I don't own the characters, that's why it's called a fanfiction

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For a man who prided himself on his independence Logan was surprised at how little it took for him to become attached to those who called the mansion home. When most of them arrived at the school they were fresh off the street with nothing but the clothes on their back to their name. Their faces were usually dirty and their stomachs were almost always empty. All of them had a look in their eyes that spoke of hard lives and lost innocents. He knew that no matter how many showers they took or how much food Storm shoved towards them, their eyes would never reflect their age and that fact kept him in the danger room for an extra hour each week.

He wasn't sure when he became so protective of the students. He blamed it on his instincts, after all it was only natural that an adult male would feel a need to look after and defend the younger members of his pack. Of course he disregarded the fact that his "pack" was full of mutants who were highly skilled with their powers as well as trained by him in hand-to-hand combat. It didn't matter to him that the students were fully capable of taking care of themselves, they were his kids.

Logan wasn't the sort of man who thought of himself as a father figure. He drank heavily, smoked more than a chimney and had a love for fighting that was in no way healthy. Despite all that he found himself stepping in to a father's shoes that he knew didn't fit him. While he would never admit it to anyone he was bothered that a man like him filled in the gap. Their own fathers should have been the ones to guide the students through the trials of life, not him.

He shouldn't have been the one to take Kitty to the school's father daughter dance. He shouldn't have been the one to teach Kurt how to fix an engine or show Scott how to use power tools. Logan knew he shouldn't have been the one to give Rogue her first beer after a particularly grueling mission that ended in her having the memories of a serial killer. He was damn sure that he shouldn't have been the one to give Jamie the sex talk.

If life was fair then his kids never would have left their homes to begin with. They would be with their friends and families, worrying about homework and acne and other teenage problems. The girls would be going to cheerleading tryouts, having their hearts broken by high school sweethearts and spending all their free time in a mall. The boys would be working on rust buckets that were pathetic excuses for cars, trying to impress some girl through sports and rebelling against their parents.

But life wasn't perfect and instead of living like normal people the teenagers were dodging hate groups on a daily basis. They spent hours training for battles against insane mutant terrorists. They used their weekends to learn how to fly airplanes and hack into government databases. While others their age were looking for prom dresses his girls were looking for uniforms that didn't constrict their fighting. If he let himself stop and think about the lost childhoods he would go crazy.

At first he slipped into the role of overprotective father with the grace of a lumberjack. It took him a while to figure out how the 'dad' thing worked. The first time Kitty cried on his shoulder was awkward and uncomfortable, by the third time he figured out all he had to do was place a hand on her back and offer to take her out for ice cream. When Bobby came to him with girl trouble he was drew a blank but quickly recovered with a handful of men's magazines. He didn't even attempt to help with the girls 'personal' problems that came about once a month, pushing them towards Storm instead. As time went by he managed to figure things out, being surrounded by teenagers who had more relationship problems and emotional drama then a soap opera helped.

The one thing he couldn't figure out how to deal with was when the students began to date. He insisted they were too young but the Professor allowed it, stating they deserved to have a little bit of normalcy in their teenage years. At least when their partners were fellow mutants living at the mansion he could keep an eye on the couples and the threat of extra danger room sessions kept raging hormones in check.

Unfortunately his preference was never considered and many of the girls had managed to attract human suitors. Because of that he spent his Friday and Saturday nights sitting on the front porch of the mansion's main entrance; a half empty beer sitting at his feet and a shotgun across his lap, cleaning rag in hand. This Friday nigh was no different and at the sound of a car coming down the driveway he paused and looked up. The car was noting special and the young man driving it looked like your average teenager. The boy didn't look older then seventeen and he nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he neared Logan. Continuing with his cleaning Logan could smell fear coming off the boy in waves.

"Who are you here for?"

The boy visibly jumped at Logan's harsh voice.

"Amara"

Logan couldn't help but smirk, the kid was putting up a brave front but he could see right trough him, the boy was scared shitless."

"When do you plan on bringing her home?"

"I was thinking midnight."

Logan nodded his head as if in agreement.

"I was thinking ten."

He ended his sentence with snapping the twin barrels into place. The boy's eyes filled with panic and he took a step back, nearly falling down the steps.

"Yes sir, ten sounds great."

He managed to stutter out. Logan smirked and picked up his beer, leaning back in his chair before taking a drink, his hand resting on the gun.

"That's good to hear."

Three minuets passed in awkward silence as the boy tried to look anywhere but Logan while he just ignored him and continued to clean his gun. Finally Amara opened the door and Logan could hear the sigh of relief.

"You weren't being mean to Jake were you?"

She asked Logan as she linked arms with the now identified Jake.

"Course not darlin, just passing the time while he waited for you."

He locked eyes with the boy as if daring him to say otherwise. Unwilling to contradict Logan Jake quickly agreed before leading her to his car and opening the door for her. He might reek of fear but at least he was a gentleman. As the taillights disappeared down the road Logan finished off his beer and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the night. Looking at his watch he began the countdown, Jake had three hours.

It was 10:12 when the couple returned. Even in the darkness Logan could see they were both smiling. At first Jake didn't notice Logan but the closer they came to the door the glowing of his cigar broke through the darkness and illuminated his scowling face. Not wanting to look bad in front of Amara he tried to stay calm.

"Good night Jake, I had a great time."

She kissed his cheek and said good night to Logan before disappearing into the mansion. Jake tried to leave as soon as she was gone but any hope of escaping without a confrontation were quickly dashed.

"I said 10:00 and by my watch you're late."

He growled out, his arms crossed over his chest and the cigar still dangling out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, there was traffic!"

Jake quickly backed down the steps his hands up in a defensive manner, even though he knew full well that he didn't stand a chance in a fight against Logan.

"I don't care, we agreed on a time and you were late. That tells me I can't trust you and if I can't trust you then I don't want to see you around here again."

He finished his sentence with a growl and the loud cracking of his knuckles. The boy's eyes grew wide and he stumbled into his car. The tires spun and soon the smell of burnt rubber and black tire marks on the drive way were the only signs that he had been there at all.

Grinning to himself Logan pulled out one of his claws and used it to scratch a tally mark into one of the columns.

"How many does that make?"

Rogue had joined him just in to see Amara's date speed away. She took a seat on the railing next to his empty chair.

"Eight this month Stripes."

He said it with a proud grin as he leaned against the railing, stubbing his cigar out.

"At this rate no one's gonna want to date any of us x-girls."

He let out a short laugh.

"I doubt that, all the boys in this town are idiots and you girls flirt too much."

He let her push him away as she fringed being insulted.

"Ah don't know, you might just scare them all away at this rate."

She nodded towards his tally marks. The cuts were already in the twenties.

"When that happens I'll sleep easier."

Rogue tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"Gambit's been sneaking onto the grounds at night and throwin rocks at my window. Do ya think you could make him stop?"

There was something evil about her smile.

"You just made my night kid."

He threw his arm over her shoulders and led her inside. Sure they said he was overbearing and some claimed he violated the Geneva Convention with his training sessions but none of that really mattered to him. These kids needed him even if they didn't know it.

Besides the job had its perks and one of them was chasing off a certain Cajun.