Chapter 52

The sky is starting to darken when she wakes up. She doesn't know the time and can't even guess because it's hard to measure at this time of year as the light of the sky doesn't last as long as in other seasons. She changes into her clothes. Or, well, Peggy's clothes. 

She really needs a new wardrobe. Maybe she can't gain some money from Howard by offering him to do some basic tests on her? Anyway, she needs to show her powers, so it would be like a win-win for her. She comes out of the tent, hoping for the day when the Colonel will give her an official room with walls without it being freezing cold, and finds Logan outside, sitting on the ground, almost in the same spot Bucky once was waiting.

He looks at her, and she tries to fight the embarrassment as she remembers how she cried before, in front of her colleagues…

Kill her without mercy, please.

He inhales subtly, smirking at whatever he discovers, so she crosses her arms. "Coming to goad?"

That takes the smirk out of his face. He sighs and stands up, motioning her to follow him. "Let's go to a more quiet place, okay?"

"Why should I?"

He runs a hand through the lower part of his face before looking directly at her. "I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have put you in the spot like that."

Her posture relaxed at his words, making her realize how tense she was without knowing. She grumbles, "I wasn't put on the spot."

Scoffing, he once again motions her to walk. "Sure you weren't."

She just growls, swallowing the protest and rage that wants to come off. Logan glances at her, making a weird noise from his throat that sounds very much like a purr, and she instantly calms down. It leaves her blinking in bewilderment, and there's no use in asking Logan for answers because, going on by that insufferable smirk, he won't tell. At least, not yet.

"If this is how you apologize, I don't like it."

The smirk goes away, leaving only blankness to rest on his face. It's a bit intimidating because, unlike the previous Logan from the comics, who was a short man, this Logan, while not tall, has a good height on him, while she's not even past 1.60 cm. 

She really hates tall people looming over her.

Using that hate, she glares up at him, floating a bit until they can meet gazes without her having to look up.

Logan sighs and steps back, a small smile on his face as he puts a large hand on her head, pressing her down. "Are you sure you want your abilities to be shown around?"

That takes the winds off her sails. Following the motion of his hand, she goes down until her feet touch the ground, glancing around to see if someone has seen her. When she notes that few people are about, she exhales and looks up. Noticing the hand still on her head, she looks pointedly at it. 

"Do you mind?" He chuckles and lets her go, motioning her again to keep walking. "So, where are you taking me?"

"To the bar from before."

She stops for a second before reassuming walking. "Why?"

"The guys are there. We've got to work together, remember? Steve's got a mission already set for us."

"Did they tell you to bring me in?"

"… No, I asked to be the one to inform you. I wanted to apologize."

She thinks about it for a while. Noticing the honesty coming from him, she nods. "Okay. Apology accepted."

He turns to look at her, blinking twice. "Just like that?"

"I can tell you're sincere about it. I'm an empath, you see." When she sees his posture tensing, she's quick to explain, "That means, even if I try to turn down most of my powers, I can still feel others' emotions without being able to turn them off. Sorry. It's like your sense of smell, I think? Again, sorry, I didn't mean-"

He takes a deep, loud breath that interrupts her from continuing. Shaking his head when he's exhaling, he smiles at her. "Don't be. You're right. I can't completely control my powers, so I shouldn't have been angry with you in the first place."

She's quiet most of the way, though when she can see the bar getting nearer, she asks, "Why were you? Angry, I mean. I noticed you were targeting me."

"I was not really angry, but -ugh- concerned about your powers? Yeah, let's keep it like that."

She smiles at his inability to describe his feelings. Men of this time were really about not showing emotions freely, weren't they? 

"Were you afraid?" He throws her a dirty look, which she ignores to skip next to him. "So you were! Well, I understand your worries, so it's okay. All forgiven."

He rolls his eyes and seems to want to retort, but they're already near more people, the bar only a few steps away. "Sure, sure. Whatever you want to believe."

She beams at him as they enter the bar before turning around to look for Steve. She throws a questioning glance at him, and he motions for the stairs she hadn't noticed before. "There are private rooms over there. Stark wanted to eat with us before informing us about the mission."

Nodding, she follows him to the stairs that lead from the ground floor to the first floor. They walk until they're in front of a door at the back. Taking a deep breath, she goes inside, trying to ignore her anxiety at confronting everyone after her little tantrum. 

It's a medium-sized room with a table in its center, large enough for at least a dozen people to sit comfortably. The decoration is precise and elegant, going from a silver-ish cream color to a deep purple in some places. However, she doesn't pay much attention to this; her gaze is mainly on all the people who have turned around when they hear the door open.

Oh, well. Time to face the show.

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