The announcement of Marie's ability to touch garnered a wealth of different reactions from the members of Xavier's household. Most were overjoyed and gave Marie an overabundance of hugs and handshakes. Some smiled and nodded as they passed; Scott actually patted her on the back and muttered a well-meaning 'congratulations'. Sometimes he was actually a decent guy. When he wasn't being a dick.
Jubilee found Marie down in the laundry room. Marie was in the middle of folding her shirts when she looked up and saw Jubilee standing in the doorway. She was fully prepared for a typical Jubilee reaction that included yelling and a large amount of fireworks. But when Jubilee failed to say a word, Marie stopped what she was doing and looked at her best friend. Jubilee was crying.
"Jubes, what the hell?"
Jubilee crossed the large space and stood in front of Marie. She brought her small hand up to take Marie's now bare hand in hers. Jubilee looked Marie in the eyes, a gentle smile softening her reddened face.
"You can control it."
"Yeah."
Marie found herself enveloped in a fierce hug. She wrapped her arms around her friend's torso and they stood for several minutes before Jubilee finally pulled away. She kept hold of Marie's hands as she did so.
"Are you okay, Roguey?"
"Well, I'm not the one crying."
"I know. I'm a huge pussy. I'm just really happy for you, babe. So…you doing alright with all this?"
"Sure, why?"
Jubilee laughed and took a moment to wipe her tears.
"Why? Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you've spent almost ten years with radioactive skin, hiding from what happened in your past and pining for a guy you convinced yourself would never want you and now in less than 48 hours you get attacked, control your skin and have Logan glued to your side like Velcro."
"Yeah, that is a lot, huh?"
Jubilee threw her hands up.
"Duh!"
Marie stepped back and scooted up so she could sit on top of a washing machine while Jubilee crossed her arms and leaned against one of the dryers.
"I'm a little numb, Jubes. I spent so long wishing I could control my skin and now that I can it's like I lost what defined me."
"I never thought of your skin defining you."
"But it did, Jubes. That's my power. My deadly skin can kill. It kept people at bay. It kept me safe."
"It kept you alone."
Marie shrugged. Jubilee was right. Her skin had been a way to hold everyone off and avoid having to deal with the pain of her past. Not being able to touch allowed Marie to protect herself from being hurt again. As long as her skin was deadly, she could use it as an excuse not to get truly close to anyone. Bobby and Remy learned that the hard way.
"You know something else about your skin, Roguey? It controlled you. Because of Cody, you let your skin be your excuse for not letting people get close. It scared you too much to try and control it – even though the Professor thought it was possible. So you just stayed in your bubble. But, now, you have to come out of that bubble and deal. That scares the shit out of you."
"Yeah, it does."
"So control your life, girl. Don't let what happened in the past ruin your chance to have a happily ever after. Logan will do anything for you. Let him."
"You're pretty smart for a Valley girl, you know that?"
"Don't tell anyone, you'll ruin my rep."
Jubilee shifted forward and pointed at Marie. "By the way, it's time to get you some clothes that don't make you look like you're living in perpetual winter. We're going shopping…and maybe stopping for some drinks."
Marie groaned and rolled her eyes.
"No, Jubes."
"You know I'll win this fight so can we just skip to the part where you give in?"
Marie held her hands up in mock surrender. "Fine."
"Good. Meet me in the garage in two hours."
Marie watched as her best friend sauntered back out of the room. Jubilee may be mildly annoying but she was smart and knew Marie better than anyone. Vinnie's attack had shaken Marie to her very core but it had given her a gift. It was time to put her past behind her and focus on what she had.
"It's time to get a fresh start." Marie whispered to herself as she jumped down from the washing machine and picked up her laundry basket.
"And a drink."
oOo
It didn't take Marie long to find Logan in the garage, doing what he did so often to relieve stress; tinkering on his bike. In the last day, Logan had barely left her side. He only came down here because she'd shooed him away so she could do some laundry. Marie knew that Logan simply wanted to protect her. It was sweet and the thought of him as her knight in shining armor more than appealed to her vulnerable side. But if they were going to have a chance for their relationship to survive the long haul, being together twenty four hours a day wasn't going to be good for either one of them.
He stood up at the sound of her footsteps and began wiping his hands with one of the spare rags. Marie wordlessly moved in front of him and put her hands on his face, reveling in the feel of his stubble underneath her fingertips. She really couldn't get enough of touching him and Logan had shown a great deal of restraint in the last twenty four hours whenever she did so. Her hand snaked around his neck and the muscles of his shoulders tensed. Marie's eyes swept up his torso, her breath catching as their gazes locked. His eyes bored into her and she felt the full weight of his emotions through that stare.
Marie leaned forward and brought her lips to his. Logan's hands wrapped around her waist and he pulled her to him, gently but firmly. She tentatively moved her tongue into his mouth and a shock of arousal swept through her as his tongue met hers. In that moment, Marie's senses almost overloaded. The feel of his soft lips against hers, the taste of him in her mouth, the smell of him in her nose and the sound of his deep growl was enough to make her dizzy. Marie brushed her lips lightly against his and laid her head in the crook of Logan's neck. His arms encircled her, bringing her completely flush with his chest.
"I'm gonna have to do that more often."
"You won't hear me complainin'."
Logan relished the feel of her in his arms. It surprised him that the Wolverine was so restrained when it came to Marie. Normally, when there was an attractive woman around, Logan had to stamp down its lust. With Marie, Wolverine's instinct was to protect rather than ravage. It knew that pushing her too far would result in her backing away and there was no way they would risk that now. Even though her kiss caused him to become uncomfortably aroused, Logan resisted the temptation to raise the stakes physically. Marie needed to be in control now.
"You teaching a class this afternoon?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, Jubes and I are going shopping."
"I'll get someone to cover for me."
She lifted her head away from its resting place and smiled up at Logan. My Logan.
"You don't need to go with me everywhere, you know."
"Bullshit. After what you just went through, I'm not lettin' you alone."
"It's Salem Center, Logan, not a Friends of Humanity compound."
"Doesn't matter."
Marie took a step back but kept her arms around his waist. She didn't want to break contact just yet.
"I know you want to protect me and, I admit, I think it's damn sweet. But we both need time away from each other."
"I don't want time away from you, Marie."
"You were down here working on your bike."
"You were doin' laundry. 'Sides I'm still in the mansion."
She laughed softly and kissed him quickly on the cheek.
"So what happens when we're sent on different missions? Or you get a hankering to head to the bar for a fight? Logan, if we're going to have a shot, we need to be okay on our own."
"But…"
"No 'buts', babe. I'll be fine. Other than subjecting myself to Jubilee and her credit card."
He wanted to protest. Throw her over his shoulder and lock her in her room if it would keep her safe. But Marie was too strong for that and she wouldn't last long under house arrest with him lurking in every shadow. Despite his internal objections, he reluctantly agreed.
"Fine. But if you aren't back by six o'clock, I'm gonna be on your tail."
There are a few other places I'd rather you be.
Marie was amused at the thought popping into her head. Seemed her apprehension about becoming physical was abating.
"Six it is."
She began to move out from his embrace when Logan's arms pulled her back to him. Marie impacted his chest and the feel of his rock hard body next to hers caused her to gasp. He brought his face down to hers and his warm breath caressed her skin.
"You promise me to be careful, Marie. Don't take any chances and watch your back."
"I will…"
"Promise."
"I promise."
Logan's lips crashed down on hers. This kiss wasn't slow and gentle; it was fierce and possessive. He was claiming her, telling her she was his. Oh, she really, really didn't want to go shopping anymore. He broke the kiss and embraced her, pushing his face into her hair and inhaling deeply.
"Come back to me soon, Marie."
"I promise that too."
She nuzzled his cheek and felt the rumble in his chest as he growled appreciatively at the gesture.
"And I won't do anything stupid."
Logan's laughter echoed through the garage.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Low Key chapter here - they needed some break from the angst (but not for long).
Thanks to doctorg for her continued beta work and patience. :)
Thanks to doctorg for her continued beta work and patience. :)
Chapter End Notes:
Thoughts?