Scott stormed toward them and without thinking Wolverine had pulled her to her feet and further into his cell, putting himself between her and his previous attacker, drawing his claws as he moved.
“Rogue, move slowly away from him and out of the cell.” Scott edged closer earning himself a warning growl from Wolverine.
“It’s not me he wants to hurt Scott. He’s protecting me from you.”
“What?”
“He sees you as the enemy, as the threat to him and to me. Leave the room slowly, I’m fine. If he does anything I can just touch him, but you have to go.” She noticed the edge to her voice; it always seemed to be there when she spoke to Scott now.
“I’m not leaving you in there with him.”
Scott reached up to his glasses and Wolverine growled deep in his chest again, leaning back onto his haunches Marie could tell he was about to lunge for the x-man threatening him.
“Scott, leave! If you don’t he’s not going to give you the chance you had before. He will kill you. I’ll be fine, leave.”
Scott swayed slightly on the spot, trying to decide what to do, but she smiled tightly as she saw him beginning to back slowly from the room.
Wolverine’s breathing was heavy and laboured as he stared at the door where Scott had been. She nervously reached for him, touching him lightly on his back.
She stifled a scream as he quickly turned on her, shoving her back against the wall. His face was so close to hers, his hot breaths pushing against her skin as he pressed against her, her body caught in between his solid body and the unyielding wall.
She slowly raised her hand and placed it on his chest, feeling the heavy beating of his heart trying to push its way into her palm. Looking back at his face she tried to ease his anger, hoping he knew it was safe with her, that nothing was going to harm him when she was with him.
Soon she began to feel him calm. His breaths came easier and his heartbeat slowed, but as soon as he was composed again, it was her heart that began to beat erratically in her chest. She stilled as his hands rose up to her face, his palms cradled her face, and his wild eyes searched hers. She didn’t know what he was looking for, but as he looked into her so intently she thought it must have been very important to him. Her breath left her as, while his eyes searched her own, his hands began to search her body.
His calloused fingers dragged along her skin raising goose bumps where ever he touched. He was soon so intent on trying to find something on her that his eyes followed where his fingers went. She could feel his warm breath on her throat as his touch trailed down her neck, across her collarbone until her jumper got in his way. He surprised her as he pulled her jumper roughly over her head and hardly acknowledging the slight hitch in her throat continued his exploration.
Tightly scrunching her eyes shut as he trailed his hands down her sides, she tried not turn to jelly under his ministrations.
But as soon as he had started, he stopped.
She blushed bright red as a moan of disappointment slipped from her mouth as his hands stilled and he stepped away from her.
“Rogue, what are you doing?” Jean’s voice was strained with trying to sound calm and unthreatening.
Reluctantly opening her eyes to their interruption, Marie sighed and turned to face the older woman. Scott had run and tattled on her.
Marie looked pleadingly at Jean hoping she would realize what she was trying to do and not do anything to upset Wolverine.
“I’m fine. He won’t hurt me.” She looked at the man whose touch was still tingling on her skin. “I can get through to him. Please let me try.” She wasn’t leaving him, so she just hoped Jean would understand.
“Rogue.” Jean’s voice became pleading as she stepped forward.
Wolverine only shifted slightly, Marie figure he didn’t find her as threatening as Scott and was willing to give her a little leeway.
“I don’t think this is the best course of action.”
“Jean, at least let me try. If he even looks slightly threatening I’ll take him down.” Marie wiggled her fingers at Jean, making her smile tensely.
“I’m going to have to lock you in there with him.”
Marie relaxed a little at Jean’s confidence in her. “That’s fine.”
Jean reached for the door, pausing with doubt for a second before locking it.
“Someone’s going to be just down the corridor at all times. If they hear anything resembling an attack they will come in.” Jean motioned down the hall where Marie suspected Scott already stood guard.
The two women stood just observing each other. Jean’s face was full of worry and hesitation, but Marie knew Jean trusted her to do the right thing.
“It’s the only way to help him.” Marie said warningly. Jean nodded stiffly and left the room.
*-*-*-*-*
As he listened to the red headed woman’s retreating footsteps he tried to work out why the woman in front of him had willingly imprisoned herself. She had been free, the other side of the door, but now she was as trapped as him.
But there was something familiar about being stuck inside those four walls with her. The more he thought about how he knew her, how she connected him to his past, the more perturbed he became.
He had been trying to force himself to remember her, to remember anything when they had been interrupted. He smirked at the thought. It may have started out that way. When he had pulled her behind him he had wanted to protect her, but once she was in there he didn’t want to let her go.
He had searched her face, struggling as hard as he could to find anything to trigger his memory. He had searched until he was distracted.
The smell of her had filled the space around him. From the moment she had opened his cell her intoxicating scent had saturating into his clothes, his bedding, even seeping into his skin. With the wonderful assault on his senses a conflict of wanting to protect her and wanting to over power and own her warred on him He found it difficult to control himself around her. She seemed to pull everything out of him and lay it at his feet.
Part of him growled at the older women who had interrupted them in annoyance, and the other part thanked the redhead for the intrusion; he didn’t think his restraint could have lasted much longer.
And then they were alone again and now locked in together.
He watched her, almost amused, as she stood in the middle of the cell wringing her hands nervously. He wondered how she could look so lost in the middle of such a small room. But how ever nervous she was it was her who made the first move back to him.
She edged closer to him, unease in her eyes. He looked away from her ashamedly; he had caused her wariness of him. It was difficult for him to trust anyone, but she had helped him, she had even lock herself in his cell with him and he repays her sacrifice by frightening her and pushing her away from him.
He felt her delicate fingers brush against his arm and turned to see her wearily smiling up at him. Looking down at her with confusion he tried to work out what had changed whilst he had been berating himself. He watched as her eyes drooped slightly and she stifled a yawn. She yawned again and he couldn’t help but smile as her little pink tongue stuck out as her mouth opened up wide.
He gathered all of his bedding, sheets and pillows, piling them at her feet. He arranged a bed for her and crouched next to the ‘nest’ waiting for her to lie down. She stood over him for a few seconds before she gave up and slumped onto the makeshift bed, stretching and snuggling into the soft covers. She looked up at him through half closed eyes and reached out. He looked at her small hand that was stretched in his direction and hesitated before edging closer to her. A lazy smile pulled at the corners of her lips as he got closer and as soon as he was in reach she pulled on his heavy arm. He looked down at her in confusion, wondering what she could want from him.
She smiled at his confused face and tugged on his arm again.
“Sleep.” Another ineffectual tug and he knelt onto the bedding next to her.
She half rolled over, trying to pull him with her, his heavy, adimatium skeleton making it practically impossible for her to have any effect on his movements.
“Come on, I wont bite. I swear.” She yawned through a smile and he couldn’t have said no to her when she looked up at him like that.
He crawled onto the bedding next to her and carefully laid down at her side, trying to keep a little distance between them, he didn’t quite trust himself around her. But he was surprised when, as he was letting her have some room, she squirmed to get closer to him.
He watched her sleep in his arms, tiredness pulling at his own mind. She had curled up into his front, her head resting on his chest listening to his heartbeat when she began to lightly snore. Her even breaths were lulling him to sleep and soon he was drawn into restful dreams filled with images of the woman in his arms.
But soon, like every time he slept, the nightmares soon filled his head and chased him through his sleep.
A particularly violent nightmare pulled him out of his sleep, with the fading horrific images still clouding his mind he found it difficult to tell reality from nightmare, but slowly it became clearer; the soft, warm body of the woman next to him, her shallow breaths. The comfortable ‘nest’ they slept on and the safety of his new ‘home’.
He tried to shake the last vestiges of the painful cream out of his head, but the smell of blood still surrounded him.
His eyes wearily opened to the dark cell and he looked down to the woman nestled in his arms. He expected to see her sleeping, but her wide, brown eyes were staring up at him, pain and fear filling them. With a sickening abruptness he realised the blood that had followed him out of his dream was not in his head, it was hers.
The scene in front of him made his stomach turn. His fist was pushed up against her chest, blades lodged in between her ribs, tearing at her lungs as she tried to breathe.
For a few never ending seconds he just stared at her and her at him, neither fully comprehending the situation.
Blood gurgled in her throat as she opened her mouth and tried to speak. She weakly coughed and winced in pain at the action.
Without thinking he retracted his blades, pushing his palm against the wound, at a loss of what else he could do for her. He couldn’t help her, she was dieing in his arms and he had no way to stop it.
She laid there, blood slowly oozing out of the three identical holes he had made and all he could do was watch.
She opened her mouth again, spitting blood out onto the floor; she spoke very softly to him.
“Sorry.”
He looked at her confused, what did she have to be sorry for? He was the monster, he should be saying sorry to her. He was watching the one person who didn’t want to hurt or run away from him die from something he had done to her.
But suddenly he couldn’t think of everything else but the extreme pain emanating from where her fingers were weakly reaching up and brushing against his arm.
He felt himself being pulled back into unconsciousness. He tried to fight it, tried to stay awake, but the darkness pulled at him. He fell weakly beside her, unable to hold his own weight. The last thing he saw before his world turned dark were her brown eyes looking at him with fear and worry.
He had hurt the one person who he truly cared about and he was leaving her to die alone in his cell.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the wait. Hope you like it.