Chapter 7

Here we are, my friends, at the end of the road. Once again, I would like to thank you all for your reviews. I am so glad you enjoyed this piece.

Until next time...

Ororo sat on Logan's bed, while she waited for him to get dressed.

Tonight was the formal, and she wanted to offer him support for the evening.

She could not believe that a week had gone by already. So much had happened in such a short period of time.

Forge left without a trace the morning after the incident. She never asked about him, but she did see Scott and Jean tossing everything he left behind in the dumpsters.

Scott had apologized to both her and Jean.

He was sorry for putting Ororo in a position for Forge to be able to hurt her.

He apologized to Jean because he now felt that because of his actions, he forced her to be intimate with him before she was ready.

Shockingly, he also apologized to Logan.

Ororo, for the most part, was back to her old self.

She and Logan had been spending lots of time together over the last week. She appreciated the time he was devoting to her, wanting her to know that she was not alone and he would always be there for her.

He even offered to forgo the dance and help her with her painting. She was brought to tears by his selflessness, but she refused to let him do such a thing.

Tonight was important to him, and he had worked hard.

There was no way that she would let him make that kind of sacrifice for her.

Ororo knew Jean would never leave Scott, but she hoped in her heart that Jean realized what a special man Logan was…and how lucky she was that he chose her to spend his special moment with.

She felt the warm sting of tears in her eyes.

She was not upset over Forge.

Yes, she was embarrassed and angry, but after a few days, she realized her attraction to him was the fact that he seemed to want to be with her.

The tears were for something she was now convinced she may not ever have.

She thought of all the effort Logan went through for tonight…just for a chance to dance with the girl of his dreams.

He knew he had a 50/50 chance of getting turned down, but he did not let that stop him.

And that was what Ororo wanted.

Someone who would do just about anything to be with her, consequences be damned.

Ororo refused to let the tears fall. If Logan smelled her sorrow, he would want to stay with her, and right now, she might just let him.

Just then, Logan walked out of his bathroom in his tux. "Well, how'd I clean up, kid?" he asked with a big smile.

Ororo rose off the bed and made her way over to him.

Goddess, he was beautiful.

The black tux fit him perfectly, hugging all of his muscles. He made quite the effort to get his riotous hair to stay down.

He was freshly shaved and smelled so masculine.

Ororo could not stop her hand from reaching up to caress his smooth cheek.

Lightly, her fingertip trailed a path across his strong jaw and up the side of his face, down his nose and across his lips, to settle back on his cheek.

His eyes had closed under her inspection, and he had to control the purr that was making its way to his mouth. He enjoyed having her close. She settled something in him that no one else could.

He turned his mouth to place a sweet kiss in the palm of her hand, before opening his eyes to look at her.

I love him.

I am in love with him.

There was no fanfare.

No loud declarations.

No lingering touches.

No toe-curling kisses.

But she knew it to be the truth.

And it made her sad because her love was one-sided.

She would love him anyway, even if he did not love her back.

But oh how she wished to the goddess he did love her, just a little.

She reached up to straighten his bow tie before letting her hands trail down the front of his shirt.

"You look very handsome tonight, Logan." She said in a strained whisper.

He saw an emotion swirling in her beautiful blue eyes that he could not identify, but it was intense.

"Ro, ya know I don't have ta go." He started.

"You stop right now, Logan. You will go. You have worked very hard and I am proud of you. Jean is a very lucky girl. Now go, I can hear the music starting."

Logan reluctantly nodded and started to leave, taking with him the single red rose he had purchased to give to Jean.

"Should I ask her ta dance soon as I get there, or wait a bit."

"Well, you may ask anytime you feel is right, but I will say that the last dance of the evening is usually reserved for that special someone."

He looked at her, unsure if that was a good idea. "If that's tha case, she'll probably want ta dance with Scott."

Logan did not know that Ororo had already told Scott that if Logan asked Jean for a dance, not to interfere.

He owed Logan that much for being an ass.

"Not necessarily Logan. Now off with you. Stop by my room later and tell me how it went."

Logan leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks, Ro." and then he was gone.

/

Logan stood towards the back of the room for most of the dance, waiting for what felt like the right time to ask Jeannie. It was nearing the end of the dance so he knew he had to make his move soon.

She looked beautiful.

She was wearing an emerald green A-line dress with delicately jeweled straps. Her hair was done up in a complicated bun, with spiral curls escaping to drape her delicate shoulders.

She was the most beautiful girl there.

But only because Ro isn't here, he mused.

He thought back to the day he went with her for her final fitting for the dress she was supposed to wear.

She was going to be a vision in her white halter gown.

Her entire back was exposed to his greedy eyes, where he got his full of seeing her beautiful cocoa skin. It looked so soft, so inviting. He had to control himself to keep from reaching out to touch her.

He was upset that she was not there with him.

Suddenly, he realized that in every scenario that played out in his mind of this night, it was Ororo, not Jeannie, who ended up in his arms.

His thoughts were interrupted by Emma.

"A penny for your thoughts, Logan."

Logan looked down at her with barely concealed disgust on his face. "Sorry, Emma. Didn't recognize ya with yer legs closed."

Emma's face turned two shades of red. "Fuck you."

Logan offered her a sly grin. "No thanks, darlin. Ya probably got some shit that even tha ole healing factor can't cure."

Emma scoffed and placed her hands on her hips. "You know, you should be thanking me for getting Forge away from Ororo, not giving me shit about it."

"Why tha hell would I be thanking ya fer hurting Ro?"

Emma let her hand drop to her sides, and sashayed closer to him with a mischievous grin.

As she tilted her face towards his, he leaned away from her, thinking she was trying to kiss him.

Instead of kissing him, she leaned into his ear.

"You forget, Logan. I'm a telepath too." She offered him a toothy grin before turning back into the crowd.

"Shit!"

"Ladies and Gentleman, the evening is coming to a close. It's time for the last dance, so go ahead and get that special someone for a memory that will last a lifetime." came the DJ's announcement.

Logan stood up straight and found Jean just across the room.

She looked over at him and cast him a shy smile.

Logan smiled back and took a deep breath.

This was his moment.

/

Ororo was busy painting the recently repaired walls in Forge's old room.

She was content, listening to Scott's Ipod wearing a pair of well worn jeans and a baby doll tee that had seen better days.

Somehow, Ororo managed to splash a bit of paint on her face. "By the goddess, Ororo. Could you make anymore of a mess." she mumbled to herself in irritation.

She turned towards the dresser to pick up her towel to wipe her face, when she stopped dead in her tracks.

Standing in the doorway holding a deep red rose was none other than Logan.

Hastily she snatched her earplugs out of her ears and moved towards him. "Logan, the dance is over already?"

He looked down at her paint smeared face. "Naw darlin, it's tha last dance."

Ororo looked up at him in confusion. "What happened with Jean? Oh, please do not tell me she said no."

"Nope."

"OK, so you danced with her earlier?"

"Nope."

"What do you mean, nope? Did you or did you not ask her.?"

"Nope."

"Logan!" she said exasperated.

He laughed at her frustration and moved closer to her. "Ro, ya remembered why tonight with Jean was so important?

"Yes, you desired to make a special memory with your special someone." she said, wondering where he was going with this.

"That's right, Ro." he paused for a minute and looked deep into her eyes.

"Ororo Munroe, may I have this dance?" He asked her in a husky voice while handing her the rose.

Ororo looked from the rose to Logan, and back again.

Was he serious?

"Logan, you do not have to do this…" she started.

"I know. I want ta do this. Ro, I know if I had asked Jean ta dance with me she would have said yes, but she wasn't…isn't tha one." He tilted her chin so she could look into his eyes. "It's ya darlin. It was always ya. I just didn't realize it til tonight. So, will ya dance with me?"

Ororo's blue eyes clouded over with tears. She could not believe what was happening to her.

It had to be a dream.

And if it was, she was not ready to wake up.

She found her voice through her tears. "Logan, I am a mess." she said embarrassed by her appearance.

Logan gently guided her by the shoulder and turned her to look in the mirror.

His thick thumb rubbed at the paint on her cheek. "See, it's just a little paint, darlin. Yer still tha most beautiful girl I have ever seen." He whispered into her ear. "Now, shall we?"

He turned on the Ipod and speakers that he set up on the dresser.

The first strands of Mariah Carey's I Want to Know What Love Is started to play

I gotta take a little time

A little time to think things over

I better read between the lines

In case I need it when I'm colder

Ororo tried to keep some distance between their bodies, not wanting to trust this was real…

I wanna know what love is...

I want you to show me...

I wanna feel what love is...

I know you can show me...

Logan could feel her resisting the hold he had on her. He wanted her to know this was real, they were real…

"Ro, please…" he breathed into her ear.

Ororo closed her eyes and shook her head.

She was terrified that she had fallen asleep, and this moment was a dream.

If it was, she would rather stay asleep, because when she awoke, her heart would be broken.

"Open yer eyes, baby. It's me, and this is real. I love ya and I ain't never gonna hurt ya, ever."

In my life there's been heartache and pain

I don't know if I can face it again

I cant stop now, I've traveled so far

To change this lonely life

And she did.

Dear goddess, after everything that happened…

She trusted him…

Believed him…

LOVED him…

She allowed her body to meld with his in time with the music.

And as they moved together around the room, the words of the song rang so true to both of them…

I wanna know what love is, (lets talk about love)

I want you to show me, (I wanna feel it too)

I wanna feel what love is, (I want to feel it too)

And I know and I know, (I know you can show me)

Show me love is real, yeah

I wanna know what love is...

As the song reached it crescendo, her soft, warm lips met his in the sweetest kiss he had ever experienced.

He wrapped his strong arms around her pliant body, lifting her clear off the ground.

Not caring that she was getting paint all over his rented tux.

After all, it didn't matter.

Nothing mattered to him but the wonderful girl he had been blessed to be with at that very moment.

Finally, they parted when they needed air.

Ororo wrapped her long legs around his waist and hugged him to her as hard as she could, never wanting to let him go.

Then she remembered something.

"Logan." she said into his neck.

"Yeah darlin."

She moved her head to look in his eyes, giving him a beautiful smile.

"I love you also."

Logan's eyes became glassy.

"I know, Ororo. I know."

He buried his hand in her messy locks, bringing her back in for another kiss…

And the heavens rejoiced…

mimicking the joy of their mistress…

As magnificent lightening danced freely into the goodnight…

THE END