When we got to the restaurant, we got a table and sat down. The whole meal was a very fun endeavor, and more than once I thought to myself that I would kill myself if I lost this group of people.

We were there for nearly 3 hours just talking and laughing about the past, present, and future. When we finally left, I was somewhat saddened. We didn't get free time like this very often. But as soon as we were on the road home, anticipation was the dominate emotion in me. Logan's was contentment is you were wondering.

As soon as Logan had the bike back in the garage and turned off, I told him, "I'm pretty worn out. I'm gonna head to bed, okay?"

"Okay, kid. See you tomorrow."

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight. Howl at the moon for me, Wolverine."

He smiled softly and responded, "Sure thing, Chord."

I smirked at his use of my mutant name since I had used his, then went inside. Kitty stopped me in the hall and asked, "Leslie! Did you all have fun?"

"Yeah! It was a blast! Why didn't you come?"

"I had homework. Physics."

I winced. "Eww! That sucks. I'm so glad to be out of school."

"Are you going to do any kind of college?"

"I haven't decided. I'm not sure what I'd major in anyway. I can see it now. Leslie White, bachelor's degree in kicking ass."

Kitty giggled. "That would be great! It's getting hard to find jobs out there, even with a degree though. Might as well not waste money on one yet."

"Good point! Well, I was headed to bed, so…"

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

"You're cool, Kit. Always a pleasure talking to you. Goodnight."

"Night!"

We parted ways and I made it to my room. I put my coat away and get changed into some sweats and a tee, then I went into the bathroom and got my teeth brushed, face washed, and hair combed. After all of that, I climbed into bed. It was still early and a lot of people were still awake, so I pulled out my MP3 player and used it to pass the time. Logan went to sleep at about 11pm and managed to avoid dreaming for the time being. For that, I was thankful. I didn't want to be in tears when Victor showed up. I waited and even got to pacing. Midnight passed. 12:30am. 1am. By that time, I was a nervous wreck. Had I missed him earlier? Was he ok? At 1:15am, I was sitting on the foot of my bed when a dark shadow came vaulting in my window. I didn't even give him time to regain his footing before throwing myself at him. Needless to say, we ended up in a tangled heap on the floor. I detangled myself from his coat and searched around until I found his face. "Hi," I breathed.

He sighed contentedly with one of his slightly feral grins and answered, "Hello there. Have you been waiting up for me all this time?" I nodded sheepishly. He chuckled and hugged me close. "Well, for future reference, if I'm not here by midnight, go on to bed. I'll wake you when I arrive."

"Okay." We sat in silence for a while, my body simply draped over his.

Finally, he asked, "How was your day?"

"Stressful. Having a secret isn't easy. I can't tell anyone. Not all of them know you, but if their tongue slips around Logan…" I trailed off.

"Are you afraid of him?"

"Logan? No. I'm just afraid of what he might do to you if he found you. It wouldn't be pretty."

"Of course not. Jimmy's never been that pretty."

I laughed. "I think he's quite a looker actually."

"Then why aren't you wrapped in his arms?"

" Because you can't fall in love with your best friend. It ruins everything."

"Best friends," Victor scoffed sadly. "He and I were best friends once."

"Do you want to be again?"

"It would be nice, but it's never going to happen. Not after…"

"Stryker."

"Yeah. Whatever happened to that guy anyway?"

"He's dead. Logan and I were there."

"And Jimmy didn't remember him?"

"There was a vague recollection, but he couldn't put his finger on it."

"I'll bet that was frustrating."

"You have no idea! And I had to deal with it constantly! At least that's gone now. It's only pain and anger left."

He was quiet for a moment, then asked, "So, do you feel everything he does?"

"I feel it and I take some away. Um," I had planned on explaining, but decided against it, "it's confusing."

"All his emotions?"

"All emotions and physical pain."

"Why aren't you dead yet?"

I laughed and rolled off him onto the floor. He rolled up on his elbow to look down at me. "I've come close. When Cerebro attacked…"

"What?" he interrupted.

"You remember, about a year and a half ago when suddenly, all you could feel was pain?"

His eyes grew wide. "I do remember that! What was it?"

"Stryker's attempt to wipe out mutants. You'll never hear me say this again, but thank God for Magneto." He opened his mouth to ask why, but I quickly said, "Don't ask." He shut his mouth. I continued, "Anyway, that hit every mutant in the world, including Logan and myself. So, I had that mind-racking pain of my own along with Logan's plus some. I was nothing but a writhing, screaming mass of flesh. I came very close to just giving up, and then it stopped. My whole body was useless. I made Logan run on without me." Victor looked a little incredulous. "He came back!" I added. "He carried me all the way out…well, except when he sat me down for two seconds to throw his dogtags at the chained up Stryker's feet."

"How did he die?"

"The dam at Alkali Lake busted and flooded the valley. He was chained to a tree." I stopped and let the memory come back.

Stryker said, "Who has the answers, Wolverine? Those people? That creature in your arms? Huh?!"

Logan and I exchanged looks, then he sat me on my feet in the snow, ripped off his tags, and threw them at Stryker's feet. I was shocked. Those tags were his prized possession. He picked me back up and answered, "I'll take my chances with her."

As he turned and walked away, Stryker called, "One day, someone will finish what I've started, Wolverine! One day!" I turned my head and looked back. I met his eyes and promptly flipped him off as we left him to die. (By the way, reader, Logan got new tags. One side said Wolverine and the other Chord. Some stupid crap about my completing him.)

Back in the present, Victor has been calling my name for nearly a minute. He finally got my attention by viciously kissing me. I pushed him away and gasped for breath. "Wow," I sighed. "Sorry. Reminiscing."

"About what?" he asked sarcastically sweetly.

"Bad memories. So, are we going to stay on the floor all night?"

He smiled mischievously and very alluringly. "Only if you want to."

My heart skipped a beat and my fingers dug into the floor. "Tempting," I awkwardly slurred.

He tapped my nose with his index finger and chuckled, "You don't know what you're saying."

"No, I really don't," I conceded.

"Come on." He grabbed m hands and pulled me up. He then wandered over to my CD collection. "What does empath Leslie White listen to?" He ran his finger down the list until he found something that interested him. "Mozart?"

I shrugged. "It covers a lot of emotions."

He pulled it out and got it into the player. "I had to learn to dance to this when I was a boy."

"Back in 1845," I said quietly.

He smiled. "Back in 1845." He gently picked me up and placed my feet atop his. Then he put one hand in mine and the other on my waist. I put my free hand on his brawny shoulder. As the music quietly flowed out of the speakers, he began to move about the room in very smooth steps. I was shocked at how good of a dancer he was. His bulky, slightly animalistic appearance certainly didn't betray and sense of gracefulness. We spun around my room in a beautiful blur, ignoring the world around us. Right now, there was only us. Only this. The forbidden couple. Forbidden love.