AN: This is a long one – I wanted all the reactions to be kept in one chapter. I think actually this is the end of this story, I might split it into a sequel. Let me know in a review which you prefer – continuing in this story or starting a sequel?
This chapter was more difficult to write, I wanted to try and keep everyone's reactions very in line to how I see them and it was hard to figure out just what those would be.
Thanks for the continued reviews and reads, I appreciate every one, really.
O o o o o o o o o o o O
Marie was laying with her head on Logan's bare chest, listening to his heart beat. She couldn't believe this had actually happened. Logan. Her. Bed. Naked. Those were words she never had truly expected to string together in one sentence.
She had dreamt of this occurring, but it actually happening was just so surreal. It wasn't exactly how she had dreamed it, but not in a bad way. She had always imagined that it would be rough, animalistic, and hot. Not to say that any sex with Logan wasn't hot, but it was different than what she expected from him.
He hadn't ripped off her clothes, thrown her down on the bed and fucked her madly; he had slowly undressed her, treating her reverently. They had actually seemed to be making love, not just fucking. That was exhilarating, and a little scary.
She couldn't help it, a few tears slipped out from underneath her lids as she lay in his arms. It just was so overwhelming and part of her was terrified that it wasn't real. She took a deep breath and kissed his chest lightly.
Logan felt the tears as soon as they hit his skin and he looked down at Marie suddenly, with concern. "You ok? Did I hurt you? What's wrong?" His voice was low and worried as he searched for her face, brushing her hair out of the way.
She shook her head quickly. "Sorry. I'm just happy," she said through a slightly damp smile.
He didn't seem to buy it. "You gotta tell me if I'm too rough or something," his voice was gruff as he spoke.
She met his eyes with hers. "I promise, it's not that." She gave a little smirk and wink, "You can actually be a little more rough, I'm not gonna break."
Logan leaned over and kissed her fiercely at that, finally breaking to bury his face in her hair. "You smell so good." He pulled away reluctantly, tracing her collarbone with his fingers. "We got a few other things to talk about."
Marie's stomach dropped. Part of her was expecting that when they were done, he was going to change his mind. "Alright," she said with a resigned sigh.
"Would you quit that?" He said with frustration. "First thing you gotta do is not assume every time I try and talk to you, it's something bad, alright?" She looked away, abashed that she was so easy to read. "Ok. Sleeping arrangements. I want you next to me at night," he said firmly. "But, you can't borrow my healing anymore, and I'm worried about your safety."
As clear as day, he could see her in his mind's eye, standing above his bed, his claws buried deep in her chest as she gasped pitifully and he called fruitlessly for help. Nightmares could be dangerous if you had metal knives that could pop out at any moment. That image itself was a frequent nightmare for him, the thought that he could accidentally kill her.
"I'm not." She smiled softly. "You wouldn't hurt me."
"I have before!" He said, angry at himself, not her. At least this time she recognized where the anger was directed.
"And do you think you'd like to relive that sensation?" She said calmly.
He growled softly, "Of course not! Are you crazy? It almost killed me the first time I did it."
Another smile, "Then you won't do it again. I think the animal instincts in you would avoid that experience again, whether you are asleep or not. Plus," she said, kissing him again, "I want to sleep next to you. It's worth the risk."
"Chuck should examine your head," he muttered.
"Speaking of the Professor," she said hesitantly, "You know it's nearly impossible to keep a secret here."
"You think I want to keep this a secret? I'm a private man, but I am not ashamed of this." He looked into her eyes as he spoke. "And I told you, I don't plan on this being some fling."
She bit her lip nervously, "Neither do I. I just was worried people might talk."
"Let 'em talk. Doesn't change a thing." He smirked, "You're twenty and can make your own decisions legally. Plus, I'd say if you add in the time other people, including me, have spent in your head, you're the woman who is closest to my age than any of them around here."
She smiled, she hadn't really been worried about the age difference between them, but she was a little concerned about the reactions of others and how that would affect Logan. Apparently he wasn't going to let that bother him. "Alright, back to sleeping," she said. "Which room?" This part of the conversation tickled her. She was laying in bed with Logan, discussing sleeping arrangements. She couldn't help the grin on her face.
"You've got more stuff than me. After tonight, I think yours would be better." He held her tighter, his hands starting to roam with minds of their own. He didn't really want to move from this position tonight unless it involved the both of them moving in rhythm.
"Alright." She started kissing down his chest, clearly having similar thoughts as him.
He groaned in pleasure as she continued and explored his body with her hands as well. "One last thing. You have to accept the fact I'm going to be protective of you. I know you can take care of yourself, but I'm going to worry about you. Deal with it."
She slid her body up to kiss his mouth, "Fine. But know while you are gone, I'm going to worry about you. And I'll be protective of you too."
"Fair enough," he said with a smirk, finally giving into temptation and abandoning the talking for a while again.
O o o o o o o o o o O
The next morning, Marie woke up with the wonderful sensation of being in Logan's arms. Reluctantly, she pulled away from him, attempting to get out of bed. A firm hand on her hip stopped her.
"Where you going?" His eyes were still closed as he spoke.
She leaned over and kissed his lips. "I gotta get ready for class, and so do you. I'll see you later?" She looked at him questioningly.
He opened his eyes to meet hers. "You better." He reached out to her hand and kissed her fingertips. "I'll come by your room, later." She nodded with a grin, finishing putting on her clothes from yesterday and exiting the room.
Marie hadn't gotten two steps before she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Did you sleep in his room?" Jubilee. Her voice was sympathetic.
"Great," she thought, "As if keeping things quiet wasn't difficult enough with a telepath in the house." "Hey Jubes. Yeah. I did." She wasn't sure how to bring up the fact that Logan was in there with her, so she just left that fact out.
"Shit girl, you have got to get over him. You have been in love with him for way too long." Jubilee was trying to be supportive, Marie could tell, but she really just wanted the younger woman to hush her mouth. She was sure that Logan could hear every word being said and she wasn't quite ready to spill just how she felt.
Marie muttered, "It's ok." She tried to keep moving towards her room, the hall now seeming interminably long.
Jubilee put her arm around Marie as they walked, "Don't worry. I'm going on a date with Colossus, and I have it all set up for you to go out with Angel." Jubilee winked suggestively.
Marie could have sworn she heard a growl coming through the walls as they finally reached her door. "Uh, I don't think that's a good idea, Jubes."
"Come on, you have to." Jubilee said imploringly. "I've already got it set up." She followed Marie into her room. "It'll be fun, I promise. Angel is totally hot."
"I can't," she said firmly. "I'm sorry, you'll have to find someone else." She was apologetic and moved around her room, idly picking up a few things, knowing that Logan really didn't care that much, but her southern pride said to tidy.
"Fine," she huffed. "But you have to accept that it's never going to happen with Logan and move on. I'm telling you this as a friend."
Marie could hear that Jubilee was trying to be a good friend and watch out for her, but the whole conversation was absurd. "I know. I appreciate the concern, but I'm ok. Have fun with Colossus." She gently pushed Jubilee out of the door so she could shower, while sincerely hoping that Logan hadn't been eavesdropping on the whole conversation.
O o o o o o o o O
Marie was finishing putting on her makeup when the door opened again. This time it was Logan and he was trying to not smirk at her as he set his duffel down by her closet. "Going out with Jubilee tonight?"
"I thought we agreed, no other women?" She said, looking at him over her shoulder through the mirror.
Now the smirk was not even trying to hide on his face. "Suppose we did."
She turned around and faced him, "Did you listen to our whole conversation?"
"Yeah." He walked over to her, taking her into his arms. "Thanks for not giving up, and sorry I made you wait so long." Logan leaned down to kiss her. "Hurry up or I'm not going to let you leave this room."
Marie gave him a peck on the lips. "Thank you for coming to your senses." With a smile, she walked out of the room to get to her class.
O o o o o o o o O
It seemed like it took forever to get to lunchtime. Marie tried to keep her mind on her work as she went through the painfully slow morning. She wanted to talk to someone about it so badly, but no one seemed appropriate. Logan was never the best topic of conversation with Scott. Telling Jubilee, she might as well take out an ad in the paper. And though she wasn't upset about Kitty and Bobby being together, they just hadn't been as close lately.
As she put away her things prior to heading to the kitchen, she had an idea. She grabbed a sandwich and a bottle of water, and headed out of the mansion.
Marie walked down the steps into the sunshine, smiling. It felt good to be outside. She walked towards the back of the mansion, to their small graveyard. She sat herself down in front of the tombstone of Jean Grey, the only marker out there since Scott and Xavier had both been found alive.
"Hey Jean," Marie began as she took out her sandwich, munching silently. "I know we weren't really close when you were alive, especially seeing as I was so jealous of you I could barely see straight."
She took a sip of water before continuing. "But somehow, it just seemed right that you be the 'first to know', or something. I mean, everyone knew I had a thing for Logan, and he had a thing for you, and you had a thing for Scott, though I can't imagine you didn't have even a little thing for Logan. I mean, look at him." She sighed happily, the phrase bringing images to her head from the night before when she finally got to look at him fully.
"Anyway, I'm sure you know Scott and I are good friends now. He's still in love with you, by the way. I don't know if he'll ever get over you. He misses you every single day. But Logan…" She shrugged. "He finally realized I grew up. And maybe he grew up a little too.
"I don't think he's trying to replace you, I think we just have to share his heart." She took another bite of her sandwich. "It definitely could be worse. You were beautiful, smart, powerful; I really don't think I'm in the same ballpark as you. But he seems sincere. And I want to believe him so much.
"I don't know. I just wanted to talk to someone who couldn't go blabbing around to everyone else. The voices in my head, Logan's voice, used to provide that. But I'm alone now and trying to get used to it."
She ate more of her sandwich, then said quietly, "I hope that if you were around, you'd be happy for us. I think you would have been, and I'm real happy right now. Logan and the ability to touch him. What more could I ask for, really?" With a smile, she finished her sandwich, touched Jean's headstone gently and said, "Thanks for the talk." She got up and walked back into the mansion to get ready for her next class.
O o o o o o o o o O
When Logan headed to find something to eat, later on that afternoon, he saw Scott waiting for him at the counter. "You need something, Slim?" Scott just continued to watch in stony silence. Finally, Wolverine growled, "It's not your girl this time, so back off."
"I care about Marie," Scott said in a low voice. "I don't want to see her hurt."
"Neither do I," Logan spoke in a low and dangerous voice. "She's a big girl and she can make her own decisions, so don't try and make them for her."
Scott leaned forward on his hands to glare at Wolverine. "I'm not, but I want you to understand what the consequences will be for breaking that girl's heart."
Wolverine slammed his hand down on the counter angrily, "Give it a rest, Summers. Hurting Marie is the last thing I want to do and so you need to get over yourself. You are not the only one who loves her, ok?"
The angry speech by Logan shut Scott up fast. He might have been underestimating the bestial man. "Fine," he said, and then his voice softened, "Take good care of her, Logan."
Logan grunted an affirmative and walked out of the room.
O o o o o o o o O
Storm sat with the new Charles Xavier in his office. "So, Logan is back," she said mildly.
Charles was slightly amused, "I don't believe he intended to leave the other day. Apparently he had 'errands' to run." He knew now why Logan had left, but was being respectful of Logan's desire for privacy.
"I'm concerned about Marie. She has such an attachment to Logan and does not handle it well when he disappears. She's gone through so much in such a short period of time." Ororo was clearly fond of the former mutant.
"I understand, Storm," a smile crossing his lips. "But it's out of our control. It is her life, and she likes it that way." Everything he was saying was true, hoping to show Ororo that she didn't need to get involved.
Ororo for her part was annoyed that the Professor didn't seem more concerned about Marie. "I understand that, Charles. But you didn't see her yesterday when we thought Logan had left."
"She's feeling better today, I'm fairly certain," he said calmly. He was trying actively to avoid the minds of both Logan and Marie since Logan had requested privacy the night before. Their thoughts were strong at times which made it impossible to avoid hearing, no matter how much he avoided it. It was a large drawback to being a powerful telepath, knowing entirely too much about everyone around.
Storm sighed. "I may talk to Logan. He can be rather oblivious to these issues, and perhaps if he were aware, he could be more considerate. I know he cares about her."
Xavier couldn't help but chuckle, "I do not think that will be necessary, Storm."
She crossed her arms in front of her, realizing that clearly Charles knew something she didn't, but wasn't ready to share the information with her. "We'll see." She still thought speaking to Logan might be a good idea.
O o o o o o o o o O
Ororo made a point of stopping by the gym where Logan was teaching later that afternoon. She watched as the children used their hand to hand skills and mutations in combination with approval. Logan was good at teaching these things and the younger mutants needed to know how to defend themselves and others.
She caught his eye and he spoke to the class gruffly, "Keep working, I'll be back." He walked over to the weather witch and said "What's up?"
"I was speaking to Charles earlier," she began. "And I'm concerned about Marie."
He arched a brow. "Really. Chuck sent you to talk to me about her?" He turned slightly hostile. "It's none of your or Chuck's business, honestly."
Storm furrowed her brow slightly. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that she is an adult and it is her life. We're not looking for your seal of approval, so mind your own damn business." He turned and walked back to his class, clearly pissed off.
She stood there for a moment, processing his words, combining them with Charles' words from earlier and her eyes widened. Everything fell into place and made sense and she stared at Logan for a moment, who was still refusing to look her way. She blinked and then walked away, not sure yet what to make of the situation.
O o o o o o o o o o o O
At the end of the school day, Scott swung by Marie's classroom. She was cleaning up, all the students gone for the day. She had a contented smile on her face as she packed up her stuff, the smile growing larger when she saw Scott in the doorway. "Hey Scott!"
He smiled gently in return. As much as he wanted to be upset about the whole situation, she was happy and she hadn't had a lot of happiness in her life and definitely deserved some. Hell, all of them at the school had, by and large, a lot of bad shit in their lives, and he couldn't blame anyone for trying to grab some happiness while they could. "Doing better I see."
She blushed. "Yeah. Thanks for last night. I know it is weird for you."
"You don't have to explain to me." He shrugged and sat down at one of the desks. "And as much as I hate to say this, you could do worse. It'd be tough, but possible." A slight smirk appeared.
"Thanks," she said drily, with a grin. "We talked last night. Got things settled."
Scott snorted in disbelief, "Logan talked?"
Marie blushed a bit, knowing that talking wasn't all they did. "He wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting into. Which I do," she said pointedly. "Does no one except me remember I lived with him in my head for a few years?"
"I know, I know." Scott shook his head. "I just don't want you to get hurt."
Marie tapped her index on her chin in a thoughtful fashion, "How about you give him a break about it now, and if he hurts me, you can kick his ass?" She smiled slyly.
He couldn't help but laugh. "Deal." They embraced, Marie feeling much more relieved that Scott wasn't going to be acting pissy about the situation.
O o o o o o o o O
When Marie finally got back to her room, Logan was there, clearly waiting for her. "So, how many people interrogated you?" he asked, good-naturedly.
"Only Scott. Two if you count Jubilee." She grinned mischievously. "How about you?"
"Scott and Ororo. Though apparently she was talking about it with Chuck." He grunted in approval as she walked over and settled into his arms. "You ok?" he asked, looking down at her face, cupping her face in his hand.
She smiled at him and nodded, "Yes. You?" He responded to her with a kiss. She sighed happily as they moved to her bed, this was going to work out, she could feel it.