Chapter Thirteen: Time
Better than I was, more than I am
And all of this happened, by takin' your hand
And who I am now is who I wanted to be
And now that we're together
I'm stronger than ever
I'm happy and free
~Tim McGraw & Faith Hill
He would never tire of kissing her.
She sat upon the top of a picnic table, her feet on the bench, with him sitting between them. This put her in perfect range for innocently traveling hands and slow, burning kisses that made his toes curl in his boots.
The summer heat had nothing to do with the couple locked together, though he was slightly concerned that the world could end and neither of them would notice. It was a simple, pure pleasure to hold her this way. There was no room for doubt, no reason for them to part while her daughter slept peacefully in the stroller.
If he wasn’t careful, this kind of unbridled happiness was likely to become habit. For some reason, he wasn’t certain that was a bad thing.
Logan smiled against Ororo’s lips, dimly wondering if it was entirely healthy to focus so much on one part of her. They were full, pouting from his kisses and blissfully unpainted. He could lose himself, all sense of time, in those kisses.
He felt her hands on his shoulders, those long, delicate fingers gently kneading his flesh through the thin material of his t-shirt. The modest hem of her skirt slid a little higher when his hands gripped her bare knees. She chuckled against his mouth, making his smile widen.
Yes, he would never tire of kissing this woman, of loving her, of simply being in her arms.
“Logan?” Ororo’s voice was muffled by his lips. For some reason, that made his masculine need to dominate very happy.
“Yeah, darlin’?” He kissed her again, unable to help himself.
“There are people staring at us,” she breathed, her voice a husky whisper that he definitely wanted to hear in a more private setting.
“Starin’ at you, maybe,” he took her mouth fully, then pulled back to nuzzle her nose with his. “Wonderin’ what you’re doin’ with this old man.”
“Mmm,” she hummed, smacking her lips. “It could be the opposite.”
“Unlikely,” Logan smirked, kissing the tip of her nose, her closed eyelids, her cheeks.
“Or, perhaps, they are thinking that we look wonderful together.”
“I like that one,” he pulled back a little, peeking into Prita’s stroller where the sleeping child lay. “Still out like a light.”
“Well,” Ororo wound a lock of his hair around her finger. “We have had quite a day.”
Logan slid his hands up Ororo’s thighs, careful to keep her skirt in tact, so he could grab her hips, hauling her a little closer.
“Yeah, fun though,” he practically growled, wondering how long he could keep this up before he exploded. “God, yer lips are fantastic. Have I mentioned that?”
“No,” she answered, grinning against his lips. “But I do love compliments.”
“Ask an' ye shall receive.”
He wrapped her back into a kiss, heedless to the Saturday crowds moving through the open courtyard of the zoo’s restaurant area. He’d never pegged Ororo for the public displays of affection type, but then neither was he. It was almost as though they were trying to make up for lost time.
Everything that kept them apart suddenly seemed so small. This feeling in his chest, that warm, fuzzy feeling felt something like home. They’d spent the entire morning showing Prita the wonders of the zoo. They’d only seen half of the area before breaking for lunch. When she woke from her nap, they would continue.
Waking with them both beside him was possibly the best thing he’d ever seen. Ororo’s smile and Prita’s kiss were how he wanted to wake up for the rest of his life. He’d been honest when telling his lover that he planned on marrying her. Hell, he planned on more than that. He wanted everything with her. This dwarfed anything he’d ever wanted from Jean a million times.
It was overwhelming. He felt as though everything in his life was pointing to her, only he’d been too idiot to see it right away. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. Ororo was going to be with him for whatever remained of their lives.
Maybe they’d even get to give Prita a sibling or four. Just the image of Ororo swollen with his child was enough to make his heart hurt. She’d be beautiful. First, of course, he had to convince her to marry him. For some reason, he didn’t think it would take much.
He was moving fast and thinking even faster, but there was a terrible ache in his chest, a self-hatred for taking so long to realize she was all he could want. Suddenly, with three little words spoken in honesty, he was sated. All traces of wanderlust and pain were gone with her in his arms.
Prita began to whimper a moment later, breaking Logan and Ororo apart. He noticed her little fists out of the cover of her stroller, as though she were stretching. Ororo grinned, reaching around him to remove the cover.
“Good morning, precious,” she cooed at the little girl.
Prita gifted them with a sleepy grin. Logan, not moving from his comfortable position on the bench, fished through the diaper bag. Once he located the baby’s sipping cup, he handed it to her with a smile.
“Hey, Princess,” he greeted. “Have a drink an’ we’ll go see the lions and tigers and bears.”
“Oh, my,” Ororo chimed in, earning a light swat on the bottom.
“Behave, Mamma,” Logan growled, taking another swift kiss from her lips.
“Or what?” she teased, raising a thin white brow.
“You’ll see,” he threatened, trying to keep away the x-rated images floating through his mind.
“Mmm,” she hummed, winking at him.
They hopped off of the table, gathering Prita’s things quickly. When she fussed to be released from the stroller, Logan scooped her up, placing her on her feet. Cup in hand, Prita toddled along beside him, clutching his hand.
Logan entwined his fingers with Ororo’s, making her push the stroller one-handed. It was domestic, sweet, something that would have made him sick just a year ago. This change come over him was so shocking, he almost wondered if he’d wandered into another dimension.
But no, he mused. It was just her. She just did something to him that no one else on the face of the Earth could ever boast. This beautiful weather goddess had tamed the beast within him. Sated, satisfied and completely insane over this woman, Logan knew his life would never be the same.
Good, he thought quickly as they came to the tiger paddock. Cause I don’t want the old Wolverine back.
“Ooh, Prita, look!” Ororo gushed, stopping the stroller.
Logan removed his hand from his love’s, squeezing it before releasing her. He took Prita into his arms, leaning on the fence of the paddock and pointing to the great Bengal tiger lounging in the warm sun.
“He’s gorgeous,” Logan grinned, adjusting Prita on his hip so he could wrap an arm around Ororo’s shoulders.
Prita squealed, holding her juice cup in her mouth by clenching tiny teeth on the spout. She clapped wildly, trying to call the tiger toward her. She babbled a mile a minute when the beautiful striped creature stood, stretching and yawning.
“Hey, sweetheart, he ain’t a kitty cat,” Logan chuckled. “Look, there’s the mama tiger.”
“And cubs,” Ororo gave him a sidelong look. “How adorable.”
“Yeah,” Logan adjusted Prita again. “Too bad that mamma an’ daddy could rip both our throats out for just lookin’ at baby wrong.”
“Yes,” Ororo’s voice was thoughtful. “But I believe that is true of any parent.”
“Maybe yer right,” he agreed, looking at Prita’s beautiful face. “Any case, I’d probably fight the devil himself he came near this one.”
He was rewarded by Ororo kissing his cheek. She snuggled in closer to him as they watched the tiger family romp in the sunlight.
“You worry about it?” he asked suddenly, touching his forehead to Prita’s cheek. “Bout her bein’ a mutant?”
Ororo was quiet for a moment, and then he felt her shrug her shoulders.
“I think about it and I wonder,” she answered quietly. “But I do not worry. Even if something were to happen to me, she would still have those around her “ you for example “ to help her through it.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, squeezing her shoulders. “But nothin’s gonna happen to ya, darlin’.”
“Let us see if the polar bears are out,” she said suddenly, stepping away from his grasp.
Concerned, he glanced at Prita. It may have been his mind playing tricks, but he could have sworn the child shrugged at him, as though her mother’s behavior seemed odd to her as well.
They moved at a lazy pace through the zoo grounds, stopping whenever they saw something that caught their eye. They took a train ride toward the end of the afternoon, letting Prita doze on Logan’s lap while they enjoyed the rest.
Ororo seemed oddly quiet, which sent up little red flags in Logan’s mind. For Prita’s sake, he kept a lid on his curiosity, inwardly vowing to question his love when they were alone and out of the child’s earshot. It wouldn’t do for her to see them arguing again. Last time left him with enough guilt.
The white-haired woman seemed to perk up as they began to wind the trip down. Logan took a quick jaunt into the reptile house with Prita, leaving severely claustrophobic Ororo outside on the benches.
Prita giggled hysterically at the massive snakes and lizards, Logan had to keep her from banging on the glass. One peculiar python even rose up to look at the grinning child, touching his blunt nose to the glass as though in greeting.
Logan began to wonder at the girl at that point. Perhaps she would be a mutant with some sort of reptilian power. That would be interesting, considering the mansion already housed it’s own personal amphibian.
When they left the reptile house, Prita was on Logan’s shoulders, babbling about something while using his hair for a handlebar. He laughed up at her, glancing around a beat later to find Ororo.
She was sitting on the bench, looking serene and beautiful with her face turned up to the sun. As though she sensed them, her striking eyes found the man and child moving toward her, a bright smile breaking out on that perfect face.
“How was it?” Ororo asked as Logan settled Prita back into the stroller and gave her mother a kiss on the lips.
“Yer girl here has a thing for creepy-crawlies, as Rogue calls them.”
“Oh dear,” she laughed, pushing the baby toward the zoo exit.
“Hey, could be worse,” he flashed her a smile, wrapping an arm over her shoulders. “She could be just like me.”
“Hrmm,” Ororo glanced at him. “There are worse things than even that.”
“Yep,” he said, pulling her close enough to kiss that crop of white hair. “I’m keepin’ you around indefinitely.”
“Oh, good,” she retorted sweetly. “As I am not planning on going anywhere.”
~**~
When the trio arrived back home, everything was still standing. Slightly surprised that their world had not yet imploded, Logan kept close to Prita and Ororo for the remainder of the day.
During the baby’s afternoon nap, Wolverine and Storm got in a couple of training hours in the Danger Room. It was interesting, fighting beside her now. They moved fluidly, as one unit, and dispatched a group of renegade mutants with little problem. After their workout, they took a walk around the lake with Prita.
He’d spent a full 24 hours with the two of them and had absolutely no problem spending a lot more time with his girls. They ate dinner with the family, paying absolutely no attention to the lingering stares from their friends as they sat together and took turns feeding the baby.
With a heavy heart, Logan parted with the girls when they headed up to bathe and ready for bed. He stayed behind to ensure Scott was all right with the new term schedule. Students would be arriving in two weeks. Just enough time for Kitty and Peter to tie the knot. The couple set a date for next Sunday, which was a relief to everyone.
Ororo and Prita both gave him a quick kiss, the elder female’s lingering stare telling him he was to come up at some point during the night. Logan had to hold back a growl. He wanted her so badly his teeth were starting to hurt from clenching his jaw.
“Ok,” Cyclops said the instant mother and baby were out of earshot. “I’m guessing the date went well?”
Logan could not, even if he’d wanted to try, keep the grin from spreading over his face. He probably looked ridiculous, but after the day he had, there was no stopping it. For the first time in what life he could remember, he was happy.
“Wow,” Scott sat back in his chair, shaking his head. “You’ve got it bad, man.”
“Yeah, I think so,” Logan agreed. “It’s…shit, I don’t know.”
He flattened his palm against his chest, thinking on how best he could explain what was going on inside of him. So many feelings mingled and danced together that it was impossible to decipher one from the other.
“It’s like falling,” Cyclops said with a small smile. “Falling and spinning into eternity. You should be afraid, but you’re not. Because someone else is there to experience it with you. Everything is on fire and placid at the same time. What was up is down, and it all makes such perfect sense and complete gibberish at the same time.”
Surprised, Logan looked up to his friend. Scott’s face was flushed, the slight crimp to his chin betraying what was going on behind ruby-quartz lenses.
“Yeah,” he agreed in a soft tone. “Just like that.”
“It doesn’t go away, you know,” Scott continued. “You’ll always feel it, even if you aren’t together and you move on. It’s still there. For awhile it’s painful, but after some time passes, that old feeling becomes soothing, even if you know you’ll never find someone else that does it. Enjoy it, Logan. It’s the best damn high there is, being in love like that.”
It was in that moment that Logan finally understood Scott and Jean. He imagined, just for a moment, how he would react if someone showed up and immediately decided to make a play for Ororo. He’d be jealous, angry, and completely irrational with dislike for that person. If Scott felt even half of what Logan did at this moment, it was amazing they’d never come to blows over Jean.
Logan looked at his friend, wondering how he could have been such an ass about the entire thing for so long. With Jean, Logan hadn’t really felt this. She was kind and sweet, beautiful and woke up something inside of him. But with ‘Ro, this was something so much deeper, so powerful he couldn’t believe he’d mistaken lust for love before.
Clearing his throat, Logan met the ruby gaze of his friend. “I didn’t know.”
Scott shrugged his shoulders, giving the other mutant a half-smile. “Now you do. And I’m glad. Everyone should feel it.”
“It’s overwhelming,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m surprised you didn’t rip my head off the day we met.”
“Oh, I wanted to,” Scott smirked. “But Jean always had issues with me killing people.”
They shared a laugh at that.
“Tell me something, man,” Logan asked quietly. “Better to have loved and lost than not at all?”
Scott was quiet, obviously pondering his answer for several seconds. Logan looked at him with genuine curiosity. How had Scott managed to keep living when Jean was taken from him? Logan was just beginning to understand the nature of love and he didn’t think he’d make it two days without ‘Ro.
“Yeah,” his friend said softly. “I would have rather had one day with her, one kiss, one embrace than gone a lifetime without knowing what it was to be truly loved.”
Logan sat in silence for a moment, wondering if that held true for himself. If he lost her…
Then it hit him. He looked down at his hands, which seemed youthful for his age. They knew now that he was over one hundred years old. Even if ‘Ro spent the rest of her life with him, there was the very real possibility that he would outlive her. By decades.
Looking up at Scott, he saw the sudden understanding in his friend’s expression.
“God,” he said in a pained tone. “No matter what happens…”
“I’ll end up alone,” he finished. “For a long fuckin’ time.”
“Logan…”
“It’s all right,” he cut his friend off. “I’d rather have the next forty or fifty years with her, storin’ up memories. Cause if I don’t, I’ll be alone and an even more miserable bastard.”
His friend cracked a grin at him, though Logan could see he still felt for the unique situation Wolverine found himself in.
“Go on,” Cyke said nodding toward the stairs. “I wouldn’t blame you if you spend every single moment you can with her.”
“Thanks, bub,” Logan jumped up and patted his friend on the shoulder.
“Anytime, man.”
~**~
Ororo’s nimble fingers stroked his hair in that soothing manner with which she did everything. He’d been unable to avoid her penetrating gaze and stubborn questions after he’d interrupted Prita’s bath to give her a passionate kiss.
After explaining his realization, she’d tucked Prita into bed and insisted he lay with her on the bed they’d woken up in. She kept her hands on him, silent for a long time as she thought about what he’d said. Logan could only hope and pray she lived to a ripe old age, so his time without her would be as long as possible.
“Logan?”
When she spoke, he looked up at her from where she cradled his head on her smooth belly.
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
He gave her a small smile. “Say it again.”
“I love you,” Ororo repeated. “I love you, Logan.”
“Don’t ever stop,” he said through the thick lump in his throat. “Keep sayin’ it.”
“We are both being terribly morbid,” she observed, leaning down to kiss his lips. “I do not plan on leaving for at least several more decades.”
“I know,” he nodded. “And I’ll be there for every day of those decades.”
Logan flipped over onto his stomach, looking up into her beautiful face as dusk light poured through the open windows. She reached for him, touching his whiskered cheek in the growing darkness.
Slowly, almost reverently, Logan dropped a kiss onto her satin-covered belly. Her sleeping gown was of a pale blue, the teeny straps almost invisible on her shoulders. The neckline plunged, giving him a delightful view.
He splayed his hands over her hips, concentrating slow kisses on her belly. His sensitive hearing picked up the sudden acceleration of her heart as a warm breeze swept through the windows. Ororo’s body undulated gently, her flesh sliding effortlessly under the pale satin.
Logan inhaled deeply of that honey-rain scent, letting it light the fire in his blood. Her panting breath stoked that fire, making his veins scream with want. ‘Ro’s legs parted a little, making his hands wander toward them. He caught her under the knees, tugging her down so he could trail kisses over the ripple of her ribcage.
He gathered the material of her nightgown as he dragged his hands upward, taking the satin with him. She sat up slightly, helping him divest her of the thin garment. ‘Ro pulled his shirt over his head and it too found a new home on the floor.
When Logan’s lips reached ‘Ro’s, she slid her hands down his torso, making him shiver under her touch. She hooked her thumbs under the elastic band of his pajama bottoms, sliding the material over his hips. With her feet as helpers, she tugged the article of clothing down until he could kick it off completely.
“’Ro…” he groaned her name, feeling that wealth of hot flesh against his.
“Logan,” she whimpered in reply.
There was an aching need inside of him, one that would no longer be denied. Twice they’d spent a night in one another’s arms, and he’d never felt this before. There was passion in the last times, but never this need.
He wanted. The want lived so deeply inside of him he was unable to truly understand it. He wanted to taste her, to taste the soft flesh of he throat, to kiss the round tops of her perfect breasts, to caress the long, lean line of her.
She writhed beneath him, soft mewling sounds of pleasure leaving those full lips. Logan took her mouth with his, letting his hands drift over that lovely skin. Ororo kept her own hands moving over him with the same needy passion. He could feel it in her; in the way those delicate fingers kneaded his bare skin.
His love’s legs shifted against his, he could feel those endless limbs stroking his calves, one hooking around his waist. One of his hands fell between their bodies, parting the moist, wet center of her. Logan groaned against her lips, sliding a finger inside her.
‘Ro’s hips arched up from the bed, dragging him deeper. His arousal rested against the flesh of her thigh, begging for the attention his hand received so easily. Logan’s lips left hers, kissing her forehead gently.
“I wanna worship you,” he whispered.
“I am not stopping you,” she replied, her hips rocking into his hand.
Logan shifted in the cradle of her thighs. His hand moved from her core to her hand, entwining her fingers tightly with his. She repeated that simple, intimate action with their free hands, making him rest more of his weight on her.
He entered her slowly, his breath rushing from his lungs with every languid inch. Her receptive body drew him closer as her legs wrapped around his until their feet met. She was heaven and earth in one perfect package, the serene pleasure of joining with the keeper of his heart was enough to convince him that God did exist.
There was no sound in the room, save for that warm, swift breeze and their ragged breathing. Their eyes locked, emotion surging through them both that he would never be able to name. Her mouth opened in a half-groan and he captured her lips with his.
Their hips rocked in timeless unison, a dance so primitive it called to the beast and man within him. ‘Ro’s face was wet with tears, but he knew the true nature of them. There was no pain, no betrayal between them now, only the sweet, exquisite love that burned so hot between them.
Logan’s hands gripped hers so tightly he wondered if he was hurting her. She seemed to not notice it, for her grip was just as strong.
The worship of his goddess was a languorous lovemaking. He felt as though his flesh were on fire, his blood boiling in his veins. She whimpered beneath him, a croon that could have been his name caught in her throat.
When his lips left hers, she dropped her head back against the pillow. He pressed his forehead to her cheek, listening to her labored breathing and the pound of the heart he knew belonged to him.
“I love you,” she whispered as their bodies met and retreated only to meld together again.
“I love you,” he replied, thrusting his hips to bury himself inside of her again.
One pair of clutching hands broke apart. Hers went to his back, scratching him in a way that spurred him on. His fell to her breasts, cupping one and then the other so that she arched her body into him again.
He wanted her closer. Quickly, he released her other hand, wrapping his arms under her back. She whimpered when he drew her up to his chest. Logan sat back on his calves, pulling her into his lap. Immediately, her slender arms went around his neck and she lifted herself up.
A steady, languid pace was set between them. With every thrust, Logan aided her, lifting that beautiful body before letting her drop back down. They were reduced to soft, pleading whimpers and moans, most of it unintelligible save whispered of each other’s names.
Logan had known passion and lust in his life, but making love with someone in this way was something completely new to him. There was something in this woman that made him weak and strong at the same time. He loved her and by God, he would have whatever time he could with her.
Slowly, that same indolent burn inside of him clenched in his stomach. ‘Ro’s eyes met his, her body quivering around him. Buried inside of her, his hands smoothed up her back until he could bury them in her hair. They were pressed together until he couldn’t decide where he ended and she began.
And he never, ever wanted to.
Climax found him by surprise, his body and mind blanking out as impossibly heated pleasure washed over him. Ororo covered his mouth with hers, the tensing of her body telling him that she was as overcome as he.
Panting, crashing back down to the Earth with her in his arms, Logan met those clear blue eyes. ‘Ro was smiling at him, her serenity seeming to come from within. Her hair mussed, face flushed, she traced the lines of his face with a delicate fingertip.
“Marry me.”
Surprised, though his sex-muddled brain did not register it as surprise but relief, Logan inhaled deeply, capturing the scents of honey, rain, and them saturating the room.
“Yeah.”
~**~
Logan speaks:
A lot of people say love isn’t like movies. There’s no swelling music at the first kiss, no angels singing or shit like that. Well, I say bullshit.
That night with ‘Ro was somethin’ out of poetry. I still can’t think about it without remembering how flawless an’ damn near religious that experience was. That’s what happened that night, I think. ‘Ro became my religion.
I loved her an’ even though I knew I’d spend my last years without her, should we both live to old age. Scott was right, it’s better to have loved and lost. I know that for a damn fact.
She asked me to marry her, and I thought it would take a lot more convincin’. There wasn’t a reason for me to say no. I wanted her. I needed her. I loved her. Still do, come to that. I made a decision that night that I wouldn’t let the lonesome future ruin what I had. I’d live it day to day, hopin’ I’d never have to live it.
As it is, I had 57 fuckin’ fantastic years. But, there I go again, gettin’ ahead of myself.
We spent that night lyin’ awake, both laughin’ at how fuckin’ insane we were, wantin’ to get married so fast. Didn’t seem to matter, we were both damn stubborn about it. I wanted the whole damn world to know she was mine.
Course, before we could do anythin’, we got a frantic call from the Renegade.
