Breakfast the next day was like any other at the Institute: busy yet almost orderly chaos. It was nine in the morning and the kitchen was still seeing a continuous traffic of students only just getting up.
Ororo maneuvered her way from the sink (she'd just left her dishes at the dishwasher) and back to the small enclave by the kitchen window to finish her morning coffee. They'd set up a small table there some time ago, and it was an unspoken rule among the students that the small, semi-private area was reserved for the instructors in the morning.
She passed by Laura on the way, who was busily peeling an orange leftover from yesterday's sangria with a tiny peeler. She spared her a small smile and a soft good morning, and Laura blinked, staring after her. In the chatter and hustle and bustle, no one noticed.
And then Logan came in from the garage. He made his own way to the sink (the kids parted like the Red Sea for him, not because they were scared of him (okay maybe they were a little scared) but because he was pretty greasy from working on the bikes all morning. He washed up, grabbed a cup of coffee, ruffled Laura's hair absently as he went to join Ororo at the window, taking the carafe and the morning paper with him. Laura blinked again.
She was silent a few moments, causing Amara to frown when her questions went unheard and unanswered. Amara left in a huff, leaving Laura to study Storm and Wolverine sitting across from each other a little closer for a few more moments - and then she stood abruptly, suddenly heading over to where Bobby and Kurt were piling their plates high with food.
She held out a hand.
"My winnings," she said, as they looked up at her curiously.
"Mmwha?" was Bobby's intelligent response around a mouthful of toast.
"Based on the terms of the bet, I would have to split the winnings with Gambit," she continued, barely blinking.
Bobby turned to Kurt in confusion. "What's she talking about?"
Kurt's brows furrowed in thought as he swallowed a bite of ham and egg. "She's talking about money she won?" he said, when he could speak clearly again. "She is not in on the - the thing, is she?" He glanced warily back at Logan, who didn't seem to hear him, thankfully. He was busy turning the pages of the morning paper.
"Yeah, did it yesterday right before the..." He froze.
"Dude! She said it'd happen before the night was over!" Bobby's voice had dropped to a hiss (that everyone heard.)
"It did." Laura said, tilting her head to the side at them, poker faced.
Meanwhile all the kids who had heard Bobby's latest outburst turned to crane their heads over at the Teacher's table. To the students' disappointment, there didn't seem to be any change to their everyday behavior at all. Storm sipped her coffee and scribbled something on a pad of paper. Logan bit into a sausage.
Kurt turned back to Laura. "How do you know...?"
She stared back. "Isn't it obvious?"
At their window, Ororo continued to calmly list down her agenda for the day. Call the gardener. Call the grocer. Outdoor flying session with Sam. Re-arrange the laundry schedule. Pay their phone bills. Talk to Kitty about said bills...
"Logan," she murmured, not taking her eyes from her steno pad, "They're staring."
"So let 'em stare," He said, over his coffee. "Got nothin' to hide."
She smiled privately. It was true; outwardly there was no change to their behavior at all. It wasn't that they wanted to keep it a secret, or that they didn't want everyone else to know about this new aspect of their relationship. They just didn't see the need to advertise it to anyone. Private was private, he'd said, and she agreed, understanding that need for discretion. They were a couple now, yes, but they were also teachers with an example to set.
When they were alone, though, was a different matter...
Briefly she wondered what it was that the students were expecting to see from them.
Across the kitchen, Bobby was trying to get Laura to explain her "suspicions". Logan listened with one ear, part of him proud that she was the first (and only) person to see it so far. The other part wanted to run a hand over his face in exasperation. He knew he'd have to talk to her about it later, but right now he settled for lifting the paper over his face so he wouldn't have to see this.
"Should we put the rumours to rest once and for all, I wonder?"
"They'll figure it out," he said, and she could hear the scowl in his voice. "Probably from Chuck, once he gets down here. Hell, he probably already knows about us himself."
Her heart did a little backflip at the word us. He could tell she was raising an eyebrow at him without even looking. "And then?"
The paper was lowered a fraction, just so he could get a look at her. "We go about our day as usual, I guess."
She smiled.
postscript
Laura and Remy would use the pooled money to fund a nice date for Storm and Wolvie. It went something like this:
Laura: (holding out a sheaf of bills for Papa Logan to take) Remy said you should take this and bring her somewhere nice.
Logan: ... What-
Laura: Don't screw up.
(meanwhile,)
Ororo: ... Remy, this dress is hardly appropriate-
Remy: Trust me Stormy, this dress is perfect.
Ororo: But-
Remy: Non, non, take it ma souer. You c'n thank me later, when y'name y'firstborn after Remy.
