Logan and Marie - Holiday Plans

[x-wolverine.livejournal.com]

Logan and Marie make holiday plans. Logan aids and abets in making sure Marie has something resembling a life.



Logan had spent all morning avoiding the littles and their gift-givings. But his stomach wouldn't let him hole up forever, and all he had in his room was beer and smokes. So down the stairs he came, making a beeline for the fridge and doing his level best to avoid knots of overexcited kids. All he wanted was a sandwich or two.

Marie had been talking with a couple of the kids, both wanting to show her all their presents, when she saw Logan squeeze past. "Wait up," she called out, then waved goodbye at the two girls she'd been chatting with.

Logan obediently slowed, but kept moving towards the fridge. "Hey, kid." he said with a smile for Marie. "You have a good time at the party?"

"Wasn't too bad," Marie said, smiling back. "Kids seemed to have a good time." Floating up, she took out two plates and set them on the counter.

Logan wondered when Marie had developed telepathy - was she kissing Chuck under the mistletoe or something? "Read my mind, kid." he said appreciatively. "Could go down into the stables and eat a horse."

"Wouldn't recommend it," she teased. "That'd really make the kiddies cry." Leaning back against the counter, she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Plus there's still plenty of leftovers from the Ball. The Amaquelins did a good job with the menu."

Logan just snorted at that and leaned against the counter. Then he got an idea - he left the fridge to Marie and went looking for eggnog. High-octane eggnog.

"Just because Ah'm a woman doesn't mean Ah'm in charge of fixin' the grub," Rogue called out after him. Sighing, she moved to pull out some of the leftovers. At least if she prepared them, they'd both eat something besides meat with a side of meat topped with more meat.

"No, but you did get the plates out." he pointed out. And he wasn't finding any real eggnog - just the fake non-alcoholic crap.

"Ah was trying to help," she muttered, piling both their plates with meatballs, green beans, rolls and rice. "What?" she said as Logan eyed her plate, which she'd piled just as high as his. "Ah'm a growing girl."

Logan just grinned. "Your waistline is your business, kid. Personally, I think you should eat your fill and no more." he said. "The world doesn't need more anorexic bitchy twigs."

"My waistline is just fine," she replied with a mock glare. "Ah may not burn things off the way some of the energy projectors do, but Ah do alright." Popping both the plates in the microwave, she perched on the counter as she waited for the food to heat up.

Logan made a production out of checking her out. "Definitely not anexoric." he said with another grin. "So what's this I hear about you and a certain blond Southern gentleman?" he guessed shrewdly. "Horseback rides?"

Marie shrugged noncommitally, watching the plates spin around in the microwave. "Just joined Sam for a ride is all. Reminded me of home a bit, racing the trails."

"Of course." he said knowingly. "And, of course, there's no chance the two of you might want to ... get away, for a bit? Maybe go out, even?" he said with an arched eyebrow.

"Logan!" The look on her face would've stilled most men. Poking him in the ribs, her voice was stern. "Don't start the rumor mill for something that's nothin' more than a friendship." Because that's all they were. Friends. Just because she had a little, tiny, itty bitty, miniscule crush on the guy didn't mean anything was going to happen.

"Oh, that's unfortunate. I just happen to have two tickets to ..." and he pulled them out of his pocket to check on the name "... Wicked here. Figured you and hayseed might use 'em, go have a good time. Might even go so far as to throw dinner in." he said. "Whaddya say, kid?"

It was obvious that a myriad of emotions were running through Marie's mind by the expression on her face. Hesitating, she reached out to grab the tickets. "Couldn't hurt to go. With a friend." Without any hesitation she then wrapped Logan in a hug. "Thanks," she whispered.

Logan gave her a very quick kiss on the forehead. "Merry Christmas, kid." he said by way of reply, hugging her tightly. "Have a good time."

The microwave dinged and the pair separated as Marie went to get the plates out. She was silent as she made the final preparations, until everything was ready. "Outside maybe?" She glanced out the window. "Ah still love white Christmases." Growing up in the South, Marie'd had her first at the mansion.

"Outside is fine." he said with a smile. Making her happy like that made him absurdly happy.

Marie started humming as she bustled out the door, handing Logan the plates to balance while she slipped a coat on, before heading to the gazebo. Settling onto the swing, she took her steaming plate back and set it in her lap. "Ah was thinking of maybe getting away for a few days between now and New Year's," she said, pausing to take a bite. "Not that it hasn't been peaceful, but Ah could use a break from the kids."

"Where'd you have in mind?" he asked just before he set-to with a vengeance.

"Maybe skiing?" she said between bites. "Just something fun and light." The rate at which Marie had eaten half the food on her plate was quite amazing and she quickly set into the second half.

"Skiing?" Logan said thoughtfully. "I could get into that action." he mused. "You got any place in particular you want to go?" He was apparently just as hungry as she was - his plate's contents were disappearing rapidly.

"Didn't have any place in particular in mind," she replied. "Shinobi and Ah went to some local place my first winter here, but Ah was thinking maybe going a little farther away, for a couple days."

"Vermont's reasonably close." he pointed out.

Rogue grinned at her best friend as she thought it over. "Let's do it," she said as she polished off the last of her dinner. "Just head out tomorrow and come back when the wind shifts."

Logan shrugged. "Sounds good enough to me, kid." he said, doing the same to his own meal. "For some reason, I hadn't figured you for the snowbunny type..." he said with a laugh.

"People don't look at you funny when you're all bundled up at ski resorts," she said, her voice serious but without any trace of pain. "Feel like Ah fit in at them or something. And," Marie continued with a grin, "you get to go very very fast."

Logan just grinned at that. One thing he shared with Marie was a decided preference for things that Go Fast. He poked an adamantium-cored finger into the fleshy part of her upper arm. "Stop that." he said kindly. "Snowboarding?" he asked.

She shrugged, ignoring the poke. "Ah'm game for anything. Easy to learn when you can't get hurt in the process."

Logan snorted in amusement at that pronouncement. "Sounds good. You want to set it up?" he asked her.

"Can do. Think anyone else might wanna go?" Marie said, tucking her feet underneath her on the swing.

Logan shrugged. "They can find their own mountain." he said with mock-ferocity as he kicked his boot-heels up onto the railing.

Marie giggled, watching her breath fog the air in front of her. "Yeah," she agreed. "Who needs to share?"

"Plenty of other mountains for them to ski down." he pointed out. "No need to go and clutter up ours."

Marie nodded, thoughtful, making plans to find a cabin for them to give them both the solitude they were seeking. "Well, Ah should go and start making plans," she said as she rose to her feet.

Logan rose with her. "I'll take these." he said, collecting the almost-licked-clean plates from the both of them, along with the silverware. "Let me know when it's all set up." he told her.