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Logan sits on the porch in the morning, a metal cup filled with black coffee sitting at his side. He's literally whittling, true to form, a pocket knife in hand as he flicks wood shavings onto the boards beneath him. He's not much of an artist, but he finds it a soothing hobby. The sound of his record player can be heard from inside, some country record he picked up while he was in the city, the sweet sound of fiddles playing as he works.
He flares his nostrils as he catches scent of Jean's approach, a grin breaking out on his face as he sees her coming up the path, "Mornin', Jeannie."
A fool wouldn't be able to smell her. She carries a plate loaded with bacon, sausage, meat and hash browns that were fresh from the stove that she finished cooking a few minutes prior. The food itself was hovered around her, mostly due to it's heat, but it was soon set down upon the grass near Logan's feet, and soon she settles down next to it as well.
"You're finally back home." She states obviously, a little grin upon her face as she reaches for a piece of bacon, dangling it in front of him. She didn't take a bite herself, but she does wait to see if he would.
Logan snatches the bacon, eating it with a grin and shrugging, "Figured I might as well stop mopin' about it," he says. "Still ain't exactly the same, but it ain't gonna be. But it's this or burn the place down and start over an' I ain't quite that messed up about it," he says.
"How you been doin', kid?"
Jean nods slightly, rolling just a touch to plant her hands flat upon the ground so that she could lean back. Her manner of dress was professional, but at least she kept her legs crossed to remain modest. "I cleaned as much as I could. One of the children are in process of making a rug on the loom they built, so hopefully it'll .. help." She did practically move back in, after all.
But.. how was she doing? She didn't want to tell the truth, so she leans forward and begins to eat herself, her eyes directed to the ground along with another shrug. Not one, but two of them! Shocking..
Logan nods, "Yeah. I know you too well, Jean, the silent treatment ain't gonna get too far with me. Chuck an' the others might be too polite to pry, but I ain't exactly worried about offendin'," he says. "What's goin' on?" he says.
He isn't afraid to get a little more of the food either, grabbing the plate and liberally stealing a bit of the food, too. "You don't have to leave, by the way, just cause I moved back in. I don't mind you bunkin' in, if bein' in the mansion is too much. A houseful o' teenagers probably ain't fun when ya can read minds."
She shakes her head again. "Gabriel leaving. Doing these missions and me feeling horrible about keeping that kid captive." She was a little bit sullen, then finally kicks her shoes off so she could play with her feet. "I mean, life goes on. I'm just a bit tired of feeling sorry for myself or guilty about my actions. I should have stuck to just stopping petty crime instead of doing something -huge-."
But.. since she didn't have to move out, she felt better. And as a quiet joke.. "Like it's any better living with a near one hundred old man.."
Logan pushes off of his chair and moves to sit on the edge of the porch, near her, "YOu ain't got nothin' to feel guilty for. That kid's dangerous as all hell. It's okay to wanna do more than just stop muggers. I"m glad you came back here," he says. "And I won't speak ill o' Gabe, but you can do better, I'll say that much," he says.
"As fer shackin' up here, I don't give a damn what anybody thinks and neither should you," he says. "You an' me…I dunno what we are," he says. "But ain't nobody I trust more, not a damn soul livin' or dead."
Jean listens, and also gives a nod as she finishes chewing down the last of her sausage. She was full for now, not having much of an appetite is something that she desperately needs to work on. "I know, not that I could do better but.. I really loved him. It was like, when he moved I moved. I don't think I'd find that connection ever again with someone else."
On the dangers of the kid, Jean frowns. "I probably should do something about that on my own. He nearly killed everyone the other day. Plus having him in the same space as the children.." She allows her voice to trail off, but then she sits upright to focus on picking up a few hash browns with her fingers.
"I'm not worried about what people would say about us. It's not like we haven't heard it before. But.. it's clear you're my number one. So.." She gestures around. "..suppose I should bring the rest of my clothes in."
Logan nods, "Here's the thing, kid, from an old man: Love is the greatest thing there is, but it usually ends. That don't mean it ain't worth it, but it's always gonna come with pain. Whether they leave or die, whether you fall out of love or even learn to hate 'em over time, ain't many last a lifetime happy and makin' goo-goo eyes all the time," he says. "You an' he had a good run. I'm sorry he hurt ya," he says.
"Yeah, I think Rogue's kinda spooked o' him," he says. "We'll figure it out. Or Chuck will," he says.
"I'll go to town later and pick up a dresser for ya," he says. "That way, you don't have to worry about gettin' our socks mixed up," he grins.
Jean just shakes her head uncomfortably, it was clear that it was an uncomfortable subject for her, so she immediately changes the subject. Hopefully with the thought to never bring it up again. "I'm sorry too."
On the matter of the kid, one could easily tell if they knew her that the gears were turning. Her hand lifts to tap a little at her lip as she wiggles her toes back and forth. "I figure we can leave Chuck out of this one. I'll take care of it myself."
She does raise up upon her knees and shuffles towards Logan, her arms outstretched to wrap around his neck to give him the tightest hug she could muster. "Thank you, I really mean that."
Logan returns the hug, squeezing the redhead tightly and pulling her against his chest, "Ain't like you ain't earned it, darlin'," he says.
"Now…whatcha mean by takin' care of it? Cause if you're talkin' the bad, bad kinda way…I'd really rather you left that sorta thing to me. YOu don't need the stain on yer soul," he says.
She continues the hug, the thought did cross her mind to kill the kid, but she gives a shake of her head which nudges her chin against his shoulder. "No. Of course not.." She says quietly, then slowly draws back to look at him. "I figure, I can dig in his brain a little, find out what got him to this point, then take him to SHIELD so they could at least.. do something with him." She huffs a little.
"I don't even know if -that- is a good thing. It's almost like I'm just giving him up to be a weapon for someone else. It's clear we can't keep him. So do we kill him?"
Logan shakes his head, "Even though I sorta said it, nah. Ya can't. It's not in who you are and not in what we're about here," he says. "Yeah, there's a chance SHIELD'll try an' make a weapon. But there's good folks there - Peggy an' Cap, at least, have their heads screwed on straight," he says.
"We hand him over for security, but we check in on 'im. I've got ties there, I can make sure the system isn't throwin' him into some sorta gulag," he says. "In the meantime, there's plenty o' kids here needin' guidance, too."
"You could." Jean somewhat snaps, her gaze lowering a bit before she finally huffs and stands. "But, no. It's wrong." At least they were right about some things. The kid needs to be gone and the school itself needs to be protected. "Charles has a safehouse in the city. I'll need you to drive me there, I'll keep the boy there at least until I could meet with someone from SHIELD." In disguise, of course! "Then we're going back to Iceland to see what the hell is going on there."
Logan looks at her for a long moment, "I could, yeah. Not sayin' it wouldn't turn my stomach, but sometimes you gotta do a real bad thing to stop a worse thing," he says. "But we ain't there yet, I don't think. Kid's a threat, yeah, but not the kind so irredeemable you gotta go full dark no stars," he says.
"An' yeah, seein' where he came from and just what started all this mess would be a good idea. We'll set up a meeting with SHIELD to pass him over into custody,' He says.