Disclaimer-
I do not own the characters from X-Man, I only own Victoria Raine
It shouldn't have surprised Victoria Raine to see him again. He had been outside the cafe across the street from the small bookstore she was currently working at for almost two weeks. True, she hadn't seen him Monday or Tuesday, yet when she had tiredly dragged herself into work Wednesday morning; there he was, just like always. But she noticed the difference. Although he was normally very tense, in the few seconds she would glance at him before she could stop herself, he had always been lounging in one of the metal seats at a small table with his shoulders hunched, yet his spine would be straight and his legs spread out before him comfortably. His close cropped dark hair was always neat and shiny in the sunlight, his beard trimmed. Yet today was different. His hair looked dirty, his clothes definitely were, and with the purplish bruises under his eyes he looked the picture of exhaustion. Still, there he was. Just sitting. Like always. Sometimes she could feel his dark eyes on her when she moved around the small shop, either dusting in a never ending battle, or helping a customer. But he watched her like she was the most entertaining thing on the earth. It had even gotten to the stage where even the other workers had noticed the stranger and his strange curiosity with her.
Today, almost immediately after she had spotted him, she'd become a little lighter. Monday and Tuesday had both been bad days, where it had almost seemed like she had started to soak up the darkness hiding in the corners of the bookstore. But not today. She had the familiar bounce in her step, her high ponytail bouncing along with her every step. Mrs Dawson smiled at her, looking a little relieved. The elderly couple she worked for had been shadowing her ever footstep the days before, their already winkled faces puzzled at the girls behaviour. She was normally in good spirits, although quiet she was polite and a good worker. It had worried the couple, who had three daughters themselves and twice as many granddaughters.
"Blast!" Victoria paused in her cleaning, glancing towards the quiet sound. When no indication came for the cause, she hesitantly put down her duster, gliding towards the outer shelves. As she rounded the corner, she froze, seeing Mrs Dawson fretting over her husband as a small amount of blood covered the palm of his hand where a long scratch was evident. Victoria felt herself pale, her eyes on the droplets as some fell towards the polished wood of the floor. Mrs Dawson looked up, worry edging onto her face she smacked her husband over the back of the head for his stupidity. "Go on Victoria, I know what the sight of blood does to you, have a early lunch". Victoria gave a shaking smile before quickly, almost too quickly for her sense of balance to keep her upright, turned on her heel. Grabbing her bag from the bottle counter of the front desk, she rushed out of the dusty space, the smell of blood already infecting the stuffy air.
She was working on auto-pilot, not even thinking twice as she threw the door open and standing a little to the side catching her breathe against the side of the rustic building. As soon as the smell of blood had left, she filled her lungs with the cool, crisp air before standing up straight. She paused, chewing her lip slightly seeing the stranger's eyes on her, one of his arms thrown over the back of his chair. Victoria cleared her throat slightly, seeing him glance away from her as if hearing her. She almost wished she wasn't wearing her usual work clothes, the one's she deliberately choose to make her seem shapeless and uninteresting to male eyes. In her opinion work was work, trying to attract the opposite sex wasn't something for the workplace. Or that's what she kept telling herself. Really, it was because before now she hadn't really wanted attention, and found it was easier to reject a person's advance if they weren't there to begin with.
She walked across the semi-busy street, glancing at him shying under her lashes before entering the cafe. Her caramel eyes had met his dark ones before she glanced away, keeping her eyes on her heeled boots to make sure she didn't fall and trip herself in a perfectly timed humiliation. She exited a few minutes later, hesitantly going over to the stranger. Waiting for a moment for his eyes to lift to her's, she gently set down a cardboard coffee cup in front of him. "You looked tired" she said, slightly timid as he said nothing. After a moment of his silence he tilted his head in thanks, lifting the cup to his lips and drinking the pleasant bitterness, a small smirk tugging at his lips when finding the coffee exactly the way he liked it. She smiled at him, before silently crossing the street back to work. She grinned silently to herself; when he had moved to take the coffee she had court a glimpse of his dog tags. Victor Creed.