Chapter Nine – Debating The Next Move
Logan stood there staring at Marie's closed door – her now locked door. He couldn't believe Scott had the audacity to not only walk in unannounced, but to make presumptions that would necessitate bolting it. Feeling his anger rise to a highly dangerous level he considered pulling the door off its hinges, but decided he'd simply pick the lock with the tip of one of his claws. So instead of bursting into the room, he'd just walk in – catch Scott off-guard and then pound him into a coma. Forget formulating a clever plan to inflict serious damage, sometimes the direct approach worked just as well, without the complicated effort that strategy required.
The berserker Wolverine part of Logan needed the occasional release and he'd kept his natural instincts and urges in check for too long now. Playing by Xavier's rules meant he couldn't always kick the shit out of people simply for the hell of it, even when they were obviously asking for it. Stupid fucking good-guy etiquette rules. This was exactly the excuse he'd been looking for.
Thank you, Scott, you dumb fuck.
He stomped over to Marie's door, when he stopped short. A nasty little thought invaded his fury-addled brain. What if she was glad to see Scott? What if she fell into his arms? After all, Logan had left her in a fairly frustrated state of arousal. What if desire and wanting made her susceptible to the Boy Scout's charms? Logan decided he needed to change tactics. Instead of just rushing in and delivering a punch-o-gram to Mr. Never-Musses-His-Hair, he'd wait and find out how Marie was going to handle the situation.
He knew he was taking a tremendous risk, but he had to know – no matter what the consequences – if Marie had really chosen him or if she still had residual feelings for Scott. How much time should he give them, though? It had to be long enough for Scott to either be kicked to the curb or for Marie to have a lot of explaining to do.
Logan paced up and down in the hallway between their two rooms like a caged animal. He kept glancing at her closed door, reevaluating his decision for the hundredth time. Patience was never one of his virtues and whatever grip he had, it was sorely being tested at this moment. What the hell was going on in there? Even his sensitive hearing couldn't pick up any clues.
Whatever was going on, it was happening too quietly and that wasn't a particularly encouraging sign. There should be yelling – maybe even some knickknacks being broken.
If Marie was giving Scott the boot and as Logan suspected, he wasn't taking it too well, there should be raised voices at least, something his hearing could pick up. Instead, all he heard was deafening silence. He considered going to the Danger Room and pounding a computer-generated Cyclops. At least giving him something to do, besides standing out in the hall and waiting like an idiot.
Meanwhile, inside her room Scott could hear that Marie was in the shower. He loved the idea of her being naked and wet, smelling of that tropical scented shower gel she favored. The scent, not quite adult-sexy and not quite child-innocent, kind of like Marie herself, aroused him like nothing he had ever experienced. Even though she had told him yesterday that she couldn't continue the affair because of her guilt, he thought some quality time together might change her mind. Scott had always been beyond reproach in his stellar image, so this relationship and its effect on his psyche had taken even him by surprise. Jean in her cool perfection had never stirred such heated emotions in him. He knew he was not only betraying her trust, but the Professor's too, by taking advantage of one of the students. He knew he should feel a sense of shame, but all he felt was desire and passion, a powerful force beyond his normal reserved control.
How Logan had managed not to succumb to her, when it was apparent that she wanted him, was beyond his comprehension. Logan was a blind fool and it had cost him dearly. She was his now and so was Jean.
Take that, Wolverine. I have both the women you could've had.
It was the ultimate finger-gesture and he reveled in the small pleasure that knowledge brought him. Logan had flirted and chased after Jean when he first arrived, tossing aside the girl who was available for one who was unattainable and now he had neither one. Serves him right. He had no sympathy for the man. It was a good thing for Scott that the two resident telepaths had such strong ethics or his well-honed perfect image would have been shattered forever.
He removed his clothing and opened the bathroom door, the room was filled with steam and he could hear Marie humming softly. Quietly, he opened the glass door of the shower and stepped in to join her.