That night I managed to avoid the subject of the Ladies’ Night Out. Thank goodness. I thought that Marie might have decided to be merciful, might have realized how much I hated that sort of thing, or just forgot about it in the haze of passion that had descended on us. I was so wrong.
She ambushed me in the kitchen the next day. I swear she had to have planned that one out. No other way to explain the grilled steak all laid out on the table with a knife and fork beside it. She’s the one who insists that I obey the damn niceties of society when eating my precious steak. I don’t know why, but I love her and gave in the third time she brought up the subject months ago. Because I love her, I only growled a little.
So, the steak was on the table, cooked just the way I like it -- practically raw. And she was sitting on the other side of the table, eating her own steak. I have to admit that watching my Marie eat steak is a definite turn on. The way she savors the meat, biting off just a small bit with her teeth and then chewing quickly just to repeat the process over and over and over…
But I’m getting off the subject, yet again. I sat down at the table, not even bothering to ask if the other steak was mine because I knew it was. She doesn’t cook for anyone but the two of us. I think it’s because if anyone else knew how good her cooking is, they’d have her chained to the kitchen making meal after delicious meal.
Hey, can I help it if I’m proud of Marie’s skills?
So, after I’m about halfway through my steak, Marie looks over at me finally, those big brown eyes wide and innocent looking. I shouldn’t have believed that one for a second, but I’m a sucker for those eyes. She smiled at me, a little shyly, like she had the first time we met.
“Logan,” she began, “Would it hurt you too much to help us out with this Ladies’ Night Out? It’s not as if we’re asking you guys to strip or anything. Just let us pour water over you so that everyone can see those nice, big muscles you’ve all got.” She wasn’t whining. In fact, her voice was damn soft and persuasive. I should’ve gotten up right then and there, but there was the steak to consider. If I left it half eaten in the fridge, who knew who’d try to finish it for me? Nope. I wasn’t gonna leave until I’d finished that wonderful steak.
I kept quiet. I thought it was my only defense against her. How wrong I was.
The more I kept my mouth shut, the more despondent my little darling became. Her eyes lost that happy sparkle and she stopped eating her own steak, putting her fork down and her hands in her lap. She fiddled with the napkin there for a minute or two. Then she got really dangerous.
“Logan, remember how much fun we had last night?” Marie asked wistfully. It sounded like she was remembering something from years ago, not just the night before. Something she wouldn’t have again.
That put me in Panic Mode. She wouldn’t give up on me if I didn’t agree to this dumb charity thing, would she? I couldn’t imagine not having my Marie in bed with me every night, not making love to her and then falling asleep with her in my arms. Not having her drop down into my lap for a cuddle, not kissing her hello every time we were apart for more than an hour. For a split second these possibilities wreaked havoc in my head.
That’s all it took. That split second of insanity made me say, “I’ll do the charity thing, Marie honey. Now, why don’t we go up to our room? I think we need a nap.”
Thus said, I put words into action, getting up and going around the table, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Damn the steak, anyway.
* * * * *
When I was finally sane again, hours later with Marie asleep all curled around me like a cat, I remembered what I’d said. What I’d promised. The more I thought about it, the more I could see that Marie had set it all up. My girl is very good at making plans and seeing them out, I’ll give her that much.
Maybe Marie sensed in her sleep that I was upset, because she was awake again in minutes. She gazed up at me all serious like she does sometimes, and then she did it. She brought up the subject we’d been tiptoeing around for weeks.
“Logan, don’t you think it’d be wonderful to have a little girl to raise?” she asked softly. Her eyes were all misty, and I knew she was picturing the times we’d visited the Orphanage. Hell, it showed something that my mind went straight there, too.
“I’ve heard adopting mutant kids is a lot easier than adopting a ‘normal’ kid,” I said sardonically. I hated the fact that the adoption process was faster for the little guys, mostly because when someone wanted one of them the caseworkers were happy to get them off their hands. If people like Xavier weren’t looking out for them, mutant children could go to some really nasty people. And even though I knew Xavier had a whole network of people like him working around the world, there had to be some pretty tough cases out there.
“So you’ve thought about adopting Sarah, too?” Marie asked me, a small smile lighting her face.
“Of course. She’s such a sweetheart, just like you, even when she’s wreaking havoc on the entire orphanage,” I said, chuckling when Marie punched me in the arm.
“I don’t wreak havoc!” she said with an answering laugh.
“What are you and the other women trying to do with this Ladies’ Night Out idea, then?”
Marie made a face at me. “We’re just having a little fun, Logan,” she said mock-innocently. She pushed me onto my back and slipped on top of me, grinning.
“I could think of a few things that I’d call fun, Marie, but that isn’t one of them,” I said huskily, running my hands up her back. She has such soft skin. It’s almost unbelievable that it can be deadly or even harmful if she chooses.
“Oh, like what?” she whispered, leaning down to kiss me.
And thus my insanity began again. Oh, why do I have to be weak like this?
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Author's Chapter Notes:
A/N: I blame my own mind and Furball, my wonderful muse. She’s a doll sometimes. And she lives for stuff like this. Thanks, Jenn-jenn, for saying this was cute. Kinda cliché-ful, but I’ve tried to keep that to a minimum. Fanon is definitely observed here.