1Chapter Ten

Logan and I arrived back at the Institute earlier then we had expected. There were still people milling about, bored, and sick of the summer heat. We stopped by the Rec Room to visit with Rogue and Kurt, who where watching a news cast on the abundance of mutant activity. Kurt looked disgusted, and Rogue didn't seem to amused either. I had learned to ignore the media, figuring that if they couldn't appreciate the differences in people, then they obviously weren't people I wanted to deal with personally.

After awhile, we lead ourselves to his bedroom, watching out for people in the halls before slipping inside. I flipped the latch over, locking it, before tossing my jacket over the back of a chair. Logan took his time, kicking his shoes off, under the bed, and putting his jacket away in the closet, before pulling me down on to the bed next to him. Out in the hall, I could still hear people rumbling by, talking in high, shrill voices. I found it slightly amusing how we could do what we were beginning to do, and no one was the wiser.

Logan looked up from where he was working his fingers up under my shirt, kissing my neck, "What are you giggling about?" He accused.

"Nothing." I told him, starting to unbutton his shirt, pushing it back over his shoulders, and pressing my lips to his pecs. His fingers pulled through my hair, and he brought my lips back up to his. Eventually, he managed to toss his shirt off to the side, and pull my shirt over my head in the process.

"Get rid of your stupid shoes." He said, pushing me back into the pillows with a firm kiss, "Stay right here." He eased back off of the bed, to go to the bathroom. He tossed the box he came back with onto his side table, and I watched, bemused, as he undid the snap on his jeans, shoving them off before joining me on the bed again. My jeans followed his soon after, thumping onto the floor. It was almost like Logan was everywhere. His hands, his mouth, his skin melting into mine. I liked how hard his body was against mine. His skin was warm, and I could feel the beads of sweat forming over his shoulders. I stopped noticing the voices outside of the door, and I was still kissing him when Logan slipped on the condom.

"Ready?" He whispered in my ear.

I nodded, pressing my lips against his throat, his fingers pushing my thighs apart.

"Try not to think about it, okay?" He offered, pressing his lips against mine as he took

the deep plunge. I gasped, biting against his shoulder for a moment. He didn't even flinch, "You alright?" He asked, after I let go of his shoulder, little red marks where my teeth had been.

"Yea." I nodded.

He started thrusting up against me, his lips against my shoulder, and my throat, landing occasionally on my lips, where the kiss would linger for an extra moment. When we had both finished, he pressed his forehead against my chest, his back arching, before rolling free of me, and putting an arm around my waist.

"You're not to disappointed are you?" He asked, as I started stroking his arm, pulling the sheets up over myself.

"Not at all." I grinned, "Why do you ask?"

"I wouldn't want to have gone through all of that, and have you disappointed or anything...find out that sex really isn't as exciting as a lot of people try and make it out to be." He raised his head enough to kiss me, before lying back on the pillows, and closing his eyes.

I felt different the next morning -like I had suddenly achieved real womanhood or something. It was strange, but I was wickedly pleased that Logan had finally 'broken down' so to speak, even if I did have this aching soreness on the lower half of my body. Now it was my turn to wake up in bed alone, at almost six AM.

Logan was already awake. I could hear him singing in the shower through the closed bathroom door. I was initially tempted to join him, but as time ticked by, I opted to snuggle down in the blankets and attempt at another hour of sound sleep.

Logan slipped back into bed, still wet. His hair dripped onto my face and shoulders as he leaned over to kiss me, and nuzzle me awake.

"Ugh! Logan!" I covered my face with my hands, blocking the water droplets, "There are these things called 'towels', that you're supposed to use to dry yourself off with... Have you heard of them?"

"Hardy har-har." He scoffed in my ear.

"What are you doing up so early, anyway?" I asked, turning over to look at him. He had a short, thin towel wrapped around his waist, and nothing else. His hair was damp, and curling into little ringlets around his ears.

"I'm usually awake at this hour." He informed me, "Yesterday was unusual."

"Right." I nodded, "Of course."

He nipped another kiss at my mouth, before picking up my clothes from the floor, and tossing it on the bed next to me, "Not to kick you out, or anything, but you might want to run back to your room before the rest of the Institute wakes up. Nothing is more embarrassing then being seen walking down the hall in the same clothes as the night before." He assured me, kissing me again.

Rogue was just waking up when I slipped into our room, undetected.

"Hey." She mumbled, her hair in an unusual disarray, "You have fun last night?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, playing coy, pulling clothes out of my dresser.

"Logan's room is beside Kurt and Warren's. His bed knocked against the wall a few times." She informed me.

"Oh jesus." I sighed, pulling on a clean t-shirt, and covering my face with my hands, "How mortifying."

"If it's any consolation, it sounded like you were having fun." She grinned.

"Thanks, but it doesn't do a whole lot for my self esteem. Who all heard it?"

"Just Kurt, Warren, Kitty, and I. Warren left when the creaking started though. Made some caustic comment about your taste in men, again."

"Oh god." I lay back on my bed. "Anyone else?"

"Not that I know of, but regarding the people who heard, I'm sure everyone will know by morning. Including the Professor."

"The Professor probably knew before we even did it." I informed her.

"Nevertheless, you're both going to have to deal with him. He isn't going to be very pleased, I'm sure."

"Oh god...what was I thinking?" I asked myself, covering my face with my pillow.

"You were thinking you wanted to get things rolling with Logan." Rogue informed me, pulling the pillow from my face, "Stop being such a drama queen...it's not like they can do anything to you now, you know."

"The hell they can't." I sat up, and looked at her. "Professor Xavier, and the rest of the staff have the power to send me out there on my own."

"Professor Xavier isn't going to send you packing just because you slept with your boyfriend." Rogue sat down on the bed next to me. "You're 18 now, you should be allowed to live a little."

I fell back into my pillows again, "I wish I could be more like you Rogue."

"What? Dashingly beautiful, but deadly to touch?" She asked, flexing her fingers, looking at her hands. "I don't wish my curse upon anyone."

"Your power isn't a curse, Rogue. It's a blessing." I told her. "Look at all the people you help."

"Look at all the people I've hurt." She countered.

"That's different." I sighed.

"Look at what you can experience, Jo." She stood back up, pulling my pillow out from under her head, "Get over yourself." She smacked me in the arm with the pillow.

I laughed, and pulled the pillow away from her, hitting her back.

She grabbed a pillow off of her own bed, and we had started a full out pillow fight when Logan knocked, leaning on the doorway looking amused. We both looked worse for wear when we finally noticed him.

"Are you two done goofing around? Breakfast is getting cold."

"We'll be there in a few minutes." I threw my pillow down, and ran my fingers through my hair, straightening my shirt.

"Right." He nodded, moving to reach for the doorknob, "Hurry it up, before there's none left."

Another week flew by, and I was surprised that no one said anything, not even teasing from Kurt, or a sarcastic comment from Warren, about Logan and I. It was fast approaching Fourth of July weekend, and the Annual Bayville Summer Carnival was nearly here. Logan, the Professor, and Mr. McCoy had been working on a secret project together. I wasn't sure when they were going to fill me in on the whole ordeal, but I had a good guess it was about Magneto, and an abduction attempt.

I had become accustomed to waking up in Logan's bed in the mornings, sometimes he was still next to me asleep, other times he would already be in the shower, or getting dressed. I liked it best when he was still asleep beside me, his arms wrapped around me, fingers splayed across my skin. In the earliest mornings, a cold summer breeze would billow the curtains, and ruffle the sheets across us. Only then would he stir, nuzzling his face into my neck, like he did a few mornings before the Carnival.

"Good morning." He whispered in my ear, "Have you been awake long?"

"Not really." I told him, turning only to look into his face, "We should really start shutting that window."

"And then get all sweaty and hot, I don't think so." He countered, kissing me, "C'mon." He ran his hand up my side, as he sat up in bed, stretching his arms behind his head, "Time to get up."

I watched from where I lay on the bed as he made his way towards the bathroom, his feet padding softly against the carpeting. I smirked at his back as he ran his fingers under the elastic of his boxer shorts, and scratched his stomach. He was such a 'guy', and it was amusing.

I didn't get out of bed until I heard Logan turn on the shower. I contemplated joining him for a moment before deciding it probably wouldn't be for the best, and exited for my own room. Rogue was already up, as she often was when I came back after a night in Logan's room, always starved for the details. I gave her a cheery wave hello before I buried myself into my closet looking for something suitable to wear.

"So...what do you have planned for today?" I asked her, before she could ask me for details, "Anything exciting?"

"Professor Xavier is sending Scott and I out to the Savage Land to look for a mutant that may have gotten stranded there somehow. He's been getting some kind of a signal for the last couple of days, but he isn't sure what it is."

"Could be dangerous." I told her, changing behind the door of my closet, "Are you sure that the Professor doesn't want more people out there?"

"It's just a routine survey...nothing special." Rogue shrugged, "And besides, what's the worse that could happen? Unless you want to call up one of those premonitions of yours?"

I had been practicing calling up premonitions, and I closed my eyes tightly, focusing on the idea of savage land. The normal wave of a premonition washed over my body, and I focused.

"Maybe you're right." I told her, after I opened my eyes again, "But my premonitions aren't always for sure."

"We'll be fine, and besides, it isn't as though we haven't been to Savage Land before." Rogue shrugged, and crossed her arms in her lap, "So...how was last night?"

"Same as it always is, Rogue." I told her, smiling, stepping out from behind the closet door, "You're going to get sick of hearing about it all sooner or later. Maybe someday you'll even get to experience it all for yourself."

"I doubt it." Rogue sighed, looking down at her hands, "Besides, it's more fun listening to you then dreaming about it for myself."

"I have a lesson with the Professor in ten minutes." I kissed her on the cheek, "I'll see you when you get back. Don't get into to much trouble, or anything?"

"Bye." She waved me off, watching as I pulled the door shut behind me.

"Logan, are you and the Professor going to tell me what's going on, or do I have to call up a premonition?" I finally asked the next night as I watched Logan get ready for bed.

"What do you mean?" He asked, playing coy as he pulled off his boxer shorts to replace them with a pair of his favorite pajama pants and then slid a white tank over his head, pulling it down over his stomach as he turned to her, "What's the matter, Jo?"

"You and the Professor aren't telling me what's going on with this whole Magneto thing. I'm tired of being left in the dark, Logan."

"Look," He slid onto the bed next to her, and put an arm around her, "We'll fill you in on the plans after we're sure we've got everything organized, alright?"

"Alright." I sighed, kissing him firmly on the lips, "I better go to bed. Good night."

"You're not staying?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No, I think it's better if I stay with Rogue in our room tonight. She's kinda lonely." I shrugged, "I'll see you in the morning though. Don't miss me to much." I kissed him again.

"Goodnight." He saw me to the door, and shut it behind me.

"Wow, actually leaving Logan's room at a decent hour for a change, that's new." I nearly ran right into Jubilee who was on her way to her own room, a floor up.

"Hi Jubilee." I smiled, "I was just going to bed actually. Rogue has been kind of lonely, so I figured I'd spend some extra time with her."

"Well, g'night then. See you in class tomorrow." Jubilee waved me away, and continued on her way down the hall.

Rogue's light was on when I opened the door, "Hey."

"Hey." She looked up from the book she was reading, "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thought I'd sleep in my own bed for a change."

"Hey, Jo, can I ask you something?"

"If it has anything to do with Logan's penis size, no..." I closed my eyes, falling into bed, "Otherwise, yea, go ahead."

Rogue took a moment to laugh at my joke, and then got serious, "I know this is probably the last thing on your mind, but what if you and Logan got married?"

"What?" I looked up at her, "Logan and I, married?"

"I'm not saying you would, or that you never will or anything like that, but wouldn't it be interesting?"

I looked at her for a long time, "Is this another way you want to live vicariously through me?"

"No, of course not!"

"You'd be my maid of honor, you know." I smiled.

"Really?" Rogue got a hopeful look on her face, "Aww..."

"Of course, you know that Logan and I have no immediate plans to get married...like...ever, right?"

"Well ya...but just knowing that I would be the first choice...that makes me feel so special." She smiled, and closed her book, "So, anyway...what are you doing here?"

"Spending time with my Maid of Honor." I smiled, "What have you been up to? I haven't spent time with you in forever."

"Oh gosh...same-old, same-old... I haven't been doing a whole lot of anything, but hopefully the carnival will relieve the monotony." Rogue shrugged, "How about you?"

"Oh just lessons with the Professor, Mr. McCoy, and Logan, and then Danger Room stuff with Jubliee and some of the younger students, and of course the missions."

"Sounds exciting."

I shrugged, "I'd rather just sit here, and do nothing."

"Ah, the life of an X-Man, right?"

"Right."

"Rogue brought up something interesting last night." I told Logan when I joined him in his bed the next morning, a few minutes before his alarm was set to go off.

"Mm? What's that?" Logan asked, looking at me sleepily, one arm resting over my hips, the other curled to stroke my hair.

"She said it would be interesting, her words not mine, if the two of us ever got married."

Logan raised an eyebrow, "You want to get married?"

"...Are you asking me?"

"Not in that sense."

"Well not right now." I told him, "Hell I don't know if I ever want to get married. What about you?" I raised an eyebrow at him, and he was quiet for a bit before he spoke.

"Maybe someday. In the future." He shrugged, "Someone I could legitimately grow old with, you know?"

I smirked, "How cute. I can just see you in a rocker on a porch in front of a little farm house with a Missus."

"Don't laugh, that missus might be you." He kissed me, and pressed his forehead against mine, "Of course, that will all have to wait until this whole X-Men thing blows over."

"Of course."

"And Magneto like dies or something."

"Certainly."

"You're so gorgeous, how do I ever have proper conversation with you?" He asked, kissing me again, and then looking up at the clock, "Christ, I gotta get up." Another kiss, and he swung his legs out of bed, undressing as he made his way towards the bathroom, "You're more then welcome to join me."

"Maybe later." I grinned.

The opening day of the Bayville carnival arrived and Joanna kissed Logan awake earlier then usual.

"What's the occasion, Kid?" He asked, opening his eyes sleepily.

"Carnival opens up today." She grinned, "Right after the parade at one. Are we gonna go tonight?"

Logan groaned, and rolled over onto his stomach. Joanna pursed her lips, and pushed against his shoulder, "C'mon Logan!"

"You're to young and energetic." Logan groaned, "What am I doing with you?"

I grinned maliciously and leaned down to lick his ear, and he turned further away from me, "You're doing a lot of things with me if you just wake up..."

Logan turned and raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"Uh huh."

"You woke me up almost an hour early for play time, huh?"

"Maybe..." I gave him my best little grin, and leaned down to nibble on his ear again.

He hummed for a moment and then wrapped his arms around me, pulling me down onto the bed, his tongue probing my mouth for a moment before releasing me again, "Let me sleep...half an hour."

I squinted my eyes at him, and pursed my lips again, "Don't forget about the early danger-room exercise."

"Aw, no hard feelings." He coaxed, one hand running up my back, and then down the back of my thigh.

"Of course not." I shook my head, and kissed him again, "I'm going out to play tennis with Jubilee. I'll see you after you've had your morning coffee."

"What about play time?" Logan surveyed my tennis outfit, "Since when do you play tennis?"

"Maybe tonight -and I play ." I smiled, and pushed off of the bed, "Go back to sleep."

Outside I joined Jubilee outside on the courts, with a racket I borrowed from a sleepy-eyed Warren.

"Can we just do rally scoring -like in volleyball? I don't actually know how to score tennis." I told her.

"Sure." She nodded, "I really just wanted to play since I started watching Wimbledon on television."

I rolled my eyes at her. Jubilee was constantly changing her favorite sports. Since I had known her it had been hockey, speed skating, snow boarding, basketball, soccer, and now tennis. She was fun, and erratic, and I liked that about her. The way she was constantly changing her mind. And her little firework-like emissions were kind of cool -I hadn't performed them yet myself, not having an ample opportunity, but it was fun.

"What shall we play to? Fifteen?"

"Sure." I nodded, bouncing the tennis ball, "Zero-Zero." I threw the ball up and whacked it at her. She dove, it bounced once, and she drove it back at me. We continued for another few seconds before it whizzed past her racket and she rolled the ball back towards me.

"Nice." She said, "This is fun."

"One-Zero." I smiled, throwing it up again.

We played for awhile, Jubilee winning by a very narrow margin (fifteen-thirteen) and then we decided to head in for breakfast in the kitchen where nearly everyone had congregated, including Logan who sat in the window with his morning paper and cup of coffee.

"Good morning." I kissed his cheek, and sat next to him, "Anything interesting?" I read over his shoulder.

"Not particularly. How was your game."

"Jubilee won, but very narrowly. Only by two points. Before that, I was totally kicking her ass."

"I'm sure you were." He kissed my cheek, and swallowed the last of his coffee, "Don't forget your lesson with the newbie."

"Newbie?"

"That kid that the Professor had us pick up last week...Remy or something like that."

"Oh right. Gambit. The playing card kid."

"Right." He nodded, "Fifteen minutes -you better get changed."

"Right. I'll be there in a few minutes, just let me get breakfast."

"Right." He grinned, putting his coffee cup in the sink, "See you then, Kid."

"How do you get anything done in all of those Danger Room missions you do?" Jubilee leaned next to me by the window, "He is so dreamy..."

"You get used to it." I smiled at her, moving to take a bottle of Sunny-D out of the fridge, and leaning between Rogue and Warren to grab a muffin out of the basket, "Hey Warren, I left your racket out in the hall by the coat rack."

"Alright, you want to hang onto it?" He asked, turning to watch me move towards the door.

"Maybe, I'll let you know. Hey, Rogue, you should come with me to my lesson...This Gambit guy, he's kinda cute... Cajun." I winked.

Rogue raised an eyebrow, "Really? I guess watching wouldn't hurt."

I smiled, "Meet me downstairs, I'm going to go change into my uniform."

"Okay." She nodded.

When I walked into the Danger Room, Rogue was already in the control booth with Logan, flipping through the lesson catalog to decided with scenario would be best. Gambit, wearing a practice uniform stood in the middle of the floor, shuffling a deck of cards.

"Alright," Logan came over the speaker, "Rogue and I are going to run a manual lesson, coming up with stuff as we go, alright? We decided it was best."

"Thanks...thanks a lot." I scoffed at them, "What am I working with here?"

"Why don't we just let Remy here use you for target practice, and you play with those teleport powers, huh? Gambit, go easy on Sundry, we've got a date tonight. So don't decapatate her or anything, alright?"

"I'll try my best." His voice had a sexy little accent to it, and I saw Rogue grin in the control both.

"Does that mean you'll go to the Carnival with me?" I asked, using my a magnetic field to levitate above the floor as Rogue lifted up the different levels. Remy crouched low to the ground as it rose under him. It was clear that this was one of his first danger room lessons, and obviously his first one with me.

"Somebody's gotta be there to protect you when Magneto shows up."

"If Magneto shows up." I reminded him, "Maybe he's given up?"

"Magneto doesn't give up. Now stop talking to me, and get ready, or I'll bring in those tech-plastic guns you despise."

"You wouldn't." I glared.

"Hell yes, I would. Now concentrate." The lights dimmed, and the control booth disappeared behind a jungle atmosphere. Trees grew out of no where, and Remy looked around amazed.

"What kind of place is this, huh?" He asked, "This crazy...Remy likes crazy." He grinned maliciously at me, "What do you say darling, shall we have a bit of fun?"

"Lets see what you got, Cajun." I nodded at him, grabbing onto a tree branch.

"Stop talking." Logan barked at us.

I rolled my eyes and swung down onto the ground, releasing the magnetic field. Remy threw a red-charged ace of diamonds at me, and I ducked, teleporting behind him, where I knocked him over with a small plasma-blast -something I was beginning to learn how to control.

"Ouch!" He rolled over, glaring at me, "What the heck was that?"

"Plasma-blast."

"Just how many powers do you have?" He asked, charging another card, and chucking it at me. I sent it flying back at him and he ducked, letting it explode against a tree, showering the ground with little sparks.

"They don't call me Sundry for nothing. C'mon pretty boy...catch me." I backed up through the tree behind me.

"Hey, this isn't fair." Remy called towards the vicinity of the control booth, "What the heck can't this girl do?"

"Well, as far as I know she can't charge things up like you do..." Logan's voice was lazy and amused.

Remy complained loudly, following me around. I let him keep me in my sights, dodging his playing cards.

"I hope you've got a couple decks on you, 'cause this lesson isn't over until you hit her at least once." Logan said after he had missed me several times.

"Well if she would just play fair..." Remy sighed.

"Life isn't fair, Gambit, and you can't expect everyone to play by the rules. That's why Sundry is a great opponent. You never know what the hell she's gonna throw at you. Now stop talking to me, and get her."

I laughed at him, "You're so funny, Logan."

"Glad you think so, babe."

"Are you two dating or something?" Remy asked me, "Isn't he kind of old?"

I laughed at him too, "C'mon Gambit, hit me already."

He threw another charged card at me, and I teleported behind him, giving him another little plasma-blast.

"Would you stop doing that?" He requested, rubbing his shoulder where I had it him.

"It could be worse." Rogue said, "She could be aiming lower."

Remy sighed, and moved quickly, throwing another card. I moved, but not quite quickly enough, mostly out of pity for the poor kid. I let him hit my shoulder, which shot with pain for a second before subsiding as a minor healing repair, and I touched it gingerly, "That hurts."

"You alright?" He asked.

"Oh yea, already healed...but that sucker packs a punch." I turned as a heard a rustling in the tree, "Oh Logan, not with the freaky monkeys again..." I saw a furry little face in the tree, and I shot a blast at it, and then I decided to try out Jubilee's sparks. I hit one square in the face, and it shrieked, backing down.

"How many are there?" Remy asked.

"We can't tell you that, that would be cheating." Rogue scoffed at him.

"Fewer then 10." Logan hinted.

Remy threw a few charged cards, which sent the vile little holographs back into their fake little holographic sanctuaries. Then a few guns opened fire. I took three of them out with a wave of my hand. I let Remy get the others with a small charged pocket knife.

"You ever tried a boomerang?" I asked him.

"I can never get the things to come back to me." He shrugged, "I can never get the wrist action right. Besides, most of them are kind of bulky. I can only charge small things."

I nodded at him, and watched the scenery change again. I levitated a few inches off of the floor as the jungle changed to a city with tall buildings, and the hustle and bustle of a busy street. I felt the people knock into me, and I went with the flow. The point of this exercise was to be able to blend in. I changed my appearance to street clothes, blonde hair, tall and leggy, and walked between the hustle and bustle as Remy looked around confused.

"Hey, where'd she go?" Remy asked.

"Find her." Logan coaxed, "She can change her shape."

I appeared to enter a store front, really going through one of the walls, coming out on the other side, coming around in a circle and passing right beside him. I watched him grab the wrist of an old lady who hit him with her purse, and pushed on. Remy scratched his head, and I giggled. He threw a charged card at me, hitting me in the stomach. I doubled over, the facade dropping away to reveal my true self, and the city street vanished to cold steel, and Logan looked down at us, with a worried expression from the control booth.

"You alright, Jo?" He asked.

"Yea, I'm fine. Just didn't expect that." I looked at the blood that had gushed over my fingers, and took a moment not to gag. The playing card was laying on the ground, looking slightly burned, but harmless. I felt my healing factor doing it's work, quickly and efficantly, patching together the sliced skin across my stomach.

"Good thing I wore my old uniform." I said, looking at the sliced sleeves, "Pity I got blood all over it...I rather liked this jacket."

"Don't worry, it'll come out." Logan assured me, "Alright, I think that's enough for today. How about we try again tomorrow with Cyclops, Jubilee, and Angel?"

"Sounds fabulous." I said, "I need to go wash my hands now."

"Are you alright?" Remy asked, putting a hand on my shoulder, and helping me up, "I must have put on a little extra with frustration."

"That's alright. You really did me in for one. Christ, look at all of this?" I looked down at my t-shirt, nearly soaked red, "But I'm fine really. Look." I pulled up the shirt just long enough to show him my smoothed-over stomach.

"Joanna!" Logan's voice was rough with warning, and I smiled, pushing my shirt back down.

"Just showing him the quirks of my healing power, Logan. Don't frett. You're still the only guy who gets to see everything else."

I heard him scoff and Rogue opened the door, stepping out into the room with us, "C'mon, Joanna. Lets go get you cleaned up."