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It had been a slow day at the school despite everything, despite everything meaning despite Logan and Laura Howlett. Charles had come home to the mansion one day with a mutant called Caliban "I found him near the pond" the mutant had told the team of X-Men who had gathered at the door to see their Professor "he was talking to himself"
"I was talking to someone!" Charles huffed "Logan, Logan! Someone go get Logan!"
Logan was being himself that morning, as he wasn't a teacher so he had the luxury of sleeping in, he was asleep on his stomach, head buried in a pillow, dog tags laid out of the pillow and soft growls and snarls leaving his lips. Logan's version of a peaceful sleep. "Logan?" It was Jean's soft voice, she had decided to make the dangerous journey up to his room, beer bottles scattered the floor as did empty cigar boxes and cigar buds, Jean's nose turned up in disgust and she wondered how Logan's nose faired in a smell like this.
"Logan? The Professor wants you" Jean's voice was soft like velvet and her hand was warm on Logan's muscled shoulder, Logan had fallen asleep in a baggy white shirt and some sweats while Jean was up and ready for the day in jeans, a floral shirt and a pink cardigan the same colour as the flowers on her shirt. Logan's tired eyes opened slowly, the hazel of his eyes slowly appearing as his eyes flicked up to Jean, he had gotten better at not extending his claws at anyone who woke him but there were still a few who had been nicked recently.
"Huh?" Logan grumbled tiredly and pushed himself to sit up, he rubbed his eyes and stretched before he yawned showing off his canines as he did "the Professor wants you" Jean smiled "it seems important."
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It was important. Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Caliban and Logan Howlett stared at Charles Xavier for a long while after he just dropped the news. "I met your daughter Logan" he smiled brightly as if eager and Logan was just stood there staring at the old man and wondering how long until he could smack him and tell him this wasn't funny "I even brought her here-" Logan took a step towards the man in a wheelchair and Jean quickly put a hand on his chest "he's telling the truth" she threw out.
Scott paused, his arms that were relaxed behind his back were now by his sides, his gaze on Jean "what? Logan's been with us for a while now" he told her "he hasn't had time to sneak off, he's an amnesiac so she's gotta be old-"
"she's a child" Charles correctly and slapped Caliban's hands off of his wheelchair, the albino mutant yelped and pulled his hands away as Charles spun his chair around and cupped his hands either side his mouth "Laura!" He called "Laura come here!" Logan pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked at Jean "he's callin' after a kid like she's a fuckin' dog"
"Laura!" Jean patted Logan's shoulder
"maybe he doesn't feel well or something? Do you..." She bit her lip "remember anyone?"
"Laura!"
"No! God, Jean!" Logan scoffed and stepped away from her putting his hands on his hips
"Logan I just had to ask-"
"Laura!"
"No! No, you wanted to ask and now ya have, leave it" Logan growled and grabbed the handles of Charles' wheelchair "come on, let's get you to bed"
"Laura!"
"Will you fucking stop?!" Logan snapped and turned the wheelchair to face him, he bent down and stared at Charles "stop it" he demanded and then a soft whistle sounded through the air, Logan looked up and squinted.
In the front of the mansion was a fountain and a statue as well as a few trees, minus the one Scott shot down, stood behind a tree was a girl. She was small with brunette hair that matched Logan's, she had brown eyes instead of hazel and tanned skin opposed to his paler complexion, his breath caught in his throat and he could only stare at her. The girl stepped out from behind the tree, she was wearing jeans and a dark pink hoodie, her shoes were scuffed to hell boots and she was nursing a green back pack.
She stood right in front of Logan, staring at him as he stared back at her before she walked right past him and over to Charles "see?" Charles smiled as Laura grabbed his hand, Charles smirked at Logan to rub it in "this is her, Laura"
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It was a week. The first few days of Laura's arrival she avoided Logan as much as he avoided her, sometimes they'd stop and have a staring contest with one another how wild animals would for dominance, sometimes they'd stop and smell each other briefly only to jump back and every time it happened they had an audience. Scott found it funny, Jean found it cute, Charles kept telling Logan to cut Laura some slack.
One day at breakfast Charles asked Jean to go wake up Logan "why does she always have to do it?" Scott suddenly butted in, pushing the fried egg on his plate around
"because he doesn't hurt her" Charles took a bite of his bacon "he's been trying really hard not to hurt anyone recently but he still nicked you a few days ago" Scott's left hand trailed up his right forearm to the three scratches. He sighed "I just think no one should wake him"
"I see your point but how can Logan get better if he can never learn?"
"away from us" Scott shrugged easily and out his fork down "why should he need us to risk ourselves to help him?"
"because we're X-Men" Charles smiled "its what we do"
"Where's Laura?" Jean suddenly blurted, Scott immediately got to his feet to help her look.
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She tripped over a beer bottle and it rolled across the floor, Logan only stirred but he didn't awake at all, he was snoring softly in sweatpants and with no shirt, the smell of liquor on his breath mixed with cigars. Laura stepped over the next beer bottles, her gaze focused on the floor as she navigated her way through, she was so focused on the floor she didn't even realise she got to the bedside until she felt the bed frame against her knee.
Laura stared at Logan, the way his chest moved up and down with each breath, how his eyes were closed in sleep but he smelt tired, she reached out a hand and grabbed his shoulder, her hand was so small pressed against his warm skin. She shook gently and Logan growled in warning, a claw extended and his nose wrinkled as he tried to smell out who was touching him, Laura watched him extend his middle claw but it just stabbed into the bed so she wasn't too fussed about it.
"Breakfast" her thick Mexican accent filled the room and Logan groaned, his claw retracted and he sat up, snatching up his white tank top and slipping it on "you speak English?" Laura nodded slowly "breakfast" she turned on her heel to leave.
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The kitchen was awkward now. Laura was good at making things awkward, communicating with her was hard enough and the only one excelling in it was Charles, even Jean the other physic in the room wasn't good at it meaning it was favouritism for the old man. Logan was chewing on his bacon when Laura reached for some of it, she had finished all of hers and Logan growled and shooed her away from his bacon, her little hand disappeared from his plate only to reappear later.
Laura's hand crept onto Logan's plate in an attempt to grab more bacon, Logan growled and extended his claws, stabbing the bacon, claiming it as his, his hazel eyes pierced into Laura's, telling her that the food on his plate was his. SLINKT sounded throughout the room as Laura extended her own two claws and stabbed a piece of bacon, she didn't snarl or growl as she tugged and got less then half of the bacon to take to her plate.
Logan sighed and ate his food quietly and when she reached for his bacon again Logan's claws held hers at a distance "ask" he told her and put another piece of bacon on her plate, Jean smiled at Logan's attempt to be fatherly while Scott chuckled "wow, a lot like you huh Logan?"
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When morning came Logan was nowhere to be found and neither was his spawn, after a few minutes of searching Scott found them on the couch, Logan sprawled out on the couch while Laura slept just as sprawled out on top of him, he took a quick picture.
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Training in the training room was mandatory simply because Laura was murderous and needed to blow off steam, on top of that her father insisted so he would be stabbed less and so she would stab others less. Laura's favourite was Charles while Logan was a tolerate and everyone else? She growled and snarled at them, Logan would scold her and she'd set her heart on glaring instead.
Logan had decided to leave Charles, Scott and Jean in control of her while he went out to go to the store to replace a door Laura broke, they put Laura into the massive training room. It was coated with metal, a few hologram machines scattered around the room to feel the students the illusion that they were in actual danger so they would fight to the best of their abilities and of course the room had adult settings too.
It was an accident, a misfire, a miscommunication of machinery and poor Laura had paid the price of one bullet to the shoulder. Charles had seen her easily suck bullets out of her skin and spit them out, she was feral and crazed but now she was just a little girl in a dangerous room who was wounded. "Shit!" Scott cursed and pressed his hand into the hand pad of the door, the door scanned his hand in what felt like agonisingly slow time, the doors opened with a woosh and before anyone could step foot instead something knocked them over.
Charles' wheelchair spun and Jean stumbled while Scott was flung to the ground, he landed with a slap, he groaned as his palms stung and he pushed himself up in time to see it. In a puddle of blood was Laura, growling and clawing at her shoulder while Logan was behind her, rubbing her back and cooing at her. He wasn't purring like a cat or snarling like a dog, he was cooing at her how wolverines cooed at their young to soothe them.
Scott suddenly felt like he was in the wrong place as Laura's breathing evened out, as her eyes seemed to relax, her body untensed and Logan's hand reached up and easily pulled the bullet from her shoulder. He didn't yank it, he didn't just tug it, he had slowly moved his hand up and pulled it out in the least painful way he could for her.
Laura whipped around and the wound closed up before Scott's visor covered eyes, Laura tackled Logan but he didn't fall and she nuzzled against his chest, Logan rubbed her back, his eyes wide in shock at the affection he was being shown and then Laura began to mimic Logan's coo. It was much higher in pitch and a little off key but Logan found himself smiling regardless and Scott couldn't help but smile too.
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"I got a picture" Jean whispered as she laid down in bed next to Scott that night "we should hang it up tomorrow" she giggled and Scott smiled "yeah, should we put it in their room?"