Poems, Prayers & Promises
by
Dala
DISCLAIMER: Characters belong to Marvel, just like they have for decades.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the first part of a sequel to "List of Needs." The titles are from a John Denver album.
Logan was beginning to tire of sitting in the car.
He wondered at what exact point his balls had turned to chicken shit and continued staring at the garage door. Admittedly, he wasn't the only one suffering from a sudden attack of the nerves; Marie's hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly, despite the fact that she had turned the car off ten minutes ago. In less than twenty-four hours, entirely too much of their time had been spent in silence.
"What're you going to tell the Cajun?" It was the first thing that popped into his head when he decided to make conversation.
Her hackles went up immediately. "I don't know," she said icily, and he had to suppress a laugh, remembering the same words with the exact same tone in another car and another lifetime. "What are you going to tell the professor?"
He sighed. "Touchè."
Neither one noticed the young man who, seeing her car from the gate security camera, was hurrying out to meet the girl who should have been home last night.
At that moment, Logan knew that it was the perfect opportunity for her to ask what the hell he'd been doing for four years. And he vowed silently that he would tell her, even if it kept him in this fucking vehicle for another hour to do so.
But for reasons he didn't understand, she didn't ask. He had no way of knowing how it was a sour taste in the back of her throat that kept her from speaking, the knowledge that if he told her everything, she'd have to do the same. And she wasn't quite ready for that.
He sensed the current of her thoughts, though, and reached over to take her hand. "Whatever we do," he said, voice unexpectedly confident, "it'll be together, baby."
She smiled. "It's about time." Then she leaned across to kiss him, bracing her leg against the door for balance and grabbing onto his jacket. He froze while his hand was halfway to her waist.
"Someone's here."
Turning, she saw Remy at the garage door--dammit, this place was too well-lit--and shoved back into her seat like she'd been burned. "Fuck," she muttered with vehemence, and leapt out of the car to chase him down.
Logan settled back, gazing after the pair. Maybe the possessiveness was wrong and cold of him, but he couldn't help it. Marie was his, and it was time the boy realized that. He only regretted that she'd be hurt in the process.
~~~~~~~~
"Remy, wait! Listen--"
He turned around furiously as she grabbed his sleeve, red-on-black eyes flashing. "Listen to what, chere? Excuses? It just happen, you didna mean to hurt me, oui?" She noticed with alarm that his jacket was flaring with kinetic energy, and wondered if he'd do something foolish like blow himself up.
But his temper cooled, which made her feel even worse as his eyes and voice turned immeasurably sad instead of angry. "Gambit know he never had your heart. But it was good to preten'."
Impossibly, the sharp pain doubled. It shouldn't have happened like this. "Remy, I'm so sorry, I . . ."
He waved a hand in dismissal and looked away. "No. Can't talk about dis now. Goodbye, Rogue." As he turned and walked back to the mansion, shoulders hunched against the sudden wind, she knew she'd never again hear a term of endearment from his lips. And that thought hurt anew.
There was a second, sweet, affectionate hurt added to see the state Logan was in when she returned to the car. Despite everything, there had still been a part of him that believed she would run after Remy and beg him to take her back, that she'd be lost to him forever. He tried unsuccessfully to hide his relief as she lowered herself back into the seat and shut the door.
And here they were again.
He kept his eyes staring straight ahead. "I'm sorry."
She sighed, sounding much too old. "It was bound to happen sooner or later, even if that was the worst way to do it. He's always known I don't love him, not in the way he loves me." She turned her head, and he had to meet the challenge of her gaze. "I gave up a man who loves me for you, Logan."
He stared back, refusing to pick up on the hint. "What do you want me to say?"
Her jaw clenched, and she could feel tears start to fill her eyes. "Tell me that you love me. Just say it."
Logan blinked once, twice, then took her hand. "I love you," he said softly, pressing a kiss to the corner of her eyelid, tasting the salt on his lips. "I do."
A shudder of relief hitched through her breath. Half of her hadn't really thought he would say it, and half of him hadn't, either--but she'd needed to hear it, and so he had.
They'd spent enough time hiding out here. Silently exiting the garage, they made their way to Professor Xavier's office hand in hand.
~~~~~~~~
Rogue yawned, her nose buried in the leather-and-cigar scent of Logan's jacket. She cast a sleepy eye up front and reflected on the fact that they were yet again in a car. But this time she wasn't driving.
He had been in the professor's office for a good two hours. Never big on patience, she'd gone to the library and curled up in a window seat to wait. Word always got around the school quick, and the younger residents were edging closer to Remy's side, partially because she didn't bother to seek out Jubilee or Kitty to explain. She simply didn't have the energy. Scott and Ororo both stopped by (Jean was in Washington for a meeting with yet another senator), and hadn't known what to say to the youngest member of their team. Everyone knew how poor lovesick little Rogue had pined after Logan when he left, but once she got control of her powers . . . it was like he'd slipped her mind. And then came Remy, and something that resembled a normal relationship, her first ever. They didn't understand why she had thrown it away for a solitary, taciturn man who had abandoned her for years.
But Ororo at least had a better idea, since Logan walked in while she and Rogue were talking. Rogue stopped in the middle of a sentence to stand and greet him. His shoulders seemed straighter, and his eyes had lost a bit of their hunted look. She'd been so delighted to see his smile that she threw her arms around him and kissed him soundly, forgetting for a moment that anyone else was there. As he laughed and she broke away, embarrassed, she noticed the older woman's grin. "Give the mansion a few more days of seeing you two together," she intoned playfully, "and nobody will bother you again."
Of course, they didn't have the chance for that yet--at Xavier's suggestion, they were off for an impromptu vacation. Logan had muttered something about a cabin upstate and time alone and pack a bag, then went off to the garage to check on the SUV Xavier had given him keys for. Lack of sleep from the night before had finally caught up with her, and she opted for the back seat to take a quick nap.
Catching her eye in the rearview mirror, Logan winked and said, "Glad you're up. We're almost there."
She stretched, knowing he was watching avidly in the mirror, and leaned forward to rest her head on his shoulder. "Good. My ass has fallen asleep, and I think it needs some medical attention--or just some attention."
"You're wicked, Marie."
"Oh, it's so good to be called that for once. Let's just be Logan and Marie these few days, okay? We can meet up with Wolverine and Rogue when we go home."
"Sounds good to me." He freed one hand from the wheel to tug on the white streak of her hair. "Now what was that about your ass?"
~~~~~~~~
He went to sleep with a half-conscious fear of nightmares, but it was a scent and not a dream that eventually woke him.
Extracting himself carefully from the knot of bedsheets and Marie, Logan got to his feet and instantly settled into a fighter's crouch. Not in here--the kitchen. Slowly his sleep-fogged brain was waking enough to recognize the scent imprinted on his memory.
He moved with a practiced silence, but the intruder heard him anyway, and stepped out of the shadows near the window. "Hello, runt."
Dimly Logan heard his claws shoot out. His voice was a low seethe of hatred. "Sabretooth.
"I've been wonderin' when you were going to show up. We've got some catching up to do."
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