Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made from this work.
Sitting on the front steps of the school with a cup of coffee in hand and a box of donuts between them, Marie watched the kids enjoying the Friday morning just as much as she herself was, maybe a bit more with their promised weekend coming soon. Perched up on the brick railing, Logan occasionally yelled out threats and promises anytime the games got a little too rough, but for the most part he just joined in the quiet conversation. A few steps down Jubilee sat dressed in her coveralls with the top tied down, rebuilding an alternator between sips of her coffee.
Somewhere out there she knew Pete and Theresa were showing her friends about, the two having surprised them with some borrowed clothes. Theresa was a match for Layla, even her hand me downs from years past a good fit for Abby. Only after she had gotten dressed herself did Pete tell her that she was borrowing his own old hand me downs, amazed then that he had ever fit in them to begin with.
"What the hell's that noise." Logan asked looking into the distance.
Marie and Jubilee shared a look, neither hearing anything, Jubilee just going back to work with a shrug. Twenty minutes later and ever surprised at his sharp senses, Marie caught the first hint of it and had to wonder just the same, what the hell was it? With it rolling about the bend, it turned out to be a car of all things pulling up the drive after a time. The doors opened and Marie couldn't believe her eyes, Kitty Pryde and Bobby Drake stepping out and stretching amidst groans and yawns.
"Surprise!" Kitty yelled, running around the car to the steps only to freeze.
Marie had to admit she was just that, surprised, Kitty mirroring her for one long drawn out awkward moment. Looking to Bobby, she saw how he had grown and caught him just standing there looking her way. Her heart was suddenly racing, but the smile he gave before leaning against the car with his arms crossed dispelled her fears.
"Hey, long time." Bobby said softly.
"Yeah...you're looking good..." Marie replied quietly.
"Been working out, Pete gave me some advice." Bobby added.
Taken in a sudden embrace she looked to see Kitty pulling her to her feet and dragging her down the steps, Bobby finally joining her.
"When did you get back? How long are you staying?" Kitty fired off rapidly.
"Uh, yesterday. As long as I need, long story but..." Marie tried to get in only to be cut off.
"Don't worry, we got time. I've got so much to tell you too, never expected to see you here! I mean here Bobby and me thought we were the ones going to surprise everyone..." Kitty said, finally going quiet as she looked back to the car.
"What the hell is this?" Jubilee asked looking at it.
"My car." Kitty said shortly.
"I wouldn't give you the price of scrap for this." Jubilee groused as she walked around, crouching to look under it.
"Well that's great cause it's not for sale." Kitty added defiantly.
"Oh for cryin' out loud! It's leaking oil all over the drive, cripes sake Pryde! Get your stuff outta this wreck and give me the keys." Jubilee yelled, stalking up to Kitty with her hand held out.
Watching her hand off the keys, Marie gave a pointed look to Kitty who just rolled her eyes and silently mouthed a 'later' before joining Bobby in gathering their bags out of the back seat and trunk. With the door slamming shut they stood there watching as Jubilee started it up after a few attempts, then disappearing to the garage with it. Kitty started to walk after her car, her shoulders set and her arms crossed looking ready for a fight. Looking to Bobby for an answer he just threw an arm over her shoulder and leaned in conspiratorially.
"I'll tell you about it later if she doesn't, don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks." Bobby whispered.
With one last hug he ambled off with his bags, walking past Logan with a nod and vanishing beyond the front door. Spying his watchful eyes on Kitty, Marie started to piece a few things together in that moment that he had alluded to. Just as suddenly though Kitty spun on her heels, the tension out of her shoulders and looking as cheerful as she had before. Giving her a hand with her bags, Marie wandered with her into the school.
Finding herself in Kitty's guest room she sat on the bed as the girl unpacked. After a knock at the door Bobby let himself in, finding a chair and spinning it around to settle down. Suddenly feeling like she was intruding, Bobby just smiled and shook his head with a look to Kitty who had just finished putting everything in the dresser. Looking between them, Kitty seemed to catch the meaning.
"Oh, you thought we were...?" Kitty asked laughing loudly.
"Hey! I take offence at that laugh." Bobby cried in wounded pride.
"Well there was that time we got drunk in first year..." Kitty relented.
"Yeah, right up until you barfed on me, mood kill much." Bobby finished.
"Oh it was for the best anyway, we make better friends." Kitty teased.
With her head looking back and forth between them Marie felt the first tugs of a smile, the banter between them everything she needed just then. With Kitty joining her on the bed, Bobby found the remote for the tv and threw it on, the volume low but just lending enough ambience to relax the mood. Looking between the pair, she buckled under their intent looks and told them all about Abby and Layla.
"Wow..." Bobby said as silence descended again.
Wiping the stubborn tears from her eyes, Kitty smiled with a quivering lip and pulled her into a hug, Marie embracing her alike. Hearing another knock at the door, Bobby opened it up to find Theresa there with a pitcher and a platter of sandwiches. With the impromptu reunion, Marie waited between the chatter to go digging for a few answers herself.
"So you're both in college?" Marie found herself asking first.
"Yeah, political science myself, some law. Bobby there with his mouth stuffed keeps changing majors, last I heard it was what, an accountant?" Kitty answered.
"Corporate, interning with Worthington." Bobby mumbled.
"Ew, chew, swallow, and then talk." Theresa said with a wrinkle of her nose.
"You mean...?" Marie asked after hearing a name she hadn't expected.
"Oh, no, well...yeah. But after...all that...Warren's father handed over the company to him. New direction, philosophy and everything, lotsa charity work and all that." Bobby explained.
Kitty didn't surprise her, but hearing about Bobby she couldn't picture him in something so...boring, but even still he was the same old Drake. It seemed everyone had moved on in some way or another Marie found herself thinking with a bite of her sandwich.
"Where's Pete anyway?" Kitty asked, Marie having wondered the same.
"He said he had to talk to someone." Theresa revealed.
Sitting watching as Bobby flipped through the channels, Marie thought back to everything she had seen out front. Poking the girl next to her, she received rolled eyes in reply with a sigh.
"What's up between you two?" Marie finally asked.
"Lee and me?" Kitty questioned.
Marie just waited patiently, Kitty popping off the bed to start to pace around the room with a look out the window once. Leaning against the far wall she crossed her arms, looking to them all as Marie caught some of the tension easing back into Kitty's shoulders.
"It happened back when we graduated, we had all sent out the usual applications. Bobby and me even got into the same College. Pete was going to...well, I'll let him tell you that. We were all excited, 'cept for Jubilee." Kitty started, finding her glass of juice and taking a sip as her mouth went dry.
"Did she not get in?" Marie asked.
"That's what she said, but I mean...I had a lot of classes with her so I knew her grades. So..." Kitty carried on, pausing to take a breath and a moment to stare at the ceiling.
"So in typical Kitty Pryde fashion..." Bobby prodded, Kitty glaring at him.
"I may have...snuck into her room. I found all the letters she got, just like all of us. She hadn't even opened them. I phased the first out for a peek, same college as Bobby and me actually. She got accepted, every last letter the same. I was trying to put them all back in the envelopes when the door opened..." Kitty finished.
"Oh no..." Marie whispered, the confession already going south even before the last revelation.
"Caught red handed, I expected her to get mad or scream. She just walked in and took the letters out of my hands and left." Kitty said softly.
"Why?" Marie asked, the pair just shrugging.
"Million dollar question. After a while she started talking to me again, though she's always looking for ways to get on my nerves. Case in point, my car." Kitty fell silent with a look between them.
Left now with as many questions as she had been given answers, Marie felt her phone purring away in her pocket. Pulling it out, she found it was Layla. Going to town with your tall, dark and sexy friend, Abby's with Kurt. Did you want me to pick you up anything? Feeling her mood lifted, Marie started typing her reply already thinking ahead. A case of Blue and some wine. I might need to stage an intervention. Reading the quick reply, a laugh escaped her. Isn't that the wrong way to do one of those. Just as quick Marie replied. Not that kind, tell Logan to behave himself. The last reply came as just a winking emoticon, Marie able to picture the look her friend must have got.
Falling back on the bed and staring at the ceiling, Marie found a sandwich dangled in her view, Theresa pulling it out of reach as she tried to take a bite out of it. Sitting up she took it gratefully, Bobby and Kitty joining in finishing off the last few.
"Thanks Theresa" Marie said in earnest.
"You're welcome. I better head back and make sure the kids aren't following some of our worst habits, they keep forgetting who I grew up with. Your twinkie kabob is still infamous Bobby." Theresa teased.
"That's a classic, the trick is to put the licorice in the fridge over night for the skewers." Bobby explained.
"I'll see you guys around." Theresa said, picking up the platter and pitcher to excuse herself.
"So...?" Marie said after the quiet had stretched on too long.
"So...?" Bobby mimicked.
"Oh alright, we'll go find Lee." Kitty relented.
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Standing at the entrance to the garage they found it empty, not even the radio playing. Layla's car had been parked out front Marie noticed, the trio walking in to find another in its stead on the hoist in the back. With it's hood open and the tires stacked beside it, parts littered the floor in neat little piles all around it. Kitty walked up to her car and looked furious finding it in so many pieces, resting a hand on the bumper that quickly drew into a fist.
"I'm going to kill her." Kitty hissed.
Something about the whole thing felt wrong to Marie, but as she walked up to Kitty to try and place a tender hand on her shoulder it only passed through her. Surprised at first she quickly recovered, but all too late as Kitty ran out of the garage. Left alone with Bobby she found him looking after Kitty just standing there shaking his head. With a heavy sigh he walked up next to her, both looking down at the parts laying about.
"Should we go after...?" Marie asked softly, stumbling for words not knowing which of the two to go to.
"In my experience it's best to stay out of their way, let them work it out." Bobby replied gently, a hand finding her shoulder to give a comforting pat.
"So..." Marie said after a time, the quiet simply suffocating.
"I...think I saw a repair manual in the glove box...you any good at puzzles?" Bobby asked as he carefully walked over the parts and found a crate to stand on.
Thinking back to how flustered she had been only the day before with a leaky radiator, looking at the car before her it all looked well beyond a puzzle. Coming back with a oil stained book with photo of the very same car albeit with far less spots of grey paint littering it, Bobby sat down on the pile of tires and started to flip through it.
"Wow..." Marie added with a peek over his shoulder, pictures and diagrams filling it from cover to cover with so much text.
"It's not so bad...I think, uh...see it has steps." Bobby tried to assure though he looked just as overwhelmed.
"I think we're gonna need some coffee." Marie stated, wandering off to the bench to find a pot with day old brew sitting in it.
"Good idea, I think we're gonna be here a while." Bobby replied in a wholly agreeable tone as he started flipping through the pages looking for pictures that looked like anything that lay on the shop floor.
Two hours later with the last dregs of the pot growing cold, Marie and Bobby sat at the bench puzzling over what they found out to be a caliper for the brakes. Hearing the side door opening they found Kitty walking in looking grim, a few bottles of pop in hand. Joining them at the bench she set them down and pulled the book over for a look, seeming just as lost as she flipped through the pages.
"You find her?" Bobby asked the question hanging in the air.
"Yeah..." Kitty said quietly, twisting the cap off her pop to have it spill over her hands.
"So? I don't need to go find a shovel do I?" Bobby asked in an attempt of levity.
"No...she just walked off...I can't believe her, look at this." Kitty said with a wave of her hand encompassing her car.
Holding her tongue, Marie remembered the advice Bobby had given even if she thought something off about the whole thing. Everything was too neat, too much care taken into how all the parts were laid out. It reminded her of a time with Layla, putting together one of those pieces of furniture you had to assemble yourself. The parts had fallen out of the bag in heap, spending enough time to finish a bottle of wine just sorting through and counting it all. Hearing the sound of Logan's Jeep pulling up the drive, he stopped by the front door to let her friend out before backing up to the garage. With a wave to Layla she left her to find her daughter and the likely mischief she was up to with Kurt.
Looking to Logan as he climbed out with a bag thrown over his shoulder, he walked in and looked between them all standing at the bench over the repair manual. Raising a questioning eyebrow to them he walked up, he just threw the bag on the counter and rummaged through the fridge until he found a bottle of water and took a thirsty gulp.
"What the heck are you guys up ta?" Logan asked after a breath.
"Trying to figure out how to put my car back together." Kitty growled, taking a long sip of her pop.
"Oh?" Logan asked as if it had been the most interesting thing he had heard all day.
Spotting Bobby peeking in the bag, something about his mood changed in that moment, a grimace on his lips and rubbing his eyes in frustration. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Marie found herself turned towards the Jeep with Logan leading her on.
"Ya might need a few o' these things then, gimmie a hand ta unload." Logan said, looking over his shoulder to Kitty.
Looking in the back Marie found boxes a plenty and a stack of tires, so many things that looked liked the puzzle laying around Kitty's car. Opening one, she found it to be the part Bobby and her had been puzzling over, a caliper shiny and new. Kitty stepped up and looked pale, her mouth hanging open in shock. Dropping the tailgate Logan pulled one of the tires and handed it off to her for the ghostly girl to stumble back a few steps.
"I'll leave ya all to it, I gotta go touch base with Ro and make sure the kids ain't using the Danger Room as a big screen again." Logan remarked before walking off.
Walking up to Kitty, Bobby held the bag in one hand and a slip of paper in the other. With a glance at it she buried her face in the tire she was holding, hissing and butting her head against it. Stepping near, Marie looked at it to find a long list on it with things like spring kit, pads and shoes, Dot3 and 10W30 on it. At the very bottom in a hasty hand the words that set aside any doubt lay, Tell Terry it's for Lee, I still get my discount.
"I am such an idiot..." Kitty said in a broken voice.
For three hours they looked around the school questioning any and all they ran into, the same answer given every time, that none had seen her. Sitting out front of the garage with a beer each between them, Marie knew they must all look a sorry lot then with their shoulders sagged while picking at the damp labels. They'd set the parts out on the bench carefully arranging them all, stacking the tires nearby. With the case of Blue stocked in the fridge and the wine sitting amidst the assorted fluids on the bench, Marie wondered if it was too late for that intervention.
"What am I going to tell her?" Kitty asked quietly.
"I think you said it pretty good earlier." Bobby replied with a sad smile.
The afternoon had rolled in and the classes ended with a bell she hadn't heard in years ringing. Looking to the front door, some older kids ran out with a ball in hand for an impromptu game of hoops down the drive. Watching them for a time she saw the door open again, this time Logan walking out dressed in a Stetson, denim jacket and a pair of cowboy boots. She couldn't help the laugh that burst from her then, always thinking of him in that leather jacket and his wild hair. Looking their way he walked on up to stand over them, working 'The Look' just as she remembered it.
"What's got you all lookin' like someone ran over your dog." Logan asked.
Looking to Kitty in time with Bobby, Marie found the girl just butting her head against the wall before meeting his gaze. Saying nothing, Logan just stood there with his arms crossed.
"I...was an ass to Jubilee..." Kitty started.
"And?" Logan asked.
"I want to apologise to her but I can't find her." Kitty hastily added in a single breath.
Nodding, Logan reached into his pocket and found a cigar, turning it over in his fingers a few times looking thoughtful. Tapping it against his nose, he pointed it down to Kitty with a smirk.
"Well, so long as ya want to apologise ta her, I think I might know where ya can find her. Headed there myself for a couple o' suds and maybe a game o' pool actually. Ya got twenty minutes to get what ya need." Logan said in that gravelly voice before walking off to his Jeep and climbing in.
Already having everything she needed, Marie walked up to the Jeep to lean in, Logan just sitting there with the seat back and some country western playing. Left alone as her friends ran off to get ready, she levelled her own 'Look' on him as he sat there looking at the kids down the drive.
"Long story huh?" Marie asked.
"Yep, think that about covers most o' what I know. Ya gotta bark up a different tree if ya want the rest, so...you getting in or what?" Logan answered.
Climbing in the seat next to him, knowing they had only moments left alone until her friends came back, she looked him up and down in question with a smile finding her lips. Chuckling, he reached to his head and pulled the Stetson off before popping it on her head.
"Ya kinda stick out otherwise, course don't go tellin' Kit Kat and Drake that." Logan said conspiratorially.
Vowed to silence, Marie looked in the mirror and adjusted the hat, finding that it looked good on her. With the doors to the school opening, Kitty and Bobby ran out dressed so much for the clubs she had visited herself back in the city. Biting her lip, it was the only way to not burst out laughing with the looks she got from them as they eyed her borrowed hat.
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"Are you...sure she's here?" Kitty asked warily.
"Ayup." Logan assured before pulling his keys out.
Looking at it, the bar looked hardly more than some old garage that had built upon. Every kind of pick up truck must have been in showing out front while a line of bikes sat in rank and file with, sure enough after a second glance, a tractor. Running her finger along the brow of her borrowed Stetson, Marie shared a look with Logan and caught the smile he threw her.
Righting his ball cap and tucking in his shirt, Bobby went from looking ready to go to a club, to just looking a little overdressed for a country bar. Walking up to the doors with a few encouraging shoves along the way, Kitty opened them and stepped in looking like she was going to her own funeral. Looking just like every movie she had ever watched pictured, right down to the chicken wire up on the stage, Marie found the bar had a rustic quality that made it look so more inviting that the few clubs she had ever been to.
Some booths hung about the edges, tables dotting the floor and even a few pool tables off in the one corner. The Juke Box played all the sort of classic country she remembered as if from a dream, a childhood spent down in the south that she hadn't thought of in ages.
"Uh...where's the hostess..." Kitty asked in a whisper.
"Not that kind o' place Kitten." Logan replied.
Looking through the crowd, Marie had eyes only for Jubilee and wondered just where the girl was but surely trusting Logan and knowing he wouldn't have steered them wrong. Feeling his hand gently take her by the shoulder, Logan spun her slowly until she found herself staring at the bar. There she sat with some towering figure next to her dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt and a Stetson his own. Jubilee sat sipping her beer as the man next to her ran a gentle hand up and down her back.
"I'll leave ya to it, I'll be off at my usual seat for a brew." Logan whispered after leaning in, a pat given before walking off.
Sure enough Kitty had caught her surprise and looked off to the bar, her eyes wide looking at the scene. With Bobby at their back they walked through the crowd fearing the worst, that Jubilee was getting hit on after having all her best efforts thrown back in her face. Seeing the man lean in close and whisper something in their friend's ear, their resolve was set to put an end to it until they both found a hand on their shoulder stalling them.
"Wait..." Bobby said, Kitty spinning on him to glare.
"What?" Marie asked, kinder but still eager to put an end to whatever was going on.
"Look." Bobby said with a nod back to the bar, "Doesn't he kind of...look familiar?"
Looking back in the dim light of the bar, Marie and Kitty alike stared hard at the burly man next to the petite woman dressed still in her coveralls. Watching as Jubilee leaned in to place a chaste kiss to this man, Marie felt her jaw drop and her eyes go wide in disbelief. Hearing Kitty in kind next to her, Bobby pushed them both back towards the bar.
"That's..." Kitty hissed, no venom now just simply shock in her voice.
"Pete..." Marie finished.
Walking through the crowd they stopped short of the pair, Pete easily looking over top of Jubilee to them and giving a tip of his hat. Jubilee looked their way, a long lingering stare falling on Kitty before going back to her beer. Watching as Pete once again whispered to Jubilee with a kiss placed gently against her ear, Marie couldn't believe what she was seeing but still felt her stomach fluttering at the sight.
"I'm, I'm sorry Jubilee." Kitty said with a pause to take a shuddering breath.
With a sideways glance Jubilee looked back to Kitty, her blue eyes expressionless and her lips a thin line. Pete sat in silence with her, stoic but a touch of sadness as he took a sip of some tall glassed drink. With her heart hammering in her chest Marie felt ready to play peacemaker between the two until a hand found her own, looking up to see Bobby just gently shake his head with a hint of a smile.
"I thought you were..." Kitty started.
"Being a bitch?" Jubilee finished, Kitty just nodding.
With a step back, Marie found herself standing with Bobby who held her in a way she could only think of as friendly, having known for a time just how he showed his love. Pete was smiling now, a questing hand finding Jubilee's on the bar for their fingers to entwine. Jubilee looked to the touch and drew tight for hers vanish in his larger one.
"I was mad, yeah. Fuck sake Pryde, a phone call and I coulda told ya not to buy that hunk of junk. But, well..." Jubilee started, going quiet.
"I think I'm too smart for my own good sometimes." Kitty finished, Jubilee nodding in agreement.
"It was really that bad?" Kitty asked.
"Yeah...surprised you weren't pushing it up the drive." Jubilee whispered.
Watching Kitty step up to the bar and draw her friend into her arms, the pair lingered there while Marie found herself smiling and not caring that her eyes had misted over. Bobby was leaning against her, his chin resting on her shoulder and looking after the pair. With him hugging her in that moment Marie remembered earlier when he had done so in kind, a whisper shared between them with an assurance made, It's not as bad as it looks.
"Okay, okay. Piss off, you're sorry, I'm sorry, I get it. You're gonna ruin my rep." Jubilee spat with a friendly shove to Kitty.
"C'mon Kitty, lets get a beer, I see a pool table with our name on it." Bobby said.
Standing there alone, Marie watched as the two friends walked off to a table with a waitress taking their order. Looking back to Jubilee, she enjoyed watching her place a gentle kiss to Pete who then leaned in close to whisper in her ear, their hands never having parted. With a relieved sigh and her stomach fluttering, Marie looked on around the bar until she spotted him in what he had called his usual seat. Even from here she could see him watching, a wink thrown as their eyes met. Making her way through the crowd she fell in the booth sitting across from him.
"Looks like they kissed and made up." Logan said.
"Yeah...thanks." Marie replied.
"For?" Logan asked in feigned ignorance, Marie playfully kicking him under the table.
With the tension washing away she found herself relaxing in the booth, slumped down bonelessly. A beer found itself in front of her after a time, a Corona with no sign of a lime, just the way she liked it.
"How did you know?" Marie asked letting her fingers find their way around it and relish the cool touch.
"What?" Logan asked.
"This..." Marie said holding up the bottle.
"Layla told me ya were partial to them when she was picking up the Blue, hope ya didn't want a lime though. Seems a waste of a beer throwin' fruit in it." Logan explained.
"No...actually, it's just how I like it." Marie said, finding herself smiling then as she took a sip.
With an easy quiet falling between them Marie looked off to the bar and enjoyed all the gentle touches and the whispers between Pete and Jubilee, the chaste kisses and the way they pressed their heads together saying nothing.
"How long have they..." Marie asked with her gaze lingering.
"Been givin' the kids at the school a run for their money?" Logan teased.
"Yeah." Marie replied, finally drawn back and feeling silly.
"Do I look like I gossip?" Logan asked gruffly.
Giving him a playful kick again, Marie knew he was right and gave up. Taking him in, she saw he was drinking a Bud, something Jubilee had said the night before coming back to her.
"No Blue?" Marie asked with a nod to the beer, Logan looking down to it.
"Nope, all out." Logan rumbled, downing the last of it before setting it aside.
"I think I saw some Canadian on tap." Marie said thoughtfully with a look back to the bar.
"Ya know I hate..." Logan started, going quiet with a broad grin.
"Gotcha." Marie said mirroring him.
"You tricked her!" Marie accused, her eyes wide and a laugh escaping her.
"So?" Logan replied, earning another kick under the table.
"Careful there darlin', way Layla was tellin' me ya might just have to consider those some dangerous weapons." Logan teased.
Marie felt her blood go cold, staring across the table and fearing the worst thinking how she had forgotten to tell him about it. Dropping her gaze she knew she couldn't fault her friend, her hands wrapped around her beer to keep from rubbing her eyes.
"Don't go gettin' your panties in a bunch." Logan called across the booth gruffly.
Looking up, she didn't find any of the things that had left her dreading telling him about it, no remorse or worry, no anger, just what she honestly thought was a touch of pride in his eyes. Reaching a cross the booth his hand found hers, prying it off the bottle to draw into his own.
"Wouldn't have shown ya those kinda tricks if I didn't trust ya to know when ta use them, way I hear it ya even upped the ante. Kickboxing? Always preferred bare knuckle m'self." Logan said all the softer now.
"I'm sorry...I was going to, but with..." Maire sputtered.
"Eh, don't worry about it. Figured ya had enough on your plate you were lookin' for the right time ta tell me. Just good to know when push comes to shove, you're gonna lay 'em flat." Logan assured, one last squeeze given before he leaned back in the booth.
"Thank you Logan, that means a lot to me." Marie whispered, clasping her hands and taking a calming breath, a hint of him lingering after the touch.
Fresh beers and that quiet coming back between them, Marie found herself looking about the bar sometime later to see Bobby and Kitty off in a heated game of pool, bottles lined up behind them. The bar was filling in, the tables full of every sort of salt of the earth man she could imagine, bikers and farmers and men dressed in kind as Jubilee, coveralls with the tops tied down. It was a Friday night, and sure enough everyone was looking to unwind.
Once again looking to the couple she found herself smiling dumbly with her chin in her hands, Pete kissing Jubilee on the nose before walking off to the washroom.
"They're cute together." Marie whispered, looking over to Logan to see him staring off down at the door with a steely gaze.
The man walked in and unerringly walked off to where Jubilee sat alone, all her own fears from earlier coming to life as he rested a hand on her friend's shoulder and leaned in close. Hearing a sniff next to her, she caught a quiet rumbling growl rolling from his chest. With her blood answering in kind she started to climb from the booth only to feel his hand take her own, looking to Logan in question just to see him shake his head to her.
Turning to look back to Jubilee, she now stood before the man who easily had a foot on her. The man just smiled down at her with a shit eating grin and reached out to draw her close. Jubilee threw a punch at him for it to be caught quickly with an unheard laugh from the man...that lasted all of half a second before an uppercut floored him. Staring shocked, Marie realized the bar had gone quiet in that moment, the conversation dying with only the music playing on.
"Holy..." Marie whispered.
"Guess that answers that." Logan said enigmatically, his grip on her hand going soft.
Looking around the bar she could see so many of the men looking to the scene, their eyes mirroring Logan's moments before. Out of the washroom Pete walked through the crowd, looking down to the unconscious man before pulling Jubilee to him. Walking her off to the booth, Marie scooted along the round table until she bumped against Logan, Pete pulling Jubilee into his lap and taking her hand gingerly in his own. Hardly a heartbeat later Bobby and Kitty appeared out of breath to take a seat.
"Are you okay?" Kitty asked the question Marie hadn't found the breath to ask yet.
Jubilee just nodded silently, lost in the warm embrace of Pete as he hugged her dearly. Marie found herself looking around the bar again, the din of the conversations and laughter joining with the music that played, that tense moment having evaporated. Soon enough a waitress came up with a tray full of beers sitting around a bag of ice, smiling to Jubilee and passing it off to her.
"Here ya go Sweet Pea, looks like you and your friends are drinkin' for free tonight. You okay?" The woman asked with a drawl and an endearing touch of concern.
"Yeah..." Jubilee quietly replied, reaching for the bag of ice only to have Pete beat her to it.
"That's a good girl, don't worry, Fred's just in the can. He had to, you know, find himself occupied." The waitress finished, leaning into give a gentle brush of Jubilee's hair before walking off.
With so many questions racing through her mind, Marie found herself pulled up against Logan as he wrapped an arm about her and fixed her with a meaningful look. Staring into his steely grey eyes, she watched as they softened and felt a promise had been made between them. Settling against him, she reached for her fresh beer and took a sip to join so many of the rest. Looking to Kitty she could tell she had just as many questions herself, but likewise held her tongue.
Fred as it turned out was the local officer of the peace, walking up to the booth dressed in a leather police jacket with his badge on his belt. Wearing a cowboy hat in kind, he just tipped it to them all as he let his eyes fall on Jubilee.
"I was hopin' to pick your brain about that ol' Mustang o' mine, but..." Fred began, sighing and looking to the man stirring on the floor, "Seems someone had a bit too much to drink. Guess I"ll take him down to the tank to sleep it off. Maybe another time, alright Miss Lee?"
"Shoulda bought an Impala..." Jubilee replied in a quiet voice.
"Ah, you know me, I like my Fords. These your friends? A pleasure all, evening Mister Rasputin, Logan. You all have a good night." Fred said in a genial tone with a knowing manner, walking off to wrestle the man up and twist his arm to guide him on out of the bar.
"You mean there was a cop here this whole time!" Kitty whispered sharply after waiting until they were alone.
"Ayup." Logan answered.
"Why didn't he do anything then?!" Kitty nearly shrieked.
Marie had her own thoughts on it, looking back around the bar to see the stolen glances thrown their way. Bikers, farmers and undoubtedly mechanics, she had seen a look in so many of their eyes just like Logan, a promise of violence barely restrained filled full of protective concern. Looking back up to Logan, he just gave a slight nod and she had her answer to Kitty's question.
"He didn't have to." Marie said just as enigmatically in that moment, Kitty looking on her in clear disbelief.
Whether it was the beers that found their way to their table, or just the easy company of her friends she had missed, the hours seemed to vanish with the patrons who passed beyond the doors in a steady march. Curled up next to Logan with his jacket about her, Marie felt her eyes fluttering shut at times only to wake with a start. Across from her Jubilee dozed in Pete's arms, while at the bar Bobby and Kitty nursed their drinks with a game of cards between them, an ante of pretzels as the pot.
"You're gonna make me have to carry you, aren't you?" Logan asked in hardly more than a whisper.
"Maybe." Marie replied with a yawn.
"Just don't go makin' a habit outta it, ya hear?" Logan said all the while gathering her up into his arms.
"No promises." Marie whispered, fighting against her rebelling eyes.
The last thing she remembered was the wind in her hair and the warmth of his jacket wrapped snug around her, and the smell of his cigar with the quiet music playing on the radio.
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Author's Note - I'd like to thank everyone who has read, followed, and favourited this story. I'd like to also extend a special thanks to everyone who has reviewed, it's really helped a lot.
From Jeanniebird who has always had tonnes of great stuff to say to let me know how I'm doing, to Tillthewheelfallsoff, ccgnme, xmen4life and the mystery guest who really treated me with an honour that I hope to meet.
Thanks, more to come soon.