Standard disclaimer: We don’t own any of the fictional characters used in this piece. Marvel does. We're using 'em without permission. Don’t sue us please, we just like to scare ourselves with this crap.
Claws, Clicks and –poofs-
Why Remy Never -poofed- Out of Madripoor
Chapter 1
"Hey, Meatball…?"
"What?"
Fury bit the tip of his new cigar off and put it on his plate, now cleaned of Yezra's cooking. As soon as he found out she was aces in the kitchen, he insisted musing was a fair trade for a gourmet meal.
And as long as he washed the dishes, she had no problem with cooking for him.
"You seen Remy lately?"
"I don’t live at Xavier's Yez. Can I light this one?"
"No. He hasn’t been by here in a long time. Has Wolverine seen him?"
"Logan don’t live with me either, Yez. Just one or two quick puffs, okay?"
"No. This isn't like him. Remy comes by once a week, at least. I haven’t even gotten an eMail."
He twirled the stogie in his mouth and watched her play with the food on her plate. She'd hardly touched it. "Whatsa matter, girl? Bed gettin' cold?" Satisfied with his dig, he winced when she looked up and shot daggers at him.
"That isn’t funny."
He swallowed. It had been a cheap shot and he knew it. "Okay, I'm sorry. That was mean. But… yer still sleepin'‘ with the Cajun, aintcha?"
"I suppose if I said no, you wouldn't believe me?"
He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head, contemplating his answer.
"Didn't think so. Let’s just drop it," she barked and stood up, grabbing both their plates and heading for the kitchen. Nick sighed and got up to follow her.
Yezra pushed the mangled food off of her plate into the garbage disposal and rinsed the plates. "Hey - that's my job, remember?" He took them out of her hands and set them aside, handing her a towel. She dried off her hands, not yet looking at him. "C'mon Yezra, what gives?"
"I'm…" she sighed, "Look, I'm just worried about him. I don’t think he ever came back from Madripoor, and I feel a little responsible for him being there in the first place."
"His brother would have found him regardless. Antoine was after him, we all know that now," Nick took the cigar out of his mouth and gestured with it in his hand. "It wasn't yer fault."
She looked up at him and frowned. "But… what if he's in trouble?"
"That Cajun can handle himself."
"Okay, but what if he's in big trouble and no one has bothered to find out yet?"
"Jeez. I know I'm gonna regret askin' this, but… what do you want Yez?"
"I wanna go find him." Fury tilted his head back and groaned. "Nicholas… please, he could be hurt. Or worse even. Please?"
"All right, all right, already… We'll go find the bastard. But no funny stuff, Yez. You do as I tell ya, when I tell ya. Got me?" He put the stogie back in his teeth and chewed on it.
"Thanks, Meatball." She smiled at him and some of the worry left her face.
"Just one thing," he muttered around the unlit cigar, "What do I get fer doin' this, huh?" She grinned and took him by the hand back to the dining room table, sitting him down.
"Stay there," she said, and disappeared into the pantry. She returned with a half-filled bottle of expensive whiskey and an odd-looking dish, and set them on the table.
"What's this thing?" He picked up the dish and frowned.
"I made it in ceramics when I was twelve," she tossed her words over her shoulder as she walked back in the kitchen. He heard some fumbling in drawers and cabinets, then she returned with a crystal tumbler with ice chunks in it. She set it on the table and poured him a glass of liquor. Then she did a thing he never thought she would.
Yez removed an old-fashioned butane lighter from her jeans, struck it, and held the flame out for him to light his cigar. He stared at the dancing flame and then looked up at her.
She cocked an eyebrow, smiling. "Well, come on then, Meatball! I got no idea how much fluid is left in this thing. Don’t ruin the moment…"
***
Wolverine was in his room at the mansion humming to himself. He had a musing session scheduled with Ice that night, and he was looking forward to it so much that he was considering dropping the 'musing session' and just calling it a 'date'. He used to just leave the mansion, park the jeep in some parking lot and -poof- right from the driver's seat to her living room. She was similarly casual about it, being found in her jammies and slippers, watching TV lazing on the couch. Not so tonight.
He was actually getting ready for it this time. He'd shaved, but only so long ago, cuz he knew that Ice liked the stubble. He was wearing his favorite flannel and old jeans, but this time they were freshly washed. He actually brushed his Stetson. His boots were cleaned, not polished, and broken in. Same old same old, but freshened up. He dragged his fingers through his hair and put his hat on, eyeing himself in the mirror in his room.
Ya like the girl Logan. Ya sure this is wise, Bub?
He grinned at himself in the mirror. "Yez an' LeBeau never played it straight. Why can't me an' Ice?"
Yezra and Remy have always been casual about all that, an' that's why not.
"That mangy Cajun an' the Queen like each other, don’t give me that crap." He frowned at himself, as he put on his leather jacket and straightened the collar.
Sure, they like each other, but ya don’t see 'em actin' all lovey-dovey like yer gettin' with Ice, do ya? What're ya doin' here, Logan?
He growled at the mirror. "Shut up, Canucklehead. Ya think too much." He smiled sarcastically at his reflection and grabbed his keys and a stogie, and headed for the garage.
On the way down in the kitchen, Jean sat nursing a mug of coffee. She gave Logan the distinct impression that she was waiting for him to walk through. He grunted both a hello and a goodbye to her and tried to get to the door without a conversation.
"Where do you go, Logan?"
He stopped, his hand less than an inch from the doorknob. He sighed. "Jeannie, I ain't got the time to get all existential with ya, so just ask the question for real this time."
"All right then, Logan…" she smiled at him as he turned to face her and she bat her pretty green eyes at him. "Every other night, when you aren't on a mission, you clean up, careful not too get too clean, and leave the house at the same time, 8:45 pm. You take your jeep, and don't come home until well past midnight. You don’t smell of whiskey or women or cigars. No one sees you at any of your regular haunts. So I'm wondering… what is her name?" Jean smiled at him almost snottily. Logan grinned and leaned forward, getting in her face.
"Ain't you got a husband that needs playin' with, Red?" Her smile dropped and she slowly bit the inside of her cheek. Logan shot her all kinds of images of the her and Scooter fooling around - as he depicted it. She gasped when he got to the naughtier parts.
"Don’t look in my head, Jeannie," he smirked, straightening, "if ya can’t handle what I'm projectin'." Logan slammed the door on his way out, laughing his head off.
***
Ice got home late from work at approximately 8:27 pm. She had exactly thirty-nine minutes to get ready. That's when he showed - 9:06, like clockwork, every session. She tried to call Yez, not being able to decide on the blue or the green shirt she had bought with her the night before, but there was no answer. "Dammit!" she said, hopping in the shower and screaming through her routine. She brushed her teeth so fast she thought her gums were going to rub off.
"Hair, dry! C'mon and dry dammit!" Ice grit her teeth while she handled the dryer roughly and flopped her head around like a maniac so fast that even Boots was scared of her. Finally she applied the make up, sparingly but in just the right places. Satisfied with the look, she decided on the light blue shirt with the white tank top and old white jeans. And bare feet.
New, but not so new that it's too new. Good…
She managed to hop over the couch back, grab the remote, put it on Animal Planet, straighten her hair, and lean back comfortably against the couch. Then…
-poof-.
"Oh, hiya Wolvie." She grinned.
"Hey Ice. What's doin?"
***
The room they found in Lowtown was tiny and cramped, and it was the only one left. And… there was only one double bed in it. For a moment Yezra imagined Nick trying to stretch out on the thing, and she saw his feet dangling off the end. She'd fit just fine, of course.
Immediately, she shook the vision of the two of them on the same bed at the same time out of her head. "I thought he said there were two singles in here…" Yez commented, looking around the room.
"No, he said 'single-single-single', and kept grinnin' like a idiot. I think he thought we're… I dunno, swingers or somethin'."
Yez's expression was unreadable, although Nick was trying really hard to read it. She turned slowly to look at him and cocked an eyebrow, not quite smiling.
Perhaps he saw a glimmer there again, maybe… but not enough for the big man to respond to it. And there was plenty enough to make him nervous. So he took the next best course – sarcasm and defense.
"Hey! What?! I don't got no problems with this if you don't!" He put his hands out to his sides and smiled – just a little. "I ain't gonna try nuthin, Yezra."
For a second, he could have sworn that he saw disappointment register on her face. But she resumed her diplomatic tone – the one she used when she didn’t want to deal with things directly – and cleared her throat.
"Of course you won't, I know that. Why wouldn't I already know that?" She said it quickly, and he could hear the nervousness in her own voice. Clearing her throat once again, she threw her duffel bag on the bed and said, "I'm gonna go get cleaned up a little, and then we can get started, okay?"
"Sure…" he said, watching her walk into the bathroom and shut the door. Nick stared at the door for a second.
What the hell was that about? Does she want me ta try somethin'?
For a second, Nick looked at the bed and imagined them both trying to fit on it at the same time. In certain positions, they'd fit quite nicely…
Don’t be an idiot, Fury. She ain't interested. You'll only scare her off… He shook his head of the vision, and set his bag down, going through its contents.
***
"For me? How cool!" Ice smiled as Logan handed her a bouquet of yellow roses and white daisies. She put them in a vase and filled it with cold water.
"I just thought they might be nice on yer table, new house and all…" He took off his jacket and his hat, and sat down at the table.
"Um… Wolvie? Are you hungry? I got home kinda late and I haven’t had a meal yet." She was working up to asking him out to dinner.
"Ya wanna go out ta eat, Darlin?"
Her eyes brightened. Damn! That was so easy!
"Logan, you read my mind." She grinned at him easy and it made his head spin. "Marville or my universe?"
"Here. I know this great Mexican place… in Mexico…" His eyes followed her movements as she got her purse and keys.
"Mexico? I've never been too far past the border. Where is it at?"
"Some ritzy place called Club Med. Heard of it?"
She nearly choked on her own spit. "Cripes… I better change."
"No! I mean, no, no, ya look great as is. With the right plastic, they'll take a guy in a paper bag."
For a moment she envisioned Wolverine in a paper bag. A really small paper bag. Ice blinked and said, "Great? You really think so?"
"Sure. 'Zat a new blouse, babe?"
Eeep! Da Man called me 'babe'! Oh Lord, I'm gonna bite my lip off!
"Yeah, Yezra picked it out."
"Looks good on ya. Good color." He was being honest about the color, but in fact was looking at her tank top more than the shirt over it. "How is Yez?"
"Oh! That reminds me!" Ice leaned over to put on her sandals, happily taking the hand he offered for support. "You better apologize to her soon. She still thinks you think she's a big ho." She stood up and smoothed her hair down. "You don’t think that, do ya Wolvie?"
"No! Dammit! Let's go tell her now and clear this up!" He winced and took her hand to -poof- over to Yez's.
"No, wait," she said, pulling her hand away. "She's musing with the Colonel right now."
"Oh?" Logan asked, feigning shock. "Is that a regular thing then?"
"More often than we do, even." She smirked. "And I'm hungry. I want a burrito."
"That I can do ya fer, Darlin'." Logan smiled and took her hand again, squeezing it softly.
-poof-
***
Fury and Yez started their search for Remy LeBeau at Madam Joy's, and pretty much ended it there. Fifi had taken a liking to the Cajun after he came around looking for information on what had happened after Ice and Yez had come there. He'd spent every day in Lowtown looking for Antoine, and nearly every night at Joy's, getting drunk and being deposited in a feather bed - alone. Remy liked Fifi well enough, but he was depressed about Genine and anxious about Antoine, and refused most any company that was offered.
So there he sat at Joy's that night, drunk and miserable, and when Yez saw him she almost started crying. They got him to his feet, paid Joy for her inconveniences, and took him back to the hotel by cab. He passed out in the back seat and his fell in Yezra's lap. Fury watched her jaw clenching as she stared out the window and ran her fingers through his hair.
"When are ya gonna tell him I'm yer muse, Yez?"
She exhaled and looked over at him. "Soon, Nick. I promise. He's not in too good a state for that right now…"
He watched her as she looked down at Remy, then back out the window. "I'll hold you to that promise." He spoke quietly. "I will."
"I know."
There were still no more rooms available at the hotel they had checked into, but both Fury and Yezra were anxious at the thought of spending another night in Madripoor without knowing where they all were at all times. So they put the very drunk, very asleep Remy to bed in the room they had gotten that evening. Remy could have the bed, Yez would sleep in the bathtub – after she cleaned it out with bleach - and Nick would take the floor. It felt weird sharing a room with her to begin with, but the wasted Cajun had taken care of that.
At the very least, Nick didn’t have to feign being unfazed at sharing a bed with Yez anymore.
And he still wasn't sure if that disappointed him, or not.
"Nicholas," she whispered, "Let's leave him here and go get a drink. It's been a long day and I want to unwind."
"You ain't leavin' this hotel, little girl."
"No, I'm not leaving the hotel, cuz there's a lounge in the lobby… and don't call me 'little girl'; I'm a grown woman for Pete's sake!" She poked at his chest with her index finger as she spoke, and looked straight into his eye, completely unafraid of him.
"Fine, Yez. A drink would be good." He followed her out, locking the door behind him. Fury walked behind her a good two paces, eyeing the doors and hallways.
Probably thinks I'm paying homage to the Queen or somethin'. He snorted displeasure at his own thoughts.
Yez stopped and turned to smile at him. "What? What's so funny?" She was looking at him like she wanted to share the joke, not like she was going to get all haughty on him again.
She twisted acrobatically to look at her own backside. "I sit in some gum, colonel?"
"Uh, no… it's nothin'. Just laughin' at the gross decorating job. Heh…" He turned her back around by her shoulders, letting his hands linger there for a moment longer than needed, and they stopped at the elevator. They reached for the 'down' button at the same time and their hands fumbled back.
"Sorry," she said, shrugging. "I'm used to doing all that stuff by myself."
He reached out again and pressed the button. "That's too bad." There was no trace of sarcasm in his voice and it made her uneasy.
"Yeah, well… A gal's gotta get by on her own, you know…"
She finally turned away from him and faced the elevator doors, waiting…
Fury looked at her from out of the corner of his eye. She was stubborn, capable woman, probably used to years of opening her own doors and repairing her own home. But still, she was a woman – and in his mind that meant having chairs pulled out and doors opened – by the likes of him.
"Like I said," he grinned, "That's too bad."
When the elevator finally came, he rested his hand on the sliding doors and she walked in first, not at all sure of herself. Yezra was used to being in control – of everything. The door shut, and she reached over to press the button for the lobby, and he smacked her hand away softly, grinning.
She pulled back, and actually blushed. "Well?!" she laughed. "What do you expect?!" She giggled and looked forward.
Fury pressed the button and smirked at her. "I expect you ta stand there an' look pretty, is all." He cleared his throat. "Ya think you can handle that much, yer Highness?" He linked his hands in front of his waist and looked forward too, still grinning.
Yezra shook her head, laughing lightly. "I'll do my best."
The hotel bar was dark and nearly deserted. Fury gave her his arm, and she actually took it, and he walked her to a small table in the back. A table where he could keep an eye on all the doors and corners. A little old man came up and asked them what they wanted in Mandarin, and they tried to pick something generic.
"Beer," Nic grunted. He rolled his eye. Then he muttered out of the waiter's earshot. "God knows what it's gonna taste like. Probably soy sauce and ginger root." The waiter looked at him funny and wrote it down.
"Nicholas!" She scolded, but laughed at the same time. "Be polite. When in Rome, and all that…" Yezra looked up at the little man and smiled warmly. "Manhattan?" she asked sweetly, not sure it would work.
"Ahhhh! Ma-hattun! Okay okay I get you nice drink lady!" He smiled a crooked, sweet old man smile. "Anyfring elsh?"
Nick looked at Yez, and he was making her giggle with his smirk. "Yes," she laughed.
"Dumplings?" She crinkled her nose and smiled at him with a hopeful look.
"Ah, yes Chinee Pot Stickah! How many den?"
She looked at Nick. "Well, do you want any?"
"Yeah, get me a few of 'em I guess. They ain't got no dog in 'em do they?"
She glared at him and kicked his shin from under the table. It did not escape the waiter and he giggled behind his ticket pad.
"Ow Yez, dammit…"
Yezra smiled back at the waiter again. "Bring us eight dumplings," she held up her fingers, "and shrimp crackers?"
"Okay okay for you lady!" He gave her a cute little bow and smiled at her, then he tossed a cold glance at Nick and walked away.
"Oh, an' I want a fork, pal – I don’t eat with them painted twigs!"
"Nicholas!" She hissed his name and threatened to kick him again if he didn't behave.
***
"And these two I got just today."
Ice handed Logan her #52 and 53 issues of Wolverine. They had been back from what was technically their first date, and were too happy to write.
He'd taken her to a five-star restaurant at Club Med, and then they -poofed- to the gulf coast for a walk. Hand in hand and perfectly silent, they watched the sunset and didn’t care about anything else. Then he -poofed- them back to her house, and she pulled out her comics to ask him a few questions.
"So, I haven't gotten 51 yet, but I can see from the first few ages in 52 that ya got kinda cozy with Mystique there, huh?" she teased.
Logan groaned. "Man I hate the issues that deal with my love life. But there's a really sweet shot of Elsie Dee in that one, at the end. She's got a bug on her nose." He grinned, flipping the pages until he got to it. For him, this was like looking at a family photo album.
"See? Innit she a cutie?"
"Awww… That's sweet. Okay, so, when ya nailed Mystique - what'd she look like?" Ice grinned at him evilly and waited for an answer. Instead she got him to blush.
"Ice Princess Deluxe! Young lady, that's sick! Don’t ask me things like that, cripes!"
Logan tried not to laugh. Dammit, she smells good…
Ice smiled at him and put the issues back in her box. I made Da Man blush! Me! I did that! Tre cool!
"So, you wanna work on that Kate fic?"
No, I don’t wanna work on Kate. I wanna work on you.
Logan blinked and cleared his throat. "Yeah… sounds good."
Ice followed him into the living room where she left Darcy charging, walking behind him so that she could watch his behind walking.
***
Five beers, six Manhattans and two Pork Lo Mein dinner specials later, Nick had finally relaxed enough to stop feeling paranoid and contented himself at watching the Queen drink herself a bit blotto. Yezra had charmed the waiter so much that he just brought the dinners to them, on the house. Of course, Nick's wasn't presented to him. The old guy just tossed it on the table in front of him, sans rice, egg roll, tea, smile, and another little bow.
Yez got all that crap.
Nick muttered as the old guy walked away. "Won’t surprise me if he brings you a Goddamn crown next. No wonder you think yer a Queen, Yez."
"Nu-uh, I don’t think, Nicky – I know."
He smiled at her. Even though it was probably the alcohol talking, she had just graduated from Nicholas to Nicky.
Who knows? Maybe it'll stick…
"Why are you so damned charming with people you don’t even know, or… No, I take that back – yer charming with nearly everyone you meet - and ya treat me so rotten?" He pretended to pout.
"Why do you insist on making me prove to you that I'm a Queen? Nearly everyone else just accepts it." She raised her head up haughtily and pretended to sneer. "We are not amused by your actions, Colonel…"
Nick cocked an eyebrow at her and grinned. She glanced at him from out of the corner of her bleary eye, and broke down laughing. "I'm sorry, Nicholas – it’s just that you’re an easy target for people like me. It may not be fair… but I just can't resist."
"And what people are you like, Sweetheart?" He leveled his gaze at her and she felt suddenly warm.
"Um… Well, mischievous, I guess. Vocal. And I refuse to talk down to people, so they better not talk down to me." She took another sip of her latest drink. "You know, I can be very thoughtful when I wanna be, dammit."
Nick smirked at he for a moment. She shrugged at him. He realized a bit too late that she was being serious. "You, um, you forgot fearless," he said quietly.
"Who, me? Naaaah, I'm a big chicken."
"I'm intimidatin', and you ain't afraid o' me, girl."
"What's to be scared of? Look at you’re his-" she paused as she hiccupped, and excused herself shyly. "Your history. You got a weakness for us dames, Nicky. 'Specially when we're tall and gorgeous."
"Oh, so you've been reading up on me, have ya?"
"Gotta know my peeps, Fury."
"Don't call me that."
She frowned at him. "Pardon?"
"Don't call me by my last name, I don’t like it when you do that." He peeled the label off of his last bottle of beer and stared at it thoughtfully.
"You sayin' yer okay with 'Meatball', then?" She raised her eyebrows at him, smirking.
"Meatball's fine. It's endearin'." She blushed a little and rolled her eyes. She was definitely blotto.
"So what are you afraid of?" She asked bluntly.
"Nuthin'. I ain't afraid o' nuthin'." He sniffed.
"Oh! C'mon! There's gotta be somethin'!" She smiled at him so sweetly he was no longer sure he was looking at the same woman. She hiccupped again and giggled some more.
"Okay… well, ya promise not to tell anyone? Like ya won’t put in in a fic later and I'll have to kill ya?"
"Hah!" she blurted out. "You'd never hurt me. Whether you tell me or no." He pursed his lips and looked down. She leaned in closer to him and whispered, "I won’t tell, Nicholas." He tried to keep his eyes of her neckline as it dropped down with her.
He sat very still for a moment, like he was debating with himself, and finally said, "Frogs. I hate 'em."
She stared at him blankly for a moment, then burst out laughing. Wiping the tears away as he sat there laughing at himself for sharing it with her, she finally spoke. "No! A big guy like you? Frogs, really?" He nodded. "Why?"
"They're creepy."
She nodded, dragging her tongue across her teeth. "Okay, that's fair."
"What about you? I've never seen you back down from nothin'," he replied.
"That doesn't mean I'm not frightened. I just don’t like to back down."
"No, that's not what I mean. I know you got balls o' steel, woman. What I'm asking is, what scares you? What truly sucks the reason out of you, and paralyzes you with fear?" She set down her glass and stared at the table for a few seconds. Yezra looked up at him and said with all the seriousness she could muster in her inebriated state, "Alligators. Drowning. Sharks, Nicky. I'm afraid of being fish food. Of being eaten to death while drowning in the ocean. It's irrational, and never likely to happen, but it scares me to death nonetheless."
He just stared back at her. She had it down pat so she must have thought about the subject before.
"And believe it or not, my all-time favorite movie is Jaws. Ain't that a kick in the pants?"
She suddenly grinned at him again, making him feel better for having asked her the question.
***
"Okay, now in this scene, you're supposed to tell Kate that you need some space, and then you go to leave, and she doesn’t follow you like you're expecting her too, and-"
"Kate doesn't come after me?"
"Nope, not this time."
"What the hell not, Darlin'?"
"Cuz she's mad at ya, cripes! You just called her a kept woman!"
"I was teasin'… sort of…" Logan smiled at Ice. She was so cute when she pretended to be mad.
"That doesn't matter. Kidding or not, she's not gonna prove your point by running after you!"
"But then we'll be mad at each other until chapter seven, and that’s a long time fer me ta go without a woman."
"Oh, God!" Ice rolled her eyes and typed a few more lines. "Put a cold pack on it already."
I'd rather put some Ice on… Logan exhaled sharply. Watch where yer goin' with that, Bub.
"What's so bad about bein' a kept woman anyway?" He sat down closer to her to see what she was writing. Ice felt the heat coming off his body, even after he had removed the flannel and had only the T-Shirt on. She shivered inwardly as his arm brushed up against hers.
"Some women," she sighed, "Like being held more than being kept. The ones with brains in their heads anyway."
"Oh, here we go! Now it comes out!" He laughed at her and she felt the vibrations it made run through the couch. "Katie is some damn feminist now? Please!"
"Kate always was a feminist Logan. You were too busy looking at her rack to notice." She kept typing, pretending to be oblivious to his close position.
"Ice…" he said quietly, and she turned to look at him. "Yer the one that gave her that rack, ya know. And far be it from the likes o' me to dispute your creations."
She snickered and turned away, determined to get to chapter seven.
They worked fervently another few hours, but she yawned once too many times and finally slid onto his shoulder, fast asleep. Logan smiled and took Darcy away from her, closing it up and setting it on the table. He got up careful and lay Ice down on the sofa, put a quilt over her, and sighed happily.
-poof-
***
Yezra leaned on him in the elevator, snickering the whole way up. Nick had to smile and he put an arm around her to steady her swaying. "Yezra, fer crissakes – be quiet! It's 3 am and there's other people asleep in this building!" He was trying not to laugh, but it was contagious. He looked down at her as their floor came up and placed hand over her mouth gently. She continued giggling through his fingers.
"Mee an iee yid eiss an eh nirary unss." She said, behind his fingers. He had to concentrate not to dwell on the fact that her lips and her tongue had been squirming all over his palm.
"Uh, what?" he asked, ushering her out of the elevator carefully.
"Uh kins alk wii yur nad obber ny nouf."
His lip twitched as she did it again. Her breath was hot and wet, too. He sighed.
Quit it, Colonel. Just stop it…
Nick looked down at her and she eyed him, then started giggling again.
"Oh! Ah, I'm sorry. But, will ya be a good girl if I take my hand away?" She nodded solemnly. Nick removed his hand, and didn't bother wiping it off.
"I said, me and Ice did that in a library once. Only I had my hand over her mouth, and it was caffeine, not liquor."
"Yer a strange one, Yez." Her smile faded and she walked on ahead of him.
"Yeah, I'm a weirdo. I hear ya Nick." He stepped forward and grabbed her elbow softly, and it threw her off-balance. All he meant to do was to make sure he hadn’t offended her, and now she was about to crash to the floor. "Woah… uh oh," She squeaked, and Nick wrapped an arm around her waist quickly and pulled her up against his chest. She landed with a thud on him and blinked. "Geez, Nicholas… If ya wanted a hug, all ya had to do was ask for one." She smiled warmly.
"I just wanted to make sure ya weren't mad at me. All's I was sayin' is yer unique… not weird."
She smiled sweetly and pat him on the chest. "Okay… then that was very nice of you to say." She placed her other hand on his steely bicep and stroked it, staring at it like it was a piece of expensive chocolate. "Mmmm…" she sighed, smiling lazily.
Holy shit! Queen Yezra of the Pain-In-My-Ass-Brigade sighed? At Me?! Fury strained not to smile like a fool. Too bad she pro'bly won’t remember any o' this come tomorrow.
"Nicky, honey… you're very handsome… and we find your build rather… pleasing… but we think we need to lie down, now." She gazed up at him from under heavy eyelids for a moment, and Nick thought she was asking him for more than just his bicep. But as he leaned down to kiss her, she passed out and went limp in his arms.
"Don’t that just figure." He grinned at her and shook his head, brushing the hair out of her eyes. Nick picked her up and walked to their room. When he got to the door, he kicked on it to wake up LeBeau, who practically crawled out of bed and opened the door with a string of French curses.
"What?" Remy spat.
"Shhhhh…" Nick whispered, frowning at Remy, and he strode through the door with Yez. He lay her down gently on the rumpled bed. She flipped over and clutched at the quilt and didn’t move another muscle. He untied her sneakers and slipped them off slowly. Placing them on the floor, he turned to LeBeau. "The lady's beat, and she gets the bed. You get the floor now, Cajun."
"An' where de general gon' to sleep, eh?" Remy slurred.
"The tub."
Cuz I don’t wanna be left alone in here with her, he thought, but didn’t add.
"You not gon' fit in de tub, mon ami." Remy snickered, "How 'bout de Cajun get in de bed wit de Queen, and de General take de floor?" He smiled suggestively and winked.
Nick knew the man was still drunk, but he got mad anyway. He grabbed Remy by his collar, pulling him up roughly so as to get in his face, and spoke in a quiet but very angry tone. "Yezra is drunk, LeBeau. And happy. An' if I find ya gettin' in that bed with her and takin' advantage of her state, I'll rearrange yer pretty-boy mug ta one notch above ugly. Ya got that?" He yanked on Remy's collar on the last two words. The Cajun blinked a few times.
"All right, all right… Mon Dieu! Take it easy, homme. I know de Queen like to feel protected… and Remy just tryin' to lighten de mood."
Nick let go of his collar and grabbed the extra pillow off the side of the bed. "Well don’t," he muttered, heading for the bathroom. "Ya stink at it."
Remy stared at the door after he closed it.
"Sometin' funny goin' on here… Gambit can feel it." He looked over at the sleeping Yezra. Trying not to fall on top of her, Remy swayed above her and kissed his fingertips, placing them lightly on her forehead. "Good night, Mon Queen," he whispered.
He lay down on the floor with his bunched up trench coat as a pillow and drifted off into a restless, haunted sleep. He dreamed a dream filled with the stink of the bayou, Genine's frightened face and Antoine's bitter laughter echoing all around.
***
-poof-
Logan gently nudged Ice where she had fallen asleep on the couch, just as he left her late the night before. He came bearing the gifts of a Mocha cappuccino and hot bagels.
She mumbled, then yawned and stretched, smiling up at him softly. "Hiya. What’s up?"
"I know it's early, but it's Saturday. Ya wanna finish that fic?" Logan asked, taking a big gulp of his plain black coffee.
Ice looked at him sweetly and asked, "Where'd we leave off again?"
"Chapter seven…" he smiled and turned away. "The one where I make up with Kate," he said, setting the breakfast down and taking off his flannel shirt. He had on a nice, crisp, new white T-Shirt, that made his hair look like blue charcoal.
Ice cleared her throat at the sight and sat up straight. She stood up and removed her blue button down from the night before, revealing the tank top.
One good turn deserves another, huh Wolverine?
"So, um…" she cleared her throat, "Exactly how does a man such as yourself go about asking for forgiveness?"
Logan gave her a gaze that would set the coldest heart ablaze
***
The next morning, a hung over author and mutant packed up their stuff, getting ready to check out and go to Joy's to pick up Remy's things before they -poofed- back to their respective homes. Remy promised Yez he'd to go home to the mansion, and get a few more X-Men if he was to pursue Antoine anymore.
They were walking back to the brothel, silently, when Fury asked Yez a question quietly.
"You remember any of last night?"
"Yep," she said, shifting her duffle up on her shoulder.
"What parts?"
She turned to look at him, grinning mischievously. "All of 'em, Nicholas."
He smiled softly as she turned away.
They walked into Joy's and Remy got a big hug from all the girls, especially Fifi. Fury noted that Yez wasn't even watching, nor did she appear to care.
Maybe I got them two figured all wrong…
"Hey, Nicky?" She was smiling and looking out of the window. "There's actually a Starbuck's across the way. I'm gonna go get a cup o' life for me and Remy. Ya want any?"
"Going alone? I dunno Yez…"
"Oh, Come on! It's just across the street. You can watch me the whole time if ya don’t wanna go. Please?"
He sighed. "Okay then. But be quick about it. I wanna get you back to your own world."
"Aww, yer such a softie, Meatball." She smiled at him and squeezed his hand right before she went out the door. He watched her walk across the deserted road and approach the stand. LeBeau came back down, carrying his bags. A very sad Fifi was in tow.
#Remy, promise me you will come see me when you are in a better mood!# She said in French, her voice breaking with heartache.
#Fifi, I promise you, I will make the time, and it will be my pleasure!# He took her hand and kissed it.
Fury stopped him self from openly scoffing and laughed instead. What a feakin' louse.
He turned back to watch Yez… and she wasn’t there anymore. There were, however, three Styrofoam cups laying in the road, dropped recklessly with their contents spilt over the road.
"Goddammit!" Fury yelled, pulling out his piece and running out the door. Remy dropped Fifi's hand and followed close behind.
Fury kicked one of the cups out of the way. "Somebody took her, they took Yezra." He glared at the Cajun. Their heads popped up when they heard her voice yelling angrily in the morning air. Most of Madripoor was still asleep, especially in this part of town.
Remy turned when he saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye. "You go after de Queen - I saw one of dem go dat way!" His staff seemed to appear out of nowhere and he took off running after his soon-to-be-victim.
Nick didn’t feel like arguing with the man, he just wanted his author back. He followed the sound of her angry, cursing voice through the alleys.
***
"Ohhhh… this is so not believable – Hey you fucking morons!" She kicked at the bottom of the basket the goons had shoved her in, the force connecting with their shoulders. "This isn’t some damn movie! Put me down!" Yezra kicked at the basket's sides hard enough that it began to tip in the men's arms. She heard them shout to each other in French in a panicked tone. They kept trying to right the basket and run at the same time.
They continued on, with Fury hot on their heels.
"Nicholas Joseph Fury! Will you please come and rescue me already?!" She remembered Marion Ravenwood screaming for Indiana Jones. Then she remembered where Marion ended up after that scene.
Nu-uh, no way, fuck that, Yez thought angrily, This ain't no Spielberg production! I'm spoilin' your plans!
She rammed into the side as hard as she could, and felt the whole get-up tipping away from their shoulders.
Here we go… Hopefully I'll hit somethin' soft!
She screamed as the lid came away in just enough time to reveal where she was headed. It was soft all right, as the basket fell off their shoulders into a pier, one of the men with it, and hit the water. Yezra held her breath and started struggling to get out of the basket immediately. She thrashed about, trying to find a way to get out and swim to the surface, but she was going nowhere.
Christ I'm gonna die!
Nick had turned a corner in just enough time to hear her scream and see the basket and one of the men fall into the pier. The other man still hadn't noticed him approaching and he appeared to be speaking into a walkie-talkie to someone – hopefully not a boat.
The hell with this.
Nick pulled out his piece and shot the guy in the temple, clean. He was dead before he had time to drop his radio. Then he fell in the water, too. Nick grinned for a moment – he got one of the bastards that had taken her. The he realized that a bleeding corpse just fell on top of Yezra into an ocean pier.
Fish food…
Yezra's face flashed in front of his eyes for a moment from when they had been in the bar the night before.
"…Of being eaten to death while drowning…"
"Oh fuck!" He raced to the edge of the pier, trying to remember the ratio of parts per million that which a shark can taste blood in the water. He didn’t know the exact numbers, but it was something like two per… or maybe even one…
The other goon swam down to the basket that Yez was working her way out of. He grabbed at her wrists and started pulling her towards the surface. Despite the fact that she was frightened beyond measure, she fought him as he pulled her up. It was obvious to her that they wanted her for something important, or else the guy wouldn't still be trying. She pulled out of his wrists and swam the opposite direction. He swam after her, and she wanted to dart away from him even more, but she knew she had to get up for air soon. As she pumped her legs and aimed for the dim light of the surface, the bleeding corpse drifted past her, already caught in the undertow. She grimaced and pushed the body behind her, hoping to slow down the other guy with it. Yez kicked as hard as she could. She'd seen the bullet wound in the guy's head, so that could only mean that Nick was already up there looking for her.
Just keep kicking girl - don’t think about where you are!
She broke the surface and gasped for air, and Nick was already yelling at her.
"Yez, yer close to the dock! Grab onto one of the supports!"
She sputtered and wondered how close the guy behind her was. She found out as he grabbed her ankle under the water. From where he stood on dock, Nick watched as she started screaming and thrashing. He couldn’t tell why until the goon popped his head above the surface. He spoke to her roughly in French again.
#Miss, you cannot escape from Antoine that easily! You are coming with us!# He grabbed at her wrists and she was just about to start screaming again when his face went blank and he stopped moving. The man looked away from Yez, and let her go. Then he started screaming and moving away from her, quickly. She knew what it was.
First Indiana Jones and now Jaws?! What's next - Poltergeist?!?
Yez backed right into a support beam, about the size of a telephone pole. She clutched at it, not able to take her eyes off of what was going on in the water.
"Don’t let go of the pole, Sweetheart. And try not to move around." Nick's voice, oddly calm, drifted into her ears from above, as she watched the water churning with blood and fins about twenty feet in front of her. Fury was standing directly above her on the pier, considering his options.
He could shoot the sharks. He wanted to shoot the sharks. He always wanted to shoot the things that pissed him off. But, if he did that, maybe more would come to eat their bodies. That would definitely increase Yez's chances of getting attacked. He could try to get her out of the water now, but that would be pretty risky to do during the feeding frenzy. He had to wait. She had to hold onto the slimy, algae-infested support; and he had to wait.
He hated waiting.
A powered raft came buzzing into his view, looking like a couple of tourists out for a joy ride. He waved them down frantically and they pulled up along side the other end of the pier. Yez was a good six or seven feet below him.
The three men in the powerboat looked like Americans. "Somethin' we can do fer ya buddy?"
"The girl - get the girl! Yez, come on, sweetheart… grab the next pole and make yer way over here!"
Shaking, Yezra tore her eyes away from the foamy red water and grabbed one pole, then the next, until she was up against the raft. Two of the men reached over and pulled her in quickly. Nick breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she still had all of her limbs intact.
"Just get her over to the end of the dock and I'll help her back onto the pier," Fury told the men, and Yezra stood up. She was shaken up but she was okay. Suddenly, one of the men pushed her back down to the bottom of the boat and aimed a gun at her nose. Clenching his teeth in anger, Nick leveled his piece at the boat's driver too fast to be seen doing so. The third man produced his own weapon and cocked it, aiming it at Nick.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Mister Fury," the driver said smugly. "Even if you mange to shoot me, the girl is dead. Now just stand there like a good puppy and let us deliver Genine to Mr. Antoine. You'll both live a lot longer if you do. Tell LeBeau he can come for her in the Bayou, if he has the guts!" Yezra looked up at Nick, more than a little bit scared. Now she was petrified.
"Nick…"
Her voice was so small he hardly recognized it. The boat sped off and left him standing there, wondering why on Marville he brought her back here in the first place.
***
"I'm telling you, it matters where you hands are!" Ice said, pulling Logan's hand away from her thigh by his thick fingers. "And that just ain't gonna cut it."
"An' I'm telling’ you, I ain't never had any complaints - till now!" Logan growled, but just softly. He was still smiling in his eyes.
"I'm not complaining, it's just that some positions are better for one emotion than another." She leaned back a little, trying to get comfortable as he held her by the small of her back with one massive hand. "Now the hand you got on my back, that's real good, but grabbing my leg and pulling it up says 'I want you' waaaay more than 'i'm so very sorry'."
"But I do want yo- I mean Kate, cuz you made me go without fer the past four chapters!"
Ice sighed. "I know how long you've gone without Logan - you reminded me every twenty minutes last night!" She gripped his forearm with her hand, just cuz it was easy to do so.
"Look, put it here," she pushed his hand onto her hip, just below her waist. "And you'll get much…" she turned to find that his face was right in front of hers, their noses touching. "Much…"
"Much…?" he whispered, just as much at a loss for words as she was.
"Much… better… better… um…" Ice stuttered.
"Better," he whispered back.
"Better?" she fairly squeaked.
"Much better?" Logan asked, gripping his fingers into her hip, exactly where she told him he should.
"Yes… much better…" she whispered. Before either of them knew it, he leaned over and kissed her, with no clear intention of stopping. She thought her knees were going to turn into jelly as she felt herself being pulled into his arms even closer and he crushed her against him.
Oh God, Yes! Much better! She thought as she twined his hair into her fists.
***
Remy LeBeau finally found Nick Fury on the pier, staring out at the water.
"You get your man?" Nick asked through clenched teeth.
"Yep, right in de windpipe." Remy looked around. "Where de Queen at, Nick?" he asked, out of breath.
"They got her." Fury stomped off the dock past him, chewing his unlit stogie like a madman.
LeBeau grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Who you mean, dey got her?" Fury jerked his arm out of Remy's grasp and took the stogie out of his mouth.
"They, Gumbo-fer-brains. Yer big brother Antoine's men. An' they referred to her as 'Genine' when they told me that you could come lookin' fer her back home in the swamp."
Remy turned to watch as the tiny speck that was the speedboat approached a larger ship further out into the ocean.
"Sacre Bleu…" he whispered. He turned to look at Fury, who was already walking away from him. "But… she's just an author! She ain't got no fightin' skills!"
"Yeah," muttered fury, disgusted with the whole thing. "No shit."
-poof-
-poof-
