Chapter Nine
"So how did you find out about this place?" Ororo asked after dinner as they gathered their coats from the back room at Myron's.
"I helped Myron out of a rather sticky situation once and he invited me to dinner out of gratitude." "He neglected to tell me he owned the place, so you can imagine my surprise when I found that most of the clientele was mutant."
Ororo grinned at him as he opened the door. "And you've been a regular ever since?" she asked shrewdly.
"I only come for the pasta," he replied airily. "It has nothing to do with my being completely incompetent in the cooking department." He took her arm and they began to stroll down the alleyway towards his bike. He picked up a helmet and tugged it gently onto her head, pausing when it was in place to kiss her upturned mouth.
"Well, well, well, isn't that sweet," a gravelly voice said from the shadows. "A blue mutie, and his little mutie girlfriend." The man stepped out into the streetlight, his face twisted with disgust. "We can't have that, can we boys?" "Don't want you two to start making more little muties any time soon."
Ororo narrowed her eyes and then turned to Kurt, who looked as though he were struggling to control himself . "It never fails, everyone I encounter assumes we are sleeping together." "Why can't people understand that there is more to our relationship?"
"You are worried about your reputation, Ororo?" Kurt asked, momentarily forgetting about the men who were attempting to intimidate them. "You think your honor is in danger of being questioned?"
"Never with you, love," Ororo said absently, removing the helmet in preparation for the fight.
Kurt's eyes widened and he smiled. "Ororo?" he said quietly, waiting until she had met his eyes. "You said love."
Ororo grinned shyly. "Yeah, I did." Then she leaned over and gave him a swift but thorough kiss. Kurt really brought out the child in her.
Their attackers were by this time looking a bit put out. They had been counter-attacked before, sometimes people had run from them, but they had never been ignored. The lead man looked irritated, but unsure how to respond. The others began to shift their feet, cough nervously, and glance about as though waiting for the moment to pass. Finally Ororo and Kurt remembered that they were being threatened.
"Oh yes," Kurt replied, looking a bit embarrassed. "Er, sorry, we got caught up."
"Oh, not a problem," one of the guys in the back said quickly, only to be shushed by a scorching glare from the leader.
"If you're finished with this touching moment," the man said scathingly, "we'd like to kill you now."
Kurt turned, an annoyed look on his face and caught the man's first swing. "You should be more polite ladies, Mr.-" He left the sentence hanging.
"I don't bother polishing my language for whores," the man snarled, looking satisfied as he saw Kurt's expression change from mild irritation to sudden anger.
"Now that, mein freund, you really shouldn't have said."
Kurt's fist clenched, but this time he did not regain control. He disappeared in a wisp of black smoke and the next thing Ororo knew they were in a pitched battle. Storm pulled at the air currents, creating friction and carefully manipulating the electricity stored in the clouds. Soon she was channeling lightning into each person she struck, while Kurt preferred to appear quickly behind them and hit them in some especially painful place. They toyed with them for at least five minutes before finally knocking them all unconscious.
"That was invigorating," Kurt said, stepping out of the shadows that made him nearly invisible. Ororo didn't know why, but all of the sudden she found him irresistibly attractive. She stepped up to him as he approached her and kissed him again. He propped her up against the bike in order to find a more advantageous position from which to kiss her. The only thing that prevented an extended make-out session was an annoying beep that began issuing from Ororo's phone. Kurt pulled back, chuckling a bit at her moan of distress when he removed his lips from hers. "Ororo, love, answer your phone, it may be an emergency."
"Oh, it had better be," Ororo replied, her voice promising horrible things to a person who called her frivolously. She answered the phone hurriedly. "What?" she asked, her tone more than a little testy.
"Hey 'Ro, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Logan said in an amused tone.
"If this isn't an emergency, then I promise you I'll have you collared and then eviscerated."
"Easy, 'Ro, Jean said you need to get back here," Logan replied. "She found a connection in those guy's minds and she knows when another trade is scheduled to take place."
Ororo sighed and Kurt gave her a melodramatic sad face. "I'll be there in a little while then, I'll see you then."
"I'll give you time to get dressed," Logan said, quickly hanging up before she could reply.
Ororo turned to her date. "I have to go," she said.
"I know," he told her. He leaned in to give her another deep, but more swift, kiss. "You're leaving me."
Again when he pulled back she made a sound of discontent. "If it's any consolation, it's very important."
"X-Men business?" he asked shrewdly.
Ororo was completely unsurprised that he had figured out who she and her friends were. They were pretty famous in the mutant community and a man who works in a newspaper would have special reason to take note of them. "Yes," Storm said. "We're working on a very important case."
"I'll see you tomorrow then, for lunch?" he made the last part a question.
"Mmm," Ororo said, "I'll be there." With that she turned and ascended into the heavens, or at least, the heavens in the direction of the Xavier Institute.
"So how did you find out about this place?" Ororo asked after dinner as they gathered their coats from the back room at Myron's.
"I helped Myron out of a rather sticky situation once and he invited me to dinner out of gratitude." "He neglected to tell me he owned the place, so you can imagine my surprise when I found that most of the clientele was mutant."
Ororo grinned at him as he opened the door. "And you've been a regular ever since?" she asked shrewdly.
"I only come for the pasta," he replied airily. "It has nothing to do with my being completely incompetent in the cooking department." He took her arm and they began to stroll down the alleyway towards his bike. He picked up a helmet and tugged it gently onto her head, pausing when it was in place to kiss her upturned mouth.
"Well, well, well, isn't that sweet," a gravelly voice said from the shadows. "A blue mutie, and his little mutie girlfriend." The man stepped out into the streetlight, his face twisted with disgust. "We can't have that, can we boys?" "Don't want you two to start making more little muties any time soon."
Ororo narrowed her eyes and then turned to Kurt, who looked as though he were struggling to control himself . "It never fails, everyone I encounter assumes we are sleeping together." "Why can't people understand that there is more to our relationship?"
"You are worried about your reputation, Ororo?" Kurt asked, momentarily forgetting about the men who were attempting to intimidate them. "You think your honor is in danger of being questioned?"
"Never with you, love," Ororo said absently, removing the helmet in preparation for the fight.
Kurt's eyes widened and he smiled. "Ororo?" he said quietly, waiting until she had met his eyes. "You said love."
Ororo grinned shyly. "Yeah, I did." Then she leaned over and gave him a swift but thorough kiss. Kurt really brought out the child in her.
Their attackers were by this time looking a bit put out. They had been counter-attacked before, sometimes people had run from them, but they had never been ignored. The lead man looked irritated, but unsure how to respond. The others began to shift their feet, cough nervously, and glance about as though waiting for the moment to pass. Finally Ororo and Kurt remembered that they were being threatened.
"Oh yes," Kurt replied, looking a bit embarrassed. "Er, sorry, we got caught up."
"Oh, not a problem," one of the guys in the back said quickly, only to be shushed by a scorching glare from the leader.
"If you're finished with this touching moment," the man said scathingly, "we'd like to kill you now."
Kurt turned, an annoyed look on his face and caught the man's first swing. "You should be more polite ladies, Mr.-" He left the sentence hanging.
"I don't bother polishing my language for whores," the man snarled, looking satisfied as he saw Kurt's expression change from mild irritation to sudden anger.
"Now that, mein freund, you really shouldn't have said."
Kurt's fist clenched, but this time he did not regain control. He disappeared in a wisp of black smoke and the next thing Ororo knew they were in a pitched battle. Storm pulled at the air currents, creating friction and carefully manipulating the electricity stored in the clouds. Soon she was channeling lightning into each person she struck, while Kurt preferred to appear quickly behind them and hit them in some especially painful place. They toyed with them for at least five minutes before finally knocking them all unconscious.
"That was invigorating," Kurt said, stepping out of the shadows that made him nearly invisible. Ororo didn't know why, but all of the sudden she found him irresistibly attractive. She stepped up to him as he approached her and kissed him again. He propped her up against the bike in order to find a more advantageous position from which to kiss her. The only thing that prevented an extended make-out session was an annoying beep that began issuing from Ororo's phone. Kurt pulled back, chuckling a bit at her moan of distress when he removed his lips from hers. "Ororo, love, answer your phone, it may be an emergency."
"Oh, it had better be," Ororo replied, her voice promising horrible things to a person who called her frivolously. She answered the phone hurriedly. "What?" she asked, her tone more than a little testy.
"Hey 'Ro, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Logan said in an amused tone.
"If this isn't an emergency, then I promise you I'll have you collared and then eviscerated."
"Easy, 'Ro, Jean said you need to get back here," Logan replied. "She found a connection in those guy's minds and she knows when another trade is scheduled to take place."
Ororo sighed and Kurt gave her a melodramatic sad face. "I'll be there in a little while then, I'll see you then."
"I'll give you time to get dressed," Logan said, quickly hanging up before she could reply.
Ororo turned to her date. "I have to go," she said.
"I know," he told her. He leaned in to give her another deep, but more swift, kiss. "You're leaving me."
Again when he pulled back she made a sound of discontent. "If it's any consolation, it's very important."
"X-Men business?" he asked shrewdly.
Ororo was completely unsurprised that he had figured out who she and her friends were. They were pretty famous in the mutant community and a man who works in a newspaper would have special reason to take note of them. "Yes," Storm said. "We're working on a very important case."
"I'll see you tomorrow then, for lunch?" he made the last part a question.
"Mmm," Ororo said, "I'll be there." With that she turned and ascended into the heavens, or at least, the heavens in the direction of the Xavier Institute.