Title: Watching and Waiting
Author: Chris (teufelce@aol.co)
Website: none
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Watching and Waiting 7
By Chris
For several long moments, neither man moved. Neither man spoke.... They simply stood and stared at one another - Remy leaning back against the sealed door, the relaxed posture belied by the coiled tension rippling through the lean body, and Logan standing stock still in the middle of the room, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. Finally the strained silence was too much for him and Logan shook his head. Taking a step backwards and turning away, his words were tight and measured.
"Give it up, Gumbo. It's over. There's nothing to talk about." The only warning he had over the other man's movement was the slight sound of displaced air and then a hand was clamping down hard on his shoulder and spinning him back around. The Cajun's eyes were glowing with a rage the intensity of which Logan had seldom seen outside of battle.
"Non, homme, ain' not'ing over til Remy say it is," the tall thief bit out, one long finger jabbing into Logan's broad chest for emphasis. "Dis ain' about just you, Logan, dis about *us*. Comprends? Last night, Remy t'ought maybe dat t'ings 'tween us were finally goin' somewhere. Somewhere more dan just a quick fuck..." The bitterness in the Cajun's voice gave way to dripping disdain as his expression grew cool and shuttered. "Now you sayin' dat ain' so. Your heart don' say dat, but your mout' is. Remy got jus' one question - why?" Black on red eyes locked with blue and Logan found himself beginning to drown once more in those eyes. One heartbeat, then two... A third and a harshly released breath before he could look away. Lift his gaze to focus on the wall behind one narrow shoulder, a mask of indifference sliding onto his own face as he struggled to bury the conflicting emotions inside beneath the conviction to do what was *right*.
"Listen, Remy, I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression, but I was never looking for anything more than just that. You'll get over it. Now, if you'll just let me get back to what I was doing..." Once more, Logan turned his back on the silent thief, every muscle in his body screaming to head in the opposite direction than the one he was moving in. To move towards, not away... It was one quietly hissed word that brought him to a grinding halt.
"Coward." Eyes narrowing as his nostrils began to flare with the beginnings of rage, Logan slowly turned to face the Cajun. Who, for his part, was watching him with a sneer on his face.
"What did you just say?" Each word bitten off, voice struggling to speak past the nearly overwhelming desire to wipe that smug look off of the other man's face.
"You a coward, Logan. De big bad Wolverine got scared an' now he ain' man enough to face dat fear, so he jus' gonna run. Run away an' hide..." The broiling emotions inside of Logan all erupted into a sharp spike of anger that sent reason hurtling right out the window. A loud growl erupting from his chest, he charged the other man. In one smooth motion, Remy snapped open his bo staff and vaulted cleanly over him. Lithe body twisting in mid-air, the thief planted both feet right in the middle of Logan's back and sent him slamming face first into the wall. Shaking off the bone jarring impact, Logan spun back around to find Remy leaning on his staff and watching him, expression still calm and unflustered. Anger still maintaining the upper hand, Logan rushed him again.
This time, he tried to anticipate the other man's moves and shifted to the side just as the Cajun made to move out of his oncoming charge. His hands found momentary purchase on the soft material of the thief's shirt and then there was a sharp, tearing sound as fabric gave way and Remy used his momentum to roll along the outside of his arm and across his back. Following up with a sharp rap of his staff to the unprotected back of Logan's head....
The lights dimmed for a moment and the shorter man could feel himself falling face forwards, the floor rushing up to meet him. This time, the impact knocked the anger out of him along with the air from his lungs. As he lay there, fighting to regain his breath, Logan could hear the snap of Remy collapsing his staff and then the sound of hushed footsteps approaching him. A brief pause and then hands were twisting into his shirt and rolling him onto his back. Bent over him on one knee, Logan caught a fleeting glimpse of concern cross the Cajun's face before the mask slid back down into place.
"Remy t'rough chasin' you, Logan. T'rough chasin' after you an' waitin' for you to come to your senses an' quit denyin' what you feel..." Remy's voice was tight and low, and Logan could feel the heart squeezing painfully in his chest. Long, thin fingers tangled in the front of his shirt and jerked his face up to hover inches away from the Cajun's cracking visage. "He can' love someone who's too afraid to love him back..." Then those hands were releasing him and he was falling back to the floor as the tall thief spun around and vanished from the Danger Room without a backwards glance.
Lying on the floor, his body aching from far more than just the physical beating it had just endured, Logan stared up at the ceiling. He'd been so sure that what he was doing was the right thing, that he was only acting to protect Remy, to protect him from the violence he was capable of inflicting.
But now, in the face of the pain and misery he'd glimpsed between the cracks in that carefully constructed mask, beneath the staggering ache in his own soul, none of his arguments seemed to carry weight. What good did worrying about what *might* happen do, if it caused more pain than it prevented?
Shaking his head slowly, Logan let his eyes slide shut.
"Logan, you're a fucking idiot..." he muttered, voice echoing off the walls of the empty room.
~~~~~~~~~
Early evening found Logan pacing his room. After making his way back from the Danger Room, he'd showered and then spent the past hour trying to sort things out in his head. Trying to find a reason why, any reason why he shouldn't seek Remy out and apologize for being an asshole. During the entire hour, he had yet to come up with a single reason. The truth was, he *was* afraid. Not of the things Remy had assumed, but he was afraid nonetheless and he had run rather than find a way to deal with that fear.
He'd taken the simple, easy way out and now they were both paying for it.
Sighing heavily, he ran a shaking hand through his hair and yanked his door open. Moving quickly down the hallway to the stairs, he followed the sound of voices to the kitchen.
Jean had yet to return from her business trip and Scott and Ororo were the only ones in the room when he entered, quietly talking over a game of chess.
Both paused in their conversation to look up at him, and Logan didn't fail to notice the way the corners of Scott's mouth turned down and Ororo's face grew carefully guarded. Eye flicking from one face to the other, Logan cleared his throat.
"Listen, I... shit..." Shaking his head, he straightened his back and met their gazes squarely. "I'm looking for Remy - have either of you seen him?
He wasn't in his room."
"He went into the city for the night, Logan," Ororo began, sad eyes dropping to the board before her as she added, "He said that he needed to unwind."
Mind rapidly ticking off the possible meanings of that statement, Logan settled on bars, drinking and willing bodies and struggled unsuccessfully to bite back the growl those thoughts provoked.
"Logan," Scott interjected, never lifting his attention from the game board.
Logan's head snapped around to face the leader of the X-Men, eyes narrowing as he waited for whatever biting commentary the other man was about to share.
"There's a bar on Grove Street he usually goes to when he's like this.
I've had to drag him out of there a few times." Logan's eyebrows nearly climbed to his hairline in surprise at the unexpected offering of information. He was still staring at Scott when the other man lifted his head to face him, a slight smile twitching at his lips.
"He took the Harley. Shouldn't be hard to find..." Logan was across the kitchen and out the door before Scott had even finished speaking.
~~~~~~~~~
Logan found the black bike parked out in front of a non-descript looking bar. No sign announced it's name and the windows were darkened, leaving no opportunity to catch a glimpse of the interior from out on the street.
Sliding the Jeep into the first parking spot he came across, Logan approached the bouncer leaning on the door jamb. The bald, dark-skinned man looked him up and down, taking in the worn jeans, the leather jacket and the barely contained violence that was radiating off of him, and stepped aside without a word, holding the door open for Logan to pass. The shorter man nodded sharply and strode inside.
The sound of pulsating music assaulted his ears and Logan had to pause for a moment, just inside the door, for his sensitive eyes to adjust to the dark, hazy atmosphere. Eyes slowly scanning across the packed room, Logan took in the male bodies gyrating on the dance floor to the heavy beat, the darkened corners and corridors, and the overpowering scent of *sex* in the air, and realized that this wasn't the sort of place anyone looking for something meaningful went to. It was a place where names weren't exchanged, where voices seldom spoke, and where pleasure was given and taken, sometimes unwillingly. It was a place to come and forget. A place to drown in alcohol and flesh and forget all about the pains of the outside world...
Growling low in his throat, Logan began to push his way through the crowd towards the bar. Halfway there, he caught a glimpse of long, auburn hair and his growling doubled in volume, earning him a few startled glances and a clearer path to his destination.
Remy was sprawled on a stool, one hand cradling a nearly empty glass of dark liquid as unconcealed eyes drifted languidly over the mass of people around him. Logan's eyes flicked to the half full bottle of bourbon on the bar behind the Cajun and widened in surprise. Considering he'd seen Remy put away far more and still appear dead sober, the alcohol didn't account for the heavy, glazed look in the thief's eyes. Eyes that slid around to focus on him and widened in dull surprise as he stopped in front of the other man. This close, he could smell the thick scent of arousal rolling off of the Cajun and had to fight to keep his body from responding in kind.
"Hey dere, cher.... what you doin' here?" The accent was thick and the voice a smooth caress across Logan's ears. Swallowing tightly, he stepped in closer to avoid having to shout to be heard over the loud music.
"Remy, we need to talk."
"Remy done talkin', cher... right now he jus' interested in feelin'..."
The sensual smile that accompanied the thief's words had the muscles in
Logan's stomach tightening despite himself, even as that black on red gaze returned to scanning the crowd. His own eyes narrowing at the drugged expression on the taller man's face, Logan shook his head.
"Remy... what the hell's going on here?" Head turned lazily to face him, Remy didn't speak for a long moment. Finally, as Logan was about to repeat himself, the Cajun spoke almost too softly to be heard."It makes everyt'ing else go away for a while, cher... jus' openin' up an' feelin' all dis need, an' pleasure... don' leave any room for pain..."
With a click, it all came together in Logan's head - in a place like this, with lowered shields, an empath's emotions would be drown out by the sheer volume of those around him. Without the aftereffects of too much alcohol, but just as much an escape...
"Come on, Remy, we're getting the hell out of here," he growled out, as he wrapped a hand firmly around one of the Cajun's wrists and pulled him off of the stool. Intent on leading the mute thief through the crowd to the exit, Logan was startled when the hand tore from his grasp and he was suddenly shoved sideways, pinned with his back to a wall as glittering black and red eyes glared back at him.
"An' jus' why de hell would Remy wanna leave, eh?" The glazed look was still present in those haunting eyes but gone was the slur from his words. Logan looked down briefly before meeting those eyes with his own.
"Remy, we need to talk."
"What you wanna say t' Remy dat you can' say here?" One hand untangled itself from the collar of his jacket and fingers began to slowly caress
Logan's jaw. Heat pooled and sizzled along nerve synapses and Logan found himself struggling to breath against the sudden desire crashing through him. All the while, the taller man continued to watch him from beneath hooded eyes.
"I...shit, Remy... I was an idiot..." Logan heard himself whispering, eyes mesmerized by the face now hovering so close to his own, the skin of his face burning beneath the fingers that were now stroking their way down his neck.
"Oui, dat you are... you gonna continue bein' an' idiot or we finally got dis straightened out?" The hot touch of a caress along the outline of his collarbone and the soft whisper of breath into his ear as Remy leaned in close, and Logan found himself rapidly losing the ability to form coherent thoughts.
"No... I'm done running away..." Raising a shaky hand of his own, Logan mimicked the actions of the man leaning into him and stroked trembling fingers across one stubbled cheek. A move that elicited a please sigh and the tight press of one muscular thigh against his own. "Good, cher..." Remy whispered into his ear, before slowly running his tongue around the rim of the pink shell. Logan's hand fell to grip the other man's shoulder as his eyes slid shut and he gasped at the sensation. "Don' wanna wait to get back to de mansion, cher.... want you now..." Logan's eyes flew open at the heated words and he was about to protest that he wasn't exactly into public sex when the Cajun's next words turned the air in his lungs to cement and his groin to a throbbing stiffness.
"Wanna give up control, cher... wanna feel you inside..." Darkening blue eyes locked with softly glowing red and Logan could hear his own gruff voice responding.
"Where?" Soft lips brushed his own and the ability to think at all disappeared at the feel of a slick tongue flicking out to taste before Remy was drawing away. Taking one hand in his, the tall thief began to lead Logan down a long corridor lined with doors. Stopping before the last, Remy turned to face Logan once more, one hand stilling on the knob as the Cajun arched a brow at him.
"Dis your last chance, cher. You sure about dis?" Swallowing past the dryness in his throat and the undeniable need burning through his body,
Logan leaned in to press the taller body against the door with his own.
Hands no longer shaking tangled in red hair to drag the thief down into a searing kiss before parting reluctantly.
"Very sure." Logan let a smiling Remy lead him into the room and shut the door behind them, while the animal inside howled in triumph with the need to take, to own, to possess. For better or worse, he'd made his choice and now there was no looking back.