This is how I figure that one Storm/Wolverine scene in the gag reel would have gone if it weren't meant to be, well, part of the gag reel. This is completely self-indulgent and I'm only kind of sorry because movieverse!RoLo fans waited fourteen years for this and we got it in a blooper.

For Hugh and Halle, who both totally ship it.


"Basically I'm the only one who's gonna remember any of this, right?"

"I think so," Ororo nodded once, uncertainty coloring her voice. Logan could probably count on one hand the number of times he'd sensed that kind of anxiety on her. For the most part, Storm tackled things with the kind of self-assurance and determination that was frankly awe-inspiring. He'd figured her out though - after so many years of fighting by her side, he knew that wasn't always the case. Ororo had a human center just like the rest of them, one with as many doubts and concerns as anyone else did. What set her apart was that she never let them show because for so long, their team had depended on her - on the two of them - to be strong in the face of adversity.

He acknowledged what a privilege it was that she counted him as one of the few she could show that side of herself to. And eventually, he found himself returning the favor, which was why he pulled her aside shortly after Charles, Kitty and Bishop briefed him on how it would all go down. There was only one person who could reassure him right now and he could see his concerns mirrored on her face.

After all, they'd never done anything like this before. They'd faced one trying encounter after another together since the incident at Liberty Island, all those years ago... But this time, he'd be going where she wouldn't be able to follow. For years now he'd always had her back, and she, his. So perhaps, more than anything, that ache of not being able to go with him this time was what scared her the most.

It scared him a bit too, if he was completely honest. But with the knowledge that he was the only chance they had, his insistence on being sent back in time had been instinctual. Even if they had no way of knowing it would work out, they had to try. They were X-Men; it was what they did. And they - at least, he and 'Ro - had a pretty damn good record of coming out on top when the dust cleared.

So he reached out to squeeze her arm firmly to reassure her (and himself) with a curt nod. "Okay, then."

And then he took a step towards her, leaned in to press his lips to hers without warning.

He felt her startle, but a beat later she was reaching her fingers to the back of his neck to keep him close. He'd surprised her, but she returned the favor by kissing him back a bit more fiercely than he knew to expect. There was a tremor running through her body, followed by faint static humming under her skin in its wake but all he did was hold her closer.

They broke apart not long after, but even then they spent a few more seconds scant inches from each other.

He'd meant it as a kiss goodbye, but as he took in her shortness of breath and the way she looked up at him with eyes that shone bright even in the dimness of the room, he realized how much he wanted to try it again. And again, to make up for all the lost time.

Logan took a step back, steeling himself and looking away so he didn't have to see the new anguish in her eyes at having to part in this way.

"... I'll see you later, then."

Because suddenly he knew that there was no way he was making that first kiss also their last.






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