drop of her blood for the insult. Neither did Victor."
"Of the two I would've thought Sabretooth the greater danger," Scott Summers possessed the remarkable ability to remain calm in an uncomfortable situation. She could smell that everyone at the table was nervous due to the behavior of her men, but Cyclops didn't show it, no more than Xavier did.
"Jimmy's always been the hothead of the two of us," Victor replied evenly.
"Jean, I do think you and I need to talk," Xavier said quietly though his voice was no less firm for its lack of volume.
Author's Note: Sooo...now we know why Magneto wants Marie. And they're all at the school now. What do we think?