The Wanting Comes in Waves

In three weeks she had learned a lot about the mansion and its inhabitants. In three weeks she learned that her roommate, Kitty Pryde, had a gigantic crush on Peter, the steel man, and that she hated the smell of lemons. She also learned that even though Nyx originally frightened Kitty, and that their personalities contrasted immensely, they nevertheless became fast friends. She learned that Bobby liked to get drunk then run down the hallway at the break of dawn, banging on everyone's door in a futile attempt to have them greet the sun with him. She learned that Jean Grey had the style of a middle aged housewife and Scott couldn't get enough of it. She learned that Kurt liked to hang upside down and eat oranges while he watched television in the rec room. In three weeks she learned that Hank McCoy studied at both Harvard and Oxford and that he missed being able to wear ties without looking like a circus animal. In three weeks she learned that Logan received no greater enjoyment than he did when he finished a Danger Room exercise faster than the allotted time.

In three weeks she learned that Remy said he hated folk music, but she would catch him tapping his foot to the banjo riffs when she played her favorite songs. She learned that Remy, the king of cards, had no idea how to play gin rummy, and she could easily squash him in a tournament, which they would have on the evenings when he didn't have to run off and save the world again. She learned that the only thing that truly scared Remy was spiders, and she couldn't help herself but to tell him that he had an eight-legged visitor on his shoulder, just so she could watch him spin around and around in pursuit of killing it like a dog chasing its tail. She learned that Remy loved to cook and her vegetarianism baffled him to the point of frustration.

In three weeks, she learned a lot. She learned about a girl with platinum and chestnut hair, and how her sojourn from the X-Mansion had left a gaping hole in the flow of the house. Six months and everyone still didn't know how to completely function without their Mississippi queen. She learned that said girl was to never be spoken of in front of Remy, for at the mention of her name he would tense up, rise from his chair, kicking it back aggressively, and stomp from the room.

Obviously, she had learned a lot in the three weeks she had been at the X-Mansion, but she was a quick learner.



Bang. "Remy?" Bang. "Remy!" BANG. "Dammit Remy, open the door!"

Her arms were crossed and her foot was tapping impatiently against the floor as he swung his door open. He was shirtless, his hair still mussed from sleep. "What do y' want, chère?"

"I don't want anything, I was sent to retrieve you. Happen to forget that you're leading the Danger Room session today?"

"Merde! Why didn' you wake me up?"

She rolled her eyes. "I just did! I'm not a personal alarm clock, Mr. LeBeau."

"Not even for ol' Gambit?" he asked cheekily, giving her a wink.

"Especially not for him!" Nyx responded, playing along. "Now hurry up and dressed so we can get to work!" With that she turned on her heel and headed back to the elevator.

It surprised Remy, the ease in which they had fallen into friendship. Everyone in the house thought that they were fucking, knowing his reputation... and her's for that matter. Nyx was never the least bit shy about bringing random men back to the mansion for the night only to have them march the long walk of shame to the front door by themselves. She preferred going to the kitchen and making herself hot tea. The whistles she received from Bobby, and occasionally Remy, never deterred her. One could always count on her having a new temporary beau in the next couple of days.

No, there was nothing sexual between Remy and Nyx, and the thought of something romantic blossoming between then was borderline laughable.Their relationship was that of simple, easy friendship. Ironically, their relationship contained an innocence that neither of them had the pleasure of experiencing in a very long time.



Remy shrugged his trench coat on as he walked into the control room for the Danger Room. When Kitty noticed his presence, she immediately started over to him and socked him in the arm.

"Merde! What was dat for, petit?" He asked her, frowning as he rubbed his arm.

"Nyx is about to do her first solo exercise and you're gonna miss it!" she scolded him then grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the large window that looked down on the sprawling metal room where the X-Men trained.

Nyx nibbled on her lip and shifted from foot to foot. "Can we start now or what?" she bellowed up to the window.

Ororo pushed the red button on the microphone in the control room and nodded. "We can, Gambit is here now." At the mention of his name Nyx strained her eyes, and when she caught sight of him she flipped him her middle finger.

"'Bout time, Cajun! You know we can't start unless everyone's here!"

Remy learned over Storm and pressed his index finger against the button. "Sorry, chère. Mais now we can get started, y' sure y' ready?"

"Yessss!" she whined impatiently. "Just limme break some stuff!"

Remy chuckled. "Alright, alright." With that he nodded to Storm and she started typing commands into the large computer's interface. After a few minutes, red lights flashed in the Danger Room and a robotic woman's voice announced that a training exercise would momentarily commence. Nyx smirked and lifted her arms. Her eyes zipped to black in a flash. She levitated off of the ground, her raven hair swirled and spiraled around her face like snakes.

Random tiles on the walls of the room slid back, letting laser guns stretch out and aim themselves at Nyx. Metal claws began to swirl up from holes in the floor, hesitating only momentarily before they shot in her direction. Her smile broadened and the whole of the room slipped into darkness.

"How are we supposed to stop the exercise if things get too hard?! We can't even freaking see her!" Kitty exclaimed worriedly.

Gambit crossed his arms and stepped closer to the window. "Don' worry petit, Gambit can see in dere jus' fine." And he could, with his crimson eyes that had always been more acclimated to darkness than light. He watched as Nyx zipped, glided, flipped, and twirled through the air, dodging every obstacle that crossed her path. She would barely have to extend a finger to send a tendril of darkness around a gun, crushing it in seconds. She raised her palms up and pushed them out when the metal claws advanced towards her, only to have them shatter against her wall of obsidian. Once, she even began spinning like a cyclone through the air, sending daggers of night piercing through three guns at once. Gambit couldn't ignore the awesomeness of her technique and he found himself wishing that he wasn't the only one witnessing her power.

Ten minutes was all it took for her to take out every gun, claw, and robot that got in her way. The Danger Room blinked red again and the robotic voice announced that the session was over. Suddenly, light spread through the room again. Kitty's jaw dropped when she saw the wreckage, Ororo's eyes widened. Remy just smirked, for he had witnessed the whole thing.

Nyx zipped up to the window, grinning wider than a Cheshire cat. Her eyes were once again the color of the ocean instead of the sky. "Can we do that again?"



The man's fist slammed onto the table as he scowled at the three men facing him. "It's been a month, a fucking month, and you still haven't found her!"

The littlest of the three shuddered at the man's bellowing tone. "We're sorry, Mr. Murdock, but we have no idea where to look! It's like she disappeared into thin air!"

Exhaling loudly, the man pinched the bridge of his nose with his sausage-like fingers. "I don't pay you to make analogies, I pay you to get me what I want, and I want her," he said in a calmed tone that was, if possible, even more menacing than the previous yells.

"Let's look at this rationally, sir," interceded the tallest of three, "We know that she hasn't had a gig in the last month either. That gives us something. Maybe she's out of the game now and took off."

The last of the triad crossed his bulky arms and nodded in agreement. "She probably dead, sir. Probably didn't have the skill to finish her last job."

"No!" Murdock bellowed, his eyes frantic at the thought of a deceased Nyx. "She's too good! That didn't happen! We just need to try harder. We have to find her... I have to find her! Now go, look some more, try and find something or its your heads!"

The three men hurriedly exited the room.

Murdock was one of the most powerful, and the most ruthless, of the filth that hid in the shadows of New York. He was a ruthless man, cutthroat and on the brink of insanity. When he had hired Nyx for a job, he was instantly enthralled with her. Her mesmerizing eyes and silky raven hair had plagued his dreams for six months, ever since the day he met her. Her face would drift in and out of his consciousness at least a dozen times a day and he knew, he knew that if he didn't find his princess of the night soon that he wouldn't be responsible for the havoc he would certainly wreak.



Nyx wrapped her black sweater tighter around her torso and hopped from foot to foot in an effort to warm herself. The cold wind blew harshly across her face as she took a long drag from the half-finished cigarette in between her fingers. She may be a valiant X-Man now, but she'd be damned if she gave up smoking, even if Hank chided her for the destruction her habit was doing to her lungs.

Lost in thought, she hardly noticed when the slender cylinder was plucked from between her slim fingers. She whirled around to find Remy smirking down at her.

"Don' y' know smoking's bad for y'?" he questioned as he leaned against the mansion's heavy oak door and took a drag.

She scowled and him and reached for her cigarette only to have him lift it over his head and out of her reach.

"You're so damn annoying sometimes," she said as she leaned against the wall next to him. He handed the cigarette back to her and she took a drag, exhaling the gray smoke into rings.

"Non, it's impossible to be annoying when y' as charmin' as moi."

She only snorted in retort and gave the cigarette back to him. "Hurry up and finish that, Cajun. I'm freezing my ass off."

Remy flicked the cigarette off the porch and opened the door. "After y', chère."

As they walked into the mansion, they met Bobby, Emma, and Logan in the foyer. Emma was dressed in a white mini with a sky blue top and brown heeled boots. Bobby dawned a t-shirt and jeans.

"Goin' somewhere?" Remy asked the trio.

"We're going out, finally!" Bobby replied. The team had been kept busy the last week, between odd missions and training Nyx. "You two wanna join?"

Nyx perked up and clapped her hands together. "Sounds like a plan to me. Remy?"

Remy bit him lip and shrugged. "Not really up ta' it t'night, chère."

Nyx rolled her eyes and tugged on Remy's sleeves. "Come on, you can afford to take a break from your brooding once in a while."

Remy's eyes widened at her blunt reply, a retort was forming in his mouth just as Bobby burst into laughter.

"She's got a point, Rems," he said, walking over to him and clapping him on the shoulder. "Come out with us and get wasted, man. You know you wanna."

Emma nodded in agreement with her boyfriend. "Yeah, where's the Remy we know and love?"

Nyx prodded him with her elbow and tossed a cheesy wink at him. "You know you wanna," she teased, repeating Bobby.

Remy sighed. "Fine, fine. Y' convinced me."

She threw him a smile before she started bounding up the stairs. "You guys wait five minutes, I'm gonna change!"



Nyx met the group downstairs in exactly four minutes and twenty-one seconds, she had timed it so she wouldn't get left behind. She was not the type to miss out on a good time. As she descended the stairs, she received a whistle from Bobby. Nyx simply rolled her eyes. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt, fishnets and black granny boots. She had also painted her lips a crimson that matched her top. When she reached the four, she grinned.

"Let's head out!"

They headed to the mansion's sprawling garage and climbed into Bobby's blue SUV. It took them about fifteen minutes to reach a bar called The Uptown. Nyx looked out the window the whole time, her eyes glued to the scenery as it sped before her. This was definitely not her part of town. Huge two and three story lavish houses stood in the middle of perfectly manicured lawns. BMWs and Cadillacs dotted the long cobblestone driveways.

When they finally got into the city, with many horn blares and curses, Bobby found a parking spot suitable for him. It was only a block away from their destination. They all exited the car and headed down the crowded sidewalk two file, Emma and Bobby leading the way.

"So y' gonna embarrass y'self tonigh', chère?" Remy asked her over the bustle.

Nyx just chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. "Dunno... probably," she replied simply.

It was Remy's turn to laugh as he held the bar's door open for her. "Well don' worry, Remy'll keep ya' in line."

She quirked an eyebrow at him as the made their way to the bar, leaving Bobby and Emma to search for a table after telling Nyx their orders. "Oh really?"

Remy nodded and smirked at her, his eyes full of mirth.

"Well, we'll see about that," Nyx said to him, then turned to the bar and tapped her hand twice to get the bartender's attention. He meandered over.

"What can I get you, pretty lady?"

She smiled politely back to him. "Vodka, straight, please. And two beers."

"And for your friend?" the man turned to Remy, the smile dropped as he made eye contact with him.

"Whiskey, please, mon ami," he told him, flashing him a teasing smile. If there was one thing that Remy truly enjoyed, it was making fools of the people who were taken aback by his eyes.

The bartender hurriedly served them their alcohol and they made their way to Emma and Bobby, each carrying a beer.

"I don't see how you drink this awful stuff," Nyx told Emma as she handed her the beer and scooted into the half-moon booth beside her, Remy following suit. "It's disgusting," she said, scowling.

Emma shrugged. "I didn't like it until I met Bobby, he got me drinking it," she replied as she lifted up a hand to rub Robby's shoulder.

Bobby smirked. "And I'll get you to drink it too!" he told Nyx mockingly.

"Doubt it," Nyx replied.

The quartet smiled and laughed as they drank, even Remy was loosening up as he filled himself with more bourbon. As he began to feel the effects of the alcohol, warmth spread through him and he began to fill his old self again. It seemed that since Rogue left, Remy only truly stopped thinking about her when he was either drinking or fighting.

Eventually, Bobby and Emma left the booth to dance. Nyx quickly followed them after a redhead had asked her onto the floor. Remy stayed where he was and continued drinking until a blond slinked over to the empty booth and began chatting him up. He wasted minutes of empty conversation with the woman until Nyx returned and slid into the booth clumsily. Her eyes were shining from vodka and she was flushed from dancing.

"And here I was worrying you were here all by your lonesome!" she told Remy as she scooted over to him.

"Non, Tiffany here was keepin' m' company," he said as he motioned to the woman.

Nyx eyed the blond before turning back to Remy. "I'm getting another drink, you want one?"

"Oui," he replied. Nyx scooted out of the booth again and went to the bar. When she returned, drinks in hand, the blond was gone.

"Where's Tiffany?" she teased as she handed Remy his drink.

"She left. I t'ink you intimidated her, chère," he said, smirking at her. "But who wouldn't be intimidated by y' pretty face?" he replied, winking.

"You have a point," Nyx laughed as she took a sip of her vodka. She looked up as a blond, hulking man in a tight white t-shirt made his way over to her. He scooted into the booth brazenly and eyed her.

"You wanna dance, sexy?" he asked huskily.

Nyx choked on her drink as laughter bubbled up from her throat. "I think I'm alright, thanks though."

The man looked crestfallen, he obviously wasn't rejected on many occasions. "What, that your boyfriend or something?"

She glanced at Remy and they smiled, both mentally laughing at the man.

"Remy's not my boyfriend. I just don't wanna dance with you, sugar," she replied then patted his hand. "Run along." The man scowled and left the booth, murmuring something along the lines of "stupid bitch" as he left. Nyx was too preoccupied giggling at the blond to notice the change in Remy's eyes.

One word was all it took and the memories came flooding back. Memories of flirting, of auburn hair and emerald eyes. Before Remy's hazy mind registered what he was doing, he had placed a hand on Nyx's thigh and was rubbing it softly. She took another drink as she eyed him, but she was already drunk, and Remy's foreign fingers felt too good for her to protest. He turned to her, his red eyes full of lust. Lust and something else she couldn't put her finger on. He lightly peppered kisses on her neck as his wandering fingers worked his way up her thigh. She tilted her neck upwards, allowing his mouth easier access to the delicate skin just below her jawline.

To Nyx, it was like the whole world had dropped out from below her, and all that was left was she and Remy, suspended in the booth, surrounded by nothingness. She let out a barely audible gasp has his hand worked its way up to the valley in between her legs, and his fingers started to gently knead her through her underwear.

"Remy..." she breathed, her eyes hooded in pleasure.

But, almost instantaneously, as soon as she said his name, he stopped short and and yanked his hand out from under her skirt.

Remy looked up, into her eyes, and a wave of confusion flashed quickly over his eyes. He was slightly dumbfounded when his red irises met icy blues, instead of the verdigris hues he was halfway expecting.

Nyx stared back, her eyes mingled confusion with hurt. Her usual cool exterior was unabated by her current inebriation.

"I, uh--," Remy began, his mind searching desperately for an excuse. A reason for his sudden change.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Nyx said as she quickly scooted herself out of the booth. Her knees knocked against the table and she cursed under her breath as she rushed toward the neon bathroom sign across the room.

Remy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Merde," he breathed. He quickly begin thinking up an apology, but as he waited one minute turned into two, and then ten, and Nyx still hadn't returned. Instead of the brunette he was anxiously waiting for, a blond appeared. Emma had her arms drawn across her chest and she glared at Remy.

"What did you do?"

Remy kept his cool and tossed Emma a bewildered look. "What you mean?"

"Oh, I think you know," she replied harshly. He didn't reply, only raised in eyebrow at her. "Nyx!" she half yelled when she got no response.

"I didn' do anyt'ing," Remy replied hurriedly, biting his lip.

"Bullshit!" she replied. "Last time I saw her she said she was gonna come check on you, then next thing I know she's practically running out the door with some blond tool on her arm."

"Look, I didn't do shit!" Remy told her in a sharp retort.

She rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. Remy had had enough; he bolted up and stood his ground, despite the willingness his legs felt to give way from under him.

"I'm gettin' the fuck outta here, I don' need dis inquisition," he said, venom dripping from his words. Emma opened her mouth to respond, but Remy didn't give her any time to as he spun on his heels and stalked out of the bar into the biting autumn air.