(Scott's POV)
I woke up early and my eyes lingered on Jean. I sighed as conflicting thoughts filled my head again. I held my head tightly as I bit my lip. I started getting dressed and had just my pants on when I heard a knock on the door. A loud, aggressive knock. I scrubbed my hand through my hair and answered the door. Wolverine was standing there and I became immediately more aware of my bare chest. My face was so hot. "Hey." I said lamely.
"You comin', bub?"
"Y-Yeah, just let me get a shirt on."
He crossed his arms. "If you're serious this time."
I smiled, furrowing my eyebrows. I crossed my arms back at him. "What do you mean?"
"The last time you said you were comin' you never showed up."
I frowned. "Yeah, sorry about that. I've been going through some stuff."
He nodded and turned around. "Well, I won't wait up. Maybe I'll see you." He said, walking away.
I stared after him with a half open mouth. When he was out of sight, I blinked slowly. Then, I put my shirt on and went outside. I met Wolverine in the usual place. He was skipping rocks into the lake. "Hey." I said, smiling.
He smiled back. "Hey. I just finished a set of each."
"Already?"
"Yeah! Try to keep up there, Scott." He joked, whacking me hard in the shoulder.
I laughed. "You know I can't."
"So he finally admits it!" He laughs and I smile. Still, I tried. By the time I was halfway done with my set of push-ups, he was onto crunches. Then, when I got to crunches he had moved onto squats. The workout continued like that. Not to mention I had to rest between fewer sets than he did.
Eventually, I was laying flat on my back struggling to breathe. And the sun hadn't even risen yet. I stared up at the dark sky before shutting my eyes.
Wolverine laughed a deep, throaty laugh that made my heart skip a beat. "Hey. What are you, sleeping?"
I opened my eyes. "No." Then I saw that he had outstretched his hand toward me. I took hold of it and felt him pull me back to my feet. I fell forward toward his chest and he stopped me with his hand. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it." He looked up at the sky for a few minutes. "You hungry?"
I smiled. "Yes, most definitely."
He nodded. "You wanna try somethin'?"
I shrugged. "Sure."
We went inside and into the kitchen. He started toasting some sourdough bread. He took out white and black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, along with onion and garlic powder. I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter. He took out an avocado and started cutting into it. He put the toasted bread on a plate and started spreading the avocado onto it.
I loved watching him. He moved with such urgency and paid no mind to how attractive he looked doing so. I wondered if he knew how hot he was and decided that he probably didn't. If he did, he would look in the mirror more. I became acutely aware of how well his clothes fit him and was overwhelmed with the desire to wear his flannel.
He sprinkled the seasonings onto the avocado spread. "Let's go back outside." He said.
"Y-Yeah, okay."
We went back outside and sat down on the grass. I pretended not to be worried about getting grass stains on my pants. He offered the toast to me. "Try it."
I had always been indifferent toward avocado. In theory I liked it but in practice, not always. I still smiled. "Sure." I took a bite and it was so good! This was suddenly my favorite food.
"Well? What d'ya think?"
"That's really good."
"Yeah, I like it. You want half?"
"Sure."
He ripped it in half and gave me the half I bit. I smiled and continued eating it. Though I wished I could have the half he was eating. My heart was racing but I took a deep breath and looked out at the water. "Coffee?" He asked, offering me the cup he had been holding in the crook of his arm. I nodded and took it, sipping it. I stared at the cup for a little too long. "You okay?"
"Just thinking."
He chuckled. "I bet."
"What's so funny?" I furrowed my brows.
"You think too much." He said. My head immediately suggested: I'm sure you can make me stop thinking. And my cheeks flushed, I looked down at my feet.
"You're probably right." I said in a quiet voice.
"Well, we're both kinda reckless. So there's that." He smiled and looked me, furrowing his brows."
"You're way more reckless than me."
"I know. You feeling okay? You look a little flushed."
I laughed. "Yeah, thanks." He continued looking at me as if he didn't believe me. His blue eyes were being lit perfectly by the sun that was rising behind my head. Yet, he didn't flinch. "I'm okay." I reassured him.
"Right." He nodded, looking out into the lake.
I clenched my jaw. "Sorry."
"It's fine. It's none'a my business."
I closed me eyes and laid back on the grass. I was bound to ruin everything. Everything I built with Jean, this new friendship with Wolverine, everything.
After he finished his toast and coffee, he left on his motorcycle without a word. I wished I had gone with him.