“It’s getting dark, Marie. Would you like to come out from there?” He had been sitting in front of the porch for hours. There was no answer to his question.
“Marie? Would you please come out?” He was too big to fit under the porch; she would have to come out on her own.
“Shit. Kid? I’m going to bed. You know what to do if you get cold.” He stood up, brushing off small twigs and leaves from the back of his pants before going inside.
She was watching the man. He was just sitting there, throwing a glance towards her every now and then. She wanted to go to him, but she couldn’t. He looked like Logan, but as easily he could have been Camo. It was warm day, but air under the cabin was cool, even chilly. She was shivering so hard that she was sure man heard rattling and clinking of her adamantium mail. She wanted to go to him, to crawl on his lap and soak up the warmth she was sure he would radiate, but she was too afraid to leave the safety of the porch. So she shivered and watched, waiting for what he would do next. He had called her kid. That didn’t mean a thing. For lots of people she looked like one. She flinched a bit when he stood up, but it was a false alarm. He just went inside. She could hear floorboards creaking when he was walking around. Scent of smoke drifted by. She ventured deeper under the cabin and came across the foundation of the fireplace. It was slightly warm, and getting warmer every minute. She curled next to it, trying to imagine that it was Logan’s broad back, shielding her from troubles and dangers that were lurking behind every corner.
He could hear her shuffling around under the floor. Seeking warmth from the stones of the fireplace. Shock. Had to be it. She would have to come out of it on her own. He added few logs to the crackling fire and lay down on the floor in front of it. It didn’t feel right to go alone to the bed he had made for both of them.
He was sleeping. She crept closer, careful not to wake him. She had come here to get some clothes. Backpack lay next to him. She reached for it, fingers brushing over the canvas before curling around the strap.
He could hear her. She was really trying. Trying to stay unnoticed. He couldn’t hear metallic clinking of the mail. She must have taken it off. Smart kid. He couldn’t risk scaring her, so he stayed where he lay, on his stomach, but cracked one eye slightly open. She was naked. Opening the backpack. Hands trembling, struggling to stay silent. Scent of her fear fell heavy on him, constricting around his throat like a garrote. He fought to stay down. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to go and hold her, stop her from leaving, but he knew it would be a mistake. He had been in the same state as she was, had gone through it years ago. As much as he had wanted and craved for human contact, someone to hold him, he had known that he would have broken out of that embrace and run in terror.
She kept her eyes trained to him and pushed her hand in to the backpack, freezing when her fingers rustled something inside. He had to have heard it. She let go of the bag and bolted out.
He sat up rubbing his face after she left. She would fucking freeze to death, running around naked. Granted, winter was approaching and nights were getting warmer, but they were not warm enough to run around wearing nothing but your birthday suit. He took clothes she had worn earlier, folded them neatly and took them to porch.
“I’ll go back inside. You’re welcome to join me when you feel like it. Camo’s gone for good, but don’t wander too far. We don’t know if there’s others like him sneaking around,” he spoke softly, knowing full well Marie was crouching under his feet, just relatively thin layer of wood separating them.
“I left you some clothes. If you’re hungry, you have to come inside. Can’t leave food out here, draws animals.”
She waited until the door closed after him before snatching the clothes and dressing up. She already felt better. He acted like the Logan she knew. Would Camo have accepted this kind of behavior from her? She couldn’t be sure. Hungry? She was starving. But she wasn’t going to let him lure her in to a trap. It wasn’t like she didn’t know where to find food. There were berries and nuts everywhere she looked.
He sat on the porch, rising sun warming his face. He felt cold. Cold and tired. He had tried to sleep, but then he had heard Marie sneaking off. He had followed her secretly, noting pleased that she knew how to take care of herself. Alert, even when picking up stuff to eat. Eating straight from the bushes, ready to move if something threatening came to view. Pleased, and sad. She didn’t need him. There would be no reason for her to come back to him. She could stay out here all by herself. She had absolutely no reason to learn to trust him anymore.
She looked at him from the distance, hiding behind thick bushes. He was sitting there, blank look on his face, hands curled around his sides. Hair tousled from combing his fingers through it. Logan or Camo. Which one? Which one lay dead next to her? Which one was sitting out there, obviously missing her? She didn’t know, she couldn’t tell, and it made her let out a frustrated whine. She wanted to go to him, to look at him and see Logan looking back, but she knew she couldn’t have dealt with it if she went there now only to find out that Logan was dead.
“Fuck.” His mood was getting sour. What the hell did she want from him? For two days he had been walking on eggshells, trying to assure her he wasn’t going to jump on her and make her pop out babies. It was getting on his nerves. She wasn’t getting better. Not this way. Not him trying to bend over backwards to keep her sheltered when she obviously went to extreme measures to stay out of his reach.
“Kid, you better get over here. Now. You don’t want me to come and get you!”
He was getting impatient. Pacing back and forth in front of the cabin, hands clasped behind his back. She retreated deeper in the forest. She had stayed longer than it was safe. Birth control was still active, but that wouldn’t stop Camo from raping her anyway. If he was Camo.
Heaven help him. He was stalking after her, trailing her scent through the woods. Exactly what he shouldn’t do. But enough was enough. Enough sleeping alone on the cold, hard floor. Enough of seeing flashes of her from the corner of his eye. Fucking enough of her scent, scared and hesitant wafting in the air around the cabin. He would hunt her down and bring her back to his life even if it killed them both.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000