Chapter Two: Progress
No, you don’t mean nothing at all to me
You don’t mean nothing at all to me
But you’ve got what it takes to set me free
You could mean everything to me
~Nelly Furtado
“Are you kidding me?”
Ororo stood, her hands on her hips, glaring at the repair team that had fixed a sizable hole in the roof. The bill they had just handed her was astronomical. She could not believe that they were trying to cheat her. Appraisals had been roughly half of what they were asking for now.
“Look, lady,” the leader said rudely. “That’s the price. Don’t like it, we can hash it out in court.”
“Oh, good,” she fired back, reaching for the telephone. “I know several lawyers. Most of which work pro bono for the school. It won’t cost me a thing.”
He looked at her as though she’d just slapped him. Ororo began dialing.
“All right, fine. I’ll come down to three grand, most of it for labor.”
“Two point five or I keep on dialing.”
He stared at her, trying to call her bluff. Ororo simply placed the phone to her ear.
“Deal.”
Ororo flashed him a brilliant smile while switching the phone off. “Good choice. I’ll send you a check.”
“Money order.”
“Fine. Now, I believe you know the way out.”
The repair team gathered their things and stomped from the room, many of them grumbling under their breath. Once they were out of earshot, Ororo swore violently in Swahili and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
As though her migraine needed more help building, Rogue came rushing through the kitchen door a beat later.
“Storm? We’ve got a problem. We’re out of rooms for the new semester, what with four new students.”
“Please, tell me you are joking, Marie.”
The beautiful southern woman shook her head. In the several months since she’d abandoned her station as a mutant, she’d become something akin to Ororo’s crutch. Not only did Marie teach some self-defense courses at the school, she did a majority of the secretarial work as well.
“I wish I was.”
Ororo’s brain began to pound within her skull. “All right. Let’s see if we can’t convert the upstairs sitting room into an extra room.”
“Uh, that’s not the only issue,” Marie said cautiously. “We’ll need another teacher as we’re over capacity.”
“Son of a…” Ororo halted herself, knowing her temper was slipping. “All right, I’ll contact Henry and see if he can recommend someone.”
“I already left him a message,” Marie smiled slightly. “Why don’t you go take a bath?”
Ororo shook her head. “Jimmy has a dentist appointment and Artie’s parents are dropping him off at five.”
“Like I can’t take care of that?” Marie shook her head and pointed toward the stairs. “Go to your room.”
Amused by her friend’s choice of words, Ororo surrendered. She handed her the phone and slipped up the back staircase that led from the kitchen to the teacher’s corridor.
Though she loved her position as the school’s Headmistress and leader of the X-Men, there were days when Ororo wanted to take off into the skies and hide for eternity. This happened to be one of those days.
When she reached her bedroom, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Just after Logan left the school five months ago, she decided it was time to take her place as the Headmistress completely.
Charles’ things were put into storage and Ororo made his bedroom suite her own. Gone were the antiques and massive oil paintings. Along with fresh eggshell paint on the walls, Ororo put up bold modern art works and straight lined furniture. The room felt more like home to her, now, though she kept a large oil of Charles above the fireplace.
Moving across the thick carpeting, she halted at the sound of a motorcycle in the distance.
Smiling slightly, she turned and opened the bedroom door again. She stopped in the hall to smooth her short white hair in a large mirror, frowning at the faded state of her makeup. The tailored gray suit just didn’t set the right tone, either.
After ducking back into the room, Ororo donned a pair of sleek black trousers and a soft white tank top. A pair of strappy sandals completed her “I’m cool, calm, and breezy” look. Satisfied, she headed for the stairs, feeling more confident now.
She spotted him standing in the foyer as she reached the second landing. In his typical leather jacket, worn jeans, and white tee shirt, he’d never looked more appealing. He glanced up from his conversation with Katherine Pryde and Piotr Rasputin. A soft, slow smile appeared on his lips, which suddenly reminded Ororo of several years ago, when Jean greeted him after that first, long absence.
Ororo wasn’t sure if she was offended or complimented by that thought.
“Look who’s come back,” she said in an offhand manner.
“Need a babysitter?” He teased right back. Ororo caught the smoldering look in his eye and nearly swooned as she came closer.
“You’re off the hook tonight,” she said, not sure if she intended for her meaning to hang in the air the way it did.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Logan gave her a long once-over, which she hoped her students missed.
“Welcome back,” Ororo grinned, turned on her heel and walked into the Rec Room.
She could feel his eyes on her until she was out of his line of sight.
~**~
Ororo had only gotten as far as her office when Logan caught up with her. She ignored him intentionally, stepping into her private space and leaving the door ajar. It was a silent invitation for him to follow her.
She had thought about that night so many times. Logan finding her on the balcony, the heat that flared between them. Late in the darkness, she could still feel his hands on her, his insistent body bringing her back to reality. There was no denying that she wanted him again.
The door clicked closed behind him and in the same breath his duffel hit the floor. She heard the lock slam into place as she reached her desk and turned to him.
“Miss me, darlin’?”
It was all he said before crossing the room. Ororo had braced herself for him, perching on the edge of her desk for balance.
He took her mouth possessively, wrapping his arms around her to prevent escape. Ororo’s senses plunged into madness, somehow noticing the desperation in his touch. Somehow, she knew that this time, she was his anchor to reality.
She wrapped him in her arms, opening her mouth to invite him in. His tongue swept through her parted lips, exploring her as thoroughly as he had that night so many months ago. She felt rather than heard him whimper her name while his hands traced her curves.
And then, someone went and knocked on the door.
Ororo pulled her mouth from Logan’s forcibly.
“What?!”
“Professor Munroe?”
Almost growling as Logan latched on to the tender flesh of her neck, Ororo cleared her throat so she could respond.
“Yes, Angel?”
“Rogue and Iceman are at it again, could you break it up? They only listen to you.”
Whimpering as well, Ororo met Logan’s lips for a swift, promising kiss before she answered her blond student.
“I will be right there, darling.”
“Thanks.”
As the boy hurried from the door, Ororo wrapped Logan back into her arms, molding her body against him eagerly. She wanted to hide from every responsibility she had. He always made it too easy to forget there was a world outside whatever room they were in.
“You better go,” he whispered huskily, not bothering to release her. “Kids’ll be wonderin’ what’s goin’ on.”
“Let them kill each other,” Ororo whined, leaning closer to him and inhaling the masculine scent of leather and sweat.
Logan chuckled easily. “I’m not goin’ anywhere just yet, darlin’. Take care of your babies.”
She leaned up for one last toe-curling kiss before peeling her body from Logan’s. After a quick check of her makeup and hair in the mirror behind her desk, she bounced out of the office to mediate between two quarreling ex-lovers.
~**~
Because Logan was so rarely around, students detained him until well after Ororo headed to bed. As she changed into a short camisole and an old pair of boxer shorts, she thought about his previous visits.
Until that last time, she had thought he would mourn Jean forever. She never expected him to come to her on the balcony, to take her with the kind of force most women dream about in the secret, naughty places in their hearts.
Ororo, to her relief, was in touch with that secret, naughty place inside of her. While most shied away from fast and furious sex, she embraced it. Logan had shown her exactly how much fun being naughty could be, all while bringing her back from the brink of madness.
What had happened to him during the last five months? Why did he seem so suddenly desperate for her touch? That heated kiss in her office left her wondering if he had found something in his wanderings that pertained to his past. If he had, she only hoped he would let her help him.
While she waited for him “ and she had no doubt he would come to her “ she contemplated his peculiar behavior. Had he come back to the mansion because it felt like home or did he want her?
“’Ro?”
“Oh, shit.” Ororo giggled a little helplessly when she heard Logan knock on the door across the hall. He had no idea that she’d moved.
Hurrying to the door, she poked her head out of it and hissed for him. Logan turned sharply as the voices of Kitty and Piotr came wafting up from the stairs. Ororo laughed as Logan grabbed his bag, chuckled and ducked into her room. They narrowly avoided being caught by the two lovebirds.
“You coulda told me you moved,” Logan accused when Ororo closed and locked her bedroom door.
“I forgot,” she apologized. “And I thought you might want your own room.”
Logan raised a brow at her, his expression unreadable. “I’d rather sleep in here, where I can get ya naked whenever I want.”
Desire and longing pumped into Storm’s system at his words. The way he sampled the air with his sensitive nose told her he noticed. His eyes moved over her lazily, lust flaring in his eyes as he took in every inch of her dark skin.
He sure as hell knew how to make a girl feel sexy.
“Logan?”
“Uh-huh?”
“I’m up here.”
She grinned at him, crossing her arms over her breasts as he met her eyes. Something she couldn’t fathom swirled beneath the surface of those ebony pools. She ached to reach into him, to heal whatever wound he’d been dealt now.
“Storm?”
“Wolverine.”
Logan sighed, running a hand through the unkempt mane of his hair. “Can we talk about it later?”
She nodded, knowing how difficult the simple act of speaking could be. Moving across the room to him, she took the duffel from his hand and placed it at the foot of her bed.
“Come here,” she beckoned him, leading him to her bed. “Come here and let me take care of you.”
They fell onto the bed together, Logan landing atop her. His hands framed her face, eyes searching hers for something she could not name.
“That’s why I came back.”
~**~
At dawn, she slipped out of bed and managed to shower without waking her lover. For hours, Logan had allowed her to heal him without words. In sharp contrast to their affair five months ago, they took their time. Every touch, kiss, climax felt like an eternity.
When, finally, Logan exhausted himself, she held him until he fell asleep. Whatever was wrong with her Wolverine disturbed her greatly. He had come back for comfort, for her to comfort him. That mere thought was humbling.
As she brushed her hair and readied for her day, she heard him moving on the bed. Glancing into the reflection of her vanity mirror, she watched as he sat up. He looked bewildered for a moment, as though he had no recollection of returning to the mansion.
“Good morning,” she said quietly, not moving from the vanity.
“Hey,” he whispered in reply, running a hand over his face. “Thank God, I thought I’d dreamed it all.”
“All what?” Ororo asked cautiously.
“I’d been trying to get back here for a month,” Logan explained as he laid back in her bed. “Something or another would come up and I’d get held up.”
She brushed her hair in silence for a moment. “Logan?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“What happened?”
He exhaled slowly, the sound shaking as though he were holding on to his emotions tightly.
“I don’t know. I just…I had to get back here.”
They lapsed into silence, neither really knowing what to say. Before this, the last time he was here, everything seemed so effortless, so simple. Now, there were words instead of just emotion. She wanted him to talk to her, to explain, but she at the same time, she feared what he might admit.
“’Ro?”
“What?” Ororo asked, looking back up into his reflection. She was startled to find his eyes immediately, as though he’d been staring at her back.
“I just needed to come back here. I wanted to see you.” The words were barely a whisper, as if he himself could scarcely believe he voiced it.
Surprised to hear him so honestly admit something she was not even ready to, Ororo swallowed thickly.
“I have missed you, Logan.”
“I know, darlin’.” He smiled quickly. “Can you come back to bed?”
As much as she wanted to fall back into his arms, her duties as Headmistress weighed in on her. “I have students.”
“Give ‘em a snow day.” He crooked a finger at her enticingly.
Staring at his barely covered form on her bed, that “come hither” in his gaze was her undoing. Ororo abandoned her morning ritual and came across the room to Logan. She sank slowly onto the bed, straddling his thighs easily.
“What are we doing, Logan?” She asked, reaching down to touch his face as his hands came up to her hips.
“Dunno, darlin’,” he admitted, nipping at her fingertip as she caressed his lip. “But I don’t wanna stop.”
“Oh, good,” she grinned, shifting on his lap. “Neither do I.”
