"Where are you going?" Kioni handed Ororo a folded sweater.
"I still don't know. Logan says it's a surprise." Ro packed the article of clothing in with the rest of the contents of her suitcase.
"That seems like a very big surprise," Kioni said. "Do you know how long you will be gone?"
"It can't be longer than two weeks. Since I have work to be back to." Ro double checked her bag for her toothbrush. "Are you sure you're going to be ok here by yourself?"
"I am a big girl," her roommate smiled at her. "Besides, I will not be alone all of the time."
"Wade?" Ororo asked.
Kioni tried in vain to hide her smile. "He will not be going home for Christmas either."
Thanksgiving had come and past, heralding in a white winter. The last few weeks for Ororo had been spent in blissful anticipation of her vacation with Logan. Though school had been hectic (the kids all had the Christmas jitters) and shopping for gifts was a nightmare, (Black Friday had been its own particular brand of hell) the holiday spirit prevailed. Jean and Scott's wedding now seemed right around the corner and Marie and Remy had gone to the doctor and returned with ultra sound pictures and the knowledge that they were having a girl.
They were deciding on names now; Rogue was partial to the name Lily while Remy had his heart set on Evangeline. They were spending Christmas with Remy's parents in Manchester. Rogue had graduated, baby bump and all, and it seemed like the couple was ready to become a family. Remy planned to go ahead to New Orleans a week after the New Year; he was starting that new job (it paid very well and Marie agreed that they needed the money) and needed to find a place big enough for three. Though Ro was a little sad at the thought of two of her best friends leaving, it somehow felt right. Being a group of 6 was fine, but it was time for the couples to branch off and start their own lives.
Even Kioni had been sucked into the whirlwind of it all. Jean, Marie and Ro tried unsuccessfully to extract details of her relationship with Wade out of the African beauty. She kept mostly to herself about it, but the smile she couldn't quite keep off of her face at the very mention of their enigmatic neighbor spoke volumes. She was in the apartment less and less lately and Ororo could hear her laugh through the wall many nights. Wade seemed good for her; he was coaxing her out of her shell a bit. The two of them often appeared pink cheeked and wind-swept from whatever adventure Wade had cooked up that day. Kioni told Ororo that he was a former Marine who never shook his adrenaline addiction. Their dates seemed to involve high energy activities: ice-skating at Rockefeller, ski-trips in the mountains and snowball fights in Central Park.
"Wade has a friend coming in for the holidays," Kioni said as they folded laundry. "I think we are going to go sight-seeing."
A knock sounded at the door. Without even asking, both women knew who it was. Kioni shouted that the door was unlocked and Wade stepped inside.
"Feliz Navidad, neighbors!" He was wearing a Santa Claus hat over his chestnut hair and smiling so big it almost looked maniacal. "I've got a surprise," he said to Kioni.
Looking confused, Kioni walked over toward him. He grabbed her by the waist with one arm, held up a sprig of mistletoe in the other and laid a brusque kiss on her lips. Ororo laughed at first, but then looked away when Wade showed no sign that he was willing to end the kiss anytime soon. Outside of the still open door their overweight neighbor, Fred Dukes, shuffled by. He looked in at the couple, made a face and a sound of disgust and continued shuffling. Ororo's resulting burst of laughter broke up the intimate moment. Kioni pulled back, flushed to the roots of her ebony hair, but Wade was unabashed.
"You going on vacation with your man?" He plopped down on the couch, dragging Kioni down with him.
"He should be here any minute," Ororo confirmed, zipping up her suitcase.
"What are the rest of your pals doing for the holidays?" Wade shrugged out of his jacket, careful not to upset his hat.
"Remy and Marie are going home to their folks and Jean and Scott's families are coming to spend Christmas in the city with them."
Wade nodded, "Must be nice, having family that can come visit."
"You don't?" Ro asked.
"Nope," Wade sounded completely unconcerned. "Kioni's got some though. So in a few years I guess I will too."
"You're hitting the gas a little fast there, aren't you tiger?" Ro asked amusedly as Kioni flushed plum again.
Wade smiled widely. "She's my future wife. She just doesn't know it yet."
"How do you know that?" Kioni asked in a teasing tone.
"The author told me," Wade kissed her again, ignoring her confused expression. "Anyway, I was about to pick up my friend at the airport. Want to come?"
"All right," Kioni stood up to retrieve her coat.
"How about you, Roro?" Wade had taken to her nickname quickly. In fact, he had a nickname for nearly everyone he knew, including a few that irritated Logan, most notably the name "Wolfman".
"Logan will be here in a few," Ro repeated.
"Too bad. You would have liked Nathan. I named my bird after him. He's still mad about that, I think," Wade mused as he pulled on his coat. Behind him, his girlfriend shook her head slightly, giving Ro an amused look. "Well, tell the big man "Merry Christmas" for me." Wade said.
"I will," Ororo promised. "And you two have a good holiday."
Kioni hugged her. "Have fun. Take pictures," she told Ro.
"Merry Christmas!" Ro called to the couple as they traipsed down the stairs a few minutes later. Wade had coaxed Kioni into wearing an antler headband to match his hat. Their laughs and well wishes chased them out of the door and into the cold.
While waiting for Logan, Ororo made a few last minute calls. She checked in with Jean and Scott, left a message for Remy and Rogue and called to wish her parents a safe trip to Africa and to tell them to tell her cousins "hello" for her. After many Christmas wishes, she was left alone, nervous and obsessively checking her bags. The ten minutes it took Logan to arrive at her apartment seemed to take an eternity, but finally she heard him rattling his key in the door.
She had launched herself into his arms before he even stepped into the apartment. He caught her deftly, swinging her up off of the floor.
"Ready darling?" he asked her after a lengthy kiss.
It took ages to get out of the city, but Logan and Ororo amused themselves by changing the words to Christmas carols. Logan sang a bawdy version of Jingle Bells as they finally broke free of the heavy holiday traffic and started cruising north. They drove past frosted trees and country scenes that looked like they belonged on Christmas cards. In an hour or so, Ro had a good idea about where they might be going. When they reached the border crossing, she was sure of it.
"Canada?" she asked.
Logan just winked at her. "Hold your horses, Ro."
She was practically squirming with excitement every time they passed a hotel, but Logan showed no signs of stopping. They wound their way over snow-capped mountains. Ororo was sure they had come to their destination when she caught sight of a ski resort, but Logan only hopped out to refill the gas tank.
"We're almost there," he promised when he got back into the car.
The cold became more intense the higher they climbed. Logan cranked the heat up, draped one arm over her shoulders and wound his fingers in her hair. At long last he turned a corner, bringing them to halt in front of a wooden cabin.
"Where are we?" Ororo was wide eyed at the sight of the building in front of her
"My cabin." Logan answered simply. "Want to look?"
"Your cabin?" she asked. "When did you get a cabin?"
"Had to put my degree to use somehow, darling. Come take a peek at it." He hopped out of the car, crossed to her side and helped her out.
The wooden log cabin was nestled against the peaks of the mountain, proving picturesque views of the world below. The front yard was simple, just a path of stones pressed into the ground leading to a large porch and front door. A few bare rose bushes bordered the porch and a lone pine tree shaded the left side of the building. The front windows were large, encompassing nearly all of the front of the house, allowing Ororo to see into the front rooms. They were decorated for the holiday and sparkling brightly with bulbs and garland and holly. Logan led her to the front door and pushed it open. A large fireplace was the focal point of the main room. There were two stockings hung over the mantle and a pile of wood stacked neatly against one wall. The floors were smooth polished wood. They still smelled new, a homey woodsy scent. A few rugs had been laid over them. The cabin was fully furnished, with simple brown leather couches and wooden chairs. The kitchen was modest but spacious with an island in the middle and what looked like a hand carved dining table that could fit up to 6 people pushed along one window. By the time Logan steered her upstairs to show her the three bedrooms (which were all empty save for the master), Ororo was practically in shock.
"This is yours?" she asked. They were back downstairs, situated in front of a large fake Christmas tree. Logan plugged it in. There were already a few presents stacked at the base.
"Yup," he stood up straight and smiled at her. "Designed it in college as a project. Figured there was nothing stopping me from actually building it."
"When did you do all of this?" she sat on one of the couches, sinking into the cushions.
"On and off for the last two years. My foster dad helped me out with some of the labor. I've been sneaking up on weekends to make sure it was coming together. Finished it a few weeks ago."
Something inside of Ororo's head clicked. "The weekend we were fighting?" she asked.
"Seemed like the perfect excuse to spend a weekend up here without giving anything away." His grin widened. Ororo found herself laughing.
"I can't believe you did all this," she said.
"You think you're the only one who can build things?" he gestured to the car she had restored outside on the driveway. "I taught you all you know, remember darling?" he teased.
"Logan, this is beautiful," and it was. She couldn't believe that he had pulled all of this off.
"I figured we might be up here a lot in the future. I wanted to make it nice." He sat down next to her. "Merry early Christmas, Ro."
"I don't think my gift this year can compete," Ororo said with a smile.
"Oh, this is just part one," Logan said. "I'm planning on blowing you out of the water this year."
"It's working," Ororo cuddled up into him. He pulled her into his lap, laying a kiss on her lips. When Ororo finally found it in herself to allow him to get up, he set about making a fire while she wandered around, still looking at everything. It was simple, something she could easily seeing Logan creating, but beautiful. Everything was a bit old-fashioned and masculine, but you could tell he'd put in effort to make her comfortable too. There were girly smelling products in the bathroom and even fake flowers throughout the rooms. She couldn't imagine what he could surprise her with next. This took the cake.
"So, what's part two?" she asked him a few hours later. They were in front of the fireplace, enjoying a steak dinner Logan made. Ro was bundled in one of his old flannel shirts. Logan was wearing only his sweat pants and a tank top. He smiled at her over his beer.
"Go look under the tree," he told her.
Ro got up and peered under the branches. There were a few boxes under there, but nothing that really stood out. Then she spotted it, a little square box, wrapped and sitting alone. She picked it up, her heart pounding furiously. She had been friends with Jean long enough to know that only one kind of present came in little square boxes. She walked back to Logan, cradling it in her palm. She sat the box between them on the sofa cushions and looked up at him questioningly.
"You can't open it until Christmas," he picked it up, dwarfing it in his broad palm, "But I'm thinking you're going to like it."
He set the box down on the coffee table. Ro stared at it, trying in vain to tell herself that that little box held a necklace, or a bracelet.
The look on Logan's face though and the tingling in her left hand finger was telling her something different.
She would find out on Christmas.
Merry Christmas folks! I hope you all have a safe holiday, no matter what you celebrate!