Chance Encounter - Wolverine/X-Men Fanfic

Chapter 21: Can I at least hit her? Just once?

Scott gave a pained look and groaned, "Please tell me she didn't.."

Max nodded, her expression apologetic as she replied, "I'm afraid so."

He sighed and opened the door so that she could come inside.

"How bad was it? I tried to explain – to tell her that she wouldn't understand."

Max's brow pinched as he took a step back and let out a groan.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" she asked, wanting to help him somehow. Pinks were so very fragile.

Scott smiled and shook his head slowly. "Nah. It looks worse than it is, actually."

Max helped him over to a chair and said, "Yeah. You kinda suck with the bullshit."

Scott laughed, then winced in pain, again holding his arm to his side.

"Believe it or not, it helped."

His expression turned serious for a moment as he murmured, "He's a good man, Max. He can just be a ballsy prick about it. It kinda gives people the wrong impression. I think I understand him a little better now."

Max chuckled and replied, "Getting your ass handed to you tends to give you a strange sense of clarity that few other things do."

"Strange but true."

"Do you see?" Max turned to find Jean standing in the doorway, her expression bitter. "Do you see now what he did?"

"Jean.." Scott started, but she quickly cut him off.

"He's a goddamned animal." she hissed, her eyes flashing.

Max felt her expression grow empty and her breathing slow as she looked back at Jean and said, "Do not ever say that in front of me again. Not if you expect us to remain friends."

The woman balked for a moment, then lowered her head.

"Fuck, Max. I'm sorry. I'm just...I'm so agitated I don't know what I'm saying." she murmured.

When she met Max's gaze again, she looked so lost.

"I know 'dee." Max murmured. Scott had started calling them Tweedledee and Tweedledum shortly after they'd started hanging out so often together, and the shortened version of the nicknames had stuck since.

Jean gave her an apologetic smile then said, "Friends again, 'dum?"

Max smiled and nodded. "Friends always. Just..ease up. It'll be okay."

Max gave her a brief hug before giving Scott a quick wave and popping back out into the hallway.

Jean needed to rein that shit in now if Logan was going to start going on missions with them. If they started that infantile bickering in the middle of a firefight, somebody was going to get seriously injured – if not killed.

Logan seemed to be adopting the stance of 'the further away I am from that loony bitch, the better I'll be'.

Max wondered if the professor had any idea about what was going on. Apart from being a telepath, she got the feeling that he was pretty sharp about these kinds of things. If it got out of hand, he'd likely step in – in the same way he had when she and Jean had started getting crazy with their pranks.

The man might seem easygoing, but he only tolerated so much bullshit in his house before he started bringing down the hammer. Still, he gave people plenty of rope to hang themselves with in the meantime.

Max wondered if he found any of the drama entertaining or merely irritating.

***

"Wow, you really fucked slim up." Max murmured as she came into their room, flopping down on the bed beside Logan.

"Yep." he replied, his arms behind his head. He sounded indifferent about it.

"He sounds better, though." she wrapped an arm around his stomach, resting her head on his shoulder. He moved to slide an arm around her waist.

"Yep." he gave her a gentle squeeze and Max smiled.

"We should head down to the locker room and get changed soon."

Logan paused for a moment, frowning. "You don't wear one of those candy ass uniforms now, do you?"

Max laughed and looked up at him, meeting hazel eyes that made her grin wider.

"Hank developed a special suit for me that shifts with me when I 'beast out', as it were. I still have to take it off to run on four legs, but I don't wreck as much clothing this way." she explained, adding, "And those 'candy ass uniforms' are outfitted with a special kevlar plating as well as being temperature adaptable. They're actually pretty handy."

"Says you." Logan grunted, then laughed when she poked him in the side.

Max sat up and straddled him.

"C'mon. It's more fun than you think."

"I doubt that." he replied, his expression mild.

She grinned and laughed as he looked up at her and asked, "You're really into this, aren't you?"

Max frowned and placed her hands on his chest.

"Into what?"

Logan rested his hands on her upper thighs, squeezing gently.

"Into the whole thing – going out and pickin' kids up. Helpin' 'em out."

"Not at first, really – but it does kinda grow on you after you've done it a few times."

She smiled and placed her hands on his. "Besides, who'd ever thought that I would've been able to go to Russia? Even briefly? It's exciting."

"You and your quest for adventure." he murmured, threading his fingers through hers. "You sure that's it?"

Max pulled him up into a sitting position, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"This is the first time since I was a teenager that I can remember feeling like part of a pack – a family."

She looked down at their joined hands and whispered, "I miss it."

Logan gently placed a knuckle under her chin, pulling her into a kiss. She was all the family he was sure he'd ever need. He could definitely understand the desire for such a thing. If it was what she wanted – something she needed, he'd stay here for her so that she could feel it. No matter how much it irritated the shit out of him, otherwise.

Max gently pulled away, smiling and trailing a hand through his hair.

"Just how tight is this.. suit he made for you, anyway?" he asked, tightening his grip around her waist.

Max chuckled and replied, "That would be telling."

MARVEL owns the copyright on their own characters, but I've fussed with and taken liberties with canon, and Max is my own creation.