Archive:  If you think it's worthy, then absolutely!  Permission granted.  Just let me know where so my fragile ego will be stroked

Disclaimers:  Doing this only for therapeutic value.  Not making any money off it.  All the familiar characters in this fic belong to Marvel & Stan Lee.  I'm broke, so suing me would be like trying to squeeze blood from a turnip.

Notes:  This is an AU because empathy and spatial awareness are just too cool for Remy not to have.  I want to thank my betas, LoganBerry and Lex, for making this story better than I ever hoped it could be.

Summary:  An AU version of Remy's introduction and subsequent joining of the X-Men

Warnings:  I don't know French or Cajun French, so my apologies to people of those areas if I butchered the language in this fic.  If I put any in this fic, it came from online translators and La library archives.  Because this is an AU, some of the characters in this story may seem OOC.

Words between / / are thoughts or mental speak
Words between * * are flashbacks
Words between ~ ~ are lyrics to any songs that may be used in the fic

CH 12

Dinner came and went with little fanfare; a rather simple affair, consisting of bologna and cheese on toasted bread with chips and soda.  But after some of the dubious meals that Remy had been forced to eat growing up, he considered it among the finest of cuisines.  Ororo had returned from the city earlier in the evening, announcing that she had already had dinner with some female friends, so only the Professor and Logan were in attendance around the table.  Xavier did a respectable job of offering idle chit-chat in order to relieve some of the uncomfortable tension that hovered in the air across the dinning table.  He assumed Remy was still irked by their earlier meeting and so tried to encourage him by discussing some of the mundane day-to-day events at the school.  Remy tried to relax and enjoy the camaraderie, concentrating on the feeling of pleasantness that still lingered from his afternoon spent in the feral’s company.  The evening meal being concluded, the Professor had excused himself, leaving Logan and Remy to their own devices. 

The heavy air lifted slightly at Xavier’s departure, but still Remy could feel an edge of awkwardness between him and the big man. Their conversation stumbled to a halt, followed by several moments of weighty silence.  It was Logan who finally broke the stillness, turning and looking expectantly at the kid.  “Hey Cajun.  I’m going for a walk around the property.  Ya wanna come?”

Remy thought about it for a moment.  His initial plans for the evening had been to sneak off to the city with some more food for his adopted clan.  But, to deny the request might bring suspicion on him.  He still felt too new for them to completely trust him and the last thing he needed this day were more questions.  Besides, he found, a little unnervingly, that he wanted to spend more time with the man.  That sudden realization made him falter and reconsider.  What the hell was wrong with his emotions?  He usually had better control, but the feral was making him feel…..things….

/Dieu, dis no good/

“Well?”  Logan cut into his thoughts and was staring at him suspiciously.  

“’kay.”  Remy frowned at his own response, but had no time to contemplate it further as he watched the older man turn and head towards the door, expecting the Cajun to follow him.  He paused at the door and made a slight detour, grabbing up a bottle of whiskey from a locked cabinet before continuing.  Remy merely raised an auburn brow and quietly followed.

The air was crisp and cool, refreshing in its purity so far removed from the acridness of the city.  They walked side-by-side in comfortable silence for a while, skirting the edges of the manicured lawn, and criss-crossing up and down a few paths that disappeared into the woods.  Even though the big feral’s strides were quick and purposeful, Remy had no problem keeping up with him.   Eventually, passing through a broad copse they came upon a wide, man-made lake, oblong in design with a Victorian folly at one end from which one could sit and take in the view; Remy was awed at the sight.  He prided himself on being thorough when he researched a target, but he had completely missed this rather large body of water.  It made him wonder what else was hidden on the estate that may have escaped his attention. 

Following the footpath around the lake, they came to a clearing.  Logan left the path and moved towards a downed tree, making himself comfortable on the crumbling trunk before setting the bottle into an old knot to stop it from falling over.  Remy approached him tentatively and sat beside him.  Logan was already staring at the sky and Remy turned his attention to where the feral gazed.  He gasped when he saw the picture before him.  “Mon dieu!  It’s huge!”  The full moon stood before them in all its magnificent glory, a massive ball of gentle light that seemed so close as to be within reach.  Stars twinkled on all sides, above and behind them.  Some were barely visible, blurred as if an ink spot was not completely erased; others were brilliant, seemingly pulsing with a life-like heartbeat. 

Logan grinned and reached for the bottle, unscrewing the cap and taking a deep swig of the drink, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve.  “Yep.  This is one o’ my favorite spots on the property.  Can’t really appreciate all this in the city.  Can’t really see it.  Here...”  Logan offered the bottle to Remy, and watched him steadily as the Cajun stared in trepidation.  “Well, it ain’t gonna bite ya.  Not much anyway.”  He added with a smirk.

But Remy was unsure.  He usually had a high tolerance for alcohol.  But there were certain liquids that hit him quickly and hard – whiskey and wine being the worst.  It was not something he really understood, but figured it had something to do with content.  Logan merely snorted and pulled the bottle back towards himself.  “Guess I was wrong about ya being a kid.  Thought you were over eighteen.” 

“I am.” Remy fumed.  “I t’ink” he muttered.  As if to prove a point, he snatched the bottle from the older man’s hands and tossed his head back, downing more than one gulp of the fiery liquid.

“Whoa Whoa!  Slow down” Logan reached up and took the bottle back from him as the boy started coughing and sputtering, gasping for air around the raw burn in the back of his throat.  Patting him on the back, the older man eyed him with concern.  “Ya ok there Cajun?”

His hand involuntarily went to his chest as he struggled to regain some composure.  “Oui…. {cough, hack}…jus’…jus’ went down de wrong pipe…{cough}..” 

Logan smirked and knocked back another round himself.  Remy noticed and his face flushed in embarrassment and anger.  “Been awhile since Remy had somet’ing dat strong, s’all.” He grumbled, ignoring the chuckle coming from the older man. 

Staring in one direction, Logan’s gaze became distant.  “Ya know, there’s an old Indian legend about the North Star.  It’s the only star that can’t move, doesn’t travel.” 

Remy turned to look at the wistful expression on the older man’s face.  The man was absolutely beautiful in his opinion; incredibly masculine, wild but exotic with those piercing cobalt blue eyes and lips so enticing.  Where had that thought come from?  Head becoming slightly dizzy with the after effects of his little stunt, he blinked as if to clear his thoughts.  “Eh?  How dat legend go?”

“When the North Star was on Earth a long time ago, he was a proud, brave mountain sheep called Na-gah who would climb anything and everything.  One day, he found a very high peak with smooth, steep sides that reached up into the clouds.  He decided to climb it to make his father proud.  But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find a foothold.”  Logan took another swig of the bottle, passing it to Remy after, who also took another sip though slower and with more caution.  “He spent many hours looking for a crevice to get a footing, but couldn’t find any.  Finally, he found a crack in a rock that led to a hole leading up.”  Logan took the bottle again and made a motion with his other hand as he talked.  “So, he started climbing up this hole inside the rock, his path getting darker and darker the higher he climbed.  Loose rock fell all around him, under his feet and hands as he moved upward, slipping a lot.  As it got darker and he started hearing noises from below him, he got scared and decided to climb back down and try again to find another way along the outside cliff.  But when he turned to go back, his way was blocked by all the rocks that had fallen during the climb.  So he had to keep going.”

Remy turned again to stare at the profile of the older man. The air had turned even cooler and he could see it vaporize before him with each breath.  He found himself starting to lean towards the feral, mesmerized by the movement of his mouth as he spoke, shivering minutely at some underlying electric current drawing him to the older man.  “After a while, Na-gah came out of the hole onto a small space that gave no room for movement.  All around and below him were great cliffs.  He was so high up that he could look down on the rest of the world.  He was stuck, though, and realized that he would die on that mountain with no way back down from the outside and the hole closed up on the inside.  But, he was proud of climbing it.  After awhile, his father searched for him.  When he found Na-gah and saw that he could never come down, he was sad.  So, he decided not to let his brave son die.  Instead, he turned him into a star so he could stand there and shine for all to see.  So, Na-gah became a star, the only star that’s always found in the same place, standing still and guiding travelers who look up to him.”

Remy turned to look up at the sky, trying to find the star, brows drawn in concentration as he searched.  “How you know where to find it?”

Logan looked sideways at the boy, then leaned closer to him to point to a specific spot in the sky.  “Well, sometimes ya can find it by looking for the Big and Little Dipper.  The legend says that they were also mountain sheep that found the mountain and tried to reach Na-gah.  That the father of the North Star turned them into stars, too, and ya can see them at the foot of the great mountain, always going around it to find a trail leading up.”

Remy followed Logan's arm to look at the star in question, amazed at the knowledge of the older mutant sitting so close.  "How you know so much 'bout..." Remy turned his head to ask the question and came nose to nose with the feral.  His breath caught in his throat before he could finish his statement. "...stars" he whispered.  And then it was the most natural move in the world to lean forward that last breath of space between them and kiss the man on the lips.  Remy felt the tingle of sparks dance across his mouth as they made contact.  Logan’s lips were soft, pliant and moist boosting the static charge between them.  Remy felt the rough texture of a tongue slide along his bottom lip, questing, asking for entrance and he granted it.  His mouth opened to the feral and immediately the kiss grew deeper.  He could taste the whiskey on the other man, as well as a flavor that was uniquely Logan.  Tongues dueled for dominance and Remy let loose a sighing whimper that was captured in Logan’s mouth.  The older man growled low in his throat and released the bottle from his grip, letting it fall with a clink onto the thick grass at the base of the tree,  Without thinking, he brought his hand up to cradle the Cajun’s jaw, holding it in place while he plundered within.  Logan’s other hand grabbed Remy about the waist and pulled him forward completely, the boy’s body molding into his.

Remy’s head spun out of control, his thoughts chaotic at the sensuous overload.  Warmth suffused his body, and the heat of the man against him was a heady mixture fogging his brain. He felt himself slipping, his charm oozing out at higher and higher levels as the kiss continued.  All of his inner alarms were screaming at him and he knew he was treading into dangerous territory.  It was a struggle to bring his mind under control and he squeezed both hands between their bodies to push the older man back.  The kiss broke with a gasp from the boy and he stared wide-eyed at the older man.  Both were panting heavily.  Logan felt a slight tremor in the younger mutant’s body and there was the faint smell of fear as well.  Logan struggled to bring his scattered senses together into some semblance of order.  The last thing he wanted to do was scare the kid, but he was having difficulty.  Something was tingling at the edges of his awareness and it was all he could do not to throw the Cajun down and fuck him senseless.  Logan released his hold on the boy as if burned, scooting backwards on the log to put some distance between them.  Breaths coming in rapid, shallow bursts, Remy stood up too quickly and the world shifted awkwardly in his slightly inebriated state. 

Pure instinct had Logan moving quickly, grabbing the Cajun’s elbow to keep him from falling.  “Hey!  Hey, ya alright kid?”

“Not a kid” Remy sputtered petulantly as he pushed away from the feral.  “Wh…What was dat?”  One of his hands came up to rub at his temple as he backed away from Logan.  “T’ink I better...” He made a waving motion towards the mansion with his hand, then turned on his heal and somewhat staggered back the way they had come.       

Logan watched him until he disappeared.  He didn’t worry about the boy making it back on his own.  He would follow shortly and discreetly.  For now, he just needed to collect himself.  Running a hand roughly through his hair, he sat back down on the log, picked up the whiskey and glared hard at nothing.  “Well shit.” 

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He made it back to the mansion after what seemed like an eternity, feeling like he was being watched the entire time.  Then he chastised himself for being paranoid.  He figured it must be trust issues making him feel that way since trust was definitely an issue. 

“cooyon, Cooyon, COOYON” he cursed himself.  “How could I be so stupid?”  Mind reeling with the after effects of the potent brew, he couldn’t understand the way he was feeling.  Making his way up to his room, he flung himself backwards onto his bed, both hands coming up to hide his face as he replayed the scene in his mind.  Bad enough he let down his guard and let himself be goaded into drinking something he knew affected his judgment, but he also indulged in the feelings he had been trying to lock away since meeting Logan.  Remy was no stranger to sex, had used his body on more than one occasion to get what was needed at the time.  But, after awhile none of those couplings meant anything to him, having learned at a young age to forego any beliefs of love and simply allow it to become a tool to benefit him in certain situations, a means to an end.  He had never felt such an instant connection to another before, and he had to admit that he was more than a little terrified of the overwhelming desire he had for the man.

Slipping out of his clothes and under the covers, it wasn’t long before he fell into slumber, lured by the drain of emotional stress and the imbuement of strong drink.  His mind drifted through a fog for a while, eventually clearing to a surreal vision.  He was in a field of tall grass and wildflowers, walking along slowly with his hands out to the side, gingerly gliding over the tops of the blades of grass.  The feel of the feathery blades on his palm and the overwhelming smell of flora making his head spin.  Though it was nightfall, the distinct shapes of mountain peaks could be made out in the distance, one point in particular a bright spot, almost like a star.  The moon was at full strength, shining like a beacon all around, illuminating his path with a ghostly glow as he moved.  The shadows danced just outside the moonlight’s line of demarcation, but for some reason they held no unseen terrors for him.  Instead he felt at peace for one of the few times in his young life. A movement caught his eye and he turned towards it.  A figure slowly approached him, the moon not providing enough light to reveal its features but Remy knew instantly it was a male.  He seemed to glide through the waving grass towards him, closer until he was almost touching. Then, hands were on him, moving all over his body, seductively exploring.  Normally, such liberties by strangers would be terrifying, resulting in some form of pain for him.  But, he was oddly unafraid of these roving hands; in fact, welcomed them.  A moan of ecstasy escaped him as the stranger’s hands cupped his manhood through the thin fabric of the pants he wore.  Lips found purchase on his throat, suckling and licking, marking him as property of this stranger.

A sound to his left, soft and steady caused him momentary confusion before the stranger drew his attention once again, slowly lowering them to the ground.  He lay on his back as the man lay over him, the weight of a heavier body bringing a rise of pleasure to his as the other man slid above him.  He closed his eyes as the stranger stroked over his chest and teased his nipples.  The sound to his left came again, more persistent, and he struggled to open his eyes, irritated at the noise.  Reluctantly pushing against the figure, he looked up to ask what the noise was.  The stranger hovered above him, supported by muscular arms as the moonlight shifted across his face revealing the all too familiar features of Logan….

Remy sat up with a gasp, instantly awake from his erotic dream, momentarily confused by his surroundings and painfully aware of the erection tenting the sheets.  Daylight streamed in through the slightly open curtains and Remy squinted against the brightness.  The sound of knocking on his door shook him from his reverie and he called out to his visitor. 

“It’s Logan.  Can I come in fer a minute?” the older mutant called from the other side of the door.

Remy swallowed hard, looking down at the evidence of his lust and trying to find a way to hide it.  He grabbed one of his pillows and put it across his lap as he leaned against the headboard.  It was obvious to him the picture he was creating, so he quickly grabbed a comic book he had been reading from his side table and placed it on top of the pillow, flipping through the pages as he told the other man to enter.

“What up homme?”  Remy feigned nonchalance as he continued to peruse his book, belatedly noting that it was upside down.

If Logan noticed this, he didn’t say.  Sitting on the edge of Remy’s bed at a respectable distance from the Cajun, Logan awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.  “Listen Remy…about last night.  We….that is to say…I…..uh..” He stammered, at a complete loss on what to say to the boy.

“Don’t ‘member much ‘bout last night, mon ami.  Hope I didn’t do somet’ing stupid.”  Remy didn’t look up from his book, not wanting to meet the man’s eyes.

Logan saw an out when it was handed to him and he grabbed onto it for all he was worth.  “Nah, ya didn’t do anything I minded.”  Logan’s nostrils flared and he seemed to take a deep breath, turning a knowing gaze onto the boy. 

Remy could feel the weight of his stare bore into him, heat beginning to burn in his cheeks as he realized the feral was smelling him…smelling his arousal.  /Merde/  “Somet’ing else I can do for you?”  He was struggling with himself, part of him wanting to pull the man down and assuage his need, the other part nearly desperate for the man to leave. 

The older mutant lifted one corner of his mouth in a partial smile, a gleam in his eye as he took a moment to enjoy the boy squirm under his scrutiny.  “Ya downed that whiskey pretty quick last night.  Just wanted to make sure yer alright.”  At Remy’s nod, Logan stood then suddenly leaned over the boy, his arms going to the headboard on either side of the Cajun’s head to pin him.  Remy sucked in a breath, eyes widening in surprise.  Logan moved in close, his breath ghosting across Remy’s lips and sending a shiver through the boy’s body as he spoke in a husky voice.  “That’s good.  Wouldn’t want ya to be sick or anything.”  He stayed that way for another minute, drinking in the scent of the younger mutant before pushing away.  Turning to make his way back to the door, he called over his shoulder without looking back at Remy.  “Yer sessions’ in ten.  My room.  Don’t forget to bring som’ing ta focus on.”  And then he was gone.

Remy let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding before putting his head in one hand and rubbing his eyes.  “Dieu!  How I’m gon’ concentrate on meditatin’ around him?  I got to finish dis assignment before….”  Before what, he wasn’t sure, and he couldn’t decide if it would be a good thing or not.

End ch 12

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