Card Houses
"Hey, Gumbo, what you got there?" A gruff Canadian voice called out as Wolverine stepped out from the shadows.
"Des is a house 'o cards, mon ami." Remy replied, strategically placing another of the seemingly overly large and thick cards down.
"Cards look funny."
"Dat's because dere made 'o wood. De original cards fer making houses outta dem were made 'o wood. Makes de house more stable, see? De cards being coarse means de grip better." The Cajun X-Man explained, gesturing with another card towards the two levels of the card house he had already put down.
Logan gave a grunt of understanding. "Didn't think you owned a deck of cards like that."
Remy grinned at the other man. "Gambit didn't, until he saw dem in an antique shop 'an realized dat he couldn't pass up such an opportunity."
"You didn't steal them, did you Swamp Rat?"
The reformed thief gave him an affronted glare. "Of course not, Gambit be on de straight 'an narrow since becoming an X-Man. He no need to steal from the rich to give to de poor, which was in de past himself."
Another of Logan's I-don't-quite-believe-you-but-I'll-let-it-slide-anyway looks was sent Remy's way and the Cajun sighed.
"Fine. Believe what you wish, Gambit 'as no doubts dat you'll do dat anyway." He pursed his lips and refocused his concentration of the house of cards, signaling to the other X-Man the end of the conversation. Logan's interest however had been piqued and he squatted down nearby, gazing at the card house with a critical eye. While most anyone else would have become uncomfortable with Logan so close and quietly observing their work, Remy didn't bother to let it faze him in the least and Logan chuckled to himself as he realized that.
"I don't believe anyone will be charging in here 'an knocking down de little house dat Remy built, so if you wish, Logan, we could take a little walk down to de antique store. I t'ink dat dey've got another deck of cards like des one. Interested, mon ami?"
Wolverine glanced over at Remy and allowed a lop-sided grin to form on his face. "Well, I don't usually got time fer dollhouses but I suppose I could make an exception. Can't promise that the cards won't make me made and force me to break them but …" He shrugged, "that's the way of things."
"Hey, once de bought dere fate lies in de hands of de purchaser. Gambit 'as no control 'an neither does de nice chere who owns de store." As the two men climbed to their feet, Remy's smile slipped away and a distracted look came into his eyes. "Dere's something about you, mon ami. I t'ink we've got dat kindred spirit ting. You know what it's like, where de living is hard but simple, fight or die, take advantage 'o others or have others take advantage 'o you. 'Course, for me it was steal or starve, I somehow t'ink you were a more honorable sort, Gambit can't quite picture Wolverine breaking into de mansions 'an taking de stuff dat bring in money."
Logan was silent a bit as he pondered what the Cajun had said and what he could mean by it, nodding a goodbye to Jubilee as they left the grounds and set off down the street. "Well, I remember having to work some to get food in my belly, then again maybe it was just easier to survive out in the wilderness as a kid than in the streets of New Orleans. 'Course, I also couldn't really tell you when I fell into the role of the tough guy who found cracks in his exterior that let him live life without becoming an embittered and lost man. You found laughter, Gumbo. I think that's served you well over the years."
"Dat be true. You don't last long in life unless you learn ta laugh at it, at your woes, at yourself. Trouble is, some people don't get de joke." Remy shared a glance with the Canadian and the two laughed for a moment, letting a companionable silence envelope the pair as they watched the world around them. It was a rare afternoon when danger wasn't lurking on the horizon or when they weren't recovering from the latest onslaught of terror and inevitably pain on emotional, mental, and physical levels. Rare days when two friends could stroll down a sidewalk and hear children laughing, feel the sun's rays despite the slight chill that had begun to linger now that autumn was setting in, see people going about their daily lives without being caught up – for the moment – in one of the many problems besieging the population of late. It was a good feeling and Logan wished wistfully that it could happen more often.
"Treasure days like this, Cajun, they're few and far between." He advised gruffly.
Remy glanced at him and nodded. "Dere some'tin ta fall back on when de hard times get too hard even for folks like us. De what makes life worth living sometimes."
Logan smiled again and wondered if maybe they truly were kindred spirits.