Chapter Twenty Nine: The Bet

When classes ended for the year, it was an especially bittersweet time. As usual, the big event of the finals week was K's obstacle course. And once again, she'd found a way to make it new, adding different levels of challenges for the different levels of riders. The staff of course also made the run themselves, but that years newest addition was that the parents of many of the students were in attendance to cheer the kids on as well.

K and Logan's annual race was a particularly memorable one. They trash talked before the race, picking at each other and teasing – with Logan pinching her before they got lined up to run. It was all the more entertaining as he beat her out by half a length. She took her loss in good spirit though as he pulled her off her horse, laughing along with him as they both grinned, kissing at the finish line with the populous of the school divided sharply between cheers and boos while he promised to claim his prize later. When he let her loose and the cat calls died down K began her award presentation. Before she could get too far though, she was interrupted by Jubilee.

Her oldest students had arranged something for her this year, unbeknownst to most of the staff. So K was taken entirely by surprise when the eight graduating students came out with a new saddle for her. It was something that Logan knew she needed, but he also knew she refused to buy for herself, saying that if she needed one that badly, she'd just do what she always did and win one at a rodeo somewhere.

But it was a sweet gesture, one that showcased how grown up the kids of Xaviers had all gotten, especially considering that the following fall, Jubilee, Chloe, and Zoe would all be in college off campus. And though he would never admit it, Logan was hit particularly hard by Jubilee's near constant show of maturity as of late.

He'd watched out for her since she was thirteen, after all, and now, after years with the X-Men, years of following him around the world, fighting to save the world, and somehow growing up too, she was leaving him. Or it felt that way. K tried to be especially considerate of him in light of that and had fallen into pretty much giving him anything he wanted.

Chloe and Zoe took K's new saddle to the barn after the kids presented it to her, and both of them gave her a long, tight hug before they left her standing with Logan. Today, the little ones were in the house already with Kurt and Kitty - playing happily with Rachel and Michael as the stands full of students and parents cleared out.

"You alright?" K asked Logan as he watched Jubilee walk away, arm in arm with Everett. Logan didn't say a word, though he let out a little grunt of annoyance. "They're not dating, you know."

"Yeah?" Logan challenged. "Then why's he got his hand on her ass?"

"Um … new development?" K said quietly as she leaned on the fence, looking for a way to change the subject. "They weren't dating last I heard, I swear ... " and when that didn't settle him out, it was clear a change in subject was in order. "So," she started quietly. "What would you like for your prize, Mister finally-beat-me-at-my-own-game?"

"Now that is something I'd like to talk about," Logan replied, his tone something that set her on edge. "How often have I beat you on horseback?"

K chuckled as she shrugged. "I'm very sure this is the first time," she said.

"Seems like I should get somethin' really worth my efforts," he said, though his expression was something she was absolutely not prepared for.

"Uh-uh. No way, cowboy. That's not on the table. I already told you no more kids. At least for now, so get that damn twinkle outta your eyes before I knock it out," K said sternly as he pulled her to him by her belt loops.

His smile just grew from a smirk as his hand slipped higher up the back of her tank top. "Wanna go for double or nothin', feisty?" he said in a growl as he leaned in to kiss her neck. He knew damn well that whenever he did that, she melted, and she let out a nervous kind of chuckle as he started playing dirty.

"No, I do not. You'll just cheat. Logan, please. Get real. Pick something else. Anything else," K said as he lifted her hair off her shoulder, and slid the strap of her tank top off her shoulder so he could work his way down from her ear. "Sexual favors for a month on demand. How about that?" she suggested with a grin even as she tried to keep her stern tone.

"Nope. You'd do that anyhow if I asked."

K tipped her head to the side. "True enough."

"Put the option on the table. I wanna open up negotiations. We'll call that double or nothin'. Come on – I promise I'll make it worth your while."

K's heart was racing as she bit her lip, leaning into the crook of his neck. "This is supposed to be something fun – not something serious."

"You know what I want, and I'm offerin' you an out," he replied low. "Can't ask for more than that."

"I'm just not ready to even talk about it," she said smiling nervously, though she knew that even if she lost, he'd drop it if she asked. It was really just negotiating to talk about it.

"Alright, fine – I'll come up with somethin' else then. Like … our next one has to be born in Canada … whenever that is."

K stiffened in his arms, narrowing her eyes at him. "Wait. This is what you wanted anyhow isn't it?"

But Logan grinned in response. "I'd like a few things. But those are your options. Bring in the possibility of another kid before these are grown, or … just agree that the next one's Canadian. Or … more Canadian. How's that – I gave you a choice." The whole while, he kept kissing her neck, and let his hands wander. It was purely baiting … and he knew she didn't really have anything against Canadians … but to be in Canada when she was so vulnerable would drive her nuts.

But whether he knew it or not, it really just had K seriously weighing out just giving him the green light for another baby instead of this insane game. They'd discussed it in passing before, particularly since Jean and Scott had started trying for another one. Now, K wondered if he'd gotten the idea just because of the Summers. But she didn't think that one little passing mention would kick him off like this. When she had asked him what he thought about one more a few weeks beforehand over coffee – purely out of curiosity - she truly didn't expect him to jump on board so fast.

"Okay," she whispered.

"Okay what?" he asked, kissing his way toward her mouth until he could just kiss the sense out of her. He was anticipating either direction, sure she'd take the easier route and opt for the Canadian deflection.

"Double or nothin', stud," he was stunned enough to stop kissing her entirely and stare at her a moment. "Open negotiations, but not with another horse race, and not today," she clarified.
"What you wanna use then?"

"I don't know yet. But we have to go by something neither of us has an advantage in."

"You sure?" he teased "Don't want ya havin' second thoughts."

"Oh, sure. It's probably just that you don't want to lose."

"Not even a possibility."

"Ha."

"You sure you wanna go head to head in a competition?

"Of course I'm not sure, but you're pushing so, here's the terms. You win, we open negotiations – I win, you drop it until I bring it up again."

"If I'm gonna get what I want anyhow, why don't cha just skip the game and pick which you want first?" he growled out.

"Or you can just pick something else entirely if you're afraid you'll get beat. The ball is in your court, love," Her tone was soft, but her eyes were dancing with trouble.

"Alright. When I win, I pick the timeline," he said with a smirk.

"If."

"Sure. If."

The next evening the games began. Jubilee and the sisters were watching all the kids and having a fine time watching movies while Kitty and Piotr took a well deserved date night. But Logan didn't know it was game on until K approached him with a paper grocery bag. He had been screwing around with Kurt - something to do with payback on Bobby- and the two of them were discussing a pool game when K showed up wearing a grin - and the one pair of jeans that Logan always got distracted by.

"Everything we need is in here," K told him, setting the bag on the counter.

His interest was clearly piqued and he stopped mid sentence - entirely forgetting what he and Kurt were discussing as he closed the distance and took a peek.

"You got two bottles of whiskey and a pair of inhibitor collars. What the hell is this?" he asked with a smirk that said he knew exactly what she had in mind.

"Well, I started thinking," K said - absolutely doing what she could to distract him visually. " – you're Irish, I'm Swedish – and both nationalities are known for their ability to hold their liquor, so … I'm gonna drink you under the table, sweetheart." She was grinning by the time she'd finished and Kurt's tail was swaying slowly behind him as he watched the two of them outright tactically flirting.

"Two bottles ain't gonna do it."

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong," K said, gingerly holding up the inhibitors. "That's where the unconventional jewelry comes in. Hank has agreed to keep us from going so far as to need medical intervention, but I'm getting you drunk."

"Yes, but if this is a bet, then what are the rules?" Kurt asked, unable to stay on the sidelines for something that could be so monumentally troublemaking.

"Easy," K said. "Whoever falls first loses."

Both Logan and Kurt grinned. "This will be a cake walk," Kurt said.

"So, where we doin' this thing?" Logan asked, his mood rising as he thought of how much fun getting her plastered could potentially be - for both of them.

"Game room. I'm gonna kick your ass on the pool table too," K replied with a smirk. "Best part? If the girls have trouble with the kids, we just pull the collars and viola – sober parents again."

"You've put some thought into this," Logan said, picking up the bag with the whiskey and already following her lead to the game room.

But K just smiled over her shoulder as she answered. "Yep. Been wanting to do this since you tried to get me drunk on a few Budweisers."

Kurt burst out laughing at that. "Oh, can I play too?"

"What for?" Logan asked, frowning at him, even as he had one hand resting at the small of K's back.

Kurt grinned wider. "Because, mein Freund, I want to see who between the two of us is the lightweight when there is no cheating through healing going on."

Logan gave Kurt a glare as K spun on the spot - both index fingers pointing at Logan … which really just had the competition already sparking up.

There was a small crowd waiting for them in the game room. Most of the resident X-Men were waiting to place their bets while Hank - who had been determined to be the referee – was making sure neither K or Logan somehow cheated as they carried out their little competition.

"Before we get started, may I ask what the stakes are that you're playing for?" Hank asked.

The couple shared a sly smile and Logan shook his head. "Private bet," he replied as she grinned. He was convinced that there was no way she was going to beat him.

"Alright then," Hank said wearily as he handed each of them a collar. "Once both of you have snapped them on, I'll activate them."

Both Logan and K shared a look before took the flirting a step further as they slipped them onto each other, though K couldn't hide the flinch when they snapped shut. A simple push of the button on the controller was all it took to negate their healing capabilities for the evening. And as soon as the lights on the collars lit up, Kurt stepped forward to hand each of them a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass, his tail swaying behind him - already grinning and looking forward to see which of them fell first.

"No drinking ahead of the other, you each have someone to pour and keep track for you," Hank said, nodding to Kurt and Sean. "So with that, before we begin – ladies and gentlemen, place your bets."

Sean took the bottle from K and poured her a shot, shaking his head at her as their friends made their bets amongst themselves. Of course, the odds were stacked against her as Bobby acted as bookie. "Are ye sure this is the way to settle a bet, lass?" Sean asked, though he was grinning widely and Logan was waiting for her, his glass in hand as she took the shot from Sean. K took one look at her smirking husband – he was so sure he was going to win.

But instead of answering Sean verbally, K simply by raised her glass to Logan. "Skål!" she said before throwing the shot back, her face expressionless as she lowered her glass, not dropping her gaze from his.

Logan grinned and mirrored her action.

"And so it begins," Hank said with a smile. "You will each take a shot every ten minutes. No more - and no faster. But if you drop back, then that will be it."

K nodded and picked up a pool cue. "Ready to lose, love?"

"Not tonight, darlin'," he replied. It was clear that the two of them were already sounding far too competitive for what appeared to be an easy contest.

Six shots in and both Logan and K were getting loose. K laughed to herself as she realized her lips were going numb. Though her stoic look was unnerving as she waited for Sean to hand her the seventh shot of the night. Both Logan and K were swaying a bit before they threw them back. As Logan set his glass down, he watched K do the same.

"You can quit, darlin'. Don't gotta push it all the way," Logan told her.

"Oh no. This goes until one of us hits the ground, and by one of us, I mean you," she replied. "This is a matter of pride. Swedes don't quit on a drinking contest."

"Sweetheart, you can't win this."

"Yes, I can," she replied stubbornly even as he pulled her close for a kiss. She didn't fight him on it, but he couldn't deny that she really was handling it well. Sure she swayed, but not any worse than he .

Two hours and twelve shots later, the drunken pool tournament was irretrievable. Neither Logan or K could hit the cue let alone land even the simplest of shots and it wasn't long before they decided to move on to something else entirely. Their friends were left shaking their heads as the couple got wasted. To top it off, everyone but Hank had imbibed a bit themselves, especially since the ferals were inadvertently providing the entertainment for the evening.

Logan was grinning like a Cheshire cat and K was giggling. The two of them weren't missing an opportunity to tease or paw each other as they continued on, either. And watching them, Hank had started to become concerned for their well being, so … he sent Bobby to the lab having decided it was high time for a breathalyzer. He was sure K was further gone than she appeared. He just needed to know how bad she really was.

Bobby returned with two machines, designating Jean and Scott to administer them to both of them at the same time. But when the Summers showed him the numbers, Hank was shocked at the results. K's blood alcohol level was significantly higher than Logan's. He'd assumed it would be. She was simply much smaller than him all together – even discounting the adamantium they both carried, he easily outweighed her by fifty pounds or better.

"No more alcohol until we've done a sobriety test – which you both are going to fail miserably," Hank informed them. There was no way the little time needed to administer the test was going to lessen the effects of what they'd done to themselves, though it was still highly entertaining for their friends.

Rogue tested Logan and Gambit set up to test K. And as expected, Logan dutifully bombed the test. His balance was shot, his words were slurred, and he looked drunk as he struggled to stay upright. So when Gambit told K what to do and she smirked at him, shaking her head no, he couldn't help but break down laughing. "You gotta do it, chere. He gonna win otherwise. Jes imagine Remy a cop and you gotta get outta bein' arrested. You drunk, petit. You gotta do de test," he told her. "You gotta or he gon' win outright. You don' wanna do that do you?"

"Oh tha's easy," K slurred before she mimed opening her flannel shirt to flash him. "See? No han-cuffs needed, ossifer swamprat. Bu-ut, since yer not a real cop, you don' get a real peek. See?" she replied cheerfully before turning away from a hysterically laughing Remy and staggering up to Sean, who was red faced and reluctant to pour another drop for her.

"Add impaired judgment to K's list of drunkenness," Sean called out.

"Lies, you biased lil' leprechaun," K said, reaching out to shove Sean's shoulder. "That was smart. I coulda' just flashed him for real."

"She got a point, homme. Dat much is true," Remy laughed, tears at the corners of his eyes as Sean fell apart laughing with him.

It was close. By the science, K was well beyond three sheets to the wind, but she was holding it together by the skin of her teeth. By Hank's estimation, she should be passed out cold. He was sure she was going to pass out, and thus lose. And then … Logan tripped over his own feet, but caught himself at the same moment when K tripped outright, falling on her backside. On hitting the ground, she burst out laughing, even as Logan dropped down next to her, laughing just as hard as she was when he realized she hadn't spilled her drink in her hand.

"Oh, darlin', you're wasted," Logan drawled out as Sean tried to take the shot back from her. The contest was over, after all.

"Look who's talkin'. C'mere," K replied before she threw back the last shot and he kissed half the whiskey out of her mouth. Things devolved from there, and the two of them were in a deeply amorous drunken stupor as they ignored their friends around them, diving straight into the heavy petting.

"We have to stop them or they're gonna get started right here on the lawn," Jean said to Hank.

He nodded, and decided that the best course of action was to turn off the collars. Of course, K didn't notice until she was suddenly not nearly so bombed. "Hey! Turn that back on – I haven't had a buzz this good in … EVER!" K shouted out as Logan nodded along with her.

"It's just one night. C'mon, blue – let me take my drunk wife to bed while she's still wasted. I wanna take advantage," Logan grinned, with K nodding along in agreement.

"Yeah, I wanna take advantage," K said.

"Fine. But no more alcohol," Hank told them.

K bit her lip as he turned his back to them. "How bout two more?" She called out to him, holding up three fingers.

"No, go to your room now or I'll turn them off permanently."

K stuck her tongue out at him while Sean all but picked her up off the ground. Logan grinned and K was snickering while Sean handed her off to Logan and the two of them leaned on each other. The two of them were still drunk enough to make walking something to concentrate on.

When they got to their room, Scott made a quick sweep of the place even as the two of them started up their make out session - though he was really just tryng to make sure they didn't have any hidden booze. The last thing he needed was for one of those two to end up with alcohol poisoning. When Scott found Logan's stash, K gave him a dirty look "Don't be a spoil sport," she called out.

"I'm just trying to keep you two alive," Scott said, shaking his head as he left, though as soon as the doors closed, Logan wasted no time in taking her off her feet.

The couple was awakened the next morning by Jean drawing back the curtains, letting the late morning sun pour in on them. Both were sporting the mother of all hangovers – totally unaccustomed to having to process alcohol that slowly.

"So, who won?" Logan asked, one eye cracked open as he rubbed the back of his neck.

But Jean just laughed at the question. "You don't remember?" she asked, highly amused.

He shook his head, as did K when Jean looked at her, too. "Oh, that's priceless," she replied, leaving them staring after her as she left.

"You gonna tell me?" Logan asked to Jean's retreating back.

"No. Because what you two were betting on? Should not be determined by a drinking contest," Jean said. "Oh, and all the money's been exchanged. I've told everyone to not tell you who won."

The door closed behind her loudly, and the two ferals shared a very grumpy look. "What a bitch," K muttered as she pulled the covers up, which at least got Logan laughing.

"Still got the collars on. Hair of the dog?" he asked.

K smiled up at him sleepily. "I'm pretty sure they took all our booze."

"Do you remember anything?" Logan asked as he pulled her closer with a contented sort of sigh. She bit her bottom lip as she wracked her brain, finally shaking her head slowly.

"I remember a lot of whiskey, and smack talk. From you," she replied. "And I may have flashed Remy."

He laughed hard as he pulled her leg over his hip, kissing her again. "I think you imagined that."

"I dunno," K said ."I flashed someone…"

Several hours later, with the collars removed, and both of the Howletts were re-hydrated, Logan sought out his wife. She was reading to their little ones as they laid on the bed, snuggled up with teddy bears, sleepily listening to the end of the story. Logan walked up to K with his hands shoved into his front pockets and leaned against the wall until the story was finished and all three of their little ones falling asleep as she closed the book. When it was clear they were asleep, K grinned up at him with a half grimace and slipped out from under Rose. As soon as sh was on her feet, Logan leaned toward her and kissed her cheek.

"As much as I hate to admit it – you won," he said at just over a whisper.

For a moment, K smiled, but it didn't last long as she narrowed her eyes and watched him for a long moment. All while he was doing his level best to look irritated at 'losing'.

"You've never done that before," K said very quietly.

"What?"

"Lied to me," she replied.

Logan drew in a breath and held it, his lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but then instead, he leaned forward and kissed her for a good, long time.

"Yeah," he answered when the kiss met its natural end. "But I don't want you doin' anything you're not ready for, and I sure as hell don't want to push ya into anything."

With a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, she slid her hands into his sideburns and pulled him closer, breathless as she kissed the sense out of him. "This is why it's hard for me to argue that I love you more. Things like this," K said with a small smile she absolutely couldn't rein back. "And it's things like that ...that prove to me you're right. If you really want another one, just tell me when."

That's all for this volume, guys - thanks for reading and reviewing … please keep your eyes open for the next volume in this series - as well as the many shared worlds I'm working up with robbiepoo2341, who was the inspiration for the full clear editing jag I went on in this universe.