Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Not all chapters will contain everything above, so relax, not a wall-to-wall smutfest.

Chapter Twelve – Understanding Love

"I think it is time I knew what you have in here." Laura declared as they lay in bed a few weeks later and suddenly grabbed the sketch book he was holding..

"Nothing, I just tried drawing some landscapes, I used to draw a bit so I wanted to see if I had anything left in the old hand." Julian replied trying to pry the book back, but her grip was like a vise.

"Okay then there will be no harm in looking through here then." Laura dismissed his suggestions as she began flipping pages, Julian really wished at that moment, the book would catch fire, spontaneous combustion is possible isn't it? He thought to himself.

"Okay, here are the mountains to the east, the lake with the bears at the far end, there are the southern fields and well, I think this has a striking resemblance to someone you know." Laura went on flipping pages until she came across his first drawing of her.

"So I drew you, so what? I said I was drawing things, besides the area what else is there? You ever tried to get a moose to pose for a sketch?" Julian asked, hoping she'd just shut the book.

"Yes, but I do not recall volunteering to be your primary subject, or muse as I believe they are termed. Here I am again, walking, chopping wood, reading, sleeping, reading again, cooking, running, is this some strange form of courtship I have not read about?" Laura asked as she elbowed Julian.

"Now here is an interesting one, quite detailed and taking place across several pages. First there is a view of the Eiffel Tower, then a closer focus to two figures at the observation level. Then you see them I am one of them and with a rather familiar young man, I am wearing a dress and he is wearing a suit, this would not be you would it? I mean aside from the jaw line, shape of your eyes, hair, height, build, why it could be anyone." Laura went further poking at Julian's fantasizing through his drawings of her, waving the sketch in his face.

"If I flip through the rest of this, am I going to find only drawings of me or both you and me?" Laura asked as she kept flipping.

"It's entirely possible, but I'd prefer if we waited." Julian said sheepishly.

"Wait for what?" Laura asked as she looked at the clock.

"For a meteorite to crash down here and vaporize the book and nothing else, I figure it can't be any worse odds than my winning the lottery." Julian groaned as he covered his eyes and forehead with his hand.

"You do not buy lottery tickets." Laura reminded him as she kept going through the sketches.

"That's the problem." Grumbled said as he thumped his head on his pillow, while it wasn't the worse thing in the world to have the girl he was in love with see the hundred plus sketches he had of her, it still felt a bit embarrassing at the moment.

"There is nothing wrong with showing off your artistic side to your girlfriend, some of these books I have read seem to indicate that is how relationships are strengthened. If you really wanted to impress me though, you should have drawn one of me fighting a three-headed dragon or flying a winged horse. This is you trying engaging your imagination about me in a number of what could be described as cliché settings based around your attraction to m e." Laura said as she patted his head and kissed him.

"But isn't that love? Cliché after cliché after cliché?" Julian asked, thinking about how love was always portrayed on film.

"Only if you are reading those poorly written romance novels the previous owners left behind. Now please remember this, a three-headed dragon, if you can make it a lake of fire we are fighting on that would be even better." Laura dismissed the idea, then got back the way she wanted to see him draw her and nudged Julian again.

"I'm guessing you're into the box of fantasy novels I brought back." Julian cracked and received a smack upside the head.

"I am glad to see your time spent in this remote region has not dulled your observational abilities. I find it hard to believe you were not made a member of the X-Men for your excellent deductive abilities in obvious situations. Also, if you ever do rejoin the X-Men, see if you can take your new as Captain Obvious for your codename." Laura admonished Julian as she kept flipping through his sketchbook.

"You know, I'm really starting to regret helping you understanding the concept of sarcasm." Julian said as he tried once again to get his sketchbook back to no avail, seemingly forgetting his powers in the playful environment.

"Well then you have learned two lessons tonight, the first do not leave your sketch book lying around so your girlfriend can see your obsessive sketches of her. The second being that you should never give someone a weapon that can be used against you. Now take your lumps and start plotting your grand masterpiece, seriously, I want to see it." Laura warned Julian in a cautionary tone, and then lightened it as she elbowed him again. She paused looking over the sketches of her, noticing he was always drawing something different, the eyes, the cheeks, experimenting with the drawings.

"Why can you not just stick with one face? My face is a centimetre wider on this page, half a centimeter wider here, my nose a quarter centimeter there, my hair is thicker here, thinner here and darker here. Do you really have such a poor memory of what I look like?" Laura asked as she examined the details more closely.

"Because I want it to be perfect, if I do get it right, just right, I want it reflect you as you are, beautiful, just perfect, natural beauty." Julian answered as he leaned over and kissed her deeply.

"You know you do not have to charm your way into my bed, you are already in it." Laura replied as she kissed him back.

"This is my bed, your bedroom's the other one." Julian replied as they kept kissing.

"Yes, and I suppose the lace bra hanging out that drawer over there are yours?" Laura asked pointing to the dresser.

"Sometimes I like to feel pretty." Julian replied, Laura made a face, smacked him with her pillow then pinned him down and kissed him, they played around for a while longer and then went to sleep.

The weeks flew by, Julian kept drawing, Laura kept reading, they played and flirted with each other but kept stopping short of going all the way. It still felt strange to both of them and what they had felt good so they kept up with it. Laura was fully prepared to go through the mechanics of sex, but felt strange about considering engaging the act with Julian. It was quiet, peaceful where they were and they were enjoying themselves. It seemed unwise for her to upset such a pleasant thing, she didn't have such experiences often, if ever. It had been a hundred and thirty five days, sixteen hours and fifteen minutes since they had come to their escape from the world, Laura's training made it hard for her to not track the time.

Julian continued to frustrate himself with trying to draw Laura in his 'perfect picture' that had been after since he had begun it. There was always something missing, he just couldn't quite quantify it, or it felt like his hand was stubborn and missing a key detail.. Regardless, he did draw her epic battle with the three-headed dragon, then drew another one with all three heads replaced by that of Emma Frost, they had a good laugh about that. Julian probably enjoyed that sound most of all, hearing her laugh, for Laura to go through what she did through and still be able to smile and laugh was a pleasure to see.

They were sitting in front of the fireplace late at night. Julian was again vainly sketching at his attempted masterpiece drawing, Laura was still reading, she'd go on to study history, but this time not military history like she'd been stuck with in her stunted youth. She was studying the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, fascinated by how such a massive empire was maintained for so long in such a primitive age. While she and Julian were hardly living in luxury, she knew all she had to ask him was if he'd mind flying her to Rome for a quick vacation and they'd be off. That wasn't a bad idea though, the idea of seeing buildings that had been around for a thousand years and still standing, aqueducts older than any of the monarchies in Europe.

Julian kept drawing, then swore, ripped the piece of paper off and threw it in the fireplace."

"Am I that frustrating a subject to draw?" Laura asked as Julian closed what was now his fourth sketch book.

"Laura I could draw you forever and you know that, but I just want to make one flawless drawing of you, I know I can do it but I just feel like there's something missing, I don't know what it is, they all just feel wrong." Julian swore as his tossed another pencil into the fire, she didn't mention he was running low on them again, it seemed to be his go-to method for frustration over failure to draw his masterpiece.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I'm getting depressed reading about a civilization that collapsed on itself because they threw away their democracy, used lead pipes to move their water supply around, then let their dependence on slavery and lazy citizens destroy a thousand year old civilization. The Roman Empire might still be around today if they had kept it together, but no, all the upper class people had to use lead pipes for water supply so they all went stark raving mad." Laura breathed as she shoved her bookmark into place and tossed the heavy volume aside

"I'll tell you what a waste is, a waste is waiting for something to happen when you should just go ahead and do it." Julian said as he looked over and caught Laura's gaze.

"Do not make promises you can not keep Mr. Keller, are you proposing something?" Laura asked as she leaned in and kissed him.

"Just what feels natural." Julian pulled her into a long kiss, she returned it, then grabbed him and they rolled off the couch falling onto the thick carpet in front of the fireplace.

"Are you certain?" Laura asked, she was concerned that it would create a rift between them if something happened, his own guilt over their original sexual encounters had left a strong physical barrier between them before.

If the night did not go well or he regretted it the morning, she feared he might run off where she couldn't easily follow.

"I can't fight it any longer. I love you and I've wanted you since the moment we met." Julian he panted out, trying to catch his breath after a very long kiss.

"I was perfectly aware of your physical desires for my body." Laura said as she helped him get his shirt off and tossed it aside.

"I meant I wanted you like this, in love, together, just you and me. I don't want us to fuck Laura, I want to make love to you, I want you to feel how much I love you." Julian whispered, he held her face with his hand as he pulled her down and kissed her, Laura's hands feeling the bare skin on his chest. Julian was soon helping her off with her shirt as well.

"I have not understood all the feelings and urges since you rescued me Julian, but I do know that the feelings you give me when you touch me are like nothing I have ever felt. I was not sure what would happen when you rescued me Julian, but I am very happy it has led to us being together." Laura whispered into his ear as she rested against his body for a moment and enjoyed the heat radiating between them and the sensations as Julian traced a finger down her arm.

They began again, Julian on the ground as Laura unclasped her bra and let her breasts fall out, Julian quickly took them in his hands and felt the smooth and firm feeling of them as he leaned in and kissed Laura again. The kisses and caresses continued as their eyes met again and they greedily devoured each other.

Soon the rest of their clothes were discarded, they stood in front of each other, naked and exposed to one another. Julian smiled at the beauty of her naked body and pulled her in close and kissed her, then gently lay her down on the carpet as he explored and caressed every part of her body, committing it to memory. Laura did much the same as she rolled them over and began to examine all of Julian, getting to know the rough spots, the smooth spots and everything in-between. She then reached under the couch and produced a box of condoms.

"While I am sure you did not buy these with any specific date in mind, I do appreciate the foresight you showed when you purchased them last month. I would rather have not had to wait while you flew south to find them." Laura whispered, leaning in and licked all the way down from his throat to his very erect member. Wasting no time, she quickly covered his member in latex and then began to kiss her way back up to his mouth again.

"How did you know I bought them? I almost didn't remember I had them and when I did I hid them in the cellar. Why did you even move them to under the couch?" Julian asked, but found it a little hard to concentrate on the question as Laura continued to work her tongue up and down his chest.

"The smell of latex is a rather unique one so they were not hard to find. When I discovered where you had hid them I gathered you felt ashamed over your initial purchase. Your distinct rise in pheromones indicating sexual attraction, desire and arousal over the past several days suggested it would be a prudent move to be prepared as to not ruin the mood." Laura said as she reminded him of her abilities and the way she could read his body's intentions.

"So you knew this was going to happen even before I did?" Julian asked as he reached up and ran his hands across her body.

"While you may have refrained from making further physical intonations towards me for emotional reasons, your overall level of physical desire for my body has not changed since we met. The pheromone levels had been constant since we arrived until the beginning of this week, I gathered that these new levels of pheromone production indicated an intention to engage our relationship in a more physical manner." Laura explained her suspicions, then realized the contortion in Julian's face at the explanation.

"I apologize, have I ruined the 'mood' I did not want to have interrupted with my earlier actions?" Laura apologized as Julian's face changed to a smile.

"You could never ruin this beautiful." Julian replied as he pulled her down into a very long kiss.

"Would you prefer to…" Laura began, but Julian stopped her with a finger to his lips.

"No more talking, let's just go with whatever feels natural." Julian whispered as he began kissing her neck.

Laura let the instincts inside her body take over and do as Julian suggested. Letting Julian roll them over, she enjoyed the feeling of the contact of their naked skin while Julian took himself into her. The familiar feeling returned from their previous encounters, but much more intense in some ways. Laura knew Julian now, knew that he cared for her very deeply and would never hurt her and would never let anyone hurt her. Laura sniffed and took note of the unique fragrance of his body odour when mixing with the pheromones he released, they were intense for someone with a heightened sense of smell.

Julian could feel himself building up rapidly, he'd not relieved himself personally since coming up there with Laura, feeling ashamed to do such a thing with her in the house. He also knew she'd smell it if he did and he'd probably die of embarrassment if she asked him if he thought of her while doing it. Julian slowed down their rocking motions, moving more slowly as he reined himself in a bit and started to just exchange slow, soft kisses with Laura. They slowed down until he felt her own body heat rising and thought she was starting to reach her peak as well and started increasing his pace again. There wasn't much use trying to fight the impulse to go farther, being there with Laura, naked, it felt so right, seeing the desire in her eyes, and feeling her hot naked skin rub against his. It hit him and he couldn't help but call out her name, Laura kept going as she pushed on and soon let loose a pleased moan as she reached her peak.

Julian pushed himself off of Laura and lay next to her and lightly traced his fingers across her body, then they started to kiss again as they kept their naked bodies close together for warmth and comfort.

Laura suddenly felt his arms pulling her even more tightly to himself and felt something trigger in her head. Laura pushed back and moved away from Julian suddenly.

"Fuck, I did it didn't I? I ruined us, I shouldn't have asked you to do this…" Julian said as he looked shocked and somewhat horrified to her sudden reaction.

Laura shook her head and slowly rubbed her neck.

"I am sorry, it is a part of my Facility conditioning, possibly something that was reinforced by The Club and it is making me feel …guarded about sexual contact in an unstructured environment. I was instilled with training never to engage in sexual conduct that does not come from it being necessary for my missions or survival." Laura said as she curled her knees up against her chest, rested her arms on them and buried her head there.

Why must they haunt me? I want this to happen, I want to feel him touch me, make me feel like he just did all the time! Laura angrily thought as she thought about how to deal with it.

"We can stop, maybe you just need more time to work it out of your system or whatever." Julian offered to end it right there, deciding Laura did not need to deal with any more issues than she ever was required to face.

"I think I can deal with this, but I must ask you to trust me for what we do next." Laura considered what she could do, but thought about what it could mean if she asked him and he were to refuse, disgusted or frightened.

"Laura, I trust you with everything, I told you about how I fell apart, how I have no family, that I'm in love with you and I would do anything for you. What do you need from me?" Julian asked, wondering what Laura needed to do.

"I am aware this will be more of a full role reversal from our time spent together in The Club than just my directing the course of our current relationship and it may bother you. I believe I can continue with this, but I need to calm my conditioned reflexes and assume more control of our interactions. Basically, I will need to tie you to a bed or something similar and then continue with what we are doing. I know you could easily free yourself with your telekinesis, but I would ask that you do not." Laura thought about how she could put herself in control enough that her reflexes would stop giving her confusing impulses.

"If it will help you, sure. I said I trust you Laura, if this is what you need to do to help you through this than fine. Although I have to say I think you just want a bit of revenge for what we used to go through together." Julian said reassuringly, then tried adding a joke and it worked, she laughed a bit.

"I trust that was a joke. Thank you, I take it you would prefer we do this on the bed?" Laura asked as she smiled a bit, thankful he hadn't refused her outright, she did want to keep going and did not want to let her past brainwashing interfere with what they were sharing.

"Can't say I really wanted you to tie me to one of the trees out back so yeah, the bed sounds pretty good to me." Julian offered as they got up, Laura smiled a bit at the joke and was thankful he was willing.

Laura decided it would be best if she did it where she had become more familiar with sleeping over the past several months to help calm her mental conditioning. Julian was sitting on the bed when Laura left the room and went looking for something to tie Julian up with that would not hurt him either. She found a bundle of nylon rope in one of the closets. Laura, using her claws quickly cut off several lengths and returned with them as Julian was sitting on the bed.

"Please stretch out, I will tie your arms and legs to the bedposts and then we can begin again." Laura said as Julian nodded and stretched himself out from the middle of the bed. Laura tied a firm knot with rope for both wrists and his ankles, but made sure to leave him enough room for proper circulation to flow.

"Feeling better beautiful?" Julian asked as Laura stood on her knees over him and leaned in and kissed him as a test.

Laura found the distracting, warring impulses had lessened in her mind. If he would consent to this for further engagements then she would probably be able to dampen out the conditioning so it would not affect them when they engaged in other forms of activity.

"Almost, how do you feel about a fetish mask?" Laura asked with a bit of a smile on her face.

"Well look who's a comedian all of a sudden, it's not nice to mock naked tied-up boyfriends you know." Julian replied with a bit of a laugh and smiled

"I am feeling better Julian, thank you for your trust." Laura whispered as she began kissing down his naked body.

Laura kept doing this as she rubbed herself against Julian's body, pressing her breasts into his face and felt him licking some of the sweat off from their first tryst. Laura would spend several minutes with this, deciding that the least she could do for him was give him a lot of attention since he couldn't do much but watch what she did, she then kissed all the way down until she removed his condom and began to orally tease his member. Julian had trusted her with this and not raised a protest, despite the lingering feelings he felt about what he had done as part of his cover at The Club with her. Laura decided she could at give him some oral pleasure to even things out between them. Laura continued to do so and got Julian fully stimulated quite soon, then quickly redressed his condom and sat on his chest and began kissing him again.

"You didn't have to do that you know, I would have thought after what… I just didn't think you would ever want to do that again." Julian thought back to that night were Mistress had took control of them both.

"You felt comfortable enough with me to do this Julian. You gave up a sense of your control in your mind so I could be comfortable. I know it gives you pleasure to give me pleasure the way you touch me and want to please me, so why would you think the opposite is not true?" Laura breathed out in a very seductive tone she had not used in a long time, but it was no longer fake, she was enjoying this immensely.

"Well if you want to be comfortable, there is something I've wanted to try for a while. I've been working on the fine motor control and I've been wanting to surprise you with this." Julian whispered back in a husky, very aroused voice.

Laura felt a strange tingling sensation across her body as she found herself enveloped in a glowing green light, it was his telekinetic field, wrapped around her. Laura could feel very subtle, very smooth waves of telekinetic energy pressed against her body and washed up and down her body. It was an incredible feeling. Like having every single muscle in her body massaged at once and the most sensitive parts of her feeling very good all at once. It was almost like having his hands all over her at once as she smiled and leaned down to kiss him, he lowered the telekinetic field around her head as they shared impassioned kisses. Julian continued the telekinetic massage, giving Laura a relaxing feeling that ran across her body, while it also aroused her and encouraged her to keep going.

"You never mentioned you could this, it is quite relaxing… and stimulating." Laura said as she continued to kiss Julian, who returned the kisses while keeping up the hands-free massage.

"I didn't really think it was appropriate to do it, I really didn't know you'd feel or react with this kind of thing. You know I've been nervous about this stuff, but I thought if it would help you." Julian replied as he continued the enveloping massage.

"That and well, I was kinda upset I couldn't touch you with my hands or anything. I do tend to get some feedback from the field though, I have to say I'm really enjoying that feedback right now." Laura smiled at Julian's second remark, leaned in and kissed him further then they got more serious.

Laura positioned herself over Julian and then they started again. Laura started off slow at first, slowly enjoying the feeling of Julian's continued telekinetic massage and enjoying the feeling of being free of her Facility instincts. Laura was sure this would not be necessary forever, they had already coupled once without a problem, it would be something she would have to push out of her mind more firmly. It was easier to ignore the darker impulses as they ran right against what she wanted to do, but the more guarded reflexes were harder to blot out, hence the need for this.

They went on once again, Julian kept up his telekinetic massage all the way to the end. He did lose his concentration as he hit his own peak, Laura have already reached hers thanks to Julian's telekinetic massage. Laura relaxed and lay on top of Julian, he couldn't really do much at the moment with his limbs still tied up, so he started a more subtle massage just across her arm in place of his own hand.

"Would you be averse to our going on any further?" Laura asked as she kissed Julian's chest a bit as they lay there, still resting from their tryst.

"I'm good for as long as you are beautiful." Julian replied as Laura lifted her head up and they kissed.

"Good, because I think I can untie you now. The impulses seem to have regressed again." Laura said as she began to untie one of his arms, to suddenly fine he had all of his limbs free at once.

Julian smiled, using his telekinesis as he used his arms to crush Laura to himself and kiss her.

"Have you ever been told you have an impulse control problem?" Laura asked as Julian started to kiss her neck.

"Has anyone told you that watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail ten times a month is excessive?" Julian replied as he pulled back for her expression.

"King Arthur gets a lecture on representative democracy from a group of his own subjects and a killer rabbit nearly wipes out all the heroes! How is that not the greatest movie ever?" Laura countered his remark as Julian continued to trail his lips across her collarbone.

Laura had fallen in love with the movie the first time she saw it, the random, bizarre structure of the movie and its comedic moments were fun for her. They all defied the internal sense of logic that dictated most of her actions but made her laugh.

"Guess it got old when you started muting the dialogue so you could say all the actor's lines for them." Julian replied as he rested down on the bed, Laura next to him just being playful and relaxing in the moment.

"Then you started to fill in new dialogue to distract my narration, I highly doubt an English King would never tell the Black Knight to move or he would bust a cap in his ass!" Laura shot back as she playfully slapped his chin.

"Maybe he should've." Julian offered with a smile as Laura playfully slapped him again then kissed him.

"So, one more time?" Laura asked as she got on top of Julian again, her hair falling down and tickling his chest.

"Sure, but then you have to agree to get me a hip replacement for my birthday." Julian replied as Laura slapped him playfully once more and they got back into the moment.

"You made me a promise Mr. Keller, I expect you to honour it. Now get in the shower, I think it is time to clean you up a bit, I have a hypersensitive nose and I do not wish to wake up to such a stinky boy." Laura said as she pulled him up and shoved him towards the shower, slapping his ass as he moved towards the bathroom.

Julian flipped on the shower with his powers as Laura got in with him, the steam rose around him as they kissed, Laura ran her hands through his hair, which was getting shaggy, he hadn't cut it since they'd arrived.

"You need a haircut. You looked better with shorter hair." Laura said as Julian began kissing her neck.

"Hey, my barber is back in L.A. and I do not think he is much for house calls." Julian said as he continued to kiss along her body as the hot water washed over them both.

"So get it cut the next time you buy my books, I am pretty sure there are professionals who cut and style hair in Canada." Laura said, she grabbed a bar of soap and began to rub it over his chest.

"You do remember Wolverine's haircut right? Don't be so sure." Julian said as he grabbed soap as well and began to run it across Laura's body.

"I could just do it for you…" Laura said and popped one of her claws in front of him, he jumped back a bit and she laughed, retracting the claw.

"That's just not funny." Julian said as he tried to cover his man-parts, claws that sliced through anything was not something he welcomed when he was naked.

"You are far too nervous, but I think I can make it up to you anyway." Laura said as she grabbed a bath sponge and ran it down around his crotch.

"I think I'll forgive you but please, no more claws when we're naked, or close to being naked, it's not exactly a turn-on." Julian said as he shuddered with the feeling as Laura kept her attention downstairs.

"You are correct, it did require your member a full three-tenths of a second to come to attention after the claw went away." Laura said as she playfully stroked at his member.

"Well you do have a way of getting him interested." Julian whispered into her ear as he pulled her close to him and worked his tongue down her body, stopping when he got to her lower regions.

"What are you…." Laura started then stopped as Julian began to please her orally. He went on as Laura moaned from the sensations, she'd certainly never had anything like this done for her before.

"You will certainly need to keep doing that if we are to do this again." Laura purred out as Julian rose up and pinned her against the wall."

"Sure thing beautiful." Julian whispered as he pushed himself inside her while the hot water beat down over them.

They went at it once more, Laura pinned against the wall as Julian pressed himself into her. He slowed down this time, letting it last while he ran his hands across her breasts and continued to share hungry kisses with Laura. Julian's oral teasing had built Laura up faster, she peaked first and moaned loudly and tiredly kissed Julian. Julian soon finished as well, crying out as Laura finished leaving a rather noticeable hickey on his neck.

"Marking your territory?" Julian asked as he pulled back, Laura came off the wall and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"It seemed appropriate." Laura answered as she kissed him once more, they finished showering, although they took a lot more time washing each other much more than they really needed to do.

They left the shower and had a bit of fun drying each other off, sharing a few more kisses. Laura and Julian dressed in some sleeping clothes, it did get cold at night even sharing body heat and sometimes they did get up at night and the house did have a draft. Lying next to each other, Julian gently stroked Laura's hair as they enjoyed the afterglow of their lovemaking.

"So that is what making love is." Laura said, relaxing in the satisfied feeling and resting her head on Julian's shoulder.

"Worth the wait?" Julian asked, relaxing and trying to fight off sleep, falling asleep right after his first time with Laura outside the Club seemed selfish.

"Well letting the tension and sexual energy build up for so long did certainly make it a …intoxicating experience. But yes it was wonderful Julian, I did not imagine I could feel something like this. I love you Julian Keller. I didn't know what that word meant until I met you." Laura said contentedly as she took her hand in his and enjoyed the simple contact.

"I love you too Laura Kinney, you saved me, you made me a better person. I can't imagine how miserable I'd still be if I hadn't found you." Julian replied, kissing the crown of her head and basking in her presence.

"You will be here when I wake up?" Laura asked as she looked up at him.

"Always, I'm never leaving you, ever." Julian whispered then lost the fight with his drained body and fell asleep.

Laura smiled, they'd worn each other out to the point of exhaustion and she couldn't begrudge him sleep. She relaxed and it soon took her as well.

"Would you like to go somewhere?" Laura asked over breakfast the next day, idly toying with her cereal and looked over to Julian who was wrapped up in a sports magazine, something about the upcoming hockey season. Laura had always thought it rather strange that being from a state that didn't have snow Julian was interested in the game.

"Flying around the mountains or just walking through the woods?" Julian asked not looking up.

"I mean somewhere else in the world, New York, London, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Tokyo, Hong Kong, anywhere. There are some big cities in Canada, we could go to one of them." Laura said, she liked her own private world that just had her and Julian but she wanted more lately. She wanted to see all of the things she'd read about.

"I've been to most of them, rich parents and all. Where do you want to go?" Julian asked, wondering where Laura might like to go. He did feel like a bit of change in scenery, he could walk around their house blindfolded and still find everything and while the landscape was calm and majestic, it was still the same one he'd been looking at for months now. He wouldn't have minded spending the next month or two in bed with her in their private refuge alone, that was just a personal desire, this was what Laura really wanted and he could tell.

"I think Italy, the Facility sent me there a couple of times…" Laura said looking away ashamed, thinking about what she'd used to do when she traveled around the world.

"…But they were not allowing me to be a tourist before my missions started.. I want to see Rome and Venice, see all the old ruins from the Roman Empire. I want to see the world really, but I think Italy would be where I would like to start." Laura decided she'd been thinking about where she'd like to go for a while now.

"Travel the world with a beautiful girl that I'm completely in love with, well it's not exactly what I had planned for, but I think I can fit it into my schedule." Julian said with a smile after initially holding a puzzled expression as if deciding on the matter.

"I am glad you found that convenient, I would not have enjoyed having to hold you hostage and force you to fly me there." Laura replied with the same smile.

"Italy it is then, never argue with a pretty girl I always say. I have three forged passports of my own that I can use but I'll need to get one for you, is your real name known?" Julian said nodding, then thought about how they'd actually travel.

"The Facility probably does and it could be possible they sold the information to SHIELD for a profit, give them the wanted assassin in agreement for my DNA first so they could make more of me. Such organizations are known for this, I am quite certain my services were sold to SHIELD at some point, killing terrorist leaders is not generally the kind of work I was normally called on for." Laura said as she thought about her compromised identity.

"We can keep your first name at least, no need to have that taken off but I'll need some last names so I can create some fake passports in case one of them gets flagged." Julian asked as he got up and found his notebook, containing locations of places where things could be done with anyone who had the money.

"Thomas, Modano and Hull. The names should be common enough to avoid suspicion but does no sound too obvious. What will your last names be?" Laura asked as she thought for a moment, then decided on some names.

"Kane, Green and Sharp, easy enough to remember basically and for me somewhat recognizable. when do you want to go?" Julian asked as he found the nearest possible forger who could do the kind of work he needed, Seattle.

"Tomorrow, I would like one more night just between us before we go anywhere." Laura said as she looked over at him and gave him a particular smile he had not seen since last night.

"That's a definite deal. We are going to have to fly down to Seattle and get the passports set up today then, and then tomorrow we can take off. It will take me a couple of days to fly us to Italy, I'll need to stop for a rest in New York." Julian said agreeing, he already felt a bit excited at the prospect of another night with Laura, but first things first.

"After breakfast?" Laura asked as Julian sat back down and they continued with breakfast.

"Probably better, he'll need time to get it all together for us on such short notice." Julian nodded as he kept reading, scowled at a few of the predictions for the season and finished eating.

Julian used his satellite phone to call the number he had for the passport forger and said he would need three passports prepared within a few hours and he would pay very well for a quick job. The answer was as usual, a lot of money could buy you just about anything when it came down to it.

They got dressed, Julian wore his preferred leather jacket and Laura put hers on, it was similar to his except instead of red stripes it had green ones, she liked them as they matched her eyes. Another gift from Julian the last time he'd flown to buy them supplies. Laura tensed herself, she hadn't been around anyone except Julian for months, she reminded herself to just stay calm and follow Julian's lead.

"How long will it take us to get to Italy?" Laura asked as they left the house, Julian then started up his powers, first bringing the telekinetic field up around himself and Laura and they took off over quickly.

"I'd rather not push it too much, I'll need something in case we run into trouble, so we'll get to New York and from there I can also arrange to pick up a better navigation unit than the one I have since we'll be flying internationally. With the new unit, I can probably get us from New York to Italy in about five hours or so, I'd go faster but I want to save something in case we get into trouble when we land." Julian said as he thought about how much of his power he should expend.

He couldn't risk using too much, if they made a mistake over there and were found, it could get very dangerous. Wolverine would need probably hours to respond, as would Santo, Cessily and the rest of the New Mutants. They'd be on their own and his telekinesis was their best chance for a fast escape.

The flight was different with Laura along for the ride, so he slowed down and took her on a bit of a visual tour, showing her different areas he'd spotted since he'd started flying back and forth from their house to Vancouver every few weeks for new books, movies or other things. Laura seemed to be having fun watching the world from a bird's eye view, then sped up as he realized they still had a rather important transaction to make.

They arrived without incident, Julian set them down in a rather shady part of town but kept a sharp eye and so did Laura. Her enhanced senses detected nothing they couldn't handle as Julian found a boarded-up storefront and knocked on it five times, the door opened and they walked in.

The boarded-up store front concealed a very advanced cyber operation, as a fat man sitting behind a set of computer monitors and other electronic equipment waved them in.

"Passports right?" The fat man asked as Julian nodded and pulled out five thousand from his jacket, half up front was always the deal in this situation.

"That's right, I need three, US, Canadian and British passports, under the names Laura Modano, Laura Hull and Laura Thomas in that order. Place of residences are San Jose California, Ottawa, Ontario and London, UK, in that order as well." Julian said as he pushed the money into the man's hands.

"Sure, just a second, I'll need your lady friend here to stand for the picture." The man motioned for Laura to step in front of the camera near his computer, she did so and he took the picture.

"Piece of cake, come back in three hours. Need credit cards to go with them?" The fat man asked as Julian shook his head, turned around and left with Laura. Getting back outside, Julian wondered how they would spend the next three hours.

"What do you want to do?" Julian asked as he pulled out his GPS unit and scrolled for places of interest.

"I would like to go up there." Laura said pointing to the Space Needle, examining the Seattle skyline.

"Sure, why not?" Julian agreed as he fixed the location on the GPS and looked for a convenient bus route. It would take a couple of transfers but the first bus was nearby and they went to the nearby bus station and waited. They tried to not attract attention as they sat on the bench waiting for the bus, but found several men who looked like probable thugs eyeing the young couple.

Laura had been cataloging threats since they had arrived, but no confrontation was needed as the bus arrived and they got on, Julian fumbled through his jacket for change, then just shoved a five-dollar bill into the coin box for the two of them. They grabbed two seats and ignored everyone else, his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders, holding her hand as she rested her head on his shoulder.

The trip took them about thirty minutes and then they arrived. Julian worried about Laura being stuck in a crowded elevator with so many strange people, she'd barely had any human contact for months since they'd left the Institute and little real contact with them before that.

Laura didn't seem fazed at first, she did keep looking over her shoulder and evaluating everyone she saw for threats but didn't act on it and she held hands with him as they pretended to be just another young couple in a crowd. They waited their turn to get into the elevator to take them to the top of the Space Needle and Laura took deep breathes to calm herself against the idea of being confined in the elevator. The idea of any confinement was not welcome, especially when surrounded by strangers, one thing she'd learned well is that people were far more likely to use her then help, Julian and a few others being the sole exceptions for her.

Julian noticed her apprehension, so he leaned in and kissed her, she smiled and kissed him back, then they got in the elevator, Laura feeling a bit less anxious with the gentle reminder she wasn't alone.

They reached the top and filed out with the other visitors, Laura immediacy headed for towards the edge of the observation deck, dragging Julian behind as she practically ran to see how the city looked from the top.

"Wow…" Laura whispered taking in the view, while she did get to enjoy a rather unique perspective when Julian had taken her flying around the mountains or on the way here. This was different. Thousands, if not millions of people had probably come here for this specific view of the city, she was sharing in something that let her be just another person in the crowd. Birds flew by the windows as Laura slowly walked around the observation deck and took in the view, pulling Julian along eagerly. Laura made the rounds three times then announced she was hungry and yanked Julian off towards the restaurant.

"Where did you get the names from for your passports? You seemed rather intentional about the names when you mentioned them." Laura asked as they sat over lunch in the restaurant in the Needle.

"Hockey players, I was just reading about up-and-comers in a sports magazine when I had to pick names so I just took three off the list." Julian answered, shrugging at his decision of a last name.

"What is your interest in hockey anyway? It does not make sense considering you were born and raised in a city that sees snowfall on average once in a decade." Laura asked, wondering why Julian liked the sport.

"I don't know, I just do. I was channel-surfing when I was eight and saw all these guys on ice, knocking each other over while fighting for small black puck that they then took turns blasting away at each other's goalie like they were trying to kill the guy with it. It was a lot of fun to watch for an eight year old so I kept watching it. I got my parents to take me to some games, or at least send me to a game with one of my caretakers while they were off doing whatever. " Julian shrugged as he thought about his interest in the sport, just one of the things one picked up in their youth, like wanting to see giant robots smash each other apart in movies..

"I still do not quite understand it, it seems rather impractical the whole sport. Surely it would be simpler just to throw a flash-bang grenade at the goalie to stun him and then shoot for the net." Laura analyzed the game as she went through the menu.

"I'm pretty sure there's a rule against that." Julian went shaking his head.

"There seem to be a great many rules in all major sports that get in the way of winning the games, how do you put up with such frustrating limitations?" Laura inquired, it was a bit strange for her, her training had always had her going for the most direct solution.

"Well it's supposed to be a game, played for fun. If you started blinding the goalie with grenades and such it's not much fun anymore. You play to win with your skills and effort, have a good time and just enjoy what you're doing." Julian tried explaining, remembering that Laura had probably not placed for the Facility intramural soccer team or gotten to play any games while living on the streets as a prostitute.

"So it is like sex then, you work up a good sweat while avoiding pulling or breaking anything and having as much fun as possible." Laura surmised, which got a bit of a huff as they realized their waiter was standing over them.

"Yeah, if you uh, just give us a minute here we kinda haven't decided yet." Julian managed to mumble out as the woman standing over them walked off, he imagined the service wouldn't be that good from this point on.

"You know how on the way here I mentioned a few things we shouldn't talk about in public?" Julian tried to whisper as he blushed.

"This is just because this country was settled by a group of people who were so sexually repressed they thought the Calvinist movement was soft. If you had paid attention in the history classes I am sure you had would at the Xavier Institute you would probably be aware of all of this. The inability of people in this country to be comfortable with sexual relations is a leading social problem for your society." Laura lectured Julian, using her book learning knowledge from the last few months.

Reading about sex had seemed necessary during their quiet retreat if only to understand why Julian had always felt so conflicted about the physical intimacy they had shared at The Club. While living up to their cover had been unfortunately necessary and Julian had been responsible, albeit accidentally for it happening in his ill-planned rescue mission. Laura had forgiven him for it, telling him so to his face more than once. She wasn't sure when she had actually forgiven him internally though. Her anger with him had been real initially and lashed out at him physically after the first incident, but that had just been an attempt to take some control for herself more than punishing him. The second time she couldn't have blamed him, telling him to use a pleasure inducer had been a panicked move, trying to pick the alternative that would likely give Julian the least pause. She could tell there was no way he would consent to having some form of three way with one of the other slaves even to keep up their cover. Their encounter with Mistress had been a serious mistake of course, leaving them both feeling violated for having been made to couple like lions in mating season. The encounter had also directly led Julian to a more direct solution that had him give up what pride he had left and begged the people he had failed and betrayed for their help. Laura did know that without his efforts, Master, Bliss, Purge, Mistress and the other sadists might have twisted her into a willing sex slave and it could have been years before someone else tried to stop them. While she was resilient, one's self-identity was a fragile thing and she had not even had time to really build on when she'd been abducted. With the conditioning she had been forced into taking, she had feared she'd never escape being Doll even with Julian's help. Laura suspected that Julian was still suffering from some form of survivor's guilt following his trauma suffered during the attack on the Institute where he had lost his friends.

It had killed off a strong portion of his ego and the ego he had projected to infiltrate The Club had been an act than a reflection of his personality. Laura herself was suffering through the efforts of forming a human identity after not having one for sixteen years. Studying psychology hadn't been that helpful but she had learned a few things, mostly that she and Julian's personality disorders were likely to continue for some time.

"So what do you want to do after lunch?" Julian asked, hoping that waitress did actually come back because he was getting hungry.

"We are fixing that hair of yours, I may not know much about how relationships work yet but I do know I do not like them when the boy has longer hair than I do." Laura said pointing to Julian's mass of hair.

"It's not nearly that bad." Julian tried defending, but knew he should probably do something about it.

"If you had taken my offer to cut it for you we could have avoided this conversation already. I can not believe I actually coupled with you last night with you in such a disheveled appearance, there must be some truth to that line I read about love being blind." Laura teased him as Julian tried to find a way to take the conversation off of his hair.

"Could you not call it coupling? It sounds like you're giving a biology lecture or something." Julian asked Laura as he looked around, it was still a bit uncomfortable for him to mention the physical side of their relationship.

He still felt bits of lingering guilt from The Club and his ego had never really recovered from the Purifier battle. Julian had considered that the fact that his old ego had not really resurfaced it was a sign he wasn't meant to be that confident. The supremely overconfident Julian Keller he had been before didn't seem to be coming back. He was confident in his abilities, he had to in order to effectively use them but the confidence that made him and by extension the ones around him invincible was gone. That he knew and it was probably for the best, it had not led to anything good in the end.

"It is an accurate term for what we did. I know you referred to last night as lovemaking but it was also coupling, it would be difficult to argue it was not and it does provide an accurate description." Laura looked back at him with a stark look like she was in fact giving a seminar on the topic of sexual relations.

"How about something we can talk about and I don't feel like ducking under the table about? What do you want to go in Italy first?" Julian tried to change the subject, he wasn't really that prudish about sex but it felt strange talking with Laura about it.

"I think I would like to start in Rome, see the Collosseum, The Arch of Constantine, The Catacombs, The Pantheon and the Circus Maximus. The things anyone else would do if they went there, just slip into a crowd and see what it's like to be everyone else. I guess I just want to start seeing what I've missed all these…why are you smiling so much?" Laura asked as she tried to explain her reasons for wanting to go Italy first.

"You just said 'it's' and 'I've' instead of it is and I have, I think you're starting to actually talk like the rest of us." Julian said, still smiling, while he didn't mind her never using contractions, it did seem weird at times, especially when they were being more intimate.

"I would counter that argument and would suggest that your pedestrian speech patterns are corrupting mine. It would seem there is a downside to this relationship after all, I am quickly adopting the sub-standard speech you use." Laura replied, and then allowed herself to smile as she said it.

"Try and pay your girlfriend a compliment and what do you get? Abuse." Julian fake-scowled as Laura laughed a bit.

"Actually it feels liberating, speaking in such a manner for so long is not an easy habit to break. I guess it is because I am feeling so relaxed that …I've managed to become comfortable with ignoring past habits." Laura was still smiling and Julian enjoyed it, he never got tired of her smile and doubt he ever would.

"So that means no tying me up to the bed tonight?" Julian asked with a bit of a smirk, noticed Laura was just looking behind as he realized their waitress had just heard them and walked by quickly.

"Yeah, I think we should start looking for a Burger King. I don't think I want to know what would be in the food right now if we did get it." Julian went getting up, putting his jacket back on as Laura did the same.

"What do you mean?" Laura asked as they started walking back to the elevator to take them to the street.

"Basically, never anger the ones who bring you your food. They are subtle in their methods of revenge." Julian explained as they stood at the back of the elevator on the way down.

"Ah, so then you are worried about what you might eat when I cook dinner in case you have been unduly bothering me all day?" Laura asked prodding him with her elbow as they rode down.

"I wasn't particularly worried no, but now that I told you about a possible way to extract some subtle revenge I'm going to switch plates before we eat from now on." Julian said dismissing the possibility, then throwing her a wink.

"But now that I am aware of your preparation, would I not just have initially put something on to my plate knowing you were going to switch them anyway?" Laura countered as they exited the elevator.

"Yes but now that I've told you of my plan, that's what you will do and now I won't switch plates. The problem is since I just told you that, I fear I am now going to trap myself in a circle of paranoia that will end in my dying of malnutrition." Julian went on in a fake groan as Laura smiled at it.

"Don't worry, I would never do such a thing. Unless of course you continue to think it is amusing to use your telekinesis to keep the refrigerator shut when I am trying to open it." Laura said reassuringly, then poked him in the chest.

"Hey, not my fault that's a sticky handle…hey!" Julian responded, until Laura just shoved him a bit as they walked.

"You enjoy pushing me around too much." Julian came back, wrapped his arm around Laura's waist and pulled her in.

"You said to try and enjoy the simple things in life and pushing you around is one of the easiest things I have ever done." Laura trailed her finger across Julian's shirt, and then poked him.

Julian didn't say anything, he just kissed her as they stood in the entrance to the Space Needle, ignoring anyone else watching this.

"You are aware that attaching positive reinforcement to my bullying you is not likely going to give you an easier time of things?" Laura asked as they broke off the kiss.

"Can't help it, got a thing for kissing pretty girls." Julian said holding her hand in his as they started walking to find something to eat that probably wouldn't be sabotaged.

"If you want to keep kissing this pretty girl, that hair is getting fixed before we go overseas, I won't appear to be dating a hobo while on vacation." Laura said mussing with the long hair that Julian had picked up over their long stay up north.

"I was thinking, after Italy, where to next?" Julian asked as they walked down the street, actively looking for a place to get Julian's hair cut.

"We'll figure that out when we get bored of Italian food, floating cities and ancient Roman architecture." Laura replied as they kept walking, Julian stopped at that remark and Laura stopped when he did.

"Think about what you just said." Julian asked her with a mile-wide grin on his face.

"What?" Laura asked right back, thinking about to what she had said.

"You just said you'd go halfway around the world and then when you got there and knocked around the place for like a month, you'd just pick somewhere else to go. No real decision, just choosing to do whatever you wanted to do when you were done touring an entire country. You suggested we go somewhere, and then you said you'd just pick somewhere to go after that, no planning beyond the fact that you want to keep flying around the world without thinking about anything else." Julian was still smiling, he pulled her closer as they stood in their own little world on the busy sidewalk.

"It just felt natural, do something, go somewhere, see something I had never seen before." Laura said and realized that what she had said before had been without thinking really, it had just been what was on her mind in that moment.

"That's what I love about it, you did what anyone else would do, what I might to do, just do what felt right and go with it. You're deciding what you want to do, how you want to do it and when you want to do it. It was random, it was out of the blue and you went with it." Julian leaned in and kissed her.

"I should make random decisions more often." Laura said laughing as they kissed again.

When they returned to pick up Laura's new identification, Julian had his hair back to its old style much to Laura's preference. Julian liked having it back too, he'd just sort of forgotten about it when they'd been living alone, content just enjoying his time to himself and with Laura.

They grabbed a quick lunch in a Jack in the Box, Julian insisting if they were about to go on a world tour, he was at least going to have his favourite burger before he left the continent. Laura found the meal good enough, but found Julian's attachment to a particular fast food chain a bit strange.

Their last stop before coming to get new ID for Laura had been for a camera. Julian explained that while she might have near-perfect visual recall, he didn't and wanted to document their upcoming adventure. Now armed with a digital SLR camera, short and long distance lenses plus enough memory cards to take several thousand pictures, they returned to pick up Laura's ID, paid the remainder of the fee and took off back.

They returned back to their house quickly enough, Laura examined the passports and was satisfied with the detail provided.

Julian made several calls, letting Santo, Cessily and Wolverine know that they were going to be in Europe on a trip so don't worry if they don't hear from him for a while. Julian had made the effort to call them all once a week to let them know nothing was amiss, although he left out last night's highlights to himself, it was between him and Laura and that's all there was to it.

Laura had gone through their travel documentation again, ensuring it would pass muster and then set to packing everything. Julian helped out at first, but Laura threw him out when she saw what his idea of packing was. While Laura still had a strong sense of internal order from her Facility training, Julian was of the philosophy of 'I'll make it fit' when it came down to it.

Julian then started using his telekinesis after she banished him from helping her by continuously moving things just out of reach of where she had them a second ago. Laura then used his favourite shirt as a hostage, unsheathing her claws and threatening it unless he quit and he quickly gave up.

They played around a bit for the rest of the day, Julian took them flying for one last view of their isolated retreat before they would leave for good. Laura made him watch Monty Python and The Holy Grail one last time, as one would try to outdo the other in covering the dialogue. Julian was about halfway through covering the Knights of the Round Table dancing scene by doing the lyrics to "YMCA" when Laura tackled him off the couch. They played around with wrestling until Laura pinned him, which devolved into some sloppy making out for a while and feeling each other up in the process.

Julian was allowed to assist with making dinner, so far as he was allowed to work with preparation, but Laura still didn't trust him with much actual cooking and kept him off of that. Laura had no intention of having a last lousy meal in their home, spoiling their last night together.

Dinner was good enough, a ravioli dish to help get them in the mood for where they were going. Julian said he needed to sit down with his sketch pad for a bit, saying he thought he could get Laura perfectly if he did it right then. Laura didn't argue, Julian had been drawing her for months now, insisting he was always missing something and he seemed to be determined.

Julian worked for quite some time, his hand dancing across the page as he looked back at Laura now and then, as if perfectly measuring every part of her when he looked back.

"Okay, it's going to take me a while to do any final detail work, but I think I have it right this time. No fuck that, I do have it right this time." Julian said stopping and putting his pencil aside, Laura literally jumped from where she had been standing when he said so and landed on the couch next to him, Julian jumped at that.

"That's just scary." Julian said looking at the distance she jumped.

"No stalling, let's see it." Laura said as she grabbed the sketchbook from him and promptly lost her breath in surprise.

Julian had always done a very good job of drawing her, Laura had rarely seen why he seemed upset with some of his efforts, saying he was missing a bit of her. Laura didn't quite know what he meant but he seemed dedicated to the idea so she didn't question it. Laura felt like she was looking into a mirror, Julian had perfectly copied her it seemed, every detail translated on to the page.

Julian had worked very quickly in the time had taken, on the page it was a full drawing of her, dressed as she had been earlier when they flew down to Seattle. There was no background, Julian had personally thought it would take away from the picture having anything else around Laura. The key had been the final details of her face, he had wanted to make sure he had just the proper expression on it. Julian had seen that expression when they'd been at the Space Needle and he was able to commit it to memory. Laura's face was lit up a bit, her eyes a bit wider, but not too wide like she'd just seen fireworks for the first time, more of a general fascination with what she saw, and a desire to see more. Julian enjoyed that expression most of all besides the smile only he really got to see, it was appealing on a different level. Julian could see it in Laura's eyes and expression when they looked out on the view, she wanted to see more, do more, no hidden motive behind her eyes, just a wish to see more like the view, a hunger for adventure. It was the best thing he'd drawn in his life and he had known it when he was only a quarter way through it.

"Wow…" That was all Laura could manage, Julian had captured her expression, the one that she had on when she just saw something and wanted to see more, or do more, just stretch out what she knew and explore.

"So I take it you like it?" Julian asked as Laura examined the picture.

"It's beautiful…I didn't think you could draw detail like this." Laura said surprised, Julian did have a talent for drawing, but he'd never drawn anything so incredible before.

"What can I say beautiful, guess you just inspire my artistic side." Julian said leaning over and kissing her.

They kissed for a few moments, the sketch was tossed aside as Laura moved over into Julian's lap.

"You did not plan this specifically to charm yourself back into my bed tonight did you?" Laura asked as they continued to kiss.

"You are entirely too suspicious. I think you need to relax now." Julian responded as Laura found that familiar sensation of his telekinetic field enveloping her body.

"I would say this definitely does count as seduction. Not that I will complain though." Laura said in a more pleased tone as she felt the massaging movements of his telekinesis move up and down her body.

"I didn't think you would." Julian said as he continued to run the telekinetic massage across her body while he lifted her up in his arms and started walking towards what was now their shared bedroom.

"I have to say, I am still quite upset that you didn't reveal this ability sooner." Laura whispered as Julian laid her on the bed, continuing the telekinetic massage.

"I think I can get you to forgive me." Julian whispered back as he kept up the massage as he got and top and they started to kiss.

"You're off to a good start I would say." Laura said as she started to work Julian's shirt off.

Their lovemaking did not go on as long as the previous night, it was more playful, just enjoying one another's company. Falling asleep in each other's arms, they had restful dreams, the nightmares that had seemed to plague them both for so long seemed like distant memories.

Julian had awoken first, but contended himself with watching Laura sleep for a bit until she woke up, accused him of engaging in stalking behaviour before he kissed her and that remark was forgotten. They had a bit of fun playing around in the shower, but Laura reminded him he needed to fly them both to New York before departing for Italy the following day and they finished off.

Laura finished checking that they had their clothes, money and passports packed away, Julian had bumped in four times to make sure he had a fresh sketch pad packed away with pencils. Laura kept shooing him out to make sure he didn't mess anything up, he seemed determined to draw her everywhere they would be going. Laura finished it up, then helped Julian finish off what was left in the fridge. Laura had noted that the fridge had been running low yesterday when she had suggested the trip, rather than continuing the routine, she had decided to break it. It felt good to decide to get away from a routine, decide to do something by herself, it was not often she had enjoyed that in her life.

Julian looked around one last time at the private world that had been theirs and theirs alone for four and a half months, where both of them had come to understand life and love, feel it and give in to it. Julian smiled to himself, he never thought he'd feel like this, not ever when he had chased after Sofia for months did he ever imagine he'd be as happy as he was with Laura.

Laura popped her claws out and carved their initials into the wall before they left, leaving her mark. She had started her life there, beginning to understand what it meant to be Laura Kinney, while allowing herself to love Julian Keller and let him love her back. X-23 was a relic of the past in her mind, it that had been what she had been told to be, like she'd been told to be Doll before Julian rescued her from that life. Laura was choosing to be what she wanted to be and she now chose to spend the rest of her life with the one person who saw beyond what she had been, but what she had it within herself to become.

Julian looked back at Laura as they exited their private sanctuary, each of them carrying a bag, holding hands with her as he enveloped them in his telekinetic field and they flew off together. Julian smiled as he tore across the sky, increasing his speed to the point where he could outrun nearly anything man-made. The feeling of acceleration never got old, the freedom, and no one was telling him or Laura what to do, they could do whatever they wanted. It was the best feeling he'd had in his entire life, no limits, no knowing where they'd be in a month, six months or ten years from then. Julian didn't really care, as long as the dark-haired beauty that had helped him save his soul was with him. He had learned to embrace life again, put old nightmares behind and be a better man than he ever thought he could be.

Authors Notes: Considered doing a chapter 13 for an Epilogue for what happened later on, but found it just didn't meld with the rest of the story. Really was set around Julian and Laura and their story, so having them come back to the X-Men or something like that after a few years of travelling the world didn't seem to fit the style unless I did a sequel to it and I don't plan on doing one. Go with your imagination on where the adventure went from here.

Already working on the next project, Hellion/X-23, Agents of SHIELD, with AU timelines for the characters, but more in canon with recent Marvel events. Will take some time to write and complete I suspect, this story was written over the course of 15 days more or less, with it being basically all I did for the first week. Don't think I can have the next one up as fast, but I'll post updates on how I think it is going on my profile.