AN: I don't own Logan (Damn It!) Or any of the other characters. This also does NOT follow Last Stand or any of the other later films, Just One and Two. Also the beginning of this chapter seems like just whats in the movies, but it does have original stuff. So keep reading.
Chapter One
It all started one night in a bar. She walked into a bar with no direction or future, she was just fulfilling her dream of travel and adventure. When she was in her bedroom planning out her path, she never imagined it would be so... lackluster. She was on the road like she always wanted. But as most things in life, it was better in her imagination. She was thoroughly disappointed at how much the truth of reality fell short, in comparison, of her teenage fantasies.
She sighed as she heaved open the door. Her mama always said when a door is slammed in your face, there's bound to be another door that will lead you to the place you're meant to go. Of course she never thought her mama would be the one to slam the door in her face, but she supposed that was life for you.
As she stepped into the smoky atmosphere she waited for eyes to adjust to the dimly lit bar. Around her men were drinking and cheering and the women were watching with interest at something in the middle of the bar. Marie looked to see what was holding everyone's interest. She started a bit as she saw a man being dragged out of a cage seemingly unconscious. As she looked into the cage her heart almost stopped before beginning to flutter dangerously fast. She stared at what she thought was the sexist backside she'd ever seen. A shirtless man in the tightest jeans, so tight it looked like he was sewn into them. She swallowed roughly as the man tossed back a drink before readying himself to take on his next opponent.
She watched in shock as the mans opponent kicked him as his back was turned and punched him twice sending him to the ground. The large bald man then kicked the man in the ribs twice before backing up just enough to throw another punch. As the bald man was within hitting range the man punched his fist into the bald mans hand and he yowled in pain. The man stood up and Marie decided that the man was just as good looking on the front side as he was the back. Even if he was snarling. He had muttonchops and dark hair that came to two points. He also had the most magnificent chest she'd ever seen. It was perfectly sculpted as was the rest of him. She watched as he then punched the bald man in the face sending him flying into the edge of the cage. Then whipped his head at the bald man knocking him flat on his back. The man rolled his neck and twisted his head. "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's winner and still king of the cage: The Wolverine!" When the fight was over he went to the spot she'd first seen him in and grabbed his drink.
Marie made her way to the bar when things settled down and the bar seemed still. One man was sweeping up the cage, another asleep on a couch. A man and woman counted the money from the fight, and as she sat down the bartender looked at her while drying a glass. "Want something new honey, or are you sticking with water?" He moved the tip jar away from her. He was obviously thinking she might just stick her hand in and take from it. She was slightly amused as she read the words on the jar. 'Tipping is not a city in China.' She might have smiled if she wasn't so hungry and uncomfortable.
Marie looked down but noticed 'the Wolverine' walk up to the bar and take a seat out of the corner of her eye. "I'll have a beer." Their eyes made contact as he dug into his pockets to get some money to pay for his beer. Up close she could make out that his eyes were mostly gold with some green in them. As the TV started reporting the news she couldn't help it as her eyes strayed once again over to the Wolverine as he smoked his cigar. She continued to stare as the bald man came up to him tapping on the Wolverines shoulder from behind.
"You owe me some money."
His friend spoke up. "Come on Stu, lets not do this."
Stu didn't seem to care as he continued. "No man takes a beating like that without a mark to show for it." Wolverine ignored him and continued to smoke undeterred.
"Come on, buddy. This isn't going to be worth it." Stu's friend tried again.
Stu then leaned close and whispered to Wolverine. "I know what you are."
Wolverine turned his head and spoke to Stu. "You lost your money. You keep this up, you'll lose something else."
"Come on, buddy." For the third time Stu's friend tried to pull him away. Stu almost turned away before taking out a knife and turning towards Wolverine.
"Look out!" Marie screamed as Stu lunged to stab Wolverine. Wolverine dodged the attack and threw Stu against a wall as two long metal blades came out from between his knuckles towards Stu's throat, a third coming from the middle close to Stu's Adams apple. Marie swallowed as the tension in the room intensified. She thought to herself that it must hurt like hell when those came out. She waited for something to happen, and it didn't take long as she heard the shotgun being cocked by the bartender. As Wolverine turned his head the end of the shotgun was so close it was in his hair.
"Get out of my bar freak." Everyone in the place looked to see what Wolverine was going to do. In a move that she would have missed if she bothered to blink, the shotgun was cut in two. Wolverine growled at the bartender, his other hand still at Stu's throat. He looked from Stu to the bartender and retracted his claws. As he was walking out Marie looked around before grabbing her bag and following him at a distance.
Marie watched him walk to his truck/camper and quietly climbed into the trailer at the back. She didn't know why, but it seemed like the best option. At least she knew he wouldn't hurt her for being a mutant. Beyond that she just had a feeling about him. She sure as hell as attracted to this man, but she felt like she could trust him. It was the strangest feeling, but she threw caution to the wind and decided to hope for the best. As it turns out it was the smartest thing she ever did, even if she didn't know it at the time.
.: After Liberty Island :.
Marie really tried to get used to the mansion, she really did, but the only person she felt completely at home with was Logan. He never made her feel like a pariah. Never flinched away from her like others did after the whole nightmare incident. When she sent him to the med bay after he stuck his claws into her chest, and she used her 'gift' to heal herself. The people in the mansion were kind to her, but she bonded with Logan on a deep level. She was making an effort to fit in when she spotted Logan heading for the front doors. She excused herself and followed him. She stopped him with a simple. "Hey." She watched him turn slightly towards her. "You running again?" She hoped she was wrong, but having seen his memories she knew he didn't stay in one place to long. Her heart ached at the thought of him leaving but she knew it was his nature.
"No, not really. I have some things to take care of up north." Marie let out the breath she was holding. He ran a finger through the new white streak in her hair.
"I kinda like it." She smiled. He looked down and she decided to voice her thoughts. "I don't want you to go." She didn't want to be without him. No one ever made her feel as safe as she did with Logan. He was her security blanket and if he left, she would be bare. She was never this needy before but now... Now she would have to try to live without him there to catch her. It was like an acrobat doing a stunt without a net for the first time.
Logan reached around his neck and took off his dog tags. He gently dropped them into her hand closing her fist around the metal. He looked into her eyes as he told her... "I'll be back for this." She watched him exit the door and smiled softly. He promised to come back, and she knew he kept his word. Even if he still saw her as a kid, he still cared about her more than anyone she had seen in his memories. Add to that the fact he promised to take care of her and that would have to be enough until he came back.
.: After Alkali Lake :.
Marie watched as he drowned the sorrow of losing Jean in whiskey. He didn't stay drunk for long because of his mutation. He didn't show it to most of the residents of the mansion, especially the kids, but she had seen it. For the first months she couldn't scold him. If she had lost Logan she would have wanted to crawl into a bottle too. Same for the next months after that. Even though he could heal from whatever damage came his way from drinking, it still wasn't healthy and she felt she had to do something. One night she heard him come in, staggering a bit and dropping his keys as he moved to open his door. She waited until he was inside his room before knocking quietly. She heard him growl, then opening the door. She tried to keep her mouth from dropping. There in front of her eyes was a half naked Logan. His snarl seemed to melt away as he realized it was her and not someone else coming to bug him. 'Guess his sense of smell doesn't work so well when he's drunk.' She felt the heat run to her face and down low. She cleared her throat bringing her eyes back to his. "Can I come in? I need to talk to you about something." She was glad she could at least get that out without stammering.
He moved to the side and opened his door so she could come in. He sat on the edge of his bed and grabbed the bottle of whiskey taking a long drink of it. "What's on your mind Kid?"
Marie sighed and pointed to the bottle. "That."
"Sorry Kid, but you ain't legal yet." She rolled her eyes and reached over and took it from his hands. He snarled and tried to snatch it back from her. "Damn it, Kid. I'm not in the mood for this." He attempted to take it back from her again, but in his present state she was too quick.
"Logan, you need to stop doing this. Don't you care about anyone except yourself?" Her question seemed to catch him off guard. If anyone else had said that to him he probably would have taking their head off, but this was Marie.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?! What the hell do you know about loss Little Girl?!" He yelled, his temper flaring. He glared openly at Marie as he waited for her to explain.
"Lets see, what could I possibly mean? Lets start with... never once have you yelled at me before. Then there's the fact that you aren't the only person who lost her. You think that just because you were in love with her that others don't mourn her as well. The Professor, for example, loved her like a daughter. Yet you don't see him drowning his sorrows, do you?" He lowered his head as her words registered on some level. "Then there's me." He looked at her in surprise. "You think I like seeing you like this? Don't you think maybe I might need to talk to you, but I can't because you're to wrapped up in drinking your pain away?" She ran a hand through her hair and felt her eyes tear up a bit. "If you want to act like an ass it's on you, but if that's the way it's gonna be then maybe you should do it elsewhere, like Scott does. Because I don't want to watch you slowly kill yourself." She stood and put the bottle on his nightstand. She walked to the door and chanced a look at him. "Whatever you decide, I'll be here when you come to your senses."
She left the room and made it to her own shutting the door and falling against it. A few tears leaked out no matter how much she tried to keep them from falling. She hadn't been lying when she said she had needed to talk to him. A few months back Bobby had broken up with her, and then only a week later he was dating Kitty. She knew she wasn't in love with him. She was sure he guessed she was in love with Logan, and while that was true it still hurt. And the fact that he only waited a week to ask out Kitty, was rubbing salt into the wound. Kitty had come to her before accepting his request for a date to make sure it was okay. She had given her blessing. As she watched them hug, kiss and even hold hands it made her feel miserable. Those were things she would probably never have. Virginal Marie with the poison skin. It made depressed beyond belief that she would never have the things other people took for granted. When she was a little girl she always thought when she grew up that she would have a handsome husband who adored her and 2 or 3 kids and a white picket fence and everything. That all changed when she kissed for the first time and nearly killed her first real boyfriend. She often wondered what she had done to deserve this punishment. She wiped the stray tears from her face and pushed off the door. She went to her dresser and took out her pajamas and went into the bathroom and changed, brushed her teeth, brushed her hair before glaring at her reflection. She turned off the light and crawled in between her sheets. As she was drifting off to sleep she wondered if Logan would still be here in the morning.
.: The Next Morning :.
Marie woke the next morning with a pit in her stomach. It came back to her what had happened the night before, and she had a suspicion Logan was already gone. She tried to push those thoughts away as she dressed for class. She chose a long sleeve green shirt with a v-neck and some black pants. She completed the look with matching gloves and a pair of black boots. She pulled her hair into a ponytail the streaks framing her face. To top it off she put on a little mascara and some pink gloss. She looked at her reflection and sighed. "I hate you." She made her way to class when she heard a commotion and saw a herd of students watching something. She tried to cut in and see what was happening. She put her glove hand on Jubilees shoulder. "Hey what's going on?"
Jubilee's eyes widened. "You never told Logan you and Bobby broke it off chicka?" Her gum smacking as she spoke as usual.
"What do y..." Suddenly she heard Logan growl loudly.
"If you think I won't hurt you, you got another thing comin'!" He was furious, she could tell. She made her way through the crowd, even though they parted once they saw her so they could see what happened next. Logan was close to popping out his claws when she put her hand on his arm to stop him. Bobby however looked relieved that she was gonna rescue him from an angry Logan.
"Logan, it's not what you think." She tried to calm him, but he was too busy glaring at Bobby who was holding a terrified Kitty behind him. "Logan." She tried to get him to look at her. When he still didn't she moved in front of Bobby and forced him to look at her.
"You're protecting this asshole after he's been cheatin' on you?!" Marie was right he was furious, she was surprised the Wolverine hadn't come out yet. God help them if that happened. "You're better than that!" He went to move her aside but she didn't budge.
"Logan, Bobby and I broke up about 2 months ago." Logan looked at her his anger waning. He looked at Bobby then Kitty then back to Marie. "Why didn't ya tell me Kid?" He looked at her expectantly maybe a little bit of hurt in his eyes.
Marie looked at the crowd and sighed. "Alright everyone shows over, no ones getting skewered." There was a deafening chorus of disapproval's as the crowd broke up and went to their breakfast. Marie took Logan's hand and dragged him out to the bench by the garden. She motioned for him to sit and took a deep breath before starting. "I tried to tell you but you were always too drunk. I told you last night that there were things I needed to talk to you about." She sat down next to him.
"Kid...Marie, I was never that drunk." Logan tried, but Marie let out a hollow laugh.
"Logan, if you weren't drunk you would have noticed the obvious PDA they have been engaging in for the past month and a half." He looked at her an eyebrow raised.
"What the fuck is PDA?" He was honestly confused and Marie almost laughed.
"PDA is public display of affection." She watched as he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"And how do you feel about all of this? 'Bout him and her being together?" He watched her carefully as she thought about it.
"I'm mostly okay with it." He lifted his eyebrow again studying her carefully.
"Mostly?" He pushed.
"I know I was never in love with Bobby no matter how hard I tried to be. The part of him being with someone else is the okay part." She paused looking anywhere but him as her hands wrung in her lap.
"So what's the not okay part?" Logan put his hand on top of hers so she would look at him.
Marie took a long deep breath. "The not so okay part is that I'm jealous of the fact I'll never be able to have that sort of relationship." She looked away from him and down at their hands.
"And what kinda relationship is that exactly?" He lifted her chin to look at him.
Marie searched his eyes. "Any of it really. The hugging, kissing, hell even holding hands. Not to mention the other things behind closed doors. I'll never have any of that." She felt like crying saying it out loud for the first time. "And don't you dare say I'll have it one day cause we both know I won't. I'll be untouchable for the rest of my life. I'll never even have..." Her throat closed and a tear fell down her cheek.
He sighed and wiped the tear away. "You'll never even have...?" He knew it was important what she was gonna say.
Marie shook her head and stood. "It doesn't matter, just add it to the list of things I'll never have."
Logan took a hold of her hand and tugged her back down. "Marie, you will learn control one day. You can't give up, you ain't a quitter."
Marie looked at him with such sadness and hopelessness that he flinched. "Logan, the Professor has been trying to help me get control for over 2 years now and I haven't learned a damn thing. I have to face the fact that it's just not going to happen. It hurts too much to hold out hope when it's impossible."
A fresh tear ran down her cheek and he caught it with his thumb. "Marie, ain't nothin' impossible when it comes to you. Just hold out hope for a little longer." He turned her face to him before her mutation tugged. "For me?"
She let out a long sigh. "I want to but..."
He shook his head. "You say it hurts too much to hold out hope, but if you quit then you're still hurtin'. Only difference is if you keep tryin' then one day you won't hurt anymore." She thought about what he said and he was right. It was the better of the two options. Still she didn't see anything changing anytime soon.
"I'll try, for you." She bit her bottom lip in thought, "I hate it when you do that you know." She smiled slightly as his eyebrow raised up. A move she always found sexy as hell. Everything he did was sexy as hell, it wasn't fair.
At her smile the corners of his mouth lifted a fraction. "And what would that be?"
"Getting me to agree with you by using logic." He let out a chuckle. Then he got an evil look and she immediately tried to get away. He grabbed her sides and began tickling her mercilessly. She fell to the ground in fits of laughter. "Logan... I... Can't... Breathe!" Logan chuckled down at her and let go of her sides allowing her to breathe again. She was on her back in the grass and he was leaning over her. She was still breathing heavy. She could have sworn she saw him glance at her chest for a moment as it rose and fell heavily. Oh how she wished he would kiss her, but he got up and offered her his hand to help her up. She took it and was reminded of the number one thing she would never have. She would never feel Logan's lips against hers.
