Title: The Camping Trip

Author: Jukebox

Fandom: Logan/Remy X-Men Slash

Pairing: Remy/Logan

Feedback: Always appreciated to jukebox_csi@yahoo.com

Rating: R maybe NC-17 depending on your view

Archive: If you think it's worthy, then absolutely! Permission granted. Just let me know where so my fragile ego will be stroked

Disclaimers: Doing this only for therapeutic value. Not making any money off it. All the characters in this fic belong to Marvel & Stan Lee. I'm broke so sueing me would be like trying to squeeze blood from a turnip.

Notes: This is an AU because empathy and spatial awareness are just too cool for Remy not to have. Also, Remy's been to Antarctica, but none of them have been to space.

Summary: Logan takes Remy camping for a few days...trouble ensues

Warnings: I don't know French or Cajun French, so my apologies to people of those areas if I butchered the language in this fic. If I put any in this fic,it came from online translators and LA library archives. I'm not a camper, so if something doesn't sound doable or real, just remember this is an AU so it's possible in this fic.

Words in between ~ ~ are thoughts


THE CAMPING TRIP
by Jukebox

“GUMBO” Logan yelled out as he entered the kitchen of the Xavier Institute. Using smell to track down his team mates within the walls of the institute was always challenging because their scents were all over the place, lingering everywhere at once. It was only logical as they all shared the same roof. Oh, Logan could do it if he had to. He was Wolverine after all, a mutant with enhanced senses, healing factor, adamantium bones, and an inner beast always on the verge of surfacing. It was just easier to yell.

As if on cue, the resident mutant thief Remy LeBeau strolled casually into the empty kitchen. He glanced momentarily at the older man standing on the opposite side of the room, feigning disinterest and boredom. Moving over to the refrigerator, Remy rooted around for a beer before turning to his feral lover.

“You holler’d, mon ami?” he drawled while twisting the cap off his brew.

“Yeah. I’m headin’ up to the state park for a few days, do some campin’, maybe a little huntin’. Wanna come with?” Logan’s nostrils flared as he took in the cinnamon and spice flavor of the sensual creature before him. “Full moon’s out tonight and I’m feelin’ a little restless.”

Remy arched an elegant brow and smirked. He took a swig from the bottle of the foul tasting swill, then studied his team mate for a moment. “Now why would I wanna go out to de woods to spend de night under a full moon wit’ you, M’sieur Loup Garou?”

Logan cocked his head, brows drawn down in irritation. It was not the response he had expected. He knew Gambit was a city boy, born and raised, but he also didn’t understand why the boy was obviously dodging an invitation for the two of them to get away for some quality time together. Logan wasn’t really in the mood to banter. His moment of confusion didn’t last, however, as the reasons for the little disinterested comment flowed into the room in the form of Bobby and Storm. He shook his head in realization that he had not been aware of their close proximity, having formed the habit of blocking them all out when he was at home. He knew, however, that his boy had felt them coming. His lips pulled back to reveal an impressive set of canines as he decided to play this ruse.

“Don’t really care one way or the other, Cajun. Just thought I’d ask.” With that, Logan turned as if he planned to leave.

“Eh, might be fun. Ain’t been campin’ for a while. I could use a little change of scenery.” Remy continued nursing his beer.

Wolverine shrugged. “Whatever. I’m leaving in an hour, with or without ya.”

Bobby, who had been passively listening to the exchange, perked up. “Camping? That sounds like fun!” Remy grimaced at Bobby’s attempt to pry an invite.

Logan’s face darkened. He turned towards the blonde, working hard to mask his irritation as he replied. “Ya don’t strike me as the nature boy type, Icicle.”

“Well, neither is Gambit.” Bobby pointed out.

“Mais Bobby, Gambit tryin’ to learn to broaden his horizons, non?” Remy was trying to discourage ice man as politely as possible without causing suspicion.

“Well, maybe I’d like to broaden my horizons too.” Drake pouted. He couldn’t understand why they weren’t asking him to go on this little adventure. His own insecurities were appearing as his teeth worried with his lower lip in contemplation of the issue. “Unless, you two don’t want me along for some reason.”

Suddenly, Bobby’s face lit up as if he had reached some sort of conclusion on the matter. “Oh, I get it. Now I understand what’s going on.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed and a low growl emitted from his throat as he hissed “What the hell are you talking ‘bout, bub?”

“You two are planning on going out carousing, getting drunk and probably getting laid.” Remy and Logan exchanged glances with that statement. “And knowing what a womanizer Gambit is, you’ll probably get into a fight with some jealous boyfriend.” Bobby continued as he pointed an accusatory finger at both of them.

Ororo cleared her throat to draw attention to herself. “Bobby, dear, there is a home and garden show at the Expo hall this weekend that I desperately wish to attend. Yet, I am loathed to go alone. Since most of the other ladies are unavailable, and my brother obviously has other plans, would you do me the honor of escorting me? I know it can not be as exciting as a group of males drinking alcohol and causing mischief, but it would mean a great deal to me.” She smiled warmly at him, her beautiful eyes wide and hopeful.

Bobby stared at her for a moment, then cast a glance at the other two men. He sniffed and turned back to the weather goddess. “I’d be happy to take you ‘Ro. Thank you for asking.”

Wolverine frowned. Storm knew. Of course she knew. One could not be the self appointed sister of the Cajun and not know things. Remy could tell what his lover was thinking and decided now was the time to end the conversation. “Sounds like you two will have a bon time. Now, if y’all will ‘scuse me, I need to get my t’ings or Logan might leave me behind.”

“May do that anyway, swamp rat.” Logan muttered before spinning on his heal and hastily leaving the kitchen. Gambit sighed and started to leave when Storm called after him.

“Remy?”

He paused at the threshold and turned his head to glance back at her. “Stormy?”

“Try not to kill each other and do not call me that.”

He grinned lazily at both of them. “You know me, chere. I never go looking for trouble.”
She arched a regal brow and folded her arms across her chest. “And yet it always seems to find you, brother.”

Gambit chuckled. “Guess it must be my irresistible charm, neh?” And with that, he left Storm and a confused ice man behind.

***********

Remy met up with Logan in the garage. He had been packing the gear in the jeep and didn’t spare a glance for the thief. Twenty minutes later, after a thorough inspection of the vehicle and its contents, they were off. The state park was a good three hours from the mansion. The road leading there was mostly two lanes, occupied mainly by tractor trailers attempting to avoid weigh stations or hauling logs. The scenery they passed was beautiful for the most part, primarily trees with periodic gaps of grasslands containing a house or barn. It was early spring and the colors of nature were beginning to show. They rode quietly for awhile, each lost in thought, until the silence became deafening for Gambit.

“How long we gon’ be campin’? Look like you packed enough food to last a week.”

Silence. Not even a grunt from his volatile companion. It was an annoying thing to be on the receiving end of a silent treatment by a lover. Undaunted, he tried again.

“I t’ink de weather may turn. S’pposed to rain in a few days. May be warm during de day, but it may get cold at night, non?”

Stillness. Not even a glance his direction. Nothing from Logan to indicate that he even knew the other male was in the car with him. ~‘Kay~, Remy thought. ~Guess we go de direct approach.~

“How long you gon’ stay mad, Logan? You ever gon’ talk to me again, cher?”

Nothing. He might have known. Really, what had he expected? His feral lover could hold a grudge a long time. Remy sighed and turned back to stare out of his window at the monotonous view of trees, and more trees. He placed a cigarette in his mouth and lit it with his finger, allowing the smooth pull to calm his nerves and ease his tensions. Placing both feet on the dash and crossing both arms over his knees, he slanted a sideways gaze towards Logan.

“I hate de woods. Don’ know how you talk me into campin’.”

Oh that did it. Wolverine’s head swung round to him, causing his hands clutching the steering wheel to naturally follow suit. He damn near lost control of that jeep with the motion, causing it to swerve violently on the road for a few moments before regaining his composure and straightening out. It was sheer luck that no oncoming big rig was on the opposite side of the road at the time.

“Talk ya….Listen here, swamp rat, ya didn’t have ta come. I can put ya out at the next stop and ya can find ya’re own way home.” Logan was actually snarling as he growled those words. It wasn’t exactly polite, but at least he was talking now.

Remy released his white knuckle grip on the dash board and grinned slightly as he blew out a lung full of carcinogens. “Non, Logan. I wanna be wit’ you. Mais, why you call me swamp rat, cher? I was raised in de city.”

“If you can call me a werewolf in your Cajun patois, then I can call you a swamp rat. Besides, you were raised in a cesspool. That city is just as dirty as a swamp, with just as many rats. So the term fits.”

Remy fumed. “HEY! You can’t talk about de Crescent City dat way. I’ll have you know dat N’Awlins is a belle city. It be full of cultural and historical significance. Most agree it be de birthplace of jazz and it…” Remy’s tirade defending his beloved home town continued for another twenty minutes before he calmed down enough to realize that Wolverine had been goading him. Successfully at that. Almost, there was a smug look of satisfaction on Logan’s face.

Logan pulled out a cigar and stuck it in his mouth. “Yeh, well ya make it sound like the most perfect city on the planet. Too bad ya got thrown out and can’t ever go back.”

Remy blanched. His jaw opened, then snapped shut. He shifted his whole body towards the passenger window and stared morosely at the passing trees. Perhaps silence was better. It had been a cold, cruel statement to make, and the truth of it hurt Remy to the core. But, of course Logan knew it would. It was what he wanted after all, for the boy to shut up and leave him alone to brood over a perceived hurt done to him. Problem was, Logan felt bad about it. The obvious body language and the scent rolling off his partner spoke volumes to him. Inwardly, he cursed himself for being a fool.

He chewed on his cigar for a little while before he decided it was his turn to break the silence.

“Why’d ya tell ‘Ro? I thought ya didn’t want no one to know ‘bout us.” There was frustration in Logan’s voice. Remy could hear it. And when he lowered his shields, he could feel it.

Remy’s hand came up to scratch above his brow and run fingers through his hair as he sighed. He turned his body slightly and stared out the front windshield as he answered. “Can’t keep nothin’ from my petite Stormy, Logan, you know dat.”

Logan huffed. “So ya can tell her, but not anyone else? Are ya ashamed of us, Remy? Of me?”

And there it was, the heart of the problem. Remy figured as much. He hadn’t really planned on keeping their relationship a secret forever. He just didn’t want to expose Logan to the same negative treatment that he received on a regular basis. They would think Remy was manipulating the feral somehow, controlling him, using him. Everyone at the mansion thought he was a whore, and by association they would think that way of Logan. He couldn’t allow that.

Remy pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes shut tight as he fought the beginnings of a headache. He opened his eyes and turned his face towards his lover, studying the older man’s profile.

“Non, Logan. You know dat ain’t true. Mais, Remy don’t want de ot’ers to t’ink of you badly. Dey already hate Gambit. Don’t want dat to rub off on you too. I already tol’ you dis before, cher. Gambit knows dat be de only place you call home. Can’t take dat away from you.” He paused for a moment, returning his gaze to the front. “Remy, he’d leave in a minute, not look back. Only stay cause of Stormy and you, mon amour.” There was a sadness in his tone as he spoke. It would have been unmistakable even without sensitive hearing. It didn’t make Logan feel any better about any of it, though.

There were a few more minutes of silence when Logan finally spoke again. “Told Cyke we’d be gone ‘bout four days. But, if the weather turns bad, we’ll head back sooner.” They both continued to sulk for the rest of the drive, but at least the silent treatment had ended.

***********

They arrived at the gate to the park and stopped at the guard post. The weather was still fairly cool but in the process of changing, and not terribly unpleasant during the day. The tourist season had yet to open and park hours were limited with no overnight camping allowed during the week at this time of the year. But, Wolverine was good friends with the head ranger of this particular park and had called ahead to arrange an extended visit. The park ranger at the gate held a hand up to halt them, ready to tell them the park was about to close for the day, when Logan dropped names.

“Ah, yes sir. We were told to expect you. You will be camping in your usual spot below the north ridge?” The guard was polite and professional.

“Yeah. Figure we’ll be here a few days. How’s the river looking?” The rains had been sporadic over the past few weeks, but the melting snow was something to consider. If the river was swollen, the spot that Logan normally camped would have to be changed in favor of elevation, and they would have to avoid any lower lying areas prone to flooding.

“She’s crested a few days back from the melted snows of the upper region. We aren’t expecting anything higher for now. But, there’s a front moving in, so it’s hard to say what she’ll be doing in a few days.” The guard smiled as he gathered paperwork to hand them.

“I expect you know the drill? I have to give you these maps and the rules of the park. The boss said I have to collect fees from you too, something about you owing him?” The man seemed almost apologetic at having to ask.

Logan just grinned at him and chuckled. He handed the money over to the ranger and bid farewell after receiving the standard ‘be careful out there’ warning, and drove past the barriers leading into the park.

The ranger watched them disappear around the bend before retreating to his little shack and retrieving the phone. A voice on the other end answered and he made a quick report. “This is Fetters at the west gate. Weapon X just passed through. Be aware that he has company.” He waited while the voice on the other end spoke. “Yes sir, I did.” More silence from him as he listened to another question directed at him. “Yes sir, I do. Based on the descriptions in the files we studied, it appeared to be the one codename Gambit.” A few more minutes of receiving orders before the conversation was terminated and the guard returned to his post, awaiting pickup.

*************

The sun was beginning to set by the time they made camp. Remy went about gathering fuel for the fire while Logan pitched the tent and unrolled the extra large sleeping bag. As darkness fell, they cooked up a hearty meal, a stew of sorts filled with various chunks of meat and vegetables that Logan had brought in the cooler. Despite his anger with the kid, he knew that Remy had a natural sweet tooth and had considerately brought along all the ingredients needed to make s’mores. After finishing the meal and cleanup, they both sat cross legged next to each other, drinking beer and enjoying the sounds of the surrounding forest.

Remy was staring thoughtfully at the massive display of stars in the sky. It was hard to appreciate the beauty of the night sky from the city, most of it being obscured by the glow of neon lights. But, here, in the middle of the woods, with no such hindrances, it was easy to get lost in the view. “Logan?”

Logan grunted.

“Do you believe dere is life somewhere else in de universe?” Logan took in the far off look on his lover’s face as the light from the fire danced across his features.

Turning to appreciate the scene himself, Logan breathed deeply. “I think it’s a little arrogant ta think otherwise. There are billions of planets out there. It’s hard to imagine that there’s not a single one besides this one that can sustain life. And, maybe, not even life as we know it.”

“What you mean by dat?” Remy mused.

“I mean that I don’t think all life has to be carbon based, or rely on oxygen and water to live. There’s too many unknowns to just assume an entity requires an atmosphere to live.”

“Remy t’inks you been watchin’ too many reruns of Star Trek, mon ami.” He giggled, sounding almost like a little boy in his amusement.

Logan snorted. “Maybe. But that’s my opinion. If ya don’t want to hear it, then don’t ask.”

Remy turned and looked at him a moment, humor dancing in his eyes. “What’s your favorite color, cher?”

Logan stoked the fire a bit before answering. “What is this, Cajun? Twenty questions?”

Remy shrugged. “Dunno. Just curious I guess. Making conversation wit’ you. Play along wit’ me, mon amour.”

“Yellow.”

Remy looked at Logan, brows raised almost to his hairline, somewhat in disbelief of that statement and just a little in shock at the abrupt answer when it seemed he was going to have to pull answers from the older man. He thought maybe the older man was making it up. Logan caught his stare. “What? Ain’t you seen my uniform?”

Remy had to suppress a laugh, feeling that his lover wouldn’t appreciate it too much. He decided to offer his own choice instead. “Mine’s blue.”

Logan seemed rather surprised to find that out. “I thought you’d like red like your eyes, or fuschia like your uniform, or even black. Never guessed it’d be blue.”

“Non. D’ose colors ain’t ever brought me not’ing but trouble. I prefer blue, like de color of your eyes, mon couer.” Logan blushed at that, and then felt foolish for doing so. He went back to stoking the fire, feeling somewhat embarrassed and flushed at the moment.

“Logan?”

“Yeah, Remy.”

“Do you believe in God?”

Logan froze for a moment and looked over at the boy, before returning to his task. “Ain’t talking religion with you, Gumbo.”

Remy idly played with a blade of grass, eyes staring into the flames. “Didn’ ask you to talk religion, cher. Asked if you believed in God.”

Logan sat back on his haunches and exhaled slowly. “I’ve been around a long time, and I’ve studied quite a few religions. There are some that share a common idea, just differ in their methods. I think that anyone should be allowed to believe in what they want and worship their beliefs the way they want without persecution or judgment from others. Too many damn wars have been fought, too many atrocities committed in the name of religion. Can’t say I agree with that.” He took a sip of beer and swirled it around his mouth before swallowing. “But, I believe there’s something out there. And I believe in the paths of good and evil, that people make a choice of which path to follow, the saving or condemning of one’s soul based on that choice.” Logan glanced over to his partner and asked the same question of him.

“Yah, I do. But I’m not really into religion.” Remy said nonchalantly.

Logan’s brows furrowed as he canted his head towards the boy. “I know you ain’t no saint, but it’s still kinda hard ta believe when half your guild is Catholic and your adopted aunt studies voodoo.”

Remy saw the confusion in Logan’s face and shrugged. “Gambit got a healt’y respect for many religions, cher. Can’t grow up in N’Awlins and not. Don’t mean I be comfortable round dem.” Remy tossed his blade of grass into the flames and sighed. “Mais, I believe dere is a greater power, a heaven and hell.” This last part he said as he lifted his eyes toward the sky and waved his hand around.

They sat in silence again for awhile, the heaviness of the previous conversation exhausting their tongues for the moment. Remy pulled out some cards and shuffled back and forth, while Logan ran his knuckles along his jaw. Logan thought about the twenty questions game, what Remy was trying to accomplish by learning little tidbits about his lover, and decided it was his turn. The question he decided on was enough to lighten things up again. “Ok Gumbo, who’s your hero?”

Remy grinned. “I dunno. James Bond, I guess.” Logan lifted a sardonic brow and Remy burst out laughing. “T’ink about it, cher. He’s de ultimate spy, de ultimate t’ief. And, every woman wants him. Some men too, neh?” Logan chuckled deep at that revelation. “What about you, mon amour. Who be your hero?”

The smile faded some from Logan’s face, his gaze drawn to the flames again. “Can’t say I’ve got one. I’ve lived too long, seen too many things to believe in heroes anymore.”

Remy put his cards down and moved slowly, sensually, over to Logan and straddled him. He brought his hands up and cupped the older man’s face, their eyes locked. Remy closed his eyes and brought their mouths together for a deep, soulful kiss. Their tongues tangled and explored, teeth scraping lips. Remy brought his arms around Logan’s neck, and Logan moved both his hands down Remy’s back to firmly grab hold of the boy’s ass. Lifting the boy up, he turned them both and gently lay them down with Remy under him, never once breaking the kiss. Slowly, Logan’s hand moved to unfasten jeans, after which he maneuvered both hands under Remy’s shirt raising it to expose soft skin underneath.

The kiss broke as each took in much needed oxygen and both divested themselves of shirts. Remy tangled one hand in Logan’s hair, while the other moved to undo his lover’s pants. He started pushing the jeans over Logan’s hips, causing them to break again as Logan rose up to remove both his and Remy’s. Remy raised his hips obligingly as the material slid bit by bit down his legs, the gradual exposure of skin being savored and cherished by Logan. They moved in slow motion, Logan settling between Remy’s thighs as they continued kissing and touching.

One of Logan’s hands ran smoothly down Remy’s side, down to his thigh, lifting the leg to wrap around him. His calloused fingers appreciated the texture of the skin, not as soft as a woman, but smooth nonetheless except for the occasional scar. Some of these scars were known to Logan, had in fact been caused by him. Others were a mystery to him, but the placement of which made Logan speculate on the pain endured in a nightmare past to produce such. He internally frowned at that, making a note to continue the twenty questions game in the future asking more pointed and personal questions regarding said scars.

Remy’s breathing was ragged, the soft sounds he moaned was music to his lover’s sensitive ears. Both men were panting. The heavy petting and foreplay continued a while until finally Logan whispered in Remy’s ear, sending shudders through his body. “Turn over.” Logan lifted up to give him room to move. After Remy moved to his stomach, one of Logan’s hands skimmed softly over his back causing goose bumps to form on sensitive skin, while the other hand prepared them both with a gentleness belied by his outward gruff appearance. He moved his hands around Remy’s waist and lifted the boy into his lap, Remy’s knees spreading to either side of Logan’s thighs.

Slowly, and with shallow breaths, Remy lowered himself onto Logan, until he was completely impaled and adjusting. He arched himself back, his head falling on Logan’s shoulder, turning his face up and outward, exposing the length of his neck completely for his feral lover. Logan lowered his mouth and began suckling on the tender flesh below the jaw. His hands moved to Remy’s hips and he started moving, establishing a slow and deliberate rhythm. There were times when they fucked frantically, teeth and claws. The sex during those sessions was wild and urgent, raw and almost animalistic. And then there were times like now when they made slow, sweet love, keeping tight control on movements and taking the time to revel in the feel of each other. There was no denying the appeal of spastic, spontaneous, savage rutting. But, there was something to be said for methodical and languid as well - the feel of unhurried motions, of sending your lover beyond the edge of ecstasy, every shiver and shake.

Logan moved one arm from Remy’s hip to encircle the boy’s demanding sex. He stroked in time with the rhythm they had already established. His other hand continued it’s exploration of the body under it. Remy’s chest, flat except for the well defined pectorals of a man in prime athletic shape, so different from a woman’s but no less erotic, the nipples protruding automatically at his touch. Logan’s hand moved to feel the ridges and valleys of toned abdominal muscles that spoke of a body worked to endurance. Finally, his hand moved to caress ribs, noting the feel of a body that had very little insulation. The boy did not currently suffer from want, but his body hinted at past starvation that was never completely overcome.

Remy’s left arm reached up and wrapped around his lover’s neck, his hand tangled in the hair at the back of Logan’s head. His other lay on top of Logan’s arm, grasping the wrist of Logan’s hand as it worked him. Logan’s tongue swiped along Remy’s jaw line, down his neck to the curve where neck meets shoulder. As Remy tipped his head further back, Logan took advantage by licking his way to the center of the base of the throat, at the dip between collar bones. Remy’s hair glided like silk up and down Logan’s back with each thrust, the touch an erotic torment to over sensitive skin. The sheen of sweat soaked skin could be seen in the flames as the two moved in harmony together, making love in the middle of nowhere under a blanket of stars with only the elements and creatures of nature as witnesses. Their bodies molded perfectly to each other. Remy opened his shields fully and was completely in Logan, their emotions and love flowing freely between each other, feeding from one another.

A few more strokes and Remy’s body froze. He gasped and came, eyes shut tight as Logan kissed the side of his open mouth. He pushed the pleasure of his orgasm into Logan’s mind, traveling along every nerve, filling Logan’s soul and sending the older man over the edge. With one last thrust, Logan’s head flung back and he filled his lover’s body completely, moaning and squeezing his arms tight around the boy to hold them both in place. They stayed that way a few minutes before Logan raised his head. Still holding the boy tight against him, arms about waist, he turned his face and looked into those beautiful red on black eyes, losing himself completely. He sealed the boy’s mouth with his own in a deep, passionate kiss and Remy’s arms moved on top of Logan’s, their fingers intertwining.

When they broke for air, Logan lifted him to gently decouple. He unwrapped himself from the Cajun, and moved toward the tent, pulling the boy along by the hand. Logan lay down and urged his lover to follow suit. Remy complied and draped himself on the older man, head on shoulder, one arm across Logan’s chest, and a thigh drawn up possessively over Logan’s hip and leg.

Logan’s arm curled around Remy’s shoulder, stroking up and down the boy’s arm as Remy sighed. After several minutes of silence, Logan spoke. “Remy?”

“hmmmm?” Remy purred.

“I’m still mad about before.” He felt the Cajun tense slightly and held him tighter to him. “Ya know we’re gonna talk about this some more, right?”

Remy thought a moment and then started to relax again. “Yah, I figured. But not tonight, d’accord?”

Logan kissed the top of Remy’s head and agreed. “No, not tonight, darlin’. But, soon. Go ta sleep.” With that, they both drifted off to sated, peaceful slumber.

************

Remy woke alone in the tent. Logan was already up and off on a morning constitutional. He inhaled deeply, yawned, and smiled as he wiped the last remnants of sleep from his eyes. Shifting the cover back, he decided that Logan had the right idea and grabbed some toiletries as he headed for the river. They had been camping here before, and Remy felt pretty comfortable with the immediate surrounding, knowing the basic direction to and from the banks. Logan had taken him hiking once, on a previous trip, and it hadn’t taken him long to get totally disoriented with directions. Thank all that was good and holy that his feral lover was with him or he would have been totally lost. All he remembered from that previous venture was that a very short distance north of their camp, the ground rose higher and the banks of the river drew steeper. Of course, he mused, that must be why it was called the north ridge.

After cleaning up a bit in the cool waters of the river, he slipped on an undershirt, then his long sleeve LSU jersey, a pair of faded jeans complete with holes in the knees, and a pair of hiking shoes. He headed back and began making them both something to eat. Activities from the night before had definitely burned away the stew they had consumed for dinner. Breakfast was almost done by the time Logan returned. He was fully dressed and ready to go. He seemed in better spirits, but then being in his element usually lifted his mood. They ate the foods that Remy prepared, discussing the plans for the day. Of course, Remy didn’t have a clue what they would do. Well, that wasn’t completely true. He had an idea of what he would like them to do all day. But, Logan had other notions. And, Logan was quite excited about the prospects of the day’s activities that HE had planned - a little hunting, maybe some fishing. Though, he noted that the fishing might be a little tricky since the river was flowing quite swiftly.

Remy glanced at his excited lover and shook his head. “Logan, cher, you know I love you more dan etouffee, mais you know I don’ like killing animals, least not de four legged non-mutant kind.”

“Ain’t planning on killing nothing, Cajun. Just tracking and hiking. I may be friends with the guy that runs this place, but that don’t mean I’m gonna break his rules and mess him up. Most we might kill is a fish or two to eat.” Logan downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp and stood up. “Now, let’s get going. We’re burning daylight.”

With a heavy sigh, Remy started cleaning up. “’Kay. Just lemme put dis up and get my coat.”

“Why in the hell did ya bring that thing anyway. A leather trench coat don’t really have much give in the woods. Anything we track will detect ya way before ya get near.”

Remy planted a lop-sided grin on his face. “You forget, mon ami, Gambit be one of de world’s best t’iefs. I can sneak up on anyt’ing no matter what I be wearing. De coat lets me do it in style.”

They had just finished cleaning up the meal, storing supplies safely so as to not be scavenged by critters while they were away from camp, when suddenly Logan stopped cold. He stood straight and turned slightly, nostrils flaring and head tilted straining to hear. Remy recognized the body language and he too started scanning. He knew that he didn’t have the capabilities of picking out subtle sounds and smells like Logan. But, he had other gifts. His spatial awareness was tingling, picking up….something….just at the edge of his range.

Remy decided to lower his shields, thinking maybe another camper or two was out there. No sooner were they down when he was slammed with too many emotions from multiple directions. He grabbed his head and staggered back, quickly strengthening his barriers. He hadn’t been expecting so much.

“Mon dieu” he whispered. Remy turned a wide eyed look towards Logan just as the first shot rang out.

“MOVE!” Logan yelled as he whirled around and grabbed Remy’s arm.

They ran the other direction from whatever was shooting at them. Gambit screamed at Logan that there were many of them, all with hatred and bloodlust pouring off them. “Dieu, Logan! Dey trying to kill us.”
“Split up! I’ll try to draw them off. Make your way back to the jeep and call Scott.” Logan turned and started to run towards the ridge along the edge of the river banks. Remy took a moment to watch his lover’s back, then ran the opposite direction when he heard them coming closer.

He didn’t know how long he’d run. From the sweat beading on his forehead and the pain in his chest as he struggled to take a breath, he figured it had been a good while. He was so turned around, every tree and bush looking exactly like the tree or bush he’d just passed.

~ I hate de woods ~ was all he could think.

Gambit heard a few men closing in on his position and decided it was time to make a stand. He took a minute to survey the area, brain working feverishly on a plan, and then climbed up to perch on a limb. He was hidden for the most part as he watched four heavily armed and uniformed men enter his makeshift arena. These men were good at tracking and stopped short, eyes darting everywhere, guns held ready. Gambit watched them as he mentally urged them to come closer.

“Come on out, mutant. Surrender now and we’ll make it quick.” one of the uniforms yelled.

“Yeh. We know you’re here. We know all about you X-men, and especially you, Cajun swamp rat.” One of the other uniforms chided.

The reply they got seemed to come from all around them, much like a ventriloquist throwing his voice. “Merde! Why does everyone insist on calling me dat?”

Remy flung down from his perch and angled himself to plant both feet in the back of the man that had slandered him. The man lurched forward, landing flat on his face.

“Yah, I took de tour.”

Gambit spared no time, quickly jumping up into a round house kick on the next nearest man, his foot landing squarely across the guy’s jaw, hurling him sideways.

“Mais, I never live dere.”

Gambit immediately back flipped up, extending his bo staff as bullets flew all around, and landed behind the furthest guard. Back to back with the man, he reached over the man’s head with his extended bo staff and grasped the man under the chin, yanking up and over to flip the man.

“De only Canal I travel, be a concrete street near de Quarter.”

Gambit whirled around flipping two charged cards at the final guard just as he was about to shoot Remy in the back. KABOOM! The resulting explosion blew the man back some twenty yards, where his body sprawled lifelessly on the ground.

“Not murky water and cypress trees.”

The first two men Remy felled were stirring. He swung his staff around in an arch in front of him, sending the men flying backwards, landing on their backs with a sickening thud. From behind him, the third guy had also staggered back. Gambit leaped up, kicking his leg back to hit powerfully in the man’s chest. He fell back into the trunk of a tree, where his eyes rolled back in his head and he slid unconscious to the ground.

“Well dat’s a shame. I was just beginning to have fun, too.” Remy crouched down to examine one of the bodies. “Military, eh? Let’s see what you want.” He dug around the man’s pockets and found several syringes containing some kind of liquid. Noting the tranquilizer gun attached to the man’s hip, Remy started putting two and two together and the answer he was coming up with didn’t equal four. “Weapon X” he hissed. “You after Logan. Merde!”

Quickly, he raided all of their pockets, taking whatever he could fit into his coat and strapping on anything he thought he could use. He wasn’t sure how many were in the woods, but it was a safe bet that he and Logan may be running or fighting for a while. Careful to take only what he thought he might use, so as to not weigh himself down too much, he picked up one of the automatic weapons and some extra rounds before darting off in the direction from which he could faintly feel emotions radiating.

**************

Wolverine had been holding his own against their attackers. Not one to normally run from a fight, he was in retreat none the less, anything to keep them away from Remy. He wasn’t sure how many were chasing him, but his nose told him it was quite a few, perhaps as many as twenty soldiers. He had been running parallel to the river bank, steadily moving towards the higher ground known as the North Ridge, relying heavily on his keen senses to let him know where his pursuers lay. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks staring straight ahead into the brush. Somehow, there were soldiers ahead of him. Damn. Wolverine took a moment to turn in a complete circle, trying to get a feel of who was in what direction. A shot rang out from his immediate left and he dove for the ground. Leaping to his feet, he sprinted in the direction of the river, his mind racing. He didn’t know how in the hell they had gotten in front of him and to the side, not to mention the ones still behind him. But one thing Wolverine knew for sure, they were herding him, and he didn’t like that one bit.

Remy was racing towards the emotional signatures he was picking up. He was completely and thoroughly lost now, but it didn’t matter. He knew they were after Logan and he could feel their excitement not far in front of him. It was a moment later that he heard the shot, causing him to skid to a stop. Breathing hard and fast, his eyes darted in all directions trying to pinpoint the exact location of that noise. With his heart pounding fiercely in his chest, he took off again at a dead run, ignoring the limbs and brush grabbing at his face and arms. He was close. He could feel the presence of many soldiers and had to raise his shields some to avoid being overcome by their emotions. But, he knew he was closer to Logan. That was the one presence that was strongest in his mind and was now the driving force guiding him in his pursuit.

Logan had reached the bank of the river. It was actually fairly steep where he stood and the river was swirling madly below in its frenzy to rush downstream. He paused a moment to catch his breath and his bearings, realizing that he was out of options. With a snarl, he turned and extended both sets of claws, crouching into attack position and waiting for the soldiers to come out and play. It didn’t so much bother him that they were shooting, after all, his healing factor could pretty well compensate almost as quickly as he was struck. He was just ready to get this over with and taste a little blood for all the running they made him do. Logan knew they were close, yet they had not come into view for some reason. They were maintaining a healthy distance and keeping out of sight. It took Logan less than a minute to understand why they weren’t rushing him. His pupils dilated when he finally realized they were going to try and capture him.

“Ain’t gonna happen you sonsabitches” he snarled out loud.

The first shot rang out loud and he only had a moment to turn that direction before it hit him. Some kind of syringe was sticking out of his neck, pumping something into him. Logan roared in anger and yanked it out, throwing it to the ground. As he did, he didn’t even register the second, third, and fourth shots ring out until it was too late to dodge. Protruding from his body now were three more syringes. He frantically pulled them out before too much of the drug could enter his body, but the trigger mechanisms were too efficient, having already drained their contents upon contact. Logan staggered a moment. He could feel his muscles seizing up, his body losing control. His whole being was shutting down. One more shot rang out and the last vial hit him square in the chest. He couldn’t even bring his hand up to pull it out. Somewhere deep in his steadily numbing mind, Logan realized he was about to lose this battle. But he would be damned if he was going back to be the military’s guinea pig again. With a last ditch effort, he mustered all his strength and forced his unwilling leg to step back, over the ledge of the bank, and tumbled into the roaring waters below.

“LOGAN!!!” Remy burst through the underbrush having run up on the scene of his lover being shot and falling backwards over the edge. In a mad dash he headed for the ledge as bullets flew by, barely missing him. When he reached the bank, he leapt and twisted, as if performing a backwards swan dive, pulling the gun parallel to his body and sending a barrage of gunfire into the forest beyond the ledge behind him. As he fell backwards, he charged the gun and threw it away from him with all his might towards the soldiers, and quickly brought his hands in a point above him, angling his head and arching his back to enter the water as smoothly as possibly just as the explosion rocked the ledge above.

Logan’s body immediately sank and Remy’s task upon diving head first into the torrent was to locate his lover and bring them both to the surface. Easier said than done he realized after hitting the water. He couldn’t see. The current was strong. He managed to get his eyes open, despite the sting of the mud and dirt, and caught a glimpse of something shiny. He realized it must have been Logan’s belt buckle as he swam towards that direction. He couldn’t keep his eyes open in the murkiness and resorted to feeling his way around. Remy pushed himself deeper with his legs as his arms flailed about him in a vain attempt to locate anything within reach. Finally, his hand bumped something, realizing in seconds that it was Logan’s arm. They were at the bottom. Remy moved as quickly as possible, bringing both arms around Logan’s chest and using his powerful legs to push off the floor and propel them both towards the surface.

They both surfaced and Remy gasped for air. He tried to open his eyes and found that he couldn’t see a damn thing. Between the crap that got in his eyes when he was underwater, and the bright sun shining down from directly overhead, the pain was excruciating, causing Remy to cry out. He was struggling to keep them both afloat and, above the roar of the river, he could hear sounds of objects landing harshly in the waters all around. Remy just knew the soldiers were firing on them. He couldn’t see where they were, so he opened his shields and felt them. They were above and to his left, many of them, all firing into the water and yelling curses. Remy knew the immediate course of action with a disabled Logan was to flee. It didn’t take a genius to realize that the river was the best means of escape. He had been fighting the current, but let go of that struggle, turning their bodies into it instead. Using his legs to keep their heads above water as best he could, he let the current take them out of range of the soldiers.

Remy raised a wet hand to seek out Logan’s face, hovering lightly over his nose and mouth. He could feel the older man’s heart thumping wildly in his chest as he held the body tightly in his arm. But he needed to feel for any kind of breath coming from the feral. After a moment of sheer panic, he felt it. Light and warm, flowing across Remy’s fingers rhythmically. “Merci Dieu!” Remy exclaimed before quickly returning his hand to help hold his lover’s body.

The emotions radiating from the soldiers were less now as the river carried the X-Men away. Remy struggled under Logan, gulping and gasping for air, head bobbing below surface and above again. The weight of his boots was pulling him down. The weight of his clothes and all the articles he carried was pulling him down. But mostly, the weight of three hundred plus pounds of adamantium laced bones was pulling him down. Remy was strong, always prided himself on the strength of his legs and body. But, he was losing this battle, and quickly. How ironic, he thought. The river that saved them from the soldiers, was now going to kill them. He could feel that Logan was scared. And Remy was also scared. He was blind for all practical purposes.

From the sounds of the swirling madness around him, he suspected they were amidst rapids, and he was fighting to keep them both above water. He cried out in pain and shock when he was suddenly slammed into a jagged rock, the sharp edges cutting into his back. They both went down for a moment, and the under toe grabbed at them furiously. Gambit willed all his strength to his legs as he kicked out and up, holding on steadfast to his lover and mouthing words of encouragement.

“Stay wit’ me Logan. Remy got you.” He guessed that rock was some pass in the river where the direction turns.

Remy forced his eyes open for a second, sobbing at the pain, and caught blurry vision of a nice size log floating along with them at a fairly close distance. He used the last of his strength to shift them over to that log until he could feel his back against it as it rocked up and down behind him. He gulped some air, holding it in his lungs as he went down and under the log, popping up on the other side gasping for oxygen. His arms were stretched under the log as he held Logan precariously on the other side. Now came the tricky part. Remy released one arm and brought it under and over the top of the log while his legs simultaneously came up and encircled Logan’s waist. Once Remy was sure that his legs were holding up the Canadian, he brought his other arm under and on top of the log, both hands grasping under Logan’s chin to keep his head above water. Remy took a moment to gather his strength, and then hurled himself on top of the log, reaching both arms under Logan’s. With a grunt, he heaved and dragged Logan’s upper torso on top of the log, keeping his legs wrapped around the feral’s waist. Remy slid off as he replaced himself with Logan’s upper body. He maintained his hold around his lover’s chest and waist, keeping the log held tightly between them to use as a buoy.

Remy knew he couldn’t relax his guard, but at least he wasn’t struggling as much. He brought his hand up again to feel for breath from his lover. It was shallow and rapid, but it was there. With a heavy sigh of relief, Remy lowered his forehead to touch the top of his lover’s shoulder and panted, coughing out water and attempting to reclaim much needed oxygen. Eyes still closed, he muttered more encouragement to Logan and himself.

“Remy got you, cher. Everyt’ing gonna be fine.”

He didn’t know how long they drifted. For some time, the water ran wild and furious, but eventually calmed slightly. He took a chance and cracked open one eyelid, trying to catch a glimpse of their surroundings. The light reflecting off the water from the position of the sun was not as blinding now, but was still painful.

After a while, the water had calmed to the point of being nearly still, flowing rather slowly, and the river had widened somewhat. Again, Remy cracked one eye and quickly scanned for the shore. After spotting it, he released his leg hold around Logan’s waist and started kicking for all he was worth to push them towards the shore. Once he reached the shallow end near the bank, he released his grip on Logan and let their life raft continue its merry journey down the river. He shifted his legs under him, and pulled his lover to the bank until they were both out of the water, at which point Remy fell back, exhausted.

************

Remy had long since lost any sensations of the soldiers’ feelings and knew they had traveled far. After wiping his eyes to remove residue, he placed his hand above his brow to shield his eyes as he attempted to look around. He patted the pockets of his coat and found his sunshades, thanking Lady Luck that they hadn’t been lost in the river. Donning the protective covers, he glanced up towards the sky. Remy speculated on the amount of time that had past. When all the madness started, it had been early morning. But, based on the position of the sun in the western sky, he figured it was now late afternoon with sunset not too far away. It’s not so much that he knew which direction were east and west. No. It was more that he knew that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and it sure wasn’t morning anymore.

Gambit knew that he had to get them off the bank and into the cover of the forest. He was acutely aware that they needed some type of shelter so that he might light a fire and dry their clothes. The night air in this part of the country at this time of year could certainly chill the bone. And he did not want to battle hypothermia. Remy cursed the pain in his back, and the fatigue in his muscles as he lifted himself to his feet. Making his way over to Logan, he leaned down and took the opportunity to more closely examine his love. There were no obvious injuries, but Logan’s eyes were closed. Remy pried one eyelid open and saw that the pupil was dilated so completely that there was only a slender ring of blue visible.

“Logan, cher. Can you hear me?” Remy asked, but he didn’t really expect a response. He had no clue what those bastards had pumped into Logan, but it was obviously some kind of paralytic agent. He couldn’t feel anything anymore from the feral, which indicated either unconsciousness, or something worse. “Non, won’t t’ink ‘bout dat.”

Remy inhaled deeply and made a decision. He clutched Logan’s underarms and began the strenuous task of dragging his lover. There was no way that Gambit would be able to lift and carry the older man. He was strong, but not that strong. Remy managed to get them a reasonable distance into the woods, away from the river, before he finally had to stop to take a breather. Leaning heavily against a tree, he panted for air.

“Dis be slow going, mon ami.” He muttered grimly.

Gambit kneeled next to Logan. “Cher, Remy gonna hafta find us a place to hold up. Need to do dis before de sun go down. Mais, de sun be close to setting.” He closed his eyes and sighed, placing his hand on Logan’s forehead to brush hair out of his face. “Remy don’ wanna do dis, but I gotta leave you here for a little while. Gotta find us some shelter. Please forgive me, mon amour.”

He removed his coat and placed it over Logan as a blanket. Normally one to be loaded down with weaponry, Remy had only brought two packs of cards with him on this trip. He had erroneously reasoned that they were on vacation, and who would need to come prepared to wage war on a mini-excursion to the woods? Inwardly, he cursed himself for that lapse in judgment. Grabbing the packs of cards, he quickly kissed Logan on the cheek before heading out.

If there was one thing Remy knew about himself, it was that he was no woodsman. Still, he was not without resourcefulness. As he moved along, he periodically stuck a card in the bark of a tree, leaving breadcrumbs back to his beloved. The ground was steadily climbing as he moved deeper in the woods, eventually sloping up sharply.

He had been moving for a period, using almost half of one deck when he spotted it, his eyes widening in surprise and wonder - a cave, on a slight rise above him. The opening wasn’t large, but it was passable. A grin slowly spread across his face. Maybe providence was smiling down on them this day. Quickly, he moved towards the entrance to make sure the cave was empty, having seen enough documentaries to know that bears or mountain lions might call them home. Not wanting to waste his precious cards, he grabbed a long stick and used his power to lightly charge it with a time delay blast, throwing it into the opening. It lit the inside long enough for him to see the cave was vacant before the stick popped. Great! Now all he had to do was get Logan back here before he lost all his light, a task that was easier said than done.

Using his card crumbs as a guide, he sprinted back to his lover’s side. “Logan, cher, found a cave. We go now, yeh?”

Remy lifted him up and started pulling his body towards the cave. As he passed the first card, he stopped to pull it from the bark of the tree and pocket it, doing the same with the second card further away. By the time he reached the third card marker, Remy couldn’t go any further. Logan was heavy and the strain on Remy’s back and shoulders as he pulled was too much to continue the rest of the distance. He decided he needed a better way to move the old man.

Remy stretched his coat out beside Logan’s body at a slight distance. He then removed Logan’s belt and put it underneath the coat, with the belt stretching out on both sides. Bodily rolling Logan on top of the coat, Remy brought the belt up around his chest just below the armpits. The belt didn’t quite reach, though. He removed his own belt and fastened it to Logan’s, using both to clasp tightly around the feral man’s chest and effectively strapping the coat to him. The sleeves of Remy’s trench coat were above Logan’s head. With a strangled groan, Gambit heaved the coat up by the sleeves and tied it tightly around his waist, the pressure of it digging into his stomach and pulling down by the weight of Logan’s body. It wasn’t the most ideal way to transport a body through the woods, but it was better than nothing.

“Give new meaning to de phrase dragging your ass, non?” Remy sarcastically remarked to the older man, trying to keep from spiraling into self pity.

The traveling was slow. As they passed a card, Remy collected it and trudged forward. Finally, after an eternity, and with the sun nearly gone, he could just make out the rise leading to the cave. It was times like these that he was grateful to have eyes that favored the dark. Using both his arms and legs, he clawed his way towards the entrance, towing his heavy partner behind him. He was near collapsing when they finally reached the cave. Only a few more feet and they would be completely inside.

“Maybe you should…..uungggh…..t’ink ’bout…..mmmpppffhhh……laying off……. eeeehhhhhhh…….dat fried chicken…..(pant, gasp)….mon ami.”

With one last tug, they were immersed in the darkness of the cave. Remy fell to his knees, wheezing and coughing. With great effort and a contorted expression on his face, he unfastened the tortured coat from around his bruised waist. He took a few minutes to gather himself, trying to force relaxation into his quivering muscles. Remy knew he couldn’t stop yet. He had to get them out of their damp clothes and light a fire to warm them before the chill of the night air and the cave took them.

Breathing heavily, he moved around to Logan’s body and struggled to remove the man’s clothes, rolling him off the trench coat so that it may be used as a cover. The coat was showing signs of severe stress but still held together, with the exception of the gash in the back where Remy had struck the stone in the river. After covering Logan’s naked form, Remy stumbled back out to get some kindling and wood. He returned a short time later and set it up safely, surrounding it with rocks. Remy had camped enough with Logan to know how to arrange a campfire. Logan was nothing if not enthusiastic about teaching nature survival skills to Remy, not that Remy always paid attention. But, in this, he had. Then again, Logan always made Remy set them up, by giving the boy the choice to stay warm or freeze.

Using one of his precious few cards, he tossed it in and lit the fire, placing enough wood on top so that it wouldn’t burn down for quite a while. Once the blaze was burning well, Remy stripped his own clothes, laying both his and Logan’s flat all around the warmth of the fire. He moved over to Logan and crumpled beside his lover in pure exhaustion. Remy was so mentally and physically spent, that he couldn’t even pretend to maintain any semblance of a shield. But it mattered not. He couldn’t sense any other emotions, not even from his unconscious lover. Besides, he figured it would be like an early warning signal for him to detect anyone approaching the cave. Remy made one last check for a pulse and breath, both still there, before moving one arm and leg to embrace the older man under the coat, keeping them both warm as he drifted off to sleep.

***************

Numb.

That’s all Logan felt. His brain was running in disjointed slow motion, trying desperately to emerge from a drug induced fog. The first thing to return to him was his sense of smell. His nose was detecting spice, telling him that the Cajun thief was very close. Logan couldn’t string together even the most basic of thoughts. There was nothing; no sensations, no motor control, no response from his body. But, his mind was not coherent enough to understand the implications of that. Better to continue drifting for a while, enjoying the scent of his lover and letting it fill him.

Sounds. Faint, growing louder.

His ears were beginning to respond, but he didn’t understand what he heard any more than the smells surrounding him. There was crackling and hissing to one side. His brain should recognize what was making that noise, but couldn’t. It was beyond him at this point. There was a growling roar coming and going to the other side. First it’s there, then it’s gone, then it returns. What was that? It was vaguely familiar. But his mind was having trouble with the patterns.

Concentrate.

As he continued hearing the noises, his thoughts started to clear. His lover was snoring.

~ Remy never snores, unless he’s thoroughly wiped out. Why would that be? Crackling sounds means a fire. Are we at camp? ~

Images flashed back and forth in his mind’s eye. Men in uniforms, running through brambles, water, all of these things meant something but what? Remy. Where was Remy? Logan didn’t understand, his thoughts so displaced. The primal side of him started fighting, turmoil reigning in his mind causing basic feelings to swirl unrestrained.

Remy was in a dreamless, healing sleep when he felt a disturbance. His eyes suddenly jerked open as an intense wave of fear overwhelmed him. He bolted upright onto his knees and leaned over his lover, concern etched on his face. Logan wasn’t moving and his eyes were closed, but Remy could feel the man. And Logan was terrified.

“Logan, can you hear me? Everyt’ing alright, mon amour. You be safe wit’ me.” Remy reached down and cupped his face, stroking and brushing hair back. “Calm down, cher. Relax.”

He felt the older man’s fear receding, and Remy sent feelings of calm and love in the hopes that he might appease Logan. The young man continued stroking arms and face, murmuring warm, soothing sentiments to his lover.

After Logan calmed, Remy spoke again. “Can you open your eyes, cher?”

A few minutes passed with no response from Logan, until another wave of fear flew towards Remy. “Shhhh….shhhhhh…calm down, mon amour. Not’ing to worry ‘bout. It gonna take time for your system to clean dat drug out. Relax.”

Remy held Logan for awhile, whispering endearments and encouragement. He kept it up until the emotions leveled off. Gazing towards the cave entrance, the sun was just beginning to rise. He told the older man that he had to gather more wood for the fire, that they were both safe, and he wouldn’t be gone long. As he quickly dressed, Remy felt apprehension from his lover, but there was little he could do. They needed wood, they needed water.

So, off he went, muscles protesting loudly. Some of the items Remy had lifted from the party of soldiers he bested included a canteen and a couple of small MRE packets (meals ready to eat). The canteen had been completely drained the previous day during the great effort to haul his lover to safety. Using the cards again as markers, Gambit made his way back to the river, stopping in a crouch just at the edge of the trees to scope the area and make sure no soldiers were lurking. Satisfied, he moved quickly to the water’s edge and filled the bottle completely. He wouldn’t drink it until he boiled it, recognizing another problem immediately.

“What de hell I’m gonna boil dis in?” Remy remarked in dismay. Shrugging, he decided to think about that later and move back towards the cave, collecting wood and cards along the way. He had made it almost all the way back to the cave when his bodily functions awoke, urgently demanding attention. Remy dropped his armload and moved into some bushes to relieve himself. No sooner had he finished when a thought crossed his mind.

“Merde!” he hissed as he hastily zipped his pants. Quickly grabbing up the wood, he made his way back into the cave, hoping he wasn’t too late.

But, late he was. Logan’s body had also purged itself, completely. He dropped the wood, silently cursing himself as he felt the extreme agitation and embarrassment flowing off his lover. “Cher, it be ok. Remy’s stupid. Didn’ t’ink. It not your fault, mon amour. I take care of it.”

Remy moved over and took the coat off Logan, making a note to take it back to the river and rinse it. He dragged Logan away from the puddle and the mess, then removed his own undershirt, tearing it in half and using part of it to clean his lover’s skin.

“Tell you Logan. Never expected to see dis part of de park. It be beautiful. Don’ rightly know why we ain’t come to dis part before.” As he tenderly wiped Logan’s thighs and groin, he talked calmly about their situation. He moved to clean the mess that was left on the floor of the cave, thankful that he had his gloves on.

After that task was complete, he removed the gloves and put them with the used portion of his undershirt and his coat. “Gonna put your boxers back on for now, cher.”

As he was redressing the older man, talking the whole time about the cave and the area of woods they were in, Remy looked around the cave for the first time. He spied several larger rocks strewn about towards the back and an idea came to mind.

“Got me an idea, mon amour. Gonna try and make a bowl from one of dem rocks. Never used my powers to just blow up part of a t’ing. Not sure how it gonna work.” Remy smiled. “But don’ no one know how Gambit love a challenge, except maybe you cher.”

There were three larger stones that Remy found and transported outside the cave. “Not gon’ far, Logan. Just outside de cave. You send a feeling to me if you need me, oui?”

He set the stones down and analyzed the shapes, determining where to place the charge. “Here goes not’ing” he muttered to himself.

Laying a single finger on the top left corner of the stone, he sent a charge into the rock and then backed away. With a loud boom, rock and dust spewed everywhere, leaving several smaller chunks of stone where the one had been.

“Dat’s strike one.” Remy sighed.

Moving the second stone into place, he studied some more. This time, he placed his finger on the upper right side of the rock, focusing on a smaller charge. The stone made a cracking sound and split in two, neither piece suitable for holding liquid.

“Strike two” he groaned.

Maneuvering the final stone in place, Remy closed his eyes. He lightly touched the very top of the stone and strained to hold back his powers to a bare minimum. Sweat broke out above his brow as he clenched his teeth in concentration. Releasing and stepping back, he held his breath as a small pop sent dust flying. Slowly opening his eyes to survey the damage, he exhaled and smirked.

“T’ird times de charm.” Before him lay a hollowed out fairly bowl-shaped rock that would make an early caveman proud.

Remy wiped his brow with the back of his sleeve and took his masterpiece back to the cave. “I did it, cher!” he exclaimed excitedly.

He built up the small rocks around the fire to form an elevated wall around the blaze. Gathering two of the thicker branches, he laid them across the rock wall and placed the bowl on top to keep it above the flames. Remy poured the contents of the canteen into his home made pot and waited for it to boil. He moved to sit next to his lover and opened one of the MRE packets. He devoured it with a disgusted sneer while absently stroking his lover’s soft black hair. Logan had not yet opened his eyes and Remy was slightly worried at the length of time it was taking for his healing factor to kick in.

“Dis taste terrible! You not missing a t’ing, Logan. What I wouldn’t give for a meat pie or some boudin right ‘bout now.” He felt a warm sensation coming from the older man, feelings of humor. “You t’ink dis funny, mon ami? Just you wait. I’m gonna save dis here ot’er one for you. Den you see.”

Logan’s thoughts were more ordered. He felt himself coming around by degrees, but still couldn’t make any of his body respond to commands. The sense of smell had returned earlier, along with his hearing. But, his eyes would not open and the voice box remained frozen, let alone the ability to even move his mouth. The only thing keeping him sane and fighting was the calm reassurances coming from Remy. He began stringing words together in his head.

Remy watched the water begin to boil and mentally calculated how long to let it stay on the fire before he felt it would be safe to drink. “I sure wish I had a smoke, cher.” Remy had searched the pockets of his coat earlier and found that some of his possessions had indeed been claimed by the river. “You know, Logan, Cyke always be dogging me on dem cigs. He say it gonna kill me. I try to argue dat he don’ say not’ing to you ‘bout dose cubans. He say you got de healing factor. But dere somet’ing I never told him. Never told you eit’er. My powers protect me from de smoke. It burn up in my lungs before it cause damage. Don’ know de scientific part of it, but Henry do. He try to explain it to me once, mais I didn’ really listen.”

~ Ya never listen, Cajun ~ Logan thought. If only Remy was a telepath instead of an empath, this would be so much easier.

Remy chuckled. “You know how Henry gets. When he talk, my eyes glaze over. I t’ink he can tell too cause de color dulls, but he just keep going and going. He like de energizer bunny, dat one.” The hand playing with Logan’s hair came up to comb through long auburn locks, shifting the strands behind his ear.

~ Please don’t stop touching me Remy ~

Enough time had passed he believed and he decided to retrieve the bowl from the fire. Using the unsoiled half of the torn undershirt as a holder, he swiftly moved the stone off the flame onto the floor beside him and let it cool for a while. “You should see dis t’ing I created, Logan. Had to really concentrate hard to keep from blowing it to pieces.”

~ I knew ya could do it, Gumbo. I have faith in ya. I wish ya had faith in yourself. ~

Once the water and bowl had cooled sufficiently, Remy took a long, thirst quenching drink. He propped up Logan’s head on his knee and used his fingers to force Logan’s jaw open. Using his hands to cup a little at a time, Remy dribbled some water into his mouth and coaxed it down by rubbing Logan’s throat. He painstakingly did this over and over until he felt irritation flooding off the man, taking that as queue to stop.

~ Ya’re trying to drown me, swamp rat ~

“Mon ami, I have to make another trip to de river. I need to rinse de coat, my gloves and dis shirt, and get some more water.” Again he felt the apprehension and a twinge of fear in the feral.

~ Don’t go Remy. Stay. ~

“Cher, you know I be right back. Don’ worry none.” Remy leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Logan’s lips. He wasn’t sure if Logan could feel it or not, so he closed his eyes and sent a wave of love to the older man. With that, he stood, gathering the items he needed, and headed out.

***********

The card crumbs served him well. He almost had the path memorized and felt that he might not have to utilize that safety net much longer. When he reached the water’s edge, he rinsed the shirt and gloves thoroughly; scrubbing them along the stones in the bed of the river, then did the same for the lower portion of the trench coat. As he made his way back towards the cave, he noticed a small, hollowed out log. The ends were still in tact, but the middle was gutted, most likely by rot and some animal digging for termites. The log was about the length of Remy’s forearm. Gambit studied it for a minute before cocking one elegant brow as an idea came to mind.

Back at the cave, Logan waited, using his nose and sensitive hearing to form a picture of his surroundings. Prickly sensations sprouted throughout his body. His nerve endings were beginning to awaken slowly. The feel of the stone floor on his back was distance, but growing in notice. But his eyelids remained closed, failing to respond to Logan’s mental commands.

Suddenly, he picked up on something. There was a scent other than his lover approaching the cave. Sounds of soft pads making contact with ground outside penetrated the quiet solitude of the cavern, followed by a low growl. He recognized it immediately. A puma warily made its way into the cave, pausing to sniff and growl in its investigation. Logan could hear the heart of the cat beating feverishly in its chest, his own heart speeding in response.

Feelings of helplessness arose as he became prey to another predator, and he began to panic, something he was not accustomed to. Fear and frustration shot through him as he desperately struggled to coax any kind of movement from his paralyzed limbs.

The large male cougar stalked over to Logan’s prone body, snarling and growling. It sniffed a moment, then pawed Logan’s thigh with razor sharp nails. Blood seeped from the claw marks, sending the cat into a frenzy. It licked the blood just before it took a nasty bite out of Logan’s thigh. He couldn’t scream, couldn’t move as this animal began to tear into his flesh. But his nerves had awakened only moments ago, allowing him to feel exactly what was taking place. An agonized wail howled in his mind at the injustice and the hurt, while his body lay motionless to the assault.

~ REMY, REMY, WHERE ARE YOU!?!?~

Remy walked up the incline to the cave entrance and froze. Waves of pain engulfed him, causing him to drop everything from his arms and scramble towards the cave. He skidded to a halt just inside as the startled cat turned and crouched low, baring its bloodstained fangs.

“Mon Dieu!” Remy gasped. Making no sudden motions, Remy eased to his left towards the far side of the cave, keeping eye contact with the animal at all times. The cat hissed and spat as its body turned to continue facing the new aggressor, its ears flat against its head. Remy made it to the far wall and slowly lowered himself to pick up a few small stones. No sooner had he reached out to make the grab, when the cougar lunged, claws outstretched. Remy dove forward, tossing a charged rock towards the belly of the animal. The stone exploded several inches below the animal, sending the puma sideways into the wall of the cave with a scream. The cat lay on its side a moment before struggling to its feet and running towards the exit, the natural instinct of flight taking hold. Remy ran to the entrance of the cave with a few rocks in hand to make sure the animal was gone for good.

Satisfied, he moved quickly to his lover’s side and inspected the wound. It was bleeding profusely. He could feel the pain rolling off his lover. Forcing calm in his voice, he moved his hand over the wound. “Logan, dis ain’t healing like it should. Remy t’ink de drug still be affecting you.”

~ Hurts, Rems. Please…~

Without a second thought, he rose and ran to get all the items he had dropped earlier. Using part of the undershirt, he wiped the blood away. The gashes were deep and showing no signs of healing, the blood still running freely down his leg. He glanced up at Logan’s face and saw no signs of pain, his face not moving at all. But he could feel it. Logan was in agony. Remy quickly poured some water into the stone bowl and started heating it, casting nervous glances towards Logan as he worked. He took his pocket knife and cut long strips from the bottom portions of the undershirt to place in the boiling water, then plunged the tip of his knife into the fire.

When the blade glowed red, he grasped the handle and turned to Logan. He hovered for a moment, unsure in his next move. “Logan, cher.” Remy swallowed hard and his voice cracked. “I-I need to stop dis bleeding.” He looked anxiously at his lover’s face. “Please forgive me, mon amour. Dis gonna hurt.”

~ Just do it Remy. ~

Remy took a deep breath and held it to the wound, burning the skin to seal off the blood flow. In his mind, Logan screamed. The only physical show of pain was involuntary tears that began to stream down the sides of his face. Gambit heated the blade again, simultaneously removing the boiling water and cloth strips from the fire so they might cool. Again, he held the blade to Logan’s leg, sealing the next gash. Remy did this several times before all the cuts were seared and sealed. Grabbing the sterilized cloth, he wound them around the leg to cover the marks.

When he finished, his adrenaline rush dwindled. Remy moved up and wiped the tears away from Logan’s cheeks. Closing his eyes, Remy attempted to pull the pain into him, sending calm sensations and love into Logan. He sobbed and lowered his head to bury his face in Wolverine’s neck. “I’m so sorry, mon couer. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t a left. I’m so sorry.” He kept repeating this over and over as he wept.

~ It’s ok Remy, not your fault. Please don’t blame yourself. ~

Logan’s mind needed to escape. He welcomed the darkness as it came to him.

~ Tired Remy, so tired. ~

Gambit did not sense anything more from his lover. He knew that Logan was now completely unconscious, which was for the better he decided. Remy held on for a while, before sitting back on his heal and wiping his own face with the palms of his hands. He let out a sigh and tilted his head back, looking up at the ceiling as if all the answers might magically be written thereon. But there were none. They were on their own, somewhere in the middle of a vast forest, being chased by a squadron of soldiers, with no way of contacting the mansion for egress.

“We won’t even be missed for t’ree maybe four more days” he laughed bitterly. Remy didn’t even want to focus on other problems they faced as well, such as little food and the drug plaguing Logan’s healing factor. It was obvious the soldiers had come well prepared for taking the man down, knowing exactly how to keep him immobilized for a lengthy period of time. Remy shuddered to think what type of experiments they had planned for his lover that required Logan to be completely incapacitated.

It was growing late in the afternoon when Logan’s conscious began to awaken from its self-induced slumber. Remy was playing solitaire with one of his packs of cards when he felt his lover’s mind stir. He closed his eyes in relief at the growing feeling of awareness coming from the older man. Along with the worry over his lover’s unresponsiveness and wounds that weren’t healing, the loneliness and isolation of this cave were beginning to close in on Remy. He read once that it was important to talk with coma patients, that despite no response in many cases it was the sound of a loved one talking that could work wonders. Casting a sidelong glance to his partner, he decided on a strategy.

“ ’bout time you woke up. Was beginning to t’ink you gonna stay sleep for de rest of dis trip.”

Logan could feel more nerves responding than before, a sign that his body was slowly fighting the drug and cleaning it from his system. Though, he wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not. Of all the things that had to come back early on, it would be his ability to feel everything touching him, and the extreme pain in his thigh.

~ Great. Can’t move shit, but I can feel every damn thing crawling on my skin ~

Despite Logan’s closed lids, Remy could feel the irritation emanating from the prone body beside him. Absently, he stroked Logan’s hair hoping that he could feel it. Keeping his voice steady and low, he continued his one-sided conversation.

“Been worried ‘bout you, mon ami. Most de day gone by why you been off in dreamland.”

~ Excuse me for not giving a damn. ~

Remy smiled at what he was picking up from the feral. “You must be t’irsty, eh?” Remy propped Logan’s head on his leg and again forced the jaw open. “Now you just tell ol’ Gambit when to stop, yeh?” Smirking at himself, he scooped some water in his hand and dribbled it into Logan’s mouth, using his other hand to stroke Logan’s throat to aid in swallowing. Remy only had to feel the emotions of his lover to know when it was time to stop.

Empathy.

“Remy always t’ought my charm be a curse.” He continued combing Logan’s hair with his long, slender fingers. “My charm caused as much pain as it has given pleasure in my life, cher. Never t’ought de day would come dat I be grateful for it.”

~ You ain’t the only one Cajun. ~

“Never told no one ‘bout when I first came into de charm.” Remy stared into the fire with a far off look in his face as he immersed himself in memories. “De charm come long time fore my ot’er powers. I just a wee petite. Didn’t have no way to control it back den. Guess I still don’t sometimes.”

~ Like when ya drink champagne. But, ya won’t hear me complaining. ~

Logan’s relaxed state bordered on amusement, which Remy picked up. He speculated that the older man was probably recalling a pleasant memory when the Cajun’s charm had slipped. “Won’t knock de good times it give me. Mais, not all times be so pleasant. Did I ever tell you ‘bout de Antiquary?”

Confusion. Clearly, Remy picked up confusion.

“Non? De Antiquary be my master for a bit when I was a chile. He be a very powerful man, feedin’ off de souls of de little ones in his charge.” Remy paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. He hadn’t really planned on going this route with the conversation, but it was rather cleansing too, in a way. “Remy be his favorite cause he know I have power. Kept me drained more den de ot’ers. Wanted to keep me forever I s’ppose.”

~ What the hell kinda sick bastard feeds off kids?~

“Mais, Remy eventually escape him. Live on de streets awhile, learning how to survive. Picked up on de stealing t’ing pretty quick. Dat’s ‘bout when de charm power kick in.” Remy swallowed and reached to stoke the fire a bit. “Wasn’t long after dat, I picked up on a few ot’er t’ings pretty quick. Not much choice dere, I s’ppose. Didn’t really unnerstand de charm power, but I knew I didn’t like it. Or, rather didn’t like de problems it caused me. I don’t guess I need to go into too much detail on dat.”

~ Yeh darlin’. I can pretty much guess what kinda problems ya had.~

Sadness. It wasn’t really what Remy wanted to feel from his lover, but it was better than absolutely nothing. He was silent for a while, listening to Logan’s regulated breathing and the crackle of the fire.

After a period, the call of nature was pressing, and Remy guessed that Logan may have the urge as well. “Cher, I can feel your emotions. It be de only way we can communicate right now. I’ve got to pee. I’m t’inking maybe you too, yeh?” Remy waited a moment, straining to interpret anything he felt from Logan. “’Kay, I had an idea, but I don’ t’ink you gonna like it much. I can’t haul your ass out to da bushes when you need to go, so I brought de bushes to you.” Remy went on to explain the small hollowed log he found and how he planned to use it with Logan. “It be like a pochom, cher. You know, a chamber pot. It be easier dat way.”

~ The Hell? I can’t believe you’re gonna do that. ~

The waves of shame and regret made Remy’s head swim. He winced as he rubbed his temple. “Please, mon amour. It be for de best and you know it. Not like I ain’t seen what you got before, cher. Is no big deal. You do de same for me, non?” He had earlier placed some tree bark and leaves under Logan’s backside to catch other bodily functions for easy cleanup.

~ Yeh, Rems. I’d do the same for you ~

Remy moved over to Logan and took things in hand. The whole scene played out awkwardly, with Remy doing his best to murmur reassurances to his lover as he held Logan’s cock in the hollow log and patiently waited. When Logan’s body was done, Remy took the log outside to dump it, taking the opportunity to relieve his own body as well. He extended a hand over his brow to partially cover his eyes as he noted the position of the sun. Dusk was fast approaching and the temperature was dropping. Remy wrapped himself with his arms and shivered. The temperatures during the day were not intolerable at this time of the year, but the night time air was chilly. Remy always hated the cold, even more after his little stay in Antarctica. He wished for his coat, but Logan needed it more.

Remy bit his lip in contemplation. Another trip was needed to the river, the one canteen he had swiped from the soldier just didn’t hold enough to last them. And they could not go without water for any length of time. They also needed food, one meal packet gone and only one remaining. No hunter, he, though Remy was willing to try. But, guilt wracked his mind. Logan was helpless, and the last time he left Logan alone, the older man’s leg was used as a snack by a hungry cat. In addition to the guilt, there was physical pain. Remy’s body had been pushed beyond its endurance and it was beginning to show. His back was killing him, the wound from hitting the river stone a raw and festering reminder. Still, there was little choice in the matter if they were to stay alive for the next few days.

Grabbing up the nature made urinal, Remy headed back into the cave. He moved over to Logan’s prone form and knelt beside him. With the back of his hand, Remy stroked his lover’s cheek as he began to explain what he had to do. He felt the despair and gritted his teeth in frustration. But, they both knew it was a necessary evil, a task that must be done.

“I be back as quick as possible, Logan. Gonna start anot’er fire at de entrance. Dat should keep unwanted company out.” At least Remy hoped it would. It was really the only choice, and it would have to do. Quickly, the second blaze was set at the foot of the cave and Remy made his way to the river in short order. There would be no hunting tonight, not that there was much game around. Remy decided he would try for some squirrel or rabbit in the morning, determining the last meal packet would have to do for both of them tonight. Worst case scenario, he could catch some rats.

~ Not like I ain’t eat dat before ~ he reminded himself in disgust at painful memories. Damn he needed a cigarette.

Fortunately, the last meal packet had some sort of liquid content. It was doubtful that the taste was any better than the first one he had tried, but it was nutritious and sustaining which is all that mattered. Being less solid meant he could probably try to get some down Logan as well, although he wasn’t sure how well it would work out.

Retrieving more wood on his way back, darkness fell and the temperatures dropped. Remy hurried back into the cave, stomped out the fire blocking the door, and deposited the wood. He spared a quick glance to Logan to make sure all was well and he stopped short.

Logan’s eyes were open.

**************

Dropping the wood to one side, Remy hurried over and fell to his knees, leaning to hover directly over Logan’s face. It was obvious that Logan wasn’t focusing completely, but there was recognition there, of that Remy was sure.

“Cher, your eyes be open. T’ank de heavens.”

Logan looked upon the dirty, scratched face of the angel above him. ~Damn, boy. You’re a sight for sore eyes~

Remy smiled bright. In his mind, he knew this meant the drug was slowly wearing off, though not fast enough in his opinion. The wounds in Logan’s thighs were still raw, but there was a faint sign that repairs were under way to the damaged tissue.

“Gonna try to get some food down you, Logan. It won’t taste good, but it keep your body going.” Remy bent down for a quick kiss, then moved to build the fire back up. It seemed that the temperatures had plummeted fairly quickly and the night air was cooler than had been previously. ~Dat front must be moving in~ he thought grimly.

Remy emptied the contents of the meal packet into the freshly boiled water in the makeshift bowl. Stirring with his knife, he proceeded to mash and slice any chunks until the mixture was nearly soup like. He allowed it to cool briefly before shifting Logan’s shoulders and head onto his legs.

“’Kay, mon amour. You try to swallow dis, oui?” Dribbling a little at a time into Logan’s mouth and coaxing his throat to cooperate, the pace was slow. It seemed like hours passed before he could feel Logan willing him to stop. Remy finished off the remaining gruel, his nose scrunched in disgust. He spared only a scant amount of water to rinse the bowl before putting the rest onto boil.

The sounds of the forest nightlife were captivating. In the distance were howling banshee cries of some form of canine, either coyote or wolf. Crickets strummed their tune while an owl hooted in time. Remy lowered his partner, letting Logan’s head rest on his lap so he could stare down into the feral’s eyes. Remy sent calm, warming thoughts to his lover, drawing away the last vestiges of pain from the older man. Idly fingering Logan’s hair and scalp, he continued to watch Logan’s face.

Logan in turn stared at Remy. Though, there wasn’t much else he could do. He could not move his head or limbs. But his vision finally returned and his eyes could track movement. His lids also succumbed to his command, the natural act of blinking returning full force. Logan was vaguely aware that he could twitch his lips and part them slightly, though he still had no voice. It was a definite improvement, but how much longer before all functionality returned was still a guess.

Logan could feel Remy drawing his pain away and it was frustrating. He could tell Remy picked up on that fact when he saw the momentary pull down of the boy’s brows in a perplexed expression before grinning and stroking his face.

“Non, cher. You let Remy take care of t’ings. Don’ worry.”

~Why do ya always do that Rems?~

Remy turned his gaze towards the fire as he continued stroking the soft black hair laying in his lap. “Gambit not have many people in his life dat he have great affection for. Jean Luc, my brot’er rest his soul, and Mattie were my only family growing up I s’ppose. Dey mean a lot to me. But, don’ have a lot of love for most.”

Remy paused as his eyes closed and traced a finger along Logan’s brow. “Gambit been wit’ many people, cher, but only ever feel love for t’ree. Bella, my former wife, be de first. I was young and naïve.” Remy snorted at that. “Naïve, right. I crack my own self up.” Shaking his head, he continued. “Well, naïve in the ways of amour, anyways. Know lots ‘bout sex, d’ough. Mais, we weren’t meant to be.”

He stopped and reached over to the woodpile to grab another piece for the fire. After placing it, his hand returned to caressing Logan’s hair. “De second was Rogue. Dat girl broke my heart. And, she broke somet’ing else in me when she leave me to die in dat frozen hell.” Remy stopped and lowered his gaze to the feral’s eyes, studying him, looking deep into those crystal blue orbs. Remy’s eyes glistened with the serious feelings he was conveying to his lover. “But, Gambit never really know what love was until you save my soul, cher. So, you let me do dis for you. Let me take away your pain.” Using his hand to push the older man’s hair back, Remy bent down and kissed Logan’s forehead, moving his lips to plant a second soft kiss to his lover’s lips.

~I love ya too Rems.~

Needing to move the conversation into lighter territory, Remy smiled and looked back towards the fire. “You know, Logan, if we were in Louisiana right now, we’d be treated to some wonderful sights of nature. De azaleas and dogwoods be in bloom ‘bout now. Travellin’ up and down de River Road, or up into Natchitoches, you see some of de prettiest landscaping in front of de antebellum homes. It be de tourist roads, but still. In Shreveport, de have dis art gallery dat’s free to de public. It has some impressive pieces. But, de real art of de place is at dis time of year. The grounds are surrounded by so many azalea bushes of many colors. Beautiful.”

~Then we’ll have to go see it, darlin’~

Remy continued to talk on for awhile until he felt Logan drifting away. He stifled a yawn and gently moved Logan’s head, lowering it off his leg. Remy noted that his skin was rather warm compared to Logan’s cool feel. But, it was probably from facing the fire all evening. After stoking it a few moments and placing more wood to burn, he stripped and laid down beside the older man, falling quickly into sleep.

***********

Distant thunder.

The sound of it woke Gambit from his deep slumber. If there was one thing that had come out of this trip from hell, it was the fact that Remy had not once had a nightmare. In fact, he hadn’t dreamt at all, his body being too bruised and exhausted to allow his subconscious to wander. He struggled to lift himself, noting that his body was having more difficulty responding. The fatigue was catching up.

Logan’s eyes fluttered open as he felt Remy move beside him. Without thinking, he turned his head towards the boy and spoke. “Hey.” It took him a moment to realize the significance of that.

With wide eyes, Remy looked back. “Cher, you moved your head. And you spoke!” He sat up quickly, wincing at the pain that caused, and leaned down over the older man’s face. Smiling, he leaned down further and touched his forehead to Logan’s. “You know what dis means? De drug be wearing off. Won’t be long you be able to move your whole body!”

“I didn’t think I’d ever get my voice back.” He closed his eyes in concentration for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh. “Damn, still can’t move my legs and arms. How many days we been here anyway?”

“Gon’ on t’ree days now I t’ink. Kinda lost track of time, cher.” Remy replied with a shrug. He glanced down to Logan’s bound leg and back up with a look of concern. “How’s de leg?”

Logan followed Remy’s gaze to look down on his thigh as best he could for someone who couldn’t lift his shoulders. Laying his head back down and staring up at the ceiling, he sighed again. “It’s letting me know it’s there, but it’s bearable. Why did ya draw the pain into yourself, Rems?”

“You know I can’t stand for someone to be in pain, cher. ‘specially not someone I care ‘bout.” Remy dismissed Logan’s glare with a wave of his hand as he stood and swayed for a moment before regaining his balance. “Mais, I need to get us some more water and maybe try to hunt us down somet’ing to eat.”

Logan burst out laughing, reveling in the ability to do so. “YOU are gonna try to HUNT us something to EAT?”

Remy looked nonplussed as he answered. “Gonna try, cher. You don’ t’ink I can? Don’ have faith in me, Logan?”

Logan stopped laughing at that, all the humor gone out of the situation. “Got all the faith in the world in ya Remy. It’s just…” he paused, swallowing hard. “It’s just that I don’t really want ya to leave.” There, he said it. It was hard for him, but it needed doing.

The boy kneeled down and cupped Logan’s face. “I love you too, cher” he said seriously, the tenderness in his voice sending chills in the older man’s flesh. Smiling as he rose, Remy told Logan he would return as quickly as possible given the impending storm and made his way to the entrance of the cave. Glancing back, he locked eyes with his feral lover and blew a kiss before heading out.

The sky was a dark overcast and the wind blew cold, an ominous and foreboding sign of the looming front. Remy paused a moment to look up at the gray clouds moving swiftly overhead. The storm was approaching fast and was threatening to be quite strong. He needed to find them something to eat soon so he wouldn’t be caught in it. Gathering quite a few stones, Remy made his way to the trees and started searching. His area would be relatively small since the territory was unfamiliar. To move further away from the path he regularly took to the river could prove fatal to him and his incapacitated lover.

He had been moving slowly and quietly through the bushes when he stopped short, spotting a rabbit about ten yards to his left. With a silence not usually associated to humans, he reached into his pocket and grabbed a stone, never taking his eyes off the quarry. He charged and threw the stone, hitting directly in front of the animal as it exploded. The concussive force was enough to throw the hare backwards, instantly killing it.

Gambit had mixed emotions. Part of him wanted to pump his fist in the air and beat his chest at the success of his hunt. The other part of him felt bad for the little creature. He kneeled down to the little body and stroked the fur, closing his eyes. “T’ank you for giving your life so dat me and Logan might live anot’er day.” He grabbed up the body, using his knife to clean it. Remy setout again to try and find one more just in case the storm lasted longer than a few hours.

After another couple of hours, the wind was blowing harder and the thunder coming in a steadier rhythm. Remy had found another rabbit, successfully killing and gutting it. Taking the shoelaces he had pulled from Logan’s boots, he tied the carcasses to his belt and stood. He was making his way to the river to clean his knife and hands when he froze in mid-step, staring in horror at the thing in front of him. A twinge of fear engulfed him as his eyes darted around looking for an escape. He didn’t move as the little black fur ball with a large white stripe on its back edged closer to his person.

“Pardon. Please don’ mind me, I’ll just be headin’ back de way I came” he said as his leg moved gingerly behind him in preparation to turn and run. Just as he was about to make a mad dash, a noise in the bushes behind him caused his blood to run cold. Another skunk was looking at him with its quivering tail raised high. Both polecats were turning their bodies around, setting up to shoot their foul-smelling chemical arsenal at the perceived threat.

“Fuck dis!” Remy cried as he leapt forward towards the nearest tree, scrambling up to the lower limbs faster than any primate. Panting heavily while hanging on for dear life, he stared down at the little critters that struck terror in his heart and gave a snort. “Just great. I face down Sabretoot’, Magneto, de FOH, and even M. Essex. And what makes me run away like a coward? M’sier Pepe LePew and his bride.” He didn’t even want to start thinking Looney Tunes with two dead rabbits hanging off his belt. It was just too depressing.

He sat on the limb for awhile as the two evil creatures below danced around each other. It was worse than watching a nature special. “Ah, amour” Remy mused with a wry grin while he waited for the animal porn show to conclude below him.

~Where’s Jack Hanna when you need him~ Remy thought to himself. Eventually, Bonnie and Clyde, as Remy had nicknamed them, separated and went on their merry way and he started considering the best way down from his perch. He crouched on the limb and reached overhead to grasp the branch above in order to steady himself, only to discover it wasn’t a branch.

“AAAGGHHHH!” he screamed as he flung the tree snake away from him. The momentary panic attack caused him to lose his precious balance and he fell backwards off the limb, landing sideways on the ground with a thud. The fact that he didn’t land gracefully on his feet, as he normally would, was testament to his exhausted state.

Instant pain so severe it made his eyes water. He gasped for air and rolled over to his right side grabbing at his left arm. He knew, just knew, that his arm had popped out of socket. He groaned at the intensity of the ache as he struggled to his knees and, finally, his feet. He slowly staggered towards the path leading to the river. The muscles in the damaged shoulder began to spasm, sending sharp shooting waves of hurt through his entire body. And, his fingers were beginning to numb. He needed to get the ball of his upper arm back into the joint socket before more damage to his ligaments occurred.

He braced his right arm against a tree and took a steadying breath. Remy slammed his left shoulder into the trunk, crying out at the pain. Not hard enough. He backed up and rammed himself into the tree again, feeling the joint slip back into place. Almost instantly the severe pain abated.

“I hate de woods.” Remy choked out as he buried his face into the forearm of his right side as it propped against the trunk, struggling not to collapse to his knees. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to get back up should he fall.

The wind had picked up and there were sprinkles beginning to fall. Remy pushed himself off the tree and made his way wearily to the river. With great effort, he filled the canteen and attempted to clean his knife and gloves. As he stood to make his way back to the cave, the heavens opened up.

The onslaught of rain was sudden and sharp, the wind whipping around him to keep him nearly sightless on his trek back to the cave. It took Remy twice as long to make the trip than normal as the rain pounded into him and darkness descended. The thunder overhead cracked violently, followed immediately by brilliant flashes of light. The lightening was a blessing and a curse. The momentary flashes would blind him, but also provide a quick illumination of his path. The canopy of water pouring down, coupled with the aches in his body, stole his breath.

He reached the slope to the cave and began clawing at the loosened mud. Slipping and sliding, gaining a foot, losing a foot. He finally managed to make it to the entrance, stumbling inside and falling on all fours, wheezing and gasping for air.

“REMY!” came Logan’s startled cry as his head turned towards his lover in horror at the sight. He felt so helpless to aid the kid as he watched Gambit struggle to crawl over to him. Almost immediately he noticed the boy favoring his left arm.

Remy barely made it over to the fire before finally collapsing in a crumpled heap. “J-J-Just give me ……a m-m-m-moment…….Need t-t-to………….c-c-catch my breath.” he stuttered quietly before succumbing to unconsciousness.

*************

His name.

Someone was calling him.

It took a moment for his fevered mind to recognize the voice. Logan was calling his name. The need to respond was overwhelming. He began swimming out of the blackness towards consciousness, a difficult endeavor to be sure given the pure exhaustion of his body and soul.

“Remy….Remy….” Logan continued in a pleading tone. It was all he could do in his immobile state. His eyes raked over his young lover’s face and body, looking for any signs of consciousness.

There.

A twitch in the boy’s right hand.

Remy was beginning to awaken. His head turned slightly and he groaned, hand coming up to rub his face. Finally, Remy opened his eyes and cast a blurry glance towards Logan. As awareness seeped back in, he realized he must have been out a while because his clothes were no longer soaking wet, although still damp.

“Remy, thank God. I’ve been worried sick about ya. Ya need to get outta those clothes, boy.” Logan’s demanding tone was full of concern as he watched his lover struggle to wake. “Remy, c’mon. Wake up. Ya can’t sleep in those wet clothes or ya’ll catch double pneumonia. Strip and put on my shirt and pants.” Logan was still naked with the trench coat draped over him like a blanket.

Remy raised his body up and put his left arm out to prop on, forgetting momentarily that it had been damaged earlier. Immediately it gave under his weight and he fell back to the floor of the cave with a hiss.

“What happened to your arm Rems?”

“Not’ing much, cher. Fell out a tree, s’all.” Were those slurred words actually coming from his mouth? He didn’t know. It was beyond his keen at the moment. Things were still a bit hazy for him. And why was it so damn hot all of the sudden?

“Remy, listen. You need to get up and get out of those clothes, and get your butt closer to the fire.” Logan was worried about the boy’s drawn out response. He knew Remy was hurting, bad.

Gambit slowly pulled himself up and began removing the damp garments, spreading them out close to the fire. He slipped into Logan’s clothes and shook his head to clear thoughts. Now that he was awake, he was a little more cognitive and willed himself the strength he needed to get back in the game. After all, his lover was depending on him.

He removed the rabbits from his belt and set about cutting them up to cook. Taking a stick and sharpening one end with his knife, he skewered the meat to lie over the fire. Once that was setup, he drank the remaining water in the bowl after making sure Logan didn’t need any. He felt a little better now and moved to sit beside the older man, pouring more water into the bowl and setting it to boil.

Logan looked up at the face of his lover searching for signs of coherence. “Ya ok Rems?”

“Oui, cher. De storm sapped my strength, but I’m feeling better now. Just needed to rest a bit.” Remy lied.

Logan could tell the boy was lying to him, but decided not to pursue it since he did seem better after the short slumber. Besides, he knew he was in no position to do much about the matter anyway.

Outside, the storm continued to rage. With each clap of thunder, Remy shivered slightly. Massaging his left arm, he turned towards the older man. “You hungry, mon ami? I caught some rabbits.” He couldn’t quite keep the satisfaction out of his tone.

“Ya done good, boy. I’m proud of ya.” Logan beamed at the lad, displaying his sharp canines.

“Lookey dere. You got more movement I see.” Turning towards the prone figure, Remy reached down to cup his cheek, running a thumb across the older man’s lips. “Can you move anyt’ing else, cher?”

Logan frowned. No, he couldn’t move anything from the chest down and it frustrated the hell out of him. Remy smiled at him, assuring him that it will come, just have patience. After removing the boiling water to cool and taking the meat off the flame, he hand fed the older man a morsel at a time, neglecting his own hunger until his lover was satisfied. Once they had both eaten their fill, Remy cooked the remaining meat and wrapped it in a clean portion of the much used undershirt scraps.

“Uh, Remy?”

“Oui, cher?”

Nature was calling to both of them. Remy helped Logan roll over to use the hollowed log they were accustomed to, a task made more difficult by his now weakened arm. Once finished, he walked to the cave entrance, fell ungracefully to his knees and stuck his arm out to dump the contents. He then lowered the trousers and took aim outside the door, attempting to stay as dry as possible against the slanted rain and wind, using the side of the cave entrance as a partial cover. By the time his bladder was empty, his arms were soaked and the front part of his body was damp……again. The effort to stand was just too much, so Remy crawled back to his position next to Logan, teeth chattering at the chill in his bones.

“Take ‘em off and get over here under this coat.” Logan commanded, the frustration evident in the tone. Remy complied as quickly as possible and slipped under the makeshift cover next to the heater that was his lover’s body. He instantly sighed at the warmth that enveloped him.

“S’funny, cher. In all de stranded, trapped, castaway movies I’ve seen, I don’ t’ink I ever recall dem addressin’ de whole bat’room issue.”

Logan snorted. “Yeh, well, I can understand. It’s not exactly entertaining.” They both continued listening to the squall outside for a while, until Logan finally broke the silence.

“Can we talk about why ya don’t want ta tell anyone about us?

Remy closed his eyes for a moment, just too exhausted to put up much of an argument . “I tol’ you why, Logan. I don’ want dem to start t’inking bad ‘bout you. It would tear up my heart if dey hurt your feelings cause of me.”

“Ya know, it don’t bother me for everyone to know. I don’t give a damn what they think. I’m proud of us. Hell, boy, I’d shout it to the world if ya let me. It hurts more when ya make me keep it secret, like ya’re ashamed of us.”

Remy blinked. He hadn’t really thought of it that way before. Resigned, he decided his reasons didn’t mean so much anymore if they were causing his lover pain. “Non, cher. I don’ feel shame ‘bout us a t’all. If you really want everyone to know, den I won’t stop you. If you really proud to be wit’ me and want to share it wit’ de world, I’ll stand by you and support you no matter what dey say. I love you, cher.”

Logan smiled and felt the kid’s arm tighten around his chest. He couldn’t hold his boy back, but at least he could feel. “I love ya too, Remy.”

Another silent period followed. Logan wasn’t ready to sleep, he’d been doing that too much. He also wasn’t ready for Remy to drift off just yet. He smelled the pain earlier, and he could feel the younger man’s body heat above the normal temperature it usually emitted. That could only mean one thing, Remy was developing a fever.

“Remy?”

“Mmm?”

“Tell me about those scars on your lower belly and inside your thighs.”

Gambit’s eyes flew open and his body tensed. He lifted up on his right elbow and stared down into Logan’s eyes. “Why you want to know about dem, cher?” he asked cautiously.

“Thought I’d continue that twenty questions game ya started a few nights ago. Besides, some of those patterns look familiar to me.” Logan tried to be calm as he patiently waited for the answer he feared.

Gambit swallowed hard as he forced himself in a sitting position. “I’m not sure you gonna like de answer, mon ami.” He looked over at the older man’s eyes and saw understanding, acceptance, and expectation. “You remember de trial? ‘bout how I gathered de Marauders and dey massacred de Morlocks? Well, more happened in dat tunnel dan I ever tol’ anyone.” He turned his head away, not wanting to see his lover’s face as he warily told his tale. Sabertooth was the feral’s greatest enemy, and he wasn’t sure how Logan would feel about it. Worst of all, he was afraid that the older man would no longer want him after finding out.

Pure, unadulterated anger. No mistaking that emotion coming from Logan. Remy had been on the receiving end of it too often. His mind was nearly crushed with the vast amount of rage flowing from the wild man, though Logan said nothing. Physically and mentally shattered as he was, Remy just couldn’t stop the raw fury that battered against his mind. He flinched at the feelings, raising his hands to pull his hair and pressing both palms in a vice-like grip against his temples, cursing his inability to raise shields. It was too much, overwhelming, enough to break him.

“I’m sorry, Logan. I couldn’t stop him. I couldn’t stop any of dem.” Remy sobbed as the tears rolled down his cheeks. “I unnerstand if you don’t want me no more.” He started scooting away from Logan, reaching for his soggy clothes - anything to escape the feelings.

“WAIT….please, Rems….wait.” Logan called to him desperately, taking a deep breath to rein in his emotions. He wanted to reach out to the young man and hold him tight, but his damn arms betrayed him. Remy stopped, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands, and turned back to face his lover with a lost look. “I’m not mad at ya, darlin’. I’m mad at that sonuvabitch for what he did to ya. I told ya, boy, I love ya. That’s not gonna change because some bastard took advantage of ya when ya couldn’t defend yourself.”

Remy closed the slight distance he had created and leaned down, staring levelly into Logan’s eyes as if he were searching for any contradiction to the words the older man had uttered. Satisfied with the sincerity he found, Remy pressed his lips to Logan’s and gave the man a powerful, passionate kiss that left them both panting.

Frustrated at his body’s lack of response, Logan growled and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. Looking back at the smirk on his boy’s face, he couldn’t help but grin. “Hold that thought ‘til this drug’s outta my system. Then, I’ll take ya up on that promise.”

Remy settled back down on Logan’s side and they both finally drifted off to sleep.

***********

Storm stared out of the window of her loft at the raging torrent outside. Being one with nature, she could feel the raw power behind the storm, knowing that it was going to last through the night at a minimum. The lines of worry on her face were evident as she chewed her lower lip and rubbed her folded arms. A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts.

“Come”

Scott entered her room respectfully, noting her tense posture as she stood by the window. At any other time, he would have taken a few moments to appreciate the décor of her room, the simple yet elegant furnishings and all the plants adorning various shelves and alcoves. But, not tonight. He was here for a purpose, one he suspected she shared if her mood was any indication.

“Ororo, I’m concerned about Wolverine and Gambit. They went camping a few days ago, but I haven’t heard from them.”

Storm turned her head slightly to glance at him out of the corner of her eye. “Surely you were not expecting them to check in with you periodically on their vacation?” It was more a statement of fact, than a question.

“No. I wouldn’t expect that at all…..usually. But, Logan told me that if a storm rolled in, they would be back. He was anticipating the possibility when reviewing the extended forecast prior to leaving.” Scott shifted and moved closer to the weather goddess. “I think this classifies as a storm, a major one in fact. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Hn.” She turned back to face the view outside her bedroom.

Shuffling his feet uncharacteristically, Scott continued. “I’ve been trying to raise them on their comm. links. I don’t really expect them to be wearing them, you know, because that would be too much like protocol.” Storm smiled at this statement, knowing full well that her brother was not one to follow the rules. “But, I also haven’t been able to raise them on the jeep’s radio. Frankly, Storm, I’m worried about them.”

Storm made no attempt to reply or even acknowledge his concerns. Scott had hoped to find an ally in his fears. Several of the other X-Men, his wife included, told him he was being paranoid and to stop with the needless worry. But, Scott always believed that just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. And this particular character flaw had saved the team more times than not. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the two most colorful of their clan were in trouble.

Scott sighed, rubbing a hand along his cheek and jaw. “Well, maybe everyone’s right. I’m just being too protective. They’ll be fine in this monsoon.” The exasperation was easy to detect even without the visual display of slumping shoulders and exaggerated frown.

His hand fell back to his side and he turned to study Ororo’s profile. She continued her quiet observation of nature’s show outside. A flash of lightening illuminated her regal features, though no outward sign of emotion played on her face. Feeling defeated at the lack of response from the one person he felt sure would support him in his suspicions, Scott sniffed and turned back towards the doorway as he made his way to leave.

“Scott”

He hesitated at the sound of her voice, low and soft yet commanding all at once. Turning around, he faced her back as her body remained in place. He didn’t answer her call, merely waited for her to continue.

“I can feel the fury of this beast. It will not rest anytime soon. I do not relish the idea of my brother and Logan attempting to ride it out.” She paused, pursing her lips to chew on the inside of her cheek in careful contemplation. With arms crossed loosely over her chest, she turned towards the recognized leader and met his eyes levelly. “Will you consider my request to seek them out at first light and insure their safety?”

Scott smiled. At last someone was on his side. “I think that is a fine idea. But, I don’t think you should go alone. You may have your hands full holding back the elements. Perhaps Beast and I will join you.”

Ororo returned his smile. “Yes, that would be most acceptable.”

Scott turned and left her loft, closing the door behind him. The smile faded from her face and she returned her vigilance towards the window. There would be no sleep for her tonight.

*************

A tickle.

A light touch, whisper soft, on his brow.

In the haze of slumber, he could just feel a wisp of hair shifting out of eyes, teasing under nose. He wanted to bring his hand up to shove the offensive locks away. But, his arm refused to move. Waking slowly, his mind started to register all the pinpricks of ache, the protest of muscles that had long since been taxed, the abnormal heat of skin especially on his back. An exhaled moan barely registered past his raw throat, through his lips, and his nose scrunched up to wiggle away the irritating strands of hair, snorting at the offense. It was when a slight chuckle graced his ears that his mind stirred to full consciousness. Remy’s eyelids slid apart thinly, allowing him a miniscule amount of his surroundings to filter through orbs and register in his brain. At the glimpse of a thumb and forefinger moving a strand of auburn locks above his upper lip, his eyes widened and a fiery glow emanated from his sockets in pure delight.

He moved his head up, his cheek sliding along Logan’s chest, until red colored globes met blue. “Dat you, cher?”

“Yeh, it’s me.” Logan beamed down at the face below his chin, one arm curled protectively around Remy’s waist while the other stretched across to play with the soft strands of hair.

Struggling to shift his unresponsive body, Remy finally managed to lift himself to a half sitting position, an effort and study in pain as reflected slightly in the contortions on his face and the wincing sound escaping his lips. Clearing his throat, he croaked “You can move now, Logan?”

The hope and excitement behind the tone of that one question almost tore Logan apart with guilt. How to answer? Yes, he could move. But, no, not really. Only the upper portion of his body was responding to his commands. He could still not move his legs, or contract the muscles in his stomach to allow him to easily sit up. There was a look that played across his lover’s face briefly upon explanation, too quick for him to catch hold and analyze, before being replaced with a lop-sided grin.

“S’all good, mon ami. Just means you almost got it out your system, neh?” His lover was protruding an ever positive attitude. Damned infuriating if you asked Logan.

Remy used his right arm to prop himself against Logan’s side, and moved his left hand to cup Logan’s cheek, ignoring the throb in the damaged limb. As the coat slid down his body, exposing his upper torso to the temperatures of the cave, he immediately started shivering despite the heat of fevered skin. Remy made to stand, ready to dress and start yet another day. No sooner had he shakily made it to his feet, when he collapsed onto his knees, cursing.

“REMY” Logan called out, both arms stretched out to futilely attempt catching his young partner.

“Damn legs. S’ok, Logan. Dey just ain’t woke yet.” Remy replied in a raspy voice. He calmly started rubbing and massaging his limbs trying to re-establish blood flow, all the while sending soothing reassurances to his lover. It didn’t allay Logan’s fear and concern, as Remy could feel.

He ignored the older man. He couldn’t falter now because Logan still needed him. As if that was all the encouragement his body needed, the legs responded sending needle sharp sensations to let the mind know cramped muscles were now awake. With a grunt, he managed to stand again, this time successfully, and made his way over to the clothes. It was with great effort in slow motion that he was able to dress himself, all the while being watched earnestly by a pair of concerned eyes.

As far as Remy was concerned, he had a mission. Despite thoughts to the contrary by many a fellow team mate, he did not give up when it came to the success and survival of his team. Such a conviction was multiplied when his lover was involved. So, duty first, then he could deal with his own health later. First order of business today was to take care of his lover’s needs physically. Setting the leftover meat on his skewer to place over the fire, along with the remaining water in the stone bowl, he moved over to Logan with hollow log in hand. Logan made a face, frowning at the obvious failings of his body as well as the stubbornness of his lover, but didn’t argue as he complied best he could, the use of his arms now a great help to his steadily weakening partner.

Remy moved towards the cave entrance to perform the same ritual he had several times already since this nightmare began. He stared in dismay at the scenery that greeted him. Outside, a wall of water still poured from the sky, though not as violent as the previous day and night. The thunder was a distant thing now, no flashes of light to accompany. And the wind had died to a mere breeze, albeit still quite nippy. The rain no longer flew in a slanted direction, but rather fell perpendicular to the ground with a sharpness resembling a jackhammer against concrete.

~ Lovely ~ he thought dismally as he calculated how long he could wait until he was forced to trudge out in search of more food and water.

After taking care of his needs, he moved back over to the fire quickly, already chilled by his now wet forearms, and removed the water and meat to cool a few moments before serving. Although Logan had use of his arms, he still needed help to sit up. He asked Remy to help him put his shirt and boxers back on, and help him over to the side wall so that he may sit upright. Assisting his older partner to dress was relatively easy. Using strength he did not have to spare to move the man over to the cave wall was not. After propping him up, Remy took a few moments to breathe deeply and gather energy before moving back to the flames. The Cajun grabbed some of the leftover rabbit for both of them and sat beside his lover, setting the bowl of water between them so that he could help himself. The small amount of water left brought a frown to Remy’s face at the thought of heading outside, even to catch the rain.

Logan ate his food while watching the profile of the young man sitting at an angle from him. The boy was only nibbling at the meat, making a slight face with each swallow as if it pained him to do so, which in retrospect it probably did. He had been paying close attention to Remy for a while now, noting the lack of gracefulness in each movement. Rather, the young thief seemed to be unsteady and moving in slow motion, like someone four times his age. And the feel of the boy’s skin was like touching a furnace, yet Remy was shaking as if cold. Logan smelled the pain as well, despite the Cajun’s efforts to conceal it. But, what truly concerned the older man the most was what he was feeling from his thief. To feel everything Remy was feeling, and his own emotions magnified, only meant the boy was not shielding himself. Most likely, the young man couldn’t. The disturbing nature of that revelation was significant in light of the extremely powerful shields the kid usually had without trying. Even the Professor had commented on many occasions at his inability to easily slide into Gambit’s mind due to immense blocks in place.

And now, to top this sundae with a cherry, Remy was intently contemplating the floor of the cave with glazed over eyes, completely oblivious to everything. Logan decided it was time to end the farce.

“How bad is it Remy?”

Startled at the sudden intrusion of noise in the previously quiet moment, Remy refocused his eyes and canted his head towards Logan. It took him several breaths to understand exactly what the older man was asking. Shifting his gaze back to the floor of the cave, allowing his hair to hide his face from his partner, he decided to play dumb.

“What you gon’ on ‘bout, Logan?”

Almost he snarled, his anger beginning to flare. But the slight flinching of the form in front of him reminded Logan to keep his emotions in check. “Ya know what I mean. How bad is the pain, boy?”

Remy sighed. “It be fine, cher. I can handle it. Won’t be much longer for de rest of de team send out a search party.” Lifting his face towards the feral man again, he planted a disarming grin on himself. “I can do dis, you know. Been through worse.”

Logan laid his head back against the wall, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to look on his lover again. “I know Rems. It’s just I…”

“Non, beb. Don’ need to say it. Remy can feel it.” He cut Logan off, raising his hand to point to his head and giving the older man a genuine, award-winning smile.

Logan snorted. “Is that so?” He cocked a brow at his young partner and with a lecherous gleam in his eye, he replied “Well, then, can ya feel this?”

Remy’s eyes widened and breath hitched at the sudden influx of erotic, sensual emotions. “Oooh, mais oui, mon amour” he purred as he seductively licked his lips. About to return the favor, he suddenly stopped and turned his head towards the cave entrance, all traces of his smile vanishing. Noting the move, Logan’s nostrils flared attempting to gain any scents, but he was at a disadvantage being stuck in a cave, partially disabled, with the rain squelching any potential smells.

“What is it Remy? What are ya sensing?”

He turned back towards the older man with his brows drawn in worry. “De soldiers, Logan. De be near.” Logan frowned. Damn.

Remy moved to stand and grabbed his remaining stack of cards. He looked at his coat, and then threw a questioning glance to Logan. Seeing the older man’s nod, he donned the coat and busied filling the pockets with rocks and cards. Moving over to his lover’s side, Remy knelt down and stroked the thick, black mane with his right hand. He leaned in and gently brushed his lips against the older man’s, expressing and sending as much tenderness and love as he felt for the man. He stood and walked towards the cave entrance only to pause at the sound of his name being called.

Turning back, red orbs locked with blue. “Qui?”

Logan was speechless, his power to utter any sound completely gone as too many emotions glittered in his eyes and a sinking feeling ate at his soul. But, in that intense gaze, he said everything.

Slowly, a Mona Lisa smile appeared on Remy’s face and he shifted his right hand up to cover his heart. “Je t'aime gros, Logan. Always have, always will.”

And then Remy was gone.

****************

Dr. Henry McCoy stood by the open entrance ramp to the Blackbird, waiting for Cyclops and Storm to join him. Never the one to shirk his duties, he was a little irritated at the fact that he was doing just that in order to go on what he felt was a pointless search and rescue mission. He couldn’t quite understand the concern and worry coming from the team leaders when, in all probability, Logan and Remy were just fine and could take care of themselves, had been doing so for years in fact. He was not looking forward to interrupting their vacation. Most likely, the two men were engaged in an Adam and Eve scenario, frolicking blissfully naked in the woods. He chuckled inwardly at the image that line of thinking produced. Of course, neither man would be too happy if they thought for one minute they were considered the ‘Eve’ of the relationship.

Their relationship.

It was funny to the good doctor that the boys tried so hard to hide their courtship from everyone. Although, considering how some of their fellow teammates felt about the two men, it was certainly understandable. Logan and Remy would be horrified to know that several of the X-Men were already well aware of their relationship, and approved wholeheartedly. Then there were a scant few on the team that were unaware, absolutely had no clue. His dear friend Robert being one of them. Oh Hank had no doubt that Bobby would be fine with it. It was just that his exuberant comrade had a big mouth. What Iceman knew, everyone on the team knew. That would not bode well for the couple in the face of a few team members that scorned them for any little thing, already looking upon the two as troublemakers not worthy of wearing the uniform.

Still, it was a warming thing to witness the change that had come over the men once they finally admitted their feelings for each other. Hank smiled as he remembered the exact day he noticed the change. He had never known Logan to stutter quite so much, and the usually suave and smooth Cajun was anything but. Hank recalled interrupting that awkward moment in the kitchen when he had taken a rare break from his research.

That thought made his smile falter somewhat and he sighed as he glanced back towards the elevator, thinking about all the work waiting for him in the medlab. No, this little jaunt to the woods to search out his perfectly capable teammates was definitely not helping with his workload. He would just have to shuffle his schedule a bit, move some items around to make up for the time loss. Of course, he could always skip sleeping. It was overrated anyway.

Hank was jolted from his machinations by the entrance of the two team leaders. Ororo approached the plane with Scott a few feet behind. Both had a grim set to their mouths, and he could tell just by looking that neither had gotten much sleep. They were looking a little worse for wear in that matter. Perhaps he needed to rethink that skipping sleep strategy.

“I see we are all here. Hank, is the Blackbird fueled and ready?” Scott gave the plane a once over before settling his gaze on the good doctor.

With a slight nod of his head, McCoy smiled. “Yes, oh fearless leader. She is primed and ready for our departure.” Scott merely graced him with a sour look.

“Exactly where are we going, might I ask? And how are we to find our comrades in arms once we have arrived?” It was a reasonable question for Hank to ask, considering he really did not know where the men went for their time off.

“We are heading to the state park about three or so hours north of here. We should reach the park in about forty-five minutes by air. But locating them may take longer. Jean is using Cerebro to see if she can track down Logan. She was having a bit of difficulty, almost like he’s shielded.” Scott paused a moment, contemplating something. “Of course, that’s probably due to his close proximity to Gambit. As you know, we have never been able to successfully track him with his nearly impenetrable shields.”

Hank nodded in agreement with that assessment. The boy’s mind had always been a mystery to the team, especially the telepaths in the group who found it frustrating to not be able to read him. Storm began her ascent into the plane, ready to begin the mission. She had not been able to let go of the gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach since her discussion with Scott the previous evening.

Scott spoke again to Hank, filling him in on the plan that he had discussed with Ororo prior. “Jean will send word to us when she has located a trace of them and we will use the onboard tracking system to set o….”

~ SCOTT! SCOTT! ~

Grabbing his temples and wincing slightly, Cyclops’ train of thought was immediately interrupted by his wife’s frantic voice.

~ Not so loud, honey. What’s the matter? ~

~ Oh, I’m sorry sweetie. I didn’t mean to…I..I am ~

He could feel her distress through their link and again urged her to calm down and tell him what was wrong.

~ Scott, I can’t pick up anything on Logan. But, I…I really can’t believe….I’m picking up Remy completely. There’s no block whatsoever. And he’s coming in so strong ~

He let those words sink in for a minute as he looked up to note the other two in the search party staring at him in question.

~ But I thought you couldn’t read Gambit. His shields…. Oh shit! ~

They both came to the conclusion simultaneously, the implications of which were not good.

~ That’s right, darling. For me to be picking him up so easily, it means his shields are completely gone. You know what that means? ~

“His empathy is wide open.” Scott did not realize that he spoke those words aloud. Instantly, he regretted having vocal cords at all when he saw the shock and concern on his crews’ faces.

~ Wait Scott! There’s something else. Remy…..he’s in extreme stress and pain. You must hurry! I have already sent the coordinates to the onboard computer. ~

~ We’ll find them. Don’t worry, love. We’ll bring them both back safe. ~

Taking a deep breath, he immediately schooled his face and went into leader mode. “Alright people, we have a problem.”

*************

Remy was apprehensive when he stepped outside the cave, apprehensive and nervous to be exact. These feelings were not new for him. He always felt that way before heading into battle. Problem was, he usually had a figurative mask to put in place to hide his feelings, and used that mask to hone his fighting ability to his advantage. This time was different. The exhaustion and illness of his body made erecting and maintaining a shield impossible. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t rein those feelings in. He knew it had much to do with the loss of his shields and he cursed himself again for his failings. Without his shields, he would be slammed by the emotions of the soldiers out here. And with the unpredictable control, or lack thereof, that he tended to have over his empathy, the feelings would flow back stronger to the soldiers, stoking their hatred to burn even hotter. He really was a pathetic waste of skin. Perhaps Warren and Rogue had been right all along?

No. He couldn’t think that way. Now was not the time for self-loathing. It would surely get him killed. Worse yet, it would get his lover killed. And that was unacceptable. He just needed to make sure he didn’t lose control of the situation.

Remy moved quickly towards the forest edge. The bloodlust pouring off the soldiers radiated through his body, getting stronger with each step he took. He gritted his teeth against the onslaught as he neared the group of men, steadily formulating his attack plan as he moved. By his estimates, Remy could taste eight different personalities, a far cry from the number that originally attacked Logan and him. On a good day, he would have no problem taking them all on at once. But, this was not a good day. The rain was still falling, his body was barely responding to him, and he was limited on items to charge. So, the best plan at this point, was to rely heavily on his stealth skills and sneak around the group to take them out one at a time while leading them away from the cave.

Crouching behind a large tree, he shifted slightly to get a better look at the group. They were well armed and prepared for the elements in their slicker suits, but none sported tranquilizer darts this trip. It was obvious they were no longer interested in capturing them. Their emotions indicated they were out for blood. It made him wonder if this bunch were still following orders. It didn’t make sense that the military would go to the efforts of trying to capture Weapon X previously, to the point of developing a drug that specifically counteracted his healing factor, only to change gears and order termination. This team had to be a splinter group, broken off from the main troupe, with a mission of its own. It only meant these men were more dangerous to deal with because they had nothing left to lose, given their obvious defiance of their orders.

Remy strained to listen above the sounds of the rainfall as he watched the one in charge issue orders. “Alright men, those freaks are around here somewhere. I’ve got a good feeling about this spot.” The commander smiled as he held up a playing card.

~ Merde ~ Remy inwardly cursed when he saw the card held up. He must have lost it during one of his trips back and forth to the river. Stupid.

The leader of the group was an older man with grey hair and a hard face set in stone. A fresh scar ran down his right cheek from the edge of his receding hairline to the bridge of his nose. Remy speculated that he probably caused that during the explosion a few days back, the only plausible explanation for the sheer hatred and desire for revenge pouring off the man. The leader glanced down at some device in his hand, a slight smirk appearing on his face for a moment, before looking back up at his men. He motioned to two of the soldiers, giving them some sort of hand signals, and they moved off into the woods opposite Remy. With more hand signals directed at the soldiers in front of him, another pair of men moved off ahead of the team. Finally, a pair of men disappeared into the woods behind their leader, leaving just the man in charge and one other soldier. An uneasy feeling descended on Remy as his sense of the soldiers was stretched in three directions. The rain falling down didn’t allow for his vision to scan too far in front of him, but he dared not move any closer.

Remy reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a few stones. With the troupe split into four teams of two, he might stand a better chance of taking them out, starting with the leader. He shifted all his attention on the two men in front of him, as he started charging a rock. He raised his arm back, concentrating on the forms in front of him, and prepared to release when suddenly he froze. There was no mistaking the cold barrel of the gun pressing against his temple.

“Throw that rock and it’ll be the last thing you ever do, boy.” The soldier all but snarled, the words dripping with venom.

~ Damn ~ Remy closed his eyes. He had been so focused on the leader that his senses had failed to detect the men that snuck up on him. Before he could even react, two more soldiers came up behind the first two and grabbed him by the arms, hurling him forward toward the leader of the group. They shoved him down to his knees in front of the man, maintaining a tight grip on each arm.

“Well, well, well. What have we here?” The leader looked at Remy with complete disdain. Moving over to stand in front of him, the gray haired man brought the device forward to show the devil-eyed captive. “Thought you’d get away from us, did you? This little baby has been specially designed to seek you mutants out. It’s only good for short distances, unfortunately. But, of course, you were so kind to come within range.” Scar face smiled evilly.

Clasping his hands behind him, he moved back and forth in front of Gambit in a pace-like manner. “Where is Weapon X?”

Gambit didn’t say a word, his face impassive as he looked straight in front of him, rain running down his face. The slap rocked his head to the side, stinging in its intensity. “I won’t ask you again.”

Blood started trickling from his nose, and a pink tongue darted out to lap at it as Remy slowly turned back to face his attacker. “Embrasse mon tcheue”

Scar face grabbed a handful of Remy’s hair and jerked his head back painfully. He moved his face such that his lips almost touched Gambit’s, the stench of his breath filling the Cajun’s nostrils and the rain dripping onto his face from the edges of the man’s hood. “No, boy. I think it is my ass you will be kissing before we’re done.” Gambit’s eyes widened slightly and the old man chuckled. “Yes. I make it a point to learn everything about my enemies, even that guttural perversion of French that you bayou trash prefer.”

Shifting his other hand to Remy’s neck to stroke it, and tilting Remy’s head back further, the old man laid his cheek against Gambit’s so that his mouth was right next to the boy’s ear. “I know what you two have been about. I saw the evidence at your campsite a few days back.” Pulling back, he dragged a tongue along the side of Remy’s face before stepping back. “Maybe you’d like to play with us too, since you swing that way.”

Shivering from both the cold wetness of his drenched clothes and the implications of the older man’s words, Remy’s face contorted in disgust as the serpent-like appendage slimed his face. He could feel the excitement of the men around him, feel their bloodlust building and turning to something else - plain lust. He had to remain calm despite the fear that was building. To lose his calm was to feed their excitement. He turned to glare at the scarred man before donning his usual cocky expression. “Non, homme, you ain’t my type. I prefer real men. Y’all don’t even come close.”

With a snarl, the old man back-handed Gambit, then kneed him in the chest. Again grasping the Cajun’s hair to tilt his head up, he ran a thumb roughly over Remy’s lips. “I can see what Weapon X sees in you, pretty boy. Such spirit. I’m going to enjoy breaking you.” He gestured to the men holding each arm.

“Take him down a notch.”

**************

Damn his unpredictable charm power.

He was not about to be gang raped by a bunch of glory seekers in the middle of the woods.

Gambit started struggling fiercely as he was forced on his back to the ground. Frantic hands were everywhere on him, grasping to yank material, clawing him. Boots appeared from all sides to kick him into submission. He started to panic as the soldiers became frenzied in their assault. There were lips and teeth on his neck, hands roughly stroking under his shirt and moving into the waistband of his pants, knees between his legs. With the rain striking his face, Remy could only turn his head and close his eyes as he blindly thrashed about searching for anything to charge. But the lustful emotions overwhelmed him to near paralysis.

With his eyes closed against the assault, he failed to notice the abrupt end to the rain in their vicinity. Suddenly, Remy heard the most beautiful sound and his mouth curled upwards in a big grin.

“Winds, remove these vermin from our presence.” Floating above the group was a gorgeous vision in skin tight clothes, flowing white hair, and hypnotic blanching eyes. With a wave of her hand, Storm sent several of the stunned soldiers flying off of him. At the same time, a pulsing red light hit another soldier square in the chest, sending him hurling into the trunk of a nearby tree where he fell to the ground in a slump.

One of the men holding Gambit’s arm released it to grab his weapon and shoot the weather goddess. It was just the opening Remy needed as he swung that arm with all his might at the man restraining the other arm, sending the soldier flying onto his back. The scar faced leader was yelling orders to his men, trying to rally them into some form of offence against the new aggression.

“Pardon me.” From behind the combatant raising a weapon to Storm, a big blue-furred finger tapped the man on his shoulder. The soldier turned a wide-eyed face towards the monster behind him. “Little boys shouldn’t play with guns.” Beast casually grabbed the weapon away from the soldier, then bopped the poor boy on the head, sending him to unconsciousness.

Cyclops came running from the tree cover, shooting another blast at the other fighters that had been restraining Gambit. These toy soldiers were really no match for a well trained, fully functioning team of mutant terrorists. The scar faced man was still yelling orders when he realized that all his men were either unconscious or on the way to it. He turned to face the demon-eyed lover of Weapon X and smiled maniacally. “At least I get to take away something precious from the military reject.” He raised his gun and fired.

Gambit was already running full force towards the man, and didn’t register the shot as he reached the man to punch him hard in the face. “SALAUD!” he screamed as the man went down. “You’ll NEVER get Logan. I won’t LET you!”

“GAMBIT” Scott yelled as he watched Remy raise his fist to hit the man again. “X-Men don’t kill!”

That seemed to take the wind out of the Cajun’s sail. He stared down out the old man, his eyes glowing fiercely and breathing coming in short, ragged spurts. Slowly he lowered his arm and spat in the man’s face. “You ain’t worth it, couillon.” With that, he rose off the man and started to walk away. Only a few feet from where they originally fell, Remy saw Scott open his blast shield full throttle to hit the scarred leader behind him. Remy swirled to see the blast hit the man in the face, just as he was about to shoot Remy in the back. The commander of the elite group of soldiers was dead.

Gambit turned a shocked face back to the X-Man leader and Scott shrugged. “Unless we have to in self-defense.”

Remy chuckled and fell to his knees. There was a sharp stab of pain in his side that he was just now noticing. He lowered his head and brought his hand up to his side, coming away with blood. The other three members of the X-Men ran to him immediately to determine the extent of his wounds.

“Gambit, where is Wolverine?” Scott demanded.

Gasping and wincing around the pain, Remy stood up. “I take you.”

“You’re in no condition to..” But Scott’s comment fell on deaf ears as Remy walked away from them. Scott sighed in exasperation and the other three fell in line behind the Cajun.

It was with sheer force of will that Gambit was moving under his own steam. Beast figured it must be adrenaline that had the thief moving swiftly despite the continuing blood loss. And blood loss there was. Beast didn’t have nearly the keen senses as Wolverine, but more so than the average person. He could smell it as clearly as anything and frowned in worry over Remy’s refusal for assistance. He trotted to catch up to the long-legged boy to try and reason with him.

“Gambit, you’re wounded. Please let me..”

“NON!” Remy didn’t even turn to look at McCoy as he spat out his answer in a half-curse.

“But, you are doing yourself no good by…”

Remy waved a hand violently through the air towards the doctor to shut him up. “Logan first.” He didn’t say anything else. He couldn’t spare the energy and effort. Remy just kept on walking, his vision tunneling to the path in front of him. To stop now would be the end of his burst of will-power.

As they approached the cave, and the trio realized the Cajun was headed for the opening on the rise above them, McCoy took off ahead of them knowing that he had to get to Logan fast if had any hope of saving a stubborn auburn-haired mutant thief. Gambit had made it quite clear that he wouldn’t let them do anything for him until Logan was seen to.

It was with surprise that Logan heard the footsteps of several individuals approaching the outside of the cave entrance. He unsheathed his claws, prepared to fight whatever was coming through that doorway. He was unprepared for the entrance of a blue-furred cross between a lion and a gorilla as Beast hopped towards him.

Retracting his claws, Logan called out to the doctor. “Blue! Damn it’s good to see you. Where’s Remy?”

“Ah, our stubborn young Acadian is a few steps behind. I hear you are in need of assistance my dear friend.” McCoy knelt down and started examining his feral team mate. He asked Logan to tell him everything he was feeling, and not feeling, trying to determine the extent of any injuries. Gambit, Cyclops, and Storm walked into the cavern a short time later.

“What happened Remy?” Immediately, Logan sensed something wrong with the boy. He was sweating profusely and there was the overwhelming scent of blood.

“Not’ing dat we couldn’t handle, Logan. De soldiers won’t be troublin’ you no more.” Remy’s breathing was raspy at best, clearly an effort on his part to draw in oxygen to his battered body.

“Beast, get him to the Blackbird. We’ll be right behind you.” Scott ordered, understanding the need to get both men to the medlab as quickly as possible.

Without a second thought, McCoy picked up Logan in his arms, ignoring the irritated snort from the older feral at being treated like a child, and hurried out of the cave. Logan craned his neck to catch glimpses of his lover, his brow drawn in worry. Gambit just smiled at him as he watched the older men pass. After they were out of the cave, Scott turned to Remy and suggested they leave as well.

“I need to…” Remy glanced around the cave looking at all the evidence of their stay, his eyes glazing over with a lost look. He wanted to clean up everything, remove any signs that they had been here just in case, for Logan’s own protection and safety.

“I need….I….” Remy’s eyes rolled back in his head and he started to fall forward. He would have hit the ground had it not been for the quick reflexes of the team leader. Scott lunged forward and grabbed the boy under the arms, his hands splayed flat against Gambit’s back. The Cajun’s head lolled sideways on Scott’s shoulder as he succumbed to unconsciousness. The stress on his body, and the blood loss from wounds, had finally taken their toll on the boy.

Scott pulled his hands away from Remy’s back to view the blood on them from what had seeped through the thief’s coat. He grimaced as he shifted his focus to Storm. “We have to get out of here now!” That said, he quickly brought an arm under Remy’s knees and hoisted the boy up, moving swiftly to the cave entrance. He took only a moment to glance back at Ororo.

“Get him to Beast, Cyclops. I will take care of this.” Storm’s eyes turned white as she brought her arms straight out, calling on the winds again to help her destroy all evidence of their stay in the cave. Scott was at the edge of the trees when he heard a roar behind him. He spared a glance back as he watched Storm fly out of the cave, a few articles in her hand, right before a crashing sound and the spewing of dust as the cave entrance was effectively sealed tight by earth and rock. He was momentarily awed by the sheer power of the weather goddess before regaining his senses to the task at hand. Scott moved quickly through the woods, reaching the plane in record time where Beast was waiting. Logan had been wisely sedated as McCoy realized he would need no interruptions and complete focus to tend to the wounded Cajun. Stabilizing the boy was top priority as Storm joined them and they took off towards the mansion at top speed.

************

“Well what’s the verdict, Blue. Am I gonna live or what?” Logan was impatient as the good doctor continued his tests. It had been a few days since the rescue and he desperately wanted to be done with the tests so he could focus on his lover.

“Ah, Logan. All things to nothingness descend.” Hank rolled his stool over to collect a pipette from a nearby drawer and rolled back, shoving it into a vial to obtain a few drops of liquid. “Grow old and die and meet their end.” He released the droplets into a second vial of green fluid. “Man dies, iron rusts, wood goes decayed,” He then sucked some clear solution from a glass cylinder to drop into the vial of green fluid. “Towers fall, walls crumble, roses fade.” The green fluid turned orange and started bubbling. “Nor long shall any name resound beyond the grave unless be found in some clerk’s book.” After a few moments, the bubbling ceased and the liquid slowly turned clear. Beast smiled at the results of his experiment before turning his full attention to the feral man at his left. “Tis the pen gives immortality to men. Master Wace.”

Logan rubbed one big hand down the front of his face in pure frustration. He stared longingly at the refrigerator in Hank’s lab, thinking of the beer he had hidden in there a few weeks back when Jubilee got it in her head to save his soul or health or some shit like that. She had learned of the dangers of drink in one of her classes and had taken it upon herself to rid the entire mansion of the vile toxins. What the hell were they teaching kids in schools these days? It wasn’t like he was alcoholic. And his nerves were frayed at the moment. He was definitely going to need a drink or six if he was pushed any further. The last thing he needed to do was gut the X-family physician with two sets of adamantium claws.

“What the HELL does that mean?” Logan took a deep breath to calm himself, ready to do bodily harm to the next person crossing his path the wrong way.

It didn’t take the genius that Hank was to recognize the edge of berserker mode in the resident feral. Not feeling up to becoming shish kabob, he wisely decided to cease with quoting eloquent prose from obscure authors. “It means you will die one day, just not today. The drug is completely out of your system. What’s more, your system has now developed immunity to the serum and it is not as likely to have the same paralyzing and debilitating effect as it originally did.” McCoy adjusted his glasses, pushing them back onto the bridge of his nose before continuing. “The drug they developed was quite fascinating, actually. I must applaud their efforts. You see, the chemical compounds attacked your cells from two directions. The first wave effectively counteracted the….” he immediately halted discussions at the steadily increasing growl emanating from the wild mutant standing next to him. The good doctor swallowed hard and turned back to his workstation. “Of course, I understand that is rather irrelevant to you.”

Logan sighed heavily. “I’m sorry Blue. Ya know that don’t mean shit to me. I just want to know if it’s out of my system yet or not.” He turned to look at one of the monitors above the doctor’s head. “How long are ya going to keep him sedated?”

It was Hank’s turn to sigh as he turned a thoughtful face towards the same monitor. They observed the sleeping Cajun in silence for a few moments before McCoy spoke again. “I know you don’t like seeing him this way, Logan, but it’s for the best. His body needs time to recover. I don’t need to run down the list of injuries with you, but needless to say the gunshot wound exacerbated the situation. We fought hard just to get that fever down. The blood loss was dangerous. With his unique genetic makeup, the fact that no one except you can be a donor which of course was out of the question this time, I was thankful we had some of his own donations on hand. Once this is over, I can fully expect you to continue your ritual of forcing him down here for periodic bleedings?”

Logan grinned. “Oh yeah. There’s nothing I love more than hearing the boy call ya a blood-sucking vampire leech.”

Hank smiled at the memories of the constant struggles they have in getting the Cajun to step foot in the medical bay. “He’s out of the woods, if you’ll pardon the pun, but he still needs to recuperate. With his inability to maintain shields at the moment, keeping him under will insure that he is able to rest without the added emotional trauma his empathy would invoke.”

The frown returned in full force to the older feral’s face. He turned his back to Beast and placed both hands on his hips. “There’s something I need to tell ya, Blue, ‘bout me and Remy.” The chuckle he heard coming from the blue-furred mutant was unexpected and made him turn on his heel to cock his head in confusion.

“No need to bare your soul, my friend. We are very much aware of the something between you and our resident thief. And we couldn’t be happier for you.”

Logan felt like a cat torn between the desire to be left alone and the need to continue receiving a pleasurable ear rub, not sure whether to purr or be pissed. On the one hand, he was angry at the fact that they had been trying so hard to keep everything a secret for Remy’s sake. Yet on the other, he was relieved to know that the secret was already out. He finally decided not to think about it now, or ever. It really didn’t matter any more he supposed. It’s not like he gave a damn what they thought anyway.

McCoy could see the warring emotions in his team mate’s eyes and slowly approached him to lay a hand on his shoulder. “You know, Logan, the bed I put Gambit in is big enough to accommodate the size and weight of Colossus or myself. I’m sure it would be more than adequate if you wish to keep him company.”

Logan looked up at the smiling, understanding face of the good doctor and placed his hand on top of the one covering his shoulder. “Thanks, Blue.” With that, he headed out of the office, pausing for a moment to turn back and nod appreciatively. McCoy sighed and reached up to turn off the monitor, a smirk firmly in place. He didn’t need a visual to keep track of the Cajun’s vitals.

Logan moved towards the bed of the sleeping form he considered the most important person in his life and pulled the covers back to carefully crawl beside the prone figure. Propping up on one elbow, he stared down at the angelic face, moving his hand to brush back stray auburn locks, careful not to disturb leading wires. Remy may be out of it at the moment, but Logan recalled how he could hear every word the boy said to him in that cave and decided to return the favor.

“Blue says ya’re gonna be fine boy. Ya just need to catch up on some rest, then we’ll try that vacation thing again. Only this time, we’ll go where you want to go.” Logan leaned down and brushed his lips against the parted ones of his lover. “Ya know when I told ya I didn’t have any heroes before? Well, I was wrong. Ya’re my hero boy. No, not a boy. Ya’re a man, Remy. As good and decent a man as there ever was. I don’t deserve someone like ya in my life, but I’m damn proud that ya consider me worthy. And, I gonna do everything in my power to make sure ya never regret being with me.”

Logan rubbed his knuckles gently down the side of Remy’s face. He knew what he wanted to say to his partner and realized there were no words more perfect than the ones his lover had used a few days before. “Je t'aime gros, Remy. Always have, always will.”

Remy was swimming peacefully in a black void with nothing to disturb the quiet solitude. Suddenly, there was a glow around him, a warming flow of love caressing his soul. Despite his drug-induced unconsciousness, Remy’s body couldn’t help but respond to the feelings. If it had been anyone other than Logan, it would have been missed. But, Logan’s keen sight caught it - a slight curling upwards at the edges of Remy’s lips, giving him the most beautiful look of pure happiness.

Logan couldn’t help but smile back at his sleeping angel as he lowered himself down, placed a possessive arm around his boy’s waist, and joined him in peaceful slumber.

And somewhere in the back of Logan’s mind, he knew that everything would be fine.



The End.

Translations:
Je t'aime gros - I love you very much
Salaud - bastard
Couillon - idiot, fool
Beb - sweetheart, darling
Qui - what