Title: Stuck With You

Author: Jemisard

Fandom: X-Men movieverse
Paring: None
Rating: NC-17

E-mail address for feedback: kalika@senet.com.au
Status: New, complete
Archive: If you ask nicely :)
Series/Sequel: No

Disclaimers: They aren't mine. You know that. I'm just borrowing them.
 

 

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It had started off as an argument, Scott reflected, trying to block out the theme music of "Police Rescue". They were arguing about something, who would give in first if it got down to a case of him or me.

"As if! She would never call it off!"

Scott moaned. One hundred and sixty hours, thirty minutes. He had to say it, didn't he? He couldn't have bit his tongue, and just let it rest. Somehow, Wolverine always got under his skin. He always drove him over the edge, and made him behave like a jerk.

No, that wasn't fair. He managed to act like a jerk just fine on his own.

Jean had bet that the two of them couldn't survive a week handcuffed together. After fighting about being that close together, they had settled on a lengthened chain and had been handcuffed together.

"I told ya, din't I? I told ya she'd call it off to be with Mickey."

"I was sure that Mickey was falling for Angel."

"Nah, Mickey's straight as an arrow. Angel though....."

"Wolverine! I'm trying to work! Can you keep it down!"

Logan turned around and stuck out his tongue, before lighting up a cigar. "Calm down, slim. Ya got plenty of time to do all of that. Relax."

"I have to finish this, Wolverine. I'm not asking you to stop, just to keep it down a little."

Logan smirked around his cigar and settled down in to the cushions again. Scott rubbed his forehead. His head was beginning ache, and it wasn't from his visor this time.

This was something far worse.

Logan scratched his head and shrugged. "I dunno, bub. We could try singles, pushed close together."

"I guess. But that means sleeping in the dormitories with the students."

Logan shrugged. "I ain't got a problem with that, do ya?"

Scott shook his head. "No, not really."

"That settles it. Dorms it is."

They headed off, with their clothes, to the dormitories.

--------------------------------------------

There was one room, in between Rogue and Kitty and Bobby and Warren. They got in there and pushed the beds around, finally settling on something that was suitable for both of them.

Logan got the bed near the window, Scott was near the door. They was only a foot between the beds, so that they didn't have to have their arms hanging over the edge of the mattress.

After arguing over the light for ten minutes, (Scott wanted to work) and finally agreeing on half an hour more, they settled in quietly.

Logan rolled over, dragging the chain over his body. The cuff on Scott's wrist pulled sharply, dragging his arm away from the paper, smearing ink across his work. "Logan! I'm trying to work!"

"I'm trying to sleep."

"I have to finish this for class tomorrow."

"I need me sleep, one-eye."

"Don't call me One-eye!"

"Turn out the light, and we'll all be happy!"

"I have to finish this."

Logan pulled the chain again, nearly yanking Scott out of bed. "I wanna sleep."

The American pulled back in the other direction. "I need to work."

Logan pulled hard, and Scott fell off the mattress, caught between the two beds. "I wanna sleep."

He leaned over and turned out the light. "Night, slim."

Scott freed himself and cursed loudly as he clambered into bed again, turning on the light as he went. Logan growled. "I jus' turned that off."

"I know. I need it on."

"I want it off. I wanna sleep, Cyke. I'm tired and sore from a day o' training."

"You think you've had a bad day? I not only have to finish this course by tomorrow, I can't stay in my room, which I have lived in for three years, because of this, I have a blinding headache and a roommate who not only wouldn't let me finish my work during the evening by tugging on this fucking chain continuously, but is now intent on making sure that I can't finish it now!" Scott took a deep breath. "I let you watch your show without any complaint. I need to finish this, and I really don't need you fucking me over."

Logan sat there, slightly stunned by the force of Scott's outburst. He smiled and then burst out laughing. Scott snarled. "What's so funny?"

"Nothin', bub. Ya finish yer work."

He rolled onto his other side, leaving Scott plenty of slack to work, and promptly went to sleep.

Scott groaned and massaged his head. One hundred and sixty two hours left.

----------------------------------------------------------------

It was morning. Well, technically, it was. Scott grinned and stood up. He was determined to get payback for the night before. He stretched out and pulled on a pair of denim cutoffs, before wandering what to do about his tank top. It was summer, so it was pretty hot, and neither he nor Wolverine had been wearing tops last night when they were handcuffed together.

He shrugged in the end and decided to forego a top, since he couldn't work out how to get one on. He pulled on hi shoes and smirked. "Logan! Wake up!"

"Hmm?" Logan rolled onto his back and peered up at Scott. "What?"

"Time to get up."

"Wassa time?"

"Six. Time to get up."

"Not. I wanna sleep."

"You agreed not to obstruct my routine, and I would not obstruct yours. I have to get down and get breakfast so that I can start this morning's classes. C'mon, up."

Logan sat up and rubbed a hand through his hair, making it stick up worse than before. "I need a shower." He thoughtfully rubbed his face. "And possibly a shave. Nah, not yet."

He picked up his shorts and walked towards the bathroom, ignoring protests of breakfast from his other half. Hmm, he liked the sound of that. He knew he could easily make Scott go where he wanted, he was stronger and didn't need to worry about bruising from pulling on the cuff.

He stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain shut. Scott sighed and leant against the wall, listening while Logan sang bad sea shanties and tried to wake up.

One hundred and fifty six hours left.

------------------------------------------------------

Breakfast was quieter. Once seated, they managed not to fight for nearly the whole meal. It was about the only time that they weren't obstructing or annoying one another, except when one tried to reach down as one reached up.

Jean spent the entire meal smirking at the two of them. Scott had tried talking to her, but she had fobbed him off in favour of talking to Ororo about her garden.

Rogue was enthusiastically chatting to Logan about Bobby, who was sitting next to her engrossed in what Kitty was telling him about playing hide and seek when you could walk through walls.

Scott drained his coffee and poured another one. He could already feel a headache coming on, it was always worse in the morning when the sun first shone.

He was suddenly aware of the fact that Logan was talking to him, "and head down later?"

"Hmm? Sorry, I was distracted."

Logan sighed. "I said, after lessons Rogue and me were thinkin' of goin' to the zoo. She ain't never been to one. So, I thought, we could take her and head down later?"

Scott went to argue about it but paused. He couldn't remember the last time he went out, without Jean, and it wasn't on business. He generally didn't like going on into public, he was scared that the glasses would come loose and he would kill someone. "Okay, sounds good."

Logan froze. That obviously wasn't what he had been expecting. Scott grinned at him and drank more of his coffee. Logan shook his head. "Just like that? No arguin'? No, I have better things to do?"

"Nope. Sounds like fun."

Logan shrugged. "Well, kid, ya got a trip down."

Rogue clasped his hand with a grin. "Thanks Logan." She leant over and grabbed Scott's hand. "Thank you, Cyclops."

He blinked, the thanks unexpected. "You, don't have to call me that. Just call me Scott. And you don't have to thank me."

She blushed. "You must a thousand other things to do though."

Logan sniggered. "He did most 'em last night."

Scott ignored the jibe and stared off into space. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

----------------------------------------------------

The class was a riot when they got there. Of course, Logan had held them up by demanding that they stayed to get him another cigar, which made them late, by which time the class had decided to do their own thing.

Bobby and Warren were in the middle of a 'fight'. Rogue and Kitty were busy trying to work out how to win the class competition, which hadn't been announced or even decided on yet, and the rest of them, at least half of the class, were missing, and presumably inside the maze. Scott sighed and adjusted his glasses. "Class!"

It fell silent and they all scrambled to their feet, forming rough lines. Logan had to hand it to him, Cyke could get these kids in order.

"Do we get to do the maze today?"

"You promised! You said that if we all got A's we could do the maze."

"You did! I recorded it!"

Scott held up his hand, the one without the handcuff on it. "Have I said anything to the contrary?"

"No."

Scott smiled. "So, I promised you that you could do the maze. Have I ever gone back on my word?"

A few of them scuffed their feet. "No."

He dropped the bag he had insisted they collect from the gym and pulled out a small gun with a large clip. The class broke into cheers.

"Quiet! Or no maze!"

They fell silent. Logan refrained from snickering at them. Scott threw the gun to Bobby. "Team one, Bobby, Rogue, Anna, Chelsea, Danny and Tom." He pulled out another gun and threw it to Warren. "Team two, Warren, Kitty, Lucas, Darien, Nyoto and Ilyana." He threw the bag into the crowd and let them gather their weapons.

Bobby and Warren were already aiming each other up. Scott coughed and drew their attention back to him. "You have two hours to eliminate the other team. You may not leave the maze. Last team to have a member standing is the winner."

"What do we get?"

Scott smiled. "The satisfaction of beating the other team?"

Logan clipped him. "Ya gotta give 'em somethin' better than that. How 'bout givin' em extra time on their next trip out of the school?"

They all cheered and Scott sighed. "I'll see how much time I can get for you."

The maze gates swung open and they disappeared inside. "Remember, you have ten minutes to set up your base and hide."

They were already gone. Logan sighed and sat down. Scott frowned at him. "And what do you think your doing?"

"Sitting down. Two hours is a while, slim."

"We're not waiting for them." He grinned and pulled out two of the marker guns. "We're hunting them."

Logan grinned and laughed. "I like the way yer mind is workin', slim." He grabbed one of the guns and grinned. "Ya comin'?"

Scott smiled back. "Happy hunting."

"Happy huntin'."

--------------------------------------------------

Logan had never been in the maze before. It was a huge complex of traps, a commando course and maze in one. At opposing ends were two bases, each with a flag.

The objective was simple. Get both flags to your base. If you couldn't do that, 'kill' all the opposing players.

Scott grinned at Logan. The guns were loaded with a simple paint bomb system. It stung a little, Scott had told Logan to expect a sting if he got hit.

They were creeping through the maze. Logan wanted to explore, but Scott had told him to stay close, or they could get caught by the students. Logan stayed silent until they reached a small hollow and Scott pushed him down into it, crawling in next to him.

"So, what's the idea behind this?"

Scott took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, they have to learn, things aren't always what they seem to be. They're going to assume that they only have to worry about each other. They need to learn that they have to expect the unexpected, and not the hard way."

Logan heard the silent, "Like I did," on the end of that, but Scott had taken to looking out of the small hole.

"I'd normally hunt them down, but with you here as well..."

"We're going to do the same thing. I might not have yer trainin', slim, but I can hold me own."

Scott smiled. "Okay then. We'll hunt them. One thing, you listen to me. I know this place, I know the traps and the hiding places. I can keep you out of trouble."

"Ya never done this with someone else."

"No. Never."

Logan grinned and crawled out. "C'mon, Cyke. Let's hunt some kids."

They crept off into the maze, guns ready.

They found Ilyana first. The young girl had her sights aimed on Chelsea.

Scott and Logan exchanged smiled and drew aim. As Ilyana fired and hit Chelsea, two bullets hit her from the side. She cried out and glanced down. "Yellow? Chels, what colour is your team?"

"Red."

"We're blue. So who's yellow?"

The two girls lay where they had 'died', not allowed to speak to anyone still playing. They saw movement in the bushes leaving, but weren't able to discern Logan or Scott as they crept off on their next 'kill'.

------------------------------------------------------

Bobby and John, as team leaders, were staying safe in their bases. Bobby was stretched out on the floor, gun aimed through the firing holes.

He caught movement outside. "Blue? That any of you?"

There was silence. He tightened his grip on the gun. "I know you're out there."

A noise came behind him. He spun to shoot, but found nothing there. He laughed nervously and lay back down. "This is creepy."

He reached over and gripped the flag. With a smile, he called ice to his hand, surrounding the flag and his hand. They'd have a time getting that out of his hand if they killed him.

A click sounded behind him and something stung his back. "Damn!"

He heard a snigger, a decidedly deep one, and glanced to where the shot had fired from.

The area was already empty.

"Fuck it to hell." He lay back down on his stomach, eyes closed. He'd thought he'd last a bit longer than that at least.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Kitty was wandering through the maze safely. She had de-materialised and didn't have to worry about being killed. She tightened her grip on her gun and stepped through the next wall, before ducking back to hide.

She held her breath. Rogue and Anna, walking along, searching for their base probably. She laughed quietly. At least she didn't have to negotiate the maze.

They were sitting ducks out there. She stepped through quietly, appearing behind them. She materialised, needing solidity to pull the trigger.

There were two clicks behind her, even as she fired. One hit the middle of her back, the other shot past her to hit Anna. Her own shot had hit Rogue, who had gotten off one round to hit her enemy.

They sighed and lay down. Kitty laughed. "That worked."

"Who shot us?" Anna mumbled. "This is yellow. We're blue."

Kitty shrugged. "Didn't see. Did you?"

Rogue smiled to herself. She had seen them, running off, laughing like children.

---------------------------------------------------------

Scott leaned against the wall, breathing hard. "Slow down there. I don't have the same endurance as you. I have to breathe."

Logan eyed off Scott. "This is fun. Good trainin'."

"We should even it up. Go and take out John and another member of the red team. It's only fair."

Logan sighed and laughed. "Yer the boss."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "I'm never going to hear that again, am I?"

"Nup." Logan tugged the chain. "C'mon, time to move."

Scott detached himself from the wall, and took off after Logan.

---------------------------------------------------

John was bored. None of the other team had made it this far yet, so he was a little anxious to find out how it was all going.

A crack from outside, followed by a hissed, "Watch it," got his attention. He grabbed the flag and pushed it into the corner before leaning into the corner.

A face appeared alongside the edge of the window. He shot at it, and heard a yelp as it narrowly missed. "C'mon! I'm waiting! I'm ready for you!"

"Yer not." Logan grinned as John at him, a yellow bomb hitting him in the ribs from the other window.

"Fuck!"

"Language!" Scott appeared in the other window. John groaned. "So not fair. You didn't tell us,"

"Dead don't talk." Logan growled. "Play dead."

Scott gave a small smile. "Would that work on you, Wolverine?"

Logan brought up his gun and shot Scott, who yelled. "That'll teach ya. Respect yer elders."

Scott pulled the chain, causing Logan to stumble. He promptly shot him in the head. "You shouldn't shoot your team mates."

They stared at each other for a second before smirking. Logan wiped the paint off his face. "Let's go get another."

"No. We're dead. We play by the rules. We killed each other in a fit of rage."

Logan shrugged. "Fine. We do this some other time though. One on one. Me against you."

Scott nodded. "Me against you."

They wandered off to monitor from the outside of the maze. John snorted in disbelief before deciding on the dramatic death, eyes open.

-----------------------------------------------------

It didn't take long for them to finish each other off. Nyoto was the last left alive, but after she threatened to cut off Bobby's hand if he didn't let go of the flag, they decided to call it quits and sent for them to come out.

They were all covered in paint of various colours. Danny and Tom had accidentally shot each other, just after taking down Lucas. Darien got caught in the pit trap and hadn't managed to climb out without assistance and a rope.

They were still complaining about the hunters who had taken out over half their numbers when Logan and Scott got there. Everything fell silent when they saw their teachers, covered in yellow paint, carrying the offending weapons.

There was silence for about two seconds before everyone began yelling.

"That wasn't fair!"

"You didn't tell us!"

"How were we meant to know?!"

Scott held up his hand. "You should have assumed the worse, that you didn't know enemy numbers. You have learnt a valuable, if messy, lesson. You don't know what's out there, what's hunting you."

"And sometimes, the best thing to do is shoot everyone."

Scott glared and Logan before continuing. "You did very well, considering. However, only one person survived the whole thing."

Nyoto blushed. Scott smiled at her. "I'll arrange for you to get extra time."

There was an outcry from everyone else, including her team members, who promptly said that the winning team had been promised the time.

Logan coughed. "Well, no team won. Ya had to have both flags ta win. So, Nyoto 'ere is the closest thing to a winner we have."

Silence reigned again. Scott nodded to them. "Go get cleaned up before lunch. You have this afternoon off, I believe. Have fun."

They all wandered off towards the dorms. Logan stretched. "That was a good way pass the time." He shook his head, splattering more paint everywhere. "I need a shower."

"You and me both." Scott, ran his fingers through the paint, before catching Jean walking towards them. "Hi, Jean."

She smiled and turned to Logan. "Logan, I need your help later today. I have to move some stuff out of the professor's room. Could you help me?"

"Sure thing, Red." Logan was a little confused, but didn't let a thing show. He leered as she left, without saying to Scott, before turning to him. "Think she likes me?"

Scott just looked at him and started walking to the house. Logan frowned and ran after him. "C'mon, bub, ya know I'm teasin' ya."

Scott nodded silently, rubbing his temple. Logan was starting to get alarmed. He'd never heard Scott this quiet, except when something was wrong. "Scott? What's wrong?"

Scott looked at him and smiled softly. "My head hurts, that's all. The longer I'm n the sun, the worse it gets."

"How's that?"

"The sun powers it. Light powers my blast. The longer I spend in direct sunlight, the worse it gets."

"Oh." Logan fell silent and followed him up to the house. He knew that there was more to it than that, but he stayed silent, and didn't ask.

Scott, for his part, didn't offer.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Apart from the chain, they looked like a normal group out for a day at the zoo. The ticketer gave them a strange look, especially Scott in his visor, and glanced up and down Rogue, taking in the long gloves on a hot day. Logan slapped down some money and stared at the guy, challenging him to make a comment about their appearance.

They wandered into the main area and Scott snagged a map. "Well, what're we here to see? Marie?"

Rogue smiled shyly. "The cats. I've never seen big cats."

Logan tugged the chain impatiently. "C'mon then." He grabbed the map and pulled in out of Scott's grasp. "We don't need that. I got all the sense we need."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Fine, lead on, MacDuff."

They set off after Logan, ignoring the glances and whispered comments. This was going to be a fun day out.

---------------------------------------------------

Rogue was sitting by the tiger cage, enchanted by the docile looking cats. Logan sat on the grass nearby, happily chewing away on a steak sandwich he'd convinced them he needed right then and there.

Scott leaned back and closed his eyes. This was nice. Resting in the shade, away from the hassles of leading the X-Men team, away from teaching, Jean's confusing and spiteful behaviour, away from it all.

Logan rolled onto his stomach and poked his finger into Scott's side. "Hey, slim?"

"Hmm?"

"Wanna bite?"

He opened his eyes and smiled. "No thanks. Not hungry."

Logan shrugged and bit into the meat again. Scott glanced over Rogue quickly, but she was still watching the two cats circle each other warily before settling down again, now snuggled up together, despite the heat. She looked back at him and smiled. "They remind me of you two."

"How?" Scott sat up and leant forward, earnestly interested.

"They pretend to dislike each other, but when it boils down to it, you're better friends than enemies."

Scott leant back again, thinking about what she said.

"You two comfy down there?"

Logan grinned and finished off the sandwich. "Yep. Beats sitting in the sun."

"Could we move somewhere else now?"

Scott stood up, tucking the chain into his pocket. They had to walk close together, but it stopped people asking why they were handcuffed together. "C'mon, Logan. I have a good idea of what we should see next."

Logan stood gracefully, stretching himself out. "Okay, bub."

Scott smiled and headed off. He had always loved this display, he could only hope that Rogue and Logan would feel the same.

-------------------------------------------------------

The marine display was the best in the country. They had carefully worked the setting to appear completely natural, and had removed the predators to a separate tank.

Scott had always loved the sea. He had seen in often as a child, but when he had moved here after his family's death, this had been his only connection to the lovely marine landscape.

Rogue stopped short, catching her breath. "It's lovely."

Logan stared at it. "I been here before, I think." He frowned. "Maybe not."

Rogue tugged on Scott's hand. "I ain't seen that before. What's that one?"

"An orca. They're also called killer whales. Normally, that dorsal fin would stand up, but when they're held in captivity, loses its rigidity."

"Killer whale? Are they a whale?"

"No, they're a dolphin actually. Though dolphins and whales are members of the same family, it isn't a whale."

"So why do they call it a killer whale?"

"They hunt whales. A pack can take down a large whale between them."

Rogue stared at the elegant black and white mammal. "Really?"

"Yeah."

She gazed around the pool. "Do you know what sort of dolphin that is?"

Scott gazed along the same direction. "Bottle nose."

"It looks so sweet."

Scott went to comment on their ferocity, but stayed silent. Let her keep the illusion. Too much of her innocence had been stolen.

Logan glanced at Scott, waiting for him to tell them about the bottle nose. He was surprised to see him gazing out along the water. "Slim?"

"Yeah?" His voice had a soft tone to it.

"Ya okay?"

"Fine. Just thinking."

"Oh." Logan leant on the rail. "Those critters are so graceful in the water."

Scott nodded with a slight frown. "Logan, can we go to the bench quickly?"

"Sure."

Logan followed Scott back to the bench. "Are you okay, slim?"

Scott pulled off his visor, eyes clenched shut. "There's salt spray around the seals. It's burning like anything."

"How'd that happen?" Logan took the visor from Scott and carefully wiped the seals off.

"They're a bit loose. I need to get home fixed as soon as possible. I was going to do it earlier, but when I was late to class, I didn't have time to drop them off at the labs."

"Sorry." Logan carefully wrapped Scott's hands around the visor. "Here, put it on."

"Thanks." Scott slipped the piece into place and fastened it on securely. He glanced at Rogue, who was leaning over the edge of the rail to watch the animals. "Marie!"

She turned back towards him? "Yeah?"

"Don't lean over like that. Don't want you drowning."

"I can swim."

"I don't care. Don't do it."

Logan punched him playfully. "She's just having fun."

Scott turned on him, his voice a harsh whisper. "She could kill not only those animals but anyone who dives in to rescue her. She can't run that risk. She's a mutant, she has to be more responsible than that."

Logan snarled at Scott. "She ain't likely to forget that, bub. But she's a kid, ya ain't got the right to take her fun."

"Most kinds of trouble start off as fun."

"She's just looking!"

"She falls, how many could die?"

Logan felt the twitch in his hands. He wanted to run that arrogant bastard through here and now. Before he got far, he heard Rogue call. "Scott, Logan, you gotta see this!"

Glaring at each other, they stood and walked over to her. Rogue smiled up at them. "Isn't it beautiful?"

A disabled child had been put in a separate pool, with a few dolphins. As they watched, the dolphins moved around the small girl, eliciting squeals of delight.

"I wish I could have done that, before this came."

Scott nodded. "At least you'll always have the memories of this. And of the times before you discovered your mutation."

She leant on Logan, careful not to touch his skin with hers. "Yeah. That's enough I guess."

Logan glanced at her. "I don't remember not being Wolverine. I don't really miss it either."

Scott snorted. "What's to miss? A time when you didn't heal at a phenomenal pace? When you didn't have hidden claws?"

Logan narrowed his eyes. "A time without nightmares, Cyclops."

Scott nearly blushed. Logan took the opportunity presented to start his own attack. "Whaddya have to miss, Scott?"

Scott remained silent. Logan smirked at him. "Thought so, slim."

Rogue coughed. "Hey, maybe we should go home?"

Scott didn't say anything. Logan nodded, then stopped. "Nah, there's one thing I gotta see first."

---------------------------------------------------------------

The wolverines were like nothing Rogue had ever seen. She was staring at them with unabashed fascination. She watched them fight each other, and shivered at the sight of the long claws that extended from under the fur on the paws.

"They named you for this? Fitting."

Logan laughed, a deep rumble. "Sure is, sweetheart. These are my kinda animals."

Scott watched the two of them. Rogue adored Logan, and Logan felt the same. He had never seen such affection between two so different people.

One of the wolverines trundled up to the bars and peered through them intently, sniffing the air. Rogue smiled at it and turned to Scott. "Do you know anything about wolverines?"

"The animal or the ones in the cage?"

She laughed, and Scott was surprised to see Logan's shocked look turn to one of amusement. "The ones in the cage, Scott," Rogue laughed.

"They can take down deer and caribou by themselves. Solitary hunters, endangered because of over hunting. They're very resilient and aggressive, but won't attack if left alone."

Logan smirked. "That's me."

"Hey look, it's a troll. A one eyed, fucking mutant."

Scott turned his head sharply. Four young men were leaning against the low wall nearby. He narrowed his gaze at them, but turned back to watching the wolverines.

"Hey, freak! Why don't you go back to the cave you crawled out of?"

"And stop hasslin' that girl. She don't need a mutie creeping her out."

"Hey mister, better keep your sister away from that there freak!"

Scott closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He felt, rather than heard, the snarl next to him. "Logan, don't. They're just kids."

Logan's head snapped around to gaze into the red visor. "They ain't got the right to say them things to us," he hissed."

"Hey, troll. This is for the enjoyment of humans, not freaks."

"Yeah, one eye. Humans, not your sort."

They sauntered off, laughing among themselves. Logan snarled and spat out a curse. Rogue's lip was trembling. "Why? Why do people do these things? What did we do to them?"

Logan wrapped an arm around her. "I dunno, sweetheart. People are just arseholes sometimes. They think that insulting us makes them tough."

"Not us," Scott whispered. "They weren't insulting us."

"Whaddya talkin' about, Cyke? They came here and were slingin' insults like pies at a circus at us."

"No, they weren't. They weren't insulting us."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "It sounded like insults to me, slim."

Scott sighed and lifted his head. "They weren't insulting us, they were insulting me. Not you, not Rogue. Me."

He walked off towards the exit, his shoulders slumped in a defeated pose that Logan had thought he'd never see on Scott. Rogue glanced up at Logan. "Not good."

"So not good."

They followed Scott to the waiting car and climbed in.

The trip back to school was silent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

When they arrived, Jean was waiting. Rogue smiled at her as she disappeared into the dorms, in a hurry to leave Scott and his eerie air of defeat.

Jean kissed Logan's cheek and smiled briefly at Scott. "You gonna help me move that furniture?"

Logan stared at her. What sort of woman was she? Anyone could see that Scott was hurting here, and hurting bad, but she ignored him and promptly started to flirt instead.

Scott ignored what was going on. His back was straighter and the air of submission was fading. "Sure, we can help now."

She ignored him and ran a finger along Logan's arm. "How long is it now, until you get released?"

Logan shrugged. "Dunno. Cyke, how long now?"

"One hundred and twenty one hours," he glanced at his watch," if it is actually five and it isn't just my watch playing up."

Jean nodded. "It's five." She turned back to Logan. "I'm cooking tea tonight for the team. Any preferences?"

"Meat." Logan shrugged and gave her a feral grin. "You know me, red. So long it was living, I'm happy."

She frowned at him. "Logan, that's disgusting."

"We need meat. I'm more honest about it."

She shrugged. "I guess so. I didn't think of it like that." She smiled at them and headed into the mansion. "Tea at sixty thirty, boys."

Logan turned to Scott. "And she doesn't ask about what ya, her boyfriend, wants for tea?"

Scott shrugged noncommittally. "She probably knows what I like already. no point in asking."

Logan heard the slight hesitation in his voice, but didn't voice his concern about it. If he wanted to talk, he would talk. If not, it weren't none of his business.

They went inside the mansion and headed to the labs.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"I don't get it, Scott. Your visor shouldn't have been affected like it was."

Scott shrugged, his glasses now resting on his face rather than the visor. "It was irritating my skin though."

Logan nodded his agreement. "They smelt of salt. In fact, it's stronger now, away from the pool."

The tech frowned at the metal band. "I'll see what I can do."

They left him there to puzzle over the seals. It was only as they left that Logan started thinking. The salt he had smelt then was different. Softer, more spicy.

That salt hadn't smelt like the tank water from the zoo.

That salt had smelt of tears.

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Logan was following Scott out of the room, deliberately slowing down their pace. He figured that despite the fast pace of his walk, Scott needed some time to calm down and get a grip on himself.

"Hello, Logan. Hi, Scott. How are things going?"

Logan glanced up at Storm. "Fine, sweetheart. We only got one hundred and something hours..."

"..twenty one...."

"...left till we get out. It ain't been so bad."

Scott turned his head towards Logan sharply. Logan grinned at him, recognizing the action as one of shock. "Whassa matter, slim?"

"Nothing." Scott glanced at the ground. Storm noticed the movement and gently cupped her hand under his chin, bringing his face up to look her in the eye. "Are you really okay, Scott?"

"I'm fine, Ororo. I just, it's been a long day. Enjoyable, but hard."

Storm nodded sympathetically. "I always tend my garden after one of those days. Maybe you should unwind before tea?"

"Yeah, I will." Scott smiled at her. "Thanks, Ororo."

"You're welcome. You look well, Logan."

"I like that maze thing. Great fun."

Storm glanced at her watch. "I have to get going. See you at tea."

They all said their farewells and separated. Logan glanced around the hallway, checking for people. He spied a door that led to one of the private wards, and dragged Scott over to it before he could protest.

He shut the door and leaned against it. "What's wrong, bub? I know ya had a shitty day, but ya don't have to put on a brave face."

Scott scowled. "It's none of your business. I can handle each day as it comes. I will be fine, so there's no point in having hysterics over the fact that one day has gone wrong."

Logan pulled Scott so they were face to face. "Bub, ya aren't listenin'. I can smell it, the tears, the sadness, I can read ya like a book. Tell her."

Scott yanked himself away from Logan's grasp. "Tell who what?"

Logan growled, more from frustration than anger. "Tell yer Jeannie not to treat ya like that. She ain't got the right to do it."

"You leave Jean out of this!" Scott yelled. "Look, do you want to end this? Do you want to call it all quits?"

"No, slim. I ain't quitting. An' neither are ya. We're gonna show 'em that we can survive each other."

Scott took a deep breath. "Okay. But you leave Jean out of our arguments."

Logan nodded. "Okay. I can do that." He looked down at his stomach and frowned. "I'm 'ungry. Whassa time?"

"Six."

"Lets go and wait for tea. I need to eat soon."

Scott rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "Fine. We'll go eat."

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Tea proved to be steaks. Logan eagerly tucked into his, before looking at Jean with puppy eyes, (something he wouldn't normally do), to get a second serving.

Rogue was enthusiastically telling Kitty and Bobby about her trip to the zoo. They were listening enthralled, to her tales about the marine tank and what she had discovered about the wolverines.

Logan leant over and snagged the rest of her tea when she was talking. Kitty caught him, but just started snickering.

Rogue spun around. "Logan!"

He smiled at her and took a bite. "You weren't eating it."

"Well, no, but that's my tea."

"Was." He grinned again and took another bite. "Yer a beaut cook, Red."

"Thank you, Logan. Nice to know I'm appreciated in the kitchen."

Logan turned to Scott. "She cook often?"

He shook his head. "No, not really."

Logan glanced at the plate. There seemed to be an awful lot of food left still, just cut up into small pieces. "You eating tonight, Cyke?"

He pushed his plate towards Logan. "Go on. Your staring at it like you haven't eaten for months."

Logan stared intently. "Ya barely eaten."

He shrugged. "I'm not hungry. I feel a little off colour."

Storm turned at the words. "You feeling sick, Scott?"

He sighed. "A little. It's nothing to worry about."

She rummaged in her pocket. "I have a herb that'll cure that for you, if I....."

"No, it's okay. I had lunch and breakfast. I'll eat later, that's all."

Logan was busy clearing off Scott's plate. Rogue raised an eyebrow at him. "Didn't you eat just before we got back here?"

"While before."

"And you're hungry again?"

He nodded, then shook his head. "Not now."

Storm stared at the three empty plates and started laughing. Logan raised an eyebrow at her, which only made her laugh harder. "What's gotten into ya?"

"You finish off three and a half normal servings, then decide that you're full, after eating only hours before? That's what's making me laugh."

Logan scowled playfully. "I'm growing."

Jean was writing in her notebook. "Logan, next week I want to run some tests. I'm wondering if your appetite is related to your high regeneration."

Logan shrugged. "Whatever." He stood up and stretched. "Jog, slim?"

Scott glanced up at him. "Okay, I guess."

Logan hauled him out of the room and out into the grounds.

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Logan jogged slower than normal to allow Scott to keep up. When they reached the glen in the forest, he stopped.

Scott looked around. "Why have we stopped here?"

"So that everyone won't hear us yellin' at each other."

"What?"

Logan paused, staring at the light glow from the sunglasses. "Why can't ya control it?"

"What?" Scott seemed really confused now.

"Yer blasts. Why can't yer control them?"

Scott sat down. "Brain damage. I was in an accident when I was younger. Killed my family. I was just a child, I don't remember it all that well. The impact damaged the section of my brain that would normally be used to harness mutant powers."

Logan stared. "I had no idea."

Scott shrugged. "It's no big deal. Charles has always been good to me, almost like a father."

"So, if not for the crash....."

"I wouldn't need these," he indicated the glasses. "You thought I'd yell at you for asking?"

"Dunno. 'Sides, it's a nice place to talk."

Scott lay back and stared at the stars. "It is."

"How old were ya?"

"When?"

"When ya were in the crash."

"Five," he said peacefully. "I used my powers to blast my way out, or I would have been killed."

Logan fell silent. Five. He hadn't seen the world without those glasses since he was five. "Do ya remember what colours are like?"

"Not really."

"Don't ya miss it?"

"Not really. I don't remember anything else. It's like asking the born blind if they miss sight."

Logan pondered this. "Ya lying. That's what ya wish ya could remember. A time with no glasses, no visor."