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Las Vegas, Nevada
Bellagio Hotel


Ororo awoke to gentle but insistent lips against her own. It was a decidedly pleasant sensation and she savored it. She slowly lifted her eyelids, and found herself staring into Logan’s dark steel. He brushed her mouth again, parting her lips as his hands parted her thighs. She was already hot and wet, throbbing for release and she had the distinct impression he’d been working on her sleeping body for awhile now. She moaned as he slid into her, moving in gentle rhythm. “Logan.” she sighed, tangling her fingers in his wild mane. He increased his pace, and soon both were moaning and straining against each other. She came with stunning swiftness, clamping her legs around his waist, lifting her hips off the mattress, and Logan followed, his hoarse cry of completion in her ear. They lay panting and entangled, murmuring softly to each other.
His lips grazed her shoulder. “I could get used ta wakin’ up with you in my arms.”
Ororo smiled. “I could get used to being here.”
Logan’s eyes twinkled. “Then get used ta it. I ain’t spending’ another night without ya.” He nuzzled her cheek, chin and throat.
They made there way to the shower, taking their time, enjoying the warm spray, washing each other, kissing and holding one another. Logan had never wanted to fall in love, never thought he was the type, but with ‘Ro he felt whole. The missing piece of his soul was her, and he was never going to let her go. As he thought it he pulled her into his arms, simply holding her.
Ororo sighed. Who knew he was so loving? Constantly touching her, just little gestures that made her feel, well, cherished. Precious.
They were drying each other off with large fluffy hotel room towels, which she suggested they take with them when they returned to New York, when a soft knock sounded on their door. “Housekeeping.” A low voice said.
Ororo pushed back her wet hair, pulling one thick white towel around her, securing the end under her arm. She gave the sparkling shards of glass on the floor a wary look. “I don’t think they’re ever going to let us back in here,” she said with a frown.
“We can ignore ‘em.” Logan rested his hands on her hips, brushing his mouth over hers slowly, drugging her senses.
More knocking, louder this time and a…giggle? “Housekeeping. Open the door.”
“I don’t think they’re going to leave. Did we forget the do not disturb sign?”
“No, it’s there.” Logan lifted his head, sniffing. He rumbled a bit, strolling to the door, still unabashedly, completely, naked.
“Logan, what on earth are you doing?” Ororo demanded in a hushed voice as his hand closed around the doorknob.
“It’s quarter past seven ‘Ro. Housekeeping don’t show up fer another hour. I smell crawfish and hair gel.” He opened the door with a quick jerk. “Go away.” Wolverine growled.
Ali and Gambit stood in the hallway. Ali’s eyes lowered involuntarily, and her mouth dropped open, a startled gasp coming from her. “Oh wow.”
Gambit quickly clamped his gloved hand over her eyes.
“Sorry, mon frere. We be goin’ for breakfast now, but I can see dat you‘re busy.” Gambit attempted to maneuver Ali away, while keeping one hand firmly placed over her blue green eyes.
They were halfway down the hall when Logan heard, “That Storm sure knows how to pick ‘em.” Followed by a distinctly unpleasant sound from Gambit. He closed the door.
“You’re terrible.” Ororo chided with a smile.
Logan smirked. “That’s not what you were moaning in my ear not thirty minutes ago.” Ororo snapped a towel at him. He easily avoided the cotton whip, removing it from her hands with a playful growl. “Breakfast don’t sound like a bad idea though,” he added.
Yawning Ororo nodded. “I could sure use some caffeine.”

Downstairs Restaurant

“The others are over there.” Ororo nodded her head in the direction where Kitty, Kurt, Gambit and Alison were seated at a table, engaged in friendly conversation. Kitty was feeding Kurt spoonfuls of scrambled eggs, her cheeks a rosy hue. Gambit attempted the same with Ali only to have her nip his finger.
Logan nodded, but made no move to join the others. “Yeah, I know. Let’s get our own table before they see us.“ A hostess escorted them to a table and once they were alone again he said, “Ya were gonna tell me what’s the real deal with you and Chuck.”
Ororo sighed softly. “What do you want to know exactly?” She pushed her thick ponytail over her shoulder, leaning in with her elbows on the table, resting her chin on folded hands.
“How’d ya meet?”
“It was a while ago, actually. I was on the streets of New York city. Homeless, starving, dirty. Charles pulled up in a limo and asked if I wanted a ride. I refused at first, thinking he was some sort of perv, but he did a little mental nudging and soon I was in the car, listening to his ‘Dream’ spiel.”
“Go on.” Logan leaned back in his seat, listening intently.
“He approached me several times after that, each time I felt a little more drawn to the idea.”
Wolverine nodded, not really liking the idea that Xavier had mentally nudged Storm into accepting a position on the X-Men.
A waitress approached, asking for their drink orders.
“Coffee. Black. And Orange Juice.” Ororo responded. “Also, I already know what I want to eat. Small stack of pancakes, two eggs, over easy, three strips of bacon and a couple of sausage links. Home fries if you have them and a fruit cup.”
Logan raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Nothin’, darlin’.” He barely glanced at the waitress, his eyes on Storm. “I’ll have the same, minus the fruit cup and orange juice.”
“It’ll be just a few minutes.” The petite brunette removed their menus.
“Ok, so then what?” he prompted when they were alone again.
Ororo took a sip from her ice water. “Then the nightmares began again.”
Logan leaned forward, remembering what she had told him about her parents.
“Remember that freak series of floods last year?”
Logan nodded. The mayor of New York had declared them a federal emergency, requesting aide to help fortify the streets and install pumps to remove the water. “Well,” Ororo was saying. “that was me. My powers are linked to my emotions and when I’m upset violent weather occurs.”
Logan remembered the windows shattering in the cafeteria at the Institute and again in the hotel room last night. “Hell of a way ta live,” he said, not without feeling.
“I get by.” She shrugged but he caught a strong whiff of sadness from her. “Anyway, Xavier realized what was going on and tracked me down. He offered to help me with my…problem, and in return I would be an X-man.”
Logan was silent for a long minute, watching her carefully. “There’s more to it than that,” he said quietly.
There was a heavy silence. “Yes.”
Logan waited, not pushing her for the answers.
Ororo shifted uncomfortably under his steady gaze. “There is a man, if you could call him that, that I am running from.” She was looking at the table now, not at him.
Every muscle in his body tensed. ‘Ro was being hunted? “Who?” Wolverine growled.
“His name is unimportant.” she replied.
Wolverine gave her a hard stare. “His name,” he demanded again.
“Amahl Farouk.”
Logan nodded, logging it to memory.
“Xavier has given me a means to stay undetected from him.” She tapped the spot directly behind her ears. “The neural inhibitors scramble my psychic signature, making me near impossible to locate and they somehow can block out him. Seeing as how both Jean and that Emma freak were able to get in my head, as well as Charles, it’s a pretty safe assumption that they only block him out.”
“So, Chuck’s protecting ya.”
“In a manner. In all actuality there are a couple of reasons I think Xavier’s keeping me close. One being that he’s afraid of what will happen if Farouk gets a hold of me again.”
“Wait.” Logan’s brows lowered. “Again?”
Ororo took a deep breath. “Yes. I was a slave of his until I was kidnapped when I was eight by Papa-Jean. That‘s how I came to be Gambit‘s little sister.” She cast the dashing Cajun a loving glance over her shoulder. The four others were still enjoying their meal, not yet noticing Storm and Wolverine on the other side of the restaurant.
Wolverine’s teeth gnashed together. His beautiful Ororo a slave. Motherfucker. He reached across the table, warm fingers stroking her cheek. “I’m sorry, darlin.’”
She gave him a brittle smile. “Me too. Those are times best left forgotten.” For a moment Ororo could almost smell the opium haze that clung to Farouk, she could almost see the women being subjected to perverse sexual desires, girls as young as ten. She shuddered, thanking her goddess that Jean-Luc LaBeau had found and rescued her before it was her turn. As it had been, many a male would request her from her owner, but she was Farouk’s favorite, his best thief and would not be used until she had outlived her usefulness. She knew that he himself desired her, though he never touched her, but she knew even as a child, and it sickened her. No, Farouk would not share her. He would whisper to her in her mind as she slept, speaking of how one day she would help him rule the world, how he would make her his queen. Ororo shuddered.
“Darlin.?” Logan was peering at her worriedly.
“Sorry. What?”
“Where’s this guy now? Is this the guy you wanted me ta kill?”
Ororo blinked, remembering her comment to him their first walk. “No.” She took another drink of water. “Farouk is nowhere and everywhere now.”
Logan cocked his head. “I ain’t following.”
Ororo exhaled slowly. “Long before Charles met me, Xavier met Farouk. Maybe he sensed what he was and wanted to meet him, I don’t know all the details, I was living in New Orleans at the time.”
“What he was?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Farouk is a mutant telepath.”
“Hnh.”
“So, Xavier met him. I don’t know what exactly transpired, but it wasn’t good.”
The waitress approached with their food. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” Ororo said, unfolding her napkin, placing it on her lap. She took the cup of coffee gratefully. Logan may be able to function one hundred percent on two hours of sleep, but she needed at least four.
Logan took a bite of his eggs, though his appetite had significantly decreased. “How do you know it wasn’t good?”
For a minute Ororo’s eyes clouded with pain. “It’s because of Farouk that Charles is in a wheelchair.”
Logan was startled. He had never questioned Chuck as to what had happened, firmly believing it was none of his damn business. “How?”
“Some sort of mind-duel. Xavier won, trapping Farouk’s mind on some sort of astral plane, but the physical cost to his body lead to his paralysis. Even defeated and in another plane of existence Farouk managed to leak out, corrupting people, hurting them, searching for me.” She hugged her arms around her body. “He found me in New Orleans when I was sixteen. The nightmares were…unbearable.” She was momentarily distracted, recalling the awful dreams of her killing Gambit and Jean-Luc and relishing in it. “They wore me down to the point of insanity. I traveled trying to escape him, and I would from time to time, but he always managed to find me. His Hounds were always on my heels. I started downing uppers to stay awake, going days without rest. It was pathetic, and that’s how Xavier found me. A pathetic drug addicted lost soul.” Her tone implied a great deal of self disgust, and it tore at Logan’s heart.
“It seems a bit coincidental that Xavier would ‘happen’ upon you.”
Ororo nodded. “He’d been searching as well. When he mind-dueled Farouk he learned of me, of the destiny Farouk had in store for me. That‘s why Xavier wants me as an X-Man, he‘s afraid of what could happen.”
“What could happen? What‘s this Farouk bastard want from you?”
She gave him a level look, her eyes very blue. “He wants to use me to destroy the world.”
Logan frowned. He knew of powerful mutants, hell he was surrounded by them. Cyke could blast a hole through a mountain, Jean could shred your brains, Colossus could take out a nuclear sub, and Magneto had been in a league all his own. Hell, Chuck could mindfuck the world if he chose, but even he had limits. He couldn’t destroy the world, no one could.
“I can.” Ororo stated with infinite sadness when he said as much. She took a ragged breath. “It’s one of the reasons I avoid human contact, avoid getting close. I fear what my emotions will do, especially if something were to…” just at the thought of something happening to Logan Ororo felt her muscles stiffen. Logan could smell ozone gathering. “Imagine hundreds of storm systems merging, converging becoming a global rampage. Bringing mass flooding, mudslides, maybe even an ice age.”
“You can do that?”
Ororo nodded. “Just imagine the devastation of the tsunami in Indonesia on a global scale.”
“I see.” He lifted his mug. That much power in one woman? It was mind-boggling. “So Charles searched ya out, tracked ya down, offered ta protect ya and in return you what? Take on leadership of half the X’ers?”
“That wasn’t part of our agreement.” She smiled ruefully. “Charles is a smart man, he knows what I want more than anything is a place to call home. Friends. Family.” She paused. “Love.” She finished her coffee. “That’s why he brought Gambit to me. To give me an anchor so I wouldn’t drift away.”
“Go on.”
“This is where things get complicated.” She set the mug on the table. “Xavier knows the threat I bring, but he also sees what I can bring to his team. Power. Besides, I’m his failsafe.”
“His what?”
“If Farouk gets free enough to come after me full force, chances are he could destroy Xavier and his dream in the process. I’m a pretty nice bargaining chip.”
Logan was growling now. “Are you saying that Xavier would give ya t’ this S.O.B?”
“Not without a fight, I don’t think, but yes, if it meant me or the dream. C’mon, Logan, the man let me get hacked for a million bucks. I wouldn’t put much past him.”
“But if he gives ya ta Whatshishead, then won’t it all have been fer nothing’?”
She tilted her head. “Not if he kills me.”
They were silent for long minutes. Realization slowly dawned on Logan as he recalled their first real conversation:

~He said that you were an assassin. The best assassin in the world.~
~And what do you think of that?~
~I hope he’s right.~
~Why, darlin’? Is there someone you want killed?~
~I hope it doesn’t come to that, but yeah, maybe.~

“It’s you.” he said with narrowed yes. “Yer the person ya want me ta kill.”
“Like I said, I hope it doesn’t come to that but--”
“No.” His voice was a savage growl, low in his chest.
Ororo simply pushed the food around on her plate. “You won’t have a choice if the time comes, Wolverine.” She used his code name so that he would understand that she wouldn’t be asking Logan for anything, she would demand compliance from her team member.
“Then we make damn sure that time never comes.”
Ororo tried to smile, but failed. “That’s the plan.” she confirmed.
They finished their breakfast in silence.





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