”Come on, kid. Time to go.”
“No.”
“For fuck’s sakes… He’s dead. They’re all dead. They’re not going to come back no matter how long you stare at those graves.”
“Fuck you. Leave me alone.”
“Do you think he would have wanted that? To leave you alone out here?”
“What do you know about anything? You weren’t even here! You don’t know me! You didn’t know them!”
“I know jack shit about you, but I did know Xavier. I knew him very well. And he asked me to take care of you if anything happened to him and his team.”
“I haven’t seen you before. I don’t even know your name, and you expect me to believe what you say? That’s rich. I wasn’t born yesterday. For all I know you could be one of those bastards that attacked us.”
“No. You weren’t born yesterday, Marie. You were born eighteen years ago. Two days from now is your birthday. Xavier was planning a big party for you. He even ordered that dress from Milan.”
“What… How…”
“How did I know? Because I knew Chuck. And because he called me and asked me to bring that dress to him. I had some business in Milan. If I hadn’t been two days late, none of this would have happened. Xavier and the others would be still alive, and you’d be planning with whom to dance the last dance of the evening. As it is, you’re fresh out of options, darling. The last dance is mine. You can call me Logan.”

The man standing next to her bowed dramatically and gestured towards beaten up Pontiac that stood at the driveway. Logan. She had heard that name before. Always whispered. Always behind closed doors. Always when something big was happening. Wolverine. Xavier had left her with the Wolverine.

“O… Okay. Let me just grab my bag and we’re good to go,” she whispered, casting one last glance towards the grey marble that marked their graves. Professor Xavier. His staff. All the children that used to live at Xavier’s school. All of them dead.

She reached for the bag that laid on her feet and hurried after Logan who was already striding towards the car as if there wasn’t fast enough way to get out from the cemetery they had been standing on.

“Anyway… I’m just a middleman. Xavier told me to take you to Eric if things went sour at his place,” Logan said, lighting a cigar and starting the car.
“Eric?” She asked.
“You brats probably knew him better by his other name. Magneto.”
“Magneto?”
“Yeah. You know? The old guy who runs the Brotherhood? Wears this freaky helmet? Really crafty with metals?”
“You’re going to take me to Magneto?”
“Yes.”
“Magneto?”
“Xavier never mentioned you being retarded…”
“You can’t take me to Magneto! Let me out! Let me out, I… I can make it on my own better than…” She rattled the door handle, in vain. Door refused to budge. Logan’s eyes narrowed. He steered the car to the curb and killed the engine.

“It’s not a good idea to jump out of a moving vehicle. Here, let me help you with that…” Logan grunted, leaning over her and cranking the door open. She stopped breathing. She could only stare at that bare arm, so dangerously close to her. Then it was gone. Logan was lounging against the driver’s door, taking long drags from his cigar.
“Well, I don’t have the whole fucking day, princess.”
“You… You’re letting me go?” She asked.
“Fuck. You’re a grown woman. You don’t want to go to Magneto? Then don’t.”
“What am I supposed to do, then?” She asked, more from herself than expecting an answer, but Logan provided her one.
“I couldn’t care less, kid. Close the goddamned door, it’s getting cold in here.”

She slammed the door shut. Logan leaned his forehead against the steering wheel, cigar clamped between his fingers.
“The way I see it, you have exactly two options. Get the fuck out of this car, or let me take you to Magneto. Which is it going to be?” He asked.
“I don’t want to go to Magneto. I… I don’t like the company he’s keeping.”
“Then get the fuck out of my car. I have better things to do than to baby-sit Xavier’s little princess,” Logan growled, again reaching over her and pushed the door open for her. She stepped out. Stood there.
“What am I supposed to do now?” She asked, now waiting for an answer.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know, or you don’t care?” She asked. Logan snorted.
“Pick one!” She heard him huffing, then the door slammed shut and the car sped away. With her bag resting in the trunk.

The day just kept getting better she noted when first huge wet drop of rain landed on top of her nose. She shoved her hands in to the pockets of her jeans and lowered her head. The coat she was wearing wouldn’t protect her from the rain long. She started to walk down the road. First thing she would do when she got in to the city was to kill all her credit cards. They were in the bag that Logan had basically stolen. As were her phone and her ID as well.
“Fuck!” She kicked hard when a small collection of pebbles got caught on her way. She kicked little too hard, and momentum threw her on her ass to the wet asphalt.
“Fuck!” She screamed. Screamed for the unfairness of it all.

For the past two years of her life she had been living in a school meant for mutant children, under watchful eye of Charles Xavier. He had taken her in after her parents had thrown her out. Then one night had changed it all. The night when the masked men came with their weapons, executed everybody they saw and spray painted the mansion all over with words and phrases filled with hate towards mutants before burning it.

And here she was now, sitting in a growing puddle of rainwater, with nothing to do and nowhere to go.
“Fuck…” She hissed again, sharpest edge of her anger dulling slowly, turning to worry. Out here alone she was regardless of her life-draining mutation quite vulnerable. Just as the worry started to turn fear she could hear car approaching. Fast.

She was still sitting on the ground when mat black Pontiac swerved to her field of vision. Logan. He was coming back. And he seemed to be in awful hurry. He sure seemed to be anxious in getting rid of her bag. For surely he was coming back just to return it.

The car skidded to halt, splashing more water all over her and the door flew open.
“Get in.”

She wasted no time in getting up and getting in. She only barely had the time to yank the door shut when the car launched forward like a rocket, throwing her against the backrest of the seat.
“I’m still not going to Magneto!” She screeched, trying to struggle up.
“Military. The whole fucking city is swarming with them,” Logan said, his eyes flickering between the road and rearview mirror.
“And that’s supposed to worry me because…?” She was honestly puzzled.
“FOH raid at the mansion made the headlines. I guess Stryker came to loot what was left of Xavier’s.”
“Stryker?”
“William F. Stryker. Leader of bioweapons section. Interested especially in mutants.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Magneto can take care of his people. We’re getting the hell out of Dodge before shit hits the fan.”
“We? As in you and me?” She asked. Logan threw a sharp glance towards her.
“Don’t see anybody else in this car. I guess it’s just you and me, kid.”

She huffed and threw back the coke Logan had so generously offered to her when they entered to the bar. Glanced longingly towards the bartender who for some reason seemed to avoid her. Then turned towards the cage where Logan was pounding yet another contestant to the floor.

“This is abso-fucking-lutely un-fucking-believable…” She muttered under her breath. Five more hours to go in this sleazy joint, and all Logan let her drink was non-alcoholic drinks and water. He on the other hand was slugging back beer and whiskey like they were water.
“I don’t want to get thrown out because the chick I came in with can’t hold her liquor,” he had said when she had asked for whiskey. Just because she passed out at the previous bar they had stopped didn’t mean squat. She had been tired and hungry back then, having spend nearly half a week sitting in a cramped Pontiac, eating fucking pretzels and beef jerky!

She tried hailing the bartender once again, task that proved futile, and slouched down from the stool she was sitting on. Moved closer to the ringside.

It was boring as hell to sit in a car 24-7, but these matches were worth to look for. All the bare skin and rippling, sweaty muscles a girl could hope to see. Now, if she only could get a drink, even one lousy beer, everything would be perfect. But unfortunately nobody seemed interested in facing the Wolverine’s wrath. Every bar they entered he made it perfectly clear to everybody that she was under no circumstances allowed nowhere near booze.

She cringed when Logan took a knee to his side and fell on to the floor on his hands and knees. Cringed some more when his opponent kicked him hard. Then cringed even more when she saw the grim lines appearing around Logan’s eyes as they narrowed. Nobody… Fucking nobody in his right mind kicked his jewels. Not if they wanted to remain in the land of the living.

“This is going to be so good…” She muttered under her breath. Logan seemed to hear her barely audible whisper, tilted his head and winked at her. Then started to crawl up from the floor, as if in horrendous agony. His opponent who obviously hadn’t heard of the Wolverine before nor seen him in the ring stepped forward, launching a well-aimed punch, which Logan countered with his own fist. For a moment both men stood there, knuckle against knuckle, and time quite literally froze.

She could hear every breath. Every holler. Agonized whimper beginning somewhere deep in Logan’s opponent’s chest. Metallic ringing sound as Logan’s reinforced knuckles met fragile bone.

Then sudden wrench and everything came rushing back. Voices turned to blurred noise, Logan moved swiftly and swiped his opponent down with one blow to his jaw and the match was over. Logan was standing in the ring. The MC was holding his hand high and announcing him the king of the cage.

“Are you alright?” She asked when Logan scooted slowly to his corner of the cage and leaned carefully lower, picking up a bottle of whiskey and taking a sip.
“Just fine… Few bruises, that’s all. But we should get going before they disappear,” he said, taking another sip and grimacing slightly. She picked up his shirts from a stool near the cage and handed them to him. Logan slipped them on, moving gingerly, like he was in pain.

She followed him after he had collected his rewards. Once on the outside he straightened his stance and patted down his pockets, finding a cigar and a lighter.
“We made good money tonight. Few more nights like this and we can hole up for the winter,” he said.
“Hole up?” She asked. They started walking towards his car.
“Yeah. I have a cabin. Pretty remote and we’ll be snowed in for the most part of the winter, but we’re under military radar.”

Whole winter cooped up with him in some dingy cabin?
“And what are we supposed to do while were there? Jerk off and watch the paint peeling?” She asked, hoping that Logan was joking about the whole thing.
“Well, jerking off can keep you busy only for so long… I have books. And the cabin itself will keep us occupied.”
“Huh?”
“It needs a little fixing. And we need to carry water and firewood. And hunt.”
“And by little fixing you mean… Is the roof leaky or will the whole fucking shack fall apart if I slam the door too hard?” She asked. Logan threw her a nasty glare.
“You have options. Most of them lead you to Stryker, sooner or later. Do you wish to become his pet project?” He asked. She swallowed, then shook her head.
“No. I’m sure the cabin is not that bad. Besides, it’s good to try rural lifestyle for a change…”

She knew about Stryker and his program only what Logan had told her, but those bits and pieces of fractured memories and grisly discoveries were enough to assure her that she’d be better off even with Magneto and Sabretooth than him.

“What’s the deal between you and Eric?” Logan suddenly asked. She had apparently voiced over her opinion of the situation.
“I have nothing against Magneto. It’s Sabretooth.”
“Good old Vic… What’s he to you?” Logan asked.
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Suit yourself. Ready to turn in for the night?” Logan asked, dropping the subject for her relief.
“Yeah… Uh… Could we stay in a motel for a change?” She asked. For the most part they had been sleeping in the car, she curled at the back, Logan half sitting on the front seat.
“It would be nice to take a warm shower. Sleep in a real bed,” she added quickly when Logan looked hesitant.
“It would be nice,” he admitted.
“And there probably would be cable. All the hockey you could ever want, just press the small button on the remote…” She pressed on.
“It would be nice, but… I don’t know if it’s safe.”
“Come on! It’s not like Stryker can track us down now! We’re in the middle of nowhere, for Christ’s sakes!”
“Hide and seek is a game we both, me and Stryker know very well. We’re on his turf now,” Logan said. Bright neon sign of a motel appeared in the distance.
“But… Just one night? Please?” She mustered all her diplomacy and ‘aren’t I adorable’ –attitude to those words, even batted her lashes for the good measure. The exit to the motel was getting closer every second. Logan looked at her. He looked at the blinking sign that advertised vacant rooms. Glanced around.
“What the heck… I could use shower and some proper shut-eye myself as well…” He finally relented. She let out a victorious squeal.
“But I get to choose the bed first. And the TV is mine,” Logan added hastily.

She lay wide-awake on the bed. It was amazing, and frankly speaking quite frustrating. In the car she had had no problems with falling asleep. It had been waking up that had been problematic. Usually she had slept so soundly that she hadn’t moved an inch during her sleep, so her back had been stiff and achy at the morning. And now? On this soft, luxurious bed? With real pillow and warm blanket? Dreams kept evading her.

Logan on the other hand didn’t seem to have any kind of problems of sleeping. He had taken a quick shower, and regardless of his earlier dibs on the TV he had fallen asleep as soon as his back hit the bed he had chosen.

She stared at his profile. Moonlight cast an eerily grey hue over his features. He looked angry even in deep sleep. Brows drawn to deep frown, grim lines around his lips that were tightly drawn together. He looked tense. As if he was ready to bolt up at any second. Yet he was asleep. Steady rhythm of his breathing hadn’t changed in the last couple of hours.

She curled to a more comfortable position and closed he eyes. Then promptly blinked them open again. Logan had moved. He had turned on his side, and was now facing her.
“Are you really sleeping?” She whispered. There was no answer, but Logan moved again, now turning on his back. His eyes seemed to move rapidly under his closed eyelids. Then suddenly he stopped breathing. He just lay there, rigid as a board, holding his breath. Just as she was going to get up and wake him he bolted up, strangled scream bubbling forth.

“Logan?” She whispered his name. He was sitting on the bed, now awake. His arms were tightly clasped around his knees and he was shivering violently, staring off in to darkness.
“Logan?” She called him again, little louder. This time he actually turned to look at her. For a moment he looked suspicious, then recognition flickered over his features and he somewhat relaxed.
“Go back to sleep,” he said, getting up and walking in to the bathroom.

Back to sleep?
“Wasn’t even sleeping yet. Are you alright?” She asked, pulling on her bathrobe and following him. Logan was splashing cold water from the tap on his face. He glanced her sideways.
“I’m fine. Go to sleep,” he grunted, dunking his whole head under the spray of water.
“You’re fine? Is that why you’re trembling like a leaf?” She asked, pulling on her gloves and stroking his back gently.
“I’m fine. Get your fucking hand off before I lop it off…” Logan nearly growled, rising to his full height, water splashing everywhere. She stepped back but refused to leave the bathroom.

“Just go to sleep. You’re going to drive tomorrow,” Logan said, sinking heavily on top of the toilet seat.
“You’re not alright. What is it?” She prodded. At first she though that she wouldn’t get an answer. Then Logan raised his fist. Muscles on his forearm twitched, and suddenly there were three, sharp-looking metal blades protruding from between his knuckles.
“Stryker gave these to me. Just like I told you earlier. Sometimes it all comes back in dreams.”
“You had a nightmare?” She asked, stepping closer again, dodging the blades and standing right in front of Logan so that his fists were hidden behind her back. Invasion of his private space made him clearly uncomfortable and he leaned as far back as he could without falling off from his perch.
“Yeah. I had a nightmare. I’m… I’m not going to sleep more tonight.”
“Afraid of dreams?” She asked. It came out rather mockingly she realized when Logan all but strangled her and stomped out from the bathroom, starting to put on his clothes.
“Get dressed. We’re leaving,” he grunted when she followed him.
“Leaving? Now?”
“Do I stutter? Get your ass in gear woman, now!”

She threw her clothes hastily on and gathered her belongings, hurrying after Logan who was already outside, walking towards the car. When she tried to sit on the driver’s seat he shoved her aside, gesturing her to take the passenger’s side again. She threw her bag in the back and sat down.

Logan drove like a maniac through the whole night, stopping only once for gas. When morning came they were literally in the middle of nowhere. Miles and miles of wide-open snowy plain around them, behind them deep and dark forest. He parked the car near the tree line and killed the engine. Rubbed his face tiredly.

“Where are we?” She asked when it looked like Logan wasn’t planning to drive further.
“Home. At least for now,” he grunted, pushed the door open and stepped out. She reached for her bag and followed him. He was at the back of the car, rummaging through the trunk and pulling out bags and backpacks, and a heavy looking roll of tarp. She took in their surroundings. Nope. No cabin. Just trees and lots of snow.

Last item Logan took out was a small toboggan to which he tied their numerous baggages. As he was dragging the tarp over the car she finally felt like it was okay to speak again.
“How far is it?” She asked. Logan looked at her as if he had just remembered that he had company. Finished tying the tarp and started scooping snow upon it.
“Not too far. We should reach the cabin by nightfall.”

By nightfall? They were supposed to spend a whole day tumbling around in a sinking snow? She looked at her shoes. They were perfect for N.Y. winter. Warm and relatively sturdy. But they reached just barely above her ankles. She would freeze her feet.
“Uh… I think I have a problem…” She said, raising her left foot higher for inspection. Logan shook his head.
“We’re not walking in the snow,” he said, once again leaving her guessing what he meant by that.
“Make yourself useful. We need to cover this whole goddamned car before we can get going,” Logan grunted.

By the time there was satisfying layer of snow on top of the car Marie’s gloves were thoroughly soaked and she couldn’t feel her fingers anymore.
“What the fuck were you thinking, kid? Why didn’t you say something?” Logan scolded her, rummaging through his knapsack, trying to find warm mittens for her to wear.
“I was thinking that I should do as you told me to. I’m getting tired of being yelled all the time.”
“Well, you should have said something. Hypothermia is not something to play with. Here, these should warm you up,” Logan said and shoved woolen mittens for her. She put them on.
“Thanks…”
“Okay. We should get going. It took longer to hide that goddamned piece of junk than I expected,” Logan said grabbing the string of the toboggan and walked towards a large rock formation little deeper in the forest. She followed him.
“Grab a branch or something and swipe off our tracks.”
“Huh?”
“For Christ’s sakes! Grab a branch and start sweeping!”

She looked around. All the branches she could see were currently very attached to trees, and looked huge. There was no way she could snap off one, let alone use it to hide their tracks. Logan turned and let go of the toboggan. His right hand curled to a tight fist. One claw extended and he used it to swipe down a wide branch from a nearby fir.

“Take the lead. I’ll do it,” he grunted, shoving her towards the toboggan. She grabbed the string and started walking to the direction Logan had been walking earlier. When she glanced over her shoulder she saw him walking backwards. He wasn’t actually hiding their tracks, just covering them with thick layer of snow.
“It should start snowing soon. After a while nobody can tell that we walked from here,” he explained without turning his back.

She reached their destination. Huge pile of huge boulders. She waited for Logan.
“Go round it. There’s an entrance on the other side,” he instructed. Turning the toboggan in the sinking snow was a bit tricky and she nearly tipped it over. Logan hurried to her side and stopped it from turning over. She glanced at him quickly.
“Sorry…”
“Just watch it. And watch where you’re going. There’s loose rocks under the snow,” he said.

They reached the opening soon enough. First flakes of pure, new snow were already falling from the sky. She extended her hand; palm turned upwards and collected them.
“Told you… And from the smell of it it’s going to be a real blizzard,” Logan said, squeezing past her and disappearing in to the dark cave.
“Give the toboggan to me. And be careful, it’s slippery in here,” she heard his voice echoing slightly. She handed the string to his extended hand and stepped aside, letting him to pull the toboggan in before following him.

She tried to be careful, but behind the entrance the ground was very steep and extremely slippery. She lost her footing and started sliding rapidly downwards, past Logan and the toboggan. She closed her eyes. Then her descent stopped, and there was something tight around her throat, practically choking her. The collar of her jacket. She turned her head upwards and opened her eyes. Logan was kneeling behind her, his fist pressed against the wide hood of her jacket, keeping it trapped against the ice. She turned slowly to look in to the direction she had been sliding. Her impromptu amusement ride would have ended in few meters. Ground just seemed to disappear. There was a huge rift ahead.

“I can’t let go of you or the toboggan. You have to move real slowly. Put your hands and feet against the ice and try to scoot up here. Okay?” Logan spoke with a calm voice. She tried to do as he said, but she kept just slipping more, and she was slowly choking.
“Calm down, kid. Stop struggling before you strangle yourself. Try again.” Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one dangling down there.

She tried to calm down. Tried to breathe.
“Put your hands down first. Wait for a while. As soon as they start sticking to the ice, try to push up with your feet.”

It took a while, but finally she managed to scoot back to safety.
“Sorry about your jacket, kid,” Logan grunted, then steered her to the safer ground. She reached for the hood. There were holes in it. Three deep gouges.
“Well, I guess I rather have few holes in it than all my bones snapped in half…” She whispered shakily, then grasped Logan’s arm for support when her feet started to slip on the ice once again.
“Get over here,” Logan huffed sounding annoyed and urged her to climb against his side.

It took a while to get past the rift. She was hanging on to Logan for her dear life, her feet wrapped around his waist and her hands grasping his shoulder and muscular chest. Twice he stumbled, both times regaining his footing well before the treacherous terrain sent them careening towards the abyss.
“You sure do know your way around here,” she noted. Logan harrumphed.
“I should. I come here every winter.”
“Every winter? You know… Usually people spend their vacation in some warm place. Caribbean, Bahamas, Tahiti…”
”Who said anything about vacation?”
“Nobody. I just assumed…”
“Well, I guess you could call it a vacation… Laying low. Hibernating…”
“Hibernating?” She squeaked surprised, rousing amused snort from Logan.
“Kind of. Not like bears do it. Just keeping low profile. Staying out of reach and enjoy the silence.”
“Oh.”

The tunnel they were in seemed to stretch forever. She was able to walk on her own now. Ground was still slippery, but they had left the rift behind. She tried her best to keep up with Logan’s steady, unfaltering pace, but found it increasingly difficult. When her thighs started to shiver from the exertion she crouched.
“What is it now?” Logan asked sounding frustrated.
“I’m tired.”
“Already?”
“I’m not used to this kind of things.”
“No shit…” He grunted, then turned to the toboggan and started fiddling with the straps that bound their belongings to it. Took out his knapsack and backpack, slinging them over his shoulder and patted the vacant spot they left.
“Hop on.” She complied hurriedly, whispering silent thanks. Logan just snorted.
“Don’t get used to it. Winter is long and cold, and I’m not as sure as hell going to haul your ass through it…”

She almost fell asleep on the toboggan when Logan suddenly lunged behind her, his body curling around hers and his hands clasping tightly around her waist. She could see a steep downhill right in front of her, open, dark sky above her.
“Hang on.”
“Wha…” Her half-formed question turned to a surprised shriek when the toboggan started to slide over the snow, gathering speed rapidly.
“Too soft and deep to walk! We’ll just have to hope that it carries us all the way down!” She heard Logan shouting, then the wind gushing against them made it impossible to communicate.

There were no trees or large rocks ahead she noted relieved and relaxed somewhat, only to scream and grasp Logan’s arms to a vice-like grip when the toboggan hit hidden bump under the snow and jolted upwards before falling back to the snow and continuing forward. She closed her eyes, slightly ashamed of her rather girlish reaction. She could feel Logan shaking behind her slightly. When the toboggan slowed down she could hear him laughing.

When toboggan slid to halt in front of a small cabin that was partly buried under the snow she struggled free from Logan’s grasp.
“Wait, wait, kid! Wait!” She could hear laughter in his voice and scrambled off from the toboggan, embarrassed and angry, ending up nearly drowning to a powdery snow. She wriggled and spluttered, trying to find steady footing, but wherever she reached she met only sinking coldness. Large hand seized the back of her jacket and she was lifted through the air, still kicking and cursing. She landed on her stomach over Logan’s thighs.

“I tried to warn you. Don’t wander off. You’ll fucking drown or something,” he admonished, but there was no trace of anger or tiredness in his voice, just a slight hint of amusement. She rolled on her back, meeting his gaze, trying to bring forth all the frustration and rage that had been bubbling under ever since he had snatched her from the side of the road. Instead a grimace adorned her face when wetness on her cheeks started to chill in the cool air. Before she had the time to react Logan had wiped the slush from her cheeks with his hands. His bare hands.
“You… You shouldn’t do that…” She whispered with a shaky voice. Logan cocked his eyebrow questioningly.
“You shouldn’t touch me like that. I hurt people who get too close,” she stuttered, sitting up carefully. Move brought her to close proximity with Logan who let a lopsided grin flash over his features.
“That makes the two of us, then…” He grunted enigmatically, easing her slowly off from the toboggan, making sure that she found a steady surface to stand on before letting go of her hands.

They waded through the thick white banks to the door of the cabin.
“How are we supposed to get in?” She asked, eyeing the small sliver of door that was visible from under the snow. Logan dug in to the toboggan. Out came two small shovels. One was pushed in to her hands; other Logan kept for himself and started digging.
“Would go hell of a lot faster if you did your share…” He said. She shrugged herself out of the momentarily stupor and dug in.

Few minutes later she was exhausted. It was a lot harder than it looked. Every shovelful of snow she managed to throw off seemed to just magically grow back, no matter how fast she tried to shovel. Logan seemed to fare much better, having cleared nearly the whole porch by himself. He took the shovel from her and scraped the last bits of ice and snow from the door, then yanked the toboggan to them to the small clearing they had managed to make. He fished around his pockets and she could hear soft jingling. A keychain appeared. Logan maneuvered the toboggan out of his way and opened the lock. Then pushed the door open.

“Uh… Is this it?” She asked, stretching her neck, trying to see better in the complete darkness. There seemed to be one room. One small room with a fireplace in the corner and a narrow cot lay in front of it. Logan brushed past her, and she could have sworn she heard him sniffling the air, taking in scents.
“Home, sweet home…” He grunted, then turned and pulled the toboggan in.
“Are you going to come in or not?” He asked when she just stood on the doorway, trying to comprehend what she was seeing. She scurried quickly in, closing the door behind her. Then stood in front of it, unsure of what to say or do.

Logan was kneeling in front of the fireplace, peering up in to the chimney and arranging logs.
“I know this isn’t much. Not by a long shot. This shack is probably smaller than your room back at Xavier’s…” He spoke quietly, pausing to light the fire. Task completed he turned to look at her.
“But this is hell of a lot more and miles better than what you would get from Stryker.”
“I… It’s not that…” She squeaked, inching closer to the crackling fire, drawn to the warmth.
“What is it, then?” Logan asked. She glanced around and licked her lips nervously.
“I… Ummm… Where am I going to sleep? And is there a bathroom hidden somewhere in here or do I have to start shoveling every time I need to pee?” She asked. Logan thumped against the floorboards with his flattened hand. Sound echoing in the room was strangely hollow.
“There’s basement. Not much room, but there’s bed. And a toilet. There’s no warm water, but there’s a small stream running underneath this place, so we have running water as well.”
“Oh. Uhm… And you?” She asked, fiddling nervously with the sleeve of her jacket. Logan’s brow rose questioningly.
“I have no money, and I’m not exactly made for this kind of life… I’m only a burden. And… And you…”
“Money? You think I brought you here because I’m after money or your scrawny ass?” Logan asked. She didn’t know should she feel herself insulted or relieved.
“You don’t expect any kind of compensation for all of this?” She asked.
“Hell, no. At least not that kind of compensation you seem to be afraid of. I’m sleeping up here. Somebody has to keep the fire going during the night,” Logan said, tossing a log in to the flickering flames. She sat on the cot, tension ebbing from her body, leaving her muscles lax and sore.

“I owe this to Xavier. Wouldn’t be right to take money from you. Or anything else for that matter…” Logan sounded almost hurt, trudging around in the small space, rustling bags and packages. Her head started to droop. Her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton.
“What do we have here? This I’ll have to put outside to freeze, it’ll rot otherwise…” She tried to stay awake and shrugged off her jacket, curling upon it, her gaze drifting to the flames dancing in the fireplace.
“I’m going to toss your stuff in to the basement, you can put it away when you feel like it…” She blinked. Once. Twice. Flames. Darkness. Flames. Logan talking. Darkness. Flames. More talking.

Darkness.

She woke up with a jolt, her gaze flickering hastily back and forth before settling on to Logan who was sitting in front of the fireplace, leaning his back against the cot. She sat up slowly, wiping the small dribble of drool that had escaped during her comatose sleep and yawned.
“Sorry… Didn’t mean to hog your bed…” She whispered. Logan shrugged his shoulders.
“Wouldn’t have slept anyway…”
“It’s the dreams. They’re really bothering you?” She asked.
“From time to time. Seeing Stryker back in the city must have stirred them up.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
“I didn’t mean to sound so bitchy back at the motel. It came out wrong.”
“And I reacted wrong. Doesn’t that make us even?”

Logan leaned forward, grabbed a poker and stirred the logs a bit, gathering them closer together.
“Have you ever talked about it?” She asked.
“About what happened. What they did to you,” she clarified when Logan gave no answer. He huffed and put the poker back, combed fingers through his unruly hair.
“We talked about it. With Xavier. He tried… It’s either because of something that Stryker did to me, or I’m doing it myself, but I can’t seem to remember much about it when I’m awake.”
“And it all comes back in dreams.”
“Yeah. But it’ll stop. Eventually it’ll stop. It always does.”
“Until something triggers it again.”
“Yeah. That’s why I keep coming here. I got this place few years after I got away from Stryker. There are no bad memories in here. No triggers.”

She mulled it over for a long moment. This was his refuge. His haven. She was a complete stranger to Logan, yet he trusted her enough to bring her here. And her first reaction to the place had been less than flattering. Hawing and hemming over sleeping arrangements? Whining about bathroom?

She reached with her hand, carefully sliding it over his head, over the thick mane of jet-black hair. To her surprise he didn’t flinch, even though he knew about her mutation.
“Thank you. For bringing me here,” she whispered. Logan’s head drooped backwards until he was able to look in to her eyes.
“It was either me or Magneto, kid. The way I see it, you should have a say over when it comes to decisions about your life. From what I heard from Xavier, before he got to you, you didn’t have too much freedom.”

She pulled her hand back, surprised.
“Professor talked about me?” She asked. Logan nodded. Turned sideways and leaned against the warm side of the fireplace.
“Every now and then. Asked me to look after you when I was around. Asked me to bring in some stuff for you…”
“Wait a minute! Look after me? What? You were my personal stalker?” She asked, taken aback. Logan frowned.
“Not like that. I wasn’t… Shit. Xavier paid me to keep you out of troubles. Keep all of you out of troubles. Ever wondered why you got to walk around freely, undisturbed? With Xavier’s logo on your clothes? And on the car you drove?”
“I…”
“Xavier was a known mutant. If I hadn’t been tailing you brats when you went to the mall or just hung out in the city the FOH would have had your heads on a pole under ten minutes.”
“I guess I just thought that we were lucky…” She whispered. Logan drew his knees up and rested his head on them, his eyes still firmly locked with hers.
“You were lucky. I wasn’t there all the time…” He turned his gaze to the flickering flames.
“But I should have been. Xavier called to me fucking week before the attack. Told me he was getting willies. That something didn’t add up. Then asked me to get that dress and return as soon as possible.”
“And you did?”
“I did. Fucking two days late. Got held up at the airport, the ID Xavier had gotten me was already invalid. Took two fucking days to clear up that mess.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“It kind of was. I didn’t try hard enough. I just thought that Xavier was picking up projections. They were arranging hell of a shindig for you; people were bound to get nervous and Xavier being a telepath… I should have tried harder. Or asked Summers to come and pick me up. But there’s always been something in that guy… He always managed to rile me up. Decided to wait two more days rather than risk petty squabble over some fucking detail about something I did or didn’t do.”

Log snapped sharply in the fireplace, rousing Logan from his fugue. He shook his head and stood up.
“You up to a midnight snack?” He asked. She was about to shake her head, then consulted her stomach and thought better of it.
“Just a snack? I’m starving. What do we have?” She asked. Logan was kneeling in the corner where he had left his knapsack earlier.
“We don’t have much yet. I’m going hunting tomorrow. Beef jerky?” He asked, waving a thin foil packet in the air. She nodded enthusiastically. Regardless of her earlier distaste for the stuff even the thought of the salty, leathery strips made her mouth water. Logan threw the packet to her, grabbed one for himself, dug around for a while and produced two small bottles of water, then walked to where he sat earlier and handed her one of the bottles.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, just eating and enjoying the warmth. She finished the jerky and sipped her water. Logan was still chewing on the last bits of salty meat, apparently unable to turn his gaze from the flames in front of him.

“Uh… About your dreams…” She started.
“What about them?” Logan asked.
“Can you remember anything at all when you wake up?” She asked. Logan drew in a long breath and held it, obviously pondering her question. Let it out and took a sip from the bottle he was holding.
“I’m drowning. Drowning in to my own blood and it hurts so fucking bad that I’m scared to wake up.”
“Afraid to wake up? Why?” She asked puzzled. Logan finished his water with one, big gulp. Recapped the bottle carefully and then turned to look at her.
“There’s always this feeling… I can almost tell that it’s just a dream. I rather have that than wake up and realize that it isn’t a dream this time.”

Beaten look on his face made her arms twitch involuntarily. She wanted to hug him. Hold him. Make sure that he didn’t have to keep guessing whether the nightmarish pictures behind his closed lids would follow him if he opened his eyes. She forced herself to sit still.
“But you got out from there.”
“And as easily they can reel me back in there when they get a hold of me. If that happens… I don’t want to wake up.”

She couldn’t just sit anymore. She slid from the cot on to the floor beside him and wrapped her hands around him, expecting him to shrug her off. Instead he slung his arm around her and leaned against the cot, relaxing a bit.
“But what the hell do I know… I’m fucked up from the head. Too paranoid for my own good. It’s not like they can just waltz in and take me with them…”

Door of the cabin flew open, banging against the wall with a deafening force, harsh wind blowing snow and sharp crystals of ice at its wake. Logan was up within second, both sets of claws out, his eyes scanning the darkness behind the doorway expectantly, his shoulders shivering visibly. From the tension? Or for fear?

Moments ticked by. When it became apparent that it really had been just the wind playing tricks on them Logan let out a nervous chuckle.
“Paranoid. That’s a fact…” He grunted and hurried to shut the door, shuffling the gathered snow out before it melted on to the floor.
“I’ll have to fix that lock tomorrow. You better go to sleep now,” he said, returning to the fireplace and lowering himself on to the cot. He was still shivering slightly.
“Are you going to be alright up here?” She asked. Something resembling anger flickered briefly in his eyes, and it seemed to take an enormous effort to tuck it down, but when he answered his tone was calm and civil.
“I’m just little jumpy. Go to sleep, kid. You’re no good tomorrow if you keep falling asleep on me.”

She wasn’t sure of what to expect from her chamber. For a chamber it was in her mind. A hole dug underground. She opened the latch and found steps that led in to the darkness.
“Uh… You wouldn’t happen to have candles?” She asked.
“There’s a light switch on the left side. Just slide your hand along the wall.”
“Okay…”

She cringed inwardly, expecting to find cold and clammy concrete under her fingers. Her outstretched palm met smooth wooden surface instead. Then something small and plastic. She flicked it. Light revealed a small room with relatively broad bed, soft rug covering the floor that appeared to be made out of smooth stones. Walls were paneled with some light colored wood. Small lamp that hung from the ceiling gave off warm, golden glow. She descended the stairs slowly and saw a door on her left side. Opened it. There was a bathroom, complete with a real toilet seat and a sink. No shower. Then she remembered Logan warning her that there wasn’t warm water. How was she supposed to keep herself clean? She shook that thought out of her mind as soon as it entered. Quarters Logan had given her were luxurious. She darted quickly back upstairs, finding Logan standing and staring out from the window, his hands jammed deep in to his pockets.

“Do you need something?” He asked without turning to look at her.
“No. I just wanted to thank you. This place… It’s… Thank you for bringing me here.”
“That’s the second time you thanked me. Just wait until tomorrow. You might just change your mind…” His words were clearly meant teasing, but his tone told whole another story. He was unsure and uncomfortable.
“Well… We see about that tomorrow. Good night, Logan,” she whispered and returned to her chamber.

She woke up to the scent of coffee and checked her watch. 6.03 am. Was he kidding? She couldn’t even remember the last time she had woken up this early. She curled on her side and closed her eyes. She could sleep a while longer, she was sure of it.

She never heard any noise, but suddenly the mattress dipped alarmingly and slightly bitter scent of coffee in the air escalated to the point where she was fully able to taste it.
“Oh, God… Please, let me sleep little longer…” She muttered, turning on her back and rubbing her eyes. Rather crabby-looking Logan eyed her with a steaming cup of coffee in his hands.
“God probably would let you sleep. But I have few things that need to be taken care of today. You’re going to tag along and learn how to deal with stuff.”
“I have to warn you, I’m a slow learner.”
“Doesn’t matter. Get up and get dressed. Wear something warm.”
“We’re going outside?” She asked. Logan shook his head.
“I’m going outside. But we really can’t afford to keep the fire going during the day. Smoke would draw attention.”
“Oh. Okay. Could you…”
“I leave you to it. There’s coffee in the thermos upstairs. If you’re hungry… You just have to suck it up. I’m going to see if I can catch us something today.”

With that said her strangely sullen host retreated back upstairs. Was he already having second thoughts about bringing her here?

She pulled on her clothes, wrinkling her nose for the lack of showering. Then took her toothbrush, shrugging her shoulders. She would probably feel icky and sticky for a while, but Logan was the one who had to bear possible disgusting sweat odor with his heightened senses.

When she was done she climbed upstairs and found Logan lacing his boots, a rifle leaning against the wall beside him.
“Coffee is by the fireplace. There’s some moss as well.”
“Moss?”
“In that bag. It’s going to be a sunny day. Cover the windows and keep the place dark. You can see all the little cracks on the wall that way. Just stuff the moss in to those cracks.”
“Oh. Could you show me how?” She asked. Logan finished tying his boots and stood up, walking to the bag and opened it. Pulled out a narrow iron rod, not much bigger than an average pencil. There was a white line painted on it.
“Take a piece of moss and stuff it in to the crack with this. When you can’t see white anymore it’s deep enough.”
“Okay…”
“Oh, and if you’re not in your room you should turn off the light. Batteries won’t last long and it takes a while from them to charge again.”

She hurried to switch off the light. Charge? How?
“I have been planning to get a better system up and running, but it has to be done during the summer and I have been busy… Well, think you can manage few hours on your own?” Logan asked grabbing the rifle and a carton of bullets.
“I guess. Is there anything else I should know about?” She asked. Logan shook his head.
“Not today. You have your hands full already. It was a dry summer and logs have been shrinking.”

Hours practically flew past once she managed to forgot her protesting stomach. And Logan had been right. It would be a small miracle if she managed to plug all the holes before sundown. She was sitting in front of the fireplace, surprised of how warm it still felt when Logan stumbled in, clothes torn, carrying carcasses of a rabbit and a some sort of bird, rifle slung over his shoulders.

“They sure did put up a fight,” she said, hurrying to close the door when Logan sunk to the floor, gulping air like it was going to run out at any given second.
“Had a bit of an argument… With my neighbor…”
“Neighbor?”
“There’s a bear cave not too far from here… Forgot all about it and fell in… Mommy didn’t much like me visiting the cub… Fuck! I found a fucking deer earlier and had to leave it there!”
“A bear! Oh, my God! Are you alright?”

She started opening his bloodied jackets, trying to move the rifle out of the way. Logan swatted her hands away.
“I’m fine… Just let me catch my breath…”
“You’re bleeding!”
“I was… Not anymore, it’s healed already… Just go back to what you were doing… I’ll…”

He was telling the truth. Once she managed to pry open his numerous shirts and jackets she found nothing but bloodstained skin. No gaping wounds, not even scratches or bruises from his ordeal. She opened the curtains to get a better look at him, to be absolutely sure. Logan flashed her a tired grin.
“I guess it’s time for a bath?”
“I guess it is. Uh… I noticed that there’s no tub or shower. How do you…”
“Depends. Usually I just roll in the snow, but… That won’t do for you. Shit. Let’s see…” Logan closed his eyes and let his head droop back against the wall, small frown on his face. She started to think that there was after all something wrong with him, but then he suddenly opened his eyes.
“There’s a hot spring near that bear cave.”

They gathered all the essentials, towels, clean clothes and a roll of tarp.
“What are we going to do with this?” She asked securing the roll to the toboggan.
“It’ll keep the wind and snow at bay. Not much use to have a warm bath if you freeze before you can get clothes on after it,” Logan explained. Last thing to go in to the toboggan was his rifle. She eyed it with suspicion.
“What do we need that for?” She asked. Logan gestured towards the bird and the rabbit that hung from the ceiling.
“We need more to eat. And it’s good to be prepared in case our dear neighbor decides to pay a visit. It’s not like that pea-shooter can actually hurt a bear, but the noise would probably scare it off.”

Wind had died down during the day, but there was a chill breeze in the air as they waded their way through the snow.
“How far is it?” She asked, stopping to check that the cloth she had wrapped to protect her practically bare ankles was still in place.
“It’s just around that small hill. Tired already?” Logan asked. She shook her head.
“No. Not much.” It was a lie, but she was quite certain Logan couldn’t detect it. He was walking up front, plowing an easier path for her. He hadn’t slept for few days, and his tangle with the bear earlier certainly hadn’t helped the matters. She tried her best to act cheerful. After all, while he was outside hunting, she had been in the cabin just tinkering with relatively easy task of plugging the holes.

“You up for a slay ride?” Logan asked after they had huffed and puffed their way through the sinking snow on top of the hill. She could see steam rising from a small spring little further down the hill.
“ As long as we get down on one piece,” she muttered, remembering her earlier experience of that same treat.
“I try to steer clear from the spring…” She heard Logan promising, then the toboggan slid forward and it was too late to jump off. She closed her eyes and tried her best not to scream.
“Oops…” She heard Logan grunting. A sound that shouldn’t be heard when sitting on a vehicle that was under the best of circumstances practically impossible to steer.
“What!”
“Nothing! Forgot the tarp up there!” Logan shouted over the wind. She cracked her eyes open. Spring was getting closer and closer. Just as it started to look like they would slide in there after all the toboggan stopped with a sudden jolt, throwing her on her face to the snow.
“Sorry about that. Be right back, just wait here…” She heard Logan huffing when she rose coughing and spluttering. When she turned to look he was already climbing back up to the hill. She could see the dark green roll of tarp up there.

She took in her surroundings. Spring was fairly large and oval shaped. It was surrounded with large boulders. They were warm to touch. Water was bubbling and churning slightly. She took off her mitten and dipped her finger carefully in to test it. It was hot, but not boiling. She was about to stand up when assortment of metal rods fell next to her. She turned to look. Logan was back with the tarp.
“You know how to pitch a tent?” He asked.
“Well, I went to camping from school last summer…”
“Good. This tarp should be wide enough to cover the whole spring. Just crank the rods in to the ground and we’ll spread it.”

After fifteen minutes she was exhausted, sweating and ready to give up. Frozen and rocky ground simply refused to accept the rods. She turned to look at Logan who was making steady progress on his side of spring. He had taken off his jacket, complaining that it restricting, and was driving the rods in seemingly effortlessly. Watching his determined and efficient moves she almost felt sorry for the bear he had disturbed earlier. The way his muscles coiled, his lips drawn slightly, small strands of hair fallen over his forehead…

“How’s it going?” He asked. She had to blink several times and shake her head to come out of her musings.
“It isn’t going at all. Stupid, stupid rods!” She huffed and kicked the three remaining rods accusingly.
“Is there anything you can do?” Logan huffed, stepping next to her and picking up the rods.
“I’m good at plugging holes. And I can cook. As long as you clean up that rabbit and the bird first.”
“I’ll take your word for it… Though you’re going to have to prove it to me as soon as we get back home…” Logan grunted, shoving the rods in to their places. After that it wasn’t so hard to cover the spring with the tarp.

“I’ll see if we can find a more permanent solution for this later. Truth to be told I was getting rather tired of snow bathing myself…” Logan said, disappearing under the tarp. She stood on her ground, completely flabbergasted.
“You’re not shy, are you?” Logan’s question took her by surprise.
“Shy?” She squeaked. Logan poked his head out from under the tarp.
“Well, there’s only this one spring, and it takes the both of us to shield it from the weather. You don’t mind sharing the bath?”
“You… We… You want us to take a bath together?” She asked.
“It’s not about what I want. But it would be better that way. If you wait until I’m done then I have to wait out there until you’re done, and standing around wet in cold weather isn’t my idea of fun.”
“Um… I don’t have a bathing suit or…”
“For Christ’s sakes, kid… Don’t you think I would have jumped on you already if I was planning to? Get in and strip. I promise not to look.”

She shuffled in to the temporary bath tent. Logan had already undressed and was soaking in the spring, his eyes closed and relaxed smile on his lips. It was relatively dark, but she had her suspicions of how good his eyesight really was.
“Okay. Don’t look…” She said, taking off her jacket. Logan’s head rose from the stone he had been using as a pillow and he blinked.
“What?” He asked.
“I said, don’t look!”
“You really are shy.” That wasn’t a question. It was a statement.
“Well, excuse me if I’m not accustomed to bathing with strange men…”
“I won’t look,” Logan renewed his earlier promise and made a point by closing his eyes and sliding along the brim of the spring until he was seated his back turned towards her.

She undressed quickly, grabbing the towel to cover her nudity and hurried to the opposite side of the spring. Dropped the towel and lowered herself in to the water. For her relief nothing could be seen from under the surface of the water. It was too dark for that.

She leaned back and closed her eyes, mimicking Logan. Hot water felt heavenly. Scent of it was slightly rusty, but yet at the same time strangely pure.

Something brushed against her knee, but she put it out f her mind. Must have been her imagination. She could hear Logan’s breath slowing down. Was he falling asleep? She cracked her eyes open. He was, indeed, sleeping. Hands braced over the brim of the spring to keep him from drowning, his head fallen back, small speckles of dried blood dissolving slowly from his shoulders and throat. His dark hair gleamed wetly, partially slicked back. Scruffy sideburns adorning his face were plastered against his skin, outlining his jaw. He appeared years younger now. Yet she knew he wasn’t a boy. Hadn’t been a boy in decades.

Again something brushed against her shins. She moved a bit and it stopped. For a moment she regretted not bringing the soap with her, but clear memory of one of the biology classes had made her leave it behind. It would spoil the spring.

She relaxed and sunk deeper, sighing from pleasure when the warmth of the water soothed her neck. And screamed, jumping off from the spring when she felt Logan’s foot brushing against her knee, scaring Logan in the process.

They were both standing up, shivering from the cold air. Logan’s suspicious gaze fixed in to the bubbling water, her terrified eyes scanning him.
“What is it?” Logan asked.
“I… I touched you… Are… Oh, my God! Are you alright?” She stuttered, her teeth chattering more out of shock than coldness.
“I’m fine,” Logan said, lowering himself back in to the water, groaning from contentment and sliding under the surface for a few seconds before emerging and fixing his hazel stare to her.
“You’re going to freeze your ass off. Get back in to the water.”
“But…”
“Yeah. You touched me. But I’m alright. It didn’t hurt me. Get in to the water, kid. There’s no doctor around, you really can’t afford to catch pneumonia.”
“But…”
“It’s going to take a while longer before the air under this tarp warms enough. Get in to the water. Or do I have to come and get you?”
“No! I’m coming!”
“Good.”

She slid back in to the spring, now very aware of her exposed state and Logan’s gaze on her. She sat rigidly, drawing her hands and feet as close to her body as possible. Logan kept staring at her, his head tilted slightly, thoughtful look on his face. Suddenly he reached his hand and clasped it around her arm under water. She screamed and tried to struggle free from his grasp. Was he trying to commit suicide? His fingers refused to budge. And as moments ticked by and he just held on and nothing happened, she started to relax. Feeling of wonder crept in her mind.

“What is this?” She asked, staring in to the water, trying to see his hand somewhere down there, holding her. Bare skin on bare skin.
”Hell if I know… Either I’m immune or your skin doesn’t work in water.”

She reached with her hand, shaking off droplets of water before bringing her shaky fingers against his cheek. Se could feel the familiar tingling. Logan drew a pained gasp through his clenched teeth, his fingers curling tighter around her arm. She let go of his cheek.
“Water it is, then…” Logan whispered, letting go of her and flopping backwards, resting his head against the stones.
“You sure do pack a punch, kid… Remind me to try and stay in your good books, okay?” He chuckled weakly, combing fingers through his hair.

She sat silent, trying to comprehend of what had just happened. It took her a while to realize that Logan had just spoken.
“What?” She asked.
“How long?” Logan asked.
“How long since you touched?” He clarified when she just stared at him. She shrugged her shoulders.
“I… I was thirteen when I manifested. I was with… My boyfriend. He… We kissed, and… He just fell. Just like that. Was in a coma for three weeks.”
“Jesus. And I just grabbed you like that… Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, kid.”
“You didn’t know,” she said quickly, but pulled her knees closer to her chest. Logan shook his head.
“I won’t touch you. You don’t have to be afraid that…”
“It’s not that,” she whispered. Logan tilted his head.
“What is it, then?”
“I don’t want to touch you,” she said, understanding how insulting it sounded when deep frown settled over Logan’s features.
“Didn’t mean it like that…” She muttered.
“It has been so long since I have been able to touch anyone without hurting them… It’s a bit much all of a sudden, it’s nothing personal,” she explained. Logan nodded.

“I know how that feels,” he suddenly said with a low voice, his eyes flickering between the bubbling surface of the water and her eyes.
“You do?” She asked.
“The first time I touched another person after I got out from Stryker’s lab… I… I had no fucking clue of what would happen. Was scared out of my wits that I would crush the damn thing…”
“Thing?”
“It was a gas station. One of those places that’s open 24 hours a day. It was in the middle of a night. I was waiting behind this woman that she could get her groceries paid. She had a baby with her. It was sleeping of course. She just suddenly turned and pushed it to me to hold while she dug up enough cash for the cashier. Fuck, I nearly peed myself…”

Image of him, the big, bad Wolverine standing there, holding a pink bundle of joy on his arms, eyes glazed over from sheer fear flashed in her mind briefly, rousing an involuntary giggle.
“Shit. It wasn’t that funny. That critter was so fucking small and fragile…” She could see that Logan was trying his best to keep his poker face. It wasn’t working very well. Soon he was grinning as well.
“Okay. Maybe it is funny. Wasn’t back then,” he finally admitted.
“Jeesh… We’re pathetic, aren’t we?” She sighed, relaxing slightly, allowing her feet to brush against Logan’s who didn’t seem to mind the contact.
“That we are… Even more so when we have to get out from this spring and walk back home.”
“I guess a ride in the toboggan is out of the question?” She asked.
“Would you really drag me all the way back? Thanks, darling!” Logan said, nodding enthusiastically.
“Uh… I’d have to consult my lawyer first. I’m not sure if my medical insurance covers sprained back.”
“Damn…” Logan grunted, settling against the stones more comfortably.

They sat in silence for a long moment, both enjoying the warmth.
“Oh, God… My toes must be turning to prunes already…” She moaned. She couldn’t remember the last time she had spent this long in a bath. She felt Logan’s fingers curling around her ankle, then brief touch against her toes before he let her foot go.
“No prunes, don’t worry. And we really don’t have any hurry. That’s the best part of being here. There’s no rush. You can just be…”

She closed her eyes, intending to enjoy the bath as long as it lasted because she had a nasty feeling that it would be quite a while before she would have the second chance to indulge in it.

She came awake with a jolt, feeling warm skin plastered against her backside, strong hand around her waist and a palm clamped over her mouth and nostrils. Logan’s hot breath was fanning against her cheek.
“Be quiet, kid… I think we got some company waiting outside…”

And now she could hear it. Over the whistling of the breeze. Slight creaking of the snow. Something moving carefully. Heavy breathing. She could feel Logan’s heart hammering against her back. His muscles coiling. They both turned to look at the toboggan, and the rifle that was almost carelessly thrown upon it. Entirely too far to reach in time.

“It might be just that bear… But I don’t think I have seen a bear smoking a cigar before…” Logan whispered, releasing his hold from her slowly. Now she could smell it, too. Unmistakable scent of cigar was wafting in the air.
“Stay here. I’ll go and see what it is…” Logan whispered, pulling himself up from the spring almost soundlessly, muscles of his upper back and arms bunching and moving liquidly. She could hear their visitor circling the tarp. Logan stayed still and listened, then slid quietly out when their visitor moved behind their improvised tent. She could hear him moving in the snow towards their visitor. Then sudden silence.

“Having fun with your girl, runt?” Question broke the silence. She froze. She knew that voice. Sabretooth.

She struggled, screamed, kicked and scratched, but the giant holding her just laughed and threw her over his shoulders.
“Eric is already waiting for you, girlie. We better hurry.”
“You sick sonofabitch! Let go of me!”
“Is that the proper way to talk to your elders?”
“Let me go! I’m not coming with you!”
“Yes, you are. Magneto has a plan, and you’re a… Vital part of that plan.”
“Logan! Help!”
“Runt has problems of his own. Stop screaming, it won’t do any good for you…”

She turned to look. The world was swaying and tilting alarmingly while Sabretooth was weaving his way through the snow. She could see Logan in the distance, lying naked in the snow. He hadn’t moved after Sabretooth had practically gutted him with one, playful swipe of his clawed paw. Their tent was crushed, and Sabretooth had shoved the toboggan and their clothes in to the spring.

After her initial shock and rage wore out she started to feel the chill that crept in to her bones, making her shiver and curl closer against the fur coat of her captor.
“Getting cold up there, missy?” Sabretooth asked.
“Yes…” She answered, her teeth chattering.
“Good. You won’t be struggling anymore then,” Sabretooth nodded. She could see the cabin, and a snowmobile standing in front of it.
“I… I n-need clothes before I freeze…” She stuttered when it started to look like Sabretooth was simply going to jump on to the saddle and get going. Giant huffed and plunked her on to the snow.
“You have clothes in there?” He asked, pointing at the cabin. She nodded. Sabretooth pushed her in, following her and leaving the door open. And suddenly she became very aware of her nakedness.

Wide grin spread on his face and he reached one hairy, clawed hand, caressing her cheek with the tips of his claws, licking his lips.
“Goddamned, cunt… You look good enough to eat. It’s a shame Eric wants you all for himself…” She turned her gaze and backed to the general direction of the latch that led to the basement. If she could get in there…

“Eric should know that he can’t have everything he wants…” Low voice, more of a growl than actual words came from the darkness behind Sabretooth. Three shiny claws erupted suddenly from Sabretooth’s chest. The gigantic mutant stared at them for a moment, then frowned.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake…” Gasp left his lips, then he was yanked violently backwards. She could hear muffled gasp from the outside, then a scream that ended to a gurgling sound. After a moment Logan staggered in, covered in blood, shivering from cold, his eyes still blazing from barely suppressed rage.
“Get dressed. We’re leaving before reinforcements arrive.”

She hurried to get dressed. She thought she finished her task in record time considering that she had to improvise quite a bit to make up the lack of jacket and shoes, but when she got back outside Logan was already waiting her, sitting astride on the snowmobile, his gaze fixed to Sabretooth who had started to stir, breath bubbling bloody froth from his cut throat. She sat behind Logan. He shook his head.
“Get in front of me. Going might get bit rough, don’t want you to fall off and break your neck.”

She soon found out that Logan was right. He drove like a maniac, skirting past bigger rocks and bumps on the snowy plain, not bothering to evade smaller obstacles. She briefly wondered how he could see anything past the snow their vehicle was throwing up in the air, but tried not to think about it too hard. There were more important things to do than think right now. Like clutching Logan's arms for dear life when snowmobile lurched forward and jettisoned high up in the air, falling down again with a jarring thud.

“We have to get in to the forest before they catch us!” Logan shouted. They? Then she heard it. Sound of a helicopter, barely audible over the wind and the noise of the snowmobile. Powerful searchlight flooded them, making everything in two-meter radius brighter than the light of a day, and everything outside the thin beam darker than the thickest of the nights. She heard Logan swearing and squinted her eyes. The helicopter was hovering right above them, throwing snow and small shards of ice on them. Then suddenly it was gone, far behind them, and she could see thick and sturdy columns all around her. Trees. They were in the forest.

Snowmobile kept tilting and lurching alarmingly, but Logan refused to slow down. He seemed determined to outrun the helicopter that had been following them. She closed her eyes. Even though she had been hungry earlier, at one point ready to keel over from the lack of food, she felt nauseous. Her stomach was churning, trying to force out acrid bile that she kept forcing back.

“We’re nearly there!” She heard Logan shouting and cracked her eyes open. She could see a dark, shadowy figure in the distance. The entrance to the cave they had used earlier to get in to the valley that they had just left behind. She couldn’t hear the helicopter anymore.
“I think they gave up!” She shouted. She didn’t know if Logan heard her or not, but the speed of the snowmobile dropped to more bearable level. She was actually able to see their surroundings now.

The snowmobile had barely stopped when Logan jumped off and started tearing off the tarp covering the car. She staggered up, grabbing one corner of the tarp and pulling with what was left of her strength, managing to almost bury herself under the snow that had accumulated on top of it.
“Stop messing around, kid! We don’t have the time for that kind of horseplay!” Logan growled and fished her from under the miniature avalanche, then turning back towards the car. She could hear the sickening screech of his claws, then the driver’s door of the car popped open.
“Get in.”

She crawled over the driver’s seat, settling on to the passenger’s seat that had gotten very familiar to her during the past few weeks. Logan slouched behind the wheel, reaching over her and popping open the glove compartment. He pulled out a set of keys and jabbed them in to the ignition.
“If you’re a believer, now would e a good time to pray that this goddamned piece of crap comes alive again…” He muttered and turned the key. Starter clicked and clacked and the whole car shivered and spluttered.
“Come on, darling… Come on… Get to work you fucking lazy bitch!” As if the car had heard and understood Logan’s rather desperate pleas the engine started purring like it hadn’t spend the past days buried under snow.
“Fuck! I knew there was a reason why I love you!” Logan huffed, wiping imaginary dust off from the dashboard before steering the Pontiac from the curb on to the road.

She had been too scared and dazed earlier to feel the cold, but now she was freezing. Logan had flicked the heater on, but since it relied on the heat of the engine it would take a while before it actually became useful. She shivered on her seat, rubbing her now bare toes, trying desperately to get the feeling back in to them.

“For what does Eric need you?” Logan suddenly asked, his eyes flickering back and forth between the road ahead and the mirrors. She shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t know… Sabretooth isn’t the most talkative guy. He said that Eric had some plan, and that I was a vital part of it, that’s all.”
“Figures. How are your feet doing?” Logan asked.
“Getting better. But still cold.”

Logan sat up a bit straighter and patted the seat between his thighs.
“Lift them up here.”
“Logan, what…”
“Lift them up here. I’m warm enough.”
“Oh-kay…” She turned sideways and wriggled her feet on his lap, scooted closer and let them fall between his thighs. Logan shifted a bit, and now he was practically sitting on top of her feet. And he was warm. Blessedly warm. She leaned back, small moan escaping from her lips.
“Jesus H. Christ, kid… Stop wriggling! You’ll freeze my nuts off if you raise your feet any higher!”
“Sorry.”

They fell in silence. Logan kept driving and it gave her the perfect opportunity to ogle him. He looked worn out. Ready to keel over at any given second. Greenish light of the meters in the dashboard accentuated his paleness, turning his skin ashen. He kept rubbing his stomach and his face, his bloodshot eyes scanning their surroundings constantly.

“Should I drive?” She asked. Logan shook his head.
“Are you alright?” She asked. Again he shook his head.
“Are you going to be alright?” She asked, worry turning her voice all squeaky.
“I’m going to be just peachy as soon as we can eat and rest. Listen… Kid? Could you not talk for a while?” Logan asked with a scratchy voice, sparing a quick glance to her direction before turning back to staring at the dark road. She made a show of zipping up her lips and returned to observing him in silence.

Next morning found them sitting in a car on a parking lot of a small motel just outside of shabby looking, miniscule excuse of a town.
“You got any money?” Logan asked. His voice had broken to barely recognizable murmur due to cigars he had been smoking almost non-stop through the night. She dug around her pockets, producing small wad of crumpled bills.
“Is this enough?” She asked. Logan eyed the pile with bleary eyes, then nodded.
“Go and get us a room.”
“With cable?”
“As long as there’s bed I don’t care about anything else.”

Room was small, but surprisingly tidy. No unrecognizable stains or musty odor. Carpet on the floor was worn but clean, as were the bed sheets, and towels that hung in the bathroom. There was only one problem. Regardless of her request of two beds there was only one. She eyed it hesitantly.

“Considering that we shared a bath I don’t see a reason to get squeamish now,” Logan said, locking the door behind them and securing it by dragging a large dresser in front of it. Task seemed to sap the little that was still left of his strength and he sat on to the bed, almost toppling over when he leaned to peel off layers of socks he had been using to replace the boots Sabretooth had thrown in to the hot spring.
“It’s not that… I don’t want to wake up just to found out that I accidentally drained you during the night.”
“Well, that’s your problem.”
“Are you fucking nuts?”
“Most likely. I’m going to get a quick shower and then go to sleep. It probably would do some good for you too,” Logan murmured rubbing his eyes and started stripping off his shirts.

She wrinkled her nose. They both stunk to high heavens, and her clothes felt moist and sticky, clinging to her skin. She tried her best to avert her gaze from Logan who seemed to have no reservations or hesitations. He was going to get in to that shower. Clothes were a hindrance, an obstacle between him and the small patch of Heaven the shower represented, and they were divested from his person with if not finesse, yet efficiently. Soon he was sitting on the bed completely naked, rubbing his stomach and fighting tooth and nail to stay awake the required moments it would take to get warm and clean.

Her eyes followed the path of his fingers, drawn to them no matter how hard she tried not to look. And there was quite a lot of him to not to look. Wide chest, covered liberally with dark and coarse hair that traveled over his well-defied abs, narrow trail widening somewhat when it reached his crotch… And there was an area that she steadfastedly decided not to look.

“I’ll be out in a sec,” Logan grunted, standing up and retreating in to the bathroom. She let out a relieved sigh. Out of sight, out of mind. Maybe she could now concentrate on finding a reasonable solution to their sleeping arrangements.

She didn’t have a nightgown. Her clothes… She could probably wear them after they were properly washed. She rummaged through the dresser, finding towels and fresh sheets. She hit the jackpot when she opened the upper drawer. A white long nightgown, made out of cotton. It would cover her from her throat to her ankles. Not perfect, and she wasn’t going to even think about who had left it there or why it had been discarded. Yet it was better than nothing.

That taken care of she started to undress. Logan would probably come out of the shower soon.

Several minutes later she knocked on to the bathroom door.
“Logan?”
“Go away!” He sounded cranky.
“I don’t mean to rush you, but are you going to finish soon?”
“Shut the fuck up and let me sleep!”

Sleep?

She pushed the door open. Logan lay sprawled in the bathtub, shower spewing warm water all over him.
“Come on, Logan. You can’t sleep in here,” she whispered, covering her hand with a towel and poking his shoulder.
“I can sleep where ever the hell I feel like it… Beat it, kid…”
“I need to take a shower, too. Come on. Get up and get in to the bed.”
“Fuck… I would if I could… Just let me be…”

She frowned. Then reached and turned the tap, shutting off all the warm water. Logan groaned and cracked his eyes open.
“Get up.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes, you do. Get up and drag your sorry ass in to the bed.”
“Okay…”

She waited for a while. Logan’s head drooped backwards and he started to relax.
“Wolverine!” Upon hearing the name Logan’s head snapped up, his eyes narrowed and zeroed in to her.
“What the fuck do you want, squirt?”
“I want you to pull your carcass out from that tub so that I can get in to the shower! Shoo!”
“Oh. Okay. I’m going…”
“Shoo!”
“I’m going! I’m going! No need to get all bitchy on me!”

She felt a twinge of guilt when she watched Logan wobbling out of the bathroom, towel hanging haphazardly around his narrow waist. Pleased groan he let out when he collapsed on to the bed drowned any further regrets. He couldn’t have slept in the bathtub anyway. And she really needed that shower.

She pushed the door shut, then stepped in to the shower, cursing her own stupidity when ice-cold water hit her with full force. She was too tired to scream or move. She adjusted the temperature, then reached for the bar of soap that lay on the brim of the tub.

Soap slipped from her fingers and she crumbled on to the bottom of the tub in a fit of mad giggles. She had just shooed Wolverine. Meanest bastard on the face of the earth, terrible destroyer who was scared of itsy bitsy babies and currently slightly cranky because he had missed his beauty sleep several nights in a row.

Those giggles died down soon, turning to a hollow feeling of dread at the pit of her stomach. Logan was scared. Scared of his dreams. Scared of Stryker. She was scared of Sabretooth and Magneto. She was scared of Stryker. She was scared of everything.

She washed up quickly and toweled herself dry. Pulled on the nightgown, relieved when it smelled fresh, no traces of its earlier owner. Pushed open the bathroom door. Her gaze landed on to the bed. Or what was visible of it from under Logan who lay on top of the covers, smack dab middle of it, only a small towel covering his buttocks, snoring softly.

She didn’t have the heart to wake him up and ask him to move aside. She rummaged through the dresser once more. Found two extra blankets and a pillow. She spread one of the blankets on top of Logan who murmured in his sleep, scrunched the blanket tighter around him, and to her amazement rolled on his side, revealing her half of the bed. She spread the second blanket on top of Logan as well, sliding in to the bed under covers and closed her eyes, trying not to think about how bare her feet, hands and face were.

When she woke up it was already dark. They had slept through the day. Yet she felt exhausted. She snuggled deeper in to the warmth and squeezed her eyes shut, grasping the solid bulk in front of her, plastering herself against it.
“Watch it, kid. Naked in here…” She heard Logan rumbling and her eyes flew open. There appeared to be very bare back, mere inches from her face. She could feel very bare buttocks against her crotch. There was a raspy blanket under her palms, and underneath it she could feel Logan’s chest rising and lowering as he breathed.
“Sorry…” She whispered, letting go of him and rolling on her back.
“You hungry?” Logan’s thick voice pierced the darkness.
“Extremely.”
“And I’m fucking starving. You wouldn’t happen to have any more money?” Logan asked. She shook her head, then added quick ‘no’. Logan turned on his back as well, letting out a miserable sigh.
“No rest for the wicked… I guess it’s time to get in to the cage again.”

She could hear him shifting, then soft click of a light switch, and the lamp on the bedside table flooded the room with golden glow. Logan sat up, reaching for his jeans he had discarded to a heap with the rest of his clothes earlier that day. Picked them up and grimaced.
“Jesus… I probably don’t even have to fight. They’ll fucking pay me if I leave and take this stink away with me…”
“I have a quarter. If there’s a Laundromat we can get our clothes clean before we do anything else,” she said.
“There’s always a Laundromat. But what are we going to wear while we get our stuff clean?” Logan asked. She fiddled with her nightgown.
“I guess this will do for me. And you… A towel?” She suggested.
“That might work. Get up, we better get going.”

She sat up, then promptly fell down on her back again, small black dots dancing in her field of vision wildly. Logan was there, his wide palm spread over her stomach, his worried gaze scanning her.
“Are you alright, kid?” She could have sworn that she saw him taking in her scent, but that was probably a hallucination. Hopefully so.
“Fine… Just hungry…”
“Are you sure? You’re not diabetic or anything?” Logan asked, leaning closer, and now she was sure of it. He was sniffling her like a dog; all the while his hand kept rubbing her stomach soothingly.
“Diabetic? No! It just has been quite a while since I last ate anything. Goddamned, Logan, let go of me!”

Later, when they were waiting at the Laundromat for their clothes, she couldn’t comprehend for the life of her what had prompted her to drive Logan away from her. Wasn’t that what she had wanted ever since she had manifested? Somebody to touch her without fear or revulsion? Logan had given her that, and what she had done? All but chewn his head off.

She paced in front of the drier, then turned to look at Logan who was sitting on a plastic chair in the corner, pretending to read a magazine that seemed to be ready to fall apart in his hands at any given second.
“I’m sorry.” Logan shrugged for her words, then turned to look at her.
“Stop being so goddamned sorry all the time, kid.”
“But I am. I shouldn’t have shouted at you like that.”
“You had every right to shout at me. You told me, back at the cabin… You told me that you don’t like to be touched.”
“That’s… That’s not entirely true. I... I like being touched, but… I’m afraid of it…”
“Save that bullshit to your shrink. I have no reason or right start pawing at you like I did. Won’t happen again,” Logan said, turning his attention back to the tattered magazine. End of discussion?

She swallowed and gathered all her courage, then cleared her throat, drawing his attention back to her.
“I kind of like it when you touch me. You’re the first one in years touching me without being afraid. And I was… I was thinking… You can touch me. That is of course if… If you still want to,” she declared, feeling the stark crimson flushing over her cheeks. Suddenly her throat felt very dry. And Logan just stared at her.
“So… Now where are all those handy bad guys who usually barge in when I’m about to make a complete fool out of myself?” She whispered meekly, staring at her toes, then nearly screamed out loud when soft ping echoing from behind her told them that the drier was done.

Logan didn’t say a word, just brushed past her and started pulling their clothes out. She caught her shirt, then jeans that he threw to her. Socks went flying past her, as well as her bra and underpants, and her second shirt.
“Hey!” She shrieked. Logan glanced at her, then started yanking clothes on rather hastily, hissing when still hot buttons of his jeans pressed against his skin. He seemed to be as embarrassed about her confession as she was. Flustered. And when he was done he gave her the keys to their room and told her to go back there, he’d be back as soon as he was finished in the cage.

She tried her best to entertain herself, but there were only so many ice hockey matches a girl could stand, so she turned off the TV, turning her gaze up to the ceiling. She wasn’t sure of what to think about Logan’s reaction. Was he worried? Afraid? Or… Repulsed? Now that she thought about it, her sudden confession had been rather blunt.

“When the hell do I learn to keep my big mouth shut?” She huffed. She could only hope Logan would really come back for her and not dump her ass here. What reason he really had to drag her along anyway? Hadn’t he been just the middleman, hired to take her to Magneto?

“Oh, shush… You’re only going to start panicking if you keep thinking things like that,” she scolded herself, then sat up from the bed. Nice hot bath would probably take her mind off from these things. Long and relaxing soak had been her favorite way to spend time back at Xavier’s. And since there was such a conveniently placed bathtub right there, in the bathroom…

Half an hour later she was lying in the tub, her head resting against the brim, her eyes closed. She had even bubbles, due to the miniature bottle of shampoo she had found from under the sink. She was still hungry, but feeling already better. She could already see the humorous side of the earlier events.
“I bet nobody has seen Wolverine flustered before…” She giggled.
“I could think up few guys. But that was long ago.”

She opened her eyes. Logan was standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb, holding a brown paper bag in one hand, pair of boots hanging from the other.
“Hi,” she squeaked.
“Hi,” Logan answered, dropped boots and sauntered in, sitting on to the toilet seat. He placed the paper bag he was carrying carefully on to the counter by the sink. She could smell the delicious scent of roasted beef wafting from it. He stared at the toes of his boots for a while, then cleared his throat.
“Do you want us to talk?” He asked. She shook her head.
“Are you going to scream bloody murder if I climb in to that tub with you?” Again she shook her head.

She watched when he started unbuttoning his shirt. She felt like shivering, but clamped that urge down. Soon the shirt was gone, sailing through the air to the general direction of the bed in the other room and Logan sat again. Started unlacing his boots.

She had gotten lost to the play and dance of his rippling muscles, but suddenly he was standing there completely naked, right in front of her. Wide shoulders. Narrow but powerful waist. Muscular thighs and calves. His cock still resting, yet it looked bigger than what she had ever imagined anybody would have. And she felt completely, utterly lost and powerless.

She was about to protest when Logan moved closer.
“Scoot forward a bit,” he instructed. She leaned forward, feeling him sliding behind her, spooning her under water. For a moment they just sat there, Logan leaning against the brim of the tub, his large hands braced on either side of her, her buttocks nestled against his crotch.
“I’m not going to hurt you, kid,” Logan murmured, urging her to lean back, urging her to trust him enough to rest against his chest. She lowered herself carefully; making sure her long hair covered those areas of their skin that weren’t under the surface of the water.

“Dinner?” She heard Logan asking. She was too terrified to open her eyes, but she nodded. She heard the paper rustling, then the scent of freshly grilled meat escalated. She forced herself to crank her eyes open. Logan was holding a huge roast beef sandwich in front of her. She brought her hands up from the water, grabbing a towel and drying off before taking the sandwich from him.

“Easy, kid. Don’t choke on it,” she heard him laughing. It was almost too easy to forgot the fact that she was sitting naked on his lap. It felt just too good to taste something else besides her own saliva in her mouth again. And her stomach, it would have probably sang Hosianna from the rooftops if it hadn’t been busy processing this luxurious treat.
“Something to drink?” a paper cup equipped with a straw appeared in front of her. Coke. All the excess sugar and caffeine a girl could hope for.

She ate and drank until she was sure she was going to explode, then stuffed last pitiful crumbs of the sandwich in to her mouth, chewing thoughtfully, swallowing and burping loudly.
“Feeling better?” Logan asked.
“Oh, God, yes…” She moaned, trying to remember when was the last time she felt this good.
“Good. We should probably get out of this tub. Water’s getting cold.”
“Yeah…”
“I got us some clothes and stuff. New shoes for you. But we’ll have the time to look at those later. I think we need to talk anyway.”

She was sitting on the bed, fiddling with the hem of the nightgown nervously. Logan was lounging on an armchair in the corner, his gaze fixed upon her. Earlier relaxed mood had turned to tense nervousness.

“What do you want?” He asked. She turned to look at him questioningly.
“I need to know… You said I could touch you if I wanted. To me touch must be quite another kind of event than it is for you. When I touch, I hurt people. Or have sex. What do you want? What are you looking for?” She could just stare at him. Logan sighed and leaned forward, bracing his elbows against his knees.
“Shit… Okay. I’ll be blunt with you. Do you want us to have sex?” He asked. She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it, realizing she didn’t know the answer.
“I’m guessing you’re not sure about it. It’s okay. Take your time thinking. And I think it’s pretty safe to assume that you don’t want me to beat you to a bloody pulp either. And if you’re after that, I’m sorry to disappoint you. After all, I’m quite traditional guy, and beating women has never been my idea of fun… Though, if I’m completely honest… It gives certain feeling of achievement and job well done when I get to smack around Mystique every now and then. But then again, I’m not completely convinced if the blue bitch even is a real woman, so…”

It was starting to turn to a very weird monologue. She had to bite her lip to keep back quite inappropriate fit of giggles.
“Right. But I’m getting sidetracked… Did you like it when I held you in that tub?” She thought about it. Thought about it hard. And with every passing second Logan started looking more and more impatient.
“Say something, kid. Tell me to fuck off. For Christ’s sakes, tell me to shut my mouth before I make a complete fool out of myself.”

“Could you… Could you just hold me?” She asked timidly. Logan rose from the chair, walking to where she sat, settling on to the bed and pulling her beside him, wrapping an arm around her. She nestled against his side, making sure that her hair covered his bare chest before she laid her head on it.
“Is this… Is this okay for you?” Logan asked. She listened the steady beat of his heart. Felt his warmth seeping through the cotton of the nightgown. His strong arm supporting her back, holding her close.
“This is good.”

They spend one more night at the motel. No matter how good it felt to lay next to Logan, their bodies touching, in the end she chickened out, turning away from his embrace. Logan said that he understood and bid her good night, turning his back, but she could see from his face that he was every bit as confused as he had been before.

At next morning they were packed and ready to go. Logan was already getting nervous and impatient.
“It’s too quiet. Eric’s not a guy who gives up easily. We got away from him, but we haven’t been exactly hiding from him…” He muttered, scanning their surroundings with his worried gaze once more before sitting behind the steering wheel.

“There’s something for you in the glove compartment,” he said after they had driven for a while.
“For me?” She asked and popped it open. There was a small, plain cardboard box. She took it out and just stared at it.
“I have no idea of what is going to happen. Right now the best we can do is to stay on the move, to keep Eric guessing our whereabouts…” She opened the box. There was a gun inside. Small, almost like a toy, shining silver. She picked it up.
“But we can’t fool him endlessly. Sooner or later he’s going to catch us. And I want you to be able to throw something more than harsh words at his direction when it happens. Have you ever used a gun before?” Logan asked. She nodded.
“In the Danger Room. Back at Xavier’s. A rifle.”
“Well, this little guy is slightly different, but at least you know the basics. This isn’t as accurate as rifle. But this is small, easy to hide. I want you to keep it with you all the times. And if you get caught… Don’t hesitate to use it. Magneto, Sabretooth, they both have ways to minimize the damage, Magneto can probably block bullets, but when you got the chance push the barrel of that little guy right here…” Logan said, jabbing his chest with his index finger.
“And pull the trigger. Direct hit to the heart will put Magneto down permanently, and Vic will be out of count for quite some time.”
“I don’t think I could do something like that…” She whispered, sudden feel of chill spreading through her veins.
“You have to. If they can get close enough to get their hands on you I’m not around anymore,” Logan said.
“What do you mean? Not around?” She asked, slight tinge of panic in her voice. Was he going to leave her?
“Calm down, kid. I’m not going to bail out of this. We’re in this together. But I’m… I’m not fucking immortal, Rogue. And truth to be told, I’m not much use against Magneto. He can fold me over like an envelope and toss me aside faster than you can say magnetism.”
“Calm down? I’m supposed to calm down when there’s a good chance that you will get yourself killed because of me? Are you fucking nuts?”
“No. But I’d be fucking insane if I started walking around, thinking that nothing can hurt me. And besides, it’s not like I’m planning to hand over my ass to Eric on a silver platter. Take the gun. I promise to try my best that you don’t have to use it. Ever.”
“You promise?”
“I promise, kid.”

They spend the next few weeks driving around, seemingly aimlessly. Logan kept fighting, claiming it was the quickest way to earn cash, but she knew he did it as much to calm down his nerves as to keep them fed. She had lost all her interest in witnessing those gory sessions, and usually slept, in the car, or in a motel if they could afford to it. There she was even now, sitting on a bed Nausea churning at the pit of her stomach. She had woken up when Logan came back from the bar. She had pretended to be sleeping. Logan had looked unusually secretive and locked himself in to the bathroom. She could hear him talking to his mobile phone.

“Hello, Vic…” Vic? He was calling to Sabretooth?
“Calm down, asshole. I was just messing with you.” What the hell was going on?
“Where are you guys now? Back in N.Y.?”

She wasn’t sure how sharp Logan’s hearing was, but surely he would notice if she crept behind that door?
“Yeah. Listen, I’m getting a bit tired of dragging that little bitch with me.” What the hell…
“Virgin? What the fuck has that got to do with anything? I’m not a sick fuck like you, I like my women willing, and trust me, this one isn’t putting out anything else than my libido. Tell Eric that we should be back there in few days. I’ll drop her off and you can do what ever the hell is it you wanted to do with her. A reward? It’s reward enough when I don’t have to see her face anymore… Yeah. I’ll call when we’re closer.”

She lay down and closed her eyes when the handle of the bathroom door started to turn. She could hear Logan shuffling around, pocketing his phone and undressing. Grabbing a beer from the fridge.

He was going to take her to Magneto.

In the early hours of dawn she was still wide-awake. So was Logan. He was pacing back and forth, dialing numbers and then turning off the phone and cursing silently. She heard bedsprings squeaking when Logan sat down. More dialing. Brief silence.

“It’s me.” To who was he calling now?
“I’m… I’m tired of this shit. I’m coming in.” Huh?
“I have somebody with me. A mutant. Drains life. I guess that should earn me some privileges?” What the hell was he planning now?
“Okay. Tell Stryker that I’ll be at N.Y. in two days. And tell him to keep his goons on a leash. I’m coming voluntarily, but it happens on my terms. I’ll call from where to pick us up when I get there. Is that clear?” Stryker?

When she heard the phone clattering on to the floor she pretended to be waking up and turned to look. Logan was sitting on the edge of the bed he had chosen earlier, thin sheen of perspiration covering his forehead, haunted look in his eyes. When he had been talking in the phone he had sounded sure of himself. Fearless and commanding. Now he looked about ready to fold over and crawl in to the corner and die.

“It’s time to end this,” he said with a hollow voice, staring in to nothing particularly.
“We’re going back to New York. I have made some… Arrangements…”
“I heard you. Loud and clear. You’re going to take me to Magneto. You bastard!” She flew from the bed, kicking and scratching, not caring if she drained him. Logan let her rant and rave; he didn’t even try to defend himself, not before her fingers curled around his throat.

He came up from the bed with sudden rush, backing her against the wall, contact hard enough to slam air from her lungs and force her grip from him to loosen. His face was only mere inches from hers, his eyes blazing from rage and fear. And it became very silent all of a sudden.

“I’m going to give Magneto and his crew to Stryker. You… After it’s over, you can do what ever the hell it is that you want to do…” He hissed, his hands keeping her upright from the front of her nightgown.
“I’m leaving tomorrow. You are going to stay here and wait. I call you when it’s over. If I haven’t called in three days… Just lay low. Find yourself a place to live and lay low.”
“No!”

She grasped the collar of his shirt and closed the gap between them, taking his lips to a kiss.
“Fuck…” Logan gasped, stumbled backwards, pulling her with him in to the bathroom and slammed her against the tiled wall, wrenching the shower on. Cold water hit them with full force, but it was a minor hindrance. Water was warming up quickly, and by the time they were finished undressing each other it really wouldn’t have mattered even if it had been a whole glacier raining down on them drop by drop.

He was severely weakened, and she felt dizzy, overly energetic. There simply wasn’t a way to get close enough. No way to touch enough.

He was grinding his throbbing cock against her slick crevice, both moaning from the contact, slowly sinking to the bottom of the tub, trying to minimize the damage he took from her skin through all too thin barrier the water created, teeth gnashing together as they kissed with more passion than grace.

She could hear her own voice, moaning, whispering and pleading for more. She could feel Logan’s hands on her hips, sliding lower, his fingers wrapping under her knees and urging her to wrap her legs around him. His cock sinking in, stretching and filling her inch-by-inch until it became impossible to move.

“One way or the other, kid… You’re going to be the death of me…” Logan murmured, slightly pained grimace crossing his face, his eyes locked to hers.
“Please…” She managed to utter. Logan was moving slowly, his hips grinding against her almost lazily, his cock rubbing and sending delicious jolts crashing through her whole system. She grasped his shoulders, nails breaking the skin, scratching him raw. She could feel his muscles tightening. His grip from around her growing almost desperate and he buried his face to the crook of her neck.

She retained enough sense to turn off the shower when Logan’s considerable weight threatened to almost drown her and the water started to spill over the brim of the tub, but that was her last conscious act. From there on it felt like they were both running purely by instincts, copulating like crazed weasels until they were too exhausted to do much else than to crawl off from the tub and take some distance.

“Not that I’m complaining, but… Why?” Logan asked, still trembling, trying to reach a towel from where he laid under the towel rack. She couldn’t answer. She had no answer.
“I would have… I would have come back anyway. If you heard my little chat with Vic… That was all bullshit, had to make it sound real enough and only thing that gets in to that thick head of his is sex.”
“I… I guess I just w-wanted…” She uttered, now embarrassed and ashamed, scrambling up and trying to put on her thoroughly soaked nightgown. It wasn’t going very well. Cotton was soaking wet and cold, clinging to her skin and impossible to get past her head.

“Let me help you with that,” she heard Logan say, then the gown was wrenched from her hands and thrown to the floor. Logan wrapped her gently to a ratty towel, ushering her out from the bathroom and guiding her on to the bed. She sat, her gaze firmly fixed on her toes. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him now.
“Hey… Kid?” Towel-covered fingers pressed gently to the underside of her jaw, forcing her to look up. Logan was kneeling in front of her.
“Regrets?” He asked. Tone of his voice was even, but the look on his face was one of utter worry.
“Did I hurt you?” He asked. She shook her head.
“It was… It was so good. And you’re going to leave now,” she whispered, fighting the tears that threatened to spill. She wasn’t going to cry. Not now. Not in front of him.
“Yeah. I’m leaving. But I’m coming back.”
“You promise?” She asked. Logan leaned closer and placed a soft kiss on her lips, quick enough to fool her skin.
“I promise.”

When she closed her eyes she could remember it. Getting dressed. It had felt odd, to put on more clothes to go to sleep, but they both had probably guessed that what happened at the bathroom had been just something to take off the sharpest edge.

What happened after it, when they lay on the bed together was something else entirely. Less frantic, less desperate, it was more about getting to know one and other, and about finding what felt most pleasurable. Slower and more gentle, both whispering encouragements and almost wordless pleas and reassurances.

She could still feel him moving against her, slow grind of his hips against hers, his lips whispering over her eyelashes, one breath away from actual touch. She could still feel his muscles under her palms through his shirt. She could still smell the scent of it just as she could smell the scent of tobacco in the leather jacket he had left behind two weeks ago when he had left, promising to return in just few days.

Two weeks ago he had walked out of her life, leaving her in possession of rather large amount of cold, hard cash and one Pontiac that she now steered towards New York. She had already wasted too much precious time in iffing and second-guessing. Logan wasn’t an asshole. He had told her to wait couple of days; he’d call as soon as he got things wrapped up. He hadn’t called. Instead of launching off to rescue him she had fallen to a victim to her own insecurity, thinking that Logan really never had even meant to call or come back. It was, after all a drawback in a relationship to be unable to touch without any kind of barrier between. But Logan really wasn’t an asshole. And he was in trouble. Though from what Logan had told her about Stryker and the little operation he was running made her almost wish that he had just gotten bored and taken off, not bothering to inform her about it.

She didn’t have a clue of what she would do once she got in to N.Y. Logan had gone there to meet Magneto and lure him to the ruins of Xavier’s school. He seemed to think that Stryker had moved his base in there permanently.

Should she search Magneto first? Or go marching straight to the spot she suspected that Logan was held? And what the hell was she going to do once she got there? Somehow she got the impression that Stryker wouldn’t be easily persuaded to let Wolverine go.

She stopped just outside of the city, pulling on to a parking lot of a small diner. She wasn’t really hungry, she ha been snacking peanuts and salted crackers as she drove, but she was trembling. What on earth was she supposed to do? She couldn’t just take off and leave Logan to rot where he was. That wasn’t an option. But it wasn’t a very viable option either to go marching in to Xavier’s. Stryker may, or may not be n there. She wouldn’t be much use for Logan if she got herself in to trouble.

She could of course try and find Magneto. But the old mutant had had some plan. Would he postpone it until she could get Logan to safety? Not likely.

She let her forehead fall against the steering wheel and closed her eyes. For the past weeks she had done nothing but kept guessing. Guessing this and that, fear and hope battling over the dominance of her thoughts.

She refused to cry. Crying wouldn’t get her out of this situation. Maybe some coffee would calm her nerves.

She walked across the parking lot, amazed at the quantity of olive colored vehicles. Army. Logan had been probably right. Stryker was still in town. Before stepping in to the diner she made sure that there was no skin bared aside of her face. Weather was cold; her near mummified status wouldn’t raise questions.

She got herself a secluded booth far in the corner, away from rowdy bunch of soldiers occupying the counter. Waitress bought her the coffee she asked.

It was hot, and bitter compared to how Logan used to make it. She took careful sips, trying her best to clear her head and relax.

Slowly her senses started to adjust, filtering off excess noise. She could actually follow short conversations going on around her. People complaining about the weather. People complaining about high prices of everything. People complaining and nagging about everything and anything in general. Then she hit the jackpot. A conversation actually worth to listen.

There were two men seated on a booth next to hers, both military. She had no idea of their rank, insignias something foreign for her.

“…arena last night?”
“Yeah. Made a decent profit.”
“Wolverine?”
“Best there is. I always bet on him. Hasn’t lost a battle yet.”
“When is the next match?”
“I’m not sure… bad shape after the last one. They put him in with Sabretooth. You know how those two are…”
“And Wolverine won?”
“Yeah. Imagine that. I knew it was a long shot, Sabes is much bigger than him, but it was worth it…”

Arena? Sabretooth? She tried to move closer to the men, but they had apparently gotten what they wanted and started to stand up. She gathered her courage and pushed through the crowd after them. With any luck they would lead her to where Logan was kept.

Traffic was murder. The closer she got to the city the harder it got to weave her way through it. But it was not all bad. It made tailing the two men from the diner easier. They wouldn’t notice one Pontiac from the sea of cars, not even when that said Pontiac spent most of the time practically hugging the bumper of their Hummer.

Her luck didn’t last endlessly. She had to fall back when the hummer took an exit, turning to the lane that was for some reason ‘reserved for military only’. Of course there were the traditional buss lanes, as well as speed lanes and several other lanes reserved for other purposes, but… Military?

She took the next exit. She had no reason to go in to the city now. She needed to find that Hummer again. Though how she was going to do that she had no idea, but the road she had chosen would bring her to the road Hummer had taken little further along.

She kept the speed within the required limit even when she wanted to hurry. It wouldn’t do to get pulled over for speeding now. She had money to pay the tickets, but she had no way of knowing if she would need the cash later for something more important. She probably couldn’t bribe anybody with the amount she had, but it never hurt to have some extra tucked away in case of an emergency.

She kept driving until she got in to the crossroad. If she turned right she would eventually end up to what was left of Xavier’s. She decided to check that first. That had been Logan’s original goal, and with any luck she could find clues of what happened from there.

Familiar scenery made her eyes water.
“Oh, stop that, you fool…” She huffed, wiping her cheeks with one hand. There was time to get sentimental, but that time wasn’t now. Now was the time to…
“Oh, my God.”

She had expected to find the ruins of the mansion. They were there, alright, surrounded with tents and olive green barracks. She drove past the firmly locked gates, trying her best to appear harmless to the soldiers that stood at the gate, guarding it.

She kept driving until she couldn’t be seen from the gate, then parked to the curb.

It was obvious that something was going on. But would Logan have tried to enter in to the camp Stryker had built? She closed her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. For some reason she was unable to imagine Logan doing anything else than breaking in. He wasn’t the type to back out from problems.

“And where you go, I must follow. Fuck…” She whispered under hear breath, reaching for the little, girly gun she had kept hidden in the glove compartment, hoping against hope that she had the courage to use it if the need arose.

Getting in was far less problematic than she had expected. Mansion lay in ruins, but the thick brick wall surrounding the gardens was up. She snuck around it until she came to the spot she had used with Jubilee and Kitty numerous times before, partially crumbled section of the wall. She had often snuck over it with her friends after curfew, to go in to city, then returning at wee hours of dawn, giggling madly, trying to sneak in as soundlessly as possible, because Scott, the eternal king of surveillance would catch them red handed if… Except now it wouldn’t be Scott. Instead of Scott Stryker would catch her. Instead of house arrest she would probably get shot or worse for trespassing.

For her surprise there were people scurrying around amidst the tents and barracks, dressed as civilians. Instead of skulking around she joined to them, trying her best to look and act like she belonged. Nobody paid attention to her. And soon she found out the reason for it.

Area she was in seemed to be solely reserved for public audience. In front of her stood genuinely huge tent, door flap wide open. If there hadn’t been two men guarding it, clutching automatic rifles in their hands, one could have mistaken it rather failed attempt of a circus tent.

People were coming and going, in and out of the tent. She could hear their hushed conversations. They were all talking about the big match. The one big rumble. The last one. Everybody seemed keen to make profit out of it, squabbling over the most lucrative candidates for the biggest bets.

Arena. Running on pure luck she had stumbled upon the very thing she had been looking for.

Rest of the day she spent scouting around the area civilians were admitted to. There wasn’t much to see, but what she saw made her nauseous. Everywhere she went she could hear speculations of the outcome of the fights, people betting over which mutant would last longest.

She stopped briefly outside of an interesting looking tent. It was heavily guarded, and no civilians were let in. She could see several uniformed men inside. She could hear them talking.
“After this is over, we’ll be moving to the second phase,” man with no insignias on his uniform said, rifling through scattered papers in front of him.
“Thank God. This was getting ridiculous. We could have done this the traditional way, you know…” One of the men surrounding him said, receiving a sharp glance from the older man.
“This is the most traditional way, Hawkins. And after tonight there will be no mistaking of which one of those animals is better suited to our needs.”
“But William, did we really need all this extra attention?”
“We need the money. Now, if you excuse me… I have few mutants to meet. I trust they have been taken care of?”
“Sabretooth is ready. Wolverine… Last time I checked he was still in the infirmary.”
“Hmph…”
“Wouldn’t it be best to postpone the fight?”
“There’s no room for delays. I expect to see Wolverine in the ring within four hours.”
“But…”
“I don’t care what it takes! I want both of those animals up and running in four hours! Is that understood?”

She hurried away when it started to look like the guards were getting interested.

Logan was somewhere here. As was Sabretooth as well. She had no interest at all to find him. But she was more than interested in finding the infirmary. Maybe if she could get to Logan she could get him out of here before the match. She had no illusions of what would happen after it. As Stryker had said, after it the military would know which of them was better suited for their needs. Winner of the fight wouldn’t go free. And the loser… There wouldn’t even be a loser. Only a dead mutant.

Just as she was about to give up she stumbled upon something interesting. A small barrack, simply labeled as “Personnel”. There were no windows, and the barrack itself looked no bigger than an average train cart. Most importantly, it appeared to be unlocked. There was a huge padlock hanging from the side of the door, but it was open. What ever was in there wasn’t deemed worthy or hazardous enough to be locked up.

She crept slowly closer, making sure that nobody was watching. Pushed open the door and slid in to the darkness behind it. She could hear somebody breathing somewhere close by. She fumbled around for a light switch and found it, flicking it on.

“Logan!”

“Took you long enough…” Logan grunted, struggling to sit up. She hurried to the side of his bed, helping him.
“And now… Please… Please tell me that you had the sense to bring the old bucket-head with you…” Logan hissed, throwing off the blanket, revealing his battered and bandaged body.
“B-bucket-head?” She stuttered puzzled. Logan froze and just stared at her for a moment.
“Magneto! Where is he? …You came here alone?”
“Yes…”
“Are you fucking nuts? You can’t just walk in here like… Oh, jeesh, kid… You have to get the hell out of here before they catch you!”
“But… But I came to take you out of here…”
“Fuck, fuck, oh, fucking shit….” Logan grimaced and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, small beads of sweat gathering on to his forehead. He probably would have fallen face first on to the floor if she hadn’t stepped forward and steadied him.
“Come on, your clothes are over there. Get dressed. We’re leaving,” she said, mustering every bit of authority she could find in to her voice, turning towards the door.
“Just get dressed. I’ll go and keep watch…”

Logan’s hand landed on her shoulder and he turned her gently around.
“Unless you brought Magneto I’m not going anywhere,” he said.
“I know you’re in a bad shape, but I left the car close. It’s just around the corner, and I already have a good route planned, we can get there…”
“Unless you’re planning to carry me we won’t be getting anywhere. There’s something wrong… Doctors in here think it’s something to do with my spine. I can’t walk.”
“What do you mean? Can’t walk?” She asked stupefied.
“My left leg is paralyzed. Rest of this shit…” Logan gestured towards the bandages that covered him practically from head to toe.
“Rest of this shit is just a hindrance. But do you have any idea how much one dead leg weighs?”
“But it’s just your left leg, right? Not both of them. I’m sure we can figure out…”
“As long as I stay in here and keep nice and quiet they don’t bother to chain me down. If I try to escape, they’ll lock me up and there will be so many guards surrounding me that it would take a fucking divine intervention to pull me out from under that fucking heap. We need Magneto. He can arrange a diversion.”
“And why would he bother to help us?” She asked.
“He isn’t going to come and help us. He’s going to come in and tear this place apart. He isn’t that fond of humans who like to torture muties.”
“I don’t know… I don’t even know how to find him!”
“I have his number. Just call him.”
“What?”
“Xavier was not my only employer. And we really don’t have any more time to waste.”
“But… Why hasn’t Magneto attacked already? He must know about this place…”
“He needs intel. Map, headcount of the personnel, anything and everything you can tell him. Get the hell out of here and call him!”

It was the hardest decision of her life to leave Logan behind. She knew there really weren’t any other options, for that Logan was right. But she also knew something that Logan didn’t. No matter how fast she could contact Magneto, no matter if Logan was able to walk or not, he’d be taken to the arena within two hours. He’d have to fight. He’d have to win that fight, because it would most likely take some time from Magneto to plan his course of action and rally his troops.

“Just promise me… Promise me that you’ll be here when I come for you,” she whispered, fiddling with her gloves nervously. Logan grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on her palm, his eyes never leaving hers.
“I learned my lesson the last time I made a promise for you. I can’t… I don’t know if I can keep that kind of promise… But I promise to do what ever it takes to make sure that you find me later, okay?”
“O… Okay.”
“Good. You have a cell phone?”
“No. But there’s a payphone not too far from here.”
“You remember the number I told you?”
“Yes.”
“Go. Tell Eric what’s going on in here. Lie if you have to. Tell him that they’re crucifying us or something. That should rile him up…”

She was running. Around her people were screaming and dying. Everywhere she went metal objects seemed to have a life of their own, and that life was used to mercilessly massacre anything and everything at their path.

She didn’t know how Magneto managed to avoid hitting mutants. She didn’t care. It wasn’t important. Important was to get in to the main tent.

She skirted past guards who were battling over their rifles that were targeting their owners. Something, perhaps a stray bullet scratched her thigh, making her stumble, but she regained her balance quickly enough. There was a large cage ahead. Two figures lying on the ground in there. Logan and Sabretooth. As she watched Sabretooth crawled to Logan and with a sudden jerk flipped him over on his stomach to the dusty ground. Gigantic mutant’s hands landed on Logan’s back, and Logan was screaming.

She ran along the narrow isle between the rows for spectators and flung herself over the wall of the cage, landing on Sabretooth’s back. The beast let go of Logan, sprung on his feet with a mighty roar and grabbed her, sharp talons digging through her clothes and sinking in to her skin.

She was sure that this was it. At any second now she’d feel a sharp snap as Sabretooth snapped her neck. She closed her eyes. And felt warm breath fanning over her face.
“You should have just told me that you wanted to play rough, cunt… But we’ll have to look in to it later. There’s a war going on, in case you haven’t noticed…” Sabretooth purred, then placed her back on to the ground surprisingly gently, turning his whole attention back to Logan who was squirming on the ground, struggling to get on his hands and knees.
“How’s that back of yours, runt?”
“Better… I guess…”
“Good. We better get out of here. They forgot us now, but it won’t take long from them to take Magneto down,” Sabretooth grunted, grabbed Logan and hoisted him up.

Logan swayed on his feet, all imaginable emotions flashing over his face, then a deep frown settled over his features and his left knee buckled under his weight. Sabretooth caught him before he fell. Rogue hurried to Logan’s other side to offer support as well.
“Jesus. Lay off that beer, runt…” Sabretooth gasped, then started to steer them towards the back exit of the tent.

They made it out just in time. The whole tent behind them started to tremble and groan as if it were becoming alive, then suddenly lurched violently up in the air, only to come crashing down over a group of soldiers who had been standing near the front entrance.

“My car is parked behind those bushes!” She shouted over the noise, pointing towards lush expanse of thorny roses that somehow miraculously had been spared during FOH’s initial attack and that had been survived Stryker’s reign over the area as well. There was only one problem. To get there they would have to get past of Stryker’s reserves that had gathered in front of the roses and were currently planning the best way to take Magneto down. They hadn’t noticed the three mutants yet, but it would only be a matter of time before…

“Hostiles! Fire at will!” Command echoed from the tile wall that surrounded the garden, and suddenly she was hugging the ground, Logan’s heavy weight bearing down on her.
“Stay down, kid… Stay down. We’ll let Vic take care of them,” Logan whispered, his lips nearly grazing her earlobe, then the whole world was consumed by deafening noise, stench of gunpowder and muck and debris raining down on them.

Then it was over. Logan was crawling back on his feet, jostling her after him rather clumsily. Together they staggered to where Sabretooth lay, surrounded by uniformed corpses. There was not an inch of healthy flesh on him left, his body was littered with small round holes and few gaping craters that still bled, but those had only slowed him down. What had stopped him was the small, blackened hole smack dab middle of his forehead. Back of his skull had been blown off and what was left of his brain had exploded to pink and grey halo around his head.

“Is he…”
“Dead? Yeah. Can’t get much deader from that…” Logan said, poking Sabretooth’s shoulder gently with his toes, nearly toppling over when his knee saw it fit to give up again.
“Is he really dead?” She asked.
“Will he stay dead or…” She clarified when Logan looked at her with puzzled look on his face.
“Good old Vic’s dead as a doornail. I kind of doubt that even he could come back from that. But I wouldn’t put it past him; I have seen stranger things happening… Listen, are we going to go now, or do you want to stay and arrange a funeral?”
“How can you be so insensitive? He saved our lives!” She shrieked when Logan started wobbling towards the brick wall, pulling her after him.
“He saved your life only because Magneto needs you alive. And me… I guess you could call it a professional rivalry. He saved my life to show off how much better he was than I. Now… are you going to stand here moping around and weeping after that asshole until Stryker gets things settled with Mags, or are you coming with me?”

She took Logan’s hand grudgingly, throwing one last glance towards the maniac that had given his life for hers, then concentrated to the task of getting over the two-meter wall.

Since Logan’s leg was currently less than trustworthy she drove. She was grateful for that. If she was driving, she had something to do, she wouldn’t have to try and come up with witty conversations and such. She didn’t trust her mouth enough to speak. On one level she knew they were doing what was good for them. They’d be free from Stryker and Magneto, at least for the time it took from them to recover after the brawl. But there was a tiny voice nagging in the deepest pit of her mind, asking questions that shouldn’t have been asked. We’re they doing the right thing? Shouldn’t they have had at least try and help Magneto? Take Sabretooth along with them? Logan himself had said that there was a small possibility that his mutation would bring him back from the dead. What if it happened? What if Stryker won the match and Sabretooth came back, only to be captured and tortured…

She shook her head and reached for the radio. Logan swatted her hand away before she had the time to turn it on.
“Don’t. Just keep driving.”
“Okay. Where to?”
“Just drive. Further we get from Stryker the better.”
“Okay.”

That was the extent of their conversation until hours later they had to stop for gas. That seemed to baffle and irritate Logan. He refused to let her out from the car alone, and when she went to pay for the gas he followed her, his eyes darting back and forth between her and their surroundings as he struggled with his limp leg. Any kind of noise seemed to aggravate him even more until she was afraid he would flat out pop his claws if the cashier didn’t hurry up.

“We should probably stop for the night…” She ventured when they returned to the car. Logan nodded, but reluctance shone clear from his eyes.
“I think they… Magneto and Stryker both will be busy for quite some time yet. We can afford to rest for a while,” she said. Logan didn’t answer, just buckled his seatbelt and resumed his earlier manner of staring the road ahead, stealing quick glances of her from the corner of his eye every now and then.

She found a suitable place, a small motel. Not too pricy but tidy and cozy. She wasn’t sure of what Logan was thinking. She wasn’t sure of his opinion of their relationship. What had happened little over two weeks ago, was it just something that happened for him, or did it held a deeper meaning? Aside from that small, chaste kiss he had placed on her palm at the infirmary he hadn’t shown any signs of emotional or physical interest in her. So she chose a room with two beds.

“I’m just going to take a quick shower and then go to sleep. Or… Are you hungry?” She asked from Logan who was sitting on the edge of the bed that was closest to the door. Logan shook his head.
“Okay. Just tell me if you need anything…” She started. The rest of her sentence was cut off when Logan grasped her roughly from around her waist and pulled her on to the bed with him, burying his face against her stomach.
“Logan?”
“Don’t. Don’t talk…”
“But I really, really do need that shower, and…”
“Just shut up, please… I don’t want to wake up yet…”

Logan nuzzling her stomach provided a formidable distraction, but as soon as she comprehended his words she grasped a firm hold from his hair and pulled his head up, forcing him to look her in the eye.

“You think this is just a dream?” She asked. Logan blinked, then swallowed, clearly at loss of what was going on.
“You think you’re sleeping now?” She asked. Logan’s eyes darted between her face and the worn blanket underneath them. His lips were moving, but not a word came out. Then, as if it was just starting to dawn on him…
“This… This is really happening?” He whispered his question hesitantly. She tightened her grasp from his hair, yanking for the good measure.
“Does this feel like a dream to you?” She asked.
“It… Oh… Oh, God!”

It was almost impossible to breathe. His hands around her were tightening like bands of steel, his whole weight falling on top of her as he buried his face against her once more, not breathing, not speaking, just holding her in place. She was sure that there would be bruises later, shaped after his arms and fingers all over her, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. The man holding her had literally gotten out of Hell just mere seconds ago.

She combed his tangled hair gently, trying to assure him that this was really happening. And slowly, ever so slowly his death-grip from around her started to loosen. He was breathing again, warm puffs of air through the cotton of her shirt tickling her skin.

“You’re awake now. Awake and with me,” she whispered.
“Bathe with me?” Logan’s question came slightly muffled.
“Uh… What about your back, it’s…” She felt Logan trembling slightly. It took her a moment to realize that he was actually laughing.
“Even I’m not that single-minded. Just a bath together, nothing more,” he said, his eyes shining from relief and amusement.
“And I actually need your help with washing up. Don’t want to get stuck in to a bathtub or even worse, I don’t want to crack my skull when I’m trying to get in to the shower.”

“Okay. I’ll just go and draw us a bath. You can undress while I’m…” She started, squirming up from under Logan, her cheeks burning bright crimson.
“Hey, kid…” Logan grasped her wrist and tugged her back on to the bed, on top of him.
“Doesn’t mean that I want you to turn in to my nursemaid. I’d like nothing more than to fuck you blind right about now…” He practically purred, grasping her hips and bucking his hips slightly. She moaned when the seam of the zipper of his jeans brushed against her crotch. It took an immense effort not to grind down on Logan, but she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea right now. She tried to scoot off from him.
“Ah-ah-ah, girlie… Where do you think you’re going? I wasn’t finished with you yet,” Logan said, yanking her back to straddle him.
“But… But…” She stuttered, blushing even more when she could feel his rock hard cock through the denim of their jeans.
“I want to. And I can smell how badly you want to. I hope these aren’t your favorite jeans…” Logan growled. Before she had the time to protest he had opened his jeans and cut a small slit to hers, his fingers sliding between her wet and slick folds, making her whimper.
“Just be careful, I don’t want to hurt you…” She squeaked, then closed her eyes and clutched the front of his shirt, biting her lip when the urge to kiss, to suck and lave his mouth became almost unbearable.
“You won’t hurt me,” Logan growled, his eyes glued to the tip of her tongue that kept sliding over the plump, bitten lip of hers. Fingers of his right hands were busy with her core, pumping back and forth, spreading slickness.

It was better than perfect. They were both covered to muck and grime, tired to the bone, and she found it increasingly difficult to stay straddling Logan with every passing second, her thigh protesting painfully every time she moved, but she was with Logan. Logan was with her, his heated gaze locked together with hers, his right hand pumping his cock in the same rhythm with his fingers fucking her.

“Please…” She uttered, trying to scoot higher. Logan licked his lips, small smile tugging the corner of his mouth.
“Need something bigger?” He asked.
“Yes…”
“Good… Oh, Christ this feels so good…” Cocky smirk that had been forming changed quickly to a look of utter bliss on his face when she impaled herself on his cock. His ands flailed, grasped her hips and slid lower.

“Darling… Darl… Wait. Wait, you’re hurt…” He hissed, trying to sit up to see better. She winced slightly when his hand brushed over the small gash on her thigh.
“It’s nothing… I’ll live. You won’t if you stop now…”
“O-ohkay…”

She rode him slowly, careful not to aggravate his back or her thigh, yet trying to prolong the moment. Logan didn’t seem satisfied to the pace she had chosen. It didn’t take him long to flip them over.
“Be careful…”
“Fuck careful… I’m not an invalid, Rogue.”
“Marie…”
“What?”
“My name. It’s Marie.”
“Uh-huh… I knew that.”
“Then why did you call me Rogue?”
“That’s what everybody did. Figured you’d tell me if it was okay to call you Marie.”
“Well, it’s okay.”
“Good. Can we please keep going?”
“You in a hurry?”
“Considering that I’m inside of you, and starting to develop serious case of blue balls…”

She couldn’t help it. She bit her lip, trying, but…
“What?” Logan asked, genuinely confused. She burst out to fit of giggles. It was contagious. Soon they were both laughing, Logan’s softening cock sliding slowly out of her.

“Shit…”
“Yeah. Raincheck?” Logan asked, still smiling.
“Raincheck,” she affirmed. Logan rolled off from her, groaning when his back crackled. Then settled next to her on the bed.
“You were talking about a bath earlier…”
“I guess it would be a good idea…”

She was in the bathroom drawing a bath when sudden commotion from the outside stole her attention. Glass breaking, and an angry growl. She turned to look. Sabretooth stood swaying at the open doorway pf the bathroom, angry snarl plastered over his features. Hole on his forehead was still slowly oozing clear fluid. She heard Logan getting up from the bed. She could see him stumbling against the nightstand, trying to gain his balance. And Sabretooth seemed to loose his interest in her, at least momentarily. He turned his back and strode where Logan stood, grasping the front of his shirt and hauling him against the wall.

“It… Wasn’t… Very… Nice… Thing… To… Do!” Sabretooth growled, pounding Logan against the wall. Logan tried to squirm loose, but the taloned paws held him tightly.
“Now what kind of a man abandons his crew in the battlefield?” Sabretooth asked, leaning close to Logan, his nostrils twitching. Logan was hanging limp, sandwiched between him and the wall.
“And what kind of a man takes a nap while I’m going to have fun with his cunt?” Sabretooth huffed, dropping Logan and turning to look at her.

She backed in to the bathroom and slammed the door shut, yanking it locked. Thin door wouldn’t hold long, but she prayed it would be enough until Logan came back to his senses. She backed to the far wall, cursing her stupidity after noticing that there was no window. The door trembled from the force of the blows. Few black-tipped claws pierced the wooden surface. Soon it would crumble like it was made out of paper.

She grasped the closest thing fit for a weapon, the shower, wrenching only the hot water tap fully open. Water was steaming hot, and nearly burned her finger, but she wasn’t all that sure that it would be enough to even scare Sabretooth who had already managed to punch a formidable hole through the door, wide enough to stick his head in. Wide grin spread on to the beast’s fanged face.
“Johnny’s home!” He growled. She screamed and directed the spray of water towards him. Sabretooth screamed as well, stumbling backwards and rubbing his eyes.

“You fucking bitch! Just wait until I get my hands on you! You will learn few things about pain!” He growled, charging against the door again. And it was starting to give in. Soon Sabretooth’s massive upper body was dangling in the bathroom, his hips still stuck in the hole, clawed paws reaching for her, swiping thin air all too close for comfort. She tried to push herself as deep in to the furthest corner she could get, but every swipe and yank brought Sabretooth closer. She closed her eyes.

Then sudden silence fell. She heard a sickening crunch, bones snapping and flesh tearing.

She opened her eyes. Sabretooth was staring at her, rather comical surprised expression on his face, his mouth curved to almost perfect ‘O’.
“You… Will… Learn… About… Pain!” She heard low growl coming from behind Sabretooth, and with every word the gigantic mutant was yanked backwards until he slid away from the gaping hole on the door. And the screaming began.

When the worst ruckus started to sound like Logan and Sabretooth had taken their business to outside she unlocked the bathroom door and stepped out, past the splinters and pools of blood on the floor.

The door of the room hung ajar, and it was adorned with bloodied handprints, as well as three distinctive gauges running across them. She found three cut digits from the floor, sharp black talons on them gleaming in the faint light of the moon.

She followed the signs of ongoing torture and murder to a secluded patch of thick bushes and trees near the motel. Logan stumbled from the darkness, covered in blood and other bodily fluids, cracked his neck and straightened his stance.
“That should do it… But we better get going before somebody calls the cops,” he grunted.
“He’s gone? Really gone now?” She asked.
“He’s gone,” Logan assured her. He had something in his hand. A gelatinous, grey mass. He weighed it, then threw it on to the nearby road. Large truck drove over the lump, splashing it to every imaginable direction.
“What was that?” She asked.
“Last time I made a mistake. Left his brain too close to his body. I’d like to see him crawl to them now…” Logan said, wavering smirk trying to break on to his face. Then he suddenly crouched and she could hear him retching and gagging.

“So… Where to?” She asked when they were sitting in the Pontiac. Logan started the engine and eyed the broken down motel room at the headlights.
“Anywhere but here. Actually, we could probably go back to my cabin. I doubt that they had the sense to burn it.”
“And if they did?” She asked. Logan shook his head.
“We’ll build a new one. Closer to the hot spring this time…”