Title: Badlands
Author: _freckles_  (taggity (at) hotmail.com)
Archive:
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Jean, Logan, or any X-Men, as they all belong to MARVEL.  Wish I did, wish I was one..but that's all of us, righto? :)
Rating: PG (one of my first, please be gentle)
Summary: Jean goes for a ride with Logan Jean/Logan

"Where you goin', Logan?"

"What does it look like to you," he smirked, pulling on his leather jacket. The kids were driving him insane, he needed a few days to clear his head.

"Can ya take me this time," she drawled, hoping he'd crumble.

Jean was just coming from the lab, while she normally looked pensive, Logan knew she had something heavy weighing on her mind that she couldn't fix with a simple test or scientific theory. "I was gonna ask Jean. How about it?"

"How about it," she repeated with slight confusion, bringing herself up to speed with how Logan was dressed. When he was home, he stuck to jean jackets, but when it was time for him to escape, he wore leather.

Logan always tried to get her on his bike, surprisingly more often when Scott wasn't around. But she always declined, and after awhile, he stopped offering altogether.

Jean hated to wipe the hopeful look from Rogue's face, but the girl had to learn the meaning of 'no' now and then. She got away with far too much with that southern belle attitude, especially with Jean.

"Sure. Give me five minutes to change."

She went up to her room, stripping completely naked. Better to start from nothing than let her previous clothing dictate what she would choose. Black underwear and no bra (she didn't have much up top anyway, and any more than a handful is too much after all), fitted jeans, a tight tank top and filmy sweater, with her boots and brown jacket to top it off.

"You're a married woman," Rogue reminded her from the doorway as she sprayed perfume on her neck. One could say she had a touch of jealousy that Logan seemed to pay so much attention to her, but be completely owned by Jean Grey.

"Married," she shook her head as if that were a joke.

Rogue looked at Jean's bare ring finger, her face scrunched with growing puzzlement.

"You're going to break your vows?"

"Why don't you ask Scott that when he comes back from his 'business meeting'," she spoke quietly, taking in Marie's shocked open mouth as she turned and decended the stairs.

"You ready?"

Logan looked up from the bike, hiding his surprise with a know-it-all smirk. "Thought you changed your mind," he swung a leg over, knocking the kickstand back.

"Not this time," she grabbed the helmet from his hand, securing the strap under her chin as she sat close behind him.

She felt the stress of the last six weeks rise off her shoulders as each mile passed under the tires. For once she didn't hate Emma or the child she carried, in fact, when Jean recieved her letter, a strange sense of certainty filled up her raw wounded worries.  Now that she understood Scott distancing himself from her, she could figure out a plan of action.

Logan pulled into a rest stop so they could grab a drink and stretch their legs.

"Want anything?"

"Water," she pulled the helmet off and shook out her hair.

"Be right back," Logan nodded.

Jean walked around the bike, laying her jacket over the seat.

"Here," he snuck up like usual, holding the bottle out to her.

"Thanks," her tired mouth offered a slight smile, more than he'd seen from her lately.

"You like the ride."

"Love it."

"We could go further, but we'd miss dinner," he smiled. That was his way of saying 'I want to have you to myself a little longer before Scooter comes back'.

"How far you lookin' to go," she asked, taking in the scenery around them.

"Ride until we drop, stay out all night, go to a hotel," he pushed, knowing at some point she'd remember who she was married to and back down.

Wonder Scott, the tightwad prick who got way too lucky getting a woman like Jean to marry him. The same prick who was screwing Emma every chance he got, and Scott knew Logan knew just by the smell of her on him, all traces of Jean gone from the visored mutant's body. He struggled not to tell her, even though he wanted her for himself, he couldn't stand to be the bearer of such traitorous news. So that was their little game, that's all they could have.

Jean looked over her shoulder, giving him that look that made his blood boil. The same one right before she said 'no'.

"So why are we standing around, let's go."

"Jean..." he warned, she would get him in to trouble with that kind of talk.

"I appreciate you not telling me about Scott and Emma."

Logan shook his head. "Wasn't easy, didn't like keeping it from you."

"It's the kindest thing you've ever done for me.  I've decided to file."

"I'm sorry he couldn't be satisfied with a woman like you."

"Emma's pregnant."

He winced. "Bitch."

"Don't call her that, I don't hate her. At least she was honest with me," she chuckled, tilting her head back to finish her water.

"I was calling him the bitch," he smirked.

Jean laughed for the first time in weeks, it was harsh and nothing like her usual infectious laughter, but a start that Logan was happy he provoked.

Logan pulled up to a roadside motel near the Canadian border, a place he had stayed once or twice when he found himself with enough cash from legitimate bar brawls. Big payoff and a small price to pay for a self-regenerating mutant with a rage problem even the worst-tempered wild animal lacked. He grabbed her hand as she started to walk around, looking every bit like she hadn't slept in all those weeks.

"Better if you stick by me," he put his arm protectively around her waist, glaring as drapes were pulled aside to watch them walk into the office.

He put money on the counter, getting a key in return, a silent exchange that would have caused Jean some worry if she hadn't been so exhausted.

Unlocking the door with one hand, he sniffed carefully, makning sure there were no squatters or petty thieves hiding inside. The room was clean and warm, which was more than you could hope for in places like these. Must have gotten new management, he thought to himself.

"Been snuck up on too many times," he answered her silence, feeling a bit of tension coming off her. He ducked into the bathroom, taking out the water saver from the showerhead so there would be decent pressure. "Get a shower, I'm gonna check up on the bike."

Jean went by Logan's example and checked the windows before stepping into a hot shower, shivering as her cold skin was pelted with a burning hot spray. She was already in bed when he came in, setting a bike part on the nightstand.

"If they have one of these, they deserve to steal the bike," he grinned back as she looked over her shoulder. It was a good thing she wasn't alone, sleeping with your back to the door was just asking for trouble.

Jean managed another smile and lay her head back onto the old pillow, feeling Logan crawl up onto the full-size bed with her. There wasn't room to have separate sleeping space, not that Logan cared.

"Sorry it isn't much, this is the honeymoon suite."

"It's fine," she closed her eyes, hoping that now she wasn't alone sleep would come tonight.

He flipped on the television, staring blankly at the screen as he smelled the salty tears pushing out fron under her eyes. He tried to let her be with her grief while still sitting there next to her, but he just hated it when she cried. Touching her shoulder, she immediately turned toward him, resting her head against his chest. She finally felt like someone was there for her, because they still cared, not because they were obligated. His heavy arms weighted her down, when all this time she felt as if she were slipping away unnoticed.

"No more crying after tonight, he don't deserve your tears," he spoke quietly, kissing her hair gently.