“Stop being an ass, John. Just give it back to him,” Kitty said from behind the Elle magazine covering her entire face. The junior team was all lounging around one of the rec rooms. Jubilee, Rogue, and Bobby on one couch, Kitty and John sitting a coffee table across from them on another.
“I’ll give it back,” John grinned. “When he mans up and makes me!”
“I’m not fighting you,” Bobby ground out, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. “Especially not over a stupid paper.”
“Well,” John smirked and fell back into the couch. “I guess you don’t really want it. You know, I hear Ms. Monroe takes off twenty points for each day an assignment’s late.”
“Oh mah God, what tha hell is ya problem? Bobby is ya friend!” Rogue yelled at him and beside her Jubilee seconded it with a ‘yeah!’ and threw a pillow at him.
John laughed as he caught. “Come on, man. Beat me at a game of knuckles and I’ll gladly give it back....or are you too much of a wuss?”
“I’m not a wuss,” Bobby quickly snapped. “And I’m not playing knuckles. It’s my paper, you *stole* it, John.”
John sat back up again, flicking the top on and off his lighter. “Yeah, I did. And I’m giving you a chance to get it back. Hey, think of it as a prime opportunity to show the ladies what you got, Iceman.”
“Oh please,” Kitty huffed.
“That’s totally stupid,” Jubilee added. “All it shows us is that you guys are like complete morons.”
“Yeah, Bobby, don’t do it,” Rogue told him as she laid a comforting gloved hand on his shoulder.
Bobby looked down at her hand then to Jubilee, who shook her head at him. When he looked up to Kitty she was turning another page in her magazine, not giving any of them much attention.
“Dude!” John threw one hand up in the air. “It’s just a god damn game of knuckles. Shit, don’t be such a mommy’s boy. One game, whoever wins gets the paper, real simple.”
Bobby chewed on his lower lip, obviously considering it.
“Don’t do it, Bobby,” Rogue said again. But Bobby got pushed up to the edge of the couch anyway. And then Logan walked in.
“Hey, rug rats, what’s up?” He asked, although he was looking directly at Rogue.
“Logan!” She cheered and flew at him, giving him a tight bear hug. He laughed and patted her lower back.
Kitty looked up briefly from her magazine to the pair and rolled her eyes before turning back to her reading.
“How was the mission?” Rogue asked, her cheeks bright pink from both excitement and the fact that she was still plastered to him.
“Fine, just a pickup.”
“Hey, can we just do this already? I have to turn it in by three and I want to proof read it first!” Bobby exclaimed, drawing everybody’s attention back onto him.
“I...uh...” John stuttered, looking wide eye up at Logan.
Logan picked up the sudden spark of anxiety pouring of the boy and narrowed his eyes at him. “What the hell is going on in here, anyway?”
“Nothing!” John answered quickly but it was half drowned out by the pop of Jubilee’s gum.
“John stole Bobby’s history paper and challenged him to a game of knuckles to get it back,” Jubilee informed him. Then popped her bright pink gum again.
“Knuckles?” Logan asked, looking down at Rogue.
“Yeah, it’s a game. Sorta. Its where two people slam their knuckles together and whoever’s knuckles bleeds first losses,” she explained, her arms till wrapped tightly around his waist.
Logan arched an eyebrow at John, who instantly turned white. “Is that so?”
“I, uh, was just kidding with him. Here, Bobby,” John quickly snatched the paper out from behind him and threw it down on the coffee table.
Bobby moved to pick it up but a much larger hand slammed down on it first. “No,” Logan growled, still glaring at John. “You wanna play knuckles for it, hotshot? We’ll play knuckles for it.”
“Oh, damn!” Jubilee giggled. “Your ass is grass, Pyro!”
John shook his head and swallowed nervously. “No, seriously, he can just have it. I’m sorry.”
“Not yet, you ain’t,” Logan sneered and raised his balled fist knuckles up. “Let’s see what you got, flame-boy.”
Four sets of very eager eyes were now watching the pair. That included Kitty, whose magazine was lying completely forgotten in her lap.
Slowly John raised his extremely shaky fist.
“Ready?” Logan smirked. “One, two, three–GO!”
They hurled their fists together rapidly and a crunch sounded in the room as they collided, making everyone cringe. Except John. He screamed and quickly pulled his fist to his chest, cradling it in his other hand.
“I hope your bleeding, John,” Kitty said, one eye closed as she watched him bounce around. “Because I’d hate for you to have to hit again.”
“Yeah,” Bobby said, a smile finally on his face. “Let’s see it.”
“Of course it’s fucking bleeding!” He screamed. “He’s got god damn metal on his!” Small tears were escaping from the corners of John’s eyes, but he stopped his litany of cussing. Tentatively he pulled his good hand away from his other one. Sure enough his knuckles were red and inflamed, the very tops of them bleeding. But he was also bleeding in between his knuckles.
Logan looked down at his undamaged hand and wiggled his fingers at John. “Guess I win. Next time you’ll think before you try an’ pull stupid shit like this again, won’t you?” John whimpered and cussed some more as he tore out of the room.
Shaking his head, Logan snatched the paper off the coffee table and practically threw it at Bobby. “And you, keep better fucking track of your stuff.”
“Yes, sir,” Bobby nodded a quickly left.
“Man!” Jubilee cheered as she jumped to her feet. “That was awesome, Wolvie! Just-BAM- and then he started crying like a little girl!” She started laughing hard and had to wipe her eyes. “Oh, good stuff. Good stuff.”
His glazed fell heavy onto her. “Yellow?”
“Yeah?”
“Get out.”
“Right,” she snapped her fingers and him. They could still hear her laughter down the hall.
Once she was gone Rogue and Logan both turned to look at Kitty. They stared at each other for a second before Kitty finally coughed and got to her feet.
“I, uh, gotta– I gotta go do something.” She tip-toed past Logan and whacked Rogue in the butt with her magazine on her way out.
“So–,” Rogue started closing the distance between them again.
“So,” he repeated.
She pressed her body flush against his and took his hand into hers. Carefully she ran her thumb across his knuckles, they were white and perfect. The skin between them, however, was a soft red. She grinned and looked back up at him.
“So. That was pretty hot,” she stated.
“Yeah?” His free hand came up to rest heavy on her hip.
She nodded. “Oh, yeah. The way you didn’t even flinch– oooh.” she shivered against his chest.
His smirk widened into a full grin. “What can I say, baby? I’m just the best at what I do.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I was talking with one of my guy friends about how we use to play knuckles when we were younger and how I couldn’t believe I was ever that stupid. And then, of course, my next thought was ‘Logan would be GREAT at knuckles!’