Flashback
“Rogue you look wonderful.”
“Thanks Kitty but it is your day, and you are the one that is glowing in beauty.” Rogue had just entered the “Bridal Room”, or rather the library that was converted into the girls place to get ready for the wedding. Kitty was already in there with her hair and makeup people. Jean was sitting the corner holding a sleeping Aiden. As she greeted the bride, Rogue embraced her friend in a hug. “Are you nervous?”
“No…well sort of. I’m afraid that I will just start phasing and Bobby won’t be able to put the ring on my finger.” Kitty said with a nervous laugh. “Did I thank you for being my maid of honor, I just don’t think Jubilee could handle.”
“Seeing as how she forgot about the bridal shower three times, and left with the bar tender at the bachelorette party, yeah I think she’s happy that she does not have all the responsibility of being your maid-of-honor. Oh and while we are talking about parties,” Rogue went into a whisper. “Logan reported that the party was pretty tame, just a regular poker night.”
Kitty sighed in relief. “Thank you, that takes a load off my mind. Not like I was worried or anything. It’s probably just me watching too many movies, but still thank him for me.”
“I already did.” Rogue said with a suggestive wink.
“Don’t want to know.” Kitty said as she started walking back to get the rest of her dress buttoned up.
“What you don’t want to hear about the…”
“LALALALALALA, I can’t hear you.” Kitty said loudly while covering her ears.
“Is she talking about Logan and his sexy animal body again?” Jubilee said while making a grand entrance into the bridal room.
“I was just going to tell Kitty that she owes me twenty dollars for the beer and cigars I had to bribe Logan with, not how he was thanked after completing his assignment.” Rogue said with another suggestive wink towards Jubilee.
“Oh leave the virgin bride alone.” Jubilee said with sarcasm in her voice. “It’s not like she doesn’t know what goes on behind the bedroom doors.”
“It doesn’t mean I want to hear about it, I do have to look at him and I would prefer not to blush every time he enters a room.”
“No that’s Rogue’s job.” Jubes said. “Now everyone look at this dress isn’t it amazing.” Jubilee was dressed in a short, strapless, yellow, dress. It was simple and perfect for a late spring, early summer wedding. Rogue was dressed in similar dress in pink. Kitty’s wedding dress had two small straps and flowed around her in the breeze. It had a small trail that accented her small body and made her look the picture spring bride.
“You are gorgeous Jubes, now how does this veil go on?” Kitty said as she handed the medium length veil to her close friend.
“I think you three have this under control.” Jean said while struggling to stand with little Aiden in her arms.
Rogue walked over to her and took her Godson out of his mother’s arms. “Why don’t you let Logan watch him? You and Scott have a lot to do, being the host couple. After all he his, this little guy’s Godfather.”
Jean looked at the women that would be the one to take care of her son if anything happens to Scott and/or herself. “You’re right, after all it’s not like it will be for a long time, and he’s not doing anything other than sitting there.”
“That’s the attitude, and he should spend more time with Aiden.” Rogue handed the little boy back to his mother and went back to Jubilee and Kitty.
“Nervous yet?” Rogue asked.
“If you keep asking me that, I will be, and then what are you going to do.”
“Hand you my tennis shoes and helmet and say bring her back with a full tank of gas.”
“Some maid-of-honor you are.” Jubes said. Rogue and Kitty gave her a questioning look. “You could at least give her the plane tickets too.” All the girls started laughing, but calmed down after the make-up person gave them a look.
After the girls settled down from their laughing, they did not talk while securing Kitty veil to her head. Out of no where Kitty looked at Rogue and asked, “Do you think he will ever ask you to marry him?”
Rogue looked at her best friend in shock. Sure the girls were open with their relationships, but Rogue kept a pretty tight lip when it came to Logan. It wasn’t like her best friends did not know that she was seeing or even sleeping with Logan, but she just never told them about her insecurities about their relationship. Rogue took a minute to look her one best friend all dressed in white and her other friend dresses as a bridesmaid. “No.” She said it plain, simple and very confidently.
“What!” Both Jubilee and Kitty said at the same time in shock.
“No, marriage isn’t Logan’s thing! We might be together forever, but I don’t really see him asking me to marry him.” Rogue said this so seriously that after sharing a look with each other her two best friends did not ask any further questions.
Logan couldn’t believe that he let that little brown eyed slip-of-a-girl wrap him around her finger and that he had shown up to another one of these things. All the people dressed up, tons of flowers invading his sense of smell, music messing with his ears, and people everywhere. Okay it was a small wedding, mostly students, but some on Bobby’s family did decide to attend. Logan would never admit to anyone, other than Marie, but he was glad that the boys parents decide to keep in touch with their son, and not let the fact that John blew up five police cars in front of their house overly affect their love for their son.
But still he did not have to be happy with the fact that he was at another wedding. Jean and Scott had such a small wedding that Logan got away with wearing jeans, but not this time Marie would not let him wear his custom outfit. When he arrived at the mansion, two nights ago, Marie had already purchased, steamed, and laid out an entire outfit for him. Kaki pants, a light blue shirt, and a tie. Upon seeing the outfit he said “NO” but here he was wearing the pants, shirt and even the tie. Marie didn’t know about the tie, she bought it in hopes of convincing him to wear it, but when she left him she had given up, happy he was wearing everything else. But then he put the strangling thing on, and even tied it himself. He was just glad she did ask him to match her dress with a pink shirt.
And now on top of already subjecting himself to the wedding, he had to watch his Godson. In which he couldn’t believe either, how did he get to be this little guys Godson? It’s not like he was responsible or even a good role model. But Scott asked him, and then Marie told him that she was going to be the Godmother and what that all meant, and he couldn’t chance anyone having to spend that much time with her, other than himself, even if the odds of something happening to Scott or Jean (again )were slim to none (hopefully). He did not know that it would mean he would be subjected to holding the sleeping kid. Though he was a cute kid, smart too, and would latch on to his leg the moment he walked in the mansion’s door, the fact is the kid was growing on him. And as much as he complained about the kid, he was not all disappointed in the fact that he was a little responsible for Aiden and how he would grow up. And after three years of watching the little guy grow up, he was starting to think about what his own kids would look like. And that scared him.
He wasn’t suppose to want kids or be responsible for someone else’s life. But Marie changed that the moment he sat down at the other end of the bar and they shared that look. Then she stowed away in his trailer. What was he suppose to do, leave her to freeze to death? Well yeah, but that look in the bar came back to his mind and he knew that this slip-of-a-girl needed him, more than he needed to be alone. He knew that it would stir up his life, the moment she started talking back to him and telling him to buckle up. And she did, because here he was sitting in a white covered chair, dressed up, holding a sleeping child, and waiting for a wedding of all things to take place.
As Logan thought of all this, the band started to wrap up the instrumental sitting music as the wedding was about to start. Logan noticed Bobby walk in with two of his fellow “Junior X-Men” as his best-man and groomsman, and Kurt (who was in a nice suit that hid his tail in order to not completely scare the “normal” people that were attending) who would be conducting the ceremony. Professor Xavier had a judge friend present, for the signing and legalizing of the ceremony, who was sitting next to him in the front row on the groom side.. Jean and Strom were also sitting in the front row but on the bride’s side, as they were the closest women and adults in Kitty’s life. Logan had sat a few rows back and to the far groom’s side avoiding most of the soon to be crying females that were present. As the precession started two of the younger students walked down the isle one throwing flowers and the other carrying the rings on the pillow. Logan rolled his eyes at the two that looked like they were having so much fun having all eyes on them. Then Jubilee walked down the isle, surprising at a slow rate smiling at the camera, and then sending the little flower girl a funny look that had both of the small children giggling. Rogue was next, and Logan was amazed. He had seen her earlier all dressed up, but now, walking down the isle, she was gorgeous, beautiful, amazing, and serene.
“Aunty Rogue looks pretty.” Aiden said from Logan’s arms.
Logan looked at the boy, surprise that he did not realize the boy had woken up in all of his deep thinking. “She’s really beautiful isn’t she?” Logan said quietly to the boy, while motioning that they needed to be quite. Logan looked again at his girlfriend, lover and mate and knew that she dissevered more than he was willing to offer, but also knew that he was not willing to give her up to get the chance for more with anyone else.
With that realization a deep sense of fear seeped through him, fear that he would lose the most important and only person he has ever remembered loving.
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Present Day:
The park was filled with children playing and parents mingling. Blue skies could be seen for miles, and the sun was shining brightly on everyone. The park goers could not have asked for a better day to be at the park. The weather seemed to reflect everyone’s happy mood, except ones.
Logan sat on a bench that was set apart from the actual park’s play equipment. He kept on eye on Ella, and an eye and nose on the people closest to him. Most of the people wondering around the outer rim of play set avoided him since, while everyone else seemed to be enjoying their day at the park, the man on the bench had a frown on his face. He did not seem to fit in the “perfect happy” park atmosphere that the rest of the parks attendants where showing, and Logan did not care. He was there for one reason, to save Rogue.
They had been at the park for about thirty minutes. Ella was playing, with Jubilee within arms reach, Jean and Scott sitting in a car down the road, and Logan on the bench, and then he smelt her. After encountering Mystique, well over a dozen times, over the last eight years he could pick up her smell easily, no matter how big the crowd. She of course knew this and headed straight towards the bench. Logan chanced a slight glance to his side, and saw an elderly grandmother sitting next to him. Anyone looking at the two or walking by them, would see the odd pair, but not think anything about since they did not appear to know each other.
“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t sonny.”
Logan didn’t chance a response. He wanted to get up and strangle her, but knew that would not solve any of his problems or answer any of his questions.
“She’s a very smart child, sometimes to smart.” Mystique was not looking at Logan, but not really looking at Ella either. Just sort of talking to herself, but in a voice Logan knew he was expected to over hear her. “Her parents were proud of her, but they feared raising her in this world. When they died I was all she had left in this world.” For those that were walking by and could over hear the conversation, would assume that the old lady was talking about her grandchild, not the niece that she seemingly turned over to the X-men’s care. “As you have probably guessed Erik doesn’t know about her, and that is the way I want to keep it. She is too little to live the dangerous life that I live.” Mystique stopped her talking and the pair sat in silence for a few moments.
Logan finally realized that she was not going to continue unless he said something. So he stated simply, “Why?”
“Why did I choose you and Rogue?” Logan was so shocked by this statement that he looked over at the grandmother that was sitting next to him. Not revealing his surprise in facial expression, but by the acknowledgment of her presence. “What did you think, that I wanted Xavier to raise her?” She gave him a slight humorous laugh. “Your precious professor and his school would give her a shelter and protected life, but I want more for her. I want her to know about the real world, and how our kind have had to struggle in order to live peacefully. She needs to know the truth of the world, not just how an ideal world should be. I want her to have choices and options.”
“And if she chooses the X-men?”
Mystique was silent for a moment before answered. “That is her choice. I don’t agree with everything Erik does, but I know that he is willing to fight for freedom, and that is better than sitting around and waiting for the government to start slaughtering us.” Logan grunt at this statement but stayed silent. “You of all people know what it is like to be under government control, and Rogue isn’t as sheltered as people think she is. She learned a lot on the road about people’s hate towards mutants and who you can and can not trust.” Rogue had told Logan all about her time on the road it was over six months of trials and tribulations. He was not happy to find out all that she had to go through before he met her, but Rogue calmed him down and told him he could change anything now. She survived it all and became a stronger woman because of it all. Mystique was right about how Rogue would raise her children. She would not try to hide them away from the world, but rather teach them how protect themselves and survive almost anything that they should come their way. But that did not mean Logan like knowing that Mystique knew this about his lover and hopefully his future wife. “Unfortunately you were not being as cooperate with the plan as I was expecting you to be.” Mystique said in a disappoint old lady voice. The voice your grandmother uses and it makes you feel like shit for disappointing them.
“I didn’t know I was suppose to cooperate in my enemies plan.” Logan said plainly, not letting the voice that would be sending everyone else begging for forgiveness affect him.
“I thought when you first found out about her being sick, you would rush to her side.”
“I didn’t know, no one was willing to tell me. Rogue did not want me rushing back.”
“That girl was waiting for you to come to her on your own. You are a fool for leaving her so often. Are you expecting her to wait for you forever?”
“No.”
“Good, but I wasn’t going to take the chance you would, and I needed you to be together. Ella deserves to have two parents. So I took precautions and infected Rogue just incase you did not get your act together and rush to her side.”
Inwardly Logan was fierce with the Blue Women or rather old lady sitting next to him, but again reminded himself that killing her would not give him answers and would only cause a seen with the park attendance. So he held in his anger and waited for her to finish.
“You have to ask nicely.” She said in a sweet grandmother voice.
Logan grunted a very fierce grunt that scared away the kids that were close enough to over hear the grunt. “What did you do to her?”
“It is simple really. A bug entered her blood stream when she opened the door. I had an acquaintance persuaded her to go over and open the door, and formed a feeling of a connection between the two. Your precious Rogue is a lot like my sister and Ella easily recognized the similarities.” Mystique stopped explaining, and Logan knew that he would have to ask if he wanted more information, which of course they both knew that he did.
“How do you get the bug out?”
“Now that is even simpler. It entered by Erik’s abilities and it will have to be taken out the same way.” Logan looked at her knowing that there had to be more to it than that, since both Hank and Jean could not detect such a device with in Rogue’s body. “It is camouflaged by her bloods natural iron counts, all machines pick it up as iron cells as does her body, but it’s not.” After a moment of silence Mystique continued. “Will you take care of her?”
“Yes, but don’t expect me to be so willing next time you want to see her.” Logan said seriously. He wanted nothing more than to jump for joy, grab Ella, and run all the way back to the mansion to tell Marie the news, but he had Mystique to deal with first.
“I wouldn’t expect you too. I do ask one more thing.” Logan raised an eye-brow in away that said ‘what more could you ask for, after you again tried to kill Marie’. Mystique of course ignored this look. “If a similar situation as today arises that you will allow me to watch as I am today, and that if Ella or you ever need me or my assistance in anything, pertaining to her safety and life that is, you will contact me.”
Logan thought of this. It wasn’t much and the odds of happening were slim, and if she tried anything he would finally have a really good reason to gut the blue bitch. But to say yes was not his style. “Maybe.”
“Thank you.” With that last statement she stood up and walked out of the park area.
Logan waited a few minutes. The conversation had taken sometime, but he knew that Ella would want to continue to play for a little while more. He ran his fingers thru his hair and let out a giant breath that he did not even realize he had been holding. He finally had answers. It disturbed him that he had to get them from someone that was on top of his enemies list, but the information allows him to help Marie and that’s what really matters.
‘Did you get the answers?’ Logan was shocked by the interruption into his thoughts but knew Jean was just checking in with him.
‘Yeah Red, I’ll get Ella and Jubilee and head to the van in a bit.’
‘Alright, I’ll leave you to your thoughts then.’
‘Thanks.’ Logan allowed himself to smile just a bit. Other than being shocked out of his thoughts he was not irritated by the intrusion into his mind, and this was defiantly a first. Still thinking only happy thoughts he stood from the bench, noticing how Jubilee saw him standing and started telling Ella to that it was time to leave. Ella at first showed signs of arguing with her yellow clad guardian, but when she saw Logan walking towards her she got excited and ran into his waiting arms.
“Did you have fun, sunshine?” Logan said while swing her up into his arms and hugging her close to him.
“Yes daddy. Did you see me swing really high, and jump on the monkey-bars, and…” Logan was still carrying Ella, as Jubilee caught up to the pair and they started walking towards the waiting van.
“Ella you don’t have to tell him everything at once.” She teased the small child.
Ella took a breath from her rambling, “Yes I do. Did you see me playing in the sand with those one kids?...”
Logan looked down at Jubilee, who was laughing at the girl’s excitement. You would think that she had been separated from him for two weeks instead of just over an hour.
“Thanks, for looking after her.” Logan said this with a lot of weight behind his statement.
Jubilee knew that a lot of problems could have happened during this park visit, and that Logan’s statement was doubling meaning. “Just remember how good of a babysitter I am, and that I should be in charge of all the youngons of the mansion.” Logan rolled his eyes, but for this one time refrained from commenting on her exclamation. “To the Bat-mobile.” She said with excitement as they continued on their way to the van.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Um…eight pages long, and it’s almost done. At least one more Chapter and probably and epilgoue