Fractured pale light drifted through moth eaten curtains; the holes which the pests had created caused cylindrical shards of light to shoot through and illuminate different parts of the room. The struggling light did try to grow in volume, and in power, but it was all for nothing. The day seemed to be yet another bleak, grey clouded day with very little sun or cheery weather to show for itself. Each day so far had been much the same, snow and rain frequenting only to disappear as quickly as it had come. The one consistent thing was the cold. A bitter chill which seemed to find a way in to chill to the bones, regardless of the layers which were being worn.

The same chill settled within buildings, within rooms, as long as there wasn't constant activity happening. Even being half-asleep, Erik frowned and subconsciously complained about that. Trust Valeryia to pick the one cheap hotel which clearly had no indoor heating. How the hell she hadn't got pneumonia, or frostbite was beyond him. He supposed though, somewhere within her, she was used to the cold. She had lived in similar surroundings, well, not quite like this. But Russia was a neighbour and even Erik knew of the snowy weather which frequented there. He, however, wasn't so used to the cold. Not saying it outwardly bothered him to a big degree, but it was just making waking up more of a chore than it should be. The last time that he could remember, where he was suddenly being woken up to slight shivers, was when he was a child. And that was a lane in memory he did not wish to go down.

So, he slowly opened his eyes, they refused to focus at first. His gaze just blankly stared at the bland coloured wall across from the bed, blinking slowly caused remnants of sleep to fade, and for more things to come in to focus; details which he had earlier missed when first assessing the room, and had overlooked when he had just opened his eyes and woke up. Like the teared wallpaper, for one thing was something he had seriously overlooked. By the way the paper had simply curled, and didn't look discoloured, it looked new. Even in his hazy mind Erik could tell it was done more through violence than an accident.

He couldn't help but still be bothered by previous thoughts. Valeryia being in more trouble than she was letting on, for one thing was reoccurring in his mind. It was the little things, the way she was constantly looking about when leading him back here. And the lack of information she had actually relayed so far about her general time here. Something was still not sitting right with him, and he did still intend to find out what. He just got a little distracted, a little being a slight understatement.

Valeryia was still asleep, huddled under the cover with her head still leaning against his shoulder, his arm still supported the pillow on which she slept on. His other arm still remained over her waist, only she had shifted to lay on her back. Her skin felt incredibly warm in comparison to the cold air which was in the room, Erik instinctively pulled her closer. Any source of warmth was welcomed right now. It wasn't like he could even move without waking her. Even as he laid here, he could feel that somehow their legs were still entwined together. If he even tried to move, she would wake. But she needed as much sleep as possible to even attempt healing. From the pale skin and dark rings under her eyes, even Erik could see the signs of someone else not getting much sleep. It was true, he hadn't got much sleep since her going, but he was better at hiding his exhaustion than she was. There'd be times in the past where Erik had gone days without sleep, it was a bit of a routine really. Didn't mean when exhaustion finally hit, it didn't hit hard. Because it did, and then the cycle would seemingly start off again.

Not saying she didn't look peaceful when awake, but there was definitely a content aura around Valeryia as she laid there quietly breathing. A small frown appeared on her face, only to go when she huddled closer to him. She literally couldn't get any closer. If she did then she'd end up laying on top of him. And though Erik, honestly, wouldn't mind all too much, he'd rather her be somewhat conscious if and when that ever happened. Managing to untangle his arm from around her waist, her hands had been resting over his forearm keeping him in place and holding on gently, he pulled his arm out from the safety of the cover and shivered for a moment over the cold air, before pushing hair out of her eyes. Sleep did nothing to tame her curls, it seemed to make it worse. Stuck up at every angle, it sort of always looked like she had had an electric shock of some description. It was a little funny, even more so when she looked downright confused over something. There were quite a few little quirks that Erik suddenly found himself listing in his head. Had he always been so conscious of her?

His thumb stroked under her eye, the bruise seemed more faded than it was. Her face twitched, clearly small shards of pain shot through her and she even reached up to swat his hand away. Erik raised an eyebrow at the mumbling and grumbling which was coming from the sleeping teenager too. It was a little amusing, mainly because anything she was mumbling out didn't make any sense. Half words and unfinished sentences that petered off into a small sigh.

It wasn't too long though before that small sigh turned into a quiet yawn, which was hidden behind her hand. Erik laid and watched as she seemed to have the same struggle of waking up. She even huddled more under the cover until it was up to her eyes, someone really was trying to hold onto the last remnants of sleep. Erik didn't blame her, in comparison to their current surroundings, being in a dreamland seemed much more ideal. Eventually though, her eyes slowly blinked open. Dim ochre eyes stared up at the ceiling for a few moments before they slowly blinked, when her eyes next opened she looked sidelong up at him. Erik smiled, even though he couldn't see her face, by the way her eyes suddenly scrunched at the sides, he could tell she was smiling in return. The dim colour of her eyes lightened up too, and that usually happened quite frequently when she was happy, Erik had noticed.

He tried to pull the cover away from her face, yet Valeryia simply shook her head with a quiet laugh. She even wiggled more under to just hide from the sudden expression which had flitted onto his face. The wide adamant grin just made her quietly laugh some more. She had never pitched a guess that Erik would ever be the playful type, but the look on his face seemed to warrant there was a slight playful, childish streak in him somewhere. Everyone must have one, Valeryia couldn't think of anyone being so solely serious all the time, every waking moment, of each day. It sounded dreadful. Erik was serious, most times with warranted reasons, but even he couldn't be deadly stern and stony faced each waking moment. This was evidence enough. Even more so when he decided that if he couldn't get her free from the confines of the cocoon she had just made with the cover, that he would rather join her. This just caused more laughter to come from Valeryia as she pushed at his shoulders, as if that was going to move him. It didn't, he just leaned over her, still with a wide smile in place, Valeryia just pouted.

"Good morning." Erik said while managing to get his arm free from underneath her head at last, and propping himself up onto his elbow, he leaned his head against his fist.

"Morning," Valeryia said in a simple tone before mumbling quietly to herself and smiling widely up at him. She couldn't help it, happiness was rather contagious, and if smiles were contagious too, then his certainly were. Erik looked so different when he genuinely smiled, when he looked honestly happy. Valeryia didn't think she had seen him look like this before. It was like being in a little peaceful bubble, where for the moment they could drop the ever serious dispositions which usually hung about them, and they could just let that go and just be relaxed, and act like a different version of themselves.

"Come back with me." Erik said lowly, why waste time pandering around and avoiding the subject? He wanted her to return back with him. "Come home, Val." He said quietly, she frowned at the almost resolute tone of voice. He sounded almost pleading, if he were anyone else. Valeryia didn't think Erik would be the pleading type. That was way too out of character, sounding quiet and firm got the message across though.

Valeryia sighed, she reached up and cupped his face in her hands. "Stay with me, just for today." She answered instead, she watched almost instantly as Erik shifted and his eyes grew distant and dark. He was clearly thinking over something, he leaned back, her hands slipping from his face. "It's my last day, Erik!" Valeryia exclaimed shortly with a frown. He clearly thought she was declining his offer.

"What?" He frowned down at her, so much for the peaceful bubble lasting longer.

She inhaled and sighed quietly. Shutting her eyes she laid silently for a few moments before rolling onto her side and looking up at him. Erik slowly laid down too, the nerves in his arms were starting to go from keeping himself upright. Still being under the cover but face to face, Valeryia smiled, he couldn't be too annoyed or else he'd move away from her. He was clearly wanting an explanation for her words, and she would happily provide it. "I've got to leave this place today, or else I'm sure I'll be kicked out. Not only that...I already made arrangements to go see my father. I've found where he is, and I was going to go see him today, then try and come back. But, as always it seems, you have brilliant timing...just means we can go back together, I guess." She shrugged stiffly. Now that she thought about it, she did ache more. She frowned at him, yet just received a slow growing smile. Her attempt to stretch must have got the message across to him with what she was suddenly thinking and feeling.

"You would like me to meet you father too? Well, Val, I never knew we were at this stage already."

She laughed and playfully hit him on the shoulder. "Erik! No...I don't think you meeting him is wise, do you?"

"No, probably not." Considering what her father did, no. Who he was in contact with, definitely not. "Are you going to tell him his old friend is dead?"

Valeryia's eyes narrowed in thought, "He's in a hospice, Erik." She was working out the easiest and best way to just explain that, quite simply, her father might not even recognise her, let alone remember Shaw. Erik's expression turned to one of thoughtfulness, clearly trying to figure out why he would be in such a place. "Alzheimer's," Valeryia said quietly with a sad smile. Don't get her wrong, she may have all her memories back, and she may still partially dislike the man. But that disease, from what she could find out of it, sounded dreadful. Leeching someone of everything they were? She couldn't even begin to get her head around it. She would be lying if she said she hadn't expected to just find her father and he be fine, and flippant about everything.

"And you're sure you still want to go?" Erik asked seriously, yes, he may be secretly wishing she said no. What good could come from seeing someone who was a shell of their former self? What use could he be to Valeryia? She wasn't going to get answers to any questions. Not unless he was having a lucid moment.

"I came all this way!" Valeryia exclaimed with a slightly desperate tone.

Erik sighed, "Yes, I know. But, are you sure? Think about it, Val, think about what you're likely to be walking in on. He isn't likely to know you. He may not even be awake and conscious. You have questions, which might not be answered, ever."

"I'm still going." She frowned seriously at him. Erik nodded, he could tell. A determined expression was firmly on her face, no amount of talking was going to persuade her otherwise.

"Then I'll be with you." Erik said, cutting the sudden silence which had enveloped them both.

Valeryia's eyes widened, blinking slowly she looked at him and over his sure expression. "You will?"

"I'm not letting you go in alone."

"You're still not meeting him, Erik." Valeryia pointedly said with a knowing look. She could tell just by looking at his expression that Erik would have very little trouble coming down with a vengeance. "And also, I'm not sure what stage you were previously on about. But no. Just no."

Erik sighed, "It's a thing," Valeryia raised an eyebrow at him. He often forgot that most obvious things were lost on her. Especially if it came to people. "People, if they're together, it's often a massive deal to meet the parents. I was being sarcastic."

"Well, yeah, I knew that much. I'm not a total idiot." Valeryia scoffed, his tone enough earlier on gave the sarcasm away. She looked at him thoughtfully, slowly her eyes narrowed, Erik looked at her questionably. "Together?" She questioned quietly, "Are we...together?" She sounded so confused over the question, like she couldn't quite believe she was even uttering those words. Honestly, Valeryia never thought she would be in this position. Or rather, out of that building and even socialising with other people.

Erik looked at her blankly, he reworked the simple words over in his head several times. Figuring out different responses, in the end Erik figured actions spoke louder than words. He leaned forwards and kissed her. It was tender, as if answering her question in gentle motions as he felt her hands slide up and over his shoulders, before disappearing into his hair. He pulled her closer, Erik thought he got the message across. Sometimes words weren't always needed. They both seemed content in the soft kisses and caresses until there was distinct banging on the door.

Erik pulled away and shook his head, her hands slipped back to his shoulders, and he managed to shake the cover from over them. He looked darkly to the door where shouting was coming from. He looked back at Valeryia, "What's he saying?" From the look on her face, Erik could figure out it wasn't anything nice. Clearly it wasn't, the tone of voice of the seemingly ever livid receptionist was short, blunt, slightly aggressive in parts.

"Well...he isn't offering us breakfast, that's for sure." Valeryia said while looking to the door too, her fingers traced his collarbones with a quiet hum. "He wants me out. He's wanted me out since I arrived. He is not a fan of those involved in the illegal fighting, nor is he fond of mutants. I'm like his dream tenant right now." She said with an awkward chuckle, Erik didn't find it amusing at all. He continued to glare towards the door, as if that was going to do anything. He listened as the man moved away, his grumbles could still be heard because he was clearly speaking loudly so she could hear. "Little does he know I am actually sticking to it and leaving." Valeryia turned his face to look back down at her. "I will come back with you, Erik. I will. I promised to come back to you anyway, but you've beat me to it!" She laughed with a smile. "The sooner we move, the sooner we can be back home, right?" Valeryia asked while patting his shoulders, he got the message and moved away. Sitting up he looked to the side when she sat up too, cover pulled to her chest. Sitting up right, she stretched her back and clicked her neck with a satisfied sigh, flicking her eyes to his she just smiled again.