Ascent
Storms rarely stayed around longer than needed. Deities were like that. They awoke one morning to discover that Ororo had disappeared.
Remy said she'd 'flown off' and from the way he said it, wind seemed to be the only guide Storm needed.
If Remy had been more surprised about the woman's absence, Lindsey would have suggested that they seek her out. But, as the Cajun was unconcerned, commenting on 'her ways,' Lindsey felt no need to bring their visitor up.
He'd left Los Angeles to escape the maze of politics and hidden agendas. On the road truth was more easily defined. Secrets were acceptable, favors returned, and life appreciated. The world felt cleaner away from cities and law firms.
Not that he was against a little friendly companionship. Remy was all the puzzle a man could want to mull over, and easy on the eyes.
Before Remy's friend-sister had showed up, Lindsey's plan had been to find some kind of place to rest. See where the road took them.
The thought of taking the time to pause and savor the fresh air wouldn't have occurred to Lindsey-the-lawyer and so he decided that was reason enough to go forward.
Getting away from his former self was a gradual process. Slowly peeling off the slime that had stuck to him tighter than glue and just now seeing how pinned down he'd been.
Without an audience noting mood and proximity, Lindsey rested more easily. He wouldn't have said that Storm was a difficult woman to like, she had an undeniable magnetism, but he liked being one of a pair. Storm hadn't been on their journey and dropping in disrupted things.
Like what to tell and how to go about it.
He was uncertain how one brought up the issue of an evil hand. It wasn't something that helped a relationship along. Trust was difficult enough to establish without a disclaimer about misbehaving limbs.
Sure as the sky was blue Remy had his own curious truths. But knowing both of them carried secrets was different when it came to sharing. How far was safe often appeared clearest in retreat.
The mountain roads spiraled ribbon-thin upwards. Clouds and rock seemed about to propose in the grey light.
Night was closer at higher altitudes, reaching down more easily to touch and reacquaint them with its holdings. At those heights, the houses were built frighteningly near the road. Almost as if the trees at the back door had restless things living among them.
Wind and increasing chill were a combination that begged a change in music. Somehow, he found a Loreena McKennit cd, and he didn't know that he had such tunes, but when the voice swirled into his ears, he could see how this might raise gods in the woods around them. It was made for tall forests and nights when the animals watched from beyond the lights of cites. A wilder place with the civilization pushing it down, but it was not tamed yet.
To Lindsey, out away from timesheets and scheduled days, Remy looked even more like a conflagration convinced to coalesce, the only evidence of the negotiation being his hair and eyes. Still that burning possibility of damage around him, and there was no need to say that strange beauty was dangerous.
Remy made curling up in a blanket to conserve heat the most inviting come-on. If there had been a destination in mind, Lindsey acknowledged that they would have missed 'on time' several times over.
If heat had a flavor it was in Gambit's kiss. Blankets and sensible flannel were laughable insulation with such sensual warmth available.
Lindsey watched the Cajun a lot. It could be called 'stalking' if he wasn't so unfocused about it. Have breakfast, drive for a bit, brood about Angel/and/or how best to break numerous things in a way that doesn't threaten, and stare at Remy for awhile.
Looking at Remy one wouldn't be shocked that he could lounge or that it might be something he enjoyed. Unlike the vampire back in Los Angeles, who was not so open in his pleasures.
A soft murmur in the background pulled him away from his Angel-space, just dark enough to be English and then not. The sound rolled over him like a wave and he was unwilling to try and resist.