6.
To Raien, everything seemed more colorful than it had the rest of his life. He truly felt as if by finding love, he'd discovered himself in the process. Everything felt so right. Raien, normally a diehard cynic, had let Chimera soften his shell.
For most of the day, they just laid in bed, talking softly. Finally though, they got up. Chimera had nearly made it to the bathroom and looked back. Raien was grinning.
"We might have to take it a little slower next time." he said on the verge of laughter. It was obvious that last nights festivities had taken their toll. Raien sighed happily as he walked bowlegged to the bathroom, turning on the shower. He stopped suddenly staring as steam began to appear.
"Are you okay, Raien?" Chimera asked, stepping up behind him and wrapping his arms around him.
"Hot... Hot Water!" Raien cried gleefully. "Its been a year since I've had a hot shower!"
Chimera chuckled and gently pushed Raien in. The water quickly washed away the aches Raien had forgotten he had. Knowing it must be early afternoon, the two quickly washed, and turned off the water.
Chimera smiled as he watched Raien toweling off. Raien suddenly realized the effect he was having. He laughed.
"You know, we can't just ignore these people. I mean, they saved my life, and took us in. We've got to at least say 'hello'"
Chimera smiled. "Can't we say 'hi' in an hour?" he said grinning, as he stepped toward Raien, his still dripping arms surrounding him.
Raien kissed him, and grinned. "Later. I promise." He said lightly
Chimera who was still grinning himself, gave up. They finished drying themselves off, and found some loose fitting workout gear. Raien nearly fell to the floor laughing as Chimera tried to get into one of them. The pants weren't so bad, though they ended well above his ankles. The t- shirt on the other hand, was stretched to its limit. Chimera looked confused. He flexed and the shirt ripped in half. Chimera rolled his eyes as he placed the shreds of fabric in the waste basket. He shook his head, and easily ripped the bottom part of the pants off, turning them into shorts.
"There." he said triumphantly.
"Close enough." Raien said, finally beginning to recover. "Shall we?"
Chimera nodded, smiling, and they left the room. Suddenly they had no idea where they were. The metal and concrete corridors surrounding them seemed like they were in some kind of military bomb shelter. They wandered around for a little bit before Chimera's nose started twitching. He took in a few short sniffs, grinned and moved down one of the hallways. A few moments later, Raien smelled it too. He didn't quite recognize the aroma, but he knew it was food. Good food.
The doors hissed open, revealing a small cafeteria, nearly half full of people talking quietly and eating. Upon seeing Raien and Chimera enter, several groups stopped talking. A younger man got up and walked toward them.
"Hey, you must be Raien and Chimera! My name's Iceman. You can call me Bobby if you like." he said warmly.
"You... You've heard of us?" Raien said slowly
"Well, through the grapevine. We don't get many visitors, especially with things as they are now. You've got to be hungry. They made teriyaki today, one of my personal favorites." Bobby continued.
The next thing both knew, they were seated with steaming plates of wonderful smelling food. Raien noticed that the cafeteria was beginning to empty. It had been years since Raien had tasted anything like teriyaki, and this was especially good. Chimera on the other hand had never tasted anything so wonderful. Both commented on how wonderful it was.
"So, you're a mutant too?" Raien asked in between bites.
"Sure am," he said, as he turned to Iceman, then turned back. "I make ice, basically. What about you?"
"What a useful ability." Chimera said, staring. Suddenly the teriyaki caught his eye again and he dove back in. Bobby smiled at the compliment. They were now alone in the cafeteria.
"I kinda levitate," Raien began, getting up, moving so that he wouldn't hit anything. "Like this." He jumped into the air, and immediately was surrounded in brilliant blue flames. He did two back flips before landing lightly.
"Wow" Bobby said, obviously impressed. "Doesn't the fire burn your clothing? What about other people?"
"It kinda tingles a little, but doesn't-" Chimera's eyes widened and he stopped talking, staring at his plate fearing he'd given too much away. "What I mean is... Um..."
"Its okay, Chimera. I'd rather not have any secrets here." Raien said smiling. "Unless you do. I can deal with that."
Iceman was thoroughly confused. "What?" He asked, scratching his head.
"Um... Well, Raien and I are gay. I think." Chimera said slowly staring at Raien.
"I think?" Raien began grinning "I thought we'd established that already."
Chimera's face broke into a grin.
"Ah... That explains a lot." Bobby said, still smiling. "I've never met any gay people, much less gay mutants. That must have been very hard growing up." he said, looking thoughtful.
"Actually, I never really thought about it. I just realized it a few days after I'd met Chimera. I guess I really knew all along, but never wanted to just accept it." Raien explained. "So I never really had to grow up with that kind of fear. I don't know how I would have lived through that."
Iceman looked a little disappointed for some reason. Then Chimera spoke. "I think it was the same here, but I'd never really thought about it. I didn't think a person like me would ever find someone to love. I guess it just happened. Besides..." He said, grinning again "Just look at him!"
Raien rolled his eyes and Chimera laughed, along with Bobby.
"That mighta been too much information" Bobby said chuckling.
"I just never wanted to accept it. I dated a girl for a long time, but something was always missing, you know?" Raien said, taking a more serious tone.
Iceman was thoughtful again. "Yeah." Then he jumped as though he'd touched something hot. "I mean, I can understand that." he paused, staring at his folded hands. "You guys want a tour?" he said, looking up.
"Sure." Both Raien and Chimera said.
Bobby smiled and showed them where the dishwasher was. "Chimera," he said "I don't think you have to wash yours, it looks clean enough." All three started laughing again as they placed their dishes in the rack and walked out of the cafeteria.
They walked throughout the hallways, Bobby pointing out various people's rooms, none of whom either Raien or Chimera had heard of. They took one of the elevators to the mansion.
Chimera looked disoriented. "Hey, is this thing going sideways?" he asked, grabbing the hand rail
"Yeah. The main facility is actually a good four hundred yards underground. It was made incase something really bad happens up top. We could survive a nuclear blast down here."
Raien smiled. Soon the doors hissed open, revealing ornate woodwork covering the halls from floor to ceiling. Both he and Chimera gasped. Bobby led them out of the elevator and down a hallway.
"First stop is Clothing." Bobby said, grinning. "I'm not sure we have something in your size exactly, Chimera, but maybe some of the stuff we've made for Hank will fit."
"Ah, don't worry about me. A pair of shorts is really all I'm used to." he said.
They walked into one of the doors on the right side of the hallway. It opened into a room that could have been a full out clothing store worthy of a spot in any mall. Smiling, Raien picked out several pairs of baggy blue jeans, a few t-shirts bearing the 'X' symbol, and a long black leather trench coat, very similar to the one he'd worn when he'd been captured.
Chimera looked like a deer in the headlights. "I've never seen so many clothes. There's got to be something in here that will fit me."
Iceman directed him to the far corner, where several very large pairs of shorts were laid out. Chimera grinned picking up five or six pair. "These should do fine. Um.. Where can I change? These sweats are a little... Constricting." Chimera asked. Iceman grinned and pointed to the back wall.
A few minutes later, both emerged, clad in their new clothing. All three nodded in approval, and they continued the tour. They saw the school part of the mansion, where the students had vacated only about a half hour before.
"One last place. The gym. We'll have to be quiet, Wolverine is teaching a karate lesson there." Bobby said.
"Karate, huh? I'll have to check that out." Raien said, winking at Chimera.
Iceman once again looked confused. "You've done it before?"
"You could say that." Raien said, grinning.
"Lets check it out then!" Bobby said eagerly.
They walked into the gym, where Wolverine, a shorter man, but built like a tank, was demonstrating a basic form for the class. There were about ten students paying close attention to every move Wolverine made. Raien couldn't really place an age on the man, but figured he was in his mid thirties. Wolverine stopped his form.
"I see we have visitors." he said, his voice carrying clearly across the room.
Raien stepped out in front of the other two and removed his jacket and shoes. He bowed to a ninety degree angle. Wolverine did the same.
"I'm Wolverine." he said gruffly "You done any of this before?" he asked. Raien had moved to the edge of the padded section of floor that the class was using.
"Maybe a little... Name's Raien. The Morlocks used to call me Nightfire." Raien said grinning.
The Morlocks Wolverine thought sadly. He knew they'd been killed. Wolverine sized Raien up. The smell of gay sex hung around him, and Wolverine knew that it was Chimera immediately. He sighed, sounding a little disappointed. "Nightfire, eh? Alright. Lets see how far you've gotten." he said, motioning towards the center of the mat.
"Well, now you're gonna get it." Bobby said smiling. Chimera just looked worried.
Wolverine and Raien took their places on opposite sides of a white circle painted on the mat. They bowed. Raien took a defensive fighting stance. Wolverine advanced, throwing a quick jab towards Raien's chest, which was blocked easily. Raien stepped backward, smiling. Wolverine nodded and put more effort in. Raien blocked each blow easily.
"I see you've sparred before, at the least." Wolverine said, turning it up a notch. Another jab, but this time, he followed up with a sweeping kick. Raien launched himself backwards onto his hands into a handspring back to his feet. He cracked a grin. Wolverine did too.
"Alright. No holding back then. If it gets too difficult, yell." Wolverine said, a crooked grin on his face.
This time, Wolverine took the defensive stance. Raien advanced. He threw a sharp jab toward Wolverine's head. Knowing it would be blocked, he rolled on the ball of his right leg bringing the left sweeping toward his opponent's midsection. It was blocked as well. Wolverine took the offensive, and suddenly Raien was assaulted by kicks and punches. Wolverine left almost no openings, leaving Raien just trying to cover his own. Neither had landed a blow yet.
Beginning to break a sweat, Wolverine laughed as he stood back. "Not bad." he said "You have powers?" Raien nodded. "Ok. Unless they'll tear this place apart, use them." Raien nodded again.
Wolverine advanced, but before he could attack, Raien leapt toward him. Blue flame erupted into the air surrounding Raien. Wolverines eyes widened, along with his smile. He looked like a dog being let out of his cage. Raien spun and inverted, his legs coming around for a side kick. Wolverine tried to block, but where Raien's blows had been fairly easily deflected earlier, they now carried much more strength. Wolverine evaded the next, deciding against trying to block again.
Coming around again, and still having not landed, Raien kicked straight toward Wolverines ribs. Wolverine caught his foot, spun and threw Raien over his shoulder toward the waiting floor. Chimera gasped. Once Wolverine let go, Raien no longer arced toward the ground, he flew straight, righted himself, then landed softly on his feet, already in a defensive stance. Both had broken a heavy sweat, and were breathing harder.
Wolverine jumped into the air coming down hard with a kick which arced downwards to Raien's head. Raien evaded, but Wolverine had known where he'd move.
Wolverine twisted, landing to face Raien, and feigned a right hook. Raien didn't fall for it. Then Wolverine went for the right hook. Raien blocked it, but that wasn't where the real attack was coming from. Wolverine jumped, slamming his left shoulder into Raien's chest sending him crashing to the ground. Wolverine bowed. The match was over. He grabbed a towel, throwing it to Raien, who had picked himself up from the floor.
"Not bad, kid. I've needed a fight like that for years." Wolverine said nodding. He bowed his head toward Wolverine and smiled, also feeling as if he'd finally gotten to let go. "Looks like we got an audience."
Raien looked back, and around the door were several students, and a group of people in tight fitting uniforms. They all clapped, including the people in the class. One of them raised her hand.
"Jubilee?" Wolverine asked
"Yeah, I wanna know when we get to learn what he just did!" She said giggling.
Wolverine shook his head, the remnants of a smile barely clinging to his face. "When you learn to fly, you can ask him."
Everyone laughed. Raien noticed a few faces he recognized. Jean Grey and Scott Summers, the two that had visited his house just before his parents kicked him out. From the description, he saw Gambit standing in the background, a contemplative look on his face.
"Ok, show's over. Raien, we're going to have to do that again." Wolverine said, the gruffness returning to his voice. The students began to disperse, all talking at once. Conversations starting with 'Did you see...' and 'I wish I...'
"Sure thing, Wolverine. I'll look forward to it." Raien said, putting his shoes back on and grabbing his jacket.
"Call me Logan." he said, then returned to his class.
Raien had finally caught his breath. Chimera's heart had finally stopped racing. Several of the people in uniform looked as though they wanted to talk to him, but Raien was ready for a shower. He walked out the door, Iceman and Chimera following, while the ones in uniform began to talk amongst themselves.
Bobby showed them how to get back to their rooms. "Thank you so much for the tour, Bobby. This place seems less ominous than it did this morning. Maybe we can have lunch tomorrow?" Raien asked hopefully.
"I'd love that. See you around noon?"
"Great. Thanks again." Raien said, turning and walking into his quarters. Chimera stopped outside, unsure if he should follow. His tufted ears began to wilt. Then Raien turned and raised both eyebrows. A mischievous glint appeared in Chimera's eyes, as he winked at Bobby and followed Raien in.
**
Bobby was deep in thought. His whole world had changed after meeting Raien and Chimera. He thought everyone here, though they knew what being a freak was like, would have been hostile to homosexuality. Especially Wolverine. Bobby knew they'd made love the night before. It was something that just glowed about them. He knew Wolverine must have smelled it, even though no one else would have been able to
He looked back on his relationship with Polaris. He'd really liked hanging around with her, and she'd been a great friend. It really had never felt like more than that, though, even when they'd had sex. Somehow, with her gorgeous body, Bobby had been missing something. After talking with Raien and Chimera he knew what that was. He'd known the truth on some level, but had been too scared to admit it.
Does that make me a coward? Raien and Chimera just admitted it to me as if it was nothing. He thought.
He heard footsteps in front of him. Looking up, it was Wolverine. The last person he wanted to see right now. He hadn't put two and two together while he stared at Logan's body as he swam or practiced his karate. He had a crush on Wolverine.
"You alright?" he said, managing to sound gruff and concerned at the same time.
"Uh... yeah. I'm fine." Bobby said, staring at the floor. Wolverine shrugged and passed him. Bobby stopped and turned around. Who am I kidding? He thought. "Wolverine?"
Logan stopped. "Yeah kid?"
"How long have you known?" Bobby asked, his heart starting to race.
Logan smiled, something he'd probably done more today than in the past two decades. "A while, kid. Its good that you finally do."
To Raien, everything seemed more colorful than it had the rest of his life. He truly felt as if by finding love, he'd discovered himself in the process. Everything felt so right. Raien, normally a diehard cynic, had let Chimera soften his shell.
For most of the day, they just laid in bed, talking softly. Finally though, they got up. Chimera had nearly made it to the bathroom and looked back. Raien was grinning.
"We might have to take it a little slower next time." he said on the verge of laughter. It was obvious that last nights festivities had taken their toll. Raien sighed happily as he walked bowlegged to the bathroom, turning on the shower. He stopped suddenly staring as steam began to appear.
"Are you okay, Raien?" Chimera asked, stepping up behind him and wrapping his arms around him.
"Hot... Hot Water!" Raien cried gleefully. "Its been a year since I've had a hot shower!"
Chimera chuckled and gently pushed Raien in. The water quickly washed away the aches Raien had forgotten he had. Knowing it must be early afternoon, the two quickly washed, and turned off the water.
Chimera smiled as he watched Raien toweling off. Raien suddenly realized the effect he was having. He laughed.
"You know, we can't just ignore these people. I mean, they saved my life, and took us in. We've got to at least say 'hello'"
Chimera smiled. "Can't we say 'hi' in an hour?" he said grinning, as he stepped toward Raien, his still dripping arms surrounding him.
Raien kissed him, and grinned. "Later. I promise." He said lightly
Chimera who was still grinning himself, gave up. They finished drying themselves off, and found some loose fitting workout gear. Raien nearly fell to the floor laughing as Chimera tried to get into one of them. The pants weren't so bad, though they ended well above his ankles. The t- shirt on the other hand, was stretched to its limit. Chimera looked confused. He flexed and the shirt ripped in half. Chimera rolled his eyes as he placed the shreds of fabric in the waste basket. He shook his head, and easily ripped the bottom part of the pants off, turning them into shorts.
"There." he said triumphantly.
"Close enough." Raien said, finally beginning to recover. "Shall we?"
Chimera nodded, smiling, and they left the room. Suddenly they had no idea where they were. The metal and concrete corridors surrounding them seemed like they were in some kind of military bomb shelter. They wandered around for a little bit before Chimera's nose started twitching. He took in a few short sniffs, grinned and moved down one of the hallways. A few moments later, Raien smelled it too. He didn't quite recognize the aroma, but he knew it was food. Good food.
The doors hissed open, revealing a small cafeteria, nearly half full of people talking quietly and eating. Upon seeing Raien and Chimera enter, several groups stopped talking. A younger man got up and walked toward them.
"Hey, you must be Raien and Chimera! My name's Iceman. You can call me Bobby if you like." he said warmly.
"You... You've heard of us?" Raien said slowly
"Well, through the grapevine. We don't get many visitors, especially with things as they are now. You've got to be hungry. They made teriyaki today, one of my personal favorites." Bobby continued.
The next thing both knew, they were seated with steaming plates of wonderful smelling food. Raien noticed that the cafeteria was beginning to empty. It had been years since Raien had tasted anything like teriyaki, and this was especially good. Chimera on the other hand had never tasted anything so wonderful. Both commented on how wonderful it was.
"So, you're a mutant too?" Raien asked in between bites.
"Sure am," he said, as he turned to Iceman, then turned back. "I make ice, basically. What about you?"
"What a useful ability." Chimera said, staring. Suddenly the teriyaki caught his eye again and he dove back in. Bobby smiled at the compliment. They were now alone in the cafeteria.
"I kinda levitate," Raien began, getting up, moving so that he wouldn't hit anything. "Like this." He jumped into the air, and immediately was surrounded in brilliant blue flames. He did two back flips before landing lightly.
"Wow" Bobby said, obviously impressed. "Doesn't the fire burn your clothing? What about other people?"
"It kinda tingles a little, but doesn't-" Chimera's eyes widened and he stopped talking, staring at his plate fearing he'd given too much away. "What I mean is... Um..."
"Its okay, Chimera. I'd rather not have any secrets here." Raien said smiling. "Unless you do. I can deal with that."
Iceman was thoroughly confused. "What?" He asked, scratching his head.
"Um... Well, Raien and I are gay. I think." Chimera said slowly staring at Raien.
"I think?" Raien began grinning "I thought we'd established that already."
Chimera's face broke into a grin.
"Ah... That explains a lot." Bobby said, still smiling. "I've never met any gay people, much less gay mutants. That must have been very hard growing up." he said, looking thoughtful.
"Actually, I never really thought about it. I just realized it a few days after I'd met Chimera. I guess I really knew all along, but never wanted to just accept it." Raien explained. "So I never really had to grow up with that kind of fear. I don't know how I would have lived through that."
Iceman looked a little disappointed for some reason. Then Chimera spoke. "I think it was the same here, but I'd never really thought about it. I didn't think a person like me would ever find someone to love. I guess it just happened. Besides..." He said, grinning again "Just look at him!"
Raien rolled his eyes and Chimera laughed, along with Bobby.
"That mighta been too much information" Bobby said chuckling.
"I just never wanted to accept it. I dated a girl for a long time, but something was always missing, you know?" Raien said, taking a more serious tone.
Iceman was thoughtful again. "Yeah." Then he jumped as though he'd touched something hot. "I mean, I can understand that." he paused, staring at his folded hands. "You guys want a tour?" he said, looking up.
"Sure." Both Raien and Chimera said.
Bobby smiled and showed them where the dishwasher was. "Chimera," he said "I don't think you have to wash yours, it looks clean enough." All three started laughing again as they placed their dishes in the rack and walked out of the cafeteria.
They walked throughout the hallways, Bobby pointing out various people's rooms, none of whom either Raien or Chimera had heard of. They took one of the elevators to the mansion.
Chimera looked disoriented. "Hey, is this thing going sideways?" he asked, grabbing the hand rail
"Yeah. The main facility is actually a good four hundred yards underground. It was made incase something really bad happens up top. We could survive a nuclear blast down here."
Raien smiled. Soon the doors hissed open, revealing ornate woodwork covering the halls from floor to ceiling. Both he and Chimera gasped. Bobby led them out of the elevator and down a hallway.
"First stop is Clothing." Bobby said, grinning. "I'm not sure we have something in your size exactly, Chimera, but maybe some of the stuff we've made for Hank will fit."
"Ah, don't worry about me. A pair of shorts is really all I'm used to." he said.
They walked into one of the doors on the right side of the hallway. It opened into a room that could have been a full out clothing store worthy of a spot in any mall. Smiling, Raien picked out several pairs of baggy blue jeans, a few t-shirts bearing the 'X' symbol, and a long black leather trench coat, very similar to the one he'd worn when he'd been captured.
Chimera looked like a deer in the headlights. "I've never seen so many clothes. There's got to be something in here that will fit me."
Iceman directed him to the far corner, where several very large pairs of shorts were laid out. Chimera grinned picking up five or six pair. "These should do fine. Um.. Where can I change? These sweats are a little... Constricting." Chimera asked. Iceman grinned and pointed to the back wall.
A few minutes later, both emerged, clad in their new clothing. All three nodded in approval, and they continued the tour. They saw the school part of the mansion, where the students had vacated only about a half hour before.
"One last place. The gym. We'll have to be quiet, Wolverine is teaching a karate lesson there." Bobby said.
"Karate, huh? I'll have to check that out." Raien said, winking at Chimera.
Iceman once again looked confused. "You've done it before?"
"You could say that." Raien said, grinning.
"Lets check it out then!" Bobby said eagerly.
They walked into the gym, where Wolverine, a shorter man, but built like a tank, was demonstrating a basic form for the class. There were about ten students paying close attention to every move Wolverine made. Raien couldn't really place an age on the man, but figured he was in his mid thirties. Wolverine stopped his form.
"I see we have visitors." he said, his voice carrying clearly across the room.
Raien stepped out in front of the other two and removed his jacket and shoes. He bowed to a ninety degree angle. Wolverine did the same.
"I'm Wolverine." he said gruffly "You done any of this before?" he asked. Raien had moved to the edge of the padded section of floor that the class was using.
"Maybe a little... Name's Raien. The Morlocks used to call me Nightfire." Raien said grinning.
The Morlocks Wolverine thought sadly. He knew they'd been killed. Wolverine sized Raien up. The smell of gay sex hung around him, and Wolverine knew that it was Chimera immediately. He sighed, sounding a little disappointed. "Nightfire, eh? Alright. Lets see how far you've gotten." he said, motioning towards the center of the mat.
"Well, now you're gonna get it." Bobby said smiling. Chimera just looked worried.
Wolverine and Raien took their places on opposite sides of a white circle painted on the mat. They bowed. Raien took a defensive fighting stance. Wolverine advanced, throwing a quick jab towards Raien's chest, which was blocked easily. Raien stepped backward, smiling. Wolverine nodded and put more effort in. Raien blocked each blow easily.
"I see you've sparred before, at the least." Wolverine said, turning it up a notch. Another jab, but this time, he followed up with a sweeping kick. Raien launched himself backwards onto his hands into a handspring back to his feet. He cracked a grin. Wolverine did too.
"Alright. No holding back then. If it gets too difficult, yell." Wolverine said, a crooked grin on his face.
This time, Wolverine took the defensive stance. Raien advanced. He threw a sharp jab toward Wolverine's head. Knowing it would be blocked, he rolled on the ball of his right leg bringing the left sweeping toward his opponent's midsection. It was blocked as well. Wolverine took the offensive, and suddenly Raien was assaulted by kicks and punches. Wolverine left almost no openings, leaving Raien just trying to cover his own. Neither had landed a blow yet.
Beginning to break a sweat, Wolverine laughed as he stood back. "Not bad." he said "You have powers?" Raien nodded. "Ok. Unless they'll tear this place apart, use them." Raien nodded again.
Wolverine advanced, but before he could attack, Raien leapt toward him. Blue flame erupted into the air surrounding Raien. Wolverines eyes widened, along with his smile. He looked like a dog being let out of his cage. Raien spun and inverted, his legs coming around for a side kick. Wolverine tried to block, but where Raien's blows had been fairly easily deflected earlier, they now carried much more strength. Wolverine evaded the next, deciding against trying to block again.
Coming around again, and still having not landed, Raien kicked straight toward Wolverines ribs. Wolverine caught his foot, spun and threw Raien over his shoulder toward the waiting floor. Chimera gasped. Once Wolverine let go, Raien no longer arced toward the ground, he flew straight, righted himself, then landed softly on his feet, already in a defensive stance. Both had broken a heavy sweat, and were breathing harder.
Wolverine jumped into the air coming down hard with a kick which arced downwards to Raien's head. Raien evaded, but Wolverine had known where he'd move.
Wolverine twisted, landing to face Raien, and feigned a right hook. Raien didn't fall for it. Then Wolverine went for the right hook. Raien blocked it, but that wasn't where the real attack was coming from. Wolverine jumped, slamming his left shoulder into Raien's chest sending him crashing to the ground. Wolverine bowed. The match was over. He grabbed a towel, throwing it to Raien, who had picked himself up from the floor.
"Not bad, kid. I've needed a fight like that for years." Wolverine said nodding. He bowed his head toward Wolverine and smiled, also feeling as if he'd finally gotten to let go. "Looks like we got an audience."
Raien looked back, and around the door were several students, and a group of people in tight fitting uniforms. They all clapped, including the people in the class. One of them raised her hand.
"Jubilee?" Wolverine asked
"Yeah, I wanna know when we get to learn what he just did!" She said giggling.
Wolverine shook his head, the remnants of a smile barely clinging to his face. "When you learn to fly, you can ask him."
Everyone laughed. Raien noticed a few faces he recognized. Jean Grey and Scott Summers, the two that had visited his house just before his parents kicked him out. From the description, he saw Gambit standing in the background, a contemplative look on his face.
"Ok, show's over. Raien, we're going to have to do that again." Wolverine said, the gruffness returning to his voice. The students began to disperse, all talking at once. Conversations starting with 'Did you see...' and 'I wish I...'
"Sure thing, Wolverine. I'll look forward to it." Raien said, putting his shoes back on and grabbing his jacket.
"Call me Logan." he said, then returned to his class.
Raien had finally caught his breath. Chimera's heart had finally stopped racing. Several of the people in uniform looked as though they wanted to talk to him, but Raien was ready for a shower. He walked out the door, Iceman and Chimera following, while the ones in uniform began to talk amongst themselves.
Bobby showed them how to get back to their rooms. "Thank you so much for the tour, Bobby. This place seems less ominous than it did this morning. Maybe we can have lunch tomorrow?" Raien asked hopefully.
"I'd love that. See you around noon?"
"Great. Thanks again." Raien said, turning and walking into his quarters. Chimera stopped outside, unsure if he should follow. His tufted ears began to wilt. Then Raien turned and raised both eyebrows. A mischievous glint appeared in Chimera's eyes, as he winked at Bobby and followed Raien in.
**
Bobby was deep in thought. His whole world had changed after meeting Raien and Chimera. He thought everyone here, though they knew what being a freak was like, would have been hostile to homosexuality. Especially Wolverine. Bobby knew they'd made love the night before. It was something that just glowed about them. He knew Wolverine must have smelled it, even though no one else would have been able to
He looked back on his relationship with Polaris. He'd really liked hanging around with her, and she'd been a great friend. It really had never felt like more than that, though, even when they'd had sex. Somehow, with her gorgeous body, Bobby had been missing something. After talking with Raien and Chimera he knew what that was. He'd known the truth on some level, but had been too scared to admit it.
Does that make me a coward? Raien and Chimera just admitted it to me as if it was nothing. He thought.
He heard footsteps in front of him. Looking up, it was Wolverine. The last person he wanted to see right now. He hadn't put two and two together while he stared at Logan's body as he swam or practiced his karate. He had a crush on Wolverine.
"You alright?" he said, managing to sound gruff and concerned at the same time.
"Uh... yeah. I'm fine." Bobby said, staring at the floor. Wolverine shrugged and passed him. Bobby stopped and turned around. Who am I kidding? He thought. "Wolverine?"
Logan stopped. "Yeah kid?"
"How long have you known?" Bobby asked, his heart starting to race.
Logan smiled, something he'd probably done more today than in the past two decades. "A while, kid. Its good that you finally do."