Waking up was a slow process for Marie; she climbed leisurely out of her dream, her body waking up about two minutes before her mind registered the fact that her head felt like it was cleft in two. She groaned and tried to move, her eyes still swollen shut.

A heavy weight held her down, and a husky voice growled insensibly in her ear. She couldn't sit up, she hurt all over, she began to panic as flashbacks of The Experiment flickered through her mind. An image of Mystique as the blue bitch locked her down on the table, grinning at the hatred in Marie's brown glare.

Torn between sleep and panic, she opened her eyes, her mouth dropping open and her heart lurching as she registered the fact that she was safe, she was okay, and she was the acting pillow of a fast-asleep Logan.

She was flat on her back and he was wrapped around her like a vine, one arm draped over her ribcage, just below the swell of her breasts, the other tucked above his head. His left leg rested intimately across her lower hip and his head was tucked into the crook of her neck, his breath warm and steady against the sensitive skin along her throat. And she thought the dream about camels munching on her ear and breathing down her neck had been random.

"Logan?" she whispered, and then grimaced; the inside of her mouth felt like sandpaper. Jesus, how much had she drank? More importantly, what the hell had she said to him that got him to agree to this?

Marie cleared her throat and tried again. "Logan? Can you…uhhhh…" she trailed off as he snuggled impossibly closer, sleepily thrusting his hips against her. Now she froze, her blood running like ice through her veins as she registered a hardness pressed up against her hip. She had never woken up next to someone before, and only half-heartedly paid attention to Jubilee when she was off on a rant about the male anatomy, but she knew what it was. What had Jubilee called it? Morning wood?

Marie growled. "Damn." All the times she had fantasized about this very thing, and she had to pee horribly. And brush her teeth. And shower. Staying in bed was not an option. Ten minutes and another lazy thrust later, she managed to extricate herself from his embrace without waking him. She stood over Logan for a moment, marveling at how easy he slept, and how comfortable he looked in her bed. It was a far cry from the first time she stood at his bedside, hesitant about waking him but drawn by his nightmare-induced cries. That evening hadn't ended well at all…

She staggered into the bathroom. Her head was overwhelmed from the feel of his body against her, and her stomach overwhelmed from the amount of whiskey she had consumed last night.

She brushed her teeth, emptied her bladder, and stripped out of her sweater and leggings, turning the shower up as hot as it would go. Stepping into the spray she hissed but didn't shy away. She stood there, still as a statue, hands braced against the cheap plastic shower stall.

Waking up wrapped around Logan was more intimate than anything she had ever experienced before in her life. Kissing Bobby, playing footsie with David, was absolutely nothing compared to the mindless contentment she felt in Logan's arms. For the first time since she was rescued, she began to see the advantages of being normal; began to actually consider the idea that there were some people she'd be very very comfortable touching…as much as she possibly could-

"Fuck, fuck, fuck."

Sure she loved him, it was as natural as breathing. He had almost died to protect her- NUMEROUS times; of course he held a piece of her heart. But it wasn't always drama and danger and unrequited love between them; they used to take long walks together and linger over coffee in the kitchen. Usually she would chatter and he would listen in that brooding, glowering way of his but every now and then she got him to talk. About coming to terms with his past, about being alone, about losing Jean.

Then Jean was resurrected as the Phoenix. Old behaviors started resurfacing. Marie had been flustered, unsure of her rank in Logan's life. Even though she was an adult by all standards, she still felt like a child next to Jean Grey. Jean, for her part, gave Logan the cold shoulder; she had made her decision and it was not the Wolverine. And as hard as he tried to pretend he wasn't upset by the rebuke, Marie had the bit of him in her head that knew better.

She was hurt but she wasn't surprised when he chose the road over the comfortable life of teaching at the Institute. Marie had always been aware of the possibility that there would come a time when he'd fade from her life and become a part of her past, and she'd gotten used to the idea that that time had come. When he left again, she realized that she could no longer rely on him; just like Jean he had made his choice and it didn't include her.

She'd been through tough times before, difficult missions that sometimes failed, more than once she had ended up in the MedLab with injuries, and he hadn't come back then. She was so used to not having him around. She wasn't kidding when she had said she missed him, but a small, bitter part of her wished he hadn't come back. She could shrug off her feelings for him as a child's infatuation if he was a memory. It was quite another thing when she woke up in the arms of the flesh and blood man.

Her stomach sank as she realized that if she let him back into her heart, she wasn't sure she'd be able to watch him leave again. And he would leave, he always did. She wasn't enough for him to want to settle down-

She twisted the water off and savagely toweled herself dry. Pondering, philosophizing, pining was not going to get her anywhere.

She yanked on a pair of gray sweatpants, a sports bra, and a black racer back camisole. She needed to clear her thoughts. She took a clean towel and marched outside the cottage. She picked a level piece of earth underneath a towering pine and spread the towel on the ground.

Kitty had turned her onto yoga a year ago, and Marie had latched on with a surprising enthusiasm. It helped her focus her mind as well as maintain a grip on the thoughts of people she had absorbed.

She started her standard warm-up. Centering into herself, she began her Ujjayi breathing, moving into her easy Asanas when she felt ready. Powered by the victorious breath and warm muscles, she moved fluidly from the standard Sun Salutation to moderately difficult leg raises, the Plough, various Bridges, and was halfway into the standing Downward Dog Pose when she felt his presence. He was intruding on her inner center, almost vibrating around her as she stretched and bent and stood, but she refused to acknowledge him. She wrapped up her routine with the Bow and the Crow, working on her sitting bones in a Supine Asana and finally the Corpse pose; relaxing each body part in turn.

When she was good and ready, she rolled onto her side and stood, stretching lithely. She was hot; Ashtanga was as strenuous as a cardiovascular workout. When she turned, he was gone; the cabin door was open. She grinned ruefully and picked up her towel, shook the pine needles out of it. Typical Logan; got bored of waiting around. She headed back to the cabin.

When Logan woke up he was disoriented. It took him about half a minute to realize why.

He wasn't tense, like he usually was after a fitful sleep. In fact, for lack of a better word he felt…awesome. His head wasn't pounding as it normally did from grinding his teeth together all night long. And he was completely covered in Marie's scent. Doused with it. It was the most relaxing smell in the entire world; he wanted to growl and burrow back under the covers, rub his face in the scent.

But…

If her scent was here, where was Marie?

He slid out of bed, rubbed his hand over his face. Shuffling into the main room, he saw the cabin door was left wide open. Squinting against the morning sunlight, he spotted Marie, her body perfectly still and twisted into the shape of a human pretzel. He was about to make some smartass comment about being born in a barn when she smoothly shifted from a sitting position to lying down, suddenly arching her back with her arms tucked under her bottom, her eyes closed and a small peaceful smile on her face. His sarcastic jab died on his lips; she was breathtaking. He watched her silently; entranced by the control she had over her body.

She rolled onto her front and crouched on her hands and knees, arching her back again and Logan couldn't handle one more second of watching Marie twisting and stretching in the morning sunlight. He spent the last few years actively choosing to live as a man, not as a beast. Usually the Man found a lot of the animalistic urges of the Wolf to be debasing and primitive.

However, they were BOTH in agreement about how sexy Marie looked, covered in sweat, full breasts almost spilling out of her low-cut top. So he retreated, and hated himself for it. Eventually, she returned to the cabin. He heard her come in, but didn't turn around.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself." He still didn't turn around.

"You sleep all right?"

He grunted. "Actually…yeah. I closed my eyes and the next thing you know its morning."

She paused. "Sorry about last night. I can usually hold my liquor but ah…yeah."

He waved it off. "You feelin' okay enough for some breakfast?"

"Ugh. God no."

He grinned, crammed some saltines in his mouth and washed it down with a beer. "You looked like a pretzel out there."

"Ashtanga Yoga? It's a great workout, you should try it."

"That's not a workout," he scoffed. Marie bristled visibly.

"You couldn't do it."

Their voices were rising in volume and attitude; neither one noticed. "With my hands tied behind my back," he boasted.

"Okay, tough guy. Let's see you do this." Without hesitation she stood on her hands. She lowered herself slowly, balancing her entire weight on bent forearms. With her torso perfectly still, she twisted her hips to the side with her legs completely outstretched, parallel to the ground but perpendicular to her upper body and hanging frozen in mid-air. The serene look of concentration on her face never changed. When she felt she proved her point she lowered herself slowly and stood.

"Come on, big mouth. Prove me wrong."

With a not-so-small amount of satisfaction she watched him set down his beer and try and copy her pose. He managed to level himself into a handstand but when he tried to lower himself to the full pose with his legs perpendicular to his torso his arms started to tremble. His brow furrowed and he grunted in exertion. After ten seconds he crashed to the ground.

"You try balancing three hundred pounds of metal skeleton," Logan grumbled, his pride mildly wounded.

"Just because there's no punching involved doesn't mean it's for pussies," Marie said smugly, handing him his beer. "It's not just about strength, it's about energy and focus. I think you should try it out. It might help you relax."

"I don't need to relax," he growled, and chugged the rest of his beer. Marie couldn't help but giggle at the surly, chastised expression on his face.

"Okay, I tell you what. Since you're so dead set on teaching me to fight, let's make a deal. I teach you Yoga for our warm-ups, and then you can teach me self-defense. Agreed?"

He arched a dark eyebrow. "You're not gonna make me chant or crap like that, are ya?"

She was the picture of innocence. "Not on our first session."