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Author's Note: There's a line from the chapter this [technically] follows to help you out.
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“You should get going before she gets suspicious.”

Logan breathed a laugh and pulled her closer to him by her hip. “I can stay a while longer,” he said softly, tracing her hipbone with his thumb. He knew she was probably right, but he was loath to leave the comfort of her bed and the after glow of their sex just to go back home to Viper.

“No, you should go,” she said, sitting up. “It’s bad enough that you’re lying to your wife, but you shouldn’t put your friends’ integrity on the line.” To see her, Logan would often say he was going out with the guys for a beer or a jog; it was never enough-- an hour was just too short with Ororo-- so he started “going out with the guys more often. “It’s late,” she said, brushing a white strand of hair from hair from her forehead.

“Why do you do that?” he asked, sitting up on his elbows. “Why do ya always make me leave after I’ve said I love you?”

“I do not,” she argued, climbing down from the bed. She moved to her closet and grabbed the silk bathrobe hanging from a hook.

“You do,” he countered, watching her. “You’re doing it now.”

Ororo snorted as she tied the sash. “No, I’m getting dressed now. You still haven’t left.” She smoothed her hands down the robe, erasing the imaginary crinkles. “Why--”

“I do love ya, Ro,” he said gently. She snorted. “What?” he grouched. “Is it so bad that I love you?”

“Yes,” she hissed, her eyes narrowed. “It is.”

“Why?” he asked, finally moving to get dressed. He grabbed his boxers and pulled them on, but he honestly wasn’t trying to leave just yet. “Why would it be so bad?”

“If you don’t know why then you’re really cracked in the head,” she spat.

“Hey!” he barked, glaring at her. He got up from the bed and moved in front of her, “Don’t you ever say that shit again,” he warned. Viper was always telling him he was crazy; when he finally opened up to Ororo about his flashbacks from his childhood, she held him close and apologized for everything that happened to him and told him he wasn’t crazy, but incredibly strong. He didn’t want that memory tarnished by her recanting in a spat.

“You know what I...” she trailed off. She buried her head in her hands and groaned. “You’re married, Logan,” she said seriously. “Married.” Ororo wet her lower lip. “The only woman you should be in love with is your wife.”

“But I’m not. I’m in love with you,” he said gravely.

“Yeah?” He nodded. “Well, don’t.” She moved away from him and grabbed his pants and promptly threw them at him. Logan groaned, angry. He hated when she got like this. He couldn’t understand why she couldn’t just fucking believe him and say the goddamn words back! He knew she loved him. He just knew she did. “You’re married and... And I can’t be with a married man.”

Logan had had enough of this. “Rise and shine, princess,” he shouted, moving towards her again. “You just fucking were!” he bit, pointing at the clothes strewn about the floor and the state of her messy bed. He didn’t expect to get slapped, though.

“Damn you!” she said, her voice crisp. She watched Logan touch his cheek and slowly move his head back to face her. The next thing she knew, he was grabbing her wrists and pushing her against a wall. “Get out of my face, Logan,” she said, her voice unflappable.

“You only get one of those,” he said darkly, his chest heaving from anger and exertion. He added extra pressure to her wrists for emphasis. He’d never hurt Ororo-- he’d never hurt any woman-- but Ororo above all. But that didn’t mean he was just going to let her hit him whenever she damn well pleased. “You listen to me,” he said slowly. “I love you,” he enunciated. “Okay? I love you.” He watched her face, bothered by the slight look of fear on her face, but he wasn’t about to let her go. “I know I’m married to Viper, Ro. You know it, too, and you still slept with me.”

Her head snapped up to look at him, furious. “Logan--”

“No, you’re gonna listen,” he said, cutting her off. Logan took a deep breath. “Ro, my marriage is a fucking sham. I wanna leave her-- God knows I do and how I’ve tried-- but I’m stuck with her.” Logan stroked her wrists with his thumbs, feeling her pulse flutter. “There’s no love in our marriage. There’s nothin’ at all. Nothin’ that ain’t negative, at least,” he admitted sadly.

Ororo stared up at him, her wrists pinned. She didn’t want to hear him, didn’t want him here. All she wanted was to take a shower, change her sheets, and try and forget. But she couldn’t. Not while he had her pinned. Not while he was baring a part of himself.

“You’re the first person to make me feel truly happy in a long time,” he said softly. Almost quietly, as though he was talking more to himself than her at this point.

“Don’t ever tell that to your friends,” she offered.

Logan clicked his tongue. “Stop trying to make light of the situation, darlin’.” He took a deep breath. “I love you. I’m not sorry that I do but I am sorry things have to be this way. I wish I could be with you always, that I didn’t have to leave. You’re the only one I want,” he said, almost pleadingly, releasing her wrists. A hand went to her hip and another to her cheek.

She held the hand on her cheek, trying to not feel affected and trying to not feel the cold burn of his wedding ring. “But I’m not the only one you have,” she whispered, tracing the gold band. She stepped away from him and started moving to her front door. “I’m sorry, Logan,” she said, looking down, “but we’re done.”

“No,” he started, “you can’t--”

“I... I don’t ever want to see you in this way again.”

“Ro, please, I need ya,” he begged.

“Go home, Logan,” she said decidedly.

Logan stared at her, feeling desperate and lonely. When she refused to say anything else, he begrudgingly dressed himself. Once his pants were fastened, his shoes laced, and his keys back in his hands, he walked to the door. In a last ditch effort, he held her waist and raised her chin to make her look at him. “Please, Ro. You don’ know what you’re saying. What you’re asking me.”

“This isn’t right, Logan,” she said. “And we both know we were going to end in some way,” she said softly, staying her tears.

“But not like this,” he admitted. “I love ya. I need ya.”

“You need to go home to your wife, Logan.”

“But tell me this, Ro,” he cupped her cheek and leaned in, “don’t ya love me?” he asked. “Huh?”

Ororo moved her head from his hand and opened the front door. “Good bye, Logan.”

He stared hard at her, waiting. Logan was rooted to the spot, unable to so much as properly breathe. He couldn’t go, not without hearing those sacred words. She’d never said them before and if they were “ending” he was going to make sure she said them now. But they never came. So instead, he pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth, ignoring the slight flinch she made. “I love you, Ro. Always.” He kissed her again. “I love ya.”

And with that, they ended.





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