Chapter Twelve: Diamond Sky
I’d climb right up to the sky
Take down the stars
Just to be in your arms, baby
I’d go and capture the moon
That’s what I would do
Just to hear you say that you love me
~Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
Ororo speaks:
I have never been one for sweeping romantic gestures. Something about wildly planned evenings, expensive champagne, roses, and sonnets comparing my eyes to a perfect summer sky have never really won me over.
I prefer something from the heart, without the usual pomp and ceremony found in the films Kitty cries her eyes out to. That morning in the greenhouse was something so achingly perfect, it could have only come from Logan. How could any woman resist a man that wipes dirt from her nose while looking at her as though he has never seen anything so breathtaking in all his life?
Perhaps some could. I, however, was not so strong. His kiss, so tender and affectionate, brought down those walls around my heart I so carefully erected to keep him out. As he would put it: “I was done for.”
Though I still had my worries regarding Gambit and Rogue, his whispered dinner invitation was too tempting to resist. After we shared a few more of those toe-curling kisses while sitting on a dirty table, he told me to get “all gussied up”. I had my reservations about dressing up, but Logan has never done anything he did not want to do.
So, I agreed. Once care was secured for my darling daughter, I made sure she had dinner and then rushed upstairs to prepare for my date. I wanted to grab a piece of solid happiness before our world came crashing down again.
In retrospect, I am glad I did. I learned a great deal about Logan that night and even more about myself.
~**~
Ororo checked her reflection in the full-length mirror for the hundredth time as she slipped on a pair of simple black pumps. She had no idea where Logan was taking her, so like a good woman would; she fell back on the all-purpose answer.
The little black dress, of course, is a time-honored tradition among women. As Jean explained several years prior, the dress was simple: a little too short and just a tad too tight with a showing of enough cleavage to get a man’s blood racing. Logan had never seen her dressed up properly, so she seized the moment.
Her hair was clean and dry, left to graze her shoulders in soft waves. Logan was the kind of man that seemed to like the unbound look and she was more than happy to forgo pinching bobby pins.
After checking to ensure that her shoes did indeed match the dress, she made her way to the dresser to fish through her jewelry box. Locating a simple pair of diamond studs Scott had given her for Christmas one year, she fastened them into her earlobes, glancing at the baby playing with a set of wooden blocks on her bed.
“Well?”
Prita looked up at her mother, clapping happily and cooing in a manner that Ororo took for approval.
“Yes?” she grinned, moving toward the bed as though about to unleash the “Tickle Troll”. Prita squealed with childish laughter, scrambling toward the head of the bed.
“Ha! There is no escape!” Ororo laughed, seizing Prita’s leg and hauling her toward the edge, putting her in perfect range for mother to tickle daughter’s sides mercilessly.
Prita’s howling laughter bounced off of the walls, followed by noises of one’s cheeks being kissed hardily. Ororo ran tickling fingernails along the bottoms of Prita’s pajama-covered feet just as Jubilee knocked on the bedroom door.
“Storm? Logan’s waiting downstairs,” the girl’s voice was very close to a squeal.
“Just a moment,” Ororo said, looking to Prita. “Now, I wonder what has her so excited.”
“Hurry up, Storm!” Jubilee called. Ororo could almost hear her bouncing.
Gathering Prita into her arms, Ororo moved swiftly to the door. When it opened, she caught Jubilee glancing over her shoulder, a grin that reminded the older mutant of a Cheshire cat covering her youthful face.
When her almond-shaped eyes turned back to Storm, her jaw fell open.
“Holy shit!” she gushed with a gleeful squeal. “You lookgorgeous!”
“Language!” Ororo said tartly, handing Prita to her young friend. “But thank you. What has you so excited?”
Jubilee bounced Prita on her hip, making a silly face to elicit a laugh from the baby.
“You’ve got to see Wolvie!” Jubilee said, reaching out to tug on Ororo’s arm. “He Clark Gable’d me!”
Confused now more than ever, Ororo blinked. “He what?”
Kitty appeared at the top of the stairs at a dead run only a heartbeat later. Her pretty face was flushed and she waved her hand as though to cool herself.
“He do it to you, too?” Jubilee asked of her friend.
“Oh God, yes,” Kitty grinned when she reached them, taking in Ororo’s dress with a low wolf-whistle. “His stomach’s going to flop out of his butt! You look great.”
Ororo held up a hand, silencing them both. “First, thank you. I am happy you both think I look pretty. Secondly, what did Logan do?”
Both girls, in perfect unison, sighed in a manner fitting a black and white film star.
“He’s standing at the staircase, waiting, leaning on the banister,” Kitty swooned.
“I turned to look at him and he gave me that smile…just like in Gone with the Wind when Rhett first meets Scarlett.”
The elder mutant looked from one girl to the other, still not completely understanding what in the world they were talking about. Shaking her head, she decided to let it go before Logan got tired of waiting for her.
“No sweets,” she ordered Kitty as she smoothed her dress. “Bed by nine.”
“I know, I know! Go meet your hunk of burnin’ love.”
Sighing to herself, Ororo brushed past them, heading to the stairs. Both of them could be so very childish when they were excited. She could not ever remember being so carefree, so willing to be looked upon as “silly”. For a moment, she paused to look at the giggling pair cuddling her daughter.
She was suddenly very pleased with her position on the X-Men. That tender moment in the hall was worth fighting for.
It took her a moment to gather her wits about her, but she managed to begin the descent on the staircase. Nerves flooded in her stomach, bringing a small smile to her face. When was the last time she’d had a date? Certainly not during her sojourn in India. Oh, she’d taken a lover once or twice, for the sake of physical release that kept her sane, but dinner out with a man she genuinely liked?
Forge, she thought, shaking her head. But I will not let that…
She’d reached the second landing, revealing her date awaiting at the bottom of the staircase. Logan was indeed leaning on the staircase and his eyes lit up the moment he spotted her. Ororo’s heart stuttered to a halt in her chest, taking in the sight of him.
He was dressed in black trousers and a crisp white shirt, the first few buttons left undone. She could see the black sport coat he’d tossed over the banister as he waited. His hair was brushed, but the wolfish peaks that were his trademark remained. Ororo conceded the point to her teenage friends. His posture and that simple, sexy smirk were reminiscent of Gable in all his glory.
When she reached the bottom of the staircase, Logan took her hand, holding her out from his body. Obliging the giddy, feminine part of her that rarely saw daylight, she turned slowly, modeling her dress for her appreciative audience.
“You look…” he mumbled, leaning to whisper into her ear. “Stunning.”
“Ooh,” she trilled, pleasure bubbling in her chest. “You are already earning points, Logan.”
“I’ve always had this way with words,” he quipped, tucking her arm under his before collecting his coat.
He wrapped the thin white shawl she’d selected about her shoulders, then shrugged into his coat as Jubilee and Kitty appeared with Prita. The baby reached for Logan, whining until he plucked her from Kitty’s arms.
“Sorry, Princess,” he told her, returning her pout with one of his own. “Jus’ Mommy an’ me tonight. We’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”
Touched, Ororo watched as Logan brushed his nose over Prita’s in a form of an Eskimo kiss. Her daughter giggled lightly, turning to her mother for a kiss as well. Ororo cuddled the little darling close, kissing her cheek before Logan returned her to Kitty.
“Behave girls,” he said sternly, taking Ororo’s arm again. “Don’t you start corruptin’ the little one.”
“We’ll be fine,” Jubilee brushed him off. “Since the boys are playing poker, us girls are having a Keanu-DVD-a-thon.”
“Oh, God,” Logan groaned, ushering a laughing Ororo out of the hall and into the foyer. “Run, before they start cryin’.”
Ororo slid her hand to the crook of Logan’s arm, letting him lead her as they headed for the door. He looked so handsome, so unlike the man she’d originally seen him as. But there was something in his walk, the way his spine straightened that made this facet of him seem just as natural as any other.
The door opened before they reached it, allowing a grocery-bag laden Peter inside.
“Мой Боr,” he said quickly, holding the door for them. “You both look wonderful. Have a good time, eh?”
“You got it,” Logan pulled Ororo closer as they left the mansion.
For once in her life, she had a very good feeling about this.
~**~
It was nearing midnight by the time Logan and Ororo returned to the mansion. He jumped out of the car, rushing around to open her door. All through the evening, Logan treated her with more manners than she’d ever seen. Chairs were pulled out, doors opened…all those things Ororo felt the Feminist Movement had killed.
She offered him her hand to help her out of the car, standing a little closer than necessary. He gave her that heart-stopping smile, cupping her cheek with one of his impossibly strong hands.
Dinner was not so much a lavish affair as quiet and intimate. He’d made reservations at a small Indian bistro, securing them a table in the far corner. Under the scents of curries and spices, with dim candlelight to illuminate them, they talked for the first time about their two-year separation.
They traded stories about India and the school, laughing quietly at various anecdotes. Jean’s name popped up a time or two, and they would both lapse into silence before moving on. She thought, perhaps, Jean would always been a sore subject between them.
Though dinner had technically only taken a couple of hours, they shared cup after cup of potent coffee while talking in the quiet restaurant. Now, standing in front of the mansion, she wasn’t sure she wanted the night to end.
Holding on to Logan’s shoulder, she quickly removed her shoes, raising her brow at him.
“I think I would like to take a walk,” she offered quietly. “You?”
“Sounds like fun,” Logan nodded, kicking off his boots.
With each dangling their shoes in one hand, while grasping one another’s as they stepped onto the soft grass of the estate. They circled the mansion, which was still alive with activity even at this late hour. No one seemed to spot them, allowing the couple to reach the edge of the lake unhindered.
Logan was quiet, but when Ororo looked to his profile, she found that slight frown on his face that betrayed his thoughts. He was thinking of something, perhaps something he felt he needed to share with her. Whatever it was, she braced herself. This fairytale evening was something she did not want to end.
“You might hate me for bringin’ this up,” he began a moment later, the moonlight shadowing his frowning face. “But I have to say it.”
“What is it?” she questioned, dropping her gaze to the cool sand on the shore of the lake. They were leaving footprints in the wet sand, the feel of it reminding her that this was not a dream.
“That night,” he cleared his throat. “I wanted to come after you. I shoulda.”
She kept walking with him, digesting his words. It still stung, to think of that night. Ororo looked over to the silvery surface of the lake, not responding to him.
“We have to talk about it, ‘Ro,” Logan continued. “It’ll just fester if we don’t.”
Knowing he was right did not make it easier. She let her gaze drift to the hilltop where Jean rested, her eternal flame a mere pinprick of orange against the blue-black sky. Yes, they had to talk about it.
“Why did you wait?” she inquired softly.
“Dunno,” he said in that gruff voice. “Shame, maybe. I fucked up an’ I knew it. I spent that whole night practisin’ what I’d say to you.”
“I was hurt,” she admitted. “I felt I had betrayed Jean’s memory, and you, but it was so much easier to simply focus on the fact that you were envisioning her and not me. I used that betrayal so I would not have to think about mine.”
“I wasn’t envisionin’ her,” Logan’s voice was slightly defensive. “At least, not right at first.”
“It’s all right,” she said, squeezing his hand. “It was remarkably bad timing, on both our parts.”
Logan was quiet, turning his face toward the ripe and smiling moon. Ororo smiled at the expression of reverence reflected in the silver wash of moonlight.
“ Can we get past it, you think?”
“I am not sure,” Ororo admitted. “Would you like to?”
He nodded once, slowly, then stopped walking. Ororo pulled up short, noting they’d walked to the far bank of the lake, the mansion seeming so very tiny on the horizon. Logan stood in front of her, resting his forehead on hers.
“Yeah,” her date murmured against her lips. “I would. I’m in love with ya, ‘Ro. I’m sorry it took me so fuckin’ long to get here, but I am. I want ya, your bad temper, your stubborn heart, your daughter. All of it.”
Breathing was suddenly just not an option for her. She expected him to say something to the effect of “I think I love you”, but his honest speech made her knees knock together so hard, it was amazing she managed to stay upright. Somewhere, in the deepest, denied parts of her heart, she’d waited to hear him say that.
Blowing out a breath slowly, she fought the lump of emotion currently making it impossible to swallow. “Logan…”
“’Ro,” his hands took her face gently, as they had in the greenhouse. “It happened fast, I’ll admit that. But I’ve never been one for slow.”
“Just tell me,” he continued a beat later, his eyes locking with hers. “Still love me?”
Her head told her to say no, but her heart very quickly trampled the urge. It was impossible, insane, and impulsive…which is why she trusted what her heart was telling her. She did love him, perhaps more than was strictly rational. This man did things to her wounded heart that she would never be able to explain and he wanted her.
“Give me a chance to prove it,” he whispered again, making her aware that she’d been silent for some time.
Taking a deep breath, she threw caution to the wind and licked her parched lips. “I do love you, Logan.”
She wrapped her arms about his neck, dropping her shawl and shoes to the sand with his.
“If we kill each other within a month, I will blame you. Completely,” she teased, grinning when he lifted her off of her feet.
“No problem,” he chuckled, tossing her up so he could wrap his arms around her thighs, lifting her into the diamond-filled sky.
She raised her arms and tossed her head back, grinning when something in her chest grew warm, as a dragon made content by the satisfaction of being filled. Letting that telltale sting change her eyes to glowing white, she gathered a warm wind around them.
“Come fly with me,” she offered her grinning lover, as her mutation swept them into the sky.
“Anywhere,” he grunted, not releasing her, but burying his face in her silk-covered stomach. “Anytime.”
The winds carried her happiness through the grounds with aching tenderness, alerting all within the enormous house across the lake that their weather goddess was, at last, sated.
~**~
Ororo woke the following morning as sunlight poured in through the windows of her bedroom. A smile crossed her face when she noted the heavy, warm presence clutching her waist from behind. Logan’s soft snores told her he had not yet woken, so she brought the blankets up around her, snuggling closer against his protective embrace.
It was the first time she woke beside him without trepidation or panic. They’d remained out, flying together on her carefully controlled winds until dawn stained the horizon. She could not ever remember feeling so sated and calm in all her life. Logan had reveled in her mutation, commenting more than once that he’d never look at the moon the same way again.
She knew she should get up, at least to check on Prita, but the urge to just remain with Logan a moment or two more overrode her mind. With a glance to the monitor, hearing Prita rustle in her bed, she continued to just lie beside him.
They’d snuck back into the mansion by flying to her terrace and slipping in through the unlocked glass door. He’d gone to his room, changing into flannel pajama pants while she donned a thin white nightgown.
Lying awake in her bed, they’d talked until exhaustion overruled their desire to continue. Though they’d kissed more than once and let hands wander, they silently agreed to save lovemaking for another time. That was, she thought, how the trouble started, after all.
The pitter-patter of little feet made her startle, bringing the blankets down I search of the sleepy, dark head that was due to arrive in seconds. Ororo was unsure how Prita would react to seeing her mother in bed with a man, but she was loath to wake him.
Prita appeared through the door that joined their bedrooms, rubbing her tired eyes as she toddled on her chunky little legs. She stumbled on her way to her mother’s bed, making Ororo stretch a hand to steady her.
Whimpering sleepily, Prita held her arms out. Sitting up, shifting against Logan, Ororo scooped the baby up and deposited her into the body-warmed bed. Prita seemed to realize, at last, that Mommy was not alone and peeked over Ororo’s shoulder curiously.
A huge, gummy grin covered her lips. Paying no heed to her mother’s body, Prita scrambled over her and wedged between Logan and Ororo. The mother chuckled, giving her space and turning onto the opposite side so she faced her daughter and lover.
Prita plunked her head down on Logan’s pillow, taking her mother’s arm and wrapping it around her waist while she kissed Logan’s bearded cheek.
He woke with a start, blinking in a half-asleep daze.
“I’m dreamin’,” he whispered, voice heavy with sleep as he spotted Ororo and Prita. “This is a dream and I’ll wake up in a second.”
Grinning, Ororo reached over and pinched his arm roughly. “Wake up.”
“Ow, wench,” Logan grunted, dropping his head back to the pillow. “Hey, kid.”
Prita snuggled closer to him, cooing tiredly.
“If I’m not dreamin’, I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
“Sorry, but no,” Ororo whispered, not wanting to break this tender moment. “You are not rid of us so easily.”
Logan’s hand reached across the half-asleep baby to splay over Ororo’s hip. “I don’t wanna be rid of ya at all.”
“Stop it,” Ororo yawned, her heart clenching in her chest at his honest tone. “You will make me swoon.”
“Could be fun,” he remarked, flashing her a toothy grin.
“Perhaps,” she said primly, leaning down to kiss her daughter’s shoulder.
The trio lapsed into silence, Ororo and Logan staring down at the child nestled between them. Prita had a thumb in her mouth as she drifted back to sleep, her pouting lips parted so she could breathe deeply, safely snuggled between her favorite adults.
“How can somethin’ so small be so beautiful,” Logan commented after a moment of absolute silence.
“I have often wondered that,” Ororo replied, smiling when his eyes met hers.
“You plannin’ on havin’ some the old fashioned way?” One of his thick black brows raised as her heart began to pound again.
“Are you offering?” she quipped, wondering if he had thought about it.
Logan was quiet for a long time, one of enormous hands smoothing over Prita’s dark curls.
“I was plannin’ on convincin’ ya to marry me first.”
Ororo’s breath caught in her throat. He did not just say that. Her head was screaming that a conversation like this was meant to take place several months from now, perhaps even a year or two. But her heart shouted back that they had taken their sweet time getting here.
“Really?” she questioned when she regained control over her voice.
His eyes were open to her when their gazes locked again. “Yeah. Thought I’d give you some time to get used to the idea before I went an’ asked outright.”
Ororo shook her head, smiling faintly. “No one can ever accuse you of paying no attention to the future.”
“Hey, I already admitted I love you,” he said gruffly, before pausing to smile. “Gets easier every time I say that. Better get used to it.”
Her heart tripped again, but she returned the smile. “Oh, have no doubt that I will. You had best learn to live with my loving you.”
“It’ll be a real hardship.”
They were interrupted by the shrill ringing of the phone. Logan’s hand covered Prita’s ear, as though he were not keen on waking her. Ororo turned just enough to grasp the cordless receiver. After the third ring, she pressed the talk button and brought the earpiece to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Who’s callin’ at eight in the fuckin’ morning?” Logan growled softly.
Ororo flapped her hand at him, urging him to be quiet. “Hello?”
“Stormy?”
“Gambit?”
Her lover lifted his head, a frown on his face when Ororo sat up, blinking the remnants of her lazy wake up from her mind.
“Oui,” her friend said. His voice was cheerful, and she could hear feminine laughter behind him. “Good morning, petite.”
“Remy, where are you? We have been worried sick!”
“Don’ worry none, mon chou,” he drawled. “Remy an’ Marie havin’ some fun is all.”
“Where are you? Is Marie all right?” Ororo questioned, easily capturing one of Logan’s hands as he reached for the telephone.
“Fine, fine, Stormy,” Gambit continued. “Jus’ callin’ ta say we doin’ all right. Rogue lovin’ de Bayou.”
“Louisiana?” Storm rolled her eyes. “I should have known.”
“Dat right, ‘Roro shoula,” Gambit chuckled. “’ang on, Rogue wan’ talk to ya.”
She heard several clicks, as though someone were hanging the receiver off to another. A beat later, Marie’s youthful, vibrant voice came through the phone.
“Storm?” she giggled. “Yah doin’ all right?”
“Yes, fine,” Ororo sighed, relieved. “You?”
“Ah’m doin’ betta,” the girl said cheerily. “How’s Logan?”
“Ask him yourself,” Ororo took the phone from her ear and handed it to Logan. “It’s Rogue.”
“Marie?” Logan asked quietly once the phone was at his ear. “You scared the sh”crap out of me.”
Ororo could not hear the girl’s response, but Logan chuckled. She laid her head back on the pillow beside Prita as Logan spoke to his friend. He reached down with his free hand as he settled against the headboard, his chest bared when the blankets shifted to fall into his lap. Ororo raised her hand, linking their fingers together.
How had they come so far so quickly? Logan’s need for physical contact brought a smile to his face as his thumb smoothed over her knuckles tenderly. For once in her life, she did not want to question this. Her head and heart were silent, letting her enjoy the moment. Perhaps this would blow up in her face, but by the Goddess herself, she would relish this.
Logan clicked the phone off a moment later, letting it fall to the floor as he scooted back down to lie with his girls.
“They sound fine,” he commented quietly.
“Yes,” she agreed in a similar tone. “Did they promise to call again?”
“Couple of days,” he nodded. “Sounds like their on a boat or somethin’, I could hear water in the distance.”
“The Renegade,” Ororo supplied, wondering why she’d not thought of it before. “It’s a rebuilt steamer turned casino and hotel. Gambit loves that blasted thing.”
Logan’s brow raised in obvious amusement. “Don’t like boats?”
She narrowed her eyes playfully. “Sea sickness.”
For some reason, that made him grin. He shook his head, glancing back down at Prita as she slept peacefully between them.
“I’ve got an idea.”
“Will it require heavy ammunition and a snake-bite kit?” she teased.
“You makin’ fun of me, woman?”
“Of course not,” she batted her eyelashes innocently. “What is this idea?”
Logan reached over to smack her backside gently. “Lets drag our butts outta bed, have some breakfast an’ take Prita here to the zoo.”
Confused, though his idea had merit. A day as a trio would be a fitting continuation on this warm, sated feeling she seemed trapped in. “The zoo?”
“Yeah,” he shrugged, kissing the baby’s temple. “I wanna show her a real elephant.”
Touched, Ororo nodded instantly. “I do believe I like that idea. We will tell Charles we require a day off.”
They managed to rouse Prita a few minutes later, parting to get themselves ready for a day out. Ororo could not help thinking of Logan’s question, his admission that he would one day ask her to be his wife. An ache in the pit of her stomach told her how much she enjoyed that idea. First, she would learn how to be with him on a regular basis, and then she would concentrate on giving him a family, should he want it.
