Title: Freedom
Fandom: X-Men 3
Rating: Gen
Length: 306 words
Content notes: Also for my X-Men A-Z challenge, with the prompt, "Meow"
Summary: Marie gets a kitten


Marie cuddled the kitchen closely, gently stroking its dark fur. Another kitten butted her ankle, meowing, and she petted its head for a moment, but she quickly returned her attention to the little one in her arms. He was a long hair; dark brown everywhere, save for one white blaze across his forehead. It reminded her a little of her own hair, and the remote possibility of her finding a pet had become a certainty, as she couldn't now imagine leaving her little double behind.

"Picked one yet?" Logan grumbled.

Marie glanced at her 'Professor,' standing uncomfortably in the midst of a group of kittens all desperately vying for his attention. It was one of the funniest things she had seen in a long time, and the giggle escaped before she could rein it in.

"All set!" She declared. Scooping up the little boy and carefully stepping past the others, she held him up for Logan's approval.

He stared the cat down for a moment before giving it a little sniff and then nodding. It meowed in his face and he frowned. "What're you gonna call it?" he grunted.

"Freedom," Marie declared. Because she was – finally – free. Free of fear, free of pain, free to touch again. Seeing Logan's unchanging expression, however, she hesitated. "M- Maybe it's a little corny. I've never been good at naming things..."

Logan snorted. "Tell me about it, Rogue" he teased.

Marie stuck her tongue out at him. He still teased her about that, even though she had been just Marie for three months now. Of course, she still called him Logan, though the rest of the school called him Wolverine.

"No, but, uh-" Logan cleared his throat. "It's a good name, kid." He turned away abruptly, all but running out of the shelter's back room.

Smiling, Marie and Freedom followed.