Okay I had another one hit me. Yes I know I have unfinished ones, and blame the blockage monster - and a few real world blockages - at least the creative juices are flowing in some direction.
Summary: We all know that the most successful hunters, serial killers, and psychopaths hide in plain sight, successfully blending in with normal society. Logically, Sabretooth should follow that trend. I've written him in a normal environment before, but not like this. 25 years after Origins, Origins Sabretooth/Victor CreedXOC. (Yes that puts him 'working' during X1, I am assuming the events of X1 took place over spring break, and that Creed has some control of how to alter his appearance so he is not 'recognized' in his 'day job.')
Disclaimer: I don't own them, no really I don't. I swear I make nothing off of this except the satisfaction to get some sick stuff out of my head safely.
A little darker side of the X-Men comes out in this, but I've always considered Xavier a master manipulator.
XXXXXXXXXX
She took a deep breath before opening the study door. He was standing, staring out the window.
"Hi Dad."
"Don't you even try to pretend this is a normal situation. I should have expected something like this, a boy would have been sensible." He turned, glaring at her.
"I want you to go change your clothes, you look like a street walker, and get in the car. You've kept me waiting for almost two hours already and the fare for the cab is coming out of your allowance. I just hope Johnson is still interested in you after running off to this den of inequity."
"No." She said it softly. He puffed up, his face turning red in his rage.
"What did you say to me?"
"I said, no." She was firmer this time, but knew she was radiating fear. Since she was a child he made her feel insignificant, never worthy of his love and affection, and she always caved, hoping next time it would be different.
"You will do what I say, young lady. Now go change."
"No. I'm twenty-two, I'm old enough to vote, smoke and drink, I think I'm old enough to make my own decisions." He crossed the room, using his presence and assumed authority to try to intimidate her, but somehow, after standing up to Victor, he just seemed insignificant.
"Of course, you think you can. You are nothing, a girl, you need a man to guide you. This place is full of despots, freaks, and depraved individuals. You need to get home, Johnson will put all this oddity fad in the background." He was trying to be reasonable, at least for him.
"Dad, its a school, a place to learn about this mutation I have, a place to learn to control it, as much as I can. Johnson is the depraved one, you'd better watch him groping the younger students, he's going to get a statutory rape charge if he's not careful." She snapped back.
"You don't need to learn anything except what I've had to teach you, and if you don't get changed and in that cab in the next ten minutes, I'm going to have to remind you, again, who is in charge in this family." He took a step closer, and she knew he expected her to cower back. "What would your mother say?"
She looked him in the eye for the first time in years. He'd flat pushed her too far. "I'd hope she'd support me in trying to find help to learn about my mutation. I'd hope she'd support me in making my own choices about my life, and I'd hope like hell she'd have divorced you years ago. She's lucky she died and only had to put up with you for fourteen years. I wish she was here to help me throw you out."
She didn't see it coming and wouldn't have ducked if she had. She could smell Victor on the other side of the door and instinctively knew he would burst in at the first sign of trouble. She hit the floor, the entire right side of her face throbbing. She stood up slowly, and glared at her father, watching the shock as her split lip healed before his eyes, the black eye fading and the broken cheekbone knitting back into place. He wasn't a ninety pound weakling, he'd boxed in high school and college and still boxed on the weekends. The look of terror on his face was priceless, and almost as pleasant as the look when Victor burst in the door with a deep rumbling growl.
"I'd do what he says." She said to her dad. He looked at her, confusion on his face. "Do you want me to translate?"
Her dad took another step towards her and Victor stepped between them, the growl rumbling at an almost sub-sonic level.
"You are both going to regret this. Your career is over, Creed." Even she was shocked at the good natured laugh from Victor.
"Yes it is, I resigned this morning, citing inappropriate emotional attachment to a student. They were shocked, but understanding. I doubt you can do anything to fuck that up, but you're welcome to try. They are going to have some interesting questions for you, after they see the video tape of this little meeting. It should be running on YouTube right now, and I sent the President the link." The growl was under every word, building slowly.
"I also sent him the file on your wife's death, with the real coroner's report, the one that had the broken facial bones and broken arm and ribs. Kathy's lucky to have made it to adulthood, and now - she's mine, and since a dumb fuck like you can't seem to understand the meaning of protect, I'll do the translating. KEEP YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF MY MATE." The last was in a roar so loud she was sure they heard him in the next county.
"You'll regret this." Her dad muttered again, but fled out the door. Victor put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned, all the bravado gone. She grabbed handfuls of his shirt and buried her face in his chest, tears running down her cheeks, shoulders and legs shaking. She felt his arms wrap around her, and she had the fleeting thought, was she going from the frying pan into the fire?
XXXXXXXXXXX
He held her against his chest, not really sure what he was supposed to do. He could smell the salt of her tears and it made him want to kill something, not that he wasn't already at that point. She was trembling and he could feel her legs give way. He picked her up and carried her over to the window seat. He was leaning over her when he felt the blow to his head.
He turned around, and glared at the man with the fire poker.
"You asshole, don't know when to leave well enough alone." He hissed, picking Gracefield up by his throat. Charles wheeled into the room and the only thing that stopped Victor from killing the bastard was the telepath.
"Let him go, Victor. He cannot do any more damage, he will leave, I will see to it."
"What's to stop him from coming back and hurting her again?" Victor snarled, and the only thing that caused him to lower the bastard to the ground was her hand on his arm.
"I will." Charles said.
"You make him shrivel up any time he thinks about her, any time he even considers hurting her you make him impotent for a year." Victor snarled.
"Victor...you know that is not..."
"Do it or I'll kill him." Victor said, calmly. The beast was out and ready to defend his mate.
Charles just nodded, and Gracefield dropped to the ground, clutching his groin and moaning. Victor leaned down. "And don't think I won't be watching. The first time you hurt anyone else, you will die on my claws...and she won't be able to stop me."
He turned and looked at her. She'd pulled herself up, and was standing behind him. She watched, her eyes solid black, as her father crawled across the floor and out the door.
"He won't do that again." Victor said simply.
"I know." She whispered, her lip trembling.
She shook her head, and he knew she was compartmentalizing, pushing what happened back to deal with later, only knowing her she wouldn't. "Are you still taking the job with Fury?"
"I got a mate to support, gotta work." He growled.
"We can return some things, sell the jewelry..." She started. He could smell her fear.
He growled. She thought it was the money. How could he convince her it was the whole concept of providing for her, protecting her. If he worked for Fury, then Fury wouldn't come after her.
"I'll be back by Saturday. Xavier can help you move your credits up to a school near here, you don't have to give up your degree, or hell change majors if you want, don't go to school, I don't care." He growled, and walked to the door.
"Victor."
"I've gotta do this. I am not repeating myself." He walked out the door. He felt like something inside him was being ripped open as he smelled the salt of her tears, but he kept walking. She was going to have to get used to him going off to work, it kept her safe.
XXXXXXXXX
Kathy sat in the window seat. He'd given her the best sex of her life, threatened to kill her father and just walked out, and she didn't know if he'd be back or not. She heard Xavier's wheels leave the room and she buried her head in her hands.
"Hey, what'd that asshole do now?" Rogue asked as she walked in the door.
"He left."
"Did he...did you?" Rogue actually blushed a little.
"You didn't hear us?"
"The guest suites are sound proofed. Only a feral can hear anything inside them, and even ferals can't hear anything from the outside. Xavier designed them that way so there'd be someplace private."
"Oh." She shrugged. Better no one had heard anyway, and Rogue wouldn't say anything, she hoped.
"So you did?" Rogue sat down next to her on the seat.
"What does it matter, he's gone." She whispered.
"Gone?"
"He left to do a job." Kathy whispered. "I don't know if he'll be back."
"Oh he'll be back, you're here." Rogue said, putting her arm around Kathy's shoulders.
"Somehow I don't believe that."
"Sugar, you're his mate, he doesn't have a choice. Once you guys had sex, that was it, permanent bond. He'll be back."
"You mean we had to...It wasn't permanent?" She groaned. He could have gotten out, wouldn't have felt responsible for her anymore... "Did he know?"
"Yes. Logan told him it wasn't permanent unless it was consummated." Rogue grinned. "Of course he coulda waited till he got back, but Logan thought a little urgency was in order."
"How long would it have stayed? If we hadn't...?"
"A couple months to a year." Rogue grinned. "Hungry?"
Kathy just glared at her. Who did these people think they were, manipulating them like this.