"I forgot you were an actual doctor" Victor said spitefully "With all that prime minister stuff you do these days".
They were sitting in the big living room of Victor's house. Victor and Aria on one couch, Logan and Hank in two chairs opposite from them.
"Yes well, being the minister of Mutant affairs does keep me quite busy" Hank admitted "It also gives me the position of sweeping this little incident under the rug, if today goes well".
"What's that supposed to mean?" Victor asked instantly angered.
"I wish to talk with both Aria and you mister Creed. And if I am convinced that she is here out of her own free will, we see no need to contact the authorities".
It fucked him off to no extent. Who the fuck were these people meddling in their affairs? The blue fur ball who called himself a doctor was bearable, but Jimmy was being a fucking asshole about all of this.
"Well then let's get this over with" Victor hurried him on.
"No offense mister Creed, but I would really like to speak with Aria alone".
Her head snapped up to Victor, frightful eyes catching his in her gaze "No" she blurted out as she looked from Victor to Hank and back again "I don't want Victor to go. I want him to stay. Don't go?" she asked up at Victor.
He smirked at both Hank and Logan as he possessively put one arm around her waist "The lady wants me to stay, who am I to say no?".
Logan kept his mouth shut for now. He had an agreement with Hank and the professor, he would stay out of this. He was only there for when shit hit the fan and he had to get them out of there.
"Victor can stay for now" Hank said as he crossed his legs "Aria, I have a few questions for you and if there is ever a question that you don't feel comfortable answering, just let me know alright?
She nodded in agreement.
"Why don't you begin to tell me something about what you did before you met Victor".
Aria picked up her tea glass, took a big gulp and put it back down "Okay" she exhaled "I will do that. So, uhm, before I met Victor I used to fight in the arena where people would bet money on mutant fights".
"And were you there willingly?".
She frowned at Hank, what did he think? "No I was not there willingly. I was abducted when I was young, ten or something".
"Can you tell me something more about your life in this arena?".
Aria sighed "There is not a lot to tell. I was drugged a lot of times except for when I had to fight. I just sat there the entire day. Eating, training or sleeping until there was a fight".
"Do you remember anything about your life before the arena people took you? Did you have any family for example?".
"I used to live with my dad. But he died".
"Would you like to tell me something about him? How do you remember him?".
She looked at Victor for a moment, he squeezed her waist carefully. Aria looked back at Hank "I don't want to talk about that".
"Alright. That's fine" Hank nodded "So can you tell me something about your life right now? What is it that you have been doing the last 2 months?".
Aria shrugged and thought about it for a while "Well, I've had a lot to learn when I left the arena because I've not been to school or outside for about 10 years. So that's what I've been doing" she explained.
"Can you be a little bit more specific? For example, what have you been learning and doing so far?".
"I started out with learning to read and write again. Then Victor and I chose a name for me because I didn't have one yet. When Victor goes to work I study a lot, languages, biology, history and I also draw a little. Cora taught me to take care of myself when it comes to shopping and cooking and stuff like that. Cora is the housekeeper" Aria explained to Hank "And if Victor comes back from work we have sex, then we eat and I continue studying again".
Hank coughed a little because of the sex comment. Victor chuckled "You don't need to tell em' that. They know we fuck" he whispered into her ear as he looked at Logan viciously with the kind of look that said 'yeah I fuck her all the time, ya got a problem?'.
"But, he asked for specifics-" she stammered a little, suddenly understanding that she had said something which made others feel uncomfortable around her.
"It's fine" Hank said "You can tell us whatever you want to, no need to worry. So if I understand everything correctly, you are studying to understand this new world that you live in right now?".
She nodded.
"How do you see your future Aria? What are your plans or dreams?".
She didn't have to think about that very long "I don't want to fight anymore" was the first thing that came to mind "And I'd like to be useful. Which I am now because Victor gave me a job".
Hank smiled "What kind of job?".
"For his company which builds boats and ships stuff across the world. I'm his personal assistant".
"She's a fast learner and speaks 3 languages already" Victor explained to Hank "And she's still learning new ones. I need someone like that, especially in meetings with clients".
Hank nodded again "Well that does sound good".
Logan rolled his eyes, Aria didn't see it but Victor did, he just smirked at his little brother. He wouldn't give a fuck about what Jimmy thought off all this. He had a mate now and the runt was just jealous. And it was his own fault for wasting his time with the psycho-kinetic bitch.
"Aria, do you and Victor ever argue about anything?".
Aria frowned "I don't understand the question".
"Do you two ever fight?".
"Only when we train. I don't know much about my own race, feral mutants I mean. Victor knows a lot and he teaches me. Also fighting techniques".
"But you never fight because you're angry at each other?".
"Uh, no not really" she said as she tried to think of an incident where they had fought each other.
"So he has never actually hurt you besides maybe accidentally during a training?".
Aria tensed up significantly and Victor noticed immediately. His hand reached for her head as he slowly stroked her long hair "It's fine" he grumbled "You can tell them".
She turned her face and looked at him "But I don't want to. It's none of their business Victor".
He smiled grimly at her and then looked up at Hank "I hurt her badly once, didn't notice I'd done it. It was the first night I'd brought her here. I couldn't control myself around her".
Hank nodded in silent agreement again as he made a few notes. He would ask more about this when he was alone with Victor.
"We're almost done here Aria, just a few more questions if you don't mind".
"It's fine" she whispered as she curled up a bit more against Victor. She didn't want to tell Hank about the first night, she wanted them to see all the good Victor had done for her.
"I understand that you are not a prisoner here and that you can go wherever you wish to go, is that correct?".
"Yes" Aria acknowledged the statement.
"Can you explain to me why you choose to stay with Victor? Do you feel you have something to be afraid of if you leave or do you really like it here and if so, then why?".
She looked at Hank more directly now. She liked the doctor, he seemed nice and his questions were not filled with judgment, they were genuine as was he. And she didn't have to think long about this questions. It was easy.
"I am not afraid of Victor" she answered decisively "I feel good around him. He's the only person that I know who doesn't treat me as if I am stupid. He's the first person to treat me as an equal and I have never felt more safe around anyone".
Her words hit them hard. All of them. Even Victor.
Hank smiled "That's it then" he said after a little while or looking into her eyes to see if there was any doubt.
There wasn't.
"That enough interrogation for tonight doc?" Victor asked viciously.
"If you have no objections mister Creed, I would also like to speak with you for a few minutes, alone. Aria would you mind going outside for a while with Logan?".
"She's not going anywhere with him" Victor objected violently.
"Fuck sake Victor" Logan sighed "Get off your high horse, I'm not gonna fucking touch her you asshole".
Victor growled quietly now as he stared at his little brother. Jimmy better not fucking touch her or he would rip his throat out. Suddenly she felt Aria's soft hand on his big arm as she whispered to him "I'll be fine. We'll be on the terrace, and if he tries anything I'll give him something called an ass-whooping".
Victor breathed heavily as he looked into her bright eyes "Okay" he finally said, realizing that working with these assholes would be for his own benefit "But don't wander off, just the terrace".
"Just the terrace" she smiled up at him, that same dumb smile which always made him wonder why she would look at him like that, no one else looked at him like that, so what the fuck was it?
Victor reached around her and pressed her against his chest as he smelled her and stared viciously into Logan's eyes. Showing him who this little feline belonged to. Showing him he'd better not touch her.
Victor eyed them all the way as Logan opened the door for Aria and they exited the room.
He sat back down and stared at Hank "Can we wrap this up in ten minutes?".
"You don't trust your own brother with your wife mister Creed?".
Victor narrowed his eyes, so the blue fur ball knew about the marital papers "No, I don't" Victor simply answered.
"Ten minutes should be doable" Hank replied "I need to know a few things mister Creed, starting with the following. Did she marry you or did you forge the marital papers?".
"I forged the marital papers".
"So the young lady doesn't know?".
"No" Victor growled.
Hank made a few notes "She seems happy here" he noticed "I have no doubt that her life has greatly improved and I definitely am happy to hear that she is catching up on general life and learning all kinds of skills. But you have to tell me mister Creed, why did you do it? What do you want from her?".
Creed sighed and stared angrily at the coffee table. This was none of their fucking business.
"If you're here as a doctor, does it mean we have some kind of patient-doctor-confidentiality shit going on?".
Hank nodded "If you wish to explain a few things to me off the record, I would highly recommend you do so".
Victor took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders "Well, off the record then: I am fucking bored of being alone doc. And apart from all the fucking we do, she's good fun to be around".
Hank nodded understandingly "You seemed rather angry the other day when we threatened to take her from you. Why would you say that is mister Creed?".
He stared blankly at Hank now "Because she's mine".
"Would you say you care for Aria?".
Victor frowned "The fuck you talking about? I take care of her don't I?".
Hank smiled "That is not what I mean but yes, you do seem to take very good care of her. But do you care for her? Would you say you have some kind of romantic feelings towards her?".
"Are you asking me if I love her? Cuz I don't know how to fucking answer that doc".
"Try to answer it mister Creed. It's an important questions" Hank pressed on.
Victor felt pushed into a corner and his blood was boiling as he bared his teeth at Hank "Let me try to answer your question by telling you this" Victor hissed through his gritted teeth "She belongs with me. And if any of you try to take her from me" he was leaning forward and speaking dangerously slow now "I will gut you… I will burn down your school with everyone in it… I will slaughter your friends like cattle. Everyone I can get my hands on will die in the worst possible way… My claws will pierce through their skulls as their screams murder the silence in your hallways…" he halted for a few seconds as he stared at Hank violently "If you take her from me, you will have a mass murder on your head. I'll even come to New York to do this shit. And I fucking hate New York. Does that answer your questions doctor McCoy?".
Hank ignored the aggressive threats. He knew Victor and his violent nature all too well. And as a matter of fact, it did answer his questions "Yes it does mister Creed, thank you" he answered finally.
Hank took a few more notes as he grinned down at his notepad "Do you think she loves you?" he suddenly asked.
Victor blinked but quickly returned to his natural angry stare "How the fuck am I supposed to know? I neglected to ask. Are we done here?".
The question had confused him, but something deep inside him told him that he might like the idea of Aria saying those words to him.
"Almost" Hank replied as he wrote some other things down "I have one more question. About the first night that you brought her with you".
"What you wanna know?" Victor asked quite defensively, knowing all too well what Hank wanted to know.
"You told me that you lost control around her and that you hurt her that night. What does that mean?".
"What do you think it meant?" Victor snapped.
"Would you say you raped her?".
"Yes" Victor's answer came instantly and almost without shame.
Hank scribbled something down again "How did she react to that?".
"What the-" Victor murmured, how the fuck did he think she'd reacted?
"Usually women will respond to this by trying to flee. Was she scared of you or crying?".
"No" Victor interrupted "She wasn't scared or trying to get away. She didn't cry. She was fucking pissed off. She wanted to kill me that night".
"How do you know?" Hank asked as he cocked his head to the side.
"I smelled it. I've never smelled anyone that fucking angry".
Hank inhaled sharply and thought about everything they had told him so far "You see mister Creed, I'm trying to figure a few things out. Aria seems happy now. With her new life but also with you. So I'm trying to understand how it came to that since you've had such a rough start. Could you maybe explain how it came from that, to this?".
Victor growled in frustration, still remembering that Aria was outside with that runt of a brother of his "Listen doc, I don't fucking know alright? I can't give you some bullshit story about how I courted her or how she fucking fell for my suave looks and charm. I hurt her that night, badly. And it didn't give me the satisfaction I thought it would. So I changed my plan and tried not to hurt her too much from that point on. I liked it better that way and she started to like it too, I could smell it. And we spent a lot of time together so at some point we started talking and all that shit. Is that good enough for you? Because I don't know what else to tell you. You heard her, she likes it here. I don't fucking know why. She just does".
Hank put down his pen, looked at Victor and gave him a friendly smile "It seems she does mister Creed. It seems she really does. It also seems that the main reason she likes it here, is you. Which makes me feel a whole lot better when I leave her here today with you".
"Good" Victor replied "So that's it then? You and your people will leave us be? She's good to go?".
Hank got up from his chair and so did Victor "I see no reason to take this any further. But you have to promise me one thing mister Creed".
Victor sighed "And what's that?".
"Tell her about the marital papers".
"It's a shame you and Victor don't get along very well" Aria noticed carefully once they were outside "Is he the only family you got or are there others?".
Logan lit a cigar and inhaled slowly "Just him".
"Maybe you two could work things out".
"We tried, a while back. But now he's gone and done this" Logan growled "So now it's shit again".
Aria gave him a puzzled look and slowly crossed her arms "Mister Logan-".
"Just Logan" he interrupted her.
"Logan, you seem like a good man".
He scoffed "Looks can be deceiving darlin'".
She smiled "Well, to me you seem like a good man. But I need you to understand something about Victor and me. What you feel was a wicked thing to do of Victor, was life changing for me. The day Victor picked me up, there were only two choices: stay there, or go somewhere else, in this case with him. Which one do you think I preferred?".
Logan looked at her strangely and gave it some thought "You're a smart girl Aria. But you don't completely understand how the world works yet. And no one is blaming you for that".
Aria sighed, people always just assumed she was stupid and she was growing quite tired of it "I do understand Logan. I understand perfectly fine".
"No you don't. You think you do, but you don't. Victor bought a human being. You are a human and he bought you to use as some kind of-" he couldn't even finish that sentence, afraid to hurt the poor girl's feelings "Just because your life is better now, doesn't justify his actions. This life with Victor is just the better of two evils".
"Like I said" Aria repeated herself "I do understand. I understand that you cannot buy a person legally. That it's wrong and a crime. But it's not like that anymore. Victor told me I need to be free and away from him. But I don't want to go. I've never felt more free in my life. And he makes me feel safe".
Logan scoffed aggressively "No one is safe near Victor".
Aria bit her lips and stared at Logan "Maybe your past has troubled your judgment".
"No, I just know him all too well. What do you think will happen when he grows tired of you hm?".
"I don't know" Aria simply answered "I don't know what's in my future. But why do you care so much? I do not understand why this has anything to do with you".
Logan shrugged, not really sure why either "I dunno. Maybe it's my animal instinct, like Victor's. You're feral and I feel Victor is using you, and it fucks me off".
Aria sighed and looked to the ground "It saddens me sometimes how everyone treats me as an infant. Everyone except for Victor. And he cares about you, you know".
Logan shook his head "Victor cares about no one but himself".
"I think you're wrong" Aria said quite decisively "He cares about you and the fact that you're brothers".
"What makes you say that?" Logan asked as he put out his cigar.
"Just a feeling. He's different when he talks about you. He tenses up but there's something else. He seems to be in pain when he talks about you. He cares. A lot".
Logan looked at Aria as she stared back at him "Do you think he cares about you?" he finally asked her.
Aria blushed a little "I don't know. I hope so".
Logan slowly nodded "Has he told you the real reason why he got ya yet?".
"Not yet. But he promised me that he would, so I trust that he will and I will wait until then".
Logan scoffed out a sarcastic laugh as he shook his head "Rule number one in dealing with Victor: never trust him".
"That's a dumb rule and I will ignore it" Aria simply replied.
"Aria" Logan sighed "Ferals are a dying breed and Victor fucking loves being feral, he is convinced that ferals are the absolute top of the food chain when it comes to mutants. Superior in everything".
"So?" Aria shrugged "We all have our believes which don't always make sense".
"He got you because he was bored and he doesn't want ferals to die out. He only got you because he needs you to make fuck loads of baby ferals with. He also forged a marriage license. You're nothing but a feral factory to him darlin'. So don't ever kid yourself in thinking that he gives a fuck. He wants your babies, not you".
She blinked.
She blinked again as she straightened her face. It might be true, it might not be. She would ask Victor.
"I knew that" she whispered "I already knew that".
Logan shook his head, she didn't know that, but she didn't want to show him. The doors to the mansion opened and out came Hank McCoy and Victor. Hank was smiling and Victor was grinning slightly.
Logan looked up and quickly handed her his card "Listen, I'm sorry you had to find out like this. If you need us, for anything, just call. We'll come get you. For anything. We're here for ya kid".
The rest happened with Aria hardly noticing it did. Hank and Logan left. Everyone shook hands and some words were spoken but she hardly heard them.
Victor had noticed instantly how tense she was as soon as he and Hank stepped out.
"What happened?" he asked briskly as he reached for her arm "Did the runt do something to you?".
Aria shook her head "He did nothing. He just told me something".
"Did he upset you?" Victor pushed on as he got more angry by the minute. If the runt had done something to upset her…
"He told me the real reason you got me" she simply said as she stared at him blankly "Is it true?".
"Let's not go back yet" Logan said as he and Hank entered the car.
"But why not? Are you feeling nostalgic now we are in Canada again?" Hank asked him curiously with a slight attempt at humor.
"I got a feeling she might not wanna stay after today".
Hank stared at Logan and sighed "What did you do Logan?".
Logan just shrugged "Someone had to tell her".
Hank closed his eyes and sighed "Logan, we agreed on this. And Victor was going to tell her. You shouldn't have forced this out of spite for him".
Logan just growled "He's had his chance. She was gonna find out one way or another".
"Well" Hank sighed "Another would've been better Logan".
AN: Sorry for taking so long. I have to admit, it happened again! I am in the middle of THIS story, but I got inspiration and ideas for another story. It's not X-men. It's Vikings. I love that show. And I am anxious to see what happens between Rollo & Gisla so I started writing fanfiction about them and it totally distracted me.
Will start posting that after I've finished Utterly Pure! Thank you for your patience!