Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made from this work.
"Don't forget my games mom, and my jacket...you know the one..." Abby carried on with the long list of the things she wanted from home.
"Abby Delilah, don't worry, I won't forget anything." Layla reassured, reaching down to hug her daughter and pick her up.
"Mom!" Abby whined.
"Oh hush, you're getting so big I won't be able to do this much more." Layla said, setting her daughter back down.
Marie watched from the stairs with Logan, smiling at the antics of the girl with her mother. It was Monday now, the start of a long overdue vacation for Layla, and for herself a bittersweet homecoming. She had so much to do from visiting the grocer to say goodbye, packing and moving, and finding those friends like Juan to thank them for everything. Her promise was one she found so easy to keep now, that she wasn't going anywhere.
"Did she say when she would be back?" Marie asked, poking Logan in the ribs when he just shrugged.
"Soon. Might have had some problems, but she'll handle it." Logan replied, finishing the last of his coffee.
Marie handed her own empty cup off, a kiss to his cheek for the favour of a fresh cup to come. Spying how friendly Bobby and Layla were being, Marie already started to work out just who would take what back on to the drive to give the pair some time alone. Jubilee and Pete were easy, and as much as she might want to be alone with Logan she figured they'd bring Kitty along with them in the Jeep. Of course all it depended on a favour of a friend of Jubilee's who had promised them a truck for the move.
Lost to thought, she hadn't even noticed when he came back until he settled in next to her with two fresh cups. It sometimes surprised her just how quiet Logan could really be.
With the morning dragging on finally they saw it pulling up the drive, nothing like what she had expected when Jubilee had said she knew a guy with a truck. The thing had to have been from the fifties, the paint weathered and worn but surprisingly little rust on it. The white walled wheels had an aggressive tread, mud splattered on the wells. With an arresting jerk it came to a stop out front, Jubilee looking wholly proud of herself as she jumped out.
"Sorry I'm late, had to do a quick fix and gas it up. Isn't she a beaut!" Jubilee cried, racing up with an eager skip to her step.
"Uh...you, er, sure it's safe?" Marie asked warily.
"Oh come on, this thing is solid! American made baby! He found it in a barn a couple of years back and we had a blast tracking down all the parts to get her going again." Jubilee assured with an encompassing wave of the truck.
"If you say so." Marie replied, looking to Logan for his impression to see him just throw her a wink.
With Kurt once again entrusted to the care of Abby and Illyana, they all piled in to begin their little convoy back. Layla lead the way in her own car, Bobby beside her looking to be telling stories by the way his hands waved around. Following behind Marie sat with Kitty in the back, Logan just up front flipping through the stations ever growing bored with the music played. In the rear Jubilee and Pete trailed, the old cargo truck dutifully puttering along.
While not the half day it had taken trailing about the back roads as they had before, it was well into the afternoon by the time they pulled into town. Finding the first greasy spoon along the way, they pulled in and piled out to get a much needed bite before taking care of all the business that had brought them back. The place was packed, always a sure sign of quality, finally finding a few tables in the back to push together.
"Bobby and me will go help Layla get what she needs, between the Jeep and her car we should be able to get it all." Kitty remarked, a sip of her milkshake all but silencing her as she gave a mewling noise of obvious enjoyment.
Taking a sip of her own, she had to agree that it was one damn fine milkshake, brought to the table in classic fountain glasses with the rest still sitting in the chilled metal cup of the mixer for them to top up with. Logan and Lee alike were enjoying a beer, Pete just having a club soda while Bobby went with a coke. The smell of the burgers cooking on the flame fired grill had them all hungrily stealing looks at the rest of the patrons about in anticipation of their order.
"K, we'll go start packing up my place. I called the super and she didn't care none that I'm having ta moving out other than saying she'd miss me." Marie added, another sip taken before thinking to offer one to Logan who just looked at her odd.
"Oh come on, try it." Marie pressed.
"I don't think a beer and a shake are two things that should be mixed darlin', I'll pass." Logan said with a chuckle.
Lee apparently had a different opinion, stealing a sip of Kitty's when she had started looking at the menu again only to quickly cry foul. With their orders finally coming, Kitty returned the favour stealing the pickle that sat at the edge of Jubilee's plate, the ante upped with the two ending up helping another with their meals trying to one up the other. Laughing, Marie started on her own souvlaki between bites of rice and couldn't believe she hadn't ever found this place in the three years she'd been living in town.
"Now that's a steak." Logan said looking ravenous as he stared down the strip loin that lay on his plate with sauteed onions a plenty.
Chatting and eating, they found the rest they needed from the road before finding their way back to the trucks and car. Hugging another, Marie left Layla to the care of her friends.
"Cozy." Logan said from the passenger seat of the old truck, Pete now driving with the girls between them.
"Well Bobby had to take your Jeep for Layla." Marie pointed out.
"Oh stuff it Logan, you're just lucky you got a window seat. I'm practically sitting on Pete's lap." Jubilee growled, pressed up against her boyfriend.
"Oh it's not that bad..." Marie said, likely pressed up against Logan and finding no complaint.
"Yeah well you don't have a stick shift to dodge." Jubilee threw back, Pete handling the truck like an old hand.
"Jubilation?" Pete asked with a glance down to her at a red light.
"Yeah hun?" Jubilee asked, looking up to place a kiss to his lips.
"Is this truck for sale?" Pete asked, punching the clutch and throwing it into gear as they rolled on through the green.
"Uh...probably, you know Barry. Why, ya like it?" Jubilee asked, resting her head against his shoulder.
"I think Papa would, he always liked the old trucks at the county fair." Pete explained, taking a turn that left Jubilee crushed between him and the rest.
"Why do I think you did that on purpose." Jubilee asked, a sheepish grin greeting her.
Settling back with Logan and sharing a laugh, Marie did her best to find that cozy space in his arms as he sat there with an arm out the window. The streets started looking familiar, not long until she found herself in the place she called home to point out all the places and stories. Finally the brown brick four story she had lived in came into view, spying her apartment up at the very top. Pulling up, most piled out with Pete staying at the wheel.
"He not coming up?" Marie asked as she lead them on into the lobby, finding her keys.
"Nah, he's minding the car." Jubilee replied, popping a piece of gum.
"What's he t'ink we are, t'ieves?" Marie asked in a forced accent.
"Alright, I reckon the hare gets fucked." Jubilee replied with a laugh, not missing a beat.
"What, ya mean proper fucked?" Marie asked turning around with her back to the open door, giggling madly with Logan just looking between them clearly lost and confused.
"What the hell are you two goin' on about?" Logan asked, Marie and Jubilee sharing a look with huge smiles.
"You honestly don't know?" Marie asked, one silent questioning eyebrow answering her.
"Snatch." Jubilee explained.
"What?" Logan asked.
"Oh don't worry, you're the only bare knuckle boxing champion for me." Marie replied, leaning up against him as they made their way down the hall.
"Yeah, and I bet he really is harder than a coffin nail...oh jeez that sounded so bad!" Jubilee started only to break out laughing at her slip.
With a trip to the super to get the key for the elevator, Marie lead them on up to her little slice of home away from home as she thought of it now. Opening the door with a boot to where it caught on the threshold, she looked around wistful thinking tonight would be her last time there. Her futon sat as a sofa, her bedding in the chest at the end. Dishes for one sat in the strainer, a small flat screen mounted on the wall amidst the favourite photos she had taken over the years to have blown up to portraits.
"Wow, nice digs Roguey." Jubilee complimented, wandering off to the window to look down at the street below.
Logan looked around, finding a bookshelf stacked high and pulling one out. Marie let him be, peeking into her fridge and wondering just what was worth saving or giving away to her one friend down the hall. She was another person she'd have to say goodbye to, her head swirling at the thought and finding it so hard.
"Didn't think there were that many shades." Logan casually remarked, the sound of pages being flipped.
"Don't you...!" Marie cried, turning away from her fridge to see him reading through one book in particular.
"Gimmie!" Marie spat, reaching for the book only for Logan to dodge and weave with all the grace earned in those cage matches.
"Well, now ain't this interesting." Logan teased, chuckling as the book was finally torn free.
Smacking him with the book, Marie put it back with the rest, spotting Jubilee smirking at her from her perch at the window. Logan leaned near, a kiss to her cheek before he reached into her pocket to pilfer her keys, Marie just left to laugh at the fingers brushing against her before they found their prize.
"I'll go get the boxes, I'll leave you ladies to deal with any intimate bits." Logan said, ambling off into the hall.
Sharing a look, Marie ran off to under her sink finding her garbage bags while Jubilee found the dresser to start a hurried packing. Amidst a few remarks of her tastes in apparel, they were well ready by the time Logan came up with a load of flattened boxes in one arm and a stack of old newspapers in the other.
"Okay, lets get this show on the road." Logan said, throwing it all down and reaching into his jacket for a squashed roll of tape.
Twenty minutes in the call came, Marie recognizing it as the landline of Layla on her screen. Answering, she felt worry grip her with it being Bobby then sounding somber and sad.
"Uh, Bobby...is something wrong?" Marie asked, a long pause on the other end.
'Layla's place was robbed...' Bobby started, Marie feeling her blood run cold and catching Logan looking sharply to her.
"W..what?" Marie asked, her knees falling out from under her only to feel Logan catch her, Jubilee looking up sharply from the box of dishes she was packing.
'The door was kicked in when we got here, it's...' Bobby started, the sound of him whispering words of reassurance to someone softly, 'The police are on their way. Layla said to finish your move, don't worry...I, I'll be here for her okay?'
"Where's Kitty?" Marie asked, the quiet in the back unnerving.
'The bathroom...she's uh,she's on the phone with someone and she sounds pissed. I'll give you a call in a bit, I think I hear someone knocking at the door. I'm sorry, I gotta go.' Bobby explained.
"O, Okay. Can you put Layla on?" Marie asked, the receiver handed over with sniffles sounding.
"You okay girl?" Marie asked softly, finding herself taken into Logan's lap as he settled down.
'W, what am I going to tell Abby?' Layla asked, her voice shaken by sobs.
Fighting not to cry herself, knowing she had to be strong for her friend again she caught Jubilee looking up to her with her eyes full of questions and worry. Mouthing a promise to tell her, she took a calming breath.
"What matters, that you love her. Cause for better or worse, she'll find out as soon as you come home and you listen to me girl, that kid of yours is smart. Smart and she loves her mama, so you just tell her you love her and that's all she's gonna need." Marie replied, working every ounce of emotion she could into her voice to try and reassure her friend she longed to be with in that moment.
Listening, Marie heard the breath taken and the sniffles, the sound of steps drawing near and the muffled sound of someone crying into another's chest. Dabbing her eyes, she waited and finally found the phone picked up to hear whispered promises made that quieted the crying.
'The police are here, Kitty's running interference for Layla, handling most of the questions. Don't worry Marie, we'll take good care of her...we'll see you soon.' Bobby whispered, his voice filled with sorrow.
"Thank you Bobby..." Marie replied, feeling Logan hugging her warmly and resting his chin on her shoulder.
'Don't worry about it. Hey, what are friends for...?' Bobby whispered back.
"Thanks Bobby, I'll see you soon. Bye..." Marie quietly replied, knowing the answer truly in her heart.
The police had since departed, the three just left to deal with the rest as they sat with Layla who dared to fight against the violation she had suffered, a violation against herself and her daughter at having their home ransacked and robbed. Finding the strength to leave the sofa, she lead them through her home, tears at times to find another thing broken or missing. The boxes they packed were few, just the keepsakes, mementos and the things that mattered most.
"Lets go Layla, we're going to take you home." Bobby whispered, his hand in hers as he lead her on out the door.
With her own box Kitty followed behind, her mind racing and raging, her temper barely controlled. She didn't fault the police, so little they could really do, but she could fault with how apathetic they sounded to the plight of the poor woman. Walking past the elevator, she counted the things she saw wrong with the place, just sickened by how old the out of order sign on the elevator looked. With peeling paint in the stairwell and rickety railings she ground her teeth ready to explode.
Finally free they walked down the hall, a door opening behind as they walked past to hear a loud cough. Turning she found a man dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, a nameplate on the door reading Superintendent. Seeing him look squarely to Layla with the box of belongings in her hands he lit up a cigarette in complete disregard to the no smoking sign but a scant few yards away.
"If you're moving out you owe for the lease." The man said in a disinterested voice, flicking ash to the filth that passed itself as a carpet.
Layla looked on the verge of fresh tears, Bobby drawing her near. Kitty turned away, walking a few feet ahead to urge them on. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she spun with fury in her eyes to find the man standing there looking sure of himself.
"You have exactly three seconds to take your hand off my person before I press charges." Kitty spat through gritted teeth, the man theatrically taking his hand off and backing away with a smirk.
"If she's moving out she owes for the lease, it's in there." The man said again, Kitty simply setting the box she carried down to find a stack of paper.
"You mean this lease?" Kitty asked sounding honestly surprised, flipping through the few pages.
"This one looks to have expired years ago. Layla, did you ever sign a new one?" Kitty asked with a look back, Layla shaking her head and looking lost as Bobby held her.
The super looked wary, taking a step back as Kitty gathered up more pages. Pulling out her phone she started doing some quick math, nodding before turning on him again.
"Unless you can show me a new lease, then by my understanding she is on a month to month basis now. With these notices of rent increase then...all she would owe you is seven hundred and twenty eight dollars and seventy two cents. Bobby? Cheque book." Kitty said sharply, a glance to Bobby to see him pulling out a metal clad case from his jacket pocket.
"This is her sixty day notice, this is the money owed, and this is us saying good day." Kitty spat, passing off the cheque she found in her hand to the indignant super who sputtered and swore.
"You just wait one minute you bi..." The super started, cut off as Kitty turned on him anew.
"Think...very, very carefully about the next words you say. Because you are going to become very, very familiar with mine. Criminal negligence. I've already called the city, they promised someone will be out here tomorrow to begin an inspection of this building. Knowing how to talk to bureaucrats, they've assured me they'll send the sort of person who is very, very thorough." Kitty hissed, the super going silent as he stared into her eyes.
Satisfied, Kitty walked off with her box in hand among Bobby and Layla back to the cars. Taking the keys to the Jeep, she spared one glance back to see them standing there at the truck, their boxes in the back with the two just holding another in a warm embrace. Seeing how gentle Bobby was in that moment reminded her why she had ever thought she might have found love in his arms, but then she had been too afraid. Afraid to loose a friend she had known since finding her way to Xavier's, willing to let him find another just to keep the friendship she cherished safe.
The call she had been awaiting and dreading came just as Logan and Pete were handling her futon into the back of the truck, too stubborn to just tear it down to make it easier. The work had gone on in quiet, questions asked only when they had to but otherwise just slipping things away carefully for the trip. Jubilee came up behind her, wrapping her arms about in a friendly embrace and staring off after the men.
"If Layla needs anything, you just tell me ya hear? I'm a townie now, I know peeps." Jubilee whispered, playfully butting her head before walking back to pick up her box.
Marie looked fondly to her, so very glad at all the support she had found, the genuine concern and care. Listening to Bobby tell it, Kitty had torn a strip out of the super that he deserved completely, taking care of her just as they promised. Thanking him, she found herself with Layla next, the poor woman just sounding soul weary and worn.
"Hi..." Marie said.
"Hey..." Layla whispered back, no sniffles now.
"You okay?" Marie asked.
'Yeah, I'm, I'm doing better. Bobby got me a coffee, and Kitty...bless her, she did something I should have done ages ago.' Layla replied with the sound of a sip in the background.
"That sounds like Kitty, she looks all sweet and innocent but...girls got guts and brains and a side helpin' o' don't mess with her." Marie said with a chuckle finding her now.
'We're going back to the school now, I...I'm sorry we couldn't do all that stuff, I just need to...' Layla started.
"Don't you go worryin' about anything, wise man told me once, 'All the time in the world'." Marie said, knowing just how much her friend should be with her daughter now.
'Kitty ended up following us so...tell Logan we're sorry, I'll see you when you all get back, bye.' Layla said in parting, Marie bidding her off before hanging up her phone.
Taking the last ride up the elevator, she walked into her apartment to look around, finding it just as empty as the day she'd finally been able to pay first and last. Nails still stuck in the walls where she had her photos, opening the fridge just to spy a box of baking soda in the back before closing the door. The bath was empty, just her shower curtain hanging with a yellow cartoon bird looking back at her, a gift to the next tenant that she hoped they enjoyed as much as she herself had. Walking out to the window she looked down to the street below, Logan just leaning against the truck with a cigar lit while Jubilee and Pete looked to be checking the engine.
Darkening the door one last time, she closed it and locked it, holding the key for a long breath to be taken before walking off. Passing off the keys, she hugged the motherly woman who watched over the building as the Super with a careful eye and light heart, their goodbyes said with promises to see her if she was ever in the neighbourhood. Treading down the steps, she looked up to see Logan there holding the door to the truck, crushing his cigar under foot.
"Ready to hit the road?" Logan asked.
Looking down the streets, to the shops and the people and picking out the faces she knew, she swore she'd be back in the neighbourhood again someday. Right now there was only one place she wanted to be, walking up to the truck and climbing on in.
"Yeah, I'm ready to go home Logan..." Marie said, the cramped truck feeling everything to her now as he had said before, cozy, wedged in tight with friends she called her family.
Author's Note : My thanks to all, knowing people are enjoying it keeps me going. Ink and Jeannie, always warm fuzzies. cjm, I believe I have found just the right dash of what you were hoping for, I'll add it to the mix within the next few chapters, promise. Hope the moment I hinted at with Kitty was good enough for now ;) Toodles!