"Wait, hold on, why did the receptionist come here and tell you? Surely if we're now wanted people, he'd just let the cops come?" Liesel asked while watching as Erik begrudgingly pulled on his damp shirt, he winced slightly at the feeling of water and blood, yet pulled his coat on and looked at her as she spoke. Liesel stuffed her hands in her pockets and shrugged at him. "Well?"

"You weren't present really when we arrived, so I shall simply inform you that this hotel isn't exactly known for it's respectable clients."

"It's some sort of dodgy sex hotel, isn't it?"

Erik smirked and looked at her, "Probably." Liesel hung her head in her hands and shook it slowly. "I would presume it's more known for drug dealings by the way that man seemed spaced on something. But sure, go with your suggestion too." He waved a hand at the door and walked out slowly, he checked both ways before looking back at Liesel. He held a hand up, she looked at it with a frown. With a roll of her eyes, she reached out and gripped onto his hand and ran out of the room and down the corridor behind him. "Keeping both of those things in mind, would you want the police coming around? Think of the trouble that'd cause." Erik said, easily leading the way, finally getting some enjoyment out of feeling her hand in his. It was a small piece of contact that was earnest.

"Yeah, because you and trouble seriously don't mix, do they?" Liesel commented sarcastically. "You're the most troublesome person I know." She paused and let go of his hand, with a bit of a struggle, to move to the opposite wall when they came to the end of the corridor. She pressed her back against it and narrowed her eyes slowly. "I'm surprised actually that you didn't opt to stick around to cause more problems."

"Despite what you think, I don't set out to do that." Erik replied while looking over to her with a blank expression. Liesel made a popping noise and tentatively looked around the corner of the wall, while he looked around the other. 

Seeing the coast was clear they pushed away from the walls and commenced running towards the nearest exit. Pausing and looking at each other at the sounds of footsteps, rushing, booted footsteps, they slowly looked over their shoulders. By sounds of it a small collection of the local police had arrived, regardless of Liesel's earlier words; it seemed this hotel was going to get combed over and searched through. 

"Come on," Erik grasped onto her sleeve and pulled her towards the fire exit, he opened it and came face to face with a man; he seemed to only just realise what he had come face to face with before a hand was splayed on his chest and he went shuddering backwards. Erik slowly looked down at Liesel as she stayed in her half lurched position.

With a wry grin she looked at him. "Ah...you're welcome?" Looking down she whispered an apology while they stepped over him and ran down the stairwell. He wasn't the lone officer nearby, when multiple shots were fired the only thing Liesel could think to do was scream and shelter herself in her arms. Seeing as how nothing impacted against her, or in her, she peeked up and looked at the suspended bullets. "Erik..." Liesel placed a hand on his arm and tugged him. "We can't leave a trail of death." Be fair the man she dealt with was unconscious, that was the slight difference between them, or at least now it was. Liesel wasn't so quick to kill unless it desperately called for it. She didn't take any solace in it. She didn't like it, not to say Erik did, but he never seemed to dwell on the actions much. "Erik!" She shouted and pulled at him, "You're so annoying," Liesel muttered and whipped an arm out in front of herself in a straight line. An arch of light shot from her and into the men, much like the one still on the stairwell, they went convulsing to the floor. "Move, now!" She shouted irritated at him, his moment of toying with the police had costed them precious moments to get away. She could have just left, sure, but she wouldn't. It was a horrid feeling wanting to be as far away from a person, yet subsequently as close as possible.

They ran down the backstreet and skidded halfway when officers seemed to run past the opening, looking to the side, Liesel grabbed a hold of Erik's arm and pulled him to the side. With perhaps a more forceful shove than she intended, she pushed him against the wall. With a rather amused expression, Erik looked up and then down at her. "Cosy."

"Shut up."

"Just saying." He said innocently, the alley Liesel had decided to cram them into was perhaps the smallest alley in the world. The spacings between the walls were wide enough for them, only this meant that he was leaning back against the wall, while she was practically leaning against his chest. There honestly wasn't that much room to move to the side, not without kicking a row of rubbish bins and making a noise.

Hearing footsteps getting closer, Liesel frowned slowly when she felt hands on her waist which slowly tugged her to the side. With awkward steps the pair managed to shift more into the shadows. Whether she truly realised it or not, but her hands slowly curled and held onto his shirt. She wasn't going to lie, she was slightly scared. She hadn't really had any run-ins with the law before. Rescuing trapped mutants was something else entirely. She could deal with the people who guarded them. But the police? So far they seemed to have a shoot on premises order which she did not like one bit; even if she was with someone who could stop an actual shooting, it wasn't the point, she still hated being shot at, it wasn't meant to be liked, after all.

While she was worriedly peering out of the shadows, checking for more people, Erik stood looking down at her. He watched as she went from hyper-vigilant and then to worried, finally concern appeared as people rushed past their little hiding spot. She leaned into him to try and get a better look at the grimy street beyond the alley opening, and Erik just watched as she seemed completely ignorant to their sudden closeness. Despite making it quite clear she wanted space, she was doing a brilliant job of making that statement meaningful right now.

"I should've left you with Charles." He whispered in hindsight, it would've probably have been for the best. But then, he didn't know how long it took Charles to get out of the hotel with Logan. By then the police probably would've got Liesel and that would be her shipped off to somewhere. No, actually maybe being with him was for the better.

Liesel frowned and looked up at him, she unclenched her hands and let his shirt free. "You knocked me out, Erik. Charles wouldn't have got to me in time, the police would've though. So really, I am grateful that you took me with you, makes a change, right?" She quipped with a smirk.

"Together." He said quietly while slowly smiling. It was unbelievable really. That through everything, despite of what had passed between them, that at the end of the day the lone person he seemed to be able to rely on for some semblance of help, was the one person he'd always had to help him in the past. 

He was an idiot, Erik wasn't one for admitting to wrongs often, but parting from her was perhaps the biggest wrong he could've done; but he meant what he said, he didn't want her to live a life in a cell like he did. But it was hard, suddenly realising that he'd done wrong to her, and not knowing completely how to right that, while also keeping her close to protect her from whatever the future was bringing. He knew she still thought she was going to die, even if he did explain briefly his plan; that was another reason to bring her with him, no one else could look after her, or rather he didn't trust anyone else to look after her and protect her. But he could do that. He's done it before, and he'd do it again; if death was coming for Liesel, if this plan went awry, a Sentinel would have to go through Erik first. That much he vowed to himself.

Liesel winked, "Together. Now together I suggest we move. I mean as much as I love the smell of garbage, it's not the best to be around." She grinned and patted his chest before shuffling to the side and creeping along to the other end. 

Erik turned his head and watched her go. She was different, she was much the same sure but it was in moments like this that he realised how much she had grown up. Liesel had never really been a dependant person, so he wasn't expecting her to be now; she'd always been her own person, and he'd merely instruct where needed. He had helped make who she was, but who she is now, that was all her; and really, he found himself feeling a little proud of her. 

She'd finally found herself and where she fitted in, the feelings of pride was tinged with something else though, admiration. He admired her for how she had continued on after leaving him. Yes, he was sure being away from him affected her, like it did him; but also he was certain she soon found her feet, and where those feet took her was all her. Reaching out he placed a hand on her shoulder and halted her exit, she looked at him with a curious look. If she just brazenly walked out there when there were officers around, they'd be in serious trouble. A titchy alley to defend wasn't the best.

He edged slowly out and looked around, with a slow nod he gestured a hand at her, she seemed to think it was another cue like earlier on and reached up to slip her hand into his. Erik looked down to her smaller hand in his and looked at her, Liesel looked at him simply. Linking his fingers with hers, he moved forwards quickly and pulled her along too. She curiously looked about, no one seemed to pay the least bit of attention to them as they practically jogged in the other direction to where they were. 

"What now?" Liesel whispered when they'd got far enough. "Everyone's going to be looking for us, by us I mainly mean you; you've got quite a memorable...you're memorable." Liesel said and suffered a rather cocky look being sent her way.

"We can't do anything until nightfall." Erik said while turning the street corner and trying to get out of the heavily populated areas. The more people around, the more chance there was of being seen.

"Need somewhere to lay low then, eh?"

He looked at her disbelievingly. How many more sudden surprises could Liesel possibly come out with? "You know somewhere?"

"How many other spy masters do you think are around?"

"Spy master? Is that what you go by now?" Erik commented with a dry laugh and got a hit to the arm for it. "Okay, okay, I'm just saying..." He said while waving her hand away, he ended up holding onto it, mainly to stop her hitting him, even though she could use her other hand, or shock him, but also because he wanted to.

"I have you know, actually, that I am in contact with over fifty people in different parts of the world, and in different countries. When I say there's places for us to go where no one will think twice, I mean it." Liesel said while yanking her hand free and looking about with a frown before pointing to a street. "This way, come on, Erik. Be a good boy and do as you're told, and don't go starting anymore trouble." Liesel grinned and ran across the road with him closely behind. "And also, I'm a brilliant spy master. But I wouldn't say that's what I go by. A part of me deep down is still naively Vector, but I think I sort of left that girl on a sandy beach somewhere..." Liesel shrugged and let out a disapproving noise as she put her hands in her pockets. "Note to self: need a proper holiday, maybe somewhere with a decent beach."

"Not Cuba."

Liesel laughed and looked at him, Erik was walking with a smile on his face too. "Nein, not there," she agreed while shaking her head slowly. She looked up at the sky and sighed. "But then, I might just stay here...I have always loved Paris..." Liesel trailed off thoughtfully. "You thought about what you're going to do once this is all done?" Her eyes looked up at him, curious for his answer, Erik frowned and looked at the few people which passed them by. Honestly, he hadn't, he couldn't really think that far ahead just yet. "Want my advice? Find a place to call home, Erik. I have, and it did me wonders."

"You found someone to make a home with." He said in a tight voice while she looked sadly to the side.

"Since when did you want a place to settle anyway? Why are you seemingly being moody over this now? You never seemed to want that in the past."

"Maybe the future is different?" Erik asked while looking down at her and watching as she looked at him with slowly widening eyes before she turned away and looked about herself, uncertain as to what to say as an answer.

----

Edited: 14/June/2019

Reedited: 25/August/2021