"You awake Logan?" Ororo asked as she entered his room.
"Yeah... Enter". Logan commented.
"Did you know Marie paid a visit to one of the Great Libraries the other day?" Ororo commented.
"Really? She's done well to get this far." Logan's interest was piqued, hardly anyone from this realm knew of their existence. "Which one was it?"
"The Subreality Central Archive." Ororo Said, as she set herself down on the chair next to his bed.
"The SCA? That's something I haven't heard of for a long time. More so than any of the others." It had been quite a while since Logan had visited the archive, however as to the café itself he had frequented it in the last few months.
"As was the case with me, that was until Marie mentioned it."
"Why in particular the SCA? What was she after?"
"She was searching for a past conversation I had with her a year ago. It seems that she was paid a visit by Lady Jaded a few months back in her dreams and she wanted to remember what exactly it was that caught the Lady's attention."
"Probably something to do with me, it's usually the case where Marie's concerned." He shook his head, bemused that one of those omnipotent beings would bother with the likes of him. "I take it she didn't find what she wanted?"
"No she did not, the Lore Mistress in charge at the time was unable to assist her in finding it and further suggested to Marie to return in a few months. Needless to say she did not take it too well since she had devoting quite a bit of time in search of the archive." Ororo had to smile at that thought, she remembered doing just as much at one of the other Great Libraries during her earlier years.
"Hmm, that is to be expected." Logan paused. "She will just have to be patient and understand that events work differently in our two realms. Time is meaningless in the realm of the Lady and her kind. The sooner Marie accepts that, the easier it will be for her." Logan said from his bed staring up at the ceiling chewing on his cigar.
"Do you remember the time the four of us first visited the Great Library?"
"How could I forget? I was thrown out for calling Scott a dick." Logan snorted, before turning to look at her. "And as I recall you and Jeannie weren't too helpful either."
"Partly because you were obnoxious then my friend." She laughed at Logan, "and probably still can be."
"And you were rather uptight, cold and always had the need to be in control as I remember." He grinned back, returning the jibe before his expression changed slightly with a distant look in his eyes. "I wonder if that particular Great Library still exist."
"Perhaps it does ... They come an go as time passes in our land. It would be a shame if it got abandoned, the vast amounts of priceless knowledge in them would be loss." Ororo shook her head.
"There will be others that will pick up the cause, much like we do here. Our ranks are constantly changing, yet we survive and so will they." Logan said.
Ororo sighed, "The things they can do we can only dream about. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be able to jump into the future and see the how we have influenced it. Or simply take a step back into the past and relieve our happier moments. It is hard to imagine that all those beings have to do is is wish it and the doors to our past, present and future are open to them to do as they wish."
"And sometimes it may not be exactly what want we to do." Logan grimaced, recalling memories that he would rather have forgotten.
"If I recall correctly Logan, you've had it easy."
"True, but there are things that I'd wish they would differently."
Silence came between them and Ororo waited ...
"What makes you think I'm going to share them with you?"
"Well besides the fact that you seem to have read my mind and that we've hidden nothing from each other... " Ororo left the sentence hanging and looked towards him.
"All right, I'll tell you! Enough with that look, I get enough of those so-called puppy eyed looks from Marie. Don't you dare start as well."
"It worked didn't?"
"Hmmp... "
Silence...
"Well?"
"I'm getting soft." Logan said.
Silence...
"If this keeps up eventually something is going give and someone is going to get hurt. And it will be because I got too attached to somebody or something."
Logan rose from his bed, headed towards his balcony, and stared out into the night sky. He waited for Ororo to join him before he continued. "Only the other day, we saw how reluctant Scott was to leave Jeannie behind and come back for her later. We were almost creamed because Scott didn't wanted to get her out there and then. What if we swapped places with them... "
"You would see reason, and follow the contingency plan we agreed on. If it were possible you would come back for me when it was safe. We knew the stakes we were getting into when we signed up to help Xavier. Eventually someone is going to get hurt, but when it comes down to it Logan, you will get the job done, it is what you do best. And if one of us does get hurt it would not be you fault." She put a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah, if you told me that a year ago, I would have agreed with you. Now I'm not to sure I can." "I've heard Chuck is thinking of splitting the team up and giving you and Scott command. If he does, I'm thinking of asking Chuck to let me join Scott's team. It will give me a lot more chances to rib him."
Silence...
"That's not the real reason is it?" She paused and looked at him. Logan gave the slightest of sighs but shook his head but was unwilling to say more. "However if it does happen... "
"You'll be the first to know." Logan finished for her.
"Thank you. But I hope you do reconsider your position." Ororo said softly.
Only rustling of the leaves on a nearby tree and the hooting of an owl in the distance broke the uneasy silence that had settled between the two of them as they stared out into the night sky.
"It's about time I got going 'Ro." Logan said as he looked to the cigar he was chewing on several minutes ago.
"Heading North with Marie?" Ororo asked, certain as to where they were headed.
Logan simply nodded his head and started to turn back into the room. "No, they're sending me up first. I'll bump into her a few months later. Should be back by April, just the one session with Marie this time."
"Only the one? They must be getting tired of the two of you?" Ororo smiled as she recalled the more frenzied occasions between Logan and Marie.
"I don't think so ... probably more of an interlude, before they send me back into the thick of things." Logan began packing up his belongings into the sling bag of his.
"Take care my friend, and bring her back safely."
"All ways do."
Ororo watched him walk towards the door as he slowed and turned around to face her.
"One more thing 'Ro."
"Yes Logan?"
"I suppose congratulations are in order ... "
"I do not follow you Logan, to what are you referring to?"
"Jeannie, Scott and myself already know each other more intimately then I ever thought possible, it seems that now this triangle is expending to include you."
"I see." Ororo smiled and continued, "and I will accept your well wishes in the nature they was intended." She paused slightly and with the smile on her face still intact she said, "However it does makes us sound like a bad television series where all the characters goes through each other as lovers." She shook her head more in amusement than anything. "In anyhow, begone with you, I'll see you in a few months."
Logan simply smirked and did a half wave over his shoulder before leaving the room.
Returning to the balcony, Ororo stared down the path leading away from the mansion for a few minutes after she heard Scott's bike start up and watched Logan pull away from the Mansion. Turning back to the horizon, she would stay there and watch the first rays of sunshine weave their way towards the mansion before she headed back inside to begin a new day.
Fade to black.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
The 'lounge' format was originally taken from Nell's ST: DS9 fic: "The fanfic lounge". Although I'm not sure if any semblance to the original still remains.