He knew that a lot or people still wondered. Hell, even he wondered for a very long time: wondered what kept him and Marie together. After over a decade most people just took it for granted, but he had to admit that in the beginning he was as doubtful as anyone else.

In his life he had done a lot of things no normal person would or should. But it was who he was, so it was okay.

But he could not understand why Marie, who had all his memories inside her mind, could be okay with that, too.

So what had made it happen?

Logan got the feeling that a part of him finally had some idea.

He knew why he went after her.

At first it might have been a nostalgic sentiment. She was like one of the girls he must have known in his youth. Most people would call it “natural”, but that wasn’t the truth. She wasn’t just natural, she was every girl. And she wasn’t ashamed of it. On the contrary she wore it with an ease most people this day don’t have anymore.

He watched her grow. And one of the things he always marveled at, was that she did things in her own pace. Maybe it was a side-effect of her mutation. Maybe having one boy and two aged men in her mind did that to her. But she wasn’t like the other girls.

She did not throw a dice to decide which boy group member was the cutes and therefore deserved her undivided attention till she hit 15 and real boys became the new game. If he ever caught her admiring some super star, she either put it down to his work or this his personality, like some statement he made. He never heard her squeal just because the newest pop star was “cute”. If she ever had that, she got over it a long time before he met her.

While her room mates talked about dresses and how to get some boys attention, she still dreamed about Canada. He never asked her how that came to be in the first place. But it probably was healthier anyway.

She still learned how to dress sexy. She did learn that she was good looking. She learned how to show skin and not be a thread to other peoples safety. She learned that even fully closed she could be the best looking person in the room. So when she showed skin, it was with way more confidence then those her age. For the other girls it was a mask that either wore on their confidence and made them uncomfortable or that was there to cover up how uncertain they were to begin with. The attention of the other sex is always something you have to get used to. And for a mutant the picture of the self in other peoples eyes is always a sensitive topic.

But with Marie it was different. She would show skin when she felt like it or she would cover up completely, just as her mode told her to.

In a way it was like she never really participated in the real world. She was here. She walked. She talked. She joked along. But her appearance was all her. It was her protection from the world. With no one to dress up for she was all herself. As were her mood swings. She was melancholic when she could not participate in the basketball games or the swimming sessions. But she could laugh along, even if she was just watching. And if they did something her mutation would not allow her to be a part in, she did not sulk about it. She would turn around and enjoy some quality time with a book, or a movie, playing the old Steinway, drawing... All the things she felt like.

And this honesty threw Logan in like nothing else.

But there was always a distance between her and the others. A distance he felt and that should not be there. He wanted her to be as normal as possible. That included friends, Saturday nights out, and in his opinion it included a boyfriend for a live wire like her.

She had friends. She had the occasional nights out. But there was no boyfriend. No boy, no man, no one who tried to charm her into a relationship, or at least into something like a date.

No, that wasn’t true. It did happen. But very seldom. And if it did, she usually declined politely.

For a very long time that had placed doubt in Logans heart. What if she only went after him, because “he was there”, because he was available and almost never said no to a girl. What if it was just her shot at normality, and either she decided that this was not how she wanted it to be, or all the insecurity would bring him to hurt her by betrayal?

That feeling dissolved rather fast. Just because he was not sure did not mean that he was stupid.

It was in the way she smiled when ever he was around, it was in the way she listened to the few stories he could tell, the way she was there after his nightmares. But one of the most important things was how she started to seek him out when the others were out again, asking in a low voice, with a smile tucking at her lips, if it was okay to sit close by, reading or something like that.

She allowed him his personal space, waiting for him to make the next move. They could even share the silence, something he did not really think someone that young capable of.

But what really took his breath away was the way she made him feel human. She wasn’t sacred of him. Even after his worst nightmares, in these few moments when he did not know who and where he was, she was not scared. The first time it happened, she took his hand and just looked at him. It wasn’t enough, but he did not know how to ask. Instead she turned around and scooped closer to him till he spooned her. She would take hold of his arm and with a gently swaying she lulled him back to sleep. It still did not feel right the day after. Images were whirling through his head. What if he impaled her again? Yes, he could heal her, but it wasn’t right. He was close to pushing her back into a life where at least she would not sleep beside some monster, when he realized that she would not let go of his arm.

“Wanna lay like this a little longer.”

It was the dozy honesty that really convinced him. Within seconds she was back to sleep. And it was then that it hit him. She accepted him. All of him. His need for space. His nightmares. The quiet. For some reasons for her it was enough. And in this single moment he decided that he would do everything in his power to make sure she would never regret it as long as she decided it would last.

Well, by now it lasted a decade. And a few month ago he had the feeling that for the first time he understood.

It was something in the way Marie watched Kitty and Piotr. She informed Logan that Kitty loved Piotr, but even with his super senses Logan could only shake his head. Nope, she did not. Marie smiled and said she did.

Only much later Logan asked how she could be so sure about it.

Marie actually laughed.

“With you guys it is always the same. You think there are a thousand girls and you could have every single one because you are the best. But that’s not true. You will never get close to a woman that does not want you. ”

“You sound like an expert.” There was no mocking in his voice, only surprise that Marie really thought she understood more about relationships then he did. Then again, he had never really listened to a girls perspective before.

“Guys” and there was this small smile on her lips that told him she was mocking him... slightly.

“No, go on.” After all this could get interesting.

“What is there to go one about? You might not believe so with your record of girls,” and there was a twinkel in her eyes as she said that “but in general we will never allow a guy into our bed we don’t want there. And when it comes to that we are rather picky.”

“And what would bring Kitty to pick him?”

“The only thing that matters is that she does.”

She was about to stand up and leave, when he snuck up behind her, crossing his arms over her stomach, inhaling the unique scent that clung to her.

“Marie?”

“Hm?”

“What caused you to pick me back then?” His voice was soft, almost a whisper and Marie snuggeled closer into his form.

“Because I trust you.”