What had once been a place of sanction and family for Gambit had turned into something
far more vile in his mind. The months he had been absent from the X-Men’s mansion
had allowed for enough time to turn the building upside down. There were new mutants
living in every available room or space. And it wasn’t very spacious because of the
damage that had been inflicted upon it. Most of the rooms were nothing but rubble and
debris which left usually inhospitable spots the most desired. Even the danger room had
to be converted back into what it had been previously intended for. It was taking too
long to fix up the living quarters and put everything back to normal.
As for Gambit’s unexpected return, the reactions couldn’t have been more awry. Most of
his former teammates chose to ignore him and therefore avoid any unnecessary
pleasantries. He had been abandoned as a traitor after his trial in Antartica and even
though Rogue was solely responsible for that action, the others felt as if they shared her
guilt. If it hadn’t been for a joint venture with Storm and Shadowcat, Gambit would have
stayed his solitary course of life.
Anything was better than living in some shack by the lake where Jean and Scott Summers
had used as a love nest. It was well equipped with Jean’s taste in drapes, carpets and
frilly things that Gambit wanted no part of. But, all things considered, his living
arrangements were far better than what they could have been. He could just imagine
what it would be like to live among the people he had called his friends and family. They
would tiptoe around him and treat him with pity, contempt or overdone kindness. Then
there was the overcrowding with new mutants and old mutants fighting over the same
territory.
“Ororo, is it wise to bring Gambit back after what he did?”
Gambit could hear the hushed whispers from the small catwalk which led out to the lake.
When he leaned over the ridge further, he could make out the still forms of Ororo and
Kitty. Ororo had been his first real friend among the X-Men when she had sponsored his
acceptance into their little group. That group kept growing every year with more and
more mutants wanting to push peace between them and normal humans.
“The destruction of the Morlocks was not Remy’s fault. He has already atoned for his
participation in that incident. There are members here who have committed far worse
atrocities which I cannot even mention.” She was speaking with wisdom and
compassion as she always did. Remy was grateful for her support but wasn’t so sure that
he deserved it.
He didn’t want to hear anymore from Kitty who had taken it upon herself to judge him.
The girl didn’t know a damn thing about him. Likewise, he knew nothing more than her
name and affiliation with Excalibur. A lot that helped.
Remy flicked open a lighter as he walked and lit up a cigarette, shielding the flame from
the wind with one hand. Then he was inhaling deeply, drawing some confidence and
determination from the poisonous fumes.
“Ah don’t think ya ought to be smokin’ that here, Remy.”
He glanced towards a tree and saw Rogue leaning against it, her eyes bleeding out her
emotions but holding in the rest by a thread.
“We need ta discuss some things and ah want ya to be listenin to me an not the nicotene.”
“Dere be nothin to talk ‘bout, girl. You best save de speech for when Gambit in a better
mood.” He tapped off some ashes with a finger and took another puff.
“Ah never wanted to leave you. Ya have to know that. Everything came at me so darn
sudden and what was ah supposed ta think? Ah went back fer ya. Accursed snow an all,
I went back. You weren’t nowhere to be found.”
She reached out for him with one of her gloved hands, stepping forward to make up for
what had been done in the past.
Was he going to make it so easy for her after they way she had abandoned him? Given
up on him and damned the scars of his former life? “It over ‘tween us, chere. I was
stupid to t’ink dat dere ever was an ‘us’.” No. He would make it hard as hell, pay her
back for the pain she had caused him. It brought Remy no satisfaction but taking her
back would be like another stab in the heart.
Rogue withdrew her hand and ended the gesture of friendship. She was lost for a
moment in her own thoughts before she realized that Remy was halfway across the wide
expansion of a lawn. “Remy! Don’ ya go walkin off on me when ah’m talkin ta ya.” He
was already gone.
***********************
On his way to the danger room, Remy took out a deck of playing cards and began to
shuffle them. Currently, he wasn’t playing with a full deck in literary or imaginary terms.
His mind and heart were still packed in a crate of snow. Too long to thaw out and too
hard to melt. Most of his ordeal in Antarctica remained a sheet of ice to him since he
was unable to recall how he had made it back alive.
Remy tapped in an old code after noting that the danger room was empty.
“That’s some way to say ‘hello’ to old friends, Gambit.” Wolverine strode into the
danger room behind Remy, not bothering to show any sign of emotions. “You always
this cool or didja lose your manners up in that iceberg?”
“I have no quarrel with you, Logan. But I no’ going through another argument with any
o’ the X-Men. Dey make it perfectly clear that I am not welcome. Why should I put on a
show for dem?”
The lights of the observation room were blinking up above, waiting for someone to
activate the program.
“Yer puttin’ on a show right now, Cajun. I’m one of the few people in this hellhole who
is glad t’ see you alive and well. So quit the crap and feelin’ sorry fer yerself bit.”
Remy cleared his throat and glared at Logan. “I be mistaken. Dis room is too crowded
already.” He brushed past Logan but never reached the door.
A firm, hairy hand clasped Remy by his elbow and threw him back into the middle of the
room. Instead of falling, Remy performed a backflip and landed gracefully on his feet.
“I don’t take no lip from kids like you, Remy. If it was anyone else, I’d kick the crap out
of them.”
“Nobody tells Gambit how to act.” Cards were drawn, charged and whipped at Logan
from a very pissed off Remy. He had been trampled on too much lately and it was time
to start dishing out when he received.
Before Remy could even blink, Logan had leapt out of the way, rolled and then charged
him. If Logan’s unsheathed claws were any indication, Remy had just succeeded in
knocking the tameness out of him. Now Logan was nothing more than a feral beast on a
power-crazed rampage.
“Uh…we be ending dis now mon ami, oui?”
No answer.
Logan hit Remy at the waist and nearly had him until Remy squirmed out of his grasp
and vaulted over his shoulders. This was not his idea of a good danger room simulation.
The robots and androids could be shut off if it got too hot too handle but Wolverine…he
had no off switch.
As Remy was about to toss another set of playing cards from between his nimble fingers,
Logan suddenly tackled him by his ankles. Remy fell, his legs locked together and the
cards flew from his grasp.
“How’s this for an ending, Gumbo?” Logan was leering at him, not even out of breath.
“You tell me after de place go sky high.” Behind them, Remy’s aces and spades blew up
a good section of the wiring on the left wall. Remy peeked up at Logan from lowered
eyelashes and grinned. “Looks like de only damage is replaceable,” he joked.
“That’s comin’ out of yer pay or yer hide, boy. We have enough problems ‘round here
without havin’ t’ fix this room again.”
“I’m not de one who started dis.” Remy gave Logan a few seconds to move away before
he straightened up and brushed off his blue jeans. “Why you get all bent out of shape
over me?”
A sharp clicking sound alerted Remy that Logan had put his claws back where they
belonged. “Ya know how ya don’t know what you got ‘till it gets up and walks off?”
Then Logan was backing Remy into the wall. Where there was supposed to be a slick
metal surface, he felt only bits and pieces of poorly connected metal plates. How long
was it going to take to put the mansion back together?
“Now dat you mention it…sort of.” *Why do I get de feeling dat he’s gonna beat me
within an inch of my life?*
Slowly, Logan shook his head and stood taller to be at eye level with Remy. “Ya don’t
know a damn thing ‘bout it. I promise that if ya ever just up and walk away from here,
I’ll hunt you down and then…you’ll be very sorry.”
“Never knew you cared.” Remy sighed and grew accustomed to seeing Logan’s
unshaven face up close and personal. The man was a walking rock full of muscles and
weight which would have been extraordinary fat on anyone else his height. But for
Logan, everything was hard, toned flesh covered with hair that almost passed off as fur.
“Here’s something that even you can understand.” Logan crushed Remy into the wall
and pressed his lips to Remy’s. As for Remy understanding…he turned his head away
and coughed.
“What you go an do dat for? You tryin’ to choke me or something?”
Logan tried again, this time pinning Remy’s entire body between himself and the metal
plates. He found Remy’s soft lips and kissed him with a deliberate harshness that left his
victim stunned. Throughout the act, Remy kept his mouth firmly shut and closed his eyes
to ignore the reality of it. This was Wolverine, the fierce and unstoppable X-Man kissing
him. The same Wolverine who would just as soon tear a man to shreds for looking at
him the wrong way.
It never occurred to Logan that pushing himself onto Remy wasn’t a good thing. He had
animal cravings and did whatever his hormones or stomach demanded. Too many scents
had driven him crazy with lust. Remy’s aftershave, the bittersweet lingering of a faint
cologne, and his skin was so soft to touch. Logan’s claws came out again, nearly causing
Remy to bolt if he could have. They streaked through Remy’s long auburn hair, coming
a little too close to his scalp.
Then, just as suddenly as the attack had begun, it ceased with Logan allowing Remy to
sink to his knees. The feeling of Logan’s stubble and furry hands kept crawling over
Remy’s flesh even after his arms had been released. He exhaled abruptly but Logan
didn’t notice that the whole time Remy had been holding his breath.
“What does dis mean? Why you kiss me?” Remy sought an answer but when he blinked
Wolverine was gone.
There was no apology. Not even a ‘you were good’ to make him accept what had
happened. For quite some time, Remy rested there deep in thought.
*************************
“For cryin’ out loud, ‘Ro! What did ya do to my bedroom?” Logan had needed to just lie
down and let it all sink in. When he entered his room, it was like an enormous trash can
full of plants, vines and flowers. He knew the culprit immediately and had gone
searching for Ororo up on the roof.
She frowned at him and kept her dignified pose under the moonlight. Ororo was like a
dark, Egyptian goddess to anyone who cast their eyes on her. Like her namesake, she
could be as unpredictable as a storm when her temper was lost. As always, she was
wearing some loose, silk dress with bright colours and her long white hair was cascading
down her back.
“If you mean the plants, I had no other options. If they are not kept indoors, they will
surely die. Logan, you know how important those plants are to me. They are like my
children.”
“Uh…sure ‘Ro.” Rolling his eyes, Logan sniffed the air and looked over the dismantled
railing to see down below. He caught Remy’s unique scent and watched the young man
quickly crossing the estate grounds. When Remy was out of sight, a low rumbling came
from the gates followed by a revving engine.
Ororo sighed. “What has gotten Remy all riled up about now?”
A motorcycle tore off into the distance with Remy hardly in control of it. “Who knows!”
A shrug passed off Remy as a non-conversational topic. *Sometimes, this canucklehead
is too smooth.* Inside, he was gloating over how well Ororo had passed over his well
guarded emotions. “Why can’t ya put yer garden in Nightcrawler’s room?”
“Logan…about Remy.”
He sensed her fine footing on the subject and decided that he had to push her off before
she got too close to the truth. “Whatever I said when I was drunk – it was a drunk man
talkin’, not me. So the Cajun wins awards in the looks department, doesn’t make me
wanna bunk with him.” He lit up a toxic cigar and enjoyed the thick fragrance it gave
off. Thick and sweet…almost like Remy’s natural scent. *Not now. Don’t want ‘Ro
finding out.*
“Alright, have it your way. However, do not forget how dangerous hidden desires can
become. I for one have had too many failings in my relationships because of it.”
“Desire Gumbo? Hah! He’s Rogue’s swamp rat, doesn’t even come close to being my
type.”
“Whatever the case, I want to keep a close eye on Remy in case he attempts to disappear
without notice. I’ve known the man for longer than you and respect him. I suggest you
do the same.”
“For you ‘Ro, I’d quit callin’ him Gumbo.” The corner of his mouth twitched into a
smirk. “Probably not though. Kid could use some ego bashin’.”
**********************
The next day came and went without Logan running into Remy. Unknown to him, Ororo
had invited Remy into the mansion for a celebration dinner. It was in honor of his return
to the fold. Some of the mutants at the table weren’t too keen on having Remy back.
One of the negative voices belonged to Kurt Wagner, or Nightcrawler to his enemies and
the public. Kurt was a blue, furry elf with a spiked tail which brought about many an
accusation of being a demon or devil. Still, he was attractive to many of the X-ladies and
felt threatened by Remy’s presence. Even at the dinner table, Remy’s unsubtle charm
powers encouraged long stares and dreamy glances in his direction. Remy had assured
everyone that he had absolutely no control over it but Kurt didn’t believe him.
Halfway through the meal, Logan rushed into the room to fill his growling stomach. His
rampant exercises left him starved and a little bit uncivilized. He barely acknowledged
Remy as he sunk his teeth into a turkey leg.
“Logan, we are celebrating Remy’s safe journey back to us,” Ororo informed him quietly.
She and the others had their wine glasses raised to cheer.
A tingling sensation moved through Logan’s throat as he brought the glass to his lips and
gulped the wine down. Everyone was put off by his poor taste in manners. “Welcome
home, Cajun.” Logan gazed over at him and their eyes met.
It seemed like an eternity but Remy broke the connection, blushing and checking out his
shirt sleeves. *How does it feel to be the object of attention, Remy?*
“Confusing,” Remy said aloud.
“Excuse me?” Colossus or Peter, was sitting right beside him and hadn’t a clue what
Remy was responding to. “Why do you speak to yourself, friend Remy?”
“I wasn’t speaking to myself.” Those hot, red eyes focused on Logan before settling back
in on the food. *Dis is not what I thought dey’d be like. I get dirty looks from most
everybody but dat old man be looking at me like I’m raw meat. He kiss me again and I
take his claws and shove dem where de sun don’t shine.*
Once the phony hugs and ‘I missed you’ sob speeches were over with, Remy headed
towards his privacy. No sense hanging around and waiting for Rogue to find him.
“Hey, punk!” Logan came out from the shadows of the den and blocked his path. “I
have two theories right now. Either you’ve got a good poker face or…” He pushed
Remy into the den and onto the couch. “…yer holdin’ back on those crappy empath
abilities and don’t wanna share.” One look at Remy’s angry expression and Logan knew
it was the second theory. “I’m gonna ask you straight out, can ya read my mind? Lie to
me and I’ll gut you right here and now.”
Remy got up with an uncanny speed and shoved Logan with a vengeance. “You got
some nerve to question me after what you did in de danger room. Was dat good for you?
Did the others laugh at my expense? Ol’ Remy is easy, non? Why don’t I start charging
for services rendered.”
“I don’t hafta explain myself t’ the likes of you, punk. Jus’ stay outta my way and ya
won’t get hurt.”
As Logan was walking off, he had to duck when a box of cards went flying at his head.
They weren’t charged but Remy’s hostility made up for it. “You already hurt me plenty.
First you treat me like a slut then pass off any feelings I might have. All dat shit with de
Japanese honor musta been an illusion. You have nothing honorable about you.”
That did it. One of these days, Remy’s big mouth was going to get him killed. Logan
was breathing down his neck, definitely not pleased.
“Are you insulting me, Cajun? ‘Cause if you are, I can make yer life very miserable.”
“Why did you kiss me?”
Again with the persistence. Actually, Remy was kind of cute when he had that no
bullshit attitude. “Lower yer voice. Do you want Marrow to hear?”
Marrow? *The mutant with the bones sticking out of her furry hide.* She was one of the
few who allowed Remy to live in the present. Before his trial, Marrow hadn’t known
Remy and wasn’t about to position herself above him. She lived a very screwed up life
but didn’t they all?
“I have times where I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. That was one of those times.
I still ain’t gonna say I’m sorry for my behaviour.”
****************************
Days went by with Remy making every effort possible to avoid Logan. He holed up in
his small cabin by the lake and kept himself busy. Whenever he was hard at work, the
urge to smoke would vanish. Only when he thought of Wolverine would the need to light
up return.
One day, Remy had his legs up on the arm of the couch having fallen asleep watching a
soap opera. In his dream, Logan was kissing him again in the danger room. The
attraction was so heavy that he could feel the air beating down on him. And he was
kissing Logan back, enjoying the moment.
Remy awoke with a start. A thin sheen of sweat clung to his skin demanding a shower.
A cold shower.
He was in the middle of that shower when someone rapped at the door. “I’m coming!”
Remy tied a towel around his waist and went to open it, dripping wet.
“By the goddess!,” Ororo exclaimed. She covered her mouth and giggled.
“Stormy! You come to visit, eh?” He allowed her to come in and hurried back to the
bathroom. “Give me a couple minutes to get dressed.”
Ororo was by no means a modest woman when it came to seeing men naked but she tried
to keep the appreciation out of her face. It wouldn’t do to have a younger man get the
wrong impression.
When Remy slumped onto the couch beside her, he was fully clothed in jeans and a tank
top. Ororo had to hide her surprise at the obvious weight loss Remy had suffered. He
looked too skinny with his ribs nearly showing and his arms all bones. She hadn’t
considered that his trek through Antarctica had left him starving and delusional. The
latter had corrected itself when he made it back to reality.
Remy was smiling at her. She easily smiled back and patted Remy’s hand. “I came here
to ask you something.”
“Ask away!”
“Why are you and Logan fighting?”
“Hmph! Why don’ you ask de old man.”
“I’m asking you. The X-Men are a team which requires a team effort.” Was she
emphasizing the word team on purpose? “As leader of the X-Men, I cannot have loose
cannons among the ranks. If we were to go into battle, your problem with Logan will
affect our mission. You are my friend and I am here to listen.”
Remy tapped his fingers on his knee, thinking. Then he closed his eyes. “De bastard
kissed me.”
“Pardon?” Ororo nearly toppled off of her perch on the top of the couch.
“He gave me no choice and now…he tell me to keep my mouth shut. Like he has his
image to protect and I don’t.”
Dwelling on the ‘kiss’ part of Remy’s confession made it hard to listen to what Remy
was saying. Ororo simply nodded and groaned.
“This is not the Logan that I know. He has never kissed anyone he didn’t intend to be
with. He has no such periods of wanton lust and power. There has to be another reason
why he couldn’t go through with it. If you spoke to him privately I’m certain that he’d
apologize to you.”
“I don’ care ‘bout his need for a beau. Gambit loves women, wine and fine dining.
Wolverine don’t qualify for any of those.” He was now stacking a deck of cards, another
nervous habit.
“Are you sure? It may become too late if you wait any longer. To cover his mistakes,
Logan will pretend that none of this ever took place. Then it won’t matter what you do,
he’ll never get over it.”
“Does Logan also kiss ev’ry man he meets?”
“As far as I know, you are the first.” She was hardly surprised when Remy tried
desperately not to seem flattered.
******************************
“Logan?” Remy had to jog to keep up with the older man who was walking at a brisk
pace across the estate grounds. “Can’ you at least listen to me? You owe me dat!”
“I know why you’re here. Get lost before we both regret it.”
“But…”
“Okay, here it is: I screwed up, I fucked with yer head and I’m sorry. Now go back to
yer French restaurant and round up a buncha girls for the night.”
Remy stopped in his tracks and made a sound of protest which turned into a mere
whimper. Then he was pressing his fists to his eyes, tears washing over his cheeks.
“You don’ care, do you? I try to make it okay again but you want blood.”
“N…no, Remy…” Logan pushed his hands into his pockets and clenched them. “Never
mind.”
“Figures! You nothin’ but a coward!” Remy was crying heavily by now, not giving a
damn who saw him in his disheveled state.
“Shhh! Kurt is in the garage. Do you wanta tell the world?”
“Dat’s what dis is about. You don’ want to be seen with me. Gambit no good for you?”
Remy slammed his body into Logan’s and grabbed the shorter man’s jacket, trying to
charge it.
Of all the things that Logan could have done, he only wrapped his arms around Remy and
wouldn’t let go. *I do want you Remy. But what price do I hafta pay for ya?* He heard
Remy sobbing brokenly against his shoulder, leaning onto him with his nonexistent
weight. “I’m the one who ain’t good enough for you,” Logan commented.
“Don’ lie to an empath, Wolverine…you jus’ make it worse.”
Logan tripped Remy into losing his footing and would have hit the ground if he hadn’t
been stopped by Logan’s knee. Using his knee as support, Logan bent down over Remy
and kissed him. Once again, Logan could not get his tongue past Remy’s lips without
applying enough pressure to bruise him. He did just that to taste the handsome Cajun for
the first and what he presumed would be the last time. From there, it was too late to end
it. The animal side of him became consumed with sexual urges, wanting to devour Remy
from the inside out. His brain was such a void that he couldn’t hear Remy’s deep-
throated moans.
Remy’s long, slender fingers grasped Logan’s solid shoulders, unable to get a complete
grip on them. In comparison, the older man was so much larger than he was. Credit had
to be given to Logan for his ability to swipe Remy down to size. It sometimes bothered
Logan that he had to look up to see the man.
“Are you experimenting or didja really want that?” Logan lifted Remy’s back off of his
knee and helped him regain his balance.
“Wanted more,” Remy said quietly. Being considerate of Remy’s uneasiness, Logan
hadn’t done more than tease him. It was true that Remy had been searching himself to
see what Logan really meant to him. If the thumping in his chest was any indication, this
would be the last time he thought of Logan as an old man.
Neither of them could remember who had made the initial contact. They were kissing
again and this time, Remy was more than aptly prepared for his second chance. Still, the
pace which Logan set was difficult and strenuous to keep up with. Logan was hungry
with unbridled passion and couldn’t stop whether he had to or not. The contrast between
Remy’s soft skin and lips and his own coarse hide had him going bezerk.
As Logan opened his mouth wider, he forced his tongue to almost touch the back of
Remy’s throat. Remy gagged but relaxed when Logan simmered down to be more gentle.
It was an amazing, exhilirating experience to have a tough, feral man all over him. They
had sunk to the grass by mutual consent and were still kissing when a shadow was cast
over them.
On the fringe of Logan’s superior senses, another mutant registered but was ignored. He
wasn’t about to be interrupted during one of the best moments of his life. While he was
straddling Remy lower, the Cajun suddenly opened his eyes to look past Logan’s
shoulder. Although he appeared to be alarmed, the haziness in his eyes remained there.
“What the…?!!” Logan growled and smelt brimstone, an acrid scent. “Shouldn’t ya be
somewhere else, ‘Crawler? I’m givin’ ya two seconds ta get yer scrawny, blue ass outta
my sight and then I’m gonna gut ya.”
A flash of purple smoke and Kurt had teleported away.
“Where were we?” When Logan caught Remy’s nervous hand trembling, he vowed to
disembowel Kurt anyway. Logan engulfed Remy’s hand in his own and brought it to his
rough lips. He gave the palm a feather-like kiss and smiled a sharp-toothed smile.
*I hope he never bite me with dose fangs.*
“I guess that’s all fer today, Cajun?” He lifted Remy bodily off of the ground and placed
him back onto his feet.
“You be a strong one, Logan. Maybe too strong for Gambit, non?”
“In the future, that’ll be the last thing ya hafta complain about.” Logan gave Remy a
secretive wink and headed off without another word.
************************
News within the mansion spread at a moderate pace so that each X-Man was updated on
the latest crisis or event in the present day. Chains and loops existed so that no one was
ever left out. Now, when it came to gossip, the details traveled twice as fast as any
nuclear war warning could have.
It had started out innocent enough with Kurt confiding in Kitty. He related everything he
had seen to her. She, being the young blabbermouth that she was, passed it on to Peter.
From there, Peter did a rough translation with his Russian-English accent and
misinterpreted a few lines of dialogue. By the time the story came back to Wolverine,
the entire legitimacy of it had been replaced with lies.
Logan was eavesdropping on a hushed conversation between Angel and Iceman and
couldn’t believe his ears.
“So, Colossus saw the whole thing?” Angel was laughing hysterically.
“Yeah. He saw Wolverine and Gambit completely buck naked in the woods doing the
wild thing.” Iceman was feeling pretty darn proud with himself for entertaining his old
friend. It took a lot to get a laugh out of the strange gossip going around the mansion
nowadays.
“Did he really?” Wolverine dropped down from the ceiling and slid out two claws on
either fist. He then pinned Angel and Iceman by their throats with a claw on either side
as he nailed them to the pool table of the game room. “It’s funny how the whole fuckin’
story centers around yers truly but I can’t remember ever screwin’ Gambit in the woods.”
“O…of course… you didn’t,” Iceman stammered. “Gee, you and Gambit…no way!
That’s what I told Colossus. I said that…the ‘no way’ part but he insisted that I tell
Angel.” Robert gave Angel a poke in the side. “Right Angel?”
“Hey, don’t get me involved! I was just listening. You know Wolverine, I’d really love
to chat with you but Betsy is waiting with a candlelit dinner. She hates to be kept
waiting.” Angel was relieved when Wolverine let him escape decapitation. Off he flew,
grateful that Iceman was the troublemaker this time and not himself.
An evil, vicious glint shone in Wolverine’s eyes. He was practically drooling over the
prospect of flaying Robert into tiny flaked pieces of icy flesh. “I’m only gonna say this
once, Frosty. If I ever hear that filth comin’ outta yer mouth again…I’m not gonna care
who it originated from. I’ll kill the whole lot of ya.”
“Okay. From now on you and Gambit are sworn enemies. I promise.” Robert gave a
sloppy salute to Logan’s retreating form.
“Remy is not my enemy, try spreadin’ that around, punk.”
***********************
Ororo was grooming her cactus plants when Logan barged into the room. “For cryin’ out
loud, ‘Ro! Do ya hafta do that now? I’m ticked off and need ta break something.”
“I already heard.”
“Heard what?”
“You. Remy. The stables. Really Logan, I would have thought that you might have
some common sense by now. I sent Remy to you for a quiet soul searching, not for a
romp in the hay. Do you know how old he is?”
“No. And I don’t care neither.”
She accidentally chopped the head off of one of her baby cactuses. “Look what you’ve
made me do.” Her sheers cut upwards on a slant to cover the damage she’d caused. “Is
that how you act? You take advantage of someone who comes to you with good
intentions?”
“For the absolute last time…I DID NOT FUCK REMY LeBEAU!!!”
The sheers slid from Ororo’s fingers and pricked her ankle. “Bright lady, help this vulgar
man,” she prayed. Then to Logan, “Was that truly necessary? I would have taken your
word over Kitty’s in an instant. You should not take that tone with me. I’m only trying
to help.”
“Yeah, sorry. I lost my temper.”
“I can see that.”
“Is it really all over the mansion?”
“There have been countless rumors floating amongst us concerning you, my friend.
Some of them have depicted you as being nothing but a wild, blood-thirsty beast. Why
should this new one control your outbursts?”
“I wonder.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice like wax from a freshly lit candle. And the
candle was far from burning out. “All they’re saying is that I did Remy in every
conceivable way. I’m protecting the kid’s honor. He wouldn’t wanta hear it himself.”
“Is that all you’re protecting? Or are you afraid that they’ll see what you really have with
Remy? Your image should not be given top priority over Remy’s feelings. There is no
shame in a relationship between you and him.”
After mentioning Remy, he strolled into Logan’s room beaming from head to toe.
“Logan, here you are.”
“Yeah. Here I am. Why’re ya lookin’ for me?”
Remy shifted from one foot to another, his concentration on the ragged carpet beneath
him. “I thought you might wan’ to do something tonight.”
Ororo could barely contain her amusement.
“Ya wanna go out on a date?” A big red light flashed inside of Logan’s head. *He wants
to be seen with me, in public?*
“Jus’ a movie and dinner, that’s all. If you don’ feel like it, I’ll understand.” Something
about his voice told Logan that it would be terrible if he said ‘no’.
To reassure Remy of his convictions, Logan squeezed him close and grinned at Ororo. “I
could use the night off, ‘Ro. Be seein’ ya!”
They were halfway to the door when the internal alarms began to wail.
{INTRUDER ALERT!!!}
{PERIMETER BREACHED!!!}
{INTRUDER -- }
“Why aren’t the defenses comin’ up?” Logan tore open the drapes and used his night
vision to scan the estate grounds. “Whoever the intruder is, they’re already inside the
building.”
“Warn the others! We must neutralize this threat.” Then Storm was summoning her
powers and flying out the window to secure the external defenses.
“Gambit! Snap outta it!” Logan took Remy’s chin between his fingers and kissed him
briefly. “I promise to make it up to ya. Cross my heart an’ all that bull. Now get goin’!”
In a black portion of Logan’s mind, he feared for Remy’s safety. He knew that the Cajun
was an adequate fighter at hand-to-hand combat and better still at long range distances,
hurling objects. His confidence in Remy had been untarnished up until now. He
watched Remy take the lead before shoving him aside and pushing him behind. Why
should he behave any differently towards Remy because of his gender? He had protected
every female lover of his past and Remy was no exception.
As Logan came to a skidding halt at the top of the stairs, he realized why his instincts
were always right. A powerful blast shot out from somewhere below the stairwell and
sent him crashing into the ceiling.
“WOLVERINE!” The cards started flying into the darkness below, lighting up small
areas of the foyer then fading out. Whether any of them hit home or not, Remy wasn’t
about to wait and find out. He knelt down to Logan and saw the cracked ribs, smashed
internal organs and smoky flesh.
“’S okay,” Logan slurred, coughing up blood. “Healin’ factor. Watch yer back, kid.”
He turned around to see the massive monster climbing the handrail with sharp claws. A
photon rifle hung from one shoulder. The glowing yellow eyes targeted Remy and
slanted inwards.
