Hot as Ice
by hotasice2008@live.com

Chapter 9

Logan fiercely and suddenly sprang up from his sleep, stabbing the air on the way. He panted profusely as he tried to get a grip on reality. He looked around the dark shadowy room. He looked next to him and saw someone sleeping with a pillow on top of their head. The body moved slowly as Logan readjusted his position in the bed. Logan laid back down and snuggle close behind the body.

"Nightmare?" Bobby said in a sleep-heavy voice when he felt Logan's warm arms around his cold body.

"It's nothin." Logan mumbled and kissed Bobby's ear. He snuggled closely to the younger man. Bobby smiled as Logan gently rubbed his muttonchops against Bobby's neck.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bobby whispered. Logan groaned and shook his head. Bobby opened one eye and looked at the nearby clock. He knew he would have to go back to his room like he did every morning. He brought Logan's hand to his mouth and gently kissed the spot where his claws come from. It didn't bother him for one moment he could be killed if the metal spike came out of Logan's body. He stood up from the bed, letting the sheet come off his body. The window seemed to frame his naked body as the sun rose in the early dawn. Bobby grabbed his shirt and pressed it to his abdomen.

"I'll see you later." Bobby said leaning down to kiss Logan's bare back. He walked out of the room and into the quiet hallway. The hallway would have been cold to anyone else but not the Iceman. When Bobby stepped into a room every felt the temperature drop the slightest degree. As he was coming close to the girl's bathroom, he heard the sink turn off and the door knob turning. Normally, Bobby was careful about who saw him coming from Logan's room but this particular morning, he didn't care.

"Bobby..." Marie said once she noticed her shirt less friend. She scanned his naked upper body traveling down to where he still held the shirt again his abdomen.

"Rogue.." Bobby started to explain. "I need a band aid." Bobby said in a serious voice. Marie let out a giggle.

"You need more than that." Marie said going back into the bathroom and getting the first aid kit. Marie grabbed Bobby's bedspread and walked down the hall. Bobby struggled to keep up with Marie as she dragged him down the hall by his only form of clothing. She quickly and quietly shut the door behind herself and Bobby.

"It's not that serious, Rogue." Bobby said shaking his head and sitting on her bed. She put a finger against her lips.

"My roommate is asleep. You are bleeding through that shirt. It looks serious to me." Marie said. Bobby cringed as he pulled the shirt from his body. He looked down at the three long gashes that painted his midsection in red.

"He didn't do it on purpose." Bobby defended. Marie smiled and looked at him in amusing.

"Look at you, sounding like an abused wife. I didn't accuse or judge, honey. I know how wild he is when he sleeps; he did stab me if you remember." Marie chuckled at the memory.

"I must sleep real heavy because I didn't even notice these cuts until they had been there for a while." Bobby said.

"That's what happened when you're in love." Marie sighed and used cotton balls to clean Bobby's cuts.

"Nobody said the L word." Bobby said.

"You don't have to say it. It's written all over your face. The only people who can deal with Logan's shit is you and I. I know why I do and I can tell why you do." Marie said grabbing a fresh cotton ball.

"This is so weird to me." Bobby said with a soft smile.

"I know. If someone told me Logan would take my boyfriend..." Marie started. Bobby's face scrunched into a frown.

"I meant its weird that he hurt me but I'm not even worried." Bobby said. Marie gave Bobby a strange look and they both started laughing.

"Did you tell you parents?" Marie asked opening a band-aid packet.

"Of course. `Mom, Dad, Ronnie, I'm a mutant AND I'm screwing a man. What's for dinner?' No I didn't tell them." Bobby said with sarcasm leaking from every word.

"Sorry." Marie said quietly. "All done."

"You didn't have to do that." Bobby said gratefully.

"I only get to spend time with when you're hurt; otherwise you are with Logan." Marie said

"I'm sorry. I have been turning my back on everyone..." Bobby said rubbing his chin in deep thought.

"You can make it up by buying my lunch today." Marie said standing up. She used her glove covered hands to pull Bobby into a standing position.

"It's a date." Bobby grinned. He gave her a half hug, holding his bed spread around his waist.

---

Bobby walked down the hall humming the tune playing through the ear buds of his music player. The only light in the hall beamed in through the window's curtains. Mostly everyone was downstairs on their break except Marie whom he promised to treat to lunch. He suddenly stopped walking and turned around, feeling another presence in the long hallway.

"Hello?" Bobby called. When no one answered he shrugged and continued on his path to find his friend. Bobby switched off his music player and rolled his eyes with a grin on his face. He didn't flinch when a large hairy arm went around his neck from behind and another went around his waist in a semi firm grasp.

"What did I tell you about being aware of your surroundings?" Logan said in Bobby's ear. Bobby chuckled when he finally heard the raspy baritone voice murmur in his ear.

"You told me to always be aware. I knew it was you." Bobby said in a cocky voice.

"Oh really?" Logan rasped with a smile on his face.

"Yeah. You move pretty fast for an old guy." Bobby quipped. The two men broke out in a fit of laughter. When Logan's grasped became to firm Bobby hissed with pain and tried to pull out of the hold.

"What's wrong?" Logan said unwrapping his arms from around the young man. Bobby's face contorted in pain as he grasped the side of his abdomen.

"It's fine; just too much pressure." Bobby said with an indifferent look on his face.

"What happened?" Logan asked with a frown. Logan pulled Bobby loser and lifted his sweater and un-tucked the shirt underneath. He gently pulled at the bandage until he could see the torn skin. His eyes met three, long, straight, unmistakable claw marks surround by angry swollen skin.

"It's no big deal." Bobby said pulling away and rearranging his clothes.

"Let me apologize." Logan said. Bobby waved it off with a smile before starting to walk away. He was trying to keep the moment light and not fill it with guilt trips and apologies. When he started to walk away Logan snatched him back by his wrist.

"I'm sorry. I don`t want to hurt you, you understand?" Logan said seriously.

"Bobby you..." Marie said barging around the corner. When she saw the two men looking at each other, she felt like she was interrupting something. "...um sorry. Are we still going?" Marie asked gesturing towards Bobby.

"Uh, yeah. I'll meet you downstairs." Bobby said to his friend. He looked back at Logan and then down at the man's hand clutching his wrist. "It's a just scratch, I can take a few without crying." Bobby said pulling his wrist out of Logan's grasp.

"Where are you goin?" Logan asked.

"I'm taking Rogue to lunch. We can talk when we come back." Bobby said. He quickly pressed his lips to Logan's and half jogged down the hallway to avoid further conversation. Logan watched as Bobby ran away from him. He growled deep in his throat before stalking down the hallway.

---

"And you got mad because he apologized?" Marie with a bright smile and a laugh to follow.

"It's not funny Rogue." Bobby sighed and ate a French fry.

"Yes it is. Do you know how many girls would die for a boyfriend that sweet." Marie said.

"No but I'm a guy so that's irrelevant." Bobby said balling up his sandwich wrapper and throwing it at Marie's head. She launched the paper ball back at her friend as they both continued to laugh.

"We need to go back to school before they send out the army." Marie said looking at her watch.

"Let me run to the bathroom and we can go." Bobby said standing up and walking to the restroom on the other side of the bistro. After locking himself in a stall, he pulled out his cell phone and started dialing a number.

Suddenly the restroom door opened with a loud slow squeak and closed immediately. Bobby listened to hard heavy foot steps stalk across the restroom. He looked down and saw large dirty black boots standing in front of his stall. There was a tiny tap on the door.

"Occupied." Bobby called but he didn't continue with his phone call. He waited to see if the stranger would back away. There was another tap on the door.

"Occupied." Bobby called with a hint of aggravation. He closed his phone and tucked it into his phone. He flushed the toilet and unlocked the stall. He was ready to roll his eyes and/or tell off the rude person disturbing his phone call. When he stepped out of the stall he was met with a ridiculously tall man with a stone-cold face. The face held no warmness, no kindness.

Bobby cleared his throat and walked over to the sink to wash his hands. Bobby looked in the mirror above the sink and noticed the man staring at him. He finished washing off his soap-filled hands in the warm water before grabbing a paper towel and drying his hands. He kept his hand down, not wanting to see the man's face again.

"You smell like him." The deep growl came. Bobby turned around and gave the stranger a confused facial expression.

"Excuse me?" Bobby asked throwing the paper towel in the trash. The stranger look two big bold steps towards the young man.

"You smell like him. You have his scent all over you." The man said again.

"I'm sorry but do I know you?" Bobby asked shaking his head and easing his way towards the door. This man had an awful energy.

"No. I know who you do know though." the man vaguely declared and smiled a strange smile. If smiles could kill Bobby would be six-feet under the grimy floor tile he stood upon. Bobby cringed at the man's feline-like teeth. The teeth could easily rip out his throat. The man suddenly pounced, pushing Bobby against the mirror behind him. The large hand went around Bobby's throat in an inescapable vice grip.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bobby managed to say through the grip on his throat was crushing his wind pipe.

"All that matters is that you mean the world to him and I'm going crush his world." the man said the narrow nails in his hands extending, slowly puncturing Bobby's neck. From his almost sitting position on the sink, Bobby could not kick the man and his punches were futile. His vision was blurring slightly and the fear grasped his spirit like a bear trap. Bobby managed to wrap his hands around the man's large wrist. The man stared deep into Bobby's blue eyes feeding off the fear and waiting for the lost look of death. The man saw Bobby's blues turn a icier shade of blue and his arms were consumed with flames of pain. Bobby's body trembled as he did his best to give his aggressor frost bitten arms. The man let out several animalistic growls of pain he let Bobby go and tried to relieve the intense pain in his arms. Bobby wasted no time sprinting out of the men's restroom. He ran to the table where Marie patiently waited for his return.

"What took you so long?" Marie asked when she noticed Bobby coming towards her.

"Come on." Bobby said urgently grabbed her glove covered hand and running out of the bistro doors. The sun beat down on the semi-busy street. Bobby pulled Marie along as he half-jogged away from the bistro. His adrenaline was at a high point and he needed to escape. Bobby spotted a cab at the corner and pulled Marie towards it.

Bobby felt safe when he told the cab drivers to just drive and the car was in motion. Marie sat beside him in shock. She stared at the floor of the cab saying nothing. Bobby touched his neck and looked at his wet red-smeared hand in disgust. Marie finally looked at her friend and nearly gasped. She finally saw Bobby's hand resting on his neck that seem to spew an endless amount of blood that soaks the collar of his shirt.

"What happened?!" Marie finally screamed. The cab driver looked at them through the mirror with a shocked expression. Bobby smiled and waved him off.

"To the Xavier Institute please." Bobby said calmly. He rested his head against the tepid window, ignoring Marie's question.