Wolverine was a formidable foe or ally, depending on which he chose to be. He could be
friend or enemy but whatever he represented demanded respect and a level of caution.
His instincts were razor sharp and none dared to oppose or double cross him. That was
the reputation that he upheld, fierce and unbeatable.
Living by a code of unethical destruction, Sabretooth had to be the complete opposite of
Wolverine. They were both animalistic in nature with sharp claws, the ability to rapidly
heal and a less than civilized disposition. But, while Wolverine fought to protect mutants
and humans alike - upholding Xavier’s dream for peaceful coexistence - Sabretooth
undermined him at every intersection. The fur-covered beast known as Sabretooth was
only good for assassinations and brutal murders. And with the newly gained asset of
adamantium lining his bones, he was more of a nuisance than ever.
Being the mismatched pair that they were, it was only logical that Sabretooth and
Wolverine be sworn enemies. Sabretooth had taken everything that Wolverine held dear
and slaughtered it. Even Psylocke had fallen at his feet, nearly died after being torn up.
This was not someone that Wolverine was pleased to be reacquainted with. It would be a
few minutes before Wolverine could properly greet his nemesis. He had his lungs to
piece back together and bones to solidify. The process would have been over by now had
the weapon not been of an alien technology. Where was the Shi’ar when you wanted to
kick their ass?
“Nice t’ see you again, Logan,” Sabretooth growled. He couldn’t utter one word without
it turning into a growl.
“Stay back!” Remy swung his staff in a wide arc and caught Sabertooth in the jaw. He
heard those sharp, pointy teeth clash together. “You made a big mistake tonight, Creed.
Gambit make sure you don’ repeat it.”
“I’m shaking, Gambit. You’re scaring me, please stop,” he laughed.
Logan was starting to sit up and shake his head to clear the fog that the photon blast had
given him. He hated Creed, loathed him to the depths of hell. No matter how many
times he defeated the jerk, there was still the next round.
Gambit wasn’t disturbed by Sabretooth’s taunting. He was always calm and patient when
fighting or stalking. It was in his nature to let things slowly unravel without forcing
them, and this gave him the element of surprise. This wasn’t always the case and Gambit
could adjust from his laid-back attitude to an extremely rapid assault. Creed needed
some quick nurturing and that meant the fast route.
“You’re goin’ back down dose stairs…head first.” Remy channeled his kinetic energy
through his arm, down into his fingers and out into his playing cards. Throwing three of
them in concession at Creed, he then planted his staff firmly into the floor and lifted his
feet off of the ground. His momentum carried the heels of his boots flat into Creed’s
chest and sent him staggering.
Sabretooth wobbled over the banister, his back arched as if he really was going to fall
head first.
“Remy, it’s a trick!”
Wolverine’s warning came too late. Sabretooth had twisted around and delivered a five
clawed strike to Gambit’s stomach. Fabric tore, armor peeled away and Remy was
tossed halfway down the stairs. He remained sprawled over a landing, pulling the flimsy
armor over his revealed ribcage.
“GET UP!” Logan yelled at Remy, getting onto his knees and grabbing Sabretooth’s
ankles. He drove his claws in deep, blood dripping over his hands as he was pulled down
the stairs.
Sabretooth dragged his feet forward, getting closer and closer to where Remy was
regaining his equilibrium.
“REMY!!! GET UP!!!”
Both of Sabretooth’s clawed hands came down, pointed ends first and impacted against
Remy’s skull. Wolverine’s mind went blank, his world ceased to exist. All he could see
was red - blood - and hear a hollow crunching sound. Then, his mind closed up, sealed in
the horror and refused to give it power over him.
“Logan!”
“Logan, you still dere?” Remy waved his hand in front of Logan’s glazed eyes. “He be
dere but no lights are on.”
“Rrrrrrrr!!!” Logan snapped out of his nightmare and slapped Remy’s hand away.
“What’s yer problem?”
Ororo hid a small grin of amusement from her old friend. “You were daydreaming…I
think. And you still have not answered Remy’s question.”
“What question?” The images still flashed in Logan’s head, would not dissipate into a
lingering thought. They were so real, replaying in his mind, over and over again.
Sabretooth. Remy. Dead. All that he loved. Dead. Sabretooth took everything he loved
and killed them. And if not Sabretooth, why not someone else? Someone would murder
Remy, tear him to pieces just to exact revenge on him. Just by having feelings for Remy,
he was endangering his life.
“Fine. Have it your way. I don’ need to be some puppet on your strings.” Remy took
Logan’s confusion as a literal rejection. So what if Logan didn’t want to go out with
him? He should have expected as much from the feral man. It was his way or no way.
And his way involved jerking Remy around like a chump. Well, he’d had it. “See you
later, Stormy.”
Out walked Remy, burrowing deep into his sorrow and jaded heart. Another opportunity
at love lost. So what? It wasn’t as if Logan was ‘the one’. He would just find some
pretty lady, lay on the charm powers and jump right back on track. Then again, after
experiencing a kiss with Logan, why did it have to be a woman?
“Stupid Wolverine!” Remy grit his teeth and went right on by Kurt whose ears were too
keen on listening in.
“Remy?” If there was ever a time for an apology, Kurt had chosen the worst possible
moment.
“Stow it, Crawler! I don’ need no crap from de likes of you.” Then Remy was out the
door and on his motorcycle. He gunned it and tore off into another wasted night.
**********************************************
“Care to explain your despicable behavior?” Ororo was having one big dilemma. On
one side, there was Remy who had befriended and helped her when she needed it the
most. The other side contained Logan, the man she had served with on the X-Men from
as far back as she could remember. They both deserved her compassion and wisdom but
Logan was getting less and less sympathy from her nowadays.
“I wasn’t myself.”
“That is no way to begin an explanation. It doesn’t matter I suppose. You’ve caused a
barrier to erect itself between Remy and yourself. Is that what you want?”
“Damn it, ‘Ro! That is not what I want.”
“What do you want, Logan? The sooner you figure that out, the quicker you will be able
to find out where you stand with Remy.”
“I obviously want him,” he muttered underneath his breath. “But, how can these feelings
be right? Maybe I just feel this attraction fer Remy ‘cause there ain’t anymore damsels in
distress.” As he was going for his night stand for a packet of cigarettes, he was roughly
smacked on the side of his head. “Hey! What’s that for?”
“When you stop acting like some childish boy and begin to act like a man, then I will
speak with you. Until then, don’t expect me to listen to the ravings of a coward.” She
abruptly swished out of the room on her high heels, a gust of wind following her out.
Ororo gave the saying, ‘cold shoulder’ new meaning.
“Fine! Who needs ya anyway!” He picked out a cigar instead and bit down on the end,
spitting it into the garbage bin beside his bed. *Stupid Cajun! Damn nag, ‘Ro! Now
what am I supposed t’ do?* “Where’s my friggin lighter?” He yanked open the top
drawer of his night stand and rustled through a pile of junk. Still, the cigar hung from his
lips with not a flame in sight. As he was rummaging through the pile of keepsakes, he
came across a deck of playing cards. His poker face could compete with Remy’s unless
he lost his temper. Before Remy had been ditched in Antarctica, they had been constant
companions in the game of Blackjack and whatever else earned a good bet.
Logan set the deck of cards back under the pile of his meager belongings and flicked the
cigar into the garbage bin with its other half. Smoking would not help his nerves or his
courage. He needed to get his hands on the Cajun and tell him straight out how he felt.
Remy would have liked to stay out until the early hours of the morning like he usually
did when he was more than a little bit pissed off. However, he wasn’t in the mood for
partying, driving all night or picking up the first pretty lady to flaunt herself at him. No.
He couldn’t deny it, he was hung up on Wolverine. Even if he was a more than highly
insensitive, old jerk at times, Remy still wanted him.
With nothing much to do and all of his plans shot to hell, the last option for passing the
time was a quick danger room sequence. After that, Remy made himself comfortable in
the sauna to ease his mind. And it wasn’t hard with the thick air which made breathing a
luxury. The heat and mist wrapped around his body, closer than the fluffy towel draped
over his waist. Remy sighed and laid down on his stomach to fully appreciate the hot
atmosphere.
“So, this is where you’ve been hiding.” Logan’s voice came out as a growl in the small
room.
“I’m feelin’ much better now, Wolvie. Don’ need you messin’ with my space.” He
burrowed his face into his folded arms and closed his eyes.
“Now yer back t’ callin’ me ‘Wolvie’? I thought that we were on a more personal level.”
“Un-uh! You made it clear what we are and are not, mon ami.”
There was no sudden movement on Logan’s part but Remy did stiffen slightly when he
heard nothing more from the man. The lack of sound could be just as bad as the
thunderstorm Ororo made when she was about to bash someone’s head in. Then, Remy
was shaken out of his sluggish rest by the touch of Logan’s furry hands on his shoulders.
“Maybe ya misunderstood.” His hands began a slow massage of Remy’s muscles,
working up to his neck and relieving the tension there. Logan felt Remy sigh and slacken
his firm resolve of being angry with him.
“Why didn’t you wan’ to go out with me?”
Logan was unprepared for the question and avoided it by sliding his hands down to
Remy’s hips. He pushed the towel further down and was disappointed to see that Remy
was actually wearing shorts underneath.
Remy bit his lip and rephrased the question. “You don’ want to be seen with me? Or is
dere someone else?” The second one was more of a coy joke than anything else.
“No, there ain’t no one else. Let’s just take this slow, ‘kay?” He worked his fingers into
Remy’s lower back, slowly crawling on top of him. When he was lying on Remy’s back,
his weight distributed on his elbows and knees, he bent down to kiss Remy’s neck. In the
process of doing so, he not so accidentally brushed his erection to Remy’s buttocks.
“Dat’s slow?” Remy rolled onto his back to look up into Logan’s face. His hand
carefully reached up to comb through the tufts of hair spiking up from either side of
Logan’s head. “No wonder people t’ink you’re an animal.” But it wasn’t the hair that
got his attention, it was the dark resolve in Logan’s eyes. The promise of action if he
pushed too far. That glint excited Remy but also frightened him. Was he ready for what
Logan had in mind?
There was no answer but Logan spoke little about matters of the heart. He merely
crushed his mouth to Remy’s and kissed him urgently. They had both been longing for
more than a casual encounter for so long. For the most part, Logan was afraid of Remy
disappearing one night and never coming back. He would never get the chance to be
with him if that did happen.
Their kiss lasted for only a couple of seconds because of the intensity with which Logan
forced it upon Remy. He pushed Logan off, gasping for air, then hissed through his teeth
when Logan eagerly pressed one hand to his erection. Remy opened his mouth to ask for
a moment to regain his breath and thoughts but Logan kissed him once more. This time,
as they kissed, Logan was caressing Remy through his shorts, gradually trying to slip
them off.
Then, Remy was struggling, fighting with Logan to keep his shorts on. It would have
appeared to be amusing to anyone who wasn’t aware of the inner conflicts inside of the
two men. *No way, Logan! You don’ commit, den you don’ get no fringe benefits.*
Remy used the momentum of one of Logan’s pushes to toss him onto the bottom. “Now
who’s de better X-Man?”
The wooden bench gave Logan an erotic sensation, the roughness of it against his back
and arms. He growled once more and wrapped an arm around Remy’s waist, squeezing
him tightly to him. Both of them were gleaming with sauna induced moisture, not very
healthy for long term exposure. But, it only encouraged Logan to run his tongue up
Remy’s neck, causing him to arch his back. He tasted salt and cologne and nearly sunk
his teeth in for a bite.
“Ohhh, Logan…,” Remy moaned, sliding his hand over the older man’s pants to rub the
bulge there. He didn’t need any more coaxing to know that this was meant to be.
Another minute later and Logan had removed Remy’s hand to slip his own down the
front of Remy’s shorts. He held on tighter to Remy when his fingers touched the hard,
tip of his cock. Logan had sensed the change in Remy’s mood long before he felt the
precum dripping onto his fingers as he softly stroked the tip with his thumb.
Remy moaned louder and grasped a fistful of hair covering Logan’s chest. He moved his
fingers through it until he located one of Logan’s nipples and began to insistently suck on
it. After a few minutes of that, Logan withdrew his fingers and licked them. He smiled
at Remy and started to get up.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
“I thought that you wanted t’ go slow.” His tone was mocking, demanding that Remy
come forth with his desires.
Remy ignored him and grabbed the waistband to Logan’s pants. In a quick motion, only
capable of a thief, he had Logan’s pants down and was getting on his knees.
“What do ya think yer doing, punk?” He attempted to shove Remy’s face away but
nearly keeled over when Remy’s soft lips touched his head. Then, Remy wasted no time
in engulfing Logan’s cock with his mouth, licking it as an expert would but having had
no experience. He was basing his maneuvers on what he thought Logan would like. And
Logan could not argue. Logan kept Remy pinned there, grinding his hips into Remy’s
face. As for Remy, he was enjoying it, sucking Logan dry while digging his fingers into
the man’s buttocks. He couldn’t take in Logan all the way so he occupied the base of the
man’s shaft with his nimble fingers. Stroking and squeezing him until Logan was on the
verge of exploding. Except he didn’t.
Logan pulled Remy off of him and pushed him onto the floor to return his pleasure. He
grasped the fine hairs between Remy’s legs with one hand while stroking his buttocks
with his other. Then, he had Remy’s cock in his mouth, sucking him harder than any
woman had before. Remy grit his teeth and grabbed onto the bench above him but was
unable to steady the bucking of his hips. He couldn’t stand very much of Logan’s
attention and came quickly.
It was then that Logan seemed to be confused. He was still hard, poking his cock into
Remy’s thighs. One hand lingering on Remy’s buttocks but not moving. When Logan
blinked, he saw that Remy was staring back at him.
“What’s wrong?”
Logan got up and shook his head. “It isn’t you,” he apologized. But it still hurt Remy to
watch him get dressed, knowing that for some reason, he hadn’t entirely satiated the man.
“It’s just too fast.” Now he was contradicting his earlier actions. Wasn’t there any way
for him to escape unscathed?
“Yeah…sure.” Remy sat up and drew his knees to his chin, appreciating what Logan had
done for him. That he hadn’t been left to drown his sorrows in a bottle of rum or the
bedside of some whore. Logan did have feelings for him but why did he keep holding
back?
“You getting decent?”
*What for?* “Nah, I’m gonna sit here for a while.” He turned his head away when
Logan crouched down to kiss him.
“I said it wasn’t you,” he repeated. His strong fingers gripped Remy’s jaw while he
kissed him. “Tomorrow, I’ll be lookin’ fer ya.” He patted Remy’s shoulder and walked
out, taking the towel with him to hide his arousal.
“Swell. Maybe we can make out in de closet where no one be de wiser.” Remy
stretched his limbs, peeved at Logan’s terrible insensitivity. He despised himself for the
traitorous grin which crossed his lips when he thought of how much he loved Logan’s
touch. He was well aware of why Logan had vanished with second thoughts. How could
the man be so forward and not be able to go all the way? *I don’ want to sleep alone
tonight. Not after dis.*
Kurt couldn’t have been happier to run into Wolverine as he headed off to bed. He
blocked the doorway and started to go through a list of memorized reasons why he should
be left alive. Half of them ended in a dreadful apology which sounded more like a plea
for mercy.
“Buzz off, Elf.” Logan flicked Kurt aside as if he were a bug. They had met as members
of the second team of original X-Men along with Storm. However, as long as Logan and
Kurt had been friends, he could not forgive him for what he had caused. It was bad
enough trying to deal with what everyone thought of his involvement with Remy. To
have false rumors dwelling in the same household that he lived in was unacceptable.
And Kurt was an incorrigible storyteller of gossip and fairy tales.
“Logan!”
*Oh crap!*
Logan glanced back to see Remy rushing after him, he hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt.
Remy came to a screeching stop right under Kurt’s nose. They exchanged glares but
another shove from Logan sent Kurt backwards and into Rogue’s neighboring room.
“What in tarnation?!,” the southern woman hollered.
“Rogue…um…nice lingerie.” Kurt went flying out the door, swearing in German as
Logan slammed his door shut and locked it.
“You’re mad, aren’t you?” Remy glanced at the locked door and then down at his hands.
“No, I’m really annoyed. I said I’d see you tomorrow.”
“And I say tomorrow isn’t good enough!” He folded his arms in front of his chest and
gave Logan the wicked eye. “You want Gambit, you got him! Twenty-four hours a day,
seven days a week…’cept Friday nights.”
“For cryin’ out loud!” Logan stooped down and picked his cigar out from the garbage,
shook it off and reached into Remy’s back pocket to get a pack of matches. He lit up and
gratefully inhaled the rich aroma of smoke and nicotine. Remy draped his arms around
Logan’s neck and leaned onto him, embracing him tightly. Logan couldn’t help himself,
he was touched by Remy’s constant displays of affection. “Okay, you can stay
here…only tonight! There’s no tomorrow night or Friday nights…or any other nights!
Ye got that?!!”
“Whatever you say, Logan.”
“And there’ll be none o’ that either!” He pushed Remy onto his bed and gathered up a
pile of his stuff to take into the bathroom with him. A cold shower would relieve what
Remy could not. When Remy tagged along, he knew that he was in trouble. “Look,
punk. This is my time, my shower, my rules. You go lie over there and behave while I
cool off.”
“Make me.” Remy smiled and easily pushed his hand down Logan’s pants. It was too
much for Logan to handle.
Dropping all of his bathroom accessories, he grabbed onto Remy’s arm and dragged him
inside. They made it into the shower, all tangled up together, the hot current of water
making matters worse for poor Logan. He pinned Remy under the stream of water, one
of his hands suspending both of Remy’s wrists above his head. His other was caressing
Remy’s buttocks, one of his fingers slowly pushing between them.
Remy bowed his head, his knees buckling beneath him. Logan supported Remy as he
inserted another finger into him, probing deeper. “I can’t believe we’re doing dis,” Remy
moaned.
Hesitating once more, the feral man paused in his exploration of Remy’s body. “It’s
okay if ya don’t want to,” he assured him.
“Stop talking so much.”
Logan went back to stretching Remy with his fingers, hardly in control of his own body.
He needed to release fast and he only wanted to do it one way. Guiding Remy down onto
his knees, he gently grasped his buttocks, parting them so that he could push his cock in
slowly. Remy tried to pull away from the pain but Logan kept him still, pushing in
further. As Remy was beginning to doubt that the act would bring him any pleasure, he
suddenly grabbed onto the faucet knobs, oddly laughing from the new experience.
Remy’s laughter made Logan nervous. Was he doing it right? Then it changed to a cry
of ecstasy when Logan thrust in harder and deeper. He had to hold Remy by his hips to
steady him as he increased the pace. As he was nearing the edge of the cliff he had
climbed onto, he felt a surge in his heart from the realization that Remy was screaming
out his name. This was what they both wanted. Logan clutched that thought to his heart
as he exploded inside of Remy.
They sank to the tiled floor of the shower stall with Logan pulling Remy into his lap. He
still thrust several times until he felt completely spent. Remy had already came again
and was exhausted. But not too wiped out to spend some precious time kissing Logan.
*Shit!* Remy paled when he considered what they had just done. He rarely had sex and
was not promiscuous but each time he did, he always used a condom. “Logan…”
“My healing factor doesn’t allow STD’s in my bloodstream,” he answered knowingly.
Logan carefully withdrew from Remy and sat there, the hot water cascading off of his
muscular body and over Remy’s thin, sinewy frame. “You were great,” he added,
seductively stroking the first man he had ever had sex with. He intended that Remy also
be the only person he ever had it with again. *Can it be possible? Do I love him?*
Logan gazed deep into those brown eyes which never lowered from his own dark ones.
*Damn Cajun!* He knew he did but couldn’t say it out loud.
“Where do we stand now?”
The porcelain beneath Logan’s feet was slippery and the glass walls slick with mildew
and a stream of hot water. It didn’t deter the man from getting up and pulling Remy with
him. Where did they stand now? He still wanted to prevent anyone else from finding
out. Sabretooth was lurking in his head, threatening the possibility of ‘coming out’ with
their relationship. Any one of Logan’s old enemies wouldn’t need an excuse or reason to
use Remy against him if they discovered how much he cared for the Cajun.
“I want this to remain between us,” came his quiet request. Only, it was more of an order
than a request. And if Remy resisted or disregarded it, there would be nothing more
between them.
Remy shrugged nonchalantly, as if he didn’t care whether anyone knew or not. “If dat’s
de way you want it.” Not a sliver of emotion was in his voice or expression but deep
down, it was just another blow to his heart. It fed the fear he felt of this encounter
turning into a one-time deal because of circumstances. *Logan must have no intention of
being with me if he wants to hide it. I was a fool to believe that there could ever be an
‘us’.*
“I do want to see you again.” They had reached the bedroom but Remy would not be led
to the bed.
“So, it’s been fun, eh? Maybe you’ll call me sometime.” He knocked off Logan’s hand
which strayed into his damp hair to stroke it. His clothes were difficult to get back on
with his hands shaking but he managed to get his jeans on without tearing off the zipper.
“Yer upset.” That observation caused Remy to glance at Logan and see that he appeared
to be hurting inside as well. But, Remy wouldn’t be distracted from leaving. He didn’t
want to be a distant fling for Logan when the enjoyment wore off. “Stay.” Now it
sounded like a request and not a demand.
A cluster of crystal-blue tears formed in Remy’s eyes but he hurriedly unlocked the door,
rushing into the hallway. Logan made no effort to come after him, not like he expected
him to, but it only added to his pain. Just when he thought love had finally come his
way, it revealed the falseness mirrored back at him in the form of ugly deception.
*’Great’? Dat’s all he said I was. Dere’s not likely anything else dat he finds attractive
‘bout me. Who am I tryin’ to kid? Ain’t nobody gonna fall in love with me. I screwed
up big time. Mutants are dead ‘cause of me!*
The hallway opened up into the staircase which Remy ran down, bumping into Kurt on
his way out the door.
“Remy! Are you okay?”
“As if you’d care!” He jumped onto his motorcycle and gave it a vengeful kick when he
couldn’t find his keys. Using his mutant powers to spark the ignition, Remy shot out of
the estate grounds towards the highway.
