Hey all. So, oh my god, only the epilogue left after this chapter! Huge thanks to Patricia16 and KariHermione for reviewing! (Sniff) I actually finished writing this story like 6 months ago, and I'm still sad that it's over. Oh well, so here it is, the chapter you've all been waiting for! Read, Review, Enjoy!
On the far side of the room the two groups were still fighting, paying no attention whatsoever to Logan and Gambit in the distant shadows. Well, all except for one. Mesmero stood in the shadows between the two groups, not involved in the fight. In fact, the only people who knew he was there were Magneto and Logan.
Most of Mesmero's attention was on Logan, as the mutant was fiercely struggling for control. Mesmero would not relent however and forced the one time X-man to continually strike Gambit. He tried to keep one wary eye on the main fight, as there was much random flying debris and such, but Logan was struggling so passionately against him that Mesmero was forced to focus all of his concentration on the rebelling mutant. This is the reason that the wily mutant didn't see the large metal beam flying toward him, at least, not until he woke up many hours later, once the fight was over and everyone was gone.
8
Gambit was cowering as blow after blow fell. He felt his ribs burn, his lungs scream as the breath was again and again knocked out of him. He choked, feeling that he was about to loose consciousness, when suddenly, the blows stopped. Gambit's head snapped up, seeing vaguely on the edges of his vision a cloud of dust going up half way across the room, before his vision was obscured by Logan's face.
Gambit didn't have time to react before Logan's lips had met his, Logan's tongue already pushing its way hungrily into Gambit's surprised, open mouth. Gambit choked, beyond surprised, his blurry mind whirling, but soon he was kissing back just as passionately. He didn't know what had suddenly changed, it might be a trick, it might be a dream, maybe he had died without noticing it and was in heaven, whatever it was, he really didn't care. It was enough simply to taste Logan again, to feel Logan's body against him.
But all too soon a scream of "Stupid, wretched, idiot!" came barging into their moment of bliss, and Logan found himself being thrown back against the wall. Magneto had seen them from across them room, realized what had happened to Mesmero, and rushed across the room in a rage to the pair.
Magneto was bearing down on Gambit, cursing. "You, traitor, have gotten on my last nerve! Now I'm going to get rid of you properly, like I should have before!" He raised his hand, to do what exactly, Gambit luckily never got to find out Logan jumped in front of him just before the hand fell again.
"Stay away from him," Logan growled darkly. The rage was emanating from him so strongly that it made the air seem heavier and more difficult to breath. But Magneto only laughed.
"Foolish man, how do you intend to stop me? You can't touch me," as Magneto continued to laugh Logan crumpled over, his hand clutched to his right ear as a small grunt of pain tore through his lips.
That was it. The spell of shock that seemed to have been cast over Gambit broke, and he leapt to his feet, sudden adrenaline and hate coursing through his veins and giving him renewed strength. "Maybe not," he hiss darkly, "But I can," and with that Gambit threw every card he had on him, a total of five and a half full decks, at the disgusting mutant. The explosion made the entire building shake dangerously, and when the smoke cleared there was nothing left of Magneto.
But Gambit wasn't thinking of that. Instead he rushed to Logan, who was still writhing in pain.
"Logan?" He called desperately, pulling the other mutant into his lap and trying to hold him still, "Logan? Logan!" He didn't understand, why was Logan still in pain? Magneto was dead, it should be over, it should all be over.
Gambit felt something hot burn his hand, and he realized that the metal ring in Logan's ear had melted, but still Logan was in pain.
"Help!" Gambit screamed, now completely panicked. He was dizzy, his vision fading in and out, his chest hurt, his head hurt, everything hurt. He was certain that the only thing keeping him conscious was the adrenaline rushing through him at the eminent danger to Logan.
The others, who had been picking themselves up on the far end of the room, also shocked by the sudden events of the past few minutes, began hurrying over. At last they reached the pair. Hank knelt down quickly beside them, taking Logan from Gambit's arms and trying to hold the thrashing mutant still long enough to find out what was wrong.
Suddenly, Logan stopped moving. He stopped screaming, stopped thrashing, stopped breathing.
"NO!" Gambit yelled, grabbing Logan's limp frame from Hank and shaking it, tears streaming down his face, "No! No! No!"
Gently Hank tried to take Logan's body from Gambit, but the sobbing mutant refused to let go.
"Why?" Gambit demanded, rounding on the others, all gazing solemnly, "Why?" Nobody had the answer. "B-But he'll heal, won't he?" it almost sounded as though Gambit was pleading, begging for this to not be so.
"Maybe," was Hank's unhelpful reply.
Gambit lowed his head to Logan's chest, cradling his lover's limp body in his arms as he rocked back and forth, pleading almost inaudibly, "Please, please come back, please," over and over again.
Suddenly, just as even Gambit's hope was beginning to fail, there was a gasp, a choke, a cough, a heave.
"I-I've never seen one p-person… c-cry so… so d-damn… much," Logan choked, his chest heaving up and down rapidly as though struggling to make up for the air it had missed.
Gambit only gasped out a choked laugh of relief as more tears flowed down his face.
"Stop that," Logan scolded softly, reaching up a slightly trembling hand to cup Gambit's cheek.
"I missed you," Gambit whispered.
Logan smiled, "I missed you too, Cheri," he said gently.
8
A short while later, once the touching reunions were over, the small group hobbled out of the dilapidated building, every one of them nursing at the very least a collection of aches and bruised. Logan and Gambit had both refused the help of anyone but each other and were walking slowly, arms wrapped around each other, Logan, thanks to his healing ability, almost back to normal health, Gambit on the other hand, was still fighting unconsciousness.
Suddenly, Logan paused and glanced back. "Watch him," he said, shifting so that Gambit was leaning on Scott instead, before heading back just inside of the old building, where they could still see him.
The group watched as Logan stomped over to Pyro, who was just regaining the consciousness he had lost at some point during the course of the fight. Magneto's other cronies, besides Mesmero, who was also unconscious, had fled as soon as they saw Magneto was dead, leaving behind their fallen comrades.
Logan grabbed Pyro by the front of his shirt, dragging him to his feet.
"This," Logan hissed, raising his fist menacingly, "Is for touching my man." And with that he brought his fist down, his claws running clean through Pyro's chest to glint in a patch of sunlight behind the mutant. Pyro gasped as sanguine blood gushed over Logan's knuckles, before collapsing. Logan dropped the limp body coldly, and stepping absently over it, returned to the group, calmly pulling Gambit back, and continuing to the X-Jet.
Now don't forget to stick around the epilogue, coming soon!
