Ch. 1: A Stormy Night
It was a blustery night in Bayville, which was contrary to the earlier weather report's prediction of calm. The reason for the howling gusts of wind was because of Ororo Munroe, whose nightmares were manifesting in her powers. She was dreaming of not just the city of Bayville, but everything in the world set aflame. Everything burning. The places where her friends live...where her family lives...where she lived.
She rolled over onto her left side, her face contorted in pain and torture. "Mm…no…stop…" she groaned as she fidgeted under her covers.
Then the dream changed. Rain started to pour in a heavy torrent. Hurricane force winds swept across entire continents, ripping trees from their roots, flipping over cars, demolishing homes; all from her doing.
She rolled onto her right side. "No…NO…"
Now, she stood alone in a dark, foggy void.
A low shriek was heard. She whirled around but saw nothing.
There was an odd sensation on her foot, sending shivers down her spine. She looked down.
A shadowy blob was creeping up her leg. Ororo tried to shake it off. Her legs wouldn't even twitch.
The shadow made its way up her body towards her head. She struggled to break free, but it was no use.
The shadow slowly started to enclose her head.
Just before the shadow swallowed her completely, she shot up in her bed, screaming. She took a few gasps of air when she realized she was safe in room.
A noise made her jump and she looked to the window. It was only the wind howling and she was sure she was the cause of it. She breathed a sigh of relief and her body relaxed when suddenly her door flew open, causing her to yell out in fright.
"Ro! What's wrong?" exclaimed none other than Logan, his claws extended, ready for whatever threat was there.
"Logan," the weather goddess breathed, a hand on her chest. She breathed deeply a few times to calm herself then said, "Nothing. It's nothing, Logan." She scooted back so that her back was resting against the headboard of her bed and closed her eyes. "Just a bad dream," she mumbled aloud.
Logan retracted his claws and crossed his arms over his chest as he gave a short hum in response, not knowing anything else to say.
Ororo had been having troubling dreams about three days after Apocalypse's defeat, and they were progressively getting worse by the day.
The man shrugged his shoulders and asked, "You gonna be okay?"
This time she shook her head. "I think so." Logan could she her statement didn't agree and sighed inwardly, shaking his head.
Not knowing what else to do, he crossed her room to her bed, sat down near her, and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him as tears began to stream down her face. Logan knew that the goddess of a woman didn't cry often, if at all. This nightmare must have really horrified her.
"You sure you're gonna be alright?" he asked again.
A sigh escaped her lips as she looked away. "Honestly…I don't know."
Logan knew comforting a woman was more Ororo's thing. If this had been some intruder he would have little problem with it. Right now, however, Ororo was the one who needed comforting. Right now, however, he didn't know slim to squat about comforting.
Not sure what else to do, he shrugged and asked, "Want me to get you something?"
Ororo shook her head again. "No, I'm fine," she said lowly. He sighed inwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to figure out what to do next. "Would you…stay with me?"
Logan's eyebrows shot up and he looked at Ororo. The white-haired woman looked back and locked eyes with the feral mutant. Logan could see the fear in her damp, pleading eyes.
He nodded once. "Sure, Ro."
She smiled then scooted over on bed, and patted the area beside her, inviting him to sit. Logan shrugged again, and then sat beside the weather goddess. Ororo hugged her knees to her chest and said to the man, "Thank you, Logan."
Again he nodded once. "No problem." He shrugged then added, "Not like I got any place to be at one in the morning."
She gave a small smile then looked out the window. The winds had calmed down considerably.
The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Logan seemed to look around the room but he was actually watching Ororo from the corner of his eyes as she stared out of the window. Logan turned to her his head to get a better look at her and could see that she was lost in thought, having a distant gaze.
Logan sighed inwardly for the umpteenth, and offered, "Wanna…talk about that dream?" Ororo just shook her head, showing that she wasn't as lost in thought as Logan had thought. It wasn't just that Ororo didn't wanted talk about the dream, she just couldn't remember it. It just vanished the moment she awakened.
The man looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay…" He looked back her then asked, "How about something else?"
Ororo turned to look at him with her head tilted. "Like what?"
Logan looked away and sighed audibly through his mouth as he thought about it for a moment. He looked back at her, and with a shrug, suggested, "How about the weather."
Ororo narrowed her eyes, giving him a bemused glare.
The man looked the other wa. "Yeah, bad joke."
Her frown turned into a slight smile and she managed a small chuckled. "Actually, it was quite different from your usual attitude."
Logan's brows twitched and he turned to the white-haired woman. "So is that a good thing?" He pointed back to the door with thumb. "Because I could get Elf or Popsicle in here, if you want."
Ororo shook her head. "No, it's alright. You are doing well, actually."
With that, she leaned over and rested her head on his burly shoulder. The feral mutant felt a little awkward, not used to this kind of contact, but controlled his urge to stir. He actually found it nice. She smelled of natural and exotic scents modest and, next to Danger Room training or working on his bike, silence was comforting to him, even if he wasn't the one who need it.
"Have you talked to Charles about this?" he asked, finally breaking the silence. He just felt he had to ask.
She looked at him with an eyebrow raised, seemingly confused. "Talked to him about what?"
Logan looked at her with a serious expression in his face. "No games, Ro. You know what I'm talking about."
Ororo lowered her head, and let out a deep sigh. After a minute of silence, she finally answered his question. "I have, actually."
Logan didn't expecting that answer and he rasied an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Only a little bit," she said distantly.
"So, what did he say?"
It took her a few seconds before she spoke again. "He thinks that the nightmares started probably as a result of Apocalypse's control. But there's also something else…"
"And that would be…?" Logan pressed. She was obviously beating around the bush, but he didn't want to press her too much.
She shook her head. "I don't know. The professor couldn't tell me, and I don't know either. But it seems so familiar."
Logan looked to the wall in front of them. "Hm. I know what that feels like, darlin'. Believe me. I know."
Ororo looked up at him again. "Do you ever figure out what it is eventually?"
Logan shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly...You never know. Sometimes you just get lucky."
That answer was disheartening to the weather witch. She hung her head in disappointment, and Logan glanced down at her.
A sigh escaped his lips as he shook his head.. "But…When you do find out what's been bugging you, it'll, probably, be a little better to know."
A small smile formed on Ororo's lips. At least he's trying, she thought. "Thank you, Logan."
Logan looked at her with his head tilted. "For what?"
"For just comforting me," she sighed contently. Logan shrugged inwardly and returned his gaze to the wall in front of them.
Ororo snuggled closer to the feral man who wrapped his arm and her waist without thinking about it. They both enjoyed the silence and the closeness of each other.
After a few minutes, Logan looked down at the weather goddess. "So you think you'll be okay to sleep?"
She looked up at him and nodded once. "I think so."
"Just get what you can," he reassured her. "I'm sure it'll pass soon."
As Logan was about to slip out of her embrace, she stopped him. He looked back and saw that same fearful look in her eyes. But he also noticed that she had trouble making eye contact or even facing him.
Finally, she asked, "Would you…do me one last favor?"
"Sure, Ro. What is it?"
Ororo drew in a deep breath then made eye contact with him. Rather quickly, she asked, "Stay with me tonight."
Again, Logan's eyes widened. "You mean…" he trailed off, know what she was talking about. She just nodded in reply.
After studying her expression, Logan could tell that she was serious. Several thoughts started racing through his mind. Sure sleeping with a beautiful woman had its appeal to him. Ororo was his best friend, however, and he, of course, had nightmares of his own, and if he started thrashing, he knew she would get hurt. That was one thing wouldn't be able to deal with if he caused her pain. Yet, even though he had several reasons not to, the longing expression in her face was too strong to ignore.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, Ro. It's not that I mind the idea, but-"
She interrupted him by her hand up. "I know you still have your own problems, and I know Charles would object to this, but I just don't to be alone tonight."
Now, there was the thought of the students hearing about this. He knew he would never hear the end of it, but Ororo did need comfort; he didn't want her to hurt herself if she had that nightmare again.
With a defeated sigh escaping his lips, he said, "Alright. If you think it'll help."
She smiled then nodded. "I'm sure it'll help both of us."
Ororo scooted over and held up the sheets, inviting Logan into her bed. After he set aside the uncertainty, he slipped under the covers, and soon started to stir a bit.
Her bed was much more different than his. The main thing being that it was softer and cleaner. Nonetheless, it felt good.
Ororo snuggled up against Logan who willingly took her into his arms. He got another whiff of her scent then sighed contently.
"Thank you, Logan," she said softly. "Regardless of what you think, you're a very sweet man."
Logan grinned. "Sure thing, darlin'. Just don't go telling everybody about it."
"You're secret is safe with me." With that, she placed as soft kiss on his cheek, as if to seal the deal. She just did it, without thought or ration. It was unexpected by both, but welcomed and meaningful.
Ororo snuggled closer to Logan, resting her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes finally falling back asleep. Logan stayed awake a while longer thinking about this moment and watched her nod off. He soon found himself fixated on her face. There was something about her that gave him a familiar feeling; he just didn't know what it was. Logan pushed the thought aside for another time. He began to nod off and for the first time in ages got a peaceful sleep.
"Sleep well, little thief. For soon you will be mine and no will be able to help you."
This story is inspired by Comfort at Heart by slickboy444, which is a very excellent story Logan/Ororo story by the way.
I have another chapter already typed, but I'm not gonna put it up until I get the third chapter completed. And for those of you who've read my other stories, those will be on hiatus for a while. Hopefully for a short while.
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or anything affiliated with the X-Men. They all belong to Marvel and their respective creators.
Oh, and by the by to any of those who intend to put me down or bad mouth me. I'm not gonna drag this out, and get straight to the point. If your parents didn't hug you, or nobody else likes, well then don't take it out on anybody else, and find a different outlet, one that doesn't hurt others. Putting people down, for any reason, is just wrong, okay?
Comments and criticisms welcome. Until next chapter, H. Writer out. Paz e muito amor (Peace and much love).