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Repairing what's lost
"Whoa, careful!" Bobby said and had trouble to not let the three drinks drop to the ground. "Rugrats like you should really have a siren or something like that." Only watching how Julian ran into the rec-room laughing like a maniac, he shook his head and made sure to enter the room with a safe distance to the kid. He heard the others laughing and furrowed his brows while sitting down, since the boy was taking a peak around the corner of the sofa and was watching the door attentively. "What's he up to?" Bobby asked after sitting down and handed Rogue and Ororo the drinks.
"Don't know," Ororo shrugged smiling and watched how Julian went over to her side and looked around the corner. They all startled when the boy suddenly squealed aloud and exchanged a look with each other. Thinking that something was wrong, they looked over the backrest and their jaws practically dropped. "Pinch me!" she said and had trouble to realize that this was really happening. Hearing how Julian cried once more in joy, she watched how he was thrown into the air and landed back safely in his father's arms, who lay on the ground with the goofiest smile she'd ever seen. It was even more a shock to her and the two teens that the man actually laughed and was obviously having fun. She guessed that Logan must have sneaked up to them by crawling or something similar to it. At least she hadn't seen or heard him coming. "He's such a big child…," Ororo remarked and asked herself if the man was even aware of them. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but grin.
"And I thought something happened," Bobby huffed with a shake of his head and turned back around to go on watching TV.
Rogue on the contrary smiled at Logan, who got up and cradled his son in his arms and was still smiling like an idiot. "What are you guys doing?" she asked and could tell that he hadn't really taken notice of them; he almost seemed to be embarrassed. But, as she knew him, he quickly regained his cool demeanor and gave her a brief shrug.
"Playin' catchin' poopy-diapers," Logan grunted and gave his still laughing small copy a look.
"And?" Ororo asked smirking. "Was your hunt successful?"
He gave her a smirk back and patted Julian's full diapers. "Yeah," he replied and pulled the boy up a bit. "Diaper change, bub."
"NO!" his son instantly cried and tried to free himself from his father's grip. "No diaper!"
"Yeah, diaper," Logan said and began to walk over to the door. "And if ya don't stop strugglin', I ask mommy t'tie ya t'the bed, kiddo!"
"Poor boy," Rogue joked when Julian's crying could still be heard when Logan was long gone.
"Yeah, getting his diaper changed is always a big drama for him," Ororo laughed and sipped on her soda. "Oh, Bobby, stop making that face!"
"I missed my favorite scene because of him!" the boy complained and sighed. "Since when does Logan act as a daddy anyway?"
"He has in the past months…," Rogue shrugged and leant back against his chest again. "At least after getting used to having a son."
"Yeah, but he acted like a child just now."
"Well, he's a daddy now," Ororo shrugged and got up with a smile on her face. "Daddy's are supposed to goof around with their children."
Bobby gave a brief laugh. "Yeah, but can you actually imagine him doing baby-talk with his kid?"
"Ehm…," the woman made and stopped at the door, acting as if she was thinking hard. "No…," she said and left the room still smiling.
"See?" Logan asked upstairs and pulled his still sobbing son up. "Poopy diaper hit the trash. No harm done and you're still alive. Do ya stop cryin' now?"
"No!" Julian cried and made his father sigh. "A pop!"
"A pop?" Logan chuckled and got up with the boy on his arm. "You're a pop-addict, kid!"
"A pop!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he said and put him down to the ground. "Then let's get ya another pop and then ya go playin' with Aunt 'Roro and go on her nerves for a while, okay?"
After he had made his son happy with another Popsicle and made sure that he was occupied with Ororo, Logan went back upstairs again. His son had occupied him so much that he hadn't even had the time to shower this morning and he really felt like having one before lunch. After he'd gotten rid of his clothes and had wrapped one towel around his hip, he walked over to the bathroom and sniffed. Her scent was still lingering in his rooms even if Jean was probably downstairs or in the lab with Hank. He hadn't seen her all day up to now and wondered where the woman was, while he opened the door to the bathroom quietly. Logan went over to the shower, dropping his towel carelessly to the ground and pulled the curtain aside. All he heard was a loud shriek and he could only stare at the naked redhead in shock, who had frozen on the spot and gave him the same shocked look back. "Shit…," he managed to say after an eternity and turned quickly around; instinctively covering his lower parts with one hand. "I thought you're downstairs…"
"N…no…," Jean stuttered with cheeks as red as her hair and a heartbeat that was completely out of control. Looking around panicky, she spotted the two towels next to the shower and reached out to grab them in order to cover herself. As lucky as she was, Logan had the same idea and both nearly bumped with their heads against each other, when their hands leapt for the cotton. Accidentally they knocked the shower gel over, which now turned the tub into some kind of slimy ice rink and Jean slipped with another shriek. Catching her clumsily, Logan hit the ground and stared at the shaking redhead on top of him. Her breath came so fast by now that he, if he hadn't been too shocked about the situation and too aware of her and his nudity, too, thought she would die of a heart attack. Seeing that she was close to start crying, he reached quickly out and wrapped the towel around her, before he used a second one to cover his lower parts that began to beg for attention.
"I'm sorry," he managed to say and prayed that she wouldn't notice it, but also that she wouldn't start crying now. The whole situation was already too embarrassing to him and he didn't want to know how she felt. He knew how much she still hated to show skin and being caught all naked in the shower must be hell for her. While Jean avoided to look at him at all cost and sat like frozen on him, Logan sat up a bit and looked at her. She was biting her lower lip hard and clutched the towel as close as possible to her body that she almost appeared to him like a vulnerable, helpless little girl in the lion's den. "Would ya mind getting' off of me?" he asked carefully and watched her doing so before she retreated to the opposite wall. "Jeannie, I'm sorry… I didn't pay attention. If I had, I would have picked up on you…," Logan apologized and really began to feel bad. He only hoped that this incident wouldn't cost him the gained trust of her, on which he had worked very hard in the past months. "I… Ya can shower first…," he added and made room for her to walk back over to the shower. While he made sure that his towel wouldn't fall down, he watched from the corner of his eyes how she reached out to grab the curtain and climb back into the tub, as she slipped on the slimy mass once more. "Gottcha," he said and caught her before she had any chance to fall. Thinking that it was too slimy in the tub to stand at all, he pulled her out of it and put her gently to the ground. "We should clean up first," Logan suggested and turned to look at her, just to feel how his heart skipped a beat. As much as he loved sharing his room with her, as much had it begun to be pure torture for him after several weeks.
He knew that every man on this planet would now and understand him, maybe even consider him as being crazy to even sleep next to her, that sharing a room with someone you craved for wasn't such a good idea anymore after a while. He had enough of cold showers in the morning, enough of the impatient and by now annoying Wolverine in his head, enough of only being able to hug her, just enough of the whole apartment-share situation they had for months. It was Christmas soon and they were sleeping in one room with each other for endless weeks by now. He even asked himself if she knew how much she tortured him. He had promised not to do anything she didn't want him to do, but by now his hormones and senses were kicking into overdrive and he needed to do something about it or he would ask Bobby to lock him into a very deep and very long hibernation. Everything was better than suffering from morning wood for 24/7 by now. Unaware of the fact that his breathing had quickened and his grip on her arms had become stronger, Logan only stared into her shocked emerald pools and pulled her unconsciously closer. It was not before his lips brushed lightly over hers and her pulling away as if she'd been burned that he awoke from his trance.
"I'm…I'm sorry," Jean stuttered and looked away with flushed cheeks; not seeing the cocked eyebrow he gave her, since he actually was the one that had to apologize. "It's not that I don't want to…," he heard her saying and suddenly felt his hope rising. "It's just… My heart says yes, but my body says no…"
Being encouraged by her words, Logan placed a hand under her chin and made her look at him. He could clearly see her fear and nervousness. "Ya trust me?"
"You know I do…," she replied and furrowed her brows.
"Then close your eyes," he demanded and felt her pulling away. "I ain't gonna force myself on ya. Just trust me and close your eyes, darlin'." Waiting for her to do so and being overwhelmed by her strong emotions, Logan bent slowly forward and kissed her lightly again. Since she began to pull away again, he placed one hand on her neck and held her steady. "Go on," he whispered hot against her mouth and went on caressing her lips that were as rigid as her whole body first. It almost took forever for her to respond to his kiss. "Was it that bad?" Logan teased her and wiped her tears away.
"No…," Jean whispered and still had trouble to control her feelings. "I'm sorry for being such a pain in the ass…"
"Don't be," he said and placed another kiss on her cheek before he helped her up. "Let me clean this up first," he added and made short work of the slimy mess in the shower before he helped her into it. "Take your time." Giving her a smile, Logan left the room and sat down on the bed where he waited for her to come out of the bathroom again. While waiting, he began to think about the upcoming celebration. He'd never cared for Christmas or New Year, he couldn't even remember having celebrated it once in his life…or as far as his memory allowed him to go back into his past. The whole mansion was decorated, it smelled like cookies, scented candles and who knows what his nose was able to pick up on and for the first time ever he could say that the mansion smelled terrible. There were far too many scents at once for his taste that caused his stomach to make some nasty turns. At least his rooms were stinky-candle and decoration free… Oh, and he hated those happy-sappy songs that played in nearly every room! It wasn't enough that some younger kids had fun singing those songs already in the early morning, no, Ororo and Kitty had to use every CD-Player in the house to listen to those terrible Christmas songs. Sighing loudly, Logan buried his face in his hands since he could clearly hear how a song began to play just now at the end of the corridor.
"Logan!"
Hearing her urgent voice he turned his head and cocked an eyebrow at Jean. "What?"
"I said you can use the shower now," she replied and walked over to the drawer to get dressed.
"Oh…, sorry," he said and got up. "I got distracted by Jingle Bells at the end of the corridor…" Thinking that he had every right to be grumpy, Logan stopped at the bathroom door and turned to give her a look while she combed through her wet her. He couldn't help but smile and think how beautiful she was. "I'm sorry for just runnin' into ya. I should've knocked…," he apologized since he had noticed that her cheeks were still flushed.
"It's okay," Jean replied calmly and felt how heat gathered in her face once more. "It was my fault… I should have locked the door…"
"No, it wasn't," Logan said and closed the door behind him to finally get his well deserved shower.
Looking at it, Jean sank down on the bed and shivered slightly. Her heart was still racing horribly in her chest, even if she tried her best to calm herself again. She could truly say that she had been scared to death before. The shock he had given her by suddenly standing in front of her had been great. Especially since she'd been all exposed and unprotected. "God…," she cried and buried her face in her hands. Never before had he seen her naked, not even when they'd given in to their passion and she really felt ashamed of it; practically like never being able to look at him again. Sniffing and wiping her tears away, Jean gave the door another look and thought about how Logan had reacted. From what she had noticed he'd been embarrassed and had even blushed, so probably he felt as bad as she did. Unconsciously, her fingers touched her lips on which she could still feel his own. Before she was able to think about the kiss she heard how someone knocked on the door and wrapped the sheets around herself.
"Hi," Ororo greeted and scanned her friend for a second. "Did you cry?" she asked worriedly and looked aside when the bathroom door opened and Logan appeared, dressed in a towel only.
"Is he makin' trouble?" she heard him asking and watched how he pulled some fresh clothes out of the drawer.
"Ehm…no. He's actually sleeping," Ororo replied, received a nod before he disappeared into the bathroom again and noticed that Jean looked odd. "He didn't do something that you didn't want him to do, right?" she asked worriedly and made the redhead look up.
"No… What makes you think that?" she asked and watched how Ororo crossed her arms.
"Well, you naked in sheets only, he naked and just coming out of the shower…"
"No, we didn't," Jean began and sighed. "No!"
"Then what happened that has made you cry?"
"It was just a stupid situation in the bathroom," she waved off. "I forgot to lock the door and he thought I was downstairs…"
"Oh…," Ororo nodded and whistled. "The I caught you naked-situation?" she asked and received an embarrassed nod. "Oh boy… Well…" Not knowing what to say, she noticed that the redhead was looking away and chewed on her lower lip. "I hope Logan wasn't a complete male idiot and did something stupid?"
"No…," Jean replied and pulled the sheets closer before she gave the door a nervous look. "I think he feels as bad as I do…"
"You two are really a number," her opposite sighed and shook her head. "Anyway,…I actually came to ask if you two will join us later."
"In what?" the redhead asked and furrowed her brows when she heard Logan leaving the bathroom and coming over to them. She shivered again when she felt the heat that he radiated touching her skin.
"There's a Christmas fair later tonight," Ororo told them and scrutinized Logan. "We're going there at 6."
"'kay," he shrugged.
"I don't know," Jean said and looked away.
"Ya need t'do two things, darlin'," he said and made her look up at him with insecure looking eyes. "First, ya need t'get outta here and see somethin' else than the mansion and garden."
"He's right," Ororo nodded and gave her best friend an encouraging look. "Jean, you haven't left the mansion in months. You really need to get out of here." She sighed when Jean shook her head. "We'll protect you. I bet Logan won't leave your side anyway and tell me one person, who's stupid enough to mess with him."
"Right," Logan smirked and brushed Jean's long hair gently over her shoulder.
"What's second?" Ororo asked him frowning.
"Second," he instantly said and pulled the redhead closer against his chest by wrapping his arms around her. "You'll need t'get dressed or you'll catch a cold, Red. You're freezin' cold…" While he held her close to warm her a bit with his body, his brain noticed that she smelled incredibly good today. "New shampoo?" Logan asked before he could stop himself.
"Ehm…no," Jean stuttered, surprised by this question. "Only a new lotion…"
Leaning in to inhale her scent once more, he couldn't help but nuzzle her neck. "Smells good," he smirked and had completely forgotten about Ororo, who could only look to and fro between them with a big smile.
"Well….," she said and raised both hands briefly. "If you want to come with us, we meet at 6 at the front door." Only receiving a nod from Logan, she turned around and sighed jokingly. "I hope you'll remember what I said. See you later!"
"So what do ya think?" Logan asked and pulled the redhead back into the room with him. "Wanna go?"
Jean, with her arms wrapped around herself and still clutching the sheets to her body, gave him an insecure look. "I don't know…"
"Jean…," he sighed and came closer to stop in front of her. "That fucker hasn't called in what?! Weeks?!"
"You don't understand!" he gave back, surprisingly aloud to his surprise. "I don't feel comfortable with strangers around me," Jean said and almost sounded desperate. "I just… I'm scared…"
Holding her sad gaze for a moment, Logan finally wrapped his arms around her and pulled the woman against his chest. "Ya know I'll protect ya. I won't leave your side," he said soothingly and felt her leaning into his touch. "But think about the kid. He probably wants t'go outside with us sooner or later. What do ya wanna tell him then?" he asked in a gentle voice and stroked over her back. "Ya need to fight your fear. Ya can't let it control your life."
"I know…," Jean mumbled into his chest and sniffed. "But what if he's watching me? What if he follows me?"
Logan pushed her gently away and held her by her shoulder at arm length. His eyes were completely serious and had a dark touch that she only knew from Dangerroom sessions. "Then he meets my claws," he growled and she knew he meant what he said. "Ya know he's dead meat if ya give me a go…"
"I don't want you to do this," she said and shook her head.
"Why not?" he asked and tilted his head a bit; still with this dark predator look in his eyes. "That fucker deserves t'be dead."
"But I don't want you to become a killer, Logan," Jean said and reached out to cover his hand with hers.
"I already am one, darlin'," he replied and looked away while sighing. "Ya know that…"
"It's a different thing to kill people by defending yourself or tracking someone down and doing it. And I don't want you to do it. Not for me," she said and met his gaze when he looked back up. "Please…"
"Fine," Logan gave in and put his hands to his hips. "But if I run into him and he only looks funny at me or you or my kid…"
"Logan…," Jean begged and gave him another look.
"Well, doesn't change the fact that this fucker is number 2 on my most wanted list," he grunted and crossed his arms.
"Who's number 1?" she asked and walked over to the other side of the bed to pick up her clothes. Since he didn't answer the redhead turned and noticed the look in his eyes. Blushing and feeling how her heart skipped another beat, she didn't have to ask again.
"Anyway," Logan said and scratched the back of his neck. "Wanna take a walk in the snow with me? The weather's great today and I miss the calm…" He looked at her. "I mean…ya don't have to…"
"No, we can do that," Jean said and walked over to the bathroom.
"'kay, make sure to take a warm jacket. I wait in the kitchen for ya." Waiting for a nod, he took his leather jacket and left the room.
I know it's been a while and yeah, I know I wanted to update Changes, but I didn't manage to time further than page 12 so far. Don't ask me why. But I will update soon!! Hope you liked this chapter here. Please let me know!!! See ya!!