Chapter Nine: Entertainment for the Dead Of Winter
The pushing that Jean and Charles were doing to try to get that odd link between Logan and K to work more reliably seemed to be more sporadic the more they pushed them. It would be there one session, gone the next three and flicker on and off a well after. It was enough to give both of them migraines, which basically meant that everyone had to deal with a pair of crabby ferals.
Those that knew of the situation found themselves praying that it would either work reliably or cut out entirely, both Logan and K included. One day in late January, K found herself rubbing her temples over a cup of tea, when her old traveling companions came to sit by her.
"You don't have a headache, do you?" Chloe asked as K cracked an eye open and nodded once. "But, that's not supposed to happen to you – we learned about healing mutations in Dr. McCoy's class the other day."
"Well, she can get little things like that if she's got a problem with her mutation, right?" Zoe said, earning a tired look from their feral friend.
"Nothing is wrong with my mutation. This is something else entirely," K said quietly, pushing the tea away and laying her head on her crossed arms on the table.
"Aren't you going to drink that?" Zoe asked. "It may help your headache, and it smells really good."
K pulled a face and shook her head. "No, it smells awful." Silence fell over the kitchen as the girls frowned. Finally, K looked up at them from her still crossed arms. "Did the good doctor cover enhanced senses?"
"Yeah, last semester," Chloe answered, then looked at the tea. "Oh. It smells different to you?"
K let out a little humming noise then shrugged. "Maybe. More like it smells stronger. A lot stronger," K explained as Jubilee made her presence known as she entered the room, all grins and bubbly energy, though she stopped short when she saw how K was situated at the table.
"Headache?" she asked, her brow wrinkled up. The girls were quicker than K on the response and answered for her, nodding as K gave them both looks. "That's so weird. Wolvie's got one too," Jubilee said as she pulled up a chair.
Chloe and Zoe locked gazes as they stared at the top of K's head. "How long have you two had a psychic bond?" Chloe asked, grinning. "We learned about that in Mrs. Summers' class." Both of them were grinning widely. "You know. Since it can't be a hangover." Jubilee's mouth dropped open as the three girls continued their stare at the little woman in front of them.
K groaned and pushed herself upright. "I'm gonna go lay down," K said, pushing her chair back as she started to stand up. "You two … are ridiculous. Not everything in life is in your classrooms."
"Oh, come on! You gotta tell us more! Pleeeeeeease!" Jubilee begged as K shook her head.
"I'm sorry Jubes, that's not …. It's just private," K said looking almost sorry for the lack of an answer.
"No!" Jubilee said, slapping one hand on the counter before pointing an accusatory finger K's way. "Now you're sounding just like him! Come oooon." She had switched from tough girl to whining seamlessly, and as she begged for details, half dancing and making a fool of herself, K couldn't help but smirk at her.
"If you want to know, you'll have to jockey it out of Logan," K said, truly looking like it was sad to her that she wasn't spilling to Jubilee at least as she started to walk off. She barely got out of the front door when Logan entered the kitchen, looking for something to drink as he ran headlong into the trio of teenaged girls that were dying to know more about this mystery phenomenon they discovered that their favorite couple had.
"Oh, Hi Wolvie," Jubilee said as nonchalant as she could, though it was clear that she was thinking to herself she'd have to be careful to not have him shut her down right off the bat.
He barely grunted her way, looking supremely grumpy, as his head throbbed. He took a tentative sniff of the air around him to realize he'd just missed his wife. The sisters were now looking at him with fresh eyes - and Choe didn't realize she was staring at him, though Logan stopped midway through draining a bottle of water to glare at her.
"You OK, kid?" he asked, his piercing gaze waiting for her to meet the stare.
Chloe held her breath when she realized he'd just busted her. She nodded quickly blushing furiously and staring at the ground.
Logan looked at her strangely for a moment before his focus slid to Jubilee. "K go to the boathouse?" he asked, relaxing slightly when Jubilee nodded.
"You guys got plans for Valentines yet?" Jubilee asked, but Logan wrinkled his nose.
"Nope. Should I?" he asked, never one to make a big fuss over hallmark holidays.
"Yeah. She deserves some romance," Zoe said grinning at him meaningfully.
Logan narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head before he turned and left, following K's trail and grumbling to himself about pesty teenagers.
The migraine stopped for both little ferals as soon as the couple snuggled into each other, and relaxed. For Logan, it was the moment he'd truly filled his senses with her, inhaling her scent at the point where her neck met her shoulder as he nibbled at her neck.
For K, it was his scent coupled with the feel of his growl while he wrapped himself around her.
The solution to their troubles seemed to be as simple as that. When the headache was gone they quickly got to fooling around. When they'd finally finished with their afternoon romp, Logan settled in, pulling her into his side as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Got any requests for the upcoming 'holiday'?" he asked.
She wrinkled her nose as she slid her hands across his stomach and kissed his shoulder. "Why would I want to celebrate a massacre?" she asked getting a smile from him.
He nodded and let out a breath. "Fair enough. Sex then?" he asked, as she nodded slowly and seriously at him.
"Yes. Because we need a holiday for that," she replied snuggling in for the duration.
The students on the other hand were buzzing about the Valentines' dance that Jean had announced. The teachers were expected to chaperone, and Logan could think of no worse way to spend an evening when he'd much rather be tangled up with his wife. His crankiness level had inched up the closer they got to the dance.
The night of the dance, he'd slipped into his suit, as per Charles' instructions for the staff, and waited for K to exit the bathroom. When she stepped out he couldn't help but just stare at her.
She was in a long red formal dress, the bodice of which hugged her body like a second skin. The skirt was long and full but had a slit that ran all the way up to her hip, exposing her long legs perched on a matching pair of red heels. She came out asking Logan to attach the clasp on her bracelet as he was finishing up putting his tie on.
"I don't know that we should be going anywhere tonight, " he said, perfectly seriously as he searched for the slit in the dress that camouflaged itself when she wasn't in motion.
K shook her head as she straightened out his tie for him. "I didn't get all dressed up just for you to tear it up before we go anywhere. Come on, the girls went all out tonight," she told him, resting her hands on his chest as he pulled her closer by the hips.
"Don't need to look at the rest of 'em. I already got what I want," he growled, earning himself a kiss.
"And you call me a troublemaker," she growled back, her fingers hooked into the front pockets of his slacks, before she kissed him again. When the kiss broke, he noticed the gold in her make-up, making her eyes pop.
She slipped a shawl over her shoulders as they made their way up to the mansion. This was something the kids had looked forward to more than Logan could understand. And the students were all dressed up, excited and chattering.
The men of the Xavier Institute all looked handsome in their tailored suits, their hair perfect, nothing out of place, except of course for Logan, whose shiny black hair still held it's natural tufted appearance. The women however, they were a story all their own. Every one of them looked the part of a model or goddess, each one a swirl of color on the arm of a devilishly handsome colleague. When they got inside, K took Logan's arm and the two of them made their way to see Charles.
It was their intention that they be seen so that they might cut out sooner rather than later. The problem with that however, was that this was a dance, and it was nearly impossible to avoid at least a few dances at such an event. Scott approached her first, asking Logan's permission to take K on the floor with a smirk. Logan thought it might be worth a laugh and before she knew it, Scott was twirling her around holding her tightly as he joked with her on the floor. It wasn't much of a dance, but they looked positively elegant next to the mass of awkward box-stepping teenagers. When it was through, Scott returned her to Logan and thanked her.
K smoothed out the front of her already perfect dress and went with Logan to a nice quiet dark table, settling into the darkest corner they could manage where they could cozy up and hide from the crowd. That didn't work at all though – Scott's dance with her had apparently been a tactical move to announce the feral's arrival. And It turned out that several of the more senior teachers had decided to try to keep at least one pair of teachers on the dance floor at a time.
Within a few minutes, Jean and Remy both came asking to dance with the little couple.
"Why don't the two of you dance together?" Logan asked, feeling suddenly like there was a conspiracy.
"Come on, mon ami. You would have killed to dance wit Jeannie not dat long ago," Remy teased as K raised an eyebrow at him. She knew he had a thing for her, but she thought it was funny that Remy would try to use it against him now.
Logan was growling until K rested her hand on his leg as they sat at the table. "Go on. I'm not worried. Besides, I danced with Scott so what's the big deal?" K asked, as Jean smiled at her.
Unable to come up with a good argument that wouldn't sound bad on his end, Logan gave K a kiss before escorting Jean to the dance floor, making sure to keep it at the same level of friendliness that Scott did with K.
Remy however – was not playing by the same rules. He and Rogue were actively trying to make the other jealous. They weren't fighting per se, but they were trying to get under each other's skin.
Rogue had made leaps and bounds with her control since her Christmas escapades, but she still was losing her concentration when she got overloaded with any intense emotion. And that night she was dancing with lace sleeves as a precaution.
When Remy got K on the dancefloor, his long legs made it necessary for her to truly stretch out to keep up with him, exposing the extent of the slit in her dress as he did a few very close fast twirls where the pair of them were stepping between each other's legs as they moved between the groups of teenagers quickly clearing the floor for them as Remy made a show – as usual, ending the dance with K having to hook her knee around his to keep her balance as he dipped her low. Logan was not amused, and was growling lightly when Remy returned her to him.
Some of the older students had started to try and copy the flowing movements the adults had been showcasing with limited successes. But Jubilee had kept her seat most of the night, not wanting to dance with anyone but Everett, who of course, hadn't given her more than a passing bit of attention. She was shocked then, when K came to sit by her after half stumbling off the floor away from Kurt, who'd added in a several teleports around the room that left her clutchiing him as he chuckled outright as they cut through the floor. Needless to say, K was a little light headed from the sulfur and brimstone as she nearly fell into the seat next to Jubilee.
"Jubes, you should be dancing, not me. What gives?" K asked, as she tried to stop the room from spinning. Jubilee pouted as she tapped her fingers on the table.
"The only person who's asked me to dance is Bobby, and he did it out of pity," Jubilee grumped.
"Well ... ask someone then," K suggested, not realizing what the real problem was.
Jubilee rolled her eyes at her full epic levels and crossed her arms before she blew a strand of loose hair out of her face. "None of the guys here take me seriously. I'm the joker, the one that will never be considered as a romantic anything," she grumbled, not meaning to say all that she did.
K paused and took in the young woman's dilemma before she nodded slowly. "Alright. Who is it that shot you down? Want me to stab him?" K asked, looking as if stabbing someone would be the highlight of the night.
Jubilee rolled her eyes again, but laughed when she saw the look on K's face. "Everett. I wanted to get him to dance, but Monet laughed and said that I wasn't graceful enough to dance with him." But clearly, K didn't understand and simply stared at her waiting for more explanation. "She likes to give me a hard time about everything. Miss Perfect."
K looked onto the dance floor, where the young couple were making a sloppy attempt at a tango as Logan walked over and took a seat next to his wife. "Hey Jubes," he said as he sat down, and Jubilee greeted him weakly.
K reached over and tapped Logan's leg, as if she didn't already have his attention. "She needs to show off, but hasn't danced much. Take her out, love," K said, not realizing that she hadn't phrased it as a suggestion, but more of a finality as she reached for some water, and Kurt appeared, promising to keep K out of trouble, though he was slipping her the flask he had in his coat with one hand as he put his other arm around her shoulders. Logan gave him a dirty look for it, but Kurt couldn't help but settle in that much more comfortably.
"We'll be fine here," Kurt said with a grin.
Logan let out a little breath of a laugh, but without another word or a moment to think it over, Logan stood and pulled Jubes with him, surprising her as he gave her quick instruction on what to do. She kept up well, and before the song was through, she looked like an old pro. All would have been fine had Logan not overheard Monet's snotty scoff over Jubilee's dance partner and his lack of passion on the floor.
All Logan could think about on hearing it was Why the hell would he have passion in a dance with a girl he considered a daughter? What kind of sick psycho was she anyhow? When he got back to K, he was irritated at the little twit, though he gratefully accepted Kurt's flask and tipped it back as the three of them shared a drink and watched the goings on.
Jubilee looked like she was having fun finally as she headed out with Jonothan, but many of the kids seemed to be in Monet's fan club, in awe of what Logan considered a very sloppy, awkward, and stiff tango that Monet and Everett had just finished.
Without any warning, he pulled K to her feet. "Dance with me," he said, K shocked at his demand – something he rarely did. She looked at him confused a moment, questioning what they were doing. "Someone's gotta set an example for all these kids," he clarified.
"What the hell," K said with a shrug, with Logan smirking at her devil may care attitude. They made their way to the floor, amidst the more bold students that were stumbling through. Jubilee had just finished a dance with Angelo, and she stopped snapping her gum when she spotted K's red dress flowing onto the dance floor.
"Oooh, come on," she said, pulling Angelo along as they made their way to where Zoe had just sat down, feet aching already from too much dancing. "This should be good," Jubilee told the pair of them - obviously excited to see how this would turn out.
Jean had picked up on Logan's mood and had made sure that the next song starting up would work well for what he had in mind, even though he was prepared to just stay there dancing until the right one came on. Jean hated to agree, but Logan was right. Although Monet was talented in many areas, she needed a reality check on her self perceived perfection, and her mean girl attitude was grating on the redhead. The only thing was, Jean had no idea if either feral knew what they were doing.
Logan and K were all fluid motion as they started, both held a smirk, their gazes locked as their legs twined back and forth, the slit in K's dress unable to remain hidden as Logan stepped into her, her leg wrapped around his as they pivoted, red satin flew out. The floor cleared as the stunned students made room for the pair. They clearly knew what they were doing - steamy and smooth, their animalistic natures proving to accent their gracefulness as the dance took an edge that was perhaps a bit more sharp than Jean had expected it to be, but she watched appreciatively all the same.
The Howletts danced with their lips a fraction of an inch apart as their legs intertwined, gliding across the floor. They looked almost as if they'd rehearsed, though the truth was that they were incredibly in tune and able to anticipate each other's moves and complement them. The song ended with K bent backward, one of her legs over his hip, her head tipped back and his lips millimeters from her throat. A half beat at the end of the song passed when Logan closed the gap, kissing her throat reverently at the hollow where her neck met her collarbone to the applause of most of the student body and all of the staff as K wrapped her arms around him, and kissed the sense out of him.
Eyes wide, Jean approached them as they made to leave, complimenting them on their performance.
"Just dancin' with my wife, Jeannie," Logan said, his voice gravelly. "And now, I'm takin' her to outta here," he growled out. K met Jean's gaze, challenging her to try to stop them leaving. But Jean just stepped aside, calling out to them quietly to have fun.
Jean turned her attention back to the students, who were buzzing, the girls were talking about K, not used to seeing her dressed up, but also in shock that she and her gruff husband could pull off such a steamy and well done dance. Jubilee suddenly found herself swamped with dance requests, many of the boys hoping she could teach them some of the suave grace that she had to be knowledgeable of, seeing as she'd danced with Logan as well, and none of the other students had.
By the end of the night, Monet had actually apologized to Jubilee, and Everett had danced a slow song with the little firecracker, ending her night with a buzz.
The next morning, K found Jubilee smiling, staring out the window absently stirring the milk in her bowl. She watched her warily as she retrieved a cup of coffee, then leaned over the counter as she watched the teenager. Logan came in not long afterward and slipped his hand over K's snaking her cup from her hand as he took over on her coffee, leaning into her. He drained nearly half the cup before setting it down then biting her earlobe for just an instant, his hand on her hip. It was his little nonverbal signal that he was off to work out. Not long after he left, K finally greeted Jubilee, who looked genuinely surprised to see her, even though she'd been there for a while already.
"So I take it your night went a little better after we left?" K asked. In an instant Jubilee was blushing and nodding in response.
"I got kissed," she admitted with a grin.
K's eyes widened. She was glad she'd waited until Logan was gone before she mentioned this.
"Who?" K asked, curious as to who was showing an interest in the little firecracker.
"Everett. I don't know how it happened, but it happened," Jubilee replied trying not to dance in her seat too much. She was positively adorable in a mood this bright. K drained her cup and refilled it before taking a seat next to her, trying to be the good older friend and listened to everything Jubilee had to say before she retreated back to her privacy.
After Jubilee bounced off, humming to herself, K decided to try to grab something to eat, but once she'd gotten a meal in front of herself, she couldn't force herself to eat. She didn't think anything of it – it was known to happen from time to time after all.
When K got back to the boat house however, she was clearly exhausted. She wasn't sure what else to do, so she decided to just lay down and see if that helped things. Before she knew it, she'd drifted off to sleep. She wasn't concerned until she looked at the clock, realizing that she'd slept for two hours. She shook her head as she sat up, confused on how she'd gotten so tired.
She got herself together and drank some water before heading back up to the house and met Logan not long after getting inside He'd ust gotten out from a little workout that turned into a serious exercise with the other men on the team, all of them sweaty and in good moods after the unintentional group exercise.
"Girls are having a run at the danger room this afternoon – you in?" Scott asked. K nodded her head, knowing that if she spoke it would betray the fact that she'd just woken up. No one seemed to think anything of it as they continued on with the generally good mood of the house.
Remy even offered K a bite of his gumbo, which she refused on the premise that she was going in to fight, something she didn't want to do on a full stomach.
The danger room session went pretty well, and the men were all surprised at the amount of power the women in the house yielded when they really decided to turn it on. Logan was taken back at the ferocity that came out of his wife when she was surprise attacked, hardly looking to be sure it wasn't friendly fire before shredding the robot mercilessly. He wasn't sure, but it seemed she'd ramped up her attacks. They continued to battle when suddenly without reason for it, K slipped, unseen by her team mates until a split second before she hit the ground hard, landing on her neck and knocking herself out cold.
Scott quickly stopped the simulation, and Jean and Storm were at K's side almost immediately, both of them visibly upset when K was unable to answer their questions for a few minutes.
K felt like her legs had gone numb. The group as a whole upset at the revelation until she regained feeling.
"How does that even happen?" Jean asked. It was Logan that explained as he picked up K, intending to carry her to their little bungalow.
"The bones are covered in metal – spinal cord isn't. She'll heal up," he explained lightly, turning to leave.
"Has it happened to you?" Scott asked, to which Logan just nodded his head and headed out the door, no longer expanding on the situation at hand.
Kurt glanced between the groups and rushed off behind Logan and K, getting his old friend to stop the moment he rested his hand on Logan's shoulder. "If it's that bad, let me get you there quicker," he offered, not waiting to make good on his offer as the three of them disappeared in a plume of indigo smoke.
When they reappeared in the boat house, Logan carried K over to the bedroom to get her settled in then came back out to Kurt.
"How long do you expect this to take to mend?" Kurt asked.
"She'll be fine by tonight," Logan told him. "Probably before if she doesn't fight it."
Kurt grinned back at him after a moment of weighing it out. "Then, I'll keep you two company for the evening."
"Not drinking tonight," Logan told him, though Kurt wasn't deterred or bothered in the least.
"Oh, good," he said. "I had started to assume that you were trying to turn me into an alcoholic - or that you needed the booze to spend time with me." His eyes were dancing with humor as Logan shook his head at him.
"How about I win all your money off of you then?" Logan offered, earning a grin from Kurt before he teleported off to get the cards.