March, 2023

Logan stared at the address he had written down before his gaze flicked up to the building in front of him. The numbers displayed on a metal plate drilled into a brick wall matched up perfectly, and he shoved the scrap paper back into his pocket.

This was the place.

He felt a fresh swell of uncertainty rise within him. Thanks to his rotten memory, it had taken him several decades to do this. Something he should have done sooner. His gaze wandered to the French doors, and the more he stood there staring, the more hesitant he felt. He drew a deep breath in through his nose.

It was now or never.

As he pulled open the white, wooden door, he tried to think back to how many years it'd been at this point exactly. He was still sorting out both timelines in his head and compartmentalizing the old one. Now that his mind had caught up to himself, he had to work harder to remember the things that had actually happened. At least going back in time had only altered a little more than a third of his lifetime. Then again, that was still fifty years' worth of memories he had to tuck away for good.

The scent that hit his nose as he shut the door behind him was only vaguely familiar. He hadn't visited these places often, and when he did he usually stayed outside. Among the smell of mothballs, an odd mix of flowery fragrances, and cleaning solution was an underlying smell of death. However, it wasn't the kind of death he usually encountered. This one was natural and usually peaceful. The kind of death that most people hoped for.

He went over to the receptionist and asked for a name, to which she happily gave him the information he needed and informed him that the woman was most likely in the garden.

He thanked the young lady and followed her directions. Sure enough, he found the garden and stepped outside through some glass double doors. There were spots of shade, but most of the now flowering garden was soaked in sunlight. With the mild chill of early spring, the sun felt incredible on his skin. He took a brief moment to bask in the sun and watch the swaying, budding leaves before searching for the woman he was looking for. It didn't take him long to find her sitting on a wooden bench with a book in her hands.

Logan stayed where he was and observed her for a brief moment. Time had left its mark on her, leaving her skin wrinkled and her hair nearly white. The glasses she wore were thick and the muscle that she once possessed had atrophied. Seeing the young woman he once knew in such a state left him feeling a strong sense of nostalgia. Despite the laugh lines carved into her face, there was a longing inside him for something he couldn't quite pinpoint. Perhaps it was the knowledge that each wrinkle marked a moment he'd missed. A memory he had been absent from. All things that had been robbed of him.

Logan shook his head to clear the feeling, drew a deep breath, and walked over to her.

His shadow shrouded her book, interrupting her reading and causing her to look up at him. Her eyes immediately widened in astonishment and her jaw looked like it could touch the ground. "Logan?" She asked quietly, her tone indicating she was hopeful it was true.

He offered a sheepish smile. "Hi June,"

She set her book aside and rose to her feet before taking him into a tight embrace. Honestly, the last thing he had expected from her was a hug. His last encounter with her had been terse, and his disappearance hadn't done any favors to what he thought was a burned bridge. As Logan wrapped his arms around her, he realized he should've known better. June had forgiven him before, and it shouldn't have surprised him that she would do it again.

When she had finally let go, she sat down again and patted the space beside her. He indulged in her simple request.

"You haven't aged a day, except for those gray hairs that I see." She grinned as she traced the silver hairs with boney fingers.

"That's what happens when you're well over a hundred years old." He chuckled.

"Is that so? I'll have to take your word for it." She said. "You know after you disappeared, it took me some time to accept the possibility you were dead. You left without warning with an empty pill bottle on the floor of your apartment, and no trace of you to track. At least not until we saw you on the TV with those other mutants. But then you went and disappeared again."

Logan scratched his head. "Yeah, a lot happened after that incident, June."

She noticed the change in his tone and placed her weathered hand over his. "Where did you go?"

"It wasn't by choice. I was taken to a research facility in Canada to be experimented on. Not my first rodeo with that kind of stuff, of course, but this time they didn't just play with my healing factor. They messed with my mind, nearly turned me into a weapon, and wiped my memory in the process." He held out his hand and showed her, his claws unsheathing with a familiar metallic snikt. The radiant sunlight glinted off the metal claws and June's brow furrowed as she carefully pulled his arm closer to get a better look.

"Is this," her concerned gaze flitted to meet his eyes, "is this what I think it is?"

"Adamantium? Yeah, ironic isn't it?" He smiled wistfully. "It's bonded to my entire skeleton."

"My word, Logan, I swear if we had any idea that—"

He retracted his claws and held up his hand to stop her. "I know, you and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D would've intervened."

Her eyes narrowed. "We would've done more than just intervene."

He couldn't help but laugh at her sinister insinuation. It wasn't because he didn't believe her. He'd witnessed what she was capable of in her prime. Instead it was the fact that she was still the spitfire, no-nonsense, woman he knew underneath her sweet, aged exterior. "Trust me, they paid their dues a while ago."

She relaxed with that before looking him over. "Whatever you've been doing all these years has been good for you, Logan. In the short time I knew you, I don't think I ever saw you truly laugh."

"It's taken a long time to get to this point, and I'm still a work in progress."

"Aren't we all?" She smiled.

He nodded to himself before casting her an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry this visit didn't happen sooner."

"Well you're here now, and that's what matters. Besides, it seems like you didn't have much of a choice in the matter."

"Guess I didn't." He mused as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I hope someone else has been visiting you in the meantime."

June chuckled. "A few years after you disappeared I settled down. My son and grandkids visit me several times a month. They live about twenty minutes away from here. My daughter, on the other hand, lives in Nebraska with my son-in-law and grandson. They run a farm out there, so they can't visit as much. My grandson's also starting to barrel race competitively, which requires both time and money."

"Sounds like you have a wonderful family."

"I do. You know, you're more than welcome to join us for dinner or an outing when you have the time!"

"I would love that." He grinned.

She returned his smile and gently patted his hand. "It really is good to see you again, Logan."

"It's good to see you too." He replied as he leaned back against the bench. "So, tell me about this family of yours."

As June told her story, he couldn't help but feel truly happy for her. Sure, her life wasn't without struggles and trials, but she had been able to achieve her goals and carry on her legacy with, what he could tell, was a beautiful family. Logan's only regret was he had missed it all, but maybe it was for the better. While his current mental state was the best it'd been, it wasn't always like that. Even now there were still kinks in his thought processes that needed to be worked out. He reminded himself, however, what June had told him. What mattered was that he was here now and trying to make up for lost time. In fact, with the way she chatted with him it felt like he had missed no time at all, and he found himself immeasurably grateful for her grace once again.