[The Goodbye]
Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters
Back at camp, Logan built up the fire until the flames licked up against the sky as twilight fell in golden tones of plum and blush.
Marie boiled water in their little pot and poured it into the foil packets of yuppie food that were surprisingly satisfying after their emotional afternoon; a loaf of crusty bread dipped into the hearty stew. Logan made coffee and they shared a bag of peanut brittle between them as the stars began to appear overhead, a glittering spray across the sky like crystals on an evening gown.
Logan's knee bumped hers. "Penny for 'em, darlin'."
She sighed softly. "I was thinking that they never had a proper goodbye. Not just Scott and Jean, but all the souls who were lost here."
"You think we should say a few words or somethin'?"
"I don't know. Neither one of us are really the speech-giving type, sugar... but it seems wrong to not mark their passing in some way. Tibet is strong in me, but Mississippi will always be in my soul. A good sendoff is part of the ride."
"Hmm."
"Hmm?"
"We can do that."
"What? Leave a marker or something?"
"Nah. Nothin' so permanent. This place'll just swallow up anythin' we leave behind. I was thinkin'..."
When he hesitated, Marie nudged herself into his side more firmly and put her head on his shoulder. "Tell me."
"In Japan, they have a lantern ceremony. Part of it is returnin' to your ancestral home. Lanterns made of silk or rice paper are lit and floated on the water to guide the dead to their rest. There's celebratin'. Laughter and tears. Food's part of it too; shared with the livin' and the dead. As the lanterns drift away, so do the spirits."
"That sounds beautiful."
"It is."
"Have you ever lit a lantern for your family?"
"Every year." Silk for his daughter. Mariko always liked the rice paper ones the best.
"I'm so glad you can do that for them. And for yourself, too."
He squeezed her gently. "Fireworks are sometime shot off at the end to scare away any evil spirits."
"Well, I don't have a lantern, but I think I can manage the fireworks," she said with a wry smile.
"I think I can swing the rest if you wanna."
Her hand tightened on his. "I do."
Logan got up and used wood from the pile he'd gathered and rope from his pack. He lashed together a small bundle of thick branches into a rough square and filled it with mossy tinder and smaller twigs. It resembled a small funeral pyre - and, Logan thought with an inward twinge, that's exactly what it was.
He carried it to the shore and held out his hand for Marie to join him.
"Can you make me a block of ice to set this on?"
She nodded. "How big?"
"'Bout a meter square and maybe half a meter thick?"
"Comin' up." She dipped her fingers into the icy water and crystals spread out from the ripple, forming a beautiful frosted block. As the lake water lapped over it, it became translucent and sparkly. Logan set the wood on top and reached for his lighter. Marie put her hand on his arm. "Let me?"
His eyebrow went up.
"We lost Pyro here too." Not in the same way they'd lost Jean and Scott, but gone all the same. He should be represented as well.
She reached for his gift and took the flame from the lighter in Logan's thick fingers. It bloomed above her fingers, flickering brightly in the darkness. The moss smoked for a moment and then caught. Inside, she felt John's keen interest as the flame sputtered and then steadied, growing brighter until it began to reflect off the glassy water.
They stood and Logan pushed their makeshift lantern out into the water. Marie nudged it with Bobby's gift so it would drift toward the center of the lake rather than back to the shore.
Neither of them said a word. They watched the fire slowly grow more intense as it burned beyond the tinder to the wood and rope. It danced on the water, a beautiful shimmering glow of orange and gold.
Logan slipped a piece of peanut brittle into her hand. It wasn't the traditional offering of rice, but it was the best they had and Jean had always had a bit of a sweet tooth. He took a bite of the piece in his hand and cast the rest out into the water. Marie did the same.
They shared a salty-sweet kiss. The tip of his nose was cold against her cheek. He tucked her into his side as they watched the glow begin to recede.
"Do you think they're at peace now?" That's what he'd always hoped for himself in the end. Now that he had Marie, he hoped for as much time as their unique gifts would allow, but he wanted that for them both. Someday, a long time from now.
"Maybe. But I'm not sure peace is the ultimate goal, sugar."
"No?" He wasn't sure he could imagine anything better than sinking into that peace with Marie after a long, wild ride.
"I think maybe it's just learning how to walk a good road."
His teeth flashed in the darkness. Her flame was so bright. Even the end wouldn't stop her. She'd fight on in that next place, pushing out ahead to light the way for those who came after.
Across the lake, the glow faded and winked out.
"Now, kid."
She closed her eyes and reached for Jubilee's gift. It always felt so good to let that power crackle and flow. Like a hug from across the distance, warm and bright. She laughed in spite of herself as Jubilee's brand of fireworks lit up the night, chasing away the spirits lurking in the shadows as they left glittering trails in the sky.
How like Jubes to outshine the stars.
~ooOoo~
So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters
Logan parked a shivering Marie by the fire before piling it high with wood. When he was finished, he leaned in for a kiss and she laughed into his mouth.
"What?"
"Is that adamantium in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"
He chuckled, pulling the gleaming piece of metal from his breast pocket.
"Both."
The slender cylinder with a shallow curve was slightly phallic in appearance. She giggled softly as held it out in front of his hips suggestively, waggling it at her with a glow of prurient amusement in his eyes. The play of adults. They both enjoyed it.
"Impressive."
He rolled his eyes.
"I'd cry if my dick was only this big." His smile got bigger. "And so would you."
That time her laughter was belly deep. It rang out into the night and carried over the still water.
"Look on the bright side... it'd be the hardest hardon ever, right? Never going soft at the wrong moment..."
"Mmph." He snorted. "I've never had any problems in that department, darlin'."
Marie snickered. "I know. You've got the libido of a horny teenage boy, sugar, and a body that can keep up with your every dirty thought." Her eyes were warm. "I'm a lucky girl."
"Heh." They were both lucky. He stroked the small pseudo-penis casually. "You ain't wrong though. This is the kind of hardon even Aunt Bee couldn't kill." It was more an internal musing that escaped without thought than a comment specifically aimed at her.
"What?" Her head tilted and she was surprised when the glow of the flames revealed a touch of heat in his cheeks that didn't have a damn thing to do with the fire.
"Nothin'."
"Uh-huh. Not nothin'. Aunt Bee, sugar?" Her eyes were dancing. They were both enjoying the moment of levity after the emotional catharsis of saying goodbye. "Don't make me tickle it outta you."
"You're a menace, kid." She was still looking at him expectantly. He knew she wouldn't press if he really didn't want to share but in this case, he didn't mind too much. "Aunt Bee, y'know? From Andy Griffith? Crusty old battle-axe with a face like a prune?"
"I know who she is, sunshine. Just because I talk with a drawl doesn't mean I think with one, too." Her laughter joined the amusement rumbling in his chest.
"Heh. Well, that's what I think about when I'm tryin' to make it go down if I get hard at the wrong time. It don't happen too often, but sometimes my body and my brain ain't on the same page."
She was utterly charmed by his answer and by the intimate look he'd given her into his head. "Aunt Bee? Really? And that works?"
"Oh yeah."
"That's hilarious." And too adorable for words, but she didn't say so aloud. He was a proud man and she'd teased him enough. She caught his hand in hers. "Thank you for sharing that with me."
He just shrugged.
Marie smiled at him, holding his eyes while she reached out and stroked the smooth metal purposefully. Suggestively. She wet her big soft lips and left them parted in a way that made the real thing tucked away behind his zipper sit up and take notice.
"Hold that thought, huh?" He pressed the adamantium into her hand and wrapped her fingers around it like he'd done with his tag once, long ago. They both smiled.
"Logan?"
"We need more wood if we want the fire to last the night, baby. I'll be back soon."
"You want help?"
"No. I wantcha to get warm by the fire."
"That's sweet."
"No it ain't. I just don't wanna feel your icy feet on me when we go to bed," he teased.
Marie used Bobby's gift to hurl a snowball at his retreating back. It scored a direct hit and she heard his chuckle roll over the crisp snow. "That's your one free shot, kid. After that, it's on," he called over his shoulder, brushing the snow from his back.
He heard her quiet laughter as he disappeared into the trees in search of some heavy fallen branches that would burn slow enough to last until morning.
She pulled the piece of fallen log she was using for a seat closer to the fire and shivered as the dry heat made her face feel crackly. Her boots were close enough to the fire now to feel the warmth through the soles. She sighed in contentment and stroked the sleek metal with her thumb.
It was strange to think that this was the same metal that coated Logan's bones and sprung from his hands. It didn't have the same luster as his claws. She could feel Erik's gift stirring within her and she wondered why he'd never hurt Logan as badly as he probably could have. He'd flung Logan around, lifted him and controlled him, even spread his claws apart, but he'd never bent the metal itself. Why had he never crumpled Logan into a ball, like a discarded piece of aluminum foil? Had he hoped to find an ally in Logan someday or had he only been able to move the remarkable metal, not manipulate it? Erik was unhelpful, silent when she looked inward. Typical. He was mercurial on a good day.
Marie reached for Erik's gift and the metal lifted to hover above her upturned palm. It felt different than when she touched other metal with his powers. Adamantium was supposed to be indestructible once it had cooled. She wondered if she could change its shape. Manipulation was different than destruction, surely.
It spun above her hand, turning slowly in the light of the fire. Gathering his gift closer, she looked deeper, beyond the surface to individual molecules of adamantium underneath and she pushed. Hard.
The metal remained smooth and unchanged, still suspended and spinning slowly.
She tried again, focusing on the molecular bonds themselves, on the electrons that held the metal together at the subatomic level. It gave her a headache, but she concentrated and pushed again.
Marie was delighted when the metal finally shifted. She pushed harder, trying to reform it into a different shape. The amorphous blob that resulted didn't resemble the star she'd been trying for. Using the same techniques to calm her mind that she did when she meditated, she reached again and this time the metal responded, reforming into a smooth sphere.
Her elation was quiet. It took a lot of concentration to keep the metal fluid and movable. Sweat beaded her forehead. The metal spun, rippling and shifting. The sphere changed into a cube and then a tetrahedron. She kept pushing, trying for more and more complex shapes.
A five pointed star became a six pointed star and then it fell in on itself to become a sphere again. Her face grew pensive. The Blackbird appeared. Scott. A feather. Jean. A chess piece. Charles.
She thought of Logan and it became a heart. A wolverine followed. A smile touched her face. It took two tries for it to become a perfectly rendered origami crane. She even managed to make the wings flutter.
It coalesced back into a sphere that split to form two perfect rings. The unconscious wish of her heart, perhaps.
Logan stood silently behind her, the pile of wood in his arms forgotten as he watched the metal above Marie's palm reveal a train of thought that was clearly private.
A heart. Love.
A wolverine. Him.
The meaning of the rest as clear as if she'd given him the words.
A beautiful warmth flared to life inside him. Once those images would have scared him. Now they made his heart glow. He wondered if she was aware of what she was doing or if it was subconscious, like doodling in a notebook. The Marie version of thinking aloud.
He cleared his throat.
She didn't hear him and he imagined it must take an incredible amount of concentration to shift indestructible metal.
He walked into her view and added the wood to the pile beside the fire before brushing off his arms to give her moment to compose herself in case she needed it. He was aware he'd intruded on a very private moment, one she might not be ready to share.
When he looked again, the rings were gone. She'd reformed the metal into the shape of a Zippo lighter, something he could easily carry in his pocket. Hidden in plain sight. He smiled. That would do. For now. His eyes flicked up to her face and the smile faded. His brows drew together in concern.
"You're bleedin', darlin'."
"What?" Wide green eyes blinked at him in confusion.
She seemed a little out of it.
"Blood. Your nose is bleedin'."
Marie put a hand to her face and realized she could feel a trickle of blood from her nose to her chin. When she looked down, she could see several drops in the snow by her feet. It had been bleeding a while and she'd been too focused to notice.
"Oh. Crap."
"Gimme that." He took the adamantium lighter from her fingertips and shoved it in his pocket, wanting it out of her reach. The blood was unsettling him. It wasn't much, but he thought it probably took a hell of a lot to make an invulnerable girl bleed. "You okay?" He tore a strip off his flannel shirt and held it to her face.
"I think so. I'm just- just tired. I didn't realize how much energy that was taking." She winced as she took the scrap from him and wiped her chin before applying more pressure to her nose.
"Head hurt?"
"Yeah, but I can feel you in there healing me. Just slower than usual. Probably because of the flight earlier." She'd overtaxed the system. She almost never flew like that, but she'd wanted to impress him. To show him what she could really do. "I'll be fine. I just need to rest some. Look, it's already stopping." She was right. The steady trickle had slowed.
"Good."
Logan wet a clean piece of the cloth with snow melted from his fingers and gently cleaned the blood from her face.
"Let's getcha into bed, baby." That she didn't protest told him she was probably hurting worse than she let on.
He got her settled and came back to build up the fire one last time.
Not much rattled him, but this place could and did.
He would not allow the darkness here to touch his mate.
Up next: The Tent. Though the new lovers have been together for weeks, they've never shared a night quite like this one….