Title: Past's Present
Author: Duchess Curry
Fandom: X-Men (cartoons/comics)
Pairings: Ethan/Nathan
Summary: Unexpected things seem to pop up out of nowhere.
Archive: Yes. Check it out, please. Or e-mail me for it
Duchess_Curry@yahoo.com
Rating: NC-17
Parts: 4-?
Status: WIP
Series/Sequel: This is the final story, and the fringe-tail, bastard child of a long list of other fics that I have written. Not all are exceptionally good; but they all lead up to this. If you are confused about anything here; feel free to e-mail me; I love to talk about my works.
Warnings: A.U. / Slash. Same old same old from me.
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 the final story, and the fringe-tail, bastard child of a long list of other fics that I have written. Not all are exceptionally good; but they all lead up to this. If you are confused about anything here; feel free to e-mail me; I love to talk about my works.

Chapter 4

Valor lay back against the soft, worn bed that he had taken to sharing with Cable. He stretched his arms wide, and smiled. It had been four months since they had first met, and he was still fascinated by the young man, Nathan who called himself Cable. And now, even though Nathan's room was colder than any other room the well brought up Ethan had stayed in, here he stayed; almost every night of the week. They had become partners in both fighting and fucking.

"Nathan?" He called out. No answer. "Nathan? Ya okay?"

There was still no answer. Ethan got sat up in bed. "Cable?" He called out. He strained his ears a little; wishing he had his father's accelerated hearing. Sounds of muffled retching reached his ears. Slightly confused, Ethan got up; pulling a heavy blanket around him as he went.

Silently he walked through the short hallway, and stood, leaning against the doorway. He smiled a little at the miserable form of Nathan who was kneeling before the toilet; and from the smell of the room had spent the past several minutes praying to the porcelain god. Cable flushed the toilet, then lay one hand over it, and rested his sweaty head on his arm. He seemed to realize that Ethan had been there all along.

"So, what's makin' ya sick?" The man in the blanket asked; making Cable smile in spite of his miserable circumstances.

"I don't know."

Valor nodded. "Fair enough." He walked over, helped Nathan up; and waited while the other man rinsed out his mouth. He reached over, and wrapped his arm around Cable's waist. "Know what you need to do today?"

"Check in with Abigail and the others to make sure that all sectors are alright. Make sure that the weapons arsenal is stocked. Check the …"

"No." Ethan interrupted. "You are going back to bed. If you're sick, then you need to rest and leave everything else up to everyone else."

Nathan felt weak; which he hated. And deep down, he was shaken by being sick; since he rarely was since childhood. He leaned his head against Ethan's shoulder and exhaled deeply.

"Okay. I'll spend the day in bed."

"Good. And just to make sure that ya stay there, I'm going to stay in there with ya, all day."

"Ethan, I'm not up to …" He trailed off.

"I know." Ethan finished his thought. "You just need to be. But most of all, right now you need to be warm; and this place really isn't. So I'm just gonna stay by you; and keep you warm."

"Okay." Cable leaned into Valor a little more as they headed back to bed.