saga/title/fandom: Homecomings

author: Alex L

rating/genre: (R) - Drama/Angst

warnings: Het, language, adult situations, attempted rape

summary: Not all homecomings are happy ones. R for language, disturbing imagery, and references to attempted rape. Featuring Iceman, Wolverine, Gambit, Jubilee, Rogue, and Storm, as well as other favorites.

comments/disclaimers: While I don't own any of the characters (Marvel), this story is mine, mine.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Needle in the Hay

The first night in Las Vegas for Joel's bachelor party had started off innocently enough. The group, which included Bobby, Warren, Hank, Joel, and a few of Joel's childhood friends (Peter, Richard, and Jeff, three burly men who constantly smoked cigars and played football at Villanova with Joel), had landed in the city early afternoon. After checking into their rooms at the MGM Grand, the men visited the various casinos, such as the Belagio, along the strip. They had voted down Bobby's idea of seeing a magic show instead of gambling. Warren and a group of Joel's friends made a beeline to the Blackjack table, while Joel and Bobby took to the craps tables. Meanwhile, Hank kept himself occupied at the slot machines, calculating his probability of wins along the way.

Following a meal at one of the restaurants with an all-you-can-eat buffet and several bars for drinks, the group returned to the hotel. At that point, Joel's friends had disappeared to make some phone calls from their rooms. Bobby and the others stayed in Joel's room to make some drinks at the bar. Hank had appointed himself as the group's bartender, taking requests. His specialty for that night---screwdrivers.

After a couple of minutes, Joel's friends returned, announcing they had a surprise for their friend. Before Bobby could come up with a witty comment, Peter and Richard went into the hallway and led in a curvaceous blonde and an equally curvaceous brunette, wearing a nurse's outfit and carrying in a stereo. Bobby, already past his limit (usually, that was four alcoholic drinks---he had about six rum and Cokes), asked who was sick. For that remark, he received strange looks from Joel and the others.

As the brunette began her routine to the soundtrack of the latest Britney Spears CD, the blonde asked which one of them was the groom. When Richard asked why, she responded that she wanted to give him a special wedding present. Alarmed, Joel turned to the others and wiped a bead of sweat from his balding head nervously. He told them he wasn't comfortable with the situation, noting that his future bride expressly forbade him from having any interactions with strippers. Then he asked his three friends if they could stand in for him. All three shook their heads, commenting that they had received similar prohibitions from their wives.

Joel turned to Warren and Hank. "What about you two?" he inquired, finishing his martini.

Warren ran a tanned hand through his wavy blond hair, shaking his head. "The old me would say yes, but I'm seeing this new girl back home. It just wouldn't be right." His blue eyes glanced over at Hank, who was hurriedly chewing on a potato chip. "Beast?"

Hank was relieved that blue fur covered his cheeks. "I will have to respectfully decline," he said in a tone of voice, which forbade any further questioning. He hid his face behind the room service menu, finding that he had the urge to eat again. He then approached Peter and Jeff about joining him for another meal.

All eyes then turned to Bobby, who was working on his record seventh drink. He returned with a quizzical look, pointing a finger to his chest. Then he shrugged. "Sure," he slurred rather loudly, kicking off his sandals. "I'll get my check-up."

"Maybe this isn't a good idea," Hank warned, becoming concerned as he observed his friend's unsteady gait.

Warren grinned. "We're doing him a favor," he quipped, rubbing his chin. "The way I see it, this is going to be the first time he's seen a naked woman in years."

"I heard that!" Bobby yelled over his shoulder, which elicited laughs from Joel and the others. Apparently drunk Bobby was more amusing that sober Bobby.

Joel and the blonde quickly worked out the arrangements to send Bobby as his proxy. They agreed to allow his cousin some privacy by setting up the entertainment in Hank, Warren, and Bobby's neighboring room. Bobby, still very intoxicated, was oblivious to the conversation. Instead, he was asking the now-naked brunette about her nursing credentials. Sighing, Joel grabbed his cousin and ushered him and the blonde out of his room.

Bobby fumbled around in his pocket for the key card. "Can't find it," he muttered, his gray eyes heavy-lidded.

"It's in your hand, babe." The blonde pointed out. Realizing that he was lacking the fine motor skills to open the door, she went ahead and did it for him. Then she led him inside. Gently, she helped him sit down on one of the king-sized beds.

"Just relax," she purred, sliding her fingers in between the buttons of his Hawaiian shirt. She quickly pulled the shirt down, her eyes admiring the toned chest underneath.

Bobby blinked rapidly, feeling very much out of his body at that moment. It was as if he were observing the scene from the corner of the room. He wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, the situation, or a combination of both responsible for the dissociative experience. He looked down at the dancer, inhaling the mixture of cigarettes and liquor that emanated from her skin. He frowned thoughtfully as she stood up, swinging her hips and arms from side-to-side.

"What's your name, honey?" she whispered as she slipped off her nurse's hat.

"Bob. Bobby," he slurred, noticing how her uniform was not at all like Annie's back at the mansion. The skirt was too short. He made a mental note to make a suggestion to her the next time they talked.

"Hi, Bobby. I'm Ginger." She began to unbutton her dress very slowly, edging closer to him.

"Ginger.." The name rolled off his tongue quickly. He was startled when she began to brush her hair against his chest.

Ginger smiled at him. "Do you like that?"

An inaudible, but affirming sound escaped from his throat. She laughed softly, pulling off her white dress to reveal a lacy black bra and matching thong panties. His eyes widened in surprise, watching her step away from him to continue dancing for several minutes.

"You're cute," she cooed, running her hands through her hair and lowering her lashes coyly. "I could just take you home with me, you know."

He nodded, not sure what he was agreeing to. His ears thudded with the rush of blood seeping through his veins from the adrenaline. He inhaled sharply when she slinked towards him again, placing her hands on his thighs. Bobby stared down at the hands, which were small and white with shiny red nails.

Ginger leaned over and rested her cheek against his. "I'm gonna do something to you'll definitely remember. You have to stay still, Bobby. I want you just the way you are."

Bobby froze (not literally), an image of sapphire blue eyes and their warmth flashing in his head. I want you just the way you are. It seemed to immediately snap him out of his alcoholic cloud. He was now aware where he was. He was aware that his shirt was gone. He was aware that a strange blonde woman was straddling him, shoving her chest in his face and unbuckling and unzipping his pants.

More importantly, he was aware how wrong it all was.

Quickly, he picked up the young woman and lifted her off of him. "I'm sorry," he said, face flushing. "I just---I can't."

"What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

"No, no. It's just that.. I can't."

"Oh, I see. You're gay."

"What? No, it's not that. It's complicated, s'all."

"So you've got someone who won't let you, either? Man, you guys are whipped."

"Not 'actly." Despite somewhat more lucid thoughts, he was still slurring. Quietly, he handed her hat and dress. "Sorry."

Ginger sniffed haughtily, standing up. She quickly got dressed and began to head to the door. "Well, I hope she's worth it," she said flatly, closing the door behind her.

Still slightly disoriented, Bobby sighed. All of a sudden, he felt the need to change into different clothes. His drunken mind's logic dictated that if he wore different clothes altogether, he could immediately put the episode behind him. He stood up and stripped off the rest of his clothing, including his snowflake boxers. Then he stumbled to the walk-in closet and opened the door to step inside, the door swinging behind him closed.

Well, at least he thought it was the closet. Why was it so bright in here?

Bobby quickly sobered up when he realized he had actually walked out into the hall. Frantic, he also realized he had no key card to get back inside. He racked his brain as to what to do. He cursed the alcohol that stunted his ability to come up with a plan. His eyes darted around him, looking for anyone else in the hall. Crouching down low, he remembered that the others were next door.

On his way to the door, Bobby tripped over a loose piece of carpeting and banged into something hard and metal. He didn't bother to look as to what it was, but could feel something wet and slimy on his legs and back. This did not deter him from his mission to get to the Joel's room. He managed to form a fist and rapped it against the door.

Warren answered the door, poking his head through the door. His blue eyes widened when he saw his friend. "Bobby, what the hell?!" he exclaimed.

"Shh!" Bobby hissed, desperate for Warren to let him inside. "Don't make a scene!"

Warren acted as if he didn't hear him and continued his line of questioning in disbelief. "What happened to our room service food.... and why the hell are you standing in the hallway, buck-ass naked?" he demanded.

"I, uh, got locked out of the room." Bobby's face was now pink from embarrassment.

"So you took it out on our food?" Warren countered, staring at the room service cart behind Bobby.

Bobby sheepishly followed his friend's gaze. The cart had been knocked over and the food, or what was left of it, was scattered all over the hallway. Warren shook his head at the devastation. Something shriveled and purple that may have once been a stuffed eggplant; slices of bread, lettuce and tomato, which he presumed had been BLT sandwiches Hank wanted, only they were now missing the bacon; faint traces of the lasagna they were going to save for Bobby; lettuce from a sesame chicken salad they thought sounded good; and whipped cream from dessert was smeared on the floor like finger-paint.

"What happened, Bobby?" he finally asked warily.

"I dunno," was Bobby's knee-jerk response. Before he could stop himself, he added, "Um, it was like that when I got here."

It was then that Warren finally noticed that the younger man had a few smudges of whipped cream on his nude body. "Don't tell me this was part of some perverted sex game between you and that stripper," he groaned, looking away.

"No, it wasn't a sex game between us," Bobby snapped, gray eyes indignant. "If you really want to know, nothing happened."

"Then why the hell are you naked?" A disturbing thought popped into Warren's head and his eyes widened. "This wasn't a, um, one-player game, was it?"

"What? No!"

"Oh, Bobby..." Warren shook his head like a disapproving parent. He knew his friend was lonely, but this was ridiculous.

"For Chrissakes, Warren, let me in and give me the damn room key!" he snapped. Bobby angrily snatched up the white tablecloth from the toppled cart and wrapped it around his body like a toga.

"What's going on?" Joel asked as he shoved his wide head in the gap between the door and doorframe, just below Warren's. He immediately started smirking when he saw his cousin. He's not as innocent as we all thought..

"Bobby was jacking off with our food!" Warren exclaimed.

"Could you say that a little louder, Warren?" Bobby asked sarcastically. "I don't think they heard you in CANADA!"

Joel gave him a quizzical look. "You were jacking off in the hall, Bobby?" He knew his cousin was kind of strange, but this was kind of too much. Maybe he should have asked someone else to stand in as his best man. He wondered if it was too late to ask Peter, Richard, or Jeff.

"No!"

"Are you naked under that...that toga thing you're wearing?"

"Yes, and it's a tablecloth, for your information."

"What's all the yelling about?" Hank asked from inside the room. Hungry and impatient for the room service to arrive, he had opened a can of macadamia nuts and a bag of pretzels from the bar.

"Bobby was beating off in the hallway," Joel replied, rolling his eyes. He received a chorus of chuckles from his friends inside.

"I was not beating off!" Bobby suddenly noticed that some of the other guests had gotten curious from the commotion and were peering out of their rooms to see what the commotion was about. Bobby sighed and shook his head. "Oh, goddammit."

A red-haired bellhop approached the area. He stared at Bobby, then at the service cart. "Is there a problem here?" he asked.

Warren shook his golden head. "No, everything's fine," he answered, an amused sparkle in his bright blue eyes. "Our friend is just sexually frustrated, that's all."

Bobby screamed through his teeth. With as much as dignity as he could muster, he pushed the door open, knocking Warren and Joel backwards. Then he shoved his way into Joel's room, and away from the gawking onlookers in the hallway.

"Hey Bobby, what happened to your date?" Hank asked teasingly, popping a handful of pretzels into his mouth.

Bobby stopped in the doorway. "She had to go."

"I don't blame her," Richard teased from his spot on the couch, lighting another cigar and admiring the naked brunette in front of him.

Hank instinctively put out his arm and caught Bobby in the chest just as he lunged at the bigger, muscular man. He fished his room key card out of his pocket and handed it to Bobby. "Get some clothes on," he told him, somewhat exasperated. "Nobody's paying you to be naked."

Bobby nodded. He was still confused as to what exactly happened moments ago and why. The only thing he was sure of was that he had done the right thing.

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