X-men: Mutant Awakening (Ch. 11)

Author's Note: Sorry for being a day late! Also - thanks to Kindar for all his help on refining this chapter! :) I'm going to be posting a singular chapter from now on until this story is caught up. Enjoy!

Chapter 11

When Logan brushed by Brenda wordlessly, she froze, as she was swamped with his irritation. Closing her eyes, she took a moment to shake off the emotions after he left in his wake. She took a deep breath, then walked into the main area to greet Tad with a smile. "So, The sleeping beauty is awake at last! How do you feel?"

Tad made a face at her then shrugged. "Ehh. I'm tired, but... I think I'll live." He glanced past her, feeling troubled. He didn't know why he had stopped himself from telling Logan the truth. 

Brenda could sense that something had happened but courtesy told her to wait until Tad brought the subject up before prodding. Her power made it difficult for her to refrain from meddling into everyday matters, but her teachers kept trying to drum discretion into her. Most of the time, she did succeed at discreetly registering people's emotions, and deciding if it had to be dealt with or not.
Brenda glanced away, feeling small waves of frustration coming from him. She wrestled with her urge to meddle, and lost. Her conscience pricked at her, but she soothed it with the rationale that Tad was her friend, and needed to talk. She smiled at him. "I'm sure you will. Uh, is everything alright? He looked a little irritated..."

Brenda reached for the portable scanner nearby and started scanning.

Tad exhaled sharply then shook his head, feeling slightly depressed. "I'm not really sure -- He was friendly. ...Then he had to ask about why I was in the fight."

Brenda paused the scanner, and with a sympathetic expression. "Oh. That must've been awkward."

Tad laid back down and let out a weak laugh. His tone was heavily sardonic. "I didn't want to come right out and say 'I got in a fight because I stare at hunky guys too long...' That'd go over well."

Despite their serious conversation, Brenda chuckled, resuming her scan. "You never know. Remember, he's got a very sensitive nose. Chances are he's positive that you're attracted. There. Scan's done." She left him for a second, and uplinked the information into the computer. Brenda double-checked his vitals from the last scan and compared it with the one she'd just done. "Just fatigue. No actual injuries. Looks like you're free to go." She returned to Tad's bed, with a smile.
Tad sat up and swung his legs around the side, then frowned. "Hmm. You think maybe he was trying to get me to admit I'm attracted to him...?"

Brenda looked at him, considering it. She was now absolutely certain that Logan was having his own lust issues with Tad, but it wasn't the time to bring them up. "Possibly. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that Logan's someone who hates secrets." She brightened up as an idea occurred to her. "Would you like to get out of here, and grab some food? It'll maybe at least get your mind off things."

Tad chuckled softly. "Why not? I'm starving, but didn't you already eat?" He glanced askance at her in puzzlement.

She hesitated a moment before speaking evasively, "No time, really. I had to deal with some things." Brenda didn't want to mention anything about helping Rogue deal with her near breakdown since Tad had enough on his plate at the moment. "C'mon, I'm starving -- haven't eaten since lunch. Um, would you like to go to a place where I hang out occasionally -- a mutant-owned bar n' grill? If not, we can just rummage the kitchen for something."

Tad withdrew into himself for a second, debating whether he wanted to go out or not. He still felt drained and the thought of being in the mansion was starting to feel cloying at the moment. In the two days he'd been here, he'd landed in the Medical Bay -- twice in fact, and the grey walls were starting to irritate him. Anywhere else would do. His stomach rumbled at that moment, and he grinned at her. "So, what kind of food does this place have?"

* * *

Driving her car, Brenda and Tad arrived at the bar within twenty minutes. It gave Tad time to look around at the scenery -- from what he could see at night.

Around thirty minutes later, Brenda and Tad were chatting in a corner booth, and waiting for their food to arrive. Tad had chosen a halfway secluded booth where he could relax with something resembling privacy but Brenda had the entire view of the bar.

Brenda studied Tad for a moment, setting down her soda, and grinned. "Never a dull moment, eh?"

Tad rolled his eyes, and shook his head. "Hmph. I could do with a little quiet. Which is now -- this place's pretty nice. I thought it'd be more crowded on a Saturday night."

Brenda glanced around with a shrug. The room appeared to be about half full. "Usually it's busier. It should fill up soon."

Tad nodded, reluctant to bring up the subject, but he didn't want Logan to be surly at him forever. "Ah. Right. So, uh, how do I deal with Logan?"

Brenda leaned against the hard wooden back of her bench. Inwardly, she wrestled with the temptation of admitting Logan's emotions -- which was a violation of Logan's privacy. Also, Brenda was searching for the right words without revealing what she knew. She opened her eyes then looked at Tad after several seconds. "From what I've observed, he's got a thing for protecting his friends. The fact that he asked to watch you until you awoke, means that he probably considers you one. I think he may have been irritated because it's so obvious to him why, but he wants to hear it from you."

Tad groaned, burying his face in his arms. "Do I have to?"

Brenda chuckled. "Up to you. He'd be more friendly if you do." She leaned forward to drawl in an exaggerated whisper. "He might even make another move." She gasped silently in a theatrical manner, and winked at him.

Tad looked up at her, and mock-scowled. "I hate you."

Brenda laughed, and saw their food coming. "Incoming."

Tad dropped his arms and drew back against the seat to let the server put their steaming hot food on plates down. He glanced at his food, and started digging in with gusto. 

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Logan stepped inside the bar past the bouncer, and growled under his breath in annoyance. He'd come in to get his thoughts together and relax, but he detected Tad's scent -- and it was strong and immediate, which meant he was here. He sniffed the air again, and filtered the other people in the bar, then recognized Brenda's. She must've brought him here. He resisted the urge to snarl, and took a breath before moving again.

One part of him wanted to be alone, and relax with his beer without any distractions. The other part felt comfortable here, even with Tad's scent in the distance. He snorted, as he started walking toward the counter. It was a big bar, after all, and it didn't mean that he had to talk to Tad.

He stood behind a small queue of people who were being waited on. The place was starting to fill up, as he cursorily gazed around the place.

The bartender smiled at Logan, as he stepped up to the counter. "Well. Hello Logan! Your usual?"
Logan spoke briefly. "Yep." He slapped his money on the counter when the bartender brought him his beer. "Thanks." He took the beer and went to the opposite corner, sitting at the back booth out of sight of most people.

* * *

Tad polished off his food and leaned back with a satisfied sigh. "Wow. That is good."

Brenda grinned as she glanced at him, having finished her meal minutes ago. "Aren't you glad I brought you here? I love it here -- it's so easy to soak up the relaxing atmosphere, most of the time."
Tad chuckled. "Most of the time?"

Brenda shrugged. "Sometimes fights happen, but the guy at the front door usually stops things before things get serious. There are rules to being in here -- mainly enjoy yourself, and if you have to pick a fight, to take it outside." 

Tad raised an eyebrow at this, then nodded. "Sounds better here than the bars I've been -- even though I haven't been to many in general."

Brenda took a sip from her soda. "Don't drink much?"

Tad sighed. "No. I got drunk when I was 21, and regretted it." He grinned at Brenda when she had a worried expression. "Oh, nothing really happened - just a really bad hangover. I drank four beers, and got plastered. A friend of mine told me I threw up all over them later that night."  He chuckled weakly. "That was a long time ago though. I prefer soda anyway."

Brenda nodded. "Ahh, yeah, me too. Worst thing about soda is you get hyper." She grinned, and leaned forward to whisper teasingly. "There's a pool table if you wanna play with some balls or you could...talk to Logan."

Tad nearly squeaked, as he spoke. "What?! He's here? Where?" He leaned forward then glanced furtively toward the main area of the bar, and saw him at a booth in the opposite corner. "Oh." Nervousness threaded through his stomach as he considered talking to Logan.

With a sympathetic look, Brenda patted Tad's clenched fist soothingly. "Hey, don't worry. He won't bite, unless you're into that..."

Tad blushed, considering it for a millisecond before shaking his head. "Oh shut up..."

Brenda laughed lightly, then jerked her head toward Logan. "Here's your perfect chance. He's been feeling grumpy for the last twenty minutes."

Tad glanced at Logan with a sigh. He was hesitant to talk to Logan, but he saw the logic in her reasoning. Even if Logan knew of his attraction, it didn't seem to matter -- Logan'd been nothing but polite and friendly. Brenda also had been open and accepting the moment she'd figured it out.

He mulled over it for several more minutes, and a thought occurred to him that perhaps mutants were more willing to tolerate homosexuality in general. He knew he shouldn't assume or generalize based on two, possibly three people's reactions. Logan probably knew, Brenda knew and was fine, and he suspected Xavier had an inkling but hadn't raised any objections thus far. Tad glanced at Brenda with skepticism. "You sure? I don't want to bother him if he's cranky."

Brenda exhaled sharply in mild exasperation. "Trust me. He'll like your company." She gestured with her hands in a shrug. "It can't hurt to say hi, at least."

Tad scowled at her, and grumbled. "Okay okay. I'll talk to him." He peeked out from the booth, and realized that he had a clear sight to the booth Logan was in, along with the empty seat opposite Logan. He focused on the empty seat wistfully, then started to slide out of his seat, and started to panic when he felt the wrenching sensation sweep through him.

Brenda sprayed her soda all over the table in surprise when Tad dematerialized in a white smoke.

* * *

Tad froze, as he found himself facing a surprised Logan with metal claws aimed at his face. He squeaked in fright, and quickly plastered himself to the back of his seat as close as possible. Relief swept through him as Logan suddenly pulled his fist back, and the claws disappear into his hand rapidly.

Logan scowled angrily. "What the hell are you doing?"

Tad felt his face flushing warmly in embarrassment. Still nervous that the metal blades would come out of Logan's fist, he began stuttering in an attempt to explain. "I-I... I was - I wanted to... Dammit." He closed his eyes and took a sharp breath before going on. "I wanted to talk to you... to apologize and... um, explain."

Logan grunted, then crossed his arms. "About what?"

Tad glanced at Logan, suddenly flustered, and feeling his pants tighten against his will. Even if Logan was not-quite scowling at him, the rugged look was definitely working for him, and almost distracted Tad from saying anything. "Um, well, about earlier tonight..." He spoke quietly, looking back at the table. "The fight -- was because of me...uh... liking men." He continued slowly, slightly fidgeting in his seat. "Um, well... don't take it the wrong way but..."

Logan sat there quietly not wanting to interrupt Tad's explanation, but had a hunch of what was coming next. He leaned forward, however, and stared at him with a small smirk. "Spit it out. You're hot for me, eh?"

Tad's next words were caught in his throat as he darted up and saw Logan's smirk. He blinked and broke the gaze. He blushed a deeper shade of crimson. "Oh jeez. Surprised you don't wanna beat me up or something."

Logan's face darkened at that comment. "Now, why the fuck would I do that? I got no issues with you. I like you. Simple as that. You seem a decent sort. It's just them who hate gay folks that are scared of things they don't understand." He shook his head for a second. "Kinda like us mutants."

Tad nodded in agreement, and smiled slightly. He felt himself starting to relax fully. "I guess that's true." He was feeling a little more relaxed, then glanced around the bar momentarily. "Hmm, I should thank them."

Logan raised an eyebrow, and leaned further forward on the table with his arms crossed. "Why the hell would you want to thank 'em?"

Tad sighed, then met Logan's eyes which were suddenly a lot closer now. They were blue. His breath caught for a second, then he tore his gaze away to look at the common area. "Er, well, my powers probably manifested 'cause of them..."

Logan nodded, and leaned backwards. He could tell he'd unnerved Tad a bit, and didn't want to scare him. For some weird reason, he'd been enjoying just looking at Tad, and promised the Professor to try to be as friendly as possible. Not that it was particularly difficult, because he'd been comfortable throughout the conversation. "Probably." He picked up his bottle and brought it to his lips, then drank some of his beer. He tipped the beer toward Tad with a questioning glance. "Would you like something to drink? I'll buy you one."

Tad paused, trying to discern if it was a pickup line, but Logan's expression hadn't changed a hair from open and friendly. He shrugged. "Sure. Diet Coke."

Logan smiled warmly. "Alright. Be back in a minute." He left the booth, moving toward the bartender.

Once Logan was out of sight, Tad took a soft breath of relief, and felt giddy. He'd just admitted an attraction to a stud that had absolutely no problem with it. Questions flitted through his mind - was this a date now or just his way of being friendly? He mentally shook himself out of stressing about Logan's possible attraction to him. If Logan wanted to just be friends, then he'd have to accept it.

Moments later, Logan brought a glass with iced soda and set it on the table in front of Tad. "Here." He slid into his side of the booth, and leaned forward, then sipped at his beer.

Tad took the soda, and sipped at it, then looked at Logan. He smiled shyly. "Uh, Thanks."

Logan smiled again. "Sure."

Watching Logan drink once more, Tad noted that there were no scars visible where the blades had originated. He felt awkward - he wasn't sure if he should bring them up or not. He must have been obvious in staring as Logan suddenly set his beer down and leaned forward.

Logan flexed his hand, and looked apologetic. "Look, I'm sorry about almost skewering you. You popped in front of me."

Tad flushed, looking at his soda. "Yeah. It's okay. I guess I don't have much control over my powers yet." He was still happy that Logan hadn't skewered him, but he was wondering why he had them. Brenda hadn't mentioned them at all, and he wondered if she'd left that tiny detail out... He spoke hesitantly. "Could I see them again?"

Logan frowned, looking at his hand. Not many people had actually asked him to see his admantium claws on purpose. "...Okay. Here goes." He held out a fist and made sure to aim away, then extended all three blades slowly out to their full length. He heard Tad's slight gasp, and looked up at him. 
Tad took a sharp breath as three wicked looking metal blades slid out between Logan's knuckles. He tensed for a second, then gazed at them in slight wonder, and curiosity. "How is that possible?"

Logan withdrew the claws back into his hand, and winced as the metal sliced through skin and muscle to disappear within his arm. He gazed at the table and muttered loud enough for Tad to catch. "I don't really remember."

Tad nodded, now feeling slightly like he was prying, fell silent as he drank a little more soda. He saw that Logan was glancing at the main area of the bar with a faint frown on his face occasionally.

Logan caught a scent that was faint, yet irritatingly familiar as he noticed someone leave the bar. As the door opened and closed, he scowled, as the smell grew stronger and more distinctive. He instinctively snarled, and slid out of the booth. He darted a glance at Tad, and growled a warning. "Stay here." He started walking quickly to the door, when the bar window across the room shattered.

Logan halted briefly as a man crashed on an empty table breaking it into fragments in the process, then ran at full speed out the front door.

Tad flinched when he heard the window explode, then looked out in shock at a behemoth of a man through the window. He looked grossly bestial in appearance, and stood easily eight feet tall with a malicious expression on his face. Moments later, he saw Logan standing in a fighting stance in front of him. He started to get out of the booth when Logan launched himself at the giant and there was a flurry of blows. He stared in horror as Logan was flung backwards, and hastily slid out of the booth.

Before he took more than two steps, Brenda ran over to him and restrained him from going after Logan. She whipped her glance out the window worriedly then back at Tad. "Tad, don't think about it!"

Tad ground his teeth in frustration -- "He's getting pulverized... and who the hell is that?" He kept sneaking glances out the window, and was relieved to see that Logan was back on his feet immediately.

Her voice was quiet with tension. "He's called Sabretooth -- I don't know all the details but they hate each other." Brenda pulled Tad over to several people who were clustered around the downed man. She got on one knee, and with an outstretched hand not quite touching the man, then glanced at the woman opposite her.  "Will he be alright?"

Tad's glance was drawn from the window to the four people on the ground. His attention was caught by a pretty woman with reddish curls framing her thin angular face. He noticed that she was touching her hand on the fallen man's forehead, and noted that a faint glow was shimmering around her eyes for a brief moment before fading to normal.

She grinned in elation then looked at Brenda. "There. I just checked his physical status -- he'll live but he has quite a few scratches and bruises." She glanced at the broken window, and frowned.

Tad followed the direction of her focus and gasped silently. Sabretooth was holding Logan in midair and slammed him down onto the ground with a loud, sickening crush. Tad and Brenda simultaneously blanched in horror. He started running without a thought to the door with Brenda not far behind him.

(TBC)

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