Logan shoved open the doors of the X-Mansion, his boots pounding against the floor with a slow, deliberate menace. He hadn’t been invited. He hadn’t even warned them he was coming. He had just walked in, like he always had, like he was still part of this team. Even if since their behavior towards Wade, he had stopped the missions a bite.
But tonight, he wasn’t here to be one of them.
The X-Men were gathered in the main hall, one of those damn briefings where they talked strategy and diplomacy like the world was a chessboard and they controlled all the pieces. Cyclops was speaking, of course. He always was. Jean stood beside him, a hand on his arm, and behind them, the other team members—Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler—listened intently.
Until Logan walked in.
Silence fell instantly. Glances were exchanged. The tension in the room thickened.
“Logan,” Cyclops began, crossing his arms.
But Logan didn’t give him a chance to say another word. He stepped forward, slammed both hands on the table, and looked at each of them, his gaze burning with quiet fury.
“So that’s it? You’re throwing him out. Again.”
Cyclops sighed, like the whole situation was just an annoyance to him. “It’s not that simple.”
“Oh, but it is. Wade wants to be part of something. He wants to help. He wants to save lives. And you, you spandex-wearing assholes, slam the door in his face.”
“He’s too impulsive, Logan,” Jean said gently. “Too… unpredictable. He puts everyone at risk.”
Logan shot her a sharp glare. “And me? Huh? You don’t think I’m impulsive? You never hesitated to keep me on the team, even after all the times I almost ripped someone’s head off instead of knocking them out nicely.”
“It’s different,” Cyclops said curtly.
“Oh yeah? Explain how it’s different. Explain why me, the guy with adamantium claws and homicidal rage issues, am worthy of being an X-Men, but not Wade. He asks me every damn day to team up with us. With me. And it breaks my heart to tell him no. To see that disappointment on his face.”
No one said a word.
“Because he cracks jokes? Because he doesn’t follow your damn orders like a good little soldier? Because he doesn’t fit your perfect, shiny image of a hero?” A bitter laugh escaped him. “Hypocrites.”
Colossus stepped forward, arms crossed, clearly uncomfortable. “Logan… You know I tried. But Wade… He doesn’t follow the rules. He doesn’t think about the consequences. It’s dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” Logan practically spat the word. “Do you realize this guy would die for you? For any of you? You’ve seen him fight. You’ve seen him bleed to protect innocent people. He looks up to you. He dreams of being one of you. But no, you’d rather shut the door in his face. Like always.”
He locked eyes with Cyclops. “You’re pathetic.”
Cyclops straightened, his expression unreadable. “We’ve made our decision.”
Logan clenched his jaw. He could have popped his claws right then and there. He wanted to. God, he wanted to. But it wouldn’t change a damn thing.
He cast one last look at Jean, at Colossus, at Storm. He wished he could see doubt in their faces. Maybe it was there, buried deep under all that X-Men discipline. But it wasn’t enough.
So he turned on his heel.
“Go to hell.”
And he walked out.
The night had fallen hours ago when Logan stepped through the door of their apartment, his expression dark, his back stiff with tension. His fists were still clenched, his joints white from the anger he was trying to contain. He had just returned from the X-Men mansion, confronting them. And he wanted to rip the throat out of the first idiot in a yellow and blue suit that crossed his path.
But when he entered the living room, his heart tightened for an entirely different reason.
Wade was there. Slumped on the couch, curled up on himself, his head lowered, shoulders shaking with tremors he was likely trying to suppress. He hadn’t even turned on the lights. The darkness enveloped him, as if it wanted to swallow him whole.
“Bub…” Logan approached, but Wade didn’t react. He stayed still, arms wrapped tightly around his chest, breathing erratically.
Logan knelt in front of him, placing a hand on his knee. “I talked to them. Those damn X-Men… They don’t get it. They’re the real idiots, not you.”
Still no response. Just a shaky sigh.
“Wade, look at me.”
Nothing.
Logan gritted his teeth and waited. He knew Wade. He knew he only spoke when he was ready. So, he waited, his hand still on his knee, anchored there in silence.
Then, finally, Wade lifted his head. His eyes were red, swollen. His cheeks were wet. He had been crying. Seeing this stirred a murderous urge in Logan.
“Why do you bother?” Wade’s voice was hoarse, drained.
“Because you’re worth it.”
Wade shook his head, a bitter laugh escaping him. He wiped his face with his sleeve, but the tears kept falling. He took a painful breath before murmuring:
“You know they’re right…”
Logan furrowed his brows. “No. No, Red, they’re wrong.”
But Wade continued as if he hadn’t heard. “I’m impulsive. Dangerous. A fucking joke. No wonder the Avengers didn’t take me. Or the X-Men. And they take anyone…”
Logan froze.
Wade lifted a broken gaze to him, his voice trembling under the weight of memories.
“I’m a ridiculous, immature, half-wit moron. I’ve never met a more pathetic guy than me, and damn, not even you, right? You’ve been alive for over 200 years, Logan, and even you’ve never
met a sadder, more attention-starved jabbering little prick. ”
Logan’s breath caught.
“That bald chick was right, Logan. I’ll never save the world. I couldn’t even save my relationship with my girl. I can’t even die in peace. That’s God’s best joke. Except that's on all of us.”
Logan stood up abruptly, his gaze burning with pain and anger. Not at Wade. At himself.
Because those words… They weren’t from the X-Men.
They were his.
Wade was repeating, word for word, what Logan had thrown at him in that damn Honda Odyssey, like a rusted blade being driven straight into his heart.
Logan ran a hand over his face, taking a deep breath to contain the flood of guilt overwhelming him. He knew Wade hadn’t forgotten. But he didn’t realize he still thought about it. Repeating those words like a curse.
“What the hell, bub…” he murmured, his voice rough with emotion.
Wade laughed again, but it was a broken, painful sound. “What? Did you forget? I didn’t. I think about it every day. And you know what? You were right.”
“No.” Logan shook his head, his gaze a mix of rage and regret. “No, damn it. I was wrong.”
Wade shrugged, looking exhausted. “You weren’t far off. If even you can see it, it must be true, right? You’ve never seen something like this in 200 years of existence.”
Logan didn’t think. He grabbed Wade by the shoulders and forced him to look him in the eyes.
“Listen to me, sweetheart. I never meant to say that. Never. I was angry, I was a jerk, I just wanted to make you react… and… and I said things I regret every fucking day since.”
Wade’s eyes blurred again. But he shook his head, refusing to believe.
“You thought it was just words. That you’d forget. But I kept them, Logie. They stick to me. Because they’re true. It really made me think.”
“No, they’re not!” Logan shook him lightly, his voice trembling with emotion. “Wade, goddamn it… You want to know what I really think? You’re not a fucking joke. You’re not a monster. You’re the bravest guy I know. You want to save the world? You’ve already saved lives, Wade. And not just strangers. You saved mine. And you didn’t need those fucking X-Men for that.”
Wade opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
“If the X-Men can’t see that, then fuck ‘em. I see it. And I want you to see it too.”
Wade blinked, tears flowing again despite himself. He shook his head, as if still wanting to protest.
Then Logan took him in his arms. Tight. Tighter than he ever had before.
And this time, Wade didn’t fight it. He clung to him, hands gripping his back, shaking violently as he let everything out. All the pain, all the anger, all the weight he’d been carrying for too long.
Logan gently stroked his neck, whispering softly in his hair. “I’m here. I’m here, bub. And I’ll never let you go.”
Wade’s sobs shook his whole body, his fingers clutching the leather of Logan’s jacket.
“I just wanted to be important… I just wanted to belong to something…” His voice was broken, almost inaudible.
“You are important.” Logan tightened his embrace. “And you already belong to something. To me.”
Wade let out a strangled laugh against his shoulder. He clung to those words like a lifeline.
And Logan held him for as long as he needed.