It's Not Me (3/?) Scott/Logan
Title: It's Not Me
Fandom: X-Men
Pairing: Scott/Logan
Rating: NC-17.
Word Count: 8,550
Summary: Sequel to Starting Over. Coming home again is never easy especially when changes and secrets are all around you. Scott and Logan deal with their beginnings and an uncertain future when an old threat emerges to challenge their future together. *Slash*
"Remind me again why we need a blindfold for this," Logan's upper lip curled in involuntary protest. He cringed slightly when Scott secured the knot at the back of his head, tightening it just enough to steal the moonlight from Logan's senses.
"Trust me you'll get used to it," Scott coaxed him soothingly. There was a faint brush of Scott's fingers curling over Logan's shoulder, sliding down Logan's arm until finally Scott stepped back breaking the deliciously inviting contact between them, "give it a few seconds and…"
"I know that much, but what I'm asking is why I need it," Logan explained folding his arms in front of his chest defiantly now that he and Scott stood with one another out back on the school grounds surrounded by the trees on the outskirts of campus, "Last time I checked it wasn't part of the exercise."
"It's all about taking things to the next level," Scott explained in that same smug, pointed tone that made Logan want to reach out and strangle him. Yes, loving Scott was always a plus, but when Scott presented his all knowing challenges, Logan couldn't help, but find himself irritated at times, "Besides, you'll still be able to fight me using your other senses."
"Perhaps I rather enjoy the idea of looking at your face while I'm kicking your ass," Logan quipped unable to refrain from revealing the beginnings of the smirk that carried over his features.
"Ah, now who says you're going to kick my ass?" Scott questioned brightly, amusement tickling over Logan's senses with Scott's words, "I've been on top of my game lately getting stronger each day."
"Then take the blindfold off of me and prove it in a fair fight," Logan suggested turning towards the sound of Scott's voice, "Let's see just how much strength you've regained through therapy."
"Therapy is a joke," Scott's laughter resonated through the trees, "and besides I spent plenty of my time experiencing sensory depravation through the years. When you aren't limited by the perception of sight, then you find your other instincts heightened. It enhances the experience, giving you an adrenaline rush and…"
"The only thing I'm going to be rushing is you when I catch you," Logan promised with a low growl, his body responding to the challenge that Scott presented him with. While they'd agreed to resume in some extra combat training outdoors on such a beautiful evening, it seemed that Logan's lover had something more in mind. Scott hadn't said it so much, but with the scent of desire in the air surrounding Logan, intoxicating his senses with the promise of pleasure, Logan found himself less inclined to complain about the blindfold. It would serve as a minor annoyance, but when the time was right, Logan would find his way to Scott, to having his way with him all over again.
"If you catch me," Scott teased, flirting shamelessly when he stepped forward. Logan felt a small squeeze on his bottom, the heat of Scott's breath behind him, pressing in over his shoulder, but before Logan could spin around and collect Scott in his arms, Logan realized Scott was off rushing into the trees ready to begin this game of chase.
"Oh I'll catch you," Logan decided with a purr, thinking about all the ways he fully intended on ravishing Summers once they met up with one another again. His grin expanded, lust coiling through his every synapse when he moved forward guided by his sense of smell hot on Scott's trail.
Rushing through the trees Logan found himself consumed with thoughts of Scott. His brain was flooded with the memory of Scott's taste upon his lips, the warmth of Scott's body surrounding his. He could clearly recall the tiny breath that always escaped Scott's lips at that first second they were joined as one. It was enough to get Logan's blood pumping through his veins, to have his body flexed with desire, hard and ready to tear Scott's clothes from his body and forget about the 'exercise' Scott had laid out for them. To hell with combat training. Logan was going to seize Scott, throw him down on the ground and…
"Not so fast," Logan heard Scott taunt, sending a tree branch down towards Logan's head. Logan ducked avoiding the collision with a snarl. There was a rustling sound, followed by footsteps hurrying towards the water near the edge of the property. Even now Logan could take in the crisp, familiar scent of the water, the sound of the tiny waterfall crashing down into the cool water Scott would sneak off to every now and then for a skinny dip.
"You're mine Summers," Logan growled, unable to hold back on the beast inside of him any longer. He charged forward, following Scott's scent until finally he found himself near the water. He could hear Scott's laughter revealing himself through the trees, but it was the smell of lust that intoxicated Logan, bringing him out of the moment to prepare for claiming ownership on his sexy companion.
Reaching up Logan tore the blindfold away from his eyes, not bothering around with props any longer. He wanted Scott and waiting simply wouldn't do. Throwing the blindfold to the ground Logan looked around, eyes adjusting to the darkness. It didn't take long for him to discover Scott seated on one of the large stones near the water, naked and waiting for Logan to join him. Scott had discarded his visor, his blue eyes revealing the depths of his desire, the weight of his longing as Scott's grin expanded in invitation.
"What took you so long?" Scott questioned running his smooth fingers along the side of the stone in a tempting fashion. Logan's hungry gaze traveled over the lines of Scott's lean, muscular torso, dropping down further to see Scott's hardened length displayed proudly underneath the moonlight. It beckoned him, begging for Logan's attention as he moved forward thinking of all the ways he was going to enjoy torturing Scott endlessly. Licking his lips, Logan began to peel his sleeveless white t-shirt up over his head, next turning his attention to his jeans when there was a crackling sound from behind him, drawing him up and out of the moment.
"We aren't alone," Scott mouthed worriedly, leaning over to search for his discarded visor in an attempt to keep up the rouse that he'd been living since they'd returned to the school. Scott dropped down to the ground, causing Logan to hesitate.
"I'll get rid of them," Logan decided with a snarl, knowing only too well that with the promise of sex on the horizon nothing else seemed relevant. More than anything he wanted to bury himself in Summers, to get lost inside the man he loved, but someone out there was thwarting his plans. Someone was stealing that luxury away from him and now he was suddenly very angry. Standing up taller, Logan released his claws preparing to frighten off whatever intruder dared to spoil the fantasy, but to his surprise and dismay no one emerged from the trees.
"Damn it," Logan cursed waiting in silent contemplation for a few seconds longer before turning to seek out Scott again, "I think whoever it was is gone. They don't seem to be…"
Logan's words ceased when he realized Scott was no longer on the stone waiting for him. Stepping forward, he realized that the scene had shifted taking him to another time and place, to a moment where he was surrounded by misery, where his thoughts were consumed with violence and rage. He could sense danger on the horizon, feel it's iron clad grip upon him like a vise clawing and scratching at his senses until.
"Victor," Logan snarled, sliding into a defensive position when he knew he was no longer alone. Turning around he faced down the brother that time hadn't allowed him to forget forever. There in the moonlight they stood together in a stand off, their eyes seeping with animosity and rage over the things Victor had attempted to steal from Logan. Knowing only too well that Victor needed to be put down Logan charged forward preparing to destroy Victor once and for all, but before he could complete the task there was another voice in his head.
"Logan," he could hear Scott calling to him, causing him to hesitate. In that hesitation Victor moved faster, seemingly gaining the upper hand in their impending battle, but still Scott's voice grew stronger distracting him from the fight, "Logan wake up! Logan!"
"What?" Logan's eyes snapped open, his lips parting as his lungs gasped for air. He fought to regain control of his thoughts, to remember his surroundings, but when he caught the first glimpse of his metal claws shining through the darkness above him, fear carried over him.
"Logan, it's alright," Scott's voice spoke up soothingly, his fingers wrapped carefully around Logan's wrist in a tight grip, doing his best to prevent Logan from sending the adamantium claws through Scott's bare abdomen that now hovered above Logan. Logan struggled against the hold momentarily, his brain overloaded with thoughts of going after Victor, but when he felt the gentle brush of Scott's hand against his cheek, the dream faded completely replacing the moment with the serenity that surrounded him in waking hours.
"It was only a dream," Scott explained tenderly, his fingers sliding up into Logan's dark, unruly hair. Through the darkness Logan could see Scott's worried blue eyes upon him, their depths divided by concern and love after having witnessed one of Logan's nocturnal breakdowns. In the nightmare Logan had gone from excited, to confused, to overtaken with madness driven by the notion that the man who had tried to steal Scott from his life was still out there, walking around and enjoying each breath that fate had allowed him. It made Logan's blood boil, mind fill with rage, but it was the warmth of Scott that silently coaxed Logan to release the anger long enough to savor the moment between them. "You're safe now."
"As long as Victor's out there we'll never be safe," Logan mouthed guiltily, his heart sinking at the memory of how Victor had tried to rip Scott from Logan's life not that long ago. Thinking back to the confrontation at the power plant, Logan shivered feeling it play out in his mind all over again. He thought to Victor's lies announcing Scott's death. He could recall the helplessness he'd felt, the desire to end it all only to discover that Scott was still alive. Remembering how despair had transformed into hope only to have it come crashing down around them with the building caused Logan's heart to furiously pound all over again. In his mind, he could clearly see Scott underneath the debris again, crushed before him. The agony of the moment consumed Logan's thoughts and he couldn't help, but tense up involuntarily. "He won't stop until he destroys us."
"We're not going to allow him the luxury," Scott promised dipping down to place a tender kiss over Logan's forehead.
Feeling Logan's claws return beneath the surface of his skin, Scott repositioned himself over Logan, thighs surrounding Logan's muscled abdomen in a steady press. Cupping Logan's face in his hands, Scott leaned forward again, this time pushing Logan's lips apart in a forceful tease. Before Logan could protest, Scott's tongue was inside of him, seeking out a means of erasing Logan's worries, desperately trying to soothe Logan's troubled subconscious. Instinctively Logan's arms wrapped around Scott's thighs, fingers stretching out up over the curve of Scott's muscled bottom, kneading and stroking the firm flesh in his grasp.
"You're safe now," Scott whispered as they parted breathlessly. Scott's blue eyes beckoned Logan again, coaxing him to accept the truth that the danger had passed. Now as they lay together in Logan's bedroom at the school, surrounded by familiarity, Logan couldn't help, but feel his mind settling to ease again. He searched Scott's blue eyes, grunting slightly when he felt Scott's body shift over his, revealing the lust that spilled into the air enveloping them.
Scott dropped forward, teeth grazing the side of Logan's neck, tongue tracing Logan's earlobe in a slow, sultry sweep causing Logan to groan beneath Scott. Although the dream had been horrifying, haunting Logan with the concern that was ever present in his mind over what Victor would pull next, the reality of Scott in his arms invoked the earlier part of the dream. He could clearly recall the longing and desire he'd carried with him at the idea of having Scott to himself. Closing his eyes Logan growled, a low, primitive breath of desire with Scott grinding over him, tempting him with every skilled movement of his hips.
"Focus on me Logan," Scott slurred huskily, his voice penetrating the darkness that surrounded Logan's thoughts, entering into his mind with an unexpected warmth. Scott's blue eyes beckoned Logan silently, their depths revealing an emotion Logan hadn't anticipated finding ever again.
In Scott's eyes he could see their past returning to them. He could feel the heightened awareness of Scott's new power surrounding him, slipping into his mind, into his thoughts like a comforting blanket drawing out the excitement of their first kiss, the passion behind their first declarations of love to their first time together making love in this very spot. The vivid memories assaulted Logan's tortured brain, pushing the horrors of Victor aside long enough for Logan to immerse himself completely in thoughts of Scott. Sensations bristled over Logan's body, stimulating his every animal instinct in the moment, focusing entirely on Scott, on the taste, the touch and the feel of Scott over him.
"You're in my head," Logan managed to whisper tightly knowing only too well that Scott was attempting to bring an end to the war happening beneath the surface in Logan's mind.
"I only want to help you," Scott promised dipping down to kiss Logan tenderly. His fingers tangled through Logan's hair in a tentative brush, soft and comforting despite the raging fury Logan had felt minutes earlier.
Although Logan hadn't been one to have someone poking around in his mind, Scott made it almost welcome, almost as if it was a deeper way of connecting between them, but even with the delicious memories of the past with Scott returning to him, Logan knew he couldn't allow Scott to explore the darkness that was still buried inside of his subconscious. Fearing for what Scott could discover if he spent too much time poking around in his head, Logan reached for Scott's shoulders, shaking him gently before speaking up in a small rumble of need.
"Then kiss me," Logan commanded roughly pulling Scott down against his chest. His lips collided with Scott's desperate and needy in their approach. His hands wandered over Scott's lean muscular form, pushing Scott out from inside of his head with the erotic distraction. In an instant Scott's skin ignited, hands sliding over Logan's strong, powerful shoulders before Scott leaned back, sliding upward over Logan's body.
"Summers," Logan half questioned, half complained feeling Scott arching backwards away from him.
"Shh…" Scott whispered pressing his index finger over Logan's lips to silence him before Logan's eyelids fluttered to a close. Scott sat up straighter, his nails scraping over Logan's chest in a rush of pleasure-filled agony. There was a mind stopping sting from the scratches upon Logan's skin, the warmth of blood revealing itself, but almost as soon as it started it disappeared giving way to the longing in Logan's desire.
Reopening his eyes Logan watched Scott arch backward, his hips sliding forward to allow his hard body to collide with Logan's abdomen, to brush across the hair dusted surface in a tentative sweep. Logan's eyes widened upon remembering that Summers was still naked as he'd been when they'd first gone to bed. It had been a change from the modest pajamas that Scott had usually worn each night, but now Logan found himself appreciating his lover's bolder decision to discard his clothing for the evening. Scott smiled seductively, warming up to Logan, skin to skin without barriers or restraint in his longing. Releasing Scott's bottom, Logan curled his fingers upward, wrapping his fist around Scott's growing erection. Scott bit down on his lip, sliding forward against Logan's abdomen in an involuntary brush. Unable to suppress the whimper that built up in the back of his throat, Scott shivered with delight, savoring the feel of Logan's rough touch against him.
"Please," Scott begged in a primitive whisper, his voice revealing the depths of the hunger he'd felt for Logan in the moment. While Logan was initially half asleep, still feeling the after shocks of his nightmare upon him, the overwhelming awareness of Scott had worked a number over his senses bringing him back to the one primitive instinct he'd never been able to deny-lust.
"Roll over," Logan finally decided releasing Scott much to Scott's dismay. Scott whimpered in protest, his lip curling in the beginnings of a pout, but knowing what would follow, he didn't argue. He simply turned to his side preparing to lay on his stomach to accommodate Logan's request.
"Wait," Logan reached out to wrap his arm around Scott's chiseled abdomen. Tracing his fingers over the perspiration soaked ripple of muscle of Scott's smooth skin, Logan couldn't help but smirk, "stay there."
"Here?" Scott questioned with a heated breath, positioned on his side, turned away from Logan. He felt Logan's fingertips taper off over his hip. Logan's body slid in behind him, palm reaching for Scott's thigh and carrying it up over the thin, blue sheet that surrounded them. Bringing Scott's leg up, Logan bent it carefully, allowing the slide of Scott's calf muscle to rest against Logan's outer thigh.
"Right here," Logan purred in approval, his fingers sliding upward to pinch at Scott's nipple, to twist and taunt it with a rough pull causing Scott to whimper.
"God," Scott's eyes rolled back into his head, his lips parting in a shallow pant of desperation when Logan's fingers found their way to his mouth. Scott readily accepted the tip of Logan's index finger inside, sliding his moist tongue over the rough flesh, wet and eager to taste Logan's greedy touch.
"You're so beautiful Summers," Logan whispered biting down on the back of Scott's shoulder when he was met with sensory overload. Scott's thigh was brushing back against his, the depth of Scott's flexibility gaining Logan's approval when Logan's finger withdrew from Scott's lips, dropping down to caress every perfect line of Scott's body. Scott shivered, his breath ragged and broken when Logan returned his focus to Scott's bottom, kneading and stroking the rounded flesh heatedly. As Logan's caress grew more possessive, sliding his palm into a far more intimate exchange with his touch, Scott tensed up, body adjusting to the feel of Logan within as Logan's other hand moved into Scott's thick, dark hair, wrenching his head back just enough for another possessive bite into Scott's shoulder.
"I need you Logan," Scott began to writhe back into Logan, to welcome the notion of their union. Logan's tongue teased over Scott's shoulder blade, tracing over the back of his neck until finally Logan pulled Scott's leg up higher over his hip. He listened to Scott's desperate pant, the needy whisper of curse filled pleas falling from Scott's lips when Logan removed his fingers replacing his hard body at Scott's opening in an instant. Wrapping one arm around Scott's waist possessively Logan bit down on Scott's earlobe before crashing forward to bury himself inside of Scott.
"Logan," Scott mouthed his name, hips rolling back to accept Logan fully. His passion laden body eagerly welcomed Logan home again as it had a great many times in the past.
"Home," Logan thought to himself knowing only too well that the only time he ever truly felt alive was wrapped up inside of Summers, in having Scott whispering his name, giving away all the inhibitions he'd carried with him. Together they didn't have to pretend, they didn't have to carry with them the same façade everyone expected out of them. They were free to give in to the raw, primitive passion that only existed between them. Together they were unstoppable, a force to be reckoned with.
Now with Scott's soft whimpers rolling off of his tongue breathing Logan's name, Logan was surrounded by the primitive aroma of lust. Scott's body began twisting back into Logan, taking him readily and Logan knew in his heart there would never be anything more precious, more perfect in his life than being with Scott Summers. Yes, he wasn't one for sentimentalities, but Scott made him question that stance in his life. Their relationship had brought out a softer side of Logan, one not many people had been able to witness first hand. Making love to Scott was his serenity, his piece of tranquility, but deep down in knowing that, Logan realized that after what they had experienced with one another nothing could ever truly be enough anymore. Scott was everything, the only thing that Logan needed to pull himself from the darkness, to soothe his demons and bring him home again. Summers even with all of his prissy, intolerable righteous indignation was perfect in every way imaginable. He was truly Logan's everything.
Returning his focus to Scott's length again, Logan began to stroke him harder, faster, loving the way Scott's broken breath transformed from controlled longing to wild, wanton appeals for more. Scott bit down on his lip, body grinding against Logan needing more in a rushed, desperate set of pleas until finally Logan repositioned Scott on the bed, pushing him forward onto his stomach into the pillows. Scott silently complied to Logan's request rising up on his knees and elbows to accommodate their new positioning. Although they'd been apart for a couple of seconds it was far too long for Logan as he moved forward pushing into Scott's body overtaken by the animal within.
"Logan," Scott repeated his name over and over again, giving way to passion now that Logan gripped Scott's hips possessively.
"Tell me what you want Scott," Logan commanded sliding out of Scott's body, wanting nothing more then to imprint himself on Summers, to claim him completely. His fingers gripped Scott tightly, squeezing at Scott's thighs possessively now that Logan's heart hammered in his chest with a commanding movement.
"You," Scott begged frantically, "I want you Logan-only you."
Smiling outwardly Logan crashed into Scott again and again, no longer overtaken by any lingering traces of his nightmare or sleep. He continued to devour Scott savoring the scent, the sounds, the feel and the mood that surrounded him in their union. Scott's impassioned cries served as fuel to Logan's fire, causing his lust to spike up towards nirvana, taking them both crashing towards the edge. When Logan's arm surrounded Scott's hips, fingers colliding with Scott's hot, distended flesh, Scott was overtaken by the first waves of a climax. His body tensed tightening over Logan until finally Logan closed his eyes forgetting about the world around him in favor of returning to the one perfect moment he found lost inside of Scott Summers.
XXXXX
"What happened tonight? Want to talk about it now?" Scott inquired breathlessly after a long silence had lingered in the bedroom between him and Logan. He snuggled into Logan's chest, head placed over the it's center in order to hear to the sound of Logan's heart beating beneath him. He gently stroked at the dark hair over Logan's muscled contours, appreciating it's softness despite Logan's rough exterior. Closing his eyes, Scott listened to the sound of Logan's breathing.
"Not really," Logan admitted with a heavy sigh, his thoughts still surrounded by the smell of sex and the aftershocks of their time together.
"Fine," Scott decided shifting in Logan's arms to pull himself up on his elbows, "if you don't want to talk about it, how about I take a another look for myself?"
"Don't," Logan frowned meeting Scott's eyes again in warning, "I don't want you poking around in my brain again and I certainly don't want to discuss it."
"Logan, I wasn't trying to poke inside your…" Scott curled his lip in protest.
"That's exactly what you did and while I appreciate the distraction, I remember only too well how much you hated when Jean did that to you," Logan frowned giving Scott a long look. "It bothered you to think that your thoughts weren't your own, so now that you're able to see things from the other point of view…"
"I'm sorry," Scott softened his tone, his words barely audible when Logan sensed guilt in the air surrounding them, "that's not what I was trying to…"
"I know you weren't," Logan sighed hating to see the disappointment lingering over Scott's features, "It's just…some things just need to sort themselves out."
"I know it was about Victor. You said as much when I awakened you," Scott reminded him simply. His blue eyes were clouded over with genuine concern and worried determination, "It was clear when you woke up that…"
"I don't want to think about Victor," Logan attempted to put off Scott's questioning once again. Tracing the contours of Scott's spine in a tentative brush, Logan mouthed quietly, "especially not when I have the sexiest man alive in my arms."
"Sexiest man alive?" Scott couldn't help, but raise a curious brow, his blue eyes filling with amusement.
"Well, aside from yours truly," Logan winked unable to refrain from taking a moment to toss in a playful jab.
"Of course," Scott groaned outwardly, "because heaven forbid I might actually get credit in upstaging you just once."
"Always out to be the better man," Logan couldn't help, but roll his eyes, "You say I'm the one with the ego, but…"
"But nothing. Can't you at least offer a complement without there being a barb attached to it?" Scott curled his lip in protest.
"I didn't realize saying I was sexy was an insult to you," Logan wiggled his brow curiously.
"It isn't, I mean…" Scott shook his head and sighed, returning to settle in over Logan's chest again, "never mind."
"I get what you're saying Slim," Logan laughed lightly, bringing his fingers through Scott's damp hair and messing it up in an affectionate brush, "I just love to get you going every now and then."
"Gee, I hadn't noticed," Scott mouthed with heavy sarcasm in his tone, "I mean of course if I hadn't picked up on it when you almost got us busted in my classroom the other day…"
"It was your first day back teaching and you needed some encouragement. Besides, I told you that detention fantasy was going to become a reality for us," Logan joked ravenously. His arm curled around Scott possessively, enjoying the level of ease they'd carried with one another despite their earlier bickering, "and besides weren't you the one who said I passed my oral examination with flying colors?"
Scott's cheeks turned a pale shade of crimson before he lifted his chin to see the mischief burning behind Logan's eyes once again, "Logan, I swear you don't have to be so…"
"Blatant? Crass?" Logan curled his finger underneath Scott's chin, coaxing Scott's lips to his in a tender kiss, "I thought it was part of what you loved about me."
"It is," Scott divulged with a raw confession, "but if I start letting everyone see how your naughty side turns me on…"
"They might start believing you're some kind of pervert?" Logan finished with a hint of laughter in his voice. "Just like me?"
"I'm nothing like you," Scott wrinkled his nose at the suggestion. "I'm more restrained and…"
"You're exactly like me, but here," Logan paused thinking about the adjustments they'd been forced to make in their return to the school, "well, I guess you're just a bit more distracted. Maybe even a little more repressed."
"I'm on shaky ground Logan. I could see that clearly when I went to the staff meeting," Scott breathed thinking about the state of affairs they'd returned to after they had rescued Charles. The encounter had opened up a great many questions into the past. There were still answers needed about the time everyone had lost, about the people who had held Charles captive-about those who were attempting to seek out Scott, about what Jean had done to Scott, yet within all those questions it seemed there was no attempts being made at seeking a resolution.
"Only because you surround yourself with the deceptions," Logan touched Scott's cheek gingerly, "Summers, you don't have it in you to keep lying to everyone. Sooner or later they are going to see…"
"That what?" Scott questioned bristling at Logan's unspoken implication, "That I don't need to hide behind the visor because there's a possibility that I may or may not be able to control it? Logan, you know as well as I do that is only the tip of the iceberg. If they could see the other things…"
"Hank isn't stupid Scott. He's been running the tests and with your miraculous recovery…," Logan curled his lip in protest, remembering their friend's assistance in Scott's return to life.
"Even he doesn't understand what's happening," Scott lowered his voice, almost afraid to be having the conversation with Logan in the waking hours, "He knows that discretion is important to me…"
"I realize that, but sooner or later Charles is going to start questioning the changes. He's going to realize you've been pretending to be something you aren't and…" Logan thought to Scott's bond with the man who had helped pull him from the darkness that surrounded his life.
"I can't bring him into this," Scott detangled himself from Logan's arms. Falling back onto the mattress, Scott let out a long sigh. He brought his palms up over his face, hiding his eyes with a small groan, "Charles wouldn't understand."
"You don't believe that," Logan argued thinking about the changes that had been taking place in Scott. "If anyone can make sense of what's been happening, you know as well as I do that he can. Given the bond between the two of you, I'm certain he'll do everything in his power to…"
"No," Scott shook his head firmly, "I'm not going to bring him in on what's happening."
"Scott he's going to realize that…" Logan attempted to reason with Scott again.
"He won't," Scott stated firmly, "I've been good at covering my tracks."
"I can see right through you Scott," Logan couldn't help, but frown. "I know when something's troubling you, when you're upset…"
"That's because you know me," Scott touched Logan's chest in a faint brush, "You've seen the real me, but everyone else…"
"They know you too Scott. The Professor is the one person that you've always depended on and…" Logan shrugged simply, thinking about Scott's bond with the older man.
"He's hiding something from me Logan," Scott finally blurted out, his face growing suddenly serious in the moment.
"Hiding something how?" Logan searched Scott's eyes for a long moment.
"I can't explain it, but it's there," Scott confessed in a barely there whisper. "I felt it when I was visiting him not long after we returned. He tried to tell me something the day I found him. He was desperate to say something when he was inside my head, but then he stopped. At first I thought it was because of circumstances, but then when I questioned him on it later, he brushed it off as if it was nothing."
"Maybe it was nothing," Logan wrinkled his brow. "Given the traumatic nature of the experience we've all been through maybe he was just relieved to see you standing before him again Scott. We all thought you were dead, so maybe in his relief and surprise he just thought that there was so much to say, but…"
"Don't try to play psychoanalyst because it doesn't suit you," Scott frowned back at him dismissively. "He's holding back on me Logan. There's a distance in his eyes, something in his voice and when I…"
"What?" Logan couldn't help, but question.
"When I try to pick up on what it is, he's shutting me out," Scott explained nervously, his words betraying his own personal code of conduct. "I thought maybe it was because of Jean-because he was aware on some level of how things played out. Subconsciously I knew he could sense what was happening with me, maybe even before Jean did. After a while I just started feeling as if maybe he doesn't approve…"
"Of what?" Logan asked, sensing hesitation behind Scott's eyes, "Of us?"
Scott remained silent, looking to the sheet that surrounded them.
"You think he's got issues with what's happening between you and I?" Logan raised a curious brow, thinking about how this time around he and Scott hadn't been set on keeping their relationship a secret from those at the school. Last time Scott had been mourning the loss of Jean, coming terms with who he was and their relationship had taken a more private progression, but this time Scott refused to hide the truth. He and Logan had agreed to bring an end to the questions and share their happiness with those around them regardless of what tensions may arise from their union.
"I don't know," Scott admitted honestly. He laced his fingers in with Logan's, taking a moment to appreciate their rings against each other, "I would like to think he's happy that I'm finally at peace with my heart, but…"
"He doesn't trust it, does he?" Logan deduced thinking about the way things felt different in dealing with Charles. Although Logan hadn't said anything about it, there was certainly a distance that surrounded the man's approach. Granted Logan hadn't bonded with Charles like Scott had, yet towards the end Logan had respected Charles on a great many levels. Charles had been their rock when the world had collapsed, pushing them on to keep fighting until Phoenix had taken him as well. Still in the return they'd all made to the school at long last there seemed to be a wall, a tension that Logan had just attributed to the aftermath of the ordeal Charles went through, yet with Scott questioning it, Logan began to second guess himself.
"I know I shouldn't try to be poking and prodding around in his head, but something's changed Logan. Something's happening with him as well," Scott continued breaking through Logan's thoughts. "I just figured if I could find some clue into what's going on with him, then maybe…"
"You could sort out what's happening with you," Logan finished watching Scott nod.
"Something like that," Scott divulged quietly, "I know it's wrong, but I just assumed if he'd endured what I did with Jean then…."
"You could help him and yourself," Logan understood taking in Scott's words.
"It's a bit underhanded and I know it's wrong, but right now I just don't want to go into this guns blazing. Everything is so up in the air and tentative. If I bring him into this…" Scott's words tapered off again.
"What?" Logan couldn't help, but ask.
"I just don't know what the outcome will be. So many things have changed. He's changed. I've changed and…" Scott's blue eyes fell to a close.
"So you're going to what? Tiptoe around his subconscious for the answers you're seeking out?" Logan replied thinking of all Scott was sharing with him. "That's dangerous Scott. You know as well as I do that he's going to sense it. He'll realize that you're playing mind games. He'll sense your new powers and…"
"So far I've hit a wall," Scott explained thinking about his subtle attempts at learning what changes had taken place in Charles. "He's keeping me out, putting something out there to keep the others away…"
"Do you think it has something to do with the people who were holding him?" Logan asked worriedly. "If they've done something to him as well or maybe you were onto something in thinking about Jean. As you said she changed you, so is it possible that she also changed him when…"
"I don't know," Scott admitted honestly, "it's hard to tell, but you're right. I can't keep trying to sneak around this Logan. Sooner or later he's going to realize I'm the one trying to poke around in his head and…"
"If you've been doing that, then he has to already sense that you're different. He must know that you're…" Logan's words tapered off.
"What?" Scott couldn't help but ask. Tipping his head to the side to face Logan fully, he felt his mind overtaken with questions, "What am I Logan? First I was powerless, stripped of everything, but then after Victor tried to kill me not only did my powers return, but I've found more of them. I can do things I never imagined possible. I can read someone's thoughts, heal as if nothing can hurt me, yet it shouldn't be possible. Even after what happened with Jean, there is nothing lending to reasoning behind what's happening to me unless it's been somehow manufactured."
"Scott that's not what I'm trying to say," Logan frowned seeing the upset behind Scott's eyes.
"Why not Logan? You know we've both been questioning it," Scott sat upright on the bed. "You said it yourself that Mystique told you that…"
"I wouldn't take her at her word," Logan frowned remembering Mystique's cryptic message, "She's not to be trusted."
"Maybe not, but then tell me how I survived the attack? How could I step into Victor's mind and know…?" Scott's words trailed off, his thoughts returning to the moment of Victor's last attack on him.
"Know what?" Logan questioned worriedly, "Scott, what exactly happened that night?"
"I told you," Scott replied thinking back to the night he'd figured his life was over, "Victor blindsided me at the house, then I woke up in that cell. He dragged me down the hall and…"
"Go on," Logan half pleaded, half tensed up remembering the night it seemed the world had fallen apart completely.
"He attacked me, but this time I wouldn't let him see my fear," Scott explained shifting on the mattress to meet Logan's eyes again, "I fought it with everything I was, but I knew he was going to kill me. I realized that he wasn't going to allow me another opportunity to walk away…"
"So you tried to fight back," Logan hesitated knowing that he'd gone over the details with Scott a great many times in the past despite the uncomfortable discussion that always followed.
"I couldn't," Scott closed his eyes and recounted the moment, "I was strapped down feeling like I did when he first took me… I'd known what he was capable of, but then…"
"Scott," Logan watched Scott's jaw flex with tension, the memory of the madness consuming him. Reaching out to touch Scott's shoulder, Logan spoke up in a soothing tone, "never mind. We don't have to do this again."
"I saw you Logan," Scott blurted out without hesitation, "I thought my life was over, but there you were rescuing me. You gave me a second chance and…"
"Scott, I wish I'd come there sooner, but…" Logan felt guilt eat away at him over what Victor had attempted to do to Scott.
"I touched him," Scott met Logan's eyes again, "I saw the two of you together, growing up and fighting against the world. I could feel your bond, feel the love between you long before the end. I could see the history between you until it turned ugly. I watched you walk away and…"
"I don't remember all of that," Logan confessed painfully still a prisoner to the past and the memories that Stryker had forced out of his mind. "I wish I could, but there are still pieces that are stolen from my mind. There are vague bits and pieces some that don't make any sense. I have flashes, nothing substantial although I know he played a huge role in who I am today. Still there's so much that I don't remember, so many things that…"
"I can show you," Scott spoke up encouragingly, "Some of it's still imprinted in my mind. If you want me to…"
"No," Logan shook his head and sighed, "Not now. It's not what's important. It's not…."
"Not what?" Scott questioned drawing in a breath.
"I feel some of it still there inside of me threatening to reveal itself," Logan sighed resigning himself to the conversation they were having, "I can see Victor and I fighting. I remember feeling betrayed-how I believed he'd killed someone I cared about, yet…"
"You went there for revenge the last time. You wanted to destroy him, but you'd learned that she lied to you," Scott recounted the memory that had shaken him and implanted a sense of Logan's rage long after he'd experienced it. "You wanted vengeance because you thought he'd killed..."
"Kayla," Logan finished with a small nod feeling the memory surround him, "I remember her. It's vague, but there are bits and pieces of my time with her. She was special to me."
"You loved her," Scott reached out to touch the side of Logan's face tenderly, "and she betrayed you."
"She didn't have a choice," Logan's jaw tightened, flexing with the traces of memory upon him. "Stryker was pushing her buttons and…"
"He used your emotions against you. He played Victor against you and ultimately…" Scott paused watching Logan tense up before him.
"It was a long time ago," Logan breathed, his face twisting with strain, fighting to recall everything that had been coming to him in fragments in his mind. "Some things are best left in the past I suppose."
"I used to believe that as well, but not anymore. I know that's not how you feel either Logan. Together I'm starting to know who I am at last. Granted I don't know what's happening with these powers, but the more time goes on the more I realize I know where I began," Scott reached out to stroke Logan's face gently, "where we began."
"Scott," Logan forced himself to meet Scott's eyes again, sensing something brewing behind the surface.
"In madness and chaos that's where our story began," Scott whispered, his words echoing in Logan's mind, taking Logan back to see their first meeting played out before him. There were traces of it running through the surface, to the point where Logan felt the fury. He could sense the anger, the animosity, the betrayal and the rush of rage that swept over him until finally there was something else, something his subconscious had swept beneath the surface, tucked away from him forever.
"Scott," Logan spoke up feeling himself immersed in the memory standing there as an outsider watching the younger version of himself tearing open the holding cells where the other mutants had been held captive. In his haste, he'd overlooked something important, something that would change his life forever.
"I always thought that rescuing you and Rogue was the beginning for us," Scott's voice collided with Logan's thoughts, "but it was in this moment where we truly found each other."
Logan looked down to see Scott's fingers laced in his, the two of them watching the memory play out before them. Logan could see himself liberating the much younger, more frightened Scott, guiding Scott and the others to safety away from the experiments and chaos to freedom. It was in their escape that Logan found himself overtaken with the familiarity of Scott before Logan had gone on his journey to challenge Victor. Looking back he could see that there was always something shared between them, but now…
"How could I not know?" Logan questioned seeing the younger versions of themselves racing off to freedom, away from the now empty holding cells that surrounded them.
"We both had this stolen from us. They knew about it, yet they kept it from us. They refused to allow us to have this memory. Charles knew about this, yet he said nothing when you came to us here," Scott explained turning to face Logan fully.
In an instant the room morphed around them, transforming into something else, somewhere darker, more dangerous, cloaked in fear. Logan watched Scott's blue eyes widen with horror, felt Scott tense up beside him, a gasp carrying over Scott's lips. There was a metal chair across the room covered in blood. Logan's worried eyes fell upon it, seeing the needles and knives spread out on a tray. Logan could hear the sound of footsteps, the scent of danger in the air, bringing with it the promise of violence and torture before Scott pulled away from him severing the connection.
Logan blinked finding them back in Logan's bed with one another, far from the memory that Scott had just shared with him. Still remembering the final scene that had played out, Logan looked to Scott worriedly. "What just happened?"
"Nothing," Scott lied, turning his head away from Logan.
"Don't tell me that," Logan frowned, "Where were we just now?"
"I don't know," Scott bit down on his lower lip.
"Don't lie to me Scott," Logan cursed under his breath, "We were just inside your mind sharing a memory and…"
"That's not the memory that I wanted you to experience," Scott shivered beside Logan, "It shouldn't have come up-not now."
"But it did…" Logan frowned feeling a sudden invisible wall go up between them with Scott's retraction.
"You have your secrets you want to keep to yourself and I have mine Logan," Scott finally breathed, forcing himself to meet Logan's concerned eyes. "I'll share most anything with you, but that, well it's not something I want to experience again."
Logan opened his mouth preparing to say something more, but finally nodded, "Fair enough."
"Thank you," Scott settled into Logan's chest, snuggling in against him in a small embrace. "I'm sorry I took you to that moment."
"I only wish I could step inside and erase it for you like you tried to do for me," Logan replied squeezing Scott in his arms completely. "It's amazing what you think you can deal with when you're trying to figure everything out, but once you start to put the pieces together the big picture isn't as pleasant as you'd hoped it would be."
"Your past doesn't define the man that you are Logan," Scott offered up sensing Logan's thoughts returning to their earlier conversation about Victor. "It's who you've become that matters most."
"So you keep saying," Logan let out a small laugh, "and as long as I don't dub myself sexiest man alive, we're all good, right?"
"Logan," Scott wrinkled his nose at Logan, fighting to repress the laughter that threatened to steal the seriousness of the moment away from them, "you should know by now that I wouldn't be sleeping with you if I didn't think you were the sexiest man alive. I do, after all, have incredibly high standards."
"Now who is trying to stroke the other's ego?" Logan decided twisting Scott in his arms to pin Scott down on the mattress once again.
"Believe me I'd like to stroke more than your ego," Scott couldn't help, but tease with a hint of laughter in his tone.
"Now that's exactly what I want to hear," Logan dipped down to kiss Scott with a tiny snarl.
"I'll just bet you do, but in all seriousness Logan, what I said before…well, it's the truth," Scott met Logan's eyes solemnly. Reaching up to touch the stubble on the side of Logan's face, Scott spoke up tenderly, "Regardless of how much you hate my romantic overtures I'm not going to lie. You're the greatest love I've ever known Logan. I can't imagine my life without you. If nothing else rediscovering the past only reaffirms to me that we were meant to be."
"I just wish I'd realized it sooner Slim," Logan dipped down to kiss Scott tenderly, "If I'd known back then what kind of impact you'd make in my life, I would've fought like hell to remember you."
"Oh please," Scott couldn't help, but blush, "I wasn't even on your radar back then."
"Shows you what a fool I was," Logan nibbled on Scott's lower lip, "but I can honestly say with a clear conscience that the first moment you walked into the Professor's office and tried to shake my hand, I just knew that I wanted to get under your skin."
"That was obvious," Scott groaned outwardly remembering their earlier exchanges with one another, "and you did everything in your power to make it happen."
"My biggest regret was not seeing that I should've tried a more direct approach early on," Logan leaned forward to kiss Scott again, "we could've spared ourselves and everyone else a lot of heartbreak."
"I wasn't ready to face who I was when you arrived," Scott sighed thinking about the man he'd grown into being before Logan's arrival at the school. "I was living a lie until you forced me to be true to my heart."
"Well, what can I say?" Logan teased lightly, sensing the air of sentimentality in Scott's tone, "I guess I'm just good like that."
"You're better then good," Scott conceded wrapping his arms around Logan's shoulders eagerly, "You're the best there is…aside from me of course."
"Now you're getting it," Logan boasted diving in for another kiss knowing that things were finally finding a way to turn around for them after all.
XXXXX
Fandom: X-Men
Pairing: Scott/Logan
Rating: NC-17.
Word Count: 8,550
Summary: Sequel to Starting Over. Coming home again is never easy especially when changes and secrets are all around you. Scott and Logan deal with their beginnings and an uncertain future when an old threat emerges to challenge their future together. *Slash*
"Remind me again why we need a blindfold for this," Logan's upper lip curled in involuntary protest. He cringed slightly when Scott secured the knot at the back of his head, tightening it just enough to steal the moonlight from Logan's senses.
"Trust me you'll get used to it," Scott coaxed him soothingly. There was a faint brush of Scott's fingers curling over Logan's shoulder, sliding down Logan's arm until finally Scott stepped back breaking the deliciously inviting contact between them, "give it a few seconds and…"
"I know that much, but what I'm asking is why I need it," Logan explained folding his arms in front of his chest defiantly now that he and Scott stood with one another out back on the school grounds surrounded by the trees on the outskirts of campus, "Last time I checked it wasn't part of the exercise."
"It's all about taking things to the next level," Scott explained in that same smug, pointed tone that made Logan want to reach out and strangle him. Yes, loving Scott was always a plus, but when Scott presented his all knowing challenges, Logan couldn't help, but find himself irritated at times, "Besides, you'll still be able to fight me using your other senses."
"Perhaps I rather enjoy the idea of looking at your face while I'm kicking your ass," Logan quipped unable to refrain from revealing the beginnings of the smirk that carried over his features.
"Ah, now who says you're going to kick my ass?" Scott questioned brightly, amusement tickling over Logan's senses with Scott's words, "I've been on top of my game lately getting stronger each day."
"Then take the blindfold off of me and prove it in a fair fight," Logan suggested turning towards the sound of Scott's voice, "Let's see just how much strength you've regained through therapy."
"Therapy is a joke," Scott's laughter resonated through the trees, "and besides I spent plenty of my time experiencing sensory depravation through the years. When you aren't limited by the perception of sight, then you find your other instincts heightened. It enhances the experience, giving you an adrenaline rush and…"
"The only thing I'm going to be rushing is you when I catch you," Logan promised with a low growl, his body responding to the challenge that Scott presented him with. While they'd agreed to resume in some extra combat training outdoors on such a beautiful evening, it seemed that Logan's lover had something more in mind. Scott hadn't said it so much, but with the scent of desire in the air surrounding Logan, intoxicating his senses with the promise of pleasure, Logan found himself less inclined to complain about the blindfold. It would serve as a minor annoyance, but when the time was right, Logan would find his way to Scott, to having his way with him all over again.
"If you catch me," Scott teased, flirting shamelessly when he stepped forward. Logan felt a small squeeze on his bottom, the heat of Scott's breath behind him, pressing in over his shoulder, but before Logan could spin around and collect Scott in his arms, Logan realized Scott was off rushing into the trees ready to begin this game of chase.
"Oh I'll catch you," Logan decided with a purr, thinking about all the ways he fully intended on ravishing Summers once they met up with one another again. His grin expanded, lust coiling through his every synapse when he moved forward guided by his sense of smell hot on Scott's trail.
Rushing through the trees Logan found himself consumed with thoughts of Scott. His brain was flooded with the memory of Scott's taste upon his lips, the warmth of Scott's body surrounding his. He could clearly recall the tiny breath that always escaped Scott's lips at that first second they were joined as one. It was enough to get Logan's blood pumping through his veins, to have his body flexed with desire, hard and ready to tear Scott's clothes from his body and forget about the 'exercise' Scott had laid out for them. To hell with combat training. Logan was going to seize Scott, throw him down on the ground and…
"Not so fast," Logan heard Scott taunt, sending a tree branch down towards Logan's head. Logan ducked avoiding the collision with a snarl. There was a rustling sound, followed by footsteps hurrying towards the water near the edge of the property. Even now Logan could take in the crisp, familiar scent of the water, the sound of the tiny waterfall crashing down into the cool water Scott would sneak off to every now and then for a skinny dip.
"You're mine Summers," Logan growled, unable to hold back on the beast inside of him any longer. He charged forward, following Scott's scent until finally he found himself near the water. He could hear Scott's laughter revealing himself through the trees, but it was the smell of lust that intoxicated Logan, bringing him out of the moment to prepare for claiming ownership on his sexy companion.
Reaching up Logan tore the blindfold away from his eyes, not bothering around with props any longer. He wanted Scott and waiting simply wouldn't do. Throwing the blindfold to the ground Logan looked around, eyes adjusting to the darkness. It didn't take long for him to discover Scott seated on one of the large stones near the water, naked and waiting for Logan to join him. Scott had discarded his visor, his blue eyes revealing the depths of his desire, the weight of his longing as Scott's grin expanded in invitation.
"What took you so long?" Scott questioned running his smooth fingers along the side of the stone in a tempting fashion. Logan's hungry gaze traveled over the lines of Scott's lean, muscular torso, dropping down further to see Scott's hardened length displayed proudly underneath the moonlight. It beckoned him, begging for Logan's attention as he moved forward thinking of all the ways he was going to enjoy torturing Scott endlessly. Licking his lips, Logan began to peel his sleeveless white t-shirt up over his head, next turning his attention to his jeans when there was a crackling sound from behind him, drawing him up and out of the moment.
"We aren't alone," Scott mouthed worriedly, leaning over to search for his discarded visor in an attempt to keep up the rouse that he'd been living since they'd returned to the school. Scott dropped down to the ground, causing Logan to hesitate.
"I'll get rid of them," Logan decided with a snarl, knowing only too well that with the promise of sex on the horizon nothing else seemed relevant. More than anything he wanted to bury himself in Summers, to get lost inside the man he loved, but someone out there was thwarting his plans. Someone was stealing that luxury away from him and now he was suddenly very angry. Standing up taller, Logan released his claws preparing to frighten off whatever intruder dared to spoil the fantasy, but to his surprise and dismay no one emerged from the trees.
"Damn it," Logan cursed waiting in silent contemplation for a few seconds longer before turning to seek out Scott again, "I think whoever it was is gone. They don't seem to be…"
Logan's words ceased when he realized Scott was no longer on the stone waiting for him. Stepping forward, he realized that the scene had shifted taking him to another time and place, to a moment where he was surrounded by misery, where his thoughts were consumed with violence and rage. He could sense danger on the horizon, feel it's iron clad grip upon him like a vise clawing and scratching at his senses until.
"Victor," Logan snarled, sliding into a defensive position when he knew he was no longer alone. Turning around he faced down the brother that time hadn't allowed him to forget forever. There in the moonlight they stood together in a stand off, their eyes seeping with animosity and rage over the things Victor had attempted to steal from Logan. Knowing only too well that Victor needed to be put down Logan charged forward preparing to destroy Victor once and for all, but before he could complete the task there was another voice in his head.
"Logan," he could hear Scott calling to him, causing him to hesitate. In that hesitation Victor moved faster, seemingly gaining the upper hand in their impending battle, but still Scott's voice grew stronger distracting him from the fight, "Logan wake up! Logan!"
"What?" Logan's eyes snapped open, his lips parting as his lungs gasped for air. He fought to regain control of his thoughts, to remember his surroundings, but when he caught the first glimpse of his metal claws shining through the darkness above him, fear carried over him.
"Logan, it's alright," Scott's voice spoke up soothingly, his fingers wrapped carefully around Logan's wrist in a tight grip, doing his best to prevent Logan from sending the adamantium claws through Scott's bare abdomen that now hovered above Logan. Logan struggled against the hold momentarily, his brain overloaded with thoughts of going after Victor, but when he felt the gentle brush of Scott's hand against his cheek, the dream faded completely replacing the moment with the serenity that surrounded him in waking hours.
"It was only a dream," Scott explained tenderly, his fingers sliding up into Logan's dark, unruly hair. Through the darkness Logan could see Scott's worried blue eyes upon him, their depths divided by concern and love after having witnessed one of Logan's nocturnal breakdowns. In the nightmare Logan had gone from excited, to confused, to overtaken with madness driven by the notion that the man who had tried to steal Scott from his life was still out there, walking around and enjoying each breath that fate had allowed him. It made Logan's blood boil, mind fill with rage, but it was the warmth of Scott that silently coaxed Logan to release the anger long enough to savor the moment between them. "You're safe now."
"As long as Victor's out there we'll never be safe," Logan mouthed guiltily, his heart sinking at the memory of how Victor had tried to rip Scott from Logan's life not that long ago. Thinking back to the confrontation at the power plant, Logan shivered feeling it play out in his mind all over again. He thought to Victor's lies announcing Scott's death. He could recall the helplessness he'd felt, the desire to end it all only to discover that Scott was still alive. Remembering how despair had transformed into hope only to have it come crashing down around them with the building caused Logan's heart to furiously pound all over again. In his mind, he could clearly see Scott underneath the debris again, crushed before him. The agony of the moment consumed Logan's thoughts and he couldn't help, but tense up involuntarily. "He won't stop until he destroys us."
"We're not going to allow him the luxury," Scott promised dipping down to place a tender kiss over Logan's forehead.
Feeling Logan's claws return beneath the surface of his skin, Scott repositioned himself over Logan, thighs surrounding Logan's muscled abdomen in a steady press. Cupping Logan's face in his hands, Scott leaned forward again, this time pushing Logan's lips apart in a forceful tease. Before Logan could protest, Scott's tongue was inside of him, seeking out a means of erasing Logan's worries, desperately trying to soothe Logan's troubled subconscious. Instinctively Logan's arms wrapped around Scott's thighs, fingers stretching out up over the curve of Scott's muscled bottom, kneading and stroking the firm flesh in his grasp.
"You're safe now," Scott whispered as they parted breathlessly. Scott's blue eyes beckoned Logan again, coaxing him to accept the truth that the danger had passed. Now as they lay together in Logan's bedroom at the school, surrounded by familiarity, Logan couldn't help, but feel his mind settling to ease again. He searched Scott's blue eyes, grunting slightly when he felt Scott's body shift over his, revealing the lust that spilled into the air enveloping them.
Scott dropped forward, teeth grazing the side of Logan's neck, tongue tracing Logan's earlobe in a slow, sultry sweep causing Logan to groan beneath Scott. Although the dream had been horrifying, haunting Logan with the concern that was ever present in his mind over what Victor would pull next, the reality of Scott in his arms invoked the earlier part of the dream. He could clearly recall the longing and desire he'd carried with him at the idea of having Scott to himself. Closing his eyes Logan growled, a low, primitive breath of desire with Scott grinding over him, tempting him with every skilled movement of his hips.
"Focus on me Logan," Scott slurred huskily, his voice penetrating the darkness that surrounded Logan's thoughts, entering into his mind with an unexpected warmth. Scott's blue eyes beckoned Logan silently, their depths revealing an emotion Logan hadn't anticipated finding ever again.
In Scott's eyes he could see their past returning to them. He could feel the heightened awareness of Scott's new power surrounding him, slipping into his mind, into his thoughts like a comforting blanket drawing out the excitement of their first kiss, the passion behind their first declarations of love to their first time together making love in this very spot. The vivid memories assaulted Logan's tortured brain, pushing the horrors of Victor aside long enough for Logan to immerse himself completely in thoughts of Scott. Sensations bristled over Logan's body, stimulating his every animal instinct in the moment, focusing entirely on Scott, on the taste, the touch and the feel of Scott over him.
"You're in my head," Logan managed to whisper tightly knowing only too well that Scott was attempting to bring an end to the war happening beneath the surface in Logan's mind.
"I only want to help you," Scott promised dipping down to kiss Logan tenderly. His fingers tangled through Logan's hair in a tentative brush, soft and comforting despite the raging fury Logan had felt minutes earlier.
Although Logan hadn't been one to have someone poking around in his mind, Scott made it almost welcome, almost as if it was a deeper way of connecting between them, but even with the delicious memories of the past with Scott returning to him, Logan knew he couldn't allow Scott to explore the darkness that was still buried inside of his subconscious. Fearing for what Scott could discover if he spent too much time poking around in his head, Logan reached for Scott's shoulders, shaking him gently before speaking up in a small rumble of need.
"Then kiss me," Logan commanded roughly pulling Scott down against his chest. His lips collided with Scott's desperate and needy in their approach. His hands wandered over Scott's lean muscular form, pushing Scott out from inside of his head with the erotic distraction. In an instant Scott's skin ignited, hands sliding over Logan's strong, powerful shoulders before Scott leaned back, sliding upward over Logan's body.
"Summers," Logan half questioned, half complained feeling Scott arching backwards away from him.
"Shh…" Scott whispered pressing his index finger over Logan's lips to silence him before Logan's eyelids fluttered to a close. Scott sat up straighter, his nails scraping over Logan's chest in a rush of pleasure-filled agony. There was a mind stopping sting from the scratches upon Logan's skin, the warmth of blood revealing itself, but almost as soon as it started it disappeared giving way to the longing in Logan's desire.
Reopening his eyes Logan watched Scott arch backward, his hips sliding forward to allow his hard body to collide with Logan's abdomen, to brush across the hair dusted surface in a tentative sweep. Logan's eyes widened upon remembering that Summers was still naked as he'd been when they'd first gone to bed. It had been a change from the modest pajamas that Scott had usually worn each night, but now Logan found himself appreciating his lover's bolder decision to discard his clothing for the evening. Scott smiled seductively, warming up to Logan, skin to skin without barriers or restraint in his longing. Releasing Scott's bottom, Logan curled his fingers upward, wrapping his fist around Scott's growing erection. Scott bit down on his lip, sliding forward against Logan's abdomen in an involuntary brush. Unable to suppress the whimper that built up in the back of his throat, Scott shivered with delight, savoring the feel of Logan's rough touch against him.
"Please," Scott begged in a primitive whisper, his voice revealing the depths of the hunger he'd felt for Logan in the moment. While Logan was initially half asleep, still feeling the after shocks of his nightmare upon him, the overwhelming awareness of Scott had worked a number over his senses bringing him back to the one primitive instinct he'd never been able to deny-lust.
"Roll over," Logan finally decided releasing Scott much to Scott's dismay. Scott whimpered in protest, his lip curling in the beginnings of a pout, but knowing what would follow, he didn't argue. He simply turned to his side preparing to lay on his stomach to accommodate Logan's request.
"Wait," Logan reached out to wrap his arm around Scott's chiseled abdomen. Tracing his fingers over the perspiration soaked ripple of muscle of Scott's smooth skin, Logan couldn't help but smirk, "stay there."
"Here?" Scott questioned with a heated breath, positioned on his side, turned away from Logan. He felt Logan's fingertips taper off over his hip. Logan's body slid in behind him, palm reaching for Scott's thigh and carrying it up over the thin, blue sheet that surrounded them. Bringing Scott's leg up, Logan bent it carefully, allowing the slide of Scott's calf muscle to rest against Logan's outer thigh.
"Right here," Logan purred in approval, his fingers sliding upward to pinch at Scott's nipple, to twist and taunt it with a rough pull causing Scott to whimper.
"God," Scott's eyes rolled back into his head, his lips parting in a shallow pant of desperation when Logan's fingers found their way to his mouth. Scott readily accepted the tip of Logan's index finger inside, sliding his moist tongue over the rough flesh, wet and eager to taste Logan's greedy touch.
"You're so beautiful Summers," Logan whispered biting down on the back of Scott's shoulder when he was met with sensory overload. Scott's thigh was brushing back against his, the depth of Scott's flexibility gaining Logan's approval when Logan's finger withdrew from Scott's lips, dropping down to caress every perfect line of Scott's body. Scott shivered, his breath ragged and broken when Logan returned his focus to Scott's bottom, kneading and stroking the rounded flesh heatedly. As Logan's caress grew more possessive, sliding his palm into a far more intimate exchange with his touch, Scott tensed up, body adjusting to the feel of Logan within as Logan's other hand moved into Scott's thick, dark hair, wrenching his head back just enough for another possessive bite into Scott's shoulder.
"I need you Logan," Scott began to writhe back into Logan, to welcome the notion of their union. Logan's tongue teased over Scott's shoulder blade, tracing over the back of his neck until finally Logan pulled Scott's leg up higher over his hip. He listened to Scott's desperate pant, the needy whisper of curse filled pleas falling from Scott's lips when Logan removed his fingers replacing his hard body at Scott's opening in an instant. Wrapping one arm around Scott's waist possessively Logan bit down on Scott's earlobe before crashing forward to bury himself inside of Scott.
"Logan," Scott mouthed his name, hips rolling back to accept Logan fully. His passion laden body eagerly welcomed Logan home again as it had a great many times in the past.
"Home," Logan thought to himself knowing only too well that the only time he ever truly felt alive was wrapped up inside of Summers, in having Scott whispering his name, giving away all the inhibitions he'd carried with him. Together they didn't have to pretend, they didn't have to carry with them the same façade everyone expected out of them. They were free to give in to the raw, primitive passion that only existed between them. Together they were unstoppable, a force to be reckoned with.
Now with Scott's soft whimpers rolling off of his tongue breathing Logan's name, Logan was surrounded by the primitive aroma of lust. Scott's body began twisting back into Logan, taking him readily and Logan knew in his heart there would never be anything more precious, more perfect in his life than being with Scott Summers. Yes, he wasn't one for sentimentalities, but Scott made him question that stance in his life. Their relationship had brought out a softer side of Logan, one not many people had been able to witness first hand. Making love to Scott was his serenity, his piece of tranquility, but deep down in knowing that, Logan realized that after what they had experienced with one another nothing could ever truly be enough anymore. Scott was everything, the only thing that Logan needed to pull himself from the darkness, to soothe his demons and bring him home again. Summers even with all of his prissy, intolerable righteous indignation was perfect in every way imaginable. He was truly Logan's everything.
Returning his focus to Scott's length again, Logan began to stroke him harder, faster, loving the way Scott's broken breath transformed from controlled longing to wild, wanton appeals for more. Scott bit down on his lip, body grinding against Logan needing more in a rushed, desperate set of pleas until finally Logan repositioned Scott on the bed, pushing him forward onto his stomach into the pillows. Scott silently complied to Logan's request rising up on his knees and elbows to accommodate their new positioning. Although they'd been apart for a couple of seconds it was far too long for Logan as he moved forward pushing into Scott's body overtaken by the animal within.
"Logan," Scott repeated his name over and over again, giving way to passion now that Logan gripped Scott's hips possessively.
"Tell me what you want Scott," Logan commanded sliding out of Scott's body, wanting nothing more then to imprint himself on Summers, to claim him completely. His fingers gripped Scott tightly, squeezing at Scott's thighs possessively now that Logan's heart hammered in his chest with a commanding movement.
"You," Scott begged frantically, "I want you Logan-only you."
Smiling outwardly Logan crashed into Scott again and again, no longer overtaken by any lingering traces of his nightmare or sleep. He continued to devour Scott savoring the scent, the sounds, the feel and the mood that surrounded him in their union. Scott's impassioned cries served as fuel to Logan's fire, causing his lust to spike up towards nirvana, taking them both crashing towards the edge. When Logan's arm surrounded Scott's hips, fingers colliding with Scott's hot, distended flesh, Scott was overtaken by the first waves of a climax. His body tensed tightening over Logan until finally Logan closed his eyes forgetting about the world around him in favor of returning to the one perfect moment he found lost inside of Scott Summers.
XXXXX
"What happened tonight? Want to talk about it now?" Scott inquired breathlessly after a long silence had lingered in the bedroom between him and Logan. He snuggled into Logan's chest, head placed over the it's center in order to hear to the sound of Logan's heart beating beneath him. He gently stroked at the dark hair over Logan's muscled contours, appreciating it's softness despite Logan's rough exterior. Closing his eyes, Scott listened to the sound of Logan's breathing.
"Not really," Logan admitted with a heavy sigh, his thoughts still surrounded by the smell of sex and the aftershocks of their time together.
"Fine," Scott decided shifting in Logan's arms to pull himself up on his elbows, "if you don't want to talk about it, how about I take a another look for myself?"
"Don't," Logan frowned meeting Scott's eyes again in warning, "I don't want you poking around in my brain again and I certainly don't want to discuss it."
"Logan, I wasn't trying to poke inside your…" Scott curled his lip in protest.
"That's exactly what you did and while I appreciate the distraction, I remember only too well how much you hated when Jean did that to you," Logan frowned giving Scott a long look. "It bothered you to think that your thoughts weren't your own, so now that you're able to see things from the other point of view…"
"I'm sorry," Scott softened his tone, his words barely audible when Logan sensed guilt in the air surrounding them, "that's not what I was trying to…"
"I know you weren't," Logan sighed hating to see the disappointment lingering over Scott's features, "It's just…some things just need to sort themselves out."
"I know it was about Victor. You said as much when I awakened you," Scott reminded him simply. His blue eyes were clouded over with genuine concern and worried determination, "It was clear when you woke up that…"
"I don't want to think about Victor," Logan attempted to put off Scott's questioning once again. Tracing the contours of Scott's spine in a tentative brush, Logan mouthed quietly, "especially not when I have the sexiest man alive in my arms."
"Sexiest man alive?" Scott couldn't help, but raise a curious brow, his blue eyes filling with amusement.
"Well, aside from yours truly," Logan winked unable to refrain from taking a moment to toss in a playful jab.
"Of course," Scott groaned outwardly, "because heaven forbid I might actually get credit in upstaging you just once."
"Always out to be the better man," Logan couldn't help, but roll his eyes, "You say I'm the one with the ego, but…"
"But nothing. Can't you at least offer a complement without there being a barb attached to it?" Scott curled his lip in protest.
"I didn't realize saying I was sexy was an insult to you," Logan wiggled his brow curiously.
"It isn't, I mean…" Scott shook his head and sighed, returning to settle in over Logan's chest again, "never mind."
"I get what you're saying Slim," Logan laughed lightly, bringing his fingers through Scott's damp hair and messing it up in an affectionate brush, "I just love to get you going every now and then."
"Gee, I hadn't noticed," Scott mouthed with heavy sarcasm in his tone, "I mean of course if I hadn't picked up on it when you almost got us busted in my classroom the other day…"
"It was your first day back teaching and you needed some encouragement. Besides, I told you that detention fantasy was going to become a reality for us," Logan joked ravenously. His arm curled around Scott possessively, enjoying the level of ease they'd carried with one another despite their earlier bickering, "and besides weren't you the one who said I passed my oral examination with flying colors?"
Scott's cheeks turned a pale shade of crimson before he lifted his chin to see the mischief burning behind Logan's eyes once again, "Logan, I swear you don't have to be so…"
"Blatant? Crass?" Logan curled his finger underneath Scott's chin, coaxing Scott's lips to his in a tender kiss, "I thought it was part of what you loved about me."
"It is," Scott divulged with a raw confession, "but if I start letting everyone see how your naughty side turns me on…"
"They might start believing you're some kind of pervert?" Logan finished with a hint of laughter in his voice. "Just like me?"
"I'm nothing like you," Scott wrinkled his nose at the suggestion. "I'm more restrained and…"
"You're exactly like me, but here," Logan paused thinking about the adjustments they'd been forced to make in their return to the school, "well, I guess you're just a bit more distracted. Maybe even a little more repressed."
"I'm on shaky ground Logan. I could see that clearly when I went to the staff meeting," Scott breathed thinking about the state of affairs they'd returned to after they had rescued Charles. The encounter had opened up a great many questions into the past. There were still answers needed about the time everyone had lost, about the people who had held Charles captive-about those who were attempting to seek out Scott, about what Jean had done to Scott, yet within all those questions it seemed there was no attempts being made at seeking a resolution.
"Only because you surround yourself with the deceptions," Logan touched Scott's cheek gingerly, "Summers, you don't have it in you to keep lying to everyone. Sooner or later they are going to see…"
"That what?" Scott questioned bristling at Logan's unspoken implication, "That I don't need to hide behind the visor because there's a possibility that I may or may not be able to control it? Logan, you know as well as I do that is only the tip of the iceberg. If they could see the other things…"
"Hank isn't stupid Scott. He's been running the tests and with your miraculous recovery…," Logan curled his lip in protest, remembering their friend's assistance in Scott's return to life.
"Even he doesn't understand what's happening," Scott lowered his voice, almost afraid to be having the conversation with Logan in the waking hours, "He knows that discretion is important to me…"
"I realize that, but sooner or later Charles is going to start questioning the changes. He's going to realize you've been pretending to be something you aren't and…" Logan thought to Scott's bond with the man who had helped pull him from the darkness that surrounded his life.
"I can't bring him into this," Scott detangled himself from Logan's arms. Falling back onto the mattress, Scott let out a long sigh. He brought his palms up over his face, hiding his eyes with a small groan, "Charles wouldn't understand."
"You don't believe that," Logan argued thinking about the changes that had been taking place in Scott. "If anyone can make sense of what's been happening, you know as well as I do that he can. Given the bond between the two of you, I'm certain he'll do everything in his power to…"
"No," Scott shook his head firmly, "I'm not going to bring him in on what's happening."
"Scott he's going to realize that…" Logan attempted to reason with Scott again.
"He won't," Scott stated firmly, "I've been good at covering my tracks."
"I can see right through you Scott," Logan couldn't help, but frown. "I know when something's troubling you, when you're upset…"
"That's because you know me," Scott touched Logan's chest in a faint brush, "You've seen the real me, but everyone else…"
"They know you too Scott. The Professor is the one person that you've always depended on and…" Logan shrugged simply, thinking about Scott's bond with the older man.
"He's hiding something from me Logan," Scott finally blurted out, his face growing suddenly serious in the moment.
"Hiding something how?" Logan searched Scott's eyes for a long moment.
"I can't explain it, but it's there," Scott confessed in a barely there whisper. "I felt it when I was visiting him not long after we returned. He tried to tell me something the day I found him. He was desperate to say something when he was inside my head, but then he stopped. At first I thought it was because of circumstances, but then when I questioned him on it later, he brushed it off as if it was nothing."
"Maybe it was nothing," Logan wrinkled his brow. "Given the traumatic nature of the experience we've all been through maybe he was just relieved to see you standing before him again Scott. We all thought you were dead, so maybe in his relief and surprise he just thought that there was so much to say, but…"
"Don't try to play psychoanalyst because it doesn't suit you," Scott frowned back at him dismissively. "He's holding back on me Logan. There's a distance in his eyes, something in his voice and when I…"
"What?" Logan couldn't help, but question.
"When I try to pick up on what it is, he's shutting me out," Scott explained nervously, his words betraying his own personal code of conduct. "I thought maybe it was because of Jean-because he was aware on some level of how things played out. Subconsciously I knew he could sense what was happening with me, maybe even before Jean did. After a while I just started feeling as if maybe he doesn't approve…"
"Of what?" Logan asked, sensing hesitation behind Scott's eyes, "Of us?"
Scott remained silent, looking to the sheet that surrounded them.
"You think he's got issues with what's happening between you and I?" Logan raised a curious brow, thinking about how this time around he and Scott hadn't been set on keeping their relationship a secret from those at the school. Last time Scott had been mourning the loss of Jean, coming terms with who he was and their relationship had taken a more private progression, but this time Scott refused to hide the truth. He and Logan had agreed to bring an end to the questions and share their happiness with those around them regardless of what tensions may arise from their union.
"I don't know," Scott admitted honestly. He laced his fingers in with Logan's, taking a moment to appreciate their rings against each other, "I would like to think he's happy that I'm finally at peace with my heart, but…"
"He doesn't trust it, does he?" Logan deduced thinking about the way things felt different in dealing with Charles. Although Logan hadn't said anything about it, there was certainly a distance that surrounded the man's approach. Granted Logan hadn't bonded with Charles like Scott had, yet towards the end Logan had respected Charles on a great many levels. Charles had been their rock when the world had collapsed, pushing them on to keep fighting until Phoenix had taken him as well. Still in the return they'd all made to the school at long last there seemed to be a wall, a tension that Logan had just attributed to the aftermath of the ordeal Charles went through, yet with Scott questioning it, Logan began to second guess himself.
"I know I shouldn't try to be poking and prodding around in his head, but something's changed Logan. Something's happening with him as well," Scott continued breaking through Logan's thoughts. "I just figured if I could find some clue into what's going on with him, then maybe…"
"You could sort out what's happening with you," Logan finished watching Scott nod.
"Something like that," Scott divulged quietly, "I know it's wrong, but I just assumed if he'd endured what I did with Jean then…."
"You could help him and yourself," Logan understood taking in Scott's words.
"It's a bit underhanded and I know it's wrong, but right now I just don't want to go into this guns blazing. Everything is so up in the air and tentative. If I bring him into this…" Scott's words tapered off again.
"What?" Logan couldn't help, but ask.
"I just don't know what the outcome will be. So many things have changed. He's changed. I've changed and…" Scott's blue eyes fell to a close.
"So you're going to what? Tiptoe around his subconscious for the answers you're seeking out?" Logan replied thinking of all Scott was sharing with him. "That's dangerous Scott. You know as well as I do that he's going to sense it. He'll realize that you're playing mind games. He'll sense your new powers and…"
"So far I've hit a wall," Scott explained thinking about his subtle attempts at learning what changes had taken place in Charles. "He's keeping me out, putting something out there to keep the others away…"
"Do you think it has something to do with the people who were holding him?" Logan asked worriedly. "If they've done something to him as well or maybe you were onto something in thinking about Jean. As you said she changed you, so is it possible that she also changed him when…"
"I don't know," Scott admitted honestly, "it's hard to tell, but you're right. I can't keep trying to sneak around this Logan. Sooner or later he's going to realize I'm the one trying to poke around in his head and…"
"If you've been doing that, then he has to already sense that you're different. He must know that you're…" Logan's words tapered off.
"What?" Scott couldn't help but ask. Tipping his head to the side to face Logan fully, he felt his mind overtaken with questions, "What am I Logan? First I was powerless, stripped of everything, but then after Victor tried to kill me not only did my powers return, but I've found more of them. I can do things I never imagined possible. I can read someone's thoughts, heal as if nothing can hurt me, yet it shouldn't be possible. Even after what happened with Jean, there is nothing lending to reasoning behind what's happening to me unless it's been somehow manufactured."
"Scott that's not what I'm trying to say," Logan frowned seeing the upset behind Scott's eyes.
"Why not Logan? You know we've both been questioning it," Scott sat upright on the bed. "You said it yourself that Mystique told you that…"
"I wouldn't take her at her word," Logan frowned remembering Mystique's cryptic message, "She's not to be trusted."
"Maybe not, but then tell me how I survived the attack? How could I step into Victor's mind and know…?" Scott's words trailed off, his thoughts returning to the moment of Victor's last attack on him.
"Know what?" Logan questioned worriedly, "Scott, what exactly happened that night?"
"I told you," Scott replied thinking back to the night he'd figured his life was over, "Victor blindsided me at the house, then I woke up in that cell. He dragged me down the hall and…"
"Go on," Logan half pleaded, half tensed up remembering the night it seemed the world had fallen apart completely.
"He attacked me, but this time I wouldn't let him see my fear," Scott explained shifting on the mattress to meet Logan's eyes again, "I fought it with everything I was, but I knew he was going to kill me. I realized that he wasn't going to allow me another opportunity to walk away…"
"So you tried to fight back," Logan hesitated knowing that he'd gone over the details with Scott a great many times in the past despite the uncomfortable discussion that always followed.
"I couldn't," Scott closed his eyes and recounted the moment, "I was strapped down feeling like I did when he first took me… I'd known what he was capable of, but then…"
"Scott," Logan watched Scott's jaw flex with tension, the memory of the madness consuming him. Reaching out to touch Scott's shoulder, Logan spoke up in a soothing tone, "never mind. We don't have to do this again."
"I saw you Logan," Scott blurted out without hesitation, "I thought my life was over, but there you were rescuing me. You gave me a second chance and…"
"Scott, I wish I'd come there sooner, but…" Logan felt guilt eat away at him over what Victor had attempted to do to Scott.
"I touched him," Scott met Logan's eyes again, "I saw the two of you together, growing up and fighting against the world. I could feel your bond, feel the love between you long before the end. I could see the history between you until it turned ugly. I watched you walk away and…"
"I don't remember all of that," Logan confessed painfully still a prisoner to the past and the memories that Stryker had forced out of his mind. "I wish I could, but there are still pieces that are stolen from my mind. There are vague bits and pieces some that don't make any sense. I have flashes, nothing substantial although I know he played a huge role in who I am today. Still there's so much that I don't remember, so many things that…"
"I can show you," Scott spoke up encouragingly, "Some of it's still imprinted in my mind. If you want me to…"
"No," Logan shook his head and sighed, "Not now. It's not what's important. It's not…."
"Not what?" Scott questioned drawing in a breath.
"I feel some of it still there inside of me threatening to reveal itself," Logan sighed resigning himself to the conversation they were having, "I can see Victor and I fighting. I remember feeling betrayed-how I believed he'd killed someone I cared about, yet…"
"You went there for revenge the last time. You wanted to destroy him, but you'd learned that she lied to you," Scott recounted the memory that had shaken him and implanted a sense of Logan's rage long after he'd experienced it. "You wanted vengeance because you thought he'd killed..."
"Kayla," Logan finished with a small nod feeling the memory surround him, "I remember her. It's vague, but there are bits and pieces of my time with her. She was special to me."
"You loved her," Scott reached out to touch the side of Logan's face tenderly, "and she betrayed you."
"She didn't have a choice," Logan's jaw tightened, flexing with the traces of memory upon him. "Stryker was pushing her buttons and…"
"He used your emotions against you. He played Victor against you and ultimately…" Scott paused watching Logan tense up before him.
"It was a long time ago," Logan breathed, his face twisting with strain, fighting to recall everything that had been coming to him in fragments in his mind. "Some things are best left in the past I suppose."
"I used to believe that as well, but not anymore. I know that's not how you feel either Logan. Together I'm starting to know who I am at last. Granted I don't know what's happening with these powers, but the more time goes on the more I realize I know where I began," Scott reached out to stroke Logan's face gently, "where we began."
"Scott," Logan forced himself to meet Scott's eyes again, sensing something brewing behind the surface.
"In madness and chaos that's where our story began," Scott whispered, his words echoing in Logan's mind, taking Logan back to see their first meeting played out before him. There were traces of it running through the surface, to the point where Logan felt the fury. He could sense the anger, the animosity, the betrayal and the rush of rage that swept over him until finally there was something else, something his subconscious had swept beneath the surface, tucked away from him forever.
"Scott," Logan spoke up feeling himself immersed in the memory standing there as an outsider watching the younger version of himself tearing open the holding cells where the other mutants had been held captive. In his haste, he'd overlooked something important, something that would change his life forever.
"I always thought that rescuing you and Rogue was the beginning for us," Scott's voice collided with Logan's thoughts, "but it was in this moment where we truly found each other."
Logan looked down to see Scott's fingers laced in his, the two of them watching the memory play out before them. Logan could see himself liberating the much younger, more frightened Scott, guiding Scott and the others to safety away from the experiments and chaos to freedom. It was in their escape that Logan found himself overtaken with the familiarity of Scott before Logan had gone on his journey to challenge Victor. Looking back he could see that there was always something shared between them, but now…
"How could I not know?" Logan questioned seeing the younger versions of themselves racing off to freedom, away from the now empty holding cells that surrounded them.
"We both had this stolen from us. They knew about it, yet they kept it from us. They refused to allow us to have this memory. Charles knew about this, yet he said nothing when you came to us here," Scott explained turning to face Logan fully.
In an instant the room morphed around them, transforming into something else, somewhere darker, more dangerous, cloaked in fear. Logan watched Scott's blue eyes widen with horror, felt Scott tense up beside him, a gasp carrying over Scott's lips. There was a metal chair across the room covered in blood. Logan's worried eyes fell upon it, seeing the needles and knives spread out on a tray. Logan could hear the sound of footsteps, the scent of danger in the air, bringing with it the promise of violence and torture before Scott pulled away from him severing the connection.
Logan blinked finding them back in Logan's bed with one another, far from the memory that Scott had just shared with him. Still remembering the final scene that had played out, Logan looked to Scott worriedly. "What just happened?"
"Nothing," Scott lied, turning his head away from Logan.
"Don't tell me that," Logan frowned, "Where were we just now?"
"I don't know," Scott bit down on his lower lip.
"Don't lie to me Scott," Logan cursed under his breath, "We were just inside your mind sharing a memory and…"
"That's not the memory that I wanted you to experience," Scott shivered beside Logan, "It shouldn't have come up-not now."
"But it did…" Logan frowned feeling a sudden invisible wall go up between them with Scott's retraction.
"You have your secrets you want to keep to yourself and I have mine Logan," Scott finally breathed, forcing himself to meet Logan's concerned eyes. "I'll share most anything with you, but that, well it's not something I want to experience again."
Logan opened his mouth preparing to say something more, but finally nodded, "Fair enough."
"Thank you," Scott settled into Logan's chest, snuggling in against him in a small embrace. "I'm sorry I took you to that moment."
"I only wish I could step inside and erase it for you like you tried to do for me," Logan replied squeezing Scott in his arms completely. "It's amazing what you think you can deal with when you're trying to figure everything out, but once you start to put the pieces together the big picture isn't as pleasant as you'd hoped it would be."
"Your past doesn't define the man that you are Logan," Scott offered up sensing Logan's thoughts returning to their earlier conversation about Victor. "It's who you've become that matters most."
"So you keep saying," Logan let out a small laugh, "and as long as I don't dub myself sexiest man alive, we're all good, right?"
"Logan," Scott wrinkled his nose at Logan, fighting to repress the laughter that threatened to steal the seriousness of the moment away from them, "you should know by now that I wouldn't be sleeping with you if I didn't think you were the sexiest man alive. I do, after all, have incredibly high standards."
"Now who is trying to stroke the other's ego?" Logan decided twisting Scott in his arms to pin Scott down on the mattress once again.
"Believe me I'd like to stroke more than your ego," Scott couldn't help, but tease with a hint of laughter in his tone.
"Now that's exactly what I want to hear," Logan dipped down to kiss Scott with a tiny snarl.
"I'll just bet you do, but in all seriousness Logan, what I said before…well, it's the truth," Scott met Logan's eyes solemnly. Reaching up to touch the stubble on the side of Logan's face, Scott spoke up tenderly, "Regardless of how much you hate my romantic overtures I'm not going to lie. You're the greatest love I've ever known Logan. I can't imagine my life without you. If nothing else rediscovering the past only reaffirms to me that we were meant to be."
"I just wish I'd realized it sooner Slim," Logan dipped down to kiss Scott tenderly, "If I'd known back then what kind of impact you'd make in my life, I would've fought like hell to remember you."
"Oh please," Scott couldn't help, but blush, "I wasn't even on your radar back then."
"Shows you what a fool I was," Logan nibbled on Scott's lower lip, "but I can honestly say with a clear conscience that the first moment you walked into the Professor's office and tried to shake my hand, I just knew that I wanted to get under your skin."
"That was obvious," Scott groaned outwardly remembering their earlier exchanges with one another, "and you did everything in your power to make it happen."
"My biggest regret was not seeing that I should've tried a more direct approach early on," Logan leaned forward to kiss Scott again, "we could've spared ourselves and everyone else a lot of heartbreak."
"I wasn't ready to face who I was when you arrived," Scott sighed thinking about the man he'd grown into being before Logan's arrival at the school. "I was living a lie until you forced me to be true to my heart."
"Well, what can I say?" Logan teased lightly, sensing the air of sentimentality in Scott's tone, "I guess I'm just good like that."
"You're better then good," Scott conceded wrapping his arms around Logan's shoulders eagerly, "You're the best there is…aside from me of course."
"Now you're getting it," Logan boasted diving in for another kiss knowing that things were finally finding a way to turn around for them after all.
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