Title: I Just Needed To Hear Your Voice
By: Jane McCracken
Pairing: Wolverine/Sabretooth
Rated: PG for some strong language.
Summary: Logan’s feeling blue and needs to talk. Victor tries
to help.
Disclaimer: They are not mine. I’ve received no money for this.
Feedback is very welcome: [email protected] . As always, thank
you Natalie.
I Just Needed To Hear Your Voice
By: Jane McCracken
Logan sat on his bed and watched the leaves fall outside his
window. They floated down gracefully, carpeting the lawn with their
colorful beauty. He sighed mournfully, thinking how the trees
would be bare in just a few short weeks.
He’d both loved and hated this time of year. He liked
to watch the leaves change and coolness in the air, but he hated the inevitable
holidays that were approaching. It depressed him so much that he didn’t
feel like doing anything or seeing anyone, even Marie. He knew he had
to get rid of the depression that was overwhelming him but he wasn’t sure
how.
Marie walked past Logan’s door and heard soft crying.
She shook her head and said to herself, ‘This has got to stop!’ She
went into her room and opened her keepsake box; there was a piece of paper
with a number written on it. She dialed the number and prayed there
would be an answer.
Creed sat on the couch, put his feet up and opened a beer.
He was prepared to watch a hockey game when the phone rang.
“Creed,” he answered, a little annoyed.
“Victor? It’s Marie.”
He didn’t like the tone of her voice, “What’s wrong?” he asked concerned.
“It’s Logan. He’s so depressed and solitary, I don’t know what to do,”
she whimpered, close to losing control.
“How long has he been like that?”
“Almost a week. He won’t even talk to me, beyond single syllable words!”
“Anything happen to cause it?”
“Nothing that I know of. Oh Victor, I’ve never seen him like this,
it scares me!” She wailed, unable to contain herself any longer.
“It’s OK, I’ll take care of it,” Victor assured her. “Where are you
calling from?”
“My cell phone.”
“Give me your number, in case I need to get a hold of you again,” Victor
said.
She gave him her number and he told her not to worry, that he would do whatever
he had to to make it better.
Looking at the game on TV, he shrugged his shoulders and dialed Logan’s number.
His Tweets was more important than any ole hockey game! The phone rang
twelve times before Logan answered it.
“Yeah?”
“Hey, Tweets, what’s goin’ on?”
“Pud. I don’t feel like talkin’ tonight.”
“So I’ve heard,” Victor stated. “Talk to me Tweets, what’s wrong?”
“I said I don’t feel like talking tonight,” Logan growled. “Now
leave me alone!”
“Don’t you hang up on me! We can do this one of two ways, you
can talk to me over the phone or we can do it face to face. There’s
no third way,” he informed Logan matter-of-factly.
“Tomorrow. Let’s do it tomorrow, I don’t feel like it, tonight,”
Logan said softly.
“I told you, there’s no third way.”
“Fuck you! I’m sayin’ there is!” Logan roared. “An’ if
you don’t like it, you c’n kiss my ass!”
“I already have, many times. Now, tell me what’s wrong.”
Logan roared and slammed down the phone. Victor clenched
his jaw and hit ‘redial’. It rang twenty two times before Logan picked
up, then hung up. He then turned his phone off. When Victor
got his voice mail, he bellowed and nearly threw his phone against the wall!
Instead, he called Marie.
“You tell that horse’s ass to turn on an’ answer his phone or I’m comin’
out there!”
“Wow, he really pissed you off, huh?”
“You could say that! Tell him he’s got five minutes.”
“Will do. Do you want me to call you back?”
“No. If he don’t do what I said, I’ll call you, then come out.”
“Okay. Good luck,” Marie encouraged.
“Thanks, kid. You too.”
Rogue went to Logan’s door and knocked softly, then relayed
the message Creed had sent. She heard him snarl in response, then quickly
made her way back to the safety of her room. She hoped she did the
right thing, involving Victor. Then prayed he could help Logan with
whatever was troubling him.
Victor watched the seconds slowly tick by, then hit the redial
button. Logan seriously considered leaving his phone off, but knew
his Pud didn’t make idle threats. He was just in New York, and Logan
didn’t want him to go out of his way or waste the money because of him.
So, in the end, he decided to face his lover’s wrath and turned on his phone.
Taking a deep breath, he picked up on the second ring.
“I’m sorry, Victor. Please don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m gonna beat yer ass black ‘n blue, next time I see you for that little
stunt!” Victor promised. “Now, where are you?”
“In my room, on my bed.”
“Good. Get comfortable an’ close yer eyes,” Victor instructed, and
began speaking to him softly, serenely. “I’m holdin’ you close.
Your head’s resting on my chest. Can you hear my heart beatin’?
Listen to it, hear how it sooths you. I’m stroking your back and hair,
making you purr. You snuggle closer and my arm holds you tighter.
I whisper that I love you and am there for you to help you with whatever
troubles you may have. You c’n tell me anything.”
“Oh Victor, I miss you so much! Sometimes I feel so lost when you’re
not with me,” Logan moaned.
“Know you carry my love with you always,” Victor assured him. “I’ll
come out there if you need me to. It won’t be a problem.”
“No, you were just here. I’d hate to see you waste the money on me.”
“I’ll address each comment in the order it was given to me,” Victor
grumbled. “First, it doesn’t matter to me how many times I travel to
a place if I’m needed or it’s worth my time. Second, I have so much
money that if I wanted to, I could wipe my ass with it for a year and never
miss it! Third, I got another reason to beat yer ass fer that ‘waste
yer money on me’ crack! To me, you are worth more than all the gold
in the goddamn world and if I can help you I don’t consider it wasted.”
Logan swallowed hard as a feeling of dread curled around his
heart when he realized he insulted and hurt Victor again! When would
he learn to think before he spoke? He kicked himself in the ass and
chided on his insensitivities toward the man who obviously loved him.
“Please forgive me Victor,” Logan pleaded. “I didn’t mean to insult
you.”
“Hush now. You’re supposed to be concentrating on my heartbeat with
your eyes closed,” Victor reminded him.
Victor started again, speaking in a low, calming voice-- lulling Logan
back into the relaxed state he was in. He listened as Logan’s breathing
became more even. He smiled to himself, and carefully began the questioning.
“There Tweets, feeling more relaxed now?”
“Um hum,” Logan mumbled.
“Good. Just listen to my heart, hear how it’s beating slowly, rhythmically.
Without giving away any secrets, how’d yer mission go?”
“Fine. Nothing unexpected.”
“Everything at home okay? With yer girl?” he fished.
“Yes,” he answered.
He tried work, home and family and struck out. So he decided to shoot
point blank and asked, “Well, something happened to make you feel this way,
what?”
“It’s nothing, really.”
“Don’t blow me off that way again! Now, give,” Creed demanded.
“Really, it’s nothing. I don’t know why I’m acting like this,” Logan
said, dancing around the subject.
“Are you going to make me come out there?” Victor questioned.
“Now answer my question.”
Logan sighed heavily then said in a soft tone of voice, “Xavier’s property
borders on a State Park and at night I like to go out and listen to the owls
and sometimes poach a deer. Well, I went out after the mission and
went over to a tree that I know a certain spotted owl lives. I enjoyed
listening to him sing and we became friends. I sometimes gave him deer
meat, he’d sing for me, that kind of thing. Well, I went over to his
tree and he wasn’t there. I smelled something that was not quite right,
and went exploring and found his dead body.” Logan took a shuddering
breath and tried to compose himself. “Some little bastard shot him,
and left him for dead. If I ever find out who it was, that little punk
will be sorry! I honestly don’t know why it’s affected me so deeply,
but I can’t shake it! I tried, but it just wouldn’t stop hurting.”
Logan broke down and let the tears flow freely.
“I know why,” Victor offered. “Cause tough as you are, you still have
a loving heart. Friends are very hard to come by, regardless if their
human or animal. Being what we are, what we can do, pulls us closer
to the animal kingdom. You loved and cared for that bird, and finding
him killed so wastefully understandably broke your heart! You’re still
the same tough-as-nails hard-ass that you’ve always been, but that kind of
senseless cruelty will always hurt you.”
Victor cooed soft, gentle words to Logan as he cried.
He wished he was there with his Tweets, so he could comfort him in person;
hold him close and kiss his face and lips until he couldn’t cry anymore.
Then he’d gather him close and hold him while he slept.
They talked all night, laughing and crying over things they
had no control of. As the sun came up, Logan said, “It’s morning,
Pud. I’m going to let you go so you can get some sleep.”
“Are you going to be alright?” Victor asked.
“Yes, I’ll be fine,” Logan assured him, gently stroking the braid of
golden hair encircling his wrist with his thumb. “Thank you very
much, Victor. You always seem to know what I need, and I needed to
hear your voice.”
“You’re very welcome. I’m glad that I was able to help.”
“I love you, Pud.”
“I love you, Tweets.”
At two o’clock in the afternoon, flowers were delivered
to Marie. She smelled the peach-colored roses and smiled. Opening
the card, she read, ‘Thanks for letting me help. Victor’ Ten
minutes later, Logan went to her room and told her he was taking her to dinner.
He looked better than he had in days. Yes, she said to herself, she
definitely did the right thing.
The End