New York City. January, 1973
The City That Never Sleeps. It was certainly living up to its name that night. Cars were jam packed on the streets, and pedestrians were hustling down the sidewalk, even though it was well after two in the morning. Vi took in a deep breath of the ice cold air and released it as she strolled, watching the fog it caused disappear in the wind. She pulled her jacket tighter around her body, even though the leather didn't do much to shield her from the cold. It may have been a blessing, because it was keeping her alert long enough to power through the exhaustion and get home. Another waitress called out, leaving her to work a double shift. Any other day, she wouldn't have been upset about getting more hours, but today was important.
As she was lost in thought, she nearly walked right past the house. Fishing out the keys from her pocket, she hurried up the steps and quickly unlocked the front door. She stepped in, greeted by a comfortable warmth and the scent of tomato sauce. Her stomach grumbled as she shrugged off her jacket and hung it on the hook by the door. "Lucy, I'm home," she quietly called out.
Vi moved further into the living room, looking around until she saw Sean poke his head out of the kitchen with a grin. "Hey, babe. I was just making some dinner for you."
She joined him in the small space, watching as he stirred the pasta. With a smile, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Thanks, you're the best." He blushed a deep red, making her smile grow. "Happy birthday, Sean. Did you two have fun today?"
"Yeah. We went to the park, we got ice cream, and then Darwin came over. 'Lex was exhausted by the time Darwin left. He fell asleep before he could tell me that I don't do the voices right." Sean chuckled as he turned the stove off.
"Hey, it's not your fault that I make an amazing Gandalf." Her smile faded as she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here with you guys today."
Sean stopped transferring the pasta into a bowl, and turned his head to look at her. "Well, you're here now."
Looking into his soft brown eyes made her heart leap, but before she could kiss him, he went back to filling her bowl. He held it up to her. "You should eat. I can hear your stomach growling."
She released him and gratefully took the bowl as they headed into the living room. With a relieved sigh, she kicked off her shoes and flopped down onto the couch. Sean sat next to her and slung his arm over the back of her seat. "I haven't ate all day." She twirled the noodles on the fork and not so gracefully shoved them in her mouth.
"They didn't give you a break?" Usually they couldn't with how busy it was, but he had hoped they would since she worked a double shift. Apparently, that was too much to ask.
"Nope. It was pretty steady today. My manager knew how pissed I was, so I'm surprised she didn't try to butter me up. Not that it would have changed anything." Vi rolled her eyes. The girls that called out had made their dislike of her pretty clear from the start, so she knew that the whole thing had been on purpose. She would have decked them both long ago, but they weren't worth the trouble. Especially not now that she had a family to worry about.
Sean knew the situation, and it bothered him just as much, "You should quit. I make enough to support us." He played piano in one of the nicest clubs in the city, which netted him a good amount of cash every night.
"I'm not the stay at home mom type." She shrugged before eating some more of her spaghetti.
He sighed. "I know, but that place is bad for you."
"It's not forever, though. I've dealt with worse people." Vi assured him with a small smile. Once she finished the last of her food, she got up and went to put her bowl in the sink. She came back into the living room and yawned, her fatigue catching up with her again. For the first time since she arrived at home, she caught the heavy smell of grease coming from her. "Ugh. I'm taking a shower."
She grabbed a towel from the hall closet and entered the bathroom. With a groan, she leaned over to turn on the water before slipping off her clothes. The hot water that hit her as she stepped in made her sigh. It didn't make the aches and pains go away, but it helped. Not even thirty, and she already felt like an old woman some days.
After a while, she shut off the shower and reluctantly came out. The house was warm, but after the scalding hot water, it felt no different than the winter weather. She dried off and put on her robe, wrapping it tightly around her.
Upon entering the bedroom, she found Sean sitting in the bed. He noticed her shivering as she changed from her robe to one of his sweaters and a pair of flannel pants, and moved to lay down. Quickly, to not let out too much of the heat, she got under the blanket and snuggled into Sean's side. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
One thing Vi loved about Sean was that he was practically a radiator. That, paired with the fact that he could never resist cuddling, meant that she never stayed cold for long. She tilted her head up to look at him, only to find his eyes closed.
Sean wasn't what you'd call 'classically attractive'. He didn't have a chiseled jaw or huge muscles, but Vi didn't care about that one bit. He was soft and sweet, messy orange curls framing his freckled face. To her, he was the most beautiful person in the world. Her fingers trailed up his chest and neck to his cheek, which she brushed softly, finally making his eyes flutter open. All there was on his face was confusion until he noticed the familiar fire in her eyes.
She bit her lip and pressed her body closer to his. "You know...there's another way to warm me up. Wanna try it?"
Suddenly, he moved the both of them so he was on top of her, one hand supporting his weight, and the other cupping her face. "Do you even have to ask?" Without waiting for an answer, he dipped down and kissed her hard, showing her that he returned her passion in kind.
Sleep could wait a little while.
A sliver of sun filtering through the curtain hit Vi right in the eyes, bringing her reluctantly out of her sleep. She turned over and threw out her arm to meet only the cold sheet. Yawning, she sat up and stumbled around the room to search for her clothes and put them on.
As she opened the bedroom door, the sound of cartoons and quiet laughter hit her. A smile crept onto her lips as she tip-toed down the hall. What she found as she reached the living room was her two favorite boys sitting on the couch, eating cereal and watching The Jetsons. She leaned against the wall, content to watch for a moment.
A decade ago, she never would have imagined herself with a family of her own. After all that she had lost, it just seemed like something that could never be. She discovered that she was pregnant in 1965, just before Charles closed the school, and suffice to say, she was terrified. Sean, on the other hand, was ecstatic. Together, they figured it out, and the last seven years had been some of the best of her life.
Alexander's head peeked over the back of the couch and he flashed her a wide grin, showing off his few missing teeth. "Mommy!" He jumped from his seat and ran over to hug her tightly. She almost fell backwards from the impact. "I missed you!"
"Hey, sweetie. I missed you, too!" Vi ruffled his curls, making him giggle. "I heard you and Daddy had fun yesterday."
"Yeah! Uncle Darwin came to visit." Alexander smiled, though it faltered slightly as he thought of his Uncle Alex, who had left nearly two years before. His parents wouldn't tell him where he was, but he had a feeling it was a bad place.
Vi kneeled down to his level, knowing exactly why his expression suddenly changed and his eyes got glassy. The boy loved his uncles to death, and Alex being in Vietnam hurt him just as much as it did the adults in his life. "Uncle Alex will be back soon, 'Lex," She whispered, lightly squeezing his shoulder.
"Promise?" Alexander asked almost silently.
She met Sean's sad eyes for a moment, then turned back to their son. "Promise. He's one of the toughest people I know."
Alex had been through a lot. He was bounced around several foster homes before he wound up in prison. He never went into specifics and neither Vi nor Sean had asked. All they knew was that it was bad. Alex was tough, yes, but the war was too. Everything they'd seen in the news, all the history lessons she had sat through, it terrified them. Alex would surely come back a changed man, if he came back at all.
When Alex had first been drafted, Sean was devastated. The war was in full swing at that point, so it was only a matter of time before it happened. Due to Sean's odd immigration status, he wasn't drafted, but he didn't want his best friend to go off alone. Alex and Darwin, who had been unable to volunteer or be drafted because he was legally dead, both reminded him that he had a son to worry about first and foremost. Sean knew this, but he still regretted not having Alex's back when he needed him most.
Alexander sniffled and managed a smile. "Yeah."
Vi mirrored his smile and stood up, taking his small hand. "Come on, you're missing your cartoon."
They made it to the couch and he flopped down, but before Vi could sit down with him, Sean spoke up. "Hey, I need to talk to you for a second."
She gauged his expression for a moment, then headed for the kitchen. He follwed her and shut the door behind them. Vi leaned against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's up?"
He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Uh, Hank called about an hour ago."
They hadn't heard from Hank or Charles in at least three years. She was surprised he still had their number. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, they're fine. It's just," Sean shifted slightly, "He said they have a visitor."
"Oh. Someone I know?" Vi didn't see how it could be. Basically everyone she knew in this time was either at the school, fighting the war, or dead. So why had Hank called them, and why did Sean find it so important to tell her?
"Hank called him Logan, and from the description, he sounds a lot like your friend."
She straightened up and dropped her arms to her sides. A smile began to form on her face before the reality set in. "He doesn't know me yet."
"That's the thing. He does." Sean paused for a moment before adding, "He asked for you specifically."
"That makes no sense." She frowned.
"Neither does a girl from fifty years in the future suddenly showing up on your doorstep, but that happened."
"Shit, you're right." It had been so long that she sometimes forgot that that was indeed how they had met. "But how is he here? Why is he here? I don't understand."
"Hank said they'll explain when you get to the mansion." Sean was visibly tense.
"When I get to the-?" Vi weighed it all in her head. If Logan was there, something important must have been happening, but important also meant dangerous when it came to the X-Men. If she went, she could get hurt or worse. One look at Sean told her how he felt. He didn't want her to go, and she understood. "I'm not going."
"W-what?"
"You guys need me, and I won't risk this family. Whatever it is, they can do it without me." Part of her was disappointed. It missed the fight, the thrill of being an X-Man.
Sean studied her face and a heaviness began to form in his stomach. She was right. If she went, there a was a chance of her not coming back, whether it was by her choice or not. He had worried for a while that she might go back to the future if she got the chance, and be gone just as fast as she had appeared all those years ago. Of course, the rational part of him told him that she would never do that, but he was still afraid. He managed to swallow that fear and take her hand, theading their fingers together. "I think you should go."
Vi raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
He nodded. "I think you should go see your friend and help him with whatever he's here for, but I need you to promise me something." She tilted her head slightly, urging him on. "Come back."
"How can we be sure I can keep that promise?"
Sean thought for a moment, then took inspiration from her words from a few minutes before. "You're the toughest person I know."
Vi took a deep breath and smiled back at him. "Okay...I'm gonna do it."