Jean stood with her mouth slightly open with shock. She had not expected to see Logan with Storm. "Oh my! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." She said, her manner all flustered.
"You didn't interrupt anything." Logan replied dryly as he moved away from the couch, "I was just leaving." He added as he glanced over to Storm, then looked back at Jean. "Whatcha want Red?"
Jean fumbled for an answer. She really wasn't sure what she wanted; maybe just a little attention from him today was all. She decided on a casual response rather than make any further scene, "I was just wondering if I could have one of your beer you have in the fridge?"
Logan gave Jean a questioning look, "Sure, help yourself. I didn't know you liked beer?"
"Oh yes, I do sometimes. Thanks, I'll just go get one then." She paused in mid turn, "You going to join me for a cold one?" she asked with just a hint of hope in her voice.
"No thanks, I'm going to bed" and with that Logan left the room. But not before giving Ororo a last long look, which she did not return.
"How about you Storm? Want to join me for a drink?" Jean now directed her question to Storm who had been sitting quietly on the couch the whole time. "No thanks Jean" she answered with a quiet politeness then turned around again to listen to the stereo in the dark.
Jean turned and went into the kitchen. After briefly rummaging through the fridge she found one of Logan's beers and sat at the table. Taking a swig straight from the can, she abruptly sputtered, "Ugh! Canadian beer" she said. She swallowed hard and sighed, resigning herself that she would drink it all anyway.
Sitting alone in the kitchen she began to muse over the scene she had just come from. Slowly it began to dawn on her that the reason Logan was acting so funny must be because he had taken an interest in Storm. Jean couldn't understand why this realization was bothering her so much. She loved Storm like a sister and wanted her to be happy, but then why wasn't she? 'Could I be jealous for his attention?' she thought as she took another sip. At that moment Gambit entered the kitchen from the door that led to the backyard, obviously getting home late from a night out.
"Hey Jean, drinking Logan's beer?" Remy asked with a smile as he proceeded to grab one from the fridge for himself.
"Yes, I was thirsty" Jean responded a little more acrimoniously than she would have liked.
Remy took a seat at the table with Jean and didn't seem to care that she was giving off all the vibes of someone who didn't want to have company, let alone talk. "So Jean, What's your favorite movie?" he asked.
Jean looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "What?" The question seemed to come out of nowhere.
"What's your favorite movie?" he repeated.
Jean just sat for a moment, not sure what to say. Maybe this type of conversation would be good for her to take her mind off of things, but she was having trouble thinking of a movie. "Um… I don't know."
"Aww come on. You must have a favorite?" he said with a sweet smile and sat back on the chair and took another drink from his beer.
Jean began to lighten up, as the conversation seemed to be safe enough. " Well that depends" she finally answered, smiling now herself.
"Depends on what?" Remy asked. He leaned forward on the counter to listen to the answer like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
"Well, it depends on the genre of course. You can't exactly compare your favorite comedy with your favorite action/adventure can you." She said "Why not" Remy asked
"Because you can't compare them." She answered giving Remy a confused look. Why couldn't he understand this simple concept?
"Well, which is your all time favorite, regardless of genre?"
"I can't answer that." Jean said now starting to dislike the topic and Remy's reluctance to let it drop.
"So it's possible to love two different things equally but for different reasons?" Remy asked.
Jean's eyes narrowed. She knew exactly where this was going and didn't like it one bit. She had no intention of continuing this conversation with Gambit. "Look Gambit, I said I have more than one favorite movie, let's just leave it at that" She said and got up abruptly from the table leaving Remy alone in the kitchen to finish his beer.
"Well my favorite movie is 'Rumble in the Bronx' if your interested" He said to the empty room.
Storm was flying high in the air. Her body lifted gracefully upon the zephyr she had summoned. She could see her teammates scattered out on the open, grassy hills below her. The battle with the unusual machines, that Storm didn't recognize, was raging and it looked like it could go either way. She could see Logan some distance below her and could also see Jean over on another hill about a hundred yards from where Logan was. From her vantage point she could distinguish that one of the mechanical opponents was about to engage Jean. Before she could call out to warn her, a blast of energy from the machine hit her square in the chest knocking the air from her lungs. Storm felt her mutant powers fade from her and she began to plummet toward the earth. Looking around helplessly as she was falling she could see that Logan was beneath her ready to catch her before she struck the ground. She even heard him yell "I've got ya 'Ro!"
The fall seemed to last forever, like time had stretched itself out. In the moments that past she heard Jean scream for help. Obviously she was under attack from the machine Storm had seen approaching her moments before and was in trouble. Storm watched as Logan ran off to help Jean instead and a feeling of calm indifference began to wash over her. She closed her eyes and readied herself for the impact.
As Storm hit the ground hard, she sat up suddenly and found herself in her bed. It had just been a very realistic nightmare, but the thought of her situation and the significance of the dream really hit home. "He will never be over Jean," she said and held her pillow tightly. She promised herself she would never cry about him again.
Logan was standing waiting for the enemy to come. He knew they were near and was gearing himself up for the impeding battle. Suddenly there was a flash and a scream from Storm overhead. He could see she was in trouble and ran to place himself beneath her if she happened to fall from the sky.
"I'll catch ya Darlin'! " He yelled to her. Readying himself for her. He heard her shout back at him "I don't need to be rescued, Logan!" with such anger in her voice it broke his heart. Just then he heard Jean scream, "Help me!" When he looked over to see her on an adjacent hill, he went into a full sprint to help, since Ororo obviously didn't need him.
As Logan closed the distance rapidly he could see that Jean was engaged in battle with a strange new machine of some kind. It had her in its grasp and she was losing the fight. Suddenly, Scott appeared from the other side of the hillcrest. He took aim as soon as he came into view and blasted Jean's attacker to kingdom come. Jean, once released from the ruined machine, raced to her rescuer's waiting arms and hugged him like they had been apart for years. Logan turned just in time to see Storm hit the ground.
He woke with a start to find himself covered in sweat. He put his head in his hands, his heart heavy with pain, and thought, 'There is no happiness for this Canucklehead. Not even in my dreams.'
Jean was ready for the fight. She could see her teammates were also ready. She was shocked to see that Storm was the first to be hit. High in the air, a blast from one of the machines had hit her. Just as she was about to use her telekinetic powers to aid Storm, she found herself attacked from behind. The same type of blast that had robbed Storm of her abilities hit Jean in the back from close range. The machine soon had her in its grasp and was affecting her powers, making her head hurt terribly. She heard herself scream for help and saw Logan start running to her aid. She instantly felt safe, he was always there for her. Then suddenly her husband appeared in her view and without pause disposed of the machine with his optic blast. She knew then that her heart would always belong to Cyclops and no other. She ran to him and held him like she never had before. Only when she turned to see Logan standing helpless and dejected as Storm hit the ground, did she wake with a start.
She looked over at the wonderful man sleeping beside her and thought, "I've been so selfish."
~~~ T B C ~~~
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