Logan barely slept after Marie left. Instead, he lay in his bed, savoring her smell. It lingered in his room, in his bed, and on his skin.
When he finally drug himself out of bed to shower, he began wondering whether he should go confront Marie for her early morning escape, or if he should simply try to be understanding of her circumstances.
She had sounded so cryptic when he asked her about her relationship with Warren. What couldn't she explain?
As he showered, he began to wonder why she was even marrying Warren in the first place. She'd admitted she loved him twice...if he counted the drunken confession from a few nights ago.
By the time he was drying off, he decided to confront her and fight for her.
After dressing, he left his room in search of Marie. He ran across Jubilee and asked where she was. When the firecracker said she thought she saw her in the front foyer, he made a beeline for the stairs. When he reached the top of the stairwell, he stopped in his tracks. He saw Warren standing next to Marie with his arm around her waist as they stood across from his parents.
It was obvious that the trio had just arrived.
Seeing Marie getting chummy with her fiance and future in-laws immediately forced him to abandon his original plans and immediately retreat up the stairs.
As soon as his back was turned, however, he heard his name get called by Warren.
"Logan! Hey!"
He slowly turned back around, "Hey, Warren."
"Come on down. I want you to meet my parents", said the young man.
Logan hesitantly walked down the stairs and favored the two older people with a polite nod.
"Oh. Logan...Marie and Warren have told us so much about you", said Warren's mother, who delicately extended her hand. Logan was the only one who noticed the batting of her eyes and the sensual pitch change of her voice.
He shook her hand and cleared his throat, "Mrs. Worthington...Yeah...uh...don't believe half of it."
"Call me Judy, please. We were just going to get breakfast. Won't you join us?" said the woman, who was still holding onto Logan's hand.
Marie, who had been silent until that moment, stepped forward, "Um. Logan is probably busy."
He quickly nodded in agreement, "I am. Busy. Doing...something. But thanks for the invite."
Judy pouted a little bit as she finally let go with his hand and rejoined her husband, "That's too bad...but we will see you tonight at the rehearsal and dinner, right?"
Logan nodded, "Sure."
As Warren began talking to his dad and mom, Marie and Logan's eye connected. At that moment, he vividly remembered being inside of her just hours before, and nearly shuddered at the memory.
He quickly looked away and made his exit.
That evening, Logan arrived in the mansion's ornate backyard where the wedding was set up. The event staff was still busy laying chairs out and constructing a wedding arch.
He was the first to arrive from the wedding party, and he was happy to see that Marie arrived...alone.
As soon as she saw him, she practically ran away to a block of hedges. Logan gave chase and cornered her behind a wall of hedges and a fountain, "Marie!"
By the time he caught up to her and grabbed her arm, she was sobbing. She shook her head and yanked her arm out of his grip, "Please! Don't make this harder than it already is!"
"Why does it have to be hard? Marie, you can stop this wedding."
She wiped her tears away, "I can't, Logan. There's things-"
"-things you can't explain. I know", he said, finishing her sentence. "So, what now? We pretend like last night never happened?"
Marie sniffled, "I'll never forget last night, Logan. It was one of the most amazing nights of my life...and I could never pretend it didn't happen...but I can't let it go any further. Please don't hate me for that."
"No...I could never hate you", he said as he brushed a tear off of her cheek. He leaned down to kiss her, but they were disrupted by the sound of her name being called from behind the hedges.
A couple of minutes later, she composed herself and greeted the minister and the remainder of the wedding party. After the rehearsal, they all gathered at a fancy seafood restaurant.
Logan felt out of place in the private dining room, so, as soon as he had the chance, he slipped out and made his way to the bathroom so that he could get a little peace and quiet.
He ran into Marie in the dark, isolated hallway leading to the restroom, "Hey."
"Hi..."
"Look, Marie, I understand there's some things you can't explain, but, the way I see it, there's some things you don't HAVE to explain. You and I care about each other...that should be all that matters."
Suddenly, he heard footsteps, so he grabbed Marie and ducked into the single stalled men's room. As he closed the door behind them, Marie started to ask what he was doing, but he covered her mouth and shushed her as he listened to a woman walk into the bathroom across the hall.
Before he had the chance to fully remove his hand from her lips, she grabbed his face and began kissing him hungrily. Logan groaned into her mouth and grabbed her waist before pressing her against the door.
Marie wrapped a leg around his hips as he hiked up her dress and rubbed a hand over her panties. He could already feel her moistening through the thin fabric.
She gasped and quickly unfastened his pants before pushing them down, along with his underwear, just enough to free his erection.
Logan kissed her neck as he pushed her panties aside and quickly thrust his hips forward, burying himself inside of her.
Marie arched briefly before grabbing onto him as he lifted her fully off the ground and wrapped both of her legs around him.
He fucked her hard and fast against the door, quickly pushing them toward an intense and powerful mutual orgasm.
She kissed him softly before he slowly slipped from her and lowered her to the floor.
Marie leaned against the door, panting softly as he stowed himself away and looked at her, "Just call off the wedding, kid."
"I wish it was that simple, Logan."
He took her by her waist and pulled her close, kissing her softly on the lips, "I need you..."
Marie gently kissed him back and took his face in her hands as she looked into his eyes. Tears had already begun streaking down her face as he gently stroked her sides, "You've been my best friend for years. I wasn't lookin' for someone to love. I didn't think I could find anyone to love. I'm not that guy...but you...you can see right through me and all my bull shit. You know me better than I know myself...and you're the only person who ever really made me laugh."
She wrapped her arms around him for a tight hug, "Logan...I love you. I've always loved you. I actually dreamed about the day when you took me in your arms and made love to me...and realized that I was the only one for you. But I fantasized about it because I thought it would never happen...and, although you might not believe it, I was more than happy to just be your best friend. I love it. I have to admit that I wish that last night had happened a long time ago...but it didn't...and I have to marry Warren tomorrow."
Logan squeezed her close, "Marie-"
Marie quickly shook her head and pressed her hands against his chest in an attempt to create some distance between them, "I can't...I love you, but I can't..."
She quickly pushed away from him and practically ran out of the bathroom.
When Warren asked her what took her so long, she claimed she was just getting some fresh air.
The next morning, Marie woke up early so that the stylist could do her hair.
Jubilee and Kitty arrived with breakfast and coffee, which she helped herself to as the stylist curled and pinned her hair. She was quiet the entire morning, barely saying anything to the beautician or Jubilee and Kitty, who seemed more excited than she was.
When her hair was finished and she was left alone with her bridesmaids, they started to help her get dressed. Jubilee smiled as they began buttoning her dress up, "I gotta admit, doll. I always thought Warren was-"
"Shut up, Jubes!" said Kitty as she smacked her friend on the arm.
"What? It's OK! Obviously he's not. They're about to walk down the aisle."
Marie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "What are you talking about?"
"Well...a lot of us thought that Warren was...a little...gay."
Marie shook her head and sighed, "That's a rumor."
"I know! Especially now that he's marrying the hottest chick I know. I'm so happy for you, doll", said Kitty as she gave her a hug.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Logan poked his head in, "Uh...the photographer wants the bridesmaids."
"Oh, right. Marie, you're gonna be alright?"
She nodded and smiled at her friends before they filed out of the room. Logan stepped inside as they left. He was wearing the three piece suit Marie had picked out for him and he looked devastatingly handsome.
He'd even carefully trimmed his muttonchops and gotten a hair cut.
Marie smiled, "You look...you look really amazing."
Logan nodded and sighed, "Thanks, kid...you look beautiful."
"Logan-"
He held up a hand to stop her, "Just leave it alone, kid. You said you can't explain anything to me, so just leave it alone." She started to sniffle, but he stepped forward and took her face in his hand, "Come on. Don't do that...you're gonna mess up your make up..."
Marie let out a deep breath and looked up into his eyes, "I love you."
Logan closed his eyes and stayed silent for several moments before looked back into her eyes, "I can't do this..."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't stand there and watch you marry Warren. I can't pretend I'm happy about this or support this wedding."
Marie looked down and bit her lip to keep from crying, "I thought you said you could never be mad at me."
"I can't...and I'm not. It's just too much to ask me to watch you marry another man."
She nodded, "I understand...will you come back?"
"I dunno, kid. I think a broken heart is the one thing the big bad Wolverine can't heal from", he said with a smile that quickly faded. He took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly.
Warren was listening intently from the other side of the door, but quickly vacated the hallway when he realized that Logan was preparing to make his exit.
When it came time for her to walk down the aisle, Jubilee and Kitty asked what happened to Logan. Marie came up with a generic excuse that involved him having some sort of urgent issue concerning his forgotten past.
Despite how sad she was, she was able to pull it together to put a smile on so that she could walk down the aisle without incident.
Warren looked more nervous and hesitant than anyone else as she arrived at the end of the aisle, but Marie was too busy with her own inner turmoil to realize how uneasy he looked.
When the minister asked the guests to "speak now or forever hold their peace", Warren let out a breath and shook his head.
Marie furrowed her eyebrows as her husband-to-be released her hands and lowered his head. She whispered, "Warren...what are you doing?"
"I'm sorry. I have to..." He turned to the crowd, "Everyone...I have an announcement to make...I can't marry Marie today...or ever, for that matter. It wouldn't be fair to her...and I couldn't call myself much of a friend if I did force her into this sham of a marriage."
She lowered her head, "Warren..."
"No Marie. I know about you and Logan."
Her eyes widened as murmurs and gasps swept over the crowd. Warren turned fully to them, "It's true. My bride is in love with another man...but it's not her fault. Marie has been deprived of affection and true partnership throughout our entire so-called relationship. This engagement...this wedding is all a sham."
Another round of gasps and murmurs swept through the crowd. Warren's parents looked extremely disturbed and confused.
Warren looked down, then back up at the crowd, "The truth is...I'm gay." He gave time for the obvious shocked reactions to die down before he continued, "...and Marie is a good friend. I know my parents...and bless you guys, but you had a hard enough time accepting me as a mutant...I doubt you'd be able to accept me as a gay mutant. The truth is, I want to follow in my father's footsteps and run the company. I knew that would never happened if you found out that I was gay..."
Jubilee shook her head, "I knew you were gay! Marie! Why the hell did you go along with this?"
She looked at her friends and the gathered faces, "I didn't learn how to control my powers on my own...Warren has been supplying me with an experimental suppression serum he gets from Worthington Labs for almost three years now. We made a deal. When his parents started asking him questions about his love life...I'd become his cover. In exchange, I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally killing someone by brushing up against them in the grocery store."
"I heard her today...talking to the man she loved...the man she was willing to let go of because of the promise she made to me...and her desperation to be able to touch without fear of harming someone. I should have never used that against her...or forced her to give up on the man she loved."
Marie shook her head, "Warren, it's OK."
"Now it is." He turned to the gathered guests, "I'm a mutant...and I'm gay. I know that this combined confession will likely lock me out of a company that I'm more than qualified to run...but it's alright. I am who I am, and I'm glad I don't have to hide it anymore."
His parents looked shell shocked while the rest of the guests talked amongst themselves. Marie sighed, "I'm proud of you."
He smiled and kissed her hand, "I'm sorry...but hopefully I'm not too late."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise, "What do you mean?"
"Go get him."
Marie quickly kissed his cheek before gathering her dress up and running back down the aisle. When she reached Logan's room, she found only his suit laying on the bed.
She rushed down to the garage and found him straddling his bike with his bag strapped to the back of it.
When he saw her, he hopped off his bike, "Kid...what the hell?"
"OK, I have three things to tell you. One- I was never in love with Warren. Two- He's gay, and in exchange for covering for him, he supplied me with suppression drugs to keep my mutation at bay."
Logan's eyes widened at the sudden onslaught of information. He slowly gathered his thoughts and smiled at the realization that Marie had a motive outside of love for being with Warren...and that he was gay and had never touched his Marie.
"What's three?"
She smiled, "I love you...and I am so sorry for not telling you...but I gave my word."
Logan grabbed her and kissed her lovingly on the lips. When the kiss drew to a close, he smiled down at her, "You're my one, kid."
Marie smiled back, "I know."
He leaned down to kiss her again, but he stopped and gave her a thoughtful look, "You think that minister can stick around to perform another ceremony?"
She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'm sure he could be convinced..."
******************EPILOGUE****************
Marie and Logan were married moments moments after she and Warren's wedding was supposed to take place, with the groom wearing flannel and jeans...just as he wanted it.
After Warren came out in such a public way, his parents were forced to accept him, for fear that appearing anti-mutant or homophobic would damage their reputation and their company. They allowed him to keep his place in the company, and Marie was able to continue to get her fresh supply of suppression serum delivered to her on a weekly basis.
Eventually, the serum was approved by the FDA for public use, which opened up an entirely new can of worms for the X Men...
The End!
Review please!