A few days later, on the day of her first Self Defence class, Marie followed her classmates into the gym mildly apprehensive. She had been told Mr Creed would be running her through a basic placement drill today, to see how much she already knew in comparison to the rest of the class; she had done some basic self-defence and martial arts training before so she was hoping to not score at the bottom of the class.
However, she, and the other students, were all surprised to find the gym empty when they entered. A minute later a flustered looking tutor entered, no sign of Mr Creed. "Apologies everyone, Mr Creed is not taking the class today so you'll get an easy period with me, you should all be familiar with your usual routines, so we'll start with partnering up. Miss Lehn..."
"Marie," she interrupted, when the teacher turned to address her.
"Marie, as you're new, I'll pair you up with Logan to separately run through some basic exercises that the other students are already familiar with, you two can work over there," the teacher indicated the far side of the room, as the other students began to spread out in pairs, chatting animatedly as they essentially ignored the tutor and stood around doing nothing. Logan shook his head in annoyance as they made their way to their own corner, muttering a comment about a lack of discipline and respect, directed at the other students.
"Right," he started, as they stood opposite each other, ready to begin, "I guess we'll start with falls, you gotta know how to fall right, I don't want to hurt you," he added with a grin, as he dragged a couple of soft mats into place for them to use.
"Okay, I have done some defensive stuff so that should be pretty easy, but, be careful of my skin," Marie replied.
Logan cast an eye over her, cocking an eyebrow once he had surveyed her. Marie was surprised to note the action was a calculating observation only, his eyes not lingering on places they shouldn't like most of the boys did. "You're covered head to toe, with a couple of layers in most places, there's no skin to get, in fact, I'm tempted to tell you take a couple of layers off so you can move freer-" he watched the negative look pass over her face as he said that- "I take it you'd object to that though."
Marie agreed with a grin, so Logan shrugged, commenting that he could work with what they had, before he demonstrated a starting stance he wanted her to assume. He took a moment to correct her posture, explaining everything as he went. For a few minutes they 'practiced' falls, or rather, Logan repeatedly knocked her off her feet. After a while Marie got sick of picking herself up off the floor, even though it was done in good humour and Logan helped her up every time. With an unexpected twist, as Logan tried to sweep her leg out from under her again, Marie dropped to one knee and flipped him over her shoulder, sending Logan to floor instead.
For a moment he looked up at her in surprised before he started laughing, as he picked himself up. "Okay, I think you've got the falls; shall we move on to holds?"
By the time they were about three quarters of an hour into the hour-long class they noticed they had attracted a crowd, the rest of the students were standing around watching in awe as they grappled. They each took falls, though Marie could tell Logan was taking it easy on her, and playing into her offensive moves. Ignoring everyone else they continued practicing, employing more and more complex moves until they were both lying on the ground out of breath and laughing.
The bell rang a short time later, dismissing the class, but no one moved until Logan and Marie had picked themselves up and headed out. Several of the boys glancing decidedly uncomfortably at Marie as she left, she had a feeling there wouldn't be any more attempts at flirting with her any time soon.
--
After dinner they made their way upstairs. The Creed suite had its own TV so they decided to head up to watch a movie without the crowd in the rec room.
"We won't be disturbing your dad, will we?" Marie asked worriedly, as they got to their hall.
"Nah, dad's not here at the moment, that's why his classes were subbed," Logan shrugged as he continued toward the suite.
"Where is he?" Marie asked curiously, as she walked into the suite behind Logan.
"No idea," Logan replied, "He does a disappearing act when he gets too feral and worries about accidentally hurting someone, today is the anniversary, he left before dawn, I'm not expecting him back today."
"So, he just disappears and leaves you alone on the anniversary of your mothers death?" Marie asked confused, that didn't sound like something a parent would, or should, do.
"This year's the first year, he apologized in advance but said he needed to get away this year and he figured I was old enough to look after myself for the day, it's a big anniversary, and he's been struggling to hold it together all week, you probably haven't noticed how on edge the other teachers have been, everyone else sure has," Logan explained with a sad smile. "Dad deserves a break, to be honest he should take longer but he won't go, not for long, part of me wonders if he's actually mourned her, you know, he's still so hung up on her memory."
As Logan moved around the small kitchenette digging out snacks for their movie night, Marie occupied herself looking around the sparsely furnished apartment.
"Is this her?" she asked, after lifting up a picture, of Victor, a dark-haired woman, and a little boy who looked about three, that had been lying face down on the hall table between the doorways to the suites two bedrooms.
"Yeah, that's her," Logan replied, stopping beside her to smile at the photo, he picked up the other facedown picture frame. "And this is Sally," he added showing her the photo of a tiny new-born baby, dressed in pink and wrapped up, as if asleep, in a lacy white blanket.
"It's good you remember them," Marie smiled, gently setting down the photos, right way up on the table. "What was your mom's name?"
"Lucinda," Logan replied, giving the photos one last smile before he turned away and headed for the couch, dropping the snacks on the coffee table, before he fished around for the remote down the side of the couch.
--
They were sitting in the almost dark, the room lit only by the residual light of the television, as their movie wound to a close, when there was a thump at the door. They both jumped, having been so engrossed in the movie neither were expecting any external noise source. As they laughed off their fright, they missed the door opening.
"Whatcha still doin' up?" a gruff, slightly slurred voice asked, as the door opened enough for Logan's father to stagger in. Logan leaped off the couch and to his father's side, to steady him when he missed the piece of furniture he had been aiming towards, to prop himself up against. "Thanks," Victor grunted with a chuckle.
"Oh, I didn't realise how late it was," Marie commented, looking over at the clock, "We can finish the movie some other time," she added, switching off the tv.
"Yeah, sure, um-" Logan paused, as he looked between his clearly intoxicated father, Marie, and the door.
"It's okay," Marie whispered, when she noticed his manners dilemma. "See you tomorrow," she excused herself with a smile.
"Sorry for interrupting your date," Victor grunted with another chuckle, groaning when his head began to pound.
"It wasn't a date... How much did you drink?" Logan asked, his concern evident in his tone, as he half led, half carried his father toward his bedroom.
"For once, enough, only I discovered, there is no such thing as enough," Victor finished, dropping onto the bed with another groan. "God, I hope the healing kicks in before morning, this is gonna be one hell of a hangover."
"You didn't drive home, did you?" Logan asked, still clearly concerned.
"Nah, I walked," Victor replied, "Was only down at the pond."
With a sigh Logan left him and went to the kitchen, returning with a glass and a jug of water. "Chug that whenever you feel like it, you still haven't told me how much you actually drank, do I need to get the doc?" Logan tried again, prompting his father to roll over and fix him with a soft smile.
"Nah kid, I'll be fine, I wouldn't do anything that stupid, I know my limits, I might push em sometimes but I won't cross em, you mean too much to me... I thank your mother every day for giving me you, I'll always be here for you, in every way I can," Victor stated, a seriousness in his voice that Logan rarely heard.
"All right. Did you get what you needed out of today?" Logan replied, a feeling of relief settling over him.
"Yeah, yeah son, I did, thanks, I know it can't have been easy for you being alone today, I really am sorry for that," was the answer. "And I am sorry for interrupting you and Marie, she's a nice girl, heh, if things had played out a little differently you and her might be brother n sister," Victor lay back again with a chuckle.
"What!?" Logan exclaimed, choking back his surprise.
"Mmhmm, her mom had her eye on me before Cindy and I got together, she never forgave me for picking your mom over her, after your mom died she made clear she'd 'still take me', now that I was 'available again', like that bitch ever stood a chance... maybe for Marie's sake though it wouldn't have been so bad but I think this way's better..." Victor's speech slurred even more as he began to fall asleep.
"Goodnight dad," Logan commented shaking his head in amusement, switching out the lights and making sure the curtains were tightly shut before he returned to the living room to clear up the movie night mess.
--
Marie was waiting anxiously in the classroom hall; Logan hadn't come down for breakfast and she wanted to make sure everything was alright, after last night, before she had to disappear to her first class. When the bell rang, there was still no sign of Logan, and she had to reluctantly give up her post to be the last to slip into class.
--
Victor came down the stairs in time to see Marie just slipping into her first period classroom, it seemed she had been waiting for someone, probably Logan. With a grin he continued on his way to the lower levels, he would have to stop by the Professor's office later, he had disappeared without warning the day before, a fact he would no doubt get a warning about.
--
Knocking lightly, he waited for permission to enter, it didn't take long.
"Victor, how are you today?" Charles asked, with an air of genuine sympathy.
"Better," Victor replied, "Sorry for just disappearing like that..."
"It is not to worry, I have been expecting that for some years to be honest," Charles revealed with a knowing smile. "How did Logan fare yesterday?"
"He did good, he's okay, he understood. He, uh, mentioned running Marie through a placement drill in the defence class yesterday, he said it seems she's had a substantial amount of training and is quite a bit more advanced than the other students, I reviewed the recording log and would have to agree with his assessment, I propose keeping Marie in the class in an assisting role, like Logan, and I can run her through a one-on-one training exercise on Saturday morning, if that's okay with you and her?"
Charles nodded thoughtfully, used to the swift change of topic from the man in front of him. He knew, without a doubt, the man used his work to distract himself, and was quite successful at it. "I see no issue with that plan, let us ask Miss Lehnsherr shall we, come in dear," Charles called toward the door.
"Um, have I done something wrong?" Marie asked worriedly. Why was she being called to Uncle Charles' office in the middle of class, was Logan's dad ratting them out for being in his suite, past curfew.
"No, my dear, breach of curfew aside, in the circumstances we will let that slide though," Charles answered, picking up her projected thought.
"I forgot you can do that," Marie pouted, clamping down her mental shields like he had taught her when she was much younger. With a chuckle he explained to her the reason for his summons. "Oh, I don't want to intrude," Marie hurriedly stated, "Thank you for the offer but isn't Saturday morning when you and Logan train together? I wouldn't want to interrupt, or get in the way."
"It won't be any trouble, Logan and I are usually done by six thirty, could fit you in at seven, it wouldn't be a problem, pretty girls need their beauty sleep anyway," he added with a wink, causing Marie to blush prettily. It seemed the poor girl had never been paid casual compliments ever in her life. A brief pang of grief washed over him as he thought about his own daughter, taken far too young but he had still taken the chance to whisper to her how beautiful she was as he had held her, while she passed in his arms.
"Well, I guess that would be okay then, but you gotta take it easy on me, I don't heal like Logan does," she added with a cheeky grin.
"I suppose I can work with that," Victor assured her lightly.
Once the details were all sorted Marie was allowed to return to class, with a smile and a wave to the two men as she darted off to slip back into her seat in class, ignoring the stares of her classmates. She supposed it was unusual for a student to return from a trip to the Principal's office in a good mood.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000