Preoccupied with hanging decorations on the limbs she didn’t seem to realize he was there. He took the opportunity to simply watch her. It wasn’t something he had a chance to do often. She was rarely in any one place for very long. In like the wind, was the expression, he thought.
Looking at her now, Logan admired the subtle strength in her form. Ororo moved with an effortless grace, at one with herself and her surroundings. It was something he had noticed about her day one. It was…appealing…to watch someone so unconsciously comfortable in their own skin.
Ororo bit her lip, scrutinizing the tree, then made a small “ah-ha” and nestled a snowman in the needles. The satisfied look on her face made his lips quirk.
“Well?” She asked, lifting her head. Not so oblivious to him after all. “What do you think?”
Logan shrugged, straightening away from the door jamb. “It ain’t bad.”
“Uh-huh.” Ororo wiped her hands on her jeans, leveling him an amused stare. “It’s beautiful. Admit it.”
He took in her sparkling eyes and brilliant smile. Her white tresses were mussed from working outdoors and she still had a rosy hue to her cheeks and chin. She looked fresh and clean and “Beautiful,” he stated, not looking at the tree.
Ororo was astute enough to catch that. She cleared her throat, looked away, then held out one of the blown glass bulbs. “It’s Christmas tradition here that everyone place an ornament on the tree and make a wish on it.”
He gave her his patented ‘you’ve got to be shittin’ me’ look.
She jangled the dangling decoration. “Come on. It’s tradition.”
“What isn’t?” He rolled his eyes and stepped forward to grasp the ornament. His thick fingers brushed over hers as he slid it from her hands.
Ororo inhaled a sharp breath. Her hand trembled slightly.
Logan felt that reaction, as small as it was, straight to his adamantium laced bones.
Her eyes lifted to his. Time hung in limbo. She was so damn beautiful.
“Where do I hang it?” he asked, voice gruff and low.
Her throat felt too tight, too raw. “Anywhere that feels right to you.” She finally managed to get out.
His hands came up, unexpectedly, framing her face before his fingers slid into her hair. He stroked the strands back with a gentleness that belied his reputation for aggressive violence. He carefully lowered the silver hook over her ear, leaving the ornament bobbing against her cheek, bent his head to sniff her throat, then abruptly left the room.
Ororo blinked, completely baffled. “What the heck just happened?”
“What the hell just happened?” Logan asked himself, digging his hands into the tufts of hair on either side of his head, pacing the front porch. What in the hell had gotten into him? It sure as shit wasn’t the Spirit of Christmas, because the thoughts running through his head were anything but Holy. Her scent still clung to his nasal passage and that alone was driving him towards some sort of invisible edge. “Get it together, man.” He grabbed a fistful of snow from the railing and rubbed it over his face and neck.
“Perhaps that would be best suited…elsewhere.”
Logan peeked from between his fingers to find an amused pair of blue eyes staring back at him. Henry’s gaze flickered downward, then back up and his amusement seemed intensified.
Logan shook the snow from his hands, glaring at the fellow mutant. “Bein’ cute right now, McCoy, could be very, very detrimental to your health.”
Hank only grinned. “I cannot help how implausibly adorable I am. I suppose it has something to do with the abundance of blue fur. Jubilee once told me I looked like a Care Bear on steroids. Which, I am to assume, was meant to be some sort of compliment…”
“Don’t you ever get tired of hearin’ your own voice.”
“Truthfully, no.”
Logan glowered. Hank laughed.
“She has you all out of sorts, doesn’t she, my boy?”
Logan let the “boy” slide. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”
Henry scoffed good naturedly. “Even you, with your metal enhanced cranium, can’t be that thick.”
Logan waved him off, stomping down the steps. “Mind your own business, Fur-Ball.”
Henry watched him go. “I would, friend, if you weren’t making such a blunder of the whole situation…” He bounced from the porch, heading to the boathouse shed. Being as it was December and not February, Cupid wasn’t about to show up anytime soon to help them out, so that meant it was up to Henry.
a few hours later…
Ororo stirred her cocoa absentmindedly.
“I do believe all of your marshmallows have melted.”
“Hm?” She lifted her head, clearly distracted. “I’m sorry, Henry, did you say something?”
“Nothing of any great import.” He opened the cupboard, removing a mug. “Heading to the balcony?”
“Mm.”
“Mind if I join you?”
She gave him a warm smile. “Not at all. Your company is always welcome.”
He finished making his drink. “You do know how to make a man feel cherished.”
“I do cherish you.”
“And I you.”
She pulled him to her in a friendly hug. “Shall we?”
“But of course.” Henry linked her hand under his thick arm.
The night air was crisp; the sky pitch black and littered with stars. “It’s a lovely night.” Ororo said quietly.
Henry agreed. “It’s a night perfect for a brisk walk and a snuggle by the fire.”
Ororo cocked him a look. “Is that an offer, Mr. McCoy?”
“More of a suggestion.”
Ororo took a deep breath, inhaling the cold air. “It’s a delightful one. It’s been a long time since we’ve snuggled.”
Henry peered at her over his frothy mug. “I was thinking more along the lines of Logan.”
Ororo coughed, choking on her cocoa. “Henry, I had no idea he was your type.”
“Oh, very droll, Ms. Munroe.”
She bowed. “Thank you.”
There was a long pause between them.
Henry inclined his head. “So, is that suggestion still as appealing with Logan in the picture?”
Ororo sighed. Somehow she had known this was coming. “Logan isn’t the kind of guy one snuggles with, Blue.”
“I would not have assumed he was the kind of guy one kissed in the snow either, but it appears I was wrong once. Perhaps you’re wrong now.”
“Henry--It’s…complicated.”
“Ah.” He nodded sagely. “Complicated. The best, most categorical excuse in the world.”
She shot him a narrow look. “It’s not an excuse. In fact, I don’t have to excuse myself for anything…what you saw--or thought you saw--was two people caught up in a moment. Nothing more.”
“Ah, yes, because two such as you and the indomitable Wolverine are so easily overcome by sentiment.”
He had her there. “It’s Christmas…”
“I was unaware you had converted.”
She could see the snare. “I haven’t.”
“Then Christmas hardly seems the reason for such ‘sentiment’. An African Priestess and an Atheist, overcome with Christmas spirit…hmm…perhaps you should try and convince yourself with a different excuse.”
And he had her trapped neatly once more. “What would you like me to say, Henry? That I find him attractive?”
He shrugged one broad shoulder. “That would be a start.”
“Well, of course I find him attractive. He’s dark, dangerous, and brooding. Any woman with a pulse would find that lure appealing.”
“I didn’t realize those were such hot commodities.”
She shifted away from her friend, staring up at the sky. “Attraction is easy. Anything more than that…is too hard.”
“For whom, Ororo? You or him?”
“Me. Him. Both of us.” She threw up her hands. “Why are we even having this conversation? The issue is irrelevant. Logan is Logan. He comes in, shakes things up, and is off again before the dust settles.”
“Ah, now we get to the heart of it.” Henry took a seat on the marble bench.
Ororo said nothing.
“You are frightened of just how much he shakes you up.”
She placed her mug on the rail with a soft oath. “Why are you so unrelenting in this?”
To his credit Henry mulled that question over before forging ahead with his answer. “Perhaps because I see what could be between the two of you.”
She seemed skeptical. “Oh, yeah? And what’s that?”
“Love.”
She shook her head. “He loved once. That wound is still raw.”
Hank nodded. “He did love. But there is more to love than love.”
“Okay, you’re not making any sense.”
He brushed snow from his fur before continuing. “Respect. Admiration. Trust. The list goes on and on; it’s endless, Ororo. Love is made up of many things, not merely attraction and tenderness.”
“Henry, I kissed the man, I didn’t swear lifelong fidelity to him.” Ororo shifted so that she was leaning with her elbows against the banister. Her smile was a bit wistful. “You’re overly romanticizing it.”
“And I think you’re underestimating it.”
“Doubtful.”
He grimaced then grinned. “Stubborn wench.”
She laughed. “Idealistic nutcase.”
“Fair enough.” They finished their cocoa in silence.
“Well, if the snuggling by the fire is out of the question, then I am going to bed. Tomorrow is a big day,” she said.
Henry nodded. “Ah yes, Christmas Eve.”
“I thought where we have so many young students this year, perhaps we could read The Christmas Story earlier, say around seven?”
“That will be just fine.”
“Excellent.” She pressed a kiss to his furry cheek. “I love to listen to you read that story to the children. It makes me all mushy.”
Henry laughed. “You’re a big kid deep down, Ororo, you know that?”
“Some days.” she smiled. “Some days I do.”
Henry watched the balcony door close behind her, his gaze speculative. If he had read her reaction correctly Ororo wasn’t nearly as convinced that she and Logan had merely “had a moment” as she would like to believe herself to be. Perhaps, all she needed was a little nudge to help clear her thinking. And what he needed were some mischievous elves…
