"No!" Logan gasped fighting for breath after he'd felt himself buried beneath the water feeling the thick pressure and fluid fill his lungs. His heart was racing, mind trapped in the past all over again when the life he'd put behind him suddenly flashed before his eyes. He could feel the weight upon him, could remember the gasps he'd taken when he struggled to break free of the chains that bound him to the damp prison Magneto had pressed upon him. His heart was racing, mind troubled by it all when he'd felt his life flash before his eyes. He could remember death and misery followed by systematically losing everyone that had ever meant anything to him when the world has he's known it had fallen apart at the seams. Yes, it had been a different world than the one that he was a part of now, but he still remembered. He could still recall all of the horrible details that had led to his return to the past. It all hung over him causing tension to build in his shoulders until he felt long, slender fingers reaching out to touch his shoulder.
"Another nightmare?" Scott's tired voice questioned as Logan fought to contain the fears that consumed him. He tipped his head to the side seeing the man in bed beside him dressed in a thin white t-shirt and blue and white pinstriped pajama pants. Behind his sleep goggles he seemed concerned when his fingers gently squeezed at Logan's shoulder coaxing Logan to slide back down onto the bed beside him, "Want to talk about it?"
"Not really," Logan sighed thinking about the one good thing that had come about after his trip to the past with Scott now alive and at his side.
"I can understand that," Scott decided finally sitting up and moving in closer to Logan, "but it's the third time this week you've awakened like this. Something's going on in your head."
"It's nothing more than horrible memories of a life I put behind me," Logan closed his eyes and sighed when Scott's arm slid out around his spine to gently rub and massage the tense muscles in his back. Feeling the gentle press of Scott's fingers over his bare skin, Logan couldn't help, but reflect on the one thing that he'd done right in changing the past, "How did I get so lucky to have you in my life Slim?"
"You refused to take no for an answer," Scott teased moving in closer to press a kiss upon Logan's shoulder, "Your persistence was very admirable."
"Where as yours is just beginning," Logan tipped his head to the side and reopened his eyes. He felt the press of Scott's right palm against the side of his face.
"I just hate seeing you so upset Logan. I wish I could reach inside your head and soothe whatever it is that's troubling your mind," Scott divulged with his fingertips tenderly touching the coarse hair across his jawline in an attempt to soothe Logan's inner demons.
"Having you with me is a good start," Logan sighed leaning into Scott's touch when the nightmare began to fade out allowing him the opportunity to stay in the present, close to the man he'd been miserable without in another life.
"Charles warned me that you were revisiting things from your past. I could sense you were distracted, but I'd assumed in time you would come around when you were ready to talk about it," Scott offered up sympathetically, "Charles warned me that you might need me to be patient with you and listen to what was on your mind. He'd mentioned something about things Magneto had done to you long before I was around. He said that in time you'd come around, but…"
"But right now I don't want to focus on any of that," Logan shook his head dismissively, "Not when I have the sexiest man in the X-Mansion in my bed at my side."
"Really? I didn't see him when I walked in here to join you," Scott teased shifting his glance around the room, "Where did he go?"
"Cute," Logan wrinkled his nose at Scott before coaxing Scott to slide into his lap. Silently Scott complied to Logan's request wrapping his thighs around Logan's when he hovered over Logan, "Tell me again why I fell in love with you."
"Because you knew from the moment we met you couldn't live without me," Scott teased with a bright, white grin, "or maybe it had something to do with the fact that I wasn't afraid to stand up to you when you questioned my authority."
"Fuck off was more of a turn on for you, wasn't it?" Logan wrapped his arms around Scott's waist to pull him in closer.
"You're a turn on for me," Scott dipped down to kiss Logan quickly, "Heaven knows I can appreciate a man who balks at my authority, but still has to listen to what I say at the end of the day. Truth be told this was all a part of my master plan to get you in line somehow…"
"So all of this," Logan motioned to their bedroom surrounding them before noting their wedding photo on the desk near the window, "was just another one of your tactical, master plots to take control of our dynamic between us somehow."
"Precisely," Scott fought to repress the grin that carried over his lips, "After all having you fall in love with me was the best way to keep you in line without having you undermine my authority."
"That might've worked if you hadn't fallen in love with me first," Logan teased gripping Scott tighter than before. With a small shift on the blankets he twisted so that they were laying face to face with one another in the center of their bed, "Admit it. You were crazy about me from day one."
"Crazy is a good work to describe how you made me feel," Scott paused in his teasing when a sudden surge of seriousness carried over his voice, "but now I can't imagine my life without you in it Logan. I wouldn't want to."
"I can—imagine my life without you in it I mean," Logan confessed quietly. He closed his eyes thinking back to the time when he'd lost Scott—when life had been dramatically different before he'd changed things, "and it was hell living without you. I didn't want to face another day without you gone."
"Hey," Scott's voice attempted to soothe him once again, "it was only a dream Logan. I'm right here."
"I know you are," Logan reopened his eyes to look at Scott watching him from behind his visor, "and I don't ever want to imagine another day of my life without you in it. This is all I've ever wanted and needed in my life. I hope you realize that."
"Of course I do," Scott offered up with a small smile, "although I have to tell you this sudden wave of sentimentality is causing me to wonder what's going on inside my husband's head. You aren't usually so forthcoming with your feelings."
"You could say that I had plenty of reason to give them more consideration lately," Logan decided bringing his arm around Scott's waist, "I just know what it's like not to have you in my life and I don't want to face that again."
"What happened back then between you , Charles and Magneto?" Scott inquired softening his tone, "You never speak about that time, but I know you and Charles have discussed it."
"The world was falling to pieces around us Slim," Logan choked up on his words, "and I knew if I didn't find a way to help Chuck make things right that you and I wouldn't have this. We wouldn't be able to share in all of this considering that…"
"The weight of the world was on your shoulders making you feel like the fate of the future was in your hands," Scott finished tipping in to kiss Logan's forehead gently.
"It was," Logan sighed.
"It only felt that way because you were passionate about playing your part in helping them," Scott whispered in a soothing voice, "You put too much pressure on yourself Logan."
"Spoken by the man who never lets loose unless I get him naked in bed just like this," Logan wiggled his brow suggestively, "Speaking of which, why aren't you naked Scott?"
"Because I was on hall monitor duty," Scott explained motioning to the door outside of their bedroom, "I was on alert after a group of students mentioned a rumor of a few children sneaking out tonight to head out to the local bar."
"Did you catch them?" Logan inquired.
"No," Scott shook his head and laughed lightly, "I think they gave up on the notion after we made it clear we were on watch tonight. Then again after I got off duty and Piotr stepped in, I'd imagine they were afraid to cross him."
"Piotr's a puppy dog," Logan shook his head and laughed, "but for what it's worth I'm glad you're back in bed with me."
"So am I," Scott sighed, "although it's been a long day."
"Ain't that the truth?" Logan agreed with a small shake of his head.
"Its all the more reason why you should try to rest Logan," Scott encouraged him again, "unless you'd rather we talk about that dream."
"Honestly right about now I'd rather unwind with you just like this," Logan decided with a small shrug of his shoulders.
"I just hate seeing you so wound up Logan," Scott dipped in to kiss Logan once again.
"It's not going to change," Logan confessed bringing one hand over Scott's thigh, "Let's face it Scott. Stress is just a part of our everyday lives here. If we really take the time to analyze it, I think you and I both have a lot to work on in the dealing with stress department."
"We do, but at the same time," Scott paused sliding his fingers into Logan's hair, "I hope you realize that you can trust me with anything that's bothering you. You're my husband and I'm here for you for whatever it is that's happening in your nightmares."
"We both have things about our past we don't like to discuss Slim," Logan answered in a guarded tone.
"I know that," Scott nodded when Logan found himself tensing up at the memory he'd carried with him of Scott's demise in another place and time. Unable to avoid the truth behind his fears, Logan turned away from Scott hoping to get a grip on himself when he felt Scott's arm slide around his abdomen keeping Logan close to him, "but if you ever change your mind about wanting to discuss things…"
"Trust me. You'll be the first person I talk to," Logan replied drawing in a breath as he felt the protective hold Scott had on him. It was a change from their usual positioning as Scott cuddled in behind him, spooning his body with an air of strength and intimacy between them. Saying nothing Logan reached down to Scott's hand, interlacing their fingers and keeping them linked together on the center of their bed, "Tell me again about the day I proposed to you."
"You just love rehashing that moment, don't you?" Scott's voice hinted at the amusement he carried with him when his fingers squeezed at Logan's palm.
"It was one of the greatest moments of my life," Logan mouthed keeping his eyes closed and listening to Scott's words, "I know we'd just gotten back from that mission in Canada."
"You were upset and I was," Scott paused thinking about the moment between them, "injured. It wasn't anything serious, but you were in an uproar. Charles tried to calm you down, but…"
"I couldn't rest easy until I knew you were safe," Logan added thinking about the details Charles had tried to fill in on the life Logan hadn't remembered living.
"The rest of the team was safe, but I'd gotten caught in that blizzard," Scott recalled, "I'd been anticipating help arriving, but when you found me…"
"We wound up trapped together," Logan mused feeling Scott place a kiss over the back of his neck, "You'd broken your leg and you'd tried to convince me that it didn't hurt you."
"It didn't," Scott paused when Logan shifted in his arms, "that much."
"Still you never complained, never talked about the pain," Logan added bringing Scott's fingers up to his lips to offer up a chaste kiss upon them.
"What could I have to complain about when I had you at my side?" Scott countered with a thoughtful sigh, "For a while I thought help was never going to arrive, but after you'd kissed me it didn't matter any longer. Hell, my broken leg became an afterthought after you'd wrapped your arms around me and…"
"…told you that I loved you," Logan finished remembering the few details that had filtered into his mind about the experience, "I swore to you that I'd always be by your side—that I'd never leave you fall into harm's way again as long as we were together."
"I already knew that," Scott explained, "I've always trusted that in you when it came to battle."
"And yet you offered me your heart," Logan smiled sliding back further into Scott's embrace, "You said that if we made it out alive that you were willing to do whatever I asked of you without reservations about any of it."
"At the time I'd been referring to us moving into a room together, but then when you asked me to marry you," Scott paused when a wave of sentimentality carried over him. He curled his fingers underneath Logan's chin, coaxing Logan to turn around to face him more completely, "I knew I couldn't say no. I would've been a fool to deny you anything you asked of me. Even now I still can't resist you."
"I'd never want you to try to," Logan paused before another thought carried over him, "unless it's part of one of our games of seduction where we try to take the other one over the edge and push our limitations with one another."
"Well, that doesn't count," Scott laughed lightly, "Those are the times where resistance makes things interesting between us."
"Life is always interesting between us now that we have each other," Logan decided returning to his previous position with Scott's arm draped over his body in a welcome embrace.
"Don't you forget it," Scott murmured pressing a kiss over the back of Logan's neck once again. A few minutes of silence passed between them, guiding them into a moment of calm and serenity as exhaustion carried over Logan's limbs.
"Whatever it is that's been keeping you from a peaceful sleep Logan, we'll get through it together," Scott whispered kissing his shoulder before finally settling in behind Logan once again.
"I know we will Slim," Logan yawned realizing that for the first time in a long time he actually believed that to be a possibility in his life. He closed his eyes again all the while taking in Scott's scent and smiling in knowing that Scott wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. The longer he lay in Scott's arms, the more at ease he'd felt in allowing the nightmare to taper off, replaced by beautiful dreams of the future ahead for him and Scott now that fate had given them a second chance at happiness.
The End