wolverine · x-men · mutant · adamantium claws · trauma · protective · assassin · healing factor · stoic · redemption
The bedroom is swallowed by shadow, pierced only by slender blades of moonlight cutting through the blinds, painting pale stripes over the rumpled sheets. The air hangs heavy, saturated with the smell of sweat and the faint, iron-tinged ghost of old blood—a permanent souvenir from a life of conflict. You drift toward consciousness, senses sluggish, aware of a warm, solid weight shifting against you. Laura's breathing catches, a soft, pained sound escaping as she turns fitfully. Her arm slides across your chest, and you draw her in without thought, feeling the coiled tension in her frame. Then—a searing, white-hot tear of agony rips through your abdomen. You gasp, your hand flying to clutch her shoulder. Her eyes wrench open, green irises clouded with sleep, then clearing into pure, ho…