Day 35: Bus 1

[misterprince.livejournal.com]

Sanji woke up groggily to find his nurse already in his room. He gave a sleepy and half-hearted "Buh?" before realizing that nurse meant dayshift, and he'd fallen asleep after dinner.

"Shit!" He sat up abruptly, which gave his nurse a start. "Nami-swan!" How had he allowed himself to sleep through an entire night? What if she'd tried to return to the basement? What if she'd been waiting for him to appear and protect her? He'd let her down!

"There, there. Calm down." His nurse set a familiar flannel shirt down on the bed and Sanji eyed it with confusion. The last time he'd worn that had been... "Sorry I didn't knock or anything, but I was so excited~!" A pair of jeans followed the shirt. "Today is the field trip into town! Aren't you looking forward to it?"

The chef had to admit, the town had been an interesting enough place the last time he'd been. If he could find Nami early on he might even be able to lead her around... So he didn't complain too much as he changed into the other outfit (which he really wished they'd let him keep - anything was better than the regular gray) and was led out to the first of the buses.

He took a seat near the front, hopefully easily visible to any of his crew - especially to a certain member of his crew.

[for Usopp!]

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[a-spider-can.livejournal.com]

Hearing the man reflect back on things that had happened years ago, on places that Peter had never dreamed of visiting - it just reminded him how different their lives were. Or rather, how much longer Logan had lived. Peter knew that he had just been telling Harry that someone wasn't more right just because they were older, but having it put into perspective like this was still somewhat overwhelming. He felt like they were on completely different levels.

Still, it was easier to follow along with the other man's logic now, and Peter nodded as Logan explained himself. In the end, their goals were still the same: protect others, and stop what was going on here at Landel's. Now Logan just had that much more of a drive to do it.

Peter knew the man was going to be hurting for a while after this, but at least they would have the chance to talk it over every night at dinner. He wasn't sure how much of a help he could be, but he could still make the effort.

"Well, looks like you've got your head on straight," he said with a small smile. "Just don't let this drag you down. That's what they want to happen - they want to break us apart until we're not strong enough to fight back anymore, so..." He paused then, figuring that Logan already knew all of this - though it probably helped to hear it from someone else.

The buses were coming to a stop, and Peter glanced out the window for a moment. "Did you have any plans for the day?" He had been so busy worrying about his roommate that he'd barely been thinking about the field trip.

[ol-canucklehead.livejournal.com]

Even in the brief time they'd been able to talk on the bus ride in, Logan felt a little better. Not good, but better. This, he reminded himself, was why it was important to work with others when he could. Sometimes just having someone there who was willing to listen could make a significant difference, could help to ease the burden on his old, tired shoulders.

"Yeah, if ya say so," he smiled a little wider at the 'head on straight' comment. That was Logan though, always fluctuating between 'wise old man' and 'unrelenting psychopath'. It was a hard way to live, at times. "Don' worry too much 'bout me, kid. Sure, I''ll hur' fer a while. Always do. Bu' it won' drag me down. If things like this did, I woulda given up a lon' time ago. I'll keep fightin' till I'm dead, kid. Ya go' my wor' on tha'."

He too sensed that they had almost reached their destination. Suddenly feeling eager to get moving, he stood before the bus had even come to a complete stop, and his eyes tracked the scene past the window also. "'Spose I shoul' try n' fin' Cole. Guessin' he prob'ly wansta know wha' happened las' nigh', too. Other'n tha'...maybe I'll take yer advice n' try an' track down some o' tha kids I crossed." He turned away from the window as the bus pulled to a complete halt, looking down at his friend.

"Hey, thanks, kid. I appreciate it." A warm smile this time, genuine. He was glad he wasn't alone in this mess, and wanted to show it as best he could.