A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for the support and the lovely reviews. Didn't get as many as I thought I would, but that's okay. You guys are still pretty awesome. I love you. Anyway, here's a short update. It just came to me as I was reading through some of my old stories and watching some things on the television. Don't judge me too harshly, okay? Or you can. It's your choice, really. Enjoy, my lovelies!

OOOOOOOOO

Scarlet laughed at Logan's sour expression as she sat across from him at a small table at the bar that she had driven them to after kicking his ass in the Danger Room training session. She nudged his leg with her foot under the table and he lifted his dark eyes.

"Don't be mad," she told him, noticing the way that he gripped his beer bottle. "I told you before we started that I wasn't going to play fair. Not after you hit my ass with that towel in the garage."

"And I told you not to stick your ass out like that," Logan shot back, but there was a smirk on his face. "Don't you come crying to me when some other guy comes up and tries to take a swat at it too, Maria."

"No one's going to be stupid enough to try to hit my ass like you did," Scarlet said, nudging him again. Not that I want any one else to even attempt to. Just you. Dammit Scarlet! Stop that!

Her eyes widened slightly when Logan moved his foot and nudged her back. He lifted an eyebrow at her reaction and readjusted his grip on his beer bottle. Scarlet shook her head and brought a fry up to her lips, tearing her eyes away from him.

"So, when's your next powwow with the rug-rats?" Logan asked, breaking into her thoughts once more.

Scarlet shrugged a shoulder and chewed on the end of her fry. "A week, maybe. Chuck wants me to have weekly meetings with them. I don't think it's a good idea, but I'm not in charge. I don't get a say in anything."

Logan nudged her again. "I already told you that you're going to do fine, Maria. Chuck wouldn't leave you with the rug-rats if he didn't think that you couldn't handle being around them."

Scarlet tossed her fry at him. "I wish that you wouldn't call me that. I haven't gone by that name in forever. People calling me that – it makes me feel like I'm in trouble or something."

She frowned as Logan plucked up her fry and put into his mouth, swallowing it. "I ain't going to stop calling you by your name, darling. It fits you better than Scarlet."

"Even with these?" Scarlet pointed at her eyes. "Or this?" She gestured at the red streaks in her hair.

Logan nodded.

"C'mon, Logan. You've got to give me something here. I don't like being called 'Maria'. Only the Professor can get away with it because he's done it for so long. Why can't you call me what everyone else does?" Scarlet leaned forward in her seat and rested her elbows on the table. "C'mon, say it. Say 'Scarlet'. Call me 'Scarlet'."

Logan shook his head and promptly started chewing on his burger. Scarlet reached down and scooped up another one of her fries.

"Toss another fry at me, Maria, and you're going to be skipping dessert," Logan threatened, glaring at her. "And I know how you love to eat."

Scarlet smiled sweetly at him and stuck her fry in her mouth, chewing. "Grump."

"Bitch."

"Asshole."

"Pig."

"Jerk."

"Maria."

Scarlet kicked him under the table with the toe of her boot. "Quit that, Funny Hair! I already told you that I hate that name. My dad gave it to me. My mother died saying it. I get called it when I'm in trouble with someone. I. Don't. Like. It."

"I ain't going to stop calling you 'Maria', Maria," Logan told her firmly, lowering his beer bottle from his lips. "It's a nice name. I don't care what your father called you or how much trouble you get in, I'm calling you by your name. Not Scarlet. Understand?"

Scarlet considered kicking him again, but didn't do it. Her toe hurt anyway. So, she pouted and sank back in her seat, idly plucking up her fries and sticking them in her mouth. A waitress came by and refreshed their drinks for them, smiling at Logan and Scarlet like she knew something that Scarlet didn't.

I hate people like that, Scarlet thought, frowning as she looked over at the small live country band playing against the back wall near a small dance floor. Waitresses who think that they know everything about everything. And professors who think that they know what's best for everyone…Why can't I just have a moment's peace to myself? I know that Chuck has helped me out, but I just want to be left alone and have some time to figure out what the hell I can do to get myself under control.

"What are you thinking, Maria?" Logan's voice broke into her thoughts.

Scarlet's eyes watched the people dancing on the small dancefloor and her fingers drummed on the table.

"Maria?" Logan prompted.

Scarlet turned her red eyes onto his much darker ones and the corner of her lips turned up. "Do you want to dance, Logan?" she asked, surprising herself with the question.

"With you?" Logan asked.

"No with the cook," Scarlet said, pushing her food aside. "Of course with me, Funny Hair."

"I didn't think that you danced."

"I usually don't, but I am going tonight." She jumped to her feet and moved around the table until she was at his side. "Will you dance with me, Logan? Please?"

Logan stared at her as she wrapped her hands around his arm.

"C'mon Logan. I'll beg if I have to. It's just one dance. One dance and then I'll let you get back to your beer. I promise."

Scarlet expected Logan to deny her. To shake his head and shrug her off. She expected him to return to his beer and ignore her.

"Okay, Maria," Logan said, scooting his stool back and rising to his feet.

"Really?" Scarlet asked, taking a step back.

"Sure. You asked, darling, and I really don't want to see you beg." Logan's hand slipped behind her back and rested against the small of it as he gently pushed her towards the small dancefloor in front of the band. "Just don't complain about my dancing."

"I'm sure you're not that bad," Scarlet said, not leaning into him like she wanted to.

Logan escorted her to a slightly less crowded portion of the small dancefloor and Scarlet turned to face him. His hands descended upon her hips and Scarlet hesitantly placed her hands on his shoulders. Her scarlet eyes stared up into his dark eyes as they began to move slowly to the music of the band, her not hearing the words being sung by the man at the microphone.

I can't believe I'm doing this, she thought, frowning inwardly at herself. I shouldn't be doing this. I've already told myself that Logan is off limits. He's got his eyes set on Red. He's always had his eyes set on Red. But why would he agree to dance with me then? Just to humor me? Yeah, probably. Dammit, Scarlet! Why do you have to do this to yourself? Do you want to get hurt?

"So, how's my dancing so far?" Logan asked, looking down at her with a small smile.

"Not so bad for a redneck ninja," Scarlet told him with a matching smile as she readjusted one of her hands so that her fingertips graze the back of his neck. Wow. Warm. "Guess they really know how to make them up in Canada, huh?"

"And wherever they made you, darling," Logan said, squeezing her hips.

Scarlet closed her eyes for a moment. "I never did thank you, Logan," she said softly. "For believing in me so much. You and the Professor. I understand why he's been in my corner for so long. But you? I don't understand why you've been in my corner from Day One. Don't get me wrong. I am very grateful. I need you there, in my life, because you're the only one that really tolerates me. The only one that gets me. So, thank you." She traced circles with her fingertips against the back of his neck. "Thank you."

OOOOOOOOO

Logan looked down at Scarlet as he danced with her, watching her stare down at his chest as she spoke. He felt her fingers trace little circles at the back of his neck and suppressed a gentle growl at the sensation there. He barely listened to the words that the country singer was singing, not caring about them or the people around them.

Careful, he told himself. Don't spook the girl. You've already got a fragile friendship with her. You don't need anything else with her. You don't have to have anything else with her. It wouldn't be right.

Then why do you feel this way about her when she looks at you, a little voice asked him and Logan had no answer.

"You don't have to thank me, princess," Logan said, adjusting his grip on her hips. "For anything. I'm going to be here for you. Because you do need me. I don't know why either. But you do and I ain't going anywhere."

Scarlet nodded and kept her eyes fixated on his chest. The music ended and the people on the dancefloor stopped dancing as they turned to clap their hands for the band. Scarlet's head popped up and she blinked, looking towards the band.

"Well, I guess that's that," she said softly.

"What's that?" Logan asked.

"I was only promised one dance," Scarlet told him, looking at him once more with her red eyes. "I told you that you could go back to your beer after one dance, Logan. So, if you want to, we can go back to the table and you can –"

Logan caught Scarlet's hands before she could slip them away from his shoulders and held them in place. Her eyes widened slightly as he smiled.

"A few more dances couldn't hurt, princess," he told her. "Remember, I ain't that bad at dancing. You said so yourself."

A soft smile tugged at Scarlet's lips and she settled her body next to his again, resting her hands lightly on his shoulders. "Okay, Funny Hair. A few more dances."

Logan's hands slid down her body, noticing the way it shivered when they did so and rested on her hips as they began to move to the next song. His eyes held hers and she tilted her head back just slightly, studying him. Her bottom lip tucked between her teeth.

I wonder what it would happen if I –

"Maria…"

"Hey bub," someone said from their right. "You mind if I cut in?"

Just like that, the moment was over and Scarlet was looking away from him. Logan's hands tightened her hips and he looked over to see a cowboy wannabe standing nearby, watching her with a look in his eyes that Logan didn't like. Logan tightened his grip on Scarlet and heard her draw a breath in.

"She's not interested," Logan told him flatly.

"How about you let the little lady answer for herself, bub," the cowboy wannabe said with a smirk from beneath his porno mustache. He looked over at Scarlet. "How about it, little lady? You want to dance with a gentleman for a little while?"

OOOOOOOOO

Scarlet looked away from Logan when they were rudely interrupted by some cowboy with a mustache straight out of a porno. She felt sick just looking at him and he was actually asking her to dance with him. Scarlet ignored Logan's ever tightening grip on her and adjusted her own grip on his shoulders.

"Sorry," she said with no real sincerity. "Not interested. Try again in about…oh, five hundred years, buddy."

She looked back at Logan and thought she saw a triumphant gleam in Logan's eyes.

"You little bitch!" the cowboy wannabe shouted, raising his hand and putting it on her.

Scarlet cried out as she was forced back into a dancing couple in a flurry of movement. The music cut out as the band realized that something was going down on the dancefloor. Scarlet pushed herself away from the dancing couple and stared eyes wide as she realized that Logan was pummeling the cowboy wannabe into the wooden floor with eyes blacker than night.

"Logan, stop!" she screamed, running at him.

OOOOOOOOO

A/N: Okay, so I'm going to end it right there. Probably a bad place to end it. But I'm good at leaving things at awkward parts and I'm kind of tired right now. I have plans for this story though. Things will happen. You just have to be patient. There will be more Scarlet and Logan interaction, I promise you that. And yes, I do know what I'm doing. Please leave a little review in the box and I'll get back to this when I can. Thanks, and much love and puppies/kittens/llamas. -Scarlet