Logan had a pretty steady stream of visitors for most of the day. He was still fairly weak and tired, but his vitals were close to normal and Jean had given the okay to get up on his feet a little. At first, standing was difficult... his head swam, and the nausea hit him hard, but he got used to it fairly quickly, and eventually it wore off. Jean had allowed him to eat a little, actually, it was mostly liquid, but it had stayed down, and not given his stomach too much trouble. He had napped off and on, but he'd been alone for over an hour, now, and he was bored... bored and sick of laying around. He got up and paced around the infirmary.
He had realized, early in the day, that Ari was not coming... and he was frustrated, angry. He wanted to find her... to ask her what was going on. Hell, maybe she just plain didn't give a shit how he was doin'. He had also come to the realization that knowing a lot more about himself... understanding himself in a "new light" ... he snorted... wasn't necessarily going to turn his life around in a day. He was getting seriously claustrophobic, and his mood was getting blacker by the minute. He wanted a cigar. He walked slowly from one end of the room to the other, like a caged animal, hands behind his back, frowning and thinking.
No matter how bad or how good he felt, he couldn't get Ari out of his mind. She was there... in his head, a constant presence, a constant reminder. She was drivin' him crazy! He remembered her wild, one of a kind scent, how beautiful she was, and how she had kissed him... his heart jumped and chills ran through his body every time he thought about that. She had been so afraid to touch him. He knew by the way she'd acted that she had never touched a man like that before... never had a man kiss her... never kissed a man back. He smiled, remembering. Hell, by the way she had looked at him, it was highly possible that she'd never even seen a man with no shirt on before... besides her Dad, of course. He replayed the whole scene in the cabin over and over in his mind. Logan shook his head in frustration. He was just going to have to forget about it. Obviously, it hadn't meant as much to her as it had to him... He shook his head. He couldn't forget, because he couldn't make himself believe that she was shallow enough to have taken it so lightly. None of it was making any sense.
Logan had asked several people about her and no one had seen her. He was a little worried that she had gone back to Canada. He closed his eyes and thought of her, then gasped. He could feel her... he could feel that she was still close. He concentrated hard, his heart pounding in his chest. Yes, she was definitely still at the school. He struggled to feel what she was doing, what she was thinking. He frowned... all that was coming to him was a sense of overwhelming sadness... loneliness,which cofused him more than ever. If Ari was lonely and sad, why wasn't she coming to see him? He continued his pacing.
He thought back to the first time he had "felt" something. The other day with the wolf pup... he had "felt" its' pain, it's loneliness. That was how he had known to look for it, in the alley. Then, he remembered, when he had met Ari, he had been able to feel her. Shit! Logan had just remembered that Ari had been talking to him, in his head, when he was so sick at the cabin. He frowned, digging deeply to remember it... he had been so out of it then. He distinctly remembered her talking to him... he could hear her voice, but she hadn't been moving her mouth. - Mmmm... her mouth.- Logan's heart leapt again at the thought. Even feeling as shitty as he did, he wanted that mouth. He closed his eyes, his body tingling all over. He focused hard to remember the perfect shape of it, the soft, wet, sweet taste of it. He moaned when he remembered those first tentative, innocent kisses... and then groaned, remembering how quickly they had changed from sweet and innocent to hungry and completely alive with passion. The memory of her tongue moving hard and sensually against his caught his breath. He chuckled... she'd almost brought him to an orgasm with that kiss. Damn! He had never been kissed like that before! Then he swallowed hard, remembering how she had stood, trembling; her long, soft legs pressed in against him... the smell of her... how badly he'd wanted her. Shit! He looked down at his engorged, hard body. Mmm... He wanted Ari.... and he wanted her now.
Jean had not okayed a trip out of the infirmary, but Logan didn't care. He wasn't sure where his clothes were, but he didn't care about that, either, he had on scrubs, and he'd run around in this building once before dressed only in scrubs. He chuckled... at least he knew where to find a sweatshirt.
He walked down the hall, holding onto the wall for support. He found a shirt and put it on, fumbling with the zipper for a while before giving up and letting it hang open. It seemed his hands weren't working real well, yet. Screw it, he thought, he didn't care. Rogue had told him that Ari was staying in his old room. His body reacted again, at the thought of Ari lying in his bed. - Mmmm...- The elevator did a number on his weak stomach, and by the time he'd reached his old room, his head was swimming. He knocked softly... there was no answer. He tried the knob; it was unlocked so he went in. She wasn't in the room, but her things were; he breathed a sigh of relief... she hadn't gone home yet. He closed his eyes and tried to feel her again, but nothing came to him. He frowned, she must have decided to go out.
He walked over to the bed, and fell face first onto it... breathing her scent in deeply. His heart rate rose immediately, it was exactly as he had remembered it, wild, musky - yet, at the same time, very feminine. He looked up and smiled. This had been his bed, but now he hardly recognized it. She had, somehow, convinced someone to bring her, what appeared to be, every pillow in the place. He remembered her bed at home, it had been piled high with pillows and comforters, too. He grabbed a pillow and groaned, smelling it and hugging it tightly to his body. God! He wanted her! He lay there for a long time with his eyes closed thinking about Ari, and where she could have gone. Finally, he sighed and got up... maybe Xavier would know where she was. He was getting tired, and upon standing, the dizziness hit him again. He took a deep breath, and went to the Professor's office. He knocked on the door quietly, not even sure he'd be there. It had to be late afternoon, maybe early evening.
Logan peeked in to find the Professor at his desk and more than a little surprised to see him. "Logan! Does Jean know you're out of the infirmary?", he asked coming across the room, a look of concern on his face. Logan shook his head frowning... " No... I'm lookin' for Ari, have you seen her? " The Professor's eyebrows rose. " Yes, I saw her this afternoon... we had a very nice lunch together and discussed her abilities." Logan walked in cocking his head to one side, interested. " Her abilities?" he asked. The Professor nodded. It was obvious he didn't intend to tell Logan anything about Ari's "abilities".
" Hmm...Where is she now? " Logan asked.
" She asked for directions to a shopping mall, she wanted to buy some new clothes. ... How are you feeling Logan?" Logan's face was haggard, he was obviously not well enough to be roaming about alone. - Jean , I need you in my office -.
- Yes, Sir... I'll be right there. -
Logan looked angry. " You let her go shopping alone?" he said, a little too harshly. He began pacing the room. "Couldn't you have sent someone with her? She's not used to big cities." The Professor smiled. " Ari is a very independent young woman, Logan... she wanted to go alone, she made that clear. She'll be fine, I gave her directions and let her use one of our cars. "
Logan eyed him suspiciously. " When's she gettin' back? "
The Professor frowned and sighed. Logan was being difficult. " She said she'd see me tomorrow, so I assumed that meant she would be back late. She's a big girl, Logan. " Logan nodded, still frowning. " Is there a room I can stay in... I'm sick of bein' down there." he motioned down toward the infirmary. " Ari's in my old room.... Is there another one?" he smiled and raised a wicked eyebrow. "... unless, of course, ... you wanted us to share."
His remark hit its' mark. The Professor was exasperated with him, he tightened his jaw, " Of course we have another room, Logan... " He looked up as Jean entered the room. He looked very relieved for the interruption. "Ah, Jean. It seems that one of your patient's has escaped.. and he's in quite a mood, too. " Jean's eyes opened in surprise. " Causing trouble,...... Logan? " she asked sarcastically. Logan scowled. " I'm not goin' back down there," he said, daring her to challenge him with his tone. She pursed her lips and sighed, glancing over to the Professor, smiling. " I think it would be fine if he took a regular room... he just needs sleep, now, more than anything else." She looked back at Logan, "...but you have to rest. If I catch you doing too much, you're going back down. Agreed? " Logan gave her a withering frown. She shrugged it off. " Which room would you like me give him?" she asked the Professor. He looked up at her...... - Just make sure it's as far away from Ari's as possible. -
Jean's eyes widened and she nodded. " Okay, Logan... follow me. "
Jean set Logan up in a room, and went down to get his things, after coercing him into promising not to leave the room until she got back. The room was easily as nice as his other room, if not a little nicer, but he was angry... it was a long way away from Ari. Logan paced around the room, fuming. Xavier'd probably arranged this on purpose. - What the Hell is going on with them? - Logan was tired, and mad... he decided to call it a night. He would find Ari in the morning and have a good, long talk with her. He stripped, dropped onto the bed, without even a thought of taking a shower, and pulled up the covers. He was out before Jean got back.
Ari returned from her shopping trip late. She'd had a great time, alone, buying new clothes, unlike any she'd ever owned. The sales people had been very helpful, money was not an issue, Ari's father had left her a very wealthy woman, although she rarely showed it. They helped her find clothes that were more suited to "the new her" that was growing stronger in her all the time. They were daring and fun, but yet very comfortable to wear. That had surprised her, those kinds of clothes had always looked uncomfortable on other women. She blushed, remembering some of the things that she had chosen. They were definitely not her normal style, but she didn't care. She was more than ready to do away with her old, stifled self. She was an animal, and she intended to show it; she was proud of what lived inside her... she was different. One of a kind... No!,... not one of a kind. Her heart stopped... the moment she thought of Logan, she also picked up his scent. She had been too distracted to notice it before, but he had definitely been in her room.... his room. -Damn! What was he doing in here?- She sniffed and followed his trail to her bed, where one of her pillows was lying, askew, away from the others. She moaned softly ... "Oh, God... Logan".... she dropped down onto the bed, arms spread wide, burying her nose in his scent. She reached up and picked up the pillow, holding it tightly and breathing him in deeply. Her worried mind flew to him... she let out a sigh of relief... he was no longer in the infirmary, and he was sleeping soundly. She smiled, imagining him lying in a bed like this one, his blankets falling down around his waist, his beautiful chest exposed... She swallowed, remembering him in the glow of the fire. She had been so afraid to go near him... so afraid to touch him. She shook her head, she hadn't been able to stop herself. Everything in her had been telling her to run from him, but she had been drawn to him like a magnet... and she would never regret it. She closed her eyes and raised a hand to her lips, running her fingers lightly across them, remembering the feel of his lips against hers. Soft, so softly at first... and then... Oh, God... his tongue... Chills rippled through her whole body, and she felt the new, familiar warming and tightening of her body between her legs. She had never touched a man, had never kissed a man... Hell, she'd never even wanted to. Now she knew she would never want another man... ever. That thought brought tears to her eyes and she sighed. At least she had the memory of his touch... both in and out of his mind. She was his forever, and he would never know... she sniffed and sat up... she had to be strong. If Logan had been here, he had obviously been looking for her. She had to make sure that he didn't find her. Ari wasn't sure if it would do any good, but she had to try... she was hoping that after a few days, he would take the hint, and it would be enough to get her out of his mind. She got up and hung up and put away all of her new clothes... she would have to be very careful tomorrow. Ari stripped off her clothes, and got into bed, closing her eyes and remembering... feeling him... kissing him... Mmmm.... she was asleep in minutes.
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