Love That Burns

three

James kept his promise to you, no matter how hard it was. While the two of you tried to figure out what you'd do now, James made sure you always had a bed to sleep on, clean clothes to wear, and food to eat. You had never been cared for like this. Yes, at one point you had parents, but they didn't necessarily care a whole lot about you. Not the way James did.

The two of you wandered from place to place until James decided to build a house in the Canadian Rockies. James got a job as a logger and began going by Logan, while you got a job as a teacher. James hardly slept as he worked on the house. The house was completed faster than you had ever seen. The two of you were only able to afford one small truck, but neither of you minded. Often, James would drive the two of you to his work and then you would take the truck to yours. You would pick him up at the end of the day and he would drive the two of you home.

Like driving to and from work, the two of you found yourselves in comfortable routines. The two of you would make dinner together and help each other clean up around the house. You would take turns doing laundry for one other, even putting the clothes away. It got to the point where you spent a lot of time in content silence, already knowing what to do for the other person.

The feelings the two of you harbored for one another continued to grow in the two years the two of you had been off of Stryker's team. Neither of you was willing to confess to the other, afraid to ruin the peace that the two of you had finally found. That also meant that James slept on the pull-out couch while you slept on the bed in the bedroom. At first, you had put up a fight, saying that the bed was big enough to share, but he wouldn't allow it due to his nightmares. You understood as you had witnessed his claws coming out during a nightmare just as he had witnessed you setting a bed on fire.

James had been watching you carefully ever since you picked him up from work. Something was off, he just couldn't tell what. You were quieter than usual, almost like you were stuck in your own head. He sat there, staring at you with a cigar in his mouth, as you did the dishes. It was normal for you to light his cigars without even being asked, but you hadn't even noticed he had one out.

"Sweetheart," James called, standing up and heading for you. "Did something happen today at work?"

"Hmm?" You hummed barely glancing his way. "Oh, nothing. I'm just tired."

"Are you sure?" He leaned his hip against the counter beside you, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can tell me if something did happen."

"I'm fine, James," you shook your head.

James grabbed your wrist and tugged you to face him. "Stop lying."

"I'm not," you tore your wrist away, still not making eye contact. "I'm going to bed... Goodnight, James."

James sighed as you disappeared into the bedroom. He wished that you would be honest with him about whatever was torturing you. Unable to sleep, James read or at least, he tried to. It was well past midnight when he smelt it. Something burning. He jumped up and rushed into the bedroom to find the bed on fire with you still asleep and whimpering in the middle of it.

"Y/N!" He shouted as he tried to reach you, but the flames grew higher to protect you. "Y/N!"

James tried again to reach for you, only for the same thing to happen. Quickly, James tore off his tops. Knowing he would heal, James reached through the fire. He let out a few cries of pain as the fire scorched his skin. As soon as his hands grasped your arm, you gasped as the flames disappeared.

"James?" You were panting as you realized he had a hold of your arm. Looking at him, you saw the burns on his skin healing. "Oh my gosh! What did I do?!"