Constant Craving

CONSTANT CRAVING CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather and Her consort Ted, my sincerest apologies for the penguins...I had no idea they would scare Dodo so badly! Then again, I guess it would stand to reason since dolphins and penguins usually don't come into contact with each other. To make up for it, I'm sending muse kibble via Kristen and Lucas and millions of pixies in thanks for beta-ing. :) Vampyre: Still among the Undead? Readers/Reviewers: Okay. There's dissention among the ranks. I've finally gotten all the critters to agree to a singing tribute to all of you for reading my dreck! So far, the big debate is over costumes. The Killer Kitties (tm) want bustiers and thongs while the ducks want tasteful Bob Fosse-esque costumes. The platypi want to do it naked... Strange critters, those...


Logan swished the beer around in his mouth, his acute sense of taste experiencing the flat, bitter taste of old alcohol more strongly than most ever would. "This stuff sucks..." he muttered, pitching the bottle into the trash can. "Damn American beer..."
"Don't you ever drink anything else?" Storm asked, amused.
"Nah...beer keeps me surly. Surly works for me," he said, stretching his legs out before him. The lawn chair creaked under his weight as he made an incoherent noise of relaxation. "What're you doing out here?"
"Checkin the the rubble...It would not do for it to reignite." Storm came even with Logan and stood, arms crossed, regarding the smoldering remains of the boathouse with a scant sigh. "Sometimes, do you wonder what it would be like _without _ the constant drama of mutant teenagers in the house?"
Logan knew she was being facetious but answered anyway. "Yeah...damned dull, don't you think?" he grinned. "Arson notwithstanding, these kids certainly keep ya on your toes, huh?"
Storm snorted softly. "I never would have taken you for the prosaic type."
"I'm getting soft in my old age..." Logan reached for his beer before remembering he had thrown it out. "Damn..."
"Come on...walk with me," she said, holding out one hand as if to help him to his feet. Logan smirked and let her lead him across the lawn, his larger hand swallowing her slender one. "You need to talk to me?" she asked finally as they neared the rubble, close enough to feel the residual bef before a soft wind blew from behind them, pushing the smoke out over the lake.
"Um, actually, yes..." Logan raised a brow. "Can I assume that was a lucky guess?"
Storm chuckled, staring out over the blackened house, beams jutting like broken teeth in a giant's mouth. "Actually, I'm just observant. You keep looking at me like I'm a dangerous pet at the end of a rotten piece of string.1 I was wondering," she paused then and shifted her eyes to look at Logan, "if you were having doubts."
"No," he responded immediately, without a second thought. "Storm...Ororo..." Logan turned her to face him, placing his hands on her shoulders, "I'm not having doubts, second thoughts, or some sort of post-coital remorse. I'm just..."
"Confused?" she asked with a smile. At his frown, she pressed on, "Logan, I consider you one of my best friends. And you know that is not a designation I make lightly."
"You were a virgin..." he said softly.
"Yes." She raised one platinum brow. "Is that a problem?"
Logan dropped his hands and paced away, mussing his already ruffled hair. "You know, as far back as I can remember...I don't think I've slept with a virgin before." He turned to look at Storm again, a look of bemusement on his face. She regarded him with silent patience as his mind worked, trying to find words for what he was feeling. Finally, Logan said "I can't think of a way to say this that t cot corny as Hell, but it really meant something to me that you....um...gave it up to me."
Storm actually blushed at this statement but pretended she did not notice her traitorous reaction. "You understand I would not have done so if I did not trust you."
"Yeah..." _I'm such a whore... _ "I just...I don't know."
"The great Wolverine, at a loss for a witty comeback!" she chuckled. "Come on...let's go back in. It's getting cool out here."
They had walked several yards before Logan paused. " 'Ro, you control the weather..."
"Shut up, Logan...walk with me."
"You know," he said softly, not quite willing to break the spell of the evening, "I think the kids are starting to settle down with this fighting crap."
"Don't be so quick to assume, Logan...Tabby's going to cause problems."
"You think?"
"Mmmm....now will you be quiet?"
Logan pulled her to a stop, grinning. "Make me..."

Remy knew before he turned on the light that there was someone in his room. He paused with the door open, one hand on the light switch, eyes trying to pierce the darkness. He inhaled deeply and caught the scent of musk and lotus, a smile springing to his face. "Ma chere..." he murmured.
"How'd you know?" a sleepy voice came from the general area of the bed. There was a faint rustle of bedclothes and a small sigh as the bed shifted under Jubilee's slight weight.
Remy crossed to her in three strides, the door closing behind him with a faint snick. "You be forgettin', ma chou, dat I got dem ol' thievin' skills, eh?" He saw the lump under the covers and tugged at the sheets, exposing her spiky hair. "You tired?"
"Now I'm cold! Put that back!" She tugged at the sheets and Remy let her re-cocoon herself before exposing her again. "Remy!"
"Who been sleepin' in my bed?" he intoned gruffly, making her giggle.2
"My, what big eyes you have..." she snickered, scooting to one side.
"All de bettah ta see ya wid, ma chere..." he growled, stretching out next to her and toeing off his shoes. "So what you doin' in dis ol'Cajun's bed, cherie?"
Jubilee sighed and wiggled close to him, her arms sliding across his torso and one leg draping over his much longer ones. She reveled in the feel of his hard muscles beneath her limbs and nuzzled his chest, breathing in his smell. "I couldn't sleep."
"So you come here..." Remy sighed. Toying with the short pieces of her hair as they brushed against his throat, he murmured, "Mon ange, in case you be forgettin', you an' me...we not be sleepin' too much when we in bed, eh?"
Jubilee giggled softly and squeezed his ribs in a hug. "Well, not always...I fall asleep a lot after we...you know..."
"Say it, chere...make love." Remy slid his hand down her neck and traced small circles along her vertebrae.
"Remy," she said, pushing herself up to peer at him in the dark, "I want to tell you something..."
"Chere, if you say you pregnant, I gonna scream like a girl..."
Jubilee stared for a moment then burst into gales of laughter. "Oh, I can so see that!" she crowed, rolling away from him and onto her back. "The great, suave, sexy Remy LeBeau, screaming like a woman! Eeeeeeek!" she mimicked.
"Chere!" Remy said, clapping a hand over her mouth to muffle her naturally loud voice, made louder by her amusement. "People be tryin' ta sleep here..."
"Sorry," she giggled behind his hand. She darted out his tongue to lick his palm but Remy only grinned, rolling half on top of her, pressing a leg between her thighs to cradle his weight. "Remy!" she said, exasperated. He sighed and removed his palm from her mouth and she rolled her eyes. "Listen...I think thais..is...drought...is gonna be over soon."
"Really?" he asked, hiding the hope he suddenly felt. "Promise?"
"Well, here's the thing..." she said, touching him lightly on the collar bone. "I saw Scott during dinner and he was trying to be nice...and I saw you and you were trying to be nice...If you can be nice and happy and not a dick to each other until Thanksgiving, you can have your wicked way with me."
"My wicked way?" Remy said carefully. _Thanksgiving...today be Monday...I can be good 'till Jeudi...3 _
Jubilee bit her lip, barely visible to Remy in the dark of the room but an endearing gesture nonetheless. "You know that thing you asked me to do?"
"Oui?" he breathed.
"I'll do it if you can be good until Thanksgiving..."
Remy's mind whirled. Visions of Jubilee danced in his head as his hands sought her skin, her bare arms being the refuge they found. Squeezing the warm, soft skin there, Remy bent low to kiss her parted lips. "Chere," he whispered against her mouth, "if I make it to Jeudi, you makin' me de happiest homme in New York..."
Jubilee giggled again and ducked her head. "Can I sleep here tonight? Or will that...you know...keep you up?"
"Chere," Remy said, rolling to one side but keeping his arm around her, "long as I live, you gonna keep me up ..."


Kurt did not want to believe it. He watched Kitty's tape twice before he went to bed, the first time so blurred by his own visions of Kitty dancing for him in person and how he would show her his appreciation that he had to watch the tape again, just to see the dance itself. The second viewing brought something to his attention, something he wished to the Heavens he had not seen and Kitty had not done. With a feeling like a stone in the pit of his stomach, Kurt trudged down the stairs to breakfast and half-heartedly poked at the eggs and tomatoes on his plate, ignoring Logan's curious looks.
"Hey, babe!" Kitty chirped, positively cheerful as she came into the kitchen. She was already dressed in her yoga gear, her pony tail twisted into a knot to keep it off her neck.
For a moment, Kurt felt his mouth literally water at the sight of her exposed midriff and the curve of her hips in the rather tight exercise clothes she had on, but the image of what was on the tape blazed back across his vision. "Kitty," he said without his usual affectionate intonation.
Logan frowned, catching it even as Kitty did. She looked over at her foster father and furrowed her brows. He shrugged as if to say "you're on your own," and made a great show of drinking his coffee. "Kurt," Kitty said after a moment of strained silence, "what's wrong?"
"Tell me, Schatz...who helped make the tape?" Kurt stabbed viciously at a piece of sausage and glared at Kitty.
"A friend..." she said, looking at Logan again. "Kurt, can we talk about this later?"
"Nein...now." He pushed away from the table and moved around to take Kitty by the arm.
"Hey!" she cried, surprised by this grip.
"Watch it Elf..." Logan growled, moving forward only to be stopped by Kitty's frantic headshake. "You sure?" he asked softly, dangerously.
"Yes..." she whispered. Kurt took her out of the kitchen and through the mudroom to the garage. "Kurt...you're scaring me."
He released her arm and felt a pang of guilt as he saw her hand steal up to rub at the red marks he had left on her pale skin. "Katzchen," he bit out, "_who helped make that tape?" _ His eyes were fairly glowing with suppressed anger, not towards Kitty but towards whom he had seen on her tape.
" I told you..."
"Ja, ja...ein Freund...who?"
Kitty knew there was no escaping. "Lance."
"I knew it!" he exploded, slamming his fist against the hood of the Jeep. "I saw him on the tape...you didn't know you could see him in the mirror behind you, did you?"
"Kurt," Kitty sighed wearily, "I didn't care that you could see him..."
"How could you let him see you dance like that? Kitty, that was something I thought you did just for me..."
Kitty let her head loll back and she sighed. "Kurt, Lance used to come to my recitals. He has seen me belly dance before. And I didn't, like, strip or anything!"
"Nein, but you _danced _ for him!"
"No, Kurt," she said gently, placing a hand on his forearm. "I danced for you...he just taped me so you could see it. Lance could not have cared less. All he could talk about was Amara. It was "Did you know she likes such and such?" or "Her eyes are like blah blah blah..." I tell you, it was annoying!" she smiled, the grin fading as she saw Kurt still looked angry. "Baby, tell me what bothers you so much about this."
"Lance saw something I thought only I got the privilege of seeing...Now I know you'll dance for _anyone... _ "
Kitty felt very annoyed all of a sudden. "Kurt, tell me...would it have bothered you if Jamie had taped me? Or Scott?"
"Um...nein?" Kurt felt like the room shifted under his feet.
"So," Kitty said, beginning to pace, arms crossed tight across her chest, "you're mad because Lance saw me dance. Did it ever _occur _ to you that maybe, just maybe, you should be thanking him for doing it? I mean, I know it isn't much, but you know, it's something. My dance is something I give to you. He saw me, but Kurt," she said, coming to rest before him and taking his face in her hands, "I danced for you."
"Liebes," Kurt said softly, placing his hands over hers, "I don't like Lance seeing you like that. You were so abandoned, so sensual...it just makes me so angry that he saw you and you don't seem to care."
"I care, Kurt..." she sighed, pulling her hands away. "Look...I'm going to go to my yoga. You cool off for a bit. When I come back, we'll talk about...things. Okay?"
"Ja, okay..." he said wearily, sitting on the bumper of the car. "Schatz, I'm..."
"Don't apologize, Kurt," she said gently. She was already at the door leading to the mudroom. "Kurt..." she said slowly, as if coming to a great decision.
"Ja?"
"Want to see something Lance never got to see?" she asked slyly. Before Kurt could answer, she lifted her top and exposed her bare breasts to Kurt's surprised gaze. As his jaw worked, she dropped her top and phased into the mudroom. Kurt could only let his head drop back against the hood of the car, the need to go watch the tape again winning over his jealousy.

Tabby watched Kitty go past her to the elevators, the smaller girl not even noticing that she was being watched. As the doors slid closed, Kurt came into view, looking mildly stunned and muttering to himself. _Show time... _ Tabby thought, plastering a smile to her face. "Hey, fuzzy..." she crooned, bouncing into his line of vision.
Kurt winced. Coming from Kitty, he loved the pet name. From Tabby's lips, however, it made him cringe. "You're still here?"
She jutted out her lower lip in a pout. "A girl's gonna think you don't want her around..."
"I don't!" he snapped. His mood was ruined. Kitty's impromptu flashing had mildly improved his demeanor but now, Tabby was like water on flames.
"Aww...poor Kurt. Girlfriend troubles?" He had started to walk past her but she bounced to keep pace with him. She had heard that the girls of the mansion were holding out, mostly from eavesdropping on conversations, and had decided this was her entre into the place. _Blackmail is soooo nice. _
"Tabitha, get out of my face," he growled as he reached the top of the stairs. "I have things to do..."
"Not people? Things?"
"Quit being so perverted." He tried to step right and go around her, but she darted in front of her. "I'll 'port..." he threatened.
Tabby stepped back a pace and, at the same time, looked over Kurt's shoulder to the security camera scanning the hall. "Tell me," she said conversationally, "those tapes erased on a regular basis?"
"Vas?" He followed her gaze to the camera. "Why do you want to know?"
"No reason..." she said, then suddenly rose on her toes as the camera swung back in their direction. Before Kurt could stop her, she kissed him full on the mouth, her hands clawing at his back in a fair approximation of the throes of passion. Kurt, caught off guard, grabbed at her shoulders for a moment before pushing her away.
"Go away!" he shouted before 'porting from her sight.
Tabitha licked her lips in happiness. _He can't possibly get all those tapes...even I know this place keeps backups... I wouldn't be surprised if they had digital records...All I have to do is tell him I'm gonna show Kitty our little lip-lock and he'll have to get the Professor to let me stay here... _




1 ((sigh)) I am a miserable, rotten thief. That line is taken from Margaret Mahy's The Changeover.
2 Goldilocks...you know...little girl...bears... :) Who's been sleeping in my bed? Ahem...okay.
3 Thursday