Paying the Price

"Ohhh…" Pyro moaned as he slowly regained conciousness. The first thing he felt was the pain. His entire body hurt and he was in terrible agony. "Where am I?" Pyro groaned then winced as the act sent a new wave of pain through his head. He was fairly disoriented but was able to make out that he was lying down on his back on a somewhat soft surface.

"Hey, he's awake."

"Huh," Pyro slowly turned his head and saw Remy sitting down nearby and setting down a book. "Gambit?"

"Good, you remember how to say my name," Remy said leaning forward.

"What happened," Pyro moaned as he tried to sit up.

"Hey, take it easy," Remy reached out and took hold of Pyro's shoulders, gently easing him back down. "You gotta rest now, okay?"

"Uhh, right," Pyro groaned and shut his eyes, trying to stop the room from spinning.

"You are in the infirmary," Piotr stood on the other side of Pyro while repositioning the blanket covering Pyro's stricken form.

Pyro opened his eyes and managed to glimpse that he was wearing a red T-shirt and boxers before the blanket settled over him. Remy noticed this. "Don't worry homme, Piotr and I just had to clean you up a little and get you into some clean clothes. You were quite a mess."

"Can you not talk so loud," Pyro winced.

"Sorry," Remy spoke more softly. "How you feeling?"

"Like my head is being split open with a dull, rusty axe, my skin is slowly being pealed off and my stomach is turning inside out and backward," Pyro moaned.

"Not surprised," Remy shook his head. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Uh, I think I was looking for something to drink," Pyro wimpered while closing his eyes again.

"Well you succeeded. You accidentily drank some of Sabertooth's special brew," Remy explained.

"It had a very high alcohol content," Piotr whispered as he pulled over a chair and sat down. "We took a small sample of what remained in the bottle and ran a test on it. It nearly burned through the slide we put it on before the test was done."

"You mean I was drunk?" Pyro asked.

"Yep, very drunk," Remy confirmed. "And you did quite a lot of damage. Almost burned down the whole base."

"Oh boy," Pyro winced. "Bet Mags is really mad. My headache just got worse."

"Here," Piotr held out Pyro's stuffed platypus and rested her against Pyro's shoulder.

"Oh, thanks mate," Pyro nuzzled his head against his platypus. "Hey Charlene. Ahhh, that feels good."

"With a lota rest and some time you'll feel much better," Remy said leaning back in his chair.

"Oh, good. I feel like junk right now," Pyro turned and looked over at Remy. "I'm never, ever gonna touch alcohol again. Nope, never. Do you drink at all mate?"

"Me? Naw. It's a bad habit. But I have gotten drunk before," Remy replied. "I was about ten or so and had just finished mastering the ninth level of lockpicking. My…teacher encouraged me to test and practice my skills, so I went and broke into his liquor cabinet and stole a few bottles of bourbon and tequila. I was kinda curious about it, thinking that by having some I would be considered an adult, so I had a few swigs."

"Really," Piotr stared at Remy with a shocked expression. "Didn't you get sick?"

"And how," Remy shook his head. "My teacher found me sprawled out on the ground, too drunk to even stand and with a mild case of alcohol poisoning. Fortunately, he and a few other members of my family managed to clean me up, but not before I threw up all over my teacher's face. Boy was he ever mad," Remy chuckled at the memory.

"Bet you got beaten on a bit, huh?" Pyro mumbled.

"Not right away. My teacher was just glad to see I was alright. Even praised me on my audacity and skill of breaking into his liquor cabinet. I did get a stern lecture on drinking and got by behind tanned a little when I had recovered, but I was treated alright. Since then I've never had alcohol," Remy finished telling his story and looked over at Piotr. "What about you homme?"

"Well, I did receive the communal wine when I used to attend church," Piotr replied.

"Well that's not bad since it's a religious thing and it's in such small quantities," Remy said. "Any other times?"

"No," Piotr said. "My parents did not favor drinking such things often, believing such behavior was harmful to all. Also such things were luxuries and unnecessary. They did have vodka and wine on special occasions, such as their wedding anniversaries or local gatherings, but it was always in moderation."

"Yeah. My family only drank when they were really stressed or worn out, like after pulling a big hei…uh, after working real hard. Too much alcohol prevents you from being sharp and coordinated," Remy said. "Sometimes they'd be a big party and people would get roaring drunk, but it didn't happen that often. Except when Henri got into a fight with a thirty gallon barrel of molasses and lost, but that was an exception."

"Heh," Pyro managed a weak chuckle and nuzzled up with his platypus. "Ya know, I probably wouldn't have had any of that stuff if the bloody bottle had been labeled."

"Don't worry. Mags tore into Sabertooth for leaving that stuff around where anyone could get it. Promised to get him a small refridgerator and made him keep it all in his room. Plus I made sure Sabertooth's entire alcohol stash was relocated so no one will make that mistake again," Remy grinned.

"Really, how?" Piotr asked.

"WHERE'S MY BEER?!" Sabertooth was heard shouting in the distance. "WHO TOOK MY BEER?! AND MY SPECIAL BREW?! AND MY SCOTCH?! WHOEVER DID THIS IS GONNA SUFFER!"

"Ow," Pyro winced from the noise and curled up tighter with his platypus.

"What did you do with it all?" Piotr looked at Remy.

"Let's just say it'll be interesting the next time Mags uses the bathroom," Remy grinned.