(X-Men) Logan Howlett x Reader
Logan is angry with you for taking a hit in battle that was meant for him
Warnings: vague reference to injury
“Hey! Kid. What was that about?” he demanded. “Did’ya hear me? I said, what was that about?” His expression was nothing short of utterly ticked off- which was pretty par for the course for Logan.
You simply stared straight ahead, pursing your lips. If you could cross your arms in your current state, you would. It just so happened that your injury was still too sore even with the pain meds Jean had given you.
He scoffed at your defiant silence and shifted his weight to the other foot, hip jutting out in a casual stance as he ran a hand down his face in exasperation. Even so, as irate as he was, he couldn’t bring himself to raise his voice. Not when you looked so, well, fragile as you sat there in the medical wing bed.
If it had been him taking the hit, the wounds would have been gone for hours already by now. Instead, you would be spending the next few days recovering here at the minimum.
“Were you trying to be some hero?” He started pacing toward the other side of the wing, glancing out the window. You were never quite sure why he did that from time to time, but you guessed that he was checking the surroundings for danger out of habit. “Do I need to remind you that I heal instantly, and you don’t?”
“It’s just-” you started to snap, but stopped yourself, shaking your head.
“It’s just what?” he questioned impatiently.
You whipped your head around to meet his gaze furiously. “I don’t see you that way! You’re not a punching bag! Just because you can heal, it’s not your job to take all of the pain all the time!”
Logan took a few steps closer, blood pressure lowering as he processed what you were telling him. Your gaze lowered to study your folded hands as the silence stretched on.
His voice quieted in a familiar, almost gentle, husky tone. “It’s not your job to take everyone else’s pain all the time.”
It made your heart nearly melt into putty inside your chest. He never failed to have that effect on you each and every day in the halls of Xavier’s School.
Your own voice lowered to a whisper. “I know. But when you have an ability like mine…it becomes hard to watch people get hurt. Especially the ones you care about.” You shook your head. “I can absorb the pain and hurt of everyone else, Logan. But not yours. For once, I just… I wanted to.”
He was a man who could recover from the worst of injuries within minutes. You were a woman who could absorb the damage from others at a cost to your own health. His own ability worked too fast for yours to be effective on him. And since you were to absorb from others, there was no way for you to heal yourself…Well, not one that you were willing to take, anyway.
The bed dipped as Logan took a seat at the edge, his back to you.
“I’d be over it by now, you know,” he said. “I hate seein’ you in here for the others as it is. You don’t need to add me to the list.”
“Yeah, well,” you shrugged, biting back a wince. “Too bad.”
“Look,” he released a sigh, turning to meet your gaze again. You found yourself absolutely captivated by his brown eyes as they bore into yours. “Next time, just let me handle it. I’d take a few seconds of that over watching you sit in here for days, or worse. Got me?”
You hesitated, and he lifted a brow, tilting his head.
Finally, you nodded in defeat. “Okay.” It wasn’t a bargain you wanted to strike, but how could you argue? “Still, it would make it easier on me if you didn’t get yourself hurt as much.”
At that, he gave a humorless chuckle. “Yeah, sure.”
“Oh, and while you’re here…” You bit your lip, looking down. “Um, would it be too much to ask you to cover my classes for me today?”
He rolled his eyes. “Professor already asked me.”
You smiled warmly at his and Xavier’s thoughtfulness. “I see. Thank you.”
“Just focus on gettin’ out of here.”
Logan gave your shoulder a pat, extra careful not to disturb your injury, and stood up. He strutted out of the med wing and paused to give you one more warning look- a final reminder to get well. You nodded, holding back a smile.
A little while later, Storm visited to see how you were doing. She brought some things from your room to occupy yourself with as you recovered. You thanked her profusely and happily grabbed the first book, which was one you were already halfway through, and resumed reading.
Still, your mind kept wandering back to your interaction with Logan. Sometimes, you wished you could just tell him how you felt… But you weren’t ready to take that risk.
