Logan and Em, plus What Logan Did On New Year's Eve

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When Logan wasn't in his room, there was one other place to check to find him before Marie had the option of giving up or wandering the mansion like a lost puppy, and she prefered to avoid the latter. The idea that people still thought of her as a little girl with a crush bothered her no end. It just wasn't like that with them. She jumped from the landing and floated down, touching the floor lightly and trotting toward the Danger Room. If he wasn't in there, she wasn't going to hunt around. She'd just leave him a note saying where she'd be and if he wanted, he could find her instead.\

Logan sliced through one last 'enemy' and cracked his neck, sheathing his claws, then walked toward the exit. Sweat gathered at his temples and dampened the waist of his sweatpants as it beaded and ran down his chest and back. His muscles ached nicely and he felt he'd gotten as good a workout as he was going to, against a computer. He slid the door open and tapped the keys on the control board that would turn off the AI in the Danger Room.

She could hear the tapping of the keys and pondered the wisdom of surprising him, then remembered that he'd still be wired from his workout and she didn't want to give either of them a scare. She tapped on the outer door and pushed it the rest of the way open. Logan was shutting down the AI, looking dishevelled and sweaty. "Good workout?" she asked.

"Mm hm," he muttered, hitting the last few keys to lock the system. He turned around, rolling his shoulders back and feeling the burn. He'd been down here for a few hours and he could feel it. "Yeah, yeah, it was good."

"So, what are you doing for New Year's? You going out?" He needed to get out, she thought. He'd been hanging around the mansion and it wasn't good for him.

He looked up somewhat guiltily. "I was gonna head out to a bar, have a drink or two." Or ten. "Maybe. Come back before midnight, so's I don't hafta deal with the partyin'."

"Good," she said, smiling. "I was hoping you'd say that. You need to get out more."

The guilt receded and he grinned. "Tryin' to get rid a me?"

"Logan!" She looked aghast at the idea. "No! It's just..." she fumbled for an explanation. "I worry about you."

He laughed a little, stepping forward to tug on a strand of her hair. "No need to worry about me, hon."

"Tough." She poked him in the ribs and made a face. "Someone's got to do it. Well, I'm glad you're going to go out. Going with anyone or just on your own?"

He made a face at the way her finger squished against his sweat-slick skin. "Wasn't really thinkin' about it. By myself, I guess." He shrugged, still grinning.

"Okay. Well, I guess you don't really have to shower then, do you?" she teased and stepped out into the hall, keeping just beyond his reach. "You'll be back around midnight? Does that mean you'll want any company?"

He mock growled at her comment, stepping toward her menacingly, then laughed. "Sure, I'd like that," he said, with another shrug. "But don't you have plans with the others?"

"I just said I'd drop in." She shrugged. "One of my resolutions is to be less of a hermit."

He snorted. "Think I'm a bad influence, there." He shrugged again. "If you're not gonna be busy, I wouldn't say no to havin' you around later tonight."

"Is that a request?" She grinned impishly at him.

He raised an eyebrow, seriously considering tossing her over his shoulder again. "Might be."

"Well," she sauntered along ahead of him, swinging her hips, "I mean, I might get asked to stay somewhere else. I just want to know what my priorities are." She tossed her hair and winked over her shoulder at him.

His eyes followed her hips for a moment -- swish, swish -- before he realised what he was doing and shook his head, stepping up quickly behind her. He grabbed her hips and flipped her around, up, and over his shoulder, then kept walking. "Hmph."

Marie heard him step up behind her and only gave a little squeak as she founde herself slung over his shoulder. She giggled and smacked him firmly on the backside. "Look, Zugzug," she said through her laughter. "I've already got finding you a real woman to my list of goals for the new year, okay?"

He bounced her on his shoulder, grumbling, "I do /not/ need your help findin' a woman." He walked through the maze of corridors, heading out toward the stairwell.

"Oof," she smacked him again. "Aww, come on. It'll give me something to do."

He snorted, smacking her on the bottom. "No blind dates."

"Eek! Of course not, I'm not some juvenile." She wriggled in his grasp. "Dating is stupid anyway. I didn't say I'd find you a date."

He coughed, realising what she was talking about, and resettled her squirming body firmly on his shoulder. "Think you know my taste in women well enough for that?"

"Pretty much, yep," she said confidently. "I have insider information.... remember?"

He started climbing the stairs, being careful not to drop her. He pushed aside his discomfort with the things he knew she'd seen in his head, focusing on the conversation instead. "I guess you do. Don't know how much good it'll do you." He wasn't sure exactly how much she knew, how much she'd seen. How much of his tastes had really been given away.

"Why's that? You have someone stashed away and you're not telling me?" Her tone grew more serious then. "I was mostly teasing, you know. But... I want you to be happy."

He stilled for a moment on the stairs, then slowly started to climb again. "I am, hon. Don't worry."

"Promise?" It was hard to sound severe hanging upside down, but she managed. "Because... when I go away... I won't be able to make sure..." Her voice trailed off. "I just want to make sure there's someone around who loves you at least a bit as much as me."

He stopped climbing again and flipped her off his shoulder, putting her down on the step in front of him. "I promise." He reached up to tug a strand of hair. "D'you really think it'd matter as much, all that love comin' from someone who's not you?" No one else, he was certain, could mean as much to him as this one girl -- woman, now, he supposed -- who'd fallen into his life without warning. He was pretty sure he preferred it that way. Caring about /one/ person this much was disconcerting enough.

She looked at him seriously, eyes damp with unshed tears. "I just want you to be happy," she said again, quietly. "I'm not enough for anyone..." The last came out so quietly it was almost unspoken, little more than an exhalation. She had meant not to say it but honesty around him was instinctive and she said it before she realized it.

Guilt and anger warred within him; he clenched his teeth and fought to keep from saying anything that would make the situation worse. "You /are/," he said quietly, when he'd calmed himself. He ran his fingers through her close-cropped hair. "You are." He didn't know what else to say.

"It's okay," she said, mustering up a smile and blinking to clear her eyes. "Really."

He shook his head, knowing she didn't believe him. He was a little hurt that she thought he'd lie, even a white lie to make her feel better. "You, /you/, with your open smile and your courage and your innocence and your huge heart, you are the most important person in my life. Don't make light of it."

She blushed and ducked her chin. "...I wasn't. I..." She looked up at him and straightened her shoulders. "I know who and what I am. I'm not making light of anything. I'm just being honest and practical and realistic. I'm not a little girl and I'm not stupid and I want you to be happy more than anything and I'm not going to apologize for that."

He took a deep breath. He couldn't believe they were having this conversation on a flight of stairs. "I /am/ happy. You're my family and that makes me happy. That's enough. Other people are nice to have around, sure, but they don't /matter/ like you do. I'm not askin' you to apologise for wantin' me to be happy. I want /you/ to be happy, but I don't think that's gonna happen when you're thinkin' you're not enough."

"It's not a matter of thinking," she said calmly. "It is how it is. And I am happy, I'm just fine. I have everything I need and more. I have you, I have a home, and I have a future. I could well have none of those things."

He shook his head and shrugged, then neatly picked her up and dropped her over his shoulder again. "I know what /you/ need." He jogged quickly up the last few stairs and out the main doors, depositing Marie unceremoniously on her rump in a snowbank.

She squeaked when she was thrown over his shoulder again, and then the cold outside air and even colder snow took away her voice for a moment. "...you..." she managed to get out at last, floundering. She stopped trying to get up, balled up some snow, and threw it at him. "...fink!"

He raised a hand and the snowball exploded against it, sending bits of snow over his face and shoulders. Laughing, he grabbed a handful for himself and tossed it back at her. "Fink, huh?"

"Yes!" She willed herself up from the snow and tossed another handful at him.

Suddenly, Logan realised the downside to having a snowball fight with someone who could fly. "Shit." He grabbed two handfuls of snow and pitched them at her, one right after the other.

Marie dodged easily, laughing, and dove for him to tackle him into the snow.

Logan's eyes widened imperceptibly and he backed up a few steps before she plowed into him, driving him down into the snowbank. "Umph."

"Who's cold now, bub?" she asked gleefully, straddling his hips and pinning his shoulders into the snow.

Logan struggled for a moment against her hands, but quickly realised she was far too strong. He could still move his forearms, though, so he was able to pop a bit of snow up into the air. It rained down on her head -- and his. He harrumphed, trying not to laugh.

She giggled at him and leaned forward enough to brush a kiss over his forehead. "Silly man. Struggle is futile."

Green. ...Green? Well, it did suit her skin, he thought. A very nice contrast between the. He raised his right hand, experimenting with how far he could reach, and smacked her bottom. "I'll never surrender!" he cried, laughing.

"Eek! Logan!" She grabbed a handful of snow and washed his face with it and then jumped up and back out of his reach, rubbing her backside and laughing.

He scrambled to his feet, still laughing, and dove at her. "You're going /down/!"

Marie leapt up and back, managing to avoid his lunge. "No!" Her voice hit the upper registers as she flew backwards.

Logan landed face-first in the snow, much to his surprise. He pushed himself up, shaking his head vigourously, like a dog, to dislodge the snow from his face and hair. He rolled onto his back, eyeing his target, and pitched a handful of snow in her direction.

Marie landed just above his head, looking down on him, hands on her hips. "When are you going to learn?" she asked with mock-despair in her voice.

Logan harrumphed, stealthily sliding his hands up toward his head. He grabbed her ankles and quickly yanked, pulling her down.

She wasn't expecting to have her feet pulled out from under her. Startled, she forgot to fly and went down in a heap, twisting to avoid landing on top of him. "...you..." She reached over and dug her fingers in along his ribs, tickling.

He laughed, squirming away, then pounced on top of her, returning the favour. His fingers rippled along her sides, digging into the fleshy part just above her hips.

"No! Eek!" She wriggled, laughing and breathless, tickling back. "No fair!"

Logan laughed and squirmed, trying to tickle her without falling to the same fate. "Fair? Who said I fight fair?" And, with that, he scooped up a handful of snow and dumped it on her face.

She sputtered and sat up wiping her face. "You have to," she said, completely serious. "I'm special."

He sat back, choking on his laughter at her expression when he dropped snow on her face. His face sobered, but his eyes were still lit with mischief. "Of course you are. D'you think I'd have let anyone else tickle me and get away alive?" He poked her side, tickling a little.

"Nope." She poked him back, then pushed her snowy hair back, smiling at him.

He grinned at her and pushed himself to his feet, offering her a hand. "See? Special."

She took his hand in hers, her fingers icy under the thin fabric of her glove, and pulled herself to her feet. "I know." She hugged him close, carefully putting her head on his bare shoulder. "You too."

He wrapped his arms around her, snuggling against her for a long moment. "C'mon," he said somewhat reluctantly, "we should get in. You're gonna freeze."

"Yeah, and you better go make yourself all pretty if you're going out," she said, and hugged him a little more.

He snorted, squeezing her gently. "Yeah. Gotta make a good impression on the winos down at the bar."

"You should pick a better bar, then," she chided, letting him go.

"Maybe." He grinned and shook his head, walking with her back inside the mansion.



After a quick shower, Logan dressed and tromped down to the basement, heading for the garage. Scott's bike would get him there just fine. He zipped his jacket and hopped on. Fifteen minutes later, he parked the bike outside a seedy bar and stalked inside.

He took a seat at the bar. "Beer an' a shot." The bartender didn't ask what brand of beer or whiskey. This was his kind of place. The drinks appeared and Logan slapped some cash on the bar. Someone dropped a few quarters in the jukebox and he nodded approvingly as Tom Waits began rasping "The piano has been drinking; my necktie is asleep..."

His evening was going well -- he was five beers and seven shots into a good time -- when a gum-chewing redhead slithered onto the stool beside him, her perfume suffocating him. Perfume, not marinade, he thought uncharitably. She turned toward him, smiling seductively.

He slapped a few extra bills on the bar for the next round of drinks he wouldn't be drinking. Someone punched a button on the jukebox; the result was Joe Elliot screeching about love being like a bomb. Perfect timing. He stood, zipping his jacket, and walked out.