C H A P T E R   40 :   W H Y   T H E   S M I L E

"Your body is broken but you're trying to fight this
Your arms are weary but you're trying to hide this

I'm bringing you home
It's been so long
We're finding the road
Back to where we belong

You lost it all and then you're been left open
And you were starting to heal
But you've been tearing the punctures"

Felicia's POV

Present time

James and I spent the entire afternoon planning our attack carefully and studying the HYDRA's base plan he had gotten. We discussed the diversions we would create to get in and out, selected the best points of entry and exit and singled out where the security cameras and most of the guards would be so we could take them down efficiently. To move inside the building and get to the storage to erase our files without being detected, we decided we would go undercover as the thing both of us hated most: HYDRA agents.

If you want to beat your enemy, be your enemy, right?

Then, once the files were destroyed, we'd try to cause maximum damage to the base, disabling HYDRA to a point where they wouldn't be able to search for us anymore, and if the plan went well, they wouldn't even know who to search for in the first place. But in order for that to work, I had to get me a uniform that could pass for a HYDRA one, and after a quick research, we found a warehouse that had military uniforms not too far away from us.

"Did you do it?" James asked when I arrived at the wooden house at night after a short drive to the industrial park and an easy, quick burglary to the warehouse. I thought going back to stealing would be testing, but instead it was like slithering into a second skin, because for some reason, I loved getting my hands on things that weren't mine.

"Yes. Luckily they had uniforms my size, but we'll have to hand stitch the HYDRA logo onto it." I said, placing the carton boxes on the living room's table, in front of the fireplace we couldn't use because the house had to look abandoned. Fortunately, given my improved system and James' past experiences with ice, we were both pretty resistant to cold.

"I'll do it." He said, opening the boxes with his metal hand easily and taking out the clothes to evaluate their quality and authenticity. "If there isn't a thorough inspection, they'll pass for HYDRA uniforms. Good job."

I shrugged. "Compared to some of the thefts I've done in the past, it was a cakewalk."

James tilted his head to the side slightly, catching me off guard with his question. "Why did you do it, in the past? Stealing?"

I hesitated, wondering if I should open up to him. But I guessed, when it came to James, I didn't have to, because nothing was closed. It was like seeing me in his rearview mirror. I couldn't unsee me in him, and I guessed it was the same for him.

"I like to say it's for the thrill of it, you know?" I ended up saying. "For the adventure, the chase, the possibility of getting caught, the breaking the otherwise boring routine. But deep down, I know it was more than that. I think it was my way of emotionally compensating for what was once stolen from me – my mother, my father... myself."

He stared at me, and suddenly he was a two-way mirror and I could touch my own reflection in his eyes. Sometimes, we could see ourselves better through someone else, because they filtered the things we couldn't look at on our own. And James was like that, the filter to my picture. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to suffer any of that. And I'm sorry you had to steal again."

"I'm not. I'm not going to lie, the thrill is still there. Though there are... other things now that I like to run away from as well. Only this time, it's not enough to be chased." Stop thinking about him, I ordered myself. Stop thinking about what you two could have been had you been brave enough to admit how you feel. Just stop thinking. I can't. He's in my thoughts more than I am. He makes them worthy.

"I guess that's what we all want, right?" James asked, his mouth teasing the advent of a small smile. "Someone that makes us catch ourselves."

"I swear that sometimes, Winnie, you read my mind better than a telepath." I joked, and his brow furrowed, must I say, adorably, in confusion. "Oh, don't tell me you don't know Winnie The Pooh? It's from your time, isn't it?"

James chuckled. "Yes, it is. I just never thought I'd have someone call me that one day."

"Well, the only thing I love more than not giving people what they want, is give them what they don't." I smirked.

"You confuse me." James confessed, the vibrant colors in his eyes painting over mine. "But for some strange reason, I like that."

I let a genuine smile complete the portrait of the moment. "Despite everything, I'm glad to have met you, James."

"Likewise." He smiled, making his eyes shrink in size but expand in life. "By the way, before you ask, there's pre prepared lasagna for dinner."

"You haven't eaten yet?" I asked, my eyebrows raised since it was already a bit late. He offered me a sheepish smile that made me fight myself to refrain from hugging him. From telling him You have no idea. You have no idea who you are and yet you can't help but showing it.

"No, I was waiting for you."

"Good Lord, so much cuteness in one single body should be illegal." I winked at him, making him shake his head and roll his eyes.

"For the majority of governments out there, I'm pretty sure I already am. Just the fact that you're here with me is a crime."

"One I'm willing to commit." I shrugged. "The law doesn't know HYDRA like we do. Funny how sometimes it takes an outlaw to ensure law."

James nodded and started walking towards the kitchen, giving me a priviliged view of his back, but the sightseeing came to an abrupt end once my eyes landed on the microwave he was about to put the lasagna in.

"I'm pretty sure that microwave won't work."

"It works." James assured, but I rose an eyebrow in distrust when he turned it on and a weird noise came out of it, dangerously resembling a goose trying to play flute. "I hope."

"So, what do we do now?" I asked, expecting him to give me more details of the plan and sitting at the table while still keeping an eye on his back.

"Now we wait for the lasagne to cook in the microwave." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"And pray that's not our cause of death, 'cause we didn't survive HYDRA to be murdered by a microwave older than my grandpa." I deadpanned, and he turned his head to me with one side of his mouth lifted, his arms crossed over his chest and his shoulders squared. At that moment everything in him screamed 'Sergeant' and for some stupid reason all I could think of was 'Yes, sir.'

"I'm probably older than your grandfather and I work just fine. Never heard of old is gold?"

Yes, until yesterday I lived with him on a daily basis.

"Oh, is that so?" I asked, letting an amused smile waltz over my lips. "I guess I'd have to see it to believe it."

"Nice try, doll, but not a chance."

"Never mind, I bet you're all rusty and out of practice anyway." I provoked, at the same time the microwave stopped with another straight-out-of-a-horror-movie sound.

"See? We survived." James said, his lips trying a smile as he took the lasagna out of the microwave with his metal arm, the appetizing smell making my mouth water as he placed it on the table. "While you were away, I perfected some things in our plan that I want to go through with you."

"I'm all ears. You don't mind if I eat at the same time, do you?"

"No, I'd rather have you hungry at the food than at me." He said with a skewed smile, letting me serve myself first.

"What are you talking about, I wasn't—"

"You forget the microwave is reflective too." He cut, his slanted smile not showing any signs of leaving. "And that I have a trained eye."

"I was just thinking you should get a haircut, I saw some split ends there." I said, masking my own smile with a forkful of lasagna. It was weird and yet incredibly refreshing, how two broken souls could find such an easy comfort in one another. How two pessimists gave each other optimism. Myabe it really was true; two negatives could make one positive. "I could cut it, if you want it."

"Don't you dare." James warned with a smile that quickly dropped once we both heard a loud bang on another division of the house, like a door being closed brusquely. My heart immediately started bungee jumping in my chest and I was afraid it would fall from its strings and never return to its place. James put a finger to his lips while both of us got up and silently grabbed the handguns placed on the counter. Then he turned to me, his lips mouthing 'Stay here'.

"James..." I muttered, almost with no sound, but he shook his head unrelentingly and mouthed back a simple, undisturbed, 'If I die, run.'

My heart couldn't possibly weight more as I saw him leave the kitchen in the direction of the noise, alone and ready, as if that's all he ever was, in any place, at any time, because life had conditioned him like that. He didn't need preparation for an attack; he needed it for the quietude in between.

I forced myself to remain as impassibly as possible as I heard his steps move down the hall. It should have been me, I thought. He couldn't move as silently as I could or run away as fast. My mind started running over itself with the possibilities of fighting and escaping with life, but none of that mattered if I didn't have James to do it with.

Ignoring his orders, I walked out of the kitchen quietly, like a ballerina en pointe dancing towards her final act. I could still hear James' heartbeat, unbelievably steady, but I didn't know if he had detected the target yet.

"James?" I whispered as I made my way towards him, my claws rolling out of my nails before I even demanded them to. Feeling my heartbeat everywhere, I moved towards the room where I could hear two distinct breaths and heartbeats, one much weaker than the other. I knew what the Winter Soldier could do, so it astonished me that he still hadn't killed the intruder. Maybe he was retaining him for information, or maybe it wasn't HYDRA at all. But if it wasn't them, then who?

I got my answer when I finally got to the door, coming across the one scene I never expected to find in this setup: James was kneeling on the floor with one knee, his right hand hesitantly moving towards a grey, striped kitten.

The sight was so painfully wonderful I wanted to draw it right away.

"My God, Winnie, I was going to have a heart attack, you could have said something!" I protested, but the adorableness of the moment kept me from being truly upset.

"Shh." He said, without turning to me. "I didn't want to scare him."

"How do you know it's a he?"

"Men recognize each other." He whispered and I rolled my eyes, though my gut was telling me he was probably right. Ever since I could remember I had always felt an inexplicable pull towards cats, and well, now I knew why. I had a part of them in me. Then James turned around, a smile falling upon his lips. "So much cuteness in one small body. Should be illegal, no?"

I smiled, not sure who I was most drawn to at that moment. My cheeks moved upwards as I stepped towards them, my eyes almost closing from how open he was. I had never seen as much of him in him as in that instant. That's why I loved animals; we didn't have to hide with them.

"How did he get in?" I asked, getting down to the kitten's level and extending a finger to him so he could smell it and get used to me. The kitten instinctively snuggled against it, his humid snout rubbing against my skin.

"Well, someone forgot to lock the back door when they left, and since the door doesn't close properly, the wind must have opened it."

"Shit, I'm sorry." I said, mentally kicking myself for such a silly mistake while the kitten let out a soft meow as I rubbed his chin.

"No, it's as if your sixth sense knew it had to let something in." James said, softly petting the kitten's cheeks and letting out a chuckle when he pushed his small head into James' hand, rubbing against it. "I think he likes me."

"Of course he does, what's there not to like?" I smirked, while his fascinated eyes followed the kitten's moves, completely in awe that such a pure being could take a liking to him. Getting up quietly, I let him have this moment for himself and went to check the doors and windows to make sure everything was well closed. When I got back, James was in the same place, oblivious to the outer world as he got lost in his own, his hand gently caressing the kitten behind the ears, as if afraid to hurt him at the slightest touch.

I leaned against the doorway and smiled. He looked so peaceful, so normal, so human, so finally his after belonging to everyone but himself, and I could only imagine the good it did to him, having this moment, not having to carry the weight of history for once, being the only person inside his mind after all the wars he had to wage just to have a space in his own being, finally finding out who he was when he wasn't being told who to be.

"Why the smile?" James asked, turning around to meet my eyes while still stroking the kitten's back with a hand that was almost as big.

"Why not?" I replied. "You kinda make me smile, can't help it."

"That's a first."

"But not the last." I retorted, moving towards them and chuckling at the low, pleased meows the kitten kept giving James, his little face staring up at him like he had never seen a better thing. "I don't think he likes you, Winnie, he loves you."

"Well, it's mutual. Can you pick him up? I'm afraid of hurting him, but we should give him some milk, he must be starving."

I nodded and picked up the small ball of fur easily, receiving a satisfied purr from him in response. We went into the kitchen and while James prepared a bowl of milk, the kitten started patting my nails and I smiled in amazement when I understood what he wanted. Careful as not to startle him, I pulled out my claws and let him play with them, giggling when his small ones touched mine, his tail flicking in the air in delight. It was incredible how he found them so fascinating, with all the damage they had caused. But he didn't know, and that was a blessing. Nothing ruined men more than their own consciences.

"First you, now him. I'm really starting to think I understand and like cats better than people." James said, his voice saturated in bliss, and I turned my neck in his direction to find him staring at us with his lips curled and his eyes squinting from how much he was smiling.

"Why the smile?" I asked, uncapable of hiding mine, and making his own grow even bigger, to the point where I thought it would jump out of his face and live a life of its own.

"Why not?" He replied, placing the bowl on the floor and making the kitten immediately switch his attention from me to it. Thank you very much, buddy, I thought we had something special. "You kinda make me smile, can't help it."

"You know that's copyrighted." I smirked. "But actually it comes from my mother. I don't remember as much about her as I'd like, but I do remember this. Whenever she was sad, she cracked a joked. She said making other people smile stopped her from crying."

"She must have been a great woman. To have a daughter like you."

"Winnie, if you don't want me to flirt with you you should stop saying things like that. It's not helping." I warned and he just chuckled as we sat down to finally finish our dinner.

"A person might forget a lot of things, but not the way they were raised." He said, a sad expression setting in his eyes as he glanced at the kitten. "We can let him stay tonight but we will have to leave him in a shelter or so tomorrow."

"Maybe we can come back after to get him. I mean, if he was here, he must have been abandoned. He must be needing someone."

"I doubt we will find him, but we can try." James nodded. "But it doesn't make sense, does it? That the same world can have both him and HYDRA."

"I guess there's no day without night. For every good thing, there's a bad one. That's why we both exist."

"And who's who?" James questioned, creased brow, straight lips, curious eyes.

"You're the good thing." I assured him. "I like being bad."

"You're not bad. You just like to seem. Deep down, you're like him." James said, gesturing towards the kitten hungrily lapping the milk.

"Does that mean you're gonna pet me too?" I asked, one side of my mouth tilting provocatively.

"Can't help yourself, can you?" James asked, his lips mirroring mine. "But no, thanks, I don't want to give Wolverine another reason to murder me."

"He won't do that. Not on my watch. Seriously, James, I know what happened between you two is tough, but I'll talk to him. He's not a very easy person to reason with, but I'll talk some sense into him. And with that I mean slap some sense, if needed."

"I appreciate it." James nodded. "So if you're the bad thing, who's your good one? Him?"

"No, he's too rude to be good." I said, my voice amused even though it hurt. Or maybe because it hurt. Feelings were always easier to deal with when we made fun of them, but then we couldn't complain when instead they started making fun of us. What you mean is he's too good to be true.

"And that's why you like him?"

"I don't like him." I said, and for the first time I wasn't lying. Because I was just so above that by now.

"I see. Does he know that?"

"He doesn't know anything." I muttered, and James just nodded and got up, nodding towards the sink.

"Come on, I wash, you clean."

"Yes, sir." I said, grabbing the dishcloth he threw at me and laughing when his hair fell to his face in a cascade of browns. He sighed and started to do a bun, but his metal arm didn't make it easy.

"Need help, Winnie?"

"If you don't mind." He asked. "I'm still trying to get it right."

"Well, you've got me now. Sit."

"Ever considered a job in the army? You're bossy enough." James said but did as I told anyway.

"Ever considered being put in a museum? You're ancient enough." I replied.

"Hey, that's not—ouch!" He protested when I accidentally pulled his hair a little rougher.

"Rule number one. Never piss off a woman that has your hair in her hands."

"Yeah, lesson learned." James mumbled, and to ease his grouchiness I massaged his head lightly.

"And it goes for sex too."

He almost choked up in air at that.

"Right, because that's on my list of priorities right now."

"After I don't know how many years of abstinence, maybe it should be." I provoked, and quickly tied his hair into a low loose man-bun. "All set."

"Thanks." He muttered, still moody.

"Damn, who knew the samurai look would look so good on you?" I said, nodding my head in approval of my work and receiving a surly side glance in response as James started washing the dishes.

"Why did you trust me?" He asked after a while, handing me a dish to clean.

"Well, I tend to be attracted to things the world tells me to stay away from." I joked. "No, in reality... I would have liked someone to trust me if I were in your shoes. Because I know how much it meant to me when someone finally looked at me and saw me and not the mask I thought I had become. And for so long I didn't trust anyone, much less myself, and now I do, and I don't want to feel that way anymore, and the thought of you feeling like that for some reason killed me. And I have a pretty good gut, and it was never in danger around you. Not to mention the fact you saved my life a couple of times in the span of an hour."

"Well, you saved mine too. In more than one way." He replied, and we fell back into an easy silence, relishing on the small paradise we had found for a little while. If tomorrow they took everything away from us, we'd still have this. Not even time could steal infinities. Then he broke the quiet, but not the peace. "You can take the bedroom, I'll sleep on the couch."

"Are you sure?" I asked, my signature smirk making its way onto my lips. "I can share, the bed's big enough."

"No thanks, I'm sure you won't like to sleep next to a mummy." He said, getting back at me for my previous words with an annoying little smirk.

"Fine." I let out. "But if your back hurts tomorrow, don't ask me for a massage."

"Fine." James agreed, leaning towards me slightly. "And if your ego bruises too much, I think there's some ice in the fridge."

I took my hand to my heart, feigning an offended expression. "Right in the feels, Winnie."

"Oh, so you have them?" He asked, one eyebrow raised in defiance, but wrinkles on the edge of his eyes from the enjoyment.

"Yup, you will definitely sleep on the couch." I concluded while he laughed.

***

Logan's POV

The night before

"Where is she?" was the first thing I asked Charles when I ran towards the mansion in a haste, the heavy rain washing away her traces and making it harder for me to track her down. I decided it would be better to ask for Charles' help and maybe pack some things before I set off.

"Logan, you need to calm down." Charles advised me, followed by Jean's subtle nod behind his wheelchair. Most of the kids were awake, some of them crying, and the older students tried their best to comfort the younger ones while Ororo and Longshot tried to get them into bed again.

"He took her." I ignored him and took a step towards him, feeling like a compass without its needle. "He fucking took her."

"You don't know that." Charles argued. "Felicia might have left out of her will. If I heard correctly, you and her had a serious fight, right?"

"And that would make her leave with one of the most dangerous assassins on Earth?" I snapped, infuriated. "What kind of logic is that?"

It's Felicia, I thought. Her logic is not having one.

"You know it wasn't his fault!" Jean exclaimed, taking a step towards me and reaching out for my arms. "Logan, he's not with HYDRA anymore. In fact, we think that by taking her he might have just saved her."

"Yeah, maybe just so he can kill her himself. It wouldn't be the first time."

"What part of 'he's not with HYDRA anymore' didn't you get?" Jean continued, her eyes darting towards my grey areas, the black holes in which I was lacking and she wanted to fill. "I know your past with him makes you resent him, but that wasn't him. If he's not under HYDRA's command anymore, he won't hurt her. That's not who the person behind the mask is."

"I can't be sure of that. I just need to know she's okay. I just need her to be safe."

"We know, Logan, and I found her location." Charles said, and my breath hitched as the same time my heart rumbled. Felicia was like a full moon to me. Made me howl for her. Made everything in me beg for her night. "But I need to make sure you're not going to do anything reckless before I give it to you. When things get personal with you, they get bloody."

"And we need to be sure you're not going to murder the Winter Soldier, especially if he helped Felicia." Jean continued, her wise eyes crashing against my barriers. I was too inside me now. And the only one who could truly bring me out was out of reach. "Or hurt him, for that matter."

"Easy to speak when it wasn't your wife he killed." I muttered through gritted teeth. And when it wasn't your life he took.

"Logan, most likely, if you want to help Felicia, you'll have to help him, and I need to be sure you'll be ready for that." Charles said, his tone imperative and serious. "You can't let the past become your future. You can't let what happened become the rest of your life."

"Fine." I said impatiently, because I didn't need one of his speeches right now. "I don't trust him, but I'll do what you want. Just tell me where she is."

Charles eyed me for a few seconds, before extending a piece of paper with an address on it.

"Fuck, this is about twenty miles away from here. And there's no guarantee she'll still be there when I get there."

"I'l be guiding you through the Cerebro." Charles declared, his calm voice irritating my uproar. This guy could have a plane about to crash in his head and he would be doing a yoga pose and repeating 'Ohm'. "But please, don't let your emotions get the better of you. You can't let them cloud your judgement."

"They won't." I assured him. "Do you have any clue as to what they're planning to do? If she's hurt? Safe? I can't forget the sound of her scream."

"We think HYDRA might have shot her with some kind of bullet." Charles said, inflicting a tranquil tone to his words, already predicting my reaction.

"WHAT? Those motherfuckers, I'm going to kill them, hunt them down one by one, hurt them as much as they hurt her and—"

"What you're going to do is make sure she's safe and bring her back." Charles ordered, his voice more adamant than my body. "We'll deal with HYDRA after."

"If I run into them, I can't make any promises." I told him. "I'm going now."

"I would've sent some X-Men with you if we weren't so understaffed." Charles informed. "But we need to stay here and protect the school from any eventuality."

"I know." I nodded. "Don't worry, I'm enough. Just, if you find anything else, if she moves, or if she's in danger... you tell me."

"Of course. And if she gets in danger, I will send help. But I also know Felicia, and I know what she wants and needs, sometimes even before she does. If she needed us right now, the mutants, the X-Men, I would send them to search for her immediately. But she doesn't need us."

Charles stared at me again, his blue eyes angling mine, and even though he wasn't inside my brain I knew he knew, he knew everything, every part of me I wanted to hide, every part of her I wanted to catch, every part of us I couldn't forget. I knew what he was going to say next; and for some reason, even though it was what I secretly wanted, it left me shaking from terror.

The thing about Professor X was that he didn't need to read minds to see souls.

"She only needs you."

***

After quickly and furtively going to my room to pack some things and avoid attention, I was back outside, speeding towards my motorbike with a backpack bumping on my back, my mind trying to decode the meaning behind Charles' words but failing miserably. What did he mean by she only needs you? Which part of me? Which version, which side? I knew I was so lost I'd give her everything if she asked, but I didn't know if even then I'd be able to give her what she needed.

Before I could get to my bike, though, I was intercepted by someone whose boiling eyes quickly fished me out of my thoughts.

"Where is she?" He asked, and he seemed so tense I thought he'd break all of his bones at once.

"Charles gave me a location." I told him, because there was no point in lying. His fists were already curled up into balls, small flames flickering over them, and any negative answer threatened to turn them into pure orbs of fire. "But I don't know if she will still be there when I get there. She might already be on the run."

"I'm coming with you." Lewis said, and he didn't seem to be waiting for an answer. Especially not a negative one.

"No, you're not." I argued. I didn't know exactly what was going on between him and Felicia, I just knew they both meant a lot to one another, which was obvious now, but I couldn't let him come. He was too temperamental. Too much like me when it came to her. "I'm going alone."

"The hell you are." He retorted, taking a bold step towards me. One thing I had always admired in him, but never told him, was that he never seemed intimidated. Even if he was, he didn't show it. While most of the kids couldn't even hold my stare for more than a few seconds, Lewis always looked at me on the same level. "I don't really know what is going on between you two, or what the hell happened here tonight, all I know is I'm here, and she's not. So, yes, I am going too. I can help."

"Do you know where she is or where she's going next?" I asked.

"No."

"Do you know who she is with?"

"No."

"Do you know how to find her?"

"No."

"Then you can't help me."

"I'm sure you already have the answers to those questions." He fired back. "And once you find her, if you need to fight, I'm raw firepower I don't think you should waste. We'll have a bigger chance if we go together. Do you think it's on my bucket list, spending time with you? Hell no. But Felicia is like the other half of my soul. Even if you don't let me come with you, I'll search for her on my own."

I sighed in exasperation, running a hand through my hairy chin. The more time I lost here, the later I'd find her. And I couldn't let it be too late. Not this time. No matter what Charles told me, I'd only believe she was safe once I saw for myself.

"Fine. But you gotta do what I tell you. I can't afford any disobeying. I can't be worrying about you and her at the same time."

Lewis seemed about to protest when two other people appeared from behind me, and I rolled my eyes, aware of what they were about to say.

"We're going as well." Bobby spoke up. Between the three of them, Bobby was the one I knew better and trusted the most, since we had fought together in the past. But that didn't mean I was willing to let him or Bianca go with us.

"And don't you dare say no." Bianca backed up, for the first time shooting me a tenacious look. "We're her friends. I'm sure if the other ones were here, they'd say the same."

"Look, kids, this is not a school trip, not even a planned mission. I'm not going to be your teacher out there. I'm going to be Wolverine, and you know what that means. I don't want to have three other people to look after or holding me back. So if you're aware of the risks and dangers, and despite them, still want to come, I won't stop you. Just know it's real life out there, not a simulation. If something happens there's no start over and do it again. No second chances, and no school to protect you."

"HYDRA managed to invade our fields, do you classify that as being safe?" Bobby asked, arms crossed over his chest. "What do they even want with her?"

"They've been in her past, they want her again." I confessed, trying my best to control my own temper. "She didn't leave with them, but I have no idea if they are on their way to get her now or if they already have her."

Charles will keep me informed, I thought. But he will also tell me as little as possible to prevent me from going berserk.

"So what are we waiting for?" Lewis clicked his tongue. "Let's go."

"I don't want to be responsible for you. I'm not going to be." I said, because I needed them to be sure of this, even though I knew it was a lie. "I can't be watching after everyone."

"You let us go on missions. You know what we can do." Bianca retorted. "Whether you let us or not, we're going. But we have more chances together than apart."

"Fuck." I muttered under my breath, knowing they had won. I wasn't sure if Felicia knew how much she meant to them. How much she meant to all of us. "Fine. But don't go on thinking you're the Three Musketeers or something. I'm still the leader here. What I say, you do. Deal?"

The three of them shared a resigned glance.

"Deal."

"It's growing faster than you've grown
Now you're stronger than yourself
I'm fighting for you
I'm hiding for you
But it's killing me to love you

I want to keep faith, but you're making it harder
(But it's killing me to love you)
I'm reaching out now but you're pulling me under
(But it's killing me to love you)
I give you all just to watch you waste it
(But it's killing me to love you)
But I can't let go when you still need saving"

A/N: Song is "Killing Me To Love You" by Vancouver Sleep Clinic, which I adore ♥

Gif is Bucky again, because, oh well xD

I know there hasn't been much interaction between Logan and Felicia lately but they needed some time apart to realize their feelings for each other... and I also have to admit that I love to explore Felicia and Bucky's relationship, I like their teasing so much ;)