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Your grip on the leatherbound notebook held between your hands tightened nervously.The book had been a college graduation gift from your favorite professor, under whom you received both a perfect grade and the title of a pleasure to have in class. Paired with it, looped in by a belt of elastic, is an enamel pen with a faded logo of a company whose name you have forgotten. You received it at a random investigative journalism expo as a part of a swag-bag for winning a trivia competition. The company itself had no value to you anymore, but the pen reminded you why you were here; that expo showed you that you were in the right career path.Your heart thrummed to the beat of whatever song stuck in your head from the long car ride over. Charles Xavier’s Academy for Gifted Youngsters. The mansion towered in front of you. Its front doors were impressive, but not as impressive as the driveway you had to take to reach them. It took your whole career (a few internships and an entry position at the city’s best newspaper, after a hell of a portfolio) to get where you are right now.The five Ps. They were your mantra for going on these “missions,” as you called them- another thing you learned through your countless journalism expos. Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. You knew you were prepared, and you were going to make damn sure your performance was anything but poor. This was your chance: not only to impress your hard-faced boss, but also, more self-indulgently, your chance to meet with the actual x-men! Your goal to write an investigative piece on the X-men mansion started when you attended one of your school’s alum, Jean Grey, public presentations on mutants. You yourself only had a minor mutation, the ability to temporarily manipulate static electricity with little shocks or raising the hair on someone’s head. It was nothing that was shown physically and certainly not worthy of fighting crime. However, Jean’s presentation made you extremely curious of how these heroes were able to take your genetic mutations and turn them into world saving abilities. You made the decision that this topic would be PERFECT for your first dive into real world investigative journalism.That’s what brought you here: right to the steps of the mansion you’d stayed up many nights researching. You managed to get invited to the mansion by Jean, as you had been lucky enough to score a little one-on-one with her after her seminar. She invited you for an interview with a few of the team because she thought you actually might be able to curve some of the bad press they had gotten in the past few months. She said you had “bright eyes,” which turned quickly into bright cheeks.
Proper preparation…
You repeated the mantra in your head like a prayer. Your hand raised to the brandished oak wood door. You knocked once, but it was that awkward knock that you weren’t sure resounded through the material.
Prevents…
Once again, you raised your fist. This time you knocked twice; both were hard enough to be sure the sound was heard on the other side.Just as your brain wanted to finish the chant, even before your neurons could begin firing, the door swung open. The woosh of cold air and the overwhelming blare of bright light assaulted your senses. Borderline thrown off balance, you stumbled backwards slightly.Your brain searched for the final few Ps in your calming repetition, and as your mouth opened to speak, a brooding man in a white tank top appeared on the other side of the threshold. He towered over you from your current position. Your eyes drifted from the point at which you knocked immediately forward, directly into the man’s chest.Hand still up in the knocking position, your mouth desperately searched for anything to say. The five P’s, once etched into your mind as solid as David into stone, were now lost, and you were grappling at them for strength. However, you are not the most flawless in social situations. So…“Perfect.”That’s all you can say. The five Ps melted into mush, which was then molded by your mouth into a choked out Freudian slip.As your hand dropped in defeat, your eyes widened at your own stupidity, and you wondered whether the, admittedly perfect-looking, man in front of you would notice if you scampered into the woods and hid there until the sun went down.But alas, instead of a forest creature without worldly responsibilities, you were an investigative journalist who needed to explain your own word vomit to an X-man.“I’m… sorry?” The man in front of you replied. As your eyes adjusted past your immediate awkwardness, you realized with whom you were currently speaking. It was the fucking Wolverine. And he was standing right in front of you, in nothing but pajama pants and a worn-out tank top. His eyes were glazed over with what looked like either alcohol or lack of sleep; both, however, were the most likely cause. His hair, contrary to the bedhead that would complement his flannel pants, were curled into two perfect tufts, sat at the top of his head.It took you a second, but your professional training and bright-eyed eager-to-learn attitude kicked back in. You straightened your jacket and huffed slightly, trying to reorganize your buzzing brain.“Sorry. So sorry about that. Hi! Hello,” you greeted, still unsure. “I am looking for, um… I’m looking for Jean. Jean Grey? Do you know her? Do you know where she is?”The Wolverine actually laughed- a little chuckle that reverberated from within his chest. It sounded worn out and tired, but it was still very charming. Your heart warmed slightly. Uh oh. “Yes, I know her. And where she is. But who are you to ask, bub?”The nickname intimidated you, but the step further toward you made you swallow harshly. You managed to introduce yourself with a stammer and a laugh. His eyes narrowed and his head cocked to the side. Quickly, you realized that in order to convince this man to trust you, you needed to give more than just your name.You whipped out your wallet and handed him your ID from work. This included the name of the company, your position, and a lovely little photo from your first day.“I was invited here by Jean so that I could write a piece on how superheroes live their lives outside of the costume! She and I have been pen-pals since I saw her give a speech on mutants at an exhibit.” The Wolverine nodded, though you weren’t convinced he trusted you fully. “I was supposed to meet her here so she could take me on a mini tour of the X-Men mansion! Or, uh, X-Mansion, I guess. I wasn’t really expecting to have a run in with The Wolverine at the front door.”The man in the doorway seemed to roll his eyes gently. He didn’t seem annoyed as much as slightly embarrassed. “Jesus, kid, okay. You can stop talking. And don’t call me Wolverine. Logan is fine.”You nod ferociously, quickly opening your notebook to scribble down the change in name preference. Logan seems taken aback by your fervidity.“Well, I hate to piss on your parade, but Jean isn’t here. She got sent out this morning on a ‘super-secret last minute’ mission… along with most of the other Big-Namers here.” You stared at him in disbelief for a second.Your eyebrows furrowed in his direction. “Right… so then, why are you here? If everyone is on this so-called mission.” You suspected it’s because slept through it, based on his current state of dress.Logan sighed at you and rubbed his eyes. It took you until that moment to realize how big his hands were. This view also gave you a chance to see the scars from his blades close up. The thought of the adamantium ripping through his flesh again and again sent chills up your spine.“Well… I don’t really work for them. I decided not to go.” As soon as he finished his sentence, a heavy crashing sound could be heard from the floors above. It made you flinch, but all Logan did was sink further into his bad attitude. “And somebody needed to keep watch on these kids. Can’t leave these little terrorists alone. But yeah… your girl’s not here. So, you might want to reschedule.”Your heart sank into your stomach. It took you what felt like hours to drive to this middle-of-nowhere mansion to do the interview of the LIFETIME, just for it to be cancelled before it could even start. You wanted to be annoyed, but you decided to do the one thing you knew how to do best: start talking. Just as he was beginning to close the door on you, your shoe snuck into the baseboard to prevent it from shutting.“Wait! Are you sure she didn’t, like, send you a text or something? Or maybe leave a note? We have been planning this for WEEKS and it would really suck to have to reschedule. Can you check?”Logan opened the door slowly back to you, the look of tired boredom now replaced with a slightly annoyed boredom. “Look, kid, Storm just gave me a phone that can text. I don’t even think that anyone has my, um, phone number yet.”You wondered why he sounded so unsure of his word choice- it was like technology was completely foreign to him. With the biggest puppy dog eyes you could muster, you silently pleaded with him to at least check for a sign that Jean left.With a sigh, Logan pulled out what looked like an old Blackberry mobile phone from the pocket of his pajamas. He fumbled with the buttons until it turned on with a bright flash of the pixelated screen. His eyes squinted at it as he continued to button-mash his way into a worse mood.You, however, enjoyed yourself very much. With the morning light from the open door now hitting his face perfectly, you could admire every feature. There was no intention of being creepy in your heart at all, but Jesus, you couldn’t not look at him like this. Even in the moment of him pressing keys on phone like he just woke up in a new century, he still looked handsome. The veins on his arms laced his biceps, weaving their way down into his fingertips. Stubble on his face led your eyes down his jawline, tracing him like a work of art. His perfect jaw led to a perfect neck and melted into a perfect amount of peeking-through chest hair.You may have been stumbling over your words when you called him perfect, but you’d be damned if it wasn’t true.After a few more moments of pitiful technological navigation, Logan made a noise of some kind. It wasn’t exactly a surprised hmm, but it also wasn’t a disgruntled harrumph. It was somewhere in between the two, which confused you, but didn’t make you lose hope.“Well… shit. Yeah. I have a text that says, uhhhh…” Logan squinted against the light of his phone and read the text aloud. “Reporter O-T-W. Give her a tour of the ‘X-Mansion…’ play nice P-L-S. I have no idea what those mean but I get the gist.” He was spelling out the acronym as if he had never read them before.You put your thumbs up towards him. “Yep! That’s me. The reporter that was O-T-W, now I am… A-T-M?“Automated teller machine?” he asked weakly. You couldn’t help but laugh halfheartedly and let your hand fall back to your side.“Well, um, no. I mean technically yes, obviously, ATM means automated teller machine,” you stammered awkwardly. “But I was trying to make a pun by saying I was ‘at the mansion.’ You get it? ATM. At the mansion.”Logan looked at you for a second as you mentally prepared for the snikt of his claws coming out to slice you into a thousand pieces. However, a second passes with no threat of physical violence. What shocked you more is what DOES happen.He laughed. A genuine, hearty laugh. It made your smile resurface even brighter than before, and you can feel some of your nervous sweating subside. You laughed quietly with Logan as he opened the door all the way, allowing you to step inside.“That was really stupid,” he said through a laughy breath. “But I will show you around a little bit regardless of the stupid acronyms Jean used. Why can’t we just talk?”“You’re talking to a journalist who loves to write and talk, so, agreed!” … Everything went well… except for the fact that you couldn’t seem to pay attention to anyone other than the man guiding you through the academy on which you were supposed to be taking notes. You found yourself getting entranced in what he’s saying, scribbling down notes about his personal stories, even if they were about how he put a dent in the wall there or threw a “douche bag” through door right over there. After the first few rooms on the front hall, including a couple of classrooms, a few boring coat closets, he led you into the kitchen. It was a neat, elegant room with clean countertops and brand-new appliances. However, there were little traces of the residents contained in the strangest of places.You saw a slight scorch mark on the edge of the granite. To the left of that was an outlet which had a crack running down the middle of it. You wondered what could have broken it, but remembered that in a house full of mutants, anything was possible. Your fingers grazed along the edge of the counter, curving along its contours until you reached the backside of it where the bar chairs were propped up. Your eyes were drawn to the seat, which was indented with three long, thin lines. They felt gritty under your touch.“Scott pissed me off so I, um…” Logan gestured to the chair bashfully. “Tried to kill him, or something. It would sound less like senseless violence if you knew the context. It made sense at the time.”Instead of being immediately afraid for your safety like you should’ve been, you found his admittance to the crime cute! As a gesture of trust and goodwill, you sat down on the scarred chair and shrugged at him.“I get it. I know how family can be.” Logan sighed, but it wasn’t in a disappointed way. You decided to continue the conversation, as you had realized throughout your walk together that he was a man of few words. “All of this is so interesting.”He quirked an eyebrow upwards. “What is?” You gestured wildly to everything around you, even going as far as to slap the scorch mark on the side of the kitchen island.“All of this. I mean, jeez, it’s like, the coolest shit ever! You are all a bunch of superheroes living in a house together. One day you’re working together to save all of mankind, and the next you’re fighting over who should have to take the trash out. Imagine if all family fights ended in balls of fire or claw marks in furniture. THAT would be chaos. But this… this is like, controlled chaos!”Logan watched you as you spoke and let his head cock to the side. He wasn’t sure whether to be impressed by how interesting you found the mansion he had grown to find mind-numbingly mundane. For once, he didn’t feel annoyed or overwhelmed by the number of conversations and questions that he was participating in. He actually felt… weirdly okay with it? He remembered the whole, “stop and smell the roses” saying whenever you started to rave over something about which he had never thought twice.After a moment Logan responded, “Right. Sweetheart, you have no idea what it’s like to live with a bunch of mutant freaks. And you can trust me on that, because I am one.”Your heart skipped a beat at the newly added pet name. Instead of allowing your cheeks to heat up, you channeled that energy into a witty response.“Show me, then!”He leaned over the countertop across the way from you, obviously feeling challenged by your statement, though that wasn’t your intent.Logan responded curtly. “What?” You flashed him a feisty smile.“Show me what it’s like to live with a bunch of, um…” You decided to skip over the nasty label because you knew it wasn’t your place. “A bunch of mutants. That’s, like, the whole reason I’m here! I want to know all the details. All the nitty gritty, all the shit you wouldn’t see from the outside. Show me EVERYTHING!”Logan looked at you with a smile of disbelief, but he knew better than to think you were joking. It had taken him up to this moment to realize that you really don’t have any urge to be shielded from anything. You weren’t just a kid with a superhero fascination, though you might also be that- you were a person with a thirst for knowledge accompanying an insatiable curiosity.He sighed in defeat. “Well, okay. We can go and check out some of the weirder shit, but you gotta promise no pictures, okay? Charles would kill me, or, find a way to kill me.”You nodded eagerly and instinctually shot your hand out to shake his own. Logan seemed to also follow instinct and slapped his palm on top of yours, grasping you in a firm handshake. He was warm. Unnaturally warm, however, not unpleasantly warm. His hand borderline enveloped your own. You held on for a bit too long before pulling your hand away awkwardly.You noted that Logan didn’t pull away first. It was a short trip down a couple flights of stairs before you reached a hallway that contrasted the mansion’s warm oak so harshly it made you gasp. A hallway lined in a silver metal that glinted constantly from the white florescent lights made you feel like you stepped into a new century. Out of all your journalism classes, creative writing seminars, and hundreds of books you’ve read, you thought you had a verbose vocabulary that would encapsulate the aura of anything you might find.“This place is… very superhero-y…”Your vocabulary failed you in that moment.“I guess so.” Logan guided you down the chrome hallway. You could hear each of your steps each through the vast length. You almost bumped into the man when he took a sharp left into a doorway. The entrance was tall, taller than a normal door by a long shot. A darker metal than the surroundings gilded the door, making the room seem much more important than others.As he pushed it open, he announced, “This is the health center. It’s like our own, no questions asked, mutant specific socialist hospital. I’d bet Jean told you about it. She works here pretty often. She saved my ass when we first met.”The room was colder than the air in the hallway. A chill ran down your arms and legs as you stepped further inside. Pushed against the walls were a few different hospital beds, all on wheels in case of emergency. They were covered in thin blankets that barely disguised the harsh metal framing over which they were draped. A few machines were plugged into various outlets, several of which were emitting low beeping noises every once and a while.“Woah,” was all you could muster to say. The facility was more sterile than any other part of the house- even more so than most hospitals you had ever visited. Hanging on the walls were many different medical instruments, some of which you had never seen before. You guessed that they were specific to each different mutation housed in the school. Your mind drifted to how many different life-threatening situations had probably been evaded where you were standing. How many close calls, how many heartbreaks, and how many tears had been shed.“Hey,” Logan said, somehow sensing your mood declining. His gruff voice and a solid hand on your shoulder broke you out of your trance. “Jean and Hank, or Beast as you probably know him- they're the best at what they do. Don’t get so stressed out, kid. There’re no emergencies right now.”You sighed in relief and nodded, realizing how silly it was to get worked up over an empty room. Logan, however, really admired your empathy. Being alive for over 200 years can rob a person of a thing like that, but he felt refreshed being around someone like you. In your eyes, he saw the good. His hand lingered for longer than your stress, but neither of you pulled away.That was until you remembered your job and decided to jot down some notes about everything you were seeing. All of the tools, the machines, and even the oppressive environment that you felt when you were in there. Logan’s head drifted over your shoulder to see what you were writing. His looming presence and huge stature behind you made the blood run to your cheeks. You couldn’t let him know the effect he had on you, that would be unprofessional. You kept the grip on your pen tight and started to scribble the most mundane things you could think of in order to disinterest him.Walls: blueish grey. Sounds: beeping and whooshing. Smell: bleach and other various hospital smells. Your plan worked as after a few seconds he walked away, mumbling something about how your job must be riveting.“Speaking of riveting,” you said, looking up at him with wide, probing eyes. “Do you have anything else awesome and superhero-y to show me?”Logan shook his head and feigned annoyance, but you could see a subtle smile form on his face. He didn’t want to give away any secrets to you, and he wasn’t exactly sure what all you were allowed to be shown, but he felt the urge to take you all around. After everything you two had seen, talked about, and bonded over, he felt his fondness for you grow. He wanted to show you his favorite spots, his special hideaways, and his bedroom.While he knew you were just here to be professional, he felt himself begin to want to get you a little... sidetracked.However, Logan settled to give you a little bit more for your story before causing any sort of mischief.“Here, come with me sweetheart.” He grabbed your wrist, not getting too close to the palm as to not suggest anything. Before you knew it, he was dragging you out of the room. You almost dropped the pen and notebook in your hand. You stumbled behind him, whining about how much bigger he was and how his legs were longer and that meant he could walk faster than you. “You wanted to see some cool shit, so quit your complaining.”After catching your footing behind him, he still didn’t let go. You were so busy looking at how his hand gripped your arm, both firmly and tenderly at the same time, that you almost ran into the circular door of your next destination.The entrance itself was massive, located at the end of the hallway you had been walking through this whole time. It was the same color as all of the other doors, but it was a different shape. It almost reminded you of a bank vault door the way that it was round and was adorned with a big crank lock. Off to the side, you saw a small electronic panel that looked like it was waiting for input.“Now, you can’t tell anyone I showed you this. I have no idea if this was on you and Jean’s agenda, but I can’t think of anything more "superhero-y" than this place.” He hid from you over his own shoulder to shield the password that he typed into the panel. As a courtesy, even though his large frame was more than enough to block your vision, you covered your eyes. You only opened them when you heard Logan step backwards, and then immediately a large woosh of air hit you.The room opened into a huge dome of interior workings. The ceiling was lined with what looked like thousands of feet of delicate wiring. Descending from there were large rectangular panels that reflected off of the lighting that was set in the floor. You took one step towards the center of the doorway before you realized that what was before you was a long platform... and that there were no railings.You immediately jumped backwards with a small, squeaky huff. Your hand immediately gripped onto the doorframe, knuckles becoming whiter by the second. Logan looked at you like you, as if somehow confused by your lack of wish to fall off the edge into what looked like a VERY deep pit.“The hell is your problem?” You gestured wildly in front of you at the expansive of space. His voice even echoed through the cavernous arena. His eyes followed your line of sight and stalled for a second, before eventually having a look of clarity appear on his face. His features went from understanding to cocky in a matter of seconds.He backed up to face you, looking harshly down into your eyes. “Really? The big city journalist that was brave enough to approach the x-men mansion all by yourself, is afraid of a little height?”“No!” You said instinctively, trying to protect your pride more than anything else. You were standing in front of an actual superhero, so you had it in your mind you had to act tougher than you felt.Logan’s arm pointed back towards the floating platform. “If you’re not scared, then walk on out. If you’re writing a story, this would be the juiciest part to write about. Better get every little detail.”Your stomach dropped. His eyes were challenging, and his smile was only making the pit in your stomach grow even deeper. Never in your journalist career had you ever felt so embarrassed and dumbfounded by someone you were interviewing. However, to give you some credit, you were talking to The Wolverine, which was a completely new experience.“I...” you stammered, swallowing the growing lump in your throat down as much as you could. “I... I can’t. I’m so fucking nervous right now. I really, really hate heights.” The last part of your sentence was more of an awkward laugh.Logan’s smile grew wider, fiercer- much more teasing. He could see his opening and he was going to pounce on it. He laughed and stepped away from you. If he didn’t see how hard you were blushing before, you could definitely hear the breath of tension you let out as soon as he was farther away. You hadn’t even realized you were holding it in.“Alright! Guess there’s only one thing to do.” You frowned slightly, thinking that he meant you had to leave. You attempted to turn on your heels before you were grabbed on the shoulder by the man in front of you.“C’mon honey, you gotta be a better journalist than that. Can’t let something this good pass you by. C’mere, I’ll help you.” The rough tone of his voice almost resembled a growl. It was so entrancing that you almost didn’t feel his hand shift from gripping your shoulder blade to snaking itself under both of your arms, enveloping your back easily. Before the sound of confusion could leave your lips, his other arm found the crook behind both of your knees. You were lifted off the ground as if you weighed nothing, a squeal escaping your throat.“Logan, what, um, what?” Your voice was shaky as he began to step through the doorway. As distracted as you were by the initial sweeping off of your feet that just happened, your confusion quickly devolved into fear as he started to walk down the platform itself.You glanced down at the never-ending abyss below you both, as since you were held up by Logan, it only appeared as a longer fall.“LOGAN!” Your voice was erratic. It took no time for your hands to instinctively shoot up and grip Logan by the neck. “Why are you... it’s so high... Jesus!” Incoherent, confused and scared mumblings fell from your lips. He stopped walking abruptly and looked down at you. The sudden stop made you grip onto him even tighter, absolutely terrified about the potential tumble you two could take together. Your fear trumped your shyness in this moment, because normally you would be freaking out if any man carried you like this, let alone the most attractive man you had ever met.“Hey, sweetheart. Just don’t look down. Look at... look at me, okay? I’ve done this walk a million times. I won’t drop you. I got you. Just keep those pretty eyes on me.”Your heart skipped what felt like several beats. The overt flirtatious tone in his voice made you both confused and flustered. His hands looked massive gripping into your skin. While looking down at the abyss below, you could also take in the form of his fingers curling around you. It made him hotter knowing that he was doing all of this just to tease you- and he knew it was working. It took several moments for you to gather yourself into some semblance of normal, and you looked up at him.Logan’s smile was snarky and bold, and a flicker of intensity flashed in his eyes. His eyebrows were quirking apart from each other, as if suggesting he saw nothing strange about your current situation.As your eyes met each other, you couldn’t help but bite the inside of your mouth, extremely embarrassed. You were slowly realizing just how helpless you were in his arms, and it made you squirm... but not in a bad way?“I... Okay. I trust you. Just... don’t fucking drop me.” You gripped onto the back of his neck tighter as he tossed you slightly upward in order to readjust you, your faces growing ever close to one another. “PLEASE, don’t drop me.”Logan let his head fall to the side as he fake-pouted at you, partly whining and partly laughing. Your blush just grew deeper, and your eyes instinctively rolled at his mockery.“I gotcha, I gotcha.” You tight in his grasp, he walked down the platform toward the center. Located there was a railing, and you silently pleaded that Logan would walk faster so that you could finally have something stable to hold onto. Not that Logan wasn’t stable, hell he was basically a walking brick wall, but he was far more unpredictable than one. With each step, you managed to keep your eyes trained on him as best you could. He would throw you cursory glances every few steps, a mix of humor and sympathy in his eyes. There was never any real thought that he would drop you, as you knew that he was responsible for thousands of saved lives every year as The Wolverine, but the pit in your stomach never went away.Even as you reached the end of the platform and he let you down so that you could grab the railing, the pit never went away; probably because Logan’s arm never left the small of your back, even when your feet were firmly planted on the ground.“This, this here is the coolest place in the mansion. This here is CEREBRO!” He forced his volume to a point that made his voice echo. It made you laugh, but it also made you painfully aware of how much space was surrounding you both, and yet how little space was in between you. “This is where the professor gets his groove on and helps save the world, or whatever.”Logan grabbed what looked like a massacred bike helmet, only it was twice as heavy and had many wires and tubes attached, all of which were connected to a console that was embedded within the railing. He raised it up and before you could protest, he placed it gently down onto your head. Your shoulders shot up in surprise and your eyes squeezed shut, somehow expecting something fantastical to happen.Nothing happened.“So... how does it work?” You asked, looking up at him once more. Logan attempted to take his hands off the helmet, but it threatened to fall forward, so his hands remained holding it. His arms forced a sightline that only led back to his chest and face.“No idea,” he admitted, laughing lowly. “All I know is that it’s not on right now, but if it were, you would blow up right now.”You looked at him, horrified at the implications, and now even more curious as to what Charles does with it. “Are you serious?” Your hands reached to pull it off, but Logan kept his grip firmly on your head. You had no chance against his raw strength.“No, no, not really. Jesus, kid don’t look so scared. I just mean Charles is the only one who can properly use it. It’s really hard to work with for anyone who isn’t as experienced as he is. I’m pretty sure if your mutation isn’t related to, like, psychic stuff, it wouldn’t do anything to you.”Your hands drifted back down to your sides in relief. The helmet somehow felt lighter now that you knew you didn’t have a ticking time bomb on your head.“If it’s only psychics, then I’m good. Thank God. That would have made for a really weird part of my article,” you said, laughing with a toothy grin. He looked at you charmed, but also newly curious.“You mean you’re a mutant? What kind?” Logan looked you up and down before quickly adding, “only if you want to tell me, that is. No pressure.”Your eyes brightened. It was always a fun time whenever you got to show off what you could do. It wasn’t life-saving or mystical or anything like that, of course not, but it was a fun party trick that always managed to get people to laugh. And besides, you always thought it was better than nothing.You brought your finger up to Logan’s arm, poking his bicep gently. After a small breath in and out, you released an electrical charge through your fingertip. In a matter of seconds, the hair on Logan’s body was standing on end. Each of his arm hairs and what looked like his chest hair through his shirt rose upward. Last to rise was the hair on his head, but what it did, it made you gasp and giggle. He looked more like an electrocuted cat than you had been expected.Logan’s eyes went from staring intently, almost passionately into your eyes, to looking himself up and down. As usual with the people you shock, he shivered from his legs to the top of his head. He let out a little nervous laugh as if expecting something more but seemed to relax when after a few seconds his hair returned to its normal condition.“Not bad kid, kinda coo- OW!” He cut himself off with a yell of pain when you raised your other hand to the side of his torso and gave it a quick shock. It was a side effect of your mutation; if you use the static of it, you gotta put the shock somewhere. Through his incredible stature and brave persona, you hadn’t expected him to even react, let alone express pain.“OH, oh my gosh. I’m so sorry! I was just trying to be playful! Are you hurt?” More apologetic ramblings forced their way into the open. Your hand rubbed tenderly at the spot where you had released the shock. Logan smirked, raising his hands to take the helmet off of you. He placed it back down onto the console.The whole time he was replacing the helmet to its spot, you had been apologizing. After a few more seconds, he spared you. “It’s alright, it’s alright. I’m fine I promise, you just scared me! You got a little more bite to you than I expected. It’s not a bad thing. Just don’t go around shocking the wrong people.” He winked at you and you let out a sigh of reliefLogan grabbed your hands away from him and spun you around effortlessly. Once again, he scooped you into his arms and started to carry you away. You made a sound of surprise and then immediately wrapped your hands around his neck. Though your grip was tight, this time it wasn’t out of fear. This time, it was because you liked the feeling of your hands on him- you just happened to be in a position where you can grab him unabashedly.You were shy, but you weren’t stupid. Of course, you were going to lean into the damsel in distress trope if it meant you got carried by the hottest man you had ever met. After a few seconds of walking, you reached the entrance way again. Logan set you down gently. He kept ahold of your weight until he knew your feet were planted firmly on the floor. You got the sense that he was slightly disappointed to have let you down, and you couldn’t disagree with him.“What’d you think of that, huh, bub? How’s that for cool shit?” You smacked his arm excitedly and grinned up at him.“Are you kidding? That was horrifying and SO cool! Thank you for showing me… even if I suspect you weren’t supposed to,” you said. He crossed his arm across his chest, somehow broadening his shoulders even further.Logan spoke lowly to you. “When they decide not to wake me up to go galivanting on an adventure without me, I get to bend the rules.”You whirled around on your heels, pointing at him with a newfound confidence. “Aha! So, you DID sleep through it! I knew it.”Logan’s face dropped. He realized he had exposed himself a little bit. Glancing down at his pajamas, his flannel pants suddenly seemed extremely unprofessional.“It’s not my fucking fault! They usually wake me up. I don’t know why they left me for this one.” It was hard to feel bad for him since he was acting like a little kid who missed the bus. You giggled and he rolled his eyes dramatically. “C’mon bub, let’s get going. I got one last thing to show you.”Logan grabbed your hand this time, not your wrist. While walking towards the exit of the chrome hallway, he was still basically dragging you, but you chalked that up to the difference in your gaits. Your palms fit together nicely, and you had to resist the urge to lace your fingers together. Most of the awkwardness had faded away since the beginning of the trip to the mansion, and now you were stuck with this warm, fuzzy feeling in your chest. You both reached the kitchen once again. You cocked your head at him, confused as to why he would be so eager to show you something you had already seen. You noted that you could hear more rumblings on the floor, which probably meant some of the students were awake and running around. Logan moved to stand quietly in front of the fridge, opening it with surprising ferocity. He reached down to the bottom and rummaged through a drawer that appeared to be almost broken off of the hinges. The fridge itself was full of healthy, green foods and other energy/sports drinks.However, Logan pulled out two bottles of beer.“Here.” He offered you one of the drinks nonchalantly.“Logan… it’s nine in the morning.” He looked at you like he didn’t understand the language you were speaking. Reluctantly, you took the cold bottle into one of your hands. It was nice compared to the warm air in the kitchen due to the natural light from the windows.Logan then proceeded to bite the side of the bottle cap once or twice before he popped it clean off with only the force of his teeth. He spat it onto the counter behind him. Your eyes widened, both due to intimidation and… something else that you probably shouldn’t admit to yourself.Instead of using the bottle opener magnet on the fridge, you decided that… well it couldn’t be that hard to do. You raised the cap to your mouth and bit down a few times. Once, you hit the glass, and the other two times you managed to bite the cap, but it was completely ineffective.He smirked at you and held out his hand. Silently, suspicious as ever, you handed him the bottle back. Logan took your bottle into the side of his mouth and bit the cap off in one go, spitting the cap back in the same direction as the other. Without a word, he handed you back the bottle, the pressure of the removal causing a small plume of condensation to rise from the top.“Thank-thank you.” He wordlessly nodded at you. Logan could tell he had an effect on you. He wasn’t unfamiliar with his effect on women, but usually it had been an accident. This time, though, he felt the urge to impress you. He wanted to cause the blush that rose to your cheeks. He craved the feeling of admiration your wide eyes afforded him.“Follow me.” He flicked his head towards the large double doors to your left. You followed him blindly as he held the door open for you. Slightly blinded by sunlight, you squinted at the view outside. It took you a moment to adjust to what you were seeing, but once you had, you were once again flabbergasted by what you saw.It was as if nature had favored the x-men and decided to sprout as beautifully as possible right in this specific area. Contrary to the dark woods that surrounded the property, bright green plants shrouded along the fence line. There were flowers of every color you could’ve thought of, and even some that you didn’t fully recognize. Among the plush grass were several benches made of intricately carved stone; they looked like something straight out of a Jane Austen novel. There were several different bird fountains, feeders, and perches, some of which currently had brightly colored birds resting on them. In the center, there was a large, circular fountain with a statue in the middle spitting water from its mouth. It looked like a scene pulled from a fairy tale.“Jesus Christ! I mean, it looked like a castle before but now…” you glanced at Logan and saw a soft smile resting on his lips. “Wait, why did you want to show me this so badly?”He shrugged, taking a slow swig of his bottle. You attempted to follow suit but found it hard to swallow the bitter liquid, especially at this time in the day. With a scrunch of your face, you settled for a few drops instead of a full sip. Logan led you a couple of feet into the garden to sit on one of the stone benches. He stretched his legs out as far as they would go, seemingly soaking up the sunlight that now beamed on the two of you.“You wanted to see how domestic we can get. This place is where a lot of us go to wind down. It helps to be surrounded by nature and all that shit when we’re stressed out about the end of the world. All the birds and the rushing water… I think Charles built it just for us. He may send us out and almost get us killed every few weeks, but he really does care about our mental health, or whatever.”You listened to him intently, enjoying the newfound vulnerability that he was expressing. It made sense, what he was saying. You could envision how much weight had to be on his shoulders during those missions, and how many mental scars all of that trauma had to leave with him even when he wasn’t working. The fresh sunlight that shown on him defined all of his features further, however, they made him appear softer than before. He was so… human.Regardless of what was inside of him, he really was just flesh and bone. It was a refreshing view of such an intimidating figure.“That’s nice, Logan.” You found yourself less likely to look at the beauty of nature surrounding you, and more interested in the features of the man beside you. You wanted the domestic part of superheroes, and you found it. However, you realized something in the process.“I think I was going about this wrong.” Logan looked at you and raised an eyebrow, wordlessly encouraging you to further explain yourself. “I wanted so badly to understand the domesticity of heroes, but I think I had the wrong idea. The domestic, ‘normal’ life that I thought was the contrast in your guys’ lives is actually the norm. The superhero is the alter ego. The person comes first. You put ON the suit and you change; you don’t take it off to become something different. That’s why you corrected me when I called you The Wolverine. I thought it was weird, since I thought that that’s who you were. But no, you’re Logan first. Then you become The Wolverine. That’s what I was doing wrong.”During your word vomit ramble, Logan was eyeing you softly. It wasn’t like his flirty glares or his teasing, lava hot squints. No, this was more sympathetic. More… seen. As your rant concluded, his eyes latched with yours. He looked so incredibly beautiful that it took the wind out of your sails almost immediately. It stunned you. His silence made you feel the need to fill the space.“I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to talk so much.”Before you could process what was happening, his palm was pressed into the side of your cheek, his thumb tenderly stroking directly below your temple. Warmth flooded your body, the blood rushing towards where his hand was enveloping. Eyes wide, you let out a shallow, shaky breath that you knew brushed against Logan’s forearms.His face was alarmingly close to you. It made you lose the ability to speak, for once in your life. All words were caught in your throat.And in an instant, Logan’s lips were on yours. It was soft at first, and you could feel the heat radiating off of his body as he closed the space between you. He moved slowly, tenderly, yet it was as passionately as you’d ever been kissed. His breath flitted through his nostrils in two, hot streams, and it warmed your face even further. After a second of shocked stillness, you kissed him back. The leatherbound notebook that meant so much to you only seconds earlier was now dropped onto the ground carelessly. Easily matching his rhythm, you could feel the electricity shocking between the two of you.And almost as soon as it started, it was over. Logan pulled away from you, hands dropping in between the two of you, and the delightful warmth of his body was replaced by the natural air around you. It was such a stark contrast that you felt a chill run up your arms and legs, small goosebumps pricking your skin.“No reason to apologize, sweetheart. I like hearing you talk.” His voice was as sweet as the floral aroma around you, contrary to the gruff tone he had taken with you earlier. This was a kind and compassionate sentiment, not a flirty quip. “That stuff you were saying… it, uh, it means a lot. Sometimes I forget that even though the claws are a part of me, the suit doesn’t have to be.”You gasped softly as you realized the intent behind the kiss. Your recollection and recognition of his humanity sparked a fire in his heart, and his eyes were now filled with appreciation for you and your heart. The experience of human empathy made him feel the need to express his gratitude through a kiss. You smiled at him, eyes beaming with both kindness as well as sympathy.“Logan… that was lovely, trust me. But you don’t have to kiss me just because I’m treating you like… like a person.” As you explained your thought process to him, your hand slithered into his grip. You laced your fingers together; it just felt right as you squeezed his hand in yours. He chuckled softly, barely audible over the shared heavy breathing. “I don’t know what you’ve been through to have my attitude be so surprising, but I’m sorry it is. You deserve better.”Using his free hand, Logan slinked his grip to behind your neck, cradling the crook that connected to your shoulder. His face leaned quickly back into yours and, despite his subtle pulling of you into himself, you were ready for it this time. You connected and felt your whole world shift. Behind the fluttering shut of your eyelids, it was like you could see a fireworks show. Vivid colors and swirling visuals caused you to almost forget the world around you.This kiss lasted longer, with the two of your dancing with each other’s lips in a beautiful progression. Time slowed and eventually stilled; the only sensations present were your hands taking in each other’s bodies. You flitted your fingers on his firm arms, up and down. You rustled the hair above the nape of his neck, earning a low sigh from Logan. You ran your hand up his chest and felt the solidity of his body. All of his features complimented each other so well, it felt like you were caressing a statue- everything was thoughtfully placed and perfectly executed.Logan’s hands stayed close to your face, probably in an attempt to stay as respectful as possible. He tucked your hair behind your ears, grasping at the sides of your face repetitively. His hands were rough and calloused, but the fervor with which he touched you still managed to feel gentle. Running his hands down the back of your neck and pulling you closer, you felt his fingers dip in and out of the collar of your shirt. The feeling was so overwhelming, shivers ran down your spine and caused you to shake slightly in his arms.This made him pull away and you opened your eyes at each other at the same time. Both of you were out of breath, having seemingly forgotten about the most basic function of life during your fit of passion. Panting raggedly, you both let out a breathy laugh. It felt as though you were both in sync with each other, and your heartbeat rapidly at the experience.“For the record, I didn’t kiss you because you were treating me like a person. I kissed you because I really fucking wanted to.” He straightened his back and kissed you softly on the forehead. “That’s for treating me like a person. You’re the kindest investigative journalist I’ve ever met.”Your smile broadened and your heart quickened. You weren’t sure if he could tell exactly how the tender act of gratitude affected you, but judging by his cheeky smirk that spread across his face, you would guess so. You maintained a nice eye contact for a second before breaking out of your trance. Logan was the kind of guy you could stare at for hours and never get bored.He bent down in front of the bench and picked up your notebook that had been discarded in the heat of the moment. Because of the garden around you, several bits of dirt and grass now littered the front on which it was dropped. Logan brushed it off gently, afterwards pushing the book in your direction. You go to grab it from him with a quietly mumbled thanks, but you were unable to pull it from his grasp.You pull a little harder and it still doesn’t budge. After a few more tries, you make eye contact with the man in front of you. He had a smug smile that made you both very flustered and very frustrated.“Can I read what you wrote?” He asked you, pulling the book back towards his chest, easily pulled away from your grip. “I’m reading it,” he told you before you even had the chance to respond.“NO! Don’t!” You lunged for it, but his reflexes, much like his hair, were cat-like. He evaded your attempted grabs and stood up. He was stronger than you, yes, but you thought you’d be able to distract him by hitting the book from his grasp.However, he was also quite a bit taller than you. Logan managed to keep the book high enough where, even jumping you couldn’t reach it.“Why, kid, what’s in here you don’t want me to see?” The question was absolutely meaningless, because before you could answer, he opened the book to the silk-ribbon bookmarked page.You gasped and tried to shove him, trying to clutch up at his arms. After a few more embarrassingly ineffective hops, you kept your feet planted on the ground in defeat.“Logan,” you whined, doing your best to come off as intimidating. Though, compared to the man in front of you, it was extremely ineffective. “It’s embarrassing.”He scoffed and shook his head with a giddy smile, squinting at the book he was holding now slightly lower. He knew he could easily dodge your attempts to take it back, so he was less concerned about holding it high.“X-mansion,” he began, reading what you knew was your heading. You groaned and covered your ears, though you weren’t totally able to muffle the sound. “Ornate. Long drive. Massive. Very big.”He was reading your bullet-pointed notes as if you were going to write your article in the style of a cave man who could only speak a few words at a time.“Academy: rowdy kids. Lots of mouths to feed. Expensive?” You knew you had written a few question marks on that point, but he spared you the shame of reading out how many. “Logan…” he began, and you lunged at him, realizing what he was about to read. Narrowly dodging your swipe, he continued. “Grumpy. Slept through mission. Tall. Strong. Brooding, handsome…” he paused for a second. “Kitty hair?”For the first time since he picked it up Logan looked at away from the book. He tossed you a puzzled look.“Oh c’mon. I was just gonna use it to describe you! Don’t be weird, I’m a journalist.” In his distraction, you reached for your notebook one more time. Just when you had it in your grasp, he pulled the same stupid trick he pulled on you earlier and refused to let it go. You threw your hands up in exasperation and whined. “Fine! Fuckin’ keep it then.” You could tell he thought you were the funniest thing in the world, and it both flattered you and made you absolutely infuriated.He ripped the pen out of the elastic band in which it was held. You wanted to tell him to be careful, but you knew he wouldn’t listen to you. Logan had the courtesy to at least flip to the next page before he scribbled something down. It only took him a second before he closed the book and slipped the pen back into place.Finally, he handed you the book back.“Well. I can see you have all the findings you need. Your article about your romp around the house with ‘Mr. Kitty hair’ is sure to be a hit.” He swung his hands around behind his back and held them there, attempting to appear as genuine as he could be. You knew it was a load of crap and that he was really trying to rile you up and make you both even more playful.“Yeah,” you choked out, running your tongue over the front of your teeth. “A real Pulitzer, thank you very much.” Your angry façade broke quickly as he leaned down and kissed the top of your head, whispering something about how cute you were when you were angry. It was unbelievable how easily this man could affect how you feel, and by the end of today, he absolutely knew it. Logan leaned down onto the ground behind the bench and grabbed both of the bottles you had long forgotten. He gripped both necks in between his fingers and tipped them back and let the bitter liquid down his throat. You were both amazed and disgusted, and apparently your face showed it.“What? It’s not like you were gonna drink it.” You put a hand on your chest out of fake annoyance, causing him to chuckle and sling his arm around your shoulders. He walked you both into the kitchen and placed the glass bottles in a recycling bin.Before you could say anything to him or compliment him on his environmentally conscientious choices, an obnoxious alarm blared from your phone. You shoved your hands into your pocket and turned it off unceremoniously, before shooting Logan an apologetic glance.“Sorry to cut this short, but I have to get back to the agency. They only wanted me out here for a bit.” You rubbed your upper arm awkwardly. Logan stepped towards you and smiled.Contrary to his smile, he simply said, “Boo.”His adorable lack of words to express how he felt about you leaving made you swoon. “I know, I don’t really want to go either.” Your voice was filled with disbelief as you recollected everything that had happened since you got here. You silently thanked whatever deity might be out there that Jean was sent off on a mission and wasn’t there to take you around. Otherwise, you would’ve never gotten to experience this. “Can… can I see you again soon?” You asked him, bravery suddenly shooting through you like the static of your mutation. You were about to clamp your hand over your mouth and curse yourself for being stupid when Logan rested a hand against your cheek. The more often he did it, the more right it felt for it to be there.“You couldn’t keep me away if you tried.” A smile spread across your face, bigger and brighter than ever. Logan winked at you, before using his hand and spinning you around. “Now, don’t be late. As much as I want to keep you here, I’d hate to get you fired for something I did. So, get going, sweetheart.”You and he walked out the front door together. After turning away from him for a second, your confidence spiked, and you spun on your heels to face him. You shoved your hands underneath the straps of his white tank top and pulled him down to kiss you passionately. You only let it last a second before letting him go. The look in his eyes was wild and fervent- you could tell you had to get going now or he would have other plans with you.“Bye bye!” Through the open car door, you shouted after him. You heard him yell out a farewell before you slammed the door. Once you were confident that he couldn’t hear you, you squealed over the last hour or so of your life. As girly and cliché as it was, it really felt like the only way to get your emotions out. A huge smile stained your face, and you suspected it wouldn’t fade for a few hours… or days.You went to toss the notebook into your passenger seat before something stopped you. Holding it up against your steering wheel, you pried the book open to the page onto which Logan jotted his note. His handwriting was tiny, messy, and borderline illegible. However, after a few seconds of deciphering, you were able to read it.Logan had written down his number for his new phone, the one he barely knew how to use, along with a parting message.
Call me. Let me take you out.
-Kitty hair
You pulled the book to your chest and sighed happily, before placing it on the passenger seat and starting your car. With Charles Xavier’s Academy for Gifted Youngsters in your rearview, you couldn’t help but feel the flutters in your chest more intensely than ever.