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Drachen looked at the shower with some trepidation. She was sure it was a nice shower, it looked well designed, suited the decorating style of the room fairly well… it was just so…hard looking. Not so much the shower itself, more the effort needed to engage in the act. With a sigh Drachen reached forward and turned on the tap. She watched as the water began giving off steam, which quickly filled the small bathroom. After some fiddling with the taps she managed to find a happy medium between lukewarm and scalding, which helped to improve her outlook somewhat. Dropping her towel Drachen stepped hesitantly into the spray, her ribs faintly protesting. She'd managed to convince Logan to take the strapping off so she could have a real shower, not that she wasn't enjoying the sponge baths and what came after them. Its just, they really weren't as romantic and sexy as they seemed in the movies. More awkwardly uncomfortable and while somewhat pleasant, Drachen never felt truly clean after them.
Drachen groaned as the deliciously hot water streamed down her back, bracing her arms against the wall she simply stood in the spray and let the water wash away the cares of the last six months. Finally Drachen reached for the sponge and began slowly soaping her body, wondering as she did when exactly she had gotten so pale and thin.
All the life and death battles must be taking it out of me, she thought with a bitter smile.
After rinsing her body free of suds Drachen decided to take the plunge and try washing her hair. She knew it would hurt, she knew its wasn't the best idea, but honestly? It felt like her scalp was moving. The feel of the hot water soaking into her tangled tresses was heaven, and Drachen couldn't remember feeling this good in a while. Strange how you began appreciating the little things in life when you didn't have them anymore… with a wince Drachen reached out of the shower to grab a bottle of the mini shampoo/conditioner the motel was providing 'complementary'. She looked at the sky-blue puddle in her palm dubiously, but duly rubbed it into her wet curls for lack of an alternative option. It would not be good for her hair, but either was not being washed for two weeks. The discomfort of massaging her scalp and lathering her hair was causing Drachen to grit her teeth, but small hisses of pain were still managing to escape. Tipping he head back to begin rinsing her sud-soaked tresses Drachen let out an involuntary cry of pain as her rib muscles protested. Dropping her arms she clutched at her side.
Logan looked up from the newspaper he'd been skimming at the cry from behind the bathroom door. He knew this was a bad idea! In two steps Logan was through the door and managed to catch Drachen in the shower recess just before she fell, or at least that's the way it looked to him.
Drachen gasped as she suddenly found herself pulled upright against a hard chest, her hands automatically clutching at Logan's shoulders to steady herself as the water continued to rain down on them. Logan seemed frozen in place, and Drachen wondered if it had occurred to him that she might be completely naked when he had burst in to rescue her from the vicious shower. Drachen slowly raised her eyes to meet Logan's heated gaze, and then cursed herself for a fool when she did, because now she was caught. Frozen in place as her skin burned under his hands, and where those hands were… Later Drachen couldn't say who bridged the distance first, but suddenly he had captured her lips, or she'd captured his, it didn't really matter anymore because they were kissing like starving people as the steam rose around them. Drachen ran her hands over Logan's shoulders, moaning as the friction between her soapy breasts and his shower soaked singlet caused her nipples to harden deliciously. One of Logan's hands had slipped down her back and was gripping her arse, as the other moved to caress her breast. With a groan Logan pressed Drachen back against the wall, which made her gasp, though not so much in pleasure as pain. Logan immediately drew back.
"I'm sorry," he apologized breathlessly, though he didn't let her go "I thought – I shouldn't have-,"
"Stop." Drachen raised her hand and pressed a finger against his lips, and then almost came apart as he sucked it into his mouth.
"Logan, you're all wet," Drachen protested, groaning and futilely trying to recapture her finger.
"Well I hate to say it darlin' but so are you," Drachen felt her neck heat and knew she was blushing, because Logan wasn't just talking about the fact that she was in the shower. Logan dropped his head to rest against hers, fingers rubbing circles around her pale pink nipples.
"How're your ribs?" he asked quietly. Drachen laughed quietly
"Sore," she answered, "But a bit better now," she added with a smile. "You know Logan…" Drachen began, "We should really see about getting you out of those wet clothes," Logan chuckled throatily.
"Now, now, sweet cheeks," he cautioned, "You couldn't even get through a shower without your ribs dropping you," but his kisses took the sting from his words "I think we might have to delay anything more… physical until you're all healed up. I wouldn't want to damage you…" Drachen tried to pout, but Logan's laughter at her vain attempts made the entire expression pointless. Before she knew it Drachen found herself wrapped in one of the cheap motel towels and perched on the edge of the rooms double bed with Logan sitting behind her drying her hair. It was a surreal experience to say the least.
...
"You know they're going to keep coming, right?" Logan said quietly as he placed a mug of steaming black coffee in front of her. Drachen looked up in consternation. They were sitting in a small diner just off the interstate, and Drachen was trying the weigh up the wisdom of ordering pie.
"You don't know that Logan, not for sure," she answered back, trying to deny hearing her own conclusion coming from someone else's lips.
"Yes. I do." Logan said "That blue skinned woman you're so afraid of? Her name's Mystique, and she's got more lives then a cat. You're right to be scared. She used to run with a band of mutants called the Brotherhood, but they were defeated last summer by the X-Men," Logan rubbed at the back of his neck, thinking back to the events of last year "Unfortunately she escaped."
"How do you know all this?" Drachen asked, somewhat incredulously
"Because I was there. Fighting. I'm a member of the X-Men," Logan mentally winced at the trite explanation, hoping that Scooter would never hear of him actually admitting any kind of commonality with the one eyed whiny freak.
"Then why aren't you back there, with them?" Drachen asked, curious
"Because I'm here instead, with you." Logan answered firmly. "An right now there's no where else I'd rather be." Both of them fell silent at that, Logan wondering what had prompted him to make that involuntary declaration, and Drachen wondering exactly just what it meant. After what seemed like an age Drachen continued,
"Logan, I think she's trying to build an army," she said, "When they came for my parents, she kept asking about the Mutant Registration Bill. My father has – had a lot to do with its inception. It's a horrible piece of legislation, truly. They say it's about 'protection', but it's more about segregation and control. The thing is, they had already started recording names. I think she wants the proto-list." Drachen finished with a sigh. Her stomach clenched tightly, and she decided against the pie.
"Who has it?" Logan asked, concerned. If the Brotherhood was after this list of names in an attempt to recruit an army from it, then whoever had the list was in danger.
"I've got no idea. My father would have known where it was, but," Drachen felt her breath catch, "He's gone. I think they assume I have it, or at least know where it is. And I think the Senator is dead." she finished
"That's a given," Logan answered matter-of-factly, "I was there when he died." Drachen thought back to the yellow-eyed figure with white hair.
"I guess that's her mutation then, impersonation. She was wearing his face when she had them killed."
"You're right," Logan agreed, "But it goes beyond that. She doesn't just impersonate them, she becomes them, wears their skin," Drachen looked around the diner, it was past breakfast and most of the booths were empty, still it was strange to be talking about these things in such a normal setting.
"One thing she can't change though, is her scent and one thing she can't copy is her victim's mutation," Logan said, smirking to himself.
"Her scent?" Drachen asked in confusion.
"That's part of my mutation." Logan explained, tapping the side of his nose.
"Really? So, the claws and a super nose," Drachen watched Logan's face still for a second
"I have accelerated healing and heighten senses." Logan corrective, "The claws – came later,"
"And the nightmares?" Drachen dared ask quietly. Loan winced, remembering the events of the night before. He'd had another night terror. A bad one. At least Drachen had realized the futility of trying to wake him, or rather, the danger. She'd retreated to the far side of the room, and watched as he worked through it. Waking up panting in fear wasn't the best look. But it was better then waking up with his claws in her chest.
"Yeah, I got those with the claws." Drachen reached across the table and laid her hand on Logan's clenched fists, giving them a soft squeeze.
"So, what do I do?" she asked quietly "If they aren't going to stop,"
"We," Logan said with quite conviction
"Logan I can't ask you too-" Drachen began,
"You're not. But you're nuts if you think I'm going to let you do this by yourself. Besides, we won't be alone. I think its time to call in some reinforcements. You never know, if you look too hard to nab, the blueberry Paddle Pop might get bored and go away. She's got that sort of attention span." Drachen dropped her head into her hands and sighed.
"Are you sure this is really happening Logan?" Drachen asked in quiet disbelief, almost begging him to deny the events of the past few weeks, "This all sounds so… farfetched." she continued. Logan smiled, but his words were serious
"For you, two weeks ago so was being a mutant."