The Wanderer - 278 (Patreon)

Chapter 278 – 'Meeting The Parents'

[2009 – October – Saturday]

[New York – North Salem – Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters]

“Twist my arm and call me lollipop! Am I seeing things!?”, Pietro exclaimed, his head spinning as he looked out of the large window by the stairwell while carrying a box of decorations.

Turning to the short-haired mutant rebel next to him, the silver-haired teen blurted out shamelessly: “Ellie, quick! Pinch yourself and tell me if this is a dream! Use all your strength, this is not the time for half-measures!”

Ellie herself seemed kinda stumped by the sight of Elijah embracing and kissing Logan's daughter but Pietro's words pulled her out of her daze, though she ignored his suggestion with practiced ease.

"This guy … ", she uttered quietly, eyes fixed on the immeasurably dangerous young man standing on the square in front of the garage, who was strangely enough one of her closest friends, while embracing the dark-haired she-wolf.

Yukio and her had guessed that there was more between Elijah and Laura than friendship as even a blind man could see that they had bonded the moment they had met each other but this sudden development still threw her off.

Ellie's head was filled with questions even if she was not into gossip like her adorable lover. She desperately wanted to know what had happened between Jean, Laura, and Elijah.

She didn't even care about the latter's crazy motorcycle stunt, which was what had attracted her to look out the window in the first place. It may have made Elijah even more attractive, dangerously so even, since she had come to doubt her own sexual identity for a moment, but she wanted some answer first.

So, Ellie quickly decided to find Jean and get some clarification, though she was pretty sure that she had to find Yukio afterward and pull her into a supply closet for a short discussion about life and philosophy.

…

It would be a lie to say that Elijah's rather 'furious' appearance hadn't surprised Logan since he hadn't taken the young powerhouse for someone who would enjoy racing a bike. In any case, Elijah was clearly a maniac on the road given the suicidal stunts he had just pulled.

Though considering that he could survive a fall from outer space without a scratch, which Hank had somehow gotten footage of, Logan understood that no kind of accident posed any threat to the young mutant god.

On a more important topic though, the older man saw the look on his daughter's face when Elijah pulled off his helmet and to describe it as 'smitten' would be a massive understatement.

But just as Logan was about to speak up and address the young man, mostly for appearing in a fashion that would place the wrong thoughts in some of the younger student's minds, he saw something, which honestly shocked him to his core.

Like a blooming flower, Laura smiled tenderly, her eyes glowing brightly, overflowing with such delicate joy that he was taken aback. And when she fell into Elijah's embrace, the underlying tension and caution that had always accompanied his daughter seemed to melt away, turning her into just a young woman in love.

Logan had never seen his daughter like this but her smile was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and precious things that he had ever witnessed, causing his heart to skip a beat while a knot sat in his throat.

The animal in him could also feel the intimacy and emotional bond between her and the young man as if it were something physical.

More importantly, he could feel the young mutant's presence enshrouding Laura protectively, as well as a hidden aura of immeasurable strength radiating off of him as if daring anyone to harbor malicious thoughts towards her.

The latter though was subtle and seemed to be an instinctual response akin to a wolf marking its mate.

And just like that, most of Logan's anger and frustration were gone as he acknowledged that what was between his daughter and a young living breathing natural disaster was truly special.

He still felt somewhat displeased and disappointed that Laura hadn't felt comfortable enough to tell him the truth upfront, though most of those emotions were directed at himself since he couldn't deny that his reaction to such news might not have been what the young girl would have needed from him.

As inexperienced as Logan was when it came to parenting, it still ate at him that Laura hesitated to tell him something that was obviously incredibly important to her.

Silently promising himself to become better at this, he finally found his voice and spoke up: "So, either of you mind telling me what's this all about?"

…

'Well, that's awkward.', I thought as I stared at the broad-shouldered mutant fighting machine.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Laura had obviously not told Logan about herself, Jean, and I being together.

My thoughts moved at lightspeed as I sighed to myself, not really blaming her since that was certainly not an easy topic to bring up and it had barely been a few hours since all this had happened.

Still, meeting the father of my girlfriend had never really worked out that well for me in the past. Even without my powers as a mutant and Realm Lord in my last life, I had been very sensitive towards other's perceptions of myself and could always tell when someone harbored animosity towards me.

And being the one to sleep with their 'little girls', I had not yet met a father of my various partners who had been particularly welcoming or open-minded.

I naturally could understand this protectiveness as I wasn't planning to go easy on any eventual partner of my hypothetical daughters either but that didn't really make this situation any easier or lessened the underlying tension.

It was easy for me to sense Logan's animosity, even if it was surprisingly faint. There also seemed to be a healthy amount of confusion in his mind, as well as a measure of acceptance, which was likewise surprising.

“It seems that Laura hasn't had the opportunity to talk to you about this.”, I addressed Logan despite the awkwardness in the air, though I also looked down and gave the gorgeous brunette a lightly exasperated look since she seemed intent on betting on her non-existent invisibility spell to escape this situation.

“She hasn't.”, the gruff mutant affirmed, throwing his daughter a deep look while doing his best to hide his disappointment and frustration, “Though I am not sure if the lacking opportunity was the problem.”

Laura, sensing her father's plight and seeing his disappointment, finally turned to face him fully while pressing her back against my chest intimately as if searching for some support.

“I-I am sorry.”, she pleaded quietly, “I didn't know how to bring it up.”

Sighing deeply, Logan shook his head and answered: “It's alright, I just feel a little blindsided by 'this'.” He gestured at us while putting emphasis on the last word, causing Laura to lower her eyes somewhat shyly.

My arm still wrapped around her waist, I leaned down and whispered before leaving a kiss on the soft skin just below her ear: “You shouldn't leave Logan hanging like this, little wolf. Stay and talk to your father, I will look for Jean and wait for you in the mansion.”

Laura hummed quietly in agreement while turning her head a bit to lock her eyes with mine for a moment. Raising her arm, she intimately brushed over my cheek with the back of her hand, which was the only clean part of her hand, before stretching her neck a bit to press her soft and delicate lips against mine.

“I'll miss you so don't go too far.”, she whispered, her beautiful clear eyes finding mine, a touch of redness having sneaked onto her dusty cheeks as she stepped back and left my embrace.

To be honest, I really wanted to just hide the beautiful she-wolf in my arms and find a quiet place to kiss her until she was left breathless but in the end, I just took off my jacket, wrapped it around her shoulders, and left after borrowing another kiss from her, which was I was adamant about giving back to her later. I was an honest fella, after all.

I knew that the following conversation was one that Laura had to have with Logan on her own as my presence would just make things more awkward. She might be a bit uncertain about how to breach the subject of her being with Jean and me but when it came down to it, Laura wasn't one to shrink back in a confrontation.

My gaze passed over Logan as I turned away, and I nodded in his direction, guessing that he might find me later.