oOo
Two Weeks Ago
Logan pulled open the door to the women's locker room, barely managing to keep it on the hinges. He stormed inside and caught the scent immediately. Turning left, he stepped around a row of lockers and stopped. Marie sat on the chair in front of her locker, attempting to pull her right arm from her uniform. Blood covered Marie's face like a shroud. Her shoulder and right tricep were bruised and a long gash ran the length of her collarbone.
She didn't pause her actions as she waited for the inevitable.
"I can't believe you were so stupid, Marie."
"Gee, thanks."
He stalked forward, his eyes black with fury. Marie cursed herself for finding that intensity so intoxicating.
"You should never have gone on that mission alone."
Marie winced as she managed to pull her arm out of the sleeve.
"I wasn't alone, Logan."
"You might as well have been. Look at you!"
His eyes trailed over her as she continued to extract her upper body from the black leather. Under any other circumstances, he would have turned away to allow her privacy and to keep his desire in check. But this moment was anything but salacious. She was battered and bleeding. It absolutely enraged him to know that he had not been there to protect her when she needed him.
"Had to go with Plan B. No big deal."
She was so quiet. That wasn't like her. Marie always stood toe to toe in an argument and never backed down – especially with Logan. But now, she sounded as broken as she looked. Logan was furious that she allowed herself to be placed in such a vulnerable place. What if she had been taken? What if she'd died?
"He should have done his fuckin' job and watched your back."
"It wasn't Remy's fault."
Logan snorted.
"Damn right it was. If I had been there, you sure as hell wouldn't be sittin' here needin' 50 fuckin' stitches."
Marie's voice was barely a whisper yet her words struck him as hard as if she'd punched him in the face.
"Well, you weren't there. And I needed to count on someone."
oOo
Present Day
Logan stood at the garage workbench, rebuilding his motorcycle carburetor, when he heard footsteps behind him.
"Whaddya want, Jubilee?"
She sidled up next to him and peered across Logan's arm, carefully avoiding the grease that covered his skin. Jubilee huffed.
"This place is a mess."
"It ain't a doctor's office, kid."
"Good thing. Your malpractice would be through the roof."
Jubilee took a reasonably clean rag and placed it on the bench. Satisfied, she turned around and jumped up, taking a seat next to Logan as he worked.
Logan sighed. When Jubilee sat down that inevitably meant one of her 'talks'. She was damn persistent when she wanted to be and Logan was really not in the mood.
"So...you weren't at the party."
"Do I look like a wedding shower kind of guy?"
"Well, no, but it would have been nice of you to show up. At least to congratulate them."
"I gave them a present."
"Could have stopped in. Said hi. Shook Bobby's hand, planted a kiss on Kitty's cheek and all that crap."
The clanging of metal reverberated through the garage as Logan slammed the machinery on the workbench.
"Are you fuckin' serious, Jubes?"
She crossed her delicate arms over her chest.
"Well, yeah."
"I ain't in the mood for this Jubilation."
"Ohhh…using my full name. Scary."
"Did you really come down here to give me shit over not congratulating Marie's ex-boyfriend on his impendin' wedded bliss?"
"Look, Wolvie, you're miserable. Well, more miserable than usual. You need to talk to her."
"Jubes, don't."
"You still floating down the river of denial about being in love with her?"
Logan turned to face her, the veins in his neck bulging from his building frustration.
"I said stop it."
Jubilee would not back down. It was an annoying quality.
"For years you've been torturing yourself because you didn't think you were good enough for Marie. Jeannie did a number on you making you think that you were less of a man because you weren't Mr. Perfect. Just because you have some kind of mystery past doesn't mean you aren't a good guy, Wolvie."
He turned away. "Jubilee, she made her choice. And she chose LeBeau."
Jubilee slid down from her perch and poked her finger into Logan's shoulder.
"She chose him because you could never get your ass off the crapper and tell her how you felt! You were so obsessed with not being good enough that you made the decision for her! What else was she supposed to do? She was alone! There's only so long someone can go before they need someone – even if that someone isn't the one they really want."
"Maybe he was the one she wanted."
Jubilee's voice became deadly serious and for her, that was not a common occurrence. She moved her petite frame almost flush with Logan's and looked straight into his eyes.
"It's not Remy she worries about on missions. It's not Remy's dogtags she clutches while waiting for word about the team. It's not Remy's name she whimpers when she has a nightmare. And it sure as hell isn't Remy that could hurt her so badly."
"She could never forgive me. I told her..." He ran his hands through his thick hair. "..shit, Jubes, I said some fuckin' horrible things."
Jubilee shrugged. "People say stupid stuff when they're angry."
He let out a long breath.
"Fine, kid. I'll think about it."
"Don't think about it too long, Logan, or else it might really be too late."
She turned and began walking through the garage. As she did, her voice echoed through the large room.
"It's time for you both to be happy, you stubborn jackass!"
oOo
Two Weeks Ago
Logan stood there, stunned into silence at Marie's words. She needed to count on someone and it wasn't him. Logan used to be the one to have her back; to take the hit for her. He wasn't there and it almost got her killed.
"I would have been Marie. If you'd asked, I..."
Her voice was thick with anger.
"If I'd asked? Where were you Logan?"
She waited for the answer he didn't want to give.
"Where were you?" When he refused to speak, she continued. "I'll tell you. At the bar. Drinking and fucking some random chick in the back and calling her Jean as you came. I don't have time anymore to try and pull you out of your self-imposed misery, Logan. I've tried for seven years to be your friend but you've made it very clear you don't want friends."
Marie bent down and began to take off her combat boots.
"Get out, Logan. Please just get out."
"You've tried to be my friend? That's rich, kid. I found you, saved your ass and then spent the next seven years listening to you moan and complain about not being able to touch people."
He felt himself giving in to the jealousy and regret that had consumed him in the two years since Remy LeBeau had come to the mansion. Logan had been insecure and afraid to admit that he might have feelings for Marie. As a result, Logan had neglected Marie, leaving her vulnerable. That damn smooth-talking Cajun had swept in and charmed her in a way he never could have.
"You're just as selfish, Marie, if not more. There are people who care about you but you push them away. I'm amazed the Swamp Rat has the patience to put up with your shit. But he does like the challenge of the chase. You afraid if he manages to get some he'll dump your ass?"
As soon as the words were out of his mouth he knew he'd gone too far. No. No. What had he done?
He smelled the salt developing as Marie fought the tears. She shifted on the stool and turned her back to him. Slowly, she continued removing her boots, her breath ragged and strained.
He was going to say something. Anything. But she spoke first.
"Leave, Logan."
There was nothing he could possibly say to fix what he'd just done to her. Logan turned on his heel and walked out of the room, pausing in the hallway to curse himself. He slid down the wall and crouched low, his hands wrapped around the back of his neck.
What Marie said had been true. Logan had been at the bar drinking when a woman came on to him. They'd made their way to the back room where he'd pressed the woman up against the wall, trying desperately not to inhale her foreign scent or listen to her unfamiliar voice. He'd called a name at the end. But it wasn't Jean's.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Here we go off and away on another angsty Rogan adventure. Incredibly huge thanks to go doctorg for her fantastic beta work.
Disclaimer: As always, the characters ain't mine. I'm just messing with their lives for a while.
Disclaimer: As always, the characters ain't mine. I'm just messing with their lives for a while.
Chapter End Notes:
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