A/N:

OOOOOOOOOOO

Two years later…

Scarlet laid on her bed, tracing shapes in the air. She'd finally gotten her own room when she proved that she couldn't room with other girls. True, she still had friends and could go to class with the rest of the population of the mansion, but she couldn't sleep with others around her. If she tried, she would go days without sleep and accidents were prone to happen.

She could hear the children laughing and playing outside, but they seemed to be distant. Everything seemed distant since that night she passed out in the middle of the driveway to the school.

Scarlet turned her head and sniffed the collar of the jacket that she was wearing. It held a soothing scent. She felt safe in the jacket. Protected.

Her right hand caught her attention as it had many times before. She wore a cooling glove on it because no matter what was done, her hand was still burning. Forge had been trying different manners to get her hand cool, but this was the only way that worked so far. It made shaking hands fun because they always commented about how cool her hand was.

At least I can flex my fingers again, Scarlet thought, twirling her finger around in the air and watching fireworks pop in the air. It took long enough for that to happen. So many little pieces of my abilities, coming back to me. She twisted her hand and a ball of light swirled on her hand. I have more control of my powers thanks to him…who would have thought?

She lowered her hand and watched the ball of light float above her. It shifted and changed into different shapes as she watched it. A smile graced her lips and she blinked. The ball of light disappeared with a small pop.

Scarlet heard a vehicle pull into the driveway of the school. She sat up and listened hard. That vehicle sounded too familiar. It ran too smooth to have been serviced by Scott. Only three trucks worked on by her had that smooth purr to them. And one of them had been MIA for two years.

It can't be…Scarlet let her bed drop to the floor and climbed off it. There's no way that he would show his face here after the stunt that he pulled…right?

Scarlet walked out of her room and down the hall. She smacked the hand of a kid who held his hand out to her, proud that he'd graduated from her little powwow circle. Leticia waved to her as she neared the stairs and Scarlet winked at her.

He's in for a surprise when he sees how much I've progressed without him. I didn't need him to help me get this far. I have all the help that I need.

Scarlet skirted around a group of students and made her way to the side door that led to the garage. Scott's proud fleet of vehicles sat in the garage, all looking pristine, but she knew half of them ran like shit. Not that she wasn't working on fixing that problem. Honestly, if the man couldn't keep track of his cars, he didn't deserve them.

The girl stopped walking when she saw the truck that had been missing from the fleet for two years. The man that climbed out of it looked untouched by time. Not even the hint of gray in his hair. Scarlet's heart fluttered at the sight of him, but she reined it back.

"Logan," she said, her voice low.

"Maria," Logan said, dropping his bag on top of the hood of his truck. "It's been awhile."

Scarlet flexed her fingers. "Two years." She held up a hand. "Don't tell me that I look good now. I know how I look. Time is as kind to me as it is to you."

Logan moved closer to her. "You've grown a bit taller."

"Well, I did go through a growth spurt when you left. You know, that time when you left me standing in the rain while you went on a trip to Nowhere Land? Yeah, things happen when you disappear without a trace."

Logan quirked his eyebrow up. "You mean you didn't try to look for me?"

"Why would I have wanted to?" Scarlet asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "You clearly didn't want me. You didn't want me to find you either. Because any sane person would have left a note of where they were going if they wanted to be found. A clue or something. But you, Major Dumbass, didn't. So why waste my time?"

"Maria, I never said I didn't want you," Logan said, taking another step towards her. "Because you know how I feel about you."

"And how was she supposed to take you leaving her behind as wanting her, James?" Victor asked, appearing behind Logan.

Victor moved past Logan to stand next to Scarlet. Scarlet glanced up at him and then back at Logan.

"You're with him?" Logan demanded, his brow furrowed.

"He's my mentor," Scarlet informed the feral mutant. "Unlike you, he didn't run off when things got hairy. No, he stayed here and helped me with my training."

Victor smirked. "You're not the only one that heals quickly, James."

"Maria," Logan said, looking at her and she thought she saw a pleading gleam in his eyes. "Can we talk?"

"I have nothing to say to you," Scarlet said before snapping her fingers. "Oh wait, I do." Her eyes narrowed. "Fuck. You."

She threw up her middle finger and walked out of the garage and into the light. When she turned, she started floating in the air and flew off with her middle fingers upraised at Logan. There was no way that he was going to break her heart a second time.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Logan watched Scarlet fly off and then turned to look at Victor. "What have you been teaching her?"

Victor smirked. "What every feisty mutant like her needs to learn. How to fight. How to stand up for herself. How not to fall for a jackass that likes to run when someone gets their panties in a wad."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Logan said, turning to grab his bag.

"Oh, so I don't know that I found the girl on the ground, soaked to the bone two years ago with you MIA?" Victor growled. "I don't know that the girl refused to sleep or eat until I told her I would fight by her rules in the Danger Room. She turned to me. I protected her and trained her while you were out in the great beyond, drinking and chain smoking."

Logan growled, but said nothing as he pushed past Victor. He couldn't deny that he hadn't been there for Scarlet for the past two years. Two years had passed and what did he expect her to do – stay standing still, waiting for him?

"You broke her heart, Logan," Victor called after him. "Don't blame the mutant that helped her pick up the pieces."

Logan slammed the door behind him, unwilling to let the other feral mutant know that his words affected him otherwise. He'd only made it to the great entrance to the mansion before he was pounced on by one excited Addison.

"Fishtail," he grumbled, shrugging her off. "You need to work on your energy."

"Hello to you too, Logan," Addison said, smiling brightly at him. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

"And aren't you still as annoyingly perky as ever," Logan said, moving past her.

Addison was not one to be ignored. She bounced after him and smiled. "Does this mean you're going to go back to pursuing Scarlet? Because, in my opinion, you two would make a lovely couple."

"Coming from you? That means nothing."

"Oh come on!" Addison jumped in front of him and rolled her eyes. "Did you see who she is hanging around with these days? Victor freaking Creed! Like how bizarre is that?"

"I have no control over who she decides to hang out with, Fishtail," Logan said, glaring down his nose at her. "If she wants to be around that bastard, then she can go ahead and do so."

"But it's not right!" Addison insisted, not wavering. "Victor and Scarlet is so…bad. And you and her are so simpatico."

Logan gave her a dark look. "Move."

"Logan, please. Whatever happened is in the past, think of the present and the future," Addison said, bouncing on her toes. "Move on. Grab her around the waist and kiss her. Make things right. Because her and Victor aren't." She gave him a small smile. "She wants you. She always has."

Logan shook his head and pushed past her. "Go tread some water. And stay out of my personal life, Fishtail."

"Logan!" Addison called after him. "Logan!"

Logan walked up the stairs and down the hall. He moved into his old room and paused just inside, surprised.

Even after all these years, Scarlet's scent still lingered in the room. He stood for a moment, breathing it in and then mentally cursed himself. He closed the door and threw his bag on the bed.

How could I have expected any different? Why wouldn't she be with someone else when I came back? Logan thought, mentally chastising himself. But why in hell did it have to be him? Victor of all the mutants in this school! That smarmy brute. Can't she see through him?

Logan sat on the edge of his bed and picked up his pillow, sniffing it. It still smelled like Scarlet's hair. He closed his eyes and wished that Scarlet was with him, still in the bedroom, talking to him about absolutely anything in the world. Just as long as she was with him.

But when he opened his eyes, she wasn't there.

He was alone.

And Scarlet wasn't his anymore.

\

OOOOOOOOOO

Scarlet flipped in the air when Victor threw her and fired off bolts of energy at him which he dodged. He came at her, claws extended and Scarlet made him phase through her. With a swift kick backwards, she had him tripping over himself and falling to the ground.

"Dead," Scarlet said proudly, straddling him and putting her hand around his throat. "Oh, you're so, so dead, Tiger."

Victor smirked up at her and nodded. "Good girl…you're getting faster, stronger."

Scarlet made a face. "Ew…don't sound so much like my dad, will you?" She backed off of him and stretched her arms over her head so that her shirt lifted and revealed her bellybutton ring. "I don't want to have to disown you."

The feral mutant sat up and draped a hand over his knee. "I see you've taken to wearing the jacket that I gave you."

Scarlet plucked at the sleeve of the jacket and smiled. "It's a good jacket. Warm, comfy." She glanced at him. "And for your information, you didn't give me this jacket. I took it from you."

"Keep telling yourself that," Victor said, climbing to his feet.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sweetheart, if I didn't want you to have something, you wouldn't be able to take it." He gave her a look. "You're not that good."

"Fuck you," Scarlet said, throwing her hand out and blasting him against a nearby tree.

Victor chuckled and shook off the blow. "That the best you've got?"

Scarlet pointed up and Victor looked up to see the tree starting to collapse on him. He dodged that and fell in a hole that he hadn't noticed. Scarlet laughed as she looked down at him, hands shoved in the pockets of her jacket.

"You look so cute down there," Scarlet commented, kicking a pebble and watching it land on his head. "All covered in muck."

Victor wiped his face off and glowered up at her. Scarlet smiled with all the innocence of an angel and kicked another pebble at him. This time, he caught it.

"Care to come down and fight in a hole, sweetheart?"

"Meh," Scarlet said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Scared?"

"Nope, just don't want to give you ideas, Tiger."

"Sweetheart, what part of you haven't I seen?"

Scarlet shook her head. "Keep dreaming. The most you've actually seen is my top half because you don't know how to knock before entering a room."

Victor had a mischievous grin on his face. "And that was a good bit to see too."

"Wipe that grin off your face, Tiger, or someone will end up buried in that hole," Scarlet warned, her eyes flashing gold. "And that person isn't me."

The feral mutant waved his hand and pushed himself to his feet. Scarlet stepped back as he jumped out of the hole and brushed at his clothes. She glanced him over and then looked away when he caught her looking at him.

"You talk big. Make sure you can back up your words," Victor ordered, flicking her on the shoulder.

"Rule Number 67," Scarlet said, smirking at him.

Victor smirked. "Exactly. Now, again."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Logan walked into the kitchen after curfew and found Scarlet rummaging through the freezer. She was in booty shorts and a sports bra and didn't seem to care about anything but her goal. Logan wondered how she could look that good and have such an attitude.

"Keep staring because that's all you can ever do," Scarlet said, straightening and pulling out a tub of ice cream. "But you know a picture will last you longer."

A spoon zipped by his head and Scarlet caught it. She smiled at him and jumped onto the counter, reclaiming her spot. Without giving him a second glance, she dug into the tub of ice cream.

"Darling, what happened?" Logan asked.

"That obvious, huh?" Scarlet stabbed her ice cream. "Victor kicked my butt in the Danger Room twice. And that jackass –"

"No, not that. What happened to you and…me?"

Scarlet gave him a look. "There was never a you and me. There was a you and your hand while I was being dragged along for the ride." She pointed her spoon at him. "You're the one that decided to leave and not come back for two fucking years. Don't blame me from moving on."

"But with him?"

"Who said I was with anyone?" Scarlet's eyes flashed and she stabbed her ice cream again. "Fucking Aqua! She's been spreading that rumor for weeks! I ought to beat her head in. The nerve!"

Logan lifted an eyebrow. "So, you're not with Victor?"

"Nope and I'm not with you either," Scarlet stated, shaking her head. "You really should have thought harder about not leaving me behind if you wanted me. Because hello, princess, I'm not letting you back into my heart." She made the ice cream vanish into thin air and climbed off the counter. "You can, however, watch my ass as I walk out of the room."

Logan shook his head as Scarlet walked out of the room, a sway in her hips. He was sad to see her go, but damn did he love watching her leave.

I have to make this right…

OOOOOOOOOO

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