Author's Note: Ooooh, sweet Gawd, it's the dreaded Hank/Ororo romance chapter! waves arms threateningly at all of the committed RoLo fans But it's a good chapter,I think, and it's important to the plot, so I hope you all read, enjoy, and review anyway. Please. puppy dog eyes
xXx
The joyful times in our lives are the ones that fly by the fastest, and, for Ororo, the last two months with Logan represented the happiest she had ever been in her entire life. All too soon, the leaves had withered and fallen from the trees, the air had turned chilly, and the snow had begun to accumulate on the grounds of the Xavier mansion. Normally winter was the favored season of the weather witch, and, while she looked forward to having someone to hold during those cold December nights and to kiss when the ball dropped on New Years, a disconcerting sensation had begun to rise in Ororo's belly.
She felt as though she were standing on a precipice, and change was about to descend upon her like a great, fearsome bird. Although the mansion's great hall was warm and cheerful, she felt a shiver climbing up her back, and her eyes were hollow as she watched the students who were supposed to be the most mature in the school throwing Christmas ornaments at each other and wrapping themselves in garland.
The buzzing of the front doorbell echoed throughout the first floor of the mansion, and Ororo, shaken from her daze by its shrill cry, made her way through the great hall to the foyer. After standing on the tips of her toes to see through the peephole, she let out a surprised gasp when she saw who was on the other side of the door. She wasted absolutely no time in flinging the door open and launching herself into the arms of a somewhat-surprised Henry McCoy.
"We weren't expecting you for another week!" she squealed.
"Nor was I expecting to be here so soon," he replied, "But I finished all of the work that I had left over, tied up a few loose ends, and ended up having a whole week more of vacation, so I decided to head home."
Ororo stepped away from him, holding him at arm's length and studying him. While the permanence of his mutation was still a stunner after all of the years that she'd known him in his human form, what made her frown the most were the deep creases around his eyes and the pouches under them, both obviously obtained through too much work and stress, and several sleepless nights.
"What's the matter, my dear?" Henry asked, prompting his oldest friend to shake her head.
"I'm glad that you were able to come early, Hank," she told him, "You look like you need a vacation." Her voice, underlined by worry and sadness, caused the smile of genuine rapture at being home to slip from Henry's face, and, for just a moment, the two stared at each other gloomily before Ororo clapped her hands together and her expression of jubilation returned.
"Well, do you need any help carrying your stuff in?" she asked pleasantly.
"Oh, no; I've got my limo parked out in the driveway. Between my driver and me, we should be able to handle all of it," answered Hank.
"All right then," said Ororo, "We kept the guest room that you stayed in last time just the way that you left it, if you'd like to put everything in there."
"Thank you," Hank said, taking one of her hands in his and bringing it up to lay a gentle kiss upon it, "Now you go inside before you freeze. I'll be down for dinner after I finish unpacking."
With a light nod and another false smile, she complied, leaving him standing out in the snow, bewildered.
"You've changed, Ororo," he found himself thinking. Never before had he seen her emotions waver to such a degree. The weather witch that he remembered had always been placid, her emotions not easily stirred, but when she had become agitated in any way, in the past, she could always let herself go, flow with her feelings instead of becoming defensive and covering them up. A seed of doubt was planted in his mind; he knew that Ororo was doing a good job of keeping the school up and running, but he had to wonder what kind of a toll it was taking on her.
xXx
Hank strolled casually amongst the huge crowds of mutants cluttering the ballroom of the Xavier mansion, waving to or occasionally stopping to chat with people that he knew, old friends or classmates from his school days, old friends of the Professor's. The annual Christmas ball that had been held at the mansion every year since the first class had graduated from the school was the only mutant gathering of its kind. Casual, despite the formal attire; one of the only chances that mutants got to gather together in large groups. All past graduates, staff, and the current junior and senior classes of the Xavier Institute were welcome to attend, and most accepted the invitations graciously.
"One of the students must have spiked the punch," thought Hank as he took another sip, chuckling as he remembered his school days, the very first winter ball, he, Ororo, and Scott snickering as they watched Jean levitating a pilfered bottle of vodka towards the punch bowl.
"We've come a long way since then, you and I," he said to himself as he spied Ororo across the room, looking just as brilliant as a snow flake in a knee-length, spaghetti-strapped white dress and pearls. Hank's heart sank as he caught sight of whose arm she was on. Even in a black tuxedo, with his hair slicked back and a clean shave, the Wolverine looked just as wild as ever.
Hank felt his blood begin to boil, and, for once, he was glad for the unnatural hue of his skin. Had he been in regular form, the angry heat that he felt rising within him would have been apparent in the form of red splotches on his cheeks. Just as he was about to make an attempt to blend into the crowd and go unnoticed by her, he heard Ororo call out to him and wave him over.
He groaned as he approached the couple, and yet, Hank felt pulled forward by Ororo's gesture, as though she were a magnet. But then, hadn't that always been her effect on him? Hank believed that he very well might jump right into a raging inferno if only the command came from her sensuous lips.
"Hello, Ororo, Logan," he greeted each of them in turn, giving her a light kiss on the cheek and then offering his hand to the other man, who ignored it and gave him a waggish smile instead.
"Hey-a, Furball," was the nonchalant response. Although Hank kept his face neutral, Ororo knew the man inside and out, and she could tell that Logan's casual dismissal of him had struck a nerve. After giving her boyfriend as hard of a pinch as she could deliver, she attempted to hit upon a neutral subject.
"So, Hank, how are you enjoying the ball?" she inquired.
"It's nice, Ororo, very nice, and quite obvious that you put a lot of thought and care into planning it. I'm greatly impressed, just as I'm sure everyone else must be," he replied.
Logan rolled his eyes.
"Smooth," he thought, "If anything, the guy's definitely smooth." Logan gave the other man a wilting stare, and Hank met it with cold determination apparent in his ice-blue eyes before finally looking away and turning around to leave, muttering something about feeling lightheaded, needing to step outside for some air.
"What's wrong with you?" Ororo whispered darkly, giving Logan a scowl before following Hank's retreating back through the crowd. She was soon caught up by one of her former classmates, however, and she sighed while listening to the other woman's chatter and watched her friend exiting into the gardens. Ororo listened politely for a few more seconds before excusing herself and following Hank's path.
When she stepped into the garden, there was no sign of him, and yet, she didn't have to be psychic like the Professor or have Logan's keen sense of smell to know where he had gone. The walk to their old bench was not such a long one, and, just as she had expected, she found Hank slumped over with his arms poised on his knees and his chin resting in his hands.
"Thought I'd find you here," she stepped up to him and he looked up, taking in the sight of her. God, she was gorgeous standing there before him in her white dress, the pearls around her slim neck radiating luminescence onto her face and the snowflakes drifting around her. His eyes roved over every inch of her, and she knew that he was staring at the swell of her breasts beneath the thin silk of the dress and her nipples, roused by the cold air, peaking against the fabric.
"Go back inside, Ororo," he ordered.
"No," she replied, "I'm not going back unless you come with me, which I know that you won't, because you don't want to be around Logan."
Hank turned his head away from her and sighed. Ororo realized that she had said the wrong thing and tugged on the sleeve of his soft, mohair jacket to get him to turn back to her.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm sorry for the way he's been treating you. He's just…he's…"
"He's defensive and protective of you. Hell, he's the same way I was when we were dating. You're a prize, Ororo; any man lucky enough to have you would give anything to keep you," Hank finished for her, and then, as an afterthought, he added, "Tell him he's got nothing to worry about. You want me as much now as you did back then."
Tears sprang to Ororo's eyes as he got up from the bench and began to walk away, towards the mansion.
"Hank," she called to him, her voice breaking. He stopped in his track, but did not turn around. "Come back, Hank. Talk to me."
"About what?" Hank asked angrily, "There's nothing to discuss."
"I always wanted you, Hank. I always loved you, even when you thought that I had abandoned you," she admitted softly. He turned on his heel and strode back to her, grabbing her lightly by the shoulders. She looked down and watched the tears fall from her eyes into her lap.
"Then why did you let me go, Ororo? Why in the hell did you sit here, right here, and tell me that it would be best if we didn't see each other anymore?" he imitated her voice on the last part, and she cocked her head up to face him, her eyes flashing with anger. With a strength that he'd forgotten that she possessed, Ororo slapped him square across the face, sending him hurtling into a hedge.
"Don't mock me, you…you son-of-a-bitch!" she yelled in uncharacteristic fury, before sinking back onto the bench, sobbing into her hands.
"I'm sorry, Ororo," he said as he came to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Oh, God, I'm so sorry."
He sat down next to her, taking her into his arms, and she melted into him, shivering against his chest.
"I'm taking you back inside," he said, making an attempt to scoop her into his arms, but she resisted.
"No! No, Hank, not yet. I must look like hell, and anyway, I'm not cold." With a sigh, he shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around her shoulders while rubbing her arms briskly with his hands to generate some warmth for her.
"Why?" he asked abruptly, "Why did you leave me all those years ago?"
"I did it for you," replied Ororo, her answer hitting him as hard as her slap had minutes ago.
"For me?" he asked in disbelief, "For me? I was a lovesick eighteen-year-old who was hypnotized by you, who would have followed you anywhere, done anything to keep you in my arms, and I know that you knew it, so you thought that the best thing to do was to abandon me, send me out into the world with nothing? Because, Ororo, you meant everything to me."
"I know," she said tearfully, "And I knew it then, but you see, Hank, everything you've just said…that was the reason I had to let you go."
She gazed up at him with her big, woeful gray-blue eyes, trying to make him understand.
"Before we started going together, you had all of these dreams. You loved biology; you were going to go to medical school and become this big, brilliant, world-renowned geneticist and help all kinds of people and find a cure for every disease in the book, and you had all the potential to do just that. I was in awe of you, Hank, I gave myself up to you without question because I admired you, and I wanted to know everything about you, to know all of your feelings. I wanted you to have feelings for me.
Then it happened, and everything changed. All of a sudden, you didn't want to go to med school anymore. You were just going to stay here, get your degree from here, and then maybe stay on and teach a few classes, and no one could convince you to try anything else. I knew that it was because of me; you were afraid of leaving me behind, and I felt guilty for it. I couldn't let you waste your life on me."
"It wouldn't have been a waste, Ororo," he insisted, "No matter how my life had turned out, I would have been happy as long as you were in it."
"No, you wouldn't have," she reassured him, "Oh, you would have been in ecstasy for the first few years. We would have finished college together, begun teaching together, probably gotten married and had a few children, but, in the end, it would all have been a lie. You always would have wondered what you could have accomplished if you would have followed your dreams. You would have ended up hating me stunting you, and hating our children for holding you back.
Believe me, Hank, I thought of all of this, and it became my nightmare. I couldn't let that happen to us. I knew, back then, that it would kill you to have to leave me, but I would rather have had you hate me for setting you free than hate me for not letting you reach your full potential.
Look at you now, Hank. You're all that you ever dreamed of being, and more. Who would have thought that you would have made a good politician, good enough to be appointed Ambassador to the UN? I like to think that, in my own way, I'm responsible for all of your greatness."
"You are," he whispered, taking her face in both of his hands, "In the early days, I did everything that I did just to spite you. I guess I thought that you'd broken it off because you didn't find me to be good enough for you. I wanted to show you that I was better than you thought. And then, that day that I came home, and everyone got so angry at me for wanting to leave instead of becoming an X-Man, I realized that you were the only one who believed in me. After that, everything that I did was to just impress you."
"You never had to," she chuckled, "You always impressed me. You still do." Ororo reached up to take one of his large, blue hands in her tiny, caramel-colored one, and give it a squeeze.
"It hurt me to give you up just as much as it hurt you," she continued, "I used to cry in my bed every night, hoping that you would come back and sweep me off of my feet. That was all that you had to do, Hank. Why didn't you? Why did you never come back for me?"
"I never knew whether or not you would have taken me back, and I was afraid to try because I couldn't have stood to be rejected again" he admitted, provoking more tears to spring forth from her eyes. She held him close to her, sobbing into his white button-down shirt and shivering against him, and he wrapped his arms around her to protect her from the cold and her own sorrow.
"You still feel like Heaven," he whispered to her, his breath warm against her ear and his hands urgent as they crept from her waist on down.
"And you still know how to make me melt inside," she breathed, her lips settling on his as he stroked her inner thigh. She broke the kiss and, to Hank's delight, he found that she was wearing no panties beneath her dress.
"I think…that I'm ready to…go back inside now…" she gasped as he stroked her most secret of places. He seized her lips once more, his tongue attacking hers.
The rustling of leaves made them both start and turn to look towards the source of the sound. There, standing amongst the hedges, was Logan, his eyes glowing with feral rage.
"What the fuck is this?" he shouted, making Ororo jump and cling even more tightly to Hank, "Oh, God, I knew it. I fucking knew that some shit like this was going down."
"Logan," Ororo began, but he cut her off with an angry growl.
"Save it, bitch. Nothing you could possibly say to me right now is going to do any good."
With that, he turned on his heel and exited the garden, baring his claws and using them to tear down shrubs and bushes as he walked by. Ororo tore herself away from Hank's grasp and ran after him, yelling his name repeatedly as she followed him all the way to the garage, where, ignoring her, Logan climbed onto Scott's old motorcycle, started it, and peeled out of the garage. Ororo followed him and watched as he sped along the driveway and through the gates, out into the night, leaving her ashamed and alone.