As the day wore on into evening, Logan found himself growing more grouchy. This seemed completely random to him. The little wheedling sensation that had started in his mind since Ororo's outburst was too far in his subconscious. He was not a man in tune with his mind's inner workings, preferring to ignore the subtleties and laud the assertive voices.
He was prowling around Hank's lab, tinkering with glass vials and swirling anything that rotated. Any signs of his cleaning escapade from months back had gone.
He cursed loudly as he tipped over a Bunsen Burner. His reflexes were just off enough that he was only able to snatch it up after it clattered to the floor. "Fucking lab shit. Do you really need all this?" He yelled.
Hank looked up from the stack of papers he was grading and pushed the glasses down his nose so that he could gaze at Logan from above their rims. "Logan, what has gotten into you?"
Logan growled. "I dunno. Probably those damn kids." He couldn't think of anything off-hand that they might have done, but it usually ended up being their fault.
Hank was just as aware that Logan hadn't spent time around the students today. So, he steepled his hands and asked, "Can I make a suggestion?"
"Yeah, I know. Don't break any of your shit." Logan walked towards where Hank was sitting. He saw the superiority in his posture. Sometimes Logan saw the smugness in his friend that he had initially despised.
Hank shook his head. "No. I was going to say... Danger Room."
Without any hesitation, Logan's hands slammed loudly down on the lab counter on either side of the paper stack. Hank jumped back a bit at the motion and noise. Then when he saw the broad grin on Logan's face, he felt his own lips curling into a smile. "Now that is a good idea."
Logan ducked as the furry cannonball shot past him, unrolling and grabbing onto an overhanging virtual tree. When he looked up again, Hank was just dangling from the limb with a silly, enthusiastic grin. "Now I see that simian thing you were talking about."
"You expect me to believe you never noticed it until it I spoke of it? Come now Logan, even you aren't that slow. Well, mentally."
"Hey!" he protested. "If I was allowed to use my claws, it wouldn't matter how fast you swung on trees."
Hank flipped upside down, switching out his strong legs to grip the branch. From the new vantage point, Logan looked quite silly indeed, standing on his head. "And if you were allowed to use your claws, I wouldn't have accepted your offer to spar."
They had only been in the danger room for a good twenty minutes, just enough time for his body to feel rejuvenated by the adrenaline of play. They could consider it training, that was what the room was used for, but Hank thought of it as just a place where he could relax and let himself enjoy his mutation. Even though there were simulated enemies, cleverly hiding amongst the landscape, they presented little effort to dispatch for either Logan or himself. Mostly he had taken the opportunity to do several aerial laps around the simulated jungle environment. It frustrated Logan that he couldn't catch Hank and that only added to the fun. It was an intermediate level program, way below their skill levels, all the better since by the end they would be challenging each other, as always.
"Don't ya ever get dizzy doing all that stuff?" Hell, just watching the other man flipping all around disoriented Logan and he wasn't the one doing the acrobatics.
Rather than answer Logan's question, he spun cockily on the branch until he gained enough momentum to land atop it. From the higher vantage point he smirked down at the muscular man who had somehow managed to lose his tank top somewhere in the jungle. That was a perplexing habit of Logan's, the frequent loss of apparel. Ah well, it wasn't as though anyone could complain over the bared flesh, hardened sinew over adamantium; He was a good-looking man.
Logan was breathing hard, not overly so, but he had been running quite a bit to catch up with the monkey-like fighter. Kind of difficult when he'd been having to take out all the enemies they'd been coming across, since they were primarily ground fighters. "You could have been a gymnast, well, if your tits were smaller maybe."
Hank laughed. He looked around for an arboreal path that would get him above Logan's position. In less than a second, his mind had mapped out the quickest route and he was jumping, his body unnaturally lithe for such a large body.
Logan caught the movement, knew that their personal combat was starting a little early on this day, and took his own actions. He launched himself to the right, using the momentum of hitting a tree with his shoulder to spin him ninety degrees. Overhead he heard the rustling and crashing of Hank passing through the trees. Damn, why had he let Hank pick the program? He ran, searching for an open area. The best he could find was a large grassy area. The openness was good, but it still had those damn trees blotting out the sky, so many places for Hank to drop down from. Still, he stood a better chance there than pressed against trees.
He stood in the center of the circular glen and waited with his head up, waiting for Hank's approach. It took some willpower to keep his claws retracted. His brain kept reminding itself that this was for training and that he wasn't in actually danger. It was a hard fact to remember as he watched the greenery above him shuffle manically.
Then all went still. Logan hated surprises, especially when they were attacks. "I can hear you breathing fuzzy," he yelled. It was a bluff, because though he really should have been able to, he couldn't. It worked. He heard a chuckle from just behind him to the right. He spun around to face the patch of leaves that had revealed itself with laughter.
Logan crossed his arms and raised a challenging eyebrow to Hank. He could barely see the blue of his fur through the green, but it was there, moving slightly with each inhale and exhale. "Well, you gonna come down?"
"I may just take up residence here. It's got a hell of a view."
"I'm flattered," joked Logan. "But I'm not always going to be down here for ya to stare at."
With a flash of blue motion, Hank landed on the ground with a soft thud. His knees had bent as he landed to cushion the fall, but soon he stood up to his full height. There were some moments when Logan was genuinely impressed by his friend, most of these were in combat. It was a hell of a thing to see, Hank moving like a fucking blue tree cheetah.
"Well, you do have your shirt off..." said Hank. He then felt completely embarrassed about the flirtation, an action which was coming easier to him, but was still quite foreign. It was strange how he could have his tongue in Logan's ear with less self-consciousness than saying something provocative. It was just easier for him to say things with actions and he got the impression that Logan felt similarly.
Logan grinned less from the compliment and more from the way that Hank then looked away awkwardly. "And you like that?" he asked, stepping towards his friend.
"I'm just amazed that you find a way to end up half naked every time we..." It was becoming harder for him to talk with each step that Logan took towards him. There had been a time not that long ago when he had felt more comfortable around Logan than he did anyone else. When did he start reacting like a thirteen year old girl to the memory-less rogue? It agitated him. "...get into a situation of violence."
Logan was now very close to Hank, the scent was easy to pick up for his superhuman olfactory sense. Wolverine cologne would be a fragrant amalgamation of cigar, sweat, and musk. At the moment, there was also the scent of what Hank could only describe as sex. He looked away from the intense way that Logan was looking at him.
That was a mistake, Hank realized, as he felt pain burst from his leg as Logan kicked the side of his leg, knocking Hank off balance. In the time it took him to recover his senses, Logan was atop him and holding a fist up to his face that could easily have been brandishing foot-long knives.
"Looks like being half naked helped me out eh?" The humor in Logan's voice was unmistakable and though Hank felt foolish, he couldn't help but agree with the situation being quite amusing.
Hank opened his mouth, ready to unleash a scathing retort, but the fist was replaced by Logan's face and his comment was drowned out by a bestial kiss.
It could easily have been the power rush that he was feeling that nudged Logan to arousal; he wasn't analyzing his reasons. He just felt how nice his spontaneous erection against Hank's body and how warm the mouth that was moving against his was. His hands gripped the sides of Hank's chest and he bit into the round lips under his teeth. When Hank moaned at the aggressive kissing, something they'd been doing a hell of a lot of lately, Logan moved his pelvis against Hank's. That move definitely moved into a territory they hadn't yet explored. For some reason, Logan, as bad with others' emotions as he tended to be, knew that Hank would have had a problem with it and had avoided any below the belly button action in the fear that their trysts would be called off. Now though, he was seeing green lights in Hank's actions. He hoped he was reading things correctly.
Logan did not realize that his motivations involved any jealousy that may have been triggered by Ororo that morning.
Hank's mind blanked at the first electric jolt of Logan against him. Many times he'd been forced to make his brain do the same thing it had just done so naturally. There were just bodies, his and Logan's. The hands that were gripping his chest were tense with need and the motions that his body were suddenly making showed that desire back. In his head he was swearing in ways that could have made a sailor blush. He bit Logan's lip just as hard as the bite he'd received and the hands tightened, moving closer to his nipples. This was so different than the time on the banks of the Mississippi, not a hint of romance, just need.
He raised his hands up to Logan's smooth, strong back, and pulled the man closer to him. Chest to chest, crotch to crotch, and yet still not close enough. He scratched at that hairless back, running in lines parallel to the spine. Logan's reaction of arching harder into Hank only encouraged him to inflict that pain. When his hands reached the feel of the coarse denim, they didn't hesitate. His thumbs hooked under the jeans pushing downward as his fingers extended out, grasping at the ass, holding each cheek now halfway revealed to the open air.
"Hey! Hold on!" said Logan into Hank's mouth. When he sat up, Hank was devastated, sure that he had crossed a line. "You trying to make me a goddamn eunuch?"
Logan undid the top button of his jeans and pulled down the zipper, alleviating the pressure that the jeans were putting on his package. With that uncomfortable bunching out of the way, he leaned back down to Hank and pinched a blue, furry nipple.
Hank cried out a bit in surprise at the unexpected nipple assault. His relief that he hadn't offended Logan was replaced by humiliation that he was already performing with such ineptitude. He hadn't thought about Logan's genitalia when yanking at the jeans, because he had never engaged in sexual acts with another man. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"Let's prevent that." Logan's voice sounded quite thoughtful as spoke, already reaching beneath himself for the button to Hank's khaki pants.
"I..." Hank protested. "Um, do you really think that this is... something we should be... doing?"
The button slid free and without its binding influence the top half of the zipper came down, doing half the work for Logan. He was only partially listening to Hank's objections. The man wanted this just as fucking much, probably more, than he did. Hank just needed to learn how to let shit go. "Shut up Furball." He smirked at Hank's offended expression. "And yes, I think it is something that we should be doing. So, maybe you might consider, I don't know, doing something."
It took only a moment for the challenge to twist its way past the inactive parts of Hank's brain. He sat up with such speed, he nearly bucked Logan off, but in the end it worked out so that his mouth and chest were against Logan's and his penis, still bound by boxer briefs, was nestled beneath Logan's ass. His hands crawled all over Logan's back, going as high as the hair on the back of his neck and as low as the sagging jeans.
Logan knew that daring Hank into action would work. He gripped onto the furry but muscular shoulders and tipped his head back when Hank's mouth roamed over his neck. As far as he was concerned, their foreplay had lasted for three months and that was a fuck of a lot more than he had ever troubled himself with a woman. He was too impatient for it now. He pulled at his jeans, tried to sit up enough to get them off, but couldn't quite while still on Hank's lap. "Fucking jeans."
Hank smiled. "Even infants can undress themselves."
"Infants don't have big gorillas squeezing the air out of them," snapped Logan. The insult didn't seem to bother Hank who didn't loosen his hold. He just reached out to tweak a nipple as Logan had done to him earlier. He did it in an experimental way, not sure whether Logan's reaction would be negative or positive.
He didn't get the chance to find out because at that moment a thunder-like noise sounded and some of the bark from the tree behind him blasted off. He had ducked instinctively at the sound, but Logan had rolled off him. On his knees with eyes squinted in a calculating manner, Logan looked quite predatory, like his namesake. He also looked a tad silly since his jeans were still sagging halfway down his exposed backside. Silly, yet fetching.
Logan scanned the trees that lined the glen, finally catching a subtle motion. He propelled himself towards the gunman, moving faster than his pants could keep up, and ungraciously crashed to the grassy floor. He recovered quickly, pulling the jeans up as their enemy's second bullet hit his shoulder. The danger room was a misnomer in the cases of the lower level programs. Bullets were of the hard pellet variety, less threatening than a BB. Thus the shot barely ticked at his body and didn't slow him down any from running after the shooter.
Hank watched as Logan tore off into the jungle alone. He didn't need help and Hank knew it, so he just leaned back so that the top of his shoulder blades caught the tree behind him. He was nearly reclined, so he shimmied back a bit to get more comfortable. His pants rode lower and he decided to just shirk the unnecessary cloth. He still had his underwear on, so it wasn't like he was being indecent.
It was his favorite danger room simulation, this jungle. More than the opportunity to swing around from branch to branch, Hank loved the humid temperature and earthy fragrance. Yes, it did make his fur stick to his body when he began to sweat in such climates, but it also made him feel connected to the earth, part of something bigger than himself. Before joining the X-men, he didn't get chances to feel that way. He had always been on the outside, pursuing an education while desperately desiring companionship.
His parents had certainly not helped his self-esteem, with their guilt over having caused him to turn out the way he had, but blaming them would have been misguided. It had been up to Hank to form his identity in the face of adversity and if he did so without the assistance of another soul, that only made him stronger. All that loneliness had left when he joined Professor Xavier's team and finally his need to make a difference was being met. He was happier in the mansion than he had been anywhere else. It even provided such exotic escapes as this virtual realm.
His body still felt overheated from the exertion of twirling among the trees and the over-sexualized touches. With Logan, that sensation was becoming the norm. Every time they spent time alone, Hank felt twisted inside by want. It was the strangest relationship he had ever participated in. There was the ease of dialogue between them, a better friend he had never had; yet there were these times, the licking tongue against his, the feel of now familiar upper body muscles. It was like their friendship had two faces and both fit so well. Was that even possible? When they were around others, he was just happy to tease and laugh and when they weren't, he wanted to burrow into Logan's flesh until the ache went away.
Logan appeared out of the trees. He looked understandably annoyed and that for some reason the expression always made Hank happy. As he walked up to Hank, he said, "Next time, we kill all the fucking bad guys beforehand."
"Before?" asked Hank. He wanted to tease, because an annoyed Logan was so much fun.
"Yeah, before, you overgrown hairpiece." He dropped to the ground beside Hank and looked down at the bare legs. "Unless you always train without pants."
"Speaking of which, that was a tremendously graceful exit." He turned his head and grinned at Logan who was scowling at him.
"I wasn't the one who pulled them down!" growled Logan. He unbuttoned the offending jeans and pulled them off, throwing them into the grass.
They were now both leaning against the wide based tree in their underwear. It was so warm in the danger room that Hank was still sweating even without his pants.
Hank didn't respond, only kept staring at the glen around them. Minutes passed as Hank thought of how comfortable and pleasant he felt. Finally, Logan said, "So how do we get this love that doesn't speak its own name thing going?" When Hank looked at Logan with an incredulous eyebrow raised, Logan cried out, "What? I'm fucking pent up!"
"Ever the romantic," teased Hank.
"Oh sorry there Princess, didn't realize that you needed to be wined and dined."
Logan had reached his waiting limit. He wasn't going to allow some computer generated gunman to cock-block him. He shifted his position so that he was on his knees facing Hank's side. Strangely, his next action took more courage than pretty much any of the other shit he did. He reached out placed the palm of his hand on Hank's dick, still restrained by boxer briefs.
Hank's head whipped quickly to Logan's curious eyes. The noises of the jungle around them grew louder to his ears as he tried to control his breathing which seemed to be stuck. He forced an exhale; it came out with a whoosh, betraying just how nervous he suddenly was. Logan's hand was still and his gaze was patient. Understanding that there was a question in the air between them, Hank closed his eyes and slowly nodded his head.
Logan kissed him, the hand moved, and he burst into metaphoric flames of desire. They ended up on the grass together, side by side, Logan still caressing him in the most intimate of places. He was scared and aroused and completely out of his element. One of his big furry hands reached up to stroke Logan's face only to be moved lower by Logan's free hand. He shook as he allowed his hand to be placed right there on Logan's erection. "I..." he rattled into the warm mouth against his.
"Shut up Hank," Logan whispered commandingly. His name on Logan's lip was so unique, no pet name or insult used. It shouldn't have excited him like it did, but there was no denying how he hardened at the softly spoken order.
Through the fabric of Logan's boxers, he felt their anatomical similarities, felt the shape and rigidity, not so different from his own. It was still thrilling to be doing this with another man, but it was an epiphany to Hank to find that gripping a penis felt about the same regardless of the owner. Had he been expecting some alien genitalia? Did he think it was going to have arms and legs? He was so relieved to find that it was just a penis. He knew about those. Why, this whole endeavor wasn't so foreign really. What had he been so afraid of? He realized then that all the things he had said about being "perfectly okay" with homosexuality were a damned fabrication. He had stigmatized it, feared it as unnatural when this actually felt just as instinctive as sex with a woman.
Logan was ignorant to Hank's mental light bulbs. He knew only that Hank was finally touching his cock, which had been begging him for fucking weeks for the touch. He wriggled out of the boxers, exposing his cock to Hank's bare hand or any other part of Hank's body that he felt like giving. At this point, he just wanted to come and there was something really awesome about it being Hank to help him get there.
When Logan took off his underwear, Hank did the same and when they were both naked, he wasted no time in reclaiming his hand's former position. This time he felt the unencumbered hardness. His mind felt so freed, that he honestly was enjoying touching more than being touched. This was what being with another man was like. He leaned into Logan's lips, initiating the osculation with fervor. The taste of cigar was that arousing flavor of Logan, his friend and now lover.
His grip on Logan wasn't gentle, automatically emulating how he held himself while masturbating. His large hand covered the soft pink flesh almost completely.
Logan bit into his own lip at the sweet rhythm that Hank was pounding with his cock. He had never jacked off with gloves on or anything and the shocking softness of Hank's fur was intense. He attempted to concentrate on what his own hand was doing to Hank, but between the skilled job that was being performed on him and the wet mouth nipping at his lips, chin, and neck, he could feel his mind drifting into that pre-orgasmic state. As much as he wanted to just let go and allow that three month foreplay to come to an abrupt ending, he was hesitant to come so quickly and provide fodder for Hank to tease him.
Body to body, their hands bumping into each other's as they moved up and down, Hank felt pulsingly alive. He felt the increased shudders from his companion, his lover, and he worked his hand quicker, eager to see that release. Instinct took over and he raised his lips up to Logan's exposed ear and in a burst of naughty inspiration whispered, "Come Logan, come." Ororo had loved dirty talk, an action that was as strange to him as ballet dancing, but this was Logan and Hank had no idea whether he liked dirty talk or not.
With a groan, Logan convulsed, his cock letting go of the months of blue balls Hank had given him. The release nearly broke his fucking mind. Over and over he rode the waves of his orgasm, so overwhelmingly powerful that he saw spots. He heard Hank's breath catch, watched the surprise in his eyes, as the large blue man found his own release. The two shook and shivered together, clutching tightly together on the jungle floor.
For the next ten minutes, they lay panting, sticky, and completely sated. Logan was impressed by how long it took his vision to get back to lining up so that he only saw one of each tree around them. There were few other times that he'd come that had been that powerful. Hank had made his way to the top five definitely. The jungle atmosphere was so humid that his sweat wasn't evaporating, even after the sex was done with. He sighed happily and grabbed the other man tighter.
Hank allowed himself to be used as a large teddy bear; Ororo had done it all the time. "That was... intense."
Logan laughed. "Yeah, that's what three months of fucking foreplay can do. My balls were bluer than your fur."
He shouldn't have been surprised at the admission, but he still was. It felt good to have someone lusting after him. His ego appreciated the compliment.
"God damn it's hot," complained Logan, loosening his hold.
Hank's fur was wet from sweat and their body fluids, so he agreed. "We should probably clean ourselves. Do you think that we have been here for an hour?"
They had reserved the room for an hour, which was plenty of time to run through a simulation. It was a Friday night and there had been a spot open even on the short notice since most of the normal looking mutants would want to go out. Hank had taken the hour before Colossus had requested. He did not want to be rude by tarrying into the Russian's assigned slot.
"Oh probably. We should give the room time to cool down anyway. It's a sauna." He sat up, his naked back presenting an attractive distraction for Hank. "My head's still messed up."
Hank petted his enticing Latissimus Dorsi softly and with fascination. He hadn't had much of an opportunity to explore Logan naked. He would remedy that next time, even if it was shocking that he was already planning subsequent trysts.
Logan looked back at Hank and grinned. "You mind if I get some clothes on?"
Hank bit his lip and then nodded. It was flattering enough to draw a kiss from Logan. He was motivated and so the joining of lips was brief, so that he could fetch his jeans. While he did so, Hank looked at just how gross he was, fur matted with bodily juices. The thought of putting pants over all that wasn't a pleasant one, but he couldn't very well walk out of the danger room naked and slimy. So, he too rooted around for his pants. They were a few feet away near the tree that that they had made love under or whatever it was they had done.
The jungle scene fizzled away suddenly and Hank looked around startled and a bit afraid. The room was white and empty save for bundles of clothes, both their shirts at opposite sides, and Logan smiling at the control panel.
"Logan!" he cried out in shock.
"Relax, I locked the doors right after I shut it off," Logan assured.
The danger room doors automatically unlocked when a program was completed, so no matter how quickly Logan reset the locks, there was a moment when Hank was in front of a door that was capable of being opened from the outside while naked and covered in ejaculate. He glared at Logan. "You could not have waited until I was clothed?"
Logan strolled easily over to the lump that was his shirt. He didn't seem perturbed in the least by the minute risk at which he had placed them. "Thought it'd be easier to find them without all the fake trees. I can turn it back on if you want," he offered mockingly.
Annoyed or not, Hank did not wish to stand around in his current state arguing, so he walked to his shirt as well. He hated the idea of walking around the mansion without his shirt, but he needed to wipe up as much of the mess as he could before putting his pants back on. He lifted the white shirt and frowned at it.
A wad of fabric struck him in the side of the head with a loud smack. As it fell to the ground, anger was already coursing through him. "What do you think you're doing?" he said in a loud voice that would have been easily interpreted as a yell, if Hank ever yelled.
Logan grinned that smug smile of his with arms crossed. "You can use it. You know, for the mess. I don't need it."
It took several moments for Hank's emotions to flip as the chivalrous gesture sunk in. "Thank you," he said sincerely.
He cleaned himself up as best he could without water, tricky for fur, before dressing. The apparel felt like a costume. He was pretending to be the Hank he had been when he gone into the danger room.
"You ready?" asked Logan. He looked bored as he leaned against the wall next to the control panel.
Hank took a deep breath. "Yes, I suppose I am."
Even though Hank had told him that he was ready, Logan waited a minute before unlocking the door. He had heard the hesitation in his friend's tone. He had already seen what a terrible actor Hank was this morning with Ororo. He was kinda looking forward to seeing how Hank portrayed a guy that hadn't just had sex with his best friend. At the same time, he did like Hank, and he didn't want him to be actually unhappy. So, he paused, allowing time for Hank to summon up some courage before releasing the mechanism.
Logan stepped through the door and saw Piotr sitting on the floor opposite the danger room door. "Hey, you up next?" he asked, knowing the answer already.
Piotr smiled and stood. "Yeah, you guys went over."
"By how much?" Logan asked.
The hulking Russian shrugged. "Ten or fifteen."
Logan patted the man's shoulder. "Man, you should have Chuck compensate you for that missed time."
"A dollar a minute?"
"Oh, he's got enough money for more than that." Logan looked back from where he had come and where Hank had failed to appear.
Piotr chuckled at the joke. "Yeah, but shouldn't you be paying me?"
Logan pretended to consider the option. The danger room door finally slid back open to reveal Hank. "I tell you what, he can pick up the tab." He gestured with his chin towards Hank. With another slap to Piotr's shoulder, Logan headed away from the danger room, back to the bathroom on the wing of the mansion where his room was. He figured that Hank could do a better job at not looking just fucked without him. Hank would have just kept looking at him, incriminating the both of them with his worried eyes.
Hank watched Logan take off down the hall and thought about running after him. He could offer his private shower, but that was still his licentious side speaking to him. He smiled at Piotr. "What tab?"
For the first time since that fateful Mississippi night, Hank's mind was not overloading with self-analysis. He and Logan had gone to that place that he so feared going. He had come away from it better than okay; he was feeling more comfortable with himself than he could ever remember feeling. Someone wanted him and he was amazed by his own capacity to reciprocate that desire. Within his limited romantic experience, he hadn't known that a person could be friends with a lover. With Ororo, he had tip-toed around, intensely afraid that she would uncover an aspect of his personality that he was uncomfortable showing. Logan knew his faults already, had seen his hidden habits, and was interested regardless. What could have been more flattering?
As for how Hank felt, he was charmed by Logan. It was comfortable to chat, sensual to be intimate, and fun to play together both verbally and physically. The awkwardness was totally gone, as far from memory as those days before their pool bet, before Hank had ever noticed his unwanted attraction.
Hank enjoyed the shower for a long time, all ecological conscience out the window with his homosexual preconceptions. His fur was clean and all evidence of his danger room indiscretion was erased. He had just finished blow drying the bulk of water off his fur when he heard a knock at the door.
"Just a moment!" Hank called. Though he was fairly sure that he wouldn't need to be fully dressed for the company he was about to entertain, he pulled on his tan slacks and white button shirt. He only began buttoning the shirt as he strolled to the closed door, anticipation of seeing Logan already pulling his lips into a smile. This slipped from his face the moment he saw the lovely unexpected guest.
Ororo Munroe looked up at him with eyes that had that intoxicating blend of feral and royal immersed in their depths. His confidence shattered like one of Storm's icicles hitting its targets. As always, he felt tongue-tied and clumsy, two things that Hank certainly was not predisposed to. "Ororo," he gasped. "I... um... Would you care to come in?"
She nodded, just once with regal decisiveness.
As she glided past him into the room, he could smell her scent, always so appealing. The aroma was sunshine and rain, hot desert and tropical rainforest all in one. He shut the door and felt the pounding in his heart when he saw that she had taken a seat on his bed. He had made love to her on that bed, trying so desperately hard to be the perfect lover, wanting to give her the all pleasure a goddess deserved. It was achingly hard to see her there now; the old memories boiled inside his mind making the space between his eyes hurt with the pressure.
"I came to speak to you because there are things that I need to know." She was avoiding direct eye contact, but her body language was open and relaxed. He recognized easily that she was putting up a facade of comfort; he knew her too well for that to slip by. "If I ask you questions about you and Logan, can I rely on you to answer me honestly?"
Now it was not only his heart, but his stomach, that he could feel as though in his hand and not buried deep in his flesh. He was suddenly awash in nervousness. The encounter with Logan was so recent and his newfound certainty was so delicately built that he found his palms beginning to itch, a sign of sweating beneath his fur.
He coughed. He looked down at her, waiting for an answer, and staring off to the side as though entranced by the light coming in the window. With a great sigh he said, "I'm not sure how comfortable I am with this."
"Is that a no?" she asked.
He shook his head quickly. "Has there ever been anything that I wasn't willing to do for you?"
For a second she looked at him with the smallest of a smile in the corner of her lip, but then her gaze switched back to the window. "I guess I just need to understand."
"Yes, it was hard for me to understand as well."
"Are you lovers?"
The words were so direct, which was very Ororo-like. He felt as though his entire integumentary system was reacting. Good lord, was he breaking into hives over how nervous this conversation was making him? Still, there was really only one answer wasn't there, especially after the events in the danger room? "Yes."
One of her delicate hands fluttered to her throat, as if trying to still her pulse. Her eyes shut for a moment and he worried that he had hurt her feelings by answering honestly. "Ororo..." he started but she raised a hand.
"No, I asked. There is no reason to console me. I needed to hear it. I guessed, but to hear that I was correct. I suppose it shouldn't hurt like it does."
It hurt? He dropped down to one knee before her and looked at her closely. He hadn't wanted to hurt her. Now he wished he could take back the honestly spoken words, because he could not bear to have caused her pain. He reached out a hand to rest on her knee. "Ororo, I'm sorry."
She laughed, a sound that didn't meet her eyes. She looked on the verge of tears, a thing he could not recall seeing before. "And do you love him? Does he love you?"
That question he could not answer because he truly did not know. There was a time when he wouldn't have even considered the possibility and now he knew only that what he felt towards Logan he had felt towards no other person. It wasn't better or worse than he felt about Ororo, but so utterly different as to be a completely different classification. Logan was a friend and now a lover, but were they in love? Love for Hank had always meant an overwhelming, all-encompassing obsession, but could he deny how loved he felt only an hour ago with his lips and body pressed against Logan? Oh surely most of that could be written off as lust, but Hank didn't know where the line was between best friend with physical intimacy and boyfriend. He had entered into a new world, one he hadn't even had time to explore before someone was asking him for its definition.
"I cannot say," he said. "In either case."
Her hand moved upwards to her lips, her face shrouded in thought. The absence of any negation scared her for reasons she could not even give voice to. Hank was different and for the first time ever, she felt that she didn't know him. He wasn't even sure if he was in love with another man and not just any man, but Logan. If she was surprised by any homosexual tendencies in Hank, it was infinitely more astounding to imagine Logan doing such things.
To hear that there was a possibility that Hank was in love with Logan was nearly debilitating to her nerves. She was fighting to keep control of her emotions, determined not to have another loss of weather control. Still, she could feel the slight tremble in her hands. A sure sign that she didn't have the kind of control she needed.
"Ororo, are you alright?" Hank asked, gripping her leg tighter. He could see that she was shaking.
"Oh Hank," she rattled as a tear leaked from one of her exceptional blue eyes. Her arms wound around his shoulders and before he could comprehend what was happening, he was holding the crying woman, running a comforting hair down her silky white hair. He was bewildered and yet sad, even as uncomprehending as he was.
He began making little shushing noises, unable to think of any more logical words. He simply had not the foggiest idea of what was wrong, why she should be in tears over his dalliances with Logan. Even in his confusion, he couldn't ignore how good it felt to hold her, how welcome that wild fragrance was to his nostrils. Then he was remembering how nice it was to kiss her lips and it wasn't just reminiscing, because their lips had somehow managed to come together somewhere in the middle of this emotional outburst. All he'd been doing was holding her and now he could feel the softness of her kisses and taste the salty tears.
Ororo pulled back sharply as soon as she became conscious of what she was doing, of what she had started. She stared into Hank's wide eyes as her hand covered her misbehaving mouth. She had initiated the kiss as if the past ten months with Kurt had never happened, as if she was an unattached low-moral woman who was perfectly content with moving in on another man's lover. Hank wasn't just some taken man though, he had been hers and she was consumed by the regret of letting him go. She didn't realize it until this moment how much she had missed him.
"Oh Hank. I am so sorry," she gushed all at once, her hands making exaggerated movements in her shock. She rose quickly from the bed, her knees bumping against him as she did so. He watched as she scurried to the door and he rose to follow. "I am so sorry," she repeated.
"Ororo," he called as her hand gripped the doorknob. "Wait."
She shook her head. He could hear her breathing, as if she had been running and not just kissing, but then it had had a similar effect on him. "I... I need to think about this. Time to think about what I'm feeling." She wiped at her eyes, the streaks glistening on her deep brown cheeks. "I will come back. Please forgive me."
"I forgive you," he said quietly. Regardless of what had occurred in the last five minutes, not that he felt there was anything to apologize for, he would forgive her in all situations.
She nodded and pulled open the door. She nearly took a step back when she saw Logan in front of her. He looked just as surprised to see her and they stared at each other for very long seconds before she slid past him, not even bothering to make an excuse in her haste. She headed towards the stairs in a pace quick enough to be nearly running.
Logan watched as she jetted off. She had been crying; he could tell from the red lining her eyes and how large her nose had looked, probably full of snot. With a curious look, he peeked into Hank's open room. Hank was standing agape just beyond reach of the door, looking in astonishment at Logan, but he got the impression that it wasn't him that Hank was surprised to see. He looked back to the now empty hallway and then back into Hank's room. "What the hell is up with Stormy?"
Hank rubbed his forehead before turning hurt eyes towards Logan. Even though he hadn't been there, Logan got it. "I see," he said. In that competition, he was always gonna lose out. He swallowed at the hard lump in his throat. What had been a great day now turned into a bitch of a night. It took courage, but he managed to say, "Be careful there Fuzzy" before heading off down the hallway. He had planned to visit with Hank, but those times would be over now. If Ororo wanted Hank back, that was it. He hid his hurt, an almost electric pain, deep down and walked away.
It seemed impossible, but Hank felt more alone than he had before being kissed by two different people in one day. He closed the door and ruminated.
Author's note: And that is all for this segment. :) I'll be wrapping up this arc in another installment. I usually hate love triangles, so I'm kinda surprised this turned into one. In the next set you'll see just how little I grasp the character of Ororo. Women stump me, which is why I write dudes. And yes, I am a woman. That still doesn't help. Anyway, if you have liked it so far, please review. It's a very weird pairing and I doubt many people would even dare to click on it after reading the summary. Any opinions on the conflict between Storm and Logan vying for the love of the blue fuzzy academic? I'm gonna shut up now. Damn long winded authors...