At breakfast, there was talk of nothing else but the Carnival, children were wondering who was going to go and if they could sneak out themselves to go and have a look. The head table was quiet as they ate breakfast, the faculty all focussed on the jobs of the day rather than what came after it. Charles had told everyone that the kids who had tickets would be allowed to go as long as there was enough of an adult presence. Ororo had smiled at that news and had told them she was quite willing to go along with them. It was Scott who brought up the absence of Logan first, “Where’s small dark and grumpy this morning?” Jean smiled and her face took on a familiar cast as she searched the grounds for him, the smile faltering and fixing on her face as she realised he wasn’t alone.
“He’s out in the grounds doing some work on the paths, I’ll give him a call and let him know he’s wanted.” Scott just nodded totally oblivious to his fiancée’s look of horror, Ororo caught it and she inclined her head toward her.
Using her mind she asked if everything was alright, Jean just told her to look for Jubilee and see who was missing from their table. Curious Ororo did what Jean had asked her, easily finding the table with Bobby, John, Pieter, Jubilee and Kitty. The only one missing was Rogue, and so was Logan. Snapping her gaze back to Jean they both heard Charles’s calm thoughts enter their own telling them that everything would be dealt with in time. Both women just smiled and continued breakfast knowing that the fireworks were going to be big and loud when both Rogue and Logan came home. After all Rogue was Charles’s ward and he had the right to say what happened to her.
Taking the back stairs Logan carried Marie back upstairs, her costume was wrecked but it had been a long night. He didn’t bother taking her to her room, he just dropped her straight into his bed. Pulling off her caked boots, sliding the remains of her trousers off her long legs, watching as she shifted on the cover of his bed. Making it hard for him to concentrate on anything but her pale skin sliding over his bed, reminding him of last night when those legs had been wrapped around his head, his waist and back. Her hair was covered in leaf mold and her jerkin was stained beyond repair but he doubted if anyone would ask about it. No one was brave enough, well maybe Chuck would, as if speaking his name had woken the man Logan felt the psychic summons from him. Pulling the last of the jerkin off Marie, Logan wrapped her up in his sheets surrounding her with his scent, kissing the top of her head while he went to face the firing squad. They could kiss his ass for all he cared, he’d claimed her as his own and nothing and no one was going to get in the way of it now.
Taking a long look at the beauty in his bed Logan smiled to himself, who knew it’d take someone like her to make him understand he was worth something to someone? Almost happy Logan went to face the wrath alone, he wanted to make a few things known himself before she went downstairs.
Charles was in his office when Logan walked in, Jean was there too her face an absolute picture of disgust and betrayal. No one said anything until he’d sat down in an overstuffed leather chair, Jean reflexly moved away from his presence. Charles looked at the tired man in front of him trying to read the mind behind the acts he’d committed, unfortunately he was drawing a blank.
“Logan, where were you and Rogue last night?” The calm voice belied the anger Logan could sense coming from Charles seated behind his desk. Better go for honesty then.
“We were out on the grounds.” Jean couldn’t help but sniff at the comment and Logan’s hackles raised he wouldn’t have anyone upset Marie with their shallow-minded take on their lives. “Got something to say Red?”
Jean met his gaze and her face turned acidic.
“How could you Logan, she’s a *child*!” Her hands were tight in her lap as she spoke the betrayal almost palpable and driven by her own belief that Logan had been interested in her.
Locking his gaze on Jean Logan answered her softly, the threat evident in every single word.
“She’s no child, six months on the road and the recent crap she’s been through. Being used as a damn weapon for fucks sake, I’m surprised she’s even talking to you seeing as you were supposed to be taking care of her.”
Jean still felt guilty for the amount of time it’d taken her to allow Scott to fire, freeing Rogue from the machine. She’d felt her die, felt her soul begin to slip away from them, seeing Logan holding onto her as if his life depended on it. Watching Rogue shove the damaged and almost dead Logan away from her when she’d come back. Her eyes filled with something that she couldn’t place until Rogue had followed them down to med bay, her stance all Logan her words blue as the others had taken her away from him. Over the last, few months she’d calmed but the look was still there in Rogues eyes, as if she knew something no one else did. The truth of it burned Jean, he might flirt with her but it was only something to get up whomever Logan thought was the authority around here’s nose. He hadn’t wanted her, didn’t want her apart from a faceless fuck, another body to notch up and forget just as quickly. Meeting Logan’s harsh gaze Jean felt herself crumble, turning to her mentor she sent out a wave of feeling, sending him her concerns for Rogue. Seeing him accept them and nod, he turned his own warm gaze on Logan.
“All we’re trying to do is make sure Rogue is protected here Logan, she is legally still a minor and we do have a duty of care.” Logan snorted at the comment; they’d protected her alright, almost let her die while he’d been struggling to destroy the damn machine she was in. His hostility was being broadcast to them both and it made the air rank with it.
“There’s no need to be so angry Logan, we just want to be sure it was consensual that Rogue was in her right mind.” The words burned through him but he knew it would come down to this, they wanted to know if he’d taken advantage of her, if he’d raped her. It made some things come clear in his view of these people; Marie was coming with him no matter what. The less time she spent here the better, they’d tame her tell her what her instincts told her was wrong, get her to follow ‘the rules’ when the rest of the world didn’t believe in them.
“You want to know? Take a look.”
His face was calm but his eyes were blazing, he’d opened the door to Charles, pushing the memories forward so they rested at the top of his mind. Of Marie asking him to touch her, her snuggling into him, her making the first move on him, her body straddling his, losing herself in him. Taking the touch she’d craved since the day, she’d seen him, seeing the depth of the feeling in her eyes as she’d been with him. Listening to the words she’d told him in the cold forest, wrapped up in his arms, adult words, nothing of a child presented itself. This was what she’d wanted since the day she’d seen him, knowing he was the best thing she could hope for. Sensing the depth of the link between them, the bond that would stretch but never break. Logan forced up the struggle he’d had, the denial of his feelings for her and how much he’d hurt her by doing so. Making her hurt, making her think it was her fault he was avoiding her, driving her away until he couldn’t think anymore. She was *HIS* and he’d kill anyone who tried to hurt her or take her away from him.
Charles looked to Jean and saw her confusion cover her face as she picked up on the pieces that Charles had sent to her. Knowing he’d have to talk to Jean after Logan had gone, turning his calm gaze back to Logan Charles saw the anger burning through him. He wasn’t going to stand for anyone hurting Marie or telling her what she’d done was wrong. She’d gone to the person she’d needed and taken what she’d wanted from him because he was the only person who would touch her without fear. “I’ll need to talk to her when she wakes up Logan, if you like you’re welcome to join us.” Logan stood stiffly and walked toward the door, his eyes burning through the two people sat in the office. They weren’t his people and they weren’t Marie’s, they’d judge her, no matter what they said or how many assurances they gave. If they wanted to paint him the evil seducer then fine but he knew it’d hurt Marie for him to be blamed and made the pariah. He’d be gone just after the last snowfall and he’d be taking Marie with him, away from small minds who only see the surface of her not the truth underneath.
“You’re damn right, I’m not going to let you hurt her or tell her what she did was wrong just because she’s six months away from her birthday. She made her choice all I did was go along with it.” With that he left them both alone, knowing he’d be dodging bullets all winter especially when they found out she was going to be staying in his room from now on.
As the door closed Jean sent a thought out to her mentor, how could he take advantage of her of a child? Charles smiled at Jean’s confusion and shared the images and feelings that had come from Rogue, showing her the true depth of their link. Of their need for each other, of the love she had for him, the words she’d told him in the dawn that had made everything sparkle with diamonds. Her voice telling him she didn’t need anything else but mornings like this, waking up with him, with the world brand new and fresh, every piece of frost a diamond just for them. That he was her diamond, Logan had snorted at that but she’d told him she saw beneath his mask, the little things he did when no one was watching. The time he’d fixed Jubilee’s scooter for her, the bird feeders on the patio carved by him, he was a diamond with many faces not just the Wolverine he liked everyone else to see.
Jean felt herself shudder into shock, she’d just accepted her view of Logan, the simple one-dimensional view of him, that he was an animal. That he was driven by his desires alone, that he couldn’t control himself, his own reluctance to join in with everyone else had fuelled those thoughts. That he was just an animal waiting for spring to come so he could leave, go back to his existence. His attention on her had been flattering at first but now she saw it as it really was, a distraction for him so he didn’t hurt Rogue not knowing she’d needed him just the same.
She’d misjudged him badly, treating him as badly as the rest of the world had; they’d accused him of rape, of hurting the one person he cared for. Only seeing it now through Logan’s own memories did the truth come clear. They’d lost them both by their own closed view of the world, that a person doesn’t know what they want or who they are until they reach a certain numerical age. Rogue had had her mind filled with two older men, and who knew how many other experiences on the road as well. They couldn’t judge her like a child who’d come here with her parents wishes, she was a runaway like several other children here and the conversations she’d had with several of them came back to haunt her. She couldn’t judge every child the same but they had been and it had taken Logan to point it out to them.
Seeing her mentors face set in a thoughtful gaze he just nodded to her, they had a few bridges to build with the students here. Not everyone came from a happy home, they’d been blind to the differences in every single child, instead they’d concentrated on keeping them safe, away from prejudice. Unknowingly forcing the same prejudices on them here, that they didn’t understand themselves or know what they wanted until they were old enough. Even though they’d probably had to make those choices without an adult for some time before they came here. Jean stood and made her way out of the door to her next class, she’d be talking to them all today as her lesson plan went out of the window. Find out how much damage they’d done to the same people they were trying to keep safe, Charles gave her a mental hug as she left. Telling her it’d work out for the best, now they knew where they’d gone wrong in places they could fix it. Jean doubted it and wondered if that was why several students had preferred to go back to the streets instead of staying here. Guilt riding high in her mind she left her mentor alone, the weight of his burden doubling as she closed the door behind her.
********************************************
Marie woke to the sound of shouting outside the door, her mind still half asleep expected it to be Jubilee and Kitty arguing but the deep baritone rumble nixed that idea. Her brain finally caught up with her as she shifted in the sheets that were wrapped around her naked skin, she never slept naked, not in her own room anyway. It took a millisecond to recognise the neat room, the sparse decoration of the place she was in, this was Logan’s room.
Last night finally made itself known again, despite the growls and raised voices outside the door a huge grin spread itself over her face. She was in Logan’s *room*, not even the faceless women didn’t get to come in here, to rest in his bed. Taking the sheet Logan had wrapped her in Marie put it around her entire body making sure nothing was showing and went to the closed door.
Scott, it was Scott arguing with Logan, listening to the rumbles coming from Logan she knew that very soon Logan would lose patience with the man, making a very pointed end to the conversation. Taking the door handle in her covered hand she twisted it open, the scene of Logan bunching his fists, lowering them to his sides made her decision.
Swinging the door wide open she pushed her sheet covered body between them both, her eyes meeting Scott’s visor full on. His tirade stopped mid-flow as he took in the smudges of make-up, the smile that was in her eyes and the very noticeable sway to her hips as she walked away. Logan was silent, his growl had halted the second she’d opened the door, his eyes riveted to her face. The smile she showed both of them reassuring him that he’d done the right thing, that she wanted him still, Scott was forgotten until the man had let out a small lust filled sound himself. Logan had left Scott wondering which one he had the most problem with, Logan for taking advantage of a student or Rogue for parading around in a very sheer sheet that left nothing to the imagination.
Scott watched as Logan took off after her, his smile dark making Scott wonder just who had been in the driving seat last night, to hear Jean it had been all Logan, but seeing the sway of Rogue’s hips as she walked down the sunlit corridor he doubted it. Rogue entered her own room down the corridor, the smile she showed Scott as he just stood at the other end was enough to make his skin flame. Logan watching the reaction stood silently smirking until Rogue grabbed his shirt in her bare hand, “Stay away from my girl Scooter.” The door shut behind them both leaving him in no doubt whatsoever that what had occurred had been mutual, just the thought of all that pale skin revealed to touch made his blood go south. The erotic pleasure of seeing someone uncovered who usually covered from head to toe was something that surprised him as he walked back to his own room. Thing was it came at a price, one misjudged move and you were dead. Passing the room he heard a squeal of pleasure and begrudgingly Scott smiled, hell maybe one day she’d kill him. The thought that lingered hours afterward was that it wasn’t such a bad way to go, if you could get to die of pleasure in the pale skinned arms he’d seen this morning.
Marie had Logan to herself inside her own room, heart trip hammering through her chest at the dark lingering gaze that held her own. Reminding her of last night in the forest, when she’d allowed him to touch her, kiss her, own her completely. The look he was giving her made her knees weak, made her want to give him anything he asked her for, even if he wanted to touch her she’d let him.
Moving slowly Logan let his hands drift over her covered flesh, watching as her gaze glassed over, the heat from his hands going through the thin material. Her body responding to him, playing her skilfully as he danced and traced her skin with the sensitive pads of his fingers, “Marie,” the sound of her name growling out of his throat, filled with hungers she wanted to fill.
“Logan…” her own voice trembling as she met his body with her own, pushing her hips into his, finding his erection half formed, stiffening as she shifted herself around him. Her covered hands snaring his hair revealing her pale skinned breasts, the nipples peaking at the thought of his touch. Darkness filling his eyes as he turned her quickly so her back was against his chest, hands filled with cloth he stroked her, testing, teasing, tormenting her body with the sheet that smelled of him.
Spreading herself as he drifted lower, the invitation obvious and one he wouldn’t refuse, the iron hard length of him pressing into her back as he ground his covered fingers against her. Her breath coming in panting hitches as Logan brought her closer, her bare hands dropping onto his covered ones, trying to get him to go faster to ease the ache she was feeling. Needing him inside her, pushing her head back to rest on his covered shoulder, her eyes hooded and heavy as the pressure built within her. “Logan please….”
She was begging him, he could smell how close she was, he could feel it in every tension filled fibre of her body. Moving one hand away from her, he shifted out of his own restraint, freeing himself to the smoothness of the sheet and the heaven that lay just beneath it. Slipping an inch of claw free he slit the sheet just above her ass, sliding the tight cloth down until he was primed. Pushing her backward using his fingers that were still guiding and rubbing her clit until she was perfect, tightening the cloth against her wet lips for a second before sliding into her. The grunts of pleasure that came from them both were loud as he began to move inside her tight body, one hand still playing with her, the other steadying her as he bent her forward a little. Her own hands now went to her thighs to keep her upright as Logan gripped her tight. His hips thrusting hard into her own as his fingers brushed her clit, the sensation filling her entire world as Logan took her, the feeling of being taken, of being owned completely breaking her open. The waves of heat and pressure overtaking her, making her cry out, the sound loud and long coming from somewhere deep inside her body. Logan’s own growls becoming louder as he fucked her harder, the spasming of her body making his own excitement build. Gripping her tight through the sheet, gritting his teeth as he tried to squash the urge to bite her shoulder, to mark her skin showing others who she belonged to. Seeing her head turn to see her eyes filled with lust, with heat, filled with something he’d never tire of seeing, of her, the real Marie.
The one who loved to run in the storm, the one who’d reach out to him, who’d sit with him for hours saying nothing but meaning everything, who’d listen to him bitch for hours about hockey when the game wasn’t what was eating him up inside. Who’d see him as more than an animal, more than a weapon to be used and trained to do tricks, she saw him as a man and he’d give her everything good a man could give a woman. And it included this, he felt his body convulse as the orgasm ripped through him, the roar already building as he pulled her body into his. Plunging deep within her, Marie tightening herself around him as he came, holding him still as he pumped inside her. Fingers locked deep into her skin through the sheet, his other hand still stroking and caressing her clit as he twitched and danced inside her. Marie’s own purr of satisfaction melting into his own rumbling breath as he came down, she was his, she’d given him everything and he’d keep her safe as long as he lived. He kept his promises and this one would be no burden to carry.
The sound of his claim echoed through the halls, making students stop mid way through tasks, teachers halt in planning lessons. It made Jubilee smile for a second as she walked through the gardens outside, catching the last of the sun before the winter closed it’s grip on the school. Watching the leaves turn in the breeze before falling to the covered ground, her gaze going out to the edge of the forest where the darkness was already gathering in the short days of autumn. Looking at the smooth bark of the cherry trees, mingled with the rough of the oak and maple her eyes following the line of trees as she walked. Noting the birds feeding at the edge of the forest where the breeze turned the leaves for them making it easy to find food. A silent cry went up across the trees as the birds all rose in flight, the noise filling the tree line as they called out in distress. Her eyes watching the birds wheel and gyre in the cool air, their flight panicked and strange, finding herself walking toward the edge of the wood to see what had caused the frightened flight.
Before she got there a glint of silver met her magpie eye, shifting over the ground quickly to see what it was. The watch sat on top of the leaves, it’s chain wrapped around its thick bulbous body like a snake, sinuous and smooth, resting there on the surface of the leaves. Like an over-ripe fruit it lay there in the dim sunlight, the silver almost moving in the patterns that fell across it’s surface. Before she was aware of it, her hand was reaching for the jewel resting in the dark red of the woodland floor. Shining like polished bone in the midst of blood red muscle, glinting in the light of the sun, a piece of metal worth more than she ever imagined. Hands itching, her stomach burning with hunger the more she looked at the thing, trying to stop herself reaching out toward it. Her hand shaking with the effort until her skin was almost touching the silver, it’s surface reaching out to her hand easing the itch under the skin.
A flash of white blinding her as it blew past her, knocking her hand back up to protect her eyes, stumbling backward to avoid whatever had attacked her. Looking for the thing that had tried to hurt her, scanning the area and seeing nothing but a small shape gaining height, a single feather falling from the sky. Something hanging between it’s feet, something that moved as the bird flew, a long thing with a silvery blob at the end. Snapping her gaze back down to the ground, the watch had gone, the only sign it had been there was the dark mark of it’s shape on the leaves, the corruption of it’s shape burned into the deep red of the skeleton leaves.
The wind shifting, disturbing the pattern that looked for all the world like a snake about to strike, turning her back on the woods Jubilee hugged herself as she walked back to the calm comfort of her home. Locking the door behind her, the fear following her back to her room where not even the smile that met her from Rogue’s face could ease. Something was wrong and she didn’t know how to tell anyone, never mind if they’d believe her, her palms still itched no matter what she did. Scratching their surfaces she followed Rogue and Kitty as they went down to lunch, her own appetite gone with the flash of white that had attacked her. The feather picked up and in her pocket reminding her it had been real, her quietness going unnoticed for now but it would be commented on later, as would the feather and what it had meant.