21 Things I Want In a Lover

Chapter 5

By Princess Alexandria

“So why Wicked?” Ororo asked as they sat eating dinner right before the musical. Kate’s slightly embarrassed look gave Ororo the idea this was going to be amusing. “You hadn’t read the book, I remember that much.”

Kate made a slight face, something between a smile and an embarrassed grimace. “I liked the poster.” Ororo leaned forward, clearly waiting for more and Kate didn’t disappoint her. “It was sexy.”

Ororo grinned at her, “And what was so sexy about it?”

“The green woman, the wicked witch, her grin really was wicked.” Kate blushed and spoke quietly. Ororo had to agree it was a nice poster, but she usually had to know a little something about a play if she were picking it.

“Like green women do you?” Ororo watched Kate squirm and her own grin grew wicked, which she noticed made Kate squirm a little more. “Maybe I should be introducing you to She Hulk.”

Kate’s blush faded a bit and Ororo watched a slight smile on the woman’s face. “I’m perfectly happy with my date for the evening.” That was sweet, the way Kate said that, Ororo thought as she watched the shy way Kate moved to take another bite of her mashed potatoes.

Ororo smiled before taking a sip of her wine, but her eyes stayed on Kate. The woman was gentle, and a bit shy, but she was also cute in both of those things. She was attractive, and so different from the women Ororo normally spent time with.

She was brave in her own way, considering what her life had been. Kate asking Ororo out had to have been hard for her, but she’d done it. She’d stood up to all her friends with her unconventional school subject combinations.

Ororo also found it a little more than interesting how Kate seemed to subtly aim for touch, a brushed thigh, a hand held a bit longer than normal. Kate wanted to be touched, and that proved that Kate wasn’t too afraid of Ororo being a mutant.

“So have you gotten far in the book?” Ororo asked, referring to Kate’s Wicked novel.

Kate made that adorable face again, that alone said no and she was embarrassed by that. “I should have started it sooner. I’ve been a bit too busy.”

“I find I can only read books when I vacation on sunny beaches.” Ororo said with a smile.

“Well, I’ll try to remember that if I get to visit a sunny beach.” Kate smiled just a little in response.

Dinner was much more enjoyable than lunch, because Kate was more comfortable now, and some of the fun they had on the plane was shining through. Ororo was almost sorry that it was time for the play, but Kate looked so excited to see a play she knew so little about. Betsy had told her it was wonderful though, so Ororo had high expectations.

Wicked was very well done, and the music and story were engaging. The only thing distracting Ororo was the constant smile on Kate’s face as she watched, or the occasional happy glances the woman gave her. Ororo was very happy she’d agreed to go and share this with Kate.

After the show, when they’d managed to work through the crowds to the point they could stop walking on the sidewalk, Ororo spoke. “I’m surprised you didn’t stop to get a poster?”

“I can’t take it dancing with us.” Kate glanced up and down the street. “Are we still going dancing?”

“Oh yes, I’m not letting you get out of that, Ms. Dancing Queen.” Ororo watched Kate blush with satisfaction, before moving to the curb and waving down a cab. “It should be starting to get interesting at the club by now.”

Ororo opened the door for Kate and noticed how Kate looked at her twice subtly, before slipping into the cab. Ororo gave their destination, one Betsy had recommended. Betsy had visited most of the clubs with dancing in the city, and that included the gay ones.

When the cabbie stared at her in the rearview mirror Ororo stared back, willing him to say nothing. He sat back and just drove. That was when Ororo relaxed and grinned at her date for the day. This was potentially going to be the longest running first date she’d ever had, starting and lunch and they might end up having breakfast.

Ororo looked away and hid her own smile at her thoughts, as another way to stay for breakfast, other than dancing until daylight, occurred to her. She’d started the date thinking it would at least be a fun night, because she knew they had fun together. Now she wondered how fun it could be.

Was Kate timid as a kitten in bed or as wild as a tiger? Ororo would be fine with either if she got the opportunity to find out. Ororo glanced over at Kate, and she got the impression of a kitten. Ororo noticed the widening eyes as Kate looked at her, and the blush. That’s how Ororo knew she was being too obvious about what she was thinking.

………………………

21 Things I Want In a Lover

Chapter 6

By Princess Alexandria

Kate felt like her heart was dancing to the loud beat, it was so loud it seemed to affect her breathing, as they walked into the bar and approached the dance floor. She hadn’t heard music so loud it seemed to vibrate the very blood in her veins since college.

Ororo leaned in right up next to her ear and had to yell a little. “Drink or dance first?” Kate’s eyes were trailing over the dance floor, as she noticed all the same sex couples, and a few straight ones, dancing. She glanced over at the bar and the crowd around it.

“Dance.” Kate smiled as she studied the moves people made here. This wasn’t going to be too hard. The number of people on the dance floor would mean she couldn’t do too much, so she wasn’t going to overdance and look like an idiot. That was a problem her dance major roommate in college had had, she always danced like it was a show.

Ororo took her hand and held it up high as she guided them through the crowd, and Kate almost stumbled as she saw two women making out on the dance floor, rather than dancing. Her eyes stayed with them a bit longer than they should, but then she turned to see Ororo slowing and turning toward her.

Ororo moved well, and Kate watched with wide eyes at the control Ororo had of her body and the smooth movements. She could have majored in dance as well, Kate thought and smiled. The heat of the club, along with the pounding beat, made this a workout. They danced for hours, never leaving the floor to get those drinks they’d talked about. Kate had sweat on her forehead and knew her shirt was clinging to her, but she smiled at Ororo as they danced on. Kate was determined not to ask for a break first, but she found that she really should work out more, because even with her major in college, Ororo was pushing Kate’s ability to keep up.

The slow song had Kate standing still a moment, watching as Ororo moved closer. They hadn’t been touching, but as they started to sway to the song Kate was reminded how different it was to dance with a woman on a date. Ororo was seductive, and when she leaned down Kate’s heart was hammering. “You dance well.” Ororo spoke into her ear and Kate swallowed at the husky quality in Ororo’s voice.

“So do you.” Kate managed to stammer out, but the touch of finger tips to her neck drew her attention, and her body started to tense up a bit in shock. Her fantasies sprang up in her mind and Kate felt nervous and excited, hopeful and scared, as Ororo leaned in again, not turning toward Kate’s ear.

Kate felt the soft touch to her lips and her head tilted back just a little to make it easier for Ororo to kiss her more firmly, but Kate was finding herself more scared than anything else for an endless second as she tried to learn how to kiss very fast. She didn’t want it obvious that she’d never been kissed before, not like this. It made the childish kisses with boys she only liked as friends seem like nothing at all, as Ororo kissed her more deeply.

Kate stared up at Ororo as the woman pulled back, and the intensity in the woman’s eyes made Kate’s body throb, and her stomach clench in fear all at the same time.

Ororo leaned into her and Kate found herself back up into a wall she didn’t know was there, as the taller woman kissed her again. Kate moaned lightly and moved her hands from Ororo’s shoulders to her head, threading her hands through soft white hair, as instincts seemed to fill the void of experience.

“Shall we leave?” Ororo asked just as Kate was calming down and just focusing on the kissing and gentle touches. It took a moment for the words to register, and then Kate found her stomach clenching again. Leave for what? Could she really do that? Fear clenched at Kate’s heart and she wrestled it down, the promises of the night so tempting she tried to fight her nerves. Those nerves had never served her well, because of them she was just now having her first kiss with a woman, if she let them rule her she may never have more.

“Sounds good.” Kate answered, but her pounding heart washed away her arousal with fear. Ororo was so intensely sexual, even just her eyes held dangerous promises and Kate was sure there were less intimidating women to start with.

But probably none more beautiful, more sexy. It was cruel that what made Ororo so scary was what made her so appealing. Even her being a mutant was intriguing and daunting at the same time. Kate just did her best to screw up her courage and follow Ororo out of the club.

Ororo was very good at catching cabs, and they were on their way to Kate’s hotel room in no time.

The gentle touches to her leg, the soft words of distraction as they talked about little things that they saw out the windows, didn’t help to calm the nerves that were growing more and more tense.

They stepped out onto the sidewalk and Ororo paid the man, while turning to smile wickedly at Kate and Kate hated that she could feel her body shaking. They were practically alone at this late hour as they walked through the lobby to the elevator.

The door was hard to open and Ororo finally took the key card from her to do it, opening it up smoothly and smiling at her as Kate found herself taken by the hand and pulled inside her own room. Her breath caught as Ororo kissed her neck, and then moved to her mouth, pushing Kate’s body up against the door to close it.

Kate whimpered and the warmth of the woman in front of her pulled back, so that Ororo could stare at her. Kate felt her face flushed and could feel the shaking in her body. Ororo looked thoughtful. “You’re shaking.” Ororo spoke softly, her hand moving to caress Kate’s hair out of her face. Kate watched as Ororo backed up, and the brief pain in her eyes hurt to see. “I thought, well,” Ororo took a step back. “I’m sorry.” Ororo motioned to the door. “I had a lovely night.”

It sounded like the tense end of a bad date and Kate frowned as she tried to understand what went wrong.

“I had a great time.” It felt like a script she was reading from as the words fell from her lips, it felt wrong somehow. When Ororo motioned she was ready to go Kate stared at her a moment, before she opened the door, lost as to why this was falling apart.

Ororo stepped out and Kate stared at her as Ororo looked back at her from the other side of the door, before nodding and starting to walk away. Kate took a step out into the hall, feeling like a countdown had begun and she needed to do something.

“I have tickets to Phantom of the Opera for Saturday.” Kate spoke up, her voice too loud for the hall, considering the hour.

Ororo turned around and stared at her, a small smile crossing her lips, that didn’t really hold warmth and shaking her head. “You don’t have to, I get it.”

“I’d like to go with you.” Kate’s arm shook as she pushed her hair out of her face, staring at Ororo. Her voice softened. “I really had a great time. I’ve never had so much fun with someone.” She heard the pleading in her voice and didn’t like how desperate she sounded, but something was going on here, she could feel it. Ororo’s tense, not really a smile, relaxed and her eyebrows drew together for a moment before she nodded.

“I think I might like to go see that again.” Ororo took a step, and then another, coming closer, until she was right in front of Kate again, staring down at her. She kissed Kate briefly and then stared at her a moment longer. “I’ll call you later.”

Kate closed the door and leaned against it, disgusted with herself for freezing. She stared at the bed and cursed quietly to herself for screwing up somehow. She wasn’t sure Ororo would call back.

She washed her face and was starting to take off her shirt when her cell phone rang. Kate frowned and looked at the number before answering it. It was local.

“Do you want to do lunch again Saturday? Maybe we could hit a museum or something.” Ororo spoke and Kate felt like the fist clenched around her heart finally eased up, as she started to smile.

“I’d like that.” Kate let out a relieved breath.

“You’ve never been with a woman before, have you?” Ororo spoke and Kate blushed as she turned to stare at the floor. “It’s okay.” Ororo said after a moment of silence. “I’ll see you Saturday.” She wasn’t calling it off.

“Okay.” Kate spoke softer, the late hour making her think she needed to whisper. “I wanted to.” Her voice was shaky.

“So did I.” Ororo sounded amused. “It’s okay. I’ll see you Saturday.”

The phone was closed and Kate stared at it a moment, before smiling softly and putting it back down.

Her shower was brief as the long day started to catch up with her, and Kate fell onto the bed, but it took a while to fall asleep as her mind played cruel games, imagining what she could have been doing if her courage hadn’t failed her.

……………………………..

21 Things I Want In a Lover

Chapter 7

By Princess Alexandria

Jean looked amused as she walked into the locker room, and Ororo just sighed quietly while lacing her boots. She’d managed to get a little bit of sleep before her team had the danger room, but she hadn’t seen Jean since the date and it was clear why Jean was here.

Ororo really didn’t mind, but she took on a put out expression as Jean slid onto the bench and stared at Ororo while she switched to her other foot. “So, how was the date with little miss Starbucks? You got in awfully late?”

“And how do you know that?” Ororo focused on her boot as Jean’s grin was anything but repentant. Ororo could hear the shower turning off, so she knew Rogue would be out soon.

“I checked when you came back with the computers. You didn’t pass the gate until almost dawn.”

With her boots on, Ororo was completely dressed, but she sat down on the bench with a small smile. “It was lovely.”

“How lovely was it?” Jean teased and Ororo shook her head at the insinuation.

“I didn’t stay the night, and unless duty calls I’m not such a cad as to leave, so no, it wasn’t ‘that’ lovely.” Ororo moved her leg over the bench to straddle it so she could look at Jean. “We had lunch and walked Central Park for hours, just talking.” She smiled at that memory. “The play was definitely worth seeing. I think I might even read the book.”

“Hi praise for the musical, but what about the woman you were with?” Jean teased.

“Well, I know she’s definitely worth another date, so it’s fortunate she invited me to Phantom of the Opera tomorrow.” Ororo spoke with a smug smile on her lips.

“That sounds promising sugah.” Rogue walked over, clad in towels, proving she’d been listening in.

“That’s what I thought.” Ororo replied and as Rogue opened her own locker, Ororo spoke more quietly to the two of them. “I almost screwed it up.” She admitted, thinking of that hurt look on Kate’s face as Kate called her back with another offer of a date.

Jean frowned just a little, which was more effective than a verbal question. Ororo sighed heavily. “After dancing, which was very fun with her, things were progressing nicely, and she tensed up.” Ororo remembered how it had felt to have the woman she’d planned to spend the night with do that, and it wasn’t a good feeling.

“Well, if she doesn’t know any mutants, perhaps she is a bit nervous.” Jean offered a kinder interpretation than Ororo had for that hesitation. Rogue gave a small noise behind Ororo as she was dressing, that indicated she agreed with Jean.

“I thought something like that, so I started to leave.” Ororo ran her hand through her damp hair. “It turned out that she’d never been with a woman before. That’s why she started to freak out.” Ororo grimaced. “I was ready to chalk it up to my being a mutant, and it wasn’t that at all.” Ororo shook her head, giving a small smile to Jean. “That’s when she asked me out again.”

“Poor girl.” Rogue spoke and Ororo looked over at the southerner. “You have to admit you’re a bit intimidating Storm. If she’s a virgin, well, she’s jumping into the deep end of the pool.”

“Virgin?” Ororo went quiet, to consider that Kate might not have ever been with anyone, not just women. That thought actually fit.

“Planning to let her down gently?” Rogue asked quietly. Ororo looked up, wondering why anyone would think that.

“Not really.” Ororo smiled somewhat wickedly. “Everyone has to start somewhere.”

“But should she really lose her virginity on a vacation fling?” Rogue spoke and Ororo felt a bit of irritation.

“She’s not a child. I think she can figure out what she wants to do without me dictating it to her.” She frowned at the suggestion.

“But shouldn’t the first time be special?” Rogue pushed and Ororo knew it was more about Rogue than her at that moment, since Rogue was untouchable, and therefore a virgin herself.

“I assure you, I’m fully capable of making it special.” Ororo’s voice took on a seductive quality.

“And that is why you intimidate her.” Jean spoke, drawing Ororo’s eyes back to her, to see the redhead smirking. “Surely you must know you intimidate a lot of people Ororo. You’re intensity is an ingrained part of you, but it does keep the more timid from asking you out.”

Ororo’s eyebrows rose as she considered Kate. “Well, she must not be as timid as you suggest, because she at least managed to do it, twice.”

“Or maybe she thinks the payoff is worth the risk.” Another voice spoke up and Ororo looked up to see Betsy had joined them. “I mean, really, if I were wanting to lose my virginity to a woman, well.” Betsy’s grin was teasing and wicked. “She aims high, more power to her.” Ororo just barely nodded to acknowledge the compliment imbedded in the teasing. “She hot?”

“Yes, she is.” Ororo rolled her eyes as she answered. “And I think you should stick to what you know, because if I’m intimidating, you’re downright terrifying.”

Her mind stuck on the fact she was intimidating though, and Ororo found herself trying to think of a way to not do that to Kate. Her mind replayed the evening, trying to figure out what had caused the willing woman to tense up, and she sighed as she realized she’d been a bit forward, perhaps too much. She’d need to be gentler, and more patient Saturday.

………………………………..

21 Things I Want In a Lover

Chapter 8

By Princess Alexandria

Kate stood at the spot the clerk inside told her to stand, studying the map she’d been given of the city. She was a little surprised at herself for picking this particular tour, but thinking about the stories the local managers had told her and the fact she had gone on a date with a superhero, it just seemed like the thing to do.

Kate grinned as she glanced at the couple standing waiting for the bus with her, taking in the spiderman shirt the man wore. That would be embarrassing to bump into Spiderman while wearing that shirt. She glanced back down at the stops the buses would take. She’d managed to grab the hop-on-hop off tour, but she wouldn’t have time to get out at every stop. She’d slept in, so she now had 5 hours to see as much of the sites as possible.

The Baxter Building, The Avenge headquarters, a few sites of apparently historical battles, were all marked on her map. A guided tour of sorts was the best plan she was able to come up with for a woman alone, and she was actually a little eager for the bus to arrive.

Her mind traveled to Ororo and she smiled, wondering if she should spend lunch tomorrow embarrassing herself by admitting she had taken this particular tour. It would at least give her an interesting story to tell.

The bus pulled up and a few people got off, before Kate slipped on. The weather was nice, so Kate slipped up the narrow stairs and sat on the top of the bus, open to the air. The tour guide was a few seats in front of her. As they left the tour guide gushed about the heroes of the city, naming a few.

The first stop was approaching and Kate glanced around, with the others, at the people on the streets, walking around in front of the Baxter Building. Her eyes traveled up it, and then she looked along the street at the shops. She smirked as she noticed Elyse’s store, that manager had told her that Johnny Storm was often there picking up drinks and ladies. Kate slipped off the bus to walk around, knowing that every half hour another bus would arrive.

Armed with a souvenir magnet of the Baxter building, Kate boarded the next bus a half hour later. Her visits after that included the sites of battles, and the Avenger mansion.

Walking around the Avenger mansion, Kate slipped into a deli for a bite to eat and sat outside to stare at Central Park while she ate it. Her eyes traveled over the New Yorkers and other tourists as she ate. Her eating slowed as she watched a tall green woman in a business suit walk along the streets and no one bothered her. A few gave her odd looks, but she continued on her way as if she noticed none of it.

Kate watched her walk into a store and looked closer, almost laughing when she noticed the Starbucks sign. Her mind tried to think of any stories she’d heard, but Matt had never mentioned that his store was just a block away from the Avenger mansion, and Avengers came in there for their coffee.

Matt was the manager of that store, Kate was pretty sure. She glanced at the street signs to confirm it.

…………………….

Later that night, after a late dinner, that ended a day of late meals all day long because Kate slept in, she walked along the streets looking for a grocery store. She wanted some sort of snack for later, because she was sure she’d be hungry later, right before bed and she’d learned it was hard to find food nearby at that hour.

It was the shaking earth that had Kate staring around in surprise, thinking about earthquakes. The loud smash behind her had her turning quickly to see something else smash into the ground and dust and bits of what seemed like rock spread out, breaking the window of the store she stood in front of.

There was screaming, but Kate was still trying to grasp what she was seeing, as a blur of blue and red moved over her and dirt pelted her. Kate looked up and with wide eyes stared at the large chunk of the building that was hanging and bouncing just six feet above her. Kate could see the strings, and now she could tell it was a web. “Oh Shit.” Kate whispered and the smashing sound came with a torrent of water filling the street and sidewalk in front of her. She watched a man hit by the water tossed as if he were a leaf being hit by a strong wind, into the side of the building.

Kate couldn’t see what was happening from where she was, but people were running away so she could tell where the problem was. She couldn’t just run, the water was too strong, so she found herself carefully looking left and right at the street before planning to cross.

A car sailed through the air passed her. She waited until it was gone to run. She had to look down and avoid rubble, so she didn’t see the fight until she heard a loud noise she couldn’t ignore and she turned to see a large man, a really large man, throwing another car at Spiderman, but Spiderman ducked and Kate stared with wide eyes as it sailed at her.

She bent backwards as fast as she could and watched it sail over her head as she balanced on her toes. Some of her hair was pulled out as the side view mirror caught part of it.

She stood back up carefully and moved faster to the other side of the street, where she fully intended to run away from the fight.

She started down the sidewalk, just in time to see a man hovering in the air where she wanted to run too. She had no idea who he was, but she had a very bad feeling. She ducked into the pawn shop quickly, barely paying any attention to the cowering clerk or the broken window. Her eyes searched for a back door, and didn’t see one.

A loud crash made her flinch, and she looked back out the door to see Spiderman was dodging lasers from the hovering man.

Another car flew through the air and it slammed into the wall, scrapping past the opened door. Kate took several more steps away from the door at that.

Spiderman was out there alone. Kate swallowed hard as she could see the suspended part of the building that could have killed her across the street. Shaking hands grabbed her phone, and she started to dial 911, but after 91 she stopped and stared back out at the fight. What could a cop do? Kate froze as she watched Spiderman take a hard hit and watched him fly into a wall, falling down.

It felt like her mind wouldn’t work, until suddenly the panic faded and Kate stared down at the phone. She hung up and whispered, “Madison Avenue store,” as she started to dial. It wasn’t too far away.

“Starbucks,” A voice spoke and Kate interrupted the greeting.

“If there are any superheroes in your store, you need to announce that there is a… a… emergency on,” She couldn’t remember the street. She looked toward the clerk and gave up on getting anything out of him. Risking it, she rushed to the door and looked at the street signs, which were bent and hard to read, reciting it.

“Ma’am, we don’t forward messages.”

“This is Kate Hughes, Payroll Kate! Spiderman is getting his ass handed to him, Yell it out if you have to, somebody might come.” She yelled at him and once she heard him announcing her message loudly she hung up, and stared at the phone again.

“Lexington Avenue.” She whispered, the number for the store filling her mind as she dialed again.

“Starbucks,” A woman started to say and once again Kate interrupted.

“This is Kate Hughes,”

“Hey Kate, it’s Elyse.” The voice sounded like a casual visit and Kate’s heart was hammering too much for that. She watched Spiderman struggle to catch a van, and stared helplessly at the terrified people in it. He managed to put it down, but then was hit with something, it looked like a light pole, and he was down. He wasn’t getting up.

“We need the Fantastic Four at,” she struggled to remember the street names and recited them quickly. “The place is being torn apart.”

“Johnny!” Elyse’s voice was sharp, yelling out toward someone.

Kate hung up, hopeful that something would come of that. She walked toward the door and almost stumbled over something. Looking down it looked like a brick from the building across the street.

“Hey Big Guy.” A feminine voice yelled out before Kate made it to the doorway, but she looked out to see a tall green woman standing in the rubble of the road. The large man moved toward her and Kate felt like her heart was going to burst as they started to fight. More fighting. She stared out at the road and Spiderman wasn’t moving. She took another look at the dangling bits of building that could have killed her, imagining him as he did what she didn’t see, saving her.

The buzzing sound drew her attention up and she saw the hovering man moving to turn and return to the street, he was about two blocks away and twelve stories up. Kate rushed out the ten feet from the door and gripped Spiderman under his arm, struggling to drag his body backwards toward the stop.

Her own body leaned back heavily as she tried to compensate for the fact he weighed more than she did. The movement out of the side of her eye startled her and Kate flinched, but the boy next to her just grabbed his left arm, and shared a wide eyed look with her, before Kate shifted her hold to just his right and they pulled him quickly to the doorway and away from the battle.

They stopped after they’d gone two of his body lengths into the building and then waited tensely to see if anyone followed.

A fireball hit the ground near where there was an upside down taxi, and Kate stared with large eyes as a man made of flame flew past the window.

“Shit and you live here?” The boy spoke and Kate turned to look at him.

“Vacation.” She muttered. He gave a tense chuckle.

“Me too.”

The groan had her looking down at Spiderman. She could see cuts in his suit, and some blood on his chest. She couldn’t really see him, see his body, to see the damage, but he raised a hand to his head and groaned again. “What was the number of the bus that hit me?”

“You dodged the bus, it was the light pole.” Kate squatted down next to him as he moved to try and sit up. Her voice was softer. “People are out there, you’re hurt. Let them do this.” She noticed the boy who’d helped her drag him in here moved to look out the door.

Spiderman didn’t listen to her and Kate watched with some concern as he swayed a little before walking back out there.

The crashing sounds stopped shortly after he’d left, and the teen that had helped her moved to quickly leave. Kate stepped out more cautiously, to see two unconscious men and three heroes in the road. She took another few hesitant steps, glancing around at the disaster that was the street.

Her hands were shaking a bit as she moved to walk away, but a voice called out. “Thanks for the save; I don’t mind playing the damsel in distress for you, my hero.” She turned to see Spiderman with both his hands over his chest like a damsel in distress.

Kate found herself staring in some shock at his playful looking wave he gave her after that, even though she suspected he should still be in pain. “Likewise.” She yelled back a bit uncertainly. She glanced at the two heroes that came when she’d called, but she thought it best to just leave. They were focused on the criminals in front of them. She really wanted to get out of there before something else went wrong.

She moved off of that street at a fast stride, turning as soon as possible, to head back to her hotel.

Her mind was a bit numb as she walked into the hotel lobby again, without her food. She never did find the grocery store. She moved to lie on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Images of flying cars, and falling bricks kept her awake a good long time. She couldn’t quite figure out how many times she’d almost died tonight.

It wasn’t until she had that thought that she remembered Ororo, and her mind got stuck on wondering what Ororo would have done in her situation, or how many of those types of situations she’d been in.

It was very late indeed before she fell asleep, still in her clothes.

…………………………………….

21 Things I Want In a Lover

Chapter 9

By Princess Alexandria

Ororo frowned as she tried to call again and it went straight to Kate’s voicemail. She glanced around at the hotel lobby, and the large clock that declared it nearly lunch time. They were supposed to meet here. She didn’t see Kate waiting for her.

With a slight frown Ororo made her way to the elevators and pushed the floor she remembered Kate was on.

Ororo knocked and after a moment she heard a chain jangling on the other side of the door. It opened and a rumpled Kate, with hair that had clearly not been combed yet answered. Kate’s eyes were wide. “I slept in.” She held the door open in invitation. “I’m so sorry.”

Ororo glanced at the bed, messy, but not opened as if someone had slept in it, just rumpled like someone slept on it, and then at Kate in her clothes clearly from yesterday even though she hadn’t seen Kate yesterday. The dirt on the black pants had her pause. “What happened to you?”

“I didn’t fall asleep until late and I forgot to set the alarm.” That wasn’t really what Ororo meant, but she let it go as Kate was moving around faster, and Ororo watched her grab clothes out of the closet and some underwear, before looking at her. “I really need a quick shower.”

“Go ahead. I’ll watch the television.” Ororo gave Kate a small grin and a shaking head. This seemed out of character for Kate, but then she didn’t know her all that well yet.

“Thank you. I’m sorry.” Kate muttered again, moving to the bathroom.

“We don’t have reservations, leaving here late won’t make any difference.” Ororo spoke as she glanced around for the remote control. The water running told her Kate was in the shower.

Ororo sat on the bed and flipped the stations until she caught the news. It amused her to see the weather predicting rain, because she wasn’t going to let it rain today. Well, maybe while they were eating.

The news shifted to talk about some battle Spiderman had been in the night before, and Ororo sat up straighter as she paid attention. Occasionally it was important to be aware of what was going on in the city. Someone had a camera, and it showed a rather destroyed street.

A car was tossed at Spiderman and he dodged it well, but a sick feeling came over Ororo as she saw it heading for a bystander. Her eyes widened as the person just bent backwards in a move she’d only seen Betsy manage, balancing on her toes with her body even with the ground and the car sailed over her. Ororo blinked as the woman stood up and her eyes widened as she recognized the clothes. She got up off the couch to look harder at the woman in the background running into a shop as the focus was still on Spiderman.

Ororo glanced at the bathroom door, her eyebrows drawn together. “Spiderman was assisted by She Hulk and the Human Torch later, as well as a couple of bystanders.”

Ororo’s hand move to rest over her mouth as she saw Spiderman laying, unmoving on the ground. She saw the woman from the earlier clip run out and start to pull on him. This time the camera zoomed in to see her struggle with the larger man. “Kate?” Ororo whispered, and then watched as a young man helped Kate pull Spiderman to safety. She couldn’t be sure, the picture quality wasn’t all that great, but she had a sinking feeling it might actually be Kate.

The shower was still going, so Ororo pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Sage, I’d like you to find what footage you can about Spiderman’s battle last night.”

“A problem?” Sage asked as the click of keys told Ororo she’d caught the woman near a computer.

“I don’t think so.” Ororo blinked as the news went on to talk about other things, and she got up to stand by the window, staring out at the city. “I’ve told you about Kate haven’t I?”

“The woman you are currently dating. I’ve heard some, but no you haven’t told me.” Sage made a small humming noise as she searched the computer for footage. “What are you looking for in this footage, I’ll send it to your phone.”

“I’d like a close up of the face of the woman who rushed out to save Spiderman when he was down.” Ororo moved her hand to play with the condensation on the window, before sighing and trying to control her powers a bit better.

The picture that appeared on her phone was Kate. “Will this do?” Sage asked, the picture wasn’t the best quality, but it was good enough. Ororo thought of Kate’s moves and found herself shaking her head, surprised.

“That’s my date for the evening.” Ororo muttered. “She was going to take a quiet tour, and walk around yesterday.” She sighed. “Thank you.”

“She seems rather limber for an average human.” Sage commented on the scene that filled Ororo’s mind. “Pretty too.”

“She was a dancer.” Ororo answered distractedly, and then noticed the shower turning off. “I need to go.”

Once Ororo had her phone away she glanced around the room, wondering how to talk to Kate about this. They didn’t talk about the missions Ororo went on, or the danger, but a part of Ororo wished Kate had called her last night, rather than stay awake and perhaps scared.

Kate had really handled herself pretty well. Ororo had a small smile as she considered that. Timid, the others thought she was timid, but she’d rushed out in the middle of the battle to save someone. That was impressive. Not to mention that move, Ororo wasn’t sure she could pull that one off and she trained for events like that.

If Kate were a member of her team she’d congratulate her for that, knowing she hadn’t the power to actually fight. If she were a partially trained student she’d scold them for running into the battle at all. She didn’t know what to do or think about Kate, who had no training, but was old enough to make her own decisions.

She moved to sit down as she heard various sounds of getting ready from the bathroom. Kate came out with damp hair, but flawless makeup and smiled shyly at her. “I’m ready.”

“Do you want burgers or pasta?” Ororo asked, standing up. Her eyes looked for damage, but if Kate had any, she couldn’t see it. They left and Ororo decided to wait to bring up what she’d seen, until she had a better idea of how Kate was taking it.

‘She seems rather limber for an average human’ Ororo remembered Sage’s words, but her mind was drifting in a far less innocent direction. Kate seemed a little more confident today, which was rather attractive, and gave Ororo hope that the night before hadn’t been too horrible, and tonight might be a lot better.

They sat and ordered their meals, before Ororo decided it was okay to broach the topic. “I saw you on the news.”

It was interesting that Kate froze for a moment, and stared down at her plate. Ororo watched the blush on her cheeks. “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Everything turned out okay.” She looked up. “I had been on a superhero tour that day, and I just got the extra package I guess.” There was a small smirk on her lips.

Ororo just raised an eyebrow at Kate, which had Kate talking again. “I spent the afternoon on that Superhero tour, looking at the Baxter Building and Avenger Mansion and all that. It was interesting.” Kate blushed, and pushed her hair back behind her ear in that adorable way she had. “I figured it would be more interesting than the Architectural tour for me.”

“See anything interesting?” Ororo asked, and she noticed the spark in Kate’s eyes.

“I saw where She Hulk gets her coffee.” Kate’s smile made Ororo curious as to why that was important at all. Kate didn’t tell her.

“I was just walking around when the battle suddenly happened, and I ran into a store for cover.” Kate was technically telling the truth, but that flying car filled Ororo’s mind, and she was wondering if Kate was just that modest or didn’t realize it was a big deal to avoid getting hit the way she had. “She Hulk and Johnny Storm came just when Spiderman was losing, so that was pretty lucky.” Kate leaned forward. “I wasn’t sure there would be anyone at the Starbucks I called, but I lucked out. I was so glad to see them.”

“You called the coffee shops to get help?” Ororo asked, “Not the police?”

“What would the police be able to do? They were tossing cars out there; I don’t think police would be able to stop that.” Kate sighed and Ororo thought of the unique way Kate had actually save Spiderman’s life. It had been her; she did more than pull him to safety. Ororo stared at Kate, seeing something there she hadn’t seen before. The woman was stronger under pressure than she’d thought. Ororo couldn’t ever remember a bystander in her battles doing so much to determine the outcome. Of course, Spiderman didn’t know that it was Kate that made that win possible last night either, so maybe someone went unacknowledged in helping her as well once.

“I’m glad you’re alright.” Ororo finally spoke. “That could have been pretty bad.”

“I know, by the time I’d figured out what was happening I’d already almost been crushed. Spiderman stopped the building from falling on me.” Kate looked a little pale at that memory. “I looked up to see this huge chunk of the wall dangling over me. Another second and I would have been crushed. Somehow I don’t think I’ll tell my brother that story. He might suggest I never leave the state again.”

Ororo frowned at the words, but only addressed some of them. “Older brother?” She had heard stories of older siblings and that sounded familiar. Kate nodded.

“He can be pretty pushy at times. It’s not like he can ground me or anything.” Kate rolled her eyes. “But I’d rather not deal with the drama.” And that told Ororo what she needed to know. She refrained from the warnings and lectures she felt on her own tongue about Kate running back out into the street, which both impressed her and worried her. Kate was, after all, only human.

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21 Things I Want In a Lover

Chapter 10

By Princess Alexandria

“That looks lovely on you.” Ororo spoke and Kate blushed as she turned to look behind her at the woman sitting on the chair in the dressing room. Ororo had convinced Kate that shopping in New York was a tourist activity, and threatened to buy Kate more luggage when Kate tried to claim she didn’t have room for more. They were now out looking through Macy’s, and a few other apparently very important stores. “You’d need new shoes, but that would look great for tonight.”

Kate glanced at the bag next to Ororo, knowing what an amazing dress was in there for the night, and it made her think she should buy this one. She just had no idea when, or where else, she’d ever wear it after the night.

At the register Kate looked at her watch, considering how much time they had left. “We could drop the bags off at my room and change?” They had more than enough time for that, but shopping was wearing her down. And how strange was that in the middle of a date, to stop and prepare for the date? It kind of blurred the lines, having Ororo helping her to prepare for that.

They’d just gone to Wicked, but apparently they were ‘attending the theater’ tonight. Ororo had made reservations at a place she said served amazing food, and there were no plans to dance.

Kate hoped they weren’t ending the date right after the play. She paid the cashier, as she considered that. Kate had spent a bit longer in the shower today, hoping that someone would appreciate her smooth shaved legs, so she was ready to wear a dress. That wasn’t why she did it though. Kate’s heart hammered at the thought, but she smiled as Ororo picked up the bag and carried both her purchases and Kate’s.

“This will be a lot of fun.” Ororo seemed really pleased with their plans for the evening.

Kate was very glad she’d asked for this second date, as she watched Ororo smile at her while stepping through the door Kate held opened for her.

“Hippy chick, is that the type of clothes you used to wear?” Ororo spoke in a teasing voice and Kate turned to see a tie dye feast for the eyes in a small shop next to them.

“Actually.” Kate tilted her head and moved into the store a little, to pull up a flowing gauzy skirt, and held it up to her waist with a smile. She turned to Ororo and shifted from left to right in a small dance to make the skirt flow with her, it didn’t do it as well as it would if it were on, but she grinned and twirled. “This is like what I wore.” She pulled the skirt up to her eyes, taking it in. It really was cute, back then she would have bought it immediately, but now she’d need a whole new wardrobe to wear it, so she put it back on the shelf. She glanced over at Ororo to see an amused smile.

“Did you dance around like that as well?” Ororo smiled and shifted her hold on the bags so she could touch the skirt Kate had played with.

“Of course, that’s the point of something flowy like that.” Kate chuckled, but when Ororo picked the skirt up and moved it over toward the shirts Kate watched as Ororo picked a shirt that went with it.

“Try them on?” Ororo had a playful look in her eyes so Kate took both items and glanced around for a dressing room. This small shop had a tiny curtained area in the back.

“Will you find a leather store?” Kate turned to ask Ororo, before doing this.

Ororo gave a slight grimace, but nodded. “That’s fair I guess.” Kate smiled and lifted the flowing skirt and shirt up in the air as she made her way to the changing corner.

Looking at her reflection after she’d changed, Kate did what she could with her hair to make it more wild, but the cut was all wrong. She also stared down at her bare feet, thinking that was better than putting on her other shoes. This outfit would have gone with her Birkenstocks, but not her loafers.

Opening the curtain with sudden flick Kate grinned at Ororo and stepped out into the shop, before twirling just enough to show the way the skirt started to dance with her. She stopped with a smile when Ororo laughed. “That is so cute.” Ororo was still grinning.

Kate blushed and moved to change back. The store clerk looked a bit disappointed when she didn’t buy those clothes.

“We’ll need to go a few blocks passed your hotel to find the store I’m thinking of.” Ororo spoke as they walked toward the crosswalk. “Still interested?”

“Oh yeah.” Kate grinned and leaned in to gently hold Ororo’s arm as they walked, feeling very brave as she did it. “So if I was a hippy chick, did that make you a leather mama? Or a biker chick?”

Ororo bared her teeth at Kate and Kate did her best to keep her smile the same, in spite of how sexy Ororo had just looked. That moment of tough girl had made Kate’s blood actually turn to fire for a moment; she felt like she might start sweating. Ororo then just bumped Kate gently and smiled at her.

“I was called either, by friends in need of very cold rain showers. Remember that.”

They continued on their way as Kate looked up at the clear skies, feeling optimistic that clouds should at least take some time to pull this way she leaned in. “I prefer biker chick, but then you’d need a bike.”

A very cold breeze caught her breath and Kate’s hair was blown about making it a mess. Her eyes widened at Ororo’s teasing wink. “Oh, it’s getting nippy isn’t it?” Kate stared at her as she realized that had been Ororo’s power in action. That hadn’t really taken a lot of time. “We should probably keep moving before any rain hits.”

Kate just shook her head and smiled, but it was a bit unnerving. She stopped teasing Ororo about labels.

The store smelled like leather, and the people in it were a bit scary. Kate followed Ororo into the store, and took the bags from her so that Ororo could find some clothes. “This won’t be the same without the accessories.” Ororo spoke while looking at leather pants.

“I wasn’t even wearing shoes, and I did wear dangly bead necklaces.” Kate commented on the things her show and tell lacked.

“Did you wear shoes?” Ororo teased.

“Yes.” Kate shook her head and then noticed Ororo grab a pair of pants. Ororo turned to go further into the store, looking at leather vests.

She really thought Ororo would look for a shirt after that, but she watched as Ororo slid into the changing room. “They don’t have my old boots, but this should give you an idea.”

The changing room door closed and Ororo’s voice came from it. “It’s a lot harder to try on leather, just so you know.”

“Did you want bonus points for that?” Kate asked, as she listened to the noises in the room, and glanced around at the people giving her rather odd looks. She really didn’t look like she belonged, wearing her black pants and a blue button up shirt, and carrying bags from Sax and Macys.

“Keep in mind I had a Mohawk, biker boots, and a black leather dog collar.” Ororo’s voice spoke, sounding amused already. The door opened and Kate found herself staring.

The pants were skin tight, and the woman was only wearing a vest. Ororo’s expression had also changed, it didn’t hold the friendliness it had all day. Ororo’s expression was cold, controlled, and the way she looked at Kate made Kate feel like she was the last piece of meat in front of a starving dog. “What do you think?” Ororo’s voice was just a tad gruffer, tougher.

Kate’s jaw opened as she tried to think of what to say, but her words froze in her mouth as Ororo stepped closer to her, so that Kate could smell the leather on her. “You look,” Kate searched for a word. “Intimidating.” She screwed up her courage to say something else too, “and sexy.”

“Would you have asked me out looking like this?” Ororo asked.

“Not in a million years.” Kate spoke honestly. “I would have stared, if you weren’t looking, but I wouldn’t have spoke.”

“Well, good thing I changed my tastes.” Ororo smiled, and it looked a little feral to Kate. It made her wonder if changing clothes really changed the person underneath all that much. “We better get going. I’ll change.” Ororo went back into the dressing room and Kate stayed where she was.

Her eyes trailed over the leather vests near her on the rack, and she blushed at the thoughts in her mind. Ororo did look intimidating like that, but that wasn’t all bad.

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21 Things I Want In a Lover

Chapter 11

By Princess Alexandria

Ororo adjusted her dress in the bathroom, having picked it rather than the room for changing. She would have just changed in front of Kate, if the woman hadn’t blushed so much at the hint of what she was doing. That was how Ororo knew she was pushing too hard, and that Kate might prefer to not see her naked until they were actually about to become intimate.

Ororo leaned closer to the mirror and put her earrings in. She ran her hand through her hair and reapplied her makeup. After that she slowly opened the bathroom door and watched as Kate turned away from the television in the room to look at her. It looked like the Simpsons were on. “You’re turn.

Kate’s widening eyes and shy smile were appreciated. “You look beautiful.” Kate spoke quietly.

“Thank you.” Ororo smiled and moved to the side, watching at Kate grabbed her own bag and makeup. Ororo would be willing to bet money that Kate would come out of that room looking just as beautiful as any woman Ororo had seen before. Kate’s bone structure, eyes, and skin made it so the woman wouldn’t really need makeup, but Kate had brought it in with her.

Ororo glanced at the television, disinterested, before pulling her communicator out. She could see she’d missed a call. It couldn’t have been an emergency or it would have rung even though she’d turned it off.

Calling back Ororo moved to the window to stare out at the brick across the way. This room didn’t have that much of a view.

“Hello.” A clear voice spoke and Ororo grinned at the teasing tone.

“Calling me in the middle of the date to ask about the date is rather premature don’t you think, Jean?” Ororo leaned against the wall and smiled. “But it is going well so far.”

“Anything interesting to report?” Jean spoke, and Ororo had the image of the woman settling down in a comfortable chair to gossip in her mind.

The fact that Kate had saved Spiderman the night before crossed her mind, but that was something she wanted to see Jean’s face for, so Ororo just smiled mischievously at the window as she thought of Jean’s face. “We went shopping, and she’s changing before we head out to dinner.”

“It’s going well you say.” Jean asked and Ororo spent a moment focusing on the bathroom, to hear the water in the sink running.

“I think Kate’s feeling a little more adventurous today. I might not be home tonight.” Ororo spoke quietly.

“Oh really?” Jean was gearing up for more teasing, Ororo was sure. It was a shame that Jean was married and not dating, because it would be easier to tease her if she weren’t with Scott. He didn’t really inspire this type of discussion.

Ororo started to share what they’d done so far that day as she waited for Kate. Once she heard the bathroom door she turned, pulling the phone from her ear, and stared. The phone was still on and lowered as Ororo spoke softly, “You look so beautiful.”

Kate blushed, “Thank you.” When Kate glanced down at Ororo’s hand, Ororo remembered she was on the phone.

“Jean, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Was all Ororo said before hanging up.

“Jean’s the redhead that was on the television, right?” Kate asked, and Ororo took a moment to remember the airport lunch they’d shared days ago.

“Yes, well the news she’s more interested in right now is how the date is going.” Ororo gave a mock sigh of exasperation.

“It’s going good right?” Kate asked with a small smile, but Ororo thought she saw some nervousness in her eyes.

“It’s going wonderfully.” Ororo spoke as she moved forward, toward Kate. She talked in a whisper. “Very wonderfully.” She leaned in and tested the red lipstick Kate was wearing with a slow kiss. When she pulled away, she noticed that Kate leaned forward into her, to lengthen the kiss for just a moment. Ororo smiled at Kate and rested a hand on Kate’s shoulder. “Shall we go eat?”

Kate had opted for fashion over comfort, and Ororo noticed the second she shivered as they made their way to the restaurant. It was a small effort to move the air and put a warm cushion of it around her date. Kate’s surprised look as she no longer was cold was amusing too. “I never get cold, and only wear coats if I like how they look.” Ororo grinned as she took Kate’s hand.

“What did you do?” Kate leaned in to whisper as they waited for the chance to cross the street.

“I pulled the warm air closer to you.” Ororo answered and watched Kate’s expression. Kate just looked a little lost, confused, but she nodded as if she understood. “I don’t just make rain.” Ororo added, but she felt a little uncomfortable with the silence as Kate looked to be deep in thought.

“I guess.” Kate gave Ororo a lost little grin. “I only took Chemistry and Biology in college, I have no idea what that has to do with the weather.”

Ororo chuckled as she saw where Kate’s thoughts had gone, and she was grateful she’d learned to give Kate more time to express herself before assuming the woman had a problem with Ororo being a mutant. Ororo smiled and spent just a moment glancing around before answering. “Warm fronts and Cold fronts sound familiar?” She watched as some small understanding appeared in Kate’s eyes, before she glanced around for the restaurant.

The restaurant was close enough to the hotel that taking a cab on busy New York streets wouldn’t have saved them any time. Ororo held the door opened for Kate and noticed the way Kate seemed to enjoy that, before following her into the restaurant. Ororo glanced at Kate’s back thoughtfully as they waited to be noticed, considering if Kate just liked the ‘gentlemanly’ behaviors, or if it was a little more.

Her thoughts were interrupted when they were noticed. Ororo and Kate were led to a table.

Once they were left alone with their menus Ororo spoke, “You aren’t cold in here are you?” She didn’t think Kate was, but she did want to bring this up again. They had relative privacy for the moment.

“No, I’m fine.” Kate paused and lowered her menu, apparently deep in thought again. Ororo wished she were telepathic at that moment, but reminded herself to wait. Her patience was rewarded. Kate leaned closer to her and spoke quieter. “You can do a lot more than I’ve seen, can’t you? That article talked about a rainstorm.”

Ororo wondered where this was going, but she nodded. “I have complete control over the weather, all forms of weather.”

Kate looked so serious, and Ororo had the suspicion that she wasn’t too happy either. “Hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards?” Kate asked and Ororo nodded, but her heart sank a little as Kate’s shoulders slumped. “Why are you dating me?” Was asked and Ororo’s eyes widened at the whispered words. They’d sounded like something Kate had mulled over on her own for a while.

That comment had to be the source of the tension she’d felt on the way here. Once again Ororo was learning not to make assumptions about the woman. Ororo’s tension melted as she smiled gently at Kate. “I have fun with you, and you are very attractive.” Her smile became wicked to reinforce how attractive she found Kate. This was a case of power envy, or it might be. Ororo was reluctant to label it just yet, because she could be wrong.

“Can I get you two something to drink?” A voice interrupted them and Ororo turned to see the waiter there.

“We’d like a bottle of,” Ororo glanced back down at the wine menu and picked one she’d had before and liked. She glanced up at Kate to see how she responded to Ororo taking charge, because this could either tick the woman off or not. Ororo smiled subtly to herself as she saw the look on Kate’s face, interpreting it as pleased. Ororo ordered her meal and then went quiet as Kate ordered her own. Ororo refrained from making suggestions.

They were interrupted just moments later with bread, and it would clearly not be long before they had salad, so Ororo and Kate avoided talking about mutant powers and started talking about Wicked and dancing, and the fun they’d had.

Ororo liked the way Kate’s eyes lit up while talking about Wicked. It was clearly going to be a lifelong favorite of the woman, and Ororo found herself pleased that she’d been there to share it with her. Hopefully Kate liked Phantom as well, it was a very different story.

“So when you met She Hulk, did you ask her to sing Defying Gravity?” Ororo teased after a moment, and watched Kate laugh.

Ororo couldn’t remember when she’d last been on a date this pleasant. She liked how when Kate relaxed, she relaxed fully. It also reminded Ororo why she liked dating women, because it had been a while. There was just a tension that always existed on a date with a man that was completely absent here. It was nice.

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