For several days after Rogue and Remy’s sudden departure, the mansion seemed to be holding its breath. There was an air of tension throughout the grounds that everyone felt but could not find a cause for. It was almost as if something within it was waiting for the other shoe to fall; or perhaps it was simply waiting for an explosion.
After all, Logan was not known for holding his temper in check. And most everyone who witnessed him stomping through the mansion on the fateful day of the couple’s sudden disappearance, were witness first hand to the terrible fury within him.
He had swept through the mansion like a gale force storm radiating anger and rage in a cloud so thick some of the younger telepaths and empaths were overwhelmed and passed out. Jean and Hank were forced to spend the better part of a day soothing the psychic and emotional trauma caused by Logan’s unshielded rage.
Then just as suddenly as it had come, that rage vanished; swept away during his argument with Jimmy by the irrefutable logic in the young man’s words. And in its wake, a feeling of anticipation fell over the mansion while everyone waited to see what would happen next.
No one blamed Logan for his anger. It was common knowledge among the students that he and Remy didn’t get along. The two had been seen clashing more than once by several students. And the gossip mill of the school ran rampant with rumors that the two had come to blows more than once. Add to that his strong concerns for Rogue and many were surprised that he simply hadn’t run from the mansion to find her himself.
But Logan was no fool. He hadn’t survived for as many years as he had by being stupid and rushing headlong into situations that were best left alone. And after talking with the professor, Logan realized that this was a situation he had no choice but to step back from. He was just too close to the whole damned thing to be objective about it.
The truth was that Rogue was better off where she was; away from the mansion and the memories that still called to the alien personality trapped inside her mind. And in all honesty, despite the hostility between them, there was really no one else that he trusted more with Rogue’s life than Remy.
So, he would back away from them and let them be. It wasn’t as if he had no clue where they had gone after all. And if worse came to worse, he could pry the information out of someone; it would just take time and energy he was not willing to spend right at the moment. He had so many other uses for that same time and energy and he planned on enjoying every one of them.
With Logan’s easy acceptance of Rogue’s leaving, Charles decided to no longer mince words with the rest of the students. He informed them that Rogue had left and he was unsure of just when she would be back. When asked, he told them the reasons for her leaving and that she had taken Remy with her.
Many of the students did not seem surprised by this new development in the minor drama that had become Rogue’s life. In fact, many of Rogue’s closest friends appeared somewhat relieved that she had gone. Almost as if they had been expecting it, or encouraging it themselves.
When faced with that revelation, Logan simply shrugged and continued as he was before, suddenly as patient as glacial ice, simply waiting for some contact from her. After all, there was more than enough to occupy his time and he had little left to call his own.
Between Ororo’s new small arms training regime, his daily workouts with her in hand to hand combat and the defense course for the students, he was often run ragged by the end of the day. But, surprisingly, he found himself enjoying it. And the efforts did bear the sweetest rewards.
Ororo was surprisingly a natural when it came to the new tactics training he was teaching her. Despite her protests against learning to use guns, she was proving a very good shot. Given enough time, Logan was sure she’d rival some of the best trained sharp shooters he’d ever seen. The woman had the eyes of an eagle.
He planned on continuing working her on small arms for another couple of weeks. And then, as summer approached and they found themselves with more time to spend, he intended introducing other weapons training just for variety.
But for now he wanted to keep it simple and light. Small arms training, hand to hand and basic physical training, depending upon his mood. The one thing he continued to work on with her without fail was other uses for her powers; especially her ability to manipulate the wind.
So far they’d had little success in achieving exactly what Logan was looking for. Largely because there seemed to be an unseen barrier stopping all their efforts. And between the two of them they seemed to have run out of ideas on to go about accomplishing what he was asking her to do.
Logan wanted to use her ability to create a soft tendril of a breeze to create something harder, more whip-like, that could be used against anyone or anything that meant her harm. They’d managed more forceful tendrils to be sure but nothing that could be manipulated and used like a whip or cord. So they kept trying and the frustration over their failure kept mounting. Until suddenly, one day, they managed a breakthrough
It had only been a couple of days since Rogue and Remy’s departure and Logan was in the gym pushing Ororo to try again. He knew they were missing one vital piece to finish the puzzle and make it work. But as of yet, he had no idea what it was. So he kept pushing.
“One more time ‘Ro. Concentrate, the last one felt different. I think yer close.”
Ororo took a deep breath and tried to coral her exhausted mind to the task before her. She opened her eyes, lifting her hand and willing the air around her to form into a whip-like structure. The atoms shifted, slipping against one another as they struggled against her control.
She shut her eyes pouring more and more of her will into the air until her arm began to shake. With a grunt of frustration, she wrapped her hand around the slipping molecules and lashed out with them. They hit the target with a resounding splat, not the sharp crack both of them had been hoping for.
Next to her, Logan shook her head as he examined the target. There wasn’t even a dent in damn thing. He turned to her, noticing her fatigue for the first time.
Her arms were shaking slightly and she was swaying visibly as she stood there. Her legs felt as if they were made of jelly suddenly and she could feel her breath rasping harshly in and out of her lungs.
Logan swore softly, stepping closer and shoving her to the floor, afraid that if she didn’t sit down, she was going to fall. He stood behind her, massaging her shoulders trying to ease some of the tension he found there
She groaned at the contact, the tight muscles in her neck and shoulders slowly relaxing under his skillful hands. She leaned back slightly, her eyes closed as her breathing evened out and deepened; the shaking in her legs and arms slowing and then stopping altogether. He sighed loudly as she leaned into his touch.
“Dammit ‘Ro, ya coulda told me that last one was to much for ya.” He reached behind them and grabbed at the pile of stuff he had dumped there, draping a towel over her sweat soaked shoulders before he thrust a large bottle of water into her hand.
“I know I should have, but I feel we are so close. I had to try just one more time.” She gulped the water feeling the sudden wave of thirst hit her as his hands gave her one last squeeze before he kneeled down next to her.
He was quiet for several moments, watching the color come back into her face.
“If ya keep pushin’ this hard, yer gonna hurt yerself or someone else. It ain’t worth that darlin’.” He watched her closely as she gulped her water, pleased that the shaking stopped almost immediately after she sat down.
“I know. But I do not like being denied something I very badly want.” She gave him a slight pout and he laughed.
She looked like a kid at Christmas who didn’t get the gift they were asking for. It made her seem very sweet.
He smiled, recognizing the determined glint in her eyes.
“You want this real bad don’t ya?”
She nodded, taking another long draw from the water bottle.
“Tell ya what, maybe we should try somethin’ different. Concentrating don’t seem to be doing much but wearing ya out. We’ve been at it for months and ain’t found a way to do it yet. Let’s try another way.” He stood, pulling her up with him.
She stood there for a moment, letting him dry her face and neck with the towel, thinking about what he said.
“What do you suggest?”
“Let’s try somethin’ fun fer a change. Somethin’ that gives ya a little bit of a challenge. Ain’t no fun aimin’ at that damned thing.” He pointed to the target he had erected at the other end of the room. The target that had nary a mark on it since they’d begun working on the technique all those months ago.
She lifted her hands and sent the paper and wood contraption flying in a burst of wind. She smiled with satisfaction at the sound of it striking the floor and gave Logan her full attention.
“That was fun. The damned thing has been making fun of me for a month now.”
Logan laughed, picking up some foam targets that were often used in training some of the students. He held one up.
“You can knock things away with wind, can’t ya?”
She nodded.
“Good, we’ll start with these. I don’t want ya to think about it, just react. Just think about pushing them away from ya.”
He started tossing them at her gently and she began knocking them back to him using her powers.
They continued the game for several minutes until Logan ran out of foam objects. Then, he reached back and grabbed some tennis balls and they continued on as before. All the while, Logan’s voice droned on, encouraging and instructing her.
He started tossing a few at her at once, hoping to step up her concentration without stressing her too much. Then, he began tossing them to her faster and faster, his voice still droning on as he encouraged her efforts.
Then, at a moment when he knew her focus had sharpened and she had relaxed to the point that her body would react without thought, he reached for a heavier object just behind the pile of targets. He kept his voice calm and even, his motions the same as before, not giving her a clue as to his intentions as he lightly chucked the object in her direction.
The moment the piece of wood left his heads, he yelled a warning.
“Think fast Storm.” He watched as her instincts kicked in and she set herself in a defensive stance he’d taught her. He felt a pulse of power come from her as her eyes flashed brilliant white, nearly glowing against her dark skin and she raised her hand towards the oncoming threat.
There was a sharp crack, like a stroke of thunder and the board dropped from the air, neatly split into two pieces. For a moment there was silence in the room as both of them stared at the board on the floor.
Their eyes met across the room and they both began to smile. Without a word, Ororo threw herself at him and he caught her easily.
She wrapped her legs around him as he suddenly spun her around, her laughter ringing throughout the room. She kissed him soundly as he set her on her feet.
She twirled around the room unable and unwilling to contain the joy that the breakthrough had caused.
“Did you see that? Can you believe it? By the Goddess that felt wonderful!”
He chuckled as he went over to the wood and picked it up, studying it closely. It was cleanly cut, almost like he’d taken his claws to it.
“Damn darlin’. Remind me never to piss you off. I don’t want to know how much this might hurt.” He handed her the wood as she chuckled. “Think you can do it again?”
She nodded and watched as he walked over to the target, setting it up once more. She took several deep breaths and let her body take control. This time, when she lashed her hand out at the target, it splintered into multiple pieces before crashing to the floor.
Logan winced slightly at the loud echo it produced, too caught up in Ororo’s excitement to really care about the pain in his ears.
“Well it worked. I think we’ve done enough for today.”
She gave him a somewhat pitiful look.
“But, I want to keep trying. It has taken us so long to find a way for me to do this, I want to see if I can do more.”
He reached out and gripped her shoulders tightly, squeezing slightly as he watched her eyes flutter shut.
“Darlin’, I can see yer dead on yer feet. You’ve done it twice, ya can do it again. Gotta learn to crawl before ya can learn to walk.” He waved his hand on the target even as he nudged her towards the showers. “I’ll clean up in here. Take a nice long soak and we’ll talk about dinner when you’re done.” He gave her a final pat on her behind as she walked away.
After her initial success, Ororo progressed quickly, easily duplicating the airwhip (as Logan had taken to calling it) again and again.. And in a couple of days, she was well on her way to mastering this latest facet of her powers. Both she and Logan were greatly encouraged by her progress and Logan began to think up new and interesting ways to test her limits. They were often seen with their heads together in the control room of the danger room, thinking of new scenarios that would allow Ororo to expand her limits.
But as wrapped up as they were in each other, neither one was completely oblivious to either the passage of time or the impending holiday of Valentine’s Day. Though they each were ignoring said holiday for differing reasons.
Logan usually tried to hide the fact that he was really quite capable of being romantic; he did have his reputation to consider after all. And he had never really understood the need for a nationally recognized holiday that celebrated love. He was pretty sure that Ororo found the holiday nearly as perplexing as he did.
But he knew that Ororo was still bothered by what her brother had said and done a short time ago. After all, it had only been a couple of weeks since he and Rogue had taken off to God knew where, fleeing the mansion each for their own reasons. And in that time, Ororo had appeared unfazed and unscathed by her brother’s parting words. But he knew it was a farce; she was still hurting a great deal.
So, he decided to do something special for her to try and take her mind off of all the troubles they’d gone through in the last few months. Problem was he wasn’t really sure just what he wanted to do for her. Everything he came up with was bit too clichéd or worse, just plain sappy in his mind. Neither of which was what he really wanted to present to the woman he loved.
During his contemplation, he realized that in the past few months their weekly movie night had fallen by the wayside. Discarded under the duress of the chaos that had descended over the mansion after Rogue’s accident. And they had yet to resume it once things had finally begun settling down to something approaching normal.
But Logan knew that trying to find a quiet place in the mansion on Valentine’s Day to watch a bunch of Ororo’s favorite movies would likely be near impossible. And so, he continued to wait, hoping to come up with a way around that dilemma or a better idea.
Unbeknownst to Logan, the wait must have been driving Jean slightly crazy because she confronted him just a couple of days before the big day.
“Logan, do you have a minute?”
He stopped, his unlit cigar clamped between his teeth as he turned to face her.
“Sure Red, what’s up?”
She strode up to him almost as if she planned on forcefully brushing right past him. But, stopped at the last second and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m sure you know what’s coming up this weekend.” She looked as if she were prepared for battle.
Logan studied her for a moment feeling a touch of amusement at her posture and attitude. He decided to yank her chain just a bit.
“Sure, Saturday, followed by Sunday. Both days givin’ us a delightfully short break from this circus masquerading as a school.”
If possible, her stance stiffened.
“That’s not quite what I meant Logan.”
“Then just what did ya mean?”
She cursed softly. “Valentine’s Day. You know, cupid’s arrows, dinner, dancing, romance in the air, maybe a dozen roses.” She reached up and tapped her fist against his forehead. “Any of this ringing a bell in that metal-laced skull of yours?”
He ignored the tapping even as he nodded. “Well yeah Red, but what’s any of this got to do with me?”
There was a moment of stunned silence as Jean reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose.
“Please tell me that you’re not really being that dense.” She muttered quietly, more to herself than to him.
He laughed at her exasperated tone and reached out to pull a lock of her brilliant red hair.
“Hell Red, just pullin’ yer chain. Damn, didn’t know it was going to be that easy. What’s a matter, ole One Eye giving ya fits or something?”
Again, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Ha ha, very funny. And to answer your question, no he isn’t.”
He stepped closer, letting his voice drop to a conspiring whisper as he continued harassing her.
“So what’re you here for, really? Tryin’ to con the details out of me? Maybe get me to spill so ya can pass it on to ‘Ro?”
“No, I was just making sure that you had something planned for her.”
He chewed on the end of his cigar thoughtfully as he shrugged. “Not sure exactly what, but yeah, I wanted to do somethin’ for her.”
Jean nodded, clapping her hands lightly. “Good. She needs a night of romance and carnal pleasure. She hasn’t gotten a lot of that before.”
This time Logan smirked openly and shot her a leer. "Darlin’, I think that girl’s gettin’ ‘bout all the carnal pleasure she can handle. Or ain’t she talked to ya in a while?”
She held up her hands and stepped back from him, her annoyance clear.
“There is such a thing as too much information Logan.”
He shrugged slightly. “Huh, never thought to hear ya say that. You sure Scooter ain’t got yer panties twisted over somethin’?”
She sighed, the noise audible to even a deaf man.
“Yes, I am. Look, all I wanted to know was whether or not you planned on doing something for Ororo on Valentine’s Day. Now I know so if you don’t mind, I’ll be leaving.”
He watched her turn and decided to throw out one last parting shot.
“Come on Red, don’t be shy, we can trade some stories.” He chuckled slightly as he watched her hurry off, his hyper-sensitive ears catching her mutters of annoyance as she stalked off.
Logan had been racking his brains for days, wondering just how in the world he could turn such a simple thing as a movie marathon into a night of romance. And for all that time, he’d come up empty handed. But later the same day of his poking fun at Jean, he caught a break. And one of the students managed to give him a rather novel but romantic idea.
He was wandering down the hall listening to the kids talking and gossiping pretending not to notice anything they said or did. His presence in the halls had become such a common place thing that many of the students weren’t even consciously aware that he was there.
Because of this he was often able to not only gauge the mood of the students on a day to day basis but also stop any pranksters or rebellious antics before they ever really got started. Jean, Scott and the Professor had told him that he often saved them from a lot of headaches that way.
Often what was said was harmless, frivolous words and conversations of teenagers growing up as normal as their world would allow. Gossip concerning other students or speculations about an upcoming test, even hushed words about what it might be like to join the team sometime in the future were the most common things he heard. But every once in awhile, a gem would fall in his lap and that day was no exception.
Two young girls were in front of him, talking excitedly about some TV show he’d never heard of. He was really only half listening in an event. His mind was far to preoccupied with Ororo and his still as of yet unconfirmed plans for Valentine’s Day. When something one of them said drew him back to their conversation.
He caught the words “terribly romantic” and “personal drive-in” and it perked his interest. He listened intently for several minutes, a slow smile growing on his face as his mind suddenly began whirling with possibilities. After another moment of eavesdropping, he nodded even as he began to slightly modify the idea to better suite his idea of the night. He left the girls, oblivious to the fact that they had inspired him and hurried off to begin setting his plans in motion. This was really going to knock her socks off. And if he were lucky, maybe a whole lot more too.
The days until Valentine’s Day disappeared rapidly. Logan disappeared earlier in the day, claiming that Charles needed an urgent favor done before night fall. Ororo kissed him goodbye trying to hide her disappointment over the request and went on with her day. That evening found her still alone, walking up to her room.
She paused outside the door when she noticed a note pinned to it. She scanned it quickly, easily recognizing Logan’s surprisingly flowing scrawl.
Darlin’,
There’s an abandoned farmstead about an hour northwest of the mansion as the crow flies. Meet me there at dark. And wear somethin’ warm.
Logan
Ororo stared at the note for several moments pleasantly surprised, his strange disappearance that day suddenly explained. She found herself wondering just what he was up to. She was used to surprises from him but those were often small things. Like walking out to the green house to find that he’d already been out and left her gloves and tools piled neatly by the door for her. Or that he’d gone and found a book she’d been looking for in the library and brought it to her because she had mentioned an interest in it. Or bringing her a cup of fresh coffee right before her first class began.
Those were little things, small things, things of very little importance but such depth of meaning behind them. Because they showed that he cared. And, more importantly that he knew her and was paying attention to her wants and needs.
So, as she stood there staring at his familiar handwriting pondering his words, she wondered just what he’d planned for them. She was no fool, she was more than well aware of the approaching holiday. And while she had adjusted to American life in a great many ways, a few of the more commercialized holidays still escaped her. Valentine ’s Day being a prime example.
Not that she really minded a day that celebrated love; in fact she thought it was a damned good idea. Too many people in the world forgot about the importance of love in their lives and she liked to think that the holiday might remind them of it. But she thought that perhaps they had gone about it the wrong way.
Celebrating love and spending time with those you loved should be a means and end unto itself. But apparently no one had ever thought to ask her. Because someone had thought it a good idea to give Valentine’s Day a mascot; a cherubic angel that was supposed to represent Cupid, the god of love. So many people never realized or simply were unaware that Cupid of ancient myth was thought of as a powerfully masculine man, not some child in a diaper with wings.
And all the candy and the pressure to buy the right gift and make the right dinner or pick the right place to eat. There was far too much emphasis on the expected perfection and the gesture of love behind the gifts and meals was lost. It was a holiday that she had much rather enjoyed from the sidelines, most especially with Forge.
She sighed loudly as she put the note down and began to dress for the evening out with Logan. She stood in front of her closet, pondering both her clothes and her thoughts. She wondered where that errant thought had come from and just why it had chosen to surface at that moment in time. She reached for a heavy sweatshirt and pondered it as she let her mind wander over it.
She had loved Forge but the man had never ever been even remotely romantic. In fact if she gave the matter some thought, he had never really ever done anything to make her feel cherished or loved beyond the words he used to woo her. Truth be told, she felt more loved and cherished by Logan. Someone who was gruff and somewhat abrasive who would more than likely gut a man for calling him a romantic than anything else.
She smiled slightly at the thought as she pulled on the sweatshirt and reached for a favorite pair of faded jeans to go with it.
And yet, he did do the little things, the things that, until that moment she had never realized she would enjoy having someone do for her. The kinds of things that only someone who truly knew her, knew her likes and dislikes, would know to do for her. The kinds of things that showed someone you loved them far better than words ever could.
And that, she realized was the true sticking point with Forge. He had never taken the time to ever truly know her. Oh he had known her well enough to fool her into thinking that she was important to him. But the affection she needed, the subtle attention that anyone craved from the person they loved had never been there.
With Logan she had no such qualms. If she ever had doubt in her heart about what he felt for her, the look in his eyes whenever she looked up to find him there was more then enough to dispel them. The fire in his eyes, a fire that she knew raged for her and only her, burned away any and all doubts she might have.
And she knew in her heart that this was not the simple love affair she had once shared with Forge. This was something more primal, more passionate than anything she had ever known. And it filled a void inside of her that she had before known existed. For the first time in her life, she felt complete.
As she sat on her bed pulling on her wool socks and hiking boots, the sudden epiphany hit hard enough to nearly knock her from the bed. And as she reached down to tie her last boot lace, she felt the final vestiges of pain caused by Forge’s rejection simply fade away. Only to be replaced by the warm glow of her love for Logan.
Feeling suddenly giddy she laughed aloud, touching her face in startled amazement when she felt the warm splash of tears upon her cheeks. She smiled again and raced to the window, throwing it open to gaze at the brilliant night sky overhead.
The moon was full and its pale light streamed downward to the counterpoint of twinkling starlight in the inky night sky. She leaned her elbows on the window sill simply gazing at the moon in utter rapture for several moments, her heart lighter than it had been in a very long time.
She closed her eyes, feeling the soft beat of the pale moonlight against her eyelids as she took in a deep breath and sent out a silent prayer of thanks to the Goddess for bringing Logan into her life. Opening her eyes, she stepped into the open window and launched herself from the sill, tumbling through the air, her joy spilling out and into the night. She flew up, got her bearings and headed in the direction Logan had indicated, part of her wondering what he was up to and the other part of her not really caring so long as he had undertaken to do it himself, for her.
About an hour later, just as he promised, she landed at the abandoned barn near the small blazing fire he’d obviously built for her. She walked towards it reveling in its radiant warmth. As she approached it, she noticed a sleeping bag folded up near it, a note resting on it. She picked them both up.
Bring the blanket towards the barn. I brought the convertible with me.
She did as instructed somewhat surprised by both gestures. She easily spotted the car and walked towards it, wondering where Logan was. She reached the car and found another note on the door. She pulled that one free and read it.
Get in the back and bundle up. I’ll be right there with the snacks and yer surprise.
She smiled slightly even as she opened the door, wondering just what in the world they would need snacks for but she did as instructed in the note. He must have been watching for her because the moment she was settled, there was a flicker of light from behind her and the side of the barn was filled with the opening credits of a movie.
She gasped slightly as the title came up: Ten Thousand Bedrooms one of her all time favorites. She heard the soft crunch of snow next to her and she turned to see Logan standing next to the car, holding a large tub of popcorn in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other.
"Happy Valentine’s Day darlin’.” He opened the door and slid into the backseat with her, handing over the popcorn as she opened up the sleeping bag to let him in. He snuggled close to her, wrapping an arm around her as the movie continued to play on the broad side of the barn.
“Logan, this is wonderful.” She kissed him lightly, gently, her touch full of love.
“I thought ya might like it.” He reached out and opened the champagne, handing the bottle over to her as she began munching on the popcorn. “Hope ya don’t mind, but we’ve got the holoprojector all night. And Hank spent the last couple of days putting together vids of yer favorites. Even better, it’s Friday night and we’ve got no where to go tomorrow.”
Ororo smiled, snuggling into Logan’s arms and settling down to watch the movie.
“What else is on the marquee tonight?”
“Some Like It Hot, Casablanca and It Happened One Night.”
“Logan, we’ll be here nearly all night.”
Logan smirked slightly at her as he raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t worry Darlin’, I’ll keep you warm. Besides, no one said we had to watch all of them.”
She laughed, loudly, openly and kissed him again. This time he reveled in the taste of the popcorn and champagne she’d just imbibed, underscored by the fresh taste that was pure Ororo and all of it was flavored with love.
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