Marie and Logan: Back to the Dance

[x-traction.livejournal.com]

Marie slips away from the dance and promptly gets dragged back.

Marie pushed open the door to Harry’s, slipping inside quickly to avoid letting the cold air from outside into the warm interior. She hadn’t changed before coming from the dance, but the green cloak she’d slipped over the black strapless dress kept her from standing out too much in the bar. Walking over to a table, she sat down across from the man she’d expected to find. “Care for some company?”

Logan looked up at Marie and shook his head. "Why are you here?" he asked conversationally. "Don't you have a dance you should be at?"

"Ah went," she replied with a shrug. "You know those aren’t really my kinda things." Slipping the cloak off, Rogue laid her silk clad hands on the table. "There were enough other adults around and the kids are mostly behaving, figured they wouldn’t miss one of the chaperones."

Logan took a deep breath and then exhaled it. Then he slid out of his booth, picked up a napkin, reached out with his napkin-shielded hand to grab Rogue's ear and _twist_. "Listen to me, kid." he told her as he pulled her out of her booth. "You don't belong in here. Not today. I want you to go back into that big house and _be a kid_. Find someone to dance with, have a good time. Celebrate. I catch you in here again tonight and so help me I _WILL_ take you over my knee. Are we clear?" he hissed.

Marie stared, bewildered, at Logan as she felt her body rise up out of the seat in response to the twist. “Ow,” she said more out of habit than as the result of any pain. “How come you get to mope around in here then?” she asked, barely grabbing her cloak before it was out of reach as she was dragged towards the door.

"I ain't moping. I'm here most every night, you know that." he told her as he marched her down the aisle towards Harry's front door. "You get to be as old as I am, you can spend dance-hall nights in here drinkin' rather than out there enjoyin' life." he said. "Not before."

"Ha. Ah better not still be going to bars when Ah’m your age. It’d be the scandal of the nursing home,” Marie muttered as he kept dragging. Reaching up, she separated his hand from her ear. “Fine, fine. Ah’ll go back. But you gotta dance at least once.”

"Sorry, kid. Old wolverines drink, young rogues dance." he said with a smile. "Go. Have a good time. We'll talk more tomorrow." he said, then turned his back on her to walk back to Harry's.