Terri's Peep Hut ~~ Fiction Archive

Pretending

Title: Alter-Eighteen: Pretending

Author: Terri

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: I don't own them at all. Nope. Not me.

Archive: Ask, and I will gladly provide.

Feedback: Please! With a cherry on top?

Summary: Alternate version of events in the movie and the Eighteen series. Logan and Rogue meet up and play make believe for a little while.

Comments: This is dedicated to Sorciere, for her golden birthday. Look, I got it done in time! Ahead of time, even (what can I say, I got inspired.). I hope she likes it. Especially since I've just taken all kinds of hell from by brbf about giving this particular fic as a birthday present. (She was still nice enough to give it a super-express beta read to ensure on-time birthday delivery, though.) Sorciere requested this stuff, kinda-she said she liked Cellmates, Keep On Driving, and Rougher Ride. Honest. I didn't set out to do a depressing one for a birthday fic. I really didn't. My brbf's also getting mad that I make Rogue cry a lot after sex, because, in her opinion, sex with Logan is always a good thing, regardless of the circumstances. Don't worry girl, I'll make a after-sex laughing-Rogue fic soon.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, what the hell are you doin' in here?" You know, that's about all I fuckin' need. Have a fuckin' run-in with that dumbass at the bar, and now there's some stowaway hidin' in my camper. Real young, probably jailbait. Looks tired and starvin' to boot. Smells scared as hell, that's for damn sure. Shit. I don't fuckin' need this.

"Sorry." Why is she whisperin'? "I needed a place to hide for a little while. Please-please help me. I just need to hide for a second." Scratch scared, make that terrified.

"Who're you hidin' from?"

"Um, a bunch of weird guys. I know that sounds vague, but I think they're like army guys or something."

"Army guys?" What the hell would the army want with some runaway kid?

"I, uh, I think they're army. Some of them are doctors, I think. The two that caught me, they're doctors, I'm pretty sure." Fuck, army guys and doctors. Don't that sound familiar? Those bastards make some pretty frequent appearances in my nightmares. Still don't know what the hell they'd want with her, though. Unless she's a mutie. She don't look like one, but you never know. "I-I lost them when they went into the bar. They, um, left after handcuffing me to the steering wheel, but.." Shit, she's holdin' up her arm, still wearin' that cuff just like a bracelet. But the chain's cut. She don't look nowhere near strong enough to-"I, um, had a nail file."

"Shit." Resourceful girl.

"Yeah. Look, I, um, please-I just need to hide until they're gone, OK? Please help me?" Darlin', you're askin' the wrong guy for help. Much as I'm primed to kick ass usually, I ain't the good samaritan type. And I ain't in the mood for a return stay with those fuckers. I'd just as soon stay under their radar.

"Look, kid, I don't wanna get involved in your problems. Now, get outta my camper."

"Please, please help me." Real serious voice there. Scared shitless. "I'll do whatever you want, just-please help me."

"You shouldn't say shit like that to men like me, kid." 'Cause whatever I want could involve some shit that would make her-

"Whatever you'd do-I just don't want to be experimented on. I think-I heard them talking about experiments, because of my skin, because I'm a mutant with toxic skin. I-they were talking about taking my skin off. Please. Please help me." Fuck, that sounds fuckin' familiar too. Bastards. "Look, I'm-I've been on my own for a while. I know-I know the things you might want. I'm not naïve. Please, just help me. Please."

Somethin' about her-I ain't usually one for doin' good deeds, but somethin' about her's makin' me think about it. I'm actually thinkin' about helpin' her. Fuck. "Look, I'll take you to the next town-then you're on your own, got it?"

"Thank you, thank you so much." So fuckin' grateful I can smell it on her.

"Yeah. Sit on the floor of the camper 'till we get outta town." Just in case.

"OK. I will. Thank you. Thank you so much."

"You can come sit up front now." I think it's safe, we're a good twenty miles out. Had to stop for gas anyway.

"Thanks." She's been quiet as hell back there. "Starting to snow a lot."

"Yeah." Gonna make drivin' interestin' here shortly. Wonder if it's supposed to turn into a blizzard. Wouldn't that be great? This sure as hell ain't my lucky day.

"Um, do you-would you mind if I ate some of these pretzels?"

"No."

"And, um, the beef jerky?"

"Fine." Shit, she don't ask for much, does she? Risk your life, save me from the army, and, hey, mind if I eat your food too? Shouldnta fuckin' taken her along. Shoulda made her get out. Shoulda-

"Thanks. I, um, really appreciate it. Thanks." Smilin' at me. You know, I have to admit, it looks good on her. She looks about a thousand percent better that way.

"Yeah. Let's get goin' before the snow gets worse."

"OK. Um, how long do you think to the next town?"

"'Bout seven hours." If we're lucky. If the snow holds. If it doesn't get worse.

"Do you want..I mean, I, ah offered to do whatever you wanted. What would you like?" Shy eyes. She mighta been on her own for a while, mighta done shit like this before, but she's not been doin' enough of it to become accustomed to it.

"Not now. When we get to town." Honestly, there's a part of me that knows I shouldn't take her up on that offer. She's a kid, she needs help, she's scared and vulnerable. But there's a bigger part of me that says I haven't had a woman in a while and somethin' about her smells damn good to me. Way too good.

"OK." Little smile there again. Hmmm. I really dunno what to make of her.

"It's getting worse."

"Yeah." Can't really see the road at all anymore. High winds, snow blowin' everywhere. Fuck. "I'm gonna pull over."

"I think that's a good idea." Tuggin' at her seat belt a little. She's worried we'll get in an accident. Funny-hitchin' rides with strangers, runnin' from the army, fine, but now she's all about auto safety.

"Yeah." Gonna go off the road-at least I think it's off the road. "We'll just hafta wait it out." Gonna shut off the truck for a while-can always start it back up or use the space heater if it gets cold.

"Yeah." She looks kinda cute, when you look at her. And the smell thing-it's definitely there, strong. "Do you want something now?" Shit-she caught me lookin' at her like that. Well, time to make a decision.

"What does your skin do?" I've never been a real honorable kinda guy.

"It hurts people. If they touch it for too long, it can kill them. I can't-I can't control it. I can't turn it on or off. There's-there's a lot of ways around it, though. Just tell me what you'd like." Matter-of-fact. Not like a professional, not like a prostitute, not yet. But clinical, a little detached. Hmmm. I don't like that. I don't want her to be detached for some reason.

"I've got a condom-here-in my wallet. I want you to use your mouth on me." She's bein' up-front with me, direct. Might as well be the same way with her. She's noddin', smilin' a little sadly. Takin' the condom from me with gloved hands.

"Turn toward me, this way. Lean back against the door. I'll do the rest." Kind words. Soft words. Tiny hands movin' to undo my jeans. Not too practiced, not too sure. Slidin' my jeans over my hips. Wonder if she was surprised there wasn't underwear under there. If she was, it doesn't show on her face. A look up at me and another little smile. Her smell-it's so strong, so strong. So enticing. I bet even people without my enhanced senses are impacted by it. I could breathe it in all day.

"Oh" Small hands, movin' up and down and what's that-oh yeah, the handcuff. I could-I could get that offa her.. "Hey-you want that off? The handcuff?"

"Yeah. Do you have a key or something?"

Shoulda thought this through a little more. 'Cause this could be the end of our nice little snowbound get-to-know-you. "No. I'm a mutant. Don't be scared, but I got these." Just gonna let the claws out a few inches.

"Oh! How-what kind of mutation is that?" She don't smell too scared, just surprised. Good.

"Dunno. Army guys-like the ones you mighta been runnin' from-they got a hold of me, did this. They'll cut the handcuff. C'mere." Puttin' her hand out. That's pretty trustin'. Just gonna hold the cuff so it doesn't pull against her wrist when I cut it. "There."

"Thanks." Another grateful look. Honestly grateful, and for such a small thing. Can't tell ya how surreal that seems when I'm about to get a payback blowjob from her.

"You're welcome." Those hands are back, strokin' nice and slow. Didn't even wait to make sure I'd put the claws back in. Somethin' about that is gettin' me harder by the second.

"Ready?" She's openin' the condom package, she can tell I'm pretty hard now. I'm ready.

"OK." Rollin' it on nice and easy.

"I'll be careful, don't worry." What? Oh-her skin. She'll be careful of her skin. I know what she said about it, and it's probably true. Explains why the army would want her, explains why she's not in too bad of shape even bein' on the road for a while. I ain't worried. I heal. Even if she could hurt me, I'm pretty sure she won't kill me and-Ah!

Shit, that's nice. Hot and wet and she really knows how to swirl that tongue. "Yeah." She's goin' slow, makin' it good for me. Not like a professional-they cut straight to the chase, get you finished off as soon as possible so they can move on to the next John, make the most money quickest. She's takin' her sweet time. "Deeper." Just a little. I dunno how much she can take, but I'd like for her to take just a little more. Wonder-wonder if she'd mind me puttin' my hands in her hair.

"Mmm." I'll take that as a no. Shit, she's still takin' her time. Well, if she's gonna go slow, I'm gonna lean back against the door and enjoy it. Breathe her in deep and enjoy it.

Shame about her skin. Must be shitty for her. Wonder if that's why she wound up out here. Maybe her parents didn't want a mutie. Wouldn't be the first time. Wonder how many times she's done this-offered herself up for a ride or some help. Wonder how many men like me took her up on it. Hard to say no, I'd imagine.

Change in pace and pressure. God, the girl's got strong mouth muscles. She's really workin' me now. She hasn't looked up at me once the whole time. Guess she just assumes I'm likin' it. She'd be right. "Little faster." I'm ready to focus now. It's pleasant, goin' slow, but I really wanna just go hard at it now. "Deeper.can you-ah!" That was damn good the way she swallowed around me like that. I'm startin' to get close. Hope I'm not pullin' her hair too much. Tryin' not to push her head or move my hips, but-"Unnhh!"-it's damn hard when she's workin' me that good. "Yeah, come on.."

Faster and faster, harder and harder. Real close now. "Yeah-unnh! More-just-ah!" Can't help holdin' her head to me now. Too close. Just a little more. Just a little-"Aaaahhhhh!" Yeah, oh yeah, there it is. "Uh!!!" One last little bit. "Unnhhh..yeah.." Shit, that was good.

She's-she's pullin' off me slowly, not in a hurry. Maybe-maybe it wasn't too bad for her. Maybe she liked it a little. Her hands-one hand on my stomach, just rubbin' it. That's-that's good. Sensual. Nice. Never had a professional do that before. Usin' her other hand to take off the condom, still not lookin' up at me.

"Hey, just-there's a garbage bag behind you." Now she's lookin' at me and I kinda wish she hadn't. She looks so damn sad. She didn't like it. It was pretty bad for her. Fuck. Shouldnta done that. Shouldnta taken her up on that offer. "You all right?"

Little nod. "Did you like it?" Heartbreaking whisper. Fuck. Really shouldnta done that. She's just a kid. A kid in trouble. Dammit.

"Yeah, yeah I did."

"Good." She looks about ready to cry now. She's slidin' back over to her side of the truck, sittin' up, pressed close to the window.

"What's your name, kid?" All of a sudden, I want my pants back on. I feel bad about this. I shouldnta done it.

"Marie. What's yours?"

Don't usually tell people that. Even (or especially) people I've had sex of some sort with. "Logan."

"That's nice. Thanks for helping me, Logan."

I dunno what to say. 'You're welcome' doesn't seem appropriate. "You get enough to eat? There's some more beef jerky in the glove box."

"Would you mind?" She brightened up a little at that. Musta been a helluva long time since she ate last.

"Nah. Go ahead." I messed her hair all up. And her lips are still red from bein' around me. Looks enticin'. Smells good. I shouldnta done it, though. I shouldnta taken her up on it.

"Do you want some too?" Sweet little smile, just like that. I dunno what to make of her.

"Sure."

"Still fuckin' snowin'." Has been for the past hour. Helluva storm.

"Yeah, and it's still getting worse. I guess we're stuck for a while." I really, really would like a repeat performance from her. I would. And part of me knows she'd do it if I asked. She'd give me a sad as hell smile and maybe cry when it was over, but she'd do it if I asked. But I ain't gonna ask. I ain't.

"Where were you headed? Before the army got you?"

"Oh, just around, I guess. At one point, I wanted to go to Alaska. That's how I ended up in Canada in the first place. I'm originally from Mississippi."

"Thought you had some kinda accent there."

"Yeah. Where are you headed?"

"Was hopin' to get to this place I have up north before winter sets in. Was hopin' that one last fight in Laughlin City would be it, then up to my place. But with this early snow.." Gotta get the picture of me sittin' in fronta the fire at the cabin with her on her knees, mouth takin' me in deep-gotta get that picture outta my head. No matter how good she smells.

"It is pretty early, isn't it? Even for Canada."

"Yeah. I, uh, liked what you did for me before."

"Would you like me to do it again?"

"That's not why I said that. It seems like-shit, I dunno." I have no idea how I got on this conversational path.

"What?"

"Nothin'."

"Come on, tell me. We're-we're stuck here for a while. Nowhere to go. Come on, tell me."

"It seems like you didn't wanna do it. Like it made you pretty upset."

"We made a deal. You held up your end of the bargain. I'll hold up mine." That's all wrong on her-that kind of resigned voice. "It's not-it's not that I didn't like it." Different tone now, and almost a whisper. Like she's tellin' secrets. "I wanted to do it, I wanted to find some way to thank you for helping me, for not being cruel to me or mean. A way to thank you that meant something to you, that'd be good for you. I just wonder what it'd be like if it were different, you know? What it'd be like to do those things with someone you really cared for. I don't know what that's like. I've never done that." That's what made her upset. That right there. She's tearin' up now.

"Me either."

"Why not?"

"Don't trust people. Don't like most of 'em." Almost all of 'em, really. Only one or two exceptions, and none of 'em are women. Ran into one or two stand up guys along the way, but no one you'd even really call a friend.

"Huh. How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Go through life not liking and not trusting anyone." She's not lecturin' me, like you might think she would. She's just curious. She really wants to know.

"Easier than doin' it the other way. You don't get hurt this way, don't get betrayed. Fewer people in a position to screw you over."

"Is that how you wound up with the army guys? Someone betrayed you?"

"Dunno. Don't remember anythin' about my life before they cut me loose 'bout fifteen years ago." She was probably just a baby then. "Lost my memories."

"That's terrible. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah." I can tell she means it, and that makes me kinda uncomfortable. And kinda not.

"I can't make myself do that. Truth is, I need people. I'm not one of those loner types. I like being around people and I need them." I can tell that about her. "Actually, it's pretty ironic, isn't it? My skin keeps most people away. And most of the people it doesn't scare away are pretty scary themselves." Wonder if she includes me in that group. Wouldn't be too surprised if she did. But she don't smell scared of me. Not at all. I don't want to hurt her, I don't, but -

"Would you do it again? Not-not as part of the deal. But maybe you could pretend-maybe you could pretend you cared about me? If you wanted to."

Huge brown eyes, so sad right now, but there's a little glimmer in there too. She knows what I mean. I think-I think she knows it's really only if she wants to. I think she knows I want to pretend too. "OK. OK, Logan."

"I'm sorry." Shaky voice, and I can smell the tears real strong. She's been cryin' pretty good for the past few minutes, all curled up on my chest. My pants are still down, but she's covered down there, so her skin shouldn't be a problem. And she's fine where she is on my chest. I've got, like, five shirts on. I can't even feel her tears on my skin yet.

"It's OK." Started cryin' a little right after she was done. She was pretendin', I could tell by the way she was, the way she touched me. She really made it good for me, was really attentive and gentle. That's how she would be if she really did care, I can tell.

"It's just"

"It's OK." I was pretendin' too. Thinkin' maybe-maybe she'd be someone I'd pick up in a bar and I'd take her home and show her the claws and explain and she wouldn't be scared. She'd just smile and say it was OK and she wouldn't call me a freak or anythin'. Maybe she'd be someone I met in a store or at a gas station, and I'd just look at her and know she was the one for me. Maybe we'd be two people with kids and a house and a picket fence. Just two people who'd never even heard of the fuckin' Canadian army or their goddamn experiments. Maybe I was even pretendin' that I was the kinda guy who'd have helped her no matter what, and who wouldnta taken her up on her offer. Maybe she was pretendin' that she was still the kinda girl who wouldnta made that kinda offer. The truth is that we're none of those things. That's why she's cryin'. I understand.

"It's OK, Marie." She's holdin' me tight, and she feels so warm. Can't really see what the snow's doin' outside, but I don't wanna move just now. She's lettin' me hold her and stroke her hair and pretend a little bit longer. Maybe she's still pretendin' too. Maybe it hurts, but she's not ready to stop just yet. "It's OK."

"D-did you l-like it?" Sobbin' so bad she can hardly get words out now.

"Yeah. Yeah, darlin', I did. I liked it a lot. It was real good." Don't know why that's important to her, but it is. And it's true. I did like it. Even this, even now, it's somethin'. Even now, I like it.

"M-me t-t-toooo." Poor little thing. God, she's shakin'.

"Shhh. It's OK. It's all right." I don't know what else to do here. I don't know what else to do but hold her like this and let her cry it out. I don't know what else to do with her.

"Logan?" Really comfortable. Don't wanna move and-oh shit, oh shit, we fell asleep. We fell asleep.

"Sorry." She can't be comfortable like that and I fell asleep holdin' her to me pretty tight.

"It's OK. I just-I didn't want the gas tank to run all the way down, so I shut off the truck, but it's getting cold." Correction-I fell asleep. She's been awake. Probably still upset.

"You OK?"

"Better." She's done cryin' but those eyes are pretty red. "Thanks. I think the weather's breaking."

She's right. Snow's slowin' down. "Yeah. I'll-I'll clear off the truck and we'll get goin'."

"OK." Movin' herself off me gently. Shit, my pants are still down. Fuck, gotta button those up. "How much longer?"

"What?"

"How much longer to the next town? It's, um, it's getting dark." I wonder why she's-oh, oh. She don't wanna go yet. Hmm. "I was just thinking that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to drive in the dark, you know, with the snow and all. But-but if you want to get going-"

"No, no. I think you're right. Why don't you-there's a bunk back in the camper. We can get some sleep." She wants to pretend a little more. I don't mind.

"OK." Smilin' again. That was what she wanted.

"Do you want anything?" God, those words, just hearin' those words gets me hard now. We slept a little, but not too long-nightmares for the both of us-and now it's the middle of the night and we're both just layin' here awake. Not talkin' before now, but that was OK. Kinda nice just to hold her close. Easy to pretend like that. But now that she's askin', I wonder if

"Yeah. Take-take off your clothes for me."

"My skin-it's-there's not a lot of room up here, it could be dangerous." I wonder if anyone's ever touched her before, sexually, if anyone's ever asked her for that.

"I'm covered. Loan me your gloves." She still looks unsure. "Come on, Marie. Let me-let me pretend a little while with you. Come on."

Big brown eyes starin' up at me, all trust right now. Wonder how she does that. "OK." Slowly takin' off her sweater. T-shirt underneath, no bra. Beautiful breasts. They look soft. Takin' off her scarf, handin' it to me. That could be a good idea; the scarf's pretty thin. Now the gloves, handin' those to me too. Hope I don't split the seams but they look a little stretchy. They'll feel better to her than my rough leather gloves, anyway. Now pants-huh. Underwear that says 'Sunday'-cute. She's leavin' her socks on, settlin' back down on the bunk.

"Just relax, Marie. It's gonna be OK."

"I trust you." Dunno if that's part of the pretendin' or not. Doesn't really matter now, not once we're both into it, I guess.

"Lay back." Since I don't know if she's ever really been touched, I'm just gonna go slow. Start at the top of her head and work my way down. 'Cause we're pretendin', right? That's how I'd do it with someone I really cared about. I'd make sure it was good for her.

"Mmm." She must not have been asked for this before 'cause she's moanin' a little and I'm only touchin' her face and neck. I like how she looks at me while I do it. She's lettin' me see that she likes it. Gonna slowly move down to her breasts, stop at her shoulders. Her collarbones are stickin' way out. She could use a few more pounds on her. Probably would make her breasts fuller, too.

Those breasts are nice now, though. Just perfect. Not too big, nice and round, soft, really soft, not like fake ones. Time to use the scarf. I wanna put my mouth on her, wanna taste her, wanna bite those breasts a little. I'll go slow. That's how I'd do it, for sure. I'd spend a lotta time here, just lettin' her enjoy it.

Her hands are movin' through my hair. Bare hands. I like the feel of that. I like it a lot. She's breathin' heavier and I can hear her heart rate pick up too. She likes it. It's good for her. I wonder-I wonder what she's pretendin' right now. I wonder if she's visualizin' herself layin' in a big, soft bed, or maybe on a beach or somethin'. She's probably pretendin' somethin' romantic. Somethin' a lot better than bein' laid out in a dingy little cramped camper. Somethin' nice.

Gonna just start movin' my hand down. I don't think I wanna leave her breasts yet, not yet, but I wanna start touchin' her. Maybe I'll just rub her stomach a little, like she does mine. That's nice. That's somethin' I'd do for someone I cared about.

She's openin' her legs a little for me and I don't even think she knows she's doin' it. She's all relaxed, really into it now. Well, that's a sign. That's a sign of what she wants, so I'll just move my hand between her legs and start touchin' her. Nice and slow at first.

"Yes.." She was ready. Good. The way she smells right now-I can smell how much she wants me and it's even better than how she normally smells. A lot better. She's gotta be pretendin' pretty good to get that worked up. She feels warm and wet and I bet if I could taste her, she'd be salty. I bet she'd taste real good.

"Logan.." She's not too far gone, though. She's still here enough to remember to call me by my name, not whoever she's pretendin' about. Then again, maybe she's pretendin' about me, but different. Me, but nicer or better or somethin'. Not a mutant. Without the claws. Normal. Maybe just a guy she met, not when she was in trouble. Some guy she chatted up at a bar or somethin'. Someone she clicked with, someone right for her, someone who could be good to her even with her skin and all.

"Logan, please" Hands pullin' my head up to get a good look at me. "Please.." She's close. I can smell it and see it. Time to focus. Gonna slide up and pull her tight to me, almost on top of me, while I touch her. That's what I'd wanna do. I'd wanna hold her close like that so I could feel it go through her whole body, so she'd know I was right there for her. I think-I think that's what she wants now too.

Gonna go a little faster, a little firmer. Her legs are sprawled far apart now. She's startin' to thrash a little. "Come on, Marie, come on." I don't like to talk too much, in case it's interruptin' her pretendin'. But I wanna pretend a little now too. And I wanna pretend it's her, that she's mine, that she likes me, that we're together and not just for a night or two. I wanna pretend it's not the first time I've made her come in my arms, that she knows how good it's gonna be and she wants it.

"Yes.yes.." Head startin' to thrash along with her body, all her muscles are tense. She's real close, real close now.

"Come on, darlin'my Marie..come on"

"Oh! Yes! Yes!" She's goin' over now, real intense, I can tell. I can smell it. "Logan!" God, yeah. I love that, how she said that right at the moment she let go. That was just perfect. "Oh" I think it was real good for her too. I think she really liked it. "Logan.." Just gonna try one more thing. Just want one more thing while she's floatin' there. I wanna feel her inside. Just gonna slide a finger inside her. She's relaxed now, and I don't think-"Mmmmmyes" Good, good. She feels so..warm. Just warm and good and, oh, she's runnin' her hands across my chest. That's nice. That's nice. She looks really content, just like this. Just like this. Well, I should-that's enough, I should take my hand away.

"You all right, darlin'?" Easy to call her that. Real easy to pretend she'd like bein' called that by me.

"Yes. Thanks-thank you so much. Thank you, Logan." Curlin' into me again, head right over my heart. Bet she'll fall back asleep now.

"You're welcome, darlin'." Maybe she does like it a little, bein' called that. I think I felt her lips move in a smile across my chest. Maybe she does like it a little.

What the hell? Shit, I fell asleep and somethin'-I can smell people and-

"Weapon X! Surrender!" Fuck me, army guys, two of 'em.

"Ah!" Marie, shit. Shit. They're after her. That must be what they call her, Weapon X. Fuck.

"Fuck off. Get the hell outta here, or I'll fuckin' gut ya." Shouldnta stopped here for so long, shoulda known they'd catch up to her once the storm was over. Fuck. And she's still naked, tryin' to pull the sheet up to cover her. Well, these assholes ain't movin'-time to get outta bed and kick some ass.

"Grrrr!" Claws out, I'm good to go. Fuckin' ruined her gloves, but-"Aaarrggh!" What the fuck was that? Some kinda electrical shock? That fucker shot at me from some kinda special gun. I can't-I can't fuckin' move. Goddammit!

"Logan!" These two fuckers, they're gonna take her and-wait, wait, they're comin' over to me.

"Let's go Weapon X." Me, it's me they're callin' that. Fuck, oh fuck, they musta saw me back at the bar, those two doctors. Motherfuckers. Now they're gonna get both of us. "You too, Rogue."

Rogue? Fuckin'-goddammit, I gotta move. I gotta do somethin'. Can't just let them haul me outta the camper and-

"Stay away. I'll hurt you." I can see-they're draggin' me out but I can still see her. She's reachin' out a bare hand. Good-maybe-maybe she can at least fight him off and get out. I'm done for, but -

"We know you won't do it. We know it hurts you just as much. You had a chance to do it to the other two we sent, and you didn't. So come on, now, be a good little freak. Don't make me do this the hard way." Goddamn motherfucker! When I can move again, I'm gonna fuckin' take that one's fuckin' head off! Dammit! Can't see any more, I'm out of the camper and they're just draggin' me across the ground to-

"Aaaaahhhh!" That wasn't her. That wasn't Marie. Fight, baby, fight. Get away.

THUMP

"Shit." That's right, asshole. Your little partner just went down. "Bill?" Bill ain't gonna be answerin' you, dickhead. There-there she is, comin' out into the snow covered in that sheet, wearin' it like a toga. Plenty of deadly skin for her to use. Run, just run, Marie. Run.

"Let him go." No, no-you gotta get away 'cause-

"S-stay away from me. I'm warning you." Pointin' that gun at her now. Run, dammit, just go. He'll fuckin' shoot you too.

"That's not going to hurt me. I have powers. Ones you don't even know about. Let him go, and I'll let you live." That voice is somethin' I woulndta even thought she had in her. Cold. Real cold. Murderous, almost.

"Fuck." He's panickin', I can smell it. I can-I might be able to move a little. Just enough to-just enough to reach out and trip him. I think-I think I can-"Ooomph!" There, he's down, there's your chance, Marie, run, get out, go!

She's-wait-she's comin' toward him and-shit! Shit! She touched him. God, she wasn't kiddin' about her skin. She's killin' him. I can smell death comin' off him and-whoa. She let go, she let go. He's out, though. Not dead, but out, and in real bad shape for sure.

"Marie." Can move a little now. Gotta try to get up, I gotta-she's-she's helpin' me up, she's helpin' me. I feel better now, almost OK. Almost. I can stand, I can move. Whatever that was, I'm healin' from it pretty fast.

"Are you all right? Logan?"

"Yeah. Yeah. We gotta go. Get-get in the truck. Go." Can't leave these fuckers alive. And my claws are still out. Don't want her to see me do this, though. "Go on, Marie!"

"O-OK."

Fucker doesn't deserve to die this quick. One slash across the gut should do it, cut him right in half, there. Gonna roll him down the hill and outta sight, so none of the traffic will-

"Oh!" Fuck, Marie, draggin' the other one outta the camper. Fuck.

"I told you to get in the truck!"

"Sorry! Sorry! He's-I had to get him out first. Sorry." She's starin' down at the body a little, then back at me. "It's OK. It's OK." Deep breaths, calmin' herself. "He was-he was going to get us both. It's-you have to-you have to do him too, right?" Sad eyes, but she knows it's true. Can't let them live. Can't let them report what they found.

"Yeah." Gonna grab his leg and take him from her. "Look away, Marie. Go-go put your clothes on and get in the truck. Now." Noddin'. And listenin' to what I said, gettin' back in the camper to get dressed. Good. Gonna decapitate this one and roll him down too. Gotta push their truck off too. Gonna raid it first-might be some useful shit in there. Just-we gotta get outta here, and fast.

She hasn't said nothin', just sittin' there, rubbin' her head. I think what that asshole said musta been right, it hurt her too. At first, the adrenaline kicks in and you just go, but now she's feelin' it. I dunno what to say to her. She's seen-she's seen me kill them, seen them come after me, I just-I just dunno what to say. No way she can pretend she didn't see that. No way she can.

"Logan?" Real quiet, almost a whisper. "I-say something, please?"

"I wish you hadnta seen that, Marie. It was-it was gory."

"You had to. I understand." She's probably just scared, and that's why she's sayin' it. It's one thing to see the claws, another to watch me use 'em on a person. A live person. "I'm sorry they found us. It was my fault."

"Nah. It was my fault. I was stupid enough to stay in one place, and that close, for too long. Won't happen again." That's true. Got all caught up pretendin' with her that I wasn't payin' attention. Well, gonna be more careful now. Gotta get us in the clear.

"Oh. OK. I-I'm really sorry." She smells really sad just now and -

"What?" I think she's cryin' but she don't smell scared, she don't and I dunno why else she'd be upset if not outta fear. "Marie?"

"I know-I know you said just to the next town. I understand. I-" Shit, her voice broke right there. Fuck, she's really upset. "It was my fault. They were after me. I'm so sorry, Logan. You can-you can just let me off at the next town and I'll be gone. I won't-you've really helped me and I won't ask for anything else, I promise. I'll just-" She thinks I'm mad at her or somethin'? What the hell?

"Look, Marie, it's not your fault. And we gotta get in the clear. I'm-we'll make a run for that place I have up north, try to beat the weather. You don't gotta-it's not safe for you at the next town, or the one after that. We gotta hide, gotta lay real low for a while." I'm not just gonna toss her out on her ass 'cause-

"You-you'd take me with you?" I've never seen that look on her before-total shock. "But-aren't you-you yelled, we got caught - aren't you mad?"

"Just that you saw me kill that guy. Just that you didn't fuckin' run when you had that first guy down. Shit, Marie, you took a helluva chance there, that guy coulda shot you. And don't tell me that gun wouldnta hurt you-I could smell you were lyin'."

"You could.smell that?"

"Yeah, I got heightened senses, healing-I heal from anything-it's part of the mutation. Look, just-you shoulda gotten out then. He coulda called your bluff, then we'd have both been fucked. What would you have done then?"

"Well, I wasn't going to run away and just let them take you." She says that like it should be plain as day to me. She's got some damn piss-poor self-preservation instincts, 'cause - "Logan.." Totally different tone, and she looks almost.shy? "I wasn't..I wasn't always pretending."

"What?" I couldnta heard that right. Heightened senses or no, I couldnta heard that right.

"I wasn't. Not all the time, not even half the time." Oh, God. Oh, God.

"Marie..you can't-you can't mean it. You can't."

"I do. I do mean it. Were-were you always pretending, Logan? Be honest." She wants to know. She's-there's a lot on the line here for her and she wants to know. Maybe maybe she does mean it, at least some, at least a little. Maybe she could mean it, could at least start to, if I answer right.

"No. Not most of the time." I think that's right. I think that's-oh, God, she is. She is-she's not pretendin'. She's not. She means it. I can smell it and see it and-

"Let's get going, then." Hand on my leg, nice and gentle. Bare hand. And a smile. A little, shy smile. I like it. I-I like it, this right here, not anything else. Not right now. This is good, with no pretending. Just like this.

Made good time to the cabin, all things considered. Hadta ditch the camper and the truck-too easy to follow-and the little car we got didn't quite make it up the mountain, so we hadta hike the last five miles. That's fine, though. I carried the stuff, made a couple trips, then helped her up. She did pretty good.

"Hey, Logan? Did we bring up those blankets?"

"Yeah, they're in that bag, at the bottom." She's been settlin' in, gettin' the bed ready and puttin' away our stuff. Doesn't look like she's havin' second thoughts about this, and she's been real nice to me on the way up. Whatever I wanted to do with the sex stuff, and laughin' and bein' nice to me otherwise too. It's almost like she just likes to give to me, like she just likes to make me happy.

"Thanks." Once she finishes with the bed, and I finish with the fire, we'll have sex. She-we got some stuff on the way up that'll help with that-lotsa condoms and some kinda pantyhose for her, tights, I think she called 'em. It was her idea. She suggested it right there in the store.

I haven't been pretendin' too much when I'm with her lately, but I still do a little bit. Sometimes I pretend that I never told her to get out when I first found her in my camper, that I knew right away that she was mine, and special. Sometimes I pretend I didn't ask her for sex at all, that I waited until she was ready, that she would ask me and I would just say yes, real nice. Sometimes I pretend she never saw me kill, never saw that part of me at all. But usually I'm just there with her, and everythin's like it really is. Somehow, she makes that OK too.

I dunno if she still pretends at all. Sometimes-sometimes I think yes, 'cause she looks at me so intensely, so full of emotion, that I think it can't possibly be just me, and everythin' how it really is. Sometimes I think she might pretend some of the same things I do. But mostly, I think she doesn't. Mostly, I think she likes how things really are enough not to. Maybe *that's* wishful thinkin' on my part. Maybe.

"Marie? You almost done there?"

"Yeah. Want to come to bed?" She always smiles when she asks me that, or things about sex. I like that she's anticipatin' it, lookin' forward to it.

"Sounds good, darlin'. Do you wanna be naked first or me?" I always let her pick now. Kinda my way of makin' up to her for before, kinda my way of balancin' out how she still does whatever I ask for.

"Hmmm. How about half and half? I could put on the tights." We've only done it that way twice before, and both times were really intense, really powerful on a whole level I never knew existed. On a whole level I never even knew enough to pretend about. I couldn't hold back those two times. I told her everythin' that was in my head-that she was mine, that I wanted her to want me, that I didn't want her to be afraid. She said yes to all of it, and more-she told me her stuff too. That she loved me, that she felt safe with me, and that she desperately hoped I loved her back. I said yes to all of her stuff too.

"Go ahead, baby." It's times like this that I'm reminded that our true story-it isn't that bad, not for people like us. She was in trouble. I ended up helpin' her out and fallin' in love with her. We took care of the bad guys that were after us both and got away. I took her back to my home, and we're gonna be safe and happy here. That's not too bad, not when you think about it that way.

"Ready?" She's done. Layin' on the bed, waitin' for me.

"I just wanna look at you a little while, OK? Let's do that first." 'Cause now that I know she's mine, now that I *know* it, I wanna do some of the things I'd been thinkin' about before, when I was pretendin'. I wanna take my time and do the nice things with her.

"I love how you look at me. You always look like you really like what you see." She tells me stuff like that more and more. I think those are things she musta been thinkin' about before, things that she's doin' now that she knows I'm hers and it's right.

"I do, darlin', I do." She loves it when I touch her face or her hair. She said once it was affectionate, and she said that word like it was the best thing ever. "Tell me somethin'. If you coulda-if you coulda had us meet any way you wanted, if you coulda picked how we'd come to end up together, what would it be?" We never talk about what we pretended before, not right out like that, but I kinda wanna know. Just this one thing.

"If I could've picked?" She's really thinkin' about that. She must not have pretended about that before, or she'd be ready with an answer. Interestin'. "I don't know. I-I kind of like how it really happened. I guess I would've-I didn't like how close we came to being caught. I hated seeing you get hurt because of me, because they were looking for me. I'd leave that part out."

That's not what I expected at all. "You wouldnta wanted somethin' romantic, somethin' less, I dunno, bad? I mean, I-I wasn't exactly some kinda prince charmin'."

"I don't think I would've fallen in love with you if you were anybody but my Logan. I'm pretty sure of that, actually. So I don't really have any complaints. You helped me, you saved me, and you've been very good to me."

"I asked you for sex, darlin'. I-"

"I offered. And I meant what I said-I didn't not like it with you, I just wanted to do those things with someone I cared about, and you gave me that. You gave me that. It's not perfect, but it's us. It's true."

"Yeah." I guess she's right. If she'd been anyone else, if she hadn't been my Marie, I wouldnta fallen in love with her either. She's right about that.

"What would you have picked?"

"Me? I guess you're right about how it was havin' to be the way. But you know, sometimes I pictured us together without all that baggage, without bein' mutants, without our histories. You might not believe this, darlin', but I actually pictured us havin' a house and kids once there."

"I believe it. We can have that, you know? We have a house now, and kids..we can think of a way." Even after everythin', it surprises me to hear her say that. It does. 'Cause that's a big thing, to wanna have kids with someone, to wanna make a home and a family. It's an especially big thing for people like us.

"My Marie.." I said that to her once, pretendin', and now I get to say it for real.

"Love you." She says it a lot now, and so easy. I love her too, and I say it, I do, but I usually prefer showin' her. "Oh." Like that.

"Baby, you're everythin' I ever wanted. Everythin'." I didn't know it when I first saw her, I didn't know it for a while, but I do now. And I'm gonna make sure I hang onto it. I'm gonna make damn sure of that.