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Author's note: I didn't send this to my beta so all the reviews are my fault entirely. And sorry about being away this weekend! I'll have to start leaving messages in advance.

Ororo parked her car and searched around her heavy purse for her ringing phone. She could tell by the ringtone it was Hank-- a few weeks ago he programmed a specialized ringtone after a lengthy conversation about how customized ringtones were for kids-- but wasn’t sure why he was calling. The timing of the phone call was a little bad considering she was about to go to work, but she was always welcome to taking a call from Henry.

“I was just reading an article about African Moons and I thought about you,” he started.

Ororo sighed. “That’s sweet.” She got out of her car, her necessary items jumbled in her arms. “How was your trip to the dentist?”

“Good, but I’m positive that dentist only wants to charge me for things I do already. All he did was brush my teeth and floss for me.”

Ororo grinned. “So you don’t have a cavity then?”

“Excuse you, my dear. I brush twice a day and I haven’t had candy since last Halloween.”

Ororo let out a bark of laughter, feeling uneasy on her heels. The ground for the construction site was covered in gravel; she should’ve planned her outfit better. “Let’s not lie to ourselves,” she chided. Hank grumbled something about Snickers milkshake technically being a milkshake and not candy. Ororo rolled her eyes; Hank was such a big kid sometimes. “So will you be making it to dinner with Scott and Jean?” she asked.

“I plan on it; work might run over.”

Ororo nodded, looking around for the man in charge. Luckily, a few of the construction workers pointed her to a trailer. She waved at them, amazed that none of her items fell from her hands. The dress she was in did not allow for bending over; “form fitting” always meant “too tight.” As she headed towards the white trailer, she sighed. “I understand, but you know Scott was excited about seeing you.” She stepped up the ramp, her hand on the door handle.

“I know, and I’ll really try, but it’s been busy.”

She sighed, opening the door. She didn’t want to sit through Jean’s dinner without a buffer. She didn’t bother acknowledging how crappy that was. She opened the door and stepped inside. “Alright, I’ll let Jean know.” She nodded at Logan; he was sitting at his desk, pouring over schematics. “I’ll call you later.”

“Bye,” Hank said.

“Bye.” She clicked END and placed her belongings on Logan’s desk. He rose, sticking out his hand. She, for a moment, stared at it, then blinked away whatever memory was scratching its way to the surface. “Hello.” She shook his hand.

“Was that the mayor or something?” he asked conversationally.

“Or something,” she smiled, trying to send him the message. She vaguely noticed how he shifted his weight, as if he felt awkward. “So you know why I’m here: Look around and get filled in.” She wanted to choke on her words. “About the project,” she added hastily. “How are things?”

“They’re decent. We broke ground. Foundation’s good.” He looked at her feet. “You know heels really ain’t the best idea when on a construction site, right?”

Ororo let out a nervous chuckle. “Well, I kind of didn’t think it through. It matched the dress,” she waved a hand down herself.

“So it does.” He made a noise in the back of his throat and stepped around her. “You’ll need a hard hat. It probably won’t go with the dress.” He grabbed a yellow hat from the coat hanger and handed it to her. “You’ll still look nice, I promise.” He held the door open for her after tugging his own hat on; his wolfish hair proved to be a slight problem. “So that was your boyfriend?” Logan asked.

“Yes,” Ororo said, a brow raised in confusion. She wasn’t sure why he was asking; it wasn’t his business.

“I’m only asking ‘cause we did sleep together.” He turned around, his hands up. “I get it’s your relationship, but I always feel like dirt whenever I find out I did something wrong with the wrong person.”

“That was nearly three months ago, Logan.” He was still waiting. “Hank and I weren’t dating then.”

“His name’s Hank?” Logan furrowed a brow. “What is he?- a body builder? Your personal trainer?” He turned around and began walking.

“Logan, this really isn’t your business.”

“But? I’m allowed to be curious. I mean, you were almost my girlfriend.” He looked over his shoulder and winked at her.

She smiled, unable to figure out how he could take her from hot to cold and vice versa so quickly. It was like he knew her intimately. She swallowed. “We weren’t dating then. We were just getting to know each other.”

“Damn,” Logan whistled. “If only I were better that night. Cause lookin’ at you in that tight dress is making me forget we’re working.”

Ororo couldn’t help it, but she laughed. The time apart really helped. She didn’t feel like jumping down his throat and he wasn’t actively trying to piss her off. She remembered their stilted conversation at the bar; maybe they were meant to be friends because Ororo didn’t laugh very easily.

“I’ll get this tour started so you can get off your feet and I can get to my lunch.” He rubbed his hands together. “I don’t know what you’re interested in, but I found the most amazing Japanese restaurant nearby. It’s almost a pity it’s in this area.” He waved at one of his workers. “They don’t get much business.”

“Japanese, really?” she looked around the area. It was mostly grey and brown buildings. “I can’t imagine there being much of anything around here.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” he scoffed. “It’s a tragedy.” He stepped into the steel building and held his hand out for Ororo to take. She took it and stepped up. “But we’re gonna fix that. Now, to begin this tour...”


After the tour and following questions, Logan asked Ororo out to lunch. She glanced at her watch and said she wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but he gave a convincing argument: Her life would change for the better after eating their good food. She bit her lip, thinking about the hours that awaited her in the office and how she vainly wanted to wear this dress out in public a little while longer and decided it wouldn’t be so bad to take an early lunch. She called Marie, letting her know to just take messages.

Much like the bar meeting, their lunch was a little awkward. They eventually broke common ground, talking about the construction project. She admired his fervor, how serious he was. She knew he was right for the job; he wasn’t solely focused on how rich this was going to make him. She hated when she talked to clients and all they talked about was how great their Christmas was going to be. It repelled her. When their food came, he picked up his chopsticks and scooped up his rice. Ororo was amazed at his skill.

“I spent time in Japan,” he said, knowing she was going to ask. “You ever been there?”

“Japan? No, but I want to.” She looked at the fork in her hand and frowned. “Perhaps I should learn a few customs before going.”

Logan smiled. “It’s easy. Here,” he motioned for her hand. “You gotta pretend you’re holding a pencil or something. Or a pad stylus, knowing you.” He put her chopstick in her hand. “And the other one you hold like this,” he slid the second stick in between her fingers. “There.”

She tested out grabbing her rice. It dropped the first time, but the second time was successful. She let out a noise of triumph and grinned. “I did it!”

“You sure did, kiddo.” Logan went back to eating his meal, sneaking glances at her.

Ororo noticed. Before an awkward silence could settle between them, she decided to ask more questions. “So why did you travel to Japan?”

“People have reasons for traveling?” he asked. He shrugged. “I first went because I just wanted to, but I stayed for...” he shrugged. “Well, it didn’t work out, but I met a woman there.”

“Oh.” She leaned forward. “Did you love her?”

“I wouldn’t have felt like shit leaving if I didn’t,” he griped. He cleared his throat. “I don’t lie talking about it, but yeah. I did.” She gave him a sad smile. “Don’t go pitying me--”

“I’m not. We just seem to have a similar story.” She looked at her rice and remembered what could’ve been. She rationalized it a million ways because she truly did love T’Challa. “We were alike in many ways but I guess our cultures were too different.”

“I feel ya.”





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