Author: Mary
Title: Caged Hearts
Rating: R (maybe verging on NC-17)
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I don't have anything to do with
Buffy or X-Men or Angel. If I did, my hands would be all over Hugh
Jackman....I mean err....
Author's Note: This takes place after X2, and the end of Buffy Season 7.
The events that brought Spike back have happened in Angel, but as I don't
really follow that show I'm just going to make the rest up. The Scooby
Gang (or what's left of it) all went to Europe and after a breakup with the
Immortal, Buffy decided to come home when Dawn decided to go visit Hank
Summers. She's gone to Canada to focus on being her own person and get over
some personal drama (Spike dying for her, the breakup with the Immortal,
etc). Logan left the Mansion after Jean's death and is trying to forget the
pain of her death.
She walked into the bar. It was her first night in town, and yet it was like every other town she had just been to. She had sunk into a slump. She needed something to snap her out of this funk. She saw a cage and people lining up to fight in it. They would place bets on who would win the fight. She smiled to herself, knowing she could easily win a fight should she step into that cage. Yet, that would go against her blending in. And she never wanted to fight a human she didn't need to fight. She sat down at the bar. She was not unaware of the fact that she was the only female in the bar. She ordered a Jack Daniels straight up. She downed the shot and immediately ordered another. "But this time make it a double." She told the bartender, her eyes revealing she could hold her alcohol. Despite her size and the feminine blonde hair and the curves revealed by her tight jeans and tight shirt. She heard the shouts behind her indicating there was about to be a fight. She turned around and saw the man step into the cage. He was gorgeous, in a rugged, masculine way. Standing there in his jeans and shirtless, he looked like a predator about to kill the prey. The prey in this case was the man who had just entered the cage. He was tall, by no means skinny, and had a tough look on his face. However, anyone who saw the sheer strength exuded by the other man, knew the flannel-jacket man was going to lose. Quickly. The two men fought violently, punches thrown, kicks delivered, and the flannel jacket man was thrown to the other side of the cage and promptly was knocked out by the metal cage. The larger man, who was being called Wolverine, picked up his jacket,collected his money and walked out of the cage. She was slightly surprised when he sat down next to her. He immediately lit a cigar and then ordered a beer. Oh, what she didn't know....
He came here, night after night. Escaping the moments from the recent past that haunted him: Jean's final mission with the X-men. Every night he looked for a woman who wouldn't remind him of Jean. The woman he could never and would never have. In fact he was looking for women who bore no resemblance to anyone back at the mansion. And every night he had been successful. Though tonight, looking at the blonde girl next to him, she gave off a certain innocence, a certain class that all the other women had lacked. All they gave off was boredom with life. He knew there was no way she could be as young as she looked and this was confirmed when he looked into her eyes. He saw in those eyes a woman who had fought many battles and lived to tell the tale. This was how it started every night. He sit next to a girl at the bar. She would have another drink. He would stand up to leave and she would ask to come with him.
Buffy eyed the stranger, getting a nice glimpse of the man. He was muscular, older, powerful looking, and to her, unfortunately had a shirt on. And she had yet to detect a single evil bone about him. However something was different about him. He didn't remind her of her exes or anyone she had ever met before. Which was definitely a good thing in her opinion. She knew where this, if this could even be called anything, would ultimately lead. This type of guy wasn't looking for romance or love. He wanted a one night stand. She decided that it had been too long and that maybe she needed a fling with no strings. It wasn't as if she would see this man again. She'd be gone in the morning. She smiled seductively at him and then turned her head to listen to the conversation next to her. The man next to her was hitting on a woman and was trying to convince that woman to go with him into the back alley. Buffy focused on the man and realized that he was indeed a vampire. She rolled her eyes. Not again. Not here. She watched them walk out and then waited a few moments before standing up and leaving herself. She walked out to the back alley. "You know, it's really too bad you had to show up here." She told the vampire, who was about to bite his victim. Buffy shook her head as the vampire looked up at her. "I thought I could have a normal night out- one complete with getting drunk and then doing something I would regret in the morning. But no. You just had to come and wreck my plans. And do it in the vicinity of where I could hear you."
The woman took the opportunity of the vampire's confusion with Buffy to run away. "Looks like it's just you and me now." Buffy told him as she walked over to him and kicked him in the stomach, causing him to double back. She was glad that she had decided to bring a stake with her tonight, even though she had hoped she wouldn't need it. The vampire hissed at her and came back with some punches of his own. As the fight progressed and got more violent, Buffy didn't realize that the Wolverine had come out to watch the fight. Buffy pulled the stake out of her sleeve and slammed it through the vampire's heart. Buffy sighed as the vampire turned to dust and called out to the night, "Are there any others of you out here?" When she got no response, she turned around to head back to the bar and that's when she saw the Wolverine. She bit her lip. "How much of that did you see?" she asked, wondering how much she was going to have to explain.
"Enough to wonder what the hell that guy was that you turned into dust." Logan responded. He wouldn't be surprised by what she told him, he was just curious. And he wanted to know if she was a mutant too. Not that it mattered, but she had shown more strength he would have thought possible in a tiny little girl.
Buffy looked him over, trying to figure out if he would believe her or just laugh. "He was a vampire. That's what happens when they die. Cool stuff, isn't it?" She asked with a roll of her eyes. He hadn't laughed yet. Just nodded. Maybe he had seen his share of strange shit in his life. "Well....good night." Buffy said to him, before turning to walk away. As she walked away from him, she wondered what might have happened if she hadn't left to follow the vampire out. She also wanted to know why he had followed her out. She heard his footsteps behind her. She turned around and glared at him. "Is there a reason why you are following me?"
"You're just going the way I happen to also be going." Logan responded. When she had left the bar, he saw no reason to go back in. After all she was the girl for the night. And all the other girls had cleared out. It looked like he'd be spending a night alone.
Buffy nodded. That was acceptable. After all she didn't know the town very well and it was likely that where he lived was near here. She paused, hearing a noise coming from behind the dumpsters. The demon that had been hiding behind the dumpster lunged out and landed on Buffy, knocking her to the ground. Before she could kick him off of her, the demon managed to bite her neck. Buffy winced in pain and called to the Wolverine, "A little help please!"
Logan grabbed the demon off of her and threw him against the wall of the nearest building. His claws slid out of skin and into the skin of the demon. He retracted his claws and the demon's lifeless body crumpled to the ground. "You okay?" Logan asked Buffy.
She stood up and dusted herself off. "Yeah, I'm fine." Her hand went to the bite on her neck and she commented, "Though it might have been nice if you had given me some help earlier on." She started to walk back to her hotel, when she noticed everything starting to get blurry and then she met with darkness. Her body crumpled to the ground and she laid there still.
Logan looked at the girl as she passed out. Did the bite hurt that much? He walked over to her body and tried to shake her back awake, but she was out. Sighing, he picked her up and carried her back to the motel he had been staying in. It was only one bed and he decided the petite blonde girl could have it. He had slept in worse places before. He placed her down gently on the bed and slid the blankets over her. He sat down on the chair and watched her lay there so peacefully. If he had known this would have been the extent to which he was taking someone home with him, he would have laughed.
The next morning Buffy awoke in a strange bed and saw an even stranger man on the chair. Her hand traced over the bite marks to see if it was still there. It was. Buffy got out of bed and walked to the bathroom, ignoring the sleeping man for now. She turned the handle to the right, letting the hot water pour out of the faucet. Her jeans and shirt now lay on the floor and Buffy stepped into the warm water of the shower. The events of last night came back to her in a stream of images as she ran shampoo through her hair. She smiled thinking of the Wolverine. The way he looked after he had beaten the small man in the cage. The look he gave her when he asked if she was okay. The way he looked shirtless. She grinned at that thought. He was very attractive. And all that separated them was one flimsy shower curtain and a thin wood door. She was rinsing the conditioner out of her hair when the fight with the demon came to her mind.
What was that coming out of the Wolverine's hands? Were those....claws? What kind of demon was he? Her eyes widened in fear. She was staying in the hotel room of a man that she knew nothing about. Who knows what he could have done to her in her sleep? She hurriedly got out of the shower, wrapped herself in a towel, and stormed out of the bathroom. She grabbed the Wolverine, picked him up from the chair and slammed him against the wall. "What the hell are you?" She asked him, anger flashing through her eyes. She kept her hands tightly around his neck. "Was this some kind of a sick joke? Rescue me from a demon and let me stay in your hotel and then today you were going to kill me?"
Logan smirked at the girl as she raised him from the ground and slammed him against the wall. Did she have any idea how much of a turn on this take charge attitude was? He tried to suppress the small chuckle rising in his throat at her accusations. "Is this how you thank guys for rescuing you?"
"Well you aren't exactly a guy, now are you? You're a demon of some kind." Buffy responded, tightening her grip on the Wolverine. "Is this some kind of game your kind enjoys? It's strange though how I didn't sense you were evil before this. I should have. I mean God, I'm the slayer and I can't even detect a demon anymore?" She rolled her eyes to herself. "And now instead of doing my Chosen duty, I'm here rambling to a demon that should be dead."
"Dead..." Logan sputtered, eyeing the petite blonde to see if she was serious. And the look on her face alone could kill. She wasn't kidding. "Don't you think that's a little...." he fished for the word, "Overboard?" When he saw her facial expression hardening, instead of softening, he frowned. "I'm not a demon."
Buffy raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Good one. Like I've never heard that one before. I'm not a demon. I'm just misunderstood." She shook her head. "If you're not a demon, how do you explain the claws?"
"I'm a mutant." He responded simply. Off of her blank look, he further explained, "Humans naturally evolve over thousands of years. Due to some genetic defect or advantage—whatever you prefer to call it-- sometimes it speeds up a little leaving people with new powers."
Buffy released her grip on him and backed up. She sat down on the bed, curious about it. "So you're mutation is....having metal claws? I somehow don't think that the human body no matter how much it's evolved naturally just grows metal claws."
Logan sat down in the chair across from the bead. "That was something else. It was done to me. My mutation is faster healing. What would be a fatal wound on any other human being would be gone on me anytime between an hour or a day. About fifteen years ago, adamantium was injected into me and grafted to all of my bones. Thus the claws." He thought back to her mention of slayers and being chosen. "So what is this deal about being a slayer or the chosen one?" She was stronger than most girls. If she had known what a mutant was, he would have assumed she was one. Now, he was left curious as to what she was.
Buffy sighed as she began to tell the infamous speech Giles so loved giving. "Into every generation, a Slayer is born. One girl, in all the world, a Chosen one. One born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil and all that good stuff. Vampires, demons, werewolves, zombies, anything that goes bump in the night...You name it- I slay it. They are all very real." She examined his expression and he seemed to believe her. "You're not expressing any doubt. Usually there's the whole you're lying or what's wrong with you?"
"Well I've seen a lot of weird things in my time. Well at least for the last fifteen years. I don't remember anything before then." Logan commented. Though why did the term the Slayer seem so familiar? A sense of déjà vu passed over him, but like so many unremembered memories he didn't have any real clear connection to anything having to do with a slayer. He thought back to the night fifteen years ago. He had a clearer memory of that now though. Fifteen years ago, this girl in front of him was probably around seven years old. Which made it all the more wrong that she should be standing in front of him in a towel. And that he enjoyed the view. There was quite an age difference even if he couldn't be sure on how old he was precisely.
Buffy bit her lip. Not being able to remember anything past fifteen years ago? That was insane. Of course she would only be seven back then, but still. She couldn't tell how old he was, but if he got such a procedure done fifteen years ago he couldn't be that young. But she doubted he was as old as Spike or Angel. She felt his eyes on her exposed skin as she realized she was showing quite a bit of leg in that towel. "I...I need to get changed. You know, put some real clothes on." She had skirts that showed more leg than this towel and she wasn't ashamed of her body, but his gaze...It made her stomach do somersaults. In a good way. Lust pumped through her veins and she badly wanted to kiss him, but she didn't even know this man. She stood up, so as not to reveal anything, and ran to the bathroom. She looked into the mirror. Calm down Buffy. He's just a man. Okay an incredibly attractive man who saved your life last night. And a man who took care of her even after she had "passed out". He didn't try anything fishy or suspect. If he had, she would have been able to stop him and give him a surprise or two, but he had been the perfect gentleman. Buffy slid her towel off and slipped her clothes back on. She'd get some new ones when she went back to her hotel. But she really didn't want to go back to her hotel. She wanted to stay here and learn more about this mysterious man. A grin crossed over her lips as she realized she would be seeing him again. Okay, so she did not know that for sure, but she would make it a goal. Buffy walked back out into the room and towards the door to the hotel room. Pausing for a moment, she turned her head back to Logan as she reached for the handle on the door. "All you had to do last night was buy me a drink. Or made some welcome gesture and I would have gone home with you without faking passing out."
She walked into the bar. It was her first night in town, and yet it was like every other town she had just been to. She had sunk into a slump. She needed something to snap her out of this funk. She saw a cage and people lining up to fight in it. They would place bets on who would win the fight. She smiled to herself, knowing she could easily win a fight should she step into that cage. Yet, that would go against her blending in. And she never wanted to fight a human she didn't need to fight. She sat down at the bar. She was not unaware of the fact that she was the only female in the bar. She ordered a Jack Daniels straight up. She downed the shot and immediately ordered another. "But this time make it a double." She told the bartender, her eyes revealing she could hold her alcohol. Despite her size and the feminine blonde hair and the curves revealed by her tight jeans and tight shirt. She heard the shouts behind her indicating there was about to be a fight. She turned around and saw the man step into the cage. He was gorgeous, in a rugged, masculine way. Standing there in his jeans and shirtless, he looked like a predator about to kill the prey. The prey in this case was the man who had just entered the cage. He was tall, by no means skinny, and had a tough look on his face. However, anyone who saw the sheer strength exuded by the other man, knew the flannel-jacket man was going to lose. Quickly. The two men fought violently, punches thrown, kicks delivered, and the flannel jacket man was thrown to the other side of the cage and promptly was knocked out by the metal cage. The larger man, who was being called Wolverine, picked up his jacket,collected his money and walked out of the cage. She was slightly surprised when he sat down next to her. He immediately lit a cigar and then ordered a beer. Oh, what she didn't know....
He came here, night after night. Escaping the moments from the recent past that haunted him: Jean's final mission with the X-men. Every night he looked for a woman who wouldn't remind him of Jean. The woman he could never and would never have. In fact he was looking for women who bore no resemblance to anyone back at the mansion. And every night he had been successful. Though tonight, looking at the blonde girl next to him, she gave off a certain innocence, a certain class that all the other women had lacked. All they gave off was boredom with life. He knew there was no way she could be as young as she looked and this was confirmed when he looked into her eyes. He saw in those eyes a woman who had fought many battles and lived to tell the tale. This was how it started every night. He sit next to a girl at the bar. She would have another drink. He would stand up to leave and she would ask to come with him.
Buffy eyed the stranger, getting a nice glimpse of the man. He was muscular, older, powerful looking, and to her, unfortunately had a shirt on. And she had yet to detect a single evil bone about him. However something was different about him. He didn't remind her of her exes or anyone she had ever met before. Which was definitely a good thing in her opinion. She knew where this, if this could even be called anything, would ultimately lead. This type of guy wasn't looking for romance or love. He wanted a one night stand. She decided that it had been too long and that maybe she needed a fling with no strings. It wasn't as if she would see this man again. She'd be gone in the morning. She smiled seductively at him and then turned her head to listen to the conversation next to her. The man next to her was hitting on a woman and was trying to convince that woman to go with him into the back alley. Buffy focused on the man and realized that he was indeed a vampire. She rolled her eyes. Not again. Not here. She watched them walk out and then waited a few moments before standing up and leaving herself. She walked out to the back alley. "You know, it's really too bad you had to show up here." She told the vampire, who was about to bite his victim. Buffy shook her head as the vampire looked up at her. "I thought I could have a normal night out- one complete with getting drunk and then doing something I would regret in the morning. But no. You just had to come and wreck my plans. And do it in the vicinity of where I could hear you."
The woman took the opportunity of the vampire's confusion with Buffy to run away. "Looks like it's just you and me now." Buffy told him as she walked over to him and kicked him in the stomach, causing him to double back. She was glad that she had decided to bring a stake with her tonight, even though she had hoped she wouldn't need it. The vampire hissed at her and came back with some punches of his own. As the fight progressed and got more violent, Buffy didn't realize that the Wolverine had come out to watch the fight. Buffy pulled the stake out of her sleeve and slammed it through the vampire's heart. Buffy sighed as the vampire turned to dust and called out to the night, "Are there any others of you out here?" When she got no response, she turned around to head back to the bar and that's when she saw the Wolverine. She bit her lip. "How much of that did you see?" she asked, wondering how much she was going to have to explain.
"Enough to wonder what the hell that guy was that you turned into dust." Logan responded. He wouldn't be surprised by what she told him, he was just curious. And he wanted to know if she was a mutant too. Not that it mattered, but she had shown more strength he would have thought possible in a tiny little girl.
Buffy looked him over, trying to figure out if he would believe her or just laugh. "He was a vampire. That's what happens when they die. Cool stuff, isn't it?" She asked with a roll of her eyes. He hadn't laughed yet. Just nodded. Maybe he had seen his share of strange shit in his life. "Well....good night." Buffy said to him, before turning to walk away. As she walked away from him, she wondered what might have happened if she hadn't left to follow the vampire out. She also wanted to know why he had followed her out. She heard his footsteps behind her. She turned around and glared at him. "Is there a reason why you are following me?"
"You're just going the way I happen to also be going." Logan responded. When she had left the bar, he saw no reason to go back in. After all she was the girl for the night. And all the other girls had cleared out. It looked like he'd be spending a night alone.
Buffy nodded. That was acceptable. After all she didn't know the town very well and it was likely that where he lived was near here. She paused, hearing a noise coming from behind the dumpsters. The demon that had been hiding behind the dumpster lunged out and landed on Buffy, knocking her to the ground. Before she could kick him off of her, the demon managed to bite her neck. Buffy winced in pain and called to the Wolverine, "A little help please!"
Logan grabbed the demon off of her and threw him against the wall of the nearest building. His claws slid out of skin and into the skin of the demon. He retracted his claws and the demon's lifeless body crumpled to the ground. "You okay?" Logan asked Buffy.
She stood up and dusted herself off. "Yeah, I'm fine." Her hand went to the bite on her neck and she commented, "Though it might have been nice if you had given me some help earlier on." She started to walk back to her hotel, when she noticed everything starting to get blurry and then she met with darkness. Her body crumpled to the ground and she laid there still.
Logan looked at the girl as she passed out. Did the bite hurt that much? He walked over to her body and tried to shake her back awake, but she was out. Sighing, he picked her up and carried her back to the motel he had been staying in. It was only one bed and he decided the petite blonde girl could have it. He had slept in worse places before. He placed her down gently on the bed and slid the blankets over her. He sat down on the chair and watched her lay there so peacefully. If he had known this would have been the extent to which he was taking someone home with him, he would have laughed.
The next morning Buffy awoke in a strange bed and saw an even stranger man on the chair. Her hand traced over the bite marks to see if it was still there. It was. Buffy got out of bed and walked to the bathroom, ignoring the sleeping man for now. She turned the handle to the right, letting the hot water pour out of the faucet. Her jeans and shirt now lay on the floor and Buffy stepped into the warm water of the shower. The events of last night came back to her in a stream of images as she ran shampoo through her hair. She smiled thinking of the Wolverine. The way he looked after he had beaten the small man in the cage. The look he gave her when he asked if she was okay. The way he looked shirtless. She grinned at that thought. He was very attractive. And all that separated them was one flimsy shower curtain and a thin wood door. She was rinsing the conditioner out of her hair when the fight with the demon came to her mind.
What was that coming out of the Wolverine's hands? Were those....claws? What kind of demon was he? Her eyes widened in fear. She was staying in the hotel room of a man that she knew nothing about. Who knows what he could have done to her in her sleep? She hurriedly got out of the shower, wrapped herself in a towel, and stormed out of the bathroom. She grabbed the Wolverine, picked him up from the chair and slammed him against the wall. "What the hell are you?" She asked him, anger flashing through her eyes. She kept her hands tightly around his neck. "Was this some kind of a sick joke? Rescue me from a demon and let me stay in your hotel and then today you were going to kill me?"
Logan smirked at the girl as she raised him from the ground and slammed him against the wall. Did she have any idea how much of a turn on this take charge attitude was? He tried to suppress the small chuckle rising in his throat at her accusations. "Is this how you thank guys for rescuing you?"
"Well you aren't exactly a guy, now are you? You're a demon of some kind." Buffy responded, tightening her grip on the Wolverine. "Is this some kind of game your kind enjoys? It's strange though how I didn't sense you were evil before this. I should have. I mean God, I'm the slayer and I can't even detect a demon anymore?" She rolled her eyes to herself. "And now instead of doing my Chosen duty, I'm here rambling to a demon that should be dead."
"Dead..." Logan sputtered, eyeing the petite blonde to see if she was serious. And the look on her face alone could kill. She wasn't kidding. "Don't you think that's a little...." he fished for the word, "Overboard?" When he saw her facial expression hardening, instead of softening, he frowned. "I'm not a demon."
Buffy raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Good one. Like I've never heard that one before. I'm not a demon. I'm just misunderstood." She shook her head. "If you're not a demon, how do you explain the claws?"
"I'm a mutant." He responded simply. Off of her blank look, he further explained, "Humans naturally evolve over thousands of years. Due to some genetic defect or advantage—whatever you prefer to call it-- sometimes it speeds up a little leaving people with new powers."
Buffy released her grip on him and backed up. She sat down on the bed, curious about it. "So you're mutation is....having metal claws? I somehow don't think that the human body no matter how much it's evolved naturally just grows metal claws."
Logan sat down in the chair across from the bead. "That was something else. It was done to me. My mutation is faster healing. What would be a fatal wound on any other human being would be gone on me anytime between an hour or a day. About fifteen years ago, adamantium was injected into me and grafted to all of my bones. Thus the claws." He thought back to her mention of slayers and being chosen. "So what is this deal about being a slayer or the chosen one?" She was stronger than most girls. If she had known what a mutant was, he would have assumed she was one. Now, he was left curious as to what she was.
Buffy sighed as she began to tell the infamous speech Giles so loved giving. "Into every generation, a Slayer is born. One girl, in all the world, a Chosen one. One born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil and all that good stuff. Vampires, demons, werewolves, zombies, anything that goes bump in the night...You name it- I slay it. They are all very real." She examined his expression and he seemed to believe her. "You're not expressing any doubt. Usually there's the whole you're lying or what's wrong with you?"
"Well I've seen a lot of weird things in my time. Well at least for the last fifteen years. I don't remember anything before then." Logan commented. Though why did the term the Slayer seem so familiar? A sense of déjà vu passed over him, but like so many unremembered memories he didn't have any real clear connection to anything having to do with a slayer. He thought back to the night fifteen years ago. He had a clearer memory of that now though. Fifteen years ago, this girl in front of him was probably around seven years old. Which made it all the more wrong that she should be standing in front of him in a towel. And that he enjoyed the view. There was quite an age difference even if he couldn't be sure on how old he was precisely.
Buffy bit her lip. Not being able to remember anything past fifteen years ago? That was insane. Of course she would only be seven back then, but still. She couldn't tell how old he was, but if he got such a procedure done fifteen years ago he couldn't be that young. But she doubted he was as old as Spike or Angel. She felt his eyes on her exposed skin as she realized she was showing quite a bit of leg in that towel. "I...I need to get changed. You know, put some real clothes on." She had skirts that showed more leg than this towel and she wasn't ashamed of her body, but his gaze...It made her stomach do somersaults. In a good way. Lust pumped through her veins and she badly wanted to kiss him, but she didn't even know this man. She stood up, so as not to reveal anything, and ran to the bathroom. She looked into the mirror. Calm down Buffy. He's just a man. Okay an incredibly attractive man who saved your life last night. And a man who took care of her even after she had "passed out". He didn't try anything fishy or suspect. If he had, she would have been able to stop him and give him a surprise or two, but he had been the perfect gentleman. Buffy slid her towel off and slipped her clothes back on. She'd get some new ones when she went back to her hotel. But she really didn't want to go back to her hotel. She wanted to stay here and learn more about this mysterious man. A grin crossed over her lips as she realized she would be seeing him again. Okay, so she did not know that for sure, but she would make it a goal. Buffy walked back out into the room and towards the door to the hotel room. Pausing for a moment, she turned her head back to Logan as she reached for the handle on the door. "All you had to do last night was buy me a drink. Or made some welcome gesture and I would have gone home with you without faking passing out."