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“Ororo!”

From her desk, Ororo winced at the slightly shrill call of her name wafting into her classroom from down the hallway. Lo and behold, it was Emma. For that moment she was glad she didn’t have Logan’s sensitive hearing. When he first met Emma he told Ororo about wanting to claw his own eardrums for nothing else if only to be put out of his misery.

Most likely Emma was no doubt seeking her out to voice a complaint thinly veiled as concern over someone or how certain things were run in the mansion. More often than not, that was what consisted of the majority of the conversations that went on between her and Emma. There were some moments when Emma had a point, which were few and far between as it was, but Ororo was beginning to feel she was going to get to the point where she was going to snap. Honestly, there was only so much bickering and negativity she could take from Emma. Ororo had been headmistress of the school for a year now and so far things were running smoothly with the odd bumps along the road and a veritable mountain of paperwork, but that was to be expected. However, Ororo being Ororo she figured she’d try to give her the benefit of the doubt. Trying seemed to become more difficult to do as time went on.

Almost walking right past Ororo’s door, Emma finally noticed her.

“Oh there you are, I’ve been meaning to discuss something with you Ororo dear” she said in that voice that dripped with feigned politeness and borderline condescension.

Wonderful. Emma just seemed to have a knack for having some sort of problem with someone for some reason or another. At times, Ororo wasn’t one hundred percent sure if it was just the way Emma was or if it was some latent mutant ability only just now making itself known. Granted there were moments when Emma’s feelings were warranted. However, you take a mansion full of active children, hormone-driven teenagers, and adults with different personalities there are bound to be disagreements but some of Emma’s “concerns” were more often self-centered and borderline childish. Now it’s not that Ororo didn’t care, far from it really, but even she got annoyed at times. Then there were some of the students that had discussed some of their own problems with Emma with her. Never one to really keep her true feelings and opinions on the inside, Jubilee was particularly vocal about her grievances.

At that inopportune moment, thoughts of Wolverine flitted into her mind. She wished she could be as unabashedly honest as Jubilee and tell him how much he really affected her. It was a kind of honesty that her sense of self-preservation just wouldn’t allow. Aside from the physical attraction she felt towards him, when it came right down to it, she felt different when she was around Wolverine. Sure she had told him some things that she hadn’t talked about with anyone else because she felt a certain degree of freedom with him. Along with that freedom came vulnerability and her little slip last night in the kitchen was a crack in the walls she kept around her heart and if she didn’t somehow stop the crack from getting bigger, she’d reach a point where she’d be powerless to stop them from shattering altogether.

Realizing that Emma was droning on, Ororo decided that maybe she should actually pay attention and shelve her rampant thoughts for the time being. Putting her best face forward, Ororo mentally shook herself. “What can I help you with Emma?”

Emma proceeded further into the classroom coming to a stop when she fully reached Ororo’s desk at the front of the room. “Did you not hear a word I just said? I wanted to talk to you about Wolverine.”

As if conjuring him up by the mere mention of his name, Logan silently appeared in the doorway behind Emma. Emma didn’t seem to notice and Ororo, despite the fact that it was sort of mean however she wasn’t in the best of moods, thought twice about alerting her to his presence.

Placing her pen down on her desk, Ororo directed her full attention on Emma. “Hmm, what about Wolverine?” she asked wondering what he could’ve done to her that was so wrong. *He probably did something that annoyed her, like maybe breathe.*

“A few of his students arrived late to my class today citing that they were kept later in his. Now the reason for my bringing this to your attention is due to the fact that I do not wish for that to become a habit.”

That was what the bellowing down the hallway was about? Ororo could understand Emma’s irritation but the drama was not needed.

“Has it been occurring on a regular basis?”

“No, but I do not appreciate the lack of respect for my class sessions with the students.” Emma added snappily as if what Ororo had asked her was outrageously stupid.

“I understand that, however why not speak with Wolverine directly? There may have been a good reason for it. If not, I’m sure you both could come to an understanding so it won’t happen again.” Ororo may be the headmistress but she expected instructors to exercise enough professional decorum to try and solve issues between themselves first using her as an intermediary if the situation should reach an impasse.

Emma gave her a look that begged the question “Are you serious?”

“I do not wish to deal with him only to have my comments brushed aside as if I am not a part of the faculty of this school.”

“If you’d approach him in a less demanding fashion, I’m sure he would respond in kind Emma. No one around here is just someone to be “dealt with”, everyone works together here, I know I shouldn’t have to remind you of that.”

“I did not come to talk to you to be scolded like a child Ororo.” Emma added, getting offended.

“Maybe it would not sound as such if you would try to talk to me and not at me. Besides I am not scolding you, I am merely familiarizing you on how to better approach the situation without causing any unnecessary stress on yourself or Wolverine.” Ororo replied as calmly as she could.

*Nice save.* Logan thought to himself, sure that there were some other choice words Ororo really wanted to say to her. He had to admit one thing though, Ororo was sexy when her feathers were ruffled.

“Hmph, fair enough, however if you do not speak with Wolverine, I will.”

*Apparently I was speaking to myself.* Ororo sighed inwardly.

At that, Emma turned around with a flip of her blond locks momentarily freezing on the spot when she caught sight of Logan in the doorway. “Wolverine,” was Emma’s curt acknowledgment of him.

“Frost,” was all Logan said, not for lack of better commentary, he was just enjoying the look on her face at the realization that she got caught by him in the midst of trashing him. He stepped out of the doorway into the classroom, putting his hand out towards the door none too subtly showing her the way out.

Gesturing towards Emma after she walked out the door in a huff, Logan offered, “I’ll hold her if you deck her.”

“That will not be necessary Logan, but I’ll take a rain check?” Ororo said with a wink and a smile.

“Jus’ tell me when, don’t say I never did anythin’ nice for ya.” Logan sauntered towards her desk, his backside taking up residence on the corner of it next to her as he sat down propping his elbow on his thigh as if he belonged there. “Somethin’ tells me this ain’t tha first time she’s come gripin’ about me, eh?”

Picking up her pen, Ororo attempted to concentrate more on the papers in front of her and less on the man next to her taking up the corner space of her desk. How he managed to look all kinds of naughty just by sitting there was beyond her. “I almost expected her to tell me you were the Boogeyman.”

Waggling his eyebrows, Logan said, “Maybe I am.”

Choosing not to dwell on any subject that would lead to a full on conversation about him, her, or the night before, Ororo kept the topic on Emma and her little scene. “She’s like that with practically everybody and everything. She just has to realize that it’s not always going to be her way. Does she bother you?”

“No, I don’t give a rat’s ass what she thinks o’ me, it’s just that broad raises my hackles sky high. Why’s she here again?”

“It seems to be that way for quite a few others as well. As to her setting up shop here, she felt like she owed it to Charles or something like that and I couldn’t exactly tell her to…...”

“Fuck off?”

“That’s one way of putting it.

“It’s tha only way. So what’s yer deal with her?”

“Let’s just say we’ve had our problems in the past.”

“Feelin’ like talkin’ in riddles now darlin’?”

“Not really, I’m just saving that one for another time. You wouldn’t begrudge me one of those out of sight, out of mind moments after that little display now would you?”

“Gotcha.” Whatever happened between her and Frost, Logan wasn’t going to push her on the matter. If there was something to tell, it’d be up to her if she wanted to tell him. For the moment, there were more pressing matters at hand, well at least for him. He had a nice view from where he sat. Her hair was longer now and swept up into a neat ponytail with a few tendrils hanging loose on the side of her face, not in a disheveled way, on her it was elegant. That’d be one way to describe her as she had this bearing of regality about her that probably brought even the toughest guys to their knees.

Ororo felt Logan’s eyes boring into her. He was silent, too silent if that was possible. Ororo tore her eyes away from her papers to glance up at him to find that he looked like he was in another world. “Is something the matter?”

“What?” He blinked. *Shit.* Truth be told she could’ve told him his hair was on fire and he still would’ve been sitting pretty.

Ororo wanted to smirk at his reaction. “You’re staring.”

“You gonna melt or somethin’?” Eh, no point in coming up with something to cover up the fact that he’d been caught. Sarcasm, it’s a thing of beauty.

*Maybe.* “Very funny.”

He might as well get to the point already. “Ya know as interestin’ as it is talkin’ about ‘ol Frosty, that’s not why I’m here.”

“Mmm, somehow I had a feeling.” *So much for evasive maneuvers.*

Logan felt it was time to go in for the kill, “So about last night…."

“Yes, about that. Things got a bit out of hand and it just happened.” Her words came out in a stream that sounded ridiculously lame, even to her.

He wasn’t buying that for a second. “Seems like ya wanted it to happen.”

“Excuse me but I didn’t exactly hear you screaming bloody murder.” She was on the defensive now. He was into it just as much if not more than she was. Besides, it wasn’t like she forced him, he was a big boy.

“You accusin’ me now?”

“I’m not accusing you of anything; I’m just stating a fact.”

“You sayin’ that ta convince yerself or me?”

“What do you want me to say Logan?”

“Why don’t ya try bein’ honest instead of pullin’ this ‘oh it was nothing’ crap with me. That’s not yer style.” It bothered him sometimes when she brushed things off like it was nothing when he knew otherwise. She was honest with him before, why wouldn’t she be now? *Stubborn woman*.

“And what exactly is my style?”

This conversation wasn’t going very well at all. “Ya don’t do things unless you want to…”

As Ororo fought the urge to knock Logan off of her desk so he’d unceremoniously land on his ass and tell him she didn’t need a lesson in “Ororo: 101” from him there was a soft knock against the open door by which Kitty made her presence known. “Hey Logan.”

Nodding his head in greeting, he replied with an easy “Sprite.” At first, Kitty was abhorred to him calling her that but she got used to it. After a while Kitty told him that she figured since he had to put up with Jubilee referring to him as “Wolvie” in front of practically any member of the general population, she could stand to cut him some slack. But he had respect for Kitty because he had to hand it to the kid; she proved that sometimes it was the little ones you had to watch out for. She was tougher than she looked.

Judging by the odd feeling of tension in the air and the feeling that she had most likely interrupted something, Kitty added somewhat awkwardly, “Um, Storm there’s someone here to see you.”

“Thank you Kitten, I’ll be there in a minute.” Ororo said with a smile betraying her true feelings at that moment. Which by the way, what were they exactly? She was getting irritated that he seemed to be placing the blame on her but part of her was endeared to the fact that it affected him to the point where he felt he had to confront her about it. If that made any kind of sense; she wasn’t exactly sure.

“No problem.” Looking from both Logan to Ororo and noticing the way they were practically eyeballing each other she decided to make herself scarce. “See ya.”

Logan smirked at how fast Kitty took off but made no comment instead zeroing in on Ororo. “I ain’t convinced ya know. Fact is I think yer scared. What’s tha matter ‘Ro? Embarrassed about fraternizin’ with the Boogeyman?”

Ororo rose from her chair somewhat slowly drawing out her reply and taking some girly satisfaction in the fact that his eyes were following her. “Ok, you want me to be honest?” Never taking her eyes from his, she told him, “First of all, the very last thing I am is afraid of you. Secondly, don’t flatter yourself.” As he was about to voice his thoughts at that, he was effectively silenced by a wave of her hand, signaling that she wasn’t done yet. “Oh and am I embarrassed by what happened last night? I would be if I didn’t enjoy it so much.” And with that she was out the door before he could respond. Two could play at this game and true to form, Ororo gave as well as she got.

“Hnnh, well damn.” He wanted honesty and in some form or another, he got it.





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