*Usual Disclaimer: I do not have any rights to Marvel characters, and I don't make any money off my drivel. This chapter contains adult content, so please plan accordingly. This story is rated M for more than one reason.*
~Third Floor~
There was a soft green glow coming from a nightlight in the bathroom, peeking around the half open door. Music played at a low level, displacing the silence. It surprised her that Remy's choice in sleeping music was from a local classical station instead of the usual loud and raunchy rock he blasted in the garage when working on his bike.
The emotions Betsy could feel in the room were intermittent. Frustration. Exhaustion. Curiosity. Like fragments of cloth caught in a stiff breeze, none of them stayed in place long enough to make much of an impression.
"Remy?"
The bundled figure on the bed moved. "Betsy? Wha' you doin' in my room?"
She walked across the room and sat on the edge of his bed, noticing the empty liquor bottle sitting on the night table. "I was checking to see how you're doing. Are you drunk?"
"Oui. So I don't have to take McCoy's sleepin' pills. Dat a problem wit' you?"
She shook her head. "No, it doesn't bother me since you're not driving anywhere tonight. Were you asleep?"
"Almost cherie. But for you, Remy can wait on his rest. Why did you come up here? Not like you can use the excuse you got lost on the wrong side of the mansion. You're room be on the ground floor." Remy sat up, the sheets pooling around his waist. "You gonna get me killed, Warren catches you in here dis time of night."
She couldn't take her eyes off his chest. The muscles were well defined, the skin smooth, and right in front of her. She reached out only to get her hand caught in his grasp. Her eyes moved from their feasting on his chest to his face. It was true after all, she mused to herself. His eyes did glow with ruby fire in the darkness. "Don't paw at me, cherie. Not wit'out permission."
Elizabeth leaned close, smelling the smoke and alcohol on his breath. Her emotions were the ones out of control, but he was not far behind. "May I have permission, Mister LeBeau?"
"Oui."
Betsy melted into the kiss, her hands free to wander. As she climbed into bed somewhere along the way her nightgown was removed.
Soft words.
Ragged breathing.
Muffled cries.
Minds touching.
Exquisite release.
Afterglow murmurs.
Blessed sleep.
~Five in the Morning~
Elizabeth silently closed the bedroom door behind her. Remy was still asleep, a motionless figure draped from the waist down in one of the sheets. Her peek revealed no one in the hall. If she got downstairs and to her room with no one noticing, it would be a perfect morning.
A low rumbling voice spoke from behind her down the hall. "Good mornin' Betsy. Get yer itch scratched good enough?"
Hand to her mouth, she turned around. Logan was standing in front of the door to his own room, arms crossed over his chest. He was already dressed for the day. "Logan, I... umm..."
He scowled. "Plannin' on feeding me a line that you two didn't mambo all night? Forget it, I could hear and smell it. Kept me up all night."
Tears tried to escape Elizabeth's eyes, but a good deep breath got them under some control. "It's not like that. Really."
His voice still low, he continued. "I'm not going to rat you out. Not my place to set Gumbo up like that. He's got enough shit on his plate and you two are grown adults. But you'd better think damn hard on what you plan to say to the boy once he's up and about."
She nodded, grabbed what was left of her tattered pride, and walked down the stairs. She was absurdly proud of herself for not losing her footing and falling in spite of her vision being limited from holding back the tears. Heading to her room to get dressed for the morning, Betsy took a glance in the mirror.
Her makeup was gone for the most part, only a little eye shadow left glimmering on her eyelids. Her lips were only a little swollen. There was a bite mark on her right shoulder, but it was already fading. A sweater would easily keep it out of sight. That was not what troubled her.
It was the look of guilt plastered all over her face. The tears from upstairs finally made an escape. She sat down on the toilet lid and cried to herself. "What have I done?"
~Noon~
"Do you happen to know where our resident Acadian team member is hiding out, Ororo? I would like to speak to him for a few minutes."
Storm looked up from her lunch. "I do believe he finally stirred from bed and is in the garage working on his motorcycle. At least the sound and type of the music coming through the door hints that it is my little brother in there swearing at machinery. What do you wish to speak to him about?"
"I am curious how his sleep was, without the medications to help. I was also wondering if I could finally convince him to submit to a complete examination. I have dribs and drabs of information alas, and I am interested in gathering more data about his particular mutation."
Jean set down her drink at that comment. "I don't mean to be rude Hank, but you stand a snowball's chance in hell to get him to agree."
Ororo didn't even look up from her salad. "I concur. Remy will not agree to any medical procedure unless he is unconscious at the time it begins."
The doctor looked from one woman to the other. "Do I need to know the reasoning behind his hesitance, or is it personal to him?"
They answered in unison. "Personal." Storm and Jean glanced over to each other, then grinned.
"I thought I was the mind reader, Storm."
The Weather Goddess shrugged. "I know him too well. Do you remember how long it took to convince him just to get a cavity taken care of, in spite of the pain it was obviously causing him?"
"Oh God, that was a nightmare..."
Hank merely shrugged as the two women descended into giggles. It was something he feared he would never understand, the laughter of the female of the species. Instead he turned his oversized and furry feet to the doorway that lead to the garage area. He would merely go to the source of information rather than gather second hand information.
Opening the interior door to the garage left his ears ringing from the blasting music coming over the stereo sitting on one of the shelves along the back wall. Hank had no idea who was the artist who had created such an ear-assaulting cacophony but it was already giving him a headache. As he entered Hank reached over and turned down the volume to something less bone rattling.
"Que?!"
Hank looked over to see a rather irate Remy glaring at him from his spot on the garage floor, surrounded by tools and a few motorcycle parts. "Pardon the interruption, my friend. I wanted to see how you were doing after your first night back in your room."
Remy rolled to his feet and reached for a rag, running the cloth over his hands a few times before stuffing the rag into a back pocket of his ragged jeans. "Slept fine once I was out. Dat took some effort but all bein now."
Hank took a silent breath. "I went to your room earlier, to turn off the dampener. I also checked to see if you were awake, or still determined to keep your usual hours of sleeping half the morning away." Remy didn't say anything but even Hank could see his hands tense. "I did find an empty bottle of Jack Daniels, along with the dregs of a two liter of soda."
The younger man grinned. "Had a nightcap. Helped wit' falling asleep."
"Let's not make falling asleep under the influence of alcohol a regular occurrence. Is that understood?"
"D'accord. Gambit gets it. Now when do I get cleared to go on missions again? Getting bored stuck indoors garcon."
"Let me speak to Jean and see how your therapy is going. If and only if she and I are in agreement, I think that in a week or so you can be taken off the injured roster and return to your regular duties."
Remy's jaw dropped. "Week or so?"
"Yes. That is my opinion as a medical doctor."
Remy dropped his eyes to the concrete. "Fine, Gambit wait a week. An' dat all the time he's waiting. Going stir crazy stuck here not going out."
Hank didn't answer, instead deciding to leave the younger man to his thoughts. He also decided that now was not the time to talk about a full medical examination. It might get something thrown at him, and considering Gambit's power that could've been rather destructive. As Hank walked through the door back to the main part of the mansion, he could hear the music return to it's blasting levels. It wasn't enough to cover the sound of some projectile detonating against the wall however. Hoping none of the damage was going to be extensive, Hank took his footsteps back to his comforting and heavily shielded Med-Lab.
~Night~
"Damn, woman, let a body catch his breath." Betsy sighed in contentment and quit roaming her hands below Remy's waistline, keeping her fingertips on his chest and arms.
She looked up from her position of resting her head on his hips and grinned. "I thought that Gambit could last for hours. You're reputation is on the line."
He ran his own fingers through her hair, braiding a few locks before smoothing the soft hairs back into place. "Remy still needs a few minutes between performances. Je suis desole if he's still human in some matters."
"I think I can give you a little down time to recover." She closed her eyes and relished in the static tingle his skin gave her body as they lay tangled in the sheets. It was the hint of melancholy in the air that caught her attention. "What's wrong?"
"So when you gonna dump me? Gambit don't see you two-timing Warren for too long, you gonna get tired of sneakin' up here for a quick screw."
She sat up in the bed, all feeling of relaxation gone in a blink. "Two nights, and you jump to the conclusion that I'm using you for a quick screw."
His eyes nearly shot sparks. "Ain't dat what's going on here? You ain't having fun with Feather Brain, so you head upstairs for an overnight?"
"Remy... I've pretty much decided to let Warren have his all night news and crack of dawn stock reports. You were right all along, he's more interested in being bitter and hateful than being a halfway decent boyfriend to anyone."
"Pretty words, cherie. I believe them when I see it. Now you better start sneakin' back to your room. I wanna have the whole bed to myself tonight."
