𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐅𝐓 (X-Men ~ Peter Maximoff)

A Trip Abroad

When Jennifer had suggested a group holiday, the girls had dreams of sightseeing in Venice, big parties in Ibiza, wine tasting in France or tanning on the beaches of Florida. They were more than disappointed when they realised that their destination was in the desolate regions of Poland.

It wasn't her sole intention to annoy them - though it had been an amusing byfactor - there was something she needed to do. As fun as Linda claimed that drinking till you blacked out was, Jennifer only drank as much alcohol as was required for her to stop being a 'bore'. The group were only going to be in Poland for a weekend, and while the majority of them wanted to have some fun without their husbands, Jennifer had suggested the trip because there was someone she needed to see.

It hadn't been easy to track him down after the fiasco of '73, constantly moving place to place to avoid additional conflict. Erik had no issues with fighting, in fact, it often seemed like it was a hobby of his, but even in his arrogance and rage he knew that there was no winning in a fight that needn't be started in the first instance. That led him to a town not far from where he lived as a boy, and a new life was started where the old one had died.

Jennifer stood on the doorstep of the house with the white picket fence, waiting for a response after knocking. The rest of her group were recovering from their hangovers from the previous night, so it was unlikely they would even notice her absence, which was probably for the best. She could only imagine how that conversation would go, explaining that she had been off visiting a wanted war criminal - they probably wouldn't take it all too well. The situation would only get worse if they found out this wasn't the first time.

It had been a while - six months to be exact - since she had last stood here, and from the outside the quaint house seemed to be frozen in time, the fence once again requiring a fresh coat of paint and the flowers barely uncurled from their buds. Once the door swung open, Jennifer realised that time had indeed passed by without her noticing.

A girl, younger than Maisie had been when Jennifer had first met her, opened the door, hesitantly looking up at the brunette at the door before recognising her. The girl grinned giddily "Auntie Jennie!," she exclaimed, holding her arms out for an embrace that Jennifer immediately returned, lifting her off the ground (which she thankfully still had the strength to do) then kneeling to place her back on the doorstep. "Hi Nina. Are you mum and dad home?"

Nina grinned up at her and proceeded to grab Jennifer's hand and pull her into the house. It took a great deal of concentration for Jennifer to find her balance back on her feet and kick the door shut behind her as she was practically dragged along the hardwood floor to the second door on the left.

As soon as her feet hit the worn beige carpet Nina released her unusually firm grip on Jennifer's wrist and ran through the connecting door that led into the kitchen, no doubt where the young girl's mother was. Jennifer watched her 'niece' dance through the doorway with great joy. Eight times she had visited the young girl and her parents, and the girl had never forgotten her face. She never stayed long, a few days at most, though Jennifer supposed the exclusivity of her visits were part of what made them special. Nina was her family, blood relation or not. Seeing her was special, it filled her heart with happiness. She loved the girl dearly, almost like a sister, and she had vowed the first time she had held her as a baby that she would protect her at all costs.

A voice cleared itself from the opposite end of the small living room, where they had come in from. Snapping her head around, Jennifer's eyes fell on Erik, leaning on the doorframe, looking just as characteristically collected as she remembered - adulthood had yet to take a toll on the man (or perhaps it already had). He was looking through the open doorway that Nina had left through. "She never bothers to look for me first," he said humourlessly, shaking his head.