milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Another day, another city. He's not sure how long he'll be in this one - weeks, maybe a month or two, if he's lucky. He hasn't been lucky for a half-year or so now, but there's nothing to do about that except stay ready, and move when he needs to.

He'd picked the apartment because it was high up in the building. He prefers it that way; it lets him watch from various angles and lines of sight when he needs to, and gives him quick access to the roof and escape.

Not that he can see much from inside at the moment, of course, having just finished taping newspaper -- multiple thicknesses -- over the windows. It helps; the lines of text and distortion of blurry newsprint photos disguise any shadows that he might cast from within.

James takes a moment to look around. It's got everything he needs; sleeping bag unrolled on the cheap mattress in the corner, the windows (now covered), washroom no bigger than a closet, kitchenette barely bigger than that, even complete with the unimaginable luxury of a full-size fridge...

... ah. Food. Right.

He's not hungry, but food's the fuel that's necessary to keep going. It's too late to go to the market now, though. Instead, he goes to the apartment door, and opens it into Milliways.

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He shrugs his right shoulder, a little.

"Never mind, then."

X is silent for another long moment.

Then --

"Okay."

Beat.

"We have a wolverine, too. Jonathan the Unstoppable. Squirrel Girl brought him."

X does not fidget at all.

"People call me that now. Wolverine. Because he is gone."

The confusion at the mention of Squirrel Girl and what appears to be an actual wolverine is overriden entirely by her last observation. That suddenly, she has his complete attention.

"Gone?"

X's gaze flickers away from James and then back again.

"Dead."

Beat.

"There is an older Logan that is alive. But he is not from our world. It is -- "

How to put this?

"Awkward."

Yes.

It would be, wouldn't.

"I'm -- I'm sorry, Joe."

X looks away again, a quick, flickering gesture.

Then --

"He was my brother. Logan."

Very carefully she shifts position so that the warmth of her shoulder is close to James' own.

If he will let her.

"I miss him."

It's been a long time, but it's not the first time he's comforted someone after a loss.

(It's been a very long time.)

Slowly, carefully, he brings his right hand up to set on her other shoulder. It's not quite putting his arm around her, but close.

"I know."

X leans into the pressure, fractionally.

And after a few moments of silence --

"I will be okay."

In case James is worried.

"I know," he says again, but doesn't move.

(They'd been okay, too. Eventually.

But some things leave scars.)

X breathes quietly, in and out.

In and out.

Then --

"Do you want to visit? To meet Jonathan. And my cats."

A fractional pause, considering the pros and cons and James' comfort levels.

"Gabby is with the Academy students. There is a sleepover."

"Visit?"

For a moment, he looks as startled as he sounds.

"Yes."

Her response is prompt.

"My Security badge will let us come back. When you want."

He thinks about trying to explain that he's more startled by the offer to let him in her home than anything else, and abandons the thought just as quickly as it'd come.

"Okay." A beat. "If you're sure."

About the visit, not the badge. Of course.

"Do not worry," X offers, leaning her shoulder against his very briefly.

"I am good at keeping people safe."

Like you, James. For one.

It is a promise.

This time, the look she gets is speaking.

"That's not a concern."

X just looks back at him.

"You can keep me safe, too."

Beat.

"If it is necessary."

Suck it up, James. This is what friends do.

"Fair's fair," he agrees.

Is that a hint of amusement?

Her mouth definitely does not quirk into a smile at one corner.

Nope.

It is very much a trick of the light.

"It is only sensible."

He pats her on the shoulder and then lowers his arm and shifts slightly, so that the door is more in view.

"Mm-hm."

X shifts in return, slipping past him and moving to open the door.

Then, turning back for a moment --

"People do not appreciate my sense. I know."

What?

"Their problem," he says, and falls in behind her.

As X opens the door, it reveals one of the fringe benefits of cohabiting with an actual experimentally-enhanced wolverine.

Jonathan is corralling Steve McQueen and Farrah away from the door so that neither of them can escape.

"Thank you," X says, very seriously, reaching down to scratch everyone between the ears.

"This is James."

Jonathan turns to regard him, as do the cats.

"Uh."

He's not used to being watched so closely by ... non-people. Non-humans, at any rate.

"Hi."

Steve McQueen coolly turns his back, flicks his tail, and leaps into the cat tree.

Farrah moves to circle X's ankles and then James', and Jonathan --

Jonathan sighs and trundles off to lie down under the cat tree. For observational purposes.

"You can meet my cactus, too," X offers, after a moment of silence.

"And my fish. One of them is named Cap."

Edited 2017-02-02 03:01 (UTC)

That startles him.

"As in Steve?"

Carefully, he crouches down, eyeing Farrah.