I'm not sure if you'll ever get this. Actually...I'm not even sure why I'm calling again- hoping too hard, maybe, that it won't be radio silence for another week.
[ the silence stretches, long and tense until: ]
There's a lot of things I never said while you were here. And. I'm sorry I couldn't just up and fucking say them. All the time in the world and I always seem to be too late.
I hope you're safe. I hope you're home. Those kids need you, 'Ro.
[ She wakes up as if from a long, restful sleep, and for a moment she doesn't really know where she is. She thinks herself home in the mansion, her eyes remaining closed while her memories of her time in Savrou drift through her mind like the remnants of dreams, which she believes them to be before she becomes fully aware of her surroundings.
What draws her back to herself is the storm, the hum of its strange power crawling over her skin and working its way along her nerves until her entire body seems to sing.
She opens her eyes, and realises that she is in some sort of... pod. She sits up, eyes misting over as she readies herself to fight anyone who comes near her should it be necessary. She must have been... abducted somewhere?
She swings her legs over the side of the pod, noticing that she's still wearing her clothes and that her TAB is still on her person. Cautiously creeping through the chamber, that seems to be full of pods like the one she was in (some open and some not) and it is not until she exits it that she begins to understand where she is.
How did she end up in the Ingress Complex?
It's definitely time to call someone. Her first thought is Logan, and would you look at that. Apparently he's been thinking about her too because there is a message.
She listens, and then listens again... and then one more time. How long has she been gone? Why doesn't he know where she is? Why is he sending her some sort of half-baked confession as if he thinks he will never see her again?
Only one way to find out, so it's time to give the old man a call. ]
[ It's a call he's not expecting, not at this time of night, not ever again, while he's a few fingers into a bottle of whiskey, pilfered from Charles' stash.
Once his heart has climbed back out of his throat, scalded by liquor and hurt, Logan answers. ]
[ He's already in motion, downing the rest of his glass, and grabbing for a shirt. Laura should be asleep by now, where she's tucked herself up at the foot of his bed. She'll be all right by herself for a little while. ]
[ At least she thinks she's fine. She realises, however, that her words may give off the expression that she doesn't want to see him, which is very far from the truth.
Three weeks... what happened to her? ]
I can come to you.
[ Honestly getting out of the complex feels like a really great idea right now. ]
[ There's an argument brewing, frustration and worry in his voice. Over the TAB isn't the time for it though. He braces a closed fist against the door frame, keeping his voice low. ]
[ It's a lonely ride on the train, where he's found an empty compartment. One short ride later, he's out among the rest of Kauto's night owls, his collar turned up against the cold.
[ She is, but waiting for him has give her time to think, which is why as soon as they lock eyes she holds up a hand to stop him from getting any closer. ]
What if I was quarantined?
[ She should have turned around as soon as the thought hit her, what if she has put all the people in this station at risk by waiting for Logan? ]
[ Her white hair gleams like a beacon, and there's a sterile mask over her scent, giving credence to her worry.
She's easily the most beautiful thing he's seen in weeks, the tight hitch in his chest. He's needed her, he's missed her with a sure and solid ache, and he throws caution to the wind when he brushes aside her warning to take her face in his hands, as if he needs the assurance that she's real. ]
I don't give a damn.
[ Oh hell. He kisses her, the worry hot in his mouth. ]
[ She has not felt the passage of time like he has, but it is disturbing in its own right to know that she has lost a chunk of time with no explanation. It is a relief to feel his touch draw her back into the life she has built here.
The kiss takes her by surprise, but it only takes a split second for her to lean into him, arms wrapping around his waist while she kisses him back. ]
That was stupid.
[ But if he wants to have his very own Hollywood cliche moment, who is she to crush his dreams?
[ It's so cliche, so unwise if she has been under quarantine. Logan has had to be wise these past few weeks, he's had to swallow down the knee-jerk desire to go racing for the hills as fast as he fucking can. Love keeps him tethered to Laura, to Charles, to the kids he tore through a planetary outpost to save, but love can't keep the mounting stress in check, or relieve him of that feeling of slow suffocation under a heavy weight.
He has no smartass quip for Storm in reply, just the slide of his hands into her hair, and a deeply fervent kiss. ]
[ It's not their first kiss, but it feels like it. There is a surrender of sorts in this moment that wasn't quite there when they were on his farm. Whatever he was holding back then he seems to be letting go now, but Logan being Logan there is no telling how long that will last.
The intensity of his kiss kicks up a response of equal ardor in her, echoed in the gust of wind that suddenly swirls around them, making passing strangers stumble in surprise. ]
[ The wind catches in his coat, carding cool fingers through his hair. There's no hesitancy in his affection, it's all heat and desire that pours out of him now, focused on the taste of her mouth, the scent of her skin.
Logan lets go a slow, shuddering breath against her lips. ]
Come home.
[ Home, not "the farm" and assuredly not "the mansion". ]
[ Leaving presents a problem in its own right, as now they'll have to unwind from each other. All he wants to do is pull 'Ro to him, to share his warmth and mouth himself a path down her slender throat...
Logan's hands find hers, lifting them to his lips. There's a wolffish glint to his dark eyes, hunger slanting alongside need. ]
[ Ororo has a lot of questions at the moment. She doesn't know what happened to her, she doesn't know what's been going on while she was gone, she doesn't know what this reunion will mean for her and Logan once the heat of the moment dies down a little.
What she does know is that she likes the way he is looking at her right now. She likes it a whole lot. ]
[ That question leads them to a hotel that must be geared toward visitors coming in from the Ingress, sleekly modern by Earth standards, a hive of activity even at that late hour. Under the blue lights in the lift, Storm's hair glows like a pale lightning burst, and her mouth is a siren call he can't resist.
They spill with that blue into a neatly-appointed hallway, where Logan's thumb slips over the keypad, too caught up in the way his teeth skim along her clavicle, and the sharp tug she gives his shirt. With a locked door between them and the world, Ororo's heartbeat in his ears, her hip canted into his, he has to pause, overwhelmed. ]
I love you.
[ There it is, a breathless confession in the dark. ]
[ She feels in that moment as if several worlds collide at once, crushing her between them. She stills, unable to even do so much as draw breath for a moment as her mind races to catch up.
The man she remembers, the man he was, didn't love her, but there had been something there. An unrealised potential, a "what if" locked behind the gate of his devotion to Jean. She never did try to get too good a look at what might lie beyond that gate, since the knowledge could only serve to break her heart.
The woman he remembers is someone she has yet to become. Someone who has touched his life in ways she may never know.
And here they are, meeting in the middle. Strangers, in a way, but finding in each other something too precious to live without.
Does he love her, or his own memories? Is he trying to reclaim something that he lost, perhaps before he could make the most of it? She wants to believe that he wouldn't do that to her.
He's got a head start on her, under all circumstances.
Well, she thinks, I guess I have some catching up to do. ]
[ The quick stab of fear that fills him in her silence is absolute as it is dreadful. Logan finds he has no regrets though, and nothing in the world would ever compel him to take it back. She might reject it, but at least this time he's said it, and she knows, and he isn't left watching a shovelful of dirt hit a coffin lid while he wishes he had been less of a coward.
Storm's reply makes him breathe once more, overtaken by relief and surprise.
When he kisses her again, it's with a slow, tender certainty. This time he does pull her in, his warm hands sliding beneath her shirt. ]
[ It's been quite a while since she had hands on her like this, and she soaks up the touch like a cat basks in a warm spot of sunlight. She takes in every nuance of the moment, the contrast between his soft lips and the coarse beard around them, the tingling sensation spreading over her skin in the wake of the slide of his hands, the way her pulse has started to pick up some speed. ]
Say it again?
[ A request rather than a demand, while her fingers get busy unbuttoning his shirt. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
~audio - vm
[ the silence stretches, long and tense until: ]
There's a lot of things I never said while you were here. And. I'm sorry I couldn't just up and fucking say them. All the time in the world and I always seem to be too late.
I hope you're safe. I hope you're home. Those kids need you, 'Ro.
Take care of yourself.
~action - audio
What draws her back to herself is the storm, the hum of its strange power crawling over her skin and working its way along her nerves until her entire body seems to sing.
She opens her eyes, and realises that she is in some sort of... pod. She sits up, eyes misting over as she readies herself to fight anyone who comes near her should it be necessary. She must have been... abducted somewhere?
She swings her legs over the side of the pod, noticing that she's still wearing her clothes and that her TAB is still on her person. Cautiously creeping through the chamber, that seems to be full of pods like the one she was in (some open and some not) and it is not until she exits it that she begins to understand where she is.
How did she end up in the Ingress Complex?
It's definitely time to call someone. Her first thought is Logan, and would you look at that. Apparently he's been thinking about her too because there is a message.
She listens, and then listens again... and then one more time. How long has she been gone? Why doesn't he know where she is? Why is he sending her some sort of half-baked confession as if he thinks he will never see her again?
Only one way to find out, so it's time to give the old man a call. ]
dying
Once his heart has climbed back out of his throat, scalded by liquor and hurt, Logan answers. ]
Where the Hell have you been?
no subject
The Ingress Complex, apparently. How long have I been gone?
no subject
Almost three weeks. Stay there, I'm coming.
no subject
[ At least she thinks she's fine. She realises, however, that her words may give off the expression that she doesn't want to see him, which is very far from the truth.
Three weeks... what happened to her? ]
I can come to you.
[ Honestly getting out of the complex feels like a really great idea right now. ]
no subject
[ There's an argument brewing, frustration and worry in his voice. Over the TAB isn't the time for it though. He braces a closed fist against the door frame, keeping his voice low. ]
Look, just...I'll meet you at the R1 station.
no subject
[ For worrying him, and for trying to brush it off. She knows she would have wanted to slap him if he did the same. ]
I don't know what happened to me. I just
.. I can't stand the thought of staying here right now. I need to get out. I'll see you at the station.
no subject
Let her be there. Please. ]
no subject
What if I was quarantined?
[ She should have turned around as soon as the thought hit her, what if she has put all the people in this station at risk by waiting for Logan? ]
no subject
She's easily the most beautiful thing he's seen in weeks, the tight hitch in his chest. He's needed her, he's missed her with a sure and solid ache, and he throws caution to the wind when he brushes aside her warning to take her face in his hands, as if he needs the assurance that she's real. ]
I don't give a damn.
[ Oh hell. He kisses her, the worry hot in his mouth. ]
no subject
The kiss takes her by surprise, but it only takes a split second for her to lean into him, arms wrapping around his waist while she kisses him back. ]
That was stupid.
[ But if he wants to have his very own Hollywood cliche moment, who is she to crush his dreams?
So she kisses him again. ]
no subject
He has no smartass quip for Storm in reply, just the slide of his hands into her hair, and a deeply fervent kiss. ]
no subject
The intensity of his kiss kicks up a response of equal ardor in her, echoed in the gust of wind that suddenly swirls around them, making passing strangers stumble in surprise. ]
no subject
Logan lets go a slow, shuddering breath against her lips. ]
Come home.
[ Home, not "the farm" and assuredly not "the mansion". ]
no subject
[ Her lips are still brushing against his while she speaks, as if she can't stand to be further apart from him than what is absolutely necessary. ]
Make sure everything is okay before I go anywhere.
no subject
[ The fan of his fingers glide slow and soft along the nape of her neck, tracing his thumbs down the shell of her ears. ]
You think they'd have just let you walk out under a quarantine?
no subject
[ Though it's in the air whether she's referring to his actual words or just the way his hands are turning her mind very much away from her worries. ]
Alright. Let's go home.
no subject
Logan's hands find hers, lifting them to his lips. There's a wolffish glint to his dark eyes, hunger slanting alongside need. ]
We should detour first.
no subject
What she does know is that she likes the way he is looking at her right now. She likes it a whole lot. ]
Where to?
no subject
They spill with that blue into a neatly-appointed hallway, where Logan's thumb slips over the keypad, too caught up in the way his teeth skim along her clavicle, and the sharp tug she gives his shirt. With a locked door between them and the world, Ororo's heartbeat in his ears, her hip canted into his, he has to pause, overwhelmed. ]
I love you.
[ There it is, a breathless confession in the dark. ]
no subject
The man she remembers, the man he was, didn't love her, but there had been something there. An unrealised potential, a "what if" locked behind the gate of his devotion to Jean. She never did try to get too good a look at what might lie beyond that gate, since the knowledge could only serve to break her heart.
The woman he remembers is someone she has yet to become. Someone who has touched his life in ways she may never know.
And here they are, meeting in the middle. Strangers, in a way, but finding in each other something too precious to live without.
Does he love her, or his own memories? Is he trying to reclaim something that he lost, perhaps before he could make the most of it? She wants to believe that he wouldn't do that to her.
He's got a head start on her, under all circumstances.
Well, she thinks, I guess I have some catching up to do. ]
I love you too.
no subject
Storm's reply makes him breathe once more, overtaken by relief and surprise.
When he kisses her again, it's with a slow, tender certainty. This time he does pull her in, his warm hands sliding beneath her shirt. ]
no subject
Say it again?
[ A request rather than a demand, while her fingers get busy unbuttoning his shirt. ]