"Gimme Molson".
It's damn cold tonight, been boring too, they got to scrounge up some better challengers because it's just not, y'know, satisfying or something.
Just standing' there, holding back the whole time and, hey, whose comin' in now?
Fights over, bar just closin'. It's some woman, no, some girl by the looks of it. Looks real young, must be 20, 21 maybe, eh but it's all young to me. Look at her, she must be freezing, covered in snow, how far's she walked in this?
Y'know now I am lookin' at her, I see I'm not the only one. The bartender is lookin' her up and down and the few other men in here, truckers and fighters getting one for the road before heading out into that snow, they're all starin' at her too. She don't belong here, I can see that from here. Bet they're wondering what they can get outta her or some shit. Dunno how she got through that snow, cos I didn't hear a truck pull up or nuthin'. It's bad tonight, even for way up next to the arctic circle, Dawson City, hah, nothing here but roughnecks, and ice.
You don't see one like her every day though, she's got a long fur coat on, reaching down past her knees, she's hanging it up now. What's she doing, leavin' a valuable fur like that just lyin' around? How's she got by not knowin' what's what? She's young yeah. But she's got no right to be wanderin' around like outta a fairytale or some shit. And would'ya look at that, a dress on under it. I mean a proper dress, a long dress down the the ground, sort of a soft pink colour, like a sunrise or some shit. she's just wearin' battered old boots under and her dress is all dripping an' dirty round the edges from trailing in the snow.
Now what do you suppose someone like her is doing somewhere like this? You can see she's quality just from looking at her. And that dress, those boots, I don't know shit about women's clothes but even I can tell they were worth something once. How'd she get so down on her luck? Dunno how she wound up here, maybe she's lost, but some girl like her shouldn't be in a hundred miles of a place like this. She should be at symphonies or dancin' at a ball or some shit.
And why I'm staring at some slip of a girl but she's good you'know, you can smell that on her. Most a' the women round here, they're jus' fight groupies or hookers. But this girls wearing this long old dress, hides all her legs and ass but I can't take my eyes offa her.
She's walking up to the bar an' even in that dress I like her walk, it's the way she moves, you'know? An, that long skirt swaying' an brushing up against her legs, I can hear it, making me wonder what she looks like under it. She's got long long dark hair, down to her ass nearly, an fallin in waves down her back. Two white streaks framin her face, you don't see that every day. Big, big eyes, she looks tired but bright somehow. Like as though she faces the world expecting' it to do right by her. But how she could end up here in the ass end of nowhere, smelling all sad and hungry an still think there's good in world, I dunno. That's something else that is.
She hopped up onta the bar stool right next to me. Little gloved hands holdin' onto the bar to hop herself up. Huh, gloves, long, white, classy gloves, with little pearl buttons at the wrist, all up her arms to the top. I wonder how those gloves'd feel on your skin? Seeing that tiny hand grasping the bar as she straddles that bar stool, it's doin' something to me. So innocent, she don't know what I'm thinkin'.
And, look, that guy checking out her ass from across the room. He needs to back off, asshole. Lady can walk up, get a drink without assholes leerin' at her all night. She is a lady, dunno why I'm thinkin' bout her like this, woman like her is just pit-stopping here, she don't need no bad ass like me. Bet she's got some rich husband or something, but if she's got a husband what's he lettin' her do wandering all way out here looking all ragged and cold and all? Maybe she needs someone to look out for her for a bit.
"Excuse me, sir".
Sir to the bartender! Sir to that toothless old man who ain't washed since Regan by the stink off of him. Her accent too, trying to place that, deep south it sounds like. She rolls over those letters in her mouth, real soft she got a soft sort of voice you could imagine her whispering to you up close and real gentle or something.
She showed her southern lady manners there and no mistake. I can just imagine her as a little thing at charm and etiquette classes and shit, bet she never thought she'd be using them all the way up here near the toppa the world mind. She asked him, real polite for a glass of water and I can smell her real good, sitting' up the bar just a few stools from me. She smells hungry too, and something else, it's nagging at me. I've just got to shake it off, what is all this? In fifteen years, I ain't never got like this about a women. Never seen a woman quite like her in the those fifteen years either I suppose.
She turned to me as I ordered another bourbon, and she smiled. Now no one ever smiles on seeing me. Is my bad assness on the fritz or something? I acted like some idiot too, smiling and saying good evening to her and blushing probably too, oh hell.
Bartenders talking to her now,
"Where you from then, honey?"
"Ah'm from the US, sir"
Well, that's obvious, with that accent, and cagey too, not tellin' him where she from properly or where she's goin' neither.
"Yeah, I can hear that honey, but what's a southern belle like you doing out in the sticks in a place like this?"
"Ah'm lookin' for a ride, I was dropped off by a trucker, uh, close, close by and I saw the light and thought I might be able to get a ride here."
"It's a bit late for that honey, most of the truckers have cleared out by now, we're fixin to close soon, see."
"Uh, ok. Umm...can I ask, if I can't get a ride now, if I might be staying here a few days, do you happen to know sir, where I might be able to pick up some work?"
He's lookin' at her like she's crazy and I don't blame him, what kinda work could someone like her do out here? There ain't nothing but truckers and fight bars and if you ain't sellin' sex or washing dishes there ain't much to do. Dunno what she could do, what skills she has, I know what he'll think, he'll think she wansta strip or something but it's not that, I can smell, she ain't thinkin' like that, she's -
"I can wait tables, cook, clean, and type fast, I can mend cars too and, uh, do you ever have performers in here?"
"We have strippers if that's what you mean, girls that dance in the cage, but you don't want to be doing that honey. You sing? Or play guitar or something?"
He's trying to help her out, I never seen a performance but strip dancing in ona these places but look he's actually being decent. Who'd a thought it?
"No, no, you are right, I don't, actually I...."
"Hey, baby you can strip for me, I bet you'd look real good"
Uh, what an asshole. I'm gonna get up offa my stool, just be ready if the bartender don't slap him down and woah!
Wonder who taught her to fight like that? There's years of training in every one of those moves, it's like she just switched, you know. You could see it click over in her head and she was in another zone. I've seen it before in the spec ops guys, but she is good.
Now who woulda trained a young thing like that to be so dangerous? Damn, I hope she ain't with the government, or the military. She's good lookin' enough for them to recruit as an agent provocateur, but you know, she's so fancy, that ain't their style. They'd want undercover and this girl she sure as hell stands out.
Huh, and she looks beautiful as she did it, it's getting to me. He grabbed her from behind, asshole slapped her ass then reached around and got a hold of her wrists on toppa those long white gloves she's got. She looked up and the switch or something flicked over in her head, every muscle stilled, every sense heightend I could smell it on her, no fear, just confidence and retribution.
She stopped back on his toes with the heel of those old boots and flicked her foot up, catching him right in the balls and the force she used it made me wince. There was no pulling or struggling against his arms, she just lifted her arms up and out, like she was stretching or something, and it bent his arms the wrong way and broke the hold. But she grabbed his right arm as it fell from her left and slammed him into the bar as she flipped to face him. He's looking damn scared now, and she's still in a fighting stance.
Wonder if she's armed? She looks like she must be packing, under that long skirt or something 'cos there's not a bit of fear on her and I can't get over that, tiny thing like her being such a hard core badass underneath.
"Do you recognise me?"
She's interrogating him, huh, whys she think he might recognise her? She some famous person, some actress or something, or something underground, a merc maybe. I always heard they used to recruit them from the best families, espionage agents too.
"Nah, lady, I never seen you before, never."
"So you haven't mistaken me for someone else?"
"No, uh, no, what's this about?"
"You didn't confuse me with your wife or lover, for example?"
"No, look, let me go ok? I'm sorry ok?"
"No"
"No? Whaddya mean no?"
"I mean, no, not ok. If you haven't mistaken me for a woman married or partnered to you, then what in the hell, gives you the right to approach me, let alone touch me?"
"I dunno, look, I dunno, I'm sorry ok? Look, lady, I dunno what you are, but just... I'll go, ok, I'll just go"
"Do you understand why you can't touch random women?"
"Uh, look, uh..."
"Women do not belong to you. I am not yours to play with, you thought I was young, vunerable, small and unprotected, you thought you could get away with touching my body intimately without my permission. You, sir, were very, very wrong on all those counts."
"Look, lady, just, ok, ok, no more touching' women, right just"
Bartender gonna intervene now,
"No, come on now miss, he said he was sorry, we all heard him and I think he's learned his lesson. How about you just let him up and we can all go home now, yes?"
"Fine"
She don't look like she wants to but she's doing it. She's right though, he shouldn't touch women, just here to get a drink, mindin' their own business. She's not famous then, just messin' with him. Good, no government agent or nothin', still wonder how she can fight like that. Shit, this little girl just walked into this bar and she's got me wondering all over her.
"So, about the work, the performance, I'm a writer, and I do performance poetry"
Aww, fuck, he's laughin' at her, I think they're all just scared of her now, think she's some kinda freak, she won't be gettin' money or a ride here now, damn. But I could you know, I ain't scared and I can you'know, I...
"I'll take you"
"Excuse me?"
"I'll give you a ride, uh, you headed west, cos I can take you on that way?"
"Yes, yes I am, thank you, sir, thank you so much."
Oh that smile turned right on me, that's a feelin' that is, and there aren't words.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000
Story Notes:
My first fanfic, it's from Logan's point of view and features introspective Logan, unexpected Rogue and my own take on the classic how-they-met story. Massive thanks to Terri for inspiration and encouragement. Thanks for reading.
Author's Chapter Notes:
My first fanfic, it's from Logan's point of view and features introspective Logan, unexpected Rogue and my own take on the classic how-they-met story. Thanks for reading.
Chapter End Notes:
Many thanks for reading. Constructive criticism welcome, but it is my first fic, so please be gentle.