It was well past midnight when he sauntered into the kitchen, the moonlight streaming through the windows spreading a golden pool across the room, over the linoleum floor, into the adjoining hall and her approaching, thinly veiled body. He slowly closed the door, watching as she wandered in through the entrance, her movements careless and full of grace, completely oblivious to his presence. Her nightgown was pale lavender, a soft shade that shimmered and fluidly wound its way about her curves, the moonlight creating transparent patterns of lust upon her form. He could smell sleepy arousal on her, could hear the slight hitch in her breath as her fingers rose to caress familiar dog tags lying between her breasts.
A feral grin played across his face, but before he could make a move or a sound, two other figures ran into the room, giggling in hushed tones. She turned to face them, the air of sensuous wonder leaving her as the tags slipped from her fingers. He remained silent in the dark as the girls - Jubilee and Kitty, he absently recalled - led Marie from the room. With a sigh, he bent down and picked his duffel bag up. Tomorrow, he promised himself, tomorrow she would be his.
After a good night's sleep in his old room - unoccupied - that had ventured well into the day, he'd visited Xavier in his office and had proceeded to offer his services with minimum fuss or detail. Facing him across the desk, Charles was warm in his acceptance.
"Of course you're welcome to stay here as part of the team, Logan. I told you once that this was your home and I meant it." With a smile, he added, "You already know that your room has been waiting for you. I've been hoping that you would return...as has the rest of the team."
Logan quirked a brow and grunted, "Yeah, I'm sure ol' Cyclops will be welcoming me back with open arms."
Xavier chuckled, "The two of you may not be close, but he respects your abilities as much as I do. You helped us tremendously against Magneto and that has not been forgotten. He will be pleased to have you as a member of the team."
Logan nodded. "What about Marie?"
Charles looked blank for a moment before recognition lit his face. "Ah, Rogue. Well, she's missed you, I'm sure she'll be thrilled with your return as well."
Logan let out a bark of laughter. "I mean, what about Marie and me? I came back for her."
Looking slightly taken aback, Xavier nodded, "Well, it has been two years, Logan, a lot has changed and Rogue has grown. She's not a child anymore."
With a vivid recall of last night, Logan leaned forward slightly. "I know that. And I know her. What I want to know is if we will be a problem for you. Because if that's the case, then we'll just take off now and save ourselves the hassle."
"Have you spoken to Rogue?" Charles asked with concern. Logan merely shook his head, and the older man continued, "Are you so certain then that she would just leave with you?"
With straightforward honesty, Logan replied, "Look, Chuck, I can have any woman I want...and Marie was half in love with me when I left." He paused, a slight hesitation in his words. "I don't know how or why, but she and I - she's … there's something between us: a bond, a connection, something. She'll come with me. The only problem is one that you may have. I don't give a rat's ass about anyone else's opinion in this place, but..."
And he paused again, bemused still at the high regard he held for the man. "I do care about what you think. And if Marie and I together is a problem for you, then we'll leave. It's that simple."
Folding his hands together, Xavier nodded and then asked quietly, "What about Jean?"
For a moment, Logan looked confused, "What does she have to do -" and the professor lightly cut him off.
"You had feelings for her once upon a time. Does her opinion not count?" He met Logan's gaze head-on.
Smirking, he leaned back in his chair. "Your prize student is a babe. I was hot for her, but it fades...'sides, Marie was only seventeen."
"And now that she's nineteen, it makes all the difference?"
Logan grinned. "It means she's legal. And there's not a damn thing you or anyone else can do about it. I took off to find some answers and to give the girl some room to grow up. Did I want Jean back then? Absolutely, but it was nothing more than a craving for what Scotty-boy thought I couldn't have. I haven't thought of the good Dr. Grey since I left this joint. I told you: I came back for Marie, Rogue, whatever. I came back for her."
And then his grin faded. "Look, professor, I'm not gonna stay here and cause you any problems. You've been good to me. And you've been real good to Marie. But she is mine, with or without your approval...so, like I said, we'll just take off if it's a problem."
Charles shook his head. "No, no. I have no problem. Rog --, Marie is a grown woman, wise beyond her years and if the two of you want to be together, I would never interfere. All I want is peace and happiness. It's a cliché, true enough, but there it is." He paused. "Logan, she is still unable to touch."
Standing up, Logan grinned. "I'm creative."
The professor smiled lightly, and if he was embarrassed by Logan's response, he didn't show it. "Very well. I'll inform the team of your arrival."
"Good," Logan murmured as he walked to the door, looking about the room once more. "This is good," he repeated, a gruff smile upon his face and then he headed out the door, searching for what was his.
The recreation room was crowded with adults and youngsters alike. Logan sent a glance around the room, absently picking out those he knew and those he didn't, when his gaze fell upon the foosball table where Marie and a few of her friends were hard at play.
Conversation stopped here and there as he walked through the room, but Marie's little group was oblivious, so into their game were they. He walked up right behind her and only then did Jubilee? Kitty? take note of him as she stopped mid-play. Marie looked up at her friend and then froze as she felt his solid heat behind her. Leaning in slightly, he rested a hand along the side of her hip and pulled her firmly up against him.
Silence reigned about them, only muted voices from distant corners echoed in the room. Marie was quiet, her breathing as unsteady as her heartbeat. He checked his grin and bent his head close to her ear.
"I'll be in my room," was all he said and then after a moment of silence, he pulled back and walked away.
Five minutes later, there was a light knock on his door.
"Come in." His voice was a rough drawl, his senses heightened by the remembered feel of her against him, the scent of Marie and perfume mingling still in his blood.
She stepped into the room. He could smell anxiety and arousal upon her. A lazy smile spread across his face as he held up a hand and beckoned her to him. Slowly, she moved to the bed, her eyes wide, her lips parted while staggered breaths erupted in soft pants. With trembling form, she sat on the bed beside him.
"You came back." Her voice was quiet, the Southern drawl he'd imagined moaning out his name just as he remembered. "I was afraid that you -" and she paused. "No, I knew you'd come back, but everyone else, 'cept the professor, told me you wouldn't."
"I said I would," he said, and his voice was husky. Damn, he'd missed her.
"I love you," she said quickly. And then she ducked her head, her hair falling over her face. He sat up straighter and reached out a finger to brush the dark strands away. Looking up, she flushed slightly and laughed, "I didn't mean to say that."
"Well, I'm glad you did. I like hearing it." He paused and found a tender smile working its way onto his lips. "Say it again."
She smiled and her eyes were alight and he felt a tightening run through his entire body, stretching him so tight that he was afraid he might burst. "I love you, Logan."
Reaching out, he reached for the dog tags hidden beneath her black top. "I like seeing these on you." She straightened her shoulders, breathing heavily as he threaded the chain between his fingers, carefully pulling the tags out from their hiding place. "I'd like to see you in only them."
He heard and he felt her breath suspend as she met his gaze.
"Take your clothes off."
And then a smile he'd glimpsed only in fantasy curved her lips as she gracefully rose to her feet. She unbuttoned her blouse and let it drop to the floor without a word. Sitting back down, she pulled her boots off and stood back up, unsnapping and unzipping her jeans before sliding them off. She kept her gaze locked on his the entire time, the smile playing along her lips. Reaching behind her, she unhooked her bra and pulled the straps off of her shoulders, a confidence overlaying every movement. Slipping her fingers in between the band of her underwear, she slid them off as she sat back down on the bed, her fingers untying the sheer, black scarf that lay across her bared breast and the corner of one of the tags.
"Marie," he whispered her name as the scarf fell from her fingers, drifting to the floor. Leaning over, he grasped it in his hand and curved his arm about her waist. She gasped as he pushed her down, rolling on top of her, his clothing and the scarf his only protection against her bare skin.
Laying the sheer material atop her face, he leaned down, opening his mouth, his tongue slowly, gently moistening the cloth resting over her lips. Her lashes fluttered against the scarf as she shifted beneath him, hooking her legs about him as he pushed against her.
Grinding slowly against her, as slowly as his lips played with hers through the soft fabric, his hands threaded through her dark locks, splaying them against the white sheets. She moaned his name, her body pushing against him eagerly as her lips moved beneath his, her fingers tugging through the strands of his hair. Tension spiraled through him as Marie locked her legs tighter about him, her heels digging in, her body jerking rhythmically against his thrusting movements.
When she came, her cries muted against his shirt, he felt the answering swell run through his body, a primal satisfaction filling him. His...she was his.
She nestled against him, her hands, clad in long, black gloves, resting against his chest. "I've thought of your return a million different ways." And then she giggled, "I've never thought of anything like this."
He tightened his hold about her, the sheet bunching up beneath his hands. "Never?"
And she giggled again. "Well, maybe once or twice in the middle of the night when common sense wasn't around." Rising slightly, she rested her head on her hand. "I've missed you, Logan - but you've been in my mind this whole time. It was as if you never completely left."
Meeting her gaze, he ran his finger through the white streak of hair that fell forward. "You've been with me, too." She smiled and he added softly, "I love you, kid. I've never said that to anyone else." Pausing, he added, "Not that I remember anyway."
He almost laughed as she tried to soften her beaming smile, while she schooled her features into concern, asking softly, "Oh, did you find out anything?"
"Some. Later, though, I'll tell you later." Shifting, he sat up, "Hey, you feel up to moving around?"
Confusion crossed her face. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Why?"
Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he spoke over his shoulder, "You need to go to your room." He would have continued but there was a quiet "Oh" from her. He turned to face her. The beaming joy from earlier had completely been washed away. Sighing, he said her name softly. "Marie?"
She looked up and away from him. "I'll go. I'll go." And then she was getting to her feet, desperate to hold the sheet in place, obviously conscious of her nudity for the first time.
"Marie!" His voice was sharp and she met his gaze. "I want you to go to your room and start getting your things. I'll help you move them into my room."
"Oh." her deathly grip on the sheet loosened and she smiled lightly. "Oh," she repeated, "I thought - "
"I know what you thought. Jesus, kid, I just told you I loved you. I came back here for you, I'm not gonna just kick you out of my bed." And he knew he sounded gruff and angry and maybe even a little bit hurt, but damnit, he was. What kind of asshole did she think he was? And he hadn't thought that she thought he was an asshole.
"Logan," she began again, interrupting his thoughts. "You've been gone for two years. You walk in and just...I can't read your mind. I've been mostly alone since you've been gone. People - I'm not close to people and I haven't touched anyone in so long. It's hard to believe that someone I want so much wants me too. And this has been so fast. This morning, I woke up...hell, two hours ago, everything was the same as usual and then all of sudden you're here and ten minutes later I'm in your bed."
He shook his head. "Are we gonna make this complicated?"
"Logan..." she trailed off.
"What? You either want to be with me or you don't. And since I know you do, just get dressed so we can go and get your stuff and move you into my fuckin' room and not deal with goddamn complications!" He took a deep breath and looked away. Goddamnit. He was gonna make her cry. She was gonna cry. Sighing, he said her name softly and turned back to face her.
She was shaking, her shoulders hunched over and he felt like kicking himself. "Marie," he tried again and she looked up at him. She was laughing. She wasn't crying. She was laughing.
"As long as we understand each other," she managed between giggles.
He stood up, a growl rumbling in the air, and stalked around the bed to stand before her. "Are we gonna do this?"
Flinging her hair back, she looked up at him, the laughter gone, only a smile remaining. "Yeah, we're gonna do this." And he smiled back. Good. This was good.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
This is so beyond not my best work, but it came to me this afternoon and I wanted to put it down before I lost it. Besides, maybe writing other stuff will somehow get my brainwaves to figure out how to continue "Waking Sound in My Time." Also, this hasn't been beta-read - blame any and all mistakes (including the rather overall lameness - truly this is not my best work at all) on me and me alone.