The hotel ballroom was filled to bursting with a who's who of the social world and crowded to the point of discomfort. Ororo plucked absently at one of the silver beads adorning her sleek dress, took a few calming breaths and squared her shoulders. She really didn't want to be here, she thought with a sigh, but after Alcatraz and the X-Men's world-wide recognition, social prejudice toward mutants was lowering, and in honor of Charles, she felt it her duty to continue his work.
“I can think of about a dozen better ways to be spendin' New Year's Eve.” The voice beside her echoed her thought. It was gruff, and slightly irritated. “And not one of 'em include stayin' here with these...people.”
“Good evening, Logan,” she replied evenly as she angled her head toward him. She arched a brow when she realized he wasn't wearing the tuxedo that had been purchased for him, but instead wore a simple dark pair of pants and a crisp white shirt that served to accent skin more accustomed to the outdoors than stuffy charity functions.“You look handsome,” she offered regardless. It was no less than the truth.
He looked rugged, dangerous and out of place here. Like a wolf amongst the lambs, she thought, keeping her eyes carefully veiled behind her lashes.
“Ain't lookin' too shabby yourself,” he replied, as he swept his dark hair back, allowing his eyes to rove over her, lingering in the interesting places. “Almost makes being here bearable.”
It was irritating how her heart did a little skip at his backhanded compliments, she mused. She cleared her throat, tried for cool indifference. “Almost?”
“Almost.”
She smirked at that. He hated this stuff more than she did, and under normal circumstances he wouldn't be within a hundred miles of an event like this, but he had lost a bet”because apparently she could fry his ass blindfolded”and was a man of his word.
She smoothed a hand over her hair and pasted a too-wide smile on her face. “Let's go show these social-elitist that mutants aren't all bad and scary.” She made a soft snort on the last and Logan shot her a look.
“Somethin' funny, darlin'?”
“Aside from the irony that being around you will alleviate social fears regarding mutants...nope.”
He snorted himself, his own mouth curving up at the corner sardonically. “'Ro, you're many things, but you ain't dumb. If you can reign me in long enough to hob-nob and not slit a few throats, then this school must work miracles.”
“Indeed.” Her eyes glittered with repressed laughter. “You're such an inspiration.”
“Shut up, Storm,” he grumbled, his dark eyes narrowed at her in an attempt to intimidate her into silence. “You owe me. I hate these fuckin' things.”
She burst out laughing”a warm, inviting sound”completely unsympathetic. “Come on.” She held out her hand. “Let's go mingle.”
Two hours and half a dozen glasses of champagne later and Ororo was ready to bolt for the door. She glanced at the large overhead clock and barely repressed a sigh. Only ten fifteen. Another hour and forty-five minutes before she could excuse herself reasonably.
She nodded noncommittally at the conversation being made around her while her eyes scanned the crowd for any sign of Logan. He'd disappeared over twenty minutes ago and she hadn't seen hide nor hair of him since. If he'd left her to fend for herself amongst these pompous vultures, she really would fry his ass.
“...Wouldn't you agree, Ms. Munroe?”
“Hm?” She blinked rapidly, turned her attention back toward the small group beside her. “You'll have to excuse me,” her smile was wan. “I missed that.”
Mr. Baker”if she remembered right”was the founder of some insurance company and richer than God, and made no secret of it. He cleared his throat with the grating huffiness of a man deluded with self importance. It set her teeth on edge.
“I was merely explaining that mutants can be valuable assets to society when managed properly,” he sniffed.
Brown eyes narrowed marginally. “Managed properly?”
Astute enough to sense that he may have insulted, he swallowed thickly and amended, “Erm, trained. Their talents, focused, more refined. Like the work you do at your school, for example.” He clutched his tumbler and took a quick drink when the hardness in her eyes didn't diminish.
“Yes,” Ororo's lips thinned and a chill swept over the group. “I can't begin to tell you the number of people I meet that could use some refinement.” She inclined her head in stiff politeness. “If you'll all excuse me, I think I see...someone.” It was a lame exit, but she feared if she didn't get away from those people she'd bolt one of them ala Zeus. The whispers started before she was even out of ear shot.
“She seems nice. You know, for one of them.”
“Do you think her hair is naturally that color?”
“God, no. It's probably a wig.”
“I bet she's one of those shape-changer ones.”
“Oh, you think? Those are my favorite.”
Listen to them, she thought with an icy glare over her shoulder. Talking about mutants like they were goddamn trading cards.
“Of all the ignorant, ridiculous, borderline retarded things to say,” she seethed. She whipped her head around just in time to slam”bodily”into another party-goer.
Champagne splashed over the front of her and onto a very expensive looking jacket.
“Oh, shit,” she hissed, flustered. She immediately started swatting at the beads of gold on the dark jacket. “I'm so sorry.”
A firm hand, with long, tapered fingers, closed over hers and a warm, easy laugh stroked her cheek. “No harm done, cher. Remy's had worse done t' him by far less attractive people.” He had a voice that was smooth as fine bourbon and just as rich.
It drew her gaze up, over a broad chest, open collar, strong, shadowed chin, wide lips, straight nose, up until she found herself staring into the most devilish eyes she had ever seen. Red on black, they gleamed with mischief and smug confidence. His hair was deep auburn, the color of rusted leaves at the end of fall, and fell across a broad forehead, giving him a rakish charm.
He reached out a hand for hers. “Name's Remy.”
“Ororo.” After a moment, she placed her hand in his.
“Nice name.”He turned her hand so that it was palm up in his and lifted it to hover a breath away from sculpted lips. “Unusual.” He skimmed her pulse. “Beautiful.” He lowered it, but he didn't release it.
To her utter surprise, Ororo found herself blushing. “Thank you.” She paused, gestured to his jacket. “I'm usually not so clumsy. My apologies. If you'll allow me I can have that clean””
His eyes never even blinked from hers. “Make it up to me,” he interrupted her.
Instantly wary, she took a step back. “Make it up to you?”
He still had her hand, which he used to tug her back and into his arms. He swayed her. “Dance with me.”
She stole a look at the crowded dance floor and all the slicked faces and plastic smiles. She needed out of there. Now. She wished Logan would reappear so they could leave. “You know, actually, I was just on my way out for some fresh air,” she lied.
Undaunted, even, white teeth flashed a dimpled grin. “Not'in like dancin' beneath the stars,” he told her and offered his arm. “Unless of course, you got yourself better offer?”
Despite everything thus far, Ororo found herself smiling right back. “I suppose not,” she conceded and looped her hand through his offered elbow.
At the double doors he angled her a look, tapped her bare arm with one long finger, stroked it down. “You gon' be warm enough out there, cher?”
“I'll be fine.”
“You jus' let Remy know if you get a chill. I'll warm you up.”
He was a natural flirt, but she wasn't exactly naive. “Has that line ever worked?”
His eyes flashed amusement. “You'd be surprised.”
No, she really wouldn't be. She imagined with his looks and easy charm that any line he baited was greedily gobbled. But, handsome though he was, Ororo had no palate for such saccharine charm. Even still, he was decent company, and as he had pointed out, it wasn't like she had any other offers.
Her date as he were had vanished, leaving her to find her own amusement. No harm in enjoying the view, she thought with another glance at Remy's profile. Or indulging in a little flirtation.
With a courtly bow, Remy opened the doors, escorted her onto the balcony and straight into Logan and someone else.
Well, hello there, Logan, she thought with a bitter twist of her lips. Having fun?
Logan, whom she'd had to cajole, beg and finally bet to get here; Logan, who had fumed and fussed for two whole days beforehand that he hated the frails and dicks at these things; Logan, who was currently wrist deep into some other woman's panties, and looking like he was enjoying himself just fine.
The sudden, inexplicable pain in her chest whipped snow from the railing and sent the air temperature plummeting.
Logan's head snapped up and his eyes darted toward Ororo. He had the good grace to look mildly alarmed by her presence, she noticed, but not so alarmed that he immediately disengaged. No, he took his sweet time, the bastard.
His hand slid from beneath a silver skirt and wiped against his pant leg. The slender blond skirted around him, darted back inside. He didn't spare her a glance. “'Ro...”
“Wolverine.” Remy's smooth voice took on a hard edge. “Never thought I'd see your face again.”
Abruptly, Logan's eyes flicked to her companion and the hostility between the two was palpable.
“The fuck you doin' here, Gumbo?”
Ororo shot the man beside her a look, but he was glaring just as intensely at Logan as Logan was at him. “Wait. You two know each other?” The sting of betrayal was rapidly replaced by confusion.
It was Remy that answered her. “No one ever really knows this man, non?”
“I knew this fucker years ago,” came Logan's snarl. His jaw tightened. “Just what the hell are you doin' with him?”
Ororo flinched a bit at the harshness behind his words and immediately bristled. “I fail to see how that is any of your damn business. I didn't question you about your friend.”
For a moment Logan looked contrite. He wiped a hand down his face, exhaled. “Look, this guy ain't nothin' but trouble”“
“Well, if that ain't pot-kettle.” Remy slanted her a glance, noticed her distress. “But he's right. I'm trouble.” He leaned down, ignoring Logan's warning rumble, and breathed against her ear. “And when you feel like you wanna misbehave...” A piece of cardboard slipped between her fingers. “Dis be my card.” He lifted his head, winked. “Until we meet again. Happy new year, beautiful.”
His lips felt as good as they looked, was Ororo's first thought when she felt them against hers. Holy shit! Was her second as Remy was ripped away from her and shoved through the paned glass of the balcony doors.
As shards tinkled to the ground and Logan growled and Remy laughed like a loon and people poured out from the ballroom, Ororo quietly slipped over the rail and off the edge. As the cold night air brushed its chill fingers through her hair she wondered if they'd even notice she'd gone.
Uncertainty was not a common feeling for Ororo. In fact she was commonly considered the most steadfast and sure person in the Xavier Institute, however, at that moment she felt completely bereft of any semblance of control or certainty. She flipped the Ace of Spades over in her hand. What the hell just happened?
Tonight was supposed to be a success for the school, for mutants, for her and all it had turned out to be was one big, laughable,event for tomorrow's newspapers. She could almost read the headlines now. Mutant Freaks Ruin New Year's Ball.
She sighed wearily and wiped her lipstick off with a tissue. Her dress lay in a discarded heap by her slippered feet and her jewelry lay on the counter beside the microwave. She glanced at the digital display and sighed again. Eleven forty. Twenty minutes to a new year.
“Whoopie,” she grumped, tossed the Kleenex into the small trash and turned toward her bed. The scream she would have released was thankfully trapped due to lack of oxygen.
Beside her bed, with arms crossed over his chest, Logan stood, watching her.
She swallowed, regained her faltering composure, and pulled her robe tighter around her shoulders. “What the hell are you doing here?”
He shrugged.“Lookin' for you.”
“Well, you found me. I'm in my hotel room, exactly where I should be. Wow. However did you manage to piece it together?”
His mouth twitched and Ororo couldn't tell if it was in amusement or anger, and to be honest, she didn't much care either way.
“Why'd ya leave?”
“You mean as opposed to being kicked out?”
“No.” He stepped into a beam of silver moonlight, searched her face. “I mean, why'd you leave me?”
She looked at her feet, then at the wall over his shoulder. “You left me first.”
He exhaled, slow, uneven. “Look, about that...”
“About what?” she shrugged, threw up a wall. “You owe me no explanations. If you wanna diddle some socialite for kicks, that's your right. I have no say in it.”
“You could, y'know.”
“Could what?”
“Have a say.”
The husky timbre of his voice sent a shiver along her spine. She turned away, but she could still see his reflection in the window glass. “We tried that once, remember? It didn't work.”
“I wasn't ready.” He was closer now.
She recalled his hand up another woman's skirt not an hour ago. “You're still not,” she stepped away.
Another heavy sigh from him. “It ain't me that won't commit,” he reminded her with an angry growl.
She whirled on him, a crack in her veneer. “I said I needed time to think about it, Logan! I didn't say no! And what do you do? You walk out, leave and go fuck the first redhead you can find.”
To his credit he flinched, but didn't relent. “How many fuckin' times do I gotta say I'm sorry for that?”
Her voice dripped venom and ice.“Until you mean it.”
The muscles in his jaw tightened. “I did mean it. I'm sorry I hurt you.”
“Yeah, you looked real sorry with your hand up”“ she couldn't even finish, so she just closed her eyes and pointed to the door. Bitterness rushed through her again.“Go. I don't want you here.”
“God damn it, 'Ro!” He shoveled his hands through his hair, bared his teeth in frustration. His eyes narrowed onto her face. “Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said bullshit. You want me here.”
“No. I don't.”
“Yeah? Then why the fuck am I here and not McCoy? This shit is right up his alley, but it ain't him with you, it's me because you fuckin' want me here.” He came toward her in long angry strides. “So stop being a fuckin' coward and admit it!”
Her eyes whipped to his”dark and fierce and sheened with damp. “I'm getting real sick of your assumptions,” she breathed.
“And I'm getting sick and damn tired of tryin' to ease the ache you left me with.”
“Is that what you call it?” Her laugh was short and bitter and tasted of tears. She hated that he brought her so close to the edge of her control. “Maybe I should give it a try. Your Remy friend seemed willing to help ease my ache.”
Dangerous didn't begin to describe the expression on his face and Ororo wondered if she'd finally managed to push back hard enough to make him hurt. She didn't have time to wonder too long, however, because the next second she found herself pinned face first up against the wall with Logan's harsh breath in her ear.
“I'll kill him,” he swore. “I'll kill him if you do.”
She tried to turn, but his weight kept her tight against the white paint. “Let go,” she hissed.
His lips skirted the edges of her lobe. “Tried. Can't.”
“You have about half a second before I jolt the shit out of”” The rest was lost on a huff of air as he flipped her over his shoulder, turned and flung her onto the bed.
Her eyes sparked behind her hair. She shoved it out of her face. “What the hell do you think you're doing?”
He yanked off a shoe, tossed it aside. “I'd think that was fairly obvious.”
“You think I'm gonna...that we're gonna... No.”
“Oh, yes.”He pulled of his other shoe, then his shirt. “We're gonna.”
She scrambled to the headboard, pointed at him. “Stay away from me.”
He stalked toward her.
“Logan, I mean it.”
He tilted his head, but scented no ozone. “Sure ya do, darlin'.” His tone was mocking. He watched her eyes narrow, lips thin so he was prepared when she lunged at him, took the punch with barely a blink. Then he caught her wrist, jerked her against his chest and crushed her mouth with his. It was hot, hungry, demanding. He swore when she bit him, licked the blood away.
She sat back on her haunches, panting at him, with her eyes flashing in defiance. With a feral snarl he pushed her back, crowded her into the mattress. He clamped her hands on either side of her head when she clawed his face.
“I hate you,” she snarled, pinned.
Something dark flickered in his eyes, then was gone. “Hate me then, but admit you want me.”
“Go to hell.”
“I'm sure I will.” He angled his head, brushed his open mouth over hers. “Tell me that you don't want me,” he shared his breath with her, feathered his lips back and forth. “Don't want this. Say it, and mean it, and I'm gone. I'll go.” He raised his head only far enough to meet her eyes. “Tell me and I'm gone.”
“I...”
He waited. Hot and hard and pressed so close.
She wanted to say it. To tell him to go, but the words wouldn''t come. “...I can't.” It was broken, and it broke him.
His mouth was soft on hers and she tore her lips away. “No,” she rasped. “Take me. Fast and rough.” It was another defense, he knew. A way to keep the emotion separate from the pleasure, and he'd let her. For now.
She used her teeth on his shoulder. “Touch me.”
His hand shot between the part of her robe, found her blessedly naked beneath. He released her wrists, jerked his pants down, but not off.
She fisted his hair, parted her legs. “Now,” she commanded.
He slicked his fingers over her folds, pressed, slicked, then removed his hand and replaced the subtle pressure with his more substantial cock. She cried out when he thrust forward. Again when he drove deeper. And again when he pressed harder.
Her nails raked down his back, dug into his ass cheeks. “More!” she lifted her hips, demanding, seeking. “Harder, Logan!” Take me, break me, but don't leave me, she silently begged. “I want it harder,” she rasped.
So did he.
With a snarl, he shoved her knees back and hammered himself inside. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and the lines on his back burned, but God above, he couldn't stop. Couldn't get enough. He was drenched in sweat and slick heat, but he pumped on. If he stopped it was done, over and he couldn't let go.
His name was a broken chant that kept time with the groans of the bedsprings.
Slick skin slapped slick skin.
Teeth bit.
Fingers clawed.
His eyes, dark and glassy, locked on hers. I love you.
Her eyes changed. Went from chocolate to frost, swirled and glowed and she shuddered, gasped and closed like a fist around him. Half mad, they came together, shuddering and convulsing.
Empty, he collapsed against her, slipped from her.
Breathing was staggered, labored and harsh in the silence of the room.
He didn't want to move. Afraid to break the moment.
She shifted beneath him and he knew it was already broken.
He lifted his head from the crook of her neck, smoothed soaked strands of snow hair from her face. Somewhere bells chimed out the hour. “Whatchya thinkin'?” he asked in a voice that sounded far too fragile to be his.
She stared up at the ceiling. “It's a new year.”
“Time for new beginnings,” he told her.
Her chin wobbled, but she managed to reign it in. Points to her. “Or a final farewell.”She met his eyes finally and in them he saw goodbye.
He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “I'm sorry I hurt you.”
Her smile was tremulous. “I believe you.”
“But it doesn't change anything,” he added, dejected.
“No,” she agreed softly. “It changes nothing.” I still love you. I always will.
His eyes widened and Ororo realized she'd spoken aloud.
“Wait,” she was already shaking her head. “No, I didn't mean””
“The hell you didn't.” His mouth was insistent upon hers. “It's a new year.” Another kiss. “New beginnings.”
“I can't just””
“Shut up.” Another. “Just shut up.” He rolled, pulled her over himself. “Say it.”
“You just told me to shut up,” she pointed out.
“'Ro.”
She inclined her head, regarded him through sleepy eyes. “Alright, fine. New beginnings.”
"It'll be different this time." He kissed her again. Slowly, leisurely. "Better."
Her smile was cautious, but satisfied. "Gets any better, and we'll need crash carts."
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
AN2: Since it's implied in the Origins trailer that Logan and Remy have history, well, I hinted at it, despite screwing with continuity. :P
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