Who: Alyssa and Logan. What: Sushi. When: Thursday afternoon, 8/15. Where: Sushi place. Rating: R for language and Logan. Status: Complete!
Logan stopped by Alyssa’s, revving the engine to let her know he was there. He’d taken a bit longer than he should have, but it felt good to ride again. Stuck in stick-in-the-ass had been stifling.
She’d taken a moment to switch into jeans, if only for Damian’s peace of mind. But her shirt, a cute low cut emerald green thing, and her heels - those stayed on. When she saw Logan’s bike, she couldn’t help but run toward him, hugging him and closing her eyes. “Hey.”
Jeans were probably a good thing. Logan was with Vel, but he wasn’t dead - and Alyssa was one of those women who’d always have a piece of him. He grinned at her and hugged her close. He’d almost forgotten her scent. “Hey.”
“I’m so glad to see you.” Alyssa leaned down to kiss the bike, leaving a red lipstick mark on the chrome. “You too, Logan. I guess.” She couldn’t help teasing just a little bit.
“Yeah, I get it. Everyone loves the bike more than me.” He didn’t touch the mark. It added something hot to the chrome. He rubbed her back and then jerked his thumb behind him. “Hop on darlin.’”
Would they ever stop having weird sexual chemistry? Alyssa smiled when she hopped onto the bike, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning against his back. She was glad she was with Damian, and she was more glad that he was going to eventually marry Velma, but the tiny jealous part of her mind wondered what would’ve happened if she’d only met him after she’d turned eighteen. Of course, that part of her mind was a dick.
Probably never. And part of Logan's mind was on the exact same track as Alyssa's. It wasn't a terrible track so much as a sad one. He pushed away from the curb and let the sound of the bike's motor speak for them. Low and rumbly, calming and soothing.
She just didn’t like thinking that because she was so happy for him and Velma. She felt disingenuous. But the bike was nice, and she closed her eyes as she let her ear rest against his back. She could’ve just teleported them, but this was nicer.
There’s something to be said for actually traveling places. Logan liked the journey as much as the destination. He eventually pulled off into a little hole in the wall sushi place. “Found this a few weeks ago. Figured you’d like it.”
“Sushi? Are we celebrating something?” She ran her fingers through her long red hair, having not put a helmet on in favor of the wind toussling it. “You’re sweet.” She stood up and kissed him on the cheek.
“Kinda,” he said, getting off the bike and smirking at her. “You’re lookin’ good. Kinda glowy.” …..okay he didn’t SMELL any hormones. He’d have to kill Damian.
Alyssa blinked. “New moisturizer. What sort of glowy?” She giggled, then blushed. “Oh, right, you’re able to tell if I’ve had sex this week. Yes. I have.” She stuck out her tongue at him.
“Darlin’, you probably wear that poor boy out.” He held the door for her, then followed her in. “Glad you’re happy.” He nodded towards a mat. “We’ll sit there.”
A woman approached him and they exchanged pleasantries in Japanese.
“He’s seventeen, he rebounds fairly quickly.” She thanked him for opening the door for her and smiled when she heard him speak Japanese. She’d known enough weeaboos in school where she knew to bow her head, to kneel a bit and sit that way at the table on the floor. “This is lovely,” she murmured. “Does it make you homesick?”
"So he's jailbait." Logan smirked at her, ordering some sake and a sampler plate. Along with the house miso soup, because it was amazing. "Yeah, sometimes. Haven't taken Vel here yet. Feels like she deserves a more rich lookin' place."
“She loves you, Logan. You could take her to a greasy spoon and she’d love it.” Alyssa ordered the same, along with a glass of umeshu. She winked at him when the waitress looked at and approved her fake ID. “Good thing you’re driving home, yeah?”
“Yeah, ain’t letting you spill my bike.” He trusted her to drive it otherwise. One of the few people he did. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “That woman bother you lately? At all?”
Alyssa shook her head. “No. But I think I’d be able to defend myself now if she did.” She felt stronger than she’d ever had, especially with her grandfather dead. She felt like she could rule the world some days. “Maybe she should.”
"Don't go pickin' fights." He pointed a finger at her. "I mean that. If she comes for one, don't back off, but don' look for trouble. Start down that path an’ it’s hard to come back.”
“I’m a guardian, Logan. In my dreams, my job is to defend people from demons. That’s what I do. I’m not on the offensive unless it’s a defensive strategem.” But then her wine came and she made a happy noise, thanking the waiter. Taking a sip, her eyelids fluttered shut. “This is lovely.”
“Thought you’d like it.” Logan was amused. “Where’d you get that ID, darlin’?” He raised an eyebrow at her, though he clearly didn’t care.
“Mum.” Alyssa smiled, offering him the glass. “Want some? Do you ever stop calling people darling? What about when I’m fifty and fat and unattractive? Will you still call me that?” She liked teasing him.
“Still callin you darlin’, darlin’.” Logan flashed her a grin. “An’ somethin’ tells me you’re goin’ to be elegant an’ damn sexy well into your sixties.” He sipped at his saki, seeming to be a little distracted.
“What’s wrong?” Alyssa noticed that he was distracted, and she reached out to squeeze his hand. “Are you all right?”
“Just got a lot on my mind,” Logan replied. “Some odd news. Well not odd. Unexpected.”
“What?” She took his sake cup, taking a sip for herself. She was usually good at reading him.
Logan launched right into it. “Vel’s pregnant.”
Alyssa’s face broke into a grin. “Really?”
“You would brighten up,” he groused, with a fake grimace.
“You love children, and you want a family. Why aren’t you ecstatic?” She cocked her head to the side. “You love Velma. I don’t know if you’ve told her, but it’s bloody obvious.”
“I am ecstatic.” Logan grunted at her. “This is me bein’ ecstatic. Worried, but ecstatic. Can’t shake the feelin’ that somethin’s goin’ to happen.”
“You’re about as ecstatic as I am when I get my period, Logan. You’re too worried to be ecstatic.” Alyssa narrowed her eyes. “What do you think is going to happen?”
“Same thing that always happens.” He took another sip of his sake. “Can’t help but worry ‘bout it. Ain’t never gotten this much extended happy before, there’s a big boot that’s gonna drop.”
“No. There’s not. Have you ever had so many people willing to fight for your relationship before? Because I would kill anyone who tried to hurt you, and I know you would too.” Alyssa folded her arms. “Life doesn’t run on curses or luck. Things happen because of actions.”
“An’ my actions can lead to that kinda shit happening. Or the actions o’someone else. I asin’t sayin’ I’m gonna live under a rock. Just gonna feel paranoid.”
“You should also enjoy it. Babies are a blessing, Logan.” She squeezed his hand. “I really wish you’d let yourself be happy. Be on your guard, sure, take precautions, but love every moment.”
“That’s advice I plan on takin’. Once I finish panicking.” He smirked at her. The sushi arrived and he rubbed his hands together.
“How long will you be panicking?” Alyssa smiled, taking the chopsticks in hand perfectly and dipping some sashimi into wasabi paste.
“Give me another couple hours, then I’ll be good.” He grinned lopsidedly at her.
Alyssa laughed and then started in on her sushi, closing her eyes and purring. “Dear god, how did you know I needed this?”
“Always knew you had a thing for fish...”
“You just want to watch Kitty and I make out.” Alyssa shrugged. “Only if Damian gets photos.”
“Sure, why not.” Logan replied, without missing a beat. He tossed a piece of sushi into his mouth and chewed noisly.
“Oi, manners,” Alyssa teased, beeping him on the nose with a tiny arrow that she made between thumb and forefinger.
“You gonna babysit sometimes, right?”
“Of course.” Alyssa smiled and shook her head. “I’ll have to come visit Velma sometime soon. You know you’ll have to do your best to convince her she’s still attractive, yeah?”
He stared at her. “The fuck do you mean? She’s fuckin’ gorgeous.”
“As she gets more and more pregnant, she’ll stop knowing that. She’s going to cry randomly and she’s going to think she looks like a sow. One of my best mates in school went up the duff last year.” Alyssa munched on a tuna roll.
“That coulda been you,” he joked. It was only half-serious even, but he wanted to keep the mood light, because the thought was amusing.
Alyssa smiled. It was only a little sad. “Is it weird that I still care about you? I worry, I fuss. I like you with Velma, and I adore her. I’m in love with Damian. But I suppose you were the first person I ever loved. I’ll always have a soft spot for you, even if you are a bell end.”
“We’re friends, an’ we share a past. It ain’t wierd to still care ‘bout the people who have touched us. Ain’t like I don’t care about you. Ain’t like I didn’t have emotions of my own.” Which was about as close as he’d ever admit to having been falling in love with her.
“You’re just a sap, you hardly count.” She dismissed things she didn’t want to talk about with jokes, it was her way. “Do you want a boy or a girl?” Changing topics!
“Dunno. Both have advantages an’ disadvantages. I’m more used to girls bein’ around.” Ironically, it would be easier.
“You’re supposed to say ‘as long as it’s healthy’, by the by.” Alyssa smiled. “But I can see you with a whole gaggle of little girls, you know.”
“Don’t curse me,” Logan replied, face scrunching up. “I’d like at least one boy in that gaggle so I’m not entirely outnumbered. An’ as for healthy..good chance it’ll be sickly at first. I was.”
“Really?” Alyssa cocked her head to the side. “Before your mutation kicked in?”
“Yep. Little sickly kid who liked to play with cut out dolls.”
Alyssa smiled, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “Maybe that’s what I see in you.” She saw the womanizer, sure, the playboy that every woman loved to shag, but there was a sadness there too. It could’ve easily been a little boy who couldn’t go outside because he was too ill.
“Thanks..” He squeezed her hand back. “But that was a long long time ago, in another life, darlin’.”
“Well, everything that we’ve done a long time ago echoes here. Even the other lives.” She took a clean set of chopsticks, unwrapped it and twined her hair up into a knot and secured it with them. “How’s Velma? I’ll have to surprise her.”
“Scared. Nervous. A little excited I think.” Another piece of sushi, another thoughtful chew. “I ain’t sure what to do about some things.” LIke the M-word.
“Good. Are you going to propose, or are you going to keep doing the same thing where you’re scared?” She didn’t blame him, but she wished he’d sack up.
“Ain’t goin’ to propose. Then she’ll think I just proposed because I knocked her up.” He pointed a finger at Alyssa. “She’d know better but that’s how she’d feel.”
Alyssa rolled her eyes. “You two are really meant for each other, you’re the most bloody contrary people I know. I had to fake being pregnant just to get you two on a date, you know.”
“I remember. So when am I gonna be an uncle?” Logan raised his eyebrow at her.
“You will be an uncle when your future child enters high school.” Alyssa smiled when the waiter brought her another glass of wine. “Do you really think Damian’s ready for that? It’s adorable, he knows he’s not. I’ve told him I’m on the Pill, but he’s religious with condoms.”
He smirked at her. “You poor girl.” No man hated condoms more than Logan.
“It’s rather considerate, you know. I’m just ... sort of babystepping him into different things. He’s still shy, but ... I don’t know, I thought boys were the ones who were chomping at the bit for tawdry things.” Sometimes she wondered if she was just a pervert.
“Some boys are shy. That’s normal. Some girls ain’t shy. That’s also normal. Take me an’ Vel, neither of us are shy or particularly hidin’ our sexuality.” Logan regarded her seriously. “You just gotta find that common middle, an’ both of you need to find the courage to ask for somethin’ when you wanna try it.”
“I mean, I’m the one leading the charge right now, but ... yeah. It’s - I don’t know, sometimes I feel guilty about it.” She looked down, a few stray hairs escaping her impomptu bun and sighing.
“Why? Because you’re a sexually active woman? That ain’t a crime. It never was, no matter what society says.”
Alyssa looked up, chuckling a little, but mostly just grinning. “You’re wonderful, you know that? Velma’s lucky, and so’s your baby.”
“So’s Damian,” Logan replied. Though there were times he still thought that Alyssa was too good for him.
“Well, that’s a matter of opinion,” Alyssa laughed. She blushed brightly.
“Any man that gets you to love him so much is a lucky one.” He reached over and ruffled her hair. “Jus’ accept that.”
“You’re mussing my hair,” she chuckled, pretending to be indignant.
“It looks good on you,” he retorted.
“Just think, if I’d stayed with you, I’d be on kid four by now,” she quipped. “I’d no longer wear shoes, I’d just stay in the kitchen, uncapping your lager, every now and again letting you know when another sprog arrived.” Alyssa smirked.
“Bullshit an’ you know it.” Logan poked her in the cheek. “You’re too stubborn for that kinda shit.”
“Well, yes, but I wanted to make you laugh.” Alyssa closed her eyes. “Damian is ... I love him. I kind of want to marry him someday. But I don’t know about children.”
“What if he wants them? I ain’t sayin’ have them, but that’s probably a discussion you need to have before you’re forty. Thirty is good.” He grinned.
“Exactly! I’m too young for all that! It’s not exactly a discussion for me to have just yet.” She sighed and took another swig of wine. “I’ve already been through things that I don’t think I should have, you know?”
“God, I know. I wish you never had to go through that. You’re too young for half of it.” He sighed. He couldn’t even blame himself, and certainly not her. Just a shitty hand.
Alyssa shrugged. “I think dream me has it a bit worse.” She sighed, squeezing his hand. “Of course, you have the worst lot of it out of anyone.”
“Nah, not by a long shot.” Logan knew there were many who suffered just as worse, if not much, much worse.
“Worse than me.” Alyssa shook her head. “It’s why I don’t worry too much about it.”
“That’s one way to look at it, but you’re allowed to be pissed off at the cards the dreams dealt you, Alyssa.”
“I’m not angry about it any longer. It’s given me the ability to defend the people I love.” She smiled, leaning back and dipping another slice of tuna into wasabi.
Logan nodded. That was the best way to look at it, and it pleased him that she looked at it the same way. If nothing else, it made her a stronger person than she already was.
“But you’d be shocked at how haunted this place is.” Alyssa took a swig of water. “Every time I go to college, I see another ghost.”
“Anyone you’ve been able to help?” he asked. He thought it wouldn’t be a bad thing for her to take that responsibility on. For her, or for the ghosts.
She nodded. “Mostly it’s finding the things they left behind and reuniting them, but some of them I just have to tell to let go.” It was mostly just that she could see them, and her odd Rooder lineage that helped her assist those who couldn’t pass over.
He nodded. “I think that it’s a good thing. That you do that.”
“How could I not? Who would have that ability and not help?” Alyssa shook her head. “You’d do it too.”
“I guess I do,” Logan replied, his smile gentle. “I’m glad you do too.”