[Reviews - 46]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story |
Printer Chapter or Story |
ePub eBook Chapter or Story |

Has been viewed 2811 times

- Text Size +




Ororo stretched and twisted amidst the tangled covers, listening to her joints snap, crackle and pop. The buttery morning light streamed in through her bedroom window, telling her she had slept in later than she had planned. She rolled over the other side of the bed and patted the empty pillow. Lukewarm. He’d been up for a while. Slowly she sat up and planted her feet on the cool hardwood floor boards and contemplated the day. This was one of her rare days off, and she planned to enjoy it.

“Chuckles?” Ororo reached for her short, light blue terry cloth robe and wrapped herself in it on the way into the kitchen. “Puppy? Logan?” She wandered into Jubilee’s room, peering inside for signs of life. “Jubes?” Empty. Hunh.

Sighing, Ororo returned to the kitchen. She felt the coffee pot and smiled; it was still nice and hot. She rummaged in the surprisingly crowded cupboards and tracked down the mug that was currently her favorite, a souvenir cup with Logan’s name on it that he’d gotten from a trip to Las Vegas. Unpacking and consolidating all of their kitchen items had been an adventure. Ororo had a surprisingly pitiful number of kitchen appliances and utensils, while Logan and Jubilee had accumulated a plethora of mismatched dishes from the usual wear and tear of moving around a lot and losing the occasional dish to the “accidents” that happened when there were too many elbows butting up against each other in a tiny kitchenette, bucking for room.

At least the house didn’t look like a train wreck, for which she was utterly grateful. The garage sale wore her out, even though Logan thoughtfully provided them with folding club chairs and a hook-on sun umbrella as they attempted to get their labeled prices on the surplus of goodies gleaned from combining two households into one. Ororo smiled to herself as she reached for the coffee creamer. Despite Logan making the offer that day at the school, she’d been the one to convince him that moving into her house was actually a better idea. She had a little more space, even though her home featured the same number of bedrooms, but at least she had a small yard for Chuckles to call his own, and she lived on a quiet street, away from the main road and traffic that rushed past Logan’s store everyday. Jubilee had discovered the kids in the neighborhood, pronouncing them “kinda cool” and spent most of her time visiting with the tall, olive-skinned daughter of the St. Croix family down the block. The two of them argued like sisters.

It had been a lot to absorb all at once, and Ororo was still reeling from the feeling of her previously quiet home being “occupied” again. Once she and Jubilee had a short chat about the volume of her music, Ororo decided she didn’t mind it at all as the sounds of Coldplay, Kelly Clarkson and Evanescence drifted down the hall to her living room every night as she let herself in the front door. Ororo’s Jeep and Logan’s pickup made for a tight fit in the two-car garage. They were already planning another yard sale.

What made it all real for Ororo was the day that she and Logan had taken Jubilee to the bed and bath store at the galleria to outfit her new bedroom. It had started out simply enough. “Ororo, you totally ROCK! This is so cool, this is too cool! AAAAHHHH!” Ororo watched the frenetic jumping and dancing, complete with emphatic shrieks and hugs that bruised with a feeling of deep satisfaction. They piled into Logan’s pickup and Jubilee peppered Ororo with questions about what colors should she pick, could she get a lava lamp, maybe they could paint the walls?

Ororo and Logan followed Jubilee as she practically left a smoking trail out of the parking lot into the store, holding hands as they selected a shopping cart. They walked shoulder to shoulder through the store, following Jubes as held up various accessories and began chucking them into the cart at Ororo’s nods of approval.

That’s when it happened.

“Ohmigod! Just LOOK at these satin sheets!”

“Not on your life.” They’d spoken in unison, like something out of a bad sitcom. Ororo turned to face Logan, her smile incredulous.

“What did we just do?” Jubilee rolled her eyes and placed the ostentatious pink bedding back on the rack.

“Nothin’ darlin’, ‘cept prove we’re on the same page.”

“Are we?”

“Oh, yeah.” Logan lifted her hand to his lips and nibbled her knuckles. Ororo made a low sound in her throat like a purring cat. The two of them watched Jubilee peruse the lighting section, ooh’ing and aah’ing over the sconces, just enjoying the peaceful feeling that this was right.

Ororo could have sworn she heard a ticking sound…and then realized it was her biological clock.

Ororo was peering into her refrigerator for the loaf of bread and jam when she heard the click of the front door, followed by yips and claws scrabbling over the floor. “Sounds like my baby came home!” Ororo sang, setting down her coffee as she trotted to greet him. Logan brought the scent of fresh air inside with him as he shrugged out of his denim jacket and unfastened Chuckles’ leash. Ororo took both items from him and allowed him to haul her against him for a good morning kiss. He devoured her lips hungrily, groping her hips and grinding himself into her softness. Ororo moaned into his mouth, “Morning, sweetie.”

“Mornin’,” he greeted, kicking the door shut and wrapping her legs around his waist as he carried her back to the bedroom. His lips trailed over the heated column of her neck. She still smelled like sleep, and that sweet little ‘Ro smell that he couldn’t get enough of. Letting her sleep in undisturbed, even while he ached to peel the covers away from her body and make love to her in the burgeoning morning light, had been worth it for this. He never grew tired of this, her natural, uninhibited response.

Logan sat Ororo down on the bed and began unfastening the buttons on his flannel, but Ororo stopped him, her hands stilling his fingers as she pried them away. “Let me.” She tugged him closer, making him stand between her knees as she worked on the buttons, one by one, staring up into his eyes. He nearly leaped out of his skin at the feel of her lips against his flesh as she kissed his washboard stomach once it was bare. Teasingly her tongue dipped into his navel, tracing its shape as she lowered his shirt, caressing his exposed flesh with searching, reverent hands. Logan drew in a shaky breath as she jerked open the snap over his fly and tugged down the zipper pull with her teeth. Her breath swirled out from her lips, steaming him as she nudged his jeans down, letting them pool around his ankles. Her fingers threaded themselves under the waistband of his boxers and tugged, freeing his bobbing erection, nearly poking her in the mouth. Good Lord, that mouth…

“Shit! ‘Ro,” he hissed as her fingers gently sheathed him and led the plump head into her waiting kiss. His cry was ragged and triumphant. Her mouth was hot and wet and felt like a bit of heaven on earth. Logan nearly lost his balance, but Ororo anticipated as much and reached back to stroke and cup his ass, holding him immobile as she welcomed him home. Reflexively Logan’s hips jerked and flexed with the pace of Ororo’s mouth. Her tongue swirled wickedly around him, stroking him lovingly and dragging desperate promises from Logan of what was to come. He shuddered as she sighed and moaned her approval around his flesh.

Waking up…was a good thing.

“Uuunungggh…’Ro! Geez, that’s…so…uuuurrrgggh.” His fingers tangled in her hair, trying to bring her closer, reveling in the sensations and her attention to his pleasure. She caressed his lean, taut hamstrings and engulfed him, bringing him halfway between pleasure and pain before Logan broke free, nearly tripping out of his crumpled jeans and short.

“Your turn!” he growled, grabbing Ororo’s wrist and tugging her to stand flush against him. He slanted his mouth over hers over and over, his hands fumbling with her robe’s sash. He pulled back just long enough to unwrap her like a present, taking in the vision of her long, luscious curves draped in the delicate white satin nightgown that reached mid-thigh. Scalloped lace trimmed the neckline and made a striking contrast to her breasts, their rounded slopes rising gloriously and tantalizingly over the edge, beckoning him. He heeded their call, gently pulling the spaghetti straps down her slender arms, exposing the first one for a taste. The cool air of the room washed over her skin as her nightgown drifted the rest of the way to the floor, and Ororo was overwhelmed by the heat of Logan’s hands, his lips and tongue as he stroked and suckled her.

“Don’t stop,” she pleaded as she clutched handfuls of his thick, silky hair. His erection was thick and firm against her belly, sandwiched between them as she moaned and writhed against him. She wanted him. Badly. It was too much. They half-tripped, half-tumbled back into the bed, and Logan covered her body with his own as he once again claimed her mouth.

“Want you.”

“Mmmmm. Want (kiss) you. Mmmmm. PLEASE…”

“Damn. Aw, God! Ya feel so damned…GOOD!”

The mattress springs squeaked and the headboard slammed into the wall with the force of their mating as they shattered the silence of the morning, filling the room with their soaring cries and desperate words.

“Please…PLEASE, LOGAN, don’t STOP! GODDESS! I LOVE YOU! LoveyouloveyouLOVE YOU!” A light exploded behind her eyes as she embraced him, gripping him as close as she could as she found her fulfillment. Logan felt the world tilt on its axis through the haze of his own encroaching climax, and for one moment, his eyes probed hers, staring at her as if he had never seen her before.

“What - ?” His body brooked no delays or discussion in the matter. The throbbing pressure built up within him, stiffening him, hurtling from him in a release that rocked them both. Ororo tightened around him, renewing her own spasms and making her cry his name. Her fingernails scored his back, and she sank her teeth into his shoulder, pushing him that final inch over the edge. “AAAARRRGGGGGHHHHHhhhhhh!” His head collapsed, and he nuzzled the crook of her neck, struggling to pull air into his lungs. Ororo’s arms never released him, but she loosened her grip long enough to adjust him, tucking his head beneath her chin. Tenderly she stroked him, exploring the play of muscles along his back. He twitched when she tickled the nape of his neck; she kissed the top of his head in apology and smiled.

“Ro?”

“Mm-hm?”

“Would ya mind going over the last bit with me again, when ya said ya loved me?” Logan felt her chest shake with the beginnings of a chuckle.

“Gladly.” He levered himself up onto his elbows, framing her face with his hands. Her beautiful eyes glowed with feeling. “I love you. I absolutely, positively love you silly. Without a doubt.” She feathered her fingertips over his lips. He closed his eyes, savoring the caress, and his mouth dropped open to taste her. “Did you need me to clarify anything else?”

“Uh-uh. That summed it up pretty damned well.” He kissed her palm, darting out his tongue to sample her soft flesh. He nibbled a path down the pulse in her wrist and along her inner arm, dragging his tongue over the crown of her shoulder.

Ororo arched beneath him as he found her neck. Dimly she recalled that she had gotten out of bed for some reason, but it escaped her now. “And ‘Ro?”

“Yeah, sweetie?”

“In case ya were wondering, I’m in love with you, too. So damn much.” His tone had been cavalier at first, but now it was choked with feeling.

“It’s out there. You can’t take it back.”

“Never. God help me, never. Everything I have, ‘Ro. Just like you told me that first night. I love you,” he declared, kissing a path down her cheek, “with everything that I have to give.” She returned his kiss, drinking him in, and he gave up trying to use words to express what his body could best convey.

The next few weeks brought cooler autumn nights and a busy sophomore year of high school for Jubilee. Ororo and Logan were outside, hanging the storm windows and watching Chuckles chase down a squirrel.

“That’s one stubborn dog,” Logan mused. Ororo handed him the screwdriver and smiled at her lab’s antics.

“Gotta love him. Might as well let him out as much as we can, while we can. Last winter was harsh.” Ororo shuddered as she remembered three feet of unshoveled snow packed against her front door, effectively barring any easy exit during the previous winter’s first blizzard. The two of them were winter-proofing the house and cars, putting on snow tires, insulating window cracks, and changing their wardrobes around, unpacking sweaters and long pants. None of them were Ororo’s favorite chores, but Logan’s presence cheered her considerably. It always felt good to work on their home together. She wanted him to feel like it was “their home.”

Logan just watched her, bending to bring him the toolbox, admiring the view. Ororo was dressed in his old black T-shirt and a pair of snug, faded jeans with a hole in the knee, with a pair of women’s Reebok cross trainers on her feet. The sun was riding lower in the sky and winking through the trees, setting her hair ablaze. She caught his stare and smiled at the look of intensity in his hazel eyes. “What’re you looking at?”

“Yer so fuckin’ beautiful.” He closed the distance between them in two strides and kissed her soundly in front of the neighbors. Ororo dropped the tool box, sending screwdrivers flying here and there, moaning in his embrace. Ororo nearly bit Logan’s lip in surprise as heard a familiar voice coming up the front walk.

“See, I told you, Monet, these two are SO embarrassing! They even get all mushy in the front yard!” Jubilee watched the spectacle with her hands on her hips. Ororo cleared her throat and smiled, blushing all the way to her hairline. Jubilee’s partner-in-crime just rolled her eyes.

“Thank God my parents don’t do that.” Jubilee dragged her into the house to hunt in her room for her new CD.

“Her folks don’t know what they’re missing out on,” Logan grumbled into Ororo’s neck as hugged her from behind. Ororo just smiled, one out of many more that day.

After they went back inside, Logan moved around the kitchen, looking for the saucepan and pulling some chicken from the freezer. Ororo was scheduled to work the night shift, and he wasn’t likely to see her again until it was time for him to open the store. Yukio helped solve the problem of leaving the rental office unmanned during the evenings by subletting his old apartment above the store, but he still made a point of being there for early morning inventory and ordering new stock.

For the past few weeks, Logan toyed with the idea of selling Yukio the property itself and keeping his portion of the business. He and Ororo had taken that first plunge: Cohabitation. Keeping an apartment in his name could be seen in one of two ways. Practical, or noncommittal. Ororo had never pressured him to sell, but she was almost too easygoing about keeping it, too. The last thing Logan wanted to do was make Ororo think he was holding onto a “Plan B.” He loved her. Jubes loved her. And there was the little matter of expanding their little combined family that he wanted to discuss in more detail. That urge grew stronger whenever Ororo and Jubilee spent time together around the house, looking less like two pals who were birds of a feather, and more like mother and daughter every day. At first it was just the little things. Jubilee hung over Ororo’s shoulder and occupied the same space whenever they watched TV, or Ororo wrestled with her checkbook and Jubilee waffled with homework. Eventually, Logan was shocked to find that he’d been nudged back into the second string. Ororo had become Jubilee’s confidante about everything from a broken nail to the boy whose locker she was tempted to drop a note into, and whether he was likely to call.

Logan sighed as he tucked the pack of chicken breasts into the microwave and hit “thaw.” It was easy enough for him to guess why Jubilee had taken to Ororo so quickly. She was funny, smart, enthusiastic, warm, open and honest, and she was one of the few people that truly understood what it was like to lose both parents at a young age, especially under such tragic circumstances. Not to mention her affinity for cartoon characters and fart jokes…that pried a smile out of him. But the one thing impression that lingered with Logan so much lately was watching Ororo when she thought he wasn’t looking: She looked vulnerable, loving and fiercely loyal, and there was a yearning there that he could almost swear she shared with him.

If he didn’t know better, he’d think Ororo wanted a child. In light of where her relationship with Jonathan had left off, Logan knew it was a sticky subject.

Logan turned when he heard the thump of Ororo’s boots in the hall. He paused in filling the saucepan and turning on the back burner. “Ya takin’ off already, babe?”

“Time got away from me. I’m getting an early start to help Alex with one of the rigs. This is a tricky season, too. People tend to burn more brush, leaves and clippings from their yards, so we get more frequent calls for outdoor fires that got out of hand. Wish I could stay,” she pouted, rubbing his cheek. He smiled at the petulance in her tone.

“Lemme pack ya a sandwich. Yer gonna miss dinner.” He hated when that happened. Especially when she subsisted on stuff from the taco truck or convenience stores when she was away from home, when she had the chance to eat at all. She’d admitted to him that she went through a phase of forgetting to eat most of the time after Jonathan passed away. Logan remembered his own clothes hanging on him for a while after he buried Mariko. After so many years in the military, it felt strange, but not unwelcome, falling into such a domestic routine. Face it, buddy, yer whipped.

“You’re spoiling me.”

“Nah. It’s yer turn ta take out the garbage, darlin’.”

“Aha! An ulterior motive. And I’ll do that on my way out.” She patted his butt mischievously and kissed his jaw. Logan snickered and searched for the bread and cold cuts. Moments later, Ororo’s dinner was packed and dangling from her wrist in a vinyl Hello Kitty lunch sack- which ensured that no one at the station would steal her food from the fridge, since she worked with a bunch of guys “ as she kissed Logan goodnight at the door.

“Quit stallin’ an’ get ta work,” he ordered, steaming her lips and tugging on her ponytail.

“I’m goin’, I’m goin’, sheesh.” (Smooch.) “Love you.”

“Love you.”


Shortly:

“Bout time you got here, Munroe!”

“Hey, Summers.” Ororo checked the wall clock, noting that she was ten minutes early.

“Forget you had to come in tonight?” Scott pretended to check his watch.

“Ignore him, ‘Ro. He’s just getting off of his own shift, aren’t ya, Slim?”

“She’s finally dragging her lazy butt in here, she doesn’t have to know that!” Scott reached out to drag Ororo back as she attempted to walk past him, wrapping his arm around her neck in a mock headlock. “Not so fast, Missy!”

“Leggo!” Ororo balled up her fist and aimed for his kidneys.

“AL! A little help, bro!” Alex craned his neck over the top of the couch, grinning at the spectacle of Ororo jabbing Scott in whatever unprotected areas that she could reach.

“Shame on you, ‘Ro, quit pickin’ on Scott!” Scott and Ororo scuffled across the floor in the latest of a series of impromptu grudge matches that had become a tradition at the firehouse.

“Say uncle!”

“I’ve got your uncle right here!”

“Geez…oooh! Slim…Slimmmm, I’d watch your waistband if I were you “ DANG! Nuclear wedgie! Haven’t seen one of those since ninth grade!”

“It’s called a fire house; you know, a place of employment, i.e., somewhere you get fired from for inappropriate conduct?” Ororo and Scott straightened up and separated, stifling grins, but not before Scott reached out to give Ororo’s braid one last yank. “Hey!” He ducked out from her brandished fist as Alex shook his head.

“Munroe…?”

“Sorry, Chief.” Ororo glared at Scott past Chief Lucas Bishop’s shoulder before heading to the break room refrigerator. Lucas didn’t buy her look of contrition for a moment and waved her away. Honestly, those two fought like siblings…Alex followed her back, leaning against the doorframe as she cleared a spot on the shelf for her pack.

“Jubilee pack your lunch?”

“Nope.”

“At least it would have explained the bag.”

“Hey, don’t diss the bag.”

“Guess I’m just impressed that you packed anything.”

“Logan packed it for me.” Alex rocked back on his heels.

“And I thought lightning didn’t strike twice! You actually found another man that cooks?” Ororo made a face. “Ya hit the friggin’ jackpot!”

“Don’t think he doesn’t accuse me of liking him so much for that very reason.”

“What else does he have to recommend him?” Alex’s eyes were expectant but warm.

“I wouldn’t know where to begin, Al.”

“You got off to a running start with mentioning that he can cook, which you hate to do, if your first-name relationship with the guy at Subway is anything to go by. Convince me.”

Ororo made a disgusted noise and crossed her arms. “Excuse me! Why do I have to convince you?” Alex reached up and smoothed his hand over his short blond hair, rubbing his neck in a timeless gesture of concern as he watched her.

“Cause yer my bud. And because you had a little dry spell for a while when it seemed like you didn’t want to let anybody in. I know you pretty well by now, ‘Ro. Shacking up isn’t something I see you entering into lightly.”

“I didn’t go into it lightly.” Ororo uncapped her frappaccino and took a generous gulp, enjoying the kickstart of caffeine. “I walked into it with my eyes wide open, Alex. And I like what I see. Logan’s a good man. And Jubilee’s a great girl.”

“Is she part of the attraction?” Ororo almost choked on her drink and blinked up at him with wary eyes.

“Part of the attraction?”

“If you guys take things to the next level, you’ve got a ready-made family.”

“Your point being…?”

“You’ll have a kid. Maybe not the old-fashioned way, but that’s still someone to worry about you when your out on a call who depends on you. You’ll be responsible for her, too. You ready to take that on?”

“The idea’s crossed my mind, Alex. I’m not the only one making an adjustment, though, y’know. We’re comfortable right now. We’re in a good place. I’m not jinxing it by jumping too far ahead. I love Jubilee, but technically, I’m not her mother…”

“Not yet.”

“…not yet. And I’m not Logan’s wife, either.” As her own words settled in her ears, Ororo’s eyes took on a faraway look. I’m not Logan’s wife. What was that weird little pang she was feeling?

“Hm.” Alex fiddled with the change in his pocket and perused the vending machine offerings.

“Hm? Whaddya mean, ‘Hm?’”

“Nothing.” Alex fed some coins into the machine and opened the drawer for the V8 juice.

“No, that ‘hm’ was something.”

“Okay.” He took a long pull from his juice can. “I think you wanna marry this guy, and I think you’re too chicken shit to take the plunge.”

“That was blunt.”

“Thanks.”

“It wasn’t a compliment.” Alex held up his open hands in supplication, shrugging.

“I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em.”

“Logan’s a good man.” Ororo took a different tack, unsure of why she was arguing. “He’s helpful, funny, smart as a whip, he’s his own man, he’s a damn good father figure to Jubes, sensitive, deals well with my panic attacks ““

“You still have those?”

“Not so much anymore. Not since he moved in.” A smile drifted onto her lips.

“Well, there ya go.”

“I like that I can be myself around him.”

“And how’s that?”

“Human. Flawed. All those tricky, pesky feelings that aren’t just PMS.”

“Gads! Ya HAD to say the ‘P’ word!”

“I love him, Alex.”

“Fine. Good. If all that’s true, then I don’t blame you. Now that you’ve convinced me, the only one left to convince is you.” Alex left before she could come up with a rejoinder, saluting her as he went to clock out.


Dawn the next day:

Ororo shrugged out of her pullover as she entered the foyer, smiling at the sound of Chuckles’ collar jingling as he met her at the door. “Hey, puppy! Wanna walk? Huh? Walkies?” Ororo trudged into the kitchen, drained but glad to be home.

“Sure you’re up to it, babe? Ya look beat.”

“I can head back to bed once I get back. Long night,” she sighed, kissing Logan good morning in the dim light of the kitchen. Faint streaks of pink invaded the sky as Logan studied her, doing a quick once-over that had become a routine. He leaned in and inhaled the scent of her hair. No smoke. Her skin was still clean, no smudges or scrapes. Her overtrousers were clean with no rips or tears.

“Any calls?”

“Yup. Two heart attacks and a call from one woman whose gas range wouldn’t quit making that clicking noise that you get when you ignite a burner. There was a short in the panel.” Ororo sighed. The first call had left her with that tight little feeling in the base of her skull. When she came up to the front door and was let in with her medical kit, her eyes scanned the living room, noticing all of the framed photographs. That quick glance told her this was the home of a couple that had been married for many years, and that they were proud as hell of their grandkids. A woman who looked to be their daughter greeted her and led her into the living room.

“He was fine one minute, then clutched his chest and got really gray. Dad’s complaining about shortness of breath.”

“His arm hurts, too, that’s what he said before he fell,” came the tearful voice from the floor. An older, more florid version of the woman who answered the door looked at Ororo with desperate eyes. “He took his blood pressure pill this morning, and he seemed like he was fine after dinner.” Ororo nodded in understanding as she dug in her kit for the blood pressure cuff. The man was watching her with surprisingly patient eyes.

“You…don’t look like any firefighter I’ve ever seen.” A wracking cough followed this admission before Ororo’s smile could fully blossom. “You’re…a real looker. Isn’t she, Gladys?” His pallor was still poor, and his breathing became stertorous.

“Relax, sir. Just let me slip this over your face, this should help you to breathe a little better in a minute.” Ororo thanked her partner for the cannula, which she slipped into place, inserting the ends in his nostrils. The faint whistling of oxygen filled the tiny living room as neighbors began to fill the street, drawn to the rainbows of light spinning from the engine’s siren outside.

“Please…” His wife had her hand fisted against her mouth, hugging herself with her other arm as her daughter lent her support. “I don’t…want to think of living…living without…”

“It’s okay, ma’am. The ambulance is on its way. We’ll take good care of him. Now that he’s a little more comfortable, why don’t you come hold his hand?” Ororo moved over to allow his wife to kneel by him for better access, and the tears slid down in unchecked rivers from her face, her gratitude plain.

Her words…those words out of her mouth were what twisted Ororo’s insides. I don’t want to think of living without him. Gladys had waved to Ororo from the back of the ambulance, mustering a watery smile as the doors swished shut, and the image of her plodding alongside her husband’s stretcher, holding his hand in a determined grip…well, it would haunt her.

It always did.

“Siddown. Before ya collapse.” Logan pulled out a chair and nudged her into it. “Last night’s dinner is still in the fridge, just warm it up. Or I can swing by and check on ya when I take my first break.” Ororo’s heart melted as he continued to watch her with concern. “You okay, ‘Ro? Ya look…I dunno. Like ya’ve got a lot on yer mind.” He smoothed back a lock of hair that loosened itself from her braid.

“I’m fine. Just thinking about…things. Stuff.” She clasped his hand and kissed it, shutting her eyes, just basking in how lucky she felt that he was here. That they were here. “I’ll manage. I’m headed to the gym when I wake up, and I’ll get Jubes from school today.”

“Make sure she stays home today once she gets back. She doesn’t get her homework done when she hangs out at Monet’s house.”

“I know.” And she did.

“I love you, ‘Ro.” He bent down for a proper kiss, this time molding his lips to hers with tenderness and hunger.

“I know that, too.”

“Good. Then tonight we’ll talk.”

“Talk?” Her heart did a funny little flip-flop.

“Gotta get to work. Runnin’ late. ‘Bye, baby.” Ororo’s hand hung in mid-air, waving weakly.

“Yeah…’bye.” She reheated the dinner plate on the top shelf of the refrigerator and sat down to watch the sun come up.

Ororo pondered what he could have meant by wanting to talk for the half-hour walk with Chuckles to the park, over breakfast, during her shower, at the gym, then again after she woke up in the late afternoon to retrieve Jubilee.

“Then tonight we’ll talk, he says,” she grumbled. Why do I always do that? I’m broadcasting again. Just throwing all of my feelings onto my face in plain view. It has to be the new living arrangements, she decided. Yeah, that’s it. Playing house was bringing out her softer, mushier side. Making her vulnerable.

Yeah, that was probably it.

Jubilee chattered a mile a minute as she clambered into the Jeep. “I wanna head to Monet’s house, we’re planning a trip to the mall. Homecoming’s coming up, and…”

“Hold the phone, kiddo. Logan said he wants you home for the afternoon.”

“AWWWWWW!”

“I don’t make the rules, sweetie.”

“Why can’t I go? Monet gets to go today, I promised I’d meet her!”

“Logan wants you to get your homework done without putting it off. Doesn’t seem more important than picking out a killer outfit for the dance, but it is.” Ororo silently admitted to herself that Jubilee probably wasn’t buying it.

“Yeah, right,” came the answering snarl from the pixie-coifed sulking ball huddled in the passenger seat, mashed against the door in defiance. Okay, she’s not buying it. Ororo sighed as she turned her Jeep out of the school’s circular driveway. They drove back to the house in silence. Jubilee let herself out of the Jeep and made a beeline to her room. As Ororo came into the house from checking the mail, she heard mumbled snippets of conversation as Jubilee cursed the unfairness of adults, two adults in particular shouldering her ire.

“…s’not like she’s my MOTHER or anything, geez, what’s the big deal if I wanna hang out with my friends for a while.” Ororo paused in the middle of opening the cable bill. Yeah, there it was. That little ache, kind of a poking pain…

Kind of like being stabbed. Wordlessly Ororo opened the rest of the mail.

Logan strode inside a couple of hours later, and was surprised to find Ororo standing by the stove, adding a can of chicken broth to a sauté pan, covering the rice she’d lightly browned in butter, with a dab of minced onion. “You’re cooking,” he observed.

“Give the man a gold star,” she quipped. She turned her face for his kiss, but her shoulders were stiff. Logan eyed her curiously for a moment, opening his mouth to express surprise that the rice even smelled great, coming from the hands of a woman claiming to be the antithesis of Martha Stewart, when Jubilee padded into the kitchen in her Power Puff girls socks, scowling. “Logan, why’d you tell ‘Ro I couldn’t go to the mall with Monet today?”

“Hi, Half-Pint. Glad to be home, thanks fer askin’.” Logan shucked his jacket and laid it over the chair.

“I told Monet I’d go with her to the mall.”

“Didja have homework tonight?”

“Yeah?”

“Then that’s why,” he replied simply, shrugging. Seemed simple to him.

“That’s not fair,” she whined. “And why does she get to tell me what to do?”

“Jubes,” he warned, his tone brooking no nonsense. “She told you what I asked her to tell you.” Ororo turned back to her sauté pan, feeling strangely uncomfortable, as though she should have been elsewhere than listening in on a sensitive conversation. I hate feeling like we’re ganging up on her.She knew why, but that didn’t make it fun. “And if you hadn’t noticed, ‘Ro’s an adult and this is her roof that we’re under now, and she deserves some respect. Cut her some slack.” He chose his words carefully enough. Yet all Ororo heard was “This is her roof.”

The sixty-four dollar question of the day was, when did it become their roof?

Jubilee pulled a face and muttered her way back to her room, shutting them out and turning up the volume of her Audioslave CD. Ororo stirred a small amount of tomato sauce into the rice broth and covered it with a lid. Logan massaged her shoulder and kissed the nape of her neck before digging for the dinner plates from the cabinet. He set the table, reassuring her “She’s ticked off with me, babe. Not you. Don’t think she meant anything by it.” Ororo shrugged.

“Mmm.” Her nonchalant tone left no room for doubt. Yeah, she’s upset.

“So, ‘Ro. ‘Bout that talk that ya promised me…what made ya so shook up?”

“It’s nothing…well, nothing big. On my first call last night, I ended up at this cute little old couple’s house. The husband had a heart attack.”

“Sounds rough, darlin’.”

“Yeah. It always is. Gotta keep a stiff upper lip. In my line of work, I’ve gotta be pretty unflappable. I’ve seen people in worse shape when they complain about chest pain.” Ororo cracked open a can of refried black beans and spooned them into the saucepan. “It was just his wife, seeing how she was around him that makes it hard. It’s always harder trying to be strong for the family.” Her throat clogged, but her tone remained steady.

“I bet.” His arms slid around her waist, warm, strong and comforting. Safe.

“Don’t mind me.” Don’t leave me.

“Not at all.” Don’t leave me, darlin’. “I don’t mind one damn bit.”

Two weeks later, Ororo and Jubilee pulled into the parking lot of the galleria, parking outside the Jessica McClintock outlet.

“I don’t want dyable shoes. Monet says they’re tacky.”

“Eh. Not tacky, just a waste of money. You’ll only wear them once, and they won’t match anything else that you own. They get dirty, too, and all the stains show. We’ll look for something in patent leather,” Ororo promised.

“I knew there was a reason why I like shopping with you!” Ororo chuckled as Jubilee linked her arm through hers. She suspected that at least one reason was that she had the wheels to get her there. After the scene in the kitchen, things were a little bit strained between the two women for a day or two before Jubilee finally began answering Ororo’s answers with more than the occasional grunted syllables, grudgingly admitting that Monet had settled for shopping for her homecoming outfit with Paige, a pretty blonde cheerleader, instead, and didn’t act heartbroken that Jubes couldn’t make their shopping date.

Ororo spent the next hour fetching and carrying dresses to and from the dressing room and handing them over the edge of the door. Her arms began to ache from holding the dress-laden hangers up off the ground, sometimes three or four at once. Shoot, glad I can lift fifty pounds…

“I need something that makes me look like I have boobs.”

“You do have boobs.”

“No, I’ve got mosquito bites. YOU have boobs.”

“Mosquito bites?” Ororo stifled a laugh, but didn’t want to bruise her feelings. “There’s nothing wrong with being petite, kiddo. Just think of all these fantastic outfits that you get to wear. Boys’ll notice your cute figure and your pretty face, not just your chest.”

Jubilee leaned out of the door, her brow furrowed with interest in Ororo’s reply when she asked “D’you think I’m pretty?”

“Jubilee, you’re very pretty. Step out in that for a sec?” Jubes heaved a gusty sigh and let her shoulders droop in resignation.

“Whaddya think?”

“DEFINITELY that one. Oh, Jubilee, look at yooooouuuuu!” Ororo was having a Meg Ryan moment, eyes pooling up as she led Jubilee in front of the three-way mirror in the corridor. “This is the one. I can’t wait to show Logan when we get home.” The spaghetti-strapped sheath had a ruched layer of sheer chiffon over the bust and a nipped-in waist, and the handkerchief hem floated just below her knees.

“You like it?” Her face was glowing, her tone hopeful. Her shoulders straightened as she saw herself through Ororo’s eyes. Her hands smoothed the silky fabric over her abdomen.

“I LOVE it.” She beckoned to the salesgirl and said “Could you show us a matching pump in a size six?” Once the dress was tucked safely into a garment bag, they proceeded to ransack the accessory section, doing considerable damage. Paige and Monet WHO? Jubilation Lee was gonna be the hottest chick at homecoming! And that was that.

Logan rolled his eyes good naturedly at the number of shopping bags clutched into their hands from behind his paper. “Didn’t ya already buy yer school clothes fer the year?”

“We couldn’t leave this stuff behind. We only bought the essentials,” Ororo insisted, grinning ear to ear.

“Uh-huh.” He wasn’t convinced. At least not until Jubilee tried on the dress with the shoes and paraded in a little pirouette in the living room to show him the fruits of their labor. He opened his mouth to say something but failed to come up with the words.

“Sweetie, tell her how pretty she looks.” He snapped out of it when Ororo wrapped her arm around him.

“Beautiful. Ya look beautiful.” And he never wished more strongly that her parents could be alive to see her.


Ororo echoed those thoughts to him later that night as they got ready for bed. She replaced her glittery blue toothbrush in the cup and sat at the vanity to brush her hair. Logan took the brush from her and stroked it through her white tresses, perfectly content.

“She should have had her mother here to share it with,” she murmured. “This means a lot to a girl. I know how much it means.”

“Know you do. I got the feeling, though, darlin’, that it meant as much ta her ta have you with her, cheering her on and making her feel good about herself. Ya spent time with her, and she enjoyed it. She enjoys you.”

“Feeling’s mutual.”

“With that in mind…how would ya feel about making it a little more concrete, and sealing the deal?”

“Logan…what’re you…? Ororo’s heart did flip-flops and her stomach felt fizzy as Logan took her hand and “ Lord have mercy “ kneeled on one knee, staring up into her eyes.

“Will you marry me?” Her eyes were locked on his face, her lip trembling as she tightened her grip on his hand. With his free one, he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a tiny, dark blue velvet box. His hand was shaking he snapped it open, revealing a white gold band set with a one-carat round diamond, flanked on each side with tiny blue topaz stones.

“Logan…” She pressed her fingertips over her mouth to block the small cry. She sniffled loudly as her eyes filled for the second time that day. “I didn’t expect this.”

“Why? You know how I feel. And this is something that’s been feelin’ more and more right ta me since the day I hung my hat on yer hook,” he told her, in her own words.

“And…Jubilee?”

“She helped me pick it out yesterday. A kid doesn’t do that unless she gives her stamp of approval. Ororo, if we get married, I’d love it, and Jubes’d be honored if ya’d adopt her. As her mother.” Ororo was still silent; Logan mopped the tears from her cheeks. “Talk t’me, ‘Ro.” His voice was soft, his eyes searching her face for clues. “I wanna know if yer up ta bein’ a family with us. Maybe even adding onto it.”

It was out there. He couldn’t…no, wouldn’t take it back.

“I need to think about it.”

Logan felt the blood rushing in his ears for one savage, unrelenting moment as the floor dropped out from under him, knocking him on his ass.

“Ya need ta think about it?” His grip around her fingers loosened; he slid his hand off of her lap and rested back on his haunches, snapping the box shut. His face darkened as he rose and laid the box down on the bureau. “I think ya already have. Ya told me what I needed ta know.”

“Logan…when…when I was married before, I-I didn’t know if…kids, a family yet, I didn’t know, I DIDN’T KNOW! Logan! Logan, come back! COME BACK!” His boots echoed heavily on the floor boards as he slammed the front door shut behind him.

Nonononononoooooo… Ororo didn’t bother with searching for her sneakers, she just bolted out the front door in bare feet, in spite of the chilly night air. She caught Logan just as he was putting the key in the ignition of his pickup. She reached the door on the driver’s side and yanked it open.

“Go back inside, ‘Ro.”

“Not without you. Don’t leave.”

“Goodnight, ‘Ro.” His voice was flat, but sparks were flying from his hazel eyes.

“Tell me where you’re going.” She reached for the ignition and stilled him from turning the key any further, cutting off the engine.

“Back to Yukio’s.”

“Why?” She knew why.

“I’m gonna ask her for my old unit, and see if I can offer her a deposit t’get her old place back.”

“No.” Her voice cracked as tears ran off her chin, wetting her night shirt. “I…I don’t want you to go. Please, Logan, please, Logan. Don’t go.”

“Tell me why I should stay.” She could feel the waves of hurt rolling off of him, drowning her.

“Because I love you,” she yelped. She wouldn’t let him pull away when he tried, clutching his leg. “I love you so much, Logan.”

“Sure. Sure you do. I just don’t know if ya love US. Yer throwin’ up these walls, ‘Ro…you love me, yeah, that’s great. I know I love you. God…it hurts, how much I love you, when you push me away. I wanna be with you, I wanna life with you, but only because you love me, not because you just don’t wanna be alone. I don’t wanna feel like I’m coming between you and yer career, or like ya feel like startin’ a family with me is ‘gettin’ in the way’ of yer life. Ya can’t expect me ta be okay with feelin’ like that, ‘Ro. I want the whole package. Happiness. A wife. Children. A home for my goddaughter who I love like my own. And the promise…” his voice broke, straining to remain steady, “that this is something yer not ‘settling’ for. Ya won’t do that ta me. Ya’ve gotta decide, and if ya feel like ya can’t, then I’ll decide for ya.” Ororo’s legs wobbled and collapsed beneath her as she dropped to her knees, ignoring the feel of cold concrete against her flesh. Her cry was ragged and harsh as she held onto the leg of his jeans, sobbing uncontrollably now at his words.

“Go back inside, ‘Ro.” His voice was soft. She peered up at him and resolutely let go, walking out of the garage without looking back.


Back at Yukio’s:

“Are you shitting me? Are you out of your FUCKING MIND?!?!?”

“Think they heard ya out in the bungalows, Yukio. Take it down a notch, ya blew my eardrum.” Logan sipped the Molson that Yukio had handed him as soon as he crossed the threshold to her unit, looking like someone told him there wasn’t a Santa Clause.

“You walked out on ‘Ro?”

“Explain ta me how I was supposed ta stay?”

“Because, dumb ass, she said ‘I need to think about it.’ That’s a whole different ball of wax from ‘I don’t love you.’” Yukio raked her hand through her short hair helplessly. “Eerrrrgggh. Logan, why? WHY?”

“I don’t hafta explain myself to ya. Can I have my old place back or not?”

“Not til you promise me you’ll clear this up with her. At least try. Logan, this is gonna kill Jubes.”

“Yukio…I can’t do this. I found the love of my life once with Mariko. You know it wasn’t easy, not for one second, but I loved her, and there was no question about what she gave up to marry me. She accepted me from the jump. There was no question about careers, kids, moving away from her home…she gave herself to me lock, stock and barrel.”

“What about ‘Ro, then?”

“She’d scared of what I have to offer. She doesn’t wanna give up what’s she’s worked for.”

“Well, excuse the fuck outta me, ‘cause it seems like you’re scared, too. You’re scared to death that you’ll lose her. That she might not come home one night.” Logan laid his beer on the table.

“What?” His voice was dangerously soft.

“You heard me. Life’s short, Logan. Too damned short. Mariko flew home on that plane…”

“Stop. Don’t do this.”

“No. You’re going to listen to me. She flew home on that plane to take care of that unforgiving sonofabitch father of her after he disowned her and sent her away, as if she’d disgraced him instead of marrying the man she couldn’t live without.”

“Shut up.

“She could have stayed with you, Logan. I know she loved you. It was plain as day. Her eyes followed you in and out of the room and she worshipped the ground that you walked on.” This time Yukio’s almond-shaped black eyes blazed with tears. “She was pregnant. Do you how excited she was when she called me to tell me the news? I finally let go of that one last piece of regret that you and I couldn’t make it work, because she was so damned happy to be having your child, creating something together with you. You were happy, and that was fine with me. It made it fine for me, Logan. She didn’t have to leave.”

“Ya think I don’t tell myself that?” he whispered. Logan stared at his balled up fist resting in his lap as he mopped away the tears flooding his cheeks. He shuddered with a mixture of rage and helplessness as it all came rushing back.

Mr. Howlett? We’re calling you from the county hospital. You’re listed as Mariko Howlett’s next of kin…

“If you give up on ‘Ro now, Logan…it’ll be the worst mistake you’ve ever made. This…” she waved her hand into the now feminine décor of the apartment… “this isn’t a home. It never will be even if I haul my ass out of here and you hole yourself back up in here again.” She stood before him and extended her hand. He grasped it with nerveless fingers and allowed her to pull him up. “Go home, Logan. Go home to that crazy, loving, beautiful woman and fix this. Give her a chance. Give what you have a chance.” She enveloped him in a fierce hug and rocked him until his shuddering subsided.

“Okay,” he whispered. “Okay.”

The lights were already off when he pulled back into the garage. Logan unlocked the front door and let himself in. Chuckles trotted over and yipped once before Logan lightly clamped his hand over his muzzle. “Sssh. Don’t wake her up, pup.” He scratched behind his ears to reassure him, and Chuckles retreated to his dog bed with a plaintive whine. Logan hung his keys and jacket on the kitchen hooks and stepped out of his sneakers before returning to the master bedroom. He unfastened his clothes on his way to bed, shedding them in the dim moonlight shining in through the window. The light danced over Ororo’s white spill of hair, what he could see of it from where she was curled into a ball, the covers pulled up to her chin. Her breathing was deep, but there was a faint grimace marring the peacefulness of her features. “Hmmmmnnnh.” Her moan made him want to wake her, but he knew it was late. Things would look better in the morning.

They had to.

Logan eased into the other side of the bed, not touching her, but as he slid beneath the covers, they fell away from her hands, where she clutched something small in her fist, up against her chest.

It was the ring box.

Logan silently replaced the covers and closed his eyes, but it was a long time before he slept. He never heard her leave in the morning at dawn.





You must login () to review.