Kill or be killed;

“Well cuddle dem, of course. They’d use you like a bed, petit.”

“lucifer sleeps on my head.” 

“You’re just tryin’ to break my heart now, ain’t you, petit?” He joked back affectionately. “You’ll win them all over and I’ll be all alone.”

“I would not know what to do with all of them.” 

“Is he? I keep tellin’ you that cat likes you more than it likes me.”

“you might have to give him to me.” she nods, her attempt at a joke. 

“Lucifer is in my room.” 

X-23 #12

Julian goes for another kiss, this time attempting to deepen it while he leans against her. The hand on his cheek radiates every bit of touch he wish he could have. But he can’t and he’s accepted that. He’s done his best to learn to feel the touch of TK in his mind, which when wrapped around the hands he used could relay some hints of contact, but it wasn’t much. And it certainly wasn’t comparable. “Will you let me take you to dinner? I can get the jet, we can go anywhere we want to, I’ll even get my assistant to take you shopping to pick out something for us to wear.” He pauses, “Is there anywhere you’ve always wanted to visit?”

His reassurance did make her feel better, she’s not sure why because they’re just words but they do. He kisses her once more and she supposes she could definitely get used to it, it was very different from anything else she had ever experienced but she liked it. She liked him and she did trust him, he may have made a mistake but she did believe him when he said he wouldn’t do it again. “okay.” she murmurs. “like Scott and Jean.” she nods at him, lips hinting at a small smile. “I have never really thought about it.” she said in response to his question. Back in the facility and for some time at the institute it had always just been anywhere but here. “Take me to your favorite place.” 

Not the same, you know… by Cerviero

Marvel aesthetics || Laura Kinney/X-23

He curls his arms around her tighter, pulling himself forward against her to tilt his forehead against her own. Julian’s trying to stay close, to comfort himself by using her, and while it doesn’t dawn on him how shitty of a thing it is to do, it will at some point. “You’re allowed to be upset with me, you should be upset with me, I was an idiot.” Again, it would make him feel better if she was angry, but he couldn’t say that aloud. The mention of Scott has him growling softly, or perhaps internally he can’t be sure, but he nods through it. “Sure, we’ll go with that. Neither of us are as robotic and cold as Summers is, but we can be like them if you’d like to be.” With the confession he leans in again, taking a soft kiss, licking over her bottom lip with a flick of the tip of his tongue. “You mean a lot to me Laura,” he repeats himself again for effect.

Touch hasn’t always been pleasant for her, actually prior to recent it had always equated to pain in her mind. That or just outright discomfort, however she finds the warmth he brings as he pulls her closer actually feels nice. “Are you going to do it again?” she asked, looking to him with green hues almost not wanting an answer. She’s certainly not used to anyone putting her first--for anything. At his words she lifts a brow “I’ve been called a machine plenty of times.” she corrected, it was true. And while she didn’t feel good about that it wasn’t like she’d blame anyone for saying that. For most of her life she had been nothing but a weapon used to kill. She was hardly the poster child for stable or well rounded. When he kisses her again, Laura placed a gentle hand on the side of his face, the tips of her fingers grazing along his jawline as she leaned against Julian. She wasn’t sure how to respond to him but his words made her feel better. 

“I want to be with you,” he clarifies. “I don’t know when things changed, but I realized that I trust you, and that more importantly I feel safe around you. I can’t say that for many other people. I like you Laura, that’s what I’m getting at here.”

Laura paused before twisting to look at him some, faces just a few inches apart. “I have never had this.” she replied. Sometimes she thought he’d either get bored with her or sick of the fact that she was so out of touch with all of this. Actually, that was a constant fear of hers with most people. But she was trying. It was just hard, she was taught how to kill--read the Art of War, not shown how to date boys or deal with--whatever this was. “I do not know how I feel, but it is not anger. It does not feel good but I am not angry.” she replies honestly, trying to sort it out. “What does that mean, that you want to be with me? Like Jean and Scott?” they were the first two she’d been able to produce as an example. “I like you too.” she murmured quietly. 

“Laura I made a mistake last night, this morning-or well I made a mistake. He turns to face her, not realizing that his hands were on the ground, his concentration obviously broken. “I slept with Josh, I don’t know why… I was drunk, but it’s no excuse. I want to be with you, I want you, not him. I loved him once, I know I did, but you’re the one I care about now. I’m sorry- if you want to cut me again, go for it, I honestly won’t blame you.”

She watches him pull away and grow flustered, she shrinks back some, wondering if she said something wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time. She opens her mouth to correct herself if need be but shuts it again when he starts to speak. His words settle a heavy sinking feeling in her gut, diminishing whatever airy feeling it had held within it earlier. Dark brows furrow and she lets what he’s saying sink in. Sex--he means sex. Laura pulls her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and she places her chin on top as she falls into a thoughtful silence.  “I do not want to hurt you.” she replied shaking her head at him. She’s just confused, not just by him but what’s going on internally. She’s not used to any of this. “You do not have a commitment to me, Julian.” she replied quietly. It didn’t feel good but, as far as she knew it wasn’t like she really had a right to be angry with him, did she? Even so anger was not something she was feeling. She just felt, bad. “You want me?” she questioned, she’d had those words tossed to her before but the circumstances were very different and she hoped Julian would never treat her that way. Saw no reason for him to but that didn’t exactly mean anything. 

“If you don’t know about it, I’ll spare you the details. But basically, my whole superpower is punching things really hard. Fists of iron and all that. Some people think it’s a joke I suppose.”

“People are strange. I do not understand how that is a joke but, I seem to be out of my depth when it comes to humor.” 

“I know,” he replies with a sigh, sitting up to run a hand through her hair just as an excuse to lean in again to giver her another quick peck on the lips. “Everyone has always said that, but I have no reason to give myself credit when nobody else does. Why be proud of myself if it’s obvious that nobody else seems to think it’s that special?”

Laura frowned at him, vibrant green eyes dropping to the ground for a moment before looking at him again. She was struggling to find the right words to say. “One day you will realize that you do not need anyone’s approval to prove you are special and when that happens, you will also realize that you were special the whole time.”