Don't Patronize Me

So thanks to some iron control, or adamantium control, as Marie giggled jokingly, he managed to spend the day in bed with his woman in a manner satisfying for the both of them and without making her aches any worse.

He was perfectly content to remain there except for the growl he heard from Marie's stomach. "Damn, I need to take better care of you darlin'." He reached for his jeans and began to pull them on. "I'll go to the kitchen and bring us back something to eat."

Marie shook her head and pulled him down to kiss him, her mouth hot and sweet in a way that made him want to just crawl back into bed and worship her some more. "Why don't we both get dressed and I'll cook for you sugar? I haven't gotten to cook for you in a long time."

He grumbled slightly at the idea of her putting on clothes and when she giggled he arched an eyebrow. "What? Putting clothing on you should be a crime." Her grin as she gathered up her things and began to sort through them was nothing short of impish. "Don't bother to put any of that back on. You can use a pair of my shorts and a teeshirt until you get fresh things from your room, if you like."

He dug through his drawers until he found some things that would be comfortable for her, if large, and handed them off before pulling on another pair of jeans and a ragged pair of sneakers he used as houseshoes, along with an undershirt.

By the time Marie got into the clothes he'd given her Logan was just wanting her back out of them but she shook her head, fussing with her long mass of hair as she headed down the hall towards her room.

He ended up pacing outside her door for some reason. His agitation was ridiculous, it wasn't as if he couldn't hear her moving around in her little dorm. But until she reappeared in the doorway he felt like he couldn't breathe properly. Her smile at his relieved expression held no hint of mockery, only warmth and sympathy as she took his hand and they walked down to the kitchens.

"What's your pleasure sugar?" Marie was looking into the fridge and he was studying the way her jeans gripped her backside.

"Putting you on the counter and making a meal of you." He told her honestly and was rewarded with a blushing grin. "But whatever you feel like is fine darlin'." He tugged on the tail of her scarf and grinned when she let herself be pulled towards him. "You dress in all these layers because you're used to it? Or 'cause it makes the nerds around here feel safe?"

Her smile this time was a bit sad, "A bit of both I think. I'm used to being the mutant's boogieman." She pulled out the ingredients she needed and shut the fridge. "And you're the only one who encourages me to take off my clothes. Everyone else… well I can't cook in gloves so no one but Hank will come in the kitchen while I'm cooking. And now Mystique. She doesn't care if I absorb her or not."

"Good." He growled the word as he nuzzled her. "More for me. Don't like to share you anyway."

"Does that mean I'm completely unwelcome Logan?" Beast asked jovially from the doorway, his bright eyes gleaming with humor.

"Heya Doc," Logan greeted the larger blue furred feral. "You can come in, since Rogue says you don't get spooked by her skin. My woman's offered to cook and it's Katie bar the door 'gainst anyone who'll interfere with that."

McCoy grinned, a sight that might have scared anyone who didn't know what a teddy bear he was normally, and took a seat at the table after retrieving some fruit from the fridge. "Thank you. I do appreciate that. Rogue's cooking is not to be missed."

The woman at the stove rolled her eyes at them both but continued her self appointed tasks. "Hank why don't you fill Logan in on what we think happened with him? That six months?"

"Ah," Hank was busily peeling an orange and regarded Logan with a solemn gaze. "You hadn't noticed that the time had passed? Seasonal changes didn't trigger a feeling or disorientation?"

Logan shook his head. "It was like...I noticed but nothing really registered. Like time was just...unimportant. I had all these new memories in my head and I kept getting distracted by the reminders. Leaves turning reminded me of a battle during the Civil War. I was looking at a book and ended up remembering dueling pistols and the last time I used them. It was like I was on autopilot."

Hank nodded, "As I understand it, when the Phoenix attacked you she unlocked all the memories you'd lost. She also seems to have temporarily altered your perception of time. Your description reminds me a bit of children with Attention Deficit Disorder. Easily distracted, but your distractions are your memories."

"Why would she do that?" Marie asked quietly as she tossed greens in the bowl and added chopped up bacon to the mixture before dumping it all in a skillet. "She was capable of burning all of us alive. Why bother with his memories?"

"With Jean's knowledge of Logan's healing factor and it's near uncharted capability, the Phoenix might have thought he could outlast or heal from any damage she did to him. But a distraction, the flood of memories, temporal confusion, that might have knocked him out of the fight if he hadn't been so stubborn." The doctor shrugged. "Jean's telepathy was stronger than her telekinesis but with Phoenix it was the opposite. She couldn't understand Logan's particular strength of will. She had no way to prepare for it."

Logan chuckled, shaking his head. "You mean the only way I got close enough to kill her was because she underestimated how stubborn I could be? She figured that sudden rush of memories would knock me out of the fight? Guess she didn't know much about combat."

"She couldn't possibly understand your combat experience," Hank corrected him. "After all, she merely knew the memories were hidden, not what they contained. And you've had a long time to learn how to fight through disorientation."

Logan was distracted from the memories of the fight by Marie putting a plateful of food in front of him, another similarly loaded in front of Hank and a smaller portion at her own place at the table. "Eat. Lord knows you need to." She pointed at Hank, "You too Hank. I know you skip meals when you're working."

Mystique chose that moment to walk into the kitchen, a thin tunic her only concession to social modesty and she smiled upon hearing the other woman's reprimand. "She's right Hank. You get into a puzzle and you forget the outside world exists." She took the orange the doctor handed her with a smile and began to quarter and eat it, sitting on the counter with all the ease of a cat. "But I see you were finally able to corner Wolverine. Is he aware of what's been going on yet? Or haven't you gotten to that part?"

"Do you mean the 'Storm thinks she's in charge' thing or is there something else?" Marie asked curiously. "Because he got a load of 'Storm knows best' this morning. Tried to stop him from taking me upstairs."

Mystique snickered and shook her head. "Oh, and how did that go for her?"

"Hank kept Logan from skewering her." Marie addressed Logan. "You're gonna end up taking a lot of flack from her. So am I. Sure it's worth it?"

"I'm sure." He gazed at her steadily. "Cookie Monster had it right this morning. I held back as long as I could. But you're mine now. Everyone else can deal with it."

She nodded, satisfied and smiled at him, "All right then. Eat your food. I don't cook for just anyone you know."

Mystique nodded, "That woman at least taught you that much even if it turned out she had no spine to speak of."

"Should have picked someone better." Marie retorted. "Maybe a couple who didn't think mutants were freaks spawned of the devil?"

"They were younger when I met them." Mystique sighed, "And I didn't exactly look like this." She gestured towards her blue bare feet and arms.

Logan blinked in surprise and stared from Mystique to Marie. "Oh now you're just fucking with me."

"No," Marie shook her head. "I knew I was adopted. I figured that's part of why they were so biblical and hard on me. Less than perfect conception you know? Turns out Mystique is my birth mother."

"Your mutation makes a little more sense knowing that." Logan shrugged, "She turns into anyone, and you can take in anyone. You kinda do the same thing, just from the inside out, instead of outside in."

Hank blinked at him, "That's an interesting way of thinking about it." He began, "I wonder if-"

"Doc, I'm not some great thinker here. That was just of the top of my head." He looked over at Mystique. "So what's the story on her dad?"

If he hadn't been feral, if he hadn't spent his life attuned to the reactions of those around him, the ultimate predator surrounded by prey, he might have missed Mystique's reaction, a brief flick of her eyes towards Hank. So brief it could have been mistaken by anyone else for a twitch or a flinch. Now it was his turn to blink and stare at the red haired woman. "Are you kiddin' me? Are you fuckin' kidding me." He stood, his chair tumbling to the floor behind him as he glared at Mystique, Hank standing hastily, putting himself between the Wolverine and the shapeshifter.

"Logan, Mystique was very young and she has not chosen to disclose the father's identity. Marie hasn't pressed and neither should you." Hank was almost growling in defense of Mystique.

"You had better tell the truth," Logan growled at the blue scaled woman. "Tell her the truth. She deserves to know. Hell, so does he. Jesus fuck I can smell it now that I'm paying attention."

Marie put a hand on his arm, "Sugar, sit down and finish your meal. C'mon now. Let's all sit." She waited until he and Hank were in their chairs before she addressed them. "I haven't pushed because I thought maybe the circumstances of my conception might not have been consensual. Logan did you think about that before you started yelling?"

"No. Because your father would never, and your mother knows it." Logan ground the words out. "You deserve to know who he is. I figured it out. Victor was here it would take him about five seconds before he sniffed out the similarities in your scent." He stared at Mystique. "Don't you think she deserves the truth? Doesn't he?"

Mystique was shivering, tears leaking from her gold eyes. "I... he doesn't know. He had no idea. I came back once... Charles had reached out to me, and I'd missed him, I'd missed Hank, so much. I... I didn't even know I was pregnant until two months later. By then... the way I'd left, shouting, accusations, I knew I wouldn't be welcomed back. So I found a couple who couldn't have kids. Arranged for the adoption. And I never told anyone. Not even Eric."

Hank was staring at Mystique, "All you had to do was call me. I would have come for you. I would have taken care of you and the baby. I wouldn't have even... I would have kept it from Charles if that's what you wanted. But he would have loved a daughter."

Mystique shook her head. "I was never with Charles. He was my brother. No... Hank, she's yours. You remember? We were playing drinking games, watching the television and whenever someone said 'blue' we took a shot. We were very tipsy by the time we stopped drinking and we tumbled into bed. And the day after, Charles accused me of trying to corrupt you. Of trying to take you away. And we fought. And I left. You were still... I think you were still hungover."

"She's mine?" Hank couldn't look at Mystique to Marie and back fast enough, his head whipping around in amazement. Mystique's shaky nod seemed to catalyze his reaction and he shouted with glee, jumping and bouncing all over the kitchen before he grabbed Mystique and hugged her tightly. "Oh dearest...I wish you'd trusted me. But thank you."

"Doc, might wanna let her breathe some." Logan advised and grinned at Marie. "So I wonder if you'll turn blue after a certain age? Always been a favorite color of mine."

She was staring at her parents in stunned silence but his words pulled her out of her shock to look at him. "Disappointed sugar?" She gave him a half teasing smile.

"Never." He pulled her close for a kiss. "By the way, your parents? They're crazy."

Her kiss was filled with laughter, sweet against his mouth. "If I'm your mate, then they're your in-laws."

"Damn." He could only grin against her mouth and hold her close. "Guess it could be worse."

"It could always be worse." Marie agreed as he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her so they could both sit and watch her crazy parents. "But I'll take it. You and I, we can handle just about anything if we're together."

"Damn straight." He wondered when the blue people would remember their audience.

As it turned out Hank only calmed down after Bobby Drake walked into the kitchen and freaked because Marie was there without her gloves. That opened a whole other kettle of fish when McCoy growled at the ice prick about treating his daughter respectfully.

Mystique got in on the action too, claiming that it was rude to expect Marie to remain covered up all the time when with a little care and consideration from others she could go without multiple layers and gloves.

Storm had gotten in on the whole mess and proclaimed that if Rogue wanted to remain a student at the Institute that for the safety of the rest of the student body she was not allowed to show her skin. Except for her face. That apparently was okay.

Hank had been infuriated. Mystique pissed off and Logan had just shot out his claws. That got everyone's attention. "Shut up."

When they had finally quieted down he looked at Marie. "You wanna tell 'em now darlin'?"

"I have control of my skin. I've had control since I came back." She told Storm coldly.

"Then you should have said so that the kids wouldn't be so scared of you." Storm sniped back.

"Why?" Marie stared at her. "You can threaten people with lightening if you feel like it. Everyone here can do something. But you're the one who's afraid of me. Because if I touch you, for a little while, you're not the Goddess anymore. Every mutation I ever took in is active. That includes telepaths. And ferals. Why should I make it easy for anyone here besides Logan? Everyone was always so afraid to touch me. As if my skin could hurt them through my clothes, through my gloves."

"You had no control over it. You could have hurt someone." Storm insisted.

"Yeah." Marie nodded. "I could have hurt me. It's not like it feels good most of the time, absorbing someone. It hurts. Unless they're willing, but even then, too much...it's an overload." Green eyes were dark as they stared at the weather witch. "But when I went to take the Cure you had the nerve to tell me that I should accept who I was. That this was who I am. About the only thing you didn't spout at me was that it was God's will. And then you wrote me off." Her lips drew back in the parody of a smile. "Oh, Rogue? Oh she took the Cure and left. Must have gone home. Haven't heard from her in six months. Just ignore how un-fucking-likely it would be for my bible thumping friends of humanity parents to welcome me back into the fold. Because you just didn't want to bother. You had all your good little mutant children here. The ones who didn't scare you. The ones who did what they were told."

Mystique had slipped a gentle arm around Marie's shoulder to comfort her and the girl sighed, letting all her anger drain out of her like water before she looked at Storm again. "I'm going to wear what I want from now on. I'm going to wear weather appropriate clothing. And if my skin is on and someone bumps into me? Too bad. They should be more careful. I'm through tiptoeing around everyone's fears and worries. And Logan and I are together. We're mated. If you don't like that then too damn bad. I'm an adult and I'll make my own choices."

Storm's eyes had narrowed. "If you're going to put the safety of the rest of the students at risk then I'm afraid you will not be welcome in classes or public areas."

"That's fine." Hank had growled the words. "My daughter has all the skills she needs to pass the General Equivalency exam and I can well afford to enroll her in the college of her choice. Charles and I were friends long before you came along Ororo. You might be in charge of the students, but he left half the estate to me." He smiled and looked far more threatening than anyone was used to seeing. "You see, he knew that if Mystique ever returned that I, at least, would welcome her. She was his sister in everything but blood. And this is her home and her daughter's home as well."

"And as such, Rogue has the right to live here as long as she chooses." Mystique stared at the white haired woman. "With whomever she chooses."

Logan looked around, he could hear the kids out in the hall, it sounded like the whole damn school was listening in. "Just so it's clear, my mate, McCoy and Mystique's daughter. Rogue. All one person. One very important person who everyone has been treating like dirt. Right now I wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire."

He nodded at Hank and waited until the furry doctor had his own mate cuddled into his side before sliding his arm around Marie's waist. "We're done here. Doc, I think I'm gonna look into that gamekeeper's cottage... I think Rogue goin' to school and us living there would be a good compromise."

"Excellent notion," Hank practically rubbed his hands together, completely ignoring the school's gaping headmistress. "Should we take a look at the site? Between the two of us I imagine we could suss out any problems."

"Yeah. That sounds good, how 'bout it darlin'?" Logan looked down at his woman. "Wanna take a look see? If its too beat up we can just pull it down and use the foundation." When Marie nodded he looked at Hank, "I could get Victor to come out. When we weren't fighting every war we could find, we both did our fair share of building. Back when we were raised, you wanted a house you built one."

While Storm was stuttering her objections to the idea of Victor Creed coming anywhere near the grounds Hank was rolling right over her. "I imagine it would be quite a good project for him to reconnect with you. And I must admit, I am intrigued by this phenomenon you've described, losing oneself to the animal."

"Yeah just don't say it all prissy like that to Vic. He's liable to take your head off. More likely to tell you about the French an' Indian War than talk about his feelings." Logan chuckled. "But we'll see."

"This will be interesting." McCoy nodded eagerly, walking towards the door and opening it to see an ocean of children standing around acting as if they hadn't just been eavesdropping.

Logan chuckled as his new father-in-law just continued to speculate about the condition of the cottage as he led them out of the mansion, ignoring the kids and the teachers to ask Marie her preferences in architecture.

The Wolverine smirked. Life would never be lonely again, not with his Marie. And it for sure wouldn't be boring. And really, that was all any body could ask for.

Author's Note: And that is it folks. I'm officially calling it done. Hope you enjoyed. I imagine that Storm isn't quite as bitchy as she's acting, but she's new to being a headmistress and as such she's going to do some things wrong.