winds of change ~ wolverine

nineteen

Peeling my eyes open, I saw the room was still pitch black, middle of the night. My throat felt like the Sahara and the strange shapes my vision conjured against the dark ceiling were wobbling nauseously.

With great effort, I sat up, pulling the covers off myself and climbing off the bed gently so as not to wake Logan, walking with a hand out to either side so I wouldn't bump into anything. Creeping through the hallway which was dimly lit by the streetlamps out on the street, I poured myself a generous glass of water and downed it right at the kitchen island in the dark. Taking a moment to steady myself and let my head clear, I put my cup in the sink and headed back to the room.

In there, I couldn't even see my hand when I held it up to my face. I walked ahead, intending to get to the far corner and climb onto the bed the way I'd come, when my foot tripped over something beside the bed and a sharp gasp followed right after.

I jumped in utter fright at the sudden voice and instinctively lit a small flame from my finger with my power, my heart going a mile a minute.

Sitting up in the dark on the floor beside my bed with only a pillow beneath him, was Logan. His eyes squinted at the bright flame and after blinking a few times to adjust to the light myself, I saw that his adamantium claws were out. "Logan?" I whispered in confusion.

He seemed a little less disoriented after hearing my voice, sighing heavily as though in relief. "Bailey... what are you doing up?" His voice rumbled deeply, heavy with sleep.

I held my hands out to the sides. "I was thirsty, what are you doing on the floor?"

He didn't answer, the only sound being the smooth slide of his claws as they disappeared back into his knuckles. I stepped closer slowly. "Logan... is everything okay?"

Logan ran a hand through his hair, looking more adrift than I'd ever really seen him. I realized then he may have just woken from a nightmare. I regarded him, taking a few moments to understand. "Have you been sleeping down there every night?" I asked quietly.

He nodded after a second and I rubbed a tired hand over my brow. "Well I'm not having that. Either you get back on the bed or I'm coming down to the floor."

Logan sighed, shaking his head and speaking in a deep whisper against the silence of the apartment. "Bailey, don't be stubborn about this, when I have my nightmares I could seriously hurt yo-"

I rolled my eyes, whispering quickly back. "No, you're the one being stubborn. You're there when I wake up every morning, have you seriously just been climbing into bed as soon as you hear the alarm?" I felt myself getting a bit worked up and the small fire at the tip of my finger started growing a bit so I stopped and took a breath until it dimmed down again, not bothering to wait for his answer because I had a feeling it wouldn't come.

Grabbing my pillow off the bed, I threw it down beside him, extinguishing the flame and speaking quietly into the dark as I fluffed it down against the hard floor. "I have never once been afraid of you hurting me, Logan. You could never hurt me. The same way I could never hurt you. Even if I was crazed out of my fucking mind and didn't know which way was up, I could never hurt you, indestructible fucking skeleton aside." 

When I was done angrily fluffing my pillow, I turned back to him, lighting up the small flame again so I could see his face and once I could, I was taken aback by the look on it. More vulnerable than I thought I'd ever see him before, unsure. 

My irritation melted right out of me. What could I say to him when he was looking at me like that? I hesitantly raised a hand to cup his cheek, his eyes watching its approach but doing nothing to stop it. Brushing a thumb over his sun kissed skin. I spoke more gently this time. "I trust you Logan. I trust you with my life and everything else. Share a little faith with me."

He held the hand to his face in his own, eyes never leaving mine. I watched the doubt flashing in his eyes, a rich brown in the firelight. I found that I hated that look. I hated seeing him so lost when I'd only ever known him to be surefooted. It felt like something was missing from the Logan I'd grown to love, like someone had taken it from him.

Not realizing it, I focused again and saw that we were so much closer than we'd been a second ago. Had I leaned in or had he? The hand holding mine against his face tightened almost imperceptibly. His eyes shined so mesmerizingly bright now-

Without warning, Logan jerked up with a pained hiss and I jumped back, realizing I'd lost focus of the fire in my hand and it had burned his thigh, a small flame catching on his pants and singeing through to his skin. I quickly extinguished the flame in my hand and hurriedly swiped the small amount of moisture in the air around me, coughing and blinking furiously as I accidentally siphoned the water from my tongue and eyes. 

Barely able to see past the faint light of his burning leg, I slammed my hand which cupped the water onto his leg, the flame sizzling out immediately.

After a second of silence, I started laughing quietly. "I am so sorry." I got out eventually, covering my laugh with a hand.

A moment later, I heard him join me in the dark, adding a deep chuckle to my quiet laughter. I siphoned the water from off his leg and dispersed it back into the air, rubbing my eyes at their sudden dryness. "Are you okay?" I asked, reining back in my amusement.

His voice answered out of the darkness in front of me. "I'm fine, Bailey." A hint of mirth remained in his tone and I smiled at the sound of it.

"So are you going to join me back on the bed or are you going to make me sleep on the floor tonight?"

He was quiet for a second, then a sigh came out of him. I heard the crinkle of fabric as he grabbed his pillow and threw it back on the bed behind him. "Too stubborn for your own damn good." He grumbled quietly, grabbing my pillow as well and throwing it up to join his on the mattress.

I beamed to myself at my success, whispering as I stood up to climb back on the bed. "And don't you go crawling back on the floor once I'm asleep, understood?"

Another sigh, through what I thought sounded like a smile. "Yes ma'am."