The X-Men: Coming Around Again

Author:  Stacy Ricco

Note:  This takes place about 75 years after New Additions.

     She stared at the table in front of her. It was an ordinary looking table, simple in design, but it served its purpose well enough. The tabletop was rectangular in shape and could sit about six people at it comfortably. Except for a few patches, the shiny protective coating that had once covered the light, finely grained wood surface was now gone. She absently traced with one finger the random names written or carved into the tabletop. She knew the table well and had found herself sitting at it time and time again. She even helped to put some of the writing on it, but that was long ago and in what seemed to be like another lifetime.
    She drained her glass and set it back down. She glanced at her watch, wondering if and when he was going to show. They met in this same place year after year, always on the same day. There were times when he didn't show, but that didn't surprise or bother her. She knew he had things to take care of, just as she did once and awhile. She had only missed two of these meetings so far, and given the number of years that they had been meeting like this, it was a pretty good record. She didn't know how many times he didn't show, but she really didn't care. She could find him without little effort if she needed to. They were linked in a way that even she didn't understand, and so in the overall scheme of things it didn't matter. She knew that she would only belong to him and vice-versa.
    She didn't notice when the waitress took the empty glass away and replaced it with a full one. She didn't care as long as she had something to do to pass the time. She took a large swallow of the Long Island Iced Tea and set the glass back down. They don't make them like they used to here. Then again, it was a different time and a different bartender. She missed Harry. Harry was the founder of this establishment, and it never was the same after he sold it and retired. The name of the place remained Harry's Hideaway for a long time after he left, but eventually it changed as all things did.
She looked around at the clientele. The crowd was one of the things about Harry's that hadn't changed at all. It was still made up of working folks here to unwind after a hard day's work and students here for laughter and a break from their studies. The students were from Xavier's down the road. The school grew with the passing of the years and she probably wouldn't recognize it anymore, even if she used to call it home.
    Home. There was a word she hasn't used in a long time. She had a few places of her own here and there, but she never referred to any of them as home. Home would always be associated with the large farmhouse near the lake where the two of them raised their family. Maybe she would swing by there sometime soon. It had been a long time since she stepped foot in the door to that farmhouse and she wanted to see how the place was holding up. She had people keep the place up for her, but she herself hadn't been back in what was probably going on twenty years. She didn't think he would have stopped back there either. It was a different life when they both lived there with their children. It was a different life all together.
    She emptied the glass. How many Long Islands had she finished already tonight? She didn't know or care. She could drink them all night long and hardly feel a thing. Sometimes they would stay up all night trying to drink each other under the table; it was usually an expensive waste of time and money for both of them.
She didn't bother to look around to see if he had entered the bar. It was unnecessary; she'd feel his presence and know he was there the moment he stepped through the door. They were always good at keeping each other on their toes. Perhaps that's why they've lasted so long. How many years now had they been married? Wasn't it something going on seventy-four or seventy-five? Not that one could tell by looking at the two of them. She didn't look a day past thirty, even if next year would be her one-hundredth birthday and he didn't look a day older than when she met him. Of course he was old enough to be her grandfather when she met him, but he didn't look a day past thirty either.
    She missed him. She missed being with him and wondered if they should do the domestic thing again. It had been a long time since they lived together in one place. It had been a long time since they spent any length of time together. They still loved each other, that hadn't diminished, but they were too much alike in that they both didn't fit into the domestic scene too well. They had both lived most of their lives as fighters and soldiers and nothing would ever change that. It was who they were. Sure they'd done the domestic scene while they were raising their children, but awhile after the kids were out of the house and on their own, they'd gotten restless. Maybe one day they would come around again and do the domestic thing. Who knew? She hated to admit that she did like what they had now. They met here at what used to be Harry's every year to catch up and spend some time together. Some years it was only for the night, while in other years they would spend a month or two together. It depended on what each was doing and how long it had been since they last saw each other.
    Of course this wasn't the only time they ever saw each other. Sometimes they would end up together at one of their children's house for the holidays, or even just run into each other when they were both in the same city. Sometimes one would look the other up on purpose, just so they could spend some time together. Not all their meetings were under happy circumstances, though. There were the times when they would see each other at a funeral. Those were the worst. She hated seeing her friends grow old and pass on. It was one of the major drawbacks to having an extended lifespan.
    She quickly brushed those thoughts aside and thought of him some more. She thought about the last time she saw him. She caught up to him in San Francisco of all places. He'd managed to get himself into an uncomfortable situation at a tiny hole-in-the-wall bar, where one of the waitresses had decided to get overly friendly and plop herself down on his lap just as she walked in the door. The expression on his face didn't change when he saw her, but she could see a gleam in his eye. He knew she was coming and probably had arranged for her to see the whole episode. She took it all in stride, like she had the many other times something like this happened. Perhaps he did those sorts of things to see if she still cared. Of course she had to respond in appropriate manner, so she put on a big scene about the woman sitting on her husband's lap in front of the whole bar. They'd always had an interesting relationship and some things never changed.
    Waking up from her reminiscing, she noticed the waitress left another drink for her. She looked at her watch and sighed. It was starting to get late, even for him to show up. She would stay until the bar closed like she always did, but usually if he wasn't here by now he wasn't going to show. Briefly, she thought about heading over to the school, but quickly dismissed the idea. She definitely wanted to stop by before leaving town, but there was no point in waking anyone up at this hour. It had been awhile since she saw her two children still teaching at the school.
    Even with the nomadic lifestyle they both lead, they still made time to visit their children and grandchildren. Their family was growing and it took a larger amount of time each year to visit all of them, but she didn't mind. She grew up without a family for most of her early life and now she was making up for it. Her family was the world to her and she would do anything for them and to protect them. These days they hardly needed protection anymore. The world had changed a lot in the years since her children were growing up. Mutants were no longer hated or feared and lived rather peacefully with the rest of humankind. The Professor's dream was mostly achieved and she wished he were around to see it. Tragically, the man who worked so hard for such a worthy dream didn't live long enough to see its fruition. Another sigh escaped her lips. Thoughts of her father always seemed to depress her.
She finished off the rest of her drink and stood up. She was the last one in the place except for Pete the bartender. Saying good night to him, she slowly walked out the front door. The cab Pete called for her was waiting. She looked down at the ground and slowly walked over to the waiting cab. The bitter taste of disappointment filled her mouth. She had hoped he would show up. She sighed and put her hand on the door handle. She started to open the door when a vice-like grip encircled her wrist.

"I wouldn' be doin' that darlin'."
Her eyes went wide and she turned in the direction where the voice had come from.
"Logan!"
"Sorry I'm late Ace. Was afraid I was goin' to miss you."
"It's okay Logan."
They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments before he tore his eyes away from hers. He opened the cab door and told the driver to take off. No one would need a cab tonight. He turned back toward her and stared into her eyes.
"Happy anniversary Logan."
"You too darlin'."