A/N: In order to avert confusion, I am going to say this: Ayame and Genevieve are the same person. For those of you who have read some of my other stuff, where Logan had a wife named Genevieve I would like to say that Ayame is that same person, she just went through a name change. I would also like to put here that I had wonderful help from my amazing beta reader who has asked to not be named but I still want to thank her! Thank you (you know who you are!) Anyway, hope you guys like this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wolverine or any of the X-men and Ayame belongs to a good friend of mine who is letting me use her character.

Chapter One: Meeting

The back door that led into the kitchen swung open and a man walked in out of the rain.He was thoroughly soaked. Water ran in a miniature river off the brim of his cowboy hat and assorted other places, making little puddles on the floor. His black jeans were mud splattered, as was his flannel shirt and jean jacket.

He slammed the door behind him, shutting out the storm once more, and walked into the middle of the room, removing his cowboy hat and tracking mud with his dirty boots.

" Flamin' weather." He grumbled, trying to shake water off the hat as two women entered the room.

" This is the kitchen and…" The red head trailed off, seeing him. " Oh, Logan, look at this mess. And look at you! You're going to give our newest member a bad impression, tracking mud all over the floor I just cleaned!" Jean scolded, placing her hands on her hips and giving him a disapproving look.

" Newest member?" He looked up from his drenched hat to see the woman standing beside Jean.

She was average height for a woman…that meant she was about eye-level with him, as he was short for a man. Her features had a distinct Asian cast, with the way her soft, doe-brown eyes slanted delicately upwards. Her shining black hair was long and completely straight. Most intriguing of all, she wore no perfumes or anything definably artificial, but there was a freshness about her scent that teased his heightened sense of smell. Jean was still babbling on about the mess but Logan had tuned her out almost as soon as she'd started talking. All of his attention was focused on the new girl.

" I'm Ostrama Ayame." Logan nodded. True to Japanese custom, she'd introduced herself by using her last name first. She also had a faint trace of an accent, which, together with the way she'd introduced herself, marked her as an immigrant. If she'd been born here, she would have used her first name first.

He attempted to wipe the mud off his hand but gave up after a few seconds and took hers.

" I'm Logan. Pleased ta meet ya." He grunted, shaking her hand then withdrawing his own.

He locked eyes with Ayame for a moment then placed the cowboy hat back on his head and turned to Jean with a sigh.

" Look, Jeannie, I'll clean it up later. Right now I gotta' take a shower."

He bent and removed his filthy boots,tossing them over on the floor by the back door, earning him a frustrated sigh from Jean as he did so. A sigh he ignored.

" It was nice meetin' ya." Logan said, giving a brief nod to Ayame as he exited the kitchen.

Half an hour later, Logan emerged from his steamy bathroom, wrapped in a towel and feeling much refreshed. He toweled off and started to change as he found his thoughts drifting back to that new girl. There was something about her, something indefinably intriguing. He also couldn't seem to forget about that scent that was unique only to her.

Shaking his head to clear Ayame out of his thoughts wasn't helping. Grabbing a fresh set of clothes from his drawer, he dressed quickly, grabbed his keys and helmet and hurried out to the garage.

He reached it in a matter of minutes and was surprised when his sensitive nose caught Ayame's scent amongst that of oil and gas. He entered the garage to see her slowly circling his bike, nodding approvingly.

" Ya like it, darlin'?" Logan asked, leaning against the door frame, his helmet under his arm and keys dangling from his fingers.

Ayame turned to face him and those soft pools of brown that were her eyes captured him again. She didn't speak for a moment but held his gaze then said,

" Yes, it's a very nice bike. I haven't been for a ride on one like this in a long time."

There was the merest hint of longing in her voice as she spoke and she absently traced her fingers over the handlebars.

Logan noticed both of these things. His mouth took over before his brain could stop him and he found himself saying,

I could take ya fer a ride, if ya like."

Ayame smiled. The smile lit up her face and Logan's mouth went dry as his knees melted. He cleared his throat, put the bone back into his knees and walked over to her.

She was radiating joy and she looked almost childishly excited as he approached.

" That's so nice of you, but really, you don't have to." Ayame spoke out of courtesy, but Logan could tell she really wanted to go for a ride.

He shrugged. " Don't worry about it. It's no trouble. Now, I know we got a spare helmet 'round here somewhere."

He put his own helmet down then searched for the spare. He found it a couple seconds laterand handed it to Ayame. She took it from him. As she did, her hands brushed his and a feeling, like a jolt of electricity, shot through Logan. They were so close together that now her scent was overwhelming and all he could think about was her in his arms, her soft lips against his.

Logan roughly pulled himself back to reality. Get a hold o' yerself. Yer actin' like some lovesick pup. Shaking his head and climbing onto the bike, Logan suddenly realised Ayame had been talking to him.

" What's that, darlin'?"

Ayame smiled as she climbed on behind him. " I was thanking you for offering to take me on your bike."

Logan nodded, inwardly cursing himself for an idiot as he pulled his helmet on. Ayame did the same and wrapped her arms around his waist. This sent a small chill up Logan's spine and he had to force himself not to shiver.

He started up the bike, revved the engine then said, "Hold on tight, darlin'." Before she could respond, he tore out of the garage at what Scott would have called a reckless speed. Ayame, however, just shouted with laughter, and Logan grinned.

The sun was out now and there was no trace of the storm that had dumped buckets of rain on him earlier. The roads were still slightly wet but not so much that Logan had to slow his usual speed. They raced down the highway and he was distracted from the road ahead by her excited, joyful laughter behind him. He was also extremely conscious of the body snuggled against his back and the warm arms wrapped around his waist. He deliberately took the long road out and back to prolong the sensation.

The sun was just beginning to set when Logan finally pulled into the garage. Turning the key and killing the engine he waited for Ayame to get off.

She removed her arms from around his waist and Logan had to resist the wild urge to grab them and keep her where she was. He suppressed it firmly and swung off the bike. As he took his helmet off and turned to Ayame, he found himself once again dazzled by her. She had just taken off her helmet and the long black waterfall of her hair cascaded out, framing her face for one heart-stopping instant. Her face was flushed with a rosy tinge of excitement and her eyes sparkled with joy as she looked at him.

Logan remembered to breathe, took the helmet for her and returned it to its former place, using the time to try and get himself completely under control. By the time he turned around, he was back to his usual gruff self and the hot flush had left her face. She still looked slightly pink though and he liked the way it highlighted her honey-gold cheekbones and eyes. " Thank you," she said.

" Fer what?" He was surprised.

" For taking me out. I had a Harley like this, once, a long time ago, but I had to sell it, and I hadn't realized how much I missed it until I saw yours." She caressed the handlebars gently. " Being on it, with you…was like being on mine again. I miss my baby." She sounded wistful.

Logan grinned. " An' other guys say a girl can't get attached ta' a piece o' metal." Most girls couldn't; but Ayame was something special. It wasn't something Logan could put his finger on; but she was, in some inexplicable, indefinable way.

Ayame grinned back, teeth flashing whitely in the gathering darkness of the garage and Logan smiled. He couldn't help it. Her smile, like her laugh, was infectious. " So yer the new girl. What do ya' do?"

She held up her hand and a spark of blue electricity flared at her fingertips. " I generate and control electricity. My codename's Spark." She cocked her head to the side, the sparkles at her fingertips dimming but not going out. " What do you do?"

For answer, he popped his claws out of his knuckles. Light from her sparkles glinted blue-white off the adamantium coating on his hands and her eyes widened perceptibly. He waited for the inevitable 'Does it hurt?' that he usually got, but instead she smiled at him and said, " Bet those come in handy."

He threw his head back and laughed. Of all the reactions he could have gotten, this wasn't one he was expecting. He tossed his helmet over the back of his bike, ran his hand through his hair and grinned. " Smart-aleck, ain't ya'? C'mon, let's go in and see if they left us anythin' from dinner."

They walked to the garage door together and Logan opened it for her.

" Thank you." She said as she passed him but Logan barely heard her, completely entranced by how close they now were. His arms ached to hold her but he resisted the urge and contented himself with watching her move, feeling as though he were drunk with her scent.

The moment was shattered when Ayame tripped after passing him. He reached out for her but it was too late, she'd already been caught by someone else.

" Bonjour, cherie. I don' believe we been introduced."

Logan stiffened, hearing that familiar Cajun drawl. Sure enough, it was Remy who had caught her. Logan wanted to rip the other man's throat out when he flashed her a charming grin. He was also holding her close. Too close. Their faces were a scant few inches apart, making Logan's blood boil.

Ayame smiled back, politely, and pushed herself gently away so she was standing again. They were still too close for Logan's liking though.

" No, I don't believe we have. I am Ostrama Ayame."

She extended her hand for him to shake. Instead, he brought it to his lips, his eyes never leaving Ayame's.

" Enchanté. De name's Remy Lebeau."

A slight blush colored Ayame's cheeks when Remy kissed her hand and she withdrew it soon after. That was about enough for Logan.

" Goin' fer a ride, Gumbo?" He asked, gruffly, taking a step forward so that he was standing beside Ayame. Not close enough to make her uneasy but close enough so the other man would pick up on the hint. Remy wasn't stupid.

Remy was still looking at her, smiling slightly, but shifted his gaze to Logan when he spoke, as if he had just noticed him.

" Ah, bonjour Logan. Remy was goin' fer a ride…but it could certainly be postponed, if mademoiselle has not'ting else to do.

His smile grew wider and he looked back at Ayame as he said this last. She returned the gesture as anger flared through Logan. Quit lookin' at her like that or you an' me gonna' have ta talk! He clenched a fist and gritted his teeth.

" Ya better get goin' if ya wanna' be back 'fore dark." His tone made it obvious that he wanted Gambit to leave and very soon at that.

Remy noticed, of course, and briefly toyed with the idea of staying just to annoy his friend but decided against it. It had been obvious to Gambit when he'd first walked up that Logan liked this woman. He'd noticed the way Logan had been looking at Ayame and it had made him smile. The Cajun had seen that look many times before.

" You right, mon ami, I better be goin'. It was nice meetin' ya, chere, an' I hope it happen more often in de future."

Remy smiled at Ayame one last time then slipped past them both and into the garage.

Logan let out a sigh of relief when Remy had gone and started walking again.

" Don't tell me you were jealous?" Ayame asked, giving him a sidelong glance and grinning, her eyes sparkling mishievously as she fell into step beside him.

Logan was caught slightly off guard but managed not to let that show. " Course not. I jus' know how the Cajun is with women an' wanted him ta' know not ta be messin' round with ya."

Ayame raised an eyebrow. " Isn't it my choice who I do and don't mess around with?"

Logan shot her a look. He had the nagging suspicion that she was baiting him but he couldn't help but fall into the trap. Clearing his throat, he said " Well, o' course but with him, ya know, ya have ta- -"

She cut him off with her clear bell like laughter and Logan rolled his eyes. She had been baiting him and, like an idiot, he'd walked straight into it. He couldn't help but chuckle at himself. " Ok, ok, ya got me."

With anyone else he probably would have been angry but for some reason he couldn't find it in himself to get mad at Ayame. What a sucker I am. One look at those pretty brown eyes an' she's got me flounderin' 'round as if I were drownin'.

Ayame controlled her laughter and grinned at him as they pushed the door to the kitchen open.