She tried to act nonchalantly. Here she was, walking down the street. There were no worries. Army had cleared off hours ago, and there was absolutely nothing to worry about. Then her gaze swept over the man walking beside her and suddenly worrying was all she could do. Had she lost the last bit of common sense at the arena? He was Wolverine. Creature that had raped her repeatedly until Mechanics had taken her away from him. Then he gazed towards her, and she could see her own nervousness reflecting from his eyes. He was just Logan. They were both scared.
“It’s in here,” she stuttered, entering the Inn. Owner of the place was still behind the counter next to the door, and winked her when Logan stepped in after her.
“Told you it would be worth of your time…” Man cackled when they walked past him. She chose to ignore the remark and took the stairs, one at time. Her room was on the second floor. At the door she stopped, suddenly hesitant. Room was awfully small. As if reading her mind, Logan cleared his throat.
“We don’t have to go in there. We can go to tavern, if…” He spoke softly. She pushed the door open and walked in.
“You coming or going?” She asked, tilting her head when Logan remained at the doorstep. Sighing he stepped in and closed the door behind him.
It took all her strength and will not to bolt straight back out from the room. It really is small. Tiny. Tiny like a fucking cardboard box. Logan shifted uneasily, hand rising and combing his fingers through tousled mess of his hair.
“Marie, I… I’m sorry about what happened.” His voice was flat, as was his apology, too. It only managed to re-awaken the anger she had suppressed after Sam was born.
“You’re sorry? Is that all you have to say?” She snarled.
“Yeah. What else there is to say? That there hadn’t been a day that I haven’t thought about you? That I have spent all these years looking for you? That I crawled under a rock and died?” Logan’s hackles rose, too.
“That would be a good start.”
“That would be a fucking lie. I haven’t lied to you before, and I’m not about to start it now. For the past years I have tried to forget that you even existed. I was doing just fine. What the hell are you doing in here?” Logan growled.
“I live here. What is your excuse?” Marie spat, crouching slightly, balling her fists.
“I don’t… I… We didn’t… Oh, fuck this. Can we start over? Without this fucking childish bickering?” Logan asked, sitting heavily on the bed. Frame of it squeaked alarmingly under his weight. At the arena he had been impressed about the way Marie had thrown away everything and attacked him in order to save her… Their son, but now her less than friendly attitude managed only to make things harder. His own temper wasn’t helping much in that matter.
“I’m not planning to come back and screw up your life again. Or my life. It became quite apparent, that bad things happen if we stick together. I’m traveling with that freak show. I was just surprised to see you. I thought… I thought you died back there…” Logan said, his voice cracking slightly over his last words.
“I thought you were dead, too. I was happy for it. It was kind of sad. I had loved you, but it was such a relief to think that I didn’t have to run and hide from you anymore. I have a life now. Not perfect, but not completely miserable either.” Logan nodded and hung his head.
“You did it? Blow up that hellhole?” He suddenly asked.
“I guess so. Everything just crumbled from around me. When it was over, I walked away. There was nobody to stop me.”
“It took me a fucking week to crawl out from that pile of rubble. Cleared my head nicely. I was almost sane when I got back to surface. Army had already been there. They had salvaged what they thought they could still use and left. Thanks.”
“For what?” Marie asked puzzled.
“For getting us out from there. For finishing it.”
“You’re welcome. Are we good now?” She asked.
“Yeah. I guess we are…” Logan said.
“Good. I have to go and take care of Sam…”
“Sam? It’s a good name,” Logan said, standing up. She reached for the doorknob when his hand closed around hers.
“Can I… Marie, can I just hold you for a while?”
She froze. There was no way he had asked it. No way. And there was no way in fucking heaven or earth that she would say yes. No. She turned stiffly around to face him again, fear twisting her insides. He stood there, impassive mask fallen over his features. He leaned closer, bracing his hands to both sides of her, against the doorframe. His nostrils flared slightly and he swallowed. She could only stare at him.
“Can I?” He asked again. He looked calm and composed, but his voice betrayed his true feelings. He was as scared as she. That gave her the necessary strength to push him backwards.
“No.” She turned around, opened the door and walked out, waiting for the inevitable feel of his hands on her. It never came, and she kept walking. Out from the room. Out from the Inn. To the truck where Sam was waiting.
“Everything all right?” Sam asked when she climbed to the driver’s seat. She nodded. She didn’t trust her voice enough to speak. She was scared. She was angry. She felt disgusted. She had made it on her own all these years, never backing down, and now one man managed to make her tremble out of fear and run like a little helpless girl.
“We’re going home now?” Sam asked, shifting on the seat uneasily. He had taken off his armor and wrapped his ribs, but she knew he must be in pain. It would be best to return to the room she had booked from the Inn and let Sam sleep for a while, at least couple of days, but she couldn’t go back there, not as long as the fighters were in town.
“We’re going home. Stay sharp.” Now there was no convenient convoy offering safety in numbers. It was night, and they would be crossing the desert alone. Sam winced but sat up straighter and grabbed the rifle, checking it was loaded. Spare ammunition was in the glove compartment. He took out a cartridge and put it on the dashboard. Quicker to reload from there, than start hunting more ammo in the middle of a gunfight.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000