Marie and Bobby were sharing ice cream in the kitchen when Logan walked in. Instead of eating out of bowls, the two teenagers were digging their spoons straight into the carton. Dribbles of butter pecan spotted the counter top.
"Ooh, it's getting kind of melted," Marie giggled in her southern lilt. She lifted a spoon, turned it upside down, and let the ice cream glop back into the carton.
Bobby grinned. "That's not really a problem," he said, clearly relishing the chance to show off. He touched the back of his hand to the carton, and just like that, the ice cream froze up again.
Marie giggled again, and Logan rolled his eyes. Time to bust up this lame display of adolescence. "Aren't you two supposed to be studying?" he said.
Marie and Bobby's heads jerked up toward him.
"Logan!" Marie said, a faint flush creeping up her cheeks.
"We were just taking a study break," Bobby explained, then added quickly, "sir."
Sir. It would be too much fun to smack that kid, Logan thought, but with Xavier and his wet blanket lackey Scott around, there was no way Logan would be allowed to act out that fantasy. He settled for imagining Bobby with an arrow through his forehead instead.
"Yeah, that's what it looked like all right," Logan said. He opened the refrigerator door wide and started pawing around for an elusive beer. What was this, a Quaker colony? He muttered some curses under his breath and continued searching.
Marie and Bobby exchanged glances. "Um, sir? Logan?" Bobby asked timidly after a long pause. "Dr. Grey said that we're not supposed to leave the refrigerator door open." Logan turned around and shot him a withering look. "It wastes electricity," Bobby finished lamely.
Logan turned around and kept searching. In disgust, he grabbed a bottle of some unnaturally colored soda. Kurt was probably right about him going to hell, only he was pretty sure he might already be there. What was he doing at this clown factory, anyway? He closed the refrigerator door and snapped off the lid. Then he took a long gulp, only to find Marie and Bobby still staring at him. The ice cream was starting to look soft again.
"Did I tell you two you could stay here?" he asked gruffly.
Bobby and Marie got the hint and started heading for the door.
"I'll, uh, talk to you later," Bobby told Marie regretfully, while throwing Logan an irritated glance.
"Yeah," Marie said. "Bye, Logan," she said softly over her shoulder.
Logan grunted and took another sip of his soda. He noticed the melting ice cream still sitting out on the counter. Two spoons peeked out of the carton. Suddenly, he felt bad. They were just kids, having some fun. "Marie!" he called.
A moment later, he heard her footsteps returning to the kitchen.
"Yes?" Marie peeked inside.
"You forgot to put your ice cream away," he said, motioning to the counter.
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Sorry." She walked over and removed the spoons, then tossed them in the sink. "Sorry about that," she apologized again, sticking the lid on the carton.
Logan watched her as she walked over to the freezer and returned the carton to its place. "It's okay," he said, feeling a little awkward. "I, uh, I guess I coulda been nicer about it," He apologized so rarely that it caught him off guard whenever he did.
Marie raised an eyebrow. "Are you apologizing?" She wasn't angry, merely intrigued by this unusual twist in behavior.
Logan shrugged. "Guess I am. That okay with you?"
Marie smiled. "It's weird, coming from you, but yeah, I'm cool with it."
"Good." He gazed at her a moment. She sure was growing up to be a pretty girl. He'd have to beat the brains out of any guy who tried anything with her. He could use Bobby for a test drive. Then again, with Marie's powers, she could do all the damage herself, although that would be a lot less violent, and in Logan's mind, it wasn't worth much if human pulp wasn't involved in some way.
"So, you and that Bobby kid," he said, setting his soda on the counter and leaning back against the refrigerator with arms folded.
Marie smiled again. "Yeah, what about me and that Bobby kid?" She took a few steps closer to Logan and settled herself against the other side of the counter.
"He really likes you, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess," Marie said. "Sometimes he makes me little ice sculptures."
Logan couldn't suppress a rude snort.
"They're pretty!" Marie said defensively.
Logan composed himself, then replied, "I'm sure they are."
Marie folded her arms and frowned at him. "Do you not like Bobby?"
"'Course I do. He's a great boy." Logan could practically smell the b.s., it was piled up so high. "I just want to make sure," he continued, thinking of a way to save himself, "that he's honorable." Upon seeing her confused look, he clarified, "In his intentions. To you."
Marie processed that for a moment. "Well, he's a boy," she said, "so he has boy feelings and wants to act like a boy a lot."
"So I should have a chat with him?" Logan hoped he didn't sound too eager.
Marie stopped him with a look. "He knows I could kill him if I touch him for too long." She sighed. "It's kind of a drag."
Logan softened. Marie spoke lightly, but the alienation she felt underscored her words. It was the alienation that all mutants felt before they found each other, only in Marie's case, it never truly ended. He still wouldn't mind knocking Bobby around, though.
"I mean, I almost killed you," Marie continued, "and you can't be killed."
"What a blessing," Logan quipped. As usual, he was unable to say anything remotely sentimental, but this time it bothered him a little.
Marie looked up at him. "For me, yeah. It was."
He couldn't handle the emotion, so he changed the subject. "You know what? You should be studying, not talking to me right now. Don't you have an exam tomorrow?"
She gave a little laugh, and he knew she knew what he was doing. "Yes," she said amiably, "I do."
She turned to leave the kitchen, but before she stepped out, she stopped. "Don't worry about Bobby, Logan. He's not you."
Logan's heart skipped a strange beat at her words. Of course he shouldn't worry about Bobby, and of course Bobby wasn't him...but somehow there was more to it than that. He just didn't know what it was. He picked up his soda bottle and dumped it in the sink. The one thing he did know at that moment was that tonight he wanted a real beer.
He sauntered off, whistling to himself. He'd be back soon enough that Scott wouldn't have time to miss his hot rod.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000
Story Notes:
This takes place in the X2 movieverse, in which nobody is dead. Inspiration struck when one of my friends mentioned that she liked W/R and was looking for more stories to read. This is also my first foray into X-Men fanfic--hope you enjoy.