The first thing that Logan was aware of was the soft, warm thing that was pressed up against his back. Its arm extended around his waist so that its fingers were playing lightly against his stomach. There was another hand in his hair that was gently massaging his scalp.
“Ya awake, sugah?”
As soon as he heard Marie’s voice, Logan moved in a flurry of limbs. Before Marie even had a chance to take in another breath, Logan was hovering over top of her, his right index finger softly tracing the features on her face. Tears filled his eyes when he felt her skin solid under his.
“You’re really back? I didn’t dream it all?” Logan asked her, pleading with her through his eyes. “You’re here with me.”
Marie smiled up at him and lifted her head up so that she could place a quick kiss on his lips. “Ah’m here with ya, Logan. Ah came back.”
Logan lowered himself down on top of her, resting his head over her heart. He could hear it beat, a slow, steady rhythm. It was very relaxing and soothed Logan instantly. He sighed deeply and began running his fingers up and down her side. He paid special attention to the small area of naked flesh below the hem of her shirt. It was very soft, just like the rest of her. Logan became fascinated with the bit of flesh, tracing patterns on it with his fingertips.
“Are ya gonna let me up anytime soon?” Marie asked, smoothing her fingers through his hair.
Logan shook his head, clutching at her hips. “No. We leave here and you’ll go away again. I can’t let you go away again.”
“Not gonna happen, sugah. Ah’m not goin’ anywhere any time soon,” Marie assured him, a hand sliding down to massage the back of his neck.
Raising himself back up on his elbows, Logan stared down at her face. ‘But what if he comes and takes you back? He could take you away and I wouldn’t be able to stop him because I can’t move.”
Marie reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, smiling tenderly at him. “Ah’m not gonna let anyone take me away from ya. Ah’m a lot stronger than ya think.”
“I know that you’re strong,” Logan mumbled. “You’re a lot stronger than me.”
Marie shook her head, pulling Logan’s face down so that she could press a kiss to his forehead. “Yer strong, sugah. You’ve been through so much this past week an’ ya came through all right. It takes strength t’ do that. Ah know that ya prob’ly don’t think that it does, but it’s the truth.”
“No I’m not,” Logan insisted, absently playing with one of the strands of pure white hair that framed her face.
“Well ya were strong enough t’ carry me all the way from the garden t’ here without droppin’ me,” Marie teased, trying to get a smile out of him.
A ghost of a smile appeared on Logan’s face which grew as Marie ruffled his hair and pulled him down for another kiss. When the kiss ended, Logan kept his face only inches from Marie’s simply breathing the same air.
“Are we going home soon?” Logan asked, lowering his head back down onto her breast. “I want to go home. I don’t like it here.”
“Ah don’t like it here either, sugah,” Marie agreed, shifting slightly to get more comfortable. “An’ we’ll be goin’ home soon as those X-Geeks check out all Erik’s files.”
“He had one about you,” Logan told her.
Marie stiffened, her hand that had been slowly moving through his hair stilling. “What d’ ya mean, he had one ‘bout me? Had one what?”
“A file. He called you the Rogue and it said what he was gonna do with you. I didn’t understand most of it, but it had something to do with that machine of his,” Logan informed Marie, tilting his head a bit so that he could see her face.
Marie stared at Logan in shock, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. “He called me that. We were in this room somewhere an’ he called me Rogue. He called me other things, but Ah’d rather not think o’ that. It was too creepy.”
“You’re all right, though. He didn’t hurt you?” Logan asked, realizing for the first time that he didn’t know whether Marie was all right or not.
Pushing himself up onto his knees, Logan started down at her reclined form. He began a frantic search of her body, looking for any sign of damage. Logan pushed her shirt up so that he could see her stomach before removing it from her completely. He then pulled off her jeans, inspecting both the front and back of her legs. Slipping an arm behind her shoulder, Logan pulled her into a seated position so that he could see her back. The only mark that he saw on her was her wrists. They were slightly reddened, but Logan didn’t know whether that was because of him or what Erik had done to her.
“I’m sorry,” Logan murmured, pressing tender kisses against her wrists. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just... I just.... I really don’t have an excuse for doing that to you. It was wrong. I’m so sorry, Marie.”
Freeing her wrists from his grasp, Marie sat up and wrapped her arms around Logan’s shoulders, pressing her face against the curve of his shoulder. “Ya didn’t hurt me, Logan. That’s from Erik when he taped me up. It had nothin’ t’ do with ya. Ah know ya’d never hurt me.”
Logan screwed his eyes shut tight as he clutched at Marie. He was slowly returning to a more rational state of mind where he was terrified that Marie was going to be taken from him at any moment. The fear was still there, but no longer in such an all consuming way. Even though he still didn’t want to let Marie go too far, he was much calmer.
“I shouldn’t have done what I did in the garden,” Logan said suddenly, not wanting to let go in case Marie remembered what he had done and was disgusted by it. “That was wrong. And it was dirty. And I shouldn’t have treated you like that.”
Marie’s head lifted from his shoulder and Logan was convinced that she was going to tell him how much she hated him. Instead, he felt her hand on his cheek and her lips brushing against his chin.
“Don’t worry, ‘bout it, sugah. Ah needed that as much as ya did,” Marie whispered, brushing the back of her other hand across his cheek. “Yer not the only one that was terrified All Ah knew was that ya were here. Ah didn’t know whether ya were even alive. Ah was so scared that Erik had killed ya.”
Logan simply shook his head and assured Marie that all Erik had done was left him on the island without a way off. At first he had tried to swim away from the island, but was quick to learn that his new metallic skeleton didn’t permit swimming. He had sunk like a stone and would have drowned had Victor not been looking out for him and pulled him out of the water. Logan had tried two more times without any better luck.
“We’re ready to leave now,” said an unknown female as she entered the room.
Marie let out a frightened squeak and pressed herself against Logan, trying to hide her exposed state. For his part, Logan wrapped his arms around Marie and growled at the redhead who stood quite flabbergasted in the doorway. “Get the fuck outta here, Jeanie!” Marie shouted once she regained her composure. “Haven’t ya ever heard o’ knockin’? It’s what polite people do when they’re enterin’ room that aren’t there!”
Logan growled again, a low threatening sound that made Jeanie take a few steps back.
“I’m incredibly sorry. I wasn’t aware that I was interrupting anything,” Jean stammered and Logan was annoyed to notice that her eyes had not left Marie’s huddled form.
“Get. Out,” Logan snarled, holding Marie tighter.
“Ya’d better do like he says. Logan’s still a little on growly side,” Marie advised, sneaking a hand out from between their chests to rub against his side.
Jean nodded her head as she continued to back out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her. “We’re leaving in about ten minutes. Be in the hanger.”
“We’ll be there, Jeanie,” Marie assured the older woman.
The entire time that she had been in the room, Logan had smelt something on her that he didn’t like. It was the same thing that he had smelt on Mystique while she had been wandering about wearing all sorts of different faces.
It was lust.
Jeanie was lusting after him. The thought made Logan sick to his stomach. He didn’t want Jeanie lusting after him. Not when he had Marie who loved him. Love was better than lust. Logan didn’t want lust. He wanted love. Marie’s love in particular.
“I don’t like Jeanie,” Logan told Marie as he watched her pull her long sleeve shirt back on. “She makes me feel funny.”
“Feel funny in a bad way or feel funny in a good way?” Marie asked, seemingly unfazed, but Logan could tell that she was worried. It was coming off her in waves.
Logan didn’t even hesitate. “A bad way. I don’t like it when she’s around.”
Marie scooted forward onto her knees and leaned forward to kiss him quickly. “Ah’m glad t’ hear it, sugah. Ah don’t wanna hafta rip off yer bawls or turn ya inta a pretzel cause yer lustin’ after someone that isn’t me.”
Logan reached out and cupped her cheek, making sure that she was looking right at him. “I don’t want her lust. I like you loving me better.”
Marie grinned from ear to ear. “Ah like it better too, sugah.”