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The room was full of scents, most of them annoying and full of useless information. Logan sometimes wondered if he looked a bit like a cartoon dog in situations like this, nose and whiskers twitching. His face was a little bare for that comparison though. It was the first time he’d shaved this much of his face in well over a year, and he could still feel his cheeks tingling. Laura and Gabby had both laughed at him, green eyes sparkling like mischievous jewels. The girls weren’t here though, they were safe at home on Krakoa, or so he hoped. His hands were full of a different woman, as important to him in some ways as his daughters. Ororo Munroe.
She was taller than him by more than most men’s ego would allow but Logan wasn’t most men. Her scent was familiar and welcome, sweet and spicy, floral without artifice. There was a faint hint, something he could just barely pick up around the edges of her, it was earthy and vibrant, an ever present part of her. She shimmered before him, hips rolling to the beat, spangled dress catching the light. Even with the patch over his eye she was a double helping with her hair flowing down about her face in shimmering ivory waves.
Where’s Kurt?
“Patch … you don’t like my dress?” Ororo’s voice came at the same time as a shift in her dancing. Logan felt her press into the steps, taking the lead from him for a moment.
“What?” He blinked as she stepped back with his press forward, following his lead. He could hear a little giggling from Layla and Jamie off to his right, but he didn’t look. Those two were more trouble than they were worth. “S’thinkin’ that’s all, Gorgeous.”
“That’s the most I’ve heard from you all night.” Her sapphire eyes flashed as Logan pulled her in close for a spin. He couldn’t reach up over her head for one of those finger twiddly things, but he could let her rotate out from an embrace, sending her out in a black and red flutter of expensive metal clicking scales.
“What’do’ya want me ta say?” His sentence was clipped. He would have called her by name but they were undercover here. He couldn’t call her La Reine, not while she was making those eyes at him.
Elf, you better be figurin’ out where that safe is, and gettin’ your fuzzy blue ass back here. I can’t keep this up all night!
“I’d like you to look like you were enjoying yourself.” One bold white brow arched meaningfully as Ororo came back in close, her hands switching position entirely as she assumed the ‘male’ role.
That old telltale feeling rose up in him as he fell into step with her. The music swelled, the conductor, Maria Schnieder, was bouncing with her baton, wiping the musicians into a fit as Ororo took control. “Darlin’ … it’s business …”
“I buried you.” Ororo shook her head and gave Logan a piercing look. “But if I wait for you to come to me, you’ll be dead again before we’ve talked.”
You’re not the only one. My son made a whole show o’ that too. Kurt buddy, now would be a great time to show up!
Logan took a deep breath and found her scent sticking in his lungs. He couldn’t remove it, and he didn’t particularly want to. He’d taken up sleeping with the Summers, feeling at home there for reasons that couldn’t be repeated in polite society. He had a lot to make up for with Slim, and a lot to watch for. Nevermind that he couldn’t quite believe that Jeanie was really alive.
“You ever see that before?” Jamie’s overly sweet radio tenor sang out over the sea of sounds and bodies. “A literal goddess dancing with a lil’ ol’ badger?”
Layla laughed and shook her head, “Sure, but that’s not near as good as what I know you’re gonna see later tonight.”
As the pair drifted away, moving across the floor, seemingly innocent, or as innocent as either of those trouble makers could pass for, Ororo gave the signal that Logan was to spin. Arms reaching over heads to make fiddly motions with fingers was no longer an issue. She was amazonian in her stature, and he was eye level with the goods, so to speak. His jacket flared a bit with the motion, as it was cut generously about the hips. The steps were a neat, easy, spiral, his feet managing them even in the questionable footing of a slick dance floor and new dress shoes.
“Really?” He asked, a bit breathless as he came back to her, arms on her impressive and bare biceps.
Ororo’s eyes twinkled with mirth as she looked down at him. “If this is the only way I can get you to talk, then so be it. I don’t mind undercover missions that require me to dress more expensively than Emma Frost.” She shrugged, “You know, I didn’t stop loving you.”
Nothing had taken him off guard quite like that in a good while. Logan swallowed again, tried to get his head on straight. It was difficult in this crush of people, in this place, knowing that every third person in the room was wanted, and everyone was armed. He was trying to keep an eye on the exits, to keep track of who was whispering to whom. The number of Jamies running around in bad mustaches and fake beards. “Darlin’ now’s really not the time -”
“Did you stop loving me?” The look on her face was neutral but Logan could smell the shift in her mood, even in this cornucopia of sweat, leather shoes, and food, he could pick that out.
“No.” The word came quickly to his lips. Logan shook his head and tried not to let the feeling in his chest get out of control. “Just figured you’d have moved on. Ro, darlin’, we had a great time. You’ve had more o’ me than anyone. You’ll always have me.”
The look on her face softened. “Logan, you are a fool. You know that, don’t you?”
With a wide smile on his wolfish, if bare, face, Logan answered, winking with his uncovered eye, “Course I know. Now, what I don’t know, is if you’re gonna lean that long neck o’ yers down here an’ kiss me.”
It seemed as though Ororo was going to do just that when a sound came from behind the bar. An indignant squeak from a rather large man. Just a moment later there was a yelp from the woodwinds, and the music all came to a stop. The abrupt silence allowed for a rather impressive BAMF sound to be heard as Kurt appeared over their heads, twisting and fighting with a frustrated, and impressively clad Tyger Tiger.
“I found her!” Kurt called as he and his attacker fell to the ground.
“You got shit timing, Bub.” Logan growled and took the eye patch off. Their cover was blown. He had a feeling his smart white jacket wasn’t long for this world.
“We’ve got the exits covered!” came a chorus of voices, all nearly identical, as a few of the dupes were still deep in character, from points all around the room.
“Watch where you’re putting that tail!” Tyger yelled.
“That’s Wolverine!” Someone else shrieked and pointed at Logan. He sighed.
“No, that’s my lil’ girl. I’m Logan.” The claws on his left hand shot out with a dull Snikt as he stepped forward to help Kurt. He looked back over his shoulder to see Ororo’s eyes full of clouds. She was beautiful at any time of day, but she was awe inspiring and awful to behold at times like this when she was reaching within and without to harness her gift. A Goddess made flesh. “We’ll finish this later.”
“Yes.” She smiled at him, lightning dancing between her fingers, “We will.”