The bathroom was filled with steam, and Wade loved it. He loved the heat on his scarred skin, he loved feeling Logan against him—solid and reassuring—and he loved how simple this moment was. Quiet. Peaceful.
They weren’t speaking. Logan was washing him slowly, with his big, rough hands, in silence, like he was taking his time to make sure Wade was okay. And Wade let him. For once, he didn’t feel like talking or cracking jokes. He just wanted to stay there, with the hot water running down his back, with Logan touching him like his body wasn’t a curse.
Then Logan leaned forward. Maybe he just wanted to adjust the flow of water, or redirect it slightly.
His hand bumped the main faucet.
A click.
And suddenly, the water turned ice cold.
Wade gasped and jumped back, breath caught in his throat. His skin burned from the sudden contrast.
And it could’ve stopped there.
But it wasn’t just cold water.
It was a garden hose.
It was an iron cage.
It was night.
Wet concrete.
Cold down to the bone.
It was Francis.
It was screaming.
It was pain until he blacked out.
« Fuck… fuck, no… »
Wade couldn’t see the shower anymore. He couldn’t see Logan. He wasn’t there anymore.
He was choking. The freezing water kept hitting him like a rain of needles, and he collapsed against the tiles, arms over his head, body shaking, muscles tight like wires. His heart was pounding way too fast, way too hard. He couldn’t breathe.
He was back in the cage.
He heard the screams of the other test subjects. The smell of rust. Francis’s voice.
« No, no, no, no, no! Stop. »
« Wade? »
Logan’s voice. Distant. Like it was underwater.
Logan knew something was wrong, but he didn’t grasp the full extent right away.
« Hey, it’s just cold water, damn it. You’re not made of sugar… »
He turned the faucet to warm it up again.
But Wade didn’t move. He was gasping, curled up on the floor, shaking uncontrollably.
« Wade?… »
Logan crouched down. He touched his shoulder.
Wade screamed.
A scream that made blood run cold.
Logan backed off instantly. His eyes widened. He had never heard Wade scream like that.
Not even on missions. Not even when a metal blade had gone clean through his side.
This scream came from somewhere else. From deep inside.
« Hey. Hey, it’s me. It’s Logan. You’re home. Wade, look at me. »
But Wade didn’t respond. He was crying, mouth open, eyes vacant. Tears were streaming down his soaked cheeks.
« Stop… stop, Ajax… I don’t… I don’t want this… please… »
Logan’s throat tightened.
« Shit… »
He shut off the water with a sharp twist. Wrapped a towel around Wade. Then another. And another. He lifted him slowly, as gently as possible, like you’d lift a sick child.
Wade didn’t react. His eyes were somewhere else, shattered.
Logan carried him to their bed.
He laid him down on the sheets, wrapped him in blankets. Sat against the headboard and held him close.
« I’m here. You’re safe. No one’s going to hurt you, baby, I swear. »
Wade was still trembling, even with the warmth. Like the cold had reached his soul.
Like the icy water had opened a crack deep inside him.
« Breathe with me, okay? Just breathe, bub. I need you to breathe. »
Logan pressed his hand flat against Wade’s chest.
« Inhale… exhale. Inhale… »
Wade tried to follow. His breathing was erratic, but slowly, it started to calm. His sobs, though, kept coming.
« I didn’t realize right away… I’m sorry, » Logan whispered, pressing his forehead to Wade’s. « It was an accident. But I should’ve seen it. I should’ve understood. I shouldn’t have brushed it off. »
Wade still couldn’t speak.
He clung to Logan like he’d drown without him. Like he was on the edge, and the only thing keeping him afloat was that warm body holding him close.
They stayed like that for a long time. Until Wade started breathing more steadily.
Until his fingers stopped trembling.
Until, in a barely audible whisper, he said:
« Francis did that to me. »
Logan didn’t say anything. He’d suspected it.
He waited. Holding Wade’s hand.
« He used to lock me in a cage. Tiny. Like an animal. He tied me up. And he… he sprayed me. With a hose. Ice water. For hours. »
He paused. His throat was dry. He didn’t dare look at Logan.
« He said it would help trigger the X-gene. That the more I suffered, the more likely I was to mutate. So he… he tortured me. A different way every day. The water was… it was for breaking me slowly. »
Logan listened in silence. His fists clenched.
Not at Wade.
At the monster who had done this. And if he wasn’t already dead, Logan swore he’d take care of it tonight.
« I remember every time. The sting of the cold. My bones shaking. The burns. The metallic taste in my mouth from biting my tongue not to scream. »
Wade closed his eyes.
« I screamed. I begged. No one came. I was alone. Like an abandoned dog. »
He choked up.
« So when the water turned cold earlier… I… I thought I was back there. I didn’t think. I panicked. I’m sorry. It wasn’t you. It was him. »
Logan gently ran a hand through his still-damp hair.
« You don’t have to be sorry. Ever. »
Wade buried his face against Logan’s chest.
« You didn’t know. You couldn’t know. I’ve never told anyone the details of the torture. Not even Al. »
Logan took a deep breath.
He had always known Wade carried heavy things.
But he’d never imagined this. A pain so deeply ingrained that a single shock of cold water could bring it back like a knife.
« Thank you for telling me, » he said quietly. « You trust me. I don’t take that lightly. »
Wade lifted his head. His eyes were red. Swollen.
« Don’t you want to run, Wolvie? »
« Not for a single second. »
Wade tried a smile. Small. Broken.
« I’m sorry I’m like this. That I break down over something so small. »
« It wasn’t small, Wade. It was a fucking trauma response to torture. That’s not nothing. »
Silence fell again.
But this time, it was a little less heavy.
Logan stayed with him, holding him, keeping him warm. Whispering that it was over. That Francis was gone. That the cage was far away, and he would never be alone again.
And that night, Wade slept in someone’s arms without being afraid of his memories dragging him under.
He still felt cold, sometimes.
But Logan was always there to bring the warmth back.