X-men: Mutant Awakening (Ch. 14)
Author's Note: Sorry for not updating last Sunday – I'm gonna make up for it by posting two chapters tonight. Btw, Big THANK YOU to Kindar for his help! :) I really do appreciate you looking over my stuff.
Chapter 14
Brenda was pulling out various groceries from several paper bags, and setting them onto the counter when Logan strode into the kitchen.
She looked at him with a little smile. "Hey. He's still conked out?"
Logan shrugged, and leaned against the counter. The last thing he wanted for Brenda to feel was his frustration, and he thought he was doing enough to suppress it. "Yeah. Still snoring."
Brenda nodded. Even though her shields were up, she could tell Logan was not quite relaxed, but now wasn't the time to ask or talk about it. "I thought he might be, so I bought a few extra groceries in case he wakes up hungry." She set a couple frozen pizzas aside on the stove, then pulled out a couple of two-liter bottles of Diet Coke and put them in the top shelf of the refrigerator. "I got these bottles for him. They were on sale."
Logan leaned over to the closest bag, and peeked over the edge. "I'm sure he'll be fine with them. Any beer?"
Brenda rolled her eyes. She pulled out a six pack of beer bottles from the bag she was currently emptying. She handed it to Logan. "Here you go. I thought I'd make some pizza for us. I don't know what we'll do for dinner yet. There's no telling when Tad'll wake up."
Logan shrugged, setting the pack on the counter, and pulled a bottle out. He twisted the cap off the bottle of beer, then took a swig. "Whatever works. I'm starving."
Brenda grinned then shooed Logan out of the kitchen. "Get out so I can make lunch."
Logan snorted. "Right. Frozen Pizza." He stood up, and walked to the edge of the kitchen with his beer, then paused to turn halfway toward Brenda. He gestured his beer at Brenda before continuing, "Hope he wakes before dinner." He went back into the living room.
Brenda laughed, then slid both pizzas into the oven.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Tad groaned quietly as his mind groped its way from a deep blackness to muzzy awareness. He blearily opened his eyes, and realized he had no energy to move. Fuck. Why am I wiped? His mind became clearer, as he opened his eyes to look at his ceiling. Huh. I'm home? How'd I get back...?
He sat up with his legs over the bed, then bit back a groan as the world tilted crazily for a moment, then stabilized. Whoa. I'm more wiped than I thought. His thoughts returned to earlier that day in an attempt to puzzle out how he'd gotten home.
Logan was in the bathroom... that much I remember... and then he came out... and flirted with me? Then...?
Frustration sunk in as he drew a blank on what happened next. The only thing he could come up with was that he'd teleported home -- on instinct. Tad couldn't figure out why though.
He slipped off the bed and stood up clumsily using the bedpost for support. His legs were shaky the moment he stood on them, then they grew more steady the longer he stayed on his feet. Tad took a slow exhale. Okay, I can do this. He felt a bit grimy, and that decided his next action. Hmm, shower first. Tad took a tentative step toward the door, then felt more confident in his footing. Soon, he was slowly using the walls for support. He focused on the bathroom door at the far end of the hall, then paused at the junction when he heard the TV going. He frowned. Did I turn the TV on?
He crept closer to the edge of the hallway leading into the living room, and peeked around the edge. His breath caught momentarily as he realized Logan was here along with Brenda. He withdrew back slowly, out of sight to listen.
* * *
A couple minutes ago, Logan tapped his fingers distractedly on the chair. The DVD wasn't his thing. He fidgeted in the chair, and growled under his breath.
Brenda glanced at Logan, and shut her eyes in a grimace. His brooding was starting to get on her nerves. She suddenly paused the DVD, then spoke quietly. "Want to talk about it?"
Logan scowled at Brenda. "No." He stared at the ceiling in stubborn silence. After a minute passed by, he sat up abruptly, as his ears picked up Tad's intake of breath. "Ah. He's awake."
Brenda softened her shields and nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I can tell. We should wait here for him to get himself presentable."
Logan glanced at her. "Right. I'll get another beer." He padded off into the kitchen without another word.
* * *
Tad felt lucky that he had them looking out for him. Although, knowing that Logan was also in his house gave him mixed feelings. Logan's damn hot, but his attitude confuses me -- he keeps acting all polite and friendly, and then a minute later, attracted. I don't know if I should call him on it or if he's simply being a flirt to put me at ease...
Frankly, I don't even know him very well. I'll worry about this later.
He shook his head, and made his way to the shower.
* * *
A half hour later, Tad was pulling on his pants, and buckling them up. He threw on a shirt, and padded out into the hallway. He felt more clean, at any rate, even though he still felt wiped. Walking slowly into the living room, he glanced toward the TV, and saw Brenda watching the Transformers movie. As he stepped toward the chair, he spoke softly. "Hey..."
Brenda looked up, and took in Tad's body language. "How are you feeling? Tired?"
Tad leaned onto the head of the chair, and sighed. He closed his eyes and spoke softly. "Yeah. I'm okay, I think. Just exhausted."
Brenda chuckled and paused the DVD. "I'm not surprised -- we had to drive here to make sure you were alright. Do you remember what happened?"
Tad shook his head. "I.. I'm not really sure. I remember waking up then talking with Logan, and..."
Brenda prompted him. "And?"
He flushed. "Er, well, I ...I think he was flirting with me. After..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't know." He opened his eyes, and glanced at her. "...Where's Logan? Thought I heard him talking to you?"
Brenda blinked, and chuckled. "Flirting? Are you sure? Um, I think he's out back. What happened to you this morning?"
Tad circled the chair and plopped down on it, then glanced at her. "I have no idea. I'm pretty sure Logan was flirting with me, but I'm a blank until after I woke up a little while ago."
Brenda sighed, and leaned toward Tad onto the chair arm. "Um, I couldn't help but see what happened in your mind -- you had a panic attack, and teleported to safety."
Seeing Tad's confusion, she pressed on. "I can also 'see' emotional imagery, and, well, I saw you relive your beating -- even felt everything."
Tad blinked, and gazed at his hands. "Oh." Troubled, he looked at Brenda. "...I see. I'm sorry." He shut his eyes and shook his head. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Brenda touched Tad's arm lightly with a sympathetic smile. "It's not your fault -- you couldn't have known what'd happen. We do have to work on your flight instincts, though." She chuckled, and drew back. "After all, you have to train yourself to stop from teleporting in fear."
Tad blew out a gust of air. "I guess. I thought it'd be instant know-how. It certainly seemed like it."
Brenda laughed merrily. "Ha! I remember my early training -- I thought I knew how to do everything, but I was sorely mistaken. We're all driven by instinct when we use our abilities at the beginning, but eventually, we do learn to get them under conscious control."
Tad smiled with wry humor. "At least there's hope at the end of the tunnel, eh?" He flicked his eyes toward the TV. "Enjoying the movie?"
Brenda nodded. "Yeah. I thought it'd be something to do while we waited for you to wake up. You were pretty much out cold, so he put you in the bedroom." She noticed Logan walking into the living room with a stoic expression. "And speaking of... hey Logan."
Logan stepped up to them, and with an amused glance at Brenda, spoke. "Talking about me again?" He shifted his attention to Tad, and spoke earnestly in a soft voice. "You alright?"
Brenda snorted, as Logan appeared to have ignored her. "Nothing damning, anyway..."
Tad glanced up into Logan's eyes, and flushed slightly. "Uh, yeah... I'm okay." He tore his gaze away and fidgeted with his hands nervously. "I... I'm sorry if I scared you or something."
Logan patted Tad's shoulder awkwardly, and spoke gruffly. "It's fine." In truth, he'd heard the whole conversation between Tad and Brenda just before he came into the living room. He knew he should back off and let Tad work through things, but the more primal part of him didn't want to wait.
Brenda cleared her throat and smiled. "So, what do you wanna do, Tad? I mean, we were staying here to make sure you were fine, and to bring you to the mansion if you still want to go back." She paused for a second, then spoke. "We do have to get you trained anyway. No more Jumps without thinking. Can you do that?" She winked at him.
Tad adopted an exaggerated pensive stance, and appeared in deep thought for a full ten seconds before chuckling. "I'll do my best." He started to get up too fast. His head roared in dizziness, as his sense of balance shifted crazily. His knees buckled, and he dimly felt someone catch him.
Tad blinked slowly; he felt strong arms supporting him as the dizziness faded. Logan? A second later, his stomach growled loudly. He clutched his stomach. "Uhh."
A gruff voice spoke above his ears. "We need to get you something to eat."
Tad felt more steady on his feet, and tried to pull away, feeling embarrassed. To his surprise, Logan didn't let go immediately, which confused Tad further. He protested feebly. "I can stand..."
Logan snorted, and let go abruptly.
Tad staggered slightly on his feet, and groped for the chair arm; he leaned against it as soon as he could. He kept his eyes shut, feeling tired.
Brenda cleared her throat, catching Tad's attention. "I'll get you some pizza and soda..."
* * *
Several hours later, they were back at the mansion. The three of them walked through the massive front doors. Silence greeted them as they quietly walked through the Great Hall and into the dormitory area. They stopped at Tad's room.
Brenda yawned, and stretched. "It's been a long day. I'm gonna head to bed. Will you be alright, Tad? We could go watch some TV or something for a couple hours if you're not too tired..."
Tad shook his head sleepily. "Thanks, but I think I'll read for a bit." He was still a bit hyped from the soda he'd drank earlier tonight, but he wanted to relax.
She grinned, and turned to leave. "Alright, enjoy your book. Night, you two."
Tad watched her head off to her room, then glanced at Logan who was wearing a strange expression akin to frustration. He had his hand on the door knob, and opened it. "What?"
Logan exhaled, composing himself. "Can we talk?"
Tad nodded, feeling confused, but willing to listen. "Sure. Come on in." He walked into his room and turned the light on.
Logan followed him in and closed the door behind him. He went to the nearest chair and sat down.
Tad wasn't sure what to do or where to begin, so he just crawled on the bed, and sat at the edge of the bed; he glanced at Logan expectantly. "Okay. What's on your mind?"
Logan clenched his jaw, and growled out his reply. "You."
Tad blushed, and dropped his gaze. "...Me? What do you mean... exactly?"
Logan growled in frustration. "I think you know what I mean." He slid off the chair in a fluid graceful motion and stalked toward the bed. He reached the edge of the bed and roughly grabbed Tad's face in his hands; he stared into Tad's shocked eyes, and growled softly just before savagely kissing Tad's lips.
Tad froze in surprise, then his hands encircled Logan's torso; Tad drew him closer, while kissing back hungrily. He hugged Logan closer until they were nearly lying on the bed.
Logan broke the kiss, and forcibly pulled away after a few minutes. He spoke in a low growling pant. "...I shouldn't have done that." He extricated himself from Tad's arms, and stood up, and didn't meet Tad's eyes. "I have to go." Logan rubbed his face, turned around and reached the door hastily.
Tad sat there in confused silence as Logan quickly exited the room. Damn it all. He ... actually kissed me and wanted it. He must have left because... he's having trouble dealing with this? He swore under his breath. "Dammit, Logan." He suddenly felt lonely as he thumped back onto the bed.
(TBC)
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Chapter 14
Brenda was pulling out various groceries from several paper bags, and setting them onto the counter when Logan strode into the kitchen.
She looked at him with a little smile. "Hey. He's still conked out?"
Logan shrugged, and leaned against the counter. The last thing he wanted for Brenda to feel was his frustration, and he thought he was doing enough to suppress it. "Yeah. Still snoring."
Brenda nodded. Even though her shields were up, she could tell Logan was not quite relaxed, but now wasn't the time to ask or talk about it. "I thought he might be, so I bought a few extra groceries in case he wakes up hungry." She set a couple frozen pizzas aside on the stove, then pulled out a couple of two-liter bottles of Diet Coke and put them in the top shelf of the refrigerator. "I got these bottles for him. They were on sale."
Logan leaned over to the closest bag, and peeked over the edge. "I'm sure he'll be fine with them. Any beer?"
Brenda rolled her eyes. She pulled out a six pack of beer bottles from the bag she was currently emptying. She handed it to Logan. "Here you go. I thought I'd make some pizza for us. I don't know what we'll do for dinner yet. There's no telling when Tad'll wake up."
Logan shrugged, setting the pack on the counter, and pulled a bottle out. He twisted the cap off the bottle of beer, then took a swig. "Whatever works. I'm starving."
Brenda grinned then shooed Logan out of the kitchen. "Get out so I can make lunch."
Logan snorted. "Right. Frozen Pizza." He stood up, and walked to the edge of the kitchen with his beer, then paused to turn halfway toward Brenda. He gestured his beer at Brenda before continuing, "Hope he wakes before dinner." He went back into the living room.
Brenda laughed, then slid both pizzas into the oven.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Tad groaned quietly as his mind groped its way from a deep blackness to muzzy awareness. He blearily opened his eyes, and realized he had no energy to move. Fuck. Why am I wiped? His mind became clearer, as he opened his eyes to look at his ceiling. Huh. I'm home? How'd I get back...?
He sat up with his legs over the bed, then bit back a groan as the world tilted crazily for a moment, then stabilized. Whoa. I'm more wiped than I thought. His thoughts returned to earlier that day in an attempt to puzzle out how he'd gotten home.
Logan was in the bathroom... that much I remember... and then he came out... and flirted with me? Then...?
Frustration sunk in as he drew a blank on what happened next. The only thing he could come up with was that he'd teleported home -- on instinct. Tad couldn't figure out why though.
He slipped off the bed and stood up clumsily using the bedpost for support. His legs were shaky the moment he stood on them, then they grew more steady the longer he stayed on his feet. Tad took a slow exhale. Okay, I can do this. He felt a bit grimy, and that decided his next action. Hmm, shower first. Tad took a tentative step toward the door, then felt more confident in his footing. Soon, he was slowly using the walls for support. He focused on the bathroom door at the far end of the hall, then paused at the junction when he heard the TV going. He frowned. Did I turn the TV on?
He crept closer to the edge of the hallway leading into the living room, and peeked around the edge. His breath caught momentarily as he realized Logan was here along with Brenda. He withdrew back slowly, out of sight to listen.
* * *
A couple minutes ago, Logan tapped his fingers distractedly on the chair. The DVD wasn't his thing. He fidgeted in the chair, and growled under his breath.
Brenda glanced at Logan, and shut her eyes in a grimace. His brooding was starting to get on her nerves. She suddenly paused the DVD, then spoke quietly. "Want to talk about it?"
Logan scowled at Brenda. "No." He stared at the ceiling in stubborn silence. After a minute passed by, he sat up abruptly, as his ears picked up Tad's intake of breath. "Ah. He's awake."
Brenda softened her shields and nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I can tell. We should wait here for him to get himself presentable."
Logan glanced at her. "Right. I'll get another beer." He padded off into the kitchen without another word.
* * *
Tad felt lucky that he had them looking out for him. Although, knowing that Logan was also in his house gave him mixed feelings. Logan's damn hot, but his attitude confuses me -- he keeps acting all polite and friendly, and then a minute later, attracted. I don't know if I should call him on it or if he's simply being a flirt to put me at ease...
Frankly, I don't even know him very well. I'll worry about this later.
He shook his head, and made his way to the shower.
* * *
A half hour later, Tad was pulling on his pants, and buckling them up. He threw on a shirt, and padded out into the hallway. He felt more clean, at any rate, even though he still felt wiped. Walking slowly into the living room, he glanced toward the TV, and saw Brenda watching the Transformers movie. As he stepped toward the chair, he spoke softly. "Hey..."
Brenda looked up, and took in Tad's body language. "How are you feeling? Tired?"
Tad leaned onto the head of the chair, and sighed. He closed his eyes and spoke softly. "Yeah. I'm okay, I think. Just exhausted."
Brenda chuckled and paused the DVD. "I'm not surprised -- we had to drive here to make sure you were alright. Do you remember what happened?"
Tad shook his head. "I.. I'm not really sure. I remember waking up then talking with Logan, and..."
Brenda prompted him. "And?"
He flushed. "Er, well, I ...I think he was flirting with me. After..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't know." He opened his eyes, and glanced at her. "...Where's Logan? Thought I heard him talking to you?"
Brenda blinked, and chuckled. "Flirting? Are you sure? Um, I think he's out back. What happened to you this morning?"
Tad circled the chair and plopped down on it, then glanced at her. "I have no idea. I'm pretty sure Logan was flirting with me, but I'm a blank until after I woke up a little while ago."
Brenda sighed, and leaned toward Tad onto the chair arm. "Um, I couldn't help but see what happened in your mind -- you had a panic attack, and teleported to safety."
Seeing Tad's confusion, she pressed on. "I can also 'see' emotional imagery, and, well, I saw you relive your beating -- even felt everything."
Tad blinked, and gazed at his hands. "Oh." Troubled, he looked at Brenda. "...I see. I'm sorry." He shut his eyes and shook his head. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Brenda touched Tad's arm lightly with a sympathetic smile. "It's not your fault -- you couldn't have known what'd happen. We do have to work on your flight instincts, though." She chuckled, and drew back. "After all, you have to train yourself to stop from teleporting in fear."
Tad blew out a gust of air. "I guess. I thought it'd be instant know-how. It certainly seemed like it."
Brenda laughed merrily. "Ha! I remember my early training -- I thought I knew how to do everything, but I was sorely mistaken. We're all driven by instinct when we use our abilities at the beginning, but eventually, we do learn to get them under conscious control."
Tad smiled with wry humor. "At least there's hope at the end of the tunnel, eh?" He flicked his eyes toward the TV. "Enjoying the movie?"
Brenda nodded. "Yeah. I thought it'd be something to do while we waited for you to wake up. You were pretty much out cold, so he put you in the bedroom." She noticed Logan walking into the living room with a stoic expression. "And speaking of... hey Logan."
Logan stepped up to them, and with an amused glance at Brenda, spoke. "Talking about me again?" He shifted his attention to Tad, and spoke earnestly in a soft voice. "You alright?"
Brenda snorted, as Logan appeared to have ignored her. "Nothing damning, anyway..."
Tad glanced up into Logan's eyes, and flushed slightly. "Uh, yeah... I'm okay." He tore his gaze away and fidgeted with his hands nervously. "I... I'm sorry if I scared you or something."
Logan patted Tad's shoulder awkwardly, and spoke gruffly. "It's fine." In truth, he'd heard the whole conversation between Tad and Brenda just before he came into the living room. He knew he should back off and let Tad work through things, but the more primal part of him didn't want to wait.
Brenda cleared her throat and smiled. "So, what do you wanna do, Tad? I mean, we were staying here to make sure you were fine, and to bring you to the mansion if you still want to go back." She paused for a second, then spoke. "We do have to get you trained anyway. No more Jumps without thinking. Can you do that?" She winked at him.
Tad adopted an exaggerated pensive stance, and appeared in deep thought for a full ten seconds before chuckling. "I'll do my best." He started to get up too fast. His head roared in dizziness, as his sense of balance shifted crazily. His knees buckled, and he dimly felt someone catch him.
Tad blinked slowly; he felt strong arms supporting him as the dizziness faded. Logan? A second later, his stomach growled loudly. He clutched his stomach. "Uhh."
A gruff voice spoke above his ears. "We need to get you something to eat."
Tad felt more steady on his feet, and tried to pull away, feeling embarrassed. To his surprise, Logan didn't let go immediately, which confused Tad further. He protested feebly. "I can stand..."
Logan snorted, and let go abruptly.
Tad staggered slightly on his feet, and groped for the chair arm; he leaned against it as soon as he could. He kept his eyes shut, feeling tired.
Brenda cleared her throat, catching Tad's attention. "I'll get you some pizza and soda..."
* * *
Several hours later, they were back at the mansion. The three of them walked through the massive front doors. Silence greeted them as they quietly walked through the Great Hall and into the dormitory area. They stopped at Tad's room.
Brenda yawned, and stretched. "It's been a long day. I'm gonna head to bed. Will you be alright, Tad? We could go watch some TV or something for a couple hours if you're not too tired..."
Tad shook his head sleepily. "Thanks, but I think I'll read for a bit." He was still a bit hyped from the soda he'd drank earlier tonight, but he wanted to relax.
She grinned, and turned to leave. "Alright, enjoy your book. Night, you two."
Tad watched her head off to her room, then glanced at Logan who was wearing a strange expression akin to frustration. He had his hand on the door knob, and opened it. "What?"
Logan exhaled, composing himself. "Can we talk?"
Tad nodded, feeling confused, but willing to listen. "Sure. Come on in." He walked into his room and turned the light on.
Logan followed him in and closed the door behind him. He went to the nearest chair and sat down.
Tad wasn't sure what to do or where to begin, so he just crawled on the bed, and sat at the edge of the bed; he glanced at Logan expectantly. "Okay. What's on your mind?"
Logan clenched his jaw, and growled out his reply. "You."
Tad blushed, and dropped his gaze. "...Me? What do you mean... exactly?"
Logan growled in frustration. "I think you know what I mean." He slid off the chair in a fluid graceful motion and stalked toward the bed. He reached the edge of the bed and roughly grabbed Tad's face in his hands; he stared into Tad's shocked eyes, and growled softly just before savagely kissing Tad's lips.
Tad froze in surprise, then his hands encircled Logan's torso; Tad drew him closer, while kissing back hungrily. He hugged Logan closer until they were nearly lying on the bed.
Logan broke the kiss, and forcibly pulled away after a few minutes. He spoke in a low growling pant. "...I shouldn't have done that." He extricated himself from Tad's arms, and stood up, and didn't meet Tad's eyes. "I have to go." Logan rubbed his face, turned around and reached the door hastily.
Tad sat there in confused silence as Logan quickly exited the room. Damn it all. He ... actually kissed me and wanted it. He must have left because... he's having trouble dealing with this? He swore under his breath. "Dammit, Logan." He suddenly felt lonely as he thumped back onto the bed.
(TBC)
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