When she closed her eyes she could remember it. Getting dressed. It had felt odd, to put on more clothes to go to sleep, but they both had probably guessed that what happened at the bathroom had been just something to take off the sharpest edge.
What happened after it, when they lay on the bed together was something else entirely. Less frantic, less desperate, it was more about getting to know one and other, and about finding what felt most pleasurable. Slower and more gentle, both whispering encouragements and almost wordless pleas and reassurances.
She could still feel him moving against her, slow grind of his hips against hers, his lips whispering over her eyelashes, one breath away from actual touch. She could still feel his muscles under her palms through his shirt. She could still smell the scent of it just as she could smell the scent of tobacco in the leather jacket he had left behind two weeks ago when he had left, promising to return in just few days.
Two weeks ago he had walked out of her life, leaving her in possession of rather large amount of cold, hard cash and one Pontiac that she now steered towards New York. She had already wasted too much precious time in iffing and second-guessing. Logan wasn’t an asshole. He had told her to wait couple of days; he’d call as soon as he got things wrapped up. He hadn’t called. Instead of launching off to rescue him she had fallen to a victim to her own insecurity, thinking that Logan really never had even meant to call or come back. It was, after all a drawback in a relationship to be unable to touch without any kind of barrier between. But Logan really wasn’t an asshole. And he was in trouble. Though from what Logan had told her about Stryker and the little operation he was running made her almost wish that he had just gotten bored and taken off, not bothering to inform her about it.
She didn’t have a clue of what she would do once she got in to N.Y. Logan had gone there to meet Magneto and lure him to the ruins of Xavier’s school. He seemed to think that Stryker had moved his base in there permanently.
Should she search Magneto first? Or go marching straight to the spot she suspected that Logan was held? And what the hell was she going to do once she got there? Somehow she got the impression that Stryker wouldn’t be easily persuaded to let Wolverine go.
She stopped just outside of the city, pulling on to a parking lot of a small diner. She wasn’t really hungry, she ha been snacking peanuts and salted crackers as she drove, but she was trembling. What on earth was she supposed to do? She couldn’t just take off and leave Logan to rot where he was. That wasn’t an option. But it wasn’t a very viable option either to go marching in to Xavier’s. Stryker may, or may not be n there. She wouldn’t be much use for Logan if she got herself in to trouble.
She could of course try and find Magneto. But the old mutant had had some plan. Would he postpone it until she could get Logan to safety? Not likely.
She let her forehead fall against the steering wheel and closed her eyes. For the past weeks she had done nothing but kept guessing. Guessing this and that, fear and hope battling over the dominance of her thoughts.
She refused to cry. Crying wouldn’t get her out of this situation. Maybe some coffee would calm her nerves.
She walked across the parking lot, amazed at the quantity of olive colored vehicles. Army. Logan had been probably right. Stryker was still in town. Before stepping in to the diner she made sure that there was no skin bared aside of her face. Weather was cold; her near mummified status wouldn’t raise questions.
She got herself a secluded booth far in the corner, away from rowdy bunch of soldiers occupying the counter. Waitress bought her the coffee she asked.
It was hot, and bitter compared to how Logan used to make it. She took careful sips, trying her best to clear her head and relax.
Slowly her senses started to adjust, filtering off excess noise. She could actually follow short conversations going on around her. People complaining about the weather. People complaining about high prices of everything. People complaining and nagging about everything and anything in general. Then she hit the jackpot. A conversation actually worth to listen.
There were two men seated on a booth next to hers, both military. She had no idea of their rank, insignias something foreign for her.
“…arena last night?”
“Yeah. Made a decent profit.”
“Wolverine?”
“Best there is. I always bet on him. Hasn’t lost a battle yet.”
“When is the next match?”
“I’m not sure… bad shape after the last one. They put him in with Sabretooth. You know how those two are…”
“And Wolverine won?”
“Yeah. Imagine that. I knew it was a long shot, Sabes is much bigger than him, but it was worth it…”
Arena? Sabretooth? She tried to move closer to the men, but they had apparently gotten what they wanted and started to stand up. She gathered her courage and pushed through the crowd after them. With any luck they would lead her to where Logan was kept.
Traffic was murder. The closer she got to the city the harder it got to weave her way through it. But it was not all bad. It made tailing the two men from the diner easier. They wouldn’t notice one Pontiac from the sea of cars, not even when that said Pontiac spent most of the time practically hugging the bumper of their Hummer.
Her luck didn’t last endlessly. She had to fall back when the hummer took an exit, turning to the lane that was for some reason ‘reserved for military only’. Of course there were the traditional buss lanes, as well as speed lanes and several other lanes reserved for other purposes, but… Military?
She took the next exit. She had no reason to go in to the city now. She needed to find that Hummer again. Though how she was going to do that she had no idea, but the road she had chosen would bring her to the road Hummer had taken little further along.
She kept the speed within the required limit even when she wanted to hurry. It wouldn’t do to get pulled over for speeding now. She had money to pay the tickets, but she had no way of knowing if she would need the cash later for something more important. She probably couldn’t bribe anybody with the amount she had, but it never hurt to have some extra tucked away in case of an emergency.
She kept driving until she got in to the crossroad. If she turned right she would eventually end up to what was left of Xavier’s. She decided to check that first. That had been Logan’s original goal, and with any luck she could find clues of what happened from there.
Familiar scenery made her eyes water.
“Oh, stop that, you fool…” She huffed, wiping her cheeks with one hand. There was time to get sentimental, but that time wasn’t now. Now was the time to…
“Oh, my God.”
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