((A/N: I can't believe I actually updated this thing! I hope people actually notice it. It's been so long I'm sure anybody who was interested in it earlier has forgotten about it -tear-. Please RnR. I'd love to hear feedback and maybe actually update it again. I get deeper into Raven and make John seem like an all around good guy. -Which I totally believe it true-. And just so y'all know, I don't hate Magneto. In fact I adore the guy and -if I were a mutant- I would have joined him not Xavier and the X-Pansies. -wink-. That's all. Please enjoy and RnR!)

John stood still, astonished at her statement. Her life was hell, she had no purpose, she felt empty and alone. In his eyes, Raven seemed carefree and cheerful, with a reckless nature. But now he understood, Raven was troubled and reckless, a person without a cause and nothing to lose. His temper vanished when he saw tears begin to rim Raven's eyes.

"Don't you dare run away again," she whispered, her voice shaky, "I don't think I could stand to wait for you again."

John sat next to Raven again, and hesitated. She had let something slip she hadn't meant to. He had heard it, but he had a feeling she hadn't even noticed. "You were waiting for me?" He asked.

Raven's eyes met his reluctantly, "You're the only living being that's ever shown a small ounce of care for me. Do you honestly think I wouldn't have waited for you?"

They fell into silence. John didn't know how to reply. Fortunately, Raven spoke up.

"You should go to sleep. Your bed's over there. You came here for a place to stay, that's all. So, that's all I'm going to ask of you. If you're not here in the morning, I won't hold it against you." She forced a smile, "I've lasted two whole years without you here, I can last a few more." But something in her voice told him that she couldn't. She had reached the end of her line. If he left now, he had no doubt it would push her to the edge.

"Good night, Raven," John said, standing and walking across the room to the pile of sheets on the floor. He got them situated and lay down, staring across at her.

"Good night, my dearest Saint John Allerdyce." She replied with another smile before also laying down. She lay on her back for a few minutes, staring up at the moon, before curling up on her side and falling asleep.

John continued to look at her. As she drifted off to sleep, her true from began to show through. Her black wolf's ears, fuzzy black tail, pointed nails, and all around feral look reappeared. She had hidden it when she went to pick up John and probably forgotten to un-hide it. But it didn't bother John. He knew all about her past.

She used to have a sister; Kristen. She and Kristen were abandoned by their parents when they discovered Raven was a mutant. She could create illusions with her mind. The two traveled around a lot before they found a place they could stay. Raven got a job at a place that wanted mutants. Raven worked for them for a long time before Kristen realized what they were doing to her big sister. Mutant testing was illegal, but these guys didn't care. They were paying Raven enough money that she wouldn't complain. She had enough to support Kristen with a decent home and good food.

When Kristen found out, she told Raven she would run away if she wouldn't quit her job. It took a lot of persuading to get Raven to leave. It was only when the after effects of their testing started to take place that Raven decided to leave for good. But it was too late; the testing had changed her into a feral mutant that was marked for life. She couldn't find any other jobs. She did her best to get food and keep money coming in for the home. Soon, they had to move out and live in an old abandoned shack. Raven could last pretty well without food for a few days. But Kristen was young. She thinned quickly and soon became delusional. Raven didn't realize how bad the food-loss and living conditions had affected her until her sister started eating things that weren't food. By then, it was too late. Kristen chocked to death while her sister was out looking for food. She had thought a huge rock was a piece of fruit and tried to chew it then swallow it whole.

Raven left the shack as soon as she saw her dead sister's body and wandered for a long time before she found John. He took care of her and got her back to normal; or as back to normal as a kid like her could get. The two developed feelings for each other. They got to know each other very well. Then John left to find the people who had killed his parents. He gave Raven money to survive while he was gone. Once he met Magneto, he started wiring it to her whenever he got the chance. Only a few months after that, Raven vanished. The money transfer didn't go through and he completely lost track of her.

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In the morning, John woke up before Raven. He decided, as a surprise, he would make her breakfast. She had never been much of a cooker, so he had taken it upon himself to cook the meals while they lived together. He went into the kitchen, looking around warily. It would have to be cleaned some time.

In the fridge, he found nothing. A carton of expired milk he hoped he hadn't touched, something green in a plastic container, and a plate with a fly infested bone on it. Closing the refrigerator, John turned to the cabinets. They were empty, with the exception of some old tuna cans – probably expired, and a box of cereal with worms in it. He turned away from the cabinets and to the sink. Maybe doing the dishes would be enough for her.

He felt a pang of guilt and a great amount of pity when he saw the bloody knife on the top of the dirty plates. That was when John made up his mind: he wouldn't leave her again, not for the world. He really didn't think he should be so important to her. But the only people who had shown compassion for her were her sister and him. Kristen was dead and Raven blamed herself. John had left her and she had vanished. If sticking around meant she would stop cutting herself, she would start eating right, and her home would begin to improve, he would stay forever.

He may have been an Acolyte, one of Magneto's merciless mutants, but that didn't mean he didn't have a small amount of compassion for somebody he once loved. Who knew? Maybe he could start over and build a nice little home for himself and Raven. Maybe he could make things turn up for the both of them. Maybe he could become something of stature and not just a pawn of an all-controlling-human-hating-ultra-powerful mutant.

John let out a sigh and started working on the dishes. He cleaned off the knife and all the plates, putting them back in their places, and looked around the kitchen. If Raven was still asleep, he might as well work on the rest of the kitchen. He worked hard, hoping he would be able to clean it all before Raven woke up. He could clean this whole place up; make it look some what live-able. Then he could work on Raven. She was more screwed up than when he had first met her. And it worried him. He prayed to every god he had never believed in and the one that he had that Raven would be better soon.