"He dreams about you, you know" The once powerful mutant said from his rusted bed as Logan silently prepared his pills.
"Who does Charles?" Logan grunted despite knowing full well who Charles was taking about as he handed his former mentor the glass containing his diluted medication.
"We both know it's Caliban Logan there's no use in trying to hide it. Or did you forget that I can read minds?"Charles said with a smirk "And you call me a senile old fool."
"You're crazy. Drink your damn pills" Logan snarled pointedly refusing to meet the professor's eye.
Charles downed his drink after he mumbled a quiet "I'm not crazy" and promptly broke into a serious of coughing fits. Logan swore as he rubbed his back then once the fits stopped he moved him onto his side as the medication set in making him gaze around drowsy.
"He... he dreamt about you last night. I... I remember, I remember." Charles said as his eyes started to loose focus "You were on a b-boat together, you made him a stupidly big hat so that he wouldn't get burnt!"
Logan heard the old man chuckle to himself as he headed towards the door. He'd suspected that Caliban's feelings for him were more than platonic for a while now but despite all his macho facade he'd never felt man enough to confront him about it. Dealing with all of this emotional crap had never been his strong point.
His hand had half turned the handle when he heard Charles call out in a voice that displayed a sense of authority and importance that was rarely heard these days. "That's not my favourite dream of his though. My favourite is the one where you're laying together under the stars protected from the suns harsh rays besides a warm campfire in a place far away from here..." Logan remained still as the proffesors words drifted off until the only sound was that of sleep laboured breathing.
Silently Logan closed the heavy doors before crossing the strip of twilight desert back to the half rotted shack that he'd learnt to call home. His mind began to become lost in thought as all of his conflicting emotions regarding the albino mutant started fighting in his head. Subconsciously he found himself in the kitchen/lab where Caliban was working. A vision flashed over his eyes where an older more weathered Caliban was fixing dinner for in a secluded cottage where a similarly older version of him fixed a small table for two ready for dinner.
"Logan?" Said a concerned Caliban, startling him out of his trance. "Are you right?" He asked in his familiar British accent.
Realising that he'd been staring Logan coughed before looking awkwardly at the floor.
"Yeah... I ... er" he lifted his head up to see that he was still giving him a look of confusion and concern. "I just... you know that I really appreciate everything you've done for me and Charles. I don't know what we'd do without you."
"What did you do?" Caliban deadpanned.
"Nothing!" Logan stuttered trying not to be offended "I just ... hope you realise that"
Caliban gave him one last suffering look before shaking his head dismissing his weird behaviour and walking over to him with a cup of tea in hand.
"Here" he said holding out the cup.
"Thanks" Logan replied, bringing the cup up to his lips when an idea struck him.
"Hey I er think it's dark out by now... do you maybe want to sit outside or something?"
The albino mutant's apparent suspicion did nothing to hide the light blush that was forming on his cheeks.
"Yeah ok" he answered shyly.
"Great!" He exclaimed in a voice he was sure came across as too keen and awkward.
The pair sat outside in the dusty drive for the rest of the night in a mixture of swapped tales, comfortable silence and passing around a bottle of bear. And as the night gave way to dawn Logan made sure to carry the other mutant, who had at some point fallen asleep on his shoulder, back to his room before the first rays of sun could hit his face.
A week later Logan would stand in this very spot asking Caliban to dispose of a body for him unaware that he would never be able to spend a night like that with him again and that his vision would never become true.