Author: Pirate Turner
Rating: PG for mild language
Summary: Charles and Logan share a moment while missing Ororo.
Spoilers: Ororo's departure from the comics when she makes the mistake of getting married
Warnings: Het
Word Count (excluding heading): 520
Disclaimer: Logan/Wolverine, Ororo "Storm" Munroe, Professor Charles "Professor X" Francis Xavier, Dr. Henry "Hank" "Beast" McCoy, and the X-Men are & TM Marvel comics and Disney, not the author, and are used without permission. Everything else is & TM the author. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Wolverine walked up behind the one man who had ever dared to attempt to care for him as a father. His booted feet fell silent upon the tiled floor. Charles did not look up from the snowy landscape he had been watching for the last several hours, but Logan still knew he was aware of his presence. He could never sneak up on Chuck, though, once years ago, he had tried it many times when first joining the X-Men. Xavier had always known he was there before he pounced, however, and Wolverine had eventually tired of what had become a sort of game between them.
Logan stood silently behind Charles, watching the snow drift down to the ground. They had not had such a fierce snowstorm in the entire time he had been with the X-Men, but he knew they probably had many more blizzards to expect. Their Goddess had left them for what she thought was greener pastures, and even the weather missed her.
If every snowflake that fell were a tear, Logan knew that the earth's tears would still not come close to comparing with his. Though he had not seen the old man shed a single tear and knew he would not, Logan also knew that Charles had cried just as much. Ororo had left a gaping hole in their lives that no one could fill, and all they could do was wait and hope she came home.
"Here." He did not dare to consider the emotions that the single word coming from his gruff voice revealed. He was glad no one else was there to hear him speak for he knew that Charles was one of the few who would keep his opinions to himself. Too many others would have said something that would have prompted Logan to bring a claw to their throats.
Charles looked up, and his blue eyes met Logan's gaze. The man who constantly fought so hard to be an adult human now looked like a whipped pup, a lost child, and a frightened wild animal who had just had a net thrown around him and feared there was no more hope for running wild and free ever again. He took the blanket, and Logan reached over and plugged it into an adapter he'd recently asked Hank to add to Charles' wheelchair.
"Figured ya might need it while she's gone," Logan commented at the surprise that registered in Charles' eyes.
"She'll come home, Logan."
"Hope so, Chuck. It's gonna be a damn cold Winter without 'er." Logan turned and walked away, his fists stuffed deep into the pockets of his worn jeans. It was going to be a damn cold, lonely, and dark life without her beauty lighting and warming his world, too.
Charles turned his gaze back to the window. The electric blanket soon began to warm his legs, but he feared there was nothing left that could warm his heart. "Hurry home, Ororo," he murmured as he gazed out into the howling blizzard and wondered just how long it would take his wayward child to return home. "We need you."
The End