They left before the sun came up, before anyone could awaken and wish them good bye. They didn’t want anyone to see them off, to throw them a big party with tears and hugs. With well wishes and demands that they keep in touch. They wanted to leave with no one hanging over their shoulders, asking if they were sure they were leaving.
Rogue couldn’t help but smiled as the morning rays hit her face. She was sitting next to the man she loved, the man she would be spending her life with. They weren’t tied to any causes and the world was open to them.
“What?” He asked quickly. She was staring, watching him control the wheel as he drove onto the on ramp. “Do I got something on my face?”
She couldn’t help but giggle as he rubbed his right hand against his cheek, driving with his left. “No, silly. I just like to watch you. It’s kind of hard to believe that we’re here.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” He stopped rubbing only to wave his hand before him, gesturing towards the road. “This trip was your idea.”
“Not the trip. You and me. I never thought that we would be together.” She looked away, focusing her eyes on the road.
“Yeah, well, get used to it. I ain’t letting go. It’s you and me until one of us dies and I got a feeling that it wont happen any time soon.”
“You’re such a romantic,” she sighed sarcastically as she leaned across the seat to rest her head on his shoulders. “You should have been a poet.”
“And you are a pain in the ass.” He laughed with her, relishing in the playful banter. “Ain’t you supposed to be following the map, Darlin? It ain’t going to help if we get lost.”
“So? Let’s get lost, Logan. Just you and me. No body else. We’ll have an adventure!” She felt like bouncing in her seat, but refrained to keep Logan from driving them off a cliff. “We’ll just keep going until we run out of gas.”
“I thought we were having an adventure, Marie,” he whispered softly, bringing her back down to Earth. “What happened to the plans that we already had?”
She didn’t answer. Only grew quiet and stared out of the window. A few minutes passed and he got a feeling he had said something wrong.
“I think I’m just a little scared, Logan. I haven’t seen them for so long. And this whole thing with Magneto… I feel like I’m missing a piece to the puzzle.”
“If you want to turn around, just say the word, Marie.” He grabbed her shirt, pulling her closer until her head was resting firmly against his shoulder. “No matter where we’re at, just say lets go and we’re gone.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
They drove like this the entire way. There were only two more occasions when he thought she would have enough and want to head back. But she never did. As afraid as she was to see her family again, she was even more afraid of regretting it.
Logan understood that only too well. And so they took turns. Sometimes she would drive. Sometimes, he would. They would talk the entire way, telling stories they had told a million times that the other would never get bored of. They would laugh, not letting the tension or the seriousness of the situation drag them in. And about every other night, they would rent a cheep room and spend the night wrapped in each other’s arms, just feeling each other breath.
~*~*~*~*~*~
It was on a night like this, as they lay together, that she looked at him and surprised the hell out of him.
“Just think, Logan. Tomorrow morning, you’re going to meet my parents.” She smiled at him, genuine happiness in her eyes. He didn’t know what to say. He had known the entire time that he would have to meet them, but it was only dawning on him now that they might not think he was as wonderful as Marie thought so. First of all, how was he supposed to explain the age difference? Would they even accept it? Marie was only 20 years old. No even old enough to drink yet. What if they thought he was using her? And what if they thought he was nothing more than an animal? The big bad wolf after their little Marie?
Normally, he didn’t really care what people thought of him, but this was different. This was Marie’s parents. He had to make a good impression. If she wasn’t worth it, than no one was.
For the first time on the trip, Logan found he was having trouble sleeping.
~*~*~*~*~*~
They awoke bright and early. Rogue was excited over knowing that she would be seeing her family again. Logan was only happy that he would finally be able to ride his bike.
They had agreed to leave the truck parked at the motel and ride the hour it would take to get to the little house she had grown up in. Neither of them could wait to be in the open. The only draw back was that she would be on her own bike, and not riding with him.
He watched her skip around the room, preparing for the ride. He found that being back in the south seemed do something to Rogue. She seemed more at ease, more like the woman she should have become if not for the mutation fate had dealt her. He found her more alive, more in tune with herself. No matter what else happened on this trip, he knew that this had been good for her. She was finally able to be her own person, instead of what everyone perceived her as.
He couldn’t help but laugh as she jumped onto her bike, ready to ride off, as he zipped up his jacket. Even though she was wearing a helmet, he could still feel the look she gave him. The look that would make him laugh even more.
~*~*~*~*~*~
They rode for an hour, Rogue in the lead with Logan just behind her, looking for any sign of trouble. Not once did she falter or pause. She knew where she was heading and Logan knew that here, in this backwater little town not even big enough for a motel for stragglers, she was finally Marie again.
~*~*~*~*~*~
She stopped in front of a two story house on the nicest street in the town. There was a large yard with a willow tree and a tire swing. The house was white with a little blue along the trimmings for color. She smiled a little, the scent of magnolias from the back yard teasing her senses. She was home again, a place she hadn’t allowed herself to even dream of in the past years.
She had sped up for the last mile, leaving Logan just far enough behind so that he would be able to see her turns. She was pulling off her helmet just as he parked his bike next to hers in front of the house. She hadn’t reached her parents when she had called, but the answering machine had come on with their voices, sounds she would never forget, stating that they were unavailable and to leave a message.
She smiled at Logan even as scowled, climbing off his own bike. Of course, he didn’t wear a helmet. Just too cool for one. One day he would hit something and then have to explain to a bunch of paramedics why the split in his head had healed before they arrived. Until then, though, he wouldn’t learn.
~*~*~*~*~*~
They walked up the path together, Logan’s arm over her shoulder, Marie’s arm around his waist. They weren’t going to hide their feelings for her parents. They would just have to accept it.
They hadn’t reached the porch when the door swung open and a woman who looked to be in her early 40’s bolted out, grabbing Marie in a tight hug. She was quickly followed by a man who only seemed to be a year or more older, impatiently awaiting his own chance to see their daughter again.
“Marie, my baby,” her mother stammered as she pulled away to get a quick glance. “I’ve worried about you for so long now, not knowing if you were alright or alive. I’ve had nightmares, Sugar.”
“Oh, Marie, you gave us quite a scare, you know. Your momma’s been lighting a candle every night, praying for you,” her father said as he pulled her into a bear hug. There were tears in everyone’s eyes, including Logan’s. He had never known what Marie had been missing all this time. He had never known a family like this, never known what it would be like.
“And who is this?” Her mother asked as she turned her gaze onto Logan. All the nerves he had felt the night before were returning as Marie’s parent’s turned their gaze on him.
“Momma, Daddy, this is Logan,” Marie replied as she laced her arm around one of Logan’s. “He’s the reason why I am still alive. He’s… Well, he’s my man.”