Disclaimer: The usual. Own nothing, no money from this, Fox et al.

Author note: This is the second revision of this chapter, which took far too long to write. There are some other fic's in the work that are consuming some time/interest

Story note: A bit more senseless fun with Max and Logan. I promise that next chapter, or maybe the one after, will be more exciting.

Special thanks: Milla the beta, for her fantastic work. And to all the persons that review, it's just super of you.

Coffee Tables and Cereal

Having just dropped Bling off, Logan and Max were heading back to his apartment, Logan still full of beans from his run while Max was re-reading the invitation.

"It says formal. What am I going to wear?" she asked, looking at Logan a little worried.

"The red dress," Logan replied with a small smile. It wasn't a suggestion, or a question but a fully blown statement; a directive even.

"Really?" Max asked amused, giving him a funny look.

"Yep. I mean now that you own it, you might as well give it some sort of use. Anyway, since when have been concerned with that sort of thing? Not getting all girlie on me are you?" Logan joked, turning his attention back to the sector checkpoint they were approaching. Max bristled slightly at Logan's statement, since she was beginning to think she had become girlier recently with Logan, and she thought he liked it. That wasn't the problem however; the problem was her tough girl image was beginning to slide.

Several minutes later an uncomfortable silence had filled the car, Logan looked over to Max and noticed her fidgeting slightly, quite clearly confused and a bit miffed.

"What's up Max?" He questioned tentatively, still trying to maintain the light playful tone of before.

"Nothing." Max gave a short sharp reply, which caused Logan to reel slightly, as there was something quite clearly 'up'.

"Come on. I know you well enough to know when there is something up with you. Share," Logan said warmly, reaching out and giving Max's thigh a gentle squeeze. She may have been getting better with looking at him and retaining some conscious thought, but there was no way she would be able to hold up against the gentle thigh squeeze. Max grabbed his hand and gave it a firm, reassuring squeeze.

"Nothing," she replied far more calmly and satisfactorily. Logan, however, still didn't believe her.

"Come on Max. It's me," he probed again more firmly.

"Nothing. So would you just drop it?" Max replied sharply. Logan could swear he heard the masonries getting back to work.

The trip continued in an awkward silence and Logan could feel the anger starting to radiate from Max; she was clearly pissed big time with him for something and stewing on it quite healthily.

"So when is this thing on?" Logan asked casually, desperately trying to get back into a conversation with Max.

"Wednesday," came the reply, far too snappy and short for his liking.

"So, think you can make Wednesday night free?" he joked, but couldn't help slide the pleading tone from his voice.

"Maybe," Max replied, sounding distant and tired with the subject. This did not bode well for Logan, he felt. The remainder of the car ride consisted of Max staring absently out of the window, with her body twisted away from him, and Logan nervously glancing at Max every few minutes. Finally they arrived back at Fogle Towers and parked in the usual place. Logan grudgingly alighted from the car and started to slowly make his way over to the lift. He was dreading greatly the prospect of being stuck in that confined space with an angry Max for what would undoubtedly be very long minutes. He had come to be halfway between the car and the elevator when he heard a slight scuffling behind him. Turning, he saw Max rolling her bike from behind Logan's car. Apparently he had blocked her in, to which he received a very menacing look. He stood back raising his hands into the air slightly to apologise, which he realised might only inflame the situation. Logan breathed a small sigh of relief when Max simply locked her bike and then headed over to the lift. He hurriedly made his way over, hopping not to anger Max anymore, but when he looked up he could tell it was already too late by the way she had her arms crossed tightly in front of her and was tapping her foot furiously.

The lift doors opened and Logan took a deep gulp; it was confrontation time.

"Okay, Max. What the hell is going on?" Logan asked forcefully as he turned on her.

"Nothing Logan, just drop it," Max retorted sharply, giving him a quick dark look then concentrating on the lift doors as they closed them in.

"Oh no, it's not," Logan continued, getting a little agitated as he backed Max into a corner of the lift. Max was surprised with Logan's movement, since he had never done anything like this before. Then on recollection she had only known him in the wheelchair basically, and that was not really an implement to back someone into a corner with. She came to a sudden and abrupt halt as her back hit the corner of the lift, with Logan still moving closer until he was only a few inches away. Max's expression darkened and her eyes narrowed. 'Oh great, so threatening doesn't work, maybe flattery.' Logan considered, seeing the sudden change in Max's stance and facial features.

"You don't want a cornered X-5 on your hands Logan," Max warned through semi-clenched teeth, coiling slightly ready to spring.

"No. A cornered Max, though, is just what I want," Logan replied tersely. Max's eyes snapped to his and widened slightly. 'What the hell is he talking about?' she thought, panicking slightly with this new situation.

"I'm an X-5, Logan," she said sharply, twitching slightly with the stopping of the lift. Logan clearly rolled his eyes, then turned and walked slowly to his half-door.

"You are always Max first," he said so quietly it was almost imperceptible. Max shook her head; she wasn't really angry with Logan anymore – confused maybe but not too angry – since it had been a fairly trivial event that she had once again blown out of proportion. She swore that no matter how hard she tried, a little bit of Lydecker was in there, trying to ruin her chance at a healthy and normal relationship. Besides, as good as she was at putting up walls around herself; it appeared that Logan was equally gifted at knocking them down. She was now utterly bewildered, and shook her head dramatically, hair flopping all over her face.

"Ow!" Logan yelped loudly, and proceeded to jump around with his finger stuck firmly in his mouth. An entertained Max made her way slowly over to the cavorting Logan, placing a gentle hand on his bouncing shoulder in an attempt to calm him. The effect was astounding, and not only did his frantic pained mumbling cease; he stopped jumping around and stood completely still, shoulders falling into a relaxed slump. Logan turned and smiled at Max weakly, clearly embarrassed.

"Splinter," he said by way of quite a pathetic explanation, before his finger retreated back into his mouth. Max gave him her best patronising smile, before putting on her favourite teasing tone.

"Oh Logie. Did that mean old lump of wood hurt you?" Logan noticeably flinched when she said his name, and he quickly raised his hand.

"Don't call me Logie,"

"Why not? Logie," Max questioned playfully.

"Probably the same reason you wouldn't want me calling you Maxie," Logan said pointedly, but so sickly sweet that Max cringed. Max's smile quickly turned to a frown. The name 'Maxie' was mainly used by Zack, so hearing it come from Logan was quite an unpleasant shock.

"Okay. Point taken," Max said. In reply Logan just nodded his head, since his finger had once again taken up residence in his mouth.

"Give me that," Max directed as she grabbed Logan's hand, pulling his finger from his mouth.

"What are you going to do?" Logan asked, clearly scared.

"Firstly, I'm going to get all your slobber off it," Max explained, grabbing the hem of Logan's shirt and using it to wipe his finger. Logan yelped a bit when she did this.

"You really are a baby, Logan," she scolded as she brought the finger closer to her face so she could better study the alien object.

"What are you going to do, Max?" Logan asked again, voice slightly shaking.

"Trust me, it will be all better in a second," Max said, still gazing at the splinter. She then slowly brought Logan's finger to her mouth, and started to gently graze her teeth over the surface until she felt the offending lump. Logan's eyes bulged, his throat dried, and he could feel his knees quickly weakening. That is, until Max's tooth hit the splinter and caused a shot of pain to run through his finger and apparently straight to his vocal cords, which let out a very un-masculine squeal. Max's eyes darted to his, and then rolled in an exasperated manner, teeth still working on his finger. Logan quickly forgot the pain, and couldn't quite understand how he remained standing when he felt Max's warm, soft tongue gently nudging his digit into place. Surely splinters were the most heavenly of inflictions. All too soon Max was standing with the offending slither of wood in hand and a pleased look on her face. All Logan could do was stand there with his mouth agape.

"U-uh, thanks," he mumbled, still clearly dazed and completely lost.

"No big dealio," Max replied sweetly, before walking into his apartment. When she was gone Logan slowly blinked out of his stupor before bending to run his hands over the lump of wood again. For the life of him, and much to his great disappointment, he could not acquire another splinter.

Max headed to the kitchen and jumped up onto her regular counter. Even though she'd eaten a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter, she was hungry; it was, after all, lunchtime. Logan walked into the kitchen carrying his lump of door, having not given up completely on the idea of getting another splinter, and looked at Max questioningly. He placed the wood on the tabletop and continued to look at Max.

"What? I'm hungry," Max explained simply, giving Logan a small smile.

"So you're my friend when you want something to eat?" Logan asked, heading to the fridge.

"Damn straight," Max replied, hopping off the counter and leaning across Logan – who was in the depths of his fridge doing the 'hunter and gatherer' bit – to retrieve the red cordial. Logan started to throw items over his shoulder quite haphazardly, in the assumption Max would be catching them, and since there were no thuds of cheese or ham hitting the floor he guessed he was right. He turned to find all the ingredients lined up neatly, with an expectant Max at hand sipping a glass of the bright ruby fluid. He began to busy himself with the various condiments, until he had produced two bulking sandwiches of magnificent awe. Just as he was closing the last sandwich, Max grabbed it and began to chew.

"Hey! I didn't say you could do that," Logan exclaimed, whilst making a desperate and quite fruitless grab for the defiled, yet still splendid, club. Max just looked at him, daring him to try and part her with her food. He gave up, throwing his hands in the air.

"Your loss," he partially explained as he turned and placed his sandwich in the microwave, zapping it ferociously for several seconds. Max's nostrils were assaulted with an incredibly wondrous aroma as Logan extracted his steamy lump of bread and melted cheese from the microwave, and quickly dumped it on a plate. She looked down at the nearly entirely devoured morsel she held, and saw an inferior and lesser sandwich in hand and was quite disappointed with her lack of patience. Logan saw Max's face droop when she observed the splendorous effects a microwave had on this particular concoction of bread, ham, cheese and a myriad of other secret ingredients.

"Fine," Logan said defeated, looking at Max's deep pout and incredible upset expression on her face. He was immediately reminded of a small child, who was bestowed with an ice cream only to witness its sudden, and unexpected, descent to the dirty ground below. He cut his serving and presented Max with half a portion. Her face lit up in such glittering magnificence, that he was again reminded of his small child with the lost ice cream who, after losing the ice cream, was presented with a larger one, and this time in a container. Logan considered giving Max the remaining half of his melted sandwich, just so he could once again observe her gloriously glowing response, had he not been starving himself.

"Thanks Logan," Max mumbled with full mouth and between bites. Logan chuckled slightly and then downed the remainder of his sandwich. He walked to his cupboard and retrieved a box of cereal, which he began to chew on absently as he walked around the apartment. Max stalked after him, eyes firmly attached to the bounty in his hands, and ready to pounce at the first sign of opportunity. Maybe it was Logan coming to know her, or he was in fact a superior tactical planner, because Max didn't see a chance at the food the entire time. Well, not a chance that would leave Logan standing. He continued to slowly traipse around his apartment, until he came to the door of his computer room. Looking in he had the sudden urge to check out what was going on, and how many messages and alerts he had. Max observed Logan looking at his computer with a strange sense of longing, which she could only half comprehend.

"You can check your stuff if you want Logan," she said, making her way up behind him, but more importantly the box of cereal that apparently went unnoticed in his hand. Just as she was almost on him, he turned, box shifting position to his chest, where he dug his hand in some more for the dried breakfast confectionary – Max had noticed it was a form of sugary, brightly coloured cereal.

"No. I said I'd spend time with you this weekend. And there is a whole half-day of it left," Logan said, turning to look at Max with a small smile covering the disappointment that his urge to check his computer would not be fulfilled. He was beginning to believe everyone who told him he spent too much time on that thing. Logan walked out of the room and back toward the lounge area. Max stilled for a moment, and then checked that her photos were still in place before heading out after him.

Logan sat on the couch staring out the large windows, with cereal in lap munching on it happily.

"Hey," Max said lightly as she dropped next to Logan on the couch, sprawling in a traditional cat-like nature.

"Hey," Logan said distantly, still staring out the window with his arm now making predictably timed returns to the box in his hand. Max smiled mischievously and when Logan's hand had just left the box with a fist full of crunchy sugary bits, Max grabbed it and hopped up. Logan didn't notice until his hand reached down for some more food only to find air and eventually his own stomach.

"Hey. Give that back," Logan said, when he finally realised that the box was now with Max who was standing at the edge of the couch watching him, and chewing on cereal.

"I don't think so," Max said cheekily, digging her claw in once more for another handful. She wasn't sure if it was surprise or the fact that she was stuffing her mouth full of food, that she didn't realise Logan was up from the couch and charging at her. For the rest of her life she would deny it, but Logan was there and he witnessed it, even though he was sworn to secrecy by serious threats to vital parts of his anatomy, but Max squealed like a little girl, turned tail and fled from him. They ran through the apartment for a few minutes, leaving a trail of cereal wherever they went. Max laughing and occasionally squeaking, as Logan got closer – only because she let him – until he managed to corner her in his room. Max looked at him playfully, grasping the near empty cereal box in her hand. Logan was breathing heavily from his exertions, and reminded himself that chasing Max around, even in a playfully manner, was hard work. A wicked grin came to Logan's face as he eyed Max standing nervously in front of him with a twisted smile.

"Don't hurt me," Logan said, just before he lunged through the air straight at a very surprised Max. She quickly beat her instinct into submission so she didn't end up kicking Logan out of the air, which left her completely preoccupied, and she only had her senses back when Logan's arms were just beginning to wrap around her shoulders as his momentum lifted her from her feet slightly. Logan twisted through the air so Max would end up landing on him, not taking the brunt of the landing. Even though she was stronger and tougher than him, he was always going to try and protect her; it was something that couldn't be helped, it just happened. Eventually they came to a bouncy landing on Logan's bed, accompanied by a cracking noise. They were still all of two seconds before the cracking noise made itself known in the form of the bed breaking in two, and collapsing to the floor. They both scuffled off the bed in a process made considerably harder by the manner in which it had conked out, causing the mattress to swallow them, and surveyed the pathetic sight. Logan let out a sad whimper and bent down to pat the mattress slightly; Max gave him a very funny look.

"Oh, you've been with me a while," Logan sighed, straightening to stand next to Max as they both looked at the very dead bed.

"Logan, you're talking to a bed," Max stated, sure that Logan had finally lost it.

"I've had this bed for sixteen years. It's been good to me. Some good memories," Logan explained in a distant voice, but seemingly happy with various recollections.

"Do I fit into that category?" Max questioned playfully. Logan looked at her and smiled, then raised his hand so it was horizontal and just above his head height in front of him.

"You're about here," he explained, swaying his hand slightly to enforce the fact. Then he slowly lowered his hand until it was just below his waist.

"The rest… down here somewhere," he chanced a quick smile toward her before looking back at his bed.

"You're damn right I am," Max said through a large smile, nudging Logan slightly with her shoulder.

"A little confident aren't we?" Logan asked playfully, momentarily forgetting his stricken bed.

"Genetically engineered perfection, remember?" Max replied triumphantly with a smirk. In response Logan returned a smirk of his own, and a small smile that made it appear he was hiding something.

"What? How many genetically engineered super-soldiers have you had?" Max asked turning to him and swatting his chest, where her hand remained. Logan grabbed her hand then brought it to his mouth to kiss her fingers.

"Don't worry. You're the most recent," he said with a mischievous smile, as he turned and started to walk out of the bedroom. He stopped when he heard the disbelieving response from Max.

"What?"

"Well how do you reckon I was able to pin you to Manticore so easily from just seeing your barcode? Maybe I ran into one of your sisters a little while ago," Logan suggested with an air of mystery surrounding him as he walked out the bedroom door. Max stood there stunned for a few seconds. Surely Logan would have told her if something like that had happened, but then she considered that Logan wouldn't have told her exactly for that reason. Just as she was considering the thought of busting his chops over this, he stuck his head back in the doorway.

"I'm kidding, Max," he said with an infectious smile. Max felt a little silly, of course he was kidding.

"I knew that," she snapped rather defensively. Logan just smiled at her knowingly before heading back to the lounge.

When Max emerged from the bedroom she found Logan sitting on the couch reading a pamphlet. She plopped down next to him depositing the empty box of cereal on the coffee table in front of them.

"Watcha doing?" she asked as she began sucking the sugar off her fingers.

"Looking for a new bed, since you broke my last one."

"Me? You were the one that tackled me onto it," Max retorted incredulously.

"Well whatever. I need a new one now," Logan replied, smiling to himself.

"Yeah, that one had an annoying squeak in it," she agreed with him, and then leant over him a little so she could look on at the pamphlet. Logan's smile doubled when Max spoke about the faulty bed, seeing as she had now been in it.

"So what are you looking for?" Max asked, snapping Logan from his pleasant daydreaming.

"Oh… ah something bigger, that's for sure," Logan said, haphazardly pointing to one of the beds in the brochure. Max wrinkled her nose and looked at Logan with a disbelieving looking on her face.

"Yuck."

"Well obviously not that one. I was just showing you the general size," Logan then flipped through some more pages.

"How about this one?" he asked, pointing to another bed, which he thought was far nicer.

"You have got to be joking. Remember the models don't come with the bed," Max said, again amazed at Logan's apparent bad taste in bedroom furniture, whilst addressing the fact that there happened to be a scantily clad woman splayed across it.

"Fine. I won't get one. I'll just sleep in the guest room for the rest of my life," Logan replied in defeat, throwing the pamphlet on the table.

"No, we'll go bed shopping tomorrow," Max said, picking up the brochure to go through herself.

"It's a date," Logan said, smiling at Max warmly. She turned to him and nodded slightly, a pleased look on her face.

"What are you going to do with that old mattress?" Max asked after a small while.

"Throw it out, I guess. I'll have to arrange something,"

"I'll take it." Max jumped at the opportunity quite eagerly.

"Max, it's just an old stained mattress," Logan said, a little stunned that she wanted it.

"Beats the hell out of my three-inch thick piece of foam," Max explained, already deciding how to arrange the large mattress in her limited bedroom.

"Good, that gives us something to do this afternoon then," Logan said, comforted with the thought of having something more to do than just sitting around, since he had run out of plans and was worried Max might become bored. Of course there was one thing he could think of to take up the time, but it was far too un-gentlemanly to suggest.

"Wait a minute. Don't you have work tomorrow?" Logan asked, suddenly realising that their bed shopping date probably wouldn't happen now.

"That's what lunch break and being held up at sector checkpoints are for," Max explained, still rifling through the brochure.

Logan got up and headed to his room, returning a few minutes later dragging the mattress behind him. He propped it up against the wall and surveyed the damage from the red cordial. Thankfully it was quite minimal, as it appeared the greater quantities had ended up on himself and Max, so it wouldn't require any serious cleaning. He moseyed over to Max – with the occasional crunch as he stepped on a piece of cereal – who happened to still be buried in the depths of the pamphlet.

"You want to get the mattress to your place now?" he asked casually, sitting down again next to Max, and dropping his hand on her knee. Max was momentarily taken off guard when his hand rested on her leg, and so she looked at Logan a little panicked and a little scared. He quickly removed his hand and felt quite silly.

"Sorry," he mumbled, clearly embarrassed. Max had slipped into such a familiar rhythm with Logan that she had mislaid the fact they were like that now, and it was completely acceptable for her to want him to do that sort of stuff. She noticed that Logan was shifting nervously now, and looked like he was about to get up and leave.

"Don't. I'm sorry. It's just new… you know? Doesn't really seem real," Max said, placing her hand on his thigh to quell his movements. Logan smiled at her sheepishly, still a little embarrassed with her reaction to his touch. Max knew he wasn't quite comforted with her words; she sure as hell wouldn't be if the situation were reversed.

"I've just wanted something like this for so long, and now that it's happening, it's kinda hard to believe," Max said quietly as she flung the pamphlet onto the coffee table and rose to her knees on the couch beside Logan. She then spun around, and straddled him, pinning him in place on the sofa. He was feeling more nervous now, which really bugged him and didn't seem to make much sense since he had spent the last few days rolling around naked with this girl, so his hands remained passive on either side of him resting anxiously on the lounge.

"I'm sorry about before. I do like it when you touch me like that," Max gestured to where she had been sitting, referring to his touch. Logan was amazed that she could be over him like she was and yet they still weren't touching. 'Well that's something that needs changing,' he thought, considering Max's words. He started to lift his hands off the couch when he was interrupted by Max.

"I'm not that repulsive am I?" Max questioned half seriously, and then before Logan could react, she grabbed his hands and placed them firmly on her waist.

"I suppose not," he replied with a sly grin, sliding a hand up her back until it rested under her hair across her barcode. He pulled her down to him and when their lips were a few millimetres away, all of Max's hair cascaded over her shoulders around Logan's face, truly creating a world of their own.

About an hour and some serious tonsil hockey later, they lay intertwined on the couch in the most bizarre of fashions. They couldn't really said to be on the couch, since their legs were the only parts resting on it. The main portions of their bodies were wrapped together under the low coffee table in a very intricate knot. Max was half lying across Logan's upper-half, and she had her hand under his shirt resting on the bare skin of his chest. Logan pinned delightfully under Max and had his hand under her shirt, unfurled across the small of her back.

"Well, I'll never be able to sit in this room again without smiling like an idiot," Logan stated happily, raising his lips to Max's for a delicate peck.

"That's what coffee tables are for. Hiding under and making out," Max said lazily. They had both agreed that earlier was pretty understandable since they had been living in denial for so long, it was pretty easy to slip back into the old ways. Their decision was to just ignore it if it happened again, and then 'kiss and make up', which had been Max's exact – and fairly adamant – words.

"I'm thirsty," Max stated happily, then begun to unwind herself from Logan. Five minutes later they were standing once more – Logan had been most uncooperative in untangling himself from Max – and headed to the kitchen. They grabbed their red cordial, and then went to see about getting the mattress into Logan's car. It took them forty minutes to get the mattress in the car. Forty minutes. A genetically engineered super-soldier and a man who consider himself to be a fairly lateral thinker, and that was the best they could do. When Logan had made his last bad joke about it being a good thing it wasn't a life or death situation, Max had finally lost it. So against Logan's greater warnings that folding the mattress into four even pieces would damage all the internals, Max just gave him a dark look, stuffed it in the back of the car and then dusted her hands and headed back to the lift. As they waited for the lift to get back down to them, Logan grabbed Max's hand, instantly melting her bad mood.

"A lot better than the last trip up," Logan commented warmly as the lift slowly started its ascent.

"Oh, I don't know. I kind of like it when you're all assertive and authoritarian like," Max commented playfully.

"Really?" Logan asked, as he turned on her, backing her into the corner of the lift. She just smiled innocently at him when her back hit the wall and she couldn't retreat anymore. Her response was wrapping her arms around his neck and drawing him toward her.

Max had just finished consuming another melted cheese and ham concoction, being conscious enough to wait until Logan said she could have it this time, and was washing her hands when she noticed the time.

"I think we better get that mattress over to my place now," she said as she emerged from the kitchen to find Logan looking at the bed brochure again.

"I don't see what's wrong with this bed," was his reply, not looking up.

"You really do have a thing for that girl don't you," Max chided. Logan just looked at her blankly, then went back to observing the beds. He really did like that bed.

"How about this? When you get your new bed, and after I have approved it, I might wear practically nothing like your girl there, and sprawl myself across it in a similar fashion." The pamphlet fell from Logan's shaking hands to the ground, entirely forgotten. He looked at her and she could tell he was trying to speak but all he could do was open and close his mouth several times. 'Gee, flabbergasted is a cute look,' Max thought as Logan continued to look at her and gape a few more times, with a steadily increasing grin threatening to split his face in two. She couldn't believe how excited he looked; it was truly amazing and resulted in her face forming an equally substantial – if not slightly embarrassed – grin. Logan then got up and ran to his computer, sliding around the place in his excited rush and sending the cereal detritus on the floor in all new directions.

"What the hell are you doing?" Max asked as she followed after him.

"Research for this bed shopping expedition. Have to find all the good shops so we can get that bed back here as soon as possible," he explained turning to her and giving a cheeky smile. Max smiled and shook her head slightly. He was still a male underneath it all.

"Come on, Logan, we need to get that thing into my room soon. 'Cause this weather isn't going to last forever, and I don't like our chances of getting it from your car to my place without getting filthy, if it's going to start raining on us." Logan just gave her a 'mmm' and continued to flick through the various bed-ware sites, not making any perceptible signs of moving.

"You know, I need to make sure it works and everything once it's in," Max said suggestively, this time gaining Logan's attention. He looked at her questioningly. Max had a small triumphant smirk, but smiled at him even more suggestively raising an eyebrow slightly. Five minutes later Logan was in his car following Max – who had still managed to grab the photos – over to her place.