“Shhhh….” She could feel his hot breath against her left ear as he tried to calm her. She kept her eyes shut tightly, in fear of what he was going to do with her - to her. She felt her fear grow as his hands wrapped tightly around her waist, jerking her body behind his in the shadows. She heard him growl, but it wasn’t directed at her.
As she opened her eyes, she found that her vision had adjusted somewhat and she could see his silhouette, the shape of his face against the faint light just out of reach through the door. She gasped when she realized exactly who was growling at the guards.
She stepped forward as panic began to set in. She didn’t care what had happened or could still happen to her on the other side of that door. Nothing they could do to her would be anywhere near as bad as what the psychopath in front of her was capable of. And he was angry; there was no denying that. His entire stance and demeanor exuded annoyance, increasing the danger of her situation. She moved a little to the right, trying to see if there was going to be any way out of her predicament. Maybe if she moved fast enough…
Still, something stopped her; something that she wasn’t expecting held her back. He still faced the door and the guards, but the hand that he used was gentle, almost protective. There was no power behind it, nothing that would keep her still, yet she found it hard to move away. He was keeping her there, but not through force.
“Should we hit him with the tasers?” one of the guards asked suddenly, the fear in his voice obvious.
“No…” another whispered slowly. This one had to be Wayland. She didn’t think she would ever forget his voice. Momma always said you never forgot your first, and he had made damn sure everything about him was going to be imprinted on her mind for the next millennium. “Leave her for the morning shift.”
“Aren’t we going to get in trouble for this?” another asked as they began to back away from the tightly secured cell.
“Nah. Not as long as he doesn’t kill her. Judging by the way he was holding her back, I say she’s pretty safe where she is.” They hadn’t moved entirely away from the cell yet, and Rogue could still hear everything that was being said. “Besides, morning shift has more people to help get her out. I think if we tried to go in, a couple of us might not live to talk about it. And I don’t know about you, but I want to be around long enough to see my little girls grow up. Plus, I’d really hate to be the one to have to call a couple wives.”
While they spoke, he stood patiently, watching. She knew that he was listening, trying to make sure that they weren’t returning anytime soon, just as she was. As the guards moved away from the cell, she watched his tense shoulders slowly relax. Muscle by muscle, he eased out of his aggressive posture, only to turn his dark gaze on her.
“Hello, Victor,” Rogue whispered tentatively as she cautiously backed away from him. Almost immediately, her backside hit the hard concrete wall with a quiet thud.
“I ain’t gonna hurt you, Rogue,” Victor said quickly, eyeing her carefully as they mentally circled each other. “Would you just calm down?”
“Sure will, sugar! Why don’t we just sit down right here, have a couple of beers and get some cards to play some Go-Fish!” she shot back with a small eye-roll, a sugary sweet smile and thick sarcasm. “I bet those guards out there will be more than happy to provide us with what we need. Hell, maybe if we ask nicely, they just might open this here little door for us and we could go skipping through a field of wildflowers, holding hands and laughing like a couple of schoolgirls!”
“Knock it off, Frail. I already said I won’t hurt you, but if you don’t quit tempting me, I just might have to,” he huffed as he took a seat on the hard floor. He tipped his head back against the wall, closing his eyes as if deep in thought. “I don’t see how the runt can put up with this shit…”
“What happens now?” she asked softly, watching him carefully. He seemed relaxed enough, almost peaceful. She allowed her body to settle, but only a little. She wasn’t ready to relax completely. “What do we do if they come for me?”
“That depends,” he replied with a careless shrug as he opened his black eyes and gave her a look that could only be described as bored. “Are you going to want to go with them?”
She knew what the real question was, what he really needed to know: would she trust him? She hesitated for a moment, unsure of her answer. If she went willingly, she knew exactly what was waiting for her: rapes, beatings, tests and experiments; but, above all else, loneliness. She would be completely alone in the world that awaited her outside of this cell. To the scientists and guards outside, she was a toy, an experimental subject - a lab rat. And when they were finished, bored of her unique mutation, they would dispose of her without a second thought. Permanently.
And then there was Victor to consider - Sabretooth. Even sitting on the floor, he was a formidable man. A psychotic monster capable of numerous and varied crimes who cannot be stopped. But he seemed complacent enough. “If I stayed and fought, would you hurt me?” She didn’t know why she thought he would be honest with her, but she had to ask, had to hear it in his own words.
“Nah, kid. I ain’t gonna hurt ya.” He chuckled a little at this, his neck relaxing a bit more as he tilted his head to the side. “If I was going to kill you, well, you would already be dead, wouldn’t you?”
She knew his words were true. There was no real gain for him to keep her alive and intact. Even without his mutant abilities, he could have taken her and snapped her spine without a second thought. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder why he hadn’t done so. There was no reason to dwell on it though, at least not now. She could ask those questions later, once she felt a little safer.
She sighed heavily as she sat down on the hard stone bench that was used as a makeshift bed. All of the rooms were the same, but she figured they would be. Besides the cold, stone beds, there were also metal toilets, much like the ones seen in cop shows and such. A blanket lay strewn across the floor. Victor must have thrown it when he heard the guards dragging her down the hall.
“So what do we do now?”
Victor opened his eyes again and looked at her closely, a little annoyed. “We sleep. Tomorrow, when the others come to get you out, we fight them off. They aren’t going to want to risk hurting you too badly, so they’ll give eventually. And then we start figuring a way to bust the hell out of here. Go to sleep, kid. We’ll figure this out as we go.”
Rogue lay down obediently, her eyes wide open as she watched him close his own again. She wasn’t sure how she fell asleep that night, or when. All she knew was that, one moment, she was watching the most dangerous and bloodthirsty man she had ever met dozing in the corner of the room, and the next, her eyes were snapping open to find him gently covering her with the blanket she had seen on the floor before.
He rode hard long into the night, not concentrating on anything around him. None of the clinics would be open for another couple of hours yet, but he was desperate to get away from the mansion. He knew they were right. He had been stuck in his own little world, not caring what happened to the others. Not caring of the pain anyone else was feeling. He hadn’t given any thought to the kid.
He’d find her. He had to. She was the only one who ever gave a damn about him just for him - the only one without any ulterior motives. And this was how he took care of her.
He pushed himself harder, fighting off fatigue and a deep fear that yawned in his soul. Something in his bones told him that he wouldn’t find her in Mississippi like everyone else assumed. She was in more danger than anyone had predicted, and if he didn’t find her fast, he had a hunch that he wouldn’t find her at all.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000
Author's Chapter Notes:
Any mistakes are mine. Thanks to my beta, biohelixx, who is doing a great job!!
Chapter End Notes:
As always, really enjoy the feedback!