Knock on the door interrupted his new hobby and he rose from the chair, groaning tiredly. He wasn’t in the mood for company. Cranky and tired had just gotten a whole new meaning.
“Who is it?” He asked.
“It’s me.”
He hurried to the door after recognizing the voice and opened it. Blue-skinned man dressed to a light brown trench coat stood in the corridor. He moved aside to let him in. Man waked up to the window and sat on the chair, snagging a bottle from the case he had placed next to it.
“Heard you found the young Fräulein, correct?” Kurt Wagner asked, taking a small sip from the beer. Logan closed the door, walked to the window and sat on the windowsill.
“Found her, lost her, found and lost her again, managed to track her down and we brought her here.”
“There was some… Trouble?” Wagner asked. Logan nodded.
“Sabretooth was there. But we took care of him.”
“Good. And Fräulein D’Ancanto? How is she?”
“Just fine, I guess. Sick and little shaken up, but nothing serious.”
“You didn’t…”
“Come on, Kurt! I’m not a complete asshole!” Logan huffed.
“Besides, I prefer redheads…” He continued smirking. Wagner nodded.
“I heard there is a new lady at the Titty Twister. You might want to check her out,” he said. Logan shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know. I think I’ll stay in for the night. Kind of tired…”
“And perhaps it is time for me to leave and let you get some rest,” Wagner muttered, finishing his beer and disappearing, leaving only faint scent of sulphur floating in the air.
Wagner was a good man. No-nonsense kind of guy. At first, few years ago when Logan had first met him, his unwavering faith and devotion to The Man above had made him little suspicious towards blue-skinned teleporter. Logan himself wasn’t in to religion of any kind, but Wagner had made it quickly quite clear that he was content in his faith, but not about to try to wrestle Logan down to that path with him. They had formed an easy camaraderie. Wagner wasn’t much of a drinker, but had a beer every now and then, and he was a good listener. He was also a very intelligent conversationalist. He was probably one of the few people in this world Logan could call a friend without flinching too hard.
He put remaining bottles of the beer to a small fridge next to his bed. He was more tired than in need of the booze. He shrugged off his jeans and shirts. They reeked and cling to his skin like a wet towel. He felt sluggish and sticky. Long, hot shower first, then to bed.
Stars weren’t as bright as she had gotten used to at home, but they were just as beautiful. She felt little dizzy from the medication Jean had given her to lower the fever, but it was nice dizziness. Warm, soft feeling and it made her rock slightly back and forth. She was quite sure that the pill Jean had given her was more than just something for the fever. At the plane she had been wound up and little nervous from everything that had happened during the day, but now she could remember and observe it all calmly.
She giggled a bit at the thought of what happened to her sneakers. She wished she could have seen it all happening instead of experiencing it. It must have been quite hilarious sight. Logan had practically blown her off from her shoes. How many girls could say that and really mean it?
Knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Quiet rap, just loud enough for her to hear.
“Door’s open. Come in.”
She had expected to see Logan. She wasn’t sure why. Instead of Logan a blue-skinned man dressed to a long overcoat entered.
“Good evening, Fräulein D’Ancanto,” man greeted her.
“Uh… Good evening?” Marie stuttered an answer. Fräulein? Wasn’t that German?
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kurt Wagner,” man said, bowing lightly at her direction.
“Yes?” What did he want from her?
“I just talked with Logan, and he told me you were sick. I hope it’s nothing serious?” Wagner asked. She could see genuine worry on his face.
“Just a flu…” She started to explain when a sneeze made her nearly fall down from her perch at the window. Wagner stepped closer and offered his arm for her so she could find her balance again, then produced a handkerchief from his pocket.
She was quite taken aback from his gesture. People tended to keep their distance at all the times, some hating her because she was a mutant, and some because they were scared of her skin.
“Watch out my skin…” She whispered before blowing her nose. Wagner patted her shoulder and smiled.
“Young Fräulein doesn’t need to worry. Your skin doesn’t work through clothes, correct?” He asked. Marie shook her head.
“No, it doesn’t. But…”
“Then there is nothing to worry.”
“Uh… I don’t mean to be impolite, but it’s kind of late… Was there something you needed from me?” Marie asked when Wagner just stood there, staring at her. Man smiled and shook his head.
“Just wanted to make sure that you were all right. Sleep well, Marie,” he said, bowed again and then disappeared with most spectacular manner, dissolving to thin air, leaving faint scent of sulphur and small could of black soot floating to where he had stood.
He was about to fall asleep, when knock on the door roused him from the slumber.
“It’s like a fucking central station… Doesn’t anybody around here sleep anymore?” He muttered angrily and sat up, clearing his throat.
“Who the hell is it?” He shouted, hoping that the tone of his voice would scare off the disturbance.
“It’s just me.” Marie. He rose from the bed and pulled on his jeans before opening the door.
She took in his rumpled appearance. Jeans unbuttoned, bare chest and still damp, tousled mane of dark hair.
“Oh… I’m sorry if I woke you up…”
“What is it?” Logan asked. He had about had it with these people. Didn’t they have anything better to do than to bother him?
“I… I just came to ask you… Who is Kurt Wagner?”
“Why? He came to see you?” Logan asked. Marie nodded.
“He’s a friend of mine. And kind of a night owl. If you’re feeling like staying awake late, go pester him. He lives at the attic. Stairs at the end of this corridor. Anything else on your mind?”
“You wouldn’t happen to have any cigarettes?”
She wasn’t a regular smoker. He would have smelled it on her before.
“I smoke when I’m nervous. I feel like I should be very nervous, but Jean gave me something and now I feel only weird…” She explained. They sat outside on the patio. He was puffing a cigar, and she was still toying with a pack of Marlboro Logan had confiscated from an underaged student ages ago.
“Why you should be nervous? You’re safe in here,” Logan grunted, lighting the cigarette she had taken. She took a long drag and held her breath before answering, clearly thinking.
“I don’t know. Am I safe? Probably. But it doesn’t change the fact that you guys practically kidnapped me.”
“Hey! You already promised to come with me,” Logan reminded her. She snorted and coughed a bit when smoke got in to her nose.
“Well, you didn’t give much of a choice over it…”
“If you prefer being out there all alone, be my guest. I already got what I wanted. I’m not going to stop you,” Logan spoke softly, his hooded gaze fixed to something in the dark garden in front of them.
“No… I think I’ll stick around for a while. At least until I get over this fucking flu…” She coughed again and put out her cigarette.
“How about you?” She asked. Logan turned to look at her, his right eyebrow cocked questioningly.
“Are you going to stay?” She clarified her question. Logan shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know. Maybe for couple of days. Just in case Magneto and his friends come looking for you. Can’t have them demolishing this place.”
Or demolishing you, Logan added silently in his mind. What ever Magneto had reserved for her, it couldn’t be nice. Judging from his personal experience with the old mutant, it would probably prove to be lethal for her. And she was just… Just a chick from a small backwater town. Strapped with a fucking lousy mutation.
“Ready to go back inside? Or do you need another dose of tar and nicotine?” He asked. She pocketed the pack she had been fumbling and shook her head.
“I guess I should go to sleep. It just feels so… Ah, forget it.”
“No. Feels so… What?”
“It’s stupid. You’re going to laugh at me.”
“Tell me. I could use a good laugh.”
“I miss Frank.”
“Frank?” Had he missed something? Was there a significant someone in the picture? Another mutie in need of rescuing?
“My teddy bear. I didn’t have the time to grab my bag when we left…”
“Oh… I think Scott said something about it… I thought they brought your stuff to your room,” Logan said. A teddy bear? Well. Who the hell was he to judge other people’s sleeping habits?
“It’s probably waiting in the Blackbird. Come on, let’s go and get it.”
“It’s not like… I know it’s childish. But it’s… I got that bear from my dad and…” She stuttered blushing when they walked towards the hangar. He remembered now seeing it. Brown, little worse to wear, strapped tightly on top of her bag. One eye missing and a row of stitches adorning its stomach.
“Don’t worry about it. If it helps you to sleep better…”
They found her bag, and the bear strapped to it sitting in front of the hangar. Somebody had forgotten it there. She pulled the bear free from the bindings and hugged it tightly against her. Logan took the bag.
“Thanks… For… For bringing me here. And this all…” She stuttered when they stopped in front of her room. Logan found it impossible not to smile and ruffle her hair before leaving her to her own devices.
Finally back in his room he discarded his jeans and crawled between the cool sheets.
“Next one who comes knocking down on my door will end up kebab,” he decided glancing the clock on his bedside table. Three. Fucking three in the morning.
“Note to self. Go and get a decent pair of earplugs tomorrow.”
He closed his eyes. Opened them when the sound of a running shower echoed from the bathroom.
“Whatthefuck…” He bolted from his bed and pushed the door open. Remembered little too late that he shared that bathroom with the person living next door. Marie squeaked and yanked the shower curtain shut. For a moment he just stood at the doorstep, image of her very naked, glistening wet body burnt to his retinas.
“Shit… Sorry, kid. Next time lock the door, okay?” He stuttered before closing the door and leaning against it tiredly. He didn’t need this. Last thing he needed right now was yet another participant to his nightly fantasies. Maybe he should visit at the Titty Twister after all. But not tonight. Now he was going to get some sleep even if he had to kill somebody to reach his goal. He dove back under the covers and slammed a pillow over his head. It worked surprisingly well. He didn’t hear bathroom door opening. He didn’t smell her scent. He didn’t realize that he wasn’t alone anymore before mattress dipped under her weight.
“Um… I can’t sleep.”
”Really? And what the fuck do you want me to do about it?” He growled, throwing away the pillow and fixing the iciest glare he could muster to Marie who was sitting at the edge of his bed, dressed to a modest nightgown and a green bathrobe.
“You sure are on a grumpy mood. Remember, it was your idea to bring me here.”
“It sure as hell wasn’t my idea. Why the hell you don’t go pester somebody else?”
“Duh! I don’t know anybody else around here except you!”
“Well, go make some new friends, then. Shoo!”
“You’re weird. I can’t walk around in the middle of the night and waking people up.”
“You don’t seem to have any problems keeping me wide awake…”
“That’s my point! You’re already awake. I don’t have to wake you up, and you can keep me company! Do you want some coffee? I think I saw a coffee maker in the kitchen when we walked past the doorway…”
“What the hell did Jeannie give to you?”
“I don’t know. Do you want some coffee? I could go and make some…”
“Please. Go. Have some coffee. Leave me alone. I want to sleep.”
“I can’t walk around all by myself. I don’t even know where to find coffee beans.”
“Kid?”
“Yes?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
She yelped surprised when Logan’s hand snaked from under cover and wrapped around her waist. He pulled her on the bed, spooning her from behind and locked his arm tightly around her.
“Keep your mouth shut and sleep, and I don’t have to gag you. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” she squeaked hastily.
Minutes ticked by. Arm around her waist relaxed slightly. Logan’s breathing evened out. He was sleeping. She lay there next to him, enjoying the soothing warm and solid feel of another person against her. Not the same as Frank, but much better.
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