xp_logs | Logan and Marie (x2) (Reply)

Marie stretched tiredly as she walked down the hall, keeping her footsteps light to avoid waking anyone in the silent household. Mrs. Espinoza was settled and looking forward to seeing Angelo when he returned and she herself should have been tired but she was still not ready for sleep. She checked her watch. Just past one-thirty in the
morning. Logan didn't sleep much, and he was usually awake at odd hours. She took the stairs two at a time to the third floor and then made her way to his door where she tapped lightly, so softly that most people wouldn't hear, and waited to see if he were really awake.

Logan had curled up on the bed only half an hour before and was still awake, reading about the adventures of Holden Caulfield. The blankets were mussed under his feet and he and shoved pillows low beneath his back. A quiet tapping reached his ears and he raised his head. Taking a deep breath, he smiled and dropped the book to his side, standing up to cross the room. "Marie," he said, pulling open the door.

She didn't have anything to say, really, so she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

He squeezed her tightly and lifted, pulling her into the room. After a few moments of silence, he murmured, "Missed you."

"You better," she said lightly and then leaned back so she could study his face. "Didn't wake you, did I?" She frowned a little, searching his expression for signs of tiredness or worry.

He shook his head. "Nope. Just readin'." He looked at her a bit searchingly in return. "The last leg of the trip went okay?"

"All's well that ends well," she said. "Nothing to report but potholes and a bit of snow. ...and the fact that I never want to drive from L.A. to New York again. I swear, my backside's gone permanently numb." She grinned impishly at him.

He grinned back, poking playfully at her bottom with one finger. "Still there, don't worry." Finally, he let her feet touch the ground again and reached back to close the door. "Shouldn't disturb the neighbors," he said with a
shrug.

"Anything exciting happen while I was gone?" She took in the room with a glance, the rumpled bed and the abandoned book, and then looked back at him.

He shrugged again. "Not much. Your friend Doug came by, askin' after ya, though."

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Yeah. I feel lousy about that, but a guy can't feel too bad if it's riots that make a girl stand him up, right? Besides," she shrugged, mimicking him unconsciously. "It wasn't a
date or anything, I told him that straight off anyway."

Without realising it, he relaxed a bit more at that announcement. "He seems like a nice enough kid. Bit nervous."

She laughed at him and then covered her mouth quickly with one hand, stopping herself, but her eyes were still full of amusement.

He raised an eyebrow at her reaction. "What?"

"You," she said, trying not to smile. "Logan, you'd make a grizzly bear nervous if it knew what was good for it."

He snorted, shrugging. "Eh. 's not like a pulled claws on him."

"You don't have to." She poked him playfully in the stomach. "I think he's just a little nervous around everyone... unless it's just you and me that have that effect on him."

He laughed, wrapping her up in his arms again and squeezing so that she can't poke him again. "Well, you're not a bit scary, so it mus' be all of us."

"Must be." She hugged him back and sighed happily. "It's good to be home."

"'s good to have you back." He looked around the room. "You wanna sit down or you headin' back to bed?"

"I've been sitting for days," she said with a little scowl. "I should go to bed but now that I'm home, I'm just not tired for some reason. I think... I'm just too glad to be back, y'know?"

He smiled. "Yeah. I know. 's a strange feelin', ain't it, when you used to travel all the time..."

"It is, yeah." She put her head on his shoulder. "Still... it's the people who make it home. Otherwise, it's just another place in the world."

"Yeah, and places are easy t' leave behind." He ran a hand over her hair.

"...especially L.A.," she said, sounding tired all of a sudden. "Hard to get out of, but /really/ easy to leave."

"Not as easy a trip as you were hopin', I know." He pressed a kiss to her hair. "Sounds like you need some sleep, hon."

"I'm not tired," she said automatically, then yawned. "Well, maybe a little."

He chuckled at her immediate denial. "How long's it been since you slept?"

"Um... only about..." she looked at the clock by his bed. "...twenty hours or so."

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh." His tone of voice was quite telling, giving away what his next comment would most certainly be, if she didn't volunteer to go to bed.

"What?" Her expression was guileless.

"You need to sleep." His tone brooked no argument, but his expression was indulgent.

"I know," she admitted after a moment's pout at him. "Responsible mutants get their rest. I'm going... I just wanted to see you first."

"I know. I'm glad you came." He smiled, tugging on a short strand of her hair.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She gave him a final squeeze. "Sleep well?"

He nodded, squeezing back. "You, too."

"I will." She gave him a smile and blew him a kiss as she let herself out of the room. "Night, Logan."

"G'night, Marie." As the door clicked shut, he turned back toward the bed, intent on reading himself to sleep.

----

Logan's boots left deep welts in the snow-covered forest floor, but they were quickly covered by fresh snowfall. Occasionally, his tracks would disappear entirely, only to reappear a dozen or so yards later. He looked up, spotting an appealing branch, and lept. Within seconds, he was safely ensconsed in the limbs of the trees, prowling among them.

Slightly out of breath and a little sweaty, Marie rounded the bend of the running path near the lake. The surface was sleek and still and sparkly in the pale, predawn light. Untouched. She pulled off her gloves. She stepped off the path, willing herself upwards. She rose slowly at first and then faster, to the height of the trees, and then she took off across the lake, rising still more before sweeping down to run her bare fingers through the pristine white snow.

He crawled through the branches, heading deeper into the woods, but was forced to stop when the trees ended at the edge of the lake. He settled himself comfortably on a large limb and enjoyed the tranquility of nature. It was only a moment or two before his gaze was drawn to the sky.

She gained altitude again, looking down to see the swish of the marks her fingers had left behind. She laughed at herself then, at the childish thrill of drawing where she shouldn't, as though she were taking a crayon to a mansion wall. It felt good to play, though, and she left herself fall like a stone toward the icy, frozen waters before pulling up in time and trailing her fingers through the white again.

The sudden movement drew Logan's eye and he watched, realising that it was Marie. She was playing in the snow, enjoying her newfound powers. He felt guilty for intruding, but thought it best that she know he was there. He dropped from the tree, boots crunching into the snow.

She was skimming across the lake when motion caught her eye and she froze, turning and rising quickly until she could focus in the grayness and make out who it was who was watching her.

He saw that she had seen him and walked out of the trees, toward her.

The figure was instantly familiar the moment it detached from the darker forms of the trees. The set of the shoulders, the way he walked... she dropped a little and flew toward him, feeling suddenly shy. Cheeks flushed, and not just from her play, she stopped in front of him, feet not quite on the snow, eyes downcast.

"Havin' fun?" he asked fondly. It was the first time he could remember seeing her fly and he was having a difficult time keeping his eyes off the spot where her feet /should/ be, but he was smiling, nonetheless.

"Yeah," she said softly, pulling her gloves back on. "Sometimes... it's hard to resist." She looked up at him through her lashes. "Feels like I shouldn't play around with it... but..."

He shrugged. "They're /yours/, now. Playin' with 'em's just part of having 'em."

"I suppose so." She gave him a little smile. "It is kinda fun." She set her feet down in the snow, slowly. "Staying still's harder than it looks."

He grinned, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Always has been, hon. Now, you've got more ways to move, though."

She gave a little laugh. "True. You're up early."

"Eh. I was awake." He gave a little shrug.

"Going anywhere?"

"Nah. Just goin' for a hike through the trees." By which, of course, he means through the tree limbs, as well as between their trunks. "You?"

"Was running... then I got distracted." She blushed.

He chuckled. "Know what you mean. I start out walkin' and end up in the trees, just because it's fun."

"Lot of difference between being a kid and being childish," she said thoughtfully. "If you want to go on, go ahead... don't let me keep you if you want to go on your own. I understand."

Logan shrugged. "Think I've got it all out of my system now, but I can see how you'd want to be back up there. " He waved a hand at the sky and smiled.

She looked upward, shaking her bangs out of her eyes. "Yeah. I still feel guilty, though." Her voice trailed off into the snowy silence. "Hey, you busy tonight?" she asked, changing the subject without warning.

He blinked, startled at the change in topic. "I...no. Not really. Why?"

"There's that dance thing tonight. I'm not interested in it, but Doug's band is playing a set and I figured it'd be decent to go drop in." She shrugged. "He's gone out of his way to be nice to me, and this kind of thing is a big deal with the others, so... anyway, I wondered if you'd come with just so I don't have to brave the sea of couples and cuteness alone."

He looked somewhat uncomfortable with the notion, but nodded. "Sure. 's long as I don't have to dress up or anything."

Marie made a face at that. "Don't be silly, Logan. I'm not dressing up. I'm just going to go listen and then leave. If you come with me, no one will do anything awkward like ask me to be social."

He laughed. "Sure. I s'pose I can do that."

"Good." She shivered a little. "I'm freezing out here. How can you not be cold?" she asked accusingly.

He snorted, slipping off his lightweight jacket and offering it to her. "Somethin' you get used to, I guess. I dunno, cold's never been much of a problem for me."

She pulled it on over her fleece hoodie and hugged herself. "Wild man," she said lightly. "Thanks. You want to go get a coffee back at the house with me? We can go back through the woods if you like."

He grinned broadly. "Yeah, I'd like that." He ran off toward the trees, calling back to her, "Race you!"