7/9
Domino sighed, leaning against the creaking wood rail of the front porch as she heard the squeaky complaint of the screen door opening, followed by the sound of Nathan's boots on the decking. She'd rather been hoping he'd take the not-so-subtle clue she'd given him at dinner, and leave her alone. Leave it to Cable to jump at the chance to stick his nose where it wasn't invited. He'd always been sadistic like that. She took a long draw on her cigarette and exhaled slowly, pretending he wasn't standing a few paces away.
"You going to stand out here all night?"
"Maybe." She looked over, tapping ash from the cigarette. "Why?"
Nathan shook his head. "Thought you might want to come in."
Domino's eyes drifted out towards the tree line, where twilight was fast fading. "Nah." She took a drag on her cigarette and pulled her coat closer around her. "I'm fine."
"Sure?"
She glared. "If I wanted to go in, I would, okay? You going to stand here and question me all night?"
"No," he replied tersely, "Go right ahead and enjoy yourself." He turned and went back inside, the screen door slamming shut behind him.
Dom sighed and waited until she was done with her cigarette before following him inside. "What the hell is up with you tonight?"
He looked up, giving her a cross look. "Me?"
"Yes, you. Suddenly you're Mister Attitude. What gives?" She crossed her arms and glared.
He arched an eyebrow, an almost amused expression on his face as he looked at her. "Me. Attitude. Come off it, Dom. You're the one who's being bitchy."
"Oh, fuck you!" She shouted. "I wasn't doing anything. You're the one who stormed off!"
"Maybe I'm tired of getting blown off every time I ask a simple question. I'm not your personal punching bag, Dom, and I'm getting really flonqing sick of being expected to take whatever you feel like throwing at me."
"Then why the hell don't you just leave, if I make you so fucking miserable? I've got news for you, Nate, I've been this way since the day we met, I'm not gonna change any time soon. If you can't handle it, you know where the goddamned door is!" She yelled, and turned on her heel, stalking down the hall towards the bedroom.
He caught her arm just outside the door, and she turned, glaring at him as she yanked her arm away. "Don't fucking touch me," she hissed.
Scowled right back at her, his eye flashing brightly with agitation as he pinned her in the doorway. "Why the hell are you trying to shove me away again? Do you really want me gone that badly?"
"I'm not--" She set her jaw, giving him a hard look. "It's not about anything." She shifted, tried again, as if trying to find a way around the obstacle. "It's not that I'm unhappy. It's not that I don't want to be here, to have you here. I'm trying to find my way through it all." She stopped with a frustrated sigh. "Do you want to yell at me? Just do it, okay? You're angry, that's fine. I'm not going to shatter just because you're pissed off. Maybe--I'm just tired of silence, I'm tired of the uneasy buzz in the back of my head that means you're aggravated even though you're patting my hand pretending it's all alright." Her hands clenched into fists, arms held close to her sides, though she wished she could throw something.
"And I'm sorry. I know it's my fault, I know I shouldn't have played the games that I did. Fucking Christ--I was trying--I don't know. I just knew that you needed me, and that I was finally ready to see you again... but not with all my scars showing. Pride, maybe, but I wasn't about to admit how much I'd managed to fuck up, or how much I was hoping maybe seeing you would keep me from doing it again. Was it right? Hell, no. But I was there, and I couldn't walk away. Not when you were doing so well. And maybe I thought I could catch a little piece of that for myself. I tried, pretended, hoping if I smiled long enough it'd be true, and all this shit would sink into the background the way it *should.* I'm trying to let go. I'm *trying* to sort things through, but I feel guilty all over again every time I see that hurt look on your face. It makes me feel like I'm not living up to expectations."
"I couldn't care less about all that, Dom," he replied. "It doesn't matter if you screwed up or how badly, That doesn't make you any less worthy. All I *want* is you. All I need is my sarcastic, foul mouthed bitch of a partner who'll kick my ass with a grin and tell me to flonq myself when I'm wrong. And it's okay to be pissed off, it's okay to be upset. I don't *care* if you have bad days, as long as you let me try to make them better, or at least commiserate with you. What I *can't* stand is the way you keep kicking me to the sidelines and force me to watch as you throw yourself at walls. For someone who *swears* that all she wants is an honest shot at happiness, you spend an awful lot of time cultivating misery."
She stared into his face for a long moment, then looked away, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Why do you always have to have such damned reasonable requests?" She muttered under her breath. Her shoulders slumped as she let go of the last of her anger.
He reached out and slid an arm around her waist, his free hand rubbing her back as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Feel better now?"
"Maybe a little." She closed her eyes, feeling the fabric of his shirt against her cheek. "I think we needed that."
"Probably."
"Nate?"
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry. I mean--really..."
"I know."
She nodded, relaxing a little more. After a few moments, she straightened up again and he let her go reluctantly. She turned, walking into the bedroom, and pulled off her sweatshirt, letting it drop to the floor before casting a glance over her shoulder. He was still in the doorway, making no motion to move. "Well?" She didn't like the set of his shoulders, the tension there an uneasy one, as if he were trying to fend it off. She turned to face him, folding her arms across her chest. "Damnit, Nathan." She muttered in frustration. "What am I supposed to do, hide? Never let anyone touch me again? I've wanted to, but that doesn't make anything go away. It just gives me more time to dwell on it." She crossed to where he was standing. "I know you mean well, but stop being an idiot." She pushed up on her toes and kissed him soundly, then sighed in frustration as the concerned look on his face remained. "What's wrong?"
"Dom..." He paused, hand resting lightly on her shoulder. "He never--Tyler..."
She shook her head. "No. No, Nate. He was a twisted piece of work, but he never touched me." It was true enough, after all. She felt a wave of relief as she saw the tension dissipate, and kicked herself mentally for not realizing his mind had been bound to go there, given how little she ever talked about that year. "Enough of this shit, okay? I'm getting cold just standing here."
"I noticed."
She narrowed her eyes and swatted him before walking back into the bedroom. This time, he followed.
----
She couldn't move. For a split second, panic threatened to grip her, but awareness of the sheets twisted around her, as well as the considerable bulk of Nate's arm draped across her waist quelled it. She muttered under her breath and rubbed at her eyes, glaring blearily at the bedside clock, whose red numbers blithely proclaimed it to be four thirty in the morning. "Hell," she grumbled, struggling to untangle herself from the sheets, grateful that Nate tended to sleep like the dead--at least when he knew he wasn't likely to be ambushed.
She got up and wandered into the bathroom, splashing cold water from the sink on her face, scowling at her reflection. No wonder Nathan had been harping at her more than usual--she really did look like crap, though she doubted the sickly light from the fluorescent fixture above the sink helped much. She made a mental note to bitch a little less from now on, and stepped back into the bedroom. Cable was awake, sitting up against the headboard.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, fine." She gave him an apologetic smile as she climbed back into bed. "Sheets were all twisted. Probably what woke me." She laid down again, yanking the covers around her shoulders. "Go back to sleep." She closed her eyes, shivering slightly as his hand slid along her skin. "That is not sleeping," she grumbled good-naturedly, and heard him chuckle. "I mean it. Don't make me banish you to the couch."
"You wouldn't do that."
"You're forgetting whose house this is, buster. My rules." The reproach was a bantering one, and Nate certainly wasn't keeping his hands to himself. "Nate..." She tipped her head back as he kissed her neck. "I really am tired. Could we continue this some time after dawn?"
He settled in beside her, arm loose around her waist again, and kissed the crown of her head. "Sure."
----
Sharing a bed with Nate was rather like trying to share a bed with a bear, Domino mused. And overly amorous bear, at that. Still, there were worse ways to wake up. Much worse ways. The nicest thing, she'd long ago decided, was the feeling of security--it was safety and the knowledge that she was wanted, something which had always been a bit scarce in her life. "We should really get up," she said finally, though she curled up a little bit closer.
"Why?" The sleepy grumble of his voice sounded petulant, and his arms tightened around her slightly.
"It's after eleven," she pointed out.
"So?" Again, the grumpy, almost childish tone.
She laughed. "We can't lay here all day."
"Sure we can." He kissed her cheek. "Stay."
"You are being silly," she replied.
"Why can't I just hold you?" He asked, sounding the tiniest bit hurt. "You're--always trying to get away."
"I didn't realize," she turned in the circle of his arms so she could look at him. His face had a vaguely troubled quality she couldn't quite define. "Nate..."
"It's okay." His hand came up and brushed the side of her face. "Just stay here." His fingertips lingered before sliding along her body, resting on her hip. A delicious sort of warmth spread through her. "I love you, you know."
"I know," She replied quietly. "We're really doing this, aren't we? This whole 'us' thing is really happening." She fingered the pendant around her neck.
"Trying," he replied and kissed her forehead. "Be easier if someone were a little less stubborn."
"I--I'm doing the best I can. I'm just... not very good at this. Never have been," she said, so faintly he barely heard her.
He ran a hand through her hair. "You blame yourself too much."
She arched an eyebrow at him. "That, coming from the undisputed king of self-reproach." He gave her a hurt look, and she laughed. "Nate, it's not going to work. I'm immune to the puppy-dog eyes. Besides, telling a Summers not to angst is like telling the sun not to shine."
"You're mean," he mock-pouted. "Remind me why I put up with you?"
"Because you're a masochist," she grinned, sitting up.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"I have things to do. Therefore, I am going to get dressed."
"You're assuming I'm going to let you."
"Oh?" She smirked. "Going to give me a reason to stay?"
He tugged her back over to him. "I think I can manage that."
----
"Hey, got a minute?"
Cable glanced up. "Sure." He shuffled papers and books around the table. Dom eyed the mess as she took a seat across from him.
"What are you up to? Or don't I want to know?"
"Well...you said you wanted the equipment out of the spare bedroom..."
"Yes...and?"
"Well, just sticking it in the basement isn't exactly a solution. I thought we could divide the space in half... there'd be room for the washer and dryer, too."
Dom gave him a skeptical look. "You want me to let you loose, with power tools, on my basement?"
"Why is it your basement? I live here too..."
"My name is on the mortgage payments!"
"...no it's not."
"...shut up." She swatted at him playfully. "We'll see, okay?"
"Now you're just patronizing me."
"Damned right," she replied smugly.
"So, you had something you wanted to talk about?"
"Yeah," her expression went serious again. "I managed to get some more information on the program," she said. "I found her real name."
"Your mother's?"
"Yeah," she replied with a slight frown. "It seems so weird to be talking about this--I don't really remember her."
"How'd you find it? We pretty much exhausted our resources."
"You might have," she replied smugly. "I still had a few avenues open to me."
"Talked to Logan?" He asked. She scowled at him. "Dom, there are only so many people you could stand to hold an hour-long phone conversation with."
"Yeah, point," she replied.
"So what do we have?"
"Mostly confirmation of stuff we already suspected. She was a part of the same program Gaines was spying on. She defected at the same time he left for the states."
"They left together."
"Looks like. Maybe his cover was blown anyway and she talked him into getting her out. Maybe she blackmailed him, I don't know. She was married, but all records of who he was conveniently vanished."
"Of course," he replied.
"So we know that she and my sister arrived here with false ids, she married Gaines, and they went off to live happily ever after."
"Until they were both murdered ten years later."
She leaned back in her chair. "Yeah. I dunno. You think her employers would bother coming after them? I doubt they were dumb enough to talk to anyone."
"Doesn't seem likely, no."
Domino sighed. "Y'know... maybe we're looking too hard at this. Maybe it was just revenge, pure and simple."
"For leaving?"
"Or running out on her husband with another man," she smiled faintly. "Not a lot of guys who'd take that well."
"Ten years is a long time to wait."
"I agree. But I also think we're far from having the whole picture here." She shrugged. "Either way, I have a feeling that whoever sent me this letter had something to do with those murders. And if so..." She stared down at her coffee for a long moment. "Maybe he knows what happened to me."
"You've considered the fact that he might not be who he claims?"
She snorted. "C'mon Nate. This is me, here. Since when have I ever taken anything at face value? For all I know, Gaines could be my father. If they were having an affair, it'd explain a few things. And if that comes out, and then his cover is blown?"
"It looks like she was helping him."
"Pretty much a death sentence, yeah." She shook her head. "It's all speculation, unfortunately." She got up and paced the length of the room. "Logan managed to find out where most of the project information is being stored now," she said finally, giving him a hesitant look.
"So when do we leave?"
----
#I suppose he had to come?#
'I asked him to.' Domino shot her partner a warning glance as they loaded the small jet 'So behave yourself.'
#Me? What about him?#
"Oh, I'm sure Logan will be on his best behavior," She replied aloud, grinning smugly at the dirty look Nate gave her.
"Sure thing, Darlin,'" Wolverine replied with a smirk. "So long as the tin man here doesn't do anything stupid," he added, tossing one of the bags into the plane.
Cable muttered something in Askani under his breath and tossed the last if the equipment into the hold. Dom was still grinning. #You don't have to be quite so pleased with yourself, you know,# he scowled.
'What can I say? It amuses me.'
#He's aggravating.#
'Only because you let him push your buttons. Honestly, I think he only does it because it's so easy to get a rise out of you.'
#You're lucky I'm fond of you.#
'I know,' she replied with a mental laugh. "Well, I guess that's the last of it."
"Then we're ready t' go," Logan commented, fixing her with a scrutinizing look.
Domino tried her best to ignore it, and walked around to the front of the vehicle, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess we are."
----
The plane was on autopilot, but Dom checked over the controls again anyway, anything to keep her mind off of where they were headed. The idea was simple--they'd land near one of Nate's safe houses, conveniently near the military installation they were focusing on, spend a night getting a feel for the security, and then go in, get the information she hoped was there, and get out again. Quick and clean. In theory, anyway. The sick feeling in her gut, however, had her believing it wouldn't be that simple. It was too convenient--everything had been too convenient, right from the start, and she couldn't shake the conviction that she was being very purposefully drawn to this place. She sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"You okay?" Nate murmured from the seat next to hers. Logan was behind them, acting indifferent to his surroundings, though Dom didn't buy it for a second. She knew him far to well to be tricked into believing he was ever oblivious to what was going on around him. The performance was probably more out of politeness than anything else, she thought wryly. She tipped her head to the side and gave Nathan a weary smile.
"Sure. I'm just hoping we're not coming all this way for a dead end," she lied, hoping he wouldn't notice. He didn't, or wasn't going to call her on it, and went back to staring out the windshield as the terrain flashed by indistinctly far below them. She closed her eyes and ran a hand over her face, then cast a glance over her shoulder at Logan. This time, he was looking right at her, eyes locking on hers. He didn't need Nathan's telepathy to let her know exactly what he was thinking. Obviously, they were going to have a little chat sometime before this was all over.