AN: It's my birthday and I thought: "what better occasion to write a fic?". So here's a fic, with a birthday self-prompt. I've got X-Men on the screen in front of me and away I go. Continuity is off of one of my other fics, "Once" – Post Miss Marvel absorption.
p.s. I don't own X-men, the characters and honestly, probably not even the plot, as everything has been done before, I'm sure.
O o o o o o O
Marie sat on the couch, looking at the digital read out on the cable box: two a.m., past midnight and officially her birthday. She was the only one awake at the moment, which suited her just fine. Birthdays were ok, but not a big deal to her. Honestly, what did it even mean any more? She didn't age. She didn't have any contact with the mother that birthed her. It was no longer an event. Hell, she was probably the only one who even remembered when her birthday was.
She flipped the TV off. She should be in bed anyway – she hadn't been sleeping enough since Jubilee's death. It was just hard to settle her brain down and get it quiet enough to sleep with so many thoughts and personalities inside her head. Marie supposed she was lucky at least to be invulnerable; she didn't suffer from the same side-effects as normal humans would with lack of sleep, even if it wasn't entirely unnoticed by her body.
"Happy birthday, Marie," a rough and gravely voice said behind her.
Marie turned her head to smile wryly at the well-wisher. She should have known he would remember. "Thanks, Logan." She gestured to the empty rec room. "I'm having a big ole party, you're welcome to come."
He came in and sat down on the couch next to her, "Hard to get excited about it when nothing ever changes, isn't it?" Ever since his return, Logan had been different, trying to get her to talk to him and trying to help her with her life as a nigh-immortal.
She nodded with a sigh and leaned against his warm body. "It's sort of depressing that way. I know women are supposed to be depressed about getting older and the passage of time, but to me…" she trailed off with another sigh.
"It's just another way to show how everyone else is getting older and you are staying the same." He nodded and put his arm around her. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when this happened. I think I could have helped."
She stiffened under his arm when he said that, "I don't need you for everything, Logan. I got by, just fine on my own."
Marie felt, not heard, the faintest hint of a growl rumble in his chest, but he didn't say anything defensive or fight her words. Instead he changed tactics, "You learn to mark the time in other ways. Big events are more important than dates and years. You remember those things and they are usually further apart, so it's not quite so depressing."
She tilted her head up to look at him, curious now. "What are some of the important things that mark your time?"
He shifted uncomfortably beneath her, then spoke quietly, "When I left home a mutant. When I left the military. Meeting my wife." He held onto Marie a little tighter, signaling her to not interrupt, though he knew she wanted to. "My wife's death and betrayal. Waking up, not knowing anything. Meeting you."
Marie didn't know exactly how to take that; she'd been feeling that way more and more lately after his return. "I'm sorry to hear about your wife." She decided to just ignore the last phrase and go back to the topic of his wife.
"It was a long time ago," he said simply. "A different era." He brushed his hand across her hair softly.
"What era is it now?" she asked as he continued to stroke her hair.
Logan looked down at her, smiling. "Don't know exactly yet, but it's definitely a new one."
"What are you doing?" she asked, finally. She knew he would understand the question.
He thought about it, then said, "I'm trying to reconnect with you."
"Why?" She wasn't going to let him off the hook quite that easily.
"Because whatever era I'm in now, I'm pretty sure you're going to be a big part of it." He could hear her mouth close quickly, and he kissed her forehead before moving out from under her. "You should get some sleep. Goodnight."
Marie stared at him as he walked out of the rec room, shocked at his words. 'Great,' she thought to herself. 'Now I'm never going to be able to get to sleep.'