Work Text:
Cold Turkey…
by Scorpio
If Remy didn't stop getting on his damn nerves, Logan swore he was going to go out to the store and buy a whole carton of cigarettes, set it on fire, and then stuff it into the kid's mouth.
Which wasn't really fair. And was kinda mean. But by this point, Logan really couldn't help it. He was honestly at his wits end.
Gambit was trying to quit smoking.
This translated into the kid being in an incredibly foul mood complete with swearing, snarling, sarcastic back talk, and a non stop glare that could peal wallpaper off the walls. He'd already offended Jean with his pottymouth, blown up two coffee mugs and put the fear of god into Bobby after one ill timed prank.
And that was just this morning.
Unfortunately, as his lover that meant that Logan was bearing the brunt of Remy's withdrawal. He knew the kid was hurting and that the nicotine cravings were bad. He knew this. It didn't stop him from wanting to belt the kid in the teeth and knock him unconscious for a bit.
That'd give them both a brief respite, but Remy'd just wake up twice as nasty. And his lover might be beautiful when angry, but he was also annoying as hell and as dangerous as a bomb set to go off. Literally.
Remy'd been at if for four days now and it was only getting worse. Remy had been fine at first, all determined and cheerful. Blue had been so excited about his decision to quit smoking that he'd nearly thrown a party. Everyone had paraded past to offer him encouragement and advice.
Then the cravings hit hard and Remy'd raided the kitchen. That just made the nic-fit worse, so he'd gone off to the Danger Room and blew up a bunch of holograms and robotics. Later on, Logan had distracted him with beer followed by a night of rough sex.
The next morning is when Gambit had transformed from a beautiful and flirty boyfriend into an evil snarling asshole.
After pissing off more superpowered people than was healthy, he'd raided the pantry again and had himself a pig-out. It seemed to mellow him a bit, but it only lasted so long. That's when the pacing started.
Back and forth, back and forth. Remy'd paced all over the mansion and gotten on everyone's last nerve. It was finally Storm that had begged Logan to take Remy off somewhere and wear him out so that he'd sleep, at least. For once, Remy hadn't been in the mood for sex, so sparring in the Danger Room it was.
Logan had nearly gotten himself blown up. Thankfully, his healing factor was still stronger than Remy's temper.
It was on the third day that he'd learned the hard way not to give Remy lollypops as a cigarette substitute. Nicotine fits and a sugar high was a bad mix in the Cajun. Remy'd pulled apart his bike to do some maintenance on it in a desperate attempt to distract himself, only he couldn't figure out how to put it back together again in his hyperactive agitation.
That's when he'd nearly blown himself up and Hank had been forced to sedate him.
All of which led to today and his latest nicotine fit. Logan did feel bad for his lover. He did. Still, if Remy didn't calm the hell down steps would need to be taken.
"Gambit!"
Scott's barked voice startled Logan and broke through the litany of muttered curses as Remy paced. He whirled and glared, a card sizzling in one hand.
"What!?"
Remy's voice was a dangerous snarl, but Scott ignored that and the charged card. Instead, he simply walked right up to the glaring mutant and stared at him for a long moment. Then he quickly reached out and slapped the kid on the forehead. Hard. Gambit stumbled back with a yelp.
"That'll calm you down."
"Huh?"
Logan craned his neck to see. Right in the middle of his lover's forehead was a nicotine patch. And it must have been working already since instead of blowing something up, Gambit just blinked at him in confusion as the tension in his shoulders relaxed finally.
Logan grinned and silently praised Scott for having such a brilliant idea and the balls to pull it off. Things could've gotten ugly if Remy had taken offense.
"Thank freakin' god."
Scott looked over at Logan and tossed him the box of nicotine patches.
"You're in charge of them. One a day. For god's sake, don't let him leave the bedroom without one and maybe we'll be able to coax Bobby out of hiding."
Logan snorted in amusement and heartfelt relief. Scott just turned on his heel and walked away.
END