Untamable Hearts

Gambit welcomed the morning with a cup of black coffee and a cigarette on the back porch. It had been two weeks since Jubilee’s return to the school, two weeks that Wolverine had been in a bad mood. Most of the X-Men didn’t see the connection that was so obvious to the Cajun. After all, he had years of experience with unattainable love.

Which made him even more annoyed at Logan. How could the man be so stupid? A beautiful, intelligent young woman was making every effort to be noticed by the old grouch, and he was avoiding her just as fervently as she pursued. There was only one thing that annoyed Remy more then unrequited love and that was two people in love that were too damn stubborn to be the first to admit it. The only thing standing in their way was their own damn egos. Well, that was about to change.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jubilee had no idea her secret had been discovered. She had been trying to attract Logan, that was true, but she certainly hadn’t been trying to advertise her own feelings. The idea of letting Logan know her feelings for him before she was sure he felt it as well made her cold with fear. It would be bad enough if he never returned her feelings. She didn’t think she could stand it if he gave her the ‘it’s just a crush’ speech.

Her newest ploy was running laps around the mansion each morning dressed in skin tight yellow spandex shorts and an over-large t-shirt that fell over her shoulder when she ran. It had annoyed her when she hadn’t been able to get Logan to join her on these runs. In fact, he seemed to spend longer at the lake these days. Almost as if he were avoiding her.

It was infuriating. She had even followed him to his favorite bar one night and challenged him to a game of pool. Things had started to go well, they had been joking at least, when some guy challenged the winner. Before Jubie had realized it she was surrounded by a bunch of cute college guys and Logan had left.

She waved at Gambit as she passed the back porch on her last lap. He was up early this morning. Jubilee was worried about her old friend. Rogue had left a few days ago and Remy had been brooding. She didn’t know what was going on between those two, but it didn’t seem like the incorrigible Cajun was enjoying life much right now. She wondered if there was anything she could do.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Logan finished his cigar and slowly started back towards the mansion. It was time for him to beat some sense into the rugrats again. When Xavier had first put him in charge of teaching Self Defense Logan insisted they do it first thing in the morning. By now the kids had learned not to sneak breakfast before hand. Wolvie’s lessons were best learned on an empty stomach.

His lesson plans were interrupted by two familiar scents. The Cajun was surprising at this early hour, but he was used to Jubilee being up and running by now. Unfortunately, that meant he’d have to time his approach. The last thing he needed was a distraction before class.

And she had become very distracting lately…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Remy had seen Logan disappear back into the tree line. His brow furrowed as he wondered what the man was up to. He didn’t have long to wait.

As soon as Jubilee had rounded the corner of the mansion, Logan continued his approach. Remy finished the rest of his coffee to keep from glaring at his fellow X-Men. It was bad enough Logan was disappearing more and more, but to go that far out of his way to avoid bumping into the girl...

Something had to be done about this situation before it drove the Cajun mad. He considered both of these people his friends. As a friend it was his job to help. So he would, the only way he knew how.

Gambit returned Wolvie’s good-morning nod with one of his own. Ideas were beginning to form in his devious mind. Yes, he would help his friends…but there was no harm in having a little fun in the process.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That afternoon found Jubilee sitting out by the pool trying to figure out what she was doing wrong. He had been so glad to see her when she came back, but since then he had treated her like…like nothing! Like just another student. He had never treated her like that and she didn’t know how to handle it. Maybe coming home had been a bad idea after all.

Her musings were interrupted by Remy dropping a rose on her from behind. She looked up and giggled at the grinning Cajun. No matter how good her instincts got, he was always able to sneak up on her.

She picked up the rose and twirled the thorn-less stem with her fingertips as he walked around to the front of her chair. He was carrying a large white box tied up with a bright pink ribbon and mischief seemed to ooze out of his every movement. There was no doubt that he was up to something. She was just glad to see him smile again. “What’s in the box Handsome?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Remy placed the box on her lap and stood back to watch her open it. It had taken him all morning to get to the city, buy it, and get back. He just hoped he had made the right choice. Her style had changed quite a bit while she was gone. “Call it a late birthday present, petite. Remy thought he’d take you out t’night. Don’ you go breakin’ his heart an say non.”

The expression on her face proved he hadn’t lost his touch. She had stood up to see the whole dress and her eyes sparkled in delight at what she saw. Remy was pleased to note the blue-black silk made her bright blue eyes look darker and more worldly. Once she put it on she would truly be stunning. For a moment he almost envied Logan the love of this fine woman.

“Da reservation for eight, so Remy pick you up at seven. Don’t you go making Remy wait for you, or he might just come in after you.” He gave her a wink and left while she was still staring speechlessly at the dress. Her silence had been more sincere than any thanks could of been.

This was going to be fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you’ve enjoyed this story and want to see more, cast your vote or send me an e-mail. I’d prefer both. *smile* The more good reviews I get the quicker I’ll write the next chapter.

I’d like to dedicate this chapter to all the fans that kept writing to me for the past year or more. Your encouragement is what made this possible. I would also like to apologize for this being so long in the making.

Many things happened in my life over the past year that kept me from returning to my writings. Indeed, if it hadn’t been for the continued requests for more, this chapter may never of been completed. I promise that the wait for the next chapter will not be so long.

So keep those reviews coming in! They are what make me keep typing away.