The first three weeks were the worst, learning the routine that Logan followed when he was out on his own.
They'd change motel rooms sometimes in the middle of the night, drive for miles only to go back over their tracks. It seemed like madness to her and more than once she'd earned a growl that had told her she was pushing her luck with his already stretched patience.
He wasn't used to having her around and he even forgot about her once, it had been the night he'd been out returning at dawn to collapse on *his* bed. Not remembering that it was also her bed too, he'd stunk of a smoky bar and cheap perfume. When she'd heard the door opening she'd woken, hands at the ready, when he'd stumbled into the room and cursed loudly as he'd slammed the door. She'd relaxed a little, it had been a surprise to him to find her in the bed. For a few moments she'd seen something in his face that had told of other nights he'd wished her to be there with him. It had passed through him quickly and he'd just curled up on the end of the bed. Pulling the blankets that smelled of her around him, funnily enough he didn't have any nightmares that time.
The next morning had been a little difficult, she'd gone out for food and when she'd gotten back he'd been almost in a panic. Eyes wild and hair stuck up like a windstorm, he'd even drawn his claws on her until she'd spoken to him. The only explanation he'd given her was that he'd had a nightmare and he'd left it at that. Although for a couple of days afterward he'd kept her within sight at all times and it had been *at all times*. Peeing with the door open was becoming a habit now, if he could hear and see her he wasn't as jumpy or as aggressive.
She'd kept her silence upto now but it was getting on her nerves and she needed to know what the hell was going on with him. They'd been wandering aimlessly, for nearly a week now and it looked like he was waiting for something to happen to them both. She'd had enough of being told what to do by him, when he talked to her it was in barking commands. Everything else was grunts and looks, her head ached from trying to work out what he meant when he looked at her a certain way. Often she'd only get it half right and he'd admonish her with another look and finish the job he'd wanted her to accomplish.
She'd just finished filling the tank when he'd come round and taken it from her, making her blood boil. She let him put it back in the pump, watching as he fished out the cash he had in his pocket. The look on his face dark and brooding, he'd been quiet now for nearly two days. Even the usual grunts and looks were being locked off from her, his mind obviously occupied with something else. Just what it was she was determined to get to the bottom of it.
Waiting in the cab behind the wheel, she waited for the explosion. He approached the door and did a double take as he saw her sat there, her hand open for the keys. Silently he fished them out of his pocket and handed them over, a light in his eyes flashing at her telling her she'd done the right thing for once. When he'd climbed into the warm cab she started the engine pulling out of the gas station. Her eyes glued to the road ahead she could feel him finally relaxing next to her, when she did risk a look at him he was napping. A small smirk at the side of his mouth a realisation settling in her stomach. He'd been testing her, seeing how far he could push her before she snapped and took control. She fought to supress a laugh but it came out as a chuckle anyway, "Goddamn you Logan." The little chuff of reply she got from him was enough to tell her she was right in her suspicions. But he wasn't going to get away with it, oh no, she'd been worried about his state of mind and besides she needed to get some things clear between them. When they stopped for the night tonight she'd pick the place and she'd go out for food, he'd wait for her this time. Setting her eyes on the snowy horizon she settled in for a days driving.
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"Right talk to me you son of a bitch, 'cos if Ah have to put up with another midnight move Ah *will* kill you where you goddamn stand!" She'd driven all day, pumped gas twice, gotten pain in her lower back that was now radiating down her thighs in a needle spiking flow. Annoyed, pissed off and at the end of her rope, Logan hadn't said a damn word to her at all. Not even when she'd signed the register as a couple with a name she knew wasn't from her memories.
He'd just finished the burger and fries she'd been across town to collect. Logan'd nearly turned his nose up at it at first but her scent and frustration had changed that action.
He looked at her, she was blazing, her back was aching he knew that by the way she was standing. Her feet spread apart, the weight on one foot more than the other. Settled on the bed he patted the place next to him watching her eyes narrow as she moved over to the side of the bed. She stood there arms crossed looking down defiantly at him making his good mood begin to burn away like dawn mist. Grabbing her arm he pulled her down to the bed, "Sit the fuck DOWN."
She looked a little ruffled but not upset and he tried to get the words in order, he had one chance at this and he wasn't going to fuck it up.
"Marie...this isn't easy for me. You know what I am,what I'm capable of." His fingers were stroking her arm, running up and down the fabric that covered her weaponised skin. His gaze was dark when he gripped her arm tightly, "While we're out here I have to be sure you'll do as I tell you. First time Marie, not second, our lives depend on it. Until we're safe and your trained you'll have to take orders; like it or not." She was about to open her mouth when he tightened his grip on her again, her breath hissing as it began to hurt. "I'm not *safe* either Marie, so when I say get out I mean *GET OUT*. Do you understand me?"
His face was filled with the darkness she'd seen in the warehouse; he was struggling with Wolverine it was as if she could sense him trying to break free. Nodding as he released her arm, the blood flowing freely again into her fingers. Watching as his head dropped against the headboard of the bed, exposing his throat to her. Shifting her weight on the bed she moved further away from him, his eye opened and pierced her through. "Scared of me?" Smiling she balanced on her arm as she tried to keep her heart calm.
"Of you Logan? Never. Wolverine on the other hand..." she left the words hanging in the air, watching as Logan nodded to himself.
"Good answer, I'm not exactly fond of what I am either. He's a part of me Marie, doesn't mean I have to like it. Sometimes I lose the fight Marie and it's those times when I say *RUN*, you run as far as you can as fast as you can. Don't worry about me finding you again, I'll find you soon enough. Just if I ever corner you, put me down first then get gone. You don't want to see me like that, I don't want you to see me like that, not unless you have to."
She was about to say she'd already seen that part of him inside her own head when he looked through her. The coldness in his eyes made the words die in her mouth. "Seeing and knowing are two different things Marie, that guy I killed had *family*. I killed *everyone* there Marie, including the owners of the toys out front. That's the truth and that's what you're going to have to live with out here with me. So when I say jump you jump, got me?"
Nodding she stroked the glove of her right hand, the pins and needles finally fading away. Roving her gaze over him she could see the tension in his frame, nudging him he looked at her again.
"Why don't you get a bath, soak for a bit." His eyebrow lifted into it's usual quirk, and she smiled at him. "Come on, it'll do you some good. Ah'll go get some salt and you'll feel better afterward, my momma always had a salt bath when she was feelin' edgy and tired. Never failed." It must have been her optimism that made him agree to the bath, she left him running water as she went to the small mini-mart attached to the motel.
When she got back he wasn't in the room, checking the bathroom the water was there but there was no sign of Logan. Going back to the room she checked the bags under the bed, they were both there and the truck was still parked up. Checking outside once more deciding that he must have gone out for a while, maybe to get more food or to walk off some of the tension before he came back. Well it was his loss, if he wasn't going to use the water she would. Stripping quickly and pouring in half the packet of salt, turning the water into warm brine she settled her body down into the warmth. Knowing the door was locked and the only person who had a key was Logan. Anyone else who tried anything would be a vegetable before they realised what had hit them. Life on the road wasn't what she thought it would be but then what had she expected? Fruit and flowers every day? Snorting at her own innocence as she floated in the warmth unaware that tonight everything would change.
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Blowing out smoke Logan approached the bar, the sickly neon light flickering in the cracked window. The summons had come just as he was pulling his shit together, the tickle in the back of his head. The signal from Xavier to go to a phone and call home, so he'd done just that. Leaving the room empty as he'd gone to find out what couldn't wait.
The booth stank of piss, several blood stains were on the reciever making him push hard down into his own mind, keeping Wolverine on a tight leash. Plucking the number from his mind he stabbed the numbers viciously. Four rings later and the voice he'd come to despise spoke quickly and clinically. "Bar on fifth and sixty-third, man's name is Murray."
"First or last?"
"Last."
"Anything else?" The voice was quiet as if thinking about the extra weight he was carrying.
"Disposal as usual Wolverine, man has a withered look, don't let him fool you he's stronger than he looks." Nodding to himself Logan felt the shackles loosen in his mind, bringing Wolverine to the surface of his skin.
"Witnesses?" The voice was as cold as the sky above him when it answered.
"None. No witnesses Wolverine." He grunted as he replaced the reciever, heading toward the address given; a sick smile wrapping itself over his face.
The bar was a mixture of all the crap from several other bars that had gone out of business. The tables were pink formica, chairs were fifties in style, soft but ripped in several places, the bar stools themselves were all different. He picked one next to the back door, he never knew how long he'd be waiting for his mark.
The rest of the clientle just looked at him and read him as he was, instantly labelling him 'bad news' and keeping a good distance. Ordering whiskey from the barman and getting something that passed for it he waited, watching and listening for the name he'd been sent to dispose of.
He was halfway down the bottle by the time the man walked in, he was a shabby looking thing. Rodent like eyes glittering as he scanned the bar, searching for someone or something. Finding nothing out of the ordinary he took a table in the middle of the drinking crowd, his body looking thin but the scent that was coming from him wasn't weak. He was confident, expectant, her ordered direct from the table and the waiter brought over his drink. Wolverine's gaze locked onto the hand that appeared with the money, the skin paper thin and the muscle wasted. He'd made his target, now all he had to do was wait, the noise of the bar intensified for a while as the locals piled inside. The ones who came here were looking for oblivion, not respite, they'd cause him no trouble, they weren't the type. One man did give him the once over but the propositition he was after wasn't what Wolverine was there for. Staring through the gruff older man until he turned his back and looked for easier prey.
When the little man called Murray finally got up he wasn't entirely stable. He wove through tables toward the back, waving his goodbyes to everyone and paying his tab. Wolverine was up and out of his seat before he'd finished paying, waiting in the darkness at the back door. He'd probably use the can then come out the back, the group at the front had been giving Murray heated looks and he wasn't in any state to handle them. Hearing his target get closer he let the darkness flood through him, he'd kept him at bay for weeks now. He needed this release, this kill and he wouldn't be stopped now.
As soon as the man's head came out he grabbed the throat in one clawed hand, crushing the windpipe shut. He never even knew what happened, one moment he was walking out of the bar, heading for home the next he was gasping for air through a crushed layrinx.
Hoisting the now unconcious man into the darkness, Wolverine jogged through the alleyways and derelict buildings. He knew what he was looking for, a building with a drain beneath it, his eyes catching the faded painted sign on a wall, 'Slater's Meat Packing'. That'd do nicely, he was doing some butchery of his own tonight.
An hour in all, the man was now in several thousand pieces, every single one being dispursed by the sewer system. The rats would have a field day with him, the belongings he burned including the jewellry until it was nothing but a solid mass of silver mixed with gold and ash. The money he kept, over three thousand in US and at least another six Canadian. Whatever this guy had been into it had been profitable for a while, rolling his shoulders and neck he couldn't shake the need that was itching under his skin. It hadn't been enough, he'd needed a fight and he hadn't gotten one from Murray. The fight circuit was miles away from here, but right now he'd have gone fifteen rounds with Colossus. His clothes were piled up and his body was covered in blood, grabbing them he knew where there was a bath filled with warm water. All he had to do was get back to it without being seen, the moonless sky was all the clothing he'd need. Setting off back to where he knew home was for the moment, his concious mind skimming over the fact that he wasn't alone out here. Wolverine on the other hand had plans.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Xavier thinks he's gotten the perfect situation, Yet Marie and Logan know different. Travelling with Logan isn't what she expected and Marie gets a wake up from someone she'd rather not meet.