Her room number was etched onto the room key. When she entered her new space for the first time, all her possessions were already waiting for her. Fairly presumptuous on Xavier's part, but most of her was so glad she didn't have to move it herself she decided not to say anything. The room was the same size, but instead of three twin beds there was a queen bed, a loveseat, a desk complete with a PC and flat screen monitor that were standard for all rooms, and the best part of all...her own bathroom. After Logan left, Marie lounged in a decadent bubble bath, complete with candles and Nina Simone blaring out of a radio perched on the shelf above the sink. No more fighting with Jubilee over counter space, no more worrying about Kitty phasing through the locked door and invading her privacy...
A smiling brunette poked her head through the bathroom door. Which was a feat, considering the door was closed and locked.
"Knock knock!" Kitty chirped. "Are you decent?" She phased the rest of the way into the bathroom without waiting for an answer.
Marie gawped at her arrogance. "I am in the BATH!"
Kitty rolled her eyes and turned down the music. "Roommates for two years, hello, I've seen it all before."
A flurry of knocks sounded at the bathroom door. "Hey, Kitty, remember me? Girl who doesn't walk through walls?"
Before Marie could protest, Kitty unlocked and opened the bathroom door for Jubilee, who wolf-whistled at Marie. "Hey gorgeous. We figured that since you were avoiding us, we'd just assert our presence at a time when you couldn't run away."
Kitty smiled. "Translation: we're barging into your bathroom and there's nothing you can do about it."
Marie rolled her eyes and sighed. She should have known better; having her own room didn't mean privacy in the mansion. Especially with a friend who could walk through walls. "I just spent a week in the forest without a bathtub or foaming cleanser. I'm not avoiding you; I just have priorities is all."
Jubilee perched on the closed toilet seat lid and Kitty hoisted herself up on the sink counter. "She makes a funny! Wocka wocka wocka! So," Jubilee said casually, toying with her oversized hoop earrings, "does this mean you're...you know...through being the troubled loner?"
Marie scowled and reached for the shampoo. "Contrary to popular belief, Jubes, my issues with my newly human status weren't going to be solved with tequila and a roll in the hay. I needed to get away."
Silence descended on the bathroom as Kitty and Jubilee exchanged looks. Two sets of eyebrows rose and two pairs of lips tightened.
Marie hung her head. "Fine. Go ahead and ask."
"Did you have sex with Wolverine!" from Jubilee was overlaid with a squeaky "Did you really kick his ass like Scott said?" from Kitty.
"Whoa, whoa whoa." Soap spilled into her already sore eye and Marie hissed, pressing a damp face cloth against it. "Number one, I did NOT have sex with him. Number two, what is Scott saying?"
Kitty shrugged. "I overheard him talking to Storm. He said you kicked Wolverine's ass. Is that true?"
She held the washcloth away from her black eye. "What does it look like to you?"
"He heals, you don't. Not anymore." Kitty's eyes widened as she realized what she said. "I mean...er..."
"Kits, it's all right. I've gotten...I guess I've gotten used to the idea of being...normal. Human." Marie sighed. "Whatever."
"We didn't..." Jubilee lowered her eyes in an uncharacteristic bout of shyness. "Is that why you went away? Are you mad at us?" The nineteen-year-old Junior X-Man bit her lip. "I'm sorry, you know. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."
"It wasn't you. Well," Marie amended, "it wasn't JUST you. I needed to get away and think for awhile."
"And?" Kitty asked.
"And what?" Marie ducked under the water and rinsed the shampoo out of her hair. When she surfaced, Kitty was biting her nail. She resumed speaking after Marie cleared the water from her ears.
"Did you finish thinking? Is that why you came back?"
Now it was Marie's turn to drop her eyes and fiddle with a bottle of lemon verbena body gel. "I guess so." Jubilee poked Kitty in the ribs.
"See," she said to the brunette, "I told you. He's a jackass."
"Who's a jackass?" Marie asked.
"The Wolverine. He must be a real asshole if you ran away from him."
Marie slipped down in the tub and came up spluttering, her nose full of water. "I did no such thing!" Denial; it wasn't just another river in Egypt.
"You came back to the mansion?" Jubilee pointed out.
Marie's eyes watered and she blew bubbles out from her nose. "Yeah?"
"And you didn't tell him you were leaving?" Kitty chimed in.
"So?" Marie scowled.
"You ran away from him," the younger duo said in unison.
Now Marie was really scowling. She snapped her fingers and pointed at the towel hanging up on the wall next to the sink; Kitty pulled it off the rack and threw it at her. Marie caught it and stood, bubbles sliding down her legs, wrapping the towel around herself. She huffed out of the bathroom, Jubilee and Kitty following close behind.
"Look, you guys, I was ready to come back," Marie insisted. "Logan and I agreed; we're just friends."
Jubilee sprawled on the bed while Marie slithered into a well-worn night shirt. Kitty was fiddling with an empty picture frame on the dresser.
"Did something happen to make you think you maybe weren't friends?" Jubilee asked wisely.
Marie's silence was answer enough.
"Spill," Kitty crowed and flopped down on the bed next to Jubilee. She patted at the space between them, her head tilting at Marie. Before she could actually think about it, Marie found herself sandwiched between Kitty and Jubilee, their skin against hers, their vibrant auras spilling across her like a blanket. It stunned her but only for a moment, and Marie had to smile; at least Logan accomplished what he had set out to do. She hadn't thought twice about touching her friends; bare skin contact seemed normal to her now. All she had to do was lose him in the process. Sure, he may not be her only friend, but he was her closest friend. They said they were still friends, but she knew better. Her smile turned into a sad chuckle, and that was really all it took for the dam to break. A tear slipped out, then two, and then her friends' arms were around her and she was sobbing, sobbing, as the events of the last month that she'd been running from finally caught up to her.
In jeans and a zip up sweatshirt with the X-Men logo emblazoned on the breast, Logan was trying to relax. He was on the balcony that overlooked the back lawn, leaning with his forearms on the wrought iron railing while he brooded over a cigar. He blew musky smoke out in rings.
"Knock, knock."
He didn't turn around at the sound of company.
Jean Grey approached him slowly, running her hand along the railing until she was three feet away. His eyes darted sideways, noted the red hair that was longer than the last time he'd seen her, and the brilliance of her white blouse and even whiter smile before flicking his gaze back out to the darkness of the forest.
"Whaddya want?" he rasped.
"Just wanted to say hi." Silence stretched out into the night.
Logan grunted and he pushed off the railing. He stubbed out the remains of his cigar and faced her. "Hi. Anything else?"
"I see some things haven't changed." Jean shook her head ruefully.
He glanced down at her wedding ring. "I see that some things have."
She nodded, twisting the ring around her finger absentmindedly. "Earlier this year. We wish you had come."
Logan arched an eyebrow, and Jean laughed. "Well, Scott was probably relieved, but I wish you had come." She paused. "I'm not the only one who would have liked to have seen you there, either," she finished carefully.
"I was busy." He turned away and leaned against the railing again.
"I saw Rogue today," she said casually, and noted the way his body tightened and his head tilted slightly in her direction before he shook it off and resumed his badass posture.
"Yeah, I did too."
"I heard." Her lips twisted into a smile. "Well, we all heard, actually. The Professor's going to have to replace that carpet."
He snorted.
"That's a nasty black eye she has."
Logan stiffened again. "I don't wanna talk about it."
"Funny. That's exactly what she said."
He stood and started to pace back and forth in a three foot diameter, and Jean could tell he was getting ready to bolt.
"Well, well, I am impressed," she remarked before he could escape.
He threw her a look over his shoulder. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Jean said innocently. "It's just that this is the first time we've ever talked that doesn't involve flirting or innuendos."
He tried to protest. "You're with Scott."
Jean shrugged. "That never stopped you before."
She turned and walked away. Just as she expected, he didn't follow her.
Under the threat of death by excruciating torture if they ever opened their mouths, Kitty and Jubilee listened as Marie spilled everything. And not just the stuff that happened in the last week; she told them everything.
EVERYTHING.
How they met. The ball of terrified excitement in the pit of her stomach as she watched him fight. The night he stabbed her. That same night everyone in the mansion saw just how dangerous both the Wolverine and the Rogue could really be. Running away from him. Being found. Being captured and dying and once again her knight in shining adamantium claws came to her rescue. Again he almost died for her. Watching him leave, and waiting a year for him to come back. Living with her secret crush. Watching him want Jean. The craziness of fleeing the mansion and the unspeakable tension between Bobby, Logan, and herself. Watching his face as Jean sacrificed herself, and for a brief, horrifying second, being glad Jean was gone. It meant she could keep Logan all to herself. Why Bobby really dumped her; because he was tired of playing second fiddle to a teenage crush. Jean came back. Logan left again. Marie was all alone with her deadly skin. Managing to convince herself that she was over him. Until he came back to help her.
It was long and painful and she thought her heart would never manage to piece itself back together.
"Maybe you need to try moving on," Kitty said quietly when Marie was done. "Really moving on."
Marie sniffed, her eyes still wet. "I've loved him from the moment I laid eyes on him. I don't know if I can move on."
"There are lots of great guys around. Remy follows you around like a puppy dog. Why don't you give him a shot?"
Marie shrugged. "I dunno...I just...yeah, he's cute but..."
"...he's not Logan," Jubilee finished for her. Marie nodded.
The three girls fell into silence. Marie leaned her head against Jubilee's slender shoulder, and in response her friend draped her arm across her back.
"What should I do?" Marie finally asked.
Kitty slid off the bed. "First...we should hook you up with a badass foundation. Then, you go to dinner on Friday with Remy like you promised," Kitty asserted. "I'll be right back." She phased through the floor and disappeared.
"Man that gives me the creeps sometimes," Jubilee said, a grin wide on her face. "I never know when she's gonna pop up."
Marie snickered. "Want to hear something weird?" Jubilee nodded, so she continued, confidentiality hushing her voice to a low drawl. "Being back, seeing everyone...I realized I…" She chuckled, low in her throat. "I miss being a mutant. Oh, don't get me wrong," she hastily assured, "my gift sucked. But...I kind of liked not being you know...normal. I liked being special."
"You're STILL special, keed," Jubilee lisped and tweaked Marie's nose.
"Got it!" Kitty phased through the door brandishing an industrial strength make-up bag. "I just wanna play around with some skin tones. Sound good?"
Marie eyed the bag skeptically. "You're gonna what?"
Kitty flashed a wicked grin. "Just trust me."
Time usually didn't fly when your heart was broken, but Kitty and Jubes managed to keep her busy and semi-cheerful despite Logan's deliberate snubbing at the team meeting on Wednesday and his polite but impersonal interaction with her after coffee on Thursday morning. Friday snuck up on her sooner than she had anticipated, and she was having dinner with Remy LeBeau. At a romantic French bistro, nonetheless.
"I really like what you've done with your hair, petite."
Remy's red eyes glinted playfully at her over his glass of Château d'Yquem.
"Thank you," she said politely. The smile on her face betrayed none of her boredom, and as she played idly with the rim of her wineglass, Marie wondered for the fifth time just why she had actually followed through on her promise of dinner. She could have chalked it up to his Southern charm or honest interest on her part, but deep down she knew the truth. Even if her heart wasn't in it, she needed to open up to the idea that Logan was not the only fish in the sea...wolf in the forest...whatever.
Remy was charming, she would give him that. His conversation never even went close to inane; he was full of interesting facts and stories about life on the streets of New Orleans. She had to admit, it was nice to be spending time with someone who assumed that ordering tea meant it would come sweetened beyond belief, and who knew the best place to buy crawfish was directly from the fishermen as the boats rolled up to the docks the dotted the Mississippi river. While he talked, she was content to listen.
For awhile.
Smile when he dropped a subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle compliment that was
laced with authentic bayou French.
Sip her wine and tried very, very hard not to compare this man to Logan.
It was futile.
In between a crisp endive salad with strawberry vinaigrette and the Poulet Veronique, Marie zoned out. Must the man talk incessantly? She missed Logan; he knew when to just shut up.
That wasn't where the differences ended. Where Logan was swarthy, Remy was surprisingly fair. Logan had dark unruly hair; Remy's was auburn and hung in his
red/black eyes in soft waves. They both had facial hair but Logan's always looked like a three days' growth of facial hair that he trimmed around the mouth before losing interest and letting the rest run wild. Remy's was deliberately groomed and resembled something that a Calvin Klein model would sport in an underwear ad. Both were broad-shouldered and tall but Logan was stocky and Remy was lean. Remy liked gentlemen's games. Logan liked to kick ass. Remy was French restaurants and romantic carriage rides, Logan was pizza and hockey. Remy liked expensive wine; Logan was content with a cheap bottle of beer. Remy was this, Logan was that-
"Chere?"
Marie snapped back to reality. Dinner was over and they were walking along the pathway that led from the garage, where Remy's Mustang was cooling down, to the mansion.
She smiled her polite smile. She had used it all evening and it was starting to wear thin. "I'm sorry, you were saying?"
"I asked if you were cold."
She was a little cold; the smart but elegant black dress she'd picked out for the date was sleeveless. Just about everything she wore nowadays was sleeveless; she was making up for lost time. Marie was about to protest, saying they were almost inside, when she shivered in the cold night air. As gallantly as a knight in shining armor, Remy slipped his dinner jacket onto her shoulders. It was warm and smelled like expensive cologne. It was cloying and made her head swim.
"Would you like to go for a walk, ma petite?"
She yawned. "I'm actually kind of tired."
They walked up the steps to the front door and keyed in their personal entry codes. Remy wasn't done trying to prolong the date.
"May I walk you to your room?"
His smile was SO charming, and her heart was SO not interested that it actually made her feel guilty. She nodded her head, and then tensed when he draped a casual arm over her shoulder as they walked up the stairs. He walked a little too close, his hand was a little too familiar, and she had to nip this thing in the bud before she was labeled a tease.
At the top of the grand staircase was a round partition where all the hallways for the second floor intersected. There, Marie stopped him. "Look, Remy..." she began in that tone, the tone that was designed to alert the listener that major things were about to be discussed-
Storm walked by, one snow white eyebrow cocked and a small smile on her lips. She winked at them. Marie scowled and pulled Remy a few feet down a hallway for privacy. They stood in the shadows against a wooden arch in the architecture.
"Look," she said in a hushed voice. "I really appreciated dinner tonight." She slipped out of his coat and held it out to him. He took it silently, his face unreadable. She staunchly continued. "I know you like me, but I have to be honest..." Marie bit her lower lip, internally wincing at how clichéd she was about to sound. "I'm just not...interested...in dating right now."
Remy was quiet for a moment. "Dating in general or dating moi?"
"You have to understand...it's not you. It's me."
A broad grin stretched across his face and he roared aloud with laughter.
Marie frowned. "Do you think I'm kidding?"
"No," he chortled, "I know dis is serious. But oh merde, that's usually my line." He wiped the tears of mirth from his unnerving eyes. "Dis is a big blow to my pride, petite. But doan you worry about Remy...he'll survive."
"I am sorry," Marie said sincerely.
He grew somber, possibly for the first time all evening. "He doesn't deserve you." They both knew who he was talking about.
"That's what he thinks, too," she said sadly.
"Den he is an imbécile."
Remy tapped her chin with his forefinger, tilting her head up to his. "Well, chere, knowing when to fold has always been one of my strong suits. But, at least let me give you a proper good-bye."
Marie nodded, her breath caught in her throat as she knew what was about to
happen. He held her face between his hands and leaned close. "Dis is how Cajuns
say adieu," he whispered, and proceeded to kiss her very thoroughly. His lips
were the same shape as Logan's and he used them the same way Logan did; slow and
steady and the whole procedure included his tongue against hers. It was deep and
kind and should have turned her on.
When he drew back, she opened her eyes. She gave him an apologetic smile and
the hope that maybe- just maybe –he could win her over fell from his face. Three seconds later it was replaced with a rakish grin.
"Nothing?"
She shrugged. "Sorry." She reached up and rubbed a consoling hand across his cheek. "Look, I-"
Movement over Remy's shoulder caught her attention. Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a few beats before painfully restarting. Her stomach had vacated the premises and was flip-flopping down the hallway.
"Chere?" Remy asked, turning to follow the path of her gaze.
Logan was standing in the middle of the round vestibule, his head lowered like a bull ready to charge, his hands clenched into fists. Odd though, his focus was not on Remy, but centered one hundred percent on Marie.
"Ah, well...yes. Dis is where I say goodnight," Remy said. He patted Marie on the cheek. "Sweet dreams, chere. Remember, if anyone asks, I broke up with you." His jacket hanging off of one shoulder, Remy sauntered down the hallway, leaving Marie and Logan alone.
Marie's first instinct was to be horrified that she was caught cheating with Remy. Then anger bubbled to the surface when she realized he had no business making her feel that way; Logan had made it very clear he wasn't interested. He'd ignored her all week to the point of blatant rudeness. So why did she feel so fucking guilty allowing Remy to kiss her?
His footfalls toward her were heavy. Instinct guided her; she knew there was a 300-lb-adamantium-laced fight coming her way. Her chin rose and her shoulders squared as she readied for battle. She met his angry stare with a defiant one of her own, refusing to back down even when he drew so close she could feel his hot breath against her skin.
"I see it didn't take you that long to get over me," Logan sneered; his voice quiet but filled to the brim with outrage. "How long did you wait before going with him? A day? A whole fuckin' hour?"
Marie drew back her hand and slapped him. The blow was cushioned by his shaggy muttonchops, but her point had been made.
"Don't you ever talk to me about waiting. I've waited around long enough," she seethed while he rubbed almost absentmindedly at his cheek. "And for your information, I just broke up with him. That was a good-bye kiss."
His teeth were bared. "That didn't look like a good-bye kiss."
"How would you know?" she retorted. "You never say good-bye, you just leave."
"Look who's talking," Logan snorted.
Marie usually considered herself a very rational woman. She had been born and raised as a gentile southern lady. She knew, knew deep down in her heart, that the best way to deal with anger was not to answer it with more anger.
Usually.
But dear God, there was no one else in her life who could make her so profoundly enraged that she actually saw red. Thanks to years of unrequited love and over a week of sexual tension, it was impossible for her to react with anything less than a nuclear explosion.
"NEWS FLASH. You're the one who decided we're 'just friends'." She drew the last
two words out like they were a sack of filthy socks after a training class. "That means you have NO say in who I decide to date and NO say in what I do with them." Her voice had left the realm of hushed a few sentences back, and her increasing volume was drawing a crowd of interested students who had nothing better to do on a Friday night. Marie was so furious she didn't notice. "Either I'm a kid or I'm a woman. But pick one, Logan, because you can't have it both ways."
Over Marie's shoulder, he saw Scott watching the entire drama with a smartass grin on his face the likes of which cancelled out all other annoying grins he had. Logan was hurt, he was mad, but now he was embarrassed and horrified that their dirty laundry was being aired in front of the whole damn school. Especially One-Eye and his fucking grin. Out of pure desperation, he grabbed one of Marie's flailing wrists and yanked her to him.
"Quit being such a child and shut the fuck up!" he snarled.
Marie jerked her wrist out of his grip, threw her hands up and screeched in frustration. She pushed past him and the shocked crowd of students, storming down the hallway toward her room. "That is IT," she screamed, and slammed the door behind her so hard the wood splintered.