Logan entered Hank's office without so much as a single knock.
Hank was sitting behind his desk, working on his laptop "Ah, Logan, come in why don't you".
Logan started ranting instantly "Listen doc, she's doing worse by the day and she's been here for two weeks now. This isn't just the pregnancy. You need to do something about it".
Hank McCoy shook his head in agreement "You're right, it is not just the pregnancy causing it".
"Well shouldn't you examine her then?" Logan replied agitatedly.
"I have Logan, many times by now".
"So, fucking give her something then, fix her" Logan said as he anxiously walked back and forward through Hank's office.
Hank closed his laptop and sighed "Logan, there is no easy cure for what Aria is suffering from".
Logan eyed him angrily "Then we should get a professional to talk to her about her trauma. Just do something. She needs to become healthy again".
Hank shook his head and smiled "She's not so much traumatized" he spoke slowly "She's more-".
Hank looked pained as he thought about how to explain this correctly.
"She's what?!" Logan snapped.
Hank eyed Logan seriously "She's heartbroken Logan. There is no trauma with Aria. She misses Victor and she feels torn to be away from him. It's going to take a lot of time for her to heal. And if it is true love, it might never heal".
Logan scoffed loudly "Don't give me that shit doc. She's not fucking heartbroken over someone like Victor".
Hank raised his blue furry brows "And why does this seem like such an unlikely possibility to you?".
"Because Victor is an evil son of a bitch who doesn't give a shit about other people and treats them like they don't matter".
"Perhaps he was very different with her Logan. Something must have been there, and she saw it. Otherwise, she would never be this heartbroken".
"Fuck it" Logan concluded "He's still an asshole".
Hank chuckled "Perhaps. And I agree that mister Creed is not the most likeable man on this planet but he does care about a few people, just not most of them. For example, he cares about you. He came here to help you restore your memory, did he not? And like everyone, his past has greatly defined who he is today. But personally, I believe that someone's future will always be able to change his course. And I feel very strongly that Victor's future is in the other room crying herself to sleep every night".
"Well" Logan grumbled "He's still a fucking asshole and she's better off without him".
"He took her away from that arena Logan. And though his reasons might not be easily justified, he still took her away and gave her a better life than she had there".
Logan got angry again "Why are you defending that piece of shit? He just wanted to breed with her!".
Hank slowly shook his head "He made a mistake, a great error of judgment, of which there was no going back once he got her. His intentions were wrong at first, I fully agree with you. But eventually, very quickly even, he wanted to be with her for completely different reasons. He simply cannot say it out loud. Because he doesn't know how. He's never learned how to show his true feelings. Had he really treated her poorly and abusively, she would not miss him so much".
"You need to go" Logan told Victor once he'd reached the gates to Xaviers' school "You've been stalking her for 2 weeks now, you look like shit and you're not getting in here, so give up".
"I'm waiting for her to come out" Victor grumbled on the other side of the gate.
"She won't" Logan replied "And the mansion has telekinetic protection all around, so there is no way for you to get in either. Let it go Victor. You fucked up and she doesn't want you anymore. Go home".
Victor roared wildly and slammed against the gates "She's mine! And you will not take her from me!".
"We didn't take her you asshole. She called us, because you used her as a fucking baby making machine. You pitiful piece of crap".
Victor grabbed the bars and shook them angrily "Let me in! Let me talk to her, just one minute".
"No" Logan sighed "Go home Victor. Accept it" he said as he turned around to walk away.
"Never" Victor hissed "If you take her from me Jimmy… I will take your red headed girlfriend and tear her apart. You cannot hide in there forever. If you take away the only thing that I give a shit about in this godforsaken world… I will destroy your redheaded bitch. I will make it slow. I will make it hurt and I will enjoy every minute of it!".
Logan looked at his older brother and sighed, he really did look like shit "Go home Victor".
"Hey, what ya doing?"
A female voice caught her attention as she looked to her side and saw a young woman with dark brown hair. Aria thought she looked a little too normal to be mutant. But she smelled mutant nevertheless.
Aria held up her book "Reading up on pregnancies and how to raise a baby. Because I have no clue what to do and yet I will have to apparently".
"You'll be fine, mother instincts and all" the woman sat down in the grass with her "I'm Kitty by the way, Kitty Pryde. And this is Gambit" she gestured to the man behind her.
"That's a strange name" Aria noticed.
"My real name is Remi Lebeau, Gambit's my mutant name. A pleasure to meet you chéri" the man said as he also sat down.
"Your accent" Aria wondered "Where is it from?".
"Oh it's from nowhere, trust me!" Kitty joked "Cajun here just likes to talk like that".
"I am from Louisiana, and proud to be so" Gambit explained.
"He wasn't even raised there" Kitty interrupted "Yet he likes to talk like a Cajun so we call him that occasionally".
"One must never forget its heritage" Remi winked.
Aria laughed softly, a first time in the last two weeks.
"You've been here for a while now" Kitty said "But we've not seen you around much".
"I'm not really the social type".
"You don't say" Kitty joked "So uhm… How are you holding up?".
"I'm okay" Aria tried to convince herself.
Kitty nodded and smiled "You don't seem very okay. You're in your room all day and even now when I see you outside, you look slightly depressed, no offense".
"I just like to be left alone, that's all" Aria hinted carefully.
Kitty smiled "I didn't mean to intrude. You just come across like you could use someone to talk to you know. So I wanted to invite you to come out of your room tonight. We're having a little get together in the common room. Have you been there yet?".
"I've walked past it" Aria replied.
"A few of us are going to have drinks and play some games. There's a pool table and video games if you like those. Why don't you come by tonight?".
Aria smiled politely "I'll see what I can do".
Kitty rolled her eyes "Gambit will have to convince you then. I have to go now, class to teach. See you tonight Aria" Kitty winked as she got up and left.
"I hope I didn't insult her" Aria said to Gambit once Kitty was gone.
"Do not worry about that chéri, Kitty can be a little… pushy. But she means well. Also, she is right. You should come by tonight. It would be good for you. Isolating oneself in a room is never good for a human. We are social animals. We need others around us".
"Is she your girlfriend?" Aria changed the subject subtly.
"No. I am married to someone else, to Rogue. And Kitty's with Piotr actually. You've seen him probably. Big guy, turns into a big hump of steel when angered".
"Ah yes" Aria said as she look at Remi's eyes "Your eyes are very red".
"So are yours" Remi joked "Though for me it's my mutation. I doubt that goes for you too. I've heard you cry a couple of times".
"My apologies, I did not want to keep anyone awake".
Remi laughed "You did not. I don't sleep a lot. Not during the night anyway" Remi hesitated for a moment. Small talk was not his thing, he wanted to know more about her and her troubles, not talk about the weather. "I hope you don't mind, but it's a public secret why you are here. So I wanted to talk to you and get to know you better. I was wondering if you're planning on staying with us or not".
She scoffed out a laugh "I'm pregnant Remi".
"We know" Remi replied "But you and your baby are more than welcome of course, just ask the professor and he will tell you. But would that be something you want?".
"You are very direct" she noticed "I like that. But I do not know what I will do yet".
"How do you feel about this baby?".
"I'm going to raise it".
"What about Victor?" he asked.
Aria sighed "I miss him".
"He's been standing outside that gate for 2 weeks now" Remi said as he gestured towards the outside walls "It's a little creepy. Even for him".
Aria giggled "Victor has a way of being creepy sometimes".
"Was he good to you? When you were with him I mean?".
"Yes" she answered truthfully "He was very good to me".
"But you didn't know about the baby?".
"No".
Remi groaned "That's not right Aria. He should not have done that to you. What makes you miss him?".
Aria stared at the grass "I like being around him. I feel safe and secure and happy. He makes me laugh and never makes me feel like I'm stupid for not knowing something when it's new to me. I like it when he puts his arm around me and hugs me really tight against his chest and then kisses my hair. I miss the smell of his beard in the morning and the feeling of his lips on me. I like to kiss him. I like it when his hands-".
"I think I get the picture" Remi joked.
"I love falling asleep in his lap after a long day" Aria continued "I like it when he comes home and talks about his work. Sometimes he brings me to work and he tells me about his company. He's different then, when he talks about his work. Passionate. I like his grumpy face when I continuously ask questions but he refuses to tell me to shut up. He asks me questions, about me. About my life. He's nice".
Nice?
Remi smiled, not really knowing what to say to this young woman who seemed so pained to be away from someone he thought to be monster.
"But this is not normal is it?" Aria asked him "This is not how it is supposed to be right?".
"What do you mean chéri?".
"A baby. It's big responsibility. Something which two people should think and talk about. I should have had a choice. The baby needs things. It needs love. It should not have gone like this".
"Maybe not" Gambit admitted "But it is here now. So there is only the way forward. Think of a way to deal with it. Because it is not going away. And I don't think you want it to go away either".
Aria placed a hand on her stomach "No, I do not. I think I love this baby already. Is that possible?" she asked Remi as she looked at him "It's not even a real baby yet. How can I love it?".
"That is love chéri. It works in mysterious ways".
"That's cheesy!" Aria laughed.
"But true!".
"Perhaps".
"I wish I could help you Aria. I really do. But I hardly know you and I only know of Victor what I've heard about him. So I can only advice you to follow your heart. Your heart never misleads you. The heart is the well of all that is true. You must never ignore its guidance. And if you miss Victor so much, then perhaps you're in the wrong place here chéri" Remi winked as he got up.
Aria smiled "Thank you".
"You are most welcome. If you ever wanna talk, seek me out. And join us in the common room tonight. It'll be good for you. Make some new friends".
"I will".
AN"Yes, I know, filler filler. But I need Aria to meet some people. She's as anti social as they come man... Not good.
Also, thanks for all the reviews! Even the ones who hate me now lol.
Though I do not speak French because I am Dutch. Google translate is hilarious though!