The Streets

Rolling over, he enjoyed the brush of the fine linens against his bare chest, sighing in deep contentment. That was until he got a sharp jab of an elbow in his ribs.



“I’ve told you before that I’ll toss you out of my bed if you keep stealing my covers.” The voice was sleep weary, but resigned, as the sun was well on its way up. The loft was bright with it, soft pinkish light speckling the many plants and bare wooden beams. Spring was in full force, and you could hear the twitters of rousing birds going about their business. He rolled over again, this time back to face her, grinning at her sleep rumpled white hair. He never told Marie about his nights up here, knowing that would be a bad idea even as chaste as the relationship between him and Ororo was. That and the fact that he liked that it was something that was between just the two of them and perhaps Logan with that nose of his.



Odd that he now had this woman as a sister considering how he’d looked at this place in the beginning – determined to not let anyone get through his guard. He had to admit that she certainly sounded the part though when she started nagging during training. But he trusted her – came here for her wordless comfort when the dreams got too bad or when he was just feeling damn lonely. It was complicated and uncomplicated all in one fell swoop. And it wasn’t something he wanted to try and explain to anyone, so he took pains to hide their newfound relationship from the others in the school.



He rolled out of bed, making sure to heap the covers back on her and shrugged. “But y’ know I’d jus’ come crawlin’ back in anyways. Dat’s why y’ don’ bother Stormy.” Flashing a cheeky grin over his shoulder he caught the basilisk stare of a blue eye over the sheets.



“Do not push your luck.” There was the whisper of sheets from behind him and the bed shifted as she stood as well. “So, are you going to tell me what bothered you this time Remy?”

Pausing in drawing a shirt over his head he considered it and finally relented. She’d just jerk it out of him sooner or later. “Nothin’ really bad. Jus’ had another dream.” And it hadn’t been a [i]bad[/i] dream. Just one that left him frustrated.



She arched a fine brow at him. “Dream or nightmare?” Keeper of some of his secrets as she was, she still only knew the sketchiest of details of him even if she was the one that knew the most of anyone in this world about him. He’d never opened up to anyone like this in his life.



“Dream.” He squirmed a bit under her considering look, which made a corner of her mouth quirk up in wry understanding.



“I see.” She stepped over to a chair where her robe was draped, wrapping the fresh scented folds of it around her. Ororo always smelt of the things that she surrounded around herself in this loft – green growing things, sunlight, fresh air, flowers. It was a soothing combination and suited her well. She played with the tie for it a long time, till he finished dressing and had cracked his neck, a sound that never failed to make her cringe. “You’ve been having more of these dreams lately, haven’t you?”



Looking to the ceiling for help and finding none, he muttered out a faint reply in the affirmative.

“Have you thought that maybe your subconscious is trying to tell you something, brother?”



He couldn’t help the slight reflexive smile at the ‘brother’, an affectionate term she’d started using a few months ago, but it quickly screwed into a face of frustration. “What? Dat I’m horny as hell? Kinda figured dat one out already.”



“Remy. We’ve had this talk before. When are you going to tell Marie?”



And they had. Several times. He scrubbed his face with his hand. “I was kinda hopin’ not to.”

She made an exasperated noise. “I know that you do not wish to hurt her feelings. She deserves to know though, Remy.”



“An’ why? She can’t touch. Dis be d’ perfect thing for her, non? I’m a good boyfriend t’ her. Don’t push her for things she can’t give.” He could feel the same old defensiveness creeping back in.



“But you can touch.” The words were spoken gently, but they rang hard in his ears. “I understand that you had to wait until you were ready to seek that, but with these dreams...”



It was not amusing to feel his cheeks pink in embarrassment, hoping that she’d pretended the warmth in them was from the sharpness of the spring morning air that flowed through a window. “Oui. So what? Dere ain’t anyone here dat isn’t straight. Bound for frustration anyways, neh?”



She clucked her tongue at him. “We’re not an island here. You know very well that you could date outside the school.”



He let out a long sigh. “I know, I know. I just don’t want t’ talk t’ her yet.”



“Remy.” Something about the way that she said his name turned him back to look at her. “I have one question for you. Are you in love with her?”



They’d been dating for months now – he had feelings for Marie for sure – but ‘in love’? “I do care for her.” Dieu it was still hard to admit friendships and alliances.



Ororo nodded. “I know you do. But she’s in love with you. And that, of all things, is why you need to talk to her sooner than later, Remy.”



He was surprised by that piece of information, and yet not. Marie and he had spent enough time with each other for him to know it on a gut level if he’d not admitted it to himself yet. He’d just pretended – played house as it was. Used her as a cover. He didn’t like thinking of it that way – using her – but it was true, even as he’d been gentle and caring with her.



“Merde.” What other choice did he have? “D’accord.”



*******



He rarely kept track of all the comings and goings of the group of young adults the roved the school, but this particular night seemed oddly empty. Hot from working all day in the clammy heat of summer, he stopped in the kitchen for a beer. They were still technically prohibited, but everyone ended up turning a blind eye to it now. Logan with no beer was a grumpy Logan. None of the kids would dare nip from his stash anyways.



One of the kids...oh hell, he could never remember names, but it was one of the ones that could fly, was sat on a stool looking rather dejected. Popping the cap off his Molson he sighed in resignation. He really didn’t feel like playing babysitter or confidant tonight but this kid had perfected that kicked puppy look, big blue eyes lowered to the counter and his mouth in a perfect upside-down ‘U’. Sitting down beside him, he searched for a suitable way to open up the conversation.



“So who shit in your rice krispies?” The kid gave him this wide eyed shocked look and he did another mental assessment of the kid’s age. Hell, he had to be 18...17 at the youngest. It wasn’t like he’d just corrupted a minor. Still, a bit of well hidden guilt formed at that look. It made him a bit grumpier and he applied a sip of beer as treatment.



“Oh. Um, it’s nothin’, sir.”



“Alright.” Counselling was over. He’d done his part. Halfway to pushing his stool back the kid’s timid voice broke into his thoughts again.



“It’s just this girl, Ah guess.” Oh, great. See, this is what happened when you were helpful. The last thing he wanted to do was to give ‘pup’ a birds and bees talk. “Ah really like her, but she don’t really see me. Ah mean, Ah know she sees me but Ah mean she’d never think of me like...well like that you know?”



“Yeah?” He grunted out, hoping to God no one saw him playing Oprah. At least he was Oprah with a beer. That made it moderately comfortable.



“Yeah, well, Ah guess it’s mostly cause Ah’m maybe younger than her. She’s too busy hangin’ out with the older crowd.”



Older crowd. That got his attention some. “Oh yeah? Older how?”



“You know...like the ones that have already graduated. Not like...teacher old.” Oh geez thanks kid. Did he look like he needed a cane? He took another long swallow of beer.



“So why aren’t you trying to talk to her rather than sitting here?” Sensible advice he figured. Then again, he wasn’t really following it with his own unrequited interest. But that was different. Way different.



“Well...for one thing they’re all out tonight. For another, Ah don’t know if Ah could get up the guts to.”



He seized the salient point. That would explain why it was so uncharacteristically quiet and why he’d not seen Marie around. They usually spend a bit of time each day just hanging out even if it was just a quick chat at dinner or something. She’d never really stopped being his ‘little sister’. “Wait. Out?”



“Yeah. They all went to the bar. And of course Ah’m too young...”



He cut the kid off. “Wait. Marie went to the bar?”



Whoever his name was leaned a bit back, apparently dragged out of his moping by the tone of his voice. “Uh. Yeah. How did you know it was her?”



“Marie’s too young to go to the bar.”



“Well, yeah, actually a bunch of them are. But they figured they could pass with the fake ID’s but Ah couldn’t.”



Now he was a fair guy. One that didn’t really get too twisted up in legalities and things. But this was Marie. “How the fuck did they get fake ID’s?”



“Um...” The kid appeared to be weighing giving an answer over his likelihood of getting beat up. “...Remy got it for them?”



He slammed the beer down, causing foam to froth out of the top like a geyser. “He what?” Not that Marie had never been in a bar before – hell, he’d met her in one. But that Cajun had been slowly corrupting her a step at a time. He’d caught the two of them in the early spring with a cheap bottle of whisky between them and a wide eyed innocent expression on both faces as if they’d just been sharing lemonade. Reminding them that alcohol wasn’t permitted didn’t hold much water when he had his own bottle in hand, so he’d ended up just grumbling something and adding their bottle to his collection. But this was entirely different. Going to a bar with all the crowds, that was just damn dangerous. Kid should know better. He extracted the rest of the information from the thoroughly cowed puppy and went for his bike.



It wasn’t hard to find the bar, between the kid’s basic directions and the base of the music ringing his ears from blocks away. Some of his ire had run out with the drive, awareness seeping in that he was overreacting in ways. He’d stayed away from exploring the touchier subject of if he was more worried or jealous. He’d been busy with several solitary missions lately for the school and that had helped keep his mind off of ‘things’, but it still wasn’t enough to kill the thoughts and awareness of the Cajun entirely. By the time he pulled up in front of the dark building he was calmed enough to simply decide to go in to observe how they were managing and to make sure Marie was safe from her boyfriend’s ‘great ideas’ rather than to actually go in guns blazing and pull her out.



Once he’d woven in through the throng and found a convenient spot in the back it took him a while to find her in the crowd. She hung back a little, buffered safely by a couple of girls that he recognised from the school. She was also well protected in a sheer shirt and long gloves, covered from neck to toe with her hair hanging loose to provide additional cover for her face. After a while of watching her dance and laugh he supposed they did have it under control – mostly. He’d not spotted Remy though, and that kept him sweeping the area around Marie waiting for the kid to show. When that didn’t pan out he started to scan the rest of the bar, frustrated at trying to remain unobtrusive in this crowd of twenty something’s that were dressed in a lot of skimpy and sparkly things. Definitely not a flannel kinda crowd. He’d already gotten his fair share of odd looks and it wasn’t improving his mood any.



He had to duck practically under the armpit of one guy before he spotted the kid on the floor, dancing for all he was worth, a tight blue button down shirt fairly plastered to his body. Remy had wisely chosen to wear sunglasses, which actually ended up complimenting that wide assed smile he wore beneath them rather than making him look odd. He had plenty of admirers too, people watching from all angles of the bar as he dipped and moved his body to the beat. If the kid looked good fighting, he looked twice as good doing this. Hell the kid was practically having sex on the floor.



Logan’s mind stuttered to a halt when he took in the full picture. Remy was dancing with a guy, pressed up against him in ways that should be illegal in public. And that guy was most assuredly not the girlfriend who he’d drug here with a fake ID and then left to the tender mercies of the crowd. Nor was he one of the kids from the school. And being that there wasn’t an inch between the two of them, there was no way that it could be considered platonic, particularly when Remy leaned even further back, tipping his head into the guy’s shoulder, face twisting in pleasure as his earlobe was sucked on.



He was moving before he even thought, shoving his way through the crowd. The guy saw him first, as the crowd parted before his wrath like the sea before Moses. Remy must have had his eyes closed behind those glasses of his because he didn’t notice until the guy stopped dancing, at which point he looked up and visibly stiffened.

“Outside. Now.”



The stranger looked to be ready to make some sort of protest, but Remy leaned over to him and said something that he couldn’t hear over the blare of the music. It did the trick, the guy shooting him several suspicious looks but not making another word of protest.



Bundling up Remy, he shoved him through the crowd and out one of the backdoors, a bouncer keeping a wary eye on them until he growled, pacing well up the alley and into a darker area where they wouldn’t be spied on. “What d’ hell?” His words, but they’d been taken from his mouth a second before he could speak them. “Y’ mind?” Remy jerked his elbow from his grasp and turned to face him in the dimly lit alley, shoving his glasses up onto his head so that he could stare at him with those burning eyes of his. “Why d’ fuck are y’ even here?”



“What am I doing here? What does it matter?” He got up into the kid’s face. “You’re just pissed that I caught you, though I think pulling that stunt with Marie only a few feet away takes either no brains or bigger stones than you ought to have!” He punctuated his rant with a little push to Remy’s chest.



“Y’ asshole!” He got pushed in return by Remy and felt something dangerous uncurl in him. “Y’ fuckin’ stalked me here t’ yell at me?” Remy’s glasses went clattering unheeded to the pavement somewhere behind him as he lifted his arms up defensively.



Wrapping a fist in Remy’s shirt, he twisted it tight, hearing a few stitches along a seam give as he shoved him back against the wall of the building, Remy giving a small grunt as his back contacted the brick. “You’re the cheater!”



The kid stopped struggling for a minute to give him a look like a dog would a new dish. “What?”



“Don’t you try to play that game with me, kid. That guy was all over you! What the hell do you think is going to happen when Marie caught you at it?” Actually, given Marie’s occasional sharp temper, she may have done his job for him, but a part of him was wanting to deal with this on his own. To spare her? A lot of it was that. But he also fully intended to tell her what the Cajun was up to behind her back. Larger though was this burning knot in his gut, a part of him wanting simply to tear a strip off of Remy for getting that close to another guy. Something very territorial.



Remy slugged him across the chin, but it lacked a lot of power because they were so close. “Y’ dumbass! Fuck y’! I’m not cheatin’ on no one. Hard seemin’ as dere’s no one t’ be cheatin’ on.”



He paused just before he was just about to shake him like a rat, a sinking feeling of having slipped up along the way somewhere making him wince inwardly. He didn’t let that show as he gave Remy a hard look. “What do you mean?”



Teeth gritted, the kid glared at him while squirming ineffectively against the hold he had on his shirt. “I mean I ain’t cheatin’ on Marie, cause we ain’t been together for a good month. In fact, it was her idea dat I get out here an’ maybe have half a chance t’ meet someone.”



“Oh.” He started to untwist his fingers from the cloth, feeling the air come between them again as he backed off, feeling foolish and not liking it.



“Yeah.” Remy spat out at him. “Connard.”



He looked at the kid at that. Really looked at him – the sweat at his temples that he’d worked up from dancing in the crowded bar not cooling one bit in the hot summer air. The fire of his eyes, so odd yet so compelling. The arrogant tilt to his head that said the kid’d take on the world. He could smell the kid so strongly now, hot scent wafting up between them, mingling with his own. Something in him snapped, his fingers rewrapping themselves in the blue shirt, as he yanked Remy close to him. He took a step forward, catching the kid between him and the building, suddenly desperate for him. He’d held back for so damn long. It just took more control than he had to keep from crushing his lips to the ones before him, faintly registering the startled intake of air and jerk of the body against his at his sudden flip in behaviour. He had a flash of concern that maybe the kid didn’t want him anymore, but then Remy’s fingers were digging at his shoulders, a faint moan echoing in both of their mouths as the kids mouth opened – all heat and intoxicating taste with a faint tangy bitterness of something alcoholic on his tongue. Vodka, his mind supplied.



And God it was good. Flat and hard chest pressed against his. Rasp of new stubble on his lower lip when Remy slanted his mouth on his own. Definitely not a woman’s soft fierceness against him – there was no mistaking the returned strength and power of a man. And despite the newness of this, it didn’t matter, because it was the best goddamn thing he’d felt in a long time. He got a hand up in the long hair of the Cajun’s, tugging his head to one side so that he could lick at the warm skin along that was exposed, high along his neck . He shoved the shirt collar aside a moment later so that he could nip and lap at the junction of his shoulder. Remy was making the most incredible noises as he sucked at his salted skin, hushed groans that somehow conveyed all his need into a vocal melody that was heating his own blood past boiling.



“Remy?” The pair of them jerked and stopped at the familiar high voice, looking back towards the bar doors. They were still concealed in the shadows, but it wouldn’t take Marie long to find them if she chose to walk down just a bit further. Remy’s eyes met his own, the red in them somehow more intense, nearly flaring with something that he dimly recognised as lust. Then the kid was twisting under him, loosening the hard grip he’d had on him with a faintly apologetic look. “Got t’ go. I’ll see y’ around, ok?”



He was left watching the kid yank his shirt back into place and scan the road for his glasses, stooping to pick them up and sliding them on them before hurrying into visibility of the doors, Marie’s and Remy’s voices blurred into incomprehension as he stood there, lost in his own thoughts.



******



He’d brushed Marie’s questions off, but she’d taken in the hickey left on his neck and given him a very awkward smile. She’d just assumed it had been the guy he’d been dancing with, which was fine to him. He didn’t want to try and explain who and what and how with her. Granted, she’d wanted Logan and him to get along for a long time now, but he doubted that this was exactly what she’d had in mind for that.



They’d stayed for a while after that, dancing and tossing back a few shots. He’d watched very carefully but Logan didn’t come back in. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed by that. He’d ended up watching the door a lot more than he’d watched what he was drinking and as a consequence was more than a little drunk when they all decided to go home. Happy, sweaty and staggering, he ran into Kitty’s petite heels as she stopped dead in her tracks a few feet through the door. Confused as to what caused the hold-up, he began making apologies to Kitty when he’d been promptly shushed. Nonplussed he frowned before belatedly noticing that Ororo was standing in front of the silent group, arms crossed under her breasts. Oh. Busted.



He snickered and got a stern look from those blue eyes. “Do I need to remind you all we do not support under aged drinking here?” She’d directed it to the whole crowd, but seeming as he was the one that stood out from the crowd as obviously shitfaced, he knew damn well who she was really meaning. He snickered again. The rest of the students scattered at a sharp word from her and he could hear a distant rumble of thunder. Somewhere in his head he registered as being a bad thing. Just as he braced himself for her wrath, she was interrupted by the door opening and slamming again. Saved by the door. Turning, he nearly fell on his ass when he realized who it was.



‘Ro, already more than a little peeved judging by the way that she held herself stiff, vertical lines deep in her brow, turned her full attention to Logan, lashing into him with language he didn’t know she had in her. Practical at heart, he decided that standing was too much work and plopped himself on the first step to watch her at work.



There was one point where Logan gave him a quick glance over her shoulder and he couldn’t resist flashing him back a grin that said ‘better you that me’.”



After much gesturing and hissed words, Ororo stormed off, presumably for her bed. By then he’d found a comfortable spot cozied up against the railings and was half way to sleep. His plans were interrupted when Logan put a hand under his armpit and started tugging. “C’mon. You fall asleep here and she’s likely to get pissed even more at you and fry you like bacon for her breakfast. Let’s get you to bed, kid.”



He allowed that, weaving unsteadily as all of the liquor caught up to him, thankful when a warm solid arm wrapped around his waist to balance him. The stairs were the hardest; it was pretty much clear sailing after that. Logan opened his door for him, the pair of them staggering inside as he tripped and ran into part of the door with his forehead.



“Ow.” He pulled his glasses off and clutched at the spot, blinking rapidly as the light was flicked on. “Dat’s bright, mon ami.”



“Well evidently you aren’t, coming in like this and getting caught.” His hand was pried away and he got a good close up look of Logan’s face as his bump was examined. It reminded him of exactly how nice those lips had felt against his own. It was a small matter to close the distance between them.



The kiss only lasted a moment before Logan pushed him gently back though. “Nah, kid, you’re drunk.”



“So?” He quirked his mouth up to one side and put one hand on Logan’s solid chest. Dieu, this man was solid. He’d known that on a visual level, watching him for months during work outs, but it was another to sample it firsthand. Thoughts of peeling that persistent wife beater off to explore all those dips and ridges with his tongue was giving him an erection that was getting dang painful in the tight jeans he’d chosen to wear. Casually dipping his hand down, he adjusted himself, grinning unrepentantly as he caught Logan’s eyes following the movement.



Reaching up again he splayed his fingers them back over Logan’s left pec, feeling the hard tiny nub of a nipple stand up harder under his palm. He wasn’t sure why the gods were smiling on him now and giving him this chance with the object of his desires, but he wasn’t going to lose it. “D’ things I wanna do t’ y’ Logan...d’ hardest part is chosin’ what t’ do first. Think I got some good ideas, though.”



He’d managed to reach the top button of Logan’s pants before he was stopped by a firm grip around his wrists. Frowning, he looked up to Logan’s face again, confused. Logan wanted it. He could see that plainly, feel it against his leg when he rocked it forward gently into the man’s groin. Whatever Logan’s hang-ups had been before, lack of arousal definitely wasn’t one now.



“You should sleep.” The voice was gruff as usual, but he could hear so many undercurrents in it.



“I don’t wanna sleep.” He traced a pattern on Logan’s stomach with his fingers, wrists still pinned, feeling them jump under his touch.



A near growl and he’d won, Logan’s mouth on his again. There was a quiet ferocity to Logan that he’d seen in work and shivered to feel in this, Logan pushing his tongue into his mouth with a single minded determination that he met with sheer joy. He didn’t realize that they’d been moving backwards until his calves hit the mattress and Logan pushed him down on it. His skin was on fire, relishing ever brush against him. He’d never felt like this; even his most lucid dreams hadn’t been this good.



Logan didn’t follow him down to the bed though. Just stood there, licking his lips and looked at him for a long time. “You gotta sleep this off. I can’t...I won’t do it like this.”



Disappointment surged through him, but it was slightly mollified by the veiled promise of Logan’s words. A rather unsettling whirl of the room around him that had his stomach lurching unpleasantly convinced him the rest of the way. “Alright.”



He watched as Logan turned on his heel and walked out, looking him over again for a long moment before he shut the door behind him. There was a moment where he seriously considered jacking off because he was so beyond horny it wasn’t funny, but then the bed continued its weird turn and flip thing and then he was too busy holding onto the floor to pay his erection any more mind.