Chapter 36

Logan managed to escape the ice spears after hacking and sawing at them with his claws. It was painful work and hurt like hell when he had to lift himself off of the jagged ends. After he did, his wounds quickly healed and the bleeding stopped almost immediately as he staggered away from the red snow. Teeth bared, he meant to kill the trickster as soon as he saw him. Yet just as he had begun to walk in the direction he had seen the snow storm go Seth appeared next to him. It was almost as if the horse had come out of thin air. Taking on his human form, he came up to the feral. His eyes distant and sad as he came up to the man.

"It is done, Logan. I'm taking you back to Midgard." Seth said. Logan felt fury rise up in his chest about to yell at the man. Before he could, however, Remy stepped out from behind Seth tired and weary. Shocked, the feral did not know what to say.

Remy raised his head and saw Logan staring at him in astonishment. He gave the man a tired smile, coming up to him. He wrapped an arm around his lover's neck, pulling him close to give him a kiss on the lips. Logan was too surprised to resist, allowing the Cajun to do as he pleased. It was merely a gentle peck as Remy pulled back to gaze into his eyes. The younger man looked a thousand years older as he took the older man's hand. Squeezing it tight as he talked to him.

"Mon glutton, will you take me home?" Remy asked him. Logan was speechless, wanting to ask a thousand questions. Looking at the way the Cajun watched him though made him change his mind. With gentle hands, we reached up to touch his Cajun's cheek. He wondered what had transpired while he had been away.

"Sure, Rims. Whatever you want. I'll take you home." Logan whispered quietly.

From there it was only a matter of time. They both climbed upon Seth's back to enter the tunnel once again. Logan could not say for sure how long it took or how the horse knew. But once they came out into light again the horse was cantering around atop the Avenger's tower. From inside Tony and Steve stared in shock at the pair who had appeared.

Logan slid down off of the horse first, reaching up to help Remy down as well. His Cajun still wore Thor's red cloak and had the hammer hanging off of his belt. When Steve was the first to come out, Remy removed both hammer and cloak throwing them onto the ground as if he could no longer stand to touch them. His face was an unreadable mask when the Avenger came up to them.

"No, I did not steal those. Thor is back on Asgard no doubt planning best how to kill me." Remy said to the soldier. Logan snorted as if he wished to do nothing more than to kill the thunder god but said nothing. He only stepped between his mate and Steve as Seth took back off into the sky, quickly disappearing from sight as he traveled back to Asgard.

"What happened to you?" Steve asked for lack of anything better to say. He did not know what to make of the two. Even Tony was at a loss for words as Logan led his Cajun past his friend towards the tower, head bent and shoulders hunched as if he meant to charge anyone who stopped them.

"So, the horse…" Tony began but one look from Logan and the billionaire fell silent. Even he could see both men were weary. Thor's cloak had covered Remy's arms as he wore nothing but a black vest underneath. Gone, it was clear to see the scars where Sabretooth had dug in his claws. Steve's eyes widened when he saw the scars but he said nothing, quickly hurrying after the pair.

"Fury's been looking for you, Logan." Steve said as both men stepped into the elevator. Logan scowled at the soldier as he stepped in with them, Remy by his side remaining completely silent. The doors closed and they began to descend, Remy leaning against the feral and shivering slightly as if cold.

"He has, huh? What about?" Logan grunted. Steve nodded his head to Remy who didn't appear to even be listening to them. Logan frowned, his brow creasing as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Rims didn't do anything wrong. You can tell Fury to shove it up his ass for all I care. Anyone who tries to take the Cajun or messes with him has me to deal with. And you know what happens when I get pissed." Logan said to his friend. Steve nodded his head in agreement, looking again at Remy. The Cajun seemed tired, as if he were about to fall asleep on his feet.

"It's good to see you again, Mr. Lebeau." Steve offered. Remy made no response only pressing against Logan even more as if he feared the other man were going to leave him. Logan wrapped a protective arm around his mate squeezing his shoulders reassuringly.

"Remy's glad to hear it, cher." Remy replied dully. When he glanced at the soldier he managed only to shrug his shoulders as well.

"What happened to Loki?" Steve asked. The Cajun only turned his head away, shaking his head as Logan tensed and ground his teeth. Realizing he had upset them both, he reached up to awkwardly pat Remy's shoulder.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't apologize, old man. I know you didn't mean nothin' by it." Logan said, glancing at his Cajun worriedly.

"We've just been through hell. And right now Rims and I just want to get back home." Logan explained. Though at the moment he wasn't sure whether home meant just being with his mate or at the Xavier Institute. It had been Remy who had told him he wished to return there. Neither of them wanted to say there was no other place they could go.

As the elevator doors opened, luck would have it that Nick Fury stood before them. Black Widow and Hawkeye were behind him as well as Bruce Banner talking to him. When Fury spotted them, he opened his mouth to say something but Logan would have none of it. Instead he walked up to the man and punched him in the face. Fury dropped like a sack of rocks the three other Avengers too shocked to help him as Logan glared down coolly at the fallen man.

"That's for leaving me and the Cajun up in the mountains." Logan snapped as he led the way past the three. Remy followed after him with Steve bringing up the rear not pausing to even help Fury to his feet.

Once outside Logan seemed at a loss about where to go. Steve gently touched his friend's shoulder, pressing a pair of car key's into the Canadian's hand. Logan glanced at his friend who only nodded as if answering a question between them.

"Just take it. It's one of Tony's cars. I'll explain to him you were just borrowing it." Steve said quietly. Grateful, Logan muttered a thank you as he closed his hand around the keys. Walking around the side of the building, they found the garage.

Logan kept pressing the unlock button until he found the car. A hot red Ferrari in the corner. He got behind the steering wheel as Remy slid into the passenger seat. Both men remained completely silent as the engine was started and the feral pressed on the gas. Whipping out of the garage, they headed towards Xavier Institute.

On the long drive back, neither said anything. Remy even let his chair go back, falling asleep and having no interest in the passing scenery. After a few hours of driving, Logan took out a cell phone to call Scott. Talking to him in a whisper, he kept one eye on the road and one on the sleeping man beside him. He let the leader of the X-Men know not to let anyone disturb them when they got back. He told him to give the whole team a heads up on the situation that one of their own was finally coming home.

It was late by the time they finally came to the institute. Logan had to shake Remy's shoulder in order to wake him up. Telling him they were finally home in a whisper. Remy said nothing as he staggered out of the car, allowing Logan to lead him from the garage to their shared bedroom. It seemed like a lifetime when they finally stepped into the room together.

In their absence, the room had been cleaned. The ash trays were emptied out and their clothes neatly folded and put away in the drawers. Even the bed had been made. Remy didn't even stop to grab the new pack of cigarettes sitting on the nightstand. Nor did he take notice of the zippo lighter beside it. He only crawled into bed, kicking off his boots as he did so. Logan tried to get the younger man to get back up, but it was no use. After a few minutes the older man took off his boots as well. Falling onto the mattress, exhausted as he pulled his Cajun to his chest, he held him tightly. Both men immediately fell asleep together after nearly eight months of being apart.

In the morning Remy still slept, his head pillowed against Logan's chest. The feral frowned, wondering what had woke him up. The curtains were thick and had been drawn shut to block out the morning light. It was then he heard the voices outside his door. Being careful not to wake the Cajun, he rose from the bed. Going over towards the source of the sound, he opened the door.

Standing outside were Scott and Hank who had been arguing quietly. Upon seeing the feral, both stopped talking at once. Logan sighed, shutting the door behind him. He knew sooner or later it would boil down to him having to do most of the talking. He wasn't about to wake up the man he loved and have him recount everything. Hank was the first one to speak, his voice a whisper as he spoke.

"How is he?" Hank asked with a hush.

"Sleeping. We had to drive for nearly ten hours." Logan answered. Hank nodded, shifting his feet as he glanced at Scott. After a moment, the blue man cleared his throat while wringing his hands.

"The others are worried about him. They were upset when Scott told them to leave you two alone." Hank said despite his teammate standing right there. Scott nodded in agreement his tone neutral as he spoke.

"Yes. They wanted to be outside to see you. I haven't told them what you two have been through though." Scott explained.

"I ain't the one that's in pain, Scott. It's Rims. And neither of us really knows what he's been through." Logan snapped. Hank licked his lips nervously, looking in between the two. He quietly excused himself walking away to allow them to talk.

"I know." Scott whispered to the feral. Logan frowned but he didn't dare raise his voice. There would be no point in the matter.

"Actually, no, you don't. Neither do I for that matter." Logan growled at him. He didn't mean to snap at Scott but he had thought by bringing Remy home everything would be fixed. His Cajun would be happy to be with him again and smiling. They could go back to arguing pointlessly over breakfast or on a mission. Scott's expression was unreadable as it always was but he saw the younger man's Adam's apple bob as he swallowed.

"You're right. I don't know. What I do know though is I'm glad he's back. I'm glad Gambit's back here with us. Safe."

And alive. But at what price? Logan thought to himself. He only nodded in agreement to what his teammate said however. Scott seemed to peer over the feral's shoulder at the door as if he could see the Cajun sleeping on the bed.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Scott said bluntly. After that he left the man alone, heading back the way Hank had gone.

Logan wondered how long it would be before the others would start to come around. He knew there was a lot he needed to catch up on. For one, he knew Jean had died. That had been a big blow for everyone. She had always been so kind and caring towards those around her. Knowing Rogue had left to join Magneto had been a big betrayal as well. It turned out the old man had lived and created his own paradise known as Genosha where mutants could supposedly live in peace. Mystique was supposedly still with the man but of Sabretooth there had been no news except a few scattered sightings. Logan wondered how he might break that news to Remy.

He retreated back into the bedroom being sure to close and lock the door behind him. Even if it would not really keep out any baddies should they come knocking Logan thought it best to take the extra precaution anyway. On the bed, Remy still slept; the rise and fall of his chest steady. One hand was curled around the pillow he had pulled down in place of Logan. Even though he didn't feel the least bit tired, he climbed back into bed with the Cajun. Wrapping an arm around the younger man's waist, he pulled him close to his chest.

When he woke up again in the evening, he was surprised to see Remy had woken up as well. He had opened the windows to let in the night air. It had begun to grow warmer now that summer was around the corner. Remy sat on the edge of the bed staring down at his packet of cigarettes. He had opened it and taken one out but it remained unlit in his hand. The zippo lighter with the silver wolf emblazoned on its side sat unused on the nightstand.

"Hey." Logan said sitting up. He felt groggy from sleeping too much. Usually he slept like the dead for a few hours and then got up the moment he felt awake. Remy raised his head slightly, glancing at the older man over his shoulder.

"Hey, cher. Have a nice nap?" Remy asked him dully. Logan sighed, cracking his neck as he pulled himself all the way up. He wasn't sure what to say now that they were both awake.

"Yeah. You?" Logan asked. Remy shrugged his shoulders again, picking up the lighter and studying it. He flicked it open, watching as the flame sprang to life.

"Same." Remy said lighting the cigarette. He took a deep pull on the cigarette to until it was lit, blowing the smoke out towards the window. A dry laugh escaped him as he set the lighter back down on the nightstand, shaking his head.

"I can still smoke, cher. How about dat?" Remy said to him. There was no humor in his words though. As if he only said them to fill the silence between them.

Logan sniffed the air even though there was no real need. He could smell depression coming off his Cajun. He sighed, going to sit beside him on the edge of the bed. Reaching up, he wrapped an arm around Remy's shoulders and pulled him close. He tried to think of the right words to say to make it all right. To let the other man know he would be there till the end of time. To take the pain away even if it was just for a little while.

"I love you." Logan said. The words were out before he could stop them. Remy's head jerked up as he looked at the other man in astonishment. For a moment, neither of them knew what to say to the other one. Then Remy dropped the cigarette. Grabbing the older man around the neck, he pulled him close in an embrace. Surprised, but pleased; Logan returned it, squeezing the Cajun for all he was worth.

"I love you too, mon glutton." Remy said closing his eyes. For the second time that day it seemed, he felt tears coming down his face as he hugged the feral. So glad to have him again with him.

"I'll always love you."