Logan stepped out of the cage, Marie was nowhere in sight. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, savoring the sweet smell of his Marie, laced undeniably with her arousal. The Wolverine reacted instantly, almost grateful for her absence while he regained control, she couldn't possibly know the effect her scent alone had on him.

The past few months it had been nearly impossible for him to not notice her body's reaction to him, especially when he was in the cage. The man tried to reason with the animal, who wanted nothing more than to claim her as his own, telling the Wolverine it was just her body reacting and nothing else. Marie was his reason for breathing; and she only loved him as a friend, for the man in him this was better than nothing, to ask for anything more would endanger the bond they shared, something he wasn't willing to do. But he couldn't argue with the fact that everyone around him seemed to think her affection wasn't only platonic anymore, hell even her old man thought so.

As he walked up to the table he saw Rogue turn her head in his direction, a warm smile on her lips greeting him. "Already done?"

With a light growl Logan lifted his clothes up and put them onto his still sweaty torso. "Ain't nobody left to fight, darlin'." His face was gruff as he handed over the small roll of bills to her and sank into his chair.

The brunette retrieved his wallet from her jeans and stuffed the money in before giving the tattered leather fold back to the Canadian. "Ya look happy, sugah" To everyone else he must look grumpy, but Rogue saw the small changes in his features, the signs of a contented Wolverine.

"Was fun. Too bad it's too early for the good fighters." He smirked, noticing the faces of Marie's family as she sipped on her drink. "I see you played the Wolverine-is-my-boyfriend-and-you-don't-wanna-mess-with-him-card again, darlin'." Logan lifted his dark eyebrow and observed her father's reactions from the corner of his eyes. "It's a little early for booze, don't you think?"

"Ya had your fun, don't ya go and ruin mine," she teased. "Ya know very well Ah can chug-a-lug a bottle whiskey without getting drunk."

"Yeah, well we won't be testing out that theory, darlin'."

The brunette grinned at him, knowing she'd get as many as she wanted from her Wolverine. "Never intended more." She answered innocently.

He finally lifted up the bottle of Beck's and sniffed at it – like usual, but this time he furrowed his forehead and eyed the half empty beer bottle, smelling Marie's sweet scent on the glass. "Thought you don't like beer, darlin'?"

"Usually not, but Ah got that urge when Ah saw the bottle," she shrugged, "Surprisingly, it's not as bad as Ah thought." Rogue smiled cutely knowing she was the only one coming away with drinking from Wolverine's beer.

Growling he shook his head. "Must be the part of me inside your head."

"Yup, sugah."

"Hope that will also fade with time."

"Fearing for your booze?" Rogue chuckled and playfully smacked his arm. "Would be willing to share mah cocktail with ya, sugah."

Logan's brow moved upwards when his eyes inspected the pink liquid in front of the brunette and he inhaled a sweet fruity scent. "Strawberry?!"

"Yep, ya and Victor don't mind and at the moment Ah like the taste."

This seemed to be the last straw and Mr. D'Ancanto finally gathered up enough courage and anger to voice his concern. "Ya'll allow her to drink alcohol?"

Shrugging Logan only smirked at the other man. "Ain't her father, just her friend." The sudden pang of hurt in the human's eyes was hard to miss. "She would do it anyway," he shrugged, "better she gets wrecked with me around than endin' up in the back of an alley or even worse."

Rogue saw this coming a mile away. Logan was the adult and should parent the little girl that was her. She wasn't a fan of the idea of being Logan's responsibility, but her family's impression of her secret love shouldn't become any worse. So she played along. "In bars Ah'm not allowed to leave his field of vision."

"I never said that, darlin'."

"But that's our silent agreement, sugah." Marie added frustrated Logan didn't seem to be getting the point. Why would he argue against her attempts to show her parents that he was taking good care of her?

"True." Logan agreed finally seeing what Marie was getting at.

"And no more than two," She narrowed her chocolate eyes. "Though Ah could put away more."

Rogue was a mature young woman, who could make her own decisions; Logan knew this and was proud on her level of maturity. Her parents needed to understand this. "That's your own limitation, Marie." Logan chuckled, "The only time you had three drinks you ended up pukin' half the night."

"Ah blame that on the spoiled meat on the pizza, it didn't bother ya of course." She shot back, slightly annoyed by his amusement. Did he indeed think she was a little girl that needed his guidance? Why was her inner Logan telling her the opposite? "And it isn't true; Ah tasted mah way through the half cocktail menu on mah 19th birthday." Her eyes were glued to Logan's face. "Had 14 different drinks."

"I counted 16. But you were already so crocked, that you don't remember the last two. The same goes for you're growling and bitching, 'cause I forbade you more alcohol that night." A smile tucked on his lips, "I think it was a bit of your inner me that answered back after that."

She inwardly groaned. He'd always taken good care of her and back then was no exception. "Yip, he wanted to protect me from the others in mah head," she explained to her parents and brother, "he was worried me being so drunk would give one of them a chance to take over."

Both her parents were gapping at the young woman in horror. Her mother was first to regain the ability to speak. "God, Marie, 16 cocktails and ya had a mind lapse."

The Wolverine found the shocked expressions on the D'Ancantos' faces highly amusing and so he decided to continue, "When I told the waitress it was enough, Marie decided to go to the bar and fetch her drink herself," he smirked, "too bad your legs didn't move the way you wanted, darlin'." Logan chuckled looking at Rogue, who was laughing herself at the memory. "And that you fell unconscious before you'd even left our table."

Maybe it was the way his piercing hazel eyes dug into her or the hidden chuckle in his tone when he spoke, but Rogue couldn't get a hold of herself and continued to laugh hard as small tears found their way to her eyes.

Without a second thought Logan ran his fingers through her white and auburn hair, tugging the soft strains back behind her ear, so he had a better view of her happy face. "Told you, the day would come you would laugh about it."

"Ya went out with your teacher on your birthday?" The emphasis was on 'teacher', but Mr. D'Ancanto was interrupted by his son.

"Weren't ya in trouble, Marie? Or is drinking allowed at that school?"

"H- hardly." Rogue somehow managed to calm down and she recalled the following morning, still giggling like mad. "Ms. Munroe was so pissed when Jubes and Kitty came to her that morning to inform her about mah absence and that mah bed was still untouched."

Logan finally gave in and continued the tale while a few chuckles escaped his lips. "Didn't help when they finally thought to ask me if I knew where you were, they found you with a giant hangover half asleep in my bed." The D'Ancantos' faces were priceless.

"Ah just remember a lot of screaming and a truck load of headache!" Rogue groaned.

"We didn't really yell, darlin'." How he loved to see his Marie laugh, to see this real joy that reached her sparkling eyes and her wounded soul, forgetting her depressing thoughts for a few minutes of peace. "'K, 'Ro was shoutin' that you were my responsibility and my behavior couldn't have been any more irresponsible than it already was." Shrugging he sipped on his cool beer.

"She was so angry on ya. And your answer made it even worse." Rogue couldn't stop laughing even when she could only remember parts of the conversation.

"What did ya say?" Josh inquired with a grin.

The Canadian only snickered. "The truth: I asked Marie what she wanted to do for her birthday and she said she wanted to get really boozed up for the first time."

The brunette was almost falling from her chair now. "B-but that wasn't what put her on edge."

"I told 'Ro that I took very good care of Marie and that I could have acted much more irresponsible." His face was completely serious now, but this made it even harder for Rogue to regain her composure.

"Your list was hilarious, Logan!" She leaned her head against his shoulder and snuggled even closer when she felt his strong arm wrap around her shoulders.

Logan suppressed the content grin that was tugging on his lips caused by their comfortable closeness and he noticed the expectant gaze of the boy across the table. "I could have taken her on the bike to the bar instead of the car. The way back would have been impossible."

Rogue was laughing even harder. "Ya still owe me that ride on Scott's bike. Promised me for the following day."

"I would have kept my promise if you would have been in the condition to enjoy the ride." Gently he stroked a white strain from her beautiful features, resisting the urge to plant a kiss on those red lips of hers.

"Ya wanna ride on a motorcycle, Marie?!" Her mother was shocked about this revelation.

"Yep, Ah already have." Rogue saw a new negative entry appear on her parent's imaginary list about Logan.

"Back to my reasons: I could have left her alone there when she didn't want to go home yet. With all the guys that had their eyes on her – deathly skin or not, a lot coulda happened, didn't know yet if drinkin' effected her power any." That thought indeed scared him. The Wolverine in him was purring in joy that nobody could touch his Marie again, though the downside was that nobody also included him and that she was so depressed about her inability to touch – this made the Wolverine whine in anguish.

"Not that they would have dared to even speak with me after ya threw them your Just-think-about-it-and-I-will-kill-ya-glares all evenin'." Rogue locked her gaze with his, joy sparkling in her brown orbs.

"Could have let her drink all cocktails from N to Z though she was already sloshed, but was still insistin' on the rest." Her parents' features became paler with every word. "I could have placed her unconscious body into her bed at home, coulda happened that she choked durin' night." Logan looked over to his Marie, who was holding her middle laughing. "Hey, I'm serious here, kid."

Rogue's laughter died to a chuckle when she heard her old nickname and she patted Logan's chest with her gloved hand. "Ah know, sugah, but Ah knew ya would take good care of me. That's why Ah asked ya in the first place and no one else."

"And 'cause I wouldn't say no to you." A smirk plastered his face. Marie's unconditional trust never ceased to amaze him, the question of why this innocent and pure girl would trust him so inexplicably was one he had never been able to answer.

Josh was also laughing, unlike his parents his impression of the other mutant got better with every passing minute. "But weren't ya in trouble?!"

The brunette shrugged with a smile. "Ah got stable duty for a week, but it was worth it!"

"It wasn't like we snuck out in secret. I even left a note." Logan stated innocently, causing a renewed fit of laughter.

"A- Ah al- always wondered what that paper said Ms. Munroe had with her and was so furious about."

Logan grinned down evilly at his beloved Marie. "It was a note. Saying pretty much that I was really sorry that Rogue would not be able to attend classes the following day, since she'd thrown up all night and had a helluva headache now."

"Why the following day?!" The boy giggled, that school must be so much fun! Especially with Logan around!

"I wrote the note shortly before we left for the bar and placed it on Ro's desk."

"Ya're so mean, sugah. No wonder Ms. Munroe gave ya the death glare for the next week." Rogue was laughing again and slid her head from his shoulder to his chest, leaning completely against his warm body.

"I always expected to be struck by a lightening." Unconsciously Logan's hand wandered down to the brunette's waist and his fingers slipped under the hem of her shirt rubbing small circles onto the thin layer of fabric that separated him and her deathly skin.

Some minutes past by till Rogue got a hold of herself. "God, Ah felt like shit that morning." Suddenly acutely aware of where Logan's hand was, she was glad her cheeks were already red from laughing, so her blush wouldn't be noticed.

'Since when does he hold me by the waist? Not to mention stroking me like this in public?' Snuggling together on the couch while watching hockey, then it would be normal he would stroke her arms and rub her back. But the waist?! That was a new spot and what surprised her the most was that his fingers had wandered under her top layers of clothing. His hands always stayed on top of her clothes even when she was cured or he fell asleep next to her after a nightmare. Sure, his hands rested on some intimate spots on her body while he was in dreamland, but even then he was all gentlemen and never touched her bare skin or tried to sneak his way under her layers of clothes.

'You complainin', runt?'

'Of course not!' She mentally snapped back. 'Shut up Victor, will ya?!'

"You swore to never ever drink a drop of alcohol again." Logan joked, unaware of her inner conversation.

'Don't think about his touches! Mom and Dad are watching!' Boy, she must be blushing now. 'What did Logan just say?'

'You - no - alcohol - ever – again…'

'Oh, yeah, thanks, Victor. And now shut up!' At least she wasn't laughing any more and noticed the scowls of her parents. "That was exaggerated, but honestly Ah will never again lose control. Not that Ah really wanted to back then, just wanted to have some fun and find out what bein' drunk was all about."

"So ya ask Logan to get ya drunk?!" The vein on her father's forehead was pulsing dangerously.

"Ah trust Logan. If Ah had done that with one of the girls Ah would have ended up with at least one tattoo." She joked trying to ease the tension.

"Or alcoholic poisoning." Logan sighed remembering a certain friend of his Marie's that had come close to getting her stomach pumped on more than one occasion.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Jubilee had watched her friend snuggle as close to Logan as their touching chairs would allow while she laughed her head off. If she got any closer the brunette would be sitting on his lap, she thought with a snort. Wolvie seemed to be having a pretty good time himself, she'd never heard the man string together more than a few words with a grunt thrown in unless he was givin' orders.

Popping her strawberry bubblegum the Asian fetched a fresh bottle of beer and headed towards her friends. Her curiosity was killing her – what the hell was so damn funny that even Logan had the faintest of smiles on his lips?

She was still a few feet away when she saw Logan's nostrils draw in the smoky air surrounding him. Abruptly his hand left Rogue's waist and his head snapped up, his gaze landing directly where she stood, the smile already replaced by a cold stare. Irritated the black haired girl crossed the small distance, a sly grin on her face as she placed the bottle on the table. "Thought Wolvie needed a fresh supply."

Only a heartbeat past by, in which Logan took in the girl and her familiar strawberry gum scent mixed with vodka, Rogue had long before broken away from his chest and was now nibbling on her food her face serious. Snarling the Canadian jumped to his feet, his dark glare never left the girl before him when he saw the stupid grin flee from her features and panic rise in her eyes. "Jesus, what the fuck are you doing here, kid?!"

His harsh gaze made her squirm and those three lines that found their place between his eyes confirmed the girl's opinion that approaching her former teacher had been one of her most stupid ideas ever.

Logan didn't wait for an answer, neither did he for his next question. "Anyone else here I should know of?" He sniffed the air catching a not so unfamiliar scent. Turning in its direction he spotted a very lightly dressed Molly flirting with a guy his age – well the age he looked anyway. Wolverine didn't believe his eyes; that bastard had his dirty hand on her ass and tried to steal a kiss from her for a higher tip.

His heavy boots clacked loudly on the floor as he stormed over and gripped the girl's wrist firmly, yanking her rudely away from her customer. "Hands off, pervert! She's only 16!"

Startled Molly tried to break away from Wolverine's hold on her, still not aware of her teacher's fury when she dared to snap at him. "Hey, 17! My birthday was last week!"

"Congrats, kid! Now get lost!" His blazing eyes narrowed on her and she gulped before scurrying away, wisely deciding to keep her mouth shut.

"Sonofabitch!" The trucker's eyes wandered from the girl's butt to the stranger, who was stepping closer to him. "Are ya her father or what?!"

"You can be happy, I'm only her teacher!" The mutant didn't give the other man the opportunity to stand up as he invaded his personal space, bending slightly down – face to face.

"What history?!" The guy snickered, not seeing Logan's Adamantium fist coming his way.

"Close quarters combat!" Breaking the guy's nose wasn't enough to satisfy the Wolverine so he took a mass of the man's greasily hair and pulled his head back a little before slamming it full force onto the tabletop.

The bartender held his cell phone in the one hand and his rifle in the other watching in horror as one of his customers passed out in a bloody heap on the table. "Stop it, pal, or I'll call the cops!"

With a deep and threatening growl Logan's intimidating eyes met the bartender's as he approached Molly, whose nails was digging into the old wood of the counter. "This kid here is underage and the one that reeks like a bottle vodka over there is only 18!" His thumb pointed on a slightly shaken Jubilee, before he enclosed Molly's wrist with his large hand once again. "You can be happy that I won't call the cops, bub!" Logan shot one of his darkest glares towards the bartender and the five remaining customers, who immediately hurried to the next room with the cage in it giving Logan his space.

Pulling a traumatized brunette behind him to his table he pushed her down onto his former chair next to the standing firecracker. "What the hell are you two doing here?!"

Jubilee saw Logan take a few deep breaths and decided answering his questions might be a good way to further calm the animal. "Working. The drunken guys give good tips. You earn more in an hour with tips than with serving drinks."

"Whose glorious idea was this?" The two girls held their tongue and Rogue begun to chew on the straw sheepishly. "Rogue!" He faced his Marie. "Fuck! You're a senior! You should know better than to give the younger kids stupid ideas!"

"That was more than two years ago, Logan!" His eyes bore into her and she gulped hard looking as guilty as she could. "It was only talking."

"Don't say you didn't mean it!" His face held the usual grim expression, but Rogue knew her Wolverine too good to not notice the new rage that was building up in his body.

"We already had this discussion, Logan! And ya made your point clear!" She heard a deep growl coming from his throat, which translated into submit. He was so pissed at her. 'Damn, Ah know he's just worried 'bout me.' Her chocolate eyes never wavered when she stared into his blazing eyes. "Believe me after the show ya pulled back then and today Ah will never ever even think about working in a bar again!"

"Then it's fine!" It was barely a hiss.

Her father's heart was still running a marathon. God, that mutant had changed from a laughing and calm man to the bloodthirsty animal in less than a split second. "Ya also worked in such a … place, Marie?" His startled gaze centered on his daughter.

"Ooh, it slipped! Too bad, darlin'." Logan's face told her otherwise. He was now in full protection mode, too bad he had to protect the girls from themselves. "The one Marie worked didn't have a cage but if possible its customers were worse than the dirt bags in here, and that was after she took the cure!"

Rogue narrowed her eyes on her friend. "Sometimes Ah could strangle ya, Logan!" At least his vocabulary seemed to have vanished from her mind.

Her mother was about to cry over this new information. "Marie, what were ya thinkin' sweetheart? Ah don't wanna imagine if such a drunken man would have… god…"

Logan continued as the two younger girls squirmed under his piercing glare. "… taken advantage of you, to say it nice."

Jubilee was glaring back at her mentor. "We can protect ourselves!"

"Yeah, great! If you could do anything when such a son of a bitch had you sloshed and willingly, or even unconscious!"

"We can do with our bodies what we want!" Now an angry spark flickered up in Jubilee's eyes.

"You're still kids, damnit!" He ran his fingers through his dark hair. "God, I don't even wanna know what you've already done."

"Funny, he wanted to know, if Ah had…" Rogue murmured annoyed and sipped at her cocktail.

The firecracker held his gaze - she was just as hard-headed as Logan - and growled at him. Except Marie, she was the only one that dared to growl at the Wolverine.

"What the fuck! You were the one that took Roguey, Kitty and me to the bars in town and let us drink – real hard stuff by the way - and let us hunt for men and flirt, never bothered you before! And now you play the you're-all-innocent-little-girls-card, Logan?! You know I'm no virgin since argh… since god knows when! And if I remember correctly you were the one to secretly slip condoms into my pocket!"

Logan stepped closer to the rebellious teen, his chin tightening before he spoke. "Rogue and Kitty are too mature or at least not stupid enough to get themselves screwed by the first jerk they come across! You on the other hand-"

She interrupted him wide eyed. "What?! Are you calling me a slut now?!"

He would never call one of his girls that, even if it was true. Inhaling the smoky air around him he tried to calm his nerves. His eyes were still burning into the Asian, but now they had somehow softened, though Rogue was the only one to notice the change. "I don't want you to throw your life away, Jubes! The reason I gave you condoms was that I knew nothing I said could stop you, wasn't supportin' you, just doin' damage control! You might have heard of AIDS or other diseases?! Or the possibility of getting pregnant?!" He saw in her eyes that his reasoning seemed to finally take fruit and she was contemplating his words; for once not arguing back.

Logan ranted and raved about the stupidity of the girls, his voice now lowering. "Do you even know how stupid it would be to use your powers!? The situation is messed up enough without two dull brats showin' off their little tricks!"

Through the whole speech Molly's eyes were cast down on her lap. "Sorry, Mr. Logan."

Her apology earned her the Wolverine's full attention, getting Jubilee off the hook. "Get that paint off your face! You look like a slut, kid!" Tears sprang to her eyes and she looked up her bottom lip quivering. "That won't work, kid!"

When he was about to leave for the car, Rogue held the X-Men cell phone up to him, which she had fetched earlier from their car. Their gazes met and Wolverine calmed a little, realizing that his Marie knew her friends had screwed up and she was on his side. He grasped the device and smirked down on her. "You know me too well, darlin'."

Jubilee's eyes widened in new fear as she watched the phone slide apart and Logan push a button to activate it. "I always thought you're cool, Wolvie!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, kid, you can bitch about how uncool Wolvie is back at the mansion." The Canadian finally heard the free sign on Storm's line and began to pace the space before the three mutant girls.

Molly was really scared now. "Can't we keep that for us? We'll take the next bus home."

"Too late, kid." Logan hissed just in time to hear the weather witch's calm voice.

"Hi, it's me." There was a small pause. "Yeah, I know, I know…" He rolled his eyes about Storm's lecture he should call in more often (or better: at all). "Yeah, I found her." His eyes fell onto his Marie. "Yeah, she is safe and sound… No, you can't speak with her 'cause I'm callin' concernin' some of your other students." Now an evil smirk crossed his face. "Do you know where all of the kids are, especially the permanent residents?"

"You sure, 'Ro?" Snickering Logan stopped in his tracks and eyed the two runaways. "Funny thing, here is a walkin' bottle of vodka and a little Lolita standing in front of me that look just like Jubilation Lee and Molly."

Holding the small phone away from his sensitive ears Logan gave the woman a moment to scream her shock out before reattaching the device to his ear. "Don't freak out, Storm. The kids seem fine…. No, Jubilee only stinks like booze, she looks sober. …Ya damnit, she is sober, I know how she is when she's drunk."

He drew in the smoky air of the bar, looking for another familiar scent, in response to Storm's next question. "No, Kitty's not here, but you should call her parents to be on the safe side." He thought a moment. "Just call all the parents of the kids that should be at home." With satisfaction he noted the troubled features of the two girls – their schoolmates will thank them for those calls. "You have my position?"

"Fine. Half an hour then."

Disconnecting the line Logan faced Molly signaling her with a whistle to get off his chair immediately while Jubilee only shook her head in utter disbelieve. "I can't believe this is really happening!"

Unimpressed by Logan's behavior Rogue plopped a fry into her mouth. "Ah told ya he is strict when it comes to his principles." Her inner Logan was clapping his hands in victory while Victor was addressing Jimmy now with 'uncool Wolvie', trying to tempt him into another screaming match, but to his distress Logan ignored the bait as did Rogue.

Shoving the communication device into the back pocket of his jeans Logan eyed the two young mutants with his grim expression. "You have 20 minutes! Get changed and fetch your stuff!" He saw Molly jump and could smell the fear in her scent when he growled his orders. Then his glare dug into the firecracker, who finally overcame her shock and was now chewing on her gum. "Don't think about running. I'll track you down 'fore you hit the pavement!"

With a last snarl he shooed the girls away and sunk down onto his stool finally taking in the baffled faces of the D'Ancantos – he had just turned their world upside down – one moment the irresponsible jerk, the next the violent sap and then again the worried and responsible parent/teacher/adult.

Only his Marie nibbled on her food as if those personality changes had never happened.

Shaking the remains of his anger out of his head Logan took a last glance towards the door the girls had used to flee from him. "What in the hell is wrong with her?!" Raising a dark brow he knew there was no need to specify about whom he was talking. "How did you end up being friends with her again, darlin'?"

"Think they hoped Kitty and me would have a good influence on her when they stick us together as roomies," Rogue shrugged.

Eventually the Canadian took a big bite from his burger. "Was more the other way around… Never crossed their minds that she might have a bad influence on the two of you?! Huh?!"

"Maybe they knew ya would also babysit Jubes when Ah became friends with her. At least she listens to ya, sugah." There was that sweet smile again on her lips.

"Yup, but I know my speech doesn't have the same effect on her it had on you, Marie. Tomorrow it'll be like she never heard it." He shook his head in defeat and a sigh escaped his lips. "She's the devil with an angel's face."

"She's just as bad ass as ya are, Logan. That's the reason ya can handle her quite well."

"A chatty hyper bad ass, I say. How can you stand her hyperactive behavior all the time, darlin'? Not to mention her attitude when she's drunk. Can take her only in small doses a day."

Chuckling Rogue emptied her cocktail. "Ah shared a room with her for years."

"Wonder that you didn't go nuts with her ranting, jumping and squealing all day."

"Ah'm used to have different voices in my head that try to drive me crazy. Ignoring one more voice that is actually outside mah head isn't that hard."

Now his eyebrow was cocked again in interest. "So you just tune her out?!"

"From time to time." The brunette's features were almost sheepish when she whispered those words.