Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made from this work.
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"Close the door, close the door, close the damn...fuck! Thanks a lot jackass!"
Having seven hours on the road behind him and a hell of an ache in his back, all he'd been looking for was a beer and a hot shower. Logan hadn't expected much for his homecoming, not after they way he'd left, but getting called a jackass before he even had a chance to kick off his boots wasn't too friendly even for him.
"Wolvie get loose?"
It took him a long time to face his ghost, taking the cowards way out once again in watching Jubilee chase after a wet mongrel of a dog that looked to be having too much fun rolling around out on the lawn. Finding his breath after the mule kick it was to hear her voice, Logan turned to face Jean.
"Wolvie?" A smirk tickled his lips, raising an eyebrow after the mutt.
"She missed you."
"She's got a hell o' a way of showing it."
Kicking off his boots and making himself at home, that was one thing that hadn't changed. All he had to do was close his eyes and let it fill him, the voices of a school that had been quiet for far too long. But for how familiar the school was, it still didn't feel right, the road still called to him in a way that left him feeling restless.
History had changed for the better, but that didn't make it any easier on him, not with his head full of two lifetimes that bucked and fought for dominance like a couple of bull moose.
"I thought I heard yer Harley." Another of his ghosts drifted down the stairs, the girl he'd known grown into a heck of a looker that must have made some boy a lucky fella.
"Hey kid." Logan greeted Marie.
"Sugah, don't make me smack the stupid outta you. Ain't gonna be long till your taking me to the bars with ya." Every bit as feisty as he remembered, he found the courage for a hug.
No Sentinels, no Cure, and Mutant Registration hadn't made it much further than the kind of rallies that found all the usual bigots and racists making up the crowd. That wasn't to say things were perfect, they still had a lot of work to do. But after living the alternative and losing so much time and again, he was living the dream that the Professor had kindled in them.
"Prick." Jubilee snapped in passing, holding in her arms a wet and muddy dog that looked very satisfied with himself.
"Chuck let her get a dog?" Logan asked of the young lady in his arms.
"She missed you."
That was a bit of history that could wait, he was plenty content to hold Marie as she swayed to some distant music. Boyfriends were sure to come and go, and just like before he'd promise to kick the living shit outta them if they ever broke her heart.
"You and Drake still, you know...?"
He'd never been known for subtlety so why beat around the bush. Marie went stiff in his arms, it was all the confirmation he needed to know that one bit of history he'd seen play out once before must have followed suit.
"Ah hell Logan, ya ain't allowed ta go beating him up. 'Course I'm hurting right now, but I'll get over him."
Swearing a promise with a hug, she fit too nicely in his arms to want to let go. Her gloves felt right in his hands, reassuring to know that he could always save her this time.
"Sorry to say this hun, but ya gotta let me go. I need ta lend a hand with dinner, and as much as I like the men in my life ta smell like men, you smell like ya need a shower."
"What's on the menu?" Logan asked, spinning Marie about so he could lose himself in her eyes.
She looked younger than he remembered, carefree despite all the same old hardships she'd suffered. Seeing Jean standing there with a wedding ring sparkling bright was the only reminder he needed to know that they all had been saved from a lot of heartache, the kind that forced kids to grow up fast.
"Gotta leave something to the imagination." Creeping up on her tip toes for a kiss to his cheek, Marie wandered off with mischief in her eyes, blushing bright with a skip in her step that did his heart good to see.
"Guess she missed me too?"
Closing the distance between them that had kept things safe, Jean leaned in for a kiss of her own to his cheek, "We all did Logan, welcome home."
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