"I know you're there, Logan," Jean Grey said, without looking up from her laptop computer.

Logan grinned at her and moved from the doorway of her classroom, now empty at the end of the school day. He'd been enjoying the way her mouth hung slightly open as she concentrated on the computer screen—oh, that mouth—but the irritation in her voice was equally entertaining. She was endlessly fascinating, this woman. Cool on the outside, but a swirling fire lurked just beneath the surface, tempting him to be consumed. "Can't fool a telepath, huh?"

Jean stopped typing and looked up. "No, it's called peripheral vision. That, and you've developed a very annoying habit of dropping by with no real purpose other than to stare at me."

Logan sauntered a few steps closer, letting his hand trail along the desktops. "I thought you liked it."

"Well, I don't," Jean said, after hesitating a split second too long. "And neither does Scott," she added before pointedly returning to her typing.

Logan gave a little chuckle and pulled up a chair in front of Jean's desk. "Does he know you're using him as an excuse?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"See, I think that if you really didn't want me here, you'd have kicked me out by now."

Jean clicked the mouse a few times and shut the top of the computer before looking at him. "Unlike you, I'm not rude."

"And unlike you," he returned, "I go after what I want."

"Well, you can't have everything you want." Jean stood up, gathered some papers, and began to head for the door.

Logan got up and stepped in front of her. "If that's what you have to keep telling yourself." He wasn't stupid. He could sense her craving every time they were in a room together.

Jean took a deep breath and answered slowly, while looking directly into Logan's eyes. "It's not what I have to tell myself. It's the truth. I love Scott, Logan. I love him in a way that I can never feel for you."

Her words surprised him by stinging, but he was quick on the offensive. "Who said this was above love?"

The quick strike worked. He could see he'd thrown her off kilter as she fumbled for a response. "Why can't this be about passion?" he pressed, searching her eyes. He paused and flashed her a wicked smirk. "You do know what passion is, right?"

Jean glared at him, but he noticed that her hands, which tightly gripped the stack of papers she was clutching to her chest, were trembling. "Passion is not what I feel for you," Jean said curtly.

"Then what is it?" Logan asked quietly, reaching out to touch one of her hands. He trailed his finger along the seams between each of her fingers, then looked into her eyes again.

Jean swallowed but remained composed. "Compassion. Camaraderie. Pity—"

"Pity?"

"Yes, pity."

They were staring each other down now, their breathing shallow. A slow smile spread across Logan's face as he basked in her defiance. Pity was the last thing on her mind, and they both knew it. "You sure do try," he said, carefully pulling the papers from her arms and setting them aside. "Give you credit for that."

"Logan—" Jean protested, taking a step backward, but he followed her and caught her by the shoulders. She looked up at him, helpless. "Let go."

"You first," he growled, and lowered his mouth to hers.

Her lips ignited every nerve in his body, and he knew she felt the same as she returned his kiss as fully as he gave it. His lips caressed hers with the authority of masculine desire, taunting her will to turn away. Seduction quickly turned to sheer hunger, as Jean's fingers curled in his hair, and his hands worked their way under her clothing.

The sound of her breath catching as his mouth moved down the tower of her neck drove him wilder. She was his, every glorious inch of her. The idea made him dizzy and reckless, and he maneuvered her against the wall for support. Without thinking, he peeled off his T-shirt and tossed it aside, then descended into a new exchange of heated kisses as Jean's hands on his chest sent electric shocks through him. "You're killing me," he groaned against her lips, and he felt her smile. He could get lost in this woman forever.

A shriek from the hallway killed the mood.

"YOU KEEP YOUR SLUTTY PAWS OFF MY BOYFRIEND!!"

The sound of a scuffle and a few shouts followed.

Jean and Logan both jerked their heads toward the door. That voice...he'd know it anywhere. "Marie."

He let go of Jean and dashed out to see Marie wrestling with Jubilee on the floor, each girl struggling futilely against the other. A small crowd, mostly boys, had gathered. Off to the side, Bobby Drake watched, his face flickering back and forth between horror and excitement.

Logan turned to the teenage boy closest to him. "What is this?" he asked roughly.

"Chick fight," the boy answered in a thick Cajun accent, clearly enthralled by the scene. He took a quick glance at Logan. "You just wake up, Professor?"

At that moment, Jean rushed out of the classroom. Her shirt was distinctly wrinkled. The boy followed Logan's eyeline and gave Logan a thumbs up. "Excellent."

Logan gave the boy a dirty look.

"Don't worry, secret's safe with me," the boy winked.

Logan decided not spit the kid on one of his claws and instead broke through the crowd to the girls...who were suspended apart from each other a few inches off the ground. Jean stood in front of them, arms crossed.

"What is going on here?" Jean asked sharply.

"Nothing," Marie said sullenly.

"She attacked me, Dr. Grey!" Jubilee exclaimed.

"She deserved it," Marie said to Jean, her southern lilt growing stronger in her anger.

"Marie, you know we have a zero tolerance policy toward violence here," Jean said sternly.

"Fine, punish me," Marie said, eyes blazing. She turned to Jubilee. "Keep your tongue in your own mouth, porn star. He's not your boyfriend."

Jubilee smirked. "Like he's yours? You can't even kiss him. I was just doing Bobby a favor."

Jean's mouth dropped open. "Jubilee kissed Bobby?" The girls dropped to the floor as she lost concentration.

Logan chuckled to himself as Bobby quickly ducked his head and scooted to the edge of the crowd. Things were beginning to make much more sense now. Looked like Bobby Drake wasn't as much of a whipped saint as he made himself out to be. Well, Logan had always thought Marie could do better. The upside of this situation was that now Marie would think so, too, although Logan didn't exactly have a replacement in mind. Somehow, he wasn't sure that any of these little punks running around the school would be good enough for her.

"What Bobby and I have isn't about that!" Marie shot back at Jubilee, ignoring Jean.

"Yeah, he mentioned that. Didn't sound too happy about it," Jubilee replied sweetly.

Marie's bottom lip began to quiver, even as her eyes were shooting bullets at the other girl, and Logan felt an unexpected surge of fury at Jubilee. If that brainless wench made Marie cry....

Jean stepped in and put a hand on the shoulder of each girl. "This discussion is over. We're going to see Professor Xavier."

"What?" Jubilee gasped. "It wasn't my fault! I wasn't doing anything!"

Marie was silent, but Logan saw her begin to tug on one of the long gloves that covered her arms. Her emotions had gotten the best of her, and he was reminded that she wasn't called Rogue for nothing. He took a step to intervene, but Jean beat him to the punch.

"Don't even try it," she warned, without so much as a glance at Marie, who scowled and tugged her glove back up.

As Jean passed Logan, he tried to make eye contact with her, but she refused to turn her head. He slumped against the wall. They were back to square one.

---

News of Marie's fight with Jubilee traveled fast, and by dinner, the entire school was buzzing about it. Logan noticed Jubilee prancing around the dining hall, tossing her head and telling her woes of victimization to all who would listen, but Marie never showed up.

As he speared the amorphous cafeteria food with his fork, he frowned. It wasn't like Marie to let another girl, especially one as annoying as Jubilee, run roughshod over her reputation. He decided to pay her a visit when he was done eating. He glanced over and saw Jean glued to Scott's side at another table. He chewed his food harder.

---

He could hear sniffles from Marie's dorm room before he even approached the door, thanks to his sensitive hearing. The door was slightly ajar, and he pushed it open gently.

"Kid?" he said, peering around.

She was sitting on her bed, facing away from him, her long hair a plane of auburn on her back. She didn't say anything.

Logan entered the room. "Hey, Kid, we missed you at dinner."

Marie still didn't turn around.

Logan walked around her bed to face her. "You gonna talk sometime today?" he asked.

"Jubilee is a whore," Marie said at last. She sounded like she'd been crying.

"Thanks for the heads-up," Logan said, taking a seat at the other end of the bed.

Marie threw him a look. "This isn't funny."

"Am I laughing?"

Marie didn't respond, giving Logan a chance to look around her room. There were pictures of Marie and Bobby, Marie and Jubilee and Kitty, Marie with Professor Xavier and (ugh) Scott. He noticed some perfume and lotion bottles lying on a shelf. He didn't understand why women felt the need to douse themselves in that stuff, when nice and clean was plenty good for any hot-blooded man. Pretty much, just being a woman was good enough for any hot-blooded man. Everything else, like a hot rack, a firm bottom, mile-long legs, and a taste for good beer, was just a bonus. A really, really nice bonus, and something a man always hoped for, but a bonus nonetheless. And more times than not, a woman would have at least one of those things going for her that made a man forget about the rest of them. Glorious creatures, women.

"Do you think kissing is important?"

Marie's words cut into his thoughts. "Do I think what?"

"Kissing. Do you think it's important?"

The memory of the kiss he had shared with Jean just a few hours earlier asserted itself while his body screamed, Hell, yes, but he managed to answer more diplomatically. "You mean, in a relationship?"

Marie nodded.

Logan shrugged. "Guess it depends on the relationship. I don't kiss you."

"I meant a romantic relationship. And you're too old, anyway."

"To be kissing?"

"To be kissing _me_."

"Well. Glad we cleared that one up." He couldn't stop his mouth from tugging up slightly at the ends.

"I think kissing is important," Marie ventured, a moment later.

"Oh?"

"I think it means something--something special. It's not just about thinking someone's cute. It's about trust...and vulnerability."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "So Bobby and Jubilee were sharing some trust and vulnerability this afternoon?"

"I think maybe that's why I flipped out so bad."

Logan sat up straighter. "I'm not following you, Kid. You were wrestling that girl to the floor and screaming at her, but you weren't mad that she was making out with your man, you were mad because of 'trust and vulnerability'?"

"Well, yeah, I was mad that she was macking on Bobby. He's my boyfriend. It's kind of a given," Marie said matter-of-factly. "I mean, wouldn't you be, if your girlfriend was kissing another guy? Her love is supposed to be just for you. It's like, why is this other person trying to destroy something beautiful?"

All he could think of was Jean and Scott, even though he tried to push them away. Was that how Marie would view him, if she had known? "I don't know," he said uncomfortably. "Can't be that great to begin with, if you let someone else between you."

"But I think that's always going to happen to me," Marie said softly.

"Don't say that," he ordered. Somehow, he couldn't let Marie's heart break, even though he knew it wasn't really in his control.

"But it's true!" she cried. "When I saw them together...when I saw that he didn't have to be afraid of her...I lost it." She searched his eyes, asking that he understand. "How can any man ever want me, when I can't give him myself? He'll always go somewhere else eventually."

He felt his chest burning. "The right man will love you no matter what," he said.

"I think that's too much to ask." She stopped to wipe her eyes with a gloved hand. "I mean, can you see it? I can't control myself! What man is going to take that risk? I've just been fooling myself with Bobby."

"Bobby doesn't deserve you." It felt good to say it, but he wished it had been under different circumstances.

"Then who does?" she demanded. She motioned to herself. "Who would you wish this upon?"

He couldn't answer her.

She relaxed again and sighed. "I guess it's better to have something than nothing."

"No." Logan found himself shaking his head. "No, it's not. Fight for the best and don't settle."

"Is that what you do?" Marie asked quietly.

She'd caught him there, and he gave a wry little laugh. "I'm not a hero, Kid."

"You are to me."

His heart squeezed strangely, but he played it off. "This is what I get for picking up strays," he grumbled, but by then she'd crawled over and embraced him in a hug whose tenderness could have melted adamantium.

---

Marie made her presence known in the dining hall the next day. Like a queen over her subjects, she marched in with the Cajun boy, arm-in-arm, tossed her hair over her shoulders, and proceeded to have a very delightful and entertaining conversation with him. The Cajun, Logan noted, looked more than entranced, and there was a warm flush on Marie's cheeks as well. He supposed it was inevitable. Bobby and Jubilee, on the other hand, glowered at them from opposite ends of the cafeteria. When Bobby tried to approach Jubilee, she tossed a few sharp words at him, and the Iceman slunk off.

Logan just smiled to himself and finished eating his lunch. Across the room, Jean Grey sat alone, but he didn't get up to talk to her.

---

"I take it you're done avoiding me."

Once again, Logan stood in the doorway of Jean Grey's classroom, while Jean sat at her desk, working on her computer. As always, he found her enticing; he wasn't sure that anything could change that. But today, he had a different purpose for being there.

"I'm not avoiding you," Logan said, stepping inside.

"I was alone at lunch."

"Was that my cue to have a conversation with you?"

Jean made an impatient noise. "Do you have to be sarcastic about everything?"

"Wasn't aware I had that flaw."

"You have many flaws," Jean informed him.

Logan decided to cut right to the chase. "And one of them is kissing you, right?"

Jean stiffened. "Let's just forget it happened."

"No, let's not."

Jean blinked. "What?"

"I said, let's not forget it happened." Logan leaned forward, putting his hands on Jean's desk, so that his eyes were level with hers. "I liked kissing you yesterday. If I could kiss you all day long, every day, I would. And judging by the way you kissed me back, I don't think you'd mind." He put up a hand to stop Jean from interrupting. "But I'm not going to kiss you anymore."

Jean stared at him in confusion, trying to get a grip on what he was saying. "Logan, is this...is this some sort of game?"

Logan shook his head. "Wish it was. Turns out I know someone who thinks I'm some sort of good guy. Figured I'd try to prove her right."

He stood up, then remembered: "Oh, before I forget"—he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a disc—"Xavier wanted me to drop this off. Said it was for some upcoming brain talk you're giving."

Jean took the CD and contemplated it. "You think you can do it?"

"Do what?"

"Prove her right."

"I think it's worth trying."

"You know that means no more staring at me," Jean pointed out, a trace of mischief in her voice.

He gave her a look. "Now who's the bad guy?" he drawled, before cracking a grin.

Jean returned his grin and went back to working on her computer.

And Logan turned and strolled out of the room, closing the door behind him.