Finding You

Logan started to explain, “remember that dream I was tellin ya about?”

Charles thought for a moment, “the reoccurring one with Sabertooth?”

“Yea” Logan rubbed his hands together, “well I guess there was a women there too, and she’s the same lady I bumped into yesterday at the mall with Laura. I don’t know if it’s really her or if I’m putting people in my dreams or something, but when I saw her yesterday it was like she was surprised so, I think it is her.”

Charles nodded and listened, “Okay, why don’t we go in your memories and try to see if anything links up with the face you saw yesterday.”

Logan nodded and laid down on the couch as Charles put his hand over his head. With a deep breath, him and Charles were at the mall. Looking into the memory they were standing in the crowd with faceless people around him. Charles stood next to Logan and Logan was in the same exact spot as he was in yesterday and he looked beside him and smiled at the memory of Laura holding his hand, soon he turned his attention to the women he bumped. Charles slowed down the memory and she did indeed looked shocked to see him, but just like yesterday they both watched her slip into the crowd. However, now that Logan was looking at her and was able to slow it down he saw that she had a gun strapped to her hip, just peaking out from her leather jacket. The jacket was embroidered with Bull horns attached to a cow skull and it was chewing a snake, “well that’s peculiar…” Charles added as they both looked at the jacket.

“…yea it is.”

Charles looked at Logan who was trying to remember more so Charles replayed the memory again, and stopped it right as the women looked into Logan’s eyes.

Logan was able to step back from her to get a good look of her outfit. She had black cowboy boots on, and black jeans, she had a badge strapped next to her gun, but it didn’t read FBI or cop it was “M.P.A….what is that?”

“We’ll have to look into it later, but it is a good clue, do you see anything else?”

Logan was looking her up and down and noticed a necklace with a diamond ring on it, he gently touched the rings, “I think I’ve seen this before.”

“The ring?’

“…they seem familiar…” Logan was holding onto it which had a wide diamond on it.

“….can you think of a memory associating with it?”

Logan took in everything that was around him, and the scent he remembered her by it was like a honey and some spice. He followed that to a memory and Charles helped recreate it so he could see it.

‘Face to Face Logan stood before a door it was a small cabin run down in the middle of the woods. Charles and him entered. Logan saw his past self dressed in leather head to toe with the Hydra insignia patched on his back. His claws were out and a old women laid underneath him dead. Logan winced as he saw the indifference on his past self.

“Seventeen? Are you ready to go or what?” his voice was annoyed and it rattled the windows a bit. Weapon X waited for a response, but it never came. Rolling his eyes he made his way up the rickety stairs. His foot went through one of the panels at the top step, and he angrily slammed his foot down to hit the rest of the wood off, “fucking ridiculous”

He made his way to one of the bedrooms that Seventeen was in, and entered it, he saw her reflection in the mirror which was next to a Jewelery box. She was absently trying rings and it looked like one of them got stuck. He leaned next to the doorway and watched her and something soft came onto his expression, Logan and Charles watched as his past self, smiled to himself.

“Put it back Seventeen we gotta go.”

Seventeen jumped “oh you scared me…”

Weapon X rolled his eyes and approached her, “you need to be more vigilant…and you were supposed to be looking for evidence, not stealing rings from an old bag.”

Seventeen smiled smugly and showed him her hand, “the evidence is right here, see…” she moved the stone from the ring and it showed a tiny pill.

Weapon X’s eyebrows raised, “I guess your right, take it off though unless you want Hydra to take your whole left hand…”

Seventeen struggled with the ring still stuck on her hand again, she smiled and asked, “mi amor, will you help me?” while batting her eyes.

Weapon X looked around like he was guilty of something and then turned his attention back on Seventeen, “…fine…just hold still.” For once Weapon X became gentle, unbelievably so, as he took the ring on her ring finger and turned it loose before pulling it off. When it was loose his fingers gently brushed where it used to be on her hand, seeing the mark the ring left.

Seventeen’s forehead was so close he could feel her hair brushing his skin, and they stayed there and it was like a moment of time was frozen for them. Both breathing eachother in, Weapon X could feel his heart beat in his throat, it was like the feeling was eating him alive.

Finally, Seventeen broke the silence, “y’know you almost look like you’ll get on your knees for me?”

Weapon X met her gaze and in the most serious voice he could muster, “don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Seventeen raised her eyebrows and smirked at him as Weapon X gave her an annoyed look, but his heart kept racing and his palms were sweaty, it was like he was melting in the frosted air. And one thought kept pounding in his mind, she’ll be the death of me.’

Logan huffed, “well that wasn’t the same ring she was wearing…” he crossed his arms and acted a bit defensive over the memory.

Charles smiled a bit, “No, but this still was important to you or you wouldn’t be remembering it right now.”

“Mm…”

“Can you try remembering anything else related to this?”

“Like what?”

“Well you want to know who she is right? Try remembering more things about her.”

Logan looked annoyed and rolled his eyes, looking into the memory Seventeen still had short hair, but there was no bruises on her neck nor a cut in her lip, she looked fine, and just had bags under her eyes. Her scent was different though it smelt like a hospital with hints of campfire smoke and now pine trees. He listened to her voice and focused on the softness and the hints of accents like something else was there a bit of country, a bit of thickness somewhere. A thought was popping up, through the fogginess and Charles followed it and worked to piece it together like a puzzle.

Finally Charles and Logan saw a light in the woods flickering behind the trees and specks of ashes were caught in the wind. Both of them followed the sound of light laughter and tired murmurs. Again it was Weapon X and Seventeen sitting next to the fire both dressed in Hydra garb. This time Logan and Charles sat on a bench across from them and watched.

‘Seventeen was laughing as she was retailing the story about Sabertooth, “I know he looks like a cat, but then I never actually thought he’d act like one, I pushed him into the lake yesterday, and he was frantically waving his arms. I told him just to stand up, you should’ve seen his face when he realized he could stand up. Then, and then” she started holding her stomach as she was almost laughing into the ground.

Weapon X was smiling and trying to hide it behind his hand, but the way his shoulders moved anyone could tell he was laughing with her.

“Okay okay, let me tell ya, y’know how cats like to sunbathe?”

Weapon X nodded his head, “mhm..”

“Well he literally took 20 minutes from our time yesterday to sprawl himself out on a rock to dry…and I swear.”

Weapon X had to hide his face into his elbow and closed his eyes trying not to laugh out loud.

“He was purring! Purring.”

He busted out laughing from the rock he was sitting on and it filled the night sky, Seventeen instantly turned around from the fire she was staring to watch him laugh his ass off.

Weapon X was holding his stomach while thinking about how his brother always tried to hide the fact he was practically just a house cat, he would’ve added to the story, but he was embarrassed that he was laughing. His face was getting red and he was trying to hide it with his jacket.

Seventeen seemed to notice how he was retracting in on himself and got up from her spot on the ground, she gently moved his hand away which was holding his jacket up, “I want to hear you laugh…”

Weapon X caught her gaze and felt as she pushed his hand away from his face, she looked at him like he was a person and it felt like he was going to cry. He got up from his seat and gestured to the woods, “…I’m going to get more firewood.” Taking a deep breathe he wondered away, something about her made him feel like he was drowning. Or loosing air, he was light headed and his stomach was twisting. He laid his head against the tree, “what the fuck is this? She’s like a goddamn disease.” He cut his arm a bit to watch his skin repair itself, “…well at least that works…what the fuck is wrong with me.” His heart continued to beat heavily he held a hand to his heart to to feel the ‘thump, thump’. He wanted to hit his head against a branch, “I wasn’t built for this shit.” A horrible thought that haunted him, “no…maybe I really wasn’t built for this.” Leaving Hydra though would be a pain in his ass, and frankly he was still satisfied with what they gave him, Sabertooth’s old words rang in his head, ‘life’s pain, so who gives a shit if your hurting.’

Then he heard snow crunching next to him and it was Seventeen leaning against a tree, “gathering firewood, huh?”

Weapon X huffed, “yea I’m about to” he was sitting on the snow, back to a pine tree and he played with the end of his jacket, “what are you doing out here?”

Seventeen stood next to him and gave him her hand, “I wanted to show ya somethin.”

Weapon X looked at her hand, “I’ll be there in a minute” his heart was in his throat and he could feel thumping every time he swallowed.

“C’mon…I got ya something, if you don’t come fast, they might leave.”

“They?”

Seventeen shook her hand in the air and waited and when Weapon X grabbed it her smile reached her eyes, she pulled him along a trail. She swung his hand back and forth, “I think you’ll like it, close your eyes for me.”

His gaze was on their connected fingertips it was so warm it made his whole body ache, “yea no can do bub, my eyes will be opened.”

Seventeen stopped so abruptly Weapon X ran into her back, he growled a bit, but she faced him and cupped his cheeks and her cold hands almost made him melt. “X, I want it to be a surprise, close ya eyes.”

“I’m supposed to be watching you, closing my eyes would be going against the job.”

“Yes yes, job this job that, but tonight for a moment can you just….I don’t know. Maybe close your eyes for me?” She pulled him gently toward herself, her voice got small, “please?”

Weapon X felt like his heart was contracting out of his chest, so much so he moved his free hand to put over his heart. He watched his hand move up and down to the rhythm.

Seventeen smiled smugly, “oh” she raised her eyebrows, “look at that.”

“Yea” he watched his hand, “I think your affecting my healing factor with some type of disease.” Weapon X retracted his hand and crossed his arms, his body became cold, but he stood his ground, “make it go away.”

“What?” Seventeen looked at him funny, “It ain’t a disease.”

“Then what is it?”

Seventeen smiled, “….X it’s called feelings.”

Weapon X must’ve made a face, because the women started laughing, “your acting like it’s the end of the world, feelings are natural, you’ll be okay.”

“I wasn’t programmed to have feelings.”

Seventeen put a hand on his shoulder, “no matter what Hydra does to you or me or anyone, you can’t program a person. I know you know this so stop trying to hide it, just breath a little. You can breath out here.”

Weapon X took a deep breath for some reason it was shaky he unraveled his arms from his chest and quickly grabbed Seventeen’s hand like an anchor.

She paused and looked to where they connected, “will you close your eyes?” she tugged him toward her.

Weapon X closed his eyes and blindly followed Seventeen up a hill, for some reason he could feel a light on his eyelids and it beckoned him to open, but he waited. When they stopped moving and gotten to the crest of the hill he felt Seventeen let go and that is when he faltered. He opened his eyes.

Green light covered the top of the mountain in which they stood, strands of purple and blue and was right in it. The light was a bright glow and he opened his palms which flowed through the rays. He looked up and was mesmerized Seventeen stood in the light across from him, her breath was quick and the fog came from her lips when she breathed. Her hair was tangled against her cheek and her eyes, they were soft from the light and they looked at him so gently, he felt his knees actually wobble.

Seventeen must’ve caught on because she went to hold him up, “you okay solider?”

They were so close and he was speechless.

“…do you like your gift?”

Weapon X nodded.

Seventeen looked at the rays and her fingers danced in them, “want me to show you something cool?”

“…Sure.”

Seventeen leaned into the stars and whispered something he couldn’t understand. The colors started to change around him and the stars moved against his waist, it changed to a faded pink like a sunset. The image was ‘…a…little ferret?’, “what is that?”

Seventeen rolled her eyes, “it’s a wolverine, y’know we saw one earlier and it tried to fight ya.”

“Oh god that fucking thing.”

“Yea you sorta remind me of that.”

Weapon X made a face, “and that’s a compliment?”

Seventeen huffed, “well yea the dumb thing tried to fight ya and I thought y’know you’re a dumb ass who’d fight anyone so it’s…perfect.”

‘Great I’m a ferret with anger issues.’

“You don’t like it….”

“Well” he saw how her face dropped, “no I mean….I like how ya moved the stars and it was pretty, I just wasn’t expecting that.”

“Mmm” Seventeen turned a way a bit.

X didn’t know what to do so he tried changing the subject, “so uh..how’d you do that anyway with the collar on?”

Seventeen shrugged, “space and time don’t stop just cus I have a collar they still listen to me, well only a bit.”

Weapon X looked into the stars, “space and time huh, prolly wish to turn it back?”

Seventeen eyed him, “no, not even a second.”

He looked at her like she was stupid, “seriously?”

She sighed and looked into his eyes, “X, if this was the only time line…that I could meet you, then I’d take it again.”

Weapon X was dumbstruck with anger, “take it back!”

Seventeen looked confused, “what?”

He put both his hands on her shoulders and shook her, “take it back, take it back!” he felt tears running down his face.’

The memory was getting muddled Logan and Charles could hear screaming and a stern voice counting down numbers ‘99, 98, 97…..34, 33, 32.

‘Weapon X felt hands hold him back and he looked up from the snowy ground. Seventeen was going on her knees as men surrounded them guns drawn on her as the voice continued to count 25, 24, 23, she had her hands raised to the sky, her palms were cut open and blood was pouring down her arms. Her collar was on the ground next to her, blue portals ripped open in the sky and ships were being delivered, one by one into the Arctic ocean. She was screaming out in pain and it was so loud, that Weapon X started to beg, “Your going to Kill her! Stop, I’ll do anything just stop” he tried to escape their grips, but he felt a cold metal collar against his throat.

“You delivered the Weapon safely, you’ll be rewarded soon.” The voice filled his eardrum like venom.

He growled, “if you kill her not one of you will live!”

Her screaming got louder, and Weapon X watched as her eyes poured out blood onto the snow, her tears tasted like copper on his tongue.

He started to thrash against the dozens of hands that held him to the ground, he met eyes with his brother, Sabertooth watched him with his arms crossed.

“Please”

Sabertooth looked away from him.

“Brother!”

“Ya still got those Cuban cigars?” He tapped his foot in the snow and looked down at Weapon X.

“Yes.”

“I’ll do it for that.”

Weapon X breathed in relief, and watched as Sabertooth started a slaughter and it all went red.’