Morning came, and he heard her moving about in the room. She was humming gently to herself

Fox stayed where he was, at least for a while, eyes drifting open, when finally he sat up, turning his attention to finding wherever he'd kicked his shoes off to.

She glanced at him when he woke, feeling very foolish about last night, realizing only after she'd entered the shallow phase that she'd woken him. She didn't say anything when he remained silent... worried a bit,

"Mornin'" said Fox as he grabbed his shoes, glancing up at her as he pulled them on. "Hope ya slept well?"

She nodded. "Slept fairly well, thanks... Yourself?"

He just shrugged in response at first, both shoes on before he responded, "Well 'nough."

"Good." She was already fully dressed. "breakfast?"

Fox stood up, picking up his backpack and nodding. "Soun's good."

"there's a diner near the bus terminal. Bus leaves in an hour." She stretched. "Ready to checkout?"

Fox nodded motioning his bag, "Yup I got e'erythin'."

She nodded, and they left the room. They checked out and went to the diner. She was pretty quiet the whole time... shy almost.

Fox never commented on her being quiet, choosing silence himself, though not out of shyness, more, in that he was lost in thought.

She sighed as they began to eat. "I'm sorry, Fox."

Fox tilted his head, "Dun be, ya did nuttin' thah needs it."

"Yeah, I do..." She dropped her silverware and leaned back in the booth, a look of shame on her face.

Fox's head tilted more distinctly. "Waz wrong," he questioned softly.

"For last night... I had no right..." She closed her eyes and turned her head. "no right at all..."

He shrugged roughly, "Maybe nah, but, it's done, and ain't nuttin 'bout it dat can be undone."

"..." She sighed softly. "... Well... I'm sorry..." She closed her eyes softly.

Fox shrugged again. "Dun worry 'bout it," he responded simply, working on his breakfast.

She gently sighed, and pushed her food away, her appetite gone.

Fox gave a slight sigh. "Look," he said softly, "I didn' mind, prolly woulda liked it ta, buh'," he paused, eyes falling to the table, "is jus' thah' ih' startled me."

She ran her hand through her hair and sighed a little, looking up at him, still a little fear in her eyes. "... I just don't want you to think I... well, anything bad about me..."

Fox shook his head, taking her hand in one of his gently but firmly, "I dun, ya came foh me when ya didn' havta, I couldn' think bad ah ya."

She looked a bit surprised, but smiled softly at his words and touch. "... Thank you, Fox... And I am truly sorry. I won't do it again..." she paused, and then turned red as she murmured something too low for him to hear.

Fox tilted his head in curiosity, releasing her hand and pulling his back to his side of the table. He didn't respond aside from the tilt of the head though, silent as he turned his attention back to his food.

She didn't go back to her food, and instead put it into a box the waitress had brought her.

Fox finished his meal rather then needing a box, standing after finishing and leaving the money on the table. He glanced back to her, waiting for her to follow.

She stood and followed him out, her take home box under her arm. She contemplated that as they left the diner... Take home... How ironic,

Fox made for the bus they were taking for the next leg of their trip in relative silence, having shifted from just ahead of Chameleon to directly beside her.

They got to the bus, and she stopped, motioning him to go ahead if he wanted. "I don't mind the aisle seat if you want the window," she offered softly.

Fox shrugged, moving forward to take the window. "I dun really care eitheh," he replied as he sat, grinning up at her.

She sat down beside him, and leaned back, handing him his book he'd forgotten in the room. "Here. I thought you'd miss this."

Fox tilted his head slightly as he took the book. "Funny," he murmured, "dun remembeh' takin' thah outta my bag..." He paused, "Come ta think of it, dun remembeh puttin' it in eitheh." A slight wince followed. "Thanks," he said roughly.

She smiled a bit. "You're welcome." She leaned back into the chair and sighed. The bus was much more crowded than the last, with much... rougher... looking people.

Fox glanced around, feeling more at ease on a ride where he didn't stand out as much as previously. This was what he had grown up with, granted, he hadn't felt particularly off on the other bus, just more so then this one.

Subconsciously, she pressed against him, away from some of the older punks, who kept glancing back at her, eyeing her. She let out a small sigh, forcing her powers down.

Fox stood up some when she pressed against him. "Take deh windah," he said moving between her and those that he caught as having scared her. He was used to these people, but she wasn't, and she wasn't one of them, which meant he would serve as buffer and link. He knew the message the others would get, even if it wasn't truth, he wouldn't change it... 'Dis is mah girl, touch 'er an' I'll kill ya,' a simple message, laid across unthreateningly and without a single word.

She looked at him, and smiled her thanks softly as the thugs turned quickly away. She touched his arm, then looked out the window as the bus started up, and headed onto the high way

Fox grinned a bit at her in his new spot, feeling just a bit more smug then was probably good for him, but, he didn't care at the moment. They wouldn't cause problems, not on a bus, even if they chose to take personal offense, which he very much-so doubted.

Time passed slowly and in silence. They picked at their food and in their boredom, played games like spot the car and I Spy. Finally, she fell asleep, leaning against him on purpose this time, as long as he would allow it.

Fox didn't say anything about it, he didn't mind, it added to the image set, but he would not fall asleep, both of them asleep would be an invitation. And the other punks might notice something odd with him coming out of dead sleep as soon as they moved nearer.

She nuzzled against him in her sleep, then furrowed her brow. A nightmare was coming... Her power flickered ever so slightly.

Fox winced, noticing it, and wrapping an arm close around her, shaking her some. That, he could not afford to let happen.

She jumped a bit, and purred. "Mm." She looked up at him and smiled a little. "What..?"

"Ya were startin' ta have a nightmare, thought I should wake 'fore ya got scared," he replied softly and simply. He figured his chief concern of that would speak for itself to her.

She blinked, and nodded a bit. "... I don't want to put us in jeopardy... I'll try to stay awake..."

Fox gave a small nod in reply, smiling softly, "I'll try an' 'elp ya." His smile turned to the typical bit of a lopsided, impish grin.

She smiled a bit. "I'd appreciate it."

Suddenly an arm came from behind Fox, a hand over his mouth before he could make a sound. "Girly," he snarled softly, at only a bit above a whisper, eyes focused on Chameleon, "unless ya wan pretty boy 'ere ta die, ya might consider nah makin' a sound or movin'." He then pulled Fox from the seat, before he even had a chance at doing anything. "Make a soun' an' both ya are gonna die, kapeesh?"

Fox managed a soft nod, glaring, lost in confusion, face stinging as another boy tugged his gloves off so that he couldn't use getting out of them to slip away before gripping his wrists, hard...

The boy that had first grabbed him came up into the seat next to Chameleon, grinning cruelly. "Heya girly," he said harshly.

She didn't scream, but sure as hell felt like it as she pressed herself up against the side of the bus. Her mouth was dry and her stomach twisted tightly. She had to force her powers down. "W-who the hell are you?" she almost whispered.

He grinned darkly, coming up closer, "Oh, no-one thah matters girly. I jus' dun like peeps gettin' between me an' wha' I wan. 'Specialy pretty boy, wanna be punks like yer frien'." He inched yet closer, running a finger down her arm, "C'mon, scream, gimme a 'scuse ta kill 'im"

She gritted her teeth and winced sharply at his tough. "Don't hurt him..." she almost growled, fear and anger rippling though her eyes.

"Fine," he growled as he closed his hand tightly around her arm, "I'll settle fer ya..."

She winced and gasped as pain came to her, and her power flickered just once, growing dark then light again as she reflected the black wall in back of her. "N-No... Please, d-don't hurt me, I'll give you whatever you want, just don't hurt me or him..."

The boy's eyes went wide and he pushed her harder into the wall, "An' I'd obey a freak?" He smirked widely, pulling out a knife.

She let out a terrified whimper, eyeing the blade as tears came to her eyes. She was going to die... so far from home... Her powers flickered again, and again.

Suddenly there was a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Freak er no Lee, ya know betteh' then ta do dis on a bus. Jus keep 'em put, den afteh we stop..."

Lee snarled and then nodded, putting the knife away, glaring at the girl as the man that had just talked to him returned to their seat across the aisle. "Yer safe girly... fer now, but the delay ain' gonna help ya any."

Her teeth were chattering together, and she swallowed hard. "F-Fox...?" she whimpered, too afraid to move.

Fox pulled his arms loose from the grip with a wince of sheer and utter pain, glaring back at the boy that had held them as he grabbed his gloves, coming forward. "Gimme my seat back Lee," he growled past visible pain, wrists burning like they'd been broken, not merely held.

Lee laughed, pushing him back into the seat behind him, "Nah, I like it 'ere, an' sides, dun wanna let deh two ah ya get any ideas 'bout 'bandonin' us, now dah I?"

She slid up to her knees, barely able to see Fox over the seat. She was shaking, visibly terrified. There was nothing she could do if not even Fox could wear them off.

Fox gave her as confident a smile as he could muster, his eyes dark, only not afraid and shifting due to the pain and anger that overwhelmed it. Shifting to more anger then pain as the pain faded, fading more quickly then actually breaking a bone would have. They could have gotten out of this, were they not mutants, or if her power hadn't manifested itself, but as it stood, he doubted even he'd be able to weasel them outta getting beaten, unless... He grinned wider, an idea working it's way into his mind. "I'm sittin' wid her," he snarled, hand reaching for his pocket, making sure he reached for an empty one.

Lee caught the movement of his hand and pulled out the gun, firing. Fortunately it had a silencer, so no one close to the front, namely the driver heard.

Fox ducked away managing to catch the bullet in the backpack, rather then getting hit by it, or letting it hit something else.

Suddenly the man who had come to Lee earlier grabbed him, tossing him out of the seat and into the back where Fox had been pushed earlier. "I told ya nah now."

"B-buh, he reached fer a gun," whimpered Lee.

"I dun 'ave no gun, nah in dat pocket 'tleast, c'mon, leh us go, he wasn' seein' straight. My girl's no freak, and I gah no gun 'ere." He pulled the pocket inside out.

The man eyed him warily before nodding, "Kay, ya got mah protection 'ere, jus' watch yer back elsewhere, undehstood?"

Fox nodded, dragging himself to his seat and nodding, "cleahly."

She slowly pulled her arms around him, trembling, but didn't say anything. This character might not protect them once the bus stops in the next hour... She was clearly terrified.

Fox slid his gloves back on without pulling away from her at all, "It's aight, weh safe, we'll be safe, trus' me." He grinned, the grin sincere, not forced.

She swallowed and nodded, trusting him. She closed her eyes and hugged him still. He could easily tell how frightened she had been... still was.

Fox let her be close not hugging back, but not doing anything to deny the hug. He was taking comfort from it as well, as the anger and adrenaline faded so that the fear of what had happened could hit him.

She softly rubbed his back with one hand and leaned up, looking up at him. What was going to happen once they got off the bus? The fear of that was still very strong... he could almost smell it.

Fox sighed softly, "Please dun worry, coulda been worse... dat bullet coulda 'it me..." He pulled an arm loose to slide the backpack off, opening it, suddenly frowning as he pulled out the book she'd given him, the bullet lodged in it. "Good thin' 'e wasn' usin a moh powehful gun..."

"... Good thing that travel version wasn't much more... travel version." She smiled a bit and looked up at him.

Fox shrugged softly, pushing the book back in, "Yeah, almos' wen' through," he finally said before looking to her again, grinning a bit lopsidedly. "Well, dis has been an adventah."

"Yeah, I can tell my kids one day how me and a crazy Fox went across the country and nearly got shot." She chuckled a bit,

Fox smirked impishly, "Soun's like a storeh ta me..."

She laughed a little, then leaned up and kissed his cheek softly. "Hey... Thank you." She offered a small smile of thanks for what he'd done.

Fox was a bit surprised, not just at the soft kiss, but that it didn't sting like he'd expected, but that was probably because his nerves were still focused on his bruised wrists. He grinned lightly, "'Twas nuttin, trus' me."

She had noticed how he'd been holding his wrists, and very carefully took one of them, sliding up his glove to look at his wrist. "... Oh, Fox..." she whispered.

Fox glanced down at his wrist, wincing a bit, "Not as bad as ih looks, trus' me."

She narrowed her eyes, and cupped his hand in her own. Her thumbs touched his bruises, and softly began to circle, hardly pressing down at all. The pain slowly began to subside. "I'm sorry you got hurt, Fox..."

Fox tilted his head lightly, curious, but at the same time he just shrugged. "Dun be, wasn' yer fault."

She closed her eyes a moment, then opened them, and pulled his glove back down before taking his other hand and doing the same thing. His wrists didn't hurt anymore.

Fox didn't say a word, he'd ask questions later, figure it out when there weren't ears listening for reason to get them both. He just watched her, eyes grateful and curious.

She slunk back in the chair, her eyes tired and sweat beaded on her forehead. "Do you feel better...?" she murmured. Indeed, all his pain in his wrists was gone."

Fox nodded softly. "Yeah," was all he said, the word soft.

She smiled a little, and began to slowly rub her wrists. "Good..." she murmured, opening her eyes to look at him.

Fox was still curious, catching everything as he looked at her, but silent. His eyes drifted away, trying to catch how far from the next stop they were.

She closed her eyes again, rubbing her now bruised wrists slowly, the pain throbbing. She ignored it for now - it would pass quickly in her. The sun set, and the bus stopped at about ten o'clock outside another cheap, dirty motel.

Fox stood quickly after the stop, nodding for her to follow. They would probably have at least some time of safety, his taking the bullet in his backpack had been a risky thing to do, when he could have let it fly by and hit something, likely getting the one who fired arrested. That was what had spared them more then anything else, no doubt, but, better safe then sorry.

She followed him quickly, looping her arm around his as she felt the boys following them. She knew they had a gun...

Fox continued to move quickly, making sure that he continued to listen. If a gun was pulled out, he'd hear it, and his hand rested on his own.

She winced as they hurried. "They're coming," she whispered fearfully. He could hear them coming up, not saying anything.

He gave a small nod. "I dun think they're followin' though, since we're all goin to deh same motel," he whispered in reply, "but if they do anythin', I'll 'ear."

She nodded a bit. "So long as you're sure..." she whispered, giving him a small squeeze.

Fox grinned just a bit before whispering, "I'm suh, but, I think we're gonna 'ead elsewhere, jus' ta see if dey are followin'." And at that point he changed directions, deciding he'd rather know if they were hunted before they checked into a motel.

She kept glancing over their shoulders. It was cold tonight... They were much higher than they were last night. The nights were sharp and cold here.

Fox finally paused, listening. "I dun 'ear 'em any more," he said softly, standing still.

She nodded a little and relaxed some. She took one of the keys, and they went quickly to their room, the wind almost bitter cold.

Fox almost seemed to like the cold more, but then he was wearing the hoodie perpetually, he was still cold, but, in a way it was better then hot. "Well," he said after entering their room, "I dun think we're gonna 'ave the window open t'night."

She chuckled a little. The room was cold. About fifty degrees. And of course, there was no heater. She shivered a little, and smiled up at him. "Looks like we're gonna need the covers."

Fox smirked and shrugged, "Yeah, prolly." He sat down on the bed then, glancing up at her from it. "Now, tell me wacha did," he said softly, head tilted.

She sighed softly, and pulled up her sleeves, revealing her bruised wrists. "... I took it from you... and put it in me... You got those bruises for me... I know they hurt you a lot more than they hurt me... so I... just thought..." she trailed off

Fox nodded slightly, "I guessed ya did dat, I saw ya rubbin' yer wrists, I jus' didn' know ya could..."

"Neither did I up till about two months ago..." She smile a little and looked up at him, deep into his eyes. Emotions fluttered in her eyes.

"Oh," he said softly, falling back onto the bed some, "Nice 'bility dat."

She nodded softly, and sat beside him, looking down at her hands. her eyes were wide and shone like glass, staring at her hands and wrists. She was shaking still, and only half from cold.

Fox sat up, looking at her curiously, "'ey, waz wrong?"

"... I..." She closed her eyes. "I want to ask you something."

Fox tilted his head slightly, "Ask me wha?"

"... I want to thank you for what you've done for me... For... everything." She looked up at him, cheeks red. "... May I kiss you, Fox?"

Fox blinked, sitting utterly still, lucky his jaw didn't drop. "I," he paused, not sure how to respond. Were he not so stunned he would have answered sooner, a definite yes or no, but as it was. Half of him was thrilled, the other half, was a mixture of things that... weren't. "Yeah," he finally said, finally gathering some demeanor, "yeah ya cin."

She reached up and very carefully touched his cheek, fingertips brushing against his skin. She slid to one knee up on the bed, and leaned forward, softly pressing her lips to his. Instantly, her senses were alive, like electricity shooting through her body. She was seventeen, but she'd never kissed anyone before. It didn't feel like she'd expected... it was much... better. Her eyes were closed, and she softly pressed her palm to his cheek, ever so gentle, always gentle. She stayed as long as he would allow it.

Fox knew about as much about kissing as she did, having been distanced since entering an age he'd considered kissing by sheer sensitivity of touch, and it was that that pushed him back now. He pushed away, an expression of utter guilt on his face, it had stung, and been pleasant, both at once, and he'd wanted to deepen the kiss, for it to not be so gentle, but, as it was his nerves were on edge. He wasn't hurt, at all, but it felt like it. Sighing, his face fell, he would have offered some apology, but he couldn't muster the words.

She opened her eyes as he pulled away, watching him, and she swallowed. She couldn't read the expressions on his face... too complex. Too many of them. She couldn't even tell if he had liked it at all. She wanted to do more... to hold him and comfort him, to touch him, to express what she dare not say in words... She slid down and looked at her hands again, playing with her fingers. She didn't say a word, though she mouthed, "I'm sorry." She didn't even breath for a moment.

"No," he said softly, standing, "dun be... ya," he sighed, looking down at her, "yer great, buh' it's jus... me." Shaking his head he turned, "I'll be back, gonna take a walk," he said softly, picking up one of the keys and heading out the door.

She watched him leave, and sighed softly, rubbing her face as she laid back on the bed. She was so confused and pulled, she didn't know what to think anymore. She sighed gently and purred a little as she stretched... and hoped he would come back, soon.