Logan and Marie: Monday morning training session

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After her morning run and after his morning walk in the woods, Logan and Marie meet in the fencing hall for their scheduled training session.

Logan sat on a mat in the center of the room, legs crossed, his sweatpants bunching at his hips and knees. He centered himself, breathing deeply. Leather and old sweat. Empty air.

Marie swung the door open and stepped in. She was flushed and warm from her morning run, carrying her sneakers, socks stuffed inside, in her hand. She put them down by the wall and slipped her fleece jacket off over her head and dropped it on them, then tightened her pony tails so her hair wouldn't fall in her eyes. Her running shirt and tights would be sufficient for training in, she assumed. As she padded, barefoot, across the floor she straightened the seams on her favourite pair of thin leather gloves, wishing as usual that she could forgo them completely.

He looked up just before the door opened, taking in her appearance. The sparkly hearts in her hair suited her, he thought. He stood smoothly, plastering on a quick smile. "Hey."

"Hi." She looked up from her hands with a surprisingly shy smile. "Did I keep you waiting?"

"Nah. Just got back from my walk early, is all." He shrugged, motioning for her to join him on the mat. He hadn't /really/ expected her to show up in the first place. Well, he had. But he hadn't. He felt a little awkward.

"That's good." She came obediently to where he'd indicated and gave him a curious, worried look with a tilt of her head and a small frown between her brows. "Do you still want to do this?" Her voice was low, as though there might be someone else to hear them.

He looked at her in surprise. "Yeah. Yeah, I do." He faced her. "I've just never worked with you like this. 's a little... Takes some gettin' used to."

"Okay." Her expression cleared, mostly, and she put her hands on her hips. "Tell me what to do then."

He looked at her for a moment, trying to decide where to start. "The 'ready position', I guess. We'll skip the ritual stuff and get to the point. Feet together, arms by your sides."

"Yes, sir." She obeyed and gave him a purely impish grin as she did so.

He snorted, following her into ready position and then quickly moved through the Chon-Ji Hyung. "The Universe is the first form learned by beginners," he explained, then moved through the form again, more slowly this time.

She watched him move, forcing her attention to follow the pattern, memorizing his motions. He made it look easy, moving through it as though he were simply walking across the room. "Feet only?" she asked, frowning a little again. It was easier to take it in two parts and getting the feet right was essential or you were just waving your arms around like an idiot trying semaphore.

He nodded. "Start with the feet. We'll work on the blocks and punches later." He returned to her side, settling back into the ready position.

She watched him step through the pattern one more time, ticking off the sequence in her head. "I think I can get through that," she said lightly. -Oh, how I whined about jazz practice when I was little,- she thought. -Who'd have known the footwork practice would come in handy now?- She followed him through then, feeling as fumblefooted as she always did the first time through anything.

He watched her, nodding. "Not bad. Let's do it again." He returned to her side and they walked through it together, left, right, left, right, over and over until they were through. He had to /think/ to keep his arms at his sides.

After the third time through, it was easier. Her feet knew where they were going and everything flowed smoothly, like dancing, on the fourth pass. It wasn't going to stick yet, she'd have to practice a lot for that, but for the moment it came to her almost effortlessly as long as she didn't let her mind wander.

"By yourself, again," he said, stepping back to watch. He could /feel/ her moving beside him, could tell that each step was sure and right. Now he wanted to see it.

She nodded and followed the sequence again. It had a natural order to it that let each step lead easily to the next and she couldn't imagine that she'd felt clumsy before.

He nodded. "Good." She learned quickly. Even if he /was/ getting distracted by the occasional flash of sparkly blue from her toes. "You're doin' good."

Marie stepped back to the ready position and looked over her shoulder at him with a smile. "So, think you'll keep me then, Master Logan?"

He grinned, focusing on her smiling face. "Yeah, I think you'll do."

"Good," she said smugly, flipping her hair as she turned to face the front. "Now get back here and teach me the rest of it. My hand work never comes as easily as the feet."

He laughed and stepped up, moving through the sequence again. His blocks and punches were sharp and precise. She mastered them quickly, and after only another half hour or so, he felt she was ready for the next step. "Wanna try that against me? See how well you've got it down?"

"If you say so." She was suddenly worried that she might hurt him. Even with his mutation, she hated the thought of causing him pain. Still, she pushed it down. He could take care of himself and there was no way she was backing out of anything he offered her. "Yes. Let's do that." She shook off her nervousness like shedding water and prepared to go through the sequence against him.

He rolled his shoulders back, cracking his neck, and settled into the ready position in front of her, bowing slightly. "Whenever you're ready."

His motions were so familiar, so dear -- the shift of posture, the toss of his head -- she couldn't help the look in her eyes or the twinge in her chest. She pressed her lips together and blinked, composing herself all over again, and then moved forward to meet him, graceful and determined.

He straightened and met her eyes as she approached, just barely restraining himself from responding to what he saw. Then it was gone, though, and he must have imagined it in the first place. He couldn't help the flash of possessiveness he felt, seeing her so determined, so fierce.

Her own lack of fearlessness surprised her, so did the ease of the motions. It felt good to be opposite someone else like this, almost dancing, and doubly so because it was him. The rightness of it balanced her and the last of her anxiety and awkwardness melted away on first contact.

The first time through was smooth and slow, each of her movements matched by an equal and opposite response from him. It felt good. When they finished, though, he was breathing a little more heavily than when he'd started, his self-control having been taxed by the speed of their forms and his own urge to go faster, make it more real.

"Can you do it faster, this time?" he challenged with a grin, as he settled into the ready position at the end of the form.

Marie met his grin with a small, composed smile. "Let's find out," she said calmly. Going faster was welcome, the form demanded it, the shifting footwork drew the body onward and caution seemed ungainly. She stepped forward to meet him again, relying on her natural grace and muscle memory to lead her through where her body reacted too quickly for her plodding mind.

With each step, he punched a little harder, moved a little more quickly, always watching for a sign that she wasn't up to it, wasn't ready yet. He blocked her last punch with his inner forearm against the side of her arm and stopped, grinning broadly, not yet dropping into the ready position.

She held steady, resisting his pressure. "Yes, Master?" Her eyes were bright and the spark in them belied the calm in her voice.

He raised an eyebrow at her challenge and, rather than following his first instinct, neatly broke her balance, pushing against her and, as she straightened, using her own energy to pull her toward him. He stepped in and pivoted, grabbing her arm and collar, then dropped, letting her fall over his leg and onto the mat.

The move was unexpected but not frightening. Marie knew she was in trouble the moment he leaned into her and she didn't try to fight the inevitable fall. A heartbeat later she was lying on her back, looking up at him, and she laughed. Then, stubbornly unwilling to concede that he had the upper hand, she used his grip on her to pull herself forward and she kissed him on the mouth.

His eyes opened wide with surprise and he /almost/ let her get 'the last word'. Just as she started to pull away, though, he let his eyes fall half-closed and he leaned in, biting gently, just once, at her lips. Teeth were probably safe. And anyway, he thought somewhat childishly, she'd started it.

The touch of his teeth was a definite challenge and Marie gave a little growl as she summoned her will and pulled back from kissing him. Then, keeping hold of him tightly, she lifted them both and flipped them over. She dropped him on his back, straddling his hips and grinning down at him wickedly. "You think so, do you?" she whispered.

Who are you and what have you done with Marie?, he thought, blinking quickly. But he didn't care. She looked like Marie, smelled like Marie, and talked like Marie, even if the way she was acting wasn't quite the Marie he'd been expecting. "I think," he growled, "if you move around too much up there, you're gonna find out exactly what I'm thinkin'."

Her eyes glittered and narrowed and she planted one hand on either side of his head, thighs almost painfully tight on his hips, holding him still. "Define everything," she demanded, looking down at him.

His eyes opened wide again and then narrowed. He knew what she was asking, where the question had come from. He thought about how to answer. Carefully, certainly. "Everything. Whatever, of you, you're willin' to let me have."

"And what do I get in return?"

His eyes fell closed. Not defeat, but acceptance. "Whatever you want."

It wasn't quite the answer she'd been expecting. She'd expected hesitation, at the least, but there was none -- barely even pause for breath. She leaned forward enough to kiss him on the forehead. "You," she said simply. Her expression softened and became again what it had been so briefly before.

That wasn't the answer he'd been expecting, either. He'd expected her to sigh and move away, to deny him. He opened his eyes to see her face, not quite daring to smile. "You've got me."

"I think I just might," she said softly, meeting his gaze. "I'm still mad at you, you know." Her voice was gentle and her eyes soft but it was the truth and she needed him to know it. She felt lighter though, through and through, like something in her had broken free at last.

He was unsettled, but not by her anger; he'd been unsettled for days. He let relief wash over him, knowing that, no matter what, they'd be okay. He nodded, understanding. "I know. Y'should be."

"Yes, I should be," she agreed. "And I love you still, and more."

Flat on his back in a public room, trying not to make a fool of himself any more than absolutely necessary, he reached up to tug at one pigtail. He wasn't sure what to say, except, "I love you, too."

She grinned and kissed him lightly on the nose. "Are we done today's lesson, Master Logan?"

Her shifts from wickedly dominant to softly accepting and then to teasing and happy made his head spin. He grinned, though, and laughed. "Yeah. I think we'd better be."

Marie half-flew to her feet and offered him her hand. "Don't you start anything again," she warned him with a playful scowl.

He laughed again, taking her hand and pulling himself up. Standing in front of her, he grinned. "You started it, last time. But what're you gonna do if I /do/ start somethin'?"

"Let's find out some time," she said, lifting her chin defiantly and giving him a sharp look. "I think I can handle anything you dish out. Have I let you down yet?"

"Not yet," he assured her, raising an eyebrow. He fingered her gloves thoughtfully, then smirked, just a little. "Maybe Wednesday."

"We'll see, then." Marie pulled her hand from his and gave him a teasing little bow. "Thank you for the lesson, Master Logan. /Most/ enlightening." She turned, then and waltzed away, looking over her shoulder to give him a brilliant smile before she bent to collect her shoes and jacket.

He snorted at her response, but his expression softened when she turned back to smile at him. He watched her collect her shoes and decided to head outdoors for a while before breakfast.

He could use the fresh air.