21 Things I Want In a Lover

Chapter 9

By Princess Alexandria

Ororo frowned as she tried to call again and it went straight to Kate's voicemail. She glanced around at the hotel lobby, and the large clock that declared it nearly lunch time. They were supposed to meet here. She didn't see Kate waiting for her.

With a slight frown Ororo made her way to the elevators and pushed the floor she remembered Kate was on.

Ororo knocked and after a moment she heard a chain jangling on the other side of the door. It opened and a rumpled Kate, with hair that had clearly not been combed yet answered. Kate's eyes were wide. "I slept in." She held the door open in invitation. "I'm so sorry."

Ororo glanced at the bed, messy, but not opened as if someone had slept in it, just rumpled like someone slept on it, and then at Kate in her clothes clearly from yesterday even though she hadn't seen Kate yesterday. The dirt on the black pants had her pause. "What happened to you?"

"I didn't fall asleep until late and I forgot to set the alarm." That wasn't really what Ororo meant, but she let it go as Kate was moving around faster, and Ororo watched her grab clothes out of the closet and some underwear, before looking at her. "I really need a quick shower."

"Go ahead. I'll watch the television." Ororo gave Kate a small grin and a shaking head. This seemed out of character for Kate, but then she didn't know her all that well yet.

"Thank you. I'm sorry." Kate muttered again, moving to the bathroom.

"We don't have reservations, leaving here late won't make any difference." Ororo spoke as she glanced around for the remote control. The water running told her Kate was in the shower.

Ororo sat on the bed and flipped the stations until she caught the news. It amused her to see the weather predicting rain, because she wasn't going to let it rain today. Well, maybe while they were eating.

The news shifted to talk about some battle Spiderman had been in the night before, and Ororo sat up straighter as she paid attention. Occasionally it was important to be aware of what was going on in the city. Someone had a camera, and it showed a rather destroyed street.

A car was tossed at Spiderman and he dodged it well, but a sick feeling came over Ororo as she saw it heading for a bystander. Her eyes widened as the person just bent backwards in a move she'd only seen Betsy manage, balancing on her toes with her body even with the ground and the car sailed over her. Ororo blinked as the woman stood up and her eyes widened as she 

recognized the clothes. She got up off the couch to look harder at the woman in the background running into a shop as the focus was still on Spiderman.

Ororo glanced at the bathroom door, her eyebrows drawn together. "Spiderman was assisted by She Hulk and the Human Torch later, as well as a couple of bystanders."

Ororo's hand move to rest over her mouth as she saw Spiderman laying, unmoving on the ground. She saw the woman from the earlier clip run out and start to pull on him. This time the camera zoomed in to see her struggle with the larger man. "Kate?" Ororo whispered, and then watched as a young man helped Kate pull Spiderman to safety. She couldn't be sure, the picture quality wasn't all that great, but she had a sinking feeling it might actually be Kate.

The shower was still going, so Ororo pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Sage, I'd like you to find what footage you can about Spiderman's battle last night."

"A problem?" Sage asked as the click of keys told Ororo she'd caught the woman near a computer.

"I don't think so." Ororo blinked as the news went on to talk about other things, and she got up to stand by the window, staring out at the city. "I've told you about Kate haven't I?"

"The woman you are currently dating. I've heard some, but no you haven't told me." Sage made a small humming noise as she searched the computer for footage. "What are you looking for in this footage, I'll send it to your phone."

"I'd like a close up of the face of the woman who rushed out to save Spiderman when he was down." Ororo moved her hand to play with the condensation on the window, before sighing and trying to control her powers a bit better.

The picture that appeared on her phone was Kate. "Will this do?" Sage asked, the picture wasn't the best quality, but it was good enough. Ororo thought of Kate's moves and found herself shaking her head, surprised.

"That's my date for the evening." Ororo muttered. "She was going to take a quiet tour, and walk around yesterday." She sighed. "Thank you."

"She seems rather limber for an average human." Sage commented on the scene that filled Ororo's mind. "Pretty too."

"She was a dancer." Ororo answered distractedly, and then noticed the shower turning off. "I need to go."

Once Ororo had her phone away she glanced around the room, wondering how to talk to Kate about this. They didn't talk about the missions Ororo went on, or the danger, but a part of Ororo wished Kate had called her last night, rather than stay awake and perhaps scared.



Kate had really handled herself pretty well. Ororo had a small smile as she considered that. Timid, the others thought she was timid, but she'd rushed out in the middle of the battle to save someone. That was impressive. Not to mention that move, Ororo wasn't sure she could pull that one off and she trained for events like that.

If Kate were a member of her team she'd congratulate her for that, knowing she hadn't the power to actually fight. If she were a partially trained student she'd scold them for running into the battle at all. She didn't know what to do or think about Kate, who had no training, but was old enough to make her own decisions.

She moved to sit down as she heard various sounds of getting ready from the bathroom. Kate came out with damp hair, but flawless makeup and smiled shyly at her. "I'm ready."

"Do you want burgers or pasta?" Ororo asked, standing up. Her eyes looked for damage, but if Kate had any, she couldn't see it. They left and Ororo decided to wait to bring up what she'd seen, until she had a better idea of how Kate was taking it.

'She seems rather limber for an average human' Ororo remembered Sage's words, but her mind was drifting in a far less innocent direction. Kate seemed a little more confident today, which was rather attractive, and gave Ororo hope that the night before hadn't been too horrible, and tonight might be a lot better.

They sat and ordered their meals, before Ororo decided it was okay to broach the topic. "I saw you on the news."

It was interesting that Kate froze for a moment, and stared down at her plate. Ororo watched the blush on her cheeks. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Everything turned out okay." She looked up. "I had been on a superhero tour that day, and I just got the extra package I guess." There was a small smirk on her lips.

Ororo just raised an eyebrow at Kate, which had Kate talking again. "I spent the afternoon on that Superhero tour, looking at the Baxter Building and Avenger Mansion and all that. It was interesting." Kate blushed, and pushed her hair back behind her ear in that adorable way she had. "I figured it would be more interesting than the Architectural tour for me."

"See anything interesting?" Ororo asked, and she noticed the spark in Kate's eyes.

"I saw where She Hulk gets her coffee." Kate's smile made Ororo curious as to why that was important at all. Kate didn't tell her.

"I was just walking around when the battle suddenly happened, and I ran into a store for cover." Kate was technically telling the truth, but that flying car filled Ororo's mind, and she was wondering if Kate was just that modest or didn't realize it was a big deal to avoid getting hit the way she had. "She Hulk and Johnny Storm came just when Spiderman was losing, so that was pretty lucky." Kate leaned forward. "I wasn't sure there would be anyone at the Starbucks I called, but I lucked out. I was so glad to see them."

"You called the coffee shops to get help?" Ororo asked, "Not the police?"

"What would the police be able to do? They were tossing cars out there; I don't think police would be able to stop that." Kate sighed and Ororo thought of the unique way Kate had actually save Spiderman's life. It had been her; she did more than pull him to safety. Ororo stared at Kate, seeing something there she hadn't seen before. The woman was stronger under pressure than she'd thought. Ororo couldn't ever remember a bystander in her battles doing so much to determine the outcome. Of course, Spiderman didn't know that it was Kate that made that win possible last night either, so maybe someone went unacknowledged in helping her as well once.

"I'm glad you're alright." Ororo finally spoke. "That could have been pretty bad."

"I know, by the time I'd figured out what was happening I'd already almost been crushed. Spiderman stopped the building from falling on me." Kate looked a little pale at that memory. "I looked up to see this huge chunk of the wall dangling over me. Another second and I would have been crushed. Somehow I don't think I'll tell my brother that story. He might suggest I never leave the state again."

Ororo frowned at the words, but only addressed some of them. "Older brother?" She had heard stories of older siblings and that sounded familiar. Kate nodded.

"He can be pretty pushy at times. It's not like he can ground me or anything." Kate rolled her eyes. "But I'd rather not deal with the drama." And that told Ororo what she needed to know. She refrained from the warnings and lectures she felt on her own tongue about Kate running back out into the street, which both impressed her and worried her. Kate was, after all, only human.

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21 Things I Want In a Lover

Chapter 10

By Princess Alexandria

"That looks lovely on you." Ororo spoke and Kate blushed as she turned to look behind her at the woman sitting on the chair in the dressing room. Ororo had convinced Kate that shopping in New York was a tourist activity, and threatened to buy Kate more luggage when Kate tried to claim she didn't have room for more. They were now out looking through Macy's, and a few other apparently very important stores. "You'd need new shoes, but that would look great for tonight."

Kate glanced at the bag next to Ororo, knowing what an amazing dress was in there for the night, and it made her think she should buy this one. She just had no idea when, or where else, she'd ever wear it after the night.

At the register Kate looked at her watch, considering how much time they had left. "We could drop the bags off at my room and change?" They had more than enough time for that, but 

shopping was wearing her down. And how strange was that in the middle of a date, to stop and prepare for the date? It kind of blurred the lines, having Ororo helping her to prepare for that.

They'd just gone to Wicked, but apparently they were 'attending the theater' tonight. Ororo had made reservations at a place she said served amazing food, and there were no plans to dance.

Kate hoped they weren't ending the date right after the play. She paid the cashier, as she considered that. Kate had spent a bit longer in the shower today, hoping that someone would appreciate her smooth shaved legs, so she was ready to wear a dress. That wasn't why she did it though. Kate's heart hammered at the thought, but she smiled as Ororo picked up the bag and carried both her purchases and Kate's.

"This will be a lot of fun." Ororo seemed really pleased with their plans for the evening.

Kate was very glad she'd asked for this second date, as she watched Ororo smile at her while stepping through the door Kate held opened for her.

"Hippy chick, is that the type of clothes you used to wear?" Ororo spoke in a teasing voice and Kate turned to see a tie dye feast for the eyes in a small shop next to them.

"Actually." Kate tilted her head and moved into the store a little, to pull up a flowing gauzy skirt, and held it up to her waist with a smile. She turned to Ororo and shifted from left to right in a small dance to make the skirt flow with her, it didn't do it as well as it would if it were on, but she grinned and twirled. "This is like what I wore." She pulled the skirt up to her eyes, taking it in. It really was cute, back then she would have bought it immediately, but now she'd need a whole new wardrobe to wear it, so she put it back on the shelf. She glanced over at Ororo to see an amused smile.

"Did you dance around like that as well?" Ororo smiled and shifted her hold on the bags so she could touch the skirt Kate had played with.

"Of course, that's the point of something flowy like that." Kate chuckled, but when Ororo picked the skirt up and moved it over toward the shirts Kate watched as Ororo picked a shirt that went with it.

"Try them on?" Ororo had a playful look in her eyes so Kate took both items and glanced around for a dressing room. This small shop had a tiny curtained area in the back.

"Will you find a leather store?" Kate turned to ask Ororo, before doing this.

Ororo gave a slight grimace, but nodded. "That's fair I guess." Kate smiled and lifted the flowing skirt and shirt up in the air as she made her way to the changing corner.

Looking at her reflection after she'd changed, Kate did what she could with her hair to make it more wild, but the cut was all wrong. She also stared down at her bare feet, thinking that was 

better than putting on her other shoes. This outfit would have gone with her Birkenstocks, but not her loafers.

Opening the curtain with sudden flick Kate grinned at Ororo and stepped out into the shop, before twirling just enough to show the way the skirt started to dance with her. She stopped with a smile when Ororo laughed. "That is so cute." Ororo was still grinning.

Kate blushed and moved to change back. The store clerk looked a bit disappointed when she didn't buy those clothes.

"We'll need to go a few blocks passed your hotel to find the store I'm thinking of." Ororo spoke as they walked toward the crosswalk. "Still interested?"

"Oh yeah." Kate grinned and leaned in to gently hold Ororo's arm as they walked, feeling very brave as she did it. "So if I was a hippy chick, did that make you a leather mama? Or a biker chick?"

Ororo bared her teeth at Kate and Kate did her best to keep her smile the same, in spite of how sexy Ororo had just looked. That moment of tough girl had made Kate's blood actually turn to fire for a moment; she felt like she might start sweating. Ororo then just bumped Kate gently and smiled at her.

"I was called either, by friends in need of very cold rain showers. Remember that."

They continued on their way as Kate looked up at the clear skies, feeling optimistic that clouds should at least take some time to pull this way she leaned in. "I prefer biker chick, but then you'd need a bike."

A very cold breeze caught her breath and Kate's hair was blown about making it a mess. Her eyes widened at Ororo's teasing wink. "Oh, it's getting nippy isn't it?" Kate stared at her as she realized that had been Ororo's power in action. That hadn't really taken a lot of time. "We should probably keep moving before any rain hits."

Kate just shook her head and smiled, but it was a bit unnerving. She stopped teasing Ororo about labels.

The store smelled like leather, and the people in it were a bit scary. Kate followed Ororo into the store, and took the bags from her so that Ororo could find some clothes. "This won't be the same without the accessories." Ororo spoke while looking at leather pants.

"I wasn't even wearing shoes, and I did wear dangly bead necklaces." Kate commented on the things her show and tell lacked.

"Did you wear shoes?" Ororo teased.



"Yes." Kate shook her head and then noticed Ororo grab a pair of pants. Ororo turned to go further into the store, looking at leather vests.

She really thought Ororo would look for a shirt after that, but she watched as Ororo slid into the changing room. "They don't have my old boots, but this should give you an idea."

The changing room door closed and Ororo's voice came from it. "It's a lot harder to try on leather, just so you know."

"Did you want bonus points for that?" Kate asked, as she listened to the noises in the room, and glanced around at the people giving her rather odd looks. She really didn't look like she belonged, wearing her black pants and a blue button up shirt, and carrying bags from Sax and Macys.

"Keep in mind I had a Mohawk, biker boots, and a black leather dog collar." Ororo's voice spoke, sounding amused already. The door opened and Kate found herself staring.

The pants were skin tight, and the woman was only wearing a vest. Ororo's expression had also changed, it didn't hold the friendliness it had all day. Ororo's expression was cold, controlled, and the way she looked at Kate made Kate feel like she was the last piece of meat in front of a starving dog. "What do you think?" Ororo's voice was just a tad gruffer, tougher.

Kate's jaw opened as she tried to think of what to say, but her words froze in her mouth as Ororo stepped closer to her, so that Kate could smell the leather on her. "You look," Kate searched for a word. "Intimidating." She screwed up her courage to say something else too, "and sexy."

"Would you have asked me out looking like this?" Ororo asked.

"Not in a million years." Kate spoke honestly. "I would have stared, if you weren't looking, but I wouldn't have spoke."

"Well, good thing I changed my tastes." Ororo smiled, and it looked a little feral to Kate. It made her wonder if changing clothes really changed the person underneath all that much. "We better get going. I'll change." Ororo went back into the dressing room and Kate stayed where she was.

Her eyes trailed over the leather vests near her on the rack, and she blushed at the thoughts in her mind. Ororo did look intimidating like that, but that wasn't all bad.

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