All of the characters in the story belong to MARVEL, not me! I am just borrowing them for a while. I will return turn them in good condition with the price tags still attached. So don't sue me because I'm not getting paid for anything I write.
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Remy said goodbye to Logan as he walked down the hallway. And again he was alone, but this time with a new sense of belonging.
He looked at the familiar wooden door of his old room. Logan had told him they kept the room for him if he had ever decided to return. He said it had been Scott's idea. Remy wondered why Scott thought he would return after everything that had happened.
"Stubborn as a mule," Remy said, chuckling as he opened the door and stepped inside the dark room.
He flicked on the light switch and felt another pang of nostalgia, just like the one he had when he arrived at the mansion. Everything was the same, nothing had been moved. There was no dust on anything though and that was the only indication that someone had taken the time to keep it clean over the years.
He stepped over to the bed and sat down. The mattress was soft and he sunk into it. He suddenly realized how much he missed his bed. After years of wandering, moving from hotel room to hotel room, the comfort of a familiar mattress was almost more than he could take.
His eyes teared a little and he quickly swiped the salty liquid away. It wasn't like him to get overly emotional, but he felt as if a huge rock had been lifted from his chest. He was finally....home.
He smiled and leaned over to turn on the radio. His favorite jazz and blues station was still around and his smile widened. He stood up and hummed a few notes of Ella Fitzgerald before walking over to the bathroom.
Scott and Jean had finally convinced the Professor to put in individual bathrooms a year before Remy left. After a few incidents where a few of the male students had gotten into the female showers, they figured it was time to add some privacy for everyone.
Remy turned on the light and began stripping his dirty clothes off his tired and sore body. He didn't realize how hard the ride had been on him until that moment. He turned on the hot water in the stand up shower and began testing it until it was the right temperature. Steaming hot. That's the way he liked it.
He turned to the cabinet below the sink and pulled out a bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo. He opened the glass door to the shower and threw the soap and the shampoo inside.
He winced for a second when the hot water showered down on his skin, but soon it was comfortable for him. He grabbed a bar of soap and began rubbing it over his skin. He washed off the slippery suds and reached for the shampoo.
He had cut his hair short after leaving Westchester. He went straight down to Lousianna and in the heat of August, his long hair was more of a burden than a blessing. He still kept it semi-long on top, but was cut short at the nape of his neck.
He washed his hair and rinsed himself off before jumping out of the shower. He walked to the mirror and wiped away the steam. He looked the same. Only a few lines on his face showed his age. He picked up a comb and brushed his hair back.
He grabbed a towel from the rack next to the shower and wrapped it around his waist, then walked back into his room. He went to his dresser and opened the top drawer. He was about to rummage through the clothes but a knock on his door stopped him.
He moved swiftly to the door and opened it. A grin appeared on his face. "Well, what brings you t'my door, chere?"
Jubilee's shocked expression loosened some. She hadn't known he was going to open the door half naked, but it was a pleasant surprise. "I-um-er came to talk to you."
Remy nodded. "I see, you wanna come in or are you just gonna stand dere?"
"No, no, I'll come in," Jubilee said, her shock was still apparent through her voice.
Remy stepped aside and let her come inside, then closed the door with a loud bang. Jubilee jumped and turned to face him. He looked like the devil. His red and black eyes glittering, his body glistening with beads of water, and that grin.
In an instant his expression changed. He was more serious now. "Eh, chere, let dis Cajun get dressed. Don' t'ink it too proper me standin' here in a towel."
Jubilee nodded, even though she was disappointed. "Alright, I'll wait right here."
"Trés bon," Remy told her as he walked to the dresser, grabbed some clothes, and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
"Oh, boy." Jubilee let out a huge breath.
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Logan opened the door to his room and found his wife curled up under the covers of their bed, reading a book. "I was wondering when you were coming to bed, my love. I was thinking about sending a search party." She smiled, her eyes glittering.
Logan grinned as he walked to the bed and sat down, facing her. She immediately sat up and set her book aside. "Did Jubilee tell ya?"
Storm seemed perplexed and Logan knew then she hadn't heard. "Tell me what, Logan?"
Logan scratched his head, trying to find the words. "It's about Gambit."
Storm brought a hand up to cover her mouth. The terror was in her eyes. "What happened, Logan? Did something happen to Remy?"
Logan took her hand away from her mouth and enclosed it in his own. "Well, sorta."
Storm's expression turned angry. She hated riddles and she knew Logan did as well, so why was he playing games with her? "Logan," she warned.
"He's here."
"What?"
"He's here. He showed up a couple o' hours ago." Logan felt Storm pull her hand away. She scrambled out of bed and pulled her long silver robe on.
She started towards the door but Logan stopped her by grabbing her arm gently. "Ro, I don't think it's a good idea to go buggin' him right now."
She swung around to face him and yanked her arm away. "How can you say that, Logan? I have not seen him in seven years. By the Goddess!"
"Now, darlin', calm down."
"No, I will not calm down, Logan. The man just left and I want an explanation." Storm turned to the door again.
Logan laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her from the door and to him. "Ya know why he left."
Storm struggled for a minute, but calmed down. "I know."
"He found out about Rogue," Logan stated.
Storm felt a twinge of sympathy. No matter what had happened, she still considered Remy her brother and she didn't like him feeling unhappy. "Oh, how terrible! Just more of a reason why I should go see him."
"I think he just needs some time to himself, Ro." Logan searched her eyes. He could stare into them for hours. They looked like a stormy sky over a dark sea.
Storm always compromised when it came to Logan. It was a hard relationship since they were both very headstrong. She had promised to stop trying to boss him around if he stopped smoking those horrid cigars. 'What is that smell', she thought.
"Logan?" Storm questioned.
Logan let her go as he knew he was in for a lecture. She could smell the cigar.
"Now, darlin', don't go lecturin' me. We just made that deal a couple o' weeks ago, you can't expect me ta just give 'em up right this second," Logan told her.
Storm folded her brown arms over her chest, then walked past him and jumped back into bed. She picked up her book and tried very hard to ignore him.
"Ro, don't ignore me. Ya know how I can't stand that." Logan turned to face the bed.
Storm didn't look up. She flipped a page and brought the book closer to her face.
Logan growled, his eyes narrowing as he got ready to jump on the bed. Storm, seeing his motive, threw the book and tried desperately to unravel herself from the sheets. It was too late..
Logan pounced and caught Storm in his arms as he rolled her over on top of him. She didn't try to get away from him. She knew what his intentions were.
"Well, you have my attention, Logan. What do you intend to do with it?" Storm asked, her voice seductive.
Logan grinned. "Me? Nuthin'. We had a deal, I quit smokin' and you stop tryin' to be in charge all the time. Well, I broke our deal, so now you got the advantage, darlin'. What'cha gonna do? Take charge?"
"I might, I just might," Storm said, smiling, as she leaned over to kiss her husband.
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Jubilee sat on the edge of Remy's bed. She had been in his room before and with him in it, but for some reason she couldn't shake this feeling of nervousness in her stomach.
She, like most of the other females in the mansion, had had a crush on Gambit from the minute she met him. How could she not? The man was incredibly handsome, strong, smart, and charming. She never let him in on her feelings though. She knew he would just reject her because she was still a kid and she couldn't take that.
But now she was a woman and he couldn't use that excuse. Was that why she had come up to his room? To tell him she had feelings for him?
"No way!" Jubilee exclaimed as she jumped up and started for the door.
"Where you goin', p'tite?"
Jubilee turned around so fast she got dizzy. She reached out for something to keep her from toppling over, but found nothing. She began to tip when she felt one strong arm go around her waist.
"Whoa, girl, don' fall. Come have a seat," he said as he helped her back to the bed.
Jubilee blinked, trying to get the room to stop spinning. She rubbed her temples furiously. "Must have been that sushi I ate earlier." She laughed and struggled to look up at him.
"Raw fish," he groaned.
Jubilee punched him in the shoulder. "I happen to like raw fish and you shouldn't talk. You eat the weirdest food I have ever seen."
"I don' r'member you complainin' las' time I made dinner."
"Remy, that was seven years ago. If I did complain, you probably forgot," Jubilee told him, giggling a little.
Remy sat down on the bed and ran a hand through his wet hair. Jubilee knew she had said the wrong thing the second he looked at her.
"Um, Remy, I'm sor-"
He put his hand out to stop her from speaking. "Non, chere, don' be sorry. You don' have t'tiptoe 'round it. I screwed up, you can say it."
"I don't care about what happened, Remy. It was in the past and I know you had your reasons for leaving. Everyone else may hold a grudge, but not me," Jubilee said as she smiled up at him.
Remy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her next to him. He squeezed her so tight she almost couldn't breathe and when he kissed her on the top of her head, she knew she couldn't breathe.
"Thanks, ma p'tite chere. I really needed t'hear dat right 'bout now," he told her as he let his hold on her loosen.
The silence that followed was the most uncomfortable Jubilee had ever experienced, well, not entirely the most uncomfortable but it was certainly in the top five.
"So, what have you been doin' dese last few years, Jubes?"
Jubilee thought for a minute before answering. "School. I've just finished my last year of college. I recieved my masters degree in Social Science. Never would've thought that little Jubilation would have actually amounted to anything, huh?"
Remy shook his head then placed a finger underneath Jubilee's chin, turning her to face him. "Non, Jubes, I always knew dat you would've become somet'ing so much more dan de rest o'dem. You were de smartest in your class."
"Oh, I don't-"
"I do, Jubes, an' don't you ever forget how special you are."
Jubilee tried to resist the growing flush on her cheeks at his obvious compliment, but couldn't hold back the blush. She smiled and turned her gaze away from him.
Jubilee was shocked. She had never remembered Remy being this open with anyone, let alone her. Sure, they had been friends but nothing that anyone would call a true friendship. Now here he was telling her exactly how he felt about her. And if he wasn't, he had sure made a fool out of her.
"What's wrong, p'tite?"
"Um, nothing, nothing. Just a little embarrassed, that's all." She hadn't meant to tell him how foolish she thought she was acting, but it seemed that she had a loose tongue around the Cajun.
Remy brushed her cheek with his finger and looked into her eyes. "Why? Why should you be embarrassed dat I told you how wonderful you are?"
Jubilee's stomach did a flipflop and she pulled away from him. Was he coming on to her? No, he couldn't be. He wasn't interested in her that way, was he?
"Remy, I better go. I'm sure you are tired." Jubilee stood up and walked to the door.
"What's wrong, p'tite? Did I do somet'ing?"
"No, Remy, I just think I had better go get some sleep. I had a long day. I'll see you in the morning," she said as she left Remy's room.
After closing the door, Jubilee leaned against it and let out a sigh. If he had been coming on to her then why did she leave? She had wanted his attention, hadn't she?
"Oh, boy." Jubilee shook her head at the many thoughts running through her mind and decided that she needed a shower and sleep to clear her head.