"Here?" Rogue asked skeptically. This wasn't a possibility that she'd considered. The hotel didn't exactly look safe, she couldn't imagine him wanting them to hide out in this place long term.
"For tonight." This was the first time Logan had sensed any apprehension from her. He'd begun to believe that her time as a runaway was short-lived and she hadn't spent any real-time on the streets. "We'll be fine."
She looked over at him and had no doubt he would be perfectly fine, her on the other hand... The long two weeks she'd spent on her own, she'd been lucky. This life, the people walking around, she wouldn't have survived here.
Would he make sure she was safe? "Will I?"
Those big brown eyes were full of misgivings, she needed reassurance that he would take care of her. "I promise."
Nodding, she picked up her duffle and followed him. She told herself it had something to do with the confidence he exuded. The promises he made weren't the empty platitudes she'd heard all her life. When Wolverine made a promise, she got the feeling he did everything in his power to keep it.
He paid cash to some creepy guy behind a thick glass window. The man handed him a key and they climbed the stairs to the third floor. Rogue was so busy trying not to touch anything that she didn't see the man in the hall until they were almost on top of him.
Her sharp intake of breath warned Logan that she knew exactly who Victor was. Logan grabbed for her wrist to steady her as she began to back away. She scuttled behind him, holding his hand tightly. Her heart was pounding out of her chest and into his back.
Creed started laughing, he knew the girl was panicking and he was enjoying it. Logan had told Victor to stay clear of Magneto's plan but the money had been too good at the time. He'd heard later what the plan had been and that when the X-Men moved in Cyke had blown Victor off the Statue of Liberty. Sometimes Creed had to learn his lessons the hard way.
"Thought you were gonna miss the party, Jimmy," Victor said, scratching his bare chest and eyeing Rogue.
Logan frowned, "Just be ready early." He unlocked the door next to Creed's as a woman entered the hall on the other end.
Rogue peeked around Logan to see what was going on. A woman about her own height and build was wobbling down the hall carrying an ice bucket. She stopped beside Sabretooth and squinted then shook her head as if to clear it. Rogue could smell cheap booze and the bleach used to make lighter streaks in her long, shaggy brown hair.
"Friends," Sabretooth told the woman.
She smiled and waved at them, Sabretooth let her into his room. "...party with us?"
"No, babe," he answered her, spanking her hard as she passed.
"Too bad we could-" her words were muted by the slam of the door.
"Rogue loosened her grip on Wolverine's hand as they entered the room. There were two beds the size of her single at Xavier's and he pointed to the one away from the door as hers. She had no clue how he was going to fit himself in either one to sleep, but maybe that was the point.
"Leaving early in the morning, if you want to shower best do it now," he mentioned, hooking a thumb to the closet-sized bathroom.
One glance and she was positive she would be fine going without, maybe she could make it without peeing too. Instead, she found a place to put her bag that wasn't on the floor and laid down on the bed to watch TV. The set only got two channels and after a bit, she followed Wolverine's example and tried to sleep.
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