Love That Burns

nineteen

Logan couldn't take his eyes off of you as your group stood in the Oval Office. Charles has froze everyone but the President while Ororo created a storm outside for cover. Everyone else was staring at the President, but Logan couldn't rip his eyes away from you. You were standing on the other side of Charles, one hand holding tightly to the back of the wheelchair like it was your lifeline. Logan was growing more concerned for you with each passing second. Stryker has tortured you, experimented on you, and forced you to become a mindless soldier. You then killed Stryker and watched Jean sacrifice herself. That would be a lot for anyone, but especially in the same day.

When your group got back to the mansion, Logan silently walked you to your room. He listened in carefully as he changed in his own room for any signs of distress from you. He was ready to jump in at a moments notice. Eventually, many of you made it down to Charles' office.

"You know, even when Jean was a student, she was always hesitant about her powers," Charles said. "Always looking to others... feeling that is someway, she was left behind."

"Do you think—" Scott's emotions forced him to pause. "Could we have done more to save her?"

"In the past, she may have let us."

"There had to be another way," you whispered. "Why did she leave the plane?"

"Because she made a choice." A knock sounded at the door. "Yes, come on in."

Students began entering the office. You quickly left, Logan hot on your tail.

"Y/N," he called. "Y/N, wait." He reached forward to try and grab hold of your wrist.

You yanked your arms out of Logan's reach and headed down the stairs to the lab. Logan continued to follow, only stopping with you finally reached the lab. You looked around at the area.

"Our relationship was an interesting one," you said quietly. "Little sister, big sister... then it changed to best friends... I always knew that people would die around me because I'm slow to age... I just thought that I had a few more years left."

"Is that why we dated? Because it could last?"

"No," you shook your head. "We dated because we were already in love with each other... We left Stryker's team and built a small house in the mountains. You were a lumberjack and I as a school teacher. We had a few years of awkward relationship status until one night changed that... Years passed and you proposed." You looked down, taking the ring that lay between Logan's dog tags between your fingers. "Then our peaceful life got interrupted and it was never the same again."

"I wish I could remember all of that."

"Me too."

Logan slowly walked up to you, moving around to stand in front of you. "I... I talked with Jean. Before we went to Alkali, we talked."

"About what?"

"You. Us."

"And?"

"And I want to know what you know."

"Okay."

"But I also want to start over. I'm not the same person you fell in love with. I also am struggling with my own feelings on the whole thing. I know that it's asking a lot of you to start over but—"

You shut him up by placing a hand over his mouth. "Starting over sounds perfect."

~~~

The two of you stayed in the lab and talked through the night. You told him everything you knew about his life before you'd met him. His birthday. His half-brother Victor. The wars. Then you moved on to explain Stryker's team. You told him about your teammates and your mission and the night that James had asked you to leave. You told him about building a new life after the team and how the two of you finally took action on your feelings. It became harder for you to go through what happened when you reached the proposal and Stryker reappearing in your lives. You told him how Victor put you down and how James somehow found you and buried you. You explained Stryker's Island and what he was doing there. All the way up until the moment Stryker shot James and Charles forced you away from him.