The next morning was almost a repeat of the first one; though he was tempted to push the students harder than he had Ororo. They still complained about having to run two miles but most of them were keeping their complaints to themselves. Probably saving their energy for the run rather than wasting it to voice opinions that he was going to ignore anyway. In fact, Logan noticed that no one called him crazy a second time.
When he met with Ororo, he decided to save their jog until after he had put her through the wringer with combat training; thinking that she could run off the muscle fatigue and stiffness that might come when she was learning the first of many basic moves. But to his delight she caught on quickly and proved to be both quick and agile. What he found most surprising was her extraordinary sense of balance.
After showing her the basic moves, he had sparred with her to show her how to use and adjust the moves against a moving target. And during the light sparring session, he was surprised how many times she managed to save herself from a particularly nasty throw or dodge a well placed blow. She even managed to strike back from somewhat contorted and off balance positions. It was something he would not have expected given her current skill level.
Though true to his word, she landed on the mat a time or two. He found himself impressed at her abilities, despite the fact that she’d had little or no training. And he wondered just where she had developed her uncanny balance. On their run he decided to ask her.
“How did ya get such an unbelievable sense of balance? I’ve trained with masters of martial arts that didn’t have a tenth of yer skill.”
Ororo smiled slightly at the subtle praise. “I grew up in Cairo. After my parents died, I escaped the orphanage I was in and lived on the streets for many years where I plied my trade as a pick pocket and thief. A sense of balance was merely a requirement of survival.”
Logan could not hide his surprise at her admission. “You were a thief?” Logan noted a certain tone of pride in her voice and in the way that she nodded her head at him.
“And a damned good one too. I might still be in Cairo practicing that craft if I had not come across Xavier the way that I did.”
Logan shook his head in wonder as he contemplated the mental image of Ororo Munroe, the weather witch, a goddess born on earth, as a common thief. “Let me guess, ya picked his pocket.”
She smiled at the memory. “Yes, as a matter of fact I did; but I did not realize that he was a mutant, much less a telepath. Needless to say I did not get very far.”
Logan chuckled and shook his head.
“Something humorous Logan?”
“I just can’t reconcile the two images together; Ororo the thief with Ororo the Goddess.”
She reached out and jabbed him in the ribs as he continued to chuckle. “I have many faces and as I told you before Logan, there is much you do not know about me.”
Logan nodded as he met her gaze. “Yer right; but man, it’s going to be fun learnin’.” With that cryptic statement, Logan turned his attention back to the trail and they finished running in silence.
The rest of the week passed in a bit of a blur as the students and Ororo kept him on his toes. There were some minor disagreements with some of the students about who was the boss in his class and how much he could really make them do. But Logan handled them and by the end of class on Friday everyone was once again on the same page. As for Ororo, she continued to progress and learn quickly. Logan found himself looking forward to the next week and how much more she might surprise him.
With the arrival of Friday, it was time for Logan’s first report to Xavier on the progress of his students and Ororo. Logan had arranged a meeting with the professor at 7 p.m. Which gave him plenty of time to grab something to eat (although he pondered the wisdom of that when he discovered that somehow, it was Jubilee’s night to cook again) and smoke a cigar outside.
The cigar was the one vice that the professor would allow anywhere near the mansion and he could only smoke outside. Xavier considered the presence of beer too much of a temptation for many of the teenage students and despite Logan’s vehement protests, he forbid it anywhere near the mansion; at least during the school year.
Logan hoped the meeting would end relatively quickly as he had a deep desire to hop on his motorcycle and grab a cold one somewhere before calling it a night. He raised his hand to knock but never made it.
“Come in Logan.”
He opened the door to find Jean sitting with the professor sharing a cup of tea as they finished going over some minor infractions among the students.
“Yes Jean, I think you might be right. I think this new rash of senseless behavior is largely due to stress and boredom. Why don’t we plan another fieldtrip; this time to some place mindlessly entertaining for some of the students. Maybe a day outside the mansion where they aren’t being forced to learn anything will bring them around.”
Jean nodded as she set down her tea cup and stood up.
Logan looked at her, feeling the desire come alive inside him. He pushed his feelings down, resisting the urge to inhale deeply as she brushed by him. He watched her as she smiled softly at him and quietly let herself out of Xavier’s office.
When the door closed quietly behind her, Logan realized that had been the first time he’d seen her all week. In fact he realized that he hadn’t caught sight of One Eye much either.
He knew that he had been busy with the students and Ororo but to not have seen either of them in that amount of time, even in that size of a building was a little suspicious. He began to wonder if they were avoiding him intentionally; not that he minded if Cyke kept his distance. But he would have liked to seen more of Jean and spoken with her during the week.
Xavier broke into his thoughts before he could ponder the relevance of either realization. “Good evening Logan, I hope Jubilee’s attempt at dinner didn’t give you too much trouble.”
Logan grunted. “That kid should be banned from the kitchen; what she does in there is a crime against food everywhere. Not to mention diners.”
Xavier chuckled as he waved Logan to a seat; the seat Jean had just vacated.
He could smell her subtle scent on the cushions and he again fought the urge to inhale deeply.
Xavier offered him a cup of tea which Logan waved off before they settled down to the issue at hand. “Well, let’s get started. Since this is your first report to me, I’ll start by asking questions so you know what I want to know. Hopefully this will get easier as time goes by. How are the students progressing?”
Logan leaned forward shrugging a bit as he did so. “Too early to tell yet. So far they seem to be doin’ okay. There were some rough patches when they thought they could come to ya and get bailed out for breakin’ the rules and what not. But for the most part, the one or two trouble makers are startin’ to settle down and put forth an effort.”
“Trouble makers?”
“Yeah, there were two of ‘em; both boys. They thought that they could get out of the work I was askin’ them to do. Even went so far as to refuse to move when I told ’em to. So I took ‘em out and made ‘em do twice as much as anyone else. When the class was told to do 20 reps on each machine, I made ‘em do 40 at a slightly lighter weight. When the class had to run 2 miles, I made ’em run 4. Stuff like that. After the third day they decided they’d rather do less work when I asked ‘em to.”
Xavier seemed pleased. “I must say, you handled that well Logan. Have you decided when they’ll begin combat training?”
Logan nodded. “Next week we’ll start with basic moves; punches, blocks, kicks that sorta thing. I’ll be watchin’ each one and taking each one aside trying to see what might work best for ‘em. It looks like I should end up with about four or five different groups trainin’ in different areas. I hope to have ‘em sparrin’ by then end of next month.”
Xavier looked a bit concerned at that statement. “So soon? I had thought you’d hold off sparring for a few months yet.”
“Normally I might agree with you; but this ain’t the time to beat around the bush with this. These kids are growing up in a world that hates ‘em for how they were born. We can’t stop the war forever Chuck; when it comes, I want these kids to be prepared.” Logan knew that Xavier did not share his opinion. But they both knew that the students had to be prepared for any eventuality.
Xavier sighed loudly and promptly changed the subject. “What about Ororo? How is she coming along?”
Logan couldn’t help but smile when the professor asked about her. “We started hand to hand trainin’ the second day. She’s surprised me several times this week; not only with what she can do but what she’s willin’ to do. I think she’s managed to pick up a great deal; she just didn’t know how to use it or maybe was a little unsure. But she’s a natural. I don’t understand why she didn’t try and learn all this sooner.” Logan fought the urge to tell him that he was discovering that there was even more to their resident weather goddess than he had ever thought possible.
“Maybe she just needed the right teacher.”
Logan grunted again, trying to hide the pleasure that Xavier’s comment gave him.
“Well, I think that’s enough for now. I look forward to hearing more next week. I for one am looking forward to a quiet evening of reading. Enjoy your beer Logan; you’ve earned it.”
Somewhat surprised by the last comment, Logan said good night and left Charles to his quiet evening.
As Logan wandered out of the mansion towards the garage, a movement on the roof caught his eye. He looked up to see Ororo leaning out the window of her attic loft, staring off into the horizon, watching the sun set. Seeing her standing there, at that moment a part of neither heaven nor Earth, Logan suddenly found he didn’t want to spend the evening alone. “Hey Storm.”
She jerked out of her reverie and looked down at him standing on the lawn.
“Ya wanna join me for a drink and a ride?” For a moment she looked as if she was going to turn him down and he felt annoyed at the disappointment this caused him.
In the next, she leaped from the window and slowly floated down to him with a smile upon her face. “I could use a beer. Thank you Logan.” She walked towards the garage with Logan trailing behind her.
“Don’t mention it.” He said, even as he wondered, she drinks beer?
They roared away from the mansion a few moments later on his motorcycle. Logan noticed the shocked looks on the faces of the students they passed by. He heard Ororo laugh with delight behind him as he sped up, the wind whipping through her long white hair.
Logan took Ororo to a nearby bar; a much nicer one than he would normally frequent. He figured that she wasn’t in the mood for a brawl. He was surprised that she so readily agreed to come with him; and he was even more surprised when she ordered an import beer known to have a bit of a strong kick to it.
While they sat waiting for their drinks, Logan found himself pondering the enigma that was Ororo Munroe. Who was this woman who could go from elegant and poised regal beauty to down and dirty redneck in a single breath? He had never seen this side of her before and from the faces of those they sped past as they left the mansion, he had a feeling that very few others ever did either.
The waiter set their drinks down a few moments later and Logan took his eyes off of her long enough to grab his beer.
“You have been staring at me ever since we walked in here. Why?”
Logan shrugged taking a gulp of his drink before answering. “Yer a puzzle ‘Ro. I never figured ya for a beer drinker.”
She raised her eyebrows at the nickname. “’Ro?”
He took another swig. “What’s a matter, don’t ya like it?” She laughed, the sound of it touching something inside him.
She took a drink of her own beer, smiling as she did so. “As a matter of fact I do like it. As for me drinking beer, you have never asked me before.”
“True enough. Ya got anymore surprises for me tonight darlin’?”
Her eyes lit up with mischief as she shrugged. “If you were any other man Logan I would say you were flirting.”
“And if you were any other woman ‘Ro, I’d say ya were encouragin’ me. So what do ya have in store to surprise me with tonight?”
She looked around and her eyes stopping at the pool table. He followed her eyes and decided that he liked this new side of her that he was being shown.
“I take it ya play.”
She nodded. “But it has been awhile. Before Remy came, I used to play with Scott but he is a bit of a sore loser.”
“No, not One Eye, say it ain’t so.”
Ro laughed at the heavy sarcasm in Logan’s voice. “Yes, believe it or not. When Remy came, it was like old times. We would go out every weekend to shoot some pool and grab a beer. But ever since Remy met Rogue, well he has had very little time for anything else.”
Logan nearly choked on his beer at that revelation. “I thought she was seein’ Bobby.”
She shook her head. “Not for awhile now. You need to catch up on your school gossip. Bobby started seeing Kitty soon after he and Rogue called it quits. Then Remy showed up and swept her off her feet so to speak. I have never seen anything like it. I have known Remy a long time; we wandered around New Orleans together for awhile before I came up here to join the X-men. And in all that time, I have never seen him so taken with a girl before. For the first time since I have known him, it is like no one else exists for him.”
Logan took a drink of his beer pondering what he’d just been told, wondering why Rogue hadn’t bothered to tell him about it.
“She did not want to tell you. She thought maybe you might be worried about her or worse be angry at Drake for hurting her. You need not worry, the split was amicable; they felt something for each other but when Remy came, it was no longer enough for either of them.”
Logan looked into his beer fighting the urge to fire questions at Ororo about the young man’s character and past dating history. He really had no right; he wasn’t Rogue’s father. But he felt an inexplicable need to protect her even as he acknowledged that she was a strong young woman who had been through a great deal and managed to live through it.
Ororo touched his arm, seeming to have read his thoughts. “He really is a fine young man Logan. He is so enamored with Rogue, I do believe that he would throw himself in front of a speeding train before intentionally hurting her.”
Logan laughed as he slugged down the rest of his beer. “I’m that transparent?”
Ororo chuckled, pulling her hand from him. “You cannot help it. The two of you share a bond and you feel a need to protect her because so many others have tried to hurt her.”
Logan nodded and stood up, heading to the pool table. “Tell ya what darlin’. I’ll forget all about what ya told me if ya play a game of nine ball with me.”
“What is the wager?”
“Wager?”
“Come now Logan, we cannot play a game of pool without a wager.”
“What’d ya have in mind?”
“No money, just a simple exchange of services. If I win you shall teach me how to ride your bike.”
Logan couldn’t hide his surprise at her words. Of all the things she might have asked him for, it was the last thing he had expected. He never realized that she might ever have a desire to learn to ride a motorcycle. “All right. What do I get if I win?”
“What do you want?”
For a split second her softly spoken words sparked something inside him; something he hadn’t felt in a very long time. In the next instant, before he could explore it or even begin to describe it to himself, it was gone. He shook his head slightly to shake the feeling from his mind and he gave her a sly grin. He knew exactly what he wanted and he also knew that she would enjoy it as well. “If I win, I want another movie marathon; but this time I get to pick the flicks.” It seemed a perfect solution; in either event, if she won or if he did, he would get to spend more time with her. He decided that spending that time with her was vital if he was ever going to puzzle out the enigma that she had become to him. She held out her hand and he shook it firmly as they turned to the table which had just been declared a war zone.
Two hours later, Logan not only owed her lessons on how to ride his bike, but she had also conned him into helping her in her greenhouse for two weeks. After he had lost the first game, and the second, he had doubled his bet in an attempt to get something for himself out of the evening. But she had soundly trounced him, winning six games before he called an end to it. He had to admit that she wasn’t rubbing it in, but he still couldn’t believe that such guileless beauty could hide such a pool shark.
“I still say ya cheated.” He grumbled as they left the bar and walked towards his motorcycle.
Ororo looked indignant at the mere suggestion that the game had been less than honest. “I did no such thing. You are just angry that you missed that simple shot.”
He laughed despite himself as he handed her the helmet. “Alright darlin’. That might have somethin’ to do with it; but I don’t know how ya could have possibly made some of those shots.”
She put on her helmet and sat behind him as the bike roared to life. “Sheer skill Logan. I believe you owe me some lessons on how to ride this beast.”
Logan popped it into gear. “Yeah darlin’, I’ll get right on that. How bout tomorrow after I’ve put yer ass on the mat a few more times.”
She leaned closer, her voice soft and melodious in his ear. “If I did not know any better Logan, I might think you were disappointed at not seeing another Vin Diesal movie with me.”
Logan growled and gave the bike some throttle, roaring off as her laughter floated off on the breeze.
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