Shopping With Marie

Title: Shopping with Marie Author: Terri Email: xgrrl26@yahoo.com Rating: PG-13, swearing, violence, excessive shopping Summary: Sequel to Moving In With Marie. Logan decides a shopping trip is in order. Disclaimer: Sadly, tragically, not mine. Archive: Ask, and ye shall receive. Feedback: Please! Pleasepleaseplease! Author's Notes: Unlike the "Eighteen" fics, Mystique is NOT related to Rogue in this little world. That would just cross an "ick" line I don't want to think about. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You know, ever since I moved in with her, I've noticed a few things. Hey, I know everyone thinks I'm some kind of archtypical guy, but I really don't fit the stereotype of being oblivious to anything but the looks of the women around me. Really. Hell, I'm one of the most observant people I know, when something catches my attention. And Marie catches my attention. Marie likes to eat. She likes to eat lots of food, all at once, then nothing for the rest of the day. Unlike me. I like to eat lots of food all day long. Marie likes to read. She's got a whole bookshelf of books she's read, all with dog-eared pages and underlined or highlighted passages. Goes to show that she really went through them, really tried to get everything out of them. Me, if I read the TV Guide, that's about the extent of it. Marie likes sports. Now, I can't really tell how much of this is from me, or if Magneto or whoever watched ESPN around the clock, but it's part of her now. She'll sit still for a whole hockey game, or football, or tennis, and she spends all Sunday morning watching the Sports Reporters and NFL Countdown during football season. She thinks hockey is the next best sport. She hates the Islanders and the Flyers, and loves the Maple Leafs (despite their "un-grammatically-correct" name, as she once told me) and the Penguins, mostly because Mario Lemieux came back. She says that Wayne Gretsky might be the most accomplished player ever, but Mario is the most naturally talented. And she thinks he's a "hottie." Now that I think about it, maybe the hockey thing is all from me, because that's pretty much what I think. Except for the "hottie" part. She thinks she looks best in green, and I don't disagree with her there, except when it comes to underwear. There's something just plain wrong about green underwear. I vote for black in that category. She likes fall better than winter and spring better than summer. She likes bourbon - that's from me - and a good Riesling - Magneto, I think. She likes long, hot showers after a workout or a mission, but she likes to soak in the bathtub otherwise. Marie doesn't like to be around people. Well, except me. Now, at first, this wasn't really a bad thing, in my opinion. It meant that I got all of her time and attention, and that other people, like, oh, trenchcoat boy, weren't around much. But after a few months, it started to seem like not such a good thing. Oh, not that I was getting sick of her or anything. It's just that I could tell she wanted to be around people, she wanted to sit and gossip with her little girlfriends, or have a cup of coffee with Ororo sometimes, but, for some reason, she just couldn't let herself or make herself do it, hardly at all. I think it's a pretty sure bet that it's because of whatever happened to her while I was gone, which she still won't talk about. So I started thinking. How can I get her to do more stuff with people without making her freak out? I decided to watch her when she was with me, and when she was with other people, looking for some clues. I noticed a couple things right away. First off, she never turned her back on other people. Never. When someone would enter a room, she would take a step back, and position her body to face them. She didn't usually turn her back on a door or an entrance either, and that was a good thing from a mission/fighting standpoint, but not such a good thing in daily life. I noticed that it was when we were on missions that she was most comfortable with other people. She did sometimes have to turn her back to Scott or Jean or 'Ro then, and I could tell that it made her a little edgy, but she did it. When she fought, she went all out, and frankly, I wouldn't want to meet her in a back alley. She got some kind of super-strength somewhere along the way, she's got my memories in there, and the x-geeks have actually trained her to fight pretty well, so she's one hell of a brawler. She had no qualms about contact with people in a fight, and she doesn't back off from a close-quarters go-round. Well, I decided to take the information I had so far and try an experiment. Something slow to start out. Something I knew she hadn't done in a long time, at least not since I'd been back. Something that made perfect sense and wouldn't be too obvious - she'd just dig her heels in if she thought I was doing it just to help her or something. OK, I'll admit that's probably from me. It was a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself. I decided to take her shopping. Yes, I know what you're thinking - "You, shopping?" - and no, I don't mean to an auto parts or hunting goods store. I gathered up all my courage and offered to take her shopping at the mall. Stop laughing. The perfect part was that I was helping Marie and killing two other birds with one stone. See, this made sense because Christmas was about two weeks away, and I had to get her a present, but I had no idea what. I mean, I kind of got a pass on her birthday because she mentioned that she wanted another bookcase, and that was easy enough to build. Plus, I hadn't been back for long. When you've been living together for a while, though, better presents than that are expected. And that brings me to bird number two. Lately, Scott has taken to repeatedly reminding me that bookcases and dog tags are no longer suitable Marie-presents. He has, for some reason, appointed himself relationship monitor for me and Marie, making sure I do things like give her good presents, and haranguing me to be thoughtful in general. Logan, it wouldn't kill you to pick up some of her favorite coffee when you're out; Logan, you have to remember to put the toilet seat down, women don't like to fall in; Logan, if you don't shave every day, you'll give her razor burn. On and on and on. He seems to think that just because he somehow got a woman like Jeannie to hitch herself to him, he's the relationship expert. Frankly, I think on the partnering-up scale, there's a wider gap between me and Marie, and me getting her to live with me is a much more impressive feat. I mean, Jeannie has a soft spot for geeks, you know? So, I could get Scooter off my back, get a present, and do something nice for Marie. All in all, a good plan. Plus, weren't teenage girls supposed to like malls? Her friends, Jubilee and Kitty went almost every weekend. And when I approached them with the plan, invited them to come along, they both gave out high-pitched squeaks, which I think means approval. I had a good feeling about this. This was going to work. Now, time to implement the plan. "Hey there kid." "Hey." "You got plans for today?" "No, not really. Just the Avalanche-Red Wings game at nine. Don't want to miss a good grudge match. Why? You want to go for a walk or something?" "No, no, not really. I was just thinking that maybe we'd go out." Now, I knew that if she was going to buy this at all, I had to make it sound casual, like it just occurred to me. Not like I'd been planning it for weeks, which, of course I had. "Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?" Now I know she's probably thinking going out to dinner, which we sometimes do, or to a movie. Because she does feel pretty comfortable doing that. Those things are just us, really. I did once suggest heading into town for a Rangers game, and she didn't bite on that - too many people, and you have to sit close to strangers. Well, time to run this one up the Marie-flagpole. "I was talking to Jubilee, and I thought I might take you and her and Kitty shopping." OK, hysterical laughter was not the reaction I was expecting. "That's really funny, Logan. Come on, really, what do you want to do?" "I really want to go shopping with you. And what's her name and Jubilee. At the mall. Today." "You - you want to go shopping?" "Yeah." Now she's starting to get that I'm serious. Those big brown eyes are burning into me. "Why?" Well, at least she wasn't saying no yet. "I need to get some presents. I need to get you a present." "Well, OK, but we can go shopping, you and me. Why bring Kitty and Jubilee?" That's good, that's a positive sign, she'd go to the mall with me, even with the crowds and lots of strange people up close. At least we've got that to fall back on. "Well, I was thinking that maybe they could help me pick out your present. You know, so I get something good and it's still a surprise." "Hmm." I could tell she was thinking through that, trying to come up with an objection. "Come on, it'll be fun." "Are you feeling OK? Have you switched bodies with Jubes or something?" "Come on." All right, time to pull out the big guns. "I really want you to." I hardly ever use that one, and I know she won't be able to say no. Unless it really is something she's very, very not ready to do. If it is, I won't push it anymore, we'll go shopping alone. That's still progress. "Oh, OK." Success! I am a genius. Eat your heart out, Scooter, I am the relationship expert! I am the relationship king, no - I am the relationship God! "But Logan?" "Yeah, baby?" "Stay close to me." "No problem there, kid." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I want to go to Express." "Oh yeah, and we need to go to Bath and Body Works." "And Suncoast video. I need to get that movie, There's Something About Mary." "That movie was stupid!" "No it wasn't, it was funny." My God, what have I done? We've been in the car five minutes, and I'm going to kill them both. I didn't think it would be this bad. I told them to just act normal around Marie, not to act like it was a big deal. This is their 'normal' level of excitement about shopping? "I think The Body Shop is better than Bath and Body Works. Their products are all, 'no animal testing.'" "Yeah, but I like the Bath and Body Works aromatherapy stuff." Oh my God, aromatherapy. I'm in a car with someone having a discussion about aromatherapy. I will never, ever be able to live this down. "You know," Yes, that's it. That's my girl. Say something to make them be quiet. "I don't think I remember if there's a candle store there. I'd like to get some candles." Oh, that's not going to lead to quiet. Now I'm going to hear about the damn bath and candle works. Oh, well. At least she's holding her own. I don't think they can pick up on the nervousness in her voice. She's trying really hard. When we got in the car, I could tell she was having a hard time choosing between sitting in back (where she could keep everyone in front of her) or sitting in front (closer to me). I think it's a good sign that she opted for the front. Plus, you know, closer to me. That's always a good thing. "Oh! There's a Wicks and Sticks. And there's one of those Yankee Candle Company places." "Yeah, and there's a Pier One across from the mall that - " "Oh no, no way in hell. Just the mall. That's it." "Loooogaaaan....." I can't even tell which one of them that came out of. Oh, God, next time I need to come up with a plan that doesn't involve teenagers. You know, other than Marie. "Nope." "I thought you wanted to go shopping." Marie. Oh-oh. Maybe she's starting to suspect that something's up. "I do. But to get presents, then get out. I shop like I hunt, baby. I'm very focused." Smile a little and wink. You can pull this off, Logan. "How do you know I wouldn't like something at Pier One?" Now she's lightening up, teasing. Good, good. "Odds. Aren't there a lot more things at the whole mall than in one store?" "You mean, you're kind of hoping for, like, one-stop-shopping? Dude, you have to find the right thing. You could have to go to, like, dozens of places. Don't you know anything about Christmas shopping?" Mental note - strangle Jubilee in her sleep. "No. That's why you two are coming." I wonder if they can tell how hard I'm gritting my teeth. "Well, you're in good hands, dude. There's nothing we don't know about shopping." Hey, that, that actually brought a little laugh out of Marie. This wasn't such a bad plan after all. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Logan, you don't look like you're enjoying yourself, sugar." "I'm fine." After twenty minutes trying to find a parking space, another ten minute walk to the mall from the parking space, and the last hour in one store - a shoe store for the love of God - I am absolutely fucking ready to kill something. Starting with the terrible twosome I had the unbelievably bad judgment to bring with me. "Are you doing OK?" "Um, yeah. Yeah, I think so." She's been hanging in there real good. Staying very close to me, practically crawling up my side when we walked in the mall, but she's hanging in there. Likes to have me at her back. Right at her back. "I didn't find any shoes, though." "Guys, hey, we should go in there!" "Uh..." Marie looks a little uncertain. It's some girlie store, I can tell that much, it's got lotion or something in the display, and - oh. "Oh come on, it's not like we don't know you guys do it. Don't you want some kinky underwear to spice things up?" "I don't think we need to go into Victoria's Secret." Marie doesn't sound happy at all. I think the terrible twosome picked up on that. They're exchanging looks. "Aw, we're just kidding, babe. Like you'd ever be into that trashy underwear thing. You've got way too much class, chica. We just wanted to see if we could get Logan to blush or something." You know, sometimes I am reminded why they're her friends. "OK." Everyone assumes we're going at it like rabbits in her little room, but truth is, I've hardly touched her, really. And it's not because of her skin. She's not ready to do a lot of stuff. She's still getting used to me touching her even above the waist and - "Come on, Roguey, we didn't mean anything by it. It-it was stupid to say. We're sorry." "No, it's OK. I'm sorry. I mean, it was funny. You shouldn't have to edit everything you say around me." She's trying to reassure them, but I can feel the hand she's got around my waist shaking just a little. Hang in there, baby. "Hey, there's the Yankee Candle place. Wanna go in?" "Sure." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three hours. We have been here for three hours. I didn't think she'd last this long, and who knew I could shop for three hours. I even found some presents. A wind chime for 'Ro (Kitty's suggestion), the most expensive pen I've ever bought in my life for the Professor (Marie's suggestion), and a little doctor Barbie for Jean, who apparently collects them (according to Jubilee). At least I get a little time alone with Marie now that we've stopped at the food court for lunch. She picked a booth in the far corner, and she's practically on my lap. I can tell she's not going to be good for much longer. It's OK. She's done very well today. And she's getting a little break now that the terrible twosome are off getting frozen yogurt. "Hey, how you doing?" "OK. How about you?" "The next time we go shopping, it'll be just you and me, baby." "Having that much fun, are you?" God, she's cute right now. She's wearing this dark green turtleneck that really brings out the color in her skin. "More fun than a sharp stick in the eye. Barely." "You know, you can't fool me, Logan." "OK, less fun than a sharp stick in the eye. I heal from those." "You planned this whole thing, didn't you?" Oh-oh. Maybe I'm not as smooth as I thought. "What do you mean?" "You hate shopping. You hate the mall. You're not exceptionally fond of Jubilee or Kitty. You planned this whole thing just to get me to go out, to spend some time with them because you thought it'd be good for me or something. Isn't that it?" Shit. Sometimes I forget she's smarter than me. "Don't be pissed. I had good intentions. And I really do want to get you a present. And I know you like those two. Every time you're alone with them, or anyone really, you never hang out long, but sometimes it looks like you want to." "I do, sometimes. It's just that....." Oh great, good one. Now she's got tears in her eyes. Logan, you are the relationship idiot. "Hey, you don't have to explain. Do you want to go? Because I can get Scooter to come and pick them up." "No, no, I just....look, Logan, I appreciate it, OK? I appreciate what you're trying to do." "Yeah, I can tell by the way you're gonna cry in a second just how thrilled you are with it. I'm sorry, kid." I am the anti-relationship king. "No, no....can I, can I tell you something?" "Sure." "I don't like to be alone with them because I have bad memories. Sometimes I see them, I see them hurting me." Mental note - not kidding about strangling Jubilee in her sleep now. Get the other one too. "No, no the - the memories aren't real. They didn't do anything. Really, Logan." "If they - " "They didn't. It was just....what happened to me, I saw them and felt them....it's-it's not important now. Just, you know what? Can we go? Can we?" The tears are starting to fall now, and I can feel her panicking a little, but I can also tell she just wants to get it out. "Do you want to tell me? 'Cause - " "Not here, there are all these people and I - " "Hey. Fuck all these people. Talk to me. If it's ready to come out, let it out." She's deciding, I can tell. Take your time, baby. There's no one here but you and me now. Come on. She's looking up at me, she's decided. "OK." Oh-oh, she's hugging me, burying her head in my chest. Shit, it has to be pretty bad if she doesn't want me to see her face while she tells it. "I got taken. Right from the mansion, right off the grounds." Her voice is so soft even I can barely hear it.. "It was Mystique. She-she tortured me for some reason. I don't know why. She changed into everyone I knew, everyone I trusted and she did awful things....I don't-I don't want to say what, OK? Just, bad things. My skin, my skin didn't hurt her, it doesn't react with her skin for some reason, and I couldn't-couldn't stop her." She's dead. That mother fucking bitch is living her last day on the fucking planet whether she knows it or not. Dead. "She gave me some kind of drug to keep me out of it. It made me really confused, and I-I couldn't tell if what was happening was real or some hallucination or what. I just - I - she had me for three days, Logan. Three days. The thing that finally did it, though, was when she changed into you." Oh God. God, no. "I-I knew it wasn't real then, I knew it. She thought it would be some kind of coup de grace - " "Some what?" "The final thing, a killing blow. She thought you doing....things to me would be the worst, but that's when I knew. I knew for sure it wasn't real. You'd never hurt me ever, not even in some hallucination. Somehow, that kind of snapped me out of it enough to call out to the Professor, you know, in my head. They came and got me right away. They're the only ones that know, the Professor, Scott, Jean, and 'Ro." Oh my God. I don't even want to think about what Mystique could've done to her. As me. What she did do to her as me. I really - oh, God. "The Professor just told everybody that I needed a little time, and not to be upset if I reacted weird or something. That I'd been hurt by Mystique, that it was hard on me, very hard, and that's all. I-I....she used me to kill some of her enemies, she made me touch them. That's how I got the powers." Jesus Christ. I knew it was bad, shit, but I never imagined anything like this, and I - "Logan? Please say something?" She's still hugging me, not looking. And actually that's good because I don't really know what could be on my face now except rage. "It's OK. You're safe now, and I....I'm never going to let you get hurt again. Got that? Not ever." "Are you - do you think I'm...I'm....." "What, baby?" She's shaking a lot now, and I know people are starting to notice us, but I don't really give a good shit. "Dirty." "What?" Where the hell did that come from? "You didn't do anything wrong." "I let myself get taken. I couldn't fight her off, I - I - some of the things she did to me were so - " "Stop that." I know that came out hard and I really shouldn't have pulled her head up like that, but I'm not going to let her think what she's thinking a second more. "Just stop it. There's nothing wrong with you. You didn't do anything wrong, and it's not your fault you got hurt. I'm going to fix it. I'm going to find her and I'm going to kill her. I'm going to make her suffer first, then I'm going to kill her. She's not going to hurt you again." "No, no, don't go after her, Logan, please, I need you to stay with me. Don't go after her, the Professor can't even find her with Cerebro, it could take months and I don't want you to go away anymore, please." "Baby - " "Please!" Shit, she's panicking a lot now. "OK, OK, I won't go find her right now. I'll stay here." Her eyes are still wild. "I'm sticking around, OK. Calm down, baby, it's OK now." Just have to try to stay calm. Can't let the claws out here. Can't wreck the whole place. Already plenty of people staring. Just, just keep calm, Logan. She's hugging me, hug her back. Not too tight. Relax your hands, no fists. Let her hang on to you. "Logan, I'm sorry I said those things." She is calming down now. Her voice is almost steady and I can tell she's trying to stop crying. "No, I'm glad you told me." Try to be comforting, reassuring. Try not to let the claws out. Try not to break the table in half. "No, I mean I'm sorry I asked you to stay. I-I know you don't like it. I'll be OK, really, if you want to go. Really." She's looking up at me with those big brown eyes and big wet tears and big red blotches all over her face from the crying and my God, look at her. How could anyone ever hurt her? "It's OK." I have to make her understand that. I have to make her know. "No, it's really not, because I know you don't - " "Guys? Are you OK?" Good God, it's the terrible twosome. Talk about piss-poor timing. "Yeah. Now go away." "Rogue?" Jubilee must really love her, because she's got to know from the look on my face that she's pretty much risking her life by not getting her ass out of here immediately. "It's OK. Just, you know me, little emotional breakdowns are par for the course, right?" She's trying to get it together, sitting up. "It's really OK. I just get all emotional around the holidays, you know? It's fine." "Maybe we should go home...." "No, no Kitty, really. I'm up for more shopping, and besides, I haven't finished my list. Just, can I have a minute or two alone with Logan? We'll meet you over by Sam Goody, OK?" "OK. Call us if you need us, chica." I know she's trying to put on a brave face for her friends. "We don't have to stay. You don't have to prove anything here, kid." "I know. I just, I need to know how you're feeling about this." How I'm feeling? Shit, I can't figure out what she needs to hear or wants to hear and I really don't want to fuck this up because I have a feeling that if I do - "Logan? Just tell me." OK. Go with the truth, I guess. "I'm pissed as hell. At that fucking bitch. At Chuck and Scooter for not protecting you, for not finding you sooner. For not fucking telling me what happened from the get-go. At your friends for not trying to help you. I'm going to kill that fucking bitch, I swear it to you, Marie. I swear I - " "What about me? I mean, are you mad at me?" You know, she does this to me. I was primed to kill a second ago, and one look at that face and now I just want to hold her. "I could never be mad at you. Hey, you should know this, right? I'm up there." I just meant to tap the side of her head once or twice, but here I am stroking her hair. "You didn't do anything wrong. What happened, it wasn't your fault. I don't feel any different about you except to feel sorry as hell at what happened and guilty that I wasn't here to stop it. Marie, I really wish you'd told me to come home, baby. I really wish you didn't have to go through this at all, but especially by yourself. And I feel bad that you don't want to ask me to stay now even if you need me to. I don't want you to think I wouldn't give you anything you asked for, kid." I hope that was right, I hope it was enough. "You know something? I feel better now." And she does, she's even smiling a little. Huh. "I needed to tell you, I think, and I need you to tell me those things. I-I know I'm still not over it, but I feel better." Oh, thank God. Thank God. "Let's finish shopping, Logan, OK? I want to." "OK. Hey - you know I....you know I ...." "Yeah, I know." She always lets me off, she never makes me say it out loud. You know what? She shouldn't have to settle for that. "Hey, I love you." Now that's the best, most beautiful, I think I've ever seen her look. Still don't quite get why it is that I can make that happen, but I'm glad I do. "I love you too, sugar." "Let's go shop." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No one would believe it if I told them. Seven hours at the mall. With teenage girls. Marie, she wasn't kidding about feeling better. Oh, she still stayed pretty close to me, but she laughed a couple times with the terrible twosome, and she even let me sneak off with Jubilee to get her Christmas present without her. She looked just about ready to throw up when I got back fifteen minutes later, but she did it. And she shopped. In just about every single store in the entire mall. "I still didn't get everyone." I'm not quite sure how that's possible. "I still have the Professor and you." "You don't have to get me a present, kid." "But you got me one. You even went to the mall to get it." You know, she says it like I went to the top of Mount Everest or something, and that just goes to show how well she really does know me. "We can go shopping again, if you want." The piped-in muzak Christmas carols that have been wafting through my brain for the past seven hours have clearly driven me insane. That's the only possible explanation. "Whoa, chica, that's love." I even laughed at that. Marie's just blushing. "Thanks for taking us. I had a really good time." She's looking over at me with that look, the one she gets when she's really satisfied with something I've done. I like that look. "Hey, maybe we can all go again next weekend!" "Grrrrr...." "Maybe not."