Gino’s Pizza
New York
2:07 pm
“Can we get ice cream now,” Adam shifted his position beside Rogue so he could get a better look at her. Rogue turned to Logan for the answer, just as he took a large bite of last pizzas slice, stuffing his mouth. Adam followed Rogue’s gaze and broke into a fit of giggles.
“What do ya think, Logan,” Rogue grinned as she carefully wrapped an arm around Adam to keep him settled. “Got any room left for ice cream,” she smiled leaning forward over the table to peel a pepperoni off the pizza slice in his hand. He growled and slapped her hand away, causing the child to laugh again as Rogue frowned.
“Ah’m guessing the big bad Wolverine can’t share,” she teased him, before eating the pepperoni. He set the pizza on his plate, wiping his hands clean on one of the napkins Adam had given him earlier when Rogue spilled her soda over the table.
“Even after all you ate,” Logan arched a questioning brow at the child, who eagerly waited for his answer. Adam nodded his head and slipped his gloves back on. Both Logan and Rogue had had a difficult time trying to get the child to eat without his gloves, it was the same reason Adam had ended up sitting with Rogue rather than with Logan.
“Yeah,” he replied sheepishly turning to look at Rogue. “Chocolate is my favorite,” he added. Marie chuckled and looked down at Adam.
“It’s mine too,” she turned to Logan, leaning back on her seat in the booth. “Ah think Ah saw a place just ‘round the corner,” she suggested. Logan quickly noted that ice cream was just another thing the kid had in common with Marie.
“Fine,” he growled at the two. “Clearly I’m out numbered,” he calmly pointed out.
“That’s a first,” Marie teased him. “Ah never thought Ah’d live the day to hear ya admit such a thing, darlin’,” she smirked, clearly pleased. “Guess it’s gonna be like this from now on, especially if ya keep insisting to tag along,” she arched a brow, hopping to throw him off his protector-game.
“Don’t mind,” he all but growled. “Think it’s gonna be like this from now on.”
Much to Marie’s surprise she titled her head to the side trying to ready the man across from her. The Wolverine in her head kept mumbling about something but she was too distracted to pay any attention to him now. That could wait till later, she needed to have a long discussion with the residents in her head about her feelings and her new son. She was gonna need them soon, especially if they were gonna get rid of Carol once and for all…before someone got hurt.
“Kid,” Logan leaned across the seat, carefully reaching for her just as she snapped back into reality. Smiling shyly she looked down to Adam and back at Logan, brushing her long streaked hair behind her ear.
“Sorry,” she tapped her head, signaling to Logan that she’d been talking to someone in her head. “Just wonderin’ what time Adam needed to be back. Don’t want One-eye getting on my ass—Ah mean case for being late,” she sipped her soda.
“Alright,” Logan turned to Adam. “Get ready, I’ll go pay the check,” he rose to his feet, eyeing Rogue carefully as she too slipped out of the booth to help Adam put on his jacket.
“Ah’m alright,” she told him casually. “We’ll talk about this later,” she mumbled under her breath just loud enough so he could hear her. “Promise.” Logan nodded his head and headed for the cash register as she sipped the child’s jacket.
“We’re getting ice cream, right,” Adam lifted his brows, a lose imitation of Logan’s intimidating look. Marie chuckled, grabbing the light blazer she’d brought along for the night.
“Yeah,” she replied, picking up her hair in a loose ponytail with a dark band she kept around her wrist. She then slipped her hands into her gloves and helped Adam out of the booth.
“So you and Logan, huh,” the child casually looked around the restaurant, his hand searching for Marie’s but refusing to look at her as he spoke. “He’s okay at the dad-thing,” he looked at the people walking outside on the street before he quickly stole a glimpse of her through the corner of his eyes. She laughed, leaning down to Adam’s level.
“Ya like him,” she asked him, calmly. “Mr. Summer’s is nice too,” she added casually, merely a suggestion, but Adam meet her eyes, slightly shaking his head.
“Logan looks after you, in a special way,” he reminded her. “It’s different with Mr. Summers, he’s always like that with everyone,” he added as he turned to look at the approaching Logan. “That’s why he’s the Fearless Leader, remember?
“Ready to go,” he looked down at them, before helping Marie to her feet.
“See,” Adam said cheerfully as he headed to the door, leaving behind a confused looking Marie and a suspicious Logan.
4:00 p.m.
On their way back
“Oh,” Adam groaned from the backseat. “I’m stuffed,” he fidgeted with his seatbelt. Logan looked at him through the rearview mirror, chuckling and shaking his head as he continued to drive. Marie twisted in her seat and turned to look at Adam, concerned.
“Jesus darlin’,” she laughed. “Told ya not to eat so much,” she shook her head. Adam laughed and leaned his head against the window.
“You aren’t so scary,” Adam said lazily.
“What,” Logan chuckled as he looked at Marie, she laughed.
“Who ya talkin’ ‘bout, honey,” she asked the boy.
“Both of you,” he replied tiredly. “Kids at school say if I belong with a family, it may as well include you two,” he laughed, both Marie and Logan obviously missing something.
“Yeah,” Marie asked. “How so?”
“Well,” he began, stealing a glance at Logan’s seat before he turned his attention back to darkening sky outside his window. “I can’t touch, just like you can’t,” she pointed out. “When I first got to the school some kids thought I might be related to you, because the similarities in our mutations,” she looked down at his hands.
“An’ why Logan darlin’,” she asked, looking down at her own gloved hands. She couldn’t help the anger that momentarily boiled her blood. How could children be so cruel, so devious? That was something she would never understand. Didn’t they know it was bad enough they knew they were freaks? Cursed and outcasts among their kind? Why did they have to point out the damn obvious all the damned time?
He shrugged. “Everyone’s scared a’ him,” he flinched. “Just like they are of us,” he continued. “Did the cure really help,” he turned to her. His eyes were full of pain, mirroring her own.
“No,” she shook her head and reached the small distance in the car to pat his leg, trying to bring some comfort to him. “Just gave me false hope,” she told him. “Broke me to little tiny pieces,” she confessed to them. Hearing this, Logan stole a quick glance of Marie, reaching over with one of his hands to pat her knee.
“Oh,” was all Adam seemed to say before he resumed his position, leaning his head against the window.
“An’ Adam,” she said over her shoulder.
“Yes,” he replied quietly.
“Ya belong with us, baby.”
To that Logan gave Marie’s leg a gentle squeeze, adding. “The hell ya do, kid.”
9:30 p.m.
Rec Room
“Eh…Logan,” Marie waited at the threshold for Logan’s response. Logan was intently watching a hockey game, like every Friday night. After walking Adam up to his room and tucking him in for the night, Marie had gone off to find Logan in hopes of thanking him for his support earlier that evening.
“Yeah, kid,” he half twisted around the couch to look at her, removing his feet from the coffee table in front of him. On one hand he was holding the remote control, on the other a warming beer.
“Uh, nothing,” she smiled, waving her hand almost as if to dismiss the thought or conversation as nothing. “Just wanted to thank ya for taggin’ along. Adam an’ Ah had a good time,” she spun around to leave with every intention of heading out to the library, before she heard the television flicker off and heavy footsteps trailing behind her.
“Hey kid, wait up,” Logan called after her. She stopped and spun around to look at him, clearly confused.
“Ya ok,” she asked him as she spun around to face him.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “Just wanted to tell ya, I heard what the kid said.”
“Oh,” she looked away. “It’s nothin’,” she tried to dismiss it. “Ya know kids, we’re fine. Ah’ll talk to him,” she spun around to leave again, but this time he caught her arm, stopping her.
“Ya thinking about asking One-Eye to be his dad,” he asked, frowning as he gently released his hold on her. Marie took a step back towards him, clearly frowning.
“Why would Ah do that,” she asked him.
“Just wondering, darlin’,” he said to her.
“Oh ok,” she spun around, trying not to reading too much into things. “Ah’ll talk to him, promise,” she said.
“Marie,” he called after her again.
“Yeah,” she spun around to face him.
“Ah don’t mind, kid,” he told her. “Let ‘em know if there’s anything Ah can do for the both of ya,” he told her just before she disappeared down the hall.
1:30 a.m.
Lower Levels;
Weight Room
Marie lay down on her back on the mats, out of breath, her heart beating furiously behind her chest as she stared fixatedly at the white ceiling, as if it held all the answers she’d been waiting for. She’d gathered her streaked hair in a quick braid, the loose strands matted to her sweaty neck. She felt she was burning up, even after she’d turned back on the air conditioner almost fifteen minutes ago.
She’d woken up some time past midnight after a nightmare that was neither Logan’s nor Erik’s. It was one that Carol had concocted to perfection all by herself, one that continued to bring back painful memories and that damned familiar guilt. It involved an angry Jean; the other monster she couldn’t face down.
She had aimlessly directed all her anger, her guilt at an inanimate object that had given into her feelings after just three hours of being worked over from all directions and angles. The Wolverine in her head had aided her in her release while Erik had stayed back and simply watched, throwing in a comment once in a while when the Wolverine wasn’t telling her to push hard and faster, telling her to use everything she had to massacre the bag.
But she couldn’t stop thinking about her outlet with the Professor. Suddenly her moral compass and her compassion, her gratitude had all gone to hell. She hadn’t once in the past few hours tried to apologize or further explain herself. She saw no need, he wanted her to talk and she’d done it.
But above all she couldn’t bring herself to forget his face, how it quickly had seemed to change from one emotion to the next. His expressions had all changed too fast, not once had she been able to point one damned feeling down. But his answers…they were a whole different thing. Every time she had imagined this meeting with the Professor, he made an effort to explain to her everything he could; he made an effort to help her even if said thing was not in his hands. But when the meeting had actually happened, there hadn’t been any consolation, no explanations whatsoever from his part. Absolutely nothing. He had just sat there and taken it like the pansy-ass she never pinned him for.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Ah! It's been so long...but without further delay...
Chapter End Notes:
Last chapters have already been typed, just working on the events leading up to it. This will be a series. So nothing is "set in stone"
-Wasp
-Wasp