"Mama, mama!" came an excited shriek a moment before the suite door burst open, James ran across the room, jumping over the couch, before he skidded to a stop in the bedroom doorway, he froze for a moment before he grinned widely. "Mama so pretty!" he announced.
"Aww, you're sweet little man," Marie replied, crouching down next to him to place a kiss on his head, ignoring her dress, "You are also only half dressed, run back to daddy and put your shoes and your jacket on, we'll be down soon."
"I don't wanna!" James announced, scowling as he did so, getting more annoyed when it just made Marie laugh.
"James, if you don't go back now, we can't have the yummy cake and you can't have your sleepover with Caleb, don't you want to have another sleepover?" Marie tried to reason with him. For an almost four-year-old he was surprisingly good at critical thinking and reason.
"Yes," he sighed exasperatedly, "But I don't wanna wear the jacket, it's not nice."
"You think your jacket's not nice you should try wearing this dress," Marie groused, "I know it's not comfy but you don't have to wear it for long, so for mommy, will you wear it, just for a while? Just until we've finished taking pictures, okay?"
"Okay!" he agreed dramatically, as Caleb stuck his head into the main suite door looking for the boy.
As the boys made their way back down the hall, Marie was struck again by how utterly pointless this exercise was. What did it matter what she wore, or how they said their vows, or where for that matter, but, this is what Logan, of all people, wanted so she would indulge him. She knew why he was pushing it, he wanted her to have memories, and pictures, and other mementos to look back on, but all she needed was him.
They were finally all ready a few minutes later, Marie in her dress, traditional white, stylishly elegant, and just the classy side of slutty because it was her wedding damnit and why shouldn't she flaunt a little. The guests dress code called for everyone to wear gloves so the open back of her dress - mostly covered by her long, curled hair - shouldn't be a problem, and the only one who should have their hands anywhere near the low neckline of her bodice should be Logan. She had planned to wear a sheer silk bodysuit underneath the whole ensemble but Logan had insisted she not, even going so far as to threaten to cut it off her, in front of everyone, if she did. He eventually conceded to her wearing gloves, though her elbow length gloves still left plenty of deadly skin on display.
Jubilee was her bridesmaid, she'd agreed to have one, only because Jubilee would not stop pestering her about it, and was dressed in a gorgeous dark green fitted dress. Ava was the flower girl, also dressed in dark green, a miniature version of the same dress Jubilee was wearing. The rest of the party were wearing black ballet flats, while Rogue was wearing a pair of white lace up, knee high, heeled boots, not that you could see them under her dress. With her veil in place, flowers were handed out, a nod to her southern heritage in the form of white magnolias, with a similar but smaller arrangement for Jubilee, with a basket of white rose petals for Ava.
Then came the waiting part, while they had to send a runner downstairs to see if everyone else was ready. They didn't have to wait long as a runner had been sent in the other direction to check with them too, both meeting halfway before scurrying back to deliver their messages.
Before it had really begun the ceremony was over, vows said, rings exchanged, and then came the part Marie had been looking forward to, and dreading simultaneously.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife; you may kiss the bride."
The look on Logan's face immediately made her tense as he began to lift her veil, oh god, he was actually going to kiss her, skin on skin. ‘Please, oh please, don’t put him in a coma on our wedding day’, was all she could think.
"Relax darlin," he whispered, as he slid one hand into her hair and moved in to meet her lips. As their lips touched Marie was so distracted by the feelings welling inside her, that she completely missed the fact that nothing was happening, at least not anything caused by her skin.
After a couple of minutes Logan pulled back confused, and a little out of breath. "So, I planned on doing that until your mutation stopped me, am I correct in assuming it wants me to continue?" he asked cheekily.
"I don't know what my skin is doing but I definitely want you to continue," Marie replied, as Logan moved his lips back to hers with a chuckle.
Most of the audience just sat in shocked silence, their guests were only the students and faculty of the school, neither of them having any family to invite, other than Victor, who Marie had noted standing off to one side, out of the general thoroughfare, it seemed he had been serious when he agreed to attend. So everyone present knew, this wasn't supposed to happen. Eventually they were interrupted by the kids, well, Caleb and Ava, making gagging sounds behind them, and giggling between comments of 'eww' and 'gross'.
"I don't know how that happened but holy shit darlin I could do that for the rest of my life," Logan chuckled as he hugged her, before wiping away the shocked tears she had let drop. They were cheered out of the area, Rogue trying to hide from flying rice behind Logan, as they made their way across the lawn to where the photographer the Professor had hired wanted to take photos.
"What do you think this means?" Marie asked softly, as she hugged him while they waited for the photographer to catch up.
"I think, it means, I don't need these-" he peeled his gloves off- "And you don't need these-" he peeled hers off too, before he twined their fingers together, marvelling at the feel of her soft skin.
Eventually Marie tried to pull away. "What if its only temporary? What if it only works for you? I don't want to hurt anyone else," she said, as he finally released her hand and she could pull her gloves back on. Logan wasn't giving up though, tugging her to sit in his lap on a bench seat under a rather photogenic oak. As soon as she was seated, he began to kiss along her bare shoulder, while one hand slid up her bare back, until she flushed in embarrassment when she noticed they were being watched and moved away from him.
"Maybe you're right, maybe it's just me, I wonder... After that last time I healed you, you're still healing aren't you?" Logan asked, as he began to ponder the possibilities.
They were interrupted then by a squeal from James, who was currently hanging upside down by his ankles as Caleb tried to stop him from rolling in the grass. Hurriedly they took care of photos, even roping Victor into a few, before Marie assured James he could get changed now; he was half undressed before Logan could scoop him up to carry him back inside to get changed.
"I got the distinct impression that action at the altar was unexpected?" Victor posed, once Logan, and the rest of the party was out of hearing, though he noted Caleb stayed within sight of them, obviously still not entirely trusting him - the kid was smart, he wouldn't trust himself either.
"That's the first time Logan's touched me without ending up in, or almost in, a coma," Marie replied with a resigned chuckle.
Victor frown at her confused. "No it's not," he replied.
"I think I would know-" Rogue started, before he interrupted her with a shake of his head.
"The mission to take out Stryker, once he was done eviscerating the kiddie fucker, you two touched then, skin-to-skin, for quite a while, nothing happened then either," he stated.
Marie frowned as she racked her memories for what he was talking about, her eyes slowly widening as she realised he was right.
"Just how much have you two been touching anyway?" he continued.
"Not much, my skin kinda sucks the life out of people so... we're usually both wearing gloves..." she slowly fell silent, as she began to consider the ramifications of this new development.
"Come on sis, let's get you inside," Victor chuckled, offering her his arm. Marie eyed him warily before he shrugged and headed inside alone, she quickly fell into step beside him, apologizing for her hesitation. "Don't worry about it, you're probably smart to avoid getting too close, I'll be the first to admit I'm a little unpredictable."
"Sounds to me like you just need something to ground you," Marie replied, "Maybe now that Logan's got some of his past back you two can rebuild your relationship?" she suggested.
"He doesn't need me anymore," Victor dismissed the point, with a shake of his head, as they entered the rooms of the mansion that had been set up for a reception.
"But you still need him, besides, relationships aren't about need, they're about choices, he's not going to choose you over me but that doesn't mean he can't choose to have you still in his life, just don't ever make him regret that choice, or once he's finished kicking your ass it'll be my turn," she added with a grin.
"Ooh I'm so scared, shaking in my boots," Victor quipped.
"Don't forget who put you down last time," Rogue reminded him, "And that wasn't even with my mutation!"
She showed him to the main table, for immediate family, ignoring Scott's glare as she simultaneously stifled her grin as Caleb followed her in, he was obviously taking his role as self-appointed bodyguard seriously. It wasn't long before Ava joined them, smiling brightly at Victor as she took one of the seats right beside him. Ava was probably the only one in the family that didn't have a bad experience with Victor, long may that last; he in turn appeared to have taken a shine to her, acting almost as protectively of her as Logan did, ever since he had heard about what had been done to her in Stryker's clutches.
Logan entered the room a few minutes later, James was back clad in his usual grass stained overalls, and Logan deposited him on the seat on the opposite side of Victor, and next to Caleb, before taking his own seat next to Marie.
"You staying for any length of time?" Logan asked Victor, as Ava's chatter died down when she began to eat the food that was served a short time later.
"Nope, just passing through, I'll probably be gone before you two sneak out," he answered.
"Okay, well, we're going to be away until about the beginning of July... what you doing for the fourth?" Logan queried.
"Crawling into a hole somewhere and getting pissed, maybe blowing myself up with a crate of fireworks later, why you ask?" Victor replied nonchalantly.
Ava paused her eating, paling as a haunted look crossed her face, all eyes suddenly turned to her as the scent of fear began to permeate the air.
"Ava, what's wrong sweetie?" Marie asked worriedly, as the girl began to shake.
As Victor's words suddenly rang in his ears Logan remembered his private conversation with Ava the first day she arrived, quickly he walked around the table spinning her chair around. "It's not like that sweetheart, he didn't mean it literally," he whispered to her, as he pulled her close and wrapped her in his arms.
After a moment she stilled before pulling away, she sniffled, and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, her eyes were puffy and red, and tears had tracked silently down her cheeks while she had been hiding in his arms. "I'm okay now," she whispered softly.
"You sure?" Logan asked, smiling when she nodded before he wiped away her tears and kissed her forehead, turning her back around to face the table he continued his conversation with Victor.
"How about instead of crawling into a hole and getting *drunk*-" he emphasized the alternative choice of wording, noting the dark look that accompanied the realization as it dawned on Victor what the girls issue had been- "Why don't you come here, we'll even let you help set up fireworks if you promise not to blow anyone up, yourself included, can promise you an all you can drink buffet," Logan added.
"You're as bad as your woman here, trying to tame me!" Victor grumbled, the grin tugging at the corners of his lips gave him away though, he wasn't opposed to the idea. "I'll see closer to the date. The Brotherhood crumbled away to nothing rather unceremoniously with Mystique locked up, so I'll be off looking for work ... don't you dare say it, I'm not a fucking superhero, or a fucking teacher, Xavier can take his 'work' and shov..." he paused suddenly, casting a sidelong glance at Ava before changing his tack, "It's not the sort of work I'm after."
Logan shot him a grateful look for censoring himself. "Fair enough, if that's how you feel, the doors always open if you change your mind, and don't be a stranger, I don't remember everything but I remember enough, you're family, you're welcome, as long as you behave."
The rest of the evening passed in a blur of food, drink, noise, and dancing. Marie had no clue what song it was she and Logan danced to first, she'd been too shocked at the fact that Logan actually could dance to notice. It turned out he wasn't the only one full of surprises, Ava had been impatiently waiting for Logan to finish dancing with Marie, or Caleb to finish dancing with Flora, when Victor offered her his hand with a grin and wink and offered to dance with her. He'd later danced with Marie, trying to piss Logan off by pretending to cop a feel while Logan was dancing with Ava; Logan had eventually shoved him out of the way and taken both girls for himself, much to everyone's amusement.
A decidedly tipsy Jean cornered them toward the end of the evening, joining them for another a drink as she grilled Rogue on how long she had been able to control her mutation. The following conversation had been rather humorous, with Jean having to repeatedly restate her thoughts when her words kept coming out on the wrong order but it was surprisingly helpful at the same time.
"I had wondered if that might happen, you're DNA changed, when you started doing the healing thing - I think I told you that - I wondered if it might make your mutation recognize Logan as you, as the DNA, because it's the same... basically your skin thinks you are Logan, because you have some of his DNA!" Jean finished, an air of triumph at having been able to get her words out somewhat coherently.
"Why didn't you say anything before?" Logan asked, a little annoyed, not least of all at himself for not considering this possibility.
"Rogue always freaks about when you suggest she test her mutation, fair enough she doesn't want to kill anyone, I get it, but can't do science without dangerous experiments, just ask Karen Wetterhahn, or Marie Curie... well, you can't, they're dead, but you get the idea..." Jean glared down at her empty glass before Victor offered her more wine, she glared again before turning her glass upside down, she was done for the night.
"So, if my mutation recognizes Logan's DNA as similar to mine, similar enough to not react to... would it... work the same with my children?" Marie asked quietly, she loved kids and had wanted her own since she was quite young but had thought her mutation had ended any realistic possibility of that. That was not least of all why she had taken to James and Ava so completely, though she knew she wouldn't love them any less should she one day have children of her own.
"That would be my most logical concalation – conc-lusion," Jean replied, "If you want to risk the minute ... risk, it might even be enough of a match with DNA for you to be able to touch Ava and James, and Caleb too, they all have Logan's mutation so that may be enough familiar genes for your mutation to recognize them too," she added thoughtfully.
"No, no, that's too dangerous!" Marie said, catching the considering look on Logan's face.
"I don't think ..." Logan started, before Marie cut him off.
"I don't know what my mutation would do to a child on the first place, it's too dangerous!" she reiterated.
"What about me?" Caleb suggested, "You could try touching me, if your mutation doesn't work on me either it's a fairly safe bet it won't work on the little kids," he pointed out.
"You don't have any clue what you're risking!" Marie pointed out to him.
Logan shrugged. "Worst case scenario, a feeling like you're being turned inside out, followed by a nice long nap, and waking up hungry."
"Sounds like fun," Victor chuckled, "An average Saturday night."
Rogue wasn't impressed by the glib attitudes of the males in attendance and continued to object. Eventually relenting to an 'I'll think about it', when she realizes they weren't going to drop the subject. "We don't even know if it's going to be permanent with Logan yet, what if my mutation is still drawing off him but he just can't feel it?" she pointed out.
"Only way one to find out!" Jean announced, to which Logan agreed.
"Gee, I feel so reassured, between my drunk doctor and horny husband what could possibly go wrong," Rogue posed sarcastically.
"Hm, Scott might catch us," Jean suggested, with a giggle at her own joke.
"Alright doc, I think you've had enough, and so have I!" Logan added, "Time to dump the kids and run?” he suggested to Marie, waving James and Ava over. They both bid them goodnight before the pair skipped off with Caleb and Flora for their sleepover. Moments later Logan, Marie, and Victor rose to follow their path out of the room.
"What did *he* do to my wife?" Scott asked aggressively, stopping them halfway across the room, jabbing a finger at Victor, who looked about ready to rip it off his hand, with his teeth, if it got any closer.
"Poured her one too many glasses of wine," Logan replied, "When you got a healing factor you forget other people, normal people, just can't hold their alcohol," he shrugged as they continued out of the room, leaving Scott to deal with his heavily intoxicated fiancée. They parted company in the main hall, Victor to leave, the newlyweds to head for the privacy of their empty suite, on their empty floor.
"Wait here," Logan whispered, to Marie as he pulled her up outside the door, slipping through the doorway and leaving her staring after him amused.
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