Every Year 2: The Return

It was that time of the year again.

Time of the year for them to return…..to the same place.

The place that gave them such painful memories….

But….the same place brought them together

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PAST
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HIM

He remembers that day as if it were yesterday.

They were the best of friends….until that day.

He ran after others…until that day.

Although two of a kind, they were just that…*two*….together, yet separate…until that day.

They were incomplete….until that day.

They became one; they completed each other…on that day.

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HER

She remembers that day as if it were yesterday.

They were the best of friends…..until that day.

She ran from love…..until that day.

Although two of a kind, they were just that…*two*….together, yet separate…until that day.

They were incomplete….until that day.

They became one; they completed each other …on that day.

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PRESENT
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“Logan…Logan…Wake up,” a soft female voice, whispered in his ear. “Loggaaannn….” She trailed off, planting light kisses all over his face.

“Hmmm…” Logan, aka Wolverine smiled at the care and love being showered on him, by his wife and mother of their child. Opening his eyes, he was faced with her smiling face peering down at him. “Come ta bed,” he tried to pull her down.
“Get up…” she said, resisting his tug, her slender finger running across his forehead, then down, along his jaw to his lips, tracing each ridge and line on them. “Get out of bed and get ready.”
“Why?” he arched an eyebrow. “I have everything I need here, in this room,” he puckered his lips to kiss her fingertip.

“Today is the day,” she saw his smile fade at her words as the memories of the past came rushing to him. “Logan we need to do this. We need to go.”
“What if I don’t want to?” he argued. His voice gruff from sleep and from the slightest hint of annoyance.

“We need to,” she urged. “We have to do this.”

“But…” he started, but was silenced as her full lips descended on his.

“I need this…” she murmured at his mouth, her lips curving in a smile. “….and I know you do too.”

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Few hours later,

Standing in front of the old, rusty gate, Logan looked down at the small bundle cradled in his arms.

His daughter, and hers….theirs.

The living proof of their love and commitment towards each other.

Even at just three months, she was already starting to show her behavioral characteristics along with the already visible physical ones.

Physically she was a carbon copy of her mother….almost. The slightly spiked edges on her soft hair were her dad’s, just as were her eyes. Although, large like her mother’s, they were the exact color as his, right down to the golden *flecks* in their pupils.

“Logan….” his wife called to him, her long hair glowing in the morning sun. “…lets go.”

“Uhnn…” he frowned at her. He didn’t want to come here again. The last time alone was painful enough to give him nightmares for months.
Taking a deep breath and hugging his daughter just a little bit tighter, he stepped through the gates. “Lets do this.”

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FUTURE
-------

“DAD,” a loud shrill voice rang. “Dadddiieeee….”

“Here darlin’,” Logan called out as he pushed himself from under the truck he was working on, the smile on his face turning to a frown at the tears flowing down the smooth cheeks of the teenaged girl. Running up to him, she flung herself against him, her hot tears soaking through his thin balck t-shirt.

“Baby, what happened?” Logan asked softly. Removing his work gloves, he laid a hand over her head, gently threading his fingers through her hair. It always calmed her down, just as it did for him, but only when his wife did it.

“Da….dad….” she tried between sobs, her body relaxing under his loving caress. “Daddy…I….”

“Ssshhh…” he silenced her. “Deep breaths, take deep breaths.”

Sensing her calming down, Logan removed his hand to allow her to lift her head from his shoulder and look up at him through shaded eyes, her front-styled shoulder length hair falling in front of her face.

“Now….” he began. “Tell me, what happened?”

“I…I…” her breath hitched, making Logan think that she might start crying again. “I failed it.”

“Failed?” Logan was confused, his eyebrows furrowed. “Failed what?”

“My test,” she answered forlornly. “…the drivers’ ed. Test.”

Logan was silent for a moment before breaking out in loud peals of laughter. He however silenced himself when fresh tears appeared in his daughter’s eyes.

“Sorry darlin’,” he apologized, running a thumb across her tear stained cheek. “I didn’t mean ta’ laugh at ya’. Its just that….”
“What?” she was annoyed now. “Everyone made fun of me and now you are doing the same.”

“Who made fun of ya’” her father’s voice grew cold. “Tell me….” He raised his hand and extended his Adamantium laced claws.
“No no, it’s not like that…” she hugged him tighter, knowing fully well about his protective trait and fearing for what would happen to her *tormenters*. “…it was just some of the other boys and girls, the ones who have passed their tests and got their licenses.”

“Fu…screw ‘em,” Logan corrected himself. “They are jealous of ya’.”

“Jealous?” she looked up at him, confusion in her eyes. “Why are they jealous of me? They are the ones who have got the licenses.”

“Ya, but they can’t fly like ya do,” Logan winked at her. “Even ‘Red Junior’ can only hover around, and that too fer a little while.”
“Hmm…” the teenager mused, a slow smile forming on her face. “They can’t, can they?”
“Not a single one,” Logan smirked, mentally patting himself for handling the situation in a mature manner…..Like his wife would have.

“But, the license?” she pouted. “I wanted to get it.”
“An’ ya will,” he assured her. “Starting tomorrow, ya learn frem me. Not any pansy assed driving instructor.”
“But mom ….” She started, reminding him that it was her mother who had made her take the classes in the first place. ‘They are professionals. They can teach you better than we can,’ she has said, her words causing her father to sulk for three whole days.

“Your mom agrees with your dad.” Both father and daughter jerked to look at the woman in question standing in the doorway. “You can learn from your father,” she continued, walking towards them.
“Really,” her daughter’s eyes lit up. “From tomorrow?”
“First thing in the morning’,” her father smiled at her. “….and we’ll even take the new one.”
“The red convertible,” her eyes widened with surprise. “You’ll let me drive that.”
“Only if ya want ta.”

“IF? Do you even have to ask that?” she exclaimed. “I am going to tell each and every one of those punks, that they can take their licenses and shove them…”
“Language” her mother’s cut her off.
“Sorry mom,” she apologized, her face telling otherwise. “I will just stop at telling them that my mom and dad are the greatest.”
With that, she ran off to break the news to her friends.

“Don’t say it Logan,” Logan grinned at his wife’s warming. “Don’t say that I told you so.”
“What?” he tried to give her an innocent look. “I was just gonna say…”
“I am the best at what I do….” his wife continued his line of thought.
“….and what I do….” he tried, but was silenced by a hand over his lips.
“….what you do is *definitely* very nice.” She ended, replacing her hand with her lips.

“Mmm….I love you Wild Man.”

“Same here….” he responded. “….Windrider.”

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PRESENT
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“So, did you like it this time?” the blind gypsy asked of the couple sitting in front of her.

“Uhn…huh…what? Oh….yeah,” Logan managed to answer. Shaking off his trance like state, he turned towards the woman sitting next to him. The woman whose hand he held, their rings glinting in the candlelit room.

Hi love….his wife…Ororo Monroe Logan.

“Is this….could this happen?” she finally asked of the gypsy, tears flowing down her face.
“Yes.”
“But what about what we saw last year?” Ororo crossed her brows, remembering the vision in which all the x-men had died, with only Logan and Rogue being left, who after decades of pain had finally moved on with each other. “This is totally different from that.”

“Hmm…” the old white haired woman mused, nodding her head as of she was holding a silent conversation with someone else.

“Has there been any major change in you life, in the last one year?” she asked finally.
“Yes, I….we got married.”
“When did you decide to marry each other?” the seer continued.
“The night we came here,” Ororo answered, gently squeezing her husband’s hand.

“Oh,” a smile lit the old woman’s wrinkled face. “You two have changed your future.”
“So, what we saw, that’s….” Logan started.
“….that’s your future now,” she completed. “Unless you make changes to try and make it otherwise.”
“Not on yer life,” Logan shook his head, grinning at his beautiful wife and their infant daughter lying between them.

“Then go on living your life as you already are,” the gypsy pointed towards the sky, well towards the roof. “…and the stars will take care of the rest.”

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“So,” Ororo laid her head on Logan’s shoulder, her hand on his thigh. They were driving back to the mansion, their daughter, Kendall asleep in the child safety seat behind them. “Aren’t you happy we returned to her?”

“Sure am darlin’,” Logan covered her hand with his own. “I was just thinkin’….”

“Thinking? About?”

“Just that….” Logan glanced at the beautiful white haired, mocha skinned baby visible in the rear-view mirror.

“…..Torrent sounds like a nice codename fer our Kendall.”

FIN


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