All in all, breakfast on Monday in the massive dining hall could have gone better.

Logan didn't want to budge from his bed, claiming she had worn him out. Which looked like the complete and total truth; dark half-circles stood out beneath his eyes and he could barely stay awake long enough to turn down the invitation of food, so she was forced to face the morning crowd by herself. If she had pressed him he would have gotten up- he would have grumbled about it but he probably would have gotten up- however he looked so cute with his head buried in a pillow and his bare ass peeking from beneath the sheet that she didn't have the heart to ask him. Marie would have liked to sleep in herself, but two and a half days of nothing but loving and whatever snacks he scrounged for them, weren't adequate sustenance; she was STARVING. The smell of bacon and fresh coffee reached her even on the second floor, and she nearly drooled all the way downstairs.

She stood apprehensively in the doorway to the dining hall, hoping for the best and expecting the worst. The worst what, she didn't know, but her life had drastically changed since the last time she'd seen everyone, and surely someone would know.

Silence didn't fall over the room, the kids didn't look up from their plates, and there weren't any smirks from Storm or Jean, who were sharing coffee by a window and making sure pieces of bacon didn't become flying projectiles by overenthusiastic children. Scott and Piotr and Bobby were engaged in an intense discussion with their heads bent low over their table...Nightcrawler was in an animated conversation that involved both hands and his tail, and Beast was nodding in agreement with whatever he was saying...

In fact, if she didn't know better, she'd say she was being deliberately ignored.

Until Kitty and Jubilee appeared on other side of her, like grinning bookends, while she tried to serve herself some eggs. Before Marie could say anything, her two friends were shooting off fierce whispers with the accuracy and speed of bullets.

"Jean saw you coming down and sent a mental note to everyone not to say anything-" Kitty whispered.

Jubilee interrupted "-not the kids, she didn't tell the kids, but they wouldn't know anyway-"

"Keep scooping eggs onto your plate; don't let Jean know we're talking about-"

"She's a telepath," Jubilee whispered over Marie's eggs to the petite brunette, "she'd know anyway."

"Well gleesh, at least don't make it obvious-"

"She said we SHOULDN'T mention it, not that we COULDN'T mention it-"

"GUYS!" Marie said a little too loudly; Scott's visor tilted in their direction. "Calm down, please," she said a bit quieter.

"You have to-" Kitty started, and Jubilee finished for her.

"Spill it all."

They made their way to a small table in the corner of the room.

"Spill?"

"You and Wolverine. You fu-"

"JUBILEE!" Kitty was abashed, and actually smacked the grinning Japanese girl. "What have I told you about tact?"

"It's useless for me to try and understand it?"

It was a big deal and it also wasn't. That didn't stop the blush that wormed its way up her face. Regardless, Marie didn't want the entire school to know...that she and Logan had...

An obnoxious grin spread over her face before she could help it. "Quiet down you guys."

Kitty and Jubilee stopped their mindless bickering and leaned in across the table. "That is one shit-eating grin, my friend. So...how was it?"

Mindblowing. Life-altering. Soul-shattering. "How was what?" she asked, trying to be innocent.

Her two friends exchanged a dubious glance. "Oh please," Jubilee said. "Honey, there's not a skin cream in the world that can give you that glow."

"Glow?" She had taken a shower...

Kitty leaned in conspiratorially. "Sa-tis-faction. It's so obvious, you have that 'I've just been fucked and it was amazing' glow."

Marie choked on her eggs. Jubilee whacked her on the back a few times and while doing so accidentally knocked an orange juice in her lap. Marie stood red-faced and dripping o.j. down her legs. When she finally got all her wind back she pushed her hair from her watering eyes and saw that every single person in the dining hall was staring at her. So much for a low profile.

Storm appeared with a glass of water in her hand at the same time that Jean strode to the table with a napkin.

"Here, use this."

"This should help."

Like efficient doctors, Storm and Jean patted her skirt dry and held up a glass of water for her to wash the eggs down while Kitty and Jubilee tried to mop up the spilled juice on the table. Somehow Scott and Kurt got involved in the clean-up process, and Marie was being pushed around like a rag doll, and treated like she was a child. It was painfully obvious that everyone knew.

"Here, let me-"

"Wait, you missed a spot-"

"Your skirt should dry fine-"

"So, how was it?" Jubilee whispered out of the corner of her mouth. The question was followed by a brief slap from Kitty, which was responded to with a smile on Jubilee's Japanese doll face and a brief flicker of lights from her closed fist as a warning.

"Stop-"

"Don't even," Jubilee warned.

"Do you want more eggs? Oops-" Somehow, Kitty managed to spill the rest of Marie's eggs onto her blouse.

Her blouse had been brand new.

The rest of her outfit, by now, was ruined. "OHHHHKAY!" Marie shouted, losing it. "We DID IT, all RIGHT? YES, we HAD SEX and it was the most AMAZING experience of my LIFE! ARE YOU HAPPY!"

The silence that fell over the room was so complete that it actually hurt her ears. If she thought everyone had been staring at her before, she was wrong. Every head in the entire hall was focused on her.

And just when she thought things couldn't get any worse-

Logan appeared in the doorway. "Hey, what's to eat around here?"

Everyone in the room swiveled their head from Marie to Logan. He saw the crowd around Marie, the eggs and o.j. that were dripping down her front, and realized that everyone one in the room was staring at him. He took a step back, wary.

"What?" he asked.

Logan sat on the locker room bench as Marie stripped out of her ruined clothes and slid into her formal X-Men uniform. He was in the women's section of the dressing room, yeah, but they were an hour early for the training session and it was just the two of them. Around them, the other X-Men suits hung in their individual chambers. He was keeping his mouth shut as Marie ranted about the disastrous morning.

She buckled herself into her leather sleeveless top and seethed at Jubilee and Kitty. She pulled on her leather pants and moaned about Scott's knowing grin. It wasn't until her boots were zipped up and she was sliding into the leather jacket that completed her uniform that she realized Logan was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Don't you have anything to say about this?"

His back was to her, and as she watched, his shoulders were shaking up and down, like he had a case of the shivers. She patted him gently on the back, alarmed. "Hey...you aren't upset, are you sugar?"

She stepped over the bench to face him, and saw that he was biting his wrist, red-faced and desperately trying to keep from laughing out loud.

"Oh, fine, go ahead. Laugh," she said crossly, straddling the bench and plopping down on it. "I'm already the laughingstock of the team. Why shouldn't you laugh too?"

Logan regained control and cupped her chin in his hand. "You have to admit, it's kinda funny."

"I admit nothing." Marie pouted, and pulled half her hair back into a clip. That done, she bowed forward until her head rested against his chest. He felt like a brick wall, solid and comforting. His arms automatically came up to cradle her. It was a warm and peaceful feeling and she honestly wasn't sure about how much longer she was going to get to, for lack of a better word, keep him. The entire school knowing about their affair may have quenched any desire he felt for her and-

"Logan?"

He'd been picturing her bare back as she slipped on the leather bodice, and it took him a moment to reply. "Mm-hmm?" Christ, they'd spent almost three straight days in bed, news of their sexual escapades were running through the school like wildfire, and still he was as horny as a teenage kid peeping at his first girly mag. Where was his shame?

Unaware of his thoughts, Marie lifted her head and frowned in seriousness. "What...what are we supposed to tell everyone? About us?" she asked tentatively. She wanted to know.

"We'll tell them..." he rasped, "...that you're my girl." He couldn't miss the surprise in her eyes.

"Why I do declare," she whispered when her heart started beating again. There was no other way she could think of dealing with such an overwhelming statement except with syrupy sweetness. "Wolverine, are you asking me to go steady?" she asked with a mock-drawl, batting her eyelashes coquettishly.

"So what if I am?" His tone was too gruff, but he couldn't help it. Fucking he did well; being in a relationship: that was undiscovered territory.

"Goodness gracious," Marie simpered, her hand pressed to her chest. "My heart is all a-flutter." Actually, it was more like her stomach had imploded and exploded at the same time, but she wasn't about to die, not when she was officially being asked out. "I think I am about to swoon, I-"

"Marie?" he growled.

She knew what was coming. "Shutting the fuck up." Her smile was pure Southern sass. He fell for it, hook, line, and sinker; in a flash his hands were around her waist, scooting her along the bench until she was practically straddling him.

"So?" he murmured, burying his fists in her hair. "You gonna leave me dangling or what?" God, he loved the smell of Marie in leather.

"I ain't tired of you yet, sugar. Sure...let's go steady."

He didn't have a clever retort handy; he was too busy kissing her.

A throat cleared behind them. Logan swiveled around and in the doorway was Remy, his arms crossed and a wiseass smirk on his face.

"Get a room," Remy deadpanned.

He didn't do holding hands. He didn't do public affection. But Logan was more than happy to punch Cyclops for getting in her face during the team training session.

They were dressed, they were warmed up, she were prepared. And Cyclops was making her stay behind in the Blackbird to run communications while the team ran a training mission. Everyone was quickly finding out that while Scott was a friend of Marie's, Cyclops was sure a jerk to Rogue.

"I held my own against Wolverine, no mutant ability whatsoever," she argued.

"Training with Logan and fighting a rampaging Sabretooth are two different things. You can't be a short range fighter anymore," he reasoned, even as her face grew darker. "Training you on communications and long-range weapons is much more efficient."

Her voice was dangerous. "You mean much safer."

Cyclops didn't flinch. "That too." His response was met with a cold stare and he frowned. "I'm not talking about sitting on your ass you know, I'm talking about being the backbone of the team. Radio ops. Sniping. Storm, Jean and I are the long range fighters and we could certainly use some help."

"Last time I checked, Piotr's still in Russia. You're down one short range."

He finally lost his temper. "Why are you trying to fight me on this?" he asked crossly.

"Why are you putting me on the back burner? Am I or am I not still on the team?" she demanded.

Cyclops opened his mouth and the wisely closed it. Judging by the look on his face, whatever he was going to say was going to be very un-leaderlike.

She was stubborn. "I want my old spot back."

"You're no good as a short range fighter anymore. My decision is final." He turned to walk away, and was stopped by a seven inch blade that thunked into the floor two inches from his right foot. He turned in disbelief and there was Rogue, two more knives in her hands, in a classic defensive posture.

"Give. Me. A chance," she seethed.

"Scott," Jean said, breaking the silence of the rest of the group that was standing uncomfortably by during the entire exchange. "Don't-" She broke off, her eyelids fluttering from the force of her husband's thoughts. He was obviously telling her to stay out of it.

"Rogue. I trained you. I do not doubt your skills. But you're not ready for this."

"Try me."

"No."

"Try me...or I quit the team," she threatened.

Cyclops sighed angrily, but relented. "You really want to do this?"

"Me and you. You win; I'll train as a long range fighter. I win; you let me have my old place back on the front line." It wasn't about being right or wrong any more, it was about not letting herself be underrated just because she was human. She could do it, and she had to show everyone she could.

"Agreed. X-Men, adjourn to the observation deck."

Nightcrawler teleported, but the rest of the team filed past Cyclops and Rogue on their way out the door. Logan glanced at her as he filed out; her face was unreadable, distant as she mentally prepared herself. He winked at her anyway, and just as he thought maybe she hadn't seen him, she smiled, slow and deliberate and just for him.

He grinned back. She was gonna kick One-Eye's ass.

It began.

Cyclops thought he could take her out, quick and easy, with his psionic blasts. What he didn't count on was an assault with her knives and high kicks that were so aggressive that he didn't have time to reach for the trigger on the side of his visor; he was too busy defending himself.

She knew that as a fighter, Cyclops's weakness was his visor. It cut off peripheral vision, and without the visor he was crippled into blindness. Unless he dared open his eyes, which of course would mean unprotected psionic blasts that could take out both teammate and enemy alike. Marie would never take advantage of a friend's weakness, but Rogue would most definitely use that knowledge to her advantage in a fight. Which she did. Flawlessly. Right in between a roundhouse kick and a vicious right punch, she maneuvered close enough to crack the ruby quartz of his visor with the steel handle of her blade. While he was reeling, she ripped the visor completely off. She felt a little bad about ruining his very VERY expensive visor, but it was worth it to see the disbelieving look on his face (his eyes closed, of course) when he felt the tip of her knife against his throat.

"Say uncle." Her voice was flat; as much as he deserved it for making her prove herself to the team she already belonged to, she hated taking her friend down a peg.

He muttered a very tight 'uncle' and Rogue immediately retreated.

"Mutant or human, everyone has a weakness," she said. "I can find it every time."

In the observation deck, Logan smirked. "That's my girl."