Logan knew that he needed to be subtle; but there was a small problem; he wasn’t often subtle. So it took a few days to figure out just what he thought he should do. When it finally hit him, he nearly burst out laughing. What better solution could there be for his dilemma than to change nothing about what he was doing with her at the moment?
They already spent a great deal of time together; with him teaching her self-defense and how to ride his bike and her numerous attempts to teach him how not to kill plants, nothing really needed to change between them; at least not yet. He would continue to spend time with her; working in her greenhouse, riding on his bike, hell maybe even teaching her how to work around a car if she had a mind to. Whatever it took to bring her closer to him, so that he could discover just where these feelings might lead them.
So with that thought in mind, Logan decided to start off with something simple; and something safe; something she already owed him because of his help with a certain Halloween party; movie night. There was only one problem. He knew that as soon as word spread that he and ‘Ro were having another action flick marathon, the students would be banging on the door to get in.
And while Logan would normally have no problem with this, this time he wanted the two of them to have the house to themselves. He figured that if no one was around, she might relax a little more and not feel the need to put on her “ice queen” mask; at least for one night. And she might then associate him with those relaxed times and learn that around him, she could be herself without fear of hurting anyone or losing face with the students.
Keeping the children occupied outside of the mansion took a few more days thought. It also took a bit of divine intervention; in the form of Jean and Scott and Logan’s credit card.
He came up with a plan in the beginning of the week; pit the students against each other in a mock contest. The winner got a ticket to the monster movie marathon in town paid for by Logan. Logan of course had no intention of sending just the winner; oh no, he wanted all of the teenage mutants out of the mansion for most of the night. So he decided that he needed to have a talk with Jean.
“Hey Jeannie.”
She stopped walking when she heard Logan calling her and turning as he came up to her. “What is it Logan?”
He put his hands in his pockets, glancing around, unable to completely hide his nervousness. “I need a favor.”
She did not bother hiding her impatience as her brows arched up at that statement. “Oh really? And just who were expecting to get this favor from?”
Logan started laughing as he realized that she had no intention of just granting him a favor. “Hey, ya just remember who helped Storm watch this merry group of teenage hellions and fixed Cyke’s car just so the two of ya could go out on dates.”
She crossed her arms across her chest. “Yes, and Scott really appreciated the skull shaped dent that ended up in his hood.”
Logan sighed wondering why she was so snide this evening. “Yeah well take that up with ‘Ro. She should know better than tao make surprise announcements when a guy’s head is underneath the damn hood.” He jabbed a finger in her direction, his own ire rising. “Besides yer lucky that I didn’t take a sledgehammer ta the piece of shit.”
“Logan, language, this is a school after all.”
“Sorry. Listen I really do need a favor this weekend. And don’t pull that ‘Scooter and I have plans' line ‘cause I know yau don’t.”
Jean sighed. “Fine Logan, what is it?”
“I promised the kids in class that I would pay for one of ‘em to go to the movie marathon they’re havin’ on Saturday; but I didn’t want ta just send one of ‘em. I want to send all of ‘em as a reward for all the effort they’ve put inta my class and all the work they’ve managed to do.
“Thing is, I got other obligations on Saturday so I was hopin’ maybe you and Scott could take ‘em instead.”
Jean snorted in disbelief. “Other obligations? Do you have a date Logan?”
Logan stiffened slightly. “No, I don’t and I’d appreciate it if ya kept yer thoughts ta yerself Jean.” He glared at her.
She pressed her lips together tightly. He could almost see her biting her tongue to keep from laughing. She quickly changed the subject.
“Why can’t you go?”
“Its personal.”
Jean looked unconvinced.
“Dammit Jean, I watched the damn kids for you and Scott without even that much of an explanation. Ya owe me; I’m callin’ in the favor.”
She threw her hands in the air in surrender. “Fine, fine. Scott and I will take the children to the movies on Saturday.”
Logan smiled, handing her the tickets he’d purchased the day before. “Thanks Jean. Oh and here’s my credit card; refreshments are on me too.” He walked away not seeing the confused and worried look Jean shot at him as he left.
How the hell did he do that? She thought as she stared at the handful of tickets she held. Scott is going to be pissed.
“How the hell did he manage to con you into this?”
Jean sighed as she watched Scott angrily pace in their room. She had thought that he’d be upset; she’d no idea that he’d be nearly as upset with her as he’d been with Logan for their suddenly full weekend. “Look Scott, we owed him. He watched the kids the night he got back; he even fixed your car so we could go out for dinner on our anniversary. Neither of which he had to do. The least we could do is return the favor.”
“Yeah; lord knows I don’t want him making me look like an ass. But I don’t like it; I think he’s up to something.”
Jean sighed wondering just how long she was going to have to soothe his ego after this weekend was over. “Scott, just because he wants the weekend free doesn’t mean that he’s up to something.”
Scott shrugged suddenly feeling that he had to justify why he didn’t trust the guy. “I know but you’ve been real quiet about him lately; ever since you saw him and Ororo together at the Halloween party. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were suspicious of him. You were the one who thought that he and Ororo might be a couple.”
She sighed as she rubbed her forehead. She was still embarrassed that she’d been less than articulate with Ororo when she’d discussed it with her; she had no desire for Scott to bring it up again. “I talked to her about it and she acted like nothing was going on. They’ve always been close; we’ve all seen it. But that doesn’t mean anything; I could’ve been wrong.” She felt Scott come up behind her, pushing her hands away to take over the task of rubbing her neck and shoulders. She nearly groaned in sheer relief as his hands expertly soothed the blossoming tension headache that the conversation had caused.
“But I don’t think you are; especially after I saw the way they were with each other at the Halloween party. Who’d have figured that Logan could dance? Or even better, that he would let all of us see him do it just so he could ask Ororo to join him? I have to admit it was quite a sight seeing the scarecrow dancing with Glenda. I never thought he could be anything but a macho jerk.”
Jean laughed. “He’s only a macho jerk with you honey; you just seem to bring it out in him.”
Scott ignored the statement. “I have to admit though, between you and me, it was nice to see her smile like that; and it’s been a long time since I’ve heard her laugh so freely. This could be a good thing.”
Jean moved his hands from her face and turned to look at him, the surprise evident on her face. “Why Scott, is that the romantic man I love coming out?” If she could have seen his eyes behind his ruby quartz glasses, she was sure that he was rolling them at her.
“Hardly; I care about her too you know. I can’t say as I approve of her choice; but if he makes her feel this good, who am I to argue?”
There was silence for several moments while Jean used their link to carefully assess his feelings on the situation. She knew that Scott had a tendency to over react whenever Ororo was concerned; they all did.
She meant so much to them and after Forge had left her several years ago, they had all done their damnedest to be sure that she couldn’t be hurt like that again. So she knew what it took for Scott to admit that maybe it would be nice to see her with someone again; even if that someone filled him with moments of intense fury and frustration; even if that someone was Logan.
"You know, you can be quite a nice guy when you want to be. Does this mean that you’re not upset about this weekend?”
He kissed her lips softly as he smiled. She had always thought his smile was his most honest expression; it was rare but he never faked it.
“No, I guess not. I guess I just have a hair trigger temper where this guy’s concerned.”
Her eyebrows raised a bit at that admission but she didn’t detect any malice in his words; just truth.
“Jealous?”
He laughed. “Given his past, not really. But then again he does have excellent taste in women.”
She slugged him in the shoulder wondering how he could talk about Ororo that way when he was holding her. “Scott!” He smiled again and she realized that he had made the statement vague on purpose just to pull her chain.
“I meant you Jean; I can totally relate to his attraction to a certain redhead.”
He leaned forward and she could imagine that his eyes were clouding with love and desire as she nudged the door shut with her mind.
“Devil.” She whispered just before their lips met.
“So what will you be showing this evening Logan? You did promise me some classic action movies; minus Vin Diesel of course.”
Logan chuckled despite himself as he handed her the stack of movies that he’d picked up that afternoon.
She read the titles. “Rambo, Lethal Weapon, The Terminator, and The Usual Suspects. I have not seen any of these movies Logan.”
He reached out and took them from her turning around to set the TV up as she sat down. “Then yer just gonna have ta trust me darlin’.” He handed her a bowl of popcorn as he sat down next to her. He handed her a cold soda, having set up a small cooler next to sofa for the occasion.
She stared at the soda for several seconds, as if unsure of what it was. He gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry, Chuck said no beer on school grounds.”
Ororo arched a brow at him. “Since when do you follow the rules?”
Logan simply shrugged.
She opened her drink and took a sip from it before her face grew serious. “Logan, perhaps now is the wrong time to tell you that I abhor blood and gore.”
He looked at her in surprise. He had chosen the movies with care, but now he wondered if he should have chosen even more carefully than he had. “Darlin’, all action movies have a little blood in ‘em. Just how squeamish are ya?”
“I am not really squeamish; it is just that I do not see the need to bloody up a decent movie just to make the audience gasp and scream.”
Logan chuckled despite himself. “But a little blood is okay.”
“As long as it is realistic and essential to the plot.”
“Well considerin’ that most of the people in these movies who are covered in blood are dyin’, I’d say it was essential ta the plot.”
“Logan, you know what I mean.”
“Yeah I do. I promise, the movies I picked only have a little gore in them. Now the movies I picked out for next weekend, that’s another story.”
Ororo looked at him in surprise. “Next weekend? You wish to do this again?”
Logan shrugged, noting the tone of pleasure in her voice. “Why not? I’d forgotten how many good movies were out there until I started picking ‘em out for this weekend. These ain’t the only classic ones either. I thought ya might enjoy doin’ this more than once.”
She looked at him in silence for several seconds.
“Look at it this way, we’ll both get ta watch some really great movies. I’ll even let ya pick ‘em out if ya want.”
She turned her soda can in her hands, her face thoughtful. “Are you open to other types of movies besides action?”
“Sure. I got no problem with other types of movies; as long as it’s anythin’ but chick flicks darlin’. If I want ta cry that bad I’ll go ta my room and punch myself in the ba…” She raised a single eyebrow at his as yet unspoken choice of words. At her look her trailed off and gave her a sly grin instead. “Sorry.”
“Apology accepted. So what are we going to watch first?”
“How about Rambo, then you can pick.”
“All right.” Ororo looked around at the empty room, a puzzled expression on her face. “Logan, where are the children?”
Logan grabbed the remote, and his own can of soda, sitting back to enjoy the show. “Jean and Scott took ‘em ta the movie marathon in town. Apparently stupid monster movies outrank classic action any day.”
She was silent and sat back as he started the movie. “Logan, just what is this movie about?”
Logan shrugged as the opening credits began rolling. He didn’t really want to tell her and risk spoiling the movie but he knew that she would pester him if he said nothing. “Darlin’, if I told you what it was about, it might spoil the movie.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “I did not ask for a full movie summary; just give me the basics. I do not even know who is in it.”
“Fair enough. Look, at the box if ya want to know who’s in it; can’t quite remember all of their names anyway. Near as I remember, it’s a story about revenge.”
“Revenge?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you so much Mr. Hemingway.”
Logan had been in the process of taking a drink when she made that statement. He stopped the motion with the can midway to his mouth to turn and look at her in surprise. “Is that sarcasm in yer voice darling?”
She shot him an innocent look. “Heaven forbid.”
He smiled at her as she turned her attention back to the screen. “Keep it up darlin’ and I might think ya were startin’ ta enjoy my company.”
“Now who is being sarcastic?”
He snorted and for the next couple of hours, there was silence between them. During the movie, Logan found himself paying less and less attention to the movie, and more attention to Ororo’s reaction to the movie.
Despite her words of trepidation about a movie based upon revenge, and her somewhat disgusted reaction to over the top blood and gore, she seemed to enjoying herself immensely.
She was a great deal more relaxed than she had been at the previous marathon; her gasps of outrage and her openly honest expressions more than justified his decision to send the children out. He sincerely doubted that she would have been this relaxed or open if the room had been full of young mutants. He felt a fierce wave of joy fill him, something that surprised him with its intensity, as he realized that she didn’t feel the need to block herself off when around him.
He found himself relaxing as well as the movie played out and he even put his arm around her on the back of the couch. She didn’t seem to notice, too engrossed in the movie to pay him any attention. And they both settled back to watch the movies. They only had one interruption; when the children came home from their own marathon. Luckily they didn’t seem interested in watching more movies and they quickly headed off to bed.
Several hours later, as the credits of the last movie rolled across the screen, Logan hit the stop button and turned to face Ororo.
She sat on the couch, a dumbfounded and completely thunderstruck look upon her beautiful face.
Logan felt suddenly pleased that he had left The Usual Suspects for the final movie. “So what’d ya think ‘Ro?”
She turned to him, her face thoughtful. “Unbelievable.”
He smiled and waited for her to continue.
“I never expected it to end that way. I cannot get over Kevin Spacey’s performance; he was amazing.”
“I felt pretty much the same way when I first saw it; in fact, I’ve seen every movie he’s ever done since this one.”
“This sort of reminds me of another movie; I think I have a suggestion for next weekend if you have not picked out all of the movies?”
“No, I haven’t. What were ya thinkin’?”
“Have you seen The Sixth Sense?”
Logan frowned. “Is that the one where the kid sees ghosts?”
“Yes. But it has an unbelievable ending.”
He wasn’t quite sure about her choice and it must have shown on his face because she reached out to grab his hand.
“I put my trust in you; now you must do the same.”
He smiled realizing that he had asked her to do just that at the beginning of the evening. So, he took the plunge and did as she asked. “Alright. Sounds like a plan.”
She smiled. “Wonderful. Now, it is late and I am off to bed. Thank you for a lovely evening Logan. I do not think that I would have ever chosen these movies on my own. Thank you for broadening my horizons.”
Logan smiled at her as he gave into the impulse and kissed her cheek gently before she hurried off to bed. He watched her, out of the corner of his eye, as she reached up to touch her cheek gently where he had kissed it just seconds before. The gesture brought a gentle smile to his face. "Goodnight darlin’.”
“Goodnight Logan.” She walked upstairs quietly as he relaxed into the couch feeling quite satisfied with how the evening had turned out.
The next morning, Logan awoke bright and early. The mansion was still and quiet around him as he made his way to the kitchen for breakfast. He noticed as he descended the stairs, that there was frost on the lawn outside. He sighed knowing that winter was quickly approaching. Soon he would have to put the bike away; not that the winter weather ever affected him, but the roads quickly became dangerous. With the snow and ice, not to mention the insecurities of the other drivers, he had no wish to take a spill and be forced to wave off well intended witnesses who couldn’t believe that he’d survived. Or worse, take a spill with ‘Ro and risk causing her injury.
Normally the seasonal change wouldn’t bother him; in fact it often caught him unawares as neither heat nor cold seemed to really affect him. But putting the bike away would put an end to his rides with ‘Ro. Despite her growing ease and skill with the machine, they still often rode together; sharing unique sites in the area. Although lately the frequency of their rides had fallen sharply as their time was eaten up by other matters. Still, the rides they did manage to take were something he looked forward to with a great deal of anticipation.
After all, it gave him an excuse to touch her without appearing that he was coming on to her. And it gave them a reason to spend even more time with each other; now he would have to find something else to fill the opportunities of those rides. He rounded a corner to see her quietly closing one of the student’s door. He came up behind her quietly as she turned and squeaked in surprise.
“Logan, I did not see you.”
He lowered his voice, not wanting to disturb the students as Ororo waited for her heart to settle back down into her chest. “Everythin’ all right ‘Ro?”
She nodded. “Yes, one of the children came back with a stomach ache and a mild fever. Jean and Scott were so worn out by the evening that I told her that I would check up on her this morning. She is resting now.”
“Glad to hear it. I’m goin’ down ta make some breakfast; how’s about joinin’ me? I’ll cook my world famous omelets.”
‘Ro laughed but shook her head as they walked down the hall towards the back of the house. “Thank you, but no. I have some work in my classes that I have been putting off for far too long.”
“Yer loss darlin’. Listen, I noticed that we got our first frost last night. I was thinkin’ that it might be getting too cold for us ta keep ridin’. I’m thinkin’ of packin’ the bike away for the winter.”
“Is the cold too much for you?” Her gentle jab at his male ego did not go unnoticed; though he largely ignored it.
“The cold don’t bother me none.”
“Me neither; part of my mutation. Besides, if it did, I am sure you would be more than willing to keep me warm.”
Logan’s heart nearly stopped beating in his chest at her flirtatious tone. He couldn’t keep his jaw from dropping in surprise. “Are ya flirtin’ with me ‘Ro?”
She smiled at him, a gentle mischevious smile that had his mind leaping in all sorts of inappropriate directions. “And if I am?” Her voice was soft, teasing.
“Not sure; but ya do know how to keep a man on his toes. If this is how ya mess with the people ya care about, I’d hate to see what ya do ta yer enemies.”
She laughed loudly, the sound rich and melodious as she headed towards her classroom to work for the day. “Enjoy your breakfast Logan.”
Behind her, Logan watched her walk away appreciating the view and the banter between them. He felt an urge to blow off breakfast and follow her; he wanted to give her a taste of what flirting could bring out in him. But he reigned in the urge and went towards the kitchen.
Logan walked into the kitchen and found himself facing a strange sense of de ja vu as he once again came upon Jean sitting alone at the small table, her face marred by a serious expression. “Jean, is everythin’ all right?”
She looked up, smiling in greeting as he sat at the table in front of her. “Good morning Logan. And yes, everything is all right; I was just thinking.”
“Pretty heavy thoughts ta weigh down yer face.”
“It’s nothing Logan, really. I do this often; come in here to think when no one else is around. Although lately, you seem to be interrupting my solitude.”
Logan stood, going to the fridge. “How ‘bout something ta eat; I’m cookin’ my world famous omelets this morning. And don’t think of turning me down; ‘Ro already did that and I don’t think I can handle anymore rejection today.”
Jean chuckled as Logan stood at the island prepping ingredients. “Only if you promise not to cut yourself again; I’m not a vampire; I really don’t need the extra protein.”
Logan chuckled. “Promise. Now what do ya like in yer omelets?”
Several moments later, the omelet cooked, he slid a plate in front of her and sat down across from her to eat. “This looks delicious Logan, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
For several moments there was silence between them. Both of them seemed lost in their own thoughts and neither seemed willing to fill the void with idle conversation. Logan watched Jean as she ate. She was eating, but she still seemed distracted. A couple of times she even seemed on the verge of saying something. But she stopped herself each time. She seemed to be working up the courage talk to him about something.
“Logan?”
“Yeah.”
“Rogue tells me that you sat her down for a serious talk.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, something like that. I wanted ta make sure Remy was treatin’ her okay.”
She smiled fondly at his statement. “Which is why you also spoke with Remy.”
He chuckled. “Damn can’t anybody keep a secret round here? Yeah, I had a talk with him too.”
“I wanted to thank you for doing that; I know that despite what Rogue might say, she really appreciated you looking out for her.”
He looked at her wondering for a moment why she had brought up the subject. If she really wanted to know why he did it, all she had to do was scan his emotions. The truth behind his actions was something he had never tried to hide; he didn’t see any reason “She’s been through a lot, I just wanna be sure that she don’t ever have ta go through anythin’ like that again.”
“I know; none of us do. But coming from you, it meant a lot. She’s really very comfortable with you.”
He grunted, turning back to his breakfast. “Yeah, well that happens when she’s been inside yer head a couple of times.”
“I’m sure there is more to it than that; maybe the fact that you saved her life, not once but twice, nearly at the expense of your own.” She held up her hands, stopping him from interrupting her as she hurried on. “Logan, I must confess that I was hoping to have a talk with you myself.”
He waited somewhat tense as he began to sense where the conversation was headed. He decided to play it cool. “Ain’t that what we’re doing now darlin’?”
“No Logan, not about Rogue and Remy, I wanted to talk to you about Ororo.”
Logan went very still for a moment, unbelieving at what she had said and the scent that was wafting off of her. He would almost swear that he could smell jealousy on her. “What ‘bout her Jean?” His voice was soft, but it was deceptive. Inside there were darker emotions coming alive.
“Logan, no matter what you might think, I just want to talk.”
His voice was deadly soft and defensive. “So talk.”
“Are you two seeing each other?”
Again, he went really still. “Not that it’s any of yer business, but no Jean, we ain’t seein’ each other.”
She reached out to touch his arm, forcing him to meet her concerned gaze as she continued. “I promised myself that I wouldn’t pry. But I care about her and I don’t want to see her get hurt again.”
“And ya think I’d hurt her?”
She shook her head. “Not intentionally no, but Logan you’re not exactly her type.”
He could see her frustration; he could sense it in every line of her body and smell it coming it off of her. He knew that somehow, this conversation was not going exactly as she wanted it to. Normally she would never say something so callous and unfeeling to him; he knew this. But her words sparked a wave of anger inside him. His eyes narrowed, going as cold as steel as he took in what she said.
“And what exactly is her type?” His tone was deadly cold.
“Logan, I didn’t mean…”
He pulled his arm from her angrily, as he pushed away from her. “Maybe not, but that didn’t seem to stop ya from sayin’ it.” He felt her reach out to him, both physically and mentally as she tried to soothe his temper.
“Logan…”
He stood, shoving the chair into the table sharply. “No Jean, I’m gonna set ya straight right now. What ‘Ro and I do together, whether it’s datin’ or simply spendin’ time together, is our business. So keep yer damn nose and thoughts out of it.” With those angered parting words, he stormed from the room.
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