Title: Past's Present
Author: Duchess Curry
Fandom: X-Men (cartoons/comics)
Beta: Elerina
Pairings: Ethan/Nathan
Summary: Good Morning
Archive: Yes. Check it out, please. Or e-mail me for it Duchess_Curry@yahoo.com
Rating: NC-17
Parts: 3-?
Status: WIPSeries/Sequel: This is the final story, and the fringe-tail, bastard child of "Beyond Fighting, Beyond Fucking, Beyond Reach" which comes after "The Parting" which comes after "On Edge" which comes after "For Something…" which comes after "Anytime, Anywhere, Anyone …" Geeze, this is getting to be a long list. Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN X-Men!!!!!!!!! They belong to Marvel Comics. (You all know this) I just own Ethan Howlett, aka: Valor. Oh, and some other random characters I made up; but at the moment, they're not important.
Author's Notes: This is part of a series that I wrote for a friend; that was based on a dream. It's not totally great. If you really want to read it, just ask for it and I'll send it to you. This is the tail of it. It's based on the late-night musings of myself and my beta; when I wondered what happened to make Cable so pissed off at Apocalypse; and what would happen if half brothers met; not knowing who each other really is. Warnings: A.U. / Slash. Same old same old from me.
Chapter 3
Cable stirred, and turned over; realizing that it was morning even though no sunlight entered into his bedroom. He saw a lump laying next to him, and just as he was about to attack it; Cable remembered what had happened the night before. He smiled a little, and rubbed Valor's shoulder. The raven-haired man turned onto his back and looked up at Cable.
"Hey."
"Hey." Cable responded.
"Want me to go?"
"No. I want you to stay."
"Okay." Valor looked around taking in the sparse surroundings. For the first time, Cable noticed them too. He'd always been obsessed with protecting himself and others, and had never before noticed the shabbiness of his bedroom. Ethan watched the color rising in his friend's cheeks. "Hey" Nathan looked over at him "It's alright here. Your bed is soft, and it's warm. That's all you really need."
"Yeah," Cable said, disheartenedly looking down at the gray blue blanket.
"Hey" Nathan looked back up at him. "Want me to screw you again?" Light warmed in Cable's eyes again.
"Yeah."
Ethan rolled on top of Nathan and kissed him. "Good, `cause that's exactly what I want to do to you."
For the first time in a long time, Nathan stayed in bed for the whole morning. Valor pulled him into the shower with him. `This guy is too clean.' Cable thought, just to be pressed into the wall by the sudsy, naked man with him. `Not that I really mind …' he thought forgetting any annoyance.
__________________________________________
Ethan poured over the maps and diagrams that were spread over the kitchen counter. Nathan walked in, sighing a little with tiredness. He'd finally fallen asleep about two hours ago, but had woken to find that the man who had been sleeping next to him wasn't there.
"Ethan, what are you doing?"
Valor didn't bother to look up. "Going over your future plans of attack. You have some plot flaws."
Cable yawned, and stood next to him. "Yeah, I know. But I don't know what would make them better." Valor looked back down at the papers.
"I could tell you in the morning."
"In the morning? So that means that you're gonna stay the night again?"
"Don't you want me to?"
"No! I mean yes! I mean …" Cable trailed off. He turned around, blushing.
"Hey." Valor rested his right hand on Nathan's left shoulder.
"It's funny." Nathan's voice cracked a little as he kept his back turned to his friend. "I never thought I was a lot like my dad. Guess I found the one way I really am."
"Love is complicated."
Cable turned to him quickly. "Is this love?"
"I guess so. At least what I'm feeling is." Ethan leaned against the counter and slid to the floor. Nathan went down with him. "Can I ask you a question?" Nathan nodded. "What the hell type of name is Cable?"
It made Nathan smile. "My dad made me think of it. He once said that I was one of a kind, the only man to ever come from the past to live now. I am the cable that links the past to the future, so I started calling myself Cable."
Ethan nodded. "You're a mutant, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"Telekinetic?"
"Yeah, but I don't use it a lot."
"Understandable. My mom is, but she doesn't use it as much as my dad says she used to."
They sat in silence for a while.
"What are you Ethan?"
"What am I what?"
"What are you? Human or mutant."
"Guess." Ethan half growled.
"You say that you fight non-discriminately. You fight for whoever will pay you the most." Silence. "But you said your mother's a mutant." Ethan nodded. "But it's the father, not the mother whose genes decide what a child is." Silence again. "You look human." Cable whispered.
"Yeah, I do."
"But you're not."
"No."
"So, what's your ability?"
Exhaling quickly, Valor held his arms out in front of him, keeping his wrists perfectly strait. There was a soft, indecipherable noise, and three long, strong bone claws swiftly slid out of Ethan's arms.
"Wow." Nathan gently touched one, and almost cut himself on it.
"Yeah." Swiftly and silently, Ethan retracted them again. "And before you ask, I chose my name. Valor means strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness, and personal bravery. I knew that in the way I choose to fight, I have to be strong in everyway, not just in my body. So I chose a name to help keep me strong the way the native people of America did in ancient times."
"Wow."
"Yeah." There was silence again for several minutes; then
Valor spoke again. "Let's go fuck."
It made Cable laugh. "Again? What are you doing? Having me pay you for fighting with me through fucking?"
"There are some things that are better than money." Ethan smiled back.