Ororo had been working on her costume in secret whenever she got a chance between her duties as an instructor, counselor, referee, gardener, and everything in between. Now she could add seamstress to that list as she looked at her work with a smile. Now for the final touches, she thought.
The annual Halloween Costume Ball at the Institute was one that the children looked forward to every year, even Lance and his crew were invited with the threat of bodily harm if anyone got out of hand. A threat that would be enforced by their resident Combat and Defense Trainer, Logan the Wolverine himself.
Ororo sighed as she thought about Logan. Each time she thought of him, her pulse quickened and she felt butterflies in her stomach. It had grown increasingly difficult to be around the man. She has had to work doubly hard on controlling her emotions, less her feelings would be betrayed by changes in the weather. She had had several close calls in the past but none embarrassed her more than the day when she and Logan were out on a walk of the grounds.
The day had been overcast and both, being lovers of nature, enjoyed the walk through the gentle sprinkling rain. They stopped at the shore of the lake and when Logan looked over at her and softly, pushed back a damp lock of errant hair, the sky cleared immediately, displaying the sun's radiance. Feeling the warmth of the sun on her body, Ororo looked up and then back at Logan's shocked expression.
"Pardon me," she replied quickly, taking to the skies while resetting the weather back to its overcast state. That was a month ago and since then, she had been working overtime to maintain her calm persona in his presence. Otherwise, she would continue to disrupt the natural course of the weather and she did not like interfering with Mother Nature's work if it wasn't necessary.
Some days had been better than others but as of late, anytime she was in the room with him, her feelings were more than she could bear. She would remove herself from his presence, leaving whatever room they both found themselves in. On several occasions, she had caught the quizzical look on his face at her sudden departure. The last time that happened, she noticed that that quizzical look had been replaced by one of confusion and hurt. After seeing that, she decided that enough was enough and that she needed to talk to him. Noticing a flyer for the Halloween Ball, Ororo decided that would be the night she finally reveal her feelings to him.
What she didn't know what that Logan was struggling as well. Whenever he was near the statuesque woman with her dark chocolate skin, always ready smile and hug, and a body that would stop New York City traffic, he had to keep the beast at bay. Logan, a loner by nature, had grown to enjoy their walks around the grounds and their talks. Their walks had become a nearly daily activity until the day his soft touch sent her flying away in a hurry after the clouds disappeared momentarily allowing the sun to shine down on them.
He was taken a back slightly about her hurried departure and didn't know what to make of her avoiding him ever since. Whenever he tried to get close to her outside of missions, she would smile and immediately leave the area. After it happened a few times, Logan turned to the only person who could give him some insight on Ororo, Charles.
When he spoke with Chuck, as he called him, Charles couldn't help but smile at the burly mutant's misunderstanding of Ororo's actions. Charles knew exactly what was going on but knowing how private both of his senior instructors were, he wanted to leave it to them to figure out the situation they found themselves in.
"Logan, I do believe that you should speak with Ororo about your concerns," he told him.
"That's the thing, Chuck. Whenever I get close to her, she runs away, like she's afraid of me," he said, looking out the professor's office window, running a hand through his thick hair in frustration.
Sensing Logan's frustration, Charles decided give him a nudge in the right direction.
"Logan, do you remember Rogue's crush on Bobby and how she would disappear whenever he came around for about a month?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, Bobby was finally able to sit down with her and found out that she had feelings for him and he in turn had feelings for her," Charles replied, "And haven't they been inseparable since?"
"Yeah, but," Logan began and it dawned on him what the Professor was getting at and laughed at the absurdity of the idea, "Chuck, you are not telling me that you think that Ro has a crush on me?"
"I am only illustrating the similarities between the two situations. I will leave it to you to draw your own conclusions," Charles said, dancing around the answer to Logan's question.
Looking at the man with a raised eyebrow, Logan couldn't help the slight smile that unconsciously lifted the corner of his mouth. When he saw the look on Charles's face as he looked back at him, Logan cleared his throat and coughed in his hand, trying to play it off.
"Um, thanks Chuck for your time and the convo," Logan said, abruptly ending their session.
"It was my pleasure Logan. Will you be joining us at the Costume Ball later? I heard the students whisper about a secret costume Ororo has been working on. Knowing Ororo and her creativity, I'm sure she's likely to turn some heads tonight."
Logan growled softly at the idea of some heads being turned by Ro. Sensing eyes on him, he looked up into the raised eyebrow face of the Professor.
"Yeah, I think I will," he replied, "See ya later, Chuck."
The Professor rolled over to his window and looked out of it, a smile gracing his face. He had mentioned Ororo's secret costume purposely knowing that his statement about turning heads would be the incentive for Logan to make an appearance at the Ball. Normally, Logan would spend the night away from the mansion, saying something about the noise level but Charles surmised that tonight, the noise level will be the last thing on his mind.
Hours Later
The Halloween Ball was in full swing. Kitty, the party girl of the group, decided that the musical theme of the night would be Glee. She had programmed a playlist on her iPod with all of the Glee songs.
Ororo walked in on Glee's version of Britney Spear's Toxic. She could hear the grasps of the students as they took in her costume. She had taken one of her old white dresses and with a razor, meticulous created claw marks strategically all over the dress. The flowing skirt was in tatters, giving the impressions that it had been clawed, creating a spiky effect. The long sleeve on the left side had been shorted and was in tatters like the bottom of the skirt. The other arm was intact with long slits in it. Each instance of the claw marks (think Logan's claws) had a blood stain. Ororo had dusted her body with a light layer of flour to give her skin a ghostly pale. She drew long red welts on her exposed parts of her arms and legs. On her face, she strategically place dots of "blood" that grew larger the closer it got to her neck on the left side where she had created a gaping, oozing wound. Overall, she got the reaction she was going for. The students, excited about seeing this side of their more straight laced instructor, crowded around her, deserting the dance floor.
"Whoa, Auntie O. Killer costume," her nephew Evan commented, his face covered in thick makeup of a ghastly, half eaten ghoul.
"OMG, Ms. Ororo. Will you make mine next year?" Kitty exclaimed, dressed as a fairy costume, making her look younger.
"Okay guys, give her some air," Scott said, walking over with Jean in tow. They were dress as Bonnie and Clyde.
Groaning in response, the kids did as he asked, talking excitedly as they made their way back to the dance floor about her costume.
"Great costume, Ms. Ororo," Jean replied, taking Scott's arm.
"Yeah, it looks so lifelike," he replied, having a hard time looking away from the beautiful instructor. Feeling a tug at his arm, he looked at Jean and blushed, knowing he was caught. Jean shook her head smiling and pulled him away.
"Enjoy your night, Ms. Ororo," Jean called back over her shoulder as she and Scott joined the others on the dance floor as Glee's version of Kelly Clarkston's My Life Would Suck Without You.
"Nice costume, Ro," Logan said in her ear, causing her to turn with a start.
"Logan," she said, breathlessly, holding her hand over her heaving chest.
"That would be me," he replied, a slight smile on his face as he took in her appearance. He wanted to think that his claws had inspired the look but he didn't want to seem egotistical. She made looking torn up by a creature sexy.
The beast inside him had been stirring since he saw her enter the room. He immediately made his way over to her, taking a less direct route that brought him behind her, giving him a chance to see the costume from behind. He noticed the two slash marks that looked as if the beast had hugged her and slashed her dress as a result of the embrace. Logan had to fight the idea of holding her in his arms to test to see if his thoughts were correct.
Shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts, he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Nice costume, Ro." Startling her.
Damn, I love the way she says my name, he thought as she said it breathlessly when she turned to look at him.
"That would be me," he told her, a slight smile lifting the corner of his mouth.
"You startled me."
"No more than you startled everyone else in here when you stepped through the door," he replied, sensing her nervousness. Taking a subtle sniff, he felt the beast stir again, as her scent of shea butter, honey, and lavender flooded his senses.
"Would you like something to drink?" he asked, knowing that if he didn't leave her side, he would be in trouble.
"Yes, thank you," she said and watched as he quickly made his way over to the refreshment table. Goddess, that man is fine, she thought, taking in his black leather jacket, trademark cowboy hat, firm fitting jeans, and boots as he made his way back to her side.
"Thank you," she replied, taking a sip, her eyes meeting his.
"Would you like to sit?" he asked, "I have a table near the balcony."
"Yes," she said and took the arm he offered. As they made their way through the kids, Ororo focused on the kids, rather than her companion, needing the distraction to help keep her calm.
Logan could hear the increase in her heartbeat and wondered if her heart was pounding for the same reason as his, due to the close proximity of him to the weather goddess.
He pulled out her chair and she thanked him. He took his own seat after making sure that she was comfortable. They sat and sipped their drinks for a few seconds before looking over at the other.
"Logan…"
"Ro…" they both began speaking at the same time.
"I'm sorry, Logan. You were saying?"
"No, you go first Ro," he replied.
"How have you been?"
"Okay. You?"
"I've been well."
"That's good. Mind if I ask you a question?"
"No, not at all. What's on your mind?"
I don't think you're ready for that yet, darlin', Logan thought.
Just as he was about to speak, Kitty got on the loud speaker and announced that it was time for the all dance, the segment of the night where everyone had to get out on the dance floor and shake a leg. Her point was illustrated as the upbeat mashup Thriller/Heads Will Roll poured out of the speakers. The teens left the dance floor to pull the people holding up the wall and sitting at the tables to the dance floor. Logan and Ororo were pulled from their seat by Jean and Scott respectively.
Logan growled in protest and Ororo, feeling a bit daring, held out her hand and said, "Come on Logan. Let's show the kids that they aren't the only ones who know how to cut a rug." Though she had never seen Logan dance, she figured that, with the grace he exhibited through his martial arts, dancing would be a piece of cake for him.
And she was right.
Alright darlin, Logan thought, figuring he would show the kids like Ororo said.
Taking her hand, Logan led her out to the dance floor. His presence on the dance floor alone drew shocked gasps as the students noticed their fear inducing instructor pulling their mother figure on the dance floor.
You could have pushed them all over with a feather as Logan started moving with Ororo easily following as Glee's version of Tina Turner's River Deep, Mountain High, played over the loud speaker.
Ororo couldn't stop smiling as she watched Logan move to the beat. She followed him for a while and when she switched up on him, he was right there with her. Their dance felt like a synchronized training session where they mimicked each other's moves. She closed her eyes and allowed Glee's Marry You by Bruno Mars to guide her movements.
Not really a fan of the show, she had caught a few episodes while on night duty with the kids. She noticed that all the kids, regardless of age, flooded into the recreation room and for the duration of the show, not a word was spoken. If so, the person would be shushed harshly and threatened.
It was during one of her on call nights that she caught the episode that featured the song. It caught her attention and later that night, she downloaded it to her iPod and had enjoyed it and other Glee songs since.
Logan, seeing that she really enjoyed the song, circled her, creating a safe space for her to move without having one of the kids interrupt her. When the song switched to a slow one, Logan didn't miss a beat, taking her hand and wrapping his arm around her waist. Startled, Ororo opened her eyes and gazed into Logan's grey ones as Glee's Total Eclipse of the Heart played. Sighing, she laid her head on his shoulder and allowed him to guide their dance. Both were so caught up in the dance that they didn't know that the kids had formed a loose circle around them, watching them sway to the music.
Finally, Kitty thought, rushing over to the iPod and tweaked the playlist so that the next two songs were slow ones. The kids had been whispering about their instructors, wondering what was wrong with them when one of them came up with the idea that they were attracted to each other but didn't know how to say it. It was hard for some of them to believe that the fearless Wolverine and always calm, cool, and collected Storm were afraid but the proof the truthfulness of that statement was visible on the dance floor. She smiled over at the oblivious couple and joined her date, Lance, on the dance floor for her own slow dance.
Ororo was touched to hear Logan singing Endless Love softly in her ear. She joined him and they continued moving together, totally unaware of what was going on around them. When the song ended, they slowly parted, their eyes drinking in the sight of the other.
Logan broke eye contact first, when he heard soft giggles. He looked around and noticed that all eyes were on them.
"I think we got an audience Ro," he replied, looking back at her.
"So it seems," she replied, looking around at the students who smiled back at her.
"Well, since we have probably set the rumor mill ablaze with me being here, your costume, and our dance, might as well go for the full shock value," he replied, looking up at her with a mischievous gleam in his eye.
"I concur," she whispered back, "What do you suggest?"
"This," he said, gently pushing her away and twirling her. He pulled her back to him and dipped her, causing her to laugh out loud. He loved to hear her laugh and gazed down at her, shocking her silent as he moved in and kissed her. She surprised herself when she returned the kiss, deepening it. After a few minutes, they broke apart and he helped her to stand, his arm still around her waist.
"Shall we find a private place to finish this conversation?" he asked, breathlessly.
She kissed him gently and whispered, "Let's."
True to his illustration, Charles noticed that in the weeks following the Halloween Ball, his senior team members became inseparable. Looking out his window over the grounds, he caught sight of the couple who still claimed they were just friends. After seeing their loving, kissing embrace, he decided he would put in his bid in the pool the kids had started on how long before the instructors got married.
"I think we are looking at a New Year's Wedding," Charles said out loud as he mentally summoned Kitty who was the ring leader to come and place his bid.