“Logan? That really ya?”
As soon as he heard the nervous tone of Marie’s voice, Logan knew that something was off. He cursed himself under his breath for not having called earlier. He’d only been gone a month, but Logan knew there was a shit load of stuff that coulda gone down back at the mansion. Logan had left Marie there under the impression that Xavier would look out for her. If he found out that wasn’t what was happening, Logan was gonna be right pissed.
“Kid, what’s wrong?” Logan demanded, hoping he was doing a good job at hiding his anger.
“It’s nothin’, Logan. Really, it’s....”
“Marie,” Logan interrupted, knowing for sure that something was wrong. “What’s wrong, Marie? How ‘bout giving me the truth this time?”
“Everythin’,” Marie practically sobbed, her voice cracking in the middle of the word.
It took every ounce of will power Logan possess not to start trashing the motel room. Clamping down on his rage, Logan listened as Marie tell him about the happenings at Freak Mansion.
“... didn’t mean ta touch him. Ah didn’t wanta ta touch him at all, but he just wouldn’t leave me alone. He just kept touchin’ me all over then his hand slipped an’ he wound up in a coma an’ Ah have another person in mah head,” Marie whimpered, obviously trying to be strong, but failing miserably.
Even knowing how bad she was hurting, the next words outta Marie’s mouth caught him off guard.
“Could ya please come back, Logan?”
Logan didn’t even hesitate before answering her. “I’ll be in New York by the end of the week. Just sit tight, darlin’.”
It was well past midnight when Logan roared through the mansion gates. He was so desperate to get back to Marie that he’d broken countless speeding laws and hadn’t slept for the past two days. There had been something in her voice that Logan just couldn’t ignore. She sounded like she was broken. Whoever the little fuck was, he was gonna pay for breaking something that belonged to Logan.
Logan barely managed to shut the bike off before he launched himself from it and tore up the stairs towards the front door. Not having the time to waste with locks, Logan merely released a single claw and sliced through it. He didn’t slow down in the least, using his chest as the brunt force to shove the doors open as he made his way through the mansion, using his keen senses to find his Marie. The closer he got, the more his heart began to ache with being away from her.
Following her scent, Logan found himself standing in front of the door that led into the room he had stayed in while at the mansion last time. There was someone else in the room with her, though. Instantly that made Logan’s blood boil.... Until he took a second sniff and realized that it was only one of the brats she’d been rooming with before.
Knowing that Marie was only on the other side of the door, calmed Logan incredibly. After taking a few deep breaths to ensure that he would be able to keep his temper in check, Logan quietly opened the door and peered inside.
“She said you were coming back.”
Logan locked eyes with the girl, slowly entering the room. “She all right?”
The brunette glanced down at Marie then back at him. “She will be now that you’re here,” she whispered as she carefully slipped out of the bed so as not to disturb the sleeping Marie. As she passed him on her way out, she gave him a sad smile. “Take care of her for us, Logan.”
“Thanks for watching her, half pint,” Logan said gruffly, already making his way towards the bed where his Marie was sleeping fitfully.
Before the girl had even shut the door, Logan was removing the first of the two coats he was wearing. Once they were gone, he pulled off his boots before crawling into the bed. He stretched himself out lengthwise behind her and wrapped an arm about her waist, pulling her tiny body up against his.
In her sleep, Marie sniffled quietly and whispered his name.
“I’ve got you now, darlin’,” Logan whispered in her ear before lying his head down next to hers on the pillow.
Logan hadn’t even been aware that he’d fallen asleep until he woke up with a start roughly an hour before sunrise. Marie was still asleep and had linked her glove-covered fingers with his sometime during the night. Letting out a deep breath, Logan pulled Marie’s slender body tighter against his own.
“Nothing’s gonna hurt you anymore, Marie,” Logan mumbled into her hair as sleep claimed him once again. “I won’t let it.”
The second time Logan awoke, it was due to Marie’s quiet whimpering. Not able to bear the sound of Marie’s pain, Logan gently shook her awake so as not to startle her too much.
“Darlin’, it’s all right. Your safe now, Marie. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you,” Logan murmured in her ear, his lips a mere hairsbreadth from her lethal skin.
Marie tensed suddenly and Logan knew that she was awake.
“It’s just me, darlin’. I’m here now,” Logan whispered, gently rubbing his right hand up and down her stomach.
Very slowly, Marie turned her head towards his. As soon as she focused on her features, her face lit up in a teary smile. “Ya came.”
“Nothing was keeping me away from you,” Logan said softly as he pressed a kiss against her shoulder.
“Ah’m sorry fer makin’ ya stop yer search,” Marie whimpered, releasing his hand in order to wipe a few stray tears from her cheeks. “Ah know how important it is ta ya.”
Logan shook his head, burrowing his face against the side of her throat which was protected by her long hair. “You’re more important, Marie. You needed me and I came. That’s all there is to it.”
Marie turned her entire body around and wrapped her arms around him. She held him just as tightly as he had held her the night before and Logan slipped his arms around her waist for good measure. Logan wanted to have Marie as close as possible for the foreseeable future. He still didn’t know the details of what had happened except that Marie had been hurt. In the end that was all that really mattered. Logan didn’t give two shits about what had happened to the fucker who had touched Marie, but if they ever crossed paths the boy would regret it.
“Ah’m glad that yer here, Logan. Ah’ve missed ya so much,” Marie said into his chest.
“I’ve missed you too, darlin’. I wish I woulda just brought you with me like my gut was tellin’ me to,” Logan told Marie as he began sliding his hands up and down her back, delicately tracing her spine with the tips of his fingers.
“There’s not way ya coulda known what would happen,” Marie mumbled pathetically. “It’s over now anyway an’ ya came back so everythin’ is gonna be all right from here on out. Ah know it.”
“Damn straight it will be. Ain’t nothing gonna hurt you again. I swear it on my life, darlin’.”
“You think I give two shits about what you think, Scooter?” Logan snarled at the smaller man. “Your the asshole that put Marie in danger. So what you’re gonna do is leave her alone while she packs her stuff and says goodbye to all her little friends. Then the two of us are getting outta here.”
“You’re only going to put her in more danger,” Scott protested.
With a loud growl, Logan slammed the other man against a nearby wall and growled down at him. “I’m only gonna say this once, One Eye, so listen good. You guys fucked up. I left Marie here so that she’d be safe and you couldn’t even manage that. You let some asshole touch her when she didn’t wanna be touched and for that I should kill each and every one of you. For some strange reason, Marie still likes you lot so I can’t do that. What I am gonna do, though, is take her far away from here where you can never touch her again. Got it, bub?”
Unable to find his voice, Scott did manage to nod his head a few times.
“Good.”
It took them just over a week to get up to Alaska.
Once they got there, Logan bought a little cabin located just on the outskirts of a small town. There wasn’t much to it, but Marie loved the place and that was enough for Logan. It meant finding a real job since the fight circuit didn’t come anywhere near their new home, but Logan didn’t mind at all. He’d seen a garage on their way in and was pretty sure he could get a job there.
The only annoyance was their roommate.
“Here’s yer room, Boris.”
On their way up, he and Marie had come across a half starved rotweiller wander along the side of the highway. Against his better judgment, Logan had pulled over at Marie’s insistence and let the mangy thing into the camper he’d bought before they left New York. Before the day was out, Marie had given him a name and was buying dog food for him when they pulled into the next town.
The mutt had gained Logan’s respect two nights before when they’d stopped at a gas station. While he filled up the truck, Marie had taken Boris around to the side of the building so that he could relieve himself.. Hearing Boris growling a few minutes later, Logan had gone charging to the side of the building in time to see Boris chasing away some rough and tumble guy that had been harassing Marie.
“I don’t see why the dog gets its own room,” Logan said as he flopped down onto the second hand couch they had bought earlier in the day.
Marie came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Well, it’s either that or Boris sleeps with us.”
Logan tilted his head back and grinned up at her. “You’re a smart one, darlin’. Real smart.”
“When Ah have the proper motivation, Ah can think up a whole lot.”
Moments later, Logan had jumped over the back of the couch and had Marie in his arms. “Have I ever told you how much I love you, darlin’?”
“Ah think Ah have an idea,” Marie said softly as she pressed a kiss to the center of his chest. “But it doesn’t hurt ta be reminded now an’ again.”
Then Logan had Marie in his arms and was caring her towards their bedroom. “You stay in that room, Boris!” he shouted over his shoulder, causing Marie to burst into the peals of laughter.