Photographs
Summary: Someone is looking through a picture book and remembering the good times...one shot (maybe)...
Author's Note: I was inspired by a weird dream I had a couple of nights ago and the song ... "Photograph" by Nickleback Rated T for a few cuss words and a tiny sexual refrence.
Logan walked through the door of his cabin grumbling as he slammed the door behind him, grateful to have escaped the snow storm raging outside. He had spent most of the day hunting for food and the best he had been able to trap was a fairly fat snow rabbit near the creek. Stomping into the kitchen he dropped the dead animal he had caught during his hunt onto the counter and shrugged out of his jacket. Quickly he gathered a few logs he had chopped up earlier that morning and placed in the fireplace, anxious to get a fire going. Lighting a match, he tossed it on the dry wood and less then a minute later a warm flame was roaring to life. He allowed himself a moment to get warm before heading into the kitchen to start dinner. Rubbing his chilled hands together he stood up and trudged back into the kitchen. He cleaned and skinned the rabbit before binding it to a stick and placing it over the fireplace to cook. Grabbing a beer out of the refrigerator he walked back into the living room and flopped down on the couch. The cabin was deep in the mountains so he had no TV nor a radio to distract himself with, not that he cared too if he did.
The silence bothered him slightly so he looked around for something to be interested in when his eyes fell on a book on the table.
He reached for book with the words "Memories" etched in the front in gold. He smiled as he remembered it had been a birthday gift from Jubilee a year ago.
He opened the book and felt a smile stretched across his lips
The first photo showed Hank and Cecilia working side by side in the school's medical lab. Cecilia had her head bent over jotting notes into the computer and Hank had his eyes focused on her with a love sick smile on his face. Everyone had known the big furry blue beast had a soft spot in his heart for the Hispanic sharp tongued doctor. If it hadn't been for Cecilia making the first move, he was pretty sure that Hank would have pined after her forever. Under each photo Jubilee had written a message.
Would you believe that Cecilia Rayes had no clue that Hank was madly in love with her...for doctors they sure aren't very smart when it comes to certain things, and fortunately Kitty and I decided to play match maker which FINALLY put the two love birds together...
Logan chuckled softly as he turned another page. The photo of Warren and Elizabeth was one of his personal favorites. It had been Valentine's day and somehow the resident's angel had been coerced into dressing up as cupid for a party. Logan suspected it had been Elizabeth's idea but she had remained tight lipped about the incident. In the picture Warren had been hovering awkwardly in the air with his wings fully extended and a plastic bow and arrow in his hands aimed in the direction of a feuding Remy and Anna who was standing near the pool behind the mansion. In the corner of the picture Logan was on his knees with his head thrown back and his hands clutching his side. He had never laughed so hard in his life.
...I absolutely loved this Valentine's Day. Not only did we get to see a real life cupid courtesy of Betsy, but Jean finally allowed me give her a hand in making the bake treats for the party...weren't my cookies delicious...
Logan snorted. Jubilee's delicious cookies nearly put several kids in the infirmary and caused his healing factor to work overtime. Directly below that photo, showed a grinning Dazzler and Paige Gunther photographed during one of their many battles over Guitar Hero on the school's Xbox 360, that Charles had splurged on for the rec room. Paige usually won, but that day Alison had managed to get lucky and she had celebrated gleefully while Paige demanded a rematch. On the couch behind them Kurt and Alex Summers were arguing amongst themselves who's turn it was to play next. Eventually Charles had to suspend the students from playing the game once friendly competition had turned into a full fledged gaming war.
You didn't hear this from me, but Allison cheated...
On the next page he found several snap shots of what looked to be a party of some sort. Scott and Jean were out by the pool watching a six year old Rachel splashing around the pool gleefully. She had been a splitting image of her mother with long flowing red hair and sparkling green eyes. The moment she had been born the little girl had stolen his heart. The innocence he had seen in her had made his faith in Charles Dream even more stronger.
I was kinda bummed out when Jean named Ororo the god mother because I wanted to be it, but she told me and all the girls that we could be Rachel's Aunt and that's way cooler then being a god mother...
Seeing a picture of a grinning Jubilee he suddenly remembered what the occasion that day had been. It had been the fourth of July and a party had been thrown to celebrate the national holiday. Jubilee had been particularly excited because it was the one time the professor allowed her to go all out with her powers. Ororo had flown the beaming Asian girl up to the roof of the mansion and supervised her while Jubilee released the fireworks later that evening. Jubilee had been standing on the edge with her gloved hands stretched out towards the sky releasing the multi colored globules of energy plasma from her fingers causing the sky to light up brilliantly. On the ground below all the residents watched the sky light up in awe.
I had so much fun that night. For the first time I was able to do something good with my powers. I made people smile and I only wish that I could do that more...people seemed to forget sometimes what it means to have fun...
As he flipped through the book he felt a sadness wash over him. Looking at the photographs were bitter sweet for him. Some made him laugh out loud and others made him roll his eyes. His thoughts were interrupted as he stopped abruptly starring down at one picture intently.
Remy and Ororo were sitting on the rooftop of the mansion involved in one of their typical late night talks. Ororo was smiling up at the sky peacefully wearing a pale blue nightie that stretched all the way up to her thighs with her naked ankles crossed in front of her, and Remy was in his usual brown trench coat laying on his back with a cigarette between his fingers. Seeing the Cajun and the windrider he had always thought there was something between the two friends; everyone had. Their friendship made them closer then most brothers and sister. They had a bond that physical manifested itself whenever they were near each other. That night something, jealousy perhaps, had driven him to confront her. She had been amused which had angered him and led to an heated argument which led to their first kiss.
...best friends are hard to come by in this world. Especially when you are force to grow up alone in this world. Remy and Ororo managed to find each other, and their friendship inspires me. I keep hoping I find someone special like that one day, Wolvie and then I realized...I already found you...
Smiling tenderly, he turned the page and he felt his breath catch as his eyes drifted to one of the pictures that made his heart beat a little faster every time he saw it.
Ororo arms were wrapped around his waist as she sat behind him on his black Harley motorcycle. She was wearing denim jeans and a tight black tank top. Her white haired spilled from beneath the black custom helmet he had bought her a week before. Her head rested on the back of his shoulder and she had a serene smile on her face. He had an unlit cigar dangling from the corner of his mouth and for once the usual angry scowl he usually sported was replaced with a more relaxed expression. He had been happy for once. The picture had been taken place months after their first kiss. They had began to see each other romantically and he had come to realize that for the first time he was in love. He had fallen head over heels in love with the beautiful windrider. Logan remembered he had taken her for a weekend camping trip. They had spent two days alone in the peace and quiet of nature making love and revealing private things to each other. When they had returned Ororo had been sporting a beautiful solitaire diamond engagement ring on her finger. They had gotten married two months later, and he had never been happier.
Love is something rare, yet when you find it, it's the greatest gift in the world and I am so happy you have found it, Wolvie. You look good in love, and Ororo has never looked happier..between you and I, I always knew you two were destined to be together...
Anna and Remy could always be found arguing and the next picture captured the seething brunette preparing to dump a bottle of water onto the Cajun who was too busy flirting with the vivacious Allison Dazzler to notice his girlfriend's wrath. They eventually got their shit together and had became a couple much to everyone's surprise. It was obvious that they couldn't have any type of physical relationship, but for the most part he didn't believe it mattered to the Cajun or the southern belle. He never seen Anna so smitten with a man and he couldn't recall ever seeing the Cajun, who had the habit of charming every female he laid eyes on, being so in love and devoted to a woman outside of Ororo. Two months later Bishop had made a break through with one of his inventions which had been a steel bracelet that could repress mutants abilities. Once Anna had gotten a hold to one it had been interesting to say the least. The mansion had been buzzing and joking for a whole week about the sounds of Anna and Reny's love making made during the night.
...I think for that week everyone was relieved that for once the sounds of Anna's screaming didn't mean she was about to kill the Cajun...or maybe she was...
The next frame showed Paige sitting at the mansion's kitchen table with a cake with twenty one candles brightly lit. Her brother, Sam, stood behind her with his hands resting on her shoulders grinning down at her expectantly. That night they had taken her to Harry's to buy her first drink and nearly ended up carrying her back. It was definitely a birthday that would be remembered.
I know you were mad that we bought her home drunk, but Anna was the one who told Paige a Long Island Tea was named just because it came in a big glass...and how was I suppose to know she ordered three...
Turning the page chuckling, he came upon another group of photo's that made him smirk. It had been the day before Christmas and Ororo and Bobby had surprised the residents by creating a winter wonderland outside of the mansion. It had been one of the most beautiful things Logan had ever seen and everyone seemed to have shared his sentiment. Trees that were once bare after falls end were draped with icicles and piles of white snow were everywhere. A snow ball fight had started pitting men against the women. He of course had tried to stay out of it, but Jubilee had forced his hand when she had pelted him in the back of the head with a hand ful of ice cold snow. It had been the last photo to be taken and every one of the X men had been captured. Turning to the last page he inhaled sharply at the words he saw scribbled in red ink.
Wolvie,
This is so you will never forget. Sometimes I fear that you would go on one of your road trips and not come back. We have been through good and bad times. You have taught me to be proud of who I am and you taught me to trust which is a gift I'll never be able to repay. We are your family and we love you,
Love Jubes xoxo
Logan closed his eyes and blinked back hot tears of sorrow. The nostalgia began to wear off and dull pain began to grip his heart with it's icy cold fingers. Jubilee had given the scrap book to him for his birthday, and it was the last time he had seen her or any of them alive. Suddenly a strangle cry of rage escaped his throat and driven by fury he flung the book across the room where it landed with a loud "thud" on the floor. The people in those photo's were ghosts. They were all dead. The pictures were all that he had left of the only family he had ever known. Charles had sent him to Japan on a solo mission to retrieve a mutant that he believed to be dangerous. He has spent a week looking when he realized that their was no sign of the mutant and he went home. What he had found shattered his heart. The area around the mansion had been taped off, and the building left in rubbles. He had found out later that the government had believed the school to be the base of terrorist violating the Registration Act and to make an example to the rest of the mutant population they had bombed it.
"Oh God," he whispered brokenly burying his face into his hands and sobbing.
His pain swiftly turned into anger and for a brief moment he allowed it to consume him. His claws extracted and snarling he turned the coffee table in front of him into a pile of splinters easily. He had tracked down their killers, and viciously avenged his family's death. He had made them pay in a long slow tortured death, but even as he spilled their blood and it poured through his claws onto his fingers, he found no peace.
What the hell had the government feared? Yeah, they had been mutants, and yes they were different, but none of the people who knew that resided in the mansion would hurt anyone ruthlessly. If the government would have just looked at the pictures they would have known the truth and the truth was that the mutants they killed were peaceful and innocent. They didn't deserve to die and the fact that he had failed to protect them made him angrier.
"Damn it," he snarled in rage. He felt the animal coming out and he just wanted to kill. It didn't matter who it was. He just wanted to go and kill every and every single thing...
He stopped his rampage and fell to his knees rocking slightly and whimpering. The pain was white hot and so intense that he could feel it in the very core of his tortured soul. He had felt loss before. Mariko's death had nearly crippled him, but he had healed in time. He had eventually found people who trusted and cared about him whom he reluctantly came to trust and grow fond of as well. He tangled his fingers through his hair and squeezed his shut trying to block out the pain. Ever since he could remember, thier were no wounds that he couldn't heal from. His healing ability prevented him from suffering, but this...this was different. He felt as if someone had ripped out his heart, and no matter how much time went by he felt he would never recover from such a devastating loss.
Logan...
Whenever he would lose control he swore he could hear Ororo's voice, and it would comfort him, if only for a moment. He knew it was his minds playing a cruel trick on him, but a part of him was grateful. He was haunted by their memories every day, and each passing day would bring more pain and torment the previous one. His deepest fear was that if he wasn't haunted daily, some part of him would block thier memories away and that scared him. He didn't want to forget Jean's kind smile, or Jubilee's infectious laughter. He didn't want to forget how the Cajun and Scott would get under his skin, nor the special connection he had forged over the years with Anna.
Last but least he didn't want to forget Ororo. Just thinking about her caused him to groan softly in mental anguish. He loved her more then he loved life its self. She had been his salvation in so many ways. All the demons he fought all his life she had managed to face down with grace and courage and most importantly, love. Pure, eternal love. She had been the best thing that ever happened to him. He always told her that she deserved better and he believed that in his heart to this day. Ororo would merely laughed and said that she rather love him every day of her life then to love "better."
It seemed like hours as he howled his grief, but in reality it had been a couple of minutes. Emotionally spent, he walked across the room and gingerly picked the photo book and placed it back on the sofa, before heading back into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and went to grab another beer, but stopped. He knew beer wasn't the answer to his grief. The buzz never lasted long because of his healing ability. Instead he closed the door and opened the cabinet. He reached his hand inside and retrieved an nearly full bottle of Jack Daniels. He knew that if he drunk the dark liquor non stop it wouldn't wear off as quick. It had been six months since their deaths and he still couldn't bring himself to leave the comfort of the lodge. He wasn't ready. Wearily he sank back into the cushion of the couch and seconds later the liquor from the bottle was gone. Setting the bottle aside he picked up the photo book once more.
This time around he noticed that the pictures had dark wet spots on the edges. The photo's were stained with his tears.