One of the best things about The Council, Jean decides, is the opportunity to hang about with Ororo again. They usually try to at least go for a coffee afterwards. It's also handy to have someone to discuss Council business with. Amongst other things.
"So." Ororo smiles at her over her tea cup. "How are things progressing with you and Logan?"
Jean sighs and rests her hand on her chin. "They're not."
Ororo raises an elegant eyebrow. "After all your hard work, please don't tell me he's playing hard to get?"
Jean laughs. "He'd be easier to 'get' if he wasn't attached at the hip to someone else." She nods her head, Kurt has finished with the council meeting too, he and Logan are standing near the door into the cafe. They look relaxed and happy, Logan never looks relaxed and happy in public. They head towards the room with the pool table.
Ororo watches them, they've not seen her and Jean, sat in a quiet booth at the back, though she'd be very surprised if Logan didn't know they were there.
"They've been a long time apart, Jean, I think they're just reconnecting."
"I know, I know. It's just." She pauses and looks down at her drink. "Ororo, I'm jealous of him."
"Of Kurt?"
"He has it so easy with Logan. Just look at them, so relaxed, such an easy friendship. Relationship." She bites her lip.
Ororo looks at her. Looks over at the door the two men went through.
"I don't think it started out as an easy friendship, Jean, I seem to remember Kurt putting a lot if work into it, in getting to know Logan, into understanding him and gaining his trust. He was incredibly patient, he still is"
"I suppose so. I just wish, I just wish they weren't so together right now. And that's a horrible thing to think, feeling like that about someone who's not doing anything wrong. It's not Kurt whose monopolising Logan; it's Logan wanting to be with him all the time. As if he's hiding from me, using Kurt."
"Maybe he is. It's quite a step, from fantasising about being with the person of your dreams to living with the day to day reality of it being allowed. And quite a weight, being the focus of that fantasy, I'd imagine?"
Jean nods. Ororo's insight is always good, if not always easy to hear.
"He goes to Kurt when he needs to talk. When he's hurting. I want him to know he can come to me too."
"He's used Kurt as his closest confessor for years, Jean, he may always do that; there is a great darkness in his soul, he doesn't like to burden others with it. Except for Kurt, of course." She considers the issue, clear blue eyes shrewd with her understanding of her friends. "I think, if I were you, I would focus on becoming friends with Logan. Forget the weight of expectation, forget the rush. Unless all you are interested in is the sex?"
Jean looks away. Ororo smiles; American taboos never cease to amuse her, Krakoa's new relaxed morality still has a long way to go to breakdown some of the ingrained cultural norms.
Logan's laughter reaches her ear, no one makes him laugh like Kurt.
"Don't think of him as competition, Jean, that way only lies hurt. Think of him as an asset, an ally, I know that you'd spoken, that he said wasn't going to get between you and Logan?" Jean nods. "So take him at his word; you know he means it. And be friends with him too, include him into your life. I think he's feeling a little adrift at the moment, his family, his team are all over the Island and beyond and he's working too hard on Council business.
But, most of all, the very best way to be friends with Logan is to be good to Kurt, be kind to him, let Logan see you with him. Everything else will fall into place in time."
"... so, in conclusion, the half of Wolverine on Greenspace is still alive and Domino, Gateway and Forge are currently working on, ahem, reuniting him." Charles' voice is somber. "The Resurrection Protocols have been invoked on Quentin."
Jean feels Kurt, sat beside her, shudder, she catches his eye, gives him a sight smile.
Mystique's acid tone cuts through the Council chamber. "We should pass the murderous maniac through a mincer and grow an army of him. But then, one of the insufferable little shit is more than enough. I wonder how long it will take him to grow back into something useful?"
Kurt looks away, out of the window. "Oh dear, am I being indelicate, my fragile little flower?" She looks down her nose at her son. "Do grow up."
Jean feels the anger and pain the sharp words cause, Mystique is very good at causing pain. She opens her mouth to snap a repost, to defend him, but Emma's melodious voice beats her to it.
"Stop being such a shrew, Raven."
She rolls her eyes, lounging insolently as always. "God, not you too? Does he hide behind all your skirts? If you all started treating him like a fucking adult maybe he'd start to grow a fucking backbone?"
There's a rumble of thunder overhead. "Enough." Ororo's voice cuts over her. Kurt lowers his head, Jean feels anger, embarrassment, frustration, flash through him.
"Yes." Charles agrees. "That's quite enough, thank you."
Mystique unfolds herself and glides gracefully around the table. When she gets behind Kurt's chair, she pauses and hisses in his ear, in a stage whisper. "And what's a good Catholic man like you doing, getting down on your knees for the filthy little mongrel, anyway?" Kurt flinches, as though she'd hit him.
There's a crack of lightning across the ceiling and Ororo stands, her face dark with fury.
Mystique smiles thinly, raising her hands, placating, and slinks out.
Shaw and Sinister are smirking but everyone else is just looking uncomfortable.
Jean is seething. So is Ororo.
Normally, she'd expect a quip or bright put down from Kurt, but his mother has a way of cutting him deeply, circumventing his good humour.
"I'm sorry." He apologises, quietly, for his mother's behaviour.
"Nonsense." Eric scowls. "You're not responsible for the vile woman."
"Quite." Charles' voice is kind. "And thank you for your work on the project this week. It is appreciated, by the rest of The Council."
They adjourn; Kurt shuffles his paper work, head still down.
Charles comes over and stands beside his chair, he removes the Cerebo helmet and rests his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Are you alright, Kurt?"
He raises his head, meeting his mentor's eyes. "I'm fine, sir."
Charles regards him for a moment. "It's 'Charles' we're all equal in here. And I meant what I said, your work has been exemplary, way beyond what we could have expected, we are in your debt."
Kurt bows his head again with a little smile, flattered but embarrassed; he's used to compliments on his physical prowess, less so for his bright mind.
**I've got to go back to Kate and the Marauders.** Ororo speaks to Jean via their psylink. **Will you keep an eye on him, please?**
**Of course, I was thinking of taking him home, for dinner, anyway.**
**Thank you, my sister. Oh, how I hate that woman.**
**Join the club.**
**You know Logan will be fine?**
Jean sighs. **I hope so.**
**He will be. Look after Kurt, for him, for me, for all of us, he feels a bit fragile today, which is not like Kurt. It's not just his mother is it?**
**He finds the X Force reports really hard.** Everyone knows Kurt's opinion on the idea of Krakoa having a CIA, even if he keeps his opinion mostly to himself.
**I wish I could stay and talk to him, but I need to keep an eye on Kate.**
**I know, I'll make sure he's okay.**
They hug as they part.
And so she takes Kurt up to The Summers House.
And they make dinner, together. Eat together. Joke over half-a-Wolverine and which half they want back, in that way you do with someone you care for, about someone you love, with no malice, just good humour between them. It makes Kurt forget Mystique and makes the wait for news easier.
She gets the heads up about midnight from Scott; Logan, Forge, Gateway, Neena are all back on Krakoa, safely, they're debriefing with Scott and Gorgon and Eric. The relief flashes through her and she hugs Kurt, hard.
When Logan and Scott finally make it home they find the pair of them, still on the sofa, red hair tangled with blue, Jean asleep with her head on Kurt's shoulder.
Logan stands there, arms crossed, looking down at them. This. This is what he's fighting for. Who he's fighting for. Kurt smiles up at him, gently nudges Jean and Logan suddenly has an armful of her. He hugs her close, breathing in the sweet smell of her hair and revelling in the warmth of her.
Kurt rises, stretches.
"I'll be off." he says, quietly to Scott, sharing a tired, relieved, smile.
Logan raises his head. "Elf?"
"I'll see you all tomorrow."
Logan scowls. "No."
Scott expertly eases the sudden tension. "Stay and have a drink."
"It's late..." Kurt clearly feels he's intruding, Jean disengages from Logan's arms and catches his hand.
"Please, Kurt, stay, have a drink, stay here tonight. It's late, we have plenty of room." She smiles. **Please?**
He capitulates to the multiple onslaught. Scott grins as he finds the glasses, ice, whisky, Kurt has no chance against the pair of them.
Jean sleeps in Logan's bed. Kurt in one of the spare rooms.
In the very small hours of the morning, he wakes to a presence beside the bed.
Logan sits on the edge. Kurt runs a hand across his hard, muscled, midriff under his robe, astonished, as always by his body's amazing capacity to heal.
"Not a mark."
Logan shrugs. "You okay?"
"I'm not the one who was bisected today." His tone is light, but Logan knows him well. He captures his hand, squeezes his fingers, bends down and gently, slowly, kisses him goodnight.
Before returning to Jean and his own bed.
Kurt rolls over and relaxes back into sleep.
She opens her eyes. **Okay?**
He gets back in bed and takes her in his arms. **Yeah. All good, now, darlin'**
He wouldn't rest until he knew Kurt was settled too, she thinks.
**You're alright, up here?**
**Huh?**
**In our habitat? On the moon?**
He chuckles in his head. **It is a bit of a commute, Red.** he kisses her shoulder. **An' when you said we were movin' up here, I kinda' thought ya meant all of us.**
**All of us?**
**You know, our Elf, 'Ro, the whole team.**
Oh, she thinks. All of us.
He's not finished, sometimes they all forget that beneath the gruff surface act is a thinking, feeling man.
**You we're right, y'know.**
**Right?**
**Couple of weeks ago, when ya' bawled me out. He's important, as important as any of us.**
She nods. ** He is.**
**An' he never asks for anything. Never asks me, us, the team, for anything. Just trundles on. An' we ask so much from him. We're doin' it again, with all this Council stuff. I want him safe, Jeannie, I want him happy. If anyone's earned it, he has.**
She kisses him. **I know. I want him happy too.**
The kiss deepens, why did she think this would be hard? They lose themselves in each other for a while.
The following day, when she sits there, staring down at the slowly turning globe below, she thinks about the mercenary. The guy with the dog called Rufus. The mercenary called Bill. Thinks about what she did to him. For Krakoa, for her people, for their cause. Some would call it torture. She needs to talk about it. About him, about X Force. But not with Scott, not with Logan. Most definitely not with Rachel, Nate, Alex, Gabriel.
She knows who she wants to talk to; she knows Kurt would call it torture. But Kurt would also understand? She thinks, she hopes he would. She rests her head on her folded arms and thinks of clever, thoughtful gold eyes.
But Kurt's back home, two hundred and forty thousand miles away, on Krakoa.
And, even with her family bustling around the habitat, she suddenly feels alone.
Scott leans back in his chair looking at Warren over the top of his glass.
He'd missed this, this simple camaraderie. They've been friends for so long, it's easy to relax in each other's company.
The bar is lively, mutants of every shape size, colour. It's chaotic, loud, vibrant. It's fabulous."What I can't get over is working next to people like Sinister and Apocalypse."
"I know, Warren, me neither." He takes another sip of his drink. "Some of them are really surprising me, Paris, Exodus for one. And Gorgon."
"Gorgon!"
"He's incredibly good at his job. He's in charge of The Council's security. He's having an... interesting time of it. Kurt is giving him fits."
"Who? Our Kurt?" Warren laughs, the one person who doesn't have a reputation for being difficult.
"Try providing a bodyguard to a teleporter who doesn't think he needs one. Two of Gorgon's men stood outside his habitat for eight hours, they only realised he wasn't inside when he returned in the evening. He'd been out to a gym and at least two other locations while they'd been cooling their heels all day."
"Does he need a bodyguard?" Warren looks across the bar, Kurt is hanging upside down from a liana, talking to a gaggle of young women. He doesn't look anything like a responsible, sober head of state. The girls don't look like a threat. All of them are laughing.
Scott follows his friend's eye-line and sighs. "We don't want to take the risk, he's the most vulnerable member of The Council, plus he's highly visible."
"And highly gregarious?"
"Yeah, he eats at public cafeteria, works out in a public gym. Jean thinks he's missing us."
"Us?"
"You know, the team, the mansion. Think about it, he went from living and working in the circus to being an X-Man; he's never lived alone."
Warren looks over at Kurt again. "He looks happy enough now."
Scott smiles; he doesn't think Warren has noticed the short, broad figure, drinking neat whiskey, other side of the bar. Of course Kurt is happy, he knows Logan is there. That's all it takes.
Life goes on.
Jean brings Kurt home from Council meetings, sometimes alone, sometimes with Ororo or Charles, and feeds him up.
Rachel and Kurt have a vicious backgammon tournament going on.
Kurt teaches Nate and Rachel to play poker, much to Gabriel and Alex's disgust, as the trio trounce them at a penny a point. Scott thinks that Nate might be getting lessons in how to fleece rubes from Kurt too. As he watches them, hears the laughter, it turns a cold, slightly sterile room into a home.
Scott invites him to use their gym, when Kurt gets frustrated with people watching him in the public one; no matter how early he goes there are always others there. The Luna habitat is private, no one to disturb him. Scott, Logan or Alex spot him for lifting weights and they program in his complex, custom rig so he can keep up his acrobatics. He doesn't mind them watching, they're not strangers.
Logan goes out for a beer with him and even if they spend the whole night apart, they go back to Kurt's apartment together at the end of the evening, sometimes to sleep, sometimes to make love; they're discreet, but they're not hiding any more. But he's getting more and more used to going back to the Luna habitat and finding Kurt there.
Jean and Scott present him with the flower at the dinner table, when everyone else is there.
"I don't understand?" Kurt cradles the flower in its white sphere, and looks around.
Jean smiles and reaches across to rest her hand over his.
"It's a portal. To link our habitat with yours."
He looks at her, puzzled. Then realisation dawns. If the habitats are linked, he can come and go anytime he likes. He looks at the flower and then round the table at his friends.
"Oh. Oh! Thank you. Are you sure?"
"Of course we're sure. We wouldn't have given it to you otherwise." Jean squeezes his hand.
"You're family too." Scott agrees. It shouldn't be a big thing, yet somehow, it is.
Logan doesn't say anything, but he has that rare, relaxed, contented look on his face.
And a useful addition to the family, Scott thinks, as he works in the quiet of Kurt's habitat, finishing his paperwork. Much quieter than Luna, when there's a house full. Warmer and more homely than his official office, which he avoids as much as possible, who knew running an Island meant so much paperwork?
Once he's finished, and it really doesn't take long if he concentrates, he goes and stands at the picture window, looking down at Krakoa spread below.
"Nice, ain't it?" Logan comes and stands beside him, handing over a chilled bottle of bootleg beer. Scott refrains from asking where the bottle came from. Or why it's in the 'fridge of a member of The Quiet Council.
"It's breathtaking." he agrees, taking a swig. "Is he still up on Luna?"
"Yeah, clobberin' Ray at backgammon, again."
"Are they getting back together?"
"I fuckin' hope not, Slim. Ain't it complicated enough up there?" Logan sighs and runs his hand through his short, spiky hair.
Scott grins around his beer. "I suppose so."
"Thanks."
"Thanks?"
"For lookin' out for my lad. You and Jeannie."
Scott smirks. "Does he know he's 'your lad'?"
"Ya know what I mean."
"Sorry." He's not really; getting under Logan's skin is an art form, but it pays to keep in practice. But he's not sorry for having Kurt as part of their life. "It makes Jean happy, having him about and I'll do almost anything to make her happy." Logan nods, they both would. "I'll be getting back. Thanks for the beer."
"Anytime. Tell him to get his pretty tush back home now."
"Pretty tush?"
"Well, it is." Logan kisses his way down the short fur on his lovers neck. The warm waterfall of the shower slicks his hair down. He slides his hand across hard abs, where the fur thickens towards the pubic bone, where another man would have hair, the tail slides across Logan's muscular thigh, intent on mischief of its own. Unique, absolutely unique, his beautiful lover is. But then, Kurt would insist that they are all unique.
"Ah!" He takes Kurt's cock in hand, long and slender, like the rest of him.
"Pretty."
"That's not my tush! Ah."
"Nope, savin' that for later."
"Mmm." Kurt leans into him, trembling, gasping, Logan's strong, confident, familiar hand works him, he is very good at what he does.
After, in bed, when they lie there together, warm, sated, Logan looks over the top of the damp blue-black curls out across Krakoa. He's so fucking lucky. He knows that. He can't believe this is working, but, somehow, it seems to be. At least for now. He kisses the top of his lover's head. Safe. Happy.
He's going to make sure both Kurt and Jean stay that way. no matter what it takes.