With some distance between them and the mansion, Marie sees that Logan is finally relaxing, with a practiced motion he pulls out his cell phone. Quickly hitting the speed dial, he glances at her while waiting for the other end to pick up.
“It's me. I got her. ” Short, and vague, she couldn't help but smile; after all this time Logan was still Logan. He is exactly as she remembered on that day. Her thoughts wander towards an unpleasant place. Hanging up the phone he catches her expression and tenses.
The tension grows between them for the next hour, as the truck winds through the back roads of upper state New York, neither of them speaking. The silence is unnerving, she thinks back to all the times she wished he was there, to just talk to him one more time, only to wake up screaming. Now, he is here, alive and well, right next to her, and for the life of her she can’t express how happy she is. Logan, perceptive as ever, senses her frustration and grows edgier by the minute. Several times he tries to speak only to stop for some unknown reason. After what seems like an eternity, she finally speaks.
“You searched for me all this time.” It was not a question. Her eyes bore into his, searching for something.
“Yeah.” Even though his tone is flat, she sees something, the spark they shared, ever so fleeting, but she is just glad it is still there.
Relaxing her tense muscles she sinks back into her seat. his response is immediate; he sits back, relaxing his shoulders and loosening his grip on the steering wheel. Lazily her gaze wanders over his body, slow and measuring like a soft caress. A feeling rises within her chest, it’s at once excruciating and optimistic. She turns back towards the window before it can overwhelm her.
“So, what happens now?” Her tone is light, measured.
“We hold up somewhere, wait for Chuck to contact us. He's been hinting that he has some kind of new plan.”
She nods, closes her eyes and says nothing more. The emotions swirl within her due to his presence, combined with the excitement of the escape. After years of torture, she is finally free. With that thought, exhaustion drags her down into a deep but restless sleep.
The crunch of the snow covered gravel wakes Marie from her slumber. She jolts up and looks around frantically. For a brief moment, she thinks it was all a dream, that she is still strapped to the operating table, faceless men with gleaming knives hovering over her. She calms down soon as her eyes find his, the concern hiding within those hazel eyes, almost breaking the dam holding her tears back. Almost.
“No motel this time?” She speaks softly, her voice holding a hint of amusement. he grins back, “Too dangerous now, scanners everywhere. Won’t be long before Chuck finds us.”
She shifts in her seat before reaching to open up the glove compartment. Upon seeing the bags of jerky stuffed inside, she smiles. Tracing a finger slowly over the package, she briefly glances at him again, his eyes still focused on her.
“What have you been up to besides looking for me?” She sees him fumble with the truck keys a moment too long before shutting down the engine.
“Work.” It is a short and terse answer. he is obviously trying to avoid the subject. A sense of dread creeps in from the recesses of her mind. He must have had a life, her very presence must be keeping him away from it. An unpleasant feeling wells up at that thought, and her body tenses. She is being unreasonable and she knows it; he should have a life of his own, especially after what she did.
“It's very... unpleasant work, Marie.” he seems to be trying to convey more, this time, reaching out to her, but all she can do is to sit there frozen.
“Got my memories back.” That definitely snaps her out of her thoughts. Logan regaining his memories was a big deal, he spent much of what could have been their time searching.
“Yeah?” She gives a short response but lets just a hint of curiosity slip through. And he latches on like a lifeline.
“I’m some kinda martial arts master, studied at a place call K’un-Lun. Really came in handy.” He gives her a sidelong glance and a very familiar smile spread across his handsome face. She swallows on reflex at the sight of it, that was not a smile between friends.
“Could still come in handy.” His low baritone vibrates through her.
She turns towards him, her eyes asking the questions she cannot. he holds up his right hand, a faint blue aura swirls around his hand, encasing it. Slowly reaching over, he first touches her palm, and she shivers involuntarily. It’s been so long since a touch held any affection. Then slowly a finger slides up to her wrist and underneath her sleeve.
“Oh.” She gasps out loud when their skin touches, a pleasant warmth spreads from him to her, but the telltale sign of her mutation working simply is not there. Her mind goes completely blank, it is just a finger on her wrist. But it is Logan’s finger, and they're touching skin to skin.
“How?” She yanks off her gloves and clutches at his hand. It is at once both familiar and foreign, she marvels at the size and strength of his hands, both of her slim hands could easily fit in his.
“Ki manipulation. I learned in K’un-Lun, figure it might help us...You know. It's not a perfect counter, but it works, to a degree,” he states simply. When she gives him his trademark quizzical look, he explains, “Ki is another term for life force.”
“Lifeforce...Ki...You can counteract my powers with it,” she replies automatically, in shock, all the while slowly caressing his hand. “When?”
“Was gonna tell you when I came back from Japan before I knew...” he trails off, not able to complete the sentence.
“That I got engaged,” She quickly pulls her hands away and finishes the thought for him.
Silence once again looms between them, when he speaks, his voice is back to the friendly tone. “Why don’t you get in the back and get some rest, Charles should be here soon.”
“Logan?” She wraps her arms around herself, her heart beating rapidly. “You remember that offer you made me?”
“The Getaway Cabin?” he looks at her, a nostalgic grin spreads across his face.
“Yeah, the Getaway Cabin. I wish... I wish I had said yes. I wish I had gone with you, I wish we lived our lives there, together.” She glances at him, searching.
“Marie…” he can't look at her in the eyes. Her heart sinks, but she forces herself to continue.
“I never did marry.” She traces her engagement ring with one finger.
“I was captured a few weeks before the wedding.” She lets out a sad chuckle. ”I'm sure he's moved on by now.”
“You don’t know that, Marie.” His voice is almost pleading. She quickly cuts him off, “You're the one that found me, Logan, you're the one that never gave up. I think it's pretty obvious how much I meant to him.”
“You know, when you asked me to go with you, it all sounded great, but I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure if it was what I wanted, or if it was what the you in my head wanted. ” She dares a look at his face. He looks sad, torn, hopeful; it's that last sign that gives her courage to continue.
“Leaving the X-Men, the school, all my friends, I wasn't sure if it was actually me that wanted it. It's kinda silly thinking back now, a life with you, that's all I ever truly wanted.” She looks at him with hopeful eyes and grabs his hand again. A surge of happiness spreads through her when he tightens his grip. “I can have control now too, I tried really, really hard to learn it. Just so I could close this gap between me and normal people.” she hated the way she sounded just now, she couldn't possibly get more pathetic.
“I really have to concentrate but I made it work. You know, for my wedding night.” Her voice cracks as she presses on. “Of all the people that said they cared or loved me, you're the only one... the only one that tries to close that gap with me, everyone else just tells me to wait, or just brushes it off saying I can work around it.”
“I don’t want to work around it, I want what everyone else has!” She can’t even look him the eye right now, having just laid her heart out on a platter. With a deep breath, she knows the only way is forward. “That offer, you said it was an open offer right? Whenever and wherever, if I changed my mind, you’d take me away?” Her voice was almost a whisper by the end.
“Marie...shit, I would take you away at the drop of a hat, you know that. But things have changed, I’ve changed.” he sounds almost wistful as he speaks. “You know that's what I've always loved about you, no matter how much shit life throws at you, you stay hopeful, kind…”
The happiness she feels turns into giddy excitement. She almost has this, just a bit more. “Logan, we all change, even me. But deep down you're still you. I know it.” She slowly begins to stroke his hand.
“You heard about the Berlin Incident?” he speaks again, in a harsh whisper, his grip almost painful.
“I’ve heard it mentioned, even in the labs. It was a horrible terrorist attack, many...” Her voice trails off at the expression on his face.
“That was me. D.C. too and New York, Paris, London, the list goes on.” he looks straight through her as he speaks. He tries to tug his hand away, but she holds on tight.
“Shortly after you disappeared, I still didn't know then, the war got bad, real bad. We were being exterminated. I had to choose, stay tucked away and hope you’d change your mind. Or do something and give you and others like you a chance of a better future.” All warmth left his voice when he spoke again. “I chose to do something. I exterminated them right back.”
“Logan, it was war, the fact that you feel guilty means it didn’t change who you are. You're still Logan. ” She pulls his hands to her lips for a soft lingering kiss, before resting them on her chest. “We’re okay, we can make it through this.”
“Xavier’s been making plans, it's gonna end this war. I'm suppose to play a part in that.” A hopeful smile appears on his face. “Let's talk about it after, okay?”
“Okay.”
Marie wakes with a gasp, her heart speeds up upon the sight of Logan looming over her. With a firm grip, he eases her out of the truck. Soon she hears the familiar sound of the Blackbird's engines. The jet arrives just as he gets his bags out of the trunk, it hovers over the nearby clearing, thrusters whipping up a blizzard as it lands.
The front of the plane opens and Marie spots a tall, gorgeous, white-haired woman and a massive man covered in blue fur from head to toe. Ororo and Hank stand side by side, looking at her, all smiles. Marie rushes up to the plane as quickly as she is able, trailed by Logan, laden with his packs.
“My stars and garters! It's good to see you again Marie!” Hank wraps Marie up in a full body embrace, practically lifting her off the ground.
“I missed ya' too, Hank!”
“Marie, I’m so glad you're alright.” Storm steps over as soon as Hank releases her. The two women give each other a warm and tender hug.
“Storm!”
“There you are, Marie. I am truly sorry it took us so long to find you.” A rich and cultured voice came from behind. Marie spins around with a wide smile, the Professor looks exactly the same save for a new levitating chair. A figure appears behind him and Marie’s step falters and she falls back straight into Logan.
“Magneto,” she whispers, then yells out in alarm. “Professor!”
“Do not be afraid, Marie. Erik is working with us now,” Charles soothes.
Magneto in full battle dress, stoic as ever, merely nods his head towards her in acknowledgement. Marie, still shaken, can barely stay on her feet. She feels Logan place both hands on her waist to steady her. Marie turns her head and gives him a smile.
“Hank, Storm, Chuck, Magneto.” Logan strides past her and nods to each in turn, sure that she can stay upright.
He carries his bags up the ramp, then proceeds to stuff them into the storage compartment. Marie carefully steps around Magneto and follows him. Grabbing the nearest seat to Logan, she watches him strap himself in.
“You still owe me for the last job, Erik.” She stares at Logan, as he casually asks Magneto for money. Hank, still all smiles as he walks by, stops to pat Logan on the shoulder. Everyone returns to their stations and begin prepping the plane for takeoff. Marie's hand trembles as she fumbles quite a while with her seat belt, her nerves are still frayed. She couldn’t help but wonder, what kind of job Logan does now, especially for someone like Magneto.
“You work for Magneto now?” Marie is tense as she looks Logan straight in the eye.
“I work for lotsa different people.” His tone was is plain, almost dismissive. She continues to stare at him, fighting her own emotions. Magneto did try is best to kill her after all, it’s not something Marie can forget.
“We shared some info, that’s all. His paying me for this job I did in China.” Logan finishes and waits. Marie calms down a bit and searches through some of the memories she recently gained. Then she nods, just barely, and settles back into her seat. She takes in the interior of the plane and sees the professor in the cockpit working with Hank. The entire plane begins to shake as it lifts off the ground.
“So, we are going to China?” Marie leans towards Storm and asks quietly.
“Yes, Bobby and Kitty are there with a group of mutants, hiding out.” Storm replies as she glances up from her console with a smile.
“Bobby and Kitty! I haven’t seen them in forever!” Marie’s mind wanders back to happier times. Before the war, before the labs, back when she was just a student and she had Logan. She glances over at him, reclining in his seat with his eyes shut. She wonders briefly about what could have been, before she too, leans back and closes her eyes.
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Chapter End Notes:
Next chapter Logan and Marie come to a important decision