Why did ya let me die?
A mangled scream erupted from Logan’s throat. He shot into a seated position, sweat glistening on his body. His breathing heavy, Logan struggled to erase the images from his mind. Images of his sweet, beautiful Marie, her face now bloated and blue, hanging from that wretched tree. Her body swinging lightly in the breeze. The thing that terrified Logan the most, though, was the sight of Marie’s swollen lips begging for him to help her.
Logan felt hands on his shoulders and his head being lowered onto a lap. Fingers were moving through his hair and another hand along his back. Logan curled himself into a fetal position, squeezing his eyes shut against the visions in his mind.
“It’s all right, sugah. It’s over now. Yer safe,” Marie whispered in his ear.
In response, all that Logan did was press his face against her stomach. I got there as fast as I could. I swear it, kid. I got there as fast as I could.
“Ah know ya did, sugah.”
When Marie responded to his internal thoughts Logan shot up again. His hazel eyes bore straight into Marie’s deep chocolate ones.
Kinda freaky, isn’t it?
Logan started once again, this time more violently than before at the sound of Marie’s voice echoing in his head. That was certainly not something he had ever experienced before.
“Kid, what the hell is going on?” Logan gasped out, resting his forehead against Marie’s shoulder.
Marie snaked her fingers up into Logan’s hair, holding his head against her shoulder. “Ah’m not sure, Logan. All Ah know is that while ya were unconscious, Ah was havin’ a conversation with ya in mah head. Seems as though it doesn’t wanna fade any.”
“So now you can hear what I think?” Logan mumbled against her shoulder.
Ah think it only works when Ah direct it at ya. Vise versa an’ all that. Otherwise Ah don’t hear a thing from ya.
Still disoriented, Logan began to tremble slightly in Marie’s arms. It was a little much for him to take in all at once and he was glad that Marie was there. As long as Marie was there, Logan knew that he didn’t have to be strong all the time. He could let his guard down in front of her and not worry about the consequences. Marie wouldn’t hurt him when he was vulnerable. She would be the first to look out for him when he couldn’t.
Letting out a deep sigh, Logan collapsed onto his back. He raked his fingers through his hair, keeping the muscles in his hands tight so that he wouldn’t accidentally release his claws. Logan’s agitation faded almost instantly at the feel of Marie’s hand smoothing across his taut stomach. Had he not been so ticklish, Logan would have purred. Instead, he chuckled slightly. Low and deep in the back of his throat.
“That tickles, kid,” Logan murmured, reaching out to grab hold of her hand. Slowly, Logan brought Marie’s hand to his lips and placed a kiss on the inside of her palm through the silky opera gloves she was wearing.
Leaning forward, Marie smoothed the hair away from Logan’s forehead with her other hand. She smiled softly, her entire face lighting up. “Ya know, Ah never did get ta thank ya fer savin’ mah life, sugah.”
“I didn’t do anything except get rid of a few bumps and bruises,” Logan reminded her. “You saved yourself back there, kid.”
“No Ah didn’t,” Marie insisted.
Logan regarded her as though she were insane, his head cocking to the side slightly. “You got out of the ropes on your own, if I remember right.”
With a shy grin on her face, Marie stretched out on her side next to Logan. She wanted for him to turn his head and meet her eyes before whispering, “It was yer voice that made me fight back. A part o’ ya was still in mah head from what happened on the top o’ that gawd awful statue. Ya were gettin’ very loud near the end. Shoutin’ at me ta fight. In case ya haven’t noticed, sugah, yer very insistent when ya want ta be. ‘Fight, damn it!’ were yer exact words, Ah think.”
Logan stared at her in disbelief. “You mean you actually heard that?”
“Course Ah heard it, sugah. Ah’d have ta be deaf not ta,” Marie teased, reaching over to stroke Logan’s cheek.
“But I... I really did say that, kid,” Logan told her, his eyes never straying from her face. “In my head anyway. I saw... saw you hanging up there and started shouting at you to fight. I was too far away to actually help you then, so I did the only thing I could think of.... That was it.”
Marie stared at Logan in awe, her normally wide eyes wider than usual. “Ah thought it was only in mah head. How’s it possible that Ah heard ya in mah head ‘fore ya started kissin’ mah neck?”
“You’re throat was all bruised,” Logan whispered. “I wanted it gone as soon as possible. It was killing me to see it.”
Marie said nothing, simply ran her fingers through his hair. For the first time since he woke up, Logan was actually calm and content. In fact, Logan couldn’t remember a time when he had felt so at peace. There was no one that he was trying to impress. No one that he had to keep an indifferent front up for. No one that he had to pretend for. Marie didn’t need him to be the invincible Wolverine. To her, he could be simply Logan. They had known each other for barely a month, but Marie already knew more about him than anyone else in the past fifteen years had. Logan could confidently say that Marie knew just about everything about him.
And it didn’t bothering him in the least.
“How ya feelin’, sugah? Sabertooth tore inta ya pretty good,” Marie whispered after a while.
Logan arched an eyebrow, staring levelly at Marie. “Are you implying that I can’t take Sabertooth? ‘Cause if you are, I’d have to say that I’m rather insulted by that.”
Marie shook her head, absently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Ah’m not implyin’ anythin’, sugah. All Ah’m sayin’ is that ya were pretty drained ‘fore ya even started fightin’ Sabertooth. An’ ‘sides, Ah watched ya fight him. Ah saw how bad he hurt ya.”
“I’m fine, kid,” Logan assured her, pulling her head onto his shoulder, careful to make sure that her hair was shielding his bare shoulder from her skin.
“Ya don’t sound fine,” Marie told him. “Ya sound half dead.”
“That’s cause I’m still kinda tired,” Logan admitted.
Logan heard Marie snort quietly, patting him lightly on the stomach. “You’ve been sleepin’ fer three days now, sugah. There’s no possible way ya could still be tired.”
“You’d be surprised, kid,” Logan mumbled, his lips brushing against the top of her head. “This ain’t something I’m really used to. I should be up and about already.”
“Then Ah suggest that ya get some more rest while Ah go let Jeanie know that yer all right,” Marie suggested, bolting into a seated position before Logan could get a hold of her to keep her still.
Logan reached out and grabbed onto Marie’s wrist before she got out of his bed. He didn’t need to say anything, Marie seemed to know exactly what he wanted without him needing to express himself. Smiling gently, Marie leaned over him and lightly traced his features with the tips of her fingers.
“Ah won’t be gone long, sugah. Ah promise,” Marie assured him, patting him on the cheek.
Logan still didn’t look convinced, chewing nervously on his bottom lip. “Kid....”
“Quit worryin’ ya big baby. Ah won’t be that long. ‘Sides, Ah don’t much care to be here fer Jeanie’s lecture,” Marie admitted. Shaking her hair, Marie put on a serious face and began to impersonate the good doctor. “Logan, you need to stop giving Rogue all of your powers. She doesn’t need a beer drinking, cigar smoking, bar room brawling taking over her personality any more than it already has.”
Hearing Marie speak without her accent was a little unnerving for Logan. “That was just creepy, kid. I think I like it better when you talk like yourself and not Jean.”
“Ah hafta agree with ya there, sugah. Takes too much effort ta talk like Jeanie,” Marie told him, grinning once again. “Frankly, Ah don’t know how she does it all the time.”
“Well if it makes you feel better, I like that Southern lilt of yours more than Jeanie’s ivy league talk,” Logan told her, easily returning her smile. “I’d rather listen to you than her any day. No questions asked.”
“Yer one hell of a sweet talker, ya know that?” Marie teased, looking anywhere but at Logan’s face.
Logan was almost one hundred percent sure that Marie knew that he didn’t want her to leave. The look on her face spoke volumes. Logan didn’t think that he’d ever seen anyone look at him quite like that. A look of pure and completely trust. It was a little unnerving but, at the same time, the most amazing thing he had ever seen or experienced.
“You know I’d do anything for you, kid, right?” Logan asked, reaching out to link his fingers with Marie’s.
“Ah know, sugah,” Marie whispered, tightening her hand around Logan’s. With her free hand, she lightly tapped her temple. “Ah got it all up here.”
Still a little unsure, Logan released Marie’s hand and slid his hands up to the chain around his neck. Fumbling for a moment, Logan reached for the clasp so that he could remove it. After a few moments, Logan had the chain free and dug his elbows into the mattress. With Marie’s help, he was able to get himself back into a seated position, staring intently at the dogtags in his hand.
“These tags are really the only proof I have that I had a life before they cut me open and piled me full of adamantium. It’s the only possession I have that I really give a damn about. That’s why I want you to have it. If you want it,” Logan said softly, fumbling with the bit of metal in his hands.
“Logan, Ah can’t take that. It’s so important to ya. Ah’d never forgive mahself if anythin’ happened ta it,” Marie protested, shaking her head vehemently.
Logan shook his head as well, cupping Marie’s cheeks with her hair protecting his palms, the tags from around his thumb and middle finger. “I want you to have it, Marie. Please. I’m begging you. I need to know that no matter what happens to me, that there’s someone out there who’ll mind for me.”
“Yer a very convincin’ man, Logan an’ we both know that Ah can’t say no ta ya,” Marie whispered, grinning from ear to ear.
Logan’s face split into a huge grin, letting out a deep sigh of relief. Removing his hands from her cheeks, Logan slipped the chain over her head, being careful to avoid any contact with her skin. The tags dropped lightly against her chest when Logan released it. Deftly sweeping her hair up in his hands, Logan pulled it through the chain and settled it down on her shoulders.
Marie grinned up at him, fingering the tags with her right hand. “Thank ya, sugah. This means a lot ta me. Ah’d better go find Jean and the Professor so that they can give ya the lecture they’ve been practicing fer the past couple days.”
“That a fact, kid?”
Marie shrugged her shoulders. “Ah wouldn’t know. Ah haven’t been outta this room since we brought ya in here.”