Part 3- ‘The Comfort Zone…’
Logan was determined to get back to what he considered had been a point of normality. Back to that point less than a week ago, when he had been stupid enough to let those three words slip, before then it had been easy.
Marie was getting on with things since then, riling him as she always did, calling him old man in training today, she would always be the only one to get away with that, any one else would never have the balls, he’d make sure he’d growl loud enough for them to piss their pant where they stood if they ever got that stupid.
But Marie had gotten to him in a thousand different ways with a thousand different jibes, ones that made him crack a smile, ones that had him spurting beer from his nose ‘cause he’d laughed so damn hard, but today…today it had just plain pissed him off.
‘Old man…’ he huffed as he stomped down the corridor, starkly reminded of the mess he’d made of himself in the shower. He wasn’t the sort of guy to be pansy assed enough to blush but he could swear his ears getting hotter and redder as he walked.
Dirty old man, he swore at himself, to be thinking of a kid, to be thinking of Marie the way he had been doing, not only that but…but getting off on seeing her like that as well. It was wrong…wrong…wrong…
He practically tore down that corridor, thudding down the hallways like a man possessed. Marie in tight black leather…Marie in his shower…wearing his tags…in his shower…wearing just his tags…naked…in his shower…
No…no…no…
He stamped his feet as he smacked himself on the forehead, stupid….idiot! She’s a kid, the same kid you’ve known for years, nothing’s changed; she hasn’t changed, so get over it. Still he couldn’t shake his anger and frustration, not least ‘cause the Wolverine kept laughing at him.
Aware of his inner workings, knowing that the more he fought it, the more Logan was fighting what he thought was unnatural and wrong, the more he inevitably fell.
It was clear she wanted nothing more, the way she had stiffened when he had blurted out that he loved her, the uncomfortable silence that had followed, the way she’d smiled uneasily, clearly wanting to make sure that it meant nothing more than it did.
She was happy with the way things were, she wasn’t ready for change, and he wanted to believe he wasn’t either.
She was so much younger than him, grown up in other ways, ‘cause circumstances and a mutancy devoid of touch had seen to that, but she was still so young, a child compared to the ages and the times that he had lived.
She’s not a kid anymore…any blind idiot can see that…but ya know what they say Logie, there’s no fool like an old fool…’
Wolverine’s laughter cut through his thoughts as he slipped into the elevator, pushing the button for the med labs. Nope, he was determined to get back to normality, or rather his comfort zone, at this point ‘normal’ was a blip on a line he had long crossed, a point on the horizon that was jumping up and down laughing, while it flipped him off.
He needed to get back into his comfort zone, and right now his comfort zone was a certain red-headed telepath working in the med labs.
He stood watching her in the doorway, her skirt riding higher and her long perfect legs disappearing under the glass work bench. The glasses perched on the end of her nose, biting her lip slightly as she concentrated on pouring a clear liquid from one beaker into another.
Logan smiled, yep Jean definitely was his comfort zone, the game they played, flirting outrageously with each other had definitely been fun, though lately it seemed it was all one sided. She was stuck with Ol’ One-eye Summers, and though Logan would never pretend to understand what she saw in the stiff, self righteous prick she had always made it pretty clear, she may put up with Logan’s attempts to seduce her, but she would never give in, not really.
There was that time when she had gotten pretty wasted at the Christmas party, his healing factor making sure he stayed nothing short of sober, they had wandered into the Academy grounds, a quick peck on the cheek had moved onto a heated kiss, and wandering hands that had quickly gotten under her shirt.
She had slapped him across the face for his efforts and left him where he stood. The next morning, he feeling like an asshole for taking advantage of her had apologised, she had brushed that away as well, smiling and telling him she knew he would never really have taken it any further.
She was right, an animal he may have been, in a fight intemperate and untamed, letting the Wolverine inside take full reign but he never had and never would force himself on a woman.
Thing was after that kiss the fire seemed to have died, or at least dampened somewhat, he had to admit Jean no longer held his heart, not in the way she had done when he’d first settled at the Academy.
He hadn’t raged and growled because she had rejected him once more, it hadn’t even stung all that much, a slow realisation had climbed into him that cold night, an epiphany of sorts, whatever he may once upon a time have thought, Jean Grey wasn’t the girl for him.
And now because of it he could flirt with her, touch her, say the most inappropriate things to her but these days it was mostly in front of Scott, in an effort to piss the fearless leader off as much as possible, smirking as he grew angrier by the minute.
Jean was his comfort zone, talking and flirting with her would take his mind off a certain girl, with white streaks in her hair, a killer smile and a body to die for. That body…in his shower, naked…Marie…
‘No…dammit…Jean…gotta make it with Red…’ he shook his head, shaking all thoughts of Marie out and stepped inside the lab, the automatic door sliding silently shut behind him.
She was definitely distracted or else she would have sensed his presence by now, instead she squinted as the clear liquid in her beaker turned purple. Logan strode up behind her, his steps silent and measured he placed his hands gently on her shoulders, leaning close and nuzzling her neck.
‘Hey red, ya look…and smell good today…’ he whispered in her ear. Jean hadn’t heard or even felt his presence she had been that distracted; startled she jolted and dropped the beaker.
Cursing loudly at him she pushed the chair backwards, standing up quickly she turned on him angrily, ‘I’m not in the mood for this today Logan, don’t start with me…’ she pushed her glasses up her nose, and bent down to pick up the pieces of broken glass.
Logan smirked, ‘Oh come on Jean, when are you ever not in the mood…?’ He chuckled quietly, that was until Jean suddenly rose to her feet and taking the largest piece of glass she held in her hands threw it at him!
‘I thought I said don’t start….!’ She screamed.
Logan ducked just in time as the glass flew over his head and hit the opposite wall shattering into smaller pieces; the sound filled the empty room, the tinkling of the glass as it fell to the floor.
He stared at her stunned, ‘Goddamit Jean, what the hell are ya mixin’ in those beakers o’ yours, ya hulking out or somethin’, ‘cause ah gotta tell ya in terms of angry crazy Bruce Banner ain’t got nothin’ on you!’
Jean’s hand flew to her mouth in horror, ‘Oh God, Logan I’m so sorry, I don’t know what I’m doing today, I’m just all over the place…’ she sank back into her chair, her angry mood quickly replaced by a remorseful one as the tears began to well up in here eyes and she started to cry.
Logan just stood dumbly for a while, staring at her, unsure as to whether take a step forward or let the instinct of self preservation take over and run from the room. A hormonal Jean was not a pretty sight.
And all at once it seemed the pieces of the puzzle slotted together, her distraction, her mood swings, and the different scent he had encountered from her, subtle and almost buried under the layers of her perfume but apparent to his heightened senses all together.
He approached her slowly, kneeling beside her he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, a panic rising in his chest. ‘Jean…’ he whispered gently, this close to her, he picked up yet another sound, above her hurried sobs, above his haggard breath he picked up another heartbeat, small but strong, a third heartbeat in a room where there should only have been two.
His eyes grew wider as her tear rimmed gaze met his and she nodded, ‘Yes Logan…I’m pregnant….’
Ha…ha, so much for your comfort zone…’ Logan could see the Wolverine in his mind’s eye rolling around clutching his sides and laughing his ass off.
Asshole.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Jean was his comfort zone, talking and flirting with her would take his mind off a certain girl, with white streaks in her hair, a killer smile and a body to die for. That body…in his shower, naked…Marie…