Taming a Beast

We finally made it back to the school, and Logan nearly hit a kid who teleported randomly to the middle of the road. He swerved and slammed on his breaks, grabbing me so I wouldn’t slip out from behind my seatbelt. The kid-- about age 10 or 11-- watched from the road with wide eyes and a huge mouth. Logan’s car halted to a stop, and I jumped out of the car and ran to the kid while Logan checked his car for any possible damages.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” I asked him, as I knelt down to push back his hair and look into his eyes.

“I... I am. I’m so sorry, Ms. Shiloh, I didn’t mean to...” he said, tears beginning to fill up his eyes. I turned him so his back was to Logan and hugged him tight, shushing him and giving Logan a look to keep his mouth shut. Logan huffed angrily, muttering something in his breath as he got back into his car and began to back it up out of the side of the road.

“It’s alright, honey,” I said to him, putting my arm around him. “Whose room are you in right now?”

“Mr. Gambit,” he sniffled. I nodded and shifted, giving the little boy a smile as I teleported back to Gambit’s room, my old classroom. All the students gasped when they saw me pop into the room with the little boy in my arms. One even stood up and pointed his arm at me, as if he were going to shoot me. Gambit looked a bit startled, but relaxed when he saw my skin was rippling.

“Ah, Ms. Shiloh,” Gambit said with a worried smile when I shifted down. He met my eyes, begging me not to tell anybody about the kid’s little trip. “Class, this is Ms. Shiloh, who some of you may not know. She’s a teacher who is currently off and who would be teaching this class, had she not been off.”

“That’s Mr. Gambit’s way of telling you that he’s an awful teacher, especially compared to me,” I said to the class in a stage whisper, winking at them. They all giggled or laughed, and I patted Gambit on the back, whispering into his ear above the chitter, “I won’t tell Xavier, and I’ll try to keep Logan quiet, too. Keep an eye on your kids, alright, Gambit?”

Gambit gave me a thankful smile and a nod of the head before I left the room, walking down to the Danger Room. Logan was looking bored, leaning against the wall as he admired his metal claws in the light. I chortled and said, “Alright, Mr. Self-Impressed, let’s get in there.”

Logan smirked at me, following me into the room where Scotty and Storm stood with Colossus and Shadowcat. They were our two youngest and newest X-Men, and they needed a lot of training in order to catch up to the caliber we were all on currently. I cracked my fingers and gave the new youngsters a smile before asking, “So, Scotty, what’s on the schedule for today?”

“Just a mandatory run,” Scotty said. “I want you to work in pairs, however. Shiloh, you go with Shadowcat and give her tips on how to use her abilities to not only keep herself alive, but you as well. Wolverine, same with you and Colossus. Go to your corners.”

I squeezed Shadowcat’s hand because she looked like she was about to puke from the anxiety. I gave her a reassuring smile and told her, “We’ve got this. I know Logan’s every move and every weakness.”

“I heard that!” Logan called out.

“You were meant to!” I yelled back at him, smiling to myself as I winked at Shadowcat. “As I said, we’ve got this. The number one thing to do in the battlefield is be confident in yourself. I’m not talking over-confidence like Logan’s got.”

“Will you stop talking about me!?” Logan yelled as the environment began shifting. I laughed.

“Anyway, the point is, don’t doubt a single move you make. That moment of hesitation could be your demise in the end,” I said to her. She nodded, her eyes wide.

“In three... two... one... begin!” Xavier’s rich voice yelled over the PA system. I nodded to Shadowcat and instead of barreling through the trees like the guys probably were, we snuck through slowly yet stealthily. I saw the glint of the faux-moonlight on one of Logan’s claws, and saw that he was motioning to someone on the right of him. I nodded to Shadowcat and we snuck behind them. I transformed into Lady Deathstrike and unsheathed my claws, as Shadowcat leapt onto Colossus’ back and I tore my claws through Logan’s thighs. He roared as they ripped through his ligaments, and he was taken out of the game.

Shadowcat had tightened her hands around Colossus’ neck and was strangling him, keeping his focus off of changing. Soon enough, he was taken out of the game as well and I rushed over to Shadowcat to give her a congratulatory hug. The environment disappeared and Scotty congratulated us on our win. Shadowcat teased Colossus and ran through a wall when he began to chase her. I walked over to Logan and he frowned at me. I returned the gesture and said, “Nobody likes a pouty mutant, Wolverine.”

“You snuck up on me,” he said gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest. I sighed and slid my hands around his neck as he just continued to glare at me. “It was hardly fair.”

“Life is hardly fair, Loag. You really need to work on detecting someone behind you, that’s your biggest weakness. And I went easy on you. If you crossed the actual Lady Deathstrike and she was able to take one swing, she’d probably butcher you up to make sure you could never build yourself back up again,” I said to him. His frown pulled down, and I kissed him on the lips. “Logan.”

“I just hate getting beat by you,” he said. I laughed.

“Just think about it this way. The fact that I can beat you means that I’m an excellent fighter and that I may be able to beat any opponent. You don’t have to worry about me getting hurt or you having to protect me during the middle of the fight...”

“But I like protecting you,” Logan interrupted quickly, taking my arms in his hands as he met my eyes. “I love protecting you, it’s practically what I live for.”

“You live to fight, Loag, and I just give you a reason to fight by you wanting to protect me,” I laughed, kissing his cheek. He slipped his arm around my waist as we began to walk out of the Danger Room. “I can’t believe Scotty really interrupted... what was happening just so we could come to do a five-minute session with them.”

“Well he, unlike Xavier, couldn’t see what was going on,” Logan said. I made a face.

“Ew, do you think that Xavier...” I trailed off and shuddered, and Logan chuckled, putting his arm around me and rubbing my arm.

“It wouldn’t surprise me. He keeps tabs on both of us, so I wouldn’t see why he wouldn’t have seen what was going on,” Logan said. I sighed, leaning into him as he guided me down the hallway, his body the only thing that kept me from slumping down to the ground in sudden exhaustion.

“I really need to work on this whole energy thing. This is getting ridiculous,” I muttered as I picked myself back up again. Logan leant down and literally swept me off my feet. I laughed and said, “Woah, deja vu. Logan, put me down, I can walk.”

“Why walk when you get a free ride?” He asked me with a twinkle in his eye. I laughed, putting my arms around his neck as he took me to my room and laid me down on the bed. He kissed me on the forehead and said, “You really need to sleep, go to bed.”

I watched him beginning to walk out of the door, and I stopped him all of a sudden, my heart working faster than my brain, but my mouth moving faster than both of them. “Logan, wait.”

He turned around in the doorway, the light from the hall bouncing off the edges of his body. I just stared at him, and he walked slowly back to my bed, crouching down so his face came level to mine. He reached over and touched my face, asking, “Yes, Shy?”

I realized how appropriate the shortening of my name was: Shy. I could never say the things I wanted to, the things I needed to. The three words were in my mind, but my mouth just wouldn’t say them, even though Logan was staring at me with the most beautiful look anybody had ever possibly given me.

I reached out and touched his face, pulling his head in so our lips could meet. I pulled away and looked into his eyes, about to say it when my phone began ringing.

“I’m really about to chuck this thing out the window!” I yelled, jumping up from my bed to answer it as Logan laughed and took a seat on my bed. He played with my comforter as I answered the phone and asked, “Hello?”

“Hey, Shiloh, we got another minor mutant hit. I know you’re tired, and I managed to convince Xavier to give you a break. But you’re on babysitting patrol with Rogue and Gambit. Tell Logan he’s coming with us and to meet us in the hangar in five minutes,” Storm said before hanging up the phone. I sighed and turned to Logan.

“Guess it’s your turn. Hangar in five,” I said to him. I nodded and he walked over to me, touching my face as he stared into my eyes.

I tipped my head and he asked me, “What did you want to tell me?”

I sighed again, leaning up to kiss him. I pulled away and said, “It’s not important, now go.”

He kissed me one more time before leaving, and I threw myself down onto the bed, thinking about what had just happened.

Had I really almost told him I loved him?