{Previous chapter} –
Seeing him torture himself like this was pure hell for her. She shook her head firmly and took his face in her hands to make him look at her. "Logan, listen to me. You weren't yourself then. You didn't remember me so you didn't knowingly betray me. I'm not going to hold that against you. It wouldn't be fair. I love you, Logan and I've needed you here. I've ached for you, Logan. You don't know how long I've waited to get you back, to have you in my arms again and be able to kiss and touch and make love to you again. It was hell, Logan. I'm not going through it anymore. I'll make you forget all those other women, Logan. I'll make you clean again. I promise. Just let me, sugar," she told him passionately, her own tears and voice breaking.
It did the trick, though because the next thing she knew Logan was kissing her fiercely and carrying her to the bed.
~ And now...
Logan forced himself to gentle his kisses and slow down after he took them down to the bed, his body covering hers. When he leaned back to look into her eyes she looked up at him with that smile reserved only for him. It was the one that made him feel like the most loved man in the world; like he was ten feet tall and would go up and hang the moon for her if she asked for it.
"I love you, Marie," he whispered hoarsely, his throat tight with emotion and his body thrumming with need for her.
Her eyes darkened and she pulled him down to her for a fierce, deep kiss hooking her legs around his waist to bring him even closer. Marie whispered into his mouth, "Now, Logan. I need you now."
"God baby," he groaned and looked into her eyes as he entered her slowly both of them shaking from the pleasure of it. They were together again, as close as two people could be and not knowing where he ended and she began. Nothing was ever gonna be better than making love to her. She was his mate, the mother of his children, his everything.
They moved together in timeless rhythm, the world around them narrowing to just the two of them. It was wild and primal this first time back together. Logan felt her nails claw into his back and knew his grip on her thighs and hips was gonna leave bruises on her. She wouldn't care, though. His baby was his match. She could take him slow and gentle or hard and fast and everyway in between. She was right. Those other women had nothing on her. This – her – was what he had been missing all these months alone, what he'd been trying so hard to fill and gotten absolutely nowhere.
Marie was in heaven. It had been too long, way too long. She had missed him more than she could ever explain in words. She had felt so lost without him, like half of her was missing and nothing was ever gonna be able to make feel whole again until he came home. But he was here now and so wonderfully deep inside her, her arms and legs wrapped around him tight and tasting his mouth and his skin, hearing his voice whispering to her and growling out her name, and breathing in his scent was heaven to her.
When she came it was so intense she had to bite his neck to muffle her scream and spots flashed in front of her eyes. Logan followed with a roar and she felt the long pulses of him emptying himself deep inside her as they held on tight to one another, their bodies shaking and sweaty and more satisfied than they'd been in months.
Afterward, they lay in each other's arms with Logan's head resting on her chest and her fingers idly running through his hair and up and down his back and shoulders, his arms wrapped around her and their legs tangled together.
"I don't wanna go back, Logan," Marie said breaking the silence after a while. He lifted his head to look at her curiously. She explained, "The X-Men. I don't wanna go back."
Logan nodded and lowered his head again. "I don't either," he admitted.
"They'll want you back," she pointed out quietly. "You're a valuable asset to the team."
"I don't give a fuck. I'm tired of being used. The only reason I joined the team and stayed there was because you were there and wanted to join up. You and the kids are all I care about. I almost lost you and our babies because of them. If Gumbo hadn't gotten that package to me then who knows when I would have gotten my memories back," Logan told her firmly. "Chuck can beg and plead for us to come back all he wants but I'm not going and neither are you. And our kids damn sure aren't getting dragged into it either. We'll be fine here. I'll get a job in town; maybe open a bike or auto shop or something. You can teach at the school. The people up here know us and like us. We don't need the X-Men. It's not worth it, baby."
She nodded. "I agree," she said with relief in her voice. He heard it and leaned back to look at her arching a brow in question. Marie smiled, amazed by how much he could say with just a facial expression, then sighed, "Sugar, I know how much you like fighting and the adrenaline and challenge of it all. It's a rush going on those missions. I know. But Logan, I -,"
Marie faltered, tears choking her voice, then let out a shaky breath and continued, "I thought I'd lost you. If I didn't have the kids around needing me to take care of them I don't know if I'd been able to handle it, Logan. I cried myself to sleep every night. I had to hide it from the kids. I couldn't let them see how much you not being here broke my heart. They needed to believe that you were okay, that we were okay and you were gonna come home. It was hardest on Jamie I think. You know how much he loves you, looks up to you. We've all missed you so much. I don't think you realize just how irreplaceable you are, sugar. I didn't know what to do without you. I worried about where you were, if you were okay. I even worried about you falling in love with someone else."
"No baby, that wouldn't ever happen," he insisted kissing her hard. His gaze was intense and steady when he pulled back to look at her. "No one could ever take your place for me, Marie. You're my mate. Even with those women I did – spend time with – it was never the same, not even close to what you and I just shared; what we've always shared. My body even rebelled on me a few times. I think I knew deep down it was wrong, it always felt wrong, but I couldn't remember why. Sometimes I tried to push at it, keep doing what felt wrong to shock some kind of memory or reaction and give me an explanation as to why it did but nothing came. It was like there was a hole inside me nothing I did could fill. It was you, baby; you and our children. I'll never be able to thank Remy enough for getting those pictures to me."
"What'd the Wolverine say about it?" she asked him curiously.
"About everything I did?" he asked and she nodded. "The same thing I did, that it was wrong. The animal was just as conflicted and lost as I was, baby. Whatever that explosion did to me, it messed me up good. The thing is, all these months apart could have been avoided if they'd just let you and the kids come see me when I woke up. Your scent and theirs and seeing all of you would have brought it back. At the very least the animal side of me would have known and remembered its mate and cubs. I'll be demanding an explanation from Chuck at some point but not right now. Now, I just want you and me to get back to where we were and to spend time with you and our babies. I'm tired of all the excitement to be honest, honey. Yeah, it was fun and a rush to go play superhero before but I didn't have anything else then. Now I have you and the family we've made. I don't need it anymore. I don't want it anymore. I just want my family."
"Me too, sugar," Marie kissed his forehead and then his mouth when he lifted his lips to hers. She grinned when she felt him grow hard against her again and then moaned when he shifted their bodies and slid inside her. "God, Logan."
"I know, darlin," he agreed as he breathed in the scent of her neck deeply while he began slow, deep thrusts. They kept it slow and steady that time but the end result was always the same intense, powerful climax they always experienced together. Afterward they slept peacefully and content wrapped up in each other.
The next morning Logan woke to the sound of his two eldest children whispering to each other from the foot of his and Marie's bed. He was on his stomach and thankfully covered up by the quilts with his face buried in his pillow. Turning his head slightly he cocked an eye open to look at where Marie should have been but he guessed she was already up because she wasn't there. His kids appeared to be arguing about whether or not to wake him up and what way to go about it. Finally he guess Gracie had had enough because he heard her huff at Jamie then felt her weight on the bed as she climbed up on it and walked up the middle. Logan wondered what she was doing until he felt her land hard on his back and made him grunt from surprise. She didn't weigh more than a feather but he hadn't been prepared for her to jump on him.
Then she started to bounce on him as she stood on his back and tell him in a sing-song voice, "Daddy, it's time to get up! Get up, Daddy! Time to wake up!"
Logan didn't move, though. She stopped when he didn't respond and called Jamie over who joined her on the bed as she stepped off Logan's back. He heard them whispering to each other again.
"It didn't work, Jamie," Gracie told her brother.
"Maybe you weren't loud enough," Jamie mused puzzled. He poked Logan's shoulder hard, "Daddy, wake up! Mama's making pancakes and told us to get you up!"
"Maybe we should both do it," Gracie suggested. "Daddy's tougher than Uncle Remy."
"Yeah," Jamie agreed. That was all the warning Logan got but he was prepared this time and he turned and caught them, one in each hand, just before they landed on him. The looks of shock on their faces were priceless. Gracie even let out a little scream in surprise.
Logan laughed and let them go leaning back on his elbows and raising a brow at them, "You two did that to Remy?" he asked them. They nodded.
"The morning he married Aunt Jubes," Jamie explained as he and Gracie settled down on Logan's sides and cuddled up to him. "He had a party the night before and Mama sent us in to get him up when he threw the alarm clock at Uncle Pete and it exploded. Uncle Pete said he'd never try to wake up Uncle Remy again. But Mama knew he wouldn't hurt us so she sent us in to do it."
"Your mama's a smart woman," Logan grinned and ruffled their hair hugging them close to him. "So we're having pancakes, huh?"
"Yep and Mama says you have to get up," Gracie told him. "You scared us, Daddy. That was mean."
"Sorry, baby," he laughed again and kissed her head. "Did you two sleep well, dream sweet dreams?"
"I did," Gracie nodded. "There was a puppy and lots of butterflies and we chased them around."
"That sounds like fun, pumpkin," Logan agreed. "What about you, chief?"
"I don't remember," Jamie shrugged indifferently. Then he grinned at him. "Can we go fishing today, Daddy?"
"It's February, Jamie and this is Canada," Logan pointed out. "The fish are under the ice right now. But we can go build a snowman or something. How's that?"
"Can we build a snow fort instead?" Jamie countered. Logan grinned and nodded.
"We sure can, we'll do both," he told him. Jamie grinned happy with the answer. "Now, you two go on down and let your old man get dressed. I'll be right there."
"Okay, Daddy," Jamie said bouncing off the bed and out the door. Gracie got up and followed him closing the door behind her.
When Logan came into the kitchen five minutes later in nothing but a pair of jeans and a wife beater, he found Marie at the stove cooking pancakes, bacon and eggs, Nicky in his high chair enjoying a bottle, and the two eldest sitting at the breakfast bar.
He gave the baby, Jamie and Gracie each a kiss on the top of their heads then went over to his wife, wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her bare shoulder from where the sleeve of her nightgown had slipped off. "Morning, darlin," he growled softly against her skin and loved the involuntarily shiver her body gave as it responded to him.
"You're evil," she muttered but turned and kissed him anyway before rolling her eyes in amusement at the wicked smirk on his face.
"Need any help?" he asked.
"Could you get the plates and stuff out, please?" Marie asked. He nodded and let her go to do just that.
"I sure can, baby," Logan set out their plates and utensils at the kitchen table and fixed some milk for the kids and coffee for him and Marie while she dished up their breakfast and took it to the table.
After a leisurely breakfast, the family got ready for the day before going out to play in the snow as Logan had promised. He and Jamie built a nice sized snow fort and a snowman that Marie and Gracie decorated while Nicky slept away his mid-morning nap inside. Then they made snow angels and had a snowball fight which ended in a stalemate because the kids couldn't decide whose side they were on and started throwing at everybody. It wasn't until they went inside for lunch and hot chocolate that they got the first phone call of the day, though.
As soon as it rang Logan and Marie's eyes met in a feeling of dread. Logan walked over and picked it up answering with a gruff, "Hello?"
"Wolvie! So you did make it huh, dude?!" Jubilee's excited voice sounded on the other end so loud that Logan had to hold the receiver away from his ear a second. "Remy was sure you would but I had to call and make sure. So how did it go? You get your marbles back?"
"Yeah, Yellow, I remember everything," Logan chuckled shaking his head. She never changed; still tactlessly honest. He appreciated that about her, though. "Is he there?"
"Yep, hold on," Jubilee shouted for Remy and then handed him the phone.
"Logan," Remy said calmly. "I take it everything went all right, homme?"
"Yeah, everything's back and I'm home with my family. Listen, I wanted to thank you for what you did. I don't know how long I'd have been out there if you hadn't," Logan said in the nicest tone he'd ever used with Remy.
They hadn't been the best of buddies when the Cajun first came to the X-Men. Remy had taken an interest in Marie at a time when she and Logan had just been starting out as a couple and it hadn't gone over well. Logan had been downright rude to him most of the time, picking at him and calling him Gumbo instead of Gambit. They'd even come close to blows a few times on missions or danger room sessions. Then Remy had been sideswiped by Hurricane Jubilation Lee and Logan and Marie had gotten married so it had all worked out.
"That's all right, Logan. I made her a promise and you belong with your family. What Xavier and the others did was wrong," Remy told him. "Jubilee and me are gonna come pay y'all a visit when we get back from Nice. We got a mission there. It might take a couple months so y'all might be back before we are."
"We're not coming back to New York, Remy," Logan told him. There was silence on the other end a moment then a resigned sigh.
"Yeah, I thought that'd be the decision," the Cajun admitted. "You know me and Jubes will back you two no matter what. I understand it. You got your chere and the babies to worry about and they came close to losing you for good this last time. Honestly, I don't know how long my chere and me are gonna keep at it either. She's been talking about babies and I don't want one of us to go through something like you and Rogue just did. We'll come see y'all when we get back, though."
"Thanks, Cajun," Logan said and Remy chuckled.
"Thank God, homme," he said. "I thought you were going all polite and Ruby*-like on me there for a minute. You using my given name is like a sign of the Apocalypse."
Logan laughed at that. "All right, Gumbo. You and the Firecracker be careful over there. It might be called Nice but the nightlife over there is anything but. And you know if you get in a bind you can always call us. We might be going back to the X-Men but there's not much we wouldn't do for you and Jubilee."
"I know," Remy told him sincerely. "Tell Rogue and the babies we said hi and give 'em our love."
"I will," Logan promised. They hung up then and he went back to the couch where Marie was feeding Nicky. "Gumbo and Yellow are going to France for a mission. They said to give us their love and they'll come see us when they get back."
"Did you tell them what we decided?" Marie asked. He nodded.
"He understood and I'm sure she will too but I doubt the others do," he told her. "We'll probably get bombarded with visits or calls until they get it through their heads that they can't change our minds."
She nodded and moved the baby to her shoulder to burp him. "I don't care. They can argue all they want to. I'm not gonna risk losing you again, Logan. It was bad enough that we didn't go on missions together anymore after we started having the kids. And it was mostly me that had to stay behind and worry about you when you went off with them. They treat you like a tool they can use to suit their purposes but I think we've learned that even if you can't be killed you can still be taken from us. So they and their cause can go to hell as far as I care."
"I agree, darlin," Logan leaned over and kissed her gently, "A hundred and ten percent. I've everything I could need or want right here in this house."
Marie smiled and rested her head on his shoulder when he wound his arm around hers. Logan rested his other hand on Nicky's back rubbing it gently and staring at his youngest son in awe. Marie looked over and saw Jamie and Gracie passed out from all the fun of the morning on the loveseat nearby. Yeah, she agreed, everything they needed they had right here.
*Ruby is a reference to Gambit character's nickname for Cyclops/ Scott Summers. The glasses you know? :)
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000