She Kissed Me
"I need some advice," I say as soon as I enter Ororo's little garden room up in the attic.
"Nothing serious I hope," the weather Goddess turns from watering a bunch of exotic plants to give me her full attention.
"I hope not," I mutter under my breath and take a moment to think out how to discuss Kitty's crush on me. "I just need a … female perspective on something."
"Ahh," she gives me a rather knowing smile and sits down on a wooden bench in the room. "Would this something be in regards to a certain young X-Woman?"
"Yeah," I respond with a bit of surprise at her insight. "How'd you know that?"
"Woman's intuition, I suppose. I've noticed something special growing between the two of you lately. The way the two of you are so in sync with each other when working a mission together. How relaxed you are around her and she around you. How easily you communicate with each other. Little things like that."
"So you think I've been encouraging her feelings for me?" I sigh as I really didn't want that to be the case.
"You say that as if you don't appreciate her having such feelings," she frowns a little at that. "I had assumed that what's happening between the two of you was mutual and you were here seeking advice on how to take the relationship to the next level."
"No," I state emphatically. "No next level. She's just a kid 'Ro and not exactly my type."
"I had thought most anything female, single and with a pulse fell into the category of 'your type,'" she jokes, knowing enough about my past relationships to feel comfortable poking fun at them.
"I'm not saying she's unattractive. I mean, nice body, great personality and really a lot of the things a guy could want in a gal but I just don't think of her that way. She's like a kid sister to me."
"Logan, I've seen the way you look at her and it is not in a familial manner. I'd also wager good money that you think her body more than just 'nice.'"
"I've never looked at Kitty inappropriately," I growl, disbelieving that 'Ro would imply that I had.
Maybe I have looked once or twice when she was in uniform, but I'm a guy and she wears tight spandex that shows off her body and I can't not look at it some. It's just the guy thing to do.
"Of course, you haven't but what has Kitty to do with … Wait, a minute," she frowns again in confusion. "We are talking about Rogue here, aren't we?"
"Rogue? What's she got to do with Pryde's crush on me?"
She blinks at that and asks after a moment, "Kathryn has a crush on you, too?"
"Too? Are you sayin' that someone else – that Rogue's got one on me?"
"You weren't aware of that?"
"If the Rogue's into anyone around here, we all know its Cyke not me."
"We all know that she had a bit of an infatuation with Scott, yes, but it was never serious."
"That may be, but still, she doesn't think of me that way," I state firmly before thoughtfully scratching at my jaw at the idea that I may be wrong. "Does she?"
"All signs I've seen point to yes," the knowing smile returns and she gives me a slightly amused look. "Just as all signs indicate that you return her feelings," I resist the urge to fidget under her stare and instead assume a careless macho man stance that neither confirms or denies her statement. "I suppose that's a conversation we'll have another day, though. Let's get back to Kitty," she frowns again as if the idea of Shadowcat having a crush on me is the most unlikely thing on Earth. "You're saying that she has a crush on you?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she does," I flash back to the feel of Pryde's tongue in my mouth and her body gluing itself to mine.
"Are you sure it's a crush? Maybe you're just misreading something she - "
"She kissed me," I interrupt.
"Well," Ororo blinks at that then regains her composure, "she's done that before, hasn't she? A kiss on the cheek - "
"She didn't kiss my cheek," I interrupt her again with a pointed stare.
"Well," she blinks again then stares at me wide eyed as my implication sinks in. "Oh."
"Yeah."
"She couldn't have just maybe missed her target?"
"Her tongue was halfway down my throat."
"Kathryn's?" she asks in complete disbelief. "Her tongue?" she gapes at me when I nod in answer to her first disbelieving question.
"Yeah. Kitty's tongue," I state in a firm tone that leaves her in no doubt of my certainty.
"Well … I …," she stops attempting to speak for a moment and I can see her collecting her thoughts. "I have no idea how to react to that," she pushes a lock of long white hair back from her face. "How exactly did it happen?"
"I dunno. One second I'm lecturing her about driving safely after another nightmarish experience as a passenger in a vehicle she's driving and the next I've gotta pry her off me," I begin pacing the rather cramped confines of the room.
"Did you maybe do something to encourage her?"
"If she takes insults to her driving abilities as 'encouragement,' then yeah, I was givin' her a major green light to throw herself at me," I say sarcastically and get a slight glare from her in response to my tone. "No," I answer the question more seriously. "I ain't done nothing to encourage the kid feelin' like that toward me. I've only ever been myself around her."
"That certainly shouldn't inspire such actions from the girl," she teases and I growl at the taunt. "Ok," she visibly restrains a smile, "let's get to the point here. What are you going to do about all this?"
"That's what I'm here to ask you. I don't wanna hurt the kid, but she's gotta know that what happened can't happen again," I pick up the speed of my pacing. "I'm not exactly experienced in these situations."
"Do sit down, the caged animal routine is making me dizzy," Ororo orders while making room on the bench next to herself. "Now, what was your reaction to the kiss?" she asks me as soon as I'm seated.
"Shock," I reply honestly, running a hand roughly through my hair. "I still can't believe she actually did it."
"You're not the only one there," she mutters, forgetting my keen hearing until I give her a glance that makes it clear I heard the comment. "What I meant was did you participate in any way or say anything afterward to encourage or discourage her trying something like that again?"
"No participation," I state so fiercely she flinches and I tone things down before continuing. "I didn't do or say anything. I was just … shocked. The second it registered what was happening I pushed her away and when I couldn't think of anything to say I just left."
"That … should be good," she comments thoughtfully, while rising to her feet to do some pacing herself. "It sounds like you adequately rebuffed her advances physically. Now all you should need to do is back your actions up with a verbal statement of non-interest."
"That a fancy way of sayin' I gotta tell her there ain't a chance in hell of us actually hookin' up?"
"It's a fancy way of saying that you have to let her down gently, Logan," I smirk at the stern glance I get at my coarse words.
"I know that much, 'Ro, that's why I came to you. What do I say?" I ask with an almost helpless gesturing of my hands. "I'm not the type to dress things up and spare feelings here."
She accepts that fact with a nod then ponders the situation for a few moments and comes to a conclusion.
"I think perhaps, I should speak with her. Not," she hurries on when I make to protest that suggestion, "mentioning any names, I have more tact than that. Just a general woman to woman talk about crushes in general during which I can gauge her feelings for you and determination just what actions are needed."
"Sounds like a plan," I jump to my feet, thrilled at being spared the awkward conversation I'd been envisioning with Pryde.
"Not so fast, Wolverine," Storm's firm tone of voice stops me in my tracks when I begin heading for the door. "This doesn't mean you're off the hook or I'm going to clean up your mess here. I - "
"This isn't my mess," I turn and defend myself. "It's just a mess that happens to involve me."
"Semantics, Logan, and however you try to avoid the issue you're going to fail. Kitty has openly expressed her feelings toward you and you are going to have to acknowledge her actions sooner or later. All I'm going to do is help to determine the best way for you to do that."
Cursing inwardly at her unbending tone, I nod my agreement with her words then leave the room with plans forming in my head to go down to the garage and work on fixing the damage done to the X-Van before dinner.
Ten minutes after leaving the attic, though, I'm trudging back up the stairs and again interrupting Ororo as she tried to tend to the exotic plants she kept there.
"What's wrong now?" she asks with concern at my expression upon registering that I've returned.
"You're gonna need to have a talk with Aquilla, too," I grind out, still in shock over what just happened to me.
"Amara? About what?"
"Crush on me," I answer simply.
"Now, Logan, you can't expect me to believe that she's infatuated with you, too," my friend observes me skeptically with one hand going to rest on her hip.
As calmly as possible I raise a hand to wipe my mouth and then wave it at the woman with a growled, "She kissed me."
"Goodness gracious," she exclaims in surprise as she recognizes the shade of lipstick smeared on my fingers as that preferred by Magma. "Do I want to know what happened?"
"I have no idea," I shake my head and move to flop down on the bench we'd sat on moments ago. "I was just on my way to the garage when …."
~*~
A/N: *hehe* I know, I know, I'm slightly evil for leaving off here, but the 'what happened' is gonna be a lot funnier from Amara's POV and that's what the next chapter will be, which I hope to have ready to upload in a few days.
