Chapter Text
Victor didn’t mind driving. In fact, he went out on casual drives fairly often, being able to just zone out to some tunes and a couple good cigarettes.
Being stuck in the passenger seat was a bit of a different story.
Scritch scritch scritch
CREED
Better be some kinda pit-stop soon or I'mma start rippin’ up the paneling, swear to god-
LOGAN
Yer the one who wanted to work together.
The scratching comes to abrupt stop.
CREED
Oh, so he finally speaks up from his monk vow o' silence.
Logan tosses him a quick Fuck Off glare, and turns his gaze back to the road ahead.
LOGAN
What’s the plan after we break her out?
CREED
Killin’ her? Duh?
LOGAN
Christ-
CREED
Ya ain’t makin’ her into an X-Man, runt. An’ she sure as hell ain’t gonna just get a job somewhere ‘n lead a normal life, ya know that.
LOGAN
Yeah? An’ why not?
CREED
Cuz. She ain’t meant for it-
LOGAN
Bullshit, she never got a chance like we did.
CREED
Yup, better if she don’t know what she’s missin’.
Logan drags a hand down his face in frustration.
LOGAN
‘s not like ya gotta be her babysitter, why’s it matter if she tries goin’ at a normal life?
CREED
These guys, they’ll come after her. Forever. She ain’t gonna get a normal life bein’ who ‘n what she is.
LOGAN
Then I’ll-
CREED
No ya won't, goddammit- LOOK. THERE'S SOME PEOPLE YA JUST CANT SAVE, RUNT. SHE AIN'T LIKE US.
......
CREED
It’s fer the best, a’right? Hers and ours.
......
Victor clicked his tongue.
CREED
That got me the silent treatment again, huh?
Logan kept his gaze locked out the front window.
The scratching resumes.
CREED
Just trust me on this, I got it handled.
......
CREED
Stop in Seattle, I got a place there.
It’s just after 4am when the truck finally gets put into ‘park’.
The interior of the trucks right door looks like a wild animal went to town on it. Or a like a big cat used it as a scratching post for the past 3 hours.
After riding the elevator to the 5th floor, they entered Victors condo.
CREED
Beer 'n food in the fridge, wines under that cupboard if ya want. Mi casa es tu casa fer one night 'n one night only, runt.
Victor left to his room, leaving Logan to his own devices in the very spacious living room.
Beer. That’d be good.
4am dinner was a can of beer, a piece of bread, and...another can of beer.
Liquid bread, solid bread. What a meal.
Afterwards, Logan stripped from his jeans down to his boxers, and tried to get comfortable against the leather couch cushions.
He could hear Victor brushing his teeth in the bathroom nearby.
......
Cold.
Victor stopped mid water gargle as his ears picked up sounds of closets opening, closets that definitely shouldn’t be opening.
He spat out the water and went to go investigate.
Victor found Logan on his tippy toes trying to see the top shelf in one of his closets.
CREED
Ahem?
Logan acted like he wasn’t being watched. But the effort was in vain, as a large hand on his shoulder roughly turned him around.
Victor gave him a stern look.
CREED
Lookin’ for somethin’, runt?
Logan’s expression remained empty. He was damn good at this act when he felt like it. Especially when it was being used against Victor.
LOGAN
Blanket.
CREED
Blanket?
LOGAN
Mm.
Victor kept his glare on Logan, stubbornly.
But he didn’t currently have the energy to play this game, and quickly gave it up.
CREED
A’right, over here. Ya want cotton or silk? Comforters might be a bit big for the couch, but there might be somethin’ that could work.
After getting Logan a set of soft cotton sheets and a comforter that practically buried him, Victor went to pick up the empty cans from the coffee table.
CREED
God, ya didn’t use a coaster for either of these didja? That yer way of gettin’ revenge after all these years? Might haveta tone a down a notch after this one, runt.
He chuckled to himself as he put them in the bin.
Unbeknownst to Victor, Logan was smiling too.
CREED
Plan fer tomorrow is we’re gettin’ up around noon, then drivin’ the rest of the way. Bit of a pain, I know, we’d be better off just catchin’ a plane right? But it’s more of a hassle dealin’ with security when ya wanna bring a few bags of arms on board. Border security know me fine, airport security ‘n I got some history. (Authors Note: no im not fucking implying victor did 9/11) Shouldn’t take more than a days drive, knowin’ you you’ll probably sleep most of it anyway.
Logan gave a confused expression to the couch. Clearly Victor hadn’t refreshed himself on Logan’s recent shitty sleeping habits.
CREED
But there’s a motel near the place that we should take a quick rest-stop at before headin’ in. Capeesh?
Victor expected no response, but managed to get a thumbs up from the figure curled up in the blankets.
They had a long drive ahead of them in the morning.
After getting a quick, hearty breakfast from a nearby McDonalds, they set off on their trip.
The next 10 hours consisted of exhausting through Victor’s many homemade CDs, stopping at diner for a meal (Victor covering the bill), and an incredibly lengthy info-dump/rant on The Sopranos that was surprisingly entertaining.
Logan only made a handful of words throughout the whole trip.
They eventually found themselves at a motel, TV on low in the background as they ate gas station sandwiches, both on their own queen sized beds... all also paid for by Victor.
Logan wondered if he was being generous or just trying to assert some kinda dominance over him, to make sure he knew he was just a tool or something.
It wasn’t like Logan had money of his own anyway, all his cards being linked to Charles’s account. But it still felt a bit weird, like he was being assigned the girl in this whole road trip date dynamic.
After mediocre meals had been eaten, Victor switched off the TV.
CREED
‘night runt.
LOGAN
...’night Vic.
Victor woke up in a cold sweat.
Nightmare. A nasty one.
He quickly reached out for the side lamp, scrambling desperately to find the knob, eventually managing to click it on.
As he adjusts back to the present, he slowly starts registering the growling coming from next to him.
Looks like Logan scored one too, and he wakes up with a similar jolt.
They’re both breathing hard.
CREED
...’s about my dad.
LOGAN
What?
CREED
Just woke up from one too.
LOGAN
Shit.... Mine’s the usual. Weapon X. Pointy, bein’ stuck in a tube, not bein’ able to move my limbs right.
Victor nods.
CREED
Yeah, I get those sometimes too.
Victor stares at the wall across from them, a far away look on his face...and suddenly makes a small noise.
CREED
Fuck-
He wipes at his face, sniffling.
Oh. He’s crying.
Victor holds his legs to his chest and hides his face.
CREED
...Quit lookin’ at me, runt.
Logan hadn’t even realized he was staring, quickly turning around and laying back down.
.......
The sounds of Victor trying to conceal his crying twisted something tight in his chest.
He could handle the constant blabbering, but this kind of noise was too much.
Sighing, Logan turns back to face him, propping his head up on his arm.
He speaks in his best calm, quiet, non hostile voice.
LOGAN
You gonna bite me if I come over there?
Victor sniffled.
CREED
What?
LOGAN
Ya gonna scratch me?
CREED
...No.
LOGAN
Ya gonna claw my eyes out?
Victor couldn’t help the toothy smile that crossed his face from the teasing, rubbing the snot from his nose with the back of his hand.
CREED
Nah.
Logan faintly smiled as well.
LOGAN
Alright, scoot over.
Logan joined him on the other bed, Victor making room for him.
LOGAN
So, how we doin’ this?
CREED
"This"? You sayin’ ya wanna cuddle or somethin’?
Logan shrugged.
He wasn’t used to intimacy after a nightmare, telling himself he was purely doing this for Victors sake. But he didn’t wanna tell him that, lest it hurt Victors ego.
LOGAN
Could be a mutual thing.
Victor held back a snarky remark.
CREED
Hit ya hard too, huh?
LOGAN
Mm...sorta. (Authors Note: yes.)
Logan laid down and patted his chest.
Victor chuckled at the gesture.
CREED
Sure I ain't gonna crush ya?
LOGAN
Mm mm, adamantium rib cage.
CREED
Right, right...
Victor flopped down onto him purposely hard, enticing a grunt from the smaller man.
CREED
Don’t let this steer my rep off, ‘m still in charge of this whole thing. I got it handled...
Logan held back a remark. And put his hand in Victor’s hair, lightly massaging his scalp, the larger man relaxing under his touch.
LOGAN
Great, I ain’t complainin’.
Logan awoke with Victor’s purrs in his ears... and sharp claws in his back.
General rule for having a cat sleep on you is you cant move till they’re done. And Logan'd be damned if he wasn’t a man who honored that rule.
He didn’t really know if he wanted to see what this specific cat’s reaction would be if he did move, anyway.
Aside from the claws, it was actually kinda nice. Something about his scent. It was different from the various women he often woke up with, but still oddly comforting.
He glanced over to the digital clock on the table next to him.
Shit, only managed another half hour of sleep.
His mind wandered over to Native, the confusion and mystery regarding the last moments he saw her.
Then his mind found its way over to Victor, with the help of the smell of his coconut conditioner currently filling his senses.
Despite their supposed decades long feud with eachother, Victor was being weirdly friendly. He knew Victor was aware of just how suspicious hes been acting, as hes brought up a couple times now...could just be a manipulation tactic, right? It’s highly likely the guy’s just playing him as usual.
Regardless, Victor obviously wasn’t as paranoid about Logan as Logan was about Victor, and he couldn’t decide whether to feel flattered or insulted. Logan could also be just as equal a sneaky fucker when he wanted to, and he felt that possibility was getting kinda thrown under the bus by him.
Logan would show him back somehow. Couldn’t have Victor thinking he really had him entirely wrapped around his finger.
The sounds of Victors yelling and growling immediately echoed across the field.
Due to the truck currently crushing his spine.
Logan’s mind raced with curses.
Fuckfuckfuckfuck-
It’d been an in the moment quick decision, blame it on the shitty rest or the 14 hour drive catching up to him, but it was still a dumb as all fuck move.
Puncturing his claws through the top of Victors skull was also an in the moment decision. At least it shut him up.
Still, he had no doubt the pained yells had already alerted at least a couple guards.
Making a quick glance back at the motionless body under the truck, Logan felt a bit of regret in his gut.
....wouldn’t be the first time he’s survived this.
The rising sun illuminated Victor’s body in an orange glow as they fought.
CREED
We both know what she needs, runt!
This whole speech, he could tell Victor was trying to win him over, but why?
Was he jealous? Of her?
Did he remember?
What was ‘home’? Why did Native show him that?
What did Native remember of Victor?
CREED
You’re just too weak to do it.
Fear. He can sense fear radiating off of him.
He can tell he's desperately trying to hide it.
It’s not like Native was a threat to him, so why?
He ain’t working with the Weapon X program again, is he?
No, he was being pretty truthful about wanting to take down whatever took Native...
So many questions flashed through Logan’s mind.
CREED
But I’m not.
Then it went quiet.
By the time he regained consciousness, it was too late for answers.